#read an article earlier about why the dark universe never got off the ground and i genuinely believe this is why

[a-corndog-named-schibbs]

The Mummy (1999), Van Helsing, Renfield, and The Shape of Water all succeeded at being worthy remakes/tributes to the Universal Horror franchise because they are all inherently camp

The Mummy (2017) failed that goal because it's too busy trying to be a Tom Cruise movie to be camp

[not-the-tie-youre-looking-for]

Something that's been bugging me for years since the Legends finale. If Zhan had been the writer for Rebels, do you think he would have had Thrawn bomb Lothal to bring Ezra out? On the one hand, from Legends Thrawn's portrayal I imagine he would without a second of hesitation. On the other, Canon Thrawn has been much more... restrained? And on a third point, there's the fact that Legends and Canon Thrawn seem like they really could be the same person just at different points of time. cnt in next

...I'm just curious if anyone else was curious if Zhan agreed with that direction taken. Which, on that note, did Zhan ever say anything about his thoughts on how Rebels handled Thrawn? Both from a writing standpoint as well as an acting and musical one (Thrawn's various leitmotifs)?

Oh man. Ohhhhhhhh maaaaan. My friend, you have asked exactly the right person this question, because not only have I wanted to talk about this multiple times before, but I also have ~receipts~. 👀

⚠️Spoiler warnings for Star Wars: Rebels, The Mandalorian, the canon Star Wars novels Thrawn, Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn: Treason, Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising, and Thrawn Ascendency: Greater Good, and the legends Star Wars novels Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and Outbound Flight.⚠️

Oh man. Where to begin.

Lets start with who Thrawn is, because depending on who you ask, you're gonna get different answers—whether you're strictly a Legends fan, Dave Filoni, a guy who's only seen Thrawn in Star Wars: Rebels, Timothy Zahn, or just a writer/artist fan like me.

To Timothy Zahn, the man behind our favorite chiss, Thrawn is a character that is constant in both attitude and personality throughout all of his content. In multiple interviews, ranging from Thrawn's debut in Rebels to the latest about the writing of the Ascendancy Trilogy, Zahn states that Thrawn in canon and Thrawn in Legends are indistinguishable.

And so I present the receipts:

In a 2017 interview with The Verge on writing the first canon Thrawn book Thrawn, Zahn is asked the following question and responds as such:

How do you navigate bringing back a character who already has an extensive backstory and audience expectations, with telling a new story that fits in the new continuity?

Actually, I didn’t find that to be a problem. I’d never written Thrawn in this part of the Star Wars timeline, so it was simply a matter of bringing him into the Empire and chronicling his rise through the ranks. It’s still the same character as in the 1990s books, just a decade or two younger and in a very different military and political environment.

In another interview with The Verge in 2018 (a few months after the finale of Rebels aired) about writing Thrawn: Alliances, he repeats this sentiment twice:

Thrawn feels like if it had been written before the canonization purge a couple of years ago, or if you squinted a bit, it would serve as a perfect setup for Heir to the Empire.

Oh, I don’t think you need to squint at all. I wrote him in these two books to fit in with everything else I’d done. So if someone at Lucasfilm snapped their fingers, and suddenly all of my other books were canon, and there would be no real retrofitting that would have to go in. It would all fit together.

Thrawn: Alliances feels more at home in the new canon, especially because Thrawn has been fleshed out a bit more in Rebels. Was there any adjustments for that?

Not really. I’m getting to play with more canon characters like Vader and Padmé and Anakin, but the character himself, I still see him as the same person. He’s got goals, and he won’t necessarily share them with you, but he as long as you’re going the same direction, he’s happy to cooperate and assist along the way.

...and this is referenced again in a 2020 interview with Polygon about writing Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising:

Along with Thrawn’s appearance in Rebels, Zahn would pen a new novel, Thrawn, that chronicled the character’s early days as an Imperial officer. Zahn didn’t have to change anything with the character, telling me in 2017 that “he’s like an old friend who I understand completely.” While Heir to the Empire was no longer canon, a reader could easily read Thrawn as a precursor to that classic novel. Thrawn went on to become a major presence in Rebels, and Zahn continued to explore his origins in Thrawn: Alliances and Thrawn: Treason.

The next day, an interview with IGN was published on the same subject:

Thrawn is an especially unique case because Zahn has been able to effectively continue the work he started way back in 1991 with Heir to the Empire. That novel may not be a part of official Star Wars lore any longer, but as Zahn explained, Thrawn himself is basically the same character regardless of continuity.

[....] The closest comparison between Chaos Rising and Zahn's earlier EU work is probably 2006's Outbound Flight, which is set during the Clone Wars and details the first encounter between Thrawn and the Galactic Republic (while also retroactively laying the groundwork for elements of Heir to the Empire). That novel is no longer canon, but Zahn told us he prefers to operate as if it were. He's making a concerted effort not to retread the same ground as Outbound Flight and to avoid contradicting the events of that novel as much as possible.

So yeah. In Zahn's opinion, Legends Thrawn is Canon Thrawn is Book Thrawn, and there is no difference whatsoever between Thrawns in, say, Outbound Flight, Heir to The Empire, Alliances, and Chaos Rising. I wholeheartedly disagree, but lets move on.

Now that the books are out of the way, its time for Rebels.

In July of 2016, after the trailer announcing Thrawn's canon debut aired, Dave Filoni had the following to say about Thrawn's character in regards to Timothy Zahn:

“I was pretty adamant with a couple of people saying, ‘Listen, we need to have Tim sign off on this. This is kind of a waste of time [otherwise],'” says Filoni. “We, of course, can do what we want with a character that Lucasfilm owns, but without Tim’s okay, what does it mean? That’s not going to be good. Once we had some stuff, we wanted to do what we thought was right and make the character. Then we brought him in. We had the production fully prepared. I said, ‘Look, if there’s something that Tim says that I think is really valuable, even if it changes something dynamically, we need to be ready for that and see what we can do.’ I wanted to make sure we did this right by everybody. We brought him in and we didn’t really tell him why. We just flew him up to Lucasfilm and sat him down in a theater and said, ‘Hey, we’re bringing Thrawn into the show.’ He was like, ‘Wow.’ and I said, ‘Yeah, wow. And I’m going to show him to you right now and you let me know what you think.'”

(Before we continue, keep that first highlighted sentence in mind for future reference. I'm going to come back to that later.)

Fortunately, Timothy Zahn was delighted at the show’s approach to the Empire’s imposing blue-skinned Chiss.

“We showed him some of the scenes with him,” Dave Filoni recalls. “He looked like a kid in a candy store. I think it meant a lot to him not just because it was his character, but because you have to imagine what he went through when it was announced that everything is Legends now, not Expanded Universe. I get that and I’ve always appreciated the work that goes into the Expanded Universe… For Tim, I think it was us saying, ‘No, no, no. We really like your character. We want him to be part of the real thing. The canon universe.'”

So in 2016, before we even saw Thrawn in action beyond a trailer, we were told that Zahn gave the OK, and he was chill with the way Thrawn was created in the show. In 2017, he gave a little more of the background of this process in an interview with FANgirl Blog:

The events of Thrawn dovetail closely with Rebels and shed light on some of Thrawn’s more seemingly surprising actions on the show, like when he appears to lose his temper and yell at Lieutenant Lyste. What was it like to see Thrawn come alive onscreen? Is he how you’ve pictured him in your head?

I don’t see my characters in terms of voice or appearance, but rather as personality or attitude. That said, I very much enjoyed the way the Rebels team brought him to life, in his appearance, voice, and actions.

I also appreciated the freedom I had to tweak certain incidents, such as the one you mentioned, and give additional or alternate explanations for the viewers who may have thought those were somewhat out of character for him.

He doesn't really elaborate on this, but we can assume he had SOME creative input on Thrawn's character, and he was overall pretty happy with the choices made in the show.

But then, we have this from that earlier 2017 the Verge article:

When did you learn that Dave Filoni was intending to bring Thrawn to Rebels, and did you have any input into how the character would be handled?

[...] I didn’t have any real input into how Thrawn was going to be handled, mainly because the lead time of an animated series is so long that much of season 3 had already been finished. But I trusted Dave and the team to do the character right. After all, why bring him into Rebels if you were going to drastically change him? Having seen the entire season now, I think we can agree that my trust was completely justified.

So... he didn't have "any real input," but was satisfied with it in the end? I guess? I don't know. We're getting into some contradictions now.

The last thing I've got in regards to Rebels is an interview Zahn did with the YouTube channel Star Wars Explained after the finale aired, where he responds to the following:

“So, maybe let's jump over to Rebels for a little bit. Now that it has wrapped up, how do you feel Thrawn was represented in Star Wars: Rebels?”

“They did a really good job—they not only understood the character and how to write for him, but they also understood the meta around how you defeat him. The only way to defeat Thrawn is to throw something at him he can't control, or can't anticipate. Given perfect knowledge and control, Thrawn will always find a way to win. But they understood, this is how you defeat him, these are the things we can use against him... so his portrayal in general, is very good; he's smart, he's anticipating, he's a step ahead of everybody, he's looking at clues and picking up on them, so I was very pleased with how the Rebels team handled the character."

I think these quotes answer many of your questions, so to answer your initial question: If Zhan had been the writer for Rebels, do I think he would have had Thrawn bomb Lothal to bring Ezra out?

Yes—but ONLY because at that point, the only established™️ Thrawn content was found in Legends, where Thrawn was a ruthless and calculating warlord.

However!

I do believe that if given the chance to re-write the Star Wars: Rebels finale using his now-canon novels as a solid background TODAY, Zahn would choose to not let Thrawn bombard Lothal's Capital City.

I believe this because he made one single very interesting creative choice when writing Thrawn that completely overwrote Thrawn's pre-established Rebels character: Thrawn was not responsible for the civilian deaths on Batonn—Pryce was.

And that's that on that.

A few months ago I would have ended it there, but today, Thrawn's story is no longer just contained in the novels and Rebels, but also in that of The Mandalorian.

This is where I will proudly say I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Before The Jedi aired, I was 100% sure that the next time we saw Thrawn, it would be nowhere NEAR the Empire, because Zahn was pretty adamant in the novels that Thrawn was only in the Empire to help. His. People.

So now he's apparently doing fuck-knows-what in fuck-knows-where and is STILL associated with the Seventh Fleet and Imperial Warlords???

Huh??? Despite the fact that he held no true loyalty to the Empire or to the Emperor??? It's been months and I'm still confused as fuck. Add to the fact that Zahn also doesn't know what the fuck is going on to the equation and we get a big fat question mark with one pretty clear answer that Filoni said himself that we have to keep in mind:

"We, of course, can do what we want with a character that Lucasfilm owns."

So I don't think Zahn has much control over Thrawn as we would all like to think. We can hope he gives us the crazy Thrawn and Ezra Space Adventure™️ novel all we want, but ultimately, Thrawn's fate does not rest in his hands.

If you guys have more to add please let me know!!! This is, obviously, a topic I am very passionate about, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[ming-yu-hao]

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder | Chapter 3

Pairing: fratboy!mingyu x female reader

Word Count: 6k

Synopsis: When you transferred to a different university, you and Wonwoo promised that you would make long distance work. But distance proves to be more difficult than you both originally thought.

This Chapter’s Tags: angst, protected sex, finger sucking, grinding, light choking/spanking/dirty talk, mingyu just being an ass man, riding, cheating obviously

Warning: THIS SERIES IS ABOUT CHEATING. DO NOT READ IF IT MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE!

A/N: Y’ALLLLL I’m sorry this took me forever to upload... I just got super busy but there won’t be as long as a wait for the next chapter! As always feedback is appreciated and I hope you guys like this :)

Chapters: Previous | Next | Masterlist

Your knees quivered beneath you as you pulled the soft fabric of your leggings up your thighs and over your hips. You bent down to pick up your shirt that was still balled up on the floor, and when you stood again you could hear the bed rustle behind you as Mingyu shifted his weight.

Guilt didn't hit you until you slipped your shirt back over your head, fully dressing yourself once again.

What had you done?

Without looking at him, you spoke: "I think I should go now."

He was silent.

You stepped over to the door, your hand about to twist the knob when he finally called out to you.

"Y/N."

You looked at him. He was sitting up on his bed; his dark hair was a mess, hanging over his forehead. His lips were parted like he didn't know what to say.

"Um, don't forget your jacket. It's cold outside." He pointed to your jacket that was still discarded on the floor.

"Oh, thanks," you said with your voice wavering. You quickly picked up the jacket and headed for the door again.

"Text me when you get home, okay?" Mingyu rushed to say. The corners of his mouth quirked up into a thin, awkward smile and you nodded your head in response.

Why did he suddenly care? He used to just be some guy you sat next to in class. When did he want to become your friend? When did he start to become protective over you? Was this all really just because of his half-drunken encounter with you at that party? Did the moment you two shared that night cause him to feel some kind of attachment to you? Thinking about it all made your head spin. Nothing made sense to you anymore.

You turned the knob and cracked open the door when Mingyu spoke again.

"Um, also... you know, if you ever need anything... I'm here for you." His voice shook a bit.

You exhaled. "Thank you."

You slipped out of his room before he could say anything else and stepped down the stairs quietly, attempting to dart out the front door before anyone could see you. There was a small group of people hanging out in the living room like Mingyu had said, their laughter and conversations loud and echoing through the house.

When you reached the bottom of the stairs, you kept your gaze down at your feet while you scanned the floor for your shoes.

"Y/N?" You heard a voice call from behind you.

You huffed out a quiet breath in frustration before turning around with an overly sweet smile on your face. Your eyes landed on Seungcheol.

"Oh, hey! It's weird not seeing Jisoo following you around." You joked.

Seungcheol smiled sheepishly. "Yeah..." He trailed off, looking down at the ground.

"Are you guys dating?" You probed with a raised eyebrow.

"I wanted to talk to you about that, actually." He admitted, making eye contact with you. Curiosity plagued you, and you stared at him expectantly as you waited for him to speak. "I wanna do something special for her when I ask her out... just cause, I don't know, I really like her." He stammered nervously, lowering his voice so no one could eavesdrop.

You gave him a genuine smile. You were happy that Jisoo had found someone that truly liked her. Ever since the beginning of the semester, she had been cycling through an array of terrible guys that used and ghosted her. Seungcheol seemed like a genuinely good person; you trusted him to take care of her.

You brought your hand to your chin as you pondered for a moment. "Well, if I'm being honest, she's, like, a huge hopeless romantic. Loves cheesy romance movies and stuff." You started, "If you took her out to a nice dinner and walked around some really pretty, romantic place after, that'd be her dream come true."

Seungcheol nodded, his eyes glazed over in deep thought as he acknowledged your advice. "Yeah, that sounds like her." He smiled. "Thanks."

You nodded. "So... how did the raffle go?"

"It went really good, actually." He responded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "The money's going to a child psychology organization. I've been doing research with them for a few months now."

Your eyes lit up in interest at his story. "That's really cool. Have you discovered any groundbreaking research yet?" You half-joked.

He chuckled, "I guess a little bit."

A lightbulb suddenly went off in your brain. "Hey, do you think I could interview you about all this research stuff you've done? I need to write an article for class."

Seungcheol shrugged. "Sure."

You spent the next few minutes probing him about how he got involved in the program, what he had been researching, his motivation to study child psychology—all while taking down notes on your phone. He explained to you how he had struggled with anxiety his whole life and wanted to find a way to help others. In the back of your mind, this was all affirming why he was such a good match for Jisoo. He was caring, passionate, charitable. Your heart warmed at the thought of Jisoo finally settling down with someone who was actually a good person.

Your interview came to an end and you thanked Seungcheol for helping you out. He nodded before glancing down at the jacket you were carrying in your arms.

"Were you planning on leaving?" He asked.

"Yeah, I need to go work on homework and stuff." You answered.

He attempted to suppress his smirk by biting his lip. "You and Mingyu didn't get much work done together?" He raised his eyebrows at you.

You felt your heart drop into your stomach. "What?"

"Relax, I'm just kidding." Seungcheol laughed. "He just seemed comfortable with you earlier, you know?"

The tension in your stomach loosened a little as you realized that he didn't actually know what happened between you two. This is exactly what Mingyu was worried about earlier. So it was true that Seungcheol liked to play matchmaker and get involved in everyone else's relationships.

"There's nothing going on between you guys?" Seungcheol questioned after you didn't respond.

You felt your cheeks grow hot with irritation. "No. I have a boyfriend." You said curtly.

Seungcheol's mouth formed an O-shape at the sudden coldness in your tone. "I-I'm sorry, I was just kidding." He quickly apologized.

"It's okay." You sighed. You glanced around for your shoes, avoiding his regretful gaze.

"Well, I really have to get going. Thanks for helping me out." You said as you slipped on your shoes.

He smiled apologetically and walked you over to the door. "See you, Y/N!" He called behind you as you stepped out into the cold.

You buried yourself in work for the next two days. You figured it was easier to just get lost in the flow of doing assignment after assignment rather than to think about what happened.

But no matter what you did, your mind still wandered back to that moment—when your lips finally met Mingyu's, and his body pressed against yours.

The worst part was that you didn't even try to stop him: you had agreed to it, and God, you even thanked him for it! You weren't even sure if you could regret what happened. You hated yourself for betraying Wonwoo's trust, but at the same time you craved attention and affection. Mingyu just happened to be the one that fulfilled your wishes after all this time.

You would never tell Mingyu that, of course. Honestly, you were unsure if you could even face him about it. He could tell that you felt guilty afterwards. If you just finished this stupid project and avoided him for the rest of the semester, he would probably get the hint and leave you alone.

It was Saturday evening when you typed the last words of your article on Seungcheol and his research. You hadn't talked to Mingyu since you left his room on Thursday night, but you needed him to complete his share of the work. Sighing, you picked up your phone and pulled up your messages with him. You quickly explained what kind of pictures he needed to take and told him to send them to you (so you could avoid seeing him anymore than you needed to).

You clicked out of your conversation, and that's when your eyes landed on the messages that were still unread by Wonwoo. You wanted to ask him what he was doing, but after three days with no response, it felt pathetic to even attempt to strike up a conversation now.

The sound of the door knob jiggling startled you before Jisoo busted into the room a moment later.

"Y/N!" She cheered in a sing-song voice. "We have another party to go to tonight!"

You already knew exactly where this party was going to be, and you felt your stomach drop at the thought of running into Mingyu.

You shook your head. "No way, Jisoo. I'm way too busy." You lied.

She pouted her lips at you. "Really? You've been working nonstop. How're you still not done?"

You shrugged and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Well, you can take a break for a few hours. I promise I won't leave you this time. You can hangout with me and Cheol." She begged, looking at you with wide, saddened eyes.

Your phone vibrated between your hands, and when you glanced down you saw Mingyu's name on the screen.

Mingyu: I'm actually gonna be out studying and working on some stuff with a friend tonight. I promise I'll get the pics for you tomorrow :) Sent at 7:37 PM

You thought it was a little weird for a guy like Mingyu to be studying on a Saturday night, but when you realized that he wouldn't be at the party, relief flooded over you.

You looked up at Jisoo and saw her still expectantly staring at you, waiting for your response.

"I- I guess I could go for a bit."

"YES!" Seungkwan shrieked as he successfully landed another ball in one of Jisoo's cups. He turned to you and wildly smacked your palm in a high five, nearly hitting you in the face. Your stomach was starting to hurt from laughing for the past ten minutes over the intense match of beer pong in front of you.

The crowd around the table reacted loudly, some cheering and some booing as Jisoo downed another cup of alcohol. She shivered at the taste and Seungcheol came up from behind to pat her on the back. His lips moved as he said something to her, but with music blasting through the house so loud, you couldn't make out a single word.

Your phone vibrated in your back pocket. Without much thought, you pulled it out and quickly glanced at the screen.

Your heart sank into your stomach as you realized: Wonwoo was calling.

"Fuck," you muttered under your breath. You had completely forgotten that Saturday's were now reserved for your FaceTime dates.

