#i remember i saw an edit of this scene a while ago when i wasnt into gotham but i cant find it anywhere im so sad

[letgomypartypiece]

i cant get over these i love this whole scene so much

[demadogs]

I know, i know 😭 (30% anon here). It's not that i think the idea is absurd at all, like you listed so many good things!! I'm just trying to actively lower my own expectations because i'm the type who gets really invested and then consequently really disappointed (though i guess since this is tumblr most of us are that type lmao). I'm just used to shows not following through with subtext, and i'm not only talking about gay subtext, but all different kinds of plots. I hear you though, trust me!

Since i'm already in your inbox, i have a question: have you been around for a while? What's the history of the byler ship? Was it always popular? Did people always think there might be a serious chance or was it more of a crackship? Were there any popular theories that came true or that were completely false? Since i'm super new to the show myself i'm curious!

yeah i totally get it. my brain is just not wired to be able to have lower expectations for something that his this much evidence for. im either 100% confident in something in a show or i have absolutely no idea whats gonna happen lmao.

i only started being active in this fandom a few months ago but ive shipped byler and followed lots of byler blogs for years. people started shipping byler after s2 came out. i didnt see anything about it during s1 because they literally had two scenes together and there was almost nothing really to work with. but when i watched s2 when it first came out i distinctly remember thinking “….is anybody else seeing this?? am i crazy orrr?” and then i went on here and found a small fandom of people who shipped them too so i was like “ok cool nice”. at this point it was mostly gifsets of their scenes together and maybe some edits and we hadnt established whether we were gonna spell it byeler or byler yet lmao. then i found @kaypeace21 and she was the first person i saw ever actually analyze it and really start to believe that everything might be intentional.

before i followed her, i never even considered that they might actually go through with byler. i think that was the case for most people during s2. i shipped it in the same way i currently ship ronance and steveddie. i thought they were cute and had good chemistry but i never believed it would go anywhere because of mlvn and also just the doubt that an insanely popular 80s scifi show would put their main characters in a gay relationship. i still loved reading kaypeace’s analyses but i wasnt convinced yet. then s3 came out and that changed everything for me and a lot of other people.

i watched s3 the day it came out hoping for some crumbs of byler but again, not at all expecting anything evident of them actually going through with it. it was kinda just in the back of my mind bc i love this show mostly for the supernatural plot. but during their fight scene when mike said “its not my fault you dont like girls” i was shocked. that convinced me that at least will would have a crush on mike but i still wasnt sure about mike until that painfully awkward kiss on the last episode. it wasnt until a few months later i rewatched that season and went back to kaypeace and found SO many things that i missed!! mike not letting el touch him when they kissed, the drastic tone and aesthetic difference between the break up and the byler fight, the frame of mike perfectly in a closet when they kissed!! i was completely sold then and so were a lot of people. i also think it was around this time that finn liked some byler art that had the quote “im not gonna fall in love” on it so that made a lot of people like 👀.

then everything the cast and duffers have said leading up to volume one only increased my confidence. i went into volume one completely expecting more obvious queer coding and i was right to. i was already overly confident but the biggest thing from volume one that made me more confident wasnt even a byler scene, it was mike and el’s fight. im glad they had her explicitly call him out for not saying he loves her. they kinda had to spell it out for the general audience. that was a really good scene and the fact that they played eulogy over it!!!?? insane. i lost my mind when i watched that episode a second time and realized that. that is 10000% intentional and the only explanation could be that that fight was the death of their relationship.

anywho yeah ive shipped them almost since the beginning and its been so fun slowly realizing that theyre actually going to do this and watching it build up and seeing the general audience start to catch on. it added a whole other layer to a show that already would have been my favorite either way just because of the plot alone.

[estellaestella]

Hi estella! I saw your post about Frantz and and then I read about the movie - I will definitely watch it! Thank you for writing about it!

Last night I watched for the second time “Cloud Atlas” and I was brought to tears again. I wanted to ask you if you watched it and what you think. I have a feeling the book will be more shattering, I still hadn’t a chance to read it. All this intertwining of destinies, predestinations, impossible love between two men (Ben Whishaw!), the anti-utopian story, the fateful significance of the decisions we make, etc. And last but not least, the great performances of all the actors!

Thank you for your amazing edits you make of Timmy!!! I love them and always look forward to them! ❤️💫❤️

You're very welcome 🤗 . Ah, I'm so glad you're planning to watch FRANTZ. I came across its name while reading a CMBYN review (two days ago) and, quite frankly, remembering that I'd seen a selfie of Timmy with François Ozon the director might've made up my mind to watch it. I went in thinking it was one thing but it turned out to be quite something else. And I have to say, I loved not being able to see where the story is taking the viewer.

As for CLOUD ATLAS, I watched it a few years ago and didnt like it that much. Which might be my fault coz I always expect so much from the Wachowskis. I felt Cloud Atlas was too sprawling and figuring out who's-playing-who-again? is almost too distracting. But yes, I can imagine a second viewing might be far more rewarding. As it is, I remember Hugh Grant and Tom Hanks doing a good job and that the Frobisher storyline was the best bit. But then again I dont think I've ever seen Ben Whishaw in a role he has not delivered on. The man is amazing. Even when he's a bear. ❤️ 

Speaking of PADDINGTON, I wasnt quite sure how I felt about the director for that -Paul King- helming WONKA. While the PADDINGTON films are warm and cuddly they dont hit any high notes for me other than the jungle scenes (specially the dream sequence in the sequel). But I looked him up and he directed the tv show THE MIGHTY BOOSH and that gives me a lot of hope. TMB is a surreal, bonkers tv series that is a genius blend of weird and wacky. I'd say it's rule-bending but it just flat out throws the rule book out of the window while driving thru a forest...with a shaman and a talking gorilla in the backseat. So yeah high hopes are back on the menu.

