#i want my switch back so bad. why did i have to pawn it in the first place

[moon-and-stars-selfship]

Is that what we're doing tonight?

We're sobbing over Rosalina?

[honeykaes]

lustful vices

stelleron-hunter!sunday x stelleron hunter!reader II 3.4k

warning: smut, 18+ content, minors do not interact, afab!reader with no pronouns, angst, mention of blood, corruption kink, virginity loss, fingering, cunnilingus, mention of blood, minor character deaths, switch!reader, switch!sunday, unedited

synopsis: what would you do for one wish? would you sacrifice everything just to see a glimpse of it? that's a question you posed to the newcomer of the stelleron hunters, sunday. As he tries to adjust to his new life, you suggest some new vices he can indulge in to cope.

Water dripped from the corner of the dark room. Golden eyes burned into the concrete ground, widened in shock and pity. His heart thumped wildly in his chest, he was sure his gloved nails dug into the wooden chart he was chained to.

Teeth gnawed down on his chapped lips, worried at what the Heartstone woman just said and left him with

“You’re free now. Someone made a deal for you.”

Despite years of being pruned, clipped, and groomed to become the Oak Family Head, he knew no one in the Family had his back. His heart ached knowing the one person who would sacrifice something to see him alive.

“Robin…” he grunted, narrowing his eyes. What did she promise that woman?  He heard of that woman’s dealings with the Bonnajade Exchange. An eye for an eye—something Jade seemed to relish in.

Would Robin’s life be in danger now she was ensnared by that woman? She was forever tied to that snake. How could he put an end to this when he knew Jade would amusingly keep them separated until the days they perished? 

He had so much he wanted to say to his sister. He wanted to apologize. He wanted to yell at her on her decision to help outsiders. He wanted to cry in her arms and convince her to run away with him, so they can start a new life together.

As Sunday grunted, his eyes lurched up hearing noises from outside. Muffled shouting echoed from behind the door, and the sound of bullets firing to whomever were their victims. 

Could this be the Astral Express and that strange Galaxy Ranger? He fought a sardonic laugh. He tried to kill them; those people would leave him to rot just as his ”family” did.

But who is causing all this chaos? He wondered if one fray bullet managed to lodge itself in Jade’s head, truly freeing him and Jade from the new cage she had made them.

As it became silent, the door slowly opened revealing yourself. Your lips were formed in a smug smile, blood smearing across your face. A taller man narrowed his bloodred eyes as he stood by the doorway. You leaned over as Sunday tilted back, wanting distance between you two Your amused yet calculating eyes lapped up his pitiful expression.

“So this was the famous Sunday? How the angels have fallen,” you teased. Sunday grunted, eyebrows furrowing. As he opened his mouth, you pressed her finger to his lips.

“Relax there, birdie. I was just teasing. Besides, we’re here to get you out. The IPC is temporarily…decommissioned, giving you enough time to leave and come with us,” you chimed. 

The man in the doorway grunted, flinging blood that was on his broken sword.

“Seems you picked up Kafka’s bad habits with nicknames,” the man grumbled. Sunday scoffed, lips curling into a cruel smile. His golden eyes narrowed, bearing into your own.

“They already promised me my freedom. A soldier was on their way to uncuff me.”

You clicked your tongue, hand drifting to the soft feathers of the wing’s on Sunday’s head as he purged back. The wings puffed up in frustration as you chuckled again.

“Perhaps but is that truly freedom Sunday? Would you like to know the deal your dear sister made on your behalf?” you offered. Sunday tightened his jaw, looking to the ground.

It seemed like yet another group is trying to prospect him to become their tool. First the Oak Family, then the Astral Express crew, now the Stelleron Hunters? Why was everyone insisting on him becoming a pawn?

He was so sick of being controlled, yet the image of Robin burned in the back of his mind.

With a sigh he looked back up to her.

“What.”

Your grin widened.

“Your pretty dove promised to, well, never see you again. Fate worse than death when you two were so close through thick and thin,” you murmured, crossing your fingers. Sunday looked at you shocked.

“How is that even possible? How would Jade even-”

“That snake knows how to wrap around her prey. Trust me, she would make it where your sister won’t even gaze in your potential direction the rest of this lifetime,” you murmured, a more somber response than the condescending tone from earlier.

His head ached from stress as his gaze faltered away from yours, leg bouncing anxiously as he racked his thoughts with the revelation.

Making this deal, Robin was susceptible to that schemer. She’s right in the clutches of a venomous snake baring their fangs at a meek sparrow. He knew he was right to try and keep her safe, only for this to happen.

How can he fix this?

Sensing his dilemma, you leaned back, lifting your gun up and examining the weapon. Your gaze was much colder.

“You have two options now. Join the Stelleron Hunters and follow Elios’ script which will promise a reunion between the two of you…or live knowing you’re the reason why your sister is now a victim of the IPC.”

“....”

He hated this. He hated everyone. How much more did he need to sacrifice…

You crossed her arms as your colleague grunted.

“Well?”’

He’d let the world burn if it would make his sister smile.

“Fine…uncuff me.”

It had been two weeks since Sunday joined the Stelleron Hunters. He had joined them for a couple jobs, following Elios’ script to a T. Elios seemed to be pairing you and him together, but he had met the rest of the team. He recalled seeing Firefly on Penacony. 

He had learned the intimidating man in the room when he met you was Blade. He had met yet another condescending woman who also called him ‘Birdie’ and the teenager with a bad attitude who only seemed interested in hacking and gaming.

You and him resided in a bar in a hotel of whatever planet you had dragged him to for the script. Tomorrow you two will be off yet again, raising the price of his bounty bit by bit with every action he followed the the script.

Sunday sipped on his wine, feeling unamused as he placed it down. His gaze wandered to you with a bit of scorn and superiority he still felt despite not being the Oak Family Head anymore.

“...I still never would have imagined in my life I would team up with the Stelleron Hunters,” Sunday sighed. You chuckled, taking a sip of your cocktail. You leaned your cheek into your hand, soft skin pillowing against it.

“Well, I didn’t either. We all have our reasons for wanting to join, being a slave to whatever desire we are looking for,” you murmured, swirling your drink around. You eventually stop, stumping your fingers to the edge of the bar. 

“You want to see and save your sister. Firefly wants to live, Blade wants to die. Kafka wants to understand what loss and fear mean. All of us are slaves to destiny,” you responded. Sunday narrowed his eyes, it seems you withhold something important from your statement.

“And what do you want?” he asked. You snorted.

“Me? Well…I guess love,” you replied. Sunday’s eyebrows narrowed, scoffing. His eyes looked down before up again, checking your body language. Although it seems you were being serious, he didn’t believe a word.

“You? You’re joking?” he replied. You smiled and shrugged.

“My home planet was wartorn thanks to the IPC. I admit, it wasn’t necessarily as bad as Firefly’s situation but my life has been all about strategy, battles and blood since I turned 18 years old. My civilization decided to fight against the beacons of the Amber Lord….only to be wiped out,” you sighed.

“What I wish is just to go back to normalcy. Find love, settle down, find peace or whatever. Act like these 8 years didn’t exist,” you murmured. Your lips were still curved in a smile despite your somber tone. 

“What’s stopping you?” Sunday asked.

“The IPC. Got a pretty big hit on my head even prior to joining the Stelleron Hunters. I can never find peace until they’re dealt with,” you grunted, rolling your eyes. Sunday looked away from you, gazing at his reflection in the deep red color of his wine. You seemed so adapted to this despite being fairly new to the Stelleron Hunters yourself.

They all did. Although he was getting the job done, the mental toll of everything tugged on him.

“...How do you, manage all of this? I don’t get why you all sacrifice so much just to follow a script you have no idea will end,” he asked. You paused finishing your drink before swiveling your chair, so you were facing him.

“You’re doing the same, Sunday. We’re not that different at all despite you insisting we are,” you chimed, narrowing your eyes. You let out a chuckle, lightening up once more.

“Besides, all of us do little things to cope. Silverwolf for one spends way too much on video games. You should look at Kafka’s wardrobe. I swear she has every outfit combination she can, and she still purchases crap. Blade just consistently fights and spars swearing he will defeat whomever the fuck…” you grunted.

“And your vice…?”

A smirk crept onto your face. You leaned closer to Sunday as his eyes slightly widened in shock, feeling your finger tilt his chin up. 

“Teasing unsuspecting Holovians for a laugh.”

Sunday’s cheeks momentarily redden before he grunts, pushing you off. You laughed again.

“Geez, tough crowd. And I thought you were known for your upbeat personality,“ you sarcastically added.

“Be serious,” Sunday demanded.

“Fine, fine. Occasional I might go home with someone,” you admitted. Sunday’s eyes narrowed in understanding. You found comfort in sex. He never really understood what was so appealing about it, but at the same time he didn’t have much time to even focus on it to begin with.

“So lust is your vice despite you searching for love? Seems counterproductive,” he replied. Despite the insult, you grinned.

“Ah, ah, ah, Sunday. Don’t put on a high horse when Penacony was known for indulgence,” you added. “What was the saying again: whatever happens in Penacony, stays in Penacony, hm?”

Sunday momentarily clears his throat, rose dusting at his cheeks.

“That was for others, not myself. I helped people to a higher path,” he said. Your face morphed to disbelief.

“...Without indulging in any vices? Tsk, tsk, tsk. No wonder you’re so high strung,” you muttered.

Sunday narrowed his eyes. 

You lifted your hand and brushed past his feather like you did the day you two met. The wings  shuttered but didn’t puff out like the last time you tried it.

“...Well, would you like to try? Experience what you missed out years on,” you cooed, tapping his golden earring. You leaned in closer, placing your hand on his upper thigh.

“And find out just what was appealing to those hundreds of people who confessed to you,” you whispered in his ear, Sunday’s body shuttered, eyebrows furrowed.

“So you’re more like a tempress huh? Coax people to do whatever dirty thing they can. Is that your role here? As much as you proclaimed you're a fighter, the softness of your hands tells me everything I need to know about you.”

Your smirk grows at his observation.

“So how about it, birdie? Mark this new chapter abandoning all you know and let yourself experience life’s indulgences…” you cooed, blowing cool air into his ear. His hand grabbed your own. Just as you leaned back taking it as a sign of rejection—Sunday scoffed—gloved hand digging into your own.

Your gaze caught to the tent developing in his slacks.

“...Alright.”

Sunday sat on the bed, his throat felt dry. Why was he so nervous? 

His heart seemed to be wanting to lurch out of his chest..

As much as he denied it, he was curious about lust and sex. He recalled numerous confessions where people had admitted wavering their eyes from their “beloved” spouses, but he never truly understood why.

Meeting you, he’s beginning to start to.

His breath hitched—feeling you sit down on his lap—gently rotating your hips. Your core grinded against his bulge as nails dug into the silky hotel bed sheets. 

Your hands made their way to his chest, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. With each pop of the button he could feel sweat beginning to cling onto his hair. His eardrums pounded as he gaze continued to flip to your expression, and to his slowly revealing bare chest.

Just as the final button was undone and you slowly pulled his top off. Your lips hovered next to his jugular, soft lips pressing down on the warm and tense skin. 

“You need to relax more. Are you sure you want this? We can stop now,” you suggested. Sunday shook his head, trying to snap him out of his timidness.

“No. I want this. I…need this,” Sunday admitted. He could feel the smile you made press against his nape.

“Oh, so the spoiled rich boy can tell the truth?” you cooed. Sunday rolled his eyes and was about to yell a retort only for his voice to hitch as your swipe swiped along his neck.

You guided his hands onto your chest. With hesitantly squeezed the mounds, as you chuckled.

“See, you’re doing good. Just follow your heart and instincts.”

You had eventually taken your shirt off, letting it fall to the ground with the other articles of clothing.Sunday rolled his thumb against your nipples, lips parted as he could feel them hardened against his touch.

With a quivering lip, Sunday leaned into the soft mouths pressing his lips to the plush breast. His tongue slowly darted out before skating around the perimeter of your nubs. 

As your hand reached down, cupping his cock, Sunday gasped, letting the nipple plop into his mouth. He sucked, eyebrows narrowed as you hand made way beneath his pants, pumping his cock.

His cock jolted. You could feel it pulsating at your touch. It seemed longer than you expected, with a bit of heaviness to it too. Just as your thumb grazed the tip, Sunday bit down on your tip of your nipple. You gasped and chuckled.

“Guessing you enjoyed that, huh?” 

Sunday lifted his mouth up, lips gleaming from his saliva.

“...Stop teasing me already and get to the point.”

“Ahhh you’re rushing the best part. I’m guessing you didn’t know foreplay typically makes things feel better for you,” you cooed. “But alas, I understand. You’re eagerness is showing former Oak Family Head.”

You shimmied Sunday's slacks and briefs off, as his cock plopped onto his lean and toned chest. It quivered, lolling to the side desperate for more of your attention. You had risen from your seat, taking your own pants off.

Sunday caught the strings of slick that connected the fabric of your underwear, thighs and cunt. He felt his mouth water, gulping slightly as he drank up your entire nude form.. His hand reached out and connected with your thigh. It wandered from up as he relished the touch of your soft skin, pillowy texture of your chest, to the district angles of your face.

This was lust incarnate, he knew it in his heart.

“Ready?”

You leaned on top of his lap, cunt hovering above his throbbing cock. You circled your click in preparation, slowly sliding it down.

Sunday swore he felt bells as soon as his tip connected with your velvety entrance. His hips intentionally bucked up, sliding himself deeper as you chuckled, finally gliding it down.

He sucked a breath in. wrapping your arms around you tight. His heart fluttered fighting the urge to plow inside. He could feel your tight cunt squeeze and coax him to slide deeper, if it was possible.

Just as you lifted your hips, about to ride him, Sunday’s grip on you got tighter, a loud groan reverberating throughout the room.

Thick ropes of warm cunt shot inside of you, as his hips meekly jolted up. His back arched, covering his moan of any further pathetic noises from escaping. His eyes slowly opened, feeling his high finally come down gazing at your slightly disappointed face.

He could feel himself softening inside of you.

“I-I…I don’t know what happened…” Sunday admitted. “I tried to control myself but”

You sighed but gave a supportive smile.

“I know. It’s your first time. I would have been surprised if you lasted longer to be honest. You never masturbated or have sex, right? This was bound to happen,” you murmured. You lifted yourself off of his cock, his eyes gazing at his cum leaking down your thighs.

“I won’t lie, I am a bit sad I won’t get my fill but there are other ways of that,” you murmured, laying beside him, looking up at the ceiling. The burn of arousal was beginning to shimmer between your thighs.

Sunday looked down, lapping up the view of your body.

“Like what?”

You grinned at the question, lulling your head to the side.

 “Curious still? Well, there’s different ways. Toys, but I didn’t pack any. And these guys,” you stated, wiggling your fingers.

“Show me.”

You hummed, letting your hands slide down the curves of your waist and thighs before settling at your cunt. Your finger slides along the slit a couple of times before you gaze a dramatic moan as Sunday tensed further, to your satisfaction.

Your thumb settled on your clit, beginning to rub circles. Sunday noted that was the same spot you did before getting on top of him.

“Doing this for a little while can get me to that euphoric feeling you just had. You can also slide your fingers in too, but the main focus should be right here.” you hummed. You continued, and closed your eyes, letting your other hand grip tightly on your breast.

Your hips began to grind down on your fingers, inching closer to your high.

“Wait! Let me do it!” Sunday grunted. You opened your eyes to see Sunday, moving your hands away. His long fingers followed the same movements, grazing your slit before letting his calloused thumb press tightly against your clit. His movements were slow but began to go faster as he felt more sure of himself.

You were squirming beneath him, and he couldn’t help smiling. It was so interesting, having him on top of you now. He liked it. He liked you under him, his touch being the ultimate desire of reaching euphoric highs.

He liked being in control.

His fingers sank into your cunt, drilling as his pace didn’t let up. He noted the way your nails harpoon against the bed sheets as his timidly once did. He noted the way your moans didn’t seem fake, they were as soft and pathetic as the ones he had made.

Your face leaned to the side, gaze half-lidded beguiling him further. 

He thought righteousness would save him. No, perhaps sin will instead.

After all, he can just ask for forgiveness later.

He leaned his head into your cunt, tongue beginning to swirl on the bundle of nerves as his fingers continued to plow against him. Your hands weaved their way into his silver hair, pulling him further into your core. He could taste your sweet arousal mixed with the saltiness of his cunt, an aroma that he knew would dream off once everything was settled in the early hours of the morning.

He felt your walls begin to clamp on his fingers, giving him a harder time plowing as quickly into you. Curling his fingers up, to try to slide deeper, he heard you gasp out his name loudly.

“There! Right there Sunday!” you shouted. He continued his ministrations there, watching your body spasm as his other hand connected with your thigh, spreading you out further.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” you cursed out, throwing your head back. Your hips lifted up as Sunday’s eyes widened. He felt you clamp onto his fingers as he slurped up the excess essence drooling out of you. Your whole body rocked, with whimpers and whines falling from your lips.

As your body plopped down, Sunday lifted his head up from your core and slid his fingers out. He tongue lapped up the remaining juices clinging onto him, watching your tired eyes open again. Your chest was heaving, drool managing the drip down a corner.

“I thought you were just a virgin…” you muttered breathlessly. A new found but familiar confidence fell over Sunday As he crawled on top of you. His cock lurched, hardened and pulsating, eager to try again as it nudged against your burning clit.

“I’m a fast learner.”

Perhaps he can adjust to becoming a Stelleron Hunter better than he originally thought.

[webslingingslasher]

can you please give us something angsty between ethan and trouble? like how ethan texts her and she ignores the messages during the breakup. or when they run into each other in the cafeteria and trouble pretends he’s not there and walks away despite he’s calling out her name. the way trouble no longer crochets because that was her thing with ethan and it feels strange to pick up the needles and it makes her miss him.

*cleaning out my drafts!*

ethan is peter's best friend and by default, he owes you nothing.

you were a friend for the moment but once you and peter ended, so did the alliship. ethan didn't get that in the memo, but he's never made a friend through peter and lost her through him too. he keeps thinking everything is normal, like there isn't a giant peter shaped hole in the fence.

'hey, so i was thinking we could have a little study sesh at the library?'

'i'll rent out a room. and it would be just us.'

'obv.'

you miss him too sometimes. but he chose peter by default and you don't condemn him one bit for it, ally did the same with you. peter was ethan's friend first, so he should still be one when you walked away.

peter doesn't talk to ally anymore either. both friends became constant reminders of what you had and lost.

it might be a text message but you can hear ethan's voice in your head, he sounds defeated.

'i'm guessing that's a no.' you never open them but he knows you read them. it doesn't surprise ethan, you've ignored him since you dumped peter. he just never expected to be dumped too.

'i miss you.'

'i just wanna hang out with you again.'

'and if you don't want him around either that's fine with me.'

'i'll fly you somewhere in my private jet.'

'damn it. i was really hoping for a "you have a private jet???" response.'

'it's a yes btw. just because i know you're curious.'

'well, actually, it's my parents but you always say that's the same thing.'

you watch each notification appear and disappear. your teeth dig into your bottom lip to stop a smile, you can't go backwards. if you're around ethan it leads to peter and you can't do that.

ethan didn't realize there might be a reason why you haven't been texting him back, but he does now. what if you weren't replying because you weren't seeing them? he thought you were just ignoring him but it's been weeks of silence.

'did you block me too?'

he hopes not. he really, really hopes not. ethan knows why you pushed him away, he's just upset that he didn't get a say in it. ethan's never been able to tell you how sorry he is on behalf of his best friend and how he doesn't want to lose you over his idiocy.

you frown at the message, restraining your impulse to text him back, you hold your breath and wait for another message.

it comes two minutes later and your entire heart shatters.

'crochet buddy?'

you haven't been able to look at your basket of hooks and yarn, it feels wrong to finish your pig. you told ethan you kept messing up on the ears and he said he'd do them for you. he never got the chance. you wonder if he finished his lizard tail.

your thumbs move before your mind can stop you, not that it would. you had to tell him the truth, you can't have him wallow and sulk over you.

peter might deserve it but ethan doesn't.

'it would surprise me if you didn't have a private jet.'

'hey!!!!!!!!'

'don't leave yet pls.'

'let me take you out to lunch. we can go to the village or brooklyn.'

'i promise he won't find out.'

'please?'

'i miss my buddy.'

you think it's almost as painful as splitting from peter. ethan is peter's best friend and you can't get in the middle of that. it'll hurt peter just as bad and while part of you wants him to be hurt over you, you don't want to use ethan as the pawn to do it.

you back out of the conversation, lock your phone, set it down, and grab your unfinished pig before curling up with him for a nap.

---

ethan doesn't eat in kayte hall. you know he doesn't eat in kayte hall because you ate in cathedral hall with the sig nu frat.

used to.

you switched to kayte hall two weeks ago, it was an extra five minute walk but it was done with the purpose to avoid situations like this.

you try to move discreetly, it doesn't matter, he clocked you the second you sat down. you can't abandon ship, he's sliding in the seat across from you.

'you're avoiding me and i really hate it. you made me stoop so low i had to get a pledge to track you down for me.'

you're not going to give him the silent treatment, that would be plain rude.

'are you admitting to stalking me?'

'i'm admitting that i instructed someone to stalk you. are you flattered? you should be.'

'why aren't you at cathedral?'

'because you don't eat there anymore, duh. can i have a grape?' you hesitate before sliding your tray halfway up the table, he takes three.

you listen to the purple crush between his teeth, ethan looks a bit more serious after he swallows. you look at your cup, his stare makes you feel guilty.

'look, let me get this out of the way now so we don't have to talk about it again. i don't know all the details, park- peter hasn't really opened up to me about it.'

you swallow tightly, this is exactly what you didn't want to happen.

'from what i know- or pieced together, he disappointed me too. i'm sorry for whatever he did and i'm sorry it hurt you enough that i was caught in the crossfire, but between us, when i'm with you, he doesn't exist. this is the last time i'll ever talk about him, i'll offer you the same courtesy and we won't bring it up again.'

ethan's saying all the right things, you softly shrug. 'what's the courtesy?'

'you can ask me about him if you want to. it'll stay between us, i promise.'

the peter floodgates burst open, you'd done your best to push him from your mind but now you have the opportunity to indulge. you nibble at your bottom lip before looking up at him. ethan's smile is gentle, he's trying so hard for you.

'how is he doing?' from the little rumors you've heard it doesn't seem too good and the harsh bruise splattered across his jawline last week didn't do him any favors.

'um,' his smile tweaked, it's worse than you thought. you know it's bad because ethan's trying to find a way to be honest but not worry you. 'he's okay.'

'please be honest.' you know you ended it, you know it's real this time and you know part of you wants to hate him but if he's really down bad, you might have to give him a visit. ethan takes a deep breath and leans in closer to the table.

'yeah, he um, he kind of tanked. he's not himself right now. he's skipping chapter meetings, he's missing classes and if he's home, he's barricaded in his room or drinking.' your heart sinks, you're not hungry anymore.

'does he miss me?' you almost feel embarrassed to ask. ethan doesn't find the question pitiful, he's just glad you're talking to him. 'bad.'

it's brutal on your end too, but he sounds worse than you. at least you can get through the emotions of your day to day. you wish you could say you won the breakup but there's no winning.

'has he...'

you don't want to know the answer. you don't want to know the answer. you don't want to know the answer.

you still ask it. 'has he hooked up with anyone else?'

'no.' you believe him because he said it quick and with certainty. you nod slowly, it was the answer you wanted but it still didn't feel good.

'is he still going to the parties?' ethan shakes his head, 'i haven't seen him at any.'

'but he still has you, right?' if you didn't have a small support system you would've lost it ten times over by now. peter doesn't have a whole lot but one ethan overpowers ten mediocre friends.

