#he was such a joy to draw omg i mean his face alone man.....

[just-some-random-blogger]

HAHAHAH OK FOR REAL THIS TIME

"You're late again," your voice is tinged with a bitterness that you can't fully suppress. "It seems like you’re always late these days.” 

NO CUZ SEE YOU WRITE REALLY WELL FROM THE GET GO. THATS LIKE YEAH. I VIBE WITH THAT. YOU WRITE LIKE ME KINDA. YOU'RE COPYING ME. YOU'RE COPYING ME! OMG YOU'RE A COPY CAT 🤬! AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SAY YOUR WRITING IS ASS. SO? SO WHAT? MY WRITING IS ASS???????? AWWW HELLLLLL NAAAHHHH!!!! AND WHAT IF IT IS HOW DARE YOU MEET ME OUTSIDE

[...] I need to gather as much as I can before I make my way to Tommy."

MY way. so you;re leaving her ✋✋✋✋✋

As much as you wanted to, you had friends here in the Boston QZ. People relied on you for help and your medical experience as a nurse. 

SEEE OK YOU PUT CRUMBS LIKE THIS. YOU DIDNT EVEN REALIZE (?) OR MAYBE YOU DID (!!!) THAT YOU LIKE PUT *my* way to tommy and then explain WHY that was happening!?!!??!?!?!? #WRITERSHIT THAT SHIT IT S-TIER

"I know that. But what about us? God, it just feels like.. It feels like you've already left, Joel."

quality angst legit the face i made HAHAHAH

[...] Tommy's out there, and family means something to me.”  Tears well up in your eyes at the insinuation. You are not Joel’s family.

Your heart aches as you watch him, torn between your love for him and the resentment that has built over this decision. "Then go, Joel," you say, your voice steady despite the tears that fall freely. "But know that you're making a choice, just like I am."

LISTEN I JUST WATCHED MARRIAGE STORY AND SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE BACK TO BACK LIKE A PSYCHOPATH NOTHING CAN HURT ME NOW IF YOU WANT TO HURT ME YOU GOTTA TRY BETTER THAN THIS

He regrets so many things about the night he left. He wanted to say, I love you. I need you too. I don’t want to leave. But I have to do this. Come with me, please come with me because I don’t think I can do this without you.

THATS SOME GOOD SOUP GOOD FUCKING SOUP GOOOODDDDD SOUPPPP

He runs to the gates as fast as his aching bones can carry him. Joel’s mind is at war as it battles with disbelief and the pure joy of seeing you alive and safe and whole. As you draw closer, Joel's eyes lock onto you. Time seems to stand still as your eyes meet for the first time in 5 years. 

bro HUG HELLO HELOOO??? DID THEY HUG

Immediately you both close the distance between each other, bodies colliding in a desperate embrace. Tears well up in your eyes as you hold onto him, grip tight as if you fear he'll disappear again.

nO MAAM IT WAS NO IMMEDIATE ENOUGH THE FACT JOEL DIDNT CRUSH HIS BODY INTO HERS THE MOMENT HE SAW HER IS A SIN. JAIL.

"You moved on," he repeats, his voice breaking. "And here I was, thinking you were out there, waiting for me to come back." He chuckles darkly, tears in his eyes. 

HE WHAT? he w h a t ???

Your tears fall freely now. "Joel, it isn't that simple. Of course I wanted you to come back. I was shattered. I had to find a way to heal somehow." "And marrying someone else was the way to heal?" he shoots back, his voice bitter.

"No, but it was a way to survive," you retort. "I thought you were gone, Joel. I thought I had lost you forever. I didn’t want to be alone and sad all the time.” 

): dang. that must be hard needing someone to fill that void. ooof

"I never wanted to hurt you," Joel finally whispers, his voice raw.

NO. NO CUZ YEAH I HEAR HIM

this you in that moment, joel?

But look at what it cost me, Joel thinks.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i feel nothing. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU BRO!!!

The glint from the matching gold band on his finger taunting Joel.

pffFFFT THE FACT YOU NOTICED THAT 🙄✋ ok

“Yeah just a second! Catching up with an old friend here.”

The man nods and retreats back into the house, and the silence between you and Joel feels louder now.

nah cuz the way he just left and was like 'ah yeah' PFFTTTT HAHAHAHHAHHAHAH that's on security. joel could never. THAT or man does not perceive this bag of bones a threat WHICH IS FUNNIER ORRRRRRRRRR he just not give a shit, which is not as funny but I LIKE THE NON THREATENING ONE BETTER CANON

“An old friend huh?” Joel smiles sadly at the floor. 

your honor i-

“Yeah, Joel. The very best.” You cup his face and give him a soft kiss on the cheek and turn to go into your new home and your new life.

as she should

Of Reunions and Regrets / Joel Miller x Reader

Description: Joel's decision to leave the Boston QZ to find Tommy causes both of you to argue and break up. Years later, you reunite in Jackson but the ring on your finger is not Joel's. Word count: 1.3k

"You're late again," your voice is tinged with a bitterness that you can't fully suppress. "It seems like you’re always late these days.” 

Joel glances up, his tired eyes meeting yours. "I'm doing what I can, sweetheart. It's not like there's an abundance of stuff out there. I need to gather as much as I can before I make my way to Tommy."

You clench your fists at the mention of his departure. You had been fighting him on this for weeks. You telling him to stay, and him telling you to go with him. As much as you wanted to, you had friends here in the Boston QZ. People relied on you for help and your medical experience as a nurse. 

“Joel, you spend all your free time out there gathering supplies. I’m sorry if I sound like a needy girlfriend here but do you NOT want to make the most of the time you have left here with me?” You hated yourself for having to ask this but ever since he announced his plans to leave, you hadn't spent a single free hour with him.

Joel's jaw tightens, his patience wearing thin. "You think I'm not trying? You have no idea what it's like out there, what I'd have to do just to stay alive."

"I know that. But what about us? God, it just feels like.. It feels like you've already left, Joel."

He slams his hand down on the table, his own frustration flaring. "You think this is easy for me? You think I want to leave you? I have to leave. Tommy's out there, and family means something to me.” 

Tears well up in your eyes at the insinuation. You are not Joel’s family. "And what about me? Do I mean something to you?”

The room falls into a heavy silence, the weight of your unspoken pain suffocating. Joel's gaze softens, regret replacing his anger as he steps forward, reaching for you for a hug. But you pull away.

"No," you whisper, tears slipping down your cheeks. "Can you please stay?"

And with those words, a chasm opens between you both, a rift that seems impossible to bridge. Joel's shoulders slump, defeat evident in his posture. He turns away, his voice barely audible as he speaks.

"I have to find Tommy. I have to make things right with him."

Your heart aches as you watch him, torn between your love for him and the resentment that has built over this decision. "Then go, Joel," you say, your voice steady despite the tears that fall freely. "But know that you're making a choice, just like I am."

Your eyes lock for a moment, a silent understanding that this is the end for both of you. With one last lingering look, Joel turns and walks out of your apartment, leaving you behind. 

5 Years Later

Joel stands at the edge of the lookout post in Jackson, staring out into the distance as the wind rustles through his hair. It’s been 5 years since he last saw you but in moments of quiet like this, the loss of you is still fresh - a constant ache he carries with him. 

Ever since he left Boston and embarked on his journey to find his brother, he couldn’t shake the memories of you. He often wonders where you are, if you’re safe, if you’re even alive. He regrets so many things about the night he left. He wanted to say, I love you. I need you too. I don’t want to leave. But I have to do this. Come with me, please come with me because I don’t think I can do this without you. But instead he had just turned his back and left you in your apartment without a second glance back. 

Joel’s life is a monotonous routine of patrols and lookouts. But one day, as he stands watch at the lookout post, he sees a familiar figure in the distance. His heart races, his breath catches in his throat as he recognizes a silhouette that he would know anywhere. It’s approaching the settlement. It's you.

He runs to the gates as fast as his aching bones can carry him. Joel’s mind is at war as it battles with disbelief and the pure joy of seeing you alive and safe and whole. As you draw closer, Joel's eyes lock onto you. Time seems to stand still as your eyes meet for the first time in 5 years. 

"Joel..." your voice trembles, your lips parting in disbelief. "Is that you? You.. you made it."

He nods, his voice hoarse. "Yeah, sweetheart. I made it."

Immediately you both close the distance between each other, bodies colliding in a desperate embrace. Tears well up in your eyes as you hold onto him, grip tight as if you fear he'll disappear again.

"You're alive," you whisper, voice breaking.

"Yeah, I am," he replies, his own voice choked with emotion.

"Joel, I missed you so much."

"I missed you, baby. So fucking much and I’m so sorry for the way I left I–” 

A glint catches Joel's eye – a ring on your finger. His heart sinks and his head spins and he swears his vision even blurs a little. 

He pulls away, his gaze locked onto the ring. "You're... married."

You nod. “After you left, I was.. heartbroken, Joel. More than I thought I would be. I spent days just crying my eyes out because I thought you were gone for good. I tried to move on–” 

"You moved on," he repeats, his voice breaking. "And here I was, thinking you were out there, waiting for me to come back." He chuckles darkly, tears in his eyes. 

Your tears fall freely now. "Joel, it isn't that simple. Of course I wanted you to come back. I was shattered. I had to find a way to heal somehow."

"And marrying someone else was the way to heal?" he shoots back, his voice bitter.

"No, but it was a way to survive," you retort. "I thought you were gone, Joel. I thought I had lost you forever. I didn’t want to be alone and sad all the time.” 

Anger, pain, and regret swirl between you both, an impenetrable wall of emotions. The silence that follows is heavy, suffocating. It's as if the years of longing, hurt, and missed opportunities have culminated in this painful reunion.

"I never wanted to hurt you," Joel finally whispers, his voice raw.

"I know. Neither did I," you reply softly, tears staining your cheeks. "But I’m happy for you, Joel. I really am. You got your family back.” 

But look at what it cost me, Joel thinks.

You both stand there in silence for a moment, the wind blowing gently on your faces. The pain of your choices hangs heavily in the air, both of you wishing you had chosen differently. 

“Hey, you coming? You've got to check out the house Maria’s giving us! It's got hot water and everything!” A young man jogs over in your direction, smiling as he makes a stop a few feet away from you both. The glint from the matching gold band on his finger taunting Joel.

“Yeah just a second! Catching up with an old friend here.” You smile at him, keeping your voice light to cover the fact that you’d been crying. 

The man nods and retreats back into the house, and the silence between you and Joel feels louder now. “An old friend huh?” Joel smiles sadly at the floor. 

“Yeah, Joel. The very best.” You cup his face and give him a soft kiss on the cheek and turn to go into your new home and your new life.

-

Tag: @just-some-random-blogger

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 295: So How Are You Holding Up (Because I’m a Potato)

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi randomly and graciously decided to answer all of our long-standing questions about Mr. Compress, including “is he secretly hot,” “is he secretly related to that Robin Hood thief guy,” and “is he ever going to use his quirk to chain chomp a hole right through his ass??” with the answer to all three being “yes, of course.” As for our follow-up questions, “sir, is Mr. Compress going to die,” and “holy shit,” his answers were, respectively, “wait and see,” and, “I understand, really I do, but that isn’t actually a question.” Well, he’s got us there.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi finally ends the War arc with the speed and grace of an overworked college student scrambling to BS their entire midterm essay with five minutes left before the deadline. Deku’s Spidey Sense is all “what up, I exist, p.s. you’re in danger kid” like oh shit, no, you think?? Compress is all “I’m not gonna die but I am going to pass out and be captured” and honestly, at this point I’ll take it. Spinner is all “Tomura you can have this one last Souvenir Hand I found that was in the oven for too long” and slaps it on his face because HE’S JUST TRYING TO BE HELPFUL, SHUT UP. Dabi is all, “[currently in a marble].”Tomura is all “actually, I’m AFO.” AFO is all “hahahahaha” and summons all of the remaining Noumus to cart him and Spinner and Dabi off to safety. Deku is all “DAMMIT TOMURA I’M REALLY MAD AT YOU FOR KILLING, AND I QUOTE, ‘AN UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE’, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, GET THIS, I TOTALLY WANT TO SAVE YOU TOO! LMAO ISN’T THAT WILD.” Fandom is all “OH MY GOD, NO WAY, is what we would say if we had literally never met Deku before, I guess.” And then the arc just ends, lol. See you in the new year, kids.

WAKE UP, LINK... I MEAN, DEKU

jesus christ Vestiges, not a one of you guys has got any chill at ALL. LISTEN TO ME. THIS CHILD IS DEAD. HE IS DECEASED. LOOK AT HIM. HE’S LYING THERE ALL DAZED WITH HIS ARMS AND LEGS TURNED INTO GREEN PUDDING AND YOU’RE ALL “GET UP LAZYBONES” LIKE I SWEAR TO GOD. CAN HE JUST REST?? CAN YOU ALL JUST CALL IT A DRAW WITH THE VILLAINS ALREADY SO WE CAN FINALLY END THIS TRAUMATIC ARC AND MOVE ON TO THE NEW “TRIAGE AND ROBOT LIMBS FOR EVERYBODY” ARC INSTEAD

LIE BACK DOWN YOU IDIOT!!

no you didn’t pass out because of a ~heatwave~, you passed out because he set you on fire while you were out here shooting Blackwhip out of your mouth with your SPINDLY ACCORDION LIMBS dangling uselessly from you like WINDCHIMES you RIDICULOUS BOY

“where’s Todoroki-kun” oh shiiiiiiit. right. god I hope someone caught him. BAKUGOU OWES HIM A FAVOR, HOW ‘BOUT IT

OH NEVER MIND HE APPARENTLY CAUGHT HIMSELF??

Todoroki Shouto has really highkey been the MVP of the entire fourth quarter of this arc. he deserves the world, and odds are all Horikoshi’s going to give him are lasting trauma, and a souvenir shirt that says “I survived this stupid arc and all I got was this t-shirt”

anyway now Deku’s being hit by a Lightning Bolt of Realization or some such? idk what’s going on, but I bet you it’s related to Tomura waking up again

OH SHIT??

LOL WHAT. THAT’S IT?? SPIDEY-SENSE?? I mean we all predicted Spidey-Sense being one of his quirks like ages ago, so Well Done, Us, I guess

but also, seriously?? all of that drama and intrigue about the fourth user’s quirk and this is what we end up with? what was All Might being so cagey about then? how did this dude die? I need answers goddammit. new, better answers lol

maybe it’s something to do with the fact that Deku keeps talking about how his head hurts?

I mean, for Deku of all people to be all “ouch that hurts”, it must really fucking hurt, you know? like oh my god Deku are you dying

lmao and SPEAKING OF PEOPLE WHO APPARENTLY DON’T FEEL PAIN

this man is out here FROLICKING, half-naked and half-torsoed, AND STILL FEVERISHLY RATTLING OFF HIS MONOLGOUE. YOU HAVEN’T EVEN ESCAPED YET YOU DINGUS. did watching Dabi pour bleach over his head inspire you to think of interesting new ways you could abuse your own body for the sake of Theatrics?? why are villains Like This

anyway so now Mirio’s punching him, because what else are you even supposed to do in this situation

I read this speech bubble three times in a row very carefully this time around just to make sure I was reading the words right. and then looked for a T/L note below. and there was none. whatever RHA, at least you all are out here enjoying yourselves

wait what?

I guess he hasn’t woken up yet after all?? so then wtf is Deku’s Spidey Sense getting all worked up about. I mean to be fair there’s danger all around them still so having a Spidey Sense in this kind of situation is kind of like bringing a smoke alarm to a BBQ

now what

wait did he put them back in the marble?? or is that panel just meant to show us how they were in the marble earlier?? Horikoshi please make this less confusing, I’m already having trouble staying focused as it is. and on top of everything else Compress is cascading blood like Niagara Falls right now and I’m starting to wonder if you really are going to kill him off

anyway so Mirio is still in mid-punch, and now he’s reaching out to punch Spinner with his other hand. heh. Mirio please be careful Tomura is right there, and I swear to god Horikoshi IF HE LAYS A HAND ON HIS SWIRLY BLOND HEAD SO HELP ME I WILL MAIL YOU A VIAL OF MY TEARS

okay seriously what the hell is happening

when you attach?? everyone?? to your body?? whose body?? who is this??

oh wait okay it’s a flashback to Tomura talking about his Hands

lmao this is so disjointed, I can’t tell what’s a flashback and what isn’t and whose thoughts these are lmao I give up. I’m just going to fire up a bunch of question marks until this starts making some goddamn sense. ???????

??????

????????

-- !!!!!!!!!!!

okay hold up. so did Spinner just slap Tomura’s last remaining Signature Fashion Hand onto his face just now for absolutely no reason?? is that what’s going on?? and fuck me but it actually worked too, lmao. is your buddy unconscious and unresponsive to stimuli?? no problem, just slap ‘em in the face with a burnt and shriveled severed hand. works every time

p.s. I SWEAR TO GOD HORIKOSHI. IF YOU TOUCH MIRIO!!! HE’S A GOOD BOY LEAVE HIM ALONE

??????????

