#he deserved better than what they did to him in the sequel series

[kariachi]

Thoughts, at skimming over Cooper’s premeire and my old liveblog of it

Coop, my darling little budding con artist, sees Ben and Gwen for the first time, fighting like wild children, and immediately clocks that if he’s going to not only get any sort’ve human interaction but also probably survive this trip home he’s gonna have to play them off each other. I love that for him. Plus the fact he’s not even apologetic about it when he gets home and reveals the lie, like ‘you’re the ones who trusted me, you should’ve known better’. I love that for him, they should’ve kept that part of his character.

No, he clearly didn’t expect them to be more focused on stopping each other sucking up to him than sucking up to him themselves, but he’s young, he has time to learn.

Also I feel it keen to mentioned that Cooper’s grandfather keyed him in on everything going on with the Tennysons before he had Max pick him up, and that Max told him all that shit ahead of time, which means Max is officially more open with old co-workers than his own children and that Cooper’s grandpa is more open with him than Max is with his grandkids.

Though I’m a bit head tilt as the whole “Grandpa says my brain must look like the inside of a computer” thing, because that’s the sort’ve thing that can either be a fun in-side joke between people or the sort’ve commentary that leads to kids needing therapy, it can go either way and without hearing his grandpa say it I can’t be sure whether it’s a ‘haha we’re joking together’ thing or a ‘something is off with this kid’ thing. The plain and simple way Cooper says it doesn’t help much either.

I feel some sort’ve way about how Cooper talks about his powers and I’m not sure what that way is. Like, he very clearly enjoys working with machinery (after Fort Knox he seems to throw himself headlong into just fiddling with stuff, which is understandable, the cousins have been insufferable and after lines like ‘freak puke’ I don’t doubt he’s feeling some sort’ve way, at least a little), and is proud of what he can do with it. But then, when he’s talking about his powers, it’s very... words... brushing them off? Off hand? Very ‘it’s a thing don’t worry about it’. It’s clear he’s not exactly enthusiastic about them, if nothing else. They’re a fact of life, but not something to be proud of or even really embrace more than he has to, it seems.

Which would bring up the question of why he uses them at all, given he straight up says using them gives him a major headache and we see that they physically wear on him (he fucking collapses after opening an hidden door), but then AF answers that question for us by showing that he doesn’t have full control over them. Which may or may not make his ‘sometimes, if I concentrate real hard’ explanation to Gwen a lie. It may be that at the time he needed to seriously concentrate to consciously use his powers, or it could be a way to dissuade her from following up on the matter. We can’t be sure. The workings of Cooper’s mind are an enigma.

If nothing else we can be proud that he appears to have embraced his powers by AF, and I would love to learn why that is

What I can be sure on though is that his powers are probably debilitating. Using them gives him headaches, physically wears on him to the point of nearly passing out, at least when he was small. He’s clearly gotten more stamina as he’s gotten older, but I doubt that shit just went completely away. Probably has a serious effect on his life and how he lives it.

[paimonial-rage]

My most interacted with fics:

Cocky Bastard Vibes (Zhongli)

Tipsy Tales (Anemo boys)

Why He Rejected You (pt 1)

Telling Them Off (Ayato, Venti, Xiao)

A Sight to Behold (Yae Miko)

Obvious (Neuvillette)

Simple (Alhaitham)

What Destiny Has Brought (Fischl)

Why He Rejected You (pt 2)

Blasphemous Assumptions (Zhongli)

[kimberleyjean]

What did Adam change? (Part 1)

To follow up on my recent reblog about the baby swap, I'm going to take a closer look at Adam where we leave him at the end of S1. Because, by the end of S1, Adam had changed quite a few things... and I'm going to use both the TV show and the book to provide evidence.

To become the Young's real son, I don't think Adam really needed to change all that much. He just says the words to Satan, Satan disappears, and that should be it, right? But no, because Adam goes much further, and I think he does it because he can.

Because Adam has opinions, you see. Opinions on how the world should be and what he wants to happen. Except, unlike Agnes, who needs to write a prophecy and then wait 300 years for her descendant to enact it, Adam can just make it so.

The Other Two Babies

I originally thought about putting all the things Adam changes into a single post, but instead I'm going to make this a short series of posts, because he changes a fair bit. Let's start with where we left off with the baby swap, crack open a copy of the book and discuss the changes for Warlock and Greasy first.

Warlock

Here's some excerpts of Warlock flying home from Megiddo to America (my bolds for emphasis):

It was Sunday afternoon. High over England a 747 droned westwards. In the first-class cabin a boy called Warlock put down his comic and stared out of the window.

...

And now he was going back to the States. There had been some sort of problem with tickets or flights or airport destination-boards or something. It was weird; he was pretty sure his father had meant to go back to England. Warlock liked England. It was a nice country to be an American in.

...

And Warlock flew on to America. He deserved something (after all, you never forget the first friends you ever had, even if you were all a few hours old at the time) and the power that was controlling the fate of all mankind at that precise time was thinking: Well, he's going to America, isn't he? Don't see how you could have anythin' better than going to America. They've got thirty-nine flavors of ice cream there. Maybe even more.

So it's Adam who has sent Warlock back to America, despite Warlock wanting (even, expecting) to be on his way to England. And he's controlling the fate of all mankind.

Greasy

Likewise, he has changes for Greasy Johnson too (the discarded baby who grows up to win prizes for his tropical fish).

The plane was at that point passing right above the Lower Tadfield bedroom of Greasy Johnson, who was aimlessly leafing through a photography magazine that he'd bought merely because it had a rather good picture of a tropical fish on the cover. A few pages below Greasy's listless finger was a spread on American football, and how it was really catching on in Europe. Which was odd… because when the magazine had been printed, those pages had been about photography in desert conditions. It was about to change his life.

Adam is deciding here how to alter Warlock and Greasy's paths. Warlock wants to be back in the UK, but Adam thinks America is better, while Greasy's magazine is changed to American football, which I guess is implying he's going to become an American footballer.

Now, not everyone may be aware, but these parts weren't in the first release of the novel. It only came about later, in the American edition. Apparently the changes were in response to prompting from the American editor, but they got "carried away" making those changes (source).

Season 3 (warning: speculation)

So, do you think this could be relevant for S3? For me personally, the fact that these bits were added later makes me wonder if this was helping to set up for a potential sequel. It's certainly poetic - just like the baby swap that originally involved all three, we are now implying a potential adolescent swap of Greasy, who is interested in American football, and Warlock, who is interested to return to the U.K.

If you've read at all about the hypothetical plot of the proposed written sequel, you'll know that it involved a trip to America, ostensibly to look for a lost Jesus. So, if the next book was originally meant to be about going and finding someone (Jesus?) in America, then Greasy or Warlock could make sense. It would be a switcheroo all over again if Warlock had left for the UK and Greasy for America.

Another alternative is that all three could end up converging in America, since Warlock already lives there and both Adam and Greasy have interests in going there. But if that's the intention, why mention that Warlock wants to be back "home" in the U.K.?

So, those are my possible takes on how this passage can be interpreted. I know there are some theories that either Greasy or Warlock may be the Second Coming. I've also seen a theory now that Adam himself could be a contender (both spawn of Satan and spawn of God - it'd certainly be interesting!). I'm not placing bets on any of these outcomes just yet.

In addition to this passage in the book, we also see some interesting changes made by Adam which are featured more prominently in the show - one's that have implications for the ineffable husbands.

Part 2 coming soon!

Thanks as always to everyone at the @ineffable-detective-agency (including @noneorother, @embracing-the-ineffable, @lookingatacupoftea, @251-dmr, @somehow-a-human, @maufungi, @havemyheartaziraphale, @theastrophysicistnextdoor, @dunkthebiscuit, @komorezuki, & @ghstptats).

[cressidagrey]

AO3 Masterlist

All of these link to my AO3, mostly because that's my personal favorite site to read fan fiction on, and it's much easier to make multiple stories into a series!

Unless otherwise noted, all my series/stories are ongoing, which means…if you have a prompt for any of them, shoot them my way. 

The Court of Gold and Shadows*

you'll be made of ashes too

Elain Archeron makes the most beautiful bride.

Azriel copes.

for the first time, what's past is past

Of all the ways, Azriel expected to meet his mate, this wasn't it. 

something good and right and real

Azriel had spent centuries believing that he of all people didn't deserve a mate. And if anything, the last three years had just galvinised that particular belief. And then he meets her.

The first time Oriana met Azriel, she thought that he reminded her of a skittish cat. Shy and a little bit broken. Good for him that she absolutely excelled in fixing the things around her.

Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours

5 Times Cassian thought that Azriel had feelings for somebody and then the 1 time he finally met the girl his brother was in love with. 

I breathe flames each time I talk

The story of how Oriana Fireborn Belmont, Third Daughter of the First Daughter, met her mate's family.

Also the story of how Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court finally recognises that by the cauldron, there is no fury like that of a female scorned.

Meanwhile, Azriel would just like everybody to get along.

The Unexpected Series*

“If you need to fuck someone, go to a pleasure hall and pay for it, but stay away from her.”

What if… Azriel actually takes Rhys at his word? And does exactly what his High Lord ordered? With unexpected consequences.

Unafraid

Azriel does exactly what his High Lord ordered him to do. (Well, kinda.)

Unprecedented

This is Azriel finding out about said unexpected consequences

Unknowing

This is the Inner Circle finding out about said consequences. Azriel is very good at keeping secrets

Indelible*

Indelible Scars

Azriel knew pain. So did Galena.

Also known as: Azriel’s mate is a healer and the first time they meet, he nearly dies on her.

Glorious Sunrise

So what happens after the mating bond snaps?

Well-meaning interfering family members, deep conversations and nights spent brooding on the roof like some kind of gargoyle…this one has it all.

(The Smutty Sequel y’all asked for ;) )

A Pocketful of Stars*

New Pursuits

The shadows decide that Azriel needs a hobby.

5 times when said hobby-related shenanigans didn’t end so well…and the one time where it may end up better than Azriel could ever have imagined.

Welcome to the World 

The quickest turnaround time between finding your mate and having a kid anybody in the history of Prythian has ever managed

The Starlight Princess*

The Starlight Princess

There is a Pool of Starlight in the Spring Court. A piece of the Night Court that has no business being in the land of Eternal Spring. So how did it come to be?

Or: How the Spymaster of the Night Court starts hearing a voice, realises that no, he is not insane after all, frees a princess, kills a High Lord…and finds his mate all at the same time.

The Prophecy

Lightning in a Bottle

Eira Archeron was neither a Valkyrie, nor a Seer, nor the High Lady of the Night Court. She was actually pretty much useless. The only thing she wanted was to be somebody's first choice for once in her life.

Also known as: Azriel's shadows decide that if he doesn't treat his mate right... they'll just do it for him.

Looked to the Sky

Eira Archeron was neither a Valkyrie, nor a Seer, nor the High Lady of the Night Court. She was, however, Azriel‘s mate with her own mysterious, untrained powers.

Also known as: Azriel tries to court his mate the human way.

Recipe for Love

Peach Cobbler

Azriel finds a bakery and creates his very own reward system.

Honey Cakes

The Beehive Bakery is out of Peach Cobbler. This leads Azriel to make some very impulsive decisions. 

Don't wait for the Sky to Clear

The Fourth Archeron sister makes herself a life in the Dawn Court.

dust of your highest hopes

Eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves, goes the idiom.

When Solana hears an admission from the High Lord of Day, she’s ill-prepared for it. She doesn’t believe in fairytales any longer, but maybe there was a happily ever after for Solana and Helion somewhere

The Ties that Bind

Shadowsingers were made, not born. Made out of trauma and loneliness and desperation.

So when Cilla and Azriel meet and their shadows entwine, they both meet the only other person that could understand these particular childhood scars.

The last thing Azriel had ever expected from his mate, however, was for her to have a surprising connection to his brother.

The Witching Hour

5 Times members of the Inner Circle get absolutely terrified by Azriel's...whatever she is, and 1 (of many) times Azriel thinks that his witch was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Bound by Blood

Azriel's witch has some very smutty plans for Samhain.

Tear the World Apart

Eris’ mate decides to get rid of her father-in-law. Also known as: If Eris Vanserra married a very bloodthirsty Margaery Tyrell.

Brighten Up the Sky

A Mating Bond between her younger sister and the Night Court’s shadowsinger was the last thing Feyre had expected to spring up…but then, maybe it did make sense.

Stars all aligned

If there was one thing that both Azriel and Zahra Archeron had in common, it was that they were both very good at blending into the background.

It's a Love Story

Azriel's shadows find their master a wife.

Azriel would just really like his heart not to get broken again.

And Sky...well, she's just really surprised that that far too handsome male is interested in her at all.

Holy Ground

Nobody knew that Azriel found his mate. Until she nearly died. This is the aftermath.

(Super pretty dividers thanks to @tsunami-of-tears !)

[bittercape]

TJA Sequel Exchange Masterpost

What is a sequel exchange, you may ask?

Well, when you have a ship-focused server full of writers and artists, there will be so many people who want more of that one specific fic (or, as it turns out, so many specific fics). And what better way to motivate people to write than an exchange?

Here's what we did (in alphabetical order):

@araydre made this gorgeous art for Skalidra's fic More Chances Than Deserved:

set in chapter 3, Jason and Slade sparring before Billy arrives

@arkhammaid wrote Fangs and Claws (sinking into me) , a new work in the Fangs and Claws series for @bittercape:

Theory says both the Alpha and Omega must consent to entering a mating dance for it to even have a chance in being succesful. Reality proves once again that theory can be fucking bullshit.

@bittercape wrote Midnight at City Hall, a sequel to 4am at Denny's for @safelycapricious:

“What’s wrong?” he asks, because obviously something is wrong for Roy to be calling like this. “Jason,” Roy says, sounding a little faint. “Stay put,” Slade says, and then he calls in the big guns.

@darbydoo22 wrote Happy Birthday Steve, a sequel to Sit By the Fire for astranne:

Dick Grayson introduces the family to his boyfriend, Steve Rogers, during the Wayne family’s annual Fourth of July party.

@katzynia wrote Piece by piece, a sequel to Every piece of you for littledevilbean:

A month after their last encounter, Slade shows up to see how the life has been treating Jason. And to show him a thing or two.

@lisholoz drew Slade in Red Hood's gear as a sequel to Jason in Deathstroke's armour:

Boyfriend hoodie? Pfft. Steal your BFs vigilante gear

@littledevilbean wrote Bad Habits (and how to share them), a sequel to in the office ( 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘺) for @notherdeadrobin:

In Slade's defense, it wasn't like he was trying to create a pattern.

@marquisedesaad wrote Turning the Advantage, a new work in the Taken Advantage series for @paprikadotmp4:

Dick and Bruce investigate in the aftermath of Jason's abduction. Meanwhile, Slade turns the situation to his advantage.

