#it's halloween so it felt pretty justified

[therearemorethanfivenights]

So I saw the FNAF movie, spoilers...

I loved every damn second of it. I mean, from a critical movie standpoint? Not the best. From a lover of the robo-murder-bear game standpoint? I need more injected directly into my brain right this moment. The references were all so beautiful. One thing idk if people noticed because I haven't really seen anyone mention it - did y'all notice that Matthew Patthew's nametag said Ness? Jfc. I felt wibbly emotions during that fort-building montage like "Yes let them be kids!!1! These are my friends!!" I tell you the 'tism was strong that day.

Could have used a bit more time though, I think I wanted to see a bit more of Peepaw Willie in action. He's such a fuckin goofball, loves doing murder, and having the time of his life. Lillard killed it and I kind of get what people say about him being hot. Perfectly unhinged performance, sir. Also, I like how they reversed some of the twists? Throwing in a kind of theory red herring near the beginning.

10/10 would recommend. Can't wait to see what actual monstrosity marionette is gonna end up being in the sequel, after the credits tease. Puppet my beloved I'll see u soon bby

[atiny-desire]

Scream pt. 2

Pairing: Yandere! Wooyoung x fem! Reader Summary: A year has passed since the events on Halloween, and you had given up on the idea of ever escaping Wooyoung's grasp. That was until someone very unexpected helped you out. Word count: 7.1 k Disclaimer: I'm in no way condoning, justifying, encouraging nor promoting this kind of behavior. This is not supposed to represent Wooyoung in any way. Warning: Yandere behavior, violence, stalking

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait, but after all, I have finally finished the last part.

Pt. 1

◇◇◇

It's been a year since Wooyoung and Jongho kidnapped you. You were sitting in Wooyoung's lap watching the news on TV. It was your first time watching television this year, Wooyoung said his gift to your 'anniversary' was the privilege of watching TV.

The biggest gift would've been your freedom, but that was just unrealistic thinking on your behalf.

"And now to a tragedy, that is still affecting the people of a small town." You weren't really paying attention when the reporter switched the topic, but the name of your hometown made you perk up.

"One year has passed since three students disappeared without a trace." On screen were three pictures of you, Wooyoung, and Jongho.

"Jung Wooyoung and Choi Jongho are currently the prime suspects in the case of the two murdered girls. Meanwhile, Y/N's involvement in the case is still unclear, although it is assumed that she has been kidnapped by the two suspects." You were surprised to see your face on Television, you thought people gave up looking for you or didn't even search for you to begin with.

While you were paying close attention to what was said, you didn't notice how Wooyoung observed you attentively the whole time. He didn't like how excited you were to see that people were still searching for you.

They moved on to show some Interviews with people who knew you. The first ones were your parents and it almost brought you to tears. Your mother was holding a tissue at her nose while silently crying. Your father was the one to talk. Saying how much they loved and missed you.

The next ones were Hongjoong and Seonghwa. "Honestly, Wooyoung always acted weird when it came to Y/N, but never did I imagine that he would go that far." Hongjoong answered the reporter's question about how they would judge Wooyoung.

Seonghwa nodded along and added, "And neither did we think that Jongho was capable of doing something like this."

To your surprise, not only Mingi was on screen next, but Yunho too. Ever since that night, none of the two would tell you what they did with him. Eventually, you drew your own conclusion of what "Taking care of Yunho" could mean and assumed that Jongho must have killed him.

You felt how Wooyoung tensed up at the sight of him. Glancing at Wooyoung showed you that his jaw was clenched and how he glared at Jongho who was sitting in an armchair, opposite of the couch.

"I always knew that Wooyoung did it!" Yunho was still the same, always overexcited when it came to crime. "And that he abducted Y/N? Not surprised either! He always acted way too possessive of her." Mingi was standing beside him while Yunho was rambling about, scratching his neck with his eyes wandering everywhere but at the camera. He looked like he wanted to go home, but got dragged in front of the camera by the crime obsessed guy beside him.

"Jongho was not expected tho. He tried to kill me, but that was the worst attempt I've ever seen. The only thing he did was leave an ugly scar on the side of my stomach." Yunho shook his head as if he was disappointed, it almost made you smile, seeing him still being the same comforted you a bit. At least you knew now that he was okay.

"So you believe that Y/N was kidnapped," the reporter asked him.

He nodded, his eyes were sparkling because now people were actually interested in his theories. "I mean it's pretty obvious, they found her phone with her last call being the police and Wooyoung was the only one staying with her. And on top of that the mask they found, with his DNA all over it! Wooyoung would never kill her, so the only option is that he took her with him." Yunho sighed and shook his head again. "Wooyoung's and Jongho's sloppy job just shows that they never listened to me."

Wooyoung's grip on your hip became tighter the more he listened to Yunho talk. "You're hurting me!" You grimaced your face, he would leave bruises if he kept doing it. His eyes were burning with hatred as he was staring at the screen, completely ignoring your complaints.

You put your hand over his, trying to pry him off. This caught his attention, his eyes met yours, and it made you stop whatever you were doing. A tiny tingly feeling sparked inside your lower stomach, a feeling that you tried to push away for a few months now. Of course, you knew what this feeling was. You were falling in love with him.

Stockholm syndrome. That was the first thing you thought about once you noticed your growing feelings toward him. You tried your best to fight those feelings, but there was only so much you could do, with him constantly being around you.

The next person was an even bigger surprise, you haven't seen him in years and now he was on television. Yeosang. You squirmed in Wooyoung's hold, his other hand which was lying on your upper thigh was now clamped into your flesh too.

"You and Y/N dated for some time. Did you ever notice anything weird about Jongho and Wooyoung," the reporter asked him.

Yeosang nodded, his white hair moving along with his motions. "Jongho, no. But Wooyoung? Absolutely." He stopped to think about what he was going to say next. "I don't know how to explain it, but I always had a bad feeling about him. From always glaring at me to making passive aggressive comments every time we talked."

He stopped again to bite his lower lip. "I know that seems like small things, but still, there was always something about him that would set my alarm bells off, he just-", Yeosang gestured around with his hands while fighting to find the right words, "I don't know how to explain it, but he had a very weird vibe around him."

The screen went back to the news reporter in the studio, but you couldn't listen to what he was saying because Wooyoung started to demand your attention. "I will never let you go," he suddenly said. You turned your head to look at him again and saw that he was already staring at you. A confident half-smile appeared on his lips. "And you don't want to leave me, right?"

It was delusional of him to think that you were staying with him because you wanted to, but you still nodded, telling him the truth wouldn't benefit you at all and would only put you at risk of being hurt. In the corner of your eye, you saw how Jongho watched the whole interaction, he slightly shook his head and then dedicated his attention to his phone instead.

Meanwhile, Wooyoung put his hand on your cheek and caressed it with his thumb. He got lost in his thoughts for a short moment, you knew what he was thinking about and it reminded you too.

It was your second day being held captive when you argued with Wooyoung. The two of you were standing in the doorway of the room they gave to you.

"So now what?! You're crazy if you think that this would work! People are going to search for me," you were yelling at Wooyoung who was progressively getting more annoyed with you.

You didn't know where you got the sudden confidence from to raise your voice at him, and in hindsight, it was a bad idea.

"Go. Inside. Your room," he repeated himself for the third time now, but you still weren't listening.

You stubbornly shook your head. "Just let me go! You're making it worse for everyone!"

Wooyoung sighed and bit his lip while thinking. "Listen-" he reached for your cheek but he didn't get to touch you. However, instead of just slapping his hand away, you took a more drastic approach.

You bit him.

The silence was deafening, he stared at you before he looked at his hand. A red print mark of your teeth was visible on the back of his hand, tiny dark red dots formed where you broke his skin. You saw how he clenched his jaw, the muscles under his skin were twitching and the veins on his neck became visible.

Your eyes widened in shock, you did it without thinking and the severity of the situation was now sinking in. "I'm sorr-," you didn't get to finish.

Wooyoung used the same hand to strike you across your face. He hit you with his open hand, but since you were unprepared for the impact it was enough to make you stumble back into the room. Your own hand shot up to hold it against your cheek, the skin was warm to your touch and it stung.

You could see the fury in his eyes before he shut the door without sparing you another word. You stood there, still in shock with your hand on your cheek, until you heard him lock the door.

You slowly turned around and curled up on the bed which was standing against the wall behind you. It didn't take long before your eyes became watery and you started to silently cry. Why you? Why did it have to be you?  You were silently begging in your head for someone to come save you

They kept you locked up for about a week before Wooyoung let you out again, but not without announcing that from now on you would have to earn your privileges. You never acted up after that again, he taught you relatively quickly that it wouldn't get you anywhere.

Wooyoung took his time just looking at you, at the start, it always made you uncomfortable when he just stared at you but now you got used to it. It didn't even surprise you anymore when he suddenly buried his face in the crook of your neck. Wooyoung wanted to touch you at all times be it hugging you or just holding hands with you. His favorite, however, was when you sat in his lap, where he could feel your warmth against him.

He held you for five more minutes before he sighed dramatically and removed himself from you. "I'm afraid I have to leave now." A pout formed on his lips as he jokingly said, "Don't miss me too much, all right?" He placed a kiss on your cheek before finally letting you off his lap.

You didn't say anything to him, but you didn't have to anyway, since in his mind he already knew that you would miss him. It didn't matter that it wasn't true and that in reality you always wished that he would never come back.

Wooyoung stood up grabbed his jacket and with a last wink your way he left the house. He often left and you always wondered where he would go, but questioning him about it was useless, he would always just playfully say that it was a secret. Nevertheless, you stopped caring about where he would go, because every time he left it felt like a weight was lifted off your chest and you could finally breathe again.

You glanced at Jongho who was still on his phone. Since that night he refused to talk to you, but it wasn't like you tried to talk to him in the first place.

"I didn't help him because I wanted to." Jongho's voice startled you, you realized that you almost forgot what he sounds like.

"I didn't ask." It came out colder than you intended to. Did he really expect that you would act like nothing happened after he helped Wooyoung abduct you and not speak to you for a whole year?

You made eye contact with him, with the anticipation of looking at his usual emotionless face, but it wasn't. Instead, he looked... kind of sad. However the sad expression was gone as fast as it came, or maybe it wasn't even there to begin with and you just imagined it. Jongho was not going to let it go, for some reason he was finally determined to tell you the truth. "You did ask!"

He was right, but that was at the very beginning. What was the point of telling you the truth now? You didn't care anymore, the only thing you wanted was to get back home, even if there was a little voice in your head that was telling you otherwise. You silently stared at him, you wanted to give him a piece of your mind, but your thoughts were a tangled mess and nothing could convey your feelings like you wanted it to.

Jongho, who took your silence as your approval for him to keep talking, took a long drawn out sigh before he started to tell you his side of the story. "To make it short, Wooyoung caught me with San's girlfriend." You didn't know what you were expecting but this for sure wasn't it. "He surprised us, killed her first, shoved the knife in my hands and threatened to tell the police that I did it if I don't do as he says."

You tried your best to keep your facial expressions in check, but Jongho knew what you were going to say because he was able to read you like a book, not just any book, but a picture book made for children. It was as clear as the day that you could not grasp Jonghos' way of thinking, nothing of this made sense to you. "So you just stood there and watched him kill her? You're stronger than him, you could've stopped him!"

"I know but it wasn't that easy!" His eyes were previously wandering around the room but were set on you now, for the first time during this conversation. "He's my friend... he is our friend. He is important to me and I know he is important to you too!"

"Jongho, what the hell!" You raised your voice a little bit and shook your head in disbelief, you couldn't understand his reasoning at all. "He was our friend, yes, but that doesn't excuse him for killing someone?!"

Hypocrite. Your inner voice kept repeating that word. You were lecturing Jongho about still seeing Wooyoung as a friend, while you were slowly falling in love with him. If you could even call those confusing feelings love.

"I know it doesn't, but don't tell me that you don't have the same conflicting feelings!"

"I don't." You stayed stubborn in your stance, Jongho didn't need to know about your feelings. "And even if I did, he literally killed people, in what world does him being our friend make this okay?!" You were repeating yourself, but talking to Jongho was like arguing with a wall. The same thing could be said about you too because both of you were standing your ground.

This is probably the most you've talked during this year. Wooyoung has had already mentioned multiple times about how you lost your quick-wittedness and joked that he would replace you with someone more exciting. You always forced a smile and told him to stop messing around, but secretly you were wishing that he would actually do it.

You were staring at each other, trying to intimidate the other into giving up, but you knew Jongho. He wasn't going to budge no matter how long you were trying to keep this up.

"And what about Yunho?" You now glared at him, while Jongho quickly broke the eye contact. "Tell me, is he not your friend? What exactly are your criteria here?"

He clenched his jaw and started to bite the inside of his cheeks. "I didn't kill him, did I," he quietly hissed and stubbornly redirected his gaze to stare at the TV. You didn't know that an advertisement about teeth whitening toothpaste could be this interesting.

"But you tried." Both of you stayed silent after that, but the tension was unbearable to you and you still had a question, so you broke the silence again. "What about me? Am I not your friend either?"

"You and Yunho are my friends, but so is Wooyoung!" He hissed again through clenched teeth. You had to withstand the urge to roll your eyes. Yes, you're such a great friend that you tried to kill one of them and abducted the other one, you wanted to say it out loud, but you held your tongue. "I didn't want this to happen!"

You couldn't help but snort. "How kind of you, at least you didn't want it to happen," your voice was dripping with sarcasm. You became bolder the more you noticed that he wasn't a threat, but just a loyal idiot. You almost nodded to yourself, loyal idiot seemed to perfectly describe him at this moment.

"If you really didn't want this to happen then let me go." Jongho's face hardened, he had always been scary when he put on his stern expression, but now it seemed to be on another level. "You're going to get a lesser sentence if you cooperate with the police, I'll even help you." His face stayed unchanged, but there was a small glint in his eyes, which could have been easily missed, but you saw it. He was considering it, but he didn't get to think about it any further.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw something move in the window right by the front door. The door opened not even a second later, and revealed Wooyoung. He smiled as he came into the house. "I forgot my phone."

Now you saw it too, there it was, laying on the coffee table. You bit your lip and hoped that he didn't hear anything from your conversation from the outside. Wooyoung noticed the tension that filled the room as soon as he showed up, he slowly walked to the table and asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

He grabbed his phone and kept looking between you and Jongho waiting for an answer until his gaze finally settled on you after none of you answered him. "Well? Did I?"

You shook your head. "You didn't." But who were you trying to fool? Wooyoung knew that something was up just by looking into your eyes, they hadn't been this expressive in a long time. Wooyoung slowly came closer to you, you felt your shoulders tense up no matter how hard you tried to stay relaxed. His presence was unnerving, you didn't want to know what he would do if he found out what you were talking about.

"You wouldn't lie to me, right?~," he hummed melodically. He gently placed his index finger under your chin to lift your face up. You nodded but you couldn't hold the eye contact with him, so you looked at the wooden wall behind him. His face hardened, which you obviously couldn't see because apparently, the wall behind him was much more interesting than him.

Frustrated he bit his lip, he wanted to know what was going on, but he didn't have the time to discuss this out now. "We're going to talk about this later!" He pulled his hand back and looked at Jongho one more time before he left the house again.

You waited a minute before you tried to talk to Jongho again, but he had other plans. You barely opened your mouth when he abruptly stood up and went upstairs. The sound of his room door closing followed quickly after.

Defeated you sat there for a few minutes. The television was still showing a bunch of advertisements. You could feel the energy and adrenaline, which were previously running through your body, leave the more time passed. You eventually got up, turned the TV off, and went into your room too.

Your legs automatically carried you to the big bookshelf, which was filled to the brim with fantasy and romance books. They were already there when you arrived in this house and often left you wondering who it originally belonged to, and how Wooyoung knew that it would be safe here. The house in general was a really nice one, people would pay thousands for a house like that.

It was a big log cabin surrounded by forest and with a clear lake basically directly at the front door. All of the rooms were big and spacious, you couldn't believe that someone would just abandon a house like that. However Wooyoung refused to give you any information about the owners, or how he knew about the house.

You reached out for a book, which has caught your eye for a while now. "Cursed" was written in bold white letters on the spine. You pulled it out of its spot to inspect the cover and the summary. The story was about eight Pirates who had to break a curse, with the help of the daughter of a famous treasure hunter.

You spent the rest of the day on your bed reading said book. It quickly captured you in its world, to the point where you could almost taste the salty air of the sea on your tongue, and hear the creaking of the ship, as it sailed across the ocean.

The time flew by and you didn't even notice how it turned dark outside. That was until someone knocked on your door. Dread settled in the pit of your stomach, you didn't have to guess who it was. Wooyoung opened the door without waiting for your permission to enter. He strolled over to you and dramatically flopped down beside you on the bed.

He was pouting when he said, "You're sending more times with those books than with me!"

"Well, you're always gone the whole day. Am I supposed to just sit here and wait for you," you responded. You didn't take your eyes off of your book, despite having lost your concentration since Wooyoung entered the room.

