#if she had been allowed to starve herself the “normal” way. wouldn't that be Good actually. wouldn't that be her Taking Care Of Herself.

[moscovium291]

okay so now that we're sober i have some shit to say about this bc like. haha funny relatable fetishposting right. wrong this is about fatphobia

we specifically were talking about carrie fisher's death. a woman who was told in no uncertain terms that they can't put a fat leia on the silver screen. a woman who was under tremendous pressure to lose weight very quickly so she could keep her role, and the extremes she went to for that killed her.

this horror story was, apparently, on the same level as rob mcelhenny gaining weight a little aggressively For A Bit, Temporarily, on a sitcom.

not even that aggressively, frankly. like. ive known feedees who drink straight melted butter for their gains, an extra tub of ice cream every day isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff. but that concept, the idea of intentionally gaining weight, that horrifies people. it scares them so much more than the depths that fatphobia throws its victims into.

in the average person's mind, a thin person overeating to get a temporary beer gut is exactly as bad as a fat person literally dying from being forced to lose weight.

in the car wiuth my roommate earlier and we were talking aboiut the fucked up shit with how actors regularly get forced to lose weight (and realluy dangeroiusly) for roles and then he's like "yeah there was the opposite too thwt one time with the guy from its always sunny. he had to do So many dangerous things to gainm 70 pounds like drinking melted ice cream all the time.... that's so messed up" and im sitting herew like .

*girl who regularly drinks melted icve cream for sex and fun reasons voice* Haha Yeah Thatds Fucked Up. That'd Be So Terrible To Do . Hey Do You Mind If I Turn This Up Iuts My Favorite Song

[faededaway]

“To let go, is harder than anything else” Original multi chapter fic. Chapter 1. (2k words)

Trigger warnings [religious themes, religious trauma, death of relative, bad childhood, mention of anxiety, unemployment, smoking] [gen theme: discomfort, introductory] [gender neutral mc x male s/o]

Jes's life hadn't been easy but it hadn't been hard enough for them to complain about it. They always found themselves at a position better than their neighbor. 

And relatively, I am blessed. Relatively, I am God's favorite. 

These are the words Jes lived by. Perhaps, it was influenced by Jes's mother who would say the same thing when facing the many relatively difficult things from the past: her husband, the church that shunned her, her overbearing in laws, and her even worse father. 

Compared to someone somewhere, she was always doing well. That kept her going, and in turn kept Jes alive. Did it give Jes a crippling inability to function normally in the face of any and every crisis? Jes is yet to learn the answer. 

Being fired from their fifth job this year, Jes left their last shift with a smile. They wouldn't be able to pay rent this month and they would have to starve here and there to pay the utility bill. At least, they had a bed and a clean shower to go home to. 

It is not like Jes did not see it coming. Every horror in Jes's mother's life followed them (including the in-laws, only Jes is blessed enough to be able to call them ex-in-laws). Jes may not have a church group trying to straighten their path, they had something better. A clique from their old middle school who enjoyed playing with Jes's life. Unlike the church group, they never attempted to burn Jes alive for being a devil incarnate. They just used their connections to get Jes fired from every job they got. It was Jes's fault for not being able to make good connections. 

“You should move, Jasmine. Get out of that shit hole”, their brother begged them on the phone when they heard about what the clique did again. 

“I can't leave mother's grave behind, Juth! Can you please stop suggesting that?", there was another thing Jes wanted to ask him to stop but it wasn't the pressing issue. 

“You! Agh. You-, okay,” he took a calming breath before he continued, “why don't you come to see me? I'll pay for the trip to mine. You can eat and sleep and take your time to figure out what to do.”

Juth was the older one of the two. He made his run when mother prayed for a way out. He lives the life mother wishes she did. Happy and blessed and happy. A loving spouse, no children, a car and an apartment in a well maintained complex where the sun lights the rooms for as long as it shows its face in the sky. 

Juth ran because he thought mother would follow. Unbeknownst to him, mother had forgotten herself beyond the pains inflicted upon her. She did not want to leave any if it, any of herself, and go anywhere. 

On her deathbed she said, “Juth, my child, I will die happy knowing you have a home,” Jes had left the room before they could hear mother say, “take Jes with you. Take them with you. If my children can see the light, I will know God did see me. God saw my patience and resilience and He rewarded me by blessing my children.” 

By the time Jes came into the room, mother had been breathing her last. She called her children's names one last time before calling God's name till her end. At least, she had died in a room with the two people that loved her and the two people she loved. 

Jes thought about mother. She was always happy to visit Juth. “Okay. I'll come by next we-”

“Today. Come by today! I'll arrange it for you. I'll handle all of it. The guest room's always ready anyway”, he pleaded. 

Jes hadn't left town after mother was buried. By now, ‘next week’ had become another word for ‘no’.

“i need to... My stuff, and my cat, there's some stuff and I don't know. Trains? Planes are kind of... Are cats allowed on trains?”, a last attempt at declining the invite was made. It was more of a plea at this point. One that Jes didn't feel bad about turning down over and over. But, if he spent his hard earned money on a ticket, guilt would make Jes go and Juth knew that. 

“Yes! Cats are allowed on trains. On planes, too! I will buy you and your cat a ticket. I'm on the website right now. There is a fli-” Jes held back from screaming by biting their tongue. 

“No! No. No trains or planes. Just, too many people and Kafka is a nervous cat. I don't want to put him in a basket for so long.” Kafka had multiple personalities that Jes introduced as per the situation called for. 

Juth didn't hesitate even for a second before changing the plan, “okay! A friend had been in town for a family business. He was scheduled to leave today. You could come with him! He has his own car. An old Cadillac, if I'm not wrong. Kafka would have plenty of space there!”

Jes's head spun. They thought back to mother's life to think of any situation where mother had dealt with something similar. God has his reasons. Trust in God. Is what mother would say if faced with something unavoidable. 

“You trust this strange man to.. be in a car with me?”, Jes lay on the floor of her childhood home (the one father lost as collateral for debt he couldn't repay. And Jes decided to buy back without telling Juth). The bare wood floors provided no comfort and the smell of humid mold gave them a headache. But it smelled like home. Home Jes was terrified to leave, like mother was. 