@marirah wrote two fics for darbydoo, candlelight and good morning, new works in the of Year of the OTP/Year of Jason and Slade 2023 (combined) series:

Dick and Tim have a date night in

Jason and Slade (and Peter and Damian) start to adjust to their new apartment

@safelycapricious wrote BE TRUE?, a sequel to BE MINE? for GavotteandGigue:

In an event that honestly Jason doesn’t foresee, the next day doesn’t bring him the chance to go out and figure out what the fuck Deathstroke is thinking. Not just because the idiot hadn’t cleaned up the crime scene and Bruce had taken the “BE MINE, RED HOOD?” as a threat instead of a courting gesture. But also because his cramps are persisting. Which is just. Fucking. Perfect.

Life happens, so there are a couple more sequels coming in a later reblog, but in the meantime: read, look, and remember to keep your fancreators fed and watered (commented, reblogged and kudos'd).

[miss0atae]

15 Day BL Challenge 2024 (PART 3):

Last part of this challenge. Again a special thanks to the creator of this challenge.

11 - Breakup that should have stayed broken up :

I can’t remember any breakup that should have stayed broken up from any series of 2024, but I remember how Zeke and Fifth were in Our Story, the sequel of Your Story. I will never forgive this series for what they have done to this couple. They are the perfect example of a couple who should never have gotten back together.

12 – Wedding you wish you had an invite to :

I think of two weddings I wish I was invited to. The first one is the wedding of Oye and Cher in Wandee Goodday. I was really rooting for them and this wedding was clearly something that matters a lot to them. The only bad part was that it wasn’t the wedding I envisioned for them. I could have helped them have a better venue and design for them. I know just the right people for this !

The second wedding, I would have loved to be invited to was the one of Fueang and Krom in City of Stars. I found them so sweet and cute. I’m sure their wedding would have the same feeling. I also believe a celebrity wedding must have a different vibe than any other weddings.

A special mention to Anop and Sin in My Love Mix-Up thai version. Don’t tell me there were no wedding for this two and if there weren’t, I’m sure they are thinking about it and I need to be invited to witness this moment.

13 – Give 5 good boys a gold star :

In no real order, these are my 5 good boys who clearly deserve a gold star.

Fueang (City of Stars) : He was a prime example of someone who fell hard and keep on falling harder each time. He was doing his best all the time and was really good at communicating with his lover. I was truly impressed by him, when he finally found the courage to tell the press about his sexual orientation and his story with his ex before everything escalates. He knew it would damage his career, but he did it anyway.

Taishin (Takara No Vidro) : I know he was sometimes a bit too naive, but I fell like he is the epitome of a sweet cinnamon roll. There is no malice in Taishin. I like how cheerful he always was and he tried very hard to understand things. I even thought he was kinda good at communicating, but in a very weird way.

Moo (Only Boo!): I love everything about this character. He was serious when it matters, but he also was happy, kind, honest and he had a playful side. In addition, he is a very caring boyfriend, son and friend to those around him that matters.

Yu (I Saw You in My Dream): I will just let you read what we (@putterphubase and I) said about him right here. I think you can find all the reasons why I believe he deserves this gold star.

God (Monster Next Door): He is a nice person that is really considerate about others. When his future lover set boundaries, he knew how to respect them. He tries very hard to make sure Diew is comfortable. He cares about others and never try to change them.

A special mention to Jane (The Trainee), Sahashi Toma (Comestic Playlover), Luna (23.5), Teerak (Your Sky)

Day 14 : Top 5 Most Sad Boy :

Namping (Every You, Every Me) : If you’ve seen the series, you know why. I’m still not over what happened to him. The few rays of sunshine he got at the end was not enough if you ask me.

Lee Do Hoe (Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo): This poor guy suffered from transgenerational trauma and it cursed his life for a long time. He may have gotten his happy ending, but he suffered so much.

Keito – Haoran (Happy At the End): His past is heartbreaking and unsettling and his present life wasn’t easier. He was an abandoned soul who found another broken one and they created a bond that was like no others.

Jiang Tian (the On1y One): He was a very lonely person before Wang became his “brother”. He isolated himself because of his family. He always kept his luggage ready to leave because he never found a home before where he wished he could stay.

Non (Dead Friend Forever): His life was a nightmare and he didn’t deserve what happened to him. His family, his friends, his lover… almost everyone abandoned him at one point. Even the revenge his brother did on those who wronged him, won’t change a thing. He had a very sad life.

15  - 5 bestest besties :

Fueang and Kor (City of Stars) : Kor is the best friend everyone wished to have. He always adds a bit of comedy, but when it's needed he can be serious and defend his loved ones. He was the best wingman to Fueang. Their close bond was witnessed by everyone.

Plawan and JJ (This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans) : It's not easy to be Plawan's friend, but JJ always knew what to say and how to help his friend. The dynamic of their friendship was one of the best points of the series.

Pan and Khem (Deep Night) : I will never forget about how Khem showed Pan that there is always a solution for every problem. You don't want your lover to feel sad and you have wet dreams about the other guy he loves ? Why not trying to be a trouple ? Only a true friend would be bold enough to tell you this!

All the friendships in We Are: There were several groups of friends, but I really keep in mind the OG group of friends made of Peem, Chain, Pun, Tan and Q. They were my favorites.

The group of friends in Caged Again: They are endearing and I like every moment they spend together.

[summerroseart]

Ooogh got back from the theater <3 gonna start off: LOVED the movie. Had a lot of fun. That is to say... I don't.... really...think it was good. It was not. (I'm sorry) But I highly recommend it! Felt like a direct to DVD sequel. I encourage piracy of this one. (/j for legal reasons)

In any case, it was fun!! Very very fun!! Absolutely no shade to anyone who disagrees with my takes lol. <3

FULL SPOILERS under the cut!!!

No seriously I'm gonna go over like. all the major plot points. Look away if you wish not to be spoiled.

- Okay. SO. not a fan of the pacing. Felt very choppy and incomplete like. RIGHT off the bat. Did not improve throughout the film, sadly. Writing and line delivery were also kinda bummer for all the characters, but those were my biggest gripes overall.

- 99 Red Balloons Green Day Cover?! Wasn't expecting that.

- Tom. Tom you KNEW that cave was there. Unless Maddie was the only one who went and got his stuff, and in that case, you BETTER have been the one cleaning out that attic.

- They are really having fun with dramatic irony in this one. Also not great callbacks to the first 2 films.

- WHY THE FUCK would you let them go with GUN???? They absolutely should have been tearing those boys from your arms wtf

- SA2 line ref, fun!!

- He... Shadow just. Hatched. fully grown. from a meteorite?? Disappointed but also EXTREMELY fascinated. What does this imply for Sonic? And Amy? Is it just because of the Black Arms? Is he fully Black Arms? Is he an unwitting spy for them??

I didn't watch the Knuckles series. Didn't they namedrop the Black Arms? But as another government branch or something rediculous?

- you guys have been alone for ONE DAY?? And you managed to crochet multiple projects, bake like 30 sourdough loaves, make a felt ventriloquist dummy, learn ventriloquism, and is that hand woven basket also implied to have been a project?? I'm impressed. But also. Do you... no longer have jobs? Does the government pay you now? I thought the knuckles series was irrelevant. What did i miss?? What happened to your work??

- Ily Maddie you deserve the world <33 they should've called you mom </3

- Sonic is giving major Boom Sonic characterization vibes, so I get why people don't like him in these films. (I love Boom Sonic wholeheartedly, but like. I Get it.)

- "Why are you tied up? Do that on your own time! You sicken me." AUSJHAJANABJAJBDJW

- Gerald is just. Alive. And 110 years old. There is no ARK. Maria didn't have an illness. The guy shooting didn't even intentionally kill her. Where is my corrupt government entity?? Devastating.

- Wish they'd done more with 70s Maria. Her character still seemed cool.

- Okay so Shadow just lived that over and over again for 50 years. Okay. I'm okay. Don't look at me.

- HATE that they inadvertently pinned the Blame for Maria's death on Shadow by having it be containers of his own Chaos energy that exploded and killed her, instead of the gun soldier shooting her in the back.

- WALTERS IS NOT A HERO SCREW HIM FUCK YOU GUN

- GUN is just... completely neutral in this :/ what was the point of Rockwell? She added nothing other than an unnecessary red herring. There could've been an EASY sideplot of Rouge stealing the master emerald instead. Especially with Wade watching it. EASY I TELL YOU!! WHERE IS MY GIRL????! WE WERE ROBBED!! ROBBED OF THE BEST THIEF IN THE GALAXY!

- Seriously though that Rockwell plotline went NOWHERE, WHY DID THEY DO ALL THAT???

(it seemed like they were setting her up to have been the one to commission Gerald for the Eclipse Cannon, but they just. Dropped her? after she gave Tom the key card?? Why did she want it??? Why was it relevant???)

- (paraphrasing bc my memory is Bad) "No person of any gender found me appealing" Sir your boyfriend is RIGHT THERE (obligatory WHOA HE'S BISEXUAL I DIDN'T KNOW THAT)

- Second act low point, but at least it felt sorta believable bc it felt like a legit sibling fight, and not a real falling out. They all just really love each other and want to protect each other. Knuckles you're wonderful, you have never done anything wrong ever.

- Missed opportunity for Dark Sonic. That would've been so FUCKING COOL! WHYYY???

- we both lost everything pep talk 2 (this time on the moon)

- just nicked the moon lmao it's fiiiiiiiinneee

- TAILS YOU'RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE!!!

- Gerald getting zapped like a bug made me lose it.

- so like. Is everyone on earth just. Okay with finding out a world-wide government agency built a massive rocket powered death laser aimed straight for the planet that got hijacked immediately orrrrrrr

- Historians will say they were just good friends :)

- KNUCKLES YOU'RE WONDERFUL YOU HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG EVER

- "Team Sonic :)" "How about just team?" FUCKING SONIC BOOM REFERENCE????

- METAL!!! FUCK YEAH!! <- knew that'd mean Amy in the next film regardless

- AAAAMMYYYYYY MY GIRL AMY I CALLED IT I WASN'T EXPECTING BOTH OF THEM BUT HOLY FUCK!!! YEAHHHGGHGSHAHHDKKDO3BSJOXKNWHWISJBDNDJKDM I LOVE HER DESIGN SHE'S SO CUTE!!AA!!

- didn't catch the 2nd end credit scene but I'd already heard about the Shadow spinoff show (and/or movie??), so looking it up after, really not the least bit surprising.

Okay but i really did laugh at pretty much all the jokes. It was a fun time.

[clovermarigold]

Late Night Snack pt.2

Gekko, Skye, Chamber x Reader

Series masterlist - Pt.1

Somewhat of a prequal for most of the pairings.

Thank you to @rowanyte for requesting this sequel.

