#one day i’ll write about something that is not puss in boots

[pandorablook]

ok, so here is something I do NOT like about the last wish: the cat paws.

A movie full of cats, being adorable and shit, but the paws. Look at this:

the FUCK kinda paws are these???!!!! they look all weird, almost like a dog. -The pads are all wrong and very uncute. These do not look squishy.

Cat paws are some of the best paws in the animal kingdom.

THESE are cat paws. Cute little beans, with just enough fur. Squishable and perfect. Not some weird looking Flintstone toes.

C’mon dreamworks, if you’re gonna make cats, you have to get the beans right.

(i hope people realize i’m joking, but also that i’m right)

[first-man-adams-blog]

7, 12, 14, 15, and 16 for self insert lore! 😁

Thank you for asking, Donny! 💖

(Most of these were answered for Shrek-verse Meg here, so to not just keep saying ‘go here’ or just including the ones not answered…I’ll do something different and answer for both Meg from MegaDeath (the other name for my Meg x Death (Puss in Boots 2) ship.) and…

The The Fallen Star version of her (who is shipped with an AU Aaravos from The Dragon Prince, who is the protagonist and a dragon not an elf in it) and the old TDP one too if possible.)

Corre Corre Pequina Roja (Shrek self-insert) answers:

7. would any other characters (besides your f/o) have a crush on your self insert?

In Corre Corre Pequina Roja (Puss in Boots Meg’s story) some of the nameless bar patrons, and briefly Charming…while he’s working at the Poison Apple, himself as a performer during its transition from villain hangout to what it becomes in Shrek 4... But it’s also purely for his ego. He wants a princess, not a barmaid. Muerte wouldn’t sit back and watch either if he saw trouble brewing.

But the other important characters in the story, no. The heroes are all in relationships by the time she meets them, and a certain pie factory owner is laser-focused on magic and magic artifacts. Unless he knew this random barmaid that tagged along with the talking animals was in contact with Death himself (who could count as being magical) he wouldn’t give her the time of day.

14. what hobbies does your self insert have?

While she draws, she also bakes. She worked in a bakery briefly during the part of the story she keeps getting fired when people die while she’s working. Before that, though, as a little girl she helped her mother bake, especially for her grandparents when they were alive.

She doesn’t bake as much now, but when stressed and needing something to occupy herself she will give in and do so. Baked goods aren’t Muerte’s favorite thing, but sometimes she can get him to sample some…sometimes.

16. freebie! name a fact about your self insert you want everyone to know.

Meg…is unusual even in the world she’s from. She finds what others see as creepy or scary to be fascinating and exciting. When it comes to animals, that is. She likes to watch spiders go about their business and stop to let snakes pass on the road.

Once, Muerte was telling her about a creature others are terrified of which makes even the fearless Puss in Boots uncomfortable…and she just looked at him with intrigue, asking him to give more details, a description, anything. At the time he was surprised and wondered if he messed her up when she was a kid…but now it’s another thing he likes about her that he doesn’t see in many other mortals.

* * *

The Dragon Prince and The Fallen Star answers:

7. would any other characters (besides your f/o) have a crush on your self insert?

(TDP) No, not really…but I did play with the idea of her and Corvus (a character in the show), an expert Tracker in the court of Katolis (a kingdom in the show) whom she befriends over time. There were some sparks, but it didn’t go anywhere because Megavos was end game and the stronger connection. (Plus it was probably one of the few times Aaravos got jealous in that project…)

(TFS) Not likely… Their other companions on the journey are kids and a married man, and anyone else they meet is more focused on The Fallen Star, him being the main character. Meg was just seen as one of the humans traveling with him, and sometimes being mistaken for being a Dark Mage because of her black and grey wardrobe.

12. how would the fandom view your character?

Aaravos is a very popular character last I heard (even after season 4…? I don’t go in his tag anymore, so I don’t know…) and I don’t think many would like Meg if she were canon. Maybe some would like the relationship with him how I used to write it when I followed the show, but I don’t know how many.

TFS…I’d hope hypothetical fans of that comic will like her. But chances are still up there she’ll be called a Mary-Sue or something.

15. how does your self insert play a role in the plot of the story? do they help directly defeat the villain, support the heroes, etc.?

(TFS)

She’s Aaravos’s first friend in centuries, having let him come into her home and rest after finding him weakened and possibly injured in the woods earlier that night. She then travels with him after he is forced to run from his pursuers again, and influences his decision to allow their other companions to join when they come across them later.

So she supports the hero, basically. She helps him both by being a friend and by doing various things during the story.

16. freebie! name a fact about your self insert you want everyone to know.

In TFS, Meg doesn’t have many skills that are useful to the group at first. She feels she’s just there because she has no where to go home to and she wants to stick with Aaravos since he wants her around too. It isn’t for a while that she figures out what she brings to the group that the others don’t already.

ask game: self insert lore

[trashboatprince]

I was tagged by @terryfphanatics 

I’ll break this up with a readmore at some point cause this is pretty long. 

What book are you currently reading?

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty (aka Ask a Mortician on youtube), it’s pretty good. 

What's your favourite movie you saw in a cinema this year?

The only movies I’ve seen so far is Puss in Boots’ sequel and it was AWESOME! I want to see it again, but the tiny theater in town only keeps a single movie playing for about two weeks (unless if it’s a Big Studio Movie where it’s in there for a fucking month like they did with Avatar and anything Marvel Studios)

What do you usually wear?

Shirt, leggings or pants, and I’m usually found wearing a plaid/tartan button-up shirt of some color and kind. I don’t get to dress nice often cause I tend to spend my time at work cleaning. 

How tall are you?

5′6, the most average height. I am, however, the tallest of my siblings

What's your star sign?

Pisces

Do you share your birthday with a celebrity or historical event?

Albert Einstein, Billy Crystal, and Michael Cain. Also, Stephen Hawking died on my birthday. And it’s Pi Day (technically not PIE day, despite what people say, that’s in January. There is an irony to this day because I have severe dyscalcula)

Do you go by your name or a nickname?

I got by [REDACTED] and John. (I don’t like using my birth name online, because I still go by it on days when I’m not John, but this name is very uncommon so... safety reasons)

I have a lot of nicknames from family members based around my birth name, my older sister has a specific nickname for me just as she does for our younger sibling, and online some of you guys call me by my username when you don’t use John. My girlfriend has a few names for me, and is literally the only person who is allowed to call me Johnny. I LOATH being called Johnny, she has permission because she’s cute and I love her.

Did you grow up to be what you wanted to be as a child?

Kinda???

I mean, technically, I did actually work as a museum archivist for several months during and after college, and my library job was technically an archive job. But this is work that is hard to come by, and is often done by unpaid volunteers, and I’d like to be paid. 

Currently I work at a job that is nothing that I’d ever want to go to school for, but the pay is good and no one bothers me. That much. 

Are you in a relationship? Who is your crush if not?

Yep, I’m in a relationship with my angel, Verzi. Have been since 2016! I do have a fictional crush (Lucian) and celebrity crush (Michael Sheen. Shockingly not David Tennant, but that’s on the grounds that I want to steal David’s gender. Also, Michael’s my type)

What's something you're good at versus something you're bad at?

I think I’m pretty decent at baking and cooking, I greatly enjoy doing these activities, and I think I’m pretty good at writing when I remember to beta my work. However, I’m terrible with time management, but that’s normal for people with ADHD, especially those who are unmedicated. Oh, and I’m HORRIBLE at learning other languages, but, again, that’s related to my ADHD. I’m trying, but it’s never been easy, even from a young age when I lived in Germany.

Dogs or cats?

Both, but maybe I lean a little more on the side of cats because I have three of them

What's something you'd like to create content for?

I dunno, I make stuff for the things I really like all the time, it’s just a matter of actually doing it or not. But then again... there’s this au someone has on twitter that I really like ant for, but I have no idea how to talk to the creator about doing so (mostly it’s a language thing). 

What's something you're currently obsessed with?

*gestures in the direction of Good Omens, Doctor Who, Bendy, and the GOEU* 

I dunno, the usual offerings on this blog and on my side account if you know where to look. 

What's something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

Hmmmm... work stuff. I legit happy with the work schedule I had gotten, and I was actually starting to get some decent sleep cause I wasn’t always stuck to four night shifts a damn week, but then a coworker threw a fit and quit on the spot over something stupid and now we’re scrambling to figure out how to give everyone enough hours. 

What's a hidden talent of yours?

When I was a kid, and my memory issues weren’t as severe as they are now (three comas and adhd will do that to a man), I used to be able to quote, word for word, whole episodes of shows I really liked. From Spongebob to YuGiOh, kids paid me to do these things at recess cause it was entertaining. I can still... sorta do this, but nothing like back in the day. 

Nowadays, the only hidden talent I can think of is that I’m double jointed in my hands like my mom, unlike my dad and siblings. They can’t fuck up their fingers like we can (I can even bend my thumb behind my hand) 

Are you religious?

I guess? I’m a Methodist (who doesn’t go to church) who also practices Buddhism and looks into the beliefs of Daisim.    

What's something you wish to have at this moment?

For someone else to clean out my drawers and closet to get rid of old clothing I don’t want anymore, because right now I’m getting things ready for when I move out of my apartment in a few weeks.

I’m not big on tagging people, but anyone can do this if they want to.

[tokyopewpew]

I took notes on my real time reactions to Veilguard and will be breaking them up into sections with my follow up thoughts! SPOILERS APLENTY so avoid under the cut!

Part 1: Boot up, Character Creator and Companion intros

I’m not a sound nerd but my bf is. It was really cool to see that this game has like next level sound design! There is a profile for a crazy type of soundscape that I got a sample of that's like. Dynamic and molded to the room you're in. It makes it sound like things are whizzing past you or moving around you more than regular surround sound will. We don’t have that level of sound system set up but if we do one day, I’ll look forward to the replay. I don’t play many like new/current/hip games but this is the first time I’ve seen that in a game setting and I can imagine hearing magic shots whizz past you and griffons circling the room would be super cool.

Character Creator took a bit to get used to. I love my rook now but took some finessing to make them look… human (I played an elf but regardless). Figuring out the head triangle thing was strange but once I figured out how to change the head presets it got better. I think the hair physics are GREAT but the styles are... somewhat strange in how they sit on the head or stray about 5% too cartoonish. Very funny to now be seeing everyone else's Rook's and we all chose the kind of wavy medium hair lol.

I was NOT going in with a very strong concept for my Rook other than knowing I was probably going to be an elf and mage again because that's generally what I like to play and I knew I wanted them to be pretty hostile to Solas in contrast to my Lavellan. So I had no clue what would be a good faction to suit them. I ended up choosing the Veil Jumpers just because I was like sure whatever I'll stick with the most Elfy Option. I figured since they're researching ancient elves, my Rook wouldn't be disillusioned about the god's or Solas. Early in the game I don't think it as a choice makes much sense but I've figured out how to write their backstory so it makes sense (Rook intro post to come).

I knew I wanted my Rook to be a huge ass to Eggman. She does not care for the elven gods and I wanted her to have the sass and resentment of a teen daughter left by Solas after the Solavellan divorce. (She is not their kid at all).

Similarly I love that Varric has a Hero Type and picked up just another snarky, soft-hearted, hard headed gremlin. In part because he'd like them, and in part because he thinks there's something enough like Lavellan in them to knock some sense into Solas.

omg they stabbed Varric. had to NOT SCREAM and wake up the whole house (my live reaction)

2nd almost scream moment was Harding getting her powers/almost falling off a cliff. TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. Freaked out seeing her drop, music got to me, and the BRIEFEST flash of relief when she rose up but then DEEP DEEP CONCERN over that Exorcist shit.

wow the Tevinter Nights bingo is popping off. Lots of cameos.

wow ALL the dragon age bingo is popping off!! really happy to see things paid off after so much build up! the lore is good!!! (I believe this was in reference to the mural reveals about Mythal and Solas as spirits, the titans etc)

stoked we got Maevaris cameo and IMMEDIATE DORIAN cameo!!!! so happy!! The mustache is fab, he looks like a mean old queen, the beard could be better. i hate when they use standard hair models for beards: it isn’t the same texture. It works enough on Lucanis because it's dark but it being brown on Dorian you can see how the highlights are wrong.

love Neve for my Rook's Bestie. (whoops reading this after I let Minrathous get fucked up hard and she gets pissed at me for awhile...). Got a lot of approval with their similar dry/wry humor.

love puss in boo- i mean Lucanis

reluctant griffin Dadvrin. Really loved this because from trailers and intros I thought he would already be close to Assan, so I really enjoy that he is the reluctant custodian of this creature. I love a "we're both learning from each other" animal relationship.

Vorgoth is bae

not thrilled about a forced hardened choice but i’m trying to smooch Lucanis so i helped Traviso

will cry about Davrin codex naming Assan. Parenting and cat dad all in one ugh my heart.

Emmerich is super charming!! As a long time Vincent Price and John Waters fan I love his design and Vibe so much but he's much more Mr Rogers. Also I canNOT romance him as a young woman Rook. That man is GAY. Love his fear of mortality as a necromancer that's so fascinating and fun to explore.

Manfred is, of course, darling.

I. Love. Taash. I love an Autistically Blunt character. And cool to have the fire breather confirmation!!

Ok that's it for now! Next batch will probably have more spoilers going into plot and/or the positives and negatives of writing. Or I'll take a break and do my Rook Intro.

[kayliemusing]

42: top 3s

1: Top 3 ice cream flavors - classic vanilla, birthday cake/birthday batter, bubblegum

2: Top 3 Disney Movies - Mulan, Onward, Soul (but this changes frequently lol)

3: Top 3 vacation destinations - I've never been outside of my home country so I'll say my top 3 DREAM destinations: NYC, Hawaii, a random countryside in either France or the UK

4: Top 3 places to shop - Dynamite, Sephora, Winners/Homesense

5: Top 3 subjects of study/classes to take - English/anything creative writing related, Interior Decorating/Design, Communications?

6: Top 3 make up products - YSL Touche Eclat Foundation, literally any Mac Lipstick but it has to be matte, & Fenty Beauty contour stick

7: Top 3 music artists - Taylor Swift - Of Monsters and Men - The Lumineers

8: Top 3 spices/herbs - Cinnamon - Nutmeg (literally tastes like autumn) - Paprika

9: Top 3 drinks - Diet Coke - Hot Chocolate - Vanilla Bean Frappe

10: Top 3 apps to use - Instagram - Pinterest -iBooks

11: Top 3 months of the year - May, October, December

12: Top 3 clothing items - My black/white turtle neck, high waisted jeans, plaid blazer

13: Top 3 binge perfect tv shows - Bones, Supernatural, Brooklyn Nine Nine

14: Top 3 romantic dates - (I've never been on a date but if I had, it would be this) Evening walk, late night drive, late night coffee date (tbh anything at night feels romantic)

15: Top 3 kinds of flower - Water lilies, cherry blossoms, roses

16: Top 3 christmas movies - A Christmas Carol (2009), Home Alone, The Polar Express

17: Top 3 OTPs - Nesta and Cassian from ACOTAR series by SJM, Manon and Dorian from Throne of Glass series by SJM, Casteel and Poppy from From Blood and Ash series by JLM.

18: Top 3 quotes to describe your life - "I write not to find, but to leave" by Scherezade Siobhan - "I want to be myself again. I want to be six. I want to stop knowing everything I know" by Catherynne M. Valente - "The truth is, I pretend to be a cynic, but I am really a dreamer who is terrified of wanting something she may never get" by Joanna Hoffman.

19: Top 3 characteristics you love about yourself - my kindness bc it's not surface level kindness, but actually something deeply rooted within me - my resilience even tho sometimes it doesn't feel like resilience - my loyalty bc it is a hard as steel kind of loyalty

20: Top 3 kinds of candy - Maltesers, Kit kats, smarties

21: Top 3 ways to exercise/ be active - Walking, dancing, mowing the lawn/shoveling the sidewalk

22: Top 3 spirit animals - wolf, hummingbird, tiger (i googled it bc i didn't know and i was scared it was a joke but)

23: Top 3 petnames - I like 'lovebug', 'love', 'sweetheart'

24: Top 3 books read outside of school - The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas but viewers discretion is advised, Crush by Richard Siken

25: Top 3 most used websites - Youtube, Tumblr, Pinterest

26: Top 3 people you last texted - my mom, my bestie megan, and my sister bc they're the only people i text...