He didn't say anything in return and you could finally stop reading the same sentence over and over again, and concentrate again.

Wooyoung was laying on his side with his head propped up in his hand, watching you. He didn't say anything and just observed how your eyes moved over the pages. The soft sound of you occasionally flipping a page filled the room. You didn't see it but had you looked out of the window you would have seen the small snowflakes falling through the light that was falling out of your window. This could have been a romantic moment if the person lying next to you wasn't your kidnapper.

After a while, you almost forgot about his presence, but it was almost as if he sensed it and he didn't like that you were forgetting him. "Do you have a wish for Christmas," he suddenly asked.

You stopped reading in order to look at him, you thought you misheard him, but it seemed as if he was waiting for an answer, so you did in fact not imagine it. It only took you a second and a short glance out of the window to know what you wanted. The snowflakes were now bigger and would definitely add a few centimeters to the already thick layer of fallen snow. You felt the desire to go outside and feel the cold air against your face and to breathe in the fresh air. "A visit to a Christmas Market." It was just a silly idea, and you didn't expect Wooyoung to agree to it. However, to your surprise, you heard him hum in agreement.

You turned your head so fast that you almost pulled a muscle. "Are you serious," you asked in disbelief.

"I'm serious, if you want to go, we'll go." His reassurance made you sit up straight, you closed your still open book without putting a tag between the pages and stared at Wooyoung as if he grew a second head.

He had a satisfied smirk on his lips, as he was finally able to draw a reaction from you. "Don't you want to know what my wish is?" Of course, you should have known that there was going to be a catch.

You sighed and asked, "What do you want?" It came out a lot harsher than you wanted it to be. Luckily for you, he didn't mind.

There was a playful glint in his eyes, you didn't even need to hear what he had to say, to know that it would be something bad for you. "You," he whispered. "All of you."

You froze, you knew that the time would come when he would not be satisfied anymore with just kissing and cuddling, but nothing could prepare you for the moment when he actually voiced it out. You didn't respond anymore, you were too stunned to say something and that held on until he finally left your room again. He winked at you before he left and his last words were, "Dream of me!"

Jongho got informed that you would visit a market, on the next day and he was not amused. You were all sitting in the living room when Wooyoung told him about the news, he first had the same look as you the day prior before it turned into pure anger. "What the hell are you thinking?!" You were a bit taken aback by his sudden outburst, you had expected this kind of reaction from Wooyoung, but not from him. Wooyoung seemed a bit surprised too, as he just let him continue speaking.

"We went through all of this for what?" It was a question but he didn't expect an answer. "Just for you to ruin it all by taking unnecessary risks?!" He bit his lower lip, his hands were clenched into a fist and with his eyes, he was staring daggers at Wooyoung.

Wooyoung sat up straight, his eyebrows were raised, silently asking if Jongho was questioning his authority. The latter wasn't too impressed and just hissed through clenched teeth, "You know who's in town right?"

"And who's fault is that," Wooyoung promptly asked. They stayed silent for a few seconds.

Jongho was the first one to break the staring contest, he practically jumped from his seat he was about to leave, but not without one last comment. "Why don't you just call the police already and safe us the trouble, huh?" And with that he left, the sound of his door slamming shut could be heard through the whole house just a few seconds later. Wooyoung didn't react to his provocation, but his mood was miserable for the rest of the day.

Christmas day arrived agonizingly slow and way too fast at the same time. You woke up with a stomach ache, whether it was from excitement or your anxiety, you didn't know. You were laying in your bed for a while, thinking about different plans and their outcome. Nothing seemed to have a 100% chance of working. You could ask a stranger for help, but what if they just ignored you, what if Wooyoung noticed what you were trying to do? Just running away seemed even worse, you doubted that you could outrun Wooyoung, but you had to try something. You would decide which plan to pursue, once you were there.

And what if you failed? It felt like someone punched you in the gut, once the thought occurred to you. Until now he had always accepted it when you said no, but would he take no for an answer again? How long would he wait until he just took what he wanted?

Until now you were staring blankly at the ceiling, but you had to screw your eyes shut. You were trying to push your thoughts to the back of your head, but it didn't help, they always came back to the surface. What if you didn't want to say no? You felt horrible, you shouldn't have those kinds of feelings for a killer and kidnapper.

After a while, you finally got up and went down to eat breakfast. You would need the energy for later. Jongho and Wooyoung were already sitting at the kitchen table when you came down, one of them had made scrambled eggs. The food on your plate was still steaming.

"Are you excited for today," Wooyoung asked as soon as you sat down next to him. Jongho who sat in front of you shook his head slightly, he still didn't like the idea.

You nodded and refrained from looking at him. You knew if you did catch a glance of him, you would feel those unwanted tingles in your lower stomach again. You could feel his burning stare on your face while you were eating, but you tried to ignore it as well as you possibly could. That was until he finally said something again. "I'm excited too."

You almost choked on your food, you didn't have to be a mind reader to know that he wasn't talking about the market. All he got from you was a quick glance at him before you continued to, now awkwardly, eat your food.

The day went by awfully slow, you kept checking the clock, which hung over the TV in the living room. It was as is the time had a personal vendetta against you and wanted to torture you with every second for as long as possible.

It wasn't until the time finally arrived, when you finally stood outside again, that you realized the gravity of this situation. You literally had to escape, or everything would be over. You didn't know how long you could resist Wooyoung. He was driving you crazy, and not in a good way.

The air was cold but fresh. The thick layer of snow was sparkling under the few sun rays that managed to slip through the cloudy sky. Every step you took resorted in the sound of the snow crunching under your weight. It was a beautiful winter day, you just wished that you could actually enjoy it. You were sweating even though it was cold, your hands were shaking because of your anxiety and your body was producing Adrenaline as if you were being chased by a Lion. You could only hope that Wooyoung wouldn't notice.

The drive to the town was quiet, at least between you two. Your mind, however, was very loud and busy, constantly creating new outcomes and their consequences and replaying them over and over again. The closer you got, the more you felt like throwing up, you were really tempted to just tell Wooyoung to turn around.

After all, all of the worrying you did was useless. The two of you were, of course wearing a mask and Wooyoung didn't let you out of his grasp just once, his arm was constantly around your waist holding you close to him. The Christmas market would've been great under different conditions. People were enjoying the holiday days, the air smelt like various foods and sweets. Every stand was decorated with lights and pretty ornaments, but you couldn't enjoy it. Not with Wooyoung by your side and the dooming knowledge, that he was pretty close to breaking you.

You had already accepted your fate, that was until you spotted a familiar figure. He was hard to miss because he was towering over everyone else and his hair was still the same shade of orange, with which you last saw him in person. You didn't need to see his face to know that it was Yunho. Your eyes widened and your heart rate picked up, this was your chance. You were about to yell his name, but Wooyoung, who had spotted him at the same time as you did, was quick to stop that.

He put his hand over your mouth and discreetly but quickly pulled you to a more secluded area. "Were you trying to call him," he asked as soon as you were alone.

You of course shook your head, but Wooyoung was not having it. He only asked you because he wanted to give you a chance, to tell the truth, and you failed miserably. He knew you, and he knew what you were trying to do. The trip was cut short because of this incident. Wooyoung roughly grabbed you by your wrist, and pulled you after him, not caring if you could keep up with his fast pace.

The drive back was in complete silence too, but it was worse than the drive to the market. The air was filled with tension, and you had to live with the fact that you failed. Wooyoung didn't calm down during the whole drive back, he was clenching and unclenching his jaw and his knuckles turned white from his hard grip on the steering wheel. It was already dark when you arrived back 'home'.

There were different kind of ways of how silence could be described. Awkward silence, pleasant silence, sinister silence, and many more. However sinister would fit the most, had you had to describe the silence as you first walked into the log cabin again. For some reason, you knew immediately that Jongho was gone, which left you alone with an angry Wooyoung, but there was something else that you couldn't quite describe. It was as if the time was frozen, waiting for something.

Apparently, you were the only one who noticed the difference, because Wooyoung was entirely focused on his anger and you. He grabbed your wrist again as soon as he slammed the door shut, you winced at the sound and were surprised that he didn't take the door off its hinges. He continued to drag you after him, up the stairs and to his room, where he then proceeded to slam the door shut in the same manner as the front door.

He let go of you and you shuffled into the middle of the room, where you had some distance from him and couldn't be cornered by him. You stood there unsure, playing with the hem of your pullover until Wooyoung finally said something. "What were you talking about with Jongho, the other day?" This caught you off guard, you had expected him to ask you about the encounter with Yunho again, but not this. You assumed that he had forgotten about your conversation with Jongho.

"Nothing. Nothing important." You said.

He nodded slightly and let out a short quiet laugh before he fixes his cold gaze on you. "I decide what is important and what is not! What were you talking about?" The vein on his neck looked like it was about to pop, he just needed one more reason to set him off.

You considered lying to him, but it seemed pointless. He wouldn't stop pushing until you finally heave him the answer he wanted. Your eyes traveled down to the white square carpet, which you were standing on. It was a big contrast to the dark wooden floor it was lying on. "He-," you were ready to push all of the blame on him, but you reconsidered. "We were talking about leaving."

Wooyoung didn't seem to be surprised at all, he probably had already suspected it. All of a sudden he got closer to you and swiftly wrapped his hand around your neck. He didn't apply enough pressure to cut off your airway, but enough to hold you in place. You put both of your hands around his wrist and tried to pry him off, but he didn't move one bit. "I told you before, not to lie to me. Yet, you told me that you didn't want to leave." His eyes narrowed as he brought his face closer to yours, his lips were ghosting over yours when he whispered, "Are you trying to irritate me on purpose?"

He was dangerous his hand around your neck proved it once again. If he wanted to he could extinguish your life at any moment. All of those facts yet you still got those unwanted tingles in your stomach, because of his close proximity. He must have done it, he must have finally broken you, because you were sick in the head for still having feelings for him. You couldn't think straight, all you were thinking about was how close he was, and what would happen if you crossed the line and closed the gap between you.

"You belong to me, right?" He asked but it still sounded more like a statement. You nodded, it wasn't enough for Wooyoung though. "Then say it. Say that you belong to me."

"I belong to-" You didn't get any further. The door swung open and three armed police officers invaded the room.

"Hands over your head and get on your knees!" Commanded one of them, all three of them were pointing their weapons at Wooyoung, who was still holding you by your throat. "Don't make me repeat myself." He said after Wooyoung made no move to comply.

You were watching with wide eyes, you couldn't believe that you almost kissed him out of your own free will and you couldn't believe, that you were finally being rescued. Were you dreaming? No, this was real. Wooyoung slowly removed his hand from your neck and followed the orders he was given, but not without glaring at them the whole time. If looks could kill they wouldn't be standing anymore.

"Y/N right?" The same officer addressed you now.

Still in shock, you could only manage to whisper a small, "Yes." You cringed at the sound of your voice. It sounded hoarse, even to your own ears.

The officer didn't take his eyes or his weapon off of Wooyoung. "Go outside. Your family is waiting in front of the house." Your Family. Everything felt surreal, after a year you had given up on the idea that someone was going to come and save you. Especially after your most recent failure at the market.

You weren't dreaming, right? Your legs felt like jelly with every step you took, until you finally reached the front door, which was left wide open. Two police cars were standing outside with their lights on, the blue and red lights were reflecting on the glittering snow. Your body reacted automatically when you ran up to your parents once you spotted them. Your parents were both shedding tears when they finally held you in their arms again, but for some reason, you didn't. It wasn't that you weren't happy to see them again, however it wasn't enough to make you cry.

Yunho and Mingi were there too, you finally acknowledged them when your parents released you of their crushing hug. Yunho was the next one who you pulled into a hug. You came to the conclusion that he must have called the police, he must have seen you back then. "Thank you," you mumbled into his chest.

"What did I do to deserve a Thank you," He asked.

Confused you pulled a bit back to look at him. Yunho had his head cocked to the side and looked at you with the same kind of confusion. "I thought... you called the police."

Both of you stayed quiet for a second before he slowly shook his head. "How would I have known that you're here?" So he wasn't the one who brought you back your freedom, but then who else?

Mingi had already opened his arms, pouting and waiting for his hug when you let go of Yunho, but you had your attention elsewhere. Wooyoung was being led outside the house, his face didn't show any emotions, as if he didn't just get caught and ruined his entire life. He didn't even spare you another glance, as he was forced inside in one of the police cars.

Your eyes wandered to the second car. The flickering lights were illuminating the inside just enough for you to recognize a silhouette on the backseat. Jongho. He was staring straight ahead, unmoving, as if he wasn't even present. The gears in your head started turning, if it wasn't Yunho, then it must have been Jongho, who helped you.

You didn't have time to think about it more because Mingi, who was still impatiently waiting for his hug had enough of waiting. He pulled you into him. "Mingi! You're crushing me!" You tried to get some space, but he didn't budge.

"I missed you idiot so much." You couldn't see him, since your face was squashed against his chest, but you knew that he was crying because of his shaky voice. You stopped struggling against him and soothingly pat his back until he was ready to face you again. "I'll never leave your side again!" It sounded a bit like a threat, but it made you smile nonetheless. The feeling of peace overcame you, a feeling you haven't felt during the past year.

Ten months past since you gained your freedom back. Your life became somewhat normal again, and you started to see a therapist, to handle and overcome your gained trauma from the past events. However, you still felt uneasy when Autumn arrived again, and with it, Halloween too. Everyone was preparing for it, everyone except you, your family, and your friends. With every day did your stomach ache get worse until Halloween arrived again. You and your family, including friends, decided to spend the day together.

The day was going well until the news came on. You were all sitting together in the living room when the reporter announced, "Breaking News! Jung Wooyoung, who has been arrested for murder and kidnapping, broke out of prison. The police are feverishly searching for the convicted killer. Please contact the police, should you have any clues on his whereabouts."

Your blood ran cold, and you could feel your heart rate pick up. You didn't know if it were your parents or Mingi who tried to talk and soothe you. In the end, it didn't matter. No words could calm you down anyway, not when Wooyoung was roaming around somewhere out there. He was determined to get you back, determined to never let this nightmare end. You would never be able to sleep properly again, for as long as he was alive.

Tag: @belle643

[waywardxwords]

Chapter 2 - Nothing to Lose (Taking Chances)

Summary: After a random encounter introduces you to Dean Winchester, you can't shake the magnetic pull you feel towards him. For years, you've felt like everything in your life is under control--a promising career, financial stability and no real responsibilities. Dean's a hunter; it's his life and job. But somehow when you meet, your worlds are flipped upside down and you have to decide if it's a chance worth taking.

Chapter Warnings: None

Pairing: Dean Winchester x female!reader

Word Count: ~2.5k

Read Chapter 1 - Rules Were Meant for Breaking here!

The wind whipped at the shutters on your two-bedroom home tucked in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia. It was another quiet night for you. Quiet had become your norm, and you were perfectly content with that. One hand held your cell phone to your ear while the other poured yourself a glass of Merlot. 

“I’m heading to Kansas next week,” you said somewhat nonchalantly into the receiver, but your best friend knew better than that. 

“Oooh,” she cooed. “Are you seeing your flying buddy?” You rolled your eyes. After you had mentioned your encounter that had happened almost a month ago now, she had been relentless. 

“No…I don’t know,” you grumbled. “He has a name, you know.” 

“Oh, I know. The mysterious Dean. I still wish you had gotten a last name. You gotta Google guys nowadays. You tend to find some creepy ass people,” she muttered back. You slipped the cork back into the bottle and carried your glass to the living room. 

“Says the girl who dated a guy with an attempted battery charge,” you scoffed as you plopped down on your couch and pulled your legs up to the side. 

“Listen, Tinder is wild. It’s not my fault he used a fake name,” she tossed back. “And let’s just remember it was a charge and he was never actually convicted.”

“Yeah, let’s not try to justify that one, ‘kay?” You laughed. “I don’t know, I don’t think I’m going to call him. I don’t even know if he wants to hear from me.” You swirled the burgundy liquid around in your wine glass as your mind replayed the night you and Dean spent together. 

“You were pretty clear about what you wanted…or didn’t want, for that matter. At least, from what you told me.” 

Once you and Dean had gotten your room assignments, you agreed to meet in his room after you got settled. A quick glance in the mirror made you grimace—traveling for fifteen hours hadn’t done you any favors. You swiped your index finger under each eye to clean up the smudged mascara before you pulled at the fallen strands of hair to fix your bun. The idea of getting dressed up at this point seemed futile, so you settled on a long sleeve shirt and leggings with sneakers. 

After a quick breath, you grabbed your room key and cell phone and headed down the hall to Dean’s room. Your knuckles tapped against the wood. 

Within a moment, the door swung open revealing your new friend. He had changed into a gray undershirt and sweatpants. 

“Hey,” you breathed with a smile. 

“Hi,” he smiled back. He stepped back and held the door open for you. “Come on in.” 

“Are we passing on the bar adventure?” You raised your eyebrows as you eyed his choice of sweatpants. 

