#left out the plots with no clear boss/no strong boss as well as event-only bosses

[adobe-outdesign]

[existslikepristin]

A Two-on-One Match

Part 2 of 3 of the OC Jung Hyunjin's arc. A request from Rex [of the ever-changing name] I recommend starting with A Quick Fix to follow the plot if you haven't read it already.

Tags: TheLounge, Gfriend, Eunha, SinB, male OC Jung Hyunjin, "oh hey I know you", one dom one sub one clueless boxer, some butt stuff, request

~~~~~

The bell rang to announce Yuta’s departure. He turned back as he walked through the door and waved. “Thanks Hyunjin! Good to meet you!”

“You too man! Enjoy!” Hyunjin waved back. It was his second week working at The Lounge and he was getting to know quite the wide range of people, and the first day he was working the morning shift, now that he was fully finished with his evening training.

A familiar voice came from behind, just at the entrance to the kitchen. “Nice catch. How’d you know Yuta would like the cinnamon sprinkle?” It was Hyunjin’s new boss, Kim Soomin.

“Wish I could tell you Ms. Kim. Honestly I just guessed.”

Soomin shrugged. “We’ll chalk it up to intuition then. Anyway, it seems like you’ve got things handled up here. I’m going to start up the oven for some brownies. Sungho is going to be here in half an hour, but I’ll be right there if you get rushed, alright?”

“You got it, Ms. Kim.”

Hyunjin wasn’t especially worried, since he didn’t imagine they’d be getting that many more customers in so early in the morning. When Soomin was gone, he leaned back against the perfectly clean counter and pulled out his phone.

Sowon had told him she was an idol, but he still hadn’t bothered to look up her music. It seemed to him that while he was waiting for customers was as good a time as any. He opened up his default browser and tapped in her name. A second later, his phone was flooded with pictures of Sowon in a variety of outfits, generally much fancier than what he usually saw her in. In the sidebar, her real name appeared, as well as the company she worked for and the group she was part of. “Gfriend,�� rung a bell in Hyunjin’s head, at least, though he had no clue if he’d actually heard any of their music before. Maybe at a convenient store while he wasn’t paying attention?

He tapped the link to change the search to Gfriend. The images that showed up were far more zoomed out than before. He could pick out Sowon’s face among the six women in each picture, but immediately scrolled down and saw their names. He nodded his head and kept going down the list. Jung Yerin was next. No clue who she was. Then Jung Eunbi, also known as Eunha. That name sounded somehow familiar to him, but he continued to read. Choi Yuna, also known as Yuju…

He was interrupted by the bell ringing. He bounced away from the counter and popped his phone back into his pocket. Looking up, he saw two women had entered. One of them took off to the side toward the lounge chairs right away, but the other one approached the counter. She walked normally at first, but slowed down when she and Hyunjin’s eyes met.

“H-hyunjin?” she asked.

Hyunjin hesitated to respond. He pulled his phone back out and looked at the images still on the screen. “Do you go by Eunha?”

Eunha nodded slowly. “Yeah… Were you in drama club in middle school?”

“I was.”

There was a long pause.

“Holy shit, Hyunjin! It’s been such a long time! When did you start working here?”

Hyunjin laughed. He knew the name was familiar. “Just a couple of weeks ago. I got referred by Sowon.”

Eunha laughed back. “She and I are in a girl group together!”

“I literally just found that out! I was looking you guys up! See?” Hyunjin held out his phone.

“Woah! Yeah! How are you doing these days?”

The two took some time to reminisce and catch up. Despite the initial moment of not recognizing each other, they quickly remembered their connection. They had grown up in the same neighborhood, and recalled a variety of events they had gone to together as children. Eunha was a year above him in school, but had encouraged him to participate in drama. The Lounge continued to stay effectively empty the whole time. Hyunjin told Eunha about how he and Sowon met and how he ended up there, and about how he was training again to fight. Eunha told him about the rest of Gfriend, and how the other woman she entered with was Umji.

To avoid making Umji wait too much longer, Hyunjin took Eunha’s order and got to work. He was all smiles. When he brought their coffee to them, he included a napkin with his phone number on it and invited Eunha to the fight, but couldn’t continue to chat with the other customers that began to pour in, the bell going wild.

* * *

The bell went wild. It was the end of the last round. Hyunjin wiped at his nose with his arm. His opponent backed off and the two bumped their gloves together. Hyunjin wasn’t especially happy with the turnout. It had been far too long since he’d stepped in a ring, and it showed. That wasn’t going to stop him from being a good sport though. He kept a smile on.

Fortunately, the referee still held his arm up in the end. “... by split decision: Jung Hyunjin!”

The crowd cheered. Whether it was for Hyunjin or not, he couldn’t really tell. The crowd wasn’t exactly huge, and the two fighters nobody had heard of (it was only his opponent’s second official match) in a small venue didn’t exactly have a fanbase yet. Hyunjin couldn’t pick any familiar faces out of the crowd either.

His disappointment was quickly abated by who he saw while making his way to the locker room. Dressed in frumpy, nondescript sweatshirts and hats, Eunha and another girl Hyunjin barely recognized from Gfriend’s group pictures as SinB caught him right at the doorway.

“Hey! We were hiding out in the back row. Congrats!”

Hyunjin ran his fingers through his hair. “Thanks. I was rusty though.”

“Rusty? What do you mean? You were great!”

SinB tapped Eunha on the arm. “No, he’s right. They both looked like amateurs.”

Hyunjin grimaced, but before he could say anything, Eunha grabbed him by the arm. “Hey, let’s go in there, where it’s not so noisy! I can barely hear you two!”

She wasn’t wrong. When the door closed behind them, the lack of noise was a relief.

“So yeah,” SinB started, “what I was saying is that he’s right. They loo--”

Eunha silenced her with a strict look. “SinB...” is all she said, and it was all she needed.

SinB averted her eyes and a blush crossed her cheeks. “It’s um… Nice to meet you, Hyunjin. My name’s SinB.”

Hyunjin smirked. “Hey, good meeting you too. Don’t worry about the fight though. I used to be a lot better. I’m just out of practice. I’ll be starting regular training again next week.”

“You really did do great though,” Eunha said, “I mean, you had to, right? You won.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m just being critical of myself. But anyway, thanks for coming! I really appreciate the support.”

“Of course! Just think of us as your first fans?” Eunha ended with a questioning tone, but followed up quickly. “Actually, let’s not be fans yet. It’s weird for fans to take you out to dinner.”

“Dinner, huh? I’d like that. I need to get washed up first. Pretty sure I’ve still got some blood in my mouth.”

“Totally, yeah! We’ll just, uh, wait here.”

Hyunjin gave a nod and went to the locker room. He could hear Eunha hushedly giving SinB an earful the whole way.

Undressing was a bit painful. Hyunjin had taken a particularly strong hit to one of his left ribs, and now that he could see the site of the impact, he could already tell it would be bruising. He hoped it wasn’t broken.

As he made his way to the open showers, he could hear Eunha and SinB again. They sounded like they were close to the locker room. There wasn’t a door to block the sound though, so he didn’t think much of it, but he knew something was up when he heard footsteps over the sound of the running water. Nobody else should be on this half of the building except his coach, who he hadn’t even informed of the fight. He quickly covered his dick with his hands and turned to the entrance.

And there was SinB, blushing furiously, looking straight up at the ceiling. “H-hey, Hyunjin. I’m sorry.”

“Um. Well, cool. Apology accepted. But is this really the--”

Hyunjin cut himself off as Eunha brushed past SinB. But unlike SinB, she was completely undressed. She walked toward him, small breasts bouncing with each step, getting soaked as she went directly through the spray of the showers. He started to smile, but noticed and quickly got rid of it. “Eunha, you’re…”

“I’m here to help you get cleaned up,” she finished his sentence for him, though it wasn’t what he was intending to say. “We can get to the restaurant sooner this way, right?”

Eunha grabbed a bar of soap from one of the little shelves along the wall and stopped just short of Hyunjin, who had lost all hope of being able to hide his erection. Not that Eunha seemed to mind, or even pay any attention. But it’s what she said next that made her intentions much, much clearer.

“You and Sowon aren’t exclusive, right?”

“No. I suppose we’ve been very clear that we aren’t.” Hyunjin took a hand away from his crotch to rub the back of his neck.

Eunha put a hand on Hyunjin’s arm, pointing at his neck. “Oh no. Are you feeling sore?” She gestured toward a stool. “Let me give you a massage. SinB!”

Hyunjin watched, half afraid and half mesmerized, as SinB quickly undressed and tossed all of her clothes back into the locker room. He let Eunha pull him down to sit on the stool she dragged underneath the stream of the shower. “I don’t really need a massage. It’s okay.”

“That’s good to hear! I’ll just get started on washing you up then. In the meantime, can you do me a favor?”

“Uh… Sure?”

While sitting on the stool, Hyunjin was just barely shorter than Eunha, which let her lean down to whisper in his ear. Her tone made it clear she was asking a question. “Let SinB practice on you?”

Hyunjin’s eyes went wide. “So Eunha, I don’t mean to sound like a perv here, but are you implying something about practicing a blowjob? Because I’ll take that.”

Eunha motioned for SinB to approach. “No, no. Why would you think that?” she asked, clearly twitching at the corner of her mouth as she tried not to smile. She slowly pulled Hyunjin’s other hand away from his full-mast dick.

In no time at all, SinB was standing in front of Hyunjin, hair getting drenched by the shower, hands behind her back, and eyes anywhere but on him. With a little difficulty, she moved to straddle his lap. The width of her legs put her bare pussy dangerously close to his cock.

Sure he knew where the situation was taking them, Hyunjin shifted his legs, pushing SinB’s a little farther apart. The head of his dick speared her. He watched as her chest rose and fell rapidly. She used her hands to brace herself on his shoulders. He wanted to make a snarky comment, but was having difficulty coming up with anything good. He was also distracted by the feeling of something hard against his cock. He reached around SinB and grabbed her butt. As his fingers explored, he was able to verify immediately that she had a butt plug inside of her.

“This is an interesting night,” he said simply.

Just then, Hyunjin felt Eunha pressing her front up against his back. Her skin glided over his, as if it was (and it was) covered in soap. At the same time, SinB lowered herself further onto his dick in a jerking, twitching way.

“I don’t know what you mean. Is something unusual, Hyunjin?” Eunha asked as she rubbed her tits and stomach up and down his back.

Hyunjin’s sarcasm struggled its way out of his throat as SinB started fucking him, bouncing herself and making a beautiful, wet scene of her slim body. “Not at all…” Hyunjin said, “Perfectly normal Wednesday night.”

Eunha couldn’t contain her giggle. She ran her soapy hands over Hyunjin’s shoulders, arms, and whatever parts of his legs she could reach with SinB in the way. He winced a little when she swept over his new bruise, but otherwise did his best not to react.

“How do you like SinB’s pussy?”

Hyunjin groaned. His grip on SinB’s asscheeks tightened subconsciously. He had to unclench his teeth to say, “It’s alright.”

“Hear that, SinB? Just alright. Maybe a bit amateurish.”

SinB’s shoulders tensed up visibly. “I said I was sorry…”

Eunha walked around to the shelves on the wall to pull a bottle of shampoo off. The close up view of Eunha’s plump, naked, wet ass just about set Hyunjin off. She was obviously arching her back just enough to make it noticeable.

“Damn, Eunha. I always admired your butt when you were my senior, but now… fuck…”

She turned to look at Hyunjin over her shoulder. “Oh thank you! Sounds like you’re thinking about cumming?”

Hyunjin nodded. With no hesitation at all, Eunha set the shampoo back down and pulled a visibly shocked SinB off of his cock. He was shocked too, about ready to ask why Eunha would do such a thing, but found his answer right away.

Eunha, facing away from Hyunjin, positioned herself between his legs and spread her ass with one hand, and grabbed his cock with the other. She directed it to an unexpected target, and Hyunjin’s breath caught in his throat as he was hilted completely in Eunha’s asshole.

“Now you can cum,” she said.

Hyunjin didn’t need to be told twice. He barely needed to be told once. His orgasm hit him harder than his opponent did in the ring. He grabbed Eunha’s hips and held her down against him as he pumped a gigantic load into her ass.

He brushed his hair back, suddenly light headed, feeling like his soul had just been pulled out of him through his cock. He saw SinB sitting back against the wall, still blushing bright red, masturbating as she stared between Eunha’s legs at the spot where Hyunjin was impaling her.

“So then,” Eunha said casually, despite having an ass full of Hyunjin’s dick and cum, “Did you want anything special for dinner? I have an idea if you don’t!”

Hyunjin smiled. He was still trying to comprehend what just happened, but he was happy with it, even if the intensity of his climax left him with the sound of a bell ringing in his ears.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

The first match continues! How will our intrepid hero get out of this mess? (Spoilers, it’s ghosts.)

[No. 33 - Shinsou’s Situation]

Our first page here is actually another mock cover! Which I think might be a nod to some other comic book cover, though I would not be able to tell you which one.

Poor Izuku’s shirt, who knows where it might have gone. Boy’s gonna get a cold like that. And he’s standing on top of the rubble of a fallen apartment building I think? Just from the ladder and some of the brick-like debris. And the gloves and boots are definitely a different style from what we see Izuku wearing in canon. 

Anyways, into the chapter proper. The crowd’s making a lot of noise as Izuku continues to stand there frozen, with Present Mic comments on that fact, along with how Izuku is looking confounded and not even twitching. He correctly identifies it as Shinsou’s quirk at play, though he frames it as a question because, you know, show business. Ochako and Tenya are confused and concerned, as is Toshinori. 

Shinsou continues to stand there, menacingly, as Present Mic goes on about how they were barely aware that this guy existed, but now he’s sure one to keep an eye on! Aizawa brings up a pair of sheets, catching Mic’s attention, as he brings up how the entrance exam was completely irrational. The sheets have simple specs on the two, since they knew this would be a quirk versus quirk battle.

...wait, oh my god, but this WAS a quirk versus quirk, battle, though, just not in the way anyone was expecting! It was a mental control battle instead of a physical versus mental quirk battle! And was our first nod towards One For All having a powerful mental aspect, which becomes a major plot point like 250 chapters from now. I am just. Huh. Well then.

Continuing on with Aizawa’s commentary. Shinsou apparently failed the practical part of the exam, so he lost a spot in the hero course. He got into general studies, though, and that’s all he could have hoped for. His quirk is extraordinarily powerful, but, given the format of the practical exam, his ability didn’t help him out. 

Down in the arena, Shinsou comments to Izuku about how it must be nice to have everything handed to him. He then commands Izuku to turn around and walk out of the ring. Izuku ends up doing so, and Present Mic comments on Izuku following orders like a good little boy - which means that the crowds (or at least the announcer booth) has to be able to hear what’s being said?

Uhm. (Looks at later matches) Either they have selective hearing, or the mics must have been destroyed during the Izuku-Shouto match before they could give away anything incriminating.

Anywho. We finally get info on Shinsou’s quirk, Brainwashing! Which is absolutely not what his quirk does, it’s more like puppeteering or hypnosis, where brainwashing is a longer-term conditioning process. Shinsou’s quirk, according to the narration here, makes anyone who verbally responds to him instantly brainwashed, and will do whatever he commands. However, the quirk won’t work if he doesn’t will it. 

Huh, so I suppose that means written or signed responses don’t work, then. I’ve seen that in a fic or two. Though that then leads to the question about making noises that aren’t outright responses, like groaning or scoffs or whatever… eh, battle now, quirk thoughts later.

Up in the booth, Aizawa thinks about how, from the result of the strength tests, Izuku really shouldn’t have been placed in the hero course either. But Shinsou’s stats are even worse in any event where he couldn’t make use of his quirk. Izuku would come out on top in an ordinary battle, but now that he’s brainwashed, it’s a different story. This will be over quick…

Meanwhile, Toshinori is panicking over seeing Izuku about to walk out of the ring, a litany of ‘no’ escaping him as he mentally begs fo Izuku to stop walking. Izuku is also stressing out over his body not listening to him, as well as how fuzzy his head is. He’s trying to get himself to stop, and swearing when it’s not working. He’s especially mad at himself because Ojiro had even warned him about this ahead of time -

And as if to highlight this, we shift into a flashback where Izuku and Ojiro are talking. Izuku wonders how he can win against mind-control quirk. Ojiro replies that his loss could be Izuku’s gain. His memories cut out from the instant he replied to Shinsou, which is what he thinks is the trick.

Izuku is stressed out as he summarizes that it’s all over if he slips up and says anything to Shinsou. Ojiro disagrees, saying that it doesn’t seem like such an almighty ability. Remember how he said he didn’t remember anything until the end? When Shinsou had them run past to nab Tetsutetsu’s headband, he thinks he must have bumped into Tetsu’s formation - which was when he snapped out of it. He was suddenly aware of what was happening.

Izuku guesses that it had been undone by the physical contact, which Ojiro agrees with. That said, however, he has no idea how strong the contact needs to be. And in a one-on-one match, of course you can’t expect any outside help. (Cough) Anyways, that’s everything Ojiro can tell him. Izuku replies that no, it’s awesome, thanks! Ojiro asks for forgiveness if he’s out of line, but he wants Izuku to win this for him.

With that, we ome back to the present, Izuku getting awfully close to the line and his ringing himself out. Izuku thinks how it can’t end like this, over in a flash. Everyone’s done so much for him - he can’t lose here. 

And something responds.

Eight pairs of eyes watch from shadowy faces, almost everything about the specters nondescript. Izuku has no idea what’s happening, even as they seem to linger at the fringes of his mind. One For All starts to flow under the skin of his left arm, with Izuku quickly realizing he can move his fingers, even just a twitch. Shinsou, ignorant of this, starts to talk about how Izuku wouldn’t think so, but Shinsou’s quirk is like a dream. Oh, right, and Izuku loses. 

Izuku’s response?

He’s not out of it yet. Izuku heaves like he’s just breached the surface of a lake, his feet stopping right on the inside edge of the line. He then turns to stare at Shinsou in a very concerning way as Present Mic wonders at Izuku managing to stop. 

You know, I have this particular face saved in my folder under ‘boss music starts playing’ AND ‘boss music intensifies’. I feel like that’s pretty appropriate.

Izuku’s fingers throb in pain, and apparently the cameras are able to zoom in enough for Aizawa to see it and realize what happened - Izuku smashed it up to shake off the brainwashing. Ojiro is in nervous awe at Izuku going that far. Shinsou himself is unnerved, asking how he did it, that he shouldn’t have control. 

And here’s where we get to some interesting internal monologue from Izuku that I don’t think made it into the anime. 

Izuku slaps a hand over his mouth to keep himself from replying, thinking about how the finger was all him, but something woke him up. What was that? Who were all those people in his mind? For that one second, his head was clear!

One For All, All Might had told him. It’s passed down like the Olympic torch. Izuku recalls those words, and wonders if those were people, and if that was a sign that he’s linked by this power to the past. Did they save him? Is that even possible? Izuku tries to shake it off, knowing that just thinking about it won’t give him any answers, and to save it for later. He needs to think about now.

[I will have thoughts about One For All at the end of this, but for now, let’s finish up the battle.]

Shinsou is pissed, thinking about how Izuku’s not answering him, wondering if he figured it out. But no, he probably knew from the start, that that ‘damn monkey’ told him. He just has to get him to open his mouth again. He mocks Izuku for having nothing to say for himself, but Izuku manages to press his lips together and say nothing as he shifts into a fighting stance. 

Shinsou presses on, stating how he’s jealous, and how just moving that finger must mean Izuku’s the real deal. Thanks to his quirk’s nature, he couldn’t enter the golder gates. Izuku wouldn’t get that, since he’s naturally blessed. You people, born with your awesome quirks, getting to follow all of your dreams!

Izuku sweats as he pushes himself forward, internally noting that that’s how he used to think too. He does get it. But… right. He is blessed. He’s blessed by the people in his life! And that’s exactly why - that’s why he’s not going to lose!

Izuku throws himself forward, one hand grabbing Shinsou’s shoulder while the other slams itself into his stomach. Shinsou retaliates with a cross punch into Izuku’s face, demanding he say something. However, Izuku only turns back to stare at Shinsou, determination burning in his eyes as he begins shoving Shinsou back. Shinsou says that pushing him out isn’t gonna happen, right before he yanks himself out of the grip and doges around. Shinsou says he’ll give Izuku that honor instead as he smacks a hand into Izuku’s face and pushes him back. 

(Also, interrupting the flow here, but Izuku is making noise without Shinsou able to take control, so it really does seem like it has to be a response and not just noise. Which makes sense!)

Izuku grabs Shinsou’s wrist and his shirt, and with one mighty heave, manages an over-the-shoulder throw that firmly slams Shinsou back-first into the ground - and just over the line.

I’m pretty sure this is the same move Izuku pulled on Katsuki during the Battle Trial, actually - at least, from that momentary reaction shot we get from Katsuki. 

Midnight calls the match. Shinsou is gritting his teeth, and Izuku is straightening himself out as Midnight confirms that Izuku is moving on to the second round. 

And with that, the chapter comes to a close. What a match. And now that I’m not breaking the flow, it’s time to go back to the ghost stuff and ramble on it a bit more.

Alright, so. One For All. First time we’re seeing the ‘haunted’ aspect of it - and honestly, it’s not far out of line with what we end up seeing it capable of later on. It comes off as a physical quirk, but One For All as a stockpile holds everything from the past holders - strength, quirks, memories, personalities. And because of that overwhelmingly spiritual lean to the stockpile, One For All is, in many ways, as much a mental quirk as Shinsou’s, if not more so. Arguably, it could count as the most mental quirk, and that ties back into something All Might mentions at the end of the Hosu arc - that One For All can’t be taken unwillingly. 

I’ve seen criticism of this fight’s handling, and how One For All shouldn’t have been able to (or interested in) stopping Shinsou from taking the win. But it’s really not about Shinsou’s quirk itself - it’s about the mental control! The helplessness, the desperation from not one, but two living holders to overcome this and retake control from the person commandeering them.

One For All’s existence, it’s purpose, is to resist being taken by All For One. It is the collective will of nine people, all with a deep-seated will to resist control. So why wouldn’t One For All step in here, when Izuku needs to learn to fight against mental puppeteering? When the still-hazy spirits of the quirk must already have the sinking feeling that All For One isn’t as dead as hoped?

Can it really be a surprise that they stepped in?

I’ll probably make a longer post digging more into this after Kamino, but yeah. Honestly, this fight is a LOT more interesting in the manga than I recall from the anime, since we get a bit more of Izuku’s thought process and what’s happening with OFA. 

To close us out, here’s some discord commentary on the match:

[egelantier]

Tian Guan Ci Fu

where is it and what is it

it’s a chinese webnovel by mxtx, the same author who did untamed; it exists as a webnovel, finished and kindly translated here, the manhwa, the donghua (animated adaptation) happening right now, and there’s a live action adaptation in plans, directed by the same guy who did untamed. the donghua is gorgeous, the adaptation i’m unsure about but prepared to be hopeful, the manhwa seems to be very pretty. but all the adaptations only cover the very beginning of the novel for now, so i went ahead and read the novel, and i have no regrets. it helps that the translation is very good - not without awkward translatorese, but it has consistent and engaging flow and style, and it’s also pretty good at conveying mxtx’s humor without awkwardness. it reads pretty well.

what’s it about?

the world is split into two parts: mortals and various ghosts and demons and entities share the land, while ‘heaven officials’, aka gods, live in the heavenly kingdom in the sky. pretty much anybody can become a god if they do something really heroic or memorable and/or cultivate (meditation, training, virtuous behavior) really hard. when above, the gods rule their domains and fulfill their believers’ wishes; they work sort of like pratchettian gods, dependent on their followers’ beliefs and getting influenced by them. heavens are strictly hierarchical, with their own economy and pecking order, and the gods aren’t particularly sinless or benevolent; mostly it’s a question of scale.

our hero, xie lian, is a prince of a prosperous kingdom who’s been on a fast track to ascension for most of his very short life; he’s talented, he’s virtuous, he’s kind, he’s strong, and his only peculiar flaw is (somehow naive, but well-meaning) obsession with equality and value of human lives and so on. he becomes a god, unexpectedly, at seventeen, after slaying one especially dangerous god, and rises in heaven at the peak of his faith, influence and happiness.

…and then he finds out about drought and incipient trouble in his own kingdom, and, being a young and righteous god too close to his mortality, eschews heavens and returns to save everybody. it, to put it lightly, does not go well. at all. in fact, it goes catastrophically wrong, and, having lost everything, xie lian ascends again, only to get into a fight with the heavenly emperor, and get banished again, this time for good. he roams the mortal lands for next eight hundred of very lonely, luckless and hard years, technically immortal but not invincible, with his powers and his luck stripped away, and leans to make do, eking out a living as a scrap collector. his temples are desecrated, his name is forgotten, his kingdom is long gone, and - well. so it goes.

so it goes! until one day, to everybody’s great surprise, he ascends once again: a humble, gentle, immune to embarrassment, unflappable man, an embarrassment to heavens, a 'laughingstock of three realms’ who just wants to be left well enough alone. he’s Tired.

instead of rest, he gets sent to investigate a dangerous ghost stealing brides who pass through its mountain, and there, during the course of the interrogation, has his first (he thinks) meeting with a terrifying, old-powerful and vengeful ghost king named hua cheng, who likes to terrorize heavens from time to time. but said ghost king seems to be very benevolent and very interested in helping xie lian, and xie lian is pretty instantly smitten… with knowing what’s the cause of such interest.

…and meanwhile, in the beginning, there'was an unlucky boy, born under the worst stars, whom xie lian saved from falling once, while still mortal, and promptly lost track of. a lot of things happened to this boy, who wanted to be the most devoted worshipper to xie lian the god of the sword and the flower. as one does, you know.

that’s the beginning! from there on: investigations, heavenly secrets, old friends and enemies and acquaintances, thematic parallels, old tragedies, more pining than you can shake a stick at, grand acts of love.

is it good?

it’s very, very good. it’s the first fantasy cnovel i read (aside from the hilarious one about a guy traveling back in his own timeline and becoming a sugar baby to a mafia boss, which was in a very different league), so i don’t know which things are baseline and which things are unique, but it had a very solid foundation: ambitious multilevel, multi-timeline plot coming together in the end both events- and emotions-wise, beautifully iddy main relationship, maybe multifaceted characters who change and grow and clash together in fun ways, a clear and heartfelt understanding of its own core themes.

it’s also, unexpectedly, very funny, in this visual, slapsticky, begs-to-be-adapted way - i found myself laughing out loud over it a lot of times, and it possesses this gift of swerve between understated but earnest emotions and all-out jokes that i associate with… a bit of prattchett and a bit of gintama, honestly. take it as you will.

(oh my god the mecha. i will laugh over this one until i die.)

it also made me cry several times; granted, it’s not like it’s this time, but those were very heartfelt tears.

and the main duo?

first let me say that xie lian was lifted out, wholesale, out of my deepest character preferences. he fell really, really far, and did some bad things, and some very horrible things were done to him, and by the time we meet him he went through everything and achieved this effortless kind of traumatized, humble, accepting, wryly self-deprecating, utterly competent chill that makes a character incredibly appealing to me. he’s kind, and he’s sweet, and he’s gotten any possible embarrassment at least a couple of centuries ago, and he kinda made peace with himself and kinda didn’t. i love him.

and, thankfully for me, hua cheng, the ghost king, loves him a whole damn lot, a ridiculous amount, an epic, over-the-lifetimes, life-shattering amount, and he’s a terrifying presence to everybody else and a shy, protective, sweet dork to xie lian, and every time they’re together on page my entire heart is just. it’s AMAZING. he’s a great combination of playing the obsessive protective yandere stalker-lover trope straight and putting it on its head, by making hua cheng not just revere but respect xie lian, in all his good and bad decisions.

they are just so - good for each other, holy shit. they get each other so well. they’re the best ever power team. i love them.

(the rest of canon is various character reenacting “really? in front of my salad?” meme at them. it’s hysterical, and it’s the best. everybody teams up to tell xie lian that his boyfriend is Problematic way, way before xie lian clues into the fact that he does have a boyfriend, and he’s having none of it. i love it.)

and the themes?

okay, so. roughly half of this novel is ridiculous iddy pining, and a fourth of it is various tropes (off the top of my head: soulbond, sex pollen, body switch, de-age, various shades of identity porn… crossdressing…) played very shamelessly. but it also really benefits from having an overarching set of ethical questions, and while it deals with them a bit shounen-style, it still deals with them, and it makes the whole text fresh, and sweet, and bold.

is it possible to save everybody? should you try to save everybody? if you lack the powers to back your convictions, does it make you complicit? when is it possible to stop the cycle of suffering, what can you do if you want to but can’t? if you tried and people you failed turned on you, whose fault it is, where does the blame stop?

Detailed spoilers begin from here, and i would REALLY advise to stay unspoiled, because the domino reveals are very fun

i loved the various ways the novel sets all those pieces up and then overturns them and then returns to them. xie lian wanted to save everybody and it was arrogant naivete of an untried, untested, privileged young man who never had a real challenge before; his presence made things escalate quicker, and yet everybody around him pretended it was his attempt to make things better that ruined everything, and not a combination of factors outside of his control. and yet he accepts the blame, because it dovetails with his shame at not having enough powers to back his intent up; and yet his triumph over bai wuxian is that he doesn’t, after all, renege on his initial drive to help people.

my most favorite part of this novel is that its turning point, the lynchpin of the whole novel, the moment that keeps xie lian’s soul and safety intact, is not his personal purity and drive; it’s not even hua cheng’s devotion and sacrificial love. it’s just a moment of little, grudging, human kindness from a little, petty, rude man whom the history will sweep away soon. the bamboo hat in the rain. the rest of the plot keeps twisting and turning and coming back to itself, but this? this was unquestionably, beautifully clear, and i loved it. it’s never about the gods, it’s all down to - fallen human is human, ascended human is human, and human is not some state, virtuous or sinful, you get stuck with - it’s a multitude of choices, and there’s never a final one.

and incoherent spoilery screaming for people who read it already

oh my god i had SO MUCH FUN. i’ve been flailing on meme for days, because somebody just finished reading there too, and i’m still bursting with ALL THE FEELS. ruoye origins oh my god! that hat! jin wu’s backstory and ultimate end! e-ming’s praise kink! pei ming’s little shippery 'hoho’! hua cheng’s horribly handwritten stick and poke tattoo of xie lian’s name! the lanteeeeeeeeeeeeerns. feng xin and mu qing on the bridge, making up with each other and with xie lian! hua cheng trying to explain to xie lian that his habit of using himself as bait and pincushion at any given moment is deeply emotionally upsetting to him, and succeeding! banyue’s learning from xie lian to be a truly horrible cook! the entire deal with shi qingxuan and he xuan and the wind fan in the end. THE CAVE. THE GIANT MECHA. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa and aaaaaaaaaaaaa and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa and i am beset, beset by feelings. come scream with me.

[hoseokmylovesworld]

Sway Me More | Mafia!Jungkook (M)

Pairing: Mafia!Jungkook x Assassin!OC  

Part 2: Sway With Me (M) / Part 3: Sway Me Smooth 

Requested: Anonymous:

“ ok i think i got something. i was thinking e2l mafia leader!jk and assassin!oc. they're always competing on killing the same enemies and oc beats kook to it everytime but plot twist he's actually sleeping w oc in secret, his gang doesn't know that she basically does the dirty work for him. maybe a scene where jk is busy in his office and feels something is off and he and oc pull guns on one another but its just a form of power play bc that's their relationship. dirty talk, oral male receiving, reverse cowgirl in his office chair, choking, little bit of degradation bc one of the victims oc had to seduce but kook calls her his little slut bc he's possessive like that and they both just have lots of tattoos and piercings. maybe some light bondage too? he ties her hands and the petname sweetness? i love that shit sm. ok i'm out of ur hair now fksks ”

Genre: Mafia!Jungkook, BTS mafia au, Smut, humor, e2l, angst, pining.