You looked up at everyone with wide eyes, but they were too immersed in the game to notice your reaction. You pushed your way through the crowd and slipped into the bathroom before Jisoo or anyone else could come looking for you.

By the time you reached the bathroom and locked the door, the FaceTime call had already stopped ringing. Leaning against the door, you scrolled through your contacts and called back, but only as a phone call.

Wonwoo answered after two rings.

"Hey, everything alright?" He asked.

You swallowed. "Uh... yeah."

"Why didn't you FaceTime?" He continued. You hesitated, but then he spoke before you could say anything. "Why is it so loud? Where are you?"

You cursed yourself for not running away to a room that was farther away from all the music and noise outside the door. Fidgeting with your fingers, you answered: "A party."

"Oookay," he scoffed. "You could've at least let me know if you were gonna go out. But it's fine. Have fun, I guess." He responded coldly.

Your brows furrowed together instinctively. Now it was your turn to scoff at him. "You're not serious, are you?" The skin of your face grew warmer. Wonwoo was quiet. "I forgot. Sorry." You admitted through grit teeth.

"Why're you so mad?" He questioned in a defensive tone.

You rolled your eyes. "This is the first time I've ever cancelled on you and it was an accident. Do I need to remind you of all the times you ditched me?"

Wonwoo didn't respond.

"And what the fuck have you been doing the past three days that you couldn't respond to me?" You spat. Blood was rushing through your veins quickly now as anger took over.

He sighed through the receiver. "I was busy."

"Does it really take that much time to send a text to your fucking girlfriend?" Your voice began to rise. "How do you expect this to work if you don't even talk to me?"

"I'm sor-" He began to speak, but you interrupted him.

"You know, sometimes it feels like I'm dating nobody!" You cried. "Do you even realize how lonely I feel?" Your voice shook with each word as your throat grew tighter; tears welled up in your eyes. You didn't want to cry, but all the frustration you had bottled up the past couple months was finally spilling over.

In a calm voice, all Wonwoo said was: "I'm trying."

"Not hard enough." You scoffed.

"What the fuck, Y/N? Where is this coming from?" He cried. The sudden rise in his voice startled you a bit.

The phone shook in your grasp. "You act like I don't even exist! How can you call that trying?"

"Fuck, I'm not dealing with this right now. Go back to your stupid fucking party." He snapped.

"Yeah, just go and ignore me again!" You laughed sardonically.

The three tones of the call ending sounded abruptly. You looked down at your phone in shock. He had hung up on you.

Your hands balled into fists as you threw your head back against the door. Your jaw was tense, but your bottom lip still quivered.

He had done it again. It seemed it was becoming easy for him at this point—abandoning you when you needed him.

This wasn't going to last much longer if the two of you couldn't figure this out.

When you pressed your lips into a thin line, tears slipped down, staining the bags under your eyes with makeup.

Was he giving up on you?

Your head began to pound. You couldn't stand being in this hot bathroom any longer, much less this party in general. You wiped your cheeks with the back of your hand and turned to unlock the door.

As you took a step out of the bathroom, you kept your gaze locked on your feet; you didn't want anyone to notice the state you were currently in.

Not even a moment after opening the door, you collided with a tall, warm body.

"Sorry," you mumbled, pushing past.

"Y/N?" A familiar voice called. Strong hands grasped your forearm, and you glanced up at the figure.

Mingyu.

What force was bringing you back to him once again?

His lips parted in a small gasp as he noticed the redness in your tearful eyes. "Hey, what's wrong? Come here."

Before you could protest, he guided you back into the bathroom, closing and locking the door so no one could bother you two.

You kept your eyes down at the ground, unable to look at him. As he approached you, the heat of his skin radiated against you.

"I thought you were out studying." You spoke, breaking the silence.

Mingyu's hands found your jaw. He ran the smooth skin of his thumbs over your cheeks, wiping the tears that remained. "I finished early," he explained.

"Look at me," Mingyu whispered. You swallowed and blinked before meeting his eyes.

You didn't notice the thin, black-rimmed glasses that were resting on his nose before. His dark hair was pushed back, and his tan skin glowed under the bathroom light. You hated how instinctively drawn you felt to his presence.

You started to think that Kim Mingyu might be the Devil, disguised in the form of a beautiful boy that always knew the right words to say. He was here to tempt you, to swindle you at your most vulnerable moments, to test your fidelity. And you were weak enough to cave in.

"Is it your boyfriend?" He asked.

The gaze he held on you was so intense that you found yourself staring at the frames of his glasses instead of his eyes. You nodded silently in response to his question.

"Talk to me. What happened?" Mingyu cooed as he stroked your cheeks with his thumbs.

"I-" You started, but let out a sigh instead. "We just fought. I don't know. I don't wanna talk about it." You rambled.

"Okay," he nodded. "Sorry if I pushed it." He removed his hands from your face. The skin suddenly felt cold without his touch.

He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "We can talk about something else."

You stood still, nodding, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"You know," Mingyu started, "You look really pretty. Even when you're crying." Your skin flushed at the compliment.

Rolling your eyes playfully, you wiped the last remnants of makeup off your cheeks. "Is that your go-to line for every girl?" You joked.

"No," he replied. "Just cause I'm in a frat doesn't mean I'm a douche."

You snickered under your breath. "Yeah, but there's gotta be so many girls that hit on you."

"There's some," he shrugged. "Doesn't mean I flirt back."

Your legs were beginning to grow tired from standing, so you walked over to the counter and sat on the edge. You gripped the ledge to keep your balance, swinging your legs back and forth.

Mingyu stood in his same spot, but turned in your direction. He quirked his eyebrows at you. "Are you suggesting that I'm attractive enough to have hundreds of girls swooning over me?" He shot you a teasing grin.

You chuckled and shook your head. "You wish."

Mingyu's jaw dropped in a fake expression of shock as he came closer to you, but he stood to the side to stare at himself in the mirror. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Since when do you wear glasses?" You inquired.

"Since forever." He replied.

Mingyu placed his hands on the edge of the counter, pushing his weight onto them. The muscles in his arms were prominent through his black shirt. Your eyes dragged across his figure, eventually landing on his face again.

"I like them. They look good." You said.

He glanced at you, his eyes laced with hints of suspicion. "Thanks," he said with his voice a little uneven. He cleared his throat and stood up straight. "Did I help get your mind off him a bit?"

You winced at the mention of Wonwoo, but nodded. "Yeah, you did. Thank you." You exhaled.

Mingyu smiled to himself and his eyes met yours once again. "Good. I feel like it's the least I can do to help."

As you stared at him, you admired his features—his soft, clear complexion and plump lips. You suddenly became aware of how close he was to you; his hand was resting only a few inches away from your thigh. Your mind thought back to how it felt when those hands caressed the bare skin of your body. Impulsively, your thighs pressed together at the revisitation of the memory.

The room felt like it had instantly shot up ten degrees, and the heat left your judgement clouded like a foggy mirror. If Mingyu really was the Devil, his plan was working.

You leaned towards him until your face was only a few inches from his. Your breath caught in your throat as you went to speak.

"I really wanna kiss you right now." You admitted quickly, your eyes focused on his lips.

Mingyu backed away. "Are you drunk?" He asked. His eyes were wide with concern as he scanned you.

You remained where you were, embarrassment creeping up on you as you rapidly shook your head. "I haven't drank anything."

Mingyu chewed on his bottom lip. "I- I don't think it's a good idea. After last time..." he trailed off, glancing up to peek at your reaction. "I don't want you to do something you'll regret again."

"I don't regret it." You blurted before you could stop yourself.

You weren't sure what you were doing or where you wanted to go with this, but you couldn't stop. A feeling of lust had possessed you at this point, controlling your every word and action.

Mingyu looked taken aback at your confession, standing up straighter. His lips were parted in uncertainty, but you watched as his eyes flicked down to look at your lips.

"You don't?" He asked, inching closer to you.

Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest now. You quickly shook your head. "No."

His right hand found a place to rest under your chin, tilting your head up to look at him as his face neared yours. He swiped his thumb over your bottom lip.

"Are you sure?" He whispered.

Desire had overcome you so strongly at this point that you couldn't bring yourself to answer him through words. Instead, you crashed your lips onto his.

Mingyu responded eagerly, his kisses fueled with the same amount of force. Your hands quickly found purchase on the nape of his neck, pulling his body closer to yours. Right as you spread your legs to allow him to stand in between them, Mingyu's tongue darted against your lips, slipping into your mouth when you parted your lips for him.

He placed his left hand on your inner thigh, roughly squeezing the flesh between his fingers as he deepened the kiss. You moaned into his mouth, and he dragged his other hand down to the small of your back to pull you closer to him.

Now your core was pressed against his. Mingyu removed his lips from yours, only to place open-mouthed kisses on the area below your ear. You jerked your hips up as he nibbled lightly on the skin, the friction between your thighs growing.

Your jaw hung open as your arousal increased with each moment; your breathing became heavy while you panted into his ear. He sucked on your collarbone, and a chill shot it's way up your spine. You whimpered loudly and you could feel Mingyu smirk against your skin.

"You sound so pretty," he mumbled, his lips brushing against your skin as he spoke. He lifted his head, his tongue poking out of his cheek while he observed you. Your head was thrown back, eyes half shut, and you were ever so slightly grinding your hips against his for the smallest bit of relief.

Mingyu brought his fingers up to your lips, tapping on the soft skin to catch your attention. "Suck," he said, watching as you obediently parted your lips for him. He shoved two of his fingers into your mouth and pressed them down against your tongue. You could feel wetness building up between your legs. Even though it wasn't anything extreme, Wonwoo never did stuff like this with you in bed. You had to admit, all the new things that Mingyu was introducing to you excited you.

You hummed against him as he stuffed your mouth, almost gagging when his fingers neared the back of your throat. You swirled your tongue around his digits before he quickly pulled them away. You opened your eyes, staring at him in confusion, but his hungry gaze was already locked in on your core. He fumbled with the button of your jeans, and you felt your arousal suddenly spike at the thought of his fingers inside you.

You helped him shuffle your jeans over your ass and down to your knees. He bit his lip as he stared at your clothed heat, his cock stiffening beneath his own jeans, and pressed his dampened fingers to your clit through the fabric of your underwear.

You gasped quietly at the contact, but it wasn't enough. "Mmh, Mingyu," you whined. "Please."

"So needy," he teased with a smirk on his lips. He slipped his fingers beneath the fabric, pressing into your slick folds. His breathing grew heavier. "How're you so wet? I barely even touched you." He breathed against your cheek before he pressed a soft kiss to it. You blushed at his teasing words.

Mingyu rubbed your clit in slow circles, spreading your arousal around your folds. He pressed his lips to yours again, swallowing the moans you were letting out. He dragged his fingers down your heat, teasing your entrance by avoiding it. You clenched around nothing.

"Mingyu, I need you," you muttered against his lips.

"My fingers?" He questioned teasingly, pushing the tips of his digits into your core.

Desire was eating away at you, clouding your thoughts and replacing them with lust-filled ones. You bucked your hips up into his hand, whimpering beneath him.

"No, I want... you." You panted, looking up at him. Embarrassment picked away at you due to your vague request. His eyes appeared even darker than usual as he stared down at you with lust, registering what you were asking for.

Just as he was about to speak, the door knob shook, followed by loud pounding on the door. You jumped, and Mingyu quickly pulled his fingers away from your heat, leaving you with nothing.

"Open up!" A voice called from outside the door. "I have to piss!"

Oh, how wonderful.

You looked to Mingyu with wide eyes, and he motioned for you to stand up. "Pull your pants up!" He shouted at you in a whisper as he wiped his hands on his jeans. He stepped away from the counter, pressing his lips together in frustration as he realized the tent in his pants was painfully obvious.

You pushed yourself off the counter, standing up with shaky legs as you quickly pulled your pants over your hips and re-buttoned them.

The door knob jiggled again. "I'm literally gonna piss myself if you don't open this door in five seconds!" The same voice cried.

"What do we do?" You whispered to Mingyu.

He sighed. "Get out of here as fast as possible and go to my room." Your stomach flipped at the mention of his bedroom; you were really about to go through with this. He reached his hand out for you to grab, and you took hold of it as he led you both to the door.

Mingyu fumbled with the lock, and the door busted open a moment later, revealing a very drunken boy on the other side. He looked both of you up and down. You ducked down slightly, attempting to hide your face behind Mingyu's broad shoulders.

"Fuck, Mingyu? Really? The bathroom?" The boy said with disgust.

Mingyu rolled his eyes, his hand squeezing yours tighter. "Fuck off, Soonyoung." He replied before rushing out of the bathroom with you following close behind.

You couldn't help giggling at Mingyu's comment. He glanced over his shoulder when he noticed you laughing, a smile finding its way to his own lips as he chuckled at you. "Was I too harsh?" He joked.

Mingyu dragged you through the house quickly, and when you reached the bottom of the stairs, he pushed you in front of him to lead the way. You rushed up the steps, and when you neared the top, a sudden smack was delivered to your butt.

You let out a cry, followed by laughter of disbelief. "Mingyu!" You exclaimed with your jaw dropped once you reached the top of the stairs.

Mingyu stood behind you, his hands gripping your waist. He giggled into your ear. "I'm sorry, your ass is so cute." He placed a soft peck to your cheek.

"Let's go," he whispered, his voice suddenly an octave lower. Your stomach twisted, and Mingyu began leading you towards his room with his hands still on your hips.

He let go of you to twist the knob and push the door open, but as soon as you stepped foot into his room, his hands found your waist again and hurriedly pushed you further past the door. He kicked the door closed behind him, pushing you up against the wood. His lips quickly found yours, kissing you with even more intensity than before.

You could barely catch your breath as Mingyu gave you more rough kisses. He was being taken over by lust; he pressed himself against you, allowing you to feel the hardness in his pants. You ran one hand from his shoulder down his chest and stomach, feeling the muscles beneath his shirt tensing at your touch. Finally you palmed him through his jeans and he groaned against your mouth.

"Fuck, you're driving me crazy." He whispered before placing one more messy kiss to your lips. He pulled away to slip his fingers under the hem of your shirt, pulling it over your head quickly and tossing it to the floor. His lips found your neck again, and you moaned as his tongue darted out to lick your sensitive spot. His hands were on your ass, pulling you closer to him and squeezing the soft skin.

Your head rolled back. "Shit, Mingyu," you moaned. "I need you now."

Mingyu pulled away to look down at you with a grin on his face. "Yeah?" He raised his eyebrow. He spanked your ass lightly, causing you to whimper and lean into him. "Go to the bed." He demanded, stepping away from you.

You walked to the bed, trying to swing your hips to hide the nervous wobble in your knees. You felt Mingyu come up behind you, his body pressing against yours. His stiff cock was brushing against your thigh. You turned around, sitting on the edge of the bed as you looked up at him.

"When are you gonna take this off?" You questioned while toying with the fabric of his shirt.

He chewed on his lip as he smirked at you. Without a word, he pulled it over his head, exposing his muscular arms and toned chest. Your eyes dragged hungrily over his torso, drinking in the sight of the outline of his abs.

"Better?" He teased, interrupting your admiring of his body. You looked up at his face. His glasses still rested on his nose, but his hair was slightly disheveled and his lips were now pink and swollen from kissing yours. You were breathless. He was beautiful, and you wanted him so badly.

You perked up from the position you were sitting in, a surge of confidence driven by desire guiding you. "Lie down," you commanded. Mingyu looked taken aback for a moment as he processed your sudden dominance, but he just chuckled and laid down without protest.

Once his back was against the mattress and he was splayed out beneath you, you crawled up towards him, straddling his hips. You dragged your hands down his chest, admiring the softness and warmth of his skin while you began to grind against him.

Mingyu threw his head back as he moaned softly, and you felt yourself clench at the sound. You leaned down, pressing your chest to his as you left kisses on his neck. His hips bucked up into your center. The friction between your bodies was so intense it was driving you insane.

You felt his fingers drag across your spine, causing goosebumps to from across your skin. He fumbled with the clasp of your bra and pulled the straps down your arms. You sat up to fully pull it off and throw it somewhere in the room, and Mingyu quickly brought his hands to your breasts. He squeezed the sensitive buds, twisting your nipples between his fingers. You moaned and pressed your hips into his even harder.

"Ride me," Mingyu mumbled into your ear. Unable to form any words, you nodded, reaching for the button of his jeans.

You lifted yourself off him to help him unzip his pants, and once he started pulling them off you kneeled to the side to discard your own jeans. Just as you began pulling your underwear down your thighs, Mingyu reached for the nightstand next to his bed, shuffling around in the drawer and eventually pulling out a condom.

He pulled his cock out of his boxers, and it stood stiffly against his stomach. He quickly ripped open the package, sliding the latex over his shaft. You straddled his thighs again, about to sink yourself onto him when he quickly grabbed your hips.

"No, no." He said. "Turn around."

You looked at him in confusion. "But-"

"Just trust me," he added, pressing a soft kiss to your chest.

You turned around so your back was facing him, still straddling his thighs. He kept one hand on your waist as the other reached for his cock. He guided the stiff head through your folds, wetting his cock with your arousal. When the tip brushed against your clit you whimpered as you clenched around nothing again.

"Please, Mingyu," you whined.

He dragged the head down to your entrance, finally pushing into you. Both of his hands rested on your hips now as he slowly sunk you down onto him.

You moaned at the slight burning sensation the stretch left behind. It had already been months since a dick was last inside you, and with Mingyu's size it was even more intense.

You aided by lowering yourself onto his cock, and once he bottomed out inside you he stayed still to let you adjust. His dick twitched inside you, and you clenched around him in response.

"You're so fucking tight," he moaned into your ear. He began nibbling and sucking at the skin between your neck and shoulder from behind you, and you whined in response.

You lifted yourself off him slowly, basking in the feeling of his cock rubbing against your walls. You sunk down fully onto him before raising your hips again, finally beginning to ride him.

Mingyu allowed you to work yourself against his length while he brought one hand to your breast again. You moaned loudly as he squeezed the flesh between his fingers and bucked his hips up into you.

"Mmmh, shit, you feel so good," you babbled before crying loudly again. Mingyu quickly brought his other hand up to your throat, lightly choking you.

"Shhh, baby." He whispered against your skin. "You can't be so loud." His words were followed by another soft slap to your ass, making you whine quietly.

He let go of your throat, bringing both of his hands to your waist once again to speed up your pace. He angled his hips so he could thrust up into you at the same time, and the angle caused him to hit your sensitive spot every time. You panted loudly as the pressure in your lower stomach grew, and you ground yourself against his cock, clenching around him.

"Shit." Mingyu choked out breathlessly. "Tight little pussy's taking me so well."

Maybe it was the filthy words that left his mouth, or the way Mingyu took hold of your hips to slow your pace and thrust into you especially hard, but you felt yourself tip over the edge, your mind cloudy as pleasure overtook you. You couldn't even tell if you were crying out loudly, but you assumed so by the way Mingyu suddenly pulled himself out of you and pushed you forward until your face was pressed into the mattress and he was kneeled behind you.

He thrusted into you roughly now, trying to reach his own high. Your eyes were rolling back into your head as your core tingled with oversensitivity, and you could feel yourself drooling onto the sheets.

He came with a particularly rough grunt, pausing his movements as his cum emptied into the condom inside you. He moaned breathlessly and he slowly pumped himself in and out of you to milk his orgasm. Finally, he pulled himself completely out, and his hand ran across your spine.

"You okay?" He asked, and you lifted yourself onto your hands and knees, nodding. Mingyu looked down at your legs, his lips dropping in a slight gasp. "Your thighs are shaking." He noted out loud.

Your face burnt with embarrassment as you kneeled back onto your knees. When you finally turned to look at Mingyu, he was tossing the condom into the trash. His hair was now pressed to his forehead with sweat and his cheeks were tinted a shade of pink. When his eyes met yours, his lips quirked up into a smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get rough with you." He apologized. He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

You shook your head. "N-no, it's okay," you croaked out, finally able to formulate words now that all the post-orgasm bliss was fading away.