“Oh, you mean you don’t want to be seen with me wearing sweatpants in the bar?” He feigned offense. “And see, I didn’t think you cared about that kinda thing…” before you could say anything, he continued. “Nah, I’ll be honest. I’m pretty exhausted and thought we could just hang out and watch a movie or something.”

“That works, but seriously, if you’re tired I can absolutely entertain myself and get some sleep. We don’t have to hang out,” you were second-guessing everything, and that wasn’t like you. The confidence and self-assurance you had when it came to your work seemed to go out the window when it came to Dean. 

“No way,” he plopped down on the bed and put his feet up as he sat against the headboard. “It’s almost Halloween, how do you feel about some scary classics?” He wiggled his eyebrows, which made you laugh. 

“Sounds good to me,” you walked to the other side of the bed and sat down so you were against the headboard with your legs folded like a pretzel. 

The movie was fun, but you and Dean ended up talking throughout most of it. 

“Okay, so you don’t like planes…anything else you’re afraid of?” You popped a pretzel from the trail mix bag Southwest had provided on your earlier flight into your mouth and handed the bag to Dean. 

“Hm,” he hummed as he rummaged through for a Cheez-It. “Not really. My brother’s afraid of clowns.” 

“Clowns are pretty creepy,” you agreed. Dean rolled his eyes. 

“What about you? What are you afraid of?” The question was harmless, but the answer felt loaded to you. As you processed your thoughts, you hesitated but decided to just go for it. 

“Being alone,” your eyes fell to your lap where you played with a loose string on the comforter. “Sorry, that was deep.” You laughed lightly as you avoided eye contact and wondered if you had gone with something easier; something like snakes or needles. 

“Hey,” Dean’s voice caught your attention. “Don’t be sorry. That’s a valid fear.” You noticed his voice was lower than before. His words were kind, but you still felt like you had made a mistake by opening up that much to him. 

“I appreciate it,” you managed a small smile. 

There was a pause, but you were surprised it wasn’t uncomfortable. Then Dean spoke once more. “In, uh, in the spirit of ‘if you show me yours, I’ll show you mine’,” he cleared his throat. “I’m batshit terrified of being afraid…”

You blinked as you contemplated his words. “You’re…afraid of being afraid?” 

He chuckled and rubbed at the back of his neck as he dropped his gaze to his lap. “Yeah, I know it sounds weird. I guess for me, I always have to be strong and just have my shit together. Which I don’t, by the way.” You watched the side of his face as he spoke, illuminated by the movie playing on the TV on the dresser across from you. “It’s pretty much always been me and Sammy—my brother,” he reminded you. “I don’t really ever show anyone if I’m afraid of something.”

“Everybody gets scared, Dean,” you coaxed as he paused. “Your brother would understand that.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” he pondered, his eyebrows knitted together. “I guess so, I just don’t show it.”

Even though it was a simple confession, you felt like you learned a lot about Dean in that moment. 

“You were afraid on the plane, I could tell,” you smirked and pushed your elbow gently into his ribs playfully. 

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and for the first time since he started speaking, his head turned to look at you. His eyes practically studied you but all you felt was his vulnerability. “I know,” he said softly. “That’s the thing, I was able to drop the act in front of you. I just can’t figure out why…”

“Ah,” you smiled. “You broke your own rule. You took your mask off.”

He chuckled again. “I guess I did.” 

You turned back after a moment to look at whatever was happening on the TV in front of you, and that’s when you felt Dean’s palm graze the top of your hand at your side. It wasn’t forceful or pushy, it just felt comforting. You glanced down at your hands and took a breath. 

“Dean, I need to be honest with you,” your words were so soft, you weren’t sure if he heard you. His eyes watched you and he nodded for you to continue. “I’m really, really bad at…this whole thing.” You mumbled. 

“At what, exactly?” He asked for clarification. 

“Men? Affection? I’ve been so focused on my career for so long, I kinda just settled on the fact I’d be alone for the rest of my life. And even though it terrifies me, I’m also kind of content with that? Let’s be honest, you live in Kansas and I live in Virginia. We don’t even know each other, we’re strangers,” you were rambling at this point. 

“I’m not askin’ you to marry me, sweetheart,'' he laughed gently, but also removed his hand from yours.

“No, I know,” you breathed. “I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you, seriously. I just don’t see how…” you trailed off as you tried to find your words. 

“I get it, wrong place, wrong time,” he repeated the words from earlier. 

“Something like that,” you sighed. You stared into his green gaze for another moment before you found your voice again. “I should go.” 

Dean nodded once, but you saw the disappointment flash across his features. “I understand.” He swung his legs off of the bed and waited for you to walk you to the door. “Just so you know, I really liked talking with you tonight.” 

“Me too, Dean,” you managed a smile and wondered why you felt sad. You wouldn’t let your feelings deter you. 

“And hey, if you’re ever in Kansas and wanna break any more of those rules…” he reached for a notepad on the table by the door. He scribbled out a number. “Gimme a call.” 

You took the paper willingly and gave him one more gentle smile. “Thanks, Dean.” And against your better judgment, you leaned forward on your tip toes and kissed his stubble covered cheek. “Goodnight.”

You saw Dean on the plane the next morning, but couldn’t be sure if he had seen you. He picked a seat rows ahead of you, and by the time you had gotten off of the plane—he was gone. 

“Can you blame the guy?” Your best friend’s voice interrupted your thoughts. “He bared his soul to you and you bolted.”

“I didn’t bolt because of the conversation! I got scared,” you mumbled. 

“I know, but I also know it’s been a month and you haven’t shut up about him,” she reminded you. “Call. The. Man. Please, if for nothing else, for my sake. I’m sick of hearing you whine.” 

“Ugh, fine,” you grumbled. “I’ll call him.” 

“You better,” she bit back. “If you don’t call him, you’re not allowed to talk about him anymore. Got it?”

A sigh fell from your lips, but you knew she was right. “Deal.” 

“Good, I gotta run. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” and with that, you both hung up. You stared at your phone for a minute. With a quick scroll in your contacts, you found the number you had added after Dean wrote it down on the notepad. Your finger hovered for a moment before you took a leap of faith and pressed his name. 

You pushed the phone to your ear and took a very large sip of your wine with your eyes squeezed shut tightly. Your breath got caught in your throat when you thought he had answered, only to realize it was his voicemail. 

“This is Dean’s other, other cell…so you must know what to do.” And then there was a beep. You quickly hung up the phone. How many cell phones does this guy have? And why…? Maybe your best friend was right—maybe you needed to fully vet this dude before you considered coordinating a meet-up. But before you could think on it any longer, your phone started vibrating against the couch cushion. 

“Hi,” you sighed into the phone as you pinched the bridge of your nose. 

“Uh, hi. Who is this?” His voice sounded gruffer than you remembered. 

“Dean, sorry, I uh, I—this is—” he cut you off before you could say anything else. 

“Oh…uh, everything okay?” He sounded…worried, or concerned, maybe? But you weren’t sure why. And he recognized your voice? There was so much you were confused about but it was overshadowed by the giddiness you felt that he recognized your voice from just a few words. 

“Oh, everything’s fine,” you quickly answered. “I’m sorry to bother you, I just wanted to call to let you know I’m going to be in Kansas next week…” you second-guessed, again, why you had called to begin with. You knew you were sending the man mixed signals, and you didn’t mean to. It was a battle from within that you couldn’t tell if you were losing or winning, at this point. He didn’t speak during your pause, so you continued. “I’m sorry, Dean. I shouldn’t have called.”

“No, it’s alright,” he spoke softly. “I just didn’t think I’d hear from you again.” You wanted to kick yourself, but instead you stood to your feet and paced a bit in front of your couch as you gripped the phone to your ear.

“I know,” you sighed. “Moment of honesty without any judgment?” You asked hesitantly.

“Shoot,” by the sound of his voice, you could tell he still wasn’t sure what you wanted or why you had dialed his number. To be fair, you still weren’t sure, either. There was this strange sense of connection you felt with him after only spending a few hours with him. It was something you couldn't shake.

“When I left your hotel room that night,” your feet slowed and you brought your fingers up to fidget with the charm on your necklace. “I kind of panicked. But…” But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, is what you wanted to say. However, you weren’t feeling very brave, so you swerved. “…I just knew you had said if I were ever in Kansas again, to give you a call.” Per usual when the nerves crept up and made you feel like you had made a mistake, your teeth found the inside of your bottom lip and nibbled there self consciously. 

There was a pause that made you question yourself even more than before, if that were possible. “No, I’m glad you called. When are you planning to be in town?” 

Your heart fluttered. Maybe he did want to see you, after all. “Next week, actually. I fly in on Monday afternoon but I don’t have any meetings until Tuesday.” 

“Alright,” there was something to his voice that sounded different than before—there was a hardness there you hadn’t noticed on the plane, or when you spent the evening talking about what you were afraid of and watching classic horror flicks. This Dean felt guarded. “Well, how ‘bout drinks? There’s not much out here, but there’s a dive bar. The Blind Pig, it’s in Salina near the airport.”

“Is that too far for you? Aren’t you in Lebanon?” This version of Dean made you realize you really didn’t know him at all—this was just a man you had met by pure happenstance. You wondered if you should Google him, after all. 

“Ah, it’s alright. I spend ninety percent of my time in my car and I love it,” he answered truthfully. 

Even though your brain was telling you to think twice, something within you urged your mouth to speak anyway. “Alright, then. Is 7 o’clock okay?”

“Seven it is,” he answered, and this time you could tell he had a smile on his face. 

“Okay, great,” you gnawed at your bottom lip as you processed. “I’ll see you then.”

“See you then,” he repeated back. Simple ‘byes’ ended your conversation and you couldn’t help but cringe from the awkwardness as you pulled the phone from your ear. All you could think about was that you hoped you hadn’t made a mistake. 

A/N: I'm so excited to be back! I've spent a lot of time planning this series out, so I hope you enjoy! Thanks so much for reading, please feel free to let me know if you enjoyed it ♥️

Chapters will be posted on Wednesdays and Saturdays!

Preview of the next chapter:

The Blind Pig was a small hole-in-the-wall sports bar, but it sure did have a lot of patrons. Thankfully, your flight had gotten in when it was supposed to without any delays, but that had gotten you settled in your hotel by five o’clock and ready to meet Dean by six. You had pulled out your laptop to try and get some work done, but your eyes kept pulling to the numbers on the nightstand. 

6:02. And then again at 6:04. By 6:07, you couldn’t take it anymore. So you headed the short distance from your hotel to The Blind Pig and settled on a barstool at the bar. 

“What can I get you?” The bartender interrupted your thoughts as he dried his hands on a small dish rag. 

“A Jack and Coke, please,” you answered in an effort to calm your nerves. “And a glass of water,” so hopefully you wouldn’t get too ahead of yourself. 

The bartender nodded and grabbed a glass. Every time the front door opened, you couldn’t help but turn to see if it was Dean walking through the door. But it was still only 6:45, and you knew he had a long drive. 

Just as your drink was set in front of you, you heard him clear his throat behind you. “Hey, Atlanta,” the nickname brought a smile to your lips and a shiver down your spine as you turned towards him.

Read Chapter 3 here!

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[azulsluver]

Twisted Tales In The Dark

One Who Screams Wolf         Halloween event!

tw. yandere, graphic violence, gore in general, slightly numb reader, guns, reader loses a leg, obsessive behavior, vomit mention.

❥ featuring the two werewolves, Kalim, Jamil.

How much more can you take?

Body slumped over a window, your forehead cold from leaning. Little huffs of breath as your eyes flutter open, the sky illuminating that the sun has begun to set.

Your mind is foggy but quickly clears, groaning during the moment. Drowsy, you sit upwards and hold a hand over your head. Looking at the floor as the bus comes to a stop. Your body moves accordingly on its own, standing up and walking towards the exit.

The bus driver doesn’t glance at you, closing the doors and driving away. Blinking at the sight of a trail down the woods.

Birds land on tree branches and little critters wander in their natural habitat. Your skin feels warm in a good way, take a deep breath and exhale. You stare at the sign hammered down to the ground, a deep red paint written in words.

Hunting Season.

Humming, you continue to walk down the trail. The place is unfamiliar yet heard of, the remembrance of the book becoming clear. The book was all you needed. You want the book.

Let's see what you can remember.

These woods were the homes of many organisms, from big to small. The woods were usually used for hiking but never camping or private properties. A legend had been told that werewolves walked among the very ground, nature’s protectors. Those who disturbed the peace were never seen again, footing into the territory of nature was like walking on eggshells. The story felt justified to you, hunters have entered the area and terrorized the animals. And to be specific, they were after the legends.

You nearly forgot one piece of information!

 Deep in the woods lay an abandoned shop, covered in rugs and natural street lights. It has been said the man who owned the place befriended the werewolves, cleaning day and night to make his shop presentable for visitors. But he disappeared one day. Leaving the shop. Never to be heard again.

Your feet come to a stop by a gunshot ringing in the air. Birds scurry away with their little wings as you stand to look up at the sky. It won’t be long until they meet their demise. As much as you didn’t want to interfere, you’re here for one thing.

The air smells of gunpowder. Covering your nose from the smell, you find yourself near the edge of a lake. Preserving a clear view of the sun. You can see the smoke arising, evaporating so soon. You walk close to the sound of chattering and loud music, moving patches of grass out of your way. Nose scrunched up by the scent of cigarettes and alcohol.

People these days were unruly, and to top it, these men were the exact definition of it. Liters of bottles and empty bullets lay on the ground. Blotches of blood mingle with the ground, causing the soil to blacken.

The men looked up from their conversation at the sight of you, preying their eyes on you like meat. You place a hand over your hips, clearing your throat.

“I saw the sign. The word goes by fast, so I know why you folks are here. I lost my father in these woods, so I came here to warn you all of the stories if you hadn’t heard.” You side-eye a couple of men, their grins and whispers making your skin boil.

A fuzzy man comes up to you, throwing his cigar before stomping it. The fire sizzled out in a wisp.

“How thoughtful of you. Sorry to hear about pops.” A fit of giggles comes from behind him. “But there’s gotta be a reason why a pretty thing like you is really here.” He closes in on you, his breath a few inches from you.

You hold yourself from gagging.

“I’ve been researching these wolves, sir. I have every right to be here just like you. However, I could be of some use if anyone decides to be brash. The woods are dangerous if you haven’t noticed. Surely no one here knows how to get any medical attention?” A silence.

Applause for you coming up with a story in five minutes. You need the advantage to get a key, couldn’t care less for what's in store for them. Luckily for you, they paid no mind to the shimmering sets.

The fuzzy man looks back and forth at his men, their loud arguments ceasing to silence when he lifted his hand.

His eyes meet yours with a glare. Sticking out his hand to you.

You slap your hand on his, a firm shake.

“Deal.”

.

.

.

.

The sun has finally disappeared from view, leaving you to stare solemnly at the campfire. No one has chosen to approach you, rather leer and look. You refused to eat, stomach-churning at the glimpse of dead rabbits. Gutted and skinned, roasted on a stick.

You don’t know the names of these men, too many to count. Your eyes would wander over the fuzzy man, familiar to the mind. You close your eyes, listening to the fire crackle and crickets sing. Peace was almost uncontainable.

“We shouldn’t stay here for very long.” They light up some lanterns, taking out the fire in the process.

You’re offered a single lantern. The heat tickles your skin. You stay with a group of five, each taking a separate route. If you’re correct, they will die one by one. But it will take some time since the story didn’t include them splitting apart. The key is unknown to the best of your ability, wishing it will be easier to find.

You dare not speak, rather, remain behind the group. Scanning the area to see if the night has begun. A scream erupts from the distance, a slight nervousness on their faces. Your eyes squint in the darkness which your lantern couldn’t reach. A low growl comes from behind you.

Whipping your head around, a gunshot shoots past you. A loud whimpering noise and scatter of footsteps fell on deaf ears, clutching your ears from further damage. You're pushed away as the men run after the beast, yelling and leaving you behind.

“I hope they all die.” Grunting, you pick yourself up. Grabbing The half lighten lantern in your hand and dashing towards their direction.

You’re heavily guessing the key must be somewhere deep in the forest, feet pounding as you follow the sound up ahead. More gunshots fire, paralyzing your courage to continue running, in fear you’d get shot. As you were running you felt a ball of fur hit your foot, causing you to fall.

Hissing in pain, you held up your lantern to see the problem. A bunny, stuck in a bear trap. It’s breathing quickly, hiding its face between its paws as it refuses to move from pain; its leg is stuck in the trap. You’d feel awful, so with no other choice, you bend down to hold onto the trap. With all your strength, you pull apart the trap, letting the rabbit have time to do little hops out.

You weren’t quick enough to pull your hands away, the tips of your fingers getting caught. Biting your lip, you pull as your flesh peels from your fingers. Enough force to pull you back, slumped on the floor as your fingers twitch. A small lick awakens you from your hysteria of pain, the rabbit sniffing your cheek.

“Your…welcome.” Huffing for breath, you didn’t notice the golden key in its mouth. Nudging it to your palm as it limps away in the dark.