Length: 15,664k Words

Warnings: Strong language, lots of violence, minor deaths, guns, oral sex (male receiving), fingering, unprotected vaginal sex, squirting, overstimulation, orgasm denial, dirty talk, BDSM(?), degradation kink, praise kink, light bondage, choking, breath play, spanking, rough sex (if you couldn’t tell), possessive!jungkook, Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibes.

A/N:

1. Not sure if this counts as a Song Fic, but this ask immediately made me think of Sway With Me by Saweetie and GALAXARA hence the title so that was on repeat haha (Stream Birds of Prey: The Album and Stay Gold for clear skin!!).

2. I didn’t mean to make the OC that crazy she just kinda was. Like honestly I don’t know what happened at the end there. Also, I thought it would be a fun dynamic for them to only refer to each other by last names. (Y/L/N)

3. Shouts out to this anon for being so specific! Writing this fic ruined my search history.

3.b You said a little bit of degradation, but I mighta over did it lol.

4. This is really fucking long. For no reason...I’m not sorry, it’s all worth it in the end. Please leave a comment, let me know what you think

Jungkook sat in the back seat of his black town car parked at the street corner, his eyes never leaving a specific window of the skyscraper adjacent to him. He watched as the piece of shit who meddled with his gang’s last drug deal canoodled with his lady friend in his apartment. Probably a hooker, he thought. This particular criminal to land on the mafia’s hit list, has been known to bring home many a sex worker. 

He took a look at his Rolex and sighed; the man as slowly, but surely losing patience. They’ve been here for a good hour. A hit has never taken this long to complete for Jungkook’s team. He communicated his frustrations to his sniper, Taehyung, who was camped out in the building directly across from the apartments. 

“When the fuck is this bitch gonna leave?” He grumbled through his earwig to his employee and friend. Taehyung laughs tiredly. 

“Yeah, I’m asking myself the same thing. They’re not even fucking, they’ve been talking and kissing for like thirty minutes.” The sniper griped.

Jungkook chuckled, hearing the response in his ear. “Just stay sharp. Or you’re back on cockfight duty.”

Taehyung paused. “You wouldn’t.” 

“Just focus, yeah?” Jungkook said, refocusing his binoculars to check on the couple in the apartment so that he could see them clearly. The bright lights in the room and the lack of curtains or shades helped him out immensely with that.

“Sure thing, boss.” 

Jungkook could barely craft a response due to the shock that took over him at what happened next. He watched as the female sitting to the left of the target with her legs draped over his thighs, pulled a knife, seemingly out of her crotch, and stabbed the white collar criminal in the gut at lightning speed. 

He lurched up in pain and grabbed at the knife only for his date to pull it out and stab him again, making deep eye contact all the while. She was obviously a strong woman to overpower a man of his burley stature. But why would she want to?                                                                                                                                                        

“What the fuck was that?” Jungkook asked immediately, continuing to watch the scene unfold carefully.

“Looks like his date just stabbed him.” Taehyung responded, just as confused as his superior. 

“I can fucking see that, but why the fuck would the hooker kill him?” He raised his voice in annoyance. The murderous hooker finished the job, wiping her fingerprints off of the knife still lodged in the target's stomach and travelled to  a nearby closet. 

Jungkook watched, overcome with awe and confusion, as she returned with a duffle bag. And his jaw literally drops when he sees her pull white coveralls out of the duffle bag, put them on over her clothes and switch off the lights in the apartment, completely blocking Jungkook’s view.

“Fuck, what’s she doing now, Taehyung?” He asked quickly, knowing that the scope on his sniper had night vision. 

“She’s...cleaning the apartment...and the body.” 

So she’s done this before, Jungkook thought pensively.

“Do you recognize her?” He uttered, needing to know more about this woman  immediately.

“Hell no, I would remember this bitch.” The gunman responds instantly.  

“What the fuck is going on?” His boss muttered to himself and Taehyung took the liberty of answering him. 

“She’s leaving.” 

Jungkook cocked his head back in surprise. “Well that was fast.” 

 “You’re telling me...she’s making her way to the street. You want us to go after her?” 

He thinks about it. No harm done, he figured.

“No, leave her be. Less mess for us.” 

“Roger that.” Taehyung nodded and packed his things. Jungkook ordered his driver to take him home and they called it a very eventful day. 

What Jungkook didn’t count on was encountering that same perpetrator again...and again. Ever since he came across this deadly woman the first time, it’s like he can’t escape her now. “The Hooker”, as the mafia were calling her, had killed three more of the names on their hit list of people who had crossed them...directly before Jungkook’s men got the chance to do it themselves. 

And the fact that it didn’t affect the gang took a backseat to the amount of irritation it brought them and Jungkook for their victim to drop dead in front of them at the hands of someone else. It angered Jungkook because he didn’t know who she was or her motives. She was obviously dangerous and stealthy and could be coming for them next for all they knew. He knew he had to catch her and find out what she was about. 

“Alright, guys. You know what to do.” Jungkook huffed to his men through his earpiece as they prepared to ambush a traitor of the gang. He had been on the run recently, selling mafia secrets and tonight the gang would put an end to him and soon, everyone he blabbed to. 

After three days of following leads, they took to tracking and set out after him. Jungkook and his members followed the conspirator from a distance and three different sides in an attempt to corner him in the ominous dark of the night. They were closing in on the ex-gang member consistently and it all seemed to come to fruition when he shuffled into a dark alley. 

This is too easy, the mafia boss thought enthusiastically to himself. Jungkook and six of his men sped up in pursuit, hoping to trap the imbecile before he realized he was a dead end. Finally, the group turned into the alley quickly, expecting to find a young man ready to shit his pants. Instead they found his slumped over corpse that had been propped up against a dumpster. 

Jungkook’s spine straightened in astonishment. They literally just saw him walk into the alley and he just drops dead? Each of the men look around for who could have done this in possibly two minutes flat. The leader draws his gaze to the roof directly in front of him and grinds his teeth in anger at the sight in front of him. The Hooker from weeks ago stood above them with an amused smirk on her face in a black, hooded catsuit. 

“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” He roared.

“Would you clean that up for me? Thanks.” She deflected playfully and took off in the opposite direction, jumping from one rooftop to another.

“Get her.” Jungkook said calmly, still looking at the spot where the woman was previously standing. He’s had enough of this nonsense and he would be getting answers.

The gang moves out immediately, splitting up in search of the murderer. Two of them take the firescape closest to them, while the remaining men circle around the buildings to cut her off eventually. In the meantime, Jungkook calms himself down and examines the body.

“How did she even do this?” He pulled a leather glove from his breast pocket and moved the head of the deceased to the right side, looking him over carefully. He promptly noticed bruising around his neck and blood on the crown of his head.

“She choked you out that fast...without making a sound?” He whispered, completely impressed, but absolutely irritated at the same time. He sighed, at a loss and took it upon himself to actually dispose of the body. He waited in the alley with his arms crossed, thinking of how he wanted to interrogate this possible threat. 

His men communicated to him that the woman had seriously injured Jimin and Suga and that Hoseok and Jin would stay with them, but the good news was that they caught her and were on their way back.

“Wonderful.” He sighed sarcastically into his earpiece. 

After thirty long minutes, Namjoon and Taehyung re-entered the alley, this time carrying their new victim by her arms, her hands restrained behind her back with the rope originally meant for the traitor. She struggled against their hold as they made their way in until she laid eyes on Jungkook. 

She straightened slowly and walked with confidence, studying him thoughtfully as they passed the mafia leader and turned her to face him while forcing her to her knees. She winced slightly as her knee caps came in contact with the hard, wet ground.

The three of them watched carefully as the leader paced back and forth leisurely, his gaze focused on the puddles on the ground with his hand picking at nothing in particular on his lip. His train of thought was disrupted when the voice of the woman echoed through the alley.

“You gonna say something?” She scoffed impatiently. Jungkook turned to her slowly, revealing his dark, disapproving facial expression. He didn’t miss the flash of mischief in her eyes when they finally made eye contact.

“You incopacitated two of my men.” He started, continuing to walk back and forth in front of them with his hands behind his back. 

“They were chasing me.” She shrugged.

Jungkook stopped in his tracks at the negligence of her tone. He turned on his heel to face his suspect with a serious face. “Who are you and why do you keep killing my targets?” he demanded, just wanting to get to the point of why they were here. A humored smile broke out across her face.

“Your targets? Someone’s a little full of themselves.” She giggled innocently.

“Tell me and I won’t take a hammer to both your shoulders.” He said smoothly looking deeply into her eyes making sure he got his point across. 

Her cocky smirk dissipates but doesn't completely disappear. 

“You don’t have a hammer.” she muttered to herself, thinking that the mafia leader couldn’t hear her. He just gave her a pointed look, silently telling her to continue. She licks her lips slowly while holding Jungkook’s stormy gaze. 

“I was paid, you asshole.” She muttered.

“By who?” 

“No one you and your goons need to worry about.” He sighed and looked up in frustration. “Why?” 

The woman shook her head furiously. “Are you daft? It’s my job, obviously.” 

Jungkook whipped his head in her direction, his eyes widening slightly and his voice taking on a more agitated tone. 

“You disrespect me one more time and I’m gonna slap that smug smirk off your face.” He warned her harshly.

“Promises, promises.” She sang with that self-satisfied grin that he was having mixed feelings about. 

With that, Jungkook swifty brought his hand up to backhand the assailant and jumped in her direction, but stopped when his hand was halfway to her face. She didn’t move an inch or even blink. She even narrowed her eyes at him playfully. 

He backed away from her, impressed. She may have earned some of Jungkook’s respect that day, but he would never tell a single soul about it. He composed himself, eyeing her carefully. He then enganges her in a more calm conversation.

“Do you know who I am?” 

“Yes.” 

“Does your employer know who I am?” 

“I have multiple. Some do.” She shrugs coolly. 

“What do they—” 

“Look we know you're in charge of the mafia, or whatever, but we don’t care. The people I’ve killed have wronged more than just you and your circus of idiots here and they deserved to die.” She gestured to the two henchmen holding her in place. 

“Besides I did you a favor. Several, actually. I’m a blessing in disguise.” She smiled sweetly.

Jungkook shakes his head in disagreement. “You’re a fucking pain in my ass is what you are.” 

“Oh, what a pleasure. And how do you figure that?” 

“Some mysterious...aggressor taking out a number of important people on the east side. Wouldn’t that alarm you in my position?” He queried with a raised, pierced brow. 

“Mysterious? Mr. Jeon, do you find me attractive?” She leans forward and is yanked back in place by the men flanking her. She held a suddenly sultry and intense light behind her eyes directed at Jungkook. 

He couldn’t deny her beauty; anything with a pulse would be attracted to her. Seeing her up close, he noticed her many piercings along her ears, on her septum and her left brow, just like his. He could see tattoos peeking out from her sleeves and neckline of her suit and he wondered just how much of her body was covered by tattoos. 

He was trying not to let that get in the way of this interrogation and failing miserably with his mind wandering in dangerous directions. It didn’t help that he couldn’t look her in the eye for too long, her gaze was so captivating and somehow held so many emotions that they caused him to lose focus. 

He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before asking, “What is your name?” 

“Deathstalker.” Wow, Jungkook thought to himself. 

“You wanna tell me your real name?” He offered, nodding at her.

“That’s the only name you're gonna get. And just a heads up, I’m not gonna talk if you torture me.” She says confidently with hooded lids. Is she bored?, the mob boss thought. He began to pace for a few moments, the only sound in the alley coming from his designer shoes squelching against the damp concrete.

“No...no, we’re not gonna hurt you.” Jungkook decided. The two henchmen that were restraining the woman, looked up in shock. Jungkook has injured or killed people for far less than what she’s done in the past hour. 

She tilts her head uncomfortably in the hold of the gang members, to get a good look at the mafia leader’s face. She gasps and beams as if she’s had an epiphany. 

“You like me.” She settled. 

He whips around to face her. “What are you on about?” 

“I thought I was gonna have to seduce you to get you off my back, but it seems you already have a soft spot for me.” She deduced with an appeased grin on her face. 

Jungkook’s breathing deepened. He thought quickly of what he could do to draw the attention away from the truth of her statement. He didn’t know what it was about her, but she was different from any of the other suspicious characters he’s interrogated. And for some reason he didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t be seen as weak in front of his inferiors. 

In a flash, he was directly in front of her, teeth clenched and gripping her face tightly in his strong hand. His fingers pressed roughly into her jaw, her cheeks were forced to scrunch up, obscuring her vision and her mouth was bound to a permanent, painful pout. 

“Stop spewing nonsense, I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last woman on earth. You’re too dirty.” He lied gratingly. “I don’t have soft spots for anyone and you would do well to learn that. Come into my sight again and you’ll see what kind of damage I can really do.” He seethed. 

“Hot.” Deathstalker replied through forcibly clenched teeth. Jungkook sighed before flimsily releasing her chin, flinging it to the right causing her to wince. Jungkook inwardly did the same at the sight. 

“Let her go.” The henchmen do as they are told. “Get out of my sight.” She got up off her knees awkwardly with her bound wrists.

“I’m sure you know how to get rid of that yourself.” Jungkook nodded at the rope around her wrists. She nodded back casually and walked passed Jungkook, brushing up against him as she did so. 

“Catch you on the flip side.” She whispered to him before she took off in a run into the night.

Three weeks had passed without a surprise appearance from “Deathstalker” and Jungkook was beginning to think she had actually heeded his warning in the alley. He should be pleased with this fact, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Not only was the thought of her ingrained in his mind, but he was slowly convincing himself that maybe he did appreciate her services even if he wasn’t the one paying for them. His men seem to have gotten lazier with the physical side of organized crime since Jungkook’s encounter with Deathstalker. 

Or perhaps with no one to properly clean up the mess left after a hit, he’s noticing just how sloppy they’ve been. Either way, people are talking and names are traveling through the air like pollution; they can’t go on like this. 

He and his men have been actively searching for the assassin and any information they could find on her. The leader didn’t disclose his true motives to his foot soldiers for fear of looking weak, but he couldn’t have the feds knocking down the doors of his companies and he was desperate. They succeeded in finding her real name, her past hits and the names of some of her employers, but nothing on where she was hiding or how to contact her. 

Jungkook curses himself for not realizing Deathstalker’s worth sooner and tries to calm his rampant mind by chugging his flute of champagne. He looks around, disinterested at the ostentatious group of people at the pompous event he was advised to attend. 

As the head of the leading construction company on the east side and since no one suspected his night job, he showed his face in these environments from time to time. This one happens to be an art auction and Jungkook was regretting it by the minute. 

He quickly snagged one more flute of champagne before taking his seat in the front row for the auction. Half-way through the auction he considers leaving, he hasn’t raised his number card once as none of the pieces appealed to him. His head began to lull back out of pure boredom before he heard an all-too familiar voice above the noise. 

“Two million dollars!” The voice was forthright and attractive, causing every head to turn in it’s direction. 

Jungkook didn’t have to look far as the owner of the voice was sitting in the front row as well, roughly twelve seats away. His eyes widened at his suspicions being proven correct. He stares at her for a few moments, taking in her full appearance since meeting her for the first time in the alley. 

She traded in the black cat suit for a peach colored cocktail dress that hung off of one shoulder and blinding white pumps. She covered up her tattoos with makeup to Jungkook’s dismay, but still showed off her many piercings and her long wavy hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. That’s a good look, thought Jungkook who spared her one last glance before settling into his seat and devising a plan for how the rest of the night will go. 

The auction finally came to an end and the elites took to day drinking and networking once more. Jungkook blended in with the crowd, but kept a close eye on Deathstalker, waiting to find her away from her companions. He spotted her amongst strangers, nursing a glass of champagne and intently watching the middle aged crooner sing along with the orchestra.

When Marimba Rhythms start to play

Dance with me 

Make me sway

Then he pounced.

He positioned himself behind her and leaned in to speak softly into her ear. “What are you doing here?” 

She didn’t flinch or even react to his words, as if she knew he was there, and just continued to enjoy the music. She never failed to impress him.

“Well, killing all your targets actually counts for something. I’m spending my hard earned money on some fine art.” She smiled after a moment. Jungkook came to stand next to her instead. He took a swig from his drink, the two of them still not making eye contact. “You know it’s not polite to brag.” 

She finally turns to him to show off her expensive outfit. “Does this dress scream humble to you?” 

“No, but it does scream desperate.” He took her in, using it as an excuse to check her out. That cat suit didn’t do her legs justice in his opinion, but this ensemble has his approval. 

“For what?” She demanded, cocking her head to the side. 

“You tell me—” 

“You’re full of shit, Jeon.” The assassin sneered and quickly turned to walk away. Jungkook catches her by the bicep at the last second, attempting to make it look playful and desperately trying to avoid any unwanted attention.

“Wait.” He smoothly but firmly pulled her back to him, guiding her left hand to his shoulder and holding onto her right one before leading her in a slow dance towards the dance floor. He told himself he needed a more discreet position to confide his intentions in her ear again. 

Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore

Hold me close

Sway me more

“I have a proposition for you.” 

She glances up at him, sporting narrowed and curious eyes. “Oh? This should be good. Last time you saw me, you threatened to hammer my limbs in.” She swiftly stomped on his foot, with a tight-lipped, spiteful smile. 

He groaned and gathered himself with closed eyes before getting down to business. “Drop the attitude Y/L/N.” Jungkook grumbled, causing the assassin to freeze, but he made sure to keep them moving. She switches from her normal playful demeanor to a more formidable version of herself and he is almost alarmed by the switch. She leans closer to him to reach his ear and drops her voice to a grave whisper.

“How did you know my last—” 

Jungkook doesn’t back down from her close, menacing form and goes as far as to tease her with a satisfied smirk. “Hate to break it to you, but you’re not the only computer genius in this room okay?”

She only glares off into the distance, clenching her jaw. 

“What?” Jungkook revels in the feeling of having the upper hand on her. “My men may not be able to catch you in action, but they do know their way around a file cabinet.” He shares proudly, biting his lip with joy.

Realizing the leverage he had over her, Y/N made the decision to hear him out. “What the fuck do you want?” She spat before Jungkook spun her and dipped her quickly. And though she was angry, she moved with grace and he couldn’t help, but admire her beauty. 

Like a flower bending in the breeze

Bend with me, sway with ease

“You.” He smirks, already missing her playful personality and hoping to bring it back out. He smiles wider when he succeeds.

She finally cracks a smile and throws her head back, unable to stop herself from laughing. “That’s funny, I thought you wouldn’t fuck me if I were the last woman on earth.” She threw his line back at him effortlessly.

The mob boss hesitates for a split second. “Okay, your memory is impeccable, I get it, but I’m talking about your services.” 

Y/N blinks in bewilderment before forming the words she never thought she would. “You want me to work for you?” He nods evenly.

“I’ve already killed five targets for you, Jeon. What more could you want?” She sputtered, not being able to fathom the request. Jungkook only releases her hand, keeping the other wrapped around her waist and nods to the empty balcony of the ballroom before leading her through it’s floor length glass doors. 

“Trust me, I’m well aware. It was insanely fucking annoying,” He said earnestly, making the assassin giggle. His heart seemed to lurch at the sound, but he ignored the pleasant pang in his chest to continue his proposal. “Until I noticed how well you clean up after yourself. Leaving almost no trace of your involvement at the crime scene.” 

He released Y/N’s waist carefully close to the door of the balcony, peering into the room to see who might be looking at them. They seemed to have a bit of privacy as of right now.

Y/N tilted her head and raised her eyebrows sincerely. “Are you really shocked that the neanderthals you hired aren’t too keen on cleaning up after themselves?” 

 “I’m trying to compliment you.” He sighed looking up.

 “You’re doing a pretty shit job.” She mumbled. He ignores her complaints and carries on. He tucks his hands into his pants pockets and walks towards her.

“My men haven’t been as stealthy as possible as of late and there’s talk that we may have caught the attention of the authorities.” 

“Again, are you surprised?” She overannunicated sassily with her arms crossed.

He marched up to her, towering over her small frame intimidatingly. “Don’t push it, Deathstalker.” He sneered at her. Her snark was beginning to piss him off. Why was he always so hot and cold with her?

“Or what?” She said seductively, suddenly snaking her arm around his torso and pressing herself against him. She gazed up at him, with flirtatious eyes

Jungkook bit the inside of his cheek, gazing back down at the woman coolly. He considers feeding into her words and actions for a second, but figures it’s probably just one of her games so he tosses the idea. “I’m trying to make you an offer here.” He insisted. The mercenary sucks her teeth, lets go and turns to walk away. “Ugh you’re no fun...You couldn’t handle me anyway.”

The one time he tried to be professional. He pulls her back by the arm, forcefully pressing her into the stone wall next to the door of the balcony. He presses himself against her firmly while gripping her small waist with one hand and her chin with the other. 

"Fine,” He challenged. “Is this what you want? You want me to fuck you right here, up against this wall, like a little slut?" He spoke in a low voice so as not to concern the guests inside and the rumble of Jungkook’s voice in his chest made Y/N’s body start to heat up.  

His offer brings a genuine, delighted smile to her face. She tosses the idea around in her head while making heated eye contact with Jungkook. But that would never work, she thought bitterly. Her date would come looking for her soon. Not a good look when you're trying to bag a guy and rob him for his millions. So she decided to tease him instead, It was the perfect opportunity with him being all riled up like this. 

"I knew you liked me…” She let her sultry yet snide words linger, toying with the fabric of his collar. “But that would be unprofessional, Mr. Jeon...seeing as you are now my boss." she uttered softly, still keeping her seductive gaze. Jungkook briefly wonders if she could feel his dick twitch when she said his name like that before refocusing on the situation.

When we dance you have a way with me

Stay with me, sway with me

He took the sudden change of pace and her choice of words as her officially accepting his offer and released his hold on her with a grimace. She walks by him, smoothing down her dress with an unfazed expression and heads to the railing to take in the view, as if she wasn’t just assaulted by one of the most important men in the country. 

“So you’ll do it?” 

She kept her back to him, letting her heavy voice travel over her shoulder casually. “How much will you give me?” 

He joins her side, resting his hands on the railing. “Eight hundred, thousand.” 

She whips her head in his direction, an obviously offended expression on her face. “Do I look like one of your minions?” Y/N inquired. 

“It would be your first job with me, you gotta start somewhere.” He made a gesture with his hand, trying to reason with her.

“I started years ago and I’m good at my job. The best actually…I want a million.” She decided with a hand on her waist. 

Jungkook blinked repeatedly, taken aback. “You want me to give you a million dollars?”

“Yes, or no deal.” She answered quickly before he could even finish the question. The mafioso took a step back and laughed silently in disbelief. 

“You’re infuriating, you know tha—” 

“And you make me wanna vomit.” 

“You’re projecting.” 

“Oh, suck a dick Jeon!” She began marching towards the glass doors into the ballroom before Jungkook caught her by the arm and brought her back to him swiftly. 

“Fine, it’s yours.” He muttered, glaring down at her with frustrated eyes. 

The woman simply winked playfully at him and caressed his face. “I knew you’d come around.” She beamed looking satisfied and walked away only to be yanked back to Jungkook’s chest yet again. This time she grumbled in slight annoyance. He made a note to let up on the pulling. 

“If you cross me, we will kill you.” He said seriously. She only smiled as if he’d made a joke. 

“Unless I beat you to that too.” His face turned angry and he opened his mouth to speak when they heard the glass door open and a voice call toY/N. 

“Oh, Ruby, there you are. Is this guy bothering you?” An older gentleman in a suit and a gold chain spoke in a scraggly voice. Jungkook recognized him as Walter Schillings, a white collar criminal who has been giving Jungkook’s men a hard time and definitely landed himself on their hitist. 

Thankfully, the scum has never actually seen the mafia leader before so they were able to avoid a tricky situation at this crowded event. Though Jungkook had men scattered throughout the building in case anything went down, he never travelled alone. But, wait. Why was he referring to Y/N as Ruby?

The mafia leader had no time to figure it out because he had to explain why he was gripping this innocent looking woman the way he was. He lets go immediately and addresses the man. “We were just having a convers—” 

“No,” Y/N sighs and saunters over to Walter, grabbing his huge hand and having it encompass her small one. 

What the fuck is this? Jungkook thought, his heart suddenly racing. He tried to hide his emotions behind a cold demeanor. 

“Just some loser trying to get my attention.” She glanced back at Jungkook arrogantly, allowing Walter to slide an arm around her waist and kiss the side of her forehead as they re-entered the ballroom. 

Jungkook ground his teeth together at the sight and nearly sprinted to Walter to tear his arm off when he saw his hand reach down and grip Y/N’s ass. It bothered him even more that she hadn’t reacted whatsoever. 

He turned away and braced himself on the railing again, attempting to calm himself. “I hope she slits your goddamn throat, motherfucker.” He grumbled to himself, seething with anger. 

Jungkook spent the next fifteen minutes pouting on the balcony, gripping the railing in anger with a bothersome boner while the rich and famous boozed it up inside. Surprisingly no one had come out to bother him, giving him enough to time think about what he just saw. 

He didn’t know why the sight of Y/N with Walter infuriated him so, but he knew he never wanted to see it again. He wondered how she could flirt with him so heavily and then disregard him completely at the drop of a hat. He just wanted to make her eat her petty words, drive her as crazy as she seemed to be driving him. 

It didn’t help that he had been having fantasies of her for the past few weeks in that catsuit just letting him have his way with her. And here she comes, looking like sex on legs and clouding his judgement after disappearing for three weeks. Just who does she think she is? Jungkook sighed frustratedly at the pitiful turn his night had taken. 

He wished he had a distraction from his thoughts. He wished he could leave this vexatious place, but something was keeping him here and he had a feeling that, that something was a menace in a dress and liked to play mind games. 

Okay, so, the boner that won’t seem to go away may also be responsible for keeping him isolated on this balcony, but he had every intention of taking care of it. He just had to convince Y/N.

He quickly tucked his boner into his waistband and walked back into the ballroom like he never left, eyes peeled for Y/N’s small form among the guests. He sees her enter the restroom from afar and doesn’t think before pursuing her. 

On any other day Jungkook wouldn’t dream of executing what was going on in his head, but Y/N was admittedly the most breathtaking thing he’d ever seen and she caused him to think purely with his dick after their interaction today. 

He doesn’t know how he managed to skip into the women’s restroom without setting off any of the guests, but he considers it a victory when he’s in and locks the door without thinking about it. He turned to find Y/N touching up her make-up at the large mirror above the sinks. 

They make eye contact through the mirror, but they have yet to exchange words. Y/N narrows her eyes questioningly while Jungkook considers the silence and stillness in the room. So far so good. 

Jungkook’s shoes clicked on the tile floor as he took a few steps away from the door. “Where did your date go?” He questioned casually.

Y/N finally pauses touching up her face. “He also went to the bathroom, what are you doing in here?” She answers speedily, watching him intently through the mirror. “We made our deal.” 

“I came to see you…” The woman hums in understanding and starts on her lipstick again, seemingly uninterested. “You getting all dolled up for him?” Jungkook finishes.

“Essentially yes.” There is a pause before Jungkook just comes out with it. 

“So you gonna sleep with him tonight?” 

Deathstalker scoffed. “Of course not. I’m an assassin not a hooker.” 

Jungkook muffles a laugh at the inside joke amongst him and his men when his new ally finally starts to show some interest. “Why do you care anyway?” 

He walks up to her boldly, gripping her waist and pressing against her from behind causing her to put the make-up down and zero in on his face. She continued to watch his eyes when he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“I just wonder what he would say if I messed up this pretty little face.” He brings his hand up to gently grip her chin, unlike how he did earlier. She smiles slightly, making no attempt to free herself from his grasp. If anything she leans more into his touch.

“Mr. Jeon.” She drawled. “Are you still threatening me?” She bats her eyelashes coyly, knowing exactly what was going on. Jungkook has no idea why that innocent look and the words ‘Mr. Jeon’ falling from her mouth made him hard, but he continually needed more of it. He shuddered lightly at the name and her sweet, sweet voice, barely managing to keep his cool.

“Not in the painful way...unless you like that.” He rasped, brushing her lip with his thumb tenderly. She held back a moan and Jungkook took that as an invitation to take it a step further. 

“Do you want me?” He breathed deeply in her ear, sending chills down her spine.

She licked her lips and smiled her signature seductive smile. Jungkook was no match for both her smile and her beautiful doe-eyes. “Oh, Mr. Jeon, you know my pride won’t let me answer that.” 

“Cut the games Y/L/N. I’ve had enough of your shit today. Do you want me?” He repeats. He fully pressed his body into hers allowing her to feel the need that he had been accumulating out on the balcony, his breathing getting heavier. She returned the gesture, pushing back against him discreetly. 

“I thought we agreed that you would just be my boss.” She said with wide, naive eyes, though Jungkook knew better. 

“Well, then, as your boss I hope you would do as I ask and let me fuck you on this sink.” He let his fingers travel from her chin to her throat and let them wrap around her neck ever so gently, giving her just a taste of what was to come. He felt her swallow thickly and watched the innocent look in her eyes turn to primal lust. “So? You wanna see if I can handle you or not?” He whispered, touching his lips to her ear.

She shivered at the touch and quickly turned around to face him. Jungkook leaned in and they were nose to nose. She wrapped her arms around his neck, but their lips barely brushed when she backed away suddenly. He looked into her stern eyes confusedly. “This means nothing.” She said, making sure they were both on the same page. “I’m aware.” he responded before they both pounced at each other, teeth clacking and tongues swirling.

Y/N moaned in delight when Jungkook gripped the back of her thighs and sat her on the granite sink counter with a quickness. He forced her skirt up to her hips roughly so he could properly grind his crotch against her and she seemed to enjoy the rough handling. He made a note of that. 

His hands were everywhere on her, massaging her breasts, squeezing her hips and ass, eager to finally be living his most recent fantasies. Y/N revelled in the attention with a smile on her face, hands playing freely in his silky hair whilst he kissed along her neck. 

He quickly reached down between Y/N’s legs to find that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. He leans back and their heated gazes meet. “You dirty little slut.” He noted, gruffly. “You like it.” She confidently reassured him. “You’re damn right, I like it.” He mumbled as he attached his lips firmly to hers and applied pressure, rubbing her swollen clit with his fingers. “...Mmm, God, you’re so wet.”

The assassin’s body jerked several times and she moaned into his mouth, grinding further into his touch. She separated from him when she couldn’t take anymore and stared deeply into his eyes. “Please,” she pauses to catch her breath. “Please fuck me, Mr. Jeon.” 

Jungkook unzipped his pants before she could even finish her sentence, preparing a condom that he is thanking God he brought with him today. “I like when you say my name like that.” He whispered against her ear.

“I know, your dick told me. Now, hurry before someone breaks the door down.” Jungkook then slides into her easily. Y/N sighs in ecstasy while Jungkook is stunned into silence at the way she gripped his dick. He starts to move almost immediately, holding her in place as he snaps his hips into her, their lips sloppily tangled all the while. The sound of their moans began to bounce off of the tile walls of the bathroom, both of them throwing any cares they had for being discreet out the window.