“Jasm-, Jes, I trust him to drive you to me safely. I can vouch for him. He's Hera's cousin. You might remember him from our wedding. You even spoke for a bit! About a game or something. Animal parking?” Jes heard their brother's smile through the phone. He was winning this. They both knew it. 

Jes did remember such a man from their brother's wedding. A tall, lanky man who wore gothic makeup and gothic formal wear (funeral formal) to the wedding. He had sat at the table Jes was stowing at to take out his handheld console and celebrate an Raymond's birthday in Animal Crossing. 

They hadn't spoken. Not really. Jes had peaked at his game. He had scooched closer and showed his screen. They had celebrated Raymond's birthday together. After, he had gone back to pretending to be a pole as the kids ran circles around him. 

Jes did not distrust him. “Arman.”

“Yes! Arman. You even remember his name. Okay, yes! He said he will be leaving today. He wants your address. He said he'll pick you up if you're on the way.” Jes's heart rate picked up. Juth couldn't know Jes lived in their childhood home. 

“Uh, no. Tell him to.. to wait by the lake park. And don't-”

“I gave him your number. He'll call you.”

“-give him my number.”

Jes's 'unable to answer phonecalls' was a new problem Juth did not know of, seeing how the call with their brother showed no signs of that problem. 

“Huh? Did you say something?”, Jes recalled the other reasons for not seeing their brother. Jes had at least five more problems he did not know of that Jes would be unable to hide in person. 

“No. I didn't say anything. Just, need to go and pack my stuff,” Jes curled into themselves and held out a hand towards the wall of their home. Paint chipped and fell into their palm immediately, but they kept their hand on the cold wall. 

“Oh, right. Okay!”, the line was quiet for a beat before Juth took another deep breath, “I know I said I trust Arman, but if he makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable, do what you have to do okay? Hit him, pepper spray him, run, do whatever. And call me. I will rush over.”

Oh Juth. 

Tears brimmed Jes's eyes. Their only living family cared so much for them even though Jes did everything to turn them away.

“Mmm. Yeah, I know. I-, I have you on speed dial.”

A relieved laugh sounded om the other end. 

Jes ran their hand over the peeling, chipping paint as the siblings said their goodbyes. They would have to say goodbye to this home too, for a short while. The thought of it filled them with anxiety that churned their stomach and formed a knot in their chest. 

Time moved slowly. They felt every second pass by. It felt as if these were the last seconds they would ever feel in this house. It felt like a blessing from God before the 6 P.M. call came in. 

Jes let their phone ring long enough for the call to end. They packed up their things and kisses every wall in the house and opened every door in the house except the backdoor and front door. Then, the front doorbell rang. 

Kafka meowed excitedly and trotted to greet the visitor at the door. Jes hadn't been able to locate Kafka before that. Kafka's real quirk was that it loved everyone but Jes. 

“Kafka, you meanie! I feed you and clean up after you!”, Jes ran after Kafka like the front door would open magically and the housecat would ran out naively. 

Kafka meowed louder as they got closer to the door. Jes was able to grab him before he scratched the door. 

Jes peaked through the peephole and saw a stranger standing outside her door. Though something about the person's stance looked familiar. 

“Who is it?”, Jes called out to the person on the other side. 

“Disappointment.” The person on the other side pulled out a cigarette from their pocket and lit it with a Zippo lighter. 

As Jes tried to think of a response, the person on the other end smoked half the cigarette before saying, “It's Arman. And I'm about to call your brother and tell him you're living in your crumbling wooden excuse of a trauma house.”

The shock of being caught made Jes yank the door open, “don't tell him!”

Arman stomped his finished cigarette butt on the cracked pavement before walking back to his Cadillac parked on the grass of Jes's home. The disrespect made Jes's blood boil. “You parked here?!”

Arman looked at Jes and put his phone to his ear, “Juth you won't believe where I found your sister!”

“Okay! Okay! I got it!”, only seconds in, and they already had conflict between them. Kafka squiggled out of their grasp and leaped into Arman's arms. 

Jes hurried to put their luggage into the car while Arman sat in the car with Kafka sleeping on his lap. 

After ten minutes, the front door was locked and it's key was tucked in the innermost pocket of Jes's luggage and the luggage was packed into the trunk like perfect Tetris rows. 

Arman started the car and rolled down the windows as he said, “hope you said your goodbyes and got everything. Once the car starts, I will not turn back no matter what you say.”

Jes glared at him but said nothing as they felt a pang in their chest. The fear of this being the last time seeing the house was growing bigger. Jes shook their head and comforted their racing heart, “I'll be back in 2 days.”

Arman scoffed but did not comment. 

Thus began their long drive to the town of Sroasie. 

[your-nanas-house]

heyyyy

so hello, i hope you're not too busy but i recently had an idea for circus-jerome, so basically the idea is that he gets yelled at by lila and kinda storms out and spots this homeless girl they kinda talk and jerome somehow agrees to hide her in his trailer as long as she does the chores his mother forces him to do, but she just kinda falls for him kinds like harley quinn and jerome fakes being attracted to her but like grows a soft spot over-time

I hope it isn't a lot and sorry for this whole as s paragraph

(also the oswald one you recently posted was super cute and your writings great)

Hello! It's not a lot, don't worry! Thank you 🥰 I liked to write this idea!!!

Her World

Pairing: Jerome Valeska X Homeless!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff?

Words: 674

Summary: in the request

Note: sorry for the mistakes and the English. I hope you like it, if you want me to rewrite it just tell me.

....................................................................................

Maybe it was because neither of them had ever experienced love in their lives or maybe for other reasons. They hadn't met by chance in Y/n's opinion, she kept thinking it was fate but it was probably only because she had experienced what she considered hell, which was the life lived on the streets alone...especially in the cold and dangerous streets of Gotham city.

It was a normal evening for her, she was trying to find something to eat as usual, to not end up starving again, when a boy with flaming hair and an angry and frustrated look bumped into her making her fall to the ground.

At first Y/n was scared given the boy's annoyed screams and the fact that he hadn't left yet, beginning to fear as she was fixing herself that he was a killer, a rapist, or maybe a kidnapper, but when she met his gaze and stood looking at his hazel glasses with her y/e/c doe eyes, she still didn't know that those eyes later became those of the one she considered her savior; the one who took her from the streets and allowed her to hide in his trailer only after telling her his name "Jerome," the name of the person who became her world.