27: Top 3 hashtags you use - the only time i use hashtags is if i'm trying to promote some of my writing so I'll usually use writingcommunity, writersonig, poetryonig lol

28: Top 3 instagram accounts you follow - Trista Mateer, Griefmother, obviously taylor swift

29: Top 3 guilty pleasures - buzzfeed quizzes, early 2000s music, romance novels

30: Top 3 summer activities - Going to the zoo, long evening walks, campfires and s'mores

31: Top 3 things to draw/doodle - hearts, flowers, random swirls bc it's the only thing i can doodle...

32: Top 3 aesthetics - cityscape aesthetic, autumn aesthetic, rustic aesthetic

33: Top 3 things you'd buy if you gained three million dollars - a new car, a condo, another cat

34: Top 3 ways to treat yourself - facial, a large bag of maltesers, buying the makeup i really want but have been putting off

35: Top 3 celebrity crushes - Evan Peters, Matthew Daddario, henry cavill

36: Top 3 books from your childhood - Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, The Big Friendly Giant by Roald Dahl, and Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmens

37: Top 3 accents to hear - Australian, super poshy british accent, new zealand accent

38: Top 3 scents - Fresh rain, vanilla, sweet cinnamon pumpkin from bath and body works

39: Top 3 "Friends" quotes - "WE WERE ON A BREAK" -Ross, "Guess things were just going too well for me" -also ross, and "it's so exhausting waiting for death" - phoebe

40: Top 3 cupcake flavors - tbh I haven't tried that many cupcakes so your typical vanilla, chocolate, and Pink Lady Cupcake from Babycakes Cupcakery

41: Top 3 fruits - Pomegranates, Strawberries, Raspberries

42: Top 3 places you've had amazing pizza from - Pizzahut, Dominos, Pizza73

43: Top 3 sports teams to watch - i don't

44: Top 3 crayola colors - uh, i guess red, purple, and pink??

45: Top 3 things you hope to accomplish in college - Certificates/Degrees in Copyediting and Creative Writing, and I think simply just deeper critical thinking skills when it comes to writing and books

46: Top 3 fanfictions you've read - I read more books than fanfics, I've read a couple on tumblr but don't remember the names sorry :/

47: Top 3 people you miss right now - my dad, my best friend bc she's in vancouver, taylor swift bc she's not on tumblr anymore rip

48: Top 3 fears - Failure, Loss, not achieving anything in life/not reaching my full potential

49: Top 3 favorite literary devices - Foreshadowing is always god tier, cliffhangers although evil i love those too, symbolism

50: Top 3 pet peeves - People dragging their shoes on the floor when they walk, when you tell someone your fav hobby/music artist/interest and they immediately go 'oh I hate X!', and people who go 'you're so quiet!!!' but in a way that draws in more attention and/or makes me feel more uncomfortable like i would literally rather die

51: Top 3 physical things you find attractive - Hands, nice hair, defined jawlines

52: Top 3 bad habits - Nailbiting, picking at my blemishes oops, lip biting

53: Top 3 pets you've had/wish to have - Cats bc they complete me, I've always wanted a Samoyed, and I've always wanted a turtle

54: Top 3 types of foreign food - Chicken Chow Mein, deep fried shrimp, japanese chicken wings

55: Top 3 things you want to say to someone in your lifetime - 'I quit', 'I love you', 'you changed my life'

56: Top 3 dog breeds - Samoyed, german shepherds, collies

57: Top 3 cheesy romance movies - You've Got Mail, How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days, 10 Things I Hate About You

58: Top 3 languages you speak/wish to speak - French, Sign, and maybe Japanese?

59: Top 3 series (book, movie, television) - The Cruel Prince series by Holly Black, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (but literally only for Cassian and Nesta), From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

60: Top 3 pizza toppings - Mushrooms, alfredo sauce, pineapple

61: Top 3 youtubers you're subscribed to - Game Grumps, Charlotte Dobre, Megan Batoon

62: Top 3 tattoo / piercing ideas - I want to get a tattoo on my wrist of the last thing my dad ever wrote me, a hummingbird tattoo right next to it, and then a cross on my index finger

63: Top 3 awards you want to win - National Book Awards, Nobel Prize, and maybe even Goodreads Choice Awards lol

64: Top 3 emojis - Laugh/Crying emoji, the please sir emoji that kinda gives off those puss n boots eyes, and the stars emoji

65: Top 3 cars you dream of owning - 1970s Chev Impala, tbh a cute little Hyundai Venue, and maaaaybe the 1964 ferarri 250 gt luso (idk if that name was totally right but i had to do tons of googling to find it. i don't know a lot about cars and i don't really have a top 3 lol)

66: Top 3 authors - Right now I'm really into Sarah J Maas, Sally Thorne, and Holly Black maybe?

67: Top 3 historical figures - Jesus, Anne Frank, Vincent Van Gogh

68: Top 3 baby names - Ryder, Leila, Gracie

69: Top 3 DIYs - Candles, refurnishing old furniture (i.e. my mom and i painted our wooden garbage can), and really just any type of autumn diy

70: Top 3 smoothie combos/flavors - Strawberry/Banana, Mango, Strawberry-Mango

71: Top 3 songs of this month - Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish, Biblical by Calum Scott, and Visiting Hours by Ed Sheeran

72: Top 3 questions of this post you want to be asked - I did them all bc I made it a survey instead of an ask meme ;)

73: Top 3 villains - Regina/The Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time, Cruella De Vil, and Moriarty from Sherlock

74: Top 3 Cities you want to see - Montreal, NYC, Vancouver (honorable mention: LA)

75: Top 3 recipes you want to try - different kind of salad and/or burger bowls, Stuffed bell peppers, and homemade lemon loaf

76: Top 3 dream jobs - Bestselling author, the person who runs a companies social media accounts, youtuber/blogger

77: Top 3 lucky items - tbh don't have one

78: Top 3 traditions you have - Christmas Eve Service and if I don't go to that at least incorporating reading the christmas story on christmas day or eve, idk if this counts as tradition but going to the corn maze every fall, and whenever it's easter/christmas/thanksgiving we always have a big meal w/ family

79: Top 3 things you miss about being a kid - reckless abandon, dreaming about growing up with hopefulness and no dashed hopes, experiencing holidays like halloween and christmas as a kid

80: Top 3 harry potter characters - I've never read or watched Harry Potter rip (ok well i saw the first and second (and maybe third?) movie in the sixth grade I think) but I think I really liked Hermoine, Harry obviously and Dobby

81: Top 3 lies you were told - i don't have 3, but this one has a story but basically when my sister and i were in elementary school my sister got hit by a car and so the insurance thing was that she would recieve 10k when she was 18 and as a child i thought that was unfair so my dad told me that my sister had to split it with me when we were 18 lmao obviously that didn't happen (i think i realized that wasn't true in middle school)

82: Top 3 pictures in your camera roll right now - Pictures of my cat, one of my sister in a hilarious filter, and a picture of my rocking my TS merch

83: Top 3 turn ons - Kindness, defined jawline, easy going

84: Top 3 turn offs - arrogance, unkempt, super loud and obnoxious

85: Top 3 magazines/news papers/ journals to read - I don't read much of those so I'll tell you some sites I love for writing purpose's: there's Wellstoried, justwriterlythings, springhole.net (which is filled with generators if you're stuck and also tons of infomation and advice)

86: Top 3 things you wish you had known earlier - that toad in Mario Party was wearing a mushroom hat and that it is actually not his head, that immaculate means 'clean' before i misused that word like several times over the years, and that the one turn i always take on my way to work where i thought everyone didn't know how to drive was actually bc i didn't have the right of way rip me

87: Top 3 spongebob episodes - the one episode where spongebob and patrick find a ghost ship, that one episode where they form a bikini bottom band and perform it at a football game in a little fish tank, and the one episode where squidward has his first snowball fight

88: Top 3 places to be in the world - I'd love to be in NYC, Montreal, or Hawaii

89: Top 3 things you'd do differently - I would not have applied for RDC, similarly I should have just paid the 500 dollars to the one certificate program I wanted to do instead of overthinking it, and I wish I wouldn't have ended a friendship the way I did

90: Top 3 TV shows from your childhood - Spongebob Squarepants, That's So Raven, and Hannah Montana

91: Top 3 meals you love - Turkey Burgers, Chilli, and Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

92: Top 3 kinds of tea - i don't drink tea

93: Top 3 embarrassing moments - one time in sixth grade I tripped and fell right on my face in front of my crush, this other time like a couple years ago i opened the door to my car and only realized much too late while i was staring at this random family that it was not my car, and when i went to the gas station to get gas and couldn't get my gas lid on my car opened and this guy had to help me which was already embarrassing enough but then the gas pump wouldn't work so i had to go inside to pay just to realize i forgot my wallet and had to shamefully walk back to my car and then run back inside the convenience store and then pay and then walk back to my car and finally fill my tank.

94: Top 3 holidays to celebrate - Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving

95: Top 3 things to do in the rain - have an existential crisis, pretend you're in a music video, walk through puddles like you're six again

96: Top 3 things to do in the snow - Sledding, Build a snowman, shovel it even tho you don't want to

97: Top 3 items you can't leave the house w/o - phone, keys, wallet

98: Top 3 movies you'd like to see - Jurassic World 3, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania bc i'm a child, and the animation of the addams family

99: Top 3 art mediums - Writing fiction/poetry, painting, music

100: Top 3 museums you've been to - Royal Tyrell Museum, Canadian History one in edmonton lol, and heritage park in calgary

101: Top 3 school memories - Middle school dances when the popular kids would grind to the song "Low" which was always an interesting experience, in the twelfth grade at winter formal when we all shouted "SHUT UP AND DANCE!" at the same time when they played Shut Up and Dance, and the day i left

102: Top 3 things you don't/Won't miss - School, my sisters ex, 2016 bc she was a rough year yikes

103: Top 3 pick up lines - "My name is Will. God's Will.", "I'd like to take you to the movies but they don't like you bring your own snacks", "are you from tennessee bc you're the only 10 i see"

104: Top 3 sports to watch - none of them

105: Top 3 taylor swift songs - all too well - exile - coney island

[upthenorthmountain]

Heartwood - Chapter Nine

Previous Chapters

The final chapter! Enjoy!

And a special thank you for the very special @karis-the-fangirl, for all her help now and always x

Chapter 9

“...Anna?”

Anna woke. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but now it was clearly morning. Kristoff was sitting on the side of the bed, fully dressed.

“Mmm?”

“I’m sorry, this is such a pain, I forgot I have to go into Town today - I have to go or I’ll miss my train. Will you be okay?”

“Mm. Yes. I’m fine.” He had said something about going to London the day after her birthday, and she’d forgotten too.

“I’m so sorry, I meant to…” he looked at his watch. “I’ll come home as soon as I can, okay? And we’ll - talk. And there’s something else I wanted to do yesterday but - anyway. Later, okay?”

To her surprise, he leant forward and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll see you later. Go back to sleep.”

“See you later,” Anna said, and watched him go.

-----

It was almost eight, not so very early. Anna wasn’t sleepy any more so she got up and dressed. Yesterday’s events seemed distant already, almost dream-like - but they’d happened, and she could barely sit still, she was so caught up in wondering - had the doctor made a mistake? She couldn’t think of another reason why she was still here, breathing, heart beating as normal, as she paced the length of the garden and back.

At nine she rang the doctor’s surgery and made an appointment for later that morning. Kristoff would have taken the campervan to the station but she could call a mini-cab, or perhaps ask Lillian for a lift - no, she knew if she did that, she’d end up telling her everything. She had almost told Lillian, so many times, but she hadn’t wanted to make her sad; hadn’t wanted the time they had to be coloured by it. Kristoff had been good as his word, and never referred to Anna’s health, never treated her as if her strength was any less than his, and she was unbelievably grateful for it.

He’d said they needed to talk. Was he drawing the same conclusion she was? Or was he thinking that she had lied all along?

-----

“I see here,” the doctor said, reading her computer screen, “That you were scheduled for a follow-up from your last appointment but you cancelled it, any particular reason?”

“I - there didn’t seem much point.” Anna cringed a little, expecting to be told off.

The doctor frowned at her computer screen and clicked through a couple of tabs. “Yes, you’re probably right,” she said. “Looking at your results - not much point.”

Well, that was a little horrifying, coming from her doctor. Anna winced.

“Yes, a lot of people have these little blips,” the doctor was saying. “It’s good to have it in your records in case it gets worse but for now, no need to do anything. Have you had any further symptoms?”

“No,” Anna said. “Nothing.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I shouldn’t worry about…” Anna paused. “I’m sorry, I’m confused. When I saw you, last year, you said...you gave me this.” Anna rummaged in her handbag and produced the letter, now looking a bit bedraggled. The doctor took it and glanced at it; then frowned and read it more carefully; then turned to her computer again and started clicking through various screens. “Odd,” she said. “I don’t see why - ha. Yes, we did have trouble with that one…”

“With what?”

“Oh, the machine - it wasn’t calibrated correctly - but we called everyone back in,” the doctor said. “Didn’t you get a letter?”

“I - moved,” Anna said. Well, that was true. She wasn’t going to sit here and say that she’d had a letter - possibly, actually, more than one - and ignored it.

“Oh, goodness, I am sorry. Yes, I can see your results here but it’s definitely wrong, we’ve estimated what it should have been although of course we can redo it if you like.”

“I’m not dying?”

“No, no. A mild murmur. Won’t cause you any trouble.” The doctor was watching her face carefully. Probably wondering why I look so horrified, Anna thought dully. 

“I’m so sorry,” the doctor said. “I will of course follow up with the admin staff and find out why they didn’t contact you again.”

“Of course.” 

The doctor cleared her throat, then reached across her desk and picked up a card. “And if you wish to contact our official complaints service, then I’m sure…”

Anna shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s....I’m sorry, I have to go.” She grabbed her bag and stood up. 

“Miss Rendell -”

“Mrs,” Anna said, and fled.

-----

And suddenly, all the happiness of that past year was gone. All of it had been built on a lie, a lie that had ended up being at someone else’s expense. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Didn’t even get a second opinion. Anna almost ran out of the surgery and along the road to the taxi rank by the station. She saw Kristoff’s camper in the station car park and flinched away from it, even though he was miles away.  

No wonder Kristoff hadn’t wanted to talk to her last night, had hidden away to avoid her. He’d realised what it meant, when the incident at the train track didn’t hurt her; he’d realised Anna was perfectly healthy, and that meant he was stuck with her forever. Or at least for another two years, wasn’t that how long it took to get a divorce? Or was it five? Either way. Oh, what if he’d thought she was lying all along; he must have been so angry. He probably wanted to talk to her later just to throw her out.

It was cowardly, to leave while he was at work, but she knew she needed to do it. She didn’t want to put him in the position of having to pretend he wanted her to stay, to say he didn’t mind. She had made him marry her under false pretences and she didn’t deserve his understanding. She didn’t deserve anything.

“Could you come back in an hour and pick me up again?” she asked the taxi driver when they pulled up at the end of the lane.

“It’s a bit of a drive out -”

“I just need to get my things together, I need to leave before he gets home,” Anna said. It wasn’t until the driver’s expression changed that she realised what she’d said.

“Of course, love,” he said. “I’ll be here. Do you want me to wait here while you get sorted? It’s no trouble.”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that -” But it would take too long to explain. “He’s at work until late. I’ll be fine, thank you.” The driver nodded but she noticed he didn’t pull away until after she’d reached the house.

-----

It took only half the time for Anna to pack her suitcase. Banjo rubbed up against her legs as she squeezed her clothes into the case and she bent down to scratch him under the chin. “I’m sorry, puss,” she said. “I’ll miss you.”

There were a few other things scattered around the house, and as she was gathering them in a carrier bag Anna realised that she did need to tell him why she had left. She should leave a note. But the only paper she could find was the shopping list pad, which had a design of cheerful vegetables - that didn’t seem very appropriate. Or the back of an envelope. Oh, dear.

Without thinking, she ran down the path to the office. It was locked, of course, but the key was under a flowerpot - she’d seen him take it out a hundred times. She didn’t think at all about what she was doing - she was just focussed on needing a piece of paper, and this seemed the most likely place to find one.

She’d expected a desk, maybe shelves or filing cabinets. There was a small table with a laptop, but it was connected to some other electronics she didn’t recognise. That was definitely a microphone, and speakers. His guitar was on a stand in the corner. But they weren’t paper, so she didn’t pay much attention to them. Instead she spotted an inkjet printer in the corner and took a piece of paper out of the tray, then went back to the house, locking up behind her.

Anna put her case and the bags outside the front door, then she sat down at the dining table with the paper and a biro from the kitchen drawer. Her mind was racing. What could be enough? Nothing. But she had to write something.

Kristoff,

I’ve gone home. I went to see my doctor this morning. She told me that there was a problem with the machine they used to diagnose me last year. There was never anything wrong with my heart and I am perfectly healthy and should live for decades.

