#two characters who were introduced in a silent intimidating scene only for it to be revealed they are actually nervous dorks

[stuck-in-jelly]

On today’s episode of “More Dragon Prince Character Interactions I Would’ve Loved To See” I think these two deserve their own awkward one on one scene

[swiftsaltsweet]

Two Knives Interlude 4: Rangi- Paranoia

Characters: Rangi and Kyoshi (RoK characters tbh)

Pairing: Rangshi

Rating: E

Summary:

Things have been stressful for Kyoshi. First, she sang a poem and now the whole kitchen staff thinks it’s about Rangi, and is sure that there will be gossip. Then, Yun asks her to join him for the Fifth Nation treaty signing. Now Rangi’s acting strange. It’s becoming a bit much for Kyoshi’s small corner of the world.

(Canon Divergent AU- Kelsang wasn’t the one who heard the poem?….aka What if it took longer for them to realize Kyoshi was the Avatar?)

Other Sites: AO3 

A/N: *side shuffles in* We now begin the interlude that was supposed to just be one chapter and it turned into 3 more (and if I kept them together it probs would’ve been like near 50ish pages???) I’ve come to realize I need to stop guestimating a chapter’s page count jasklfdja TT0TT 

ANYWAY, unlike the prev 3 Interlude chapters which were written at the same time as Kyoshi’s, interludes 4-6 were written after all the other chapters I’ve already published were done (cause I didn’t originally plan on them). We’re going to skip ahead to parts that are important. Either Rangi POV sides to what we already saw on screen, or new scenes all together.

In case anyone is confused about a future writing choice: If there is a sentence like this ‘*in italics with these marks around them’ it’s a silent conversation Yun and Rangi are having underneath what they are actually saying out loud. 

Tw: Slight mentions of Earth Kingdom’s homophobia but nothing being enacted (I know I keep Tw and it feels minor, but I wanna make sure I’m giving proper warnings TT0TT)

_____

“I like it when people push themselves and work hard.” Rangi finished straightening Kyoshi’s robes with a final, hard tug. Then she looked up at Kyoshi with batting eyelashes. “I think it’s admirable.”

She watched as Kyoshi gulped and a fire was lit behind her storm gray eyes. Rangi barely resisted the urge to pull the maid to a secluded area and mess up the robes she had just fixed. 

Calm down. She told herself. You have all the time in the world now. You don’t need to rush.

Today had been basically perfect for Rangi. Her confession had worked, she and Kyoshi were together, and they had spent a very pleasant night in each other’s arms. Now if only their duties just didn’t get in the way of their fresh new dating phase. Could you blame a girl for wanting to enjoy every moment with her girlfriend? 

Rangi was thinking of the multiple ways she could tease Kyoshi, when a voice called out to them. 

“Hey, Kyoshi!” the voice yelled.

Rangi's hands quickly moved behind her back, standing at attention like she usually did. She sighed inwardly. No, it was better to be safe, she was still in the middle of the Earth Kingdom. Even if Kyoshi had accepted her, there was no telling how other people might react. 

Rangi watched as Kyoshi’s face formed into a disappointing pout. She didn’t like that they were interrupted either.

Kyoshi reformed her face into a more neutral expression when she turned to face the male servant who’d been calling out to them, Lee.

“Hi, Lee,” Kyoshi said. 

“You finished pretty fast today, I’m impressed! Now you have time to clean the-” he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Rangi behind Kyoshi.

Rangi raised an eyebrow slightly. She knew she came off as fairly intimidating to the other servants, but they never reacted with fear towards her. Not that Lee was showing fear per se, but it was still obvious hesitancy. 

Rangi’s face formed into an emotion that existed between displeased and deadpanned. Hoping he'd get the hint and leave.

“Um, Rangi, Lee. Lee, Rangi,” Kyoshi introduced them, unprompted. 

“Kyoshi, we know each other,” Rangi said deadpanned. She knew a lot of the servants, and had to talk to them when she was performing some of her own duties that didn’t involve watching over the Avatar. However, while she knew them, she wasn’t close to them like she was with Kyoshi and Yun.

“Oh, I didn’t realize,” Kyoshi said, sounding a little disheartened to Rangi.

Rangi chewed the inside of her cheek. It was very possible Kyoshi never happened to see Rangi interacting with the other staff, because that's what tended to happen...when Kyoshi was around. Her full attention tended to be taken whenever Kyoshi entered her line of sight. Dropping whatever she was working on to give the maid her attention.

“I usually see him when I need to talk to Auntie Mui,” she clarified. It was easier to just give that explanation at the moment. No need to act like a love struck idiot even more than she usually did in front of Lee. Not that he nor Auntie Mui ever gave her that type of grief when she’d ask them questions, all pertaining to learning more about Kyoshi. 

Did she tread the fine line of a foolish romantic interest and a curious best friend well? Is that why? Or maybe they knew all along and never said anything. 

“Oh? I didn’t know you were that close with her!” Rangi could hear the excitement and interest in Kyoshi’s voice, and it caused a slight panic attack within the firebender.

“I...I sometimes have questions for her, that’s all,” Rangi stuttered out. Now was not the time and place for her to go in depth on how desperate she was to learn about the other girl.

A strange giggle got Rangi’s attention, and turned to Lee. He had a strange smile on his face, and was giggling like a madman. For a moment, Rangi wondered if they should have him hospitalized.

“So, Kyoshi,” he started. “Have you told Rangi about your little song?”

Ohhhh. So it’s that.

Everything made sense now. Lee wasn’t going insane.

That’s right, if she remembered correctly, since Lee was kitchen staff, he was most likely in the kitchen the day Kyoshi sang her poem. Rangi hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Kyoshi she knew about the poem, and Kyoshi never fessed up about writing it.

Perhaps she would...have a little fun. 

Rangi turned to Kyoshi, her head tilted in curiosity. She rested one elbow in one hand, and rested her hand on her face with the other, covering her smile. “No, no I don’t think I have. You wrote a song?”

Rangi watched as Kyoshi started to sweat. It was adorable . “It’s-I-it was on the spot?”

“Oh, but it was a lovely song!” Lee batted his eyelashes. “I can sing it if you want.”

Kyoshi squeaked. “S-she doesn’t want to hear that-” 

“I think I do, actually,” Rangi cut in, fueling Lee’s enthusiasm like a fan to a flame. “Please, Lee, enlighten me!” 

Rangi listened to Kyoshi’s poem being bastardized by Lee’s voice. She hoped she could hear Kyoshi sing it again, her voice was very pleasant to listen to.

Nevertheless, Rangi gave a clap of showmanship to Lee. If anything, it was worth it to see Kyoshi fidget and squirm. A new side of Kyoshi she’d yet to see. 

“So what did you think of the song, Rangi?” Lee looked at her expectantly. 

Rangi tapped her chin, pretending to think. “Very catchy. Tell me, Kyoshi, what inspired you to write this?”

“I-....it was in the moment,” Kyoshi choked out, sweat pooling on her face.

Rangi’s eyes widened, she didn’t expect that type of answer. “Really? It was all improvised?” 

From how well the words flowed and formed, it felt like a lot of thought had been put into it. She couldn’t help but have pictured Kyoshi spending nights by candle light writing the poem. But, she supposed it made sense. They played a game where you came up with lyrics on the spot. Perhaps Kyoshi just had a hidden talent for writing and poetry?

“Bah! Don’t worry about that!” Lee waved his hands trying to get her attention. “Did the song remind you of anything?” 

Rangi watched as Lee not so secretly shared a look with a glaring Kyoshi. Ah, so this is the part where she needs to realize it’s about her.

Unfortunately for Lee, this is where she stopped being an actor in his play and continued being her actor in her own play. She’d much rather weasel Kyoshi’s confession out of her one-on-one in a more intimate setting.

She would continue playing ignorant.

Rangi tilted her head, feigning confusion. “Hm? No, why?”

Lee’s smile faltered. “Because I’m pretty sure it was based on someone!”

Rangi closed her eyes and thought, remembering a tale she read about once. Yes, that would be a great cover story. “The spirit of one of the Eastern Earth Kingdom islands?”

Rangi heard Kyoshi sigh in relief, and bit back a smile.

“What?! No! Why-” Lee complained

“Because that spirit is known for wielding bronze daggards?”

Lee spluttered. “No! It’s someone who’s lives here-”

“The Avatar is back!” someone shouted.

Kyoshi, Rangi, and Lee looked upward and saw a bison approaching. Rangi snuck a glance at Kyoshi, and saw a big grin on her face. She tried to swallow the jealousy that bubbled up in her throat.

Quit it. You’re with her, not him.

“C’mon, let’s go greet them!” Kyoshi exclaimed as she grabbed Rangi’s hand. 

Of course Yun had to arrive a little earlier than was planned. He probably wanted to ruin what little of the day she had left with Kyoshi. 

Tch, damn it! Rangi clicked her tongue in frustration.

__________________________

“Avatar. Masters,” Kyoshi and Rangi said in unison as they approached the bison and bowed. They’re faces back to their usual business expression.

Yun looked at them and gave them a subdued smile, which stretched out into his usual grin. 

“It’s great seeing my two favorite girls again!” He held his arms outstretched and ran to them. He wrapped an arm around both Kyoshi and Rangi. Kyoshi around her shoulder, the highest he could reach. The other went around Rangi’s neck, feigning putting it around her shoulders. And then he flexed his bicep.

The sudden pressure caused some of the air in Rangi’s throat to escape, making a noise. But she remained calmed and tried not to let any more noise come out of her. It’d be what he wanted.

This bastard, choking me, in front of my mother no less! Rangi growled inside, but didn’t let her displeasure show on her face. She didn’t need her or her mother setting fire to the Avatar’s face, dishonoring them.

She placed a hand on his arm, returning the ‘hug’ and he let go. 

Yun turned to Kyoshi first. “Everything running smoothly still? Master Kelsang is recovering well?”

“Yes, I think he’ll be able to leave the infirmary soon!” Kyoshi grinned. 

Yun smiled at her. “That’s great to hear, I can’t wait to see him up and around the mansion again.” 

Yun turned to Rangi and put a firm hand on her shoulder, his smile disappearing and a worried look replaced it. “How about you, Rangi? Are you feeling ok?”

‘So you ran off? Thought you could get a head start? Didn’t think you had it in you! Did your little stunt even work? Or did you pig chicken out at the last second.’

Rangi gave him an extra friendly smile, laying her friendliness on thicker than honey on toast. “Of course, never better.”

‘Of course it worked you bastard! I knew she had feelings for me!’

Yun returned the smile and squeezed her shoulder hard, aiming for various certain pressure points. “That’s good, I was worried when Hei-Ran said you felt so ill that you had to leave.”

‘Haha, don’t get so cocky, my friend. There’s a chance she just might like me more than you. You better enjoy it while it lasts~!’

Rangi didn’t let her smile waver. “Yes, I was feeling under the weather, must’ve been the rain. I’m feeling much better now.”

‘Oh I will. Because we’re going to last a good, long while.’

“Then I suppose you wouldn’t mind helping everyone unpack, right? Since you’re feeling better ?”

‘So confident. Well then, you wouldn’t mind performing your duties then? Or are you scared something might happen while you’re off prancing around and doing your job for once? Remember? The job you were hired to do?’

“Of course not, it’d be my pleasure.”

‘Of course not. I trust Kyoshi.’

Rangi and Yun finished their smiling contest and silent conversation that no one else could see nor hear. It was apparent to only them that whatever weird friendship they had, had ended. 

Bridge officially burned. Rangi sighed inwardly. Well, this was going to make her job a bit more awkward. 

She started walking over to Pengpeng, as she did, she couldn’t help but feel anxiety and insecurity start to take over her. Shaking her from within, but not letting it show on her face. Like a true Fire National, a true master at concealing her emotions.

Yun turned back to Kyoshi. “Kyoshi, if I could-”

“Kyoshi! There you are, Auntie Mui needs-” Rin, another servant, stopped in her tracks as she rounded the corner, and bowed. “Avatar, Masters.”

Kyoshi turned to Yun. “Sorry Yun, is it-”

Yun put his hand up, “Don’t worry about it, go perform your duties. What I’d like to discuss can wait .”

Yun’s words echoed in Rangi’s mind. “Because when we get back to Yokoya, I’m going to carry out my plan. I’m not going to wait .”

Rangi bit her lip, trying to hold back laughter. She briefly wondered if schendefrueder was addictive. 

________________

There was a knock on Rangi’s door. She knew who it was before she answered it. Her mother was waiting for her on the other side.

Rangi sighed inwardly. After the Avatar’s and Masters’ had their luggage moved back to their rooms, Rangi hoped her mother would take a moment to unwind before hunting down her own daughter. Rangi wasn’t very lucky in that regard.

“Mother,” Rangi gave a small bow. 

Her mother gave her a disapproving look. “Did you complete the task you so desperately needed to do?”

Rangi’s throat went dry from nerves, however, she had been expecting this question. Ever since she first decided to ask her mother for help. “Yes.” She braced herself for her punishment.

“Good,” Hei-Ran said, folding her hands in front of herself. 

Rangi flinched. There was something in her mother's voice she couldn't place... Praise? Was it praise? Was her mother praising her?

“Now we can focus on cleaning up the mess you made.”

Oh, she was just happy her daughter resolved whatever issue she had. It was back to business as usual.

“Yes, mother,” Rangi said solemnly.

“You’ll be very busy moving forward,” Hei-Ran continued. “You’ll have to do whatever you can to regain the favor you’ve lost.”

Rangi nodded. She didn’t regret what she’d done. She’d do it again, a hundred times over. 

“Until further notice, your days will begin an hour early from now on as well.” Rangi looked at her mother, confused. “During that time, you will be in horse stance.”

It took all of Rangi’s willpower to not release the world’s longest sigh out loud. Horse stance. Her mother’s go-to punishment. Ok, Rangi had one regret now. The fact she didn’t run away with Kyoshi after confessing.

Sure, she’d have to be on the run from her own mother for the rest of her life, but she’d be happy with Kyoshi and her horse stance-less days. 

“I understand.” Was all Rangi said and would keep saying as her mother kept listing off all the new roles, duties, lessons, and tortures Rangi would have to go through as punishment. 

________

Damn him! Rangi cursed the Avatar in her mind as she watched a bead of sweat fall off her nose and onto the ground. She was leaning against the outside wall of the shop she was tasked with delivering packages to...a town that was three towns over !

It had been a week since he’d returned from the Beifong estate, and he was trying to get back at Rangi as much as he could. Get back at her for ‘stealing’ the girl he had feelings for. As if Kyoshi was an object that could be stolen!

She gnashed her teeth together as she caught her breath. That bastard’s going to pay! She pounded her fist against the wall.

He was lucky he couldn’t firebend yet, otherwise she’d challenge him to an Agni Kai! What he was doing, attempting to steal the significant other of someone else, was grounds enough!

Yun had been trying to find a moment to take his shot at Kyoshi, her girlfriend. He was obviously planning a moment where he could talk with her alone. With no Rangi there to interrupt. That’s why he kept personally sending her out on ‘missions’ and errands all over the damn peninsula.

It was all to keep her away from the estate for as long as possible. But what Yun didn’t realize was that Rangi was as tenacious as she was good at whatever job was thrown at her.

She’d always complete the tasks in record time, and would always make it back by night at the latest. Just in time to cuddle and whisper sweet nothings into her girlfriend’s ear. In her girlfriend’s room. In her girlfriend’s bed. Alone. Together. Without his annoying ass!

But.. some nights, she couldn’t help but feel like it might’ve been something he was listening in on...

Rangi bit her lip and shook her head. Trying to shake the idea away, but to no avail. 

She had no proof he was doing that, but that didn't set her mind at ease. In fact, the unknown made her feel more on edge. Ever since the day he revealed he overheard the conversation she had with Kyoshi, where she was begging her not to come with them to the iceberg. Rangi couldn’t shake the idea of him listening in on other such matters. She hadn't let it bother her…until the night he revealed his plan to confess to Kyoshi. The day he revealed what type of threat he was to Rangi.

Rangi shook her head again, trying to clear it. It wasn’t good to let him linger in her mind. It would just make her spiral. What she needed to do was get back as soon as possible.

She was lucky, however. It appeared that her mother and Master Jianzhu had increased their workload for Yun. Either from training, or various important meetings Yun needed to have with leaders or other high ups across various Nations. If it wasn’t for them, then Yun would’ve most likely taken his shot already. 

She was also thankful to Auntie Mui, at Rangi’s request, she begged the head cook to assign as much work for Kyoshi as possible. Rangi felt horrible about it, but she needed to make sure those two were never alone with each other. She would tell herself it wasn’t that she didn’t trust Kyoshi, but because she didn’t trust Yun . Part of that was true, but the other part was that she was starting to drown in anxiety and insecurity over the whole matter...and she was becoming paranoid. 

Two conflicting mindsets warring in her mind.

To her surprise, Auntie Mui agreed. She gave the excuse that it was going to get really busy at the estate anyway, busier than usual, so it was no skin off her nose. Plus she knew that Kyoshi liked to help.

Rangi was going to need to buy the old woman a present. One that could show her eternal gratitude. She mentioned liking poetry and theater, perhaps she could make something happen?

As Rangi mentally added one more thing to her to-do list, the owner of the store came out. 

“Thanks again lil’ lady! You Fire Nation folk really put ya nose ta’ the grindstone when you’re given a task.” 

Can I go now? Rangi sighed inwardly.

“Of course. Every task is something that should be performed above and beyond. Every time,” Rangi responded. 

