#like we're not talking why the car showed up‚ speculation of what's in the car‚ discussion on its specific shade of red and why it's red

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Every day I log onto tumblr dot com to find 1k note post takes about canon from Sonic fans that directly contradict things you can see with your eyes but everyone accepts and agrees with because it fits with their fun fanon

[myseungsunglove]

First Pitch | Ksm

Pairing: Kim Seungmin x reader 

Warnings: angsty, wrapped in fluff

Word Count:  1.2k

𖠫Summary: Seungmin struggles to understand why his fiance can’t be by his side on one of the most important days of his life. 

✎A/N✎: This has just been floating around in my head since Seungmin threw his first pitch. It’s nothing special, but I’m kind of in love with it. Hope someone out there likes it, if any of you remember that I actually write since it’s been over a month. hides in shame 

◠ ◡ ◠᭚ιαᵕ̈

「©  April 11, 2024 by myseungsunglove」

You sit in the car on the drive to the stadium and the mood is somber. Seungmin is nervous about throwing the first pitch of the game between the All Korea team and the LA Dodgers, a team that he has always admired. 

Couple that with the fact that you aren't allowed to be there with him during one of the biggest moments of his life and you could cut the tension in the car with a knife. Seungmin had wanted you by his side for the first pitch and the company had given the both of you a resounding no. You understood why, and at the end of the day, you believe that Seungmin did too, but it didn’t mean that he was happy about it. 

“Explain it to me one more time,” he mutters, interlacing his long fingers with yours as he glares at the back of the manager's head. “Like I’m five.” You know the anger isn’t necessarily directed at your manager, but when Seungmin has his mind set on something that seems logical to him, he just can’t let it go. He is stubborn that way.

The manager sighs audibly from the front seat, his shoulders rising and falling visibly as he turns to face the two of you. 

“Seungmin, we’ve gone over this many times,” he responds patiently, avoiding the discussion altogether. 

“So go over it again,” Seungmin snaps. 

“Seung,” you whisper beside him, squeezing his hand gently. He doesn’t look at you. 

“Please,” he adds for your benefit. 

The manager blinks slowly at him, empathy coupled with patience etched on his face. 

“Y/n would be the only member of SKZ that is here with you when everyone else’s schedules are too busy,” your manager starts. "Frankly, her schedule is too busy to even be here as long as she is."

“Y/n is the only member of SKZ that I’m engaged to, so it makes sense that she’s here,” Seungmin retorts. “I fail to see the issue.” 

The manager sighs heavily. 

“You are well aware that the public doesn’t know that. They don’t even know you’re together. If she is the only one to show up at your first pitch, people will talk. Everyone will speculate. They already do and this will just add fuel to the fire.”

“Let them talk,” Seungmin says with a shrug, his brow set. He’s nothing if not determined. 

“Minnie,” you whisper beside him. His attention is pulled away from the manager, his frustrated puppy eyes turning on you like a weapon. “If I’m the only one here, if people start to talk, this event, this huge opportunity for you becomes about us and what we are. It’s no longer about this awesome opportunity that you are getting,” you tell him. "If even one of the guys could have come too, maybe it would be different, but you know we're preparing for the fanmeeting and a comeback. There is no time." You squeeze his hand gently. "But I made time."

He scowls at you, but it’s soft, as he considers your argument.

“I know,” he relents, looking down at your clasped hands, rubbing over the top of your hand gently. His cheeks puff out in frustration and he blows all the air from them before he speaks again. “But I need you there,” he whines. 

It isn't often that Seungmin admits that he needs anyone. His confession makes your heart clench in your chest. You’ve never seen him this nervous before. Not even when he proposed to you. 

With your free hand, you gently place your palm against his cheek and lift his face so that you are eye to eye. 

“I love you more than the air I breathe, Kim Seungmin,” you tell him. 

He leans in and kisses you. It’s soft and slow, his hands parting from yours so that he can grab your waist and pull you into his arms. When he pulls away a little breathless, you speak again. 

“And I will be there,” you assure him. Your manager turns around to look at you, a slightly concerned look on his face. You scowl back at him, a look that tells him you’ve got this under control and to chill out. “I won’t be right beside you, but I've got a seat right behind the catcher. I’ll have the best seat in the house. I’ll be able to see your pretty face and the best opening pitch anyone has ever seen,” you tell him. 

His forehead falls against yours with a sigh. 

“You’ll arrange for me to meet y/n before the game starts to say goodbye before she heads back to the company? After I’ve thrown the pitch?” he asks. The question directed at your manager. 

“We already have,” he says. 

Seungmin’s big brown boba eyes meet yours and they have softened from the start of the conversation. 

“Okay,” he says, resigned, his hands dancing along your thighs nervously like he still has more to say. “Can I have a minute with my fiancé?” he asks. It's not really a question. You realize that the car has parked in a garage at the stadium. You're in a corner away from prying eyes. With tinted windows, no one would know there was anyone in the car. “Alone,” he emphasizes with a small possessive growl. You can’t help the smirk that slips onto your face. 

Without any pushback, the manager and the driver get out of the car and walk a respectable distance away. 

Seungmin wastes no time pulling you onto his lap so that you are straddling him. You sigh longingly as his hands gently caress your face and pull your lips to his. This kiss is hungry, needy. His soft mouth is insistent as his tongue slips past your lips to taste you. His hands have wandered down your body and up under the back of your shirt, the pads of his fingers dancing along your back as he kisses you breathless. 

“Want to tell them,” he mumbles against your mouth, his breath heavy against your lips. “No more secrets,” he adds, kissing you hard again. 

You can’t help the moan that escapes your throat and the thrill that runs through your body at his words. Seungmin doesn’t want your relationship to be behind closed doors anymore. 

“You want everyone to know?” you ask when you're forced to pull away again, your breath coming in short, quick gasps. 

“Yes,” he answers simply, gazing into your eyes. “I can’t have another big moment like this where you can’t be right there with me,” he confesses. “You’re my everything, Y/N,” he looks at you with glassy boba eyes, the emotions he is feeling threatening to overflow. “I need you.” 

You hold his face in yours and stare into his eyes. 

“We’ll talk to Chan and our manager tonight about how to move forward,” you agree. “Surely they knew this was coming sooner rather than later. We’ve been engaged for nearly six months,” you chuckle softly. 

He smiles brightly at you then and you can’t help but return the gesture. He kisses you quick as you move to get off his lap. 

“Alright, my baseball player Kim Seungmin. You’ve got to get out of here and go show them how kick ass you are,” you tell him, kissing him on the cheek. 

He chuckles shyly, your favorite sound only second to his beautiful voice, as he moves to open the door, his shoulders shaking out his shirt like he does when he gets a little nervous. You love that you can still make him flustered even with a simple compliment.

He holds his hand out for you to grab, pulling you from the car and into his waiting arms where he kisses you once more. 

“One for good luck,” he smiles against your lips. 

“Not that you’ll need it,” you tell him, kissing him slowly. 

“Love you,” he whispers against your lips. 

“You better,” you smile up at him. “Cause I’m not going anywhere, Kim Seungmin.”

[lee-sanghyeok]

Some thoughts on the trailer film: Mysterious 20!

Prior to the release of the trailer film, we only got the promo, in which we just got these shots:

An old blackberry laying in a puddle and counting to 20 in green lettering. Someone snatching it from the ground as they're running, with others running behind them. Myself and others speculated it would have to do with themes of time travel, references to the Matrix and Back To The Future given the title, "1999", and that the music would pay homage to 90s pop and hiphop.

Now we got the full trailer.

Immediately, it's clear that we're in the early 2000s. Woonhak is wearing an outfit that's 2000s-inspired, he's wearing old headphones. The website that Woonhak opens on the old Blackberry is clearly a Web 1.0 site.

The website is named "Twenty", which the trailer says stands for fear and hope. Looking at numerology, it claims that the number also symbolises balance, harmony, the promise of success, as well as fresh starts in terms of relationships.

On the website, you see in the sidebar 'Nietzsche', which is a crazy reference, but makes me believe they're going to allude to him in a certain way? Either say his name directly in a lyric, or quote him. One of his famous quotes is, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” In general, he's one of the Big Modern Thinkers of the Western world known for his radical takes on culture, religion, death, and so on.

The website changes again and this time we see "MONEY POWER GREED" in red and white right above the avatar, and "STOP LIVING PAY CHECK TO PAY CHECK" below. Do these pop-ups potentially hint at themes that'll be discussed in the EP? Who fucking knows!

The avatar talking to Woonhak calls the phone "this super laptop" which is weird since it's just a Blackberry. This once again enforces we're in the early 2000s where this is new and exciting, sort of like the advent of the smartphone.

Then we see Riwoo and Leehan playing with the Wii and with older box tv's behind them. The Wii came out in 2006 and they're playing in a video game store as opposed to at home, so we can assume it's legit 2006 and they're testing out the console.

The news anchor then reveals an IT company made sure a nineteen-year-old found the Blackberry. That's why it's Woonhak that found it and not one of the other members. Something about the age nineteen is important; it's asking us to pay attention.

What is so special about nineteen and the advent of becoming twenty? Is it the death of Teen Age? Is it about the turn of the century when people had anxieties about technology (aka Y2K) and thought all computers would stop working because the date has to descend from '99' to '00'?

"The countdown to twenty has begun," says the news anchor.

The tv that Sungho and Jaehyun are watching the news on is from 2002. The Wii got released in 2006. Woonhak is legit turning 20 this year.

This new concept and era of their music takes place in 2006, the year Woonhak was born.

Then all hell breaks loose. Other anonymous nineteen year olds try and steal the 'super laptop' from Woonhak as they all believe something incredible or marvelous will happen once the countdown hits 20. Then a news anchor calls the 'super laptop' a Pandora's Box, which is something that at first can be seen as a valuable present, but is something cursed in reality.

We can surmise that all the nineteen year old people want this super laptop because they believe it holds valuable information on how to become 20, on how to successfully start adulthood and be the best. That is has the answers of the universe. But the reality might be a lot more grim as adulthood is a lot more complex then some laptop can explain.

In the end, they're surrounded by the mob and caught by someone in a helicopter. Details on Sungho's car show us "20th Anniversary" and "Nice". Nice is one of the album versions we'll be getting!

When they're about to be attacked and the countdown is close to twenty, we see the boys surrounding and protecting Woonhak. They're all older than him and know what lies ahead, and so they must save him from the mob and from whatever this 'superlaptop' will do.

That's where the trailer ends.

So, as I've previously discussed with Allison, I think we were correct to think that this new era is about the Self. They've explored the idea of a relationship in their first trilogy, which was all about The Other Person. But now it's about themselves, about growing up, about age what it means to Come Of Age. About the anxieties of ending your teenage years, of what you're losing and can't return to, of what you're possibly gaining.

I think this album will be very introspective in a way that suits boynextdoor and their way of writing! It'll still be fun and fresh and loud and creative, but it'll focus on themselves as opposed to someone else.

Also! Fun little detail! This shot implies that Sungho can drive and, therefore, has a driver's license! Though time isn't linear in bonedo lore, they have grown and now can drive as opposed to in their song 'Serenade' wherein they made it explicitly clear they didn't have a license or a car!

That's all!

[rei-ismyname]

Highlights from The Uncanny X-Men at The State Fair of Texas.

In 1983 the Texas State Fair paid for some ad space in the Dallas Times Herald. I can't even begin to speculate how this was a profitable endeavour for either party, but I'm glad they did bc it's a hoot!

It starts off with the X-Men training in the 'Circle of Death' (off brand danger room? No idea.) Chuck detects a new Mutant at in Texas, specifically at the state fair. They mosey on down, hoping to get there before Magneto.

Obviously he's already there talking to Horse Boy, filling his head with 'many beguiling lies.' Mags is wearing a trench coat and and sinister hat, so you can tell he's a bad guy.

Turns out Horse Boy is actually Centaur with Wings Boy. An anthropomorphic Pegasus, if you will. He has an affinity for horses and can transform at will. He seems lovely but this kid is not exactly a prime recruit.

Mags goes to get changed and soliloquy, as is his wont. But oh no, the X-Men are here!

I assume Big Tex is a big attraction of the state fair. He'll show up again. 'Shut the fuck up Comrade, we're not here to look at cars.' Jesus Chuck, let the farm boy look at cars. Lol, the story takes place over two days because 'there is just too much to see in one day' - says the psychic.

This panel speaks for itself really.

Magneto frames the gang of weird looking spandex clad youths as a threat and Centaur Boy joins the fray! Mags also yeets horshoes at everyone, lol.

Chuck's winning personality antagonizes Centaur Boy and Mags easily disables the X-Men.

Magneto's lack of care for horses turns the tide and he takes a huge L. Centaur Boy doesn't like the way the X-Men live and chooses to stay with the horses. Good for him, though my headcanon is that he got killed by sentinels off panel.

Told you Big Tex would be back. Did he kick Magneto in the pants? Yeah, why not. What a lark. Obviously it's cheesy as hell but I can appreciate the honesty of the premise, even if the story is... weak. A+ for camp though.

[b-ritney]

Piece of Your Action, Part 2

@mystargirl-interlude

Oh, I want you, I need you I want you to be mine tonight You need me, you bleed me Use you up, throw you away

You're fire, taking me higher Don't burn me, don't let me down You need me now, I'll teach you how Come on, let's go all the way!

lmao KEEP YOUR ARMS AND LEGS INSIDE THE RIDE AND BUCKLE YOUR MOTHER FLIPPING SEAT BELTS.

SMUT +18

Warnings: Choking, touch denial, light spanking, blow job, spit, oral , hair pulling, light degradation (nothing major), and sarcastic praise, (Bc Billy can't say SHIT genuinely.), size kink, vibrator, I'll work in aftercare... somehow.

