#i mean his main offense was knives before so really! it’s not too different!

[metamatronic]

On the one hand, Maes is lucky that part of the military uniform is gloves, perfect for hiding his 'ultimate lance' ability hands! On the other hand... this boy is going to accidentally destroy so many gloves, I swear. By the end of it it's going to be less 'how did you come back from the dead' and more 'how and why do you keep tearing your gloves at the fingertips?'

he’s trying his best.

for the record, i think he probably can use the ultimate lance/spear/blade/whatever without the gloves, but without the muscle memory he doesn’t really know how. somehow the gloves help.

[thewhumperinwhite]

WKW Flashback: Little Bird (Part 1)

Author’s Note: this chapter contains references to sexual abuse of a minor. That isn’t what’s actually going on, but characters make light of it in ways they shouldn’t. I’ve tried to tag that as clearly as I can; please let me know if you need this (or anything) tagged differently.

TW for: references to csa; dehumanizing language; knifeplay

@faewhump

I’m posting this in two parts because it was getting long, but the next part will be up later today.

----

One of the things Raven likes best about Morden is that he is easy to understand. This puts him in a position of privilege; most people spend far too much time talking nonsense and purposefully not getting what they want, and she respects a man who not only admits to wanting things, but takes them. This is the main basis of their working relationship— that and the fact that he is the only man she’s ever met who is almost as beautiful as she is.

When Morden enters the front hall of the Falconer’s Nest with his black Falconer’s cape draped around the shoulders of a teenage boy, it is the first time she well and truly does not know what he is thinking.

The boy is somewhere between twelve and fifteen, clearly reeling in the aftermath of his first real growth-spurt, all knees and elbows, and he trails along after Morden like a clumsy puppy, watching the other Falconers with wide nervous eyes the color of molten gold. 

The eyes, and the baby fangs occasionally poking out over his bottom lip, mean he must have Fae blood in him somewhere; Raven has no idea where Morden could possibly have dug up a Fae survivor, but she supposes it explains some of Morden’s interest.

That first night, Morden tucks the boy up in a small room on the first floor of the Nest, away from the Falconer’s rooms. Raven is waiting for Morden when he leaves the room, closing the door behind him but not locking it.

“Is this a fetish thing?” she asks mildly. She’s leaning against a support pillar in the common area, tossing one of her knives into the air so it spins a few times in the torchlight before she catches it. “I’ll be a little disappointed if you’ve thrown me over for someone whose voice hasn’t broken yet.”

Morden narrows his eyes into the semi-darkness of the common room, then sees her and laughs quietly, shaking his head.

“It’s not a fetish, Raven, no,” he says, coming to lean against the pillar across from Raven, mimicking her pose, smirking at her.

“You’re obsessive about Fae,” Raven points out. “And you’re needlessly private about your sexual habits.” She catches her knife by the blade so she can gesture the handle in Morden’s direction. “I said a little disappointed, Magey. There’s no need to sneak around in your own lair.”

“And I never plan to,” Morden says, his smirk widening. “What is the Nest if not a place for us all to be ourselves?” He moves forward to flick her nose playfully. “Don’t worry, darling, he’ll not take your place in my heart.” Raven narrows her eyes at him, and he laughs and plucks her knife from her hand, laughing. “Not everything is about sex, Raven.”

Raven rolls her eyes and snatches her knife back. “Don’t play with toys you don’t know how to use,” she says. Morden starts to brush past her, and she grabs hold of his upper arm, sharply. “I didn’t join your little club to be left out of the loop, Morden,” she growls.

Morden raises his eyebrows at her, and a current of energy runs up her arm from where she has hold of his bicep. Raven leaps backward with a yelp. Morden laughs at her again.

“You joined the Falconers in search of more opportunities to kill and maim, as I recall,” he tells her, ignoring her bared teeth. “This little side project will not stand in your way; you have my word of honor on that, Raven.”

And he sweeps off toward the stairs, leaving Raven to glare after him, rubbing her arm, which is numb to the shoulder.

It is not a particularly auspicious beginning to Raven’s relationship with Morden’s new “apprentice.”

——

In his third month of residence at the Falconer’s Nest, Raven spies the little wolf, whom Morden now calls Thorne despite Raven’s warnings that giving a dog a name is the first step to letting it sleep on the furniture, watching her during target practice in the training room. She sinks three knives in a line across the target dummy’s chest, and then turns to raise an eyebrow up to where he is crouched in the room’s rafters like an oversized silver housecat.

“Just when I am sure I have seen the very worst of your manners,” she says; he jumps so badly at being addressed that he has to scramble to keep his purchase on the ceiling beam. “Surely even you must know that it is rude to interrupt a lady at play, little wolf.”

Crow was the one who came up with that nickname, the first time the boy sat at the communal table with them. It was as though he’d never seen food before. Disgusting. They all use it now, because it’s a perfect fit: nothing more pathetic than a wolf who cannot even hunt.

The boy blinks down at her with his predator’s eyes, and then flushes and clambers down the support column he was sitting above, hiding half behind it when he’s at floor level.

“I— I wasn’t interrupting,” he says. His fangs are too big for his mouth, and he speaks with a slight lisp. “I was just— watching.”

Raven walks to the dummy to retrieve her knives, in case she wants to use them. “Watching a lady without her permission?” she says. “That’s a much more serious offense.”

Thorne flushes even more deeply. He is satisfyingly reactive, at least; one of them would probably have killed him by now if that wasn’t true. “Not— not like that!” he says quickly, holding up his hands in immediate surrender. “I was only— I thought—” He lowers his hands, looking away and shuffling his feet like a little boy. “I-I was wondering...” Now he looks up at her, under his lashes, one fang poking into his full bottom lip. “I was wondering if maybe... you could teach me?”

Raven stares at him. 

His flush deepens, improbably, but he pulls himself up to his full height, which is marginally more impressive than when he arrived clinging to Morden’s skirts three months ago. “I— I won’t be a burden. I can— I can help you practice, so you won’t be losing the time to teach me. I’m a fast learner, I can— I know I could be good, if you give me a chance.” Under his flush he is wearing a determined frown. Possibly he’s more aware of the Falconers’ disdain for him than he generally appears.

Raven feels a slow smile spreading across her face. “Really,” she says, looking Thorne up and down with more interest than she has thus far felt.

Of course Morden chooses that moment to enter the training room, the absolute spoilsport.

“Raven, have you— oh. There you are, Thorne.” Morden looks from Thorne to Raven, his eyes immediately narrowing— and landing on Raven, as though she were responsible for any of this. “I’m not interrupting, am I?” he says in a delicate voice with serrated edges.

“N-no, Master, of course not,” Thorne says desperately, and scurries off into the hallway, presumably toward whatever he was supposed to be doing instead of bothering her. Morden gives her a long look before he turns to follow. Raven rolls her eyes, and turns back to her practice.

——

“Raven,” Morden says that night. “Thorne says you offered to teach him to use your throwing knives. In fact, he says you were going to let him help you practice.” 

Raven, interrupted in the act of giving her hair the hundred strokes it needs, sticks her tongue out at Morden’s reflection over her shoulder. “Your little wolf is a snitch,” she says, going back to her careful brushing. “And I didn’t ‘offer,’ it was his stupid idea.”

Morden narrows his eyes at her. “Raven. I have plans for Thorne. Plans which require him more intact than you leave your little ‘playmates.’ I will not allow you to set my research back because you are bored or jealous or whatever else your problem with him is.”

Raven spins on her stool to face him, slamming her brush down on the vanity hard enough to put a crack in the wood. “You won’t allow me?” she snarls. “I wasn’t aware you’ been my dsainted mother all these years, Morden.”

Morden bares his teeth, deliberately letting his aura crackle through the air; Raven does not draw back from it, though it is a bit of an effort. “On the contrary, I am your superior,” he says. “And I am ordering you not to compromise my work with Thorne.”

“And what in seven hells makes you think I want to play with your clumsy little apprentice, Morden Crane?” Raven cries, indignant.

“You— you didn’t agree to train with him, did you?” Morden relaxes, his aura folding back in and his hair settling back around his shoulders; he runs a hand through it, laughing ruefully. “That idiot. I’ll have to remember that his inability to lie doesn’t protect him from the dangers of wishful thinking.” He sighs and waves a hand dismissively. “Never mind, then, Raven. You may return to your primping.” And he shuts himself back out of her room without so much as a half-apology.

Raven’s hand tightens so suddenly on her hairbrush that the polished handle cracks in half.

[voidendron]

Deep Blue Sea, Ch. 19

<<<Chapter 18 | Chapter 20>>> [wip]

Chapter 19: The Aurora Subnautica/JSE Egos Crossover

hiiii it’s been a while oops- I have a new hyperfixation, so working on Ego stuff has actually gotten pretty difficult, but I’ll do my best to update this whenever I’m motivated to do so!

Warnings: Swearing, Arguing, Knives Characters: Chase Brody, Marvin the Magnificent, Second Officer Keen, Jackieboy Man (briefly), Dr. Schneeplestein (briefly) POV: Chase Brody

“Warning: Local radiation readings suggest the Aurora’s drive core has reached critical state. Quantum detonation will occur within two hours.”

“…Hey, Chase. Remember what you said yesterday? That thing you were so confident about? What was it you said again?” Marvin asked as he glared down at his PDA. His diving mask was pushed up on his forehead while he treaded water with his free arm.

The repairman’s groan was muffled by his mouthpiece as he ducked his head under the surface to avoid his companion’s glare. That had to be literally one of the worst things to be wrong about.

A hand on his suit dragged him back above the surface, then moved to pull his mask off. “C’mon. What did you say?”

“…That the Aurora won’t blow up.”

“That the Aurora won’t blow up, right! And what’s about to happen?”

“…The Aurora’s gonna blow up?”

“The Aurora’s gonna blow up!” Marvin grumbled something under his breath, then with the flat of his palm smacked the water with a curse. “Just great! Wonderful! Let’s get back to the goddamn habitat.”

Both men pulled their masks back down over their faces and began the swim back with the materials they’d gathered to add to the growing collection. Chase could feel the dread in the pit of his stomach the whole way there, the worry, the “what ifs” lingering in the back of his mind. He was a repairman, not an engineer. Hopefully the damage wouldn’t be as severe as the warning made it sound…

When they entered the habitat, the drainage system seemed to take ages before they were finally able to push the bulkhead open. Both Seaglides were tucked out of the way along with the supplies, then Chase cast his eyes around the too-cramped room.

