#fuckers need to stop removing series for no good reason

[lesbiangummybearmafia]

What do the assholes that run the streaming companies think their gods? I've seen this happen on Disney plus, Paramount plus, Netflix and I wouldn't be surprised if the rest follow suit. That's just deciding for no good reason to pull off series after series that are popular, that are well liked and are doing good in any kind of rating system that exists. They just killed them for no good fucking reason. I'm fucking tired of the shit with them and they think that were just gonna keep letting them do this bullshit again and again. Drop crap in the place of really good shows. Because that's what they did at least I've noticed on Paramount plus.

It's not because of the strikes so don't anybody even try to go there. They dropped off show like Star Trek Prodigy that has nothing to do with the strikes it's an animated series and a yank the whole first season and had it thrown off the platform and it's now looking for a new home. It's a Star Trek series everything Star Trek is on fucking Paramount plus so where the fuck is it supposed to go?!? Maybe I'll just go to fuck back the cable because streaming services seem to be worse than cable ever was! It's like we opened a Pandora with box of bullshit except now we're paying for each one of the goddamn channels now. If you're too young to understand this once upon a time there was a thing called cable and we'd have something like 60, 70, 80 a 100 plus channels. Each one of those channels would be like the Disney Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Netflix Channel and so on, but you wouldn't have to pay a premium price for each one of the fucking channels only like HBO. You'd pay one monthly fee and you get all the fucking channels. But now in 2023 we have streaming services, where one is like 6.99, here 14.99, there 9.99 there 12.99, there what have you. So we're now paying more than we ever would have paid for cable. We're still having to deal with commercials which use be one of reasons to get streaming services but not anymore!! We're pretty much getting fucked and not in anyway that's good and fun!!! Actually I want cable from like the 80s but with 200 channels, MTV that plays music videos, a world that never figured out or created reality tv, cartoons on Saturday mornings on all channels even ESPN mf!!! I want them to sit the fuck down and try just try to come up with shows like Designing Women, Golden Girls, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Mork and Mindy, original ideas people! Not the same old seen before or doing reboot of something again. Get rid of all the news channels while we're at it, unless their independent companies of the free press that their only job is to report the news and they're not under any obligation by any company to promote a certain viewpoint or political ideology we don't need them anymore. There now more dangerous then helpful.

[spookydrreid]

Chapter Nine: Restitution

Pairing: Unsub!Spencer x fem!reader

Content warnings: murder, implications of CSA, in depth talk of CSA (reader), victim blaming, letting an assailant walk free, thoughts of past suicide, warped sense of reality

PLEASE READ THESE WARNINGS CAREFULLY. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF WHILE READING THIS CHAPTER. I UNDERSTAND IF YOU CANT READ IT. THERE WILL BE A NON-TRIGGERING RECAP AT THAT START OF CHAPTER TEN. AGAIN… READ THOSE WARNINGS CAREFULLY, THEY ARE THERE FOR A REASON!

Word Count: 1.2k

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…

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…

Bang

Bang

Bang

The echos of the gun rings in my ears and makes me smile. I watch his body hit the ground with a loud thud. If I could spit on him I would’ve. Fucker ruined my life in more ways than I would care to admit. This time, as I pulled the trigger, my hands didn’t shake and the sound of the gun didn’t make me close my eyes.

There was no fear, no hesitation, no reservations. He got what he deserved.

“How did that feel?” Spencer asks me once we’re sure he’s dead. He being the man who took away my innocence. The man who walked free after I provided ample amount of evidence to the courts of what he did to me.

I stared at him for a moment longer before answering, admiring my work and knowing he’d never harm anyone else again. I could see why Spencer enjoyed killing. The high was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. And I didn’t want to end.

“So fucking good.” He takes the gun from me and his fingers on mine feel like electricity. I feel like I’m on cloud nine.

He smiles at me as he puts it in the holster. It’s then that I realize that I’m panting and unbelievably turned on. If I was honest, I would say I was a little afraid of just how much I enjoyed these feelings. I can tell by the way he’s looking at me that he knows.

“I can tell.” He looks down at the body spilling blood beside us “fucking asshole.” I follow his gaze, the bullet hole in the center of his forehead making me smile.

“I see why you like this … feels good.” He starts wrapping up the body, collecting any and all incriminating evidence possible.

He nods “of course it feels good. Now he isn’t on the street hurting other people. He’s gone. He cant hurt you any more.” He pulls me in and kisses me softly.

…

Three days earlier

The shaking wasn’t stopping, no matter how many deep breaths I took. I was doing everything I could to not wake the man sleeping beside me. But it was to no avail.

“Pup? What’s the matter sweetheart?” My heavy breathing making it hard for me to answer him. But I try.

“I-I had a b-bad dream.” I didn’t want to talk about it, but I knew he was going to make me. He always did. He claimed that it made things easier and less scary.

Spencer sits behind me, pulling me into his chest and holding me tight. “Shhh, I’m here. You’re okay. No one can hurt you, my pet.” His hands soothingly play with my hair and I can feel my heart rate slow the longer I breath him in.

“H-he can. He told me he can always get to me.” I pull him tighter, needing him to ground me before I fall back into a panic attack.

“What? Who, baby? No one can get to you with me around. I promise.” I shake my head. He wasn’t invincible and no one cared then.

“Forget it. L-lets go back to sleep…” But he doesn’t take that for an answer.

“Not till you tell me what that dream was about.” Again, him always making me talk about what was happening so I could possibly over come it.

I grip him and hold him close, my ear at pressed to his chest so I can hear his beating heart. Grounding myself. “I was fifteen and he was my fathers best friend.” I take a shaky breath and try hard to keep my voice steady. “I always thought that he was creepy. He just gave me a bad feeling. But he and my dad was so close that I didn’t think anything of it.”

Spencer rubs my back and kisses my head.

“Sometimes I think my mother had a feeling. She used to ask me to cover up when he was around. I couldn’t wear shorts when he was there, or shirts that showed too much cleavage.” I swallow hard but keep going. “So I did. I wasn’t allowed to swim in our pool when he was around, which was a lot. And then, three fucking days before my sixteenth birthday, he acted on his urges.”

Spencer grips my tighter, “did you tell anyone?”

I nod furiously, “I told my mother the next morning. We were close, you know. She was my best friend.” I cant stop the smile that spreads at the memory of my mother. But it doesn’t stay long.

“We went to the police the same day. I felt like I was violated all over again. I told that story so many times that day.”

He plays with my hair slowly, “I know. That’s really hard and I’m very proud of you for saying something.” Obviously I loved when Spencer was proud of me. I spent most of our time together making sure I made him proud. But this was different. He could be proud of me all he wanted, but it didn’t make my heart flutter like it usually does.

“They had so much evidence. Photographs were taken, DNA from … everywhere. They had him. And then when it came to court? No one believed me. Know why?”

I’m sure he had an idea but he just shakes his head. I can feel his anger radiating off of him.

“Because my best friend took a photo of me on my 16th birthday with a fucking smile on my face. My parents bought me a car, one I really wanted. It was a moment in time. A fucking moment where I didn’t feel like I wanted to rip off my skin. And it was used against me.”

He sighs, “that’s not fair.”

I scoff, not angry with him, “no fucking shit, Spence. They let him walk… all because of that fucking picture. They said if I was really a victim, I wouldn’t be smiling ever. It was like I couldn’t be excited about my birthday. Truth be told? I wasn’t excited for it. I felt disgusting and i just wanted to die. And after that?” I shutter.

He holds me tighter, his heart pounding in his chest as he listens to me. If there was one thing that I loved the most about Spencer, was his ability to listen to me. Like really listen to me.

“After the verdict, I sincerely never wanted to be more dead than that day. He told everyone I ruined his life, that I was a liar. I wasn’t a liar, Spencer. But… money talks. He had more money than we did. And I lost. And I’ve lived with that for so long. I dream about that night so often. I hate it.”

“You deserve to be believed. And I believe you, sweetheart.” It takes him a moment before he murmurs, “we can make him pay.”

I look up at him and I can tell he’s serious, “you would do that for me?”

He laughs but I can tell its slightly humorless, “yes of course. You deserve justice. Do you know where he is now?”

I nod, “is it bad that I do? When I moved so did he. He followed me and told everyone I ended up meeting about what I did. He’s divorced living in DC.”

“Good… were going to find him then.”

…

And find him we did

…

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[radramblog]

Werewolves are still iffy in EDH

With the release of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, I’m sure many people myself included were hoping that the set’s Werewolf focus would solve some of the issues with the tribe in Commander. Having been a big fan of the creature type’s mechanics and design in Shadows block, and playing a lot of them in Limited and Standard formats, I was excited to see what MID would bring to the table.

Unfortunately, despite the shiny new commander the deck has, I’m not confident that the many, many issues that make Werewolves awkward in Commander have actually found an answer.

Issue 1: The cardpool

Werewolves are kind of in this awkward place where due to mechanically being tied to Innistrad and its double-faced-card Transform mechanic, there just aren’t very many of them, even though we’ve been to Innistrad 3 times now. As well, of the current 6 Innistrad-based sets, 2 of them (DKA and EMN) are small sets and 1 (AVR) doesn’t actually have any werewolves in them. The number of werewolves, therefore, is not particularly big- at time of writing, 83 cards exist with the word Werewolf or Werewolves, and of those 5 are explicit hate pieces. And one is Victim of Night, a removal spell that happens not to hit them. That leaves 78 cards to work with, outside of Changelings.

Frustratingly, WoTC has done very little to supplement this when visiting other planes. There exist exactly 6 Werewolf-related cards printed outside of Innistrad, with only 4 of those actually being Werewolves. I appreciate the slight bones being thrown in the form of WAR Arlinn, Nightpack Ambusher, and AFR’s own Werewolf Pack leader, but that’s about a card a year, which is not enough to support a tribe like this.

There’s also an issue where most of the Werewolf cards are pretty much just limited fodder. Of the 62 cards with the type Werewolf on them (again not including Changelings), I’d wager maybe 30 of them are playable in Commander, using an extremely loose definition of the word playable and with the understanding that this deck is going to be janky as hell. The tribe really suffers from its flavour-based limits, especially with the lack of non-Innistrad support, even though many of the game’s mechanics could be adapted to flavour of the Werewolf.

The final problem with the cardpool is the weak support cards. Werewolves have a fair few support cards, actually, but the issue is most of them are either not scaled for the format or only apply on one side of a 2-sided card. Many tribes in the middle-ground of card quality can get propped up by a handful of really good support cards- as an example, Treefolk have Timber Protector and Leaf-Crowned Elder, and Myr have Myr Galvaniser, Myr Turbine, and basically every Artifact support card ever to exist. Werewolves are stuck with, outside of one or two spicy new cards, mostly just +1/+1 anthems/counters and a handful of keywords, and also Immerwolf/Geier Reach Bandit (but the latter only half the time).

The result of this is that despite arguably being one of the better supported tribes as far as card numbers, Werewolves seriously pale in comparison to the majority of the field, especially compared to their Innistradi brethren- they look real awkward next to Humans, Zombies, Spirits, and Vampires.

Issue 2: The colours

Werewolves are pretty shoehorned into Gruul as far as the cards go. Both legendary Werewolves and the Werewolf Planeswalker are in the colour combination, as well as the vast majority of the tribe’s members. However, Midnight Hunt has added some other options in all 3 other colours, and there are reasons to run each anyway- mostly to do with, you know, that whole cardpool issue.

Because as good as Tovolar is, this tribe needs a little help from another colour, in my opinion.

White is the most commonly added colour to Werewolf decks, due to getting to play Rule of Law effects to stop your Werewolves from getting flipped back over. If I build Werewolves, it probably will be Naya, just because I already have two Gruul decks, but my issue is the lack of a clear Commander. Samut is clearly the best option, mostly on account of Flash and the deck likely being fairly aggressive, but I have an issue with commanders, particularly Tribal commanders, not accurately representing the deck. But then, what am I supposed to go with? Anara/Bruse Tarl? Gahiji? Rin and Seri kinda work flavourfully, if you squint, but they do nothing for the gameplay of the deck. I probably would have to just get over it and play Samut, and maybe you should too.

Midnight Hunt did also throw some Black Werewolves in, to go with the original 3 from back in the day (the utterly terrible Treacherous Werewolf, Lesser Werewolf, and Greater Werewolf), opening Jund as an option, kind of. My issue with this is that aside from just general good cards, Black doesn’t really add much to the deck’s likely plans, and only one of the new Black Werewolves, Graveyard Tresspasser, is really any good. I suppose this does mean you could run 4-colour with Saskia, but…eh…

This set also added a singular Blue werewolf in Suspicious Stowaway, which is actually kinda okay. And also Blue gets one extra Rule of Law effect in Arcane Laboratory. But I don’t think I’m going to see Temur Werewolves anytime soon. I guess you could run Surrak? Blue does notably also get you a bunch of the better Changelings, on account of their recent Kaldheim iterations being in Green-Blue.

There is always, of course, Morophon. But that fucker’s for cowards. The TL;DR is, that Werewolves’s best commanders don’t give you access to everything the deck needs.

 Issue 3: The tribes

This is somewhat of a more minor issue, but one worth bringing up. Many of the Werewolf matters cards are shared with Wolf matters cards, and so it’s likely worth bringing a few of the better Wolves into the mix. Sarulf, if you’re including Black, or one or both Tolsimir-s in White. Wolves are a tribe with many, many more members, especially adding in all the Wolf Token producing cards, though there are still fewer Wolf Matters cards than Werewolf Matters ones. Also, some of the Werewolf Matters cards are Wolves, like Nightpack Ambusher, Silverfur Partisan, and Immerwolf. So there’s probably a fair few worth throwing in.

As well, seeing as the vast majority of Werewolves have Human front faces, some Humans matter cards like Angel of Glory’s Rise or the new Katilda are worth a shout. There are very few of these that work unfortunately, seeing as you are actively trying to have your humans not be humans, but it’s potentially worth the look.

The reason I find this to be an issue is that you can only add in so many subthemes like this before the deck’s real synergies start to get too heavily diluted. Every Wolf you add makes your Werewolves worse, you know?

I dunno maybe this one was less an issue and more just a recommendation. And yes I know most of the non-Human Werewolves are in fact Eldrazi, but as much as I love those cards they’re both mostly bad and there’s not enough of them, so don’t bother putting Eldrazi cards in there. You have to dump a lot of mana to flip them anyway.

Issue 4: The gameplay

Werewolves as a tribe are extremely challenging from a gameplay perspective. You have to be paying close attention every turn, in order to make sure that you know when your Werewolves are transforming- and in a format like Commander, they are probably not spending nearly as much time with the back half as they are the front half.

While I appreciate Midnight Hunt’s design efforts to simplify this with the Daybound mechanic, in Commander this kinda just makes it worse. Daybound means you are having to track this mechanic at all times, even when you or nobody else has a Werewolf on the field, as long as you’ve played one of the new ones beforehand. As well, the older cards (which you will need some of) are completely unlinked to this day/night cycle, even though they technically use the same trigger, which can lead to some confusion- if, for example, Tovolar makes it Night on your Upkeep, playing a Duskwatch Recruiter is still going to leave you with a Duskwatch Recruiter, not a Krallenhorde Howler.

Considering Tovolar is likely the leader for most Werewolf decks going forward, I appreciate the effort to make him work with the Werewolves of the past, and that he tries to mitigate the tribe’s biggest issue. But there are a whole bunch of really finicky interactions that are both difficult to get your head around and difficult to explain to others when you pull them off. For example, if the player before you casts two spells on their turn, it becomes Day as the turn begins, meaning all your MID Werewolves will transform immediately, then Upkeep happens, and any of your non-MID Werewolves flip as well. Then Tovolar triggers, and you can transform as many of your Werewolves as you want- so if you stack the triggers right, then something like, say, Huntmaster of the Fells or Ulrich of the Krallenhorde will get to transform twice in the same step and get both of its “when ~ transforms” effects.

The other half of this is just the mental load on your opponents. You know what all your cards do, but your opponents aren’t going to! And this is a typical thing in EDH, the game requires either a massive knowledge of Magic, an ability to pick up on new cards and interactions quickly, or both, but it gets so much worse when each of your cards has two sides worth of text to read off whenever you play one. And people (particularly those with less-than-perfect threat assessment) are going to typically assume that the more words on your cards the better they are, so you might get targeted just based on that even though half the words aren’t relevant most of the time.

The long and short of Werewolves in EDH is this: They’re still awkward and janky. I think you can actually build a deck, but you could already do that technically, and I think the additions from MID aren’t quite enough to bump the tribe up to Actually Good. They are, though, about the level of Jank that I appreciate, so maybe I’ll still just build them anyway.

There is potential hope, though. Innistrad: Midnight Hunt is an Innistrad Werewolf Set that contains no less than 15 Vampires (one of my biggest issues with the set!), and the next set is Innistrad: Crimson Vow, the Innistrad Vampire Set. Due to the mechanical requirements, I can’t imagine we’re seeing 15 Werewolves in that one, but I’m hoping we do at least get a couple extras. And hey, maybe one of that one’s Commander decks will be Werewolves!

…The previous was written under the assumption that we didn’t know what the VOW Commander Decks were. As it turns out, we have the names. Neither of them are Werewolf themed.

God damn it, maybe next time we come back to Innistrad then. So, see you in 2026.

[popculturebuffet]

One Year Anniversary: Top 12 Ducktales Episodes!

Happy anniversary all you happy people! Yes it was one year ago today I started reviewing animation and it’s been a ride to be sure. I’d always WANTED to be a reviewer: I love going on and on about stuff I love, really digging into it and picking it apart... but I could never get started. I tried youtube but I didn’t have the money for the equipment nor a proper shooting space to record, so my efforts.. were not great. And while I TRIED text reviews, my own looming pile of self hatred meant every attempt I made was shot down when it got hard as me not being good enough. 

But one year ago I finally got past that. I’d already been reviewing a bit, doing invididual issues of comics... but got way in over my head trying to do the current line of X-Men comics as it came out, and wisely bowed out of that. But that left a gap: I had nothing to cover week to week and with a demanding new job, I drifted into just doing in charcter chats, little fan fictions script styles. Not bad work, I should do some more at some point and I even got a comissoin once in a while, but nothing I could really live on and not what I wanted to do with my life. 

Enter Ducktales. I’d always WANTED to review the show.. and when the double premire happened, I decided fuck it, and put up my thoughts. And then decided.. hey maybe I can do this every week.. and slowly.. my work evolved, getting better and better, getting more and more likes. I picked up Amphibia when that came by week to week.

And eventually.. this went from a hobby, if one I was passionate about to a career. Not a largely paying one, as only one person was really intrested in paying me for it, friend of the blog and our fincial backer @weirdkev27, but .. it’s money and i’m now making about 30 dollars a month due to a comination of comissions and patreon. Other contributers are always welcome mind you, my patreon is here if your curious and comissions are 5 dollars an episode, but i’ts just nice to have money coming in. To have gone from simply WANTING to review things and make a living off it.. to simply doing it. 

And it’s been one hell of a year.. and not just because 2020 felt like hell or 2021 began with a full on insurrection. I feel like i’ve acomplished a lot in the year i’ve been doing this: I finished what I started with Ducktales season 3, getting better and better as I went. And I didn’t stop there with ducks: I started covering what brought me to Ducks in the first place, the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, and while that retrospective has slid a bit on the schedule, I intend to get it back on track this month. I reviewed a bunch of Darkwing Duck episodes leading up to the Just Us Justice Ducks.. chronologically anyway. The actual airing order reads like someone took 50 issues of a comic, made it rain with them, then just started reading whatever ones they picked up randomly. I also covered some of Duck Master Carl Barks work with the classics Night on Bear Mountain, A Christmas for Shacktown and Back to the Klondike, with more to come. 

And the Duck didn’t stop at just reviews I did on my own: Kev comissioned two MASSIVE retrospectives from me: My first for him was Ride of the Three Caballleros where in just a few short months I covered the boys entire televisied careers together from the movie, to house of mouse, to mickey and the roadster racers, to ducktales (again) and finishing with the wonderful Legend of the Three Caballeros. It has probably the worst Daisy imaginable, but otherwise is really excellent and i’m glad I finally watched it. I also covered Don Rosa’s two stories with the boys as part of it. It was a fun ride and I enjoyed every minute of it... okay most of them again Three Cabs Daisy is the worst. And once that finished Kev started up another idea: Shadow Into Light: a look at Lena’s character arc from start to finish that has gone on to be my most popular series on this blog, and that finishes next week. And there’s more to come as after that there’s a short breather with a look at Lilo and Stitch’s crossover episodes.. folllowed by me looking at all three of season 2′s ducktales arcs. And I fully intend to have covered every episode of the series by this time next year, so stay tuned. 

Outside of ducks though I didn’t slow down. I restarted my Tom Lucitor retrospective, covering what i feel to be one of Star Vs’ two best characters, tied with eclipsa, and my personal faviorite as he redeemeed himself, found love and I bitched a lot about the horrible directions the series took and probabably will more as that’s still not done yet. I did what I always wanted to do and started looks at some of my faviorite comics ever, starting with Life and Times and adding in New X-Men and Scott PIlgrim. I also threw in the awesome comic Blacksad. I did pride month for the first time and not only came out publicly, but also did two whole arcs i’m proud of with The Saluna episodes of Loud house and the rednid episodes of OK KO, and generally just had myself a good old fashioned time as an out bi man reviewing childrens cartoons. 

I started Season 2 of amphibia with it’s lows of an endlesss road trip and highs of adding Marcy to the cast and giving us more of the silky voiced keith david. And finally Patreon wise Kev’s taken me on a hell o fa journey: In addition to the restrospectives i’ve covered some additional darkwing duck, and a simpsons homage to the duck comics... but also got a bit weird and obscure with detours like the lost animnaics sucessor Histeria, the apocalyptic comedy where Santa dosen’t know how doors work Whoops! and the adventures of Santa’s bratty teen daughter jingle belle. In short.. it’s been a long year but damn has it been fun and there’s more to come. I’d like to thank all of you for reading, thank my Patreons Kev and Emma for supporting me, and thank my family for doing the same.  So with that out of the way, I figured the best way to celebrate was to do something i’ve been wanting to do for a long time, something honoring the show that gave me this calling in the first place. And with Season 3 sadly being the last, and enough weeks having passed for me to digest it between the finale and today, I could think of nothing better than my top 12 episodes of Ducktales.

Ducktales is one of the best cartoons of the 2010′s. Brilliantly taking EVERYTHING that had come before, the comics, the original cartoon and every bit of duck media period to craft a masterful, unique and wonderful reboot. It was funny, it was insane, and it had damn good character arcs. By the end every member of the main cast along with major supporting cast members like Fenton, Drake and especially Lena, had changed and signifigantly at that. The show was everything I could’ve dreamed of and more and I miss it terribly, hoping DIsney will do a revivial movie at some point. For now though, Frank and Matt’s run on ducktales, as they called it and I do too since i’m a massive comic book nerd, it’s time to look back on my favorite tales of ducks. So grab your sharks, your number one dimes and your friendship cakes with clear gay undertones and join me under the cut as I celebrate one of my faviorite shows and my anniversary in the best way possible. 

12. House of the Lucky Gander! 

 So as i’ve gone on about before and no doubt will again, Donald kinda got the short end of the stick in season 1. While Frank and Matt had good story intentions, keeping Donald away from adventure since he had no interest in it, in practice it meant a beloved Disney Icon who they and disney HEAVILY promoted as part of the series and whose being here this go round was a big draw for fans of the comics.... was only in a quarter of the season and only got TWO plots centered around him in 23 episodes, with only one being the main plot of the episode. The PIlot and Finale both centered around the family more as a whole if your curious how I counted those so while he got plenty of focus in both, it’s still not a day in the limelight sort of thing. 

But unusually for Donald, he lucked out as his one big starring role for Season 1 was both one of my faviorites and one of Season 1′s most inventive outings.  A lot of the episodes enegy comes from a one two punch of a great guest star and one of the series best settings. The guest star is of course everyone’s faviorite overly lucky himbo Gladstone Gander. The show adapted the prick perfectly: The original Gladstone from the comics.. was the worst asshole imaginable, utterly insufferable. And for a villian, and Donald’s rival, that’s all well and good.. but his super luck meant he RARELY , if ever, suffered any consequences for being just...

The 87 series simply made him nicer, while Going Quackers simply removed his luck. No adaptation really got how to make this fucker work.. until this one. Here Frank split the diffrence: Gladstone is still smug.. but he’s no longer actively malicious. While he is an insensitive prick to Donald in this one, unlike the comics he’s not constantly bragging about his luck or how great he is or actively BAITING Donald to fight with him or trying to ruin his relationship or a million other reasons he sucks and I hate him.

This version by contrast... is generous. He’s not the most empathetic, because he doesn’t get how life works, but he does share the riches of the casnio with everyone and in a cameo appearance in “Treasure of the Found Lamp” gladly offers his nephews some diamonds. He’s got a nice surface level charm to him that makes you understand why people like him.. but it’s also clear ther’es nothing UNDER that of value, making you equally understand why Scrooge and Donald hate him. Gladstone in this reboot is a perfect example of why we need reboots or new adaptations in the first place: Because sometimes the original got something wrong or something can be done much better by the new writers. 

He’s perfectly paired with the setting: The House of Lucky Fortune, a mystical casino with an East Asian astatic based in the country of Macaw and provides two great plots. Donald’s really highlights his character: His understandable jealousy at gladstone earning the boys love through nothing while he struggles to make a living for them, and how he feels like a looser and like Gladstone is simply showing that off instead of just not knowing what empathy is. Having Louie be the one to bond with Gladstone was also just pitch pefefct, as is showing some depth for the boy by having himr ealize his hero is an asshole and be the one to help donald in the end. 

The other plot is just pure joy though and is where the setting REALLY shines: Scrooge and the rest of the kids try to leave.. but can’t find the exit. This is where the creative part comes in: The Casino simply morphs to keep people trapped, and caters to them, giving them whatever they want to keep them trapped. In the cases of the kids it’s all hilarious and adorably in character: Huey becomes entranced by a fancy water show, in one of his best bits of the season, Dewey gets a pet tiger who sadly did not come home with him and Webby gets to live the dream we’ve all had of stuffing her face directly in a choclate fountain. Scrooge’s escape is likewise clever: He simply prepares to get a room.. then books it as the check in desk is ALWAYS near the front. 

We then find out Gladston’es trapped get the whole mystical contest with absolutely gorgeous animation, i’ll talk about it in full some time but this episode is just a treat to watch, has a great arc for donald and had some memorable gags. I can’t help but smile when I watch it. 

11. The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!  As I mentioned before i’m a superhero nerd so naturally Fenton was one of my faviorite parts of the show. Frank and Matt were just damn good at crafting superhero stories, and like gladstone improved fenton turning him from an awkward donald stand in to an awkward peter parker-esque science nerd who just wants to be a good person and the best hero he can be. He got into science not just because he thinks it’s neat, but because he honestly wants to help people and you can’t help but foot for him whenever he pops up. Lin Manuel Miranda is a large reason for that, bringing his incomparable a-game to the character. While we sadly didn’t get a ton of gizmoduck focused episodes, the fatct we got AS MANY as we did and that Lin didn’t drop out for a minute even with his busy schedule was a miracle and I’m acknowledging that. 

As for why this one, I feel it builds brilliantly on the previous Fentoncentric episode Who Is Gizmoduck?! which just BARELY didn’t make this list and uses the fact we haven’t seen fenton in a while as both a plot point and to move some things forward without having to spend screentime they clearly didn’t have. By having Fenton be just burnt out on superheroics it finds a way to both explain where he’s been, he’s been busy with his new job, and give us an interesting angle to the old “superhero is tired of the life” thing. He never once complains about saving people or stuff... it’s just like any job it gets tiring after a while. As someone who has his dream job but has struggled with it from time to time, I vastly relate. 

Though while I love my boy and Lin is game as always, the episodes real MVP is my other boy Huey. The episode has moved Huey up from being simply Fenton’s fanboy to being his best friend, and adorable as hell relationship. The two clearly respect and appricate each other and Huey is looking out for his buddy the whole episode. His love of love is also just really cute. Added in the mix is Webby, who in one of my faviorite gags of the series, finds out Fenton is  Gizmoduck because Huey is incredibly and insanely blatant with his unecessary coverup. But she of course is game to help while Fenton is trying to play it casual. We also just get a waterfall of great gags as everyone overdoes it wingmanning for fenton: Huey sets up an itallian bistro and tries to purposfully create a lady and the tramp situation, and sings opera (With Manny on acordian), the wonderfully 80′s suit from Fenton’s dad his mom gives him to wear, and Launchpad, who gives us a tremendous list of his exes, and plays my favorite song of the series: It’s a Date, a micheal mcdonnel riff. 

This episode also wisely ups Mark’s Beaks game as Fenton’s arch enemy, still keeping him hilaroius, with the guy acting like a bored teenager and guzzling so much nanite jucie he turns into a hulk, as well as said hulk mode leading to a ton of great gags from kidnapping the children (”I got your kids.. are they your kids? I don’t know how this family works), to “take that coach dad” to eating a pie with tins and all and wondering about said tins. But he’s an actual threat now, taking on fenton in one hell of a fight, and having an utterly transcendent scene where he hacks his way past gyro’s security while dancing.. and dabbing because of course he does. It’s a fun, well done character piece that’s mostly here for i’ts laugh but Fenton’s struggle with Gizmo overtaking his life, and finding out someone he truly hit it off iwth only wanted him for that.. it’s really good stuff and Lin’s delivery after Fenton finds out, the pure pain and betryal in his voice, is just excellent. Also that opera scene is poetry. 

10. Quack Pack!

One of the episodes that started my career naturally landed here. Not for that reason though: Quack Pack is a fun riff on sitcoms, specifically the tgif ones of the 90′s that Disney Afternoon Kids no doubt also watched, the kinds Disney Channel still makes today, and most importanly the kind the Disney Afternoon itself made like Goof Troop and well... Quack Pack. 

Riffs on sitcoms are nothing new and the last year has been FULL of them. 2020 gave us this episode, Beef House and the wonderful “The Perfect House” episode of Close Enough, and this year gave us WandaVision, my second favorite MCU project so far, right behind Black Panther, which used the sitcom deconstruction to create one hell of a character study. 

So you’d think with a year having passed and this concept happening as an entire mini series would dull this one.. but no. it’s still damn funny, having fun at the cliches while, again like WandaVision, having one of the main cast be responsible by accident but go along with it. The episode pivots from glorious affectionate parody of cheesy sitcoms, to that plus horrifying “Humans”, and a character piece for Donald. This brings Donald’s hatred and fed up ness with adventure to a head revealing his fondest wish is just to have a normal life and not loose anyone again. 

It takes one of his best friends to snap him out of it. Look Goofy is my second faviorite of the sensational seven, an episode with him was already an easy sell for me.. but the episode uses him really well. First for laughs as he’s gentically dispositioned to be a perfect sitcom neighbor.. but also for heart. With his family preoccupied and a bit hurt, i’ts Goofy who cuts to the heart of the issue, pointing out NO ONE is normal and even his normal domestic life raising Max, who we see go to prom with roxanne eeeeee, has all sorts of chaos. Normal is what you make of it and pining for some ideal that will never happen was just tearing donald apart piece by piece and by letting go of that.. he finally begins to grow as a person throughout the season. It’s also a great thematic tie in to the season’s overall plot with Bradford and what Makes donald, despite also disliking the chaos his family gets into, different. Donald accepted it and grew as a person.. Bradford clung to his hate and it ate him alive. Or turned him into a non-sapient kind of vulture. Before I close this part out Jaleel White is also excellent and I wish eh’d get back into voice acting. He’s so freaking good at it. Seriously man i’d love to see him and ben in a sonic property together as a mythology gag. Same with Jims cummings and carey. Just think about it whoever owns the sonic movies.. think about it. 