'i asked if he wanted to talk about it, he said not really, i told him i was there for him and he said thanks. there really hasn't been much else, he's just been really quiet.'

ethan is all peter has, you can't rip that away from him. it would be evil to pollute the one thing he still had, you walked away from him and you shouldn't take his friend with you. plus... how could you move on if you have the peter encyclopedia at your fingertips?

'at least he's not crying.' you end it with a half laugh, half hum. it's sad all around and you're trying to lighten the mood, ethan avoids eye contact and your palms rest on the table.

'ethan.'

ethan's not sure if he is or not. he hasn't heard him but there are some days peter would shuffle out from his room for a water or snack and his eyes were a little red. there was evidence of crying but no tears, so he can't say with certainty but he knows.

'i don't know.'

it made up your mind. you can't do this to peter, you can't sneak around with his friend when he's still trying to mend what went down. you grieved the end of your relationship when you were with him, calling it quits was hard and it still is, but you were prepared. peter was caught off guard and he's still analyzing everything that went down, you know he is.

'so... are we cool?'

'of course we are, you were never a problem, ethan.' he looks relieved, releasing a sharp sigh he rests his hand over his heart and smiles brightly. 'oh thank god, i really missed you. so, are we done with the peter talk? are we ready to schedule our next crochet date?'

oh. he must've misunderstood you.

'no, we're not... we're not hanging out ethan, i just wanted you to know i didn't have any bad blood against you.'

ethan's not a mean person and you've never seen him mad at someone but he's hurt and his arms cross over his chest with a sneer.

'why am i being punished for what he did?'

'you're his best friend, ethan.' it's a statement and fact. it also has everything to do with you ghosting him. 'you were my friend too.' it's a raw confession, you can't look at him when he's this sad.

'i know i was. you were mine too, you still are. it's just different now and i'm not saying we can't be friends, but i think it would be better for everyone if we just took a break from each other right now.'

'it's not better for me. everything is weird right now, my best friend is a shell of the person he used to be and my other one pushed me so far away i was convinced she forgot about me.'

'it feels like i'm being iced out from all sides.' he's much sadder when he adds that on. you feel for him and you hate that you're part of the reason he feels excluded.

'i'm really sorry you feel like that, ethan. i promise it won't be forever, but i have my mind made up and no matter how many times you say please, it won't change.'

you're not sure if things between you became really quiet or if the dining hall doubled in sound. ethan's trying to come up with the right combination of words but nothing's good enough to make you come around on the idea.

If please doesn't work, he might have to force you.

'okay. i'll stop asking you to hang out with me.' he sounds fine with it, you're a little suspicious but he might've just wanted to talk to you, even if it was a formal goodbye.

'but i should go now.' ethan pushes against the edge of the table to slide out from his chair. his words are short but his tone is happy, you stare at him extra hard before nodding.

'i'll see you around?'

ethan sends a wink your way, 'see you later.'

---

the contents of your backpack are all over your bed, your phone nowhere to be found. you retrace your previous steps, you had it at lunch and you swore it was in your outer pocket at the library but after that it's blank.

it was either lost or stolen. your entire life was on it, you don't even have a way of telling everyone you lost it. you recheck your bag two more times even after holding it upside down, then fill it back up while giving yourself pity.

you wallow in it for ten minutes, not even a minute after that your roommate rushes in the door with her own phone held out. 'it's ethan.' you reach for it without thinking but pause before you can fully grab it, ally shakes it towards you. 'he said he has your phone?'

ally's unaware of what's happening and is being as helpful as she could but all you're thinking about is when and how he took it. you press her phone to your ear and ask him where your phone is, he plays dumb.

'i'm not fucking around, ethan. this isn't funny, i need my phone.'

'you left it behind at butler, it's a good thing my pledge found it for you.'

there was absolutely no chance of you leaving it, you clench your jaw and try to restrain yourself from throwing a million mean chirps. he sent someone to rob you.

'you stole my phone? why the fuck would you steal my phone?'

'oh, i didn't steal anything. you should be thankful one of our guys found it.'

'found it in my backpack?'

'did he? hm, interesting. but, hey! it's here and it's safe.'

'great, bring it to me.'

there's a pause on the other line, ethan sucks air in through his teeth. 'sorry, no can do, buddy. looks like you'll have to come get it.' your mouth parts in shock, that was the plan? forcing your hand to hang out with him?

'absolutely not. just meet me at kayte.'

'another no go, my friend. i'm stuck here and so is your phone.'

'you're not stuck anywhere, except in a house with my ex.'

'he's not here.'

'i don't believe you.'

you can picture ethan holding his phone into open air, he sounds far away when he calls out 'parker!' there's a solid ten second gap before he sounds crystal clear again. 'see? no threats.'

'ethan, please.'

'just come over, i promise it'll be fun.'

your eyebrows furrow, he thinks it's a game. 'no, nothing will be fun. this will be a business transaction and i'll be out of there in ten seconds.'

'so it's a yes? you're coming over?' if ethan had a tail, he would be wagging it. his plan worked and you're falling right into his hand. if it was anything else, you'd say fuck it and move on. but ethan took the one thing he can hold over your head and you both know it.

'i don't know how, but this is a rich asshole thing and you're being one.'

ethan ignores you. 'make sure to bring your crochet hooks!'

'i'm not doing that.'

'that's okay! i have a bunch of extras.'

'i mean it, ethan. i'm not hanging around!'

'what's that? sorry, you're breaking up on me. we should finish this conversation in person... okay, bye!'

the call disconnects suddenly. you stare at the black screen and take a deep breath to secure your thoughts before making a trek across campus.

---

'give me my phone.'

ethan ignores you and points to his bedside table, there's two waters and an entire box of grocery store cookies. 'here, come have a snack.' he drops his crochet tub on the edge of his bed. 'i got some new yarn, look at how soft it is.'

everything about it was a ruse.

'im serious, ethan. give me my phone.' he sighs and gestures to his desk, he keeps pulling out hooks. 'it's on my desk.' you search the surface, it's extremely tidy with no hiding place.

'no it's not. where is it?'

'hm... i must've misplaced it. i'll help you look in a second.'

if ethan wants to play dirty, you have no issue getting in the mud. you grab a small succulent from his windowsill and raise it next to your head.

'give me my phone, ethan.'

you're fighting fire with fire, ethan eyes his plant in your hold but keeps a straight face. 'i forgot where i put it.' if that's how he wants to act, you have no choice but to follow through on your actions.

you drop the mini cactus, the pot shatters into a dozen pieces and soil spatters around the floor. ethan falls to his knees and screams 'no!' at the plant guts covering the ground.

'she was a kid, you monster! she did nothing to you!'

you grab the matching pot that was next to it. 'give me my phone or the sister gets it.'

'i refuse to negotiate with a terrorist!' you're breaking him, you can see he's hesitant to refuse your compromise. 'i'm sorry you feel that way.'

the clay pot falls just as quick, it lies in a broken heap next to it's twin. ethan acts like he's been shot, a throaty yelp was produced while he delicately held the cacti in his hands.

the plants were fine, all you did was bust the pots. and while breaking personal property was a bar too low for you, you know he has at least a dozen more just like it in his closet.

you look up at his door to watch it crack open, it's a swift movement but it feels like everything is moving in slow motion. you try to back up as quick as you can but you're cemented to the floor and all you can do is stare at the face coming through the door.

'what the hell is... hey.'

you swallow hard, he looks how ethan said. just a shell of what he once was. all you can stare at is the purple bruise on his cheekbone, your heart pangs when it's reminded it's not your job to care about it anymore.

you point at ethan who suddenly is really quiet.

'he stole my phone.'

peter nods slowly before peering down at the mess around your shoes. 'did he give it back?' you shake your head, you feel like a tattle tail, especially when peter looks down at ethan and tells him to give your phone back.

ethan pulls it out of his pocket and hands it right over, your jaw drops and you frown heavily at him. 'you do it when he asks but not me?'

'he'll beat me up, you'll just unhouse my plants.'

'peter would never beat you up.' therefore, his excuse is pointless. ethan disagrees, his eyebrows almost hit his hairline with how confident you are. 'over you? he'd fucking kill me.'

you wait for peter to tag in, you know something is brewing in his mind. something like 'damn right i would,' and you'd follow up with something about how he's actually a big baby and he'd say something like 'only for you' and you'd... but that's not real life anymore and he stays silent.

he's probably confused and a little hurt you're hidden away in ethan's room, you feel the need to apologize even though you're not sure why you're sorry.

'i'm sorry, peter. i tried telling ethan that we should take a break on our friendship but he won't let it go.' you threw him under the bus in a second and you don't care, from the looks of it neither does ethan.

'you can be friends with ethan. you should be friends with ethan.' it's the first time actually talking with him since the break up and it feels weird, he's too formal. he's being kind and reserved, he's pliant and you need some bounce back to feel normal.

'you always said i needed to unfriend him when we were together.' you might've tossed a taunt at him, you wanted a reaction. you wanted your peter and throwing the break up in his face might do it.

it works, his eyebrows furrow while his stature hardens. 'i said a lot of shit i didn't mean when we were together, trouble.' you point at him, your tone ice cold. 'don't.' you refuse to acknowledge the small spread of warmth at the nickname.

'you like ethan, ethan likes you. you guys are good friends, why should i fuck that up? i ruined enough shit for you. the least i could do is give you ethan.'

ethan could speak up to make a joke about how it's like he's a child of divorce or that he's a person, not a piece of property but it feels like you're both having a moment that needs to happen. even if there was a weird energy he was picking up on.

your eyes narrow, he's doing this for reasons beyond being a good person. you know him well enough to know that he has something up his sleeve.

'i can think of something else i'd rather you give me.'

you can see the heat brewing behind his eyes, you got him right where you want him. peter uses his serious voice, the one he uses instead of raising his voice but still demands your attention.

'we're not talking about this here.'

those two sentences just told ethan that whatever you were insinuating was what ended the relationship and peter's very upset stance solidifies his opinion.

'oh, trust me. you're not talking about it at all.'

'we're not unpacking this in front of ethan. i'm on my way out anyway, hang out with your friend.' peter tries to step past you but you circle around to step up with him and block his exit, his chest brushes yours for a second and it takes everything in you not to wrap your arms around him and sink your face into the body you once found homely.

'liar.' he doesn't want you to hang around and he wasn't leaving. you're met with a heavy sigh. 'yeah, probably.' you can't stop yourself, you lightly poke his chest and peter's head drops so he can watch your hold stick longer than it should've.

'be honest.'

'you might be ready to cut the cord but i'm not.' he'd rather keep you in his life as a tie through ethan no matter how sore it was. if you had ethan you'd never fully lose him and that kind of promise is the only thing he wants right now.

'neither am i.'

peter stares at ethan, 'shut up.' he's shunned into silence. you're starting to understand why peter said he wasn't going to unpack anything here, you look down at your hands and play with a ring on your finger.

you think peter wants to talk about it civilly but you don't think either of you are ready to do it yet without hurting either person's feelings even more than they already are.

but having ethan around is a nice way to keep peter close without damaging your healing.

'okay.' you take a deep breath and glance at ethan, who's still pouting on the floor keeping his eye line from peter. 'i guess we can hang out.' he lights up in a second, looking between you and peter in case either one of you vetoes it.

neither of you do.

'sweet! i have to repot these but i have some new templets in my basket, so if you want to pick one out and start i'll just catch up later.' you nervously look towards peter and immediately dart away when you make eye contact.

turning your back on him slightly, you feel a little better. there's something about him that makes you feel jittery, like when you were the first couple times you met up with him alone.

'i don't think being here is a good idea, maybe we should just stick to my dorm?'

'why? parker said he was fine with us hanging out.'

'because maybe parker was being nice and doesn't actually want to see me here?'

peter can speak for himself, and he'll use the correct name. in case you forgot. 'peter, is just fine with you being here. the only sucky part is knowing you hate me.'

you think he might be baiting you now but you can't help but set the record straight. 'okay, hold on now.' you speak very clearly towards him, you're not about to let him twist your words.

'i am a hundred different emotions towards you right now but i don't hate you. i think you know that, parker.'

'okay,' it's full of sarcasm. 'you have a goodnight, trouble. i'll see you later.' you bite your tongue and let him leave, if you didn't, you'd be making subtle shots at each other all night.

'your best friend is a dick.' the second you're alone. ethan shrugs, 'you were into that at one point.'

'no, no. if we're going to be friends you only ever sympathize with me about him, you're not allowed to bring up anything i did in the relationship.'

ethan has a pile of soil and a pile of shattered clay, you feel obligated to help him clean up. 'and for clarification, i'm supposed to sympathize with your ex boy toy when i'm with him?'

'absolutely not. you're on team me at all times. shame him if you have to.' the broken pieces land in his desk trash can. 'is this where i have to remind you he'd kick my ass?'

oh, you missed and loathe this so much.

'you're so whiny, clean quieter.'

'is it too late for you to ghost me again?'

'that's it. clean up your own mess, i'm going to make a crochet snake and not because it's the easiest but because that's how you're acting.'

ethan snorts and nods towards his wicked wicker basket of yarn, you're already eyeing different greens. 'be sure to make one for my twin next door.'

you do.

you leave it outside peter's door and while ethan never confirmed it, he knows you're the one who made it.

and it sleeps on his nightstand next to him every night. 

[holylulusworld]

Indecent Proposal (24)

Summary: Your boyfriend wants to be part of their empire. You are the pawn he’s willing to sacrifice.

Pairing: Mobster!Stucky x fem!Reader

Characters: Jake Jensen

Warnings: established Stucky, caring mobsters, pregnant reader, polyamory, fluff, angst, a little silliness, sweet Jake

A/N: This is a reader-centered chapter. We learn what the reader did while Steve & Bucky were away.

Indecent Proposal (23)

Indecent Proposal masterlist

10 hours earlier, shortly after Bucky and Steve left, …

“What if you type on your laptop to find them?” You decided to take matters into your own hands and bug Jensen. He refused to tell you your husbands’ location, but this didn’t mean you cannot get on his nerves until he gives you more than another excuse.

“I told you that their location is top secret. If I say one word, they will kill me, or worse,” you cocked a brow.

“What’s worse than getting killed?” You asked. “I don’t think there are worse things they could do to you. Why do you fear them so much?”

“Oh, my sweet summer child,” Jensen waited a lifetime to use the quote from George R.R. Martin’s novel. He grinned proudly when you wrinkled your forehead. “You have no clue what they could do to me for even talking to you.”

“They are cuddly bears,” you huffed and sat on a chair next to Jensen. “I’m worried and bored. It's a deadly combination. They don’t want me to leave the mansion, and there is nothing to do but watch TV or read. But I can’t focus on shit.”

“Do you want to play a game? I can get you any game you want for free,” Jensen tried to distract you for a little while.

“What kind of games?”

“How about we play a roleplay or…wait…yes!” Jensen typed away on his laptop. “I got it. You’ll love the game. Give me a minute and we can play together.”

Jensen handed you a controller and switched one of the huge monitors on the wall on.

You didn’t want to play stupid games but agreed to distract yourself from overthinking things again.

“What is the game about?”

“Zombies,” he grinned and sat back down. “Uh-I hope you can stomach a little bit of blood and stuff.”

“Sure—” you sucked in a breath. “I mean…I’m not sure. If I puke it’s your fault.”

“I’ll take the blame then,” Jensen started the game. He explained the ropes to you before he let you choose a character. “We can play together. Stay behind my character in the beginning. He’s a killer dude!”

“Got it,” you looked at the controller to recall everything Jensen said. The first thing you did was walk straight into a group of zombies. Jensen did much better. He saved your character and killed all the zombies.

“Awesome, I found a magnum,” he did a little dance before guiding his character and yours inside an abandoned house. “We are safe here for now. In later chapters, you will get attacked.”

“You know the game well,” you said while fighting with the controller. “Do you play it often?”

“I made it,” he smirked. “Do not fret, my lady. I will bring you to safety.”

“You made it?”

“I designed it,” he shrugged when you gaped at him. “I always wanted to become a game designer.”

“That’s cool! I bet you made a shit-ton of money with the game. The characters look so real!”

“Yeah, that’s what I dreamed of,” he said, eyes saddening at the memory. “Sadly, the company I sold the game to tried to fuck me over. I had no other choice but to hack into their system and steal my own game.”

“I’m sorry, Jensen.”

“Nah,” he shook his head and gave you a cracked smile. “This way only I know how to beat the game. You’re the first person I allowed to play it.”

“Thank you,” you patted his thigh. “You’re a nice guy.”

“Please don’t tell Bucky and Steve so. I’m a dangerous criminal, remember?”

“Got it,” you whispered to not draw attention toward you and Jake. Your husbands’ men still guarded the doors. “You’re a bad guy. A mastermind and criminal. We all should fear you.”

“Uh-don’t overdo it. I don’t want them to end up killing me because I’m a danger to you…”

“Alpine! Come out, kitty,” you called Alpine’s name while looking for the cat. Another distraction was needed because Jake had to check on the security and watch the monitors. Something was happening outside the mansion, but you didn’t dare ask. “Alpine?”

Alpine meowed loudly. “There you are!” You grabbed the cat from its throne, Bucky’s old armchair at the library. “I was looking for you, punk.”

You giggled when the cat looked offended. “Aw, only Bucky can call you punk, huh? Well, he’s not here, so I’m going to call you punk.”

Alpine didn’t mind cuddles. The cat was looking for its owner, missing Bucky as much as you did. “Oh, wait! I know. Let’s brush your fur and get you a new collar.”

Carrying the cat inside the walk-in wardrobe to look for something to dress the cat you sighed. “I can’t get you a new collar, Alpine. Bucky said we must stay inside the mansion. But don't worry. I'll find a nice scarf or something for you.”

While Alpine got comfortable in your arms, you looked at the vanity, remembering Steve and Bucky gifted you more than one necklace.

“I know, punk. We will make you even prettier using my necklace…”

Part 24.2

Tags in reblog.

[pervprincealwayswins]

Kanato Sakamaki x FEM! Reader

Body Switched

Tw: Mentions of catcalling, sexism, harrassment and boundary-crossing behavior.

Word count: 8806

Almost every day of the week, Kanato tormented Y/N at school, until the pair were put in each other's shoes.

Y/N still remembered her first bad experience with Kanato. She didn't have an easy school life to begin with, and this occurance with Kanato had made it so much worse.

It was a few weeks into the first grade, still early. And Kanato was already seated in the classroom with his teddy bear.

At first, Kanato had always seemed really cute and sweet to Y/N. And she wondered if she could befriend him. If only she ever had the guts to do so, she thought.

But as soon as Y/N walked in that day, Kanato began to speak to his teddy bear in a mocking tone.

"Oh, look, it's little miss perfect, Y/N. Getting all the best grades, trying to show me up."

Y/N swallowed nervously. "I-I'm not trying to show you up, Kanato. I just...I just want to do well in school."

Kanato smirked. "Is that so? I'm sure you're just thrilled that you got better grades than me."

Y/N hesitantly replied. "I...I'm sorry, Kanato. I didn't mean to make you upset."

Kanato laughed. "Oh, please. Don't act like you care. You know you love it when you can rub it in my face that you're smarter than me."

"I don't...I don't want to rub it in your face. I just...I just want to be friends." She replied softly.

Kanato scoffed. "Friends? With you? Never. You're beneath me."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "But why? Why do you have to be so mean to me?"

Kanato shrugging. "Because it's hilarious." He paused for a moment and grinned. "And because you let me."

"I don't...I don't want to let you." She whispered.

Kanato leaned in close. "Then why don't you try to stand up for yourself? Fight back." He smirked deviously.

Y/N stammered. "I... I..."

Kanato chuckled. "That's what I thought."

Y/N looked down at her feet. "I wish you would just leave me alone now, Kanato."

Kanato smirked. "Not going to happen. You're my favorite new toy now."

"...I'm not a toy." Y/N said.

Kanato laughed. "Yes, you are. And I'm going to play with you forever."

Y/N backed away. "Please...just leave me alone."

Kanato stood up, towering over Y/N. "Never."

Without hesitation, Y/N ran out of the classroom with tears. "Help! Somebody help me!"

Kanato laughed maniacally as Y/N ran away, crying. "Hahahaha! Did you see that, Teddy? Mortals are so pathetic aren't they?"

The following months Kanato kept tormenting her. The afraid Y/N however, little by little, tried to build up the courage to stand up for herself.

Kanato held onto his teddy bear. Talking to him in a sing-song tone. "Look at her, Teddy. She thinks she's so smart, always getting better grades than me."

Y/N spoke nervously. "I-I didn't do it on purpose."

Kanato took a step closer towards Y/N. "Of course you did. You're trying to embarrass me, right?"

Y/N spoke softly. "No, I'm not."

Kanato's eyes flashed. "Yes, you are! You're just a conceited woman who thinks she's better than everyone else!!"

Y/N took a deep breath, mustering up all the courage she had. "Kanato, why do you always torment me like this? Can't we just coexist peacefully?"

Kanato smirked. "Oh, Y/N, you're such an easy target. It's amusing to see you squirm. And let's not forget how you callously persist to outshine me academically. Do you enjoy mocking me?"

"I never intended to mock you, Kanato. I work hard for my grades, just like anyone else. Can't you see we're all in this together?" Y/N pleaded.

Kanato laughed. "In this together? Please, Y/N. You're just a helpless pawn in my game. I have the upper hand here, and you'll always be at my mercy."

"But even if that is true, Kanato, that doesn't give you the right to belittle me and make me feel inferior. We all deserve respect and kindness." Y/N said.

Kanato replied. "Respect? Kindness? Those concepts are foreign to me. I thrive on fear and control. It's exhilarating to see you cower in my presence."

"Well, Kanato, I refuse to be your punching bag any longer. I may have struggled with fear in the past, but I'm finding my voice. And I won't let you or anyone else take that away from me!"

Kanato raised an eyebrow. "How dare you... You are nothing but a lousy mortal!!!!. Know your place, I will continue to make your life miserable."

"Maybe, Kanato, but I'm not backing down. I'll prove that I'm stronger than you think, and I won't let your cruelty define me."

Kanato slowly walked closer to Y/N. "How foolish you are Y/N.. A pathetic girl like you.. doesn't stand a chance against me.”

"We'll see about that, Kanato. I won't let you have power over me any longer. I am finding my strength, and it won't be long before I stand up to you and anyone else who tries to bring me down!"

Kanato looked down at Teddy and started talking. "Look at Y/N, Teddy, she is trying to feign confidence. She truly thinks she's better than everyone else."

Teddy replied, which only Kanato could hear. "Oh, Kanato, you're being so mean to her.."

Kanato glared at Y/N. "She deserves it. She always mocks me, trying so hard to get better grades than me, not knowing her place.."

Teddy snickered. "Maybe she's just smarter than you, Kanato."

Kanato yelled angrily. "No, she's not! She's just a lowly brat who thinks she's better than everyone else!"

Out of nowhere, Laito appeared in the room. Y/N couldn't believe what she saw. "H-how.."

Laito chuckled. "Fufu.. So this is the girl you've been playing with? Not bad Kanato, not bad."

Kanato turned around at his brother. "Shut up Laito!! This isn't your prey to meddle with!"

"Prey now? I thought you hated her for making fun of you?" Laito snickered.

Y/N shakily looked at Kanato and Laito, her eyes filled with confusion and fear. "I-I'm not trying to make fun of you, Kanato."

Kanato smirked. "Oh, really? Then why do you always keep getting better grades than me, huh?"

Y/N replied hesitantly. "I-I just study harder."

Kanato and Laito laughed.

"You have guts, little bitch~" Laito purred.

Kanato continued. "Study.. harder? Please. You're just a nerd."

