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juniormint1125 · 2 years ago

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Worthy - Part 6 - Lee Minho x Reader

Worthy

Lee Minho (Stray Kids) x Reader Summary: Y/N and Minho become embroiled in a tumultuous relationship as her place in the group is threatened by unexpected circumstances. Word Count: 10,519 Genre: angst, fluff, smut Warnings/Contains: cursing, alcohol consumption, nipple play, oral (Minho receiving), fingering, mentions of sexual encounters, mentions of alcohol consumption, heavy self-deprecation, physical violence, mentions of abuse and childhood trauma

Chapter 10 – Broken Lee Minho (Stray Kids) x Reader Summary: After Minho’s encounter with Chan, he heads to your apartment to sort things out. But when he encounters Felix again, things go south quickly. Word Count: 815 Genre: angst Warnings/Contains: cursing, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of sex POV: Y/N

Felix stayed behind after everyone else had gone home. You usually appreciate his company. He never pressures you to talk, but somehow, you always end up spilling your guts anyway. But today, you wish he hadn’t stayed.

Part of you wants him to stay, and you feel selfish. You want to be able to tell him everything that’s happened, every hurt and pain you’re going through. You just want someone to confide in and be comforted by. Felix is who you usually run to, but you can’t tell him about Minho; it would break his heart and ruin your friendship.

You go to the kitchen to grab drinks. He’s turned on the tv, some silly reality show. He smiles at you, putting his arms out for you to curl into. You hesitate, worrying this will be the start of your undoing. But, desperate for comfort, you crawl up beside him anyway. He pulls you close and for a while you sit without talking. He’s the one to interrupt the silence.

“Yeobo?” You look up at him. “Do you want to talk about it? So much has happened. You don’t have to keep it all in.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready yet,” You hope he’ll let it go.

He smiles sweetly. “When you’re ready, I’m here.”

You hug him tightly; thankful your answer pacifies him. He’s the best friend you’ve ever had and the thought of losing him is suffocating. Without him, you’d be completely alone. You yawn, exhaustion overwhelming you. Will your mind calm down enough to let you sleep tonight?

“I should go,” he says. You smile sleepily, nodding in agreement. You walk to the door to see him out, leaning against the doorframe.

“I’m worried about you,” he frowns.

You manage a smile. “Don’t fuss over me. I just need a good night’s sleep."

He pulls you into a hug, resting his chin on top of your head. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Thank you for always being there for me,” you mumble. You don’t want to get emotional, but you want him to know how much you appreciate his friendship. He pulls away, his eyes serious.

“I’ll always be here for you…I love you.”

Time seems to move in slow motion. You can see the future, know where this is going. You try to pull away, but it’s too late. His lips are soft as they meet yours, his kiss hesitant and slow where Minho’s was urgent and full of passion. Why couldn’t you love someone like Felix? Why are you drawn to Minho, so tumultuous and uncertain? He doesn’t care about you or your feelings.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

You jerk away from Felix. Minho’s standing at the end of the hallway. He’s livid and heading straight for Felix.

“Stop!” you scream, stepping between them. You can smell the alcohol on Minho’s breath from three feet away.

“Why is he here again? And why the hell is he kissing you?”

“Why are you here?” Felix shoots back. “You made it clear that you don’t want anything to do with Y/N, so why do you keep harassing her? She doesn’t want you around anymore.”

Minho’s response echoes through the empty hallway. “Who are you to say what she wants, huh? Do you think that your pathetic, one-sided crush means that you know her? Is that why you’re acting like her protector? That’s not going to make her like you. Do you think that kiss is going to make her want you?”

“Enough, Minho!” you shout. “Why are you so determined to hurt him?”

He laughs. “If I wanted to hurt him, I’d tell him about us.”

“Nothing you have to say can hurt me,” Felix retorts.

A spiteful smile spreads over Minho’s lips.

“Please, Minho,” you beg. “Please, don’t.” But he won’t stop.

“Even if I told you that Y/N and I slept together?” he taunts “That wouldn’t hurt you?”

Felix’s face drops. “That’s not true,” he breathes.

Minho snickers. “But it is true. Ask her.”

Felix looks at you, his eyes pleading for you to deny Minho’s accusation. You hang your head in shame.

“Y/N, please,” he begs.

Tears fill your eyes. The devastation on his face is unbearable. “I’m sorry,” you murmur, turning away. You can’t face him.

Minho’s voice sounds regretful when he speaks. “Look, kid. I shouldn’t have said that-”

“SHUT UP!” Felix screams. He takes off down the hallway. You try to follow but Minho stops you.

“Let him go. He’s not going to talk to you right now.”

You know he’s right, but you’re overwhelmed with your guilt. “Let me go,” you roar, trying to escape his grip. “Why are you even here? Do you get some sick pleasure from making a fool of me?”

You stop trying to fight him and crumple to the ground, sobbing and completely broken.

Chapter 11 – Strength Lee Minho (Stray Kids) x Reader Summary: Y/N and Minho have a moment of truth and connection. Word Count: 1,031 Genre: angsty fluff Warnings/Contains: cursing POV: Minho

“Please, just let me help you inside, Y/N.” I reached for her arm, and she recoiled.

“You’ve helped enough!” she spat at me.

I deserved all her hate and bitterness. I couldn’t stomach seeing the hurt I had caused. It was a novel feeling for me. I’d never stuck around before to see the consequences of my actions. And I’d never cared about someone enough to feel remorse for what I’d done.

She pulled herself from the ground and turned to go back inside. I caught the door and followed her.

“Y/N, please wait!” I called after her. She ignored me as she trampled down the hall to her bedroom, then slammed the door in my face. The lock clicked.

“Will you just talk to me?” I begged. My pulse pounded in my throat, and I felt nauseated. I felt desperate. “I wasn’t trying to make you look like a fool.”

“Well, you failed epically!” she screamed from inside the bedroom.

I thumped my head against the door in defeat. Even after everything, I was still trying to defend my own actions instead of thinking about how she might feel because of what I’d done.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.”

From the other side, the lock opened. I hesitated before reaching for the doorknob. Maybe it would be better if I just walked away. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to do anything right. I just kept fucking things up.

Without me touching it, the door opened, just a crack. Was she inviting me in?

I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. She was lying on the bed, her body buried under a blanket. Guardedly, I sat down on the edge.

“Don’t apologize if you don’t really mean it,” she mumbled from under the blanket.

“I am sorry. I don’t know why I keep messing everything up.”

She peeked from under the blanket and laughed bitterly. “I’m the one who messed up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I actually believed that you slept with me because you care about me. I should have stopped you before I became another one of your conquests.”

“Is that really how you see me?” I asked quietly.

“It’s no secret that you get around, Minho. Women fall at your feet.”

“That’s not true.”

“What’s not?”

“The rumors,” I muttered. “They’re not true. I don’t ‘get around’.”

“You’re lying. You don’t want to look bad.”

“Since when have I cared about what other people think of me? I’m not lying,” I insisted. “I really don’t have that much…experience.”

She seemed to be considering my words carefully, as if their truthfulness or deceit was crucial. “You’re serious?”

I mumbled an embarrassed yes.

She seemed to soften. “Why did you walk out, Minho? Twice. Do you have any idea how I felt, sitting there alone like some idiot? Why would you do that to me?” She started crying again, the pain I had caused still a fresh wound.

I didn’t know what to say. No single answer could make her understand the profound effect my childhood had on my adult relationships. Would I be able to tell her how messed up I really was without scaring her away? Was that even an excuse for the way I had behaved? And what right did I have to treat others like shit because I couldn’t get past what happened over a decade ago?

“I don’t have a reason,” I began. “Anything I say would just be an excuse. I was a fool to run away from you.”

“You’ve really hurt me, Minho,” she whispered. “It’s going to take a lot more than sorry to make up for what you’ve done.”

“I know that I’m a monster. The way I treat people is heartless and cruel. I don’t know how to be affectionate. I don’t know how to change.”

“That’s not true. If you were heartless, would you have replaced the broken snow globe?” She paused. “You don’t have to always act so tough, Minho. No one will think less of you if you’re weak once in a while.”

“I’m not trying to be tough. It’s just…I just don’t want to get hurt again.” It’s the closest to the truth I could bring myself to come. I wasn’t ready to be completely vulnerable.

“I don’t know what happened in your past,” she assured me, “but I know that right now, there are so many people who care about you and don’t want to hurt you. One of those people is me.”

Her words sounded so sincere, so trustworthy. “How could you still care about me after the way I’ve treated you?”

“Everyone makes mistakes. And everyone’s worthy of forgiveness.”

I hung my head. “Do you think you can ever forgive me?”

I felt her gaze boring into me. She was quiet for a minute, then gently touched my chin. “Look at me, Minho.”

I lifted my face, looking into her eyes. They were soft and loving. All the traces of anger were truly gone. Her touch was like silk as her thumb stroked my cheek.

“I’ve already forgiven you. The hard part is forgiving yourself.”

She was right. I held so much hate and contempt inside and I didn’t know where to start to forgive myself for the mistakes I had made. My eyes welled with tears. She was slowly chipping away at the wall I had built around my heart.

I tried to speak and choked on my tears. I started to turn away, but she pulled me into her arms. “Don’t hide from me, Minho. Let me be there for you.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding on desperately, and buried my face in her neck. She smoothed my hair as she held me and let me cry.

I’d never let anyone see my weakness. All my life, I’d clung to a false idea of strength that didn’t allow for feelings. I was convinced it was spineless to show any type of emotion to others. I had to be stoic to be strong.

But by letting go and letting my tears fall, Y/N was showing me that having feelings wasn’t weakness. It was strength.

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orwocolor · 4 years ago

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Love Thy Neighbour - Chapter Five

Pairing: Gwilym Lee x Reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: Nighmares

Summary: Your friend is there for you when you need him, and maybe you’re starting to feel something more.

Author’s Note: IT FEELS GREAT TO BE BACK!!! Comments and reblogs are always very appreciated :) Check my masterlist to read the previous chapters. Dedicated to my sweetie @justgwilym.

“Y/N! I’m back!” a shout comes from the hall and a loud bang of the door closing shut announces Gwil’s return.

You struggle to get to your feet but the moment your weight shifts to your injured ankle, you hiss through gritted teeth. There is not much left to do but to remain on the couch, nonchalantly sprawled out as if the position you’ve gotten into was intended.

“Erm, Y/N?” Gwil makes a move to the kitchen when he stops dead in his tracks as he spots you lying on the couch, your legs swung over the armrest in an awkward angle.

“Did you get the ice cream?” you ask innocently to divert his attention from the obvious mishap you’ve managed to cause in his 10-minute-long absence.

His brows furrow and he licks his lips before he responds. “Yes, I did. Care to explain what you’re doing here?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard about the new yoga position?” The whole situation is so bizarre, you can’t prevent a small giggle from escaping you. “Lying sideways on a couch with one arm squashed between your body and the cushion, and with your legs hanging over the armrest in a way to successfully feel the blood in your legs draining away so that you’re sure you’re gonna have pins and needles in them afterwards for hours, well… That’s the good stuff right there, man.” Your eyes sparkle with glee and, to continue in your blatant lie, you mean to throw your hair over your shoulder as if to imply there’s no room for arguing and that the conversation is over, but as you jerk your head, instead of your hair flawlessly flying around your face in a perfect way, it gets stuck underneath your shoulder and you smack your head against a throw pillow.

Despite your burst of giggles being muffled by the pillow, your laughter is evident in the way your body uncontrollably shakes on the coach.

Gwilym is laughing now too and after quickly discarding the grocery bags at the kitchen island, he rushes to your side. With one of his strong arms supporting your back and his warm fingers taking a hold of your hand, he helps you stand up, an occasional giggle escaping either his or your lips, and sets you down again. He takes a seat right next to you and throws you a quizzical look, his eyebrows arched in question and a glint of amusement still present in his blue eyes.

You let your gaze rest on his face for a moment before you spit out the truth.

“Okay, fine. I just wanted to get us some popcorn and I couldn’t recall where exactly I left it the last time the girls were over for a movie night. So, I figured I might as well find it myself. But I couldn’t find the bloody crutches…” you trail off and throw your arms in a dismissive gesture.

“Although I bet the picture of you jumping on one foot just to promptly crash down on the sofa must have been hilarious,” he starts and nudges you with his shoulder, “you should have waited for me, I’m sure I would be able to find the popcorn myself,” he continues softly and brushes a strand of your hair that has fallen to your eyes.

“Well, you were already getting the ice cream I’d sent you for, so.” You shrug and shake your head. “I guess,” you pause and look around your living room, which is uncharacteristically tidied up, the result of Gwilym’s frequent visits he’s been paying you every day since the accident. Your life hasn’t been the same since he moved next door, has it? “Nevermind.” You give him a smile, but it’s not quite reaching your eyes. “What are we having for dinner?” you ask instead, hoping he’ll drop the previous subject.

That earns you a wide grin from Gwil and you release a sigh of relief. He promptly stands up to rummage through the bags he’s brought with him; the rustle of his socks against the carpet has become a familiar sound by now.

“Ta da!” He turns around to reveal two packages of frozen vegetables.

“Really?” You can’t believe this man. “Really?” you echo with disbelief seeping to your voice.

“What?” he tries defensively. “Ever since our journey to the hospital, I’ve been craving some good ol’ risotto. And since you didn’t let me cook it for you that night from our makeshift ice-packages, I had to go and buy new ones.” He moves to the kitchen area and starts storing various items into their designated places. God, a week in your kitchen and he already knows what needs to be put where, probably orienting there much better than you do.

“The vegetable had been out of the freezer for several hours so by the time we got back, it had turned into a mush and you know it,” you shout at him to the kitchen, your voice louder so as to howl down the kitchen cabinets being open and closed again.

Gwilym’s head peers over the kitchen island.

“Spoilsport.”

“I’ve still got one hand that’s alright so don’t be surprised when a pillow lands on your head,” you say matter-of-factly but reach for remote control to turn on the telly.

“I doubt that, I know your aim,” he answers after a minute, busying himself with the meal preparations.

Oh, really? Well, in that case…

You grab one of the cushions and toss it in his direction, but it plops down on the kitchen tiles, a good six feet away from him. Gwil barks out a laugh and you groan in defeat, but when he bends down to lift the pillow from the floor and get even with you, it’s your turn to laugh out loud when the pillow almost knocks down a rubber tree standing in the opposite corner of the room.

“I’m making dinner, okay, I’m distracted!” he explains, a shy smile playing on his lips.

“And I’m injured,” you retort in the same manner.

“Peace?” he asks softly and arches his eyebrows.

“Peace,” you agree, smiling, and let him get back to cooking dinner for you.

Mindlessly flicking through the channels, you watch Gwil from the corner of your eye as he turns on the stove and tosses the vegetable into a frying pan, the water with rice already bubbling in the background.

You get lost in your thoughts as they swirl in your mind with pictures of the last couple of days.

Gwilym’s kept his promise and has been coming over to your place practically every day. Apart from cooking and keeping your flat clean and tidy, which is something you will be forever grateful for because with both of those chores you just can’t be particularly bothered even when your ankle isn’t protesting with every little movement, Gwilym has been most of all keeping you company. Jane and Charlotte have popped by every now and then to help you with showering (the bloody tube, why not just install a shower stall?) or to spend the movie night at yours on one occasion, for which Gwil has always retired to his own apartment, not meaning to intrude on your tradition.

One night, he also invited Ben to come over, of course with your permission, and all three of you played several board games. You’ve tried to repay Gwil’s care by helping him run his lines for his auditions. At first, you were absolutely awful, giggling and feeling warmth spreading across your cheeks, but soon enough you got the hang of it and managed to read the lines with pretended professionalism.

You and Gwil have also started watching several TV shows, especially the cooking and home design ones, which were the best to turn your brains off to (and occasionally doze off to) in the late evenings. Being the gentleman he is, Gwil refused to join you in your bed at first and watched the screen of your laptop form the chair snuggled in the corner of your bedroom. But eventually, he yielded to your pleading eyes and stubborn refusal to press play until he stopped being so silly. Nonetheless, he has always made sure to lie carefully on the covers of your bed even though you were tucked in so that there has remained a duvet between your bodies. Every now and then he fussed for a minute with pillows that were supporting your foot to make sure that your ankle remained elevated just to give you a sheepish smile when he noticed you were watching him with amusement.

You’re smiling now too at the picture of his lovely eyes adorned with small wrinkles in the outer corners. Holding the TV remote still in your hand, you realise you can’t find anything of interest and so you turn the TV off again.

Besides, the dinner is almost ready based on the delicious smell.

“So, who was it?” Jane asks matter-of-factly as she stretches her arms for you to lean on.

“That was Gwil.” Grabbing her forearms, you carefully swing your injured leg over the bathtub rim. “I must have mentioned him,” you add quickly when Jane cocks her perfectly shaped eyebrow. You avoid the eye-contact, suddenly focused on making sure the knot on the towel wrapped around your torso is tied properly.

“No, you haven’t. All you said was that your neighbour had been taking care of you.” Slinking your arm around her shoulders, you shift your weight and get yourself out of the bathtub completely. You pull your face at the odd sensation in your ankle, the pain you have been gradually becoming used to. “I only assumed you were talking about Mrs Thompson from 3A. You’re not the type to befriend your neighbours so eagerly.”

You let the last remark slip and berate yourself inwardly for not telling Jane the identity of your nurse/cleaner/companion sooner. Now it looks like you have kept it from her because there was a reason to. Which there was not. Nuh-uh.

You could have been spared of this conversation, had they not bumped into each other at your door as Jane was letting herself in and Gwil was leaving for his own flat. If only you hadn’t been so selfish, happy to be in his company, and would have let him go a few minutes sooner.

“So, who is he?” Jane presses and takes another towel from a nearby handle to wrap it around your shoulders.

No longer having the strength to keep upright, you perch yourself on the bathtub edge, the cold porcelain causing goose bumps on your thighs. “I already told you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Look, he’s just a friend, okay?” you finally give up. “He’s helping me with cooking and tidying up and overall, he’s just keeping me company. He’s currently looking for a job, which means that when he’s not auditioning for a role, he’s usually home anyway, so why not hang out together? So yes, he’s my friend.”

“I’m your friend, too, you know?” Jane offers.

“But you’ve got a full-time job and live several bus and tube stops away, not next door. It’s just a matter of proximity.”

“Aaand, what kind of proximity are we talking about here?” Jane’s eyes glint mischievously, and you spray her with droplets of water that have been clinging to your fingers. “Fine, fine,” she laughs and before handing you your bathrobe, she wipes her slightly damp face into it, which earns her a displeased groan from you.

“Okay, I’ll drop it,” she continues once she settles you on the coach, “but you can bet I’m telling Charlotte.”

You roll your eyes, but do not argue. The moment Jane makes up her mind, there’s not much you can do about it.

“Speaking of Charlotte, anything new about her birthday party?”

“I thought you would never ask!” Her eyes sparkle and she pulls out a thick notebook from her purse. “I’ve got so many ideas. Okay, hear me out. Glitter.”

“No,” you laugh out loud.

“Come on!”

“No, I’ve got the veto and I’m exercising it right now.”

“Urgh, fine.” She turns several pages. No way the idea revolving around glitter has been so elaborated.

“A movie night party?”

“We all have had a movie-themed birthday party. And I think Charlotte’s had two already.”

“Okay, not a movie night.” She crosses out the line in her notepad and is leafing through it some more.

“Jungle.”

“Jungle?”

“Yeah, jungle. Remember, when she had visited the Panama islands, she just couldn’t stop gushing over it. Her flat is already filled with hundreds of plants so as for the decoration, we don’t have to do much. Just a couple of balloons, fruity drinks and sweets, maybe we can set the thermostat to a higher temperature. And if we don’t manage to clean it up there in time, we can say it’s just part of the décor, right?”

“I kinda like it,” you admit with a smile and Jane’s winning grin seals the deal. “Yeah, I can imagine it. Yellow and dark green balloons, some more plants, fruity drinks. I’m on board.”

“Great! And it’s not going to be so expensive either, which is more than appreciated. By the way, how are you doing financially? Is there anything I can do in this respect?”

“No, there’s no need, thank you,” you wave her off. “The sick leave is not so bad, and I’ve still got the money my grandpa left me.”

“Wait, you’ve still got that?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t figure out what to spend it on. I’ve got everything I need; you see. But I guess it’s losing its worth as time goes by. I should invest it rather sooner than later.”

“Sounds right to me.” She gives it some thought. “Oh, maybe we could throw a massive birthday party for Charlotte!”

“Look, I love you both, but no,” you giggle.

“It was worth a try,” she chirps. “We’ll plan the details next time I come around to help you shower?”

“Actually, I’m getting much better with the crunches; the wrist has almost healed. So next time, it’s gonna be without the striptease for free for you, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, dang it, you’ll rob me of the highlight of my week.”

You look up from your laptop screen and give Gwil a questioning look as he enters your bedroom, dragging his bag and jacket behind him. He simply drops them on the floor and crashes down next to you. Promptly closing his eyes and releasing a deep sigh, he goes motionless.

“That bad?” you ask after a few seconds of silence.

“The worst,” he groans and drags his hand down his face.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper back and rub your palm against his shoulder. He peers with one eye over his splayed hand at you and the line between his brows deepens.

“It was awful,” he huffs and proceeds to stare at the ceiling as his fingers remain on his jaw.

“Wanna talk about it?” you ask and place your laptop on the floor before you twist on your side and give Gwil your complete attention.

"Yes,” he responds eventually. “Or no. Yes. I don’t know.”

“Well, we’ve got time, and if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine too.”

You mean to give him a reassuring hug but because of your position on the bed, it ends up looking as if you were cuddling up to him. Once you realise your mistake, you shuffle a few inches back. Your palm, however, warm and reassuring, remains on Gwil’s chest.