She spent her early morning with her ostrich horse carrying some large bags for the owner. From Yokoya to some dinky town, three towns over. Something that took about three hours. 

Then when she got there, apparently, Yun had volunteered her to help move the man’s other cargo from storage into his store. Which took about three more hours, only because she pushed herself to finish the task at an inhuman speed. Now she needed to head back home, which would take another three hours.

“Ta’ bad one of these boxes ain’t mine. Looks like it’s mah brother-in-law’s up north!”

No… Please…no…

“You mean, one of the packages I delivered wasn’t supposed to go here.”

“Nope! Looks like you have one more stop lil’ lady!”

Rangi wanted to scream. But she held it in. She got the directions to her next destination, another hour and a half out of her way, and pushed her steed to its limits. She alternated between cursing Yun’s name and fantasizing about Kyoshi. 

_________________________

“Maybe you shouldn’t come here tomorrow night,” Kyoshi muttered into Rangi’s hair.

Rangi quickly detangled from her girlfriend’s arms and sat up. She looked at Kyoshi, panicked. “Did I do something wrong?”

Kyoshi chuckled and pulled Rangi back down to where she originally was laying. “No, I’ve just noticed you’ve been tired. I’m afraid I’m wearing you out.”

It’s not you. It’s Yun. And my mother... And all the stupid errands I have to run now.

“You aren’t. This is the one place I feel like I can re-energize,” Rangi mumbled into Kyoshi’s chest. She felt the taller girl brush her lips against Rangi’s head. The action made the firebender shudder with delight.

“Ok, I won’t bring it up again,” Kyoshi chuckled again. “In all honesty, I’m relieved.”

“Hm?”

“Because I was afraid you’d agree. You being here with me is the best part of my day.”

Rangi detangled herself from Kyoshi again, and took in the sight of the taller girl’s pout, upset Rangi had wormed away from her again. Rangi would need to fix that.

She dipped down and gave Kyoshi a warm kiss. “It’s my favorite part of the day too,” she whispered against her lips.

Kyoshi returned the kiss with what remaining vigor she still had from the long day. Her tongue caressed Rangi’s bottom lip, as if asking for passage. Kyoshi reached up and entangled her hands in Rangi’s hair and gripped, causing the firebender to moan, and Kyoshi capitalized on her opportunity. 

Rangi put her own hands to work, running them up and down the length of Kyoshi’s body. Feeling her curves, as if trying to commit every dip and arch to memory. 

Unfortunately, their make-out session didn’t last for long. Limbs started to slow and become heavy. Deep kisses became soft and fluttery.

“Ah, I wish I had more energy,” Kyoshi sighed, looking at Rangi with heavy, bleary eyes. 

A pang of guilt ran through Rangi, before it subsided. “Same.”

“You look like you’re about to collapse. You sure you can make it back to your room?”

Rangi shook her head, but it was a lie. She was tired but probably could make it back. She just didn't want to. “I don’t think I can. Can I stay here?” she asked, a little sheepishly.

Kyoshi pursed her lips. “I don’t mind. But I’m afraid of dishonoring you with a walk of shame.”

Rangi couldn’t help but snort at that.

Oh noooo. Whatever shall I do? A bunch of Earth Citizens will look down on me? What are they going to do, insult me? Please, if they’re anything like that Aoma brat then they’re child’s play!

Maybe it was just in their nature? To be more upfront about their insults than the scheming ways of the Fire Nation? If anything it was a breath of fresh air, not having to worry about knives being sharpened in secret. 

So to Rangi, the 'walk of shame' in the Earth Kingdom was surely not as bad as anything the Fire Nation would dole out. The insults she had already heard were of the same level as pre-academy children would sling around. If anything, Rangi was thriving here.

But she did feel a little uneasy if Kyoshi got caught in the crossfires. She didn’t know how resilient her girlfriend was, and she didn’t want to put that resilience to the test.

“Kyoshi, you’ll never dishonor me. And there's nothing shameful about being with you,” It was the truth. Kyoshi wasn’t capable of dishonoring Rangi. Even if she touched her hair. Touched it, pulled it, or even cut it. If loving Rangi was somehow dishonorable, then maybe there was something wrong with the world. “I’m more afraid of harming you with my walk of shame though.”

Kyoshi held Rangi tighter and laughed. “Don’t worry about me, I can manage some gossip.” 

Rangi cuddled in close. “So, does that mean I can spend the night?”

Kyoshi kissed Rangi’s forehead. “As many nights as you want,” she slowly slurred out, just barely finishing the sentence before sleep took the both of them.

_________________________

Well, this was awkward. Rangi and Yun stood facing each other. He was sweaty from his firebending lesson. Rangi was sweaty from running all over the peninsula. And Kyoshi wasn’t at the estate. 

“Rangi,” Yun greeted her with a fake, cool smile.

“Avatar,” Rangi nodded back, trying to keep her features neutral.

“Have you seen Kyoshi by any chance?”

“She’s off running errands for Auntie Mui, she’ll be gone until nightfall.” Rangi crossed her arms. “Around the time you’ll have your scheduled meditative lessons before bed. Too bad .”

Yun’s jaw flexed but his smile didn't waver. “Speaking of bed, you seem to be spending less time in your bed.”

Rangi’s turn to flex her jaw, but doesn’t respond. The hairs on her neck started to prickle as the paranoia rose within her.

“Forgive me, I’ve noticed you leave your room sometimes in the late hours of the night, and don’t return until the early hours of the morning.”

“That just means I’m on my night and morning runs,” Rangi shrugged. She chose to feign ignorance, she wasn’t sure how far his earthsight–or whatever earthbenders would call it (something to do with badgermoles)– could reach, but there was no need for her to give him any easy answers. If anyone was going to walk away with more information, it was going to be her. 

So far, she could determine that she was close enough that he could see her room, but too far to see Kyoshi’s. It made sense. She was stationed close to where he rested, and Kyoshi was on the other side of the mansion. Because of their rank and duties. 

“Funny, I don’t think that’s the case. Because I stayed up all night one night, researching. And lo and behold, you were out all night.”

So he was either in his room, or in the library. The library is closer to the middle of the mansion... But he wouldn’t want to risk getting caught staying up rather than sleeping, so he was probably in his room. 

After Rangi did the calculations in her head, she started to determine how far her could see, then she waved a hand. “I slept out under the stars that night, it seemed peaceful.”

“Interesting, because it was raining that night.”

“Like I said, peaceful .”

“It was a hurricane, Rangi.”

“I’m sorry, did I stutter ?”

Yun let out an exasperated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know, if it wasn’t for all the red, you could easily pass as an earthbender. You’re stubborn like one.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

Yun sighed again, and shook his head. His eyes were full of pity. “Rangi, find reason.”

“It has been found, categorized, and filed,” she quipped.

“This can’t go on forever.”

Rangi tensed. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Yun took a few steps in Rangi’s direction. She wanted to maintain her ground, but he was the Avatar. She had to show deference, so she chose to retreat by taking a step back. And and then another, and another, and she kept retreating, and retreating. Damn it, how she just wished she could throw a punch at his smarmy face!

Then her back hit the wall, and a hand slammed down next to her head. She eyed Yun with as much defiance as she could in her position. 

“Your kabedon isn’t going to work on me, Yun,” she responded dryly. “I’m only into women.”

“Rangi,” he said darkly, leaning into her ear so she couldn’t see his face. “I will get what I want. And you better not be in the way when I do.”

He pulled back and promptly walked away, feeling that he got his message across just fine. 

Rangi could only stare at the ground as the threat sank in.

She hoped Kyoshi would be back soon.

______

A/N: Oh and for those wonder: “What’s a Kabedon?” It’s japanese for “wall bang”.....wait, that sounds dirty. TT0TT That’s the literal translation. It’s a certain act that can create a romantic atmosphere. If you google “kabedon” you’ll get it (don’t worry it’s sfw). 

Also, siiiiigh, I'm sorry Rangi. ;w; Your life was supposed to get better here but….alas. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Plot gonna plot TT0TT

[dememetor]

HEY HEY HEY

I love your writing, can I please get jealous hcs for anyone? Please include suna thi he's my latest brainrot hAHA

hi, thanks for the request! and suna brainrot?? bitch me too the fuck. anyways, hope you enjoy~

(also sorry this is kinda late, i've rewritten iwaizumi and bokuto ones a million times)

Haikyuu boys when they're jealous

characters suna rintarou, kuroo tetsurou, iwaizumi hajime, bokuto koutarou, kenma kozume

warnings none but i'm probably gonna say fuck at some point

Suna Rintarou

he tries to be chill about it, he does

it hurts his ego to be this clingy but god

he can't help but to feel that sour sting of jealousy when he sees another guy approaching you

at first will only take a quick glance from afar, just to check if the guy is bothering you, and then promises himself to stay out of your business

well he doesn't

once he decides the guy has lost talking-to-y/n-alone privilege, he will nonchalantly make his way towards you, one hand in his pocket, other sneaking its way to your shoulder, resting his elbow and giving the poor boy a menacing look

he can be pretty intimidating too with that eyeliner and all

(but that look only works on people that don't know him well, he tried it on atsumu once and the latter just laughed in his face)

not the type to be openly jealous but when he sees someone blatantly flirting with you he will start to give you the Glance

blinks slowly (you know, like that one blonde haired guy gif) and looks at you through raised eyebrows as if to say hey babe, i love you and i trust you. what the fuck tho

and when the guy starts being borderline creepy he'll appear between you - and i mean literally will inject himself between you two and strike a conversation with you as if nothing weird happened

they usually get the hint, but this one guy tried to go around him, still rambling about whatever and suna literally turned on his heel and said "come again?" with such unrivaled coldness, his eyes exuding just sheer fucking spite

but like i said, unless the other guy is asking for it, he's not the type to start a direct confrontation

will take you by the hand and leave without much thought because he simply doesn't have the time for that shit

he might seem grumpy afterwards but a couple of soft kisses usually do the trick

soft kisses which are followed by a breathless make out session with you on his kitchen counter because he still wants you to know you're only his

Kuroo Tetsurou

this little bitch

never gets jealous

and i mean never

once pretended he was jealous just to make you feel better (??? his logic? unparalleled) but once you found out you beat his ass

loves it when you get jealous though (he thinks it's cute)

sometimes he does get insecure, but he shows it in an unusual way

like if you've been talking to someone, smiling at your phone for a while he'll just get up and randomly do a couple puhs-ups, start flexing his muscles and shit

all while you're looking at him like,,

"babe, what are you doing"

"oh i didn't think you'd notice me there. since you're on your damn phone all day"

"...are you my mom?"

nah he'll be fine (will steal your phone though)

also it's the funniest thing when he sees someone trying to flirt with you

he will literally walk over there, introduce himself (not mentioning he's your boyfriend) and act really interested in the conversation

he plays this game where he tries to see how long will it take the guy to realise you two are together (longest time: 24 minutes, record holder: yahaba shigeru)

whenever the guy asks you something he will interrupt you and answer for himself as if the guy were flirting with him

"so, like what do you do in your free time?"

"not mu-"

"oh i love taking long walks on the beach, especially during sunsets. i really think it is healthy for the mind and the soul, not to mention quite romantic too. don't you too love sunsets, kevin?"

at one point kevin will have had enough of it

"i was talking to y/n alone here"

"aw don't worry, you're not bothering me"

he is such a pain in the ass

why can't he just be normal

Iwaizumi Hajime

rational, mature, i love him

seriously, he is the bestest boy and he will treat you so well because he trusts you and respects your friendship with other guys as well

but on those rare occasions when he does get jealous,, oh boy

first of all, the PDA skyrockets, he has to have his arm around you at all times - around your shoulder? on your waist? in your backpocket? his hand's been there done that

not in any way possesive but will be really annoying unless you give him your full undivided attention that day

he lets himself be selfish a bit, after all he is your boyfriend he can have you all to himself for a day, right?

jealous sex with him? better prepare a wheelchair cause you want be able to walk straight tomorrow

sees a boy trying to flirt with you? tries not to make a scene but absolutely will throw the first punch if he needs to

one day he was having a particularly rough time at practice and all he wanted to do was lose himself in your arms and fall asleep to the feeling your fingertips tangled in his hair

and then he saw this?? guy? (the audacity!) laughing with you after telling some dumb joke and let me tell you - iwaizumi wasn't having any of it

he came up to you from behind, wrapped his arms around your waist and planted a small kiss on the crook of your neck

"when are we going home, love?"

and he gives him the calmest yet most fear inducing stare from behind you

and suddenly the pattern on poor boy's pants starts to look awful lot like piss stain

it is actually kinda hot how one single look from him can cause such a reaction

"he was just asking about english homework babe"

"yeah that's what they all say"

Bokuto Koutarou

gets jealous so so easily

it is actually fascinating

will get mad at otome games

"what does jumin han have that i don't???"

god forbid you pay attention to your pet more than him (btw you have a golden retriever and his name is bean)

you're sitting on the couch cuddling with your dog, scratching his ears, ruffling his fur and all that, and there he is, your clingy boyfriend, snuggling right next to you, demanding you play with his hair too

so dramatic

"you smiled at him... the way you used to smile at me..."

"bokuto, he's a dog"

the only guy he trusts 100% to be around you is akaashi, even kuroo is on thin ice

but him and akaashi are something else, one time you three had a sleepover and you felt like you were the third wheel

will act like a tough serious boyfriend in front of others, especially your other guy friends but in reality will look for affection immediately after

oh while we're at it - jealous bokuto kisses? are the best kisses

will also force you to wear one of his shirts for the rest of the day

my poor man is so touch starved so when he feels insecure or jealous he will look for comfort in things like holding your hand, nuzzling your neck or giving forehead kisses

but later that day, when you two are sitting on the couch cuddling he will quietly ask you something along the lines of "you still think i'm pretty, right?"

you can feel him all over you - his hands are creeping down your waist, he's pulling you in, deepening the kiss until all you can see, think and feel is him

he wants to show you exactly how much he wants you and what you were missing out on while you weren't paying attention to him

and it shocks you for a moment because you didn't realise just how much that one short moment of jealousy actually stayed with him

you have to reassure him he's the most beautiful boy you have ever met, and not only that, but also the funniest and the most caring person as well, and that you would never leave his side no matter what happened

and as much as he loves getting praised he always gets embarrassed, so he just smiles in return, but he is also happy to know you're there for him and you don't think he is too much

Kenma Kozume

it depends on his mood honestly

sometimes he doesn't mind it even if the other guy is flirting with you and sometimes will get pissy if you smile at the cashier

but when this boy gets really jealous oh my GOD

he is just like bokuto if not worse; he just hides it so well

one time you went grocery shopping with him and spent the entire time texting your friend who had just told you she was visiting your city

and he got so offended

you didn't even notice it until later that day when you came home and he suddenly refused to cuddle with you

silent treatment

lifts his nose and ignores you, only giving you dirty side glances from under the eye

such a massive sense of pride in those 170 cm even oikawa would be impressed

in my country there's a saying "it's in the smallest bottle that the poison lies" and honestly? yeah

at some point you realise why he's acting like that and you start teasing him

"i am not jealous i am just mildly irritated" is the only thing he deems necessary to say before going back to being unnecessarily pissed

he reminds you of an angry cat

it's kind of amusing seeing him like this but you were also getting real tired of his shit

don't even try bribing him (you tried buying him over with a ps5 but he just looked at you unimpressed, disgusted that you think so low of him)

the only thing he will accept is a sincere apology

if it's sincere or not is up to him to decide, obviously

which can lead to quite some bickering

will try to get you to beg but please have dignity, if you do it once he will make you do it every time

yeah generally a lttle shit but his kisses after making up are just as eager as yours so

[soulmate-game]

New fic *test*

New Bio!dad Bruce story? I’m testing out this first chapter, and if I like where it’s going I might add it to my growing pile of WIPs. If I have inspiration, I might as well use it. Because of life events stressing me the hell out, I’m throwing any writing plans out the window and I’m purely gonna write to destress right now. Whether that means updating THG or not, or continuing Maribat March, we’ll just have to see how this all pans out. Things are subject to day-to-day change.

I got inspiration from this from rereading my day 1 story for Bio!dad Bruce Wayne month from last year. I’m just gonna change a few things.

—*—*—*—*—*

For once, an unfamiliar face attracted the attention of everyone who caught even a glimpse of them. It wasn’t even because of the person themselves at first, but their dress. The skirt like the most fantastical of storybook ball gowns, fluffy layers of satin over a luxurious petticoat, with a stunning pink floral pattern whose busy appearance was tastefully offset by a shorter, sheer layer of leaf green tulle artistically weaved and somehow sculpted over the floral in order to tame it. The effect turned what should be a grandmotherly pattern into something softer, sophisticated and youthful and yet also reminiscent of fairytale princesses. Over top the short layer of green tulle was an even shorter later of white tulle, almost invisible except for the elegant embroidery of crystal-white vines that twined all over it, connecting the green below it to the bottom-most floral pattern and oddly adding a layer of childishness instead of maturity. At the waist of the dress was a dark plum pink satin ribbon, to separate the elaborate ballgown skirt from the bodice. Attached to the simple ribbon was a large brooch of fabric flowers, with a single plastic ladybug in the center.

The bodice of the dress came up into a cheongsam neckline, but was sleeveless. It was a simple design, of half green and half dark pink, with a white border separating the two. The white border had expertly done embroideries in a soft silver thread that would only be visible close up, the images the thread made being that of fairies and ladybugs dancing around one another.