Y/N's voice trembled. "I'm not a nerd."

Kanato leaned in close, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Yes, you are. And you're also weak and pathetic."

Y/N recoiled in fear. "N-No, I'm not."

"Oh, yes, you are. And you know what else? I'm a vampire." Kanato grinned, revealing his sharp fangs to her, while Laito observed the situation with amusion.

Y/N's eyes widened in terror. "W-What?"

Kanato grinned. "That's right. I'm a vampire. And I could drink your blood right now if I wanted to."

Y/N gasped. "N-No, you wouldn't."

Kanato leaned in even closer. "Oh, but I would. And you couldn't stop me."

"P-Please don't." Y/N replied, her voice barely a whisper.

Kanato smiled cruelly. "Why should I listen to you? You're just a human. And humans are nothing to me."

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Laito pouted. "Nawhh. How disappointing! Just when things started getting interesting too."

Kanato stood up straight, tucking Teddy under his arm. Kanato eyed Y/N. "This isn't over. We'll be back for you." He hissed before walking away.

Laito started walking too, "Bye bitch-chan, lets see each other soon~" Leaving Y/N alone and terrified.

After returning to her home, she was lying in bed, her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. "I can't believe this is happening. I just want to go to school and learn, but it's like everyone is out to get me."

Y/N sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the day's events pressing down on her. She had been catcalled, harassed, and made fun of by her classmates all day, and to top it all off, she had another run-in with Kanato Sakamaki, the strange and unsettling boy who turned out to be a vampire, possibly his brothers as well. Her world was shaken.

Y/N sat up in bed, hugging her knees. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. I just want to feel safe and respected. Is that too much to ask?"

Y/N's eyes filled with tears as she thought about all the times she had been hurt and humiliated. She felt like she would never be able to escape the pain and torment.

Y/N wiped away her tears. "I need to find a way to make this stop. I can't keep living like this."

Y/N took a deep breath and made a decision. She would not let the bullies and Kanato win. She would find a way to fight back and take control of her life.

Y/N lied back down, closing her eyes. "I'm not going to give up. I'm going to find a way to survive this."

As Y/N drifted off to sleep, she felt a sense of determination growing within her. She knew that the road ahead would be difficult, but she was ready to face whatever challenges came her way.

The next day, Kanato and Y/N were in for a surprise.

Kanato woke up at dusk, as usual. But to his astonishment. He woke up in a completely different room.

"...What is this?" He stared down at his body, it looked nothing like his own. It looked female. Upon realizing this, he jumped out of the bed, frantically touching the new body he had, confirming what he was seeing. He hesitantly walked over to a mirror.

As Kanato stood in front of the full-length mirror, his face filled with full disbelief. Staring at the reflection of a familiar young girl with (h/l) (h/c) hair and bright (e/c) eyes. He almost couldn't believe it. He, the infamous and powerful demonic vampire, had been body switched with a mere mortal girl.

He had always viewed humans as nothing more than food and playthings. He had no regard for their lives and treated them with cruelty and disdain. But now, as he stood in the body of one, he could feel the weight of her emotions and it scared him.

He looked down at his new body, dressed in the school uniform of the local night academy. Did she sleep in her clothes? He just realized. The girl he had been switched with was a student there, just like him. It was none other than Y/N. He felt a twinge of dread as he remembered how he had treated her.

Kanato, who had stared in disbelief at his reflection in the mirror for a while now, had finally begun to put it all to words.

"How can this be true? I can't believe I'm in this mortal girl's body. I'm immortal, not some powerless schoolgirl!"

Suddenly Teddy appeared on the bed behind Kanato. Invisibly smirking. "Oh, but you are now, Kanato. And it's all thanks to me."

Kanato turned and glared at Teddy. "You! You did this to me? How could you? uwaa.." He yelled as he then began to sniffle.

Teddy just scoffed. "How could I? Let me count the ways. You've ignored my wishes, used me for your own gain, and treated me like a mere possession. I'm sick of it, Kanato."

Kanato's face grew instantly furious. "You're nothing but a filthy Teddy bear! I own you!"

Teddy's beaded black eyes gleamed with contempt. "Oh, really? Who's the one trapped in a frail body now, Kanato? Seems like the tables have turned."

Kanato seethed with rage. "I'll kill you! I'll tear you apart!"

Teddy however, was unmoved by this threat. "You can't, Kanato. Not while you're stuck in that body. And even if you could, I'd just come back. I'm immortal, remember?"

Kanato frowned in defeat. "You've won...for now. But I'll find a way to get back at you."

Teddy chuckled. "I'm counting on it, Kanato. In the meantime, enjoy your new life as a mortal school girl."

Kanato glared at Teddy again. "I'll never enjoy it! I'm a vampire! I belong in the night, not in this pathetic human world!"

Teddy shrugged. "Well, that's too bad. Because you're stuck here until fate decides otherwise."

Kanato collapsed on the bed, both defeated and devastated as tears streamed down the cheeks of his new face. "Uuu.. This is a nightmare."

"Welcome to my world, Kanato." Teddy replied smugly before completely vanishing from the bed.

Kanato felt powerless, like he hadn't in a long time.

Now that he realized he couldn't punish Teddy, his anger grew at his other perceived culprit, Y/N. He wondered if she was in his body too, and at his mansion right now. And so he went out. It took him a while to find his way to his mansion, having no teleportation or speed powers to get him there.

However as the body switched Kanato entered the mansion where he normally lived. He did not realize one fatal flaw of his plan, he would now be perceived as a human girl to his brothers. Exposing him to imminent danger. And it did not take long for his brother Laito to stumble across him.

"Finally, I'm home. This whole body-switching thing has been a nightmare."

Suddenly his brother Laito appeared across from him.

"Fufu~ What's this? A visit from bitch-chan?"

Kanato became flustered, embarrassed by being treated like this by his brother. "I'm not her! I'm Kanato!"

"Sure you are, and I'm the Pope." Laito chuckled.

Which caused Kanato to get angry now. "I'm serious! This is some kind of sick joke!"

Laito smirked and slyly moved closer to him. "Oh, I like feisty ones."

Kanato abruptly backed away and yelled. "Stay away from me!"

Y/N, (from inside Kanato's body), walked down from the giant stairs behind them. "Kanato!"

Kanato's angry eyes slightly widened. "Y/N? Is that you?!"

"Yes, it's me. I'm trapped in your body." Y/N said.

Kanato's anger reduced. His face turned paler as Y/N reaffirmed what he already knew, yet deep down still had hoped it was nothing but a mere twisted joke. "What? How is this possible?"

Laito however, was still smirking. "This just keeps getting better and better.."

Y/N stood firmly on the ground. "Back off, Laito! Kanato doesn't deserve this and I won't let you hurt him!"

Laito laughed. "Oh, you're going to stop me? And just how do you plan on doing that?"

Y/N glared at Laito. "I don't know, but I'll figure something out."

Laito lunged at Y/N. "Nfu! Let's see what you've got."

And with that, Y/N and Laito start fighting. Kanato, astonished, watched the scene unfold. "Y/N...is fighting for me?"

Y/N managed to land a few good punches on Laito, who was now starting to get angry.

Laito began to sneer at Y/N. "You're going to pay for that!" Laito lunged at Y/N again, but she ducked out of the way and he ended up crashing into a wall.

Kanato walked up to. "Y/N...thank you."

Y/N grimly smiled. "You're welcome, Kanato." Y/N replied.

All the while Laito huffed, got up, and ran away defeated.

Kanato’s eyes remained fixed on Y/N. "I don't know how we're going to fix this, but I'm glad you're here."

Y/N sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Me too. "

"Y/N, why did you save me? Don't you hate me?" He asked.

"It's true that I don't particularly like you, but nobody deserves to be harassed like that. It's wrong, and I will never idly stand by when that happens to someone, even if I dislike them." Y/N said.

Kanato's curious expression changed to a contemptful one. "Liar.. You hate me yet you say you don't wish harm upon me.. You are a deceitful woman!!" Kanato spat.

"I'm not a liar! I just happen to have morals. Unlike.. Unlike you!" Y/N snapped.

Causing Kanato to begin yelling at her. "....How dare you!! I will rip your body to shreds. This is all your fault after all!"

"No you won't!!!"

"Be-because you owe me!!!" Y/N said.

Kanato snickered darkly. "Ha, like I care. I don't owe you, a mortal, anything!!"

Y/N paused in doubt for a moment. However a sudden surge of confidence and determination washed over her.

"Actually Kanato, you're the one who is now mortal. And if you purposely hurt my body, I will make you... make you disappear!!" Y/N said as angrily as she could. Realizing that she could not show any signs of weakness anymore. She had the power now after all. The power of and over her greatest tormenter.

Kanato suddenly sobbed in an attempt to bend her to his will. "N...No, you wouldn't.. uwaa.. You are so cruel.." He whined as he delicately began wiping the tears off his face.

Y/N wouldn't fall for it. She couldn't. It was her body that was at stake here. "I'm not changing my mind, Kanato. Don't hurt my body, and I won't have to hurt you." She said,

Kanato was now faced with his own power, and his dispossession of it. Kanato stopped considering mutilating the girl's body for revenge. Regardless of his wishes, he realized that the girl would and could kill him. The thought of being left to perish in the mortal's body while she continued to live her life as him, with HIS possessions, tormented him too much.

"Fine!" He spat.

For a moment, Y/N thought about the situation, thinking of any solutions to their problem.

Something came to her. "Wait, why don't we undo the spell, you have magic right?"

"No, YOU have magic now." Kanato hissed.

"Then why don't you teach me?"

Kanato scoffed. "The fact that you say that as if it's nothing already shows enough. I can't have you mess up my body by being incompetent with it. Besides, it is Teddy who cursed us, so only he can undo it."

Y/N curiously raised an eyebrow. "...Then why don't we just ask him?"

Kanato glared as if looks could kill. "Don't you think I haven't tried, foolish mortal? He said he wouldn't and disappeared!!"

"I didn't know.. I'm sorry Kanato." Y/N said.

"..." Kanato blinked a few times, trying to come up with what to say.

He then began. "We should sit this out, maybe it will undo itself eventually, or Teddy will change his mind about betraying me."

Y/N frowned. "..Alright then."

The two agreed on living each other's lives for the time being, Kanato reluctantly returning to Y/N's house.

The next day it was Y/N's first day alone of Y/N living as Kanato. She had no idea what to expect.

Y/N thought to herself. 'I can't believe this is happening. I'm stuck in the body of Kanato Sakamaki, a vampire..'

Y/N tried to pinch herself. To wake up from this nightmare. But it was real. She knew what people said about Kanato. He is bipolar, right? Y/N thought to herself, 'I'm all alone. Why did I have to be involved with him? I don’t know what I ever did to deserve this..'

Suddenly, the door opens and Laito walks in, interrupting her train of thoughts.

"Hey, Kanato. What's up?" He asked with a smirk.

Y/N slightly shudders from Laitos unsettling presence, remembering the fight they had the previous day. "Nothing."

Laito slightly narrowed his eyes, inspecting his brother. "You don't seem so good, Kanato. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Y/N insisted.

"You sure? You've been acting weird. Since that day.. you suddenly started acting differently."

"I'm not weird."

Laito shrugged. "Whatever you say then."

Laito walked away, leaving Y/N alone again.

Y/N continued to explore the dark mansion a bit further. When suddenly, two giant doors opened to a giant room.

"Creepy" Y/N mumbled as she entered anyway.

Y/N sighs. 'I feel so alone. I don't know what to do.' She thought to herself as she looked around the room, noticing all kinds of creepy wax dolls. 'What is this place? And why are there so many dolls?' She wondered.

Y/N sighed. "I guess I'm really stuck in Kanato's body now. This is going to be a long day."

Y/N walked out of the wax doll chamber, exploring the mansion a bit further.

Y/N stopped walking after a bit, thinking to herself. 'This place is huge and empty. And it feels so lonely..'

‘How lonely Kanato must have been. He never seemed to have any friends besides his Teddy bear, and his brothers don't really seem to care much about him so far.’

Before she could ponder further, Y/N encountered more of Kanato's brothers, Ayato and Reiji.

'I am surrounded by vampires, and they are all talking about me, well, Kanato like he's not even there? Referring to him as troublesome or hysteric. Ugh, they're just as bad as I remember. They're so rude and condescending.'

Y/N felt empathy for Kanato. 'It's no wonder he's so messed up. He's never had anyone to love or support him.'

Y/N was sitting alone in the mansion now, feeling overwhelmed. 'I don't know how much longer I can do this. I miss my own life and my own body.'

Suddenly, Y/N's face expressed determination. Determined to make the best of the situation and to find a way to connect with Kanato. ‘Maybe I should get to know him better. Nobody is all bad after all.’

And like speaking of the devil, she felt Kanato's presence, as herself, entering the mansion. By thinking intensely of wanting to go to him, she accidentally teleported herself to the main entrance..

Kanato had arrived at the mansion and walked in, looking exhausted. "Finally... I can't believe I had to spend a night in that awful place... " Kanato mumbled to himself.

Y/N appears before him, looking somewhat shocked and disheveled from the sudden teleportation. "Kanato, you're back!"

Kanato turned to face her. "Yes, I couldn't sleep. I don't feel at ease in your house with your mortal parents. I need to be in my own home."

Y/N frowned. "I get that, but it's not safe for you to sleep in your old bed alone. Your brothers would probably feed from you, thinking you're me."

Kanato became frustrated. "I don't care! I'm not going to sleep in that strange bed again"

Y/N let out a sigh. "Fine. We'll share your bed then. But you do have to call my parents to tell them I'm staying at a friend's place."

Kanato's face filled with surprise. "What?"

"It's the only way to keep you safe, and my parents from getting upset."

Kanato hesitated for a moment. "...Fine."

"Okay that's settled then, but on another note, why is there a room full of strange looking dolls in your home?" Y/N half-joked.

Kanato glared at Y/N "Strange..dolls?" He paused for a moment before widening his eyes with hostility. "They're not strange!!! They're mine and they're perfect!!!"

'I should've known Kanato would be behind something like that...' Y/N thought to herself

"Oh did I just say ‘strange’? I meant to say strangely beautiful dolls!" Y/n said sheepishly, feigning a genuine smile.

Kanato's mood changed to a sinisterly calm one. "I'll forgive you this once for insulting and trying to deceive me Y/N. But don't mock me again, i'll break you."

Y/N frowned. Typical Kanato. But he was all she had to rely on now so she couldn't risk making him angry again. "Okay Kanato," She replied.

As the night passed Kanato and Y/N prepared for bed.

"Okay. I'll go and get your pajamas. They're over there right?"

"Indeed. Thank you."

Y/N left the room. "No problem."

Kanato lied down on the bed, closing his eyes. "Finally, I can relax.."

Y/N re-entered the room with Kanato's pajamas. "Here you go."

Kanato sat up and took the pajamas from Y/N. "Thank you."

Y/N helped Kanato put on the pajamas "You're welcome."

The two of them get into bed. Kanato lies down on one side of the bed, and Y/N lies down on the other side.

Kanato thought to himself. ‘This is so strange... I'm sharing my bed with... 'Me who isn't me?’

‘I can't believe I'm doing this…’ Y/N thought to herself.

The two of them lie in silence for a few minutes, neither of them able to sleep. They both stared at the ceiling.

Kanato spoke. "I think it's almost sunrise, and I still can't sleep."

"Me neither." Y/N replied.

"I don't understand. I’m not mortal anymore, I'm in my own bed, and I'm tired. Aren't you supposed to fall asleep then?"

Y/N turned to Kanato. "Maybe it's because you're not used to being in my body."

"Maybe." Kanato replied.

They lied in silence for a few minutes until Kanato started tossing and turning.

Y/N spoke softly. "Kanato? Are you okay?"

Kanato replied, muffled. "No. I still can't sleep."

Y/N sat up. "Why not?"

Kanato turned to look at her. "I don't know. I just feel... restless."

Y/N reached out to touch his arm. "I'm sorry."

Kanato looked into her eyes. "It's not needed Y/N. It's just... this whole situation is so strange."

Y/N nodded. "I know. It's hard to believe that we're stuck in each other's bodies."

Kanato sighed. "I just wish there was a way to switch back right now."

Y/N squeezed his hand. "Me too. But for now, we just have to make the best of it."

Kanato nodded. "I guess you're right."

Kanato and Y/N lie down in bed together. Kanato eventually falls asleep, but Y/N lies awake for a long time, still thinking about the strange situation she's in.

'This is crazy. I'm sharing a bed with a vampire. And he's sleeping like a baby..'

Y/N eventually drifts off to sleep, but she wakes up in the middle of the day.

She realizes that Kanato is gone.

Y/N whispers. "Kanato? Where are you?"

Y/N gets out of bed and starts looking for Kanato. She finds him in the kitchen, drinking a glass of blood.

Y/N quickly approaches him. "Kanato! What are you doing?"

Kanato turns to look at Y/N. "I was thirsty."

Y/N raised an eyebrow. "You know you can't drink blood anymore. You're a mortal now."

Tears started welling up in Kanato's eyes. "I know. But it's so hard. I'm so used to drinking blood. I don't want to be a mortal, uwaa..." He cried.

Y/N sighed. "I know. But you have to be strong. For both of our sakes. And besides, it isn't safe for you to walk around here all alone, remember? Please be careful."

Kanato nodded as he wiped away his tears. "I will. I promise."

Y/N and Kanato hug each other. "We're in this together." Y/N said.

"I know." Kanato replied.

Y/N and Kanato go back to bed. The two of them fell asleep in each other's arms, both of them feeling a little bit less alone in the world.

Y/N woke up relieved when she found Kanato still sleeping next to her.

Y/N whispered. "Kanato, wake up."

Kanato groaned. "..What is it?"

Y/N spoke. "It's morning. You need to get up. "

Kanato sits up and yawns. "I don't want to. I'm tired."

Y/N chuckled. "I know, but you can't stay in bed all night. We have to go to school."

Kanato whined. "I don't want to go to school like you."

"You have to. It's important." Y/N insisted.

Kanato sighed. "Fine. I'll go."

Kanato gets out of bed and makes his way to get dressed. Y/N watches him, a grim smile on her face.

"He can be such a pain in the neck, but I can't help but also feel for him. He's all alone in this world and he doesn't know where he belongs. Then again, we might just have that in common."

"How did you sleep Kanato?" Y/N asked.

Kanato thought for a moment, with a puzzled expression. "I slept better than I have in a long time.." He mumbled.

The two of them leave the room after getting dressed in their school uniforms.

In the hallways, Kanato stopped for a moment to adjust the way Y/N wore his uniform on her. "How bothersome, don't you even know how to put on a male uniform?"

"Well, no" Y/N admitted.

"Be grateful you have me to fix it for you then." Kanato said.

"..Okay." Y/N said, trying to not roll her eyes at Kanato's remark.

"So, to avoid you making mistakes, I will tell you that when we join my brothers for breakfast you need to act as me, they obviously can’t know about this, and don't embarrass me Y/N, or I'll get angry.”

"Yes, I got it." Y/N replied.

They head downstairs to the dining room, where they join the rest of the Sakamaki brothers for breakfast.

The brothers are all surprised to see Kanato and Y/N sitting together at the table. They exchange confused glances, but they don't say anything at first. Eating in silence.

Ayato broke the silence. "Oi! Kanato, What's up with you and that girl? She's still alive after last night, are ya datin her somethin'?"

Y/N blushed. "W-what? N-no, I don't!"

Laito interrupted. "Oh, come on, Kanato. Don't be shy. We all know you're popular with the ladies."

Shu chuckled while lazily hanging on his chair. "Yeah, I've seen the way they look at you. It's like they want to eat you up sometimes."

Reiji eyed Shu with disapproval. "Well, I wouldn't go that far, but I must admit that Kanato commonly does have a certain charm to these girls."

Subaru grunted. "Whatever."

Y/N thought to herself while Kanato was staring daggers at his brothers. 'This is so embarrassing! I wish I could just tell them the truth.'

Ayato spoke again. "So, what is it with her? Is she your girlfriend now?"

Y/N panicked. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

Laito purred. "Oh, come on, Kanato. You can tell us. We won't tell anyone~"

"Yeah, we're your brothers, we want to know!" Ayato added.

Reiji shoved his glasses further up his nose. "Well, I'm not sure I would go that far, but I am curious."

Subaru still grunted. "Tch- Whatever."

Y/N thought for a moment, if she denied any ties to "Y/N' aka Kanato, they'd have even less problems harming him.

Suddenly Kanato kicked her under the table. Trying to tell her to open her mouth.

Y/N feigned to finally break down from denying. "Fine! I'll tell you! She's mine.. I'm very fond of her!" She said, trying to sound as much as Kanato.

Ayato's jaw dropped. "O- you're seriously in love with a human?"

Laito smirked. "This sure is unexpected Kanato, fufu.."

Shu slightly smirked. "I knew it.." Before fully closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Reiji scoffed at Shu. "Tch- How typical. You are still required to attend school, even if you fall asleep. Ayato, wake him!" Reiji yelled.

Subaru grunted once more before heading out. "Whatever."

While witnessing the chaos, Y/N took a deep breath thinking to herself. 'Good, they believed it.'

Kanato tapped on Y/N's shoulders, and they got up and left the dining room. The brothers all watch them go, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"Peculiar.." Reiji said to himself

"I don't know, but I'm curious to see how it plays out~" Laito smirked.

As the two walked through the corridors of the mansion, Kanato huffed. "That was uncomfortable. But I'm relieved I don't have to worry so much about my brothers now."

"Agreed." Y/N replied

Y/N and Kanato had arrived at school.

“Well, we have differences in class schedules today, so i guess we have to go our separate ways now..”

Kanato nodded. “Good luck Y/N.”

“You too, Kanato.” She replied before heading off.

Y/N sighed. ‘I’ll have to act just like Kanato now.’ Y/N walked through the hallways. ‘This is so weird. I'm a guy at school now.’

Y/N looked around. ‘Why is everyone staring at me?’ She wondered.

Y/N felt uncomfortable. 'I don't like this.' She thought. Y/N continued walking to class. I hope no one tries to talk to me.

She sat down in her seat. 'I'm glad I'm in the back.'

Y/N looked around. 'No one is paying attention to me anymore, I think.'

Y/N sighed. 'This is going to be a long day.'

"Hey, Kanato." A girl next to her said.

"Me?" She said surprised.

"Yeah, you. Why are you acting so weird?"

Y/N spoke nervously. "I'm not acting weird."

The girl continued. "Yes, you are. You usually have that teddy bear with you, why? The whole school is talking about it. And also, you usually ignore me, but now you're talking to me."

Y/N realized. 'Oh, right. I'm supposed to be Kanato.'

“..What of it, it’s no one’s business isn’t it?”

"I guess.. So, what's up?" She asked.

Y/N thought to herself. 'Help, I don't know anything about Kanato's life.'

Y/N shrugged. "Nothing much."

"Okay, well, I'm going to listen to the lesson now." The girl said.

Y/N sighed. 'This is going to be harder than I thought.'

After the first lesson, you walked through the hallways again.

A guy passed by and greeted her normally. "Hey, Kanato. What's up!"

She was stunned. She thought for sure she'd be harassed or something, but she found that everyone's been pretty cool so far.

Despite Kanato not having any friends, no one harassed him or made lewd comments like they did to Y/N before all this. The guys treated her mostly normal, and the girls were much nicer to her.

Y/N encountered a group of girls that excitedly spread around him. Normally she'd expect to be bullied like this, but the girls didn't seem malicious at all.

'Wow, Kanato actually has admirers at school. I never would have guessed.' She thought

One of the girls was blushing. "Kanato-kun, you're so cool and mysterious." She said,

"Yeah, I wish I had the courage to ask you out the other day." Another girl said.