Jameson, already on his feet and moving to start putting the new materials away in their respective lockers. Henrik, tending to Jackie’s injury again while cussing him out over something. Keen, rubbing at his chin while he scowled down at his PDA’s cracked screen. It wasn’t long before his eyes shifted from the device, up toward Chase and Marvin. He pursed his lips, then, “Quantum detonation. We don’t know the shape that will leave the ship in.”

“And?” Marvin asked.

“And, for all we know, it could take out the computers that the data package was sent to.”

“Well…actually,” Chase interrupted, “detonation’s gonna be in the drive core, right? The drive core and some of the major computer systems are pretty damn far from each other. Multiple walls between ‘em—hell, they’re even on different levels, and the computers get their power from multiple places throughout the ship just in case one or more of its sources goes down. Long as the entire ship doesn’t decide, ‘Hey! Fuck this shit!’ then the package should be okay, even if I can’t repair the drive core.”

“Okay… How’re you so sure while Keen’s worried, thought?”

“Hey, no offense to Keen, but I’m the repairman. I’ve been on every level and in every room of that damn ship to fix shit no one else could be bothered with. He was one of the highest ranking officers there. Doubt you even set foot in the engine room or JJ’s cafe, like, ever, did ya?”

“…He’s right.” Keen nodded, tucking his PDA away. “Brody likely knows the layout of the ship better than anyone, save the engineers who built it. It you believe the main computers will be safe, I’ll take your word for it, then.”

One hour ticked by. He, Marvin, and Keen were now sticking close to the habitat as they gathered materials. Going inside during detonation would probably be the safest bet, right?

Fifteen more minutes. Marvin had already gone in to start getting more power cells and batteries crafted, leaving the officer and Chase to continue scavenging just a little while longer.

At half hour to detonation, they both made their way back into the habitat to join the others. Time seemed to stretch for ages as they sat around in tense silence—Jameson was chewing his nails, Marvin played with his hair, Chase couldn’t help the anxious tapping of his foot.

All six PDAs gave a warning beep that had Chase jumping even as he’d been expecting it. They echoed one another in an eerie monotone, each survivor moving away from the window as the words droned from their devices.

“Emergency: A quantum detonation has occurred in the Aurora’s drive core. The reactor will reach a super critical state in T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five—” Chase closed his eyes and scrunched his fists into the fabric of his dive suit, “—four, th-three-ee-ee, t-t-two-two…”

Even underwater, even inside the habitat, he could feel the shock wave from the explosion rip through the water around them: The way it threw sand up at the window, the habitat creaking, lights flickering, projectile shrapnel from the ship itself clanging as it hit the shallowly submerged habitat hard enough that in one spot off in the corner if even started a leak.

Then, it was over.

Just like that, everything went quiet as the survivors took a collective breath. So quiet, Chase grimaced when their PDAs chirped again with, “For your convenience, the radiation suit has been added to your blueprint database.”

Chase actually found it in himself to snort. “…At least one good thing comes outta that.”

“I’m almost scared to see the ship, now.” Jackie’s voice, through gritted teeth, as he winced with every step toward the window. Not like looking out of it would do any good. Not with the sand disturbed. It would be a while before the water was clear again in their shallows. “I mean, that had to be some explosion, right?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve gotta go and at least try to repair the drive core.”

“Well, I’m goin’ with you.”

“To hell you are!” Henrik scoffed. “You can barely stand and the water is no good for your injuries, Mann!”

Marvin shook his head even as he gathered up supplies from the lockers for the new blueprint. “Like hell am I going anywhere near the ship. I’m not dealin’ with a Reaper again.”

“I’m not goin’ alone! Someone’s gotta watch my—”

“I’ll go.” Keen was already at the fabricator that Marvin had put the supplies on, letting it read his PDA so it could get the sizing for the new suit correct. When Chase opened his mouth to protest, the older man simply put a hand up to stop him there. “I slept through the night and most of the morning—I’m rested and my injuries were minor. I’ll accompany you to the ship.”

The suits were heavier than their previous ones, but not n a way that hindered them as much as Chase had expected. The only downside was that the flippers were smaller—stiffer—but he supposed that would be good for when they got onto the actual ship and couldn’t take the flippers off unless they wanted radiation poisoning. Regular ones would have had them falling on their faces on dry land. The helmets also had a wider field of vision from the masks or rebreathers, and no mouthpiece so they could speak while keeping them on—another plus.

“One of you should take the Seamoth, and the other use a ‘Glide,” Marvin said as he handed both of them fully-charged Seaglides. “The ‘Moth’s a bigger target, but also a lot faster. If the Reaper goes after one of you, it’ll chase whoever’s in that, and it’ll have a better chance at escaping. Then the one with the ‘Glide can get past safely.”

“With any luck, we won’t run into one of these ‘Reapers’ at all.”

“Heh. Be nice if somethin’ goes our way for once, huh?”

A final nod to their companions, one last supply check (survival knives, extra batteries, laser cutter, scanners, first aid kit, repair tool—all accounted for), and they pulled the bulkhead open, waited for the teeny little corridor between it and the hatch to flood, then left the habitat.

Keen was the one to take the Seamoth, leaving Chase to trail behind. Smoke still rose from the ship as they approached, there were pieces of the hull that looked like they were barely held on by a few bolts, and the water was so murky from the disturbed sand that he couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face and could barely tell which way was up when completely submerged.

It made the knowledge that there was a massive creature, somewhere out there, all the more terrifying. It could be swimming inches away from them and they’d never even know it.

The first time Chase heard the Reaper’s cry, he could have sworn his blood turned to ice right then and there. His breath caught in his throat, even as he realized the sounds were from far off. So far, it seemed the last few hundred yards to the ship would go without incident.

That didn’t change the fact that it was the most terrifying sound he’d ever heard and didn’t dare duck his head under the surface.

Ahead of him, the Seamoth sped up slightly before falling back again (hesitantly) so he could actually keep up. Keen had heard it, too.

They hugged the side of the ship when they finally reached it, searching for any points of entry that may have been torn into it. It didn’t take long to find one: The entire front half of the Aurora had been ripped apart by the explosion, and Chase’s stomach twisted. He really hoped they wouldn’t find any bodies once they got on board.

“Warning: Ship’s structural integrity is low. Fire suppression equipment and laser cutters may be required. Exploration is conducted at your own risk.”

“Thanks, PDA…” Great. They’d forgotten fire extinguishers. At least they’d been plentiful on the ship—they had a good chance of stumbling across one in their time aboard.

Keen parked the Seamoth as shallowly as he dared on a sloped piece of metal that would have to act as their ramp into the ship. They both hauled their Seaglides up under one arm, survival knives in the other. There were Cave Crawlers everywhere… A part of Chase told him that human bodies would probably be nonexistent with those things on board, and it took everything he had not to gag at the thought.

“Don’t let them rip your suit,” the officer demanded as he used his Seaglide as a bludgeon on one that lunged at him. It fell stunned at his feet, only for him to kick it off into the water. Chase would have snorted if not for the unease that settled over him as he got a good look at the smoldering remains of the ship, at twisted metal, at collapsed floors that used to be rooms and command center.

The repairman swallowed, holding his knife close as they continued up the “ramp” that he was starting to recognize as the floor that should have led straight to command.

“What do you think we’ll find on board?”

“…I don’t know. Let’s just worry about the drive core first.”

“Right. Yeah, okay.”

It was easy to find, once they got past all the crabs and into the ship, once they helped each other clamor over too-heavy crates that had fallen in the way of one of the corridors. H eknew the ship’s layout from bow to stern, after all. Now…

Now Chase could only frown as he looked down into the water that had flooded the drive core room. There were…things in there. Swimming about, attacking one another…

He pulled his scanner from his hip when one came close enough to the platform—the scanner dubbed them “Bleeders”—and then glared at all the damage he could see from where he stood. They kind of reminded him of cuttlefish. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be—he even figured it should be fairly easy to repair from what he was seeing—but if those Bleeders tore his suit..?

When he turned to Keen, the older man had his hands on the railing, eyes fixed on one of the creatures as it circled near them, clearly trying to figure out how to get at them. “They’re like leaches,” he said without looking to Chase. “Had one attack me when I left my lifepod. Don’t let them latch on.”

“Think you can keep ‘em away from me while I repair?”

“I believe so.”

They set their Seaglides near the door to keep them out of the way of feet and tools and knives and Chase got to work on the damage he could reach from the platforms, first.

Without looking away from his work, Chase asked, “So… What’re we gonna do about that Sepse guy? Just…leave ‘im here when we leave?”

“I hate to say it, but yes. He’s been here alone for too long and attempting to get him on a ship off world would just put anyone involved in danger.”

“Fair enough.” One spot finished, he moved on to the next. He’d have to go in the water soon. “Got another question for ya: The rest of Sepse’s crew. The Mongolians? Any idea how they ended up here? Marv thinks they were looking for habitable planets.”

“Why they were here, no.” Chase could tell by the sound of his voice that Keen had his back turned to him to watch the Bleeders beneath their platform. “It… But it’s why we’re here.”

When he spun around to face the officer, he about caught his own finger with the repair tool. “…What do you mean by that?”

Careful with the knives, Keen crossed his arms with a sigh and shook his head. “The Degasi went missing a decade ago. To improve relations with the Mongolian settlement, Alterra gave the Aurora a secondary mission: To find out what happened to its crew. This system was its last known location, and we came close to the planet in an attempt to scan. That’s the only reason we were equipped with diving gear and appropriate vehicles.”

“So this…this…” Chase went to pinch his nose but only bumped the glass on his helmet. So instead, he threw his hands up, nearly catching Keen with his still-active tool. “Why didn’t the rest of us know about this?! Some…secret fucking mission could be what kills us all!”

“It was meant to be a simple scan. But something happened, Brody. And I have a feeling what happened to us is what also brought down the Degasi.”

“Doesn’t fucking change the fact the rest of the crew should’ve known. That Mongolian emissary—Khasar?—that’s why he was on board, wasn’t it? So you could figure out what the hell happened and he could tell his people. Why the fuck would that be kept from the rest of us, man?”

“Because nothing was expected to come of it! If something was discovered we would have sent people down while the Aurora continued on its course to set up the phasegate. This—” he gestured at the flooded room around them, “—was never supposed to happen.”

“Awesome. Good to know we’re stranded ‘cause someone was curious about a crew that went missing ten fuckin’ years ago.” He shouldered past Keen to move on to the next spot that needed repairing.

Curiosity killed the cat, Chase thought bitterly. He reached a hand up for the pendent at his throat, could feel it under the thick fabric of his suit. Someone else’s curiosity could be what never let him see his kids again, dammit.