Thank you so much for your compliment 🙈. I do love making these weird little edits. At some point I ought to look into why I enjoy what is essentially a version of playing with dolls but till then I'm going to enjoy this silliness 😘😘😘

[yayneloveart]

Turnabout Big Top... the worst case in Ace Attorney history, finally animated...

HES WEARING THE SWEATER. HES WEARING THE HEART SWEATER. JESUS, IF I WASNT SO POOR I WOULD KNIT THAT RIGHT NOW. +100 BILLION POINTS FOR CHANGING UP HIS WARDROBE EVERY SO OFTEN.

Wow, they really copied part of the flying scene in the game into the anime. I love how they pick and choose different things to directly copy over to keep things nostalgic while also changing things to clear up plot issues.

Phoenix looks unimpressed while Maya messes around in the office WHEN ALL HES DOING IS READING MANGA. +10 points for... adding to the canon that Phoenix likes to read manga?

Also, I just noticed that they have the same poster on the wall behind Charley as they do in the games. Fantastic.

Max: YOURE PULLING MY WAND

Dude... you're supposed to be in a kid friendly anime... stop talking about your 'wand'

Phoenix: I think hes pulling my wand...

NOT YOU TOO, PHOENIX. AND WHAT WOULD EDGEWORTH THINK????

Aw, we finally see them enjoying some genuine japanese [burgers] in an episode. We all know how much Maya loves [burgers].

I wasnt paying full attention to the episode since I was drawing and I just look up and see Gumshoe wearing Max's hat and I started laughing. +10 points for being so in character

I like seeing more performers than just Regina, Ben and Trilo, Max and Moe. Makes it seem more like a normal circus and not a bunch of weirdos in a big tent.

I forgot that 'Togo' is an African country and I was about to make a 'Cancel Moe' joke since the 'Country in Africa' joke sounded weirdly racist.

The sudden jolt between 'suave max' and 'lotta's cousin max' was so sudden I expected more of a reaction from Phoenix. (I actually knew a guy who went to speech therapy to drop his deep southern accent)

Money is 100x funnier than the game. Straight up throwing shit at Phoenix because he had the AUDACITY to chase him after he stole his PRIZED POSSESSION.

Phoenix: banana eating son of a...

Me: let Phoenix say 'bitch'

The picture of Phoenix's face looking like a monkeys has been burned into my brain. -100 billion points

Edit: tumblr ate the rest of this post so I'm trying to remake it.

Max: I cant actually fly! I'm just hanging by some hella thin wires!

I adore Max's southern accent. It's so cute. +100 stars to Aaron Robert's for the performance.

I want to tell Franziska that putting up and taking down an apparatus meant to make a person fly takes time and energy to do. You cant just put one up and take it down without at least one person seeing it.

Yet, I have a feeling she will try to prove how it could be done and use Gumshoe as a test subject.

I actually figured out the murder method during Moes testimony because of an episode of Detective Conan. As a small child I saw an episode where a killer created an alibi for himself by taking a dummy and the victims decapitated head and set up wires to make them swing by a window. The dummy was dressed in the killers disguise and the head was wrapped in a cape so no one could see that it lacked a body, making everyone think the killer was outside carrying the still living victim when he was still inside with everyone else.

When Moes testimony showed that he only saw Max's silhouette and he flew straight up, I figured it had to be some kind of dummy or likeness on a rope being pulled by someone on a higher floor. Once I saw Max's bust, I knew for sure that it was a murder weapon.

(And I only remember that episode from 20 years ago because it scarred me for years. And I didnt even see the swinging head scene, my brother told me about it later. Scared the living shit out of me)

[sense8screencaps]

If you feel like putting into words everything that went wrong/made you dislike the finale, I'd love to hear it

plotwise, it’s under the read more below! and it’s more of a rambling i had 2 years ago + what i remember 2 years later now lmao. logistically, what went wrong i think i’ve answered before. basically if netflix didn’t give the show a tight timeline for filming the finale, i think things would have turned out smoother. if it took an extra year or two to release the finale, i think it would have turned out with much higher quality and more consideration with regards to like everything really

act 1: the plan

planning and subsequent rescuing of wolfgang in the first 30-40 minutes instead of the whole thing taking an entire goddamn hour. cut out wolfgang trying to kill himself. a waste of 5 minutes that should have directly introduced the chairman.

cut out lito’s meltdown and don’t have rajan show up at all. it was a lazy plot device to help jonas escape and a waste of 7 minutes

will and riley meet up with felix and bug instead of that French lady riley like can we get some more lito and kala instead

will fighting bodhi was absolutely pointless??? An excuse to have a fight for no reason like it wouldn’t have made bodhi trying to stab whispers in the club any different (it would’ve made it better imo coming out of nowhere)

the dani and amanita scene was good but a serious continuity error since the show is supposed to be from the perspective of one of the 8

river el-sadaawi was a completely useless character to introduce like it should’ve just been hoy and yrsa talking with riley

convo between hoy, Riley and kirsty was a solid waste of 3 minutes

act 2: the exchange

rajan should not have been part of the exchange lol just swap him out for Felix and it’s all good

Considering Whispers does nothing in this finale other than being a hot potato passed around by people if he died in the club when Bodhi stabbed him it would’ve made an interesting turn of events

hot take: mun shouldn’t have shown up and a more creative resolution to sun’s story could have been written better

I feel like puck should have been part of this scene somehow

everything else pretty much okay

act 3: the lacuna

instead of staying at rajan’s random friend’s place just say it’s riley’s friend? literally makes more sense that way

no lacuna or bodhi shit. it was all deux ex machina like something could’ve been written better by strictly having old man of hoy and yrsa without needing to introduce new mythology

The lacuna concept felt cheap and removed a lot of what I thought kept the sense8 universe grounded in reality.