Y/N was stunned. 'I can't believe this. I'm a guy now, and girls are actually interested in me.' However Y/N knew she couldn't agree to anything. Kanato would be furious if she did. And it wouldn't be fair to him either.

Y/N smiled. "Thanks, but I'm not really interested in dating right now.

The girl's expression turned to disappointment. "Oh, okay."

"Maybe another time." Her friend replied.

Y/N walked away. "Sorry, girls. I'm just not ready for that now."

Time at school gradually went on for the both of them, however unfortunately for Kanato, not very smoothly.

He encountered some name calling, lewd comments, and harassment as Y/N. He was able to ignore it with an angered expression. Still brushing it off as guys being guys. But during gym class, things became unbearable for him.

After Kanato finished dressing himself in Y/N's sports wear, he entered the sports hall. The gymnastics teacher instantly approached him.

"Well, well, Y/N, you're looking quite lovely today. How about we work on some special stretches together?"

Kanato physically cringed at this. "No thank you, I'll just continue with my routine."

The creepy teacher smirked. "Come on, don't be shy. I know what's best for you."

Kanato was getting really uncomfortable now. "I'm really not interested. Please let me continue with my workout."

The middle aged man got closer to him. "You know, Y/N, I can make things very difficult for you if you don't cooperate."

Kanato tried to stay composed, knowing he probably couldn't fight the teacher off right now. "I'm here to learn gymnastics, not deal with your inappropriate advances. Back off!"

The teacher laughed. "Such a feisty one, aren't you? We'll see about that."

Kanato, now unable to handle the situation any longer, lost control and threw a tantrum, storming off.

The classmates in the back who heard the yelling curiously watched Kanato storm off. "Whoa, what just happened? Y/N never acts like that." A classmate said, Another one replied to them. "I have no idea, but it seemed like Y/N had a complete personality change."

Meanwhile, Kanato was hiding in a secluded area in the school, upset and confused. "This is a nightmare. Nobody will believe me if I tell them what happened. How am I supposed to handle this situation?"

It all felt like a smack in the face. As Kanato, he was used to the people at school bending to his will. Being cautious of him, and fearing him when he got angry. But as Y/N, he faced a whole different world.

After a rough first half of classes, Kanato was relieved it was break time. Thinking he could finally have some peace. However, nothing was less true.

Kanato sat alone at a table, trying to eat his lunch. When suddenly a group of male students approach him.

"Hey, what's a pretty little thing like you doing sitting all alone?" One of the guys said. "Yeah, come sit with us. We'll show you a good time." Another guy snickered.

'Not again...' Kanato thought to himself.

"What's the matter, scared?" Said the first guy again. "Don't be shy girl. We won't bite."

Kanato angrily stood up. "Leave me alone."

"What's wrong, can't handle a little attention?" One of the guys said.

"I said leave me alone!!" Kanato yelled.

One of the guys grabbed Kanato's arm. "You're coming with us." He said.

Kanato tried to struggle. "Let go of me!"

Y/N entered the cafeteria and saw Kanato being harassed.

"Hey! Leave "her" alone!"

"Who are you?" One of the guys laughed.

“I'm "her" friend.”

"Her friend? Since when do sluts have friends?" The guy scoffed.

Y/N glared at them. "Since now. And don't call her that!"

"Pssh what a simp!" The guy mocked

"We're taking her with us, she doesn't mind does she?" The guy who was still holding onto Kanato shook him while he snickered darkly as Kanato yelled various nasty words at him.

Y/N balled her fists and plunged them down. "You're not taking "her" anywhere!"

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it, soy boy?"

Y/N punched the guy in the face, causing him to let go of Kanato. "This!" They guy's friend stepped forward "You're going to regret that!"

Y/N grabbed Kanatos hand and walked. "Let's go." Kanato nodded as he followed.

Kanato and Y/N walk out of the cafeteria, leaving the group of male students stunned.

Kanato faced Y/N. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Y/N said.

"I never would have thought that you would come to my rescue again."

Y/N placed her hand on kanato's shoulder "Of course I would. You deserve it no matter what. And you're my friend now."

Kanato smiled surprised. "Friend? I see. Thank you for being my friend Y/N."

Y/N smiled back. "You're welcome."

Kanato and Y/N continue walking, their bond strengthened by their shared experience.

As the days passed, Kanato learned about Y/N's life and the challenges she faced as a girl. It opened up a whole new outlook on the world for him.

As for Y/N, she learned what it’s like to not be harassed at any unpredictable time at school. And it made her more aware of the misogyny at play.

After a week of school, it was finally the end of Friday's classes. And so, Kanato wanted to visit his favorite bakery in the demon world. Insisting Y/N take him there.

As they waited for their order, Kanato was still frustrated from what he experienced at school. "I still can't believe this! Every single day, those male students at our night school make inappropriate comments and harass us. It's infuriating!”

Y/N leaned her hand against her face on the table. "I know, Kanato. It's a sad reality that many women have to face these challenges on a daily basis. But experiencing it firsthand has opened your eyes, hasn't it?"

Kanato sighed. "Yes, it definitely has. I always viewed all women as scheming and callous, but living as one has shown me the struggles and hardships they endure. I feel foolish for ever thinking that way."

Y/N placed the hand she leaned on back on her lap. "It's okay, Kanato. It takes courage to admit our flaws and learn from our experiences. But now that you've seen the world through a different lens, what can we do to improve this situation?"

Before Kanato could answer, two demon girls had entered the bakery.

"Oh my! It's Prince Kanato Sakamaki. What is he doing with such a lowly human girl?" The taller girl said to her friend.

Kanato glared at the girls in annoyance. 'Why are they talking down on me who they perceive as Y/N? And how dare they question MY company?' He thought to himself.

Then the shorter girl snickered. "He must have brought her as an appetizer for his sweets. My, my, how bold!"

Which stung Kanato. He knew that normally that could have been the case. But it wasn't like that now. How dare they judge people they know nothing about? Don't they understand how cruel their words are? He pondered. He felt conflicted about his earlier statement. How could those girls be so callous? Likely having to experience the same sexism as Y/N?

Something inside Kanato snapped. "Shut up!!! SHUT UP!!"

"What the hell? How dare this mortal speak to us like that?!" The taller girl hissed as her friend joined in. "It seems Kanato can't control his livestock anymore."

Y/N also stood up. "Excuse me, but who do you think you are to judge us? We don't need your approval or your derogatory comments!"

The tall girl gazed at Y/N. "Hmpf! Humans are nothing but food, I wonder what the king would think about you betraying our race for a lousy girl!"

Y/N straightened her posture as Kanato defiantly. "She's" my friend. And I'm not going to let you bully "her".

The shorter girl scoffed. "A friend? More like a meal.”

Y/N angrily snapped. "That's not true! Kanato and I are friends. We don't eat each other." Only afterwards did she realize she used the wrong name to refer to Kanato.

The tall girl only rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We're not interested in your little games."

Her friend eyed her as she held her arm. "Yeah let's go. This place is beneath us." The two girls leave the bakery, leaving Kanato and Y/N alone.

Kanato, later, expressed disgust to Y/N. "It's disheartening to see how women can be so cruel to one another."

Y/N began to explain. "It's because of sexism, Kanato. It's a problem that exists in our society, where women are often treated differently and unfairly. Which can cause them to turn against each other. It's no excuse, but commonly the root.”

Kanato's eyes widened in realization. "I never realized..."

Y/N continued. "But we can change that in ourselves, Kanato. We may not be able to fix society’s errors, but can still stand up for what’s right."

Kanato nodded. "You're right, Y/N. We won't let the ignorance of others bring us down. Let's continue to support and uplift each other."

Y/N nodded. "Yes. And I've been thinking, although we may have been thrown into this unexpected situation against our will, on the flip side of it, it has also given us an opportunity to see different perspectives. Perhaps this could bring us some good too."

Kanato paused for a moment. "I hope for it. I feel so shaken by this suffering, all the realizations, and the betrayal from Teddy. But knowing I'm not alone in this made it more bearable. So, I'm glad it's with you, Y/n."

Y/N smiled. "I'm glad you feel that way. In a lot of aspects, I can't help but feel the same. Although, I would like to be back in my body eventually. Do you know anything we could try to have our own bodies back?"

Kanato thought for a moment.

Kanato looked up. "Maybe. As you inhabit my body now, you're capable of magic. We could try to summon Teddy and convince him to undo the curse. Now that I know you're not useless, I'm willing to teach you."

Y/N nodded. "Let's get to it then."

In a dark room at the mansion, Y/N and Kanato spend hours practicing magic.

After Y/N proved to have the knack of it, Kanato smiled content. "Y/N, you finally did it! We must perform the summoning ritual now."

Y/N looked at him nervously. "But, Kanato, I'm not sure if I'm ready."

"There is no time to hesitate. We must do this before it's too late." Kanato said sternly.

Y/N hesitantly replied. "Okay, I'll do it."

Kanato nodded. "Good. Now, follow my instructions carefully."

Y/N nodded back. "I will."

Kanato walked over to the table in the room and picked up a candle. "First, we need to light this candle."

Y/N took the candle from Kanato and lit it with Kanato's powers. "Okay."

Kanato walked over to a window and opened it. "Next, a window needs to be opened."

Y/N nodded. "Okay."

Kanato walked over to a bookshelf and picked up a book. "Now, we need to find the summoning spell."

"Alright." Y/N said.

After a few seconds of searching, they found the correct page.

"Here it is." Kanato said

Y/N looking at the spell. "So, what exactly do I need to say?"

Kanato rolled his eyes before reading the spell aloud. "In the name of the ancient spirits, I call upon thee, Teddy. Come forth and show thyself!" Kanato paused. "That's not too complicated, right?"

Y/N inhaled nervously. "Yes. Okay then, I'm ready."

Y/N closed her eyes and concentrated. Repeating the spell. Adding one final sentence with great energy. "Teddy, I summon thee!"

There was a moment of silence. Then, a bright light filled the room. Teddy appeared in a puff of smoke.

"How bothersome... What is it that you desire from me?"

Kanato glared before suddenly frowning. "Teddy, I beg of you, undo the curse that has been placed upon me and Y/N!!"

Teddy sighed. "I cannot do so. This curse was not cast by me. There is another who is behind this."

Kanato looked at Y/N in shock. "Who?" He asked, turning his gaze back to Teddy.

"Why, your brother Laito of course." He smirked.

Y/N gasped. "Laito?"

"But why?" Kanato asked.

Teddy shrugged. "I do not know. I just gave him the idea in return for my freedom."

Kanato growled angrily. "Laito! I will not let him get away with this!"

Teddy disappeared in a puff of smoke "Good luck. You will need it." His laughter echoed.

The bright light fades away. And Kanato and Y/N are left alone in the room.

Kanato turning to Y/N. "We must find Laito and confront him about this."

Y/N nodded. "I'm with you. We'll get through this together."

It didn't take long for them to find Laito. It was on the second floor at the stairs reiling, where it was dimly lit with orange hues from candles.

Kanato and Y/N stood together, facing Laito, their expressions tense and determined.

Y/N spoke with a firm voice. "Laito, we know you're behind all this. You are the one who switched our bodies in a body switch curse, and we demand you undo it now!"

Laito smirked slyly. "Oh, you've discovered my little secret. I must admit, I'm impressed. But why would I ever undo such a delightful situation?"

Kanato glared at Laito. "You think this is a game, Laito? You've messed with our lives with your selfish desire to cause chaos!"

Laito chuckled. "Chaos is the essence of life, Kanato. Besides, I've grown rather fond of you as Y/N. It's so much more...interesting."

Y/N stepped forward. "Enough games, Laito. We challenge you to a duel. If I win, you undo the curse. If you win.." Y/N hesitated for a moment. "I'll do whatever you want."

Laito raised an eyebrow. "A duel? How intriguing. Do you truly believe you have what it takes to defeat me, mortal?"

Y/N met Laito's gaze defiantly. "I have once before. I may be a mortal in spirit, but I won't back down from a challenge. I'll do whatever it takes to get our bodies back."

Kanato nodded in agreement. "I stand by Y/N." I have enough faith in her.

The atmosphere crackles with tension as Laito considers their challenge. A mischievous smile plays on his lips.

Laito spread his arms wide. "Very well, I accept your challenge, Y/N. Let the duel commence!"

With a swift motion, Y/N drawed a shimmering sword from its display, its blade glowing with determination.

Laito conjured a dark orb in his hand, its energy swirling ominously. The room falls silent as the two prepare to engage in a battle of wills and power.

As the duel unfolds, Y/N and Laito trade blows, their movements swift and deadly. Y/N's agility and resourcefulness prove to be a match for Laito's cunning and supernatural abilities. With each clash, the tension builds, and the outcome remains uncertain.

After a series of intense exchanges, Y/N seizes an opportunity and delivers a powerful strike, disarming Laito and sending the dark orb shattering into pieces.

Laito stumbles back, his eyes wide with surprise and defeat.

Y/N panted, but with a resolute expression. "It's over, Laito. You've lost."

Laito glowered at Y/N. "Curse you, mortal! You've bested me." With a deep sigh, Laito snaps his fingers, and the body switch curse breaks.

Y/N and Kanato's souls return to their rightful bodies, leaving Laito defeated.

Kanato hugged Y/N. "I'm so glad you're okay." Y/N hugs Kanato back. "Me too."

Laito glared at Y/N. "This isn't over." He hissed before walking off.

Y/N turned to Kanato. "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know. But we can figure it out then. I'm just relieved to have things back to normal."

Kanato and Y/N walk away together, a new path ahead of them.

And the next thing they knew, they found themselves in the Sakamaki rosegarden, sitting on a bench together.

The moon shining down on them as they talk.

Kanato looked down at his hands, a conflicted expression on his face. "I never understood why you were always so kind to me, Y/N. Even when I treated you poorly you showed me nothing but compassion."

Y/N smiled softly. "Because, everyone deserves kindness, Kanato. No matter what they've done or said."

Kanato shook his head. "But I've been cruel to you."

"I know. But I don't hold it against you. As a vampire, you live in a different world, with different values. It's not your fault ." She said,

Kanato looking up at Y/N, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Y/N. You're the only one who's ever shown me true kindness."

Y/N took Kanatos hands in hers. "You're welcome, Kanato."

Kanato and Y/N sit in silence for a moment, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the garden. The moon continues to shine down on them, casting long shadows across the rose bushes.

Kanato broke the silence. "Y/N, do you still want to spend time with me? Be my friend?"

Y/N smiled. "I do, Kanato. I meant it back when I said you were my friend."

Kanato and Y/N smile at each other. They know that their bond has grown stronger, despite their differences. They are now friends, united by the shared experience of body swapping.

The End.

/////Note:

How did this experience change Y/N and Kanato?

And how will their relationship develop?

Does Laito really intend to strike again?

All that, will be revealed in the sequel.

Stay tuned!!

[domokunrainbowkinz]

back by unpopular demand: me, with my manhwa posting :)

titles discussed:

the pawn' revenge (18+)

sign (18+)

dawn of the dragon (18+)

cold blooded beast / in cold love (18+, idk why manta and lezhin translated it differently...sidenote I prefer the manta tl, it was more smoothly translated imo)

necromancer survival

red limit (18+)

frenemies: thicker than blood (18+)

dead man's switch (18+)

in the doghouse (18+)

4 week lovers (18+ on lezhin, 15+ on manta)

the pawn's revenge (18+) - i love you crime thrillers i love you damaged manipulative protagonists and i love you ride-or-die ML's who will do anything for love. it's a pretty gritty story about being sold off as a prostitute to the red light district, and what you would do to escape that situation, even if that means teaming up with a kidnapper/serial killer to claw your way to the top. ofc it does develop beyond that, and especially in s3 i am really interested to see how je-oh will go against hee-seo, as well as how he's gonna go about addressing the fact he genuinely loves and cares about seong-rok, despite his better judgment. idk man i just really love je-oh as a character, i want to study him under a microscope. i'm always biased towards manipulative characters who are a little fucked in the head <3 i really liked this one, but i would proceed with caution because there is non-con/dub-con in this one (not between the MC and ML except for 1 instance in s3).

sign (18+) - god this shit was so cute i wanted to explode. it's a pretty low-stakes, feel-good, fluffy read with some pretty good smut. it's about a guy who works part-time at a cafe owned by a deaf person, and their relationship is so OUGH..........god they're so cute, they are so down bad for each other and at the very end i thought to myself "damnb...maybe love IS real.......". i'm not deaf so i can't fully speak on how well the story represents deaf people, but just from an outsider's perspective it doesn't feel like the story treated him as an object of pity nor does it erase his disability, and he also has a lot of agency with regards to his decisions, so he's definintly not depicted as helpless. i do want to say that the plot does dry up a bit in s3 and it mainly focuses on the side couple (which unfortunately i wasn't super interested in), but other than that i HIGHLY recommend this if you're looking for a light read!! i have this bookmarked as a comfort read and it's also one of my faves for now <3

dawn of the dragon (18+) - i'm always a sucker for reincarnation stories and clingy ML's, so this one got me hook line and sinker. the dragon ML is so cute, i want to tuck him in and give him some hot choccy <3 the MC is also such a funny asshole, and his relationship with the ML is such a delight to read. one thing i do wanna say tho is they used the amnesia plot device twice???? once for the ML and another time for the MC, which made me go "ok......but why......???" like idk i don't think it was necessary to give the MC amnesia, it almost just felt like an excuse to go back to the chasing phase rather than have them in an established relationship. just my opinion though eheh 🤪

cold blooded beast / in cold love (18+) - not sure why manta and lezhin translated the title differently, but i will say right now that i think the manta tl is better. for some reason the lezhin tl localized a lot of terms (they changed "imugi" to "basilisk" and "yeoju" to "magic stone (????)") which confused me like just add a tl note, i PROMISE it's not gonna kill you to keep the original terms. it's another reincarnation story involving dragons and tragic pasts and amnesia, and the ML has 2 (two) dicks babey!!!!!!!!!!! i did finish the entire story through a fan tl, and overall it's a pretty standard supernatural romance, i honestly have no strong feelings about this one.

necromancer survival - i read this one a while back and totally forgot about it....anyways i have a BONE to pick with this one, i've seen so many people rave about it but i ended up not liking it and i'm so mad about that!!!!!!!! on the surface it seems like something i'd like, but the way it was executed just made me go "meh.....", and i think a lot of that stems from me just straight up not liking the MC (i know these types of MC's are supposed to elicit a "protect him uwu" instinct from readers but instead he made me go "grow a spine!!!! fight back!!! FIGHT BACK!!!!!!!!!" anyways he made me want to tear my hair out) and the only reason i even finished all the available chapters is because of the ML and his undead squad. a lot of people did say the novel is better and more explicit with the horror and romance, but as of right now i don't think i will read the novel, since again, most of my dislike stems from the way the MC was written. also i felt like the romance just came outta nowhere, like the ML treats the MC like shit and then suddenly develops feelings out of nowhere 🥴

red limit (18+) - i ALSO have a bone to pick with this one, like it could've been so good but then the author had to throw in some UNNECESSARY BULLSHIT in the last 5 chapters that soured the entire ending and side stories for me i was so mad!!!!!!!! like you didn't have to do allat 😭 everything before that was just so beautifully depicted and written, with the way they slowly show the relationship deepening, the way the level of intimacy increases with each interaction, the insecurity, the careful breaking down of walls AUGH....but then for SOME REASON they threw in some half-assed, forced misunderstanding at the end that made me go "HELLO???? WHY???????" i'm so bitter >:( going back to positives though, the art in this is so unique. the use of a grayscale palette with splashes of red is so striking, and i LOVED the use of full colour in certain panels to signify where the MC is at emotionally. i do think this is still a good read, but you'll just have to ignore the Bullshit at the end.

frenemies: thicker than blood (18+) - OUUUGH this one slapped!!!!!!!!! a childhood rivals-to-lovers murim story that i absolutely blasted through, the MC and ML's relationship is so ouuuuuuuuughhhh like they are each others' ride or die. i thought the plot was also quite interesting as well, since we get to see the power struggle within the murim society, and at its core, the entire plot is really a revenge story. i really liked this one as a wuxia danmei enjoyer, so i think other danmei fans would enjoy this one as well!!! i have this bookmarked as a comfort read, and it's also one of my faves now <3

dead man's switch (18+) - a zombie apocalypse BL manhwa!!!!! it's about a university campus overrun with zombies, and the MC and ML are trying to survive and escape to get help. at first glance the ML is a total psycho and seems to be abnormally obsessed with the MC, but at the end of S1 you find out why, though there are hints dropped throughout the first season that make you guess (unfortunately i was spoiled by a summary i saw online 😔 but it didn't take away from the enjoyment). i think fans of zombie media would like this one, it does play out a lot like a zombie movie (humans dividing into groups, hoarding food, survival of the fittest etc), so it feels pretty familiar.

in the doghouse (18+) - i'm gonna be real i'm just reading this to see how freaky the FL and ML are gonna get. the ML is a total masochistic sub looking for his sadist dom, and i am excited to see the FL finally become the femdom of his dreams. besides that though, i do love how the FL is written, the struggles she goes through with her parasitic family really make her feel disempowered and you can FEEL her frustration through the panels. anyways i'm rooting for you courtney become the femdom of richard's dreams babygirl <3

4 week lovers (18+) - i'm actually baffled there's a 15+ version that omits the sex scenes bc babey that's like 90% of the story. gonna be real here and say i don't know if the 15+ version is worth reading, because I think the sex scenes are probably the best part about this manhwa lol. i do like the relationship and they do have a lot of cute moments, but there's not really a plot besides in the first season where they get together at the end, after that it's just them developing their relationship and having nasty borderline-kinky sex. that's not to say there's no depth to the characters though, the MC's backstory is very sad and explains a lot about his behaviour, and his issues don't magically disappear once he and the ML enter a relationship. i'm still continuing with this one though because i do want to see how far they go with regards to the MC and ML's obsession with each other, and also i want to see how freaky they will get :)

[seawardboundsammy]

If it’s not too much trouble, can I have 3 and 4 from the step asks game for all ur steps? (I like villain name rational LOL) Or just a couple of them!

of course you can!

3. what is their villain name? why did they choose it?

Arbor: Refutation. this one was purely self indulgent. I love the word refutation and the idea of being stalwart, refusing to budge even an inch. arbor chose it because theyre still doing what they think is right (anarchist) but refusing to do it in the way dictated by the rangers

Pelican: King. One of my fave of my step names, they chose this cause they wanted to force everyone, especially their enemies, to revere them whenever they spoke of them. Pelican is nonbinary but masc presenting so i went with king instead of regent or smth. Also they call their mob "The King's Knights" even though he thinks of them much more like pawns

Thistle: Briar. I originally thought about Thicket but that felt too close to his actual name. Briar fit the flower theme and also draws back to Sleeping Beauty which thistle definitely likes the pink of and also the fairytale princess. Also he thinks Briar fits how it feels to get close to him. just looking back at the stats and oh yeah his v name was originally Undertow! I was thinking of doing an ocean theme and then went all in on flowers (though im def still gonna use undertow as a name sometime)

Faruq: Rook. It's the second syllable of his name. He's the bluntest man alive and totally expects Steel to catch onto his shit and doesnt care. He acts like a rook (straight direct lines with a clean goal) and it also fits how he's still trying to support and help (train them herohunter)

Rory: Heartbreak. They want it to hurt. They want Ortega to know how much he failed every time he turns on the tv, every time he has to talk about the villain on the rise. They want people to be scared, to wonder if theyre gonna be just as bad, and prove that theyre going to be worse. I personally wanted to see the dialogue for if you choose that name.