*Disclaimer* alcohol

as someone who doesn't drink by choice, just imagine I understood anything I wrote.

~~~~~~~~~~

Gekko- Doritos

10... 10 to fucking 0. How? How was that even possible. You were the one to introduce him to this game. You spent more time learning all of its characters than you did outside. How the hell did he manage to beat you ten times!

"I think it's official, Angel. I'm better than you at every game we own" you turned sharply to glare at him, "Absolutely not! Rematch".

"Yeah, it's like three in the morning, I'll pass" he said turning off his controller and standing to stretch. "Oh, ok. No that makes sense... So, I guess that means I win" you mutter just loud enough for him to make out, "What was that?", the corners of your lips turning up.

"Oh nothing, it's just that it sounds like you're forfeiting" He groaned looking at the roof, "Please don't do your whole super competitive thing now ".

"Hey!" you bristle at the unsavory accusation, "We don't have to do anything besides going to bed and cuddling.... if you admit you're giving up" he rubbed a hand down his face.

A sinister giggle left you as you watched him flop down into is spot on the couch. "You're grabbing snacks!" a fair enough deal if it meant you had your chance at revenge.

You were quick to run to the kitchen and raid the pantry. It was a good thing some of the other agents had gone shopping recently, they wouldn't mind you 'borrowing' some, surely!

Skye's kale chips? Gross. Neon's energy drinks? Would be perfect if you and Matteo actually liked energy drinks. Jett's tteobokki? Eh, you were looking for something that was ready to go. Oh! There it is!

"I got the goods!" you held up the bag of Doritos, no doubt phoenix's. To your surprise he didn't react. "Geks?" walking around to the front of the couch you were met with your boyfriend who was passed out, head resting on his hand.

Gently, you take your spot next to him, curling into his side, carefully pressing on his arm. "We still playing?" he stirred, drowsiness apparent. "No. we can go to bed" you smile lightly. "hmm... You sure?".

"Yeah. I'm sure" As much as you loved winning, it wasn't worth it if he would be stuck suffering sleep deprivation. His hand wrapped around yours, rubbing light circles on your palm, "Thanks."

The sweet moment, however, was completely destroyed when he decided to open his stupid mouth. "Got it. You forfeit. I win" this little shit!

Apparently, your face must have been as shocked and irritated as you felt, because he broke out laughing. "You asshole! You weren't even sleeping!" he made a move to grab the bag of chips from you.

"uh uh! Doritos are for good boyfriends who don't pull shit like this!" you pulled the bag away, knocking him on his arm. "Hey, tranquilo!".

You stood, "I am going to give these to someone who deserves them! Wings!!!!".

He lunged at you, lifting you in the air, "Gimme the bag and I'll put you down". "Gek- Matteo! Put me down" the both of you froze when the door slammed open.

"It is 3 in the damn morning" Brimstone.... parties over. "Go to bed. Now" abruptly he put you down, the two of you marching to your rooms under Brim's watchful eye, making sure you actually went to bed.

"well that was embarrassing" you said, flopping onto your bed. A notification went off on your phone

Geks <3 : So I won right?

This man

Skye- Fruit Salad

43 minutes, you had cut down your run time by 7 minutes. It wasn't quite your goal, but it was progress. you usually preferred to do your morning run at around 5. But you had a mission briefing at 6:30. A 4 o'clock run wasn't too terrible.

Damn you were tired, hungry too. taking out your earbuds and resting your phone on the table and walking over to the fridge.

Pork Cutlet? Too heavy, besides, heating it up would stink up the kitchen with pork. The last thing you needed was to wake someone up. You had already been yelled at by viper for interrupting her during your workout.

Adobo was immediately out of the question. Neon was scary when it came to people eating her food. Gekko had eaten it once when it was in an unmarked container, labeling it up for grabs....

Not even wingman could save him

"Pesto? No. Curry? Nice, but I'm not in the mood for spicy. Aha, there we go" reaching into the back, you found your prize. You had honestly thought someone would have eaten it by now.

Your perfect way to start the day. A nice cold, untouched fruit salad. Mind you, it did have more melons than you'd liked, but it was to be expected. Had to cut down on the price somehow.

"Bugger. I was looking forward to that" a familiar voice came from behind you. You turned, holding the bowl in one hand, and a single, half bitten strawberry in the other.

"Good morning, Skye" you took in her appearance, she was dressed in sportswear, and she had an arm band holding her music player firm to her arm, "You going on a run?".

"Yeah, Brims got another thing coming if he thinks I'm skipping my run for a brief on a mission two days from now" she reached over, grabbing a grape from the bowl in your hand.

"A little late to ask, but did you want to share?"

"All right" she says smiling as she popped another grape into her mouth. You felt your knees wobble a little. For a moment you actually take in her appearance. Her skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat, cheeks still rosy from exercise, biceps taut, and teeth practically blinding you.

"Looking good, mate! Nice to see some people here exercise in their free time" oh shit, was she checking you out too? No! You were gross and sweaty. Hell, probably pink in the face from exercise... and other reasons. Oh, you were not gonna last long this close to her before you made a fool of yourself.

It's not your fault, she's just too cool. Ripped, clever, sharp tongued, and an absolute tank on the field.

"You can have the rest!" you wince at how stupid you sound. Great going idiot, now she thinks you're weird...er?

carefully (and fully aware of your embarrassed blunder) Skye pulls the bowl from your hand with a laugh, "Cheers, love". She gives you a nod and exits the kitchen.

she called you love

Chamber- Wine

You swear sometimes the thought that your job wasn't worth all the paperwork was truer than you would like to admit. Reyna may be the sword and face of the sanctuary but in reality, it would not be able to function without you.

After all, managing to make people disappear from one of the most powerful companies in the world, as well as balancing defending the earth from multiverse invaders was no easy task.

But you suppose being able to help protect your fellow Radiants was more than worth the grueling hours of organizing fake passports and ids as well as schedule meetings with possible sponsors of.... less than legal repertoires.

Such was tonight, another headache alone in your office. Reyna may be ecstatic at the increasing number of radiants surfacing, but you weren't. Damn you needed a drink.

A knock catches you off guard as you reach for a new stack of papers you were loath to sort through.

"Ah, it seems I have caught you at a bad time" shit. Right, you had a meeting. God, why did you even think to schedule him this late? And how did he look so calm and well rested?

"No, no, take a seat. I always have time for the sanctuary's number one donor" you plastered on your business chic facade. It was the reason you handled people instead of Reyna. You understood people, altering your facade to fit whoever you did business with.

Chamber was a special case, a break from the usual ass kissing and baby doll voice face you would force yourself to do with other sponsors.

Chamber's facade was tailored differently, teasing but not outright flirting, sarcastic in the way two gossiping women would be, and a hint of theatrics. Easily one of your favorites. It felt more like a game than business when you worked together.

"You seem energetic, Monsieur Fabron" a small chuckle leaves him as he takes a seat across your desk. "I slept on the plane; Jet lag can be so inconvenient ".

"Ah, your trip, I nearly forgot" a lie, no doubt one he could tell, but work is so boring without play. "But of course, lionne. A truly wonderful experience, though not one to beat my time with you" you gasp in mock flattery.

Pausing momentarily before laying a tall silvery bag on the desk, Chamber looked at you expectantly, "A gift".

for a fraction of a second your facade dropped, intrigued by the pristine and obviously expensive gift laid out by your guest. Before promptly putting on your teasing smile reaching into the bag, "Chamber, you spoil me".

"But of course, what are friends for" looking into the silvery packaging and secondary protection you swear you could cry. "You do still prefer your wines sweet, correct?" you take back any regret you had for scheduling this meeting, alcoholism for the win!

"I doubt anything could be as sweet as you, my friend" he huffed a laugh as you poured the both of you a glass. "To friends" he offered, holding out his glass. With a smirk you knocked yours against his.

God your job was worth it

[beadyeyes]

Alien Romulus review so spoilers because I'm so so disappointed after being told by every one how good it was and how great the effects were (you all lied to me) so so so long so so so so I don't know if it's worth reading

👍 Loved that they kept up the tradition of killing the people who smoke on screen first

👍 Technology design choices were so fun and did what Prometheus failed to do as a PREQUEL. Also failed to do what the movie itself should've done as a SEQUEL and kept notably similar design choices BUT STILL ADVANCE THE TECHNOLOGY?

👎 They made a group of people so unlikable or undeveloped that I didn't care if they lived or died.

👎 The cousins blatant bigotry against Andy came off mostly as racist AND ableist with no good reason whatsoever. Especially since it clearly wasn't justified by his mother's death because the synthetic in question that "caused her death" was justified in saving more lives over the few. His choice to leave his own family behind despite being so torn up about his mom too? And finally his weird breathing and hovering scene with the pregnant sister right after his girlfriend died was lowkey creepy and I hope it wasn't trying to imply he was the one who got her pregnant? Bottom line he deserved it and his death was the only entertaining one. Was that supposed to be on purpose?

👎 The boyfriend was a bland unlikeable character who failed to even be good enough for meat fodder + deserved to die for wasting screen time AND for letting his cousin be a racist dick to Andy despite them needing the for the whole fucking trip to happen. Worthless character.

👎 First facehugger impregnation being a woman. What a spit in the face.

👎 The fact that it was also a woman I didn't even know the name of! But had 1 more second of development than the rest and seemed like she could've been a cool character if the screen time wasn't logged by unlikeable men. Her alien birth scene was so tone deaf to the original horror of the series idk. I get not wanting to repeat the same thing but the worthless guys survived those facehuggers too easily for her to be the gratuitous birth fodder.

👎 Pregnant sister. I don't know how that could've been done differently but yea. Her boob slime was so. 🙄

👎 Her alien wannabe engineer baby thing sucked. It was so corny I laughed outloud I don't know how it could've been done better but making the aliens more humanoid but not in an uncanny way, like a weird trying too hard to be scary way, felt like a disservice to the viewers intelligence? The fact that it was a full sized thing in like 3 seconds too? No offense but wouldn't it be scarier to fight something small and newborn baby like instead of Grown Ass White Man #72

👎 Rooks facetracking shit was so gagworthy and bringing him back wasn't the tribute to the og movie like they wanted it to be. Remember how the big bang theory would make references by just naming randome nerd shit in succession? That's what he was. Just because you have a character come back doesn't mean it fits the theme of the movie you're developing.

👎 Rook's non-ambiguous characterization as evil. Just lame and defeats the complexity of the original character as well as how the synthetics have been developed.

👎 Her name is Rain and that's my name she wishes she was me so bad.

Rain was just so? Such an underdeveloped character who kicked ass and I appreciated her like? Waiting till Andy had seizure to help him out? I don't know. She just had no backstory or substance and Andy's whole character being there to protect her was fucking lame. Seeing her change that at the last bit was like yay development but then Andy gets killed so then it was just whatever.

Andy's character again, being there to protect Rain and not develop on his own. His disabilities being "cured" for most of the movie. Why the accent? Anyways I'm glad he was there because he was the shining star of the whole thing and even that felt a bit too on the nose as if they knew every one else was worthless.

The movie had a few jumpscares and the gore was nothing compared to ANY of the previous movies. Ultimately I felt nothing for the entire hour and half except for when the cousin got slimed, which I laughed. The mix of CGI was strange. 1 out of 10 as fuck! Do you think they're gonna make a sequel?

[legendary-defender-of-fandoms]

You want to know the worst thing about Ralph Breaks the Internet?

It wasn’t the already-dated Internet jokes & references - we all knew going in that stuff was never going to work.

It wasn’t the new characters - honestly, they’re all fine (except maybe Double Dan - Alfred Molina deserves better!).

It wasn’t the exclusion of Felix & Calhoun (my delusional ass is still waiting for a short film about the two raising the Sugar Rush racers.)

It wasn’t even the thousands of details they ignored, retconned, or forgot from the original Wreck-it Ralph (Fix-it Felix Jr. was THIRTY years old when Ralph met Vanellope, Vanellope ABDICATED HER THRONE in favor of a constitutional democracy so everyone in Sugar Rush would have a say in how the game was run, Sugar Rush was a two-seater racing game, etc.)

No, the absolute, positively, undeniably worst thing Ralph Breaks the Internet did was tarnish & distort Ralph so thoroughly it made us all question if the original movie was even that good to begin with.

Everything else in Ralph Breaks the Internet could be forgiven or overlooked. But what they did to Ralph is just baffling. He was never going to be mistaken for a Rhodes scholar in the first movie, but he WAS smarter than the doofus who couldn’t even name a graduation cap in the sequel.

Wasn’t he?

And he wasn’t a gross slob by choice - he HATED living in the dump (I believe his exact words were “NOT cool! Unhygienic, and lonely! And boring.”) but he was kind of stuck there because the game literally left him nowhere else to stay. That’s why in the epilogue he decided to finally make something of his situation by building himself a proper shack instead of just camping on the bricks.

Wasn’t it?

And Ralph had many flaws in the first film - he had a short temper, he was a little clumsy, he broke things by accident just because he was a little too strong or things weren’t made for someone with his physical abilities in mind, he was stubborn, he had a one-track mind and couldn’t be deterred from his short-term goals no matter the long-term consequences. But the one thing he WASN’T was insecure. He knew his own strengths & weaknesses, and he wasn’t trying to change himself to win anyone’s approval. He was just trying to find VALIDATION, a way to satisfy the small-minded Nicelanders and prove to them (and himself) that he had value as he was.

Wasn’t he?

I’m terrified to rewatch the original movie now because I’m afraid the Wreck-it Ralph in my head is based on lies & fanfics, and the real Wreck-it Ralph was ALWAYS some insecure doofus with no accountability or self reflection.

And you know the absolutely insane part? Disney is doing their absolute darndest to pretend Ralph doesn’t exist. AND HE’S THE TITLE CHARACTER OF HIS OWN IP!!!!! There’s a new chapter book series about Vanellope & some of the Sugar Rush Racers getting stuck in a little girl’s tablet, and Ralph’s ONLY appearance so far is a line-drop in the first book when Vanellope says she left him sleeping in Game Central Station while all the consoles were unplugged for a remodeling of Litwak’s Arcade. WHAT THE FUCK?!?! Remember how EVERYONE in the first movie lost their shit at the possibility of their game being unplugged, treating it like an Apocalypse? Remember how even the sequel did a halfway decent job reminding folks that having a game unplugged was a Big Deal? Now everyone’s just chill axing on vacation in Game Central Station (which is NOT BIG ENOUGH to hold every single game character - it could barely fit the Sugar Rush citizens when they got unplugged) and Ralph is snoozing in a corner while his daughter is accidentally whisked away to some girl’s tablet.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!

The Wreck-it Ralph from the first movie wouldn’t be asleep in a corner when he could be spending time with Vanellope. And THAT man would go through Hell & high water to find her! While Vanellope & her gang are helping Molly (the kid with the tablet) learn about friendship & camping or whatever, Ralph should be an absolute MENACE online, tearing through every website, personal device, and Cloud account looking for his little girl!

Right? Wrong?

Did we all delude ourselves into thinking Ralph was deeper than he was intended to be? Or does Disney just hate Wreck-it Ralph now? And if it’s the latter, why? WHY do they hate him? Why do they want US to not care about him? Is it because he’s the last of the Lasseter projects? Did John C. Reilly and Bob Iger have some sort of falling-out? Did the FANBASE do something to put Disney staff off from ever wanting to do anything with Wreck-it Ralph ever again?

I think I could move on if I knew for certain whether Disney actively sabotaged Wreck-it Ralph with his sequel & subsequent exclusions from merchandise & multi-IP projects, or if I was just crazy for ever liking this character or his movie to begin with. It’s the not knowing that kills me.

[cloysterbell]

This is probably a stupid question but do you have any Haven and Merlin fanfics that you particularly enjoy and might be able to recommend me...? 👀

BOY DO I

So I will caveat that these Haven recs are a lot fresher since I only got into the show last year. Most of my Merlin recs are a thousand years old since I haven't read anything new since probably 2016 but the old stuff is classic and still fucks despite its age. Also funnily enough, despite everything I still have the most Merlin bookmarks on AO3 over any other show