You didn't know why, but you felt like you had to be near him. You crawled up towards him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. It felt natural. Comfortable. It reminded you of how you felt with Wonwoo. And despite how much you enjoyed feeling Mingyu's soft lips against yours, that thought terrified you.

"Do you regret this?" He mumbled against your lips.

It scared you—the way you were able to betray Wonwoo so easily. Here you were, in bed with another boy: one that you shared inside jokes with and stole kisses from and ran to for comfort. All that you had built with Wonwoo over the past two years—were some miles apart really enough to tear everything down?

You answered honestly.

"No."

[aion-rsa]

Avengers: Endgame - The History of Captain America's Climactic Moment

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Remember in Avengers: Endgame when Captain America picked up Thor's hammer? We sure do! Here are other times he did that!

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This article consists of nothing but massive Avengers: Endgame spoilers. You’ve been warned. We have a completely spoiler free review right here.

Ever since Thanos showed up in the mid-credits of the first Avengers movie, there was one scenario that most comic book fans knew was going to one day happen: Captain America was going to at one point lift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir and bash Thanos’ stupid face with it. Until Hela broke Mjolnir in Thor: Ragnarok. Then we all went, “Oh, never mind, I guess,” and thought about what could have been.

Well, time travel is funny like that. It gives you a mulligan. Avengers: Endgame gives us one of the most triumphant moments in superhero movie history, when Captain America is able to lift Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and use it to beat the ever-lovin' crap out of Thanos for a few minutes. Not only can Captain America lift Thor's hammer, he's able to call down the lightning just as Thor would. It's a huge, cathartic, and historic moment in the history of the MCU, but it's something long familiar to Marvel Comics fans.

How Can Captain America Lift Thor's Hammer?

Simple: Steve Rogers is worthy. The inscription on Mjolnir reads "Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." It doesn't matter how strong you are, if you aren't worthy, you can't lift Thor's hammer, no matter how hard you try. It's why Thor, at a low point in his life, is so relieved to find that he can still call and hold Mjolnir when he travels back to the events of Thor: The Dark World.

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, we got the slightest hint of what was to come when Cap was able to slightly budge the hammer when trying to pick it up. Thor's reaction shot there was priceless, and teases the moment in Endgame when Steve finally gets to call down the lightning. Of course, the big payoff in Age of Ultron was that Vision (not Cap) was able to wield it near the end of the movie as a way of proving his fidelity, but many of us knew that there was more to it, including Thor, who exclaims "I knew it!" when Cap gets his big moment with the hammer.

read more - Which Avengers: Endgame Deaths are Permanent?

There is comic book precedent to Cap picking up Mjolnir. While not the first non-Thor character to pull that off in Marvel canon (that would be the delightful Beta Ray Bill), he’s had a couple moments where he’s been able to prove his worthy worth and cracked some heads with the uru metal.

Here’s some American history with a mix of Asgardian shop class.

THE ORIGINAL

The Mighty Thor #390 (1988)

Around this time, Steve Rogers had lost the right to be Captain America and just fought crime as "The Captain." This meant dressing exactly as Captain America, but in a black costume with red and white stripes on the front. Thor stopped by Avengers HQ, saw this guy with head wings and a shield and went, “I never saw you before in my life! Who are you?!” Then he threw Mjolnir at him in mid-sentence before realizing that it had to be Steve Rogers because of how fast he could dodge the attack.

I swear, Thor must scream, “STRANGER DANGER!” whenever Jane Foster gets a haircut.

Cap later explained his whole status quo, as well as his current feud with Iron Man (that happens a lot). So the government considered him an enemy and he was at odds with Iron Man for ideological reasons. Same as it ever was. While Thor mused over all this, one of his villains, the god Seth, sent an army after him. Cap, of course, helped out his stupid, stupid friend.

read more: Avengers: Endgame - Complete Marvel Universe Easter Eggs and MCU Reference Guide

Thor dropped his hammer after being tackled by generic grunt Grog. Grog tried to lift Mjolnir, but couldn’t budge it. Instead, he started torturing Thor with a laser. Cap didn’t quite understand the whole “worthy” gimmick at the time and figured it was just really heavy. Even though Grog, a brick shithouse of a miniboss, couldn’t do it, Cap decided it was worth trying.

Wouldn’t you know it, The Captain picked it up and wiped the floor with the dogpiling goon squad. He tossed it back to Thor, who proceeded to finish off the bad guys.

Afterwards, Thor admitted that while he had no idea what was really going on with Steve and Tony’s current argument, he sided with Steve due to his ability to pick up the hammer. Cap nodded, rushed into a Quinjet, and flew off to go break Tony Stark's nose several times over.

2099 PROBLEMS

2099: Manifest Destiny (1998)

Even though it's been brought back a few times since, 2099 was one of Marvel's big fixtures in the 90s. It was how 90s comics felt the future would be like. The story was that the heroes had long gone missing and there were no surviving records of what happened. Either way, Thor was worshipped as a religious figure and many awaited his return.

When serial-pointer Miguel O'Hara got powers and became the new Spider-Man of the era, someone pointed out that he was the first of many who would take up the mantle of a long-forgotten hero. This would continue until the coming of Thor 2099, who would deliver them all. Sure enough, we got Ghost Rider 2099, Hulk 2099, Punisher 2099, X-Men 2099, etc. After a few years, the line of comics lost its luster and they wrote it off with this one-shot where they found Captain America's frozen body.

read more - Avengers: Endgame Sidelines the Captain America/Bucky Relationship

As Steve got accustomed to this new world, Miguel gave him Donald Blake's walking stick. With a little reluctance, Steve accepted the gift and struck it to the ground, transforming it into Mjolnir and transforming himself into a gaudy Cap/Thor hybrid. He and Miguel started a new Avengers team, but on a space mission, things went haywire and it looked like Captain America was going to be knocked into deep space. His last act was to throw Mjolnir to Miguel, who caught the weapon and turned out to be just as worthy.

Yes, in a wonderful twist, Spider-Man 2099 wasn't just the herald of Thor 2099. He WAS Thor 2099!

With this power and the slow aging that came with it, Miguel turned the galaxy into a utopia. By the time he was done with his duty in 3099, they discovered Captain America's frozen body yet again. The poor guy just couldn't catch a break, but at least he got the hammer back.

THE HELLSCAPE OF APOCALYPSE

What If? Featuring X-Men: Age of Apocalypse (2007)

Age of Apocalypse was a pretty big deal in the '90s and the world it depicted was a nasty one. At least it had Magneto’s X-Men to make some kind of difference to offset Apocalypse’s evil. Naturally, Marvel’s What If series had a couple of takes on the big event. One had its continuity move forward and show how that Earth would have handled the coming of Galactus. One had Legion succeed in killing Magneto in the past, showing a world where Charles Xavier could better fight for a world where mutants were accepted.

Then there was this ridiculous one-shot where Rick Remender came up with the idea of Legion accidentally killing both Magneto and Xavier. The event had terrible repercussions, leading to governments to discover the existence of mutants earlier and going straight for the persecution. Apocalypse made his big appearance and the world got weirder than in normal Age of Apocalypse continuity. For one, Apocalypse’s army included a nest of Peter Parker clones connected by a big Venom symbiote blob.

read more - Avengers: Endgame Ending Explained

The resistance team included the likes of Nate Grey, Molecule Man, Wolverine, Colossus, Thing (with robot arm), Doctor Voodoo (introduced a year or so before Brother Voodoo was the Sorcerer Supreme in canon), Captain Britain in Mach I Iron Man armor, and the leader Captain America. With no real context given, he wielded Mjolnir throughout the story and constantly fought maskless.

The whole issue was mainly these Defenders jumping from one spot to another, facing different threats and gradually losing members. Towards the end, Nate Grey killed Apocalypse, stole his armor, killed Molecule Man, and opened up a portal to the past so they could prevent the deaths of Xavier and Magneto. Fearing that Grey would become a tyrant as bad as Apocalypse himself, Cap killed him via Mjolnir and allowed the portal to close.

He and Wolverine were the only survivors of the adventure.

WAR OF THE WORTHY

Fear Itself (2011)

Fear Itself was a Captain America/Thor crossover idea that Marvel decided to turn into a full-on event. It was...there. The tie-ins were better than the main plot, honestly.

Watch everything Marvel and more with a FREE Disney+ TRIAL, right here!

The Red Skull’s daughter Sin came across a mystical hammer that transformed her into the deity Skadi. She helped unleash forgotten Asgardian god The Serpent, who in turn created seven hammers that would possess and empower those worthy of unleashing fear. They were Hulk, Juggernaut, Thing, Titania, Absorbing Man, Grey Gargoyle, and Attuma. Then Nazis in mechs started swarming Washington DC and the whole thing was a big mess.

read more: What's Next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in MCU Phase 4?

Around this time, Bucky Barnes was Captain America and the story partly existed to have Bucky fake his death and move the Cap identity back to Steve Rogers (and you thought Endgame treated the Bucky/Steve relationship poorly?). A lot of good it did for him, as The Serpent was able to shatter the shield with his bare hands.

To turn the tide, Tony Stark and Odin made some special weapons for the superheroes to wield. As for Cap, he simply found Mjolnir lying around on the battlefield and used it to go to town on Skadi. They hyped all this magic weapon stuff up like crazy in the adverts, but the whole thing was really background noise. The fight just kind of ended after Odin pulled away all the hammers and Skadi went back to being Sin.

THE MIRROR MATCH

Secret Empire (2017)

And then there’s this load. Nick Spencer did a lengthy story about Steve Rogers revealing he was really an agent of Hydra all along. Marvel was really adamant that it was really Steve Rogers and that he wasn’t being mind-controlled. Also, the company insisted that Captain America wasn’t a Nazi because Hydra weren’t Nazis. TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING. Because, you see...look over there!

Hydra Cap then turned out to be a version of Steve Rogers created by a little girl with reality-warping powers (sure), who was manipulated by Red Skull. Cap ended up taking over the US and shockingly beat up opposing superheroes via wielding Mjolnir. That too seemed to be a product of the reality-warping as the inscription/rules of the hammer were different and you had to be a bulky Hydra asshole to pick it up.

read more: Full MCU Marvel Movie Release Calendar

By the end of the event, the little girl conjured the original version of Captain America to beat up his please-don’t-call-the-Nazi-a-Nazi doppelganger. When Hydra Cap went for the hammer out of desperation, it had already reverted back to normal and he wasn’t worthy enough to pick it up. Regular Cap picked it up and walloped his douchebag counterpart.

"Your ass will never be America's ass." (not actual dialogue)

Yeah, everyone knew that the status quo would return in the end, but the whole Hydra Cap business was as well-timed and tactful as showing off your chainsaw and hockey mask to your son, in the middle of the night, when Sideshow Bob is trying to kill him. It also killed the end of Gerry Duggan’s otherwise legendary Deadpool run, which I can never forgive.

HONORABLE MENTION

There’s only been five comic scenarios where we’ve seen Captain America wielding Mjolnir, so let’s just move those goalposts a little and talk about times when superheroes have kicked ass with the shield AND the hammer at the same time.

First up is Crusader from an issue of What If based on the original Secret Wars that showed what would have happened had all the heroes and villains been stranded on Battleworld for 25 years. While some died in that time, others got busy and we got a new generation of heroes and villains. One of which was Sarah Rogers, daughter of Cap and Rogue.

read more: Marvel Movies Watch Order - An MCU Timeline Guide

No, the comic doesn’t answer the question of how that conception worked.

Even though her boyfriend Bravado was the son of Thor and Enchantress, it was Crusader who ended up being able to pick up the hammer and turn the tide against Vincent Von Doom. She also had stolen her dad’s shield from his closet when he wasn't looking, but that’s less impressive.

Then there’s Superman. The miniseries JLA/Avengers was the final crossover between Marvel and DC and it finished with a bang. Leading both hero teams into battle, Superman was entrusted with Captain America’s shield. During a pivotal moment, in order to break into the villain Krona’s stronghold, Thor threw Mjolnir to Superman. Superman caught it and smashed his way in.

read more: Does Steve Rogers Still Have a Place in the MCU?

Later on, after the dust had cleared, Superman found himself no longer able to lift it. As Thor put it, Odin may be strict, but he knows when to cut you slack when times are desperate.

I have to imagine we’ll be seeing more Cap/Mjolnir moments going forward. Marvel really seems to enjoy having comics imitate movies that imitate comics. God, remember when Spider-Man 3 came out and comic Spider-Man just happened to start wearing black again?

Gavin Jasper writes for Den of Geek and when Captain America throws his mighty hammer, all those who attempt to...stammer that hammer must clamor...? Read his other articles here and follow him on Twitter @Gavin4L

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Gavin Jasper

Nov 25, 2019

Marvel

Avengers: Endgame

Captain America

Disney+

from Books https://ift.tt/2Dbqjxl

[nightwingswing]

The Riddle of the Scarecrow (Edward Nigma x Reader x Jonathan Crane) [Part 1]

Hello my lil’ wings!

And here it is! The love triangle all of you waited for!!

Hopefully ill be able to update more stories and publish new ones soon!

Tags: @hamsterforlive @electra-writes33 @plethora-of-things @totallovelesson @wonderlace19 @centerhabit @valeria-winchester @algentforthewin @matsukawaissei

I tagged all the people who asked to be tagged, if any of you wants to be tagged in this or any of my stories or have any promps, message me anytime!

Now hope you all enjoy!

                                       ☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

How did it began?

You tried to control your breathing  as the masked criminals cornered you in the warehouse, the darkness wasn’t able to hide their deranged eyes.

Well, honestly you didn’t know either.

They got closer to you, the glove with needles for fingers grabbed your wrist forcefully, the needles lightly scratching your skin. The green man growled as his can held you pinned.

“ Now be a sweetheart for us and keep still!” The straw-covered man growled as he put a cloth to your mouth. You breathed it, accidentally as he smirked under the mask. You feel your head lighter and your eyes heavy, suddenly you lost consciousness as the man in green smirked.

“ That’s my good girl!”

///*\\\

[ Flashback, a year earlier...]

“That’s my good girl!” Your parents screamed happily as they hug you tight.

You smiled softly as you proudly stood in front of your just awarded canvas. The Wayne society for the arts and design awarded 2 people with a special gift every 2 years.

You had practiced and practiced until you were ready.

After years of trying and never giving up, you won.

You won!

You smiled softly, patting your (long/short) (h/c) hair in a netly manner, you tuck your shirt as your parents hold you, holding their phones as they smiled big, getting you three and your canvas in the picture. They smiled as they loudly yelled:

“ SELFIE!!!” You smiled as they happily and proudly stood next to you with your baby.

Suddenly, four goons holding big guns came in, shooting the guards as a man in green entered the building, walking canvas per canvas, twirling his cane expertly. Your parents, ever the good reflexed, pulled you with them to the floor and safe between they both.

The man smirked as he said:

“When is a Howl silent and forever?”

From under there you saw a small creek that let you see what the green bean was doing.

Suddenly he stopped in front of yours, humming as his goons tied the remaining people, with a bomb. You could see your fellow acquaintances and art friends hugging or holding to their loved ones, even the cop was softly tearing up from fear.

Enough was enough.

Gathering all your self coincidence you decided to make the quite stupid move but you weren’t going to let all these people and your parents die without a fight.

Suddenly his deep voice tinted with a joyful tone that made you look at him again. He had just picked your canvas, the one you worked so hard to get right, up as he muttered rather to himself

“ Oh, you’re going to look fantastic on my-”

That. was. it.

“ What do you think you’re doing?!” You glared at his back as you stood up, your parents softly pulled your legs to hide but you wouldn’t budge.

He turned around slowly, getting ready to hit you with his can when he saw you.

Beautiful locks of (h/c), two beautiful gems of (e/c) with beautiful soft kissable (s/c) skin.

He didn’t see any woman, he saw you…

The Queen of Hearts

His Queen of Hearts

For the first time in forever,

Edward Nygma aka The riddler was speechless.

Speechless

tHE RIDDLER

SPEECHLESS

Just...wow

You looked at him with an eyebrow raised as you waved a hand in front his eyes. He stared at you, mouth half opened with heart eyes.

“Hello? You didn’t hear me??” You ask, slightly intimidated by his unwavering stare.

Even if they were covered by a domino mask you could feel his intense gaze, staring at you like you were the most gorgeous piece of art, His eyebrows raised as his eyes behind his mask dilated staring at your beautiful form.

He seemed to realize he was kinda looking like a dork as he closed his mouth and coughed, becoming the Eddie we all love again.

“ I said” You put your arms on your waist, fathering all the adrenaline left on your system “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I believe I’m standing in front of Helen of Troy.” He softly says, unblinking white lenses looking right into your beautiful (e/c). You sucked on your teeth softly before glaring cutely.

“I mean with my painting. You’re stealing it from me.”

He smiled charmingly while the other thugs keep grabbing canvas after canvas. He coughed softly to get your attention as he smiled

“  “Stealing” is such an ugly word… I rather prefer “acquiring”. It's much more aesthetically pleasing to the mouth.” he smiled as you frowned “Besides now that i know its yours its value has raised exponentially.” As you open your mouth to retort he interrupts you again.

“ But where are my manners?? The name is Edward, Edward Nigma” He smiles charmingly but you glare.

“I know who you are. You’re the riddler!”

The thug behind you angrily held your arms harshly  “Hey, no one talks to the boss-”

To your complete surprise, Edward hit him with his cane hard on the cheek, making him lose a few bloody teeth. He threateningly yelled

“UNHAND HER!”

From the force of the blow, you and the man fell to the ground, the man was passed out as you clutched your hurting head, as you had hit it with the floor.

“ My deepest apologies!” Said The riddler as he kneel down  by your side, his gloved hand on you back helped you regain sense. “ Sometimes the help can be rather...unhelpful.” He said, his voice soft and...what’s that worry in his voice?? “ Did he hurt you?”

“ I’m- I’m alright” You said with a soft voice, slightly leaning in his warmth chest. He noticed and couldn’t help but blush red. He pulls you closer as you rely on him to get up.

His smile becomes brighter as his cheeks heat up, your warm beautiful body flush against his makes him see stars. He coughs to regain his composure

“ Now, where were we? Oh yes! I was introducing myself.” He smiles, helping you regain your footing. He took that chance to take a short sniff of your perfume and

Fuck.

You smelt divine.

He could become addicted to your scent.

His smile disappeared, however when a shadow loomed over the glass ceiling.

The unmistakable bat shadow, even from the corner of his eyes. He signed in displeasure, he didn't want to let go of your warm hands so sweet and beautiful and…..

His.

“ Damn, It looks like we’ll have to finish this conversation another time, unfortunately  we’re about to be rudely interrupted-” As soon as those words escaped his pretty lips the window exploded in sharp shards of glass as The Batman fell from there, hitting The riddler in the chest with his boots. pushing him to the ground and a few feet away from you.

Edward grunted at the pain that shoot from his shoulder. He glared at the costumed male, as he got up slowly, shaking the shards of glass off.

“ Were you born with the ability to make an entrance at the worst possible time, or it that a skill you honed?” He grunts, green eyes looking at the white lenses of the cowl.

“Give up, Nigma. You know how this ends.” The bat said with an unwavering tone.

“I'm afraid I don't,Batman.” He smirked as his men surrounded him. You ran towards your parents, who immediately hugged you tight. “ And neither do you. “ He grabbed his cane and smirked “ The future is a riddle only time can solve.” He smirked, but his green eyes were looking around for you. “ Get ‘em, boys!” He ordered.

As the thugs attacked the bat, Edward was busy picking up your canvas again, his eyes still looking for any traces of you.

“Damn Bat.” He growled in his mind. “ Way to ruin my thunder.” His mind raged, biting his lip holding back the scream of frustration.

When he noticed you pretty shoes, he smiled. But then the bat got in his way again.