For Jerome it wasn't the same the first time he saw her, he considered her just indifferent but still a person for him to use, he knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it so it wouldn't change much for him.

At first after meeting her y/e/c eyes he started to decide to go away and leave her there but after taking a few steps and thinking more about his mother's situation he realized that he could use the little girl to get what he wanted and what he wanted at that moment was to stop doing those horrible chores that he hated doing and for which he was beaten by his mother every time.

He might have been manipulating her for quite a while, even starting to fake an attraction to her in order to succeed better at his manipulation, a thing he had done before and it had worked.

He was glad that he hadn't left that night, that he'd had that conversation with her that led to all of that and, for the first time, that he'd been yelled at by Lila.

If someone had asked him if he loved her he would have simply laughed in denial, he didn't love Y/n, not like she did with him but he would have also denied the warm feeling in his chest every time he saw her following his orders, doing the things he was actually supposed to be doing, enjoying the physical contact he received from her, something he had never received from his mother or anyone else in that way.. affectionate and not at all violent.

As his eyes were fixed on her, he still sat lost in his thoughts, following the girl with his gaze seeing how she moved gracefully around the trailer doing chores for him, he could admit that a soft spot was starting to grow in him for her.

He didn't know if it was a bad thing or a good thing, if Y/n should leave before the feeling he was feeling could get stronger but he wasn't going to think about that for now, it wasn't that important in those moments, it was just the beginning...he could get rid of them whenever he wanted...or so he thought.

"Thank you" the ginger murmured in a low voice when he saw her finish washing the dishes, she turned around surprised but deciding not to say anything since it wasn't often that Jerome thanked her, in fact that was the first thank you she had received, even though they had been together in that strange relationship for years now.

She was 8 when it happened and now she was 18 and couldn't complain.

Taglist:

@gabile18

@mrsfullbuster500

@trainer--taylor

@elizamalfoyy

@eovjjj

@animefan3223

@jeremiah-va1eska

[forgotten-contract]

Voidtouched-blue--[prior]

She absolutely had the patience to wait for him to work through whatever thoughts he had been struggling with to even just allow her to try. It was now, after she had provided him with her services, that she realized his pause had been for the same reason she had to keep herself covered. Even as she sat there, just breathing, she tried her best not to stare. It's the same respect she would have wanted for anyone to see her own scars. She wouldn't want questions, she wouldn't want reactions, just silence. "How do you feel now?" She wiped her brow with the back of her

The immediate sharp reprimand from the small woman had the Elezen purse his lips, not at all expecting that from the way those inner thoughts had spun worries and fears into a brash storm. No, her focus was on the wound itself - and his lacking care of it.

Imagine if she knew how bad it had been before… He tried not to let that bemused smile show on his features as she began to move him to see the damage further; leading to the feeling of warm fingers against his back and skin - a feeling that made him swallow as his companion moved closer to him to continue to poke and prod in such a genuinely delicate way.

Slightly confused, he watched her, listening to the friendly mocking on her tone as careful claws moved to best see the internal damage that the fool had hidden from her - his heart tightened as those pretty blues glanced over scarred skin, but it was only a cursory glance.

He supposed she was just like him after all, it only mattered who you were.

And she thought him a kind heart.

Even after seeing the surface of his mistakes.

“W..well…” He tried to make some kind of defense for himself, but it was found wanting and dissipated into a somewhat embarrassed mumble as stinging ambers looked to the side. He wanted to reply with humor as was ever wanted - the easy answer to hide from the bubbling emotions that had begun to swirl and mix in his own learning experience; but he didn’t, only finding the heat of her ministrations distracting most of his rational thought as the pain he was so very used too ached just as much.

He’d been so used to the isolation, to the history that painted his skin, to the avoidance of genuine care that… she really was something else, wasn’t she?

Was…this trust, was it genuine? His trust for her?

Could he try one more time to let someone in?

The unmistakable feeling of aether caught his attention as a starving hound, and for a moment the man flinched - not at her tempered warning or the searing nerves that followed - but the knowledge of how greedy his endless thirst was;

There it was. That bliss of feeling. Even as the pain heightened tenfold across his body, it was welcomed for the warmth that filled his heart, of the sensation of light that pushed back that ever present desire to grab her, to take her-

Now, it was just… him. Even if the locks rattled, the thirst demanding, it was managble, it was temperate, it was-

Hurting her.

The focus on her scarred brow told him all the beast needed to know; the shudder of those small shoulders as she shivered from exertion, sweat speckling her fur as those soft ears were flattened with the feeling of being drained. Being used.

Silvaire knew it wouldn’t stop; Not when the real way for his satisfaction still pulsed deep within her veins. This was little more than teardrops to the aether he craved - but he could still direct it, fix it with portions that she offered, the sight to her eyes would seem as it was supposed to be, but to him; the voidsent in mortal skin, it was a focus of that pressure far too late to seem normal healing.

If he didn’t, he’d come to understand Cyra wouldn’t stop until she’d fixed it, even if it cost all of her soul to do so.

He could never give.

Only take.

But Altana, did it feel good to breathe again. To see the clarity of that grin as she finished her ministrations, that telling tail still wet with water as it flicked this way and that at the pride of her work, unknowing of the helping hand; but it only made him smile in turn. Even as he could see the questions in her eyes, it was that patient respect that he knew she wouldn’t push it. Just as he hadn’t.

Though, as the moment (and proper clarity) hit him, the shaded boughs of leaves from where they sat gave sunlit eyes the ability to properly register how close she was to him, kneeling between his legs with such honest eyes, clothes undone and cleaned of the red stains, water dripping down her fur to lead the eye to the white blouse that hid beneath and clung to her skin-

“-Fine!” The reply was quick as he closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the other aspects that came with such bright humanity. Now, it was not the violence that his pallet longed for - and with the allowance of trust, of that warm consent and comfort, it was a different feeling that began to torment him.

Like any rational man, he was able to quickly push the thoughts from his mind and focus on the matter at hand. Ignoring the closeness of her warmth, or the way her hands used his thighs to balance here and there as she shifted.

“Are you alright…?” He posed the question as the bright well of her aether seemed significantly dimmer, and it brought that concern to his voice, even if the heat at his ears had yet to fade. “Is it, ah, far from your home? From here I mean.” Silvaire could feel the rambling questions begin as he tried to turn his thoughts to a topic to latch too, emotions always came with such strange caveats - clarity of those before you.