“…Did Doc know? He keep this shit from us?”

“No. Schneeplestein was too new to the crew. He was one of the few ranking officers who wasn’t informed.”

Chase shook his head and muttered under his breath, checked the battery on his repair tool—

“Brody—”

“Can it.”

—and stepped off the platform into the water below. The nearby Bleeders immediately went after him but the super-heated end of the repair tool worked even better on them than he’d expected. It wasn’t long before Keen was there with the knives so Chase could use the tool as it was actually meant to be used, however. Just focus on the job at hand for now, he told himself. Repair the drive core so you don’t have to worry about the radiation.

It took a lot of time—a few hours, by Chase’s estimation—before he was finally positive every leak in the core was repaired. Or…“repaired” since it wasn’t like it would ever run again anyway. At least now the leak was stopped.

When they surfaced again, Chase was the one to take the leader after they’d snatched up their Seaglides.

“When we get back, you better fuckin’ tell the others about the secret little mission that killed over a hundred people. Got it?”

He didn’t give Keen a chance to answer, instead storming off for another part of the ship.

To the computers then, he thought. Let’s see what that package is.

[falling--in--place]

25 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @sixstepsaway ♥ Thank you darlin! I may have done this before? Idk, I love tag games so I’m doing it anyway!

1. Is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

Not exactly? The book I’m working on now is exactly where I want to be with my writing right now. I am holding off on revisiting an old one though. It needs a complete rewrite and re-release. I held myself back so much, but I’m just not sure I should do it. I decided I’m going to though. Just a matter of when the need to do surpasses my hesitation... So, we’ll see! 

2. What work of yours, if any, are you embarrassed about existing? 

The first book I published. Embarrassed probably isn’t the right word though. It isn’t as good as it should be, and it needs sooooo much, but it helped me get to where I am. It was needed, but it is definitely not my best. Hence the rewrite at some point. 

3. What order do you write in? Front of book to back? Chronological? Favorite scenes first? Something else? 

Pretty much beginning to end. I format my documents for publication before I even start writing. It gives me an idea of what it looks like and where I am with it. Sometimes a scene will strike me though, and I write it in a separate document to be saved until it is needed. From being on here I have discovered I do things very... strange. But hey, it works for me. 

4. Favorite character you’ve written?

Vanessa. Like, I love her so much. She is my hero. 

5. Character you were most surprised to end up writing?

Most of them? My characters just sort of show up and tell me stuff. I do my best to write it down. Vanessa is the most vocal, and she isn’t afraid to scoff at me when I do something she doesn’t approve of. 

6. Something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

I don’t think it’s ever really too late. I mean... I have a published book I’m going to pull and rewrite so... 

7. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

A little of both, honestly. On here it’s almost exciting to talk about it all, but when in person... It’s the source of a lot anxiety. Especially when it’s someone I know. It’s kind of hard to explain. I need to get better at talking about my books. I self-publish. Self-promotion is all I have lol

8. Favorite genre to write

Fantasy! Urban Fantasy has a special place in my heart, but the WIP I have right now is more in the epic fantasy class, but not fully?

9. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

Music. All of it. iPhone on shuffle, let all the words happen. I also read a lot. I dissect everything I read into why I like it and why I don’t and try to learn from that. 

10. Write in silence or with background music? Alone or with others?

Music Always with music. When I don’t put my headphones in I get distracted by literally everything around me. 

11. What aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

I feel like I’ve gotten better at knowing when to stop. I had always been so “HERE IS ALL THE INFORMATION I EVER FOUND FOR THIS BOOK AND YOU NEED TO KNOW IT ALL RIGHT NOW!” Info dumps in every chapter is not a good quality to have... I kicked that habit for the most part. I think I am much better writer for it!

12. Your weaknesses as an author?

Several? Editing is really hard for me because I get attached (and it takes forever!). Being overly descriptive of characters at first meeting. Fight scenes take a few tries... I usually write it, read it over, flesh it out to be better, then cut a bunch of stuff to add in a bunch of other stuff, and because of my anxiety... all of this has to be done before I can move on in the story.

13. Your strengths as an author?

I think I’m pretty good at setting the scene. 

14. Do you make playlists for your work?

Not really... Some songs tend to stick with a character or an event, but I don’t ever specifically set up playlists for my books.

15. Why did you start writing?

I had stories living in my head, and a need to tell them. 

16. Are there any characters who haunt you?

Of my own? Not really. I guess Harley does a little. Her story will get it’s retelling. 

17. If you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

Just.. write. Stop worrying about everyone else and their opinions. You can edit and fix later, and not everyone’s opinion needs air time. 

18. Were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? What were they?

Jennifer Estep, David Dalglish, Richelle Mead... I could go on, but I don’t think this is supposed to be a novel on it’s own. Estep showed me a smart, beautiful woman that didn’t give a shit about others opinion of her, but she still cared deeply for those around her. She also has a thing for knives which is badass. David Dalgish showed me that research is great, but sometimes you just have to flow and see where it takes you. He also gave me characters that were so fleshed out, real, and raw that I will forever carry them with me. I would love to give a nod to Haern in one of my books but I don’t know how and if that’s a thing I can do. Richelle Mead gave me some of the above, but also a romance that I could truly get behind. One that I could follow and love and cheer for. I’m not much for pure romance, her books aren’t btw, but with her couples... I could read a romance novel about them with pleasure. 

19. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

Uh... well... I tend to jot down a lot of notes and do a lot of swearing and scrolling back up to re-read things.

20. Do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

Both? Depends on the day and my mood. 

21. What do you think when you read over your older work?

I don’t have a lot of older work saved unfortunately. A lot of my older stuff was in notebooks that have gotten lost through the many moves I’ve had to make. So, the book I’ve mentioned before... It needs a re-write.

22. Are there subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

A lot of them actually... two of my main characters are gay. I was excited about that... then tumblr happened. Omg you guys... all the posts about do’s and don’t’s. and how many posts about insulting things people do with gay characters that they don’t seem to notice and..phew I could go on forever... I am a little terrified right now, but I’m working through it. James is so close to my heart. I’m writing him how I see him, and I’m just hoping no one will take it as offensive or insensitive. 

23. Any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

Pft... how long do I have? I live an interesting life. I’ve been through several different kinds of hell. I met an amazing group of people who support me. I am a living incarnate of Murphy’s Law. 

24. Have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

I wouldn’t say expert.... but I now understand the effects of a point blank gunshot to a bone, marriage rituals from all over the world, and how close you have to be to smell a dead body? 

25. Copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of.

Longer than “a short paragraph” but eh, just how I am. I’m not sure why I like this one so much. There are other that I like more, but I’ve posted them all at least once (some of them twice) so here is a new thing!

“Can you take me through it one more time, ma’am?” the officer said to me.

What I wanted to do was use one of the charred desks to kick his ass (literally) out the door. Or grab a roll of tape and cover his mouth with it. Whipping out my magic to boot the enforcement officers out of my place of business probably wouldn’t go over very well. It was tempting though. The story wasn’t that complicated. It happened in all of thirty seconds. This was the third time he’d asked me to run through the story again. Ellie and James weren’t fairing much better. Ms. Claudette was left alone for the most part. All it took was a complaint about her back and needing to check on her cats.

“Ms. Parker?”

“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve taken you through the story three times now. Four seems a touch excessive. There was a grenade, I contained the blast as best I could, you showed up. There it is. Now, if you don’t mind, I have shit to do.”

I spun on my heel and stalked away. Something I didn’t think all the way through since there isn’t much space in the office when it isn’t extra crispy. That didn’t slow me down though. I marched into the back office, yelled for Ellie to join me, now, and slammed the door as soon as she scooted in.

I’m think i’ll tag... @panticwritten, @hawksnbooks, @ava-burton-writing, @crazybunchwriter, @lakeeriesaltmine, @anolivewrites, @forlornraven, @leapwriter, @dantedevereaux, and @authorisada

As always, if you don’t want to be tagged or want to be tagged more often, let me know! 

[coffee-obsessed-writer]

The New World - Part 8

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

Daryl x Reader, Morgan x Reader, Negan x (like I’m gonna tell you here)

Warnings: Fluff, Language, Canon-divergence, implied smut, violence

Word Count: 5854

PREVIOUSLY ON…

“So, are you going to show me to my new home, or…. Do you wanna sit out here under the moonlight and remind me of what it means to be a fucking man?! Cause, no offense buddy, you really aren’t my fucking type. I was hopin’ for someone with more…” Negan dramatically made curves of a woman with his hands while licking his lips.

“Uh, follow me. Your quarters are all ready,” Gregory responded nervously and stepped quickly towards the back passage into The Hilltop.

“And, where is our lord and savior this evening? Has he fled the grounds yet to help all those poor fucking souls in need?” Negan inquired, casually sauntering behind Gregory and watching the man like a hawk.

“Yes, Jesus has left for The Kingdom as planned. I imagine they are all there now trying to sort it out.”

“Oh, I imagine that they fucking are, Gregory,” Negan purred to himself, a feeling of satisfaction settling into his core. “I imagine they are.”

Standing at the gates of The Kingdom, everyone that was going to Alexandria was packed and ready to head out. Ezekiel was reviewing plans with Jerry and Morgan for his absence, while Maggie and Glenn distracted Abe and Shelby while you could have a moment alone with Daryl.

He was nervous. Daryl didn’t get nervous very often and you chalked it up to him leaving you and the children behind. Chewing his bottom lip, his eyes were soft when they met yours.

Daryl reached deep into his pocket, “So, I… uh… got ya somethin’.”

When he pulled his hand out of his pocket, entwined in his fingers was a long silver chain. On the chain was a thin gold banded ring, with a small oval sapphire encased in tiny diamond chips.

“I know it’s nothing flashy, but when I found it, it made me think of you,” Daryl motioned to turn around. He clasped the necklace on, lightly brushing his fingertips down to the base of your neck after letting the chain fall.

You picked it up off your chest, but couldn’t fully take it in because of the tears welling in your eyes. “Daryl,” your breath hitched as you looked up at him, “It’s beautiful…”

Daryl used his thumb to gently wipe the tears that spilled down your cheek.

“But why the chain?” you were curious but knew that Daryl being Daryl, he had a reason.

“Well, that’s cause I can’t put it on your finger proper until we can see Gabriel and make it right,” Daryl rested his forehead against yours as he always did and wrapped his arms around your shoulders. “When we’re together again… all of us, I’m gonna put it on your finger like I shoulda back then…”

Speechless and more in love than you could remember, you cut him off with a kiss. You didn’t care who was around or who may be watching. You kissed him deeply, your tongue taking over his mouth and dancing with his like it was the first time.