Jungkook grunted with excitement and pleasure at the sight in front of him. He was watching her moaning form closely, memorizing every detail of her incase he never got this chance again.

“Fuck yes. Your dick feels so fucking good inside me.” She panted, focused on his wide, intense eyes. “Just keep fucking me like that, Mr. Jeon.” He released a satisfied growl at the name.  

Even though he had only met her weeks ago, Jungkook never would have guessed that Y/N would be the type to beg for anything. But here she was under him, at his mercy just like in his dreams, begging for him. It occurred to him that the Deathstalker he met would never admit to or do any of this, but Y/N seemed to be living for it. The idea excited him so much that he didn’t know up from down and didn’t bother to control any nonsense that spewed from his mouth in response to her. 

“You look like a dirty little slut under me right now. Letting me fuck you in the bathroom while your date’s probably outside waiting or you.” He whispered harshly in her ear, never letting up as he continues to thrust in and out of her swiftly. 

Y/N threw her head back and moaned, feeling nothing but turned on by his comments. “Oh, fuck yes..” She murmured, letting herself be carried away with pleasure. 

“Not wearing any panties for him, letting him touch all over you, ugh...but I’m the one who gets to have this sweet pussy by the end of the night.” He breathed heavily, not taking his eyes off of Y/N’s face that was contorted in pure bliss. “Flirting with both of us all night long, making us want you. You’re such a bad girl.”

“I am, I’m a bad girl.” She whimpered hurriedly. “I need to be punished, Mr. Jeon.” She finished, her words not completely registering in her drunken state, but they resonated with Jungkook all too well. He forced himself to slow his thrusts considerably and focus on his breathing much to Y/N’s dismay.

She leans back into him and rests her forehead on his, running her fingers through his hair and grinding on him desperately. “No, no, no, no, no, no. Why did you stop?” Her low, lusty voice implored. 

Jungkook chuckles lightly. “You’re gonna make me cum sweetheart.” She pulled his hips into her helping him find a new rhythm. “Then by all means, do, Mr. Jeon. I want you to cum inside me.” She purred before kissing him softly. 

That set something off in him causing him to pound into her once more. Y/N was thrown back by the force, unable to hold her upper body up any longer. She rested her elbows on the counter and tilted her head all the way back while Jungkook thrusted away into her. 

He saw her face in the mirror and appreciated that he got the watch the pleasure they were experiencing together until he noticed her eyes were closed. 

He realised he didn’t wanna cum this way. He pulled out of her, ignoring her cries of disapproval, turned her around and roughly bent her over the counter. 

“Oh, baby, you gotta see this.” He rasped before sliding into her again and instantly started fucking into her wildly. Y/N yelped before biting her knuckle in order to keep quiet. “Oh my god, yes, fuck me!”

Jungkook grabbed her ponytail and dragged her up off the counter and into his chest so that he could whisper in her ear. She winced, but let him wrap her hair around his fist and pull harder, the back of her head totally resting on his shoulder. 

She could see him behind her, relentlessly hammering into her greedy body in all his glory. Maybe she misjudged him. The sight turned her on even more, sending another rush of wetness between her thighs. 

“You’d better keep it down princess. Wouldn’t want your date to think his girl was in here getting railed like a slut. Oh, wait.” Y/N wanted to laugh, but Jungkook released her hip to wrap his large hand around the base of her neck and firmly squeezed. 

Her eyes immediately rolled back at the gesture, but she made sure to refocus on the mirror as Jungkook was watching closely. The pressure was building in her core more and more. She was gonna fall over the edge any second now, she was so close.

“Oh m-ffffuck, yes! You’re gonna make me cum, Mr. Jeon.” She whined through clenched teeth, looking into his piercing eyes through the mirror. 

“Then fucking cum for me.” His deep voice grated in her ear. 

“Harder! Choke me harder!” Y/N pleaded as her orgasm crashed right into her. He squeezed tighter at just the right time and with just the right pressure that had Y/N seeing stars and prolonging her high. Jungkook held off his own orgasm, trying not to think about her velvety walls pulsating around him, so that he could watch Y/N fully enjoy hers. And boy was it something to watch. 

Her jaw dropped and stilled as her eyes rolled into her head, but it was the most beautiful thing Jungkook had ever seen. Her body was frozen in a perfect arch as he thrusted away into her and her hand firmly cradled his head so that their cheeks were pressed together. He would hold out for as long as he could as she rode her high completely if only to watch her like this for a little longer.

Eventually she tapped Jungkook's hand causing him to let go of her neck and she collapsed onto the counter breathlessly. “Holy fuck.” She gasped as she braced herself on the granite surface. 

She coughed a bit and caught her breath and then looked up at Jungkook with fucked out, voracious eyes. He never took his eyes off of her and never stopped pumping his dick into her delicious cunt. 

“You gonna cum for your little cock slut, Mr. Jeon?” Y/N croaked, throat sore from being choked. But every word sounded like music to Jungkook’s ears. That look on her face made him wanna blow his load on the spot. “Yeah, baby.” Is all he can offer as his hips break their rhythm without his permission.

“Please, cum inside me.” She moaned out as Jungkook emptied himself into the condom, hips sputtering near the end until they stopped with his dick still deep inside of her. He was in his own head, lost in a post-coital stupor, thinking about how that may have been the best orgasm he’s ever had when Y/N spoke up.

“You can get out of me now.” She said flatly, thrusting Jungkook back into the real world. He murmured an apology and withdrew himself from her, watching her walk casually into one of the stalls without a word or a look in his direction. 

He just stood there with his cock out wondering what the hell just happened. He thought they made a connection. He agreed that it wouldn’t mean anything, but was she really that cold hearted to just ignore him after a passionate experience like that? Well, she is a mercenary, his conscience defended, they’re not meant to be caring. 

As he heard the stall start to open up he quickly turned around, discarded the condom and tucked himself back into his pants. He then watched as she came back out looking more put together than before. 

She washed her hands and began to touch up her appearance again. This time she actually needed it. The foundation on her neck was rubbed off by his fingers, revealing the tattoos that Jungkook missed,  her lipstick was smeared and her high ponytail drooped due to the pulling. Awkward silence took over the spacious restroom. Is she really not going to say anything?

He decided to just come out with it. “What was that?” 

“What are you talking about?” She requested, haphazardly while fixing her hair in the mirror.

“Well, you were just all over me and now you’re acting like I don’t exist.” He said plainly.

“It’s called sex, you don’t fuck like a virgin so I assume you know what I’m talking about. Besides, I’m not acting like anything.” Jungkook had a hard time believing that. He knew what deflecting looked like, had seen it in many interrogations. 

“Then why won't you look at me?” He challenged.

Her eyes widened in annoyance as she reached around to place another bobby pin in her hair. “I’m kinda busy here, Jeon.” 

He couldn’t help, but feel bothered that she dropped the sassy formality of calling him Mr., an indication that she was enjoying his company. “Look, will you just talk to me for a sec—”

She suddenly stops what she’s doing. Her breathing is long and deep before she calms down and begins speaking smoothly with her eyes closed. “Look, Jeon. We don’t know each other and I don't know what you think you know about me or what you made up in your head, but you might as well forget all of that ‘cause it’s not real.” She sighed, continuing to recover her foundation.

“That wasn’t real?” He finally commanded. He hated to admit it, but he was slightly bothered when she didn’t even offer him a glance. “That?” She responded, only interested in her reflection.

“That,” He clarified, gesturing to the counter sternly. “What we just did, what we...said.” He gulped nervously. This wasn’t like him, he didn’t get nervous or have passionate sex with strangers and let it effect him. This is only his second time meeting this woman and he let her get in his head. He’s been asking himself the same question since meeting her in the alley: what makes her so different?

She put down her foundation and just stared at it blankly. “And what part of what we said are you confused about, pray tell.”

“Um, ‘I need to be punished, Mr. Jeon.’” He quoted promptly. 

Honestly the only thing he was confused about was why she was suddenly being so cold to him. All of the words they shared were noteworthy and he wanted her to acknowledge that. The whole experience still shocked Jungkook and he never dreamed it would actually happen. He just brought up a snippet that he thought might get her attention and maybe evoke some emotion finally. He chose wisely.

Her head whipped in his direction. “And you liked it, didn’t you?” She sneered. “Or perhaps we could talk about how you like to call women, sluts, hm?” 

“I thought you liked it,” He tried to get in, but she wasn’t having it.

Jungkook thought her angry face looked nothing like it did five minutes ago or even out on the balcony. She suddenly let out a bitter laugh and Jungkook realized that this woman probably wears many faces. Perhaps to defend herself. Perhaps to survive. Maybe he misjudged her. 

“You know, I didn’t take you for a person who throws things that people say during sex back in their face.” She accused, sporting a dark smile.

“Well, I’m sorry, but I didn’t take you for a...a—”

“A submissive?” She shot, putting an end to his stuttering. He deflated, all signs of anger or disapproval gone from his stance. “Yes.” He copped out, not knowing what else to say. “I just wasn’t expecting that.” 

Y/N visibly calmed down as well, turning back to the mirror and continuing her work. “Are you surprised?” She muttered, raising her eyebrows. 

Jungkook thought for a second before responding, evenly: “No.” Thinking about how much Y/N might have gone through to be so successful as a trained killer, she must have had to be the strongest and smartest person in the room on any given day. There had to be a time where she wanted to take a break, not be the person in charge for once. Jungkook could relate. 

His response made her pause, but she only cleared her throat and continued applying foundation in silence. I can’t leave things like this, Jungkook decided. He just got an actual glimpse into her personality and not the same act she puts on for the rest of the world. He found out that they might even have some things in common. He didn’t want her to shut him out now. It may have been a moment of weakness for both of them, but he wanted to continue this.

“I could, you know, help...punish you, i-if you want.” He spluttered with his hands in his pockets, trying to make himself look as confident as possible since his voice had already betrayed him. 

Y/N stills and turns to him with a confounded expression, but didn’t say anything.

“I mean, unless you already have a…” Jungkook left out the last word for her to hopefully pick up on, suddenly shy about the world of BDSM. 

“No, I don’t.” She rushed out, looking down at the counter and creating an awkward silence between them. “I’ll think about it.” She added genuinely. She looked at him over her shoulder and offered a gentle nod, her expression completely blank. 

Jungkook nods back in acknowledgement. “Okay, then.”

“Now get out of here, I’m sure there are ladies that need this restroom.” She pulled on her signature playful smirk, nearly giving Jungkook whiplash. Many faces indeed.

“Yeah, okay.” He gathered himself and walked towards the door, but turned back when he realized something. “Wait, how do I contact you for the job?”

“I’ll call you, now go.” She said packing up her stuff. 

Jungkook nodded, unlocked the door and quickly darted out of the bathroom. As he sped by he saw Walter down the hall posted in front of the men’s room patiently waiting for his date. Thankfully his head was turned when Jungkook made his way out of there and to the exit. He smirked wickedly, knowing he got away with his ridiculous plan. “Dumbass.”

Two weeks had gone by since the bathroom incident and Jungkook worked tirelessly to distract himself from thoughts of the beautiful assassin to no avail. He realized there was no escaping her. He thought their rendezvous at the auction would help get her out of his system, but it only fueled his addiction for her and now he was trapped in a vicious cycle that he didn’t know if he wanted out of. 

They kept in contact and Deathstalker killed the enemies on Jungkook’s hit list, but this time she was being paid by the mafioso himself unbeknownst to his men. They found themselves in situations much like the first time they ran into Deathstalker more often than not. Only now she had to be more creative as Jungkook’s foot soldiers still thought she was a possible threat.

As Jungkook sat across from Collin Boardly, a corrupt CEO/gang leader, he wondered if this would be one of those situations. Boardly is a fellow criminal that Jungkook was on good terms with until he heard that Boardly’s men have been attacking and blackmailing store owners in his territory. Jungkook insisted that he pay those victims back and restore all damages. He even invited Mr. Boardly to a very private game of poker so that they could properly discuss matters. 

They sat in the dimly lit restaurant owned by one of Jungkook’s close friends with their respective security surrounding them. Boardly felt obligated to bring his men as he offended Jungkook and now he was on his turf. Jungkook’s men insisted on backing him up, but he had a strong feeling that none of that would be necessary. 

They had already made small talk while getting the game started and Jungkook got straight to business. 

“So, I hear you’ve been terrorizing my streets. What’s the story there?” Jungkook inquired calmly. Boardly huffed a nervous laugh at the mention of what his men did. “Personally I think terrorizing might be too strong a word.”

Jungkook’s brows raised and his expression turned serious. “Well, what would you call threatening multiple lives at gunpoint, roughin’ ‘em up and demanding cuts of their earnings then? Business?” He denounced. 

“As usual.” Boardly finished the adage with a large smile. Jungkook only looked at him with the same no nonsense expression and Boardly seemed to regret making the remark.

“Just a joke, Jungkook.” He muttered. “I am sorry that I allowed my guys to do that.” He doubled down. “We simply didn’t know how far your territory reached. We meant no disrespect.”

“I appreciate that.” Jungkook replied, anger stirring inside him as he fought not to rip this man’s head from his shoulders.They continued to play in near silence until Jungkook finally pressed him for answers. 

“So how do you intend to fix what your guys broke?”

Boardly looked up with a lost expression on his face. “Excuse me?” He grumbled.

“There was damage done to these stores, yes?” Jungkook assessed slowly. “And you’ve already collected cuts from some of the owners…” He can see Boardly’s eyes widen slightly in recognition. 

“Oh, you didn’t know I knew that.” The mob boss gathered. “Anyway, I assume you’re ready to pay for that. I was thinking fifty, thousand dollars would cover it.” He suggested calmly. 

Boardly tried to give an excuse, stuttering. “I’m-I don't think you understand—”

“I understood you can afford it, judging by those chips.” Jungkook chided, gesturing to the large bet Boardly made in the center of the poker table. Boardly sighed at a loss. 

“Kook, listen.” The CEO leaned forward, trying to reason with his opponent. “We’re friends. It was an accident, can’t we just forget this happened?”

“No.” Jungkook responded instantly, his arms crossed. “We were...associates, but now you’re just someone who fucked with my community. So are you gonna pay it back or not?” He seethed furiously.

Boardly swallowed and stared at Jungkook for a few moments, wondering how else to bargain with him. He had too much pride to go through with this deal, especially in front of his inferiors.

“No.” He finally answered.

Jungkook sighed disappointedly. The air in the room turned ominous and it was felt by all. Normally, Jungkook would be killing Boardly by now and he could feel all of his men tense behind him, ready to kill if need be, but he was doing things differently today. He just nodded understandingly, before gesturing with his left hand to get Taehyung’s attention.

“Taehyung. Will you get me a glass of water from the kitchen please?” He asked politely without looking at him. He hears his right hand man head to the kitchen and he turns back to the piece of shit in front of him.

“Why, Collin? Is there something wrong with doing right by those you fucked over?” Jungkook questioned, heatedly.

“No, Kook—”

“Don’t call me that.”

Boardly scoffed and continued. “I just don’t think we did anything wrong. We overstepped, we apologized, I think that should be enough.”

“Well, I don’t. So where does that leave us?”

“I’m not paying for shit.” The CEO shrugged. That really pissed Jungkook off. 

“Go to hell, Boardly.” He growled. I’m really gonna enjoy watching you bite it, Jungkook thought sinisterly. 

Taehyung placed the glass of water in front of his boss and made the decision to continue to stand at his side, ready if anything were to happen. 

“Fine.” Boardly responded bitterly. “So are we done here? Or are you gonna give me a hard time?” He asked, nodding at Taehyung for emphasis. Jungkook shook his head nonchalantly. “No, no. We’re done.” with a haunting smirk on his face. The look put Boardly slightly on edge, but he ignored it and stood up to corral his men. 

Jungkook watched him make his way to the door wondering what the fuck was taking so long? He already gave the signal. He started to reach for his own gun to do it himself when he noticed Boardly stop in his tracks and could hear him choking. 

Even Jungkook and his men wore looks of concern. The mafia leader got up to get a better view from where he stood and the others craned their necks behind him still ready to shoot first and ask questions later. 

Boardly’s men tried to help him as he clutched his throat, but it was no use as he convulsed and fell to the floor before ceasing to move altogether. They looked at each other for answers before turning to Jungkook. 

One of the guys who was wearing a blue suit, which Jungkook assumed to be Boardly’s right hand, pulled out a gun and walked towards him. Taehyung and Jungkook pulled theirs as well, causing everyone with a gun to point them at either side. 

“You do this?!” Boardly’s guy raged. “How?” Jungkook argued. “How would I do that to him? He probably had a heart attack or forgot to breathe or some shit.” He surmised, trying to place the blame elsewhere. 

“Bullshit! What did you do?” He demanded.

“Look, I’m sorry for your loss or whatever, but we had nothing to do with this. Now you all gotta do something with him.” He pointed his gun at the dead body briefly. Blue suit breathes heavily with a stumped expression, not wanting to let it go. No one in the room showing any signs of letting up either.

“How about we all put the guns down and you guys can take him home-or wherever. Yeah? Does that work?” Jungkook prompted gently. After a beat, blue suit nodded, looked back at the rest of Boardly’s men and nodded. Jungkook did the same and slowly, but surely the guns came down and were put away. 

Jungkook and his men watched as they dragged the body out of the restaurant and sped away from the large storefront windows. They’re finally able to breathe without stress. “What the fuck was that?” Namjoon blurted causing the rest of them to chuckle. 

“I don’t know, but I’m getting the fuck outta here before they come back. See you guys back at base.” They laughed and said their goodbyes. Jungkook walked in the light rain to the next block over and found his town car ready and waiting for him. 

He opened the passenger door, addressed his driver, then retrieved a large black duffle bag before opening the backdoor. There he found Deathstalker sitting cross legged in a black trench coat at the other window seat. He smiled fondly at her. She looked beautiful as always gazing out the window at the rain before she noticed him there. When she turned to face him he replaced the fond smile with a composed smirk. 

“Took you long enough.” She opined quietly once he sat down and closed the door. “We got held up, literally. I think this belongs to you.” He passed the duffle bag off to her. She received her present graciously, beaming down at the contents happily once she opened it. 

“Thank you Mr. Jeon.” Y/N crooned playfully, sporting that signature smirk that never failed to affect Jungkook. “No, thank you.” He responded after clearing his throat. “So you poisoned him?” 

She simply replied, “Yup.” while inspecting the cash that filled the duffle bag in her lap. 

“But he randomly started choking and shaking. And you say you controlled it with the push of a button?” He wondered with furrowed brows and pouted lips. 

“Well, poison, a small nanobot that I planted in his food to attack his lungs and cause internal bleeding, it’s all the same, you know.” She spoke aimlessly, moving on from the money to buff and inspect her manicure.  

“Wow.” Jungkook whispered, genuinely infatuated with the thought of that kind of technology and how he could get his hands on it. While he was lost in thought he didn’t notice Y/N scooching closer to him until they were side by side. He turned to find their noses were nearly touching and his heart rate sped up rapidly.  

“Now that, that’s over…” she drawled, grasping Jungkook’s hand. He watched unquestionably as she brought his hand to her mouth and inserted his middle and ring fingers all while looking into his eyes alluringly. At the same time, she easily brought her leg up to drape over both of Jungkook’s. He still sat frozen in place by her gaze while she lifted the bottom of her coat and placed his hand against her bare heat.

They both shuddered slightly when Jungkook instinctively began to rub circles into her already wet core, never taking their eyes off each other. 

“You wanna go somewhere?” She coaxed breathily. It almost infuriated Jungkook how she didn’t even have to try to get him to agree to anything. He was indeed trapped. 

“James,” He called up to the driver. “The Plaza Hotel please.” 

Currently, Jungkook was going through paperwork in his office, taking advantage of the slow week he’s had to take care of some business for his company. It’s been a while since he’s gotten to do this so he was pretty backed up and seemingly had a whole afternoon of this to look forward to. He sighed at the thought, but continued to read through the documents and sign them here and there when suddenly he felt something was...off. He put his pen down and looked around the room.

The room was silent as usual, but all of a sudden it was too silent? Jungkook didn’t know how and he couldn’t really make sense of it until he looked up at the ceiling vent. It was no longer producing the usual soft hum. There was nothing. He silently walked under the vent to inspect it when he saw a glint in between the slats. Immediately, he moved from under it and drew his gun, aiming it at the vent. 

“I see you motherfucker! Come out right now or I’ll put ten holes in you!” He shouted. The intruder heeded the warning and right away the vent was forced to the floor. Jungkook watched intently as two feminine hands holding a gun slowly dropped down and though it was upside down, it was perfectly aimed at him. 

He still had his gun trained on the vent as the trespasser entered through the hole in the ceiling to reveal the familiar face of Deathstalker herself. Only her upper body could be seen as her strong legs held her in place from inside the vent.

She smiled easily at Jungkook as if they weren’t in a stand-off right now. “Hello, Mr. Jeon.” Her tone was calm, but somewhat guarded, telling him what her face never would. Jungkook was stuck between being relieved to see that it was only Deathstalker and being concerned that she was pointing a gun at him. 

“Hello, Deathstalker. You wanna tell me why you broke into my office and have a gun in my face?” He queried with a tilt of his head. Y/N only reached up to grip the hole in the ceiling, somehow removing herself from the vent with one hand, her gun and her gaze still trained on Jungkook as she landed on her feet in front of him. More contradicting thoughts swirled in his mind at the sight.  

“You finally caught me. I’m proud.” She smirked, removing the hood of her catsuit from her head.

He fights the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah, maybe you can congratulate me later. Why are you here? You finally turn on me? Did someone send you, huh?” 

“Don’t be so dramatic. You have something I need.” She explained with a determined look. Jungkook’s brows furrowed. “Is that so? And what might that be?” 

“You know what it is.” Y/N quipped, tilting her gun along with the inflection in her voice. He shakes his head assuredly. “No, No, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if you wanna put the gun down I’d love to discuss it.” He entreated informally. 

“No.” She spoke firmly. A beat of silence passes before Jungkook has had enough. “Put the fucking gun down, Y/L/N.” He demanded gruffly. 

“You put the fucking gun down.” She spat right back at him. 

“I’m not doing this, just tell me what it is—” He reasoned.

“You know what it is—” Before she can fully respond, Jungkook rushed her, forcing her gun away from him and ripping it out of her hand. He quickly backed up and flung the gun across the room before pointing his back at her. They each caught their breath and Y/N bit her lip frustratedly. 

Jungkook gave a triumphant smile. “There, that’s better. You ready to talk now—”

Y/N’s leg swiftly came up to kick the gun right out of Jungkook's hand before he even realized what happened. He looked at the gun sliding away from them on the floor, then back at Deathstalker, who smirked and raised an arrogant brow.

“Okay.” Jungkook uttered right as Y/N charged at him. He panicked slightly at the thought of fighting her, but the instinct to fight back kicked in when she launched herself and wrapped her body around him like an anaconda. 

They struggled while Deathstalker tried to take Jungkook to the floor. Luckily for him, he wasn’t only a skilled shooter, but a trained and very skilled fighter as well. It wasn’t long before he freed himself from her vice grip and they were in a standoff once again, this time with their fist raised and ready to defend. 

“What the hell has gotten into you Y/L/N? I wish you would tell me what this is about.” Jungkook grumbled as they circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

Y/N chuckled mischievously. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” 

“Yes, actually!” He exploded. She took his emotional outburst as an opportunity and pounced once again. Jungkook was quicker to react this time and they were practically sparring in the middle of his office and only lord knows why. Jungkook found himself getting irritated because he was barely one step behind Deathstalker in her strikes and attacks. 

As they got more invested, Jungkook noticed that she didn’t intend on hurting him, but she did intend to win. Somewhere in the scuffle, he fell behind and let her right hook distract him from the leg that swept his feet from under him. She was on top of him in an instant, with a habitual flat hand at his jugular ready to stop him from breathing. They stare at each other, both of them breathing heavily. 

“Got you.” Y/N suddenly whispered smugly. “Now, are you gonna give me what I want?” She prompted provocatively, sliding her hand into the collar of his shirt slowly. The feel of her hot skin on his almost burned with their charged up bodies and wild emotions. He blinked in realization at her increasingly turned on form above him. 

“You. Crazy. Fucking. Bitch.” Jungkook fumed quietly, looking up at her in disapproval. She just giggled freely and though usually the sound would bring a smile to Jungkook’s face, it only pissed him off. 

He pushed her off of him and shoved her against the wall roughly, holding her there by the neck. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, breaking in here and waving a gun in my face.” He hissed in anger, their noses touching. “You know, if you wanted dick you could have just said so.” 

“Where’s the fun in that Mr. Jeon?” She crooned, leaning forward to kiss him and he denied her, coolly tilting his head back. He continued to hold her by the throat to the wall firmly, causing her to choke briefly, but if she was uncomfortable she didn’t let it show.

“No.” He shook his head, Y/N could see his gears turning as he did so. “No?” She echoed, curiously. 

“To answer your question. I’m not giving you what you want.” A devious smirk slowly appeared on his face that made Y/N’s body temperature rise. “No, you’re gonna do what I want now and you’re gonna like it.” He breathed, pressing himself against her and brushing her lips with his teasingly. She inhales audibly, trying not to look affected by his sudden behavior. 

“But, Mr. Jeon, I want what you want.” She encouraged him sweetly, reaching for him. He put a stop to that quickly by pinning her wrists above her with one hand and resuming his hold on her neck with the other. She grunted and squirmed before giving up, looking up a childish defeated expression, but Jungkook knew she loved it. 

He looked into her eyes with a strong dominance that had Y’N swallowing thickly in anticipation. “Are you talking back to me, Y/L/N?” His eyebrows furrowed intimidatingly. 

She bit her lip to suppress her giddy smile. She needed to play along and not mock Jungkook’s very real emotions. The dynamic has officially shifted and now Y/N’s main objective was to please him. “No, Mr. Jeon.” She assured in a register slightly higher than her natural voice. 

“Really, because you seem to have a lot to say for someone who’s at my mercy. I wonder if you’d still be as talkative with my dick in your mouth.” He growled hotly in her ear sending shivers down her spine.

She shuddered a hopeful response. “Can we find out, Mr. Jeon...please?” She implored when she felt him pull away. 

He looked her over, taking in her needy form. “Look at you, already begging for it.” He shook his head in amazement. “I should keep you here and see how long you can hold your breath for me before your face starts to change color.” He whispered while closing his hand tighter around her neck. Y/N hummed delightfully at the feeling, her eyes fluttering shut. 

“But you’d probably like that wouldn’t you?” He leaned back in, getting her attention. She opened her eyes and gave a pleasant smile. “You know that I do.” She choked out. He smiled back at her admirably before releasing most of the pressure on her throat. 

“No, I got something else planned for y—” He stopped abruptly, looking towards the door because he thought he heard the click of familiar shoes in the hall. His theory was proven correct when he heard them getting closer. He quickly looked to Y/N with wide eyes. 

“Get under the desk.” He ordered softly before they both scurry to the huge desk near the window. She easily fit herself under it on her knees facing out and Jungkook took the seat right in front of her. As soon as they were situated, there was a knock on his office door.

“Come in.” He called pretending to look over his files. Taehyung poked his head in with a concerned expression before he fully entered the room. “Hey boss. Everything okay here?” He questioned.

“Yes, fine. Why?”

“Nothing, we just thought we heard some...I don’t know, movement?” As Taehyung spoke, Jungkook could feel hands raking up his thighs and his eyes widened quickly. He tried to compose his expression, but he then felt the unbuttoning of his pants. 

No, no, no, no, he thought in a panic. He tries not to focus on just how Y/N got his zipper down as silently as she did and focuses on Taehyung’s lips as he talked. 

“Oh, no, yeah. That was just me. I was practicing...sh-shadow boxing.” He lied choppily as Y/N released his already hard dick from his pants. 

“In a suit?” Taehyung replied, confusedly. 

Jungkook jolted slightly and fought back a moan when the assassin took him in her warm, wet mouth. “Waauuuhh, yes. Yes, I was.” He cleared his throat to cover up more moans when she began to skillfully bob her head up and down on his length. 

“Oh, well okay.” Taehyung settled. “So if that’s all—” Jungkook attempted to see him off with no success. 

“Anyway, we got a lead on that Deathwalker chick.” He offered in a more chipper tone. Y/N paused her movements, intrigued by the information. What had they found out? Jungkook shamelessly rested his hand on the back of her head and pulled, encouraging her to keep going much to both of their disbelief. She obeys and continues the task eagerly, but careful not to have too much fun or she’ll risk getting caught. “Is that so?” the mob boss replied. 

“Yeah, it’s not much, but we assumed you wanted us to brief you on it as soon as possible.” His soldier nodded respectfully. 

“Ugh,” Jungkook moaned, half-way masking it as a noise of gratitude. “Thank you, Tae. I appreciate it. We’ll be sure to discuss thisssssss later.” He faltered. “Yes, sir.” Taehyung nodded again, making a face at Jungkook. 

“Hey, you okay boss?” He looked closer at his superior with genuine concern. “Never better Tae.” Jungkook forced out quickly. “Are you sure? Y—”

“Taehyung?” The gang leader addressed him firmly. “Yes?” 

“Get the fuck out of my office.” 

“Yes, sir.” Taehyung nodded, knowing when he was unwanted and without another word he was exiting the office. 

Jungkook pushed away from the desk immediately and grabbed a handful of Y/N’s hair as he stood both of them up. She only smiled at the manhandling and wiped the excess spit from her mouth. 

“You really want me to hurt you, don’t you?” He snarled at her. She fought back the strong urge to moan a yes and instead just stayed silent with a feigned guilty look on her face. “Take that off. Now. ” He commanded, gesturing to her catsuit. She shimmied it off of her arms and down her legs to reveal her naked body, leaving her heels on, all while Jungkook kept a tight grip on her hair. 

“How many do you think I should give you?” He asked, suddenly calmer than before. “How ever many you think is right sir.” She spoke in a small voice, but her innocent act didn’t fool him. He stared at her bare, unapologetically, beautiful body in wonderment before forcing her body to bend over his desk. 

He caressed her thighs and backside tenderly and then when she least expected it he delivered a delicious slap to it. Y/N yelped and then sighed with contentment. The wait was over, now the real fun could begin. 

“I told you.” Slap. “We weren't.” Slap. “Gonna do.” Slap. “What you wanted.” Slap. “To do.” Slap. “But you just don’t listen.” He accentuated his words with powerful smacks delivered to both of her cheeks and then rubbed at the tender flesh to soothe the sting. 

He ran his finger up her spine gently, making her shiver visibly. He smirked at his effect on her, bending his body over hers to whisper in her ear. “Tell me. Are you sorry?” He breathed heavily. 

“No, sir.” Y/N panted after a few moments. “I knew it…” He stands up straight, regarding her vulnerable yet durable body. 

“You disappoint me, Y/L/N.” He slaps her ass and massages again. Y/N hissed before replying. “I’ll do better sir.” she declared sincerely.

“You promise?” Jungkook lifts his hand and watches as Y/N braces for the impact, watched as her body tensed and her pussy clenched greedily around nothing in awe. He savored the moment, spanking her again.

She hummed graciously at the delicious pain she was receiving from him. “Yes, sir. I promise.”  

“But you’re not sorry.” He clarified. “No sir.” 

“Why?” His brows furrowed in curiosity, gearing up to spank her again. “Because I love sucking your cock sir.” Y/N whined. He stopped his movements, taken aback and released a soft laugh. “Is that so?” 

“Yes sir.” Slap. “Tell me more Y/L/N.” he requested as he moved his left hand to her cunt and kept the right one on her ass. 