9. The Last Adventure!

Look I knew this was coming, you knew this was coming. But it had to be on here. The Last Adventure is not perfect: The lack of a build up episode like the previous two finales had really hurt this one: even at about 70 minutes, it still feels rushed in places and Huey, one of hte main characters of the season, dosen’t feel like he has a full payoff to his character like Dewey and Louie got. 

But despite those flaws.. this episode is just a damn good ending. Almost everyone gets a big moment paying off their character arc, everyone in the party that comes to rescue webby and huey, along with the two themselves, gets a moment to show off, and everything comes together to give us one last epic sendoff. There’s just moment stacked on moment stacked on moment from Launchpads heroic second wind and donning of the gizmoduck armor, to Webby’s tearful confrontation with Beakley, to Huey using the greatest adventure of all line to foil bradford in one of the most deligfhully nuts moments of the series, I could go on for days with just how triumphant this finale felt. While it left a lot of doors open.. that feels like part of the design. It’s the end of the fight with FOWL.. but our heroes will never stop adventuring, never stop going and never stop being in our hearts and the curtain call at the end is now my faviorite bit of end credits ever, perfectly giving the main cast and friends one last chance to take a bow in their own unique ways. I will always miss this show but I will never be disapointed by the note it went out on. 

8. The 87 Cent Solution!

Look some episodes are show stoppers, some are heartfelt tearjerkers, some are all this and more.. and some episodes are just clever and hilarious. The 87 Solution is the second funniest episode of Ducktales with me and my go to episode when watching the show. It’s just pure fun and with a clever premise: Scrooge notices 87 cents have gone missing, and already coming down with a cold, goes mad with paranoia as the kids slowly don face masks, something that has become even eeerier given everything, one by one realizing he needs to stop. 

While David Tennant is an EXCELLENT dramatic actor, his comedy timing is really something that shoudln’t be ignored and i’ts on full display here as his performance gets more and more deranged, to thep oint he thinks an 8th dimensional imp is repsonsible. He nicely balances the disturbing side of Scrooge’s paranoia, his distancing from his family, with plenty of great gags about it too, the standout being when he offers 2 million dollars to whoever took the money like he’s publicly appeasing kidnappers. It’s fucking brilliant. 

But while David is awesome as ever what really, truly makes the episode is my boy, one of my faviorite characters on the show if not my single faviriote FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD. Keith Ferguson is ALWAYS a dream as the character but this is his best performance by far. Part of this is the addition of Zan Owlson, Kev who I mentioned earlier’s faviorite Ducktales character. She’s not only throughly likeable in her own right, but provides the one thing Flinty was missing; a straight man.. or woman in this case. Scrooge wasn’t TERRIBLE in the roll, but can easily step away from his shit or foil it. Owlson has to put up with Glomgold’s nonsense while desperatly trying to stop him from undoing all her hard work with sheer force of jackass. The two jut play off each other brilliantly, Glomgold not getting sh’es not his employee but his equal and Owlson constnatly snarking at him. 

And of course both things hit their peak in the climax with the family staging a fake funeral (Though no one told donald it was fake), and we get the funniest scene in the entire fucking show as Glomgold burts in in a white suit, money shades and full dance number to “All I Do Is Win’, which when first watching this I was convinced the song was somehow accidnetly on in the background but nope. They got it after using it in the test phase and the scene is better for it. Glomgold twerking on Scrooge’s casket, trying to get on it to dance, and having to be placated like ac hild is the icing on this very rich cake

And the reveal scene is also gold as Glomgold gets into a YEARLONG staring contest with a baby, fails to steal more than the 87 cents and, in my faviorite touch, put on an imp costume just to make scrooge seem crazier... then keeps the damn thing on the rest of the time for no explicable reason. The episode is the show at it’s comedic peak while giving Glomgold a chance to be a genuine threat and that’s Glomgood. 

7. Let’s Get Dangerous!

Frank’s Rebooted Version of Darkwing Duck is probably his greatest achivment with the show. While this show is a team effort, something I slowly realized as I reviewed the show, it’s very clear from the way he talks, how well he knows the show and how much effort was put into porting Darkwing into the reboot that this was his baby. While redefining ducktales for the 2010′s was clearly a huge dream of his... doing the same for the master of suprise was an even bigger goal. And as a huge fan of superheroes i’ve seen my fair share of half assed takes on laired and complex characters. The XCU alone is one giant grab bag of missed opportunities for me. 

So i’ts no exageration when I tell you Frank.. nailed it. In one of the most brilliant moves i’ve seen for a superhero work Frank worked his love of the show into the reboot.. by having Darkwing have been a show, one Launchpad loved.. and so did Drake, who was inspried by the show to become an inspriation himself and while his attempt to do that through a zack snydery reboot failed, Launchpad encouraged him to do it for real. Drake was still himself, but the meta aspect and the toning down of some of darkwing’s more obnoxious traits that didn’t work in a universe that, while patently rediciulous still took it’s characters seriously, he made a BETTER version of the character.

This is where all that comes to it’s peak, and hoppefully convinced Disney to let Frank , and possibly matt, run the reboot. And no, even if Point Grey is producing that dosen’t stop that: Thanks to Invincible i’ve now realized that Seth and his friend Evan producing the show dosen’t mean it’ll be RAN by them, nor unrelated to this. It just means their helping make it and if anything given how lush and gorgeous invincible’s animation is, it’s a VERY good sign their helping out with it if it’s true. 

But wether this versoin continues or not, Frank gave it his best shot. Part of his diffrent angle is having Drake as a rookie here and as such here we see him truly struggle: he’s had his origin, he ahs the cape, he has the gadgets (in a brilliant turn thanks to fenton, who he actually likes... but is so far the ONLY person to not get he’s Gizmoduck), and the city.. but no crime to fight and no real idea how to go about his lifelong dream. The events of the episode slowly shape him: WHile he already had the spirit for darkwing, never giving up, looking good in a cape etc, this episode gives him the heart the same way it gave his original it: With Gosalyn. Dimantopolis and Beatriz just play off each other perfectly, as the two go from neimies to slowly bonding as Drake realizes this kid needs him and that he needs to fight for more than just filing the ohle inside, and goes to hell and back to help her get her grandpa back, with one of the best moments of the episode to me being when Launchpad helps her realize how hard he’s been working at it, an exausted drake refusing to acccept that he can’t get her grandpa back because he promised. He grows from simply trying to live the dream.. to surpassing the original. We also see more from Launchpad, who grows into his new family and helps push his boyfriend and newa dopted daughter in the right directions. The episode really evolves these characters from the simple disney afternoon versions, who while awesome were made into fully fleshed out characters. Gosalyn still has her edge but now has a hard lesson to learn about doing the right thing, forced to give up someone she loves for the greater good but finding a new family in the process. 

Part of what makes the episode work though as while it is funcitonally one big darkwing duck reboot pilot that’s awesome, heartrending and a joy to watch... it’s still a ducktales episode in parts without either part hurting each other. Huey plays a vital role, figuring the ramrod is too good to be true.. and discovering just how it is, then when captured, slowly unravling why Bradford’s there and being at least in part responsible for outing him as a FOWL agent. While this is largely Drakes story the rest of the cast is still vital to it: Scrooge trusting in huey, Louie serving as his logical counter and Dewey meanwhile bonding with team darkwing and helping Gosalyn, knowing exactly where she’s been and providing a nice foil. The episode is just one long and impressive love letter to the original show while creating it’s own thing and that’s really this reboot in a nutshell. It also has some of the best fights of the series, with the first fight between darkwing and bulba, where our hero, unlike his original counterpart, easily troucnes bulba using his speed and skill, is the standout. 

6. Woo-Ooo!

I covered this one recently so I won’t go on for too long.. but I will say I hold this one up as the gold standard for first episodes. In one hour, hell even in jus the first half we get a sense of the whole cast, the tone of the show, and the world we’ve been thrust into. It gets all the table setting out of the way by weaving it into a compelling story of Scrooge getting back in the game, finding a reason to get back to what he does best in those he loves most and setting up the season long arc effortlessly in the process. The worst I can say about the episode is it sets the bar a bit high for Season 1 and a lot of the first half really struggled to reach these heights. This episode is a masterwork and the perfect showcase for what the series would be at it’s height. 

5. Moonvasion!

Speaking of Golden Standards, Moonvasion is one of the best season finale’s i’ve seen. it’s not THE best.. but that’s a really high bar to clear and that spots currently taken in my heart by “The Crossroads of Destiny” from Avatar the Last Airbender. But while not the best of it’s kind, it’s sitll the best the series put out and is an utterly satisfying epic that ties up season 2. 

While I love the Last Adventure, it had a LOT to tie up and was really hampered by having to do all of that with no direct lead in. Moonvasion by contrast hits the ground running with the Moonlanders arriving on earth and all hell breaking loose, and the episode itself breaking into two stellar plots. Scrooge leading an army of every ally he has against the invaders, and Della seemingly going for reinforcements.. but really just trying to keep the kids safe from it, to their anger once they find out. 

Both sides end up going badly: Scrooge looses most of his army as Lunaris was one step ahead of him and is left iwth Beakly and Launchpad, while Della ends up marooned.. and finds Donald. The reunion between the two is the highlight of the special, as the two argue as you’d expect (And Dewey cutting in seemingly to stop it.. only to rant at Donald for costing him “ten years of turbo” is the best gag of the episode), before embracing. 

Our heroes naturally find ways to bounce back though. Louie, capping off his growth for the season, convinces his mom they can’t just hide.. and in the second best scene of the episode sings the lullabye she wrote.. one Donald sung them every night

And no sooner than Della gets her step back and realizes that dangerous or not she and her newly reunited family have to get back in there, do the cousins show up on Fethry’s giant shrimp/girlfriend Mitzi, and our heroes head back. 

Scrooge’s plot hits i’ts peak though as he’s forced to accept the help of an unlikely and unwelcome ally: Glomgold, who turns out to be exactly what they need: While his plan is as stupid, short sighted and insane as you’d expect, complete with forcing Scrooge to dress up as santa just to piss him off and dressing his sharks in parkas (”I call them sharkas”), the sheer lonacy throws Lunaris off as he dosen’t know how to deal with this and Glomgold not only gets the better of him but gets his company back as part of his scheme.  “You were prepared for our best but not our dumbest!” “And i’m the dumbest theirs ever been! Muahahahaha! Wait...”

And of course our other heroes arrive just in time to save things.. and the episode still manages to pull off what many works struggle to, something tha’ts very hard to: a SECOND climax. Lunaris decides to just say fuck it and blow up the earth and i’ts up to our core family to kick his ass in space. Epic space battles, Della’s girlfriend meeting the family and more insues and an emotoinal, action packed and fully satisfying finale is had by all... and it’s all topped with one of the best sequel hooks i’ve ever seen as FOWL makes themselves known to us.. and prepares to strike. 

4. How Santa Stole Christmas! This one will also be short as i’ve talked about this one.. a lottttt. The initial review, my best christmas specials list and my best of 2020 list. I stand by all of that: this is a unique and wonderful christmas special, i’ll be watching it every year, and i’ts full of charm, humor and gay subtext. In short it’s this series but on christmas footing. 

3. Last Crash of the Sunchaser! 

Another one I covered very recently, this episode is a master piece of suspense, slowly building tension as our heroes get closer and closer to the truth about Della.. and to death, the simple but deadly stakes making this an absolute nailbiter from start to finish. This is some of the series best pacing bar none... but what seals it is the ending: the masterful flashback finally explaning whatever happened to Della duck, our heroes lashing out at each other.. all cumilating in the best Scene of the show. I said it might be in the review but no I can confirm: Scrooge bitterly ruminating over things while we find out just how much he’s lost... ending with him tearfully and angrily sitting once again alone in one hell of a powerful shot echoing Scrooge’s first apperance. Damn fine stuff. 

2. Escape from The Impossbin Only one episode not only matches Last Crash in mounting tension and atmosphere but suprasses it. With FOWL and Bradford’s true nature now out in the wind, this episode uses that to create tension and rattles it’s two most unshakable characters: SCrooge’s normal boundless confidence is shot, not sure he can win this time against an opponent who knows him as well as he knows himself while Beakly slowly unravels, pitting Webby against the boys.. and pitting herself against Webby when Webby sees her terroizing them is only dividing them. Both plots start out funny enough but slowly escalate in tension and stakes until by the end your on the edge of your seat. The Beakly plot is the standout of the two, giving Bentina the starring role she badly needed, having gotten even better in light of the finale. Everyone is at the top of their game and everything builds up to one hell of a twist ending and one hell of a badass boast from our heroes: Their down.. but their far from out and this is far from over. 

1. Nightmare On Kimotor Hill!

I”ll be reviewing this episode in full later this week as part of my Lena retrospective, but I stand by putting it up top. This episode is ducktales in it’s purest form and focuses on it’s best original character as Lena grapples with her self hatred and her past. That core helps anchor an amazing concept: going into the Kid’s dreams and finding out their greatest desires. The results.. are all gloriously rediclous and are easily the best gags of hte series as a whole: Dewey’s high school musical santa claus is going ot high school nonsense from getting a’s in Dewology to running away from the abstract concept of a love intrest, to not getting the sybolism of himself crying a moon made of his own tears. Louie quite literally becoming garfield, and my faviorite scene of the show: Huey, wanting to be the tall older brother..g iving himself horrifcly long leg. While everyone else is just understandably baffled, what makes the scene is the banter between Dewey and Huey, with Schwartz and Pudi at their best as Dewey first freaks out and then asks what the hell man, while Huey defends his weird decision (”I”m not good at imagination stuff okay!”), and then tries to get a jar of pickles. Each dream is just so oddly and wonderfully specific to each kid and each one of the triplests dreams, as well as violets being color coded down tot he backgrounds is a very nice touch. The visuals here are just peak ducktales, using the setting for all it’s worth and the climax is utterly emotoinal and heartbreaking... and Lena’s break from her abuser, finally realizing she has the power now is not only a wonderful metaphor... but also just so damn cathartic. And that’s why this one’s the best to me personally: it just packs so much into 20 minutes: some of the series best and most creative jokes, a gripping emtoinal arc, and so much more. It’s just that damn good and tha’ts why it’s the best... that and starting Huelet for me. Seriously that LIbrary scene is so fucking cute. 

Thank you all for reading. If you liked this artcle, join my patreon and help me get to my stretch goal for monthly darkwing duck reviews, a review of super ducktales and more after! Until the next rainbow... it’s been a pleasure. 

[no1ryomafan]

megan’s 3am megaman hot take

I do not give a fuck if we don’t get X9/ZX3/L3/SF4/anything BN related, I am happy over whatever we get and I like literally most of those series lmao. It’s fine to be mad about those cliffhangers but people need to remember capcom has multiple fucking ips to juggle and can’t focus on mega man due to the series not guaranteed to sell if it’s not classic. The 2000s sales are a example of that. Yes, capcom put themselves in this situation by releasing two mm series at once which side line X, Legends and Classic-the 3 series before the Zero/ZX and BN/SF series took off-however people not bothering to invest in them is also a cruel factor of them not considering them. Z/ZX Lc has been out for a year but it STILL hasn’t reached 1 mil units, unlike the XLC. If the same repeats for a potential BNLC or any LC capcom is not gonna wanna invest in those projects unless they suddenly jump. I am disappointed Z/ZX didn’t sell well due to it being a solid LC and XLC not so much but I recognize what people prefer in MM series. Asking for capcom to invest in ZX3 when the ZX series is horrible finically and they MAY not have inti with them-idk wtf going on with inti and capcom but they aren’t working together and inti was not apart of the LC, logo was removed for god sake-ZX3 would be a risky move just as a example. So don’t go crying that they re-releases the Zx games when it’s a fucking miracle they did bc they could’ve just made crappy ports of the Zero games. But also I can list off reasons why I can live without them.

X9: X continuity is a fucking mess and MMX fandom is a cesspool, X9 will just be ruined for me by fans even if it turns out to be a actual solid X game bc someone will nitpick over whatever they may do with Axl or it just not being X4 again. (And unfortunately this is the cliffhanger game with the most likely chance to happen) 

ZX3: it’s my most wanted but honestly I’m coping with the fact the ZX games are fun to play and I’m literally making my own au. I just hope I don’t get disappointed if it ever happens bc I know capcom won’t follow my au at all but I’ll probably like it at least gameplay wise. But I more so want Thomas cliffhanger to be resolved cause that was a huge middle finger.

Legends 3: it’s a canceled project. It will be a miracle to come back. I want volnutt off the moon as much as you do but legends hasn’t even been re-released, so capcom can’t really see yet if it’ll do well. (I can see it being revived in 30+ years but the fact L3 is the only thing talked about with legends fucking sucks and makes me not wanna talk about it despite legends might be my third favorite series)

SF4: as much as we were robbed of this but need to stop acting like SF3 wasn’t good lol. It’s literally the best SF game and it wrapped up geo’s arc nicely. We really don’t need a fourth game even if I dig the time skip idea, they should just make a whole new series out of it but capcom isn’t smart enough to do that. Really SF just needs more appreciation over it cause holy fuck it’s slept on.

Anything BN related: referring to BN7 and BNLC cause people need to stfu about it lol. Why do people want a 7th BN game so badly? 6 was literally a good ending point, BN was the only other series that wasn’t OG or early X to not do horrible even after anything pre BN4 dipped. Like you people are more petty then the fuckers asking for Z5-bc that’s not happening, ZX is LITERALLY confirmed to intended to be Z5 but was changed to a new series-like god. As for the Lc literally the beginning of my rant sums it up but I see people going ““I want BNLC and only BNLC” over new game news and actually shut the fuck up lmao. I don’t wanna use the grateful excuse at all in this rant bc I understand fan frustration and it’s okay to want these and a new game won’t exactly fix it but BN fans actually should be grateful capcom bothering to slightly acknowledge their series and only COVID been pushing it back. (And I’m someone who wants a LC bc I can’t play the BN games besides 5 which I didn’t like of what I played but holy fuck y’all are making me despise BN even if you aren’t as much of a cesspool as X or even classic sometimes) 

TLDR: mega man fans shut up challenge. (Bad tldr but idk how else to end this or sum it up lol) 

[luci-cunt]

Hannigram??? Works???

aka: Hannibal and Will’s relationship isn’t healthy but at the end of the series its sort of has the potential to be? Or: a very long and rambly analysis of idiot gay cannibals and the power of equal standing in relationships

(1.5k words because I murder brevity with my teeth)

Trigger/ Spoiler warning for: Hannibal

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

Ok I said they have the potential to be healthy and not that they are healthy because--lol, they’re not. 

In the first season they’re “friends” but Hannibal’s also gaslighting the hell out of Will/ keeping a life threatening disease diagnosis from him/ framing him for murder/ shoving their daughters ear down his throat.

In the second season they’re almost enemies? but not really? Because Will is just as fucked up as Hannibal is so he doesn’t actually consider Hannibal to be his enemy, he just realizes he has Hannibal twisted around his finger and starts jerking the fucker around and it takes Hannibal all the way up to the finale to realize he’s not the one in control anymore.

In the third season they’re struggling because they don’t know how to be equals, they’re both fucked up and don’t know how to have normal, stable relationships so they’re jsut kind of feeling in the dark, falling back on old habits (eating your problems, murdering your problems, running away from your problems, etc) when things get uncomfortable. It’s--again--not until the season finale that they both realize that’s what they’re BOTH doing and find a comfort in realizing they’re both trying, but not succeeding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hannibal finds people interesting he “fosters codependency” so they cannot leave him (Abigail with the Boyle murder cover-up, Bedelia with getting eaten, Will with literally all the first season). Meanwhile Will just doesn’t do close relationships. Alana is the only person he considers to be his friend but she’s constantly fighting to keep that title, same with Beverly actually. Will himself doesn’t put any effort into keeping those friendships, he leaves it entirely up to them.

But Hannibal and Will’s bond forms so easily that it surprises both of them--and then when Hannibal defaults to his need to make Will dependent on him so he can’t leave, Will defaults to his rejection of dependency and points out that’s what Hannibal’s doing but also goes along with it because he finds himself almost wanting to be closer to the man.

This--the fact that Hannibal’s attempt at closeness is recognized and accepted, and that Will is allowing himself to be open with someone--is new to both of them. Equally.

(By the way this is in the form of Abigail, Hannibal fosters codependency by putting the responsibility of Abigail on both his and Will’s shoulders and Will allows this by recognizing it, pointing it out [”You’re fostering codependency doctor.”], and then still allowing it [going along with the Boyle cover up].)

Just--ok think about Dolce. (The ep where they reunite in the third season and Will tries to kill Hannibal only to get shot by Chiyoh and then for Hannibal to decide he’s going to eat Will’s brain before the Italian’s show up and kidnap them both.)

Will finding Hannibal is big for both of them: because it means that Will looked for Hannibal--actively sought him out by reflecting on past conversations they’ve had--and it also means that Hannibal was where Will could find him. It’s a shaky apology on both sides because they aren’t willing to actually apologize for any of their actions but they recognize the pain they’ve caused on another.

However, Will tries to murder Hannibal because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I mean--he does--what I mean is that this relationship is such unexplored territory for both of them that it’s uncomfortable at first, and Will doesn’t trust Hannibal to be waiting on the other side while he stumbles thru the dark rn, so he falls back on old habits and tries murdering the problem.

Hannibal tries to eat Will’s brain because he’s also falling back on old habits (eating his problems) because he’s also uncomfortable with the new territory. He’s just more open to fumbling, but he’s hypersensitive to rejection (Mizumono, Dolce, getting himself arrested when Will tells him to get gone, that “Was it good to see me Will?” scene, etc.), and he takes Will’s stabbing attempt as rejection. At least until he drags him away and they have their “you forgive like god does Will--would you have made it quick? Or would you have stopped to gloat?” “Does god gloat?” “Often.” Conversation, and he realizes he’s not being rejected BUT he reminded that he’s still terrified OF the rejection so--boop eat the man.

(Oh also Will running away from the problem by letting Hannibal kill him--which, yes, is what was happening. He could have warned Jack that Hannibal was under the table as SOON as Jack came in the door but instead he waits until the last possible second. Also you can’t blame it on the drugs either if he can complain about Hannibal’s soup and keep up with this idiots waxing poetic ramblings he can tell that Jack came in. Also also also: Hannibal told him Jack was coming and also got under the table literally there was no reason for Will to NOT call out to Jack when he came in except that he didn’t want Jack to stop Hannibal.)

I guess what I’m trying to say is that in season one the power balance is in Hannibal’s court--and season two it’s in Will’s--and then in season three it’s wildly rocking back and forth between both of them before someone hits a metaphorical pause button--aka the “this is all I’ve ever wanted for you--for us.” “It’s beautiful.” scene.

Fundamentally I think this show is about Hannibal and Will’s relationship. The cliff scene is as much an ending as it is a beginning. That “it’s beautiful” exchange is both of them realizing they’re EQUALLY having trouble finding footing in their relationship, they’re realizing they’re BOTH uncomfortable to a certain degree with the new territory and that it’s just that for both of them--new territory.

Idk, you know when you’re taking a test and you have no idea what the answer to some question is so you’re slyly trying to look around to figure out if you’re the only one being stupid or if it’s just a hard test? And you don’t see anyone else looking around so you just miserably try your best but it’s not your best becasue you’re already in the mindset that you’re an idiot? And it’s not until after the test at lunch when you hear everyone else talking about how difficult it was that you realize you weren’t the only one struggling?

THATS this.

Hannibal and Will are both extremely lonely people becasue they’re fucked up. No one can know Hannibal entirely because he’s a serial cannibal, and no one can know Will entirely because his boredom with other peoples mortality scares them. Neither of them have been seen entirely until the other came into their lives, but they’re not used to being seen so it’s scary.

Both of them react to one another hostilely first--Will blatantly being an asshole at the prospect of Hannibal psychoanalyzing him and then Hannibal putting on this guise of “I’m completely removed from the situation and just curious to wind this man up and watch him go” but he’s not removed.

Honestly to me it feels like it was originally Hannibal’s plan to just leave Will in jail taking the blame for his murders, but actually misses Will, because being seen was scary but the other option is so lonely.

Will’s going through something similar, but he’s less inflammatory. Hannibal is all action, present--Will is getting too close? Get rid of him. He starts missing Will? Get him back. He has a problem and he acts on it immediately.

Will is patient and willing to wait and watch--Hannibal frames him for murder? Set up an elaborate series of events that will end in Hannibal losing something he holds more dear than his own life--his freedom. Mason kills his unborn child? Convince Mason to kill Hannibal so that Hannibal will torture Mason for Will.

Hannibal is dramatic and Will is apathetic, they’re both danger but different brands.

If the first two seasons are them trading power, then the third is them wildly grabbing for it despite the fact that they don’t want power over one another, and that final episode--that final scene--is them realizing this.

I said it was a beginning as much as an ending because it’s now that their relationship can finally actually advance, but it’s also the conclusion of them working separately, and instead embracing the idea of fumbling together.

I honestly don’t know where people get the idea that the show is about Hannibal “corrupting” Will. If that’s the case then this final episode makes this show a tragedy. Good succumbing to evil.

But--motherfuckers its not!!!

Will isn’t good, he tells us from the first episode he enjoyed killing Hobbes, that the reason he stopped being a cop was because he knew once he started killing he wouldn’t be able to stop. He manipulates people constantly, he got Abel killed, tried to get Chilton murdered, and then a season later he gets Chilton burned alive. He’s not good, he’s fucked up!!!

This show isn’t about corruption--it’s about realization!!!

Idk I love them, I hate them, and I love them.

[detectiveidiotboy]

His Time In The Commonwealth III: Deacon's Story

so as my beloved fanfiction, The Black Widow’s Waltz, comes to an end, i’ve decided that i am going to re-release the backstory chapters as their own stand-alone fic, since they read well as their own story. before that, i thought i might do a fun little thing where i release each of the companions backstories as their own post here on tumblr under the tag #his time in the commonwealth.

it is now time for part three of this little mini series i have. now that we’ve seen what happened to nick, let’s see how good ol’ deacon ended up where he is...

Deacon stood in the center of the burning remains of the Mercer Safehouse, staring at the man who set the place on fire not two hours earlier. The arsonist's back was turned, cropped black hair shining in the red-and-yellow flashes of the house fire. A woman crawled out from the debris - a synth who’d arrived just weeks before. She was shouldering a sobbing agent with cracked, bloody glasses and leg twisted backward. The man raised his rifle and gunned the two women down with an honest-to-god smile on his face.

Nate, you are one fucked up guy, Deacon thought as he stepped over the burning remains of an agent trapped under a beam.

“Deacon? Is that you?” Nate turned, eyes shining against the flames illuminating the light. “I thought I’d run into you sooner or later.”

“Yeah,” Deacon snarked, unstrapping his shotgun from his back, “I’ve been a little hard to pin down lately - Dez was always the one who assigned my ops in my downtime, but she’s been pretty distracted lately. You know, being dead ‘n all.”

“Morbid.” Nate chuckled. “I always did like your sense of humor.”

“I’ve been told I’m one hell of a comedian.”

Deacon pressed the barrel of his shotgun against Nate’s chest. The man stared at him, seeming far more interested than worried about the twelve gage of death aimed at his sternum. Nate was tough shit - but even he couldn’t survive getting all his organs blasted out by a point-blank shotgun round. At least, that was the hope Deacon clung to. “So, you wanna die here? Or is there somewhere else you want me to shoot you?”

“A surprisingly generous offer,” Nate said, lowering the gun with a finger, “but I’m afraid I have to decline. I have more important things to do than help you get some petty revenge.”

“Sorry, not happening,” Deacon cocked the gun, raising the barrel until it rested just beneath Nate’s chin. “Actually, you know what, nah - I’m not sorry at all.”

“I assumed not,” Nate said, raising his hands. “Fine, Deacon.” He said with a sigh. “If this is really how you want things to go, then shoot me - but wouldn’t you rather know why I’m doing what I’m doing?”

“Nope,” Deacon said as he blasted the fucker’s head off his body.

Except, that wasn’t entirely what happened. Nate stumbled back, almost fell over entirely, but despite the scattershot tearing through his throat just seconds before, his head was still stubbornly attached to his body. Nate laughed, slowly rolling his head forward until it was back on top of his shoulders, smiling widely. Deacon’s own vindictive smile dropped as he lowered the gun. “Shit… you really are immortal.” He said.

“That’s right,” Nate said in a sing-song voice. “Immortal and invulnerable. I’m basically the closest thing this world has to a god,”  He laughed as he took a step forward, and Deacon took one back. “Now, since your idea was a miserable failure, let’s try mine.” He said, stretching his legs on the tips of his toes and clasping his hands behind his back. “Don’t you want to hear the reason behind my supposed betrayal?”

Deacon answered Nate’s question by bashing the butt of his gun against the psychotic killer’s face. Nate, momentarily stunned, staggered to the side and Deacon was able to retreat back towards the woods that surrounded the safehouse. At the very least he could act as bait to lure Nate away from any possible survivors. It was the least he could do for them, since he was the one who brought their murderer into the fold.

All of this was Deacon’s fault; he’d accepted the risk when he brought Nate on board. Desdemona had told him it was a bad plan - hell, P.A.M had reservations about it. Deacon should have listened to the future-telling robot instead of trusting his own chronically poor judgment. It had just seemed too good to be true - a supposedly immortal killing machine who resented authority and had a major bone to pick with the Institute? It was like the Atom itself had popped down into the Commonwealth and built them a savior out of clay and nuclear ash. Deacon couldn’t have let an opportunity like that go - and really, he’d asked himself, what was the worst that could happen?

Apparently, the worst that could happen was that the Brotherhood of Steel made their little savior an offer he couldn’t refuse. Now Tom, Desdemona, Glory, P.A.M… hell even Cartington ! They were all gone. Deacon hadn’t been at the base at the time of the attack - Nate had seen to that. Told him to head over to Sanctuary for a surprise. Well, surprise! Everyone Deacon loved was dead. He didn’t know - nor did he care - why he was spared; the only thing that mattered now was putting a stop to Nate before even more lives were lost, both synth and human alike.

Deacon dodged and weaved through the trees. He could hear Nate following him not far behind. It wasn’t long before Deacon’s lungs were straining and each breath was like a stab in the chest - god dammit he was a spy , not a runner. His body was not designed for prolonged exercise. Deacon’s heart was beating in his throat by the time he was forced to slow down. He’d put some distance between him and Nate, but it wouldn’t last. Nate never exhausted, Deacon had seen evidence of that. His stamina was endless - must come standard as part of the whole ‘god among men’ package.

Deacon reached into his pocket and pressed down on a button. It was the last stealth boy he had, and it wasn’t entirely full. It gave him only a few seconds to breathe while he tried to figure out his next move. To his right there were woods, to his left… more woods, and in front of him was, as one might guess, a large expanse of woods. Deacon wasn’t nearly as familiar as he needed to be with this part of the Commonwealth, his basic mental map was insufficient for a midnight life-or-death sprint.