HAVEN:

The Void series by serendipityxii - to me this is how the show canonically ended

don't stop to think this through by gendernoncompliant - maybe my favorite Haven fic?? You will immediately see why if you read it

the only right i have wronged by gendernoncompliant - VERY interesting read! Love when actions have consequences! Also I do highly recommend most of gendernoncompliant's Haven fics, they're very good

The Accidental Threesome (Or, Five Times Duke Might’ve Date-Crashed, and One Time the Date Crashed Him) by jadzibelle - as a Duke stan I just think that

Emotional Motion Sickness by bellatemple - I really wish we'd gotten to explore the consequences of the finale a little bit more, especially if Duke had survived

Come See About Me by templemarker - absolutely insane about this one and again, you'll see why if you read it

Powerful (with a Little Bit of Tender) by polytropic - I don't remember the details about this one too well but I remember the concept was super interesting and well done

The Trouble with Fairytails by Kedreeva - not to be a furry but

and of COURSE I have to recommend Three Favorite Things and No one told me that there'd be a test (I never studied but I did my best) by multifandom-damnation because they were written for me and they rule!

MERLIN:

to the world that never let you be by imperialmint - oh my god. oh my god. maybe still one of my favorite fics of all time?

Down by the River by bleedforyou1 - wait no never mind THIS is my favorite fic of all time

Stars Above, Stones Below by Destina - I did reread this recently and it and its sequel still hold up

We Are All Diamonds by Footloose - listen. It's a strange concept but just go with it, it's one of the most beautifully written pieces of fiction because Footloose (also the famed author of the Shadowlord and Pirate King, which I never read) is a fandom classic

The Crown of the Summer Court by astolat - let Merlin be on equal footing with Arthur! It's what he deserves!

Hidden Light by Destina - I have this bookmarked as 'the fic with the lake' which is all you need to know

I'm Colourblind, Kid by brbsoulnomming - a fun little au where again, not to be a furry but

August by rageprufrock - it's what we should've gotten if canon wasn't determined to be mean to Arthur all the time

Leashed by riventhorn - 👀

Sense Memory by glim - soft!Arthur my absolute most beloved

and of course, I have to recommend The Student Prince by FayJay. I truly have no idea if you were to read this for the first time in 2024 if it's any good, but it's still very much considered to be one of the fandom classics so it's worth a try at the very least

Unfortunately with Merlin I don't really read that many modern!AUs but stick to mostly canon or canon!AU so I'm not much help if you do want more recent stuff. But I would also very much recommend checking out @dirtybookshelves (better on desktop than mobile)! It's a PHENOMENAL resource for Merlin fics and whoever ran this (I think it was emjayelle?) is a goddamn hero

[btsgotjams27]

this is us ~ jjk | 16

six months later and you're still not over jungkook, and when you finally hit rock bottom, you realize you have to pick yourself up because no one else can do it for you.

✨ title: this is us | (sequel to all grown up) ✨ pairing: jungkook x f!reader | ✨ rating: m/18+ | minors dni ✨ genre/au: drama, romance, angst, fluff, smut | est!relationship, age gap, bff's younger brother ✨ playlist | AO3 & Wattpad ✨ a/n: if you haven’t read the prequel to this, please do so here! :) ✨ a/n 2: hello, hello! can you believe we're almost done with this series? it's been a crazy journey for these two, hasn't it? lol. well, i'll just say the angst is strong in this chapter but! this is the last angsty chapter, which i'm kind of happy for myself, my readers, and the characters lmaooooo. i hope y'all enjoy it and now it's only going up from this point out!

[ SERIES MASTERLIST ] | next ✨ 17 ~ one year later

chapter 16 ~ so maybe you're not okay | wc: 5.4k warnings: time skip (6 months later), angst, reader is reflecting on her past actions, language, alcohol consumption, *some* tough love, self-deprecation, depressing thoughts, mentions of throwing up smut warnings: kissing, touching, groping, breast play

~ six months since the breakup ~

Six months have passed since you and Jungkook split up. Sometimes, your heart ached continually, and you wondered when it would stop or ever cease. You almost gave in and called to check how he was doing or what he was up to, but you didn't. It was foolish to believe he'd want to talk to you since he, too, was hurt. You had shattered his heart for the second time, and you shouldn't be surprised if he never wanted to hear from you again.

Your heart skipped a beat anytime his name was uttered, whether it was Jin or Yuna. A part of you wanted to know if he was doing well or if he was as unhappy as you, but you were hoping for the latter. He deserved happiness, and you wanted him to find it even if you weren’t a part of it.

As much as you wanted to run away from responsibilities, you couldn’t. Your show was the only thing that kept you going—for now, at least. Critics and audiences alike praised the first half of the season, but as the season proceeded, numbers began to fall, making you doubt your talent and career. Could your writing be suffering as a result of your breakup? It did take up a lot of your mental space these days.

You wanted to hide under a rock and never come out again, it was virtually impossible because your phone rang nonstop day and night, attempting to put out fires—executives, producers, and writers breathing down your neck, never letting you take a breath. You just wanted everything to halt, and you just wanted no one to need you. But you were reminded of that whenever you stepped into your apartment. You didn’t know which was worse anymore.

The show's last day couldn’t have come any faster, and Kenji wanted to go big and celebrate the filming wrapping. You arrived at the beautiful modern building, which hardly looked like a restaurant.

“Hello, darling.”

You turned to your ex-boyfriend, his arm snaking around your waist. He could never help himself, but you smacked his arm away. “Kenji,” you said with a scowl.

“I’m sorry, love—habit.” You rolled your eyes. “Come on, let’s celebrate,” he said, holding his arm for you to take, though you didn’t amuse him by doing so. You were tired of his antics.

Because it was a party and you were practically the face of the project, you had to put on your best smile and pretend everything was fine—better than okay, perfect because you had gotten what you wanted out of your career, you had worked your ass off to get where you are. Still, none of this mattered if you didn't have the most important person by your side, but you didn’t dare utter his name.

If there was one thing you hated about being in this industry, it was the mingling aspect. Of course, you cared for your crew but showed it differently than how Kenji wanted to. You preferred intimate gatherings, taking a few groups to talk and catch up.

Though, at this point, you didn’t want to be around anyone anymore and just wanted to eliminate the noise clouding up your mind and space.

“Hey, babe. Are you doing okay?” Hyunie asked, pulling you in for a hug.

You loved your friend, but you swear to God if she asked you one more time if you were okay, you’d explode. “I’m fine,” you snapped, closing your eyes.

Having Hyunie by your side throughout this project was a godsend, and you couldn’t have done it without her. As Yuna was busy with baby Indie, Hyunie became your right-hand gal, almost waiting on you hand and foot.

She cleared her throat. “I just wanted to make sure,” she muttered, ready to walk away.

“Wait, Hyunie—” You turned, grasping her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“It’s okay. I know you’re stressed. I’ll leave you alone.”

God—were you always this bitchy and cranky? Or had you unlocked a new part of yourself that you’d only discovered after breaking up with Jungkook? Either way, you’d lose your friend if you didn’t stop.

You had stopped counting how many glasses of wine you had accepted from the server as he passed by with his tray, but it had to have been more than enough for you to want to kiss the next person you saw.

Aimlessly, you stared at your wine glass. Are you the only one like this? What the fuck are you doing with your life? Pretending to be okay when you weren’t. Shit—you were so fucking pathetic.

Every day, the same thing, over and over again. Mindlessly, alone. You were gradually losing yourself in your innermost thoughts.

Tomorrow may be better. Maybe it’ll be alright. But who were you kidding? They were nothing but lies. You were too far gone, too broken. And it didn’t look like it could ever be reversed.

“So, you’re the big boss, hmm?”

You looked up to see a handsome man donned in an all-black outfit, his honey-skin chest practically on display, the deep V of his silk shirt leading your eyes down to his lower half. “That’s me,” you muttered, swirling the last of what was left in your wine glass.

“Can I get you a refill?”

“Yes, please.”

The man flashed a beautiful smile before going behind the counter, reaching underneath to pull up a bottle of wine.

“Are you supposed to be back there?” you asked, raising a brow because he wasn’t a crew member from your show. Actually, you had never seen him before.

He chuckled. “I’m Jung Hoseok, co-owner of Onjium.” You held your glass out for him to refill.

“It’s a beautiful restaurant, and the food is immaculate.”

“Ah, why, thank you,” he remarked. “Should I return the favor and praise your show?”

You tried to suppress your smirk by sipping the red wine. “I’d rather you praise me instead."

Hoseok's tongue darts to wet his lips, biting the bottom. "I can do that."

It had been too long since you had kissed anyone, alone let anyone even touch you. But Hoseok’s kisses from the column of your neck trailing towards your collarbone made you realize how horny you were—and your vibrator wasn’t cutting it anymore. You weren’t sure why you hadn’t sought out a fuck buddy in the first place. It would’ve easily taken your mind off everything and relieved some stress.

His hardened length brushed against your clothed heat, his soft lips continuing to mark your body, his hand on the small of your back, eliminating the distance between you. “Fuck—you’re so sexy,” he kissed your lips. “Why isn’t every man dropping to their knees for you?”

You throw your head back, a chuckle leaving your lips. “Do you always flatter every woman who walks through your restaurant’s doors?” you ask, tugging at his belt, unfastening it with his pants.

He grins and shakes his head. “I never do things like this,” he lies through his teeth.

“Uh-huh, sure,” you quip back. “So you’ve never fucked anyone on this couch before?” You found it hard to believe—a good-looking man like him, not fucking every beautiful that walked into his restaurant?

“Nope, never,” he laughs, coming in for another kiss, his hard length pressing into your lower abdomen, making you ache and crave what’s hidden beneath those briefs. “Can I?” he asks, toying with the thin straps of your dress.

“Please do. I’m at your service to be praised and adored.” You were hardly ever this bold or confident. Maybe it was the alcohol coursing through your veins, coinciding with how shitty you’ve been feeling these past several months.

Hoseok’s slender fingers drew imaginary circles into your skin. He studied your face—eyes closed, mouth agape, and head lolled back. Savoring every moment as you bite your bottom lip, just waiting for him to continue as he pleased. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Honestly, at this moment? Anything—anything to relieve the ache that was building inside your body.

He hums, waiting for your answer.

You opened your eyes and straightened your posture. He still hadn’t removed your straps, so you did it for him, agonizingly slow, of course—just as he teased you, you did the same to him. But your stupid bra stood in the way until you unfastened the hooks, freeing your breasts one at a time. His attention is now diverted from your eyes to your chest, taking in the perfect view.

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you leaned in, whispering, “I want you to fuck me so hard that you have to take me home and then fuck me all over again.”

He shifted in his seat, adjusting himself, then gripped the soft flesh of your ass through your black slip dress. His hands roamed the sides of your body. His eyes fixated on your breasts before palming them in his hands. “Fuck–yes. You don’t have to tell me twice.”

His hand reached the back of your neck, pulling you in for a kiss. You spread your legs wider, rolling your hips against his erection. Faint whimpers leave your lips when his fingers pinch your stiff peaks.

“Fuck–Kook. I need you inside me.”

“Name’s Hoseok,” he says between kisses.

“Don’t–don’t talk.”

“Anything you want, princess.”

You pulled away with a deadpan expression, breathing a loud sigh.

“You just ruined it.” Of course, he couldn’t have known that you hated that pet name, but that pet name also brought you back to reality.

You drew the strings of your dress back over your shoulders, proceeding to grab the rest of your things. “I’m sorry, Hoseok. I shouldn’t have done this,” you say, looking around for your bra.

“Was it something I said?”

Technically, yes, but also, you were stupid for trying to sleep with a man you had just met. This wasn’t you. You didn’t go around fucking random strangers–you much preferred being in a loving relationship, not one-night stands with men you’d never see again.

“No–it’s me. I’m sorry.”

Quickly, you left the crime scene, slipping into a taxi, still holding your bra because you couldn't put it back on without someone stopping to talk to you. With eyes closed and a loud sigh, your head lolled back on the car’s headrest. The angel on your shoulder was berating you for making bad decisions. The devil told you to return to the man who wanted to sleep with you and show you a good time. Right now, you didn’t want to listen to either of them.

You open your eyes and straighten your posture, catching a glimpse of yourself in the rearview. The person staring back was unrecognizable—having sunk to the lowest of the lows, unsure if you could pick yourself back up. At this point, you wondered how your friends could even put up with you. You didn’t even want to be around yourself—a pitiful mess you were.

Sundays were brunch days at Yuna and Namjoon’s. It was a tradition the group had organized since the new parents had their hands full.

But you lay in bed, thinking of the many excuses you could give to your best friend to get out of this brunch you had started to loathe. It reminded you of your mother’s family reunion dinners.

You 9:27 AM *cough*cough* I’m not feeling well. I think I drank too much.

Yuna 9:29 AM 😒 Get your ass over here. I don’t care if you’re on your deathbed.

Tae 9:30 AM Dang—mama don’t play. You tell her, Noona!

Hyunie 9:30 AM Seriously, taetae? Why??? Why are you like this? 😑

Joon 9:31 AM I’m making my infamous avocado toast.

Jin 9:32 AM Namjoon cooking? *cough*cough* I’m sick too.

Yuna 9:33 AM Oh! Don’t make me slap all of you through this phone. Everyone be here at 10:30! OR ELSE.

You 9:33 AM Fine…

Jin 9:34 AM Okay—MOM.

Tae 9:34 AM Or else, what? You’ll spank me?

Hyunie 9:35 AM Someone come strangle my husband before I do!!

Even if you were on your deathbed, huh? Apparently, you still had to attend this infamous Sunday brunch.

A notification bell came through your phone, illuminating your screen.

Jin 9:37 AM I can come pick you up.

You 9:38 AM Why? You don’t trust that I’ll go there?

Jin 9:38 AM Nope 🙃 See you soon friend.

The car ride to Yuna’s consisted of nothing but radio silence. Jin looked over, watching you mindlessly observe pedestrians, deep in thought about who knows what. He wanted to interrupt many times but didn’t want to appear insensitive.

“You look like shit,” Taehyung remarked, sitting at the table.

“Thanks, Taehyung. I really appreciate your honesty,” you faked a smile before letting it falter. “FYI—this is what I look like, hungover.”

“You seem to be drinking a lot these days,” Yuna couldn’t help but comment.

“There’s nothing wrong with drinking,” Namjoon responded as he was focused on smashing the avocados in the bowl. He looked up to see his wife glaring at him. “What?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, as long as it’s done in moderation. We don’t want anything bad to happen to our bodies.” He looked over at Yuna again, who was pleased with his answer.

“Maybe just slow down on the mimosas today, babe,” Hyunie interjected when you picked up the tall, slim glass and sipped. Whoever made it went a bit overboard on the champagne. It wouldn’t be your fault, it was whoever made this.

“I’m fine,” you noted. “I’m a big girl, and I can care for myself.”

With her tongue in cheek, Yuna tuts as she spreads the butter on the piece of bread, preparing the pan for the avocado toast.

You wanted to let that slide because she had been like this for the past few months, making snide, snarky comments or saying things under her breath. Maybe motherhood was taking a toll. Maybe she hadn’t had enough sleep. Maybe she, too, was pissed off at the world.

“Do you have something you want to say to me?” You set your glass down, folding your arms across your chest. Maybe you were feeling confident after the sip of orange juice and champagne.

Everyone quieted down, pretending not to let this conversation become awkward, trying to do other things to distract themselves.

Yuna placed the bread into the warm pan, letting it sizzle, but she didn’t answer you. She had wanted to talk to you privately for a while now, but everything was bubbling up to the surface, and she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Namjoon clenched his jaw and lightly elbowed her, giving her the staredown of the century, mouthing, “Not now.”

“Why not? Hmm?” she answers aloud to her husband. “She needs to hear what I have to say.”

He looks at everyone whose eyes are now on the couple in the kitchen. “There’s a time and place if you want to talk, but not in front of everyone,” he said in a hushed tone, quickly glancing at you, then back to his smashed avocados.

“Yuna, if you have something to say, just fucking say it.” You were tired of all these side eyes and unspoken words.

She sighs and then turns off the stovetop, removing the pan from the heat. “It’s been six months, Y/n. Six months since Jungkook left.”