“ Got any other riddles for me to solve?” He said, crunching his knuckles.

“Actually….I do.” The Riddler, sick of the bat stealing his thunder and beating his ass and lowering his chances with you, smirked. A twisted smirl as he pressed a button on his question mark. “When is a question mark a bomb?”

BEEP

The bomb tickled as the bomb began the countdown. Batman shoot a batarang and cut the rope as the Riddler got away, your painting under his arm. He ran by where you were hiding and winked at you.

“ See you soon, my beautiful lady!” He said as you seek comfort on your parents chest.

Scared you looked at the caped crusader hopefully, as he took the bomb and with his grappling hook shot it outside as it exploded.

You breathed out as a small sob from the anguish scaped your lips.

“ We’re okay, (n/n)..we’re okay” Your parents whispered comfortingly as they hugged you close.

Outside, The riddler got in his car as he smiled at the fire on the air, reminiscent of the bomb.

He knew Bats wouldn't fail.

Now...he just needed to get your pretty name.

///*\\\

In The Riddlers green question-able full hideout, he was happily putting your canvas on his wall. His big happy smile couldn’t be tamed as his tousled hair fell on his eyes slightly. His tongue stuck out as he finally put your canvas on his wall.

“Perfect!” He smiles. As he observed the canvas his mind drifted away.

He should feel lucky that he made it out right?

He should be angry that the Bat had stepped in, right?

…

Why couldn’t he stop thinking about the (H/c) haired girl.

Oh But our dear ol’ Eddie wasn’t himself right now.

He was so captivated...so enchanted...mesmerized by you...

OH God, he was going “Stalker!” on you.

He smiled softly as he read on the college gazette an article about you, with a big photo of you with a pretty flower crown and a happy smile. Written under it a full article about the happenings the day before.

“ (y/n) (l/n), a student in the Fine Arts program at gotham university, survived her encounter with the Riddler…”

He smiled, as he got the scissors to cut the photo out and keep it in a safe place, inside a his question mark cane, to always have you with him.

And because you were the answer to his biggest riddle.

“Who owns my beating heart, oh just you miss (y/n) (l/n)...”

///*\\\

The next morning, College life started.

Your classes had gotten crazier and you enjoyed  any small moment you had for yourself.

You were in the cafeteria on your break, The soft hum of other students was drowned by your earbuds. You had just finished getting your food ticket and turned around, softly you bumped into a man, who dropped his books.

“ I'm so so sorry!!” You apologize, kneeling and holding the books up. The lanky tall man with brown hair, slightly greying on the sideburns. He pushed his glasse up as his blue icy eyes look into your (e/c).

His eyes softened slightly when he saw your puffy red eyes.

“Its okay, i wasn’t looking where I went.” He gives you a tight smile.

You looked at him and smiled, your tired eyes looked at him gratefully

“ It’s okay, it’s kinda my fault too.” Smiles. “ Let me make it up. I’ll buy you a coffee!” You smiled sweetly and the older man blushed slightly pink.

“s-sure. A black coffee please” He tried to smile charming but turning out menacing. You shrugged it off and paid for his drink, giving the man your tickets with the orders.

As they started to prepare it, you looked at the man.

“ Psychology, eh? It’s a rather fascinating science, right?” You smiled.

“ Indeed, I find the mind and it’s inner workings very fascinating.” He smiled.

“ You are studying psychology at college?” You smiled and he chuckled. You pouted cutely. “Aw it’s a serious question! I have lots of old classmates!” You pouted and he smiled.

“ I know, my dear. Actually I'm a doctor on the subject, specialized in Fears and phobias.” He smirked as he grabbed both your orders and set it in the table. “ please sit, miss…”

“(y/n), im (y/n).” You smiled as you sat down. “ Thank you mr…” He smiled softly.

“ Jonathan” He smiled, sipping his black coffee. “ It’s very nice to finally meet such an interesting person in this campus.” He smiles.

“ Aw thank you!, I'm very interested in psychology. I want to learn more so i can apply it into my illustration path.” You smile. His eyebrow raise as you peck his attention.

“ Oh? what for, if you don't mind me asking?”  

“ Oh! it's okay! It's because I want to write and illustrate books for children with some psychological trauma or with some psychological problems. That will help them cope and will serve as educational for parents, teachers and young readers. I want to help them, so they know they are not alone.” You smile looking down, he looked at you incredibly impressed through his glasses. He smirked.

His interest was picked.

“ That’s a very nice and interesting dream, miss (y/n). I’ll gladly help you with completing your dream.”  He nodded, your face brightened as you held his hand, making him blush

“R-really?! You’d do that??”

“ Of course. I’d gladly teach you everything i know.” You smile and hug him.

“ thankyouthankyou!!!” you smile as he blushes deeply and hugs back. suddenly you bolt back and apologize, but he smirks, still blushing.

“it’s okay. it's perfectly okay” You smile softly, blushing rosy. Suddenly you look at your phone and bolt up.

“ snap! i'm going to be late!” you finish your drink and gather your bag as you wave at him. “ See you around, mr. Jonathan!” You said as you run out towards class.

“ Oh we’ll see around soon, miss (y/n). We will see eachother very soon…” He smirks, finishing his coffee.

///*\\\

You breathed out as you slipped in the classroom, setting your bag on the desk as you waved at your friends. They were about to come over say hi when the door bursts open.

“Hello, students.” A deep voice said as they walk towards the desk. You looked at him as your mouth falls open. He stands in the front and smirks at you, winking.

“ Hello students, My name is Jonathan Crane, Im your new teacher.”

oh S*it

                                ☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

[creative-horror-network]

The Fog Report - Los Angeles Haunted Hayride 2019

Welcome back, intrepid listeners! The season is drawing to a close but that hasn’t deterred me from hitting a third haunted locale, although in this one the haze you’re walking through is less fog and more kicked-up dust. Probably has something to do with that weird-looking fairground tucked away in the trees there…

Started in 2009, the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride has taken up residence in Griffith Park, in and around the grounds of the Old LA Zoo. Already a fairly eerie place with its trails past abandoned enclosures and cages, the Hayride has consistently utilized the environment to create terrifying tableaus and vignettes, seen and experienced from a tractor-pulled trailer - something done for Halloween in many other parts of the country but a relative oddity in the big city. Though its themes have shifted and changed over the years, this year new owners Thirteenth Floor Entertainment have given the Hayride a unifying story and a setting from which to place their event: a cursed town called Midnight Falls.

Anyone who has read my last two articles about Dark Harbor and Knott’s Scary Farm (or who just knows me in general) should guess why this alone finally pulled me to the event. This was my first ever visit to the Haunted Hayride, so my expectations were not so effected by previous years; it’s all fresh eyes and raw opinion here.

The Event

Before I even get to the venue itself, can I just say how enjoyable just the walk there was? Unless you’re parked in one of the upper lots, you’ve got a little bit of a trek through a nighttime park ahead of you, and I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said this was “tucked away.” in the wilderness. The natural darkness and night noises certainly helped me get into the mood as I trudged up the path and saw the flickering orange glow in the distance.

Once you do get there, you find yourself in the town square of Midnight Falls in the midst of its 13th annual Halloween Festival, 1985. The Hayride itself, as well as three mazes, several concessions and a handful of slight-up charge escape rooms can all be accessed from here, but as a zone in itself the town square is well worth wandering around in. The roaming monsters - townsfolk who have been cursed but seem to be in good spirits - are more interactive and funny than outright scary, engaging visitors with humor and giving Midnight Falls the character of a cheesy 80s horror-comedy. Each character is an archetype of the era and each is a very distinct, from a jock werewolf to a hook-nosed Miss Midnight Falls to a snappy goblin server from the local diner (hi Reggie!), just to name a few of the myriad citizens.

This feels like a genuinely happy medium between the heavy thematic elements of Knott’s and the party atmosphere of Dark Harbor. You’re at an in-universe fair, and they play that up without it detracting from the scarier elements. It certainly evokes the spirit of a local Halloween: I spent a good chunk of my teenage years in the small mountain town of Idyllwild, and they also have (had?) a Halloween carnival, so I can say big props for reminding me of that feeling. Couple that with the amount of atmosphere and the commitment of the actors in their improv with guests and each other, and you have a nicely immersive, if tongue-in-cheek, experience.

It’s also good to know that the event is small, considering what it actually offers. The night I visited I managed to get there right around opening and was able to get through most everything in two hours. That doesn’t mean its not worth visiting, but don’t expect a marathon session like a theme park haunt.

The Hayride

As stated before, the hayride is the namesake and main draw of the event, a chance for Angelenos to board a hay wagon (and sit in real honest-to-goodness hay) and take a ride through the Old Zoo, now the outskirts and foothills of Midnight Falls. This attraction is presented as a sort of weird origin-story, demonstrating how the land fell under the Halloween hex and riders in the midst of it happening.

This is a wholly different kind of trip than one would make on foot through a maze, and is a proper ride in every sense, with each scene being staged in such a way that it only transpires as the hayride passes. The main ingredient is the live actors lurking in the dark that rush at the trailer and menace the riders, usually after a theatrical beat in a scene plays out, I’d never done anything like this before and it was honestly impressive, each scene having its fair share of startling surprises: highlights for me were a ghostly girl leaping from a cliff (possibly reenacting a suicide), a werewolf gang unleashed from some of the old animal cages, a amorous couple in a convertible being mauled by a Sasquatch, a close encounter with a ghost train, and a giant spider emerging from a stone structure.

I wasn’t able to take any picture while on the hayride, mainly out of respect for not ruining the moment and trying to present for it. Trust me when I say that even if the scenes seem a little cheesy, the fact that they’re part of this spooky hayride experience makes it fun. I actually feel like this is a decent entry point for people leery about going to a haunt, as it struck me as being less intense than being in the midst of a maze. Pro tip for first-timers: sit in the middle. The folks on the left and right get all the attention, so the heat’s off if you stick to the center.

The Mazes

As an added bonus, Midnight Falls has three mazes as part of its spooky neighborhood. Each is fairly short but exceptionally well put together for something built in the middle of Griffith Park, and I walked away from each fairly impressed.

The first maze I visited, Midnight Mortuary, takes you through the town’s funeral home, its backyard, morgue and chapel. The monsters here are a mix of the ghoulish staff and some goat-masked figures in white robes; perhaps a cult of some kind? More Victorian Gothic than grisly and gory, creative use of space and good set design are strong in this maze, and the startling finale helps put the random goat-people’s presence into perspective.

My favorite maze was definitely Trick or Treat, simulating a trip through a Midnight Falls neighborhood where every house has a resident surprise. This outdoor maze is unique because anyone visiting can actually ring the doorbells of the houses to see what wacky scare emerges. Since almost all the scares are guest-driven, the reward for courage comes when most of the monsters give you real candy! It’s a cute detail, and it really plays on the horror-camp and the tropes of Halloween: my favorite bit is the Devil-themed “home haunt” at the end that looks like some earnest kid built a strobe-light maze through their yard and garage. Big props for creativity.

Rounding out the three is Roadkill Ranch, ensuring no meat goes to waste in Midnight Falls… because if it’s good enough for your tires, it’s good enough for their fryers. While the effort was there, I’m personally very tired of the bloody Hellbilly theme for mazes as a whole, so this one did not really impress me. It did have some choice scare moments and a good strawbale layout in the back of it, making you weave through while masked ranchers hid in the dark, but I just think the trope has been done to death.

Final Thoughts

Though small in stature, the LA Haunted Hayride is big on personality and dark charm, offering a main attraction that isn’t offered anywhere nearby and a collection of scary sides to go along with it. The overarching setting of Midnight Falls is a huge boon to the event, and I hope it sticks around for the foreseeable future, along with its cast of characters. I’d love to see what they can add to it if it continues to expand.

What gives this an edge for me and makes it stick out, even from its larger competitors, is the festive quality of the Hayride. Halloween is not just the backdrop of the season here for spooky stuff, it’s positively dripping with Halloween flavor. Not many haunts actually make the holiday their front-and-center, and I’m super grateful that this does. It’s hard not to feel spirit (pun intended) of All Hallows Eve here, and I didn’t realize how much I missed that kind of vibe until I was there.

If you’re local and you can make it, the LA Haunted Hayride is worth a visit. Come kill a couple hours here and feel a bit of that Halloween magic, both terror and humor - trick and treats, if you’ll pardon the expression. And hey, if you’re not anywhere near LA, go see if anyone near you is doing a haunted hayride. It might help kindle that jack-o’-lantern flame in your soul too.

Anyway, I’ve got a lot of Midnight Falls dust to brush off my clothes. Until next time, I’ll see you in the fog.

The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride runs most nights in October and every night during the last week until November 2nd, from 7 to 10:30 or 11pm depending on the night. More details and tickets can be found here.

[daydreaming-away-reality]

Rivals

Jumin Han x Reader | ☁️ | 2k

You looked at your schedule for the day, checking over it once more as you fixed your hair. While everything looked normal, a certain meeting in the afternoon jumped out at you.

“Meeting with C&R?” you read out. “Wait, why I am being sent to meet with C&R?”

Slipping on your heels, you headed towards the elevator to start your day. Sending a quick message to the CEO of the Dreams International, your eyes flittered past the glass walls of the elevator to the sunrise on the horizon that tinted the sky a lovely share of pink.

To: Mother

Why am I being sent to handle the external affairs with C&R?

Just as you stepped out into the lobby of your apartment, your phone chimed to alert you of your mother’s response.

From: Mother

Your father and I are both tending to other meetings. Its just a charity meeting, you’ll be fine spending an hour with Jumin Han. Jang Mi will let you know about the details. 

You sighed, a meeting with Jumin Han. Of course your mother would force you to play nice with other companies, especially when it came to Jumin. Your companies often rivaled in different businesses. While the two of you barely knew each other, it was clear that the two of you always tried to one up each other.

While you didn’t hate the guy, you just felt a strong sense of rivalry between him.

You’d have to ignore those feelings when you were meeting with him though.

Just after you greeted the security guard and was about to call your assistant, Jang Mi, your phone chimed once more.

From: Mother

Love you, sweetie. Work hard today! xx

You smiled, typing back a response before stepping into your car, acknowledging your driver with a nod.

To: Mother

Love you too, mom!

“Good morning, (Y/N),” Jang Mi greeted sitting at her desk outside your office. “I dropped off your breakfast on your desk.”

“Thank you, Jang Mi,” you exclaimed. “I’m so lucky you’re a morning person.”

She laughed, eyes sparkling as she watched you. “Sure I shouldn’t just give you a wake up call in the mornings? You could try to be here before me.”

You smiled. “Nah, I’d hate to make your job harder.”

“I’d have to trade jobs with you for my job to be harder, young heiress (Y/N),” Jang Mi teased. You playfully stuck your tongue out at her. “Go eat before your food gets cold. Busy day ahead of us.”

“Will do! Remember to eat too! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

You headed into the office once Jang Mi nodded. A fond smile rested on your face as you glanced back at Jang Mi before closing your door. Jang Mi was actually one of your university friends, one who was component enough to help you on your path of success. You two have been close ever since.

Back when you were in high school, your mother, the CEO, secretly hired you to work in the lower offices to understanding the workings of the company she founded. While your future had been set in stone, you still believed that hard work was required to achieve anything. Slowly working your way up through the years, you had met most of the employees and befriended them along the way.

Once you had graduated from university, your father, who was President, revealed your identity by giving you the position of executive director within the company. You were often featured in magazines as one of the friendliest, dedicated and youngest heiress in the country. 

But to maintain that image, you had to work just as hard as everyone else.

Siting down, you opened up your breakfast. With the sky still barely lit, you took a bite of your food and opened up some documents. Plenty to do, never enough time.

A knock on your door made you freeze for a second as you were signing some documents.

“Yes?” you called out, closing the file and setting it aside.

Expecting Jang Mi, you were surprised to find the President offering you a smile as he walked up to your desk.

“How are things going?” he asked, setting a prepared lunch box on your desk. “Not too busy to skip lunch, I hope?”

You smiled, accepting the food. “Busy. I was going to break for lunch in a few. Thanks, dad.”

He fondly watched you open up the box, digging in.

“You have the meeting with C&R soon,” he commented.

You nodded, swallowing. “Yeah. Jang Mi gave me the outlined proposal earlier - I didn’t know you guys wanted to use my plan.”

“You put so much effort into it, it’d be a waste not to your ideas.” He looked out the large window along the side of your office. “You’re the best person for this project. I hope you’ll do your best for us.”

Watching your father, you knew how much your parents trusted you with important tasks. You couldn’t disappoint.

“Of course, I’ll make sure its a success,” you exclaimed.

“You’re the best, sweetie,” you father said, patting your shoulder before heading for the door. “Make sure to finish all your food.”

“I will, thanks again!” you called out.

It wouldn’t be long now.

You stood outside the meeting room, taking a deep breath. Inside waiting was the representative from C&R, Jumin Han. He had arrived early and was now waiting for the meeting which was going to start in three minutes.

Jang Mi was gathering the extra copies of your proposal and there was still time.

You’d have to face the man sooner or later, might as well head in. Steeling your nerves, you pushed open the door and stepped in.

Turns out your time was terrible, because you immediately bumped into someone. Hearing a clatter, you spotted a phone on the ground and frowned.

Leaning down, you picked it up. “I’m so sorry about that...”

Your (E/C) eyes spotted a beautiful looking white cat with blue eyes staring at you through the screen of the phone.

Blinking, you admired the feline for a moment.

“Is that your cat?” you asked, yet to notice who you had run into. “She’s really beautiful.”

There was a pause. “Yes, she is. Thank you.”

Holding it out to the man, you immediately recognized who it was. Having noticed his face from the most successful and handsome men article in the business magazine you flipped through, you knew it couldn’t be anyone else.

Deciding to keep up the light atmosphere until Jang Mi showed up, you smiled.

“What’s her name?”

“Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin replied, looking down at his phone screen for a moment. “Not many people appreciate the beauty of Elizabeth. You’re different.”

You awkwardly smiled. “Really? Well, its not hard to see that you take good care of her. Elizabeth‘s fur shines really nicely and she looks very refined.” 

Jumin was about to make follow up comment when he noticed Jaehee and your assistant walk in. Sensing it was time to start the meeting, he took his respective seat.

Thanking Jang Mi and helping her out with setting out the documents, you did a mental review of how you were presenting the information. 

Jang Mi mouthed words of encouragement to you as Jaehee talked to Jumin about something.

You got this, (Y/N), you thought. Let’s do this.

“This project looks promising,” Jumin commented once you finished. “It will give our companies the right image and help fund for those in need.”

“So you’ll agree to working on this project with us?” you asked for confirmation.

Jumin nodded. 

Relieved and happy, you nodded in return with a bright smile. You managed to succeed. 

“Would it be possible for us to get a copy of the different fundraising campaigns you have planned out?” Jaehee asked.

Jang Mi nodded. “Of course! Come with me, I’ll get you a copy now.”

As the assistance left the room, you let out your breath and sat down across from Jumin.

“I hope you are doing well,” you spoke up. “You look like the type to carry the burdens of the world on your shoulders.” 

Jumin’s brow furrowed. Hearing someone looking out for him was foreign. “Oh?”

“You should always look out for yourself before the company. I just think you look a little tense,” you elaborated. “My parents are constantly reminding me, its easy to be carried away with work and forget about everyone else.”

“I see.” Jumin commented. “Your executive director and the daughter of the CEO, am I wrong?” You shook your head. “Then isn’t your position and future secured? You can always find reliable workers to complete the job.”

You shook your head. “I believe in hard work, just because I was born more fortunate than others, doesn’t mean I should work less. I need to prove myself to everyone that I’m competent for my position.”

Jumin blinked, surprised by your words. 

“That’s my personal philosophy though, I hope I didn’t offend you,” you quickly added. 

“Not at all.”

An alert came from Jumin’s phone, startling you both. The dark haired male checked his phone before tucking it away.