“It was awful,” he echoes and turns his head to look into your eyes. “Ben and I had been waiting ages for the casting director to show up and when he did, he wasn’t ready at all, kept calling me ‘Will’, yelled at me for not reading my lines when it actually wasn’t my cue, overall dismissed my approach to the character and then he just waved me off. This time, he didn’t even bother to tell me I would be hearing from them soon.”

Your thumb starts drawing soothing circles on Gwilym’s chest as any words of reassurance die in your throat.

“I’d been nervous about that audition the whole day and for what reason?”

“Well,” you try, sure that nothing you will just say can elevate his mood. You have found out a few days ago, that the best cure for Gwil’s brooding isa small glass of something stronger and good night sleep. But you could not exactly stay silent. “If it was really the worst, if you really reached the deep, deep bottom, then it can only get better, right?” You nudge him gently and give him a small smile which he reciprocates.

“Right,” he sighs, and his gaze falls again.

“Shall I get out the tumblers?”

“Not really,” he pauses and ponders over it. “Can we just watch something?”

“Sure!” you agree eagerly and dive down to retrieve your laptop. Quickly searching for a festive episode of Bake Off, you place the laptop on your thighs, rotating it so that Gwil can see, and after a few minutes of making up your mind, you press yourself to Gwil’s side. Although you are aware that it is going to take some time for the clouds on his brows to evaporate, a warm touch might help at least a bit.

After the first Bake Off challenge, Gwil snakes his arms beneath you and wraps it around your shoulders, giving you a squeeze. And several minutes later, he feels exhaustion creeping up at him, the stressful events of the day finally taking their toll. He tries to fight the sleep, but he knows it is a losing battle.

A heavy weight of darkness falls on your chest and pins you down. You make an attempt to take a deep breath, but the invisible rock crashes you down. Pushing your arms upwards, you try to fight the suffocating darkness, but your palms are met with cold emptiness. Your mouth falls open and a strangled whimper escapes you, then another, until you’re screaming at the top your lungs despite making no sound at all. Your blood rushing in your ears and your heart pounding loudly is cut through with a voice calling your name.

“Y/N!”

You jerk yourself to sit upright in your bed, gasping for breath with eyes wide open. You pull a face at the pain shooting in your wrist and ankle.

A pair of warm arms wrap around your torso, fingers gently stroke your sides and every slow caress wipes the god-awful nightmare far away.

“You’re good, everything is alright, you’re not alone, I’m here,” Gwil keeps muttering into your hair as he presses you to his side, his embrace firm, letting you know that everything he says is true. Taking a deep breath, you burrow your head into the crook of his neck. There are tears in the corner of your eyes but you blink them away and if one or two teardrops fall down your cheeks, they disappear on Gwil’s t-shirt, turning the material one shade darker, which no one can see anyway in the blackness-filled bedroom.

“I’m so sorry,” you whisper almost inaudibly against Gwilym’s chest once you calm down and at first, you’re not even sure whether he has heard you.

After a beat of silence, you hear the soft murmur of his voice. “Oh, darling, you have nothing to apologise for. What do you need? A glass of water? Maybe I should turn on the lights?”

“No, no, just –” you take a shaking breath, “just don’t go,” you breathe out eventually.

“Never,” he says and plants a soft kiss on the crown of your head.

Next morning, a ray of sunshine tickles your nose. You make a face, your eyes squeezing and nose scrunching up, and shuffle further away from the window to find retreat in a shadow. You slowly open your eyes and feel the dryness in your throat. Last night surges forward in your thoughts and you are filled with mixed feelings. Loneliness, shame, connection, relief, content.

Rolling over, you almost lie down on Gwilym’s hand, his arm stretched out before him, crossing the gap between your bodies, as soft snores leave his mouth every few seconds. His sleeping state allows you to take a proper look at his face. His piercing dark blue eyes are usually those that capture your attention but now when they are hidden behind the eyelids, you get the opportunity to inspect his face more carefully. Your eyes follow the lines of his prominent nose and cheekbones, spotting the birthmark on his right cheek, and fall on his pink lips, which are slightly open in his sleep. You have to smile; he looks utterly adorable. And you are positively grinning when he hums and smacks his lips.

“Good morning,” you whisper softly in case he has not woken up yet. But an almost inaudible groan confirms your suspicion.

He blinks away his sleep and gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing, before his gaze falls on your face.

“Good morning,” he replies and brings his outstretched arm towards you to let his hand rub gently your shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” you admit truthfully and give him a smile. Meanwhile, your hand clasps over his. “You?”

“Yeah, I’m alright,” he says and looks up at you through his eyelashes.

You only nod but remain silent as you relish in the peaceful moment. None of you dares to move, certain that once you do so, the spell under which you both are will break. But at the same time, you long to bring him closer to you, to cross the invisible wall that is between you, the wall built from unspoken truths and confessions. However, you also realise how precarious it is to give in to that thought. The analogy of playing with fire comes to your mind but you frown inwardly, not entirely certain it fits. No, you feel the pull and you are sure so does he, the intangible power bringing you to one another. You picture yourself as a child playing with magnets and holding them in each hand to feel them inching closer. But both remain in safe vicinity so as not to jump in your hands and attach to each other. If that happens, you know there is no going back, the force too strong to allow them to let go on their own accord.

“Jane was here yesterday,” you whisper eventually, your head going around with everything that goes on in your mind.

“Yeah?” Gwilym’s eyes flick to yours.

“Yeah. We’re going to organise a jungle-themed party for Charlotte.”

“Nice,” he says appreciatively and gives you a smile. “You still wanna bake that cake? I think we could replace blueberries and raspberries with pineapple, kiwi, and maybe mango?”

A smile tugs at the corners of your lips and you squeeze his hand that you still hold in yours. “I would love that.”

Taglist: @lv7867, @spacedustmazzello, @queenwouldyourathers, @im-an-adult-ish, @fairestkillerqueenofall, @supernaturalee, @queenlover05, @geek-and-proud, @chlobo6, @mrsmazzello, @timeandpixiedust, @kerouacsroad, @gwilsmainhoe

#gwilym lee x reader #gwilym lee imagine #gwilym lee fluff #gwilym lee fic #multichapter #fluff #vee writes #*mine

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kqbluemoon-moved · 4 years ago

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FIX IT !

SUMMARY :: In which the girls confront Najoo. CHARACTERS :: Kim Najoo, Moon Jangmi, Kang Jinri, Della Jang, Maisie Park, Lee Taeha WORDS :: 1.5K WARNINGS :: swearing, fights ( if i missed anything let me know ! )

Najoo let out a sigh when she walked through the door to their dorm, seeing all the other girls sitting around the living, looking like they had been waiting for her. She knew this was coming, ever since the news dropped about her possibly dating Jaeho had dropped this morning. She’d been over at Jaeho’s when the news dropped, their manager calling her in a second, telling her that she needed to get to the company as soon as possible. She’d spent the last hours at the company getting questioned on every single aspect of her relationship with Jaeho and getting told time and time again that she needed to me more careful, and if she was being completely honest, she didn’t want to hear the same spiel come out of Jangmi’s mouth right now. It felt like she was going to get kicked while she was down.

All heads turned to her as she closed the door, taking off her shoes and Najoo can’t help the roll of her eyes. “I’ve already had the lecture, so if that’s what this is about then I’d really like if it didn’t happen.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see some of the other members roll their eyes, probably already upset with Najoo and anything that she did would push them over the edge, though Jangmi’s face remained stoic, not a single emotion running through it. Najoo took a moment to look at the rest of the girls, it was the first time she noticed that five girls were sitting around the living room instead of the usual four other girls. Maisie sat next to Della, a worried look on her face, though Najoo could tell that the scandal was probably bad enough to draw the other girl away from the IZ*ONE dorms. Najoo didn’t blame her for being worried, her future home might be crumbling just a bit.

“We just want to know if you’re okay,” Jangmi’s voice rang through the quiet dorm, pulling the older girl out of her thoughts.

Najoo raised an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest. “Really? You don’t want to lecture me about how I should never see Jaeho again or anything?”

“I mean I was told to tell you that but-” Najoo tuned the other girl out, rolling her eyes in an instant. She knew Jangmi didn’t actually care about her and wanted to check in with her, it was just the company telling her to.

“There it is,” she interrupted, shooting a glare at the younger. “You don’t actually want to know if I’m okay, you’re just doing what the company told you to.” She was annoyed and frustrated and she wanted to do nothing more than to just go to her room and hide out there for a while. “It’s okay, you don’t have to keep up the act, I already told Jaeho it was over so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“You know it’s possible that I actually want to make sure you’re okay, right?” Jangmi pushed back, raised an eyebrow at the orange haired girl. “And besides,, you act like you’re the only one getting lectured in all of this when-”

“My god, is this how it always is?” a new voice broke through Jangmi’s words, stopping the older two in their tracks. Najoo turned to see Maisie looking at them with a confused look on her face as Della nodded from beside her. “How the hell do you get shit done?”

The two older girls stared blankly at the younger and Najoo suddenly felt like a little kid being scolded. Maisie raised herself from the couch, her eyes moving from Jangmi to Najoo, like she was trying to find some sort of answer in their eyes.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but what the fuck?” her voice was incredulous as she continued to look in between them. “I mean you guys were never best of friends pre-debut, but goddamn, I’ve been here for five minutes and you guys are already at each other’s throats. Is this all because of the leader thing?”

She looked between both of them, but when she saw that neither would answer she continued. “This is ridiculous, you guys can’t get anything done because you’re too busy being mad at each other for no reason. Jangmi, are you sure you’re the leader here because you sure as hell aren’t acting like it, you let everyone run around and do whatever the fuck they want beacuse you’re too busy in the studio. I know you aren’t a babysitter, but at some point you have to put your foot down. Either step up as a leader, or give the position to someone who can.”

Najoo almost smiled as she looked at the younger, all before the dark gaze turned onto her. “Najoo, I have no idea what the fuck is going on with you, but you are not the same Najoo that I knew before debut. I don’t know if this is about your breakup with Jaehyun or what, but you need to sort out your own shit instead of placing it onto others. As for your whole ‘everyone is far too reckless’ thing, if you don’t want to date because you’re worried about a scandal, that’s fine, but the rest of us try our hardest to be careful so don’t make it sound like no one else cares about this group. I mean, look at who's the one that got into a scandal first.”

Maisie paused, the room silent, nobody knowing what to say. Najoo saw the girl look back and forth one more time before she opened her mouth again. “You guys are the oldest out of all of us, so you should start acting like it.”

With those words she turned on her heel and walked towards Della and Taeha’s shared room, probably hoping if she left no more conflict would arise. Della jumped up from the couch, scurrying after the younger, closing the door after them.

The other four were silent for a while, but it didn’t take Jangmi long to finally stalk off to her room, Jinri following close behind, no doubt to try and console the older girl. Najoo rolled her eyes at the thought of the two of them before she looked over at the youngest, still sitting on the couch, her eyes downcast as she had her bottom lip in between her teeth.

“Taes,” Najoo started, coming close to the younger, the one she always got along with, placing a hand on her shoulder. She was shocked when Taeha jerked away from the touch, almost like Najoo’s touch burned her.

“What? You think that now that you ditched those people you were hanging out with, I’ll just come crawling back and be your best friend again?” Taeha’s words were like ice and they cut through Najoo’s heart. She was taken aback, the younger girl was always bright and sweet, never talking like this to anyone. If it wasn’t directed at her, Najoo would have been a little impressed, but with the words directed at her she could do nothing but stare at Taeha, wondering how they got here.

“Did you know that I broke up with Soobin?” She spoke up again after a moment of silence, and Najoo felt her heart tug. She hadn’t known that Taeha and Soobin broke up. “Did you know that I only dated him because I felt like I was weird for never having dated anyone before? Did you know that I ran all the way home after he tried to kiss me for the first time and I was so close to crying because I didn’t know how I ended up in that mess?”

Each question felt like there was a knife lodged in her heart, getting twisted deeper and deeper each time Taeha would reveal something. Had she really been that selfish to not notice anything that was going on in the younger girl’s life?

“I bet you didn’t because you weren’t here,” the younger continued, still looking down, refusing to look Najoo in the eye. “You weren’t here and I had to confide in Della, the one person who never tells us anything!”

“Taes, I’m-” she started, trying to reach out for the younger again, but Taeha flinched away again, cutting her off before she could say anything else.

“I needed you!” the younger yelled, her eyes filling with tears as she finally looked up at the older. “I tried over and over again and you didn’t give two shits!”

She didn’t wait for an answer, she just hopped off of the couch, running into her and Della’s room and slamming the door shut behind her. Najoo paused, looking around, for the first time in a while realizing all the trouble she had caused, realizing that she was truly alone since all of this had started.

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hello-nichya-here · 3 years ago

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Fire Foursome Headcanons Part 2

Here are some more Fire Foursome headcanons if you like. And if you think they are good enough can you please leave a comment under my Fire Foursome AO3 page while also putting them on your AOE Fire Foursome page? Thanks!

KEY POINT: The headcanons in this assume an Azula who has gotten the help she has needed, make amends with everyone, and rekindled her friendship with her old friends and Zuko before Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee initiated Azula into their "arrangement."

Q: Which member of the fire foursome is the most likely to be a pain slut?

Answer: Mai; for she is a thrill seeker and she loves nothing more than finding things that make her feel alive. And nothing does that better than driving her lovers so mad with lust that they lose control and hurt her. She loves it when Zuko is taking her from behind and starts pounding her like she is his inanimate fuck doll. She loves it when Ty Lee picks her up, pushes her against a wall, and forcibly grinds their pussies together. And she loves it when Azula is tired of Mai’s edge play and flips Mai on her back, jerks Mai’s legs behind her head, and starts tribbing. However, by hurt she means just bumps and bruises that quickly heal and don’t affect her the next day and not actual injuries. For there are few things that Mai, and really all of The Foursome, hate than being bed ridden and out of commission. And to the rest of the Foursome’s credit, they haven’t hurt Mai despite Mai sometimes losing control and asking them to really hurt her. Not that they would ever hurt, or anyone in the group, ever (again).

Q: Who would like being choked the most, if at all, in the foursome?

General Answer: Tie between Azula and Mai.

Answer (Mai): For the reasons stated in the above question.

Answer (Azula): Azula is a dominant woman in her professional and personal life and likes it when her lovers have had enough of her brattiness and put her in her place. For even if Azula has changed a lot, she is still a brat at times, though the other members of the Fire Foursome find it cute and endearing since Azula isn’t over possessive, domineering, or manipulative like she was when she was younger. That and they realize that for all the airs that Azula puts on, Azula is a socially incompetent fuck up (though with much better emotional stability and maturity) without that much life experience and so they cut her some slack. Also, it is one of the few times Azula can “sit back” and not have to think. Besides, even if they said they have forgiven her, Azula isn’t too sure and so likes to give them an outlet whenever they are frustrated with her, or in general, rather than letting their frustrations build up and have it end in them abandoning leaving her again due to her abusive treatment of them and being an evil jackass in general. This is because Azula isn’t so sure she could survive that again, especially since they have become a lot closer than they were as kids. However, the rest of The Foursome remind Azula that as long as Azula remains a good person, a good partner, and continues her treatments, they’ll never leave her again. Not to mention, as they often point out, Azula works hard in order to not relapse so Azula has nothing to worry about.

Q: Who in the Fire Foursome likes hair pulling?

Answer: All of them. They like having their hair pulled when they are being taken from behind and the giver is asserting their dominance. They like having their hair pulled when they fucking each other face to face and the reciever wants the giver up close when either of them are close to orgamsing in order to heighten the emotional connection. They love it when they are engaging in oral sex and either the receiver, or someone who isn’t involved, violently grabs their hair in attempt to make them tongue their wetness completely or in Zuko’s case, completely throat his cock. They love it when, at the end of a lovemaking session, they get affectionate pats or rubs on the head. For The Fire Nation, and the Fire Nation nobility/royalty, always had a big emphasis on the importance of hair and how it represents your status and honor. And so every time they mess with each other’s hair, it is like they are giving a fuck you to the culture standards that led to their fucked up upbringings. That and the fact that they all have nice, soft, and long hair that is nice to touch or hold. In fact, one of the ways they bond with each other outside of the bedroom is brushing and washing each other’s hair before helping each other put it into their preferred hair style.

Q: Which girl is the most likely to go out of her way to learn a new sex act / improve at it to place the other members of the harem?

Answer: Could the correct answer be anyone other than Azula? Just like she has an analytical, eclectic approach to bending, combat, and statecraft, she has similar views in regards to the bedroom. And to make things worse, Azula is acutely aware that she has no prior romantic or sexual experience compared to her brother (who had a date with Jin, dated Mai on and off since they were teens, and has been with Ty Lee for a while), Mai (been with Zuko on and off since they were teens, dated Kei Lo, and been with Ty Lee for a while), and Ty Lee (who has experience from her time in the circus and The Kyoshi Warriors and has been with Mai and Zuko for a while). She knows that they don’t hold her lack of experience against her and have even told her that they find it hot since they get to mold her to their liking. But Azula can’t help but feel inadequate, especially when there is a nagging voice that sounds awfully like her father telling her that fit, attractive women with pale skin, dark hair, and golden eyes are a dime a dozen in the Fire Nation and once the rest of the Fire Foursome has had their fill of her they will discard her. Especially since they easily can find women like her without the complicated past she shares with them or mental illness(es) she has. Thus Azula scoures for the latest sex scrolls and constantly asks her bro and friends for pointers that they happily give her. However, thanks to her therapy, instead of turning her desire to be the best into a misguided attempt to secure their loyalty for all of time and/or into a (ugly) competition, she returns the help she is given and constantly gives her bro and friends summaries of the scrolls she reads in the form of bi-weekly black ribbon letters. And the result? An massive improvement in Zuko’s, Mai’s, and Ty Lee’s sex life and probably the best sex life in the five nations in the Four Foursome’s no so humble opinions.

Q: What would the girls do if the other two were too pregnant to have sex and they had to try to satisfy Zuko by themself? Maybe with the others watching them?

They would wish the non-pregnant girl good luck in trying to keep with Zuko’s insatiable sex drive before going on with their day. For even if they are heavily pregnant, it is not like they aren’t still active. For Mai is Zuko’s head advisor alongside Azula, Ty Lee is head of the palace guards (whether it be the Fire Nation branch of The Kyoshi Warriors or The Rangi Warriors depends on the verse, and Azula, in addition to advisory duties, is the head of the (official or unofficial depending on the verse) spy network made up of the former Fire Warriors. And if they are truly too pregrant to do anything, it is not like they are going to watch sex that they can’t particpate in. Not when they can be lounging in their well earned luxury while complaining to each other about the state Zuko put them in and their plans to raise their children together (or to continue to do so depending on the timeline/verse).

Q: Who is the best at riding cock, riding a strap-on, or tribbing on top?

Answer: Ty Lee. Girl is supremely talented when it comes to all physical matters and this extends to the bedroom thanks to her nigh unbeatable blend of strength, flexibility, and enthusiasm. Hence one of the reasons why a lot of Zuko’s, Mai’s, and Azula’s favorite sex positions with Ty Lee involve Ty Lee onto top of them and seeing her muscular body go to work pleasuring them while often foddling and/or sucking on her big, fat tits. And Ty Lee loves how being on top basically makes the other members of The Foursome basically worship her like the Sun Warriors worship Ran and Shaw. For even if Ty Lee is not as insecure as a kid/teen and thus doesn’t need or desire (constant) attention, she still likes it when she is the center of attention.

Q: How do the girls react to Zuko's dick being huge and/or a little too big for them?

Answer (Mai): Outwardly complaining that Zuko having a big dick has always made him cocky in the bedroom, while internally being jubilant. This is because Mai is a bit of a size queen, not that she likes admitting to anyone though the rest of the foursome quickly realized it and have lovingly teased her for it. In fact, this is one of the many reasons why she kept coming back to Zuko and eventually made it work with him. For while Mai has had one other male romantic partner, Kei Lo, part of the reason why she didn’t click with him, despite Kei Lo being a way better romantic partner on paper, is because Kei Lo is a bit lacking down there compared to his highness.

Answer (Ty Lee): Enthusiastic and grateful that her male partner is able to satisfy her the way she wants to be. This is because during her time in the circus, all of her male partners were lacking and thus she really didn’t get enjoyment from PiV. Well that and because the men were selfish fucks who didn’t care to pleasure their female partners if it wasn’t through PiV and even if they wanted to, they really didn’t know how to do so. In fact, it was this problem that caused her to experiment with women and led her to believe that she was a lesbian before Mai introduced her to Zuko, whose big dick in addition to actually knowing and caring to please his female partners made Ty Lee realize that she was a bisexual and that there was pleasure to be had fucking men as well.

Answer (Azula): It turns out that her Zuzu is a little too big for her...not that she didn’t notice at first. For the first couple of times she fucked Zuko as part of The Foursome, she was way too happy and horny to notice that Zuko was causing her some pain while doing PiV. But after a while, she started to notice that PiV was a little bit displeasurable from her end but didn’t complain considering how hard she had worked to regain her friends’ and bro’s trust and didn’t want them to think she was a burden. However, Mai and Ty Lee noticed and staged an intervention with Zuko where they asked if Zuko was a little too big for her. Azula wanted to deny it since she had been trained not to admit to “weakness.” But thanks to her therapy and personal growth, Azula pushed aside her prior conditioning and told her fellow lovers the truth while apologizing for keeping a secret and being “too weak to fully take Zuzu.” However, instead of getting upset at her, they laughed and told her that it was nothing to be ashamed about and they understood why Azula was reluctant to come forth. This is because they knew that Azula was very sexual inexperienced, that she probably had aniexty related to sex (espeically with them considering their past), and Fire Nation sex-ed was very lacking outside of the basics and contraceptive use. So Ty Lee and Mai introduced Azula to some Kegel exercises to help her relax her vaginal walls (in contrast to them using the exercise to help better clasp Zuko’s cock) and after a week or so of doing them, Azula was able to take in her (really) big bro without any displeasure and truly enjoy Zuko’s cock much to the other members’ amusement. This is because the first time Azula could take Zuko's cock without resistance, Azula had an immodest orgasm that left the normally sure-footed Azula stunned in silence for a minute straight.