He had less than ten seconds left on the stealth boy. Deacon could hear Nate closing in, so he did the only thing he could think of and backed himself up against the bark of an irradiated tree. He pressed his lips together firmly as Nate wove through the clearing, head swinging back and forth like an attack dog. It was as if he was tracking Deacon down by the scent of his fear. Again, considering Nate's otherworldly nature, not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

“I know you’re here,” Nate said, a manic laugh following the words. He drew a silenced 10mm pistol from his jacket pocket, showing it off to the seemingly-empty clearing. “Recognize this, D?” He said. Deacon did - it was Tommy’s gun, Deliverer . The very same handgun that Deacon had gifted Nate on his official entry to the Railroad. “Seems poetic, don’t it? Whispers died hiding in the shadows, and now I’m gonna kill you while you’re curled up with a Stealth Boy in your pocket.”

Deacon lunged for Nate just as the effects of the stealth device wore off. He caught the man off guard, at least, wrapping both arms around him in a bearhug of death and tackling him to the ground. Deacon had no idea how he was going to kill his target if even a point-blank shot to the neck wasn’t enough to do it, but at the very least he was going to make Nate suffer .

Deacon grabbed Nate’s arm and yanked, using his foot to pin down the man’s back and dislocate the appendage with a swift movement. Nate choked on a cry - it was the first time Deacon had even seen the man externally express pain. Maybe it was the first time he’d ever been hurt - good. Deacon slammed the heel of his boot into the back of Nate’s head, aiming for the spine. Nate’s good hand darted up, snatching Deacon by the ankle and pulling him to the ground.

Suddenly, their positions were reversed, and Nate was on top of Deacon, pilling him down with the gun pressed to Deacon’s cheek. The dislocated arm was already back into place, its hand closed around Deacon’s neck and choking him. Deacon clawed at the fingers, trying to pry them off. Nate was unbelievably strong - even with how thin and nimble his fingers appeared they were perfectly capable of crushing Deacon’s windpipe.

“Tsk, how disappointing,” Nate muttered, probably to himself. Deacon snarled as the 10mm dug into his flesh. “I really did hope I would have a chance with you. You have such a pretty face.” Deacon felt the silenced barrel trail down his cheek and press against his left breast, “be a shame to ruin it.”

Six silenced shots rang out. Deacon seized as he felt the bullets slide through him, tearing his heart to ribbons. The delicate organ came to a spasming, sudden stop in his chest, and before Deacon realized what had happened he was dead.

Once the spy had stopped moving, Nate put the gun back into his pocket. Deacon's fists relaxed and fell away from the hand still clutching his throat. Nate's fingers lingered on the bruises he’d put on Deacon’s neck, savoring the feel of indents on the other’s flesh. Nate reached up and gently removed the sunglasses from the dead man’s face, folding them up and putting them in his pocket. “I never did understand how you could see out of these things when it was dark.”

Deacon’s eyes stared back at him, expression still caught between rage, terror, and agony. Nate frowned, reaching over to shut Deacon’s eyes for him. “Pity. You really were cute.” Nate leaned over and pressed a kiss to Deacon’s still warm cheek, then stood to leave.

Seconds after his heartbeat could no longer be detected, the auto-stimpack anklet Deacon was wearing deployed. There was no blood flow to carry the medicine through his system, but through the power of osmosis, defusion, and several other pre-war science words Deacon didn’t understand, the contents of a dozen stimpacks made it to the shredded remains of his heart. Veins reconstructed themselves, weaving together tissue and cells to produce a mass of blood vessels that would just barely manage to function as a pump. Five minutes after the drugs did their best to fix a literal broken heart, the taser went off, sending waves of electricity through the corpse of one Johnathan Deacon and starting up his pitiful excuse for a new heart.

The first breath Deacon took after dying was both the single best, and most painful breath of his entire life. The bright lights and sense of calm that death had brought him were replaced with an agony that the words ‘living hell’ didn’t even begin to touch. He couldn’t even scream, the pain in his chest consuming him so completely that all that was left were small, gasping whimpers as he curled onto his side and clawed at himself.

Every muscle burned as his body worked to repair the damage of going several minutes without breathing along with all the other things that were wrong with him. Nearly half a gallon of blood was misplaced in him, and there were still at least three of the six bullets still somewhere inside him pressed up against his recently revived nerves. Deacon’s vision went black and every muscle in his body was tensed. Part of him wondered how long this would last before he died again because there was no way he could be in this much pain without something being vitally wrong with him. The other, much larger part, trusted his friends’ genius and reminded him to wait the pain out.

“So, you guys want me to wear this thing?” Deacon said, holding up the ankle brace that had been given to him by Tom and Carrington. “Like, on my person?”

“Is something wrong with the design?” Tinker Tom asked, genuinely concerned.

“It’s kind of a fashion disaster,” Deacon said, fidgeting with the thick, untreated leather that made up the strap.

“It is a highly advanced revival device, not a fashion statement.” Dr. Carrington said with a roll of his eyes. “Since when have you cared about your appearance anyways?”

“Hey, my appearance is my life,” Deacon countered. “You should know - you’ve done, like, at least three of my face jobs.”

“Four,” Carrington corrected.

“It’s meant to be worn under your clothes anyways,” Tinker Tom said. “The design was my idea - Carrington’s work here is nothing short of genius, but if we wanted any practical use for this thing with our field agents we needed something easily concealed.”

“Easily concealed, right,” Deacon said as he snapped the brace around his leg. “Unless I want to wear shorts. Man, there goes my summer plans.”

“Would you at least try to take this seriously?” Carrington snapped. “This is just a prototype, but if we can verify that it works it could save the lives of countless agents. Unfortunately, the only way to test it is for one of our agents to become mortally wounded while wearing it.”

“And so you’re giving it to me? Gosh, guys, I’m honored, really.” Deacon placed a hand to his heart. “Voted most likely to die on a mission by his peers.”

“You are the one Dez assigns to the most dangerous operations,” Tinker Tom said with a shrug. “Don’t take it too personally. If anything, it means we want you around the most.”

Deacon couldn’t admit it, but that did make him feel a little warm in the chest area, but he and ‘genuine emotions’ hadn’t seen eye-to-eye in years, so Deacon gave his co-conspirators a wink and a smile and said, “Alright, but don’t expect me to run head-first into danger just to give you guys some data. If this thing actually works like you say it will, I’ll buy the first round of the night when I get back to the land of the living.”

“Hmfph,” Carrington huffed, predictably. Then, less predictably, he smiled and said. “I’ll hold you to that, you know.”

Deacon laughed as he came down from the high of agony that was recovering from a mortal chest wound, the sound pitiful and weak. The worst of the pain wasn't done yet, he could tell, this was just a short reprieve while his body geared up to continue its tantrum. “Carrington, you crazy bastard,” He muttered against the blood-soaked grass. “When I get to hell, remind me to buy you that drink.”

Deacon laughed and sobbed and spasmed until the sun was high in the sky.

[theexistentiallyqueer]

I really hate waking up to see that there was good meta that was circulating during the night and I have so many things I want to say but I have to go to work like a responsible adult in this capitalist hellscape. I’m specifically referencing this, this, this, and this, and I just got home from work and it was balls to the walls fucking crazy today, so excuse me if I seem incoherent and disjointed.

All of this made me think of a few very specific theories I have, which I’ve already mentioned in passing, but now I feel the urge to lay them out all together in one post, which are:

Loki is Goro’s original persona, and Yaldabaoth hand-picked him for a reason

Yaldabaoth, disguised as Igor, served the function of psychopomp cognitive guide to Goro that Morgana serves to Akira, Teddie serves to Souji, and Mitsuru serves to Makoto

Goro used Loki’s berserker power on himself so he could kill Wakaba

Robin Hood is the persona born from Goro’s bond with Akira and represents the justice he wishes he believed in

Goro is not a true wildcard and never was one

Plus some other ones reading today’s meta made me think about

So, without further ado.

Loki as Goro’s original persona aligns most strongly with two things: 1. actual dialogue during his boss fight, and 2. the larger framework of the game Yaldabaoth was playing.

For his boss fight I’m referencing specifically the JP-ENG comparison of that scene. One of the things the anon who did the comparison repeatedly references is that “psychotic breakdowns” is an incredibly erroneous translation of what Call of Chaos actually does:

!! 暴走させる means “to make [something] run wild/rampage/act reckless,” not to drive the psychotic. While it can be used to refer to someone wildly lashing out at others, it can also be used for a runaway car, losing control, acting without regard or just being reckless in a potentially dangerous way. In the Persona series, this term has also been used in reference to losing control of one’s Persona, and to a Shadow going berserk (for those who’ve played Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the JP name for Shadow Frenzy, シャドウ暴走, also uses the term).

Goro’s ability makes people act recklessly without regard for others; it doesn’t make them outright psychotic. (Strangely enough, the first scene at Leblanc in the game translates the incidents related to this ability as “rampage incidents,” which is closer to what it should be, yet they consistently screw it up in later scenes.)

And the original dialogue follows up on that:

Makoto (JP): あんな、人を操ったり狂わせたりする力を、自分自身の心から生み出してたなんて…(“To think that the power to manipulate and drive mad others was born from his own heart…”)

And more subtly:

Futaba (JP): なのに人生ソロプレイだったから、目覚めた力は、自前の『嘘』と『恨み』の、たった２個だけ… (“Even so, ‘cause you went through life in single player, the powers you awakened were just your "lies” and “resentment”…“)

I feel like the original text upholds this argument, especially considering Goro consistently refers to Loki as his “true” power, and he is way OP with Loki in a way he’s not with Robin Hood–almost as if he’s had more time to level-grind with Loki than he has with Robin.

As for Yaldabaoth, I think the context of what Yaldabaoth actually wants is very clear: Yaldabaoth wanted Goro to win. He created a blatantly unfair “game” modeled after the normal “game” played between Philemon and Nyarlathotep, and the first thing he did was give a persona to one player two years earlier than the other. Yaldabaoth wants to destroy and remake the world, and he would have cherry-picked the angriest kid in the barrel to make that happen. Goro didn’t have some psychopomp cognitive guide in the form of a talking cat to explain the metaverse to him, and I think it stands to reason that Yaldabaoth groomed Goro as much as Shido did: Yaldabaoth was Goro’s psychopomp cognitive guide. Goro’s not-dumb enough to be immediately suspicious when a random app installs itself on his phone; it stands to reason that he only paid it any attention because some half-bald fucker with a nose longer than Goro’s Robin Hood mask planted the idea in his head of what it could be used for. Akira tries to delete the app twice, and it’s only after Ryuji accidentally triggers the Nav that he stops trying to get rid of it.

(I’ve seen the Goro was a subject in Wakaba’s research theories too as an explanation for how he could know so much of the metaverse without Morgana around to catsplain it to him. I’m not a fan of them, mostly because I think subtle writing is a concept Atlus is very much not at all engaged with, and if he really was a research subject that would have been dumped on us with all the subtlety of trying to assassinate someone by dropping roof tiles onto them, and I like my HCs and theories to be as in line as what can be explained most comprehensibly with canon until I decide to throw the entire baby out with the bathwater and say MY PLAYGROUND NOW. It’s a cool theory, it’s just not one that I’m into. The people who play with this theory are smarter and more valid than Atlus will ever be. And who knows, maybe Royal will prove me wrong. I am open to being proven wrong and Krist is already starting to feed me food from Royal that has me second-guessing, but I’m going to wait until the international release in March to have takes on this.)

As for Goro himself–I’ve always, from the first time I played P5 when I thought Goro as interesting enough in concept but wasn’t really ready to be a Goroboy, thought that Goro represented the Justice Arcana in reverse, which is interesting in that this Persona game you can’t reverse confidants’ cards. Goro is reversed Justice in and of himself within the main context of the narrative.

I don’t really jive with the idea that Goro started out with Robin Hood as representative of his ideals before he was manipulated and twisted by Shido, because it contradicts the context in which he had his awakening and it removes whatever degree of culpability or autonomy Goro did have in what he ultimately became. Goro is full of rage, and Goro acted on that rage. Goro got the slightest taste of power and went from 0 to acting on a desire from revenge in about thirty seconds flat. He definitely didn’t realize he was signing on for murder and Shido definitely groomed him into being his psychopomp hitman, Goro is the one who took the initiative to approach Shido in the first place because Goro wanted to destroy the man who destroyed his life and who did, in some sense, kill his mom. Not that I think it’s disingenuous to say that Goro did originally believe in a justice that was, well, more just, but there’s a vast chasm between the boy who used to pretend to be a hero of justice and a boy who decided what he wanted most was to humiliate his fascist of a father. Goro’s sense of justice was already hugely warped by the time he awakened to his persona. Justice is exposing Shido publicly and holding him accountable; justice for Goro was making Shido’s life a living very personal hell.

Loki’s power isn’t even necessarily to make someone go berserk. Goro actually explains how Loki’s power works at the start of his boss fight, and it’s carried through pretty well in the English translation.

Goro (JP): ちっぽけな存在でも、心の枷が外れると、桁違いの力を得る事がある。 ("Even a tiny being, once you remove the bonds on its heart, can gain unimaginable power.”) Goro (EN) Even the feeblest existence can gain tremendous power once the chains on its heart are broken. !! 枷 has a double meaning of both literal restraints (shackles/chains/etc) and more metaphorical ways to bind someone (such as relations to others, or societal restrictions on what you’re allowed to do). While “chains on its heart” is a valid translation, it fails to maintain that wordplay in English, and given how the power he’s talking about works, it’s almost certainly on purpose.

Loki’s power works by shattering the restraints on a person’s heart that stop them from acting recklessly in ways that hurt other people. I think a case could very much be made that the reason this seems to always result in violence on the part of those of Goro’s targets (and Goro himself) is because when you’re in that state, you stop feeling sympathy or empathy, and the dark impulses you bury deep inside (which everyone has) can reign unchecked.

When I first started to choochoo along the “Goro went berserk to kill Wakaba” train, one of the first things I started to speculate was that he was the first person he used Call of Chaos on. I started to reevaluate that today when I read all of that delicious food and found myself rethinking how Goro would have approached Shido, and I found myself drawn the conclusion that Goro brought Shido two things–the ability to gather secret knowledge and the ability to drive people berserk–but Shido would have wanted proof. And Goro’s an idiot, but he’s not dumb; he would have had that proof ready in advance. Goro would have been causing some psychotic breakdowns on a smaller scale before he approached Shido, just enough to make the news and catch Wakaba’s attention in her research, but not enough to cause widespread chaos on the scale that’s referenced in game, before he stepped foot through Shido’s door.

I find it very hard to believe that Goro didn’t know the basics of Wakaba before he killed her: single mom, no father in the picture, daughter roughly his age. Goro is the type to hoard information because it makes him feel in control, so he’d be given this name from Shido and want to know everything he can uncover about his target first–also he’s the one with the metaverse nav app and he’d need to know as much about her as possible to figure out what her distortion is.

(This is assuming Wakaba had a palace as opposed to residing in Mementos. I have no grounds to base this theory on, but I think she did. I won’t go into it in too much detail, but I HC that Wakaba’s palace was modeled after the Library of Alexandria, and Wakaba’s shadow was Hypatia. I’ll save the thematic whys of that for another post because they’re neither here nor there.)

I have a hard time buying that a teenager would just go from zero to being okay with murder without having some pretty critical hangups in the process, especially a teenager who kind of thinks of himself as a hero who has to get his hands dirty. You can’t really justify murdering an innocent woman who did nothing wrong when you measure her against people like Okumura. Especially when so much of that single mom’s life story should probably logically resonate with you.

(This is another reason I get upset that nothing in canon ever has Goro actively acknowledge his murder of Wakaba, because if it did it would have to grapple the between Goro and Futaba and the fact that Goro did to Futaba was exactly what was done to him, but way more directly. Atlus is not subtle and is also not capable of nuance or depth.)

So the logical line of thought is that Goro used Call of Chaos on himself to break the chains on his own heart (the feelings that would make him sympathize with Wakaba and see his own mother in her) so that he could kill her. I’d also argue that layered on top of of all of this is that Goro didn’t know killing her shadow would kill her, because Shido guarded her research closely and Yaldabaoth wanted a boy who would be willing to smash things. They were both grooming him to be their perfect little murderer.

By the point we meet him in the game Goro is heavily tied up in Shido’s conspiracy and all that that entails. His already jaded sense of justice will by this point have been warped beyond repair–until he meets Akira. Akira is probably the first person Goro has ever bonded with in his entire life, and a wildcard’s power is rooted in the ability to form bonds. Positive bonds specifically, because it’s only through those that their power can grow. I think we can all look at Goro’s life and agree that his relationship with Akira is the only positive one he’s had since he was like…….never years old.

And I specifically think that it’s through his relationship with Akira that Goro starts to reawaken to his true sense of justice. It’s textually canonical that Goro is jealous of the fact that the Phantom Thieves found a way to achieve their goals without collateral damage. I think that bonding with Akira–in a way Goro has literally never bonded with anyone else before–is what caused Goro’s second awakening and his tentative re-embrasure of the belief that justice is about helping, not hurting. Except he’s in two such different places at this point. I’m very on board with the BPD!Goro hc that’s become a thing lately, thanks to Krist and the goroboys discord server, but I’m not going to go into specifics because I’m not BPD. I just think that from what I’ve read of BPD it sounds valid, and if a person who is BPD says they get that mood from him, that’s extra valid

But Goro’s sense of self is clearly very split between Loki and Robin Hood and what they thematically represent. He wants to be a hero, but he still dresses like a tokusatsu villain half the time. He wants to be a hero, but he’s also a murderer. He can’t reconcile these aspects of himself.

Goro isn’t a true wildcard because he lacks the ability of connection. While the wildcard ability is granted by a cosmic entity (Philemon/Igor/Yaldabaoth/etc.), the degree of its manifestation is dependent upon the wildcard’s ability to connect with other people. The case could be made that Adachi and Namatame are wildcards because they’re both selected as game pieces by Izanami, but only Souji manifests the wildcard ability because only he is able to connect with others. The implication to be taken from that is that a cosmic force can grant an individual a persona and the corresponding wildcard ability, but that ability can’t manifest itself unless the individual is capable of wielding it–which Goro is not.

And very much unlike a wildcard, if you take the necessary steps Goro’s two personas do fuse into an ultimate whole. If you complete the development of Goro’s character to the extent the game requires, then Loki and Robin Hood fuse to become Hereward. I have some thoughts about this in relation to the fact that I can’t find any evidence that Hereward is tied to the Robin Hood myth, but all that aside: Goro’s warped sense of justice and his true sense of justice fused together in a way that’s, uh——-

Robin Hood is very bara and Loki is very twink. Hereward looks extremely similar to Robin Hood, but has a dark grey, an almost black, color design. Hereward literally represents Goro embracing that justice is grey, and that it’s okay for Goro to both want to be the hero and to want to see people struggle with the hard questions of how the hurts they’ve inflicted, intentionally or not, have impacted the people affected by them.

Goro was never a true wildcard to begin with. Yaldabaoth chose him because he was isolated. That he found his other half in Akira was dumb luck of the draw.

[shesawriter39049]

|FAMILY TIES| M| MAFIA AU| 4

FT: JOON/HOSEOK/YOONGI/JIN & A LIL JIMIN

GENRE: SMUT/ANGST

AU SUMMARY :  A powerful alliance made up of  4 families spanning over a decade, is suddenly turned on its head when one family has a new leader after an unexpected death. Well, let’s just say he’s not down to follow the somewhat civilized rules your families have inforced. Sooo now, it’s game on… 

WARNINGS: Semi public sex, light cum play, light spit play, VERY mild daddy kink (it’s mentioned like twice) light dom Tae, overstimulation, Toys (Finger bullet), dirty talk, non-protected sex, oral (F recieving) , Tae is Low key/High key whipped AF, That’s his baby.. 

WARNINGS NON SEXUAL: This chapter get’s a little dark, mentions of HEAVY drugs/ drug use(Cocaine, Heroine), violence, choking (Non-sexual), OD’ing, guns, language as per usual 

There’s a lot of storyline..but you guys learn A LOT in this one! It’s definitely worth the read..this is also a slightly darker chapter..

This is one of the last chapters where I’m...”forshadowing” if you will...so you need all of this!

There is 2 smutty moments within this as well!

You can read this as a stand alone, and not be completely lost but it would help if your familiar with the series ...Luxx/Luxxy is the OC’S nickname if you’re new here…

16k

LOCATION: Somewhere in the skies of China

(THE MORNING OF LEO’S VIEWING

FRIDAY 2AM)

The last time you saw Kim Taehyung cry was 10 years ago, at his mother's funeral, the last time you saw Kim Taeyung this broken...was ten years ago at his mother's funeral. Now here you are, laying in bed at 2AM on your jet, headed home, for Leo’s viewing, while Kim Taehyung literally wailed into your chest a combination of heartbreak and rage washing over his body. Draining out every ounce of energy he had until all he could do was sleep…

~~~~A GOOD 72-ISH HOURS PRIOR~~~~

LOCATION:Guadinino’s

Boston Isle 

Tuesday, 2 PM 

(Picks up where part 3 ends) 

You found yourself almost caressing the back of his head the more the reporter spoke, apparently it was some random nurse who found him. She said she was just driving home from work around 5am, and the light was left on, out of habit she just felt the need to see if everything was okay.

[Woman on the news being interview ]

“The position of his head, and the way his jaw laxed, could just appear as he was sleeping to the naked eye. But I’m an ER nurse have been for almost 15 years I recognized the symptoms right away. I tried to revive him prior to calling 911, even against my better judgment ,but he had been out for at least an hour, it was no use…” 

[Reporter]

“The police are still trying to put two and two together as it really doesn't make sense, there was cash in the car, as well as the car itself is a mystery. We have finally identified the young man in the car, his family as also been contacted-” 

Right as she was about to say his name, and ask if anyone knew anything to please contact the police he shot up, almost bolting for the door. Almost as if he knew the boys name it would seem all too real. Little did you know the actual reason is because Taehyung puropusly never asked him what his name was, granted he’s not stupid, his men knew, they even had a picture of his ID. But Tae felt like this boy deserved to have something for him, and him only...so his name was never spoken.

You contemplated back and forth for a couple moments before ultimately deciding to go check on him.

The sound of your heels echoing through the hallway of the “Employees only” area..trying to figure out where he could be “I’m over here..” The base in his voice rumbled off the walls , almost startling you, not expecting for him to actually reach out to you first.

You found him resting against the wall hands in the pocket of his jack, gazing up at the ceiling

 “ The boys did a full z30, and went over it with a black light..not that it even matters now.” Voice trailing off slightly as he brought his attention down to his boots, fidgeting with the rings on his fingers.

 “They actually ended up taking the car to some park,I guess they decided to change locations  after I knocked the mother fucker out. Opting to not sterilize an entire car on his property,while he tends to his dislocated dorsum. “ A slight smirk moved up his face as he gazed over at you “So if you're thinking I’m worried about me..I’m not..the plate was switched, garmin removed, and the cars not even registered. I’m just….” Shaking his head in slight disbelief as he runs over the past 24 hours in his head.  “I don’t think he really even knows how fucked up and dangerous this all really is, especially when Marcp barely knows what you're doin’ to begin with. He’s a walking death wish and he’s gonna fuck around and have it granted by someone that coud’ve been his ally!” 

Even though his tone was hushed you could still feel the anger radiating off his body, raking his fingers through his hair, sinking back into the wall. “Come’ere, I know you didn't come out here to listen to me bitch from a far…” Signaling for you with his fingers, trying to hide the smile that was tugging up your face as you swayed in his direction. Opting to give him his space, not in the mood to get your face cracked, emotions far too fragile for that right now. You’ll end up shooting his indecisive ass, at this point, so you opted to wait for the invite. 

Once you were in arms reach he pulled you into his frame, a slight squeal leaving your throat from how quickly he grabbed you.

One hand resting on the hinge of your jaw the other on your waist , palm soothing up the small of your back. “How are you feelin’?” The question threw you off a little you found your eyes fluttering away from his and he noticed instantly. Tilting your head until you had no choice but to look at him. Emphasises on the  word “you”  let  you know he was well aware that your always the one checking on him ..asking how he’s feeling. Now it’s his turn to do the same, I mean sure a good 17 years later but at least it’s a start right!? 

Letting a deep sigh leave your body before responding “I’m angry, confused, and a little scared if I’m being honest but-”

Cutting you off immediately , shaking his head, a scof rolling off his tongue “Over my dead body, will anything ever happen to you, so you can scratch that shit off your list of issues real quick..” He wasn’t asking , he was telling you how this was going to go and his tone left zero room for debate.

Tilting your head back slightly, blowing out a slow breath , you could feel your eyes burning as you kept fluttering them. Attempting to cut off the tears desperately trying to run down your face, funny thing is, even though you cried earlier today. That’s not a common trait for you no matter how upset you get, your not the most intune with your emotions either if we're being honest. You didn’t open up easily and hated, crying in front of people more than anything, you were just as much as a working progress as Taehyung.

The phrase “Over my dead body…”was used very frequently, typically over minor issues, even jokingly for most. But it would always hold a deeper, darker meaning in your heart, the last person to say that to you was your mother. Used in the same context as Kim Taehyung and she meant it, wholeheartedly!  You found yourself trying to pull away, not wanting to let him see you fall apart, because you knew you were going to. The more you tugged the tighter his grip became, “Tae please. Let. Me. Go…” You wouldn't look at him, staring up at the light fixture to your right, tone extremely dry, almost passive. The grip you held on his forearms got even tighter as you waited in silence,clinging to him almost desperately your actions polar opposite from your words.

He wasn’t going to fight you on this, if you wanted out..here ya go, the last squeeze on your waist wasn’t possessive. Almost comforting as if he was letting you know if you wanted to come back, he'd be right here. Tentatively loosening the grip he healed around your waist, letting you pull away from him, almost losing your balance in the process. Rocking forward slightly, not realizing how much you were leaning on him despite trying to pull away all at the same time. 

Yet you didn't move, the grip you held on his arms never faltered, they actually got tighter, dropping your gaze down to your feet. Your right leg starting to patter nervously as you felt your chest swelling, gently taking you back into his arms. Bringing your hips flush to his, I guess you never realized he eased you the same way you did him. The feeling of your chest rising and falling against his as you coxed yourself out of crying, a single tear managing to slip out of your right eye before you could stop it. Turning your head, brushing it onto your shoulder hastily, your grip tightening even more as both eyes started to betray you simultaneously. Even though you refused to look back at him, he could feel your stomach tensing as you tried to slightly choke back the tears that were now streaming down your face.. 

He did not force you to make eye contact, respecting your privacy in that aspect bringing his hands up to rub lightly circles into your back as he nuzzled his nose into the side of your neck.  A side of Kim Taehyung that few would ever get to see, bringing your arms up to wrap around his neck, cradling the back of his head in your hands. “I’m not going anywhere…” the words brushed against your skin, funny how he automatically knew what triggered this without you even having to say anything. You didn't respond, only squeezing him a little tighter before pulling back, almost aggressive whipping your face before raking your fingers through your hair. A sheepish smile tugged on the corners of your lips as you finally made eye contact with him.

Neither of you said anything as you stepped a little closer, soothing your hand down his chest, and stomach slowly. Suddenly feeling almost uncomfortably open and vulnerable in front of a man that’s been inside you more times that you can count. His eyes felt like they were burning straight through you as he gazed back in your direction. 

Suddenly feeling like this was all getting a little deeper than you could handle you found yourself feening for a distraction. Letting your hand have free reign to trickle down his zipper, trailing your fingers up and down his clothed length earning a hiss as he gripped your wrist.

“You know your thighs can’t handle another round from me right now, you need to fuckin chill before I have you bent over the bathroom counter.” Keeping the same calm tranquil tone he  had moments prior, despite how drastic the setting became. 

“Well ,maybe that’s what I need right now…” A not so subtle pout laid along your lips, earning an amused smirk to curl up his face, as he gazed down at you. 

His hand came up and coming up to grip the hair at the nape of your neck, tugging with just enough force to rip a whine from your throat. “Naughty” slipped past his lips in Korean making your giggle against his skin.

 Tilting your head upwards before pressing his lips to yours, slowly, almost teasingly licking his way into your mouth, which you welcomed effortlessly. Bringing his opposite hand down to cup your ass through your jeans..clawing at the material as you rolled your hips into his. A slight moan escaping your lips as he sucked your tongue back into his mouth,tilting his head a little so he could deepen the kiss.

The sound of footsteps, didn't phase the two of you, you've been caught doing worse, until Hoseok clears his throat, making the two of you finally allow each other to breathe. But in true Kim Taehyung fashion he didn't stop right away, he still let his tongue lingerie in your mouth. You were the one who broke it apart, starting to laugh against his tongue because you knew how close Hoseok was. 

You couldn't help but notice the almost pleased smirk that tugged on Hoseok’s lips, as he waited.

“Yes?” Brow quirked in Hoseok’s direction while his hand soothed up your back, acting as nonchalant as could be.

“I was just sent here to let you two know were flyin’ out of here to head back inwards in about an hour or so..the planes set to take off at around 5:30. That’s all..feel free to continue...there’s actually a spare bathroom down that corner, don’t ask me how I know” Dismissing himself with the cheekies smirk imaginable, before either of you could respond, or pick up on the fact the he said “Were flying out of here in about an hour” 

‘Ya know, I always think we're the definition of shameless, and then I remember there’s Hoseok and Bunny..” Smiling up at him, knowing the two of you were thinking about the same situation right now...

“Come to the bar with me…” Yanking on his arm slightly 

“I’m sorry are you telling me to go?" Brows furrowed at your blatantly demanding tone

“Obviously! Now come to the damn bar with me!!!!” 

Cocking his head to the side slightly, brow arched in slight amusement, as you went to saunter off as if you just knew he’d follow. Which he did, but not before winding his arm backward almost giving your ass whiplash as it landed on your right cheek until your yelped. Hopping off the ground slightly from the sudden impact. Eyes glaring back in his direction as you hissed from the lingering sting.

“Oh please ..” Eyes rolling to the back of his head at your faged annoyance, walking up behind you until his lips were nuzzled into your hair “I bet if I slid my hands down your panties right now, I’d find out you really felt about it.”

Stopping right in front of the door, two hinges are all that separated the two of you from a good 30+ mob affiliates yet it didn't stop you from grabbing his hand in your own. Siding it into your jeans to remind him, your not wearing any after your earlier endeavors. Guiding his hand up and down your heavily saturated lips as they coated his fingers, you couldn't help but smile contently at the sound that left his lips. A soft almost restrained moan ripped from his throat, reacling your neck to lay on his shoulder as you gazed up at at “Yup your right, I really fucking loved it..” The purr teased against his bottom lip, as you brought your hand up to wander through his hair. 

The playful atmosphere was long gone once he seamlessly slid two fingers in, pressing your chest against the wall  grinding his hips into your ass . Effortlessly curling his fingers upward probing the spot that had your knees buckling within seconds.

“Oh fuck…” 

“I really don't get it...do you just not want to be able to walk? Hmm..is that what it is? Is that why you contiously act like such a fuckin brat?” Sinking his teeth into the base of your neck until you knead out..almost pressing your face into the wall in attempts to muzzle yourself. The sound of him moaning out contently against your skin as you fell apart in his arms only added to the haze currently filling your head. 

Your broken cry was rudely interrupted by Tae’s phone ringing both of you instantly recognizing the ringtone as he slid it out of his pocket with his free, clicking it on speaker “You and Luxxy outside! We need to run over a couple things before you leave”

Sliding his fingers out, teasing them up and down your folds, pinching your clit between his fingers.“Okay yeah we're coming..” you could literally feel the smirk in his voice as desperately sink your teeth into your bottom lip. His father started rambling on about something else to Tae took him off speaker, slowly curling his fingers up your lips before freeing them from your jeans. Hissing slightly at the lack of contact as your body slouched against the wall. Trickling his fingers slowly admiring the way your juices coated them thoroughly..

“Oh, yeah of course, I mean it only makes sense..” Continuing casual conversation with his dad as he locked his eyes with yours, slowly lacing his tongue around his fingers before turning to walk away. Making sure to flick him off in the process…..

Turning around slightly once he realized a couple steps in you weren’t following “Ugh, Luxxy, we gotta go our father’s need us…” Purouselys saying it into the phone so his dad could hear a smirk tugged on his lips as he gestured for you to follow with those same two fingers “Come”. Even though he literally meant “Come” the tone he said it in screamed “Cum” and you were so ready to punch him dead in the throat!