The mother was pointless to introduce like they could have gotten yrsa or some shit to get them the info on lila being in naples with whispers or just simply have his damn blockers wear off momentarily for will and wolfgang to figure out where he is instead of some weird old lady telling them her son’s backstory and somehow omniscient power of knowing whispers’ location

If Bodhi really didn’t want to be complacent with her stance on Milton and BPO why only NOW did she bother to take action? Why did the Mother only contact them now when God knows how long this weird zombie shit has been happening?

Also why the fuck did Bodhi not even bother to go with them to Naples to kill Milton? She didn’t want to remain complacent and yet she remained so throughout.

act 4: naples

another hot take: they all should’ve sang “rather be” by clean bandit instead on their way to naples. also diego didnt need to show up lol

capheus, felix, wolfgang, kala in the car. rest is the same

this scene should have happened halfway through at the ~90 minute mark

exposition of talking with lila could have been more elaborate. i don’t like that they cut out lila interrupting their pizza party

The transition to Sun and Riley meeting Alphonse and Sutra was messy and badly edited. Everyone in the cluster suddenly is there too? Like at least give some sort of indication they all went to meet Puck

trojan horse/forcella was good but not written or executed well

Kala should have been with Felix and Wolfgang while infiltrating the Forcella. Capheus should have been driving Nomi, Bug, and Amanita and picking up the rest of the cluster along the way/during infiltration of the Forcella.

“My wife... you’re a killer! Teach me!” seriously uncomfortable with Rajan saying that as if he didn’t sound like some kind of sociopath

Kala shouldn’t have gotten shot anyways it was literally 5 minutes of screen time that could have been allotted to a more satisfying confrontation between Lila, Milton, The Chairman, and our Cluster rather than an attempt to get an emotional response from a shock moment.

Jonas’ last monologue went on for too long; for some reason he really had to explain things instead of just “showing” and letting the audience infer to figure it out (particularly the psychic ligature/psycranium stuff)

the bad guys died in literally the most emotionally unsatisfying way. i didn’t need the chairman in this. say shit about whispers manipulating everyone from the top. the chairman being the zombie of like whispers or lila would’ve been way more elaborate. seemed like the writers somehow wrote themselves into a pit where they couldn’t think of anything better. Will and Wolfgang not confronting Whispers for a final time detracted from the emotional and psychological impact Whispers had on their well-beings.

Also like the bloodbath overall was a bit unsettling considering we saw pretty much everyone we know from the show kill bad guys which wasn’t really justified? Like Sun and Mun just knocked people out and killed maybe 4 or 5 people but damn the rest of them not even the slightest hint of trauma? Idk it was weird and I didn’t like it

my queen lila shouldn’t have died

there was so much bad editing here especially with trying to make it look like miguel/lito wasn’t absent

act 5: wedding

if they just cut out a bunch of the bullshit i mentioned earlier we could have gotten a montage or at least some sequence of the sun, lito, kala, and capheus’ stories getting resolved. maybe even some shit with nomi and the guy.

Cutscene to talking about a penis joke with rajan and kala instead of updating us on Cepheus or lito’s lives? Yeah totally makes sense

Hernando should’ve officiated the wedding

Transphobia curing weed brownie? No thanks

rajalagang... cool motive but terrible execution for the most part? idk i needed more rajan and wolfgang being gayer with each other. but then again if rajan wasnt in all of this it wouldve not really made any difference other than probably having just kala and wolfgang kiss 

the orgy should have strictly been the 8 + hernando + amanita + mun + zakia. no one else.

[iceamericanoventi]

Love Will Find a Way, Well, Eventually : 2. In Between

“Where are you going?”

If it was inside Cartoon Network’s universe, everyone must be able to see the smoke fuming from both his nostrils and ears. Jinki looks beyond distressed when he’s lifting his ass from the chair. No one on the table was his partner, but Minho decided to throw some ridiculous question then played dumb as if he didn’t just ask one.

“Should I have number one here?”

He started getting irked, but that doesn’t stay long until Kibum casually munched his breadstick while spluttering his witty comments as usual, “Surely Taemin would be delightful.”

Taemin who didn’t do anything almost chocked himself with a piece of tomato and kicked Kibum’s shin under the table, eventually.

“Promise me you won’t run away?”

Dumbfounded, Jinki emptied his pocket and almost smashed the table with his belonging.

“Are you my husband? Here’s my wallet. And my phone!” and with that, he left the other three men finishing their meal.

“Is he always in this temper?”

Lee Taemin gave him another look, pleading him not to embarrass them further, but Kibum just shrugged and muttered ‘I’m just asking’ under his nose.

“He was mad with me since this afternoon. Plus, he has lots of stuffs to think about these days. But don’t worry, he never really got mad unless you disturb his nap.”

“What is he? A bear?”

“Yaa! Kim Kibum!”

Minho couldn’t help but laugh to the scene happened before his eyes. Taemin is famous for being friendly and very expressive only if you know him, even if he’s talkative. To penetrate his bubble is very hard at first, but this man sitting across him, he seems like he’s already inside that bubble since the very beginning. He really is someone closed to him. Kibum looks mesmerizing, even in his grumbling nature. The oversize sweater wrapped his lithe build perfectly.

A phone call arrived to Kibum's phone, he picked it up frantically and excused himself to take it outside.

"What do you think?"

“Eh?” Minho doesn’t even realized he got his eyes entailed Kibum’s silhouette until it disappear by the entrance door.

“You seemed in trance. I know Kibum is beautiful but I didn’t expect you’ll be this amazed with my friend,” Taemin’s sipping his wine, a smirk is very apparent in his devious face. 

“I guess it’s safe to say that you’re not a liar.”

Minho reopened his mouth few minutes after he’s assured that Kibum’s not going back any soon. Taemin is not ecstatic, sometimes he wondered if Minho has a decent sense of humor of a friend.

“For your information, I’m not and never been. I’m the most honest person you’ve ever encountered in your life.”

“Everyone in this room knows that’s not true.”

“Whatever. I might know my ways deceiving people, but I never lie to my friend.”