I’m so sorry. I never meant to deceive you (she had to stop here for a moment to rub her sleeve across her eyes) and I hope you can forgive me. I will contact a lawyer and hopefully we can be divorced soon. I will of course pay all the costs.

Thank you for the happiest year of my life.

Anna

She took the ring off her finger and left it on top of the letter. 

-----

The taxi was waiting for her at the end of the lane. It had taken Anna a couple of trips to get all her belongings there, and the driver helped her fit everything into the boot.

She wasn’t going to cry. And she wasn’t going to look back at the house or the lane as they drove away.

The radio was on, and she asked the driver if he would turn it up, which he did quite happily.

‘....and now we have an exclusive - the new John Foster track, which I know you’ve all been waiting for -”

Oh, she’d forgotten about that. She’d seen about his new album online a few days ago, but with everything, she’d forgotten.

“- and you won’t have heard this anywhere else. I’ve heard it, and it’s a cracker, so settle down and enjoy. This is John Foster, his new single, Heartwood.’

The song began, and Anna’s brow wrinkled. This song wasn’t new - why, hadn’t she heard Kristoff play that intro a dozen times. He was always sitting around holding his guitar and playing little bits of tunes, and she’d liked that one. John Foster, you’re a plagiarist, she thought.

The lyrics began. Unusually for Mr Foster, it seemed to be a love song. There was a girl, and he loved her. He loved her, but they only had a year. For everything there is a season. That was what Kristoff always said. Well, she supposed it was no wonder she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

[They say

For everything there is a season

However many or how few

But if we only have a season

At least I spent this one with you]

She was going to cry. She concentrated on the words to try and avoid it.

[Your hair is honey in the sunlight

Your kisses honey on my lips]

Kristoff had said that. Something like that. Hadn’t he?

[When I come home and you’re not waiting for me 

Your sweet smile is what I’ll miss]

[They say

For everything there is a season

However many or how few

But if we only have a season, Anna

At least I spent this one with you]

Anna sat bolt upright in her seat. Did he say her name? She was imagining it. She…

...she knew Kristoff wasn’t John Foster; she’d seen John Foster perform. But she also knew that he didn’t write his own songs, there had been a heated discussion about that online that she’d avoided, because what did it matter? The songs themselves mattered. She hadn’t given much thought to who the songwriter actually was.

Except that she was married to him. That’s how he’d got the tickets to the concert, why he already knew the tune, how he made his money. And he’d written her a love song. His first love song.

No. She’d lied to him - however unintentionally - and it was a good idea for a song. It was a nice song; he was a talented man. She hoped the people of the world loved it and he made a heap of money, which he deserved, for putting up with her all this time.

But. He’d written her a love song.

She hadn’t let herself think about her feelings for Kristoff. Because she knew what they were. She’d known for a long time. If things had been different, if she’d met him otherwise - well, who knew how that might have gone. Maybe he’d have tired of her, anyway. Maybe she’d still have ended up alone, no matter how much she loved him.

Anna swallowed hard, and stared out of the window, watching the trees give way to houses, until they pulled up outside Elsa’s door. Anna’s door.

The taxi driver helped her get everything out of the boot and carry it up to the door. Anna tipped him well, found her old door key in the bottom of her handbag and let herself in.

No one noticed her, for a little while. She brought everything inside and started to carry it up to her bedroom, which was exactly as she’d left it. Anna wondered if it had been left for her deliberately, if Elsa had thought she might come back; or if no one had thought about it at all.

She was putting away some of her clothes when Elsa appeared in the doorway. “Anna?” she said. “Why are you here?”

“Because I’m not going to die,” Anna said, sat down on her bed, and burst into tears.

-----

Elsa clearly didn’t know what to do, but she sat down next to Anna and patted her on the shoulder, which is more than Anna would have expected. She listened while Anna told her the full story - or most of it - and she only said ‘Why didn’t you get a second opinion?’ once and ‘I wish you’d told me’ twice, which to Anna was acceptable.

“I’d actually been meaning to come and see you,” Elsa said, after they’d sat in silence together for a long moment. “I wanted to tell you something.”

“Tell me what?” said Anna, taking a whole handful of tissues and blowing her nose.

“I bought Bennett’s Field.”

“What? For what?”

Elsa hesitated, and looked at her hands. “The council has been looking for sites for a new country park. I bought the land to donate it. I thought - if you agree - we could combine it with the land we already own.”

Anna stared at her, mouth open. Then she said “That sounds wonderful.”

“I know that - you and I haven’t always seen eye to eye. I didn’t know how to be your guardian. I knew I wasn’t doing a good job, but I had no idea how to fix it.”

“It’s okay,” Anna said, automatically.

“No it isn’t.”

“We can start again. From now. As adults.”

“I’d like that.” They sat side by side for a while. “I haven’t even met your husband,” Elsa said.

Anna sniffed. “He won’t be my husband much longer.”

Elsa squeezed her hand. “You never know.”

-----

The doorbell rang at almost eleven that night, as Anna was contemplating going to bed. She didn’t want to climb into those white sheets, alone, but it had to be done; she’d put everything away, tidied it all neatly, had a long hot shower, and now going to bed was the only thing remaining. Until the doorbell rang. Elsa answered it.

“May I speak to my wife, please?”

Anna stopped at the sound of his voice, and listened, but Elsa’s reply was inaudible. Anna leant on the wall and peered round to try and see down the stairs.

“I just need to talk to her. I think - there’s been a misunderstanding. My fault. Is she here? Please?”

Anna walked out of the hallway and onto the top stair. Kristoff was standing just outside the front door, and when he saw her he stepped forward; Elsa moved backward to let him into the house. She glanced at them both, then shut the front door behind him and disappeared into the living room. Anna barely noticed her leave. Kristoff was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at her with an expression on his face that she couldn’t place.

“You can come up,” she said, for want of anything else to say. “Um. If you like.” She didn’t wait for him to reach her, but walked slowly into her bedroom.

“This is your room?” was what he said when he joined her.

“Yes.”

He nodded, slowly. Now that he was here he seemed to not be able to think what to say.

“Kristoff,” Anna said, “Are you a musician? A songwriter?”

He smiled, lopsided. “Yes.”

“I heard your song. On the radio.”

He nodded. “I knew it was being released today. I was going to play it for you yesterday, on your birthday. And tell you everything. Then I was going to do it today, but I got home and you weren’t there.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“About the songwriting?” He shrugged. “At first just because I knew you’d want to meet John and he and I don’t really get on. He’s a bit of a dick, to be honest. The record company matched us up, we aren’t friends.”

“But you don’t mind him recording your songs?”

Kristoff shrugged again. “They’re all just nonsense.”

“No, they aren’t. Kristoff, you don’t know what they meant to me, those songs, when I was alone and miserable. They’re wonderful.”

“The only one I care about is the one I wrote for you.”

He took both her hands in his. “I read your letter. You’re not going to die?”

“No. No more than anyone else, anyway.”

He squeezed her hands and she looked up to see him beaming at her. “Come home,” he said. 

“You don’t want me to do that. You don’t have to be polite.”

“I’m not.”

“I can’t come back,” Anna said. “And we have to get a divorce. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. We can be friends. But I know you only married me because you felt sorry for me and wanted to help me out. And I can’t stay married to someone who doesn’t love me, no matter how I might feel about them. It isn’t fair.”

Kristoff nodded and let her hands fall. “That’s my fault,” he said. “That you think that. Alright, yes - I married you because I knew you’d be miserable if you went home, and I thought I could help you. I thought you’d stay until you got your money, then you’d be off, and I was okay with that.”

Anna opened her mouth, but he wasn’t finished. “I didn’t love you then,” he continued. “Though I liked you well enough. And by the end of the summer I realised I was falling for you - but I remembered that you were going to die. And I couldn’t - I tried, I tried to stop myself. I told myself it was nothing. But my god, when I saw that train bearing down on you, I knew that I loved you. You have to believe me.”

He was so very earnest, that was the thing. He had never lied to her; looking into his eyes, she knew he wasn’t lying now.

“I love you,” she said. Kristoff smiled. He put his hand in his jacket pocket, and pulled out the ring Anna had last seen on her letter, on the table. He held it out to her in his open hand.

“Then come home,” he said.

And Anna realised that the only thing stopping her was the little voice in her brain saying that it was too easy. It was too right. How ludicrous, to have something you wanted so much offered to you freely, by someone who desperately wanted you to take it. But how wonderful.

Until her dying day - many, many years in the future - Anna never forgot the expression on Kristoff’s face as she took the ring from his hand and put it on. Never forgot how it felt when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, knowing that this time, it really was forever.

-----

Anna woke, and it was so comfortable and familiar that it took her a few minutes to remember everything that had happened over the last couple of days. But she was home; this was home. Forever.

Something was unfamiliar, though. She could hear two men, talking. She got up, put on her dressing gown, and opened the bedroom door.

The back door was open, and the conversation was happening just outside it.

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” one man was saying. “Either just put it in the bathroom as it is or knock through here. Or could use that space for a shower. I’ll do you a couple of quotes, if you like.”

“That’d be great, thanks.” That was Kristoff.

“Lovely spot you’ve got here. Can see why you don’t want to move.”

“We’re fond of it.”

“You know,” the other man - a builder? A plumber? - said, “This floorplan, what most people do, is put some stairs in and convert the loft. You can probably get two bedrooms up there, or a nice master suite. Keep one bedroom downstairs if you want. That storage building, it’s brick, right?”

“Breeze block,” Kristoff said.

“So it’s a permanent part of the existing building, right, you could get planning to add that onto the house. Might not even need planning permission. You could get three bedrooms in here, easy, without having to make the actual building any bigger, except maybe some dormers in the roof. Up to you, of course. Depends how much space you think you’re going to need. Just the two of you, is it?”

“At the moment, yes. Though that’s certainly something to think about.”

“I’ll put together a rough estimate on that as well if you like. You don’t want to have to move when you have kids. Lovely spot.”

“That’s very true. Though right now I mainly don’t want to spend another winter listening to my wife complain about how cold the loo seat is.”

Anna laughed, and Kristoff looked over at her and smiled. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Anna said; and it was. The first, best morning of the rest of her life.

[mahalkitajohnnysuh]

Photography

Since I ruined the flow of my scheduled posts, I’m going to be more careful about it moving forward. 

Anyway, let’s get back to our regular programming with some Johnny and Essie goodness. Of course, a photo of Johnny with his camera is the perfect cover image for this story! 

Mahal ko kayong lahat! :) 

–––

Summary: Most NCTzens know, especially if they are Johfams, that The One and Only Johnny Suh is into photography. This piece is an ode to that, aside from being quite autobiographical. Don’t worry though, it isn’t anything dramatic or tear-jerking.

POV: 2nd person. 

Word count: 1.300 + words

Warning: Essie’s a bit angsty on this one because photography’s a sore subject to her. 

–––

Aside from his phone, Johnny never leaves the house without his camera.

It was one of the top-of-the-line point-and-shoot cameras, and whenever he went out with you, he always whipped it out to take photographs of just about anything that fancied him.

Most of the time, you would roll your eyes at him as he got down to business. He would crouch on bushes or squeeze himself in small spaces to get a perfect shot.

“Photography is art, darling,” he said with an obnoxious French accent, ignoring your sarcastic remarks. You would wait for him to finish taking photos before the two of you resumed walking to your destination.

Over time, you got used to it. You would wait for him by amusing yourself with your phone. You would either scroll through your social media or message your friends. If you weren’t doing either, you were writing on your Notes app.

Photography reminds me of my father was the latest thing you wrote, which Johnny was able to read over your shoulder.

“Really? How come?” His voice startled you, and you elbowed him on the gut. He winced in pain, and you apologized, absentmindedly rubbing the part you hurt him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. And you surprised me,” you said. He gave you a thumbs-up first before he was able to compose himself. “So, will you answer my question again?”

Images of you and your father making your way through a busy crowd and taking photos resurfaced in your mind, along with memories of you two eating at a dingy Chinese restaurant after.

To be honest, you weren’t comfortable talking about it just yet.

You shook your head and gave him an apologetic smile. “I don’t feel sharing it now,” you said softly, turning on your heel and walking away from him.

Photography was definitely your father’s biggest influence on who you are now. Back in college, you were the girl always lugging around a DSLR. There were times that you brought two lenses and kept your other paraphernalia in a lunchbox.

You enjoyed fashion photography the best, often asking your classmates to pose for you and coming up with ideas for fashion editorials. You claimed to be a very visual person, considering you pored through every magazine lying on your couch when you were bored at home. Yes, that included men’s magazines that you weren’t supposed to be looking at when you were nine years old.

That was all in the past now, considering you sold your camera four years ago. Now you didn’t have one, and you didn’t feel as inspired taking photos with your phone.

It felt like there was a part of you that withered, eventually being replaced with other interests.

\\\

You were both amused and sad when friends have been posting the photographs you took during your hobby heyday.

One of them used it as her profile picture, while the other reposted an album of your photographs to prove something to her haters. You were tagged on their posts, and you had no choice but to like and comment on them.

If only I have my camera back, why not? I’ll get back to having more shoots with you guys was your comment, which once again Johnny saw as he walked behind you.

The two of you were at his apartment, just lounging around. You were waiting for Kibum and Ten to arrive so you could decide what to do after. Johnny was pacing in his apartment until he saw you typing away furiously on your phone.

“Oh, so you did photography work before!” You whipped your head to his direction and glared at him. “What about it?” You grumbled, going back to your response. You hit ‘Send’ and focused your attention on him.

“Show me your work, silly!” He plopped down beside you and leaned towards your phone. You moved a bit farther from him and clutched your phone towards your chest.

“No, I don’t want to. And it’s not that good,” you grumbled, getting a pillow with your free hand. Your other hand tightly gripped on your phone since you know how Johnny can be sneaky and grab things from you.

“Hey, don’t be like that. I’m sure you had beautiful photos if your friends want you to get back to it again,” he said softly, moving closer to you. “Please, may I look at your photographs?”

How could you say no when he practically looked like a pleading Puss in Boots in Shrek? He was even wearing an orange sweater to add to the effect.

“Fine,” you muttered, opening your Facebook app and scrolling through your albums. When you found the album where you showcased your photographs, he squealed in delight. Most of them were edited to have a vintage effect, but you knew what mattered to him the most was the feel of the photo.

You handed him your phone, and like an excited toddler, he scrolled through the images on the album. “Wow, these are great!” You heard him say a few seconds later. “Oh, this is beautiful! She looks like a fairy!” He showed you a photo of your friend, dressed in a brown chiffon dress, dramatically posing with an antique tree behind her.

“We almost got reported by the campus police for taking photographs without a permit,” you admitted, making him chuckle. “Sometimes, you’ve got to break the rules to get that perfect shot,” he said as he patted your shoulder.

Both of you browsed at your photo gallery, and he shared his feelings on most of them. He found them beautiful and even loved the editing you did on some of them. “Thanks, Youngho,” you said, slowly getting the phone from him. He noticed what you were doing and moved the phone toward him. “We aren’t done yet! You have more, right?” He was charming you to share more, but you knew that was enough.

You yanked the phone away and told him firmly: “That’s enough for today.”

An awkward silence filled the room, and you sulked in a corner. You wondered why photography was still a touchy subject with you, especially when you’re with your best friend.

\\\

One day, Johnny decided to give you a camera. Not just any camera, but his camera.

Your eyes widened in shock as he placed it on your hands. You were in his apartment again, hanging out like the clingy best friends that you are.  

“Take it, baby,” he said, moving your fingers so the camera doesn’t slip off your hands.

“But why though?” You looked at the device on your hands, which felt surreal.

“You need it. And I want you to take photos with me,” he tilted your chin so you could see the smile on his face. You could tell it was genuine, and it made you smile in return.

“But if you’re giving me this, then you don’t have one?” You peered into his bag and saw that he has another one.

“I’m giving you a brand new one. I still have mine,” he pointed to the model that was still in his bag.

“But this is too much! And this model’s expensive,” you started babbling, ignoring the thoughtful look he was giving you. “How on earth am I going to repay you?”

“There’s no need, consider it an early present from me. Happy birthday, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!” He greeted, laughing at how absurd it was to say those things at the end of October.

You placed the camera on the coffee table first before you hugged him. “Thank you Youngho, you’re the best,” you mumbled against his sweater.

“Anything for my sweet darling Essie,” he said, stroking your curly mane.

You remained in your intimate position for a moment until someone knocked on the door. “That must be Yuta,” he said, breaking away from the hug.

You watched him get the door, looking now and then at the camera that he gave you.

