#so we're 4 months in and still haven't gotten all the content

[getvalentined]

Why does the animation for Yuffie's limit break last twice as long as everyone else's? At high speed, Cloud's "Cross-Slash" takes 3 seconds, Seph's "Astral Gate" takes just shy of 4 seconds—Yuffie's "Bloodfest" takes almost 7 seconds. At high speed.

It's literally twice as long for no discernible reason.

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

I've been seeing increasing concern over the fact that we haven't gotten much Tarlos or Rafa from season 5 BTS yet. However, I don't think there is any reason to be worried at all. I kept pretty good records of the BTS stuff we got during season 4 filming, and we honestly have just as much (if not more) as we had at this point in season 4 filming. The only thing we DON'T have now are the stills dropped by Tim, and that makes sense because he is primarily focused on 911 right now. 911 will finish airing at the end of May, and Tim will probably be shifting focus back to Lone Star. We'll have a better chance of getting stills then.

During season 4 filming, other than the stills from Tim, we barely saw anything from Rafa until he was posting to promote specific Carlos or Tarlos-heavy episodes that were about to air. And even Ronen didn't post much Tarlos BTS/teasing until a few months into filming. This time around, we may even have to wait a little longer for that time to come. A few months into season 4 filming, it was time for official promo to start ramping up because the season was about to start airing. That's when we start getting the really good stuff from the cast too! But the way things are with the fall premiere...I'm thinking we probably won't really see official promo until August. That means we might not see much if any good Tarlos content until around then too.

We've waited SO LONG already...but we're getting closer! We just have to hold out a few more months!

[rise-my-angel]

Heart of the Great Wolf got me SOBBING bro, your writing is immaculate 🫡🙏🏼

PRAISE MAKES ME ANXIOUS

Do you like read more cus I put a read more on this one cus as per usual my response turned into this:

I am deadass so nervous because I am like 15 chapters written in advance right now, so everyone's being so kind about chapters I wrote like over a month ago and now I'm so nervously rereading my new ones worried they'll be disappointing.

What was essentially the Robb era of hotgw has come to an end, and we're about to enter the Jon era and a lot of my favourite parts of this series are in these next unreleased chapters. A lot of set up in the first 15 chapters has been building up to so much of what's going to start playing out and I can't help but feel nervous everytime yall are so nice. Because now I'm entering that prime era of:

"Remember when Game of Thrones was really good then it started going downhill and everyone ended up hating it?"

Now I'm looking at what is much more going to be more original not show/book dependent content and I'm like: WHAT IF THEY HATE IT WHAT IF IM JUST AS A DISASTER AS SEASON FUCKING 7.

Also I mean kudos to yall still sticking with it because this fucking series is so long. I just finished chapter 30 on Monday and I still am on what would be the plot equivalent of early season 7. I still haven't actually gotten to fucking winter yet. (Which to be fair plays out a lot different then the show so it's not going to be even comparable)

And the Jon era of the series starts having more flashbacks and other povs (granted typically those chapters are longer to make up for it), and a lot of scenes are what I call classic season 1-4 GoT scenes which are mostly just quiet dialouge that doesnt necessarily move the plot forward but are necessary for character development, world building, and narrative themes and foreshadowing.

That and I'm in the era of "Jon was fucking abysmally mistreated and miserable in the show by this point" so my Jon frame of reference is so skewed by bad characterization I'm worried he comes off as out of character. Whereas other characters I'm immensely proud of my work such as my character work for Theon Greyjoy, Selyse Baratheon, and Olly specifically. I really love the work I put into what I think was really bad late show (season 5 fof Selyse, season 6 for Olly, and season 6 - 8 for Theon) and yet I'm also finding writing Jon to come so naturally to me yet I'm worried I somehow will do worse then..

Also I start really cementing certain positions I hold now, especially in regards to hot topics such as my opinions about Jon being a rape victim of Ygritte, my opinions on the subject of dragons and Targaryean restoration, stuff about Robert's Rebellion I've purposely ignored, and I start including a very specific book plot ignored by the show and can only hope show only or show preferring fans will not get taken out of it for those plots being used instead of certain show ones.

I'm just really passionate about asoiaf and early Game of Thrones I always have been and finding the motivation to write 30 chapters of like an average of 11k each for a fic is insane to me and its baffling anyone still reads it let alone likes it.