“Yeah, you don’t think I fucking know that? I have to live with that knowledge every day. Why can’t you just leave me the fuck alone and let me drink in peace?” Picking up the glass, you took another sip; the bubbly drink fizzled down your throat. “I’m fine,” you lied. “Sometimes I just want to wallow in all the shit I’m feeling, okay? And be fucking depressed, sad, and hurt. Am I not allowed to do that?”

Hyunie steps closer, grasping your arm. “Of course, you can, but we’re just worried about you and want you to talk to us.”

“What do you want me to say?” You look around the room, trying your best to hold it together. Your tongue darted to lick your lips, teeth nibbling your bottom lip, but the yearning in your heart welled to the surface, just waiting to erupt. “You want me to say that I fucked up? Instead of pushing Jungkook away, I should’ve tried to work through it. That I should've gone to LA to get him back? Well, it's too fucking late. I can't do shit now. He's probably moved on with his life and is doing ten times better than I am."

You let go of Hyunie and sat in the dining chair. "God–I'm so pathetic." You wiped the tears streaming down your face. "I feel so numb, so broken," you said with a shaky voice. "I just want to wake up from this stupid nightmare, but I can't because this is my fucking reality. I know I have no one to blame but myself for this mess."

Everyone looked at you with pity and remorse. Practically watching you fall apart. You didn't want this to happen but knew it eventually would.

Yuna sympathized with her best friend, and she did. But she also had her baby brother to worry about as well. She knew how he was doing–which was much better than you right now, and you were right. He had moved on and was in a better spot, mentally and emotionally.

She walked over to you, placing her hand on yours, gently rubbing the top of your hand. Yuna softly sighed, “I love you, I do. But sometimes I just wanna give you a good smack.”

“Jagi!” Namjoon quips, setting down his fork.

“In a loving way, of course,” she pauses, “I'm sorry things turned out the way they did with you and Jungkook. It hurts me to see you like this–living life so aimlessly. If you want him, go get him. If you don't, then move on.”

“It's not that simple,” you said, turning to her.

“I know—but you have to try. Take it one day at a time. Do something fun. Try something you’ve never done before. Get your mind off everything,” Yuna suggests.

She was right. Since your show had wrapped up and nothing else lined up, you could do as you, please. Maybe you could find a new hobby or travel—it’s been a minute since you had a proper vacation. Honestly, traveling to a secluded place seemed like a dream. But would it be a ruse to run away from your problems, or would it help you move on? Could it be a bit of both?

“I’m sorry, guys. I am.” You look up to your friends who have been supportive these past few months while you were at rock bottom.

Jin, Namjoon, and Taehyung grunted or hummed, acknowledging your apology before distracting themselves with something else.

Hyunie comes in for an embrace. “You’re gonna be okay. I know it.” She pulls away, the corners of her lips curving into a reassuring smile.

“I don’t deserve you guys.”

“You don’t,” Jin jokes, in which Namjoon glares at him. “What?” He stuffs a blueberry in his mouth. “Just saying.”

You were conscious of your choices and actions and aware of the consequences; nevertheless, accepting and coming to terms with them was another matter.

Regardless, if you wanted to get out of this deep, dark hole you’ve dug, no one could help you unless you helped yourself.

With nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no one to see—your life felt like it had no meaning, no purpose.

Do something fun.

Yuna’s voice echoed from the day before. Fun? You didn’t even know what you considered fun anymore. What did you even like besides writing and working? No new films were interesting, at least not enough to make you want to pay to sit in front of the big screen. And you just knew you’d be scrolling through Netflix for hours trying to find something to watch before ultimately giving up. There was no point, you thought.

And since none of those things were riveting, you again found yourself at the bar. At least, it was the first time you’d gone this week. Well—to be honest, the week had just begun.

“Another Moscow mule, please,” you inquired, waving down the bartender. It was only your third one of the night, but given that your speech was becoming unintelligible—you’d be cut off soon.

The bartender nodded, acknowledged your request, and began working on your drink.

You held onto the black straw, mindlessly stirring the ice in the copper mug. Your eyes laser-focused on the bottle sitting behind the bar back—Highland Park, single malt whiskey. You preferred cocktails over straight liquor. You didn’t think you could handle all the alcohol content; hell, you could hardly hold the ones in cocktails.

Next to the shelf of liquor stood a mirror, but you couldn’t recognize the person in the reflection. Who was she? Six months had passed since the breakup, and the person in the mirror looked grim and unhappy. You couldn’t remember the last time you genuinely smiled or even laughed, and you had forgotten what true joy felt like.

This past year drained you emotionally and physically. You weren’t sure you had even gotten through all of it, and storing these traumatic, unpleasant memories in your amygdala only to resurface when you drank, forced you to deal with your emotions and feelings—things you didn’t want to touch. They were too painful and tortuous. It was easier to leave them be, brush them off, pretend that life could go on—but you had to face these memories and feelings sooner rather than later, or you’d never be able to pull yourself out of the hole you had dug.

The soft murmur of your name broke your focus on yourself in the mirror. You turned to see Min Yoongi beside you in a black button-down with a turtleneck underneath.

“Why do you look like you just sat down to be interviewed for a documentary?” You ask without regard to how he is doing or what he was doing at the bar.

Yoongi laughed at your abruptness. “I just came from a meeting with a colleague and came here for drinks, but he had to head out; then I saw you sitting here, so here I am.”

“Mmhm, here you are.” Your eyes lit up when the bartender handed you your drink.

“Can I get a single malt whiskey? Neat.”

You chuckled because you were looking at the bottle the bartender picked up.

“You okay?” Yoongi asked, sitting beside you, his knee slightly brushing against yours before swiveling away in his stool.

It would be easy to say, ‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ and go on the rest of the night indulging in small talk, but did you want to open a can of worms?

You gave your attention to the new Moscow mule sitting before you, stabbing the lime with the black straw and pushing it down to the bottom. You turn to him, “I feel like I’m gonna break down and cry at a moment’s notice.”

For some reason, it felt easier to bare your soul to someone who knew nothing about your life because all your friends quickly judged you and your decisions. But not with Yoongi. He knew the bare minimum about you.

“It’s okay to cry. Just don’t cry alone,” he simply said before thanking the bartender and sipping his whiskey.

Honestly, you hadn’t cried in the past few months. You felt more numb than anything, but the accumulation of your relationship with your mom, infertility, and Jungkook was enough to make you want to break down and give up on everything in life. The weight of it all was coming to a peak, ready to erupt.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” he teased, to which you rolled your eyes. He took another sip, waving for you to continue.

“Do you ever ask yourself what the fuck you’re doing with your life?”

“All the time,” he chuckled. “It’s normal to ask that question. Think about it—we’re living, breathing humans that live on a rock floating through time and space.”

“Yes! Oh my god! I think about that all the time. Why do all of my problems seem so big in my little world? But compared to how big the world is, it seems silly, minuscule, and unimportant. I mean, the person walking down the street probably has bigger problems than me.”

“Mm, that could be true, but don’t minimize your hurt and feelings. It’s important to recognize and learn from those things and let them shape a better you.”

“Why get a shrink when all you need is ‘Min Yoongi’ in your life?” You finally take a sip of your drink, the ice already melting in place, the condensation pooling a rim on the napkin.

He chuckled at your joke. “I’m hardly a therapist. I’ve just—I’ve been where you are, and I’m sorry it sucks, but give it time. You’ll be okay.”

“But, like, how do you know that?”

“Well, I don’t,” he took a swig of his whiskey. “I mean, there aren’t many things in our control, but for the things that are, it’s important to do what we can. We can only manage what’s right in front of us. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, next week, or three months from now. Just worry about what’s happening right here, right now. That’s all you can do, you know?”

You recognized the truth behind Yoongi’s words and wanted to believe it. You did. But it was always easier said than done. Maybe you just needed more time, time to find yourself again. Maybe find joy in the little things, in yourself, and become comfortable in your skin without the dissonance of your friends. This time in your life would be as good as any since you had nothing lined up for you, work-wise. There was no one to keep you here in Seoul. You could go anywhere if you wanted to. Would now be the right time to uproot your life and go wherever your heart desired?

Yoongi could see you pondering his words, maybe letting the reality of it all soak in. He chugged the last of his whiskey, setting the glass down. “Come on, let me take you home.”

You lifted your finger, ready to key in your apartment's code, before returning to Yoongi. “Do you wanna come in?”

He hesitated before answering, “I shouldn’t.”

“You’re not going to tuck me in; make sure I don’t drown in my vomit?” Yoongi snickers. “Sorry, I’m not in my right mind right now. You don’t have to come in.”

“You’re not gonna make this easy, are you?”

“I just gave you an out. You can leave if you want, but if you don’t hear from me tomorrow, will you be ready to live with that guilt if something happened to me?” You could’ve easily eliminated the last line but couldn’t help yourself. Let’s blame it on the alcohol for the sudden confidence.

Yoongi’s tongue darted out, licking his lips, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile. He nodded toward your door. “Come on. Let’s get you tucked in.”

“I just want to lay on a nice, warm beach. Or I guess I’ll try to dream of it tonight.”

Yoongi followed you into the bedroom and lunged forward to keep you standing straight before you plopped onto the bed. “I have a vacation home in Phuket if you ever need to get away from here.”

“You do?” Your eyes widen in delight, almost wanting to take up his offer.

“Yeah, Tae and Hyunie went there recently, and I’m only ever there occasionally. Feel free to use it if you’d like.”

“Is this the part where you plan to murder me, and no one will ever find my body?” you joke, referring to when he said he’d take you home the first night you met, even though you hardly knew him then.

“I think you’ve been watching one too many Law and Order episodes, huh?”

You shrug. “You can never be too careful, you know!”

Yoongi laughs. “If I wanted to murder you, I’d have done it already.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re waiting for the perfect moment. Like when I’m all vulnerable in my bed.” He shows off his gummy smile, a feature you’ve come to appreciate. “You should smile more often. You have a really pretty smile.”

He shook his head, letting out a soft chuckle as he turned away from you. Through the short time, he’s known you, you were never this honest with him.

You sigh. "Can I skip to the part where everything will be okay again?"

Yoongi kneeled by your bedside and flashed a closed-lipped smile before scanning over your features. Apparently, you were just full of questions tonight, but he didn’t mind. "Where you are now is not where you'll always be."

He seemed so positive and empathetic toward your situation, which you were grateful for. It's possible he was just being kind, but he had plenty more to say. He was almost like your personal fortune cookie, always ready with an answer.

"That's easy for you to say." You snuggled deeper into your fluffy pillow, pulling the duvet under your chin.

"Mm–yeah, it is," he chuckled. "Well, there's a high chance that the future you want never happens, and if you put too much meaning into it, it'll torment you."

“Gee, thanks,” you said dryly. 

“You know what I mean.”

You stick out your tongue in protest, pulling the duvet over your head. “Just say I’m being pathetic. I can handle it,” you lie, muffled through the sheets. You were one step away from losing your shit.

Yoongi cleared his throat, lifting the duvet so he could say goodbye. He could see the sadness in your eyes when you looked back at him, and he only knew what you were going through because Kim Taehyung had a big mouth and shared whatever details he knew about you and your ex-boyfriend. But he never wanted to press you further unless you wanted to share.

“Well, I’m gonna head out. It looks like you’re tucked in safely and not dying, so...”

He proceeded to stand, but you sat up, grabbing his hand, your hand lingering longer than usual. Your eyes focused on his plush lips, then you moved in, closing your eyes for a kiss, but he pulled away.

“I’m sorry.” He stood, taking another step toward the door. “You’re cool, but I don’t kiss people when they’re not sober.”

Your cheeks become warm, your gaze avoiding his. “I’m sorry. As you can probably tell, I’m not in the right mind frame, and I’m very susceptible to handsome men when they’re sweet.”

Yoongi flashed a thin smile. “It’s okay. I’ll pretend nothing happened,” he remarked, waving his hand again before leaving you alone in your bedroom.

When you heard the front door closed, you grabbed your pillow and screamed into it. Why was kissing someone always your answer when feeling shitty about yourself? At this point, Yoongi probably found you as foolish as one could be. He probably wondered how and why Hyunie and Taehyung continued to be friends with someone like you.

You set the pillow aside, sliding under your covers, thinking about the question you asked Yoongi earlier at the bar.

What the fuck are you doing with your life?

So much of your adulthood was spent trying to survive your childhood and the trauma that came with it, and as you became an adult, you hoped the person you had become would be the person you needed when you were a child. But in reality, you felt like an imposter. The adult version of you was trying her best to be what that little girl needed, though ultimately, you failed her.

You knew deep down inside that you needed to stop whatever this path of destruction was, stop blaming others, not wait to be rescued, and most of all, stop refusing to participate fully in life. You had friends who became like family to you, who loved you no matter what you did. Was that not enough?

Inevitably, you were aware that no one could save you but yourself. You’d spent your life stuck in this endless cycle that no one had created but yourself.

You stopped before you started. You gave up before you even attempted. You talked yourself out of it before you got into it.

In retrospect, you knew you were also at fault regarding Jungkook. You sabotaged your relationship because you couldn’t bear the pain. But what if you had tried and given everything, and it worked out?

But as Yoongi said, it’s better not to dwell on a future that may not happen. Otherwise, you’d continue this endless cycle of torment.

✨ a/n 3: so, how are we doing? how are we feeling? do we have any theories on what'll happen next? what do we think about yoongi? let me know (:

also! i still plan on doing the podcast episode, so start thinking of questions, comments, rambles/rants (:

✨ next ~ 17 ~ one year later

[shsl-analyzer-guy]

Personally I do think the most common thing abt people regarding udg is that it has the best villains in the franchise considering that 1. They have actual motivations and 2. As children were manipulated both by junko and monaca but are still capable and willing to commit atrocities. They’re not ‘flat’ villains like how junko just wants to cause worldwide despair with little reasonable motivation.

I think its also important to note that udg is good for context because it feels like it makes the games feel tied together and we actually see what’s going on in the rest of the world rather than just hearing about it happening and being like ‘oh okay that’s a thing’. We finally got a game that had the ‘show, don’t tell’ of the tragedy. If the dr team had even slightly better writing skills and morals (and less.. questionable scenes and save points) I feel like udg would have been a really well rounded game.

SPOILERS BELOW

and for a game that only actually kills a single member of their main cast it still feels like everyone’s in danger. And I do like that while they massively redeemed toko’s character they didn’t just make her perfect; she’s still a huge simp and a petty prick by the end of the game, but she does go through a lot of development.

Personally if they had better writing I would have loved to see a sequel where the girls and the WoH (minus monaca) have to try and rebuild everything while obviously still dealing with the moral conflict of these kids (seeing as in that one snapshot of the anime we see that they are working with toko and komaru already. Also monaca goes to space in an Amazon delivery van which is. Something). I want to see the other survivors being against their efforts: and considering what went down in chapter 4 of dr 1 I’d really love to see aoi be a main antagonist considering that 1. She and toko already hate each other and 2. She has very good reason to be vengeful all things considered with yuta (who everyone just seems to forget about. When komaru said she could see ghosts I was waiting all game for him to come back as a new mechanic. I think he deserves to be relevant. As a treat).

SPOILERS OVER

anyways, ramble over

Dude you're so on point with like. All of this. UDG is probably one of if not the best part of the entire series based off its character building and how well it builds upon the Tragedy, plus the best protagonist the series has ever had, and so many people just never played it because it was marketed as a side game and not a main installation and I HATE IT GO PLAY UDG IT'S WORTH IT I PROMISE-