Daryl emitted a low growl and picked you up, your legs automatically wrapping around him while your mouths were still firmly fused. Suddenly remembering where you were, you pulled back from his kiss and laughed.

He slowly put you back on the ground, and you kissed him one more time. “I love it baby, I love it so much. The second we are back home, you bet your ass this is going on my finger.”

“It better,” he whispered. Sighing, he looked up to Glenn who motioned towards the gates, “we gotta go baby,” he whispered, touching his forehead to yours one last time, he left a kiss where your hair met your brow, “I love you.”

“I love you too. Please be careful.”

Leaving the comfort of his personal space was harder than you thought it would be. You didn’t want to start crying so you turned to turned to Maggie and Glenn, giving them each a hug before the tears began to fall. You picked up Hershel and tickled his belly. “Be good for mama, ok buddy?”

The boy giggled heartily, and you passed him back to Glenn. Abe started to cry as his best friend was carried through the gates, his sobs only grew louder once Daryl gave him and Shelby their final goodbyes. Daryl followed Ezekiel and Jesus through the gates, turning once to give you a small wave, then left to make his way towards home.

Clutching at the ring hanging around your neck, you raised a free hand goodbye as Shelby and Abe clung to each one of your legs.

“Mama, when will daddy be back to get us?” Shelby asked looking up at you.

“Soon baby, soon,” you tutted and gently stroked the back of her long hair. “He can’t stay away from you guys for too long, he loves ya too much.” The sting of tears threatened the corner of your eyes, but you found the resolve to push them back.

  Hours had gone by and the children were easily distracted by all the morning activities in the Kingdom. Abe didn’t want to eat any lunch and finally relented to a nap. Susan, one of the school teachers offered to bring him to the room to sleep and watch him while you took Shelby to eat and have her first official riding lesson with Lana.

After Shelby’s lessons wrapped up, you went back to the room to check on Abe but knew something wasn’t right the moment you walked in the door. Susan was coming from the bathroom with a wet cloth in her hand and her voice thick with concern.

“I’m so glad your back,” her aged face was wrought with fear, “he was fine, then suddenly started throwing up in his sleep and now he feels feverish.”

“What?” you let go of Shelby’s hand and ran to check Abraham’s forehead. His little round face was bright red, beads of sweat on his brow. “Dammit! Where’s the doctor? Um…. Frank… Phillip? No…. FUCK! What’s his name Susan?”

“F—Fabian,” she squeaked out and reaching for Shelby’s hand.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to bark at you,” you apologized after seeing her reaction, “Fabian… can you please go get him…” you turned back to Abe who was kicking the covers off now.

“He’s at the Hilltop… I’m sorry Y/N, I thought you knew.”

“At the Hilltop? Why? They have Dr. Carson… why would Fabian go to the Hilltop?” Panic was starting to set in, both Susan and Shelby could see it written all over your face.

“They get together once every few weeks to review supplies and discuss any medical advancements they’ve made. I really thought you knew this, I’m so sorry hun.”

The panic was building but you knew that you had to hold it together for the kids, especially now that Daryl was many miles away on the long trip home and you had no way to reach him.

“Mama is Abey ok?” Shelby asked, letting go of Susan’s hand and taking yours instead.

“Yeah baby, he just needs some medicine and a doctor. But I don’t want you too close in case whatever he has is contagious.”

“What’s con-tan-jious mean mama?” she asked, her small voice started to sound nervous.

“It means he has germs, Shel,” you wiped Abe’s forehead and he settled back into sleep.

“Susan, can you grab Lana for me, please? I’m going to need a big favor from her.”

  “Open the gate!” you yelled up to the guards on sentry watch.

“Whoa, whoa, where do you think you’re goin’?” Morgan asked, quickly walking to catch up to you.

“The Hilltop. Fabian is there with Dr. Carson and Abraham is sick. I know there are some meds here, but I want the doctor to see him. I am not taking any chances.”

“Maybe just wait till the others get back…” he suggested with a shrug.

You turned and gave Morgan your full attention. “If you think I am waiting one more god damn second to go get a doctor for my son, you’re more delusional than Daryl already thinks you are.”

“Look, I’m not sayin’ don’t go. Let me go. Stay with your boy and I’ll go get Fabian.”

“No, I’m going.” The gate opened, and you marched through it without looking back. Morgan’s offer was tempting, but what if he didn’t make it? What if he got distracted? You couldn’t take the chance of not going yourself. And, if you were being honest, you didn’t fully trust Morgan either. He failed you once before and there was no way you would leave it up to anyone to do what Abraham needed you to do.

“Then I am coming with you,” he called after you, “just give me a minute to get my gear.”

“No, no need Morgan. Stay here and make sure the kids are safe. Shelby is staying with Lana and Abe is in the room with Susan. I’ll be back with the doctor by nightfall.”

With that, you got into the borrowed vehicle that was waiting for you outside the main gate and started on the half day’s journey to The Hilltop.

 Having the big wooden walls in your sights made you feel a sense of relief for making it safely. It had been at least a year since you’d last been at The Hilltop, but the entire place looked just as you remembered.

Turning off the ignition, you exited the car where the road met the mud, first making sure to that both of your knives were equipped and ready for use should you encounter any walkers as you hiked the last few hundred yards towards the gate. Approaching with your hands raised, you happened to recognize one of the guards on top the platform and addressed him by name hoping he would remember you as well.

“Stop! Identify yourself!” the second guard shouted down at you, his spear raised in a defensive stance. You looked up to the one you knew and spoke at him instead.

“Kal! It’s Y/N, Y/N Dixon, from Alexandria...” you called up to him, hands still half raised. “I’m unarmed and asking for entrance into The Hilltop.”

Kal looked down at something inside the gate and didn’t return his attention to you until what felt long a very long two minutes later.

“I really need to find Fabian from the Kingdom or even Dr. Carson… Kal?” you called up again and saw him nod to someone below.

“Alright, one second,” he said, just as the gate began to open.

The outside of The Hilltop looked the same, but the inside was very different from what you remembered. All the people that were normally buzzing about where gone, only a handful were sitting on their porches with their eyes cast down. Looking around curiously, you turned to ask where you might find either of the doctors, but your words dropped from your lips.

Standing in front of the now closed gates was Negan.

You immediately felt your whole body go numb and your stomach lurched but somehow you could remain still. Even though your instincts told you to try and run, you knew it was a fruitless effort. Negan’s tall frame stood squarely between you and the only exit to the community.

“Well now, no one told me it was Christmas fucking Day! Look at this God damn gift that just walked up to my brand new front door! Whatcha say darlin’? Much better than my previous accommodations, isn’t it?” He spread his arms wide, but his menacing eyes never left your face.

Negan looked just as he did years before when the war was still raging. You hadn’t laid eyes on him since Rick first locked him away in the cell; Daryl insisted on that. Sans deadly bat and leather jacket, he looked just like the memory you held of him from the night the war ended that you hid in the recesses of your mind.

“How the fuck…” you said, but not quite loud enough for him to hear you.

“What? What was that sugar?” Negan held a hand to his ear and took a few steps closer to you. “I missed that… wanna say it again?”

You stood silently glaring at the man, unsure of whether you should actually answer or not.

“Mmm, thought so.” Negan grinned and pursed his lips together as if he was holding onto a magnificent secret. “But, I will tell you one fucking thing! You are a sight for sore eyes, pretty lady… Yes, you are…” Negan flicked his tongue against his teeth and greedily took you in with his dark, hooded glare.

When he spoke again, he was only loud enough for you to hear him. “There are some women here, but certainly not ones with your… allure.”

He took a few more steps in your direction, but when he noticed the large hunting knife strapped but unbuckled on your hip, he stopped in his tracks.

“Hey, you,” he said turning and pointing to Kal, “take that knife off her and pass it here. This one’s been shackin’ up with Daryl, I am not giving her the fucking chance to even think about trying to turn me into sushi,” Negan chuckled darkly, turning his attention back to you.

Kal approached you cautiously, but you never took your eyes off the lunatic in front of you. When you felt him close, you gave him a sideways glare that caused him a moment of pause. Flickering a look to Negan, Kal continued to take the knife from your belt.

With its weight removed from your hip, you felt an even larger sense of unease. Knowing you had your second knife tucked away in your boot was the only saving grace to keeping you sane. You watched as Kal handed the knife to Negan, who slid it into his back pocket.

“Now, that’s better...” he took the last few steps closer to you, until he was barely a step away, “I don’t believe we’ve ever properly been introduced. I’m Negan… and you are… Y/N. Right? That’s what I heard you tell Kal… Y/N Dixon. So that means you and Daryl are married I take it?”

You glared at him but didn’t answer.  He took another step and leaned in, so his face was a breath away from yours. “I asked you a question…”

“Negan,” a voice called from behind you. You didn’t dare turn around but knew that it was Gregory and felt a rush of anger so strong it took all your willpower, and the faces of your family in your mind’s eye to stop you from strangling him to death. “What’s uh… What’s happening here?”

“We have a visitor, my good man!” He said, leaning slightly back from you, “Be a good host Gregory, and go make sure my new bedchamber has what the beautiful Mrs. Dixon may need while she stays with us,” he continued to stare you down while making demands. “While she’s with us, I want her to stay close.”

Negan drank you in slowly, starting with the contours of your neck down to your feet. Reaching out, he picked up the ring that rested just between your breasts and allowed his hands to linger on your skin and he plucked it up with his fingers, clearly relishing in your discomfort.

“Well, what is this, Mrs. Dixon? If I am remembering correctly, and trust me, it’s been a while, but aren’t you supposed to wear the ring on your fucking finger? Instead, you have it here… why?”

Your silence clearly infuriated him, but he held his composure and even offered you a snarky smile. “Could it be that Daryl hasn’t actually made an honest woman of you yet?”

He clucked his tongue and slowly shook his head. “What a dumb man… guess he doesn’t get the rules of the new world… At least MY fucking rules,” Negan barked, his demeanor twisting into something far more sinister. His expression the same as it was that night he had the cold steel of Rick’s pistol pressed to your temple while Shelby kicked endlessly in your belly.

“A woman’s fair game, you see, unless she’s already been claimed. You can call yourself Mrs. All you want, but this…” he ripped the chain from your neck and held it up in front of your face, “this tells me, your free to fuck whoever you like, sweetheart. Besides… I believe I owe Daryl one for that beatin’ he gave me right before I started my stint in Alexandria County Jail.”

As Negan advanced on you, you felt your knees start to give. The fear and anger that had been steadily rising since seeing his face was too much, and you felt the world grow fuzzy, then go completely black.