But it's my favorite series I've ever done, I think about it pretty much non stop, all day everyday. If I'm not writing I am actively outlining and brainstorming and rewatching and re reading the show and books to make sure I have a grasp in this world and its characters in a fair manner. asoiaf/GoT was one of the biggest influences on my musing influences and direction as a fiction writer. It has always been more special to me then I've talked about (mostly because during its prime peak I was in high school and college and was not terribly active in fandom due to work load) and then when I got back into it it was after the final season and all anyone wanted to talk about was how bad it got. I look at the final 3 and a half (I think season 5 is mostly bad but Castle Black is a great storyline right up until the comedy that is dumb and dumber just ending the Baratheon storyline for good cus it was between writing Euron "Bick Cock" Finger in the Bum, or writing a real storyline for one of your moat interesting morally grey characters that was post blackwater Stannis) but I like figuring out why it's bad and where it could have taken those ideas to make them work and a lot of that meta became aspects of hotgw, and its essentially an extension of what I love about this series regardless of the bad.

This went on for a long time for no reason, JUST LIKE MY HOTGW CHAPTER LENGTHS-

[shslpunkartist99]

Hiiiiii

What a... fuckin' year

It's a doozy, so.. y'know the drill

So I've been more quiet as the year slowly drew to a close. The holidays have become a stressful time for me now. It used to only be because of work (work is always hectic for the holidays), but after moving out a couple of states away from my og home, it got more stressful trying to visit family. My manager didn't help with it either, literally delaying in approving my time off, so I had to go broke buying expensive plane tickets. Had to work a shit ton, both to make as much money as I could AND because it was the standard (we're an entertainment place for all ages, so yeah. Hella busy).

The holidays themselves were.. not the best. You guys know I don't talk much, and the few friends I have know that I'm not a social person (I feel constantly guilty about that). I would be perfectly content sitting at the edge of the table with friends while they chatted away. Hell, I'd be content not talking to anyone for over a month.

This ends up including my family, unfortunately. I know family is important and I need to keep in touch with them, but it's difficult. Both of our lives are extremely boring and mundane: we work, we rest at home, we eat, that's all. None of us go out to travel. None of us do any exciting activities. It's the same day everyday.

I bring this up because my silence has gotten people close to me to believe that I don't care about them. I don't keep in touch, therefore I don't care. I "only think about myself", so I'm selfish. I "don't think about other people", so I'm a careless person.

So that, uh... fucked me up.

We made the most of it, them claiming they don't want the holiday ruined (even though I was already defeated day 1 out of 4), so it ended.. ok? But it still sucked. Especially since I ended up getting sick. Medicine only made it worse because haha, why would it WANT to help? (Had me puking after taking it. Hadn't puked in years). I'm still sick now (haven't had time to properly recover because I had to work to make up for lost time, and my job wouldn't have me go back to work until I got a doctor's note, and that's just added stress I didn't want to deal with), but at least I have today and tomorrow to rest up.

Now that the holidays are done and over with, things should go back to how they SHOULD be: answering you guys' asks more often, putting up more frequent content and ideas, actually keeping in touch with friends.. the good stuff. Work should slow down to a much easier pace after this week (starting this week tbh, the next "big" event isn't until the end of this month), so I should be able to manage my time and energy properly.

I'm not gonna make any big deal about resolutions or anything like that, but I do want to try and get a writing piece done every week or something. Whether based on an existing idea or something random. I want to get the flow going again. Art shouldn't be an issue. Streaming will still be random.

The main thing is also to socialize again. Kim, Shades, I missed you guys. Kinda left ya on read, and I know you guys are super understanding and stuff, but it feels very unfair that you guys do a lot for me, and I don't do anything back. I'm gonna regain focus and energy to properly return the favor. I'm gonna try to keep the same energy with my family too. As shitty as that visit went, they're all I got, and they're all going through issues as well. So if me messaging them a "Hey, how are you?" sparks some joy in them, then I'll do that. At least for my bro, who I feel has been going through the most. He deserves better.

I still got some recovery to do. Not just with the sick or the mental, but also taking care of my home and better habits. Haven't been cleaning or cooking lately because of depression, and it's starting to show. I need to fix that up. But I'm just relieved the year is over, and I don't have to worry as much about work or spending lots of money or traveling or any other shit going on. I can finally (hopefully) relax..