She closed her eyes and smiled, envisioning herself doing the activity, even licking her lips at the luscious memory of it. “I love how heavy it feels on my tongue. How you force me down on it and it hits the back of my throat.” She mused longingly. Y/N stops speaking and her body tenses as he inserts his thumb into her. 

“Keep going Y/L/N.” Jungkook’s tone made it clear that he would stop if she didn’t keep talking so she continued. 

“I love how thick it is, oh fuck.” She moans, digging her nails into the wood of the desk as he rubs two fingers against her clit and picks up the pace. “What else Y/L/N?” He breathed.  

She gulped in a breath, the sudden pressure taking her breath away. “How you make me gag on it when I’ve been bad and— mmmm, how you coat the inside of my mouth with all your cum when you’re done with me...How you check to make sure I swallowed all of it.” She giggled that last bit breathlessly, grinding back on his hand. 

“You’re such a dirty girl Y/L/N.” He moves in and out of her quickly while rubbing her clit perfectly in sync, pulling lewd moans from her until he suddenly removes them, delivering another hard smack to her backside. “Ah, fuck.” She squealed.

“But you’re right, you need to do better. Now count with me.” He ordered sternly. 

To which she immediately responded, “Yes sir.” 

Y/N counts every hit Jungkook delivers to her extremely tender ass dutifully with her fingernails creating crescents in the mahogany wood below her. By the time they reach twenty, his hand is as red as a tomato and Y/N is quite literally dripping onto the floor in front of him. He watched as her slick dripped out of her cunt from in between her spread legs and onto the floor, creating a tiny puddle of her pleasure. 

Jungkook is incredibly turned on by the sight and doesn’t think twice before taking his hard cock and shoving right into the assassin without warning. He didn’t wait for her to adjust, not that she needed to as you could literally mop the floor with her arousal. He just continued to hammer into her with complete abandon. 

It felt as if Y/N had forgotten how to breathe and her head shot up from the desk at the abrupt intrusion. “Ohhhhh shhhhhhit.” She cursed choppily with Jungkook’s hips slapping against her, making her ass sting more, but she loved it. 

He reached up to push her head down against the desk forcefully and held it there as he fucked into her. “You love the pain don’t you my little cock slut?” He growled out.

“Yes, sir. I love it. Thank you, Mr. Jeon.” She babbled dazedly into the desk. 

He pulls out of her then, leaving her moving back in search of him and clenching around nothing. “Please put it back in, Mr. Jeon.” She whimpered, reaching back for him, but she didn’t dare sit up for fear that he might think she was disobeying him.

He smiles and sits down in his chair, grabbing the hands that searched for him and guiding them to it’s arm rests. “Why don’t you come sit down and do it yourself?” 

She moves right away and backs up onto him. Bracing herself on the armrests, she hovers above him still facing the desk, grabs his cock and engulfs it in her wetness. They both groan wildly when he is fully seated inside of her and she begins to move up and down.

“Just like that baby, keep bouncing on my cock.” He muttered huskily, placing his hands on her hips. Looking down, he finally noticed the mess Y/N’s juices made on his suit pants. He should have pulled them all the way down, but damn if that wasn’t one of the hottest things he’s ever seen. “Goddamn. Who made you this fucking wet baby?” He grunted, pulling her down on him with fervid force. 

“You did, Mr. Jeon.” Y/N breathed heavily with her eyes closed in ecstasy. She could feel her orgasm finally approaching and she was chasing it with every move she made.

“You gonna cum baby?” Jungkook’s voice rasped in her ear. Y/N mentally cursed, already knowing what was coming to her. “Yes, I’m so close, Mr. Jeon.” She whined, trying to plead her case. 

It was no use. He swiftly pushed her off of him roughly and forced her down against the table once more. “No, no, no, please, please.” She begged and squirmed.

He only bent down to her level, gripping her chin in his hand. “You should know by now not to fuck with me Y/L/N. Now you need to be punished.” He says whispering sadistically in her ear. “Come on now.”

Jungkook gripped her by her forearms, dragging her up from the table and keeping them in place behind her back like a criminal. He guided her to the expansive wall length bookshelf on the far left of his office. Y/N knew just where they were going and somehow it prompted more wetness to come cascading down her already damp and sticky legs. 

He finds the handle on the inside of one of the shelves and pulls on the hidden door to reveal his playroom. The ceiling was a deep red while the walls were painted black with several tools for causing pain hanging on them all around the room. Several large contraptions used for pleasure and pain were scattered along the sides. But Jungkook’s favorite part of the room was the alaska king size mattress against the back wall which had a mirror of the same size attached to the ceiling above it. He loved that he could see every facet of Y/N’s squirming body just by looking up. 

“Stand here.” He directs her after stopping under the pair of leather handcuffs that dangled from the ceiling. He lifted and secured both her arms before focusing on her wanton eyes. “You comfortable, sweetheart?” He asked, grasping her chin firmly in his hands. 

“Yes, sir.” She replied truthfully. “Good.” He pecked her lips and began removing her boot heels. This created more distance between her and the floor. She was now truly dangling from the ceiling, the balls of her feet barely touching the floor.

Jungkook marvelled at his work and how after a while Y/N struggled to hold her weight against the cuffs. He then undressed quickly and made his way back to her, placing his lips on hers in a rough and passionate kiss that left Y/N breathless and moaning. 

She feels a hand thread it’s fingers through her hair and massage her scalp before it’s yanking her back and gripping tightly. She opened her eyes to see Jungkook, lustful and giddy smiling back at her. His hand slipped out of her hair, down her neck, chest and around her torso as he slowly circled her body. 

“I wish I could touch every piece of you at once.” He expressed sofly once he was behind her. Y/N breathed heavily with anticipation as his large hands gluided up her raised arms, down her waist, over her hips and ghosted over her plump, raw ass making her hiss. He chuckled at the sound letting his hands wander to her front and administering feather light circles to her swollen clit. Y/N twitched causing her body to sway uncontrollably. Jungkook stilled her, but continued his teasing much to Y/N’s dismay. But she didn’t dare say anything about it, she knew better and she wanted to cum so she stayed silent. 

He comes back around to face her and really takes his time appreciating her body. He kisses her lips, along her neck and sucks on her nipples just enough to have her squirming with more want for him. Suddenly he presses down on each of her sensitive nipples with two fingers and she squeaks, painful electricity shooting through her. 

He looked her over keenly. “God you’re so fucking beautiful...and you’re all mine to play with.” He kisses her biting her lip. “Who do you belong to?” His fierce tone demanded an answer.

“You, Mr. Jeon.” Y/N avowed, increasingly turned on and desperate to cum. 

“Who else?” His hands moved haltingly towards her core, never breaking eye contact. Her eyes flashed knowingly at him. “No one. Only you, Mr. Jeon.” 

Jungkook smiled contentedly before it disappeared little by little. He knew the words weren’t true and that she only said them to please him, only said them when they were intimate. But he couldn’t help how much he yearned to hear it, how much he wanted her to truly be his. This room is where they both get what they want no matter what. 

Y/N gets someone to dominate her and take care of her needs and Jungkook gets to live out his fantasies of her truly belonging solely to him. But he knew she would never go for that and that he would continue to toture himself this way. 

He tucks the thought away as he suddenly plunges two fingers inside of her. “And who does this pussy belong to?” He growled.

Y/N immediately clenches around them and lets out a cracked moan. “You, sir! This pussy is all yours. Oh fuck, ugh!” She cried out. At least Jungkook can be sure of that, he thought as he began curling his fingers into her at lightning speed. He holds her hips in place as he goes to work and Y/N can’t even think about the pain in her arms anymore once she feels her orgasm approaching. 

She grunts fervently as the pressure in her core builds and builds until she can’t stand it. She gives no warning, just allowing the glorious, all-consuming feeling to ignite her insides without a single sound. The only noise to be heard in the room was the sloshing of Jungkook’s fingers moving rapidly inside of her and the slap of his palm against her wet mound. 

Jungkook was so enraptured by her eyes rolling back into her head that he didn’t notice the clear liquid escaping from her cunt, getting all over his hand and dripping onto the floor. He brought her drooping head up so he could kiss her eagerly as he removed his fingers and stroked her clit like a wild man, getting more of her juices all over him. 

She never told him to stop as she was struck silent by the amount of pleasure she just experienced, but he removed his hand and continued kissing her writhing body hungrily. She was out of breath as she twitched and mewled against him, audibly shuddering from time to time. 

“Holy fucking shit. You’re just full of surprises huh?” He praised her with her face in his hands. Her only reaction was to smile tiredly. Her body was absolutely spent and still experiencing aftershocks. 

“Now let’s see if we can make you do that again.” he says, lifting her legs to wrap around his waist, thankfully taking the weight off of her arms. 

She finally speaks in a disoriented voice with her eyes half closed. “Yes, please sir.” 

Jungkook pushes inside of her, her cunt was now extremely wet and extremely tight due to that first squirting orgasm and he could tell he wouldn’t last long. He began speedily fucking into her, his hips slapping against her bruised and aching ass over and over again. 

Y/N was in another realm of euphoria, this one being better than the last. She didn’t even know that was possible. Her head was tilted all the way back and her eyes were closed, but they were focused. She was too far gone to even remember her own name at this point. 

“Please…” She mumbled. “Please what?” Jungkook grunted, his vigorous hips never changing pace. 

“Please, please make me cum, Mr. Jeon.” She begged through gritted teeth. “I want it so bad. Please give me your cum.” 

“Oh fuck, baby.” He moaned, thrusting impossibly faster, both of them close to the edge. 

She felt herself growing slightly over stimulated, but she was so close, chasing that high that made her see stars. She was concentrated on the feeling of Jungkook’s dick pumping in and out of her and hitting just the right spot against her walls. Jungkook felt a force resisting him from inside of Y/N and before he could grasp it he was being pushed out along with Y/N’s cum. 

A full fledged scream escaped from her throat that was elongated by Jungkook who swiped at her clit wildly to prolong her orgasm. He watches her twitch and moan helplessly before sliding back in and picking up where he left off.

“No, p-please sir, I can’t.” She choked out, her chest heaving with exhaustion. 

He gripped her face roughly in his hand and brought it close to his. “No, you wanted this dick so you gonna take this dick.” He seethed. “That’s what you came here for right?” 

“Yes sir.” She cried. Jungkook thrusted up into her half a dozen more times before he came inside of her, ripping yet another orgasm from Y/N. She felt tears slide down her face at the sheer force of energy in her veins. She saw white behind her eyes and her body burned all over in the best of ways. 

“Argh!” Jungkook growled boisterously as he came, holding her hips rigidly against his as he came down. When he looked up he could see Y/N practically falling asleep against him, yet her body was shaking slightly. He pulled out of her and released her from her restraints.

“Let’s get you to bed, huh?” He grinned, holding her tight as he let her down because he didn’t expect her to be able to hold herself up. He was proven right as she immediately slumped over his shoulder once her arms were free. The mafia leader carried her to the bed and gently laid her on her back, taking a moment to clean both of them off before he laid down too. 

“Y/N? Are you okay?” He whispered sweetly. Initially, the assassin didn’t realize he was speaking to her as she was quickly drifting off to sleep, but after a moment she assured him, “I’m fine Jungkook.”

[lassieposting]

💘 for violent?

send me 💘 + A SHIP and i’ll tell you—

This got uhhhh really long whoops sorry

where they first met and how

Vile shows up to a battle Mevolent is fighting and just. Joins in.

Mevolent doesn't personally spot him, but several of his officers do - Vile has no colours on his armour, so they have no idea which side he's on, and he doesn't seem to care very much which side the men he's killing are on either. He's after the big prize - the Sanctuary general leading the opposing side - but anyone who gets in his way is fair game, no matter who they support.

One of Mevolent's men reports this after the battle is over, because it's strange enough to warrant a mention: the Necromancers have hardly left their temples in a hundred years, why is this one showing up now? Mevolent dispatches some people to round up the stranger and bring him in (which makes for a lot of very uneasy soldiers), but they find him loitering around outside the camp and he surrenders without a fuss.

When he's brought to Mevolent, Mev has had some time to bathe and get changed and is lounging around in a bathrobe with a glass of wine. He asks some questions, Vile answsrs them. Mev idly mentions that Vile seems very confident for a man who killed some of Mevolent's own soldiers - ordinarily, this would be something Mev would execute him for. But Vile tosses the enemy general's head at Mevolent's feet - ("Killed a few of theirs, too.") - and essentially prompts, do you want me on your side, or theirs?

Mev takes him.

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved

Actually - from the first time they meet.

At some point, Mevolent prompts Vile to take the helmet off - it's rude not to, how is he ever supposed to trust a man he's never seen? And Vile knows it's a risk, but he's also fairly sure Mevolent never saw Skulduggery Pleasant up close anyway, so he does as he's asked.

Mevolent lets himself have a minute to be shocked. He was expecting another Baron. But Vile can't be any older than Nefarian, which means he's absurdly young to have that much power. And he's pretty, even if there's something...a bit off...about him.

(His first thought is that he's talking to Vile's reflection. He dismisses it almost immediately, but he knows something isn't right. He doesn't know that he's picking up on Vile needing A Lot of practice to get his fake body to look properly alive; he's a bit too pale, keeps forgetting to blink, he's unnaturally still...it's all a bit uncanny valley.)

He starts flirting shortly after that. Just a little bit, to see if Vile leans that way or if he's visibly uncomfortable. He hooks up with China occasionally and has Serpine in his bed whenever he wants him, but he's always after something new, and Vile's arrogance and lack of deference is as refreshing as it is irritating. It's not love at first sight or anything though - all he's after is another notch on his bedpost.

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

They never actually discuss it, they just sort of...accidentally fall into monogamy? Their relationship begins with casual sex, stress relief on Vile's side and a novelty (someone who regularly tells him no and makes him work for it) on Mev's. As they realise they actually get along very well outside the bedroom, it becomes more friends with benefits. But somewhere along the line, Mevolent stops and realises that he hasn't shared his bed with anyone else in over a year - and he hasn't minded. His primary hesitation over getting married to Serafina is whether consummating his marriage will upset his lover, when all that should matter is the political power and money she brings witj her. And he realises that somehow, without his noticing, Vile has become more important than Mevolent ever intended for him to be.

who proposes first

It's. Less a proposal, and more a discussion. Sometime after Serafina's death, Mevolent starts getting social pressure to marry again. Mothers are starting to fling their daughters at him at every opportunity because they all want to be the mother of the new queen. And he doesn't want to do it again, have another political marriage that will definitely cause problems between him and Vile. He's in a position of considerable power by this point and his inner circle has been made aware of his sins thanks to Serpine, so he decides that fuck it, he wants to go public with their relationship.

Vile lets him - on the condition that it's not a big public spectacle. So Mevolent combines their family crests (called "impaling") which is what happens with married couples - so instead of having a banner with Mevolent's crest hanging in the Great Hall, it would be half his crest and half Vile's, joined together in the same shield (escutcheon). He has to have a crest drawn up for Vile, of course, but it's a quiet way of making it Very Clear that he's off the market.

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

They're a secret for the better part of fifty years. Mevolent is taking a big risk getting involved with a heretic, so he doesn't want to chance being open about Vile until he's completely confident in his victory and his power as ruler of the world. Vile is absolutely fine with this arrangement - not because he cares what people think, but because it's court custom to fawn over Mevolent's favourites to try and curry favour with him, and being the highlight of a social event is Vile's idea of hell.

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? )

Nothing quite that romantic. Mevolent is over 1000 years old, and in ancient Ireland, if a couple decided they were married? They were married. There was no need for a ceremony or vows or a priest involved. They might announce it to a few witnesses, just to make it Extra Valid, but even that wasn't necessary.

That had changed quite a bit by the time Vile was born, but if Mevolent says something is legal, it's legal, because who's going to stop him? And he knows that's preferable to Vile, because he hates being the centre of attention. The sort of big extravagant ceremony he had when he married Serafina would have Vile running for the hills.

It's not valid in the eyes of the church, of course. Vile is a heretic - the church barely considers him human. It takes balls to say no to Mevolent, and it's not usually a wise idea, but that is just a little bit too far for the Faceless Priests, and they turn him down.

(He accepts it with good grace once he realises they really won't be pushed. Convincing Vile to say vows in a church of a religion he finds ridiculous would be. A Challenge™ anyway. He's learned to pick his battles over the years.)

Once they've decided "okay, we're in this for the long haul, guess we're married now" Mev takes off to one of his summer palaces for a month to "supervise repairs" and takes Vile with him "as a bodyguard", which is common enough that nobody bats an eyelid. They're long since back from their honeymoon by the time anyone realises that's what it really was.

if they adopt any pets together

Mevolent, like any self-respecting monarch, keeps horses.

Animals can sense death, so Vile is unsettling to them by nature. But he spends so much time around them that they eventually get desensitized to him. He's been a big rider all his life, surrounded by horses and riding and hunting since infancy, and he knows a lot about all things horse.

Mevolent starts feigning interest in the horses when he's trying to get Vile into bed, as an excuse to run into him and start talking. But he was born a peasant, raised a slave, and has only ever really seen the horses as a status symbol, proof of how far up he's come in the world, so he's not prepared for...quite how horsey real gentry can be. He tries to start a casual chat about maybe breeding this stallion with that mare, complete with a clever double entendre about how sometimes couples who don't look all that compatible on the surface have the most explosive chemistry, flirtily asks what Vile thinks, and Vile...infodumps all things horse-breeding at him for four hours straight. Which was not what he was expecting, but the enthusiasm is actually pretty endearing.

who’s more dominant

The short answer: Mevolent.

The long answer: It's complicated.

In bed, Mevolent dominates because Vile lets him. He gets off on the power exchange, microdosing the subby side he had as Skug by handing control over to someone he trusts not to hurt him. It's also part of how he tries to deal with his trauma - subconsciously reenacting having his control forcibly taken away when Serpine was torturing him (by willingly ceding it to Mevolent) but with a different, more enjoyable result. He still makes Mev work for it, though - he won't just roll over without a playfight first. That's part of the fun.

Outside the bedroom, their power dynamic is all over the place. Mevolent is Vile's boss. Vile is Mevolent's bodyguard. Mevolent is 600+ years older. Vile has been through hell and takes no shit from anybody. Mevolent is Vile's benefactor, as a heretic living in a theocracy that would burn him alive again. Vile is the most powerful Necromancer in known history.

It's a constant struggle for control between two very dominant personalities, and they thrive on it.

who’s more protective

They both have shades of this, even though they know the other can handle himself.

After the war is more or less over, and the affair is still going strong, Mevolent essentially assigns Vile to be his bodyguard. It's a good excuse to be together all the time, but Vile takes it seriously, and he's good at it. He's the one who warns Mevolent about Aby's assassination plot, and he also foils Serpine's bid for Mevolent's throne - he might have gotten the better of Mevolent alone, because he took him by surprise, but Mev and Vile fight as a team and cover each other's weak spots, so once Vile arrived, Serpine had to cut and run.

Mevolent is protective too, but he's less sensible about it. He sends Vengeous to investigate the draugar, even though Vile would've been the obvious choice - if nothing else, he has the ability to shadow-walk out of danger, which Mevolent would've known would be useful. But he sent Vengeous in blind, and took Vile to safety instead. On top of that, Vengeous is methodical and organised in a way Vile could never hope to match - he actually would've been more useful to Mevolent during a large-scale evacuation, just as Vile is perfect for one-man in-and-out recon missions. But keeping Vile safe was more important.

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

Vile joins Mevolent in early 1854, they first have sex in late 1854 and first sleep together while Vile is recuperating in early 1855.

Mevolent marries Serafina in 1856, so their early years are full of drama.

if they argue about anything

"But really, do you think the gods will punish me for this [relationship]? Oh, stop laughing. I'm serious."

"Perhaps? How tragic. No Faceless heaven for you. Not that you'd enjoy it anyway. Nobody will fuck you once your face is all melted. You wouldn't cope."

"Do you have any idea how tempting it is sometimes to just have you executed?"

"Then nobody would be fucking you in this life either."

(They've been having this argument for 200 years.)

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

When they're really going at it, Mevolent tends to leave little finger-bruises where he's been holding Vile up or pinning his wrists. Vile is the one who leaves scratchmarks. And he actually bites - mostly Mevolent's bottom lip, when he's pissed off about something. Mev doesn't mind though - if they're in the mood for rough, they both enjoy a good power struggle.

On a soft day, it's just hickeys from both of them, but Mevolent also gives Vile several sigil tattoos, so (aside from the fact that they're invisible until they're used) he definitely leaves more marks.

who steals whose clothes and how often

Vile - mostly to doss around their rooms in when he can't be bothered to get dressed or they'll be fucking again shortly so there's no point. He also steals Mevolent's shirts and robes if he's injured - the good thing about having a partner so much bigger than you is that everything is baggy as hell. Perfect for hiding bandages or not chafing a healing wound.

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

Vile's a burrower. He likes to get as close as he can, to steal as much body heat as possible, and bury his face in Mevolent's chest/neck/shoulder. It's a leftover thing from Serpine's dungeon - protecting his face while he snatches at sleep so he can't be woken by a sudden kick or punch to a vulnerable area. He's also that horrible gremlin partner who will use Mev's skin to warm his cold hands/nose/feet on.

Mevolent often absentmindedly plays with Vile's hair while he's waiting to fall asleep, just as something to do while he's thinking over anything he has to do the next day, etc. So he'll doze off with one hand tangled in the curls and the other resting on a hip or thigh or back.

what their favourite nonsexual activity is

They have A Lot in common. They're both big readers, they both like tactical games like chess, they spar together and teach each other battle tricks, they both like to ride, they both enjoy music and poetry and culture. They're also that couple who like to be antisocial together - Mevolent will get on with his paperwork at his desk, and Vile will be on the couch with a book, and they'll sit there in silence together for hours, just being companionable.

how long they stay mad at each other

Long enough for angry sex. That's usually how their fights get worked out.

what their usual coffee / tea orders are

Mevolent got a taste for green tea while he was campaigning overseas during the war, and still prefers it now. Vile drinks a bitter black atrocity, and anyone with sense won't speak to him until he's had at least one in the morning.

if they ever have any children together

I do have an AU where Mevolent decides he does actually want an heir, and they end up raising Caisson together - or rather, Mevolent raises Caisson dubiously assisted by Vengeous and Serpine, and Vile claims hs wants nothing to do with "the brat", but can't help sticking his nose in every five minutes because he has residual Dad Instincts and Mevolent is doing it wrong. Any family where Lord Vile is the responsible parent is probably not going to churn out a particularly well-adjusted child, though.

if they ever split up and / or get back together

Nope. They go into it as a casual thing, very much expecting it to fizzle out once one or both of them has had their fill. Two hundred years later, they're still together.

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

A very grand, opulent goth baroque palace. Mevolent spent a lot of his youth in medieval France, and he was highly influenced by extravagant court style. He likes to be surrounded by beautiful things, and his home is no different.

(Yes, material wealth is a sin. No, he's not sorry.)

He likes rich, dark colours and fabrics, ornate furnishings and dark wood and disturbing religious artwork. He also indulges his own vanity every now and then by commissioning religious artwork of himself - including an exquisite stained glass window in the Great Hall, which Vile scoffs at for a year or so and then gleefully flings Abyssinia through.

Most of the day to day running of Mevolent's household is down to a small army of servants, which poses some problems for him early in his relationship with Vile. A maid will slip into his room early in the morning to light the fire so that the room has time to warm before he has to get up for morning prayers. Another servant delivers his breakfast, and for quite some time he has a valet who helps him dress. Any of them could see Vile in his bed and let the secret out.

Luckily for Mevolent, for all his faults, he's a good boss to work for. He knows all the servants he interacts with by name, and asks after their families. He's well-liked, and although the servants know about Vile a long time before Mevolent's inner circle, it's Serpine who spills the beans, not one of the workers.

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? )

They have a rather warped version of a regular date night.

When Mevolent is interrogating Valkyrie, and she thinks she hears Skug coming to save her, three things are really notable:

1) Mevolent knows those footsteps too, and he smiles when he hears them. So not only is he happy to see Vile, this is probably something they do at least semi-regularly - interrogating interesting or high-profile prisoners together. Either Mevolent sent for him, or he knows Vile is too curious to not come look in on an interrogation.

2) The fuckin? Horny shadows? Mevolent has just died a violent death here, Necromancers are confirmed to be able to sense the lingering echoes of death and pain and anguish, and Vile's shadows are like mmmm tasty. This is where the headcanon comes from that he's rabid horny for recently-resurrected Mevolent. And Mev knows he does this, just soaks up all that energy, and he doesn't care. Love is letting your SO get a bit high on your agony vibes every day, I guess?

3) Vile comes to stand right beside the throne, without so much as a hello. This is...considerably more informal than the relationship Mevolent seems to have with Vengeous. In fact, for some reason Mevolent seems to treat Baron very unkindly in Leibniz - Vile is still very much a general and Mevolent's personal bodyguard, but Vengeous has been demoted to prison guard in all but name. When Mevolent starts investigating the draugar, he sends Vengeous into a situation that will very likely kill him, but takes Vile - the most powerful Necromancer alive and a living nuclear bomb of power - with him when he evacuates the city and flees for safety, even though the logical move would've been to reverse those assignments. Vengeous is clearly not personally close with Mevolent, but their synchronicity, constant proximity and the way others speak about them (like Serpine's lapdog comment) imply that Vile is.

This is actually the scene that made me start shipping them in the first place.

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first

Vile isn't a great sleeper - he has nightmares, and he'll often get up several times in the night for water or to go onto the balcony for fresh air or to quietly freak out in the bathroom for half an hour. But he sleeps better once he's sharing a bed with Mevolent. Mev generally runs hot, and he actually quite likes to be close, so he's A-OK with Vile burrowing into his side or under his arm and leeching all his body heat. When he's warm and feels safe, he has fewer nightmares, and he's more likely to get a decent amount of sleep.

Mevolent doesn't always wake first, but he does get up first: he goes to morning prayers, and leaves Vile to sleep in because he's a rotten little heretic.

who’s the big spoon / little spoon

Mevolent is the big spoon. Vile was freakishly tall for most of the centuries he's been alive - the average height of an enlisted soldier in the 16th/17th centuries was 5'5 - 5'6, and 25% of recruits were under the required height to use a musket (5'). So having someone he can sprawl out over who makes him feel small and protected is a novelty.

who hogs the bathroom

Vile. He has long-ass baths because he likes to nap in the warm water. He gets cold easily because he's technically dead and making his fake body thermoregulate takes focus he often just doesn't have, so he just sprawls out in a hot bath or in front of the fire like a fuckin lizard under a heat lamp

who kills the spiders / takes them outside

The servants. They live in a palace. There's an entire staff dedicated to cleaning and tidying and keeping the entire massive building shipshape. Neither of them have to lift a finger.

[atomicblasphemy]

I was bored and decided to speculate on the upcoming Owl House episodes

Buckle up, this got way longer than anticipated.

Often I tend to have as much or even more fun with TOH’s b plots as with the main ones, and seeing the memes the fandom I guess that’s kind of a normal feeling. But this last episode didn’t really have one and I’m pretty glad it didn’t.

Here’s how I’ve been thinking of the show, specially when it comes to episode structure. Pretty much in the first few scenes they will go like “hey, here’s an idea.” Then they go on the rest of the episode showing why that is not such a good idea. Case in point, Understanding Willow’s “out of sight, out of mind” only for the episode turn out as an argument for therapy, or that grom episode with Luz unable to answer her mom’s messages only to do so by the end of the episode (even though that is not a full solution, but still, she’s the main character and that looks like it will a main source of conflict until the show’s end... probably). On today’s episode I feel like it came out in two ways: from Luz perspective it came in the form of her indulging King’s narrative and self-image; on his case, well, it pretty much boils down to that whole identity crisis thing.

In other words, although in a certain way there are two big stories being told they both are a part of the same plot line. Moreover, King is a part of the show’s main trio.

Now, this may just be my own perception, but I feel like the last five or so episodes were kind of meant to be some turning point for specific characters, in this sequence: King, Willow, Luz, Amity, Eda, Lilith. Those episodes seem, again, at least to me, to mark some form of shift in the characters story. For Lilith it was her betraying the Emperor, for Eda it was learning who cursed her and her imprisonment for Luz’s sake in a way (learning she grew to care for Luz over her own well-being), for Amity it was her taking a first tangible step towards getting out from her parent’s dominion (which culminates in the events of EE) and becoming her own person, for Luz it was confronting the fact her biggest fear is somewhat related to guilty about how she left her world and her mom and finding in herself (and the friends she made in the Isles) the fortitude to actually confront all that, for Willow it was what I said before (which, btw, ends her whole arc that started on the conjuring episode, the whole thing about her and Amity’s friendship). The only one of those I can’t really see clearly what the episode’s point really was is King’s Really Small Problems.

Again, going on a bit of subjectivity here but I feel like that episode was kind of the show’s lowest point so far. First of, there’s the fact that Willow, Gus, and especially Luz don’t apologize to King because, I mean, they were pretty much about as guilty for everything that happened as him. They did either hijack or forget his day with Luz, so you know... Buuut, still, if I were to hazard a guess as to what the point on that episode I’d say it circles around the line “The King of Demons misses nobody.” early in the episode being contrasted by “Demons do crazy things when they’ve been missing someone.” In other words, the point of the episode, to my best guess would be him starting to deal with a shifting sense of identity.

So, this brings us to the current season. If I’m right in my understanding of Really Small Problems, then that’d mean that Echoes of the Past is picking up on that episode’s thread. Likewise, the same can be said about Escaping Expulsion. And in a sense, both King and Amity’s (moreso in Amity’s case, admittedly) arc seem to have in a way concluded with those two episodes. Moreover, going by the episode’s synopsis the next upcoming episodes seem to also doing something similar: either picking up a previous storyline and finishing it, or starting new ones. Separate Tides would be a bit of an exception, since it was the premiere and had to reacquaint the audience with the world and characters, but even then I feel it sets up a potential point of conflict for Luz in the form of her guilt over Eda’s loss of magic.

Then, again, going off a limb here, but I’d guess that, from episodes 2 to 8 the main objects will be, in this order, Amity, King, Lilith (going by the trailer implying we’ll see her beast form), Gus (who thus far didn’t really have a longer story arc beyond The First Day), Luz, Eda (which, given how it introduces a new character from her past I’d imagine it would mark the beginning of a new arc for her). But I feel bored so I want to elaborate a bit further.

Episode 4: Lilith, maybe (this part is pretty esoteric, to be honest), possibly, starts to come to grips with the consequences of sharing the curse while, due to mamma Clawthorne’s visit, seeing their past in a more nuanced fashion. I mean, Mamma Clawthorne is in the beast keeping coven, her presence while her first born daughter literally turns into a best could make for some interesting potential stories. Anyhow, I think some other interesting thing will have to do with Eda. As I said I can’t really see an arc or something along those lines happening with her as of right now. Now, bare with me while I go on a bit of a tangent. So, in Understanding Willow Willow herself is the object of the story, however in that episode we also get to see the cause of them falling apart was Odalia and Alador threatening Amity indirectly. By doing that the upcoming conflict regarding her gets established. Then next, at the Grom episode, we as the audience learn that Amity is at least attracted to Luz. There’s no point on getting too deep into this beyond this: her crush on Luz works as a strong reason, from her perspective, to stand up to her parents. Then at the Grudgby episode we see her taking active steps towards getting more agency in her life from them when she chooses to play against two people her parents sanctioned as suitable companions. Eventually this would culminate in the EE episode as I already talked at length about. The reason I’m bringing all of this up is because I get the feeling Eda’s upcoming story will follow some similar lines, whatever happens here (and will either be developed or solved on episode 7) will be set up at this episode.