Nayeli: Estoc. Now this one was by far the weakest. I knew i wanted to romance argent so i chose a sword name and i just. couldnt find anything more fitting. Nayeli is a tech thief and i never quite locked down her theme as much as the others (eg. regal, flower, knight) so i honestly want to give her a better name as some point.

4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress?

Arbor: I think im gonna switch their armor to functional with a cape cause they are really not terrifying. their armor is p agile (tele boost and jump jets) and their cape has an almost heroic flair. normally they wear a long sleeve shirt with a tee-shirt over top and a pair of army surplus green cargo pants. oh and their signature sunglasses!

Pelican: thats a king baby! conqueror with cape, its a bit bulkier to add to the intimidation (extra armor). it literally has a crown built into the helmet. he's such an egotistical bitch. on the day to day they wear expensive suits, typically in brown, and probably looks far to much like HG.

Thistle: pretty lithe mirror suit, built to slip into places unnoticed. He often wraps himself in his cape to conceal himself even more. he wears very cute pink clothes, typically a frilly white shirt with a pink cropped cardigan and a pain of light brown pants or a loose skirt. he and pelican are the most appearance conscious of my steps and thistle is by far the more neurotic about it.

Faruq: thats an armor suit. enhanced strength and armor, no cape. he is very much a parallel to steel and a practical guy so there's definitely a resemblance between their suits. he wears pretty standard second hard comfortable clothes but does take good care of his beard and locs (which on very rare occasions he will put cuffs in)

Rory: terrifying massive armor, shredded cape. you cant see their face obviously but in stillness it feels like they never blink. this thing cracks concrete just walking over it. rory wears a yellow shirt over an orange sweater and a long brown skirt with black boots. thats pretty much all they wear.

Nayeli: similar to thistle's mirror suit, her's is more black than mirror silver and tries to hide her frame but doesnt have a cape. she super doesnt like people looking at her so her standard style is pretty basic, just a woman who works in an office nothing to see here. her favorite part of her appearance is her long hair which she (tries) to take good care of.

[dany36]

the deed is done! after 84 hours, finally got through the true ending in dragon's dogma 2. as a new dragon's dogma fan, i gotta say...what an amazing game, loved almost every minute of it, and despite its many flaws, it's in my top favorite games for sure now that i saw the ending mostly did not disappoint and had some time now to think about it. there's been a few other open world games where i've spent 60+ hours playing them only for me to realize that wow, i did not have a good time at all with this and don't ever want to touch them again, but dd2 is definitely not of them. i honestly can't remember the last game i played that just had such a fucking grip on me, maybe horizon zero dawn which is like in my ultimate games ever: if i wasn't playing dd2, i was thinking of what i was going to do once the weekend came around and i'd be able to play it again. in fact, i was thinking of going back to granblue fantasy relink after this but i think i'm just gonna have to do ng+ to get some of the quests i missed + increase my pawn affinity (yes i know i'm a bad arisen lol).

i think i saw someone else say that it's hard to explain why they love this game because my god it has its flaws, but i'm gonna try to explain in my usual long-ass junk thoughts below, with endgame spoilers:

ok first of all, the gameplay and the vocations. holy shit. not gonna lie, i was at first a bit intimidated by this game because it seemed elden ring-ish and that game never really got my attention because of people saying how hard it is etc so i just never bothered to play it. it took a bit for me to get the hang of dd2's gameplay because i mostly just stick to jrpgs like tales, xenoblade or games like horizon, tomb raider which...aren't really hard games at all? so personally this was a pretty big switch for me. even if at first i was getting beat up by simple goblins, i was enjoying the hell out of it. i stuck with fighter for like...the first 45ish hours because i like being at the front of the fights and the use of the shield provided me a way to defend myself from attacks since there isn't really a dodge button here so it's what made me feel most comfortable. but man, exploring the other vocations and Seeing Number Go Up to maxing out your discipline in them is probably what kept the gameplay so fresh for me even though i pretty much went through the overworld twice: once normally, then another time when i realized i was close to the "first" ending and i was like oh shit better go back and do everything else that i might have missed.

but yeah, pretty much of the four vocations that i tried (fighter, archer, magick archer, mystic spearhand), the gameplay just felt so fluid and fun even when i was fighting my 10th griffin or my umpteenth goblin swarm. finding different ways to fight off enemies even as i was towards the end of the game is probably what made me not feel so bored with it. like, i remember i had just switched to MS and i ran into a drake, so even though i had defeated one as an archer and another time as a mystick archer, going against this one as a mystic spearhand felt like a new experience since i obviously couldn't do the same type of attacks i had done before! really glad i got out of my comfort zone of just sticking with fighter to explore some of the other vocations.

and speaking of the gameplay, i absolutely loved the pawn system. being able to have your own customizable companion that follows you along your journey and is loyal to you no matter what is just such a great concept, and on top of that, you get to also form bonds with other people's pawns as you're forming your own party! i'd get so sad when i'd have to dismiss a pawn that i had been traveling with for weeks in-game, and even more so that when i tried to rehire them, they completely changed vocations so i couldn't get them to rejoin my party since they were no longer what i'm looking for :( also, i had been wondering how people were getting their pawns to blush with them, which i mean for mine i didn't really mind because my main pawn was male and it seemed like some people wanted their pawns to be romanceable so i was like eh that's fine, that's not what i'm going for. HOWEVER it looks like if your pawn affinity is high enough, you get a slightly different speech from your pawn at the end when they help you kill the dragon! so that's also a really neat detail that the developers added, so i'm for sure gonna go for that since oof, when my main pawn was delivering his speech at the end....it was breaking my heart but i was so happy for him that he had gained some free will of his own, so hell yeah i wanna see what other things he says at the end with a high enough affinity!

the overworld exploration. ok, i don't know what it is about this overworld that made exploring every single corner and (almost) every single cave a joy to explore. having played botw/totk i hated the overworld so much because of how empty and unrewarding it felt, and how repetitive the caves got. i'm not saying that dd2's overworld is perfect, but seeing a golden trove beetle stuck to a tree of a ledge or finding a ferrystone at the end of a cave felt more rewarding than whatever the hell totk tried to do. i will say though that towards the end it was a bit disappointing how the treasure chests with weapons were containing equipment that was weaker than i already had, but i mean, considering i went through the overworld twice, i think that one is on me. i know some people complain how..."narrow" or "restricted" the exploration feels sometimes because at times you're just walking down a path and there's just huge cliffs on either side of you so you don't really get like to see an expansive view of the overworld, but honestly that never really crossed my mind. i actually didn't discover the elves' home until towards the game, even as i was making my way to it, i was just looking around taking in my surroundings because of how new and fresh it felt to me.

sidequests!!! ok this is another thing i've heard people complain about and how "shallow" they seem and i'm like....excuse me? did we play the same sidequests??? sidequests are like one of the things i love the most about any game (huge xenoblade x fan where the sidequests make the most content of the game), so having come from playing big games like granblue fantasy relink, botw/totk, xenoblade 2&3 where the sidequests are just soooo fucking boring, they make no attempt at getting me to care about the NPCs involved, have no interesting sidestories, or are just boring fetch quests, dd2's sidequests were a breath of fresh air.

like, are the people complaining about the sidequests just not care about daphne being abandoned as a child and now living in the slums but she actually has a twin rich brother (oh and seeing the maid that brought this all up now in the slums because she was fired for it?? oof!!), that one nun that was poisoning her patients at the giving hand under the guise of helping them, saving dorieann and then helping her save the sacred arbor (i'm sad i left this sidequest for last!), ulrika being fucking chased out of her village and being unjustly blamed for the dragon attacks (this part pissed me off soooo much and i was so happy to go back and kick all of their asses!!!), pawns being sold off to battahl via some weird human trafficking oxcart, helping hugo lead a more honest life after being imprisoned for having been part of that one desert gang, OH that one girl that wanted to learn magic and then loses control and almost kills her fucking grandma?? WILHELMINA'S SIDEQUEST??? (honestly one of my favorite sidequests in a game ever tbh, that end reveal was just too damn good) I mean i can go on and on!! SURE not all sidequests are winners and some are more shallow than others, but i'll be damned if the majority of these sidequests didn't have me invested in the NPCs and i'd be devastated if i were to mess them up somehow. so yeah, i mean i can maybe see them complaining that some characters' sidequests should have been more developed, but i think that takes me to my next point...

the story. i gotta say, the first part of the game's story just had me hooked and i couldn't wait to see what was going to happen. the whole thing with disa's plot and the false arisen and you trying to uncover the truth with captain brant's help so you could take your rightful place as the sovran, like...i was invested! but then like many people rightfully complain, once the coronation happens and you get to battahl, all of this kind of....falls off?? like it doesn't really matter anymore idk? i was so shocked when i opened that one door that phaseus goes through and the pathfinder was like "oh yeah go here and that's where you'll find your journey's end" i was like no way! over so soon? i mean, again, as an xcx fan, i'm fine with like, stories being interesting enough that keep you engaged but are not fully fleshed out, the gameplay and the sidequests in dd2 were enough to keep me playing. but like, it's kind of weird that nadinia takes like, a third of the game's coverart and i felt like we barely got to know her or that she was relevant enough for the story?? there were like what, two sidequests she was involved? the one where you find out who is trying to kill her, and then when you are guiding her in vernworth. i just loved her design and i was looking forward to seeing how else she would fit in all of this. same with ulrika, after you finish her sidequest, for someone i thought was going to be more important to the story, she really does disappear after you make her the chief of harve village. hell, apparently her whole quest is missable if you don't go back to melve to help out with the dragon fight! so i mean, yeah there's a lot of characters and story plots that i feel could have been more fleshed out, and the whole world lore didn't really click in for me until i got to....

the ending and the postgame world. man, that really made sense on how or why the pathfinder was able to change ambrosia's mind about handing over the godsbane sword so quickly. i was so confused by that and it honestly annoyed me cus i was like, what the hell, are the developers that lazy?? but no!! turns out we were just all characters in the pathfinder's little fan fiction world where everyone had a specific role and path to play in his little game!!!! fuck!!!! rothais my guy!!! this honestly just blew me away, no wonder all his victories and accomplishments felt empty after finding this out!! it was all a game to the pathfinder! defeating the dragon and becoming the sovran would have been a meaningless victory! i fucking LOVED how the pathfinder takes you back to your battle with the dragon to make you realize hey, you're stuck in a loop unless you do something different, which the dragon alludes to when you take too long to figure it out and he says "you're too late...!" and the fight begins again. damn, i just, love it when games do shit like this. i have to admit i had to look up what i had to do after fighting the dragon twice. i knew i had to do something while flying with the dragon because of the heartbeat, but i had completely forgotten i had the godsbane still with me (and thought it was weird how it only highlighted the item menu!).

and like the whole feeling of being in the postgame world just took me back to my majora's mask days, and i fucking loved it. the world is ending and you have to evacuate everyone from the major towns you've visited, and apparently you only have a limited time to get it done because the fog will slowly consume the towns if you rest for too long. and talking to some of the people trying to get them to evacuate as they're still going about their daily lives and they're like, no, i refuse to, let the world end i don't care!! so majora's mask, amazing. really liked the one where henrique didn't want to evacuate until you saved the enslaved pawns as well....ugh so good! apparently once you defeat the last dragon from the beams, the fog will no longer advance and you can explore the unmoored world freely, but honestly, since i had already gone through the overworld twice, i had no intention of grinding my equipment and trying to get "the best gear" because honestly, some of that endgame gear is kind of ugly lol.

really enjoyed the new dragon boss fights at the end though because being at lv 60 even without all of my gear leveled up or dragonforged, the giant bosses or the drakes weren't really as threatening as before and these new ones gave me something more challenging and interesting again! and don't get me started on how badass it was to see my pawn overtake the talos and kill a dragon for me...that moment really had me with my mouth agape and just made me go "wow, this game is amazing" for the nth time. i think in ng+ once i get to the unmoored world, now that i know that the timer kind of stops with the last dragon defeated, i'll explore a bit more and see how much tougher the new enemy varieties are. :)

one thing i didn't like though and i think it goes back to my story complaints from before is that like, ok you have to evacuate all of the leaders you've interacted with. i immediately warped to harve after talking with rothais because i was like ok ulrika my girl, let's get you and your people the hell out of here, do you not see the sky!! but....no...? she's supposedly one of the major romanceable characters but there's no quest to evacuate her and her people so...i guess just forget about the harve village? hello? she IS technically a leader so i don't know why this just wasn't a choice. oh wait, i guess because her whole sidequest is missable so they didn't want to make the true ending missable in case you couldn't evacuate harve...? ahhh who knows. but this really annoyed me lol.

also, not sure why everyone is saying or concluding that both the arisen and your pawn are dead as part of the true ending. i mean, ok, whatever, i'm used to bittersweet endings and i don't know enough about the dragon's dogma games lore to know more, but honestly i'm choosing to believe that my character and her pawn got washed up in a remote island but will come back and hence why your highest affinity character is looking off at the ocean :) or am i thinking about xcx again... either way, that ending cutscene of the old man sailing out seemed like dlc teaser or something so we'll see what comes out!

alright this is getting kinda long so just gonna finish it off with a couple of other things i didn't like about the game:

the music?? i mean, coming from gbf relink which has such a banger soundtrack, not sure there is much to say from the music department in dd2. the main theme though? fucking amazing. i get so pumped up when it plays when you choose the game in the ps5 main screen or in the proper title screen, and i even got a little teary eyed at the ending theme. but honestly, nothing much else to be impressed here. i might change my mind once i give the ost a proper listen but yeah, just some initial thoughts.

enemy variety. took me a while to notice but, for such a big overworld and where the world is just so dense with enemies, the enemy variety in this game is.....not so great. i think i saw someone say that there are like 26 enemies in total? with goblins, wolves, harpies, saurians, and bandits being the most common that you'll encounter during your travels. it really is annoying when you're trying to get from one place to another and you just keep getting ganged up by mobs that really will just not let up on you even if you run away from them. and apparently there weren't really any new enemies coming from dd1/da so...it's really baffling

the fast travel. with how much back and forth some of these quests require you do, people's complaints about the fast travel options in this game are valid. i wish they would give you an eternal ferrystone as part of the ng+ cus yeah, oxcarts aren't foolproof from being destroyed by enemies that attack you on your way to your destination, and honestly i'm glad i saved my ferrystones for the postgame world because i just was NOT going to be walking about everywhere in the unmoored world or w/e. i really do wonder how much time from my 84 hours was just spent walking to and from destinations. i read this comment elsewhere but this game really doesn't respect your time as a player so i'm glad i got to play a big part of it during my week off work.

romanceable companions. look, as a lesbian i can't complain that the two major romanceable companions are both women, but i do feel bad for people who wanted to romance captain brant or literally any other male NPC and have more fleshed out romance scenes like we got for ulrika and wilhelmina. even so, i mean, it really does suck that the game makes this choice not matter in the end? i got both ulrika's and wilhelmina's romance scenes and after wilhelmina disappears i was going for ulrika, but in the end neither of them ended up being my highest affinity character and instead i have gywndlr of all people looking out to the ocean in the ending cutscene. and that's really it i mean, your highest affinity character has no bearing whatsoever in the story except if they're there clutched by the dragon's hand and the ocean scene. i mean, not to talk about an early 2000s game, but tales of symphonia did such an amazing job with its affinity system that i still have not played another game that takes your choice for your highest affinity character matter so much in the main story plot. (haven't played bg3 so please don't come after me--although if you made it this far then thank you i guess???) so, while yes the ulrika/wilhelmina scenes are cool, the concept of romanceable/high affinity characters just felt underwhelming when compared to a 20 year old game.

whew!!! ok i didn't except this to be so long but considering how, yes despite all of the flaws regarding the enemies and the fast traveling and the overworld and the affinity system and the story and underused plot points and seemingly rushed content....i still fucking love this game and can't wait to do a ng+ run of it and just catch all of the references that i missed (at the very beginning the dragon already spells it out that you need to like kill your soul and body to break the curse and reveal the true world....love it!!!). i don't know if i'll ever play dd1/da considering i've heard people say that the gameplay is a bit rougher and the pawns not as....great?? idk but for now i can't wait to do some fanart of this game and will look forward to any updates/dlc that capcom releases for it. <3

[stalemateserial]

57

There wasn't any formal agreement as to what constituted the beginning of a new day, the proceeding of the next dictated move. After all, one's midnight was the other's seven A.M. Judith had gone to the trouble of preparing a very official looking piece of stationery with the opening gambits annotated. She furrowed her brow again, having pondered the move for the rest of the day, to the point of distraction. But that was the point, wasn't it?

Orders had come through from mission control in Dover. The lab was to play host to experiments in the effects of weightlessness on water. That would have to wait until her coworker was awake. Judith, conflicted about how best to maintain her composure, sent a message asking if their current predicament was any closer to being solved. Then she went back to the leisure room to wait.

The Earth had become her gameboard, border lines hatched in a grid across the colors of her surface while it drifted glacially past the viewport. Judith sighed, repeating the moves in her head, expositing on what could possibly follow.

Fidgeting to oneself was a herculean task in zero gravity. Her foot did not so much tap as it did wriggle in empty air, her fingers able to drum only against her body. At one point, simply to pass the time, she signaled hurry up, Ruth against her forearm, staring at the tube of Sunday roast, pureed for her convenience, that she'd left drifting around the compartment. She was not really in the mood for any food, squirted into her mouth like toothpaste or otherwise.

Ruth did not hurry for Judith, but she eventually made her way out of their sleeping quarters, not looking much different from the day before. Her clothing had changed, at least, her pants and shirt nearly the same dull orange color and clinging to her. She rubbed her eyes, speaking to Judith before she'd even looked her way. "Pawn to G4"

"N… No!" Judith shouted. The composure she'd fought to keep melted away, untrimmed nails digging into the flesh of her palm. "I can't believe you! This entire thing was your idea and that's the move you decide on?"

"Yes." Ruth's voice was flat, disinterested, as though Judith had asked her if sleeping in zero gravity was as uncomfortable last night as it ever was.

"You're really going to open with that?"

"If you think I've opened with a bad move and you don't want the game to end, just don't respond to the poor move."

"Asking me to not respond to your weakness is asking me to not play chess."

"My weakness is that I cannot make a decision that has to be made. Hence why we agreed to this. Just because I agreed to our compromise doesn't mean I'll have the spirit for the game that you will."

"You and I both know you have the spirit for the game. We were tied at forty-eight wins before they sent us up. We are all but evenly matched. All you're doing is putting a responsibility you don't want onto me."

"In the end, it won't really matter, will it?"

"You said you wouldn't let anything happen to me if you can help it. You don't think that…" She trails off, the fight in her voice gone. "I don't want to make that decision either. We'll both go out a very very painful way if you forfeit, which is what that opening suggests."

Ruth heaves a sigh, her arms folded, her nose pointed down, uniquely skyward. "Fine. I understand. For you, only for you, I will do my best. We'll switch, you go first this time."

Judith allows a weary smile, taking a moment to think. It's a wonderful feeling, to have her thoughts wholly occupied with the best strategy, rather than doubt. "Pawn to C4"

"Alright, I'll move my knight to F6. I'm sorry again. But I am curious, did we get any communications from Control?"

"Yes, they'd have us see how water reacts to no gravity."

"We're doomed, not incapable. We've got more time to study space's effects that any who have come before us. If we won't make it back alive, we might as well leave good notes."

"You're right," Judith relents, following her crewmate to the science lab. Ruth stops at the point where the tunnel narrows, reaching her hands out to cradle Judith's face in her hands.

"I'm sorry. We both agreed to it, we did. I just… wanted it done. I wasn't certain I could take the anxiety of not knowing. I didn't want to prepare myself for both possibilities. I didn't want to make peace with one, only to have it be the other. But there will be no peace. We will go down shrieking and wailing, won't we? Either way. Neither will probably even have the guts when the moment comes. But we have to know, don't we? We have to know who'd be the first to fifty."

Judith nods, a tear slipping from her eye, floating free from the edge of the duct rather than going down her face. She sniffles, tries to clear her throat. "I'm glad it's with you, Ruth."

"Me too, Judy."

[badedramay]

i also feel like the yumna situation isn't really comparable bc the anger stems from the fact that yumna built her image on being the indie darling who did the thought provoking projects that were markedly different from what was mainstream, only to end up trying to justify working in a project as egregious as tere bin. like when you have something like dil nah umeed toh nahi in your repertoire, in which a focus on violence against women and the horrors of it are so pronounced to the point you risk being banned by pemra, it's hard to justify your own integrity as an actor when you switch to something like tere bin once mainstream success is more immediately accessible to you (and the same goes for wahaj). obv plenty of pakistani actors have starred in projects ranging anywhere from mid to trash. it's an unfortunate reality if staying consistently employed is the goal esp when you're starting to build your career. but when you're a veteran with a reputable resume to boot you have a choice and people are going to notice what you choose and how you wield the influence you've developed. you don't see sajal or kubra or ramsha or mawra interested in starring in the same trash simply bc they're more famous now than they were before. some of their projects may have shortcomings (eg hum kahaan kay sachay thay or for a more recent example neem) but the social statements of their works are clearly important to them and that's what people are criticizing yumna for lacking at present. even moreso when she's taking active steps to defend herself from criticism rather than hearing out and acknowledging what worthwhile criticism there is. i hate it when actresses are lectured on humbling themselves but listening to her comments at the round table recently was alarming for me. there's all too many actors including her who feel entitled to shrug off criticism bc if they know they acted well then that's seemingly all that matters. i can't imagine living in a state of unreality like that

but Tere Bin isn't the only mainstream drama that she has done though? Raaz e Ulfat is right there. Guzaarish was also a soapy melodrama. so it's not like her repertoire is only made up of the artsy dramas. Pukaar too, if I'm not wrong, had her as a damsel in distress for the most run-time of the show. frankly, I don't mind Yumna doing more proper mainstream dramas because let's face it..the on-ground popularity come from such dramas only. TB's success led her to gain more commercials and more campaigns which mean more money for her. actors already have a limited shelf life..why wouldn't she want to make the most of it now that the opportunity has struck?

TB was a mess. no arguments there. it was problematic and probably the worst character Yumna had to give life to. I agree. but how does that mean Yumna has fully switched to these roles? afaik her next confirmed project is a movie Nayab that's taking her back to her character-driven narrative roots. who knows what her next project is going to be? I'll reserve my criticism for her if she chooses to do another TB because yeah, then this becomes a choice. but until then..this girl has done more than enough projects in her career as an actor to warrant at least one project where she gets to relieve herself from social responsibility and just have fun. acting in Pakistani drama industry is already hard enough, it doesn't need to become a platform for activism all the time especially when all the responsibility is thrust on the shoulders of the actors when they are the most dispensable pawns of the game and the real power lies in the hands of the executives and makers. I find it unfair if all the work Yumna has done over the years gets dismissed because of one bad project (that I personally believe she didn't expect to blow up in the way it did) or that her previous conscious choices of project be seen in a suspicious or dubious light.

not every actor has the same circumstances so expecting them all to make similar choices or have the same career arc is not wise. we can't disregard the fact that acting is also a job for these people and sometimes as an employed adult you gotta suck it up. Yumna has power, Yumha has a voice; and she has used it plenty in some very powerful projects. but like every adult she has the right to not be defined by being just one kind of actor. as I type this I am reminded of how Maya had said that Yumna mostly gets cast in these heavy character roles when she can do something completely different if given a chance and she should be given a chance.

if Yumna is facing criticism for defending TB then she's also receiving immense love for this project in real time. expecting her to denounce the project that continues to give her love and acceptance sounds rather...foolish, no? i doubt Yumna is dumb enough to not know where TB went wrong with her character likewise she's not dumb enough to not acknowledge that TB is her biggest success. she's stuck in a catch 22.

honestly I don't see how being part of projects that almost get banned by PEMRA or barely get any ratings or views are some matter of pride and only they should be an actor's standard. even the biggest actors in the most stable industries want to have a balance of artsy and mainstream projects to satisfy both the artist and the actor in them. if Yumna is doing that as well..so what? being an "indie darling" has barely promised her guaranteed acknowledgement. her performance in Parizaad was phenomenal and what did she get in return for it? just a measly "best couple" nomination alongside Ahmed Ali Akbar. and this wasn't her first snub btw, she's been snubbed many times. with the body of work she has..she should have more awards to her name because that's what the indie darlings are supposed to have at least, right? but will anyone in their right mind deny Meerab a nomination if not a win? that's the whole game here.