If it's seen as selfish to take care of myself.. tbh? I'm defeated. I don't care anymore. I'm barely holding myself together with cheap tape. But with things easing up, it should be better. Should be easier.

I might still be a lil quiet here still until at least the sick is gone, but I might do lil stuff here and there. Probably have the Punks take over a lil for fun. I've been thinking about them a lot, as well as the comfort characters Keith, Leroy, and Naomi (I've actually been having multiple dreams with her, which made me really happy. I'll talk about them one day. She's so cool).

You guys have made for a great year tbh. Helping me develop ideas and being interested in my silly gay characters and aus. Idk how many of you are here (or still here), but I wouldn't have a happy corner without you guys. Thank you so much. I hope you guys had a great holiday, had a good enough year, and will continue to have fun times for the current future.

♤♡◇♧Bloop♧◇♡♤

[zachsgamejournal]

PLAYING: Kingdom Hearts 1.5

So I'm impressed with some of these old graphics, and it's funny how much of the gameplay matches Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but scenario designs of this game feel dated...if they were every impressive.

For the past few months my wife has insisted on us playing through Skyward Sword as a family. We've started the game at least 4 times, even after beating it last year. I'm really done with it. I've gotten used to the silly "motion" controls, so I feel comfortable playing. But I just don't like it all that much. While my wife and I agree that Ocarina of Time is a our favorite, Breath of the Wild is my second favorite, but she has zero interests, and then she loves Skyward Sword and I just...I don't love it. Somehow the controller keeps getting passed to me and I'm the least interested in seeing it played...

POINT IS--I've tried to introduce some other games that I think the kids would enjoy and my wife tolerate. We started Sly Cooper, which they did get into for a while. But then everyone lost interests and I was playing it by myself. And while I love the game, if I'm gonna game by myself I want to work on my backlog of games I've never played before.

Recently, I tried to show Jak and Daxter. If I'm being honest, it's great production value but the story is shit. It's a poor rip off of Ocarina of Time, at BEST. The majority of characters have a cringe-worthy negativity about them. Everyone is kind of mean or short-tempered with each other. I'm sure it was meant to be edgy comedy--but now that I'm no longer self-loathing teenager with a hatred of humanity, it's hard to "stomach" it as entertainment.

BUT the world and levels are GREAT! And that's what I wanted to share and experience. I thought there being scenes and dialog might make it somewhat interesting for my wife, but it didn't work.

That's when she asked, "Don't we have Kingdom Heart!" Yes we do! What a great compromise. I still wanted to play Jak & Daxter. Jak 3 is my favorite, and Jak 2 has more going for it story wise than the original--but i felt a need to draw my kids' interest in. Anyway, it's a game I haven't beaten before (though I've played quite a bit), my wife hasn't seen it much before, and the kids haven't seen it at all. Plus we're Disney people and it's got Disney in it.

Thinks to note: it's SO FREAKING 2000s--the character designs, the female hair cuts--ha! Also, being what gaming was--Yuffie shows up in her minimal clothing and my wife had to roll her eyes. Yeah...I know. But then you look at Kairi was basically wearing 3 shirts on top of each other. Kinda hilarious.

The game takes forever to progress IMO, but we made it pretty far. Honestly almost as far as I ever got when I played on PS2 and we've only played for 1 day!

Break it down:

INTRO:

What is up with these Japanese games and their music video intros? They're always montages, and I can't tell if they're previewing future content or trying to tell a story now...it's just a bunch of images of characters doing shit. I was watching the Final Fantasy 8 intro, and it was kind of the same--what are all these images of characters doing different things mean??

But then the game goes into a surreal tutorial where you're walking on stain glassed floors featuring different Disney Princesses. We used that to try to get my daughter's interest piqued. We choose to favor the sword and abandon the shield. Later we read that was the worst thing you could do. Doesn't matter, I put us on easy mode.

After a lot of explanations and questions and blah, blah, blah--I finally fight the dark monster giant. We then wake up on a tropical island with our friends. Riku and Kairi are the main friends of Sora, but then there's some Final Fantasy 8 and 10 characters there in kid form. I'm not sure the plot behind them being there, but what-evs.

We have to find supplies to build a raft to explore beyond the island. I thought these kids were trapped there for some unknown reason, but turns out they all live with their parents somewhere else from where the island can be seen. So these kids were really about to fuck off and float out into the sea without their parents permission???