~~~~

The last thing you wanted was sit, cozied up to Kim Taehyung, but more importantly, you don't need to give your fathers any reason to be concerned. Especially over something this..”Minor..so you sucked it up..no matter how badly you wanted to strangle his scrotum. Since he had the nerve to smile over at you fondly. 

“The helicopter should be here in the next half hour….” The two of you observed the way your father kept his eyes on the water, the tide starting to pick up slightly, as the sun was shifted  behind the clouds. Indicating rain was headed back this way sooner than later, the gloomy overcast starting to drape overhead again. 

“We've been wrecking our brains, trying to think of the best way to do this…” Pausing to take a puff on a cigar in his hand… ”Were trying to step back, and not hover so much but it’s hard, in our eyes you’ll always be our babies, and granted the two of you havent fully given as reason to be 100%  feel comfortable doing so either..” Mr.Kim’s eyes glared between the two of you but there was a playful twinge within his voice as he spoke.

A gritty chuckle leaving your father's lips at the current state of confusion plastered along your faces, still not quite sure why the two of you were called out here to begin with. “We just ...wanted to remind you that your...Notoriety sit’s differently out there, in the US, to the masses your Taehyung Khan, and Luxx Severiane the two bratty rich kids of Boston. In China, it suddenly becomes a lot more likely that your known as Blaise and Jae’s Grandchildren, that title comes with a lot of pride, a lot of respect and a lot more enemies.”  

You felt Tae’s thumb stroke your shoulder at that, the shift in conversation suddenly making you forget your petty disposition towards him. ;l

“We know you know this, it’s not your first time there, but it’s been a minute since you've gone together, and the airs just sitting a little thicker now. When it comes to the “Family Business” we prefer to be heard and not seen, but that’s kinda hard to do out there! So just ... be aware of your surroundings, and of the way people look at you, even more so than usual. Were already trying to move in silence as it is, there’s no proof it’s Marco, were just assuming. As we all know the gangs in China have always had a love hate relationship with us!  “ 

There was a conscious nod that left both of your bodies at that, there was really only one ally you all truly trusted and that’s because that bond was damn near 15 years old.

“Which is why were also sending Yoongi and Hoseok with you as well, we pulled Hoseok off the Tokyo drop Hong Joong’s going instead…” 

“How are we flyin in by the way?” It was like the two of you were working on one brain cell, that exact question hovering over your lips before he asked.

“Well, we thought about commercial….” 

Your nose was scrunched into your face at the sound of that earning a chuckle from the 3 men around you.

“You’ll live baby doll…” Your dad piped in as he rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the mini monster he’s created.

“-But we didn't trust that, that’s 15 hours on a flight with god knows who, either way you still have to clear customs. We've taught you well enough to handle your own so you're flying private . Be careful, be alert, and figure out what the fucks going on at that damn warehouse…” 

Another simultaneous nod left your bodies, to be honest you weren’t nervous just..mentally preparing for what was ahead of the two of you. 