I'd never thought about having Hina as an antagonist in a sequel but that's actually a really cool idea! We did get a good look at her more vengeful side once before so it'd be great to see that part of her again

Forever angry that instead of a UDG 2 we just got a singular ep of DR3 with Monaca fucking off to space and That's It

[loveisonlyforthebrave8]

you’re so sweet. thank you so much!! i’ve watched love in the air. i know boss but i didn’t know his partners name. i’ve also watched:

dead friend forever (it was so fun; tan was right and he should’ve been able to kill all of em. except my sweet sunshine bby white who didn’t deserve anything bad to happen to him ever)

two worlds (loved it)

cutie pie 1&2 (eh),

naughty babe (loved but i think i love the pairing),

not me (chefs kiss),

kinnporsche (the volume in which i screamed cousin fuckers and then sung sweet home alabama, 10/10 would recommend to a friend),

the sign (so ridiculous but like in a great fun way; i like police procedurals and i like fantasy)

only friends (i wish i had a toxic dramatic friend group :/),

between us (that jaw thing mr blond did was oddly attractive; can’t wait to see the pair in the vampire show!),

last twilight (my heart ached and baked and was made into a cake. that means i loved it),

kiseki: dear to me (ai di owns my heart forever; i like his big puppy chen yi too. i couldn’t get into the main pairing tbh),

together with me 1&2 (it was okay)

love in translation (cuuute)

do you have any more recs???

First of all can, this list is immaculate (bar cutie pie, did not vibe with that one bit)

Secondly, I see you with your insane taste in ships. Maxnat from Two Worlds/Naughty Babe? This is top tier shit. I found Naughty Babe awful and mostly unwatchable (I'm not domundi's- the company who produced naughty babe and cutie pie- biggest fan) but MAXNAT??? That pairing have me wrapped round their fingers. Especially Max. Goddamn.

Thirdly, did you like love in the air? Thoughts on the second half of the show in particular? Because the other main couple (fort and peat) are my precious fucking baby angels and I would die for them. And if you liked them then my first recommedation is the currently airing Love Sea the series, because they're tearing me limb from limb. Every week they do something that thrills, excites, and terrifies me all in equal standing.

In terms of other recs, I can definitely give you a few I enjoyed, because your list is very good already and I'm seeing that we have quite similar taste.

I want to throw the show Manner of Death at you. You've seen Together With Me, and if you liked our boys Max and Tul and managed to wade your way through that show plus it's sequel, based on their chemistry alone, then Manner Of Death will be refeshing change for you. Because their chemistry is even better and the story line actually has a very clever and exciting narrative. Plus, its a lot more mature than your average highschool drama bl.

Tale of 1000 Stars is another show I really enjoyed. Its bl pairing is Earth and Mix, they have fantastic chemistry and the show has a really interesting plot that kept me hooked. It's a bit more typical thai bl in certain aspects, and the intimate nc scenes are next to none, but their relationship is one I was hooked on and I enjoyed the story a lot.

I have also enjoyed: 4 Minutes is only one episode in, but I can already tell it's going to be a favourite, which says a lot. But I am also very biased towards the lead male, Bible Wichapas aka Vegas from Kinnporsche. Man Suang is a movie, not series, but its on Netflix and its Mileapo from Kinnporsche. It's historical, gritty, heart-hitting, and just generally very fucking well produced. Moonlight Chicken (the side couple had me hooked immediately) Ingredients (cute af mini series with a Jeff Satur-Kim from KP) My Stand-In (I endjoyed it for what it was, it was a bit ridiculous) Vice-Versa (If you liked JimmySea you'll probably enjoy this) Bad Buddy (Great chemistry between the main characters) And a Taiwanese bl I liked was: History 3: Trapped.

(Your kinnporsche review is EVERYTHING. No notes.

The Mr Blonde jaw thing had me chuckling. I too, very much enjoyed the jaw thing. Hope the vampire show is directed well. Bounprem deserve it.

Tan absolutely should have slain them all. Apart from bb White. Agreed. Wholeheartedly.

Ai Di x Chen Yi were the only reason I was watching that show. For real.

Last Twilight was fantastic. I just didn't vibe with the ending. If it had ended on that rock cliff? Perfection. Stunning. Show-stopping.)

I hope you enjoy some of these! Sorry this got SO LONG.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2024. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE. You can friend me on Goodreads here.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

___

393. King of Greed by Ana Huang--⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

KING OF GREED became a book I really wanted to read because we got glimpses of this relationship in the previous book, and if there's a trope I like a little bit too much it's when a man has to go crawling back to the love of his life that he took for granted (and who she left because a queen deserves better). In that sense, Huang didn't disappoint. We got the begging, we got the jealousy, we got the process of him coming to terms with what a dickhole he'd been to his gorgeous wife--we got a good dose of literary drama.

And mixed in with the drama was the darker undertones of a mystery that stalks the shadows of this book. In my opinion, these darker themes are what really keep me hooked to the books in this series. Yes, the romance can be spicy, sweet, or cute, but that mystery adds such an interesting dynamic to the story that I never anticipate.

I liked the FMC as a character because she knew her goals and even though tempted, she kept going until she achieved the success she'd always craved but never chased while married. I also liked that she knew what she wanted and what she deserved and SHE DIDN'T SETTLE. Even though it did get to the point where I started feeling bad for him (his charisma got me), I do like that she fought for herself while he fought for their relationship.

I wasn't a big fan of the flashbacks. I understand their purpose and why they helped build the backstory of this couple and how they fell in love, but I found that they usually took me out of the story. Nothing is as much of a pace killer (for me) than a flashback in the middle of a chapter. Again, I understand why they were used, but I wasn't a fan of them.

I am definitely going to collect the rest of the series and read the next book! This series (so far) may not be the best books I've read, but I'm entertained and they're dramatic, romantic, and spicy.

___

394. Body Movers by Stephanie Bond--⭐️⭐️.5

BODY MOVERS has been on my shelves for over a decade, just chilling there and trying its best not to collect any dust. I was excited to see the audiobook at the library because I've been trying to read some of my older titles this past year. I'm glad I finally read this and while it wasn't what I thought it would be (to be honest, it was a wee bit disappointing), I definitely see myself trying out the sequel in the not-so-distant future.

The best part of this book was the mystery (which is fitting because this is predominantly a mystery book). I liked how everything came together in the end and how I was truly surprised by the guilty party. I liked that the MC went and investigated despite being told to stay out of it--no one puts this character in the corner. Although, I wish she was this strong when it comes to the people who hurt her, or her brother.

One of the bigger topics in this book that threw me was how three different men were interested in her, but her number one eye candy attraction is to the man who broke her heart when her world turned upside down. I don't get it either. My first immediate thought that I had when she started attracted all of these male characters was: but who will be end-game? Which both makes me wary of and weirdly excited for the next book. I want to see who she picks and I'm really hoping it's not the asshole high school sweetheart.

I also hope that she grows a spine in the next book.

And finally, that brother of hers was so weirdly written. He acted both younger and older. I get that the hormones run wild in nineteen year-old boys, but every interaction he had with a woman was full of him daydreaming about sleeping with her.

Anyway, we shall see how the rest of the series is when I eventually get to it!

___

395. The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ah, THE BRIGHTNESS BETWEEN US. This definitely had one of those sad moments where I thought: Huh, that's where the title came from!

I definitely liked the first book more, but this one had its moments that made me really enjoy the story. It did, however, take me a bit of time to get into this one--unlike book one, which grabbed me pretty early on.

While THE BRIGHTNESS BETWEEN US definitely had some romantic elements, I wouldn't exactly call this a romance. It was still an emotionally powerful and memorable read, but the romance definitely took a backseat to the political upheaval and devastation of human greed and power.

Much like the last book, this had its unique moments and mystery that made for easy reading (once the story gets going). I for once liked the flashbacks simply because it helped explain how we got to the events of book one. We also got to learn more about the original characters who helped create the main characters, and how their personalities played into both the destruction of the world and the creation of a new one. The ending of the flashbacks made me want to cry, even though I knew that there was a better ending to be had if we look beyond the confines of the past.

The present time with the new characters and the old couple from book one was interesting, if not a little maddening, at least until we started getting more answers. That's one of the things I like about Schrefer's writing--how he tends to tie everything together by the end, revealing the truth behind everything and the twists that take us by surprise. It was all very clever.

While I liked the setting of space better, this did serve as a way of giving readers closure since we were left with so many questions by the end of book one. It was a nice way to tie things together and fill in every empty space there was left in the plot and overall story.

___

396. It's Elementary by Elise Bryant--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm glad I gave IT'S ELEMENTARY a shot because I had so much fun!

There are many elements to this story: the mystery and all that surrounded it, the dreamy love interest, the MC's complicated relationship with motherhood and how it is affected by her own need to find answers, the racism and ignorance that exists in American schools--especially since her daughter goes to a predominantly white school, and the micro-aggressions that can stop you from moving up in your career--just to name a few.

Firstly, the mystery was such a ride. Everything seems pretty obvious, but as the story progresses, we start to see all of the different layers that Bryant has weaved into the story. There is more than one mystery happening, but I won't say what it is because it'll add beautifully to the final reveal.

I loved the love interest and how dreamy he seemed. On the surface he was this attractive man that so many of the moms and dads would eye, but on the inside he was a dork who showed immediate interest (and respect) to the MC. I loved that he worked alongside the MC because he was that support she didn't know she was missing.

It was great to see the story through the eyes of a single Black mom as well. We get to be with her as she experiences the micro-aggressions at her job, the way a few of the parents throw racist jabs at her, and how she is always on alert. But more importantly, we get to see how great of a mom she is, how much of a hard worker she can be, and how loved she is by the people who love and care for her--like her dad and daughter. And by the way, her daughter is the funniest little kid LOL. We also see how overwhelming it can be to always live with the internal and external expectations of what it means to be a mom, a hard worker, and a friend.

Overall, this was a timely mystery freckled with cute moments of romance and family. I laughed, I wanted to cry at points, and I was genuinely surprised at others. I'm both excited and wary of the next book, since this was so entertaining.

___

397. What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri--⭐️⭐️

Honestly, I gave WHAT WE FED TO THE MANTICORE a listen because of the rave reviews.

I almost DNF'ed it a couple of times because I just wasn't getting hooked. But I fought through it and while the whole thing wasn't really something I'd read again, there were a few stories that did stand out to me--the rest had me feeling bored and wondering why I was still listening to this book. I'm clearly not a short story girly.

The stories I DID like had amazing messages behind them and left me thinking about this long into whatever story followed after. I really liked the manticore story, the first story broke my heart--especially because of the powerful message it delivered (the devastation of Palestine), and the wolf story was powerful because of how miscommunication is easy between humans and animals, leading to often murderous consequences.

I wish I could have connected to all of the stories because I can definitely see the appeal of this book.

___

398. Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson--⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh, look! Another book that's been on my shelves for YEARS. Finally picked it up this year and for the most part, I was very entertained.

I liked how this book first started with the collected experiences of people entering a robot-led end of the world scenario. It gave me very strong World War Z vibes in how we get to see the world falling apart through the eyes of different characters. I do wish the audiobook had been a full cast, however, that would have taken this story up an extra notch. But regardless, this book would make for a pretty great movie.

While the first half of the book had me hooked, the second half grew noticeably slower in pacing. Even though it was still intriguing, it definitely lacked that fast-paced nature that had immediately gotten my attention. I did like seeing these characters getting together to overcome their enemy, but I wanted to see a bit more from others surviving in this new world.

That being said, there was great emotion in this book and every time a character died, it hit me in the heart. Throughout their journey, I somehow felt like I was right there beside them along for the ride.

ROBOPOCALYPSE also had some great commentary on humanity and how we might be seen from an outside perspective. We can be a greedy, selfish, and hurtful species, but we can also be kind, selfless, loving, and big-hearted. It just goes to show how complicated it is to be human and how much can be missed when we're judged by a computer.

I need to read the sequel. This was also weirdly timely, so I don't know what that says about our world.

___

399. The Haunted Car by R.L. Stine--⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE HAUNTED CAR was one of those Goosebumps books that I can't quite put my finger on when it comes to how I feel about the story.

I think this is because of how interesting the family was. I liked how the MC and his brother got along, but also teased each other in a healthy way. The MC was actually worried at one point about saying things that might scare his brother, which was somewhat refreshing after reading others where the siblings absolutely loathed each other. And also, while the parents were still the stereotypical assholes who never believe their kids, something about them sat differently with them. I wish I could explain it.

The friends in this were random because they made an appearance and then exited right after. They were like a drive-by friend plotline that didn't even pause. It's one of those instances in books like this one that really showcase how short these stories are and how little development goes into writing them.

The car mystery was definitely interesting. It was definitely a show-stealer and very entertaining to see what would happen next when the MC got into it. It was also like a cautionary tale of "this is what happens when you don't listen to your parents". The villain's defeat was hilarious and unexpected, it was unexpectedly unique.

Anyway, another Goosebumps down!

___

400. Game Changer by Rachel Reid--⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I devoured GAME CHANGER. I was originally going to read it alongside other books I'm currently reading, but after reading the first chapter, I kept thinking about these two MCs, so back to it I went.

These two characters are so sweet and awkward and I loved them for it. I also loved the bits where the one MC is starting to realize how much of his life he has wrapped around his new love, which prompts him to truly start striving for change in his life.

When compared to the next book in this series, this book has a much lower rating. I can understand why and I could see how Reid's writing got better over time. This read a lot like an excited first book in a series, but because I know how much better Reid gets, I enjoyed this for what it is. GAME CHANGER is definitely not the strongest book I've read in this genre, but it was fun, cute, and addicting as hell.

The miscommunication could have been heavily avoided, but I do like that they eventually did talk it out and that it wasn't something that was spread out over chapters and chapters of needless angst.

One thing though: There was A LOT of spicy scenes in this--dare I say, TOO MANY spicy scenes? I love that they lusted for each other so much, but it was a lot of sex lol. Other than that, I did like seeing how much they cared for each other outside of the bedroom and how they fought for their love.

Also, LOVED the little appearances of certain characters who will make it into the next few books of the series.

___

Happy reading!

[b-afterhours]

Avenue of Sins: Neon

A Sequel to Avenue of Sins

SUMMARY: ‘90s. It’s the aftermath. Jaded, Bill and Alma navigate their new lives as they try to drag themselves out of the dark debaucherous trenches they had once ensnared themselves in. It’s easy to forget their evils when a silver lining introduces itself into their lives but can they create a less hedonistic life that would be just as satisfying?

WARNINGS: adult content, mature readers only.