It was, all in all, a stunning display that made the small eurasian woman wearing them look like absolute royalty. Perhaps a long lost fairy princess. Her black-blue hair was even done up in elaborate looping braids and a braided bun, with silver and green pins that further completed the regal ensemble. And yes, while the expertly done dress was what initially captivated her current audience, it was not what kept them from leaving her alone. That was all her personality, bubbly and bright as her blinding smile. It was a sunny disposition that very few people present had any exposure to at all, and it drew them like a sunflower to the daylight. They could not help but flock closer, or even just stand back and keep themselves turned to her presence. Already she had been at the gala for two hours, but there was no issue. She just kept proving her generosity, admitting she had donated both a dress and a suit of her own making to the charity auction that would begin soon, one of the main attractions of the gala. She skillfully charmed the more snooty of the attendants, and artfully twisted her words so that they felt compelled to donate more money that they truly had no use for. Later, they would remember their donation and wonder what compelled it, but come up with no satisfying answer.

And yet she was entirely unaware of her more silent audience, who stood back and observed. Truth be told, every one of them was glad to not be the center of that attention for a change, to have room to breathe for so long at an event where usually that commodity was so scarce that it demanded a fierce competition for. Compared to her garden of color, they were all shadows in shades of blacks and blues and whites, with a touch of red here and there that was entirely too thematic for their home city. The one who sported a royal blue suit tilted his head at the scene they were all calmly witnessing, his bright azure eyes glittering.

“She’s like magic,” he mused, clearly enchanted despite having not said a single word to the woman. “Perfect socialite. She’s kind, generous, she made that dress and the ones she donated to the auction herself so she’s obviously got an intimidating amount of skill for her age. She even tricks those old fuddy-duddies into spending money. It’s like a dream come true!”

“I don't trust it,” the one to his right said, a man just a few inches shorter in a classic black suit with a red dress shirt underneath. He absently swept his bangs away from his face as he narrowed his eyes at the woman. “It seems too perfect. She doesn’t have any identifiable character flaw, except maybe being a little clumsy and too energetic. She does babble a little… but nothing that actually suggests any depth besides her just being— good. That’s impossible, and I don’t trust it.”

“Tt. I agree with Drake for once. She seems entirely too comfortable with this setting, despite her blushes and rambles,” the one who spoke this like was taller, clearly a teen in the middle of his growth spurt. He, too, wore a plain black suit but his had subtle charcoal embroidery and he wore an emerald-green dress shirt under it that made his matching eyes gleam dangerously. “It seems almost playacted. Expertly so, but nonetheless not entirely genuine.”

“Wow, not many pick up on that. I’m gonna give your observations a solid eight out of ten. They’re all perfectly sound, but not quite complete,” a new voice made all of the silent group stiffen— somehow they had been snuck up on. The newcomer smirked at them as if having fully expected their reaction but still being pleased at being able to evoke it. This was yet another stunner; far too much color in her outfit to be a Gotham native, and far too much skill in the construction for it to signify anything less than extreme influence. She had bright golden-blond hair that was coiled into a low bun, with her bangs artfully curled and arranged to display her crystal blue eyes.

In contrast to the garden-themed dress of the Eurasian woman who had garnered their attention at first, this newcomer was wearing a pantsuit. It was all in a dark honey-gold, in a stiff fabric with construction that made it lay entirely in perfect, straight lines and hug her form in the right places. Black embroidery decorated the long, flared sleeves and pant legs and dripped around the square neckline like a faux necklace. A cape made out of the same material as the rest of the pantsuit was draped on one shoulder. It started out as the same honey-gold color, but it became a gradient as it faded to a solid black at the ends. Gold thread embroidery decorated the solid black bottom of the cape in delicate, deceptively simplistic swirls. The top half of the pantsuit was clearly inspired by military garb, simultaneously rigidly constructed yet fitted, with circular onyx buttons going down the center of the chest and a thick metal belt, all in swirling silver and black, sat perfectly clasped around her waist. It was far more solid-colored and simplistic compared to the fairytale dress in the center, but no less show stopping and luxurious. It simply showcased an entirely different attitude, almost as if the two women could never get along if their personalities matched their outfits.

“And who are you?” The man who had been the center of the group of shadow-like adults spoke up, back straightening to milk every speck of his generous six-feet-and-three-inches of height. This was none other than Bruce Wayne, the host of this annual charity gala. And normally, his current stance would either intimidate or utterly charm whoever it was directed at— but not this pantsuit-clad blond warrior. Her smirk merely widened, and her blue eyes took on a slight shade of teal as if trying to mimic the dangerous ocean depths.

“I am Chloe Bourgeois, the daughter of Andre Bourgeois, the mayor of Paris, and Audrey Bourgeois, the Style Queen. It’s nice to meet you again, Monsieur Wayne,” she introduced herself imperiously. “I also happen to be the best friend of the girl you were just staring at.”

Bruce nodded, but had trouble reconciling this clear powerhouse of a woman with the bratty and entitled preteen he had met years ago, at the last gala she had attended with her mother. “Of course, I didn’t recognize you at first Chloe. You’ve grown a lot since the last Gala I saw you at.”

Chloe wrinkled her nose, clearly not appreciating the reminder. “I was a bitch,” she admitted easily, seemingly not at all bothered by the confession. It caused not only Bruce but also the oldest three of his sons, who had all also met her in the past, to blink in silent shock. “Things have changed. Paris is apparently the perfect chaotic environment right now to promote emotional growth and smack spoiled kids over the head with reality,” she shrugged. Part of the reason her and her whole class had even been able to come to the Gala in the first place was the fact that Bruce wanted to offer the most attacked group of Parisians a respite and some support from their crazy lives. The fact that even Gotham seemed sane in comparison to Paris was a bit of a hard hit for both involved parties, but in the end everyone understood that “more sane” didn’t always equate with “less dangerous.” Considering all that, Chloe had no reason to sugarcoat the situation in her home city. “But it wasn’t easy at all, and Marinette was largely responsible for my improvement too.”

“Marinette?” The heathen who somehow got away with attending a gala in a black leather jacket over a dress shirt and suit pants asked, raising a brow. Chloe nodded.

“The girl you were just goggling at. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the class president and resident workaholic. Does she ever sleep? Nobody knows,” Chloe shrugged.

The blue-suited man, Dick Grayson, shot a suspicious glance at Tim, who was standing to his right, as if he was worried his brother had made a female clone of himself just so he could continue to work hard and never rest. Tim ignored him and sipped from the thermos of coffee he had somehow snuck in.

Bruce cleared his throat to bring the focus back onto himself, and shot his most charming smile at Chloe. “They would have known who she was, if they had read the brief information I gave them about your class. But they never do listen to me,” he complained with good humor. “But back to the original topic, Miss Bourgeois, do you care to correct us on how our observations are lacking?”

Chloe laughed easily, smiling and nodding to indicate Marinette, still stuck in a circle of socialites and not seeming the least bit worn out.

“Of course. First; She is not completely acting. She really is like magic sometimes— disgustingly kind, generous, far too willing to help just about anyone for just about any reason. She’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, as much as it pains me to admit it. But she is exaggerating her personality a bit and hiding the parts she doesn’t want anyone to see, so there is a little acting involved. Just not as much as you seem to think,” Chloe then waved her arm in a flourish as if she were presenting Marinette to them. “In short; behold Mari Dupain-Cheng, the ridiculously likeable, disgustingly cute, extremely philanthropic mask that she shows everyone at public events like this. You don’t see any of the insomnia, or the anxiety, or the self doubt. Just the parts she wants you to see, accompanied with a smile to blind you to everything else,” her all-too-deep blue eyes settled back on Bruce then, a knowing glint shining in them. “Don’t you think that’s ridiculously similar to Brucie Wayne for you, Monsieur? Utterly, ridiculously, similar?”

Bruce grit his teeth. He hadn’t expected anyone else to know about his exceptionally well hidden secret, not even his kids had caught on or found his buried evidence yet. Yet his heiress comes up, nearly flaunting her knowledge in his face with all too many unspoken questions and criticisms.

And her cryptic words had succeeded in making all of his kids look at him with extreme suspicion. Shit.

“What are you saying, Miss Bourgeois?” he cautiously prodded. She hummed noncommittally before dropping the bomb all too casually;

“I’m saying I’ve seen her adoption papers, and you won’t be able to run from her for long Monsieur Wayne. As soon as she gets an opening, she’s going to pounce,” Chloe’s eyes glittered dangerously again. “And nowadays, Marinette doesn’t ever let people escape her. Your problem with adoption has created a rather unique problem, you know. You’re at fault for a large majority of her self confidence issues, and I want you to know that I am not going to forget or forgive that anytime soon.”

“Bruce,” Jason’s voice was dark and threatening. “What is she talking about?”

“Something we don’t want getting in the tabloids,” Yet another new voice popped up, allowing Chloe to smugly sink back into the background.

Somewhere during their discussion, Marinette had ambushed them.

“Chloe and I are very good at locating all the reporters in a room and distracting them, but we’re not infallible and this event has far too much coverage,” Her smile reeked confidence and charm, but this close all the Waynes could see the doubt hiding in her bluebell eyes. “Since I’m about to turn eighteen, I figured this would be as good a time as any to finally confront you. I want to make it clear that I seek nothing from you, except the occasional contact. I would like to keep in touch, if nothing else. But if you are adverse to that… then at least answer my questions after the gala,” her eyes developed a hint of carefully controlled desperation. “Please.”

Bruce met her eyes evenly, trying to read her. But she was difficult, simultaneously too many emotions to sort through in her demeanor and much too little. After an extremely tense moment of silence, his voice came out barely above a whisper:

“You do not want anybody to know?”

And hell, if she didn’t recognize the hidden vulnerability in his voice as the very same she heard in her own far too often. In a much tamer version of her own rambling, he went on:

“I can keep it silent if that is what you want. But I want you to know that I will not be adverse to you admitting it anywhere. I don’t expect you to change your name, but I would not be ashamed of the truth getting out. I am not ashamed of it, of you.”

Marinette’s smile grew a little watery. She had to clear her throat to keep herself from tearing up. “Maybe eventually, but not yet. I… I want to stay a little more anonymous for now. It’s one thing to be a well known designer with good connections. It’s an entirely different thing to be…”

“A Wayne?” Bruce finished, ignoring the daggers that were being stared into his back. “I understand completely.

“Father,” Damian’s voice was all sharp edges and rapidly suppressed panic. “What. Is going. On?”

Marinette shot him an apologetic smile. “Apparently, eighteen years ago, his prerogative was to put the child he actually knew about up for adoption when the mother died in childbirth,” her voice was once again only barely loud enough for them to hear, since she didn’t want any eavesdroppers. “Imagine my surprise when I find out he completely flipped sides only months later.”

--*--*--*--*--*

Hey, so please share your feedback on this. This is just to test out a possible new bio dad, multichapter fic and this is the opening scene I'm trying out. If you like it, please tell me what you like about it and please suggest titles for the story! I love you guys' feedback so much!

[dracowars]

Hi! I recently found your account and your writing style and content is right up my alley so I’m glad I found it. I was wondering if you could write a Draco x hufflepuff!reader where they are meeting Draco’s family for the first time and Draco didn’t mention their house of half-blood status. Lucius gets angry and things lead to him trying to hit Draco but y/n stands in the way. Don’t feel pressured to write this you don’t like the prompt or don’t want to :)

disgrace | draco malfoy

pairing: draco x hufflepuff!reader

word count: 3,1k

summary: where y/n's first time meeting draco's parents escalates

a/n: as a hufflepuff myself i really appreciate this request, so thank you very much~ narcissa is actually one of my favorite characters in the hp universe so i really like writing about her <3

warnings: angst, violence, cursing

universe: harry potter

Today is the day. The day you have prepared yourself for for weeks. The day why you have not been able to sleep properly the last two nights. Today is the day you are going to meet your boyfriend Draco's parents, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, for the very first time. To say that you are nervous would be an understatement.

You and Draco have been a couple for two years now, but the appropriate time - more or less - to finally meet them has only occured now. You know how important his parents' opinion is to Draco and it definetely does not help to descrease your incredible nervousness. What if they do not like you? What if they do not welcome you into their family? The worst szenarios are already repeating themselves in your head over and over again.

After all, you are only a half-blooded witch and, on top of that, a Hufflepuff. The Malfoys, on the other hand, are a pure-blooded family who were only sorted into Slytherin for generations without any exceptions, including Draco. Many times you have already heard how much the pure-blood families care for their bloodlines, especially the Black family, Narcissa's family, must have been incredibly strict in terms of maintaining their blood status.

However, you are in good spirits that they will accept you anyway. Why else would they, after Draco told them about you and your own status, have invited you to a first meeting at Malfoy Manor? 'They will accept you' is what you keep reminding yourself of.

With trembling hands and a fast beating heart - too fast for your personal taste actually - you are now standing in front of the big heavy door of Draco's home. So far you have only ever heard of this huge mansion through stories or Draco's tales, but in reality it surpasses all of them.

On your trip here, Draco did everything to relieve you of your nervousness and get you to relax. He also had to confirm you at least a dozen times that you are dressed appropriately for this special occasion with your basic plain black skirt and dark yellow blouse. He himself wears an all black outfit with the turtleneck that you love so much on him. Unfortunately he did not succeed in calming you down and you feel like your heart is going to jump out of your chest any moment. It stops completely when the door is suddenly opened and you are greeted by Narcissa Malfoy who is appearing right in front of you in a beautiful green and black, long dress.

Speechless, you basically stare at her while Draco greets her before reaching out his hand to grab yours and pull you to his side. Now there is no turning back.

Because you are not able to get a word out of your mouth for the life of you which Narcissa notices right away and just gives you a warm smile, starting the conversation herself. "Hello, dear. I am so happy to finally meet you. I am Narcissa", she introduces herself and you shake her hand politely. Uncertainty takes over your features as you awkwardly smile back.

"This is Y/N", Draco helps you out and smiles at his mother. "I-It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy", is the only thing you can stutter out. Oh, how badly you would like to slap yourself right now. "Dear, you can call me Narcissa. You really do not have to be so nervous. I am glad that you two are here", she says friendly and asks you to follow her. Draco softly squeezes your hand to reassure you as you walk around the huge halls of Malfoy Manor. "I have already prepared tea in the salon", Narcissa explains on the way.

Here and there you spot family portraits on the walls, some of them showing a very small and young Draco. You unintentionally stop in front of one of these pictures, looking at your boyfriend in his young years. "Wasn't he incredibly cute?", Narcissa notes which you agree to with a shy smile. "Actually I think he is still very cute", you giggle, causing Draco to playfully roll his eyes. He hates when you call him cute or adorable. At least he pretends to hate it in front of you or others. In truth, he loves when you do. It makes him feel fragile and human.

Narcissa is quietly watching your teasing and can't help but smile to herself. Since she opened the door - no, actually since Draco told her about you for the first time - she noticed how extremely happy he is with you. And that warms her heart. Even if she has only known you for a few minutes, she already likes you. You make her son happy and that is all that matters to her.

Together you continue on your way towards a larger room with a huge fireplace and a classy looking, dark green sofa set. Draco's father Lucius is sitting in front of the lit fireplace, looking in your direction with an expectant expression on his face. Due to the relatively dark room, his face is only illuminated from one side by the greenish shimmering fire and therefore makes him look even more intimidating. For a moment you have to hold in a breath. "Look who is here, Lucius", Narcissa announces your presence.

Lucius slowly gets up from his armchair with the help of his cane and waits for you to come closer. You catch a glimpse of the coffee table which is littered with sweet treats and biscuits and the scent of tea surrounds the room. Lucius raises an eyebrow when you stand in front of him and Narcissa sits down on the sofa to give you enough space.

"Father. It is good to see you again", Draco says, but Lucius does not even flinch a tiny bit, just stares you up and down. "T-This is my girlfriend, Y/N. Y/N, this is my father, Lucius Malfoy", he introduces you to each other and suddenly seems a little nervous, if not worried, himself.

"What a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. What was the last name?", Lucius greets you as he takes your hand, examining it for a ring with a possible family crest. "You can just call me Y/N", you respond as he lets go and gives you a look that you can't quite interpret. "How nice that we all managed to be here at last!", Narcissa interrupts the uncomfortable silence that has occured and points to the sofa. "Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable. Draco, darling, please pour us some tea, will you?", she asks him and you sit down, leaving space for Draco between you and Narcissa.

"So, tell me, Y/N. How did you get to know each other?", Narcissa asks you eagerly, a small smile on her lips. "When we were at Hogwarts for the first time, of course, everyone already knew the Draco Malfoy. Everyone except me. I have never been very interested in other wizarding families and well, somehow he still managed to fascinate me. I did not know him, like at all, just from stories that were told in Hogwarts over the years. But these stories talked about a very different Draco than what he actually is", you start to explain, maybe also ramble a bit, but Narcissa is all ears.

"Y/N saw someone in me that I had not seen myself", Draco continues your story as he sits down between you and his mother, intertwining your hands on his lap. "At first I could not understand why she was even being nice to me, why someone like her is so kind to someone like me. I was always pretty rude to her."

"Oh yes, he really was. But just because he did not want it to be true that someone could see through him so easily", you softly nudge his side while you both smile. "You have to know that Draco never liked to show his feelings openly", Narcissa agrees, handing you and Draco your filled warm cups.

"To this day I do not know how she did it, but she managed to make me reveal my feelings to her and turned me into a better person. It wasn't until later that I realized I had always been in love with her", Draco tells his parents proudly, locking eyes with you. Your bright smile is reflected on his face and you shyly look at the warm mug in your hands. "I am so grateful that our son has someone at his side that takes such good care of him", Narcissa smiles while watching you two. "Are they not made for each other, Lucius?"