Episode 5: As I said, I don’t really see clearly what Gus’ main conflict is, and I would imagine that this episode will either make that more evident or outright introduce it, so I don’t feel I’m in the position to speculate the specifics. However, we do know that the B plot is Lumity and I’ll need to dwell on this one a bit longer. After season one, I had this guess that this ship would become cannon somewhere between episode 3 at the earliest and 7 at the lastest. The reason I thought so, and I still think there’s no solid reason to reject this hypothesis, was that after WiLW the only thing standing in the way from Amity coming clean about her feelings was probably her relationship with her parents. UW set that up, WiLW took a first step in that direction, EE went through with it. Moreover, I thought that’d be in line with what we had shown of the show’s pacing up until that point. So, basically the situation I see here goes along the lines of setting up a new source of conflict for Amity (in the form of Luz eventually leaving the Isles), and for Luz in the form of (if my guess of Lumity becoming cannon in this specific episode is correct) the start of a new relationship, something she never experienced before, which would make her question whether or not she actually wants to go back to the human realm, or at the very least muddy the water a tad. However, I am not so dead certain they’ll become cannon (and, btw, by cannon I mean simply an unequivocal sign that their relationship changed, however the showrunners decide that should look like.) Moreover, that only gets accentuated if the thing she’s helping Luz with is a portal. In other words, my “prediction” that it’d become cannon around this time was mostly due to me feeling that turning them into a will they won’t they at this point would be tantamount to the show chasing its own tail, but that’d feel uncharacteristic of the show, in light of the first season. That being said, if I’m right about there being this upcoming conflict about Luz having to decide between the Isles and the human realm (which may or may not keep on developing until the shows finale, but I digress), then it wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. If handled well her being uncertain as to whether or not to take the leap with Amity could potentially be an interesting way convey her internal conflict. Still, I think that having those two be together would be more effective in give her one more strong argument in favor of staying in the Isles. Besides, there’s my thoughts about the following episode which would make the will they won’t they approach redundant. Also, the fact Amity is the one

Episode 6: Pretty much would pick up on the place it left Luz in the previous episode, again, if and only if my speculations so far are right. Two things the synopsis doesn’t really make clear: why Luz is having problem hunting a palisman; and who the foe in question is. Now, I know we see her carrying Golden Boi’s staff. I’m choosing to ignore this for now because I would actually have Boscha (who we see in one of the teasers), and who would kind of go along with some hints at her redemption like that “you’re a really good friend...” line. Besides, if this palisman thing is a part of Hexside’s curriculum it would make sense that she’d be in the same situation as Luz. Not to mention that Golden Boi helping her gain access to a weapon she can and most likely will turn against him and his boss seems pretty odd. Ultimately, however, the identity of this foe is inconsequential. The main point of interest for me is the reason why she is having trouble finding herself a palisman. We don’t know the specifics of palisman adoption or creation, so I will try not to depend to much on it. But here’s the gist: getting a palisman as a commitment not only to the palisman itself but to the world. Whatever happens between her and Amity and going by the mad logic I’m using, her sense of belonging would probably be completely scrambled even before the episode starts. Being made to make a commitment like that in midst of an existential crisis of sorts as a means to create internal conflict in Luz, that’s what I’m trying to argue is the point of this episode. Also, before I move on to another thing I think is pretty important and I’ve decided to say it now because I don’t want to rework the structure of a rambling session that’s already way longer than I expected: we see Camilla in the trailer, I think this would be the best moment to put her. The reason for that is simple enough. In the A plot we see Luz trying to decide where she belongs to, and working towards becoming more and more part of the Isles figurative landscape; on the b plot however we would get to see in the form of Camilla that she still has a home in the human realm, that there’s still someone who loves her a lot and is doing everything within her power to get her back or at least to ensure she is safe and sound. Not to mention, it would be a great moment to bring up those letters we see at the end of the Grom episode, but I’ll get to that when I get to that.

Now, that important thing I wanted to talk about: the overall message of the show. I think I said this before but my favorite thing about Luz is the effect she has on the other character, essentially she is the catalyst to their growth. She is the one that ensured Willow would confront her past with Amity resulting in her getting rid of the hang ups that were holding her back allowing her to forge her own path. She is the reason why Amity chooses to stand up for herself. She is the reason why Lilith is capable of hope to rekindle her relationship with her sister thus empowering her to break away from the Emperor. She is the reason why Eda now has some reason to, as she put it herself, “stop wasting away her magic”, she gives her something to look forward to. Hell, even if we are just starting to see it, I’m positive we can make an argument that she’s why King became more open to the possibility he is not who he thought he was, making him see himself more as who he is to the people he cares about than a dethroned king of demons.

In a sense Luz seems to find all other characters in something of a stagnation point of their. A sort of fatalistic view of their own identities, be it in a more “ontological” sense, according to my interpretation, as in Lilith and Amity’s case, or as products of Lady Luck’s whims as for Willow and Eda. {Sidenote: For me at least Lumity’s mutual crush always made more sense on Amity’s end than on Luz’s and in a certain way it still does despite EE. Case in point, if I were to pin point the precise moment her feelings towards started shaping up in a way that makes infatuation possible it would that “I’m not a witch, but I’m working hard to become”. If what I’m saying is not absolute non-sense, then this would have been a “Holy shit. You can actually do that? You can actually have enough agency over your own life to that extent do something like that?”. I mean, their following interaction, at the library has her looking like “Ok, maybe I was just a wee bit of a needlessly belligerent dick just now” after she pushes Luz away from her offering to help when reading to kids.}

To put it succinctly: the message of the show is that your identity, who you are as a person, is not the product  of a pre-existent essence but of who you actively choose to be. That even if one is not capable of deciding their circumstances (like Willow, Eda, or Amity), that are the choices one makes as they go about living their lives that determine their identity. And by centering Luz’s core conflict now as where her belonging lies only for it to be solved at the show’s finale by having her, the main character, effectively having to make this choice, to realize she belongs to wherever she decides she belongs to would be a pretty poignant way to get this point across.

So yeah, if my guesses so far are right this may as well be one of the show’s most important episodes.

Anyway, back to my esoteric predictions about the upcoming episodes...

Episode 7: Eda and Rayne. Now, I don’t to sound like a party pooper or something, but we don’t really have a reason to predict those two having a romantic connection. There’s no reason to necessarily refuse this possibility a priori either though. I mean, the further I get into the future episode the less I have to work with in terms of speculation. We don’t really know where her story is heading, and I feel like I already covered it enough when I was talking about ep 4. But there are two things I want to point out. First, like Mama Clawthorne, Rayne is a figure from Eda’s past, so whatever conflict she may have to sort through from now on stems from her past. The specifics are up to anyone’s guess, so yeah, it is perfectly possible that those two were a couple or something along those lines at some point in the past. But other than that picture that shows that they were somewhat close, we really don’t have much to go by. Second thing, and this is not really all that important. If the foe from episode 6 is not Golden Boi, I think this will be the episode on which the two interact (again, that picture of Luz with his staff, we know they will get to interact at some point, and this seems to be the one episode out of all we have a synopsis for that depends the least on Luz for the main story).

Episode 8: Just imagine me blowing raspberries. I got nothing for this one, except that: a - I really hope Axel Rose does not get to be a guest voice acting role, same goes for Slash and that bassist I keep forgetting the name of; b - I hate this expression, but this really strike me as a “filler episode”, or a breather as I’ve seem someone put it. Still, as much as with anything else I could be wrong here.

But before I move on, there are three very important characters I haven’t talked about enough thus far at least in terms of speculation. Gus, Willow, and Bellos. So I’ll address the three of them just now. Bellos: he is the force that will ultimately make Luz confronting the question about where her belonging lies all but unavoidable; essentially - and I know I must sound like a broken record, but if and only if my take is right - his actions are not all that important to the story and its message because he is less of a character and more something akin to a force of nature. Gus: again, not so sure where his story will go or if he even has one in a more strict sense as the other characters. Frankly that’s one of the  aspects of the show I find the hardest to form an opinion on, unlike the others he sort of feels complete, that makes him pretty neat but also means that there’s less stuff you can do to him, less places you can take his character and develop it. That being said, I think he has a function in the show and he fulfills it pretty nicely. Besides, they can always just go and introduce new aspects to him we just can’t foresee as of now (which might as well happen in episode 5 for all we know). Either way, I have nothing but adoration for this precious boy. Now, Willow. As I mentioned, as far as I can tell her character got pretty much done with at Understand Willow. It was really weird for me when I watched that episode because it is until now my absolute favorite of the series (although Echoes fro the Past is putting up a pretty solid fight), the first thing I thought afterwards was “Idk how many seasons the show has left, but it feels a bit too soon for a defining moment like this and I don’t know what else they can do with her.” I mean, you could argue that the Grudgby episode seems to kinda sorta set up a conflict between her and Boscha, but that story seems to concern more Luz and Amity’s characters, especially the ladder. Willow and Boscha act more as a means to make Amity take that first step and for Luz to learn not to start a mosh pit in a Radiohead concert. That being said, I feel like she is now in a similar position to Gus’: either a new unforeseen source of conflict for her or they simply leave her to occupy a fixed role in the story. Personally, I’d much rather they introduce new stories and conflicts for them, not only that would help push for that overall message I was raving on about, but I also just wanna see more of them. I adore all characters in this show, I have fun with them and want to keep doing so until the show ultimately ends.

Almost done, I promise. Just a tad more of your patience, that’s all I’m asking. I will not revise or edit this so hopefully I’m still making a semblance of sense. I mean, if you’re reading this sentence then it probably means I am. Otherwise I can only ask you one thing: why?

Now, Eclipse Lake, or episode 9. As I said when talking about episode 7, we are now in too distant a territory for me to feel any confident as to my basis. Take all of this as more wishful thinking than anything else. So, you know, if you have a tin foil hat at hand now would be a good time to put it on.

Going by this episode’s synopsis as well as episode 5′s it makes it sound that Amity will become steadily a more central point to the whole portal conundrum. She is the one going on about it more than anyone else. There’s a first a fairly obvious reason why she put herself in that position: she has a gargantuan  crush on the girl and wants to spend as much time as physically possible with her. There’s also a secondary reason why she would want to do that, and for that I’d need to bring up those letters Camilla has or had been receiving.

Now, I’m aware I can’t really make an ironclad argument for her being the one writing them. However, it is more than a bit suspicious that those letters would be brought to attention immediately after we see a piece of writing that we know for a fact was written by her and seeing how closely those two handwrittings match. Not every piece of scenary put by an author necessarily be a Tchekov’s gun, but this one reaaally looks to be the case, still circumstantial evidence so tin foil hats or whatever. Moreover, as I on at length before, Amity’s story up to this point was that of someone learning to be her own person and aim for her own goals, in this sense I can see her decision for writing those letters as an early and not stellarly thought out way to do that even if well meaning. Like a poorly articulated if good intentioned act made by someone who doesn’t really understands why she’s doing what she’s doing, what it entails, or what the full length of the consequences could be. I mean, she is a kid after all, and she is bound to have a few hiccups along her way to self-discovery. Again, I’ll get to it when I get to it. Lastly, however, the second reason why she would have a reason to volunteer to help Luz with her portal situation: if she is the one sending those letters then she has access to some form of a portal herself, be it fully functioning like Eda’s or just capable to dispatch smaller objects that’s not really the point. The point is that, if all I’m saying is right she will be put in a very strange situation. If she is possession of a portal and is “helping” Luz find one, then she’d essentially be lying to her much like Luz herself is in a sense lying to Camilla. Moreover, she’d be at this point one of the characters with the largest amount of reasons to delay Luz’s return to the human realm as much as possible, meaning that the question she’ll have to answer would probably go along these lines: do I act in self-interest, lie or maybe even do some sabotage, and make sure I keep the person I’m growing to love next to me, ooooor do I act accordingly to this love and help her achieve her goal which could potentially mean I’ll never see her again?

Also, season one’s finale had an ambiguous title. Young Blood, Old Souls can just as easily be taken as referring to Eda as well as to Lilith, the two focal points of that episode’s conflict. Likewise here, “Yesterday’s Lies” could be taken as either a reference to Luz’s lies to Camilla, or these hypothetical lies Amity may be telling Luz. That means, in this hypothetical mid-season finale I’m conceiving here these two would be the focal points of conflict (maybe alongside Camilla).

In any case, a possible counter to everything I’m saying here is Dana stating that romance was not the show’s endgame, and that is not what I’m suggesting. I have more to speculate on Amity’s role, so going from that I can say that this would in a way be a continuation of what we saw in EE. Something like: Okay, so you want to become your own person, in order to do that I’ll have to make some tough decisions, here’s your first one. It’s like confronting this infant who just took its first steps with the knowledge she’s actually running a marathon.

Anyhow, I don’t really feel well equipped to speculate on how things would play out on Luz’s end so let’s shake things up a bit and try to see things from Camilla’s perspective before getting to the long awaited conclusion. And by long awaited I mean me, this was more tiring than I expected but what the hell, I’m almost done. I can see the finish line already, so yeah. 

So, Camilla. What we know given the trailer and the Grom episode is essentially this: she is most likely aware Luz never made to the Reality Check Camp in the first place, and that regardless of where she is there’s someone who (up until the Grom episode) was sending her these comforting messages. If and only if, all I’ve said is right then well have a line of communication between one of Luz’s big arguments for staying in the Isles and her biggest argument for coming back.

Hold on to your tin foil hats, y’all need it. Because my next point is: once Camilla finds out that the letters she’d been receiving up to that are more than a bit sketchy (her ooooohhhh face at the trailer could be that) and if she has some means of responding to them, which I mean... That’s the closest thing to a lead as to Luz’s whereabouts she has, she most likely would confront this hypothetical Amity if that’s the case. If the stars align just right there’s a pretty good chance Amity would give the broad strokes of Luz‘s situation in as much a cryptic fashion as she can, as well as start creating some form rappor with Camilla. Meaning that that choice she’d have to make as I mentioned before would get this extra layer of nuance, because now she knows beyond any doubt that if Luz does cross the portal she’d be with someone who deeply cares about her. Moreover, if I’m right about Amity’s upcoming conflict centering around her apprehension with Luz crossing the portal, her correspondence with Camilla could be a way for her to overcome this fear, for better or for worse. In other words, Camilla possibly unknowing giving her potential daughter-in-law the necessary tools for her to grow as a person. And honestly, I think that would be a pretty cool story.

And that could cause a pretty interesting dynamic between the three of them: Luz not sure as to who she wants to chose to become and most likely getting very upset once she learns of Amity’s lie, whilst still wanting (I don’t really have a defense for this I just think it’d be interesting) to keep her first romantic or potentially romantic relationship, while also being worried as to how things would be with her mother considering her own lie; Amity lying to Luz, while trying to balance out her on desires versus her loved one well-being; and Camilla having mixed feeling about Amity or whoever wrote those letters (they did lie to her after all), worrying like crazy about Luz and also feeling a tad upset at Luz’s lie. 

And holy shit I think that does it. I’m done.

Anyone, next finale is “Luz x Camilla x Amity”, that out of the way like Lilith x Eda and Lilith x Luz, my guess is that season 2.5 finale would be “Gus and Willow x Luz” or “Luz x Eda and King”, the finale finale therefore would most like be Luz x Luz.

Ci vediamo.

{Couple of edits I just thought would be important:

1 - I know that considering what I’ve said regarding the mid-season final may seem like a bit too much for a 20 something minutes episode. But I mean, this fandom and Amphibia’s seem to overlap quite a bit, and we all saw the metric ton of information they threw at us during True Colors. All that I’ve said seem to me well withing the realm of possibility.

2 - In the EXTREMELY unlikely chance I’m absolutely on point on everything I’ve just spouted (Despite being purposefully vague. But oh well. We can argue the semantics of vagueness some other time) I’ll consider this fandom as owing me a rendition of The Number of the Beast’s cover art (the album, not the single... not even I am morbid enough for that) featuring the Owl Beast, Belos and Kikimora or the Golden Boi. I call it the Owl Maiden. Will I go aggro if no one does that? No. Do I have means to demand it in any forceful way that would grant that I’d get to see said rendition? hahahaha I obviously don’t. Will I be poutty? Yes, that will 100% happen. But really, that would be for the benefit of us as a community. I mean, that look pretty awesome and you can’t argue otherwise.}

[its-whitetomorrow]

Sun & Moon Complete Collection (Fixed Rocket Gang)

Available on Anidex & Anirena trackers, I can finally rest in peace :D 

The general tendency to bring back past characters and reference old events in Journeys has become such a strong statement that past events are in fact 100% canon, something phenomenal that hasn’t really happened before on such a scale in Pokemon anime. This was the final push that motivated me to share this collection for everyone who might find it satisfying and would love a perfectly balanced collection of episodes that can deliver sensible continuity during binge-watching, Rocket Gang TRio included!

The complete collection of Sun and Moon series but Rocket Gang is "fixed" here so the continuity between BW-XY-SM-Journeys as well as future series seems less jarring. It is similar to my complete collection of XY series (available soon!) - they both contribute to overreaching Team Rocket TRio continuity between series that doesn't mistreat the characters in the aftermath of messy transition from BW to XY and remains acceptable as continuous canon. Besides, even if you aren’t a Rocket Gang fan this complete collection has still plenty to offer you – consistency and consequence that’s on par with everything else in the series, and if you’re a careful viewer you will no longer be left with the “why are they even still employed” impression when transitioning to the next series.

Episodes are the same quality as original uploads by the sub teams – PM and Some-Stuffs releases. All edits were done with lossless methods, timings of subtitles were readjusted where needed.

Key features of this collection: - Their “must earn cash” episodes aren’t random and completely out of place but instead with clear progression towards the Malasada stand. - The Malasada side business doesn’t actually leave you with the convoluted impression that’s all they do in Alola and they are aware it doesn’t matter to HQ. - Better pacing after the reveal of Ultra Beasts, some gentle nods towards potential ongoing investigations. - No, they don’t need yet ANOTHER job as announcers at Battle Royal... presumably there to keep an eye on the twerps or as part of their heist plan. -  Minor successes, the most of all they’ve actually provided the boss with useful intel about Nekrozma that he can now act upon. Also, their relationship with Matori is less strained and they don’t actually *betray* Team Rocket in such a forced, contrived plot point with zero consequences only to be given the gacha in Journeys. They’re clearly dedicated, capable of some achievements, but a bit weird, awkwardly distracted and short on luck – if anything, the gacha kinda makes more sense now. - Pacing all across the board is better! - Their participation in the league has slightly better reasoning behind it. - More subtle but useful changes where needed!

Enjoy!~~

[opbackgrounds]

Alright, friends, you know the drill by now. Here’s Part III of Sarcasticles’ overblown thoughts on sexism in One Piece. If you haven’t already, go read Part I and Part II before proceeding. 

I promise after this I’ll be done. By hook or by crook, we’re getting through the point of the original question. To the Anon who originally sent the ask, sorry it took this long to get here, I hope it’s helpful.

Also, I allude to some very, very minor Wano spoilers, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing here’s your warning. 

Characterization? I Don’t Know Her

What makes a good character?

I’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about character designs, when, funnily enough, it’s one of the aspects I pay the least attention to when it comes to deciding if I like how an author portrays their characters. I personally don’t care for fanservice, never have and never will. But unless it’s particularly egregious, I tend to ignore it because there are other factors I think are more important. 

The secret sauce for building characters is hard to define, because a good writer can take a concept that has no right being any good and turn it into something incredible (Oda does this all the time) where bad writers will seemingly slot all the right information in the right holes and still have their characters come out of the developmental oven flat and under cooked. 

One of the biggest buzzwords floating around these days is agency. Is a character active in their own story, or are they jerked around by the needs of the plot? Is their voice heard? Is their voice unique, or do they blend in with the background?

This is particularly important, because the term Strong Female Protagonist has been warped into shorthand for “girl who fights a lot and looks pretty doing it”. You can have a girl strong enough to lift mountains and still have her be a shit character. You can write a girl who’s main motivation is to get married and have babies with phenomenal depth. What matters is execution. 

The Petition to Call A Group of Rescue Arcs a ‘Damsel’

Both Nami and Robin had to be rescued, their main arcs bearing similarities that are impossible to ignore. But these aren’t copies of one another as much as variations on a theme, and with the existence of Marineford and Whole Cake Island I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that One Piece’s rescue arcs are a girl’s thing. At this point it’s a feature, not a bug. 

Which makes sense given how fundamental the idea freedom is to the series. Hell, the first thing Luffy does after becoming a pirate is free Coby from Alvida’s tyrannical reign. Then he frees Zoro from an unjust authority that would have killed him had Luffy not intervened.

Notice a pattern here? 

One Piece is written like Pachelbel Canon, in that a very simple core of ideas are repeated over and over with layers of complexity and nuance added over time, examining the same themes from every possible angle. 

And when you look at the Four Big Rescue Arcs -- Nami, Robin, Ace, Sanji -- you’ll see that it’s Ace who’s given the least agency throughout his arc. Nami chose to hijack the Going Merry, repeatedly chose to push away the Straw Hats until she reached her breaking point, at which she chose to ask for help, with Luffy only intervening once she does. 

Robin is a little less obvious, but during the post-Water 7 party chapters, Aokiji makes the interesting observation that Robin could have escaped CP9, but chose not to

Remember that before Robin’s backstory was shown, Luffy specifically said he didn’t care if she wanted to die or not, so long as she was with the Straw Hats when she made her decision. No one bullied her into “I wanna live”. It was a choice she made of her own volition after realizing the depths the Straw Hats would go on her behalf.

I know there are people who disagree with me, but Nami and Robin are well-written characters. I’ve expounded enough on my reasoning both here and on my main that I don’t want to spend the time belaboring the point. What I do want is to note that Luffy wouldn’t be able to attain his dreams without them. Nami keeps them on course while also severing as a sort of moral compass for the crew -- remember she was the one who insisted on saving the giant kids at Punk Hazard -- while Robin’s ability to read the poneglyphs is what’s going to get the crew to Raftel.

Robin admittedly doesn’t have the same presence within the Straw Hat Pirates as Nami, but I would hardly call that sexism. Since Water 7/Enies Lobby she’s been pretty content to go with whatever Luffy says, and the fact that she’s literally quieter than anyone else in the crew means she doesn’t get as much focus. I think there could be more scenes with her using her specific skill set, like her investigations in Wano and the forensic anthropology scene in the pre-Jaya chapters, but I’m okay with her being a supporting character. 

The East Blue Crew have consistently gotten the most focus of any of the Straw Hats. They are the core of the crew, something Oda admits in a roundabout way in the Color Walk where they all appear together for the first time in a color spread

With the main cast as large as it is, not everyone is going to have the same amount of focus or development. Robin is given a unique voice within the story because she doesn’t overreact the way literally everyone else does. Through her silence, she stands out. I find there to be very meaningful character development when she feels comfortable enough with the Straw Hats to start calling them by name in Thriller Bark, relaxed enough with her friends to comitt her first facefaults in a series lousy with them in both Dressrosa and Wano.

In an ideal world, Oda would better rotate through his cast, much like how Brook was the unsung MVP on Whole Cake Island (where Nami was also excellent in a supporting role) but I don’t think people realize how hard it is to juggle almost a dozen different people in a story that’s bloated exponentially over time. To his credit, Oda has handled his expanding crew better than most writers. 

I also find it hard to judge this aspect of the series because the manga’s not done yet. I don’t know how Robin and Nami will be used in the future. I mean, Robin never got a chapter title declaring her “The Seventh” which I find suspicious, so Oda could very well have events in store that completely turn our perceptions upside down. It’s impossible to say.

I will acknowledge that the lack of big fights is somewhat disappointing, but neither Robin nor Nami’s dreams revolve around them getting stronger. Robin doesn’t need to use her power to make people explode from the inside out, Nami doesn’t need to fry end-game bosses with her lightning stick. That’s simply not their narrative purpose. With the exception of Tashigi, I’ve found that the female characters advertised as fighters have lived up to their billing. Hancock came out of Marineford unscathed. Carrot’s sulong form was awesome, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. The whole climax of Whole Cake Island revolved around surviving Big Mom’s wrath. Not beating her, not fighting her, it took all the Straw Hats had to just survive. Once again you’re left with a number’s game where where there just aren’t enough female characters to even pretend things are balanced.

All said, I think if you’re going to complain about the lack of Robin fights then I think you also have to complain about the lack of Brook fights, and that’s just not something you hear about, especially after Whole Cake Island. You can’t have it both ways. Either there needs to be more even distribution of major fights throughout the entire crew, or you have to acknowledge that a character’s worth isn’t dependent on their fighting prowess. 

One Piece is a battle manga, and I do think that it’s fair to criticize when a character isn’t allowed to fight when they’re perfectly capable of kicking ass. But it’s also an adventure story, and that opens up entirely new space for a character to occupy, and that’s where I think Nami and Robin (but especially Nami) really shine

That Moment You Realize Humor Isn’t A Universal Language

I’ve spent so much time defending Oda’s designs and characters that it might seem like I’m perfectly okay with everything that’s portrayed in the manga. To be clear, I’m not. If the messages and comments I’ve gotten over the past several days have taught me anything, it’s that many fans share the same sticking points I do, namely in regards to some of the gags. 

I again want to be careful here, because I’m hardly an expert on Japanese culture and it’s really hard to tell if Oda writes his jokes because he thinks they’re funny, or if he thinks his audience will find them funny. I’m again going to default to somewhere in the middle, because if Oda truly found the perviness distasteful he probably wouldn’t have included it, and I’ve read enough SBS to know the guy likes his dick jokes. 

First and foremost, one must address the culture gap. Japan ranks last among G7 nations on gender equality, In 2004 two-thirds of Tokyo women in their 20-30s reported to being groped while on public transport. There are numerous barriers that make it difficult for a woman to succeed either in the workplace or politics. 

From what I can gather, some of these trends are reversing, albeit slowly and with great resistance. Contrary to what many people seem to believe culture is not always value neutral. And I say that as an American, recognizing there are plenty of things about my culture and country that are really fucked up. 

But who gets to decide who’s right and who’s wrong?

When inside that kind of environment, that kind of culture, it’s a lot easier to understand how a character like Sanji can exist. It’s easy to understand why Momo shoving his face into Nami and Robin’s boobs might be played for laughs. It’s not an excuse, but an explanation. And with Sanji failing more often than not, being the butt of his own joke as he slowly turns into a parody of what he once was, one could almost say Oda is pointing those types of people and saying, “Look how pathetic this guy is. Now go laugh as he gets a nosebleed so bad he needs multiple blood transfusions in order to not die.”

I say almost, because Sanji is never condemned for his actions, nor does he learn from them. Instead you have this character who’s supposed to be one of the kindest characters in the series decide to immediately go peep on a woman’s bath house after gaining the power of invisibility. 

Stay classy, Oda.

As distasteful as I find it, I don’t find fanservice to be an inherently evil thing that must be eradicated at all costs, and with Oda doing things like putting his entire cast, male and female, into skintight leathers you can hardly say that he’s excluding the men. 

Everyone will have their line in the sand, and mine goes back to agency. When Nami did her Happiness Punch way back in Alabasta, that was of her own volition. When Nami and Robin dress in clothes that show everything but the nipple, that’s something they chose and feel comfortable in. 

But when Smoker and Tashigi swapped bodies at Punk Hazard, Tashigi specifically asked Smoker not to strip, and he did anyway, opening her coat and removing her bra. This is especially egregious as Tashigi is one of the very few women in the series who is always shown wearing very conservative clothing. Oda specifically showed Tashigi getting upset at Smoker’s actions, and Smoker repeatedly refusing to listen to her.   

That’s where I draw my line. 

Some Final Thoughts I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere Else 

Thought The First--Oda has an interesting habit of turning his most despicable, scummy pieces of flaming human garbage into the butt of the joke. Villains like Crocodile and Doflamingo are certainly evil, but it’s the idealized, cool type of evil that makes you almost admire them. There aren’t very many real-world Crocodiles, but just about everyone knows a Spandam, or an Absalom, or a Vander Decken. These kinds of villains aren’t scary because of their physical prowess, but their unyielding obsessions and the power they’re able to wring from the system, and -- surprise, surprise -- all three are either actively trying to be creepy sex pests or coded as such with the visual language of the comic.   

And Oda turns them into a mockery. 

While there are some who feel like not treating serious issues like sexual assault seriously are doing a disservice to people who have endured similar experiences I think there’s merit to turning them into a laughingstock. As someone much smarter than me said once, if an opinion cannot withstand mockery it’s revealed to be ridiculous, and these scummy-scum villains are certainly ridiculous.

Thought The Second--It’s hard to say how much sexism is a thing in-universe. Kuina is the only one who is explicitly told her dreams were impossible because of her gender, but with the recent reveal confirming that her family came from Wano, which in turn is based on Feudal Japan, it’s hard to say how widespread these beliefs are. Tashigi brought it up again at Loguetown and Bellemere specifically told her girls that they lived in an era where “girls needed to be strong, too”, but otherwise it’s not a topic that’s been explored in any depth

Thought The Third--The in-universe fetishization of mermaids has some implications that I think are unintended but worth discussing. Shirahoshi has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful women in the world despite not leaving her tower for over 10 years (she’s 16). Mermaids whose tails have split are worth less on the slave market than those whose are intact. Even Zoro erased Kokoro from his memory after meeting the more attractive Caime. It’s one of those odd things that when combined with the more obvious racism themes could have some unfortunate implications, and I think could have been avoided had Oda show a little more restraint with some of his jokes. Unintended consequences are still consequences. 

Thought The Forth--There are many other instances throughout the series that people bring up with talking about sexism in One Piece. I feel like a lot of these can be explained away individually -- for example, both Belo Betty and Rebecca’s stripperific outfits were inspired by other media, the painting Liberty of the People and Red Sonja respectively; Lola chasing after an obviously abusive man makes a whole lot more sense when you meet Big Mom; Hancock’s love sickness could be seen as an emotionally stunted woman experiencing her first crush, etc., etc -- it’s when they’re all put together that they begin to read as “Problematic”. 

It would be impossible to go over all these individually, but I tend to fall on the side of leniency. In the end, everyone has to make their own decisions based on their own values. I’m hardly unbiased, and my enjoyment for the series will undoubtedly make me look the other way when another might call the exact same incident The Worst Thing Ever. The thing is, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most are convinced that theirs don’t stink. I include myself in that statement. In the end it’s a comic for kids. It’s supposed to be fun. 

Thought The Last--I have spent entirely too much of my time writing this up, but in the end I guess I have to go back to what I said when I talked about my thoughts on Sanji: Everyone has their own personal line of acceptable bullshit, and for me Oda does more good than bad. Sanji specifically gets very little leniency from me because I don’t like a lot of the gross behavior Oda passes over as a joke. But the female characters themselves, generally speaking? They’re fine. There are other mangaka that have more equal male to female ratios or have women play more active roles in the story, but Oda does a lot better than most other shonen titles I’ve read. 

It’s okay to be critical of media you enjoy. It’s okay to complain. But remember that One Piece is a very long series, and there are some fans who have been a round for literally decades. I myself started reading weekly around the time Duval was introduced, way back in 2008. Every time a new batch of fans comes in the same old arguments get stirred to the top of the pot: Sanji is a creep, Oda can’t draw women, why doesn’t Robin ever get to fight?

It can be exhausting to go through the same hoops time and time again. So if you’re someone who is being critical and feel like no one is listening, or that a bunch of fans are going out of their way to defend Oda, that could be one of the reasons why. They’re tired of having a series they enjoy be shit on. 

There are other fans who legitimately don’t think that Oda’s done anything wrong, that jokes are just jokes. If you happen to fall in that category, remember that not everyone feels that way. Art reflects life, which in turn reflects art. One Piece is a few million copies away from outselling Batman. To say it isn’t influential to young readers, both in Japan and abroad, is beyond asinine. 