The completed first series can be read and found here.

Chapter Fifteen

April 10th, 1993

Dressed to the nines, they sat in a low-lit restaurant in a private booth in the middle of their 5-course dinner. They spoke about the amazing courses, perfectly arranged morsels topped with caviar or shavings from rare truffles. Still, then, silently, they agreed that the authentic street tacos they had eaten earlier for lunch were better than their first dishes. 

Once the storm had cleared, they spent their day strolling around and found themselves at a farmers market and crafts sale. Alma had noticed how relaxed he was in public. He didn’t have his head on a swivel like he did in New York City. It was nice to see him leisurely walking about, spending time looking at craft items at various booths, and knowing he didn’t have a gun concealed on him. 

Bill was talking about some scrap metal skull sculpture he had seen at the market that he regretted not purchasing as she looked out towards the other patrons in the restaurant. While some were dressed nicely, wearing designer clothes as they were, there were a lot of pastels and light colors in the room. She turned to look at Bill and thought they looked like they were celebrating someone's funeral rather than her birthday, which amused her. 

“What’s the matter?” He said, clocking her curious expression. He stilled his fork as he turned to scan the area of the restaurant she had been looking out at. His lips puckered once he saw it too. “We’re yuppies,” he said, turning back to her with wide eyes. 

Alma lightly laughed. “I mean.” 

“Yeah. We’re everything punks hate now. Posers.” He nodded.

“Don’t say posers,” she said, disgusted by the word. “I don’t know. We just grew up,” she shrugged. “Now we're in a different lane, but we still stand out against these people.” 

“They don’t know shit,” he said, taking a sip of his wine and making Alma laugh. “We deserve to be here just as much as everyone else.” 

“Yes, I know.” She quickly agreed before he started to go on some rant about it. 

They had left the restaurant satisfied, and she thanked him for her birthday dinner. Especially because he listened to her when she asked him not to tell the staff that it was her birthday and risk having them sing to her out of obligation in front of the whole restaurant.  

Bill began driving to a dive bar. She suggested during dinner that they should go for a few drinks. He had to keep his knowing smile from spreading across his face when she said she wanted to go to The Rooster. He happily agreed because they were going there anyway. Now he didn’t have to actively coax it out of her with a feigned conversation about a nightcap. He got a little worried when, in the same breath, she also said that if he didn’t want to go, they could pick up Echo early. She looked at him with expectant eyes, wanting him to agree with the latter. Of course, he missed his daughter just as much, and she thought he would choose that. 

“Yeah…” he pretended to be in thought. “But I want to spend more time with you.” He smiled when he saw hers tug at her lips and gazed down bashfully. The charm worked. 

“You’ll see it in a second,” she said just before they turned down the street. Soon, a giant neon rooster could be seen shining on the facade of the building. “The giant cock,” she announced. 

“I see,” he chuckled. 

He parked in a gravel lot on the side of the building, and Alma tossed her black strappy platform heels in the backseat, which landed in Echo’s empty car seat. She replaced them with the Doc Martens that Bill urged her to bring in case her feet became tired. He had brought along his leather moto jacket, which he had owned for ages, to replace the blazer he had been wearing. As she fixed the laces on the boots, he was next to her, unbuttoning a few top buttons of his shirt and then going on to roll the sleeves up halfway. She took her ID out of her little clutch purse for him to hold on to before shoving the bag underneath the passenger seat. 

Stepping out, they approached the front door, where Alma saw the tall, stocky bouncer she was familiar with manning the door, but just as she was going to wave at him, he walked inside without any acknowledgment towards her. Well, it had been a while since she had seen him, she thought to herself. 

Bill looked down at her with a smile. “You look so pretty. Here, get in front of me. You know this place better than I do,” he said, stepping behind her and his hand out above her, pushing the door open with his long arm. 

She was hardly inside the dim smoke-hazed bar when she was startled by a flash of a camera, the snap of glitter poppers, and the sound of kazoos and cheering that her back pressed against Bill as she recoiled.  

“Happy Birthday!!!” Her friends shouted from the left side of the semicircle bar. It was decorated with a rainbow of balloons and crepe paper streamers.  

“Shut the fuck up,” she said in shock, clutching onto herself as speckles of multicolored foil glitter floated down around her.

They started chanting her name, and even the ragtag patrons of the bar joined in. She looked up at Bill, who had a smug grin on his face, knowing she hated this. She was too sober. If she had had a few drinks, she would have joined in on chanting her own name. He started pushing her along by the small of her back, and her friends began to greet her. He noticed that Darby only gave her a fist bump and was pleased with that. He knew they were platonic and that he was engaged, but they worked closely. He wondered.

While Alma was thanking Ulyssa and Gregory for decorating. Ash waved at him, waiting for her turn for a hug.

“Alright okay. She’s here, can we get some shots now?” Darby hollered over the music coming from a jukebox once everyone greeted her. 

“Right! Yeah,” Alma said, turning behind her, and then she screamed. “Queenie!?” She said hugging her, her face covered in her loose coil curls. 

“I managed to get away to see you on your birthday, girl!” She said holding on to her and swaying with her in her arms. “I missed you!” 

“Me too. I’m actually so surprised!”

Alma gave her a warm kiss on the cheek and then joined everyone that had gathered by the bar, while Queenie stayed a few paces behind with Bill. He had known of her arrival. She had asked if it was okay if she could come to Alma’s birthday party when she overheard him tell Bianca he was planning it. He said it would be fine—in fact, he liked the idea—but it came with some stipulations, of course. He booked her at the same hotel where he first stayed when he visited Seattle. It was even the same suite. He could always mark it as a business expense. 

“Hey boss, you look nice!” She said, giving him a high five.

He winked at her. “You found this place alright?” He wondered because he had passed along phone numbers to keep himself from being caught. 

“Yeah. Ulyssa helped me out with the address and the taxi knew where I needed to be. I got in late, though. There was a huge storm this morning and I was delayed, but I’m here. It’s nice! Feels fresh here. Well, not here but in Seattle.” 

Bill chuckled. “What have they asked?” He nodded his head in the direction of the record shop collective. 

“I told them everything,” she joked. “Nah, nothing. Only bar stuff. I worked with Alma blah blah. But what’s the matter if they know anyway?” She said fixing the tuck of her satin champagne-colored blouse.

“I just don’t want to blow up Alma’s scene, I guess.” 

“Eh. They seem chill, though. Anyway,” she said, tapping his arm. “Let's go get a shot! I’ll order it for you since I don’t have to make it.” 

Queenie gently pushed through Alma’s friends and leaned half her body on the bar, gaining the attention of the goth bartender and ordering a round of Sex and Violence shots for everyone. 

“It’ll be on his tab,” she said, turning back to look at Bill with a mischievous grin. 

"Yeah, sure,” he smirked. 

Once everyone cheered with their shots, they pulled away a bit from the bar. Creating space for Bill to claim a seat right at the end, he pulled a cigarette from his pack of smokes to place between his lips. A fish bowl full of matchbooks sat in front of him, and he reached in to pull one out. The front had the mascot rooster printed in technicolor and the phrase “The Place With The Giant Cock” encircled it, and he chuckled to himself. 

“Can I get you something?” The goth girl pointed a hand at him, a half-step away, to help another customer if he said no. 

He felt fingers on the top of his head. It was Alma picking out a few pieces of foil glitter from his hair. She was now donning a plastic birthday tiara Ulyssa bestowed upon her. She spoke up for him and ordered his usual whiskey and a draft beer for herself. She leaned her back on the bar and narrowed her eyes at him. He took his time lighting his cigarette and shook the flame off the match, pretending he couldn’t feel her eyes on him. 

“You’re not sneaky,” she said to him. 

He took a deep drag before speaking. “Hm, I think I got you this time.” He was peering at her as he blew a trail of smoke above them. 

“Thanks, love.” 

“I had help,” he nodded. “But you’re welcome. Happy Birthday,” he said, leaning in to kiss her. Once their drinks were before them, they tapped them together and took a sip. 

“Change for the jukebox?” Ash said, jiggling a few coins in her hands. 

“I got some pennies,” a guy with a mullet sitting at the bar smugly piped up, answering her. 

“Jesse,” she sneered, putting her hand up to him dismissively. “Shut up. You don’t have to announce that you’re broke. It’s embarrassing.” 

"Oh, c’mon, Ashley!” He patronized. 

She kept her hand up in his direction and turned to Alma, who had her hand out for Bill’s loose change that he dug from his pocket. She picked out the pennies and the lint while she laughed at Ash’s interaction. They were familiar with the barflies of The Rooster. When she started working at Sheisty Sound, they’d often meet back up at the bar, getting drunk and making friends with guys who’d buy them drinks for sport. Bill could sense there was some history there and found it amusing. 

Gregory approached fist-bumping Bill, took the change Ash collected to add to his, and headed to the jukebox. Bill found him to be a bit quiet. A mysterious poet type with pretentious music taste and great hair. 

“Wait? Gregory is picking the music?” Darby piped up. “He’s gonna bring the place down!” 

“Well, go with him!” Ash gestured towards the jukebox. 

He quickly chugged his beer and sat the empty glass on the bar before jogging over to the jukebox. 

“Fuck,” Ash sighed. “Let me help them. Darby is going to sneak an oldie in there!” Her slinky floral patterned maxi dresses swooshed around her calves as she hastily joined them. 

“This is mostly what it’s like in the shop sometimes,” Alma giggled as she took a sip of her beer. Bill was stamping out his cigarette in a red glass ashtray as she spoke. “One night we were all here, kind of like this, and we all stood at the jukebox for what felt like an hour, fighting over what should play.” 

Bill saw her take another small sip, but before she could pull it away from her rouged lips, he placed his fingers on the other end of the glass to get her to drink more. She paused, but he was insistent. She turned away and proceeded to drink the rest down without his help.

“You don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow,” Bill reminded her. “When was the last time you’ve gotten drunk?” He said, signaling to a male bartender behind the bar and ordered her a mixed drink. 

“Last night?” 

“I’ve seen you drunk, Alma.” 

“This past summer, no, wait, at the penthouse.” 

“Hmm, that was tipsy. Well, I want you to have some fun tonight. And also, I hate to say this, but back off me,” he said, looking her up and down. 

Alma’s top lip drew back with offense. “What the hell? What happened to ‘I want to spend more time with you’?” she mocked.  

“Your friends are here. Queenie is here,” he said, turning his head behind himself and seeing her speaking to Ulyssa. She was the only other person in the mix she could speak freely to. “You’ve had me to yourself these few days, you’ll live.” 

She gasped. “I see these fuckers all the time.” 

“I don’t care. It’s lame, you know it.” He said, passing off the drink, the bartender set down to her. 

“Whatever,” she said, kissing him. She shook her head to herself as she ventured off to the jukebox, effectively pushing Darby out of the way, but he still stood there, giving his suggestions. 

The jukebox started playing upbeat hits, and it seemed to get everyone in the bar into more of a party mood. Alma's birthday balloons were starting to drift around the bar. Some were kicked or bumped around by dive bargoers. He was on his third whiskey when he watched Alma bent over a pool table on the other side of the bar, breaking the pool balls for Gregory and some grungy guy playing with him. He handed her a shot, which she happily took. He didn’t take it as her teasing him, but he liked seeing the power she possessed over men sometimes. Even him. He wasn’t afraid to admit that. 

After that shot, Alma and her girlfriends began dancing together in front of the jukebox, and Darby came over to Bill's side of the bar to join him. 

“It’s kind of getting late,” he said, pulling his Levi jean jacket closed as he situated himself on the barstool two seats away. “Well, for me anyway. I have to open,” he laughed. “I’m not complaining, by the way. It’s a short day on Sundays anyway.” 

Bill nodded, not taking any offense. 

“Can I bum a smoke off you? Smoked my last one,” he frowned apologetically. 

Bill passed his pack to him. “I saw you and your fiancee's wedding invitation at Alma’s place the other day,” he said, making conversation. 

What he wasn’t going to tell him was how he was laughing along with Alma about his name. Cartwright Darby the Fourth. It sounded fitting for a soap opera star. Afterward, he discovered that Darby actually came from old Seattle money. Shunned because he pursued a fine arts degree and then semi-disinherited for quitting his private tutoring career to work in a record store. His fiancee also came from that world, and her own father was pretty upset with him too, especially because he couldn’t dissuade his daughter’s love.

“You coming? It’s extended to you as well.” He gestured. 

“I appreciate that.” He said not mentioning if he would because it was dated on the weekend before his own birthday. 

“It's gonna be at this really manicured private garden that overlooks the bay. There’s going to be a huge tent for the guests at the reception, or so Jenny tells me. I offer my suggestions; she’s sweet, but she couldn’t give a shit,” he chortled before taking a light drag of his cigarette. “Her dad's paying, but I’m in charge of the honeymoon.” 

“Where do you plan on going?” 

“St. Barts. You’ve been?” 

“Nope.” Bill shook his head, taking a sip of his drink. 

“Oh. It’s nice. Uh,” he said, looking a bit ashamed for a moment. “I went about ten years ago. High school grad’ present. I know how it sounds.” He rolled his eyes at himself. 

“I think it sounds nice,” Bill reassured him.

“Have you been anywhere like that?” 

“Mm. Not. Not yet. For a while, it was hard to get away from my job. Until recently, so yeah, hopefully sometime soon.” He said, grabbing his pack of smokes back for one. 

“The bar, right? Or business?” 

"Well, both,” he shrugged.

“You must be super busy. New York City is a beast.” 

Bill clicked his tongue and nodded. “Yeah,” he said shortly after lighting his cigarette. He stole a glance at Alma, who had paused to speak to a small clique of chicks who seemed to be complimenting her dress as she showed it off. 

“How’s this place fair as a bar to you?” 

Bill grinned, amused. “Eh, it’s a dive bar. You can’t really have high expectations. You get what you get,” he said, taking a drag. “The place I run is like a lounge in a way. A lot of gentlemen frequent. Stockbrokers, travel salesmen, lawyers, corporate fuckers, politicians.” 

“No shit. Now that sounds nice.” He said, pointing at him with the two fingers that held his cig. 

Bill smugly smiled. “Yeah, it can be most nights.” 

A group of guys had walked in at the same time Queenie rounded the bar to sit next to Bill. She was glad he liked to brood in dark corners away from most people because she needed a breather. In the group, a gentleman recognized Darby and walked over to say hello. Bill turned to Queenie to ask what she had planned for tomorrow, and she was explaining how she was going to a spa to treat herself. 

“And then I’m gonna check out the record shop.” She said, but Bill was only half listening. 

“Who’s birthday?” Bill overheard the skater guy in baggy clothing ask Darby when he pointed toward Alma. She resumed dancing with her friends, but the group of girls she spoke to and other patrons had gathered to dance too. “Oh!” His brows raised. “The Latina babe, you work with.” 

Queenie overheard as well, and her eyes darted towards her boss, who took a deep breath and rolled his eyes in annoyance. She knew how he was about her.

"C'mon, dude,” Darby said, annoyed with his friend as well. “Her name’s Alma. Her boyfriend’s right behind us,” he said, turning towards Bill apologetically. He just gave the guy a curt nod and proceeded to scowl at him, completely unimpressed. 

“Oh shit,” he said, making contact with Bill’s dark gaze. “That’s my fault, dude. I don’t mean anything by it.” He said with his hands up defensively. He excused himself out of embarrassment and sheepishly made his way to the other side of the bar with his friends. 

“Sorry about him. He’s a dumbass,” Darby said, walking over to the pool table to see if his turn was next. 

“Oooh!” Queenie wiggled her fingers at Bill playfully. 

“Stop,” he chuckled into his glass before taking a sip. “So. I thought Keiko was coming with you?” 

Queenie set her drink down, leaned back in her bar chair, and let out a harsh exhale. “Something came up,” she said with air quotes. “She’s getting into her modeling thing, and I don’t know maybe I’m not right for her image. I think she’s gonna dump me.”

“Ouch.” He was right not to hire her. “Because of her image?” 

“Mhm,” she nodded with puckered lips. “Whatever. I gotta stop dating straight girls.” 

Alma approached, squeezing herself into the space between the stools he and Queenie sat on. She gathered her hair in one hand to get some air on her sweaty neck and took a break herself. Her eyes were low. On a tipsy buzz, she wanted to maintain and ordered another drink.  

“You’re not drinking?” She noticed Bill’s nearly empty glass that sat next to a glass of water in front of him. 

“I’m driving.” He had his cheek resting in his palm as he looked at her with an amused expression. 