Just your luck. With shaking hands, you clutch the keys in your palms. Afraid you might lose it. You get up from your spot, pick up your lantern, and look for a route to the shop. How thoughtful of the woods to leave a little map board for hikers, your next destination was the abandoned shop.

Now with more determination, you run down trails and ragged trees. The moon is full and luxuries in the night, ceasing your mind from spiraling to insanity. The dim light of a street lamp hovers over the shop covered in carpets. As old as it looks it’s well-kept.

Someone else made it there before you. The fuzzy man has a shotgun in hand, his neck half bitten. Cold sweat clings to your body, a sense of deja vu hitting you. You’ve been running for a while, the night is fresh for blood.

“Come out you coward!” His booming voice made you flinch, snapping your eyes at a pair of red eyes stalking his figure.

You move back as it swiftly pasts you, its teeth latching onto the gun; the two struggle for power as his claws gripping to his sides. Your eyes twitch at the scene, standing back and watching the downfall. He wasn’t as strong as a wolf. A wolf with superhuman strength to be exact. His claws dig deep into his side, fingers latching onto his ribcage as the man screams in agony. His eyes would meet yours, pupils were blown wide while stumbling to the ground. The wolfman assaults his neck to further damage his vocal cords, his cry for help comes to an end.

Wincing, you cover your mouth from the stench. Your eyes go back to the body and shop, trying to decide whether or not it would be a good idea to invite yourself. The werewolf looked more human than the wolf, with ears and a tail attached to the body. His body is adored in jewelry, fooling your thoughts about where he could have gotten them.

You weren’t sure if you should be afraid, his attention was now solely on you. His figure looming in curiosity, stalking his bloodied arms to groom your hair. You let out a noise of fear, his claws tickling your scalp as he sniffs the air around you. Holding in a scowl from his hands dirtying your hair. He was kind of cute up close, minus the bits of flesh trickling down his mouth.

“I saw you.” You make a confused noise, ducking down to pry away his touch. He laughs at your reaction.

“At the entrance of the woods, you looked so tired. Your heart is kind, the rabbit you saved earlier appreciated it. Unlike those rude men, I wouldn’t mind if you visited here again!” His tail wags excitedly behind him, he cups your hands in his affectionately.

You let out a couple of “um” and “uh’s”, unsure of how to react. His behavior reminded you of something or someone in particular. He begins to sniff again, now staring down at the keys dangling on your waist. He holds you in a hug, expecting it closer. A sad expression washes over his features.

“Where are you planning on leaving? But where would you go? You can get hurt, and oh my look at those keys! You’ve been through so much, stay here and we can protect you from bad guys!” His grip becomes intense, the desperation in his voice wary.

You struggle under his grip, slammed up against a tree. He looks concerned at your defiance, and a look of hurt flashes across his face. You gasp when you feel him tugging at your waist, his fingers holding the ring holder. That’s where you start to cause harm.

Your knees come in contact with his stomach, he lets out a yelp and drops to the floor. You run towards the shop while looking back. A mistake on yours. You’re stopped by a figure in place, bumping into him and recoiling back at the force.

“Kalim. You let your guard down again.” His voice is smooth and alluring.

You rub your head, looking up to see a handsome face illuminating in the night. His eyes are a shade of black, observing your face intensely. You hear a groan from behind you, Kalim standing up and shaking his head. His ears are planted down as he tries to come up to you.

Afraid, you stand back up but are quickly grabbed by the other. His fangs bear at you as he shakes you like a doll.

“Don’t hurt them, Jamil!” Kalim pleads, tackling the both of you to the ground.

This had to be the dumbest situation you’ve ever been in. You shake your head back and forth, flailing your feet wildly. Kalim buries his face into your stomach, little droplets of tears falling from his eyes as he reasons with you why you should stay with them. Jamil lays there for a bit, looking up at the sky in embarrassment.

A crunch had alerted the two, their heads snapping up at the noise. Jamil quickly pushes the both of you off, with the weight he was unsuccessful in protecting his ally. Another loud shot booms through the sky, hitting Kalim’s eye and sending him back; clutching his eye as you tried to scurry away.

You fell on your knees as Kalim grips your ankle. His one good eye wide in distress, using both hands to keep your ankle close. Jamil was busy fighting off the intruder, leaving you with a hopeless wolf. You still have the key in hand, and you were so close to where you wanted to be. Glancing up at the shop, taunting you. 

So you pull. Flesh digging into the dirt as you pull your body away from his. Letting out a cry when his claws clamp down on your calf, feeling the skin break. But you kept going, ignoring the gurgling screams as more people arrive in the area. Your eyes ache from the widening stare at the shop. You can feel the way your fingers burn, the flesh turning a dark red with all the dirt in the way.

Kalim refused to look at you, hugging your leg instead. The crack and tear of wet muscles coming apart, your eyes flash a sense of white. Pain searing all over your body when you finally lose touch with the weight. Looking behind to see half of your leg missing. Your head spins rapidly, vomit making its way up your throat as you continue to crawl.

Don’t look back. You can’t look back. It hurts so much. The loose pieces of muscle and bone handing out. Your leg bleeds uncontrollably. Yet your hand comes in contact with wood.

A man is tossed next to you, the door bursting open. You don’t look at his half-missing face, rather, creep inside the shop. Drool and tears wet your face, you couldn’t control the reaction of your body, and you feel like breaking

You thank whatever god there was that kept Kalim and Jamil busy, the slaughtering and screams all behind you. Your body finally comes to a stop. You clutch the key in your palm. Blurry eyes stared at the large mirror, a swirl of red. With a final nudge, your fingers touch.

[dailyshowchica]

Loki Cosplay part 7

Previously, on Loki Cosplay: https://www.tumblr.com/dailyshowchica/760378905290031104/loki-cosplay-part-6

Last big base part to make, the tunic. I put this together in 2 days! I think that might be the fastest any part of this project has come together. I sewed the tunic in one day, then attached the snap closures, added darts for a better fit, and hemmed the tunic the second day.

I mean, the pieces are pretty big, so once I got started, I felt like I was making really fast progress. Since I made the tunic longer than the pattern called for, sewing the yoke was harder than on the mock-up, as there was more fabric to manage. But the yoke is doubled layered, and it needs to be, as the shoulders are one of the hardest-wearing parts on a shirt.

I was pretty pleased with how this turned out! Now it's time to make match the film costume.

Backing up a bit to show the collar. It did not quite match the neckband of the shirt, which is always a risk when altering a pattern/using pieces from a different pattern. I finished the collar by hand, to be sure I could fold in all the raw edges, even the smallest parts.

Installing the snap tape got my sewing assistant's attention. Luckily, she only wanted to supervise. She has been known to pull out pins before, which always makes me very nervous. Ruthie cat is sharp enough, I don't need stray pins floating around!

I've mentioned before my distrust of the zipper foot. It serves a good function, but I figured using the regular walking foot would work if I sewed in between each snap. And it mostly did. Given the pulling snaps take, I did tack next to each snap on the outside of the tape, just to make it even more secure.

Once the tunic would stay closed on its own, it was time to pin in the darts. This process would probably be easier if I had a dress form in my size, rather than trying to pin them myself while I wear the tunic inside out. But I really don't do tailored pieces often enough to justify the expense or the space.

It's a better fit, but not perfect. Still, this is all going to be covered up with the faux-leather armor pieces, so that doesn't matter too much.

Asymmetic hem cut, with a bit of length left for the hem. I folded the edge up by about a quarter-inch (I did not measure) and sewed it by machine. Then I folded the hem up again, and stitched it by hand with the closest color thread I had. it's not an exact match, but if you are close enough to see that, you're too close and I'll be pressing charges.

Finally, it's done!

And that's the tunic! I might need another snap at the very top, or maybe a hook-and-eye closure on the collar. But the coat collar might hold everything in place. We will have to see.

And now, a bit of a break. Halloween is 57 days away, so I have time. But for something different, I may clear away a few other projects: PJ pants, a tie and some shorts/culottes for an alternate TVA seamstress costume. I might post those, I might not.

See ya next time!

[queerlilchinchin]

Death Has a Face: A Dating Simulator

Whoo! Created my page for my Death Has a Face simulator! :) I'm starting with a project I know my characters pretty well. I created 3 more characters for it. You can read about the characters below (including old ones):

Hello and welcome to my dating simulator for Death Has a Face. As a precursor so you know what you're in for, Death Has a Face is an old story of mine that is about a goddess, a grim reaper and the reaper's best friend, who also happens to be her helper in death.

What do I mean by that?

Belinda - the serial killer - was approached by Ikuisuus - the reaper - to off anyone that has somehow escaped their time to die. In return, she got immortality, which also gave her the ability to drink as much as she wanted without getting drunk (which wasn't necessarily a blessing in her book).

About Belinda: Belinda is a drunk who loves to fight and bet. She is the classic bar-attender in any movie that loves to pick bar fights and shark people at pool, only her game of choice is usually darts because women are even more underestimated with darts. She is known as the "Red Devil" because she wears red stilettos everywhere (her favorite color is red) and it's said you hear the clicking of her heels right before you die a brutal and gruesome death. She loves to kill and finds thrill in hurting others, though she and Ikuisuus also have a deal she can't torture anyone.

About Ikuisuus: Iku or Kui or Ikuisuus is the grim reaper of her world. She had to kill the last reaper while she was being taken to her afterlife in order to do so, which she did by accident. The only way to kill a reaper is with their scythe, which is why they're known for always having it on their person. She is fascinated by the ever-changing world, having been human at one point, and is best friends with her assistant, Belinda, who will often have her come down to earth to enjoy some human customs with her. Ikuisuus is afraid of corn mazes ever since Belinda one day took her to one for Halloween.

About Juuma Jumma is the goddess of their world. Juuma is very particular about who she allows to spend time with her, so in their world heaven isn't selective on who enters for the reason some believe. It's simply because you're not part of the "cool crowd." However, in their world, hell isn't a place of torment. Not for those that were kicked out of heaven for being too "uncool." Rather, it's a big ass party where you just weren't invited to the VIP section (heaven).

About Ruby: Ruby was Ikuisuus' first crush ever. She was a stunning, outgoing and confident redhead with beautiful gem-like blue eyes, who stole away Iku's love easily. However, Belinda was still alive and able to date Ruby, and under the guise of "vetting her to make sure she was good enough for Ikuisuus," started dating her. Much to both girls' surprise (because no, Iku is not all-knowing), Ruby ended up being a serial killer herself, only here's the kicker - she only killed other serial killers. She felt justified because of this fact. Belinda... did not feel it justified and had to kill her only girlfriend she'd had in a very long time when she realized Ruby was onto her.

About Jane: Jane is a bisexual woman that has actually met Belinda before but didn't know it. She is obsessed with The Red Devil and was actually he creator of her fanclub. She sees her as a powerful woman who will shut any man down (which she isn't wrong about) and will forever be the voice of feminism. Jane is sassy and clever with a flirty mouth - but only once you've gotten to know her. When you first meet her, she's shy and quiet and difficult to get to open up. She's a pilot, but ironically horrified of heights. She actually learned to fly on a dare, and fell in love with it and immediately switch career paths when she became good enough to do so. She is in an open relationship with Jarred.

About Jarred: Jarred (32) is a pansexual/biromantic man. He's in an open relationship with Jane and is also clever and intelligent. He is terrified of heights and will willingly go on dates with his pilot girlfriend where they fly on private planes across the world - but he hates it. After all, he's also horrified of deep ocean water, and the entire time they're in the air over the water, all he can imagine is them crash landing in it. He loves to dance and loves music of all different kinds, so an chance he has to take Jane out dancing, he snatches as quickly as he learns about it.

About Leo: Leo (26) is a bisexual man. He has had a difficult time with love, having been cheated on by every woman he's dated and abused by every man, so for obvious reasons, he has a difficult time opening himself up to new ones. He is very closed off and seems very harsh and quiet when you first meet him, but once he opens up to a person, he becomes an absolute teddy bear of a man. He as intense seasonal depression that kicks in every summer, especially bad in July and even more intense anxiety all year round. He hates reading, finds it boring and it opens his mind up to talk to him way too loudly, so he prefers to listen to music and watch loud movies and tv.

[zalrb]

What would your argument be to ppl justifying Belly’s behaviour as her being a teenager? Because I’m like so is like every other character ever? The OC Gilmore girls one tree hill TVD gossip girl , like why are ppl pretending this is the first teenager ever and all is justified bc of it because teenagers make mistakes and their emotions are messy…

Well 1. She can just be an awful teenager. Like "they're a teenager" doesn't magically wipe away all bad behaviour, there can be particularly selfish and self-centered teenagers. 2. I've mentioned this in pretty much all of my reviews I think the show is too lazy to really tap into the chaos of emotions you feel as a teenager

I'll provide examples but I am well aware that what I'm going to say I felt and saw with these examples is what I'm meant to see and feel with TSITP but the issue is Belly is a nightmare because the choices she makes all seem entirely avoidable. And not like hindsight, as an adult, I now know I would not make those decisions, just generally, it's like, you could just not do that, Belly.

So, for instance, Oz/Willow/Xander in season 3. For two seasons, we see -- without reliance on voiceover and flashbacks -- how much Willow has secretly-not-secretly pined for Xander and she's given moments that are super teen and uncomfortable because of how teen they are. Like, they almost kiss when he wipes away the ice cream on her nose

and they're interrupted and she wants to recreate that moment so later on, she purposefully puts yogurt on her nose to get him to notice her

and it falls so flat

and she's crushed

she wants Xander to see her differently so Buffy tries to get her to dress sexily on Halloween

but Willow ultimately chooses to go as a ghost and Xander is a dick about it

and that's super high school.

We see her heart break

over

and over

we also see that every time there's an episode where Xander breaks her heart,

it's also an episode that shows that he will risk his life for her

he always ends up choosing her over the girl he's romantically interested in

in some capacity

so that when he finally does notice her when she's with Oz because Xander is such a teenage boy,

I've been aligned with Willow enough and the show has really solidified their relationship that even if I don't agree with what she's doing I'm like yo, I get it, if the guy I've liked forever is suddenly calling me stunning and there's a vibe going on even though I'm with someone I like/love I can understand at 16 how that's confusing and you make stupid choices

There is literally nothing about being 16 that will have me like I can see how Belly told Conrad to go to hell in front of everyone at his mother's wake.

It's one thing to see him with Aubrey and jump to conclusions and rush out of the room and as an anon said lock yourself in a bathroom or run outside and keep going.

It's another to do this

that's not being a teenager that's being a dick.

Added to the fact that the writing is weak like I said before I never saw this

I never saw Belly trying so hard to connect with Conrad and Conrad shutting her out, like again, we don't get this energy

for her to see him with Aubrey and have that breakdown. It's bad writing.

And then when she's drunk at the beach and is all "If I'd known you'd gone to Jeremiah, I would've fought for us" in the same breath she says "I thought we loved each other", he hadn't given her any indication that he didn't love her because he's waxing poetic about how they're infinite and he's making all these grand declarations that I'm just like, Belly what??

Another example is Joey/Dawson/Jen or Joey and Dawson in the first two seasons of Dawson's Creek. Joey is pretty terrible but she's terrible in a very fifteen year old kinda way where I'm like it's not fair, Jen does not deserve this but I understand it because you're fifteen and you're in love with a boy who is clueless and self-centered and this interloper comes in and takes all of his attention and you're not mature enough yet to be like this isn't Jen's fault. You're just territorial and jealous and angry and you're being horrible.

And the pilot does a very good job in establishing all of that in the first ten minutes because Joey is frustrated with Dawson in the opening scene because she wants their relationship to change, she's talking about how they're getting older and they're getting hormonal

and Dawson is so convinced they're not sexual, he insists they share a bed and says that he doesn't even see her as a girl

but it's clear when he sees Jen that he very clearly sees her as a girl that he's attracted to and it's frustrating for Joey to watch

so she's just angry and I get that.

Then when she and Dawson do get together and she kisses Jack and then blames Dawson for it and breaks up with him, I got why she did it and I got why Dawson was upset

I can get on board with the idea that Joey had been in love with Dawson for so long and had idealized him for so long and had been nothing but his best friend for so long that now that she got what she wanted, she’s having a sort of crisis and realizing that she needs to find herself outside of their relationship and that Jack kissing her was something new and it was wrapped up in her desire to learn more about art and find something she was passionate about outside of Dawson and that’s why she ultimately ends things with him because she needs to go do that.

But the thing about the writing for Dawson is that he is self-involved and he is self-absorbed and a majority of his friendship with Joey that we’ve seen has been him bitching about his problems (which isn’t to say we don’t see Dawson be there for Joey because we do but not nearly as much because at this point this show is still very heavily about Dawson, it is called Dawson’s Creek) and Joey responding to that and Joey will tell Dawson to get over himself, tell him when he’s being trite, tell him when he’s being boring, tell him when she wants to talk about something else, tell him when he’s being privileged, but she never tells him hey, let’s talk about me now, hey I’m getting kind of tired just being there for you, so when she’s yelling IT’S ABOUT ME, IT’S FINALLY ABOUT ME, I can see how in her head it is that but I think it makes absolute sense that he’s like ………. what? I did not know that’s how you felt and you’re making the fact that you kissed another guy MY fault what the hell??