“Last thing, with the time difference once you land it will be 9pm tomorrow, so Wednesday night, you guys are supposed to fly back at 9pm Thursday night. As long as your on that flight, with the time difference and air time, you should get here around 1-2 Am our time on Friday. That gives you guys a couple hours to sleep, and debrief  before the viewing at 12. So again no time for bullshit, no trips to Chanel, just knock this shit out and get home, so we can give Leo the homegoing he deserves!” 

~~~

The 7 of you split up in two groups and loaded the helicopters, once you landed your cars took you your separate ways, heading home to shower and pack. Even though you’d be there all of 24 hours you still found a way to over pack your Keepell, placing one firearm in your bag. The weapon was unloaded and properly packed in order to clear any regulations, it was also registered to you but you’d never in a million years shoot from that gun. It was just for show and more so dire emergencies. Short of that your weapon of choice is unmarked, and unregistered  and loaded with ammo that you probably shouldn't have access too but somehow ,ya do! 

Already well aware that nothing sexual would happen on this 15 hour flight, due to the time difference, and the lack of time you’d be there the flight would be spent between strategizing, sleeping and eating. That still didn't stop you from throwing on a lace little something under your T-shirt dress in case he hands wanted to go for a little stroll. 

LOCATION : Somewhere in the skies between Massachusetts and China

Tuesday, 7:30PM

The skies were gloomy as all hell once you took off, a good 2 hours into the flight once everyone munched on the array of fast food, and got in there comfy spot, that’s when it was game time. 

“Alright, sorry if this is all old news for everyone else, but what’s the actual issue? Listen, I’ve been all over Amsterdam for the past month running your drugs around..so I’m a little out of the loop!” Throwing his hands up dramatically, the utter sarcasm dripping from his throat ripped a snort from the rest of you effortlessly. 

Taehyung and yourself glanced at each other and ultimately he decided to respond.

“Around, 5am, one of our trucks from China, was on the road, the driver claims he was at a rest stop for the night, headed to our Anaheim warehouse and the back hatch alarm tripped. He told Jin he didn't physically see anyone just a blacked out van driving off, when he counted his shipment he was down 6 boxes.” 

“The issue is..our routes are soild there always changing, the trucks unmarked, it’s just...real fuckin shady... who takes shit without knowing what it is? I mean fuck what if it’s wallpaper!? Then what? You just risked going to jail for a hunch? Nahhh” Namjoon piped in,he often helped remap out different routes for the drivers go take so it didn't get repetitive . 

“So, I know this has never happened before, but what is the protocol for something like this?” Your eyes drifted over to Jin’s since he’s the one running the shop as of a month ago and he was the one popping in the most when Henry was in charge”

“Kinda the same, shipments flies in on cargo, driver on commercial, he’ll drive the head home tonight, and come back in the morning for the trailer. It’s on lockdown all night with Lay’s men at the port, the main difference is once he gets in and we do an incident report...that’s when I get all the details.” 

There was a constitutional humm...that flooded the room until you thought about that for a second. 

“So wait, that means..he’s technically the only one with his shipment until it gets to the warehouse?” He could sense the concern in your voice instantly. 

“Yes and no, Lay’s men are with it all night, so what;s on the plane is on the plane, plus we can track his-”

“Right, but are they going through and counting the boxes to make sure he has what he says he has? Do they even know he’s supposed to be down six boxes?” Your tone was calm, not trying to come off like you were attacking him but..you need clarification on the protocol.

Another consensual humm came through, once the whole group realized you had a pretty valid question. Even if this was a rarity there still needed to be solid structure, and there seems to be loopholes..

“Honestly, I’m not sure..shipment is usually ONLY exported from China, it’s extremely rare that were receiving freight! Unless it’s coming straight to the warehouse...” 

“When did the freight plane get in ?” 

“Tonight actually, as long as we land on time probably a good 30 minutes to an hour after we get there…”

“I wanna wait around for Lay and his men to unload the plane before we leave...” Taehyung’s palm came up to soothe down the small of your back.

 “Good girl..” There was nothing condensing about his tone , already well aware of where your mind was going. Moments like these are why he just can't get enough of you, no matter how hard he tries. 

If the driver said your missing six boxes than fuck, you better be missing 6 boxes! Needing confirmation before you could even consider going to sleep tonight!

The next couple hours were spent talking in a little more detail , as far as the shop was concerned , clienteel, ETC, Yoongi opting to head in right when you land, wanting to have a go at the system before anyone gets in tomorrow . Well aware that if any funky business is going on, ideally late at night would be the perfect time for someone to back door the system, since the shops technically closed.

A good 4 hours later, talking filtered into sleep that you all desperately needed, as your day was starting in less than 6 hours! Taehyung and yourself were cuddled up in the bedroom that sat at the back of the plane. You found yourself passed out on his chest, while he woke up a good hour or so before landing, re-going over reports with the dimmest light possible so he didn't wake you. Secretly loving and hating how much he was enjoying having you like this, the vulnerability he felt with you was utterly terrifying and liberating all at the same time. Just not sure how long this little road of bliis can go before his inner deamons start to fuck with his head again. 

LOCATION: Shanghai Pudong International Airport

11PM Wednesday night

You were out like a light, not even bothering to wake you until, the cargo plane had also landed, it was pushing almost 11pm at this point. Waking up to the feeling of someone slipping your shirt over your head, in combination with the sound of thunder rumbling against the plane. Eyes slightly hazy as they fluttered open slowly….

“It’s pouring and barley 50 degeress, you’d freeze in that…also..your a little shit for these...” Tugging on your pink lace G-string with a slight smirk.

Gaze dropping down to silently observe the way he delicately slid your body into your oh so subtle Gucci tracksuit. “Eww when did you get so sappy!” The playful tease rolled off your lips and against his tongue, not hesitating to let his hand make a firm imprint on your ass. Holding it in place so you felt the sting against your flesh, forever reminding you how instant his duality could be.

A whimper slipped past your tongue while he smirked into the kiss, “Who the fuck are you calling sappy?” a low growl left his lips as he sunk his teeth into your bottom lip, before shifting your body beanthe him, flipping you over so you were straddling his waist. “I think what you meant to say was “Thank you daddy..” A smirk tugged on his lips as you pulled away from him.

“Oh my god!!” A snort left your lips as you rolled your eyes playfully, smacking him in the chest lightly, mindless rambles were brushed against each others lips as you waited to unload the jet. Jet lag was in full affect that’s for damn sure ,this was NOT a smooth ride at all.

It felt surreal yet so natural..the two of you..not holding your breath with how long it would last, well aware that you both had a lot on your shoulders right now. Emotions are at an all time high so you tried not to over analyze the affection he was giving you, no matter how much you loved it.

Upon stepping off the plane you were greeted by almost terrifyingly dark skies , I swear mother nature tries to drop hints….she tries. Thankfully the mood was brightened slightly by Lay’s deadly dimples noticeable even tucked under a hat making his rounds as he greeted you all one by one. While you all loaded a little car comparable to an oversized golf cart where he drove you all a little further down the lane where the freight plane landed. 

“Okay so I need a favor…” Not even waiting for him to respond prior to continuing “ I need every box, counted and numbered,as you guys load each one onto the truck. I want them loaded in numerical order…tonight!” Smiling up at him doe eyed, his body just slumped at the sound of that. It was wet and cold, and late as all hell, due to the weather they probably weren’t even going to unload until the morning!  But he'd never question, or complain about anything you requested of him. 

“Yes, ma’am” Shooting you another charming smile before  bowing out, to instruct his men to do as you asked.

It took close to an hour to get through every box, stregicially placing them based on weight, size, and  if any of them were marked as “Fragile “  The seven of you waited in anticipation, as they loaded the last 3 boxes into the trailer.

“54!” Lay's voice echoed through the wind...A combination of relief and confusion now danced through the atmosphere. 

‘Does this mean I could actually, possibly leave China for once without killing someone!?”’ Hoseok spoke up for the first time since waking up voice sitting extremely groggy.

A drowsy chuckle filled the space as you all stood under the awning of the building to avoid the rain. Back pressed  firmly against Tae for extra warmth, as you all started walking towards the terminals. According to Lay’s packing sheet the driver  left with 60 boxes...he claims they took six so, so far his “robbery”stories kinda lining up...even if it doesn't make sense.

“I don't know man, I just still don’t get how they got away with six freight boxes before he noticed...has the driver’s plane landed?” Taehyung’s eyes cut over to Jin, as he checked the airports stats on his phone.

“Nope, the rain has him delayed , at least another hour or so…”

It was getting late and none of you had the patience to wait for him, also not wanting to ambush the driver, wanting to wait until you’d collected a little more info. 

“How about this..instead of the normal protocol makeup some bullshit excuse and have Lay drive him home! I want Hoseok to drive it in, tomorrow morning instead, tell the driver he can come in at 8 with all the other shop workers…that way he wave time to scope everything out.” Jin nodded, walking over to give Lay the game plan for the night, before you all descended into the chaos that was the airport.

As you lot trucked through,believe it or not it was still packed..regardless of the fact it was pushing midnight. The line for Customs & Immigrations was ungodly you couldn't help but notice the slight  stairs your group received from bystanders some lingered longer than others. 

A good hour, and lack of patience later you were the last to get verified, you understood enough Chinese to gist that everything documentation wise was all good. Just as the smiling face in front of you handed back your passport a member of TSA steps into frame.

Almost snatching your passport right out of your hand “Rude…” Slipped past your lips, eyes rolling to the back of your head without even a second thought.

You could hear him mumbling something in Chinese to the other TSA that  almost sounded like “Back room” 

“Ms. Sever-”

“Severiane’ ” Tone dry as all hell, you could tell he was struggling and you weren’t in the mood, you were tired as hell and already annoyed by this blatant attitude.

“Yes’ we need you to step out of line, and follow me..” First thing you noticed was how clear his accent was, as he spoke to you in English with no hesitation.

“For what!?” The words slipped past all of there lips simultaneously before you even had time to rebuttal, completely ignoring the men to your right as they chimed in. The lack of response clearly wasn’t working in your favor as both guards stepped from behind the counter,and just like clock work, Taehyung and Namjoon were at your side as the men started to invade your personal space.

Both of there faces screamed “Back the fuck up..now!”

“I’m only going to ask you one more time,your coming either way because it’s apart of our protocol, as long as you cooperate this won’t take long.”

You could feel Tae’s grip on your waist get tighter, pulling you into his frame as he locked eyes with the guard in front of you. If looks could kill, this man's head would be on the other side of the airport right now . Neither of you worked well with threats but you were far too exhausted to fight this right now.You swore you could almost hear Taehyung’s teeth grinding together his jaw was clenched so tightly,

“Yeah, okay ,whatever…not like my bags and passport didn't already clear your system but sure..lead the fuckin’ way” Flagging your hand to gesture you were ready to go, nothing subtle about the attitude that dripped from your lips

As you went to walk off, the grip Tae held on the back of your joggers never faltered jerking you back into him. “I got this…” Brushed past your lips and you swore he growled in response, forgetting how possessive this man could get. Leaning up quickly to press your lips to his, the second you pulled away his eyes cut from yours, over to gentleman to your right before nodding tentatively. 

Smiling faintly in Namjoon’s direction as well, knowing he was feeling all the same emotions as Taehyung! Wigging out of his hold, fingertips gracing yours until the last possible second, the final glare that shoot from their eyes into the Tsa was lethal….

Walking down a long hallway before finally being led to a room in the back corner. 

Upon taking a seat the gentleman that walked you in left without saying a single word….

“That’s a beautiful plane you guys have…” Another extremely clear American accent graced through the doors as a different agent walked in to take a seat in front of you. His name tag translating to “Han”.

“Thank you…”

“So what brings you to Shanghai at this time of night…”

You could tell he was just beating around the bush and you really had no patience for it whatsoever, assuming he was just being nosey at this point. “I didn't plan to get here this late, but it’s a long flight and the weather sucked..” Shrugging nonchalantly as you crossed your legs, slouching back in your seat.

“Is it your first time here?”

Just shaking your head “No” in response, the utter lack of enthusiasm earned a chuckle from the gentleman in front of you.

“Ohhhkay..and what brings you here this time?”

“Food..shopping...aesthetically pleasing pics for my Instagram..shall I continue…” Crass nothing but crass…

“So your telling me you flew 16 hours to shop, eat, and take pictures?” Brow arched at the implied question triggering a smirk to crawl up your face.

“Clearly…. you can tell I can afford it” Letting your hand trail up and down your body everything from your tracksuit, to the diamonds that danced along your body screamed affluent. “So yes, that is why I’m here..and if all you wanted was my itinerary can I go?”

“No, I actually called you in because  when your bag got checked.. We noticed your weapon wasn’t stored properly. But instead of just taking it, I decided to be nice and give you a warning,I even brought a pamphlet for the proper protocol when traveling with a concealed weapon.

Bullshit, utter bullshit, there was nothing wrong with your gun and if it was it would've gotten flagged when they checked your bag…They don’t play around when it comes to weapons registered or not, ESPECIALLY considering your technically a foreigner!

“Hmm, well aren't you a gem, thank you, I’ll be more careful next time..” Flashing him an Oscar worthy smile ...to go with his bullshit excuse for why he called you in here

“Anytime, make sure it’s secure when you leave though, we won’t be as generous next time…” Slowly rising from his seat, just nodding in response.

“Enjoy Shanghai Ms. Sunjata…” You felt your spine go ridigit at the sound of that, completely readjusting in your seat. Footsteps rattled behind you, as you heard the door shut. Trying to run through any scenario in your head, that could explain why you were 99.99 percent sure this TSA agent just referred to you by your real surname!

That was all the confirmation he needed...silently observing the obvious shift in body language.. 

And just like clock work you realized he wasn’t actually leaving, the door was never closed when he came in to begin with….

You heard what almost sounded like handcuffs jingle behind you, which had you second guessing yourself for a moment. Currently wondering if you played this out completely wrong in your head, maybe you were under investigation for something else all together! Your reflexes kicked in and you went to jerk away once you sensed how close he’d gotten and in almost a whim of panic his game plan changed. 

 Suddenly you found your airflow get cut off  somewhere between your throat and your lungs as the chain between the cuffs was wrapped around your throat. Pulling you backwards until the front legs of the chair were off the ground, the chair itself rested lightly against his abdomen so he still had control . A sharp breath hiccuped in your chest as you tired to sustain what little airflow you had.

“Is there a reason a Sunjata’s in our territory!?” The words growled against your neck, yet you could sense the uncertainty, as his voice wavered...he was terrified, I don't think he intended for his “Integration”  to go this route.

 Hoisting the chain with enough force to leave an impact but not enough to make you blackout “Look, I don’t want to hurt you, so just answer me! What the fuck dose Sunny want huh?  We already told him,we had nothing to do with your fucking warehouse or Henry, So why are you here!? ” Funny how he was getting impatient with your lack of response, and also saying he doesn't want to hurt you yet..here we are.

He yanked on the chain one more time, snapping you out of your haze,which triggered your instincts to kick back in elbowing dead in the ribs, catching the edge of your elbow against the chair in the process which only pissed you off even more. His frame wider than the back of the chair itself, the slight release on the restraist gave you enough leighway to rock all our weight against him, causing you and the chair to topple over him. Knocking you both to the ground, a lot harder than you expected. A low grown gritted through clenched teeth at the impact once your body met the concrete, the gentleman to your left, however, was far more winded that’s for damn sure. 

Not even giving yourself a chance to catch your breath you grabbed the hand cuffs to your right, clenching them around you first as if they were brass knuckles before decking him dead in the face. Ripping a loud groan from his throat “Fucking bitch!” Rolling to the side as he cradles his nose in his hands, as blood surged from under his palm. Crawling over to flip him onto his back, straddling the upper half of his body, gripping the sides of his jaw between your fingers, purposely digging your nails into his skin.

“You think that’s bitchy!?Your lucky I didint  wrap this chain around your throat and snap your fuckin neck!” Slamming his head backwards into the concrete floor ripping another cry from his throat, you could see in his eyes...how scared he was. Probably new to this life, and genuinely worked at the airport..to keep tabs...here he was thinking he was doing a good deed to score brownie points. Now he’ll be lucky if his leader doesn't kill his ass for pissing off a Sunjata, lord knows the fire you could cause if you really wanted too! Clearly he didn't do his research, you knew he picked you because you were the only girl.  Assuming it would be easy...he could just scream it out of you, little did he know, your fuse was just as short as your men!! 

“And for fuckin what huh? Because I wasn’t on your damn radar!? Listen kid,try that shit again, and I swear to God, I'll cut your dick off and mail part of  it to your fuckin mother….and other to your Lǎobǎn” You had so many questions but right now wasn’t the time, for all you know if you waited another 5 or so minutes an entire gang coulve been waiting outside.

Your body was completely spent, once you willed yourself off the floor and opened the door, trying to pull yourself together, slumping to the ground outside the door because you knew he wasn’t going to try anything else. Your hand was literally throbbing , the bruising already shadowing your knuckles as you slide the array of Cartier off your fingers. Already well aware your hand would swell in your sleep, after a few moments you managed to get your shit together, heading down the hallway and back to the main area.

The minute you cleared the door the all shot up bolting in your direction “Fuck, baby are you-” Stopping himself midsetence the closer you got, neck already starting to welt. You could literally see the anger flashed through his eyes as he gripped the side of your face. “What the hell happened!?” Damn near stripping you in the middle of the airport as his hands scrambled over every inch of your body looking for any other marks. A whine leaving your lips as you winced once he graced your shoulder, eyes almost flushing pitch black at the sound that just left your throat. 

The original agent stepped back out front, and you felt Tae try to bolt to your right, gripping his wrist as hard as you can, no matter how bad it hurts. Pulling him back into you “It wasn’t him...and we can’t do this now...not here...we've already drawn enough attention…will talk later” You watched him open his mouth in rebuttal shaking your head in the process “Stop, take me to the hotel...now…..”  

He was testing your patience at this point the alpha in him, caused Tae to challenge every word that left your lips. Not that it wasn’t for good reason but he needed to trust your judgment calls “Taehyung...Now..” The sudden dominance that laced within your tone made him tentatively comply, it was rare you took this stance with him. Typically the tone was reserved for the men that worked for you! 

 Quickly asking the guys to carry both of your bags, while he picked you up wrapping your legs around his waist as he carried you outside to the car that was waiting. One of your men stationed in China was the driver, not trusting some random service at this point. 

The car ride was oddly quiet, you were completely spent, and that’s the only reason the 6 men around you didn't bombard you with questions. Sat comfortably on Tae’s lap, face nuzzled into his neck, while his hands tried to soothe over every inch of your body.

Location : The Peninsula Shanghai

Damn near 2AM, Thursday morning

The room was dead silent, the two of you debriefed the moment you entered the suite, as there was no way in hell he’d let you even think about sleeping until you told him what happened in that back room! Now the only noise in the background was from the shower. The two of you kept it running, almost as a makeshift dehumidifier, while you both soaked in the oversized jacuzzi. Submerged in mounds of bubbles and warm water. It was peacefully actually Tae sat parallel to you, legs resting over his thighs as his fingers trickled up softly. Your eyes were closed as you let the heat overtake you enjoying the rare feeling of calmness that currently washed over you body. 

“Why haven't you just given up on me?”

The sudden depth behind question pried your eyes apart...fluttering them over in his direction.

“What?” 

“You heard me…were the only two people in this room Luxxy..” 

“Well I mean, our families-”

“No” Not in the slightest mood for your games tonight “You know exactly what I mean, this “Thing” Gesturing between the two of you “Has always been a thing even before it  technically was and you know it. You've always had a soft spot for me, and I just can’t figure out why…” 

You couldn't help but be slightly taken aback by not only the conversation at hand but just the topic...he was never one to doubt or question himself. Also the slight passiveness in his tone felt forigen leaving his throat. 

“All arrogence aside, yes, I’m fan-fucking tastic in bed ...and I’m attractive...but so are a lof of other men, but beaneath all that... I’m so fucked up, and you know that better than anyone so why-”

“Really? So we're gonna sit here and act like we havent been through a lot of the same shit?” Instantly annoyed by him constantly trying to compare the two of you as if you were so holier than thou saint as an excuse!

“ I’ve seen and done thing’s that you don’t even have a clue about Kim Taehyung….For starters look at my fucking hand?” Pointing out how bruised your knuckles were in comparison to the extremely girly pastel pink acrylics that danced along your nails. 

“I fucking used a pair of handcuffs as brass knuckles, and broke a dudes face in 3 places today...do you really think I have any room to judge!? I have a soft spot for you the same reason you do me...because you somehow manage to see more than what everyone else dose……” Voice calming significantly the more you gazed into those dark brown eyes of his..always innocent no matter what he’s been through. 

“But what if there’s not more to me...then what? How do you know you havent mentally created a version of me in retrospect to who I really am?” He was challenging you and he had a valid point, but so did you...

“The reason I keep coming back isn't fictonal…..” Shifting forward in attempts to straddle his waist which he welcomed willingly, gripping your hips so you didn't have to do much. “ It’s the angry, short tempered, assertive, aggressive..version of you...then it’s also the man who carried me out of the airport..and held me the entire car ride...or the man that basically told me he’d take a bullet for me. And to make it even better you fuckin meant it….” 

You watched his eyes start to drift away from yours, bringing your hand up to rest along his jaw, tilting it back in your direction. 

“Yes..this is a busienss..even if we’d never had sex we’d always protect each other..but you look at me in a compeltley differnet light. You always have no matter how much you've tried to hide it...I’m staying around in hopes that I get to see a little more of that..Kim Taehyung…in addition to..the angry, short tempered...daddy dom you are” Pourposly lightening the mood with your ending choice of words..earning a slight smile to tug on the corners of his lips. 

“Such a hard man with an even harder cock, how the hell could I say no to a challenge like that?” Lips hovering over his as you spoke,Taehyung leaned in first a deep exhale released from his lungs into yours. Moaning against his tongue within seconds, as it slipped past the seams of your lips. The kiss was lazy, almost harmless initially, until you raked your nails down his back, ripping a moan from his throat. 

“Do you want it? Or are you too tired?” Pulling back slightly. Letting his lips tease yours as he spoke, nipping at your bottom lip.

“Both..” the words spilled from your lips, chuckling slightly at your own honesty..you were tired..but you wanted him…

A humm left his lips..before leaning over to suck on the hinge of your jaw “I think I can work with that…..” Scooting his back away from the edge of the tub “Wrap your legs around my waist...tight...baby…” Upon feeling you locks your legs around him , he locked one arm around your waist while placing the other on the edge of the tub, lifting you both out of the water, before carefully stepping onto the tile floor. Grabbing a towel off the counter to drape your back so you weren't sopping wet, before waving his tongue into your mouth carrying you back into the bedroom. The kiss was slow, deep, a little more delicate than your use to with him, he even let you take control as you laced your tongue around his. Pulling back slightly to nibble on his bottom lip, sucking it between your own, as he dug his nails even deeper into the curve of your ass. 

Typically he’d throw you on the bed, silently hoping he wouldn't, muscles too sore for that and luckily he knew better. Gently laying you on your back, soothing his hands down your thighs as he spread them apart slowly,kneading his hands higher and higher until they were dancing right beneath your core. Pulling back from you briefly...eyes following him as he reached into one of his bags, not fully able to see what he got as it dispersed within his palm. Before you even had time to question it he was hovering back over you..lips trickling down your jaw, instinaly noticing the way he skipped over your neck.More so on a mental level not sure if you wanted anyone near it, even him...but it was him...and as sad as it sounds that’s nowhere near the worst thing that's happened to you. 

Grabbing his face between your palms, gently placing his head in the crook of you next and he complied instantly. “You still want me to taste you?” The look in his eyes was a lot softer than you’d expect in a moment like this. The typical arrogance gone, almost as if he was honored that you still trusted him with very inch of your body no matter how fragile it currently was.”My pretty baby…” The praise had you shuddering.  

Purposely teasing over the skin with the tip of his nose, making you crave it even more “Yes, everywhere..I want you everywhere...please…”

 Planting  mounds of messy open mouthed kisses against your skin..until every area had been traced into his memory with his tongue. Moaning out in the crook of your neck as you started grinding your hips up into him. His mouth could tear you apart within seconds as your hands roamed down his back, nails grazing his skin as you arched slightly giving him more access. Letting his lips trickle down to your breast, Cupping it in his had as he let his tongue lather over your areola before sucking it into his mouth. 

“Tae…” raking your nails into his hair while you almost edging your breast even deeper into his mouth.

“Always  so sensitive...” Licking sucking, nibbling his way over to your other breast repeating the same acting as he sucked on your nipples until your entire body was grinding into him. The heat already pooling from your stomach, trickling onto the bed. Letting his hand travel down your body, moaning at the way every muscle in your stomach flenched at the contact...letting his figners dance over your clit…”So responsive...fuck ..you dripping for me baby…just relax and let me make you cum..I got you... ” 

Those words alone had your body quaking as he laid his tongue flat against your sternum,, licking his way down, until he reached  your bikini line. Nipping, kissing, and sucking his way around the perimeter of your core until you felt as though your entire being was pulsing for him. Positioning himself between your legs, cradling your thighs on either side of his shoulders as he dove tongue frist between your between your thighs. Clearly not in the mood to tease tonight as his tongue lapped around every crevice of your folds, moaning out against the juices coating every nerve on his tongue.  Brining one hand down to ravage through his hair as an anchor feeling as though you currently had no control over your body at the moment. 

Every inch of your body was set ablaze as he rolled his tongue against your heat, letting the muscle dig deeper and deeper teasing your entrance, before flicking it against the head of your clit, his name fell from your lips repeatedly only adding fuel to the fire. While he massaged your inner thighs in his palms...soothing the tremble that was already radiating through your body as you struggled to keep your legs open.  Pulling back to purse his lips over you clit, letting the natural lubricant fall from his lips onto your clit..not that you needed it Tae just loved it messy. Body jerking at the sudden sensation as he swirled his tongue around the added wetness, using it to unravel your clit nerve by nerve. He licked and sucked his way from top to bottom, living for the taste of you all over his tongue,relishing in how messy you were already dripping down his face..trickling onto the sheets.  Before moving over to sink his tongue even deeper into your entrance..waving it around the premier,teasing your hole as it clenched in anticipation. “Fuck, you want it sooo bad” His voice rumbled agaisnt your folds, as he almost arrogently observed how desperte your body was for him.

“Oh, my god Tae,…” You kneaded out as your body started to morph into a strained arch, ignoring the pressure currently beating on your shoulder, as you rolled your hips into his mouth. Humming out against your folds contently  the way you started to twitch above him. Letting his teeth gently graze your clit with just enough pressure to make you shudder before sucking the sensitive bud between his lips. Suctioning them around it until he could feel the nerve start to tense around his tongue triggering every nerve in your body to do the same.

“Tae, baby fuckk, just like that -” You find yourself almost clawing at his scalp as his name continuously fell from your lips in the form of the neediest whine imagine.

“I’m here baby...I’m right here cum for me.. ….please come for me” The words rumbled against your folds before he sucked you back into his mouth, your thighs desperately trying to clamp down on his face, as you back arched to the point of your head almost elevating off the bed…every muscle in your thighs quivered as you choked out a broken praise of his name. 

“Tae, T-” You came with a moan that stretched from the deepest realms of your chest..voice breaking towards the end .Giving your clit a few more kitten licks before he crawled back on top of you.

“How are you feelin? You wanna stop?” Hand coming up to soothe the outer perimeter of your body, your thighs still trembling against his touch. The concern in his voice had you melting as you shake your head in response almost pouting.

“No, I still want you….” 

“You trust me?” brow quirked slightly , as you reached up to wipe your juices from his chin.

“Always…:  

That was all the confirmation he needed before leaning down to slide his tongue into your mouth. Moaning out as the taste of you rolled from his tongue to yours, reaching between the two of you tracing your fingers up your lips. Body shivering in the process, using your own release to stroke his length which was already rock hard, a strained moan broke from his throat as he pulled back from you, resting his forehead against your own, as his jaw laxed at the stimulation. Twisting your wrist up and down his shaft, towing with the precum on his tip .

“God I need to be in you so fuckin bad….your so wet, sooo wet..fuckkkk” letting his fingers reach between the two of you playing in the juices that glazed over your lips. “Slide me in baby…..”  Rocking his hips slightly egging you to position him at your entrance and you did, the minute he felt your warmth against him he started sliding in. Completely slipping your mind that it seems he purposely never stretched you out.

“Oh my fuckk..” Nails digging into his forearms at the sudden stretch and pressure that was building between your thighs.

“Does it hurt? or is it just-”

“No, it just..oh my god..” 

“Just what?” There it was that arrogance you knew and loved as he sunk his bottom lip between his lips rocking his hips forward even more “What? Is it too much dick baby? Too much for you to handle tonight?” Yet he didn't stop because he knew you could take it…

“No! It’s not too much you just-” Interrupting your normal scheduled sarcasm with one deep roll of his hips sliding all the way to the hilt, as you choked out a non existent cry.

“Shhh..just relax..you said it wasn't too much right? So why’s your back arching off the bed if daddy’s cock isnt too much for you to handle..” God if you had the strength your probably choke him...instead you purposely clenched yours walls around him as tight as you could. 

“Fuckk….” Thumb digging into your hips as he tried to regain composure “Brat..” slipped out through clenched teeth.

“Your brat!” Not even aware of the phrase before it rolled off your tongue, before you even had a chance to feel awkward about the statement a coy little smirk tugged on the corner of his lips.

“Fuck yeah you are….”  Smoothly rolling his hips into you, deep, slow thrust,  building up momentum..not even giving you a chance to adjust to the stretch of him. Walls unintentionally pulsing extremely hard around him while he cock also throbbed at the contact. “Fuck how are you always so fuckin perfect? Soo good...you always feel soo good..”

Leaning down propping his elbows on either side of your head sliding his tongue back into your mouth as he tilted his hips upwards slightly, sliding out completely before rolling back in. Bringing his pelvis flesh to yours each time, as he could feel you start to relax around him. 

“Fuck yes…: “ Sinking your nails into his shoulders, while he pulled back to nuzzle his face into the crook of your neck, sucking down on the skin benath your ear. Tilting your neck back even more to give his tongue more leverage, as he continued thrusting into you , your previous release giving him the traction he needed to speed up his pace without hurting you.

Bringing one hand over to his right, reaching out for the item he grabbed earlier, looping it around his finger before pressing it flesh to your clit. The sudden vibration had your eyes snapping open. Body arching into him as the stimulation surged through your body. “Fuckkkk..” Hands releasing his back , clenching to the sheets instead. He had the bullet right on the tip of your clit, and it was clearly on high, thighs shaking within seconds “Oh my- Tae…..” It was too much but it was so good, as you found yourself rolling your hips up into his hand, as he rolled and grounded his hips into yours, matching his thrust at ever angle..”

“You said you wanted to cum, but you were tired...now all you gotta do is just lay here and take it…..” eyes rolling to the back of your head as your thighs tried to close around him, your warmth still milking his length from base to tip ,”Babyy….yes...god yes...” Taehyung moaned out, his own toes starting to curl as he pounded into you..already feeling how close you were…

“Fuck, that’s it baby..come for me...come all over my cock... ,”

Propping himself up slightly, bringing his opposite hand over to take a deep grip on your ass, allowing him to bury himself even deeper as he snapped his hips into you “Tae!” Tugging on the sheets for dear life as your body arched again every muscle felt like it was convulsing as your eyes screwed shut Your relase ripping through you with such force that it snatched a strained moan from Tae’s throat “ Y/N...baby fuck….”  Gripping your trembling legs one by one  propping them on either side of his shoulders...leaning down to hover over you...tilting his hips..until it felt like he was sitting in your lungs… You couldn't even speak you were so full ... giving you no time to come down your previous release feeling like it was just bulldozing into the next.

He could tell your body was starting to lose all composure ...from how hard you were still shaking.

“Shh… relax...I got you...I got you..” Brushed against your lips… as he slowled down his thrust...clicking the bullet until it was on a calmer speed but it was still wayyy to much right now….Sliding his tounge back into your mouth as he rolled his hips into you, his thrust slightly out of sink and slopper than usual so you knew he was close but fuck it was soo much. Sucking every strangled moan from your throat as supported his weight on one elbow, cupping the side of your face in his hand as he licked his way through your mouth. Hip hips where becoming a rattled mess against your own , as your body started to ease slightly.

‘I can’t, fuck I can’t…” You could hear your juices sliding in and out as he rolled his hips into you, yours inner thighs soaked and sticky..voice strained..

“You can, give me one more, one more baby...I’m not gonna last long…” Pulling his hips back slightly swirling his cock around inside of you loving how wet and warm you were, and it was all for him. “You hear that? Your so wet for me baby you can take it give me one more, give daddy one more..” 

You kissed softly Tae’s thrust a little more ...rational considering how sensitive you were ...your body already starting to unravel within seconds. 

“Tae..” You weren't even sure why you were calling him at this point…

‘Baby..” He countered in a  low moan before sucking on your bottom lip “So good for me...soo good..” Crashing his lips into yours as he sped up his pace...turning the bullet back on high speed..

“Fuckk-”Body jerking against him, the cry was so faint your surprised he heard you 

“I know, baby I know, me too..” His legs were shaking between your hips which were trembling uncontrollably .

Massaging his lips against your as he thrusted harder and faster, ripping your last orgasm from your body as he licked up your throat… coming with a scream of his name..Thank God..your neighbors where Namjoon and Mazda!

“Fuck yes, that’s it…” Finally pulling the bullet away as he shoved his face in the crook of your neck, letting praise unpon praise fall from his lips. Tae’s release swelling in his balls , bringing his hands behind both of your shattered thighs, scoping you up, giving you a couple more deep, steady thrust before he was spilling into you,cock vibrating around your walls. “Fuckkkk” Strained from his throat, ridinging out his release as his hips rolled into yours deep and slow a couple more times before his body laxed on top of yours.

Taehyung was completely spent but he knew you couldn't handle him on top of you like this… propping himself up on one arm, bringing the other down to stroke your cheek “Are you okay?” The words cautiously spilled from his lips in Korean...you don’t even think he realized he did it but you understood him so you just nodded in response. Too exhausted to say much else, while his palm soothed down your body slowly, you were warm..sticky..and and fucking exhausted, your body was litterally buzzing as you nerves started to relax into the matress. Not even wanting to know what time it was right now...eyes drifting asleep ...at some point completely missing how gently he pulled out. Or how he took the time to wipe your entire body down with a damp cloth before moving you from the soiled spot beneath you. 

.

Location : The Peninsula Shanghai

5:00 AM , Thursday morning

He never fell asleep, not that there was much time for it anyway...as he cuddled up behind you, silently observing the little whimpers that left your body as you readjusted in your sleep. The way the bruises along your shoulder, bicep, elbow and hip had finally settled into an ungodly shade of purple. Tae found himself, running circles against your bare skin the entire time you slept, silencing the alarm on his phone before the loud rattle woke up. 

Already having an internal battle with himself, it took every ounce of self control to not just completely shut down and pull away from you then and there. What happened last night, or I guess this morning, isn't uncommon, and he knows you held your own. But it’s you! Fuck it’s YOU, seeing his Luxxy burised and sore just hit..different...it hit real different. He actually almost slept on the damn couch, instantly settling away from your once you dozed off. Then he watched you sleep, and realized how much he needed to be that close to you and that utterly terrified him. 

Hopping up to turn on the shower before he actually woke you, wanting the water to be nice and warm because he knew you'd be sore as hell. Sometimes after something like that happens, your adrilenes still so high that you don’t realize how much pain your really in until hours later! You lot had a solid 14 hours to make heads of this before you had to fly back home for Leo’s viewing. 

Peppering kisses until you work up, in complete whiney, brat mode but this time around he actually found it adorable, carrying  you into the shower so you guys could get ready for whatever  hell this day had in store. Oh did I mention it was also dreary and rainy so...that’s the mood of the day, as the two of you got yourselves sorted in almost complete silence. There wasn't any tension or anything where the two of you were concerned there was just a lot on your minds right now!

It was about half past 6 once the four of you pilled into the car, Jin took Yoongi straight to the warehouse once you guys got to the hotel last night, and Hoseok had to go pick up the semi. They were all awaiting your arrival, and desperately praying you had coffee, which you did..about 2 strays full! 

Location : Sunjata X Kim distribution warehouse

Thursday 7:10 AM.

It was extremely earie how quiet the building was, your heels echoed along the concrete floors, all loading behind the industrial-sized elevator. There was no other drivers currently in China, all the others were on routes throughout the midwest, so the 7 of you didn't  do much to fill up this 3 story warehouse! The building itself was well kept, you didn't run some grimy sweatshop, it was clean, organized , and had one hell of a security system. 

Upon approaching the door to the office you observed it swing open automatically, guessing one of the guys saw you approaching on the surveillance cameras. A consensual sigh richoteced off your bodies as you took in the looks on their faces…..this was going to be a long damn day!

“Sit..” 

Joon walked over to give Yoongi both of his coffee orders, damn near snatching it out of his hand like a man deprived! You couldn't help but notice the way they all kept gazing over in your direction, the bruises on the side of your neck could be mistaken has love bites if they didn't know better. But the problem is...they all knew better, they couldn't help it, your the only girl in this circle, they all have a soft spot for you.

“Guys, please stop, I’m not a damn porcelain doll, I’m fine...can we actually start going over everything or do you just wanna keep staring at my bruised neck!?” Tone unintentionally snappy, you were just tired, frustrated, and already ready to leave. 

None of them bothered to rebuttal your request as you all settled on the sectional in the center of the room that sat in front of a 60 inch screen, which mirrored Yoongi’s monitor. 

