#too bad we don't really get to see for more than 1 blurry second

[emynarnen]

Costume Appreciation - DAEMON TARGARYEN (Matt Smith) HOUSE OF THE DRAGON - Season 1 Episode 6

[biscuits-of-bagend]

DnDoc, The God of Rock 'n' Roll #1 - Summer of '69

Previous stories: DnDoc, Coming Home DnDoc, Space Band DnDoc, A Man's a Man

---

"So, I'm totally into it, but we have already seen the moon landing," said the Doctor. He had his hands on the controls of the TARDIS but was looking to Ruby.

   "No, I know," said Ruby. She gestured upwards with her hands inside her sleeves. "But like, up there was so quiet. See, we couldn't exactly go up to them-" she explained to Rogue, "-because they were busy, and because of paradoxes and stuff."

   "Sure, sure," said Rogue, who was hovering around the Doctor to see if he could follow what he was doing with the controls.

   "So it was just sort of dark, and silent, and there were these blurry figures in the distance having the most amazing moment, but we weren't really part of it," said Ruby. "So today I was thinking that we could go to NASA. Houston, I guess. Ground control. We can use the psychic paper and just hang around bringing people coffee and stuff, and then we can be there for that moment where they get confirmation that someone's walking on the moon."

   The Doctor considered it for a second, then said, "I like it!"

   He yanked on a lever and whirled a tiny wheel.

   "Well, that's no help," Rogue muttered, none the wiser as to how the Doctor was flying the TARDIS.

   Once they'd materialised in 1969, they took a quick trip to the wardrobe to find shirts and trousers and skirts that would say responsible professional adult, then headed out onto the streets of Houston. As they filtered into the bustle, the Doctor felt Rogue take his hand.

   "Ooh, ah, that might not be the best idea," he said.

   "Oh," said Rogue, letting go. "I just thought - like this is so much later than when we were 'scandalous.' It's a hundred and fifty years in the future, right?"

   "Slightly more, yeah," the Doctor agreed. "And it's not all bad right now. The Stonewall Riots were only a couple of weeks ago, and they're really important in driving change in this country. But…"

   "But there were riots," said Rogue. His shoulders looked so sad as he sighed. "And we probably don't want to cause a riot right now."

   "Guys, this was just an idea," said Ruby. "We can go somewhere else."

   "No, it's fine," said Rogue. He took another breath and smiled at Ruby. "I am sure we can keep our hands off each other for an afternoon."

   Ruby returned his smile, which the Doctor took as her accepting that he was okay. It occurred to him that he was also right in the middle of the deep south the year after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, but between the psychic paper and two very pretty white friends, he figured everything would probably work out okay. Besides, once they were in ground control, surely the work would be far too crucial to worry about race, he hoped.

I got my first real six-string

Bought it at the five and dime

Played it 'til my fingers bled

Was the summer of '69

   The words flitted across the Doctor's vision before he could tell where they'd come from. He looked around and mumbled something to get Rogue and Ruby to stop walking for a moment. There! On the side of a metal bin - well, garbage can, since they were in the states - the words were scrawled out in big black letters.

   "What the…" he muttered.

   "You okay, Doctor?" said Rogue.

   He'd dropped behind Rogue and Ruby when he stopped to read the graffiti, but now they'd stopped and come back to where he was.

   "Um, yeah, it's just weird." The Doctor pointed to the lyrics on the bin.

   Rogue frowned. "The summer of 1969… that's now, isn't it?"

   "Yeah, but the song is looking back on that time - which, by the way, makes no sense because Bryan Adams was ten years old in 1969, so it's absolutely just a sex joke - from decades in the future. That song hasn't been written yet," said the Doctor.

   "Could the kid have already come up with it?" said Ruby. "That ten-year-old's got to be out there somewhere, and we know better than most that ten-year-olds can be rockstars."

   "Well, I'm not an expert on Bryan Adams' life, but I'm pretty sure he's Canadian," said the Doctor. "And we’re pretty far from Canada."

   The Doctor started walking again, but slowly, checking for more graffiti. Now that he was looking for it, he could see loads on the walls, electrical boxes, lampposts. Most of it was gang tags or pairs of initials with symbols of hearts in between, but occasionally that same spiky black writing would reappear.

Hey, ho, let's go!

I wanna be the minority

I don't need your authority

Down with the moral majority

Cos I wanna be the minority

When I was

A young boy

   "Okay, this is bizarre," said the Doctor, dragging his friends from one instance of graffiti to the next. "Not one of these songs has been written yet."

   "Don't think Gerard Way's even been born yet," said Ruby, pointing to the Welcome to the Black Parade lyrics that went all the way down the wall beside a ground floor window.

   "This has big Bad Wolf energy," murmured the Doctor.

   "Hey, Doctor," said Rogue, tugging at the Doctor's sleeve. "Reckon they could help?"

   Rogue was gesturing towards a young person in a black jacket with their collar sticking straight up around their cheeks. They were halfway through painting something on an old boarded up shop. When their eyes caught the Doctor's, they hung their head and withdrew their paintbrush, trudging away down the street.

   The Doctor looked at Rogue and Ruby. The three of them nodded to each other then sprinted down the street to see what this person had been painting.

I'm the number one at making bad decisions

So they crowned me the king of my own scene

All the boys and all the girls say that I'm a symptom

So why they staring at me like I'm the disease?

   "Good grief," said the Doctor. "That's from 2023."

   "Who is it?" said Ruby.

   "McFly," said the Doctor. "Rogue'll know McFly, because of the Earthlings connection, right?"

   He looked to Rogue, but Rogue had disappeared. The Doctor turned his head left and right and spotted him halfway down the street, approaching the retreating figure of the person who'd been painting these lyrics from the future. Rogue dragged them back over to the Doctor and Ruby.

   "Um, hello," said the Doctor.

   The person didn't say anything.

   "Did you do all this graffiti? All the song lyrics?" the Doctor asked.

   "Are you cops?" the person mumbled, staring at the ground.

   "No, not at all," said the Doctor. "We're music fans."

   The person frowned, their head still bent over as if they were magnetically drawn towards the pavement.

   "Prove it," they said.

---

Part 2

Song references: Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones Minority by Greenday Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance God of Rock 'n' Roll by McFly

@off-traveling-in-the-stars @casavanse @monster-donut @randomwholocker (let me know at any point if you no longer wish to be tagged in each post, especially since it's a new story)

[krikeymate]

Yess! Thank you for the delicious angst. I feel like we need so,e Tara hurt and comfort after the attack with Sam panicking holding Tara’s hand in the back of the ambulance, the video of the attack going viral. Core four at the hospital. Kirby adapting into her angry protective form and tracking down the assholes who did this, Gale going out her way to cover up the video of tara getting hurt, protecting Tara and Sam and preventing her traumatic moment constantly in her face.

Part 1.

They take Tara away. Sam begs them not to, but the police officer holds her back. It makes her panic, she begins to struggle in his grip, and one of the paramedics makes him let go. She still won't let her see her sister, standing in Sam's way and putting her hands on her shoulders. She tells her to calm down and to breathe, but how can she breathe if she doesn't know if Tara is alright?

Sam doesn't calm down, and the paramedic shares a nod with the officer, then there's a hand on her back and a prick on her arm, and then things begin to feel a little blurry. She sags forward, legs unstable, and the officer hurries forward to grab her under her arms.

"It's going to be alright ma'am," he reassures her, "your sister is in good hands." He sounds young, naive, like the world hasn't broken him yet. "I'm sorry about all this, but we just need you to calm down. You were getting in the paramedics' way. I'm gonna sit you down in the back of my car here, and we'll wait for you to calm down a bit, and then we'll take your statement, yeah? Then I'll take you straight up to see your sister, how's that sound?"

"Fuck you," Sam mutters, scowling. The officer doesn't take it to heart, giving a cheery "alrighty then," and helping her to the backseat of the squad car.

~

They didn't get what they wanted. There was no confession, they didn't even have a chance to fight back and make themselves look bad. It was pathetic really, maybe they shouldn't have gone in so hard. They should have thought about it really. The footage just makes them out to be the aggressors, the bad guys, harassing and attacking two girls. This won't get them what they want. Some of his brothers and sisters are already expressing doubts. They're weak-willed, convinced by a few fake tears. He'll need to remind them of what they've done.

They thought they could get a confession from the little sister, but it's clear she's been brainwashed, she'll never say a word against her sister. Or maybe she's scared, maybe the others are right, maybe all they need to do is get her away from her. Then the truth can be revealed.

~

Someone leaks the footage, too disturbed by what they saw. This wasn't what they signed up for.

~

Gale's just settled down for a long night of editing when the video crosses her feed (she wasn't procrastinating... just, taking a break). Her phone is in her hands within seconds of it starting, ringing and ringing and going straight to voicemail. She can't get hold of either of the girls. The twins it is.

They say they're on their way to the hospital, they don't know what happened, just that Sam called them from the back of a police car, asked them to meet her there.

Gale tells her that she'll join them. She calls Kirby on the way.

~

Sam doesn't explain anything to the crowd of her family, leaving an overwhelmed police offer behind. He'd only wanted to check on the girl, to make sure she was ok. He was new to the job, fresh out of the academy when things went down a month ago. It stuck with him. Now Detective Reed is grilling him. She's more than a foot shorter, and so much more terrifying than anyone he's come across.

~

While Sam's been stuck narrating the events for a statement, Tara's been in surgery. She had internal bleeding, the doctor tells her, but that it's all been fixed and she'll be right as rain. Oh, and also she has a grade 3 concussion. She'll probably be confused, he says. She may even have some memory loss, he says. He says a lot of things, but Sam can't focus on any of it, too busy taking in the sight of her baby sister, battered and bruised on the hospital bed, through the window.

He finally stops talking and Sam gets to enter the dark room. The blinds are drawn, and she's careful to shut the door quietly, despite her urgent need to be at her side.

"Hey," Sam whispers, pulling up a chair and perching on the edge. She takes Tara's hand, watches as her head flops on the pillow towards her.

"Sammy," she murmurs, smiling tiredly at her. "Missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart," Sam replies, her heart breaking in two. She lifts her free hand to Tara's face, to stroke along her cheek, and push her hair behind her ear, desperate to provide any small pieces of comfort she can. "How are you feeling?" It feels like a stupid question.

"Mmm ok," she mumbles, "sore. Better now that you're here."

"I am here, I'm sorry it took so long babygirl, I wanted to be here."

"I know."

Tara's eyes are beginning to droop, her blinks becoming longer. "You can sleep sweetheart, I'll be right here, no one is going to get to you, I promise."

"I know."

[nanoa1foryou]

Masterpost of all my very specific Blind Channel screenshots:

Bad Idea 1 Snake Balboa Over My Dead Body We Are No Saints Dark Side Sharks Love Blood Died Enough For You Don’t Fix Me Bad Idea 2

Honestly, these were so much fun to make. It gave such a new appreciation for those music videos. And trust me when I say that some of these were hard to narrow down. (More rambling under the cut.)

When I started making these, it was because of the split second frames I noticed in the first Bad Idea music video. I love gifs on tumblr, but I knew that no gif could really capture just those frames. So I did it myself.

I combed through them all, mostly frame by frame or with excessive pausing. I avoided taking screenshots that were of stock footage (that's why there is so little of Died Enough For you) or not specific to the music video (so no screenshotting just their faces over and over). Some stuff I threw in there for variety. Some stuff I left out because there are fantastic gifs that do it way more justice than a screenshot ever could.

The point was to capture the stuff that you miss on the first and second time watching the video. I wanted to capture the vibe of the video while showing stuff that doesn't get the spotlight on its own in the video.

And honestly, the attention to detail in these videos is crazy. Big props to everyone behind the camera and screens for putting those videos together. The editing is crazy, the camera angles are beautiful and the outcome is stunning. Especially with Vita Pictura. Their work is so beautiful, frame by frame.

Fun facts that I noticed during this little project:

The first Bad Idea video has so many weird edits in there. Like way more than you see. It's so colourful and fun.

You may think that Snake is mostly black and white and you'd be mostly wrong.

Balboa has a lot going on but it looks better when the video is moving. The individual frames are so blurry, but the video is fantastic.

Over My Dead Body has way more filter effects than you notice at first. Also, the camera angles are both stunning and make it look good without having a ridiculous budget for special effects to get the gory details look good. Keeps the focus on the music and idea without turning it all into a horror film.

We Are No Saints has just so much going on. It was the hardest to narrow down just by the variety of effects it had. Like so many different interesting edits. Every frame of that thing was a painting.

Dark side music video was perhaps the prettiest. The edits, the colour palette, the framing. All of it was perfect. I can see why that video went viral and not just the song itself.

Sharks Love Blood has so many fun dark things going on. I just focused on patterns of blood and the way it drips and such. Such a horror video for such a party song.

Died enough for you looks great but having incomplete lyrics cover half the frame makes it hard to screenshot the good parts.

Don't Fix Me has shots from both Bad Idea music videos mixed in there. Occasionally it was individual frames, sometimes full clips. It's just blended so well in there that the only thing you can really pick out are the roses.

The lighting for the second Bad Idea video is so pretty and every shot of it is too. Some shots were used multiple times in it. Definitely worth releasing it though. I can't imagine how much work went into it.

Additionally about our boys:

Niko makes like three facial expressions when he's screaming but so many more when he's just singing or rapping.

Joel looks way more emotional in person than on any video.

The reason why Aleksi cut his hair is so that his face is visible. There are barely any clear shots of his face from any music video.

Joonas moves so much and it's impossible to screenshot it because he is just a blur half the time.

Why are there so few shots of Olli? And when he is on screen he is either out of focus or there for three frames at a time? Give my boy more screen time!

Stop filming Tommi's hands and start filming his face. He has such variety in his expressions.

I hope you have enjoyed all of my screenshots! They've been so much fun to do!

[lepusrufus]

Double edged scalpel ch.9

Ch.1 ch.2 ch.3 ch.4 ch.5 ch.6 ch.7 ch.8

Summary: Nicole needs a painkiller.

---

"Mother, please!"

God that was loud. Or far. It was a confusing mix of both. The sound reached her ears muffled, but even that was enough to make the fuzz in her brain even worse.

It took an enormous amount of effort to finally figure out who that voice belonged to, the desperate tone so uncharacteristic. Cassandra of course.

Her eyelids felt too heavy to open, so Nicole just tried to shift towards the voice. That plan turned out to be a huge mistake as with the smallest movement, her body seemed to short circuit. Her side felt like it was on fire, sending waves of pain that made her let out a choked pained moan.

Then, she realized, there were other voices surrounding her. She couldn't make out whether or not it was addressed to her let alone what was being said.

She did try though.

Consciousness was starting to slowly make its way into her mind. With great strain she even managed to open her eyes, harsh light making her groan.

"Oh she's awake."

"Hey, try not to move."

Nicole frowned, trying to focus on the two blurry figures by her side. When her brain finally managed to decipher familiar blonde and ginger hair she let out a sigh.

Bela was in a chair by her side, holding her in place by a shoulder while Daniela was lower down, pressing a white cloth to her abdomen.

Her bloody abdomen.

Panic started to course through her veins when she noticed the crimson mess on her skin and the sheets underneath her. What had happened? Where was she and where was Cassandra?

Sensing her intention to stir again, Bela pushed down on her shoulders to keep her still.

"I said don't move."

"Yeahh, I feel like blood loss may be an issue for you. Don't worry though, Mother will be here soon… I think," Daniela said, hands still keeping the cloth pressed to her wound. It made her wince.

On any normal day, that phrase would've probably shot a wave of terror through her. But in that moment the pain and fog in her mind didn't leave room for much more than confusion. "Mothe-... what?"

Daniela shrugged. "Sorry we uh- don't exactly have the tools to pull out bullets. Mother usually takes care of that."

"Now pray dear Cassie can convince her that your life is worth the trouble."

Nicole really didn't know what was worse. Bleeding out or having Lady Dimitrescu prod around at her wound. She tried not to shudder at the thought. Not that she really had time to finish that train of thought as the door opened and none other than the lady of the castle entered.

The only thing that kept her from whimpering was the sight of Cassandra entering right after, hurried steps taking her to Nicole. She gingerly sat on the bed and pushed a couple auburn strands of hair out of her face. When she spoke, her voice was dripping with worry that she tried to morph into something soft.

“It’s okay, Mother will take care of the bullet and then we can patch it up and you’ll be alright.”

Was she trying to convince her or herself? It mattered little, as the words did a good enough job at keeping Nicole’s focus on something not horrible.

She nodded weakly, trying to keep her eyes on Cassandra and not on Lady Dimitrescu wiping her hands somewhere near the bed. She gulped when she felt the bed dip and with her peripheral she could see claws elongating. No more than a few inches but it was enough to make Nicole consider the option of digging around for the bullet herself.

“Here, wouldn’t want you to chip a tooth.” Bela caught her off guard when she pressed a piece of cloth to her lips.

Nicole bit down and let out a muffled yelp when Daniela moved away to make space for her mother, who only sighed at the bloody mess. The talons were brought right above the wound.

“Keep her still darlings.”

All the warning Nicole got was hands clamping around her arms and legs, before razor sharp talons plunged into raw flesh.

She didn’t even realize that she was screaming, until the damp fabric in her mouth almost made her gag. Eyesight also proved itself a traitorous thing, as it was rapidly turning into fuzzy black splotches so Nicole squeezed her eyes shut.

The sensation of the Lady’s talons digging around inside the muscle was indescribably gut wrenching. Every single movement, no matter how small, sent jolts of pain through her body, drawing out pathetic sobs. When claws finally grabbed the bullet, the metal scraping almost made Nicole throw up, but she made the effort to swallow down the bile, as being shot was already bad enough without choking on her own vomit.

The bullet was ripped out unceremoniously and that’s when her body finally decided that it had had enough and shut down. Her muscles went limp and consciousness finally slipped away from her one again.

Lady Dimitrescu simply stood up and wiped her now bloody hand with a tissue. Her golden gaze softened once it landed on her middle daughter, her shaky hands caressing a damp cheek and mumbling words of encouragement to an unconscious Nicole. She gingerly put a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder.

“We can talk more once she wakes up.”

“Thank you Mother.” Cassandra’s voice was uncharacteristically small and she refused to meet her eyes. Lady Dimitrescu simply let her be, shifting her focus to the youngest daughter instead.