And then she doesn’t give him a chance to do those things in a relationship, which fine, but then what gets me is that she wants to continue to be friends with him afterwards and is surprised and indignant when he’s like you dumped me and I don’t want to talk to you right now. Like NO. You kissed someone else, blamed me for it, dumped me, and now you want to be friends still? NO.

Like when you think about Joey’s “inner life” as they say so many times on this show, it makes sense, but because she is actually really bad at communicating, she just seems ENTIRELY unreasonable outwardly.

and it's like none of you handled this well at all because you all suck at communication but this is very teenage soap-y drama where if you just had the capacity to thin outside of yourselves for like fifteen minutes this could've gone a very different way.

I don't have the same type of grace for Belly who kissed Jeremiah then chose to be with Conrad immediately after, then had a huge public meltdown about Conrad being in the same room with his ex and then is now like hey I'm kinda vibing with Jeremiah again because it doesn't feel unavoidable or inevitable or understandable especially considering that when we do have flashbacks to her time with Conrad it doesn't seem like she felt Jeremiah's absence at all. She says that she missed him, Conrad says it's tearing Belly up that he doesn't return her calls but there are no scenes to actually suggest this and when they do see each other at Thanksgiving she makes zero effort to talk to him she just smiles at him awkwardly and makes a half-assed attempt to get him to be social

So Jeremiah now just seems like nothing more than convenience or a fall-back plan for her. And I'm sure before they get together, they'll have that conversation and she'll be like no it's you, it's really you, you get me but you were just breaking down on the beach to Conrad about how you would've fought if you knew he loved you while also saying you thought you two loved each other. It doesn't come across as 'oh to be 16' it comes across as callous.

Belly just seems like she does whatever she wants to do and makes herself the victim and messes with people's emotions without care and if that was the point, if the point was like oh yeah you can be a nightmare as a teenager then that would be one thing but that's not the point, it's just supposed to be oh the woes of a young heart and the complications that arise but Belly, imo, is entirely unsympathetic.

[walkonpooh]

Hive - Tim Curran Review

An Antarctic expedition led by Paleobiologist Dr. Robert Gates has uncovered frozen, but partially thawed mummies of an ancient race of beings that very well may upend every aspect of what we know about science and religion, including who or what may have made humankind. Dr. Gates brings the frozen bodies back with him to Kharkhov Station, a mistake which may just cost the world.

Hive by Tim Curran is a direct sequel to At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft, mixed with heavy aspects of John Carpenter's The Thing. It takes one hundred percent in Antarctica and primarily in three locations, Kharkhov Station, Medusa Drift (Deep Field Camp) and the subterranean caves and city of the Elder Things, who are the primary antagonists of the book and the Old Ones.

I think Curran does a great job setting the place up, giving a great isolated atmosphere to the story, though at no time did I love this crew say as much as the crew of Outpost 31 in The Thing. Even the main protagonist Jimmy Hayes is just sort of there for me (though I did like that he was from Kansas). All of the characters in Hive are pretty stereotypical blue collar workers, with a pencil pusher basically with LaHune, who is "running" the expedition and is the main human antagonist, consistently getting in the way of the scientists and workers.

I loved Curran's descriptions of the Elder Things as gelatinous winged creatures, thought that was really awesome. I absolutely loved the part with the video feed of drilling down into Lake Vordog and what is discovered in the ice, that was probably my favorite section of the book.

I have a couple critiques that kept me back from *loving* this book, as someone else said "Their tiny minds could not hope to contain or understand what it was they were seeing" (p54) but yet there are pages upon pages of descriptions of the beings. So I think that Curran sort of fails to properly convey the insanity inducing/mind breaking aspect of the Elder Things/Old Ones/Shoggoths that Lovecraft is able to convey and also I think an aspect that is dropped, never really approached, is the paranoia that is present in John W. Campbell's Who Goes There? and its adaptations. These beings are taking over people from Kharkhov Station, but why? They seem to do better when they stay in their own form. I feel like Curran never really justified this beyond being a cool horror image (and it is a cool image, discarded human skin like a spider shedding it's skin).

My biggest problem with the book is the two flashback sections of previous expeditions. I feel like there had to of been a better way to incorporate them into the narrative if Curran felt they were necessary. As they are, they grind the main narrative to a halt and I don't feel that there's anything in them that couldn't have had a way to be conveyed in the main story. As a world building exercise, they're fine I guess, though sort of plodding, possibly could have worked better as separately published short stories. I did find out in the originally published version of Hive these weren't present and I don't know if that was a publisher edit or an author edit, but I think it was a correct edit. If they were absolutely necessary, maybe they could have been published as a side-novella?

I hate my critiques were longer than my positives, because I really did enjoy this book. I will definitely read the sequel, Hive 2 and I added another book from Curran to my Halloween Reading List for 2023 as I think Curran is a really talented writer.

4/5

[nikkiruncks]

COUPLE

CHARACTERS: Jackie Burkhart and Steven Hyde

FIRST MET: As kids

TOGETHER

1st: about 6 months - Going To California to Babe I'm Gonna Leave You

2nd: two months - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and Onward

STATUS

Married

REASONS

1st: "Get Off My Boyfriend"

Aftermath: 1st: Jackie tells Hyde she loves him and wants to be with him.

Rivals: Michael Kelso

Portrayed by Danny Masterson and Mila Kunis

Pivotal Episodes: Prom Night, Jackie Bags Hyde, Cat Fight Club, Moon Over Point Place, Reefer Madness, Going To California, I Can't Quit You Babe, What Is and What Should Never Be, Your Time Is Gonna Come, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Misty Mountain Hop, Bring It on Home

“I never felt this way about a girl before, okay? And that pretty much beats our third grade pact. I'm sorry, but I wanna be with her.” Hyde to Kelso about how strong his feelings are for Jackie.

_______________________________________________

Jackie & Hyde is a relationship on the FOX comedy That '70s Show, portrayed by Mila Kunis and Danny Masterson.

About

Zenmasters is the pairing between Jackie Burkhart and Steven Hyde, named after Hyde's lessons to Jackie about how to be Zen in "Cat Fight Club". Their numerous fans call themselves "Zennies" and have since the original airing of "Cat Fight Club".

Timeline

Their relationship can be split into nine different parts.

Tolerance

Friendship

First date

After the first date

Romance

Engagement

Wedding

Pregnancy

Parenting

Tolerance

Jackie and Hyde's relationship before the episode "Kiss of Death" ranges from mutual annoyance to compassion. Hyde often urges his friend Michael Kelso to break up with Jackie, but he also doesn't approve of Kelso's bad behavior toward her (e.g., abandoning Jackie to danger in Halloween and cheating on her with Eric Forman's sister, Laurie).

On the surface, Jackie and Hyde act disdainful of each other. She is "shallow and rich and mean and bossy... everything that [he] hate[s]" (Jackie Bags Hyde). Hyde, meanwhile, is "scruffy" and "poor". Subtextually, though, their behavior tells another story. Hyde seems to relish his connection to Jackie, however negative, and Jackie repeatedly shows trust in Hyde when she's upset.

Ski Trip

Jackie goes to Hyde for comfort about Kelso. She sits almost in his lap, and he holds her while she cries.

Prom Night

Jackie, heartbroken about not being able to go to the junior prom, asks Hyde to take her.

Hyde refuses to go to the prom with Jackie until she (fake) cries in his lap.

Hyde's initial reaction to Jackie upon seeing her on Prom night is, "Hey. Wow, you look beautiful."

Hyde's fingers don't close around Jackie's hands while they dance at Prom, as if he's afraid to touch her.

Hyde sees how miserable Jackie and Kelso are without each other. He puts his own dislike of their relationship aside and gets them back together.

Halloween

Kelso shoves Jackie aside when he fears for his life in the burnt-out school, Old Maine. Kelso later justifies his behavior, and Hyde says, "I don’t wanna come out in favor of saving Jackie, but that’s the price you pay for docking your love boat in Jackie-vya

Hyde reads Jackie's permanent record. He reveals to everyone with impish glee that her middle name is "Beulah".

Jackie's reaction to Hyde's revelation about her name is to scream that she hates him and to physically attack him.

Vanstock

Hyde does everything he can -- outside of directly stating facts -- to get cheating Kelso caught by Jackie.

Hyde admits to Donna that he is "laying traps left and right to get Kelso caught".

Laurie Moves Out

Hyde tries yet again to get Kelso and Jackie broken up.

Friendship

Once Jackie catches Kelso cheating on her with Laurie, Jackie seeks comfort and companionship in Hyde. His objections are weak at best, and he spends time with her. He even goes to far as to teach her an emotional-distancing technique of his, something he calls "Zen," so that she won't succumb to Laurie's taunts. Hyde's protective feelings toward Jackie come out fully during this period. Hyde defends and protects her against Laurie.

After Cat Fight Club, Jackie becomes infatuated with Hyde and hero-worships him. She also becomes hungry for his attention, something he does not want to give her; but he in spite of himself, he develops romantic feelings for her ("Jackie Bags Hyde"). He only fully realizes this after they have their first real kiss. Jackie, however, has a different response to their kiss. Although she admits the kiss "was hot," she also says she "didn't feel anything". Hyde echoes this sentiment, but his body language and previous dialogue reveal the truth.

Kiss Of Death

Jackie finally discovers that Kelso has been cheating on her with Laurie. She breaks up with him and runs into Hyde's arms, crying, "Hyde!"

Kelso's Serenade

Jackie asks Hyde if he would miss her if she was gone from the basement. Hyde answers uncomfortably. He tries to say something sympathetic about her breakup with Kelso and has trouble. He mumbles that it's important to have friends' support.

Jackie invites Hyde to the mall, and he declines, saying he meant for her to get support from "friends like Donna or not me."

Jackie convinces Hyde to spend time with her buy offering to pay for a meal at The Sizzler.

Jackie buys Hyde a pair of new boots at the mall.

Jackie looks as if she's going to cry, and Hyde says scornfully, "Oh, what are you going to do now, cry?" But when he sees that she's really crying, his whole demeanor changes. His voice and words become sympathetic, and he moves closer to Jackie in the car. He puts his arm around her shoulders and brushes his hand through her hair repeatedly.

Jackie mistakes Hyde's kindness for attraction, and she tries to kiss him. He shoves her away and says, "No! Bad Jackie!"

In dialogue cut from the episode, Hyde says Jackie's on the rebound and that she doesn't really want him (source: http://s194.photobucket.com/user/zenscreencaps/media/Scripts/KScarscene2.jpg.html").

Hyde says he's trying to help her and that she can do better than Kelso. He also reassures her that she'll "find someone great".

Jackie Moves On

Fez wants to ask Jackie out, and Hyde says, "That's a bad idea, Jackie's on the rebound right now. Why don't you just give her a break?"

Cat Fight Club

Eric shouts for Jackie to get out of the basement while they all play Monopoly, and Hyde defends her, stating, "[Jackie is] better than having Laurie down here. She's like a big cancerous tumor. And Jackie, she's like a tiny benign cyst." Jackie repays his kindness with Monopoly money.

Hyde is clearly not happy when Laurie burns Jackie in the basement.

Hyde tells Jackie that Laurie wants Jackie to hate her, that she "feeds on your anger, man. It only makes her stronger."

Hyde invites Jackie into his "Dojo of Coolness" and teaches her the art of "Zen," of being aloof and unresponsive to Laurie's taunts.

Hyde willingly spends the day with Jackie to help her learn "Zen".

Hyde variously calls Jackie "Grasshopper" and "small grasshopper" during this episode.

Hyde invites Jackie to the circle for the first time.

Jackie successfully uses Hyde's Zen techniques against Laurie until Laurie says something Jackie can't emotionally-distance herself from. Jackie physically attacks Laurie and Hyde cheers her on before Jackie wins the fight.

Jackie says her fighting Laurie "wasn't very Zen of me, was it, Hyde?" Instead of being disappointed, however, Hyde is proud. He says, "Where Zen ends, ass-kicking begins.

Moon Over Point Place

Jackie tells Donna that Hyde is "the sweetest coolest guy I’ve ever met," that her feelings of hatred toward him have changed.

Jackie tracks Hyde down at The Hub. She informs him she signed them up for roller-disco lessons at Skate World that night. He rejects her, saying, "You and I don’t have anything in common. You’re, like, a square, a cheerleader. So just roller-disco on out of here, okay?"

Jackie isn't deterred by Hyde's rejection. She shows up later at The Hub's back alley and gives Hyde the pot she bought off her housekeeper. She says, "I just wanted you to know that I'm not a square cheerleader. I am on the wrong side of the law."

Hyde asks Jackie with disdain if she wants to be a burnout now. She says no and, "I just wanna be with you, okay? I think you're one of the coolest, sweetest guys I've ever met." Hyde gets angry, says, "No, you don't!" and tosses the bag of pot onto a car.

A cop shows up and threatens to arrest Jackie for possession, but Hyde protects her by convincing the cop the pot is his. Hyde gets arrested instead.

Jackie is touched and proclaims she loves him, to his dismay.

Jackie tells their friends she loves Hyde and will make him love her.

Reefer Madness

Hyde continues to protect Jackie -- by keeping a secret that the pot he got arrested for was hers -- despite that Red kicks him out of the house for being "a dopehead".

Jackie wants Hyde to be "on the streets" so he'll have to rely on her and his "love for [her] will grow]. She tries to keep Donna from telling the Formans the truth about the pot.

Red allows Hyde to stay in the house once Donna tells him the truth about Jackie's pot. Afterward, Jackie claims to their friends that she and Steven are "in love". She hugs him forcefully and doesn't let him go.

Red Sees Red

Hyde is annoyed by Jackie staring at him.

Jackie yearns for Hyde's love. Hyde wants Jackie to leave him alone.

Jackie says to Hyde that "This hatred thing you have for me is just you protecting yourself." She also says to him, "You’re afraid to reach the peaks of love, for fear of being dropped off a cliff. Well, I’m your safety line, Steven. So grab me." To which he replies "Go grab yourself, freak."

Roller Disco

Jackie asks then begs Hyde to be her roller-disco partner in a competition. He refuses, saying, "Hey, how about instead you hit me in the face with a wrench, and I black out?"

Jackie says, "It's a last chance at love ... our love. Now, will you or will you not skate with me?" Hyde replies, "I would, Jackie, but seeing you there in your cute little skating outfit, with all your tassels and sequins, I might be tempted to ... push you down a flight of stairs."

Baby Fever

Jackie crashes Kelso's van, destroying its bumper and rear doors. Kelso gets angry and shouts at her, and Hyde tells him to relax.

Hyde helps Jackie and Kelso "figure out" what they "owe each other" monetarily. Hyde demonstrates whose side he's on by pointing out that Kelso, among other things, burned down Jackie's house.

Kelso complains about Hyde's final tally. Hyde says, "You could have been a man and forgiven her. But, no. You wanted to do the math."

First Date

Jackie invites Hyde to go to Mr. Forman's Veteran's Day barbecue with her, but he rejects her. She doesn't absorb the rejection, however, or the one following. At his wits' end, Hyde composes a haiku for her on the spot to "explain [his] feelings" to her. This, she understands and becomes dejected. Jackie asks Donna why Hyde "had to hurt me like that". Donna explains that Jackie's been "stalking" Hyde and that she is to Hyde what Fez is to her. Finally, Jackie realizes the depth of Hyde's rejection, and she says, "Oh, God, Steven and I will never happen. ... I wish my daddy could buy him for me."

Jackie brings a date (Chip) to the Formans' barbecue to make Hyde jealous. He reacts Zen, which Jackie sees through, thanks to her lessons in "Cat Fight Club". His aloofness is clearly an act, and he seems unhappy Jackie has brought a date. Hyde takes it upon himself to question Chip. Chip says listening to all of Jackie's "talking" is "worth it if [he] can nail her." Hyde doesn't like this answer and says, "You should probably think about that, man. Jackie's kinda young. She's only had, like, one boyfriend so..." In response to Hyde's warning, Chip says, "Hey, that's not a big surprise. You know, she's a bitch." Hyde likes this answer even less and says with a sigh, "Oh, no," before slugging Chip in the jaw. Chip falls unconscious. Jackie runs to the scene and asks Hyde what happened. Hyde is barely coherent when he answers, unsure of what happened himself, but Jackie puzzles it together and says, "[Chip] called me a bitch, and you hit him!" Hyde tries to deny it, saying, "No," but Jackie says, "Liar. I am the bitch, and you love me!"