  Daryl’s group arrived in Alexandria from The Kingdom sometime in the middle of the night. As dawn brought its light upon the people of the safe zone, Rick was returning through the gates exhausted and more than slightly panicked.

“Rick… what the hell is goin’ on?” Daryl asked impatiently as the Sheriff walked through the front door where everyone had been waiting. Michonne followed closely behind him, along with Sasha. The three of them passed around a look of regret before Rick stepped forward and told Daryl the news he least wanted to hear.

“Negan’s gone.”

“What?!” His eyes narrowed at his best friend, his heart starting to pound uncontrollably in his chest. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Daryl, I’m sorry,” Rick squeezed his eyes shut and brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “It was Spencer. He was the one helpin’ him. We found the cell empty and Spencer dead.”

Daryl hung his head and sighed. His stomach turned at the idea of his family being so far away with Negan unaccounted for. The old familiar sensation of rage began to burn in his gut, and he had a desperate urge to return to the Kingdom and grab Y/N and the kids. But he had to know where Negan was first.

“How long?” he growled.

“Two days,” Rick confessed quietly.

“Two days?!” Daryl shouted, “What the fuck, Rick? You couldn’t come tell us?!”

“I thought we’d find him, Daryl. I didn’t think he’d get that far. I’m sorry…” Hands on his hips, Rick hung his head.

Shaking off the frustration, Daryl placed a hand on Rick’s shoulder. “It’s alright, brother. We’ll find ‘em. C’mon… Let’s talk to people and try an’ pick up the prick’s trail.”

Once Rick and Michonne were cleaned up and caffeinated, Rick called the entire community into the church to mobilize everyone into action with the objective being to locate Negan.

Scanning the faces scattered throughout the pews, Rick drew in a deep breath and before he could say a word, he realized someone was missing. Turning to Michonne who was sat behind him, he raised a brow. “Where’s Rosita? Is she on watch?”

Michonne shrugged, “Don’t think so. Eugene was out there last I checked.”

“Well, she needs to be here, she was on duty when…”

The sound of the chapel doors slamming shut turned everyone’s attention to the back of the church as Eugene burst through, a look of panic washed across his normally calm exterior.

“Rick! You gotta come see this,” he said, waving Rick and Daryl to follow.

Directing them up the platform Rick and Daryl looked out beyond the gates and down the road. There was a rogue car slowly going down the stretch of asphalt that led to the front gates of Alexandria. As the vehicle got closer, Rick and Daryl exchanged a confused look as they simultaneously noticed the walker chained to the front of the vehicle.  

Opening the gate, Eugene stepped aside as Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Sasha cautiously approached the vehicle as it rolled to a stop with all their weapons raised, scanning the landscape in every direction.

Rick quickly opened the driver’s door and turned the engine off finally bring the car to a halt. Daryl approached the walker and noticed two things pinned to it as it gnashed its decaying teeth in the archer’s direction. Bringing his knife down into its soft skull, Daryl ended the walker’s existence and leaned in for a closer look at what was around its neck.

The walker, who hadn’t spent too long as a undead human because the decay wasn’t too far gone, wore a long silver chain crudely tied together, with a sapphire ring hanging from its center. Pinned to the chain and the rotted cloth was a piece of paper with a note that read…

 “Hey, Daryl…

Your girl sure is pretty. Be a real shame if she ended up like this one. So now be a good boy and pass the note to my pal Rick… I’ll wait…

Hey, Rick…

I want my dirty girl back. If I get her safe and sound, maybe Daryl will get his dirty little whore back too. But not until after I see what makes her squeal first.

You have one day and I’ll be round to collect.

Tick Tock Fucker.

-N”

 Daryl felt his stomach twist and his knees go weak. Rick was there to grab him before he hit the ground. Snatching the paper from the walker’s shirt, he crumbled it into his pocket before Daryl could see it again.

When he got his footing, Daryl took the chain off the walker and held it gingerly between his fingers. Wrapping it into his fist, his eyes went dark with anger when they met with Rick’s.

“I’m gonna kill this fuckin’ piece of shit if it’s the last thing I do,” his voice was shaking with rage and the thought of Negan being anywhere near his wife. “And if he touches her, at all, I’m gonna make it slow, I can promise ya it’ll hurt,” he snarled.

Knowing that Negan had been close enough to take the chain and ring was enough to make him want to tear a path between there and wherever Negan was; damn the consequences or anyone who dared get in his way.

“We gotta find him first,” Rick said and looking to the others for some help. His brow furrowed when he noticed Michonne wasn’t among them. Scanning the crowd that since followed them from the church, he found her near the rear. She was walking back slowly, her head hung low and her face contorted in confusion.

Making sure Daryl had his feet under him, Rick pushed through the crowd towards Michonne.

“What is it?” he asked, almost afraid to hear what she had to say.

“She’s gone,” Michonne finally met Rick’s eyes, and he didn’t like what he saw there.

“Who – Who’s gone?” he asked hesitantly.

“Rosita… she’s gone,” Michonne raised her hand and held out a folded piece of paper.

Rick closed his eyes and sighed. Taking the paper, but not reading it, he shoved it into his pocket and cocked his head to the side. Drawing in a deep breath, he turned to Michonne.

“Can you get everyone back to the church? We need them armed and ready.”

Michonne nodded and went about rounding up the Alexandrians to brief them on the situation. Rick turned back to Daryl after watching his wife walk away and rested a hand on his shoulder. Daryl was staring blankly at the ground as Ezekiel and Paul flanked them.

“What’s going on Rick?” Paul asked, concern creeping in on his face, as was Ezekiel’s.

“Looks like Negan has Y/N,” Rick said quietly, feeling Daryl’s body tense at the mention of her name.

“How is that possible?” Ezekiel asked, his royal façade dropping and replaced with a streak of panic for his friend and for his people. “She was with the children at The Kingdom! No way he alone breached the walls and absconded with her.”

“Only one way to find out,” Daryl spat and stormed off towards the arsenal with the intention of getting armed for another war.

  Negan pushed you down into the chair hard enough for your head to bounce off the high back. The impact was enough to bring you back around from your unconscious state. The second your eyes opened, you were struck with a sick panic.

Your hands and ankles were bound together, and a tight gag was pulled across your mouth. Negan positioned you up straighter in the chair and went about securing you to it.

“Look who’s finally awake and ready to rejoin the party!” Negan bellowed with an expression like the cat that just ate the canary. “Little darlin’, you and I are about to have a whole lotta fun.” He winked at you, and once your body was tightly tied to the chair he sauntered away as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Negan returned about ten minutes later with a large tray of bread and fruit along with two bottles of tequila and a backpack that he thoughtlessly tossed on the bed. Placing the platter and bottle down on the table next to you, he knelt in front of you, staring thoughtfully at your face.

“Now, can I remove this to allow you to eat, without worry about you trying to bite me or scream or some shit like that?” His voice was even and, you hated to even think the word, kind.

You nodded, unsure of what was going to happen, but knew eating something to help keep your strength was borderline necessary. Removing your gag, Negan snatched up a slice of an apple and held it to your mouth. He tauntingly ran the apple across your lips and when the juice from it dripped down your chin, he made it quickly disappear.

“Oh damn, I see you're tied up, let me get that for you,” leaning into you, Negan used his tongue to lick the drops of apple juice from your chin. Stopping right at the base of your mouth, he sucked a little too hard and caught your bottom lip in his, then released it with a pop.

“Hmmm, I can see why Daryl keeps you around, you taste pretty fucking sweet,” his dark brown eyes were boiling with lust as he contemplated what exactly he was going to do with you.

Seeing the fear and disgust you threw at him caused him to recoil slightly, but not enough for you. Negan smirked and allowed you to eat the apple slice before standing up and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“You see… I remember you. I bet you didn’t think I did,” He said snidely, kicking one leg over so his boot rested on his opposite knee. Slowly removing it from his foot, he did the same to the other side and cast them off to the corner.

“But, I do, Y/N, I do. That night I nearly beat Rick to death and got my hands on his gun, I remember you. I saw you back behind the cars, you’re big ole belly out to here,” Negan mockingly held his hand out at the peak of his stomach, rubbing up and down as if he had a swollen belly. “That idiot with the stick, he could’ve killed me, but he didn’t. He was too much of a fucking pussy to pull the trigger! So, when I saw you close enough for the takin’ I figured, why the fuck not.”

Getting up from the bed, Negan walked around to the other side of the room and locked the door. “Now, normally, I don’t mess with women and children. It was just a code I set for myself and my people, back when I had people.”

Grabbing another piece of fruit, he offered it to feed it to you which you took hesitantly. “Good girl,” he purred before he continued talking. You chewed and swallowed, grateful for the sweetness of the apple coating your dry throat.

“Then why me?” you dared ask.

“Truthfully? I was pissed, and I wanted to hurt Rick. I wanted to hurt them all. What a better way than to fucking murder a pregnant woman, right?!” he snorted and shook his head, “but I saw a chance to do the most damage and I took it.”

“Too bad it didn’t work,” you knew you were pushing your luck, but sitting around and listening to how he decided to kill you wasn’t something you wanted to hear about.

Negan was in mid-motion picking up another slice of apple when he carefully placed it back down. Crouching down, he wore a smile, but his eyes were screaming a warning at you to be careful.

“It is too fucking bad, but you know what’s even worse?” his voice was soft, but the danger that lingered behind it wasn’t lost on you. “What’s worse, is that Carl didn’t fucking kill me when he put that bullet through my shoulder and that Daryl didn’t beat me to death like he wanted to. Because now, sweetheart, I am still fucking here to take out all these years of pent-up frustration out on you after all,” he touched his finger lightly to your nose.

A chill raced down your back, but you sat up as straight as you could. “Negan, I came here because my boy is sick. Please let Fabian go back to The Kingdom so he can check on him.”

“Your boy?” Negan sat back on his heels, examining you carefully. “That the one that was in there when I was about to kill you?”

You shook your head.

“So, you have more than one now? Damn! You and that dirty fucker have been busy! Unless…” he playfully rubbed his hand over his stubble, his smirk growing into a full-blown grin, “… maybe they aren’t both his. Is that it?”

“No,” you spat, unable to control the hatred you felt for him.

“Well, maybe we’ll see how tonight goes. If you’re a good girl, maybe I’ll put a kid up in there too.”

His taunting expression was enough to break the thin damn holding back your tongue. You learned as close to him as you could. When he didn’t move away, you allowed a grin of your own to unfold across your face.