“Daniela dear, can you wrap it up?”

“Of course!” She sprung up, grabbing a few medical tools and bandages and starting to close up the wound.

---

The first thing Nicole was aware of was the utterly uncomfortable dampness of her skin. She felt as if she had run a marathon and then immediately jumped into bed, sheets sticking to her skin. The second sensation that came barreling in together with consciousness was the pain radiating from her abdomen. Of course.

She winced as she tried unsuccessfully to shift just a little in a more comfortable spot. Alright, laying in her own sweat. Wonderful. Next best thing?

Opening her eyes. Right, right.

She tentatively cracked one eye open, getting some semblance of relief from the dim light inside the room. It was probably close to sundown and her surroundings were illuminated by beautiful orange hues.

Nicole looked around the room. It wasn’t one that she was familiar with so she assumed it was one of the many guest bedrooms in the castle. Trying to piece together her hazy memories, she deduced that Cassandra probably just brought her to the closest room that had a surface to lay on.

Next thing her eyes landed on was the bandage around her waist. She gingerly traced a finger over the wound and winced when they brushed over stitches. She really ought to teach Daniela proper stitching. Not that I’m complaining.

The door swung open startling Nicole, who put all her effort into not flinching. Cassandra came in with hasty steps, reading the labels of one of the boxes she had in her hands. Golden eyes snapped to the bed when she heard Nicole stirring.

“Nicole you're awake- How do you feel?”

The redhead just took a deep breath, that was apparently too big of an offense to her wound. “Like shit.”

Cassandra just chucked and came to sit by her side. "I sent one of the maids to buy some painkillers. Not sure which one's better though." She once again brought one of the boxes to her face with a huff.

"Pass me the papers inside."

Cassandra did so, taking out the folded papers from each box and handing it over to Nicole. After scanning over the text, she picked one that she assumed would do its thing the quickest. The pain was starting to make her seriously consider knocking herself out for some sweet sweet unconsciousness.

After swallowing the pill with nothing but saliva and sheer exhaustion, she let her hand fall on the bed. There, Cassandra grabbed it, fingers playing with hers in a manner that Nicole has learned was the brunette's way of fidgeting when nervous. What on earth could she be nervous about?

"Hey, I'm okay. Just need some rest and wait for these bad boys to kick in." She started to rub small circles on top of the wrist with her thumb.

"My moms want to talk with you," Cassandra blurted.

[straykidsworldwild]

Duskwood

Phil Hawkins x MC

Part 2 (1/2) : MC goes to work and a certain boy comes to meet her for lunch.

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Heyy guys! Here's a piece of part2. It was too long to put the whole thing on Tumblr at once (apparently) so I had to cut it in half 🙈 (2/2) is coming!!

(I just made the collage. Credits go to the creators of Duskwood and the owners of the pics.)

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I slowly wake up, feeling and hearing something buzzing. With my eyes still closed, I slide my hand under the pillow next to mine to grab my phone. I hate waking up by alarms… It feels like I am being cut in my sleep. And I’m not going to lie… I love my sleep just as much as I love food. Who doesn’t? I open my eyes and turn the alarm off before quickly closing them again. I didn't sleep well last night… When I went to bed after texting Phil to tell him I got home fine, I couldn’t stop thinking about the discussion we had at his bar. Was I right to say “yes” for lunch tomorrow noon? Was he being serious? Is he playing a game? Am I falling in his net? I don’t know and I think that’s what terrifies me with him. I just don’t want to be his next hookup… If I start something, it’s for a serious relationship, not to play around. That’s not my thing. But that’s exactly what Phil does so… I guess I should just trust a little more myself. Anyway, that was just the first part of the night, because the next part, all I could do was think about my uncle. Every time I closed my eyes, I just recalled amazing moments with him. Moments that mom, he and I won’t ever have again… I laid on my back, on my sides, on the side… And I did this over and over until managing to fall asleep.

I turn on the lamp on my nightstand when I hear my phone suddenly buzzing again. But I turned it off… Oh! I grab my phone and answer the call after looking at the I.D. caller.

- Hey, mom, how are you? I just woke up… I tell my mother with a still sleepy voice as I sit on the side of my bed. The light is still too much so I close my eyes for a few seconds more. Suddenly, a noise coming from behind the phone call catches my attention. It’s not a noise I am used to hear her make... Mom? I call her with some concern.

- “He's gone…” I hear her simply whispering through the phone as another sound catches my attention again. Sobs… Mom is crying. I’ve heard my mother crying before. It’s so… Strange and heartbreaking. I mean, mom has always been that strong figure, fighting everyone coming in her way or in mine… But she never broke down before me.

- I know, mom. I'm so sorry. But… I begin to respond calmly, keeping the pain to myself. I’ve never heard nor seen my mom crying in my life. She’s all I have as a family and hearing her in such pain… It’s heartbreaking.

- "Can you come over today? I'll need you to finish the preparation of the funeral. I can't do this alone. And..." She interrupts me, sounding overwhelmed and submerged. I lower my head and keep a desperate sigh inside of me. I wish I could already be next to her and tell her to not worry. That she doesn’t have to do anything. That I will take care of this for her. But I can’t because of my dumbass boss… Unbelievable...

- I'd love to, mom, really. But I have to go to work, I begin to say, sounding sad and sorry for not being there for her. I hate it. I feel like I’m betraying my own mother. That I’m not giving her the support she needs right now. And maybe the one that I also need... But she knew uncle Alex for longer than I did so it’s fairer that I should be there for her... But once I'm out, I'll stop by your house to come help you, okay? So I can see you a little bit too, mom. I should finish at 3p.m. today, if my boss doesn't think otherwise, I tell her gently. Though, an unsure point is heard in my voice. We never know with my boss… If he had a bad day, he is capable of giving you two extra hours to do just because he wanted to.

- "You know, your uncle was always there for me. I remember when we were kids…" I frown with sadness to the sound of her voice. It’s broken… She sounds empty. Out of life. "There was this horrible kid terrorizing the youngsters. I was one of those kids being terrorized, but of course, as my big brother, he protected me. He always did. He was really protective, you know?" She recounts me in brief words with a trembling voice. I know the story by heart. Uncle Alex used to tell it to me as a bedtime story. He was the hero of course. I never doubt that… I hear mom sniffling and letting another sob out. "So was he with you, baby. He loved you as his own, you know?", oh… When she said "baby", her voice just completely broke. I could barely hear it. I continue to look down as I feel a lump forming in my throat. I miss Uncle Alex like crazy... "And he did the same when your father left..." She admits to me, going to the topic about how my uncle was protective. Which I already knew as well... It honestly hurts to hear all of this so soon after his tragic death. I still haven’t digested it. It’s still not real to me. I still think I will see him today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow... But it seems to make mom feel better by saying those words to me, by recounting her memories. So, I'll listen carefully. Or I'll try, at least… If I don't break before too. Her pain is so profound… And shared.

- Mom, you don't have to tell me all of this now. Let some time pass. It's hurting you, I say with a slight pleading tone, hoping she will listen to me. I know it's hard to not think about it or to not want to talk about it. But I just think it's too soon for her. And for me... She can't turn the page in a finger snap. It’s impossible. Even if she feels like she did or she has to do it, it might not be the best way.

- "I love you, MC. You're my baby girl." She says over the phone, sniffling sadly again. I nod even though she doesn't see me. I am staring at the floor, my sight being blurry. Not again...

- I love you so much, mom, I reply to my mother, controlling my voice as much as possible despite the tight ball in my throat. She doesn’t need to know that I’m about to cry too. I hear her sniffling behind the phone call again followed by a new sob. I can't… Look, I have to go, mom, but I'll come see you later today, okay? I'll come with a little surprise, I tell her gently, wanting and feeling the need to cheer her up. I just want my mother to be happy again.

- "A surprise? You know I don't like surprises much, MC.", She replies with a mix between her crying and a faint chuckle before reminding me how she has always hated surprises. I know…

- That's why I'm bringing you one, I answer to my mom, cracking a smile to the sound of her faint chuckle.

- "You're a little Devil, just like your uncle... What's the surprise?" She begins to say before pausing. It's true, I got a little bit of him too. I guess it's because he sort of raised me and because I'm a (l/n) as well.

- Mom, if I tell you there would be no point for me to call it a surprise, wouldn't it? I answer with a gentle and playful tone before giggling. I hear her crying turning into giggles.

- "I tried. Okay, go to work, baby, and... I'll do a few things here... I'll try. Oh, and I ordered the flowers you asked me to pick for your uncle." She responds with another small chuckle before sniffling one more time. I smile a little more, glad to hear that I managed to make her smile a little bit despite the situation. She ordered the flowers… My smile grows a little more, glad about this news.

- Okay, call me if you need me for anything. Doesn't matter if I work or not, okay? I love you, mom, I reply sincerely to my mother, giving her a little cheerful tone.

- "I will. I love you too, baby. See you later.", She says back to me, sounding a little better then when I answered the phone. I smile and wait a few seconds before hanging up. Right… I feel like I have another long day coming… I let a long sigh out, as if I am trying to get rid of a weight on my shoulders, before wiping the tears in my eyes. Well, I've got to get ready...

Almost an hour later, I am on my way to work. Like every day, I see the same streets, the same cars, the same shops, the same streetlights… Of course, I am not going there with an ounce of motivation. I’d rather stay home or go anywhere else, but not there. I’m not saying being a waitress is the worst job, but my boss and some clients are actually really hard to deal with. Anyway…

I rapidly reach the back door of the restaurant I work at and enter the building which leads to the kitchen. The cooks and the waitresses are all here, ready to work. Oh, almost… I hold the door for Angie and she runs in, thanking me at the same time. We exchange a smile and get ready to start working. The clients should start coming soon… It's been three months since my boss decided to expand the restaurant to include a little coffee shop. I think it was a good idea, a good change in Duskwood. It was a test at first to see if people would like it. The clients seemed satisfied so that’s why I am here so early every morning now.

- MC! I look up immediately after hearing a gravelly voice yelling my name. My boss walks briskly towards me, a frown of madness plastered over his face. As usual... What time does my watch indicate? He asks me while showing me his watch on his right wrist. What…?

- 8:01am.? I answer, not sure where this is going.

- You were supposed to be here at 8:00a.m.. Not at 7:59a.m., not at 8:01a.m., but at 8:00a.m.! Is it so hard to understand in your dummy brain? He tells and asks me with madness, actually scolding me for arriving one minute late. As always, he raises his voice while talking, making sure everyone can hear who is commanding here. I guess you see what I meant when I said that I wasn’t very motivated to come to work...

- I'm sorry, boss, I simply say as I don’t want to argue nor lose my job. Well, it’s mainly that I’m not up to an argument right now… I have other things to think about. To worry about.

- Don't. Since you came late, you'll go home late. You're finishing at 6p.m. today, he tells me with a correcting tone, looking down on me. He’s joking, right? 6pm?

- What? You're making me do three extra hours for one minute late? I demand him with disbelief as I’m getting upset.

- And you're not paid for those, he points out seriously, still speaking as loud as before. Not paid?! Better and better...

- Sir, I can’t work extra hours today. I have to go see my mom this afternoon after work. My uncle passed away yesterday and I have to help for the funerals and… I explain to my boss with seriousness, going up against him. I mean, I can be shy and quiet and all, just don’t take me for an idiot or play with me.

- That's not a valuable excuse. Get to work before I change my mind and actually fire you for rebellion, he orders me seriously and sternly. Right… I look down, not responding to not receiving any consequences later. Everyone, back to work! he screams to all of his employees before walking away to do his life. Dick!

- Don't listen to this cold hearted dick, MC, I hear Angie telling me as she comes to stand in front of me. She’s a little taller than me. If you need to leave, then do. I'll cover for you. I knew something wasn't right yesterday but we barely crossed paths so I couldn't ask you what was wrong. I'm really sorry about your uncle, MC, she apologizes sincerely to me as she puts her hand on my shoulder. Angie is one of the only workers I get well along with here. Yeah, nothing goes well in this restaurant… It’s sad because it could have its potential. I smile at my friend while weakly nodding.

- Thanks, Angie, I thank her sincerely as I place my hand on top of hers. She smiles and nods back before the two of us take separated ways to go do our work.

The morning passed pretty quickly to be fair. I prefer when it’s like this. Working and watching the time pass is one of the worst feelings. There were so many clients this morning that I didn’t have time to get bored. It’s actually pretty rare that there are so many people coming in the morning. I mean, it’s still a little buzzy usually but not this much. I hope that will put my boss in a good mood and he’ll kind of forget the late minute thing this morning… Right, even I don’t believe this… I take the plates and cutleries that customers have left to clear the table. I clean it well and let other customers settle in. The noon hour and 1pm are the worst. There is often a line of customers waiting for a table but it goes on pretty well usually. Anyway… It’s time for my break. I put the dirty dish and cutleries in the bassin which is on a cart to later go to the kitchen.

- Hi, I turn around to look at the person who is not so unfamiliar to me, I'm looking for a pretty (h/c) with crazy (e/c) in which you would easily get lost in. Have you seen her around? says and asks me, a man, using a flirtatious and slight playful tone at the same time. I smile and softly laugh while nodding.

- Yeah, I think she went back to the kitchen a little while ago. But I don’t know where she went after, I reply playfully to my friend as I point towards the kitchen. The man softly laughs back before passing his hand in his long hair which isn't in a ponytail or a bun for once. How dare he look so good?

- How are you, Gorgeous? Asks me gently, Phil, as we are facing one another.

- I’m good. I have the same problem as last night, but I’m good. You? I answer with a very faint sigh as I keep a small smile before asking him.

- I'm good, thanks, he responds, having that damn smirk in the corner of his lips. The two of us stare at each other for a little moment, a smile on our face. I can’t really explain why or how, but seeing him here, now, like we said last night, makes me happy. So, is it still on for having lunch together or...? He asks me, a point of nervousness heard in his voice. He isn’t sure of himself which is so rare to see.

- Yes… I begin to tell him before hearing a gravelly voice calling for me.

- MC! I turn around and see my boss approaching us. Oh… No time for talking! Get back to work! He tells me harshly in front of Phil. Oh God… So awkward! I know I have said stories to my friends about my boss, but none of them actually saw the man talking to me that way. And I wish it wouldn’t have been Phil seeing and hearing him talking to me this way. What is he going to think?

- You're seriously letting that dumbass talking to you this way? I hear Phil whispering lowly in my ear. His deep voice echoing in my ear… He sounded like he couldn’t just believe what he just heard. Oh but it’s real, Phil… I live it every day like all the employees here.

- It's almost 1p.m., sir. I'm on my break… I begin to respond to my boss, not forgetting that I actually want to get out of work at 3p.m and not 6p.m. I still have hope… A faint one but, it’s still there.

- Break? He repeats my word with disbelief as he is standing right before my face now. No break for you today. Come on, move! He exclaims, speaking with a mad tone as usual. If I didn’t know him, I would think he actually hate me. Which might be the case… It’s not possible to scream so much on someone without reasons, right? Ugh, is that guy ever happy? Or just calm?

- Hey! I hear Phil’s loud voice coming from behind me before I could say anything to my boss. I slightly widened my eyes in surprise as I didn’t think Phil would say something. She's your employee, not your stooge! You should watch it! He tells him with a warning tone which I’ve never really heard before. The only time I heard him using this tone was when one of his regulars overstepped the line. I look on my left as I see Jessy’s brother standing next to me, slightly getting before me. Oh… He looks so mad.

- And who might you be to talk back to me? Questions, my boss to Phil. Oh no… I glance around us and notice that customers are staring at us, watching the scene. So awkward… Before Phil could do something or say a word, and mostly before it goes too far, I grab discreetly Phil’s wrist. He doesn’t move nor look at me. My boss is still staring at Jessy’s brother. He is not pleased at all...

- Look, sir. She's been working since 8:00a.m., and it's 1p.m. in less than five minutes. You can't take off her lunch break just because you're her boss, it's against the law. But if you think you are above them, maybe we could stop by the police station to see who's right? Responds calmly and politely, Phil, all while still having this warning and serious tone. I’ve always been amazed by how polite he can stay despite the circumstances or the situation. I mean, it’s easy to lose control due to anger, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he fights.

- 30minutes. No more, tells me, my boss, reluctantly giving me a break. Thanks to Phil… I nod positively before he turns around and leaves us at a quick pace. Phil turns around before looking down at me.

- Thanks, but you didn't have to do that, Phil, I thank him with a small shy tone, yet, thankful he actually stepped in for me.

- I did and I wanted to. But honestly, that guy deserved more than just a "talk", he replies with sincerity and seriousness. While talking about my boss, I could hear the madness in his voice. I nod understandingly as I give him a small smile, appreciating it for standing up for me. It’s not every day it happens. Come on, he suddenly tells me with his infectious smile. I don't answer. Instead, my smile grows wider while the two of us walk through the restaurant to reach the outside. Oh, he has a bag! How did I not see it?

[iamthenightcolormeblack]

My Thoughts on Pride and Prejudice 1980: The Ladies Take Center Stage

It's easy to forget that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of other Pride and Prejudice adaptations because the discussion is generally limited to "1995 versus 2005." The subject of this review is the 1980 BBC miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which stars Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth Bennet and David Rintoul as Mr. Darcy and consists of five 1 hour long episodes. Some Pride and Prejudice fans consider this show as the definitive version of the book, since it was one of the first adaptations that attempted to be faithful to the story by incorporating much more of Austen's dialogue compared to previous adaptations.

1. THE PRODUCTION

The video quality is blurry (typical with 1970s/1980s BBC TV shows), so this adaptation is hard to watch compared with the 1995 and 2005 adaptations. While I like the historic houses used in the miniseries, boring, stuffy studio interiors are used for the interior scenes (except for Pemberley). I would only recommend this adaptation for extreme Pride and Prejudice fans/completionists.

Each episode's opening credits are accompanied by illustrations of what happens in the episodes, reminding the viewer that they are watching a filmed version of the book. The caricatured figures are not appealing to the eye and look dated. It doesn't help that they all are accompanied by "ye olde timey" music.

The costumes are for the most part very historically accurate for the early 19th century Regency Era, possibly even more so than the 1995 version with open chests, since the women's day dresses cover their necks as well. The costume designer mastered the famous Regency era white dress; I liked Elizabeth's white day dress and Jane's white evening gown. However, not all the costumes are flattering; some of the ugly floral patterns and garishly bright colors come straight from the 1970s, while a lot of decent evening dresses are ruined by fake lace or clunky 1970s bibs.