Jackie begins to idealize Hyde even further and sees him clad in shining armor and sitting on a horse. Hyde says, "Stop staring at me. Quit it! I'm not this guy. Oh, God." Hyde enters the Foremans' kitchen angrily. Kitty Forman asks Hyde if his "girlfriend" is okay. Hyde says Jackie isn't his girlfriend, that she's everything he hates, and Mrs. Forman argues that Hyde has feelings for her. Hyde, wanting to find out the truth of his feelings, invites Jackie on a "freakin' date". Jackie and Hyde go to the hills of Mt. Hump. They sit variously on the hood and trunk of her father's Lincoln. After thirty minutes of not talking, Jackie claims "This is the best date ever." Jackie says Hyde doesn't have to say anything because she understands him. She says Hyde is "wondering, 'How can I open up to her [Jackie] when everyone I have ever loved have abandoned me? Am I even worthy of love?'" Then she says, "Well, you are, Steve. You are."

Hyde responds to Jackie's sentiment by blowing a raspberry at her. She hops off the car and tells him to take her home, but he doesn't want the date to end yet. He invites her back to the car, offers her his soda, and she puts his arm around her shoulders. During the course of the date, Hyde gives Jackie his denim jacket. Toward the end of their date, Jackie asks Hyde what he thought of it. He says, "It was no worse than bowling... I don't hate bowling." Jackie and Hyde kiss deeply. Afterward, Jackie claims she "didn't feel anything," and Hyde seems surprised. He says, "Nothing?" She says the kiss was hot then asks him if he felt anything. He hesitates, says no, then he almost recants it by saying, "Well..." then he reaffirms his no. Jackie looks down sadly, and Hyde touches his fingers to his lips and rubs them, clearly having felt a lot more than "nothing". Though this could've just been the actor's body language. Hyde makes a joke to ease the awkwardness, as Jackie laughs it off and tells him to take her home.

After the first date

After their unsuccessful date, Jackie and Hyde's relationship is treated by season 3 and season 4's storylines, with rare exception, as if it never existed. The characters' interaction with each other is limited, and neither of them mentions their kiss to anyone. Certain scripted scenes and unscripted moments between Jackie and Hyde, however, have created a "Zennie" subtext that link the two main halves of the relationship. Despite that, Jackie still calls him by his first name unlike season 1. Jackie and Hyde seem to have a physical closeness none of their friends (except maybe Fez) notice. Hyde still demonstrates a protectiveness over her and celebrates her burns of other people, and he tries to make Jackie and Kelso fight (to win a bet).

Fez Dates Donna

Hyde tries to provoke Jackie and Kelso into fighting, going so far as to knock Kelso's soda onto Jackie's shirt, in order to win a bet.

Eric's Depression

Hyde scares off Wuffy (the Fun Land mascot) when he tries to get handsy with Jackie.

Hyde Gets the Girl

Jackie brings a girl who she deems not to be pretty (Rhonda Tate) to Eric and Fez's "get Hyde a girlfriend" party.

Bye-Bye, Basement

Hyde offers Jackie a low-five for her burn of Eric.

An Eric Forman Christmas

Jackie stands by Hyde and agrees when he says he wants to gift-wrap Pastor Dave.

Jackie and Hyde are cast as Mary and Joseph in Eric's Christmas pageant.

Jackie Says Cheese

Hyde teases Jackie at her new job, saying, "The floor is shiny and I can see your heiny."

In Fez's fantasy, Hyde is seen holding Jackie's hand briefly.

Tornado Prom

Hyde draws a unibrow on a sleeping Jackie.

Hyde's Birthday

Jackie happily accepts the task of planning Hyde's eighteenth birthday, though so does everybody else.

Jackie quits the task of planning Hyde's birthday when Hyde says he refuses to celebrate it.

Jackie plants her hands on Hyde's stomach and kisses his cheek at his party. He puts his hand on the small of her back in a partial hug.

That '70s Musical

The two are shown dancing together when the main cast performs Shake Your Groove Thing by Peaches and Herb.

Love, Wisconsin Style

Hyde catches Jackie when Donna shoves the Formans' kitchen door open (Hyde, Jackie, Kelso, and Fez were eavesdropping on her breakup with Casey Kelso).

Romance

Jackie and Hyde start a romantic relationship in season 5. It started when they were watching T.V in the basement, before they stared at each other and kissed. It was awkward at first but ultimately led to them making out.

The two continued this fling, whenever they were alone but were caught by Kitty who couldn't confront them because of her son's actions.

Hyde and Jackie were eventually found out by Eric and Donna, who told a surprised Fez about them. Despite Eric and Donna's disapproval, both Jackie and Hyde are determined to be together. They go through various growing pains with each other, both learning how to be better people individually and in a couple.

For example, Jackie teaches Hyde that love goes beyond arguments and anger ("Misty Mountain Hop"), and Hyde gives Jackie a safe place to be vulnerable ("Bring It on Home").

Also, Hyde puts Jackie's feelings above his own. When he has trouble comforting Jackie properly about her father's imprisonment ("Black Dog"), he doesn't give up. He tries more than once to do so verbally and asks others for advice (e.g., the Formans, Eric and Donna). Eventually, he shaves off his beard for her, something he refused to do earlier in the episode, and it cheers her up. He "let the razor say the words [he] couldn't speak."

Kelso tries numerous times to break Jackie and Hyde up, but his attempts fail until "Your Time Is Gonna Come". Upon seeing Kelso making out with another girl, Jackie shouts, "Get off my boyfriend!" Hyde breaks up with her over this, but Jackie wins him back by finally telling him she loves him -- and without expecting to hear it in return ("Babe I'm Gonna Leave You".)

Breakup

Hyde's lack of trust gets the better of him, and he believes Jackie is cheating on him with Kelso ("You Shook Me (1)"). He sleeps with a nurse, not out of lust, but out of pain and anger. He wants both revenge on Jackie and to break up with her for good. He knows he can best accomplish both by sleeping with another woman.

The truth comes out, however, that Jackie was merely comforting Kelso over Fez's sex dream about him (Nobody's Fault But Mine"). Hyde confesses to Jackie right away about what he did with the nurse, and she breaks up with him. Hyde broods in misery, even going so far as to listen to country music.

Kelso says he'll be going after Jackie while Hyde sulks in the basement and says "Whatever." This spurs Hyde into action, and Hyde goes to the Pinciottis. He tells Jackie, for the first time, that he loves her. For a moment, this declaration seems to reach Jackie, but she says back, "Yeah, well... I don't love you" and leaves.

In Immigrant Song," Hyde thinks he's lost Jackie forever. He and Kelso fight over Jackie at the water tower, resulting in Kelso falling off it. Hyde and Kelso make a pact at the hospital to put their friendship first and not go after Jackie. Jackie rushes to the hospital, however, thinking Hyde was hurt.

Hyde is shocked to see her come down. Then he realizes that Jackie "came down [to the hospital] because you still cares about me... So I still have a shot with you." He stares at Jackie in a love-daze while she half-denies his words. He continues to stare, in-love, after she kicks his shin and while Kelso slings his arm around him, claiming that no "chick is gonna come between [them] anymore".

Later, Hyde tells Kelso that he's changed his mind and is "gonna get Jackie back." Kelso asks about their pact, and Hyde says, "Look, Kelso, I never felt this way about a girl before, okay? And that pretty much beats our third grade pact. And I'm sorry, but I want to be with her."

Jackie, though, still acts undecided in "Celebration Day". She pits Hyde and Kelso against each other to prove who loves her the most. In the end, she decides that she loves herself the most and will take the summer to make her choice between her ex-boyfriends. This is how season 5 ends.

Reunion

In the first episode of season 6 ("The Kids are Alright"). Jackie pretends still to be undecided, but she confesses to Donna that she's chosen Hyde. Jackie eventually tells Hyde this fact -- and that she "missed [him] so much". They have a hot make-out session in the basement that's interrupted by Hyde's leather-clad date (Raquel). Hyde says to Jackie, "You didn’t think I was gonna wait around for you all summer, did you?"

Later in the episode, Jackie fantasizes about getting Hyde back and swears she'll do it.

Jackie and Hyde finally reconcile in "Join Together" -- with Kelso's help. He finally and truly "released" Jackie in the previous episode, having realized she'd grown beyond him thanks to Hyde. Jackie and Hyde's reconciliation doesn't come easily. Jackie tries to seduce Hyde, and he resists (though it's hard for him). Their pride gets the better of them, too. They both initially refuse to admit they want to be with each other. Jackie proves herself to be the braver person, however, and risks confessing she wants to be with Hyde. Hyde then confesses he wants to be with her. She attempts to get another, "I love you" out of him, but he tells her not to "push it," and they kiss.

During "Magic Bus," Jackie and Hyde make out heavily on Donna's bed. Jackie says, "Steven I am so glad we're back together. I thought I'd lost my little Puddin' Pop forever." Hyde says, "Wanna hear something sick? I actually missed you calling me 'Puddin' Pop.'" They continue to make out and are interrupted by Eric and Donna. Jackie inadvertently lets slip her pet name for Hyde, and Hyde's teased relentlessly for it. In the circle, Jackie almost reveals Hyde's pet name for her, but he stops her by shoving Eric's birthday cake in her face.

In "The Acid Queen," Jackie learns Hyde can't lie to her. He tells her he thinks Brooke Rockwell is hot when Jackie asks him. Jackie variously asks and orders Hyde to lie to her and say he doesn't think Brooke is hot, and he refuses to do it. Jackie goes to Mrs. Forman for help. Jackie says, "How do I know [Steven] loves me if he doesn't obey me?" Mrs. Forman gives Jackie the advice to "pick her battles". Jackie takes this advice to heart. She tries once again to get Hyde to lie about thinking Brooke is hot and he refuses once again. Then Jackie asks him to "go to the drug store and get [her] a Vogue magazine". He protests, saying his ice cream is going to melt, but he abandons it and, to Jackie's delight, does as she asks.

In "I'm Free," Jackie shows compassion for Hyde's childhood. Hyde gets angry at Kelso for wanting to abandon his unborn child and for thinking that it's okay if a child grows up fatherless. Jackie points out to Kelso that Steven grew up without a father. Then she says to Hyde, "Oh, Steven you're sensitive to this because your father ditched you, too... That is so foxy." They walk off together with their arms around each other's backs and holding hands.

Hyde begrudgingly agrees to go to Jackie's Christmas dance with her in "Christmas" so she can get back on the cheer squad. He initially refuses, but she pouts adorably at him and says, "Pwease?" and he gives in. They dance intimately together, which he seems to enjoy, but the rest of the night he is unhappy. He suffers through it, though, for her sake. Julie, the cheer captain, invites Jackie back on the team, but Jackie changes her mind and decides against it. She tells Hyde about this, saying, "I realized these girls aren't my friends anymore. I learned something about myself." This epiphany is yet another example of how Jackie has grown because of her relationship with Hyde.

In "I'm a Boy" during the circle, Hyde and Jackie have a very revealing moment. Hyde says, “When you’re truly, deeply happy, that’s a sure sign you’re doing everything wrong.” Jackie replies, “It’s true. ‘Cause when Steven’s miserable, I know our relationship’s in good shape.” Hyde says, “Then we’ve been tip-top since the day we met.” Jackie smiles at him, genuinely touched, and Hyde presses his cheek to her forehead with the deepest, happiest grin we may have ever seen from him on the show. Hyde’s words are clearly expressing the opposite of their surface meaning. He’s admitting that he’s “truly, deeply happy” with Jackie. His body language and the playful way he says his words show this fact — as well as Jackie’s reaction to him.

In "Do You Think It's Alright?" the question of Hyde’s long-term commitment to Jackie is almost directly addressed and settled. Jackie keeps playfully pestering Hyde about their eventual wedding because Eric and Donna’s is approaching. Hyde keeps telling Jackie that he and she aren’t getting married. He also makes her promise not to talk about weddings or marriage "in or around the United States". When he finds Jackie wearing a wedding dress, however, he doesn’t yell at her as she both expects and gives him permission to do. He stares at her in that love-daze, approaches her, and blurts, “You’re beautiful.” He continues to stare at her in love until she realizes the significance of his actions. She says, “Oh, my God. You like me in a wedding dress, which means that -- someday -- we’re gonna get married.”

Engagement

In “The Truth”, Hyde reveals to Angie and W.B. that he’s planning on proposing to Jackie.

[the-cat-chat]

April 15, 2023

It Chapter Two (2019)

Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

JayBell: Since we decided to do Stephen King month, we thought we might as well finally watch the sequel to It (which we watched the previous Halloween). When this movie came out, I remember people being disappointed by it, so I went into it with my expectations pretty low.

With that said--yikes. I’ve never read the book, so I don’t know how much they stuck to the book or not. Either way, the plot was just bad. Half of the movie is the group of kids (now adults) revisiting the past and trying to “remember” the events of the first movie. It was as if they had a bunch of unused scenes from the first movie and thought, “well let’s just stick these scenes in the sequel and call it a day.” It was boring. And honestly I’m not sure what these scenes really added to their characters, with the exception of Richie’s character (Finn Wolfhard/Bill Hader).

And don’t get me started on the stupid ritual stuff. [redacted]. The movie also gives us this quasi-origin for Pennywise with his daughter and the picture on the wall. But it’s vague and then never brought up again. Beverly doesn’t even mention it to the rest of the group. Like “hey guys you’ll never believe who I saw in a picture at some old lady’s house!” Nope. It doesn’t mean anything and the info has no bearing on events.

And the love triangle again, my god. Spare me. The movie doesn’t even provide any new development to the relationship between Beverly and Ben. No. It’s just about this stupid poem he wrote to her when he was a kid. Ugh.

The only good thing about this movie was that the adult actors had much better banter between them, especially compared to the kids in the first movie. And Bill Hader did provide some humor. He was definitely the best part of the movie.

Oh I haven’t even talked about the ending. [redacted]...so it’s completely stupid. Like we kill the clown by hurting his feelings and making him feel insecure? Ughhhhhh. And the overly sentimental send off for the kids come on.

Rating: 2.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: This movie feels like it broke me. I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it this time. I have so much to say, yet nothing at all. Let’s start with the positives. I wanted to see the sequel in all honesty bc Bill Hader was the grown up version of Richie. And I love him and think he’s soooo funny. I’m sad to report that’s not enough. (Remember THIS is the positive). That’s it that’s the positive. Oh and the ending the ending is realllllly great. Like the actual ending. She. The torture is over.

Nooow. I felt confused the whole time. Not like I didn’t know what was going on - I just didn’t know whyyy. That’s the whole 3 hours I will never get back. Asking why?? Why would you do it?? Gross fortune cookie baby fly spider things? The weird leper with the tongue? I get, I really do but still. I hate it. Mind you I totally forgot everyone else hated- but the hate is justified for obvious reasons. The majority of the movie is trying to figure the which kids match to the grown up version- then whyyyy they can remember anything- yet Stan did?? Right?? Does that make anyyyy sense???? How did he if the others didn’t? Was he still in Derry??? Whatever. And then they ALL split up??? They do know this crazy clown wants to kill them AGAIN?? And I stilllllll have no clue why they have the story of Pennywise being an immigrant that then joined the circus??? Since it’s something entirely different that I can’t figure out - bc whatever IT is takes form of a very specific thing- and whatever IT was to an ancient civilization IT is a clown when it comes to Derry, Maine. Makes sense clowns are terrifying. But heyyy even worse is his giant spider legs. Oh and when he shrivels into a gross little baby clown when they shoot him down and tell him he’s nothing. Like honestly- between allll of them seeeeeing their worst fears and memories- they couldn’t have pieces it together quicker. And did we really need anymore of the dumb romance stuff agggaaain.

Honorable mention to the freakish naked granny and Stan being turned into a weird head on spider legs. Really didn’t need that in my life. Thanks.

Rating: 0.1/10 Cats 🐈 (that’s me being generous)

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 8: The Conjuring

Today's spooky movie: The Conjuring, which I had seen before but not in a long while. It was as I remembered it, which is to say a very solid traditional horror film with maybe a somewhat boring final act--which I have to say, is also in line with the traditional horror movie thing. The build up is pretty much always scarier and more interesting than the climax, which feels like it needs to be bigger and wilder and more violent and more everything all at once, to justify all that suspense. And I get that need but it's also never as interesting. So I don't grade down for the big flurry of Stuff at the end being lackluster, as it was.

I feel like it's been a while since I watched something that really just continuously built up suspense with weird happenings and jump scare fake outs and actual jump scares. So much of horror is so subjective: what's intensely terrifying to one person because it really hits their personal anxieties and fears is really boring to someone else (see Hereditary and how vastly different B and I responded to it). But jump scares are physical, so in that sense they're basically universal. I love not having to think hard about something. And I felt like this movie had a good combination of big jump scares and then more subtle reveals of something unexpected just...suddenly being there.

Also I highly enjoyed the 1971 of it all. I'm not ashamed to say I love a good 70s aesthetic. Not many people out here openly admitting to liking that particular shade of pea green that was everywhere--but I do. I liked their little green cups and their yellow samovar and their striped skirts and their retro white radio and their sweaters, all the sweaters.

It's so obvious that this movie was made to kick off a franchise,, which it did, successfully, although I've never seen any of the others. I started watching The Conjuring 2 but couldn't finish it. But that happened to me the first time I tried watching Halloween 2, too. I think I just need sufficiently lowered expectations. I'd also like to see Annabelle although I'm not fond of the doll they used--the real one is scary. There's something very wrong with it. This one is like...too obvious, too gross.