“Okay sooo, to be honest, I didn't find a shit ton of issues, which isn't surprising, this is a business, you can only hide so much before it starts affecting money! But the issues that I did find, are a little concerning..first off it seems as though you only have about 10 clients that order in that large of bulk right?” Yoongi’s eyes drifting from the screen for conformation. 

“Yeah, and those clients have been with us since we practically opened usually orders that large are actually being transported for us to sell directly” Taehyung took it upon himself to answer as he shifted you onto his lap. You couldve sworn he thought if he let you out of his site you’d disappear or something. 

“Right, that’s what I thought, the person that was getting the order in question was relatively new...and it seems like you guys have about 2 more orders close to that size going out within the next 12 days...that’s also new clientele!” 

“Offf course we do!” Your sarcasm was just on autopilot at this point.

“Yeah, I checked into the system to see when they were entered..in, trying to find any email correspondences… and there wasn't much. The odd thing is, they were all added right before Henry left, but the orders were not set to go out for almost a good 60 days or more…” Jin chimed in while scrolling through his own laptop, double checking both work emails in the process. 

“Is that normal? Because I don't think I've ever heard of us doing that unless we're the ones sold out of something right?” 

“Yes and no, I asked Mrs. Chen (Lay’s grandmother who's been within the family business for almost 20 years) since she was taking over before I got here and she told me where she kept her handwritten notes” The frustration within his voice was comical..he was probably pulling his hair out trying to decipher her old school Mandarin.

“ Apparently, this client was moving locations and wanted it all to come together but couldn't afford it all at once. So technically it was three separate orders..that were paid for individually but they wanted to wait and have them all shipped together.” 

That was ...somewhat believable..the shipping cost for freight that size wasn’t small business friendly so it's not too obscene that they would rather wait and just pay one bulk price!

A consual nod filled the room at that, so far this wasn’t going too bad...

“Part of my concern, and it could just be me over thinking things, after that meeting we just had but when I looked into the shipping locations… and this is what I found….” 

Yoongi opened a separate tab to a spreadsheet that now graced the screen in front of you.

 Tijuana, Baja California,  El paso, and Laredo Texas …it took you guys a moment to put two and two together and then…

“Fuck, why do they alllllll border Mexico….” A deep exhale left your chest at that, sinking back into Taehyung. The question wasn't even legitimate more so just thinking out loud. 

Hoseok and Tae exchanged glares at the sound of that, the two of them have been gunhoe to “Handle” Marco for a solid 3 months now so this new info wasn’t helping!

“Again, maybe I’m overthinking this but..I just find it odd that the first shipment that’s ever gone rouge ..is going to a state bordering Mexico.” Scruffling his fingers through his hair, as he slouched against the desk. Yoongi looked fucking wrecked you could tell he’s been up the entire time!

“Right, but this warehouse is for replica luxury goods...some bulk wholesale items..I highly fucking doubt Carbarno wants a fake Gucci bag so this still makes no sense. We're still not at heads or tails when it comes to the Distribution truck…” You didn’t intend to sound like a bitch you were just getting frustrated! 

“I mean, the driver said they took 6, he left with 60-”

“How do we know he left with 60 though? Why are we solely trusting his word, does shipping and receiving keep logs of how many boxes are used per order!?” The room perked up at the sound of that, no matter how snappy, Taehyung’s request was actually spot on!

“Yeah, they submit it weekly so we know how much is going in and out inventory wise..”

“K, and where would we find that log?”

Jin stepped in since he knew the actual software a little better than Yoongi, typing in the shipment number..which narrowed it down to a month..then a week.. At this moment instantly regretting how good business was and the number of orders that are prepped daily. The 7 of you spread out along the office, going through the mountains of weekly logs!

For starters, shit was all out of order, which was a bitch for another day, but to be fair Jin’s only been here a month and Mrs.Chen as a fill-in until you could maneuver Jin to China!  

8AM rolled around and Jin had to step away, once the workers came in..needing to oversee the daily activities as he would any other time. Not letting them know Tae and yourself were upstairs, and I shit you not..it was pushing 11:30 when Namjoon finally found the log!

“Fuck!” You could sense the frustration in his voice assuming it was just because he still hadn’t found it…“Hey Tae, your Mandarin is a lot better than mine..come read this.”

Hopping off the floor, glancing at a hot pink sticky note on top of the log, there was a long pause before he actually said anything. “FUCK!”

The sudden outburst caused you all to jerk, completely unaware as to what caused it, the batatone rumbled throughout the office as he headed for the door “Hoseok, where’s the tuck ?” 

“Ugh, it’s in the lot it hasn’t been un-” Not even allowing him to finish his sentence before he headed into the hallway

“What the fuck is his deal!?” Hoseok retorted glancing over at you annoyed and confused by Taehyung’s sudden attitude.

“Tae, Tae!! ..” Nothing you knew he heard you as he headed for the staircase not even attempting the elevator. “Kim Taehyung!!!” Elevating your voice slightly and it still did nothing, an exaggerated sigh left you throat as the four of you trucked behind him. Completely unaware of where he was going, while Yoongi stayed behind to still toy with the system a little more. 

Inviting himself into the main factory level where all the workers were currently sprawled out, the immense out of chatter and music grumbled against the loud machinery. Not even attempting to speak instead reaching into his pocket, shooting a single bullet into the air, as a way to get everybody to shut the hell up and look at him!   

“Tae!!!” Gritted from your lips at his almost childish behavior and he still ignored you, while Jin ran over completely wide eyed, telling the workers to calm down and not panic. As they all instantly dropped to the floor at the sound of gunfire. 

“What are yo-” 

“I need, whoever unloades the freight, the driver of the truck, and whoever these two ladies are..” Pointing at the names written in Mandarin of the workers who loaded shipment “Send everybody else home for the day..”

“Taehyung-”

“Send. Every.Body.Else.Home….Now.” There was no elevation in tone but there differently was in delivery, his tenor got dark, demanding wasn't even a strong enough word to describe it. Not even waiting for Jin to respond or ask any additional questions as he pulled away from him, sliding his blazer off his frame in the process. 

You watched him head out the door without even sparing you a single glance,at this point you were done, done chasing him, done arguing and more importantly you were exhausted! Now it’s your turn to be dramatic, pulling your glock out of the inside pocking of your blush pink silk coat. Aiming right at the light hanging from the ceiling, barley centimeters away from where he was headed.  Ignoring the gasps that overflowed from the work room, head whipping in your direction, face contoured out of anger and you could give less than a damn.

“What the fuck is your promblem!?” you watched him storm in your direction the diction in his voice one you've never heard in correlation to you. Yet no matter how angry he was your stance never faltered, crossing your arms over your chest as your eyes burned straight through him.

“What the fucks my problem!?”

“I didn’t stutter, I don't have time for this bullshit Luxx, I have shit to take care of we only have another-”

“Excuse you!?” Strutting closer, minding the space between the two of you until you could almost taste the gum on his tongue. “You have shit to take care of!? See that’s my fuckin problem Tae, what the fuck does this say!?” Storming to the left point to the very faint carving within the bricks that read “Sunjata & Kim” only the spelling was purposely done backwards. But you all knew what it said...and why it was there….

You watched the hinge of his jaw tighten yet he didn't respond “Hello!? Would you prefer I say it in Korean!?” Brow arched at the obviously condescending implied question. 

At this point, Mazda, Hoseok, and Namjoon had made there way to the halway as well, silently observing the soap opera taking place in front of their eyes. 

“You really need to calm the fuck down…” Dropping his voice significantly the octave and tone... was less aggressive yet even more dominant then moments prior……

“Or what!?” Challenging him yet again as you stepped even closer, dropping your voice so the conversation stayed private. “This is a business, sex aside..you can’t go shutting down whever you get angry or upset. This is OUR business and OUR money…you have no problem giving me what I want in bed, so give me what I want in business! Fucking respect me as your partner and talk.To.Me.”

A long sigh left his body as his eyes flutter shut..pearing them open slightly..taking a firm grip on the sides of your face,craddling it between his plams...squezing slighly “God I wanna choke the fuck outta you sometimes…” The words slipped through gritted teeth but there was no actual aggression laced within his words.

“Fucking same….” Keeping your eyes locked on his, as you watched him regain slight composure. 

“You went in shutdown mode barley 3 months ago in regards to this same damn warehouse...it’s not happening again...talk to me Tae” Dropping your voice to an octave that you knew would unravel him and get you what you wanted.

Dropping his forehead down to yours...the hold on your jaw becoming more intimate, as he almost whispered against your lips. Finally brining himself down to a more level headed mindset...

 “The report called for 54 boxes..not 60...that means for some reason, we have 6 more than we should regardless! Either he brought back six..or for some reason, they spaced out the order more than they really needed too. Either way shits off...I want every damn box stripped and checked, because I swear to God, if my guts right, I don’t give a fuck if it’s his father’s fuenral...he’s done!” 

Pulling back from your slightly observing your shift in expression upon finding out what the REAL issue could possibly be ...” Oh fuck…” 

“ Right! I don’t- we don’t have time to argue alright? ...If you wanna come while we sort through these boxes...come”  That damn sure wasn't an apology but you really didn't have time to bitch right now soooo

`~~~~~

Unfortunately for the driver, a good 20 minutes in, Mazda found a clear baggie within one of the YSL replica bags…”Shit..Tae…” utter defeat slipped from his lips as he raised the bag,honestly, you weren't expecting it to be this fucked up!  

Body slumping into the floor at the site in front of you..and the more you searched the more, and more, and more..you found…The pile to the far right of the garage was growing like wildfire. 

“FUCK!!” This time the outburst came from you, darkside of the business is you guys moved snow...a gram starts at damn near $100.00. By the time you had every piece of shipment open, there was about 10 grand worth of coke smuggled carelessly between knock off luxury goods and bulk loungewear! 

It was pushing 3 in the afternoon at this point...the air was sitting real thick you could almost smell the fear laced within the 5 employees as they also sat in silence. 

“You know it’s Jimin’s ...it has to be...he gets jumped Monday night ...leaving the party...now suddenly there's 10k of snow here!? That’s not a coincidence…shit’s fuckin stupid!” Hoseok’s added in utter disgust you guys don't move drugs like this, there's a reason you don’t get caught! This was ignorant and careless, and theft, because these are Sunjata drug’s Leo, doesn't move shit this intense! 

There’s always a cleaner on any Drug run...that’s what Yoongi and Hosoke are for, in case someone tries to hit a lick or you get stopped by the police. A delivery driver isn't equipped to handle this kind of shipment, there not trained to kill someone in the blink of an eye! 

“So what would have happened if the police would have come to investigate this so-called robbery...and searched the truck..then what?” Eyes daggering int he driver's direction, lucikly he was smart enough to realize he wasn’t meant to respond. 

“ This is close to 10 thousand dollars worth of coke! We almost lost a mini Birkin!!” You didn't have the skill of sounding collected when angry, your voice was echoing extremely loud off the concrete walls! It was written all over his face that he knew something if you didn't know any better you’d swear he was damn near pissing himself. 

Yet Taehyung couldn't help but chuckle, even in a situation like this .. your comparison to losing money is a luxury handbag!

Pulling out your phone to call Jimin knowing he’d be pissed because it was damn near 2 AM, but you didin’t care.

“Yes…” He was wide awake you could even hear some chick complaining in the background that he picked up…

“Am I interrupting?” You couldn't help but tease, and honestly, you needed the slight distraction, the girl in the back managed to sound even brattier than you!

“Nope, your always more important..what do you need love?” Always the flirt Tae rolled his eyes that the sound of that...suddenly soo possessive...

“After Joleane's birthday...what was taken?” 

A low chuckle left his throat which instnatly threw you off “A shit ton of snow that wasnt even fully cured..the mother fuckers gonna fuck around and have a damn stroke if he tries to hit that shit...fuckin stupid! That’s what they get through ...Whatever..I’m already working on a new batch anyway...so don’t worry. I’ll have it ready by next drop night” 

Now you were all laughing, good old jet lag, it was somewhat delirious and cynical actually as if this couldn't get any better, Marco was moving uncured snow. Meaning’s someone’s paying for the good shit and it isn't even fully cooked yet. Any dealer can taste a bad batch especially someone on the level of Carbarno! If this would've gotten sold to the wrong person, kills the wrong person or they just felt like you were trying to rip them off! Suddenly the entire alliance becomes a walking death wish! What makes this even scarier is if you guys wouldn't have flown out here...you wouldn’t have even seen the attack coming..you’d be sitting ducks...AGAIN

‘Welp Park, I found your snow..it traveled to China so I’ll make sure I bring it back to ya!” The sarcastic tinge to your voice had him more than confused as you hung up throwing your phone across the room! 

‘We need to shut this factory down, at least four a couple weeks, because I don't trust what’s coming and going out at this point. Jin...I need a report on what’s supposed to go out within the next 5 days...I need a cargo plane big enough to carry people and freight. I want every order that’s set to go out in that timeframe...on that plane...”

His eyes glanced over at you as if for once he was asking for confirmation, in which you just nodded...you only had another 6 hours here. There wasn’t time to do shit else...except shut it all down until you actually had time to think this through! 

“Get two if we have too and I want Yoongi and Hosoek riding with the pilots..along with the driver and the two women that processed the shipment.I don't know how your gonna do it..but I need them all on a flight or two by midnight, and I want this factory locked down and closed until further notice!” 

Taehyung just spit a lot out all at once, but it appeared both Jin and the employees in the corner picked up on every word..or at least the important parts because they were utterly terrified. 

“Hey guys come look-” Yoongi paused once he notices the moutan of coke to his right “Holyyy shit….ugh..I...fuck really!?” 

“The point Yoongi! Get to the point!” Patience was done at this point..done!

“Damn okay! I tapped into a webcam...there's nobody home I was just curious if any of you recognized the space or not!” 

“With the mood, I’m in you better hope I don't! ” Tae bit back in almost a growl as he helped you off the ground, Namjoon and Mazda stayed in the garage with the workers will Jin set off to try and orchestre what Taehyung instructed. 

The minute you all stepped into the office it appears there was static coming from the TV screen “Oh shit, shit, wait...wait I think...someone's home now….”  Tae, Hoseok and yourself all studied the screen trying to see if the person would get in frame, but it seems Taehyung already had a pretty strong idea who it was. And within a couple minutes so did you….

You all sat in silence for a good 5 or so minutes...until  an extremely doped out Henry slurred into frame, eyes sitting dangerously low, the same way they did when Taehyung found him almost four years ago.

‘“Shit” your heart was damn near beating out of your chest as you observed the way Taehyung studied the video, you’d never seen him look like this, it was actually terrifying, he was fuming. 

You watched Yoongi shift in his seat suddenly feeling real uncomfortable as you all found yourselves studying Taehyung, instead of the video itself. 

“I ugh, I don't know where he is but-”

“I do!” His response was instant, and the smile that settled on his face as he said it was a little more than unsettling “He’s retreated right back to his dope house..a good five hours away…”

You found yourself silently praying that  he would just send his men and the two of you would hop on the flight butttttt…” That’s a long ride, we should probably grab some food and head out for our little road trip yeah?.”  A slight smirk danced along his lips, eyes still studying the video thoroughly as he walked backwards towards the door, nothing was earier than a calm KimTaehyung. . 

Exiting the room without another word leaving Hoseok and yourself to glare over at each other..sharing the same disturbed expression.

“You know if we get there, and Henry’s in that house..there’s a 99 perect chance he’s going to kill him right? 

Location: Henry’s “House” (A good 4 and a half  hours outside of Shanghai )

Thursday 7:10PM

The shift in the atmosphere once you guys got closer to your destination was uncanny, you’d never been to side of China before. Besides visiting Begjin you never ventured too far away form the warehouse technically what you told the TSA was true. When you came here if you weren’t checking on your business you were eating or shopping! Sunny kept your far away from China’s black market dealings and for good reason.

The house itself was pretty small, and dark all the windows practically boarded so you couldn't tell if anyone was even home. Hoseok instructed all of you to stay in the car as he got out, seamlessly breaking his way past the triple deadbolt without any hesitation. Once you noticed the door crack open the three of you followed behind, Hoseok’s gun was drawn the minute he walked through the door because the house was pitch black!! Instantly turning on the flashlight on your phone and getting kiddie corner behind him so he could see. There was suddenly a scurry of footsteps frantically trampling into the room from the right, causing Hoseok to instinctively back you into a wall behind him. 

As if your shoulder needed anymore impact, it took everything in you not to scream, gunfire came from your left strategically grazing the skin of the man's ankle, knocking him to the ground with a high pitched goran. Finally finding a light to your right, you see Henry, in a way you've never in your life seen Henry, and a huge shared piece of glace. Which was apparently his weapon of choice for whoever he could get his hands on…unaware of who was breaking into his home. 

Hoseok, and Tae carried him into the poor excuse of a bedroom as you were all cautiously trying to avoid the mountains of clothes and needles all over the floor. This Was not the man you knew, yes he lived modestly and minimalistic, but he was almost OCD about how organized  he was. Now you could barely recognize the person  standing in front of you,for starters he reaked, wondering when the last time he actually bathed. Hoseok reached down and pulling the  from his leg,  as Henry wheezed at the contact. The metal barley puncturing the skin which was done purposefully.... Can’t get answers from a dead man!

Taehyung instructed Yoongi to confiscate both laptops external hard drives, and anything else he thought Henry may have been using. Knowing it was already after seven and there's no way he’d have time to properly crack into that right now, but he definitely wasn’t leaving it behind!

“Can you guys all go wait outside please…” The words left his lips in such a hushed tone you almost missed it, but you also knew time and place, and this wasn’t one to push buttons. Back facing the group as he stood parallel to Henry, eyes locked on the glossy gaze in front of him. As you all started to walk out of the room the sound of your heels bouncing against the wood caught his attention “Y/n..you can stay if you want..” The request in combination with him actually calling you by your real name had you slightly taken aback. But you knew him, he’d never be the type to say he “needed” someone, so if he was asking it’s because he needed it! 

You didn't respond, just pausing silently observing from where you were, Hoseok’s eyes shifted down to you before he walked out. You could see the concern written within his gaze and for good reason “I got him…” Left your lips silently and he smiled faintly before walking out of the room.

“Tae…”  His name left Henry’s lips in nothing but a slur, as he struggled to keep his eyes open, Taehyung’s eyes cut in his direction, jaw extremely tight as he sunk down to a squat a couple inches from Henry.

“I didn't, I didn't mean too-”

“We just went through this, barely three months ago, but you paid me...well you paid Hoseok, and disappeared like a little bitch, and said you were soooo damn sorry. And again against my better judgement...I let it go...now here I am..” There is goes again speaking in the most tranquil voice possible in the most impractical times… 

“Now it seems you’ve upgraded from stealing my money to irresponsibly stealing and moving my drug trade..” You watched him get off the ground, faltering back slowly, eyes tracing the room clearly looking for something. 

“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way...that’s up to you, but I’m not leaving until you finally tell me who...and why..”  His eye caught a plastic bag on the desk, one of those “Keep away from children” ones that probably had some sort of electronic in it at one point.

“Tae I can’t-” His voice was wavering so heavy in his throat you would've sworn his entire body was shaking already a second away from crying.

“Easy..or hard…”

“Tae-” Before either of you could even fathom what was going on the bag was over Henry's head, yanking back by the ends until it was flesh against every feature on his face. While the elder gasped for every once of breath he could, arms coming up in an attempt to stop Taehyung, but his reflexes halted that within seconds..” 

There wasn't an ounce of emotion to be read of Taehyung’s face as he gazed straight through Henry’s eyes, expression completely blank, pupils blown out, jaw tight. He just looked...numb...

“Tae”...Nothing not even a falter…

“Tae!” Fuck..

“Baby..” Tone slightly different not sexual by any means it held a warning but it was still...warm..that made his eyes shift in your direction but he still didn't let go. He actually had the nerve to look over at you like he was annoyed that you were interrupting him!

“Fuck! Stop!!” You couldn't just watch that, yeah you've seen him do worse but you knew in his write state of mind he’d regret this! Actually stepping in this time pushing him off slightly, hastily snatching the bag off Henry’s head as he gasped for air like his life depended on it and it did! 

“You want him dead or do you want answers?” Trying to still keep your tone calm because you knew where his hit for him…

“You realllyyyy don’t wanna ask me that right now…” Eyes glaring over to Henry’s flushed face.

“A couple- months...back…” His airflow was still restricted but he was trying so the two of you waited…

“I was at a convenience store late at night, and I met up with one of the Zhao brothers to buy some….stuff” His voice drifted off not wanting  to actually say what it was, as if he wasn’t already drugged out as we speak!

“Because it was me, he came alone, we actually ended up meeting in some alleyway it was like 2am. Next thing I know he starts asking me a million question,I could tell he was a little off, probably tweaking himself honestly. I ended up willing myself not to buy the drugs,and for some reason that set him off, Wei said someone had told him I was trying to set them up.”

This sudden confession already wasn’t sitting well with the two of you…..what the hell dose Wei have to do with anything right now!?

“So that way you guys would switch your drug  trades from Asia to Mexico... one thing lead to another ...”  It was almost painful to endure this, he was talking in what felt like slow motion but it seemed he was coherent enough to tell the story so you tried to dissect his mumbling!

Both of you had a gut feeling where this was going, you just prayed you were wrong!

“I’m the one that ended up killing Wei…” Both of you damn near choked on your own spit at the sound of that a scoff left Tae lips as he got off the ground. Picking up the first thing he could find which was a coffee mug , chucking it at the wall, while tiny pieces of glass shattered along the floor.AS IF..you guys didn't have enough on your plate as it is...now this…”But trust me I didin’t want too and it was self defense!”

“Your telling me, that your the one that killed one of the brothers ...in probably the only Chiness ally we actually thrust!?” Silence filled the air, as he just nodded slowly in response, eyes swelling in the process.  “That was- That was fuck almost 6 months ago, we all flew over to there little island for the funeral YOU WENT TO THE FUNERAL!!  Tae and Hoseok, were pallbearers you have got to be fucking kidding me right now! “ 

It’s just grimey, disgusted wasn’t even a strong enough word, your skin was almost crawling, yeah you play dirty, real dirty. But not to people that have your back loyalty is so damn important in this line of work, yet 6 months ago your families sat at a funeral that one of your men caused!

“Yeah, and that’s why I didn't say anything ..sometimes it's just better if you didn't know ...He said he knew knew though….” He who the fuck is he Marco!?

“I heard he was in town, but I assumed it was for family business, I don't know if you guys knew this but Wei was allegedly robbed before someone found him, I think that’s part of how he knows.I don;t know if he was following me or what but  I’m almost positive he’s the one who  “robbed him”. Which would mean he has  Wei’s burner, which shows I was the last person he talked too, and there's text between the two of us right before! That alone is enough to have them cut my limbs off one by one.”

It kinda made sense...the motive at least...because all Marco would need to do , is just “Anonymously”  submit the phone to someone within their circle. Then he can rat out Henry, while also not letting them know that he had any affiliation with the situation! It would also leave a very hefty string to linger over Henry’s head as ammo. 

“It started with the money thing...which sucked and I felt like shit...but I knew I could pay you back. So I was just hoping and praying if I did you wouldn't completely hate me…” Eyes drifting up to Tae’s pitifully, you weren’t sure if his high was wearing off, or if it was settling and he was just a functioning drugie! But his speech was getting a little better the more he talked...

“So how do we get here, three months later with you moving our drugs to Mexico?” Tae’s voice was almost winded at this point, I don't think he knew how to process everything that was being thrown at him.

“That’s still new ...or at least where I’m concerned,I'm not even sure if the first official shipment even made it across the border yet or not. Still waiting on confirmation,.he ugh, when you let me go..he tracked me down. He;d reached out for weeks and I tried to ignore him as long as I could until one night….”

“ I woke up about a month or so ago in a drug house about an hour away...with an IV in my arm. Pumping in everything I’d been trying so hard to stay away from ...and ugh…well that’s how addiction works once you get it you need it…So he had me right where he wanted me....” You could hear his voice wavering and it took everything in you not to feel bad for him,this sucked...this wasn’t close to what either of you expected!

“ They check in twice a week and when they do...they bring that…” Gesturing over to the bag of Heroin on his nightstand. “I really didn't have a choice. I mean fuck at that point..I didin’t know what the fuck else to do-”

“TELL ME! TALK TO ME! I WAS THE ONE WHO PULLED YOU OUT OF THIS SAME FUCKING DOPE HOUSE 4 YEARS AGO AND GOT YOU CLEAN! “ Taehyung’s head whipped in Henry's direction as his voice bounced off every surface in this house. 

“I’VE ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAD YOUR BACK! You didn't even...put in half the effort to try and talk to me about this once you left LA...it was just done. Yet I still looked out for you, little did I know you were silently STILL fucking me the entire time…” You’d never heard Taehyung yell and it was actually heartbreaking, you've always said you feel as though he often lacks emotion when he speaks. Well...there it is,..there it all is, because you felt every single word that ripped from his chest!

“You wouldnt have fuckin listened to me, you told me I was dead to -”

“You never. Even.Tried Henry...you never tried..., you could’ve sent me a damn postcard for fucks sake! Shit man anything! Instead, you turned on the person that’s always had your back. And what’s even more fucked is what you're helping him do could get us arrested or even worse killed, it could get us all killed!! And you wouldn’t even give a fuck, because if you did...you wouldn't have given up on me…” 

His voice was starting to crumble in his chest “I never gave up on you. If I did I would've killed your ass months ago!” 

Instinctively you wanted to go to wrap your arms around him, as he spoke, keeping his eyes locked on the ground, you’d never heard him sound this hurt…..his voice was fluttering so hard in his chest it was painful to listen too..

“But this is the thanks I get huh? For caring about your life...so much that I'm willing to jump through hoops and make exceptions. Yet your so willing to throw mine away,but it’s cool because I’m Kim Taehyung right?” Though he wasn;t yelling every question got more and more aggressive, almost coming out as a grunt. “  I don’t feel shit for anyone or anything, so you fucking me over won’t affect me right!? I’ll be just fine...right!?” His voice completely shattered towards the end, becoming less aggressive and more brittle,you watched a single tear attempt to slide down his cheek. Hastily swatting it away before it even had time to fully leave his tear duct. Dropping his gaze back down to his feet as he fidgeted in his stance, hands resting on his hips. 

You damn sure were;t on his side but you could see how much it hurt Henry to see Tae like this...

‘Tae I-” 

You heard a knock on the door and it was Hoseok, Taehyung more than eager to break out of that room and his emotions!  Damn near jumping at his beck and call with zero hesitation.The three of you stepped outside of Henry’s house ...it was almost 8 at night and you lot were damn near 5 hours away from the airport. So the fantasy of getting home in enough time to sleep and breathe before the viewing seemed to be drifting further and further away! The glaze that washed over Taehyung’s eyes immediately caught Hoseok off guard but he knew better than to ask questions so he just got to the point. 

“So here’s the plan, out of the three employees only one of them has a passport, which is obviously the driver. Even if we make them one..it will take 48 hours, the warehouse itself is being put on shut down mode as we speak. While the planes being “Maintenanced”..there going to smuggle the drugs within the plane...once that’s secured Yoongi will take off with that pilot.”

You took the opportunity to wiggly your way over to Tae, wrapping your arms around his back out of habit, his body stiffened. As you went to pull away and respect his space.he reached back, pulling you back into your initial position.

 “Since those other orders are currently in question and we don’t know what we're getting into, I'll be the one traveling with that shipment on a freight plane.Yoongi leaves at 2AM with the truck driver I’m supposed to leave around 4 in the morning. Lay is set to come out by monday with the two women who actually processed the order...All of the other employee’s will be on very strict watch, granted they've all been with us for 5 or more years but you just..never know at this point. “ 

One thing lead to another and you found yourselves talking for a good 40 minutes or so, which wasn’t too surprising...considering all you had to debrief within the past 15 hours! Ultimately deciding to bring Henry back with you on the jet, Tae would start trying to slowly detox Henry while on this 15 hour flight. He’s done it before...he can do it again…

This time all four of you walked into the house...still dark, the stench seeming even stronger now, instantly picking up on the running water in the bathroom.

“Henry!!” Taehyung called out as he walked towards the door “Cho!!” Voice a little louder this time as he banged on the door.

Nothing, the four of you glarded over at each other, as Tae pressed his ear to the door. “Henry, man open the fucking door before I beak this bitch down! We don’t have time for this shit!”

Nothing, nothing but the sound of running water rattling against the porcelain tub….

 Ramming his shoulder against the door, a  low growl ripping from his chest at every blow, after the third time the flimsy piece of wood ripped from the hinges!

The steam from the shower came pouring flooding into the hallway……The handle still in Taehyung’s hand, as it swung backwards,feeling jerk back into his hold. Almost as if something was hindering it from fully swinging flush against the wall…That’s when his eyes dropped to the floor….

THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE FOR NOW...IF YOU ENJOYED PLEASE MAKE SURE TO “LIKE” IT AND COME CHAT IN THE ASK BOX. 

I do base continuing this series on the amount of likes it gets because that’s the only way I know there's still interest...as long as the chapters hover around the same numbers and or increase I will keep writing while I have inspo!  

ALSO YESSSS LOL The beginning “monologue” is actually a part of part 5....it was just foreshadowing the mood, and what was in store for part 4!  BUT it is in reference to the ending of this chapter...so you’ll have to wait and see exactly WHY he’s feeling like that

Love you guys as always,

ROCKI

[msjr0119]

The Greatest Show

“You don't need everyone to love you, just a few good people.” Part 1

In this series all chapters are based on each song or quotes from ‘The Greatest Showman’

Characters belong to Pixelberry except MC - Amber Smith-Beaumont and Brett Parker

Warnings: Swearing, Riam smut, Dramber Smut, GBH.

Tags - using combined tagged list, if you want to be removed please let me know 👍🏼

@pedudley @kacie-0156 @loveellamae @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @cmestrella @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @cordonianroyalty @custaroonie @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @princess-geek @jared2612 @desiree-0816 @gardeningourmet

This part is set in New York City - Liam x Riley

The next part is set in Cordonia - Drake x Amber

******

“No! So fuck off Brett! Leave us all alone! What are you going to do? Beat me to pulp again, like you did with Daniel. Like you did with Amber all those times?”

Brett. Ambers ex. Why has he hurt all three of them?

“Come on Riley, you know Amber blamed me for all that. It was her word against mine. But if I did it don’t you think I’d be in prison now?”

“No because she’s scared fucking shitless to report you! You are a mad man, you need help! You need to leave us all alone.”

“I’m not leaving you all alone until my girlfriend is back in my arms. I know you’re hiding something. Do you want me to take it out on you and Daniel again?”

“Do what you want to me. You already killed me inside. I’m not afraid of you Brett. Do your worse!” Liam and Bastien narrowed their eyes at the man, Brett noticed and smirked at them not responding to Riley’s last comment, instead deciding to find out who the two men were.

“Who are these people? Your bodyguards?”

“I don’t know them. They are tourists, that’s all.”

“You made her miscarry?” Liam snapped at the man, whilst gritting his teeth. Looking towards Riley- she focused her gaze towards the floor. Wishing that she hadn’t told him anything about the baby.

“Yeah? And? What’s it to do with you? She got in the middle of an argument between my girlfriend and I. Then little Daniel got involved. As the police said, we was all drunk- it was a tragic accident.” Smirking at Liam, Brett then cackled.

“See ya around Riley. When my girlfriend comes home, send her to me immediately.” Liam had heard enough now, anger was raging through his body. Looking at Bastien, the guard could predict the actions the prince was about to take. Shaking his head, his eyes pleaded with Liam to not pursue what he believed he was going to. Liam walked up towards Brett, grabbing his collar he whispered “leave the lady alone.”

“You don’t even know her, mate!”

“You killed my baby! You hurt her friends.” Before Brett could respond, Liam loosened his grip- he wasn’t thinking straight when he let out his boiling antipathy and swung his tight fist quickly into Bretts defined jaw. The impact, made Brett fall to the concrete floor.

“Liam! Stop! Just go back to Cordonia. Please!” Riley pleaded as Liam continued- Brett attempted to bring his hands up to defend himself but he was now weak. His body quivered. Liam gave one last solid punch into his gut, before removing himself from the situation. Bastien pushed Liam and Riley out of the way, hoping that this information about the fight wouldn’t make its way back to Cordonia - creating chinese whispers. Brett raised his hand towards his nose, smearing the pouring blood along his arm. Gaining that bit of energy, he stood up slowly. Knowing he wasn’t going to give up- he lurched into Liam- his fists aiming straight for the princes nose, Bastien pulled Brett off Liam immediately.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Brett shouted whilst being restrained by Bastien.

“I’d walk away if I was you. You’ve caused enough damage.” Bastien suggested as he pushed the man away from his embrace.

“Oh yeah. What are you going to do about it old man?”

“This!” Riley and Liam’s eyes widened, as Bastien kicked Brett in the scrotum- forcing him to the floor. Banging his head on the concrete kerb as he fell, Brett now knew he was surrounded, defenceless.

“Come near Riley, Daniel or Amber again and I will personally kill you. Do you understand? Bastien take us somewhere away from this cretin.”

“Yes Sir.” The three of them turned around, leaving Brett surrounded by a puddle of his own blood- not caring about any consequences that could occur regarding him.

“This isn’t over! Do you hear me? Riley I mean it! I’ll hunt Amber down. With or without your help.” Bastien escorted the two of them in the SUV. Looking through his mirror, he could see the silence between his passengers.

“How are you both going to explain your injuries when you get back to Cordonia?” Riley asked breaking the silence.

“A busted nose is nothing. What is it with you New Yorkers? Amber busted someone’s nose back in Cordonia the other day.” Letting out a little laugh, she was proud of her friend- knowing there must have been a reasoning behind her using her fists.

“I suppose were all fucking crazy. Mess with us and you’ll regret it. Where are we going anyway?”

“The hotel. As planned. I’ve got your favourite cronut for bribery. Now knowing what I know, I think you and I definitely need to talk.” Deciding to look at Liam for the first time, she noticed the blood continue to drip down his chin.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.” Riley opened her bag, pulling out the tissues- she put pressure on his nose attempting to prevent the bleeding becoming worse. Looking at his swollen hand, all the anger she had towards him was slowly vanishing. He had defended her, as well as Bastien.

“He’s a wanker. You both should have left him alone. One of these days karma will happen, he won’t hurt anyone.” Placing his hand over hers, there was that feeling again. Both locking eyes with each other, they didn’t realise how long they were focused onto each other.

“Your highness, we’re here.” Liam nodded, escorting Riley out of the SUV, they headed up to the room. Bastien excused himself, knowing the two of them needed to speak.

*****

“This brings back memories.” Riley nervously said, as they walked into the penthouse.

“Good memories I hope? From our stupid fling.” Emphasising the word stupid, Riley felt guilty.

“Liam... I... I didn’t mean it like that. I was shocked. I was angry. Why did you stop texting and ringing me? I received the odd text, I’d reply. Then nothing. ”

“I didn’t. I kept texting you. Hoping you’d respond. But you never did. So I stupidly gave up. If I’d have known about you being pregnant.... I’d have.... I’d have come straight away. To support you.”

“I never received further any texts off you Liam in response to those that I sent. I still have the same number. It doesn’t matter about what isn’t here anymore. I’m just concentrating on the future- not the past.” Liam got his phone out of his pocket, showing her all the texts he had sent her- Riley’s heart sunk, she did the same. All this time she called him Mr Fucker and Mr Fuck Face with her friends before eventually blocking him. Her contact details had the selfie they had taken- which tore on her heartstrings.

“You blocked me, like I did you.” Liam looked confused, knowing he would never block her- even if it would cause a scandal. “Look, it says unblock caller.” Unblocking her contact, she rung the number she had kept - his phone immediately rang. Sending a text to him, he received it. Back in the Big Apple where it all began. Smiling at her text, he forgot all about what was happening back home. “So that solves that mystery. The second mystery, where are those cronuts?”

“If you can find them you can have them.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll just leave and buy one myself from the bakery.”

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with C ... if I get them first, I may share them with you if you give me a kiss.”

“What happens if I find them first?”

“Then they are yours, no kiss required.”

“I better get looking for them then.” Winking at him, he witnessed her genuinely smile for the first time- he had missed that smile. The smile that lit up the room. Baby steps, he thought to himself.

“I can give you a clue if you are struggling?” Moving to sit on the bed, her eyes focused on him- that smirk he provided told her that he was sat near them. Ambling over towards him, she noticed the box behind him.

“They are behind you Liam- so game over.” Smirking, with her hand on her hip. “Come and get them. Or I’ll be kissing the princess on her lips.” Princess. He hasn’t called me that since the day the texts stopped. Feeling emotionally vulnerable, she wanted to claim him as she did all those months ago. She had a feeling he wanted the same- but couldn’t put herself through that heartache anymore. Attempting to grab the cronuts, she fell onto Liam. His hands held onto her waist as her hair fell in to his face. Removing a stray piece of hair behind her ear, their eyes locked on to each other- deep down both of them knew what they wanted but neither wanted to push the other away.

“Ri...”

“Yes?”

“You are so beautiful.”

“Don’t Liam. You’re soon going to be engaged.”

“What if I wasn’t to go through with it? Would you give me a chance?”

“You know that’s not possible.” Liam pulled her down towards him, pressing his lips on hers - it felt as if the word had melted away. Breaking the kiss- he softly smiled at her- in the back of his mind, he wondered if she was as confused as he was. But he didn’t care- if they could both make each other happy for one more time- he was intending on doing it. Both their hearts began to beat faster in unison, Riley laid next to him on the bed, turning her head towards his -her baby blues contained desire. Liam caressed her cheeks, taking in her beauty as he did all those months ago before crashing his lips onto hers kissing like crazy as if their lives depended on it. His tongue skimmed her lip before slipping inside her mouth, their now tongues battling against each other. Riley’s fingers ran through his hair, pulling him closer- his hands continued holding her petite frame.

The kisses became more passionate before Liam pushed her gently backwards laying her on her back on the bed. The weight and touch of his body on top of hers, made her feel loved all over again. Hovering over her, he began to gently kiss every inch of her body around the clothes she was wearing. Riley sighed, even though she was enjoying this impromptu visit from him- those lingering thoughts about her becoming heartbroken yet again wouldn’t shake. Liam noticed that she was all of a sudden acting hesitant, placing her hands on his chest- creating a slight distance between them both.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Liam... I just... I don’t want to hurt again.”

“Do you want this? I want you Ri. I just need to be sure.” Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she knew she couldn’t resist. His eyes and smile were too memorising. She had got over him once before, surely she could do it again.