The hair is mostly accurate, with the exception of Mary's straight bangs and pixie cut. Unfortunately, the makeup is of the 1970s, especially with the penciled eyeliner/eyebrows on Jane and Caroline Bingley. Poor Mr. Bingley meanwhile has the most unflattering 1970s "helmet bowl" hairstyle.

2. PLOT AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

The adaptation focuses heavily on the female relationships within the book, much more so than other adaptations. Throughout the episodes, there are many slice-of-life scenes in which the Bennet sisters are gathered together in conversation while occupying themselves with typical activities for women of the Regency era (sewing, flower arranging, trying on clothing).

Charlotte Lucas has a larger role here than in the book. In this adaptation, she frequently visits the Bennet sisters at Longbourn, and the screenwriter uses her dialogue as a representation of the Regency perception of marriage as an economic proposition.

Mary Bennet also receives more screen time, and like Charlotte, she voices Regency attitudes towards women in general through her didactic remonstrances.

The many scenes in Elizabeth and Jane's bedroom are a means for Elizabeth to express the feelings and attitudes that she keeps hidden from society.

Elizabeth's favoring of Mr. Wickham is more obvious; she even pronounces him to be "above everyone, in person, countenance, [and] air" and is delighted that Wickham's trash-talking of Darcy confirms her hatred of him.

Inner monologues highlight Elizabeth's mental transformation as she grapples with the consequences of her prejudice against Mr. Darcy and considers the consequences of her family's social gaffes.

I dislike that the show chose to end with Mrs. Bennet's joy over the advantageous marriages of her elder daughters. It reinforces the perception that these marriages are ultimately for money rather than love.

The cast consists of largely unknown (to a mainstream audience) British actors whose portrayals of the characters are solid and replicate the book exactly. The rest of the supporting cast portray the characters just as they are in the book, but do not otherwise stand out. Here are my comments on the lead actors and other supporting cast:

Elizabeth Garvie: Garvie effectively portrays Elizabeth's wit, intelligence, and poise. She also looks right for the part, as she is believably youthful and has captivating eyes. Her pride is not so obvious because Garvie acts like a proper Regency girl, but it is brought out by the way Elizabeth looks people straight in the eye and addresses them directly while confidently stating her opinions, however flawed. My only minor nitpick is that Elizabeth is less vulnerable here; most of the time she is confidently in control of every situation she faces and has a smile for everyone.

David Rintoul: Rintoul looks the part, as he is tall, handsome, proud, and carries himself gracefully. However, he is too stiff and boring like a robot. In many scenes, even private ones with his close friends, he is always standing at attention like a soldier. With the exception of the Pemberley visit and the second proposal, he never smiles, and his voice is very monotone, even in the key romantic scenes where he is supposed to lose himself to his great passion for Elizabeth. Though he tries to appear amused at times, and shows some intelligence, his stiff body language never changes, undercutting the meaning behind his words.

While fans of this show have praised Rintoul for being stiff, like book Darcy, this stiff portrayal hinders Darcy's character development, since he must change his cold manners in order to be worthy of Elizabeth's love. There are MANY instances in the book where Darcy shows some emotion; he smiles as he teases Elizabeth at Rosings, becomes angry when Elizabeth rejects his first proposal, and blushes when he sees Elizabeth at Pemberley. This Mr. Darcy is "all politeness" and we don't get to see Elizabeth peeling back his cold exterior to reveal the good man underneath, unlike in the book.

Malcolm Rennie as Mr. Collins: His portrayal of Mr. Collins is very similar to 1995's Mr. Collins, as both are fat and simpering (maybe 1995's portrayal of Mr. Collins is a copy of this one, except even grosser). I also like how he is super moralizing and preachy in this version. He even walks like a penguin too!

Casting I disliked:

Moray Watson as Mr. Bennet: His Mr. Bennet is thoroughly unsympathetic; he does nothing but scold the family, slam doors, and drink tea. While Mr. Bennet is a neglectful parent, he expresses his dislike of the family in far more subtle ways and does not get into fits of anger easily.

Judy Parfitt as Lady Catherine de Bourgh: While the adaptation makes clear that Lady Catherine likes getting her way, this Lady Catherine isn’t intimidating enough to frighten anyone into submission. What doesn't help is that the scene where she interrogates Elizabeth about her family situation is cut; this scene is important in establishing Lady Catherine's tyrannical personality.

The actresses hired to play Kitty and Lydia Bennet are far too old for the parts; they do not look like teenagers!

Scenes I liked:

The opening scene -- the adaptation gives Charlotte a larger role, as she visits Elizabeth at Longbourn right after the news of Bingley's arrival. She also reveals her practical view on marriage as a necessity for securing comfort, which is at odds with Elizabeth's view of marriage as an equal partnership between people who love each other.

"First Impressions" -- Elizabeth shares her bad opinion of Darcy with Jane and reveals that the Bingleys earned their wealth in trade, making them "new money" as opposed to the Darcy family, which has many generations of nobility. This detail about the origins of Bingley's wealth could explain Caroline's extreme arrogance and make Jane's separation from Bingley on the basis of her poor connections more cruel.

Elizabeth at Mr. Lucas' party: This adaptation includes a scene from the book which isn't in many other adaptations, not even the 1995 miniseries. Elizabeth, acting impertinently to catch the attention of Darcy's "very satirical eye," addresses him sarcastically. Charlotte then gets Elizabeth to play the piano and she takes another opportunity to show off her wit:

"There is a fine old saying, which every body here is of course familiar with - 'Keep your breath to cool your porridge', and I shall keep mine to swell my song."

Jane and Elizabeth at Netherfield. In a series of scenes, Elizabeth confides in Jane her true thoughts and feelings about Darcy, the Bingleys, and the Hursts. For instance, she theorizes about why Darcy stares at her and rants about how disagreeable and annoying the Netherfield party are. It's really entertaining to see Elizabeth driven to frustration by the arrogant rich people.

Any scene with Mr. Collins in it, but here are the funniest ones:

Mr. Collins eating with the Bennet family: I laughed at how he examines the food with a critical eye before shoving it in his mouth quickly. It perfectly captures Mr. Collins' arrogance combined with bad manners.

Mr. Collins at the Netherfield Ball: he cannot dance and embarrasses Elizabeth (definitely a parallel with the 1995 version, where he bumps into the other dancers and apologizes profusely).

Mr. Collins' first proposal to Elizabeth: I laughed at the added flourish (not in the novel), where he bends down on one knee, but instead of professing love for the intended, states proudly to Elizabeth that the main benefit of the marriage is the patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Collins' proposal to Charlotte Lucas: this is not in the original book, as it is (mostly) limited to Elizabeth's point of view, where she only finds out about the proposal after it happens. This comical scene begins with pleasant music and blooming flowers to establish romantic connotations, before it cuts to an awkward Mr. Collins following Charlotte Lucas. When Charlotte accepts Mr. Collins, they are sitting together by a rosebush, and his pure joy at the unromantic, arranged marriage, combined with the floral imagery from earlier, elevate the situational irony and make for a good laugh. The flower imagery also ties into Charlotte's earlier comparison of marriage to growing a plant; Elizabeth challenges Charlotte's assertion by asking her what would happen if the soil was poor (metaphor for the respect Elizabeth feels is a foundation for a loving relationship).

Aunt Gardiner's advice to Elizabeth: This scene isn't included in other adaptations, not even the 1995 miniseries. Here Aunt Gardiner warns Elizabeth against falling in love with Wickham, telling her that she needs to keep her common sense intact; Elizabeth dismisses this, fully confident in her powers of judgment. It's great that this exchange is included because it foreshadows the discovery of Wickham's true character, and hints that Elizabeth's perceptions of others may be wrong.

Scenes I disliked:

The romantic scenes. This adaptation unfortunately fails in the romance department; there is zero chemistry between the actors; even the otherwise wonderful Elizabeth Garvie is not exempt. (more about this later).

The first country ball. The interior is dark, small, cramped and stagey. Also, the dancing and overall manner of the guests is very sedate and orderly; it’s so quiet you can hear the dancers feet scrape the floor in spite of the music. This isn't very realistic compared with the other adaptations, where we are presented with much more boisterous country dances.

The activation of Stalker Darcy: While Elizabeth plays the pianoforte, Darcy, while shrouded in darkness, moves like a ghost among the crowd until he all of a sudden appears very close to the pianoforte and golf-clapping. perhaps Darcy is a blood sucking vampire? Though this scene is entertaining for all the wrong reasons, it doesn't make sense that Darcy's love for Elizabeth makes him even more robotic and creepy.

Lady Catherine confronting Elizabeth: While the dialogue for this scene is lifted straight from the book, there isn't quite enough fury and anger on the part of either person.

3. THE SCRIPT

What makes this adaptation stand out is the script by Fay Weldon. While the majority of the script is taken directly from the book, many have commented that her interpretation of Pride and Prejudice is much more feminist because of the greater emphasis on Elizabeth's point of view, as well as her relationships with other women. Many of the creative changes made emphasize the ridiculousness of the patriarchy and Elizabeth's outspokenness. In addition, Austen's narration slips into the dialogue of the female characters; for instance, Mary proclaims the village's judgment of Darcy as "the proudest most disagreeable man in the world."

Creative Changes/Great Quotes from the Script:

Darcy adding further insult to injury: after proclaiming Elizabeth to be unattractive to him, he adds: "She has too many sisters."

Mrs. Bennet criticizing poor Mary: “You read too much! No wonder you’re shortsighted.”

Elizabeth has had enough with Darcy, the Hursts, and the Bingleys: “Jane, they are monsters! They like nothing and dislike everything!"

Elizabeth has no patience: "This is unendurable! Mr. Darcy has scarcely spoken more than 10 words to me during the whole of today!"

Mary Bennet praises Mr. Collins' writing skills: "But he is intelligent. In point of composition the letter he wrote Father was not deficient and it was very long."

Mr. Collins scrutinizes Longbourn (his future inheritance) Part 1: "The hall. The hall should be imposing. This one is spacious enough but a little dark..."

Mr. Collins scrutinizes Longbourn Part 2: "Truly a gracious dining room. Lady Catherine de Bourgh would not be ashamed to dine here...The table, though a trifle rustic, is solid and a good match."

Mr. Collins provides much needed moral lessons to Kitty and Lydia: "I have often observed how many young ladies are very little interested in books of a serious stamp, though written solely for their benefit. Certainly there can be nothing so advantageous to them as instruction."

Mr. Collins on Anne de Bourgh: "She is agreeably fragile, and she is to marry Mr. Darcy."

Lady Catherine de Bourgh supporting the patriarchy: "If I were to have more children, they should all be sons."

Mr. Collins' Aquatic Hat: In one of many examples where Lady Catherine micromanages everyone's life, she orders Mr. Collins to plant bulrushes by the lake and per her instructions he orders an ugly top hat with a shower cap inside it to prevent himself from drowning. Charlotte and Elizabeth laugh about it when Mr. Collins isn't looking.

Darcy is a dog person, how sweet! Before the first proposal and before he meets Elizabeth again at Pemberley, Darcy is accompanied by a dog. Perhaps if he brought his dog to the first proposal it would have succeeded?

Elizabeth's internal monologue after she reads the letter: I normally dislike internal monologues because they detract from the action or become redundant, but I like how this adaptation utilizes the internal monologue to show Elizabeth actively confronting her prejudice against Mr. Darcy and acknowledging that she has acted wrongly in judging him harshly. Some adaptations reduce or even leave out this fundamental part of Elizabeth's personal growth. My only quibble with this scene is that Elizabeth lets go of her prejudice too soon and in too calm a manner. In the book, she is initially angry at Darcy and needs to reread the letter multiple times before she starts to form a grudging respect for Mr. Darcy. For Elizabeth, letting go of her prejudice is a slow, exhausting, and emotionally taxing process, unlike in this adaptation, where her logical reasoning allows her to quickly overcome her unreasonable hatred of Darcy.

4. THE ROMANCE (or, to be more accurate, lack of)

Many of the key romantic scenes between Elizabeth and Darcy are shortened, which surprised me because the length of a miniseries in general allows for more character development. I was hoping to see a fuller picture of Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship than could be provided in a movie.

While the female characters of the adaptation are fully rounded and have many opportunities to express their perspectives, the male characters remain one-dimensional and do not get the same treatment as the women. In other words, the male characters are reduced to mere objects of affection.

Some critics have argued that Darcy is irresistible to women in part because he is mysterious. Even his appearance is left to the reader's imagination, as Austen only notes that Darcy has a "fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien...[and] ten thousand a year." Thus, the reader gets to craft their ideal version of Mr. Darcy; he could look like any handsome man. When the "historically accurate Mr. Darcy" image was released several years ago (where he looks like George Washington); many, including me, were disappointed because we all have different images of Mr. Darcy in our heads (or more likely, we pick between Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen). This adaptation capitalizes into the mystique of the character by leaving the viewers to guess Darcy's intentions. Since we do not have access to his internal thoughts or motivations, we are limited to what we see before our eyes, much like the Meryton villagers. We do not get to see how Darcy develops feelings for Elizabeth; nor do we see how he is like in private occasions (even when alone with his friends, he says little and reveals little).

Other critics/Austen scholars/fans have argued that the one-dimensional treatment of male characters is in keeping with the unique writing style of Pride and Prejudice. Typically, female characters were the ones reduced to objects of affection for the male characters. Austen reverses this norm by focusing more on Elizabeth's viewpoint while Darcy remains mysterious.

Though a more reserved Darcy may work in the book, it does not serve the development of the romance well. Darcy's falling in love with Elizabeth is characterized by a gradual loss of control over himself; in his words he was "in the middle before I knew that I had begun [falling in love]." After all, he cannot stop staring at Elizabeth and frequently tries to keep talking to her at Netherfield before he begins to feel "the danger of paying Elizabeth too much attention." During his first proposal, he is agitated, and when Elizabeth rejects him, becomes angry. It is obvious, in the book and in the 1995 and 2005 adaptations as well, that the man is clearly an emotional train wreck.

The conflict between Darcy's outer shell and inner self is a key part of his falling in love with Elizabeth, and the adaptation misses out on this with a stiff, wooden Darcy who always carries himself properly and never smiles. In general, the most entertaining romances have this tension between self-control and passion, with lapses in manners usually the only sign of the passion beneath the surface; after all, in Elizabeth's words, “Is not general incivility the very essence of love?”

Back to the idea of the one-dimensional Darcy being an inversion of gender norms in writing: I have to disagree with this because (this is obvious I'm sure) Darcy is still a fully rounded character and does undergo his own journey, since he has to change his manners to earn Elizabeth's love. This quote shows what Darcy has learned about himself:

"I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was...given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately an only son, (for many years an only child) I was spoilt by my parents [who] almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing, to care for none beyond my own family circle, to think meanly of all the rest of the world, to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own."

Though some fans of this adaptation like how the other relationships are treated with equal importance as the well-known love story, the romance is important as a source of personal growth for Elizabeth as well as Darcy. After all, they do have to overcome the "pride and prejudice" that separates them.

The marriage of Darcy and Elizabeth is a feminist triumph for Elizabeth Bennet; in my review of the 2005 movie, I noted that Elizabeth Bennet is revolutionary because of her unwillingness to compromise on her belief that marriage should based on love and respect, contrary to the prevailing social view of marriage as an economic proposition. While it seems counter-intuitive for a repressive institution like marriage to be a feminist triumph, Austen's heroines use marriage as a means of gaining not just material comforts, but ultimately the self-respect they desire by uniting themselves with partners whom they are equals with. The marriages Austen's heroines make are testaments to their independence, as they are choices made by the women themselves. Even Charlotte Lucas' otherwise unhappy arranged marriage works for her, since she enjoys the freedom that running her own household gives her. Not focusing on the romance of Elizabeth and Darcy leaves out Austen's complex perspective on marriage as a social necessity but also an unlikely route to freedom.

Here's my breakdown of the Elizabeth and Darcy scenes in this adaptation and why the romance fails:

"She is tolerable:" Elizabeth reacts rather too sedately to the insult Darcy gives her (and he also makes an added comment about her having too many sisters); unlike in other versions where she attempts to suppress a laugh or even taunts Darcy outright. The adaptation diverges from the book by having Elizabeth tell her mother instead of her friends about Darcy's insult; it does not make sense why Elizabeth would confide this in her mother, given that she knows her mother is a fool.

Netherfield dance: Darcy attempts to flirt with Elizabeth during this dance (which only lasts one minute!), but doesn't succeed because of his poor social skills and her prejudice. It's also an amazing battle of wits, as Darcy counters Elizabeth's accusations while admonishing her not to trust Wickham.

Unfortunately, the adaptation cuts out essential dialogue revealing the extent of Elizabeth's prejudice and foreshadowing the discovery of Wickham's true character. For example, what isn't included is Elizabeth's accusations that Darcy is to blame for ruining Wickham's life, to which he replies that Wickham is capable of charming others but not necessarily of retaining good friends.

More significantly, the adaptation cuts Elizabeth's admission that she cannot figure Darcy out:

"'May I ask to what these questions tend?' 'Merely to the illustration of your character,' said she...

'And what is your success?' She shook her head. 'I do not get on at all. I her such different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly.'

'...I could wish, Miss Bennet, that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment, as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either.'"

The development of the romance is harmed due to the omission of the portrait metaphor. Here, Darcy shrewdly observes to Elizabeth that her judgment of character may be flawed and foreshadows the discovery of her prejudice against him. After his many observations of Elizabeth, Darcy knows her so well that he can read her like an open book (though he underestimates the extent of Elizabeth's prejudice against him). The metaphor of the picture as a representation of character also becomes literal through Darcy's portrait at Pemberley; Elizabeth only falls in love with Darcy after examining his character through the portrait.

Ultimately, the Netherfield Ball dance between Elizabeth and Darcy is essential in demonstrating the fallacy of first impressions, and reducing the dialogue only to the beginning part where Elizabeth teases Darcy on his inability to make small talk undermines the richness of the story.