Summary: After your altercation with Carol you take Billy up on his offer to show you, "a good time." Who knew he was just as insane as you are.

______________________________________________________________

“What was it you said about showing me a good time?”

Billy had nothing.. he was trying to distract you from the fact he was hard as a rock, by mirroring your devilish smile. Watching you beat the hell out of that bitch made him wanna take you in the middle of the hallway. Although he was honestly a little frightened .. you would feel the same way about him, that you do Carol, if you really knew who he was. Right?

“Hargrove?”

“Uh, yeah,” he adjusted himself making you laugh sarcastically, “I think I could treat you to an evening you won’t forget.”

“You have no shame do you?

“None”

“You think your slick huh? You aren’t any different than the other wanna be tough guy in this town. You just drive a better car.”

“You wanna test that theory?”

“Are you sure you can handle me?”

“Babe, you have no idea how many ways I could handle you.”

“Do you wanna test that theory?” You countered putting your hands on your hips.

“I like ‘um a little spunky, it’s more rewarding by the end when your so exhausted you can’t speak.” He leaned in closer to your ear.

“Brave of you to assume I'll make a sound in the first place, you don’t know what you're getting yourself into.”

“Care to show me what I’m missing?“

You scanned his body on more time, sizing him up. Walking around him to see every angle. “I’ll take you for a test drive, but don’t act like you're doing me a favor.”

Billy let out a menacing laugh dropping his head. “Where to then?”

“I don’t care, I won’t be sticking around either way I’ve got other plans.” You said dusting off your pants.

“You cut deep." He feigned offense. "My house then, my sister will be gone long enough, besides, when you finally break, the neighbors are gonna wish they were gone too."

You raised your eyebrows in slight shock, was this guy for real? "Lead the way then."

________________________________________________

"So tell me, why do you act the way you do?" Billy asked catching your eyes, aviators slid down his nose as you flew through the backroads to his house.

"Like you care."

"Normally I wouldn't but pretty girls like you don't go around creating chaos unless they've been hurt."

"No shame," you repeated again shaking your head and smiling. "I- I figure if you lay it all out on the table, you leave little room for speculation. It saves you time and heartache, if people know the real you, you don't have to work as hard to weed out the ones who don't deserve your time... because they won't even approach you to begin with."

"But you haven't always been this way."

"How would you know? Didn't you just move here this year?"

"I just know and yes I did."

"I know why you followed me out of class."

"Do you?"

"Of course I do, you don't think I know what people say about me?

"Did you really fuck a cop?

"No"

"oh"

"I blew him."

Billy whipped his head around, and you busted out laughing, "Enough with the romance Hargrove, we're both in this for the same thing."

"which is?"

"To see if you can back up your big talk."

_________________________________________________________

Billy opened the front door and let you in, locking it behind you; you didn't even have a chance to get your boots off before he had you pinned against the wall by your throat.

"No romance right?" he said cocking his head to the side.

"---right."

"Take off your jacket." he brought you forward hand still firmly wrapped around your neck, as you slid the jacket down your shoulders. "If you're so confident, I don't wanna hear a sound, understand?"

"No problem." You spat back in his face.

He released his grip and knelt in front of you yanking your pants down to your knees in one move. Your heart began to race, the look on his face was.. hungry. He dove in with no warning, sucking harshly on your clit as you fought against the universe to stay strong. He spread your legs wider holding onto the back of your thighs, he lapped at your pussy like a dehydrated hound. You kept your mouth shut despite the scream just waiting to explode from your throat. He nuzzled his head farther into your mound forcing his tongue past your fluttering entrance. You. grabbed a fist full of his hair as your legs began to shake. Just when you were about to cum he stopped. The pulsing of your cunt and your flushed complexion were the only signs you gave him, "tired already?" you teased, trying to remain equal.

"Cumming already?" he challenged, leaving you speechless for the first time that night. He grabbed your arm and whipped you into the kitchen table lifting you to sit on the edge, and pushing you to lay back on the hard surface. He swiftly took your boots and pants the rest of the way off leaving you in nothing but your white socks, grey tank top, and accessories. "No bra? You little minx." You opened your mouth to say something but he cut in again, "Save your breath doll, you're gonna need it." He slapped your pussy making you fall back against the table. He rubbed it up and down a few times before pushing in his middle and pointer finger, you arched your back of the table as he watched you writhe around beneath him. He's slept with some pretty hard women but not even the toughest ones managed to hold out this long, you're successfully challenging his abilities, and it's aggravating him beyond belief. He pumps them faster and faster adding another finger and rubbing your clit with his thumb, Billy was breathing heavier than you, he was pissed now, leaning down to suck on your clit again, desperate to hear you take even a sharp breath. He continued his brutal pace with his fingers, violently shaking his tongue against you, laughing maniacally as you twisted beneath him running from the overwhelming sensation, but still not making a sound.

"Impressive," he said, his lips and chin glistening with your juices as he admired your fucked out face and dripping pussy.

Your mind was reeling, you had to regain control, you sat upright grabbing him by the collar of his t-shirt, bringing him just shy of meeting your lips, this was your leverage, "I'll work half as hard and you'll be calling my name." he leaned in closer like he was going to kiss you, "No romance right? he looked shocked, you used his moment of vulnerability to shove him down into the chair behind him. He caught his breath and watched as you pried his tight jeans from his legs, hastily removing his boxers. He was like nothing you'd ever seen, absolutely fucking massive. You had to move quickly before he could tease you for staring. Spitting on your hand you viciously pumped it up and down his thick shaft, he covered his face with his hand as his head fell back. Men are so easy, you kitten licked from the base to the tip taking him in your mouth as far as you could go. Just to come all the way up and force yourself back down to take all of him until you gagged. Billy's hips bucked into you, he couldn't even think well enough to hold your hair, he was conceding and you'd barely done anything yet. You dragged your nails down his thighs as you bobbed your head in a steady rhythm Billy tried with everything he had to keep the pleasure inside but he couldn't he erupted with noises so obscene it made your legs tighten together. He was so close but you pulled back getting to your feet, laughing above him victoriously. "I win." you giggled.

"Games not over yet babe."

"Just accept you've met your match."

He pulled you into his lap pushing you down onto his throbbing cock, giving you no time to adjust to his size, you let out a sinful moan as you wrapped tightly around him, wanting so bad in that moment to lace your fingers in his hair and kiss him... but no romance... and you weren't about to lose the rest of your advantage. He laughed beneath you, "see we're even."

You couldn't answer it just hurt so good, you sunk your teeth into his shoulder as tears rolled down your face. He began to fuck up into you but you wouldn't allow him to set the pace, both of you fighting for dominance like fucking lions, moving your hips in sync with his, making you cry out, throwing your head back, you started to bounce on your own, he took the opportunity to lift your tank top above your chest and take your nipples between his teeth and fingers, licking and nibbling each one raw. "Fuck!" you whined your head lulling forward into his shoulder.

He picked you up in his arms his cock still buried deep inside you and carried you to his bed laying you on your back fucking you as fast and deep as he could, taking one of your hands into his and pressing it into your lower stomach and the other for stability next to your head. The sensation in your belly was deliciously wicked, you could feel the presence of his cock moving ferociously inside of you in and out until you sobbed. He pulled a vibrator from under his mattress and clicked the buttons until it was at its highest setting, spitting on it, and pressing it firmly into your clit. This must have been what he meant when he said your neighbors would wish they were gone. you quite literally screamed in rapture. He kept his pace as he wrapped your shaky hands around the handle, "Your gonna hold that there until you come." You couldn't speak, yet your mouth was wide open, you could barely hold your head up let alone hold a toy. "I-I can't" you said whispered.

"You can and you will."

"I-I ahh BILLY!" He somehow drove deeper into you lifting your legs to his hips, your muscles contracting so tightly you crunched forward, "Come on, come on my cock." He said through gritted teeth. You dropped the toy as your metaphysical being flew from your fucking body, you shook uncontrollably, he quickly snatched up the toy and held it against your clit whispering praises into your ear as the aftershocks ripped through you like lightning. He pulled out cumming on your stomach in warm spurts that made you feel so exquisitely dirty. He dropped to his knees and kissed and sucked on your pussy until you begged him to stop, cleaning up the mess you both made.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked

"Please." you whimpered, he kissed you deeply making up for all the things he said before, brushing your hair from your sweaty face. Then in true arrogant, fashion, he ran his fingers through his release making you suck it from his fingers. He walked away for only a few minutes to get you a towel and something to drink but when he came back you were gone, he walked into the kitchen and there you were with your clothes back on fixing your hair like you didn't just get freshly RAILED. He dropped the towel, "You can't be serious?" he said dumbfounded. " I told you babe, I have other plans, better luck next time though, you were decent in the sack, maybe next time you can make me come without mechanical help." You smiled and waved sarcastically before unlocking the door and turning the handle, walking out towards the headlights and blasting speakers waiting for you in the driveway.

"Damn, she's fucking crazy...I love her."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I prob won't write for a few days bc I'm going on a short vaca for fall break, and I have a journalistic essay to write, but i'll be back enjoy!

[ingek73]

Public Relations Pros Are Spilling Alllll Their Thoughts On The Kate Middleton Situation, And I'm Somehow More Intrigued Than Ever

"I did a lot of PR work in London, and from what I understand of the British press, this is not a fumble."

Julia Corrigan

by Julia Corrigan

BuzzFeed Staff

At this point, everyone and their mother knows about the mystery surrounding Kate Middleton's whereabouts. Why did William suddenly cancel his appearance at his godfather's memorial service? What was up with the whole Photoshop scandal? And don't get me started on the discourse about the TMZ farm shop footage.

@princeandprincessofwales / Via instagram.com

But no matter which way you spin it, you can't deny that this whole thing has been a PR disaster. So, when Reddit user u/butteredgrapes asked members of the subreddit r/PublicRelations, "What are your thoughts on the Kate Middleton situation as a PR professional?" I couldn't help but read through all the commenters' opinions. Here are some of the most interesting:

1. "I would have never issued that short statement signed by 'C' (Princess Catherine) owning up to editing the photo. Bad move. [It] would have been better to let it fade to the next news cycle."

"What was already weird was made weirder, and provoked more criticism. They are also adding gasoline to the fire by not being transparent about her stomach condition or King Charles's cancer. Transparency is key to avoid speculation."

2. "Their strategy here is baffling; they're acting like people are asking her to post a video of her colonoscopy or something, when a vast majority of people want to know if she's okay."

"Charles's team handled [his medical issues] great! They said, 'It's cancer, but we're not going to tell you what kind! Get your prostate checked!' and posted pictures of him reading 'get well' cards, confirming he's alive and okay. Chef's kiss.

The obfuscation and weirdness from Will and Kate's team only created a vacuum that started this whole mess in the first place. Signs [indicate that] the most recent paparazzi shot in the car was at least tacitly approved by Will and Kate, and I can't for the life of me understand why she wouldn't just wave to the cameras to be like, 'I'm alive, move along!'"

—u/DifferentTea934

3. "On the PR side, [I think it's] totally idiotic that [the palace] released such a botched photo. This tells me they either have people around them who are just seeking to please them and say yes to everything, or Kate and Will are handling more of the day-to-day on their own than we think."

"To make this blow over, Kate needs to make a public appearance, but again, my sense is she is personally resisting. She has been such a trooper for so many years. One human can only take so much."

—u/Leading_Caramel9684

4. "Just goes to show you should not capitulate to Twitter mobs. They should have never posted a photo in the first place. If they were going to post a photo, it shouldn't have been doctored. If they were going to post a doctored photo, they shouldn't have admitted it was doctored. Stop trying to appease the mob."

—u/Creative-Disk563

5. "The statement admitting to the doctoring of the photo was absurd. Why say that? It’s like they're liking this cat and mouse game with the public."

—u/BeaGilmore

6. "CNN is now reporting that they are reviewing all past photos submitted by the palace for fraud. This is so much worse now. [The] truthfulness [of the palace] is now being called into question."

—u/purplelikethesky

7. "I roll my eyes every time I see someone blaming the 'PR team.' Internal politics [are] generally [what] dictate an organization's crisis communications decisions, and competing interests within that organization are generally invisible to the public. We can talk about the best way to handle this from an external perspective, but we have no idea what the true goals of the most powerful people within the institution (i.e. the King) are."

—u/crinklyplant

8. "I did a lot of PR work in London, and from what I understand of the British press, this is not a fumble. They always purposely create big discussion points and controversies to keep the general public distracted from something else, often at the expense of one of the women in their ranks, [like] Meghan [and] Kate."

—u/smolperson

9. "If I were her publicist, I would have had her make a 15-second video a few weeks after her surgery, in her garden, that said don’t worry everyone, I’m fine and just need to rest and recover. I’ll see you soon. Boom. Done. These vague statements, weird sightings, and long periods of silence are making it soooo much worse. Be first, be right, be credible. They have done none of those things."

—u/d_in_dc

10. And finally: "While I understand that the palace wanted to control the narrative, and gambled that the current action of saying nothing might have been (marginally) workable, things were changed by a raft of bad news from other family members: The King’s cancer, Sarah Ferguson’s cancer, and most tragically, the death of Thomas Kingston. This has led to a lot of speculation in general that has grown to the point where it was used as fodder with US chat show host Stephen Colbert. Hence, I think clear and plain communications from the start would have been (and still would be) best. Instead, what exists now is a furor amongst the press and the public who have been excluded."

—u/WesternTumbleweeds

Overall, it seems that with the Royal Family right now, about five stories are unfolding at once, and the details look messy. Hopefully, Kate's okay. Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!

Note: Some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity.