[farfromsugafanfic]

Sutures - Chapter Eleven: Right Place

Genre: Soulmates AU, Idiots to Lovers, slight Enemies to Lovers

Pairing: Yoongi/Named Reader

Warnings (chapter specific): mentions of anxiety (sort of), exes who won’t leave you alone, family hospitalization, mentions of death

Synopsis: “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” –Jean de la Fontaine

There was only one thing you and Min Yoongi had in common that night. You were both brokenhearted. You only intended to be together for one night, but when you both end up in the hospital the next day you discover that you are soulmates. It could kill you to be apart. As you and Yoongi attempt to sever the bond between you, will another be formed?

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You swung your legs towards the seat across from you, but they were just barely too short and they fell straight back down which caused Yoongi to chuckle. He sat diagonally from you with his feet resting on the seat beside you. He wore headphones and had his laptop in front of him. You hadn't even realized he was paying attention to you. 

You held your knitting needles and your creation was nearly done. Yoongi had told you about his family dog--Holly--and you remembered seeing his picture in Yoongi's studio. You were knitting a small scarf that would tuck easily around his collar. You wished you had more time to make him something like a jacket, but Yoongi had sprung the trip on you, planning and taking on a large project like that took weeks to complete. 

The scenery on the train flew by so quickly you could hardly make it out and it made your head spin if you tried for more than a few seconds.

"You seem quiet," Yoongi said. He hadn't taken his headphones off and you laughed at the thought that he simply had them in as a habit.

"You were working. I didn't want to disturb you."

Yoongi shrugged and lowered his laptop screen and allowed his headphones to fall around his neck. "You seem nervous." His gaze lowered down to your fingers that continued knitting as you spoke and looked into his eyes. You hadn't even noticed the way your fingers continued the pattern. 

"I mean, I want to make a good impression on your family. I know we're not really together or anything, but I'm your soulmate and if they don't like me--"

"Exactly, you're my soulmate," Yoongi said. "Finding each other was less than one in a million. Almost less than one in a billion. And, don't they say that soulmates are often not just compatible with the person, but their family as well?" 

"That's been the case so far," you said, remembering reading the Wikipedia article on the handful of other soulmate couples. "But, soulmate science is new and imprecise. And, I imagine for those who are different from their families or don't have good relationships with them, that can't always be true."

"I have a feeling they will like you," Yoongi said. "You don't have to worry."

You didn't get a chance to respond as the train lurched to a stop and announced its arrival in Daegu. The doors opened and you stood up. You and Yoongi had had the train car to yourselves, so you were able to stand up and grab your suitcase immediately. 

"Are the press gonna be here?" 

"I don't know," Yoongi said. "We didn't officially announce this trip, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone is following us."

You nodded. It was becoming familiar to see camera flashes and your face used as a cover photo. The thought of growing used to it sent a shiver down your spine as you extended the handle on your suitcase.

Yoongi stood beside you and your eyes met briefly causing his lips to turn upwards in a small smile. He reached up and pulled the mask you'd forgotten was looped around your ears and hanging around your chin up over your lips and nose. 

"Just in case," he said.

---

You hadn't seen a single camera as you neared Yoongi's parent's place. You weren't sure if it was a blessing or a curse. Just because you couldn't see the cameras, didn't mean that they weren't there. You half expected to see a picture of you and Yoongi getting off the train in Daegu pop up in your newsfeed. 

"We're here," Yoongi said. The car stopped and Yoongi was immediately out and walking around to open your door. You stepped out and gripped the handle of your suitcase, the bones of your knuckles feeling like they were about to burst through your skin. 

Yoongi walked slightly in front of you and opened the door. The first thing you heard was a high-pitched barking and before you could catch sight of Holly, the brown full-sized poodle was jumping up on you in greeting.

"You must Holly," you said, crouching down and allowing the dog to rest its front half on your lap. "I've heard a lot about you." 

"Ah, I'm right here." Yoongi's face contorted into a look of simultaneous amusement and jealousy. 

You laughed as you ruffled the dog's ears and crouched down so he could lick your chin. "Oh, you're so sweet." You reached into your purse and pulled out the scarf you finished on the train ride and carefully tied it around his neck. 

"Oh!" you heard someone exclaim from the other end of the room. "I wasn't expecting you two for another hour. Dinner isn't done yet." 

"It's fine. We have to get settled anyway." 

Yoongi's mother's eyes widened as she met yours. It was as if she had just noticed you. She stood just a few inches shorter than Yoongi and you could see they shared many features. From the slope of the nose to the way her eyes seemed to narrow in on you, the same way Yoongi's did in certain moments.

"You must be Sumi," she said. "It's so nice to finally meet you." 

She reached out and pulled you into a hug. You tensed as she wrapped her arms around you. From everything Yoongi told you about his family, they were not outwardly affectionate people and so you had expected at most a firm handshake. 

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just feel like you're part of the family already." She glanced over at Yoongi and back at you. "I haven't seen Yoongi this happy for a long time." 

"Oh," was all you could get out. Yoongi had told them you were trying to sever the relationship, right?

---

Yoongi met his mother's gaze. Her eyebrow slightly arched, a look Yoongi had seen many times. Holly broke the silence with a bark signaling for you to reach down and pet him again. You crouched down so your face was level with his and allowed him to lick your chin. 

Yoongi couldn't help but smile as he watched you. Your hair was ruffled from the train ride and he noticed the way your shaking hands calmed as they ran through Holly's fur. He crouched down next to you and met your eyes, a small smile simultaneously appeared on both your faces. 

"I've never seen him warm up to someone so quickly," Yoongi said, ruffling the dog's ears.

"I guess he just likes me." 

"Yeah," Yoongi said, his voice an octave quieter. "I guess he does."

Yoongi's phone buzzes in his pocket. His hand reaches for it, but he doesn't want to leave this moment. It wasn't like he was reliant on his phone, but with an upcoming album and the other members working on it in his absence, he couldn't ignore it.

Jihee's name appeared on his screen and his widened. He hadn't blocked her number purely because the texts after the break up stopped and with the whole soulmates thing, he'd honestly forgotten.

Yoongi opened the text and found a screenshot from Instagram where she'd posted a picture of herself laying on a bed with her legs straight up in the air. It wasn't the familiar slope of her calves or the arch of her back that caught his eye, but rather the black pumps she wore. 