Darcy's first proposal: This scene is definitely the worst one in this miniseries because it fails on so many levels. First, this Darcy remains stiff throughout the entire proposal, like he was at a public ball rather than declaring love. This is a total contrast to book Darcy; who, though formal, is "agitated" and "pale with anger" at times. Those famous opening lines ("In vain I have struggled...") are delivered so quickly and without any sort of overwhelming passion. What should be the climax of Darcy finally letting the volcano of his repressed emotions erupt (with bad consequences for him) instead becomes a cold recitation of the script. Elizabeth also becomes robotic as well, repeating her lines back with a detached tone of voice as if reading a teleprompter. I'm warning you: be prepared for the worst 5 minutes of your life.

Visiting Pemberley: The adaptation utilizes Elizabeth's inner monologue as she praises Pemberley; it's interesting to people who have read and re-read the book, but I don't think it's necessary to "copy and paste" large portions of the book and read them to the audience.

I do like that this adaptation clearly indicates that Elizabeth still stands by her decision to reject Darcy's first proposal, even though she really likes his great big house:

"'And of this place,' thought she, 'I might have been mistress! 'I might have rejoiced in [these rooms] as my own, and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle and aunt. - 'But no'... 'I should not have been allowed to invite them.'"

Most adaptations include the "Pemberley could have been mine" part, but don't include Elizabeth's realization that Darcy's class prejudice would have estranged her from the Gardiners (unfortunately that includes the 1995 miniseries). Including Elizabeth's thoughts about her aunt and uncle dispels the perception that she is a gold-digger who marries Darcy only after realizing how rich he is.

The portrait: why, why, why does Darcy not smile in his portrait?! The book LITERALLY EMPHASIZES that DARCY SMILES in his portrait, revealing a more sensitive side to him than his cold and formal appearance would otherwise suggest. Big mistake.

Lydia's elopement: the adaptation messes up this scene so badly, which is unfortunate because the scene is important in showing how much Elizabeth trusts Darcy and how much he still loves her, as shown through his concern for her. First, it diverges from the book by having Elizabeth run several miles to Pemberley (while fully outfitted in a spencer, bonnet, and long dress) and somehow she doesn't sweat or faint from the exertion. Running to Darcy to tell him the news doesn't make any sense, since the book makes clear that she did not want anyone outside her family to know about Lydia's elopement, or else her marriage prospects would certainly be ruined; the news devastated her because she feared losing Darcy's respect due to his social prejudice. Darcy learning of the news was purely a coincidence because he happened to be waiting for her at the inn where she was staying (aw how romantic!). As for Darcy, he remains cold and doesn't seem concerned enough for Elizabeth, in contrast with the book, where he immediately springs into action. The adaptation also omits Darcy's kindness by cutting out the part of the scene where he consoles Elizabeth, gets her to sit down, and brings her some wine.

Second proposal: Darcy breaks the rules of social etiquette by going out alone with Elizabeth before proposing to her, unlike in the book where they are with Jane and Bingley, but this scene is still thoroughly unromantic because the two actors have zero chemistry.

5. CONCLUSION

Although this adaptation has some good moments, the dated production design, underdeveloped romance, and wooden acting means that I will only recommend this version to Pride and Prejudice nerds/extreme book purists. The adaptation is boring to watch unless you know the book by heart.

This script highlights Austen's wit and sarcasm, but the performances don’t always do it justice. The feminist approach to the novel makes the adaptation stand out, but comes at the cost of Darcy's character development and the central love story.

Purists and casual book fans are better served by the 1995 BBC miniseries, which has the right balance of entertainment, historical accuracy, and faithfulness to the novel.

Thanks to JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) for all the wonderful online articles that I pull many of my ideas from. I spent many hours entertaining myself by reading their scholarly analyses of Jane's other works as well as those related to Pride and Prejudice, and they have really helped me as I write these reviews.

@princesssarisa @austengivesmeserotonin @dahlia-coccinea @obscurelittlebird @appleinducedsleep @colonelfitzwilliams

[jaysevhls]

The Life I Had (pt.2) | Jay Halstead

Summary: Based on season 5, episodes 7 and 10. Jay is struggling with this undercover mission, while Y/N is trying to help him after Erin left him. Both of them are starting to realise their feelings for each other.

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader.

Author's note: Requests are open!

PART 1 | PART 3

It was time to go to work, when you got a message from Hailey that she'll pick you up, because you got a case. Since yesterday you were now at Adam's apartment, because when you moved to Jay, you decided to sell your apartment. You needed cash and it wasn't a necessary to have another one. You thought that it'll last longer than that, but well... Jay had different plans.

"I'll be back late, you can take my keys." Adam said when you walked into the kitchen.

"And why is that?"

"I'm working at something, don't worry." he hugged you, took his gun and badge and then left.

Hailey showed up few minutes later.

"What do we got?" you asked.

"Jay was undercover yesterday and he found a shooted girl. He's on the scene."

"Well, that's none of my business, but I'm pretty sure we've finished this case and there's no need to him be undercover."

"Yeah, I guess. Voight is already there, I don't know what we should expect." she said.

"I swear to god, if he got involved in something because of this girl, I'll end her." you said and closed the door behind you.

You followed Hailey to her car. After few minutes you were on the scene.

"What are you doing here?" Jay asked as you, Hailey and Voight showed up.

"Well, what are YOU doing here Jay? I'm pretty sure we've closed this case." Voight asked him, but you knew what the answer will be. Of course Jay was feeling something to this girl.

"I'm working. Camila Vega, she's my CI." he asked and looked at you.

"Since when? Did you put her in papers? you didn't want to listen this conversation. Walking by the few police officers, you decided to check the body and find some personal items like phone or wallet.

But there was nothing. Only cash.

"Y/N? Can we talk?" Jay appeared behind you as you were talking with other officer.

"What do you want? If I left something at your place I'll take it tonight, but I'm pretty sure I've got everything."

"Stop, no, I just... I really miss talking to you. I want to apologize Y/N." he looked at you and you felt tears willing up in your eyes. Why was this so difficult? You weren't together, you didn't break up... He was just a friend. And partner.

"I don't think it's a great place to have conversation like this. I can meet you tonight if you want."

"Okay, be at my place at 9pm." he tried to step forward and hug you, but you moved to the back. You didn't feel right, not now.

Even if you were still mad at him, you smiled when he walked away. It was painful being that far away from him, he meant so much to you, and it couldn't end up like this, but at the same time he needed to know that what he did was just wrong.

Time passed by and you decided to leave Adam's apartment and go visit Jay. This day wasn't that bad at all. Back at district you were talking a little bit more with him that usual, so that made you really happy.

You decided to take a walk to his apartment. It was close to Ruzek's apartment and there was no need to drive, besides, you thought that this night you both will end up drunk.

After few minutes you were chasing the hall. You checked your phone last time to saw if he sent something to you about cancelling your plans. You knocked on his door, but there was just silence. He didn't text you, you were just standing there knocking at his door.

"Hey, can you be more quiet? If he's not answering, maybe he just doesn't want to talk" some neighbor said.

"Sorry, I'll just go now." you answered. You stood there for second before storming out from building. When you felt the wind on your cheeks, you bursted into tears. He lied. He freaking lied, leaving you there alone.

You couldn't catch a breath, everything was so blurry. You didn't want to show up like this in Adam's place, so instead of going there, you went back to the district. It was late, the whole intelligence went homes, so no one would notice you there.

You sat on the couch in break room with tea in your hands. From nowhere Voight appeared confused, just standing and staring at you.

"Please just don't say anything, I can't handle more today." you said.

"What happened kiddo? I thought you went home with Adam." he walked closer.

"Yeah I did, but I forgot to do something here so I got back."

"Don't lie to me Y/N. You gave me your files, there's no reason for you to be here." he said. "So, you better gotta tell me what happened or I'm calling Adam."

"Halstead and I can't get along in past few weeks, we were supposed to meet today, but he just didn't show up and I can't go back to Adam place looking like this. I'll stay here for the night I guess."

"No way Y/N. Come on, you're going back to Adam, you're going to tell him what happened. I can't let you think that this is okay. Talk about everything what is bothering you kid."

"You're right I guess. But I'll go alone, I need to call someone before I got home."

"Okay, but I'm giving you 15 minutes, then I'll call Trudy to drive you on her own."

"Sure thing."

The next day, you arrived alone to the district. Team got a lead to a guy who were dealing with drugs and he supposed to meet that killed girl. After founding out that she was undercover as CIA agent just made this case the important things and it needed to be solved as soon as possible.

You smiled at Trudy when you got there and went straight upstairs.

"Club Echo? And Alex? I know him, I met him trough Camila." you heard Jay's voice as you appeared in bullpen."I can go under with Y/N." he continued.

"Take Hailey, I've got a work to do." you snapped at him and went to your desk. Voight looked at you and answered:

"Y/N, you're going. I need Hailey here." he said.

"But Serg-" of course he made this because of the last night and what you've told him.

"Go before you'll say too much." you stood up, grabbed your jacket and went after Jay.

The whole time there was a silence in the car. You said that you don't want to talk as you got in his truck and he just nodded.

After a while you were in Echo, searching for Alex.

"Hey man, thanks for meeting." Jay said.

"Ryan, hey! Who's that pretty lady huh?" Alex asked looking at you.

"Not your league. I'm his sister." you pointed with your head at Jay.

"So, I heard that you have something good for me."

"What are you talking about?" Alex laughed at Jay.

"Man, we y'all know that you're dealing. Camila told me."

"Yeah I do. What also did she said after that 20 minutes in the back of the club and whole night at her place huh?" you looked at Jay confused. He stood you up for her. He freaking lied to you because of her. He chose her over you.

"Alright, you want to know more than you should. Can we make a deal?" Jay asked.

"Sure, I'll call you when it'll be done." they said goodbyes and you went outside.

You couldn't believe that Jay really did that to you. After all these years.

"I can't believe..." you whispered.

"What Y/N?"

"You're sleeping with her. This entire time being "undercover" you were screwing up with her." you said.

"Y/N, it's not like that..."

"It's not like what? Like what Jay? You fucking lied to me. I was the one who waited for you for almost an hour in front of their apartment, because you were too busy fucking her! Was that worth it? Over all these things we had?

"I wanted to see you but it came out of nowhere and I needed to meet her and talk." he answered and walked closer.

"No, all you needed was to fuck her. That's what you wanted to do. All this time. And don't play being broken and alone Jay. I was the one who were with you all this time! I stayed the night with you, I moved in with you, because you needed help! I watched you almost die, cry every night, I was there, not her! And you're still treating me like this."

"Don't make it like this Y/N... Don't play innocent girl, you're saying that I'm making wrong choices but maybe look at yourself and ask if it's right to sleep around with Adam!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Life isn't perfect Y/N."

"Yeah, funny story that you were the one who broke me first." you said and walked away.

Part 3?

[mediocre--writing]

Hey! I just read a couple of your drabbles and I LOVE THEM!💙💙

So if you don't mind, could you please do a Harringrove drabble/ficlet based on either of the two (or a mix of both, if you can) Twenty One Pilots songs "Tear in My Heart" and/or "Smithereens"?

Because, for me, Tear in My Heart is very Billy and Smithereens is very Steve👉👈

Thank you!!💜

Ok so love this and you have an amazing mind, just so you know.

This is like a 2 in 1 fic post so :))))

So smithereens and steve work so well together, like

“I go step to a dude much bigger than me/ for you I know that I would get messed up, weigh 153/ For you I would get beat to smithereens”

Like this is just Steve's personality. He got into a fight every season and barely ever wins without intervention. And like i could see him just being so overcome with emotions that he just does what he knows, which is self destruct.

Like with his fight with Jonathan, he almost accepts that Nancy was too good for him and thinks that he might as well take other people with him.

Then with Tommy in the parking lot, it’s not really a fight, but it shows that he has a conscience and fixes his mistakes.

Then with his fight with Billy, he only tries to protect the kids, even if he’s losing miserably.

I could 100% see steve having snuck into billy’s room during the night once (before he really knew about neil), not to do anything nefarious, but just that he had a really bad nightmare, because there was a small power outage, and billy is really good at helping him sleep afterwards.

And let's just say that Billy's alarm clock (which is always set for 5:30am, half an hour before Neil wakes up just to give him peace of mind) doesn’t go off because of the power outage.

And Neil comes to wake up Billy for school because he hasn’t woken up yet, and sees Billy spooning Steve and both boys are snoring and pressing bare chest to bareback, and so deep asleep that Neil lets them sleep, letting them wake up on their own.

And they do. Billy wakes up around 8am, feeling insanely well rested. He smiles and squeezes Steve before turning to sit up from his bed to look at his alarm clock, that’s blinking on and off and reads 3:18am, but the sun’s up and… the house is quiet.

Billy feels the dread settle deep in his chest, and swears he could cry if he were .000000001% more worried.

He hears the creaking of work boots walking around the house and knows, just from the tension lingering in the air, that it’s just an angry Neil pacing in the kitchen/ dining room and waiting for Billy to wake up.

He doesn’t know whether to wake Steve up and tell him to escape out of the window and run or just let him lay there anyway, it’s obvious that Neil already saw.

He let’s Steve sleep and throws a shirt on and slowly walks out of the room into the pits of hell, seeing Neil turn to him with an angry face a brighter shade of red than a firetruck.

As slurs are screamed and Billy is thrown into the walls and has family tchotchkes launched at his face, Steve wakes up after a particularly painful shove makes the wall shake, pushing a single picture frame fall off the wall on the other side.

Steve shoots up after that loud bang and hears a wail and muffled yelling before something else hits the wall. He grabs his shirt and puts it on as he walks out the bedroom door, seeing glass shattered on the hardwood leading to the family room, but what he sees around the corner is so much worse.

Billy’s bleeding in about twenty different spots, body curled in a ball in the corner of the kitchen, Neil standing over him, but turning to Steve with a grin.

Steve feels his blood boil as dots connect and loose ends are tied up, making the connection between Billy's bad nights and the new bruises he’ll sport under his shirt. The way he tries to hide it when he flinches at loud, authoritative men who are bigger than him. Why he told Steve to never call his house and why he is the way he is.

So Steve doesn’t think for another second before launching himself at Neil, slamming him into the floor, but that’s about as much as he wins that fight, because Neil is slamming him back and beating him the same way he did his son.

And billy, let’s admit it, is probably much stronger and a better fighter than his dad, but it’s so hard to fight back against an abuser that has controlled your life for so long. Even when you know you could win and that they deserve it, neil hargrove is still his dad and he could never get it into his head to hit him back.

But Steve was trying too hard to take him down because he was doing the wrong thing and losing terribly, never having won a fight once in his damn life.

Billy’s sitting up against the wall, ribs in excruciating pain and vision blurry, but he sees Steve getting up and kicking Neil once before backing up, and Billy sees his camaro keys in the dish by the front door.

So he stands up as fast as he can, ignoring the dizziness as if that would make it go away, grabs steve’s arm and shoots to the door, grabbing the camaro keys and shooting outside

He takes the driver’s seat, despite his dizzying head, just knew that he’d have to drive for a few miles then they could reevaluate, and Steve was clumsily getting into the passenger side.

Billy had only just started the car when Neil came rushing out the door, screaming threats and slurs as if that would make them stop their escape.

The camaro backed out of the driveway and shot down cherry lane in record time, going to the center of town, the least likely place Neil would cause a scene.

It isn’t until Billy puts the car in park that he can bear to look at steve.

He’s got a bloody nose and his shirt sleeve is torn off, hair disheveled from both sleep and the fight.

But billy looks so much worse.

He’s still hunched to the left from his ribs, he’s got tons of cuts along his arms, legs, and face from, what steve suspects, the broken glass on the floor. He’s also got this wild-animal-look in his eyes. One that screams, I escaped alive, but at what cost?

“Bill-”

“Why’d you do that?”

“Why-- I’m sorry are you asking me why I attacked your dad when he was kicking you while you were, literally, on the floor?”

“Ye--no, I-- but you got hurt, why’d you do that?”

“Billy, what did you expect me to do?” a shrug is all he gets in response--”If you saw my dad doing that to me, can you honestly expect yourself to stand there and watch it happen, or walk away and let it happen?”

Billy turns to face the grocery store--Melvad’s-- that they were parked in front of.

“It’s all weaving together in my head. All the bruises, the jumpiness, how you like to control things, it all makes sense, but what doesn’t make sense is why you wouldn’t just tell me, Bill,”

“And what exactly would you have been able to do about it, huh? You gonna take care of the situation or some shit, Steve? Trust me, I’m used to it and--”

“But you shouldn’t have to be ‘used to it,’ Bill, that’s abuse, and you don’t deserve that shit, not ever,”

Their conversation is halted by a tap on the glass by Steve's window, and the boys turn to see Joyce Byers looking more motherly than ever.

Steve rolled the window down.

“The hell happened to you boys?” she asked but corrected herself with a shake of her head, “Doesn’t matter, just come in to clean up, we’ve got bandages and antiseptic, free of charge,”

Billy wiped away the tears he didn’t know had formed and nodded to her, “We’ll be out in a minute, Mrs. Byers.”

“Joyce, please,” she demanded softly.

“Joyce, of course,” Billy offered a subdued smile.

She walked off and Steve rolled the window back up.

“Thank you,” Billy spoke quietly after a moment. “I’m glad he didn’t hurt you worse,”

“Billy, for you I would get beat to smithereens,”

“Well of course you would, you weigh like 100 pounds, not like you could put up much of a fight,”

“Hey! I gave him a black eye, thank you very much!”

“Oh, well, my bad, baby, then maybe you weigh 150, huh?”

Steve grumbled from the passenger seat, “153,”

Billy chuckled and grabbed Steve's hand over the console, locking eyes and smiling at each other, enjoying their small moment.

“We should probably get in there before Joyce comes out herself?” Steve sighed as he moved to take his hand out of Billy's.

“One more minute, please,”

Steve just tightened his grip on Billy's hand and moved towards the center of the car to rest his head on Billy's shoulder, Billy's head falling onto his.

-

Billy and Tear In My Heart thooooooooo

Like it fits him so well, again this is amazing.

I also see billy as a resident hater of america and it’s fucking government becuase, well, they have a history between his myriad of speeding tickets and, oh what was it, oh yes, the tentacle monster that impaled and possessed him.

And in California, there’s no cold weather where he lives, so there’s not exactly potholes to avoid.

The first time he drives into the cooler states and has to avoid potholes, he decides that his car deserves a vacation after this.