Q: Which members of the fire foursome like to be tied up and/or blindfolded and how? Which members prefer to tie up others?

General Answer: Tied up and blindfolded: Azula and Ty Lee. Tie up and blindfold others: Zuko and Mai.

Answer (Ty Lee): Ty Lee is arguably the physically strongest person she knows, with only Zuko surpassing her for sure. Thus, she loves being tied up by Zuko and being “taken advantage of'' by him since no one else can really overpower her and make her feel truly like she is dominated. And she likes being blindfolded by all of her partners since her extrasensory visual abilities are taxing at times, and so she likes to be able to relax and truly enjoy being pleasured by her partners, as well as pleasuring them, without seeing their auras as well.

Answer (Azula): She likes being tied up partially for the reasons stated in Who would like being choked the most, if at all, in the foursome? And partially because she has constantly masterbated to the thought of being tied up and forcibly taken while being pressed up against a wall ever since that muscular and strong snow peasant Sokka accosted her during the Day of Black Sun and gave her an invader kink. Preferably by Zuko, who is wearing traditional Southern Tribe armor in addition to wearing his hair in the South’s traditional style while she is wearing armor similar to the style she wore near the end of the war (Zuko had them decommissioned but once they had become lovers, he had an armor custom built for him and her so they could engage in their various armor related kinks). She also likes being blindfolded because over the course of her therapy, one thing (among others) that she found effective in treating her symptoms was limiting her sensory perception so she could relax once she was in an area, or room, with people she trusted. And even though it took a long time and a lot of struggling, she completely trusts her bro and friends again, and so likes limiting her sensory perception while in the bedroom with them so she can better enjoy being pleasured as well as better pleasure them. However, she doesn't like being restrained like she was in the asylum since it brings up a lot of traumatic memories and is liable to cause an episode. Something that Zuko, and the other girls, found out the hard way for one time when he tried restraining Azula’s arms to her side without realizing what it meant and caused a nasty episode in Azula which stopped the Foursome’s lovemaking session and forced them to comfort Azula throughout the night.

Answer (Zuko): Considering Zuko’s issues related to a lack of control, is it surprising that he would like tying up and/or blindfolding his lovers (with their consent)? Especially considering his history of tying up headstrong girls *cough*Katara*cough? For Zuko loves it when he blindfolds and ties up Ty Lee to his bed post and alternates between pleasuring her with a didlo molded using his cock and his actual cock, until she just reaches her limit. Only to deny her release and tell her she can only cum if she can correctly guess when he is using the dildo and when he is using his cock. And then hearing her struggle to guess until she is a whimpering mess begging for her Lord to relieve which, as her benevolent lord, he does. Zuko loves it when he ties up and blindfolds Azula and forcibly takes her against a wall while they both wear armor and engage in Azula’s invader kink (see Azula’s above answer for details), and eventually taking her womb like he would her “nation” by filling her up with his seed. Zuko tried getting Mai to accept being blindfolded and tied up but after a couple of times where it became obvious that she didn’t get pleasure from the act, he stopped pushing for it since he can’t get off when his partner(s) are obviously not enjoying their lovemaking. And Mai not liking being tied up and/or blindfolded makes sense considering Mai doesn’t like not having agency due to her severe lack of it during their childhood.

Answer (Mai): Mai, similar to Zuko, had a lack of agency earlier in life and likes to make up for it and nowhere does she like to assert dominance and control than in the bedroom. And there aren't that much better ways to do so than by tying up and blindfolding your lovers. For example, Mai loves to blindfold and tie up her girls and have them fuck each other and her at the same time while making sure they are wearing tight as fuck blut plugs that can only be removed once they make the other blindfolded and tied up girl, or Mai, cum. Which is hard to do since Mai is constantly moving them around and fucking them, which makes it hard for the other girls to know who they are fucking, who is close to orgasming, and if someone did cum, who came and who was responsible. This often leads the girls to become overstimulated and, after reaching their limit and thus forsaking their pride, beg their queen (when she is doming Mai makes sure the girls call her queen, especially Azula) to release their bonds and butt plugs. And Mai only listens to them after they beg for a minute or so straight. Mai tried tying up and blindfolding Zuko one time, but it triggered a nasty memory where Zuko remembered when he woke up strapped down to a bed in the palace healers’ room with a blindfold just after his Agni Kai where he wasn’t sure the extent of his wounds...or if he would even live. So Mai never tried blindfolding and/or tying him up again since she would never hurt her Zuko like that on purpose. Especially not when Mai has other ways to dom her high strung boyfriend (or husband depending on the timeline).

Q: Which fire foursome members like non-con the most? (Either on the receiving end or on the giving end)

Answer: None of the fire foursome like non-con at all and is not surprising considering the lack of agency they had for most of their childhoods. A lack of agency that was partially caused by Azula & Zuko some members of The Foursome. And since all the members of The Foursome are acutely aware of this, non-con isn’t really desired by anyone. However, they do have a lot of non-con roleplay fantasies kinks where, with the prior and consistently obtained consent of the person or people being “raped,” the person or people doing the “raping” forcibly has their way with their “victim(s)”. But, they have a strict safeword system where the moment someone utters their shared safeword (“honor”) they stop the scenario and don’t restart until the person or people who stopped enthusiastically gives consent again.

***

I am LIVING for these

#submission

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snowstorm808 · 4 years ago

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More than Friends review eps 9-16

I previously posted my review of the first half of the series because I could not contain what I felt. It was quite impulsive of me but I wanted to let out everything I thought and felt for this drama. It is becoming better every time in such a way that I see the little creative ideas the writer or director is putting into each episode along with the development of the story. Familiar yet refreshing. I decided to create a new post because I saw that the first half recap was way too long if I would still add the remaining episode reviews because I just could not help it. I do understand that the length could be frustrating but I want my words to be read too, so thank you for everyone patient enough to read my words.

Episode 9 - Watching this episode made me realize a double standard I never really noticed before but I guess drama watchers would be able to relate to; the difference of pitiful and pathetic for female and male leads. I’m not yet certain if it’s deliberate but female characters locked in one sided love often seem pathetic but when it’s a male character they seem pitiful? Woo Yeon did seem pathetic in her one sided love in the earlier episodes so why does Soo get to be pitiful? It’s the same for the past dramas I’ve watched too. It’s just a food for thought. Based on last week’s preview, I really thought Joon Soo would punch Lee Soo after the drunk call but he held back so good job, Joon Soo. Honestly, I thought he wouldn’t be able to hold back because not only was he angry of the fact that Woo Yeon was getting swayed by Soo, but also because he knew how much it hurt, and hates the fact that she would still be hurt over the latter after a decade. This is why I keep wanting Joon Soo because he never thought selfishly when it came to Woo Yeon. I also love the fact that his character is being shown as someone seemingly perfect with a lot of flaws too. I love seeing his flaws and even relating to them! Being used to holding back is probably the reason why I write so much because I swear I can’t talk this much at all. I really hope he would stop holding back for his own sake. I think the most favorable Soo I have ever seen was him drunk calling his dad. I love the fact his parents went to his house to talk and console him. I also realized that Soo really closed himself up enough to have no one but his dad to drunk call. That was sad because the high school gang never really shunned him but he was the one who kept his heart closed. I half expected his folks to announce that hey would be back together because I feel that’s where those two are headed to eventually. As for Woo Yeon, I’m somehow glad she mustered up the courage to break up with Joon Soo after everything. As much as I was dreading it, I also felt that it was the right decision. She knew that it was too cruel to let him hurt quietly so I’m glad she had that decency; I could see that she was doing her best to be firm with her resolve. On her behalf, I get it why it’s difficult for her to let go of her feelings for Soo so I do not think she’s a weird one for that. I know that this is where my ship stops its sail but I’m satisfied that it’s not as I feared it would. The fight scene was reminiscent of Jealousy Incarnate, I just hope Dong Jun faked the punch because I know how athletic he has been from his Idol days which is enough for me to be scared for Seung Woo. Conveniently, it was only after this that Soo decides to take a break from pursuing Woo Yeon after ruining her chance to start anew with someone. Eventually, I know that Woo Yeon would not be able to defy the flow of her feelings towards Soo but I hope he can also grow up more because right now, I can still see him being selfish and self centered in his approach.

Episode 10 - How can one episode contain so much emotions? And it was all types of emotions at that! I mean one moment it’s awkward, cute, upsetting, lovely, funny then sad and even more! This episode was a roller coaster of emotions in my opinion. First thing’s first, the younger guy Jinju dated is a total loser and a scumbag. Good thing Sang-hyeok was there to the rescue. I feel so bad for Young-hee because every time she takes a step forward, she’s always dragged two steps back. She has a strong personality but it does not mean her situation does not wear her down too. So here comes the roller coaster because Lee Soo and On Joon Soo drinking together and ending up at Woo Yeon’s place is super cute. That includes her parents’ “interview” with the two men while they try to show off their “qualities”. I literally said “boom” when Joon Soo “let slipped” that Soo was the jerk Woo Yeon’s parents have been hunting for. That was really petty but I guess it’s his little revenge on Soo for interrupting their relationship when he used to date Woo Yeon. I am not going to lie about not loving the misunderstanding Soo had when he saw them together in the restaurant while he was with his parents. He tends to act so victimized which I really dislike then he readily blows up at Woo Yeon. But then again, it makes these characters more human then the usual kdrama characters I watched in the past. Lee Soo should really learn to express things more clearly so Woo Yeon would stop thinking that he’s simply bored or fooling around. As for Joon Soo, it’s a lost battle and I feel bad for him because he has become a masochist which is why I need to take care of him. I need Woo Yeon’s cooperation for this...

Episode 11 - Soo is finally given the chance he keeps on missing. As much as I am sad for my ship, I’m happy Woo Yeon and Soo are coming around although it isn’t the full circle yet. I do feel really bad for Joon Soo but it has always been clear how strong Woo Yeon’s feelings have been for Soo. I like how she at long last clearly stated that she will always give Soo the chance whatever he does because it has been evidently true for the past episodes. I guess that’s enough proof that feelings can’t be controlled easily. My favorite part in this episode would be her giving Soo an ultimatum because I always had a feeling he thought of her as a port always there for him. My second favorite in this episode would be Sang Hyuk and Jinju! He’s so sweet and caring which is exactly what she needs. Will they be my favorite couple? Hehe. I just want to take a bit of time to swoon over Joon Soo because he cares a lot for Woo Yeon though it isn’t returned, I appreciate him wishing her well. I can’t help but wonder if there will be another drama between Woo Yeon and Soo, because if he hurts her one more time then I would prefer her to be alone (I’ll be taking Joon Soo.)

Episode 12 - I never thought Soo and Woo Yeon together would be this mushy haha. They are making up for the lost time and I like seeing them happy and somewhat letting go of the inhibitions they had. And for the first time, I think I want to scold the writer for adding a character like Yura because seriously, those two no longer need another person to interrupt them. I suppose it’s to make up for the remining episodes? But then it could be expound on things like commitment issues for Woo Yeon and Soo, and taking the next step for their relationship. I do secretly hope for Joon Soo to make a comeback but not necessarily in a romantic light. Obviously, Soo is the one being careful now when it comes to dealing with Woo Yeon. I like seeing him nervous of losing her because it keeps him on his toes though I hope he would be more direct about it instead of acting cool so she won’t misunderstand anymore. I remember him saying he dated around too but Woo Yeon seems more like the one used to dating. I guess he never really thought of the other party when dating. I can sort of imagine his ex-girlfriends putting more effort than him.

Episode 13 - Lol, Soo should’ve been more sensitive when Woo Yeon insisted on going home by herself. I find it so cute when she defended Soo from her parents, she was so cheeky to point out her dad’s faults. After everything they have been through I hope they can do well from now on but something tells me otherwise. At least Woo Yeon finally said the magic words Soo has been so anxious to hear. It seems she was too nervous and being careful to say it though I had the initial impression that she must’ve had a stigma of some sort to those three words. I somehow feel nervous about Soo’s job offer from the airline because it might lead to a fight or even a break up. Speaking of a break up, I’m sad Hyun-jae and Young-hee had to part ways though it was one-sided. I do get the pov of his family but I can’t relate to the pressure of marriage. By the way, am I the only one who thinks Kwon Yura’s character is waste? I mean I don’t see much purpose for her character because she does not threaten the main lead’s relationship other than making Woo Yeon want to doll up herself. I must say one of my favorite scenes in this episode is when Woo Yeon went to the salon and told the staff she’s meeting with her boyfriend’s woman. I love how the customers and salon staff reacted even calling in their boss to style her. Was it a parody? I’m not sure because I have sworn to lay my hands and eyes off all dramas that deal with a husband’s mistress. Nevertheless, it was super witty and I had a lot of fun watching that scene including the one where she deliberately posed further behind Yura to make her face look smaller. Lastly, Sang-hyeok and Jinju are finally together! They look so cute together and make the perfect couple. In fact, all three couples seem to be perfect for each other because they complement each others’ personalities well.

Episode 14 - This must be the episode where everyone breaks up or gets rejected. But before that, I can’t get over the expression Woo Yeon’s mom wore when she said to pack up contraception for her trip with Soo. One minute they were having a lovely mother-daughter moment then she suddenly brings that up. As much as most people would find it awkward, I think it was so funnily straightforward. Her mom cares which suddenly reminds me of the reaction of Young-hee’s mom when she found tons of condoms in her drawer. Another reaction I really enjoyed was when Woo Yeon and Soo found out Jinju and Sang-hyeok are dating! The way she splashed water out of shock really showed how it was the farthest thing in her mind. From the time Soo’s work offer came, it already seemed ominous along with Woo Yeon’s offer so I was not surprised with the break up. Maybe it was for the better; I have been mulling over Woo Yeon’s reasoning that she might end up hating Soo if they stayed together. The loneliness was eating her up which I believe is realistic in a long distance relationship like theirs. Soo shouldn’t have readily agreed regardless if he was thinking of her or not. Considering these two pursued their careers, I think this would leave less regrets in their hearts because they were able to fulfill the dreams they had. Their feelings for each other will always be there because they are Soo and Woo Yeon. I just need to wait how they will get back to each other.

Episode 15 - While watching this episode, I couldn’t stop thinking that this is the episode I finally see Lee Soo as someone heartbroken and not self centered, also, am I the only one who thinks his hair styled up is way better than his hair down? At last, I got to see Soo’s feelings of longing for Woo Yeon instead of his attitude of forcing his feelings like earlier into the series. I think it’s his maturity plus his sincerity in wanting her back because he now knows how it is to lose her. Their break up might just seem like another ploy by the writer to extend the series but I also think it was helpful to both Woo Yeon and Soo. In the first place, they decided to be apart so their careers could flourish which made them busy and drift apart. It also brought to light the insecurities they had especially Woo Yeon who had been so used to be the only one who in love. I think her fears of having the person she loved and wanted the most surfaced which keeps her from returning to him even if he’s practically begging her back. I just hope Soo would’ve made efforts to contact Woo Yeon or get her back after that break up call just as he was when he was courting her instead of stepping back. I guess it was partly a good thing because they were able to achieve certain things for their careers during that time too. Meanwhile Young-hee’s mom’s death was inevitable but at least they got to resolve the hard feelings and she was able to convey her love for her children. I think among the deaths I’ve seen in kdramas, this is the most touching for me. I must really be getting old to be sentimental like this. I also felt envious of the leads’ friendship. This episode showcased it the most especially how they supported Young-hee through the most difficult time in her life. I also love how they quietly support the complicated relationship of Soo and Woo Yeon. They have never attempted to kill him so yup they are good people.

Episode 16 - Loose strings are tied up in a pretty bow as the friends gear up for each of their happy endings. Joon Soo decides to let go of his feelings for Woo Yeon (he’s finally free to walk towards me! Yay!) I really like their hug because it sums up the affections and friendship they had. Good thing Soo wasn’t there to tear them apart. I also like that Soo is still a bit jealous of Joon Soo because whenever I remember how arrogant he was about stealing Woo Yeon away, I still want to punch him. His mom’s pushing aka guilting Woo Yeon was indeed effective, heh. Seriously though, it seems to me that his mom did it because she did not want him to end up like his parents and perhaps it was her way of making up for their negligence and mistreatment of him. I love the fact that Soo and Woo Yeon continued to fight and make up even after getting back together, it was very much in their character. It’s also nice that Soo’s parents decided to give their relationship another shot. It makes me think that they too learned from their son. Jinju’s and Sang-hyeok’s wedding pictorial was super lovely, it was very smart of them to trick Soo into it haha. Young-hee and Hyun-jae are finally back together too! Thank goodness, they’re getting married instead of returning to dating. As much as I cringed with their cheesiness, it was very much welcome and cute to watch. All six of them had their own cringey and cheesy way of saying and doing things. I think this drama has one of the most satisfactory endings ever, now, if only On Joon Soo can find his way to me...

More than Friends has met the amount of romance and tension that I always look for yet refreshing and not too cliché. I love the little details and the way it explored different types and stages of relationships including of different age groups. I hope other viewers would also get to see how the writer tried to portray these in the drama. Watching the ending made me realize the drama’s title was probably referred to these couples because they started as friends and became more than just that. Honestly, their situation is quite idealistic but I think it’s so cute if it does happen in real life. I’m happy I watched this even if it was mainly for Kim Dong Jun. Literally before watching this, I watched Moment of Eighteen then even prior to that, I watched Meow, The Secret Boy. MoE was sad because Junwoo had to put off his dreams and relationship to help out his mom. I initially wanted to skip or wait till later to watch it but ended up being hooked to it. Hehe.

One of the things I find fascinating in this drama is the casting! Shin Ye Eun’s step mom in MTSB became her actual mom while her dad became Lee Soo’s dad this time. There lots of familiar faces which made me like the drama even more.

#more than friends #shin ye eun #ong sungwoo #kim dongjun #p.o.#ahn eunjin #baek soo min #choi chan ho

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trex98dreams · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 13: Stitches

Present Day

Brooklyn, 2021.

Y/N’s POV

Out of all the people in the world, why, is the universe being so cruel for making me see him again?? I saw Youngji's eyes widened and she looks as if she's about to lose her sanity. I swear to god it's him. No, i knew it's him.

My heart kept thumping like a drum, the anger, the pain all of it aching and clawing to get out of me and i knew Youngji felt double the anger.

This is definitely KIM fucking TAEHYUNG.

I stayed calm. Even though I don't hear anything at the moment, i can still hear my conscience and his hard breathing. I quickly cancelled my plan since seeing him only made me unthirsty.

"Lee Y/N? Is it you?" He voice out for the first time.

Oh, it is him.

It sickens me how his voice is still the same. Sweet as honey but full of poison. Hah, definitely his attitude is still too. Did he think i will actually talk to him, after what he did? The cut he made is way deeper than what Jungkook had done.

It's cruel and unforgivable.

"Let's go Youngji." I pulled Youngji's wrist but she look as if she had an unfinished business with Taehyung.

"No," Youngji said. I look at her, ignoring that thing's presence.

"Y/N?! It is you! Oh my god-"

"Youngji come on, let's go,"

"No!" Youngji yelled.

Maybe Taehyung almost, catches my shoulder but was cut, because what happened next was Youngji slapping him real hard the sound buzzes in my ear. He held his cheek, feeling the sting of that hard slap across his face.

I'm not surprised. I had seen it coming. Youngji's been waiting to do that ever since that horrible night.

"Now I'm satisfied! He deserve more than a slap actually!" Youngji said, raising her hand once more. I quickly stopped her, refusing to let her lay a single finger at him.

Taehyung stayed quiet behind me. Maybe he thinks i'm protecting him. Boy, that's one wrong self-opinion. Unlike Jungkook, we both knew it's just childish to pretend we didn't knew each other.

He sigh. "Y/N, I deserve that. I kne-" he tried to say, but Youngji cuts him again.

"What?? Why?! He played with your heart Y/N! He broke it after he toyed with you for sooo long while still knowing how fragile you are at the time!" Youngji yells fumingly, trying to get her way to kill him. I look at her while still holding her wrist.

I sighed calmly.

"No need Youngji. I don't want you to have your hands dirty on touching that cheap guy. Let's go, we have nothing to do with him, let's not waste our time on something unimportant."

It feels good to say that. I mean it. I really do. It's not because of the hate and revenge. It's just, that's my view of him after what happened. He's just a cheap guy. Unimportant, unwanted. Not worth crying over. That's what i learn after getting my heart broke so many time anyways.

"Cheap.. guy? Y/N..-" he sounded hurt but i knew that's just a facade. Taehyung is a fox. He's a liar. He said it, he himself will never change, what makes it any different now right?

"Come on Youngji. Let's not hear more lies and waste our time even more. We have a birthday to celebrate, not a worthless talk to be heard," I felt so proud of myself for not being as soft as i used too. My old self will hesitate to say those word but not the new me. Not the upgrade Lee Y/N who fix her own broken heart made by shits like him.

He sounded so hurt i almost, forgot it was fake. I never took revenge on anybody but hurting him through words is just satisfying. Words effect people. Just like what he did to me. But to people like him, I doubt words or even anything can broke his selfish and ego heart down. Like what Sujeong said, "A person like Taehyung doesn't easily change."

Youngji came to her senses and nods in agreement. She smirks when i say those words.

"Yeah, you're right. Guys like him is cheap and unimportant. Nobody care anyways what they do in the past because no girls would wants to end with them anyways."

I knew Youngji's word was harsh but he deserve everything. He deserve the rough mocking after what he had put me and the thousands of girls he broke in the past into. Words won't even affect him anyways. So who cares? It broke his heart hearing it? What one heartbreak compare to the thousands he broke?