He recognized them instantly as the ones you'd worn and abandoned the night he'd met you and the ones you'd failed to get back from Minki. Yoongi had no idea how Jihee got a hold of them, or how she even knew their significance. 

He screenshot the text and emailed it off to the legal team at BigHit. He knew the post would probably gain some attention, but he trusted it would be seen for what it was, an attempt to seek attention. 

Blocking her number, he slid the phone back into his pocket. Yoongi knew he should tell you, but watching the way you adjusted the scarf around Holly's neck, he decided he'd tell you later.

---

Yoongi was starving and watched as each dish was placed on the table. His parents had made a bit of everything and as soon as everything was set he quickly reached for braised pork and his mom's homemade kimchi. 

You grabbed a bit of everything and mixed it together with your rice. Yoongi reached out and grabbed a few more pieces of meat and set them in your bowl. 

"You didn't eat much this morning." 

Your eyes widened and Yoongi thought he caught your lips curl into an embarrassed smile.

"Sumi," Yoongi's mother said. "I'm so happy you came into Yoongi's life. We were getting a bit worried Yoongi would never find someone who made him truly happy." She glanced over at Yoongi's father. "Even in his past relationships, I never saw Yoongi like this." 

Yoongi felt the heat rush to his ears and his feet fidgeted under the table.

You--despite Yoongi seeing the way you fiddled with your chopsticks indicating your nerves--smiled. "Well, I didn't really have a choice." You laugh, which normally made Yoongi's heart jump, this time made it fall. 

While it was entirely true that you and Yoongi hadn't a choice in getting to know each other, there was a part of Yoongi that didn't want this to end. He wanted to see you play with Holly, see your hair splayed over your face in the morning, and your small smile when he gave you more meat. 

"I am happy I met Yoongi though," you said. "Even if we can't spend the rest of our lives together and this is all some weird biological thing, these past few weeks getting to know Yoongi have convinced me that we are truly soulmates. I don't think soulmates always have to be romantic or end up together, we just get each other."

The table fell silent. But, it was content and for the remainder of the meal, the only sounds heard were light conversations and the sounds of eating. Yoongi couldn't help the swelling feeling he felt in his chest. He worried he would suddenly float off the seat like a balloon if he didn't try to stifle it.

You set down your chopsticks. "Thank you for the meal. I'll clean up my things and head to bed." 

"Oh, no need to clean up. You're our guest. Yoongi, why don't you show her to your old room? I'll set you up a bed on the couch." 

"Ah, mom, we're soulmates. Is that really necessary?"

"Yes," his mom said. "Maybe the poor girl wants a break from you." 

His mom's quip made you laugh and he let out a sigh. "All right," he said. "Come on." 

---

Yoongi led you to his childhood bedroom. When he opened the door, you were met with Epik High posters and notebooks lining the shelves of his bookshelf. You smiled at how distinctly Yoongi it felt. While it obvious his room hadn't changed much from when he first left home, you could still see hints of the man Yoongi would become. From the basketball trophies to the books about music production. 

"Hey, I need to talk to you about something." 

Yoongi's demeanor changed as he closed the door. "I got a text from Jihee earlier. She somehow got ahold of your shoes and posted with them. I sent everything to the company and I'm sure they will take care of it. I just wanted to warn you in case this blows up--" 

"I trust you, Yoongi," you interrupted. "They've already said everything they could. It can't get worse than it already is and I know you'll do your best to take care of it."

You flopped down onto the bed and patted the bed beside you. Yoongi laid beside you. Your bodies were centimeters apart, but you didn't touch. 

"Your parents didn't like Jihee, did they?" 

Yoongi shook his head. "No," he said. "They tolerated her because I liked her, but they said they never pictured her as part of the family." 

"Mine never liked Minki either." You were silent for a moment. "Maybe they knew somehow." 

"Maybe," Yoongi said, his fingers brushing against yours. You turned and noticed he was still looking up at the ceiling, seemingly not noticing how his hand wandered to find yours. You wondered if it was a side effect of being soulmates. Your hands would always find each other.

The moment was severed when your phone rang. It was your mom and your stomach turned as you realized it was 5 am there. 

"Hello?" You didn't care that Yoongi was in the room anymore. In fact, something kept you clinging to his hand. 

"Sumi? You need to get here. Grandma's in the hospital and they don't think she has much time left. We're gonna leave her on life support until you get here because we know she would want you here. I don't know if it's possible without risking your own health and Grandma will understand--" 

"No, I'm coming. I'll find a way. Give me a couple days. I'll be there, okay?" Your eyes were filled to the brim with tears and after you said your goodbyes, they rushed out. You weren't cognizant, but when you opened your eyes, you were folded into Yoongi's chest. 

"Did you hear everything?" 

Yoongi nodded. "I've already called a car to take us back. We'll be back in Seoul in a few hours." 

"Yoongi, what are we going to do? You have a comeback soon. You can't just come with me to California." 

"Shh, we'll figure it out. Just get your things together, okay?" 

You nodded and got off the bed to collect your things. "Yoongi," your voice was still hoarse and barely there. "Thank you."

[theangrypokemaniac]

Ma and Pa James's Second Biggest Fan (we plough a lonely furrow) continues to find Ma Jess's appeal mystifying, since everything about her is negative:

1. Signing up for Team Rocket suggests someone of a morally dubious character to start with, but the truth lies in the clothing, and she's in black!

Black!

It's code for her personality:

• Jessie wears white:

Pure, beautiful, innocent, sweet-natured, not really bad, dealt a severe hand in life but a fighter.

• Cassidy wears black:

EVIL!!! EVIL, EVIL, EEEEEEVUL!!! FOUL SIRENIC TEMPTRESS!!! EVIL HEARTLESS BITCH STEALING JAMES'S NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN WEEPINBELL!!!

Speaking of which:

2. She was Madame Boss's best agent.

You don't get there being kind.

To reach that standing requires hundreds of successful heists, and we aren't talking nicking gold bars. It's living things.

How many Pokémon do you imagine she stole with merciless efficiency?

How many children did she set upon, pinching every animal they had?

How many innocent lives did she ruin by depriving kids of the pets they loved, never to see them again, eaten away with the not-knowing and the false hope?

The glory of her reign ran on the fuel of blood and tears.