 “Did you just admit that you’re lying here and there, Lee Taemin?”

Taemin rolls his eyes, again, probably for the nth times already this evening. Without Jinki around, he can be more relaxed on throwing his tantrum on Minho.

“Choi Minho, people lies at some certain points of their life. Get over it.”

He gulped down the rest of his wine, Taemin then called a waiter near them to bring him another one.

“Kibum seems nice. He sounds smart.”

“Sounds? Did you even listen to yourself? No writer is not smart, Choi. Moreover, someone who’s been writing the past decade!”

“I only know him for one night. Who knows he’s just acting?”

“Dude, not everyone is an asshole like you.”

“An asshole wouldn’t agree to bring his best friend along in front of a psychopath like you.”

Taemin snorted and Minho’s smirk reappeared on his face.

“That is literally what a psycho would do, selling their friend for their own benefits.”

Minho wiped his mouth before washed down the dinner with cold water, “And that’s exactly what Jinki accused me for. You two shared a brain or what?”

“Any sane people would say the same, Honey,” this time Taemin’s smirk that made the other scoffed, “By the way, what’s the deal with Jinki? He looks like he’s been sitting on thorny cushion the whole dinner!”

Minho knows Taemin would ask such question eventually. However, he couldn’t say that Jinki hates the whole dinner date plan, it’s impossible. Besides that, knowing him for years, Jinki really is an angel in disguise, well, at least when he’s in the mood.

“People have different, what should I say, defense mechanism? And that’s how he is. What kind of person who talked nonstop during their first meeting, anyway?”

“Oh, I don’t know, me?”

“That’s why you’re a freak.”

“A freak who introduced you to your potentially next boyfriend.”

“Ha. Point taken,” Minho raised his hand to ask for the dessert, “Jinki is just not the type of person who will talk a lot and open up in a second. But I guarantee you, he’s a good person. Sometimes a little bit care too much for other at certain time so probably being brazen is his forte.”

“That reminds me of someone.”

Taemin and Kibum spent their high school days together. Separated for some years due to works and educations, their relationship’s all well maintained. They understand each other, including Kibum’s nature to always put others before him at any given situation.

“Appearance wise, though, what do you think about Jinki?”

“Choi Minho, I’m not a teenager anymore. Judging people around by its cover is no longer my habit.”

“But a designer like you must love a beautiful package, don’t they?”

“Well, to be honest, his lips and eyes itself could get me floored in one glance.”

“I knew it.”

“You’re a famous photographer for a reason.”

***

Cold wind slapped Kibum’s cheeks lightly when he pushed the door and parched to the corner near the valet post.

“Okay, now you can speak. Sorry, I don’t know why the reception wasn’t good enough inside.”

“Then I’ll be frankly here. There’s a possibility for making the special edition for the short story collection. But then, we’re still short of two stories at the moment.”

“Wait, wait, but we already have nine! I finished writing nine! Why should I add another two?”

“The publisher agreed to the preposition for at least twelve stories. You should be grateful I could pitch one less story!”

Kibum looks like he’s about to punch anyone passed within radius one meter around him, but nothing in reach besides a huge pot of short palm tree and concrete wall. And he needs his hand to finish his books still.

“But, Amber. Page wise, those are more than enough to make two new books. Are they out of their mind?”

There’s a loud groan banging on his ear drum came from the other line, “Dude, I almost flipped the table when I was at the meeting you have no idea. The board has new man and that guy is a pain in the ass.”

“Would it change the circumstance if I talked to them by myself?”

“Since when do they have time to talk to the writer directly? We’re head to head with bunch of snobs here, did you forget?”

“I should had not agree to let them touched my writings. Now we’re about to face dead end.”

It was a dream to work along this publisher. It was Kibum’s dream since he started writing when he took gap year after graduated high school. And as if it’s a fate, it was the only publisher agreed with his graphic novel concept five years he climbed his career professionally.

“Listen, Kibum. When I met you years ago, I promised I’ll work my ass hard to help you publishing your books. Not because I knew you, it’s because you’re good. You’re amazing writer and I’m not giving up easily. And neither you. Not when anybody can tell that you’re a gem.”

“I haven’t written any book since last year, Amber. I’m in a slump. Writer’s block is not even describing my bad luck at the moment.”

“Honey, you haven’t written any because you’re currently waiting two books released. And if I could do my magic, another one in, let’s say, six months.”

“If I could make up some words into another story within two weeks. If you could convince them to give me mercy.”

“Did you just know me yesterday?”

Kibum’s tired giving sane response, “What do you mean?”

“I’m waiting their secretary to call me in ten minutes. We’re going to discuss some new deals and I’ll make sure one of them is going to be your new nine stories book.”

“I actually have no idea if I don’t have you as my editor slash manager slash friend slash personal ranting partner slash whatever you want to be.”

“Rockstar. That would be cool.”

“You’re going to be a kick ass one to be honest.”

“I bet. Anyway, expect another call from me in the next couple hours. I’m sorry, but tonight we might need video call to resolve some issues.”

“I hate you for confiscating my time but you’re the best.”

“As always, ain’t I?”

The phone call ends already, but he still forlornly looking at his phone’s screen. With that, Kibum remembers all the works he needs to catch up for tonight. With that, he can put aside all the unnecessary anxiety and tension of tonight’s stupid match making session.

He took a glance of his watch and could only sighed, he better hurried inside to his dessert. The faster he finished, the sooner he can hit home and face the real deal. His deadlines.

Two steps away from the entrance however, he caught a familiar face sitting by themselves, staring to the busy street in front of the restaurant.

“Jinki?” he carefully calling the man, “Lee Jinki, right?”

The later tilted his head to the right and gave Kibum a simple smile, didn’t realize it dropped Kibum’s heart by the bottom of his gut.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Everyone would agree this winter is even harsher than last year’s. Jinki just lifted his left hand to make sure Kibum saw a cigarette slipped between his fingers, “Can I sit here?”