“My head is saying no. But my heart says otherwise.”

Pulling him down back on to her, she inhaled that all familiar scent of his cologne. Feeling the slightest bit of stubble rub her skin as he pressed gentle kisses along her skin, she didn’t care- he was still as handsome as he was all those months ago and his presence felt wonderful and intoxicating. He was once again her drug- always craving for him.

“Liam, I want you.” She pleaded with him, he nodded in response. Her heart was pounding as she sat up. Liam led them off the bed to stand up- his hands roamed around her body, pulling her towards him. Unable to prevent himself from kissing her. Standing on her tip toes she pulled his jacket off, before working at his top- discarding them of the floor. Touching his warm muscled abs- he sighed at her soft touch. Working at his zip- he removed his trousers, leaving his boxers on. Riley bit her lip as her eyes focused to his bulge- she had forgotten how big he was.

“Like what you see Miss Brooks? I want you to be naked too. I’m going to show you how a Prince treats his Princess.”

Oh he’s good. He’s a charmer, I’ll give him that- but he doesn’t mean it. He just means in general- surely.

Slowly she removed her own clothes teasingly. She knelt on the floor, pulling his boxers down with her. Licking her lips, she stroked his length, before taking it fully in her mouth.

“You’re amazing.” Riley looked up at him fluttering her eyelashes. Feeling his cock pulsate at every move- knowing she was pleasing him, she picked up her pace.

“Ri, slow down. I’m going to cum.” He panted. Pleading with her to stop, he pulled her up, picking her up- he carried her onto the bed. Laying her down, he hovered over her, removing her hair away from her face, placing it behind her ear. Gently cupping her cheek, he kissed her forehead. Placing her hands above her head, holding them with one hand- his other hand roamed her body, circled her breasts- before kissing her hard.

“Tell me what you want Princess.”

“I want you. That’s all I want.”

Liam slid his hand between her legs- positioning his fingers and thumb at her entrance. The slightest touch, made her damp instantly. Kissing her neck, whilst working his thumb over her clit in a tantalising rhythm, she couldn’t contain her moans, “Oh... shit! Liam don’t stop.” She screamed, losing herself in the pleasure. All her muscles began to quiver. Feeling breathless already, Liam removed his new coated fingers, replacing them with his tongue instead. Taking a slight break to admire her, he placed sensual kisses on her inner thighs.

“You taste so good, Princess.” He said before plunging his tongue deeper inside. “Fuck!” Riley screamed, as she dug her nails in his side as he ate her. Removing his mouth, he smiled at her expression, her whole body now trembled.

Before she could recover, he slipped his magnificent sized penis inside of her. Holding that position, their eyes fixated on each other. Slowly Liam began to thrust, taking his time wanting to enjoy making love with her. “You feel so good, Ri. I’ve missed you.” He growled before the thrusts became faster and more passionate, hitting her g spot. “Fuck! Don’t stop! I’m so close.” Looking at her arching her back, he was happy with what was happening- but they still needed to talk. “I don’t intend to stop Ri. But we do need to talk still.” “Yes... fine... just carry on fucking me.”

His thrusts were powerful as their bodies rocked in sync perfectly together. Liam’s movements decreased in speed, as he released himself inside her. She felt his warm seed spill inside her, grateful that she had taken precaution after their last accident. Closing her eyes, she was filled with a mixture of emotions- regret, happiness, confusion.

“And here we are again.” Riley opened her eyes in response to Liam’s comment, as he removed himself off her. Holding his hand, she turned to face him. Cuddling into his embrace. Both breathless, they laid in silence- until Riley heard him take a deep breath.

“I need to go back to Cordonia as soon as possible.” And there it is. There’s my heart shattering all over again. “But I can’t lose you again. Not now that I’ve found you again. Come back with me?”

“What?”

“Riley, please come back with me. You don't need everyone to love you, just a few good people. Just me.”

*****

Brett was furious that Riley could allow two strangers to humiliate him. Remembering what Riley said “Liam! Stop! Just go back to Cordonia. Please!” He decided to do a little research. Having not heard from Damien, he wondered who this Liam was.

Prince Liam of Cordonia... social season.... unexpected suitor Lady Amber Smith-Beaumont...

“Got ya! Amber you can run, but you can’t hide.”

[applekitty]

i’ve seen lots of talk about escargoon lately

so i want to talk about him too. please note, i’m not specifically talking about sub or dub escargoon, as they both are still very similar in execution.

escargoon is a character who was written to be comic relief. he was written as to have the whole ‘oh boss is mean to his underling haha look at this idiot minion get beat up’ dynamic thing that so many other shows have, but escargoon deviates from the narrative by showing romantic interest in his boss. he’s shown to be gay / coded gay by the show numerous times (though it usually differentiates depending on who’s writing him) through his actions, and through the dub inparticular through his voice. and there’s our problem. 

if i may deviate quickly to be my onbrand 4kids stan self.. to be quite honest, 4kids had the right idea by toning down the gay escargoon had in his dialogue because just.. jesus christ, i don’t want to listen to this poor gay guy pine over the fucker who beats him! that’s like fanfic levels of awful! i dont want to blame 4kids for the voice chosen either, and i fucking wont because 4kids didn’t make the decisions on the voices, japan did. the voice still sounds like a stereotype gay one, which still gives us gay escargoon, but at the very least we don’t listen to escargoon lovingly sing about how much he loves the guy who beats him. 

anyways. 

he has the similar problem that le fou from beauty and the beast (YES, both the 2d and live action ver) has. he’s there to be beaten and there to be abused and there to be gay. we’re getting a gay character beaten and abused onscreen constantly. his affections will never be reciprocated, and to be honest it’s good that they arent— his boss being a mean asshole means if they were reciprocated it’d probably be purely for deceit or to gain more power to lord over him and make him do what his boss wants.

escargoon as a character, being gay, is cool. the way he’s written in the narrative is not, and despite me being the biggest anime fan around i’d never side with how he’s written. it’s truly unacceptable, and honestly if he had gotten better treatment that would’ve been great. if he were able to take out his aggression on dedede, or leave, or anything, that would’ve been great. but due to syndicated tv programming we couldn’t get that (we need everything to go back to normal after the episode ends unless it’s a 2 parter).

something also noteworthy is also the nastiness of escargoon’s character. because when he’s not around dedede, when he’s around people he cares about (such as his mom), he can legitimately be sweet and caring. but when he’s on castle grounds or in the car with the king he’s a completely different person. whatever reason he may have for that, it shows escargoon is a redeemable person, he has more depth than just ‘evil sidekick’, and has an opportunity to be better.

escargoon’s character is very much a victim of circumstance, and his narrative is too. he’s a victim, also, of internalized homophobia among writers who weren’t exactly fully aware of what they were writing. japan was never very good at the whole ‘gay character’ deal, and it continues to not be very good with other lgbt+ identities *cough* trans people *cough*.

escargoon is and always will be forever stuck in a limbo of status quo where he can never leave. and when i think about it that way, it’s very much a accurate depiction of abuse in relationships. he always gets a reason to stay and never leave, via force of the narrative. he is always forced to be dedede’s consort, and he can’t ever deviate. he is forced to be abused over, and over, and over again, and he can never leave. he is never given a chance to leave because he is a main villain, and he needs to be there to be dedede’s ‘comical’ gay punching bag.

the only people who say escargoon’s treatment is easy to ‘brush off’ are either dedesuka shippers, people who have no braincells, or strawmen. people who completely devoid the relationship between escargoon and dedede of any abuse, imo, are wrong to do so because it is a key in their relationship. you cannot have these two be together and have it not be abusive, canon has shown that through 100 episodes of constant snail abuse. to brush off the abuse after that much of it being shown is disrespectful to escargoon’s character and simply should not be done. 

escargoon deserves to have peace of mind not because the abuse simply disppeared. lets be real, i’m sure he hopes that the abuse will stop and things will go back to ‘normal’, as most abuse victims do. he remembers and KNOWS there’s times when dedede’s not hurting him, maybe one day dedede’ll stop hurting him for good. but no. it does not work that way. we cannot give that to him because that means he’ll stay with his abuser, and dedede will not give that to him because he’s abusive.

escargoon deserves better from us, he deserves closure of a mature kind. he deserves to he, himself, realize the cycle he’s been through for 100 fucking episodes and try to take a stand. he gets tiff and tuff and kirby to help him and he finally removes himself from dedede, even though it makes him sad to do so at first. he starts to heal and he starts to move on from dedede. he can become self dependant, he can work on his own flaws that he’d developed by being around dedede, he can become a better person and work to be nicer. he needs to heal.

but if we can’t get that, then..

it’s time someone on ao3 or ffn or SOMEWHERE started shipping him with their oc. because lets be real no one else in the series is good for escargoon, not even meta knight. let escargoon heal and grow, become a good person, then give escargoon a good husband.

edit 6/14/19:

No. ‘Game Dedede’ Is Not A Good Husband For Escargoon, Get Off My Post.

[megalony]

The affair- Part 4

Another part of my latest Roger Taylor series which had gained lovely feedback so thank you to everyone for the comments.

Permanent taglist: @marshmallowmae @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @luvborhap @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly

Series taglist: @bohemiansweede @killerqueenbucky @borhapqueen92

Series masterlist

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Death on two legs.

The rather early Queen song was the first thing that popped into (Y/n)'s head when her drowsy, half-lidded eyes locked onto Roger's rather broken form.

The drummer wore a crumpled white t-shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, the creases showing he had either worn it for quite a while or had pulled at it and shifted around a lot. There was a clear patch of blood over his left shoulder that Roger was ignoring. His left arm folded against his chest, his hand propping up his right elbow to support his right hand which was pressed to his lips. This posture making his biceps tense as his eyes looked significantly darker than usual. The blood vessels around his eyes were more visible as there were deep purple colourings beneath his eyes showing they needed sleep he wasn't allowing himself.

Roger had discarded the useless flimsy sling that had bound his arm to his chest to try and protect his battered shoulder. He saw no use in having it on when it did nothing but disrupt his movements. Causing his stitches to tear just a little and give way to the blood burning behind them which made his shirt stick to his shoulder to the point separating them was going to burn.

The drummer stood on (Y/n)'s left as John was standing on her right, looking just as worn down and sleep-deprived. When the nurse and doctor left the room after their checks were done and (Y/n) was declared stable, John leaned down to press a kiss to his sister's temple. Whispering something to her before heading out of the room. The bassist had already had a word with Roger, he did not want to be the one to have to explain to his sister what had happened and it didn't feel like his place to do so. John had been at the hospital for over a day now, he needed to see the rest of his family to reassure them he was fine and to catch up on sleep and something to eat. He also didn't want to intrude on his sister and Roger when they clearly had things they needed to talk about.

Both Freddie and Brian would be down in a few hours after being called by John and informed of the latest updates on his sister's condition.

Roger wasn't going home. The drummer had no need to go back, Freddie had already so kindly dropped him off a change of clothing and he could sleep here. There was nowhere the drummer needed to be and he had lost his appetite anyway. He had no family nearby he needed to go to, he had called his mother and sister already. (Y/n) was the only family he had and he didn't want to go home, he wanted to stay and make sure she was alright.

A sense of awkwardness flooded through Roger as he made no attempt to move for a minute or two. His body becoming glued to the spot before he noticed (Y/n) seemed to be coming around more. Her eyes trying their hardest to open properly and stay open, her body beginning to gain back the ability to move as she shifted. It didn't feel right to stand an observe her like this or not say anything. She had been out of the loop for just over a day now with her last memory being her getting shot. Answers were needed and she didn't deserve to wait around for them.

Moving around the chair that he had caught an hour's sleep in earlier, Roger sat down on the edge of the bed. He moved his good arm out to help (Y/n) sit up, knowing if he dared try and use his left arm for much it would give way. He had been very lucky not to get a fractured or broken shoulder from the bullet but the muscles had still been shredded and torn. Moving his arm caused bolts of pain Roger couldn't be bothered to deal with. He could handle not wearing a sling but any movement or playing the drums etc,. was going to have to wait until he was recovered.

Slowly moving her hand (Y/n) pressed her palm to her temple when it felt like all of the blood in her system had gone straight to her head. A small groan escaping her lips at the feeling as she could feel her heartbeat pounding through the blood vessels in her head.

Roger's hand rubbed up and down her arm soothingly, no words passing through the air between them for a while as he waited for her to recover and feel a bit more awake and recovered from her day of sleep. Alarm bells seemed to be set off in both their minds for different reasons. A sudden spike of worry surged through Roger at the way (Y/n)'s eyes seemed to be struck with horror. Realisation of something dawning on her features making him panic about what she had just thought of or remembered. She watched Roger's whole body crumple like a piece of discarded paper when her hand moved from her temple to her stomach that tensed at the reaction her sudden impulsive move gained.

There was a thought in the back of her mind that told her she knew what Roger's reaction meant but there was a larger part of her that tried to overtake. Maybe Roger had just remembered something else, maybe something else was the problem or something else was wrong with her and had caused this adverse reaction. Or maybe that was just her wishful thinking.

"T-the baby..." (Y/n)'s head ever so slightly shook side to side at the way Roger's lips seemed to be on strings that were pulling them down at the corners. She didn't miss the way his eyes turned even darker than before until the baby blue was gone and all that was left was raven black voids that could never be filled.

Roger's head tipped to the left just a little, his eyes casting down to her stomach before back up to her eyes. His head shaking at her silent question because speaking it out loud made everything feel real when all he wanted was for this to be a nightmare. They didn't want nor deserve this reality, did an affair really result in this? There were plenty of other people out in the world that did cruel things and didn't get this kind of karma. An affair didn't mean they deserved to get shot at and it didn't mean they deserved to lose their child. Roger guessed the person who did this to them was hardly going to get karma. Prison wasn't the kind of karma he deserved, it didn't give the pain that they were going through because of what he had done to them.

"No. No, I..." The words that (Y/n) wanted to express weren't forming past her lips. Her hand drifted up to graze over the wound that had been stitched up after the bullet was removed and the bleeding stopped. That wasn't near her womb, their baby wouldn't have been hit. Roger had tried to stop the blood loss back at the concert before the paramedics had got to them both, surely she held a slim chance of having their baby even through all of that?

Her hand went back down to her lower abdomen again, applying just a little too much pressure causing her stomach to tense and her teeth to clamp down on her lip to stop a groan of agony. Reaching out, Roger took her hand from her stomach to entwine their fingers instead. His eyes clamping shut for a second too long to try and stop the tears from leaving his eyes but it didn't do him much good.

"You went straight to surgery yesterday to stop the bleeding and remove the bullet. You lost a lot of blood sweetheart... I- I'm sorry sweetheart, you miscarried this morning." Roger had never seen (Y/n) look so broken yet lost at the same time before.

Roger had been right in his assumptions that (Y/n) would be alright but their child wouldn't. The doctors couldn't do anything for their child this morning, leaving John and Roger to watch through the window as they tried to stabilise (Y/n)'s heart and system whilst she went through yet more blood loss. Resulting in another blood transfusion being needed as her body finally seemed to stabilise. The drummer had managed little sleep when he was allowed to sit by her bedside again, needing to reassure himself that (Y/n) was alright and that her state wasn't going to deteriorate whilst he was asleep.

The drummer's movements were slow and careful as he eased (Y/n) so she was leaning against him to allow his arm to wrap tightly around her frame. Encasing her to his chest as tightly yet gently as he could when a stutter of 'I'm sorry' passed through her lips.

Roger wouldn't hear any of that. She hadn't asked for that person to shoot at her, she hadn't wanted to miscarry and she didn't deserve or plan this. There was no possible way that (Y/n) could be at fault for what had happened and Roger wouldn't listen to anything saying otherwise. His own guilt was a different matter because he had noticed something happening, he just didn't realise what it was. He could have made them turn back down and go to the dressing room again, he could have made them run a different way. He could have tried harder to make sure that (Y/n) wasn't in the firing line.

But she was not to blame for anything.

"Don't say that. That fucker shot you, this is his fault, not yours." Roger tucked his head into the crook of (Y/n)'s neck as he felt her tears tickling his neck as she dared not touch his shoulder for fear of hurting him. Her nails dug into his back from the grip she had on his shirt that was clutched in her hands. Needing something to ground herself to so she didn't drift away.

"D-did they get him?"

"Yeah." The drummer had to bite down on his tongue to stop himself from snapping.

There was no way they couldn't have gotten him really. All of the exits around the stage and the concert were packed with security guards, not that they had done any good when he was shooting but still, his exits were blocked. When the gunshots were fired everyone was on red alert and he was pinned down before anyone else managed to her hurt. But they had still been too late. They had messed up by letting the lunatic get through security in the first place in order to be able to shoot at them. He was caught but that wasn't enough for Roger. He would have preferred them to of shot him down or for him to try and run and resist arrest so he could have gotten a hammering just to give some kind of justice for what he had done.

Roger felt (Y/n)'s fingers carding through his hair, locking the strands between her fingers as she pressed her face into his neck. Desperate for him not to let go or attempt to leave her alone right now. She didn't know what she would do if she was left alone in the room with the knowledge of what had happened.

It felt like she was drowning.

[theravenclawlover]

Monster

Parings: James “Bucky” Barnes x Reader.

Warnings: +18 Mentions of torture, mature language, future smut, mentions of death, slight depression, mentions of kidnapping.  

Word Count: 2,066.

Summary: You are one of the youngest members of the Avengers, and you love it. Out of the blue an impossible mission is assigned to you alongside Natasha Romanoff, and it was sure to change your life. Lies, and betrayal from the closest people in your life; they never told you who you really were.

Chapter Number: 2.

Chapter Tittle: The Mission.

A/N: Hey! I’m back with another update for this series as you can see! I’ve been so busy with life, it’s a little tiring. Who would’ve thought that online courses could be so homework heavy... Nevertheless, I made some time to twink this thing up and some other chapter, so my prediction is that maybe later or tomorrow there’s going to be another chapter up! Thank you for being so patient with me, it means a lot! Now for those who read my Harry Potter fics, I know I still owe you lot a smutty Weasley Twins fic, and I promise I’ll post it by the end of the month or beginnigs of next, I haven’t been able to finish it for some reason. Also, I think I’ll try to start drafting chapters for my “Welcome to the Industry of Porn.” It’s been almost a year since I last updated that one. Okay, I’ll stop! Enjoy my fellow readers! 

After getting things ready, Nat and you found yourselves in her car; Natasha on the wheel. She kept on glancing at you, not real expression set but it was kind of annoying you. At first it didn't bother you and didn't really mind it, but it had been an hour since her eyeing had begun, so the annoyance was bound to sprout from you any minute.

"What?" you said a little snappy, it couldn't be ignored any longer. It was just rude to stare.

"What?" echoed Natasha with feigned confusion.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" You exclaimed while turning to face her as much as you could with the seatbelt on.

"Like what?" She didn't turn like you had, but you were able to see the change of her expression from your seat, she just gave you a confused look at your words.

"Nat, you haven't stop looking at me! It might sound crazy, but you've looked worried ever since Steve mentioned this "Bucky" person." You couldn't stop from raising your voice a little. She was agitating you and you knew you probably were overreacting at the whole situation.

She let out a sigh before answering, "Y/n, we have been sent to bring the Winter Soldier by no means of force. He has memory problems because HYDRA thought it was a great idea to mess with his brain. So, I'm sorry If I can't take my mind out of it! Also, I'm not looking at you with worry, I was just wondering why you seem so calm." At the last words she'd turned to face you, having reached a red light.

"I never thought that I would witness what I believe is a mini freak out from you. Also, I had my breakdown in my room when we were getting ready. He's scary for what I've read in his report. Remember Washington? Stupid question, of course you do. Dude, I cried when you and Steve were on the run. Trust me, I'm fucking scared, but I'm trying to stay calm. I have a theory that he can smell fear. So, I'm practicing my 'I'm cool with a brainwashed assassin in the room' face," you exclaimed with the tiniest grin on your face. Joking about the matter seem to help with your anxiousness, and the exasperation from before now gone.

"To be honest with you, I'm rather impressed that you look better than I do right now," she said after stopping the car in front of a big old building that looked like it was about to fall, "we're here."

"Shit." It was really happening. All you had to do was peacefully bring a brainwashed dude with you back to the base. Should be easy. Piece of cake, right?

"Let's do this, " said Nat getting out of the car, her façade of tough—not really a façade, she was tough—assassin had 'activated' once more.

You both stepped through the rough looking doors, according to the last report on him, he was in last the floor going up. You were shaking a little when you had finally made your way up. Nat made her way toward the door with quiet steps. Once the two of you were in front of the room neither of you knew what to do next. Do we just knock, or we burst in like the badass women we fucking are? you thought to yourself, a little grin trying to break on your face. You didn't get to dwell on it for too long because Nat had knocked on the door, her face showed the clear regret of that action. She had just acted without thinking of the consequences of her actions—how odd.

There was a noise coming from inside, you could hear hesitant footsteps coming towards the door, you knew he was going to open the door anytime soon, but you didn't know what to do so you just stood there. The movements from inside suddenly stopped, you saw the shadow of someone right in front of the door from its order side. A second later, that someone opened the door, and lord did the sight made you blush.

The door opened to show a shirtless man, long hair covering his face. He looked as if he had just taken a shower, he hadn't been expecting anyone—I mean, who would? The building was mostly empty, except for the homeless that looked for shelter. You knew you were staring but you couldn't remove you gaze from his massive, muscular form, and that glistening arm.

"Good afternoon," said Natasha, breaking the silence. He didn't say anything he just kept looking at both of you trying to figure out who you two were, and most likely wondering why you had disturbed his peace and quiet. After her words, more silence came—awkward silence.

"We are here to help you out, we know who you are," Natasha proceeded to say without introductions. Wrong move. The calm face he'd had was now replace with a cold expression. Before either of you could muster words out, he'd closed the door and hurried back inside.

"Shit! Shouldn't have done that!" Natasha grabbed her gun kicking the door trying to stop him. You did the same thing, grabbed your gun and try to stop him before he disappeared once again. You knew it had been hard to get a hold on a ghost like the Winter Soldier, so you couldn't afford to mess the mission up.

Once inside, he had put out on a shirt and was ready to jump from the window. Nat shouted a 'stop' but he didn't listen, he jumped from the window. You ran to the window to see him landing flawlessly on the ground. Before running off, he turned his head, and you swore he winked your way. Without another glance, he ran and vanished from your view when he took the first turn to the left.

"Crap! The fucker ran away again! He was ready," said an angered Natasha, now standing by your side.

"That was so fast. Who gets dressed that fast?, and that bag must've been packed already," you said looking around for any type of intel you could find. You needed to know where he has heading next, that could help with the foul mood Fury was surely going to be in.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that we are in big trouble when we get back," said Natasha with a sigh escaping her lips. With one quick look around, you gave up and headed back to the car, your murder by your boss awaiting you.

                                                        °°°°°

"Sir, he just ran back inside and jumped from the window and disappeared." For the umpteenth time you told what had happened to Fury. When the two of you got to the new secret facility of S.H.I.E.L.D.—or what was left of it—you were to give your mission report to Fury. Steve was there, listening on how bad the mission had gone; he looked worried, but you had a feeling that it was because his friend was in the world off the radar rather than worried about either Nat or you being yelled at by Fury. You felt guilty, Natasha and you had messed up the chance for him to see this 'Bucky,' but at the same time you were slightly annoyed at his uncharacteristic coldness at your failure.

Fury was mad that you two had failed the mission, but he had known that someone like him was no easy target, but that doesn't mean that he let you off without some type of punishment. You knew that S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't the same organization that once was, now it was just a little group left since the incident with HYDRA. Fury told you after he had—somewhat—calm down that Natasha and you were to be in the tracking team. Meaning that you were to sit down in front of a computer until you got wind of him.

You got back to your room but not before spending the rest of the afternoon working for the new coordinates of where he could have run to hide. You opened the door to your room; once in, you kicked your shoes off and walked towards where your bed was, putting your gun and badge on the nightstand. You were exhausted to even remain awake while walking around to get things done. You went to the bathroom to take the most relaxing shower. The warm water felt so good against your tired body and your thoughts ran wild, with no care. At first it was just how bad you had mess up the mission and the guilt that came with that, but then you could only focus on him. Those piercing blue eyes that seem to take you away from reality... You shook your head trying to forget about those eyes, but you found yourself going back to them. They seem to bring you a sense of comfort that you couldn't explain. You quickly finished your shower, trying to rid yourself from thoughts of him. Once out, you grabbed your panties and the biggest, baggiest t-shirt you owned, and with no trouble you fell asleep.

                                                         °°°°°

You were in a room that seem too familiar for some reason, there was a glass window in front of you. You walked towards it; it showed another room. Your eyes landed in the person that was in the middle of the room, it was him. He was shirtless inside a capsule, he looked troubled while he slept. There were people waking him up, and when they did, they sat him on a chair not far from the capsule he had been. There were doctors around him with clipboards, and big machines were being situated around the blue-eyed man. You looked around, besides the doctors there were people in green outfits—officers. Then you looked to your other side and saw one of the doctors coming to the room you were in, he walked towards to what looked like a control panel. You saw him pressing some buttons, and the big machines in the other room started moving.

Your eyes moved to find his, he was already staring right at you; he couldn't see you, though, the glass didn't allow it. One of the doctors near him grabbed something and put it in his mouth, him never questioning what. He kept looking straight ahead, you felt as if he could really see you through the glass, it made you shiver unconsciously. One of the doctors now gave a signal towards the glass, and so, the man on your side of the glass pressed one button and the machine got closer to the man sitting on the chair. Before you could guess what was going on, he was screaming. You didn't want to see, your heart ached at the way his eyes shut abruptly, how his knuckles were now white from gripping the chair. You couldn't look away and you weren't even able to flinch at his screams. You didn't know how long it went like that, but all the screaming was soon replaced with a shrilling silence. As soon as he was still, dead-looking, some officers were now helping him up and taking him somewhere else. Everyone started to leave, doctors and officers alike—loud-ish chatter amongst them. There was one person who didn't move, and he was looking at you. The man smiled and made his way towards you, he seemed familiar and nice.

"What you just saw, Y/n, was how we made our best weapon stay emotionless, and strong. That is why he is valuable to us; he doesn't show emotions towards his victims." The man was now kneeling in front of you, "now, honey, we better get you to your room. Tomorrow is going to be another day full of training."

"Yes, sir," you said. Your voice sounded so young, probably less than ten years old. He picked you up, and you wrapped your tiny arms around his neck. It took forever to get to what you guessed was your room. Once inside and you were changed into your pajamas, he helped you get in bed, tucking you in.

"Have sweet dreams, my little princess," said the man that was looking at you with loving eyes.

You gave him a soft, sleepy smile before yawning while muttering softly, "goodnight, papa."  

Tag list:

@boredtotearz100 @john-benderr @cnco-ravenclaw-46

[ardentmuse]

At All Costs (Charlie Weasley x Reader) - Part 5

Harry Potter - Charlie Weasley x Reader

Wordcount: 5.4k (this one is a doozy!)

Masterlist // Series Masterlist

A/N: Warning: talk of violence, sexual harassment, and some much-needed fluff. And yes I am using Outlander gifs. That’s my Charlie :) 

“A toast!” Voldemort called from the head of the table at Malfoy Manor. The forces were three-chairs deep tonight, the numbers having grown with the take-over of the Ministry, but also with the eagerness of those on the outskirts to fill the seats of the close advisors lost in the previous two battles.

“To rightful control of the Ministry of Magic!” he said with a raise of his glass, “And Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!”

Voldemort took a sip of his beverage. You watched from your seat next to Snape as a long tongue escaped between Voldemort’s lips, licking at the liquid that ran down his chin. The sight was revolting and as you tried your best not to wince, you felt Snape’s eyes upon you.

Snape. You hate the man. Dumbledore trusted him and then to do what he did was the lowest thing you could think of. But you also needed him. He was the only person among this crowd who had seen your skills at Hogwarts, who knew truly what value you brought to the table beyond the rumors, the Skeeter articles, and the battle victories. He knew your potential and had even a few times encouraged you to cultivate it in indirect and albeit brutish ways. As much as you hated to admit it, he was an ally here. A traitorous, self-serving, useful ally.

You turned to meet his gaze as you took your sip in time with the crowd. His eyes narrowed upon you, like a robot scanning your features for signs of treachery. After a moment, he too swallowed the wine before him in a single gulp before turning once more to the captivating roar of his master.

“We have instilled our puppets within the Ministry, along with our own men, to assure an orderly transition. Yaxley has overseen those efforts and for such will be rewarded,” Voldemort nodded his head towards the right length of the table where Yaxley sat among the other ministry employees, each with shit-eating grins upon their faces, all except the Malfoys.

“And Severus,” Voldemort continued with a turn of his head towards your side of the table, “will oversee our efforts at the castle with the assistance of the Carrows.”

Snape let out a long breath beside you before picking up his voice.

“My lord, might I make an additional request?”

Voldemort took a moment as Nagini slithered up beside him and rested her head on the arm of his chair.

“Speak,” he commanded as he began to pet the creature on his left.

With a large squeak of the chair, Snape stood. He only looked forward at the ghastly man before him, never even bothering to acknowledge the brood of death eaters who shared the room.

“I would like to bring another along to Hogwarts. As Hagrid, the groundskeeper and teacher of Care of Magical Creatures, participated in the Seven Potters a few weeks ago, I believe we would be justified in removing him from his position as faculty. That would open up a third spot, one that I would like to see taken over by Y/N.”

You felt all the eyes in the room turn to you. You could hear all the murmuring around about the “Weasley-fucker” and “Potter-sympathizer” and more than a few voices pointing out how you had yet to “prove your loyalty.”

Certain members of the collective did support your position among them, though. Bellatrix surprisingly enough had been praising your tricks and malice after having witnessed you launch your ex with great force across the Weasley wedding tent and considered you feisty for the way you took out your handler. She was thoroughly amused by your eagerness to take down your old loved ones on your own and break a few rules in the process, something she knew too well, and had been putting in a good word for you among the women. Even Ismelda believed herself to have been wrong about you. But for the majority of the crowd, a few weeks of sitting among them and staying quiet was not enough to prove yourself an ally.

“Silence!” Voldemort screamed from the front of the room, his fist slamming hard upon the table. As the room returned to quiet, he added, “Explain your reasoning, Severus.”

“I seem to remember that Y/N here had quite the knack for getting into trouble and finding hidden things throughout the castle,” Snape said, with a particular emphasis on hidden that you wondered if he might be trying to convey something to you that he hoped the rest of the table might not pick up on.

But it was Voldemort who perked up at the choice of words.

“Yes,” he hissed as he waited for Snape to continue.

“And I believe keeping someone so untested close might prove a safer strategy than letting them roam free.”

Voldemort’s hand returned to stroking the snake beside him. You felt this dark eyes bore into you as he examined you with intensity.

“And how do you feel about this plan, Y/N?”

You swallowed and stood beside Severus, holding your hands in front of you and bowing your head slightly. You took a moment to think. This was not a part of the plan, being at Hogwarts. You were a fighter, a dueler, a powerful magic wielding who would assure that certain spells didn’t meet their intended targets, just as you had at Bill’s wedding. At Hogwarts, you would be away from the fray, but back in your comfort zone. If anything at Hogwarts should prove useful, you’d be in the best position to serve the Order. Not to mention, if the Carrows were as dumb as their appeared, you might be able to train the third years and above in defensive magic without raising a ton of suspicion.

“My lord, if it will serve your cause, then I will gladly take up residence at Hogwarts and assist Professor Snape to the best of my capabilities.”

Voldemort snorted, “It is Headmaster Snape, dear, but I do appreciate your input. Severus, I approve of this plan. And wait on my word as to when Y/N’s talents might be best put to use.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Severus said as you both took your seats. The room began to grumble again with complaints about your presence but you had seemed to impress upon the people who mattered that you were of value.

Beside you, Amycus Carrow placed a hand firmly upon your thigh. Your eyes shot up to see a baleful grin just inches from your face.

“I’m looking forward to working with you, Y/N,” he said with a squeeze, nearly cutting off circulation to your leg, “Very closely.”

You heard the whip of Snape’s hair beside you as he hissed out in whisper, “Take that hand off Professor L/N, Carrow, unless you wish to lose it.”

Immediately, Amycus pulled away.

When you turned to thank Snape, he refused to meet you gaze, instead looking straight, at Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa, making it very clear that he was doing you no kindness, as much as seeing order be maintained under his rule.

“What do you think it means?” Molly asked her son as they both took a seat upon the guest bed, each on the verge of tears. She sat the clock between them, and watched your smiling face looking up at them, completely unaware of your new position among the rest of the hands in mortal danger.

“I’m not sure, a deviation from the plan maybe? Like everything up to this point was in Y/N’s mission briefing and now something’s changed? Do we know anything about what is going on or are we completely blacked out with the Ministry takeover?” Charlie was leaning forward with elbows upon his knees, running his hands across his scalp like he could pull out the thoughts he needed with his bare hands.

“Pretty much,” Molly confirmed as she stood to begin pacing the room, “We may not know much but we can be reasonable. Y/N isn’t necessarily in any more danger than the rest of the family. Maybe nothing has changed.”

“I can’t just accept that, mom, and you know it,” he said as he stood. He put the bag over his shoulder, “I’m going.”

“Where?” Molly asked, but did nothing to stop him.

“To Rowan, maybe. Penny? Ben? Even Merula if I have to. Maybe someone has heard something,” he was beginning to sound frantic as he pulled the bag a little tighter on his shoulder. “But, mum, since I saw Y/N at the wedding, with those horrific people, I have never been more scared in my life. My love is out there, in the mouth of the lion’s den, playing along to whatever game they want until they decide to end it. At any moment, someone makes a wrong statement or wants to prove a point and Y/N’s dead. I know I need to trust, but I just can’t. I hoped getting back to work would help me forget, that I could just pretend this was like every other mission and wait for the owl like I always do, but this is different. This is too much and I need to do something. Anything. I just can’t lose Y/N. Not again. Not ever.”

And with those last words, he fell against the wall in tears.

Molly immediately on the floor, holding her son against her chest. He had long ago grown too big to truly find comfort in her embrace, but she did it anyway. It was lending her some strength too.

“I know the owl isn’t coming, mum. Either Voldemort dies or Y/N does. There is no other way that this ends. And I can’t just sit here and wait any longer.”

“I know, son, I know,” was all Molly could say as she swayed back and forth, holding the shell of her son.

There was a knock at the door and Molly looked up to see Ginny standing before them.

“News from Hogwarts,” she said with a shake of the Daily Prophet, “Snape’s in charge. And you aren’t going to believe who he’s selected to take over for Hagrid.”

“L/N, may I have a word?” Snape asked as the rest of the professors began to leave the staff room after your first assembly upon your arrival back at the castle. You stopped your walking at the sound of your name.

Seeing so many people you loved again should have been a pleasant reunion but none of them trusted you, at least not yet. Professor McGonagall had even smiled at you, but upon seeing your arm, shook her head and walked away without even an hello. And honestly, you just wanted to go to your room, curl up in your bed, and brainstorm how you could pull this whole thing off, help the children and build alliances with the professors, without giving yourself away to Snape and his death eater cronies. And you only had a few days to plan before the students arrived.

You desperately needed a good cry.

You took a swallow before addressing your new boss as he sat at the end of the long conference table with confidence, “Yes, headmaster?”

Snape watched behind you as the rest of the faculty fled the room. He waited until the door shut behind Sinistra to address you further.

“I am aware that given your previous… occupation, this position may not be the ideal fit for your skillset,” Snape said with a slow drawl that made it clear he was choosing his words very wisely, “But given your affinity for creatures and your boyfriend’s occupation, I trust that you will do your best to keep your courses up to our educational standards.”

“Ex,” you whispered under your breath before meeting Snape’s eyes.

“As you say,” he said as he stood from his seat to take slow, methodical, steps towards you. “It has been requested that Defense against the Dark Arts be retired from the curriculum, so as you see, there really is no more fitting position to offer you.”

He came to stand in front of you, his dark robes bellowing around him like a wall of black blocking out the candlelight. You felt the cold darkness encompass you immediately, but did your best to keep a strong, confident face.

“L/N, there will likely come a time when your other... skills will be called upon, by me and by our lord. I need to trust that you to follow my lead and to do what is in the… best interest of this school and its students. Am I understood?”

If you were being honest with yourself, you didn’t really understand. There was something hidden in his words, you could tell, but what was quite unclear. You knew you had the best interest of Hogwarts and its students at heart but you also trusted that you and Snape had very different ideas of what was best.

And so you said the one thing that you knew wasn’t a lie.

“I will follow your lead as headmaster and do what is in the best interest of the cause and of our students, sir. That is why I am here, after all.”

Snape’s eyes narrowed as he assessed you, but you did not budge. You simple stood your ground, your face affectless under his gaze.

With a swallow, he turned with a swish of his robes before projecting to the back wall, “You may go.”

You didn’t waste any time before leaving the room and the man who would still remain a reluctant ally.