OKAY WELL. I STILL HAVE NO IDEA WTF IS HAPPENING, BUT AT LEAST MIRIO’S NOT DEAD. KACCHAN GOT BLOWN AWAY THOUGH SOB. HOW IRONIC THAT THE GOD OF EXPLOSION MURDERS WOULD BE MURDERED BY AN EXPLOSION WHILE I WAS BUSY SAYING “OH MY GOD”

ohhhhhh, okay. so this is AFO’s narration

and that’s a partial answer to the question of “why did AFO bother raising Tomura up as his heir if he was planning on taking over his body the whole time.” apparently it makes it easier to control him. joy :’)

also this image of a potato wearing a Tomura wig is sending me fjkllkhl

oh my god he summoned all the Noumu to him like Aquaman and his sea creatures. this whole situation just keeps on getting better

-- oh hell no. oh fuck me, fucking shit

SHIT SHIT SHIT. I’M SORRY SPINNER, TOMURA CAN’T COME TO THE PHONE RIGHT NOW

oh my god. I fucking hate everything right now oh my god

I GUESS WE FIGURED OUT WHAT DEKU’S SPIDEY SENSE WAS WARNING HIM ABOUT, THEN ಠ_ಠ

fucking great!! so I guess nobody is getting a happy ending today, then. the heroes got their asses handed to them (sorry Compress, it’s a figure of speech, didn’t mean to be disrespectful); Deku and Kacchan died; Shouto’s evil brother came back from the dead to ruin his life; everyone and their dog lost various limbs; and the villains have now lost Twice (dead), Compress and Machia (presumably going to be captured), and now their fearless leader’s body has been completely taken over by AFO, which is such an unsexy development that it managed to completely undo all of the Mr. Compress Sexiness from last week. goddamn it

DAMN IT HORIKOSHI ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO END IT LIKE THIS

up close Hadou’s face is looking pretty rough. :/ that’s going to scar over isn’t it. at least she’ll look like a badass

meanwhile I appreciate that Horikoshi drew what looks to be a little puff of air next to Kacchan’s mouth, just to reassure us all that he’s not actually dead. that’s fine. you just lie there then. also his wound really is in the exact same place as All Might’s and it’s giving me all kinds of feels you guys but whatever I’m not gonna sit here dwelling on it all day

AND POOR SHOUTO. IS HE STILL CRYING OMG. AND ENDEAVOR, WAY TO DO NOTHING STILL. THE ALL TIME CHAMP OF SITTING AROUND AND STARING, GOOD FOR YOU

ARE YOU FOR REAL, ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW

(－‸ლ)

lol

“peace out, loser.” “SHUT YOUR TRAP, HO.” quality encounter right here

anyway so he’s blasting Deku with something and Deku’s just flying back all unconscious-like. so then, what even was the point of all that, huh

oh I see, it was to lead us into one last Deku monologue to close this arc out

oh my god Deku if you say you’re going to save him I will turn around and do a cannonball into a ballpit of feels right now, don’t do this to me

OH SNAP I THINK HE’S GONNA THOUGH

DID HE LOOK LIKE HE NEEDED SAVING?? I MUST CONFESS YOU AND I ARE OF A MIND HERE, YOUNG BROCCOLI. YES IN SPITE OF ALL THE MURDERS. WHAT CAN I SAY IT’S COMPLICATED

by the way I just have to point out here, that after all of those impossibly pretty close-ups of Hawks’s unconscious face, Horikoshi really did my child dirty here lmao

he looks like a squished cockroach. THAT’S MY BABY BOY

and it looks like the cavalry is finally on its way too! took them long enough. so I guess they can take care of any of the remaining Noumu stragglers, but first let Deku finish his speech. listen up Deku I really need you to say something cool and iconic to cap off this thus-far admittedly underwhelming Last Chapter Of The Year, here

AHHHHHHH YES HE REALLY DID IT HE SAID THE THING

well he thought the thing, anyway. close enough. I’ll take it!

so this is really the end of the arc then! or at least I hope, good lord. anyways, all right then so let’s do a quick status check:

it looks like the Noumu are hauling Tomura and Spinner away to safety, but it doesn’t look like they managed to save Machia or Compress. this honestly might be in Compress’s best interests though. the heroes can get him some medical help along with Kacchan and Endeavor and everyone else

Dabi is apparently hidden inside Spinner’s scarf, but do they have any way of releasing him without Compress there to undo the quirk? will he be all right in there. like how is he going to get food and water and air and stuff lol. does it wear off after a bit? can Compress undo it when he wakes up, even if he’s in custody? is there a distance limit on it?

and Skeptic was presumably turned into a marble as well, but Compress didn’t bother mentioning him at all. nobody cares about poor Skeptic lol

and bonus AFO theories status check:

Dad for One - AFO called Deku worthless and hasn’t seemed to take the least bit of interest in him despite getting to see his fancy SIXQUIRKS up close and personal. so if he is his dad he sure as heck is a terrible one, that’s all I can say

All for One for All/Deku is a horcrux - well the Spidey Sense seems to offer an alternative explanation to why Deku could sense AFO’s presence, but on the other hand it doesn’t explain why AFO was able to sense Deku’s as well (seeing his dreams and such). still thinking there’s a connection there, guys, idk

AFO is the final villain - five words for you: “EVERYTHING IS FOR MY SAKE.” is that concrete enough yet lol. pretty sure this arc marked both the beginning and end of Tomura’s brief stint as the Big Bad. Deku’s got it in his mind to save him now somehow, and we all know what happens when Deku starts getting determined to save people. look out AFO

as for the heroes, they’re all varying degrees of Fucked and I think it’s honestly too much to even take stock of at this point. maybe if I get a rush of hyperfixation in the next couple days or so I’ll do a separate post analyzing the impact of this arc and where things currently stand and where they might be headed from here

but in the meantime, ngl, this chapter was kind of a hot mess lmao. but whatever, I don’t even care because at least he managed to get all of it done within the allotted 17 pages, meaning that next week (or rather two weeks from now, sob) we really can get moving onto the aforementioned Triage arc! BRING ON THAT ANGST. I am so fucking hyped goddammit

[elenatria]

I saw in "Papillon 2017" Michael Socha (Mikhail). We didn't discuss about Michael so often. I think he's so underrated. He was on set amongst with Rami Malek and Charlie Hunnam. He also attended the Papillon premiere in Edinburgh. He is a big fan of the Papillon book and 1973 original film. He had an appearance at the beginning of the film. And his character's name is Julot.

Ok but THIS is why I love anon asks, it’s amazing what kinds of info and film recs people share with me. I watched “God’s own country” because of an anon ask, same with “Radioactive” and now “Papillon”. Can’t say I have regretted it.

For starters omg I had no idea that Chernobyl’s “Mikhail” was in “Papillon”...?

I also didn’t know  Michael is a big fan of the Papillon book and the original film, or that he has Polish, English, Irish, and Italian ancestry. What a great coincidence though, he’s perhaps the only Chernobyl actor who shares a name with the character he played. 

Talking of Rami Malek and Charlie Hunnam, guys, GUYS, if you want heartbreaking bromance and buckets of gay coding, “Papillon” is your film. 

I’m gonna give a short description of most gay coding scenes so watch out because 

SPOILERS.

Henri Charrière aka 'Papillon' ( Charlie Hunnam) is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. He has the muscles and the know-how but he doesn’t have the money to bribe the right people and escape the hellish island they’re being sent to. But Louis Dega (Rami Malek) does. 

Papillon is quick to offer Dega his “protection” in exchange for money without promising to take Dega with him, but Dega turns him down; he trusts that his wife and well-paid lawyer will get him out of there asap.

Soon enough Dega realizes that he’s all alone and he has to rely on Papillon in order to survive (the prisoners know about his money), so he accepts Papi’s offer to cover each other’s back. Naturally they sleep next to each other and this is what happens:

Papillon wakes up only to find Dega’s arm draped over his shoulder. The look on his face as he removes the arm that has wandered off shows how perplexed he is, and Dega wakes up looking quite embarrassed.

But no matter how alien a male arm feels around him, seconds later Papillon has no qualms “accidentally” touching Dega’s hand, while Dega himself seems quite agitated by the unexpected contact. 

Later on there’s a bit of a misunderstanding concerning the money Dega has been hiding in a tube up his ass (butt plug, anyone?) but Papillon reassures him that he’d never rob him. So they’re openly flirting now.

To the point that everyone, and I mean everyone around them perceives them as a couple.

Soon enough we get the obligatory “attack in shower” scene. It seems Papillon is getting used to, or maybe just looking for reasons to touch Dega (even if just to warn him about the imminent danger) but don’t get your hopes up because Papillon is not ready for intimacy just yet. 

After Papillon gets rid of their attackers and goes back to rinsing the mud off him, just as Dega grabs his shoulder, he slaps the hand away.

He is in a state of shock and he knows very well why he put his life on the line to save the ass of that bespectacled forger. It’s not just about the money anymore: the intimacy is growing thick and he just. Won’t. Have it.

Dega now knows that he won’t survive prison without Papillon, that nobody’s waiting for him back home, and that he wants to follow Papillon no matter where he goes. Papillon is still in denial though. To him Dega is dead weight, or maybe an unnecessary temptation. 

 But Dega knows better.

At some point a guard beats Dega and lo and behold, it’s Papillon to the rescue  - again. He gets two years in isolation for attacking that guard, and all for the sake of his precious Dega.

Dega doesn’t forget. He even pays people to sneak coconuts into Papillon’s cell so as to keep his spirit and energy up.

And Papillon knows it’s Dega. He just knows. He mutters his name gratefully, like a prayer.

Two years in isolation have passed and Papillon is taken back. Dega has earned himself a higher place among prisoners (the head of the prison seems to have a soft spot for him so who knows what favours Dega had to do to get there). As soon as he realizes his friend is back he goes to the infirmary, desperately clutching at Papi’s unresponsive hand, fumbling with the sleeve’s fabric until he touches naked skin, begging Papillon for forgiveness. He was the reason why Papi ended up in isolation after all.

 Papillon is presumed insane and unresponsive so Dega opens up about his wife abandoning him.

But then “sleeping beauty” magically wakes up.

That line. Who needs women, amirite?

Dega is mad with joy to have his friend back while Papillon is already planning his escape. He tells Dega he’ll need a boat and a couple of other prisoners to help him. And then this happens.

The look of surprise and pure joy in Papillon’s eyes as he realizes that his friend wants to come with him, I mean.

“Us.”

As the film proceeds, there’s a lot of touching between them.

They survive their sinking boat, thinking they found heaven on earth, but just as Papillon decides to go back to France and leave Dega behind, he realizes they have been betrayed and the prison guards are after them - again. Instead of running away, he goes back to warn Dega and they both get captured.

For that, Papillon gets another five years in isolation. When he’s allowed to see people again, Dega finds him and takes him to that part of the prison that he calls home. As a forger and an artist, he seems to have spent the last five years drawing on the walls of his “home” and how do you know, he even drew a huge Papillon mural on the ceiling. Makes  you wonder why.

In the end, Papillon wants to try to escape one more time but Dega knows already he won’t be able to follow him, he can’t swim due to his broken leg plus he’s too institutionalized now to follow the man he loves. Without telling Papillon a single word about his “defection” he rolls one of his butterfly sketches and shoves it into a bottle, secretly tucking it among the things Papillon will take on his journey to freedom. A thing to remember him by.

When the time comes, Dega confesses that he won’t follow Papillon - and breaks his heart.

This is goodbye. This was always goodbye.

Years after his escape,  Henri ‘Papillon’ Charrière takes his memoirs to a French publishing house. He hasn’t forgotten a single thing and Dega’s butterfly is there to prove it. He’s filled with nostalgia as he fans out his fingers over it protectively.

He mentions a wife but the last thing we see is the butterfly that was painted on a piece of prison clothes years ago. It’s in the publisher’s hands now. 

“It’s the story of a lot of men.”

Thank you, anon, for telling me about this film. 

It was quite a journey.

[hypnotica-ships]

3x3

So, thanks to some A+++ enabling from the discord server, I've decided to post my BNHA self insert fanfic. I haven't really talked about my insert, but I plan to sometime in the future, but for now I"ll leave ya'll in the dark.

This whole thing was made just to make me and my friends feel good and give us some much needed self indulgence.

Word Count- 1,550

Hypnotica- My S/I

Grafight- @fictional-characters-are-hot's S/I

Slasher- @alwayslovestruck's S/I

It's been 3 hours.

4 hours since the hero team Discorded was asked to help out with a capturing some drug smugglers.

3 1/2 hours since they found the drug den.

3 hours since Hypnotica sent in Grafight and Slasher to covertly search the place.

3 hours since he's heard a response.

It was a loud, shrill scream that made his blood go cold. Expecting the worst, he decided to find some loiters and use his quirk to get some backup.

After being only able to scour up 2 shadows for his mask alts to posses, he realized the longer he spends time looking for people, the more harm could come to his friends...*family*. Dolly, taking the form of a Harpy, and Dylan taking a shape of a Lion man, will have to do for backup. Hoping that it won't be needed, he finds an open window and heads into the den.

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

"Look! They're opening the crates. That must be how they ship the quirk enhancing drugs."

"Slasher. I can't see shit, it's too dark in here and I don't have dope cat eyes like yo-....wait a sec..."

The younger of the heroes takes out a sketch book and quickly draws our some night vision binoculars and they suddenly 'pop' out into a physical object. After giving a thumbs up, in order to stay quite, Grafight uses the goggles.

"Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiit....that's a lot of powder. How the hell do they sell it all?"

Slasher just shrugs it off and continues watching the group of men, tail swaying as they do.

All of a sudden, all of the men stop moving. A few moments later they all turn to the gurder that the hero duo were perched on.

"Hey! Lookey here fellas, some new 'test subjects' to try the new mix on."

"Oh as if you'd even come close to touching us! You won't even get a chance to lay a finger on us. Right Grafight?"

"Right! Good luck fuckers!"

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

"Slasher! Grafight! What's going o-...."

"We won!'

Hypnotica was greeted by the sight of Slasher triumphantly standing with one foot on top of a human mound of passed out thugs while Grafight was looking over the crate of drugs, kicking one of the thugs that started move on the ground.

"Wha- Then who the hell screamed?!"

Grafight, grabbing the thug she kicked by his collar and threatening to punch him again.

"This guy did. I think he's like...the kingpin or something. Screams like a little bitch though."

"We managed to take these guys out super easily, like it was nothing! Can't believe they were talkin' smack like they could beat us..."

Still a bit shaken up from his worry, Hypnotica headed over to check out the crate. Noticing a strange metal box buried slightly underneath some of the drugs, he pulls it out and begins to question the kingpin about it.

"This your tracker? Is this the thing that you use to keep an eye on your 'supplies'?"

"You better answer. Grafight is pretty liberal with bodily harm."

Slasher says as she walks over to look at the box better, poking it with one of her claws.

"...it....it...he.....hehaha..."

"Punching time?" Grafight asks looking up at Hypnotica.

"Not yet. He needs to be conscious to answer our questions."

"Talk then, asshat."

"...doesn't matter....we....we were gunna..."

"Gunna what, idiot?!"

"d....die...die anways..."

"...Punch him Grafight."

Hypnotica grumbles while Dolly pried open the box with her talons.

"Gladly!"

"...I don't think he meant, like, *80 times Grafight...*"

Slasher now worriedly watches as the kingpin get's absolutely destroyed by fists.

"..."

Hypnotica seems frozen as he looks down at the box, unmoving, and holding his breath. Cocking her head, Slasher notices that somethings wrong with him.

"Hey....you alright big bro?"

"..."

Finally stopping her onslaught on the kingpin, Grafight looks over to Hypnotica.

"Cat got your tongue or something?"

Still not saying a word, Hypnotica turns the box so the others can see. In the box is a small glowing green tube with wires attached to it, there's also a countdown screen slightly below it. It's only got 3 seconds left on it.

As her tail drops, so does her heart, with only a few second to accept her fate Slasher meekly gasps as she starts to speak.

'Oh..'

'Shit'

Grafight finishes Slasher's thought, right before everything goes white.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sirens are blaring as the green mist clears from the rubble of what's left of the warehouse. Various bodies are strewn all about, policemen and EMTs were able to arrive on the scene fairly quickly. Not that it mattered, the damage was done. From the looks of everything, there was no survivors, all thugs and kingpin were either crushed by the rubble or suffered from some strange type of asphyxiation. Death seemed to encompass the area, until one of the EMTs discovered a lion like shadowy figure seemingly protecting a group of still breathing bodies. The figure soon dissipated leaving a strange mask in it's place.

The bodies were still alive, but barely, and they needed medical attention and fast.

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

"-Sources say that the 'hero' team were incapable of apprehending the group and had to resort to extreme measures to stop the-"

"Horseshit! Why would we set off a bomb? We had it covered already, it wouldn't kill them to get their facts straight..."

"Calm down Gummybear, the doc said you shouldn't strain yourself..."

It's been 4 days since Grafight was released from the hospital, suffering from 2 broken arms, rendering her unable to use her quirk...among other things. Fatgum, her partner, had insisted to stay by her side until things healed, neglecting his own hero duties in the process.

"The doc can shove it as far I care! These newscasters have no right to spew out garbage lies like that! It's gunna hurt our rep.... Sure we might not be the nicest, safest, smartest heroes in the game, but we aren't villainous either!"

"...You...you do have a point, but don't worry about it, I"m sure one of the others will give them a piece of their mind and sort things out. Right now you and I have dinner to eat!"

Grumbling as she rose from the couch, Grafight followed her partner to the kitchen, sitting down at the small round dinning table that the family usually shared. This dinner was different though. The table had a nice white satin cloth draped over it, with 2 light candles on top. It seemed that this time these two will be dinning alone.

"Take a seat baby, I'll go grab our meal."

"It better be something good, the meals at the hospital were utter shit..."

She lets her sentence trail on as a covered plate is placed ever so gently in front of her.

"Oh? Did you plan on surprising me? ....Babe, my arms, I can't open it."

"Yeah, my bad, here ya go my sweet Gummy."

Fatgum slowly removes the cover for maximum surprise effect. Once it's off, Grafight can't help but smiley widely as she notices one of her favorite meals, but with a culinary twist. Hotdogs sliced up into star shapes, surrounded by a circle of mashed potatoes, topped with melted cheese, a dash or salt, and a glob of ketchup in the middle of it all.

"So? Ya like?"

"..."

Grafight's eye's start to tear up, but her smile still stays plastered on her face. Fatgum notices right away and goes to quickly grab some tissues.

"Oh Gummy, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you! I just...I just thought I could do something special for ya...I...I-"

"Oh baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabe! I love it! Omg, I love it so much, you're the best, you know that right?"

"I...yeah....no. Wait. YOU'RE the best, you're so strong and special to me, I...I"m just so happy that I didn't lose you...you mean the universe to me."

"Stop...I'm already crying, let's just...let's just enjoy this meal together, okay?"

"Okay. I"m starving anyways..."

Fatgum takes his place across from Grafight, and starts to devour his meal.

"Uh....Ahem...."

"Oh! Yeah, my bad, let me help ya."

The two enjoy their meal together, never breaking their love filled eye contact.

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

"Slow down Mochi, you shouldn't be over-exerting yourself."

"But Kano, I want to dance! I really like this song...cough cough...it's a total....total banger, and I deserve to have some.....fun after what happened. Everyone else has been so....gloomy since then....I just....want to bring some life.....back into the house is all...."

"I know, I know...but, you won't be able to do much joy-spreading if you can barely walk to the mailbox without getting winded halfway there."

"Hmph, stupid bomb chemicals getting.....getting into my lungs...fucking up my whole system...did they ever figure out what...what was in that tube...anyways?"

"They still haven't called us back about the results yet, but they said the inhaler they gave you was working well enough for us not to worry. So we won't, right Mochi?"

"...Yeah...I guess...I just hate...feeling weak like this...I wanna cry but.... I don't want the others to...to see....they've been through enough....I don't wan them to worry about me...me too..."

Kano takes a moment to think, after a moment he takes Slasher's paw and leads her into the living room.

"Sweety...what are you doing?"

After he gets Slasher to relax on the couch, he walks over the Hypnotica's advance sound system and grabs a homemade looking CD. Putting it in he looks to Slasher.

"The good doctor said YOU shouldn't exert yourself, but....he never said anything about me."

As soon as the music starts, Kano begins to dance in a way that's all to familiar to Slasher. It's a dance they've grown to call the 'Humpty Dance', and no one else in the house can quite get it right like these two.

"Oh Kano! This....this makes me so....happy! Keep...keep going! Maybe...maybe you could...put in some...Slipknot next? Pwetty Pwease?"

"Anything for you my Mochi."

Slasher enjoys the show Kano puts on for almost 2 hours, by the time he gets done, Kano is just about as winded as Slasher has been recently. The two then cuddle on the couch, just taking in each other's slow and labored breathes.

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

"You will most certainly not."

Sir Nighteye slams his hand down on the counter to emphasize his point, making Hypntoica jump a little.

"And why the fuck not? The need to get their facts straight. I will not stand for all of this fucking slander."

Sir sighs and pushes his glasses up, trying to calm himself down.

"I understand that, but 'kidnapping the newsroom executive' is not the most ideal way to go about it. You can barely walk, even with the crutches!"

Motioning to Hypnotica's broken left leg, and the sprain in his other. Hypnotica just huffs and looks off to the side, still with an angered expression plastered on his face.

"So. Fucking. What? Okay, maybe kidnapping is a bit extreme, but..."

Sir's own angry expression starts to soften as he notices the tears that begin to fall from his partner's face. Wondering how long he's been holding it in.

"...I can't let my family take the blame for a stupid mistake that I made!"

Hypnotica's body begins to shudder as more tears fall, Sir walks over to him and embraces him in a way to try to calm him down.

"It's not your fault...all of you did what you could to try and handle the situation."