Only now you notice that Lucius has not yet said a word and was just watching the scene. He does not respond to his wife's statement, narrowing his eyes while closely looking at the silver snake head on his cane. Narcissa just shakes her head and turns back to you, takes a plate from the small table and hands it to you. "Eat, dear. These are delicious. It is a traditional recipe of my great ancestors", she offers and you take one of the delicious looking biscuits. "What about you tell us something about your family, Y/N", Lucius suddenly demands out of nowhere. "I would like to hear about them."

Confusion is written all over your face at his request. "Well, my family is not really special. My father works in the Ministry in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and my mother works as a journalist in London. My older sister-", you start to tell him, but you are immediately rudely interrupted. "In London?", Lucius asks, his eyebrows rised. You nod slowly, not quite sure what he is pointing at. "Why would a pure-bloo-"

"It is not that important, is it, father?", Draco sighs and Lucius does not seem to be convinced at all, but falls silent anyway. "So you have an older sister?", Narcissa asks and while she waits for your answer, she takes a sip of her tea. "Yes. She is currently in her last year at Hogwarts", you reply proudly when Lucius clears his throat loudly all of a sudden.

"I am sorry if I missed it but I do not think I heard what house you got sorted into", he shoots you a threatening glare. Draco's body tenses up next to you, making you feel more insecure as well. What is so bad about this mere question? "Oh, my bad! I assumed Draco had already told you. I am a Hufflepuff", you inform him and his eyes, as well as Narcissa's, grow bigger instantly, making you feel like you said something wrong. Which to them you definetely did.

"A what?!", Lucius raises his voice, giving you a pejorative look, while Narcissa just completely stays silent and focuses her gaze to the ground. You look at Draco, scared and looking for help as reality hits you right in the face. Draco told his parents a lot about you, always just the good things and how happy you make him, but apparently he left out the most important detail: that you are a Hufflepuff and a half-blood from the middle class.

"Y-You did not tell them?", you whisper nearly inaudible, a hint of hurt in your voice. Draco is not able to answer as his father furiously gets up from his seat. "What else did you keep from us, Draco?", Lucius barks angrily, making you flinch a little and unintentionally holding onto his arm. "I did not know how to tell them that you are a half-blood", Draco responds, his voice full of shame that he did not have the guts to tell his parents.

"I knew something was wrong with her the moment she walked into this room! You want to tell me this girl is a half-blood, which is shame enough that she even made it into our house, and on top of that she is also a Hufflepuff!?", Lucius yells loudly and points at you with his cane, the anger literally visible in his eyes. "I am sorry. I really thought Draco told yo-"

"How dare you bring her into our house?! That is not how we raised you!", Lucius interrupts you angrily, getting closer to you and Draco. Draco immediately stands up, pulling you with him, your hands still tightly wrapped around his arm. "I knew exactly how you would react and that is why I wanted you to get to know her first before you judge her based on her status which, by the way, does not matter to me because I truly love her with all of my heart!", Draco counters, fumingly clenching his jaw and fists.

"I want her to get out of my house. Now", Lucius commands, grinding his teeth as he is now directly in front of you. He looks at you with such a derogatory expression that you feel totally worthless for a moment. "Maybe we should leave, Draco", you plead quietly, tugging on the sleeve of his black velvet coat, not wanting the situation to escalate even further. But Draco seems to have other plans and continues to defy his father. In the corner of your eye you see how Narcissa gets up from the couch after having enough time to compose herself.

"Don't you understand? She is the love of my life!", Draco shouts at Lucius who is not at all happy about the fact that his own son is raising his voice at him. "You dare to stand against me, son?", Lucius huffs out, stepping forward so that he is only inches away. "Lucius", Narcissa now also interferes and walks next to him, trying to keep her husband under control. But it is already too late.

"I really thought you would be happy for me for once in your damn life and disregard your stupid, outdated rules! I hate you so fucking much!", Draco crys out and even though you can only see him from the side, you are sure that he has tears in his eyes, just like you do.

"LUCIUS!"

Out of nowhere Lucius suddenly grabs Draco by the collar aggressively, Narcissa and you immediately trying to seperate them from each other, and when Lucius dangerously raises his hand all of a sudden, wanting to hit Draco, you stand in between them and catch Lucius' hand just in the last second before it could hit you.

"STOP!", you scream as loud as you can and Lucius swats his hand out of your grip as if you had contaminated him. Narcissa pulls her husband back to put some distance between him and their son. "Have you gone crazy?!", she rebukes him.

"Did he hurt you?", Draco asks, pulling you close to him, his hands on your forearms. "You did not have to do that, Y/N", he whispers as you shook your head to his question and Draco gently strokes over your cheek while you both try to ignore his parents' loud argument behind you. His eyes shimmer sadly when he looks into yours. "I am so sorry", he breathes out shakily. "I was hoping they would accept you, Y/N. I really thought they would-"

You shush him with your index finger on his lips, giving him a small smile. "It will not change my love for you in any way, Draco", you reassure him and flinch shortly afterwards when Lucius knocks one of the cups off the table in anger. "He is a disgrace for our family! He always was! He is destroying our bloodline", Lucius loudly argues with his wife. "Enough, Lucius!", Narcissa raises her voice and seems to be on the edge of doing something she would regret, but she is able to control herself. "I think it is better if you leave now, Draco. I will lead you outside."

Narcissa quickly grabs both of you by the arm before Lucius can say anything and leads you through the huge mansion back to the front door. Once you arrive, Draco turns to his mother, whose face is crested by a heartbroken expression. Draco lovingly takes her hands in his and gives them a reassuring squeeze. "I will talk to your father, I promise", she whispers, her head and shoulders hanging low.

"Don't worry, mother. You are not responsible for his behavior", Draco replys, trying to cheer her up. Narcissa raises her head and her eyes meet yours as she quickly approaches you. "Oh dear. I am so sorry for the inconvenience", she apologizes immediately, her hands on your shoulders. "I could not imagine anyone better than you by our son's side, regardless of your origin. I do not want you to suffer as much as I and my sisters did back then. I do not want to stand in the way of your love. Please, forgive us what happened today."

After her last words, she pulls you into a tight hug, which you return, happy that you at least got her blessing. "Thank you very much, Narcissa. I really appreciate your kind words", you gulp while holding back a few tears. Her words made you emotional, especially because she must have went through the same situation as you right now. To not be accepted. To not be allowed to be with who you want.

As she continues to hug you softly, your gaze meets Draco, who is intensely watching what is going on behind you with a smile on his face. To see how the most important women in his life get along, makes him emotional as well.

"You are such a nice and beautiful girl. Never let anyone get you down, okay? And please continue to take good care of him", she smiles at you after breaking the hug. "I will", you answer, the smile equally as big as hers. Draco walks next to you and puts his arm around your shoulder, pulling you close to give you a quick kiss on your cheek.

"I love you", he states, making you blush because Narcissa is still here after all. "Both of you", Draco adds and Narcisaa nods, opening the door for you to leave. You wave your goodbyes to her and step down the staircase of Malfoy Manor, Draco's arm still wrapped around your shoulder, and walk into the chilly night, the bright shining moon over your heads creating a calm and comfortable atmosphere around you.

Even though everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong, you feel like it has only intensified your relationship and made your love for each other stronger than before. If you can survive such a horrible evening you will survive anything. And perhaps the next time you meet his parents it will end better.

[atsunflower]

Hospital for souls — The Line

Rated: SFW

Author note: I gotta nothing to say. This took me really long and I struggled a lot to write it. Thanks for being patient with me. Also, big shoutout to @neonghxst, who helped me a lot with this one. I love you bby 💕

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of anxiety and this chapter contains gore towards the end.

IV — The line

Previous || Next

"I don't wanna go" Your voice showed distaste at the invitation.

Since the fight with Sakusa, you avoided all human contact like the plague. The only ones that talked to you were the maids and, occasionally, Komori, who had warmed up to you since you saved his ass — to be honest, you weren't very fond of his change of character.

"Listen, you're the new lady of this household." Komori explained in a tired manner."This gala is held every year in some sort of diplomatics, to grant no family crosses the line. All the important members must make a presence."

"Yeah, but I'm sure no one cares if I don't show up." You deadpanned looking at his face.

"It's just a fancy ass party. I'll take you to get a dress myself, but I gotta run some errands and find a suit too. If I'm late, then Izuna will take you." Komori saw you stiffening when you heard the name. Ever since you arrived in Itachiyama, Izuna was the most hostile towards you. "Hey, don't worry about him... He'll be nice."

"I gotta remind you that no one has been nice to me since I came here, Komori-san." You stated the obvious and the male before you grimaced.

"Look, we're not as bad as you think. Neither we are some sort of low life criminals, you know." His voice sent shivers down your spine. The hazel-haired man has been treating you better, yes, but you could tell the words you said to Sakusa that day affected him too.

"Yeah. But you all did nothing to prove me wrong." You stared at his eyes, the sincere tone meaning each world "If anything, all you did was make me miserable even though I'm not a threat. And you know it." You saw when the hazel haired male shook his head, face softening a little.

"I'll be back in a few." And then, Komori left. 

To your relief, it was Komori himself who showed up at your bedroom door. Now, you were at some boutique somewhere in the fancy side of Shibuya, trying a beautiful strappy off-white dress.

You loved how the silky cloth hugged your body and how the pearly color complimented your skin tone. Definitely, it was the propper gown for an event as important as a mafia gala.

Taking in the figure reflected in the mirror, you recalled the last time you wore something so fancy was at your wedding. Suddenly, you felt ugly — after all, you were a woman of surgical scrubs and white coats. Wearing something like this dress was a reminder of what kind of life you were living now.

"[Name]-san, have you decided?" Komori asked with an undecipherable look on his face. 

"Ah, yes, I'm taking this one" You said to the salesperson, already getting back to the changing room.

From the inside, you heard a knock on the door. It was Komori.

"[Name], are you good?" He asked in a soft spoken manner, as if he was concerned.

You know it's not the case, don't let your guard down, you reminded yourself.

"Yes, Komori-san. Are we ready to go?" He hummed in agreement, saying he was going to do the payment.

The two of you had yet to arrive in Itachiyama. The silence was heavy inside the car and you could see the man opening his mouth as if he was trying to say something.

"I never asked, did you see a doctor?" You started, breaking the unnerving atmosphere.

"Ah, yes. I'm all good, no sequels or whatever." He cleared his throat, side-glancing at you "Those guys took us by surprise that night, huh? We were lucky you were there to help us out." You hummed, staring at his elbow, as if you could see through the material of his jacket.

"I shouldn't have opened your arm that way. It was really irresponsible of me to do it and it was a miracle things ended up well."You said in a reflecting manner.

Does she regret saving me?, Komori couldn't help but wonder.

"The doctor I saw said the surgery was perfectly executed, so don't beat yourself over it. Besides, I can see the passion you have. You'd make it right anyways." The male said truthfully and you frowned. You didn't want his trust because he would never have yours.

You also didn't like the appreciative tone he used. A doctor isn't a hero, You reminded yourself everyday, to never let it go to your head.

"I'm passionate, but it's about my personal ethics, you don't need passion to be good at what you do. I think you know it very well." You still frowned, not liking what he implied. You never wanted to be some sort of hero, much less to someone like him. 

"Yeah, I don't need to love the yakuza to be good at it. But I don't think a passionless person would make a good doctor." He argued, trying to prove his point.

"In my line of work, a mistake costs your whole career. Passionless and unethical people exist everywhere, a hospital isn't a sanctuary." You said matter of factly — it wasn't about the romantic lenses people saw the health workers. After all, medicine was a field made majorly of people with the means and the money. You learned it the hard way when you made into med school.

"Why would you say that?" The traffic light signalled to stop. The Kobun used this opportunity to take in your figure, eyes roaming over your crossed arms and unfazed features.

Duty takes a toll in everyone, huh?, He internally stated.

"Because I know someone. And as passionless someone could be, he's still the best at what he does." And Komori didn't miss the feeling displayed in your eyes.

It wasn't merely passion. Something deeper resided in those irises of yours.

An awkward silence overtook the atmosphere as the car resumed its movement. He felt uncomfortable, trying to figure out what you meant.

"Well, what matters is that everything ended up well. Who would have guessed they would attack us that night?" Komori conceded, trying to break the unsettling quietness.

"Yeah, this whole yakuza thing is really scary." You said looking through the tinted window, a pensive look in your face.

"You'll get used to it. And it doesn't happen on a daily basis either" He brushed you off, turning in a curb.

"Yeah, but ignoring the threat isn't an easy task." You retorted, tiredly.

"How do you know it? Besides, since you're our lady, it's not like we'll let  something happen to you." The brunette said, in hopes of comforting you. It had the opposite effect, as a silent rage ran down your body.

"Komori-san, how do I know?" You bitterly laughed "My whole life, I was at the line. My mother didn't want me to be born, Inarizaki wanted my head since I was in the womb and you guys will get rid of me at any given opportunity." You saw him opening his mouth to argue "Your household won't protect me if the order comes from Sakusa." 

As if in a cue, the car approached the gates of Itachiyama. Komori was rendered speechless, knowing you were right.

Personally, you weren't one to offend people and make them feel bad. You couldn't help the pang in your chest every time you exploded at any of them. But by god, were you tired.

I just want my life back, you thought. After all, it was infinite times easier to be a target when you were somehow detached from the life inside the families. The Kobun said something you paid no mind to.

Banging the car door shut, you ignored his calling.

The nagging feeling was a constant in his life.

Roaming through his memories, he could never pinpoint a time he felt comfortable under his skin. He was too anxious and life never treated him kindly to do so.

Maybe he overreacted a lot, too. But it wasn't his fault he had to be hyper aware of his surroundings.

The alert state was essential in an ambience full of people who could stab him in the back.

Fuck the diplomatics, he cursed.

It was one of those nights he hated the most. The suntuous ballroom was full of people going back and forth, bragging about futilities and throwing insincere flattery at each other. All because the ever so generous Karasuno was hosting a dinner at The Crow to assure no one disturbs the deal between the families.

Bullshit, he thought. It's only Karasuno trying to show off their influence over this frail peace.

And, as much as he appreciated said peace, he hated how everyone faked they got along with each other.

Not that he cared about politeness either. And his signature scowl did nothing to keep people away. After all, everyone wanted a piece of Itachiyama.

"Kiyoomi." The ravenette heard the deep voice from his back. A wave of relief washed over him.

At least, Wakatoshi-kun is here. I won't die from boredom, He mused.

"Wakatoshi." He responded, nodding at the other. From outside Itachiyama, Ushijima was the only one Sakusa considered a friend.

"I thought you wouldn't come tonight, I know you don't really like the crowd."

"People would find weird if I didn't, considering Inarizaki and everything."

"Speaking of which, did you bring your wife?" Ushijima asked, looking around. Sakusa nodded before speaking.

"Yeah, she went to the restrooms. Komori is with her." And speaking of the devil, you came into view.

He knew you had a fine taste for things, and he would be a fool to say you didn't look good tonight. But he would never admit it.

A Miya isn't worth you time, he repeated it like a mantra, observing as you made your way onto him.

Komori enthusiastically greeted Ushijima and you merely nodded out of politeness, looking at the bulky male with caution. Given Ushijima's intimidating vibes, Sakusa couldn't really blame you.

"I see you're Sakusa's wife. I'm Ushijima Wakatoshi." He offered his hand at you "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"Likewise, Ushijima-san" You introduced yourself as the Oyabun of Itachiyama watched the scene unfold before him, recalling how his friend was the blunt and introverted type. He couldn't help but admire the way the two of you conversed smoothly; earning Ushijima's sympathy required effort. You did it with ease.

"She's a good woman." Sakusa didn't see when your conversation died down and Ushijima turned to him. He found himself dumbfounded at the other's statement.

"She's a Miya"

"She worked with Shirabu. He spoke highly of her" A waiter passed by offering them whiskey. The rich scent of Yamazaki reached his nostrils as he drank it, throat used to the burning sensation "And you know he's not one to lie."

"Still…" His retort was halted when he felt the weight of a gaze on him. In the far corner of the room, none other than Oikawa Tooru had all his attention turned to the general direction of you all "What is he looking at?" He squinted at the brunette's direction, trying to make out his intentions.

"He seems to be looking at your wife" Ushijima bluntly spoke "But don't worry about him, Oikawa may have his reasons. He is a reliable man, after all."

"You're indeed soft today. What happened?" The other opened his mouth to respond before being interrupted by a startled voice.

Your husband was doing a good job ignoring you while speaking to Ushijima — you wouldn't complain, since you didn't want any of his attention.

Listening to Komori speaking wonders of the whiskey he was drinking, you felt a little at ease. You imagined the gala to be much scarier than this, but all you could see was snotty people too full of themselves. It was almost comical hearring them bragging about things you couldn't even dream of.

"This is a 25 years old Yamazaki. It's a favorite of mine and Kiyoomi—"

"Is this real life?" A surprised voice cutted Komori's middle sentence.

Before you, a handsome man looked appalled, staring at you with an emotion you couldn't identify. You were feeling uncomfortable as everyone around you was paying attention to your interaction.

"I'm sorry, sir. But am I supposed to know you?" You asked, in hopes to remember if you knew him by any chance. He beamed brightly at you.

"Of course you wouldn't remember me!" And he laughed again, earning a frown from your husband.

"Do you have any business to do with my wife?" Sakusa's cold-steel voice asked. The pretty man ignored it. And, at this point, everyone in the area stopped their actions, watching the scene with interest.