[saezurufeels]

Chapter 47

It's always only a matter of time until I break while waiting for a translation, so I figured a summary is good enough to base my interpretations on 🤡

Anyways, my reaction's under the cut

So in 4 years Sugimoto went from looking kinda dusty, to possessing the jawline of a Greek God. ok

I'm falling at the perfect, upside-down triangular constellation of his freckles 🥰 🔭

University educated and street smart. Lay me to rest

And on top of that he has a good intuition and teases Nanahara with such precision. Truly the son of Yashiro.

The gossip and speculation about Doumeki's alleged woman and dating situation has me cackling. In the next chapter they're gonna start discussing his favourite sex position over some cakes

Mentally inserting myself into that blunt rotation

But, if there's anything I've learned reading Saezuru, it's that you shouldn't trust the tales and gossip in town

The timeskip has not been forthcoming about Doumeki's motives. We're seeing contradicting scenes and behaviours from him

It's clear he is after Yashiro, but he may be dealing with different matters concerning the group, or his lady friend

I mean, when has this manga ever neglected its context?

On to Yashiro

I feel like I don't have much to say. I'm just absorbing and waiting for what's next

The biggest takeaway for me is that unsurprisingly Yashiro doesn't have a defence mechanism to shield him from his own self-perception, which is manifesting itself in severe self-loathing

It's out. It can't be undone. I think it's important to talk about how and why this should have been prevented. But that's a topic for another day

That aside, let's look to the future

The point that Yashiro is at right now: 1) he is reflecting on his life with dread and disdain, and 2) he realized that the people who have done him harm are wrong for what they did

So, at least we have number 2. The tricky part is obviously building up a sense of self-worth

I think that it's absolutely possible to hold both beliefs at the same time. You can hate yourself and blame yourself, and still recognize that someone has harmed you. Our minds are sporadic like that

It's interesting to see that Yashiro no longer connects rape with a hot fantasy, but rather, with real, devastating consequences. But again, this realization isn't a victory for him, as it stands right now. I feel like he needs to be on suicide watch

Yashiro thinking about Doumeki while he's having sex with Inami is a strategy he's always used to distract himself from the pain. When he's hit in bed, he thinks about the last person that was nice to him. He even used to think about Misumi.

His fantasies of Doumeki are cute, but it's also up to Doumeki's next move to see how things unfold

Thus, I'm not really a believer that Yashiro needs to make the next move. Y's "next move" was having sex with Inami. Clearly, not what Doumeki had in mind lol. It's up to Doumeki to let Yashiro trust him not vice versa

Also, I'm not sure if I got this right, but Inami was ok with just exchanging information with Yashiro? Like, sex was not on the table until Yashiro substituted giving out info with sex? If yes, that's telling

You know what's underrated? Doumeki showing up at Yashiro's apartment the next day 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

I mean, Yashiro didn't even have to lift a finger and this grown, self-assured, attractive, and admired man, is rushing to his feet

The sexual and romantic tension between them when they're face to face beside Inami's car....you could cut it with a knife. It's my new favourite panel

I honestly can't even describe how much this whole scene pleases me. If I'm ever gonna use the term alpha male non-sarcastically, it's when I talk about Doumeki in this scene

Doumeki's confidence in this chapter has me quivering, honestly

Judging from Yashiro's facial expression at the end, I wouldn't be surprised if he got goosebumps from D's self-assured attitude

[dragon-kazansky]

Dangerous | Helmut Zemo

AU! Race car driver Zemo 😎

Gender neutral reader

Collage by @realremyd

I AM ONCE AGAIN SORRY

[Masterlist]

[Previous chapter] - [Next chapter]

Part 9

When Zemo got to the bar, there was no one there. He had gone inside looking for you, had asked all the staff when he couldn't see you there. He began to panic when they told him you had left a while ago.

Rushing back outside, he looked left and right rapidly. He saw no one. He got back into his car and drove. He would drive all night if he had to. He just had to find you.

He kept trying to call you, but you wouldn't pick up. At some point you turned your phone off, which just made him worry all the more.

Pietro Maximoff.

He hadn't heard that name in years. What happened back then had always hung over him like a dark cloud, but it had been so long since anyone had ever said that name to him.

He had to explain. You needed to know what happened. If Zemo lost you, what would be the point? How could he race without his lucky charm? He couldn't let this get between you both.

He felt horrible lying to you. There was so much he hadn't told you, but he had never wanted you to find out like this. He should have been honest from the start.

Zemo could only imagine what you were thinking. What must you think of him now?

How long had been driving? He had no idea. He hadn't found you yet. It was becoming harder and harder to keep up his facade. He wanted to yell, scream, punch something.

Everything was falling apart.

The only place he hadn't checked was home. He had no idea how you would have got there, the walk being too far, but it's all he had left.

He makes the drive back.

His grip on the steering wheel was tight. He was full of worry, anger, regret.

He pulls up to the house, but all the lights are off and there is no sign of life. He has the key for the door, there's no way you have got in. He looks down the path to the garage, it looks undisturbed. The garage is locked up tight.

You're not here.

His phone rings.

Zemo scrambles for the device, nearly dropping it from how bad his hands had begun to shake. He looks at the screen, but is left disappointed. It's not you.

James Barnes

He answers it.

"Whatever it is better be important. I have urgent business to attend to." Zemo is surprised by how level he can keep his voice right now.

"I'd say this is important."

"Well, what is it?"

"I bumped into Y/N on my way home. It's only because of Sam I was able to recognize them."

"Where are they?" He asks, almost urgently.

"On the last train home for the night. Zemo, what the Hell happened? They were hysterically upset. I swear I'll kick your ass if you did something stupid."

"It wasn't something I did. Were they alone?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Y/N had gone to meet someone. A wicked young woman who I may run over if I see her," he hisses down the phone.

"I didn't see anyone else."

"I have to go."

Zemo hangs up. He has to go to you, but first, he has to meet with Stark. The only way that nasty little woman could have known about that incident is if Stark had told her.

Tony Stark had been there that day.

Zemo gets into his car and he drives. He drives like a man on a mission. He doesn't care how late it is, Tony Stark will see him tonight.

If Zemo loses you, he will never forgive himself. He will never forgive Tony Stark.

He will never race again.

The lights are on at Stark's homebase. Zemo spends a few minutes parked outside looking at the window. The curtains were drawn, but movement could be seen vaguely behind them.

He gets out and marches up to the door. He knocks harshly.

In the seconds before the opening of the door, many thoughts flashed through Zemo's mind. He had no idea what would happen here tonight, all he did know was that Tony Stark was a cruel man who wanted to ruin everything good in his life.

Zemo had been beyond lucky they even let him race again after what happened.

The door opens. Stark stands there.

The way he looks at Zemo, it pisses him off. He stands with his chin up, head held high, looking down at Zemo. He knows why the Baron is here. He had anticipated his visit.

"What a surprise," Tony says, no emotion to his voice.

"What have you done?'

"What I had to." Tony walks away, leaving the door open. He walks over to his alcohol cabinet and pours himself a drink. Zemo steps inside, glaring daggers at the man. His hands clenched into fists as he grinds his jaw.

"That was six years ago."

"It still happened."

"You know it wasn't my fault."

Tony stands, drink in hand, looking at his rival. Here was a man who had been broken once before, and stands broken again. Stark did you a favour. Zemo wouldn't be here now if you had gone back to him after that, so he can only assume you left.

"You are the reason that kid is dead. Everyone knows it."

Zemo shakes his head.

"You are the reason people see me as a murderer. I did nothing to you. That, out there, is competition. We play the game by the rules and we play fair. At least, we're suppose to. I do not like your dirty tricks, Stark."

Tony doesn't move. He stands there, still.

"I was lucky they even let me race again, but even luckier when Y/N came into my life. You are taking away everything I hold dear, piece by piece. You are ruining me."

"You ruined yourself when you took up racing," Tony says, coldly.

"You just can't let it go, can you? You don't like that I am better than you."

Tony doesn't reply.

Zemo takes slow, careful steps toward Tony. His eyes, glazed with tears, do not look away from his gaze. He only stops when he is directly in front of him.

"If I lose Y/N, you will never hear the end of this. You're cruelty knows no bounds, Stark. I fell so very sorry for Miss Potts. How can she be so fond of a man like you who turns careers and flaunts around with other women. Does your little bird know you are a heartless bastard?"

"You don't scare me, Zemo."

"Not yet, I don't."

Zemo grabs the glass from Stark's hand, throws it at the wall behind him, and then marches away.

He has to see you.

By the time he reaches your town, it's about one on the morning. Though there is the chance you're sleeping, he is here and he will takes his chances.

He knocks on your door.

There are no sounds, no sign of movement, but there is a light which he can see under your door.

You're home.

"Y/N." His accent is heavier than usual, wavered by emotion. He leans up against the door, ear pressed against it.

You're there.

He knows you're there, listening.

"I'm sorry," he says, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about me. Pietro Maximoff died in a terrible accident. His car malfunctioned. It was an accident that turned into a case because someone decided to ruin my career."

He waited, wanted to see if you would say anything.

You didn't.

"I have raced before. I won on my first race. I won again, the second. A racing star, they called me. That was the first time Tony Stark had lost. Suddenly, he had competition. Real competition. Before, he would leave everyone in the dust, winning over and over again. Then I showed up. After my second win, he had my car checked. He was furious because it was legal. He assumed I had altered it against the rules because there was no way his cars would lose. Then that happened."

He hears you move. You're right behind the door.

"Pietro Maximoff was a crazy good driver. Apparently he was awed by me. I told him if he crossed the line that day, I would tutor him. We made a deal. However, his car malfunctioned after the third turn. He drove head first into the barrier, full speed. His car caught fire. He was alone. It took too long for the team to reach him. He died on impact, they say. He was dead whether they got to him or not."

He sighs, hand resting up against the door.

"I did not tamper with his car. I did not kill that boy. Tony Stark made them believe I did with no evidence to prove it. I was found not guilty of attempted murder, but I was disqualified from racing up until I finally made an appeal. This season is my first racing season in 6 years."

He waits.

He hears shuffling, but nothing else.

"You have to believe me. If I lose you too... i have nothing left."

Nothing.

You don't say anything. The door does not open. He steps back in defeat. He doesn't know what else he can do, what else he can say.

Except, "If you still hold feelings for me, then please be at the next race. If you come, I'll know you'll forgive me. I know you'll still love me. If you don't, then I will never bother you again. I'll know that I have ruined everything and I will live with that regret until the day I die."

He takes a deep breath and steps away further.

"I love you. I want you to know that. I love you."

You cry silently as you listen to him walk away. It's not until you're sure he has gone when you let your cries out.

On your coffee table sat your laptop. As soon as you got home, you had been researching what had happened that day.

There was no evidence.

Just articles and speculation.

The fact that you even believed for a moment he had killed a young man like that made you sick. How horrible of a person could you be?

Helmut deserved someone better than that.

He has spent so many years living with a tragic accident over him, and you hadn't even talked to him about it.

You felt awful.

You spent most of the night heartbroken. Sleep eventually paid you a visit, but it was hardly restful. You just woke up in pain.

Race day was coming fast.

What were you going to do?

@ajeff855 @moonstuffsteve @sky-writes-stuff @lieutenantn @lostghostgirl94 @friday18eo @yaskna @my-blood-is-maple-syrup @gingerwriter97 @lunamooney2406 @wilder-fangirl @nectav @whovianayesha @thesuitkovian @cathrin2405 @deathtothepatriarchy @belle82devart @dxrksxul06 @killeromanoff @alex-the-nb @latenightartist-author @hb8301 @goddessofmischief03 @xxidontwikeitxx @themeanestlittlewitch @scuttle-buttle @fillechatoyante @lucky-luck-lucky @zemosimp420 @avengersofmischief @breadsquash

[sincerelyasomebody]

Mama || Leticia "Letty" Cruz

(GIF: @angels-reyes)

A/N: This was created because I've seen some speculation that Letty may not make it to the end of Season 3 (😭🥺). My mind needed something fluffy to combat this and so this piece came about. Apologises for grammatical errors and please let me know if the Spanish translation needs correcting.

Characters/Pairing(s): Letty x Reader (mother-daughter relationship) ▪︎ Coco x Reader (mention) ☆ Mayans MC (brief mention) ▪︎ OCs (receptionist, mother and son duo) 

Summary: Just a mother protecting her daughter. 

Warnings: brief mention of altercation (male and female), description of injuries, fluff, language, nicknames, painkillers (reference to injury) 

Word Count: 1755

- ♤ - ♡ - ◇ - ♧ -

(Y/N) couldn't believe how busy the roads leading to the local high school were. It was a Wednesday, a little after ten and the streets were just packed with cars. She thought it was ridiculous considering people were usually at their jobs and children were in their age appropriate schools. There was no reason for people to be out and about. 

"The light's been green for five seconds!" she yelled and honked her horn, "move!" The driver in front gave her the finger before taking off, "you're so fucking lucky I've got somewhere to be, asshole!" she called out as she drove in the opposite direction. 

When her phone rang during her break, the last person (Y/N) expected to hear from was the receptionist for Santo Padre High School. According to the woman, Leticia (Letty as she was mostly referred to) had been in an altercation with another student and her parents or caregivers were requested to come and meet with the principal. Rachel, the receptionist, mentioned trying to reach her father but going straight to voicemail. With (Y/N) being listed as an emergency contact she was called. 

(Y/N) immediately asked about Letty, but was told that specific details couldn't be discussed over the phone. She found that odd, but accepted it (for the time being) and informed Rachel that she would be there as quickly as she could. After hanging up, she grabbed her belongings and told her manager she had a family emergency to attend to. She was cleared and (Y/N) informed him that she would be taking a week off as well and would keep them updated on her situation. 