Anyway, strange ball appears in the sky, Riku starts acting weird, my world gets sucked in and I arrive at Traverse Town. There, Donald and Goofy are looking for Mickey while I look for my friends. There's much fighting. The city is split into three districts and the layout is both boring and confusing. Also, there's a bunch of buildings I can go into that don't seem to serve much purpose. It reminds me of Mega Man Legends a little. I spent an hour searching about trying to figure out what to do. The game REALLY suffers from not having clear objectives and guides. If this was aimed at kids, then they failed to make this game accessible.

After meeting up with Leon (formally Squall), Yuffie, and Aerith--Sora agrees to go on quest with Donald and Goofy. There's bloated conflict where Sora is really looking for his friends and not mickey while donald and goofy want to find mickey not sora's friends. I don't care.

For some reason I thought Tarzan was the first land, but we went to Alice in Wonderland. I hate this area. I remember the first time I played this I felt cheated. Much of the scenery is drawn on the floor and walls. And the whole thing takes place "inside" with painted walls and false fauna. Maybe it's meant to be charming, but it felt more like the outdated wait-line decorations then actually adventuring into the world of Alice in Wonderland. On top of that, it's pretty confusing to figure out where to go and what to do. So it's ugly and confusing, and I'm just not having fun.

After we make it through, we arrive at the Hercules stadium. There's some lame "we want to participate in the games", "well you can't" drama. But whatever. We fight some normal enemies then are invited to battle CLOUD! Great to see more FF7 representation. But WTF is up with his sword being covered in bandages? After that, we face the Cerberus as Hercules rescues Cloud. This was the hardest fight in the game and the hardest since so far. But I think I was allowed to leave and try again later. No idea--but I put goofy and donald on aggressive and we got it on the second try.

Finally made it to Tarzan and I thought I liked this one. Turns out it's just as confusing. And after a while, you realize how everything is aggravatingly connected, but to advance the story you have to keep going over the same areas time and time again. It was annoying. I had to go into Jane's tent on like 6 different occasions to advance the plot. It's like they made the areas and then had to backfill those levels with story events without knowing how to create a satisfactory sequence. BUT the graphics and set design were top-notch!

I'm pretty sure Aladdin is next. This is where I got stuck on my first Ps2 playthrough. And I think I got past it while on PS3--but then I stopped playing. My wife says she's interested to see what comes next and the kids are into it. I'm even letting them play. Unfortunately the game is too confusing to let me play it completely.

It's cute that they've allowed platforming in this game. It's rough and overly challenging. But Squaresoft was mostly known for making RPGs, and this is getting more into the action genre. So of course they're not going to nail it on the first try. Just like me and most the jumps in this game.

The combat is...ok. Once again, I think this is the first time Square truly attempted an action-based combat system...or at least in 3d? I mean, they made Tobal No. 1 & 2--but they weren't typically making action games. Honestly, most action games at the time were still figuring things out, like Dynasty Warriors, God of War, Devil May Cry--and such. The problem is the targeting system. The game lets you target an enemy, like Zelda, but will autotarget otherwise. And sometimes the auto-target isn't great. Like when the game targets an enemy behind me but I want to strike the enemy in front of me.

The level design--just isn't good. Ha! The graphics and scenery capture the movies quite well, but maps are laid out strangely and make it hard to keep your bearings. You're never given strong direction on where to go or even a map to help you make sense of things. But that's the 2000s I guess...

Mostly I'm having fun and the everyone in the family is enjoying it. Plus, I don't have to play Skyward Sword!

[neo-culture-mafia]

그림자

last chapter

"'sup bitches." Hyuck called, walking in the front door with groceries in hand.

"Duckie, I have told you 9 separate times to not greet like that." I spun around in the swivel chair, "it's rude." I reasoned and he took his sunglasses off his face, holding them in the same hand as his motorcycle keys. "Whoops?...I guess." He chuckled, strutting over to where I sat at the living room desk.

I turned back around to look at the paperwork spanning across the wood surface. "What's this, sunflower?" He asked grabbing the first paper he could grab. He flicked his brown curls from his vision to have a good look at what was taking place in black ink.