"That doesn't excuse all of the death and destruction that happened, and not to mention all the hurt my family is going through because of it!"

"No. It doesn't. But how is any of that your doing, hmm?"

"...I...I..."

"Shh, just stay, and relax. I'll make up a fully detailed report and send out a few copies to some of the stations. They'll most likely use those facts since my name does carry some weight..."

While still holding him with his right hand, Sir uses his left to tilt Hypnotica's chin up to meet his eyes. After a few seconds go by, he rests his head on his partner's.

"...Trust me dear. Everything will turn out just fine."

"Promise?"

"I promise. I saw it."

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

"A trusted source, who has decided to stay anonymous, has confirmed that the deaths in the Discorded Warehouse accident were not the before mentioned teams fault, but the fault of-"

"Thank you! Finally, a news channel that checks their facts. Even though I'm fine with a few deaths under my belt, but whatever I guess."

"Oh! Look Gummy! That's me! Saving all of those orphans was quite the task, I'll have to tell you all about it later."

"Kano my love! Let me help you with those dishes, there is far to many for one man to clean."

"Thank you Mochi! I kinda went all out with the meal this time, it was a celebration for everyone recovering so quickly....well, mostly everyone..."

"I call bullshit. Of course right after I get healed I trip down the stairs and end up right back to square one."

"Guess that means I'll have play nurse bit longer my dear."

~~*Cue Laugh Track*~~

[chromeskiesstuff]

The Killing of Three Thousand Crows Recap EP 1 三千鸦杀

This drama has been a huge blast - I am 8 EPs in and the plot, characters are wonderful and refreshing. The main leads are a hoot themselves, being very hilarious and have their own unique personalities. Props to CGI and costume theme who does their best to make it realistic while in budget, in particularly the costumes feel so natural and pretty.

So just a brief introduction:

This is a Xianxia adaptation from novel of the same name. Xianxia = it involves immortals. Our heroine, Yan Yan, or with her adult/real name Qin Chuan (覃川) is a mortal princess of her country and it has been destroyed by the demon people. Her people are slain and she vowed to kill off each and every demon people to bring peace to her people.

The Male Lead is Jiu Yun (九云), a powerful young immortal who has a crush on her, and he has seen through her ten lives/ previous reincarnation.

We started off with our male lead, Jiu Yun and his friend. His friend ponders why he is sharing with him a drawing by his Shifu/Master and what is it about.

He replied that this was about a war where drums are beating, and bones anre piling up. He also said he didn’t understand the meaning of the drawing for thousand years.

The cinematography is pretty amazing and the narration done by Zhen Ye Cheng (yes our Male lead does his own dubbing along with Zhao Luo Si) is nothing short of haunting. The sequence is written in a semi-classical format, and its a thing of beauty when it combines with great cinematography, great colour combinations, great symbolism (eg drums that reinvigorate a dying party) , great prose and great narration. Look at her red robes flowing in harsh winter while hitting the drums. Maybe I should translate this part later :D

His friend retorted. “It’s normal for mortals to be in war”. He replied "I finally met her yesterday. I have been searching for her for a thousand years” while the screen switch to her facing her enemies alone. 

I presume she didn’t survive. Based on some notes on the novel this was her past life. Anyway I really dig these prologues as of late as its normally shot wonderfully and in a simplistic manner + introduce the whole thing.

The scene switched to an enormous paper bird flying down to a city.

I love the design of the paper bird. Its delicate. Can I have one for a Mercedes?

Our heroine slept at class, slacking off  from learning paper folding spells which is a secret skill of Dali royalty. He also scold her that she have already learn for a year but she knew nothing.Her Shifu challenges her to make ten paper crane. 

She could fight with Bai Qian with tardiness though what Bai Qian did is even more crayy

She defended herself that paper folding spells emphasize on making it freely/casually. Under her shifu threat, she back off, saying she can do it anyway, but instead she made a frog.

The sequence is amazing btw. The CGI is really on point here :D

The paper container too is delightfully designed. Along with the sunscreen panels at the background

The set design and the headdress. Its amazing. Look at the Peach blossom background :D. And I enjoyed her acting a lot. She displays the right amount of mischievousness here :D

Our princess met with her brother and to cheer her up,  her brother shows her a painting he obtained. She said the painting is fine but not worth two to three thousand coins. 

Yeap. It looks like regular drawing even from my POV. But I hope whoever drawing this is not offended T_T (based on TMOPB the artist will normally on set whenever their artwork is shown)

He asks her to look at it carefully. Soon the garden turns into winter, and winter plum blossom starts blooming, and sometime later it turns back to normal. She excitedly asks him where he obtains the painting. He told her he obtained it from the famed painter, Gongzi Qi (公子齐).

Cue hilarity ensured of Gongzi Qi being synonymous with celebrity, full-on with fans dying to have his artwork and to see him,  and her brother the prince being very excited to obtain one. While looking for the artist, a scroll appears on his hand and he looks both happy and confused.

Here’s how he describes Gongzi Qi:

Gongzi Qi, he was rumoured to be extremely handsome, with one of the kind drawing skills. He was rumoured to apply rare immortal spells to his artwork.

She muses that man is too proud. And if Gonzi Qi said his art skills are his second-best skill, then his music skills should be out of the world. Her brother said he wrote a song titled East Wind Peach Blossom Flower .. nope it's half a song not a full song (WTF XD) and he refuses to write the other half, saying that no dancer will be able to dance this song (I see you Gongzi Qi, you are tempting her). Indeed our princess is up to the challenge and asks her brother to request him to finish the song so she can dance to it.

The siblings then visit their cousin, where her brother advises her not to be rude. Apparently their aunt and cousin are attending their mom’s 40th birthday celebration.

After greetings and praises, the two women throwing barbs at each other, we know that Xuan Zhu (玄珠，the cousin) recently start to learn immortal skills under a mysterious teacher. Their barbs become a quarrel, causing their companions to try to rein them in. Yan Yan excuses herself. The quarrel continues as both are tugging a purple handkerchief. 

A man came in. Yan Yan seems to be jealous that this guy (Zuo Zi Chen, 左紫辰) seems to come here to visit Xuan Zhu. He clarifies that he is here on behalf of his father to see her cousins. She instantly brightens up and let him go. 

OK, first crush? And guy seems to be interested.

At the court, the King seems to be really worried about Tian Yuan, as they have usurped three countries around Dali. He is also worried as his prime minister Zuo (Zi Chen dad) applies for retirement at this time due to health. He announces that he will pay a visit to Prime Minister Zuo.

Our Prime Minister seems quite healthy (healthier than the king!!) and performs some ritual that's clearly demonic.

This is performed in front of a satan like figure. That's demonic even in Taoist book right?

Our prince got the sheet music, but with a bet from Gongzi Qi: She must be able to perform it, else he will make her a laughing stock. While visiting the prime minister, she took the opportunity to visit Zi Chen. She blocks him from visiting the king. Instead, she wants him to ask him something on the new music sheet she obtained since he is extremely good with music.

uwuuw the music sheets are so pretty

Zi Chen was amazed since he never saw such complicated tunes. There is a catch though. The verse she pointed out is rather bloody and will cause the audience and the performer to feel very sad, totally inappropriate for a birthday celebration. He answers the way to go is to change the tunes from a sad tone to a happy one.

Girl is clearly enamored with him and his skills. He turned around and ask whether his modified tunes sounds right. She thinks it's great. And she gifted him a hairpin, helping him to wear the new hairpin. She finishes pining the hairpin and touches his face. He reciprocates by grabbing her hand tenderly

OMG I must say this scene is so well done. Very tender, and little words need to be said.

After she left, his father looks for him. He looks anything but friendly. He asks whether he knew the reason the king came. Oh gosh, the prince is way too naive. His father is clearly plotting about something. But he is a young man in the midst of meeting his first love, maybe that's why he didn't catch on the shenanigans.

The Princess is totally unaware of the plot tho, she happily shares her joy with her maid, Aman and hoping for the day Zi Chen will marry her. She also declares that she will be able to conquer the tough music sheets and it will prove Zi Chen's musicality is superior to Gongzi Qi. 

At night Gongzi Qi visited her, leaving her a note. She wakes up and declared again that she will win their bet. Gongzi Qi hears her in the court garden and leaves with a smile.

It seems like the budget is spent on the prince wardrobe. His gear looks very natural and menacing ha. But the candles deco is totally inferior to TMOPB Ye Hua house. Maybe the Demon People are saving the $ for war?

Yan Yan dance is stellar, she interprets the music sheets beautifully, with peach blossoms,snow and leaves. The audience including her brother, Zi Chen, and Gongzi Qi are amazed.

Oh wow the music is wonderful. It reminds me of TMOPB EP30 Peach blossom scene OST - the warm and sweet feel kinda touch. And the dance is shot beautifully. Although I think some of the dance moves are done by a professional dancer? Not a problem imo since one of the most beautiful performances in cdrama history is choreographed by a dancer.

And YESSSS.... his wardrobe is really on point here and the angles the cinematographer take is really good. He is not your conventionally attractive lead so I understand that some angles will not stand out. Kudos to the production team!

The dance ended and Gongzi Qi was shocked that she changed the ending of his sheet music. HA, SO YOU KNOW SHE IS GONNA PERFORM AT HER MUM’S BIRTHDAY BASH PARTY AND YOU WRITE HER A BLOODY TUNE? lmao he is pissed and serves him right XD. And what's wrong with your bestie XD? He seems to have a tendency to pine after a married woman.

They met Shifu who seems to be their ShiXiong (Elder brother disciple). Shifu reminded Gonzi Qi that since he is an immortal, he shouldn’t involve with mortal matters especially when Yan Yan is still very young. Gongzi Qi asks if he insists on doing it? Shifu replied that her fate has been decided and he shouldn’t go against fate. He seems to accept that decree and he hands over a huge scroll of painting, requesting Shifu to pass it to her.

Note: The reason why Shifu is able to involve is that he owes a debt to the Dali Royal family per the book.

At night the city is being attacked, and Yan Yan wakes up feeling happy and refreshed. She saw the painting scroll, both her and her maid marvelled at the painting and she told her maid that she wants to go outside alone to visit Zi Chan.

Meanwhile, Zi Chan father sent his son away “ For praying in the temple. Do request for glory at Royal Court”. His son wonders as his dad will not need it because he is retiring. His dad replies smoothly that it’s for Zi Chan. Zi Chan wanted to pray for his father’s health, and his father praised him lightly, sending him away. Looks like he is sending him away for safety. 

COMMENTS

I have been waiting for this drama for some time, and luckily they are no longer stuck in broadcasting hell. This EP has a lot to unpack, introducing the background and characters. I feel this EP wonderfully introduces multiple characters while making Yan Yan and Zi Chan characters unique. Yan Yan character is sweet while slightly spoiled, she is still very charming herself, and have all the characteristics of a well-loved high born lady. Zi Chan too stands out as the highly ranked son, with his politeness and his crush with Yan Yan being really subtle. Plot-wise it is interesting and hopefully, the revenge plot won’t be too over the top later. The drama is also not afraid to insert some modern jokes (AHEM CELEBRITY ARTIST) while feeling super natural in doing so.

 The magic spells they introduce are fairly unique too (paper magic) which can be quite handy. The brief introduction of paper cranes and paper frogs are delightful. The costumes are delightful too. One of the difficulties of cdrama production is making costumes natural relative to the period and making it beautiful. I love Zi Chan wardrobe here because he looks great in it while not making him too prince-like. Likewise I like that Gongzi Qi wardrobe are slightly more fancier than a normal immortal /Taoist disciple (YEAH HIS WEIRDASS WAYS) but not that fancy.

I think one of the downsides for this drama is the set production. Some of the sets like the snow scene are totally beautiful, while at some parts its so obvious the wood is made of plastic, or the garden looks too tropical. That being said I understand cdrama fantasy budgets are tight + high likelihood of delayed broadcasting, so these downsides are relatively minor, plus the cinematography team is killing it, so I think in overall any fan of xianxia should watch it.

[ninaahelvar]

The Stakeout (3/5)

Summary: In order to get all the information they can, the detective duo, Bakugou and Uraraka, must go on a stakeout. But close proximity may force some underlying feelings to come to the surface. Also known as “Bakugou had a really bad date and it gives him perspective”

AO3

A/N: Hi. Hello. So....@doesitsaysassonmyuniform wrote A FUCKTONNE of this chapter. so like....i feel weird taking credit for it. But i /did/ write it. Enjoy this cause omg we sure as hell did. and not to put this lightly...chapter 4 is gonna have you guys pissing in laughter. have fun with the wait time on that.

also, play the guessing game who writes which section: me or doesitsaysassonmyuniform

xx

The stakeout had been difficult - infiltrating the gang like that, learning when their attack was meant to happen. By the end, they were easy to understand, fill them up with booze and they’d be ready to give you any information they had stored up. You just had to know which drink was the right one in order to get the info you needed.

Unfortunately, they also went shot for shot. Uraraka took the fall every time; she could hang with the best - not a lightweight at all, but she’d usually be hammered by the end of the night. It wasn’t her fault, they needed the information, and well...she was happy to get piss drunk for work. She was getting paid for it, so why the fuck not?

By the time the fucking back up arrived, info in hand and arrests made, Bakugou was left to walk the drunken toddler home. She was bouncing around the streets, going to street lamps to sing songs and dance by herself. She was a mess most of the time, and now? It was chaotic. It would have been funny to watch if he wasn’t the one taking her the fuck home.

“Round face, get here or I’ll blow you into the fucking sky,” he grunted, trying to catch up as she skipped. It irritated him, the pressure behind his eyes building to a point where he felt like a steel rod was being pushed through his temples. Uraraka stopped and turned on her heels, almost stumbling at the quick movement of her body.

“I can do that, watch!” she giggled, her hands just missing each other, before trying to align one more.

“Fucking stop, ya goddamn idiot,” he snapped, grabbing hold of her wrist and guiding her loosely up the street. This was going to be a long fucking night if he didn’t hurry the fuck up.

By his side, the night air could knock Uraraka over at any second, as though she were a piece of paper, adrift until guided elsewhere by outside forces. It was weird seeing her like this - a tension in her shoulders gone and the brightness in her cheeks far pinker than they were in daylight.

Uraraka grinned, face flushed and breath heavy as she leaned into him, the alcohol rushing to her head. Her weight pushed into his side, too hot through their clothes and when she swayed it made him stumble. He reached to stabilize her on instinct, her hands landing on his chest as she looked up at him. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused, filled with something he couldn’t bring himself to understand, catching him off guard…

Her hands felt like fire, searing into his skin, even through the layers of clothes. His gaze dropped to her body, watching as it lightly swayed, rocking as her cheeks bunched and a smile of alcohol and joy mixed together. She looked….peaceful, like she was free of a burden on her shoulders. And in a moment, stopped in time and frozen in place, she stunned him in a way that couldn’t be explained.

If he looked closer, he’d be able to see the tiny freckles on her nose, and the way her eyelashes cast shadows against her cheeks. Bakugou swallowed, pushing her back upright, hands lingering around her arms before he forced himself to let go.  

Uraraka sighed, the air puffing out between them like she was disappointed, and he fought the strange urge to lean back in.

“You caught me,” she rasped, voice humming with the tune of tequila on her breath, and it sent shivers down his spine. He wasn’t used to this. The only time he’d heard her voice go this weird was when she had the flu, and it had never made his palms sweat, or his mouth go dry.

“Can’t have you face-planting in the middle of the street - not unless I have a fucking camera.” Uraraka stared up at him before giggling, breaking into a wild laugh that ended in snorting.

The smile that crept onto his face may have been unwelcome at any other moment, but for once, he didn’t push it back.

*

Bakugou was screwed man. A very screwed man. Fucking screwed. How the fuck did this even happen? One second, she was in his partner, and now this woman was making him feel like he was a goddamn teenager. Even when he was a fucking teenager he never felt like this? Was he reverting back to his younger self to live a horny teenage life? Was this what that Benjamin Button movie was all about? What in the world was fucking happening to him?

It had been two weeks since the stakeout, and in those two weeks he had walked into wall twice, spilled coffee on work documents at least eight time, and had several stunted conversations. Hell, he’d fucking stuttered when she asked if he wanted a donut - Stuttered! He’d never stuttered in his entire fucking life, that was that idiot Deku’s forte, and he hadn’t planned on starting.

It didn’t help that every time she walked past him, he could smell her shitty perfume, or that she had tackled him a few times during training sessions. She was something attractive now and it made him all weird and nervous, like a switch had been flipped and now he couldn’t ignore it. It didn’t help that he knew for a fact that everyone saw right through him. He didn’t act like an idiot unless there was good reason.

Walking into work, he pushed his backpack off his shoulder and onto the floor by his chair. He instinctively sat down until he felt awkward sitting alone - as though he were waiting for Uraraka to arrive to be a complete fucking idiot. Bakugou realised he needed to get a new routine, to fix this old broken one in order to move on. That’s what he needed to do. He couldn’t have her, so he would push the feelings aside.

In the kitchen, he started the coffee machine up, watching as the strong coffee poured into the cup. Bakugou hit the button on the fancy machine again, watching as the hit that would be given would most likely send Uraraka into a caffeine frenzy. No. Not her. Kirishima. When it was finished, he was about to sip at it when someone came charging into his back, spilling his coffee all over his shirt.

“Hey Blasty!” Her voice chimed, too bright this early in the morning. God, why the fuck was she so happy?! She hated mornings!

“Fuck!” Bakugou swore, airing out his black shirt. He was lucky it wouldn’t fucking show, but the burning hot caffeine that ran down him sure hurt. Regardless of his quirk, heat could still be a bitch.

Uraraka stood in front of him, fixing up her leather jacket as she grimaced at him. She looked hotter than normal - which was saying something in his opinion. She was wearing a teal tank top and some jeans, which wasn’t exactly high fashion by any means, but her clothes clung to her in a way that made him get a dry mouth. It also didn’t help that the necklace she wore was now dangling over her shirt and pulling it down across her cleavage. He wasn’t going to stare. But that male part of his brain was finally sparking to life cause that was all he wanted to stare at. “Sorry, but did you hear? There’s a new case we’re getting today!”

“What kind of case?” he asked, shaking off his shirt before leaning on the kitchen counter.

“Stakeout,” she said, and Bakugou stiffened. Fuck this couldn’t be - “Joking!” Bakugou rolled his eyes.  “It’s just some dude being an asshole, Aizawa is waiting for us,” she said, gesturing towards the main office. Bakugou nodded, following her as she walked.

Bakugou tried to think of anything else; watching her was making him an idiot. It was an odd thing to concentrate on something that wasn’t following someone. He knew the route - he could do this and ignore her. Coffee. The coffee cup in his hand was somewhat heavy. He wondered if it was what the cup was made of or the combination of both his coffee and the cup.

Bakugou fucking tripped, foot catching on a bag and spilling coffee down himself for the second time that day. He was a goddamn fucking idiot.

“Fuck,” he cursed, trying to untangle his foot from the bag that only seemed to snare him tighter as the struggled continued. “Shit, can you idiots not leave your shit on the floor,” he spat, kicking at the bag, then Uraraka giggled and he froze, looking back up at her.

“That’s your bag, Bakugou,” Uraraka said, and as Bakugou looked down, he wanted to fucking explode the precinct. Why...did bad things happen to semi-good people? He finally was able to get the bag loose and get to the office without another delay. He kinda wished a meteor came down from the sky and killed the entire office - that’s how he wanted to go, no heroics, just death.