"I'm Oikawa Tooru, the Oyabun of Seijoh. Two years ago, you saved my nephew's life in an accident at the Dinosaur Bridge, only using a needle. After it, you held his hand until the ambulance came." The man bowed deeply, and only now you noticed he was accompanied by another spiky-haired male, who was also bowing at you. Observing them, you faintly remembered saving a little boy in a traffic accident a couple of years ago "For that, I'll be forever thankful. In return, I wanted to say you have Seijoh's gratitude whenever you need it." He stood tall again, staring at you dead in the eye to confirm he meant every single word he said.

You were speechless.

"I… sir, I'm thankful, but I did what had to be done. You don't owe me anything." You said uncertainly, glancing at the startled faces of both Komori and Sakusa. Ushijima looked fondly at you, as if he knew something.

"You had a choice that day, and you choosed to help us when we couldn't do anything. And it's enough for us to pay you back." The spiky-haired man said. It was rare for someone to address you with so much respect and sincerity. You appreciated it wholeheartedly.

"I— thank you." And you bowed at them, trying to show your gratitude to both males.

"Well, we won't disturb you anymore. Please have a good night" The Oikawa guy said, handing you a business card which you secluded inside your clutch.

"See?" You heard Ushijima saying, but you were too stunned to register it.

You didn't have time to process the event, as someone announced the dinner was about to be served.

"Seijoh's favour, huh? You sure are skyrocketing this mafia thing." Suna said, sitting on the chair on the opposite side of the table.

You all were addressed to a table with ten seats. It looked like Itachiyama was paired up with Inarizaki and another household you were yet to discover. The atmosphere was already stiff, as Sakusa kept throwing dirty glares at the twins.

"Impressive how you're doing well inside the yakuza. I thought you weren't going to last a month." Atsumu snickered as Osamu and the others ignored everything around them, getting ready for the dinner.

You mimicked their actions before Izuna joined you; you tensed seeing him taking the seat by your left.

Sakusa sat by your right, side-glancing at you. It looked like he had a newfound interest since the interaction with Oikawa earlier.

To your surprise, Seijoh was addressed to your table. Though, both Oikawa and Iwaizumi — Suna let you know his name and the fact he was also a Kobun — said nothing, sensing the tension hanging in the air.

None of the men said anything as the food started to be served. Instead, they busied themselves with the entree, keeping the smalltalk inside their household circle.

You heard Osamu saying something about the wine but you didn't register it. Soon enough, the waiters brought the main course in silver trays.

It smelled fabulous and your mouth watered at the scent.

"A lovely meal for the lady. Please enjoy it, I'm sure you won't forget this occasion." The blond waiter said, as he uncovered your plate. You took in the deep red sauce made of berries and the way the meat was perfectly cooked.

With fork and knife in hand, you went for it.

And indeed, you wouldn't forget the occasion.

Sliding the meat over the plate, you noticed it  hiding something. The scream was caught in your throat as you recognized the obnoxious structure, because years of unveiling the human anatomy would never fail you.

The cutlery clattered in the porcelain surface, spilling the sauce all over you. The white of your dress was now tainted with crimson, as if blood seeped out of your chest.

But you didn't even feel it. All you felt were hands shaking your body, trying to draw some reaction from you. The screams also came in a white noise through your ears, because all you could register was the sight before your eyes.

In the middle of the plate, a finger rested limp and dirty. Dead.

In a similar manner, you did too. 

Among the chaos, you sat there, also limp and dirty. At the end of a promise of death.

❥ tagging: @keekee-732 @chiibichann @captain-shittykawa @fortheloveofiwaizumi @daisyjaebae @jihoonspout @floodinginstars @fl4mepillar @trash4sportsanime @neonghxst @starrystanze @teaanbiss @hqxreader @yskomiii @shadyjinyoung @julimausi1311 @hyoonx23 @keuromi @differentballooncollection @onigiriimiya @wolfiepirate @sekshi-namjas @tomo-uwu @atsumusgf @letmegetthisclear @katokanae @cherryonigiri @ushijima-meixiu @bimboiiying @crownedcupcake17 @tvwhoresblog @thenerdyrebel @idiot-juice-enthusiast @caprolls @keijination   @wakaitoshi @clowninfortodoroki @shiningotak-ku @kemochie @lilacshouko @sehunosh @kiyoojima @shimy-deko @bap-kingdom @raenebalgaire @ricefarmerkita @rintarose @xanaxdeity @reiningsun

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[dragonrajafanfiction]

Caesar and the MC should be Best Friends - Hear me out

This sounds really strange at first to hear. But the game did a terrible job of summarizing the story and showing the characters. The MC should be Best Friends with Caesar, check out why, below the cut.

Act One: The Premise (The MC will be referred to as Female because my character is female and I’m too lazy)

The MC has been trained to fight and use her abilities since she was a child. She’s been competing against others for the privilege of being the best as well. By the time she’s arrived at Cassell, she’s seen horrors that not even the Cassell Trio can boast of seeing.

Caesar in the meantime is planning his wedding. But Nono is AWOL. He’s getting no feedback from her and it leaves him just shooting in the dark for what ‘sounds cool’ For all of Caesar’s big talk, he realizes that he’s not really reaching Nono’s heart and he’s feeling a bit lost.

In the game: You save Nono in the game. 

Why you would grow closer to Caesar: This is not easily reconcilable with the novel’s opening scenes, so if we stretch and pretend you arrive before Nono goes on her Walkabout, that would make one HECK of an impression on Caesar. He would have seen immediately that you are a step far above Luminous. Being a self-described ‘maniac’ he would not have been shy about approaching you and telling you you’re 10x what Luminous is.

Caesar is mischaracterized in the game to a great extent. While his misogynstic leanings and need to be ‘tHe LeADer’ is played up probably for laughs, he’s not that over the top. Here’s how he’s portrayed in the Novel.

Anjou put the two of them (Caesar and Chu Zihang) together and actually wanted them to sincerely cooperate? The move was similar to keeping lions and tigers in a cage, with Lu Mingfei stuffed between them like an innocent red panda. But Caesar decided to do his best, because this time he is the team leader. The success or failure of the task related to his honor, and for honor, he can bear anything. Along the way, he repeatedly warned himself to be generous, to have a leadership style, to be a corporal... Take Chu Zihang as a corporal to "victory", Caesar's heart is much more comfortable. This time he is immersed in the pink mood of preparing for the wedding, and he is feeling very charitable, even to Chu Zihang this serial killer looks more appealing.

There’s no way Caesar would ignore you as the MC. You would be of utmost interest to him. Far more interesting than Chu Zihang and Luminous. He takes responsibility for you as part of the team, he owes you one for Nono, and wants to see you succeed, probably more than anyone else there.

Act 2: Your arrival in Japan

The game skips the whole opening sequence introducing you to Chisei and Sakura. In the novel, those fancy Kimonos were given to you by Anjou and yes they all come with umbrellas. The whole scene is supposed to be funny. Chisei is mistaken for a tour guide, Lu Mingfei compliments Chisei’s Chinese in his own broken Japanese and fantasizes about cute maid cafes, Chu Zihang freaks Chisei out with his golden eyes by accident. So I imagine the MC stumbling and falling trying to walk in Geta.

But things get serious when the police show up and you realize that you’ve entered the country illegally and are now about to get arrested. The MC might voice that this make sense “Because I don’t have a passport or any identity. There was no way I’d ever get into the country.”

After Chisei loses the police, you’re taken to your rooms to stay for the night.

I wrote a little piece about this ‘here’

Why the MC and Caesar would grow closer: At the end of this scene, Caesar is completely isolated, drinking in his room and texting a silent Nono. This scene would change with you as the MC there. This would turn into an opportunity for you to bond. Perhaps you would notice him texting, talking about his love of Nono. You could touch on your past with him for the first time, or not, depending. He’d probably say something enthusiastically fiery and confidence building. He wants you to trust him and trust in yourself. For all his flaws, Caesar is very LIKEABLE and easy to understand. You don’t get into positions of power like his without some level of Charisma.

Act 3: The Mission Details

In the Game: This whole scene goes missing. 

In the Novel: You take a whirlwind tour of Genji Heavy Industries. It’s an engineering marvel that is practically embedded in the central infrastructure of Tokyo (The building is seriously impossible and amazing but that’s for a nother post.). 

You sit down with Masamune for tea. Immediately, something jumps out at Caesar.

“Are you Japanese?” Caesar gave Masamune Tachibana an examining look..

"I'm only half Japanese and the other half Russian." Tachibana said.

Caesar frowned, which made him think of the soviet icebreaker Lenin involuntarily.

"I've been in Japan for many years, and a lot of people don't see that I'm half Russian, Mr. Gattuso.” Tachibana said, inquiringly.

"Accents, your accents have Slavic characteristics, and you'll distinguish between hard and soft consonants, which are typical Russian pronunciations." Caesar said, "You're not just Of Russian Descent, You've Lived In Russia." 

This is Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang have no say in the matter since their two mother tongues are Chinese. But Caesar was aware when he heard the first words of Tachibana Masamune. He grew up as a different kind of man who could speak English, French and Spanish fluently in addition to Italian, and he could tell the language characteristics of every language spoken in Europe.

Even the wind demon villain Lang and yuan child in this seat are showing a surprised expression, it is clear that other owners do not know this matter.

Why this would bring you closer to Caesar: Not only would you pick up on the exact same thing, but he would speak with the same Russian accent as the MC. Languages are regional, Russia is a HUGE FREAKING COUNTRY. It would be no mistake that the Russian accent - Tachibana’s Russian accent - would match the MCs regional one.  Depending on how much your MC would have told Caesar, Caesar would have picked up a whole lot. Why you were awakened now, why you were sent on this mission... but that’s not even all!!

Later on, Chisei shows up after Tachibana leaves. He’s given you more information on the Lenin and why its sinking seems suspicious. But then he says this.

"Yes, the Lenin passed through the nameless port of northern Siberia, took a precious dragon embryo, and the port was destroyed in a fire. No one knows where the embryo is going to be shipped, the final destination may be Japan, or it may just pass by, but apparently it failed to reach its destination and the dragon embryo fell into the depths of the trench. Embryos have been hatching slowly over the years, but we haven't been aware of them. ”

Now depending on how much your MC might tell Caesar at this point he may or may not notice more parallels between the story of the Lenin and your story. You’re a hybrid, from Siberia who survived not just a fire but a bombs and getting shot. Heck imagine being the MC listening to this and realizing that this mission is intimately connected with you. In the game this happens way late, but in the novel it’s right at the start!

Why this would bring you closer to Caesar: At this point none of this would have been shared between any of the others. This is something only Caesar and you would know, shared knowlege that would likely mentally bond you two as allies.

The next scene is just more obvious bonding time. They all discuss likes and dislikes, their personal goals, dreams, loves, and ideals. The MC would still have Caesars favor but Caesar would fall more and more for Chisei’s charms. He’s bored and wants to see some ‘real gangster’ stuff. So Chisei obliges and takes Caesar to an operation between two rival gangs fighting over turf. 

This would be the first time you’ve seen Caesar actually get serious for once intimidating some gangsters in a comic store. But after that’s all over, he immediately gets interested in the comics. This is very important to note that Caesar is rarely serious about anything. And if he is it doesn’t last long. He tells a long story about wanting a PS2, staying up all night to play Star Ocean when the housekeeper smashed his console. So he purchased 200 consoles, gave the housekeeper an axe and every time he smashed a console he replaced it immediately and kept playing. Finally, they let him play video games 2hours a day after his riding lessons.

This is important. Caesar is pushy and insistent and confident because he HAS to be to be himself and defy his family.  This is is something even Chu Zihang can respect and he makes up with Caesar after, realizing that Caesar’s way towards him wasn’t personal, good or bad, he’s always acting out towards his family.

With you, Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang closer than ever, it’s time to actually go on the Mission.  So lets recap: Caesar the Leader has pulled the team together, taken you off on entertainment, on adventures, and now just now, on the way to the mission. cooked for everyone while speedreading the the instruction manual for the Lenin.

Why would this bring the MC closer to Caesar? Uh, maybe because he seems pretty freakin’ competent? Almost effortlessly so? As Chu Zihang so succintly puts it:  “Sometimes I admire Caesar. Whenever and wherever there are goals, he’s rarely afraid and never discouraged. In a group of people he will always be the one who inspires fighting spirit. People can choose how they live, Caesar is the kind of man who asks himself to live like a hero." The MC who has never felt so helpless in her life, could have easily been inspired by Caesar. That maybe she CAN get back to the Lenin, figure out who killed her friends and give him exactly what he deserves.

[yeselbeethings]

moments from the village

pairing: yamato x reader

a/n: hmm, kind of free form... like it’s a reader insert but there’s bits filled in that are just generic to the idea of a character. Also the first thing I’ve written in like a thousand years.. 

synopsis: a few tender moments, scenes from your relationship with Yamato

warnings: nsfw content for the last few: general sex, fingering, oral, rough sex.

1. Yamato drinks genmaicha tea almost exclusively. The first thing he does when he comes home is make a steaming pot, and sit the well-worn armchair that occupies the corner of your living room and sips it slowly. He loves the nutty taste of toasted rice against the grassy earthy taste of the green tea. When it’s hot, you make him genmaicha lattes. Over brewing the tea and mixing it with brown rice syrup to sweeten it. You serve the drink over ice.

2. Yamato’s favourite desert is matcha cake. You roll a thin, rectangle of bright green sponge cake with lashings of sweetened whipped cream in the middle, slicing thick chunks and topping them with the first of the season’s strawberries. You meet him at the banks of the Naka river with the slices stored safely in a bag. You both kick of your shinobi sandals, tossing them behind you and dipping your toes into the cold water. You can’t think of anything more Yamato than the mixture of earthiness and sweetness.

3. For Yamato days off are reserved for reading architecture books. Yamato pours over each book in his collection, absorbing all the knowledge he can. His current obsession is shoin-zukuri. For his birthday, you buy him an expensive architecture model kit. He painstakingly completes it, gluing the delicate wooden pieces together over the next few nights. The model of the local temple lives on your shelving unit in the living room, sitting proudly next to the string-of-pearls you’d purchased from the Yamanaka’s flower store the day you moved in.

4. You always thought you disliked Kakashi Hatake. You’d never really spent much time with him, never been on missions together, and didn’t really understand who thought it was a good idea to place him in charge of a team of rookies. The dislike deepened once you and Yamato began dating; the constant stories of his teasing and cajoling your boyfriend bothered you. The first time you met properly, that all changed. Drinking beers and sharing steamed and salted edamame, you found yourself thinking that Kakashi had a wicked sense of humour, and silently thanked him for giving you new ammunition to rile Yamato up with. Yamato loves your friendship, but hates being the subject of your evenings jokes. You and the copy-nin become quite the double act and it makes Yamato’s heart soar.

5. The first time you meet Team 7, Yamato is overwhelmed - trying to keep the three teens in check, dodging their constant questions, the fighting, and the vying for your attention; the whole situation is an unmitigated disaster. You and Kakashi stay on your best behaviour, but share a look that screams - Can we please just get a beer after this? You both do this every day?! - You send an apologetic look in Yamato’s direction, you hadn’t thought that stopping to say hello as you passed them coming from the training grounds would cause such a commotion. Later, as you walk home from the bar you tell Yamato that you enjoyed the impromptu meeting in the end, that they’re his little family now, and how the whole thing had reminded you of when you were younger and you and your cousins would fight endlessly over any trivial thing. Yamato had never though this what having a family would be like, and he wonders to himself when those kids became so so important to him; deep in the pit of his stomach, he feels the ache of worry grow as he wishes that nothing tragic would happen to them.

6. Whenever Yamato catches you laughing with Genma his chest constricts. You laugh heartily at the tokubetsu jounin’s terrible jokes and, as always, engage in the friendly flirting that characterises your friendship. Yamato knows you’ve know each other for years, that there’s nothing more there than two comfortable friends. The part of him that recedes back into ROOT in times of panic tells him that you’d be better off with a man who’s name refers to natural alluring and dazzling lights. Genma asks you how things are with Yamato if you’re off the market for good? He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and glances over your shoulder. You follow his gaze, eyes landing on Yamato - who seems to have glazed over during a conversation with Ebisu. You look at your boyfriend and smile, catching his eye and whispering to Genma - oh yeah, this one’s a keeper. In the dead of the night, Yamato asks if he makes you happy and you tell him your world is full of harmony now. That you feel serene. Yamato’s heart feels as though it could burst from his chest.

7. Yamato has a bad habit of shouting at you when you hurt yourself absentmindedly. The first time it happens you’re not paying attention when slicing green onions for dinner. He snaps at you to run it under the cold tap and gets the small first aid box you keep in the kitchen. You snap back at him at first, you’re a kunoichi, you know what you’re doing with knives, this isn’t even serious, why are you being like this? Over time you realise it’s because he feels helpless when you injure yourself at home, it’s different to missions - home is where you’re safe. You stop snapping back, and he continues to treat your small cuts with disinfectant wipes and plasters. Sometimes you forget they’re there and feel a blush rising when Iruka mentions it when you pick up your assignments at the mission desk.

8. Yamato is old fashioned. He learnt so much of how to treat a partner from hearing what the older married ANBU used to talk about. He pours your drinks, pay for meals, offers you an arm to link when you walk, and kisses you chastely when in public. This has earned him a reputation for being shy, you know he is anything but.