"Money flipping?" He asked me, with a cocked eyebrow and an unamused look. "Yep. Just for a little while," I winked and snatched the paper back. I sighed, setting it back down on the desk, "just until we have enough for an apartment in the city."

He groaned and walked down the hall to the kitchen. "We have everything we need here." He called as I knew he was emptying the contents of the grocery bags into the respectful places they belonged.

I leaned my arm on the desk, laying my head in my hand and staring at the Polaroids above the desk. Some were of us: me, Mark and Hyuck, and some of the rest of the boys...now just a distant memory is what they felt like.

483 days...483 days since we last saw each other. On that damn night. That dreadful night that me and Mark were turned away and shunned like we were dogs.

Then we traveled back to Seoul to find Duckie. After he was missing for 3 weeks, I ran into him by chance in an alley. We actually had gotten in a first fight till his hood fell back and I was met with the melanin enriched skin that made my eyes weep.

I told him to leave, go back, that he was welcomed there. But, he didn't want to leave me or Mark. We lived in the shit shack eating nothing but crackers and water for a couple months, sometimes we opted for sleep as our daily meal.

Until Mark came home with money. He had gotten that damn tunnel door open by the grace of a higher-being: filled with cash to the brim.

Us 3 bought a 2 bedroom farm house in the somewhat country where we were best friends with our retired neighbors; their thoughts and whispers of us being in a 3-way relationship being the talk of the small farming town. We didn't care. We knew what we were doing here and what we needed to do in the future.

"Oh honey. I'm home." Donghyuck called through the house and a door opened to a wet Mark who was towel drying his hair in nothing but sweatpants. "Did you get me the stuff?" He asked all serious, and I looked down the dim hallway to see Mark's blonde hair being tossled by his towel.

Hyuck gave him a flat face, a hand on his hip and another holding him up on the counter. "Yes, Mark. I got you your 'stuff'." He rolled his eyes, going away and returning with a big ass watermelon.

"Yesss," Mark took it and automatically held it to his ear, knocking on it like it was a heavy wood door. "you picked a good one." Mark looked lovingly at the fruit in his arms as if it was a child.

I laughed as I looked at my wacky friend. "Why can't you be obsessed with something usual. Like beer, or poker."

The curly headed boy asked as he walked back down the hall towards me. Taking his thick jacket off and throwing it over the arm of the couch; sitting down he unlaced and unzipped his boots, throwing them by the door.

You watched the conversation play out like a terrible teen-sitcom. "Cause I'd rather die by watermelon overdose than alcohol intoxication-" Mark was cut off as he walked slowly to the front room where Hyuck and I sat. "Yeah yeah yeah. Too many big words for this early in the morning." Hyuck put his arm over his eyes and laid back.

Mark looked at me and we both looked at the clock. "Sweetie, its 3 in the afternoon." I giggled and he whined. "It's so early." He said and stood up.

"I'm getting changed and I'm gonna chill." He said looking at Mark who still clutched his watermelon to his bare chest, damp towel thrown over his shoulder.

"And?" Mark asked. "Why do I care?" He asked and the younger boy just shrugged. "Also...your night for dinner." Mark reminded him and Hyuck whined louder, running down the hall and smacking into our bedroom door.

"Donghyuck!" I jumped up, wanting to check if he was okay. He just kept on whining as he opened our door and went in, closing it.

You could still hear his shrieks as he was probably running around getting changed into comfier clothes.

"Then there were two." Mark sighed as he set his watermelon on the kitchen window, and plopping onto the long couch on the opposite side of the living room.

"I need to redo your hair soon." I said getting up and laying on the ground next to his couch. "I might let it grow up to a ponytail." I sat up quickly. "Uh. No you're not." My voice was harsh and he laughed.

"Girl you need to chill. I was joking." He chuckled, stretching and yawning.

Something that Jaemin used to say to me atleast once an hour. My smile faltered and I became more solemn.

"Do you miss them?" I asked and he just stared at me for a moment. "Who?" Was all he said and I knew that he knew exactly who he was talking about but it still hurt a little bit.

"Your boys." I said and a faint smile was broadcasted over his facial features as he stared into what seemed like distant space but was really just the dark TV.

"Of course." He exasperated and he looked back at my face who was just searching for reassurance that this path was the right one to take.

"But I am so thankful for the two of you, right here, right now." He smiled and my heart was put at ease.