Entering Aizawa’s office, they were met with a face of disdain - which wasn’t anything new, but in Bakugou’s state of mind, he felt seen. Swallowing hard, Bakugou took a seat opposite his commanding officer and next to Uraraka.

“Good to see you two,” he greeted with the same drawl he said most things with, “here’s the case file we have from PD.” Aizawa handed over a large case file to Uraraka, Bakugou leaned over her shoulder slightly to check on some of the stats. He grimaced when he saw the quirk. This would be a hard case. Fun, but hard. “He’s Nakamura Genzo, quirk: electro bomb. As far as we know, he can draw power from electricity around him and use it to his advantage, manipulating the electric impulses in the human body for example. He’s committed a spate of robberies, and killed a few different people. If we don’t catch him quickly, we suspect he’ll commit mass murder any day,” Aizawa explained and Uraraka perked. Bakugou shut his eyes - he knew this would be a hard case….but not like this.

“So, we’re going to have to analyse a lot of data and go on a raid in the next few days,” she confirmed, and Aizawa gave a nod.

“Exactly, I’m expecting long days and nights, you two. Just get this done quickly. I don’t need another trigger stakeout,” he commented, and Bakugou stood, giving a vague nod of agreement to Aizawa.

“You and me both,” Bakugou muttered underneath his breath. The two left the office, heading towards their desks and started to work. It had felt like a long time since Bakugou felt himself, a case was needed in order to feel centred once again. At their desks, Bakugou and Uraraka immediately started to comb through his file, picking up on his MO and understanding that it was crime of opportunity, not planning. He didn’t need to plan in order to execute what he wanted.

Over the course of a week, Uraraka and Bakugou had late nights hovering over maps and analysing the perps MO. He struck in relatively low populated areas, which meant little police or quirk agencies. The way he would attack at night, and make sure power didn’t return for another hour afterwards.

“Wouldn’t it make sense that he’s still around the area, at least,” Uraraka suggested. Bakugou looked at her, the lowlight of a desk lamp on her desk the only thing in the office brightening up the space. Bakugou took the reports from her hand as she went to the maps, looking over the radius of each area. Bakugou’s brow furrowed.

“We always thought that he left it dark an hour after to give himself time, but how far can his quirk reach? It wouldn’t make much fucking sense if he could wipe out a specific space just cause he fucking could,” Bakugou said and Uraraka nodded, tucking the long strands behind her ear as she hovered over more papers on her desk.

“What if the area he wipes power from is his furthest reach,” she said, finger circling one of the spots, “here,” she said, then showing the distance wasn’t much different in each area.

“He doesn’t run off to give himself time…”

“He stays and watches to make sure the victims die,” Uraraka finished.

“Sadistic fuck,” Bakugou spat. Looking over the areas he hit, Bakugou remembered one from his childhood, somewhat close to the areas the guy had already attacked. Finger firmly pressing into the map. “And look, he’s got a perfect spot here. Given how often he attacks, he’d attack tomorrow if we’re lucky.”

“We’ll start a mission tomorrow,” Uraraka beamed and Bakugou relaxed into his chair, rubbing at his eyes.

“God, I’m fucking tired,” he groaned. The night had run its course, the case stalled due to the late hour, which left the two of them sitting there like exhausted idiots.

“So,” Uraraka said with a slight yawn, “are you going to tell me what’s going on with you, or am I going to have to guess?” Bakugou looked at her out of the corner of his eye, brow furrowed as he wasn’t quite catching up.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’ve been acting weird! You don’t act weird. I know how you act when you’re excited or mad, or even the difference between when you’re upset and raging. These past few weeks have shown you being...clumsy,” she said, and it was as though Bakugou was suddenly reminded of how he was feeling. He shook it off, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“What if I bumped my fucking head, got a concussion or something?” he asked with a shrug. It wasn’t until after the excuse was made did he feel like an idiot.

“Unlikely,” Uraraka laughed, leaning forward on her knees, elbows pressed down and chin cupped in her hands. “Did your mom get you new shoes to wear to work?”

“That was one fucking time, and I’m telling you now, never mention it again or I’ll kill you,” he warned, eyeing her down.

Uraraka began to think, deeply wondering what her next guess would be. “What about…”

“Stop guessing!”

“Do you like someone in the precinct? You see them and get all weird?” she said, and Bakugou’s jaw went tight. “Am I right for once! You actually like someone!” God why did she have to be fucking looking at him?

“I don’t like anyone, round face! Or did my date send you the wrong fucking idea?” he snarled, and Uraraka hissed.

“Jeez, sorry,” Uraraka laughed before bending to the side of her desk and picking up her bag. “I’m going to head home. See you tomorrow,” she yawned again, standing up and patting Bakugou’s shoulder.

“Whatever,” he muttered as he gave a wager wave over his shoulder.

There was part of him that wanted to apologise, wanted to say sorry for handling her roughly - but that wasn’t him. He didn’t say sorry, he wasn’t affectionate, Bakugou wouldn’t know how to be any of those things even if he tried. He took a rough hold on her - he always did that. He yelled. He always did that.

But somehow, it felt mean to say it to her. That he shouldn’t be treating her that way. But he had already been doing that - acting like a fucking fool because acting himself seemed so fucking foreign to him. It was Uraraka! Why did it have to be Uraraka?

Leaning back in his chair, the backrest allowing him to recline, and his hands ran over his face. He sighed, and tried to remember himself. He was Katsuki fucking Bakugou, he didn’t need to be anyone else. But...didn’t she deserve someone else? Someone like Deku, that treated her like she was a girl? Bakugou couldn’t do that - wouldn’t do that. She was Uraraka, a fucking great agent that could take down an army if she thought she had to. Treating her as anything but a badass that could put up with his shit was difficult for him.

She wasn’t like everyone else, his date had proven that...

*

“Hey, Bakugou right?” The chick with glasses asked, standing up from the small, intimate table to greet him.

“Yeah.” he said, grabbing onto her extended hand to shake it. She’d had her arm outstretched weirdly - as though she was going for a hug - and she made a face when he redirected it. The fuck was her problem? “You’re Takahashi yeah?  Sorry I’m late - Kirishima talked my fucking ears off before I left.”

She smiled - damn her mouth was big, weird - and laughed slightly, moving to take her seat once more. Her glass of water was almost empty already, how long had she fucking been there for? “Kirishima is quite the talker. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Bakugou snorted, collapsing into the free chair, it scraping loudly against the floor. “Only the good shit I hope - I’ll kill him if he’s been bad mouthing me to the whole agency. You work in Accounting right?”

Her smile fell for a moment. “Archives actually.”

Oh. He knew it started with an A. He leaned forward to grab his water glass. “Oh yeah. Archives. Must be boring down there - all those fucking files.” The water slurped as he drank, and he saw her flinch slightly. Jesus. What kind of uptight bitch had Kirishima set him up with.

“Actually, I quite enjoy it.” She pushed up her glasses - huh, she didn’t have bad eyes though. They were a nice green. “ It may not be as glamorous as being an agent, but it’s just as important to keep track of the agency’s files and make sure everything runs smoothly.” Bakugou nodded. “ No I hear ya - our paperwork has to go somewhere, and someone has to keep track of everything. If you didn’t, we wouldn’t be able to connect all the cold cases we do. Not to mention making sure all the departments are able to coordinate. “

Takahashi blinked in surprise, as though she hadn’t expected him to see the reason why that shit was important.

“Yes. You’re exactly right.” She said, leaning forward ever so slightly, her elbow resting on the table.

“Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t kill myself out of boredom - I don’t know how you do it, Glasses.” Bakugou crossed his arms, pushing up to lean on the table like she was.

“Glasses?”

“You’re wearing ‘em aren’t ya?”

“Yes but -”

“I could call you something else if you’d prefer.”

“My name would be nice.”

“Nah. I like glasses better. Easier to remember” He reached for the menu. “What were you thinking of getting? I’ve been to this place a few times before, it’s good.”

The night continued with stunted conversations, awkward silences and a fuck ton of Bakugou shoving his face with food for a lack of anything better to do. If someone had told him that the shitty beginning had been the highlight, he could have cut and bolted sooner. Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened. So far he’d learnt three things about this woman. One - she wore glasses. Two - She worked in Archives. Three - she wasn’t too bad to look at.

Wait. He needed to add a fourth.

Four - she wasn’t enjoying this date at all.

They had one thing in common then.

“Did you want to fuck or?” Bakugou asked.

Glasses paused in whatever diatribe she’d been on - he really hadn’t been paying attention at this point, which probably wasn’t good. She dropped her chopsticks in surprise, “Excuse me?”

Shit, that probably didn’t come out the way he wanted.

“I mean this isn’t going how we both wanted. So. What do ya want?” He wiped his face with a napkin, before smirking. “You looking for a hot night or what?”

Her jaw dropped, her glasses slightly slipping on her nose. “I can’t believe you’d ask me that! Kirishima told me you were crass but this is unbelievable!”

“If he told you I was crass, than he’s more honest than I expected. But he obviously didn’t tell you that I hate wasting time,” he started, reclining back into the chair. “All I can tell you is that I’m not looking for anything long term right now, and I don’t think we’re compatible for that either way - but you’re not unattractive and I like you well enough. So I’m gonna ask again - you wanna fuck?”

Rice wine hit his face, the bottle that they had been sharing hitting the table cloth in a dull thump. The patrons around them turned, sensing drama like fucking vultures, and he took a deep breath. His hands twitched, sweat automatically pooling in his palms and he had to force himself not to detonate them even slightly. He shook his head, the wine dripping onto his nice shirt, and down his arms. “You could have just said no.”

“I thought you said you like action Bakugou,” she challenged, anger in her voice which must have been a first for her.  

“I do - I don’t appreciate you throwing a fucking tantrum like a child,” he said, spitting away the wine that dripped into his mouth.  

“I can’t belie - Do you even know how to talk to women?”

“I do it everyday, so I’d say so.”

“You’re such an asshole. I don’t know why I let Kirishima talk me into this!”

He shoved himself away from the table. “I don’t know why he even thought this would work - he knows I don’t like frigid bitches like you!”

The crowd gasped, and he could see the nearby waitstaff looking nervous.

To Glasses credit, she barely reacted beyond the initial shock of the statement. Instead, she calmly grabbed her nearby mug, and in a surprisingly fluid motion, threw it at his face. “Asshole!”

Only years of training his reflexes had Bakugou ducking in time, and the cup flew over his head and smashed into the wall. A snarl tore at his lips and his hands popped against his control, sparks flying up his now flammable shirt sleeves. “You bitch! Are you trying to hurt someone?”

Her eyes widened and she took a step back as several patrons started to scream. Heat rushed up his arms, and when he looked down it was to flames creeping up his arms. “Fuck!” He patted the shirt frantically, trying to put them out. Glasses ran over, water glass in hand and as the cool liquid hit him, he couldn’t help but think it was the third time that night she’d thrown something at him.

“I’m calling the police,” a waiter shouted, and Bakugou  whipped around to face him, scorch marks and wine stains covering his shirt, a crazed look in his eyes. “ Don’t fucking bother - I’ll do it myself.” He turned back to Glasses, who was now quietly gathering her things.  “Thanks for the date Frigid. I’ll pay, but if you tell anyone what happened here I’ll set your office on fire.”

She nodded, and a moment later she was out the door.

He threw down a wad of cash onto the table, glared at the waiter and walked to the corner of the restaurant. He pulled out his phone, and clicked the contact he still hated having, even after the almost fifteen years he’d had it.  

The patrons stared and whispered, and Bakugou did his best not to hunch over, he refused to look ashamed. Even if he… maybe was.

The call connected.

“Kacchan? What’s wr-”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, holding his fist tight. “I need you to come fucking pick me up okay - and come deal with a few assholes at this restaurant.”

“I’m off duty - did you call it into the station and file a public disturbance report?”

“I’m the public disturbance, and you’re the only shitty officer I know. So come to this goddamn restaurant.”

There was a sigh over the phone, and he could hear muffled whispers, like Deku was talking to whoever the fuck he was with. Fucking Nerd.

“What’s the address?”

This was gonna suck balls.

~

When Deku arrived, his police lights flashing in the dark and casting its colours across the restaurant, it was empty. Only Bakugou remained along with the staff, as everyone else had quickly left after all the drama, all promised a free meal at another time.

Bakugou had gotten a ban. They hadn’t even let him leave to stand out the front, afraid he’d walk off and not deal with the police. He’d tried showing them his badge, but they remained unimpressed. Fucking assholes. He could have left, but he really didn’t want this getting out.

Deku shut the building door behind him, and raised an eyebrow at the sight before him.

“Not a fucking word,” Bakugou warned.

Deku simply smiled, smug cunt, and brought out his little notebook, pen at the ready. When Bakugou looked closer, he could tell the dick didn’t even have the pen clicked into position Deku turned to the waiters that had held Bakugou hostage. “I heard there was a disturbance Sirs?”

Asshole number one nodded. “Yeah. This guy caused a huge scene, set the place on fire and everything.”

Bakugou snorted. “Do you see anything else that’s burnt dumbass?” He gestured towards his scorched self, crossing his arms.  

Deku sighed. “So you got into a fight Bakugou? With who?”

Bakugou opened his mouth, but the waiter cut him off. “His date.”

Deku blinked rapidly, barely maintaining a calm composure. “Your date? You were here on a date?”

Trying to play it cool, Bakugou shrugged. “Wasn’t a very good one.”

“I can see that,” the Detective replied.  Bakugou could see the amusement in his eyes, the fucking asshole.  Deku focused back on the waiter, “So a basic public disturbance report? Nothing was damaged?”

The waiter nodded. “I wouldn’t have bothered but the manager has a strict policy now. Plus they did break several glasses, and cost us a restaurant full of customers.”

A frown crossed Deku’s face, and he shot Bakugou a judging glance. Bakugou sneered back. He knew it was bad, and if Aizawa ever found out the man would tear him a new asshole, but it wasn’t that bad. Deku had seen him much worse than this.

“To be fair, she broke all the glasses.” Bakugou chimed in. “If anything, I’m the victim here.”

Deku rolled his eyes. “All right, that should be enough for the report. I can get more details from this one on my way to the station.” He gave the waiter a smile, “He’ll be properly dealt with, I assure you.”  He was never going back to the station, but they didn’t have to know that.

“Good.” The waiter replied, before he ushered them out of the restaurant. “If I ever see you here again Sir, I’ll be forced to call security.”

“Yeah yeah,” Bakugou grumbled, already walking to the car. He couldn’t wait to get out of here and forget this night happened.

“Kacchan, I have to tell you -”

“I said not a fucking word Deku. Don’t start.”

“But you-”

“No.”

He grabbed the door handle, and flopped into the back seat, slamming the door behind him.

Finally. Some peace and quiet.

“Hey Blasty.”

Bakugou jumped, a strangled sound escaping his throat and he stared.

And stared.

And fucking Uraraka stared back, shit eating grin on her face.

He opened the door and slammed it behind him, grabbing onto Deku who was about to walk around. “What the fuck is she doing here?”

Deku sighed. “I tried to tell you, you told me to shut up.”

Bakugou swore, his grip on Deku’s arm tightening. The nerd didn’t even flinch. “I mean why the fuck is she here?”

Shrugging out of his hold Deku stepped back. “I was off duty - which if you’d listened to me when you called you would have remembered, and we were getting coffee. She wanted to tag along.”

Bakugou groaned, his suffering just wasn’t fucking ending. “Deku, I swear to god if you weren’t my ride out of here I’d fucking murder you right now.”

“How was I supposed to know you had a bad date? Besides, she’s your partner, you know she’d find out eventually.” He replied calmly. How the fuck he always remained so calm now, Bakugou would never know.

“Yeah. Eventually. Preferably never!”

A cheery voice chimed in. “I can hear you guys you know. You’re not exactly quiet.”

Fuck.

*

When Bakugou headed into work, still groggy from the late night investigation, he knew he needed to do something about this fucking mess. Bakugou felt like he was ready to get the whole thing over with. That morning had been one of the first times where Bakugou didn’t want to go to work. He knew they had a lead, he knew they were going on an active mission...but he just wanted to do the most pathetic thing and hide. He never wanted to hide, but she was beginning to see him, and he didn’t like being seen. She was too close, and he needed distance.

When Kirishima walked into the office before Uraraka, Bakugou almost cheered.

“Shitty hair! Come here,” Bakugou shouted, and Kirishima turned, smiling as he skipped over.

“What’s up dude?” he asked, punching at Bakugou’s shoulder.

“I need you to switch with me on the mission today,” he said, hoping the idiot wouldn’t ask. But he did. The crease in his brow told Bakugou enough.

“What? Why? It’s definitely going to be a firefight, you sure you wanna -”

“Yes! I’m sure,” Bakugou snapped. Why did Kirishima have to be Bakugou’s best friend? Although Uraraka was close, Kirishima knew Bakugou just as well.

Kirishima stared at Bakugou, as though cogs were working in his mind, finally fitting pieces together. “Dude...what’s going on with you?”

“I can’t…” Bakugou stopped himself, licking at his lips and combing his fingers through his hair. “I can’t go on a mission with her,” he said with a quieter voice. Shame. He felt ashamed to ask.

“With Uraraka?” he asked, and as Bakugou gave one firm nod, Kirishima gave Bakugou space - a foot back was all he needed. “What happened?”

Bakugou looked down at his feet before he looked back at Kirishima. “...you know what happened,” Bakugou’s jaw set tight as it became harder to swallow.

“You..” Kirishima started, hand hesitating to land on Bakugou’s shoulder. “Are you saying you just realised you like her?”

Seen.

“Can you shut the fuck up?” he snapped, hands bound like a vice at either side of him, “but yes,” he cleared his throat, letting Kirishima’s hand fall from his shoulder

“Well why are you -”

“I can’t be around her right now, okay! And like you said, this is gonna be a firefight and I can’t afford to make a mistake.” Bakugou finally broke, his voice cracking as he shouted. Kirishima didn’t flinch like Bakugou thought he would. He sighed simply and smiled.

“Okay,” and Bakugou felt himself let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding. “I’ll talk it over with Aizawa. Just...try and relax dude,” he said, voice warm with comfort. Bakugou knew Kirishima could calm him down, but this was different. Comfort. Stop freaking out, I got you.

“I’m trying,” Bakugou said, carding his fingers through

When Kirishima came out of Aizawa’s office, an eager nod on his shoulders, Bakugou went to the filing office. Unfortunately, Bakugou was trading a mission for a large amount of paperwork. Kirishima and Kaminari were the worst in the precinct with paperwork - always late, always a mess, and oftentimes...ruining their cases. If it meant these idiots closed a few cases, Bakugou was willing to get on with this - he couldn’t be in a precinct with a bunch of rejects. It also meant that when he was sitting with Kaminari - the moron that never shut up - he was away from Uraraka when she got there.

The entire day of Bakugou was hearing Electric Pikachu blasting on about another shitty thing going on in his personal life and whatever else. Bakugou snapped the idiot back to attention when he got too friendly and made sure he got back on track. It didn’t take much - just a strategic stare when pikachu was getting too off topic. In all, Bakugou was able to get a majority of shitty hair’s paperwork done over the day. It wasn’t hard - Kirishima always started them, but never had the attention span to expand where he needed.

When Bakugou’s shift was ending close to 11pm, the doors to the elevator dinged and out came a raging Uraraka. She and Kirishima looked beat - physically and emotionally. Uraraka spotted him and pointed directly at him, eyes burning like the pits of hell. She was angry beyond word could say.