“My driver will be a little late,” he said. “Traffic is bad.”

"Would you like to borrow my driver?” you offered. “I’m probably going to be doing overtime again tonight, so you’re welcome to use my ride. Elizabeth is probably waiting for you at home.”

Your kindness filled Jumin with mixed feelings. He was use to seeing women approach his father with intentions of using him... yet here you were, a rival no less, offering him kindness.

The soft light from the window seemed to give you a slight glow. Why did it feel like you could see right through him? It was frightening to Jumin to think there would be someone who could have the ability to shatter him, piece him back to together and still love him for his fragmented self. Would you be what young people called ‘the one’ for him?

He would have to think more about this.

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” he quietly agreed.

“Alright,” you chirped. Pulling out your phone, you dialed your driver’s number and arranged everything. “I’ll let Ms. Kang know she has a ride in a bit too. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything else.”

“I hope I’m not troubling you,” Jumin said.

You looked into his gray eyes and smiled. “Not at all! We’re business partners now, I should be looking out for you.” 

A alert came from your phone this time. Glancing down, a soft sigh slipped from your lips. 

“I should be heading back,” you explained. Getting up, you offered a hand to Jumin. “It was a pleasure meeting you today.”

“Pleasure was all mine,” he replied, shaking your hand.

“I wish I had the opportunity to meet you sooner, company rivalry aside, you seem like a wonderful person. I would enjoy getting to know you more, Mr. Han.  Please take care of yourself and Elizabeth!”

You tossed him a wink before heading to the door.

The encounter with Jumin had been interesting - definitely not what you had initially anticipated. Any rivalry that seemed to exist between the two of you had disappeared the moment you realized his adoration towards his cat. He was someone like you, trying to do their best in their life.

Taking a seat in your office once more, you woke up your laptop. Before you could get started, your phone buzzed.

From: Unknown Contact

Hello (Y/N),

This is Jumin Han. Thank you for the kind reception today. I’d like to get to know you more as well - perhaps we could meet up for coffee some time?

Take care.

Saving the contact, you smiled at his message. A chance to meet Jumin again? That was definitely promising.

To: Jumin Han

That sounds lovely! Let’s see when we’re both available, I’d love to get to know you more! :)

[thenickelportrust]

Model Citizens: Unmasked x Son of Satan: The Mortal Coil--A Tale of Two Lucy's

Discord is a dangerous place. Because of that, we have Lucifer/Lucy from @sosthemortalcoil popping in to visit MCU’s very own Lucy. Thank you for letting me play in your sandbox, Rena~

A meeting of the minds, and some chaos to follow.

He isn’t sure exactly what parallel universe he stumbled into, except he noticed within seconds that it wasn’t his Earth.

Humans on his earth did not go around flying. At first he had thought it was an angel, which would have still been in violation of at least a dozen of Heaven’s rules—likely more, since he’s sure they’ve added some since he’s been gone.

But when he had caught up to them, they had just waved before landing on the roof of a building and going in. No aura, no trace of Grace, nothing.

100% human.

Or, well, whatever you call a human with abilities like that.

Apparently, Lucifer had entered an earth where humans could genetically inherit abilities. Some were minor, others major.

Oh, and a good deal of them ran around calling themselves heroes or villains. Nickelport—the name of the city he had landed in—was a very interesting place.

Especially when some fool in a red suit tries to save him from the middle of a firefight. Well, he supposes seeing the mess of raw flesh and broken bone would be the mark of a human in grave peril.

But really, it was a minor flesh wound. A reminder that he wasn’t safe here. When he had blocked the rubble falling from a damaged building, the ‘hero’ had looked relieved, assuming he must have powers too.

“You can get to Mambo’s clinic, right?”

Lucifer has no idea who Mambo is, and he certainly doesn’t need a clinic. But he plasters on a charming smile. “Do not concern yourself with me, hero,” he purrs. “You have already got your hands full.”

He can’t resist tacking on a little flirt of his own. “But if you find me later, I would be more than happy to thank you for your rescue. Give you something else to sink your teeth into.”

With that remark, he turns smartly on his heel, striding away from the chaos, content with the flustered response he had elicited from the young man. It is tempting to dive right in to the chaos, but he needs to figure out the players first. Not that he plans on sticking around long, but he is itching to test his skills against these powered humans.

The scent of blood and a curse has him stopping, turning to where a woman sags against a wall. “You are missing out on all the action,” he murmurs, pinching together the edges of his wound to help speed the healing.

The woman glances up. “I am the action,” she says flippantly. Lucifer arches an eyebrow. She gives him the finger, with the arm that isn’t bleeding sluggishly.

“You, I like,” he says. And given her outfit, she’s probably telling the truth. There’s an opportunity here, and he’s not going to miss it.

Lucifer fumbles around, groaning when he realizes there’s a new hole in the breast pocket of his suit. “Anyways, I am new to town, but I’ve been looking to get in on the action. If you are the action, as you say, it seems like getting to know you would be to my benefit.”

Finally he gets annoyed and snaps his fingers, using a small amount of power to manifest a card. The name Lucifer is embossed on the front, nothing on the back. “I am afraid I do not have my own establishment here, but I would be grateful if you could meet at Blue Jay’s Nest. At your convenience, of course, and at my expense.”

He hesitates, inclining his head and studying her. She glares back.

“May I?” he asks, gesturing to her arm.

“I don’t know you, and I don’t trust you,” she snaps.

“You know my name,” he counters. “And I give you my word I mean you no harm. I merely thought I might assist with your wound.”

“I need it.”

Lucifer blinks.

“I do not—”

“You wouldn’t, because you don’t know me.”

She shoves past him, a grim expression on her face as she starts stalking back towards the fight.

Hmm. Interesting.

Several hours later, Lucifer has made a sizeable dent in the quantity of top-shelf alcohol the tavern keeps on hand. He’s learned a few things about the woman he’s met, two of importance.

One: she goes by the name Valkyrie. A fitting epithet, given what he had found when he pulled up videos of her fighting.

Two: the longer she fights, the harder she hits.

He waves a hand at one of the bartenders, needing another refill as he flips through more news articles on Valkyrie. She is fascinating, and he cannot help but be drawn to her. Hopefully she entertains his request. He would rather not have to drop in on her. He doubts she would appreciate that, and he wants to start their relationship off well.

Lucifer clocks the elevator doors opening from his corner perch, watching as a fierce looking, black haired woman walks in. Brushing off the front of his jacket—newly replaced—he rises to his feet, inclining his head.

“I am pleased you could meet with me,” Lucifer states. The woman narrows her eyes, sitting down as if she were going to spring up at any moment.

Lucifer takes his seat as the bartender brings over a pair of glasses. “I took the liberty of ordering some of the house specialties. Forgive me if they are not to your tastes, and please, order what you like.”

Lucy shakes her head. “I don’t drink with people I don’t know.”

Lucifer smiles. “A wise decision,” he states, taking one of the glasses and sipping from the lurid blue concoction. It was the bar’s namesake drink, the Blue Jay, and he found himself rather fond of it.

Lucy takes his card out and slaps it on the table. “I tried to throw this thing away seven times,” she snarls. “I set it on fire. I shredded it. And it kept. Coming. Back.”

Lucifer takes the little plastic sword and pulls the cherry off with his teeth, rolling it around in his mouth before chewing and swallowing.

“Well yes. I wanted to ensure you would find your way to me.”

“Take it back.”

Lucifer leans forward, pulling the shadows around their booth and casting a spell for silence. “That is rather rude, is it not, Lucy?”

She stiffens, her hand clenching on the table. “How the hell—”

“Ah, my dear, you said it. Hell.”

Lucifer leans back, completely at ease in the face of her rising anger. “As we skipped over formal introductions earlier, let me introduce myself. My name is Lucifer. Not, Lucy,” he emphasizes. “But Lucifer. As in the Devil. The Morningstar. Former archangel, rebel son.”

Lucy slams her fist on the table. “I don’t care how or why you picked your villain name or whatever. Take your card back and leave me alone.”

Lucifer sighs. He supposes it’s not unexpected. “My dear, I got your name from your soul. Your soul belongs to one Lucille Pinchette. Lucy, for short. Also known as Valkyrie.” He drains the drink, and leans forward.

“And I am no human.”

With a snap, he pulls his wings into a visible plane, though not this one as he phases them through the edge of the booth.

Lucy swears and rockets to her feet. “What the fuck are you?” This couldn’t just be talked away with superpowers. This guy was something else. According to him, the Devil, but she wasn’t quite ready to buy that.

“I told you. Former archangel, current Fallen and King of Hell. On holiday, so please, don’t be concerned about your soul.” He scoots the second drink towards him. “If you are convinced, might I entreat you to take your seat again? I would prefer to drop the illusion sooner than later, as I believe your drink is on the way.”

Reluctantly, feeling like she might have bitten off more than she could chew—a sensation she never admitted to feeling—Lucy sits back in the booth. The wings vanish, and the man gives her a charming smile.

The bartender delivers her drink, and she takes a large gulp, not too surprised he had managed to nail her favorite even if she hadn’t ordered one. Tequila, straight-up, in a generous pour. If he was the Devil like he said—

Nope. Not going to think about all the ramifications.

She had come up here, ready to read him the riot act and maybe make a threat or two to this crazy, silver spoon-fed arrogant bastard who was walking around like he owned the city. It had been clear he had money and liked to spend it, every piece of his suit custom and fit like a glove. Add on to it a certain charisma and a handsome face, and she was sure he was used to getting his way.

Things weren’t going to plan, and she somehow doubted that she could simply fight her way out of this one.

She takes another swallow of her drink, stalling to try and wrap her mind around this information. Okay. Lucifer was the Devil. A Fallen angel. And he had approached her first.

“What do you want with me, if you aren’t here to collect my soul, Lucy.” It feels weird, calling him her name, but he had made a point of not wanting to be called it. He shouldn’t have done that, not in her current mood.

His nose scrunches up in disgust. “Please, it is Lucifer. I think Lucy suits you far better than me.” He takes a breath, his face returning to a pleasant neutral state. “Collecting souls is not what I do. I punish the wicked.”

Lucy swallows. The Blue Jay’s Nest is high off the ground, but maybe she can still make a run for it. Get onto solid ground, inside someplace. She doesn’t want to find out what he can do with those large wings of his, but if she can find a small space they won’t be able to help him.

“Oh, you are not wicked, dear girl!” Lucifer chuckles, genuine mirth dancing in his eyes. “Not in the way I mean. Your heart isn’t nearly dark enough. It is not pure, but it is not… wicked.”

Lucy feels her hand start to shake and grips the glass harder. “What. Do. You. Want.”

“You.”

She loses it. “What does that mean? You claim to be the Devil, but you don’t want my soul. And if you think I’m going to sleep with you, you have a world of hurt—”

Lucifer stops her by raising a single, elegant finger. “You misunderstand me.”

Lucy seethes, her mood only marginally improved by a refill of her tequila appearing. This time she swirls the plastic sword around the glass, ignoring the lime wedge and waiting for him to continue.

“First and foremost. While I would not be opposed to spending a night with such a striking woman, I have no need nor desire to go where I am not welcome.” He smiles at her, his eyes warm and oddly gentle.

“But that is not why I asked you to meet me. Though, if you wish to modify our arrangement at a later time, I am always open to negotiations. It is not every day I meet a perfect incarnation of a Valkyrie.”

He takes a sip of his refill, humming thoughtfully. “No. As I said, I am here on holiday, you might say. And holidays are all about relaxation and enjoyment, are they not? What better way to enjoy myself than to test my skills against these heroes you battle.”

“This isn’t fun and games,” Lucy snaps. She might enjoy a good scrap, but she doesn’t need this guy flitting into her town and just ‘trying out his skills.’ This is her life. Sure, he can leave whenever he wants, but she lives here.  

“Lucy, I want to help you. I admire your strength, your passion.” He rises, looking briefly forlorn.

“I understand that you have lost someone you once held dear, but—”

Lucy jumps up again, fist ending a few inches away from his straight nose. “Keep reading my mind or whatever and we’ll see how your skills match up against mine.”

Lucifer has the gall to laugh.

“Oh, Valkyrie does suit you well.”

He raises a hand, seizing her fist and lifting it so he can brush a kiss across the back of her palm. “If nothing else, it has been my absolute delight to meet you. I would be further honored if you would permit me to fight at your side for some time, but it is the lady’s choice.”

Lucifer drops her hand and bows, his silver hair falling around his face. Lucy glances around, hoping that his antics aren’t drawing any undue attention. No one, apart from the one barkeeper, even seems to be aware of their presence.

“I’ll think about it,” she says hastily. He straightens up, eyes glinting with delight.

“I procured a phone. You’ll find my number on the back of the card,” he says.

Then he winks, and vanishes.

Lucy curses.

This time she does draw stares. Vulgar language in an upscale establishment like this one tends to do that, especially when one doesn’t have the Devil using some of his magic to cover it up.

Fumbling for her wallet, she approaches the bar. She can’t believe he just vanished and left her with the bill. So much for Mister-at-my-expense. “Look, how much—”

“The tab is taken care of, Miss,” the barkeeper says, shaking their head. Lucy frowns, but she’s relieved.

The Blue Jay’s Nest is a pricey place on the best of days. She really didn’t want to have to cover a tab she never meant to open in the first place.

As she hits the elevator button for the ground floor, she feels something in her pocket. Groaning, she digs out the business card. “You are a troublesome thing,” she tells it. Just for kicks, she shreds it.

By the time the elevator passes the fifteenth floor, she feels it back in her pocket.

Despite herself, she feels a grin worming its way onto her face.

Okay, he might be unorthodox in his approach, but on the other hand, this might be fun.

By the time the doors open onto the ground floor, she’s wondering how long she should wait until she calls him. Definitely don’t want to seem too eager, but the idea is growing on her.

At the very least, it won’t hurt to see what he can do, right?

The next morning’s newspaper headline reads “Valkyrie Teams up with Devil.”  He had protested vehemently about the cheesy little mask with horns she had found, but when she made it a condition of their partnership, he had reluctantly agreed.

Lucy pays for the newspaper, analyzing the photo of the pair of them. She’s a blur of motion, while Lucifer looks almost bored, apart from the way his lips lift at the corner of his mouth. But they do have a certain chemistry, at least in the static image.  

He was still wearing bespoke, but that had been one argument she knew she wouldn’t win. Besides, she thought that he would learn when it was in tatters by the end of the night. Much to her disgruntlement, he hadn’t even gotten dirt on it.

“Perks of being an angel,” he had said when she was wiping blood off her outfit. Credit due where credit was due, he had fixed her up afterwards. He had been insulted when she had stated she needed to go to Mambo’s clinic.

“You have me,” he had said, gesturing to all of him, including his huge wings. At first she had thought he was exaggerating, boasting because Lucifer was arrogant.

Turns out he was an excellent fighter, had a wicked sense of humor, and so far had proven a capable healer. Not all talk, then. Though he does have a pleasant voice to listen to, and an infectious laugh. Plus, there was something amusing about watching people go after what they presumed was the softer target only to be sent flying.

She isn’t sure how long he plans to be here on holiday, but she is starting to draft up some plans. It might not last long, but the two of them are going to make their mark, and have a blast while doing it. Literally, in some cases.

Submitted by the amazingly talented @dae-kalina

[yoonia]

Nocturne | 01

Character: Jungkook x OC (feat. BTS)

Type/Genre/words: Angst, Alternate Universe (Hitman!au, Assassin!au), Smut/Mature Scenes | 8,862 words

Prompts: “What would you find when you keep chasing over the ghosts of your past?”

Summary: It took only one night, one event, for the fate of two children to change. And it took another night, and another event, for Jungkook to finally met her.

Warning: mentions of violence, mentions of usage of guns and weapons, smoking and alcohol mentions, language, includes a little bit of girl x girl scene, graphic smut, mentions of cum play

Chapters: Prologue | 01 |

| Music Playlist | Characters |

a/n: Once you’ve read this chapter some of you might understand why I waited a whole damn year to publish this series after posting its preview - yes - one year ago, and then waited another month to finish doing its research. There is an event added to the plot that is written based on a real life event, but every character and the story that happens are full fiction and not written bluntly from it. I haven’t decided if I should share which event that is here in the post because of many reasons. Perhaps I will tell you about it one day― unless you can guess what it is^^ Enjoy :)

Jungkook can still feel his hand shaking as he reaches his apartment. He watches his fingers trembling in front of him as he is about to turn the keys. The sound of his rapid heartbeat fills his head, numbing his senses until the sound of the lock being turned seems so far away. Closing his eyes as he takes a deep breath, Jungkook tries his best to focus on calming his body to lax. The job he was sent to do tonight was not his first, but this is the first time anything he came encountered with have ever affected him so much. For some reason, he still can't shake off the feeling that still lingers in his body, the cold chill he felt when the masked figure returned his gaze with their eyes piercing through his lens.

It was impossible to be done, he knows that for sure. And he was supposed to be invisible. The question lingers in his head as he made his way home, wondering how they were able to see him through the dark and within that distance—if that person really did see him at all. It is that one initial thought that has been bothering him, and the other question that has him wondering how he is now able to stand in front of his apartment’s door—

Why did they let me go?

It takes him a few long seconds until the troubling thoughts disappear from his mind, until then he opens his eyes only when everything around him becomes numb. As the pounding in his chest slowly starts easing up, he turns the knob and pushes the door open, only to halt his steps at the entrance. He looks around with knitted eyebrows, completely disoriented when he is welcomed with brightness instead of coming home to find his apartment dark and empty as the way he had expected it to be.

For a minute he instantly becomes alerted, his hand already reaching out to the side of his backpack, ready to retrieve his defence. Flashes of what he had just witnessed earlier that night come back in his head and flashes of any possible scenarios allow the frightening chill to come running down his spine once again. Until he breathes in scents of food wafting in the air, which soon becomes his answer.

He releases a sigh, letting the tension in his body slowly fading, albeit his mind is still in a complete alert. Slowly entering the apartment, he starts calling out—

"Jimin, are you home?"

"Yeah," an answer comes from the kitchen, allowing Jungkook to finally loosen up and breathe out a sigh of relief. As he puts his hands down, Jungkook soon walks over to the source of his voice and finds his roommate there, grinning wide to welcome him home while stirring the boiling food in front of him. "Hey, you're home late. Got another overtime?"

Jungkook relaxes completely the moment his eyes land on his roommate, his heartbeat steadies as he savours the warmth coming from both the kitchen and the presence of another person around him, as he finally feels the sense of safety. "Uh— Yeah, I did. What—” he looks over to the contents of the pan, "What are you doing home? Why aren't you working?"

Jimin gives the younger man a smile as he answers, "I did go to work, but the pub's owner told everyone to close up early so he could use the place tonight,” he grins at Jungkook with a shrug. “The business owners are having a private meeting there with exclusive guests. They only needed one bartender to tend the guests, so I was sent home because apparently, the senior bartenders are more trustworthy of keeping secrets,” he chuckles and mutters, “Whatever they meant by it."

He turns back to focus on his cooking as the noise of the food boiling calls for his attention, "I got home to an empty apartment, so I figured I'd better cook this time while I'm free. You skipped dinner, didn't you?"

Jungkook gives out a faint smile, "I ate some hot dogs earlier—”

The older man shakes his head, "No, no, nu-uh— Good thing I'm making beef stew. Now go wash up first, the food will be ready when you're done."

"Okay," Jungkook pushes himself off the counter where he's been leaning on and starts walking away. He stops midway to speak, "You don't have to cook for me, you know. This is your first night when you are finally free from work, you could've just used it to rest, or have fun—or go on a date or something."

His roommate gave him a sarcastic laugh without looking over, "Someone needs to take care of you, kid. Now, go!"

Jungkook takes his time to wash up, deciding that keeping his head under running hot water for a few minutes longer might help calm him and refresh his mind a bit more. Jimin is already waiting for him at the dining table once Jungkook is done, the food is already set on the dining table in front of him, his eyes locked on the cell phone which he has in his hands while he waits for Jungkook to return.