"Alright I'm back. I sensed you guys missed me so I returned. Just for you guys!" Hyuck said as he sat down next to me and leaned back on his arms for support. "Oh yeah. 'Cause we were literally dying without your presence." I said sarcastically and he shrugged.

"Exactly. That's what I just said." He said as serious as possible and me and Mark laughed. "Oh you think you're so funny." Donghyuck said picking me up and pulling me on his lap, his hands reaching for my sides and tickling.

My shrieks and laughs radiated through the house as Mark watched on in admiration. He felt blessed that he made it this far. He also never failed to tell us atleast once a week. We were all each other's life and support systems.

Once hyuck stopped his evil act, I just laid there across his lap trying to resteady my breath.

"What's for dinner?" I looked up at him and he shrugged. "I haven't really looked to be completely honest." He said yawning.

"Well let's go see and then we can make it, eat, clean, and then chill for a while." I said getting up and putting my hand out for him to take.

He groaned but obliged at my request.

He was in some shorts and a basic hoodie. The scarring on his legs reminding us all of a dark period. A painful time that sometimes still follows us.

I have a scar on my back from that night. I don't remember anything of the tunnels but the burning pain in my calves, wanting to stop sprinting through the dark and lonely concrete jungle.

Him and I stood infront of the cupboards in silence.

I suddenly felt so tired and out of it. Like a heavy weight was on my chest and it wouldn't budge.

"Oooo. Spaghetti." He said stretching and reaching the noodles and sauce on the top shelf. I shrugged as he looked at me for my reaction to his suggestion.

"You okay?" He asked and I could only shrug and try to give a convincing smile.

"Yeah. Just thinking about stuff." I shrugged once more and he understood.

"Can you help me with dinner?" He asked and of course I agreed, wanting to get my mind off the looming darkness in the corners of the house.

"Alright. We need 2 pots and then you can figure out some sides we can have with it." He said and I was already grabbing the 2 pots.

I set them on the stove top and he began doing his own thing. I rummaged through the cabinets and fridge before feasting my eyes on what seemed like the perfect pairing.