“You swapped with Kirishima? What the fuck, Bakugou?” she yelled.

Bakugou slammed down the paperwork on Kirishima’s desk and the red haired idiot went to look over it. “It’s not a big deal I just didn’t want to deal with it-”

“- You didn’t fucking tell me, you cunt!” she snapped and the room went still. Not many people were around, but the word alone stunned the entire precinct.

“....” he paused before he could reply. “Wow okay.” He’d never heard her swear like that before. It was...attractive. No! Stop it!

“It’s fine if you wanna pull out ‘cause of whatever bullshit you’re on this week - you’ve been acting weird over the last month but give me some warning next time. I’d already planned a take down with you in mind, and Kirishima’s great but it’s not the same.”

Kirishima coughed in the corner.

Right. She only cared because it fucked with her plans. Not that he should be surprised, she’d made a habit of slaving over those things. He prefered to wing it. “Sorry I didn’t give you my two weeks notice boss, I’ll do better next time, Fucking christ.”

Uraraka seemed hurt - as though not telling her was a painful act. Bakugou didn’t understand - he was the one in the emotional turmoil, not her! She was the best fighter beside Bakugou, she could handle any criminal without him. Whatever bullshit she was spouting was some weird insecurity that he didn’t have time to unpack.

The two stared each other down, and as Uraraka broke, she turned on her heel only to halt herself. She couldn’t put pressure on her foot and Bakugou caught the wince that escaped her lips. She bound her hands tight and didn’t budge, as though she was waiting for Bakugou to turn away, but he wasn’t going to.

“Wait, what the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked, standing and getting her to face him.

“Nothing, I just miscalculated a landing is all,” she spat, trying to get back to the  elevator with that stupid limp she was trying to walk with.

“You’ve been injured this whole time and you decided to fucking scream at me instead? You crazy fucking banshee.” Bakugou swore under his breath as he moved towards her, taking her up by the waist to get the pressure off her foot.

“Hey - I’m still pissed!” she cursed as him, though there wasn’t much she could do except float away - but regardless, he would be guiding her to the lounge - they kept a first aid kit there. She tried to fight against him, but as his hand tightened on her waist, she stiffened.

“Don’t care, stop struggling dipshit,” he said, pulling a majority of her weight on his hip as he moved to the next room. He put her down on the couch, dragging the coffee table over for her foot as he tried to find the first aid kit.

“You act like you don’t care, now you’re my fucking mother,” Uraraka snarled, and Bakugou looked over his shoulder. She rested back into the cushions as she started to take off her shoe.

“You’re hurt, you fucking moron, of course I care,” he said over his shoulder, getting back to the first aid kit. He couldn’t do much, but he could give basic first aid.

There was silence among them once more - and under most circumstances it would have been fine, but they were both angry, which led to yelling in the long run. Yet, Uraraka was stewing with rage. Her rage was like an inferno, billowing out like an out of control forest fire. Now...she let herself sit in it, not quite erupting, but ready to scorch him when she felt it was necessary.

“Did you at least catch the guy?” he asked, sitting down on the coffee table, hoisting her foot onto his lap and inspecting it. He twisted it slightly, from right to left, back and forth, over and over to find where it was the worst.

“Yeah,” Uraraka said just before she winced. Bakugou lightened his grip on her ankle, letting his finger gingerly touch at her foot.

“Well, why are you whining?” Bakugou shot her a look, finding her not as angry, but worried, as though she were to blame for something. Bakugou’s look softened, watching as she chewed on her lip.

“Why did you swap with Kirishima?” she asked, voice soft and barely present. Bakugou swallowed, focusing back on her foot and wrapping it up with the bandages from the first aid kit.

“I just did. What’s wrong with switching things up?”

“You usually tell me first, what’s with the silent treatment?”

Bakugou slid his hand further up her calf, a small form of pleasure - touching her bare skin to whatever extent he wanted. He wasn’t used to touching her so softly, and somewhat enjoying the fact that she was so tender under his hand. When he finally tucked the bandage up and made sure it was secure. “I didn’t think I needed to. Now I realise you keep me around to stop you from fucking up on missions,” he challenged.

“Hey, that’s not true,” she replied forcefully, and he scoffed.

“I was kidding around,” Bakugou cracked a smirk, looking back at her to find her still as worried as before.

“Why did you switch?” she asked again.

Bakugou’s jaw went tight, his mouth dry and hands feeling unsteady. “I’m switching for the next few weeks,” he said, putting her foot on the table and leaving to go towards the door.

“What? What are you saying, you don’t wanna be partners anymore?” Bakugou stopped, turning back quickly.

“No! I just…” he had to stop himself, for all the truth he shared with her - he couldn’t let this slip. “I’m not just working with you, Round Face. Don’t get so fucking worked up over it,” he shook his head, watching as Uraraka struggled to understand.

“You can’t just leave like that! You have to tell me for once what -” she said, starting to stand, only to fall victim to the pain in her ankle. “Ah!” Uraraka fell back against the couch.

“Stay still, idiot,” he warned her. “Kirishima is just as good. Not me, but, he can measure up.” Clearing his throat, he tucked his hands into his pockets and left.

“Asshole!” He heard Uraraka yelled.

He wasn’t going to argue with that.

What happened next none of them expected. When transporting Nakamura Genzo, the electric based prick sapped all the electricity from surrounding buildings and cars and set off an explosion within the truck. He killed four federal agents and injured two others. Kirishima and Uraraka were not needed for the transport, but now, it meant their case was still on going. Which also meant, even if Bakugou wanted to go back and be partners with Uraraka, he needed to wait until she closed her case with Kirishima.

The next two months of hateful looks, wandering glances and utter agony, Bakugou had finally had enough of the loneliness. Uraraka made it hard, the spiteful way she looked at him, and making sure he felt bad every single time he came close to her. He never felt bad for anything, especially not her. But now….she made it hard. She just kept making it hard.

Bakugou hadn’t ever really experienced attraction like this - sure, he’d fucked a few people, been able to move on in no time. But this was different. It wasn’t a one night stand, it was a person that he had to work with - it was fucking Uraraka. She wasn’t someone that he could fuck around with to get over the feelings that were brewing inside - she’d see her every day, have to be close to her, touch her. And through it all, he didn’t want to hurt her.

He said to himself that he wanted to push the feelings aside, that he needed to get into a new routine in order to move on from whatever he was doing with himself. But he realised...it was already hidden, just below the surface, simmering until just the right amount of heat was added to have him boiling over. There was no way to cool down until the heat was gone for good.

The heat was Uraraka. And he couldn’t get rid of her.

He never wanted to. In the past, Aizawa had asked if Bakugou wanted a different partner, because he and Uraraka argued all the time. But...he couldn’t say yes. He wanted her more than he wanted anyone else. He couldn’t explain it at the time; a combination of attraction and admiration. Bakugou just didn’t understand what attraction truly meant for him. What it would conjure deep down. He wanted Uraraka to stay by his side through missions, through days and nights, to have her like no one else had.

And he didn’t know how to handle that.

So...he had to run. He had to run from it all or risk everything. Push her aside so they’d never be where they were once. Bakugou had to give her up, in order to be better.

Bakugou hated everything that was happening, understanding why he was feeling the way he was. He hated it all. He hated that he felt at all!

When his shift ended, the shitty colleagues trying to get a goodbye out of him - Bakugou just pushed them all aside. He needed to get out of the office, needed to be anywhere else. And with all these feelings that he had never experienced and had a terrible time of keeping control of, he needed to drown them out. Quite literally.

He found the closest club to his apartment, sat at the bar, and ordered a drink. He felt like an idiot, letting himself buy into thoughts that he was feeling something. All the signs were there. He didn’t need to control how he spoke to Uraraka - years of being around each other, she knew him better than anyone. Kirishima was an exception, but he still wanted Bakugou to relax - which he never understood. Bakugou could rage and rant to Uraraka during late night investigations, but she never tried to get him to rephrase anything. Bakugou had limited connections, especially people he called friends, but Uraraka was something different - a partner, but more.

He was an idiot that didn’t know what attraction meant until now. And now its caught a fixation and he can’t fucking shake it. Why couldn’t he shake it? It wasn’t as if he liked Uraraka in a romantic way. He thought she was attractive sure, and she was unlike any other woman he’d met. She never let him get away with anything, and made him a better person. He felt like a better person around her, and the past two months had been agony, even though it had been self inflicted. But it didn’t mean…

Wait...did it?

Fuck.

Bakugou downed his drink, the burn against his throat so much easier to acknowledge than the one in his chest, and he ordered another.

He couldn’t remember much after that. It started with one more drink. Then it lead to four others. Soon it became shot for shot with whoever was willing to give him the time of day. By the time his phone was in his hand, a smile that was mostly the alcohol, he didn’t remember much. He just remembered seeing Uraraka’s name, the stupid - yet adorable - picture of her puffed up cheeks in his hand as she stared him down. She looked grumpy, but it fit Uraraka to a tee. And then he was home. Blissful and unaware of what had actually transpired that night.

*~*~*

Uraraka was about to go to sleep, nearly 2am and her body was exhausted, when her phone received a text.

[skarletterambles]

The Mummy Returns Re(-re-re-re-re-) watch blog

I might be short a few “re-”s there, as I know I saw this four times in the theater, and plenty of times on DVD, but close enough.

Below are my thoughts, typed as I watched (while eating the pizza leftover from last night’s viewing of the first movie)...

[Disclaimers:  Spoilers for both The Mummy (1999) and, obviously, The Mummy Returns (2001)  Expect lots of squeeing and/or crying over Imhotep/Anck-su-namun.]

And here comes The Rock in his first film appearance.  All those big movies he’s been in since owe a debt to this one.  *insert sound clip of “You’re Welcome” from Moana*

Anubis needs to feed his warriors better.  They’re way too skinny.

Got to love the detail where there’s a carving of Anck-su-namun and Nefertiri in ritual combat on the wall Evy and Rick are excavating.  One of those things you don’t notice on first viewing.

“No harm ever came from opening a chest.”  Evy, I know you’re doing a cute callback, but you were there when the Americans suffered the consequences of opening the canopic jar chest in the last movie.

Since Evelyn is actually the reincarnation of the Bracelet’s official guardian, why did her taking it trigger the booby traps?  I guess that kind of role doesn’t carry over.

Oh joy, more scarab beetles.

I know we have to be able to recognize him, but it’s silly that Ardeth was spying on the Hamunaptra digsite with only a hood on.  Someone--especially Meela--would have recognized his face tattoos.  ... Wait, did I just suggest covering up that gorgeous face?  Never mind!

Rick/Ivy = relationship goals

Meela:  “And your point is?” Jonathan:  “My point is I told you so you wouldn’t kill me!” Meela:  “When did we make that arrangement?”

I wonder if she collected her snake before they left.  Otherwise the O’Connells (or their housekeeping staff) will have a nasty surprise later.

I could listen to Rick, Ardeth and Jonathan bicker and banter all day.

Notice how Alex gets annoyed when Rick ruffles his hair.  So it’s not just Imhotep’s head-ruffles he hates.  Heh.

In my drooling over Rick, Ardeth, and Imhotep I had almost forgotten that Lock-Nah is built like a brick shithouse.  Nice.

There’s a camera shot that appears to show the POV of Imhotep inside the hardened goo.  So I guess he could tell what was going on...sort of.

Both Alex and Evy recognize Curator Hafez from their time in the British Museum.  There’s room for some wacky prequel stories there.

I love that little “Eew, whatever,” reaction from Hafez when Imhotep is done declaring his love for Anck-su-Namun.  LOL

I still want to know how Meela managed to snap her fingers with her gloves on.

Imhotep recognizes Rick and roars “YOU!” and Rick clips him in the shoulder with a hail of bullets, knowing full well it won’t hurt him, just as a big “eff you, too.”  Love it.

LOL @ “Honey, whatcha doin’?  These guys don’t use doors” and “Oh, I hate mummies...”  So many funny lines in this part.

That’s twice--no, thrice--the bad guys have drawn blood on Ardeth tonight.  Leave him and his glorious body alone, you big meanies!  :P

Alex has a good point:  props to Jonathan for driving that bus safely through all that mummy battling.  (Well, mostly safely.  Better than I would have done, anyway.)

Ardeth geeking out over his first bus ride is too freaking adorable for words.

I just noticed the parallel between Rick hanging on the edge of the drawbridge, near tears in desperation as he watches the kidnappers driving away with his son, and, well...you know which scene.  Sigh.

I could watch that flashback kiss between Imhotep and Anck-su-namun a dozen times on repeat...if I could manage to time it perfectly so I could rewind before he morphs back into a mummy.  Because eew.  LOL, but eew.

Imhotep tried to be nice to Alex, talking to him as gently as he could (which is still raspy and scary, but he was trying) and explaining how the bracelet works, and in return Alex told him how his dad would kick his ass.  I don’t blame Imhotep for taking off his mask and scaring the kid then.  :p

Then Imhotep takes off his robes before attacking the mercenaries.  Freedom of movement?  The cloth wouldn’t survive the magic regeneration?  He wanted to be naked because he knew his girl was peeking through the door?  All of the above?  Who knows? 

LOL @ Meela squeamishly tip-toeing around the desiccated corpses of the mercenaries.  It’s worth it to get to the now-normal-looking Imhotep, though.  ;)

I want to slap the editors for inter-cutting the big, romantic reunion with Alex tampering with a filthy toilet.

I know Imhotep wanted to stop his minions from shooting Alex, but yeeting those guys into the pillars was totally unnecessary.  I bet he was showing off for Meela.

...  And I was too busy holding my breath and freaking out during the big duel/regicide flashback to type anything.  Oh well.

I did notice one moment where Imhotep is watching the women fight and something goes wrong for Anck-su-namun and he gives this little involuntary gasp.  Subtle, but neat.

What I like to refer to as The Look(tm) is such a great moment, though.  They actually slow down the film as Imhotep and Anck-su-namun make eye contact, drawing out that stolen, subtle moment of intimacy just like it must have felt for them.  *swoon*

Back to modern times... Once again Imhotep watches out for Alex by making Lock-Nah put him down and stop threatening him.  I mean, yeah, he’s also about to try killing the boy’s parents, so he’s not perfect, but still...  I thank that attempted head-ruffle was his way of apology...  *polishes villain-fangirl goggles*

It’s been awhile since I mentioned how breathtakingly good-looking Ardeth is.  But he is.  Just sayin’.

Imhotep looks conflicted and even a little sad when Hafez says they don’t need the boy anymore.  He doesn’t give the order to kill him, either.  Just makes a vague statement about needing the bracelet.  It may be a coincidence, but he even smirks right after someone says “The boy!”  (i.e. Alex is making a run for it).  It could just be my fangirly brain playing tricks, but I really think a case can be made for Imhotep having a soft spot for the kid.

I see Jonathan has learned the “scream at things” technique from Rick.  Alas, it didn’t save the red-robed guy from the pygmy mummies.  (I swear I know that actor from somewhere...  The red-robed guy, not the pygmy mummy.)

I can’t believe I still get a tiny bit misty-eyed at Evy’s death.  I’ve seen this movie at least ten times, and even the FIRST TIME I knew she wasn’t going to stay dead.  But man, the actors sell it.

I just noticed that after he loses his powers, but before he takes off his black robe, Imhotep and Anck-su-namun were holding hands while walking through the pyramid.  Awwwww!

Mighty brave of Rick to attack Imhotep without knowing he had lost his powers.   Luckily Imhotep’s split lip bleeds, tipping Rick off right away...and then the blood disappears in the next shot.  Yay, continuity!

Everyone remembers the Scorpion King himself as being the CGI lowlight of the film, but those Anubis warriors don’t hold up very well, either.

God bless Arnold Vosloo for doing this fight scene in a loincloth.  I’ve read how punishing it was to film without the padding that Brendan Fraser had under his costume, but the eye candy was worth the sacrifice.  Heh.

I was too busy watching to type much during the climax, but that’s just as well, as it’s hard to articulate “YAY NO OMG WOOHOO NO LOL WHAT AAAH YEAH NOOOOOOOOOOO DAMN IT.”

After the Anubis army went poof I was like, “Okay, great, we won, let’s all call a truce and get out of here before anyone else gets killed.”  But did the stupid movie listen to me?  Noooooo.  Instead, there are Rick and Imhotep, hanging onto the cliff for dear life.

Time for the worst experiment in reverse psychology ever: Rick:  “Go!  Save yourself!” Evy:  *does the opposite* Imhotep:  “Help me!” Anck-su-namun:  “does the opposite*

Sigh.

Fight or flight is a deeply ingrained response, and I just can’t bring myself to hate Anck-su-namun for going with the wrong reaction in that moment of panic.  It’s simply another facet of the tragedy that is their love story.  That doesn’t make it hurt any less to watch, though.  There are tears in Imhotep’s eyes right before he lets go.  Actual tears!   Even Rick and Evy look like they feel sorry for him!  Aaah!  I can’t take it!

As he was letting himself fall I maaaay have screamed at the TV, “Don’t make me write fanfic to fix this--oh wait, I already did.”  Heh.

Better luck next reincarnation, you two.

Then the good guys escape and live happily ever after, yada yada yada.  The end.

(And no, we don’t speak of the third movie.  It doesn’t exist.  I saw it once, was amused by Jonathan opening a nightclub called “Imhotep’s,” and found the rest totally frustrating and forgettable.  So nope, there are only two movies in this series.)

[missjackil]

My 14x17 Opinion

Game Night

This was the first new episode since “The Announcement” and I have to say I was putting off writing it. I usually post these the day after, but I procrastinated so it’s a bit late. So forgive my butt-hurt tardiness and let's have at it.

I enjoyed this episode, though it wasn't without some issues. I must say that I was pleased that it wasn't as Sam-lite as I thought it would be from the promo pics, trailer, and knowing Jared didn't work a lot that week, I will always want for more Sam in an episode, but all his parts were necessary and high quality in this one, so I'm not angry at all. 

We start the episode with Donatello making cookies, singing Raindrops are Fallin’ on my Head, which made me smile. It made me think of Butch Cassiday and The Sundance Kid and I love that movie, and if J2 ever want to play the leads in a remake, I would be willing to pay for it myself! 

Donny gets interrupted by the door, and we know this is a problem because its the first 5 minutes of SPN, let's be honest. As soon as I see the bad guy’s wedding ring, I think “Shit... here comes Nick”. I thought he was gonna kill him and I'm glad he didn't. I like Donny, he looks like my dad. 😊

Back at the Bunker, the fam is getting ready for “Winchester Game Night” and Dean is playing Mouse Trap, and having no luck getting it to work. I had that game as a kid too and was never able to get it to work either, but it was fun putting it together! I did think it was a little sad but fitting, that Dean would have played that game as a 4 yr old, but leave it to John and Mary to give Dean a game made for older kids, that never worked out the way it was supposed to and had too many small parts he could choke on. (the irony is not lost on me)

Mary and Jack are in the kitchen. I could literally almost smell the Jiffy Pop popcorn. A Saturday night staple at my house growing up (any of you out there ever taste that greasy salt left on the sides of the foil pan? Good stuff!) and Mary starts in with the questions for Jack. I got a kick out of him telling her its annoying, and her face after. It’s ok Mary, he’s fine, he’s just a teenager now. Something I guess she never got to experience from the adult side. 