My dad would be proud, you thought. That could mean anything – your father would be proud that you’re getting back into the hobby, or he could be proud that you found a partner who loves it as much as he did.

–––

FIN

[tawneybel]

Favorite Christmas presents:

D'Aulaires’ Book of Trolls by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire

Prank Killer pins from ClayGrahamArt (Ghostface is slasher bae.) 

Heathers DVD

Labyrinth DVD

Weird Michigan by Linda S. Godfrey 

Weird N.J. by Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran 

Uh, I haven’t posted one of these in a while. Since the beginning of January I’ve been super busy. Next week I have a final. 

Listing every movie I saw last year would be too much. But I wanted to list all the 2019 movies I saw from fave to least fave. Not including things I didn’t finish, like The Addams Family. At first I liked it for keeping them unconventional looking, but the plot wasn’t that interesting. 

Us: February 2019 was a good month for movies. This wasn’t actually my favorite from last year. But it’s one of the few horror flicks I’ve seen that genuinely unnerved me. JORDAN PEELE MADE HAND HOLDING SCARY. The special features were the best part, though.

Alita: Battle Angel: Is this a female power fantasy? She’s scrawny but still kicks *ss.

Spider-Man: Far from Home: Jake Gyllenhaal is sexy to me now.

Happy Death Day 2U

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: It probably should have been both animated and an anthology, but still enjoyable. 

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World: Am I still bitter that Dragon Slayers’ Academy never got expanded into a huge franchise? Yes. But Hiccup became a bearded dad. 

Midsommar

Velvet Buzzsaw: I was expecting it to be better, but at least Gyllenhaal nakey. 

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Pet Sematary: Needed more Victor and I wasn’t a huge fan of the new ending. 

Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Kim Possible 

THE BOYS

Disclaimer: I have not read the comic. I didn’t write down as many notes as I could have because it was hard to take my eyes off the screen. 

The Name of the Game

Robin’s demise was horrific and shocking, but at least the show set its tone in the first episode. Hopefully we learn a lot more about her in season two. Because I kept expecting lots of flashbacks from Hughie. Robin deserves more scenes, darn it. 

It’s great this series tackles not just workplace harassment, but assault. More on that under “The Self-Preservation Society.”  

Uhhh, Translucent. Fight with Hughie and Billy was awesome. Hughie would probably be a better SO but there’s something about that invisible p3rv… Now Homelander I didn’t find that interesting until the end. Legally he’s a hero. That’s how Homelander presents himself to the world. But he’s basically a bastardized Superman-Captain America hybrid. Which is weirdly hot. Damn it, why is corruption sexy? Why?

Cherry

What if they blinded Translucent? Then they wouldn’t have had to kill him. :( Unless there’s a Supe with healing powers? 

Get Some

Poor Starlight. If I was in her place, I would have told them to eff off and started my own super team. Where we all wear sexy but practical armor. 

Okay, my notes say “Yandere Homelander?” I think this was the episode where he was spying on Stillwell’s br3ast pump. He is a lactophile. 

Are there any normal s3x scenes in this show? Poor Popclaw. Poor Aleksy.

The Female of the Species

Gosh, this show is dark. 

Good for the Soul

Popclaw, nooo. D:

Mother’s Milk, I’m Episcopal, too! I should make a list of Episcopal/Anglican characters. My favorite’s probably Geraldine Granger from The Vicar of Dibley. :D Anyway, I’m glad this episode calls out religious hypocrisy without making it seem like all worshippers are reactionaries. 

Other things I liked about this episode:

“You played my b/u/t/t like jazz.” Hughie blackmails. 

Laser baby.

“You’re my good boy.”

The Innocents

“They’re flexible, they take a pounding…” Puss/y poweh.

The Self-Preservation Society

The Deep getting assaulted is not something I expected at all. Gill pene/tration* would be disturbing even if it was consensual. Hopefully he’ll be able to empathize with Annie and his other victims. But he has to feel genuine remorse first. 

*I say this as a fan of mermen. Gills are nice. Gently stroking gills is nice. Anything beyond that is horrifying. 

You Found Me

Gosh, Homelander is evil. Get your boots off the couch! “You are dark, and I kind of like it.” I ship him and Billy now. 

Next personal post I’ll review more movies or the second reason of Supernatural.

[morethanonepage]

i’m angery

i know i’m mostly a star wars killjoy on tumblr dot com lately but allow me to SCREAM about my latest nemesis, a book called “American Dirt”:

Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy―two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia―trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

Written by one Jeanine Cummins, who has Puerto Rican ancestry but grew up in the MD suburbs (as I did, tbf) and in 2015 considered herself white (”I am white...in every practical way, my family is mostly white.”  [cw for sexual assault and murder at the link]), everything I read about this book has begun to drive me to madness.

Recommended by the Mary Sue book club (the source of the above summary), it has since been retracted bc a) its sucks and b) THEY DIDN’T READ IT BEFORE PUTTING IT ON THE BOOK CLUB LIST (”I try to read most, if not all, of the books I recommend for the Book Club because I truly do love reading, and I want to make sure that if I suggest someone grab something, it’s something I can say I liked. When I was looking up two books to fill out the list, one of them was American Dirt. I saw that it had received a lot of positive press from Stephen King, Rumaan Alam, Don Winslow, Sandra Cisneros, and other literary news outlets including Oprah’s Book Club. It seemed like the type of literary fiction that’s always good for a book club read. I was mistaken.“)

Myriam Gurba, at Tropics of Meta, describes being asked to review it for a feminist magazine, and then being told her review was too negative to publish. It included gems such as:

Cummins bombards with clichés from the get-go. Chapter One starts with assassins opening fire on a quinceañera, a fifteenth birthday party, a scene one can easily imagine President Donald Trump breathlessly conjuring at a Midwestern rally, and while Cummins’ executioners are certainly animated, their humanity remains shallow. By categorizing these characters as “the modern bogeymen of urban Mexico,” she flattens them. By invoking monsters with English names and European lineages, Cummins reveals the color of her intended audience: white. Mexicans don’t fear the bogeyman. We fear his very distant cousin, el cucuy.

[...]

With their family annihilated by narcotraffickers, mother and son embark on a refugees’ journey. They head north, or, as Cummins’ often writes, to “el norte,” and italicized Spanish words like carajo, mijo, and amigo litter the prose, yielding the same effect as store-bought taco seasoning.

[...] Lydia’s husband, a journalist, describes her as one of the “smartest” women he’s ever known. Nonetheless, she behaves in gallingly naïve and stupid ways. Despite being an intellectually engaged woman, and the wife of a reporter whose beat is narcotrafficking, Lydia experiences shock after shock when confronted with the realities of México, realities that would not shock a Mexican.

It shocks Lydia to learn that the mysterious and wealthy patron who frequents her bookstore flanked by “[thuggish]” bodyguards is the capo of the local drug cartel! It shocks Lydia to learn that some central Americans migrate to the United States by foot! It shocks Lydia to learn that men rape female migrants en route to the United States! It shocks Lydia to learn that Mexico City has an ice-skating rink! (This “surprise” gave me a good chuckle: I learned to ice skate in México.) That Lydia is so shocked by her own country’s day-to-day realities, realities that I’m intimate with as a Chicana living en el norte, gives the impression that Lydia might not be…a credible Mexican. In fact, she perceives her own country through the eyes of a pearl-clutching American tourist.

Parul Sehgal, at the NYT, digs into the fact that while the motives of this book may be unimpeachable (tho: are they??), the writing itself is...perhaps less so:

I found myself flinching as I read, not from the perils the characters face, but from the mauling the English language receives. Lydia’s expression “is one Luca has never seen before, and he fears it might be permanent. It’s as if seven fishermen have cast their hooks into her from different directions and they’re all pulling at once. One from the eyebrow, one from the lip, another at the nose, one from the cheek.” Yes, of course. That expression.

Sehgal also highlights my favorite line I’ve heard about in this book: “when Lydia finds she is unable to pray, ‘she believes it’s a divine kindness. Like a government furlough, God has deferred her nonessential agencies.’” The Raised in the DMV Suburbs just JUMPED OUT, didn’t it, Jeanine? But like legit, why on earth would a Mexican bookstore lady’s frame of reference ever be A GOVERNMENT FURLOUGH and NONESSENTIAL AGENCIES. followers, i just about died. 

David J. Schmidt, at The Blue Nib, calls out other inaccuracies and stereotypes:

It is worth dwelling on the character of Javier for a moment. A “drinking game” could be created based on all the Latin American stereotypes he personifies. Javier is dapper, yet dangerous. He is charming, yet mysterious. He wears a white guayabera, a shirt the author describes as “more suitable for Sunday Mass than a regular workday.” (Untrue—this is a casual garment, more suitable for a love affair in a Fabio-bedecked romance novel.)

This quintessential “Latin lover” shows up at Lydia’s bookstore and speaks to her in a tone significantly different from the other characters of American Dirt. I  must emphasise, Javier’s dialogue does not reflect the normal speech patterns of Mexico, but perfectly reflects U.S. stereotypes. The only way to properly read Javier’s lines is through the most gross of caricatures.

One should imagine the husky voice of Antonio Banderas, speaking at his most sensual and Spanishy. Any character he has played in English will do, although it is clear that Javier was ideally written for the voice of Puss in Boots. When Lydia asks if Javier reads English, the dapper narco responds:

“I try, yes […] My English isn’t fluent, but it’s close. And this story is so delicate.”

[...]

The cultural inaccuracies of American Dirt run deep, right down to the language. Throughout her book, Cummins shows confusion regarding the grammatical genders in Spanish. Most notably, she baptises the drug kingpin Javier with the nickname La Lechuza. It is difficult to imagine a macho, womanizing capo using a feminine-gendered noun as his moniker. Would a hardened mafia boss call himself “The Princess of Compton” or “The Belle of Belfast”?

Cummins got a seven figure advance for this. A SEVEN FIGURE ADVANCE. She “wished someone slightly browner than me would write it,” but she did it,  and her team is throwing around the fact that her husband’s previously undocumented status as some sort of justification without mentioning that he’s white & Irish. 

Also, there’s this news:

Imperative Entertainment, the production banner behind the Clint Eastwood hit The Mule, has acquired the rights to American Dirt, the Mexican migrant drama novel by Jeanine Cummins.

Charles Leavitt, the scribe who penned the Leonardo DiCaprio drama Blood Diamond, has been tapped to write the adaptation, which will be produced by Imperative’s Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas.

Charles Leavitt is a white guy who, most recently, wrote the Warcraft movie. So, that’s going to end well. 

I’ll leave you with this other gem from Gurba (from her essay about it, “Pendeja, You Ain’t Steinbeck “):

Susan Sontag wrote that “[a] sensibility (as distinct from an idea) is one of the hardest things to talk about” and with this challenge in mind, I assert that American Dirt fails to convey any Mexican sensibility. It aspires to be Día de los Muertos but it, instead, embodies Halloween. The proof rests in the novel’s painful humorlessness. Mexicans have over a hundred nicknames for death, most of them are playful because death is our favorite playmate, and Octavio Paz explained our unique relationship with la muerte when he wrote, “The Mexican…is familiar with death. [He] jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it. It is one of his favorite toys and his most steadfast love.” Cummins’ failure to approach death with appropriate curiosity, and humility, is what makes American Dirt a perfect read for your local self-righteous gringa book club.

so idk, The Mary Sue, maybe it should stay on your Book Club list after all. (Oh wait: as of this writing, it still is.) 

[eliyah-de-dark]

It’s been rough for me as a writer these past few months. Between work uncertainties, moving, and general mental health, I haven’t been able to write anything -fanfic or original - in what feels like forever. Then out of the blue this morning, I had an idea that managed to make it onto the screen. I want to write so much more for this, so bear with me.

Word count: 2618

Genre: Sci-fi, I suppose.

Pops always said revolutions are simple. Enough good people stand up, and the bad ones don’t have a prayer. His words repeat in my mind as the small town car rolls further down the dirt road. Dark smoke travels in plumes across the sky, painting it like a rainless storm across the prairie. They trail back to Broken Hill Correctional Facility. The cement and steel giant dominates the skyline as soon as it’s in view, its smoke stacks pumping out the acrid smog at high speeds. 

The first time I came here, the cabbie told me Broken Hill used to be a town. You can see the skeleton of it behind tall barbed wire fences. I watch as prisoners are dragged about by their chains from the collapsing houses and pulled into the main building. My eyes search each person’s face, but I don’t see him. He must already be in the factory. The closer we get to the gates, the more guards appear on their patrols like ants on parade.

Like everything in Broken Hill, the gates to enter the grounds are large woven steel. Two guards stand on either side of it, their gas masks reflecting the light from the car as we park in front of them. Seems no matter how many times I’ve been here, a pit opens in my stomach as they approach. 

I put on my mask just before the window comes down, but the smell of burning flesh makes its way through the cracks in the seal. My body’s reaction is instant coughing, desperate to keep the poisoned air out of my lungs. “You alright, miss?” The guard at my window asks. I can’t see his face due to the tinted glass of his mask, but I can hear the concern in his voice. 

I nod, forcing another painful cough down. The effort makes my chest hurt. “Yes, thank you,” I manage to say. My fingers fish into my pocket and pull out a small card. “My ID, sir.” His thick black gloved hand plucks it out of my grasp and brings it close to the glass piece of his mask. 

“You cut your hair?” He asks. 

“Yessir.”

He looks at me, his eyes leaving a chill that shoots through my spine. “Welcome back, Ms. Esmeray.” I bite my tongue as he says that name. He hands the card back, and I smile as I take it. The gate opens with the horrid screech of metal on stone. The car rolls forward onto the long tarmac that leads to the prison’s entrance. 

The warden waits with a small group of guards at the end of the road. He stands out for a number of reasons. Sure, his uniform has more accolades attached to it, but the poor stitches strain to fit around the rotund man. I look at the buttons and wonder which one will break first. 

At a nod from him, two guards approach the car. They open the door and help me out. I murmur my thanks to them before approaching the man of the hour. “Warden Beale, how nice to see you again,” I say with a smile. He straightens up, almost like a dog getting praise. 

The guards behind me return to their spots in the warden’s little parade. “Can you believe it’s been 6 months already? My my, how time flies!” Warden Beale sniggers as he waddles closer. He grabs my hand and shakes it, ignoring the stiffness of my joints and the vice-like grip I give.

“How is he?”

Warden Beale huffs. “Relax, he ain’t going nowhere. You’ll have plenty of time to visit with him.” He snaps his fingers and the guards advance. My heart beats so hard it hurts as they surround me. “It’s a long drive from Stardust City, why don’t you get some grub from the lounge? Show her the way, boys.” The amused tone of his voice makes entering the prison so much worse. Like a clown inviting you into a haunted house.

I keep pace with the guards as they escort me through the dingy halls. Seems like they get darker and darker every time I come here. Once we are far enough away from the doors, I slide my gas mask off. The guards keep theirs on. They guide me through halls I’ve tried to memorise for months. We walk onto a catwalk that gives a view of the prison’s factory floor. The heat blazing from the open hearth furnaces passes through the glass and turns my coat into a sauna. How can the guards stand wearing heavy wool in here? Down on the floor, I can see legions of prisoners shovelling stones into the maw of the furnaces. I can’t make out any faces from here. The heat distorts the exact features, and distance makes them unfocused. Is he down there? Is that why I can’t see him yet?

The guards direct me on, gently nudging me off the catwalk and onto a series of cleaner, better lit halls. Here guards mill about without their masks, talking and laughing amongst each other. Their uniforms are identical to my guides, but they lack the silver six sided stars and black peaked caps that marked the upper echelon. As we pass, we are stared at, whispered about, pointed and gestured to. Our steps silence conversations and make way for awkward silence. It follows us into the lounge. The room is lavish compared to the rest of the facility. Old worn out couches with faded patterns, plastic tables with cracks in their poles, cold unidentifiable food with flies all around. Only the best apparently, I think, sarcasm dripping like the leak in the corner. I skip the food and go take a seat on the couch. 

A speaker in the corner of the cramped room plays soft music, until it fades out and an electronic voice cuts in. “This music was brought to you by Diamontronics. Get the best for you and your loved ones with Diamontronics’ extensive selection of technology and services.” I roll my eyes. At the very least, it’s not another Stardust Enterprise ad. I’ve managed to drown those out back in the city. 

A guard flops onto the seat beside me. I scoot closer to the edge, and they look at me through their heavily tinted gas mask before I hear them chuckling. “Sorry, guess I spooked ya.” He takes off his mask and peaked cap to show dark skin and tight black dreadlocks that spilled into his eyes. “Name’s Taher.” 