But the potholes become the biggest issue after he and Steve start dating.

He’s absolutely enamoured by this boy, because who wouldn’t be. He respects Billy's limits and can hold his own in arguments, and they fit together like missing pieces of a puzzle.

Steve has changed Billy, not that he’d admit it, but he’s softer now and all of his sharp edges have been baby-proofed. They’re still there and dangerous, but they’re more difficult to be stabbed by.

All the cracks in his heart have been filled with gold, like Kintsugi (a Japanese technique of repairing broken pottery with gold).

And Billy can complain and complain about Steve's clinginess, about his intrusion into his life, and his persistence to stay, but deep inside Billy's never felt more loved or cared for in his life.

But these damn potholes might just make him lose it.

Because billy is anything but a bad driver, he can control the car even when it’s going 45 over the speed limit, but now that steve falls asleep after their movie dates or when they’re coming back from barbeques with the party, Joyce, and Hopper, he’s driving the speed limit.

Which is just appalling.

But some of these potholes are so deep you could dive into them and not hit the bottom.

Like what the fuck, Indiana?

And, one time, Max is with them after a barbeque when Steve falls asleep and Billy slows the car down to what feels like snail speed, but is just the speed limit.

“Why are we going so slow?” Max asked as she leaned forward from the backseat to whisper to billy.

“Steve’s sleepin’,” he said, as if it was the obvious reason.

“You’re whipped,”

“Shut up, Shitbird,”

Max leans back into her seat with a grin on her face at the absolute mush her big, tough brother has turned into for Steve Harrington.

[marveloussupernerd]

I really enjoyed the way you wrote that Jumin Han ANGST my friend and if you don't mind I would very much like to request more ANGSTTT but with Seven because he is the CEO of ANGST FOR NO REASON. Be as creative as you want with it, you're the author! I was thinking something like MC getting seriously hurt/shot?? by someone who's after Seven from his agency work, or something less *deadly* like MC drunk and cheating/kissing another RFA member. Either way, I know I'll love what you come up with!

Hi bb! Sorry you’ve been waiting for this for like WEEKS but I was NOT in an angst vibe LMAO. But after I’ve brainstormed I’m v excited to write this. If ppl don’t like angst / want to see a resolution maybe request a pt 2 ? 🥺

Bullet Wound - Seven

Warnings: violence (shooting), medical stuff (surgery, injury), argument, spoilers for Seven’s real name !!

Summary: Seven’s company was not very happy that he betrayed them. Neither of you has thought it was a problem anymore. You were wrong. Seven feels responsible for you getting hurt

You held his hand, swinging it as you walked. “I had a lot of fun today,” you told him, smiling as you glanced at him, then down at your entwined hands, his golden wedding band shining in the sunlight.

“Me too! I can’t believe you had never had fish-shaped buns before today,” he mentioned, feigning shock.

You laughed. “They were very good. But honestly, I hadn’t even heard of them until the RFA talked about them.”

He sighed. “Who would believe my wife was so boring before she met me?”

You used your shoulder to ram into his side slightly, pushing him off his path slightly. He simply laughed. “What do you wanna do when we get home?”

“Hmmm...” you thought aloud, “nap. Cuddle. I’m exhausted.”

“You shouldn’t have stayed up all night with me when I was doing my work,” he pouted.

You shrugged. “What can I say? I can’t sleep without my husband by my side.”

He stopped for a second, halting you with him and pulling your hand slightly to turn you towards him. He had that goofy, fond smile you loved so much. “You’re so cute. I love you.” His voice was firm, full of meaning, as though nobody could deny it.

You couldn’t hide your grin, turning back on track and pulling him along with you. “I love you t-“

A deafening noise. It made you jump. “What the hell was that?” Seven exclaimed.

You looked around, trying to find the origin of the sound. And then you felt it; fire in your body. In your back. You placed a hand on it and flinched from the pain, blood slicking your hand. “Saeyoung,” you uttered out, the shock evident in your voice. “I think we need to run.”

He turned to look at where you were glancing, and then saw your hand. “Shit!” He exclaimed. Without hesitation, he swung you into his arms. “Hold on tight and stay with me, Babe.” He started running toward his babe car.

He threw the door open, setting you down gently in the seat. He buckled you up, hand pulling the lever to move the seat upright. “Ow!” You hissed in pain from the contact of the chair against your wound.

He shut the door and headed to his side, climbing in and driving off without even buckling his seatbelt. “I know it hurts but that’ll help keep some pressure on it. I’m driving to the ER as fast I can, so just hold on.”

“Sae... Saeyoung,” you choked out, trying to focus on your breathing and not the pain. “Your seatbelt.”

“Oh!” He used one hand to buckle it up. “Sorry. I didn’t even think about it.”

“You have to be safe too, okay?” You started tearing up. “Remember that.”

“Don’t say things like that.” He raised his voice. You nodded. You saw him frown. “I just... you’re making it sound like you’re going to die. And you’re not.” His voice was much softer now.

“I understand. I’m sorry I made it seem that way.” You let out a breathy sigh. “I’m just scared.”

He stopped the car pretty suddenly, right outside of the emergency room doors. He unbuckled, rushing out of the door, leaving his keys and phone inside. He opened yours and picked you up again. “I know. But you’re gonna be fine. I’m not going to leave your side.”

“I don’t think-“

“I’ll figure it out. Even if I have to watch you on the cameras. I’ll be here for you. Promise.”

“I love you,” you whimpered, lip trembling. You were scared.

“I need help! My wife’s been shot!” He announced as he entered the room. Fortunately, nobody was waiting and subject to the scene, only the people working there.

The lady at the front’s eyes widened. She announced something over the speakers, but you couldn’t hear it. “Where at?” You heard her ask Saeyoung. Your vision was blurry. You were nervous.

“Back.”

“Scale of 1 to 10?” They both shifted their eyes towards you.

“Eight.”

They didn’t stop looking at you. You raised an eyebrow. Why? “One to ten?” She asked again. Saeyoung looked petrified.

Were your words not coming out? You took a deep breath, focusing on expelling the air and moving your mouth to get the words out. “Eight.”

“Okay,” she nodded, scribbling things down. Seven smiled sadly at you.

Two people burst through the doors with one do those rolling beds. Seven set you down gently in it. He didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye. Your eyes widened in fear as you heard the doctors frantically speaking medical jargon. Saeyoung, in the distance, blew you a kiss. You closed your eyes and tried to relax.

When you did open your eyes again, they felt extremely heavy. Like you were doing physical labor to open them. “Thank God!” It was Seven’s voice. You worked harder to open your eyes and saw him, still in his bloody outfit from earlier, bags under his eyes and concern marking his features.

“Hi,” you said weakly, trying to give him a smile.

“Oh my God. I was afraid I’d lose you.” His eyebrows knitted in concern. “Did you know your heart stopped during surgery?” A sob escaped from the back of his throat. “It stopped.”

“I’m here,” you whispered. Your voice was hoarse. “I’m still here.”

You reached out your hand to grab his own, not surprised to see an IV hooked to your arm. “This is all my fault.” He was crying hard now, eyes refusing to meet your own. “This is because of me.”

“It’s not your fault,” you reassured him.

“It is! None of this would have happened if I wouldn’t have let you get close.” He walked away from you, moving to look out the window. “I’m an idiot.”

“I don’t think so. I’m glad you let me in, Saeyoung. I don’t blame you for this at all.”

“But I do. I blame myself.” His voice was now more angry with himself than sad.

A knock on the door. The doctor. Saeyoung composed himself, turning to meet him.

“Nice to see you again, Saeyoung.” The doctor greeted, a bright smile on his face. “And there’s our fighter. How are you feeling?”

“I think whatever pain stuff you have me on helps, but I just woke up so I’m still a bit drowsy.”

He looked down at your chart. “You did sleep through the night. 17 hours,” he explained.

Your eyes snapped back to Seven. “You’ve been here for seventeen hours?” You asked, the shock evident in your voice.

The doctor laughed. “He’s been by your side the whole time. Now I do want to keep you probably for another few days to monitor, but it should be pretty relaxed. Just try to keep your mind at ease and your heart rate down. All helps the healing.”

“Any significant injuries I should know about?” You asked. You knew people got really messed up from shot wounds.

He grinned, shaking his head no. “You were very lucky. Didn’t hit any major organs or your spine. You’re in good shape, relatively speaking.” He wrote something on his sheet. “I’m going to make sure the nurses visit you every half hour. I’ll probably be back in two hours or so. If you need anything in between, feel free to page the nurses.”

“Thank you Doctor,” you smiled. He waved and left.

“I... don’t think we should do this,” Seven spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I’m putting you in too much danger,” he stated simply.

“Well I’m okay. And I think it’s worth it,” you defended.

He sighed, shaking his head. “You’re such... an idiot. How could you get shot because of me and still be so naive and stupid?” He wasn’t yelling, but his voice was cold. The beeping on your heart monitor steadily increased, betraying you by giving away how his words made you feel.

“And what do you want me to do about it Seven? It’s not like we’re just dating casually. We can’t just break up. We’re married. And thank goodness we are,” you added for good measure.

“‘Maybe we shouldn’t be.”

The monitor jumped again. This time it didn’t slow down. Your eyes felt heavy again and your back felt like it was on fire once more. “Don’t say that.” You whimpered, your voice quiet due to the pain.

“I’ll say what I want. It’s a bad idea.”

“Saeyoung.” Your voice was very firm. “I-“ you listened to the racing heart monitor again. “Do you hear that? My heartbeat? How fast it’s going because of things you’re saying? I’m supposed to be relaxed. You’re not helping.”

“I’m trying to make you be realistic” he defended.

“Go home Saeyoung.” You demanded.

“Huh?”

“Go home. Take a shower. Change out of the bloody clothes. Take a nap. Come back to me when you’ve decided to be mild and respectful of my health.”

“But, I-“

“No.” You said, allowing no room for argument. “You are upsetting me. Come back when you feel bette.r.”

“I’m scared to leave you,” he whimpered, turning to you so you could see his eyes watering.

“I need to be alone right now. Go home. See you later.”

He frowned. A lot. He sniffled.

“Stop!” You called to him. “You’re the one who said you wanted to get a divorce. And I said to leave and calm down for a while. So stop pouring.” You jutted your lip out. “I can’t get comfy laying down and my husband wants to divorce me because I got shot and I got shot.”

His frown only increased. “Take care,” he said softly, heading to the door. “I’ll respect your wishes.” He walked out the door.

[alrighttherescarhead]

could we get a part 4 to that best friend Ethan thing?🥰

Sorry it took so long :(

TRIGGER WARNING!!!

(sexual harassment, violence, alcohol intoxication and death)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4:

You were now 4 drinks down and to say that you were absolutely fucked was an understatement. Your vision had become blurry and you were struggling to walk like a normal person without embarrassing yourself by walking into strangers.

Grayson was right. You can’t handle your drinks.

Every now and then you flash a cheeky smile at the odd guy that walks by you, earning yourself an eye roll from both Yael and Sam. You're such a flirt when you're drunk and you never have a problem showing it.

”You're such a lightweight, y/n!” Yael shouts over the loud thumping music as you both dance side by side, swaying your hips along with the music.

You— being the most drunk you've ever been— miss hear her completely. ”who the fuck are you calling shark bait?!”

Yael snorts out a laugh, amused with the state that you were in. “I said LIGHTWEIGHT! Fucking idiot!”

Sam casually dances his way over to the two of you, in the middle of the dance floor, with a drink in each hand.

”Who’s a lightweight?!” he questions, handing Yael one of the alcoholic beverages.

”Look! Sammy whammy is here! Welcome brother shark bait!” you point out as you dramatically throw an arm around his shoulder, causing the two of you to stumble back into a group of wasted girls that were dancing behind you.

”Oop! My bad!” you giggle, stepping away from the collision you just caused. You spin around to see that all 3 girls had liquid spilt down their attire and expressed a face to say ’are you kidding me?’— but you didn't give a single fuck.

Without a second to think, you stick both middle fingers up in the air and grin tormentingly before mouthing a ’fuck you’. Much to your amusement, this riles them up.

”Ignore her! She doesn't mean it! She's just drunk!” Sam clarifies, holding his hands up in defence as the girls start to throw abuse at the two of you.

”He’s lying!” you protest. ”I think you all look like clowns right now with all that fucking makeup on your dumbass fac—”

Pulling you away from the situation, before it gets out of hand, Sam raises a brow at you. ”Stop trying to rile up strangers! And Shark bait?”

“SHARK BAIT, OOH HA HA!”

Wow. You were even starting to annoy yourself with the childish shit you were coming out with.

”enough with the shark bait!” Yael demands, playfully clamping a hand over your mouth.

”get ya nasty hands off me!” slapping her hands away, you grimace. ”Could’a been touching sam’s dick for all I know!”

”don't be so silly!” yeal leans closer to your ear, holding your shoulder to steady your balance somewhat. ”I've washed my hands since then.” she winks.

”FILTH! ABSOLUTE FILTH!” you screech, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, sending Yael into fits of laughter.

”I’m joking!” she claims, taking a sip of her drink. ”although—” yael eyes Sam from head to toe, almost drooling at the sight of him. ”Sam is looking pretty hot tonight. Look at that fine piece of—”

”RIGHT!” you turn on your heel, beginning to walk away ”I need another drink.”

”Be safe! We’ll be right here if you need us!” she calls, waving a hand in the air as to say ’bye’.

No, they won't. Give it 5 minutes and Yael will be getting it in the toilets.

You were at the bar, ordering another 2 rounds of shots for the three of you, when a guy comes and sits himself down beside you.

”having a fun night?” he attempts to spark up a conversation.

”uh— yeah? Yes! Very fun!”

”That sounds like sarcasm, babe.”

Ew. Don't ’babe’ me.

You force a smile before taking your phone out from your clutch.

No messages.

Deep down, you were hoping to find a message from Ethan. But instead you received a notification-free screen. You found yourself staring at a picture, of you and E, that you had set as your lock screen. It was taken at the beach a few months back when you first properly hung out with everyone. Ethan was very attached to you that day and wherever you were, he was sure not to be too far away. You found it sweet.

In the photo, Ethan was standing behind you, both arms wrapped around your torso and his chin resting on your shoulder with a huge beaming smile spread across his face. It's your favorite photo to date and you've had it set as your lock screen from the very moment it was taken because E claimed it was ’kinda cute’.

The stranger next to you must have noticed your facial expression alter slightly because he's soon leaning over to get your attention. You slide your phone back into your clutch and close it after double-checking your actions.

”you seem like you're having a shitty time.”

”I am not! I'm having a fucking wicked time, if you must know! See that girl over there?” you turn to look for Yael, but she's nowhere in sight. Neither is Sam.

They're fucking in the bathroom, I bet!

”who?” the guy looks around the room in confusion.

Panicking, you point to a random girl. That random girl just so happens to be the wildest girl out on the dance floor as she was grinding against anyone who walked by her with her hair an absolute mess and red lipstick smudged all over her face. She looks like she knows how to have a fun time, that's for sure.

”That's your friend?” he asks, voice full of doubt. ”Seems like a massive whore to me.”

Was this guy looking to get his ass beaten? Because you'll square up right now!

”fuck you, asshole! That's my best friend! Don't talk about her like that!” You snap. You have no idea why you felt the need to defend this girl so bad but you weren't going to sit back and let this nincompoop hate on her like that.

”what the fuck are you gonna do about it?” the man laughs, taking a sip of his drink.

Smack his drink out of his hand.

You scowl at the man, shaking the thought out of your head before the bartender walks over with the shots you had ordered. You thank them with a small smile before picking the drinks tray up to take it over to an empty table in the corner of the room, furthest away from the bar.

After concentrating on your steps, and guarding the drinks like your life depended on it, you reach the booth you had your eyes on.

Wasting no time at all, you place the tray atop the table and swallow a shot straight down, grimacing at the burning feeling in the back of your throat.

Just when you think you're alone with your own thoughts, you feel a tap on your shoulder, prompting you to turn around. When you do, your heart plummets into your stomach.

It was the nincompoop from the bar and he didn't look happy at all.

”You know, it's rude to walk away from someone when they're talking to you.” his eyes were all over you, scanning your body from head to toe. You cringe, internally.

Still fairly drunk, you mimic his words in a mocking tone. ”It's rude to walk away when someones talking to you— GUESS WHAT?! I. DON'T—”

Taking you by surprise, he grabs your face with one hand and pulls you closer to him by harshly yanking on your arm.

”Watch your fucking mouth, slut.” he grumbles next to your ear, making your blood run cold with fear.

You'd think that someone would notice what's going on and intervene but this is a club, after all. Everyone was too drunk to notice their surroundings, let alone care about a couple of people in the corner of the club.

You always knew your drunken mouth would get you in trouble one day.

Out of instinct and panic, you kick him as hard as you can in the shin and shove him back. He howls in pain, hopping on one leg, as you make a quick dash for the nearest exit.

This is when wearing heels really fucks you.

You didn't dare look behind you because you knew if you did, that asshole would be right on your tail.

Forcefully shoving an exit door open, you become aware of your surroundings. You’re currently standing in the designated area for smokers. But no one was in sight.

To your left: dead end. No brainer.

To your right: 6-foot wire fence. There's no way you’d be able to climb that thing in sweatpants, let alone a fucking dress.

Unfortunately for you, just when you were about to figure out your next escape route, the guy kicks the door open to reveal an evil smirk on his pale face.

Yeah, maybe running through a side door wasn't the best idea.

There was only one exit and douchebag here was standing right in the way of it.

”You really thought you could run away from me?” he scoffs, ambling closer. With every step he took, the more fearful you got. What were this man's intentions?

”fuck you!” you spit (quite literally) into his face, making him flinch over-so-slightly.

He chuckles darkly and wipes his face clean before clamping a hand over your mouth and traps you between himself and the brick wall behind you.

The foul stench his body emitted was gut-wrenching. It was a foisty smell, alongside alcohol and sweat and it was not a good combo, at all. Never have you smelt anything so horrendous in your life. This guy has clearly never heard of a shower before.

”Wanna say that again?” he growls, breathing his disgusting breath in your face, only inches away.

You squirmed in his tight grip, trying desperately to escape but it was no use. He was too strong compared to your intoxicated self.

You begin tugging on the hand that was wrapped around your mouth, managing to break free for long enough to bite down onto it.