"Salad?"

~~~~~~~~~

Trying to sleep that night was rough. It was just tough and not even the usual cuddly nature of the sleeping Hyuck next to me could lull me into dream land.

The dark feeling still followed me through dinner and to bed.

I tried staring at the wall but even then the small cracks started freaking me out. I turned towards Hyuck who's curly dark hair framed his face perfectly.

Don't get us wrong. We're not a thing. We're just close. Once we found each other again he has stuck to my side in hopes of fulfilling what he thought he didn't in the first place- protection.

I don't mind. We've always been close and now we've just gotten closer. Was sharing a bedroom in our plans?...no...but we didn't want to put up with Mark and his farting so he was blessed with having his own room.

We're just making do with what we have.

My finger lightly traced shapes on his arm tattoos, trying to pass time and get myself to sleep.

I groaned and his eyes opened. "What's wrong?" He asked looking at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

3:29 AM

He turned back to make sure I was okay. He sat up on his arm and just looked at me for a moment. "Are you hurt?" Was all he asked and I shook my head no. I wouldn't know how to explain the hurt I was feeling anyway.

"I just need water." I said getting up and crawling to the end of the bed. "Be back in 5 minutes please." He said grabbing his phone. I mumbled my recognition and opened our door.

I strided down the hall and grabbed a water bottle. I walked into the hall where the corridor meets living room. Hyuck's phone lit one end of the hall in our bedroom while the other was illuminated by the moon light.

1 sip.

I breathed and looked out the front window at the old couples house across from ours.

2 sips.

I can hear my heart beat as I try to drown it out with gulps of water.

3 sips.

I have a sudden urge to sprint up and down our street to try and rid the shakiness of my body.

4 sips.

I'm not even cold but my anxiety makes my bones sound like wooden spoons and my body go cold with shivers.

And that's when I see it.

The shadow.

It moved on the front porch.

"I'm going crazy." I spoke in a monotone.

"What?" I heard Hyuck call out, now sitting up in the bed.

The shadow came closer to the door, an arm raised, as if it was going to bash in the glass.

"That's not real." I said louder, my water bottle now dropped from my cold hand.

I heard a thud and a swear along with an opening door.

"Mark. Up, now." And a pair of feet come closer down the dark hallway.

The shadow just seemed frozen now as Hyuck stood right by me.

"What is that?" He muttered and Mark now was coming closer, trying to see tiredly through his glasses.

The arm went back and forth a couple of times. "Hyuck go get your gun." Mark said lowly but I wanted to fight this thing head on.

I walked straight to the door before any of their hands could grab me. I threw the door open as my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest.

I was met with bleached blonde hair, a blood splattered face, a cold stare, and a muscly build that held ink and a face of an old someone I used to know.

"Jeno?" I choked out, wanting to vomit as my body went numb from shock. This wasn't real. I was dreaming. This wasn't happening.

I held my hands out towards his face, moving ever so slowly until his own hands held my own.

The boys behind me became silent as I knew one of them held a gun, still on edge for this too good to be true situation.

I threw myself at him and just held onto his muscular frame. His arms held me tight in a grip that I used to miss.

The metallic smell on him made my nose scrunch up in disgust but I was just too wrapped into the moment to care.

My body was yanked back forcefully and I was thrown back into the living room at the feet of a shell shocked Mark who could nothing but stare forward.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I thought Donghyuck was losing it as he cocked his gun and held it at the face of his once brother.

"Duckie what are you doing?" I asked getting up and grabbing at his arm.

Jeno just did nothing but stare down the metal barrel in front of his face, his hands being raised next to his head.

"I did a sweep of the surrounding place and it's sketc-" another body came walking up our porch.

The tall boy still seemed lanky but had glasses this time. His hair was now a lighter brown and it seemed like he had grown another 4 inches in the span of a year.

"Jisung?" I muttered and he was still met another gun barrel.

This time from Mark who had shoved me back again.

"Please don't shoot." Jisung pleaded, scared setting into his features.

"We need help. Please." Jisung begged but Jeno still held his stare with Hyuck.

"Everyone is gone." Jisung pleaded.

"Please." He whispered, his eyes were threatening to spill.

[devaigh]

The Winner ~ Chapter 5

Thanks to @curlsgetdemgurls for all her help, and encouragement for this chapter as well as the work she did to whip this into shape!! 😘

Previously: 1 2 3 4

Brianna arrived breathless with Roger in tow just as Claire found herself back in the  bright light of the hall  inside the wide french doors. Her daughter was flushed pink, her long red hair wild from the sea wind outside.

"Mama?" The laughter in Bree's eyes faded as she caught Claire's expression. "Are you okay? What's wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"Oh. It's nothing," Claire smiled weakly.

"Are you sure?" Brianna wrapped her arms around her mother.

Claire smiled. "I'm fine darling. I promise. I think the stress of everything is getting to me, is all." She cupped her hand along her daughter's jaw. "Don't worry, Love. I'll be fine."

"Is there anything we can do to help ye?"

Both women turned at Roger's voice.

"It's just, I ken it's a lot happening right now, but the wedding is still a few days away. I'd be willing to do whatever to help out."

"Thank you, Roger. But I think we're okay now. Almost all of the guests have arrived, and everything else is set. We just have last minute things really."

"Still Mama, we can help if needed. This is supposed to be a vacation for you."

"I know, Bree. But right now, what both of you can do is get cleaned up. Dinner  should be ready soon and we have nearly 50 guests waiting for the two of you."