“Celia.”

He chuckles. “I know, warden’s been talking about you all day.” That isn’t disconcerting to hear. I adjust my sleeve and focus on the toe of my boot. “So Stardust, huh? Good city?”

“Yeah, it’s cool.”

He clicks his tongue, which I guess means he agrees. After that is just more silence. I fiddle with the hem of my shirt. “You from around here?” I glance at him from the corner of my eye. 

He shrugs. “Grew up on a Lyfoods farm. It was alright, but I chose to move up in the world, yanno?” A small, genuine smile grows on my lips. 

We listen to the music now, the only aggravation coming from ad breaks. Taher taps his foot along to the melodies and hums. His voice is nice. When I tell him so, he blushes. “Think it’s good enough for Stardust City?” He chuckles. 

I tap my finger on my lips and pretend to think. “Maybe, if the right rep hears you.” I hold back a laugh as I see his face light up. 

“You really mean it?”

My nod leaves him grinning ear to ear. He is about to say something when the speaker crackles and the warden’s voice comes through. “Bring Ms. Esmeray to Visitation, Room 228.” It’s like someone flipped a switch in Taher. He stands up immediately, sliding his mask and hat back on, and offers his hand to me. I let him help me up and follow him and another guard who had been waiting at the door. 

Visitation is nearby, I remember it from other trips. Third story, just above the factory floor. Prevents prison escapes, I’d guess. These hallways are like the ones near the entrance, poorly lit and rarely cleaned. We walk in silence, except for the rhythmic thump of the machinery below. Room 228 looks identical to the rooms around it, lit by one lightbulb in the center of the room which shines down on a steel table and two chairs, all welded to the floor. 

Pops sits facing the door. His face, his hands, his clothes, everything is covered in soot. Rage strikes my heart as I see his hands, blistered and bloody, cuffed to the table so tightly he can’t move them. The only real sign of life is in his eyes. They almost seem to grow brighter as he looks at me. “Celia.” His voice is rough, like sandpaper on the ears. There’s a faint tone of the melodious voice I grew up with, one that sang and told stories and comforted a sad little girl, but it’s almost gone. 

I rush in and kneel at his side, ignoring Taher and his companion as they close the door. “Are you alright, Pops?” My hands cup his face as tears begin streaming down his face. I pull my hand away and search my pockets until I find a crumpled up napkin. As gently as I can, I wipe at his face to reveal the pale skin beneath. Or what should be pale skin. His face is varying shades of red, a sign of working the furnaces all day. 

I place a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll bring some burn ointment next time,” I whisper as softly as I can. 

He gives the smallest shake of his head. “Don’t risk it, it won’t do you any good if you get caught.” His fingers twitch. I go to hold his hand, but the blood and puss give me pause. Touching will hurt, I think. I grab the hem of my shirt and pull, ripping the fabric in uneven strips. “Celia, what are you -” His chastisement is interrupted by hisses of pain as I wrap the wounds. I know this won’t help long term, but when I put my hand in his now, he flinches less. “Just like your grandmother. Ya don’t think these things through.” He tries to sound serious, but soon we’re laughing. 

Seeing him smile does nothing for the anger I feel. Seeing him in this condition, it makes me want to go out and throw Beale in the very furnaces that make this room a sweltering nightmare. I don’t mention this to Pops. He wouldn’t approve. Didn’t the last time, anyway. His eyes twinkle in the dismal light. “So how’s life in Stardust City going?”

I shake my head and make my way to the chair opposite him. “I hate it.” No need to beat around the bush. “I wish I were back with you and Abuelita on that little farm outside Oubliette Pass.” Saying it outloud conjures images of the looming mountains, the green fields, the little blue creek that ran through the corner of the property, Abuelita cooking dinner while Pops and I play chess in the front room. I’m not surprised to have tears running down my face.

Pops squeezes my hand. I imagine the pressure like a hug, the smell of soot replaced with cherry campfire smoke and tobacco. “I miss it too, kiddo.” He tries to smile, but I can tell the memories are just as painful to him. “At least you’re taken care of, for now. How are the others?”

My eyes drift away from his face to anywhere else in the room. Even the corner is better. I don’t want to see his face when I say, “I don’t know. No one’s reached out.” The disappointed hum he makes is just as bad as seeing the light dim in his eyes. “They must all be pretty happy.”

He scoffs, his grip tightening for a second. “They’re as happy as their consciences will allow.” Those old failing eyes scan the room, and I join him. A camera sits in the corner closest to the door, a bright diamond emblem on it. Once we both acknowledge it, he leans in closer and whispers, “Has anyone sent a message for me?”

My head shakes, and he leans back and sighs. “Tell me about your life since our last visit. I want to know everything.” Like a button had been pressed, he went from tired and sad to upbeat and excited, hands squeezing mine and eyes shining.

I tell him about school, about the “friends” that I have, the clubs I’m a part of, and anything else that’s relatively normal. Despite his prodding, I avoid the topics of home life. He doesn’t deserve to suffer that knowledge. Let him think my life is all unicorns and rainbows, if it helps him make it day to day. He becomes intrigued when I mention an internship. “An internship? With Stardust Enterprises? That’s very impressive, Celia!” He sounds like any other grandfather in that moment, all pride and happiness.

I can’t help but smile. “Mr. Esmeray told me about it, and said I would be his first choice if I accept.” My excitement drops through the pit in my stomach that the heat around us reminds me of. “Maybe I could use it to help you.” 

It was meant to be a murmur, but the change in Pops’ expression tells me it wasn’t. His leathery face turns hard. “Listen to me, Celia Reyes,” The use of my real last name sends a chill across my body, “You need to focus on your life. I failed in my attempts to change the world, so it’s up to you kids to find a better way.” His face remains still as the door swings open. 

One of the guards breaks my grip on Pops while the other lifts me out of the seat. “No, wait! Five more minutes, please! Pops!” I scream as they drag me out of the room.

The last things I hear Pops say for the next six months are the words “I love you, Celia,” before the door gets slammed on him. 

The guards try to get me to walk, but sobs shake my body so violently I can’t stand. I crumble to the floor and bury my hands in my face. One puts their hand on my shoulder, and I hear Taher speak to me. “I’m sorry,” He says, he doesn’t mean to whisper, but the mask dampens his voice, “I wish I could help.” He nods to his companion. The pair lift me to my feet and carry me down the halls.

Warden Beale meets us just outside of the Visitation wing. He grins when he looks at the tear tracks on my face. “A very heartwarming visit, I’m sure,” He sneers. “Have a good trip back to Stardust City.” He tips his hat to me before gesturing to Taher, a cue I know means get her out of here. 

We remain still until Warden Beale leaves. Taher speaks again, “Can you walk?” I nod, and he relaxes his grip on me. It takes a second for the other guard to do the same. The pair march me out of the prison and back to the idling town car. 

As I climb in, Taher calls out to me. “I’ll see you if I ever make it to Stardust City!”

I give him one last smile and a wave. “No you won’t,” I whisper once the door closes.

---

Would anyone be interested in reading more of this? Got any critiques or spell check errors you see? Let me know!

[memento-mariii]

11/11/11 Tag game

Tagged by @souliloquyyy

Rules: Answer 11 questions, add 11 questions of your own, tag 11 people.

Thank you for tagging me! I’m not much of a writer when it comes to actually writing(I just like to think of plot points in my head, write the chronology down on wikis, etc, but never get around to writing them into an actual book), so some of the answers might be a bit… lacking, but what the heck, it looks fun so let’s go!!!

1. Who’s the first OC you remember creating?

I don’t remember her name, but she had short pixie cut of a black hair and blue eyes. She was a bit of a tomboy, and she was a huge dumbass whose problem solving skills consisted solely of running headfirst, full speed ahead, to said problem. That being said, she was very skilled at what she did and she did her job well. She carried about the same energy that lots of big dogs, especially golden retrievers, have.

2. What’s your favorite genre of music?

I like listening to Rock, although I can never tell its subgenres apart(the sound of booing and “faaaaake faaaaaaaan” can be heard from a distance)

I also like K-indie music and sappy love songs, so I guess my tastes vary a lot!

3. What was the plot for the first story you ever wrote?

The very first? Er, you shouldn’t expect much in the plot department, because I wrote these two stories when I was 7 or 8. One was the standard fare about princes and princesses, in which a princess was cursed and had her identity stolen by an evil witch, so she had to break the curse and prove her real identity to her court. One notable thing about the story was that the princess ended up giving her betrothed prince the boot for being fooled by the witch, and moved on for someone with better facial recognition skills.

The other story was about a group of astronauts who, while exploring an black hole, fell through an wormhole and ended up in the Cretaceous period(I was a nerdy kid). Their goals were to survive, gather resources, and find out a way to return to our modern age. I got around to the part where they adopt a baby dinosaur, then lost interest in the story around then.

4. What’s a line from your current WIP that you’re really proud of?

This was written in Korean, so I have no idea how it’d sound in English. It’s part of the internal monologue from a rather hamfisted supervillain-wannabe character, so naturally the writing itself is a bit hamfisted, but I think it fits her character.

She would envision, then, making an incision on this society’s facade, and showing the filth and rot within. Lift up the rotten log, and watch the bugs scuttle about. She would be the cut to drain the puss, so that the skin can grow again. She’d be the flood. She’d be the storm.

5. What’s your favorite part of writing a book?

For me it’s thinking up of the characters, hands down. I just like giving them their own skills and quirks, and I immensely enjoy(almost to an unhealthy degree) giving them flaws. In fact, usually my first step in character creation is to give them each their own tragic flaw in the literary sense. Coming up with their backstory and seeing how it shapes their future decisions is pretty great, too. 

So yeah, I really like making characters, and lots of my ‘writing’ are just excuses to see them come to life.

6. If you could sit down and have coffee/tea/whatever with one author for an hour, who would it be?

Agatha Christie. I just really love her. If I could keep her brain in a jar to make her write new stories, I would. She truly is the one and only, the irreplaceable, queen of crime.

7. If you have more than one WIP, which two characters from two of your own different WIPs would you want to set up together for a blind date?

Tasha and Patricia would be good for each other, if not for the fact that Patricia is happily dating in her own canon. For hilarity’s sake, I think it’d be fun to put Jiye and Ezra in the spot, and watch them try not to kill each other. They’d feel this instinctual, mutual hatred the moment they see each other, and their egos are too big to let that slide.

8. If you had 24 hours to do absolutely anything you wanted, free of charge, what would you do?

My first instinct was ‘space travel’, but those usually take more than 24 hours, sooooooo…. I’ll take the next best thing. Jet ride to statosphere. I’d hire a pilot to fly me 20,000 meters up in the air, and admire space and Earth from there. Then I’d pay back my student loans, buy something really nice for my family, have a really extravagant dinner, and donate to a charity or two.

9. If one of your characters had 24 hours to do absolutely anything they wanted, free of charge, what would they do?

Jiye would use that to buy equipment and infrastructure to further her world-domination plan, and get herself a nice secret lab.

PyeongHwa would use most of that money for his family, then grab a superhero’s fan-meeting ticket for himself.

Micaiah… surprisingly has not much of a want for material things, or rather, her problems aren’t something money can fix.

Khyrim would spend the day shopping for trinkets, clothing, musical instruments and other frivolous things he couldn’t spend on normally.

Patricia would make a donation to the orphanage she grew up in.

AJ would just want a nice day out with his ‘Uncle’, poor kid.

10. If you could steal an OC from any Writeblr and put them in your own WIP, which OC would it be? (Credit the Writeblr you stole them from, please. And don’t actually put them in your story without the Writeblr’s permission!)

I don’t actually follow ton of writeblrs, and while I do know some great writeblrs with great ocs, I’m not mutuals with them so I feel too shy to @ them. So, I’ll just skip this question.

11. What are you doing right now to pursue your passions?

Not much, sadly. If we’re including passions other than writing, I’m trying to get in my studying habit.

[curestardust]

if you want: magical girls [NOTICE: this show is quite sloppily put together]

Märchen Mädchen or “Fairy Tale Girls” would’ve been a fun little past time for magical girl lovers out there however fate had different ideas. 

The show originally aired in the Winter season of 2018 but there’s a reason I’m only writing this review now. Even when I intially started watching I noticed that the OP wasn’t actually finished until a few episodes into the series which was already a red flag. As the anime went on, the animation and art started to drastically deteriorate. MM’s original run ended on 10 episodes as the studio was unable to finish the rest on time. The final 2 episodes were included on the Blueray’s which got released not long ago. So here we are. Obviously my memory is a bit lacking considering how long ago I watched this one but I’ll do my best.

Our main character is Kagimura Hazuki, a girl who lives with her step-mom and step-sister after her father remarried. She doesn’t have any friends and spends all her time reading books. One day, she runs into a mysterious person, follows them, stumbles into a library, goes through a portal and she finds herself in Kuzunoha Girl's Magic Academy.

This is where the magical girl aspect comes into play. The students at this school are “Mädchen”, girls who’ve been chosen by Origin stories aka the original texts of various fairy tales. Using these books, the girls can transform and gain the powers of the character whose Origin story they were chosen by. Some of these will be familiar to western audiences, like Cinderella (our main character), Puss in Boots or The Little Match Girl while others are from Japanese folklore like Princess Kaguya or Issun-bōshi.

This set up is pretty good! While I’ve heard of MG anime that are inspired by fairy tales, it was never to this extent. But moving on.

Hazuki needs to train to be able to use Cinderella’s story to transform but I honestly don’t remember much from that. The main point of the anime is the Hexennacht (sidenote: sounds familiar? lmao). The Hexennacht is a tournament between various magic schools around the world to find the strongest team, who can have one wish granted for them. With the introduction of the other teams from the foreign schools, their powers and the battles of the Hexennacht, we have the meat of the anime.

For an avid magical girl fan, this was an intriguing enough set-up but the anime makes it really difficult to enjoy. Besides the problems I listed in the beginning, the amount of characters and plots is just waaaaay too much for 12 episodes. The magical girl designs are also quite questionable. Some of them took the source material too literally, some were just plain lazy-looking and with how many girls there were, the screen was often cluttered and just painful to look at.

On a sidenote, the anime features some fanservice which is just unpleasant as the main characters are all underage but the only time it really gets showed into your face is the ED.

To wrap up, my score is really biased. Despite its many, MANY faults, I found something charming about this series and had at least some minimal fun watching it. However, the only people that would find enjoyment in this are magical girl fans. To anyone else, this anime will feel like a fucking car crash.[6/10] (x) (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

[jinwoowoohoo]

@cha-eunwoow and @sanhatation hit me with that x2 tag combo (💖💕💞) I was gonna put them both in this post but it.... got very long... so I will split them up after all 😅

First up is a Kpop one from lovely Liv (hey girl I hope things are going better for you!!)

To anyone who genuinely reads through all of this bless your heart and ily

1) 5 favorite groups?

f(x), ASTRO, SHINee, Day6, Dreamcatcher

2) Top 5 on your bias list? (no particular order)

Lol I just did this, so: Amber, Jinjin, Onew, S.coups, Wonpil (though if we can double from groups my girl Luna would 100% be here)

3) Ult Bias group and why you love them?

f(x) - they were my first group and will forever be my ults. I just love how unique they are both as a group and each member individually! Every member shines so much in their own way and can absolutely stand as artists in their own right (and have been proving so with their solo projects the past 2+ years), and when they come together they create things that are so cool and beautiful and unique 💜 Honest to god after I sat down and listened to their whole discography on Spotify for the first time, I listened to nothing but them 8+ hrs a day, 7 days a week for almost a month I was so in love (i'm not exaggerating you can ask my roommate aldbaj) (SM please let us have f(4) again I would literally cry). That being said I also consider ASTRO and SHINee to be ults, and could write whole paragraphs for them as well 💕 

(but y’all please support my girls, Victoria put out a Chinese single and should be following with an album, Amber’s halfway through releasing videos for her mixtape & Luna is releasing 2 digital singles this coming week! Krystal has no musical projects atm but you can check out her dramas and modeling~)

4) Ult Bias and why you love them?

My kpop origin story revolves around me coming across the Electric Shock mv in 2013 and being both in love with and absolutely floored by Amber. A girl? In a girl idol group? With short hair?? Who presents in a masculine way?? I couldn’t believe it was something the companies would let happen and it was so. I don't even know. But I knew it was really meaningful and important to me. 3 years later I actually fully listen to the group (honestly thank got I needed new music to listen to at work) and I finally learned her name - Amber Liu. I'm someone who id's as nonbinary, and I've really struggled with my perceived femininity my whole life - its something I'm still working through. When I saw Amber, a person working in a very gender stereotype-heavy industry and culture, being able to present in the way she's comfortable and standing up for the rights of others to do the same, it just really touched me on a deep personal level. Even though I know she id's as cishet she still has done a lot for those of us that don't, and I'm sooo insanely proud of her for sticking to her guns and choosing to live her truth through all of the hell people have given and continue to give her for it. Not only has she stuck it to the haters by prospering, but she's taken her experiences and her talents and made them into absolutely beautiful works of art. 