Jimin still has his eyes on the device when Jungkook takes a seat across the table, only looking up at the younger man to watch him shaking his head as a way to push his wet hair away from his face. "That's much better. And now we eat," Jimin says with a smile while putting his phone aside.

The dinner starts in silence, the only noises filling the air comes from them clashing tablewares against plates as they both enjoy their meal, and the only words being exchanged between them at first are merely comments on the food. As silence occupies the rest of the dinner, Jimin raises his head, turning to take a sight of his roommate for the umpteenth time while the other seems to be lost in his own world; his eyes looking at his food as he eats absentmindedly.

"Is everything okay?" Jimin finally asks him, breaking the silence when the frown on the younger man's face becomes more apparent with each passing time. "It's been a long night for you, isn't it? Trouble at work?"

No direct reaction comes from Jungkook until a few seconds later when he blinks his eyes, only answering with a soft nod. "Yeah, just— so many things to work on," he stops to clear his throat and begins to share about his work―the one he does at the office, nothing from the one he did aside of his working hours. “—and since no one else was around the moment the confirmation of the news came in, I had to stay longer to edit the article and pick out pictures before we could publish the news online and prepare for the morning prints.”

Jimin nods his head while savouring the rest of the food on his plate. “Your company should be hiring more people. You joined them as a field journalist, not an editor,” he comments with a straight face, while Jungkook only gives him a small smile. “Yeah, well—not that many people are interested in working for printed media anymore,” he answers with a sigh, feeling a bit thankful for the light conversations he always has with his roommate, something he cherishes as one of the things in life that keeps him grounded despite his double life.

This has been their daily routine between their hectic lives. Jungkook works as a journalist on daytime, while Jimin works at night at the pub. They barely meet each other unless they cross path in between their working hours. So sitting on dinner table like tonight is such a rare event for the roommates, yet this is always the one-moment Jungkook always expects to have once in a while.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Someone left a package for you earlier," Jimin rises from his seat, grabbing a thick brown envelope over the kitchen counter and slides it over the table as he comes back to his seat. "The detective you've been meeting a lot lately, what's his name? He came right when I was about to head out to the pub, and asked me to give this to you."

"Namjoon?" Jungkook stares at Jimin before glancing at the package and reaching forward. "What is it—”

"Nu-uh," Jimin places his palm over the envelope to stop his friend from taking it. "Finish your food first. You told me to rest earlier, there's no way I'm letting you go straight to work."

Jungkook scoffs, "Alright, Dad," chuckling to himself before finishing his food.

"Are you still helping that detective?" Jimin keeps his eyes on his mate, clasping his hands over the table as he asks curiously. "What is it that you do for him, exactly?"

Jungkook rushes to clean his plate, hitting his chest a couple of times when he almost chokes on his food. He takes a few big gulps of water and sighs before answering, "We've only been exchanging some random information, nothing much," he says, clearing his throat while grabbing the envelope. He leaves his seat, placing the plate on the sink before walking away. "Okay, I should go and head to work in my room."

"Jungkook—” Jimin calls him out, stopping him when he's just about to reach his bedroom.

"Yeah?"

The older housemate is now staring at Jungkook with a dark and curious gaze in his eyes. His face never changing his expression when he speaks, "Don't get yourself hurt."

Jungkook gives him a pursed smile. "I won't, I promise."

They exchange the same knowing look in their eyes, the look they both recognise from one another after knowing each other since they were much younger. The same look they gave each other when young Jungkook came rushing for his help 15 years ago. And it is only when Jimin gives him a soft nod when Jungkook turns and continues to walk over to his room, mumbling under his breath,

"I'm going to make sure you won’t get hurt either."

Jungkook is sitting at his desk a few hours after midnight, his computer screen and the desk lamp being the only lights illuminating his dark room. The contents of the brown envelope are now left in a messy pile on his desk, some had been marked by highlights and scribbles made in red ink. But his eyes are locked on the screen, staring at the window of the messenger as messages keep coming in before his own fingers start typing on the keyboards.

BlackCrow: target was supposed to be secured

BlackCrow: there was no directive to have him killed

Waterhouse: so it wasn't any one of you guys?

BlackCrow: we don't kill

BlackCrow: we search for information

BlackCrow: how much info have you managed to get?

Waterhouse: the only ones my lenses could catch

Waterhouse: had no chance of getting closer

Waterhouse: only saw faces

Waterhouse: there was nothing left behind after cleanup

BlackCrow: we'll identify them

BlackCrow: any familiars

BlackCrow: ?

Waterhouse: _

Waterhouse: negative

BlackCrow: _

BlackCrow: we have detected more puzzles

Waterhouse: how wide is the spread

BlackCrow: not the usual

Waterhouse: _

Waterhouse: have you solved it?

BlackCrow: too easy to be theirs

BlackCrow: _

Waterhouse: send me in

BlackCrow: _

BlackCrow: too risky

Waterhouse: I can get more information

Waterhouse: no one knows who I am except for you

BlackCrow: _

BlackCrow: we’ll consider

BlackCrow: send all files to us

BlackCrow: by tonight

BlackCrow: we'll have you posted for further directives

Waterhouse: _

Waterhouse: understood

Jungkook waits to make sure that there are no more messages coming in before he closes the chat. He reaches down into his backpack to retrieve his camera, slipping its memory card into his USB device to transfer every file, every picture he had taken previously into his computer.

As each of the images appears on the screen, he recalls the event inside his head. It is as if he is taken back to that old abandoned building again, focusing through his lens and holding his forefinger from twitching as he pressed the shutter button. He can faintly hear the arguments, the yelling, and the gunshots inside his head once again, and he notices how his fingers are trembling as they hover on the keyboard.

Taking a deep breath, he starts to collect himself and focus on sorting out each picture into different folders, making sure that he would be sending the ones informative enough to the people who had sent him to the previous location. He stops the minute the last picture appears on his screen, the ones he had taken of the masked intruder—of which he still couldn't figure out on whether they were there as an assassin or a special guard—that had caught his sight.

He feels his heart beating rapidly as he recalls the moment in his mind, back to the time they stopped in their tracks and turned, until their eyes are set straight into his lens. He was so sure that he was done for. His heart skips a beat when he remembers the fear that he felt at that moment, how he couldn't let go of his camera even as his mind tried to plan out different scenarios—from how to retrieve the firearm he had prepared inside his bag as a way to protect himself, despite how much he knew the distance would hinder his shots to reach the target, to making an escape plan—neither of which he ever had a chance to finally do.

He remembers now how he had frozen on his spot instead. But he does not remember that he had managed to keep pressing the shutter button when it happened. He keeps clicking his mouse to see more and more pictures of the figure being displayed on his screen, stopping at the last picture which for some reason seems a bit different than others.

Moving his mouse to zoom in, he is finally able to see them more clearly. He is now able to identify the intruder as a female now that he is able to look into them more thoroughly, to scan his eyes on her covered figure. Zooming in on the picture, that is not the only thing that he can finally see. His eyes are focused on her face as he keeps skipping through the next picture in line, stopping at the last one he had taken before he slipped away from that hidden edge of the building.

He is now seeing how the glint in her eyes looks much different compared to her gaze in the other pictures, and as he focuses on how the light falls over her mask, the shadows are allowing him to see faint lines of her lips. He finally notices now that she was smiling under that mask.

At him.

Jungkook takes a long deep breath to bring himself back from his trance. Instantly continuing on sorting out the pictures, separating the photos he had taken of her into a different folder.

He stares straight at the screen before he types different names onto each folder, a way for him to remember each of their contents before sending them out. He waits for a little while before renaming the last folder, the one where he keeps her pictures in, as he types in the question he has in his mind at the person behind the mask—

Who are you?

The bed creaks in a steady rhythm. Two bodies—both naked and sweaty beneath the linen covers—rock under the dim light steadily with intensity, accompanied by deep grunts and soft moans. The humid air is filled with dust, remnants of alcohol and the scent of sex. The ardent lovemaking emits heat so intense until they are bathed in beads of sweat, the fire evident in their eyes as they chase for their ends.

“Oh, Jiheon— You should look at yourself,” the man huffs while tightening his hold on her skin. “You look so pretty like this.”

The man keeps his eyes on the woman beneath him to admire her sight. Her red hair is spread over the pillows like fire, and her red lips are parted, allowing her mewls to come out between her ragged breaths.

"Ah—” Jiheon releases a mewl as the man who is ramming his cock inside her core increases his pace, her fingers are now buried between the tangled sheets, holding on while keeping them away from the sweaty chest hovering above her. Her thighs are both lifted in the air, being held by a pair of strong arms as they are folded around his waist, allowing him to have more access to reach deep inside and to move his hips more fluidly.

"You like that, babe? Huh?" the man grunts between each word, and he keeps driving his cock into her, getting much harder each time he hears any sounds slipping from her lips. "Fuck, you're getting tighter."

"Oh— that's it, big guy," Jiheon cries out, "Oh! Yes! Fuck me! Hard!" Jiheon spits out the words each time he draws his cock inside her walls, hitting hard right at her sweet spot until her head starts spinning with the intense bliss. He keeps ramming, relentlessly, until he joins her, shocks of his own pleasure coursing through his body as he explodes inside her.

"Fuck—”

He goes still for a moment, giving in to the remaining spasms of his release until he lets out a deep grunt and pulls out of her, allowing his thick cream to flow out through her nether lips. His eyes are fluttering to close as he savours the feeling that is surging through his senses, only opening them wide as he catches the sight of Jiheon reaching down between her legs, capturing the drops of cum with her delicate fingers before lifting them to her lips. He watches with a dark gaze as she licks her fingers slowly, teasingly, while keeping her eyes locked on his, driving him completely mad at the scene that his still throbbing shaft twitches between his legs.

Jiheon tightens the linen covers around her bare body after settling on top of the bed with her back resting on the headboard. She looks over towards the open bathroom door to see white faint steam flowing through the gap, as she reaches to the bedside to pick up a pack of cigarette and a lighter.

She is in the midst of lighting up a cigarette when the man walks out of the bathroom while rubbing the hotel towel to dry out his soaked hair. He only has his pants on, his bare chest still a bit damp as he stops at the doorway and looks up at her.

"Judging from the looks of it, you're not going home tonight, are you?" Jiheon speaks to him before taking a long draw of her smoke. The man smirks as he stares at her, watching her exhale the smoke before she asks him, "Still chasing that ghost of yours?"

"Well, it's kind of what I'm paid to do," the man chuckles. He throws the towel away after he finishes drying up, and walks over to the bed to retrieve the rest of his clothes.

She looks up at him, watching him put his clothes on with a sarcastic chuckle, "Your official boss? Or the other?"

The man scoffs, "Both, actually—” he sits on the bed, half facing her as he speaks while putting on his tie in a sloppy knot, “—except each payroll have their own different agendas. All I could do is adjust to their commands."

"Tell me again about this ghost of yours. Why are you after them?"

He smacks his lips, while his eyes trail the wall across from him as a way to focus on sorting through the pieces of information he has kept inside his head. Jiheon looks away when she figures that perhaps he doesn’t want to talk about work tonight, but then he turns to her with a smug smirk.

"There have been random puzzles being spread all over the internet, each of them hiding intricate messages—some contains random and useless pieces of information, while others have more consequential messages. Names, locations, photos, any kind of information that is worth either a lot of money or someone else's life," he stops to take the cigarette away from her fingers, taking a draw before giving it back to her, only continuing to speak after he exhales a thick white smoke. "The one we’ve been tracking down is this ghost that has been spreading them. From the way they describe themselves on those puzzles, it looks like they form themselves as a group of people, or a whole organisation, who definitely know how to create these tricky puzzles and have ways in spreading them to specific people only. No one really knows for sure, really. And no one could ever figure out what they want.”

He sighs. “But one thing we do know is that whenever anyone gets too close to revealing their identity—either they are the ones that claimed to have succeeded in solving the puzzles, or people digging about them illegally for whatever damn reason, someone always ends up dead."

"There are victims? I thought you said once that these people are just a bunch of hackers?"

"Yeah, that’s what we thought," he sighs, leaning down to put his shoes on. “—until one of the hackers who we thought was related to them was shot to death—” he turns, reaching out to her and points a finger to her temple, “—right here."

“So what happens if anyone manages to solve the puzzle?”

The man shrugs. “Nobody knows. Some of the people that had hinted about solving them have mostly disappeared. Some of them are illegal hackers anyway, so no one really cared at first. But then students, computer tech experts, and some other known geniuses began disappearing simultaneously whether they have publicly claimed on solving the puzzles or merely showing interests on them, and that’s when everyone becomes alerted,” he rubs his chin, tilting his head until his smug face is illuminated by the light coming from the bedside lamp. “We initially figured that the missing people have probably chosen to go underground to join them, or just stopped going online publicly if they did, in fact, had really succeeded in solving them too. Now we’re not sure anymore.”

Jiheon gnaws her bottom lip. "What if it was you? What if you're targeted just like that hacker?"

The man laughs. "That's what my second employers are good for. To keep me safe—” he reaches into his pocket, “—while also paying me enough money so I could pay for your service." She watches him as he takes out a rolled bill from his pocket, and places it onto her palm.

He leans over to kiss her lips. "Thanks for your time, beautiful. I'll see you next Thursday," he says with a wink, before leaving the bed and walks over towards the door.

"See you then, Detective," she hums towards the man, right before the door shuts to close.

It is a little close to an hour later when Jiheon steps out of the small hotel. In many normal events, she would have stayed longer, not leaving the rented bedroom after she is sure that she has taken a long hot bath and has finished redoing her hair and makeup perfectly since she would always have to go back to work. But this time she could not stay any longer. Not at the worn down hotel with a room that is too suffocating for her to rest well enough to regain her drained energy.

"Fuck, I still smell like him," she curses under her breath as she breathes in the remnants of his cologne that somehow manages to stay on her skin, right as she paces down the sidewalk.

She makes a quick turn after a few buildings down, taking a shortcut through the alleyways. It is dangerous for a woman like her to walk in dark places so late at night, but she has both hands inside her coat pockets, ready to pull out her folded knife and pepper spray if any danger ever comes her way.

“Jiheon—” a humming soft voice calls for her, making her stop in her tracks and looks around. She recognises the voice so well to feel secure enough to loosen her clenched fists inside her pockets. Knowing who it might be, she squints her eyes into the darker alley, until the person emerges into her sight.

“Now where are you running to so late at night?” the hum returns as a woman in black leather hooded jacket comes into the light, stepping out of the shadows to allow the nearest street light to fall over her face. Her jade-coloured eyes gleam in the darkness that is thicker than her dark hair that has fallen on her back completely uncovered.

“Mae!” Jiheon greets her with relieved before walking closer. “I just finished a job. I’m heading back to my place,” she says as she stood by the other woman that is standing slightly taller than herself beneath the shadows. Her eyes study the other thoroughly, as she is used to seeing through the dark. “—and it looks like you also just finished yours, hmm?”

Mae tilts her head, lifting her brows with a fond look in her eyes. “How did you know?”

“You smell like blood and gunpowder. And there’s some dried blood on your sleeve,” Jiheon smirks at her, earning a laughter to come out of the other.

“Clever girl. Nothing escapes your eyes, does it?”

Jiheon smiles at her as her laughter dies down. “Was it a tough one?”

“Definitely not something to worry about,” Mae answers her calmly while shaking her head. Stopping abruptly as the memory of her catching someone lurking in the shadows from the neighbouring building just as she was about to retrieve her ‘package’. The image gives her a smile, as she recalls how the mystery figure hiding behind the lens stayed still even as she glanced straight at them, expecting them to rush into hiding or run away. “I wouldn’t worry much if I were you,” she continues to speak after brushing the memory away. “I saw the detective walking out of the hotel before you did. How was it?”

Jiheon scoffs, her eyes light up with a surprised look. “How long exactly have you been following me?”

Mae shrugs. “Just enough time to know that he’s a quickie. I needed a break anyway, it’s been a long night,” she clicks her tongue. “Did you get him to talk?”

Jiheon lets out a chuckle. "Oh, that man sure does love to talk. I didn't even have to ask for much and he started talking about a huge part of his case," she muses. “He mostly talked about the ghost again, but he mentioned about the puzzles this time.”

“Hmmm, good. We’re getting there,” Mae smirks at her, nodding her head as she takes in the news delightedly. “Anything else?”

“Just the things he usually talks about. Except he mentioned about some victims this time, which is something I haven't heard about. Missing people, dead people—” Jiheon’s voice trails as she remembers every word he had given her, “—you wouldn’t be involved on those, would you?”

“Oh, I do take lives. That’s what I’m paid for. But it’s definitely not me, or us. We're not that messy,” she shakes her head, gritting her teeth as she thinks about the event that happened earlier tonight, when someone else had arrived only minutes before she did, so close into harming the ‘package’ she was sent there to grab. There were not supposed to be casualties, but someone wanted the same thing she did, in a more reckless way. “Anything close enough to a lead? A name?”

Jiheon shakes her head this time, her eyes showing defeat. “I’m not close or deep enough to get that yet. He didn’t even carry any belongings except for his dick and his thick wallet this time, so I didn’t find anything.”

Mae takes a step closer to her, the slight height difference between them allows her to brush her nose on the top of Jiheon’s head. She breathes in her scent as she starts to lean down closer to her ever so gently. “Have you taken a shower after you were done with him?”

Jiheon’s breath hitches at the sudden close proximity between them, and the slightest touch she feels as Mae’s fingers graze beneath her coat just over her waist. “I did take a quick one. I hate the place, so I just left immediately,” she answers with a soft whisper.

“You still reek of men’s cologne,” Mae hums while nuzzling her nose between the strains of Jiheon’s red hair. She catches Jiheon’s wrist, before gently pulling her to follow her as she starts walking through the dark alleyway.

“Come on. Let me help you clean up.”

Jiheon's voice echoes through the walls. The hum that keeps coming out through her lips is showing perfectly on how much her body is relaxing under the running water as she stands beneath the shower head. But the drops of hot water falling over her skin are certainly not the only reason why her strained muscles and numbed senses are unwinding with each passing seconds.

"How does this feel?" Mae hums softly from behind her, her fingers are buried within Jiheon's red hair, expertly massaging the scalp while spreading the shampoo to loosen the knots on her hair.

“Hmmm—” Jiheon lets out another hum, earning a soft chuckle to escape Mae’s lips. “I wouldn’t know if I’m doing it right if you’re not telling me anything,” she whispers with her lips brushing the nape of Jiheon’s neck.

“But it feels so good—” Jiheon hums, her hands moves to her breasts as she gently rubs soap all over her chest.

“Good,” Mae chuckles, as she moves her hands away without pulling back, her nose and lips still grazing on Jiheon’s skin. “And the way you smell is so much better now.”

Jiheon tilts her head to the back as she lets Mae help her rinse all the shampoo off of her hair, keeping her eyes closed as she relishes the moment and the warmth that engulfs her whole body. She is truly lost in her own pleasure that she forgets how close Mae is standing to her back until she feels delicate fingers touching her skin, gently spreading the liquid soap all over Jiheon’s body while her back meets a pair of supple breasts pressing from behind. A gasp escapes her lips when the fingers softly move upward, brushing and kneading gently right beneath her breasts.

She leans back, allowing her body to fall over Mae’s chest as the latter moves her fingers gently, kneading over her bosoms and pointed nubs while lathering the soap on the tender skin, not leaving any single inch as if she is trying to erase the remaining traces that Jiheon's previous customer had left behind.

Mae keeps moving her palm in circles, ever so gently, pressing down the tip of her fingers on each movement to earn the continuous soft hums from Jiheon, escaping between her short breaths. The hums become more apparent, slowly turning into light moans as she feels the soft touches keep moving lower, slowly moving closer to her center.