He stayed silent. Good. That means i didn't have to deal with him anymore. I begin to walk away with Youngji back to our friends, ignoring his out of nowhere presence. He's here? I couldn't care less. To me, there's no Taehyung in my life. He's long gone in me. Me and him? We're nothing.

Or so I thought it was.

We were a few steps away when i was held by my shoulder, facing him back. I was shocked. How dare he touch me-

But what i met, is his eyes. It was red and puffy, looking all worn out and tired. I didn't notice that a few minutes ago when i first make eye contact with him but now that i look at it clearly, it looks awful. I quickly jerk my shoulder away and choose to ignore it.

"Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me." I warn him. He looks at me sadly but neither less, took a step back.

"Y/N. Please." He pleads. I averted my eyes away. I had promise to not look at his face again didn't I? It's disgusting because every time i see those charming eyes, i remembered that night.

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

"Stop Taehyung. I don't care." I told him and turn my back on him. I notice Youngji is nowhere to be seen. Great. She ditch me with the person i hated the most.

The weather looks very cloudy, signaling it's almost raining. How cliche. Taehyung stood quiet again after i said those words, and i'm running late because of him. The guys must be waiting for me right now.

I tried to ran, avoiding the droplets of rain but my intention was stopped when two pairs of arm wrapped around my body, his head onto top of mine while his warm body secure me from behind.

Kim Taehyung is hugging me.

I thought it was the rain pouring down, wetting my hair, but when i heard sniffles, it was him. He was crying. Kim Taehyung is crying. Why? What? How-?

Wait, I'm not supposed to care.

I pushed him away. It angers me how he easily hugs me and do all that fuckboy tactics on me again. I'm not an easy girl. I'm not going to fall for it again. He thinks he's different now? He can go to hell.

"Are you deaf?? Don't touch me," I pushed him but he won't let go.

He tightened his hug and as a woman, i'm too weak to get out of his strong embrace. I tried to get my way out by squirming and moving but he didn't move.

We stayed like that in the rain, him not caring if we both catch a cold. I didn't feel anything, not even crying. Why? Because I don't care. I don't care what he wants to say, or what he wants to do because whatever he's trying to make me believe, it's all a lie. Everything that comes out of his mouth is.

He stayed quiet and so did I. I have nothing to say because we both knew who to blame.

Suddenly, He sniffles again. What's next, suddenly made my heart clench.

He sobs heavily, "Y/N.. I- I hurt you in the past.. I.. hurt you so much didn't I? I did this to you.. I made you hate me.." he said voice cracking. Both of our clothes were drenching but i can't feel the coldness except my burning heart that ignites the moment he speaks to me.

"Shut up Taehyung-"

"You wanted to hurt me because i hurt you. I was stupid! I was selfish! I was a jerk! Y/N.. I'm so sor-" he continues but i find a way to make him shut up.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up! I hate you! I hate you asshole! Go! Stay away from me! I hope i never met you! I hope somebody like you never existed!" I shouted because I hate those lie.

His eyes widened but I was still in his embrace. He won't let go.

"Let me go Taehyung! I don't want to see you, You're disgusting, a bastard that only sees girls as toys but never as human being! I wish i could turn back time and never met you!" I yelled frustratingly, fuming with how persistent he is.

I felt his grip lossen but it wasn't because he heard what i said. It was because he was pulled back by someone. And when i turn around, Taehyung was thrown to the ground by Jimin.

"You fucktard! How dare you touch her like that?!?" Jimin yelled and punched him once more making his lips and nose bleeds. I'm so shocked because i though when this day come, i can handle this situation like a civilize person. I know he hurt me, but i don't want my friends to go to jail or got expelled because of a Past.

Taehyung didn't fight back. It's like he've seen it coming from Jimin. After all, he did lie about his friendship with Jimin and use him to get to me. I pushed Jimin's chest backwards, restraining him from hurting or do physical harm to Taehyung.

Jimin's breathing ragged. Where did he came from?

I took a glance behind and saw my friends standing under the cafeteria's rooftop worriedly. I saw Jackson trying to calm Youngji down while Dahyun restrain Hanbin from getting into this mess. No wonder Youngji left me, she probably called Jimin to inform him about Taehyung.

"Jimin! Stop!" I held his arm.

He stopped but once again i heard Taehyung groan in pain and as i turn to look at his pathetic figure, i see Jungkook pulling on his collar while punching his already bruised cheeks.

"Jungkook, What are you doing?! No!" I push him away. What is wrong with Jungkook? Why the hell is he in this mess??

Jungkook looked at me with eyes burning with anger.

"He deserve it Y/N. He need that punch after he embarrassed you and messed with everyone's life including mine." I realise, Jungkook also holds grudge against him.

I stopped both men when they attempted to give Taehyung another punch by grabbing their wrist and pull them as hard as i could. Jimin and Jungkook look at me while Taehyung held his bruised cheek.

"Y/N, I'm not done yet! He DESERVE this!"

"Y/Nwhy are you stopping us?? He should-"

"That's enough." I said. They both stopped and turn to me.

"What?" Jimin ask to which i exhaled calmly.

"I said, that's enough. I don't want you guys to get expelled because of a stupid fight. It doesn't matter what he did, i don't care about him," i said.

Taehyung stares at me with a pained expression. I knew that's just his way to win my trust. But sadly, i'm not going to fall for it.

"But he hurt you! He did the most cruel, disgusting an-" before Jimin can finish, i cut him sharply.

"You hurt me too, Jimin. Both you and Jungkook did. But i forgive you didn't i?" i said that makes them go quiet.

They look at the ground while I turn to look at Taehyung.

"But don't think i will ever forgive someone like him. Not only me, he hurt so many girls, broke so many hearts, just.. I just don't want to care anymore. My memories of him was always painful and i don't want that, I don't want to let myself keep believing he've changed," i purposely stated.

They look at me in astonishment and exhaled gladly.

The rain had soaked our clothes and i let out a huge sigh. I was glad that this is the end. We begin to walk on the muddy grass, when Taehyung stops me.

"Then what can i d-do.. to make you forgive me? T-to stitch.. your painful mem- memory.. of me?" He slowly asks. I stopped.

"There's nothing you can do about it now Taehyung," Jimin stated angrily. Taehyung look at me with tears brimming his eyes and trembling lips, maybe because of the rain. He ignored what Jimin said and waited for my answer.

"Please Y/N.. there must be so- something i can do to make you forgive me.. i- i'll do it Y/N, I swear. Please.." he pleaded.

I think about what he just said.

"Anything?" I asked. He nods slowly.

I think wisely before i got the idea. I smirk.

"Then i want you to feel the pain you gave me, the same pain you gave all the girls you used to hurt, can you do that?" i stated my wishes. Now it's my turn to be bad.

"B-but.. How?" He stutters.

I turn my back and started to walk away, but not before i say,

"By hurting yourself."

...

4 Days Later.

I haven't heard from him ever since. Jimin and Jungkook also didn't speak a word about him since they knew how bad he messed with my feelings. They leave me be and i'm glad that he didn't bother to do anything about it.

Unlike Jungkook, Taehyung didn't even approach me. Don't get me wrong, i honestly don't care if he did because he has nothing to prove to me. What i said about him to hurt himself, i know he wouldn't do that, he is a selfish person. He's not stupid, he wouldn't hurt himself just to make me believe in him again.

Kim Taehyung will never change.

That was what i think, until one day while waiting for Dahyun outside her class, me and Hanbin heard some boys chatting.

"Who is the match tonight??" The boy i recognize as one of Jackson's classmate ask his friend. I was casually talking to Hanbin when i overheard their conversation as they walk pass us.

"It was that new guy from my frats, you know that newbie.. what was his name again? Kim.. Ta.. Tae.. something. I heard he's the one that challenges him into the ring tonight," His friend says.

Hanbin glance at me. I knew exactly who they were talking about. Look how good his reputation is. Just a few days here and now he's making a name for himself. Like i give a damn.

They laugh. "Bhahaha, who does he thinks himself? Compare to their body size, i bet El Diablo will kill him with just one punch," that boy stated.

Kill? Wow, i never knew Taehyung is great at that kind of stuff.

"Yeah, i wouldn't bet he will survive tonight's match, it's a shame, he had such a good face but a stupid brain. El Diablo will not back away from challenges, what more if a person called him into the ring right?" His friend replied. They both nod and that's when i see Hanbin stares at me with eyes widened in terror.

"What?" I ask him.

"Y/N, do you even know what they're talking or who they're talking about?" He asks me worriedly.

I nods. "Of course i knew, that why i don't care," i told him. Hanbin shook his head.

"Then do you know what and who El Diablo is??" Hanbin asks me again. I frown but i shook my head slowly.

"No."

Hanbin groans frustratedly. He swipe his hair backwards and turns to look at me.

"He's not going to survive tonight Y/N, we gotta stop him, you have to stop him. There's no way he'll back out now if we didn't do anything-" he continue to ramble while Dahyun had came out of her class.

Dahyun held her book while comforting her boyfriend who look all worried and confusing as hell to me.

"Honey what's wrong? Are you okay?" Dahyun asks. Hanbin shook his head furiously. I take my turn and ask him. "What? What do you mean he won't survive tonight?" I said and Dahyun turn to ask him as well,

"What's happening? Who won't survive?"

Hanbin stares at me with a worried face.

"He's going to die tonight Y/N. That Kim Taehyung is."

...

That Night. 9.30 PM.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, I muttered while reminding myself what a stupid person Kim Taehyung is.

I urge Jackson and Hanbin to bring me there as Hanbin's explanation clearly knock my mind about what's going on.

"Taehyung is joining the illegal underground wrestle-mania, Y/N. Those types of games was known as illegal in this city because the match has no mercy. A lot of people that enters the ring, never gets out in one pieces. There's violence and blood spilling everywhere. The crowds bets on the wrestler they think will win and the winner gets all the money. Not a lot of people make it till the end,"

I remember the conversation i had with Hanbin for four hours straight today.

"El Diablo was the most fearful and ruthless illegal underground wrestler. He was known for the most cruel wrestler and has knock down a lot of his opponents. A lot of them ended in the hospital bed after fighting him. Seeing Taehyung's physical, i'm sorry to say this Y/N, but whatever he's doing, he's not going to be alive after tonight."

I look at my watch and urge the taxi driver to drive faster. Jackson looks worried as well since he and Hanbin used to be a fan of the game but after the death of one wrestler, they're terrified to watch the dangerous game again.

After Hanbin had tell the guys about it, he finds a way to purchase the tickets from his frat boys (illegally) and bought one for each of us, including Jimin and Jungkook.

Oh boy, when they first heard the news, their reaction was as the same as i was. Shock and horrified about Taehyung's condition. Jackson had warn Youngji to not go and Dahyun was forbid by Hanbin to follow us, but the girls insisted on accompanying me.

So we rent two taxi to get to the venue and i had to be there to stop Taehyung from his stupid attempt on killing himself. I sit behind quietly, nervously looking at the traffic lights to turn green again. Youngji and Dahyun stares at me while Jackson sit in front.

"He's doing this because of me isn't it? He's trying to Hurt Himself because he's trying to prove himself to me," i mumble as Youngji squeezes my hand.

"He's just being silly Y/N. We'll get there on time, i promise." Youngji said.

I stayed quiet, waiting for the lights to turn green.

...

The Tournament.

Alcohol, punge and odors of stinky men was everywhere. We had to squeeze our self between them to get to the front row not to mention their roaring and screaming of 'Fight! Fight!' was really scaring us out. We're just college students among these scary men. Hanbin secures Dahyun with his arm wrapped around her while Jackson grip Youngji's wrist firmly. Both Jimin and Jungkook stood beside me.

The place were underground and it looks dark where the only light here comes from the ring that was on the center of the stage. Our attention was now turn on the stage. I gasped, covering my mouth.

That's not a ring, that's a cage.

"Y/N look," Jungkook's voice interrupts my train of thoughts as a fat man wearing a tuxedo steps into the ring with a microphone in hand.

"Ladies & Gentleman, Tonight, As You all know, is an unexpected match. We will be watching our dearest, most adored and strongest, El Diablo's match!"

The crowd cheered and clapped as the fat man smiles devilishly. Rich old asshole.

"And Shockingly, El Diablo was called and challenged to the ring by an anonymous wrestler from Korea, rookie fighter named-" He went quiet and confused for a while before he reads the name on the card.

"Rookie Anonymous- Kim V!!"

They clapped but it was only heard lightly, where majority of them's favorite was that El Diablo.

"You guys know the rules! Wait wait, there are no rules! Winner gets all the money and we all know who will win *laugh* So, tonight, Ladies and Gentleman, Enjoy our match between El Diablo and Kim V! We wish all the best to both wrestlers!" As soon as he said that, the crowds went wildly crazy, can't wait for the fight.

"Introducing, On my right side, we haveeeee... El Diablo!!" The fat man said and the lights went on. We turn to look at him.

The crowds went crazy as a man with a bulky and muscular body walks out, his left arms were full of tattoos of Mexican heritage and other scary skull signs. He steps into the ring, where he open the door to the cage ring with only one hand, lowering his head for his obviously tall figure and went to the center of the stage.

When he throw his robe away, it makes me gasped. He had a scar on his right eye. A. Freaking. Scar. Dahyun and Youngji covers their mouth. Gosh this is scary. He smirk and spitted arrogantly as the fat man continued.

"And on my left, we have the rookie, presenting.. Kimmm V!!"

We turn our heads to the small figure on the corner. An average guy walks down to the ring, the hood of the robe covering his face. A loud 'Boo!' was heard but he didn't seems to mind. He walks into the ring and close the door to the cage ring as he stood opposite El Diablo. He opens the robe and that was when my heart stops.

Taehyung.

He looks charming, even with the small bruise on his cheek that he got from Jimin and Jungkook days ago.

But just seeing his face, makes the memories came haunting me.

"The rules' simple, who gets knock down the most, wins! Good luck to both wrestlers!" The fat man exclaimed.

He exited the ring and was replaced with a sexy brunette girl, with only a leather bra and boxer's went in, carrying a huge card that say 'Round 1' walking around the ring.

"Y/N, this is your chance, come on, stop him!" Hanbin said but i didn't say anything. The guys look at me, thinking i was distracted.

Youngji called me, "Y/N? Do you hear him? He-"

"I know."

They all turn to stare at me. In that sudden moment, i heard those evil whispers in my mind.

Jackson adds, "What are you waiting for then? Say somethi-"

"Why? Give me one good reason to stop this," I smirk. The guys stares at me in disbelief.

"Y/N! he's going too-"

"I don't care. I want to watch this. I want him to feel pain. Let's see if he's really changed. I, of all people, deserve to watch he got hurt." They stare at me with mouth hanging. Who would have though i would say that?

Yes, I'm angry.

Yes, I'm broken-hearted.

Yes, I used to love him.

But No, I'm not easy this time.

Let's see if he can prove himself to me. Let's see if he's really changed.

Youngji gulps while drawing circles on my back, her way to make me change my mind. They motion for Youngji to quickly comfort me so i'll stop him.

"Y/N.. You're better than this, it's not worth seeing him die, this is not you, it's just you're emoti-"

"Don't Youngji, just- don't. You and Jimin both saw what he did to me and the other girls. You both were there, so what he's doing now, will make me real happy. It's payback for making me suffer. Now it's his turn."

Youngji back away defeatedly because she knew, nothing would make me change my mind. Jimin and Jungkook just stood there, nobody dare to say a word as both wrestlers begin to fight.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

It started. El Diablo spit arrogantly while Taehyung shows no sign of fears. El Diablo slowly approaches him, after cracking his knuckles. Taehyung stood there and begin to raise his fists, defending himself.

El Diablo started by swinging his left arm to hit Taehyung on his head but Taehyung manage to escape. He quickly fought back, by punching the man on his left cheek.

Shit, it made El Diablo angry.

The man become furious and curled his fist tighter, aiming for Taehyung's face. It him him, making him fell to the ground painfully.

I scoffed. He deserve it.

Taehyung didn't give up. He stand up again and look at the man challengingly. From afar, i can see some blood drips from the corner of his lips.

Taehyung leap forward, charging towards El Diablo. El Diablo recoiled from a punch on his jaw with a wince. In retaliation, El Diablo angrily strike Taehyung on his stomach but once again, Taehyung manage to avoid his attack. Taehyung swiftly move his arm and begin to headlock him after successfully climbing behind the grumpy man making him fall down in the hellish ring, grunting in pain.

The bell rings and both fighter huffs while taking a short breath, recovering from their previous fight. My focus was on Taehyung, who has now more bruises and i'm starting to worry that this isn't going to end well.

"Y/N, stop him. Only you can do it. Only you who he listens to." Youngji whisper into my ear.

I stay silent. I didn't say anything, not until the second bell rings.

El Diablo, who had been defeated previously steps into the ring and stares straight back at Taehyung with a deadly look. Taehyung look at him, no expression detected on his face. His left cheek had bruises now while the corner of his mouth had dry blood stains.

El Diablo smirks. The crowds begin cheering wildly when he said those one scary word.

"Ready?"

Not waiting for an answer, El Diablo lunged forward and aimed for Taehyung's rib. It hit him, making him wince in pain. His sorrowful voice makes my heart shudder. El Diablo took a step back when Taehyung was distracted. He march forward, putting his full weight on Taehyung's body.

Youngji squeeze Jackson's hand while Dahyun covers her face on Hanbin's chest, unable to look at Taehyung's pitiful situation. I stepped forward, nearing myself to the ring and pushing past through the crowds. I catch the glimpse of the stubborn Taehyung who refuse to give up. He held his bruised jaw and shakingly stand up, making the crowds cheer and raise his fist once more.

El Diablo smirks.

"You really are crazy aren't you boy? Don't you know what you got yourself into?" I heard El Diablo ask.

Taehyung paused.

He look at him with half lidded eyes and spit his blood.

He smile softly and answer, "Yes, I'm crazy. Because i deserve what i got myself into."

I felt guilty for i know, he's doing it because of me. My word had become a promise registered on his brain.

El Diablo laugh and hurriedly lunged forward. Taehyung didn't get to catch the pace and as a payment, he was thrown to the ground by El Diablo mercilessly. El Diablo begin to climb one of the ring's cage and paused, roaring for the crowd to applause. He aimed while Taehyung was wincing, and jump onto his body, pressing and crushing Taehyung's bone. I gasp and my heart begins to melt at his condition. I'm terrified what Hanbin said will come true.

I'm scared Taehyung will die tonight because of me.

Taehyung didn't back off. Even that he couldn't stand, he attempted on what i see as a light attack by using his elbow to poke El Diablo's behind part of the knee but El Diablo realizes what he's doing and lowered his leg to kick Taehyung on his face.

Blood splattered and that's when i was surprised by Jimin's voice.

"STOP! STOP IT!" He shouts but his voice is inaudible among the crowds.

I look at Jimin, feeling frightened with the view in front. Jimin held my shoulder, staring straight into my eyes.

"Y/N! Stop him. He used to be my friend. Let's forget about our grudges towards him right now. Let's save him Y/N. Please," Jimin begs and i turn to look at the ring.

Taehyung was getting a blow on his face mercilessly and i clutch my heart. I didn't mean it to turn like this. I didn't mean to torture him. I didn't want him to die and live in guilt. I have my revenge and it doesn't feel good. I didn't want Kim Taehyung to be in pain because of me.

I look over my friend on the back and saw Hanbin hugging Dahyun tightly while Youngji turns her face away and Jungkook stood there frozen.

I unlocked my phone and texted Jackson. Jackson look at his phone and smiled at me, excusing himself while going outside to make a phone call.

Jimin's attention was on Taehyung who was now unable to do anything for his condition is getting weaker each second. Jimin yelled for El Diablo to stop and i finally joined him.

"STOP! Stop it! Don't hurt him! Please! Have mercy!" I shouted with a heavy heart, and my voice?

It caught his attention.

Kim Taehyung turn his gaze at me.

His attention was focused on me despite the crowd was noisily clapping around. He stares at me with a shocked expression, maybe flustered because of my appearance here. My breath hitches when he look at me with those pitiful puppy eyes.

He looks.. innocent and scared.

It kills me to see him in this state.

Taehyung let out a soft smile under half lidded eyes and his weak body, before lowering his fist and putting his arms down. It's like he's giving up after he sees me.

He smiles.

He's proven himself to me.

El Diablo pulled Taehyung's hair, digging his finger into Taehyung's scalp. He still stared at me with his pitiful looks and a soft smile when El Diablo held his chin harshly to make Taehyung look at him.

I can't believe the douche guy that used to hurt me years ago is in this hell cage ring, kneeing in front of the most ruthless underground wrestler, just so he can prove his words to me. I gulped while my fingers held the ring's boarder from outside, begging for the man to stop torturing him.

El Diablo put a finger on his lips, motioning for his fans to be quiet. After they went silent, he smile and begin to speak, while still holding Taehyung's head with his other hand. Taehyung didn't do anything. Blood, his weak state and me has already occupied him to even move.

El Diablo begin to speak. "This, is what we call, foolish!"

The crowds laugh.

"Don't challenge me boy, google, before stepping into the ring!" He roars and the crowds applause for his arrogant words. He raises his fist high, to give a final blow on Taehyung's face.

"Any last word pretty boy?"

Taehyung smiled at him weakly and turn to look at me.

And my eyes widened, at his response to El Diablo's question.

"I'm sorry Lee Y/N."

That's when i followed my instinct and before El Diablo's punch can reach Taehyung's face, i shouted,

"STOP! STOP SIR! PLEASE! I beg of you, don't hurt him!"

Everybody turns to look at me but i didn't care what they think. I just wanted to save Taehyung's life. El Diablo scoffed. Ignoring my words, he raises his fist again. Taehyung didn't do anything. I look at them with pleading eyes but i know, heartless El Diablo won't change his mind.

El Diablo was already roaring, aiming for Taehyung's face when-

"FREEZE! Everybody, freeze! El Diablo! Put your hands in the air! You are under arrest for illegal underground wrestle, drug dealing and violent harassment towards a university student!!"