Jinki chuckles, “Aren’t you cold?”

Listening to the same question he threw a minute ago, he just rolled his eyes and took a place next to the other man.

“I’m waiting a phone call.”

“Important?”

“Kinda.”

Jinki blew some smoke out, “Hmm, I guess so. You sounded pretty upset over there.”

“Did I scream that loud?!”

“In my opinion? No. but a girl flinched and buzzed off rather hastily, so, you tell me.”

When he saw Kibum’s gaping like a fish in frantic expression, Jinki has no choices beside laughed again, surprising Kibum who’s quite convinced with his aloof personalities.

“I didn’t know you have so many jokes in store.”

“You learn something new every day.”

“Your face doesn’t show.”

“What about my face?”

“It’s handsome but with that attitude inside, seems like you’re the type who woke up at the wrong side of the bed every single morning and could kill someone annoys you at any time.”

“Well, to be fair, I did wake up in the wrong side of my bed this morning. But it’s because a certain dog occupied half of my blanket so I couldn’t disturb her.”

“You have a dog?!”

Kibum’s face lit up thousand times as if he just won some lottery. Strangely, it warms Jinki’s heart. No, scratch that, it would warm any heart, Jinki tried to generalize the situation.

“I don’t, unfortunately. She belongs to my friend. I’m taking care of her while he’s travelling abroad. Her father will pick her up this weekend.”

“Ah, too bad. We could have play date with my boys.”

“I’ll make sure to give you a call when I decided to adopt one later.”

“Do you think my invitation hasn’t expired yet by that time?”

“A man can only dream, can’t he?”

Kibum’s laughter is muffled by his own palm covering his mouth.

“Let’s go inside, you must be shivering.”

“But your cigarette?”

Kibum’s half stuttered caught red handed, Jinki already pressed the half-done cigarette on the sand bowl on his left, “I can always have another one at home. Besides, I doubt you would go inside without me dragging you along.”

Kibum thanked the universe that the place is not well lit, so he could hide the blush creeping his cheeks. Unfortunately, Jinki has a very good eye sight.

***

“Is my baby being a good girl when daddy’s away?”

Jinki scoffed when the man just entered his living room just literally threw his suitcase aside and scooped the little dachshund running toward his embrace. He gathered the suitcase and poor leather bag on the floor and placed it neatly near the saffron color couch.

The man later dropped himself next to Jinki who’s lounged himself there, checking his phone halfheartedly.

“Minho texted me the other day.”

“Why did he keep texting you?”

The man with dark grey hair didn’t catch the frown hanging on Jinki’s face and buried his face to the dog’s belly, making him groaned again. He lightly pushed the dog further and toppled his head on the other man’s laps.

The dog owner realized something’s happened when he’s not around. He put the dog on the ground and tapped her butt to send her back to her small bed near the pantry.

“Minho has my number and I have his name in my contact list. He can text me whenever he wants. Still jealous?”

Jinki closed his eyes when he started playing with his hair, “He’s still one of the reasons we broke up.”

“Baby, the only reason we broke up is because neither of us didn’t want to succumb into marriage. Minho was just a handsome face happened on the wrong time.”

“I have no idea why I still befriend him when it’s clear he wanted to shove his face to yours, all the damn time.”

“And I have no idea that you’re this type who holds the grudge for a long time. We were already out of relationship back then.”

“Still, a friend wouldn’t openly chase after their friend’s ex.”

“A friend wouldn’t, but a best friend would.”

“Whatever.”

He almost lost his control and slapped Jinki’s head of him, “Oh, come on. What’s bothering you this time?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. It’s written all over your face the second I saw you behind the door. And I’m pretty sure it’s not because my daughter misbehaved while I’m on my annual pediatric conference.”

Jinki sighed, nothing he could really hide it from the other man. Since they were in their almost five years relationship, since they became best friends around three years prior.

“Minho invited me for a dinner night.”

“Wow, fancy,” actually Minho already texted him about the dinner a bit, how he wanted to introduce Jinki to some acquaintance he has, “He gave up on me so he went for the only option?”

“For the record, your mom agreed that I’m way much sexier than you.”

“Three years ago, before your cheek bones buried under those mount of fluffy fat.”

“Said a man who came to me and straight ahead told me I looked cute after leaving a piece of paper with their number on my table.”

“I will put aside the fact that I love how romantic you’re for still remembering our first meeting but let’s back to the right path here because I don’t like the upset you. It’s fucking annoying.”

“He introduced me to someone, Jonghyun.”

He let out inaudible gasp and thanked the universe Jinki’s still closing his eyes. Otherwise, he would stop at once and avoided any discussion of the main reason which distressed his ex-boyfriend. Knowing the scenario before hands didn’t prevent him with the sheer pain graze him when it came from Jinki’s mouth himself.

“So? Isn’t that great? Do you think it’s about time?”

“I was about to argue that two years are still not enough to get over you but I guess you’re not in the same page with me so I’d say that I’m not interested into some relationship whatsoever at this point.”

Jonghyun wanted to cry listening to such words. His heart clenched, he inhaled – a very long one – before he continued caressing Jinki’s forehead.

“I am flattered, but I know you’re just teasing me.”

“Ha, you know me so well.”

“I’m not gonna fall on the same hole, Lee.”

“You won’t. You’re too smart to repeat the torture on the loop.”

“It wasn’t a torture, Jinki. I love you as much as you do. Or maybe just slightly more.”

“Not a chance. I love you more.”

“Stop it or I will kiss you.”

“I dare you.”

“I told you I’m not gonna fall on the same hole.”

“Smart, very smart,” Jinki opened his eyes only to find Jonghyun sticking his tongue out, “Okay, so at first, I don’t like the idea already. You know I hate any type of match making method. Even the online one. But being there, I realized that my current focus doesn’t involved other party besides me, my business, and—“

“And your grandfather?”