A light gasp slips through Jiheon's lips the minute a tip of a finger grazes an inch away from her mound. The warmth coming from both the running water and the soft palms lathering her skin have both been sending waves of sensual pleasure, teasing and tickling all over her senses, until heat starts building in her core. Jiheon squeezes both her legs together, accidentally catching Mae's hand in between, allowing the other to giggle.

"What's wrong? Do you want me to stop?" Mae whispers to her, brushing her lips over her earlobe as she does so. "You never said no before—”

Jiheon takes a deep breath before pulling her legs apart. She turns slightly to look over her shoulder until her face is closer to Mae's. Biting her lips, she whispers, "No, don't stop—” she sighs, earning a smile from the other. Jiheon shudders as the slender fingers that have been roaming around her mound slips back between her legs, brushing on either side of her folds so gently. With her eyelids fluttering to close, she catches Mae's wrist with her own, daringly guiding the hand to slide towards her core while whispering, “—just keep on going."

Jiheon wraps a towel around her body and another covering her wet hair before making her way out of the bathroom with Mae in the midst of leaving the shower behind her. Yet right the minute her sight slips out through the doorway, she lets out a loud squeal.

“Whoa— Oh, sorry, I—” a deep voice is heard from outside, catching Mae’s attention which earns her smirk to appear even before she follows Jiheon to leave the bathroom.

Meanwhile, just right outside, there is a man now standing with both of his hands up right in the middle of the living room, a few feet away from the bathroom hall. A startled look on his face as he certainly is not ready to see another person appearing before him. “—I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here. Uhm—” he keeps stuttering, looking around as if he is trying to find somewhere to hide. The sight is only causing the previously startled Jiheon to now stare at him in awe with a soft giggle slipping from her. Turning awkwardly to look at the girl in front of her, he clears his throat before asking sheepishly, “I’m here for Mae. Is she around? Is she here?”

“She’s here.” Mae's voice is heard from inside the bathroom, seconds before she appears through the doorway, stepping behind Jiheon while greeting him with her signature sly smirk, “Hello, Taehyung.”

Her body and hair are both still wet, the water still dripping off her skin yet she is standing there completely bare, without any towels to cover herself. She looks over to the other girl, nodding her head as she calmly runs her finger through the few strands of red hair that have fallen out of the towel wrapping around her head and hanging on the side of Jiheon's face. "Go on and wait for me in the bedroom. I'll be with you in a minute."

The smaller girl nods before walking away into the bedroom, deliberately sending a flirty glance over at Taehyung while passing the doorway with her hips swaying side to side, followed by both Mae's and Taehyung's gaze until she disappears from their sights. Mae has her body leaning at the bathroom's door when Taehyung turns his eyes back towards her, her eyes meeting his while she lifts both hands, squeezing the drenched hair as an effort to dry herself a little as she waits for him to speak. Her eyes light up when she notices how Taehyung's attention still lingers at her companion. “She’s my guest. You guys did say that I’m free to invite anyone in my own home," she smirks. "So, what brings you here?”

Taehyung stutters once more as he is pulled away from his reverie. His eyes are looking everywhere else but at Mae, always glancing away immediately the moment he tries to look at her face, “I was just— You’re not answering your call, and— Christ, can’t you put on a towel or something? I literally can’t speak to you seriously with you looking like— that.”

Mae only lifts her eyebrows, straightening her body instead of attempting to cover herself. “Aren’t you enjoying the view?”

“Ew— No, we literally grew up together. It’s like seeing my own baby sister naked in front of me. Cover up, I can’t talk with you like that,” he scowls with furious eyes. “And dry yourself up for once? Please?”

His flustered remarks allow Mae to release an amused laugh. “Fine,” she says, before walking back into the bathroom, coming back seconds later with a towel wrapped around her body. "Better?"

Taehyung releases a sigh and nods. "Much better."

The man rolls his eyes when he sees how Mae is completely entertained by his flustered state. He turns around and makes his way to the sofa, sitting while brushing his hand over his hair in exasperation.

"Okay, what is it that you want to talk about?" Mae walks over to stand before him, crossing her arms over her chest.

He looks at her, now becoming more serious as she brings up the topic, finally, albeit the way she seems to have been trying to avoid the talk by not taking him so seriously. “Your job tonight. How did it go?”

She shrugs. “It was okay. Should’ve been a piece of cake, if it wasn’t for the leak," she scoffs. Even if she seems so careless and nonchalant for the whole night, it is still pretty obvious that she has been keeping her anger to herself for how the night has turned out to be. The mission she was sent out for was simple. She was supposed to retrieve a whole package—consisted of a witness and some files which the man is keeping safe—and to have them all sent into hiding until The Elders, the people she works for, would come and collect what they need. It was supposed to be a simple pickup and delivery, no hit or kill until that witness is no longer useful and her directive changes the moment everything is done.

But apparently, someone had decided to make their own move.

"It would've been a complete mess if I had gotten in a few seconds too late. Whoever was sent to assassinate him probably knew the target was going to arrive ahead of the designated time."

"What about the guards? He was supposed to be there alone, not surrounded by random bodyguards."

Mae stares at him, gritting her teeth. The same question filled her mind ever since she stepped into the building. "No, he wasn't supposed to be protected. So it was either he knew he was targeted, or he was setting a trap for us." Because it would be the perfect explanation for everything. For the sudden change of his arrival, the guards, the assassin. Mae lets out a curse under her breath, not only because the whole night did not completely go as planned, but the fact that someone else was so close to taking her target from her.

She is the one who was supposed to take his life when the time is due. Not some random inexperienced hitman.

"I'll try to find out who they are. In the meantime, you stay in his shadows. Find out what he is really up to," Taehyung tuts while rubbing his chin, while Mae nods her head as an answer. "Did you stay around during the cleanup?"

"Yeah, I did. I had to make sure they didn't leave anything or destroy any clues we needed," Mae hums calmly while recalling everything, reminding herself to submit everything she had found to her leaders.

"So nothing was left behind? Did you make sure of it? No scratch, no witness?"

"No," Mae answers him firmly, not even looking away despite silently recalling the whole events like a broken record in her head. The image of the man in the shadows, hiding behind the long-range lens as he was lurking from afar, flashes in her mind all of a sudden. "No witness. Every single one of the guards was already down when I chased him up. I reported everything earlier. I scanned the area to make sure there was no one around as witnesses."

"Is that so?"

Taehyung stays silent for a brief while. His eyes trail over Mae's feature as if he is trying to see through beneath her mask. Mae keeps standing there without faltering even for a second. She cannot even understand why she had left the mysterious figure that was spying on her completely untouched, even when she was trained to not leave anything behind. But she is not even worried about letting one prey go for once, because for some reason there is something deep inside her that keeps letting her know that she is meant to meet them again one day. Perhaps soon enough.

Taehyung nods his head while nibbling his lips. "Okay then. I should go check on every report now that I've heard them from you directly. I was a bit worried since I know you must be affected by—”

"I'm fine. You don't have to baby me," she cuts him off, earning a sarcastic scoff to escapes through Taehyung's lips.

Right, of course," he hums as he stands up on his feet. “Anyway, I'm also here to inform you about your next task. You are going to be sent on guarding the ‘package’ in within the next 48 hours. You'll have the details sent later, so you should rest up in the meantime," he says, while making his way towards the front door, stopping to add another instruction right before he leaves. "Oh, and another thing. You need to report straight to Big Brother in the morning.”

Mae quirks her eyebrows. "Big Brother? You mean, Yoongi?” it's been a while since she has met him, the man she had known since the very first day she joined the organisation. The name ‘Big Brother’ is relevant in so many things, him being the older member who had taken care of her for years being one of those reasons. But he had been underground for so long already, unless he is needed for a much bigger mission which requires his expertise. “Why?”

Taehyung halts as he is about to open the door, turning to look at her. “He just had a meeting with The Elders. They have a message for you. I don't know what it is, but it must be important.” He stands by the doorway as he waits for her to respond, only making his leave once Mae answers him with, "Understood."

Mae stands still even after Taehyung disappears behind the closed door. The silence that engulfs her becomes her refuge, as she takes a moment to let everything sinks in. After letting out a long breath, she turns around, making her way towards the bedroom where she is most expected.

A bright smile appears on her face instantly the moment her eyes catch the sight of the red-haired woman now lying on her bed, waiting patiently while staring at her fingers that are circling over the sheets. Jiheon looks up to her, returning Mae's smile with her own before she lifts the blanket to reveal her bare body underneath as she welcomes Mae to join her.

Jungkook had left his apartment when the sky was still dark.

He took his time and went back to the scene from the other night, scanning the area inside and out to find any clues, anything that could answer the question he had circling inside his mind on his sleepless night. But he should have known that nothing would be left behind.

Except for him.

Jungkook stood in the darkness of the room that became witness to the scene, scanning every nook and cranny to find nothing, not even a single drop of blood or tear, even though he had witnessed a mass killing only hours before. He took his time, taking pictures of the room while recalling everything he saw from start to end. The shootings, the arguments, the killings, and the assassins.

Two assassins, one who killed and one who helped the target to flee the scene, appearing to do it forcefully instead of acting as a simple bodyguard in the process.

He still could not understand what had happened. He was sent there to take pictures and find information, to stalk the subject so he could find any dirt that could be used by people who had hired him, while perhaps find any bit of clues he could use for his work since the subject was a pretty well-known man. He has been doing this job for years—chasing news, digging into people’s deepest secrets, unravelling their masks for the sake of his job and getting to publish the hottest news first while chasing his own ghost.

But now the whole thing only leads him into finding another ghost to chase.

It was hours later after the sun came up when Jungkook left the building, headed straight to his office to have an extra time for himself so he could browse through his computer and the internet before he has to start working for the day. He has not received any calls of incoming news either or the police, so he was expecting to find other sources of information online, other witnesses. But he found nothing, as if everything was wiped out completely from the surface of the earth.

They are good, he thinks to himself amusedly.

"Jungkook, you're here already?"

He turns his seat to see his head division walking towards his workstation. He has been the only one in the office for a while now since the sun had come up, and he has lost track of time completely to not realising that it's almost time for working hours to officially start. Switching his mouse to hide all the browsers from the screen, he greets the older man politely just as everything is cleared and the man is now standing by his desk. "Yes, Sir. I just had to finish something that I was working on last night and made sure there won’t be any problems with the online pages in the website."

"Wow, you're such a workaholic,” the other man chuckles. “But it's good that you're here. Do you still have a lot to do today?"

"Not really, Sir."

"Good,” his senior says, tapping his fingers on the desk. “I'm supposed to go and meet this young tycoon to interview him today. He called the company about clarifying some rumours of him joining politics. I know it's not really your field, but I think it could be a good opportunity for you to learn more. We're running out of reporters to send. Will it be okay for you to take over and join me in the interview?"

"Sure, I can do it," Jungkook nods his head immediately.

"Alright, I'll give you the details later. Try to study more about this man's background before meeting him in person," he says, giving Jungkook the name of the said tycoon before leaving him be.

"Will do, Sir."

It is later in the midday, right around the time lunch break hour has ended when Jungkook joins his head division, operating as the reporter on this occasion, and they settle in the head office which belongs to the famous tycoon whom they are about to speak to.

This will be the first time for Jungkook to be involved in such an exclusive interview, and he is doing his best to act professional, having his troubled thoughts pushed away so he can focus on the job today. He calmly sets his camera and other types of equipment while there are other staffs around him preparing the set and the man in Armani suits who is about to be the spotlight of the day. Jungkook has his eyes set on his devices, occasionally looking up at the interviewee as he is preparing himself, only to make sure that everything is set perfectly in place.

“Are we ready?” Jungkook looks up at his senior reporter who is waiting for everyone so patiently on his own seat.

Jungkook gives out a signal letting everyone know that everything is all set, and moments later he watches as the respondent, the famous tycoon and the owner of the whole building, walks over to the seat that has been set for him. It did not take Jungkook long enough to study about the man’s background before coming here, for everything he should know about the man are available everywhere and through every possible source both online and offline.

The man before him is famous for being a young tycoon, who owns numerous business lines in various region—from properties, stocks, to pubs and night clubs. He was able to find everything about the man so easily, and have also heard a lot already coming from Jimin every time the roommate comes home sharing news and gossips about the people who run the place where he works at.

Jungkook sets the camera right at the moment the man before him nods his head to give permission to the reporter in front of him to start.

“So, Mr. Kim Seokjin—” Jungkook hears his older co-worker starts the whole event, ready to throw the first question to begin the session, “—let’s talk about the news that has been spreading lately—”

“I’d say that went pretty well, didn’t it?” Jungkook’s senior speaks up proudly as they are on the elevator ride two hours later. The interview went along well, and both men had stayed a bit longer to have a more casual conversation with the tycoon they had just interviewed, Kim Seokjin.

“Yes, Sir. Thank you for taking me with you,” Jungkook smiles at the man, which then responds to him with, “Thanks for helping. Looks like I’m going to ask you to assist me more often starting from now.”

As both men share the gratitude towards one another during the long elevator ride, the moment they reach the ground floor and step out towards the lobby, Jungkook feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. He walks a bit slower to allow him to retrieve the phone and read the message in discreet, somehow already knowing that he should hide the information being sent to him.

[03.45 PM] From KYG: sending links to the puzzle on email

—and with it comes another chime as a sign of a mail coming into his phone.

Completely aware that he might not be able to open the links through a mobile connection, Jungkook puts his phone away and starts pacing to keep up with his senior mate, carrying his heavy devices in hand. They continue the previous conversation that was cut short earlier as they make their way through the spacious lobby towards the way out.

Just at that moment, Jungkook turns to glance at the main entrance door and nearly halts to freeze the moment his eyes land on the man who is walking past the massive glass door. His eyes trail over the bandaged hand that is carrying a brown leather duffel bag on his side, the faint cut on his lipa—which has his memory flashing back to the moment he witnessed the man receiving a big slap by the masked intruder—and the bags under his eyes.

It is his target.

The same man that he followed and spied on last night, the one he witnessed escaping death by an unidentified assassin.

His eyes follow the man unknowingly as he walks closer, everything suddenly seems so far as he has his full attention on the target which is about to pass him by. Until his eyes move to the one walking behind him. A woman is following closely behind the man; she is wearing a black on black business suit, a pair of black high heels, her hair falling on her back and nearly reaching her waist, a pair of glasses covering her face.

His breath hitches the moment he sees her, for behind those clear glasses are a pair of jade-coloured eyes, staring straight at the man in front of her while subtly glancing around in alert.

Jungkook halts his footsteps completely as the pair walk past him. He could hear the pounding in his chest surging through his head, and the chill coming back to take over his body almost completely, rushing briefly before everything goes away and he returns to his own self, remembering that he needs to walk away and follow his companion behind. Yet for some reason he does not even know why, he still manages to turn to look over his shoulder right before he is able to continue walking.

The moment his eyes find her again, however, she does just the same—looking over her shoulder slightly towards him, showing a subtle smirk before she continues to walk away and disappears between the crowd.

SERIES MASTERLIST

Disclaimer: All works are written by myself. Any copyright infringement, reposting on any other social media or website, and any act of plagiarism will be dealt with legal action

[sweet--sensation]

Tadhana (ft. hwang minhyun) part 2

Characters: hwang minhyun x oc Genre: vampire!au ; college!au ; angst?? lolidk warning: what is proof reading– also, cuss words. tnx

part 1 here “At the unexpected Meeting of worlds There are only a few that connect”

The confrontation with Minhyun didn’t end so well. The female  storming out of the house at 12mn right as Wontak had arrived, the other girl dropped off at her home already after getting her leg checked.

Frustration above other feelings had been what Jiwon felt as she walked down the hall of the condominuim, and the cold fall wind hitting her skin right away as she exits the building, wrapping her arms around herself and mentally cursing for forgetting to bring her bag after walking out.

He wouldn’t give her actual answers and kept repeating how she wouldn’t understand nor believe him and the fact that a voice that sounded exactly like the male’s kept whispering in her head. She couldn’t even remember what happened from 5:30 PM during the chase up until when she finally woke up. 

It couldn’t be possible to be just out of it for 5 hours right? Groaning, completely annoyed as she kicks the air she’d been walking on, contemplating whether to go back and get her bag or just leave it be. She had enough money for a bus ride home anyway but still, her phone and house keys were back there.

SIghing out loud as it suddenly crosses her mind that as much as her parents were used to her being late out for school, she would always inform them before hand and felt bad that they were probably worried sick right now.

As much as she hated the thought of seeing Minhyun or Wontak, family was more important than her anger. As Jiwon made up her mind to walk back, taking a turn, she almost lets out a scream as she felt her heart drop for a second.

“Jesus Christ Hwang Minhyun! How long have you been following me?!”

Taking a moment to catch her breath at the sudden appearance of the male, holding onto her chest as she calms the erratic beating of her heart. There stood the male, looking apologetic with her bag in one hand. She was sure that no one had been following her and the fact that if he indeed had been walking behind her, she would have heard and felt his presence but here he was, an arms length away with no warning whatsover.

“Uh.. well.. yeah. I’m.. sorry about that” Was all he could muster up. He looked kinda… cute being like this. As cold as he looked, he seemed incredibly awkward with other people. A little bit shy despite how he often carried himself back in the university. “I brought this for you, incase you needed it tomorrow” He quietly said as she takes the bag from the male, a tad bit harsher than intended but atleast it gave him a clue that she was still pissed off for her unanswered questions.

Rummaging for her phone right away, indeed, there had been a few missed calls from her worried parents. And as much as she hated lying to them, she didn’t know herself what had happened.

“Mom!” Her tone changing into a brighter one, completely ignoring the male’s presence as she paced forward and him quietly following along, listening to their conversation. “Uhm yeah, I’m really really sorry mom. I got so carried away with the article work that I didn’t notice the time. I’m really sorry. It was due in a few days and we had to finish it up since it still needed to be checked” She could only hope she sounded convincing enough for her mom.

Distress was written all over her face as her parents had been lightly scolding her over the phone in which she had taken in every word, she hated disappointing them.

The walk towards the bus stop had been awkward yet again, nothing but silence as the female had been too annoyed to want to talk to the male.

“I’m sorry” Minhyun quietly said as he kept the distance between them. He sounded truly apologetic and despite the anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach, Jiwon wasn’t rock hard but she kept her ground not wanting to make him think that everything was okay.

Keeping her arms around herself again, finally reaching the bus stop as Jiwon continued to refuse acknowledging his presence. Not until he started boarding the bus with her.

“The hell– What do you think you’re doing?” Almost lashing out but the words in a whisper like manner.

He looked liked a lost puppy more than anything and almost instantly had the female want to take back her words. He sounded so unsure as well. “I.. uhm.. taking you home?”

As much as she wanted to just push him out of the bus, it would be a bother and she wasn’t that rude. Atleast he had the decency to sit behind her rather than beside her.

The ride was still as quiet as earlier. Part of Jiwon wishing he could have just stayed behind, perhaps even, being together like this. It felt as if he brought chaos in her peaceful life. Unlike others, Jiwon never wished for her life to be a little more “exciting”, the excitement she wanted could be filled in once she started working as a professional journalist and not something like this.

“I’m really really really sorry, why won’t you talk to me. I want to tell you everything but I really can’t”

damn, there goes that voice again. Removing her earphones, super juinior’s mamacita playing from the buds. “Did you say something?” Jiwon snapped, looking back at Minhyun, who shook his head vigorously. All she did had squint her eyes at him and look back upfront.

 Pressing her lips together starting to get annoyed thinking she’d been hearing Minhyun’s voice in her head due to wanting to get answers that bad, that it seemed like her brain had been making it all up.

Everything was still silent… and awkward and uncomfortable as Mihyun continued to walk behind the female never uttering another word and Jiwon slowly starting to think she may possibly be obsessing over needing answers that his voice still continued to resound in her head. Hearing words that seemed to be things he wanted to say… or atleast, she thought would be the things he should say.

“You should go home now” Jiwon had stated as they reached the front gate of her home.