Sam is out getting pizza, and all the times they’ve had pizza, I never really saw what Sam likes on his. Apparently both he and Dean like lots of pepperoni. Good choice boys! The joy is short-lived (of course) by Donatello’s call, and Dean and Mary go off to help. I loved Sam sitting there researching. I have always loved his look of interest and concentration during these times. Smart!Sam moment #1 he figures out the language is ancient Hebrew, #2 he has the moment of realization that he knows it’s from the Bible, and knows what chapter and verse. (demerits for the writers though for not knowing Peter is in the New Testament and is in Ancient Greek, not Hebrew, but kudos for Sam/Jared for at least knowing the book is located near the back of The Bible)

Mom and Dean in the car. Now we have the talk about how wrong she knows she’s been but how appreciative she is to have this time with him and Sam. Uhoh... sounds like lines typically given to a character who is soon to be killed off? Hmmm we’ll see. Soon they arrive at Donny’s to find Nick. He says he's poisoned Donny and to save him, they have to help him. He wants to talk. 

Back at the bunker, violent rage!Sam awaits!! GOD that gave me tingles in the best way! I loved Dean leading Nick down the hall in cuffs, in slow motion as if leading him to his execution, and Sam standing there with his chest puffed out like a friggin’ bulldozer, and the snarl and slam attack against the wall!! (hand me that towel, please??) Dean backs Sam off, lots of brother touching going on, but we need intel, we can't kill him yet. 

Now Sam is in self-loathing mode.... he thinks everything is his fault. So many people dying because of him. This is gonna be a big issue soon, I promise. Mom talks Sam off the self-deprecating ledge and tells him he gave Nick another chance because he’s a good man and that's why she’s so proud of him. Sam softens up into the sweetest “aww shucks ma” smile and I want to hug him💕 also, still lines are being spoken by mom that are synonymous with being killed off.

Now, I procrastinated talking about Cas and Anael because the whole thing was boring. I'm not a wife hater but at least make her necessary if you’re going to cast her. I was ok about her role as Sister Jo for Devil’s Bargain but she hasn't been necessary since. Cas wasn't even necessary in this episode. We knew he was hiding the fact that Jack killed the snake, and there are probably 1000 other ways they could have reminded us that the Samulet is still around and maybe they can use it, than for him to find a similar one in the thrift shop or whatever that place was. I dug Methuzula though, he was the oldest dude in the Bible. He wasn’t an angel, for any of you worried about him liking lasagna or why he couldn't just smite Cas... its because he's HUMAN just extremely old. 

On to more interesting things. 

Nick wants to talk to Jack. I was not pleased with Nick referring to Jack as his son. Im not 100% convinced that the writer (and all involved really) remembered that Jack isnt Nick’s son, but added that as a note of empathy Nick has for Lucifer, you’d THINK someone, particularly Jack would say “Im not your son” ?? but anyway, he gives intel to Jack and also gets his blood (dun dun dunnnn) 

Sam is again a smarty pants and knows the antidote for Thalium is Prussian Blue (makes note) and figures he can hack the live feed (brains are so sexy) I also love that Sam’s word is the go word. So many more decisions are made because Sam thinks its the best option than he's ever given for in the fandom. So Sam and Dean take Nick with them to find Donny. 

I really love the broments in this part. Dean tells Nick if he tries anything funny, Sam will shoot him. “And if anything happens to me....” “Sam will shoot me”  “To start!” says Sam... because if he hurts Dean, Sam isnt letting him off that easy. But in true SPN form, as soon as Sam and Dean are separated, shit goes south.

Mom calls Sam and lets him know Donny was shot up with Angel grace, as Jack figured out, Nick was playing them. Now the fight between Sam and Nick ensues! Nick tells Sam why he used Donatello, which was to bring Lucifer back, “You can't, he’s dead he’s in the Empty” Sam says but this show’s self-awareness gets me sometimes lol Nick’s like “Cmon Sam you know no one stays dead anymore” and Sam starts kicking his ass. 

Now, I have already seen a million of you whine and complain that Sam didn’t kill Nick. It’s almost as though some of you have never met Sam Winchester. Of course Sam could have killed Nick, and most of us wish he did, but Sam has stopped himself from killing humans before. He stopped himself with Jake in AHBL and also with Toni in 12x01. Unfortunately it always bites him in the ass. Could it be that Sam thinks if he can kill a human with his bare hands that he’s a monster? This isn’t bad writing folks, this is Sam’s character. 

Nick takes advantage of Sam’s hesitation and starts nailing him with a rock. Spewing crap about Sam being Lucifer’s Perfect vessel and such.... this can only mean that issue will be coming up soon! Sam gets in the car and starts laying on the horn for Dean, calling out to him... Dean hears Sam is in trouble, enough playing around here time to kill some demons. 

When he gets to Sam. he sees he’s badly injured. Sam can hardly hold on to consciousness, protective!dean kicks in! Apply preasure to the blled, call 911, call mom. Now check for brain damage and play a counting game with Sam This hurt my feels so much, it made it feel so much more serious than all the other head injuries he’s sustained. Dean and his caring big brother smile and light hearted speech so Sam doesnt panic just kills me in the best way!! Sam tries to count with him a little and breaks into “You always put me first... your whole life” and manages to muster a little smile. Dean knows Sam believes he’s checking out, and you see the fear all over Dean’s face as Sam fades away. (OMG these 2!! Every freakin time!!)

Meanwhile, Mary and Jack found Nick and he has summoned Lucifer and just about to take him in again (Lucifer looked pretty cool,,, gotta say) and Jack zaps Lucifer back into the rift (no not forever guys... cmon) and starts torturing Nick. Mary kinda flips out telling Jack to stop. He’s contorting his hand, burning him from the inside out... not simply killijng him. Mary is full on worried now. Jack stops and Nick is laying on the floor. Mary is in shock and tells Jack to go help Sam, He heals him and Dean cant even hide his relief as he turns away to catch his breath. 

Now Jack returns to Mary who is more than worried about how Jack was torturing Nick. We know the Winchesters dont mind killing, but draw the line at torture. However, Mary stupidly poked the bear. She could have just kept herself and Jack calm and talked to the boys later, but she poked and poked till Jack freaked out. Though I am wondering if Jack was also hearing Lucifer when he was shouting “Leave me alone!!” But in any regard, he looked at Mary and something happened. Fade to black. 

Aside from the Cas/Anael part, I really enjoyed this episode. A few issues yes, but it hit most of the marks needed for me to enjoy an episode. Ive already rewatched it twice and will again and again. 

On a scale of Bloodlines to Lebanon, I give this a strong 7.5 without the Cas/Anael bit it would have been an easy 8.

[yellowsugarwords]

Walking Dead Game FanFiction - “The Cards Have Turned”

Title: The Cards Have Turned Characters: Brody, Marlon, Violet, Louis Summary: Brody finally caves and joins Louis, Violet, and Marlon for a card game. In the midst of it, her and Marlon share deeper details about their lives they didn’t know about each other before. Author's Note: This was a blast to write omg Requested By: Anonymous support me with ko-fi ♡ ---------♥️♥️♥️----------

They had been bickering for upwards of half an hour.

Finally, having enough of them chattering in her ear, Brody slammed her book closed and shot a glare at the two beside her. “If I say yes, will you guys stop pestering me to play every day?”

Louis hesitated, standing upright opposed to the deep leer he had previously been giving her. He chewed his lower lip, debating.

Beside him, Violet rolled her eyes. “Yes, he will.”

“Vi! I haven’t decided yet.” Louis scoffed, faking disrespect. Louis contemplated for another moment before shrugging. “Yes, I will.”

Violet scrunched her nose. “Louis, you’re an ass.”

Brody, visibly irritated, shoved her book to the side and started toward their usual playing table. As she brushed past them, she didn’t say a word. She could already see Marlon sitting, fiddling with the deck of cards.

The thought of Marlon being there made the concept of playing more tolerable. Marlon, for as long as Brody could remember, was like a mentor. He looked out for her and talked to her like nobody else had. She would be lying if she said she didn’t think he treated her differently than everyone else at the school.

Hearing shifting sounds across the table, Marlon glanced up. Catching Brody’s gaze, she could see his eyes waver and widen. “Brody, are you playing?”

She nodded, shrugging her shoulders. She tried to play it off as if she was disinterested and forced, even though the thought of playing with him made her more accepting — even excited — to play. “Louis’s making me.”

Marlon’s shocked expression curled into his unique frown, the one where the left corner of his mouth pressed into itself, but he didn’t tell her she didn’t need to play. A part of him was glad she was finally engaging in group activities. Her seclusion from the rest of them worried him.

“Finally, we have a decent team.” Louis grinned, placing himself at the head of the table as usual. He cleared his throat, swiping the cards from where they were sitting in front of Marlon. Swiftly, he divided the stack into 4 and slid them to each player.

Without needing a cue to start, they all played a card. Brody had watched from afar enough to know how to play.

Violet won, Louis lost.

“Ha!” Violet laughed, leering over the table at the teen. Her eyes squinted. “Did you take the last granola bar from the snack cupboard in the kitchen?”

Louis slammed a fist on the table and leaned forward to meet her. “How dare you accuse me of such treason.”

There was silence, the two staring each other down intensifying. Marlon smirked, watching the stare down with amusement.

“Yes, it was me.”

“Ugh!” Violet slammed herself back down in her seat. “You dick! You know I called it.”

Louis shrugged, hands extended, and flashed a toothy grin. “It was the best snack I’ve ever had.”

Violet flashed her middle finger.

“Alright,” Marlon claimed, waving his hands to calm the fued. “Let’s go again.”

Brody won, Marlon lost.

Brody scrunched her nose, meeting Marlon’s gaze. “I’m not good at this,”

“Take your time,” Marlon said, a warm smile on his face. Something about it made Brody believe in his patience. “It’s just a game, there’s no rush.”

Brody smiled, thankful. He was always more understanding of her than others. She cleared her throat, slid her palms between her thighs, and squeezed to warm them. “Who do you think is most at risk here? At the school?”

He blinked in surprise at the seriousness of her question. He should have expected it, of course. Brody was always the worrier. He cleared his throat and leaned forward on his hands. He hesitated and wiggled his lips, as if the answer was sitting on the edge of his tongue, trying to pry itself out. “Tenn.” He finally managed.

Violet’s eyes widened, but she said nothing.

“Why?” Brody pushed.

Marlon rubbed the back of his neck, then folded his hands together on the table. Brody could see his knuckles turning white from squeezing. “I think he’s really destroyed about his sisters.” His voice grew soft. “I worry about how that’s going to shape him.”

Brody nodded. Louis and Violet merely stared at the ground.

“Next round,” Louis claimed, changing the subject and drawing again.

Marlon won, Violet lost.

“Shit,” the blonde grumbled.

“Tell me Vi,” Marlon began, fiddling with his sleeves. “Who do you think is the most and least valuable asset to our team?”

Violet turned to the teen, one eyebrow perked. Clearly she hadn’t been expecting such a question. “Oh this is a fun one,” she claimed, a smirk growing upon her lips. She folded his fingers before her lips, pressing them in thought. After a moment, she peeled away. “I think Aasim and you are the most useful,��

Marlon smirked.

“And, no offence, Brody’s the least.”

Marlon’s smirk vanished. “What?” Darting his stare across the table at the girl, he watched the joy flush from her face. It was like a faucet had been turned off — the happiness no longer flowing through her.

Violet shrugged. “You asked, I answered.”

“Why do you think that?”

Vi raised both eyebrows, as if Marlon’s statement was being considered a challenge. Withholding a sigh, she turned to Brody. “You’re too jittery and I think that’s gonna fuck us over.” She stated, shrugging. “It’s nothing personal. We all get anxious and scared, and it’s fine, but you freak out like twice a day. I think it’s gonna kick us in the ass.”

“That’s enough,” Marlon said, waving his hand to stop her. Brody, through it all, said nothing. Instead, Marlon diverted attention by reaching for another card.

Brody wanted to stop playing, but didn’t want to make matters worse. She went along with it, and took another.

Louis won, Marlon lost.

“Ugh,” Marlon groaned, slapping his card down. He stole a glance at Brody to see how she was doing. Blankly, she stared at Louis.

“What do you look for in a girl, Marlon?” He questioned, a smirk dancing on his lips. “Tell me about the woman of your dreams.”

Marlon scoffed, a chuckle jostling his shoulders. The sight caused Brody to give a faint smile, her previous sorrow beginning to fade. “I look for a couple things,” Marlon began, shrugging. He looked down at his hands folded on the table. “The main one is sincerity.”

Violet scoffed. “Weak.”

Marlon rolled his eyes playfully. “I like to have someone who means what they say and cares about what they do. Someone who thinks about every move they make.” He shrugged, glancing across the table at Brody. “People who put others before themselves. I don’t think that’s weak. These days, I think it’s the strongest thing we can have.”

“Anything else?” Louis pushed, leaning deeper into the table.

Marlon chuckled. “Patience? Loyalty. There’s something about girls that ask a lot of questions — the girls that always wanna be by your side — that really get me.” He smiled into table. “I think it’s really something for a girl to wanna be your right-hand man.”

Brody smiled, feeling a warmth creep into her cheeks, even more so when his eyes hit hers.

Everyone drew another card. Brody was so lost in thought that she was the last to.

Violet won, Brody lost.

Violet slapped her card down and immediately spoke. “Why were you sent to Ericson?”

Brody’s eyes widened at the question, her body reeling. Violet didn’t mince words, and her question came so quickly Brody could only assume she had thought it up ages ago.

“Vi--”

“Hey, she knows why we’re all here.” Violet defended, holding a hand out to stop Marlon’s interruption. “This is the first time I’ve ever been really able to talk to her. I wanna know.”

Brody swallowed hard, glancing at the table. “It’s a long story.”

“We have a lot of time.” Violet claimed, propping a leg up beside her on the bench, getting comfortable.

Brody squeezed her hands together in her lap, then glanced down to play with her nails. “My Dad started drinking after my Mom died,” she began, her voice soft. “She died of cancer, there was nothing we could’ve done, but my Dad was filled with guilt.”

Marlon’s gaze deepened on the girl, the pity swarming his chest. He debated standing and calling off the game entirely, shunning Violet for even asking such a question — for even making Brody re live such a thing.

“After about a year had passed, my Dad started getting violent. Me and my sisters would ask him about chores, homework, dinner, even for stuff like bandages and hugs.” She hesitated, biting her lower lip. “He got annoyed with us pestering him while he was drinking. I think he saw us all as connections to Mom which made it worse.”

She glanced up, swallowing hard, meeting Marlon’s gaze. There was a calmness she found there, one that filled her with the courage to continue. “My youngest sister was the first one he hit. Our middle sister pulled her out of the kitchen when I went in to talk him down.” She shook her head. “He hit me every time after that. I didn’t let either of my sisters go into a room with him alone.”

“Brody--”

“Then one day I hit back.” Brody said, cutting off Marlon’s gentle attempt to stop her. She looked down again. “Immediately he told me he was going to ‘deal with me.’ A few days later I was sent here under the assumption that I had ‘frequent violent outbursts.’” Her head quivered as she shook it. “Who knows what he did with my sisters.”

A silence hung over the group as Brody finished, her head reverting to it’s lowest position.

Louis cleared his throat and set a hand on Brody’s shoulder. He said nothing about her story, only turned to the other two. “How about one more round?” His voice was soft, as if he knew that his game needed to end.

Violet nodded and reached for a card. Marlon was so distracted studying Brody that he didn’t react, only numbly lifted a card of his own. Louis and Brody slowly followed.

Violet won, Marlon lost.

Brody tensed, fearing what kind of question Violet would have in store for him. She certainly didn’t hold back with her, after all, and she was far more comfortable harassing Marlon.

“Marlon, who would you consider your right-hand man?” Violet asked, fighting back a smirk. She knew what was going on and could very clearly see the dynamic that was beginning to form. If she could nudge Marlon and Brody in the right direction, she was going to. After all, Violet’s brand was ‘the straights have no idea what they’re doing.’

Besides, she got the hint that her previous question had crossed some imaginary line in the sand. If she could make it up to her by showing her how highly Marlon saw her, she’d do it.

Marlon smiled tenderly, the question settling sweetly in his chest. Her turned, his eyes meshing with the girl across from him. “Brody.”

The two stared at each other, Marlon with his sweet smile and Brody with her lips slightly separated.

“Uhm? Excuse me?” Louis scoffed, hand to his chest.

Marlon’s stare didn’t leave. “It’s Brody.”

Her lips slowly curled into a smile, her chest going warm and fuzzy at his confession. She thought of herself the same way. She was over the moon that Marlon saw her as his sidekick as much as she saw herself that way.

“Good game, guys.” Louis claimed with a smirk, cracking his knuckles and leaning back in his seat. “Thanks for joining us today, Brody. It was good having you.”

Brody’s smile snapped itself from Marlon’s — fairly resistantly so — to see Louis. “Thanks for having me come play.”

Louis shrugged passively watching the girl stand. “As promised, we’ll stop pestering you now.”

Brody hesitated, turning to study the group. With a faint smile, she shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll play again tomorrow.” Brody smiled, over her shoulder before she started away, leaving Marlon with a tender smile and Louis with a knowing smirk.

Louis turned back to the cards to shuffle and reorganize, all the while chuckling. “I knew she’d like it if she just played.” Louis hummed, knowing she was out of earshot.

Violet, stunned, lowered her knowing brow and turned to stare down the oblivious male. She scoffed and shook her head. “You blow my fucking mind sometimes, Louis.”

He really was a lost cause. ---------♥️♥️♥️----------

[regrettablewritings]

Dios Meme-o! (Rafael Barba Mini-Series, Pt. 8)

A/N: Hahahahahamanthisissooverdueiamaterribleperson!!! Thanks for sticking around and being patient with me!!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Rafael’s lunchtime haunt was lowly lit and not very populated, as usual. The perfect spot to recollect his thoughts. (Plus that it was the sort of place to attract customers that generally laid outside of the meme-making demographic.) He took advantage of his extended lunchbreak in the relaxed watering hole by cutting into a grilled salmon, served with a small glass of scotch.

Normally, he reserved this type of beverage for the end of the work day. But after experiencing what was practically a breath of fresh air after nearly a month of drowning in a sea of jokes, poor Spanish, and sexualizations of his most unremarkable features, he felt he needed it. Just a tiny bit to assure that he had some kind of comfort in case it turned out that he had hallucinated that Lauren Carradine.

And yet, he was certain he hadn’t. Extremely certain, in fact. Sure, the Internet was freaking him out, but he highly doubted that it would be memes that would drive him beyond the brink of sanity and not anything else his job required him to face. If they had, then perhaps it was time to consider moving to a different field of focus.

It was the buzz of his phone’s vibration that ripped Rafael out of his uncertain reverie. And for a moment, his could feel his stomach flinch and his heart trip clumsily for a moment. It wasn’t likely Carmen or any of his bosses (they, surprisingly, had been relatively absent throughout the rise of his Internet fame). It could only be one of the SVU squad members. At this point, it didn’t matter whether it was yet another meme or if it was related to a potential case: It was all so very cringe-worthy in one way or another at this rate. But he knew he couldn’t hide within the recoil for long. Sighing, he eased the pressure on his eyes and unraveled them from the darkness.

The notification lighting up the screen said that it was from Liv: it was a link. The only thing she said was, “You’re still doing your job :).” Rafael’s brows furrowed. Liv wasn’t one to send vague messages, let alone to him. With no other choice than to proceed, he pressed down on the link and brought it to life.