She uses her music to express her feelings and talk about her struggles, and the fact that her work is so personal and has so much of her in it also means a lot to me (please listen to Borders, Need to Feel Needed, Beautiful, Heights, and this cover of One More Light NOTE: if self harm is a bad topic for you, maybe skip One More Light and the Borders mv (the song is fine and ultimately uplifting, and the mv does end happily). She has worked so. damn. hard. to pursue her dreams and passions, often having to rely on just herself and her friends to work when SM just straight up refuses to do their JOB as her MANAGEMENT COMPANY, and somehow she keeps doing it with that beautiful smile.

Aside from all the gooshy stuff, she’s just really goofy and fun (and attractive >>) AND she was born just 2 months before me so I feel there’s a connection (also my parents considered naming me Amber and she considered my name as a stage name??? #starcrossedlovers). Finally she has literally the cutest dog in the world please look at this picture and cry with me

5) Favorite Kpop Meme

lmaooo now that I’ve poured my heart out over Amber, lets look at the human meme that is Lee Taemin (i just picked one but my favorite meme is just. him.)

And a special shoutout to all of the rest of the SHINee memes, like I thought about linking just one but there are so many legendary classics how do you choose (I got to experience the burnt Gucci story in person though so a super special shoutout to that one)

6) Favorite pic of your ult? (I dare you to only pick one)

I’ll do both my ults since this is my Astro blog but I’ve only talked about f(x) so far ;;;;;

For Amber, this picture has been my phone background for well over a year now so I guess this one?? It’s from the song festival when she and Ksuke debuted Breathe Again (many months before it’s official release) and she was just feeling herself so much during the performance (credit for the pic most likely goes to her fansite Ambossing)

As for Jinwoo adljasdfs I only have like 100 pics of him just on my phone this is fine I’m gonna pick this one, bc when he posted it I loved it so much I came very close to literally printing it out and framing it...... he just looks so happy!! And he’s being his most natural self, no hair/makeup, out with his family, doing something he loves. It just Warms My Heart

7)  Favorite Kpop MVs

Ok this is a whole can of worms, so I’ll try to limit it to just 10 I quite like?? (in no specific order)

1) Astro - Baby 2) VIXX - Error 3) Seventeen - Lilili Yabbay 4) SHINee - Boys Meet U 5) EXID - DDD 6) KNK - Rain (performance ver) 7) Oh My Girl - Closer  8) f(x) - Electric Shock 9) Crayon Pop - FM 10) Taemin - Saynoara Hitori (I know it was a Japanese release but ssssh I’m counting it WAIT HECK i just realized Boys Meet U was a Japanese release too asdlfjasf welp) 

Also shoutout to this cover Dreamcatcher did of Maroon 5′s Lucky Strike

9) Favorite Kpop crack video?

I don’t have a single specific one, there are so many quality compilations (I have watched a surprising number of Seventeen as Vines videos though lmao) 

10) Favorite content creator(s) within the fandom?

All Aroha are super talented ok, If I listed everyone that came to mind we’d be here for longer than anyone needs to be....

11) What fandoms would you say you’re an active member of?

the only fandom I’m fully in that’s  been active in Korea the past year is Astro :’) But that’s well enough, I really do love this community!

12) Take your top 3 biases- fmk

omg no why

F-Jinjin asldfjasdf

M-Amber

K- Onew..... no this is wrong :< I’m changing the k from kill to kiss ok? ok.

13) If you could be best friends with any idol, who would you choose?

Honestly probably Luna - she is one of the single most uplifting people in the world and she’s always ready for a good time! Queen of self love!

14) If you could date any idol, who?

I would never want to date an idol unless they were no longer/never an idol - trying to date around the antis and media would just be way too stressful on its own, plus the idol would be so busy all the time you’d barely get to see each other anyway

15) What’s one Kpop album you think everyone should have listened to?

SHINee - Married to the Music

16) Are you a soft or a hard stan?

yes (depends on the idol)

17) An idol that makes you go into soft mode?

Yoon Sanha, my soft noodle, my potato son

18) An idol that makes you want to smash the empire state building with one single punch?

@ Park Jaehyung meet me behind the Taco Bell at midnight

19) Favorite vocalist?

MJ/Luna/Onew

20) Favorite Rapper?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and I’m honestly not sure??? Some contenders are Rocky and LE though

21) Favorite dancer?

sdflajsfadsf why must you hurt me in this way I’ll say Taemin because he really puts a lot of thought and self into his dance, and he’s actively trying to create change in the way the industry thinks about gender and dance

22) Things you have in common with your ult?

I think I pretty much touched on all that with Amber, so for Jinjin we both love dogs and like the drums, we can be quick to smile, we try to lead in an understanding/accommodating way rather than a total authoritarian way, we do That Face™ when someone is pushing our buttons lol

23) The most beautiful trait any idol can have?

Kindness and an open mind

24) Songs that will always make you jam along?

how....long do you want to be here adsflj I will say the song that gets me jamming the MOST at work is N.Flying - Hot Potato

25) Your worst wrecker?

I’m here today to talk to you about a dangerously beautiful man named Kim Myungjun

26) Any kpop concerts you’ve been to?

I saw SHINee in Dallas with my bff in 2017, then I went to Astro in DC all by my lonesome this past February! (so I just need to see f(x) and I’ll have gone to all 3 ult groups) Also fun fact my good friend @jinjins-freckles was also at those two concerts, but we didn’t know each other yet for the SHINee one - funny how things work out~

27) Favorite choreo?

THIS. THIS IS THE HARDEST QUESTION. I CAN’T. IMPOSSIBLE. I’m not even gonna try and list some.... theres.... too many;;;;

28) Favorite live performance?

ok look first of all, you come into MY house, and ask me to pick ONE performance adslfj I’ll say SHINee’s Woof Woof bc I was absolutely obsessed with it after I discovered it, its just so fun and goofy but also bops hard as heck??? Legends Only

29) Favorite debut mv?

Hide & Seek cleared my skin watered my crops and gave me a lil smooch on the forehead

30) Recommend a rookie group

Dreamcatcher!!! They’re having a comeback in May please support our goth goddesses

31.) A kpop song you could listen to every day for the rest of your life?

Astro - Puss n Boots

32) Tag some cute mutuals you’d like to get to know better (and to do this challenge)!

Since she’s tagged me a few times lately I’ll tag @myunghjun (and that’s it asdlj if you read all the way to the end consider yourself tagged too ok ily)

[puppetwritings]

Latibule || Jihoon || Pt. 3

Pt. 1 // Pt. 2 // Pt. 3 // Pt. 4 // Pt. 5 // Pt. 6 // Pt. 7 // Pt. 8 (FINAL)

Word Count: 3198

Genre: fluff, slice-of-life, casual writing

Summary: No one had time for love in this day and age. Everyone was busy paying off loans, working hard to stabilize their life, and concentrating on not snapping at their boss and potentially losing their job. No one had time for love but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

Jihoon stood awkwardly, holding out the packet of tissues, his ears slowly becoming red the longer you stared. You looked pitiful—more so than he had originally thought. Your eyes were red and beginning to swell, your finely placed makeup was smeared, and worst of all you looked up at him with those wide-eyes that the cat from Puss in Boots wore. But still, you did not reach out for the tissues.

Jihoon opened the packet himself and pulled out a tissue, holding that out to you instead. The white, fluffy material brought you to your senses and you took that. He held out that packet and you took the packet as well.

“I—sorry, I just—weddings are nice,” you stuttered out.

Jihoon tried to keep the sympathetic look from his face and instead went with a stony mask. He had heard your conversation with Haneul. “Ah…well, yes, I supposed they are, aren’t they?”

He hesitated for a second before he sat down. You were still giving him the eyes and now you looked at him curiously. Something about the way you acted made him feel as if you didn’t want him to leave.

“Are you…Haneul’s friend?”

“I’m a college classmate,” Jihoon replied. He turned to you and held out his hand, “Lee Jihoon.”

“Ah, yes, I’m Y/N,” you shook his head before returning to your attempt at cleaning yourself up. You two sat in silence, only the sound of the rustling branches filling it. But finally, you spoke. “Did you…hear our conversation?”

“Whose?” Jihoon asked, forced ignorance in his voice.

You could help the small smile that drifted to your face. He was obviously here in a subtle attempt to offer you some sort of comfort. “Mine and Haneul’s.”

“Ah…hm,” Jihoon pursed his lips, tapping his thumbs together. “I heard…a little bit of it. I’m not aware of the entire situation though.”

You nodded and stared ahead, growing silent again.

“If you,” Jihoon spoke but he stopped. He coughed in hesitation and you glanced over. “Um…if you want to talk about it, you can. I’m a stranger and we most likely won’t be seeing each other again so…just comfortably…”

You felt tears spring to your eyes again. Was that higher being from above playing a joke on you? What was this sweet guy doing, showing up while you were reminiscing about an old love? You let out a short sigh. “Well…we used to date…and the breakup was pretty terrible. He made it seem like he was going to propose…and I thought I had gotten over it but I guess I haven’t. It happened during the worst possible time of my life too. Like, I needed him…and then at the point where I needed him the most he disappeared on me.” You hesitated for a second. “Seeing him again just…brought up bad memories.”

Jihoon nodded in understanding. He could empathize. He’s had slumps in his life—everyone’s had slumps in their life. “Is that why you’re crying then?”

 “What?”

“Not because you still love him…but because of the bad memories?” Jihoon said, still staring ahead as you were.

You were quiet. “Maybe…”

“Heartache heals quickly but the memories will stick. Sometimes your mind makes it worse than you remembered,” Jihoon said. “And not to mention you had bad memories during that time…so maybe it was the bad memories that made you cry—not because you still had feelings for him?”

You took his reasoning into consideration. Was that why? When you thought about Haneul, you felt nothing aside from the lingering awkwardness of a past relationship. But when you thought about how it happened and what else happened during that year, tears jerked back into your eyes.

“You’re strong for being able to get over him—especially with that sort of breakup,” Jihoon continued to reason. “You got over that stone and it’s not your fault that your memories still cause you pain. The most painful memories are the most vivid…and you’ve moved past that part of your life, right? That means you’re doing well and in reality, you have nothing to worry about.”

You had turned to him by then, staring at him in awe. He was right about all of it. It was surprising that he was. Had it been Yunseo or Haewon you couldn’t have gotten this type of clear-cut reasoning that pulled you away from the hole you were slowly sinking into. It was nice…you felt…warm. Safe, even. With a stranger.

That thought pulled you back. A stranger.

“You’re right,” you said, your voice coming out softer than you had thought it could. You smiled, “Thank you.”

Jihoon nodded, though he still wasn’t looking at you. “No problem.”

“Are you usually this good at giving advice?”

“No, not particularly. I don’t talk much normally,” Jihoon said, still staring ahead. “I’m just tapping into my useless life experience.”

“You’ve gone through something similar?”

Jihoon smiled, the action surprising you. He glanced at you. “I’m going through it right now. I figured maybe telling you this stuff would make my own process easier.”

You nodded a bit and then returned his smile. “I think you’ll fair better than I will.”

“Thank you,” Jihoon chuckled, yet he didn’t seem to believe you. He stood and gave you a small smile. “Goodbye, Y/N.”

You waited for the usual “See you later” but it didn’t come. You couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. He had absorbed your predicament without judgement and gave you unbiased advice. You would miss that. Of course, you knew that not seeing him was one of the only reasons you actually offered up your problem to the stranger. You sighed and watched him walk away in reluctance. What was his name again?...Lee Jihoon…you wondered if you would see him again.

You sat at your desk, a dazed look on your face as your fingers rested against the keyboard. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Seungkwan glances over at you worriedly. They hadn’t known your relationship with the groom until after the wedding had completely finished and they found you, walking around with red and puffy eyes, refusing to go back to the venue until everyone had left lest you began to cry again in front of Haneul. If they had known, they wouldn’t have allowed you to take the job.

“Hey, Y/N?” Seungkwan approached you cautiously. You looked up. “Um, do you have the Rina and Jiho budget?”

You stared at him, drawing a blank, before you nodded. “Oh, yeah, sorry, I finished it, I think. I’ll print it out for you.”

“You can just email it over,” Seungkwan said.

You nodded and opened up your web browser. Seungkwan hovered hesitantly and you glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Did you need something else?”

“Uh, no, but uh,” Seungkwan glanced at Seungcheol and Jeonghan. “Um, we were wondering if you were…”

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Jeonghan asked, stealing Seungkwan’s question.

“Me?”

The boys nodded.

“Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You put a packet of sugar into your coffee,” Seungkwan said.

“I like my coffee sweet.”

“Not the sugar inside the packet. You put an actual packet into the coffee,” Seungcheol said.

You glanced at your untouched coffee and saw the packet just barely floating. You scrunched up your face and pushed it away.

“Maybe you should take a break for a bit?” Jeonghan suggested, worry in his voice.

“No, guys, I’m fine! That guy is old news,” you said, attempting to sound confident. “I wasn’t even crying because of him! I was just…crying because a jerk like him could get married before me, you know?”

“If you’re lonely I know a few friends,” Seungcheol said.

You forced a laugh. “Ah, that was a momentary longing. I’m not actually ready for a relationship.”

Seungkwan frowned but gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Still…maybe you should take a break. You’ve been really distracted this past week.”

“Have I?” you asked, your voice trailing off as the boys nodded. “Oh…well, then I guess I’ll…take a break then.”

“Rest up,” Jeonghan said.

Seungcheol nodded. “You haven’t even taken a break since you worked here save for the holidays. It’s nice to loosen up a little.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to end up being a workaholic, do you?” Seungkwan chipped in.

You nodded, a bit hesitantly. “I’ll request some vacation time then…”

The boys looked more relieved that you had actually agreed. You wondered if you were in that terrible of a shape and you asked Yunseo and Haewon when you saw them later that day.

“Oh, definitely.”

“You look like you haven’t slept well, darling.”

“Is it…really that bad?” you asked, a frown etched on your face.

“You still look pretty!” Yunseo said.

“Yes, of course she does, but you do look worse for wear,” Haewon said honestly.

Yunseo glared at Haewon but you sighed, poking at your food with a pout of reluctance. “I guess I’ll take a break then…”

“You’re taking time off?” Yunseo asked, her eyes bulging.

You nodded. “The guys at work suggested it. I guess that’s good for me too. I haven’t really had a vacation like that in a while. Even during the holidays, I was working.”

Haewon gave a hum of agreement. “You’ll be able to sort yourself out in that time too. Crying for a guy you haven’t seen in a few years? That’s so unlike you.”

You forced a smile, though it wavered. It was very much like you. Not the old you maybe, but the present you. She just didn’t know that. “And, well, I guess I could focus on finding a new roommate.”

“You still haven’t found one?” Yunseo asked, a sigh coming from her pink lips.

“I haven’t had time,” you protested weakly.

“We suggested some people but you said no to all of them.”

“I still think Junhui’s friend is the best match for you,” Haewon said. “Even if he is a guy.”

You scrunched up your nose.

“I heard he has very high standards with girls. You probably don’t reach them,” Haewon said.

“Gee, thanks,” you rolled your eyes.

“I’m just saying he’ll be safe!” Haewon said when Yunseo nudged her a little too hard.

“So, you’re saying I’m not good enough for this guy and it’ll be safe to room with him.”

“Well—I mean—I didn’t mean it in a bad way! You’re a great girl but he’s very picky!” Haewon protested, trying to save herself.

You sighed and nodded. “Right, alright, I get it.”

Yunseo glared at Haewon as she mumbled an apology. Yunseo turned to you. “Will you give it a try? Hm? If it doesn’t work then you can just find someone else, right?”

You glanced up at your two friends and let out a very reluctant sigh before mumbling, “Yeah, I guess I’ll give him a try.”

Yunseo and Haewon smiled happily, glad that you gave into their whim. You only hoped he wasn’t some restless playboy, waiting for his next prey.

“She wants to meet up?” Jihoon asked, his hand on his headphones, ready to pull them back up at any moment to block out any nonsense Junhui might spout.

Junhui nodded excitedly. “She asked if you were free today and I said you were.”

Jihoon gave Junhui a very unamused look. “Did she ask you several days ago and you’re just now telling me?”