“True,” she said, grabbing her shot of tequila off the bar and shooting it back. “Oh shit!” She said when she saw some familiar faces come into the bar. 

In came three big biker guys with beards of various lengths and their Harley Davidson leather. The one leading the others wore a weathered cowboy hat that had the sides of the brim folded in. He took it off when he saw Alma. 

“Just dropping by. Happy Birthday, Miss Lucio.” She thanked him and quickly introduced Bill, and they shook hands. 

“Big Rod. Those fools behind me are Archie and Zeph.” They gave Bill a friendly nod. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to buy the birthday girl a drink,” he said to Bill politely with his gravelly voice. 

“She deserves it, I think.” He winked at her.  

Queenie sat there wondering how Alma knew these biker guys until Ulyssa approached her to ask if she wanted to smoke on the back patio. Bill overheard that too. If he wasn’t going to get drunk, at the very least he could feel good and relaxed with that. It’ll wear off before the bar closes. Alma walked away from the bar with the biker guys, talking about some show dates. 

“I’ll be back,” he said with a hand on her hip, leaning into Alma’s ear as he followed the girls to the opposite side of the bar, weaving between patrons on the sticky floor.  

They were sitting at a wooden picnic table with benches, tucked in by the other patrons outside who weren’t doing much to conceal that they were smoking joints just as they were about to. He passed a group who were listening to a guy with an old, defaced acoustic guitar strumming a placating tune, and he hoped he just wouldn’t start singing. 

“Hey!” Queenie waved. “I was going to ask if you could come, but I didn’t know if you wanted to leave Alma with those biker dudes.” 

Ulyssa lightly laughed at Queenie’s worry. “They look big and mean but they’re cool.”

“The main guy was polite, but it’s like, how the fuck are you gonna say no to him?” She took a hit and sharply inhaled, pushing the smoke further into her lungs.

“Yeah… I’m not too worried about them,” he said, grabbing the joint Queenie was passing off. “I got my last drink like an hour ago, and I’m getting a little… bored.” 

“Bored? On your girlfriend's birthday,” Queenie playfully gasped, feigning shock. 

“I’d rather be in the jacuzzi in the suite we’re staying at,” he said, exhaling smoke with a smirk. 

“I fucking bet. You wouldn’t be so bored then, huh?” Queenie giggled, shaking her head. “So, how does Alma know those guys?” 

“They run a makeshift bar when we have shows at the shop. Alma set it all up with them. Whoever works the shows gets tipped out from a percentage of it.” Ulyssa explained while Bill now took a deeper hit, but he pointed his hand at her and nodded, cosigning her explanation. 

“No shit?” She said tilting her head towards Ulyssa and then looked back at Bill. “Alma’s a badass!” She pointed at him. 

He passed the joint to Ulyssa, who took it with a smile. “Yeah. Who’d you think she learned it from?” 

“Oh please!” Queenie scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

Ulyssa listened on when Bill told them how he and Alma were mistaken for being in a band at the hotel. “To be fair, they had like an eighty percent chance. Nearly everyone is in some sort of band here.” She laughed, passing the joint back to Queenie. 

As they were feeling the effect of their joint settling in, Ulyssa got curious and asked if her name was actually Queenie. She knew nearly everyone who worked at the club went by pseudonyms. 

“Nah. I just prefer Queenie,” she said, shrugging with a goofy smile on her face. “My name’s Safiyah.”

“What was Alma’s?” she carefully asked, glancing over at Bill, who was taking a hit. For some reason, she had been too nervous to ask because she had never mentioned what she went by. She figured it was probably something embarrassing. 

“She hasn’t told you?” Bill said, surprised to which she just shook her head. “Technically, you do know it, though. She went by Echo.” 

“Oh!” She nodded, taking the joint he was passing. “That’s sweet.” 

“What would your stage name be?” Queenie asked playfully nudging her.

Ulyssa's eyes went wide for a moment. “Oh god.” Her bashfulness made them laugh. “I can’t think of something on the spot like that,” she burst with laughter. The weed was now getting to her; she didn’t often smoke this much on her own. Her laughter made Bill laugh even more, seeing her being something other than skittish around him for once.  

“Could I take a picture of you guys?” She asked once they settled. “For Alma. C’mon guys.” She said when she noticed their indifferent reactions to her disposable camera. 

“You should be in it too,” Queenie said taking the camera and passing it off to a bargoer to take the photo for them. 

Afterward, they smoked the whole joint down together with help from Gregory and another young coworker who had arrived named Matt, who joined them on the patio near the end of their smoke session. Luckily, they finished right as the guitar guy started crooning terribly. 

He and the girls heard some commotion inside as they reached the back door. Bill became concerned and deliberately blinked his dry eyes, readying himself. When they walked back in, they began laughing, and then Bill whistled loudly while Alma was sitting on the bartop with her head tilted back, and a bartender was pouring a shot directly into her mouth. The commotion he heard was the bar patrons cheering her on. She put a hand to her chest when she swallowed, feeling the intense burn of the alcohol.

With a wedge of lime between her teeth, she slid off the bartop with Ash’s help, and the girls then pulled her away back to the makeshift dance floor. After grabbing a light beer, Bill veered towards the pool table when Darby called him over to play. They spoke a bit between the game. 

“For how much?” Bill asked him, taking a sip of his beer as Darby lined up his play. The sale of the record shop came up. 

“Hm. I’m not too sure. What could it be like,” he said just before throwing out plausible numbers. 

“That, seems too high...” 

“Yeah… You gotta account; it’s a music venue too. But the place needs work, so who knows?” 

“What kind?” he asked, taking his turn. 

“Mainly the roof. It rains here all the time and the fucker leaks. Since Lewis retired, he’s just kind of neglected the place. If he’s not there to see it, it doesn’t exist.” His lip curled for a moment when Bill sank his ball into a pocket. He was now losing. "Oh, wait,” he said when his attention was pulled towards the front door. 

Darby’s fiancee had arrived at the bar, and he passed his pool stick to the same skater friend who commented on Alma to take his turn. He went by Ratz, and Bill felt it fitting. Bill saw how he greeted his fiancee by picking her up and spinning her around by the waist. Paying no mind to those around them. She was a pretty girl with thick winged liner and a classic look about her, with curves to match that complemented the greaser style Darby dressed in. Darby introduced them quickly before he snatched his pool stick back from Ratz, disappointed that he was of no help with his game. 

“Echo is a little sweetheart,” Jennifer said to Bill as he positioned his pool stick. “I see she takes up after you. It’s those dimples.” 

Bill smiled, thanking her, but then his attention was stolen when he saw Alma stumbling back from the bathrooms after he sunk an orange-striped ball into a corner pocket. 

“Um,” he pursed his lips. “One second. Or I guess Ratz can take my turn.” He took long strides toward her, grabbing a hold of her arm to help her straighten out. She looked up at him through her mascara lashes. “I think you should sit down, love.” 

“No,” she shook her head. “I just need another drink.” 

“Hmm. I don’t know,” he chuckled. “Do you want me to carry you out in front of everyone later?” 

Alma groaned, “Fine. I’ll get some water.” 

“I’ll get it. Just take a seat over by the pool table.”

As he came back, Alma was putting her hair half up, feeling stuffy with it all down, making her warm. As she chugged a good majority of the water down, Bill was in front of her, pushing wisps of dark hair from her face away. She set the glass down, and she leaned forward, resting her cheek on his torso. The room was spinning, and she just wanted him to help her be still. Of course, it was completely out of his control, but the closeness helped. 

“If you finish the rest, I’ll kiss you,” he said, persuading her. 

She straightened up to finish the water, and he leaned down, obliging her. Trying to pull away, she held onto the lapels of his leather jacket, keeping him in place and deepening their kiss until their tongues met each other. He found his hands raking through the hair on the back of her head. Forgetting their setting inside the crowded bar, they were making out, which felt like times they had done so in the past. 

“Uh?” Ratz uncomfortably cleared his throat. “Excuse me?” 

They were in the way of him being able to position the pool stick in a way that he would not hit them with it. Bill reluctantly straightened up and flashed him an annoyed glance. But he helped Alma get to her feet so they could get out of the way. A few paces away, he leaned against the exposed brick wall, lighting a cigarette. Putting a foot behind him on the wall, he grabbed Alma by the hip, caressing the sheer fabric of her dress for a moment so that she could comfortably lean on his knee. She wrapped an arm around his back and looked at him. So handsome. All two of him.

“Can I get a drag?” She said, pointing at the cigarette between his fingers. He placed the two long fingers holding it to her puckered lips, and she took an inhale. Even if she had quit, a drunk cigarette always felt like a treat to her. Bill smirked to himself, seeing how her eyes closed with a satisfied grin on her face as she slowly exhaled curls of smoke out her nose. 

He tilted her chin up, feeling compelled to kiss her again. “You feeling better?” 

“Hmm,” she scrunched her face. “Now that I’m with you again.” 

He took a drag, nodding his head. He did feel better too, but he could see her dancing girlfriends taking glances at them, trying to find an opening to whisk Alma away. 

“Don’t tell me to back off again. It’s rude,” she said, blinking her eyes trying to focus them. “You told me to hang out with my friends and it’s been you mostly hanging out with them.” 

He chuckled as he blew out a trail of smoke through the side of his mouth. “I won’t do it again. But I think your friends want you to go dancing with them not me. You should go.” 

She turned her head to look behind her, and she saw Ash waving her over as she danced between two strangers. She turned back, looking unsure. 

“C’mon. Aren’t you having fun?” 

“I am. I needed this,” she said, wrapping her other arm around him. “But I miss my baby.” 

He soothingly rubbed her back. “Yeah… Go dance. There’s like an hour left.” 

Alma took a deep breath and straightened up. He shook his head to himself as she watched her join them and returned to finish his pool game. Dancing with her girlfriends to house music, she hoped to sweat some of the alcohol off. It wasn’t helping. She could still feel her head spinning, and spinning around with her friends didn’t make it any better. Shortly, the lights went up, and the last call was announced. 

“Let’s get one more shot!” Queenie said to her. 

Alma just swallowed hard and nodded as she was dragged along by Queenie. She felt clammy while the bartender poured their shots in front of them. Bill approached to pay the tab and cringed, knowing that would be it for her. 

…

Alma woke up the next day with a pounding headache and a sour mouth. She smelled of the liquor seeping from her pores and stale cigarettes. Her body was so sore that it hurt to stretch. She groaned and whined as she tried to straighten up. She was in only panties and one of Bill's black t-shirts. She couldn’t even remember getting back to the hotel. She didn’t even remember leaving the bar. 

“You alive?” Bill said coming in from the living room area. He was freshly showered, wearing a light sweater and soft-fit lounge pants. 

She put her hand up, shaking her head to herself. “Fuck off,” she whined. 

He laughed. “Alright. I’ll leave you alone,” he said, walking back to the couch. 

When she managed to peel herself out of the bed, she took a glance at herself in the bathroom mirror and cringed. Her hair was disheveled and knotted, sprinkled with confetti. The red lipstick she wore stained her lips and feathered out over the border of them. Her eyes were completely blacked out with smudged kohl liner. She went straight to the shower after she had taken the aspirin Bill had left on the nightstand next to her. She was in the steamy shower forever, enjoying how her achy muscles relaxed and her headache slightly dissipated. She remembered the fun she had at the bar. It felt like old times, however. this hangover did not. 

Bill was sitting with his arms crossed and knees spread far apart as he slouched on the couch, watching an old spaghetti western, when he saw Alma naked from the waist up. Wearing a pair of white granny panties and her hair wrapped in a towel, passing by the bedroom threshold. She looked tired and just done with life in general, and he smirked. As she pulled on an oversized band tee, she tended to herself. She had bought it from a merch table at the shop while the music act played. She liked the design more than anything. She moisturized her face and hands, feeling dry. Her dehydrated body had her involuntarily chug down the glass of water Bill had left for her when she took her birth control. He could hear her gasp for breath after she finished it. 

Bill thought that she would join him, but there was only silence to be heard from the room. He got up and found her looking paralyzed, lying on her back sideways in the bed. 

“You hungry.” 

“No.” She said with her eyes closed. 

“We have to pick up Echo at noon.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Or I can just go by myself?” He said crawling into bed with her and laying his head on her chest. The weight of him was comforting. 

“I’ll go.” 

They lay together silently for a while. For a moment, with his ear close to her heart, he noticed how even it beat as well as her breathing. He thought she had fallen asleep until her arm went up behind him so she could pet his soft hair. 

“I didn’t say bye to anyone last night. Even Queenie. I’m such a bitch.” 

“You did. You thanked all your friends. And Queenie left with us. I took her back to her hotel.” 

“Oh.” 

“Mhmm. You were passed out during the ride, but when I woke you up, you walked on your own back up here too. I was impressed.” He said even if he did have to hold on to her for support. “But I knew that last shot you took blacked you out.” 

“I should have scored coke at the bar. I don’t do it anymore, but this shit sucks.” 

“Well, you managed okay without it. You had fun without it too. It would have made your hangover right now like ten times worse.” 

“I’m too old for this shit.” 

Bill chuckled. “That’s exactly why I know.” He said thinking back to New Year’s Eve. 

“You know what would help?” 

“What?” 

“A drink,” she giggled. “Hair of the dog.” 

Bill chuckled. “Maybe some food too.” 

“Yeah… and an orgasm.” 

“Can we do that one first?” He asked, planting scratchy kisses on her neck and making her laugh. 

…

Alma was eating fast food fries on the car ride to Yolani’s place to pick up their daughter. She was wearing oval-framed sunglasses to conceal her tired eyes and block out the searing light. On their way there, he remembered how, during the car ride, she had briefly gained enough consciousness while he spoke to Queenie who sat in the back seat. 

“What Alma?” He glanced at her as he drove. She was slumped against the passenger window, her eyes barely open, but she was looking at him. 

“Why… the fuck do you have a condom in your wallet for?” While she said it rather slowly, it was still purposeful. 

“Jesus,” he said under his breath. “It’s old. I forget it’s there.” She just continued looking at him. “I’ll take it out.” 

She took a deep breath. “Okay…” she mumbled. He glanced at her again; she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. Too heavy to fight it, she passed out again. 

“Sorry,” Bill chuckled, looking at Queenie through the rearview mirror. 

“Close one,” she joked. “She seems to have enjoyed herself tonight. She’s not without the baby much, is she?” 

“No,” he sighed. “I noticed she’s been getting a little eh,” he said with his hand out twisting it at the wrist. “So I arranged this night.” 

“She told me a little bit about her schedule sounds nuts, especially caring for Echo through all of that.” 

“Yeah, and she’s a bit too stubborn to, like, ask for a break…” 

“Mhmm. It’s tough, though. Lots of moms feel guilty admitting that. I’m sure once she comes back to the city, it’ll be better.” 

As Bill recalled his conversation with Queenie, it clicked. Guilt. That’s what was going on with her. Guilt that started when Echo had her accident yet had been festering inside her for concealing her existence. When he asked if she felt indebted to him, she never said she didn’t. That bothered him a bit. He didn’t want her to atone for the rest of her life. That wasn’t a way to live. But she once told him she’d be sorry for the rest of her life. 

He was being selfish by asking her to move and bitching about her job. One she loved, one she was going to give up to be an accountant for. A subject she found incredibly dull. Leaving her friends behind to keep track of their finances for the rest of her life? He realized that she was going to do whatever he wanted of her. He felt his stomach turn slightly, but he pushed those thoughts down. Luckily, Alma was distracting him by feeding him fries while he drove. 

Bill had followed Alma up the sidewalk as they reached Yolani’s place. He was just as happy as Alma was to see Echo. As they approached, they saw her outside in her little overalls, marking the porch up with sidewalk chalk. 

"Look, Echo,” Yolani said, pointing at her parents approaching behind her. “Look who’s here.” 

Echo, who was kneeling on a porch step, paused filling the concrete with purple chalk scribbles, and turned her head. When she saw her parents, she abandoned the chalk stick and scrambled off the step onto the walkway with a big, cheesy smile on her face. She took clumsy, hurried steps towards her mother with her arms out. 

“Mama!” She squealed. 

Alma smiled brightly, scooping her up in her arms and hugging her tightly. “Baby, I missed you!” 

Bill's heart grew by their interaction. Even under the overcast skies, they shone when they both turned to look at him with matching smiles on their faces. Things were setting in motion in his head then, even if it hadn’t quite clicked yet.