What fate do you envision awaited those Pokémon? It's not exchanging one master for another, it's entering slavery.

Jessie and James aren't the epitome of Team Rocket. They are minnows on the outskirts, despised and mocked by most of their fellow members. The actual group isn't particularly famous for prioritizing Pokémon welfare.

The preferable outcome is being handed out to agents to help catch other victims. Otherwise it's transformation into a war machine, forced to fight on and on to the point of exhaustion and death, no doubt tortured and tested on to boot.

What happens if they don't come up to scratch or are pushed for years until too aged and broken to be of any use? Are Team Rocket ready to pension them off to animal sanctuary?

As if. It's euthanasia or on to the streets to waste away, if not fed to the strongest first.

Ma Jess knew this and worse occurred thanks to her, yet paid it no mind, and felt not a single twinge of guilt in that time of service, then met her end trying to draw another Pokémon into imprisonment.

Some might say it was a case of what goes around, comes around. As her behaviour led to God knows how many Pokémon dying alone, leaving their loved ones to wonder and grieve, so in turn did she die alone in the snow, and Jessie had to carry on without her.

I'm not against Ma Jess, I neither feel like or dislike, but I don't understand how so many fans can happily overlook her murky past of inflicting pain, instead elevating her to a semi-divine tragic heroine, yet apparently Ma and Pa's heinous offences of not stealing and treating Pokémon well are beyond forgiveness.

3. It's the Red Ribbon Army! Save yourselves!

Jessie joined Team Rocket to follow in Ma's footsteps. James went with her. Both moved (upwardly in scale, downwardly in morals) from Sunny Town's gang of petty thief kids to a complex Mafia organisation stretching its wriggling tentacles around the world to crush the air from its lungs.

Why? Ma Jess's baleful influence led the two down that path.

Of course Jessie wants to copy Ma, how and where else can she feel close to her?

There's not even a grave to visit!

Rising in the ranks and Giovanni's favour is both to strike it rich and take her place, becoming Ma in essence. That would make her proud, which is all Jessie ever wanted.

What alternative is there? Stay with Chopper and Tyra forever, ekeing an existence pickpocketing and shoplifting, until mortality comes calling sooner than is welcome, or get loaded quickly and retire early?

James theoretically could've gone home at this point, but when it came to which angry redhead he preferred to beat him up, he chose Jessie.

He was henceforth obliged to go whenever she led, even if it meant following the ghost of her mother into the jaws of evil.

They have an excuse, but what was Ma's for getting involved?

However much they boast and revel in their wickedness, the motto proves the couple still believe themselves on a noble quest, despite everything to the contrary, and why?

Jessie isn't about to accept that Ma Jess, whom she's probably idolized as one of few people to love her and a role model of how a woman should be, was nasty or unpleasant. If she was in Team Rocket, it must be good, whatever the outer appearance.

Except Jessie and James are bad at being bad. They are not master criminals. All their plans fail, rendering them poor and starving in consequence. The inner circle of Team Rocket will always be barred to them because they lack the inner darkness it requires.

The joke is they flourish in any other occupation, whether that be Salon Rocquet, reporters, or flogging merchandise and food at the League. If employed elsewhere they'd be better off, but they have to stay because Jessie can't let go, or bear the thought she might be a disappointment to her mother's name. A different career looks unworthy by comparison.

What, so Ma and Pa have got no son because of Ma Jess? They just wanted him to be a gentleman!

If she hadn't set such a terrible example to her daughter she might have an increased quality of life, but then had she done so Ma wouldn't be dead in the first place.

4. Can't pick 'em can she?

What was it that first attracted Ma to Windy Miller? Does she go for the rustic charm, or the promise of a lifetime's supply of bread to feed the abundance of babies planned?

Don't do it, Ma! He's an alky!

Some birds are like that you see. It's the maternal instinct gone haywire. They find a local reprobate and somehow decide he's really a damaged soul crying out for love, the scapegoat of a cruel society.

He's not evil, he's just misunderstood!

This is why you get nutters wanting to marry the Yorkshire Ripper: they put his 'mischief' down to bad women mistreating his gentle heart, but they of course are devoted to his happiness. They can change him.

You don't know him like I do!

In their fantasy, under the influence of a 'proper' woman he'll transform in to a flower-picking hippie, but not too much, they still like him to be dangerously 'manly' (keeps 'em on their toes), then they can feel smugly superior and more truly female than the 'lesser' breed who failed to tame his sexy pashuns.

And if there's one thing Windy has in abundance, it's raw animal magnetism.

Stop it, Ma! You can't help those who don't want helping!

She put up with the boozing, the flour dust and his somewhat limited communication skills, but what really let him down was the company he kept.

Ever after she would insist Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub led him astray. That's firemen for yer.

Cuthbert? That name's died out.

Sure enough, some point after Ma Jess was stuffed up the spout, old Windy legged it back to Camberwick Green, like the rascal he is, and not a sweet penny piece did she receive in maintenance, the bastard.

At least Ma James got pregnant by a man who stood by her.

She wasn't married to Windy Miller!

Oh, you mean they were living over the brush? I see.

It's all in your head!

Do it my way, and we have Pa Jess. Do it yours, and we're back to a cavernous emptiness. Unless you can supply a picture of the 'real' (pffft) Pa Jess, this is the best available.

Anyway, 'Jessie Miller' just sounds right.

Coincidence? I think not.

5. She went to look for Mew dressed like this.

I could forgive it had she gone in her normal uniform, that's just whimsy, but to have made some effort emphasises that it's not enough!

Some part of her understood a mountain might be a bit parky out, but this was deemed sufficient coverage!

What happened?

She bloody died didn't she?!

6. Ma Boss points the way to doom.

Ma Jess was at least loyal to the mistress she served, but it was a wasted dedication. She squandered her life obeying a heartless virago who could cast aside apparently valued staff without a qualm, whatever thanks she owed them.

The millions Ma Jess accumulated for Madame are probably uncountable, yet she was so worthless that, when dispatched to the mountain, on her own, expected to catch a Legendary Pokémon, by herself, which many doubted even existed, and wasn't likely to come quietly, or put up with orders, but then didn't come back, Madame Boss allowed her only child to sink into poverty and the infamous 'care' of the State.

Everyone knows what goes on there. Entering a home has replaced the workhouse as the place of dread.