Crying out profanities, the man shakes his hand followed by bringing it back up towards your face. Instead of covering your mouth though, he tightly wraps his hand around your throat and squeezes your windpipe. You gasp for air as you begin grabbing at his hand once again but the pain you inflicted on the man in front of you caused a rush of adrenaline to power through his body, making him stronger than he was before.

”You looking to get hurt, huh?” he grumbles angrily, pulling an object out from his back pocket with his free hand. With a flick of his wrist, a blade pops out from the little rectangular-shaped object. Your eyes widen as you come to realise his intentions.

You wince as he angles the razor-sharp blade against your cheek. He then proceeds to press the point into your skin, chuckling tauntingly as blood begins to seep from the fresh wound and onto his hand that was still restraining you from breathing.

You wanted to scream and cry for help but it almost seemed impossible. Everything around you was becoming even more blurry than before and you were positive you were going in and out of consciousness from lack of oxygen.

”you’re so pathetic. Look at you! So weak. So helpless.” he uses his blade to smear the blood that was seeping from your cheek, all over your face. ”any last words, bitch?”

You have nothing to lose.

”F-fuck y-you,” you wheeze, kneeing him in the crotch with all the strength you could muster.

With a groan, he drops the knife and falls to his knees, cupping his privates in the process.

You collapse onto the floor and frantically start gasping for air. Without hesitation, you proceed to army crawl towards the door you passed through moments ago but before you could reach it, you're being dragged back by your ankle. You twist your whole body to lay on your back and begin kicking your feet in an attempt to get the pest of a man off you.

Managing to dodge all of your kicks, he drags you closer to him and places himself in between your legs after yanking them apart.

”GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” you screech, throwing your fists directly into his face.

”Stop! Just hold still!” He holds an arm up in defence as the other begins jerking at your dress, making it ride up somewhat.

”I SAID FUCK OFF!” Your foot flies up, purposely, kicking him straight in the jaw. The impact sparks him out cold as he falls back and cracks his head against the concrete flooring beneath him. You lay there stunned.

Blood begins to pool around his body while you remain sat in the exact same spot, eyes never leaving the scene before you.

You pay close attention to his chest area to discover that it wasn’t rising and falling like it should be. The only movement evident was the deep red fluid that continued to spill from his brutal wound on the back of his head.

Fuck.

Your breathing hitches in your throat as you feel as though you were being strangled like moments prior. Following shortly behind was a tightening sensation in your chest. It was just like someone had you in a bear hug and refused to loosen their hold of you, only tightening more when you begin to freak out. Everything around you becomes hazy as you try your hardest to focus on your breathing.

The exit door unexpectedly flies open to reveal the club's security guard with his mouth agape, looking absolutely mortified.

”I- I swear I- he just—” you stutter shakily, beginning to explain what happened before completely blacking out.

***

Taglist:

@ludiclove

[idjitlili]

Don’t stop me now

Spike btvs x reader

Summary:Imagine looking like  Freddie Mercury as a woman like in a 'I want to break free' with a hoover  dancing only for an 100+ vampire to join in, unknowingly.

A/n: what can I say , I've been busy with college , and I'm British so we know spike is gonna know Queen too.

Word count: 3891 Y/c=country(or just a state in America I don't know, the whole world isn't America lol.

It was strange to say the least; working for wolfram & hart, you had came from y/c to here, working for a law firm run by a vampire with a soul.  

Mental if you ask yourself , you had known Wesley when you was younger, actually he had brought you a ticket to Los Angeles , since your parental figure had called him , and let him know about everything really. Well just that you were now y/a , and in need of a job. That was it you were here now.

You weren't sure what your job was really , you definitely was not a social butterfly, Wesley had mentioned you had to crack codes? Now that you think about it , something to do with researching different demon rituals? That's not the correct word , anyways to do that had write summaries for Angel's upcoming meetings with these different species.

You ever had your own office, you could live in there honestly.  

There was a lot going on all the time, frankly it was kinda scary , knowing no one apart from Wesley, who clearly knotted up by the scientist, Fred. Yet you was always invited to the important meetings , you had guessed Wes had put in a word , to help you feel welcome or included. There wasn't really a purpose for you being there.

You were a little nervous that maybe one of them, probably the vampire ,Angel , not knowing that the blond British man was one too, could read your mind. What would he find the that  was terrifying (except you read dirty smut) . You were sat by Wes , at the end of the table closest to the window. Which also meant you were sat next to Angel, with the jelled blond bad boy opposite you.

"Okay, so cannibal vampire cult...what's with that, and why is that a problem?" Angel had began , with the same brooding face as , he had on 24 hours a day.  

Gunn , had cleared his throat briefly, causing everyone to turn their heads towards him. "Well, it's quite simple, they are killing all our clients."  Yeah this was waste of your life, you had already began doodling on the notepad in front of you. Unknowingly forgetting you were in an 'significant'  meeting.  

Not knowing how much time had gone by, felt like hours , freshly finished school and know you were here? Sucky. You were only jolted out of your thoughts when a foot had nudged yours, looking up slowly to the man in front of you , waiting for your reaction.

He was quite handsome you could not deny that, a small blush had raised to your cheeks , as he had caught you in a trance of boredom, you had lifted your eyebrows at him in confusion. With nothing but a smirk in response you had tried to listen again to the meeting.

"So you are saying we need bait? But who would we use? This whole place is monsters, "  Fred's face with disgust at the word 'monsters' as she delivered her thoughts, Wes thought for a moment his hand at his lip, indicting so as he looked at the pine table.  

"No,not necessarily," He had gestured to you , all eyes on you, feeling like a stripper, wow this is attention? Blush upon your face once again,"w-wha" choking on your own words ,before Angel had shook his head "Absolutely not, Wes, that's not fair."

"Yeah! I'm human too."

"And me, hey! So are you Wes."

"Uhhh, Mister Angel, " What else was you supposed to call him? Dad?  He had looked at you from the disagreement, nodding for you to go on.  

"S-say if I was, uh, what's the chances of me dying?"   The pencil in your hands being gripped tightly in your now sweaty palms, but Angel is not given chance to reply. "He wouldn't allow that, love. Would you 'mister' Angel" the blond vampire smirk was evident as he looked at the brooding brunette.

"Hold on a second, why do they want a human, if they are cannibal?" Okay that did make sense, use your ears y/n.

"They can't just drink each other , they need something other than other vampires. That's only when they actually find one of ours." Yeah, you guess that the blond man did make sort of sense, you had just "hm" in response.

You had turned to Wesley, gesturing for him to come closer, so that you could whisper into his ear, the rest watched in confusion. Hold on Angel still didn't answer your question. "Uh, um, did you volunteer me because I'm a virgin? Does that make me more attractive to the vampires?" You had really hoped that no one had super hearing, Wes pondered for a second, your hand still on his shoulder.

"I'm not quite sure, I'm probably not the best person to ask , you should bring that up with Angel." Wow thank you , so much. You moved back into sitting in your chair correctly. Twiddling your thumbs, to pretend like no one was looking at you,felt like hours that you were sat there, before your foot was nudged again, you peeped up to see the same blond man looking at you. Who else is it going to be? Johnny Depp? No.

"Come on ,love." You weren't even sure of his name, and he was calling you love. Instead of speaking you had just stared back blankly. Most awkward meeting. "Would you just ask me then? Surely it's not that bad,no one else has to hear." Only his Spike saw the look Angel was giving him, awww soft boy. He did not seem like he was evil..only if you knew him a couple of years ago.

You had stood up, in hopes spike would do the same,so you wouldn't have to kneel next to him and whisper. He stood up as you made your way to him , moving away from the table, before turning back to the others. "You lot carry on, " With that he led you away out of Angel's office to an empty one. This is so dramatic but you don't really want to be talking about your virginity to these people, well except spike.

"So,love, what's the problem?" He had towered over you, he was quite handsome yes, but you felt intimidated in honesty. "Uh,well, since I'm going to be bait...well ,um,  Are virgins more at risk at being snacked on? If that makes a difference to vampires? Oh I'm sorry, uh I-" he let out a chuckle at you, you moved your gaze to your feet. Why did you have to wear these heels, you didn't see Patrick swayze anywhere.

"Yes, they can smell it as soon as you walk into a room and it tastes different to other humans. ,love."

"W-wait how do you know?"

"I've had my fair share, now come on , love-come on I'm not going to eat you."

"Pfft- I'm not a virgin."

"Sure love,"

And with that you both headed back to the meeting , before you left to be bait Fred had informed you Spike had a soul like Angel after you had questioned him to her and Wesley.

Now you were in the middle of a park at 1 am , which happened to be not even a mile from the vampire base. It was freezing , in a poncho with a tank top, apparently to show off your neck under the street light, you were pretty sure that the vampires didn't give a shit if you were wearing Michael Myers mask.  

Ah yes, first day on the job, risks of death 99.9% , lovely.

What exactly are you supposed to do?  Pretty sure that mister mysterious and mister Stevie Nicks/vanilla ice are hiding in the bushes or something. Oh how you wish that Keanu Reeves would swoop you away from this situation.  

Stood in the open park, kicking the mud with you shoe , well until you are body slammed backwards onto the floor, by obviously an indeed ugly vampire. Where's David from lost boys you wouldn't mind if it was him , but this dude stank. He was not even a second away from biting you- wait sorry his fangs were in your neck.  It hurt like period pains in your neck, well until it was over , when he was yanked off by a blurry figure , as you felt your body being lifted, that was it.

You had woken up the next morning under a blanket on the sofa in your office, a plaster on your neck, water on the table. You were never going to do that , with the huge headache and the low sugar levels. As you looked down realising your movie white tank top was now drenched in blood. Deciding it was best to go talk to someone to go home, you left the office.

Your heels now discarded , your bare feet padding against the carpet floor , all the way to Angels office, Harmony informing you that he was in a meeting with the others. One brief knock on the pine door, was all it took for the similar brooding vampire had opened the door , gesturing you in.

Okay it was a bit naughty to not changed the blood stained tank, since there are two vampires in the room. Soon you were sat exactly where you were 24 hours ago, as were everyone else. "Uh, um ," No one was speaking , just staring at you really. "Y/n, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have forced you into doing that , I didn't mean for you to get hurt." Wesley was undoubtedly guilty, probably thinking about how made your parental figure was going to be more like.

"I just like to say, I could've gotten aids."

"Uh, that's not how that works." Fred was honestly shaken by your words, well not really she just thought well actually you don't know.

"That was just dramatic effect. I'm quite annoyed , I did not want fucking Edward sucking me like I was juice carton. Did you even kill the cult?" Your voice sounded like sandpaper, as you delivered your anger with pop culture references and dramatic gestures.

"Yeah we did, well not me but still." Lorne smiled at you with concern , he had felt sympathy for you , hoping the bite wouldn't scar.

"Well good, um, I was wondering if I could go home now? Please?" You already hate this job, Angel had nodded, queuing you to stand up , doing a small bow in respect , going home to have a bath and sleep.

Wesley had called you not long after you gotten home , to inform you that you had been given an extra few days off. Wow first day then long weekend, mental.

Once you had gotten back on Monday, your neck was not healed still, but you had to come back otherwise you was going to be homeless.

Surprisingly , the work was easy , too easy, but you weren't to complain... there was tv with a DVD player, you were absolutely chuffed. It happened that you had brought cds in your bag accidentally. After storing those cds in that bag when coming to Los Angeles.

So , you did work through your work a little too fast, nothing to do, so since the demon cleaners  suck arse , and didn't clean up the blood from last week, you had went and gotten a Hoover and cleaning supplies. Queen and david bowie, playing on the tv, you know you can use DVD players to play cds, if you didn't know.

Maybe it was a little bad you playing slightly loud music while hoovering, dancing as you went, it was a shitty Hoover so it was taking a while. Your cardigan and heels discarded, your forehead laced with sweat, what could you say who does like Queen. Thus I want to break freebegan to play.

"I want to break free I want to break free I want to break free from your lies," The fact this song was a parody of coronation street. As soon as the beat began , you had also began aggressively Hooving, the long dramatic strides, even the the lip twitches as you lip-synced.

"You're so self satisfied I don't need you I've got to break free God knows, God knows I want to break free," You had stopped to flip the fringe of your hair , before resting your hands on your hips , the self confident head shake, another hair flip out of your face.

"I've fallen in love I've fallen in love for the first time And this time I know it's for real I've fallen in love, yeah God knows, God knows I've fallen in love It's strange but it's true, yeah,"

Obviously you couldn't take your shirt off , like Freddie, but yeah your skirt rising up , blouse too buttons undone was enough. Your hands hands spread out like a star for moments, you didn't know that Spike had heard the music and began to locate the source.

"I can't get over the way you love me like you do But I have to be sure When I walk out that door. Oh, how I want to be free, baby Oh, how I want to be free Oh, how I want to break free"

Looking up to the ceiling, arms lift out to the sides , legs apart. Dramatic spin, clenching of fists to your chest. Spike walking up to the do slowly opening it , seeing you shaking your head 'I want to break free' Now some elves but you can't do that your not Legolas. Or cows you are not sure.

Now not sure how you didn't see Spike .  This was embarrassing, spike wasn't copying really, not much anyways. It wasn't long after that dont stop me now started. Wow this is embarrassing. You had just abandon the Hoover at this point.

"I feel alive and the world I'll turn it inside out, yeah And floating around in ecstasy"

Bringing you hands in front  of you up near your neck , wiggling your fingers, spike did the same.

" So don't " You looked forward, "stop," Looked towards the window , as did spike . "me" Back forward. "now" "don't stop me 'Cause I'm having a good time, having a good time I'm a shooting star, leaping through the sky Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity." Jumping up , scratching like a Tiger standing side on,  moving your arms around you 200 degrees , you were doing a duet , without knowing it.

" I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva I'm gonna go, go, go" Honestly you don't know how to describe these moves in honesty go watch Paul Rudd do it.

"There's no stopping me I'm burnin' through the sky, yeah." Your arms almost touching spikes as you lift them up as you circle your arse in a small circle, before pointing up.

"Two hundred degrees That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit"  

Okay you had climb onto the desk , spot Spike oh my god , you couldn't of represented the fear , well until he had threw his jacket on the sofa ripped his shirt off, winking at you, shaking his shoulders.

"I'm traveling at the speed of light I wanna make a supersonic man out of you "

"Don't" you had wiggled yours back, before pointing at the platinum vampire,gesturing him to come to you .

"stop me now, I'm having such a good time I'm having a ball Don't stop me now"  As he reached you , you held out your hands for him , helping him up onto the table.

"If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call" Each of you looking at each other, as you danced ,sorta looking like Rick I'm never going to give you up, a lot of twisting , and hand movements.

"Don't" "stop" " me now ('cause I'm having a good time) Don't stop me now (yes, I'm havin' a good time)" Spike had grabbed your hands twirling you, ending up with you in front of him facing away. Throwing out thumbs up to the side of you as you got closer to the desk top.

"I don't want to stop at all" Before rising your arms up , Spike pulling you up, honestly if you knew him deeply you wouldn't believe that he would do this, he's a vampire.

"Yeah, I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars On a collision course I am a satellite, I'm out of control I am a sex machine, ready to reload. Like an atom bomb about to Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh explode." Throwing your head back then forwards quickly , with your leg up, clicking your finger.

"I'm burnin' through the sky, yeah Two hundred degrees That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit" Neither of you had noticed the music had gained more attention then you may of realised , Angel ,Wesley, Gunn, Fred and Lorne were hiding behind the sofa.

"Don't stop me, don't stop me Don't stop me, hey, hey, hey"

Spike jumped off of the table turning back to you , five feet away, holding his arms out to catch you.

"Don't stop me, don't stop me Ooh ooh ooh, I like it"

With that you had jumped, (Spike watched dirty dancing? Probably Harmony's fault.) Effortlessly he had caught you you lifting you up, for a few seconds.

"Don't stop me, don't stop me Have a good time, good time"

Lowering you down slowly , your arms around his neck, panting slightly, uh he wasn't sweaty , he's dead but you were covered in sweaty.

Soon enough the song came to an end , you were still in the vampires embrace , his arms around your shoulders securing you.

It hasn't even been an minutes ,clapping begins, someone turns of the Hoover and the music. You both turn around slowly pulling out of the embrace to see , the brooding Angel laughing with everyone.

"Bloody hell, perverts much." Annoyance interweaved in Spikes voice, you could share that embarrassment.

Looking at your feet realising how inappropriate you look , your blouse now see through due to the sweat , the cotton clinging to your body, wrapping your arms around yourself, to cover."uh , Angel , I was only cleaning and that because, um I completed my work, uhh there was still blo-""it's fine, as long as you are feeling better, " you had nodded at him before going back to looking at your feet.

Moments go by with silence from you and Spike as the others are talking away , no doubt about you two. You are soon pulled out of your trance when a heavy weight is placed on your shoulders , looking up to see Spike placing his long leather jacket on you , sending you a small smirk before walking out of your office , still shirtless.

"I haven't seen him like that in a long time, he is fond of you." With that Angel left too. " Aw, I'm glad you are settling in y/n/n , I just never thought you would do so ,by dancing to Queen with a vampire." Wesley had patted your back , leaving with Fred who just smiled , followed by Gunn and Lorne.

Thus you grabbed your stuff , to go home , you had danced to the end of the day. Walking out of the office , hoping Harmony didn't see you and kill you for Spike giving you his jacket.

She had already gone thank god , no death today, the next day , you had brought Spikes jacket with you. In search of him in the morning, you had hidden it in your bag , heading to Harmony's desk.  

"Uh, have you seen Spike today?" Please don't kill me. She had looked up at you with a polite smile. "He's literally just left Angel's office, something about going to taking a car or something? Why?"

"Oh, I just need to pass a message from Wesley to him, thank you." You had lied , but you hoped that Wesley would go with it, if she asked him.  Rushing down to Angel's private car park, in hopes of catching Spike, which you did but he almost hit you with the car.

Your hands placed on the hood, breathing roughly before moving to the drivers side , as he rolled down the window, smirking yet again. The car had had black out windows so you guess that's why he was going out in the day?

"Awe, all out of breathe for me , love?" You had ignored his comment , pulling out his heavy jacket from your bag, passing it to him.  "Cheers,love." You had nodded, turning away to head back up.  That was it until about 2:45 , again all your work was done, just sitting there doing nothing, but twiddling your thumbs.