9. You both spend your free time pouring over recipe books and buying second-hand cookbooks when you have downtime after long missions both in Konoha and other villages. You cook as much as you can and prepare meals together. The first time Team 7 comes to your tiny apartment, Sai and Sakura watch you both laugh and talk about anything and everything as you prepare a meal for everyone; soy milk ramen. You both drink wine and chop and stir and forget you even have guests, it’s only Naruto’s hungry grumbling that snaps you back into reality

10. You introduce him to your grandmother - the only living relative you have now - she tells him that he’s very handsome and he blushes all the way to the tips of his ears. Later she asks what he does and he tells her that he’s a jounin sensei. She eyes him with suspicion, making an off-handed comment about how in her day jounin sensei’s didn’t carry themselves so seriously, have such an intimidating posture or analyse every exit and escape route when they came for tea with old ladies. Later she corners you in the kitchen as you prepare desert, and she asks you what he really does, you whisper ANBU in her ear and she tells him over matcha cake that she’s glad you’ve found someone who will always protect you. Sometimes they play cards when you’re out of the village on missions, your grandmother chain smokes cigarettes and tells Yamato of the fights she had when she was an active kunoichi. Yamato knows she would kill him if he ever hurt you. He knows it would never come to that but loves the fire and passion running through her and how it’s been passed on to you. When she starts to forget herself, and slowly you, Yamato holds your hand in her tiny kitchen as tears roll down your face. In the night he weeps silently for her too. When she dies, she leaves all her ninja tools to Yamato, and her old engagement ring.

11. When you have sex, he sits cross-legged, your tights draped over his and your feet nestled into his hip creases. You lay the rest of yourself flat against the large bed you share, and he gently coaxes you to orgasm. He spreads you apart, and uses his thumbs interchangeably to rub your clit; up and down, or in soft circles, different speeds, and pressures. Sometimes he slips a finger inside you, stretching you gently and curling up inside you to pull you closer and closer to the edge. He uses his forearms to keep your legs pushed apart as they draw closer and closer in as you feel yourself slowly tipping over the edge. After your orgasm, he spends time rubbing down your shaking thighs and placing delicate kisses on your legs. He never rushes you to move, he never takes his eyes from your flushed face.

12. When you fuck, your legs are over his shoulders and his hands pinch your nipples. He drives into you and moans loudly. It is fast, and deep, and hard.

13. Sometimes you convince him to put on his old ANBU uniform. When he fucks you like this, he stands behind you and knocks your legs wide. One hand keeping you stead as he pushes you forward ruthlessly with the force of his trusts, the other hand wraps around your neck. Your hand claws over his gloved wrist, pushing his hand into you as you revel in the feeling of Cat choking you.

[ga-yuu]

Ikemen Genjiden Prologue ~ Forbidden Chapter~

(There is no change in the prologue, it’s just that they added scenes with three new characters. But I’m still writing the full summary because I’m not satisfied with the one I did earlier.)

Story starts just after the end of the Genpei War. We see Yoshitsune, who is bleeding, walking on the cliffside. Yoshitsune tries keeping his breath but was still struggling because he knows he’s about to die. Right when he was about to give up, a black figure flew above his head and came down right in front of him. It was Kurama. Kurama gave a smug look at Yoshitsune and telling that he looks good. Yoshitsune asks if he’s here for his soul and Kurama asks what he’s going to do now. Yoshitsune went silent for a second and then looked straight at him. He offers to make a deal with Kurama.

Cut to 3 years later, in Kamakura Shogunate, we see Yoritomo and Morinaga discussing something serious in the hallway. Unfortunately they heard a news about Yoshitsune being alive and having supernatural powers. They also discuss about a thing called ‘sesseoseki’. Morinaga reports that Yoshitsune tried to destroy the rock before Yoritomo’s other vassals Shigehira and Kagetoki could stop them. But according to Yasuchika, the ‘thing’ inside that sesseoseki rock is still alive. Yoritomo smiled in amusement and informs Morinaga that they will be leaving too.

That night, Yuno(MC) is on her way to Kamakura for fulfilling her own dream which is opening a drug shop. She used to be a apprentice pharmacist before, but know she wants to start her own business in the prosperous Kamakura. She decides to ask someone for direction and then sees a travelling merchant coming from the other side. She asks him for direction and that travelling merchant, who is apparently our first new character Sueharu, asks if she’s heading towards Kamakura. Yuno smiles awkwardly and says that she wanted to go there in the morning but somehow, things got in the way and she had to travel at night. Sueharu just silently stares at her and then smiles. He decides to flirt with her and asks her out on a dinner instead of going to Kamakura tonight. Yuno found it little uncomfortable and politely declines. She tells him that she wants to get there soon as possible and Sueharu just shrugged it off. He tells her that they might eventually meet in the future but Yuno just thinks that he’s teasing her and leaves for Kamakura. After they both went their separate ways, Sueharu stops and looks back at the road that Yuno went. He starts to slowly whisper about her chances of getting involved with people who are about to gather in the outskirts of Kamakura. He just hope that she reaches her destination safely and walks away.

Yuno reached the entrance of Kamakura safely but she was greet by a small but majestic looking white fox. When she looks closely, she noticed that the little fox was injured and decides to treat it. The little fox didn’t resist and accepted her treatment. Yuno noticed that the injury on the fox’s paw was made by some kind of sharp object like a knife. After the treatment, Yuno places it down and sits on a rock, which was little far away from the fox. She didn’t want to leave the fox alone and wanted to return it to its owner or at least where it belongs. The moment she relaxes, she hears a sharp voice calling her. Then someone pulls her up by the hand and it was Benkei. He looked little intimidating. He glares and asks her what she’s doing was there and Yuno immediately answered that she wasn’t doing anything. He glares at her even more and threatens her that it won’t be good if she’s lying with lack of knowledge of how much tightly he’s grabbing her wrists. Then another man walks up to them and calls out to Benkei. The other man was Yoichi and he asks why he’s bullying a woman. Benkei asks what he’s talking about but Yoichi cuts him, and points at what Benkei was holding. Benkei looks back and forth at Yuno and her wrist which he tightly grabbed with his big hand. After realizing, he immediately releases and apologize. He showers her with questions like ‘is her hand broken?’ or ‘is she breathing properly?’ but Yuno just nods and says that she’s fine. After hearing that she’s fine, Benkei sighed with relief. Yoichi, who was standing besides him, laughs at his awkwardness and teases him for finding time for playing with a woman when there are on an important mission. Benkei instantly denies Yoichi’s statement and says that he was worried about her because she was alone in a dangerous place like this. 

Yoichi turns towards Yuno and asks where she was going. Yuno tells them that she was on her way to Kamakura. She tells them she wanted to open her shop in Kamakura which is prosperous  because of the great Shogun, Yoritomo. The instant she spells out Yoritomo’s name, both Benkei and Yoichi were silent. Somehow the atmosphere changed from warm to cold. Yoichi then sarcastically looks down and states that Yoritomo is very famous  and is good at what he does. Yuno doesn’t get that he was being sarcastic and agrees with him. But however, Benkei doesn’t resist showing his hatred for Yoritomo. He tells her about a rumor which states that Yoritomo killed his own little brother for his own purpose even though Yoshitsune was the one who helped him to win the war against Heiki.Yuno didn’t know about this rumor and starts to think why Yoritomo would kill his own brother. Yoichi tells Benkei to calm down and tells Yuno that she should go wherever she wants to go before anything happens. Yuno agrees and also decides to take the little fox with her. When they both see the little fox she treated a while ago in her arms, they alerted each other. This time both of them had a serious expression and Yoichi politely asked her to give them that fox. Seeing their serious expression made Yuno even more careful and thinks about the injury that the fox had. If her assumptions about the injury being made by a knife is correct then, it could be them. She asks what they are planning to do with the fox but both of them were silent. Benkei tells her that its none of her business and tells Yoichi to hold Yuno while he kills the fox. Yuno pushes Yoichi away and when she was about to run, two other figures comes running towards them. It was Shigehira and Kagetoki. The four of the starts fighting in pairs and Yuno understood that Kagetoki who was fighting against Benkei and Shigehira who was fighting against Yoichi had an emotional attachment with each other. It was as if they were ready to rip each other’s throats this instant. Yuno also finds it hard to believe which side is against her and the fox.

In between the battle, Kagetoki noticed Yuno and the fox and orders her to run inside the bamboo field to find two men. One with black hair and other one who is tall and masculine. Yuno agrees for now, and runs towards the bamboo field. She runs as far as she could and bumps into two men. One of them catches her before she could fall. When she looks up, she sees a beautiful face in front of her. It was Yoritomo and Morinaga was standing beside him. Yuno apologized for bumping into them and Yoritomo just gives his signature fake smile and tells her that it was alright. She asks her to release her from his arms but Yoritomo instead asks her a question. He pulls out his sword and places it on her neck and the smile he had on his face turns into this evil expression which states that he will kill her if she says anything wrong. He asks where she was going and why she had that little fox with her. Yuno tells him that she wasn’t doing anything wrong and tells him exactly what happened. After hearing her story, Yoritomo draws the sword away from her after confirming that she wasn’t lying. She tells him that two people named Kagetoki and Shigehira were the ones who guided her here. After hearing those names both Yoritomo and Morinaga understood the situation and Morinaga asks Yoritomo if he is planning to help Kagetoki and Shigehira. Yoritomo denies because he knows that they can handle there work themselves. He orders Yuno to come with them and also to bring the fox with her. Yuno declines because she didn’t know who these guys where and tells them to introduce themselves before any of this. Yoritomo was irritated but introduced himself as the Seii Taishogun Minamoto no Yoritomo and Morinaga, who is his vassal and right hand man. Yuno didn’t believe them because if he is what he says he is, then why is he out here in this place without any guards. Yoritomo states that he is on an important mission and only wanted trustworthy people by his side for now. He orders Yuno to follow him quietly and also to forget what happen tonight. Before they could all leave the place, Yoshitsune comes and stops them.

Three of them were surprised to see him alive, well actually two of them. Yuno is meeting him for the first time. Yoritomo welcomes him and Yoshitsune had this very deadly aura around. Yoritomo asks if the rumor he heard about Yoshitsune having supernatural powers is true or not and Yoshitsune tells him to watch closely. Yoshitsune takes out his sword and starts swinging it. Suddenly the air around them started to blow strangely and when they all look at Yoshitsune, they noticed that his appearance is different now. His one eye was bloody red and there was a red mark on his neck. Yoshitsune states that his only intention today was to kill that white fox and return to Hiraizumi, but meeting Yoritomo here was like adding cherry on top so that he could kill him. Yoshitsune swings his sword again and certain gust of wind were charged towards Yoritomo. Morinaga tries to protect Yoritomo but hurts himself. Morinaga warns him about the wind being sharp blades. Yoshitsune next looks at Yuno who was still holding the white fox. His gave an icy cold glare and tells her that he didn’t want any woman to be involved in a bloody war. He states that he would leave her alive but she must leave the fox behind. Yuno was intimidated by his power but no matter how threatening he was her heart couldn’t leave the fox here to die.

Suddenly there was a feint sound of a bell and the surroundings around her started to get foggy. She hears a man’s voice telling that he likes her and out of nowhere Tamamo appeared in front of her. Yuno asks who he was and Tamamo claimed that he is the fox he saved earlier, but too bad he was an ayakashi all this time. She asks him what was going on and Tamamo tells her that he will answer all her questions after doing something to her body. He comes closer and holds her body and grabs her wrist with his other hand. With out wasting another second he gently bites her fingertips and Yuno started to feel an unusual heat in her body. Her mind started getting hazy and couldn’t think of anything. Soon her appearance starts to change and her hair turns white and eyes were golden. Yuno asks what he was doing to her and Tamamo states that he is making a contract with her. In other words he is sharing his powers with her and because of this her appearance has changed. However this change may differ among people. After forming this contract, the fog starts to fade and the other people who were standing there all were surprised to see Yuno’s change of appearance. They ask her what happened but Yuno couldn’t clearly describe her situation. Yoshitsune watches her closely and concludes that Yuno made a contract with the nine tail fox. 

Tamamo happily agrees with Yoshitsune conclusion but was not happy that he tried to kill him. Yuno asked what the hell was going on and Morinaga explained everything. Apparently after hearing the news about Yoshitsune’s superpowers, Yoritomo wanted something that could defeat him. Some guy named Yasuchika told him about a rock called sesseoseki, in which Tamamo was sealed. But before he could get to that rock, Yoshitsune and his friends destroyed it but unfortunately they failed kill Tamamo. That injury did a massive amount of damage on Tamamo’s powers and therefore was found by Yuno in the form of a little fox. After all this, the rest of the characters join them and four of them where surprised to see Yuno’s new form. Yoshitsune explains what had happen and turns towards Tamamo. Yoshitsune stated that since he could demolish almost half of his powers, he could kill Tamamo here right now and Tamamo accepts his challenge. When Yoshitsune charges his wind blades toward Tamamo, Yuno steps in to protect Tamamo and raised her hand. The wind blades soon scatters into golden balls of light and goes inside Yuno’s body. 

Everyone had a stunned expression to what Yuno had done and Tamamo chuckles and strokes her head as a compliment for doing such a great job. Tamamo explains them that ayakashi can suck out human’s energy and therefore kill them, but what Yuno did right now was exactly the opposite. Yuno made a contract with the nine tail fox and now she can suck the mystical powers of any ayakashi and kill them. Tamamo looks at Yoshitsune and asks what he’s going to do because if he uses his mystical powers, Yuno could absorb them. This means that Yoshitsune now has to resort to his hand to hand combat which makes things easy for Yoritomo. Yoshitsune’s friends where ready to take them right now but they were interrupted by a black bird that came down from the sky. Kurama lands with an exciting smile. He challenges Tamamo to a battle and Yuno asks Tamamo if he’s friends with Kurama. Tamamo states that Kurama is the most annoying ayakashi out of all the ones he had met because he keeps challenging him. Tamamo felt bad for Yoshitsune who made a contract with Kurama. Kurama on the other hand asked Tamamo why he made contract with Yuno. He looks at her with a disinterest expression and claims that she’s just an ordinary human. 

Yoritomo asks Kurama why he revived Yoshitsune and Kurama answers saying that he was after Yoshitsune’s soul ever since he first met Yoshitsune when he was a kid. He waited for Yoshitsune’s soul to polished and strong so that he could to take it when the time comes. When Yoshitsune was about to die, he said he could not die yet and wanted to make a deal with Kurama. Thus he’s here. Kurama looks at Yoshitsune and asks if he wanted to battle his brother now or he could just come back later and battle him in the great war. Yoshitsune sighs and decides to withdrew for the time being and promises to destroy Yoritomo and his Shogunate. Yoritomo also doesn’t hold back and tells him to dream whatever he wants and the rebels leave. 

Yuno comes back to normal and asks Tamamo if their contract is broken. Tamamo says that even though her appearance is normal, she is still in contact with his ayakahi powers and the contract is still ongoing. When she asks if there is anyway to break it, they were interrupted by another person. It was Yasuchika. He comes in smiling and greets them all. Tamamo was not happy to see him at all. Yasuchika greets Yuno and congratulates her for her new powers. Tamamo angrily says that Yasuchika was the one that sealed him inside that rock for 100s of years. Yasuchika introduces himself as an onmyoji and also someone who works for the court. He wanted to come early for today’s events but something got in the way and was late. Coming back to Yuno’s question, he tells that it won’t be easy for Yuno to break the contract with Tamamo. Tamamo tells her that Yuno has to keep sucking the life out of ayakashi time to time so that Tamamo can gain his lost powers. When the vessel is filedl the contract will eventually break and Yuno could go back to her normal lifestyle. Hearing this Yuno started to panic but Yoritomo came up with a proposal. He asks her to join Shogunate to help him defeat Yoshitsune, and that would be more than enough to break her contract. Tamamo also agrees with that and Yuno wanted to protect Tamamo and also wants her normal life back so she decides to join them.

Yasuchika tells them that he’s going back to Kyoto and leaves. Before going back to Kamakura, Yoritomo asks Tamamo to do something about his ears and tail so that he doesn’t stand out. Tamamo removes his ears and tails to look like a normal human and they all go back to Kamakura.

Scene cuts to Yasuchika, where he stands in a empty field with depressed expression. He starts to mutter how it was unfortunate that the quarrel between the genji brothers didn’t end. His face changes and now has a evil smile and thinks about Yuno being a fox princess and how she’s going to change their fate.

The very next moment, two figures come out from the darkness and joins him. One of those was of a child with a beautiful face and had a manly tone. Other one had a noble aura but was a young man with elegant clothes. The young boy was excited to meet Yuno and Yasuchika tells him to behave himself. The noble young man whose name is Akihito tells them that they don’t now her yet but expect her to be a good dancer. (’good dancer’ means a pawn to destroy both Shogunate and rebels.) The boy next to him also agrees that he wants to play with her and gently removes the bracelet from his wrists and POOF!! He’s man now, more precisely a Oni.Yup , out third new character Ibuki.  The three of them go back to Kyoto for deciding what plan they would go with to destroy both the rebels and Shogunate.

Here, Yuno and Tamamo were greeted by the Shogunate and all of them does a one finally introduction before ending the prologue.

[kerikaaria]

Breaking Down Walls

(Seokjin x Reader) Oneshot, College!AU, Bi!Reader

Genre: (PG15) f2l, generous helping of angst, with a healthy dose of fluff

Warnings: Homophobia (side characters), toxic jealousy, false claims of sexual harassment (non-detailed), mentions of an unhealthy/toxic friendship, semi-mature jokes/references, swearing

WC: 17.8k

Description: Being suddenly outcasted and judged by everyone really forces one to build up walls. Having gotten used to not having friends and dealing with the snide comments, you plan on just keeping your head down until you graduate next year. That is, until someone decides they’re going to tear your walls down.