"Aye. We wouldna want to keep them waiting." Roger grinned.

"Exactly. Now both of you, Shoo!"

Bree rolled her eyes. "Okay. I'm going."

Claire smiled as she watched the two of them disappear up the stairs. Her heart was still racing, but she knew her damnable glass face had nearly given her away. She just couldn't confront her daughter about what had just happened, at least, not yet.

After Dinner, maybe.

Yes, after dinner, in the quiet of their room, Claire would have a talk with her high-spirited, daughter. It was clear that it was past due for this talk, one she had obviously put off for far too long.

"There you are LJ!"

Claire whipped around, shaking herself from her thoughts. Joe met her at the end of the hall, where she was still planted.

"Oh, Hello Joe."

"I haven't seen your for hours LJ. Where did you disappear to?" he winked. "Don't tell me you already found you a man."

The deep flush that spread across her cheeks was not helped by the laughter that rang in her ears.

Oh! You did! I told you it wouldn't take long, LJ!” Joe laughed again “Tell me, where did you find him? Is he still around?”

"I didn't!" she huffed, at his look. " I'm NOT looking." She pushed past joe, moving towards the stairs behind him. "I've gotten used to being alone, Joe. I'd much rather keep things simple."

"That's just the thing LJ. You're still in your prime. you deserve a guy who's going to treat you right. Frank didn't know what he had. He never did.”

"I appreciate your support, but no thank you." She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Besides, there's so much more for me to focus on in the next few days."

"That's true, but what about after the wedding?"

Claire shook her head. "What about it?"

"I told you you needed a vacation. Time to yourself. Don't forget to take care of you. I mean it.  You know I worry about you."

" I do know Joe. And I'm grateful for it." She kissed his cheek. "Just trust me when I say that I'm okay."

"I do LJ. You know I do."

* * * * * * *

The knot in his throat felt like an iron weight.

She was gone.

He blinked, surprised by the tears pooling in his eyes at the sight of her, running, as though terrified, from him. The thought chilled him to the bone.

Was she afraid of him? Why?

Seeing her from his balcony this afternoon had not been enough. He had sought her out, needing to see her, hear her voice, revel in her laughter. Jamie knew he was still enchanted with her.  Claire held his heart whether she knew it or not. He had been completely devoted to her, ever since that day.

The day he remembered.

The day he lost everything.

It had almost broken him.

He remembered waking up smiling. This first time he had felt true joy since he had returned home, to Scotland. He had rolled over, hearing her wake up and reached for her, his fingers desperate for the touch of her skin. Her dark hair was splayed out across  her pillow and her small form was curved over the large, full shape of her womb. His hand moved instinctively to cover her stomach, feeling the child move within her.

He was happy,

He was content. Until..

"Don't touch me."

It was like picking up a hot coal. He had jerked away, staring at the stranger beside him. Her voice was wrong. Not the beautiful, elegant voice he had dreamed of, but a harsh, worn-out, annoyed tone greeted his ears. She rolled over and met his eyes, and Jamie remembered the feeling like an icy grip, tearing at his heart.

It wasn't Claire.

It was… HER.

Jamie had woken up to find himself in another woman's bed. Worse, he had come to  discover that he was married, a soon-to-be father and he couldn't remember anything.

Except Claire.

His Claire. His Sassenach. The woman who had haunted his dreams for months. Even in the middle of that damn hospital she came to him, half-unseen, but always her voice, her laughter and her joy had found him, in the darkness. He had clung to the mystery of the woman who possessed his thoughts, Praying she wasn't a trick his mind played on him.

He couldn't remember her face. Only the most vague details were there. Her curls, the dark waves that he loved to lose himself in. The way her hands, so soft and frail felt on his battered body. The iron will he knew she possessed.

He had fallen in love with a ghost.

When the woman in his bed glared at him with distaste, he felt his wame curl. What was he doing here? Why was he here?

It was then Jamie realized he had been living a lie.

He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. He looked back towards the path that Claire had taken, kicking himself for all his past mistakes. What had he been thinking? He didn't deserve her.

Maybe he never had.

* * * * * * *

There were still several people milling about as Claire took her place on the small platform. At her Nod, Roger tapped his fork against his class, bringing attention to the front of the room. Smiling, she looked out at the sea of faces staring back at her as she began her speech.

"Good Evening."

She smiled as the room responded in turn.

"I would like to thank all of you for joining us this tonight and for the rest of the week as we come together to celebrate my daughter Brianna, and her fiance Roger.

She turned slightly looking back at Bree. Her daughter was simply glowing in the warm light, watching Claire with shining eyes as Roger wrapped an arm around her bare shoulders.

It is with deepest thanks that we welcome you all to enjoy your stay and we hope that this week is filled with love and joy as we witness these two begin their lives together."

A murmur ran through the crowd as she turned to face them once more. Movement, then a flash of red caught her eye near the door. Claire felt her breath leave her body as her eyes met Jamie's.

'"I..um. I hope that..." She could feel her cheeks flush. "I hope everyone here tonight will join me in a toast to our happy couple, and may this week be only the beginning of what is to come."

Her mouth felt dry as she raised her glass high, the crowd murmuring their response as she stood, struck by the his gaze. He tipped his chin, just a fraction of a movement, yet Claire felt a spark, a tiny flame ignite within her come to life. She licked her lips and downed her drink, feeling the burn of the amber liquid as it went down.

When she opened her eyes, he was gone.