From the moment she received the call to the time she pulled up in front of the high school, her thoughts revolved around Letty. Being with Coco for several years allowed (Y/N) to gain some insight to the type of life he had been subjected to. Through a lot of tears, constant reassurance and love (Y/N) was able to break through his tough exterior and get him to believe she was in it for the long haul. When (Y/N) was told by him about his daughter being in a similar environment to what he was in growing up, she demanded him to bring her home.

The second she laid eyes on Letty she saw Coco's features and personality shine through. (Y/N) didn't expect the teenager to respect or trust her right off the bat, but she made sure to let her know that she was here if she needed someone to talk to and gave her space. With every door slam, harsh comment and glare sent her way, (Y/N) continued being herself and showed Letty she wasn't a threat. It was challenging, especially when Coco left on runs, but she pushed through. Eventually the teenager began to accept her father's girlfriend without second guessing her. 

(Y/N) stepped into the main office and found a woman standing beside a teenage boy, who held some paper towels to his nose and had a couple of scratches on his face. She moved closer and realised the pair were towering over Letty who sat in the corner and was looking down at her lap. Clenching her jaw, she strode over to the trio. 

"Get the fuck away from my daughter!" she glared at the duo and turned around to Letty, who was now standing, "mi niña, are you okay?" she kissed her forehead and cupped her cheeks, "Leticia?" 

The teenager nodded, "uh… y-yeah, I'm fine," she went to move (Y/N)'s hands but winced, "completely fine." 

(Y/N)'s eyes widened at the state of Letty's hands. They were most likely bruised and what shocked her even more was that there was no ice-pack beside her seat. The boy clearly had been given assistance, but her baby girl hadn't and that pissed her off.

"Rachel!" she called out and a woman appeared around the corner, "you're the one who called me right?" 

"Yes." 

"And, you said you couldn't go over specific details of what happened over the phone?" 

"That's correct." 

(Y/N) nodded and gestured towards Letty's hands, "well I'm here now and would like an explanation on why my daughter hasn't been treated and that young man has?" When the mother tried to give a reason, she raised a hand in her face, "this doesn't concern you, this conversation is between Rachel and I." 

Rachel gulped and could feel the anger radiating off of (Y/N), "well… uh, he was bleeding and –"

"Were there other staff members present?" she asked and when she was given a nod, she continued, "why couldn't they have provided medical assistance to my daughter?" 

"She… didn't tell us she was hurt, ma'am, she said she was fine so –"

"Bitch do her hands look fine to you?" 

The mother scoffed, "at least we know where your daughter gets her attitude from." 

(Y/N) turned to her, "shut up, nobody asked for your ass to speak," she gestured towards her son, "the reason your son's looking like a fucked up tomato is completely justified I can vouch for that." 

"Are you kidding me?" She shrieked and pointed to his face, "he's most likely got a broken nose and there's scratches on his face!"

"Exactly, be glad my daughter didn't have a screwdriver on her." (Y/N) replied and almost laughed at the disbelief on the woman's face, "your son deserved every scratch, bruise and possible broken bone."

"Excuse me!?" 

(Y/N) ignored her and turned back around to face Rachel, "Letty and I will be leaving now."

"Mrs Fraser hasn't seen –" 

"My main concern right now is my daughter's well-being," she told her, "and you've got my details on file so I'm sure Mrs Fraser can contact me at a later date." 

Rachel spoke again, "please if you'd just –"

"No." 

(Y/N) picked up Letty's bag and walked over to the desk, with Letty trailing behind her. She quickly signed out on the tablet and the pair walked out of the building. Reaching her car, (Y/N) unlocked it and helped Letty into the passenger seat. Closing her door, she rushed to the driver's side and got in. 

She helped Letty buckle up, before buckling herself in, "everything okay, sweets?" 

"Yeah… uh, thanks." was the response she received, before she started up the car and pulled out of the school parking lot while explaining where they were off to next. 

-- ♡ -- ◇ -- 

"He's always talking shit," Letty explained to (Y/N) about the guy in the office, "it was about time someone shut him up." 

"And you were the person to do so?" 

She shrugged her shoulders, "he ran his mouth and then touched me, so I beat his ass." 

"Two for one special?" 

"Pretty much." 

(Y/N) chuckled, "when your hands heal up, we'll ask one of the guys to teach you a few moves in the ring, thankfully your hands are just bruised and not broken." 

"They still hurt like a bitch." 

"You've got another two hours before you can drink some more painkillers." 

"What would've happened if Coco answered the phone?" Letty questioned.

(Y/N) shook her head, "honey, I don't even think I wanna know what would've happened," she noticed the teen wince, "are you okay?" 

"Yes." 

"Are you sure?"

She huffed, "I'm fine, okay? I was fine when you picked me up. I was fine when we went to the doctor's office. I was fine at the grocery store and I was fine the last time you asked me." 

(Y/N) nodded and pulled into their driveway, putting the car in park, "I'm not gonna apologise about asking how you're feeling. I'm just – I just want to make sure you're okay. But, now I'll stop because I can see I'm annoying you." 

"Yeah, you are." 

She chuckled, "okay, I'll stop, but you'll tell –" 

Letty sighed, "yes, I'll tell you. You really take this parenting thing seriously. I mean… you've been referring to me as your daughter all day and I–I'm not. But you defended me –" 

"And I always will." 

" – against Kyle, his mum and even the receptionist. I–I've never had that before. And, even at the doctor's office you made sure I was seen by a female because you knew it'd make me more comfortable." 

"Letty?" 

"You treat me like I'm yours and you called me your daughter and I… I don't know, I just," she took a deep breath, shook her head and looked out of the window.

(Y/N) waited for her to continue, but she didn't. Thinking back on today's events, she realised she had referred to Letty as her own. She had been doing it in her mind for so long and didn't realise she had said it out in the open. Letty had heard her reference and it seemed to make her uncomfortable and that was something she vowed she wouldn't do. 

"When I started dating your dad he told me about the kids he had. He told me that he wasn't involved in their lives because being away from them was for the best. I asked him what would happen if one day a kid reached out and his response was "if they do, they do. I ain't gonna turn them away", (Y/N) spoke up, "and then you reached out, sweetums. You reached out and your dad took that as a sign. From the moment you entered our lives, it's been a whirlwind of emotions. We're not this picture perfect family, but we're our own version. Despite being almost an adult, Coco still views you as his baby girl. And, honestly, I've been viewing you the same way."

Letty sniffed and looked up, "really?" 

"Absolutely, gorgeous. The moment you stepped through that door you became mine as well," (Y/N) pointed at the front door of their home, before turning to her, "but that doesn't matter if you're not okay with it. I'm not trying to force you to be –" 

"I'm Coco's daughter," she cut in and smiled at (Y/N), "and now I'm yours too." 

(Y/N) beamed with joy and unbuckled her seatbelt, and Letty's, reaching over the middle console to bring the teen into her arms. Letty wrapped her arms around (Y/N), breathing in her (scent). The woman chuckled and kissed her cheek, "I love you, baby girl." 

Letty pulled her closer, "I love you too, mama." 

-♤ - ♡ - ◇ - ♧ - 

Spanish Translations: 

Mi niña - my girl / baby girl

[tuiccim]

Solace (Part 9)

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Words: 2375

Warnings: Angst.

Summary: You are Bucky’s source of comfort and he’s your source of heartbreak.

Solace Complete Series Masterlist

After a slightly awkward lunch that afternoon, everyone moved to the drawing room as usual. You had planned to ride into town for some errands. When you mentioned this to the group, Bucky immediately asked to go with you. 

“Oh, um, do you know how to ride?” You ask. 

“Ride what?” Bucky asks, confused. 

“A horse.” You say. 

“Not really.” 

“We’ll start your education in the morning.” You laugh, “Bri, can I borrow one of the cars?”

“Of course. You know where the keys are.” Brian replies. 

You smile wickedly and walk quickly to the door. 

Brian immediately clarifies his statement, “Not the Healey!”

“Did you hear something?” You ask Bucky. 

Bucky, catching on, says, “Not a thing.” And ushers you out the door with a hand on your back. 

You hear Brian’s voice as the door closes but can’t make anything out and giggle as you head to the garage. Once inside you go over to the lock box and type in the code. You retrieve the keys for the Austin Healey 3000 and smirk at Bucky, “I’ve never gotten to drive it.”

“Brian seems a little protective of it.” Bucky says.

“It was his grandfather’s. He loves this car.” You show Bucky to the dark green, vintage car. “I’m surprised you don’t know how to ride a horse.”

“I’ve ridden one before but it’s been a while.” Bucky says almost defensively. 

“Oh, okay. What did you need from town?” 

“Nothing really. I just wanted to get some time alone with you.” Bucky covers your hand resting on the gear shift. 

“Oh.”

“Are you still angry with me?” Bucky asks. 

“Yes and no. I’m angry you wouldn’t talk to me and at the same time I understand your fears. I’m feeling very ambivalent.”

“Ambivalent? I thought that meant you didn’t care.” Bucky says.

“It means you have strong contradictory feelings.” You say.

“That means you have strong feelings for me at least.” Bucky teases. 

You let out a sharp laugh, “Yeah, yeah, it does. I missed this side of you. You know, the side that talks.” You jab him in the ribs with your elbow. 

“Me, too. I appreciate that you never turned me away. All the times I needed you. And I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you in the same way.”

You nod unsure of what to say. You get to the small town near the manor and stop at a few of the familiar shops. Some of the owners know you from your youth and greet you as an old friend. When you enter the little bookshop you've frequented whenever you were in town the owner, Mr. Cavendish, greets you enthusiastically, "Why, our American girl has returned to us! How are you, dear?"

"I'm very well, Mr. Cavendish. How are you?" You smile at him.

"Fit as a fiddle and happy as a clam." He says. "And who's this strapping young lad with you?"

"This is my friend, Bucky Barnes. He's visiting from America." You supply.

"Hello, sir." Bucky says.

"Hello." Mr. Cavendish looks at you again, "Boyfriend?"

"Mr. Cavendish." You chide.

"Well, you know we're all waiting for you and Lord Falsworth to finally get hitched. I was wondering if this good looking lad was the reason you hadn't!" Mr. Cavendish chuckles to himself.

You put your face in your palm and just shake your head. "I'm going to go look for… something." You wander the store and gather a few items while Bucky stands at the front thumbing through a book. Mr. Cavendish minds his tongue while you check out and you and Bucky head back to the car. "I'm sorry about that. Small town life. Everyone's in everyone's business and rumors and speculation fly wild."

"They aren't too far off base, are they?" Bucky looks at you. 

"Oh, there are others who would be appalled at the Lord of the manor marrying the American orphan." You roll your eyes. 

"What was it like growing up here?"

"Uncle Michael was good to me. He took in a 14 year old he met once and helped me deal with my parents dying and having my entire life changed. He was a very good man. Sometimes I wonder if I hastened his death though. He had a heart attack and died in his sleep when I was 17. The Falsworth's took me in for the remainder of schooling. They were wonderful to me. Jackie was already my best friend. We kept each other in check. Didn't let the other get too wild. We still managed to get into plenty of mischief though. Most people here were wonderfully kind. I love it here. To me, it's home."

"Would you ever plan to live here again?" He asks.

"Well, I'm blessed that I have dual citizenship in the UK and the US. So, I have the option. My plan has always been to retire here. Where's home for you, Bucky?"

"Brooklyn, I guess. Really, wherever my family will be when I have one." Bucky shrugs.

"You want kids?" You ask.

"Yeah."

"A Bucky, Jr.! Oh my goodness!"

Bucky chuckles, "What about you? Do you want kids?"

"Yeah. I do. Always have."

"I bet you'll be a great mom."

"Thanks. I'm sure you'll be an amazing dad." Your heart flip-flops at his beautiful smile. You turn away to put your things in the boot of the car. Bucky's hand on your arm turns you back to him. He's looking at you with a tender expression and cups your face.

"Can I kiss you, please?" Bucky asks. 

You glance around nervously before nodding. Bucky kisses you gently. His lips flirt with yours for just a minute before he pulls back aware of the public setting you are in. "I've been desperate to do that."

You take his metal hand that's still holding your face and pull it to your lips for a kiss. "We need to head back."

Bucky nods and walks around to open the car door for you. Your heart is pounding. Your mind is a jumble of confusion. And there's a part of you that feels so wrong for having kissed both Brian and Bucky within hours of each other. Shame wells in you. You text Jackie quickly telling her you are on your way back and you need to talk. 

You walk into the hall and Jackie is waiting for you.

"There you are, dearest! I'm in need of your expertise. Bucky, the boys are in the library playing pool if you'd like to join them."  She says.

"Okay, thanks." Bucky takes the hint.

As soon as the door to your room is closed, Jackie asks, “What’s going on, dearest?”

“I kissed Brian and Bucky in the same day. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know who to choose. I’m going crazy and trying to stay calm on the outside, but I think I might…”

“Okay, okay. Dearest, take three deep breaths for me.” Jackie says calmly, stalling your torrent of words. You comply immediately realizing you had been babbling incoherently. “Good. Do you feel a little calmer?”

You smile at your best friend, “Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Start from the beginning. The beginning of Brian. I saw you two dancing in the drawing room the other day. We hadn’t talked about it. Start there.” Jackie directs.

You tell her about the dance you shared in the drawing room, the almost kiss earlier in the day, the appearance of Bucky, the discussion with him, the crying on Brian’s shoulder and the kiss, and finally the trip into town and kiss there. “I feel like such a jerk.”

“It was just a kiss, dearest.” Jackie says.

“I actually meant that I feel like I’m being a jerk to you. I’m talking about your brother and your boyfriend’s best friend.”

"Steve's not exactly my boyfriend." Jackie corrects. 