So you decided , maybe you should go get some air outside, or go home you weren't sure. Swinging the office door open to see , Spike.

"Ah, oh Hi."

"Going somewhere, love?" Well that sounded like a threat , but he was not smirking like I'm going to chop your fucking head off.

"I don't know really , I think I'm going home."

"I'll drive you."

"Really?" He didn't seem to be the type to drop you off home to to your mother , not that she was there, but still, he had nodded , and that was it you walked with him. Until  Harmony stopped you both, she had frowned slightly before smiling again.

"So you got the message from Wesley then, spike?" You looked at Spike who didn't notice you looking , just stood looking at the blonde girl in confusion,until you pretend to resist your bag accidentally knocking him with bag.

"Yeah,"  

"What was it?"

"Mind your own business, wanker." With that he had walked around her with you ,guiding you with his arm around your shoulder.

Once you were both were sat in the car , you had given Spike your address , immediately he had started driving.  "So what was that about?"

"Well, uh, Wesley informed me about everyone ,  said you had something with Harmony, and she's a vampire. So I asked where you were this morning to give back your jacket but didn't want to say that, just in case she tried to eat me." Spike had let out a laugh, "I can see your concern, love , she's a bloody nightmare." You had let out a small laugh of understanding.

"Hey, do you still eat food?."

"Yeah, not a lot , but sometimes I do, why do you ask?"

" y-you've been very nice to me , since I'd been here, and you are driving me home.. uh so I was wondering if you would like to come in and have something. I don't have blood , uh other than my own and uh I lost a lot of that last week. You don't have to , um, I jus-" "I will, love,"

"Oh brilliant, uh I make some nice cookies."

"Great, love. Can't wait."

[biblee16]

Zombies and Wedding Dresses

Fluff, zombie apocalypse AU, fiction, angst, violence etc.

Cameo: Jeon Jungkook

Warning: swearing

Lee Know x reader

A/N: hey guys so first of all the second part of my fanfic "A small mistake" is coming soon, anddd again it's my first time writing a fanfic so please forgive me if it's stupid or something lol.

So, today was the day. It was finally your sister Momo's wedding, you were so happy fo her.

There was so much chaos in the bride's dressing room all the bridesmaids were squeaking out of excitement except for you, you were pretty chill, I mean obviously you were excited for your sister getting married but ah you dint really like weddings alot, but you were just a tiny bit excited today though. (you'll know why ;) )

Your mom gasped as soon as she saw Momo while entering the room. You could see her tearing up already, and Momo being as cute as she is just giggled shyly. You smiled looking at them while your best friend nudges you from the side and says

"I bet today you're gonna have fun too".

And you just blush and look away and reply with a "Shut up". She just winks and goes back to taking pictures with the other bridesmaids, you smile and shake your head.

You go and sit beside your sister and say "You look so pretty, I bet the groom is gonna swoon after looking at you". Momo just giggles shyly and says "Thank you".

This is exactly what Momo was wearing with the same hairstyle which is a bun ↓

You and the other bridesmaids were wearing dresses with open hair, beach waves at the bottom and a little head accessory pinned on the side of your head.

This is the dress ↓

You had to admit that everyone looked so beautiful today, even you.

While the chattering in the bride's dressing room was going on, two guys excused themselves and entered the room. One of them was "him". Lee Know. Both of you were good friends and you had a huge crush on him, and so did he. Both of you knew about it, but never really confessed to each other. Maybe it was just perfect like this.

Anyways, he entered with his friend Jeongin, and you smiled at both of them, and they smiled back cause y'all knew each other. They said that its time. You saw your sister getting nervous and gave her a comforting side hug and said,

"It's alright, it's all gonna be okay, you remember that silly practice we had right?"

Momo took a deep breath and nodded with a smile. Your dad was standing near the door frame and you could see the pride and happiness in his eyes. You definitely knew that he had cried. He never does, but today was his eldest daughter's wedding after all.

You looked at Minho (aka Lee Know if you dint know lol) and he was already staring at you, your friend nudged you and you whispered "Stop it" in a silly way. You were so shy that your ears started turning red and you tried to hide them by fixing your hair. Minho looked so handsome, he looked like a man. He was wearing a black suit with a white formal shirt tucked inside his formal black pants with formal black shoes, but what caught your eyes was the way he had tucked a handkerchief in his collar, it was tucked in a way where it formed frills and hung down. Shit you were so attracted to that. He knew you would like it. OH GOD THIS MAN WAS GONNA BE THE DEATH OF YOU.

Well, they obviously had to leave to go do their own thing like small arrangements and teasing the groom of course.

Your mom went and stood outside, you and the bridesmaids including you followed behind. Y'all went and stood exactly at the entrance of the aisle while the groomsmen were standing at the end of the aisle, not exactly close to the groom though. You made eye contact with Minho and he did too.

Soft music started playing and the doors opened, your sister started walking up the aisle with your father, the groom couldn't stop smiling of course.

~ Timeskip ~

After the bride and groom exchanged their vows, you went back to your bestie who was going to meet her boyfriend, he was one of the groomsmen.

There was Chan, Hyunjin, Seungmin, Minho, Jeongin, Han, Felix, Changbin and your bestie's boyfriend. You had to admit that they were looking so handsome. You smiled and greeted all of them and they greeted you back. You could see that Seungmin was nudging Minho from the side and Minho just stamped his foot while smiling at you. You just mouthed a little ouch while looking at Minho and let out a small giggle.

Obviously your bestie ditched you and went off with her boyfriend. All the other boys went off leaving you and Minho alone.

"You look so beautiful" he said and smirked.

You looked down and blushed and said "Thank you, you look so handsome in that suit too".

He smiled at you, and said "Thank you". Both of you sat down on a table and watched the bride and groom dancing beautifully, after some time both of you got bored and decided to go to the huge backyard.

Both of you sat down on the table and chairs that were arranged there, and started talking about stuff like how you were getting bored and waiting for the wedding to start in the beginning, and he flirted with you here and there by saying "oh yeah, I was waiting to see you so bad, that's the reason I came in the bride's dressing room cause I knew you would be there" at which you blushed so hard and tried to hide your red ears but he stopped you and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. Both of you just kept staring into each others eyes until he said "Let's take pictures, to make this day memorable".

You nodded and took pictures with him, in your phone as well as his phone and went on social media to post them on your stories and posts on Instagram and Snapchat.

After that y'all sat down and were just chatting with each other until your neighbour aka your close friend Jungkook comes up to you and says hi.

You stand up and hug him and introduce him to Minho and they bow and greet each other. Jungkook says "You look so pretty today" and you smile and say "Thank you, you finally wore formals today" and both of you laugh at that.

"I'd love to wear a jeans and a hoodie but c'mon people are gonna think I'm a crazy guy and the guards would probably kick me out if I wore something like that" he said and both of you laugh again.

After your little chat he says "Okay then, I'll see ya around soon" and leaves.

You wave back and say "bye" and sit down.

Now, when you sat down and looked at Lee Know you could see him looking away with an eyebrow raised and if you weren't wrong he was definitely gritting his teeth. You looked at him and asked if everything was okay, even though you could sense his jealousy. He just looked at you and gave a tight lipped smile and nodded.

You asked him again "Are you sure? I mean I'm kinda thinking someone's jealous" with a smirk.

He stared back at you, he held your head and got it close to him, you gasped and your breathing got heavier and he said "I. Said. I'm. Alright." You were so intimidated and you felt it's so hot at the same time. You sat back and said "Its alright to feel like that you know, but just to clear things up he's just my friend, and I don't think about him that way, I already have someone on my mind".

He smirked at this and asked "Oh really?, who is this someone that's on your mind?"

You smirk at him and just when you're about to confess it's Lee-______

You hear a loud screech of woman from the hall, which causes both of you look at each other and go inside to check, but Han runs outside and holds Minho's hand and says "You will not believe but please don't go in there, please".

Minho asks "Wtf is going on in there?!"

Han replies in a trembling voice "You may think I'm stupid, but trust me, if I'm not wrong those are Zombies". You and Lee Know just give each other puzzled looks. You say "Bullshit Han, tell us what's happening inside, my family and friends are in there!!!!".

You hear almost like an animalistic roar from inside. Your start to realize. No no no this can't be happening. Your parents. Your sister. Your best friend. All the people close to you. They're in there. You spot the group of boys all sweaty and shocked in the backyard. Lee Know looks at you and reads your expression.

People are starting to enter the backyard. Lee Know cups your cheeks and says "Hey hey Y/N look at me, everything is okay I'm sure about it, everyone is fine okay don't worry".

You're terrified. You start walking really fast towards the door, you know you can save them, they're alright. You know it. But Minho pulls you back, and says "Y/N no! Please listen to me, don't go there".

You finally shout in a trembling voice "MINHO MY FAMILY IS IN THERE!!!"

"Y/N NO PLEASE TRUST ME!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!! I CAN'T LOSE YOU. NOT NOW GOD DAMMIT!!!" Minho shouts back.

Your eyes start to get blurry and then, you see it, with your own eyes. It punches the door and its hand falls off. Your eyes go wide and before you even know it Lee Know pulls you and starts to run, you somehow manage to remove those stupid heels while tripping a little bit. You start to run faster along with Minho and the boys ahead of you.

You look back, you cursed yourself for doing that because you saw Jungkook getting bitten by that disgusting rotten creature. You scream so loud that the creature turns looks at you, and starts to run towards you.

Minho looks at you and says "Y/N calm down, we're almost there, c'mon".

You finally see the door open and run out with everyone.

And oh boy a whole lot of zombies surrounds y'all. Somehow you, Lee Know and the boys with some other people have managed to escape from that crowd.

~ Timeskip ~

It's been 3 whole months or atleast what you think since the creatures have invaded the earth. They bite you, and you become one of them in a matter of 15 minutes. If you're strong enough you can stay a human for atleast 1 hour, but not more than that.

Thankfully, You, Minho, Hyunjin, Bang Chan, Seungmin, Jeongin, Changbin, Han and Felix had survived the wedding and ran off. You stayed in an abandoned shop for 1 month and decided to move since y'all were 9 people and the space wasn't enough. Y'all started to run out of food day by day and decided to starve yourselves, which wasn't good. All of you had found items to fight off the zombies.

The whole bunch was scared including you. You still never had your first kill though because Minho was always beside you and when something came up he would fight the creature off or cut off it's head with his axe. You carried around a Baseball bat and felt it was useless since you never fought any zombie and just stood like a coward if any of the creature approached you. You started to feel like a burden and it made you feel ridiculous.

All of you had decided to move to another small place which was probably a tiny restaurant. The boys had locked up the place by putting down the shutters and nailing a bunch of wooden slabs on the transparent glass of the restaurant for safety.

You gasped and swung your bat after you felt a hand on your shoulder brining you back from your thoughts. Thankfully Minho ducked at the right time and said,

"Hey hey hey, calm down Y/N it's just me". For which you gave a sigh of relief and apologised to him.

He told you that they were gonna go out and look for a place for food since y'all were running low again.

"I'll come along too, please". You said.

"Y/N no please, I can't lose you. I can't risk looking away for a second and you getting taken away from me". He said.

"Minho please I can protect myself, please just let me come along, I wanna help". You pleaded.

He just let's out a huff and says "Alright, but please be careful".

Bang Chan and Han come towards you both all ready with their weapons. Chan speaks up and says "C'mon guys, there's no time to waste, we gotta go now".

You get up from you seat and look down at your dress and decide to tear off the expensive material hanging from your thighs that has already been torn and ruined.

You take your baseball bat and look at the boys and notice that they were staring at your legs. Minho takes notice and pulls you close to him and says "Let's go guys, and hope that we survive while coming back". Han laughs nervously and says,

"YEAH, LETS SPILL SOME ZOMBIE BLOOD BABY"

At which y'all laugh, all the other boys wish you good luck and remind you to be careful.

So, now all 4 of you are walking down the empty road looking puzzled and wondering where the zombies are. "Maybe they thought we're scary and ran away" Han says at which Chan scoffs and says "If that was the case they wouldn't attack us in the first place" at which Han just nods in agreement.

After walking a little further Minho looks into his GPS on Google Maps and tells you to stop and says that there is a convenience store very closeby. Y'all decide to go there and when you reach there, oh boy there were so many of those creatures in there and they were hoarded in one particular spot.

Chan looks at this and says "This is brilliant" and Minho asks with a confused look "What do you mean?".

Chan replies "Look all of them are distracted by something, so while they are hoarded in one place like that, we can go and collect whatever we get and sprint off from there". Y'all agree to this and do whatever you're told.

You're still pretty scared while you enter very slowly into the store. You team with Minho, and Chan and Han team up and decide to go the other side. You start collecting whatever you see, and so does Minho. From towels to small candy bars and battery cells.

Suddenly you hear something shift on the other side of the stand and look over at Minho who has noticed it too. Your hand starts trembling while Minho comes next to you and signals a finger to his mouth whispering a small "sh".

Minho moves the tissue box very slowly and gives a sigh of relief once he does, you get confused and look over to see that its just Chan holding his knife ready to attack thinking you're a zombie too.

Y'all tell each other to stay safe while you go to the other section of the store, and start picking up everything randomly, since you need to leave soon.

As you're putting the huge Skittles packet in the cart, you look down to see a hand reaching out to hold your leg. You get so terrified but thankfully you suppress your scream and squeak to call Minho but can't spot him. Your eyes go wide and run to get away from the creature as fast as you can.

Thank God you spot Han and go hug him from behind at which he let's out a squeak and you cover his mouth immediately to avoid drawing attention. Han looks at you and looks at what your finger points at and unfortunately he drops the glass bottle of kimchi from his hand.

Chan and Minho come running towards you and Minho almost skids to see what happened and boy oh boy. There were atleast 15 zombies surrounding you and Han. Both you and Han look at Chan and Minho and run toward them and somehow one of the Zombie grabs your hand, but thanks to your reflexes you swing your baseball bat and hit 4 Zombies by literally knocking out their brains at once and run towards Minho and hug him without realizing you literally killed 4 zombies with just a swing of your bat.

Minho looks down at you and says "You had your first 4 kills" with a shocked face and you start to realize and just open your mouth in shock and look behind to see and that's what had happened.

You decide to be brave and join Chan in killing all those Zombies with Minho and Han joining in too.

You start to notice how good you're getting at this and just for a second when you look away to see how Minho's doing, a hand grabs forcefully at your hair and yanks your head back. You scream in pain and look over at Minho for help and see that he is already charging at the zombie to cut off his head into pieces while mumbling "Don't you dare touch her you fucking shit" and he's running towards you to save you, you start to notice the creature's bad breath is so close to your neck and realize that its gonna bite you.

Thankfully Minho takes a hold of you and yells at you to duck while he cuts of its head and it falls to the ground. You hug Minho tightly and pant heavily into his chest while he just soothes out your hair in a way to comfort you.

With just one look to each other all of you decide to leave the place before anything bad happens and take your carts and sprint off.

After you reach back to your survival place with all the stuff you had, the boys get really happy to see all kinds of yummy food and you just smile at them.

You go to Minho and give him a hug but he pushes you away. You look puzzled and ask him what's the reason he did that. "Hey what's wrong with you" you ask.

"What's wrong with me is it?, C'mon Y/N I told you it's not safe for you out there but you being a stubborn ass wanted to tag along and almost got yourself killed and turned into a zombie by one of those fuckers, do you have any idea how fucking scared I was? NO you only care about what you want!" He yells and walks away.

You're shocked at his words and you realize that tears are already falling down your cheeks. All your insecurities start to hit you at once and you realize that how you're just adding upto their number and how much of a burden you are to them.

Its been atleast 30 minutes with you sitting on one of the table and chairs playing with a knife in your hand and deep in thought still thinking about what Minho had told you.

You don't even notice him coming and sitting beside you. He puts his head on your shoulder and kisses it and you're drawing you away from your thoughts.

He looks at you and says "I'm so so so sorry, I promise I dint mean any of that, I just wanted to keep you safe that's it, please forgive me".

You start to speak "No Minho, you're right. I'm sorry, I'm being such a burden right now, it's better if I just die. Imagine, y'all can do so much better without me. You don't have to protect a cowa-"

Minho covers your mouth with his hand and cuts you off by saying in a very concerned voice "Y/N, no no no you're not a burden to us, you were never a burden to us. I don't know if you thought about this when I yelled at you or if it was there on your mind for a long time but let me tell you one thing. Without Y/N, Minho is absolutely nothing. I don't what I would do without you. You give me so much confidence and strength just by your presence and no you're not a coward, if you were a coward you couldn't have killed all those Zombies in the store or ran off with us on the wedding day. It takes guts to leave your family Y/N, and I could never do that. That's what makes me wanna protect you. You don't have anyone but still at this point you care so much about me".

You're tears just keep streaming down and you're shocked at his words. "I love you Minho" you say. Minho just looks down and blushes so hard and looks away while smiling. "I love you too" he replies back and closes the space between you two and you share the best kiss of your life.

No you don't care if an apocalypse is going on right now. All you care about is that you have Minho and your friends with you. As long as they're safe and you're with Minho, you're happy. You did leave your parents, but if that day if you had left Minho's hand and ran off then it was sure that you would get bit too. It's all in the past. Right now all that matters to you is Minho and your friends.

The End.

A/N: Oh my god guys this is so cringe 😂😂. I'm so sorry if you dint like it I tried my best. But thank you so much for reading it tho :)). Love ya.

[sayuricorner]

Lil’ Lucifer/Forsaken fanfiction: Amnesiac Michael(journey to the west crossover) oneshot 1: A talk in the night

So remember when I post this idea about an amnesiac Michael into the world of “Journey to the West” for my “Lil Lucifer au” and “Forsaken au” fanfictions concepts?

Well I decided to writte oneshots about it and I will do the same with others future concepts.

Anyway here a first oneshot! ^^

Warning:Take in mind english is not my first language so there’s risks that my writting might be a bit confusing.

Disclaimers:

Lil’ Lucifer au belong to @brightgoat

Forsaken au belong to @camodielsart

Journey to the west belong to Wu Cheng En

Cuphead belong to Studio MDHR

A talk in the night

Hào woke up brutaly and in a hurry looked around himself. He stayed like this for a few minutes before relaxing himself and sighing, he was having thoses strange dreams once again.