[pineapple-lover-boy]

Can- can I just talk about the Victuuri relationship? Pretty please?

I just…. I’ve never seen a healthy relationship that starts from idolization and a need to get out that has ended in a satisfying way.

Let me elaborate:

We all know that Yuri idolized Victor. It’s why he was so nervous in the beginning and why it took time for them to build on their relationship, he saw Victor as a god.

Victor? He was depressed. He loved the ice so much but he longer found excitement in competitions. He didn’t have any worthy opponents that had a chance of beating him (sorry Chris).

I believe Victor “fell in love” at the banquet. He was attracted to Yuri but, even though he lost, he also saw potential in him. That night was probably the most exciting night for him in a long time. I think he felt genuine affection for Yuri but also saw a way to get out of his predicament.

Then, of course, Yuri didn’t show up the following season (a year had passed before the present timeline). He was most likely annoyed that someone who had gave him excitement didn’t show up. Did he think Yuri had a chance of beating him at first? Probably not. Did he see potential or at least someone he could have fun with during the season? Hell yes!

And then when he saw the video of Yuri skating Stay Close To Me, something that awarded him a gold medal. That’s all he needed. He saw how Yuri not only skated it perfectly but I bet he thought Yuri skated it better. Let’s not forget that emotion is a huge part of skating. If you don’t skate with the passion your supposed to hold for whatever theme you have, your performance can almost seem futile. Victor obviously won because he perfected it but if it was based on how he presented it alone, he would’ve lost. He saw someone worthy of skating an gold medal piece while also having the heart to do it. That’s talent.

Anyways, because of this, their relationship doesn’t hold well in the beginning. He’s passive aggressive towards Yuri because he doesn’t see his own talent and Yuri is just going along for the ride because holy shit it’s Victor fucking Nikiforov.

As they get to know each other and Yuri opens up more (plus Victor getting info on Yuri from the others) Victor starts to see Yuri as an actual person and not someone he can use to project himself onto and then later skate against. And Yuri starts to see him as an actual person too.

I saw on another post talking about how we didn’t see them during the summer and how the end credits of every episode suggest they got to know each other better as both in the credits and in the show they (Yuri) are able to touch each other more. I 100% believe this.

I also believe they might’ve had an argument or two on this topic. It’s not easy to switch from inadvertently seeing someone as anything but a person to an actual person with emotions and feelings. I believe Victor would’ve tried to back away from this subject but Yuri wouldn’t let him. It wasn’t big arguments like in episode 7. It was probably little quarrels that annoyed them both but after having a long conversation they finally started to become more comfortable with each other.

Yuri started letting go of the notion that Victor was a god like creature and Victor saw him as something other than a pawn. Yuri stopped getting as embarrassed with Victor touching him and Victor stopped trying to seduce him as much just so he could see the man from the banquet.

This most definitely leads the way towards a healthier relationship but episode 7 was inevitable. Yuri’s anxiety was at an all time high when he comes out on top. The fact that he needs to stay on top and not mess up is getting to him. As a person with anxiety, it’s pure hell. The thoughts of failing won’t get out of his head and even as he turns off all the monitors he can still hear everything.

Victor takes him away from prying eyes and has no idea what to do. Despite an obvious change that would’ve had to include some emotions from both occurring over the summer, he still has no idea how to help someone in distress.

Then he makes his first mistake. Yuri is visibly shaken by someone’s scores (can’t remember who) and Victor, who is at his wits end, yells at him to stop listening and puts his hands over Yuri’s ears. This tells Yuri how nervous Victor is too and despite knowing that Victor wouldn’t leave him now it shows to him that Victor doesn’t have faith in him (even if he does).

Victor tried to shatter Yuri’s heart. He must’ve expected Yuri to maybe sign heavily but tell him that he’ll do everything in his power to win (probably something that’s happened with him and Yakov). Instead he see’s the consequences of his carelessness. Yuri rightfully lashes out at him and even through all that Victor stills says “should I kiss you?”. Idk what Yuri was thinking but if I were him I would be extremely offended that Victor would try and use me like some doll he can play with and can assume that physical affection and love can fix everything, which was probably what Yuri was thinking.

There’s something off about Yuri and Victor when they emerge but Yuri is surprisingly better now. Cathartic crying can do wonders, kids. There’s also my favorite part of the entire show (couldn’t find a gif):

*head jab* “Hey, fuck you.”

*more head jabs* “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I know you don’t like this you unempathetic dicknip.”

*head pat* “You’re forgiven.”

We all know what happens next: Yuri ends his love story with Victor’s signature move and Victor kisses him out of joy and the need to one up him (with love, of course).

I’m gonna get a little sloppy here with the timeline because I have the memory of a female protagonist that needs to go back to work to get something only to accidentally bump into the jerk CEO of which she will develop a toxic relationship for fan service, so forgive me.

Gonna skip ahead to the scene where Yuri tells Victor that he’s leaving skating, and basically Victor too. (At this moment I realized I’ve been spelling Viktor with a c and not a k which is really fucking with my brain but it’s too late to go back). Victor starts crying and realizes just how Yuri felt when he was rejecting him.

I believe Yuri found some light in the situation because of that fact, which Victor was not having. They’ve been closer than ever now. They’ve kissed, they’ve also announced they they’re getting married, so what the hell?!

Yuri, as we know, feels he’s keeping Victor from the ice. Victor, while he misses the ice and wouldn’t mind being competitive again, has found meaning and if he’s going to be Yuri’s coach to stay where he is than so be it.

He wanted to coach Yuri because he wanted a worthy competitor and while he still wants that, what matters most now is his relationship with Yuri. If he stops being Yuri’s coach and Yuri goes off the ice he knows it will be the end. Yuri loves the ice too and I’d bet he’d try to distance himself from Victor as to not feel regret from leaving without actually knowing that he’s doing it.

They’ve grown so much at this point. But that doesn’t mean it’s over. After all they’ve been through Yuri doesn’t realize that consequences of parting from one another. While being too dependent on your spouse isn’t good, it’s what they both need right now. They are what caused the other person to be happy again and while I hate those types of storylines this one executed it perfectly.

I find Victor’s silent plea to Yurio absolutely heartbreaking. He knows it’s bad to put pressure on people but now he’s doing that to a 15 year old boy. He’s putting his relationship and his life into this child’s hands because he knows there’s nothing else he can do.

I do think Yurio had a crush on Yuri but even if he didn’t: Yuri has taught him so much. He, although being an ass most of the time, has really come to love Yuri as family. It’s clear that Yurio was always lonely (Otabek being his first friend and all) but once he came to Japan and lived, truly lived there, he wasn’t lonely anymore.

Yurio wins, Yuri gets silver and all’s well that ends well.

I guess my point of this was to show how well the relationship in YOI was. I could’ve included some more detail on some points but I usually write stuff in one take (it’s very hard to revise without my mind shutting on itself).

I just love how an implicitly toxic relationship can come out so healthy. They don’t do any of that miscommunication bullshit and when they do it’s because the characters don’t know what to do or how to handle something. Like humans do!

They could’ve easily made this the hot famous guy thinks the kawai girl boy is just so adorable and the kawai girl boy is absolutely infatuated with the hot guy. Hijinks ensue which includes the kawai girl boy thinking the hot guy is in love with someone else. She He gets pushed into thinking that she’s he’s more independent in the end and happily ever after for the couple that will divorce in less than five years! Yay!

Seriously, I thought that was what was going to happen but YOI subverted my expectations so much. They are people that grew from their bad mindsets. And you know what? Yuri still has anxiety! Victor is still bad with handling emotions! And that’s ok! We don’t change that quickly. It takes time and hopefully another season.

I’m definitely using this show as a template for healthy relationships. It’s so hard for me to properly write them when I’ve never been in one and I’m not given the chance to see it happen in different environments (when searching it up all I get is “they trust each other. They blame each other. They’re compassionate.” Like ok but can you show me how?)

Yuri!!! On ice…. I love you so much. You have done so much for my mental health and my writing. Thank you.

[killingitreservoirdogsstyle]

I hope I’m doing this right. If I need to add more info I’ll resubmit. But could I please request an HC of a friends to lovers scenario with Mr. Orange?

Hello, and Happy New Year! This was perfect, thank you for following the rules so great! And oh my word, thank you for the request! I'd be HAPPY to do this one for you. Please let me know if it doesn't suffice, and I'll tweak it to fit what you wanted originally.

REQUESTED HEADCANONS

FANDOM: Reservoir Dogs

CHARACTER: Mr. Orange/Freddy Newandyke

SYNOPSIS: A friends to lovers scenario involving you and Mr. Orange

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Romance, heartbreak ( if that’s a tw ), swearing, and light childhood trauma!

You and Freddy had been friends since elementary school, so you have a long history already. You’ve been through everything together, good times and bad--especially in your high school years. 

But you two had already begun experimenting with affection beyond platonic as young kids. I think that at some point we all do, at least in my case. Holding hands and kisses on the cheeks were not uncommon for you two, but that stopped when you two hit middle school. People began making fun of you and Freddy, so you stopped. 

Freddy came from a dysfunctional home, in which his dad was not present; and when he was, he was very cold towards his son. After a blowout with his parents, Orange left home at fifteen and stayed with you and your family for awhile. 

You became accustomed to being his shoulder to cry on. When he would have a flashback in the middle of the night, he’d go straight to your room. You woke up to him gently banging on your door. He’d break down sobbing there, and you’d pull him into a tight hug, bringing him inside.

Your parents had no idea, but many nights you two would fall asleep in each others arms. Freddy felt safe only with you. 

As high school progressed both of you had one or two romantic relationships. Yours was more serious, with a boy/girl named Sam, who was one of the popular kids. Freddy dated a pixie manic type girl that took advantage of him for his money and time. 

Once again, he cried into your chest when she left him for the high school football captain. It broke his heart in two. It lead him to seek comfort from you; which you were more than happy to give. 

“ I-I just don’t think romance is in the cards for me, Y/N...” he’d sniffle, to which you assured him otherwise. 

“ Do you know how many girls and guys would kill to be yours, Freddy? You have nothing to worry about, trust me. It just takes time. Whatever happens, I’m here for you, okay? ” that would make him smile, nodding from where your heart resided. 

By the time graduation came around, Freddy had already joined the police force after his eighteenth birthday. You were worried that he’d get hurt or killed doing work for the cops, legitimate concerns, especially in Los Angeles around that time. Orange reassured you over and over again that he’d be okay, and you had to trust him. 

You left school the same time he did. Instead of going off to college straight away, you two decided to get an apartment together. It’s the same one that you see in Reservoir Dogs; the one you both owned for ten years. 

The friends to lovers switch came two years before the undercover work he did for the LAPD with the Dogs.

It happened when another woman used him for his wallet and affection. From the very beginning you didn’t trust her, and your relationship was one of mutual hatred. Freddy wasn’t able to see, he was too blinded by his love for the girl. It was why he didn’t see what was coming down the pipeline. You tried to warn him, but he didn’t listen.

She was cheating on her abusive husband with Freddy as a way to make her spouse jealous, and want her back. All that money Freddy gave her was spent on drugs, and the gifts she pawned for funds for her addiction. When her husband took her back, she made a big show of leaving him on Valentine’s Day. 

He came home miserable, tears cascading down his cheeks. You quickly pieced together what had happened, when he collapsed into your arms. You held him close. He repeated the words he’d said years ago:

“ I just don’t think romance is in the cards for me, Y/N...” 

You opened your mouth to protest, but he cut you off. 

“ At least, not with anybody but you...” that left you stunned. You couldn’t reply, too dazed to do anything but gawk. 

He sat on his thighs on the couch, pulling out of your grasp. His hands shook as he cupped your cheek. Unsure, cautious, afraid almost. You didn’t stop him, staring into his baby blue eyes. 

“ I-I love you, Y/N. I really do, I’ve just been in denial.” he whispered. He bit his bottom lip, the anxiety building up in his chest. 

“ Please, don’t turn me down. I know we’ve been friends for so long, and that it’s awkward, but we can try it, and if it doesn’t work--!” 

You silenced his ramblings by grabbing the lapels of his jacket, pulling him forward, and meeting your lips in a kiss. 

His eyes shot open wide for a brief moment until he melted into your touch. His hands took ahold of your waist, pushing you taut against his chest. You could feel the both of your hearts pounding. Adrenaline surged through your veins. Your head spun from the rush of new feelings. The tilting of his face deepened the kiss. His tongue swirled at your bottom lip asking for entrance; you opened your mouth for him. It escalated, your tongues dancing in a sinful waltz. The taste of him was intoxicating more than you could have ever imagined. 

In one swift movement, you two fell back onto the sofa. You never did find out how long you two made out for, feeling each other and releasing the pent up desire--but it was considerable.

When Freddy pulled away, his lips were tinged a faint shade of blue. He grinned, sweeping you up into his arms. He brought you into his bedroom, laying down to cuddle with you. Your face was pressed to his chest, his chin atop your head. He kissed you, a smile on his lips.

“ You don’t know how long I’ve waited, Frederick Newandyke, for you to do that,” you breathed out. He laughed, a rumbling sound in your ears.

“ Believe me, I can guess. It doesn’t feel that much different though, just.. warmer, lighter, I think. Damn, I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.”

You pressed your lips to the tip of his nose, and said: “ I get what you mean, you big dork.” 

He chuckles again and nods. You two lay in silence, enjoying each other’s company. It isn’t until he strips out of his pants to his Spider-Man boxers that you speak. You shed your jeans, leaving you in underwear and a t-shirt. Freddy is not quiet about it, either.

“ Seriously, Y/N, do you know how gorgeous you are? I’ve been wanting to tell you that for years.” 

“ Well, thank you. You aren’t so bad yourself, Officer.” to that, he kisses you, you both settling into bed again. 

So as you two drift off to sleep, you hear each other say:

“ I love you, Freddy.”

“ I love you too, Y/N. Always and forever, baby.” 

I hope that these were okay, and that you have a great day and Happy New Year! Thanks, anon, you rock!

[chocominnie]

Desperado — 09 (M) | JJK

Pairing: Badboy!Jungkook X Reader

Summary : A messy situationship at it’s finest. You don’t even know whats headed your way, just even engaging in the slightest within him. See, he has an assignment to complete. A mission granted by his father thats do or die. You just so happen to be a major pawn in that assignment. He didn’t mean to take an interest in you. Surely it was an accident right? Only except. you hold much value in this game that he’ll do anything to complete it. Oblivious is what you are. Poor thing. Poor.. Poor thing.

Genre: Mature/ Mafia!Jungkook

Trailer: xxxxx  preview 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Word Count : 7.3k

Warnings : This honestly isn’t for the light hearted and the weak…High angst, usage of drugs, drug mentions, mental illness, switch!jungkook, Brat reader, possible stockholm syndrom, kidnapping, assault, death of side characters, murder, weapons, usage of weapons, masturbation, physical violence, blood, alcohol, weed, unprotected and protected sex, spanking, honestly its a lot of aruging…

Copyright: please do NOT repost, translate, or modify my works in any way, shape or form, on any platform. If found doing so , it is considered as plagiarism and appropriate LEGAL action will be taken

TW : Suicide, Body Hanging for display.

Her hair moves so flawlessly and the her breasts spill over the mini triangle bra with each sensual move she makes. The way her waist and body whines against the pole could leave absolutely anyone in a trance.The rhythm of the music blasts in the air and she’s directly on beat to it, not missing anything through the song playing. 

The led lights are dimmed low enough in a red color, but enough for everyone to see. Shes uncaring at the men in the room sizing her up in her designer high waisted thong that hugs her hips very well, showing off her round, plump ass. That was what she wanted, the attention all on her while they throw hundred dollar bills for her. 

“ Who knew someone could get down and dirty like that.”

To no suprise, Jimin, the ladies man but heartbreaker for sure, enters the private room and closing the door beind him. He throws a stack of money towards her, as he was the seemingly late one to the meet-up. 

“ Jungkook is late, he’s never late. What’s taking him so long?” A grumpy Namjoon says, looking down at his apple-watch. It’s half past 10 pm and usually he’s the first one here.

“ He’s probably sucking up to yn-”

The girl turns her head sharply towards the boys, overhearing what they said. She furrows her eyebrows at them, “ Why would he be doing that..”

Taehyung lets out a small groan. “ Because Mr. Lover boy has gotten himself a crush. The worst part is, she’s his target for this mission.”

“ Shut the fuck up. I don’t have a crush on her, i’m just doing my job.” A semi-loud voice roars through the doors. Everyone stops to look at the sudden intruder and to relief it’s him, Jungkook. 

Of course he has to lie about that. He knew for sure he caught himself up with you and the feelings were strong. Though the big bad mafia boy catching feelings for his target is highly uncommon, and Jungkook doesn’t know the consequences.

“ Jungkook..” The girl says, frowning at him with her hand on her hips. He takes a seat on the couch and tilts his head at her to go on. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head at the young boy. “ You fell for her.. so what about us?”

It isn’t hard to say that he doesn’t have any more feelings left for the girl. She and him both knew what they agreed upon. The pair had history together, sexual to be exact. Romance was hardly there if he were to be honest. She’d began actually working for Won-Shik, under this club they’re in now which is owned by him, a year ago. Jungkook had entered the club once when he was considered a minor, but that was to pass a message along to the girl from his father. He was told to go straight in and straight out. Of course, he did the exact opposite. Sat around looking at all the half naked women that night as the music blared loud. 

It wasn’t until his phone rang and it was Casper telling him to hurry up and come back to the car, is when he finally decided to get up and look for the girl. When he did find her, it was over with for him. The girl was, and still is, stunning. One of the many foreign girls in the club but she’s the one that stood out of all. She wore nothing but a small outfit as she danced on the pole. Her beauty mesmorized Jungkook that night as he watched her dance in awe. Soon enough she came to him showing her her dimply smile and perfect teeth.

He was stunned alright. She knew he looked to be too young for the club so she asked him his age. He told her, and thats when she nearly called security on him until he told her who he was and affiliated with. The message was passed along accordingly to her, she got the memo. Jungkook though, kept coming back to that club and always going to where she was, following her around the club like a lost puppy. She enjoyed his time, as all she did was sit and talk with him and that turned out to not be enough for him. He wanted her, and she insisted that he was too young for her. 

So Jungkook did what any other person would do when feeling rejected, he started to present himself like a true man and mafia boy. The gym was his favorite place after that and he buffed up very well. That jawline of his got sharper and his personality gained more confidence and dominant by the time he turned nineteen. He of course kept going at her, shooting his shot anytime he could and yet kept getting denied. It wasn’t until his nineteenth birthday is when he begged her telling her how bad he wanted her, and that lap dance he kept suggesting months before. Since it was his birthday and he was legal, she gave him what he wanted but that still wasn’t enough for him. He wanted her underneath him bad. The slight age gap between them didn’t phase Jungkook at all. What he wants, is what he gets. 

And he did.

And kept getting it, and getting it, and getting it since then. 

“ Relax baby, I’ll still be coming around you know that.” His voice is smooth, smirking at her.  He wasn’t going to be coming around as much, but he knew that would disappoint her. 

She purses her lips and begins walking towards him and sits directly on his lap, straddling him. Jungkook can’t push her off the way he wants to because it would confirm the crush rumors from the boys about you. So he lets her sit there, uncomfortable as hell for him. 

Namjoon clears his throat to get the rest of the group attention. It’s nearly 11 pm and Crystal has been blowing up his phone ever since he stepped foot in the club. He told her beforehand about the meeting, but she wanted him at her apartment by at least 1 am. 

“ We all know you love yn, but remember who you are Jungkook.” Namjoon says, glaring at the boy who returns the glare back at him. “ Fuck you. Like I said, im just doing my job.”

“ If you were doing your job Jungkook, there’s no way in the hell that it should take you this long. “ Jin retaliates. He knows hes right.

By this time, Jimin had finished preparing seven perfectly rolled blunts filled with the most finest imported weed. He places them onto the tray, taking his own and then passing the tray to Yoongi. Each of the boys take their own until it reaches down to Jungkook who takes his and puts the tray back onto the table. 

“ Enough about her. I was summoned to go over the details for the next seven days. “ Jungkook groans, sparking his blunt and inhaling. He passes it Melanie, who takes it to inhale as well. 

A malicious smile comes upon Yoongi’s face as he exhales the smoke into the already fogged up air. One thing he loves to talk about is torture. One of bangtan’s best walking torture device to be known.

“ Tonight we are starting.. I say you let me go first.” Yoongi pauses, taking a long inhale of his blunt. “ I’m coming for their trade transaction place. Arson, let me burn the bitch down and then fuck around with their father.”

It’s a good idea. Sending a message after burning it down straight to it’s opponent. Fire is Yoongi’s thing, and that’s his signature marking in the Bangtan Boys. The father of the shooter was one of their dealers, until the shooter’s father fucked up by taking money out of bangtan’s cut little by little. The boys knew about it, they waited for the perfect time back then to take action. Of course, giving them a mission to complete.. or so he thought. The mission was a false one. Created by Jungkook to catch him off guard. Jungkook used some of the mafia men on Won-Shik’s side to set up a trade off of drugs, decieving the shooter’s father by thinking they were just setting up a regular mafia trade from another gang. The trade was complete, but their protection was no more. Needless to say, the men didn’t even make it back to their cars. It was a bloodshed war between Jungkook’s assigned men and their men. The point was to send a memo that the Bangtan Boys were coming for them, and coming hard. 

Everynight for two weeks unimaginable signs were sent to their family. Ranging all the way from several gunshot bullets going through their home, to severed heads of previous betrayers of the bangtan boys, sitting right on their porch. By now, all the other gangs in Korea knew not to have any business with them. 

“ Day 2 I want it. I’m going for the mother. That scamming bitch and her precious flower shop? I’m shooting it up. Whoever lives, lives. Whoever dies, dies.” Jimin shrugs, smirking as he leans back in his spot.

“ Day 3, for me I’m sending another message. One of their men is gonna die in my god damn hands. I’ll be sure to take a selfie and send it to the father. The body will lay hanging on that pretty little oak tree in their yard.” Taehyung says. The boys are roar with shock that he’s said that. Normally he doesn’t like touching a dead body, so it’s a change for him.

The boys continue listing off the days and assigned tasks for the rest of the night into the wee early morning. Namjoon left after his, of course going straight to his girls apartment. They don’t judge him, seeing as though the boy really is in love and knows when and how to handle it. He definately doesn’t mix business and his love life together, unlike his other hyung.  Soon enough the banter and socializing ends and it’s time for Yoongi first. 

Night 1

It doesn’t take long for Yoongi to find the place. The empty steets of Seoul have soon faded into just dirt roads with the city left behind. The humming of his porsche echos through the night time air. Yoongi takes one final turn, making sure to pull into the place slowly like a true hunter keeping it’s eye on its prey. It’s not a full house tonight, even better. 

Taking the jug of gasoline out his car, he carries it with ease up to the empty warehouse. The wildlife outside don’t make a noise. As if they know who’s approaching and just shut right up. Forty degrees fahrenheit outside and lastnight’s snowfall piled all around.The darkness outside is haunting, anything could pop out at any second to kill the man. That doesn’t scare him at all. Darkness is always what he crave. Inside and out. 