You roll your eyes at her, "Right. I'm so confused, Jack. I have feelings for both of them. I never thought Brian felt that way. I mean, I always had a little crush on him when we were younger but he was my best friend's older brother. Of course, I had the hots for him! And Bucky, I had this amazing connection when we met and even after he stopped talking to me it was still there. Every time we were together. I really have so many feelings right now."

"And they're not going to resolve themselves in the next five minutes. It's going to take a little time to sort them out. And both have agreed not to pressure you and give you the space you need to figure it out. Take a couple of weeks to really get through your feelings. This isn't a small decision." Jackie says calmly. 

"Brian said that no matter what I decide I'll still be family." You look at Jackie apprehensively. 

"Whoever you choose, you're my sister. No matter what." Jackie wraps her arms around you. 

"Jackie…"

"Yes?"

"They're both really good kissers." You look at Jackie and the two of you dissolve into giggles. 

--

At dinner that night you look over and Steve and Bucky and ask, "When do you have to go back?"

"Day after tomorrow." Steve says.

"I hope none of you mind. I reserved a box for us tomorrow evening at the theater. We'll go to dinner, see the show, and perhaps go to a club afterwards." Brian smiles at you as he speaks. 

"We can stay at the brownstone. It will be closer to the airport." Jackie says.

"The brownstone?" Steve asks.

"Yes, we have one in London." Jackie says. 

"That was very kind of you, Brian. What show?" You ask, excitement clear on your face.

"Noises Off." He smiles at you, knowing it's one of your favorites.

You light up, "I love that show!" You turn to Steve and Bucky, "It's hilarious!"

"Sounds like fun, Doll." Bucky smiles at you. 

"Are we all going riding in the morning?" Brian asks. 

"I told Bucky I'd educate him a bit on riding. You'll go too, won't you, Steve?" 

"Of course." Steve gives a stiff smile.

"It'll be fun." Jackie smirks. 

The rest of the evening is quiet. A few games of pool and a couple of drinks before everyone decides to turn in. The brandy is working it’s usual magic and you drift off to sleep quickly. It was a couple hours later when a knock sounds at your door. You’re shaking the grogginess from your mind when the door opens and Jackie’s silhouette is framed by the light in the hall. 

“Jackie? What’s the matter?” You say.

“Bucky. He won’t ask for you but he... he’s having a rough night.” Jackie says, her arms wrapped around herself.

When you enter Bucky’s room you find him hyperventilating on the floor beside the bed with his knees to his chest and Steve beside him with his arm around him.

“It’s okay, man, just breathe.” Steve says to him.

“Bucky.” His eyes snap to yours as you kneel in front of him. You take his flesh hand and put it over your heart so he can feel the rise and fall of your chest. “Breathe with me, baby.” Bucky’s eyes stay locked with yours as he manages to slow his breathing to your rhythm after several minutes. “Good. Come on, Buck.” You encourage him to stand. Steve helps him and then retreats to the doorway with Jackie. You climb onto Bucky’s bed and put your back against the headboard with your legs out in front of you. Bucky follows you onto the bed and lays down with his head on your thigh as he always has. 

“We’ll leave you guys alone.” Steve says and you nod at him. Jackie gives you a small smile and leaves with Steve.

You run your fingers through Bucky’s hair, rub his scalp, and trace his hairline with your fingertip. He wraps a hand around your lower leg, rubbing his face into your thigh and breathing deeply of your scent. After some time he whispers, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Buck. I’ve got you.” Your hands continue to work through his hair. 

“I love this. This time with you. I savored it every time it happened. I had to force myself to get up and leave. I never wanted to.” Bucky tells you. 

“You didn’t have to. You could have stayed. I would never have turned you away.” You respond sadly. 

“I know that now. I’m so sorry.” Bucky squeezes your leg gently. 

“You’re forgiven, Bucky. I understand the why behind it. It still hurts but I forgive you.” 

Bucky turns his head to place a kiss on your thigh, “Thank you.” Bucky sits up and pulls you into his arms. He looks at your mouth and then to your eyes as if asking permission. You give a slight nod and his mouth melds to yours. He pours all the passion he’s bottled up the past months into the kiss. His tongue demands entry and you willingly comply. He pulls you as close to his body as he can. Fitting you together as if you were two puzzle pieces. Your hands twine in his hair as you explore each other's mouths. You feel your body ignite as Bucky kisses you but in the back of your head you feel your emotions warring. Bucky shifts and lays you under him while never breaking the kiss. His hand presses to your waist and you feel him slowly moving the hem of your shirt up. Your hand flies to his and stops his progress. Breaking the kiss, you push Bucky back up into a sitting position. 

“No.” You say gently. “We can’t.”

“I’m sorry, Doll. I just want you so much.” Bucky says as he captures your lips again. You allow him one more kiss.

“I won’t do that to Brian under his own roof.” You say firmly. “Especially since I haven’t decided yet.”

“I’m sorry, Doll.” Bucky says again. “I’m trying.”

“I know. I should go.” You slide off the bed and walk towards the door. 

As you open it to leave you hear Bucky’s voice, “Hey.” You turn back to him. “I love you.”

“Sleep well, Bucky.” You whisper as you close the door.

Part 10

@bubbabarnes @badassbaker @thefridgeismybestie

Solace: @supernaturalwintersoldier @selinbaskaya @putinovertime @smokeandnailz @fallenoutofrose @chipilerendi @fanfuckingtastic04 @youaremyfiveever @kolakube9 @captainamerica-is-bae @dora-the-grownup   @wakeupjackthisisntfair

Masterlist

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 28

The boys are back... (High School Musical, probably)

THE ROAD SO FAR

Docked and Loaded

Alexander "Alex" Collins

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow Scotland

Alex loved the idea of sleeping beside his significant other. It felt great to be loved, especially after all those months when he couldn't stop thinking of her. 

Yet today was different, he woke up alone. He turned to the bathroom door to check whether Samantha took a shower, but it was too quiet. So he decided to put on his grey tank top and sweatpants to go look for her.

He pulled the door open to see Samantha carrying a tray containing two meals, one was a fluffy pancake with maple syrup and the other one was a meaty sandwich.

"Hey, you. Good Morning." She greeted, her voice was always angelic in Alex's ears.

"There you are…" he sighed as he stepped back, letting her in.

"I was only gone for a few minutes. You don't have to worry that much." She grinned, guiding Alex back to the bed, teasingly pushing him as he plopped on the soft mattress bouncing as he slowly backwards crawled until his back hit the headboard.

"I'm just not used to waking up without you in my arms." he grinned as Samantha placed the tray on his lap, grabbing a slice of the sandwich and pointed it at his mouth.

"I thought the pancake was mine." Alex said, looking puzzled.

"No, that's mine. What you're supposed to be eating is this very healthy, dietician prescribed meal." She emphasized. Alex frowned. 

"I want the pancake." he complained playfully. 

"Too much sugar is bad for you." she teased as Alex finally surrendered and opened his mouth wide. He wasn't a huge fan of the wheat bread. 

"Say, aside from Alex. Did you use any other names while undercover?" Samantha slowly plopped herself beside him, locking her hands against his and leaned on his strong biceps.

"Oh hmmm.." he hummed, softly chewing and finishing his sandwich.

"I had a few… like James, Chad, Mike or Michael…" he said.

"Okay. Which was the most sophisticated?" Samantha asked. Alex looked at her in the eyes and saw that she was really interested in his answer.

"Nathaniel." he chuckled and Samantha looked confused.

"What's funny?" 

"I don't strike as a 'Nathaniel'. I just used it once." Alex defended despite not being attacked.

"Now that you say it… yeah." she laughed as soon as she realized the content of his words.

"What's the funniest? And why?" her eyes sparkled, or has it always been that way then he looked at her eyes. Alex never knew, but he liked it.

"Ummm.. I once went by 'Ray'. It's funny because… it just is. It's too short and I often mistake someone thinking that they're calling me. It has a lot of rhymes you know…" he answered, her eyes never left her stare.

"Ray's a nice name." Samantha mused, this actually made Alex a little curious.

"You're making me jealous over my previous name." He sneered playfully.

"Oh don't be. Alex is a very perfect name. It sounds... handsome." she said, making Alex smile in excitement. This was it. He was truly madly and deeply in love with this woman.

Alex leaned for a kiss to which Samantha eagerly accepted, but as soon as their hands started to roam around, a knock on the door was heard.

"Oi, Alex! Price wants us for a briefing." Soap's muffled voice roared from behind the door.

"I'm coming!" Alex shouted as she gave Samantha one quick kiss before leaving the bed.

Alex felt underdressed for the briefing as Roach and Soap were wearing collared shirts. So he hid behind them and listened eagerly to Captain Price.

"Alright boys, Laswell left us a gift. There's a port near the English Channel, where a lot of cargo ships are suspected to be operating under Shadow Company's name, and it might lead us to Shepherd. 

The plan is simple. Sneak in, gather everything we can using our cameras and sneak out. This place will be swarming with hostiles and all we have are pistols with few ammo. Soap, you take care of our ride and comms. Alex and Roach, you're with me." They all nodded in agreement.

"There are about approximately three ships and the Shadow Company shipment is mixed along with civilian cargo. We have to be there before 3 am tomorrow as it's scheduled to be unloaded that day." Price sprawled printout of the cargo's travel ticket along with other solid intel.

It was official. They're back in the grid, a wave of excitement and fear overwhelmed the former CIA. Excited because they're one step closer to ending this thing and scared because he knew Samantha's going to worry about him.

Port of Dover, London UK

1734HOURS

They were too early for the transfer but as they say, "The early bird gets the worm." The team positioned themselves on a rooftop of a nearby building, Price scanning the area with binoculars.

"Three huge cargo ships and one party packed cruise ship." he muttered. The rest of the team sat patiently waiting for the perfect opening.

"Hm. This is odd." Price added, noticing the convoy of expensive cars slowly parking themselves near the ship.

"It is. There's a party here tonight… and it says here SC Security Services was hired as the events' security team." Gary added, scrolling through his phone.

"SC. Shadow Company. Sneaky Bastards are using the party to cover their real agenda!" Soap pieced the puzzle together.

"And we're here to stop em on their bloody tracks." Price nodded and resumed scanning.

"How are we going to get in?" Alex asked as trucks of Shadow Company troops flooded the area. It looked like they had good reason to swarm the place. It was a sneaky yet effective tactic.

"I got one ticket." Gary raised a QR code from his phone. Price looked at the black and white blotches of squares in question.

"What's that supposed to do?" Price asked.

"It's a digital pass. The DJ performing tonight is a good ol' friend of mine." he said. 

"It's going to be a semi-formal party with a masquerade theme."  He continued, scrolling through the e-invite.

"Then you're going in there. See what's up. These cargo ships may just be decoys. We take one ship each. Always stay on comms. Once Roach successfully gets in, he'll find a shortcut from the inside." Price planned and everyone had no objections. 

"Wait. Maxine told me that she brought something useful." he scoured the contents of the duffle bag.

"Is it food?" Soap asked innocently as everyone looked at him.

"Bingo. Three Shadow Company Uniforms from Russia." Gary grinned and everyone looked delighted.

"Guess we're taking the easy way in." Price muttered as they put their plan to action.

Roach stopped at a local thrift shop for his attire. He wore an awkwardly tight tuxedo with rubber duck printed tie and a magenta masquerade mask. It wasn't too shabby and it did the job, as the rest of the group were already inside the premises.

"Stay on comms, Roach. Keep us posted." Price muttered as the team split to each of their ships. Walking casually like regular guards, except they didn't have guns.

"Aye aye, Captain." Roach muttered as slow booming could be heard from the distance. He was approaching the party.

Alex's ship was the farthest from the cruise ship but that didn't mean it was the least guarded. For a party, the place was overcrowded with security. Alex confidently nodded at every 'ally' he passed along the way, overhearing conversations of a supply drop around 3 am tomorrow, confirming Laswell's speculations.

"Hey!" Someone called from behind and Alex turned cautiously.

"You left your rifle at the office?" he asked and Alex nodded. The man pointed to the cargo ship and it gave Alex the free ticket to investigate it. He was lucky enough for an easy pass.

The cargo ship was indeed large, he didn't know where to start, but as soon as he claimed his issued rifle, he immediately looked for the ship's logs.

"I'm in. Got myself a gun." Alex reported.

"Good. I'm also in. Trying not to get tempted by the buffet." Gary replied.

"They're looking suspiciously at my haircut." Soap muttered, frustrated.

"My ship's empty, but I could feel footsteps. I'm being followed." Price warned. 

"Mine's full of stuff. It's impossible to look through these without a shipment log." Alex sighed, opening another door that contained useless stuff.

At the last door of the hallway, Alex heard a bizarre noise, he carefully crouched and checked on the room. A Shadow Company guard was snoring loudly, a computer monitor showing a live feed of the rooms in front of him.

"Ahem! Sir, you are needed on the cruise ship!" Alex roared, surprising the sleeping guard as he quickly got up to his bearings and exited the room. 

"Alright guys. I got eyes on the whole thing." He told comms while scanning the thick book of the ship's cargo.

"Good one." Gary said.

"Finally, these muppets stopped talking about my hair. I'm Oscar Mike." Soap muttered while Price's end remained quiet.

"Just what is Shepherd up to…" Alex mused, fingers scrolling through the ship log. He doesn't have all night but he's doing his best to look for it under pressure.