Jinki looks annoyed, “Remind me to add ‘always-cutting-people-sentence’ on the list of reasons why I broke up with you when I’m writing my journal tonight.”

“It’s true. I think he was also the cock blocker during our relationship back then.”

“Dude, we’re talking about my gramps. And to put him on the same category with Minho is beyond weird.”

“We already broke up when Minho made his move, for Pete’s sake!”

“Okay, okay! No need to raise your voice, you’re so scary when you’re angry.”

“Then don’t make me! Now, now, can you please be a normal human being so we can talk like adults for once?”

Jinki pulled himself from the couch to the pantry, snatching a pack of cigarette on the tea table before slipped one on the corner of his mouth.

“Can you not smoking inside?”

He snorted and padded to the direction of his balcony. It’s in the middle of winter but he doesn’t care a bit to the wind ready to slaughter his bones. If tomorrow the cold prevented him to leave the bed, then let it be. For once, he just wants to free his mind from the business.

“You need to remember that I can only treat patient on certain age,” Jonghyun followed few minutes after with a blanket he spread as wide as possible to cover both of them without feeling suffocated for standing too close.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends people be under pediatric care up to the age of 21, though.”

“Did you just quote Wikipedia? And we’re not in fucking States! Above and beyond, shame on your wrinkles!”

“Rude.”

“You’re the rude one to your lungs!”

“Then tell me how to ease my mind without nicotine! Tell me how to forget all those troubled night and just sleep! Do you think it’s easy taking care of worrisome business and messy family without distraction?! Stop talking non sense if you do know how to save my days!”

Any word seems taboo once Jinki exploded. Both man just staring into the dark evening below Jinki’s unit. People paraded as quickly as possible on the street to fight the harsh weather. It’s not that late, but only few cars passed by. The dim light of the street lamp’s soothing the tense atmosphere in a way.

Jonghyun leaned closer to Jinki’s arm and rested his head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with that.”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.” 

“You know that you can always talk to me right?”

“I’m tired bothering you. You already have a lot in your hands.”

“Besides my patients and Roo, there’s nothing really confiscated my time.”

Having someone like Jonghyun who would stand next to him, scold him then hug him right after, no matter how awful he behaved and treated the other man, Jinki every so often thinking what kind of good deeds he did in his previous life.

Jinki cocked his head, inhaling the trace of scent of Jonghyun’s favorite shampoo. Initially, he was about to kiss the top of his head, like he used to do when the other man leaned on him for whatever reason it was. He remember, though, the earlier period after their broke up – after settling their feelings for few months of course – the shorter man told him not to do that anymore because it was the doctor’s Achilles heel. So instead, he rubs his cheek over the thick hair, silently telling Jonghyun he’s sorry.

Some nights – especially right after that dinner date – he had thought, maybe one of the reason he reprimands Minho’s idea is just because he still has tiny hope that Jonghyun and him might had another chance in the future.

“From time to time, I was thinking that the more day passed, we’re closer to the image of friends with benefit.”

“Friends with benefit? Tsk,” Jonghyun slapped his forearm, “The only benefit I got from you is you’re the only perfect nanny for Roo when I’m away.”

“Those cups of coffee every single time you stopped by my shop?”

“Pfft. How stingy. I’m leaving.”

“Heartless.”

Jonghyun didn’t say anything more and returned inside to gather his things and called Roo. He desperately needs some hot shower. Somewhere inside him, he was expecting Jinki offering him to stay the night knowing how caring the man and the fact Jinki knows he bolted to the other’s apartment right away after landed.  

When Jinki handed him the leash, that hope vanished in second.

“What if later I really considered this person? Or any other person collided with me on the future?”

Jonghyun smiled, he looks tired, but very sincere, “Then good.”

“Because I’m not gonna bother you anymore?”

“No. Because you’ll have someone to share the happiness with.”

***

cross-posted in my AFF

[iswearitoneverything]

Reunited And It Feels So Good | Jake x MC

This request goes out to @endless-jake. Who would like to see Jake and MC reunited after the ending of book 2. So here it goes! EDIT BEFORE POSTING: I feel this is not what was to be expected, lol, but I hope it is enjoyed all the same.

Warnings: some feels of some kind or another, fluff I am sure, some violence but I will try to keep it mild.

Plot: Okay, so the plot for this request is going to run along the lines of Jake’s idol scene, only during all that technical stuff that Zahra did, she also caused a power surge and thus caused those pods that the hotel guest (And our MC) was in to open and free them from their slumber. This will give MC the opportunity to save herself before Jake gets the chance to. But eventually they will be reunited. :) So this will tie into what @endless-jake is asking. : D Hope that’s alright?

—————

The sound of your bare feet slapping against the tile floors was loud enough to wake the dead, or so you believed. Hopefully, this would not draw any unwanted attention. You did not run into anyone as you ran, which you thought was honestly quite strange, but getting out of this place was your main concern. How you had even managed to escape your pod, you did not really know, nor did you care at this point. After you woke up you found all the pods, that once held the hotel guests, completely empty, every single one of them. You were completely alone. You grabbed some clothing that you had found and threw them on, and that was when you ran. And you were still running, turning corner after corner trying your best to remember the way out of the facility. You finally come to a stop, only because there was no way to continue further. The way was blocked by the ceiling and walls having caved in on each other. But from the looks of it, this cave in happened a long time ago. You stood there staring at the blocked hall, wondering just how long you were in that pod��

Finally you are in the open air, breathing it in, letting it fill your lungs that felt deprived of its freshness for so long. You had made it to the edge of the frozen forest, where you had the run in with the Guardian before. Your feet were still bare as you stumbled through the snow, which was becoming increasingly difficult with each step. It felt like you didnt even have feet anymore and you cursed yourself for not having taken the time to look for some shoes. As you continued to trudge through the ankle deep snow, you hugged your arms across your chest to keep yourself warm and almost did not notice the scene you were coming up on. Perhaps it was the fact that it felt like your eyeballs were beginning to freeze, or maybe you simply ignored the fact you were walking passed giant spots of blood upon the snow. It wasnt until you heard the sound of a gunshot that you snapped out it, finally taking notice of the scene before you.