The police's voice echoes through the wrestle mania making everybody froze.

El Diablo release his grip on Taehyung and that's when I saw, Taehyung fell to the ground, no longer conscious. The police move to get El Diablo while the crowds tries to disappear from the police's sight.

The next thing that happened was,

The ambulance's arrival.

🍡

#bts fic #bts angst #bts scenarios #bts fanfic #bangtansonyeondan #seokjin angst #seokjin fluff #yoongi angst #yoongi fluff #hoseok angst #hoseok fluff #namjoon angst #namjoon fluff #jimin angst #jimin fluff #taehyung angst #taehyung fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff

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silverfootstepswrites · 6 years ago

Text

Butterfly [41]

summary And every chapter has a beginning.

There was an old torii on the western edge of Konoha. The red gate was faded and weather-worn. Sakura remembered Kiba’s grandmother scolding them when she caught them trying to climb up it many years ago.

Sakura paused in front of the torii now. She tilted her head back, tracing the straight lines of those wooden posts with her eyes. Many years ago, some people had proposed repainting the gate. But so many had opposed it that the idea had been rejected. And in a way, Sakura was glad that the idea had never passed. Because she liked seeing the age and those chipped spots.

There was something special about that gate. It didn’t do anything magical. Walking through it led to a regular street. And it wasn’t as if there was some amazing story attached to it. It was just... there. Always had been.

As Sakura stared at it, she decided that that was what made it special. Just like the buildings, like the people, it was special because it belonged there. She gave the gate a pat before she walked past.

Sakura didn’t realize how exhausted she had been until she crossed the threshold to her home. After three drinks and some salty snacks, Kiba dropped her off at her front door. She remembered her head hitting the pillow. She opened her eyes nearly 11 hours later, baffled, and not entirely certain that she wasn’t dead. Or that a year hadn’t passed. Rather than refresh her, her long sleep left her a little hazy.

She sat up, wearing the joggers and sweatshirt she had been wearing on the plane. Her suitcase sat still fully-packed in the corner. Squinting, she grabbed her phone to check Instagram. The blue light from the screen blinded her for the first few seconds. She replied to a few tweets. Scrolled through her emails. And only then did she roll out of bed to wash her face.

When she went outside to check her mailbox, Sakura found Akamaru sitting at her front door. His tongue hung out, tail thumping against the concrete step. Rubbing her eyes, Sakura moved past him to pull the envelopes from her mailbox. And then she stopped in the doorway.

“I’m tired, Akamaru. Come back tomorrow,” she yawned. Akamaru’s tail continued to wag back and forth.

“Go home, Akamaru,” Sakura tried again. His tail swished even harder.

Sakura sighed.

“...Let me go change.”

The morning cool should have helped perk her up. Konoha was still lively, even in the wintertime. People who didn’t know this area would miss everything. They would mistake the morning calm for silence. But Sakura could spot the little things.

Old Man Sarutobi, out for his morning walk, waved at her. He headed down the street, toward the market street where white curls of steam rose into the sky from the bakery. Bells clanged in the distance as the fishermen came in with their morning catch. Metal doors rattled up as the storekeepers opened up for the day. There was the distant beep of a truck backing up near the docks. And when she passed the houses, sometimes she could even hear people calling to each other.

On that day, Sakura deviated from her usual path. And Akamaru seemed happy to follow along on this new adventure. She weaved through the town, past the public bath and the old bookstore. She passed Genma’s bar, which had closed several hours ago. She knew that Genma would be fast asleep after a long night of pouring shochu and wiping glasses. Down the street, she spotted the butcher on his bike. He waved, ringing his little bell as he passed.

Feet hitting the pavement, she traced the path of the railroad tracks until they arrived at the Inuzuka Animal Clinic. Akamaru barked as he bounded down the familiar walkway. Next door was the house that the Inuzuka family had occupied for many, many years. Akamaru barked again. But to Sakura’s surprise, Akamaru didn’t leap over the fence to wake Kiba. Instead, he began pawing at the back door of the clinic.

Sakura heard a window open. And then Kiba’s voice drifted from inside the little building.

“Haruno, is that you?” he yelled.

“Yeah. I brought Akamaru,” she replied.

There was a pause. And then Kiba stuck his head out the window. His hair stuck up in every direction. Eyes barely opened. The stretched-out collar of his t-shirt had been yanked over his head over and over. He let out a huge yawn before he jerked his head.

“Come inside. I gotta show you something,” he said to her.

The back door to the clinic was open when she tried the knob. Akamaru darted inside, tail wagging. Sakura followed the pooch’s path through the back, around storage shelves. She passed the bathroom and the laundry room. The washer was already rumbling through a wash cycle. The cages in the back were mostly empty. A small, watery-eyed dog lifted its head when she approached. It had a bright pink cast on its front paw. Sakura paused to pet its muzzle before she moved on.

Sakura found Kiba in one of the exam rooms. He wore sweatpants and the distinct air of someone who had just rolled out of bed. He hadn’t even bothered to shave.

Kiba was crouched over a cardboard box. And when she stepped into the room, he moved to the side. She crouched beside him. Before she could ask about what was going on, she looked into the box. A squeal escaped her.

“Oh! Inuzuka!” she breathed.

The box was lined with blue towels. In the corner lay a dark gray cat. Its eyes narrowed before it let out a lazy meow. She recognized the red ribbon tied around its neck. It was Old Man Sarutobi’s cat. And crowded around the cat’s belly were four wriggling shapes each no bigger than the palm of her hand.

“Kittens!” Sakura gasped. She scrunched up into a ball, hands fisting on her knees. Her eyes widened as Kiba picked up one of the kittens. He turned it around so she could glimpse its little face, eyes still squinted shut. It let out a tiny mewl and she felt her heart squeeze.

“You wanna hold him?” Kiba offered. And before she could respond, he took her wrist. He deposited the kitten in her hands. Sakura froze for a moment. It was so warm and so soft. And its high-pitched mewls made her want to cry.

“Oh. He’s perfect,” she whispered. Her hands closed around the kitten, careful not to squeeze too tight. She lifted the kitten closer to her eyes. She took in the pink nose and mouth. Tiny ears and delicate paws. The grey fuzz that covered his whole body.

“You wanna keep him?”

Sakura barely heard him. She knew he had said something, so she lifted her chin, expression a little dazed.

Kiba’s right elbow rested on his knee. And his head leaned to the side, resting against his shoulder. He was watching her, a smile on his face. Kiba started a little when Akamaru wormed his way under his arm. Kiba patted Akamaru’s neck, accepting a few licks.

“Wait. What?” Sakura said as Kiba’s words finally processed in her brain.

Kiba stared right back, still smiling. Akamaru’s muzzle rested on his knee now.

“Old Man Sarutobi says he doesn’t have the energy or the room for four new cats. And I’d rather not give them away to strangers,” Kiba explained.

Sakura peered back down at the kitten.

“I’ve never even had a pet before, Inuzuka. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she replied. Kiba didn’t say anything, so she went on. “And... I’m not really sure I could do it. I mean... maybe... I don’t know. Maybe I’m too selfish.”

Sighing, she set the kitten back down in the box, right beside its mother. She watched as it stumbled its way around. Wriggling past its siblings to try to find a place to nurse. Its tail was just a stubby little triangle.

“You sleep okay last night?” Kiba queried.

Sakura snorted as she recalled the conversation from the night before. Although the mission had been to get her to describe her trip to Nagoya in excruciating detail, things had gone a bit sideways. After the first drink, they had started talking about high school. And the night ended with them howling with laughter as Sakura told the story of how Kiba had dressed up as a woman to prank Kakashi on Valentine’s Day.

“I still can’t believe that you did that,” Sakura said.

“Yeah. We did a lot of dumb shit when we were kids,” sighed Kiba, smiling. There was a pause.

In that silence was possibility. They could have gone on talking about the past, recalling old memories. Like dusting off an old box to shuffle through the photos inside. Instead, grunting, Kiba got to his feet.

“Ma’s making breakfast. You wanna stay to eat?” he offered, along with his hand. Sakura accepted both.

“Yeah. I’m starving.”

Monday came. A few students asked her about being on TV. Some lamented that they hadn’t seen her skating. Naruto stuck by her, shooing each one away. The way he put his hand on his hip made him look like his mother. All he needed was a red wig. Sakura didn’t say this- especially since he was actually being quite helpful.

“Sensei, we saw you crying on TV. That was so cute!” one of the second years laughed. He dodged when Naruto kicked at him.

“Honestly. These kids should be going to class,” Naruto grumbled.

The irony of that statement seemed to go right over his head. She smiled, choosing not to say anything as he followed her up to the library.

“Don’t feel bad, Nee-chan. My whole family was crying during his free,” he then assured her. She heard a slight gruffness in his voice.

“Thanks, Naruto. Look at you all grown up and trying to comfort me,” she replied, nudging him with her elbow. Naruto grinned. As the bell for first period rang, Sakura shooed him off to class. But not before she scolded him for not calling her ‘sensei’.

Sakura distributed her souvenirs from Nagoya during lunchtime. She had expected Shizune and Kurenai to pounce on her to grill her about what they had seen during the Grand Prix. Instead, they were so well-behaved that it was a little suspicious. In fact, as Sakura looked around the room, there were only two types of responses: Either people smiled too hard or they avoided looking at her altogether.

“You all saw, huh?” she guessed.

“Orochimaru-sensei explained it to us,” replied Lee, peering out from behind an English textbook.

“Well. Any questions?” asked Sakura.

There was a pause. And then Asuma lifted his hand. Stopped himself halfway as he realized that he could just speak.

“So... how long are you gonna keep pretending you two’re still married?” he questioned.

“At least until the end of this skating season. I’m not sure. We didn’t really think this through,” Sakura answered.

“Clearly,” muttered Shikamaru, chin in his hand.

“We saw pictures of you two on dates. Were those fake?” Kurenai inquired.

“Completely,” Sakura confirmed.

“See? I told you!” Kurenai hissed to Shizune.

“Anything else?” asked Sakura.

Everyone looked around the room. But no one else spoke up.

“Cool. Any other questions about this matter, please direct them to my secretary,” Sakura concluded, gesturing towards Shikamaru. Who glared at her, but didn’t try to deny the title.

Sakura had expected everyone to be a little more nosey. But apparently Orochimaru had done a good enough job of explaining the situation. Lunch was instead filled with the usual chit-chat. As Sakura munched through chunks of steamed carrot, she noticed that someone was missing.

“I saw him this morning. He’s here,” Shikamaru replied when she asked.

With a few minutes left in lunch, Sakura headed down the hall to the art room. She could see a light on inside. She knocked, just to be polite, before she slid the door open.

There was a big canvas set up on an easel. It faced away from the window. All she could see was the back of the canvas, along with the big jar of water set on the counter beside it. And as the door slid, Itachi’s head popped up from behind the canvas. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He leaned over to wave past the canvas.

“Oh. Sorry. Are you busy?” Sakura said, hesitating in the doorway. Itachi shook his head. He took off his glasses. Wiped his forehead on the sleeve of his shirt. Blue smudged onto his brow bone. Sakura gestured at her own face.

“Um. You’ve got a little...” she told him.

Itachi looked down at his hands. There was paint on both of them. Sakura stepped over to help him. She looked around to see if there was a paper towel or a cloth. When she found none, she reached into her pocket for her handkerchief. It was white with a yellow border. She used it to dab at Itachi’s face. Using careful movements to wipe the paint away.

“You look busy,” she commented.

Itachi closed his eyes. And she realized that his eyelashes were quite long. Before he could catch her staring, she resumed rubbing at the streak of paint. The little space heater in the corner of the room rumbled to life.

“I wanted to try painting something not for teaching purposes. It’s been a while,” he told her.

“Do you mind if I look?” Sakura asked. Because up until now, she had kept her gaze trained on his face. She figured the rules of art were sort of like the rules of a new skating routine. You didn’t look until you were asked.

Itachi opened his eyes. They weren’t black, like she thought. They were brown, almost a little red towards the pupil. It was such an unexpected color that she couldn’t help but smile. Itachi looked confused, but he smiled back. And then he gave her a nod.

Sakura turned to look at the canvas. It was incomplete, but the side that was filled in showed some sort of river or canal walled by concrete. Plum blossoms bordered the walkway, growing tinier and tinier as they blurred into the distance. It was a little strange, seeing half the canvas in color while the other side only bore faint pencil sketches.

The sky was powder blue, the plum blossoms were pink, and the concrete was the beige-grey she expected. But as she drank in the scene, something in her chest expanded. A feeling that she couldn’t possibly be feeling. When she turned to Itachi, she realized that he had been watching her. And he seemed a little nervous.

“This makes me feel.... “ Sakura hesitated. Looked over the canvas again. “...sad?”

And then she shook her head. “No. Not sad. It’s more like- you know that feeling when you pick up a book you read when you were a kid? Seeing it again?” she rambled, feeling a little crazy.

“Nostalgic,” Itachi uttered.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. She turned to him again.

The look on his face startled her. He looked- not sad. Apparently ‘sad’ just wasn’t the word of the day. But to call him happy was wrong too. It was something in-between.

“Nostalgic,” she repeated, holding his gaze.

And when she couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore, she turned her attention back to the painting. “I feel like I miss this place. Even though I don’t even know where it is.”

“It’s Koto. Where I grew up,” Itachi informed her. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossing. “This is the path that I used to take to walk to school.”

“Oh,” was all Sakura could think to say. When she stole a glance at his face, she still couldn’t read his expression. And that bothered her.

“....I’m about to ask you a weird question,” she warned. His gaze flickered to her, lips curling up.

“Alright,” he agreed.

Sakura looked down at her handkerchief. At the pretty shade of teal that stained the corner as she added, “And you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“Okay.”

Sakura hesitated for a moment longer. She took a deep breath before she asked, “How do you feel right now?”

“Health-wise?”

“Emotionally.”

Rubber soles squeaked down the corridor. The low hum of chatter followed. And then both sounds faded. Itachi clasped his hands together, fingers interlocking.

“Hm.... well... glad to have good company...tired...and just a little homesick,” he listed. Each phrase was measured.

Sakura realized that that was the way he always spoke. Itachi never stumbled over words or corrected himself. He took longer to say something, but when he did, he knew exactly what he wanted to say. As she realized this, she saw that he was smiling at her now.

“Can I ask why you want to know?” he questioned.

She squeezed her bare ring finger.

“I’m beginning to realize that I kind of suck at reading people’s faces. And that I’m wrong.... a lot. So I figured I might as well ask,” she admitted. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him nodding.

“That’s a little weird,” he said. She felt her cheeks begin to warm. Because she couldn’t help agreeing with him.

“But I like it. Weird is good, I think,” Itachi added.

Her blush deepened. He laughed at her.

“Why’re you turning red?”

“Shut up. Don’t look at me,” she retorted, turning away from him. She fanned herself with one hand. But she burst into laughter as she felt him fanning her too.

#writing #butterfly #itasaku

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jeongincore · 7 years ago

Text

Shit i really liked and kinda didn’t like about Ragnarok

I recently saw ragnarok and became so rejuvenated that i brought my marvel blog back but i wanted to seriously talk about like things that i liked and really didn’t just to get shit out there.

Things i really liked (like so much that i am obsessed)

-Thor’s new hair cut/outfit, i think its actually super suitable. Gives that sort of cool ass warrior refugee look. Plus, Chris Hemsworth is beautiful.

-The humor, oh god it was hilarious, i’ve never laughed so genuinely and so much in my life and it made the movie so charming and relatable. It was also such a departure from The Dark World and the first Thor, which dealt with so much emotional baggage for not only just Thor, but for Loki, who basically suffered throughout both movies.

-Hulk being an actual toddler/Bruce Banner being so fucked up and anxious because WHEN DID HE GET ON AN ALIEN PLANET.

-”You’ve been on other planets before i assume” “Yeah, one!” “well now it’s two”

-Valkyrie. Her entire everything gave me so much to love and adore. Tessa Thompson has stole my heart yet again.

-TAIKA WAITITI AS KORG WAS ACTUALLY SO FUNNY

-The little tiny glimpses of Loki and Thor’s childhood, aka the snake story, get help. It really showed how much time Loki and Thor had spent together, which i assume is a lot because age in Asgardian years work differently probably? Like imagine that, Loki and Thor spending time together and being inseparable for 100 years. It showed that they were always close despite loki feeling different or alienated, which explains why its so hard for Loki to just leave thor for dead.

-”You’ll always be the god of mischief, but you can be so much more” See that shit destroyed me. Thor acknowledges that Loki is not like him. He’s a trickster, manipulative, and selfish. But he also acknowledges that Loki is so much more than his tricks and lies, which shows so much character growth in Thor, who sees loki as more than just an asgardian prince that was raised the exact same way opposite of Thor, but as his own fucking person.

-Thor actually not being stupid and falling for Loki’s tricks, aka his magic projections of himself/his petty, stupid betrayals. Tom mentioned that Thor was evolving and that Loki was finally starting to realize that he’s the only one not growing. Scenes like the betrayal scene and the snake scene, although meant to be hilarious, point out that Thor isn’t that idiot that just was too trusting of his brother, he sees through Loki’s tricks, he’s seen them for years, and it really shows that Loki’s getting predictable with his fake deaths and betrayals, which might hint at him changing?

-IT FIXED THE INCONSISTENCIES. The main reason i didn’t like Dark world, though i did see it as amazing for its ability to mix the emotional darkness between Loki and Thor along with the humor throughout the movie, was because it pointed Loki out to be the type of cold blooded monster that would murder his own father. I mean I’m no Loki apologist, i love the kid but he’s killed, he’s manipulated, he’s hurt everyone around him, but i doubt he could ever kill Odin, no matter how much of a shitty father he is. Also low-key hated the whole “Loki if you betray me, ill kill you” Thor bullshit. We all know thor wouldn’t be able to do that, he still hopes Loki is his brother.

-AGAIN, THE SNAKE SCENE WAS SO FUNNY.

-”I thought the world of you Loki.” Ouch.

-Hulk and Val’s bromance.

-The entire Valkyrie v. Hela scene. It was so beautiful and ethereal i actually nutted.

-LOKI DIDN’T NEED TO COME BACK. HE DIDN’T NEED TO GO BACK TO THE SHIP WITH THOR. HE DIDN’T NEED TO GO BACK TO ASGARD. HE COULD HAVE NOT. BUT HE DID. BECAUSE SOMEWHERE IN THERE UNDER THE SELFISHNESS MAYBE HE CARES.

-Loki’s face when odin called him his son.

-Loki’s face when Hela told him to kneel.

-Loki refusing to let Thor go back to Asgard. “Are you serious? you can’t be thinking of going back there, that’s madness!” is that? Loki cARING?

-Loki’s character development.

-thor in a jean jacket and hoodie in new york.

-Thor spilling beer everywhere.

-Loki letting Thor take the orgy ship.

-Jeff Goldblum. Thats it.

-LOKIS FACE WITH THOR AND ODIN ON THE ROOF OF THE CASTLE I SCREmed AFTER ALL LOKI DID HE WAS STILL PUT THERE AS A PRINCE OF ASGARD BYE.

-”Hello father” “OH SHIT”

-The entire play. Loki’s rule as a benevolent god/king in which, before everyone feared him for a dictatorship militaristic form of ruling he could have, but in reality he just like ate grapes and watched plays.

-Thor wanting to be a Valkyrie. The crowned prince of asgard, wanting to be an elite team of woman warriors.

-VAL IS GAY AND IN TESSA THOMPSONS WORDS, HAD A GIRLFRIEND THAT SACRIFICED HERSELF TO SAVE HER.

-Val kicking Loki’s ass.

-THE RETURN OF THE DOUBLE BLADES OUT OF NOWHERE.

-Loki in a suit.

-HEIMDALL I LOVEJWIFHTGE.

-”I thought you didn’t want to talk about it” “heres the thing”

-”Hello!” “Hi” *blasts everyone in room with giant laser guns*

-”What are you? Thor, god of hammers?”

-IMMIGRANT SONG.

-”i swear i left him right here” “where? on the street? Or in that nursing home thats being torn down?”

“I’m not a witch” “Why do you dress like one then?”

-Loki rolling his eyes when thor is approached by fans.

-Loki calling stephen strange a shitty sorcerer and going at him with stabby hands.

-Confirmation of loki’s love of stabbing.

-Confirmation that Loki is a snake, and also Thor’s favorite snake.

-Loki reciting Thor’s prayer to odin with him mY SON.

-The avengers parallel. “He’s my brother!” “adopted.”

-”mbLERG ITS ME”

-”AGH LOKI!”

-’DIRECT ME TO WHO’S ASS I HAVE TO KICK”

-”Where? the devil’s anus?”

-Bruce fighting evil with fireworks. Good job sweetie.

-Bruce flopping like a fish on the bifrost.

-Thor and his sparkles.

-Lightning eyes.

-Odin finALLY DYING. THANK GOD.

-*Loki on a death trip* ‘this is a terrible idea”

-Loki somehow reciting a spell to bring surtur back. what a weirdo. how did he know that.

-LOKI COMING BACK.

-im here.

-Loki

-Brodinson.

-Thor and Bruce’s bromance.

-Jane not being there. I mean it makes sense she dumped him, he left her for two years chasing down infinity stones and constantly almost dying while she had no way of contacting him because Thor’s ass didn’t know how to use fucking email. Also i just really honestly never liked her character to begin with, i mean sure i love that Jane is a strong, smart woman but tbh i just wanted to Fast forward every time she was on screen.

-The cute death wolf.

-”THATS HOW IT FEELS!” “sorry i just really like the sport”

-THOR ACTUALLY BEING PORTRAYED AS LESS OF A JERK WITH CACTUSES SHOVED UP HIS RECTUM AND MORE LIKE THE SWEET, CHARMING, CHARISMATIC AND SLIGHTLY ARROGANT BUT MEANS WELL MAN HE IS.