I thank everyone who’s taken the time to read this so far. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how civil the discussion and my inbox as stayed. Even if I didn’t respond to your message, I promise that I did read it. 

I wrote as much as I did because I know this is a topic a lot of people care about, and also so I hopefully don’t have to write about it again. A lot of hours has gone into this project, and it’s been exhausting, but in a good way, if that makes any sense. I’m ready to put it to rest. 

I was joking with some friends that I think I’ve hit just about every hot topic issue now, so hopefully I can go back to fun questions like speculating if Wapol can eat a person and poop out a devil fruit. 

Until then, Sarcasticles, out         

[sunshineandbeyblade]

According to Plan - Suoh x yandere reader

Word count:3,293 Warnings: yandere, slight described gore, attempted murder A/n: I enjoyed writing this. It’s a perspective that I haven’t seen a lot in x readers. Fun fact: I finished this on Bakugou’s birthday (2020). Reader is the same age as Suoh

The salty sea air filled your nose. The light breeze ruffled your hair. You were on a boat in the middle of the sea alright. The Battleship Cruise to be precise.

Like the Wild Bey Gang and Naru, you had stowed away on the ship. Only the bladers invited and the ship crew were allowed, but you knew you had to go. Unlike the others, you weren't there for Aiger or Ranjiro, you were there for Suoh. You knew him from Beigoma academy, though you hardly ever talked to him. You could never find the courage, yet you knew you wanted to be close to him and be with him. It may sound silly that you liked him that much, and never talked to him, you even admitted that to yourself. The reason was that you were worried of accidentally ruining your chances with him, or getting a rude comment. If he decided to talk to you himself, you'd handle it a lot better. Though, it seemed like that wouldn't be happening any time soon.

Even if you didn't talk to him at all, you still wanted to be around him. It made you happy and your heart beat faster from simply seeing him. Who knows, maybe if you were around him long enough, he'd end up falling for you. Even if it was small feelings, it'd still be something.

Currently you were wandering around the ship just for fun. You had nothing better to do. There was a perpetual smile present on your face as your arms swung freely by your side. You bounced on your feet as if springs were installed in them. Simply being on a cruise ship radiated a joyous, carefree feeling.

The wind floated into your ear with a sound that brought you out of your obvious, blissful daydream like flicking off a television. It sounded like someone said Suoh's name. It could have very well been the wind, simply playing tricks on you and taking advantage of your tied up heart. However, you wanted to investigate, just in case and to satisfy your curiosity.

You listened intently, your ears trained for any sort of sound that could be words. As you approached, you began to pick up a conversation. The voice sounded familiar, yet you couldn't place who's voice it was. You bit your lip in frustration and paid attention.

"... That day, y'know, the one when you strutted into the Wild Bey Gang like a boss."

Who was that? 

Judging by her mentioning the Bey Gang, it might have been Gumita. You came to a stop at a corner, the one that covered the entrance into the ship. Upon looking, you immediately saw that it was Gumita talking to Suoh on the starboard side of the boat, opposite of your side.

What. The. Heck. Was. She. Wearing? Instead of her usual loose, pink, jumpsuit, she had a white, flowy sundress with a large brimmed hat. She looked like someone out of an old, summer romance movie. Where did she even get it? You would have thought she'd never want to be caught in an outfit like that. Was there a store on the ship she bought it from or something?

Anyway, that's why her voice sounded familiar. But why was she talking like that? She never sounded like that before? Why did this sound like a scene from a sappy romance? And what kind of bull dung was she feeding Suoh?

From where you were, you could see there was a pink blush covering her cheeks. You had to strain to hear. "You remember? I was the one who called your victory. What a special day."

Your knuckles turned white as you gripped the corner. What she said wasn’t so bad, aside from the end, but the way she said it was so sappy. It all seemed so fake. It made you want to barf.

"My heart was, like, totally racing. Has anyone ever told you that you're super strong? I even thought so the other day." She smiled up at him.

Your jaw clamped up, causing your teeth to grind, as your nostrils flared up. It was a good thing your fury resulted in you stiffening like a statue rather than running up and strangling her. Was that liar trying to take your boy? Then again, you had already guessed as much with everything else. He doesn’t care about your heart, he doesn’t want it! Besides, wasn’t it incredibly obvious that he was strong, probably the strongest on that boat?

Suoh's mouth opened slightly as he let out a sound of surprise with his eyebrows raised. It wasn’t a look you liked when he was looking at another girl. Don't tell me, he's falling for this sappy syrup-covered trash! You're mind yelled out so loud you dug your teeth into the inside of your lip.

She noticed him looking at her, now having his undivided attention. She immediately panicked, waving her arms around like a chicken and squawking before turning around and covering her face with her hat. You inwardly rolled your eyes, since you found yourself unable to look away, at her over dramatic actions. Normally you didn't have a problem with Gumita, but right now she was ticking you off. Like every annoying, irritating thing you’d ever experienced had just re-entered your life and was mocking you. That's how it felt. It was torture.

You strained to hear more, when a high pitch, friendly voice said, “Hey, (Y/n!”

Whipping around as if you had just been caught doing a crime, you spotted a little blue haired girl waving to you. It was Naru. You took a deep breath and calmed yourself. This sweet girl, who did nothing wrong, didn't deserve to see your fury.

You plastered a sweet, convincing smile on your face and paced to where Naru was. You pushed the previous dark aura aside to act like everything was cheerful and right with the world. You wanted to do anything but walk away. The farther you got, the less you were able to hear. Though it would seem suspicious if she noticed you were spying from the corner or if she walked over to see you were staring at them and somehow sense the circulating ideas in your mind. You stopped in front of her, maintaining the sweet face though inside you were cringing that you could only hear snippets of the other conversation, and that was if you strained.

"Were you doing something?" she stared up with such happy innocence that it almost calmed your silent rage. ... Almost.

"No, not really." Faking a smile with the same expression Suoh might have had in that situation.

"... be cheering for you..." you caught Gumita saying within the short moment of silence between you and Naru. What was happening?! Did she confess her love to him and they're dating now and she's saying she'll support him?!! That &%R%^*!

"Boat Mom wanted to show you how to make tonight's meal. She said it was a little harder than the other ones." She turned and headed for the entrance to the boat, expecting you to follow.

"Of course." You're choice of words was much more polite than usual. Perhaps it was you subconsciously hiding the emotions hiding underneath.

You strained to hear one last time. It would probably only make you even more angry, yet  your curiosity created this constricting desire to have as much information as you could about this.

"Do you mind if I ask a favor?" His voice sounded so nice, like silk woven from honey, the kind that would make you melt. But it angered you he was talking to another girl in that gentle voice.

Unfortunately, you had to leave. You followed step by step while a strange, dark serpent wrapped itself around your heart and mind. The events replayed in your head like a broken record. It stayed the only focus in your mind, even on basic facts that didn't need to be thought about for longer than a second. You tasted blood. A cut was left in your lip from biting it and a stream of sweet and an iron taste, with an unmistakable lingering flavor was flowing out of it.

"You're being quiet," Naru noted as she skipped through the corridor.

You smiled and shrugged. No one plots a murder out loud.

 A knife was firmly in your hand. You stood by the counter, carving meat for dinner. You weren't exactly sure where everyone else was. Boat Mom was getting something she needed to prepare the meal, if you remembered correctly. You were partly still out of it, one foot in reality and the other in your thoughts. What happened earlier stayed singed in your head.

The door clicked open and pulled you back to the present.

Looking over, you spotted it was Gumita. She just quietly stepped in. She only glanced at you.

"Hey," she said in a monotone voice and waved.

"Hi." You put a quick grin on your face and waved back, only at the last second remembering to use the other hand that didn't have the knife.

She began to quietly do her own thing to complete the jobs Boat Mom gave her. Putting on an apron, she walked to the back room and turned around the corner. You tightened your grip on the knife. It was only you and her in there.

Unable to push away the impulse, you silently followed her with the blade still in hand. Even if she saw you, the beauty of being a kitchen is that no one questions when you have a knife. She never noticed you. She bent down to open a door beneath the counter to pull out a pot. The magnetic force drew you closer. A few steps away from her, your hand began to flinch up. Your subconscious plotted what you would do next as you followed the unknown instructions in a daze.

Thankfully, thinking ahead stopped you before you could make a horrible mistake or even look suspicious. There was a clear flaw in disposing of the fake now. If you got rid of her here, you would have nowhere to hide the body, and no way to get rid of it without getting caught. The one thought of putting her in the trash chute crossed your mind, but that wouldn't work. Someone would find it, and they would file an investigation and there was a large chance you would be caught. You had to make her disappear, without any evidence of a murder.

You spun on your heels and went back to the meat. At that moment was when Naru and Boat Mom came in. It was very fortunate you thought before you acted. Now, the thoughts flooding your mind were now tedious plans on how to end this nightmare.

 It was hard to believe that you had planned and gathered everything you needed in only a day. It was strangely satisfying to have created such a perfect and thought-out plan, someone may have called you a psychopath. But thankfully, it was such a good plan, that it was sure to succeed without anyone ever knowing. You're cautious nature would only add to the probability of success.

You had everyone's typical schedule written and a blue print of the ship. You knew just about where everyone would be and the best places to get rid of her. You were wearing dark clothing. In your bag that you had prepared, you had a knife, latex gloves, napkins, and wet wipes. Everything was prepared.

You picked up the bag and set off to complete this mission. You made your way out of the interior and onto the walkway of the deck, a prefect view of the ocean to your right. Just as you predicted, you saw Gumita and silently followed a few yards behind her. You waited for the time she could be in the ideal area to take her out.

The plan was reviewed in detail within your mind as you followed her in secret. You would put on the gloves so fingerprints wouldn’t get on the knife and to not get blood on your hands. That way you could quickly take them off and not have visible stains on your hands while you tried to find a sink. Then you would get right behind her while cover her mouth with one hand and used that arm to pull her close to you and hold her there. That way you could keep her from screaming and increase the chance of you stabbing into the right place with the right amount of force. You would stab into the solar plexus, the weak point in middle area right below the ribs, and stab up to try to hit one of the lungs. You would have preferred to just jab right into the heart, but you probably didn’t have the strength to force the blade through her chest without hitting a rib. It would also give her an opening to get away. At least by aiming for the area below you would get her to lose a lot of blood and possibly hit a vital organ.

You had to do all of that within a very short amount of time. There would probably be a few extra stabs and you would pay attention to how easy it was to hold her up to get an idea if she was weakening or not. Once you believed she was weakened or injured enough you would attempt to pick her up and toss her over the side. This would be somewhat difficult to do without her seeing you. You planned to just heave her up and over the edge with her back facing you. The dark clothes you were wearing would make any blood that got onto you, before or during this step, less noticeable.

You didn’t want her to know it was you, so she couldn’t tell on you if she somehow did live. Plus, there was something about the thought of her scared expression when she realized it was you, or the thought of her even knowing it was you, that sent a sense of dread though you. Maybe it was because she considered you a friend.

Hopefully she wouldn’t hit the side of the ship and make a red spot. And hopefully she didn’t spin too much on the way down, either that or her vision would be too blurred to tell it was you. After that, she would hit the water and die from drowning or blood loss as the boat unintentionally left her behind. Then you would wrap the knife in napkins it wouldn't get blood everywhere in the bag, clean up any extra mess with a wet wipe, and go to a bathroom to clean yourself and the knife off. Then the last bit would be to return the knife, change your clothes, and wash the dirtied ones.

Because of when this would happen, it would be hours before anyone started looking for her, and even longer until anyone realized she was nowhere with the size of the ship. It was possible that whatever-that-wild-bey-gang-boy’s-name-was would look for her sooner than you anticipated, but that wouldn’t matter. Even if someone somehow found her body, the water would probably have mangled and distorted her body in a way that it would be hard to tell she was stabbed.

You smiled at how well thought through this was. It hadn’t even happened yet, yet you could picture it. Your heart did somersaults at the anticipation and fear of it going wrong. Planning and acting it out was very different.

She was about to turn around the corner and was almost in the perfect spot. You began to open your bag and pull out the gloves to put them on. Your hands twitched like your body was struggling to reject or override your brain’s commands, as if it thought the whole scheme was wrong.

At that moment, before you had even finished putting the gloves on, you felt someone presence approaching.

“Suoh!” You jumped and immediately straightened, like it would somehow improve his opinion of you. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Good afternoon, (Y/n). Just taking a stroll.” His magical, smooth voice drifted into your ears.

“Me too.”

You looked in front of you and saw Gumita turning around the corner and out of view.

“Gumita…” for whatever reason, you felt the need to comment on her, “she’s…”

“Annoying,” Suoh filled in.

Your eyes immediately turned to him with a mixture of surprise and amusement. You almost laughed at how blunt and brutally honest he was. “Yes,” you blurted out without a single thought.

This reaction got a similar expression out of Suoh, caught between shock and amusement. He actually stopped walking and stood in his place. This was reasonable since he had never heard you say anything bad of anyone before and he knew you were friends with her. A grin grew on his face at this agreement.

“She and I had an interesting conversation yesterday,” he began.

“Really?” you pretended to not know. Your stomach tied into knots at the fear of his next sentence being about getting together with her. Some of the concern accidentally crept into your voice which made you mentally kick yourself. You looked back to the corner. Gumita was probably far from the optimal killing point by now.

“She acted as though she had feelings for me.”

“And what did you say?” you asked sadly.

“I told her to stay away from me.” He let out a small chuckle. “I don’t think she’ll ever try something like that again.”

“Really?” you laughed. You clapped your hands together with a huge smile spread on your face. A great wave of euphoria washed over you. It took a large of effort to not jump around and whoop in joy. “That is great! What did she say?”

Your response and joy at this action seemed to please him. His smile grew and you felt you could feel his opinion of you rise. “To say the least, she didn’t seem very please. She got loud. It was clear she was faking it.”

“Oh my gosh. Serves her right if she was. She’s normally smart, but she was dumb to think that a genius like you wouldn’t see through that,” you continued laughing. This new fondness only improved your mood. “But why would she do that in the first place, she’s usually very sensible,” you wondered out loud.

“I believe it was to convince me to train with Ranjiro Kiyama for the battle we were assigned to team up in. Though there’s no need to train when you’re the best. If anything, he would only get in the way."

“That’s the truth.”

He smiled more at your words. You noticed that he was now facing you and giving you his complete attention.

“But that was the worst plan ever,” you continued. “Then again, it sounds like her to risk even her dignity for Cap’n.”

The corners of his mouth turned upwards and he seemed very close to laughing. “I know. It is quite humorous.”

At this point you completely forgotten about your bag. You couldn’t ask for anything more than this. To be talking with him and bonding like this. You were really glad that you ran into him and had this talk before you accidentally killed someone innocent, who wasn’t preventing you from getting Suoh at all. The current moment was perfect. You were almost certain that this talk was the beginning of a good friendship and you couldn’t wait for every conversation and moment with him after.

[namfine]

MOTHERLODE | NAMJOON X READER | GOLD RUSH AU | PART 2

❂ pairing: Kim Namjoon x Reader

❂ word count: 7k

❂ summary: Following the death of your father in 1849, you travel across the United States in search of finding gold in California. There you stumble upon a young geology professor eager to find his way in the world as well.

❂ tags: 18+, smut, virgin reader, first time sex, oral sex (fem receiving), foreplay, light dirty talk, falling in love, mutual feelings, gold rush au, time period au, alternate universe, outdoor sex? (they’re in a tent so?), smut with plot, marriage

❂ part: 2 of 2

Part 1 

❂ a/n: Hi guys! Here is the second and final part of the Motherlode story. I hope you are all staying healthy and safe out there and that this can bring a bit of joy to your isolation. It got away from me a little bit and turned out longer than I thought but what can ya do. Let me know thoughts and if it worked for you! Enjoy~

- ☆.｡.:* Zesty .｡.:*☆

The camp was a flurry of activity. Dust was heavy in the air, making it hard to see and breathe. People dragged others from the entrance of the mine. Some of them were moaning, screaming. Others were silent.

You ran, desperately, from tent to tent. Poking your head in and doing a quick sweep for Namjoon’s dark hair and tall form.

Nothing.

“Namjoon!” You screamed, pushing through the chaos. “Namjoon!”

A man burst past you, covered in soot and grasping his arm, shouting for help. Another ran to his aid and you stared at them in shock before the crowd pushed you closer to the entrance of the mine. Debris littered the outside of the cave like a huge force had imploded from within. A few large boulders made it impossible to see deeper and more fell from the ceiling, making exit nearly impossible. Dust clouded the air making it difficult to breathe and you lifted a hand to your mouth to try and block it out.

Chaos ensued around you and you reached to grasp an old man who darted past.

“Sir,” you choked, coughing on the dust. “Sir, have you seen the professor anywhere?”

He shook his head. “No, I haven’t seen him, he’s probably still inside.”

Inside.

The earth trembled again although this time, it wasn’t from a quake.

“The mine, the mine’s collapsing!” A man shouted. People frantically tried to pull survivors out as the shaking intensified. There were only a handful of seconds left. You pushed against the crowd, the only one moving towards the entrance.

“Namjoon!” you screamed again, voice hoarse from repetition.

That’s when you saw it. A tall form, struggling to make its way out of the entrance of the mine, the figure of a young man draped over his shoulders. The boulders were making it nearly impenetrable and the form stopped, gently placing the man down and sticking his face through a gap in the rocks, searching for air.  

He was covered in blood and soot, but still recognizable.

He would always be recognizable to you.

Namjoon.

The earth released another shudder, a plume of smoke burst from the cave.

He’s not going to make it.

You ran faster to close the distance between you and the mouth of the cave.  Men reached out to stop you, save you, but you darted around them. You knew how stupid this was, how dangerous, but it was your job to save him, keep him from harm. And it was a promise you intended to keep, feelings aside.

The wooden beams holding up the entrance shook as Namjoon struggled to  move the boulder. You reached the other side and gripped the rock, trying to pull as Namjoon pushed but it was no use.

He looked up, seeing you for the first time and you nearly cried in relief. He was bleeding from a head wound, soot covered every inch of his body and dried blood coated his limbs. Whether it was his own, or others you didn’t know. But he was alive.

Not for long.

“Y/N,” He choked. “What are you doing here? Get back.”

“No,” you responded, pulling on the rock before turning to shout out into the chaos. A small crowd had gathered to watch your actions, scared from the quivering of the earth. “Help! I need some help!”

“Y’N, the mine is going to collapse,” Namjoon said, his voice stern. “Get back.”

“You’re not the boss of me, Namjoon,” you answered, holding his gaze. “And I’m not leaving without you.”

Before he could talk back, two men broke out of the crowd to help. When they reached the boulder they assisted you in pushing it as much to the side as it could go, creating a tiny gap big enough for Namjoon to shove the unconscious boy out.

He couldn’t have been more than twenty and was quite the scrawny thing. In a few short seconds one of the men had the boy under the arms and was lifting him out of the hole. The man half dragged the boy back into the crowd. You turned to look at Namjoon. His turn.

He made to exit out of the hole but his shoulders were too broad. Frustrated, he turned and tried another angle. It was no use. He was too big.

The other man and you shoved against the boulder again, but it wouldn’t budge. The walls of the mine shook and debris crashed to the ground, mere feet from where Namjoon crouched.

“Y/N,” Namjoon said quietly.

You threw yourself against the boulder again. “No.”

“Y/N, listen to me. You need to get out of here. This mine is going to collapse and it is going to shoot out all sorts of shit. Please.”

“I’m not going without you.”

Namjoon sighed, addressing the man who had bravely stayed at your side. “Get her out of here.”

The man’s brow scrunched. “Her?”

“You heard me,” Namjoon growled. You threw yourself at the boulder again, letting out a shout when it collided wrong with your shoulder. You had never heard Namjoon take such a forceful tone, even when he was dealing with the ignorant remarks of the miners. “Get her out of here. Now!”

Before you could react, the man grabbed you by the shoulders from behind. You struggled, but he was bigger than you and he wrapped his arms around your torso, lifting you up from the ground, legs kicking out.

“No! No! Put me down!” You shouted. The rumbling grew louder. “Put me down! If we don’t help him he’ll die!” The man didn’t respond, following Namjoon’s wishes as he half carried half dragged you to the crowd. “Please! Listen to me he’ll-”

The mine exploded.

It happened so quickly. One minute, it was there, spitting out dust and debris, and the next it was rubble. You don’t remember screaming. You don’t remember anything other than the man covering your body with your own as dirt and rocks rained from the sky.

When it was over, he lifted himself off you and you searched the smoke for signs of Namjoon. Signs he had made it, somehow, despite the odds. Coughs racked out around you as men covered their mouths and struggled to stand.

You rose, frantically, but your field of vision was limited because of the haze.

“Namjoon!” You screamed. At some point your cap had fallen off and your hair hung freely around your shoulders. You had never cut it after the journey. You had intended to but forgotten. It hardly seemed important now, anyway. Your identity. Why did it matter if the man you loved was dead?

Loved.

Did you love Namjoon?

You had strong feelings for him, sure, but love?

Would you ever have a chance to figure it out?

“Namjoon!” You couldn’t keep the desperation from your voice even if you tried. You could feel the tears streaming down your dirty face, carving paths of cleanness down to your jaw.

Then, you saw it.

It started as a dark splotch in your vision. You shook your head, wondering if it was a trick of the light. The Californian sun trying to burn through, despite everything. But, no, it was a shape. A humanoid shape. And it was getting darker.

Namjoon.

You ran through the haze, shouting his name. The figure became clearer and clearer until it materialized to be the lanky, goofy man you had come to know so well in the past month. You didn’t know how he’d gotten out and you didn’t care. All that mattered was that he was here. He was alive.

When you reached him, you leapt onto him, arms around his neck, legs around his waist. He embraced you happily, his arms holding you towards him as he smashed his lips onto yours.

It was a sloppy kiss, your faces collided too hard, and the dirt made everything taste strange but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because it was Namjoon and he was alive. You laughed and he responded by kissing you with more fervor, his hands reaching down to cup your ass, to hold you closer to him.

You were vaguely aware of the men watching, as the haze cleared, what appeared to be an underage boy making out with a dashing professor but you pushed their thoughts out of your mind. With your hair and your shrieking if they were truly too dense to notice, then there was no hope for them after all.  

He broke the kiss to pepper your forehead, cheeks, neck with smaller, more frantic kisses. You clung to him, paying no mind to the way the dried blood and soot rubbed off onto your clothes.

“God, you stubborn woman,” he whispered between kisses. He was smiling, the relief setting in that you were both safe. “Why don’t you ever listen?”

You pulled back, grinning up at him. “You wouldn’t like me half as much if I did.”

He leaned down, capturing your lips again, before pulling back to look into your eyes.

“You’re right.”

***

As the camp struggled to deal with the aftermath of the collapse, Namjoon and you retreated to his tent to deal with his wounds. You helped him peel out of his filthy clothes and inspected his body carefully, but came up empty. Other than the head wound and some minor scrapes, he appeared to be generally unscathed.

When he was standing before you, with only his undergarments on, you struggled to keep the thoughts of this being the most of a man’s body you had ever seen from your mind as you pulled him to the corner of the tent where you kept the water basins. You put a pot over the fire to warm it and gathered some clean  towels. Namjoon sat there, quietly, the events of the day rendering him in shock. Enough so, that he also didn’t seem to mind that he was exposing himself to a young lady.

You brought over the water when it was warm and settled yourself on a stool before him. Moans of the injured and many voices could be heard outside the tent but you tuned them out as you squinted to study Namjoon in the firelight. His eyes were glassy, his breathing shallow as he watched you. The trust that was in his gaze was evident and you gripped his jaw as you poked gently around the wound. He cringed.

“I don’t think you need stitches,” you said, bringing a damp cloth to his brow. “But I’m no doctor.”

“I may be soon,” he whispered.

You stopped your patting to look at him. “What?”

“Of geology,” he stated. “That’s part of the reason I took this gig. I’m working towards my doctorate.” His voice was devoid of any tone. Just simple, stated fact. Completely out of character from his regular self.

You cupped his face, searching him for any signs of the man you had come to know the past month. The shock seemed to be slowly wearing off and exhaustion was creeping into the lines around his eyes. You couldn’t imagine the horrors he had faced down in the mines. The things he’d seen.

You dipped your towel back into the warm basin of water and brought it up to his face, washing away the dirt and grime, careful to avoid the now clean head wound but making a note to grab some alcohol from the cabinet later to splash on it. Bet that would wake him up. He leaned into your touch, closing his eyes with a soft groan when you ran the  towel through his hair to get as much dirt as possible.

“Joon,” you whispered. “What happened?”

He shook his head, slowly, eyes cast to the floor.

“Hey, look at me,” you tipped his chin up so you could meet his eyes. “Y’know you can talk to me, right?”

He reached up, his hand cupping your jaw, thumb brushing your cheek. “You’re the only one I talk to.”

You waited patiently, his eyes on your lips. After a few seconds he seemed to compose himself and he sat back, breaking contact. “I was with some boys, when the earthquake struck. We were deep in the mines trying to extract some silver.”

“It wasn’t bad at first,” he continued his voice low. “The shaking stopped and we laughed about it for a minute, but then we heard it. The crumbling.” He looked up at you, meeting your eyes. You waited patiently for him to continue. “The mines collapsed, Y/N. Just like that. One second, the tunnels were there, showing us the way to freedom. The next, they were reduced to rubble and stone.”

“We ran, the boys and I, and the tunnels collapsed behind us. It took them all, one way or another. When it was just me and one boy left, the ceiling caved in again and caught his legs. It took nearly all my strength to free him and even then, he passed out from pain. I carried him up until you found me.”

“Oh, Joon,” you said, reaching for him. He allowed himself to be pulled into your arms and you pulled yourself between his legs to hold him. He cupped your body, essentially pulling you onto his lap.

You pressed tender kisses to his forehead, jawline, the column of his neck quietly saying his name over and over. His arms wrapped around your middle, pulling you  even closer as he nuzzled his face into your neck.

“God, I couldn’t save them Y/N,” Namjoon whispered against your neck. His lips tickled but you didn’t flinch, encouraging him to talk about the trauma by rubbing soothing circles against his back. “They were just kids, on the brink of adulthood, eager to find riches to help kickstart their life and I couldn’t save them. It-it collapsed on them all. One by one. Sheer luck is the only reason I’m here today.” Defeated, he lay his head on your shoulder. “I don’t deserve to be alive.”

You pulled back to look at him, grasping his face in your hands. “Don’t you dare say that Kim Namjoon. You absolutely deserve to be here. It was a terrible accident that no one saw coming. You tried your best but there was nothing more you could do.”

He looked at you, his eyes soft in the glow of the fire. “You don’t blame me for not being able to save them?”

“Never.” You ran your fingers through his hair. “It’s not your fault, Joon. There’s nothing you could have done.”

He closed the distance between your faces, pressing his lips against yours. When he pulled back he moved his lips up to your ear and whispered a simple “Thank you.” His breath tickled your ear and you nuzzled your forehead against his.

For a few minutes you both sat there in silence, your previous job of cleaning him up forgotten. You murmured sweet nothings to him, running your hands over his body, and he massaged lazy circles on your back.

You don’t know who instigated it but suddenly you were kissing again, your mouth open to his advances as he swirled his tongue against yours. You groaned into his mouth and Namjoon lifted you both off the chair and laid you down on one of the many carpets he had spread out before the fire.

He covered your body with his own continuing to spread soft kisses down your neck and over the fabric of your loose shirt. Briefly aware of how filthy you might be you laughed as you pushed him off.

“Joon, your wound is going to get infected if it keeps getting dirty,” you said motioning to your gray shirt that had started the day stark white.

“I don’t care,” he reached for you again, eager to continue his assault.

“Well, in that case,” you pulled the shirt over your head exposing the bandages wrapped around your chest to conceal your breasts. Namjoon halted in his tracks, reaching out to brush his fingertips over the binds, feeling the itchy material on his skin.

“You do this every morning?” He asked softly.

You nodded. “It’s the only way to hide them.”

He found the pin on your side that marked the end of the wrap and tugged on it softly. “May I?”

You nodded. You had never been one to care much about sex. You knew what people thought of women who lost it before marriage but honestly, you weren’t exactly in their favors right now anyway what with all the crossdressing.

That didn’t change the fact that-

“Joon, wait.” You reached out to clasp his hands as they worked to undo the pin. He looked up at you, his face all angles and wide eyes and you resisted the urge to brush back the hair that had fallen onto his face. “I’ve never. . . I’ve never-”

“Had sex?” He finished for you.

You nodded.

“It’s okay,” he said, reaching out to cup your face. “We don’t have to do this. We can stop right now-”

“No,” you shook your head. “I want to. I’ve never felt these feelings before for anyone, Namjoon and I want my first time to be with you more than anything else. I just wanted you to know, in case. . .”

He smiled. “In case what? You being a virgin doesn’t deter me any, Y/N. I still love you all the same.”

Your eyes widened. “You love me?”

He blushed, looking down at his feet. “Yeah, I just blurted that out right then, didn’t I?” He rubbed a hand behind his neck, avoiding meeting your eyes. “Uh, I guess I’ve known for awhile? Probably the day I first met you and you were cursing like a sailor and stomping around like some horrifying monster when, in actuality, you were just this cute girl who thought she could conquer the world with a hunk of precious metal.”

You laughed reaching for his hands to stop his blabbering, forcing him to look at you. “I love you too, Namjoon.”

He stared at you, in shock. “You do?”

You leaned forward to plant a tender kiss on his lips. “I do.”

That did it, in a few seconds Namjoon had scooped you up onto his lap and was kissing you so fervently you thought your lips would fall off. His hands found the pin on your side and before you could react he was unwinding the bandages around your chest. When he was done he pulled back slightly to take in the beauty of your chest.

“God damn,” he whispered, bringing up a hand to massage your right breast. You moaned under his grasp although his hands were warm. “How in the world did you manage to get them as flat as you did?”

“A lot of deep breathing and vigorous cursing,” you responded, your head lolling back under his massage.

“Ah, so basically how you approach every situation?”

You playfully shoved him and Namjoon laughed as he fell backward, you now straddling him as he lay back on the floor. He rested his hands behind his head and looked up at you, the picture perfect definition of a confident male specimen and you grinned down at him. You could feel his clothed cock pressing up into you from below and you rolled your hips gently, grinding down onto it, eliciting a sharp moan from Namjoon. It was amazing how fast his features changed, you thought, continuing the motion. In a few seconds a lustful darkness settled into Namjoon’s eyes and he gripped you around the waist and flipped you both over so that he was back on top.

He covered your mouth with his, massaging your breasts eagerly. His fingertips toyed with your sensitive nipples and you let out a guttural sound that had Namjoon growling in response. He abandoned your breasts to begin working on unlacing your pantaloons. When they were free, he lifted your pelvis so you could wiggle out of them. He planted large, open mouthed kisses on your torso, your pelvic bone, your clothed mound before nipping at the fabric of your panties.

Namjoon brought his large hands up to your hips to peel your soaked panties from your form.

“Don’t be nervous,” he whispered. “If we do this right, it won’t hurt.”

You had read about the pain, but it really didn’t concern you. You had a high tolerance and quite honestly, suspected you liked a bit of pain. “It’s okay,” you answered. “I trust you.”

Namjoon smiled before lowering his mouth to your soaked core. He kissed the peak of your mound before making his way down to your center. When he opened his mouth and started moving his lips, you could have sworn you had died and gone to heaven. You didn’t think you had ever felt something so wonderful.