Next Chapter : Docked and Loaded - Part 2

Notification Squad my Beloved

@enderio @samatedeansbroccoli @smokeywhalee @whimsywispsblog @beemybee @ricinbach

[ghostbustermelanieking]

oddly specific memories i have of listening to tma

in honor of the finale, and because i am a sentimental asshole, i bring you this potentially uninteresting and completely pointless list. i'm gonna miss this show a lot

half my original reasoning for listening to the podcast was to motivate me to walk on the treadmill. this did not work. but i did it the first time, when i was going through the trailers and anglerfish, and i remember the room where my dad keeps the treadmill is really dark and the spooky chanting sort of freaked me out

after the treadmill, i ended up listening to the bulk of the first four episodes on the couch, and halfway through i let my oldest cat, winnie, who always lived outside (i know, i was very against actually keeping her outside) in the house. and she jumped up on the couch with me, which she literally never did. (she was very grumpy and not super affectionate.) i had that cat since i was five, and she passed last june, and i really miss her. quarantine kind of gave us the opportunity to hang out with her a lot, because we were home so much. so i'm glad these memories are kind of intersected in my mind. (below: a pic i have from that day.)

my friend sarah relistened along with me the first time around, which was extraordinarily sweet of her, and also led to some interesting interactions. for example: she forgot when it was revealed that sasha was dead, so she accidentally spoiled that for me when i asked when the others would find sasha (and i spent all of season 2 just like. anxiously vibrating over this fact). she also made this post, when i was still in like early first half of season 1, and my immediate thought was "oh no martin is dead." i hadnt even MET martin at this point

back in early quarantine, my mom had this rule that we had to do something new every day (to keep away the depression... ha ha). anyways, all i wanted to do in my free time was sit around and listen to tma (and also watch this show i was into on netflix), so i came up with some lame excuses, one of which was "i'll give myself a pedicure." this led to the memory i ultimately associate with mag 56 (trevor herbert 2) being me sitting out on our roof balcony thing, giving myself a horrendous pedicure

another time, my family wanted to go play tennis, and they brought me along and brought a hammock for me to lay in. there was this excess material from the hammock, and the sun was in my eyes, so i ended up pulling it up and over me to block the sun and creating this ridiculous hammock cocoon thing. one of the episodes i listened to that day? "tucked in."

before i ever started the show, my friend sarah stayed with me while i was pet sitting. i remember when she got there, she'd just listened to 150 and was telling me how freaky it was (she was still trying to get me into the show), and she was like "of course we're staying on a CUL DE SAC." (that was also the weekend she watched us for the first time and was very upset because i slept through the whole thing, which is scary when you're staying somewhere by yourselves.) anyways, i spent the whole show waiting for the scary cul de sac episode

while i was listening to the show for the first time, my step-dad (an artist) started painting an EYE on the door downstairs near my bathroom. a fucking EYE. he didn't finish it til i had finished the show. but still weird!!

i binged like 12 episodes in one day to finish season 4, which is not impressive at all, but it's still my personal record. i just remember staying up late in my dark bedroom (til like.... 11 i'm lame and i go to bed early), listening to like 158 & 159 & 160 and just being knocked on my ass by how good it all was... i was SUPER spoiled by this point, through my own fault, and i knew exactly what was coming, but actually experiencing it was nuts

the second week i listened live was 167, where the public release was delayed by a couple hours by accident. i spent like 20 minutes refreshing spotify, thinking it was broken, before going on tumblr and seeing what the deal was. (and 167 remains one of my favorites of s5 because i remember just going "thank god it was worth the wait.")

this one car ride where sarah and i made some of our friends listen to the first three episodes of the show. it was the middle of the night and we were just like blasting down i40 listening to anglerfish and do not open etc

the night the what the ghost episode publicly dropped was the night after my graduation, and i was sleeping out on the couch in the living room so my grandfather could sleep in a bed. it was super dark, and i am a jumpy person, and i Remember being mildly disgusted with myself because the corny sound effects were actually freaking me out. (i think i mightve actually seen something weird that night, maybe, but that's another story.)

the weekend my parents moved me into college, we couldn't get the cable in the house we were staying in, and we were all sitting around doing nothing, so i jokingly suggested starting tma with them, and they were like ok grace. my step-dad promptly fell asleep and my mom zoned out -- which is probably good, she doesn't like horror and she's super claustrophobic, so it's probably better we never got to do not open

my brief roommate in college talked about how she was into those youtube channels where people just read scary stories, so of course i was like try tma out. so she listened to the first episode on her own, and we were out one night, and she started mag 02 while i went into an ice cream place. she was into it (she kept being like open it, ya pussy) and wanted to keep listening while we went home, and even back in our room. i had only been in town for a couple weeks, and barely knew my way around, but i also didn't want to turn the gps on and be interrupted every five seconds. so i tried to find our way back on my own. it took the entirety of mag 03, and into mag 04, before i did it. so now i will forever associate across the street with all those wrong turns i took in a dark, semi unfamiliar city, trying to get back to our college without a gps

the day of the early drop for 179 was the day i moved back home from college -- a five hour drive by myself. i ended up listening to it on the final stretch of the trip, when i was super tired and it was dark and i knew it'd probably be a crazy episode. just me full blasting down i40, drinking an energy drink (which i never do) through a hole punched in the top, listening to daisy's death

186 early dropped the day after initial u.s. election day (when we still didn't know anything). my mom had set up a "watch party" in the living room with these giant air mattresses, and we all sort of spent the day crowded around the TV watching the numbers. not much of a memory, but i remember sitting on that air mattress and listening to martin's monologue in the midst of that messy week

i had a virtual therapy appointment on the day of 187's early drop, and my dad was home, so i drove to an empty parking lot to do the session in some privacy. i was trying to listen to the episode before the session started, so i ended up listening to the last half sitting in my car, in the pouring rain, just staring at my radio in shock (187 remains one of my favorite s5 episodes)

my friend sarah had just come home for winter break the day 189 dropped, and we decided to listen together, just like driving around in circles drinking coffee and listening and speculating on whether or not that was really martin

i started my relisten right after thanksgiving and was just kind of blowing through fast as i could through the whole of december. i had to go back to college to empty out my dorm, and i went to the beach after, and i ended up listening to mag 11 while just like walking around in circles in the tide pools. the closer it got to christmas, the more christmassy i wanted to keep things, so i would like. listen in the mornings and turn on one of those Netflix fireplaces and get all cozy

my other friend went with me on a mini bagel road trip in december, and he was still trying to get caught up, so we listened to mag 169, 170, and 171 on the drive home. (by this point, i was accustomed enough to s5 and smiting scenes to automatically reach for the volume controls when jude perry and jared hopworth died.)

when i relistened to mag 47, i was sitting with my cat beezus. i paused the episode to write this big long meta, so i was in a different headspace when i pressed play again. jon immediately yelled for sasha and i immediately jumped, and beezus gave me a searing glare and just got up and left

i relistened to piecemeal while i was cooking, which i thought was kind of funny and also disgusting

after christmas, i got into the habit of bringing my cat georgia into my room in the mornings, and she'd crawl under the covers with me while i listened to tma

one story i've always liked to tell from my first listen is how when i first listened to the meat arm grinder episode, my dad asked me to help him cook hamburgers later that day and explained how hamburgers are ground up (to my disgust). i hit meat grinder in my relisten and um. you'll never fucking guess what i made for lunch that day

so i had all these arbitrary rules for myself when i started tma last april, and i've broken like all of them. i started listening to tma while virtually working -- you just pull it up on your computer and it works. (i got the life scared out of me when one of my coworkers started talking over the podcast, wondering who it was that had walked into jon's office and why he wasn't reacting and why i didn't remember it.) i also started listening a lot while driving, which led to several long meta posts i wrote being typed up in a parking lot somewhere

i spent the entirety of 194 anxious-cuddling georgia. (i tried to do this for 198 and then didn't have any anxiety to cuddle her over.) i fully plan on doing this for 200, where i am sure i will need it again

my favorite place to listen to tma probably ended up being the roof room at my mom's, and unless something goes awry, this is where i will listen to the finale. (with georgia, of course.)

this list is super uninteresting, like i said, but here it is. i'm gonna miss this show a lot. i can't wait to return to it, later in life, and make all new listening memories in the process

[gingus-doon]

Welcome to my crack theory which hinges on parallels, assumptions, and 'hey wouldn't it be crazy if ___'s. So, surely, it's a very sturdy theory.

When Keiji talks about his childhood, he mentions that he and his mother "weren't affluent," and Keiji has a tendency to understate things, so they might've been in a tighter financial situation then he let on. His mom having an errand bicycle could imply that they couldn't afford a car (though owning a car is less common in Japan as a whole) and him crying over wrecking the bike as well may also signify financial guilt beyond the general guilt of troubling your parents or worry of getting in trouble.

This is a long-winded way of saying that I think Keiji and his mom were low income, and I think a big reason they were was because Keiji's father wasn't in the picture. Keiji never mentions him, presumably to glide over the fact that he wasn't there and to avoid pity and any feelings he may have around it (and how it'd affect others' perception of him, since he is trying to be trustworthy. wouldn't want people making assumptions about his family and life as a whole). There's an ongoing theme of questionable fathers throughout the game with other characters, as well, so Keiji's father would fit in well with the rest of them if he was absent.

To extend this further… Keiji's whole angst is basically not living up to his moral ideals. The example we're given is him idolizing Mr. Policeman, then growing up to kill his idol and along with him, the ideals of protection he'd held for all these years as well.

But… okay, there's no not-ridiculous sounding way to say this, so I'll just say it.

What if Keiji was a deadbeat dad?

Okay, before you hurriedly click off this post in resounding disappointment, PLEASE listen to my argument.

So. Deadbeat dad Keiji would:

Match the theme of Keiji failing his moral ideals. If Keiji had an absent and potentially otherwise scummy father, he'd (presumably) want to grow away from his father and towards a man he could look up to, like Mr. Policeman. Keiji following in his father's footsteps would thoroughly cement his failure in becoming an upstanding adult, and specifically a failed "protector," as that's the roles fathers stereotypically take on in a family.

Yeah. That's kind of all I got.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! No, not more support for this… """theory,""" instead I have more wild speculations! Because I decided this wasn't ridiculous enough already.

So, you know how Mr. Chidouin isn't Sara's biological father?

Yeah. Yeah I'm implying what you think I'm implying

BUT LISTEN, LISTEN

okay i genuinely have no justification for this but WHAT IF

WHAT IF KEIJI WAS SARA'S BIOLOGICAL DAD

I'm not going to dwell on how nonsensical this may or may not be any further. You saw the preface, you knew what you were getting into

There's two possibilities–

Keiji doesn't know Sara's his daughter (either by Asunaro erasing his memories or by never having met her in the first place)

Keiji DOES know Sara's his daughter. Somehow.

The second seems less likely and is also my least favourite so let's start there.

The second would, at least, explain why Keiji latches onto Sara from the start– perhaps Asunaro told Keiji of the truth of his relationship to Sara after his first trial, rather than showing him the percentage papers? Or, along with showing him the percentage papers.

But, there's an obvious problem with this version of the "theory." And that is, HOLY FUCK THAT'D BE SO CREEPY. WHY WOULD HE ACT THAT WAY IF HE KNEW.

I'd like to pose a suggestion if only to soothe my own conscience.

Maybe to hide his relation to Sara? If he acted flirty and nonchalant, he'd seem a lot less like he was supposed to be anyone's father, much less hers. That would also explain how he went from serious to coming off as so aloof so fast? STILL NOT NICE TO THINK ABOUT, but maybe a little less harsh that way.

That ramble above is why I much prefer the idea that Keiji does not remember that Sara is his daughter.

There's two mini-possibilities under this large one. First, that Keiji had never met Sara for her whole life. Second, that they reconciled before the death game, but Asunaro wiped their memories. I wonder if the guilt weighing on his mind about leaving a mother like that could make him want to protect a young girl he could see as his daughter, only for her to turn out to actually be his daughter.

Now, you may be wondering– How exactly would this work when Keiji is canonically in his late twenties and Sara is 17?

WELL. Time travel. Anyway,

YOU KNOW WHAT THE LOGICAL INCONSISTENCIES IN THE TIMELINE DON'T MATTER ANYWAY BECAUSE THIS MAY ALL BE A SIMULATION AND WE DON'T KNOW THE CHARACTERS OUTSIDE OF THE CONTEXT OF THIS SIMULATION IF IT IS, IN FACT, A SIMULATION. SHIN COULD BE RIPPED OUTSIDE OF THE SIMULATION. GIN COULD BE A 6 FOOT COLLEGE FRAT BOY. WE JUST DON'T KNOW

BESIDES, I HAVE HARD PROOF THAT 100% WITHOUT A DOUBT PROVES THIS THEORY

IF YOU MIX MS CHIDOUIN'S AND KEIJI'S NATURAL HAIR COLOUR TOGETHER, YOU GET THIS:

and just look at how similar that is to sara's!!!

And if that didn't convince you!

SO ANYWAY. AS YOU CAN SEE. I'VE CONNECTED THE DOTS. I'VE CONNECTED THEM

THANKS FOR READING, BYE

[shaylybaby2032]

Foolish Hearts

Rated: NSFW/18+

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Gabriel x OFC

Warnings: Smut, fluff

Word count: 9,511

A/N: Please do not copy my work to any platform without my permission, even if giving credit.

Summary: Audrey stops in for a visit with Sam, Dean, and her favorite Archangel on April Fool's Day. Pranks backfire and feelings are called out. Will Audrey and Gabriel be able to come out on the other side of this holiday with each other or will they foolishly let love slip through their fingers?

Audrey had known the Winchesters for years, and the friendship she had built with the two men meant the world to her. When Castiel, Gabriel, and Jack had joined the family it just seemed to make things complete. She loved each of them dearly, however the life of a hunter kept her time occupied. She didn't get to see them anywhere near as much as she would have liked, save for Gabriel, who liked to pop up to check on her often wherever she may be.

Those times when he would randomly show up and jump into whatever it was that she was doing, whether it be a hunt or just hanging out in some no star motel watching bad TV, always made her smile. Aside from some playful flirting, that she knew was just Gabriel being Gabriel, he had never shown any interest in her other than friendship. Still, she couldn't help the flutter that happened in her heart when he looked at her with those mesmerizing golden eyes of his and smiled at her with that turn of his lips that showcased his dimples. She couldn't stop from melting just a little when he called her one of the pet names he had seemed to reserve just for her.