“If you think for one second I would let you put your dick anywhere near me, you are just asking to get your throat slit. If I even see its withered little head poking out in my direction, I’ll start by slicing it off and shoving it up your ass. Then, I’ll slip it down your throat for you to gag on as I watch you bleed out slowly.”

Negan’s eyes flashed with excitement as his tongue ran across his lips. “Oh, sweetheart, if you didn’t want me to go and get all turned on, don’t be talking so fucking dirty!”

A sudden beating at the bedroom door turned both of your attention towards it. Negan quickly placed your gag back on and pulled your chair into the far corner of the room before heading towards the door.

The pounding knocks came again followed by a string of muffled Spanish that you didn’t understand. “Open the fucking door you fucking prick!” a woman’s voice, a familiar voice, was shouting.

Passing a glance at you, Negan went for the door and unlocked it. The second he touched the handle, the woman on the other side pushed her way in and right past him.

Over the constraints of the gag, your eyes grew wide when you saw that it was Rosita who broke through the door. She didn’t see you sitting in the shadowed corner, her attention was fully on Negan.

“What the fuck? You killed him?” Her small but powerful fist connected with his chin, causing him to reel back in surprise. “That wasn’t part of the plan asshole!” You could see the rage burning on her face and even though you were shocked by her part in it, you delighted in seeing her hit him.

“That is no way to say hello Rosita,” Negan rubbed at the spot where she hit him, “especially when we have a guest,” he motioned towards you in the corner.

Her eyes found you and a look of panic streaked across her face. “What the fuck? What is she doing here? You're supposed to be at The Kingdom!” Rosita stormed towards you in a huff.

Negan grabbed her arm before she could reach you and pulled her back. “She showed up here, something about needing a doc for her kid… the boy.”

“Abraham is sick?” she asked you and you nodded slightly. “The Kingdom’s doc was on his way out as I was coming in, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She said, turning her attention back to Negan. “They’re all going to know where you are now. Maybe it’s time to move on like we planned.”

“Sorry darlin’,” Negan said slowly releasing her arm, “change of plans.”

“What the fuck does that mean? We agreed, if Spencer and I got you out, you’d just go. THAT was the plan.”

“Plans change,” Negan growled at her.

“You promised!” Rosita yelled and went to hit him again. Negan caught her arm in time and twisted it, causing her face to contort with pain.

“Hit me again Rosita, and you can end up the same fucking way Spencer did.”

Her body relaxed, and he let go of her arm. “So, what are you doing with her,” she motioned towards you. You heard a bit of disgust in her voice and couldn’t understand where it was coming from. You and Rosita had never exactly been friendly, but you couldn’t remember anything that stood out that would cause her to hate you or help Negan for that matter.

“I was going to fuck her, but then you came on it and ruined the mood!”

“That’s Daryl’s fucking wife, you can’t…” Rosita’s hands were on her hips, and even though she was defending you, you could tell she wasn’t going to be of much help getting you untied.

“Wife? You've mistaken Rosita,” he looked past her and at you and winked, “Y/N and I have already had that discussion, haven’t we sweetheart.”

“Still… why would you want to touch her when you could have me instead?”

Negan’s gaze snapped back to Rosita, a smile starting to roll across his face. “Now you’ve got my attention…”

“Good,” she purred and slipped a hand up around his neck. She passed a glance over her shoulder at you, “can you do something about that?”

Negan walked around Rosita and towards you. When he was close enough he bent down to be eye level with you. “You are going to watch me fuck this woman until she screams. I’m going to be watching, to see if you’re watching. And, Y/N, if you’re not watching, I cannot guarantee that you will make it back to see your boy… do we have an understanding?”

“I will not have sex with you while she watches,” Rosita shook her head at him, hands still firmly planted on her hips. “Just let her go or get rid of her or something.

Turning to Rosita, Negan stalked towards her. “Sorry darlin’, this is just how it’s gonna be. You see, when you let me out, you agreed to puttin’ me back in charge. And I want that one to know, who’s in charge…”

Before she could react, Negan’s hand gripped the back of Rosita’s head and sharply yanked it backward. “You feel me Rosita?” he drew out her name in a low growl.

“Yes,” she croaked, but her eyes rolled back with the look of lust as Negan’s mouth crashed down onto hers.

“Yes, what?” he snarled at her as his nose brushed against hers.

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s better,” Negan flickered a look in your direction before turning back to Rosita. “Now, take off your clothes and get on the fucking bed.”

Tags: @kazosa @soythedemonqueen @onlydarylnormanfic @jodiereedus22 @his-paradox @zombeeemomeee @tiquismiquis @sorenmarie87 @redm81 @rhyatt-deauxtreve @kingdixonreedus @reedusteinrambles @aquivercactus @buckyscrystalqueen  @see-you-then-winchester @hyphymanatee @adixon13 @rawr-bitchess @kgbrenner @fictionaldemon @thewalkingbucky @bikerdaryldixon @lefthologramdeer

[kote-the-inn-keeper]

Rings: Theory.

So, I was talking with someone earlier today about several topics, and one topic that came up were all of Kote’s rings. Why does he have so many? Does he really know all the names of those things? Will he ever get all of these? I’ll try and talk about this the best I can in this post. 

To save the poor eyes of some, I will be putting this under a cut.

Hello, hello! Here we go.

Now, as we know, rings go on specific hands in places yadda yadda. I will get there, just wait. Where we are going to start is that Kote has said he had TWO hands of rings. One on every finger: Stone, Iron, Amber, Wood, Bone on one hand. The other hands: Blood, Air/Wind, Flame, Ice, Unnamed.

That’s 10 rings. I’ll be going over the ideas of every ring. So get ready as you go ahead past this point. Left hand for Namer’s earned rings for mastering of skill, Right hand “something none of you can comprehend yet” as said by Elodin. But,as for the right, I will be going with the idea it is gifted rings to Kvothe, not whatever Elodin was trying to possibly imply.

Let’s start general, shall we, with one question: Does he really know the name of all these things? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

So before you jump and scream ‘All things have names’, that is NOT the argument I am making here. All things DO have names, but he doesn’t KNOW all of them. The way he presents the rings establishes the idea that he knows names of all these things [listed above], when in fact, he does not. As much as our little red headed boy is a genius and prodigy, he took a book and a half to call Wind, his first and major goal. Even then, it isn’t mastered or under control until [assumedly] the scene at the Adem Mercenaries when he calls the wind to stop so he can walk out from the tree of leaves that are like knives. That’s is ONE, not nine different rings. But, he does have some of these other ones; not through naming.

TL;DR: He didn’t learn the names of all these things / will not. He has picked these up as time has gone in some manner.

1. Wind. 

Since that is literally the name of the book and his main mission in life. Wind has been obsessed over and searched for and brought many troubles to Kvothe through his time of learning it. It is assumed that he has the ring, by what he says to Elodin and such interaction on the bridge at that point in The Wise Man’s Fear. To loosely cap, the two were on the bridge talking, and Kvothe was being himself and snarky. Elodin lead into explaining the nature of knowing names is to have a ring of said element; then asking Kvothe if he HAD a ring of air/wind. To which Kvothe basically replied ‘you don’t know lmao get rekt’, and never said if he did or not directly. So, it’s okay so assume he has Wind/Air ring on his hand, since he said it in his own shit eating grin manner. But that’s one of nine he has ‘named’.

Before I continue, on a side note, it has been mentioned that NAMER rings go on a specific hand. If you read the passage that speaks of the rings Kote owns, it’s not specific. It says “One one hand.... On the other hand...” Which can lead some people to be confused. But this actually opens the door the thought that not all these rings come from naming; but other places and are on his hands for other reasons. The rings are also listed in a manner to tell us this hand is the gifted / possibly stolen hand, these are the named hand. It starts with the normal hand first, then the ‘magic’ hand, so keep that in mind!

And backtrack, since that point came in, apologies!

2. Iron and Wood. 

All things have names, sure. But, I think where this one came from was rather obvious. Well, these two, at least.

Following along the lines of this hand of rings being presented as a gift in one way or another, if we go back to The Wise Man’s Fear, there was a ring system to show respect, status, and more in Vintas [where the Maer lives]. Gold is those above you, silver for equals, and iron for those below. Now, as we read further, we know Gold and Silver and Iron are most common, but not the only ring possible. The tradition came from the common people, where the rings are / were: Grass to women one is ‘courting’ [that’s sex fyi just in case you were not aware tbh I wasn’t don’t feel bad], Leather for promises, Horn for power and enmity, Bone for debt that is ever lasting, Wood was used for those FAR below you and a serious offense. “But, Sam, you listed half the rings on that hand in one go!” Yes, I know. I’m getting to some points, but focusing on stone first. 

As we know, he had a bowl of rings, and had many different ones; the inflow of them changed after events; but started off mostly Iron and and Meluan [fanon / heavily assumed to be Kvothe’s aunt] having the guts to send one of wood. With this, we know he worse some of them, unknowingly of course at first. 

Now, Kvothe, being himself, is rather obviously going to wear the rings of Iron and Wood as a huge ‘Fuck you’ towards those who sent them to him. It’s a constant battle, due to his heritage, to not be seen as lesser. So instead, Kvothe prances such about to make everyone else look stupid and like the conceded assholes they are. So, with this, he kept the ring of wood and one of the rings of Iron. While I believe it is also as a reminder of him time there, evidence if you will, the ring of Iron has more use.

Fae don’t like Iron, as many don’t from traditional tales. While he didn’t know many fae at the time, he had meet them before. While he didn’t take more than one, he kept one on him as possible self defense -- or it became that later down the road. Say a fae grabbed him, he could grab them or swing his hand to press the Iron into their skin to get them to let go. This is a very weak link as to why he has Iron, but the ring of Iron was built up later to have more meaning than the original intention. Which left wood on his hand as a huge ‘fuck you’ and owning the ring instead of letting the meaning own him; considering his ‘aunt’ [stated before supposed and heavily implied due to his fathers poem about his mother] sent it to him soly based on his heritage and looks.

3. Bone. 

This is also kind of obvious, I think, as well and in the same way is connected to the point above. Stapes gave him the ring of bone after saving the Maer’s life. These rings are generally made from the giver’s relatives to show just how dedicated and how much life the person owes the other. Pretty clear on why Kote still has that and why that one is not something named, instead, gifted. Not much more to say here... I don’t think?

It was gifted to him and he kept it.