“Namjoon-” you sputtered, reaching down to clutch his hair, holding him in place. He continued his kisses before he plunged his tongue into you. It was a weird sensation, one that had you squirming but it was shallow and warm and overall pleasant. He brought a hand up to your pelvis to stop your movement and another hand to massage the bundle of nerves at the peak of your thighs that you thought only you knew about. In a period of short moments he had managed to produce a flurry of feelings deep in your core that threatened to explode.

“Come on darling,” he whispered, lifting his mouth up to look at you. “Cum for me.” His fingers continued the circular motion on your clit and he lowered the other one to insert one finger into your cunt and you lost it. The reverberations that racked your body had you groaning out his name and you were grateful for a second that the camp was still in chaos because having to explain this to the warden would not have been fun for either party.

When you came down from your high you looked down to find a rather cheeky Namjoon grinning up at you. You rolled your eyes before sitting up and wrapping your hands around his neck. He began another kissing assault on your neck, licking and sucking hard enough that you knew there would be marks tomorrow, but you didn’t care.

“Hm, pretty girl,” he murmured. “Let’s see if we can get two.”

He maneuvered one of his hands down your front and slotted himself between your legs again. This time he inserted two thick fingers into your cunt and you groaned at the sensation.

“Is this okay?” He asked and you nodded. He began to move them slowly in and out of you, using your slick to properly lubricate. When he was satisfied you were open he gently moved you off of him to shimmy down his underwear.

You gasped at the sheer size of him when he broke free. His cock was hard already but you reached forward to take it tentatively in your hands. Namjoon groaned as you explored the silky softness before grasping it in one hand and pumping him slowly.

“Is this right?” You asked and Namjoon nodded vigorously, throwing his head back.

“Fuck yes,” he whispered and a wave of pride spurned you to pump faster. Only you could earn this reaction from him and it felt fucking great.

After a few more pumps Namjoon stopped you and lifted you back onto his lap. “If you go anymore, darling, I’m going to spend myself right here.” He whispered. “Let’s start at this angle, okay? That way you can lower yourself at your pace.”

You nodded as you lifted yourself over Namjoon. He adjusted himself so that he was perched at your entrance and you could feel the tension in his abdomen stopping him from thrusting into you in one fell swoop.

Lowering yourself onto Namjoon’s cock was one of the most exhilarating and powerful feelings of your life. You took him in, inch by inch, slowly. He whispered into your ear, running his hands over your back, telling you what a good girl you were being as you took him deeper into your core. Namjoon had been right, it was an uncomfortable feeling at first, but not necessarily painful because of his prepping. When you felt your hip line up flush with his you leaned forward to capture his mouth with your own.

“Are you okay if I move?” Namjoon asked and you nodded, not sure where to go from here. He looked down at where the two of you were joined and moaned as he lifted you up and gently settled you onto your back.

He set a slow pace at first, gently rolling his hips in and out of you.

“Does this hurt?” he asked, his breath hot on your ear and you shook your head, letting yourself revel in every feeling of him moving in and out of your core.

“No,” you responded, turning your head to brush his lips. “It feels amazing.”

Namjoon grinned as he increased his tempo, never breaking eye contact with you. For a second, you felt like you were the only people in the world, the only ones that mattered. He wasn’t aggressive, he wasn’t forceful, he was just Namjoon. Namjoon telling you how much he loved you, appreciated you, with the way his hands caressed your body, the look in his eyes, the pulse of his hips.

You arched your back as you felt another orgasm growing, throwing your legs up over Namjoon’s hips to grant him deeper access. From this angle he was hitting you in all the right places and you let out a series of breathy moans as you came around him again. The sensation of your convulsing cunt elicited a deep groan from Namjoon and his pace began to get erratic. You knew what that meant and urged him on with dirty words and murmured nothings. Namjoon focused on you, and only you, as he pistoned himself into you again and again, chasing his end. Right before he blew he pulled out of you, thrusting himself into his hand at a rapid pace before finishing himself off on your torso.

When he was finished, he grabbed one of the moist cloths you had been using earlier and used it to clean both you and him before pulling him into your arms and following you both into the warm darkness

***

You awoke feeling safe and warm for the first time in a long time. Some time in the night Namjoon had brought over blankets from his cot and wrapped them around the two of you to keep out the chill of the desert air. You were lying on Namjoon’s chest, head in the nook where his shoulder met his neck with one of your hands pressed against his heart, the beat lulling you in and out of consciousness. One of his large arms was wrapped around your back, nestled in your waist and your legs  were intertwined beneath the thick quilt.

You stayed like for many moments after you awoke until you felt Namjoon’s breath stutter and him readjust to look down at you. You met his gaze, tracing his cheek in the early morning light.

“Good morning,” you murmured, trying to memorize the contours of his face. You had an idea of what the day would bring.

Namjoon smiled. “Good morning, beautiful.”

You blushed at the word but a harsh voice outside of the tent drew you both from your nest.

“Professor Kim! We demand that you come outside immediately and bring the- er . . . . boy out with you! We know she’s in there!” The warden bellowed proving that his voice really was that unpleasant at all hours of the morning.

You didn’t have time to wrap your chest and honestly, you figured it didn’t really matter now. You started to pull on your soot covered clothes, but Namjoon stopped you. He crossed the tent and pulled out fresh clothes from his chest and handed them to you. You quickly pulled on his trousers (much too big for you) and a dark grey shirt (that nearly swallowed you whole). You didn’t mind though since they smelled like Namjoon and comforted you slightly. You weren’t sure how this would pan out but figured this was probably the end of you taking control of your future in this camp.

Another shout outside of the tent had you shoving the shirt into the oversized pants as fast as you could. When you were done you looked to see Namjoon already dressed and watching you.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, moving across the room and pressing a quick kiss to your brow. “We’ll figure it out.”

The sun was blinding when Namjoon pulled back the door to the tent and you squinted as your eyes struggled to adjust. When they finally did you were greeted by a small crowd that had gathered outside Namjoon’s tent, the warden at the head.

He sized you up, his eyes observing all. How you were still dressed in men’s clothes (not your own), hatless and with your hair loose around you and that bold look in your eyes. You stared him down, refusing to let him see how much his gaze affected you. You hadn’t come this far to fail now.

He nodded in Namjoon’s direction. “Professor Kim.” He turned to you. “Boy.”

“Warden,” you responded, your tone like ice.

“It appears, we have a traitor in our midst,” the warden began, pacing slightly. His men parted to make room for his movements. Namjoon stepped closer to your side. “A woman dressed in men’s clothing. Comin’ out here and lookin’ to steal the very riches from our hands.”

“I came here for the same reason as you,” you stated. “Only looking to kick start a new life.”

“Yeah, but here you are startin’ it on a bed of deceit and lies,” the warden spit.

“Would you have hired me if you knew I was a woman?” you asked. The warden was silent. You took that as a sign to continue. “I was only doing what I had to do to survive, same as you.”

The warden spat on the ground by your feet. Namjoon flinched, moving towards him but you put a warning hand on his arm. You would fight your own battles.

“Your work here is done,” the warden bellowed. “You gather your things and you get the fuck out of my camp. If I see you here past sundown, I’ll be giving you to the men as an after dinner treat.”

“You will do no such thing,” Namjoon hissed and the warden laughed.

“And you, professor. You are on mighty thin ice. You finish your work here and you get the hell out of my camp.” The warden stared at you and you held the gaze, an eye for an eye. “Sundown, witch, and consider yourself lucky that’s all I’m doing. My word is law.”

The warden spun on his heel and stormed across the camp and the crowd slowly dispersed. Some of the men shot you dirty looks and others seemed regretful of the warden’s actions but no one spoke up in your defense or to you in general, for that matter. Namjoon seethed beside you and you turned to enter his tent, him hot on your heels.

The second you got into the tent you gathered up the few belongings you had left scattered, preparing to go to your own tiny tent and see if any of your stuff had survived the night or if the men had stolen it once you were deemed unworthy. Namjoon paced, clearly agitated. When the seething silence was too much to bear, you spoke up.

“Well. I think that went mighty well, all things considered.”

Namjoon stared at you like you had grown two heads. “Well? You think that was well?”

“I mean, I’m unharmed and have been given permission to leave, albeit empty handed but,” you shrugged. “Ya  take what you can get I suppose.”

Namjoon shook his head, letting out a forced laugh. “You really are something else, Y/N, y’know that?”

You moved to his side, running your hands up and down his arms. “It’s okay, Namjoon. It really is. You’re almost done here and I-”

“I can’t finish this without you.”

“Don’t be dramatic. How much longer do you have left?”

He looked at you. “A few weeks.”

You smiled. “Namjoon, that’s nothing. There are plenty of other camps nearby where I can lay low and then we can meet up once you’re done. Easy.” You didn’t actually know how easy it would be. Your cover was blown and word traveled fast out here. Plus, thinking about leaving him tore a hole in your heart. Unfortunately, it was your only option.

Namjoon shook his head. “I can’t.”

“You can,” you demanded, searching his eyes. “Namjoon, you can’t give this up. You are too close to the end. I’ll be fine. I’ll go back to being the nameless boy who no one pays attention to for a few more weeks and then, when you have all you need, we can start over in San Francisco. I hear it’s really starting to boom.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair before letting out a meek “Okay.”

“What was that?” you asked, a smile on your lips.

“Okay,” he responded, cupping your chin. “But only for a few weeks. You go on ahead to San Francisco. I have a friend there, Jin is his name. He owns a bed and breakfast in the Western Sector, by the sea. You go there and tell him I sent you and he’ll put you up until I come to collect.”

“Collect?” You asked leaning up to brush his nose with your own.

“Yes, Y/N, collect. What? You think you can use me for my body and then leave me forever?” You laughed and he kissed you, catching you by surprise. “I intend to find you there in a few weeks, my dear, where I’ll be greeting you with a doctorate and a wedding ring.”

“Oh my,” you placed a hand over your heart, feigning surprise. “Is that a threat of a marriage proposal, Professor Kim?”

Namjoon pulled you in for another kiss, breaking it to whisper softly in your ear “It’s not a threat, Miss Y/L/N. It’s a promise.”

***

With Namjoon’s assistance it didn’t take long to finish gathering your things. You didn’t have much. You retrieved your horse from the camp’s stable boy, meeting everyone’s stares along the way. You weren’t going to let them see how they affected you. When you stood, next to your horse, watching the late afternoon sun sink on to the horizon, you let the events of the past 24 hours sink into your bones. The thought of leaving Namjoon right now seemed unbearable, but you knew it was the only option.

He approached you now, a small satchel in his hand. He thrust it forward into your hands, without a word.

“What is this?” you asked, taking the bag. Namjoon shrugged. You opened the satchel to see three apples, some jerky, a journal, and a huge lump of gold in the bag. You closed it, quickly.

“Namjoon,” you hissed. “I can’t take this! You need it for your work. What if the warden finds out?!”

Namjoon grinned, clasping your hands over the bag. “He’s never going to find out. Besides, I have plenty to do my work with. That should be enough to get you to San Francisco and take care of you until I join you.”

“Namjoon, it’s too much. I can’t accept.”

“Y/N, please, just once in your life will you listen to me? I’m not doing it out of the kindness of my heart. Think of it as protecting my assets.”

You raised an eyebrow. “I am not an asset to be bought.”

“I never said you were,” he replied. “It’s for the horse.”

You looked at your horse. Then back at him. Then once more at the horse, for good measure. “That is my horse!”

“Yes, but he’s one of my favorites. I come here often and feed him apples. I’ve grown quite fond.”

“I’ve literally never seen you here before!”

Namjoon groaned. “For God’s sake, woman, take the gold!”

You laughed, shoving him gently and Namjoon pulled you into an embrace, his grip tender but firm. You pressed your nose against his chest, inhaling deeply, before turning your face up to his, once again trying to memorize his features. The gentle slope of his nose to his full lips. The curve of his brow over his dark eyes. His hair, dark and permanently tousled.

He leaned down, capturing your lips with his own and his kiss whispered all the feelings he had been showing you the last few weeks and the gentle murmurings of his love the night before. It spoke not of goodbye but rather until next time. He broke it and leaned his forehead against yours, both of your eyes closed as you reveled in the moment.

“Don’t forget about me on your grand adventure,” he whispered, his thumb moving back and forth against your shoulder.

“I could never,” you responded. “Besides, you know where I’ll be. Kind of hard to forget when you could burst in at any moment and ruin all my fun.”

He chuckled at that and nuzzled into your neck for a brief second before stepping back to break the embrace.

“You should get going, it’s going to be dark soon and you need to make it out of wild country before sundown. Shouldn’t be too far to the nearest town.”

You nodded, knowing he was right. You swung yourself onto your horse in one smooth motion and Namjoon approached you for one last kiss before slapping your horse gently on it’s rear, sending it trotting down the path.

You turned back only once, right before a bend in the path that would take you from Namjoon indefinitely. You found him standing there, ever loyal, his hands in his pockets and that lazy grin you loved so much plastered on his face. He waved a little before turning on his heel to walk back into camp.

It was going to be a long few weeks.

***

Epilogue

You sighed as you put down the paintbrush, unsatisfied yet again with your work. You felt like no matter how much you painted, you couldn’t get the colors right. You were on the upstairs balcony of Jin’s Bed and Breakfast watching the bustling crowd below. Merchants from all over the world, people searching to prosper from the gold rush, and immigrants here to help with the railroad all contributed to make San Francisco quite the booming metropolitan center. It was no New York City, but aspects of it certainly reminded you of home.

You had done a lot in your time away from Namjoon, making it to San Francisco in just a little under a week. Jin had welcomed you with open arms, allowing you to stay in a suite on the second floor away from his other guests. The lump of gold Namjoon gave you was more than enough to kickstart your life and pay for an abundance of new canvases and paints to pass the time.

You took a minute to search the bustling crowd, as you always did, for the man who’s figure you knew better than any other but turned up empty. You had expected Namjoon a week ago and with each passing day, worry struck your gut. What if he’s hurt? What if he never truly cared for you at all and ran the first chance he got?

You shook your head, clearing the thoughts and began to clean up your supplies. You stacked the paintbrushes precariously on your arms while balancing the cup of dirty paint water as you tried to maneuver inside. It was no surprise, really, when you stumbled and the water sloshed over onto your clothing. Brand new clothing, I should mention, that Jin had ordered specifically for you.

“God fucking dammit!” You blurted as you threw the brushes into the sink loudly.

“Y’know, has anyone ever told you that you have quite the dirty mouth for a lady?”

You froze. You knew that voice. You spun around to see him, the man you had come to know so well, standing in the doorway to your studio. He looked older somehow, tanner and leaner than he was before but that grin on his face was unmistakable.

“Namjoon!” You exclaimed, charging across the room to leap into his arms. He plastered your face with kisses, not giving a care for the way your dirty clothes rubbed off on his own. “You came for me,” you whispered into his neck, your smile reaching almost to your ears.

“Of course,” he answered, nuzzling the top of your head. “I made you a promise and besides, I came to collect.”

You snorted. “The horse is out back. Safe and sound.”

Namjoon grinned. “And what of you? Have you given any thought to my offer?”

“Offer?” you asked. “Do you mean the marriage thing? Because I’m pretty sure you never proposed, Kim Namjoon-”

“Dr,” he interrupted. “It’s Dr. Kim Namjoon now.”

You threw up your hands. “Wow, we’re getting big and fancy here. As I was stating, I don’t believe you ever actually proposed, Doctor.”

Namjoon dropped to his knees before you could react. You stared at him, surprised. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Get up this instant!” you demanded.

“No,” he smiled his signature goofy grin up at you. “Y/N,  despite your many flaws-”

“Oh wow, what a start” you interrupted.

Namjoon wasn’t deterred. “-and your foul mouth, I have fallen inexplicably and uncontrollably in love with you. I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone but you.”

You snorted.

“Y/N, I am trying to be sincere. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

He knelt there, his eyes wide, and your heart melted. Melted like it did every time you saw him, every time he kissed you. You knew your answer. You had known it for months. Probably from the first time you watched him pan for gold but definitely from when he got excited over a new discovery or made love to you in the tent. There was no one else for you either.

“Yes.”

[scoutception]

AI: The Somnium Files review

While it wasn’t the first visual novel series I played, the Zero Escape trilogy- Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Virtue’s Last Reward, and Zero Time Dilemma- is what made me interested in exploring more visual novels in general. Featuring a creative mix of normal visual novel sections and puzzle room sections, with stories involving fascinating pseudo science theories, colorful and interesting characters, fast, tense pacing, and great music, the series is an insane adventure that’s absolutely worth a try. The series also got me interested in the other works of Kotaro Uchikoshi, the director and writer of the series, which led me to the subject of today’s review, and his most recent work: AI: The Somnium Files, which proves to be quite the change of pace, to say the least.

Story: Kaname Date is a member of the Advanced Brain Investigation Squad (ABIS), a special, secret division of the Metropolitan Police Department. Using a device known as the Psync Machine, Date can explore the subconscious of another person by entering their Somnium, a dream world which often holds secrets they would not reveal otherwise. 6 years ago, Date lost his left eye and all of his memories, left with no link to his past, not even his real name, except for Boss, his superior in ABIS and longtime friend. His left eye was replaced by an advanced AI called Aiba, capable of functions such as night vision and x-ray, as well as serving as Date’s avatar within Somnium.

One gloomy November night, Date is called in to investigate a murder victim found in an abandoned amusement park, having suffered multiple stab wounds, tied to a merry-go-horse and missing her left eyeball. The victim is Shoko Nadami, an acquaintance of Date’s, and the ex-wife of Renju Okiura, Date’s best friend and president of the entertainment company Lemniscate. Date’s initial investigation proves unfruitful, and comes to a halt completely when he discovers someone within the merry-go-round’s central column, traumatized to the point of being unable to speak and cradling a bloody ice pick: Mizuki Okiura, the 12 year old daughter of Shoko and Renju, whom Date took into his care 4 years ago.

Date continues the investigation the days afterwards, meeting Mizuki’s friends, the internet idol Iris Sagan, aka A-Set, and the otaku and aspiring light novel author Ota Matshushita, Iris’ mother Hitomi, and Moma Kumakura, leader of the Kumakura yakuza gang. Though Date finds a number of odd connections and occurrences, such as Renju falling out of contact, a call from a mysterious prisoner only known as #89, who claims to know the identity of the killer, and a large number of incidents among the Sagans, the Kumakuras, and others, all of which seem to date back to 6 years ago, he finds little in the way of actual evidence. Left with no other recourse, Date begins to Psync with both suspects and witnesses in the hopes of preventing the killer from striking again.

While it’s a fairly standard plot on the surface, it’s very well done nonetheless. The various mysteries and plotlines are all compelling, and are all given a good amount of focus. Adding to this is the use of a route system, similar to Zero Escape, complete with a flowchart allowing you to easily go to any point in the story. Completing certain Somniums in different ways alters the course of Date’s investigation, causing certain plotlines and characters to gain or lose relevance depending on the route. While every route needs to be completed, each one containing their own reveals and clues, there’s only 5 in total, making keeping track of the distinctive events in each fairly simple. The pacing is also well done, taking its time and allowing you to get used to the characters, while throwing just enough new hints throughout to keep it interesting.

Speaking of the characters, the cast is easily my favorite part of the game. The characters are very, odd and colorful, pretty much to be expected from Uchikoshi. Date himself is a pretty entertaining protagonist, with a tendency for perversion, making bad puns, and coming up with very odd and often ineffectual ideas for progressing in Somnium, going against his serious demeanor and appearance. The supporting cast doesn’t slack either. From the rational, yet sassy Aiba, who turns much sillier within Somnium as well, to the peppy and friendly Iris, to the playful Boss, whose office is an absolute mess decorated with just about any nonsense you could imagine, to my favorite of the cast, Mizuki, the mature, sarcastic, and inexplicably strong kid who spends a good deal of her time arguing with the rather distant Date. It’s hard to dislike most of the characters, with even the most minor of them being good for a laugh or two.

That’s not to say they’re just goofy, though. Almost everyone carries some sort of baggage or secret with that adds a good deal of depth to them, and the various routes give them a lot of development. The game can be pretty damn emotional at points, and the routes focusing more on the characters than the story are the biggest source of them, especially Mizuki’s route. The lighter tone the game takes most of the time actually helps this. Most of the time, interacting with random objects trigger dumb jokes and commentary from Date and the others, and the relaxed pacing and atmosphere, at least earlier on, make it easier to get gradually attached to the cast. Once things do become more serious, the game starts cutting down the jokes, and stops them outright for the most serious of scenarios, meaning it rarely actually becomes jarring. It’s not often a game can juggle a tone as well as this one.

Overall, the writing of the game is superb, and while it’s quite different in tone and setting, it still has enough of the feel of Zero Escape to feel familiar to those who played it.

Gameplay: While I call AI: The Somnium Files a visual novel just for the sake of simplicity, it definitely more has the feel of an adventure game. There’s two types of gameplay segments, investigations and Somniums. During investigations, Date travels to various locations, talking with various characters or investigating important object. Your only control here is controlling Date’s view, and selecting different dialogue options or objects to investigate. Date often has to investigate several locations during a segment, and while you often have to visit them all, you’re given the freedom of picking where to go in whatever order you choose most of the time, giving just enough nonlinearity to not feel like a chore.

The real meat of the gameplay takes place during the Somnium sections, which are comparable to the escape rooms in Zero Escape. Within Somnium, Date and Aiba must break the various mental locks the information they are seeking are hidden behind, which involves interacting with various objects according to the logic of each Somnium. Basically, they’re purely logic puzzles, and it’s actually quite fun figuring out how everything is supposed to work.

Of course, not everything can be that easy. Every Somnium has a hard time limit of 6 minutes. Going over it causes Date’s consciousness to be absorbed into the subject’s, causing a game over. All interactions also cost time, and many incorrect decisions can drain your time pretty significantly. Thankfully, the game has many mitigating factors that keep this from just being stressful. Firstly, time only drains when you’re making choices, or actually moving around. Standing still causes only milliseconds to pass, allowing you to get a clear look around without wasting time. Additionally, all objects you can interact with have a purple outline surrounding them, and are given name tags as well, meaning you don’t have to just wander around, running up to every object in the hopes this one is usable. Not every interactable object actually has a purpose, however, with some only existing to waste your time, so you’re not completely in the clear. The progress meter on the left also gives hints, if sometimes vague ones, as to what you have to do to progress, so you’re not just fumbling in the dark in that regard, either.

Another important feature at the TIMIEs, objects you gain when you interact with objects. These cut the time actions take to perform by varying amounts, or make it take a fixed amount of time. Good use of TIMIEs can save you a lot of time, and a lot of later Sominums enforce it, making it rather strategic. Sometimes, just rushing to the correct solution burns way too much time on its own. You may have to do something you know is wrong, but takes little time and grants a good TIMIE, to be able to save more time on a much costlier action. This aspect isn’t entirely simple either, however. Not all actions display what kind of TIMIE you’ll get, making it a gamble at times, and some, including mandatory actions, give negative TIMIEs, that actually increase the amount of time an action will take, and force you to use them the action after you get them, often forcing you to do something incorrect, but with low time cost, just so you won’t game over.

Each Somnium also has two conditions that unlock album entries, which provide pictures and concept art. The first is for clearing a Somnium with more than 1 second left, as you’re actually allowed to go over the time limit if the final correct action is what pushes you over. The second is for finding special eye shaped items within the Somniums, which are often hidden out of the way. Finally, even if you’re struggling with certain sections, you’re granted 3 retries per Somnium, which allow you to return to a previous part of the section, with all the time you had left at that time, allowing you to optimize and save even more time, though it costs more retries the further back you go. Finally, even if you can’t win, you can simply restart the Somnium section with no penalty, and are even allowed to do so at any time in the menu. Overall, the Somnium sections are actually a lot of fun. Between the interesting logic and strategicness of it, not to mention some of the funniest dialogue in the game between Date and Aiba, they’re some of the most enjoyable parts of the game.

Finally, the game features a few “action segments” during the investigation segments, where Date will be faced with an actual physical threat. Aiba formulates plans to deal with the situation, and you just need to handle each step by pressing a button prompt, like a QTE, or hovering the cursor over a certain area for a long enough time. It’s not exactly difficult, but they serve their purpose. There’s also a few interrogations segments, where you must present relevant evidence to someone in order to prove a point. You can just randomly pick until you get the right one with no in game penalty, but there are achievements for clearing these sections and the action sections with no mistakes.

Graphics: AI: The Sominum Files is a surprisingly pretty game. It has a similar art style to Zero Time Dilemma, which, to put it bluntly, was downright awful in the visuals department, with unemotive character models and terrible animations that killed almost all of its attempts at being unsettling. While a few of the animations in this game can still look janky, it is on a whole much. much improved. The characters are much more expressive, helped by the designs by Yusuke Kozaki, best known for games like No More Heroes and Fire Emblem Awakening, fitting the style much better, while still being distinctive in their own right. The locations have a lot of detail to them, and the lighting is very well done. The highlight of the visuals, though, are the Somniums, which manage to give existing locations very distinctive, well, dream like qualities to them, such as shifting colors or heavy lighting, and are always a joy to explore.

Sound: AI features a downright fantastic soundtrack by Keisuke Ito. It manages to capture a similar feel to Zero Escape’s music at points, despite being a different composer, but still manages to stand out. Every song manages to fit the situation perfectly, while also being very catchy on their own, especially the Somnium themes. The music, combined with the visuals, give the game a very strong atmosphere. Whatever mood the game is attempting to set, nostalgic, tense, peaceful, or unsettling, it nails it very, very well, and had me immersed very easily.

The game also features some fantastic English voice acting. Greg Chun as Date and Erika Harlacher as Aiba are the main stars of the show, with their performances capturing their characters perfectly, but the rest of the cast is just as good. Jackie Lastra as Iris, Zach Aguilar as Ota, Corina Boettger as Mizuki, Allegra Clark as Boss, Kaiji Tang as Moma, pretty much everyone does a great job.

Conclusion: Overall, AI: The Somnium Files is something I highly recommend to most people, even those who haven’t touched another Uchikoshi game. It’s a fascinating, emotional, and satisfying experience that successfully manages to devote attention to just about everything it brings up, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Honestly, I enjoyed it even more than any Zero Escape game, and considered I still look on those very fondly, that’s an achievement. With that, this review finally comes to a close. I shall likely be checking out the games Uchikoshi worked on before even Zero Escape: Never 7, Ever 17, and Remember 11. Till next time. -Scout

[tomeandflickcorner]

Episode Review- The Real Ghostbusters: Bustman’s Holiday

Looks like we’ve got another episode that focuses on Ray and his extended family.  I’m getting the feeling that he has a lot of relatives.

Interestingly enough, it takes a few minutes before the actual story to begin.  First, we’re treated to some mindless filler with the Ghostbusters returning to the Firehouse after a successful bust.  It appears Ray had allowed Slimer to tag along on this one, much to Peter’s annoyance. And for a little bit, Slimer decides to relish in his self-imposed status as the Ecto-1’s new hood ornament. Once this is out of the way, the plot finally picks up.  While Egon was seemingly tinkering with something on the Ecto-1 (which is odd in itself, as Ray always seemed like the one who filled the role of the team mechanic), a man dressed in full Scottish regalia enters the scene.  He announces he’s looking for Ray, so Egon leads him further into the Firehouse, where Peter is now bemoaning that he wants a vacation. The man, whose name is Caithness according to the Wiki page, approaches Ray to inform him that his Scottish uncle, Andrew McMillan, has passed away.  Janine is quick to offer Ray her condolences, but Ray admits that he never actually met Uncle Andrew and they had merely been on Christmas card terms.  Despite this, Caithness informs them that Uncle Andrew had left Ray something in his will- his castle near Argyllshire.  

The news causes Ray to briefly faint from the shock.  When he comes to, Peter and Winston begin to ask what the catch was.  After all, it had already been established that Ray and Uncle Andrew were not that close. There must have been other relatives that Uncle Andrew could have left his castle to.  Caithess confirms this, but states that Uncle Andrew hated those other relatives and viewed them as a bunch of freeloaders.  But, knowing that he couldn’t just cut those other relatives out of his will, he’d decreed that the castle and the accompanying title of Duke of Dunkeld would go to whoever could exorcise the ghost that had plagued Uncle Andrew his whole life.  Yeah, it seems this is a haunted castle.  And Ray, most likely because of his line of work, was to be the first to try his luck at satisfying the condition.  Needless to say, Ray is stunned by the possibility that he could become a duke. And before long, he and the other Ghostbusters are catching a plane to Scotland.  And of course, Peter is complaining about how he wanted to take a vacation, not an out of town job.  (Peter, you’re going to a Scottish castle!  Quit your whining!)

Of course, I have to pause a moment to discuss this.  We’d already established in The Spirit of Aunt Lois that Ray’s family had some Russian ancestry.  Now we know there’s also some Scottish in there as well.  In addition, we get further indication that Ray came from a rich family.  Not only do we have Aunt Lois living in a mansion that has been in the family for 100 years, now we got Uncle Andrew, who had been able to afford to own and maintain an actual Scottish castle!

Anyway, upon arriving at the airport in Scotland, the Ghostbusters are soon greeted by Angus Lennie, who is the executor of Uncle Andew’s will.  Angus seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed because he immediately scolds them for being late.  Like, don’t blame them, dude.  They can’t control when the plane lands.  Still, Angus proceeds to drive the Ghostbusters up to the castle.  Along the way, Egon begins to question Angus about the nature of the ghost that is haunting the castle, trying to figure out if it’s a Free Floating Repeater or a simple Roaming Vapor.  Angus admits he has no idea what either of those terms means, but insists they shouldn’t have any trouble.  The ghost in question wasn’t that troublesome, and people simply referred to it as a Keystone Ghost.  During this scene, we’re also told some history of the castle.  The grounds surrounding Castle Dunkeld was utilized during the Battle of Dunkeld, which was an actual historical battle back in 1689, between Jacobite clans that supported the deposed King James VII and supporters of William III (widely known as William of Orange).  Really cool that this episode references an actual event in history.  

Soon, Angus and the Ghostbusters arrive at Castle Dunkeld, where they are greeted by the castle staff who come with the castle as they are paid through the castle’s treasury.  The episode then cuts to nighttime, after the Ghostbusters have all gone to bed. However, it seems Peter finds his bed uncomfortable and therefore has trouble falling asleep.  So he decides to get up to try and locate the bathroom. In the process, he runs into Winston, who also is out wandering about for undetermined reasons.  Peter asks Winston if he knows where the bathroom is, and Winston says he doesn’t.  Though he suggests they ask Ray, pointing out that Ray is currently running towards them at that precise moment.  It’s rather quickly revealed that Ray is actually being chased by a floating suit of armor.  Ray manages to escape the suit of armor by ducking into the room Egon’s staying in, resulting in the suit of armor to collide with the wall and fall to the ground in pieces.  Egon, having been woken up by the commotion, comes out and begins to take a reading with his PKE Meter.  He announces that they indeed have a pretty strong reading.  At that moment, Angus suddenly appears out of nowhere (where’d he even come from?), stating the Keystone Ghost was the personification of the Battle of Dunkeld.  

The Ghostbusters proceed to get into their gear and prepare to hunt down the Keystone Ghost, with Ray asking them to try not to damage his castle in the process.  Peter agrees that they’ll be careful, though they seem to quickly forget that as they end up downing a chandelier during their pursuit.  They eventually follow the Keystone Ghost through an underground escape tunnel that leads outside and, after a brief action sequence, the Keystone Ghost is effectively captured.  However, before Ray can have a real chance to relish in the fact that he fulfilled the conditions set in Uncle Andrew’s will, they spot something concerning.  Nearby, hundreds of skeletal ghosts are materializing around the monument dedicated to the Battle of Dunkeld.