In seconds, he was greeted with a blob familiar plain and simple font in a white box cast against a lavender background. It was a post, specifically that of one “Roseflarts.” His first instinct to wince had almost come to complete fruition as he prepared himself for the worst, only for the action to be halted just as quickly. This link wasn’t to yet another post going on and on about his veiny hands or pudgy stomach or making a fetishized mockery of his Latino heritage. It was something completely different, as first suggested by the fact that the very title of the post, in large lettering, read, “OMG I GOT TO MEET ADA BARBA!!!”

After his overexposure to far cruder titles, this one had actually come off as quite pure. Enough to where Rafael disregarded his usual distaste for the overuse of all-caps sentences and more than two exclamation points. It was in this rarely used practice of hope that Rafael dared to progress in his curiosity. However, he still continued to keep in the back of his mind that reminder of what doing so had gotten him the last time he fell down the Tumblr hole.

           “I was so excited but I got all tongue-tied – is that weird? Probably. He’s not exactly a celebrity but like?? He’s so sweet and serious and he really cares about the work he does! (Tho I might’ve been a bit of a creeper because I honestly saw the guy just minding his own business . . .) Anywho! I got to tell him how grateful I was that there’s someone like him out there fighting for someone like me, but I don’t think I expressed that to him very well or even enough.            Geez there was just so much to say and in so little time… I mean, how can you compile everything that he’s done in the span of, like, a minute? How can you tell somebody that he’s like a rare breed of person who still fights tooth and nail to try and get shit done? It’s already hard enough but after this craptastic year, it really makes you think and realize just how crooked so much of the world is... But to me, it says there’s always hope. There’s always some really neat, completely wonderful person out there fighting to make sure you get what’s right.            We need more people like him, but it falls on us to become those people. So until then, take joy in the fact that we have somebody fighting for us. But also remember to be thankful and pay it forward to others. ADA Rafael Barba is an example of what we want (aside from a fine-looking, well-dressed man): Courageous, ambitious in all the right ways, and know what to stand up for.”

The tags, aside from the usual “#ada barba”, read #thank you ada barba, #he could wipe the floor with drump’s ass, #iconic, #not all men: ada barba would never!

Perhaps it came from a twinge of vanity, but a small part of Rafael garnered the ability to crook a corner of his mouth upward. Rafael was no stranger to pride, though it would be safest to say that they tended to be odd breeds of such. In that moment, he felt exactly that: Pride born of something considerably odd – a Tumblr post, no less.

This, Rafael decided, was a pro to technology. The ability to expound upon what the mouth sometimes cannot. The ability to share experiences, to connect, to arouse the public with more than just lust, but with aspirations and determination.

It was perhaps out of habit that his thumb slid downward on his phone screen, heading toward the notes section of the post. As he scrolled down into the comments section, he came upon a flurry of replies:

           “DID YOU FEEL HIS TUM!? 😳😳😳”

           “What did he smell like?!?!?!”

           “PUH-LEEZE DESCRIBE WHAT TOUCHING HIM FELT LIKE!!!!”

           “okay but can someone PLEASE draw ada barba in cool warrior    goddess clothing leading a revolution of women scorned???”

Rafael pressed the off button on his phone, plunked it back down to the bar’s wooden counter, and solemnly returned his attention back to his food. Enough of that mess.

Con: The ability to expound upon what the mouth probably shouldn’t, and to miss the point entirely.

As he resumed eating his grilled salmon and sipping his scotch, a small smile lingered on Rafael’s face. He didn’t mind if anyone saw it, though.

. . .

And then a picture of him doing so popped up online.

[imaginekpoplikethis]

When It’s Her - Detective! Jung Hoseok X Reader - Part 3

Sorry, I was going to post this earlier but woke up to a message asking me to come into work 😭

But Guys omg i already know how this story is going to end and I don’t know when that is but I’m exciteddd 

Here’s the next part with lots of love from me 💕💕

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3 - Here

Hoseok would be lying if he said he didn’t believe Dae-Jun had something do with this case. With her case.

Then again, it was his job to not jump into conclusions. Just because he disliked the man did not mean he could throw him behind bars and call it a day. That would simply bring about no justice, not to mention there would be a possibility of never seeing Y/N again if he pissed him off too much. If he was the culprit, he is completely capable of getting someone to finish the job he started whether he has or has not been caught.

It had been a couple of days since his visit to the company, each day bringing about no new information.

He and Jin-Sun had gotten together to summarise what they already knew and to, hopefully, make some small speculations. Drawing up a suspect list this early in the case with the limited amount of information they had was usually illogical. This was proven with the fact that it only contained one name, Dae-Jun.

It seemed as if he had hit yet another dead end and he was close to pulling his hair out.

“Jung, I’ve got your coffee.” With Jin-Sun’s words came a tinge of sadness. He already knew the bland taste of the coffee the young man had made for him would be disappointing. When Jin-Sun strolled from the entrance of the break room to him, he couldn’t help but discreetly grimace at the steaming coffee he held in his hands.

No offence to him but he can’t make coffee for shit.

Jin-Sun offered Hoseok a nervous smile. The slight glare said man was giving was one he would rather not be on the receiving end of. When Hoseok realised he was emitting a somewhat foul mood, he quickly dropped his expression, replacing it with one that could only be described as blank.

Jin-Sun didn’t know which was worse. The new expression his face held was, dare he say it, creepy. When he first entered the department, his new colleagues had jokingly introduced Hoseok as a ray of sunshine and he was quick to find out why. The young man was bursting with joy and constantly smiling. It seemed like there was never a dull moment with him around. The only times he would adopt a serious outtake was when he was working on a case but even then he was never as emotionally drained as he is now.

“Sir, can I ask... do you know the victim?” Hoseok’s eyes snapped up to meet Jin-Sun’s before he had even finished his sentence.

“No. I wouldn’t be working on this case if I did. Why?”

His eyebrows furrowed as if he was thinking about how to word his next sentence without offending Hoseok.

“Well, you’re noticeably sadder recently. It’s really out of character...”

Hoseok barely stopped himself from visibly breathing out a sigh of relief.

For a second I thought he was catching on...

“Just an extreme lack of sleep is all.”

That isn’t necessarily a lie though it is playing into the reason why I’m like this.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were kind of sad about this. She made the best coffee and she was a great person to speak to too. I’m kind of upset she’s gone.”

His eyes were lowered, a downcast look wiping away the small bit of nervousness that had been etched on his face.

“Jung, there’s someone waiting to speak to you.” A female colleague popped her head around the entrance of the door, shooting both men a polite smile. Yi-Hyun was the name of the dark haired girl who currently stood at the doorway. She was fairly new to the department, only having worked on maybe four cases in total, her first being with Hoseok. You could say she was sort of like his apprentice and a good one at that. She graduated at the top of her class just missing top spot which was something she was unbothered about. All in all, she was a talented addition to the department.

A tap to his shoulder brought Hoseok out of his thoughts to see Jin-Sun motion towards her with his head. Rising from his seat, he exited the room and followed Yi-Hyun to the interview room, causing him to raise an eyebrow. She simply turned towards him, giving him a small wave and set on her way back to what he assumed was her desk.

Pushing open the door, he was greeted with none other than Dae-Jun. He was seated comfortable on the semi plush chair, a leg resting on his thigh and his arms crossed.

A smirk was dancing on his lips.

Hoseok frowned at him, a corner of his mouth twitching upwards in a disgusted manner.

“Hey, detective. Gosh, do I have something interesting to tell you.”

Hoseok’s eyebrow raised once more.

“I’m a private investigator.”

Dae-Jun dismissed his words with a flick of his wrist.

“Same thing. Anyway, there’s someone who holds a grudge against my beautiful lady and you may just want to look into her.”

Hoseok didn’t comment on his choice of words and opted to remain silent.

“It may seem strange but Lee So-Min was extremely jealous of Y/N and she just so happens to work at my company as head director of the marketing team!”

He spoke in an ecstatic tone as if he was delivering news of presents.

“Jealous of what? Last I checked, she seems to have the better job.”

“Well, what do you think girls get jealous over? Men of course. Y/N had all of my affection and time whilst So-Min was left alone. Maybe, I acted as a catalyst to her hatred towards Y/N but who knew a couple of nights alone together could change someone like that?”

Did I miss something here?

“Wait, hatred? I thought you said she was just jealous? Those are two different emotions.”

Dae-Jun leaned back in his seat, an indifferent expression replacing the smug one he had moments prior.

“Please. It wasn’t unknown how much she disliked her. Besides, with jealousy most of the time comes hatred. Especially between two women.”

He spoke so confidently you would think he studied women’s behaviour as a living.

“Why are you selling your go to woman out?”

His face grew dark at Hoseok’s words and he rested his hands on his knees, leaning forward.

“Watch what you say... that’s all in the past. I’d never do anything to hurt Y/N now.”

Paying no mind to his attempt at sounding intimidating, Hoseok pressed him for more information.

“Now?”

The smirk returned as did Hoseok’s annoyance.

“Well why do you think we broke up in the first place? You don’t think she just fell out of love with me, do you?”

With a personality like that I wouldn’t be surprised.

Hoseok narrowed his eyes at the man who seemed way too calm for it to be natural. In fact, he seemed to be gaining pleasure from discussing the apparent tension between the women in his life.

“So you cheated on her and she found out.”

Though Hoseok’s face bore an unimpressed look, his words held no particular tone to them. Dae-Jun dropped his smile and glanced towards the only window in the room.

“That bitch So-Min told her. She must have thought that by fucking up the relationship I had with the only woman I truly care about, i’d somehow begin to love her. She’s delusional.”

“I think the correct word would be ‘misled’.”

Dae-Jun’s eyes briefly snapped back to glare at Hoseok before he returned his attention to the window.

“Whatever you want to call it, it doesn’t matter. She ruined my relationship all over some stupid one off night. Or maybe three but that’s not the point. The point is, after I rejected her and gave her a piece of my mind, she had it out for  Y/N. Man, if you knew what she had done to her...”

Hoseok’s interest was piqued as Dae-Jun’s words trailed off.

“I heard one time she dumped a steaming hot drink on her at work. I guess that was one of the more recent incidents...”

-

Hoseok had once again managed to sneak away from work for half an hour which he decided to spend at Latte Da, unsurprisingly. As he reached the glass door, a grin plastered on his face, he had to jump back to avoid being hit with the door. If it hadn’t been for his good reflexes he’s probably be nursing an injured nose right about now.

Spinning on his heel to spot his would have been attacker, he was met with the rather tall frame of an office worker, speeding towards her car. Without a glance back she threw open her car door, got inside and drove off.

Frowning to himself, he finally made his way into the café only to be met with the scene of the girl he was currently interested in dripping wet with a dark liquid. Her usual co-worker had taken it upon herself to untie her apron and remove her jumper for her when she cried out in pain. It was only then that Hoseok noticed the scalding red marks that were decorating the skin of her neck, hands and partially her cheeks. Before he reached the desk, she was ushered into the staff room and disappeared from sight. She was soon replaced with Ki-Yong

“What just happened? She’s covered with red marks that look really painful.”

“I don’t even know. Some woman just came in, ordered a drink, asked for it to be heated up a bit more and just threw the whole think at her. I couldn’t go after her because she was crouched on the floor in pain. It was so hot! I don’t think it was enough to scar or anything but still... I wouldn’t want a hot drink thrown on me...”

It was then that both workers noticed Hoseok’s presence and returned to their respectful jobs, the girl asking for his order in a slightly disturbed voice.

Her words didn’t register in Hoseok’s brain as all he could think about was the look of agony that danced on the pretty face he thought about so often.

-

Hoseok was fuming when he had realised the reason behind that whole incident. Blaming the man sitting in front of him was like second nature and he had to clench his fists tightly, digging his nails into the palms of his hands to stop himself from doing something he knew he would come to regret.

“Man, I flipped at So-Min when I heard that.”

His eyes were distant as he was recalling the memory he had just voiced. It was then that Hoseok realised that there was one thing he didn’t quite understand.

“If she was this much of a problem, why didn’t you fire her?”

Nervousness flickered briefly across his face, his eyes dropping to inspect the floor. He seemed to be mentally debating with himself whether he should explain his reason for not ridding the company of its marketing head.

“Well, between you and me... she’s got a shit ton of dirt on me. Nothing too serious but... enough to fuck up my dads company.”

What a surprise. The Vice President has some secrets he’s keeping.

“Anyway, we’re going off topic. What I came to say is, you might want to question Lee So-Min. She’s...”

He didn’t finish his sentence, instead rising from his seat and stretching, going out of his way to groan rather loudly. Giving Hoseok a mock salute, he strolled out of the door, no words being said.

Dae-Jun is holding way too many secrets for his own good...

[punkscowardschampions]

Ali & Tommy

Ali: yo yo yo Ali: i'm back to civilization, using the term loosely there but Ali: what i miss Tommy: hey girl hey Tommy: oh you know several family feuds Tommy: standard Ali: oh the joys Ali: reckon i'm right on time for the next one Ali: soz I didn't have signal, what you want me to do lads Tommy: reckon you have a fair point Tommy: and solid excuse Tommy: if I had someone to do, my phone would be off too, like Ali: i've made the case for not spoiling the areas natural beauty with phone masts but appaz 'not the fucking point' Ali: no chance of getting away with that, city boy Ali: gutted x2 Ali: should be jelly though 'cos 😍 Tommy: Oh honey I am Tommy: Sickeningly so Tommy: much like your socials of late Ali: Haha piss off Ali: its the honeymoon phase Ali: and you can't act like you'd rather witness the death rattle of my last playing out like Tommy: Well yeah, never a more legit word spoken Tommy: Poor Marls Tommy: Bet she took to the heartbreak like a duck to water though Tommy: as for you and Carls, you've been in that phase for bloody ages Ali: I know, I'm evil Ali: not her first, or last, which says it all Ali: Not even Ali: anyway, gotta milk it, you'll see when you're being gross yourself Tommy: Not evil just scandalous Tommy: We've all had our heads turned by the straights Tommy: Can't pretend I'm not thrilled that you got kissed instead of your head kicked in, love that you got lucky there Tommy: Yeah even, you too been circling and flirting since the dawn of summer if not time Tommy: I think not. I'm nothing but fab in all things Ali: More Marilyn than Hitler Ali: one for the bio, thanks Ali: Ha, laughable, no one is immune to my charms also I do the kicking so Ali: coming up roses forever baby bro Ali: Exactly 😏 gonna be vomit-inducing 'cos you're gonna be thinking yours is the greatest love story ever told 🙄😉 Tommy: stick it on your tinder when the honeymoon's over kid Tommy: welcome welcome Tommy: And Marls thought she was so tough. Not immune to a curb stomp were you, babe Tommy: roses are cliche as hell so agreed Tommy: could be, sister, could just be Tommy: surrounded by sapphic role models in you and your boo Ali: could do it now Ali: sooooooo modern like that, darling Ali: omg shut up 😞 didn't mean to and not funny Ali: psh, as if you wouldn't be buzzing your tits off if someone got you roses Ali: umm not telling you you're doing this whole 'gay' thing wrong but you know the girl ones aren't for you, yeah? 😂 Tommy: yeah but will ya or are you too 😍 Tommy: real question is, has Carls taken to her new status like a duck to water or more like water off a duck's arse Tommy: calm down dear I won't mention the ex again, scout's honor Tommy: atm my tits would be pleased if anyone looked their way at all but we ain't on my sob story, here for your love Tommy: 😂 well now it makes sense Ali: only just got back, like Ali: can deffo take a day of recuperation Ali: not asked tbf Ali: i don't need a label on her or what we're doing Ali: poor baby 😥 Ali: wish you'd let me look at your profiles, pimp em up pimp you out Tommy: but she's still 😍 too, yeah? Tommy: not scared her off like Tommy: Oi! Take your own advice and take a day off Tommy: You can come when I hit the town if you're wanting to wingwoman that bad Ali: Oi yourself! Ali: Scared her off indeed Ali: trusted me enough to go into the wilderness alone like Ali: duh Ali: not even a question Ali: though really need to find you a lad there as well Ali: but you can have a hometown holiday romance, special enough for ya snowflake? Tommy: Probs just wanted to stretch. Caravans are well cramped Tommy: Piss off Tommy: You just don't want me third wheeling you and your girl 'cause you reckon I'll make it awks when she finds me more fun to dance with than you Tommy: Gotta take her and get her initiated though 🌈 Ali: yeah a 2 man tents well better Ali: melt 🖕 Ali: oh you gonna steal my girl? okay 😂 Tommy: You trying to say you didn't look at the stars? Get to fuck you lying scrag 😂 Tommy: Could do, she is cute Ali: Am I that predictable? Sigh Ali: Might be modern but draw the line at family 3way Ali: if anything, a step back Tommy: You ain't invited, honey Tommy: Full offense Ali: Finders keepers I saw her first bitch Tommy: Only 'cause I was miles away Tommy: play fair you dirty bisexual Ali: When you get a mans Imma call bagsy then Ali: wanna talk fair Tommy: we'll both be in wheelchairs minus our own teeth by then so I'll race ya Ali: 😏 oh hush Ali: secretly getting all the d and keeping it dl Tommy: 😂 Tommy: I wish Ali: 👀 Tommy: You filthy perv Ali: how did you know Tommy: Carls told us Tommy: we're that close now like Ali: well, that's a stop coming onto me if I've ever heard one 😂 good one, babe Tommy: 😂 Tommy: Get a lot of that, does she? awks Ali: You said yourself, she cute Tommy: Gotta do some kicking, kitten. Have you learned nothing from your previous? Tommy: 🥊 Ali: how not to keep a woman? Ali: harsh but Tommy: legit Tommy: fuckboy free inbox though Ali: yeah Ali: got their uses though, ain't they Ali: don't be too picky like Tommy: Not for me but you do you, darling Ali: 🤷 Tommy: with your luck they'd fall for you anyway tbf Ali: Like you don't remember having to hold Ma back Ali: weren't that long ago Tommy: Blocked that shit way out Ali: those were the days tho Ali: but fine, won't invite ronan to the gay club Ali: imagine Tommy: For you. Aged ma + 25 Tommy: poor bitch Tommy: Probs had to get her roots done Tommy: Which one was he again? The curly haired gypsy Ali: s'alright, marlene still fancied her and carly also said she would Ali: not doing bad old girl Ali: one of Ali: first and worst, some would say Tommy: OMHG REALLY Tommy: get it ma Tommy: oh that cunt Tommy: hit it Celine 'cause it's all coming back to me now Ali: yeah Ali: smug bitch Ali: no one in this family can keep it to themselves, apparently Ali: 😂 mhmm Ali: lives where Carly does, and was kinda her boyf when I met her Ali: official, like Tommy: reckon I'll steal your girls it's that saucy mare you gotta watch Tommy: Disgusting Tommy: You two fucking by association before you got near Tommy: That's some funny shit Ali: Real talk Ali: someone warn Da Ali: not me 'cos awks when I'm fuming at her for running off with my woman Ali: oh honey you don't even know Ali: we have a list Tommy: On it Tommy: Love getting shot in the face myself so I'm well keen to twirl past with that message Tommy: 😂 Tommy: How long a list we talking? Ali: Interpretive dance it out for him Ali: the most vague form of communication Ali: You actually wanna know or? Tommy: I'll get workshopping rn 'cause ma ain't go no chill Tommy: she won't wait and we know it Tommy: You tell me, sister, do I or not Ali: She's a busy woman Ali: if Rock didn't look so much like Da's side I'd question it frankly Ali: You know how I roll, scandalous from the womb to the tomb baby Tommy: When the adoption jokes ain't just craic Tommy: ooops Tommy: that's why we're the irish twins 'cause same girl same Ali: She's got some nerve, us all out here raising the devil child Ali: give him to his real daddy the inn is full bitch Tommy: 😂 Tommy: puts him in the postie's bag like back you go lad Tommy: he's kinda fit bet ma would Ali: oh babe Ali: hate to bring this bad news to you but he left Ali: probs got a modelling contract, eh 😏 Tommy: 💔 Tommy: pissed on my parade proper there Ali: i am so soz Ali: maybe i traumatized him Ali: okay you can get with carly once but that's it, then we're even Tommy: Not gonna ask what you let him see Tommy: between you and JC every sunday Tommy: 🎉 Yes Ali: knock on my door son, gonna get what i give you Tommy: 👏 Ali: idc if you're just trying to bring the bills, SIR Ali: we don't want 'em Ali: liverpool days got us all forever scarred Tommy: Too real to deal Ali: when you back fr though Tommy: Patience 🦗 Tommy: I got scholarship stresses Ali: must suck being talented enough for one, like 😉 Tommy: Says the genius Tommy: what's your IQ again? Ali: check the tinder lad Ali: put that on there too, how i get all the ladies Tommy: 😂

[lordofthebigtimesupernatural]

the newest dad shiro and baby keith was so beautiful. I love their relationship so much! We know about Keith's mom, but what about his biological father? What if his father actually showed up while slightly older Keith was home alone !! hc that he'd try tugging keith with him and keith would obviously freak out and like lock himself up and call shiro (but what if shiro didn't answer the first time and has to hear a panicked voice mail) and calls his grandparents. his grandfather kicks this(cont)

(part 2) grandfather kicks this guys butt and calls the police but they can’t exactly calm keith down because he’s super overwhelmed and scared and begs for shiro and of course shiro all but crashes his way home and despite keith being much taller and more gangly pulls his little boy into his arms after thoroughly checking him over for injuries and wow is he pissed at the bio father though and with keith’s permission charges the heck outta him. AH.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, that was my reaction to this prompt. OMG nonny this was so good. So good, that I made this one shot so freaking long. I hope you don’t mind. But ahhhh, if I didn’t have work I would have kept going. This was so great. Protective daddy Shiro and badass Grandpa Shirogane. Yes please! This was a good prompt because admittedly, I didn’t like Keith’s dad from season 2….Anyway I hope you enjoy and keep sending in these prompts!

x.V.x

“Who the hell are you?” Even as Keith spoke the words aloud, he knew the answer to his own question. It was blatantly obvious who this stranger was, standing intimately outside his dad’s front door. This strange man, who towered over Keith (probably even Shiro) but with a face that was oh so familiar to Keith. His eyes might be brown instead of blue, but there was no denying that face.