She always made sure to keep those feelings locked down deep. Her friendship with the Archangel meant way too much to her to ruin it by revealing her feelings to him, especially when she knew he did not feel the same way about her. How could he? Why would an Archangel have any interest in her whatsoever?

Audrey's dark blue eyes lit up as she pulled up to the front of the bunker the Winchester brothers called home. The younger of the two was standing outside waiting on her with an excited smile on his face. She placed her vehicle in park and shut off the engine as she tucked a few errant strands of her chestnut brown hair behind her ear. A bright smile overtook her face as she turned to see Sam already opening the door for her.

“Sam!!!” Audrey squealed as she jumped from her seat and wrapped her arms around his midsection.

“It's great to see you, Audrey!” he replied as he returned her sentiment, winding his arms around her tightly.

As they pulled away from one another, she shut her door and he slung his arm around her shoulders.

“So what brings you our way?” Sam asked as he guided her toward the bunker’s entrance.

“Had a case in Colorado. Couldn't resist swinging by to see my boys on the way out.”

“Well, we are all really happy you're here. Though, you may have picked a bad time.”

She looked up at him with a furrowed brow. “What do you mean?”

“Tomorrow is April Fool's Day,” he stated simply. “You know how Dean and Gabe get.”

“Oh, Gabe is here?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the subject.

Truth be told, she knew exactly what day it was, and that it meant her favorite Trickster Archangel would be around plotting out his pranks on the eldest Winchester.

“Yeah, he's here,” Sam confirmed, an annoyed look taking over his features. “They are both already paranoid of each other. Cas took Jack on a road trip to get away from it.”

Audrey laughed happily as she took in her friend's expression. “We'll get through it together, Sam!”

“Yeah, you say that now. But wait until you get pulled into one of their pranks!”

The two continued chatting as they entered the bunker and made their way to the kitchen where Dean was taking a beer from the refrigerator. When he turned and saw them he smiled widely and crossed the room to hug Audrey.

“It's been too long!” Dean said as he pulled away and started toward the fridge again. “You want a beer?”

“Sure, that would be great!” Audrey said as she moved to lean against the counter in the middle of the kitchen and rested her elbows on the surface, clasping her hands together.

Sam mimicked her actions, placing himself next to her as Dean retrieved two more drinks from the fridge and brought them over. The three of them stood gathered around the kitchen island catching up on what had happened in their lives since the last time they had seen each other. As Audrey was telling the brothers, rather animatedly, about her last hunt, Gabriel quietly walked into the kitchen.

The Archangel had had every intention of greeting her when he walked through the doorway, that was, before he saw her fully engrossed in the conversation she was having. He loved how expressive she was when she was talking about something she was passionate about, and he could watch her do so all day. The way her eyes sparkled, how her body moved with the emotion she was conveying, and the grin that stayed on her lips always had him transfixed. He recalled the last time they had been together, less than a week prior, when he had listened to her talk for two hours about her love of theatre, egging her on with questions when it started to look like she was second guessing herself on talking about the subject in the first place.

Gabriel leaned his shoulder against the door jam with an adoring smile etched into his features as she mimicked stabbing the wraith she had been talking about with a silver blade. The action had caused her to turn and catch a glimpse of the Archangel watching her intently. She stopped mid sentence as her eyes lit up and her smile grew. Seeing how happy his presence had made her made his heart stutter.

“Gabe!!!” she cried exuberantly as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him like she hadn't seen him in a year.

“Hey, Sugar!” he greeted as he wrapped his own arms around her middle.

The display of affection lasted much longer than the quick hugs she had given Sam and Dean, long enough that both brothers turned to each other with knowing grins on their faces. Both knew that the two of them had ceased to exist for the moment in their friends’ worlds. They let them continue for a bit more before Dean cleared his throat, causing them to break away from one another and reluctantly turn their attention back to the brothers with both of their cheeks holding a tint of pink.

“Geez you two, get a room!” Dean teased, not being able to resist furthering the embarrassment in both of his friends’ posture.

“Dean!” Sam half scolded, failing to hide his smile.

“Sam, do you think you could take a look at my laptop?” Audrey said quickly, nervously trying to change the subject. “It's been acting kinda screwy lately.

“Sure,” Sam replied with a chuckle. “Where is it?”

“In my car. I'll go get it!”

She hurriedly turned and almost sprinted out of the room with the younger Winchester following her, still quietly laughing to himself. Gabriel watched as they left, trying to bury his annoyance with Dean for his remark.

“So,” Dean started, pulling the Archangel's attention to him once more, “are you finally going to tell her?”

“Tell her what?” Gabriel said, raising a speculative eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.

Dean rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his beer. “That you got a thing for her.”

Gabriel's mouth dropped open in surprise. He had thought he had kept his feelings for Audrey on the down low, burying them deep so they wouldn't interfere with their friendship. He loved being able to come around her whenever he wanted to see her. She was always so happy to see him and they always had fun together. No sense in ruining that by telling her he wanted more than friendship with her when he was certain she didn't feel the same.

“What?!” he stammered. “Dean, I don't...that's not...we're just friends!”

The Winchester barked out a laugh at his lame attempt at deflection. “Is that the best you got?”

Gabriel glowered at him.

“Come on, Gabe! You are so not subtle! You hate hunting. Hell, we have to practically beg you or be near death for you to help us on a case. Yet, you are willing to walk into any hunt with her. Not to mention, she told me about your date.”

“What date?!” Gabriel demanded. “We didn't go on a date!”

“Yeah, she claimed it wasn't one either,” Dean said with a sly smile. “But what else do you call sitting through a four hour performance of Hamlet for a girl in a tiny little black box theatre when you don't even like Shakespeare? Oh! And then there was the dinner you took her to beforehand when you don't even eat. Sounds like a date to me, man.”

“It wasn't a date!” The Archangel exclaimed defensively. “Hamlet is her favorite Shakespeare play and she was having a really bad week! I just wanted to see her smile!”

Dean's grin widened in triumph. “Exactly my point. You should tell her how you feel. She did come all this way to see you. Least you can do is meet her half way.”

“She didn't come here to see me! She's here to see you and Sam!”

Dean's brow raised in disbelief. “You really think she didn't know you were going to be here given our traditions with April first? I'll admit that Sam and I are a bonus, but she's here cause she knew you would be here.”

Gabriel didn't even want to think about what the possibility of her being at the bunker just to see him did to him. He pushed down the fluttering in his stomach and scoffed at the edler Winchester. “Whatever, Dean. It's just not like that.”

Dean pursed his lips, contemplating his next move. “So...you won't mind if I make a move then?”

“WHAT?!” A turbulent mix of anger, jealousy, and anxiety had the Archangel's stomach turning.

“Well, I mean, you're not interested and Audrey's hot. Besides that, she's just an all around awesome chick. Might be fun.”

Gabriel's mind was racing so fast he wasn't sure what to say. Was Dean serious?! He wouldn't! Would he? Would she? No! She wasn't interested in either of the brothers like that! He was sure of that! Well... mostly sure. She had never mentioned any interest at least. Of course, Gabriel tended to avoid the topic of her being with anyone like the plague. The thought of her hooking up with some random guy shot feelings through him, much like the ones he was feeling for Dean right now, and from the self satisfied smirk on the Winchester's face, he knew exactly what he was doing.

The Archangel and the hunter stayed locked in their staring contest until they heard the steel door of the front entrance open and close. Audrey and Sam’s muffled voices filtered through to the kitchen. Dean's grin suddenly turned wicked and he took off in the direction of the library where he knew his brother would take Audrey's computer to work on it. Gabriel was quickly on his heels and they both skidded into the library almost stumbling over each other. Sam and Audrey looked up from the table they were seated at to look at the pair quizzically. Dean quickly recovered from his almost fall and sauntered over to the woman sitting with his brother.

“Hey Audrey,” he started, flopping down in the chair next to her, “you wanna go out and grab a drink with me tonight?”

Audrey's brows knitted together in confusion, her shoulders tensing a little at how he had phrased the question. “Just you?”

“NO!” Gabriel bit out before Dean could answer. When three sets of shocked eyes turned his way, he reeled in his reaction. When next he spoke, there was a much cooler exterior to his tone. “I mean, he's asking if you want to go with us...all of us.”

Audrey turned to Sam, who seemed to have as much of a clue about what was going on as she did. A thought finally occurred to her and she turned to look at the two with stern eyes.

“I swear to God you two!” she warned. “You better not be pulling me into this dumb prank war! Sam told me about the glitter breathing dragon in the bathroom Gabe snapped up last year!”

���Gabriel is under a strict no Archangel powered pranks rule this year,” Sam chimed in, narrowing his eyes at the now grinning angel.

“Oh, lighten up!” Gabriel said. “It wasn't real, and you gotta admit: Dean's face was priceless.”

Audrey couldn't help the laugh that bubbled from her mouth as she thought about Dean walking into the bathroom for his morning shower and coming face to face with a dragon that looked like it was plucked straight out of the movie Dragonheart, thinking he was about to be roasted, only to be hit in the face with a shower of brightly colored rainbow glitter. However, she missed the swell of bashful pride that washed over Gabriel at her appreciation for his prank.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean said in dismissal. “It was a good one. Even I have to admit that. Either way, there are rules this year that Sam and Cas made us both agree to, one of them being that the war can't commence until it is officially April first.” Dean moved to put an arm around Audrey's shoulders. “So, whaddya say? You game for a night out, Sugar?”

Gabriel had to fight back his grace from flaring in his eyes as anger coursed through him at Dean using one of his pet names for her. He desperately wanted to go over and rip his arm from her.

“Don't call me ‘Sugar,’” Audrey chided as she narrowed her eyes at the elder Winchester. “Only he's allowed to call me that.” She inclined her head in Gabriel's direction as she spoke.

“Sorry,” Dean replied quickly as he slipped his arm away.

Audrey relaxed at his apology and stood from the table. “Yeah, I'm up for going out. Just give me time to shower and change.”

Dean nodded and she moved to exit the room with Gabriel smirking in triumph as he watched her leave.

Continue reading here:

If you've read this far, THANK YOU! Also, if there is a well versed Tumblr fanfic author that knows their way around posting to here and wouldn't mind talking me through a few things, I would really appreciate it. I'm having a few issues.

[jisunwithtaeandkookie]

Can You Keep A Secret? Pt.14

Summary: Your close friend Taehyung, shares a secret with you, a big secret: You have had a crush on Jimin for the past 6 years. But what he doesn't know is that you have done something bigger than that, something that could destroy many people's lives in seconds. That's a secret for you to keep. But something even bigger is floating in the air: what you have done could destroy BTS's friendship forever...but that's a secret even you don't know yourself.

Pairing: Reader × Jimin/Taehyung ft. Other Members

Genre: Angst (with slight humor)

It was all because of that blog.

"I think it was her..." I heard hushed voices from one of the two girls standing behind me. Despite the fact that there were people standing in the aisle other than me, I knew they were talking about me, and it was mainly because of two reasons: one, they gave me a sceptical look when I passed by them, and two, they were around the same age as me. It all had started with the blog, which, by the way, was recommended to me by Google last night. I know I have said this before, but still...life had a funny way of working out for me.

It was all because of this blog.

7 Things You Need To Notice In The 'Fake Love' MV

And I am not saying you haven't...you probably have. But.. since no one was sure, I went out and researched a little, and found out some pretty interesting things regarding our boys in the new MV following the pretty debatable topic of a chain of events occurring right before the newest release by BTS. For the people who believe it to be a disagreement between the boys caused by the betrayal of some girl...you are pretty right. For some still unclear reasons, it was a dramatic scene between the group, and yes, a girl was involved in it. It was pretty much centered around the vocal line: to be more precise, the maknae line. The most fascinating thing about this is that the reactions of the boys are directly related to their roles in the MV of Fake Love. Today we are going to look at how the boys reacted to it through the MV. You guessed it: 7 members, 7 things to notice.

Jin's Protective Stance: Jin was somehow indirectly involved in the fight involving the girl and the group. As the oldest member of the group, we all can imagine what his reaction was like: he acted as a mediator, trying to calm everything down peacefully. He is believed to have a soft spot for the girl, and naturally, he tried to take the girl's side, even though it did not work out in the end anyway. In the MV, he replicates this by trying to protect a flower inside a glass case (symbolising the girl), but it gets ruined in the end.

Suga's Apathy: Yoongi, more commonly known as Suga, also had an indirect relation to the fight between the members. But unlike Jin, he was against the girl, the main reason being that he cares about the group and wanted to stay silent in the whole process for everyone's greater good. In the MV, he can be seen with his cold glare and his brief but slightly rueful smile while a fire is bursting out beside him.

J-Hope's Desperation: As a member of both the dance line and the rap line, J-Hope always strives for the happiness and unity of the members. He was frustrated by the group's disagreement and can be seen duplicating the frustration by tugging at the door in the MV. After the aforementioned fight, he was the one who was as always desperate to take the group back to its happy days. In the video, he is lying amidst a jungle of rides and snacks which are symbolic to a happy place.

RM's Care For Jungkook: The maknae of the group, apparently, had a big role in causing the fight that broke out a few months ago, and being the caring person that he is, RM was the first one to go after him. In the MV, he can be seen trying to touch his reflection in the mirror, except it is Jungkook standing at the other end of it.

Jimin's Depression: Jimin was the one of the two members to be 'betrayed', and he shows that through his extremely sad persona that he adopted during the MV. He is also seen standing quietly in the middle of a room which is slowly getting flooded by water coming from both sides from behind him. It's as if he doesn't care anymore.