Minhyun still as awkward, a huge difference from the supposed ice cold prince like vibe he gave off in the university. A small chuckle over the thought almost highschool-ish. He wasn’t what people expected of him. Perhaps that had been the reason why they never really expanded their small circle.

“Alright. I.. uhm.. Good night?” Sounding more like a question rather than a statement, Jiwon let out a soft smile which Minhyun did not fail to notice, making his own lips tug up.

He looked… So inhuman, too beautiful specially like this standing in the dark, dim lights. Like how he looked from earlier but seeing him closer like this had Jiwon hitching her breath. Specially now that he was smiling.

No other words as Jiwon went inside, the male waiting until he was sure enough that she was settled.

It was just that, for Jiwon, she had half hoped that everything was more like a dream and that tomorrow things would go back to normal and boy was she wrong.

Their supposed impenetrable circle had a new member. Just like everyone else, he was beautiful. Infact, too beautiful to be human too. Did they ahd some sort of qualifications? It seemed like he had enrolled late for the start of the second term.

The article for the school paper barely finished, Jiwon calling up her hoobae to meet up and re-group for ideas. Minhyun barely sparing her a glance, making things from yesterday feel like it was a fleeting dream.

“Your leg… Wontak…” Those words were the only thing she had managed to say as she saw the two sitting down on the chair opposite of hers, Wontak assisting Gayoung’s every move. It was sickeningly sweet but Jiwon enjoyed watching the both of them. Half hearted happiness as she continued to keep the soft smile at how attentive the male had been. Despite how cold Wontak had always been acting around Jiwon, he seemed to have softened up a bit towards the way he talked to her.

The cafeteria suddenly growing quiet, the two females from the table immersed with their conversation once they finally had an article to write about. Something that had to do with students involvement over current events and so. Suddenly feeling as if all eyes had been on them, Jiwon looked around only to be met yet again with the familiar pair of dark brown orbs.

“So you’re Shin Jiwon” a deep rapsy voice startling her from behind, taking the empty space beside her as she freezes up. Head craning to the side, met with Hyunbin’s intense gaze and smirking face. Nayoung and Chaewon had made their way as well towards the table but with seemingly disapproving looks on both their faces. Jiwon and Gayoung politely giving a bow towards their editor-in-chief.

“you’re bothering them Hyunbin” another voice spoke, turning to look at the other male who had his hands in his jeans pocket.

Hyunbin frowned over Minho’s statement but before Hyunbin could say anything, he had left without sparing another glance at the group. It was completely uncomfortable to be stared at by most people inside the cafeteria and even more uncomfortable to be around their group.

“You look terrified” Hyunbin continued to point out with a small smirk that annoyed Jiwon. “What’s there to be afraid of?” His voice teasing, as if there was so much more to the words he’d been saying.

“Hyunbin that’s enough. We have to help Yongbin settle down” it was Chaeyeon’s voice this time, she seemed somehow mad at the tall male’s actions. His cockiness was definitely on Jiwon’s list of things she hated. The cafeteria had started to gain back the chattering a moment ago, although there had still been a few stares here and there from the other students. It wasn’t normal. They never make way or bother with others unless it was by their clique and the addition of a new ‘member’ plus what happened today would surely make a small buzz around the campus

it had been almost two years since they last had an addition to their group. Jiwon watched as they left after Nayoung had muttered an apology and a goodbye, Chaeyeon basically dragging Hyunbin off and looking quite pissed at that.And for a moment, despite the small ‘choas’, Jiwon found herself thinking why Minhyun wasn’t there when his group had approached them. Shaking her head to break off her thoughts, she suddenly sees an arm extending to her side and a can of cold coffee now on her table with a small note stuck to it

looking up, it was Minhyun who offered a completely awkward smile along with an awkward stance, she still found it funny how contradicting his image and personality was. “Yeah…. I’m uh…. I’m gonna go” and before she could mutter a thanks, the male had already dashed away in embarrassment but Jiwon couldn’t tell. There was no tint of color upon his cheeks. The pair had left her for their classes a few minutes ago, leaving her in the still flooded university cafeteria.

she had left the coffee to finish her work, taking another thirty minutes and man sometimes it was annoying getting long breaks inbetween classes but sometimes they were helpful. Only being able to remember about the can of coffee when she was shoving her things back in her bag, curiously reaching for it, turning to read the note. A small smile spread across her lips as she places the drink inside her bag as well, sticking the little post it in her notebook as she left for class.

“I’m really sorry for what happened yesterday :c”

ah ha h a ha ha. idk again man. idk.

okay sorry that was short, its hard to update on mobile ugh. But Daniel and Woojin scneraio coming up hopefully this weekend. When I get wifi. Sobs.

- admin e

[robotlesbianjavert]

it’s my main dude’s bday snape my buddy my pal i don’t got anything to contribute but hey what about his top seven moments.  what i specifically as an individual consider his top seven moments, while keeping in mind, he has a lot of great moments and it was painful paring it down like this.

it was going to be top five bc i was too lazy for a top ten but couldn’t justify fitting what i wanted into a top five and hey seven is the magic number right

SEVEN

‘It has happened,’ she told the silent staff room. ‘A student has been taken by the monster.  Right into the Chamber itself.’

…Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard and said, ‘How can you be sure?’ 

(Chamber of Secrets, pg 217)

chamber of secrets may have been his smallest role, but i had something cheesy to say then i got embarrassed by just how much i love this tiny easy-to-miss bit.  it just think it’s nice.  

also shout out to all the times he kicked lockhart’s ass.

SIX

Dumbledore opened his eyes.  Snape looked horrified.

‘You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?’

‘Don’t be shocked, Severus.  How many men and women have you watched die?’

‘Lately, only those whom I could not save,’ said Snape. 

(Deathly Hallows, pg 551)

honestly, a crucial moment in understanding how snape’s priorities have broadened since his defection, principally to save lily’s life and then to act in her memory.  but this (whatever dumbledore and snape himself might think about the underlying motives) suggests that even though snape’s never going to be nice, he is capable of caring about the other lives lost in this war.  at the same time, we’re reminded that by virtue of his undercover role, snape’s ability to save and protect other people is highly restricted, now moreso with harry (the central figure in his lily-related incentive) than anyone else. and i just think that’s neat.

also since they’re part of the same sequence, shoutout to “Would you like me to do it now?  Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?” and his attempt to save lupin during the seven potters battle and accidentally cutting off george’s ear that’s hilarious of course that happened.

FIVE

Snape smiled.

‘Before I answer you – oh, yes, Bellatrix, I am going to answer!  You can carry my words back to the others who whisper behind my back, and carry false tales of my treachery to the Dark Lord!  Before I answer you, I say, let me ask a question in turn.  Do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions?  And do you really think that, had I not been able to give satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?’

She hesitated.

‘I know he believes you, but –’

‘You think he is mistaken?  Or that I have somehow hoodwinked him?  Fooled the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen?’

Bellatrix said nothing, but looked, for the first time, a little discomfited. 

(Half-Blood Prince, pg 31)

actually managing to shame bellatrix for thinking that he could possibly be capable of bamboozling the dark lord like holy shit how does he keep a straight face!!!!!  (the best part is that she doesn’t live to find out she was right this is hilarious and badass)  like bitch!!!!!  bitch!!!!

FOUR

DOLORES UMBRIDGE: If you’re late for class, why are you not heading back to the school?  Why are you heading to the lake?

There’s a moment of pure silence.  And then SNAPE does something hugely unusual – he smiles.

SNAPE: How long have you suspected?

UMBRIDGE rises off the ground.  She opens her arms wide, full of Dark Magic.  She takes out her wand.

DOLORES UMBRIDGE: Years.  And I should have acted upon it far earlier.

SNAPE is faster with his wand.

SNAPE: Depulso!

UMBRIDGE is propelled backwards through the air.

SNAPE: She always was too grand for her own good. There’s no turning back now. 

(Cursed Child, pg 194-195)

not only is this hugely satisfying just in general because, ykno, umbridge – but it’s nice to see one universe where snape is actually able to ditch the undercover bullshit and act openly, even if it’s just for a few moments.  the fact that those moments involve him giving hope to an increasingly despairing and hopeless scorpius is even better.

THREE

Snape strode forwards, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went.  He stuck out his forearm, and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.

‘There,’ said Snape harshly.  ‘There.  The Dark Mark.  It is not as clear as it was, an hour or so ago, when it burnt black, but you can still see it.  Every Death Eater had the sign burnt into him by the Dark Lord.  It was a means of distinguishing each other, and his means of summoning us to him.  When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side.  This Mark has been growing clearer all year.  Karkaroff’s, too.  Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight?  We both felt the Mark burn.  We both knew he had returned.  Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord’s vengeance.  He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold.’ 

(Goblet of Fire, pg 616)

gof is the first book i clearly remember reading myself – i knew the plots of ps and cos (either through the movies or my mom), knew there was a werewolf in poa, but it was gof that some visiting family decided to bring me as a present when i was nine.  i remember being fucking furious with snape at several points – especially the teeth incident and when he read those magazine articles out in class.  I sat there going “wow he’s terrible i will never ever like him” and then i got over it in like a chapter or two bc i was nine also i laughed a bit?  in conjunction to my anger.  terrible.

anyways by the time this moment rolled around, i was over that kneejerk anger and fully intrigued by whatever the fuck was up with this weird asshole, unaware that i’d be completely hooked for it’s been over a decade now holy shit??

anyways outside of me being nine, this is a real ballsy moment on snape’s part – a last ditch effort to make harry & dumbledore’s story credible in fudge’s eyes, and a risky thing to do in case fudge decided to react differently.

TWO

And now Snape stood again in the Headmaster’s study as Phineas Nigellus came hurrying into his portrait.

‘Headmaster!  They are camping in the Forest of Dean!  The Mudblood—’

‘Do not use that word!’ 

(Deathly Hallows, 553)

we’re all agreed that snape throwing a slur at his friend, although he was sixteen and being assaulted at the time, is incredibly inexcusable & terrible and lily was super right in cutting off her ties with him at that point.  strangely enough tho, a lot of people want to freezeframe snape’s beliefs and ideology during possibly the most vulnerable & lowest period of his life .  snapping at phineas for calling hermione (a student he does not even like) a “mudblood” suggests that he has dealt with his past anti-muggleborn views, the only character we see doing so in the main series – did draco apologize to hermione for calling her mudblood like a gazillion times in cursed child i can’t remember that’s not important this ain’t about draco.

ONE

…as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.

(Philosopher’s Stone, pg 163)

classic.  

[tanmath3-blog]

Raised in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, but forever longing for the white sands of New Mexico, Pamela has always loved mysteries and the macabre. Combining the two in her own writing, along with her love for historical research and genealogy, came naturally. Hours spent watching ‘Monster Movie Matinee’, ‘Twilight Zone’, a myriad of Hammer Films, and devouring books by Stephen King, Tanith Lee, and Anne Rice probably helped, too.

Outside of her work as a novelist, Pamela has written numerous historic articles for the Tioga County Courier, an Owego, NY newspaper. She has done genealogy research for family and friends and was a Civil War reenactor for close to ten years. In 2014 Pamela joined the ranks of writers for the online magazine, The Good Men Project. She also enjoys scrapbooking, bad B-Movies, road trips with her husband, and feeding the crows that frequent their back yard.

  Please help me welcome Pamela Morris to Roadie Notes…………

1. How old were you when you first wrote your first story? I was all of nine when I wrote and illustrated “Bill, The Worm Who Ran Away”. It’s an adventure about a runaway worm who was named after my father. This was soon followed by my first ghostly thriller/mystery “The Strange Well”. Both are 3rd Grade literary masterpieces, I assure you. Thanks to my dad, I still have both of the originals of the above titles in my paper files.

2. How many books have you written? I have written eleven novels, ten of which have been published. One is currently out-of-print as it was never quite what I wanted it to be and it needs a lot of revisions. My first published novel was released in 2006 and started a four-year journey down the road of writing erotica. Once I got that out of my system, I began seriously writing what I love most; mysteries, thrillers and horror. “Secrets of The Scarecrow Moon”, a paranormal murder-mystery, came out in 2013. My most recent title, “The Witch’s Backbone 1 – The Curse”, came out in September of this year and we’re hoping to release the psychological horror “Dark Hollow Road” next spring.

3. Anything you won’t write about? Bestiality, cryptid erotica, and dinosaur porn are at the top of the list. I have no interest in walking down the pure erotica-of-any-kind path again, either. I won’t write about anything that portrays any form of abuse in a positive light. “Dark Hollow Road” does contain both sexual and child abuse, but by no means is it done in a way that glorifies the subject, just the opposite.

4. Tell me about you. Age (if you don’t mind answering), married, kids, do you have another job etc… I’ll be 52 in December and recently (in 2016) remarried. My first husband and I have two children. My son just turned 27 and my daughter is 24. No grandkids as of yet. I’ve worked for the Cornell University Library system for 30 years.

5. What’s your favorite book you have written? This is tough. It’s like asking me which child is my favorite. I love them all for different reasons. I’m very fond of my Barnesville Chronicle books because they are set in the fictionalized region I grew up in. It almost feels like I’m cheating with those because it’s like going back home again and hanging out with old friends. “Dark Hollow Road” is probably the most complex and darkest thing I’ve written. It’s very psychologically dark and disturbing. While working on certain scenes I kept wondering where in my psyche it was all coming from. In that sense, it’s my favorite.

6. Who or what inspired you to write? I’ve loved to write since I learned how, so I don’t think anyone was my initial inspiration. It’s as much a part of who I am as my hazel eyes and brown hair. However, my parents have always been very encouraging of my writing. As I mentioned earlier, my dad is the one who saved those first two hand-written stories I wrote over 40 years ago. My mom’s a big reader and belonged to a book club. Books have always been part of my life. Getting books for Christmas and my birthday was, and still is, one of my favorite things. As far as writers whom I admire and who have influenced me, I’d have to say the stories of Rod Serling have had a strong impact on what I enjoy writing. As a teenager, I discovered the work of Tanith Lee, a British author that a lot of people have never even heard of. She has a very unique style that I very much enjoy. Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, Wilkie Collins, Poe, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, and Anne Rice have all played roles in what I write and how I write, too.

Inspiration for a story can come from just about anywhere. My ghost story, “No Rest For The Wicked” (available through HellBound Books Publishing) arose from a friend and I discussing how he wanted to write a ghost story as if it were being told by the actual ghosts. He couldn’t quite get the idea off the ground so I asked if he’d mind if I gave it a go. He didn’t. I added several ‘dead’ characters from my erotica-writing days to the mix and “No Rest For The Wicked” was born.

“Dark Hollow Road” came about during a trip through Pennsylvania when we passed a side road actually called “Dark Hollow Road”. I saw that and was like, “If that’s not the name of a scary novel, I don’t know what is.” At the time, I had no idea what it would be about, but I had a title! The Barnesville Chronicle titles have a lot to do with my love of local history and historic research. Some of what is mentioned in those books is based on real event that took place (or are rumored to have taken place) in the rural area I grew up on.

7. What do you like to do for fun? Other than writing, you mean? I read a lot. That’s rather part of being a writer, I think, the love of reading. A warm summer day spent with my husband out on the Harley is always amazing. Apart from writing, I think being on the motorcycle with him is my second best form of mental therapy. Whatever stress I’m having, pretty much evaporates during the ride. I dabble a bit with various forms of art; drawing, painting, photography, making book trailers, clay sculptures, and a touch of scrapbooking. And I love to travel to places I’ve never been before.

8. Any traditions you do when you finish a book? No, not really. I sit back and bask in the afterglow for a while, but that’s about it.

9. Where do you write? Quiet or music? The majority of my writing takes place in the living room on the desktop, but I’ve also enjoyed getting work done outside on the back deck with the laptop. Nothing really beats that, to be honest. I’d do it more often if weather and time allowed. For some reason that big mug of hot coffee and those cheerful chirping birds brings out the horror in me. I prefer to write in solitude and when I do play music, it’s the Blues. Anything else I find very distracting. I’m very much a morning writer, too.

10. Anything you would change about your writing? I’m always looking to improve so I guess I’d say fewer typos! That, and to hone my skills to the point that my readers aren’t just reading a book. I want them to feel involved in the atmosphere and setting and invested in what’s happening to the characters.

11. What is your dream? Famous writer? I dream of the day when I can make a living as a fiction writer, but I’m a realist and understand that’s incredibly hard to do. I’d love to have multiple homes, to be able to keep the one I have now, fix it all up properly, and get a second one either in New Mexico or Texas – something that’s very Southwestern. A log cabin in the woods would be nice, too. Mostly, I just want to be able to share my stories with people and hope that they enjoy what I’ve spent so much time and love creating.

12. Where do you live? I live in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York State. Our house was built in 1886 and I’ve lived here since 1995. It’s a great old house and came with its resident ghost, Herman. He’s an older gentleman who keeps quiet for the most part, but every now and then he’ll make just enough noise so we know he’s still around.

13. Pets? The wild crows who visit and demand peanuts probably don’t count, do they? No, no pets at the time. I’d love to have a cat. My husband would love to have a dog, but it’s also nice not to have the responsibility of having either. We are free to come and go as we please without having to worry about their care while away.

14. What’s your favorite thing about writing? The part about writing that always amazes me is when the characters take over. That’s the magic right there. Although I will have a general idea of where I want the story to go, I don’t outline. I allow each scene to unfold logically from what has come before, while attempting to steer it along. However, there are times when the characters say phooey to what I have in mind and go off on their own little tangent. I let them. I figure they know more about what’s happened or happening than I do and I’m just along for the ride. To a non-writer, that may not make any sense. It’s fiction, how can that happen? Well, it does, a lot. It’s a thrill ride for me to see what’s next and then try to pull in those reins to maneuver that ending I was shooting for. Sometimes that sort of things throws a wrench into what I had in mind, in which case I make the adjustments and follow where the characters seem to want me to go instead.

15. What is coming next for you? As I mentioned, “Dark Hollow Road” is scheduled for a spring 2018 release. I’m really looking forward to getting this one out to people because of its depth and darkness. Half of it is told in 1st Person. That has a lot to do with why it’s so different from my previous novels. You really get into the head of that particular character and that’s not always a place the reader will want to be at all. My current WIP is “The Witch’s Backbone 2 – The Murder”. It picks up exactly where TWB 1 – The Curse ends. I’m about 1/3 of the way through writing the first draft.

Aside from the novels, I was asked to write a foreword for a friend of mine who’s working on his first short story collection. I was both surprised and honored he asked. And, I’ve accepted a gig writing book and movie reviews for The Final Guys website. This will force me (yeah – twist my arms, right?) to watch more horror movies if nothing else.

I have a couple of poems in HellBound Books most recently released anthology “Beautiful Tragedies.” I’ve not been able to get a copy of it myself just yet, but plan to do so as soon as I can. I hear they are doing a second volume for this and although I was asked if I’d be interested in submitting something for that, poetry of the type they are looking for, and that I’m willing to share, isn’t something I produce a lot of.

You can connect with Pamela Morris here: You can find me lurking in a few places in Cyberspace. My main website is http://pamelamorrisbooks.com where you’ll find info on all my books, some free short stories, and my blog where I write book and movie reviews, a monthly author interview, and share a little something called “The Horrors That Grew Me” where I talk about the things and people who have influenced me as a lover and writer of the Horror genre. I post and share a lot over on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PamelaMorrisBooks/ and you can find me on Twitter as @pamelamorris65. I have an author page on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Pamela-Morris/e/B00BCJTNP6/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 and one over at HellBound Books where you’ll find not just my titles, but some other awesome authors. http://www.hellboundbookspublishing.com And finally, as mentioned, you’ll be able to read more of my movie and book reviews over at The Final Guys http://finalguys.com/ soon. As of this writing, it’s still a work-in-progress.

  Some of Pamela Morris’s books: 

Getting personal with Pamela Morris Raised in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, but forever longing for the white sands of New Mexico, Pamela has always loved mysteries and the macabre.