Anyway, very solid, classic horror movie. It can't be watched too many times in close succession, lest you remember all the jump scares, but it had been a good long while and I enjoyed it.

[akwardlyuncool]

Dear BOYS LIKE GIRLS 16th Anniversary Tour 2022,

I'd like to pretend I'm sorry for making this letter so long, but in all honesty I'm not. This is in fact a swoon letter.

If I could pick any day, I sure wouldn't go with Halloween, but beggars can't be choosers. (Note: in the real world, that's total bs cause you should be able to have choices in life.) Anyway skip the fact that you were on a holiday, the future that proceeded to take place after this show tells me that it should be Boys Like Girls and me in October for life!

I know I've told this story a million and one times, so why not a million and two because it makes the show even more special knowing the road it took to get there. As some of y'all know, I've loved this album for many years and when BLG did their 10 year Anniversary for it I couldn't go because I was scheduled to have spine surgery the next day. I mean I could have went but that just sounds like terrible pre-surgery practice, so I really COULD NOT go. Instead I was just bummed for 6 years, you know until I was re-gifted the gift I wasn't supposed to have in the first place cause they weren't even originally coming to my city. For 6 years I said if I ever got another chance to I'd go and buy VIP just to tell the band this story.

When you were announced I bought tickets the moment pre-sale would allow because I wasn't going to leave anything to chance. I wasn't going to wait around for potential friends or to see if my PTO that's never been denied before would be approved. Again no chances. That being said I passed on the VIP cause I can rarely justify paying to meet humans, outside of the concert ticket itself. That I left to chance even though it was the one time I said I wouldn't.

On the side, my friend invited me to see Lizzo that same night with a bunch of other folks from work and although I get mad FOMO, I passed for a solo adventure that spoiler, turned out to be one of the best concerts of my life. Sorry... not sorry.

Instead of a costume cause I don't do Halloween, I themed my fit to be "Elder Emo." Which was really just me pulling things out of my closet, you know my Warped Tour 2010 shirt, black overalls I've worn to several shows and a tie-die bandana to match Martin's bandana fits of the moment. So dressed for the occasion and Popeye's chicken sandwich in tow, I showed up early like I always do. Thinking I was late, I ended up being the first person in line. I promise you it is all pure coincidence and life feeding into the bit that I'm never on time for anything but a concert.

Eventually came the New York fan-guys who had seen BLG many times over the years and ended up being pretty nice line mates, so alone didn't last forever. I'm also fans of other adults who will continue to do "silly" things like this while their bodies allows. (Respectfully though.)

Next, and this is where dreams come true, you brought Martin (the lead singer for those who don't know) out and I got to tell him the surgery story and take pictures with him. That would have been enough for me, but he proceeded to ask if me and the other few people in line (like 5 of us or something) had VIP? We said no and that we were just there early. Martin then upgrades all of our tickets and I get VIP anyway. Like what are the odds? Super nice! The dreams just kept getting fulfilled and I was so grateful.

I got soundcheck with songs that weren't apart of the set list and more opportunities to tell my life stories. I ended up telling the rest of the band the surgery story during the official meet and greet. Johnny (the drummer) had also had I believe a major spine surgery before, so we got to talk shop a little bit which was cool. I felt immensely awkward, but still had my cup filled. The evidence for this next part is written somewhere on this blog, but trust me I'm telling the truth, I also told the boys that I Limewired my first copy of the self-titled album and Martin then proceeded to make that story a bit in the show. (Future says he continues to use my story to this day and I will maintain that it is based off my story. LET ME HAVE THIS!)

Bury Mia, a local band, opened the official part of the night and I'm just sorry I'm wring this so late cause I never got to tell them how good they were. The heavier cover of Wonderwall was a standout, one because I knew that one (outside of a little of their songs Satellite and Peanut Butter) and two because it wasn't done acoustically by some dude in the quad. I didn't know much of them at the time, however in the last few years I've added several of their songs to different playlists and I'm glad I can say I saw them there first. Hopefully I'll get to see them again one day.

I wanted to pass out in the middle of the show cause I'm old and the body doesn't always want to hang. But who cares about sleep when what it's replacing is so much better. Boys Like Girls was absolutely fantastic and put on one of the best shows I've ever been to. I'm just saying the joy I felt hearing those songs live and being in that crowd, was immense. I don't have a car but I need a bumper sticker that says I'd rather be at a Boys Like Girls show, because why would I not want to relive this night over and over again.

Videos may take up a large chunk of space on our phones, but my little clips where I can clearly hear myself, are everything to me. I don't have a clip of it but this is where I heard The Outside for the first time and I do remember it being great then too. They didn't play the entire album, which is whatever, I got my Hero/Heroin and Heels Over Head, the expected stuff and some new faves though, so I wasn't too pressed. And again the overall show was just so good that looking back now the salt that I might of had was nothing but flavor.

There was candy thrown, I think by Bury Mia and Johnny's drums were covered in webs and Chucky faces, but other than that I it didn't feel like a Halloween show. BLG's all started in masks and quickly ditched them cause they couldn't be bothered with them after like one, maybe 2 songs. I would have been chill with it either way, however I'm not gonna say that I didn't prefer the show with them off.

Bands are stepping up their encore games and Boys Like Girls did it RIGHT! They didn't fake us out. They didn't play 45 seconds of their biggest track and move on. They acknowledged what time it was, played the hit song and handed out the set lists themselves. Perfection! My only critique and it's not even a full critique, is the whole "put your phones away for the encore" bit. It's really only here because they talk about going back to 2004 or '06 or whenever phones weren't out at shows and wanting everyone to "live in the moment" and all the ish. I can get behind a phone free concert moment just wish it didn't also feel like a slight judging moment on top of it. To be clear though it was mainly a small phrasing thing and didn't sour the night whatsoever.

Before the night ended you gave me one more gift and that was to catch Johnny's drumstick, which is why I didn't get to say hi to Bury Mia before they packed up. Like a true cherry on top of an already wonderful night.

The night just gave and gave and will go down as a top 10, top 5 show of my lifetime. Maybe I'm just old and sentimental, regardless though anniversary tours and what comes with them get me every time. PS: This was the same venue I saw The Used preform In Love In Death back in 2015, so again GIVING!

I-Love-You-So-Much-Take-Me-Back,

Jai (Akwardly Uncool/FreshJai)

_______________________________________________________________

Line Up

Boys Like Girls ft. Bury Mia

Venue

The Ogden Theatre (10.31.2022)

Stats:

First time I can remember seeing Boys Like Girls (unless they played a Warped Tour that I don't remember.)

First time seeing Bury Mia

[joelmmd]

kingdom hearts post again. finished kh2!

couldn't bring myself to keep going for 100% and do all of data organization 13. it took me like a day just to beat 2 of the bosses and i wasn't feeling like grinding the rest out after that and Especially wasn't looking forward to doing the same with lw. i'll probably come back to wrap all that up later, though.

i had a lot of fun with the game! one of my complaints with kh1 was that the combat was ~1 layer of depth away from being engaging for the whole 30 or so hours you'd be playing for, and kh2 has remedied it pretty well. forms are cool and add extra strategy when it comes to which one to use and when, keyblades coming with their own abilities makes it worth switching them around for reasons that aren't just "this has the highest strength/magic", and i feel like some of the abilities here are a lot more impactful than the first game's. the new mp system is weird but ultimately good, rewards players for not getting hit for a while and doesn't enable "fuck you" attacks by letting you stock up like 20 cures to make them not matter. not a fan of using cure Once meaning you can't use magic at all until it recharges but it is how it is.

enemy/boss design (gameplay-wise) is still not great. i'm starting to think this is always the case, and that you just don't see the cracks until the game starts demanding really good play from you. it's harder to get mad about some bullshit way you got hit if it only did like 1/5 of your health, but when it starts putting you at 1 hp you have to actually confront the move and realize "wow that's not ok".

the worlds were really good this time around. definitely appreciated how the game stopped caring so much about justifying why you're helping out the disney guy or riding a skateboard or doing a musical, they just let you do it. i didn't hear a thing about "Sora you aren't allowed to meddle in these worlds!!! Let's just get the keyhole and leave" and it was great.

standout mentions are the pirate world for the realistic ass ghouls & CJS's party member icon looking edited in, halloween town for having christmas town in it, lion king world for being the most egregiously "oc" yet (my lion oc is just a kid but he's super strong... he has spiky brown hair and dark fur and attacks with a Weapon instead of claws and stuff), and timeless river for just being great, it's probably my favorite. they all felt a bit short, though. probably a good thing for some of them, but i would've loved to have more to do after finishing them than just fighting mushrooms.

the story sucks dick. feels as bad as the first game's with way more steps to get there. organization 13 are fine antagonists but they're fighting for the spotlight with fucking Pete. and maleficent. pete really doesn't feel like the right character for "harbinger of darkness with plot to take over world". they end up doing jack dick anyways so i have to ask if they're only here to make sure the tone stays light and to keep the focus at least a little on disney.

i also don't like the whole "nobodies don't have feelings and don't exist and dont have hearts so they're basically nonpeople and it's ok that they're never happy" thing, it feels really weird compared to the rest of the game being generally optimistic and hopeful. especially with the game saying "darkness isn't bad and we need both it and light", feels like a step forward and then a step back in philosophy. waste of potential too! it's a lot harder to get invested in any future nobodies (assuming there are any) if you plain up say they don't have emotion or feelings.

i don't know if i'd say the writing's so bad, there were a few charming moments here and there that stuck with me and it was a lot less "No! The darkness... The light of the heart, Kingdom Hearts, the heartless the darkness... Kairi... Your light..." than the first game. part of it's definitely helped by the better voice acting across the board. there were for sure less moments where it got noticeably bad, and they actually bothered to bring in the whole winnie the pooh cast this time. sora's the big winner here, though, his performance here really elevated the character for me. or maybe he's just more interesting with the extra few years under his belt.

lightning round-prologue is neat in how it kind of prepares you for the real game but it's like 3 hours long, sora's new outfit & the form variations are pretty cool, reaction commands aren't as intrusive as i expected, limits are fun but i usually just healed instead, cure becoming an aoe is a change i like a lot, switching the target you're locked onto is bound to right trigger + flick right stick and it fucking sucks, being able to move the camera around while locked on is pretty great, and donald & goofy were a bit more capable this time around. still died a lot but they very rarely got on my nerves.

long, but i think i've said what i wanted to say. fun times. moving on to Dream Drop Distance now, which i've already got my hopes a bit lowered for from trying it out before. can't imagine it's gonna suck or anything though, as long as i can swing my funny keyblade as riku the game can only be so bad.

[biipbop]

I recently started a new job so I currently have 3 to 5 jobs depending on who you ask (2 of which are gig based so its not as intense as it seems). Last night my friend had a halloween themed story telling night I couldnt go to bc I m being drained by work

Instead, i read some gay horror stories on CG and I really wanted to ramble about it.

I ended up reading Human Mold and didnt know how I felt about it when I finished. I thought I was kind of indifferent about it, but now that Im out of work I can honestly say Im disappointed bc I was really enjoying it.

I cant critique the quality of the translation but i really enjoyed the way it was written. Something about the writing was scratching an itch in my brain in that it was descriptive enough to keep me interested but not overwhelmingly so where my adhd will kick in and make me have to reread everything.

But also, it had enough horror in it to justify the horror tag. I personally started feeling dread when the protagnoist had to deal with the mold seemingly getting worse. I kinda wish there was a more psychological element to it where it seems to everyone else that its not that big of a deal and he might just be overly stressed making the mold problem worse then it actually is (but thats a "in my fanfic..." kind of comment. Not an actual critique). Either way, the execution of the horror and gore was well done.

The dynamic between the ml and protag was interesting enough for me to want to see how their relationship would develop. Spoilers but, Im kind of glad I was misled in thinking that the mold man was going to be the ml. Also, the demon's backstory had me excited bc it reminded me a lot of priest novel's where you get a character who in any other story would have been the antagonist but instead the true antagnoist is systemic oppression or in this case a corrupt elite who dehumanize the poor.

This all was, in my opinion, a perfect set up for a horror rom com slice of life story with the mold man being a reoccuring threat and I was there 👏 for👏 it 👏.

So it was very disappointing for it to just end there. I m going to look up the author in a desperate attempt to get more.

That's all to say Human Mold was pretty good.

...

..

.

Then I saw I'm a Male Mom and the Nightmare Game

Y'all...

So I m going to unnecessarily explain. I read disabled tyrants pet palm fish bc I heard the premise behind it and it sounded ridiculous. A mute ml who gets his male fish pregnant? My poor morbid curiosity.

So I read it all. Was it the best use of my time? Absolutely not. Would I go back in time and stop myself from reading it? Never. I love bringing it up to my less normie friends bc its ridiculous and surprisingly cute.

So having that mindset, I stupidly thought it would also be a similarly ridiculous story I could casually bring up in conversation like the little weirdo i am.

I wish I was exaggerating when I say I finally found something to scratch the horror itch that Kaleidoscope of Death left in my brain. That birth scene??? The gore after that?? Im so invested.

Im trying to keep my expectations low because it is only the first few chapters but y'all I m invested.

[theliterateape]

I Like to Watch | The Streaming Stories That Prop Me Up Through Chaos

by Don Hall

Oh, so much hay has been made about my ludicrous third divorce. I suppose the just get over it impulse of the GenX male bristles but I'm now in that bizarre bubble of truly grappling with the past seven and a half years and the unsettling reality of figuring out what I'm going to do beyond eating, sleeping, and the act of merely surviving from day to day and that flies in the face of the simple keep on keeping on ethos.

Yes, I finally contracted COVID for about four days and, while the actual infection mostly felt like allergies or a solid head cold, the follow-up hangover has been two straight weeks (and counting) of the worst head/chest cold I've encountered. You know, stuffed up mucus-head, couching up phlegm until you feel like you been doing sit-ups non-stop for days, pretty tired most of the time. In the meantime, I'm helping my folks navigate dialysis three times a week and a father who can't hear, see, or walk most of the time (when he’s in good shape, the man has stories galore) as well as helping mom deal with her yard and basement and Halloween decorations (her joy is infectious) all while jumping through the bureaucracy of getting a Substitute Teacher's license in Kansas so I can make enough cash to pay my meager but required bills. All of which is to say, I have a lot of time on my hands.

I read an article about how breakups were like experiencing a death and that stages follow the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I can justify that in my recent experience but my stages of grief have more to do with my desire to drown myself in the stories of others that have or are going through something similar.

I couldn't find a single documentary or program or book that deals explicitly with a husband finding out his wife of a few years embarking on a nearly three-year campaign of infidelity with a lover plus a new vocation selling herself for sex to strangers so I do my best. Interesting, I've reinvented myself half a dozen times in my life but this one is different. Those reinventions were my choice; this one is not. It's the difference between moving from Florida because of a new job prospect or a desire for snow and having to move because Hurricane Dana leveled everything you have without mercy or thought.

Here are my versions of those five stages of grief:

Disillusionment

"Is this really happening?" For a few weeks immediately following the quickie divorce and her moving only eight yards away from my place, I was in a headspace that wasn't in denial but in a great swirl of confusion. What had happened exactly? Was what she told me real and, if it wasn't, what the fuck did it all mean? The revelations handed to me like a platter of dogshit put into question everything I had experienced since coming to Vegas. It all seemed surreal and kind of unbelievable.

I leapt into two Apple TV+ shows.

Shining Girls starring the amazing Elizabeth Moss based on a novel about a time-traveling Depression-era drifter who must murder the "shining girls" in order to continue his travels and the girl who survived the assault and struggles to figure out what the fuck is going on as she connects her attack with the murders of women over the course of time.

Severance, which tells the tale of a biotechnology corporation, Lumon Industries, using a "severance" medical procedure to separate the non-work memories of some of their employees from their work memories. One severed employee, Mark, gradually uncovers a web of conspiracy from both sides of the division.

Self Recrimination

I was a dupe. The dumbest motherfucker in the history of marriage. A moron who believed in a fictional wife. The guy used to provide rent and living cash so the fake spouse could simply go off and do anything she wanted while I paid the bills. The dipshit conned.

Funny, most men in a position adjacent might decide to go postal on the ex-wife, the boyfriend, or the johns involved. I decided to prosecute myself.

TV shows came to the rescue to show me how I was not alone in my complete brainless acceptance of a sham marriage.

The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes, one of the most deceptive and oddly charismatic con artists of modern history, demonstrated that a good liar is mostly believed out of a self delusion. People believed her because they wanted to believe her despite the massive red flags in her story.

The theme of why people get hoodwinked by these scammers is extended in the excellent Inventing Anna and the tawdry The Tinder Swindler. I felt like a rube, sucked into a false reality that I accepted without challenge or interrogation. I trusted someone who was almost universally selfish and self serving even at my expense and loved her anyway.