Jessie might have been killed or attacked and it didn't remotely concern Madame Boss, unwilling to spare a meagre fraction of her massive fortune to give the girl she made an orphan any comfort or security.

What did she matter? Her mother failed. Why reward that?

In her turn, Jessie became just as obsequious to an undeserving master, who went further than his mama and actively tried to murder her, and still she suffers to please him.

Team Rocket devoured her mother, and now it's swallowed her.

Oh, and Madame Boss got her way upon discovering Mew's fossil, so Ma Jess died for nothing.

7. This.

I'm not surprised Mew wouldn't go with Ma. She probably sensed the vivisection awaiting, and didn't give a toss about the avalanche in revenge.

Mew hasn't got where she is today falling for any old shallow promises from a stranger, thank you.

Suppose the mission had worked, with Mew caught and gift wrapped for Madame's delectation: what then?

Perhaps Mew's power, proving so impressive, would've pushed any cloning scheme aside, leaving Mewtwo unborn and Mew as the mightiest weapon. Or in greed Madame Boss demands more, and in arrogance the scientists promise the earth, the seas and the heavens.

Mew I could see subjected to some non-lethal form of dissection, just to understand how she ticked, that is if they could build the cage to hold her.

As they couldn't, and catching Mew was never a possibility, then Ma Jess's sacrificed herself on a fool's errand, which was obviously one from the outset. If Mew was easy to handle she'd have been captured long before now.

Either Ma dies, Mew's safe, but Madame Boss starts the cloning scheme anyway, or Ma's victorious, Mew is a tool of Team Rocket and the scientists have more sample to experiment upon. Mewtwo is still made, alongside short-lived creations and dozens of unseen freakish abominations preceding.

Now Mewtwo isn't what you call at peace with himself, nor has he received a particularly wholesome experience. One could think Ma indirectly caused that. Her branch of the project may have fizzled to cinders but she still played her role.

What would her legacy have been but to help bring forth the being that wiped out mankind? Where's the future for Jessie when there isn't one?

It's not her fault, but she died in the name of cloning a biological disaster, the creation of synthetic life leading to the destruction of it all.

8. Let's have a gander at Ma in the anime:

• Can afford rent.

• Can afford a tray.

• Can afford crockery.

• Can afford condiments to add flavour to food.

• Can't afford any actual food.

Something's wrong there.

I intended to include affording clothes too, but now I'm not so sure.

I never took Ma to be a brown-all-over kind of woman. At least she gave the fancy stuff to Jessie.

For years I've assumed she wore a brightly coloured jacket, but now I suspect it's a red one heavily patched up, because buying a replacement isn't an option.

Really old clothes are being mended with whatever can be salvaged from even more worn-out clobber.

Best agent Madame Boss has and she's practically living in her own filth.

Team Rocket takes care of its own, eh?

Oh no, let's not get a proper job, one that allows me to provide for my daughter and doesn't ask for my life. Let's stay in this one!

9. Look at Jessie's face!

By her own admission, being tricked into eating snow is the best thing that ever happened to her during an 'otherwise wretched childhood', to the extent she doesn't know it was wrong!

I don't hear Ma and Pa doing that. The only ice James got was an ice-cream sandwich.

What kind of infancy did Ma Jess give the girl for her to be nostalgic about almost dying of malnutrition?

If we say that's a foster mother as in the sub, it means Jessie's fondest memory is after Ma died, which is too brutal for me.

Yeah, thank goodness she's snuffed it.

You think Ma might have taught her not to eat snow! She left her so ill-prepared!

Consequently the sub version makes Ma Jess an awful creature, although I don't see why that Jessie would so desire to mimic a mom she apparently doesn't care about.

10. She's not even bloody here!

I have no picture to signify absence, therefore I must show whom she left behind.

Ma Jess is Pokémon's answer to Bobba Fett: background figure, barely involved, no information, dies early, yet became a fan favourite nevertheless.

If nothing really exists, what is there to like? Why are you contented weaving smoke?

When Rocketshippers put forward the manga as proof, the Anti-Ships used to insist that it 'didn't count' for being set in a 'separate universe'.

If that still goes, and only the contents of the anime apply to the anime, well then it's bye-bye to Ma Jess and Madame Boss, because they aren't real either.

I sometimes think that's true. However traumatic, would Jessie not have acknowledged her mother by now otherwise?

We grasp the characters all had two parents in a nebulous fashion, although not being real people means they don't 'technically' need them, but Ma Jess is the only one who vanished to be granted a face. Why is she then ignored?

She's briefly glimpsed in a passing scene of a single episode of the first series and is never seen or referenced again. The sub doesn't even have that. Where was the use in creating her if only to leave that thread of the tale billowing in the breeze?

We may decide her actions affect Jessie's but we're only imprinting assumptions. She might as well have remained unwritten for all that's made of her.

What we can glean doesn't bode well, irrespective of things left unmentioned.

Her one redeeming deed was dying, thus at least she didn't choose to abandon Jessie. We may presume she'd have stayed with her girl given the chance.

By my reckoning that puts her as Fifth-Best Mother Of Pokémon, behind Ma Brock, Ma James, Dame Ketchum and Ma Boss, in that order.

Then they're those who claim she never died, so she just pissed off like everyone else, rendering her devoid of a single positive quality.

This is the woman you sigh and agonise over for decades.

Ma and Pa are right there, man! Show 'em some love!

[lviolett]

Keeper - Chen Mafia AU

Keeper

Type: A Chen Fanfiction / Exo fanfiction

Genre: Mafia AU/ Angst/ Action/Romance

Pairing: Chen x OC | Jongdae x OC

OC - Kwang Minhee

Warning: Violence, Possible NSFW content

A/N: Since posts with links don’t appear on search (wth tumblr?) I have tagged each chapter with #chen keeper, so to find previous or next chapters, click on the tag to read them, thank you :)

-

Sypnosis: Taken by one of the biggest Korean mafias, Kwang Minhee tries her hardest to adapt to her new life. Under the watchful gaze of her capturer Chen, there is no way out. Soon enough, however, she becomes a target of a series of attacks before Chen takes it upon himself to protect her. With enemies and allies all around her and shocking revelations of her past, Minhee struggles to keep herself sane and not fall for her keeper..