-Val being there as a cool as member of the team rather than just the love interest of Thor. Protect her at all cost even though she probs doesn’t even need it.

-”I’VE BEEN FALLING FOR THIRTY MINUTES”

-Stan Lee’s cameo as the dude who cut Thor’s hair. Thank you for doing all of us a giant favor. Please do the same to Loki.

-loki beating someone up with his horn hat.

-Loki twirling his horn hat.

-Loki being such a self serving, extra asshole that he came from the fucking fog screaming “YOUR SAVIOR HAS ARRIVED”

-Bruce asking where tony was and then complaining about his tight crotch pants.

-LOKI’S COSTUME CHANGE GOD I HATED THE OLD ONES BLESS UP.

-Loki’s costume being mainly blue, black, and gold :-)))))))

-Loki being 100% done with everything that happens.

-Val knocking Loki out when he makes her relive her trauma why do people ship this you go honey that was a dick move

-Thor throwing various things at Loki to make sure he’s not a mirage.

-he’s a friend from work, something a kid from make a wish that met chris suggested, being in the film and all of the trailers. I hope that made that kid smile.

-”In return, i wish to be granted safe passage through the anus”

-LOKI FINALLY ACCEPTING THAT HE DIDN’T WANT THE THRONE WITHOUT A FAMILY. THAT HE’D RATHER WATCH HIS BROTHER TAKE IT AND STILL HAVE A BROTHER THAN HAVE A THRONE WITH NO ONE TO SHARE IT WITH.

-LOKI SHOWING UP ON SCREEN DURING THOR’S CORONATION.

-Loki being genuinely worried about and double checking if Thor really wants to bring him back to earth after what he did kill me honestly that would probably hurt less.

-Loki’s face when thor said that going their separate ways was what Loki always wanted bc in reality that is the opposite go back.

-Hela not being Loki’s daughter because 1) it proves that ya’ll should stop hoping that a comic soap opera about rich petty alien boys with daddy issues would be anything like classic norse mythology, and 2) when the fuck and how the fuck and why the fuck

-Loki suggesting that he and Thor both rule over Sakaar together lmao ouch.

-Loki just being really cute and quirky.

-Thor being so fucking amazed by Val all the time.

-”You’re late.”

-”I saw you coming” “course you did.”

-THE GUNS NAMED DES AND TROY I WANTED TO FUCKING DIE.

What i didn’t like much;

-Hela. I loved her character, but honestly here is where i think there might’ve been some failure despite how much i loved that movie. She seemed so out of place as a villain, and i feel like the whole related shit tried to mimic Guardians vol. 2, but honestly the fact that Thor didn’t care much about her made her feel so out of place. But i did like some parts, like how she was so disappointed about not being remembered or what her existence and disappointment did to how loki was raised.

-Dr. Strange? Ok that was weird. It makes sense and it was funny to see him but to be honest i wasn’t into it.

-tHE SCENE WITH VAL AND A GIRL BEING CUT. WHYWHYWHY

-tbh was not fond of frost master, don’t hate me.

-Loki possibly taking the tesseract????? And hinting that he might turn evil again??? don’t do this to me marvel.

-loki possibly being turned into the quirky sidekick of his brother. Loki is Thor’s equal, not his annoying little brother/wacky sidekick. I didn’t get that vibe often, but sometimes i did honestly.

-RIP thor’s hammer.

-ODIN BEING A PIECE OF SHIT YET AGAIN.

-Hela’s entrance. it was so quick and like out of place i was like what wait, Loki and thor didn’t even have time to prepare or even mourn.

-the comedy. It was its best and worst part of the movie. Sometimes it was tasteful. Other times it was too much. Thor and Loki didn’t even get to mourn for their dad who tbh was an asshole but still their dad before there was a annoying joke about kneeling. It took away from the story sometimes.

-the lack of hugging between thor and loki.

-The way they glossed over the warriors three’s death like they weren’t Thor’s closest friends and the only ones there for him when Odin tried to banish Thor to earth :-))))) I mean after all that shit he went through I’m pretty fucking sure it probably hasn’t caught up to him but ya bitch still pissed.

-The way, Thor, who basically admitted that Loki actually meant the world to him and was the only family he had left, didn’t ask where he was after asgard exploded? Like tbh i get it, he trusts Loki, his brothers capable and strong and most of all really fucking smart, but i’d still be like :-) the fuck is Loki. I think this is a directing error though rather than like the characters fucking up but i was freaking out, i mean asgard was literally pebbles and everyone was out BUT my son.

-No sif, i mean i get it Jaime Alexander was busy but like y'all could’ve explained smh.

-Loki not getting a hair cut. When will his emo phase end.

-Not getting that one flashback to 80′s asgard with mullets and emo loki.

Overall it was pretty fucking cool, one of the best movies of the trilogy. I fell in love with the marvel cinematic universe all over again. But it wasn’t perfect.

712 notes · View notes

sunlitroom · 7 years ago

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Gotham – s4e08 – Stop Hitting Yourself

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Sofia manipulated Oswald. Jim and Oswald squabbled. Jim was self-righteous and forgetful. Harvey made a terrible mistake. Selina, Tabitha and Barbara teamed up. Butch Lee and Ed teamed up.

As always, long post will be long. There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)). There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism. Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

The Narrows, Cherry's Place, where Ed is putting on a pre-fight show all about

The most-hated man in Gotham, the Penguin!

Being Ed, it’s screechy and theatrical. It’s also informed by personal knowledge – zeroing in on Oswald’s emotional neediness. Ed plays to the crowd, referring back to the joint raid on the area – yelling that Oswald underestimated the Narrows.

Lee watches, amused, while drinking pretty heavily. I’m tee-total and even I would like a drink at this point.

The crowd starts cheering for Butch, who comes into the ring and mock-strangles Ed as Oswald. Finally, the pantomime ends and the lights go down.

(An aside. I feel like they ‘re not sure what they want me to think about the Narrows. We’ve seen two sides to it. We saw the ordinary people who were struggling day to day – the residents who were terrorised by HeadHunter last week. The rest of the time, we see these people – baying for blood. That’s not a unified group. In fact, in normal versions of places as poor and hard as this, the ordinary people we saw last week are as much at the mercy of these people – their own fellow residents – as they are anyone else. The idea that this crowd is morally outraged at what happened last week is silly. Beyond a knee-jerk response to having their toughness challenged - nope)

Cherry introduces main event. Mr Murderface, a misplaced HotCop with a poor sense of self-preservation, is going to fight Butch.

Lee and Ed watch from the balcony. Lee’s pissed that Ed’s whipping up a bloodlust in the crowd with no real sense of responsibility or leadership. Ed doesn’t care, and tells her that the fans are not his problem. Lee persists, telling him that he can’t do this and then just bail when trouble arrives. Ed retorts that Lee isn’t willing to step up either, and tells her to lead. When she looks away, he tells her that seemingly neither of them are willing to put their necks out.

They look back down at the ring. Costuming-wise, Lee is also in green this week – echoing Ed’s outfit, and reinforcing the sense of some kind of bond.

(An aside – I’m not massively sure what either of them wants the other to do here. Lee is running a free clinic – what more is Ed looking for? As for Lee – does she think Ed is going to lead some kind of revolution? If Ed were still working for Oswald, he wouldn’t give a stuff for anything that was going on in the Narrows. He’s a fundamentally selfish, exploitative creature. Aside from any of that, the notion that the Narrows’ troubles are all down to Oswald is plain old bizarre. Go talk to Bruce, or any of the rich, influential people in the city who allowed it to slowly rot.)

The fight takes place. Butch seems to be getting flashbacks of Tabitha when he’s hit hard enough. The fight continues, and it seems (I missed a lot of because I was covering the screen with my hands) that Butch rips off the other guy’s arm and beats him with it. The crowd loves this, brainlessly whooping and roaring for more. They chant stop hitting yourself – as this is clearly some kind of signature move of Butch’s.

(An aside - I hate all these people. Sorry. The part of me that likes all the order and discipline of the bad guys in Star Wars comes to the fore. The Narrows needs the kind of help Lee offers in the shape of her clinic, but places like this just need swept away)

Elsewhere in the city, we see a certificate which tells Jim he is now captain, as he is congratulated by the mayor. Jim seems conflicted about this. According to the mayor, Harvey lost the rank and file after the Narrows, due to allying with Oswald and falling into Pyg’s trap. The Mayor calls him a disgrace.

(An aside. Hmmmmm. Did Barnes lose the rank and file after the Strike Force debacle? After insisting that everyone drop their criminal activities? I don’t think he did. I’m not so sure – then – that Harvey would have. He’s worked there for years. Unless it’s being ‘one of us’ that’s worked against him this time)

Jim doesn’t like Harvey being called a disgrace, and asks the Mayor what that makes him. The Major makes oily noises. Jim then asks what Oswald thinks of this. The Mayor says he doesn’t know – and says things that make us think that Oswald’s grip on power is loosening. Jim still looks reluctant, and the Mayor pushes harder by telling him that none of the other candidates would hesitate at working with Oswald. If he just signs on the dotted line, then he’s the new captain.

He leaves Jim sitting alone, staring unhappily. We hear the string music motif that they use for GCPD moments, but the notes are distorted.

Oswald is trying to adjudicate between a representative of the bikers SBT (it’s faster to give Selina, Babs and Tabs an acronym) robbed last week, and SBT themselves.

(An aside - The whole dispute sounds massively irritating. Oswald – you must have made a fair amount of money by now, just quit. Go live a stupidly luxurious life somewhere nice. Get pretty apartments in European cities. Let them get arrested if they want. Whatever)

As they continue to argue, Mr Penn enters and tells Os in a whisper about the stage act. Oswald, predictably, loses the plot. Twitching with rage, he gestures to Mr Penn to tell everyone what has caused him flip out. Poor Mr Penn explains how the ungrateful Ed is staging a commedia dell’arte.

Os is twitching with rage. Selina doesn't know what a commedia dell'arte is. I’d like to think that Barbara and Tabitha look less confused, because that would be a nod to their doubtless expensive educations – but I may be deluding myself. Selina laughs at Oswald’s reaction. Tabitha nudges her to stop.

Too late, though. Oswald hears, and starts to laugh himself. The biker totally misjudges the situation, thinks this is sincere, and starts to laugh too – saying that the Riddler doing a Penguin act is pretty funny.

This manages to press several of Oswald’s buttons at once, and he stabs him in a rage. Babs thanks him for clearing their debt – but he tells them that they now owe him the debt and, since they like a good laugh, they can go to the Narrows see Ed’s act bringing him back by nightfall.

Selina doesn’t like this and tells him that they’re not his toadies, and wants to know what they get in return. You get the debt cleared, Selina – did you miss that bit?

Barbara seems pleased by Selina’s attitude. Moving closer, Oswald says he won’t tell every criminal in the city to murder them and rip out their eyes and tongues. Tabitha shifts a little closer to Selina. Oswald stares her in the eyes and tells her that is what she gets – if that’s acceptable.

Babs steps forward and tells him this is acceptable. Before they leave, Selina smirks at Oswald. After they’ve gone, Oswald tells Mr Penn to get in touch with his Narrows informer, and liaise with Firefly, who will kill SBT if they’re unsuccessful. Firefly asks Oswald about ripping out their eyes, but he tells her it’s too messy to be practical.

(An aside – I posted about this elsewhere but yes – while Oswald can be funny – the sheer amount of sneering sent his way is disproportionate, and this weird hate-figure everyone has of him makes no sense given their personal histories, in which there are plenty of real antagonists.

But then, sneeriness is one of the main characteristics of the newly formed Sirens which – I have to confess – leaves me pretty cold. There’s not much of substance there. When Tabitha has become the warmest person in the trio – something bad has happened to your other characters. Selina did used to be selfless, altruistic, warm, annoyed by unfairness – that all seems to have flown out the window in favour of this, which is a pretty poor trade-off, for me.)

In the city, Selina gives Barbara convenient backstory on the Narrows. Tabitha is distracted by the thought of getting her hands on Ed. Barbara was in league with Ed, but this seems to be OK by Tabitha. Selina asks whether Ed isn’t supposed to be a genius, but Barbara mentions the rumours about his new state of mind. They decide to go prepared anyway – if by prepared they meant, just wander in and make no attempt to be inconspicuous.

Nothing, however, could prepare them for Ed’s act. Babs is open-mouthed while Tabitha just looks revolted. Her eyes wandering, presumably in a desperate bid not to look at the stage, Barbara spots Lee watching from the upper level. Meantime, Tabitha steps forward when Butch enters the ring.

Butch!

God – another arm is ripped off. Tabitha says his name again and asks Barbara if she knows what this means. Barbara thinks this means she is owed apologies for her electrocution. Tabitha runs off to try to get to talk to Butch. Barbara stares up at Lee again, and says that she has to know what is up with this outfit. Selina irritatedly mentions that they do have a job to do.

GCPD. Harvey looks at bullets in a box. Jim enters the room. After last week’s unpleasantness, his tone is casual and friendly – mornin’ Harve. He apologises for being late, and says he was stuck in traffic.

Harvey tells him that these are the bullets taken from the wounded cops. Jim tells him that he’s not responsible for that. Pyg is the one who set the trap, and they need to move on and find him before he can hurt anyone else.

Harvey nods, seemingly grateful for the support. Lucius walks in. Jim asks him what the word is.

The word, as it turns out, is ‘absence’, as in – there’s a lack of any useful physical evidence from the crime scenes. Harvey says that Pyg is a crafty loony. Jim and Lucius walk off to discuss the case more. Harvey calls after Jim, and tells him he’d appreciate it if he’d be at the Bullethole Club with him today. Jim tells him of course, and Harvey thanks him for having his back – calling him partner.

Lucius asks what this club is, and Jim explains that when officers shot in the line of duty come back they’re given the bullets that wounded them. Lucius eyes widen, as he realises that Harvey will have to give bullets to the officer he shot, and comments that it’s no wonder Harvey wants a friend there.

At the Orphanage, Oswald is ranting to a busy Sofia about Ed turning his idiocy into a way of taunting Oswald. He says that no-one appreciates how hard it is to be a crimelord. Sofia comments that she understands, since she grew up with one. Oswald smiles tightly, and asks if she’d like to go to lunch and

talk over the vagaries of this capricious calling

Unfortunately, Sofia has to see the caterer for a fundraiser. Oswald is irritated and disappointed, and – grimacing - says of course he can't expect her to be at his beck and call. Sofia gets up her chair and, as she walks closer to him, strokes his arm briefly, telling him that he needs a different source of relaxation. Oswald flusters for a moment before Sofia tells him he needs chickens.

Oswald blinks at the sudden shift in tone. Sofia continues, and Oswald tells her than he does remember the Don’s predilection for chickens. She tells him life can’t just be about business, and when her father was stressed, he spent time with his birds.

Oswald seems puzzled until Sofia clarifies that he needs some kind of interest outside the business. She smiles and tells him to give it some thought, and they’ll talk when she gets back. Oswald smiles incredulously as she leaves, repeating chickens to himself.

He wanders over to the window and watches as a small boy is bullied in the playground by a much larger boy and girl. After they finish with him, the small boy walks away with some purpose. Oswald watches him frowning and then wide-eyed as he sees him with a can of kerosene (where the fuck did he get that?) and matches. He calls out the window.

Boy - come here this instant

When Oswald asks him what he was going to do, the boy – seemingly mute – draws a fire on a notepad he keeps round his neck. Oswald tells him he cannot do things like that. The boy looks serious, and then Oswald follows up with your enemies will know that it was you, and then he looks happier – albeit sinister.

(An aside – there’s quite a lot here. First of all, a small point, but Oswald’s got a huge vocabulary – he’s pretty wordy later, too. I always headcanon that he skipped a lot of school due to bullying, but that Gertrud probably had a lot of old books lying around. Oswald’s vocab at points throughout this episode has that feel to it.

Next up. Oswald is openly confiding in Sofia here, and seeking out her company. I think it’s worth noting that given the change in mood later in the episode which, to me, feels very abrupt.

Again with Sofia there’s the combination of sincerity with manipulation. From what she’ll say to Jim later, she’s still plotting Oswald’s downfall – if, indeed, she’s being sincere with Jim. In the meantime, though, the observation that Oswald needs some other interest to provide relaxation seemed a genuine one, and she’s not wrong.

The moment with her hand on his arm was brief, but it was there. Oswald, for a split second, thought she was going to suggest something romantic/sexual – otherwise the chicken comment wouldn’t have confused him so much, and he wouldn’t have been so flustered. It’s interesting to wonder whether Sofia still has that option on the table in the event that she feels it would be useful. I’m also not entirely sure how Oswald, as we see him in this scene, would have reacted. I’ve never really felt that Oswald has demonstrated any physical attraction towards women at any point on the show. However, while he was presented as flustered, we were not shown him recoiling, or stepping away. I don’t know whether they’ll follow this up, although it would be pretty twisted, given – as we’ll see later – that he starts to get suspicious of her.)

Backstage at the Narrows, Tabitha hugs a confused Butch, and then frowns when she realises that there’s something very wrong with him

On the gallery, Lee is looking out when Barbara covers her eyes and gives a

Guess who?

Psycho killer stalker

Lee is aiming a gun, but Barbara says if she was going to shoot her she’d have done it by now. Lee backhands her instead, commenting that it felt good. Barbara regroups quickly, and literally turns the other cheek – but Lee seemingly only wanted one slap. She tells Barbara that this seems like a low rent neighbourhood for her, and on hearing that she’s working, tells her that being Penguin's flunkey suits her. Barbara has a jab at her own life choices. Lee tells her that some people make decisions not just for themselves but for others.

(An aside. Lee talked earlier about her guilt over stopping Jim from preventing the release of the virus, although she did mention being infected. I’m not sure if I’m to assume here that she’s also feeling guilty about the selfishness of infecting herself in the first place? If not, she’s a bit hypocritical. That was as self-indulgent as it gets).

Barbara comments that she’s sexy and self-righteous now, and asks what Jim makes of this. Lee offers a flat Jim who? – before swigging back more booze. Barbara smiles. She tells her it’s been interesting, but she has to get back to her kidnapping. Lee takes a minute to put two and two together, and rushes after her.

Ed is tying up his laces and fails to twig that the little girl voice congratulating him is a ruse. Selina kicks him hard in the face, and – unimpressed – comments that she though he was supposed to be smart.

Jim and Sofia walking together. She’s telling him to relax – that she has Oswald wrapped around her finger. Jim brandishes the certificate and asks her to explain this, if she has such a good grip on him. She tells him that wasn’t Oswald – and that the mayor and commissioner presumably just feel the wind changing.

Light dawns for Jim.

it was you. You must have made a hell of a contribution

She makes a deprecating face and says no – it was just the Falcone name. Jim says he won’t do it – not like this, at Harvey’s expense. Sofia impatiently tells him Harvey is weak, and asks when he’ll stop propping him up, and how many cops have to die due to his incompetence.

Turning to face him, looking displeased, she tells him he needs to stop pretending that he’s not taking the job. Jim protests, but she said if that were the case, then he’d have thrown the contract away. Walking away from him, she tells him to visit after he takes command, and that they’ll celebrate.

(An aside – Jim is not bright. Not only did he think Oswald might be behind that promotion, he seemed surprised to hear that it was Sofia. He then had the nerve to be affronted by her methods, when they met while he was begging her gangster father for a favour. I just…. what?)

Oswald and Martin are in the office. Oswald is telling him that revenge can’t just be tit for tat. It has to be specific. He asks Martin what he imagines revenge to be, and he draws his enemies dead with knives in their eyes. Oswald feels this is a little overly ambitions, and tells him to be crafty. Oswald’s hair is deliberately styled in this scene to look like a devil’s horns.

He tells Martin that friendship itself can be a deadly tactic, and asks him how he might use it. Martin writes that his enemies are failing maths. Oswald guesses that Martin is very good at maths, and asks him to tell him more.

We see Martin enact his revenge. He makes a friend of one bully by letting her copy his maths test. Out in the playground, he then pretends that the other bully hit him. His new-found friend is outraged, and his enemies end up fighting each other.

He smiles and makes his way to Oswald, who praises him and tells him

See? Minions are so much better than friends

Martin frowns and writes on his pad.

But I'm YOUR friend

He smiles. Oswald tears the page out in a temper. He tells Martin the greatest friend he had became his worst enemy. Friendship should be shunned. They’re better than friends. They’re conspirators.

He shakes hands with Martin. Martin looks back at his still fighting classmates, smiles, and walks off. Oswald watches him go, smiling. He then glances back at the page and looks pained. He closes his eyes for a moment before leaving himself.

(An aside. Oh Oswald….

In a slightly longer aside, Oswald’s state of mind is not good. I mean, it’s never good – but his response to Martin’s assertion of friendship is painful. He’s on the edge of what looks a lot like a breakdown a couple of times in this episode.

It’s also a little confusing. Yes – Ed’s stageshow has reopened old wounds – although Oswald conveniently glosses over the fact that he murdered Ed’s girlfriend. However, his recent interaction with Sofia – so we’ve been led to believe – has encouraged him to believe in the idea of friendship again, their scene where he tells her that it’s hard for him to trust, even earlier – when he genuinely wants to have lunch with her. Yet here he’s violently anti-friendship again?)

In the Narrows, there’s a messy scene I’ll tie up fast. Selina has Ed tied up – which pleases Babs. Tabitha is trying to get through to Butch, showing him her scar – but just as he’s getting somewhere, Butch says Ed restrained and flips out. Tabitha tries to convince him that Ed’s not his friend, while Ed tells Butch to rip them all to pieces.

(Just an aside – in an episode where Oswald is apparently the lowest of the low, we know that Butch could actually physically do this)

Lee appears on the scene, and says that they’re not taking Ed anywhere. Barbara dismissively calls her a bleeding heart. As everyone squabbles more – Selina calls on some law of the Narrows: they settle this in the ring.

Nighttime in the Narrows, and this pantomime again. Fuck off with this, Ed.