Escape

At some point, perhaps by month two, I desperately needed something unrelated, categorically stupid mind candy. I love my reality TV but Survivor was in recess, I'd watched every Gordon Ramsey thing available, and I could not stomach any of the reality dating shows for obvious reasons. I turned to MTv and The Challenge.

Thirty-eight seasons. Four off-shoot seasons. Hundreds of hours of watching former Real World, Road Rules, and contestants from a host of other competitive reality TV shows live together, drink too much, fuck, and compete in extreme challenges involving oceans, mountains, and anything conceived of by the cracked mind of host TJ Lavin.

Spending that much time watching these kids connive, fight, compete, make up, betray, and ally with one another felt like I was living with them and not in my own sordid reality. I am now a bona fide fan of most of the more veteran Challengers and look forward to their dumbass exploits eagerly.

Comeuppance

I never felt the need to exact any sort of revenge on my ex-wife. It was what it was and no amount of anger or spite would change it. It wouldn't make me feel any better. That said watching someone exact brutal revenge against those who wronged her at the behest of a duplicitous lover and a film about a guy doing his best to erase his quirky girlfriend worked wonders.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 is a perfect one-two punch. Better than all the John Wick movies combined (and I love the John Wick movies) and ending with the lying, vengeful Bill being killed using his own technique, Tarantino's homage to kung fu movies and Uma Thurman was a balm.

I feel Joel's pain in Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I did my own culling of memories. I deleted every single photo of her, of she and I, of things that reminded me of her. I shuffled off items and clothing (including a t-shirt she bought me from her boyfriend's death metal band). I couldn't (and can't) rid myself of the constant nagging sensation that any good or fun thing we did together was somehow poisoned by her duplicity. Especially almost anything we enjoyed together in Nevada. Sure, Joel falls back in love with Clementine after erasing the bad stuff but for me that's all that remains—the lies, the cheating, the prostitution. I suppose prostitution is like red onions on a sandwich—even a little bit overwhelms everything else.

Now What?

I'm now in Kansas. I'm fundamentally safe—from her, from the possibility of her falling on her ass and coming to be saved, from the pestering feeling that I am everything she saw when she tossed me away like a used snot rag. And I have all this time. So I watch stories of men my age starting over. Tales of GenX dudes whose lives just didn't add up to any standard of success. Men like Johnny Lawrence and John Nolan.

Cobra Kai is almost perfect in every way. Five seasons of pure joyful nostalgia but updated to reflect those of us who we the same age as the original Karate Kid in 1984. After decades of simply losing his way through life, Johnny Lawrence finds a new path that morphs into another new path that makes him a hero in his own story.

The Rookie is not perfect. It's not even especially good. It tells the story of John Nolan, a contractor whose marriage blows up and in a journey quest to redefine himself joins the LAPD as a rookie cop some thirty years older than everyone else in his class. I didn't intend on bingeing this show but I watched the first ten minutes when he puts his wedding ring and divorce papers in a safety deposit box and wept like a kid surprised that a bee sting hurt.

Now, I'm along for the ride of an older guy reinventing himself in the least likely scenario possible. No. I don't have any inkling to be a cop but the metaphor sticks.

The article I read rings true. A breakup does feel like a death. I'd argue that how one deals with death is an individual choice. Mine is television and film. Seems to be working as I haven't shot up a rollerskating place or eaten a pistol.

[safetyrat]

happy not last life tuesday everybody!! it's that session 7 fic i won't shut up about, aka. the testament to how incredibly slow i am at writing, started this almost a week ago now. pretty happy how it turned out overall, though, so a like and reblog would mean the world to me :]

So, here is: The Six Allies That Martyn Lost + The One He Still Has Left | 3k words

“He looks ill”, Grian whispered and Martyn swallowed his comment of “He looks dead.”

His grey skin was littered with the remains of an explosion barely covered up by the loosely sitting bandages and his piercing red eyes glared into Martyn’s for an eternity, or maybe it was only a moment, but it was enough to hear the screams of “this could be different”.

It was enough to remember his hand tightly grasping Martyn’s, warm in a way he knew it wasn’t anymore.

Enough to remember how hesitant, yet genuine he sounded when he said “Deal” and “I trust you”.

Enough to remember Jimmy, gullible, gullible Jimmy, ripping open his then brown eyes when he realized he was lied to.

Because that was something Martyn knew how to do, lie to people. How to weave a story just believable enough not to get questioned.

And so, he told them about his ‘halloween costume’ and saw Grian chase Jimmy away, joking about how he would be the first one to go today.

It felt a lot less like a joke when he saw Grian shoot and Jimmy fall. He didn’t even hear him scream.

Of course, he backed Grian up when he said it was justified.

After all, Martyn was a liar and Jimmy was dead.

---

“‘Till death do us part”, Martyn had joked once, but as he approached the duo of Mumbo and Skizz for a deal, he wondered if that condition had already been met.

It wasn’t like Mumbo looked that much different, he pondered. He had been powdered with red the minute he spawned into this world, though the dust that was before uselessly specked on his skin seemed to be buzzing with a new found energy now. There was also the gaping axe wound in his side and… one other thing.

Martyn didn’t know how to describe it, but there was something about the way he crouched and smiled at them, a foreign glitter in his eyes. How eager he was to accept a deal he didn't even get an offer for. How he turned around on one heel, rushing to do a hit as if he was asked to get groceries.

Martyn would have taken grey skin over that any day.

It was only after they were gone that he noticed how he had been grasping his communicator, finger dangerously close to where he knew he had saved a command just some time prior.

He deleted it, then, after watching Grian spill blood on a black suit.

Simply because he wouldn’t need it anymore.

Not when Martyn was a widow and Mumbo was dead.

---

Martyn has heard the curse being described in many ways, but none of it had been enough to prepare himself for the impact. He supposed it made sense that no one else felt it quite as immediately, it wasn’t like any of the other members had the same… pumpkin infestation problem as him.

Either way, it wasn’t an itch, nor a mist. He supposed ‘burning’ was as close a simile he was going to find. His vision was clouded, but he didn’t see red.

He saw green.

With the heat of the just exploded end crystal still behind his back, he swung his sword and Grian’s body fell towards it, but it was too late.

It was only a second in which it went lump, any last trace of life escaping into the night, and then it disappeared with a respawn before even hitting the ground.

“I’ll take that!”, Joel laughed and somehow, that made the flames rise higher.

It wasn't until way later that Martyn saw Grian again, just a red speck in the corner of his vision while he was focused on the wither.

He heard him yelp, once, presumably one of Scott’s arrows, but as cold metal stung his ring finger, he couldn’t bring himself to pity.

The smell of smoke still lingered close to the soil as Martyn tried a last feeble attempt to restore the farm.

He was truly alone, now, the unjust heir of the southern palace. Maybe it was so ironic because there never had been a big reveal of double-crossing. Even when practically flaunting his false loyalty, people were too preoccupied for suspicion.

That didn’t mean it was any less wrong for him to be here when none of the others could.

Not when Martyn was a traitor and Grian was red.

---

When meeting the shadow alliance for the first time Martyn’s focus hadn’t been on BigB at all, really.

How could it be, when Ren was right there, Ren, Ren, his Ren, just an arms length away?

How could it be, when he was about to meet Her only ever whispered about Highness, whose reputation deemed her fae?

No, that wasn’t why, was it? Not only, anyway. It was also that BigB just… felt natural. He felt comfortable, like it was the most right thing in the world to be on his side.

Maybe that was why he was so easy to trust. (Maybe that had been Cleo’s downfall).

Martyn had heard Dogwarts being described as a family before, and there was no denying that he liked the thought. Yes, the things the war had done to them were horrible, but there was nothing that could bond you quite like healing someone's wounds and smelling their dying breath. And despite everything about this world, he knew he’d throw it all away again for the red banner.

BigB had been the same, then. He was there, whether it was out of a personal grudge or for their protection didn’t matter, as long as Martyn had somebody to turn his back to.

So really, nobody could blame him for falling into easy banter again. Nobody could blame him for following whatever mission they were on and getting distracted by whatever tangent again.

It was fun. That was all there was to it.

Martyn had joked and he had called BigB dad, once, and he went along with the bit and they laughed and it was so simple and careless and god, it’s silly, but in that moment he dared to indulge in the wish that things were different.

He shouldn't have.

Not when Martyn was sentimental and BigB was red.

---

Where there was laughter bubbling just some seconds ago a sense of dread crept up in Martyn's chest as he watched Mumbo slowly climb the ladder.

“Red light”, he typed, hoping Grian and Impulse got the hint and then looked around the area beneath the platform to see if there was anything he could do to help.

He was quick to pull out his water and pour it onto the floor, only to see it evaporate in milliseconds.

Right. They were in hell. He forgot about that.

Sighing, he turned away, hoping the both of them would be smart enough not to risk anything by themselves.

He should have known his southern allies better than that, really, but it took him until he heard a bone shattering scream just in his right ear to realize.

Impulse’s body disappeared while it’s thud was still ringing through the nether roof, but even the short moment he got to see it was enough to make Martyn’s blood run cold.

Fuck.

“Careful, be careful!”, he called out, while navigating his route around the cold walls of the snow fort.

Jumping away from one of the wither’s blasts just in the last second, he somehow managed to put his arm right in one of the flying arrow’s tracks.

After cursing through the piercing pain, he yelled again. “The reds are shooting, be careful!”

The reds, he said, despite knowing pretty exactly who it was on the other side of the snow. It was easier to think of them that way. He couldn’t be distracted by having faces and dead bodies to the names.

Another arrow flew over his head, this time it was Scott shooting.

“Landed one, landed one!”

The callouts blended into background noise as he shifted his attention back onto the wither. Striking one hit, maybe two, a loud scream of celebration pulled him away again.

“Impulse down!”

“Let's go!”, he joined in, voice filled with an energy he wasn’t really feeling.

He forced himself to focus on it, though, and on the adrenaline of the battle. And if he was blinded by an image of a body so distorted that it’s splintered bones were visible through it’s bloodied skin, that was for nobody else to know.

Not when Martyn was cheering and Impulse was dead.

---

“I like your words”, Martyn smiled carefully while looking up into the deeply blue eyes of the fairy. “You carry yourself with honor and dignity.”

He meant it then, respect for the woman visible in his every move, even when he opposed her authority. How could he not, when he saw the way Ren looked at her? The way BigB shifted at her side?

When he knew about that gamble she took, just a second before one soul met its demise?

She had the aura of a leader and it radiated from every patch of her skin. Somehow, he knew it didn’t stop at the borders of this world.

It was different, now, as he saw her standing below him, soot and blood of somebody whom she had offered refuge just days ago covering her arms. She smiled, a smile so nonchalant for admitting to a murder it made him feel sick. Though he knew well enough he wasn’t one to judge.

That was the last time he saw her, but it wasn’t the last he was in her presence. There was one other time, and his leg still ached, he was still struggling to breathe from running, running, two pairs of footsteps far too close to be comfortable. Her goodbye to him was being hunted, for no other reason than the bloodlust that spawned out of a hateful death.

So when she fell, when she was gone, gone, truly gone, he was not the one to keep her name in honor. He wasn’t who’s sobs could be heard through the cold night. He wasn’t the one to gather anything that reminded him of her in a pile, just to have something, anything reminiscent of a grave in this world that didn’t allow the dead to rest. He was not the one to pray for her, to whatever god was merciful enough to listen.

How could it have been him, when Lizzie was not his queen and now could never be?

---

The crooked towers of the south loomed over his head with long shadows and it was as if they were mocking Martyn’s feeble attempt to fall asleep. Of course, the day and night and day before had been restless, not enough time to catch a breath let alone close his eyes between the constant reminders of death, death, death.

He didn’t know how he had hoped it would be different now.

The moon looked down on him, seemingly trying to let her light play on his features in comfort, but there was little she could do that would make the silence inside the walls feel less ghostly. And so, he took the pathway she illuminated and left.

He didn’t have a route or a goal, except whatever path was not claimed by mobs, so he let himself wander. He didn’t know how long he had walked or how far he’d come, either. Before, he could have made a rough estimate, but the world that felt so busy and restricting had suddenly become huge.

There was a weird feeling that followed him, like nostalgia or some deep sadness threatening to break out now he had nothing to focus on to keep it away. He ignored it, somewhat, but there was another one, a feeling, that he couldn’t shake no matter how much he tried.

He felt like he was being watched.

He wondered how accurate that was.

It wasn’t like he thought the dead would enjoy following him around, really, that must be boring, but then maybe they didn’t have much choice. Being forced to watch somebody who lied to you, didn’t help you, cheered your death? Martyn grimaced at the thought.

Himself, he never got to figure out where souls go in this world, last time. The end was too close to the Battle of Dogwarts for it to make sense to try and find anything on that other plane.

He died. Grian jumped. The time in between happend. (He didn’t know how he felt about the time in between). Then he was back here again, though this ‘here’ was very different from that ‘here’.

It was still the same, really, but he supposed nobody else knew it like he did. The world was the same, on the most fundamental level, and it had liked the first story it crafted. They changed the rules, they said not to repeat alliances, but they still felt it, all of them, tugging on their limbs towards familiarity. He saw it, in glances between Jimmy and Scott. He heard it, in banter between Grian and Scar. He knew it, when the first corpse hit the floor and didn’t disappear.

For some reason the world decided it would be funny if Martyn was the one to feel this the most, was his best bet.

And so, he wasn’t surprised with himself at all when his feet inevitably led him towards the shadow tower. Ah, so it would be one of those nights where he would sit outside the walls, letting the strings that bound him to it burn themselves out a bit, with no intention to get in. Far from the first one.

What he was surprised about, though, was how the tower stood out, a warm orange illuminating the stone, setting it apart from the cold moonlight. It was faint enough, the fire of two or three furnaces, maybe, but it flickered and glowed just that bit stronger as another one got lit.

Figured Ren couldn’t sleep, either.

Standing there a bit dumbfounded, Martyn was unsure of what to do. He couldn’t stay, really, feeling like he was intruding and not wanting to be seen. Yet, and he had to admit that to himself with a goulp, he didn’t want to leave, either. Not to ghost town. Anywhere but to ghost town.

Before he could make up his mind, that decision got torn out of his hands, as the door opened with a creak.

“Martyn?”, Ren’s voice sounded out and his ears stood up straight. “Bro, whatcha doin’ out here at this hour, you must be gatherin’ the creepers-”.

And then Ren looked at him, truly looked at him, and whatever he saw made his expression soften.

“Come in”, he said.

It was a command in all but tone and Martyn felt his feet move before he knew what he was doing.

Ren closed the door behind them and watched him settle in for a second, as if he had never been in here before. Then, he helped himself to Martyn’s bandana, untying it and running his hand through his hair once, ruffling it so it would dry and oh, it had been raining, he hadn’t noticed that.

“Man, you look like you haven’t slept since new years.”

Ren’s voice was laced with genuine concern, but Martyn couldn’t help but grow defensive.

“Could say the same about you, to be honest.”

Ren looked away, his eyes darting towards the ladder.

“Wanna come up? I’ll boil you some water, you look like you need it.”

They said in silence for a while after that, Martyn working his way through the… tea, and Ren sitting beside him, offering company. The more time passed, though, the more uneasy he grew, fidgeting with his suspenders and wagging his tail up and down in an uneven rhythm.

Frankly, it was annoying.

“Come on, spit it out, what is it?”

“Nothing! There is nothing wrong! What could you mean?”

Ren’s overly eager answer only gained an unimpressed glance. He sighed in resignation

“Uh, I don’t think you were with us at the time, but I suggested to the other greens and yellows to make the tower our place to hide-out if they wanted to. Thought it’d be safer to stick in a huddle. I guess you can see they didn’t take the offer”, he chuckled humorlessly.

“Stickin’ by what I said, though. It’s not safe. So, I guess what I mean, uh. Would you wanna stay here, maybe, for the time being?”

‘Oh’, Martyn thought and let out a breath. “Yes, yes I would.”

He didn’t realize it then, not immediately, but this was the moment he let go. When he stopped trying to resist the world’s strings so desperately. When he let himself fall.

He didn’t remember the details of what happened next, but at some point they had thrown together a blanket pile on the floor so they had a place to rest next to each other.

Now, he was laying by Ren’s side, close enough to feel the warmth radiate off his skin.

They had talked, then, and Martyn told him. Not all of it, of course, far from all of it, he didn’t even know how to put most of it in words, but he didn’t need to for Ren to understand.

For his part, Ren talked a lot as well, about Lizzie, BigB and Cleo too sometimes, but mostly about his queen and when he said her name, his voice was as far away as could be.

And Martyn listened, until his speech grew slurred and his breaths quietened, became more regular.

Martyn wasn’t about to fall asleep himself, not for hours, but it didn’t matter. Not when he felt right for the first time on this goddamn server. When he felt like home.

Somewhere, the moon gave off a satisfied tinkle, but he could not have given less of a fuck if he tried. He wasn’t doing this for her, he knew, as he shifted closer towards the body beside him.

He was doing this for himself.

Because Martyn was selfish and Ren was alive, alive, so devastatingly alive.