A/N – Thank you to the lovely @moccahobi and @ditttiii​ for beta-reading for me! I love you guys!

The first few days back at school were always peculiar. Some people were overly excited to start a new year or semester, working hard on their ‘first day back’ outfits and super pumped to do all their work on time (give it a week or two and they’d remember that they loved to procrastinate). There were those who dreaded it, mourning the loss of their vacation and reluctant to pick up their books once again. Others didn’t particularly care either way–just went through the motions, wanting to get through their education in order to reap the supposed rewards at the end of the tunnel.

And then there was me, who didn’t hate the fact that I was coming back to school, but rather hated the fact that I had to deal with my peers in order to do it.

I walked through the hallways, ones familiar to me after spending two full years here, keeping my head down and focusing on nothing but making my way to the next class of the day. So far things had gone as per usual in each of my classes, so when I double-checked my schedule to make sure that I had the right room for the abnormal psychology course before walking through the doorway, I expected the same here as well.

I scanned the room, looking for an ideal seat. Despite many still being open, all of the seats left required sitting next to one of my classmates. Holding back a sigh, I decided to go with the easiest path and picked an empty seat at the end of a row. Barely two seconds after I had sat down the person sitting next to me, along with his friend who was oblivious to the hearts in his eyes, packed up their belongings and looked for different seats to occupy in the class.

Yup, just as expected.

Unfazed, I started emptying my bookbag of the items I needed for the class. After gathering my notebook, pen, and textbook–even though I probably wasn’t going to need it today anyway but hey, I liked to be prepared–I was about to place my bag on the seat next to me, knowing no one was going to want to sit there.

But before I could even turn to look at the chair, it was occupied. By a person. A living, breathing person. 

I glanced around the room, figuring that in the short time it took me to get ready for class, the room must have filled up. But no, there were just as many open seats still left in the room. Looking past the person to the next seat over, I could see that even that one was still empty.

This wasn’t a class freshman could take so unless this person lived under a rock, I couldn’t figure out why they would voluntarily sit next to me. As curious as I was to see who was willing to jeopardize their entire social life over this seat, I avoided making eye contact and placed my bag on the floor.

The mystery student made no effort to get my attention or address me, so I relaxed as we waited for the professor to arrive and class to start.

Other than that, the class went by just as boring and ordinary as possible. The professor took ten hours to go over the syllabus that was almost the same for every class, talked about the attendance policy that was the same for every class, and told us our expectations that was - again - pretty much the same for every class. Basically, I didn’t know why the teachers bothered going over every little detail when they had to know we’d already heard it fifty times. Just tell me my final grade depended on this one big project and if I didn’t do it I was screwed, and that was all I needed to know.

The professor finished going over the monotonous formalities and dismissed our class just on time. I slowly gathered my things, preferring to wait until the majority of the others had already fought their way out of the door first before leaving. It was easier to avoid comments I didn’t want to hear that way.

As I finished getting my stuff together and went to stand up I looked to my left, seeing the rebellious classmate just sitting there, looking like he was waiting for something. A beat later, he turned to me and smiled. He smiled?

“Hello,” he greeted, holding out a hand, presumably for me to shake. “I’m Namjoon.”

I cautiously took his hand in mine. “(Y/n),” I responded while I finally got a good look at him. He had bleached blonde hair slicked to the side to expose his forehead. His features looked somehow simultaneously intimidating and friendly.

“It’s nice to meet you, (Y/n).”

If I didn’t dislike being around my peers so much, I wouldn’t really hate eating in the school cafeteria. Unfortunately, the food was paid for as part of the tuition and if I spent my days eating takeout and fast food, I’d be twice as broke as I already was. So I didn’t have much choice other than to eat most of my meals in a room filled with aforementioned peers. Sometimes it felt like I was a sitting duck in here.

I picked my poison for today’s lunch and scanned the room for an empty table. Luckily, there was one over in a corner where, hopefully, I wouldn’t be bothered. I placed my tray on the table before sitting down and taking my phone out to send a text message to the person I was supposed to meet, letting him know where I was and asking if he was on his way.

While I was preoccupied with my phone, I felt the presence of someone standing next to the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see it was definitely not who I was waiting for. I mentally rolled my eyes, waiting to find out if this one was going to be typical or original.

“Is this seat taken?” a sickly-sweet voice asked.

“Yes, it is,” I replied apathetically.

She sat down anyway. I spared a quick glance over my phone at her before resuming to stare at my screen as though glaring at the text was going to force him to reply.

“I hear I’m your type,” the girl announced after a moment of silence. It appeared she was taking the typical approach.

I ignored her presence entirely, pretending that I had something interesting to look at on my phone.

“What? Am I not pretty enough for you to pay attention to?” she asked, pretending to be offended.

I actually rolled my eyes. It has nothing to do with looks, I thought. But instead I said, “Why? Would you be willing to roll around in the hay with me if you were?”

Her eyes widened, clearly not expecting me to put her on the spot like that. While she spluttered away, someone else approached the table.

“Excuse me, that’s my seat,” the newcomer said.

She looked up to see who was interrupting her embarrassment. After registering who it was she smirked and let her eyes wander over his figure, checking him out rather blatantly. 

I had to stop myself from gagging at the scene.

“Oh honey, there’s no point in trying with her,” she said, attempting a sultry, flirty voice. “You’re not her type.” She stood up and brushed her fingertips along his arm. “You could come sit with me though, I’d love to get to know you.”

He smiled while she batted her eyelashes up at him. “I don’t need her to be interested in me,” he said sweetly before swatting her hand away as his expression turned serious. “She’s my sister; I’d appreciate it if you left her alone. And don’t even try, sweetheart. You’re never getting into these pants.”

Her face instantly paled and she hurried away without another word lest she embarrass herself any more.

My brother sat down with a huff while I tried my best  to suppress my laugh. “Sorry I’m late, noona,” he said. “My literature professor apparently doesn’t know how to time manage his classes.”

“It’s alright,” I said. He looked at me concerned, silently asking if I was okay. “I’m fine, Chim. Don’t worry about it, you know I’m used to it by now.” I assured him, finally digging into my meal.

“The only reason people have gotten away with it up until now is because your brother wasn’t here to put them in their place.” He pointed his chopsticks at me. “I’m going to make sure no one treats you like that anymore.”

“Jimin,” I sighed, “you really don’t need to do anything. I appreciate you and your help when you’re with me, but don’t try to be my bodyguard. Try to enjoy your time at school, hmm? Go make some friends!”

“Who said I haven’t made any friends?” he responded defensively. “There’s this interesting kid I got paired up with as my lab partner in biology and we get along pretty well.” His eyes widened and he gasped, excitedly tapping on my hand. “Oh my gosh. Noona, I gotta introduce him to you. He is fine. I don’t swing that way, but holy crap does he make me question if I would for him.”

“Mm, sounds like a great start to a friendship,” I laughed. “So, you’re enjoying school so far?”

Jimin shrugged. “I mean, as much as I can enjoy school I guess. You know me, I don’t even know what I want to do yet.”

While Jimin continued to dig into his food, I more or less just pushed mine around. I did know that, just as well as I knew that our parents wouldn’t have been mad if he wanted to wait to go to school so he could try to figure it out first. And he certainly didn’t need to come to this school of all places.

While I didn’t get bad grades, I wasn’t exactly a star student. I had to work really hard to keep my grades up and even then I was barely above average. But Jimin, he was brilliant. Always class president, always effortlessly intelligent, always amazing in anything he did. Before last year, he was talking about going to schools more prestigious than this one. He didn’t need to be here, and I worried that the only reason he was, was because he felt obligated to me.

“Hey, noona,” Jimin called, waving his hand in front of my face and bringing my mind back to reality. “Instead of looking at your rice like it offended you, why don’t you tell me how your classes are going so far?”

I chuckled at his observation. “Well, they’re going about the same as I expected,” I said, shrugging. “No one bothers me and all the teachers gave us the same exact lecture about the syllabus.” I paused while I finally brought a spoonful of rice to my mouth. “Oh, there was one weird thing though.”

“Weird?” Jimin asked, worried. “What do you mean weird? Did something happen?”

“Oh, no, nothing bad,” I clarified, making him relax. “It’s just, in one of my psych classes yesterday, someone actually voluntarily sat next to me. And not just that, he introduced himself to me after class too. Like he’s trying to be friendly with me?”

“That’s wonderful!” Jimin cheered, smiling so wide his eyes disappeared. “Maybe he’s being friendly because he wants to be your friend.”

“I don’t know, Chim,” I replied, thoughtfully chewing my chicken. “I mean he seemed really nice, but no one has approached me with good intentions ever since… before her.”

“Well, maybe he has some sense and doesn’t give a crap about rumors,” Jimin said around a mouthful of food. “Why don’t you give him a chance, hm? I’ll be your backup in case anything goes wrong.”

I slowly nodded. “I’ll think about it.” We were silent for a few moments until I said, “So, tell me more about this hot friend of yours.”

When I entered the classroom for abnormal psychology the next day, I was a little surprised to see Namjoon sitting in the same seat from two days prior. Despite the fact that he had chosen to sit next to me, and that he was also the one to initiate a conversation (even if it was only introductions), I felt nervous. What if I sat down next to him and he decided he didn’t want anything to do with me?

But then again, if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have sat in the same seat… Right? ��Steeling my nerves, I slowly walked toward the chair. I did my best to try not paying him any attention as I sat down and gathered my items for the class. After setting my bag on the floor, I chanced a glance at him and was relieved to see he was still there.

He turned to me and smiled, but before he could initiate any conversation (not that I thought he would want to) the professor entered the room and started his first actual lecture of the year.

“I’d recommend that you all start chatting and getting to know each other because there will be a few partner assignments in this class, and I will let you pick your own partners,” the professor said as the class was coming to an end. “The first one will be assigned next week.” Then he dismissed the class.

“Do you want to work on the assignments together?” Namjoon asked as soon as the professor was done talking.

Shocked, I turned to him with widened eyes. Did he seriously just ask me that? I was too baffled to say or do anything while he began to pack up his belongings.

“Do you have a class after this one?” he asked instead when I didn’t answer.

I blinked, refocusing on the present. “N-no,” I managed to reply.

“Well, if you’re hungry let’s get some lunch together,” he suggested, picking up my bag to start putting away my things for me.

Realizing that I had been standing there like an idiot, and that there were multiple eyes on us, I hastily grabbed the remainder of my things to put away, Namjoon holding the bag open for me. When I was done, I zipped it up and took it from him, slipping it onto my shoulders.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, following up his offer from a moment ago that I realized I hadn’t replied to.

I tentatively nodded and he smiled, leading me out of the classroom with him. I heard students whispering around us but Namjoon seemed to completely ignore them.

As we walked to the cafeteria, I couldn’t help but wonder why he was being nice to me. Jimin told me to give him a chance, but that was far easier said than done. Ever since that post on the school forum last year, I had been more or less alone. To protect myself I had to quickly learn how to build up walls that I never had before. Anyone who talked to me now did it with an ill intent, wanting to tear me down and make me out to be a bad person.

So why was this boy that I had never met before being so nice to me? I couldn’t believe there was no way he didn’t know about what had happened because I had yet to encounter another student who hadn’t heard about how I was such a terrible person. As much as I wanted to listen to Jimin and deep down hoped for the best, I had to keep my walls up. I couldn’t let my guard down because he was probably going to end up being just the same as everyone else.

We made it to the cafeteria, silently collected the food we wanted, and then he led me to a table he seemed comfortable sitting at. I remained quiet while I started to eat my meal, feeling Namjoon’s eyes on me as he did the same.

“So, you never answered my question,” he said after a few minutes had passed.

I looked up from my tray of food and met his eyes. With furrowed brows, I tried to remember what question he was talking about.

Seeing the confusion on my face, Namjoon chuckled. “About if you wanted to be my partner for the assignments?”

“Oh,” I  said quietly. I thought about it for a moment, but really there wasn’t much to think about. Regardless of his possible intentions, chances were no one else would ask me. 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” I answered, my voice staying quiet out of shyness. The only people I’ve had real conversations with in over half a year were my brother and parents, so my social skills were rather out of practice.

“Awesome.” He smiled widely, dimples I hadn’t noticed before on full display. “We should exchange phone numbers then,” he added as he pulled out his phone and presented it to me.

I entered my number into his phone with shaking hands before handing it back to him. He pressed the call button and I felt my own vibrate in my pocket before he ended the call.

“There, now we can keep in touch,” he said, still smiling. His attention, however, was diverted when he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh, hyung! Over here!” He waved to get the person’s attention. “I hope you don’t mind, my hyung and I agreed to meet for lunch during this time. I thought you two might get along.” I was curious how he came to any conclusion like that when we had just recently met, not having had any substantial conversations to actually get to know each other yet.

I turned to look at who it was Namjoon was calling to and saw a tall and rather handsome man approaching. His hair was a little longer, bangs parted on either side of his face and he had soft-looking thick lips. He was smiling at Namjoon as he walked up to the table, about to greet him back until he noticed me.

Once Namjoon’s friend’s eyes fell on me, his smile faltered and he looked surprised. His gaze hesitantly flitted back and forth between me and Namjoon and he looked unsure of what to do. Realizing that he must have recognized me and probably felt uncomfortable with the idea of sitting with me, I turned back to Namjoon and spoke up.

“Thanks, Namjoon.” I tried to smile but could feel how forced it was. I quickly started to collect my things. “I’ll see you in class.” I picked up my tray, quickly getting up to look for an empty table to sit at before he had time to respond.

Namjoon quietly called for me once and then I heard some rushed whispering as I walked away but I ignored it, not wanting to think too hard about it. This was why I reminded myself to be careful and not become too hopeful. I just needed to stick to my plan of keeping to myself until I graduated next year. It was only for two years. I could do it.

I found an empty table, thankfully a fair distance from where Namjoon was with his friend and sat down to finish my meal alone, in silence. Just like I was used to.

However, the silence only lasted a couple of minutes until someone suddenly sat in front of me. Shocked, my head snapped up to see Namjoon across the table from me, and his friend standing behind him, looking at the ground.

“Sorry about that, (Y/n),” Namjoon apologized, a soft smile on his face. “I could tell that Seokjin hyung made you feel awkward. We didn’t mean to make you feel unwelcome.”

Namjoon’s friend, Seokjin brought his gaze up to meet mine. “I’m sorry if I made you think that,” he said. “I was just surprised to see you there. I wouldn’t mind sitting with you at all , if you are okay with that.”

It took me a moment to process the words. I couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious of how much it seemed Namjoon was determined to be around me, but I decided it was best not to voice my concerns right now. I slowly nodded, Seokjin seeming to relax at the motion and he took a seat next to Namjoon.

“I’m Seokjin,” he said. “I know Joon said my name but I figured it’d be polite to still properly introduce myself.”

“It appears as though you know who I am,” I responded, “but I’ll introduce myself as well. I’m (Y/n). Nice to meet you.” I offered my hand for him to take if he wanted, and he didn’t hesitate to do so. His hand held onto mine gently as he smiled warmly.

“Likewise,” Seokjin said, giving my hand a soft squeeze before letting go.

It was obvious to me that the two were close and seemed to have known each other for a long time. As we sat together, it was mostly Namjoon and Seokjin chatting and every now and then, one of them would address me to bring me into the conversation but I would keep my responses to a minimum. I didn’t want to be rude, but I still remained hesitant to be too open with them.

It didn’t take me long to notice others would look at our table every now and then, and many times my eyes had wandered around to gauge how much attention we were drawing. No doubt they were trying to figure out who was stupid enough to sit with me, and wondering why.

“Hey, (Y/n),” Seokjin said, pulling my attention away from a few tables over where girls were pointing and whispering. “Don’t pay them any attention.”

I suddenly felt self-conscious. Did they notice the attention too? I looked down at my food when I asked, “Does it not bother you that people are watching and whispering?”

“They are stupid,” Namjoon said, scoffing. “It’s none of their business what you or anyone else is doing and they need to learn to keep their noses out of it.” He paused, and I looked up to see him staring right back at me. “And no, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t care for rumors or gossip, so they can say whatever they want about me. It holds no value.”

Seokjin didn’t say much, but he did nod in agreement and gave me a smile. “No one has any right to judge anyway. I like to form my opinions of others based on my own experiences with them, not from what others say.”

Their words made me feel just a little more hopeful that for once, someone didn’t have a hidden motive. That maybe, just maybe, Namjoon and perhaps even his friend Seokjin didn’t want to harm me. I wouldn’t hold onto that quite yet, but I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this light.

Over the past two weeks, Jimin had been telling me a lot about this new friend of his, Taehyung. Basically every time we met up he would start gushing about him. Apparently Taehyung had the best sense of humor and was always making Jimin laugh (to which I reminded him was not difficult to do), was deceivably smart, and a really good listener. Each point that Jimin gave him was another reason for him to tell me how much he thought we would get along.

Which was why I wasn’t opposed to meeting him, especially considering that he was a freshman just like Jimin and may not have heard about what happened last year. From what Jimin told me he did genuinely seem like a nice guy. However, meeting two others as well? That was scary. But Jimin was so sure that it’d be fine and if there was anyone in this world that I trusted, it was my baby brother.

So I made my way to Daydream Café, feeling entirely nervous on the way. It was a place that students here frequented, but it also wasn’t quite yet lunchtime so hopefully most students weren’t out just yet.