Junhui hesitated before nodding, “Yes.” Jihoon began to pull his headphones back on but Junhui reached out, grabbing him with a whine in his voice, “Oh come on. If this goes well, you’ll be able to live in an apartment again! And it’s not like you’re actually busy, you’re just irritated that I sprang this on you.”

“Well, if you know then you should just,” Jihoon waved his hand a tiny bit, signaling for Junhui to scoot.

Junhui reached out, grabbing Jihoon’s wrist. “Do you want to live like a homeless person even though you don’t need to.”

Jihoon looked up at him blankly. “I’m not.”

“Just go!” Junhui protested. “It’s not going to hurt you! You don’t have anything due recently.”

Jihoon held Junhui’s glare for a moment longer before he closed his laptop and let out a long, drawn out sigh. “Where am I supposed to go?”

Junhui grinned. “I’ll drive you!”

And so, Jihoon reluctantly go changed into more presentable clothes and hopped into the car with Junhui. The two rode in one-sided silence. Junhui spoke about you, trying to talk you up to Jihoon about how you two would be the perfect roommates. Jihoon, on the other hand, only stared out the window, a glazed look on his face as he dreamt about being elsewhere—in his makeshift home, the studio, perhaps—as he allowed Junhui’s words to be background noise for his thoughts.

He liked Junhui, there was no reason to not, and he liked talking to him, but there were times where he just need to zone out and today was one of those times.

Junhui continued to provide background noise until they reached the restaurant in which they were supposed to meet. Jihoon turned to him. “Are you going in?”

“Me? Oh, no, I’m meeting up with someone else,” Junhui said cheerily. “I’ll be back to pick you up.”

“It’s fine,” Jihoon said, beginning to open the door. “I’ll just take the bus back. I kind of want to take a walk after.”

“Oh,” Junhui frowned. “Alright.”

“What’d you say her name was?”

“Y/N,” Junhui replied.

Jihoon nodded and closed the door, waving at his friend until Junhui was gone before he turned to the restaurant and walked in. Why did the name sound familiar?

He walked up to the hostess and asked if there was a Y/N there yet. The hostess nodded and gestured over to you, your back facing him. Jihoon thanked her and walked over to you.

“You’re Y/N, right?”

You looked up from your phone, your eyes bulging. “I—yeah—Jihoon?”

Jihoon nodded, taking a seat.

“What are you doing here?”

Jihoon raised an eyebrow, a frown on his face. What did you mean? “Junhui told me that you needed a roommate?”

“No, I mean,” you placed a hand on your forehead. “Oh, you don’t remember me?”

JIhoon narrowed his eyes slightly, shaking his head.

“I—I’m that girl that cried at Haneul’s wedding? The wedding planner?”

Jihoon frowned before recognition flashed in his eyes. “Ah! You’re—oh, right! Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. You just—you look a lot younger without all that heavy makeup.”

You smiled, oddly happy that he recognizes you now. “I’ve been told that a lot. I don’t normally wear a lot of makeup, but I just had a lot to cover up that day.”

Jihoon nodded. “You look prettier with less makeup though.”

Your eyes widened in surprise. It wasn’t a compliment that was meant to boost your ego, it just seemed like he was stating the facts. Your cheeks warmed but you laughed. “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”

“I’m not?”

“Gosh, who looks better with less makeup?” you laughed, shaking your head. You handed him the menu and he took it, beginning to look it over. “So, you’re looking for a new apartment?”

Jihoon nodded. “I’ve been out of a home for a few months.”

Your eyes widened. “Really? Where have you been staying?”

“My studio,” Jihoon said. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, it’s actually pretty nice. I’m glad it’s almost winter though or else it’d be terrible at nights. I’m pretty sure they turn off the air conditioning and the heater since no one’s usually in the building.”

“You have a studio?”

“Yes,” Jihoon looked up with a smile. “I guess you could say I’m an aspiring producer.”

“Oh, so you’re the musical type.”

Jihoon shrugged a bit. “I suppose.”

You laughed a little at his response.

Once you two had ordered, you had gotten to know Jihoon fairly well. He had gone to a surprisingly well-known college on a high scholarship, telling his parents that he wanted to pursue law before promptly dropping the idea and switching to music without consulting any type of authority figure. He had tried to live out his dream straight out of college but without connections, it had been a bumpy road and he was just beginning to be able to worm his way in, despite having to sell songs without having them under his name.

And through the entire conversation, he didn’t ask about you or Haneul once.

“Why did you decide to become a wedding planner?” Jihoon asked after the topic of his line of work was milked clean.

You shrugged. “It just seemed fun.”

Jihoon chuckled. “That’s it? No inspiring story?”

“I’m a very lame person, if you hadn’t figured that out already,” you said, vaguely referring to your breakdown at the wedding two weeks prior. “I guess it was just because I felt that weddings were really magical. It’s the perfect fairytale ending, you know?”

“But what about the rest of the marriage?”

“Oh, that part doesn’t concern me,” you said, waving your hand vaguely, making Jihoon laugh. “It’s true though! I just take care of their honey moon phase and maybe hear rumors about how they’re doing in the later years. You’d be surprised how many of those fairytale endings end in divorce though.”

“Doesn’t that just make you bitter though?”

You shrugged. “Hey, like I said, I only focus on the fairytale.”

Jihoon chuckled. It was reasonable.

As the night drew on, you found yourself without complaints. He was perfect, actually. He met all your requirements: he was soft-spoken, he didn’t seem messy, he was a total homebody, he preferred silence rather than noise (unless it was his music), and he didn’t wake up at an absurd time. He asked if it was okay to set up a mini studio in his room, saying that he’d keep it quiet, and you had gladly agreed.

“So, we have a deal?” Jihoon asked as the two of you left the restaurant.

You nodded. “Yeah, I think we could be roommates.”

Jihoon smiled, shaking his head a little.

“Gosh, and here I thought I’d be able to pour my heart out to a stranger,” you sighed. “I can’t believe we met again.”

“You can still poor your heart out to me,” Jihoon replied jokingly. “I wouldn’t mind.”

You rolled your eyes a bit. “We’ll see, Jihoon, we’ll see.” You turned to him. “Are you going back to your studio?”

Jihoon nodded. “When’s a good time for me to move in?”

“Any time. I’m on vacation starting Friday.”

“I’ll move in Saturday then. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your first day of bliss.”

You laughed, nodding. “Alright, sounds good. I’ll see you Saturday?”

“Saturday it is.”

You watched as Jihoon headed towards the bus stop. You thought of giving him a ride but stopped yourself. He had a look that told you that he didn’t want to be with people for any longer. You turned, and walked to your car, oddly happy that you were able to see Jihoon again. You had a good feeling about this new roommate.

[gayredmage]

Pay Rise - FFVII Fanfic

I had this story idea collecting dust in my folders. Finally got around to finishing it. Took so damn long because it is uh…interesting…and very difficult to write.

Pairings: President Shinra/Genesis, Genesis/Sephiroth Rating: Explicit Word count: 5519 Summary: President Shinra is bored, lonely and horny. And he wants a new second class soldier to deal with it. Little does he know that Commander Rhapsodos will be giving him more soldier than he asked for.

External Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11636493

Some days President Shinra hated his wife. It wasn’t because she was getting old and needed more botox than she did ten years ago, or that her libido was gone now that she had menopause. No…nothing like that. On the inside she was still the beautiful, young, caring woman Shinra married for money, influence and to get the media off his ass. No, he wasn’t pissed off that the hag had to get old and become sexually unresponsive – not that he would want to touch the ancient treasure in such a way. Because damn it! He was President Shinra! He should have models and whores and dozens of ethnic mistresses, more than what money can buy!

Today he hated his wife because she flared up at him. Angry about Tiffany and Ruby and Stefanie and…Alejandro. She said something about wanting a divorce. Something that Shinra did not want because then the hordes of women would come running and shove their illegitimate child under his nose. And the media would start and AVALANCHE would begin their defamation campaign. No…so long as he’s married he can pretend he’s the loving husband who puts his family first and wouldn’t dare to touch a Honey Bee girl.

So for the moment, the president was confined to his office until his wife finally calmed down and got those new breast implants she (he) always wanted. But that wasn’t a problem. See this was all a game to the president and one that he knew damn well how to play. Pressing a button on his desk phone he called straight to his illegitimate son’s office.

“ Yes, Mr President? ”

Shinra cleared his throat, “I heard you just recently got some new recruits. How are they doing?”

“ …ahh…well those who passed the initial tests are still in training. They’re being supervised by Commander Rhapsodos for now.”

“I see, I see…” Shinra really didn’t give a gil toss, “Say…son…” Shinra smiled, “Could you deliver me their class file? I’d…like to check on some things. You know, being president I’d love to familiarise myself with the strong men of the future protecting this company.”

On the other end, Lazard did his best not to facepalm too loudly, “ A 3rd should be there with the file in 5 minutes. ”

“Good.”

“ Anything else I could help you with, sir? ” preferably unrelated to your wayward manhood.  

“No, no. You’re doing well, my son .” he beamed, “You should be expecting quite the pay rise.”

“ Very well. Have a good day, sir.”

While he waited for his menu to arrive, Shinra noticed an obstacle in his way. It’s a bit…bizarre for the head of the company to request meeting a fresh recruit in his penthouse office right off the bat. Not to mention it would be weirder for a recruit having to explain to their superior that they were to be the president’s audience for…a while. No, Shinra has to request permission to see a recruit like some lowly boot licking grunt to keep face, keep things discrete and actually get the damn thing to work.

Groaning, he called his secretary, “Bring me Commander Rhapsodos. I need him here in no less than 20 minutes.”

“ Of course Mr. President. There is a soldier here with a file, would you like me to deliver it to you? ”

Shinra grinned, “That would be delightful, Vivian.”

The minute she left the room after dumping the folder on his desk, the president had his cock out, “Now let’s see which one of you makes me hard…” he said, licking his lips while drooling all over the cadets’ pictures.

After a quick thumb through and some whistling and a good ogling of their stern faced portraits, Shinra picked his few. He needed to keep a selection of course, in case some weren’t available. Also, it was Rhapsodos. The president shivered as he picked up the phone and glared at the direct call number on the top of file. That redhead was one heck of a sour puss. He hated to deal with him – loud, arrogant, always disapproving, always acting like he had a sword shoved up his ass. Good soldier, but damn was he…difficult. And if it weren’t for his bastard son’s infatuation with the faggot, plus blackmail from both the Rhapsodos family AND Lazard, he would have had Sephiroth ‘accidentally’ get him killed in the wastelands. But then Sephiroth himself had a bit of an ‘interest’ in him. What men saw in the flamer, Shinra had no idea! He was a complete big-headed lunatic for all he knew!

Shinra rolled his eyes. The damn bitch sure does love to take his time to answer the phone. How is he even in 1 st Class if he can’t be prompt? Is it because he’s bent over getting fucked by Sephiroth? Wait, was Sephiroth even taught any of that? He had to have a word with Hojo…

“ Commander Rhapsodos speaking, how may I help you? ”

He cleared his throat, “Ah, there’s my favourite commander in all of SOLDIER! It’s good you answered, very good.” Oh damn he really hated the sound of his irritating voice, “I have a file of the new recruits assigned to you. I was hoping we could…discuss the…well-being of them. You know, being the CEO of such a large company leads to great responsibility and I do love keeping informed of our newer members. It helps me feel progress. Like the greater good is right by our doorstep. I’m proud of SOLDIER and proud of all the new men coming in. Now…what good is a father without knowing his sons?”

Holy Minerva, did he really just-? Shinra facepalmed. His. Sons? Now this was going to be wrong on two levels…first abusing his power, now getting in the mood for some serious daddy/son roleplaying. It wasn’t beneath him, but the fact that it slipped out like that. Damn it! Even over the phone Shinra felt like he was being put on the spot by the bitchy 1 st .

“ Right…Okay…When do you need me by ?”

“Now would be great.”

“ I’m in a meeting with the general. I’ll be at your office shortly after, say, half an hour?”

Well Shinra just pictured the most awkward and painful looking orgy between Sephiroth, Lazard and Genesis in the director’s office with some SOLDIER guard filming the action. As an aside, half an hour really was too long to wait, but better getting the stupid commander rather than the general to bring a recruit over.

“That’ll be fine.” The president hung up. He was too damn horny to give a fuck what the redhead thought. Instead he turned to the pictures in front of him. William Kunsel, oh he had a cute face. Mako blue eyes and soft brown hair with freckles over his nose. He was so damn sweet looking. If the stupid ditz didn’t arrive on time he might have to bust a nut before he winds up with a blood clot or a hematoma or ruptured testicle or something! Then it would be a wasted erection.

DAMMIT! What was taking that bitch so long? He thought as he drummed his fingers on the desk, trying to distract himself with work, work that he basically paid other people to do for him while he sat in his office screwing escorts and interns, promising a good-paying job in return before he kicks them out, forgets their name and has them replaced with a new intern. Checking his watch, only 5 minutes went by, so he decided to watch some lacklustre amateur porn involving babysitters and a horny dad.

He had to admit. He did enjoy that daddy roleplaying. Because he was a man of power and men of power like to always be on top of the world – to be kings! Just as it was getting to the good part where the girls feed ‘daddy’ some cream pie, the president’s office doors burst open and a rather annoyed looking commander sat opposite him.

Quickly closing the window the porn was on, the president turned to the monster in front of him and smiled his big, fatherly smile. Genesis gave him snake eyes and crossed his arms.

“You called me, sir.” He deadpanned. He was in the middle of an important meeting with the general and the director about their upcoming stint in Wutai. Angeal was captured by their forces, his life threatened in exchange for peace and money. And while they were discussing very important life or death strategies, this nimrod who doesn’t even know what a battlefield is calls him to his office.

Said nimrod was sweating.

He cleared his throat, “Ahhh, yes Genesis…” damn this whore was venomous, “I was hoping you could bring me this boy.” He hands him the file and Genesis flicks through it, “He looks like a promising young hopeful. Could maybe be our next first class prodigy, what do you say?”

The commander raised a brow, “He’s a child. It would be at least another 3 or so years.”

The president swallowed. So? And? What’s the point Rhapsodos?! “Well yes…but I’d like to meet him.”

“What for? He’s good, but he’s not far from average.”

Shinra’s eye twitched, “I like to meet them. Just in case. You know, it’s good to meet a future first class soldier while they’re young. Gives them that extra boost in confidence to excel and reach their goal of becoming first!”

If Genesis wasn’t talking to his boss right now, he would have rolled his eyes and maybe hit him over the head with the folder. “Right…”

Well this was going nowhere! The president was getting more and more annoyed with the commander’s bitchy attitude and pushed the whole stack of files towards him.

“Here.” He said, “Why don’t you find me a hopeful then, commander? Expect a pay rise for this.”

Ahh the old pay rise trick. Gen-Gen knew all about that scam. Crossing his legs he started to ponder. What was it that the president wanted so badly with his new soldier? He knew he was wasting his time, time he could spend on actual work and saving his friend. He knew they wouldn’t kill Angeal, Angeal was too nice, but still. The work was important. Gingerly he took the stack of folders and flicked through to find a poor victim.

While the redheaded foe was shopping for the president, he turned back to his porn only to have an advertisement play over the muted video. He would have groaned if he didn’t have company, but still he watched it with half-minded attention…at first.

His eyes went wide. An advertisement for a gay BDSM porn site. Oh hell yeah! Clicking the link he was transported into a world, the good world, of submissive ‘sons’ and dominant ‘daddies’ doing all sorts of fun things. Like having them walk around humiliated in latex dresses and thigh high boots. Of CBT and whips, and leather harnesses and bitchy men turned into desperate, moaning submissives in pain begging for pleasure.

Looking up from his porn he watched the redhead and smirked. Hah, handsome and experienced rascal like him could turn that whining brat into a begging submissive sex doll. His cock went harder and he kept thinking about whipping him with his belt and him in stiletto leather boots, crying, his make up all over the place. He shook his head. That was fucked up. Or was it? He could only imagine how lucky Sephiroth must be for being able to turn that hot-headed whore into a sobbing, desperate mess.

Woah, what? Really? This bitch? And for some reason he was hard as diamond over that thought. But that was never going to happen. He hated him, he could do so much better. Like that sweet boy Kunsel. And maybe Cloud from the cadets. Oh man, was his dick oozing to cum or what?

Genesis’ nose twitched. There was something in the air, something aside from middle-aged man sweat.

“Have you chosen one?” Shinra asked, and Genesis turned to him.

He knew it!

The redhead smirked, “Yes. I have.”

YES! The president’s balls felt like they were on fire, he was practically jumping for joy…on the inside, “Oh? And who would that be?”