-

Chapter 2

When Minhee woke to, she was in what seemed to be an infirmary somewhere, single white beds that one would expect to find in hospitals surrounded her, yet the dingy ceiling and windows bolted with metal boards let her know it wasn't a hospital.

She looked down to find herself in a long, loose-fitting t-shirt, acting as a hospital gown. Parts of her arms and legs were bandaged and her legs were restrained against the foot of the bed. She sat up with a jolt, panic washing over her as memories of what had happened presented themselves in her mind.

Thoughts such as 'Where am I?' What have they done to me?' and 'What are they gonna do to me?' ran through her head along with deep sadness but there was no one around to ask the questions and she sat there for what seemed like forever before someone walked through the door. She saw a man in a white coat enter and carefully close the door behind him, a clipboard in hand.

Seeing her awake, he smiled at her and she noticed the deep dimples of his cheeks. They really made him look innocent but she didn't think it would be the case considering he works with the kind of people who brought her here. But she also didn't understand the idea of a bunch of loan-sharks having an infirmary and doctors.

"How are you feeling?" asked the man, his voice soft as he proceeded to switch on a flashlight and hover over her.

"I'm..okay I guess," Minhee replied as he pulled out a tiny flashlight at her eyes and blinded her with the intense light.

He smiled as he informed her he was just checking her vitals before going back to his clipboard and writing something down.

Minhee decided it was the best time to ask him about her whereabouts.

Her voice felt a bit hoarse and she coughed which seemed to grab his attention.

"So..where am I? Who are you? And how long have I been here? Why are my legs tied to the bed?" she asked.

"Ah, well you're at the base of the Korean mafia. I'm Lay, the doctor here and you have been here for about 36 hours. Turns out, you were severely malnourished and starved and your body was pretty injured so it took you much longer to come to than a normal person who passed out from shock. Oh, and I was instructed to tie your legs in case you thought about escaping."

She gulped at the information. Korean mafia. Oh NO. there was no telling if they were ever gonna let her go now.

Her face might have shown her incredulous expression because the next thing Lay does is laugh slightly and says, "Yeah, you're most likely not getting out of here."

Her heart plummeted. His laughter had given her some form of hope but his words dashed them all down.

Just then, the door to the room opened and she saw the same man who brought her here enter. Now that she was not feeling like death, she only started to notice the features of his body.

Clad in all black yet again, he was of medium height and built, and she could see his muscles from under his shirt sleeve as he crossed his arms against his chest, walking towards Lay. He didn't look as dangerous as the day before but just the aura he exuded sent a red alarm through her mind and she started to concentrate on breathing steadily. Though as soon as he stepped in front of her beside Lay, her breath hitched. A shining piece of metal, that she guessed was a gun, gleamed at her from its place on the holster of his belt.

Terror seized her but before she could think of escaping, she heard him ask Lay, "She's awake huh? Fina-fucking-ly." she gulped and heard Lay say with a warning tone, "Chen, please." Then she heard the man, now she knows as Chen, huff before he directed a question towards her.

"What's your age?" Something about the tone of his voice rattled her and she felt anxiety growing in the pit of her stomach. Trying to control her anxiety, she must have taken too long to answer before he said with a harsh tone, "I asked you something!"

"I'm-I'm 19" she managed to answer, trying to not look directly at him.

He tilted her head up towards his face and she looked in his eyes as a smile formed on his face, a smile that made him look completely harmless.

"Then you're old enough," he said and she felt her blood run cold, realizing what he could have meant. Her eyes widened and her breath started coming out in short gasps as he let go of her face and he grinned happily before Lay grabbed him by his arm and took him to the far end of the room.

"What exactly are you doing Chen?" she heard Lay ask him, their attempt at whispering was turning out to be a failure since the room was completely quiet and she could hear everything.

"I'm doing my work. This is the mafia, what do you expect to do with girls like her?"

"Okay listen, the type of work you're planning to set her off to? She won't be able to handle it. That's years of malnourishment, she's not gonna survive it." Lay was explaining, and Minhee felt thankful to him, he was really trying to save her.

She saw Chen look her way and she immediately dropped her head, concentrating on the fabric of the bedsheet and she heard him sigh.

"Okay fine, but what do I do with her then, apart from killing her? She clearly can't fight, I don't trust her with information, doesn't have the loyalty to be a spy for us and, " he turned towards her, "Do you know how to hack or use computers at all?" he asked and she nodded a no, replying meekly, "I was never allowed any devices.."

He looked at Lay as if to say, 'See?' and Lay sighed and looked away.

"But.." Minhee began as she tried gripping at any last chance of a life, "I can clean. I'm-I'm very good at household work. I can clean every speckle of dirt and..and blood, anything really. And I can cook and wash too, just please.." she trailed off, unsure of what they were gonna say.

Lay then said, "She could become a maid here, but I think it's too dangerous for her over here." Chen nodded and said, "And she could mess up a lot over here."

"Why don't you make her as your maid?" Lay asked and Chen raised an eyebrow critically at him.

"What? You're barely ever there and it's more like a junkyard than a house. Plus, the place needs some seriously good cleaning after that group of guys you tortured over there," said Lay as he flinched at the memory of it.

Minhee was horrified, thinking about the kind of place she'd have to clean but it was better than whatever Chen was sending her off to do or die so she figured she'd take it. She held her breath as Chen pondered over the idea.

"Ugh, fine," he said with a groan and she felt hopeful about the tragedy that was her life.

"But," he warned as he walked to her bed, "any hint or thought of escaping, any step out of line, then you're dead meat. Do exactly you're told to do."

Minhee frantically nodded her head. She wouldn't dare.

"How long does she have to stay here?" Chen asked Lay and Lay looked at the clipboard in hand before saying, "Just give me a couple of hours for some rest and food and she'll be ready to go."

Chen nodded and looked her over one last time before he left.

As soon as the door closed behind him, She breathed a huge sigh of relief; that man was so unnerving, but she was glad he was giving her a chance. She turned to Lay and thanked him, he really helped her after all. Lay just shook his as he smiled, and then told her to get some rest before he left the room to arrange food for her, she assumed.

However, gloominess and anxiety surrounded her thoughts and she made a small prayer, thinking of her parents, her real ones, before she felt sleep take over her, hoping it would be better than what her life was so far.

A/N: I know the chapters are short but I’m in the middle of my exams so I’m not able to write as much as I want to. Still wanted to get this up! Chapters will be longer after next week.