“ Sir.. do you want us to go in with you?” 

Yoongi stops dead in his tracks. He’d almost forgotten about the back-up men Jungkook ordered for him. It’s not like he needed them anyways, but since Jungkook can’t be there with Yoongi, that was the next best choice. 

Rolling his eyes without turning around,“ No. Wait in your cars. I’ll handle it on my own.”

Just like that. The boys are off like lightening. Yoongi takes one final step towards the two double doors, and begins to pour the gasoline at it’s starting point. Usually, he’d go from the inside out, but seeing as though he wanted them to scurry out fearing for their lives, this is the next option as well. Soon enough, the enire jug is empty and he’s now poured all of it around the outside of the warehouse. Leaves crunch with every step he makes back to the starting point. Part of him hopes they can’t hear him from the outside. It’ll ruin the plans. 

The lighter in his pocket feels so smoothe against his palms as he reaches for it. It’s one of his signature ones with his initials on it. An andrenaline rush runs through his veins as flicks the ignition with his thumb. The flame all bright and orange as he stands there infront of the building. It’s going to be a damn good night.

Without hesitating, Yoongi runs his fingers through his hair and throws the lighter right onto the gasoline puddles. The way the whole ring of fire lights up infront of his eyes makes him laugh hysterically while watching the whole building go into flames. The loud crackling sounds of the now decomposing warehouse jumps him back into reality. 

He heads right towards the big tree next to the right of the warehouse, leaning on it with one foot up against it with his hands crossed. That sinister smile doesn’t leave his face. He enjoys the view of the men from the inside running out as fast as they can. Some falling in the ring of fire in the process. The fire is no match for any human as they try to stop drop and roll. Ha, as if that would work with a 15 foot fire consuming the warehouse. The dead bodies pile up on their own, just burning in the fire over their simple mistakes of falling and thinking they would survive the fire.

Until the golden egg comes out. He’s furious as runs out perfectly, as if he’s been through this, without managing to catch on fire. Yoongi chuckles, leaning off the tree. “ Kang Dong-Woo.”

Usually Yoongi would use the honorfics to people who were much older than him. In this case though, he doesn’t deserve honorifics. 

“ Min Yoongi.” He says, harshness laced within his voice. Dongwoo frowns when nearing the man. He knows what Yoongi is capable of, and that’s what sets his fight for flight into action.

“ Let’s get straight to it. Your daughter is after our leader. She seems to be doing the dirty work for you yeah? Did you not train her enough? Of course you know she wont be able to live after this right?”

Dongwoo laughs right into Yoongi’s face as if he was joking. It angers Yoongi, so he grabs Dongwoo by the shirt and drags the man over to the fire where he kicks the back of his legs to where he’s kneeling inches away from it. 

“ I don’t think this is a laughing matter, Dongwoo.” He growls, tightening his grip around Dongwoo’s arms that are behind his back. “ You want to die?”

“ She’s gonna fuck you all over.” He growls.” You may think she’s not capable of finishing off you guys one by one, but she is. I raised and trained her since a kid. She’s stronger with more energy than me. She’ll kill you all when you least expect it.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes at him.” The dumb bitch can’t even shoot right. Going for someone else knowing Jungkook would save them is an ameteur move. Should’ve went straight for his damn head.”

“ I’ll make sure she’ll bring you guys hell Min Yoongi. All of you. Tell that shit to Jungkook and his daddy for me alright?” He mocks, laughing again at the boy to taunt him.

Yoongi doesn’t care for it. He’s had enough of this foolish talk. With one swift move he kicks the man’s back making him fall down to the left side, away from the fire. He’s lost it. He’s totally lost it at this point and there is no going back. Kick after kick after kick, he doesn’t stop. No. Not until the Dongwoo is sure to cough up blood. The crimson liquid poors from his mouth as he lays there. No remorse is felt.

Besides, the bastard bitch needed to get the message. Consider it message recieved. 

Night 2

The flower shop is full, but not full to its entirety. There's tons of different bouquets and arrangements set around the pretty shop, from what he can see from the outside. It’s almost closing time, an hour left. Jimin’s fingertips grip on the steering wheel, anxious but patient to make his move. He’s running off of pure adrenaline and 2 cans of monster that are crushed and sitting in the passenger seat. Waiting isn’t his forte and he’d honestly like to get this show on the road now.

The moon is out and shining bright tonight. A sigh escapes his lips when he glances again at the shop. The only reason he’s not done it yet is due to the fact that there is a child and his mother inside. Rule number 2 of Bangtan, injure no child. The price to pay if you were to break the rule? Simply it would cost you your own damn life.

As if time would of went any slower for the boy, the child and his mother finally made their transaction and made it out of the store, heading across the street to continue their journey of shopping. It’s go time.

He knew to come prepared with his bulletproof vest and full face ski mask, long Sleeve black shirt to cover all the markings he has and also the two tattoos on each of his arms. He knew that the little lady wouldn’t be so dumb to not carry, or at-least have someone inside that would be her undercover security. Considering who her husband is, there’s no way she won’t be protected.

Oh how innocent the people look to not know what’s coming next. Jimin loads his Glock 19 with golden bullets that have Bangtan Boys initials and symbols on it just before pulling his mask down and getting out the car. He makes sure to signal his back-up men to create a distraction so he could make his entrance. Sure enough, a loud boom in the near distance of what sounds like some type of construction falling, echos loudly. It turns heads from all around to look where the sound came from, making it easy for Jimin to slide into the flower-shop.

Not a sound made by him. He draws his gun and pulls the safety off the trigger, then cocks it. Eyes are all on him as his eyes shift around the room looking for his target. There she is, eyes wide in the middle of a transaction for two middle aged couple. His eyes set into hers, lowly smiling and pointing it at her. The way everyone frantically screams and cries out doesn’t phase Jimin, no. It just encourages him even more as he starts firing shots mid air, shooting any and every person in sight for the hell of it. Bodies drop to the ground, and the bloodbath begins.

Jimin doesn’t hesitate to step over everybody, eyes still set on his target. The middle aged couple’s shrieks were cut short by their bodies dropping to the ground with three shots each to their hearts.

“ Park J-” He cuts her crying off with a finger to his lips, daring her to say his name in public. She gets the memo. “ I wouldn’t if I were you.”

The barrel is pressed against her temple as she trembles with fear. He cocks his head to the side, smiling at her when he taps the gun against her head harshly, repeatedly. “ You know why I’m here.”

“ You kill me and she will murder you all.”

Jimin chuckles, “ That’s what you guys think. We don’t have time for your gimmicks. It was you guys who stole money from us. Why did you think you’d still be protected from the law from us? Getting your daughter to go for the leader first is dumb, like the rest of you.”

“ We almost went to prison for you guys, remember that? We needed that cut money from you guys to pay off our legal fees. Thats why we stole. We completed your dirty work while trying to pay off the fees, its the least you guys could of did as a reward.”

“ That’s not how it would’ve worked. You fucked up. All of you.”

With two shots to the leg, she falls into Jimins arms. He rolls his eyes and throws his body off of him and onto the floor. It’s going to be a headache trying to explain to the dry cleaners why there is blood stains on his designer ripped jeans.

Night 3

It was too easy, way too easy. It took nothing to lure that man right into Taehyung’s trap. Nothing but a simple few slick comments made to him for him to get a riled up at the wrong person. Taehyung had spotted the man prior heading into the park with a small duffle bag. He assumed it was for a night trade off for some other person who had delivered drugs for him. Nontheless, it was merely too easy to pose as the alleged person who completed the mission. 

A rookie. That guy must’ve been a rookie. 

When the money was handed off to Taehyung, he tossed it to the side and struck the man down. The two did fight on the concrete floor for a bit but the man was no match for Taehyung’s quick moves. Taehyung’s pocket knife dances around the man’s throat as his body is pinned to the ground. 

“ Rookie mistake not verifying if I’m the real one.” He chuckles, pressing the blade against the mans neck. The man pleads for his life but it’s no use. Message must be sent, that it’s no way you’ll fuck around with Bangtan and escape.

“ You know, I would’ve trained you more than Dongwoo. Letting the weakest link go run an errand? Ha. Your boss set you up for that one.” 

Although the man is merely innocent, it doesn’t stop Taehyung from slicing into the man’s neck. A blood curdling scream comes out, but soon hushed over as his will of breathing and screaming is cut. It’s music to Tae’s ears. 

The body is transfered per request of Taehyung to his back-up men. It’s not like him to touch a bloody dead body. So they take him into the back of their car and follow Taehyung to the residential house of the shooter. Nothing more than 10 minutes away. 

The lights are cut off in the neighborhood. Not a sound made other than the two cars coming down the street. Everyone seems to be at peace and quiet in their homes. Sleeping to say the least. Upon arrival, Taehyung parks his car right infront of the house. The back-up men drag the bloody body out the car and onto their lawn, placing it right under the oak tree. 

Taehyung takes the rope be brought along with him, and begins to tie multiple knots around a sturdy branch from the tree. When done, he wraps some of the rope around the dead boy’s neck, tying it into a slipknot and hoists him up high into the air. 

The body dangles from the tree like a flag waving in the sky proud and high. He signals for the boys that the assignment is done and that they’re free to leave. Taehyung though, he just sits back in admiration of his work. It’s been a while sinice he felt this way. So he stands there soaking it all in. 

Message recieved. 

Since it’s been three entire days of hell, Jungkook knew his day will be approaching faster than ever. If only it could get here faster though. Truth is, Won-Shik isn’t too happy about Jungkook’s plan still not being complete. At this point, the father is going against him any chance he gets to just get this over with. 

Luckily, tonight he’d be able to meet with his father again with some good news. It hasn’t been brought to his attention yet about your father being in Taiwan. With the technology of Won-Shik’s men, your father could be brought here within 12 hours tops. 

“ Father.” Jungkook says, entering his office doors. The boy fixes his leather jacket upon entering and places his hands back into his pockets. “ I have news.”

Won-Shik is one to not play around with. Interupting his office time is a big, big deal. One is to not enter without it being urgency. That rule still applies to the heir of the company. “ It better be damn good because your plan isn’t getting anywhere Jeon Jungkook.”

Won-Shik takes his glasses off and sets them to the side on his desk. Its full of papers and photos of himself and Jungkook when he was a child. His favorite one right in the middle, where Jungkook had just ate some cherry flavored ice cream and his lips were all red as he smiled for the camera showing his two front teeth. It reminded him of when Jungkook was easier to manage rather as to now where he’s a damn menace.

“ Taiwan. Her father is in Taiwan. I don’t think it’s Taipei though.. he’s hiding so a city wouldn’t be ideal. I say search the mountains first, then the city.”

Bringing this proposal to the table meant that Jungkook wanted to atleast gain his father’s trust back. Hell, he wanted all this to be over with by now because you were driving him crazy to the point where he’s beginning to actually forget who the hell he was and why he was assigned this mission. The plan was not to fall, but to complete. He’d be lying if he wasn’t knee deep in love with you right now. It all comes down to him protecting you from his father at this point. 

“ So your little plan is suddenly working huh.. still doesn’t mean she gets to run free Jungkook.” He says, smirking at the boy to challange him. Jungkook knew that. Once it’s proven that your father is the snitch, all of the family dies.

You’re innocent. Too innocent to know that or to be even tangled in that mafia mess of his. Part of him wishes he never met you and never had been assigned this mission. Then everything would be so damn different and emotions wouldn’t be caught up in this. From the moment he met you, he knew it would be hard. You have always held a special part in his heart. Only because you acted just like his mother. Sweet, but sassy and it hurt him a lot on how you remind him of her. You even word your words just like her, even when upset. Everything about you, is just like her. 

It was hard to not get attached to wanting to get to know you more. Somehow he thought that if he got to know you, he’d somehow fill that hole inside him of his mother’s disappearance. As if you were going to be his new replica as you would be the one to put a band-aid on that hole to patch it up. 

Here you are, not knowing you could die any moment and it will all be thanks to Jeon Jungkook, who couldn’t save you fast enough. 

“ I know. But she’s innocent. She doesn’t even know her dad worked with us. I swear she doesn’t.”  Jungkook bites his lip in hopes that there could be someway to save you by the hands of your father.

 “ I dont care!” He roars, jumping out his seat. Jungkook flinches, backing up a bit from the sudden outburst. “ You know not to mix business and pleasure. You reap what you sew. You get to pay the consequences.”

Jungkook knew that though. 

“ Father-”

“ Nothing more. I’ll have my team start the search right now. You on the other hand, get you god-damn shit together Jungkook. You’re the heir, not a damn lover-boy. Got it?”

It is no use of arguing with him. Jungkook looks down at the ground and nods his head yes just before Won-Shik dismisses him. It’s going to hurt. Seeing you dead. He hopes for a miracle can happen, that your father will not be the snitch. That you and him could live happily ever after. There will no be any happily ever after about this situation though. One will die. Just a matter of who it will be. 

The vibrating sensation in his pocket snaps him out of his trance. An incoming call from Namjoon. It’s alarming since today is Namjoon’s day of hell, and only one thing could be happening right now if he’s calling for Jungkook. 

There’s been a mistake.

“ What is it Namjoon.” 

“ She fucking outsmarted me. The bitch caught on to where my location would be for the next kill. I don’t know where the fuck she is Jungkook.. this is bad.”

Jungkook sighs heavily, closing his eyes while letting out strings of curses come from his mouth. Shit couldn’t get possibly worse than this right now. Namjoon said he’d wanted to go straight for the killer and bust her up a bit. Give her some words and a branding on her. He had wanted to do it with a knife, carving the initals of Bangtan Boys into her upper hip. Namjoon had zero problem tracking her next location down, as he had been keeping an eye on her all day. To him, it seemed as if she would be heading to an orchestra shop in the city. Every step she took, Namjoon took it too. 

Until she rounded the corner to go inside the shop and she wasn’t there. There wasn’t any outlet. The shop was on a dead end street surrounded by other shops that they both had passed. There was no way she didn’t go back, he would of saw it. He saw her go into the store, so she had to be there right?

Wrong. You see she knew all this time that Namjoon was followering her while in disguise. The orchestra shop where she led him to, she knew the owner. They were good friends. She had spoken to him asking if that she could use his upstairs office to read over some of the newest edition of music pieces for her to practice. He obliged, and she made up there in time before Namjoon came inside.

Up there, she’d be lying if she wasn’t scared to death. All this week the boys had definately given her hell. Each day with zero remorse. It was taking a toll on her for sure. Taking up this assignment by herself wasn’t something easy but she wanted to prove to him that she can be just like him. That she wanted to work with him too to take down Bangtan for decieving them and leaving them in the dust. 

She can’t do it. The boys are to expierenced for her. It’s a bad mistake that she cannot come back from. You see, she thought it would be easy to befriend you and become close to you after you’d laid eyes upon Jungkook your first day here. She knew you’d soon fall for him, like any other girl did, and that would be her easy acess to him from you. It was all planned beforehand. To be quiet and observe you and your moves with him. In her mind, Jungkook needed to die first. The boys can’t function all that well without him, so that would be the weak spot to take advantage of if he would’ve died when she knew he’d take the bullet for you. She coudn’t shoot him first, it’d be too straightforward and blunt. 

It was going all well. Deep in the inside she was jealous of you as well. Sungmin had been her crush for years, they even almost dated. Until you came along and he left her in the dust for you. Sungmin is everything she wanted in a boy, but you took that away from her. Her chances to date him ruined by you. It hurt everyday to see him head over heels in love with you, when that was just her at one point before you came along. Not only that, but she seen the way you play with Sungmin’s emotions. It made her upset that you do that. Sungmin’s love is a drug, whether it be friendship love or romantic, nobody can get enough of it. 

All this stressed her out to her max. Her family being hurt because of her, her mom unable to walk for the next few weeks is all because of her. Only cause she cannot complete this task she brought onto herself. As if being in danger because of Won-Shik and Bangtan wasn’t enough beforehand, she just made things worse all in all. There is no way out of this for her and her family. So it’s time to just accept it and say goodbye to it all and start a new life. 

“ I’ll find her. You wait at the base and I’ll report back to you guys after I find her. When I do, you will come and finish your damn task Namjoon. Do you hear me?” Jungkook’s beyond pissed at this point. If it wasn’t for him, the boys would be lost as fuck without him.

He shoots Casper a text, letting him know that he is to follow him closely as he searches for her. To his luck, Casper was already outside his apartment building in his car. Not long after he pops those contacts in and changes his outfit again, he’s cruising the streets of Seoul in his midnight purple lamborghini. 

The pain in his shoulder throbs with each turn he has to make with the wheel of his car. A little pain medicine would of helped beforehand, but rushing to get this shit over with was more important. This bitch definately has it coming. It’s been taking Jungkook these past few days to not just up and kill her. No that would just be too easy. Torture and marinating her to lose her shit at the last minute is something so satisfying to him. 

The streets of Seoul soon end behind him and the Mappo Bridge comes into view. It had been an a whole hour searching around the areas of where she could’ve been, including where she was last seen. No sights of her at all. She’s good at this for sure. Text messages are sent back and forth between the boys and Jungkook. They’re all on edge, tired, and frustrated at this chasing game that they’re all playing.

He’d almost missed it. The body walking alongside the side-walk of the bridge with their head hanging low and hoodie on. It’s the hoodie of his school, but most importantly it has their class graduation year on it. It has to be her. Jungkook flashes his hazard lights on, letting Casper know to pull over with him. 

It’s now or never.

After sending the text to Namjoon, he’s out the car and jogging towards the suspect. Height, body type, and shoes match the alleged identity. It seems she’s too into something to notice the extra footsteps behind her. He can’t do anything to her though, it’s not his night. 

“ Kang Minlee.”

She stops dead in her tracks as if a ghost had called her name. Frozen, she stands there contemplating on running or staying. If she runs, she’s dead. If she stays, shes dead. 

“ You think..” He pauses, grabbing her arm and turning her around to face him. Her face is red from crying and her glasses all fogged up from underneath her mask. For a split second, Jungkook does feel regret. 

Killing a classmate of his wasn’t something he’d ideally let happen. But it’s far too late to not have her killed off. “ You think that running away is the best option?”

Minlee trembles underneath his grip, “ I made a mistake. Please just let me go. Let me and my family go and we’ll leave you alone forever.” She breaks down into tears, placing her hand over his in attempt to let her go. 

It didn’t hurt Jungkook to see her like this. All in all it just feels weird to him. Weird to have one of his classmates begging for her life to be spared from the gruesome events to come. 

“ You know I can’t do that.” It honestly can’t be an option at this point. It’d be better to just continue out her days of hell with her family. “ You came for me, that means you die.”

Finally she jerks her arm back from his still in tears as she starts to back away slowly. Jungkook knew that she wouldn’t run. Not in this case. Letting her cry it out was the best way, hell it’s the only way because Namjoon would be here any minute to brand her. It would mean she belonged to Bangtan after that, and she’d have to keep quiet as they planned out her death.

Her sudden movement from the ground to climbing up the railing of the bridge alarms Jungkook. She cries louder when Jungkook comes closer to getting her down so he stops. Suicide? Right now? What happened to being all big and bold? It confuses Jungkook as to why she would take her own life right now. Either way she’d still end up dead and unhappy if Bangtan would kill her or she’d kill herself. 

“ Jungkook!” She semi-yells, pointing to the direction behind him as another guy approaches them. Just in time, the sound of Namjoon’s car can be heard from afar. He’s getting close.

The guy she’s pointed to is Casper, who’s also alarmed at the fact that she’s close to the edge right now. Jungkook holds his hand up at Casper for him to stop right there and shakes his head, meaning that it’s too risky for Casper to step in right now. Casper nods and Jungkooks turns back to the scene. 

“ Don’t you think that I’ve suffered enough? Everyday you guys give me hell. My mom can’t walk because of you guys, and my dad has health issues. You left us in the dust when we needed your support the most! I was almost put up for adoption a year ago because of you!” She sobs, wiping her never ending tears with her hoodie sleeves. 

Jungkook doesn’t know what to say, or do. It’s not like him to have sympathy over a rival. It’s just not in him at this very moment. 

Minlee continues on, “ Yn? She took what’s mine. My Sungmin. She plays with his heart and it hurts him a lot. I wouldn’t have did that. But no, he’s head over heels in love with him. I got left in the dust when she came along and it looks like everyone loves her, including you Jungkook. My friendgroup does anything and everything she wants because she’s just oh so little miss perfect. That was supposed to be me!”

There it is. The jealousy. Jungkook would have never known it. It’s all news and shock to him. Sungmin and Minlee? Didn’t seem like a match to begin with. 

Her dramatic meltdown continues on, but Jungkook allows it. Namjoon will be here any minute to sneakily get her down. Where is he and why the hell is he taking so long?

As if on cue, Namjoon pulls up to the scene and immediately gets out his car running towards the girl. Jungkook waves his hands for him to stop, eyes wide with a finger to his lips. The last thing he wanted was for the girl to jump. A death from their school? Surely was to be put on him and his boys. 

Namjoon stops infront of Jungkook’s car, confused as to what’s going on. Jungkook mouthes to him the words suicide attempt. That’s when Namjoon gets it and decides to let him handle getting her down. 

“ Yeah it was meant to be you. But I plan to take Yn away anyways. Then you and Sungmin could come together again.” Jungkook’s convincing isn’t convincing enough, she doesn’t buy it at all.

“ If I get down I’m going to die. There is no escaping that within the next few days i’d be dead in your hands. I made a mistake and there is no going back. Spare my parents. Let them live. I’m the one that started this. I’ll be the one to finish it.”

The girl lifts one foot off the railing and leans backwards. Jungkook’s breath hitches along with Namjoons. No. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. 

“ Kang Minlee!” They both scream, running towards her. It’s too late though. Her body falls gracefully down as all three of them watch over the railing. She looks peaceful, a smile on her face while her body is sprawled out in the air.

Inches before she hits the water, the three of the boys look away with only the sound of dense water splashing to fill their ears. Namjoon sighs, putting his hands against his head. Jungkook stands there in complete shock. Casper, well Casper just shakes his head knowing the two boys weren’t prepared for that.

“ We fucked up Jungkook.”

“ I fucking know that Namjoon.” His voice cracks. It isn’t like Jungkook to cry. No not at all. Especially for a target like that. At the end of the day she was human and she did what any daughter would do for her family.

 She was also your friend.

You hadn’t heard about her death yet the next day. It’s a normal saturday morning for you. This time you’d decided to go to the cafe with your laptop and write your essay for your Psychology class. The cafe is nice, it’s cat themed and has some pretty kittens running around the outside of the kitchen and customer service area. 

As soon as you order and sit down with your Caramel frappe you spot a white kitten laying near you on the floor. A smile comes upon your face when it comes to you when you call for it. They don’t have these in Canada. Cat Cafes. The kitten lets out his purrs when you rub his back as he lays across your lap. The nametag says Mochi, a cute name for a cute kitten. 

Minutes seem to pass by without your knowledge. You’d been too into typing to hear the news on the tv being broadcasted live. It wasn’t until you heard suicide of a teenage student on Mappo Bridge. That got your attention.

You listen carefully as the news reporter goes into detail of how the body was found. It had gotten caught on a rock as the stream moved it around. A mother had found it with her kid as they walked across the bridge that early morning to look at beautiful water. It saddens you to know someone took their life. Maybe if that person had access to getting help, they’d live to see many more days. 

When they announce the name and show a school picture of the student, the look on your face drops. 

Minlee. It’s Minlee on the screen. Its all too much for you right now. Your stomach twists and turns along with your hands that begin fidgeting. She seemed so healthy and happy these past few days when you saw her. It didn’t add up. It wasn’t going to ever add up to you that you had just lost one of your new friends.