Genesis’ grin got wider, “You’ll have to wait, sir , and you’d need to have a discussion first, in private.”

The president’s heart sank, “In private?” are you kidding me? “Why?”

“Hmm…well he’s on a mission now, but he will be back tonight. He’s also very shy and very nervous, you’d have to…calm him down. He could pass out from shock, you know, from getting to meet such an esteemed individual as you.”

Even though the president was horny now and wanted to fuck something now, he had to admit…that sounded very, VERY appealing. If this kid was going to be so shy he needed to speak with him in private, oh and to make it better, he could invite him to his own penthouse…you know. To have him calm and at ease and all, for the honour of being told he’s a hopeful for first class, of course.

He smiled, “I like that, Genesis.” This was going to be good, he’d definitely see to Genesis getting a pay rise or promotion or something! He was his new favourite for sure, “Tell him to meet me in my quarters then. The penthouse.”

The commander nodded, “Certainly, sir…he should be there by 9pm.”

He showered, exfoliated, shaved his privates like the young ones liked, spritzed himself with Gucci cologne, got dressed in a black silk thong and put on his leopard skin bath robe. Damn, he was one sexy devil, he thought to himself as he combed over his thinning blonde hair humming a tune.

The doorbell rang and he quickly headed for the door. Palms sweaty as he opened the door, in his mind seeing a cute little play thing. Bam. Red hair, buttoned up trench coat with bitch all over.

The commander smiled, “Good evening, President Shinra.” He shoved his way inside, carrying a black duffel bag.

“What are you doing here?!” he yelled, bounding towards him, “Get out of my house! You were told to bring me a soldier, which you haven’t done!”

Genesis nodded, opening the large double doors that lead straight into the bedroom.

The president was furious and shook with rage, “I’ll call security!”

“Such a lovely room.”

He was the president of Shinra for crying out loud! The most powerful corporation known to man! But this redheaded bitch couldn’t care any less. What with the way he surveyed the room, heels clicking as he paced about before dumping his bag by the bed. Balling up his fists, Shinra was ready to pull out his phone and call the guards. That was until he had a soft, warm mouth against his.

“Really, sir? You asked for the best and here I am.” Genesis whispered in his ear.

President Shinra’s phone clattered to the ground. A hand was rubbing his viagra laden crotch as the most irritating, though admittedly very attractive, soldier tickled his golden moustache with a tongue heavy kiss. His knees almost gave out - a whirlwind of emotions spiralling around him between wanting to send this man off to a firing squad to wanting to fuck him senseless on his silk-sheeted bed. But he purred , he purred into the president’s mouth and so the old man tossed all preconceptions about the whore out the window. He wanted him. Oh yes, this filthy hoe wanted a piece of the most powerful man in the world in him.

Without a second thought, he had his hairy, oily hands on the firm, round globe of Genesis’ leather clad ass. The young man gasped, gazing back at him with flirtatious mako blue eyes. Shinra smirked - the bitch wasn’t half-bad. If he kept this up, hell he was getting paid leave. Like a nymphomaniac the redhead moaned and rubbed their groins together. Shinra shivered.

“Yeah, bitch. That’s right.” he groaned, drooling heavily as he rutted his tiny prick against the soldier’s thigh.

“FUCK!” A souped up super soldier crushing the family jewels was like a sledgehammer through the groin. That bitch kneed him right in the balls and the president was on his knees shouting in pain with tears in his eyes.

Shocked, he looked over his fat hairy stomach at him kissing and petting his hurting balls. What happened next was too fast and volatile for Shinra to even register it. The soldier had the president’s dick in his lush, wet mouth and then those eyes – those goddamned mako eyes flashed and the old man’s fat face was smothered by a pillow. He was stunned, he flailed. Tried to call security, but in a heartbeat he was spread like an X, cuffed and tied to the four posters of his bed.

“MPHF!” he cried, only to have the pillow be replaced by a ball-gag which forced its way into his mouth.

The bitch was fucking strong. One hand holding his head still, making the president, HIS BOSS , afraid to move his head least his neck would snap, while the other hand pried his mouth open and secured the gag.

The redhead dusted off his hands, “Silly old man. Thought you could cry for help when I had barely even begun my work.”

The commander pulled away his coat revealing an all-black form-fitting BDSM extravaganza. Boots laced up and buckled that came to mid-thigh, tight latex shorts, clear vinyl shirt with a shiny black corset around his itty bitty waist, D-ring collar and a body harness. The president gulped – Genesis snapped on a pair of black latex gloves, with a smug grin on his face. Donning a leather officer’s cap he straddled the President.

“Love the look, sir?” he asked, pulling open the old man’s robe to reveal his hideously overweight and hairy figure before ripping off his underwear. Small erection and loose fitting balls dribbling out of the torn fabric.

The president struggled against his bonds, hoping his guards would do their rounds and check on him. The commander tutted at him, before slapping his moustached face sending his combed over tresses aflight.

Genesis struck a match and extracted two red candles from his bag. Shinra could only stare up at him - eyes wide with fear as Genesis straddled him and lit the candles. The bitch sighed, rocking his ass against the small erection beneath him. The president’s hairy gut heaving with every breath as he feared every move the commander was to make.

Those plump red lips pulled into a sadistic grin as those burning red, hot candles tilted. Searing wax dripped onto his golden, furry chest - patches of skin and hair burning and sizzling as they dribbled down his fat torso. Shinra tried to shout in pain, but he could only chew on the ball in his mouth and watch as Genesis chuckled and continued his assault.

“Don’t fight it, Mr President. You’ll only make me want to do more to you.”

He would have whimpered if he could. Caught between fear and crippling sexual satisfaction as the wax dripped onto his hard nipples. Genesis blew, cooling the wax so it hardened before trailing the candles down the big, gluttonous belly. Swirling them about like he was casting a spell to the underworld as he ground his ass into the thin prick standing at attention between his thick cheeks.

CUM SLUT. Genesis smirked at his handiwork on his large canvas as Shinra twitched; his skin, pink like the pig he is, was going to be branded the next day since the ass couldn’t heal like a soldier. The president, despite the agony, was oozing from his cock head, slicking up the covered asshole of the bitch who rode him. Blowing out a candle, Genesis stood the other on the bedside table.

“Tell me, sir. Are you going to behave?” he asked.

The president glared at him. There was no way in hell Shinra was going to give this bitch whatever he wanted. That was, until he saw a hard leather belt wrapped around the redhead’s hand. He stood his ground - like a fool. The whore wouldn’t kill him, and once Shinra was free of these bonds, he was going to-

His eyes rolled into the back of his skull as his cock was enveloped in hot, wet warmth. It was easy for the slut to take that tiny cock into his mouth and swallow him whole. He sucked - drinking down his vile fluids as he palmed his boss’s sweaty balls. Shinra thrust up involuntarily and Genesis grinned thinking it cute that the old bastard thought he could make him choke with his small friend.

He pulled away, “I’ll ask you again, sir. Will you behave?” His strong hands gripped Shinra’s throbbing cock. Tighter and tighter. The head turned purple, those piercing blue eyes stared into his soul. He was afraid again. But so unmistakably aroused as his mind begged for that face to be in his crotch again. Shinra hated him, his blood was boiling - this man knew every way to crawl under someone’s skin and exploit them. And he knew it so well. The president could not wait to wipe that wretched smirk off his ugly face.

Genesis untied his bonds, though made sure those hands remained tied together, and flipped the old man over. Shinra’s face was smothered by a pillow - he struggled, turned his head to watch the sadist behind him. In a beat, the commander deep-throated the end of the lit candle stick. It was a sickening, sinful display - Genesis’ face splashed by drops of red wax, his swift tongue curling around the end of the red candle as if he were pleasuring it. He removed the candlestick and looked so full of himself. Raising his hand, he brought the belt down.

Shinra screamed in the back of his throat as welts dented into his ass cheeks - his fat rippling as Genesis struck him again. He was cackling, unrelenting as he whipped his boss. Shinra tried to cry out against the gag in his mouth - hoping someone would save him from the commander. But his little prick was enjoying it - slicking up his heavy, round stomach with fluid as the redhead flogged him. Tears welled up in his eyes and the old man sobbed into his pillows as the loud sounds of leather slashing him across the bottom resonated in his room. His skin was cut, bleeding.

Genesis threw the belt down, satisfied at the red seeping from his boss’s wounds. The man’s hairy asshole was beckoning - wincing with every blow and that only fueled his desire. Without any care, Genesis forced the end of the lit candle into Shinra’s loose, haemorrhoid laden ass. The president froze - feeling violated, dirty, wrong, only to then find himself yanked up by the few strands of gelled hair he had left. A proud cock stood by his face, released from their entrapment of tight latex.

“If you play nice, Mr President…I’ll make sure that candle doesn’t set fire to your rear.”

Shinra could not wait to see the day Genesis would finally stop being so cocksure and smiley. The day when he orders the Turks hunt him down and torture him. Maybe have a woman force him to pleasure her with that deft tongue of his in her cunt. He couldn’t wait to jack off onto his tear covered face and watch him break.

The gag came off and the commander fucked his cock into the president’s mouth. He gagged instantly, only making the bitch moan louder at the old man’s obvious distress.

“Mmm. Suck my cock, sir.” he demanded, grabbing Shinra’s fat face and slamming it up and down his dick.

Shinra moaned at the rough treatment, wanting to rub his little prick so badly, but too stubborn to give this bitch the satisfaction of seeing him break at the seams. The candle wicked away, hot wax dripping onto his balls, his hairs singing from the hot wax. He backed up, trying to spread his ass cheeks to stop the fire from burning his skin. His golden moustache covered in spit as he chocked on soldier cock.

It was burning now and he was growing desperate. Whimpering around the dick in his mouth, hoping the sadist had a glimmer of humanity. Genesis pulled away and puffed out the candle.

“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” he asked, flipping the president onto his back, before pulling out the nub of wax and discarding it onto the floor.

Now was his opportunity whilst he caught his breath. But before he could bellow for his guards, he had a perfect mouth to his and the gentlest of kisses.

“Want to meet a good friend of mine?” sparks went off in those mako eyes and Shinra almost had a heart attack.

Ten inches with a six inch circumference - a giant, black cock waved in his face before disappearing down the commander’s throat. He moaned so deliciously, before extracting it. Shinra shook his head.

“N-no.” he whimpered only to then have the fat head of the dildo sink into his ass.

He groaned and grit his teeth as pain and sick pleasure shot up his spine. He was mad at himself now as he ground against the giant cock ramming its way into his ass as Genesis none too gently fucked him. “Take it, sir! Come on and take it like a real man!” he shouted before shoving all ten inches into the old man’s ass.

Genesis pushed him upright, Shinra too dazed to do or say anything as he strapped the cock down. Circling the bed, the commander was so pleased with himself. The old, fat man bound, defeated, sitting on a fat cock. He deserved a treat he thought.

Getting onto all fours, Genesis pulled Shinra’s head into between his cheeks. “Eat me out, sir. I beg of you.”

The president was happy to comply. Burying his round face into his warm, sexy ass, he licked that tight asshole. His cock was crying, as his lips and tongue pleasured the commander’s fuckhole.

“Fuck yourself on that cock.” Genesis commanded. And Shinra complied as his balls begged for release. His useless prick waved around as he fucked himself and tonguefucked the commander.

The commander turned around, feeding Shinra his cock as he reached down and jerked the old man’s dick. In seconds, the president pulled back and jerked about - eyes to the sky as his whole body convulsed hideously. His cock spat a pitiful amount into Genesis’ hands leaving the poor man unimpressed. Shinra bucked into his palm before slumping forward onto the redhead feeling like he was on the cusp of having a heart attack at the tender age of 59.

Grabbing Shinra by the chin, Genesis shoved his soiled hand into his face. “Clean this pitiful mess up, sir. What a shame…and here you were hoping you could fuck me senseless. All you’ve left me with is a soft cock and pity for your mistresses.”

The president was ashamed. Tears fell from his eyes as he licked the cold, slimey cum off the commander’s hand until it was clean.

Genesis laughed, “So pathetic, you are. There is no way in hell you’d be able to make me cum.”

Pushing president Shinra onto his back, Genesis straddled the old man’s chest as he jerked himself off. A slender hand gliding up and down his pretty dick as the other pinched and teased a pierced nipple through his translucent PVC shirt. Without a sound, Genesis came - thick, white streams spraying onto Shinra’s panting face, soiling his golden moustache.

It took seconds for the commander to catch his breath. And when he did, he put himself away - swung his coat back on, packed his items away and left.

The following week, President Shinra was late to the board meeting. He walked with a limp and cold coffee into the meeting room only to lock eyes with the smirking commander standing with arms crossed by Sephiroth’s side. The old man coughed before taking the head of the table. His cock swelled. Red hair flicked out of a smug face as he rose and saluted the President with the rest of the high ranking members of Shinra. They sat, Shinra moving his seat further than necessary to hide his ‘growing’ problem.

Genesis whispered to Sephiroth. Made a motion with his pinky finger and they laughed.

Sephiroth smiled. “If I may, I wish to start…President Shinra.” his deep voice boomed through the meeting room. Everyone else looking ordinary - bored and tired as they were for every other meeting, whilst Shinra felt too warm. Sweat rolled down his forehead, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the table tightly - a mixture of fear and desire welling in his chest.

“Y-yes, Sephiroth?”

The general grinned and looked to his commander before commencing, “How goes that request for additional funding for SOLDIER…and of course, our inevitable pay rise? 13% as we agreed or…?” he trailed off, a murderous glint to his eyes that no one else but Shinra saw.

He shook slightly, stammering a little as he tried to find the words. Those goddamned blue eyes were glowing at him again and he couldn’t look away, even when his bastard son frowned at him with mild curiosity. A lovely, pink tongue darted out of those plush red lips and licked them ever so subtly, but with all the sinful, crass intent mustering up images of a night that Shinra could not stop remembering.

“H-how about say…25%? Yeah? I…I believe you boys earned it.”

The redhead’s face softened ironically, “Oh President Shinra…how generous of you for recognising our efforts.”

Lazard nodded, “Yes. I am sure the soldiers would be delighted to hear this. And what of the funding? We are in need of training equipment, a new VR room, renovations to the entire SOLDIER floors…and a handsome relief fund.”

Scarlet scoffed, “Pah! Dream on, sweetie! That money’s for me…isn’t that right, honey?” she turned to the president, pulling her arms together so her tits spilled over her low neckline.

But Shinra had his eyes on the commander toying him, his hand gliding up and down his general’s back before not so subtly whispering to him as if the pair were lovers. The president was green - if money was what this bitch wanted, so be it.

“Write me an invoice, Deusericus and I’ll fill it. What do you need, 5 billion gil?”

Lazard readjusted his glasses, unfazed by the high offer as the rest of the directors gawked. Hojo spilt his coffee down his front and Heidegger was pulling out his beard. “That would be a good start.” he said, writing out an invoice and having a soldier present it.

The president signed it. Immediately, the funds were digitally moved once it was scanned into the system. The rest of the meeting moved along rapidly as Shinra’s hands were tied having dropped a quarter’s worth of profit into SOLDIER because his dick told him to.

Reeve had watched the meeting with scrutiny and post-meeting he hurried after the soldiers.

“Commander Rhapsodos!” he called, catching the man midway from sipping his tea in the SOLDIER break room.

“Tuesti, lovely seeing you.” he smiled, “Have a macaron. I made them this morning.“

“Oh thank you.” he said, taking two brightly coloured desserts.

“Have you met my newest soldier, Kunsel? He’s my ‘eyes in the sky’.”

A young man saluted Reeve, “Pleasure meeting you, sir!”

Reeve nodded in reply, face full of ganache and crunchy biscuit. “Genesis, I had been meaning to ask about that funding in the board meeting. You see, my department is in desperate need of development and I was wondering if you had any advice on broaching the topic with the president.”

Genesis laughed, “And you’re asking me?”

“You do have a silver tongue.”

“Reeve, I like you and I believe you have a noble task in your hands. But I’m not sure you really know what you’re asking.”

Reeve sighed, “I’ll wine and dine you if it comes to it. Just let me know how you did it. You can deflect as much as you like, but I have a strong suspicion you were behind this.”

The commander smirked. “Seeing as you’re so persistent…just let me have a word with the general first.”

Shinra never knew that the cameras in his home were hacked. Or that the moment Genesis got home he was bent over the dining table and fucked by a real man whose long, thick cock was dripping in excitement from having watched his ruthless commander order the pig around. Genesis needed to also have a private chat with Kunsel…see if Reeve had any cameras whose feed could be streamed straight to Sephiroth’s computer.