4. Stone. 

Now, we know Stone has a name, so why is this one listed on the hand that doesn’t have names? We could assume many things about this. One being that it’s a gift, another being he stole it and doesn’t know the name, and a third being it’s not the type of name that a Namer goes for. Going along the lines that this has been gifted like the others on this hand; it could be given to him by Fela -- someone we KNOW knows the name of stone canonly -- for one reason or another. We could go on for days with reasons, but it is possibly, one way or another, she gifts it to him. Or stolen from her or some UNGODLY REASON.

Going along the lines of ‘Oh, but, what if the other hand got full?’, then in the next book, we all expect him to learn the name of stone at some point. I mean, the book is called ‘The Doors of Stone.’ But, my only issue with this theory is why would he switch the hand? It’s tradition for the ring to go on a specific hand, and why would something so hard to obtain be able to possibly break so easy [a reason why some people don’t wear more than one ring on a finger depending on material] to the point it’s on the wrong hand? While there is the argument of ‘Kvothe doesn’t give a shit bout rules!!!’, he’s also not disrespectful and is extremely dedicated to Naming and learning. 

If this ring doe not come from Fela, it is possible it comes from another source or person. Possibly found it and claims to know the name of stone, taken from someone who used the name of stone against him, or gifted from someone who no longer wanted it in one way or another. Possibly o help him find the name sooner? Not sure.

5. Amber

This one is... harder to get into. There was no gifts of amber, not much of anything of anyone saying a word of amber, or anything of the like. So, this one had to be gifted to him for one reason or another.

The ONLY thing I could find about amber was when Sim [and I quote very loosely] said “Amber controls demons”. So for one reason or another, Kvothe got into some mess, or was about too, and either crafted himself a ring of Amber, or someone gifted it to him.

My theory on this is that Kvothe went back to the University and told Sim and pals about his trip out. of course it was mostly laughed off, but Sim is superstitious. So while he laughed it off, he ends up gifting Kvothe a ring of Amber to keep ‘demons and stuff’ away from him and keep him safe on his next travel, or when he is leaving again after being expelled. Also in a way for him to remember Sim and his time at the University. That’s all I can really build into that one, considering not a peep of that ring has even been spilled in the books.

And back to the Namer hand!

6. Blood.

Most people, when thinking of this ring, probably think of literal blood. Kinda like blood bending in Avatar. But, I am going to disagree on this for a moment. While yes, there is something to do with blood and controlling a person [See reasons for Devi keeping contracts blood in viles to ensure payment], I still don’t think it’s to that degree; of the ring being in that sense. Calling a name Name seems rather redundant and dumb; so it’s called blood.

As we know, in this universe, ALL names have power -- including people’s names. Which is why no one says Chandrian without glancing about in slight fear. Names draw people closer; even in real life. We use names to get one another attention, make self identities, and establish existence. In this universe, to truly HAVE someone’s name is to nearly own their whole existence. Probably as far as mind, body, and soul. Blood included due to the super strong link to said person.

To have a ring of Blood, Kote had to have learned someones name past the superficial. To the point of literally owning them even further than sweet Devi does with bottled blood drops as fear. We have seen naming can ‘conjure’ [for a lack of a better word], elements. So perhaps having the Name for someone’s name is, in a sense, to conjure them into doing what you please or need past asking. Like lulling them into wanting to do something for you -- like casting ‘Suggestion’ in DnD.

While it would be cool to have a literal ring of blood painted on his finger, it would more than likely wash away. Or having the ability to have a a ring of blood circulate ones finger would draw some eyes. A possibility in the manifestation of this ring, is alchemical petrification of some manner, so it’s solid like stone or wood. Another one is ‘Fuck you Sam this is fantasy and rings of blood can and won’t wash away it’s sympathy / magic mOVE ON’. Normally, I’d say yeah, okay, totally, but I DON’T WANNA cause I’m not DONE. Thinking practically and in the sense that learning the names of things give you rings, it would have to be something someone could wear; which leads me to my next idea. It could be some Fishery work where he has glass that isn’t shatter-able and he put the persons blood in it, so he has it on his person -- similar to Devi -- as a threat against them; or perhaps trust on the blood person’s end. Any and either way, he knows this person’s name and has intentions of and or has used it enough to gain a ring from it.

7. Fire.

This one has been hinted at one time in the book. Literally once; but in a good manner and possibly in the direction this one will actually be the next name he learns fully. While after the weird ‘Let’s set the whole class against Kvothe to test this little bastards alar’ session, he goes to the front of the room and talks tot he Master who runs the lass about naming. He heard only part of the word fire -- well, hears anything at all. Which the master was surprised at and comments his waking mind is more alert and open. Also it’s known that once you learn one, the others come easier because your mind is already open and hearing such becomes more easy.

Another hint is him literally [accidentally / coincidentally / whatever you wanna call it] calling down lightning to cause a ire in the camp where the bandits were. ‘But, Sam, ligh--’ It causes fire and made a huge damn explosion happen, it was fire in a way okay? Let’s just shhhhh.... Shhh. Connect it to fire since lightning isn’t a ring. It’ll be better on all of us that way. So, fire could be the next element he obtains and gets a ring for. 

Putting these two instances together, and a possible third spoke n this wheel to finalize that the ring will be his after that, he gets a ring of fire. Which makes this one very clearly learned and not gifted in some manner.

Again, with the idea on how rings, look, we don’t actually know. bu following my train of thought on blood, i doubt the ring will be a literal fire circling around his lower knuckle [as sick hell as that would be]. I think it would be a material of red, with the name held inside of it in some manner. Or, at least, to keep the name of fantasy in here, it would be something solid and clear, with the gentle and warm glow of fire from inside of it as a claim the wearer knows the name of it.

8. Ice.

Boy, does this have NOTHING!!!!!!! It’s so frustrating to build theories and ideas off of a subject that has literally only been said to be on someones hand and nothing else. But god damn am I gonna try this one. 

This is probably coming right after fire, if things are going to be poetic and follow cliches of the two elements. There are several ways on what ice could ‘come’ from, but also entitle in a manner of mastering it. One of the major ones being literal ice. Calling in a snow storm or having it hail; like calling wind, but with colder weather. Or using wind to aid in gaining another. Another way could be obtaining a way to force things to be cold. And I mean this in several ways: transferring the cold one gets from straining themselves over long sympathy use to another, transferring cold from one object to another, or having the name of water and forcing it to be cold on way or another.

We haven’t really eat anyone who knew the Name of ice [yet], so the ideas on how one could get a ring of it is very... complicated. As I said with blood it may not be the literals of object / subject. It could be something linked to the idea of the main Name, or, lead up to the Name of what is trying to be obtained. So bringing the temperature of a place or object [person, water, etc] down to freezing, transferring cold to something else, or literally calling ice from the sky is all a possibility. There is nothing to support or say one is more likely than another, at this point and time as far as I am aware of at least.

The ring could be just ice, it could be a blood and fire situation where its inside the holdings of the ring and is cold to the touch, or it could be a material that is hard and crystallized to look like ice. 

9. Unnamed.

I have read so many ideas on what this could be. From Denna’s ring to Shadows from the cloak Felurian gave him to the void being a ring of immortality. It’s all over the place! I will entertain some of these, but not all, and will keep with the previous ideas above on hands and assigning them.

Now, some people are ‘Oh, that’s Denna’s ring, and he’s left it unnamed!’. Right, but, why would it be on his Namer hand? If anything, that should be the ring of blood; having her name and all that implies; right [if a Namer ring]? That’s assuming you are going with the theory that’s linked to her. Going off the idea it was gifted, it shouldn’t be on that hand and should be switched out for maybe Amber or Iron [depending on how ya feel]. Makes sense int he context that as a gift, it would be on the other hand, of it was Name, it would be blood.

I could maybe see the idea it is Shadow; but why have a ring of such when he was gifted a cloak very carefully made by the equivalent of a fae goddess? You could say that it could be condensed into a ring, and I would probably go with that. Easier packing and travel, take it off and fwoosh cloak! But also, at the same time, it has been described to have mass and react to outside forces. So perhaps not? Shadow does as it pleases, so this could be a more solid theory on the ring if I had more evidence on how it worked. All the same; it was GIFTED. Not learned. So it should be going on the other hand, if that is what the ring is.

Some people say it could be another name; something undisclosed. Some say his own name [Kvothe], some say silence and it’s part of his three [which is why it follows him], and honestly; I can see this one the most. Either one of these; but the silence the most. While, yes, it’s not something object like as fire or blood, it’s something perhaps he managed on his own and is the first.

Let me explain: the silence of the inn is described to FOLLOW him, as bast says rather often. If he [Kote] isn’t paying attention, it becomes almost suffocating and very heavy, changing the way he even presents himself. The silence isn’t there when other people are around, it’s only there when he is alone. I think it s mastered, due to the timing and the placement of silence -- not only written, but the way it’s so heavily tied to Kote. It’s when he is alone, thinking too much, when there is nothing to do or things to speak about. I feel as though the silence is a way to possibly block out not only the world further than he has already with the inn, but his thoughts. Focusing on such a force would obtain all his thought processes and force him to focus in one place and on one thing. Almost a poor coping mechanism, if you will.

We don’t know how or where or when this could have been learned or even mastered, but it could have been somewhere along the road that he maybe hasn’t transcribed verbally, or, yet to happen in the books. With the way Silence is focused on, described, and relayed; it’s just like anything else Named in the books. This is just a theory, but one I support more than most.

The ring could also be his name. Literal or not [thinking literal int he sense of a ring from Vintas with his name forced off of it, but still holds it perhaps], due to no longer going by such and his reactions to having his other name / ‘dead name’ [I use this term because I feel like using Kvothe for Kote is rude and as a trans individual the way such subject is presented is like dead-naming] said is the same as the Chandrian going to where their name has been said. While he goes to it, he is usually unhappy or knows that Bast was saying it but says nothing.

If you read the post linked, I go a bit more into detail why calling him Kvothe as Kote is trauma related not okay to do, and supports the idea onto why he wouldn’t want his name being known to so many people on multiple levels. Basically safety and power over him is the jist to tie it into why it would be a ring [but that post is specifically bout not calling him by his other name cause of trauma he has]. But the possibility of it being his own name wouldn’t be off, and it fits the Namer ordeal. He obviously knows his own name deeper than anyone else, and I doubt anyone [but possibly Auri] could ever know it as deep enough to gain full power of the Name. 

So that’s my... theories and readings on the rings... Um, I’m always bad at ending these posts. But, I hope you enjoyed reading and either see where my points come from, or come up with your own!! Thanks for reading <3 <3 

[pandabearlikes]

Observations and Predictions about Episode 9

First off, I think we didn’t get a full preview because episode 9 will be a pivotal one.  We did get glimpses due to the screenshots they put in after episode 8, so with those and previous instances in the series in mind, I compiled some predictions and observations.  ^-^ Reminder, everything is just my own thoughts.  Also, spoiler alert, please do not read if you don’t like spoilers.