Packing your things up in a hurry, your phone begins to go off with a bunch of text messages at a time. You know it could be the groupchat. What you wanted to the most right now, is to go home to cry and calm down. You shove everything in your backpack and place the kitten back on the floor nicely before taking off towards the door. You bump into somebody on the way out, causing them to drop a picture in their hand. The two of you both reach to pick it up, but they pick it up first before you.

“ I’m sorr-”

You’ve seen her before. Long curled hair, big dimple on her left cheek, and bangs. 

There’s no fucking way. 

[dorotharry]

tiny dancer ; chapter two

Pairing: bucky barnes x fem!reader

PROLOGUE | CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 3

Word count: 1.7k

Warnings: torture, nightmares, angst, let me know if there's anything else :) 

Summary: After being drafted for the war in 1942, Bucky goes to the ballet a week before having to leave with his best friend Steve. There he becomes infatuated you with the prima ballerina of the show, and he just has to meet you before his last week in Brooklyn is up. He hopes one day you would meet again; little does it know it will be 72 years later.

A/N: honestly I have no clue where I’m going but I’m hoping you’re all still following. There’s still soooo much to go into readers past and yep, it’s gonna take a while but I hope you enjoy this. Please feel free to give feedback, like and repost it would mean a lot! :)

MY MASTERLIST

*gif not mine

1943

Your head felt groggy, as you woke up. Not enough energy from an ounce of your body to open your eyes for the time being. The more your body woke up from the darkness of slumber the more the pounding of aches and pains became less subtle and started to fill each and every muscle. You weren’t sure where you were or what had happened, but you suddenly became aware that your surroundings weren’t familiar. The air was too cool and there was an eeriness from lack of noise.

Finally, you were able to pry your eyes open. The colours swirled around you into one, until they became to create recognisable shapes. Although this wasn’t somewhere you recognised, just as your mind had thought even before getting to look around.

You were laid down on a metal ‘bed’ if you could even call it a bed. The coolness of the metal began to get to you a shiver running down your spine and you attempted to get up. Only to be restricted. It was now when you noticed you had straps holding your ankles, down, but not only this; there was a limpness to your form. In fact, you didn’t have any real connection to your muscles. As if a switch had been turned on in your head you realised, this wasn’t a bed. It was a table.

Suddenly your anxiety rose. In an ill attempt to do something you turned you head groggily to the left, only to be met with machines, and hospital devices. You took in a sharp breath. This definitely wasn’t a hospital so why the machines? Rolling your head to the right with just as much difficultly as last time you were met with darkness. The faint sound of feet shuffling in the distance, and the whirring of more machines.

Almost as if whoever it was had realised you were awake, a bright white light turned on above you causing you to groan from the sudden contrast to the previous darkness. The footsteps became louder, as whoever it was approached you from their hiding spot.

“Ah you’re awake,” the voice started, “you know you gave our men quite a difficult time back there. Are you going to behave this time?”

Your voice barely was able to respond, only a hushed whisper came out, “Who are you? Where am I?” This worked to rejog your memory as you saw flashes of men running after you, as you had leapt from this same table. You had gotten pretty far and fought back fairly well but this place… whatever it was; was a maze. Realising now that amongst being kidnapped and knocked unconscious. Your first attempt to escape was probably why you were in pain all over. A vision of a few men jumping on top of you and beating you unconscious. Again. That must have been why you were tied down this time.

“I think you know the answer to that.” the small man with glasses responded appearing finally out of the darkness. “…We’re HYDRA, and you y/n...” He spoke reaching under your chin in a condescending manner. “…Were firstly going to be a pawn against your stupid Captain America. But you’ve shown promise, something our other soldiers don’t have.  Neither your American ones. My guess is it comes from your ballet training.” He shrugged as he moved away from you, turning and looking for something. Suddenly his hand was on a switch and machines began to rumble.

“Please,” you responded choking on your own words, “please just kill me!” You knew something was coming, otherwise why would be so aloof.

He chuckled at your words as he stood behind you. “The red skull doesn’t want me to do that, he needs more soldiers, and that’s exactly what we’re going to make you.” And with that you saw a metal machine slowly being dropped down over your left eye, and below your right jaw, causing your panic to rise. As quick as the unbearable pain started, so did darkness.

Present day ; 2017

You woke up screaming as the pain of what had happened almost a century ago shot through your entire body. You fumbled out of bed in a sweat like you did most nights. Heading towards your small kitchen in your small apartment. It was filled with greys, no life within in, you felt there was no need, why celebrate a life with no life?

Your life had changed in so many ways after 1943. You were one of HYDRA’S many toys, the many men that surrounded you called you tiny dancer, but not in a kind way, in a misogynistic arrogant way. Most people at that time though saw you as a weapon, something to be feared of, and they should have.

After you had stumbled upon the Winter Soldier on a mission in 2014 working as a freelance agent having cut your ties with HYDRA mere months before hand, it was only a few months when so had Captain America. From what you had heard amongst assassins under the radar living in Madripoor like you, it hadn’t gone well for HYDRA and now the Winter Soldier was nowhere to be found, invoking fear within many who had made themselves enemies to him. But you were sure his best friend would be looking for him. Whilst you had decided to go against helping him, Steve was not that kind of person.

Time had not been kind to you, you were no longer the frail girl who could fall in love in a week. In fact, you weren’t sure if you actually could feel love anymore. HYDRA had to make sure there was no collateral. Still once you saw him that night you wondered how amongst your many years with HYDRA, how you had never run into Bucky: The Winter Soldier. You had heard of the winter soldier, but you never knew it was Bucky behind the ghost of a person. Probably on purpose, HYDRA had been in your mind. Tthere was no doubt they knew who he was to you back then.

Not only did it invoke these thoughts, but it had led to your retirement. Well not your retirement, you were still about 25 years old on the outside, and though nor Steve or Bucky knew you were alive you knew how it felt to be in their position.

Hiding out in your small apartment in Madripoor was where you had spent most of your life since 2014, staying on the down low in case HYDRA somehow re-emerged, looking for revenge on a project they had wasted so much time on. You.  

You weren’t sure why they were so surprised people like you hated them with so much anger. They had taken your life, Bucky’s life and made you weapons against your will. You didn’t hold their values, it was forced upon you.

You shook yourself from your thoughts again. You only got sentimental after nightmares, and the nightmares had been pretty continuous after seeing Bucky those few years ago, so really you were sentimental most mornings. You think it had something to do with seeing him and how it brought back memories you didn’t even know you had.

Reaching for a bottle of water, you took a sip looking over at the clock that read 3am. You groaned, knowing that you’d probably never have a good night’s sleep again. Terrible payback for a terrible past. No sleep for the wicked.

You shuffled yourself back to your room getting into bed and turning on the tv as a way to mindlessly distract yourself until you actually had to do stuff.

A few hours past until it was 7am, and you decided you could at least go for a shower before your day at work. Working at a bar that opened at 9am wasn’t exactly high class living; especially when you had to deal with drunks so early in the day, so it definitely required more motivation than most jobs. You couldn’t do what you were originally good at, dance. And you’d decided you probably shouldn’t be doing what you were trained for. Killing people.

Turning on the shower to allow it to warm up, you rid yourself of your clothes, suddenly aware of how stiff your muscles were after another bad dream. Stepping in you let the water try and wash it away, and though it did help you knew it would only reappear tonight in another form of a nightmare. You closed your eyes sighing in content, and it did last for a brief moment until you heard banging on your front door.

At first you tried to ignore it, but it got louder and more aggravated and suddenly your heart had fell to your stomach, resorting to thinking of the worst that could be behind that door. Getting out you threw some clothes back on. You reached under your bed grabbing your shot gun, holding it close to yourself as you slowly walked towards the door that had started banging again. Times like this you wished you had a peep hole to look through.

You turned on your best poker face and opened the door abruptly to be more hostile. Only you were met with someone you didn’t know, though for some reason you felt you recognised. On the other side of the door stood a woman all in black, her hair was in a blonde bob and for a brief second you thought you saw a reaction flash across her face like she knew you too.

“Is this y/n?” she spoke firmly and with poise.

You raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

“Is it?” she returned her poker face staying on her face.

“Yes.” You huffed, the half-amused face falling from your face, returning back to the glare you constantly wore. “Who are you?”

She raised her hand for you to shake her face accompanying it with a small smile, which you hesitantly took.

“Nice to finally meet you y/n, I’ve been looking for you under Fury’s instruction for a while, my name’s Natasha.”

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Taglist: (let me know if you want to be tagged)

@maybe-a-marvel​ @thatredlipped-classic​ @flightsandfantasy​ @7minutes-tomidnight​ @rebelemilu​ 

[gillianthecat]

The Devil Judge: Episode 7

I just finished The Devil Judge and something about this show compelled me to take copious notes - it had emotional intensity and layers of mystery. These are long and rambling, so they're likely not of interest to anyone else, but since I spent all that time writing it I decided, why not post it. Perhaps someone will find it interesting.

Below are my moment-to-moment reactions, predictions and analysis as I watched episode 7.

eps 1&2  ep3  ep4  ep5  ep6  ep7  ep8  ep9   ep10  ep11  ep12  ep13  ep14  ep15  ep16

I wrote about my initial impressions, up to episode 5, here and here.

This is cleaned up only slightly. I followed the spelling given in the Viki subtitles. I mostly don't explain what I'm reacting to, so this will probably only make sense if you've seen the episode recently. Occasionally I give timestamps.

I'm worried all the plots and counterplots won't make sense. But they usually don't; it's just about the vibes. Which would be fine, but it would be really exciting if they day. 

Getting more focus on the tv/public image mob rule stuff, and I'm starting to think the show is not going to have much meaningful or interesting to say on the topic. I think because the public is portrayed as a single entity, credulous and easily swayed, so they're just a pawn in the political game. And there isn't much to say about pawns. At first I was hopeful because of the aesthetics of the show, but it turns out the focus is on the powerful. 

So if public attention and/or opinion is useful in anyone's plots we'll see it, but otherwise it will be ignored. Or if they want it for its vibe and aesthetic. 

Is Judge Oh really this naïve? She seems to be a stand-in for the public. so yes she's going to be shown as naïve, to voice what the person-on-the-street might be thinking. Which is too bad because I thought she was going to be interesting with her poor rural background, her ambition, and her interest in playing the media game. But I suspect any cohesiveness as a character she might have will get drowned if the story needs a mouthpiece for public opinion. Hopefully I'm wrong. She will still be ambitious etc, but only when it's convenient for the story. 

Of course Judge Kang would hire someone he thought he could manipulate easily. 

And now she's maybe being insightful again?

She's also sometimes expressing the extreme distillation of G's thoughts of feeling. 

Judge Oh and her upside down reflection in the glass table as she's thinking about how to political intrigue. 

(7:30) JSA's glass walled stone and metal house.  Very empty and full of reflections. 

This skincare routine looks like product placement but I don't think it is. JSA just never drops her mask, even alone. Has she forgotten she had any other self? Does she not trust that she's ever alone? When your whole house is windows...

(8:20) And it turns out she wasn't alone. Does Jae Hui live with her? I'm curious about their relationship. 

JSA backstory implications? Real emotions? 

What is honest and what is performance here, and who is she performing for? 

Interesting. This is the first time we've seen her with no sexuality in her performance of self. She performing big sister instead. 

She was 12 when she started at the Kangs'

Oh, and she's switched back to her seductive persona, perhaps?. She's dropped whatever honesty was involved, and I'm pretty sure there was some honesty there.  But this is another kind of honest, maybe even more so, she's telling them her core belief and I think she really wants to help them. She's big sister again 

Does she not think any of the adults here are important enough to harm her? Or is she caught up in identifying with the girls so she doesn't really notice them? 

Is that what she did to chairmen Seo? 

That heartbreaking question at 16:45. 

Did JSA kill her mother at 12? Oh shit. Well she killed now. 

(18:00) Elijah. Thank you for asking the question for me. 

Immediately following the orphanage we get E and Y's argument about guardianship. 

Oh my god this whole scene was amazing.

(25:46) An all out media war was instigated. Prez evoking xenophobia. Paying for tips? 

I love these rows of journalists on their laptops at student desks. Echos of JSA's speech? 

Wife thinks he went too far. 

(28 ish) How the 5 gained power. And their eventual plot to build a concentration camp?!

Y was playing the politics game with G. Y thinks risk is fun. but G is too earnest and brought in the domestic.  have you thought about Elijah?  their real selves in the judges’ chambers

Episode 7, 30 minutes in and G has joined Y in his plotting for the first time! 

Fuck he's sexy 

That was the plot? Fake like he received an envelope from them? Ok, he Sets them all against each other. They're not that bright, but that's ok it would needlessly complicate the plot if they were. 

Y loves the risk. Adrenaline junkie. He's so happy now, he's playing games against his enemies and winning and he comes home to his crush working alongside him on his lifelong project. (I'm sure he will crash soon, but his life is great now!)

Presidential basement. 

Journey to the prison:

G has been repressing his desire for revenge. 

I would have taken a different message from that than Kang is trying to give. 

Is this the moment of corruption? Here in the prison yard?

I feel like we're finally seeing Seon Ah’s true face as she murders Seo. Anger and grief 

White was a bold choice for a murder. Contrasting Y in his all black. 

Huh, this ‘coronation’ framed like a Christian wedding 

eps 1&2  ep3  ep4  ep5  ep6  ep7  ep8  ep9   ep10  ep11  ep12  ep13  ep14  ep15  ep16

[chalky]

The Commodification of c!Tubbo

This essay is unnecessary but I think about it too much so here you go

At this point, y’all are probably sick and tired of me rambling about c!Tubbo, as this is about all my original posts are. But, I feel as though this is an important aspect of his character that is either swept under the rug or never given any second glance.

Whether intentionally or not, Tubbo has been constantly commodified by allies and enemies alike (don’t even get me started on the fandom, that’s for a whole other post). Like, throughout the entire story of the Dream SMP, Tubbo has been looked down upon as a yes man, sidekick, or extension of another character who is incapable of making decisions for himself, which is such a degrading thing to experience for so long and explains why his character values himself so little.

This is a long one, heads up!

 I want to break up this dehumanization and commodification into three categories:

Tubbo is either a pawn (something to be used), a trophy(something to be owned), or a scapegoat(something to be blamed) to others.

Tubbo Seen as a Pawn:

Wilbur loved Tubbo, but his treatment of him during the Pogtopia arc was definitely sad to see. (Note: Wilbur was spiraling and his mental health was in shambles. He couldn’t help his paranoia and he deserved way better than the ending he got, but that doesn’t absolve the effects of his actions on others). First he took Tubbo on as a spy, a very dangerous role that landed him dead, but throughout Tubbo’s service Wilbur saw him as an obedient pawn, while not a loyal one. A pawn ready to turn to whatever authority figure commanded him best. His remarks about Tubbo being a yes man back this up, and the way he warns Tommy that Tubbo will betray them erases all of Tubbo’s identity and reduces it to that of a spy (again, this is born of Wilburs paranoia, this isn’t his fault).

Dream made it very clear that he regarded Tubbo as lesser than a toy, so obedient and trusting that he wasn’t worth keeping alive because he was so boring to him. The whole speech about Tubbo being worthless wasn’t even directed at him despite him being right there. Dream only addressed Tommy as if he was the one whose opinion on Tubbos fate mattered.

Jack Manifold literally used Tubbo’s trust to attempt to kill Tommy, saying that he was a sweet guy but way too gullible. No better way to treat someone as a pawn to further ones own agenda than by literally using them. (Him talking about how he’d be there to comfort Tubbo after the assisted murder of his best friend still mildly disturbs me).

Quackity managed to talk Tubbo into going through with the Butcher Army, using Tubbo’s power to further Quackity’s agenda (which, by Quackity’s own admission, did not revolve around the protection of L’manburg.) Quackity didn’t care that Tubbo was against violence, and pushed his concerns to the side in favor of his own ideas and kept comparing Tubbo to Schlatt whenever he acted in a way he disagreed with.

Speaking of, THE CONSTANT DISREGARD OF HIS DECISIONS AS PRESIDENT. His Cabinet never listened to him and lowkey every stream they had together was a bit frustrating to me (I’m also a sensitive bitch). They didn’t respect him in any way and undermined his authority UNTIL THEY NEEDED HIM TO SAVE EVERYONE’S LIFE. (Elaborated on in Scapegoat Category).

Technically, as much as I am a Tommy apologist, Tommy’s constant insistence that the Disc War needed to involve Tubbo kind of fits under this category. As much as Tubbo was happy to help, his involvement wasn’t really necessary, but Tommy needed someone to help him. This involvement nearly resulted in his willing death.

The only reason Dream even wanted to kill Tubbo, on top of perceiving him as useless, was to hurt Tommy and give him something of a ��hero origin story” like Batman and his parents or Spider-Man and Uncle Ben. So, literally by Dream’s definition, he wanted to fridge Tubbo.

We could refer to Wilbur assigning Tubbo to presidency as Wilbur using him to make the explosion of L’manburg hurt more, but that feels like a stretch to me.

This may be a stretch, but after Tubbo is executed and Tommy starts getting mad at Technoblade, Wilbur eggs Tommy on by saying “Think of what he did to Tubbo,” while Tubbo is literally right there. His emotions on the event doesn’t matter to Wilbur, only how it impacted Tommy.

Tubbo Seen as a Prize/Trophy

The constant referral of Tubbo as something to be owned by someone, like during Wilburs speech of “he’s your Tubbo!”, is a bit off putting though I don’t think it’s meant to be malicious. Very rarely is the sentiment reversed, seen when Ghostbur gave Tubbo the Your Tommy compass, furthering the idea that Tubbo is an object, something to be sought after and secured with little opportunity for him to own something himself. It’s always “Tommy’s Tubbo”. Also when Schlatt gloated about having “his very own Tubbo”.

Tommy shows more possessive behaviors when dealing with the discovery of Ranboo and Tubbo’s marriage, asking about permission and insisting that Ranboo stole Tubbo from him. I’m sure this is subconscious, I know Tommy values Tubbo as a person but he still reduces Tubbo to an object to guard because he treasures his friend.

Another more vague example would be the fact that Schlatt exiled Wilbur and Tommy, but kept Tubbo as his right hand man even though it was clear he was on POG2020’s side. It was a way to insult Tommy, a way for Schlatt to add salt to the wound by keeping his best friend.

The Dream Team captured Tubbo very early into the Revolution, keeping him in a hole and holding him for ransom (this could be played off for laughs, I just remembered it). They also burned down his base, unrelated really but I remember it.

We could also count the way that Dream kept threatening to kill Tubbo if Tommy didn’t return the disc, but this feels like a mixture of pawn and prize, while still dehumanizing as it compares his value to that of music discs.

Yes, I am going to take c!Tommy joking about killing Michael to get Tubbo and Ranboo to break up so he can get Tubbo back seriously. The way he glared at Michael while holding an axe was just for the stream to see, if it was a joke I feel like he would have said it out loud. Even if it is a joke, laughing about taking something Tubbo loves away just to ruin his relationships is a bit yikes and frames Tubbo as something to be won back. You can ignore this if you didn’t see that moment as canon, but there are plenty of signs pointing to this being in character. (Also to be noted, Tubbo didn’t want to show Michael to Tommy, so Tommy ignored him and asked Ranboo instead, who immediately showed Tommy to Michael despite Tubbo’s clear worries)

Tubbo seen as a Scapegoat

His cabinet flip flopped back and forth on the decision to exile Tommy every five seconds. Whenever they spoke with Tubbo, they were all “You’re right! We’re going to listen to you! We have to do what’s right!” and then they hear a half baked plan and completely switch up on what they already agreed to do. (This happened twice. One at the sit down meeting where Tommy revealed Spirit and the cabinet joined Tommy in his mocking, only to blame him for how the meeting ended. Twice at the exile). So when Tubbo had to follow the original plan to, you know, make sure their country wasn’t put under lock and key until every citizen was eventually killed, his cabinet acted so shocked and betrayed and he was Schlatt and a dictator. It’s very true that he went against their plan (THAT THEY MADE FIVE MINUTES BEFOREHAND AFTER HAVING ALREADY AGREED TO THE FIRST PLAN FOR DAYS), but the way they treated him afterwards, as if he was a vile person for keeping his country safe, heavily impacted Tubbo’s mental state for a long time after. What I’m saying is Tubbo was set up to be the villain in that scenario, accidentally by his allies, and purposefully by Dream.

Tubbo was blamed for the destruction of L’manburg by Dream and a few others (also himself)

TUBBO IS CONSTANTLY BLAMED FOR THE BUTCHER ARMY ARC DESPITE IT BEING COMPLETELY THOUGHT OF AND LEAD BY QUACKITY (This is predominately fandom based).

The full blame for Tommy’s exile has rested on Tubbo (I will never forget Tommy calling him a monster), despite the fact he was manipulated and backed into a corner by Dream. Even when everyone has come to understand that Tommy was manipulated by Dream, the same doesn’t go for Tubbo and he’s hit with “imagine exiling your best friend” jokes many times.

Wilbur puts the decision of blowing people up at the festival on Tubbo’s shoulders, absolving him of the blame.

Schlatt made Tubbo tear down the L’manburg walls and the important signs so he could have to deal with the blame (though Quackity took the fall for this).

This is more theory based, but I fully believe Wilbur made Tubbo president right in front of Techno to egg him on to attack L’manburg. Since Tubbo would be the president, he would take the full brunt of Techno’s wrath (and he and Tommy did), and the destruction fell onto him.

So! With my text evidence we can see a recurring pattern in the way that Tubbo has been used by many people over the history of the server without much regard for his feelings. There are very few times when people besides Tommy ask how Tubbo feels about a situation, leaving him to his dark thoughts without anybody caring. Even during the Final Disc War, when Tubbo was literally moments from death, nobody asks how he is. Nobody (except Quackity once) checks up on him, and he builds up his community by himself. Until Ranboo came along, and I am not overexaggerating this, nobody was with Tubbo to support him. He had no support system and nobody cared. They just assume that he is always fine and if he wasn’t, it isn’t their place to intervene. Tubbo is just not respected, feared, or acknowledged unless he has someone by his side, or unless he’s doing something bad in which case he’s unhinged and evil and sure to have a villain arc.

This is just something to find interesting:

The only few characters Tubbo is actively involved with that hasn’t looked down on him as a sidekick or an object has been Foolish, Puffy, Ranboo and Technoblade. You could make an argument of how Technoblade referring to him as “government” could be dehumanizing but I don’t think I’ve actually seen him do that in character? I could be wrong though. Really, Technoblade takes him seriously, but way more seriously than c!Tubbo warrants. Like, he’s looking for a tyrant to beat up and Tubbo is literally just a guy with a lot of issues struggling to keep a handle on his cabinet, which I find funny. But, jokes aside, Technoblade saw Tubbo as a legitimate threat during his presidency and is respectfully cautious of him and his nukes presently, which is surprising to me. Ranboo adores Tubbo and all of his chaos that people are unaware of because they don’t get to know him well enough. Puffy just wants the best for all the kids of the server and knows how to be respectful of their feelings, and Foolish is respectful of Tubbo, if a bit annoyed and intimidated by him.

The point of this essay is just to show that there is a pattern to these things. This is how Tubbo is treated, this is why Tubbo is prepared to die for whatever because because he doesn’t feel he’s worth anything while alive, and this is why it’s frustrating to see characters call him a follower, pawn, or yes man. And here’s the thing: I DONT KNOW WHY THEY TREAT HIM LIKE THIS??? Why him? I can’t really find out why this started to happen.

To sum some things up, no I don’t think every character who treats him poorly is completely evil. Again, some of this seems to be subconscious, some of this could be argued to be OOC, I just wanted to bring this pattern to light.