You were surrounded by bodies, all lying in the snow. Stopping in your tracks you lowered your arms and looked around, examining each body as it lay crumpled upon the now crimson stained snow. From what you could tell, each and every person had been shot, whether it was in the back, chest or even right between the eyes. You could feel panic begin to grow inside you, your eyes darting from victim to victim and you realize now that these were the missing hotel guests. Clearly they too had escaped from their pods, but only to meet this horrific death. Hearing the sound of crunching snow underfoot, along with the reloading of a pistol, caused your frozen feet to move you behind a thick tree. You were sucking in ragged breaths that you knew were not the least bit quiet as you pressed yourself back against the tree. Still all around you the ground was strewn with bodies and that’s when the sound of the crunching snow began to grow louder; closer.

“There’s no use hiding. Didn’t do them any good.”

You recognized that voice, it was Lundgren. Carefully you peered around the tree, catching sight of him a few yards away, non-chalantly sliding bullets into his weapon as he walked around, his eyes searching the area. Every once in awhile he would nudge one of the bodies with his foot as he passed. BANG! You jumped, clinging to the tree for support, your heart beat quickening. BANG! BANG! This was clearly a tactic to flush you out of hiding, but you pressed yourself more against the tree, leaning your head back and closed your eyes. If Lundgren had killed all these innocent hotel guests, there was no telling what he has done to your friends. What he had done to Jake… BANG! The gunshot rang to your left and your eyes snapped open, your hand shooting up to cover your mouth to contain your shriek. This sudden movement allowed Lundgren to catch sight of you and a wicked grin formed on his lips as he began heading your way.

“Ah, it’s you. I was hoping to catch you soon, Rourke specifically wanted you dead.”

As he approached with his gun raised, you quickly got to your feet and stumbled out of the way as he pulled the trigger, the shot hitting the tree you had been leaning against. He cursed and you scrambled to your feet and kept dodging behind tree after tree, eventually coming to a rocky ravine. Lundgren cursed louder, his voice bouncing off the rocks toward you as you stood between two large boulders, a large limb in your hands at the ready.

“I see Wolf has taught you a few tricks about stealth. That will only work for so long, I’ve got a few tricks of my own.”

He knew better than to fire a shot randomly while in this ravine, there was too much chance of a ricochet. You stood hidden, shivering from the cold, almost sure that your rugged gasps for breath were going to reveal your location. You looked by your feet and saw a large broken limb lying there, it was thick enough to do some damage. You picked it up and held it like a bat as you listened carefully to his movements. His footsteps seemed closer, finally when you saw the hand holding his pistol come into view, you waited until his head came into view and the moment it did you brought the thick tree limb you had been holding, crashing down upon it. The impact cause the limb to snap in two with a deafening crack and the moment Lundgren fell to his knees and dropped his gun, you lunged for it.

You felt a sharp pain in your fore arm as you reached for the gun and looked down to see a long knife had gone almost straight thru it, Lundgren’s hand was on the hilt. You let out a shriek and fell backwards, your other hand holding your arm just above where the knife was. Lundgren pushed himself to his feet, blood trickling down the side of his head from where you hit him. He then reached for the knife in your arm and pulled it out roughly, causing you to let out a loud scream. He then brought the knife up over his head with both hands on the hilt as he towered over you.

“I’ll give you that one, it was a solid effort. But clearly not enough.”

He reared back a bit and as he was about to bring the knife down upon you, you noticed he was not wearing that exo-suit that he had been before. He was more vulnerable. You then remembered that you had basically fried him and it, clearly he had survived. Your mind raced on how to defend yourself, what had Jake and Estela taught you that day on the beach? Without wasting another second, you kicked his legs out from under him, rolling out of the way as he fell forward to where you had once been lying. The pain in your arm intensified after you had rolled out of the way, and thus your retreat was slowed. Lundgren growled in anger, the knife lodging inbetween two rocks and the blade snapped from its hilt from the pressure of his fall. His other hand shot out and grabbed a handful if your hair and yanked you back to the ground, his hands went to your throat and wrapped around it. He glared down at you as he squeezed harder and harder, crushing your windpipe. You clawed at his hands, gasping for breath as everything began to fade.

“For once, McKenzie isnt here to save you.”

His grip tightened and now you were no longer able to even gasp, everything was going black. This was it, this was how you were going to die. Of all the life endangering moments you have had on this island, you were going to die this way. Just as you closed your eyes, prepared for your life to leave you, you heard hurried footsteps coming toward you. You opened your eyes in time to see something tackle Lundgren hard, knocking him off of you and your hands went to your throat as you coughed and gasped air back into your lungs. You managed to roll onto your side and saw Lundgren fighting to get free of…you heard the familiar clinking of the dog tags and your eyes focused on the green jacket.

“Jake…”

You croaked as you watched him unleash punch after punch to Lundgren’s face. Never wavering nor slowing his pace or showing signs of mercy. You pushed yourself to a sitting position, still with your hand clasped around your throat, taking in as many painful breaths as you could to make up for those you had been denied moments ago. Your eyes widened as Lundgren managed to kick Jake off, sending him flying backwards into the snow. He then unleashed his own assault, landing a swift kick in Jake’s stomach. Jake crouched there, an arm wrapped around his stomach as he coughed and groaned and you watched as Lundgren then came marching over to you. You began to scramble backwards expecting his hands to be on your throat again, but he passed you, coming to where the knife had been, he grabbed the blade, uncaring of the fact it was slicing into his own hand from his grip.