1. MinHyuk and GookDu will arrive at the same time (or one shortly after the other, MinHyuk first)

2. BongSoon has already fought off most of the men ^^ Notice men down and the two arriving at scene

3. GookDu realizes BongSoon’s strength, MinHyuk is shocked by multiple things (1. Again, perhaps, still a little by BS’s strength xD Like, he knows she’s powerful, but it’s still astonishing to him.  his peanut-sized king kong K.O. hundreds of men ^-^ 2. Mix of emotions, seeing her okay after almost having a heart attack from worrying about her and having to track her down. [lol, gurl hung up on him after telling him her mom got kidnapped] but now realizing his love rival knows about her strength too or 3. Prediction: Some sore loser thug will use a knife against BongSoon and try to attack her from behind) << which is likely, considering both their expressions contain a sense of fear more than surprise/shock  <<EDIT: After teaser 9 trailer and how MinHyuk says, “That’s a relief you didn’t hurt yourself”, I think Bongsoon knocked something during her fight and a foundation of the garage building will fall on her an MinHyuk will cover her and get hurt. Looks like it was a mistranslation and MinHyuk just reveals he’s glad BongSoon didn’t get injured.

Prediction 1: Thug will attack from behind/use knife against BongSoon (maybe that one who lost his teeth, you know how he was trying to use that cane on her and the Thug Boss was like he brought out his “ultimate weapon”, I think that cane has a secret knife at the end or something (?))

Prediction 2: MinHyuk will rush forward, instinctively, and take the stab/attack for BongSoon (hence, why he is hospitalized) [I think director will make GookDu run forward too, but MinHyuk will beat him to it, while GookDu pulls BongSoon out of the way, to safety and/or charges at the attacker.  So they both “save” her, but in different ways, which I think kinda fits their characters.  Like, MinHyuk is the type to use himself as a shield to guard his loved ones [ultimate defense mechanism].  GookDu is more trained as a police and in the sense that he knows if he wants to protect someone, he needs to protect himself and not get hurt and become a burden too.  He also seems like the type to pin down the enemy and make sure he/she is incapacitated so that the people he wants to protect can make their escape [defense and offense mechanism].

Prediction 3: MinHyuk is rushed to hospital, BongSoon is crying in worry.  GookDu is busy observing BongSoon, mixed emotions of fondness for her strength, but utter confusion and thinking, "What in the actual world? We’ve been friends for 15 years and I never knew about your strength?  Like, all those thug reports about you beating them up is real, while I kept denying them and defending you.  Wow, I can’t believe you are that strong and I kept calling you ‘weak’  I am a fool."  BongSoon continues to mope.  Doctors will probably tell BS and GD that MinHyuk is in stable condition.  GookDu, unable to make sense of his emotions or anything, will drag a sobbing BongSoon off to a corner to talk with her.  

In this screenshot, you see a hospital like background and GookDu dragging Bongsoon away.  We know it’s GookDu because of the stripe pattern of his shirt. [feels like director will make his emotions run high and he will scold her like how he normally does >< please don’t though OTL.  Directors, you are seriously wasting talent here, argh. ISTG if they make GD force kiss BS, imma flip the table]  GookDu will confess his feelings during convo.  

Prediction 4: After BongSoon/GookDu chat, whatever the conclusion will be, BongSoon goes to check on MinHyuk, who is already awake and deep in thought.  During his time alone, he too, has been replaying the series of events in his head over and over again.  

He comes to full realization that, BongSoon is indeed the girl in the pink hoodie who saved him from the bus accident, 8 years ago.  She is his muse and the reason he has been staying strong all these years through countless struggles.  She is the reason he started to believe in miracles again.  She is the reason why he stopped living a reckless life, including stopped serial dating.  Everything has come a full circle but now, everything seems like a dream.  BongSoon enters the room and displays tender care for him.  In fact, she has known, since that time they rode on the bus, that MinHyuk’s savior was herself. 

Prediction 5: MinHyuk will confess his feelings.  BongSoon is a confused potato because now she has two guys who one after another, confessed their feelings…worse part, she has/had feelings for both. She won’t reply to either/asks for time to sort out her feelings.  One, for GookDu, she’s waited 15 years to hear his words.  Two, she’s confused and rattled by her own indecisiveness because she thought after waiting for so long and getting the result she could only ever dream of, would make her hop around in rainbows and sparkles, but instead, she’s burdened and almost opposed to this idea because she had just started to let go of her affections for GookDu.  Also, now, we have MinHyuk’s confession, which she may be just as burdened because of timing, because of all the realizations and seemingly fairytale full circle of fate that just seems too surreal to be true.  She knows she’s developing feelings for him, but she can’t get herself to admit it out of fear that she’s inadequate or that if they are together, she’ll continue to hurt him or get him hurt [think about it, she kept saying she will protect him, but instead, he keeps protecting her and getting himself injured].

Prediction 6: Two possible reactions from BongSoon’s mom: 1. Either she will scold BS and tell her how dumb and useless she is to fall for voice phishing and reprimand her for not protecting MinHyuk.  BS may burst out at her mom again and reveal to her that she’s hurt too.  Her heart hurts so much seeing people hurt on her behalf/ due to her inability to use her power at significant times or 2. BongSoon’s mom is ready to scold, out of habit, but sees BS’s breakdown/hurting and self-blame and instead, takes off her own bullying mask/strong-front, to console her daughter.  There is a level of understanding only women of the Do family can provide one another, after all.  [Hoping for #2]  

Prediction 7: MinHyuk will start to back away from BongSoon, because he also wants to sort out feelings.  Yes, he loves the girl who saved him eight years ago, who he believes is the angel his mom sent to protect him, but he also wants BongSoon (and himself) to know, that, that’s not the sole reason for his love.  He was smitten by BS even before he realized she was his savior.  On the other hand, GookDu, who has been oblivious about everything for the whole series (and like 15 dayum years prior to that), finally, starts to make his move and tries to take that step closer to BongSoon.  [Timing, though, hun, everything in life is about timing.  You snooze, you lose.]

Prediction 8: This may not happen in next episode, but I do see the director possibly trying to make a connection between the kidnapper and the main leads.  IDK, what it is, but I get a hunch that MinHyuk [and BongSoon] is connected to the kidnapper more than they think.  Like, it’s too many hints and coincidences in a drama to just brush it off.  I mentioned it in a previous post when I first started watching the series, I thought the directors were trying to hint that MinHyuk was the kidnapper haha.  [Ex. His dislike of police officers, his attachment to hiding in secluded areas {hiding in closet and building a secret safe haven dungeon within his closet vs kidnapper’s attachment to imprisoning the girls}, their one-meal philosophy, MinHyuk’s fascination with the kidnapper’s wit, MinHyuk even stating, “When I was younger, I wanted to be the culprit”.  Also, remember how BongSoon and his brother almost got kidnapped when they were younger.  Something tells me, these events are somehow connected (?)  Like, I mean it could just be a theme the director keeps throwing out too.  But, maybe there will be some backstory where when MinHyuk was younger he got kidnapped or saw someone (maybe BS and brother) get kidnapped and he tried to call the cops for help but they brushed him off…that’s why he hates cops so much.  [Well, that and how his gangster father got chummy with the cops and law enforcements so he thinks all are dumb and corrupt].  If the former prediction is true, the guy who keeps kidnapping the girls may also have been kidnapped when he was young, and MinHyuk and him were imprisoned together and crossed paths, and that’s how they share a similar trauma.

Observation 1: By the way, there was a mention of kidnapper being really bad with knives, that’s why he accidentally killed the first girl he wanted to kidnap.  I think there’s a connection to how BongSoon’s mom had fortune read by the monk about how one with strength, can’t beat one with knife.  Is this a foreshadow of BongSoon trying to catch kidnapper…and possibly coming into some type of danger?

Observation 2: Love the whole symbolism with the pink hoodie. It’s the thing that helps MinHyuk recognize his savior but more importantly, it’s the thing that pushes BongSoon to find pride in her strength, because it is, in fact, a STRENGTH, not a flaw or weakness or something to be hidden.  The pink hoodie is something her grandmother gave her to remind her to be proud of her power.  For generations, women of the Do Family, have treated their powers as something special but should be suppressed.  Especially, after BongSoon’s mom messes up and used her power selfishly, she loses it completely.  Her actions were viewed as a disgrace and her own self-shame leads her to constantly and unfairly reprimand and “control” BongSoon.  In fact, the mom just doesn’t want BongSoon to be pegged as a disgrace, like her, but because of this, she has drilled into BongSoon’s mind that her strength is a curse and she must suppress and hide it.  When BongSoon wears the hoodie to stop the bus, it’s the first time she realizes her strength can help people - though, at that time, she brushes it off like it’s not big deal.  But it is a big deal!  She saved so many lives, including MinHyuk’s.  MinHyuk’s gratefulness, admiration, and constant encouragement throughout the series was able to make BongSoon finally accept that her power is god-given and a BLESSING not a curse!!!!!!  That is why she brought her hoodie out again (T^T)

Random Observation 1: BongSoon’s mother keeps telling BongSoon to not bully people with her strength.  She especially gets angry when she hears rumors of her bullying students into giving her lunch money.  Again, this is a self-shame thing.  Her mom is afraid BongSoon will make the same mistake she has in the past.  She links that bullying students for lunch money thing as the reason why she, herself, was punished and lost her power.  During the scene with the granny, mom, and BongSoon, they even contemplate whether BongSoon’s mom will ever get her powers back.  To be honest, BongSoon Omma, you ain’t gonna get your powers back if you abuse your family and beat up your husband.  It has nothing to do with the lunch money incident (or maybe that was the ONE incident that got her punished for misusing her power) but she hasn’t gotten it back because she still has the tendency to bully others, whether verbally or physically, due to her own insecurity.  I think, though, in the end of the series, due to BongSoon’s example of using her strength as a positive attribute to help others, not to hurt others, her mom will learn to cherish her family too, and that’s when God will grant her, her powers back ^-^

Random Observation 2: MinHyuk’s worry for BongSoon’s safety should not be misinterpreted as him thinking she is weak.  He’s protectiveness is a source of reflexive, unconditional love, and understanding.  He knows she is strong but not invincible, especially against weaponry.  Also, he knows she is impulsive but compassionate and gullible.  

Anyways, can’t wait for next episode!! ^-^ Message me and spaz with me!  I love this drama so much.

Share with me what you think??