Cherry watches alongside Lee. Ed announces that the winner tonight takes…. him. Not even for free, Ed.

At the ringside, Tabitha is confident Butch loves her too much to hurt her. Barbara tells her she loves her faith – but wants her to take a large club.

Lee and Cherry are still watching. Lee is worried that Butch will throw the fight because of his relationship with Tabitha – but Cherry says it doesn’t matter: Ed will be taken to Oswald anyway.

In the ring, Tabitha keeps trying to get Butch to remember her. Butch hits her very hard in the face. Tabitha falls to the floor, and Selina and Babs urge her to get up. Butch grabs her by the leg, but Tabitha grabs the club and hits him in the face with it. Butch starts flashing back to moments with Tabitha. He blinks round at the crowd, and then at her, and manages a Tabby? This – however – coincided with Tabitha taking another swing, and he drops. Tabitha drops to her knees beside him.

At the bar where the bullet ceremony will take place, Harvey hasn’t shown up. A disappointed Jim hands out the bullets in his stead. Officer Patel attends in a wheelchair. Jim squeezes her hand lightly when he gives her the bullets. She nods in response to his salute, and he swallows.

Back at the Narrows the crowd is screaming as Tabitha tries to wake Butch. Babs tries to leave with Ed, but the crowd won't let them leave. Firefly arrives, she tells everyone – in the name of Penguin – to back off, and tells an incredulous Selina and Barbara that they missed the deadline.

Ed is now trying to wake Butch up. He’s confused and angry – but very scared of fire too. This amuses Brigit. Selina calls up to her, and tells her she’s from the Narrows. Brigit says that this is true – and she couldn’t wait to escape. She also says she agrees with Oswald – the place is a sewer. She’s going to burn it down.

Lee approaches her on the stairs. She tells Firefly she's the only thing that stinks here and shoots a gas canister on her back, knocking her out. Ed laughs maniacally, while Barbara stares.

An irate Cherry tells Lee Firefly is Oswald’s enforcer. Lee – in turn – tells the whole crowd that Cherry works with Oswald. Cherry tells the jeering crowd to shut up – this is her club, her turf, and they’re all scum. She points at SBT and tells the mob that they’re the problem – they work for Oswald.

Babs sees this means death at the hands of an angry mob and shoots Cherry. The crowd is silent. Barbara announces that they no longer work for Oswald. The crowd cheers.

Barbara – all the while retreating – tells Selina that they sure love their coldblooded murder down here. Meantime, Ed is trying to encourage Butch up from the ground, telling him that the fire lady can’t hurt him, while Tabitha promises she’ll come back for him.

Barbara glances up at Lee and makes good her escape. Lee smiles down at her, satisfied. The power has shifted in their interactions – and Lee is now the one to be feared, not Barbara.

(An aside – Cherry’s death seemed rather wasteful. She was a very striking character – what was the point of ditching her so easily?)

GCPD, where Harvey drinks alone at his desk. A sad-eyed Jim enters the room and asks Harvey where he was. A drunk Harvey tells him he was having a little drink and invites him to join. Jim shakes his head. Harvey tells him not to be like that and fixes him one anyway.

Jim tells him those cops were waiting for him. Harvey bitterly says only because they wanted to spit in his face. Jim says yes – if that’s what they wanted to do. He owed it to them to look them in the eye, and if he’d done that, then he’d have got their respect.

A bleary-eyed Harvey glares at Jim like he’s stupid and tells him that he doesn’t deserve their respect. How could he have possibly looked Patel in the eye. Jim tells him that’s the job – taking responsibility for what happens to his cops. Harvey angrily asks if he’s telling him what the job is. Jim simply answers yes.

Well today, Jim - I just couldn’t do the job - so I sent you because I knew you could

Jim tells him that’s not good enough, not today. They needed him. Harvey tells him that there’s nothing he can do about it now.

Rising, Jim asks Harvey for a pen. Damn, Jim – this is cold. He signs the contract and shows him it – telling him that he’s relieved from duty. Harvey looks pained and bitter.

Well well - look who finally got what he always wanted. But what did you have to do to get it?

Jim sanctimoniously remarks that all he did with his job. Jim’s job description apparently specified collusion with the mafia.

Harvey narrows his eyes. He comments that

Nothing in Gotham is free, Captain Gordon

Taking his hat and bottle, he shambles out.

As he’s about to leave, he turns and tells Jim

You just better hope you can pay up when the bills due - and it'll come, too.

Jim is left alone. Interestingly – we leave him facing the empty chair. This role doesn’t yet truly belong to Jim.

Night-time in the office at the Orphanage. We hear cricket noises

(An aside – crickets? Is Gotham warm enough?)

Oswald is teaching Martin how to stab someone in the heart.

Sofia enters, momentarily pleased that Oswald has met Martin – less so when she sees what they’re doing. A twitchy Mr Penn interrupts to tell Oswald of the comprehensive failure of the night. Oswald yells. Interestingly, we see Sofia jump. She’s usually fairly smooth with just about everything – but if this episode has tried to remind us of anything, it’s that Oswald has a hair-trigger temper.

He adds that Jim was promoted. We see Sofia look shiftily back at Oswald. Martin steps forward, seemingly because he can see that Oswald is upset. Oswald however, coughs and seemingly manages to control himself, remarking that

That is quite a lot to go awry in one day

A relieved Mr Penn leaves. A smiling Sofia turns to Oswald and tells him.

You see, Oswald - business is not the end of life. There are other rewards: companionship, peace of mind, friendship

She hugs him. Oswald’s face over her shoulder has about 10 different emotions shifting over it.

She invites him to dinner back at her house (did she forget she invited Jim?), but Oswald says Martin needs more training.

As she leaves, a strained Oswald passes his hand over his face. Turning to Martin, he says

Martin - remind me: what did we learn today about friendship?

Martin draws a picture of people stabbing each other in the back. Oswald smiles.

Yes. If you’re not careful, friendship can blind you to what is staring you in the face.

Turning, he walks to the window and watches Sofia leave. His jaw clenches. Behind him, Martin watches.

Lee examines Butch, calling him ‘big guy’ with some degree of fondness. In the background, Ed is admiringly mimicking what she said to Firefly. Lee better hope Ed doesn’t go wig-shopping, or she’ll be the latest character in his show.

Lee brushes it off, and tells him that she gets melodramatic under pressure, asking Butch how he is. Butch tells her that he’s confused. Ed looks round the crowd – quiet for once. Lee asks what’s going on with them. Ed says that they’re acknowledging their new leader. Lee rolls her eyes and asys that they do love him. Ed comments that he thought he was supposed to be the dumb one, and points out that she is the new leader. She heals their children and their warriors – vanquished a fire-breathing monster, killed the queen.

He then uses the same line as the mayor used on Jim. If she doesn’t do it, someone else will – likely someone worse than Cherry. A nervous Lee looks rounds and asks where she should start. Ed tells her to do something to make them happy. Lee thinks for a moment before calling drinks on the house! Ed tells her that was a good move, and Lee smiles – enjoying her new position.

Outside Sofia’s house, Jim is waiting on the steps. She smiles as she gets out the car, commenting that he came to celebrate after all. Seeing his face, though, she asks what’s wrong – she made him captain, after all.

Jim stares and echoes you made me. Yes, Jim – this is why you turned Falcone down way back when you arrived in town. You knew how hollow it would be to know that he owned you – so quite why you were so willing to go ahead with this is a mystery. He bitterly tells her that she can toy with Penguin all she wants (er – no she can’t, Jim. Oswald has caught on faster than you, even though you knew the score from the beginning) - but he’s not her puppet.

She retorts that he’s not her puppet, he’s her partner. Jim sneers at her. He tells her he just stuck a knife in his partner’s back. Sofia tells him coldly that was a mercy killing, and that he needs to grow up. He wanted a gangster to help get rid of Oswald, and this is what that help looks like. Harvey had to go.

Jim – now showing an eye-watering lack of awareness – tells her that he doesn’t need her help anymore, and that it’s time she left Gotham. Did Jim honestly think she’d just go because he said so? Wow. Sofia smiles, and tells him that she’s not going anywhere. She came here to restore the Falcone name. Standing in the doorway, she asks him again to come in and celebrate. Jim answers that he’d rather stay out here where he can breathe.

(An aside – the wounded self-righteousness after you’ve got what you wanted - a destabilised Oswald and more power – doesn’t count for much, Jim)

He turns and walks away. Sofia watches, obviously displeased, the wobble to her jaw similar to Oswald’s anger earlier.

General Observations

Remind me, what did we learn today about friendship?

To Oswald, friendship is a double-edged sword. He’s desperate to be loved – hence Ed’s harping on that point in his show. He’s also pretty desperate to give love, but we often see this impulse stymied, or twisted into different shapes – like his mentoring of Martin. He’s decided now – apparently – that the whole venture leaves you too vulnerable to hurt, instead talking about conspirators, minions – anything to avoid the word he used to use so often.

All that said, he seems to have had the wool pulled over his eyes by Sofia. His relationship with her has seemed to jump about here – and I felt that some more ‘show your working’ would have been nice in this episode. He goes from being apparently clueless that he’s being manipulated to all out suspicion. The hug seems to have been the moment this happened – but it’s hard to exactly say why.

Somewhat ironically, Sofia is currently probably closer to Oswald than she is Jim. She’s hard to read – but some of her advice to Oswald seems pretty sincere. That’s not to say she probably wouldn’t be able to knife him in the back – Oswald, too, can profess fondness for someone and still want them dead, but it’ll be interesting to see where things go.

Lee and Ed are forming a strange little partnership. I’m not massively sure why – aside from the money – Lee prevented him from being kidnapped, but we’ll see if Ed can manage some gratitude.

Jim and Harvey’s friendship is disintegrating. This whole ‘Harvey is weak and incompetent’ feels too sudden and contrived to me, to be honest. We’ve had seasons of Harvey pretty deftly treading the line between managing Jim and the rest of GCPD, covering for Jim on several occasions, and sitting down and actually using his brain when Jim just wanted to speed ahead. For him to be over on the basis of one bad decision seems strange, and – to be honest – the decision itself was OOC.

As for Jim – Harvey is his closest confidante and best friend. He can feel disappointed by his failure to show up at the bullet club – but his total condemnation was cold. It was also utterly hypocritical. Jim might be the hero right now, but he’s going to topple from that pedestal fast when everyone finds out he’s been colluding with the mob. Also – am I ever going to find out why Harvey is in such dire financial straits? No?

Lots of power shifts too. in this episode, some less evident than others, and some only superficial.

At first glance, power has moved in Jim’s direction. He’s been given the captaincy over Harvey. We know, however, what Harvey can only suspect: Jim is not his own creature. He’s not earned this. Sofia used the fear and power of the Falcone name to obtain it. Jim’s essentially meekly taken what Falcone dangled in front of him way back in season one. Sofia says they’re partners – but the truth stings for Jim: he’s her puppet.

Power is slipping away from Oswald, which is intolerable for him – because Oswald has learned that the only way to guarantee yourself respect and safety is through power. When you lose it, you’re at the mercy of others – and that’s not a safe place to be in Gotham.

He has - though – regained some personal power in the shape of his new-found suspicion of Sofia. He’s not quite as meek and clueless as she thinks – which could lead to very unpleasant time for her later.

As for Sofia – she’s seemingly on top, but wobbling more than we’ve seen. Jim’s suspicion has blossomed into outright rejection. She can’t very well rescind the captaincy now, either – not without looking indecisive. We now know that Oswald is suspicious. Martin is an unknown quantity, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ferried information to Oswald.

Lee unexpectedly found herself with power and seems to like it. That was a very amused smile she sent Barbara’s way as she scurried quickly home. How she’ll run the Narrows remains to be seen, as does the possible role Ed might play by her side.

Randomly thinking of Carmine – he’s very quiet. He’s not remotely suspicious that Sofia left town almost immediately after Jim’s visit? Surely he’d have people still in Gotham reporting back to him?

Lastly – the title – stop hitting yourself. Harvey doesn’t think he deserves respect or forgiveness, and is drinking self-destructively. Oswald losing his temper resulted in strategic losses at the Narrows, and his angry shunning of the friendship Martin offered seemed to physically pain him. Jim put the cherry on his self-destructive cake by taking the captaincy obtained through mafia interference, and stabbing his friend in the back.

Thoughts?

#gotham commentary #gotham s4e08 #'stop hitting yourself'

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garecc · 7 years ago

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Gravity Falls Fanfic: Im Bad At Titles um Stanley Hugs Ford

Stan stared at the daunting building looming in front of him. “Your brother lives here. You’re fine. No need to be scared he’s family” Stan muttered to himself. He lamely knocked on the door. No one came for a good 2 minutes. When he was about to leave the door swung open, he was greeted by a crossbow to the face and Ford. But this wasn’t the Ford Stan remembered. Ford had dark bags under his eyes that could probably hold groceries, there was dried blood under one of them, only adding to his concern. He looked horrible, insane even. “I can always count on you for a warm welcome” he said, after Ford pulled away the weapon. The inside of fords.. Shack wasn’t much better than ford himself. He wondered how long it had been since Ford had spoken to another human. He looked like ma after her tenth cup of coffee, Stan knew something was wrong the moment Ford started talking. He sounded exhausted, and when he shined a light in Stan’s eyes, eye gave up on talking. He pulled Ford into a tight hug. Ford looked like he needed hug. Ford went completely stiff, almost like he was hugging a statute..

Ford hadn’t expected Stan to hug him, and his sleep deprived brain couldn’t really understand why right now. Stan was here. He finally released. Stan was really here. He had asked his brother to come here, to his messy research cabin in the woods, with no warning or anything to protect him from Bill. Just the thought of the dream demon made his eye hurt. But Stan was here. For the first time in over a decade stan was here. Ford had told himself countless times that Lee was selfish, a jerk, and that he didn’t need him. But if that were true why did he come? A sob rose in ford’s chest, and he was to exhausted to even try to hold it back, he wrapped his arms around Stanley and sobbed. He felt Stanley’s grip on him tighten. Stan was here.

Stanley didn’t know how to react when ford started sobbing, he had fully expected his brother to push him away or punch him. But now he was sobbing and Stanley felt like they were children again. He wondered what had put Ford in this state. he hugged his twin closer. No matter what it was he would help ford through it. He brought ford over to what looked like it used to be a couch, but was so covered in papers and dirty clothes it was hard to tell. Ford slowly calmed down, and he clung to Stan like he was going to disappear. What had happened to him? He glanced at the scattered papers, and grimaced. Eyes. Uncountable doodles of eyes, scribbled out and redrawn, and a few triangles in what looked like a Mr. Monopoly outfit. The more Stan looked around the more he saw the symbol. What had happened? What did it mean?

Ford was fighting to stay awake, he couldn’t let Bill into his mind. Not while Stan was here. He jerked away suddenly, he needed more coffee. He felt heat rising in his cheeks as he realized what just happened. “I um- er-” “Can it Poindexter. I’m not going to let you attempt to brush this off because you look like you haven’t slept in weeks. Now your going to go and sleep-” “No.” Ford yelled, panic evident in his voice. “I can’t sleep.” he said in a calmer voice. Hoping Stan would just back off the subject. He couldn’t sleep. Sleep meant Bill and Bill would hurt Stan and he couldn’t let that happen. “Oh? Mind telling me why?” Stan asked, suddenly inpatient. “Ford.. You look like hell. You need to sleep..” he said again this time calmer. “Look stan.. I just can’t-” “Why?” he said again. “Because if i do a demon will possess my body and hurt you and i can’t let my stupid mistakes hurt you because-” “Woah woah woah. Slow down. Possession? Fors that’s just in fairy t-” Ford, in all of his sleep deprived glory sent a glare his way that rivaled Ricos. He didn’t elaborate, and Stan knew that he wouldn’t budge on the matter. “Okay….. Ford i doubt you could hurt me…ive.. Been around the world and-” “It woudnt be me Stan… It would be him… He would hurt you… Use you agienst me… Destroy the world.. If anything happened to you it would bemyfaultandohgodwhydidibringyouhereillonlymakethingsworseohgod-mmph!” Stan covered Ford’s mouth. “Start from the beginning. Tell me whats going on and ill see what i can do to help..”

Stan sighed and shook his head, but when he turned to look at ford he jerked his hand back. Fords eyes were yellow lizardlike slits. A creepy smile played his brothers lips. “Oh Stanley, so gullible. You really think that Stanford cares about you right? What would you say if i told you he only brought you here to tell you to get as far away from him as possible? This meatsack here is trying to destroy the world. And you’re playing right into his 6 fingered hands. He is trying to destroy the multiverse and everything in it. Dimensions other than this one, full of people just like your own. You saw how he was sobbing? Acting like he needed you? All an act. Do you really think your brother. The same brother who hasn’t contacted you in 10 years would call you here because he needed help? Because he needed you? Over ten years, a tenth of you miserable meat sacks lifespan because Gullible as always Stanley Pines.” “W-who are you?” Stanley sputtered. “The names Bill. Bill Cipher. And you’re the next idiot this /freak/ is going to use. Are you going to fall for it?” “What did you do with my brother.” “Nothing. He just fell asleep, the poor thing has been up nearly a week trying to keep me away. Stanford Pines is a fool to think he can destroy the multiverse. Now will you help me save it?” “Get out of my brother.” Stanley growled. Choosing to ignore what he had said about multiversal destruction. “Why certainly.” Time seemed to stretch as the world faded to black and white. Ford lay slumped over on the couch, and a triangle.. The same one from the drawings no less. The thing was bright yellow, and 2D. “Do we have a deal Stanley Pines?” The thing held out its hand which shone with a blue fire. “No. We don’t. Know leave and don’t come back.” “We’ll see about that Stanley Pines. We’ll see.”

The yellow demon left and the world went back to normal, Ford jolted awake breathing heavily. Blood dripped from his eye and pain spiked through his head. Stan stared at him. “Care to explain why a floating Natcho is possessing you?” Ford stared at him blankly. Before doing something that shocked Stan he laughed. There was no joy in his laugh. It was broken and just sounded wrong. Then he noticed the blood dripping down from his eye. Stan was to shocked to act for a moment, to stunned to do anything. Ford’s broken laughter turned into sobs after a while, Stan tentatively sat down next to him.

His eye only bled more as Ford started sobbing. Stan was never supposed to see Bill. He was never supposed be be in such danger. But now he was. And it was all his fault for bringing him here. Tears of blood dripped down his face. The pounding in his head intensified. He didn’t stop sobbing, he didn’t even know where to begin to explain. He felt like someone was gouging out his eye will a dull blade. Slowly. Blood dripped down his face and onto his chin. He didn’t even care anymore. Stan would never trust him now. Blood dripped onto his trenchcoat. The pain in his head spiked causing ford’s hand to fly to his bleeding eye. Nothing ever helped his eye. Heat and cold only made it worse. Medicine didn’t help either. Nothing did.

chapter 2: https://gracedemigoddaughterofathena.tumblr.com/post/163237633383/gravity-falls-fanfictiom-stanley-hugs-ford-im Im rlly new to tumblr and shit how do you make linked words...

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winnwinn-moved · 8 years ago

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best friend ii

mark lee - 1935- fluff - part one

“twenty bucks they break up in a week.”

you huff. loudly. you know that yuta means well, but sometimes his “words of wisdom” are downright insensitive. mark and that girl from his chemistry class (because you haven't even bothered to learn her name), have been together for two weeks now. or at least, that’s what everyone says. it’s not like you’ve heard from mark since the restaurant incident. okay, so maybe you haven’t replied to mark since the restaurant incident. alright, so maybe in addition to ignoring his texts, you’ve been avoiding him in person to, but that’s an entirely different story!! it’s because your heart is far too fragile to deal with him, really. but yuta insists that their relationship will be over soon, and everything will be back to normal, because after all he is an expert in this area. the expert who actually hasn’t dated and probably wouldn’t realized someone liked him until they literally spelled it out for him. but, yuta does have your back, as do most of the boys. everyone questions why mark would ask anyone besides you out, but hey, that’s the way life goes sometime. or at least, that’s what you’re telling yourself to keep it together. it hurts less when you’re the one who admits that maybe he never liked you.

“i don’t have twenty bucks.” taeil pipes up from the futon. “but i mean i agree with you, so i wouldn’t have to pay anyhow right?”

the boys invited you over to taeil’s place for an intervention, which thus far, has only included sipping milkshakes and whining about the situation. nobody has really offered any helpful insights either. the most exciting advice you’ve gotten all day was “time to bring out the booty shorts”, courtesy of jaehyun “and hire a hit man”, who, as anyone could assume, came from yuta. sicheng at least tried to be of some support with his shy “maybe write a love letter”, but on the other hand, with the most apathetic of looks on his face, donghyuk suggested “drop him, he’s not even that great anyway.”

you decided early on in the night, that listening to any of them would probably end in a heart attack on your part. still, the boys feel the need to barrage you with their opinions and advice and takes on the situation, but quite frankly, they all sound like morons. no wonder mark is best friends with the lot of them; they’re all pretty bad at reading people’s feelings.

you sigh loudly. would things have been like this if you would have confessed to mark? what would have happened if you would have just admitted your true feelings? would you two be walking through the park, hand-in-hand, so absorbed in each other that the squealing of children and ringing of bells and chattering of street vendors would become but white noise? would you be the one sitting across from him down at the local diner, giggling bashfully when he offers to split a slice of cake with you? would you be snuggled up to him on the couch, the both of you buried under a sea of blankets, your head on his shoulder, whispering sweet nothings to each other as the rain patters softly outside the window?

or would you be in a worse situation than you are? would mark scorn you, mock you for developing such whimsical and absurd ideas? would your relationship be worse than it is now? instead of ignoring him, would you resent him? instead of making less time, would mark drop you altogether? what would happen to your friend group? would a confession have forced everyone to choose sides when things fell to pieces?

you shake your head. this isn’t the time to overthink. all of your friends were nice enough to give up their evening to try and cheer you up, yet here you are, sulking like a five year old. this isn’t the time to be selfish. this isn’t the time to think about what could have been. you need to get over yourself and live in the present.

slowly, you swirl your straw in your half-melted chocolate milkshake.

oh.