V's Everything: V, more commonly known as Taehyung among ARMYs, is the second member in the 'betrayal' series, and he doesn't hold back in the MV: everything he does symbolises the pain he went through during the fight. From his phone turning into sand, to his 4D glare at the screen, to even the SAVE ME written on the wall in front of him, everything directly shows us his feelings. Another mentionable thing is how he is alone in the MV....yes, everyone is alone in the video at some point, but except the dance scenes, V is never shown to be anywhere near any other member of the group. Instead he is in a dark cave: he is ALONE alone.

Jungkook's Guilt: Jungkook, according to some sources, had a major role in actually causing the drama among the group, and he obviously feels guilty about that. We can see that through his actions in the MV. He is watching over the members secretly, to check if they are happy. He is also shown holding sand, symbolising the relationship between the group after the drama, while hearts are flying out of it, symbolising the mended relationship and his true desires. In the end, he is shown to enter a dark place which comes out suddenly, presumably because of his gnawing guilt.

With everything said, I just wanted to say that I am glad the boys are okay, and I sincerely hope they stay that way. You all are free to not believe it: after all, this is just a speculation based on my research, it might not be true anyways. Also, what happened, or why it happened is still unclear. I am not going to say anything about the girl's identity...because I don't want to ruin anyone's life. (Let's just say that some people might have seen her around the group...or the maknae line.) Another thing I wanted to say: this MV is not just built out of a frustration of the fight, it does have connections to the alternate universe thing they have got going on. It just doesn't hurt to kill two birds with one stone, you know.....they are not famous for nothing anyway, right?

I sighed as I recalled the contents of the blog. Amazing.

"Is it really her..?" I heard the other girl speak, and I turned around. Without looking at any one of them, I left the aisle, leaving the store altogether.

And I didn't even get what I came here for. This was not going to be good for me at all.

On my way home, I took a different route which passed through a rather quieter area than my usual path. You can probably guess why. As far as I knew, it was not going downhill anytime soon; in fact, it was still going uphill, even though I had thought it had reached its peak. But hey, what do you know, when it comes down to bad luck.....it's me, the luckiest girl in the world, right?

Fake Love...were the lyrics also about me?

Immersed in my thoughts, I almost collided with a girl who was walking in the opposite direction. "Sorry about that." I said, embarrassed.

Instead of replying, she frowned. "You have been here before, haven't you?" I looked around. The Teddy Bear shop. Great. "I have seen you before around here. With-"

"You know what, I've really gotta go." I said and hurried past her, ignoring her feeble "Oh, okay", before she could figure anything else out.

I felt like I was at a risk of being caught anywhere. Even though I didn't know what would actually happen if I was, but something told me I didn't want to find out.

Almost jogging till I reached the end of the road, I put my leg forward to go across, frowning. You're being totally paranoid Y/N. It might be that not many people had read the blog. It might be possible that the girl from before didn't know about the blog, she just recognised me from the place?

I was suddenly yanked back to the side of the road, as a car passed by the spot I was just standing on. Do that a couple more times, Y/N, and you'll end up killing yourself before any of the ARMYs get to you anyway. "Oh my God," I whispered to myself.

"Are you okay-"

"Y/N-ah?" I heard this voice coming from a few steps away, and breaking out of the grasp of my saviour, I turned around and took a few slow steps towards him. "Jungkook..." I said, my gaze transfixed on him.

He gave a little laugh. "So we're on a full name basis now?" I didn't reply, and he sighed. "It's okay, I don't think we're that close anymore anyway." He added, very slowly.

"Kook!" I exclaimed.

He looked unsure. "You lied to me, Chocolate. You said you didn't come to the airport."

I gasped. "Oh my God....you know?" I had unintentionally lied to my best friend. Great.

"Of course he does." I heard from behind Jungkook, and we both looked at Tae coming up slowly towards us. "Tae.." I whispered, my eyes becoming a little moist at remembering what I had done to him, all of my feelings rushing back to me...what I felt for him, how I had hurt him, everything.

He looked at me for one long second, scaring me with his blank gaze. "Tell me, do you care about anyone's feelings at all?"

"Tae...I do! Damnit, why are you saying that?"

"Why am I saying that? Well, for starters, because you are so oblivious, that you didn't even thank the person who just saved you."

I turned around. He was still standing there, looking down. And, wow....this day just kept getting better and better.

"Oh my God, Jimin...I-"

He waved a dismissive hand at me. "I know what you're going to say so, no need."

"Tsk tsk tsk, really?" I closed my eyes at Tae's voice.

"Hyung, she said sorry like a million times already." I turned around to see Jungkook talking to Tae. He was...defending me?

"You're defending her?" Tae asked on my behalf, pointing at me. "Her? She lied to you...you should have been angrier!"

Jungkook looked back at me tenderly. "I am not angry. I'm just....disappointed." He turned around to go. I felt my heart breaking into pieces. I had betrayed my best friend. My Kookie. What was I doing with my life?

"Jungkook-" He cut me off. "I will talk to you later, okay?" Saying that slowly without turning around, he left. Left me alone with Jimin and Tae. We stood quietly for a short while, which felt like decades to me.

"Do you have anything to say to at least one of us?" Tae asked me. This time, his tone was telling me that it was not sarcastic, it was as if he really wanted to know. Well, maybe.

"Go easy on her." Jimin said, walking towards us to stand in front of me.

"I am! I asked her if she has decided who she likes."

"Will you hear me out?" I said, looking at him. He looked back at me, saying nothing.

"Will you hear me out if I say I have?"

"Have you?" He looked sharply at me.

I looked down. "No. Because I don't want to live a dream that is never going to come true." No one said anything for a long while following my statement. They just kept looking at me, with a totally different expression than each other. I wondered what each of them thought about me now.

"Y/N..." Jimin finally whispered weakly.

"Jimin, I am really sorry for what happened that night before Tae came." I saw Tae flinch, looking away from me. I looked back at Jimin. "I just want you to know that I had no bad intentions for you, nor was I playing with your feelings. It's just about the moment...and you seemed to be perfect in that one. I understand if you haven't forgiven me, I completely do."

"You have said sorry before, you don't need to say it again." He replied.

"Because he hasn't forgiven you." Tae interjected.

"Tae." Jimin gave him a sharp look, then turned back to me. "Look, Y/N, you really have to come clean with your feelings here. It's just...important for sorting everything out, if not for anything else."

I nodded. "Yeah. I understand."

"I said the same thing a few minutes ago, but now you understand." Tae said again.

"Tae, enough!" Jimin said sharply.

"So I should just say nothing here? Is that what you want?" Tae rolled his eyes.

"What I want is for us to go. It's time, anyway." Jimin said, looking at me gently. "Fine by me." Tae complied almost too quickly, turning around to go. "See you later, Y/N."

I frowned at his unpredictable behaviour, until I heard Jimin chuckle softly. "What's so funny?" I frowned in confusion.

He looked flustered. "Oh, um....nothing."

"So you just laugh at anything, then?" A smile tugged at my lips.

"What's the harm in that?" He grinned like he always used to do. His laugh was the best thing in the whole world. I have said it before, I know.

"Keep laughing like that." I smiled. "It makes me worried when you don't."

His smile faded, and he looked sideways. "I've gotta go, actually." He turned around, but I grabbed his hand to make him turn back and look at me. "Uh, Jimin....thank you for um...pulling me to you..no, that's not right...I mean-"

"Y/N." He said, chuckling, cutting me off. "See you around, maybe." He left, not stopping a second after that, leaving me alone. I sighed and hung my head low. Standing at the footpath, I suddenly felt exhausted, and alone. Very alone.

"So that was interesting."

"Gah! Okay," I closed my eyes in attempt to recover from the shock the person in front of me had given me. "You have to be everywhere." I added, rolling my eyes.

He shrugged. "I do." He said in his same deadpan tone.

I frowned. "You know smiling occasionally doesn't hurt your brain, right?"

"Doesn't hurt my brain, but hurts my image."

"Uh-huh," I cocked my head sideways amusingly, "and what's that?"

"The brooding and mysterious type."

"You sound like a vampire." I narrowed my eyes.

"Maybe I am one."

"You do know vampires don't sleep at all, right?"

"Oh, then a big no." He frowned. "But do you know I did not mean it literally?"

"Yeah." I took a few steps back. "Stay away from you all, I got the message when you said this to me at the airport anyway."

"Glad." And with that, he left as quickly as he had come.

I could hear a faint sound in the distance...a song was playing nearby.

I'm so sick of this Fake Love, Fake Love...

I needed to get out of here right now.

Can You Keep A Secret? Pt.14

Part 13//Part 14//Part 15

For other parts and the MASTERLIST, please refer to the link to the story in my bio. Thank you for reading!

I. Am. So. Relieved, you guys. I can't tell you how terrible I felt for not uploading for so long...and I really really hope you like this update. It took me the most time out of all of the parts so far. And also, if you have anything at all to say, you can ask me, because I am definitely not staring at my phone for hours waiting for your asks, nope, I definitely don't do that. Stay updated, and happy reading!

[lethesomething]

The Thing with Shigaraki

As I write this, chapter 161 is out and we're… dealing with that, but personally I'm not quite over chapter 160 yet, so let's dive into Shigaraki, and what the hell he's doing.

 Word of warning: Massive manga spoilers ahead.

So let's talk about that heist thing for a moment. It's a good chapter. What Shigaraki and co are doing is Extremely Cool. Like, they're villains, they should not be allowed to look this sexy flamboyant.

 But what they're doing is also a little… off. There's a few things about this action scene that are new or at the very least not the usual strategy that Shigaraki and gang are used to.

 It's improvised. They seem to have secured a truck beforehand, but they can't know how, why and what until Toga calls them. That's weird. Shigaraki is usually a guy who plans things. The raid on the practice grounds, on the camp. The release of the nomu. Those are well thought out plans, though they weren’t always successful.

Shigaraki is taking the front line. That's a first. He fought All Might on the training grounds, but he basically waited for everyone else to be defeated. And even then, he used the nomu and his personal gate butler Kurogiri. In this scene, he's jumping from car to car like he suddenly took a course in acrobatics. And he's doing that himself. Kurogiri is notably absent.

It is Brutal. There is a needless cruelty to this chapter. Dabi and Compress basically torture that sand hero to death, for one. And then there's what Shigaraki does to Chisaki. There's an unhinged quality to it, a search for poetic justice, or at least poetic violence. So far, the League of Villains was mostly efficient. They were violent, yes, murderous also, but I can't recall them taking it to serial killer levels of torment.

So what's going on?

Speculation incoming. That chapter, while seemingly a weird interlude, I think, marks a new start for Shigaraki and his gang. It is League of Villains 2.0.

Let me explain.

On the surface, this is of course a vengeance thing. Chisaki killed Magne, he took Mr. Compress's arm. He tried to subjugate the whole gang. They have reason to dislike him, and since they're villains, that 'dislike' is going to be violent.

But it's more than that. Chisaki was already defeated. They have his little serum thing. His life’s work is already lost. Why not just kill him? Why go through the Very Symbolic ritual of taking his quirk, and then also taking his hands (possibly to add to the collection). And why blow up a whole highway to do so? They could have quite literally had Kurogiri open up a portal for just the truck or something. They could have been sneaky (or at least sneakier) about this, but they very specifically weren't. They wanted people to watch. They want word of this gruesome crime to spread, to go viral. To be known.

This isn’t just about Chisaki’s life work being destroyed

One of the things Shigaraki has learned from the likes of Stain, is the power of a message. Of images. (I talk a little bit about this in a previous post as well). Stain gained followers through his ideals and philosophies. Shigaraki has sort of begrudgingly adopted those followers, but he has always disliked Stain because he took the spotlight from him at a crucial time. Remember when he let loose a bunch of nomus on a city? The moment that stain fought Midoriya, and Iida and Todoroki? That was Stains Big Moment. But it was supposed to be Shigaraki's moment. He didn't release a small army of nomu on that town to aid Stain. He did it to send a message about himself. It was meant to be Shigaraki's 'big debut'. All for One's way of showing his protégé off to the world. But it failed, because the one getting all the attention, was Stain.

But now Stain is gone. All for One is gone. Shigaraki is the one in charge now. He's even leaving Korugiri behind, the one person that linked him to All for One, the one that kept him grounded throughout the first 160 chapters of BnHA. He's free to do what he wants now, and what he wants, is to fight All Might. The Symbol of Peace. The guy who took the job of hero and turned it into an institution, using viral storytelling and imagery. All Might's aim has always been to make people feel safe. He stands for order. For justice. But that guys is also, sadly, gone. Or at least retired. Shigaraki can't fight All Might in the way he always wanted. He can't be the End of All Might, because All for One already took that trophy. So what he does, is fight everything All Might has wrought. He's fighting the very foundation of the Symbol of Peace.

Shigaraki makes a Scene because wants people to recognize him. Not just to put himself out there as the crime lord or whatever. He wants his name to strike fear into the hearts of citizens and criminals alike. He aims to be a Symbol of Chaos.

For Shigaraki, this chapter is the start of a new era. In a very real way, it mirrors All Might giving his power to Midoriya and Midoriya stepping out, taking the mantle on his own. All for One is gone. He won't be guiding him and plotting for Shigaraki any longer. But in the same way that Midoriya is not All Might, so Shigaraki is not All for One. All for One was strategic. He plotted, used stealth and science and played heroes like a game of chess. Shigaraki isn't like that. He's probably smart enough, but he's much more emotional. He's explosive. He's flamboyant and childish and criminally insane. He has a team around him but he's willing and able to jump into the fray to make his point. He's Different, but he's no less dangerous than his master. This, my friends, is Shigaraki unchained.

Ps: This is far from the only one of these i’ve done