He then went back over to Jake, who had pushed himself to his feet and blocked Lundgren’s arm as he brought it down with the blade. Jake punched him hard in the stomach and continued to block every attempt his assailant made. A thought crossed your mind and you began to crawl over to the ravine where you knew Lundgren’s pistol was waiting. Finally summoning enough energy to get to your feet you searched along the ground until you finally found it. You quickly picked it up and turned to see Lundgren clocking Jake across the face with his fist, also sending a gash across his cheek with the blade. Jake was defenseless except for when it came to his own brute strength and fighting skills. You moved closer with the gun, but knew that with your lacking marksman skills it was a risk of shooting Jake instead.

Helpless, you watched the two grapple, Jake finally managing to knock the blade from Lundgren’s hand, but this freed him up for a sucker punch to Jake’s jaw with his other hand. Jake was hurled backwards, against a tree and then he fell to his knees where Lundgren reared back with his foot, kicking Jake hard in the chest, you were sure you heard a few ribs crack. Lundgren grabbed a fist full of Jake’s hair, pulling him up to his feet and slammed him against the tree, pinning him there. He had managed to grab the blade and while he had Jake’s hair in his hand, he yanked it back so that his neck was more fully exposed. He then pressed the blade against his throat.

“You never learn, do you boy?”

Jake let out a breathy laugh, one that you could hear was painful for him to do. Even in the face of death, your Top Gun was still smirking.

“MC has that effect on me. If it means I’d have to die for her over and over again…then let me die an idiot.”

Lundgren scoffed, about to slice Jake’s throat when a gunshot rang through the air. He stopped, his body tense as he then looked down at the blood beginning to pour from a hole in his chest. He reluctantly dropped the knife and turned to look at you as you stood behind him pointing his own gun at him. He glared at you, not before slamming Jake's head against the tree, causing him to fall to his knees with a grunt. Then Lundgren began toward you, but he stopped when Jake had launched himself at his knees, trying to bring him to the ground. Somehow he got out of it, stomping on Jake’s thigh where you had just noticed had a bullet hole through it. Jake yelled in pain and fell back down, his hands clutching his thigh. You continued to point the gun at Lundgren as he came at you. BANG! Another bullet in his chest, which slowed him down a bit but he was still coming at you. BANG! BANG! He staggered a few times but he was still coming, how was this possible?

“MC don’t just stand there! RUN!”

You could only manage to take a few steps backwards as you took a couple more shots at him. You gasped as his hand found your throat and hoisted you up into the air a bit, and that was when you pulled the trigger once more. The barrel was pointed against his stomach, you watched as his face contorted with pain and felt his fingers loosen their grip on your neck as you both began to collapse to the ground. Lundgren’s now lifeless body completely on top of yours as you lay there quaking, not from the cold, but from the fact you had almost died once again, and you had just killed someone. You didnt move, too exhausted from everything you just lay there until Lundgren’s body was shoved off you and Jake took your face in his hands, riddled with bloody knuckles. You were in shock, your eyes staring off into space as he shook you ever so slightly, his hands still caressing your face.

“MC? MC, look at me! Baby, please!”

You finally meet his gaze and the moment you do, your eyes swell with tears and you wrap your arms around Jake’s neck and you pull yourself close. You sobbed hysterically into the crook of his neck and listened as he calmed you, stroking your hair and rocking you a bit. As you listened to him, you could tell that he was holding back tears.

“I was so afraid. So afraid they had killed you…”

Apparently after the power surge, Jake came to find you only to find some of the pods empty, and some of them still held their occupants, a bullet in their forehead. He had searched every pod, fearing that the next one he would look into he would find you there, just as dead as the others. When he didnt find you, he knew you had escaped and from that point he followed the trail of where most of the footprints lead, out into the snow. He also had come across something else, the remains of a smoked cigar, Havana brand. He knew Lundgren was after the others and as he ran he heard gun shots, fearing he wouldnt get there in time. He came across all the bodies of the hotel guests and was about to search through them for a sign of you, when he heard Lundgren’s voice. Using the code name ‘Wolf’ was all he needed to know; you were the target, and he ran as fast as he could to find where you were. He cursed himself for not getting there sooner.

He pulled back and looked down at you, wiping your tears from your face with his thumbs. His eyes looked down at your neck at the bruises that had formed from when Lundgren had almost strangled the life out of you and you could see the hurt in his eyes, even the hint of some tears forming.

“That bastard. If I could kill him over and over again, I would in a heart beat. Please forgive me for not getting there sooner. I dont know what I would have done if I had been too late… I-”

His voice cracked as he brought your forehead to his lips and pressed them against it and then moved his forehead to press against it after. You managed to give a little smile and then softly spoke as you took a strand of his hair and twisted it around your finger affectionately.

“Just take me to Costa Rica so we can forget that this happened…all of it. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

Jake managed to chuckle and he nodded as he looked into your eyes.

“You got it, Princess. But maybe we should get some first aid before hand.”

You nodded in agreement. The two of you were bruised, bloodied and battered and looked like hell. You were just now beginning to feel your injuries again now that your adrenaline levels were returning to normal.

“I vote we find some whiskey first though.”

“Amen to that, Princess. Amen to that. But first…”

Jake leaned down and pressed his lips against yours, pulling you closer despite his broken ribs. He deepend the kiss for a few moments and then pulled away.

“Sorry, usually I get to do that before the danger.”

You smirked and kissed him again softly, taking the time to bite his bottom lip slightly.

“You can make it up to me at the Lodge.”

“Heh, I’ll try my best to. Just go easy on me?“

“I’ll try my best to.”

You helped each other to your feet and the two of you put an arm around the others’ waist and walked off toward the Lodge, hoping against hope that your friends were all there, safe and sound.

-Fin

(Enjoy, or not to enjoy, I trust you will decide?)

(*I do NOT own any of the Pixleberry Choices characters or plot lines, I merely love (some of) them. Please don’t sue me, I am broke.*)