The Ghostbusters watch in shock as the ghosts begin to fight against one another with spectral canons and firearms, with Egon managing to determine that there are exactly 723 ghosts.  (Boy, that man can count fast!).  Peter, looking for answers, drags Angus out of Castle Dunkeld to question him.  Angus reveals he knew of a legend surround the Battle of Dunkeld.  According to the legend, the battle was caused by one man’s rash action.  As a result of that, one ghost paid the price for all.  That ghost was the Keystone Ghost, who was condemned to roam the grounds for eternity so all the other ghosts could sleep peacefully.  But when the Ghostbusters captured the Keystone Ghost, it awoke the ghosts of all the men who fell in battle.  Peter is rightfully ticked that Angus didn’t warn them about this before, but Angus explains that he thought it was just a legend and hadn’t held much stock in it.  To make matters worse, it seems that during the historical battle, the fighting migrated down to the village, resulting in everyone being killed.  Which means, since these ghostly soldiers were essentially reenacting the Battle of Dunkeld, then the people living in the nearby village were in real danger of being killed in the crossfire when the fighting moved down there.  And since the Ghostbusters only brought two Ghost Traps with them, they can hardly hope to capture all of these ghosts.  Ray, however, isn’t ready to give up.  He states that if he is the new Duke of Dunkeld, then it’s his responsibility to set things right.  It seems he has an idea, but he’s not sure it will work.  Still, he knows he has to try, and he announces he has to reach the village right away.  Angus informs him that there’s a bicycle in the gate house that he can use, so Ray begins to pedal off on the bicycle while Peter, Egon and Winston help clear a path for him through the armies of battling ghosts.  (What happened to the car that Angus used to drive them to Castle Dunkeld?)  Eventually, Ray makes it through and reaches the town.  Upon arriving, he approaches the door of the local electric company’s boss. Which was identifiable by the electrical substation next to it.  Don’t think that’s how it works in real life, of course, but I’ll accept it for the sake of simplicity.  The electric company’s boss is naturally not happy about being woken up at such an hour, but when he hears Ray stating he needs about $1000 worth of electrical equipment, and maybe even $2000, the man perks up and eagerly welcomes Ray inside so they can talk.  (Would now be a good time to point out that they’re supposed to be in Scotland right now?  You know, where the currency is pounds and not dollars?)

Back at the grounds surrounding Castle Dunkeld, Peter, Winston and Egon are still doing their best at holding the Battle of Dunkeld Ghosts at bay. Though Winston announces they can’t keep this up much longer.  Especially since they’re not that far from the village.  And eventually, the power cells on their Proton Packs run out, so there’s nothing more they can do other than despair over how people are going to die now.  At that moment, Ray returns.  He’s accompanied by a large group of the villagers who he managed to encourage to assist him.  By offering them $100 each.  (Again, American dollars are not accepted in Scotland, apart from at a few tourist spots.) It turns out Ray and the villagers gathered up a fleet of garbage trucks that Ray managed to convert into large Ghost Traps with help from the electric company.  With these makeshift Ghost Traps, they are able to capture all the Battle of Dunkeld Ghosts.

With the day saved, Ray advises the villagers to drive the Ghost Trap Garbage Trucks away and bury them, to ensure the Battle of Dunkeld Ghosts never get free.  As one would expect, the villagers are not pleased by this.  After all, who is going to pay to replace the garbage trucks?  Fortunately, Ray has a solution.  Thanks to Mr. Macintosh, one of the villagers, Ray has learned that Angus wasn’t the executor of Uncle Andrew’s will like he claimed to be. In actuality, he was hired by Uncle Andew’s other relatives to sabotage Ray’s chances of inheriting the castle instead of them.  So Ray essentially blackmails Angus, stating that he’ll only agree to not turn Angus over to the police if he agrees to replace the village’s garbage trucks. And until the replacement trucks arrive, all the garbage will be stored at his place.  As for Castle Dunkeld, Ray decides that he’ll allow the other relatives to live there, as long as they pay rent to the village, as he’s turning over ownership of the castle to them.  This decision greatly pleases the villagers.

Now, they could have ended the episode right there.  But I guess the writers decided to finish things off with a bit of pointless filler to accompany the filler scene at the start of the episode.  Sometime after the Ghostbusters return home, we see Winston posing for Peter in traditional Highland dress.  (I don’t think that’s an actual clan tartan he’s wearing, though. I might be wrong of course.)  

(Image credit: https://ghostbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Ghostbusters_Wiki)

Winston explains that they each got one, as a present from the Village of Dunkeld.  Though Ray also received an additional present- a bagpipe, which we can hear him attempting to play upstairs, much to Peter’s displeasure.  Although, I’d say Ray actually seemed pretty decent, considering he’s probably never had a single bagpipe lesson in his life.

Well, this episode was entertaining at the least.  Always nice to see a change of scenery.  As well as see the Ghostbusters in normal clothes. And I appreciated the fact that the writers worked in an actual battle from Scottish history.  But they unfortunately seemed to forget that dollars aren’t a universal currency, which I personally found a bit distracting.  And the fact that Ray was able to convert multiple garbage trucks into Ghost Traps in such a little amount of time was a bit far fetched. But maybe it just seems like that to me because I’m not a mechanical genius.  Either way, I suppose it still deserves points for creativity and resourcefulness. Although, I am still scratching my head how nobody seemed to realize something was up from the get go upon being told they were dealing with a Keystone Ghost.  The very definition of a keystone is ‘something on which associated things depend for support.’ Considering how Peter, Ray and Egon all have PHDs and how brilliant minded Egon and Ray are, you would think at least one of them would have picked up on that.

(Click here for more Ghostbusters reviews)

[littlemisssquiggles]

This one is probebly simpler to answer but possibly now but, which of Salem's faction do you think is close to a point they might be kiled off? For me Hazel is currently safe atm, Cinder is neutral point she already had two fakeout deaths but possibly still has some plot. It is a toss up between Watts and Tyrian given both have a point that could be there end. Watts being executed by Ironwood as a show of force to Salem and Tyrian's desire to please Salem by recapturing Ruby.

Hello again Crystal. That’s actually another good question and I do agree with you on your predications to some degree.

I believe Hazel will be kept around since there is still some unresolved business between him, Oz and Oscar. I have a feeling we could potentially get a rematch between these three characters. Not to mention that as of V6, there also seems to be a growing connection between Hazel, Emerald and Mercury. Particularly Emerald. I quite liked Hazel’s display of empathy towards Emerald where he was willing to sort of take the full brunt of the punishment from Salem for their---well technically Cinder’s failure---at retrieving the Relic of Knowledge during the Battle of Haven.

I feel like this could potentially lead into Hazel becoming a sort of fatherly older brother type character for both Emerald and Mercury. Both of these kids have been victims of not having a proper support system throughout their lives with Mercury being a survivor of child abuse at the hand of his own father and Emerald never having a family to begin with. Not to mention that Hazel still has his own inner demons to heal from regarding the death of his sister. This is why I love the idea of there being more potential moments for these three---Hazel, Emerald and Mercury---to bond since I can actually picture the prospect of their relationship being exactly what they need in a sense.

Mercury never felt the love of a devoted parent---particularly one that’s male. I can easily picture Hazel filling that void since he practically had to be both an older brother and a father figure to Gretchen. He definitely acted like one during his outburst at Oscar back at Hazel.

“…She was only a child! She wasn’t ready!”

I’m actually curious to see how Hazel would react and treat Merc upon learning his backstory of abuse. The same could be said regarding his response to learning that Emerald has never had a family before and had no one (outside of Cinder) to look out for her. Bottom-line, what I’m getting at is that I think a strong family dynamic could develop wholesomely between Hazel, Emerald and Mercury. Through Emerald and Merc (or at least Emerald), Hazel could potentially have a second chance at being a better big brother by looking out for the two teenagers partnered to work with him (to some extent). So yeah, that’s where I see Hazel’s story potentially going along with him making amends for his relationship with Ozpin through his connection to Oscar (maybe; not sure).

Regarding Cinder Fall---to be honest, Cinder could go either way for me at this point. For me, Cinder could either live long enough to see herself overthrow Salem and become an even bigger threat to Remnant than the Wicked Witch (see my Red Queen Cinder Fall headcanon right here and here) or…she can succumb to the Grimm inside of her and practically transforming into inhuman monster in the process. I can’t help that feel like Cinder’s descent will come at the hands of the very Grimm arm that has now fused completely with her body. Notice how back in V7, during her clash with Winter  Schnee, even after Winter had succeeded in cutting off Cinder’s Grimm arm, rather than the arm just falling limp to the ground, it regenerated back into the place on Cinder’s body.

It was like watching a lizard grow back its own tail. The Geist Grimm arm has become so integrated with Cinder’s biology that she’s able to regenerate it---rather painfully--- at will. I can’t help but feel like that right there is a clear foreshadow either for Cinder’s rise or fall. Like I said, Cinder could either end up surviving yet again and ascending to become a powerful Grimmoire (half Grimm, half human hybrid) to overthrow the likes of Salem and take her place as the new Red Queen and leader of the Grimm (after pilfering Salem’s magic in the process)…OR…she could lose what little shred of humanity she had left---finally giving herself fully to accept the full power of the Grimm that’s become a part of her; literally becoming an abomination of man that our heroes will have no choice but to slay.

Cinder could either live or die in my books and it can work either way. I just like the prospect of her overthrowing Salem and becoming a worst final boss than her more intriguing than her being killed off. But that’s just me.

Regarding Arthur Watts---not going to lie; apart from Hazel, Watts is the second member of Salem’s Inner Circle who I legit like and wish to believe in his redemption. The way how I see it, Watts could either end up being redeemed through begrudgingly offering to aid our heroes for his own self-preservation upon learning the full truth about Salem and her intentions with Relics or…he’ll just spend the rest of his years in prison to make amends for his actions against Atlas or something along those lines. I believe Watts could possibly live through the potential Fall of Atlas. But again, this is just my opinion.

This leaves Tyrian Callows. Again, I’m going to be honest, I think Tyrian could be the one most likely to be next on the chopping block in regards to main villain deaths. For me personally, the only fitting death I can picture befalling Tyrian is if he were to die somewhat ironically.

What I mean by that is… imagine if…Salem was the one who ends up killing off Tyrian in the end or rather, it’s a case where Tyrian fails in his mission against our heroes and he becomes so distraught at the mere thought of dying by Salem’s hands as a result of failing her a second time that the Scorpion Faunus just offs himself.

Picture it…Tyrian is given another opportunity to redeem himself for failing to capture Ruby Rose. But he ends up failing a second time after being thwarted by the combined efforts of JNR and potentially Qrow Branwen. Maybe it’s even a case where Tyrian does succeed in capturing Ruby and our little red rose is literally whisked away to Salem’s castle by a Winged Beringel while Tyrian is left to fight Ruby’s allies and prevent them from going to save her.

That could be another interesting take. Even though Tyrian is defeated and possibly killed, Ruby still becomes a prisoner of Salem to some degree. That’s another cool thought for the table of potential possibilities.

Going back to Tyrian---a part of me wishes to believe that Jaune might contribute to Tyrian’s official defeat. In V7CH5, Vine suggested to Jaune that he should try ‘extending his aura’ and this was followed up in the next episode---V7CH6--- when we saw Jaune training with Nora while Oscar observed and kept check of his aura levels on his Scroll. As remarked by Oscar, Jaune was able to recover and replenish his aura levels immediately after taking damage.

“…Nice. Your recovery is getting faster…”

Bearing that in mind, I have a feeling that that little detail is going to come back at some point during V8 particularly in respect to Tyrian Callows. In V7 CH7, during the attack on Robyn’s election victory party, we saw that Tyrian was able to use his semblance to cut through an individual’s aura. If it’s been established that Jaune is able to quickly recover his aura then currently, everyone’s favourite Arc boy is the only one who has an edge over Tyrian.

At the moment, Jaune’s semblance is the perfect counter to Tyrian’s since even if the Scorpion Faunus is able to cut through Jaune’s aura, his attempts will be proven futile since Jaune will just recover his aura immediately after taking damage. Thus, my hunch now is that Jaune may play a part  in Tyrian’s ultimate defeat. I think the only way for Tyrian to truly go down for good is through death considering the fact that his whole backstory has been him constantly evading capture.

To stop a cold-blooded killer, you basically have to kill the killer, right?            

I’m also curious to know if we’ll have Qrow getting a chance to enact revenge on Tyrian for killing Clover. After all, it was his own weapon that Tyrian heartlessly used to murder Clover and frame the Branwen man for his death. Wouldn’t it be the most fitting karma if Tyrian receives his comeuppance by having Qrow blindside him and cut him down from behind using Harbinger, just as how he did Clover.

I’m not saying that I’m all for Qrow murdering Tyrian---I guess what I’m more picturing is a better rematch against Tyrian that parallels the events of V4 where he made his first appearance to the RNJR group. During that encounter, RNJR was completely powerless against Tyrian leading to Qrow’s intervention.

Personally I’m digging the concept of a reverse parallel to V4. In that season, we saw Tyrian fail to capture Ruby for Salem resulting in him being defeated by the efforts of Qrow who came to his niece’s aid after her and JNR were overpowered by Tyrian.

In V4, it was Qrow who came to RNJR’s aid when Tyrian arrived to take Ruby. What if…for V8, it is JNR who end up coming to Qrow’s aid after Tyrian succeeds in capturing Ruby?

Picture it. Perhaps…it’s a scenario where Qrow was out doing reconnaissance alone in Mantle with only Ruby. However things take a turn for the worse when Tyrian leads an ambush against the two. If I recall correctly, Qrow was inspired by the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Well in the Wizard of Oz story, I remember there being a part where the Scarecrow is ripped apart by the flying monkeys who were successful in capturing Dorothy for the Wicked Witch of the West.

Perhaps… there could be a RWBY equivalent to this in V8 where Qrow gets brutally injured during an ambush by Tyrian Callow who leads his own army of Winged Beringels, resulting in Ruby being captured this time as a powerless Qrow could only watch helplessly as his niece is whisked away to become Salem’s prisoner.

As for Tyrian, he arrogantly stays behind to finish Qrow off and further mock him over the events of Clover’s death; ultimately leading to Jaune, Nora and Ren all arriving in time to save Qrow this time; just as how he saved them in V4.

I think that could potentially be a neat scene to see; dontcha think?  

Tyrian facing off against Nora, Jaune and Ren again alongside Qrow---I’d love to see that. Heck yeah! I’m definitely digging the idea of Tyrian facing off against a stronger Team JNR who actually give him a good run for his money this second round; especially Jaune with his semblance.

I like the notion of JNR succeeding in defeating Tyrian with Qrow getting his chance to finally cut Tyrian down for what he did to Clover.

Basically what this squiggle meister is trying to say with my jibber jab is that I don’t expect Tyrian to survive for another volume.

Of all the villains in Salem’s army, he’s the one I expect to see go down next; more so than Cinder Fall since I’d like to believe there is a sliver of a chance that Cinder could survive long enough to see herself rise higher and succeed beyond the likes of even Salem. If Salem is the Black Queen then I am 100% on board with Cinder becoming the Red Queen equivalent to that; becoming a more heartless, blood-thirsty and monstrously power-hungry threat beyond the likes of what Salem set in store for her. I’m all for the satire of Salem basically creating her own worst enemy in Cinder. Consider me a firm advocate for that headcanon.

Beyond that, my money is on Tyrian to be offed next. As for how he’ll die, that’s anyone’s guess. If I had to picture it, I can see Tyrian going out one of two ways. Either Salem is the one to kill Tyrian or… Tyrian commits suicide in a twisted ‘I’d rather kill myself than face the anguish of crawling back to my beloved goddess after failing her a second time’ type of deal in the event that he does fail to capture Ruby a second time.

As weird as that may sound, imagining the look on Tyrian’s face at the prospect of being killed by Salem makes me curious. Tyrian literally worships Salem so how would he feel if she was the one to kill him. Will he be genuinely stunned or will it be another example of him accepting everything in the name of his divine goddess; even if it meant his own death.

Or…since I brought up the prospect of Tyrian succeeding to capture Ruby for Salem…perhaps…it can even be a scenario where, after Tyrian is defeated and completely overpowered by the efforts of JNR and Qrow, knowing that there was an off-chance that the heroes might use him against Salem to find Ruby, Tyrian commits suicide out of spite; thus eliminating the group’s only chance at finding and rescuing the captive Ruby.

This could’ve been a cool idea if Ruby was taken all the way back to Salem’s castle in the Dark Domain and since the members of Salem’s inner circle were the only ones who knew the whereabouts of where Salem resided, finding Ruby would be a wild goose chase---granted that Salem kept her alive long enough for her comrades to save her.

When I look at it like that, colour me intrigued because these concepts aren’t bad to ponder on. But again; this is just me once again putting my thoughts and ideas out there. 

Overall, I hope I was able to answer you again Crystal. Please let me know if I did with your thoughts on my thoughts, thanks.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)  

[kyndaris]

Dearly Beloved

The Kingdom Hearts franchise has always been dear to my heart, ever since I first saw ads of it on TV back when I was just a little one. The infusion of Disney with Final Fantasy had be hooked. Mostly because of Disney. It was only later on that I fell in love with Final Fantasy. And the rest...well, as they say, is history. 

It should also not come as a surprise that I have great respect for the Goddess that is Yoko Shimomura. Since my early days of playing video games, she’s managed to capture the essence of the Disney worlds and bring them to life as Sora has traipsed through, destroying Heartless everywhere he went. I mean...look no further to my old posts about Final Fantasy XV and you will see that I basically worship anything that she throws out into the world.

So, though I was burned by re: Coded and its rehash of prior events, I still picked up Melody of Memory with the full knowledge that any relevant lore drops would most likely be at the end and just be enough to tide me over before the next bigger release (and honestly, after the dumpster fire that was Kairi’s entire character arc in Kingdom Hearts 3, I would have liked to see her uplifted a little in future instalments). And because the game is essentially a celebration of the work Shimomura has poured into the series.

As soon as gamers pick the game up, they are thrust into the ‘World Tour’. There’s little explanation for why the characters have ended up in a musically-themed game, but as soon as you unlock the first recap cutscene, it becomes clear that Kairi is summarising the series.

A lot of the music are top-notch and easily recognisable for anyone familiar with the series. Whether that was Bustin’ on the Beach, Destati or L’impeto Oscuro. Others were a little bit harder to pin down - mostly because they never truly impressed upon me during my initial playthrough, such as Access the Grid (which also did not seem to hit my beat centres so I felt as if I was too heavily reliant on the visuals to pull me through).

Melody of Memory only contains approximately 140 or so songs. That meant that not all of my favourite songs were present. In particular, Tears of the Light, which is my  go-to melancholy song to make sad things a hundred times sadder. Still, there was quite a bit of variety, though there were also quite a few remixes of songs, such as Traverse in Trance and Scherzo di Notte. All of them brought a little something extra to the pieces on display, so it did not feel like I was playing through the exact same song, even if I thought that it was cheating. At least, a little.

I will admit, though, that the limit of one song for each world in the Kingdom Hearts 3 portion of the game was a little disappointing. Even if Let it Go is a bop, I would have preferred additional field and battle music. 

What came as a shock, though, were ACTUAL DISNEY SONGS that could be unlocked. Like: A Whole New World and Beauty and the Beast. All, of course, from the ACTUAL ANIMATED FILMS! 

I mean, I had expected Utada Hikaru - because the singer has become synonymous with the series, but one does not simply throw in Part of Your World, okay? At least warn a Disney geek!

The gameplay is reminiscent of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. However, as none of the consoles that can play it have the use of a stylus, it’s mostly button presses with the occasional flick of the thumbstick. The presentation is also vastly different - with the four different teams running towards enemies and hacking away at them to the rhythm of the music. This took me some adjustment as my natural inclination was to hammer away at X (or A, as I was playing on the Nintendo Switch) as soon as Heartless/ Nobodies/ Unversed or Nightmares appeared. Of course, that often resulted in a ‘bad’, hurting my poor characters and depleting my health bar.

The controls for the game keep it quite simple. There are three buttons that can be used to attack (which are helpful when the occasional simultaneous attack occurs, as you need to press either two or all three), one is for jump (and if you hold it down, you can glide) and a final button to use magic/ special move. At least, those are for the general tracks.

There are also two other different types of tracks that one can play through. Boss battles and movie tracks have singular hit notes (red), hold notes (green) and thumbstick flick notes (yellow). Most of these are to the left or right of the screen rather than centred, as with the general ones. But unless I was playing on beginner, most of my attention was focused on what combination of notes were coming up ahead - desperate to not miss a single one in my chain (particularly on Proud).

Once I had gone through all the worlds, I was rewarded with discovering that the entire game had been Kairi reliving her memories in a desperate bid to find Sora. How something like that would help in reality is questionable, but THIS is Kingdom Hearts. I’ve stopped trying to apply logic where the franchise is concerned. After remembering her traumatic childhood and being ‘rescued’ by Terra-nort, she is put into a machine to find a keyblade wielder. Researcher Terra-nort says a few obscure words and Kairi is back in THE FINAL WORLD. Where, of course, a phantom of Master Xehanort appears. They fight. Kairi, for some random reason, takes on the form of Sora, defeats Master Xehanort and then she wakes back in Radiant Garden with Diz, Ienzo and Even looking on.

It’s not too long before Riku appears and then THE FAIRY GODMOTHER! Some revelations are dropped and all three are whisked away to the Final World (which I thought was where hearts on the cusp of death went, but anyhow, they manage to travel there) to meet with the Nameless Star. She is revealed to come from the ‘Other’ world. A place of fiction and ‘unreality.’ It is then that she reveals a city called Quadratum, wherein resides Noctis Yozora of Verum Rex fame. Riku, as always, heads in to rescue his good old friend and Kairi stays behind to train with Master Aqua.

Thus ends Melody of Memory, paving the way for where the story will go next.

I’m not entirely sure how the Lost Masters will feature in Quadrutum or what role they’ll play in the inevitable sequel. The Re:Mind DLC seemed incredibly focused on Yozora and the unreleased ‘fantasy based on reality’ Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Somehow, though, I’m sure Nomura will make it all fit and still have fans scratching their heads. Hopefully, though, we’ll get to see more Riku AND have a proper strong story arc for Kairi. The poor girl needs to catch a break instead of being a walking plot device cliche that only serves to motivate the main protagonist.

Now, back to whether or not Melody of Memory is worth playing through and purchasing. If you’re a Kingdom Hearts aficionado that also loves the music and doesn’t mind rhythm games, pick it up. If you said no to any of the three, particularly if you hate rhythm games, then don’t. You might as well just YouTube the ending to get your daily fix of Kingdom Hearts lore that’ll keep you informed and give you a modicum of knowledge for what Kingdom Hearts 4 may bring. 

Ah! Who am I kidding? The next title after this won’t be Kingdom Hearts 4. It’ll probably be another indecipherable list of numbers or words that are just jammed together because it sounds cool. NOMURA! LOOK AT THE CHAOS YOU HAVE WROUGHT!

[eri-blogs-life]

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth

This has definitely been one of the games that I played this year.

So I have... a lot of thoughts about Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth and I wanna talk about. These thoughts might not be super contiguous or all track logically, but honestly, that’s just kind of the same as the experience that I had playing Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (I’ll just say CS for short going forward). CS is a good game, and I enjoyed my time with it a lot, but it also is a bit baffling at times and so it’s like... I like it, I had a good time with it mostly, but there are bits that made me just feel confusion as to whether I could actually call this a good game. 

So... I’m gonna try organizing my thoughts here based on the game’s title to start, cause that seems like a fun way to start out with this writeup of my thoughts.

The Digimon

So, I’ve attempted to play through this game 3 times now. The first time, I picked up the version on PS4 second-hand from gamestop and made it maybe 4 chapters into the 20-chapter story before a better big game captured my attention. The second time, I bought the Complete Edition when it came out on Switch and attempted another playthrough. I think that time I made it 6 chapters in, but issues with the game’s difficulty and my bigger interest in other games that were out at the same time made me fall off of it. Lately, I’ve been on a kick of playing through really big JRPGs on the Switch, and I figured this was the time to really push my way through. But to do that, I had to find the fun. Because my previous times, I didn’t find it to be a ton of fun - the story was meh, the experience was extremely linear, the difficulty had weird spikes and valleys all around, and it just didn’t seem that fun. But I was recently watching a retrospective on the digimon franchise (shout out to Billiam on youtube for that if you’re interested), and while watching I came to the realization that the fun of digimon has always been different than in pokemon (the comparison to pokemon is, unfortunately, always inevitable when talking about digimon - the two were so closely intertwined in popular culture in america in the late 90s / early 00′s that it’s hard to deny there’s something to connect them)

Pokemon’s about catching them all. Digimon’s about raising a partner. Digimon started as a tamogatchi brand marketed towards boys, with cool monsters you could fight with each other. The fun of digimon has always been seeing your partner(s) grow and become new forms. And that’s where I finally found the fun in Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth.

The fun is in bonding. I found out in my second playthrough how to nickname digimon, and that became my go-to when I would get a new digimon on my team in this playthrough. Every digimon had a nickname. Early on I had a team consisting of Willis, Stinky, Specty, Babby, Evil Babby, Big Bird, Tomato, Axey, and Beedril. Over time, I got to watch these fools grow - Willis from a Terriermon into a Gallantmon CM, Stinky from a Guilmon into a Diaboromon, Specty got fused with someone called Shellby and went from Specty the Patamon to Shellspecty the Cherrymon, Babby fused with Big Bird and the two ended up as an Aeroveedramon, and so on. 

The fun of the game was in watching as these monsters I’d bonded with became stronger and changed into new and different forms. And that was the fun of the game for most of the early game for me, and continued throughout the game, mostly.

Ultimately, the game has some weird difficulty spikes at times, especially in some of the sidequests, which feel nearly impossible. I ended up focusing heavily on trying to find all my digimon final forms that had penetrating moves (moves which ignore the enemy’s defense or intelligence when calculating damage), because a lot of the game’s main story bosses are heavily focused on having high defense, and relatively low HP. So, that meant that I couldn’t just use all my favorite digimon. Some just didn’t have what it takes to hold up against certain fights, and I had to move them away from forms I really liked to try to find them stronger forms so I could complete the sidequests. It was still entertaining to play, and did have me continuing to see my digimon grow over time and we bonded, but it also felt a bit lackluster that some favorite mega-level forms just didn’t have what it took to deal with some of the late-game sidequests (at least in hard difficulty, which I played through on - thankfully you can change the difficulty during a playthrough, so I could have dropped it to try to do the sidequests, but I didn’t opt to do that. I just still haven’t beat all the sidequests, instead focusing on the main quest). 

the game doesn’t have a lot of animated cutscenes but those it does have come out strong

The Story

CS’s story is... fine. I think it’s probably a decently good story that’s just told confusingly. And I think there’s a couple reasons for that, but one of the biggest is that the translation is not the best. It’s passable, but it doesn’t always feel like things were translated in a holistic way to the whole game, rather it feels like each line was translated on its own, which leads to things feeling like they don’t all track together naturally at times, and a bunch of mistakes like the Eaters being referred to as Bakemon (a digimon name), because in Japanese they’re referred to sometimes as bakemono, which is just the Japanese word for a monster.

The other big issue I feel I have with the story of CS is that it feels like it’s all over the place, at least early on. Early on in the game, the story starts to set up a lot of different characters and plot threads that don’t seem to really connect with each other until much later in the game. That kind of story can be told well, but in this case, I just feel like the execution left a lot to be desired. For a long time, it felt like I was just playing through a bunch of different unrelated stories rather than a singular story. I’m not sure exactly what would be the right way to implement the idea to help keep the early game’s story interesting, but as it is, it felt a little lackluster.

However, that really only applies to the early game. And the late game, though in a bit of a different way. Around chapter 8 out of 20, the story starts popping off, and the individual stories concerning all the side characters start coming together to reveal the bigger picture of what’s been happening in Tokyo and Eden lately, and what issues that’s leading to in both the real and digital worlds. And from about chapter 8 through 19 or so, it feels really good and strong and there’s a clear singular direction that the story is taking, and every new piece of information seems to feed into the major plot in some way. 

And then as you get into the last chapter, things start to feel a little less narratively tied together again. See, yes, the mysteries were building into a singular situation that was threatening both the real and digital worlds, but the game feels like it lacks a narrative throughline, or even multiple narrative throughlines for each major character. It feels like there’s no moral being focused on here, rather, it feels like there’s just a series of events that happen because it would be cool to have them happen. And they were cool. But... to really make a story feel good to me, I feel like there needs to be some sense of a complete narrative moral, and I just didn’t feel that way from this game. The closest I could tell was one line from the ending,

“You will now be the master of your own future.”

But... that feels weak. It didn’t feel like being able to control their own future was much of a theme for any of the main characters, except maybe Arata. And even then, it was a pretty weak theme. (I suppose an argument could be made that the game’s very linear story means your character doesn’t have a lot of freedom from a gameplay perspective, so the gameplay supports you not having control over your future, but... that’s a pretty weak argument.)

So, the story is interesting, but it’s also pretty weak. 

fusion evolution is apparently gay as hell and i love it

The Cyber Sleuthing

There’s not really any actual sleuthing in this game. It’s really just a narrative device to give your character a reason to help out with a variety of random situations. You very rarely, if ever, have to actually solve mysteries/puzzles during your journey. So... not much actual sleuthing. But the greater mystery of the story does get really interesting in the mid game, so I’ll give it that. 

Other stuff

Here, I just wanna talk about some other miscellaneous thoughts I have about this game, and then kinda sum it all up. 

I loved Persona 5. It was a wonderful game, and such a powerful turn-based JRPG, that it’s influenced my perception of basically every JRPG I’ve played since. And it feels weird to do that. Like I feel like CS is a really decent game taken on its own, but when I’m comparing everything in some way to Persona 5, CS feels like it sucks. Like there are so many aspects where I can see ways to improve upon the game - the translation is lacking, there’s no english dub, combat is fairly smooth but Persona’s combat always feels like it’s a puzzle to be solved but CS’s combat feels like it’s just ‘have the right type digimon in play’, add more social elements to let me grow closer to Yuuko, Nokia, Arata, and other characters. 

There’s this narration near the end of the game to explain how things change after the big final boss battle, and it’s narrated by one of the in-game characters, Nokia. And it’s amazing, because Nokia’s character can be kinda... ditzy, I guess is the right word? So there are parts in that bit of narration where she’s just like “and, you know... stuff changed” or whatever. It’s both funny, and leaves things fairly up to the player to have their own interpretations for what happens with everyone after things are over. There’s some small scenes after that narration that show some of what the main cast has been up to since the events of the final battle, but nothing that gives too much of a clue as to what happened.

----

There is a running gag throughout the whole game about how your mentor character likes experimenting with coffee, making weird blends like adding red bean paste or seaweed to her coffee, and she loves pushing this on other people who often react in horror. But there’s also this really nice scene in the finale where it shows the main character, without Kyoko around, drinking mayo coffee, and I think it’s just cute as heck

There’s a canon nonbinary character in the game, who complains about being forced to choose between either a male or female avatar when logging into the online system, and I absolutely love that kinda shit <3

My favorite status effect is one called Dot, where it converts your digimon into a sprite form and prevents them from using special attacks. And I love when JRPGs add fun unique statuses like this, which make sense within the context of the world

In Summary

So, to tie it all together, here’s my final thoughts:

I enjoyed my time with Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth a ton. But I’m a fan of digimon and jrpgs. I think the game has its fair share of problems that mean I couldn’t really recommend it to just anyone, but if you like digimon and jrpgs, it’s worth picking up. And the complete edition comes with two games for the price of one, so all the better.