“man, me and mark used to get chocolate milkshakes after school every friday.” you grumble. “we’d share the straw too… kinda gross now that i think about it.”

“you know what’s gross?” donghyuk starts to go off, but ten quickly covers his mouth with his hand.

“what he means to say…” taeyong laughs uneasily. “have you tried talking to mark about your feelings? maybe if he knew that you liked him…”

“he obviously wouldn’t care.” you run a hand through your hair. “i mean he asked someone else out, so clearly he wasn’t ever thinking about me like that. like he said, we’re best friends…” your breath hitches in your throat. “if you can even call us that anymore.”

you bite down on your lip, hard, to the point where maybe your nerves start to go numb. maybe. you’re too busy trying to hold back your tears to notice. sicheng is the first to tackle you in a hug, and soon, within a matter of moments, ten and donghyuk, jeno and jaehyun, and even jisung are smashing you half to death. a chorus of “don’t cry” and “please don’t worry!!” fill your ears. before you can even think of breaking down in tears, the boys are pulling you into an actual hug, promising you that yes, things are going to get better. maybe not right now, maybe not even today. but things will get better.

you wipe the tears from your eyes, a small laugh escaping your lips as you do. ten ruffles your hair, and taeyong squeezes your hand, and slowly but surely, things are starting to feel a little bit better.

maybe after this, you’ll text mark. ask him how things are going. how’s the girlfriend? everything okay? what about dates? gone anywhere fun yet? sure, it might be more than a little nerve-wrecking to finally face your fears and start conversation up again, but you would be lying if you said you were okay not talking to him. without mark, it’s like there’s a hole inside your chest, and no sort of replacement friends can duct-tape it back together. despite your feelings for mark, you were best friends first, and you should have never let your feelings get in the way of that.

yah. yah, you’re definitely going to text him. ask for forgiveness. apologize for being such a crybaby. beg to make amends. explain how you were stupid to ever think that your friendship would be something more, and even stupider to put your happiness before his own.

but you never get the chance.

because the doorbell rings. and then the door swings open. and standing there, with a bouquet of slightly droopy yet still beautiful roses in hand, is the one and only mark lee.

your best friend.

your sunshine.

your everything.

“nasty, nobody invited you.” donghyuk winks. “whatsoever. this definitely wasn’t a set up.”

mark looks confused to say the least, but when he spots you, buried under the pile of his best friends, a smile lights up his face and he gives a shy wave. quickly, he shuts the door behind him, then hurries over to where you’re scrambling to untangle yourself from the dog pile and make yourself appear somewhat presentable. from somewhere in the pile, taeil cheers excitedly, and you can’t help but blush as yuta starts chanting “kiss kiss kiss”. taeyong scolds him, reminding him that, no, nobody will be kissing under his watch, but yuta has forced sicheng to join in on the cheering, and donghyuk has started it up as well.

“wait, johnny told me that it was just gonna be me, him, taeil, and-”

“and me?” you finish, taking a step forward.

mark gives a small nod, his face now as red as the flowers in his hand. he shoves them towards your chest, refusing to make direct eye-contact as he does. with a tiny giggle, you take them, thanking him for something so thoughtful. something so gorgeous. something so… romantic.

“what about your girlfriend?” you stammer.

taeyong takes this as his cue to usher the boys out of the cramped living room. resting his hand on the back of his neck, mark offers another smile, though this time it looks more embarrassed than before. you point to the couch, and then, without another word, you take a seat. mark follows behind, and then sits close. you two are so close that your elbows bump when he takes his seat beside you. you two are so close that your thighs are touching. you two are so close that you could just turn your head and kiss him-

mark takes a deep breath, holds his head high, makes direct eye contact. patiently, you wait for something, anything, to remind you that this isn’t a dream, and is indeed, happening before your very eyes. mark shuffles a bit awkwardly, then pulls at his collar. you kick your feet, he plays with his hands, and for a moment, you wonder if this is actually what you wanted. but then mark gives you a little nudge, and you can tell things are gonna be okay.

“well, i had a girlfriend…” mark begins, starting to play with his hands again. “but we broke up. i guess you wouldn’t know seeing as how-”

“seeing as how i’ve been ignoring you, like a total jerk. and i’m sorry.” you cut him off, your voice barely above a whisper. you take a shaky breath. “but it’s because i was jealous. i was really jealous, and i couldn’t bear to see you two together like that, and… and i’m sorry.”

mark’s brows raise, but he shows no other signs of emotion. your breath hitches in your throat, and maybe, maybe you’ve gone too far, but then he smiles shyly, his face once again glowing red. “no, no, i should be sorry. i asked her out because i thought that i would ruin our friendship if i admitted my true feelings, but god… you were all i could think about, even when i was dating her, and so she eventually told me that i obviously cared for you, and-”

“and here he is!!” yuta pokes his head from the doorway. “so kiss already!!”

“oh my god were you spying on us?!” mark panics. “go away, go away!!”

“you have to kiss first~!”

mark looks absolutely mortified. he turns to shoot you an apologetic look, but you’re only laughing along with the other boys.

“maybe if we do it, they’ll leave us alone.”

and so you lean in, and gently, ever so gently, you press your lips to his. cheers erupt from the other boys as you both pull away shyly, your faces both pink, and the widest of smiles on both your lips. mark rests his forehead against yours, and before you know it, his lips are on yours once more.

mark lee is your best friend in the world. and you are his best friend in the world. and everyone in the world seems to know this. but in this moment, as the two of you sit basking in each other’s presences, the sudden realization of true feelings finally dawning on the both of you, you decide that maybe best friend isn’t really what mark is to you anymore.

“boyfriend?” you ask softly, smiling at the way your heart flutters in your chest.

“boyfriend.” he confirms, pressing his lips to yours once again.

#not my best writing #but im so damn exhausted #i cant do this anymore #ahhh #mark scenarios #mark lee scenarios #mark imagines #mark lee #mark fluff #nct scenarios #nct fanfic #nct dream #nct #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #mark lee fluff #mark lee imagines

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destructivelyconstructive · 8 years ago

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What if fortune hadn't been watching over the Trollhunters? What if Gunmar HAD risen again? Blinky had hoped he would never find out, but he was stuck right in the middle of it. Separated from his friends and in Bular's negligent care, what is the historian to do?

So I saw @musekicker 's Villains Win AU and got really hyped for it. So I decided to ask them if it was alright to write for it, and now we are collaborating on write a story for it.

Blinky made a point to ignore the presence of the larger troll as he re-read one of the books that Bular had deemed to leave with him. To entertain his 'pet' while he was gone, he remembered the exact words, souring his already foul mood. He kept his face in a careful mask of engrossment, feigning to be absorbed by what he was reading. He was not a pet, thank you very much!

When the air around the bullish troll shifted and he heard him begin to move, Blinky finally deemed to 'notice' him, glancing to the side and acting as if he had just saw him.

“Bular! I didn't see you there. This-” He raised the book he had closed. “Is quite engaging.”

His general tone was rather bland, but the undertones were absolutely brimming with passive-aggressiveness.

The son of Gunmar snorted, looking at him with narrowed eyes, and withdrew the arm he had been beginning to stretch toward the smaller troll.

What was he doing with the Gumm-Gumm, you ask? That tale of woe is for another time, it would seem. But it was one that left the historian wishing he had some decent company.

“To what do I owe the interest?” He honestly queried.

The dark troll had all but ignored Blinky outside of making his initial claim and snarling his frustration at the bookish troll for his escape attempts. As such he – for the most part - had been left to his own devices. For Bular to show any sort of interest was a strange occurrence in the months following the opening of Killahead Bridge. So much so that it put Blinky on edge.

He stirred at the question, sitting up a bit more. The words that rumbled out of the larger troll surprised the librarian, and sharpened the edge he was feeling in this situation.

“I have something for you.”

The blue troll's warning lights went off, standing up and out off the larger troll's reach.

“Well, how thoughtful of you...” He hummed, his tone rich with the colors of sarcasm and suspicion.

The dangerous angles of Bular's glowing eyes softened slightly as he regarded him. His face was contemplative as he did a slow once-over of the six-eyed troll. Said six-eyed troll felt very exposed under the fiery gaze of his captor and crossed his arms, attempting to lessen the sensation.

After another few moments of this, Bular seemed to have gleaned what he wanted. He turned slightly and began to reach into a leather pouch that Blinky had failed to take notice of earlier.

“Come here.” The Gumm-Gumm troll commanded.

The historian stalled as he rationalized the endings of different actions. Bular could pick up the other troll with an obscene amount of ease if he refused to move. The two more frivolous actions ended poorly, with any remaining freedom he still had being stripped away from him. That left the option of simply obeying the order he had been given.

And so, with a long-suffering sigh, Blinky returned to the seat he had abandoned to evade the brutish troll. There was a huff from Bular, and the bookish troll was picked up and pulled in closer proximity to Gunmar's son. Much too close for comfort Blinky thought.

“Stay still and close your eyes, pet.” The larger male rumbled.

Blinky narrowed his several eyes at him. “I am not a pet, Bular.” He huffed.

His response was an indulgent hum that left him just as irritated as the term being applied to him.

A metallic glimmer caught two of his eyes and he flinched. He knew what that paint meant, and he had been hoping to stall for another few months before it got applied to him. He supposed he should be thankful that he had been able to avoid as long as he head, taking into consideration that it took longer to brew then the favored colors of gold and silver.

With an internal sigh, he closed his eyes and willed himself not to jerk away as Bular's claws came into contact with his skin. Maybe, just maybe, if he complied with the Gumm-Gumm's orders, he could be granted some of the lee-way he had lost with the several escapades he had attempted earlier in this unfortunate arrangement.

The silence that hung in the air was the incredibly awkward and uncomfortable sort, during which Blinky took notes. Bular seemed most intent on painting around his eyes before anything else, and when he did move on from that area, the designs weren't nearly as intricate as before. At least, from what Blinky could tell.

Finally, he heard Bular put the container away, and when he did, the paint on his body began to sting. From some sort of binding enchantment no doubt. Still, Blinky hissed at the moderate pain it brought, and instinctively went to wipe it away. A fruitless effort, as it would seem.

The pain dissipated quickly enough and the historian opened his eyes to glare at the other troll with as much scorn as he could muster. Which, given the events that had transpired in the last few months, and Blinky's current predicament, was quite staggering.

Still, Bular looked pleased with his handiwork as he did another once over of the smaller irate troll. Blinky scowled and looked down on himself as well.

The copper color that his captor had painstakingly created was actually a fitting accent for the color of his stone skin. That was a detail Blinky almost expected Bular wouldn't bother with. The design was pleasing as well, with the odd combination of lines that clearly had a geometrical root, and softened corners that lessened the harshness of the line segments.

The blue troll made a note to look over himself more when he was somewhat barricaded in his own safe haven, before getting up and walking away, intent on doing just that.

Bular let him do so, and Blinky closed the door to the room he had been so graciously given. Immediately after he heard the tell-tale click of the door closing securely, he secured the door as much as he was able to. Not that it would do much in the face of Bular's brute strength, save for give him some peace of mind before then.

Once he had done that, Blinky turned to the mirror that had been positioned in just the right manner to watch for intruders. He disregarded the distorted color it had and began examining the new metallic patterns on his skin.

For one, they followed the same theme as before, save for that the lines were thinner and the pattern was much more intricate. He wasn't surprised that said patterns took up the majority of the space around his eyes, but he was slightly curious how Bular had gotten the lines to be so thin. His claws weren't exactly made for creating such delicate things after all. He didn't really linger on it as he moved on.

He noted that there were more harsh lines connected with delicate curves, and dots lining some of the connected segments. There wasn't much more to tell about the paint that now decorated his face, save that they also filled in the groves that were present.

Once he finished studying his face, he moved onto the simpler body patterns. One of the things that stood out the most was the pattern that broke the common theme. Once he inspected it more closely, revealing an outline he knew well at this point, Blinky felt aggravation flare within him.

He had known the paint had been a binding in his new position, but now he was branded with Bular's sigil! He growled slight and left the mirror in favor of making his way to the small desk with an unfinished book resting atop it. He paused as he picked up the book with one of his lower hands, hit with a sudden bout of melancholy.

'When did everything go so awry?' He wondered, being drawn into months past.

Blinky watched with dread as the portal opened, caught between two very real fears. One was a selfish, self preserving fear. One of the horrors that would be unleashed if the bridge was allowed to open, and the other was for his friends, especially Aaarrrgghh and Jim. What would happen to the former Gumm-Gumm general and human Trollhunter if Gunmar and his horde was loosed upon the world once again?

He vaguely noted NotEnrique shouting something as he and Tobias made their way over to where Aaarrrgghh was restraining Bular. He saw the young changeling fly across the room from the corner of his leftmost eye, and saw a flash of blue make it's way up the bridge.

He turned his head some and saw that Draal had taken thing into his own hands. Quite literally, as he was pulling at the Amulet of Daylight with all his might, doing his damnedest close the bridge. Jim started to shout pleads at the determined troll over the noise of the portal, clearly worried about his well being.

There was a flash of fuchsia, and the green eyed changeling – he had never learned her name – was pulling on Draal, attempting to dislodge him.

Gunmar's voice echoed from the portal, calling for his son, and sending a sliver of ice through the core of his being. Then Draal and the female changeling were sent flying off the bridge. The amulet snapped back into place in the lock. The portal ceased the attempts to suck everything into the Darklands and stabilized.

And then allowed the Gumm-Gumm warlord to emerge from under the arch of Killahead Bridge. Bular threw Aaarrrgghh away from him, quite easily thanks to how surprised and horrified the gentle giant was, and began to approach his father with a gruesomely pleased smile. Stricklander gained the upper hand from Jim, and threw him to the floor in front of the large troll. Tobias cried out for his friend, as Blinky did the same. Aaarrrgghh was doing his best to stay out sight for as long as possible, practically cowering.

Stricklander jumped down besides the boy and began speaking. Blinky didn't hear what was being said, for he turned to Tobias and began to instructing him on what to do.

“Tobias. You need to run. Get Claire and go to Troll Market. You need to tell Vendel; We failed, and Killahead Bridge has been opened.” He glanced off to the side. The Gumm-Gumms and Changeling were still talking. “Go. Now!” He hissed, lightly pushing the boy. ”Get Draal too!”

Just at that moment, as if the mention of his name had rejuvenated him, Draal's apparent stupor faded and he threw the fuchsia changeling at Gunmar's feet. He looked ready to fight on, until more Gumm-Gumms, huge hulking brutes they were, came through the portal. He growled in frustration and turned to flee, Tobias following him closely.

The changeling woman snarled and looked to Gunmar, asking if she should pursue them.

“No. We will catch them in time. Why waste energy that can be applied elsewhere?”

After tat, it was a blur of commotion that Blinky couldn't recall, but after all that he was – unfortunately, painstakingly – aware of what happened next.

Bular had claimed him as a 'pet' – Jim and Aaarrrgghh nearly lost their minds with the outrage that had course through them with that development – whilst the Trollhunter and former general were to be incarcerated, after several back and further arguments. (Blinky was honestly surprised that they hadn't just killed the changeling for making such a bold statement) It was, of course, Stricklander that had intervened. He suggested the idea of imprisoning them to use them for breaking Trollkind's spirit. As such, Blinky held a begrudging gratitude towards the changeling for preserving their lives.

Blinky shook himself from the memories of that dreadful day, and hummed as he noticed the distinct silence hanging in the house.

He rose to his feet and undid the reinforcements he hadput in place and peered into the common area. Upon finding that the room was clear, he left his precarious safe haven, and checked the other parts of Bular's abode.

Upon finding that the bullish troll was nowhere to be found, Blinky settled down in a chair with a sigh.

So he had been left to his own devices once again.

How maddening.

#Blinky #Trollhunters #trollhunters au #Fanfic #Villains Win AU #bular #future Blinky/Bular #I love their AU so much #no seriously holy shit #I was so inspired and filled with adoration for this AU that I wrote the first thing that I've written that isn't a reader insert #i love this au so much

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glowyjellyfish · 4 years ago

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I keep finding myself writing up fun fandom things and then waiting too long to post them, and then I have moved on or am too depressed by the News to bother. So I’m making a deliberate choice right now to post a slightly older thingI have still been thinking about! Later I might post some Sims 2 Megahood Stories, but for now it’s My Reactions Upon Rewatching Legend of Korra! I’m not even done with it yet, there’s no reason to delay posting.

I finished season 1 Saturday night.

And I still love it! LOK doesn’t inspire quite as many Feelings as ATLA, but it has its moments, and I love the characters, the setting, and the themes. Themes like “how to honor and navigate older traditions in a modern changing society”, “everybody is fucked up by their parents and predecessors”, and “first there was an epic fantasy story and then reality ensued afterwards.” Oh, and also “let’s battle a series of political movements from the early 20th century!” I know it has problems with the seasons being too self-contained, for understandable reasons, and we’ll see how I feel about that going forward.

Characters: Favorite is Bolin, who is a delight, followed by Lin, who is amazing and inspired many Feelings, then in a rough tie based on how I am feeling at the moment Tenzin, Korra, and Asami. Mako needs to get his act together and stop being dumb to his girlfriends, which I know isn’t gonna be until at least season 3, but I have devoted a lot of brain power to trying to dissect him. They made him too nice to be a Hot Jerk and too often a mild jerk to be a Nice Boy. I don’t know what to make of him. Talented at bending in a precise, level-headed kind of way, overprotective in a slightly understated way, very bad at talking about or understanding feelings, and similarly not great at expressing himself on the fly, pragmatic, real good at teamwork with his brother. I feel like maybe all we needed was one scene showing him struggling to figure out what he wanted, rather than passively swapping from one girl to the other. Maybe express that he found it hard to walk away from Asami showering him with gifts, one would think he could be overwhelmed by the feeling of being taken care of for once and not know how to sort that out from romance, and I for one think it would have made him come off a little more interesting to show that kind of selfishness/pragmatism… just a thought. I honestly think they tried too hard to make him a Cool Romantic Hero, but I like to understand characters based on the whole of canon. Eventually I reached the conclusion that maybe the core of his character is that he’s so used to putting others’ needs before his own (usually Bolin) that he has a very poor grasp on what it is he actually needs or wants for himself, and doesn’t know how to balance that with the needs of others. We’ll see how that works going forward.

Anyway, Bolin is a delight, and I cannot remember what specifics prompted this but I am more convinced he’s the reincarnation of Ty Lee than ever. -charismatic in a ditzy kind of way, -getting involved in a war against chi blockers could be… maybe not exactly karma so much as it being important to experience from both sides, -friendly and prone to hugging, -definitely a follower, -a little flirty… I could go on like this. He’s a good boy and a Good Dude, and everybody’s friend.

(I am not sure at all about anybody else’s reincarnation, Bumi aside, although I learned that Sokka outlived Aang by at least a few years, so Tenzin’s kids are most likely for him. My gut says one of the girls, if only because he chugged so much respect women juice over the course of ATLA, but I can’t decide if either of them actually fits. With Mako it’s not quite that Jet fits him so much as that nobody else fits him any better. And Jet does make a weird amount of sense, just… not enough for me to necessarily declare it headcanon.)

Also, when anticipating this show I forgot all about General Iroh II, and think it’s a shame he wasn’t around more. Somebody should have dated him, he’s so fancy!

---

Since I wrote this up, I’ve watched season 2, and it’s… a mess.

-Varrick is great, Bumi is fantastic, Bolin’s charisma paid off, and apparently Mako is the kind of cop who writes out one-liners in advance to whip out on arrests, which is a mild upgrade.

-There are plenty of good parts--the road trip with Aang’s kids was pretty great, too--but as a whole season 2 just does not land, and I’m not sure why. The pacing is bonkers, I feel like I’ve barely started the season, but at the same time so many things have happened! And I feel like there’s been like zero character development, except maybe in the Tenzin plot, the whole season has felt like nothing but non-stop nonsense political plot hurled at the viewer with no downtime for the characters at all! Korra makes so many awful, brash decisions without thinking things through, and that’s clearly a character choice but the show doesn’t really seem to care, it has too much to do and it’s just moving right along!

-The Wan episodes are fantastic, though!

I may have cracked Mako, though, with my conclusion that he’s so used to putting others’ needs above his own that he doesn’t know how to even know what he wants. I believe that in season 2 he transferred most of his overprotectiveness to Korra, believing that to be How To Be A Good Supportive Boyfriend, and… I’m not totally sure whether he figured out that he wanted to be a cop, or if it just seemed like such a good fit for his personality that he jumped at it, or what. In any case, he believes this to be progress or improvement, and whether inadvertently or not, he kind of left Bolin in the lurch; and let’s also point out that Korra does not need or want overprotectiveness. She wants unwavering support, which Mako carefully attempts to give her, and she needs a level head and constructive criticism with tempered support, which Mako does not know how to give, tactfully, at all. He’s used to being the one in charge of the person he’s protective over, and that last thing Korra wants or needs is more people telling her what to do. That’s why they clash and don’t work.

And Bolin is smart enough to know that his problem pales in comparison to what Korra and by extension Mako are dealing with, at that stage of the season; that doesn’t make his problem (of an abusive girlfriend he can’t leave) something he knows how to handle. That’s why he eats up the attention he gets from being a mover star, and tries to get similar attention from Mako and make him impressed or jealous--he’s used to being the center of Mako’s world, and Mako quite blatantly abandoned him to his own devices and considered him useless for the bigger problems. I’m not saying it’s necessarily bad that Mako did that, although he was very rude about it. It’s probably healthier for both of them in the long run, I just easily see how Bolin was hurt and upset by it.

So I guess there was character development, it’s just hard to see when the plot keeps hurling things at you at breakneck speed and doesn’t give the characters a chance to breathe.

#avatar the legend of korra #LOK

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