Considering Keith saw that face more and more when he looked in the mirror these days.

There was no mistaking that this man was Keith’s biological father.

Man he must have the best luck in the world. First mom, now dad.

Keith hadn’t heard from his mother since that day when he was seven, after Shiro and he had sat down with the social worker. But after learning more about his mother, he’d decided to stay away; maybe when he was older, he would try to reach out to her, but even now at eighteen, Keith was still a bit bitter about his mother.

He was never curious about his father and was surprised that he hadn’t cared as much as he could have. He simply figured that his father had actually died or really did abandon them and never gave him much thought. That is, until he showed up on Shiro’s front steps.

And of course Shiro had to be at a meeting, all the way on the other side of town, leaving Keith alone. A perfect opportunity for the man whose sperm had helped to produce Keith’s organism.

“Why son, don’t you recognize your old man?” The man simply smiled and Keith’s eyes were drawn to the long scar that ran down his left eye. Like Shiro. Though, Keith couldn’t help but think that Shiro’s scar was a symbol of bravery and honor. What could this man’s scar mean?

His smile was fake too. Too cheerful to be real and Keith hated that. He hated when people tried to lie or fake it around him, because it was confusing. If everyone could just tell the truth and be as blunt as he was, then Keith would have a much better time understanding other humans. However, people weren’t like that and Keith hated it.

“You look nothing like my dad. Shiro’s scar is on his nose.” Keith stated, making sure to keep the front door in between him and the other man. He saw the smile twitch on the man’s lip and his eyes narrowed for a split second.

“Aw, of course I’m not your adopted father, son.” The man laughed too loudly and Keith winced. His heart began to beat a little faster in his chest. He didn’t like this. No he didn’t like it at all. “I’m your real father. The one that really matters.” When the man moved to place a hand on Keith’s shoulder, he flinched back violently and put both hands on the door with a tight, white-knuckled grip.

“Shiro is my father. Not you.” Keith hissed darkly, causing the man to falter in reaching out for him. “He’s the only father I have. The only father I need. And the only father I want. Not you. Not anyone.” The man’s eyes darkened once more, only this time they did not return back to normal after a second.

Keith’s heart skipped a beat.

“Now son, that’s not very nice. Is that any way to treat your father after I haven’t seen you in so long?” The man took a threatening step towards the door and Keith attempted to close it, only to have the man stick his foot through the opening. “Come on now, there’s so much we need to catch up on. After that bitch ran away from me with you, and then you suddenly weren’t even in Korea anymore. Do you realize how much work it was to find you?”

“How did you even know where I was?” Keith couldn’t help but ask. He knew that this man was dangerous and it wasn’t a good idea to humor him any more, but Keith had to know. Especially if it involved Shiro’s safety and his own.

“I have my resources.” The man leered, sending cold shivers down Keith’s spine. However, he did not back away and despite the erratic beating of his heart and sweat pooling in his palms, Keith glared his infamous Shiro Glare.

“I can tell you all about it and anything else that you want to know. Just let me inside, and let’s talk son.” The man grinned again, while Keith swallowed. He couldn’t deny that he was intrigued and curious, but what the man didn’t know was that the only thing Keith was curious about was finding out how this man had managed to find him. And if he could hurt Shiro.

Keith debated the consequences of talking to the man. If Shiro’s safety was on the line, Keith would do anything; even sacrifice his own safety.

Keith, remember, stay calm. Don’t just jump into decisions. In the end, you’ll only get more hurt than you would have if you had taken the time to think.

Keith’s eyes widened when Shiro’s familiar words floated into his head. His heart beat picked up in back and his hands began to tingle due to feeling anxious. He stared at the man in front of him, eyeing the impossible fake and dangerous smile on his face, and the way that he had tried to shove himself between the door to keep Keith from closing it.

There has to be a reason on why your mother would run away from him. Shiro’s voice continued to float into his head.

“What do you say Akira, how about you let your old man in and give me a hug?”

She wouldn’t have ran if something hadn’t been wrong. Look at him Keith.

“Akira?”

Please Keith, I love you.

“Akira?”

“No.” Keith was stunned by his response, and his biological father seemed just as stunned as he was. However, even with his surprise, Keith found that he didn’t regret telling this man no.

“What?”

“I said no.” Keith said, much more firmer than before and grabbed the door in a much tighter grip. He began to shove harshly against the door, causing the man to stumble back for a moment. “Get off my property or I’m calling the cops. I don’t want to get to know you. I don’t want to speak with you ever again. Get the hell away!” Keith continued to harshly shove at the door and the man finally removed his foot, but he had then placed his arm on the top of the door and pushed back to keep Keith from fully closing it.

Keith’s heart dropped to his stomach.

“Now, now, that’s not quite the answer I was looking for Akira.” The man frowned and his voice let slip a low growl. Keith’s eyes widened.

“My name is not Akira. I am Keith Shirogane and you are not my father.” Keith snarled and tried shoving his entire body against the door, however, he found it to be of no use since this man was much, much larger than him. He had Keith in height and muscle mass. There was no way Keith would be able to beat him with strength.

“You are my son!” The man hissed before shoving the door open with a bang. Keith stumbled back from the force of the door opening. His heart jumped out of his chest when the man stepped into Keith’s house. “Whatever delusion you have with that army one-armed freak is nothing! I’m your father. No one else!” The man reached out with a blindly fast speed and snatched Keith’s wrist in a grip that was sure to leave a bruise. Keith couldn’t help but cry out.

“You’re going to come back with me, whether you like it or not.” The man grinned wickedly and Keith felt a lump in his throat. “Now, no screaming or something might just happy to that Shiro of yours.”

“You leave him alone!” Keith snarled, feeling a new hot-blooded fury burning in his veins. “Shiro is a better father than you ever will be.” He couldn’t deny the pleasure he got in seeing the man’s face morph from smug joy to a cold fury.

“You brat!” As the man raised his hand to strike at Keith, there was a vicious snarl and a blur of yellow fur before Keith found the man letting go of him. He jumped back in shock when he realized that Red had latched onto the man’s arm in a deadly grip and was snarling. Despite the man crying out and trying to shake the dog off him, Red never once let go and bit down hard enough to draw blood.

Keith was astounded as last he remembered Red was outside during this whole ordeal and she must have managed to get over the fence of the back yard to run to the front and towards the stranger that was hurting her master. Keith was always amazed by Red’s dedication.

Though, his relief didn’t last long when the man managed to shake Red off him, sending her sprawled across the floor. Luckily, she was on her feet and Keith nearly felt his heart drop at the blood coating her fur. The man clutched at his arm, momentarily distracted and Keith saw his chance to make a break for it. He couldn’t do nothing. It wasn’t safe.

“Red! Get grandpa now!” Keith shouted to the dog. Red looked at her master and then back to the stranger in her house, momentarily confused but the tone in her master’s voice was enough for the command to sink in. With one last vicious howl, Red had booked it between the man’s leg and was sprinting down the street in the direction of Keith’s grandparents new house that they had moved to.

Keith knew it would take probably ten or more minutes for Red to get to his grandparents house and get them here. He just hoped that wouldn’t be too long for Keith’s sake.

When the man stumbled towards Keith, looking more furious than ever, with blood all over his arm and shirt Keith jumped back. He landed a hard kick right at the man’s face and dropped the man to the floor before booking it into the one room that Keith figured he could be safe in.

Shiro’s room.

Shiro’s room was the only room with more than one lock on the door, and the only room in the house where Keith knew there was a gun. Even though Shiro didn’t like Keith using guns or using them himself, his paranoia and experiences from the military had made him teach Keith how to handle weapons and keep extra locks in his room.

Keith bolted up the stairs and could hear the man beginning to stumble through the house. Just as the man began making his way up the stairs, Keith had slammed Shiro’s door shut and locked every lock on the door, before shoving a dresser up against it. Keith stumbled back when a loud bang came from the other side of the door, signifying the man had shoved his entire body against it.

Before even reaching for the gun, Keith grabbed his phone and dialed the one number he knew by heart.

It rang and rang, and every time it rang the man threw his body against the locked door, and Keith crouched in a corner.

Please dad. Pick up. Please pick up.

x.V.x

The oldest Shirogane male had been having a great day so far, for someone who was in their seventies. He’d weeded in the garden. His wife had made a wonderful soup for lunch. His son had asked him and his wife over for dinner tomorrow to celebrate Keith’s upcoming graduation.

Life was good.

At least, until Red came barreling down the street, barking like mad. He was surprised to see his grandson’s dog, without his grandson and making such a ruckus. However, his heart sunk when Red got closer and closer to the house and he could see the blood staining the front of her coat.

That was when his heart sunk.

“Oh my, is that Red I hear? Is Keith with her? I still have some soup ready.” Thace’s wife said, from where she was still in the kitchen. She couldn’t see the state of Red’s coat and therefore couldn’t feel the terror that Thace was feeling now.

“Honey, call the police now!” Thace shouted, before making a break out the front door. His wife jumped in surprise as he snatched keys off the key ring.

“What’s happening? What’s going on? What is - oh my god!” His wife clamped a hand over her mouth in horror after she had run out after her husband and could now see Red barking madly at them. Red had stopped at the very edge of the property and was whining and barking again, looking over her shoulder. “Oh my god, Keith.”

“Sweetheart, I need you to call the police, I’m going to Takaszhi’s house now. Send the police there!” Thace yelled over his shoulder, already jumping into the front seat of their truck. He whistled for Red, who momentarily hesitated, as if debating if she would be faster running back to the house.

“C’mon girl! I know you want to help Keith, I’m coming!” Thace tried to soothe the dog, as Red whined again, ears flattening on her head. Finally though, she barked and lept into the bed of the truck, allowing Thace to hit the gas and drive down the block.

The entire drive to Takashi and Keith’s house, Thace’s heart was racing and his thoughts were running to the worst of possibilities. He could never forgive himself if anything had happened to his grandson. And to think of how this would affect Takashi, only made Thace’s stomach plummet to the gravel below him.

His heart sunk even further when he pulled up to Takashi’s house to see that the front door had been broken into. The truck had barely been put into park, before Thace jumped out the truck, leaving it still running. Red was hot on his heels and normally Thace would have bene impressed by his insurance and speed at his age, but right now he only had one thought:

Protect Keith.

Thace heard the sounds of loud thumps, which sounding like someone slamming against a door and his blood boiled.Red howled beside him and race up the stairs even faster, though Thace was not far behind. As he made it up the steps, he heard an unfamiliar man scream in pain and Red snarling. The sight he saw in front of him, was one he would never forget.

A stranger, who looked eerily like an older, more crazed Keith was pressed up against Takaszhi’s door, which had marks and missing wood pieces, with Red’s teeth clamped down on the man’s leg. He kicked wildly, barely avoiding Red and Red bit down harder.

“You son of a bitch!” Trace hissed, storming towards the man. He could now hear the sounds of sirens coming from down the block and he thanked his wife’s ability to remain calm and do as she was told in situations like this, because all Thace wanted to do was kill this man.

Thace snatched up the man by the collar of his shirt when Red finally let go, but she continued to take on a defensive stance and put herself between them and the door. Thace had no doubt that Keith must be hiding in Takaszhi’s room.

“How dare you try to harm my grandson?!” Thace slammed the larger man up against the wall and the man grunted in pain. After years in the military, training soldiers and the adrenaline that coursed through his veins right in this moment, Thace was a force to reckon with despite being in his seventies. “How dare you break into my son’s home?! How dare you try to bring harm to my family?!” He slammed the man back against the wall, satisfied at the gasp of breath that left him.

“Sir, sir. Please calm down. We’ve got this situation now. Let us handle it.” Thace could barely hear the officer that was speaking to him, and hadn’t even realized the police were already here. All he wanted was to make the man who had hurt his family pay. However, it was then that Thace heard a quiet sob that came from within Takashi’s room and was quick to drop the intruder. Thace didn’t even hesitate when he went to the doorway and tried to open the door, only to hear Keith’s sobs grow louder and louder.

“Keith. Oh Keith, it’s alright.” Thace said softly, trying to soothe his grandson. He knew that Keith was an adult technically now, but he never sounded so young or scare until in this moment.

“Keith, you’re safe now. I’m here. The police are here. They’re taking him away.” Thace tried to open the door but found it of no use and Keith didn’t sound like he was calming down. In fact, he sounded like he was only getting more and more upset. It’s no wonder. He must be traumatized after all this.

Thace desperately tried to soothe his grandson and coax him into opening the door, but it was no use. There was only one person who could calm Keith down and Thace prayed his son was on his way.

x.V.x

Shiro was sprinting like his life depended on it.

Only, his life didn’t. Keith’s did.

His only goal was to get home before it was too late. But with every second that ticked by Shiro felt like he was failing Keith. His house was now in sight and the sight of police cars surrounding it made Shiro want to scream.

The voicemail replayed over and over in Shiro’s mind. Burned there forever. He’d been in a meeting when Keith called, but after the third attempt, Shiro had finally excused himself from the meeting and listened to a voicemail. A voicemail that would haunt Shiro for the rest of his life. Only ten seconds into the voicemail and Shiro had sprinted out of the building without telling anyone anything.

“Dad! Dad! Please, you have to pick up dad!” Keith sounded so terrified. And then there was the ominous thumps in the background. “Please dad! Grandpa’s coming but he might get hurt! Please help dad!” The thumps grew louder and a muffled shouting was in the background. Keith’s voice hitched. “Dad, I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I tried to stop him from getting in! I tried to make him leave but he was too big! I couldn’t fight him! I’m sorry - please dad! Please!”

The voicemail had cut off with a haunting cry from Keith and Shiro thought that this was all just a nightmare. But as he shoved past officers, ignoring their shouts Shiro knew this wasn’t a nightmare. He saw the blood on the floor and the broken front door. He saw Red whining at the stairs covered in dry blood. He saw his dad whispering against another broken door.

Then Shiro saw him.

The man that had caused all this. The man that hurt his precious boy.

“You.” Shiro’s voice was eerily calming and an icy chill filed the hallway. No one dared to speak, after seeking the ex-legendary war hero, Takashi Shirogane. The man in handcuffed scoffed at Shiro, until he was suddenly hoisted into the air by Shiro’s prosthetic and Shiro’s eyes were blazing with vengeance. “You come into my house and try to hurt my son and my family. You scare my son. You hurt my dog. You hurt my father and you dare think that you can smile at me like that!” Shiro pressed his arm against the throat of the man, who had finally stopped sneering at Shiro and stared at him with wide eyes. Still no one moved.

“I can find a hundred different ways to kill you right now, without any sort of weapon. I should destroy you for hurting my family. You are scum. People like you don’t deserve happiness in this world and I can break you.” The man looked around wildly to see that no one bothered to move and he weakly gasped.

“You’re pathetic. Coming in and thinking that you could get away with hurting my son.” Shiro pressed his face closer to the man’s red face. “I have a pretty good idea of who you are and let me tell you this: Keith is my son. He has been for eighteen years and since the day I saw his picture, I have loved and cherished him. I watched him grow into the stunning young man that he is today - a man that I am proud of. I was there for his first steps, when he stumbled and fell to kiss his wounds. I was his first words and was there when he gave an entire speech in another language because he is a brilliant young man. I was his father these years when he needed one - as someone to have a shoulder to cry on, to shout out when times got rough, to love every single day of his love. I have loved Keith and I will always love him. Not you. Not ever. Keith is my son and I am proud to be his father.”

Shiro wished that he could have done more. That he could have socked the living daylight out of the man. That he could have made him hurt just as Keith had. But how would that make him any different than this man.

“You will never get to know Keith. You will never watch as he builds his family and loves them as my family has. You will never watch the success he will become. You will never know how amazing this young man is, because you will rot in prison for the rest of your life. I will make sure of it.” With that, Shiro had shoved the intruder, wheezing desperately, into an officer’s arms before turning around.

He was shocked to see Keith in the hallway, staring at Keith with wide, red eyes filled with tears. A large bruise was blossoming on the pale skin of Keith’s wrist and Shiro’s heart broke.

“Oh Keith…”

Before Shiro had the chance to say anymore, Keith had launched himself at his father. He was tall, with gangly limbs, no longer the tiny little boy he once was but in this moment, Shiro almost imagined the tiny scared little boy from his childhood. Keith sobbed again into Shiro’s shirt, clutching desperately onto the fabric, overwhelmed by the entire ordeal, but one thing was for sure.

He loved his father. Now and forever.

Shiro ran a soothing hand through Keith’s longer hair and began to check him over for injuries while whispering soft soothing words into Keith’s ears.

“Oh Keith, I’m so sorry. I love you so much.”

Keith smiled, despite his tears and held his dad tighter. “I love you too dad. Only you. To the moon and back.”

“And brighter than any stars.”