It was few weeks since he had be found by master Sanzang and his disciples and joigned their group for their quest and to be honest when he first meet them things seemed to go so fast that he was completly confused. After all a lot of things happened to him in just one day.

First, he wake up in a strange place surrounded by strange people to learn he was found inconsious and badly injured.

Then, when he was asked who he was and where did he come from he wasn't able to answer and found out he doesn't remember a thing, a complete amnesia.

Then, a woman appear out of nowhere and the strangers bowed before her which mean she was probably important so he do the same.

And then he learn the woman was a goddess who know what he was, a celestial just like her, but not from the same universe and unfortunatly she wasn't able to know where he come from and so can't send him back.

Finally, she announced she can send him back at the condition he get his memory back and for this there is apparently a ̎ magic scroll ̎ in a temple which can heal him and so she propose him to go with the group who saved him and to help them during thei journey to the temple, because apparently they must go to that temple too, and in return he get healed by the scroll and send back to his world.

He accepted, it's not like he has any other choice, after all he was in a world he know nothing about while his ̎ saviors ̎, beside going to the same place than him, know more about this world than him since they are natives so it was better to go the easy way.

And so here he was, travelling with a group of buddhists and a weapon called ̎ Guandao ̎ given to him. To be honest the situation wasn't that bad and he begin to appreciate his compagnions.

̎ Master Sanzang ̎ was very impressive for a mortal, he was very wise with a great knowledge about the meaning of life and most of all he was patient, VERY patient, so patient that it was a true achievement, especially when you saw the troublemakers who were supposed to be his disciples.

Talking about them, Wujin was okay, very nice and welcoming and having conversations with him was soothing even if he was often naïve.

Bajie was... well... annoying... It's not the pig was bad or anything he was kind of nice but his obsession with women was frustrating. More than one time he had to kept a eye on him when they come across a woman, there was even a time where he had to forcely drag him back to their group when he tried to flirt with a married woman so they would not had to face the wrath of her husband. Seriously he was feeling like he become his babysitter.

And there was Sun-Wukong. Normally, he would find the monkey as annoying than Bajie with his attitude, he was arrogant, prideful, rowdy and most of all impulsive.

But for some reason it doesn't bowered him that much, in fact, every time Sun-Wukong was showing off he couldn't help it but smile with nostalgia. Like one time when Sun-Wukong challenged him for a race, he got a flash about someone looking similar to him and who was dared him to a race with the same determination and playfulness attitude as Sun-Wukong's and it was very familiar, just as the dreams he got every night.

Thoses dreams, it was always the same scene, he was in a very cloudy and bright place and he was surrounded by a large crowd of people who looked like him with their lamb head and wings, but because of the clouds and light he was unable to see their face. Then his vision become blurry and feel like he was fading away while someone screamed something but he can't hear it, and then he wake up.

He talked about all this to master Sanzang and the monk explained to him thoses dreams were probably elements of memories hidden deep inside and which appear because things or people triggered them.

Hào let out a heavy sight before get up, he looked around and find Sun-Wunkong nearby the camp, on lookout duty.

Not having anything else to do he walk to his eldest brother, who quicky tuned around at the sound of somebody coming behind him only to calm down when he saw it was only Hào.

̎ -Youngest brother ! You're awake ? ̎ Asked Sun-Wukong surprised to find one of his brothers not asleep.

̎ -Yeah, I wasn't able to sleep ! ̎ Hào answered quietly taking place beside Sun-Wukong.

̎ -The dreams again ? ̎

̎ -The dreams again ! ̎

A long silence set in, none of the two was saying a thing until Sun-Wukong decided to break the ice.

̎ -You know... I'm not a ̎ dreams expert ̎ but I can say having the same dream every night is not normal. ̎ Sun-Wukong said with a distracted tone

̎ -I know, I spoke about it to master and according to him there's high chance thoses dreams are in fact elements of my memory which unconsciously appear. ̎ Explained Hào while staring the starry sky, he stayed silent for a few seconds and suddenly say. ̎ But to tell you the truth thoses ̎ elements  of memory ̎ don't surface only in my dreams. ̎

̎ -Really ? Sun-Wukong asked

̎ -Well, sometimes I have sort of flashes because of something or someone. You for exemple, there's time when I interacte with you where I got memories of someone who had an attitude similar to your and I feel like I know this person ! ̎

̎ -Eh, if I remind you such person then that they must be awesome ! After all I'm the handsome monkey king and the great sage equal to heaven if anyone is similar to me they must certainly be as amazing as me ! ̎ exclamed Sun-Wukong puffing out his chest and holding his staff in pride while addressing a cocky smile.

Face to this obvious act of showing off Hào couldn't help it but smile at his eldest brother's antic. Really there's not a day without Sun-Wukong taking an opportunity to show how ̎ great ̎ he was, to him it was quit amusing.

̎ -Yes maybe. ̎ Then his thoughs got back to his amnesia, his mood fall down and he stared the ground, breathing a sad sigh. ̎If only I was able to remember ! ̎

̎ -Now now Hào don't be like this ! ̎ Exclamed Sun-Wukong. ̎Your amnesia is not a pleasant situation but not an hopeless one ! Don't forget the scroll at the thunderclap monastery, it can heal you ! ̎

̎ -Yes but-

-No but ! ̎Snapped the monkey king. ̎Tell you what ? As the monkey king and great sage equal to Heaven, I make you the promise to give you moral support through our journey to the temple so you will never forget that you will get your memory at the end ! ̎

̎ -You're not serious ?

̎ -I'm more than serious ! When I'm truly making promises I keep them ! What kind of king and sage I would be if I don't ? ̎

Both of them looked at each other before laughing, seriously Sun-Wukong was really something and his act made Hào feel better.

̎ -But you are serious ? About this promise ? ̎ He asked to his brother.

̎ -Of course I am ! ̎ The monkey king confirmed. ̎I will help you through this, you're my little brother, as the eldest it's my duty ! And there's also the Master, Wujin and Bajie, WE will all help you ! ̎

When hearing this, Hào smiled a little.

̎ -Sun-Wukong ? Thank you ! ̎

̎ -You're welcome ! Now how about I tell you about the time I defeated the strongest warriors of the Jade Palace ? ̎

̎ -Why not ? I'm not plaining to go back to sleep anyway ! ̎

They stayed all night with Hào listening his brother's stories and in the morning, when the others woken up, they left once again to proceed their journey.

And in Hào's mind one thing was clear : whatever the hardship he will encounter, whatever what he will must face, he know he will always had Sun-Wukong and the others to support him.

[bizarrewritings-blog]

Knock Hard Life / Pt. 4

Bucky Barnes x reader

Being the new one is always problematic. Being the new one while thirsting over a new companion is even more problematic, especially when he shows no interest at all towards you.

Warnings: slight smut (blink and you'll miss it), Angst

A/N: The next part will be the last one sooo hope you enjoy this!

Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5

The following night was rough. You've been tossing your body around the sheets for at least 3 hours resisting to fall asleep. You sighed heavily, sitting up and rubbing your palms over your face. Since you moved you always slept perfectly, the comfiness of the mattress lulling you to sleep easily. But even the softest sheets didn't bring you to doze off.

You turned on your bedsite lamp, picking up your favorite book from its place on the nightstand. Maybe this would help you to get a little sleepy. Making yourself comfortable against the headbord you started reading, almost immediately feeling in your own little world where only you and the story the pages infront of you pictured existed. You had no idea for long how you've been reading until a noise ripped you out of your trance, making you flinch. It was a knock at your door. Confused, you looked at the clock. 2:26 am. "Come in." You called, closing the book on your lap, still suspicious why someone would be up this time. Your features softened when a nervous looking Bucky took a step in your room. He wore a grey shirt to his sweatpants this time. Sadly.

"What's up Buck?" You asked, puzzled why he kept his gaze at the floor. You really thought he was finally over the 'I won't look at you' phase. "'M sorry for bothering you." He murmured, something lingering in his voice that you couldn't quite name. You crossed your leg under your blanket to sit up straighter, putting your book back on your nightstand. "You're not bothering. What's wrong?" He run a hand through his hair, his gaze still on his feet which were nervously scratching your grey carpet. "I normally go to Steve with stuff like this but...I walked by and your lights were on, and the talk we had in the kitchen was nice, so i thought... i don't know, if you want to...maybe I shouldn't have come..." He was unbelievably adorable when he was all nervous, but you really wanted him to form his thoughts into proper sentences. "If you want to talk, we can." That's when his gaze finally lifted from his feet to you. His eyes were a little puffy and red, the usual sparkling blue in his eyes turned to a cloudy grey. You gave him a sad smile, shifting a little to the side, petting the sheet to your left, telling him to sit down. He walked over to your bed slowly, sitting at the edge of the mattress. You giggled at his actions, making him throw a confused look at you. "You can sit on the bed normally, you know? You don't have to keep yourself so far from me." He only nodded, carefully taking his place beside you, making himself comfortable against the headboard as well. "Great. Now, talk." He took a breath before speaking. He told you about the nightmares he had for years, flashbacks of his years as The Winter Soldier, completely under another persons control. He talked about how the dreams where always different yet the same. Sometimes he would get pictured flashbacks of missions, the feared faces of people around him. Other times eveything would be a blurry imagine, but he heard the screaming, yelling, gunshots. And rarely he could feel the pain he went through everytime they messed with his brain, he even heard his own suffering screams.

You only looked at him while he talked, not saying anything. You wanted him to talk without being interrupted. When he finished you took all your confidence, carefully putting your hand in his flesh one, squeezing it lightly. He gave you a little confused look but didn't pull away. "I can never imagine the way you have to feel. It has to be absolutely horrific to be reminded of the things those bastards forced you to." You gave him a heart warming smile. "But you have to remember one thing. You're still here. You've made it through all of that and now you're here, being one of the toughest fighters the world has ever seen, with a group of friends everyone would love to have." He smiled brightly at your words, carefully squeezing your hand which still remained in his. "You're even better at these speeches than Steve." You both chuckled at that. The sound of his laugh spread warmth in your belly, it was such a beautiful thing to hear. You decided to be even bolder, shifting a little closer to him to lean your head on his shoulder. You felt him lightly tense again, his metal arm stirring lightly, but he relaxed soon after, making you sigh in relieve. None of you said anything, just enjoying each others company. You wanted to stay like this forever, the peaceful silence, the warmth of Buckys Hand around your own combined with the scent of him making your eyelids feel heavier by the second.

Bucky was the first to talk again. "Thank you, for all this. I hate bugging Steve all the time, waking him up and stuff, even if he says it's okay i still feel bad." You slightly nodded, you completely understood him. "I have to thank as well. You finally make me feel sleepy." You lifted your head from his shoulder to look at your alarm clock. 3:19 am. You really talked for almost an hour. You felt Bucky shift, his hand about to leave yours. "Maybe I should go then. But really, it was n-" "Wait." He stopped his movements, watching your face while you felt it going red. God you sounded really desperate there. "Y-You can stay if you want. You often stay at Steves as well right?" His eyebrows furrowed together in question. "How do you..." "Steve told me." You admitted. His face dropped a little, making it your turn to give him a questioned look. His gaze falling to his hand still intertwined with yours. "So you knew all of this and still had me explain it?" "No, no, i didn't know!" You instantly protested, fearing he might get mad at you for putting him through the misery of remembering all his dreams. You softly squeezed his hand, signaling him to look at you instead. His gaze met yours, a hurt expression on his face. "I promise, okay? He only told me you that when you had nightmares you would go to him to talk and sometimes staying there for the night. That's all. Really." Your eyes practically begged him to believe you. You didn't want him to go, you would do anything to convince him to stay. He took a breath before nodding. "Okay, okay. I'm...I'm sorry for accusing you like that." You sighed and shook your head. "It's alright, really." You ran your thumb over the back of his hand before lifting your gaze back to his eyes whose colour had returned to sparkling blue. "Stay, please." He smiled softly before nodding.

He stood up, the warmth of his hand leaving you. You shifted under your blanket to give him enough material to crawl under. After he joined you under the covers, laying on his back, he went full nervous again, you could almost see his rapid heartbeat trough the thin material of his shirt. You suppressed a chuckle but didn't accept that he wasn't at all close to you. With help of your new found confidence, wherever that came from, you lifted his arms and maneuvered yourself next to his body, your head on his chest. Now you could also hear his racing heart and you actually feared he might have a heart attack. He's an old man after all. "This okay for you?" You asked carefully as his heart didn't slow down. You feared you might have taken it too far. He answered by moving his flesh arm, which was laying somewhere behind your back until now, setting his hand at your hip, softly squeezing. You smiled at that, making yourself even more comfortable, soon after drifting off into your well deserved sleep.

Both of you actually slept longer that night, enjoying the comfort. What you didn't know was that at the same time you were the number one topic in the kitchen. "Has any of you seen Bucky?" Steve asked, nervously looking at Tony, Wanda and Sam. "Nope, barely see that guy." Sam shrugged. "His door is open and I usually always meet him here." The blonde stated, feared for his best friend. "Gym?" Wanda suggested. Steve just shook his head. "Already checked." "You know we have a AI in this house right?" Tony chuckled. "FRIDAY? Where is Barnes at the moment?" "Sergeant Barnes is asleep in Miss Y/L/Ns room." All four exchanged suprised glances. "Never thought Tin man would actually get laid." Tony laughed, Sam joining. Steve rolled his eyes with a smile. He was happy for you two but damn that went fast.

You woke up slowly, prying your eyes open to adjust to the dim light in your room. You tried to move but failed, something heavy keeping you in place. You turned your face, the glistening of metal catching your attention. Buckys left arm was draped around your waist, making you smile. Thank god it wasn't a dream. You managed to turn on your back, Buck immediately shifting even closer to you, pressing his body against your side with his face in your neck. You felt something hard against your thigh and gulped hard. Morning woods were awkward, but having Buckys pressed against you was torture. Suddenly the door swung open, making you jump. Steve entered the room, smiling wide. Bucky stirred in his sleep, slowly waking up with a mumbled "What the hell?"

"Good Morning, Lovebirds! I would've liked my best friend to tell me about this, but the AI took this job." Bucky and you both sat up, giving him a confused look. "What are you talking about?" The dark haired man rasped, the sleep still lingering in his voice. "Don't treat me like a goddamn fool, Buck. That between you two! I mean i knew you were meant for each other and as soon as Y/N told me she liked you I-" "STEVE!" You interrupted him with a shout, your eyes wide and entire face heating up. He shot you a confused glare before realizing. "Oh- You didn't...?" You let your head drop back against the headboard with a sigh. When you felt Buckys gaze you turned to look at him, Nervousness written over your face. "You like me?"

[jocy-diaries]

07-11-2022

Day Twenty: Florence

Oh for fucks sake. I swear the one day I don't have my ticket is when the ticket guards come to fucking get me. I hope my roommate who says she never uses her ticket gets a fine. I was going to buy tickets at my second stop. And now that bus is late too. Not a good start to the day... I swear this one is the one bus I need and it's the only one constantly late. Also like. I tried downloading their stupid ticket app and it didn't work. And I can't can't use their stupid app because my American phone number doesn't fucking work fuuuuck and thus FUCKING BUS IS ALWAYS FUCKING LATE.

Okay it's fine. It's not that big of a problem. I have money and I can make sure I have more tickets next time and online tickets afterwards. The bus being always fucking late is a given and my people know that. I'm just... tired and annoyed and I wanna go home.

Okay so I spoke with my Archival manager and it was...mixed results. Rather than agreeing to give me other Archival tasks, she reiterated about how important digital archiving was, eventhough it's tedious, and showed me some examples of digital Archival in the work and helping people. It's not what I wanted, but it did motivate me to keep getting my job done without complaint. Then afterwards we spoke a bit more over coffee and it was interesting. But when I was done with my coffee I set it down to then continue with our conversation, but she set my cup away and ended the conversation right then and there... I feel like I insulted her without meaning to? I don't know what Italian social taboo I did, but I hope she realizes I didn't mean it.

Welp, I really wanted to get the next folder done but I've got to go. The train is supposed to come at 11 and I have a ear Piercing appointment at 30. I hope I make it in time, and I'm also hoping to get an estimate for the tattoo I want~ I'm also probably going to get a small white butterfly :3

Okay one of my fucking pet peeves had got to be when in a store obviously waiting for the clerk to be done with whatever personal non-business related thing they're doing and they see you but they ignore you and take their bloody time and you wait patiently because you don't want to disturb them and when they finally fucking pay attention to you they can't help you and dismiss you. I FUCKING Hate that. Like #1 screw off, #2 I hope someone else gets to waste your fucking time like you did mine.

Oh wow. I was wondering how the bus managed to be on time this time. And I guess it's because the lady has a strick 30-second-open-door policy. She legit left some people outside the door and drove off. But at least she was on schedule I guess.

I made it in time to my appointment and much to my surprise, the guy was totally ways going for my tattoo! He gave me a good recommendation and gave a quick good price. I hope it's a fair one. I'll also ask him to have a look at my other tattoo during the appointment, it's so blurry that it can't possibly be right. Might also ask for that white butterfly~ The piercings went fast and well. Admittedly I HATE the temporary earrings he put in, the last time I had a hell of a time getting them off. But hopefully they'll heal well this time. I can't wait to go home and just DOUSE IT in cleaner solution.

Okay so I did good today by finally creating my WeHeartIt Q3 Goals article, and by updating my Goodreads to be accurate. But like. Bruh. I do NOT want to do this admin work for work. I feel like I'm going to get the boot at the end of August anyways, so why give them my precious time while I'm in Italy?? And of course I feel BAD for thinking that way but like... Not bad enough.

My gosh. My meditations with my goddess never go as expected. I wanted to add a white butterfly to my tattoo design for my ancestors because it's a good omen that keeps me moving forward. It felt like a done deal since I was even seeing white butterflies during my meditation. But when I asked. Do you know what She did? She licked behind my right eat and said "Here." So instead of having one on my wrist it should be behind my ear by my neck. Like. I don't mind, but I'm not doing that here in Italy and it was just , So unexpected??? I remember wanting a bee there forever ago and it's true that a white butterfly fits better but, wow. That was interesting. And when I was confused about this She just smiled and said "Think about it." Guess I will.

I'll admit, now that I can count the amount of days I have until I go back home, I'm much more comfortable with planning things out for myself.