As the sun set on the first of September, Charlie landed his broom in a clearing of the Forbidden Forest, a good trek away from the lake edge where he had requested that Ginny ask you to meet him. Having his little sister play messenger was not his favorite part of the plan as it certainly put her at risk, but he could think of no other way to get the message to you without putting you even more at risk. Your previous relationship with the Weasleys was no secret, so Ginny approaching you would raise little suspicion.

He practically ran out of the forest, so eager to even just look upon you again. He knew he was early. Honestly, he hadn’t a clue when you would be able to see him, if at all. But he also knew he would stand in rain, sleet, snow, or hail to see you again. He’d stand for a year if you asked him, two if you didn’t.

But lucky for him, an hour was all it took you.

“Charlie,” said the voice of his dreams, so foreign and angelic that it took him a moment to process it was real. He dug his feet out of the mud to turn to you and upon seeing your face, very much alive and very much yours, he felt all the tension he had been holding in his chest ease.

He watched you at the top of the hill, your form illuminated so delicately in the moonlight, and he couldn’t help but smile. You started on a run, allowing gravity to assist you as you moved with speed towards him. Your robes were billowing behind you like a full dress and he found himself imagining Bill’s wedding again, though this time with you by his side, dancing in time with the trumpets. The sight alone had him in tears.

“My love, my love, my love,” his brain chanted with each of your paces, with each of the beats of his heart that grew louder and louder as he counted down the milliseconds until everything was right in the world again as he held you once more.

Before he could even take two steps towards you, you flung yourself into his arms and forced the air from his lungs. But he didn’t need to breath. You were life and oxygen all on your own, the only thing he needed to sustain his soul. His other half had returned to his side, even if only for a moment, and for the first time in well over a month, he felt completely whole.

You didn’t even bother with words, instead choosing to cover his face and neck in kisses, each quicker and more desperate than the last. It was taking almost all the strength his legs had in them to keep you both upright. And just as you began to move your mouth to the hollow of his collarbone, the one place you knew was enough to turn any innocent affection into a heated exchange within seconds, he found the will to pull himself away from you.

“Y/N,” he breathed out as he looked down at your face. Your breathing was labored and your eyes mostly lidded. It took you a few blinks before you regained yourself and looked upon him properly.

“Charlie,” was all you managed before you were leaning forward to kiss him once more, but firm hands on your shoulders held you back.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” you said, offering him a smile. Charlie lit up the moment your lips spread, like a child told that Christmas came a day early.

“I never gave up on you,” he whispered. He reached out to stroke your cheek, feeling the delicate skin again upon his fingers, something he missed more than he could express. His yearning for you was not eased by your presence. Not one bit. Talking was proving difficult when each of you just wanted to feel again, to know the solid form of the other permanently against your skin.

“I didn’t think you would.”

With a sigh, Charlie pulled you against his chest, taking in the scent of your hair and the feel of your warm limbs around his waist.

“Moody?” was all he asked, like it answered every question.

“His idea,” you confirmed, “All of it. Well, except this,” you added with a gesture to your robes and formal hat, ones fit a professor.

Charlie could do nothing but sigh and hold you tighter. He knew how much you loved Hogwarts, how you dreamed of retiring from your work as an auror and teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts someday, just as he would leave Romania and open a sanctuary for the Hebridean Blacks and maybe assist with Care of Magical Creatures once the sanctuary was self-sufficient. And now this, this taint upon this place and all it held for you. He hurt for you more than he hurt for himself, for the life you wanted to live destroyed with this war and with your sacrifice for the good of all wizard kind.

“The good news is I am much better positioned to help the innocent children here than if I was in the thick of the war still. Snape has also taken a liking to me, if you can believe it. I think he suspects something and wants to keep me close, just in case.”

You let out a shuttered breath with the cold and on instinct Charlie ran his palms up and down your arms. But he didn’t get very far before he felt the upraised, tarnished skin of your left forearm. He rolled up your sleeve and pulled your arm up into the moonlight. And upon seeing the black ink swirling in demonic shapes upon your skin, he wanted to cry for you all over again.

You bit your lip at his inspection.

“This had to be real,” you said in justification.

Charlie didn’t meet your gaze but instead focused on the skin under his palm, skin he had kissed time and time again, had held against his chest as you found sleep upon him, had wrapped in his jumpers on cold nights like today. This skin he knew better than his own some days. To see it so changed was something his mind couldn’t process.

He leaned forward and kissed the snake and skull that filled your arm. He ran his fingers across the lines gently and slowly, studying and memorizing this new part of you.

“Thank you for this,” he said as he kissed your forearm once more before returning it to your side. He saw the tears pricking at your eyes again at his tenderness. The man you loved was always willing to see the good in you, always looking for reasons to love you more and better.

“What do we do?”

“I’m not sure,” you responded as you ran your fingers through his hair, so much shorter than you liked it. His beard was growing in too, shades red and blond and orange in the light reflecting off the water, masculine and seductive without even trying.

“Can we send owls? Can we see each other in the forest? Can you provide me updates somehow?”

“Monday nights in the forest grove? Where we used to—“

“Where I used to make love to you in spring,” he interjected with a grab at your hips. The smile upon his lips was enough to make you want to drag him there now, to have him lay you down in the wildflowers and have you like he did back when you were seventh years.

“I was going to say where we used to meet the centaurs but that, too.”

Charlie laughed, “I’ll bring the blankets and the wine.”

You leaned up to kiss him once more. “I must go before they know I’m gone.”

You went to pull away but Charlie wasn’t having it. He took your left hand and pulled you forward once more against his chest, hard and strong and warm, home to you in so many ways.

“That morning you left me,” Charlie whispered into your ear, “I had a gift I never got to give you.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out something so small and delicate you couldn’t see it. But when he held it up for your inspection, the light hit it just right and you saw the gold ring, polished and glistening between his fingers.

“Please, love?” he asked, “I said it that morning and I will say it again; if this war ends and I don’t have you on the other side, we won’t have won at all. Not to me. I need you when this is over. Please? Please be mine?”

You ran your hand down his chin, through the alluring hair that now covered his jaw bone.

“I’ve always been yours,” you told him, “But I’ll gladly marry you. I love you, Charlie.”

Charlie let out a large puff of air, a release of tension at your words.

“I love you, too,” he said as he slipped the band he forged upon your left finger. He kissed the ring and then moved his lips to kiss the brand once more, a promise to love you, all of you, for the rest of his days.

Just then, there was a rustling in the trees from which you came.

“Go!” you said in a loud whisper, pushing Charlie towards the forest.

He took a few steps but then turned again.

“Y/N!’ he called as you watched the trees for the source of the noise. You quickly gave him your attention.

“Tomorrow. Nine o’clock. Tap your radio and say, “Weasley.” And remember when you feel surrounded by snakes that you are a fearsome beauty and you will conquer them all. Thank you. I love you.”

You raised an eyebrow at him but he simply blew you a kiss and disappeared into the forest.

You watched just moments later as a tall, imposing figure came through the tree-line before you. You could identify those hooded eyes and long nose from a mile off and the sight instantly had your skin crawling.

Amycus Carrow walked with measured steps towards you, his common intimidation tactic of looming while in your presence even visible in his walk. You did your best to cross your arms in front of you and smile as bright and welcoming as you could muster.

“Your enthusiasm sickens me,” he said as he reached you, though the grin upon his face seemed to say otherwise.

You took a moment to compose yourself, to step into the pious persona you cultivated so well these past few weeks.

“I only wish to serve,” you said with a faint smile on your lips.  

“Oh, I can think of a few ways you could serve me,” he hissed as he stepped even closer into your space. You tried your hardest not to puke.

“Simply say the word. I believe Professor Snape has given you a few instructions as to how I might be of most use to this new administration.”

At your ignoring of his advances, Carrow scoffed. He reached a hand around your neck, grabbing in a way that from him was menacing but from Charlie might have been seductive.

“The first thing is not running off into the woods during dinner, little pet. Your presence is required at all faculty functions.”

You felt his fingers gripping into your collar bone. You knew you needed an excuse, one that would distract long enough for Charlie to leave. And so you stepped forward, pressing your chest ever so slightly against Carrow’s robes, enough to feel his breath hitch and his hand loosen upon you, enough to seduce but not enough to arouse suspicion.

“But it is such a beautiful night,” you pouted, looking up at him through your lashes, “Far too lovely to be cooped up in a castle. I know these grounds better than most. Should I not enjoy myself a stroll?”

With the last words you grabbed at the edges of his robes and tugged. You watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard. You were close enough to feel a small rise in pressure in his slacks. You immediately regretted your course of action. But it was too late to go back.

“But of course, my dear,” Amycus offered sweetly as he slid his hand from your neck around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. “But you shouldn’t be out here unaccompanied. It simply isn’t proper.”

And with that, he began to guide you around the lake, mocking the way a gentleman might hold you, tight against his side and all menacing. You wanted more than anything to pull away, to push him and curse him for daring to defile your skin with his fingers, but this is what was needed to stay alive here and to help Harry and all the innocent students who would be victim of this man’s sadism. And so you swallowed and walked in time with the man beside you.

Charlie watched the exchange from just beyond the trees. He couldn’t hear what you were saying but he saw the touches and the tension. Godric, it took everything in him not to curse the man who might chose to prey upon his betrothed in such a way.

Charlie raised his wand, prepared to protect you if the situation called for it. He trusted you to handle yourself but he simply couldn’t stop. If he had it in him to protect you, he would, just as he always had. Long before he had even promised himself to you as a lover, he protected you as a friend.

And as you began walking, just as Charlie watched the sinister man’s hand slip dangerously low on your back, caressing the top of your rump, squeezing the flesh there with his long, bony digits, you snapped your gaze into the woods.

You didn’t meet Charlie’s eyes. Your look was a few feet to the left and just a little high. But the tightness in your brow and the intensity of your stare conveyed the message clearly: do not engage.

Charlie swallowed. Watching another man touch you was almost torture, but he slipped his wand into his pocket and made to turn towards the grove where he left his broom. But he decided to take one last glance at you as you moved along the collection of shrubs that lined the northern edge of the lake.

You pulled forward out of Carrow’s hold ever so slightly. As you did so the moonlight caught the gold upon your finger once more, the metal Charlie had bend and shaped himself in the fiery breath of Norberta, a call to the time he used the mission from Ron to save the beast as an excuse to visit you during auror training. You had written him a little later that you had nearly failed your tracking exam the next day because you kept getting distracted by the smell of him upon your skin and in your hair. Charlie had felt a little bad at the time, but upon reflection as the years went on, he often looked on the memory as a sign of the purity of your love. You were each other’s biggest weakness, yes, but also your greatest strength.

And that sight was all he needed to know you would be safe. That and the promise of seeing you in just a week’s time, in the grove where he learned to love your body just as much as he loved your spirit.

The following night you were running a little behind as a meeting of the professors had quickly turned heated. It was five past nine when you entered your quarters. You secured the room with locks and silencing charms before setting yourself down at your desk beside your radio.

You did as Charlie instructed, tapping the device with your wand and using the password “Weasley.” Just saying the name made you happy. Maybe you’d make it your own when you were married.

Suddenly, a voice you recognized sounded through the room, a friend of the twins. Lee, was it?

“We have formal report that Smaug has officially made contact with his mate, whom we’ll be calling Medusa for safety, Medusa was once presumed dead but is currently residing at Hogwarts among the lot of death eaters and is working to protect the students within. Chief-Death-Eater believes he’s found a hidden weapon in Medusa, but Medusa is still a strong supporter of Harry Potter and is dedicated to fighting for us from the inside. So if you have children at Hogwarts, make sure to listen in to the Hogwarts report later in this broadcast for more details.”

You found yourself laughing.

Medusa. Of course Charlie would call you Medusa. A beauty surrounded by snakes. If only you could turn them all to stone with a look. But that was sort of what you were doing, weren’t you? These monsters weren’t looking at you, at least not at the real you. They were seeing you through a mirror like Perseus, the reflection of the sort of monster they wanted you to be, not the strong, fearsome auror who would sacrifice life and limb for the good for all wizards, regardless of blood, that you were underneath.

And eventually you would strike, using the snakes they had given you as both a curse and a crown against them.

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[chemicalmagecraft]

The Gamer Hero, Deku Chapter 15

A/N: I'm back from the dead. Will probably update sometime next year. Have fun while it lasts.

Ultimate Pervy Sage: Yeah that happened offscreen. Figured it was implied and there wouldn't have been much else to the scene, so I didn't write the scene. Will imply that it happened, though.

jeanette9a: Bam, did it retroactively because I'm awesome like that.

Zane Tribal Tyne Alexandros: First off, thank you for the multiple reviews and I really wish I thought of the W.T.F. thing. Second off, as for Hagakure and illusions? Considering the fact that it's your suggestion, you tell me.

xoxoxo

"So now you have ten elementals?" Kacchan asked as we walked. We had a day off from school because of the USJ incident, so Kacchan and I decided to go to an arcade to have some fun and play games.

I nodded. "Yeah, with the six elements I got from Duality. I did all six rituals at once, actually."

"That was probably a fucking stupid idea."

"That's what Blaise said, though with more cussing."

"No shit," Kacchan said. "Seriously, what if that put you in a fucking coma!?"

I shrugged as we started to cross the street. "I felt less tired after summoning the higher my skill level was, and even beyond that Duality raised all my-"

I was cut off by a speeding van ramming into me. It made me take a step back and I took a hit to HP, but otherwise it was the van that was broken by the collision. I pried myself from the dent I made in the car and ran to the driver's side door. "Oh my gosh, are you guys okay!?" I asked. The door opened, and the man inside punched me in the face, which surprised me more than anything, and grabbed me by the neck. "Oh," I said as I felt him hold a knife to my neck.

"Alright, nobody move or this freak gets it!" the criminal yelled. His accomplices got out and brandished knives as well, though thankfully they didn't grab any other hostages. I heard a motorcycle coming.

Kacchan laughed. "You fuckers do realize that you just took the guy who unintentionally totaled your car by getting fucking hit by it hostage?"

The motorcycle sound screeched to a stop, and Present Mic ran up. "Hey! Stop!"

"We've got a hostage, jackass!" one of the villains jeered.

"Hi, Mic-sensei!" I said, waving at him.

Mic-sensei grinned. "Hey, listener! You okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "Hey, can I ask you something about Quirk usage laws?"

"Sure!"

"I know people are allowed to use their Quirks to get out of situations where there is a danger to themselves, but I... don't actually feel threatened at the moment, so I don't know how legal it would be."

"I'll show you threatened!" the man holding the knife to my neck shouted, then tried to stab me. I say tried because apparently I couldn't be stabbed by normal people anymore, though to be fair the man was trying really hard. I noticed a text box that was probably the reason for that. It looked like I got it when I got hit by the car and just didn't hear it over the sound of metal hitting me. "The fuck?"

"What did I fucking tell you?" Kacchan said.

"I mean, they are trying to stab you..." Present Mic said.

"And let's just say," I continued, "that in my attempt to get away from the person threatening me with a knife I 'accidentally' incapacitate all three of them, can I be arrested for that?"

Mic-sensei chuckled and said, "Technically, you're good because you're being attacked by a weapon."

I nodded, then exploded into electricity. I arced through the three villains with exactly enough voltage to knock them over without causing lasting damage and reformed next to Kacchan. "That good?"

"Great! I'll need to snag you for a couple minutes for some paperwork, though."

xoxoxo

"Okay," I said, coming back to Kacchan. "So where were we?"

He stared at me for a bit as we started walking again. "You're fucking unbelievable," he told me. "You were just hit by a fucking car, then stabbed. What the fuck?"

"Physical Endurance prestiged and I wasn't actually stressed enough for Mantra to deactivate."

"Are you okay, kero?" a familiar voice asked me. I turned to see Uraraka and Tsu walking up to us. "That looked like it hurt," Tsu said.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," I told her with a smile. "As I was explaining to Kacchan, a passive skill of mine that reduces physical damage just reached max level, which means that I now take one fourth damage from any and all physical attacks."

Uraraka whistled. "That's pretty broken."

"Plus, because it maxed out, I got a new passive, Damage Reduction."

Tsu put her finger on her lip. "I think we already have a general idea, but what does that do, Midoriya?" She asked me.

"I'll have to test it, but judging from the description it removes point-five percent of my HP from all damage, which doesn't sound like a lot, but with my VIT that's a lot, especially combined with Physical Endurance. And assuming it levels linearly, that means that at max level it'll take an attack that does more than half my HP without the skill for me to actually feel it, which is pretty good."

"Deku's Quirk is fucking broken, who would have fucking guessed?" Kacchan said.

I chuckled. "Let's talk about something else, though. I take it you like space, Uraraka?"

"How'd you know?" she asked.

Kacchan snorted. "Gee I fucking wonder." Uraraka was wearing a galaxy-print skirt, a JAXA shirt, and a moon-shaped pendant. "Where the fuck did you get that necklace anyway? No offense, but isn't your family poor?"

"This?" Uraraka asked, pointing to the pendant. "It was a birthday gift from my cousin Shōta. He doesn't visit us often, but he always sends us stuff like this." She chuckled. "Mom's always worried he's spending too much on us, though."

"Though seriously, maybe you should've seen about staying with your cousin before you decided to get your own apartment?" Tsu said. "Didn't you say he lives somewhere near here?"

"You fucking what?" Kacchan asked.

Uraraka blushed. "S-so, my parents live in Mie..." Kacchan slapped his face.

"And that's why I brought Ochako-chan home with me, kero," Tsu said with a tone of... something in her voice. Annoyance?

Uraraka blushed a little. "I-it wasn't quite like that..."

Tsu nodded. "So luckily both of our parents were visiting yesterday-"

Kacchan glared at Tsu. "What," he demanded, causing Tsu to make a startled croak.

"My parents' jobs mean they aren't home all the time," she explained, a little faster than normal. "They leave me in charge of my siblings, but at the same time literally the entire neighborhood looks out for us, so don't worry about it, kero. They didn't leave us to fend for ourselves in an unfamiliar environment with no adult supervision Ochako-chan. So I may or may not have not been in the best state at the time, so because I was clinging to Ochako-chan we decided to just have lunch at my house. At some point Ochako-chan's... living situation... came up and now she lives with us. Our parents banished us from the house while they're moving Ochako-chan's stuff into our spare room. So where are we going, kero?"

"Kacchan and I were going to go to an arcade," I said. "You don't have to come."

"Nah, that sounds pretty fun and neither of us had actual plans other than the fact that I wanted to see if I could spot Ochako-chan's cousin in the wild, kero."

Uraraka made a little noise and pressed her index fingers together. "We have several thousand yen in coins, Deku's Quirk counted. Don't fucking worry about it, Uraraka."

"Thanks..."

xoxoxo

"Damn it!" Kacchan groaned after I beat him easily yet again in the old Street Fighter game. Tsu and Uraraka went elsewhere after Kacchan challenged me. "How the fuck are you so good at this all of a sudden, Deku?"

"Sorry, Tactician keeps activating," I apologized.

"Well I'm gonna fucking beat you anyways! Let's go again!"

I opened the skill boxes for Tactician and Mantra and read them closely. "Hang on, I might be able to cheat the system."

Kacchan snorted, then put another coin in the machine. "Whatever." I took a deep breath, then chose my character. As the match started up, I reminded myself that it was just a game, and that I didn't need the boost. Even when Kacchan got me locked in a combo, I never got the same feeling of clarity and rush of information that I became accustomed to with the repeated activations of Tactician. I just barely managed to beat Kacchan, and by the time I was done Mantra and Tactician both leveled up despite the fact that Mantra wasn't that near level up and I specifically didn't use Tactician. "I'll get you next time, Deku." He put in more coins for a rematch.

"So apparently Ochako-chan's actually monstrously good at fighting games," Tsu said once we were done. It was even closer, but I still managed to beat Kacchan.

"I might have almost accidentally used my Quirk on the machine once or twice," Uraraka added, blushing slightly. "That would've been bad..."

Kacchan stared at Uraraka for a moment, then popped some coins in the machine. "Right, I wanna see this. You and me, Round Face."

I don't think Uraraka had actually played Street Fighter before. She messed around in the character selection screen for a bit before picking a character at random. When the match started, she hit random buttons and just let Kacchan get some hits on her. "Oi Round Face, you're supposed to fight back," Kacchan said after stopping. "Have you not played Street Fighter before?"

Uraraka pressed the jump button a few times. "In my defense, my family doesn't have a lot of money, so I never really went to arcades. My cousin did get me a couple Pokémon games for birthday and Christmas presents, though." She started doing some attacks.

Kacchan twitched. "'Kay, no offense, but I don't really feel like curbstomping a total newbie right now. 'Specially one I'd actually be willing to call a friend. Might feel a little bad."

"Oh, don't worry. I think I've figured it out now." Without any more warning, Uraraka launched a near-perfect series of attacks on Kacchan. To be fair, I think it was more Kacchan's sheer astonishment than anything else that made him unable to fight back, but Uraraka still wiped the floor with him.

"Yeah that was my first match with her too," Tsu told me when the round ended. "The next couple rounds are even better." As Tsu said, the next round was a close win for Kacchan, followed by a close win for Uraraka in the tiebreaker. In the rematch, Kacchan didn't even win once, even if he came close. Kacchan's really good at Street Fighter, so that was impressive.

"Damn it. 'Nother round?" Kacchan asked.

Uraraka nodded. "I'm having fun." Kacchan grumbled, but put another coin in. That time it wasn't even close.

"How the fuck are you so good?" Kacchan asked.

Uraraka shrugged. "I have no idea but I'm not complaining."

"Right, much as I hate to admit it, you're too good for me." Kacchan looked over at me and grinned. "So's Deku, so let's see how you two fight."

"I'm fine with that if you are, Deku."

I nodded. "Let's go, then." Before we started, Kacchan cackled maliciously and whispered in Uraraka's ear.

"He told her some combos, by the way," Sonia told me. Oh boy. At first I tried to keep from using Tactician to be fair to Uraraka, but after losing a somewhat short first round I changed my mind. Even with Tactician automatically giving me both characters' entire movesets and each button she pressed on the controller, it was surprisingly difficult. I think that the only thing that let me win in the end was the fact that my DEX leveled up from the frantic button pressing and the Mantra I'd been using earlier.

"That was intense," Uraraka sighed.

"I know. Even with Tactician, you almost won," I said.

Tsu smirked and pointed at something. "Hey Ochako-chan. There's a flyer for a tournament over there. Says it's a week from now and there's a cash prize, kero."

Uraraka's head snapped over to where Tsu was pointing. "Cash prize?"

"Dammit, I was gonna compete..." Kacchan sighed.

xoxoxo

Aizawa Shōta sat up in his bed. Recovery Girl would probably have scolded him for doing that if she hadn't stepped out, but between her Quirk and the healing spells Midoriya had taught her, he was mostly just sore. He reached out with his good arm to grabb his phone from where Hizashi put it and opened up his photo album to a picture that he looked at often, even if he had a framed copy back home. It was twelve years ago, a few months before his mother's accident. She'd dragged eighteen-year-old him down to Mie for his cousin's third birthday, and they decided to take a family picture. 

He sighed at the younger Shōta who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world than next to his mother. His gaze drifted over to his aunt, uncle, and cousin. His uncle was a large, burly man with light brown hair, while his aunt looked almost exactly like his mother, though her eyes were a different color and lacked the ability to erase the gravity of whatever she was looking at. Even if his mother was older, they were always mistaken for twins. And his cousin... Sweet, young Ochako already looked so much like her mother, even as a toddler. The only difference was the age and the fact that she had her father's hair. Aizawa looked at a few later photos, pictures of Ochako that his aunt and uncle sent him. He laughed at a picture of Ochako with her sixth birthday cake all over her face.

"What are you looking at?" Thirteen asked him. He always thought they looked a little odd outside of their containment suit, all thin and with pitch-black skin.

"Pictures of my cousin," he responded.

"Ah. Your cousin. You never talk about her much."

"I don't talk to most of my coworkers in general. No offense."

"None taken. So what's she like?"

Aizawa thought for a moment. He really was too secretive. Perhaps it was the concussion or the near-death experience, but he felt like he should change that. "You've met her."

"Oh? When?"

"Yesterday."

Thirteen shot up, then winced and gingerly touched the bandages on their back. "Ow... Who was it?"

"The girl who asked for your autograph."

"Ah. If you don't mind me saying, I didn't exactly... get that impression from you two, if you take my meaning."

Aizawa shrugged, then winced from the pain in his bad arm. He slowly lowered himself back down on his bed. "I see you almost every day and this is the longest we've talked, after we both nearly died. My family lives in Mie. You do the math."

"I see. I always see you with Kayama and Yamada, though."

"I've been friends with them since I was a student here and they basically adopted me with joint custody. They keep dragging me out to do things."

"So she hasn't met you?"

"No, she has. I don't visit often, though, and the last time I visited... Was it really four years ago?" Thirteen stared at him. He couldn't really tell what they were thinking, their face was too alien. "I send them money, though. My family isn't in the best of financial situations, and they don't let me spend too much money on them, but I send as much as they'll let me."

"So if they live in Mie, where exactly is your cousin staying? Mie isn't exactly a short train ride from Musutafu..."

"I... Son of a bitch."

"They told you she was fine and you bought it, didn't you?"

"Shit."

They chuckled. "I take that to be the case." Aizawa reached for his phone again. "Do it later. Hopefully she'll be fine for a day, and if not then at least she has friends, right?" Aizawa nodded. She was getting along well with Tensei's brother. "You, on the other hand, won't be fine if Shuzenji-baasan finds out you've been exacerbating your injuries by yelling at your relatives over the phone." Aizawa blanched and lowered the phone.

"Do you... drink?" he said after a while.

"I think if I didn't I'd die rather soon."

Aizawa rolled his eyes, then winced because his eye still hurt. "I meant, do you drink alcohol? Sake?"

"Ah. Hang on for one second." They sat up slightly, enough to take a sip of the water by their bedside. Then they spat it out. "Are you sure you didn't get hit too hard?"

"Ha ha," Aizawa deadpanned. "I absolutely did, though. It made me introspective. Want to get a beer sometime?"

"Absolutely, but clearly only after the both of us are out of the infirmary."

"Obviously."

"You're getting out tomorrow, yes? I mean, Shuzenji-baasan won't like it, but with her healing you'll be well enough by then and you aren't going to miss your class, are you?"

"No, I won't."

"What will you do, then?" Aizawa picked his phone back up and reopened his photo roll. Then he changed the picture because the picture of Ochako with chocolate icing on her forehead was horrible for any serious insight.

He stared at the family photo from over a decade ago. Ochako looked so young, so happy. And yesterday, she could've died. Aizawa could've, almost did die, before she even got to know him. "Learn more magic, for one thing," he decided. "I'm going to talk to Midoriya."

xoxoxo

I sneezed. Odd, it wasn't that cold and I didn't have allergies. If I was more superstitious, I'd have suspected someone was talking about me.

"How the hell did you still manage to beat me at DDR that last time?" Kacchan asked Uraraka. "You were sneezing up a fucking storm!"

Uraraka sniffled. "I habe no idea."

"Right, I should probably take Ochako-chan home," Tsu said. "It's probably going to be dinnertime by the time we get home anyway. Bye, you two."

"Oh, actually!" I said. "Before you two go, could I ask a favor?"

"What's up, Deku?" Uraraka asked as she rubbed her nose.

I pulled a scroll out of my "pocket." "This scroll contains knowledge on the Illusion Barrier and Space Invader spells. When Kacchan and I defeated each of our bosses for the first time, we got scrolls that I could use to learn a skill related to the boss. We have no idea if it's a side effect of my Quirk or not, though."

"So you want to see if that happens if we go in without you, kero?" Tsu asked.

"'Course, we didn't give it to any of our classmates because my Illusion monsters were made of fire, meaning it's entirely possible for the monsters to counter the user's element. That's not really a concern with Round Face, though. I didn't see it in person, but I heard you were fucking awesome in the USJ. Protect Tsu, won't you?"

Uraraka beamed at the compliment and saluted Kacchan. "Roger!"

"And Tsu should probably be able to do something about whatever the fuck gravity monsters Uraraka's insane magic spawns."

"I'll take that as a compliment, kero."

"Yeah most of the time Kacchan compliments people like that..." I said. "You two will do fine, though maybe Tsu should get a water elemental?"

"Yeah, I got one, kero. I was gonna show everyone tomorrow. Though if I may ask, how did you have that scroll on you?"

I chuckled. "That's actually from an elemental that I recently summoned," I said.

"One of six," Kacchan interjected. "All at the same time."

"That probably wasn't the wisest idea," Tsu said.

"I KNOW!"

"Right, so as I said," I said, then sent a mental command to Sonia. She nodded, then "materialized" a pair of floating turntable-like devices. "Huh. At least now I know who was reading Homestuck on my phone," I thought. She started fiddling with the records and gave me a very Strider-like nod. She somehow managed to mess with my BGM in addition to setting up a very subtle noise distortion field like I asked. "One of my elementals, Juniper, can control any organic material, with enough control that she can turn part of a tree into a pre-written scroll. Add that to the fact that my most recent upgrade to Summon Elemental actually granted my elementals some of the benefits of my Quirk, which includes shared Inventory when in range of me, and I was able to get that scroll for you guys from a nearby tree."

"You really play it fast and loose with Quirk usage laws, don't you, Midoriya?" Tsu said. Kacchan snickered.

"Yeah, that's fair." I had Sonia cut the field, causing me to hear a scratch that was hopefully just my Quirk before the normal BGM resumed. "Right, good luck you two."

"Try not to die," Kacchan added.

"We won't," Tsu said.

Uraraka waved at us as she started to walk away. "Bye!"

xoxoxo

A/N: By the way, JAXA, unless I am very much mistaken, is like Japanese NASA. I've seen a lot of Uraraka fanart where she's wearing NASA shirts, but I figured JAXA would be a better fit because she is Japanese.

And you can probably tell from how I wrote the Street Fighter scene that I've never actually played a Street Fighter game. Also Uraraka secretly being a genius is a concept that I find deeply amusing for some reason. It started with a tumblr post I made wherein Uraraka won the stock market...

[bluboothalassophile]

I honestly don't understand DC always trying to undermine Raven's powers. I read the current comics that she's in and it is so poorly written and boring. They suck at character development and its so fucked up that she's always brushed aside. And also I'll never forgive them for killing Roy and they keep fucking up Jason. These guys went through a lot and I just wanna see them be happy and I want to see more batfamily moments and team ups like in Batman and Robin Eternal.

Hello,

Reasons I am mad about Canon Raven:

She’s ALWAYS depowered; always, and she is literally the very definition of an over powered character. 

When they attempt to over power her again they fuck it up; like in Titans with Raven’s ‘telepathy’; she’s a fucking empath! NEVER has she been a telepath!

She has never been utilized outside of the Titans; which is infuriating on many levels. Because she needs to go solo; with a big comic or go to JL Dark or hell, team her up with Lucifer! I don’t know, but something outside of the fucking Titans!

Her solo series, while hold much promise are always cut short, or tie into nothing about her canon life.

They just severed her connection with her aunt and cousins, further isolating her again.

I am royally pissed that her connection with Victor Stone, a.k.a. Cyborg, (which I think is canonly her BEST familiar relationship EVER, their dynamic is amazing; it’s also an amazing dynamic for Victor too! So why was it cut!?) has been severed, was briefly rekindled only to be discarded again.

She’s always de-aged; sorry @chromium7sky, but I really hate that because I really think she should be about Jason and Tim’s age, hell, I’d even settle her being Dick’s age, just enough de-aging her! At this rate; and I’m sorry @impulse-goblin, she’ll be a RobRae with Carrie Kelley or Matt McGinnis! Which is so not okay because DC is screwing her over royally.

Marv, her creator, can no longer write her well to be engaging; which is sad.

She’s been royally dumbed down; which really fucking pisses me off, because even though N52 SUCKED BALLS, Raven, while bitchy, was always eager to learn; it’s one of her defining traits! She’s super smart, she’s engaging, she’s empathetic and kind, and rebirth has made it so she struggles with school. -.- Explain that to me, please, she’s never been stupid or struggled learning before. And I get trying to connect with modern readers, and making characters relateable, but that was just plain fucking stupid. There are other characters you can do that with, using Raven does not help in anyway.

I will not get into my issues with N52, there’s many, but mainly: WTF is up with Raven’s Entire Personality!? I mean don’t get me wrong, I loved the design she had, and I loved her on Tim’s team, also their entire friendship was amazing, but WTF, what a Bitch. I wanted to smack her.

They either forget she is a magic user, or they forget she’s a demon with demon abilities or something, but it always seems like one or the other is missing with her.

Off side key irritation too: How come her father doesn’t play a larger part of the DC universe and getting heroes to fear him? I mean come on! Titans plays him up to be like Darksied or Lucifer level of terrifying, and the DC universe: Who’s Trigon? WTF is that about!? You want the Only Daughter Of Trigon to have meaning, to show her power, then why the fuck isn’t Trigon more widely known and feared!? Come On People! We have Darksied’s ENTIRE Family feared, but you want to play Trigon off as eviler than Darksied but the entire DC universe outside Titans is like: Who the Fuck is Trigon!?

Kay, Metal hinted at her connection and importance to the Multiverse, but the DC, I don’t know… Forgot? And somehow the entire reason for her being captured, isolated and singled out by the Batman Who Laughed was forgotten. Granted my favorite panel of her and Victor happened because of that, but seriously; MAJOR PLOT HOLE DC! Come on, we aren’t Marvel, cease these plot holes in your big labels! Be grown ups!

Mainstream Raven hurts my Raven loving heart. But her counterparts are pretty cool, like on Earth 1 or Bombshells or the recent Titans movies, definitely liked her in the Titans live action show, and obviously I loved her in the cartoon; not Titan’s Go as that has helped in destroy her and the Titans. 

Now, my issues with Heroes Crisis:

King. Fucking cock teasing bastard tormented us with BatCat for over a year, getting them to the fucking alter then he did that fucking stunt; hell yes I am pissed still, and I am no less angry going into Heroes Crisis.

Kay, now for real.

I have major issues with the plot, thus far, because there doesn’t seem to be one.

Killing Roy and Wally did nothing to further a plot, or even engage in the plot and has just furthered to hurting surrounding characters.

Killing Roy was fucked up and senseless; as a writer I find that appalling.

Killing Wally was unnecessary; especially after all the fucking trouble we had gone through to get that speedster back! I mean COME ON! It’s like you brought him back solely to kill him off, and if that’s the case, someone smack a brain into King’s fucking head.

While the premise of Heroes Crisis was engaging and interesting to read the idea for it, it has been a dismal affair.

Why the fuck are your only suspects Harley Quinn and Micheal Carter, a.k.a. Booster Gold? No seriously want to explain that!? 

There is NO WAY Harley would ever hurt or kill Ivy, just no, and DC I don’t care about trying to cater to people and convincing all of Harley and Ivy are straight, it just wouldn’t happen. Ivy and Harley are in love, and I sincerely doubt, that despite EVERYTHING Harley has done in her life, that she would ever kill the woman she loved.

Also, Micheal Carter has selflessly saved the timeline multiple times, and done so without recognition. Yes, he can be full of himself, but where the hell did King come to the conclusion that Carter was a sociopathic narcissist? Someone please explain the basics of human nature to King; PLEASE! For the love of God, someone! I expect this crap from Lobell!

Now to my fury with the Batfamily in it’s current state:

Rebirth presented us with fairly healthy dynamics between the Batfamily members; which was refreshing as all get out, but now… I’d like to rip DC’s heart out and shove it up their ass for what they’ve done.

First, they allowed King to be the ultimate cock tease! Bastard built up the fucking BatCat wedding to be the wedding of the goddamn century; going to make comic history! And he fucks us over like we’re a two cent whore whilst simultaneously destroying the Batfamily.

Second: who the fuck even ALLOWED Lobdell into DC again to write!? I mean really!? Did you asshole not learn your lesson the first time!?

Third, wtf is up with Ric Grayson; I get it, we’re all exceedingly immature for taking an actually socially acceptable nickname from the 1930′s and perverting it into penis jokes. But news flash, Dick’s character has evolved with taking that in stride and laughing it off. Changing his name only pisses us off and furthers our desires to make dick jokes. 

Fourth: What the fuck are you guys even doing allowing Lobdell near Jason? I get it Lobdell is some ‘big shot’ good ‘big name to have on a comic’ but his writing is shit, I’ve read better stories from Kindergartners. Lobdell is like the Russo brothers of DC, please remove him from our premise, and I petition for us, the fans, to take custody of Jason from Lobdell for the sake of global comic peace. The Dude Can Not For The Love Of God Write. I’m surprised he even knows how to arrange letters on a piece of paper to form words honestly.

Why aren’t Duke and Cass B’s kids? No seriously? Why!? We all know those are his favorite two kids, so wtf are they doing… anywhere else but with the Bats?

Why is Babs Batgirl? Don’t go with that female empowering crap answer, just don’t, she was a better icon as Oracle than as Batgirl. She’s long since outgrown the role, and she had grown beautifully into the role of Oracle, so run this by me again: Why did we take a beautiful survivor, who created empowerment for people with disabilities while remaining a strong female lead and turn her back into Batgirl? Seriously? Someone explain that to me!?

Thank God DC hasn’t fucked up Tim yet, but Can We Please Stop With Evil Batman Tim!? Tim doesn’t even want to be Batman! He Never Has Wanted To Be Batman!

WTF did you do with Damian’s character development? He is not this baby raging Bat anymore who seeks to kill everyone who crosses him. Also what the hell was up with the whole Dami’s got a secret prison thing? That lead to nothing and has since been dropped, but seriously people, who is the lead brain in DC right now allowing this shit!?

Again, I must ask, what’s up with evil Bat futures; have we NO HOPE that these boys can grow up and actually be decent people!? Really. I want to know. I don’t get the options you’ve given these heroes.

Why does B have a double standard when it comes to Kate and Jason; and don’t say it’s because Jason’s killed, Damian’s killed and B is trying to be a good dad to him, so what’s up with this shit!? Is it really so much easier to have the rift between B and Jay than attempt to amend it!? If B has a problem with Jason using guns then the same problem should be applied to Kate; I don’t care about her likability, she’s a bitch and the double standard should cease.

And why is Jason trying to connect with Willis Todd? Willis was an abuse fucker or did Lobdell for get his own canon material again? Someone please remove Lobdell from DC premises! PLEASE! Send him to Marvel or something, I don’t care, but stop allowing him to fuck over Jason because he wants to!

Now, again, I’m brought to the double standards B has and his own reckless behavior. DC please, either find a ethics and morals person to join your writing team, or grow a fucking brain because you are precariously close to having Batman become the killer and the villain.

Why are we isolating the Bats again, when they were so connected at the start of Rebirth? I want to read about the Batfamily BEING A Family! Not this divide and pit against each other crap. 

The worst part of all this is, Rebirth actually started off great! Now it’s a flaming pile of wreckage and I almost wish we’d go back to N52 if only to stop watching the same trainwreck over and over happen.