A bell rang as I walked through the red-painted door, and immediately I was surrounded by delicious smells from the home-baked treats the little shop sold. I used to come here a lot with my friend up until winter last year, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed the atmosphere. It was genuinely a great place.

“Noona!” I heard Jimin’s voice call out a moment later, and I smiled when I saw where he sat, waving his arm high in the air to get my attention. Sitting next to him was who I assumed to be Taehyung, seeing how comfortable the two of them looked with each other. The other two with them where on the opposite side of the table where I couldn’t quite see them yet.

I approached the table, slightly waving at my brother’s friend when he smiled at me. Jimin got up to come meet me partway, practically dragging me the rest of the way to the table.

“I ordered your favorite for you,” Jimin said, pointing the cup sitting at the seat next to where he was sitting. “And this is Taehyung!” Jimin gestured toward his friend once he stopped pulling on my arm. I had to admit that my brother’s claims about how attractive the boy was were very accurate. I actually had to pause while I took in his seemingly perfect features, highlighted by a big rectangular smile. His bright blue hair reminded me of cotton candy, and it fit him surprisingly well.

Taehyung waved in greeting while Jimin pulled out my chair for me and sat in his own seat. After sitting down myself, I saw the two sitting across from us and my eyes widened in shock, recognizing them instantly.

“These are Tae’s hyungs, Namjoon and Seokjin,” Jimin said. “Well, Seokjin is his actual older brother, Namjoon is their cousin.” The three of them being related certainly made sense with how they each seemed to get the absolute best from the gene pool.

Namjoon and Seokjin also seemed pretty surprised to see me, but their faces both quickly dissolved into smiles. “Actually, we’ve already met,” Namjoon said from his seat next to the wall. “What a coincidence. Nice to see you, (Y/n).”

I smiled in return, having grown a bit more comfortable with them since we first met two weeks ago.

“Oh, really?” Taehyung asked. “How do you know each other?”

“I met Namjoon in my abnormal psych class,” I explained. “We’re doing an assignment together. And I met Seokjin when the three of us ate lunch together during the first week of classes.” I had seen Seokjin a few times after that too, since the two of them shared a dorm and that’s where I would usually meet Namjoon to work on the assignment.

While I was still hesitant to trust anyone other than my brother, I felt more relaxed with the both of them every time I saw them. I couldn’t help but still be scared that it was wishful thinking, but they really did seem like they wanted to be friends.

Jimin beamed. “I told you they were nice! Namjoon hyung must be the one who sat next to you, then.” He looked at Joon, who nodded in confirmation. “See, didn’t I tell you to give him a chance?”

“It’s awesome that your noona is already friends with my hyungs, Jiminie,” Taehyung said.  “This make things so much easier. We should all meet up every day!”

“Every day?” Seokjin asked, raising his eyebrows at his brother. “No way. We all have classes, and to be honest I’m not thrilled with the idea of having to see you every day.”

Taehyung frowned. “But Jinnie hyung, didn’t you miss me? We hardly saw each other the last three years, but now I can see you every day!”

“Seems like you’re the one who missed me,” Seokjin retorted before taking a sip of his coffee.

“Don’t let him fool you, Tae,” Namjoon chimed him. “He definitely missed you.”

Seokjin smacked Namjoon’s arm. “I did not!”

While the cousins were laughing and teasing each other, one of the workers at the café approached our table, untying his apron. “Hey guys!” he said as he plopped down on the seat next to Seokjin, across from me.

“Oh hey, Hoseok,” Seokjin said. “You on break?”

“Yeah, I got fifteen minutes before I need to go back.” He turned to look at me and Jimin, a bright smile on his face. “Do I get to be introduced to your new friends here?” he asked.

“This is my friend, Jimin!” Taehyung said, grabbing onto my brother’s arm. “And that’s his sister, (Y/n). She shares a class with Namjoon hyung too.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Hoseok said as he held out his hand for us to shake. Jimin didn’t hesitate to take it, while I was a little slower to follow. “My name is Hoseok. These two-” he gestured to Namjoon and Seokjin “-are practically glued to my side, so if you plan on sticking around them you’ll probably be seeing a lot of me.”

“Yeah because it’s definitely not the other way around,” Namjoon chuckled.

Jimin easily slid into comfortable conversation with everyone, while I mostly sat back and observed. It was a bit overwhelming, somehow feeling welcome and accepted – or at least not unwelcome – with so many people at once after so long. Taehyung was understandable, probably not knowing about the events from last year yet. But I was still trying to figure out Namjoon and Seokjin, and I knew for a fact Hoseok has been attending the school for a few years, having seen him around.

Feeling like I was almost finding somewhere I might belong, it seemed too good to be true.

Today was really beautiful despite fall starting to settle into the air, the heat barely there and breeze calm enough to keep it from feeling too chilled. Being unable to resist the pull of fresh air while the weather lasted, I found myself sitting against a tree in the school’s park, textbook in my lap.

I had become accustomed to spending most of my time in my dorm when I didn’t have class or need to eat, but it got stuffy always being indoors all the time. Days like today were worth spending outside, and usually I could be absorbed enough in my work that I didn’t pay attention to any looks and no one really bothered me.

It seemed that today was one of my lucky days. I successfully spent two hours here so far and had yet to have any intrusions into the bubble I created for myself.

But while I was in the middle of doing my calculus work, I felt someone sit next to me. Realizing my relaxing afternoon of being left alone was apparently over, I began packing up my stuff without acknowledging whoever wanted to interrupt my peace.

“You’re just going to leave when I stopped by to keep you company?” The very familiar voice said.

I halted my actions, turning to see a smiling Seokjin sitting next to me. I relaxed, placing my things back down. “Sorry, Seokjin. I didn’t think it was you.”

His smile faltered. “You figured I was someone else here to bully you.” It wasn’t a question but rather an observation.

“Yeah,” I responded. “That’s pretty much what I have gotten used to. I’m honestly still not used to the idea of there being people who want to talk to me and not do that.”

“I would never,” Seokjin replied. “But I understand what you mean.”

Having already closed my textbook, I decided I could finish later and put it away in my bag. “So, what brings you over here today, Seokjin?”

“You know, you can just call me Jin if you want.” He cleared his throat and looked at the ground when he mumbled, “Or oppa would work, too.”

“Are you?” I asked. “My oppa I mean.”

“Well, you’re a junior like Namjoon right?” Jin replied. “I’m a senior so yeah, I’m pretty sure I am.”

“Oh, okay.” I said. In the three weeks we had known each other, this was actually mostly new information. “Then I’ll try asking again. What brings you out to the park today, Jin oppa?”

A small smile flashed on his face for a split second before he answered. “I was just out enjoying the weather. I figured when I saw you sitting here, I might as well join you. But you can keep doing your work if you want.”

“Eh, I’ve been at it for about-” I checked my phone to see what time it was “-two and a half hours now. So I’m pretty due for a break I think.”

“Oh, good. Glad I could be of help then,” he smiled.

I nodded before resting my head back against the tree behind me. Namjoon and Seokjin had continued to be friendly with me, even outside of class and the assignment Namjoon and I were working on together. After three weeks it became really hard to still be suspicious that they had some kind of hidden agenda and I found myself growing more and more comfortable with them. But I was still determined to keep my walls up, just in case.

We sat in silence together for a few moments, just enjoying the nice weather of the sunny afternoon. Soon, Jin’s phone vibrated and he took it out from his jean pocket. After reading whatever was on the screen, he started looking around.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Not wrong,” he said. “But Tae sent me a picture of the two of us sitting here. So I’m trying to figure out where he is.”

Then, my phone started vibrating. I looked to see my brother was calling me. Sliding the green button on the screen, I answered. “Hey, Jimin. What’s up?”

I could hear laughing on the other end. “Seokjin hyung looks almost paranoid, looking all around like that.”

I rolled my eyes, turning to Jin. “It seems both our brothers are teaming up on us.” Going back to the phone call, I said, “Where are you two? It’s rude to spy on your older siblings.”

I could hear the notification sound of the call ending. But then, “Oh, you mean it’s rude to spy on your little date?” Jimin’s voice said from nearby.

Jin and I turned to our right to see both of our brothers standing there. Jin spluttered, seeming flustered at the fact that Jimin called whatever this was right now – which was most definitely not a date – a date.

“We’re not having a date,” I said plainly. “We’re just sitting here.”

“Uh huh, sure,” Taehyung said. “Looks like a date to me.”

“Yah!” Jin got up to encase Tae in a headlock. “Then what would you call you and Jimin hanging out all the time huh? If I’m on a date, then so are you.”

Taehyung laughed. “No offense to Jimin because he’s totally attractive, but you know I don’t swing that way, hyung!”

While they were arguing, I gathered all my things and stood up as well. “What were you guys up to, though?” I asked Jimin.

“We were just headed over to Daydream Café,” he answered. “Hobi hyung told Tae he saved a slice of his mom’s strawberry cheesecake for him.”

Oh yeah, that was something we had learned after meeting Hoseok last week, too. His parents actually owned Daydream Café, and his mom was responsible for many of the delicious home-baked treats there.

“Do you guys want to come with us?” Taehyung asked, finally out of his brother’s hold.

“Yeah sure, why not,” Seokjin said. “But I’m not third-wheeling you two. So I’ll go if (Y/n) wants to.”

I looked at Jin, shrugging. “Alright. It’s not like I have anything better to do, right?”

We all started on our way to the café, but before we could get very far I heard my name being called. I tensed up, easily recognizing the voice.

“(Y/n)!” she called again. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath before turning around to face her. “I thought that was you. Long time no see,” she said, a smile that I once thought was genuine on her face.

“Hi, Yunhee,” I greeted back, trying to not seem too tense.

Recognizing her as well, Jimin gripped my hand tight and I could almost feel anger radiating off of him despite him now being behind me. “What do you want?” Jimin asked, absolutely no hint of the usual light, playful tone in his voice.

Yunhee took his reaction in stride, ignoring him and instead addressing me again. “I see you’ve managed to make some new friends,” she said, looking at Seokjin and Taehyung.

I remained silent, knowing that whatever I said would only fuel her and once she started going there was no stopping her. I looked next to me, seeing that Seokjin looked deep in thought about something and Taehyung was looking both concerned and confused at what was going on.

“It’s none of your business” Jimin said, still defensive. “We don’t want to talk to you, so please leave us alone while I’m asking nicely.”

I heard a light gasp from Seokjin, his expression lighting up and mouth opening and eyes widening. As quickly as it happened the expression was gone, replaced with a look of absolute disdain aimed right at Yunhee.

“You heard him,” he said, his tone sounding darker than I had ever heard it. There was a spine-chilling authoritativeness to it. “Leave. You’re not welcome here.”

Yunhee merely looked amused, a smirk on her lips and eyebrows raised, but made no move to leave. “You got yourself some pretty defensive friends here, (Y/n).”

Jimin walked around me to stand in front of her, face to face, while he kept a firm hold on my hand. “We told you to leave. You have no right to be talking to my sister.”

She made a sound of realization. “That’s right, you’re little Jimin. I almost didn't recognize you without your chubby little cheeks.” She turned back to me. “I just wanted to have a chat with my old friend. Can’t I do that?”

“You made it very clear last year that you aren’t her friend anymore, you backstabbing bitch,” Seokjin said, moving forward as well. “What don’t you understand about leaving her alone?”

At this point I became aware of just how much of a scene we were causing, many students nearby having stopped to watch the commotion. I tugged on Jimin’s sleeve to get his attention. I gave him a look that I hope told him that I wanted to get out of here, and he luckily seemed to understand.

“I guess we’ll need to leave if you won’t then,” Jimin said. “Come on, noona.” He placed his hand on my elbow, starting to lead me away from her. Seokjin and a still very confused Taehyung followed as well.

Luckily, she didn’t follow or try to say anything more as we walked away. We walked in silence for a little bit while I assumed we were still heading to Daydream Café. Then I remembered something that I heard Seokjin say.

“Jin oppa,” I said to get his attention. He turned to look at me, waiting for me to continue. “You called Yunhee a backstabbing bitch,” I said. “Why did you say that?”

He looked nervous, eyes flitting around and pressing his lips together, so I pushed a little more. “Do you know something?”

His gaze settled on me and he sighed lightly. “If we’re going to talk about that, maybe we should go somewhere more private,” he gently offered.

Now curious of what it was he had to say, I nodded.

“Let’s go back to my dorm?” Seokjin suggested.

“Namjoon will probably be there too, won’t he?” I asked.

“Probably,” Jin replied. “But I think that would honestly be better if he is, if you’re okay with that.”

I thought for a moment before carefully nodding. I assumed that if Seokjin knew something, Namjoon probably did too anyway. “Okay. I guess it won’t make much difference anyway.”

On the way there Taehyung kept looking at me curiously, but he kept any questions to himself for the time being.

Walking through the familiar door to Namjoon and Seokjin’s dorm, I quickly sat on their couch while my nerves started getting the best of me. I had no idea what to expect, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was about to get some answers about why these two didn’t seem to have an aversion to me like everyone else – and whether that was real or not. I looked expectantly at Jin, who had propped himself against his desk, when Namjoon came trudging out of the bathroom, hair damp from a shower.

“Hey guys, what are you all doing here?” he asked, glancing around at the relatively full room.

“We had an encounter with (Y/n)’s ‘friend’ from last year at the park,” Seokjin said. “And I have something I need to talk to her about.” He gave a pointed look to Namjoon, who seemed to understand what he meant and relaxed into the other seat in the room.

“Okay I know you have something to tell her, Jin hyung,” Tae chimed in first, “but I am really confused about what all is going on. I know it’s not technically any of my business, but I just feel like I’m the only one who is in the dark right now.”

I sighed. “Well, I guess basically you are.” I paused, thinking of how to put it. “You know about the school forum right?” I asked, getting a nod from him in return. “Just search for my name on there and you’ll no doubt find it.”

“That’s not right though,” Jin said. “The post on the forum isn’t the truth.”

“How would you know that?” I asked. “Everyone else seems to believe it’s true.” Jimin sat down next to me, wrapping his arms around my stomach.

Seokjin was silent for a few moments, seeming to collect his thoughts. “I knew her. Eunjung.”

The use of the name surprised me. “The post didn’t say her name. How do you…?”

“She was my friend at the time,” Jin continued. “I saw her after that post was made, and she was bragging about what happened. What she and Yunhee had done to you.” The look on his face couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than disgust. “She was proud of herself, thinking she did something good. That you… That there was something wrong with you and she was putting you in your place.”

Jimin’s arms tightened around me. “That’s terrible,” he said. “She was really that smug about slandering someone like that?”

Seokjin nodded. “I never knew she was like that. That was the last time I talked to her. I couldn’t stand even just looking at her after that.”

“And Namjoon?” I asked, turning to him. He seemed surprised that I was addressing him. “Did you know about that?”

“Yeah,” Joon responded. “Yeah, I did. Hyung was so appalled by it that he told me right after he found out.”

Learning that the two of them really did know the post from last year was only based on false events made me feel much more at ease. It was as if I were able to take a breath of fresh air for the first time in a long time, and I realized that while it may not be easy to just yet, I could honestly trust them.

“So is that why you sat next to noona then?” Jimin asked.

Namjoon hesitated for a moment. “I mean, it's one reason why I didn't automatically dislike her. In all honesty, I had entered the classroom right after her and saw that when she sat down the students sitting next to her left. It made me angry, so I just decided on the spot I wanted to sit next to her. But also – I said this before and I'll say it again – I don't care about rumors and gossip in the first place.”

“Okay,” Taehyung interrupted. “So, what I’m gathering is that this Eunjung and Yunhee are royal bitches and made a post on the school forum making you look bad?”

I hummed. “More or less, yeah.”

“So, if what they posted is untrue why don’t you just tell everyone?” Taehyung added, treating it like that was the easiest thing ever.

“You don’t think I tried?” I responded. “I tried, I really did. No one would believe me. I mean, why would they? They didn’t just make fun of me. They made me out to be this really bad person. Someone who, if what they were claiming was true, wouldn’t be entirely undeserving of how I started to be treated.”

“But you’re not,” Jimin said. “You’re nothing like what they said.”

“Can I ask?” Taehyung asked hesitantly. “What did happen?”

“(Y/n),” Yunhee singsonged as she sat next to me.

I hummed in response, barely paying attention to what was going on. Suddenly, she poked me in my side, making me jump and yelp. “Hey! What was that for?”

“You’re not paying attention to me,” my closest friend pouted. “But now that I do have your attention, tell me who it is.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Who what is?”

“Oh, come on! I know that look!” She scooted closer to me, grabbing my arm. “You got a crush on someone, don’t you?”

I pursed my lips together as I felt heat rise to my cheeks before answering with a small nod.

Yunhee squealed. “I knew it! Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“I-It’s no one,” I said, hesitant to admit my secret to her. Despite being friends for five years, I couldn’t help but still be afraid of what she would say.

She whined in disappointment. “Oh! I know, why don’t I try guessing who it is?” She hummed as she thought of her first guess. “Is it that guy who sits next to us in math?”

“Nope.”

“How about the guy-”

“Nope.”

“Is it that boy-”

“No!” I laughed. “It’s not any of them.”

“How do you know?” she pouted again. “You didn’t even hear who I was guessing.”

“Don’t need to, they’re wrong,” I shrugged.

She playfully glared at me. “Well if you won’t let me guess then you can at least just tell me who it is. The suspense is killing me!”

I contemplated it for a moment, wondering if it would really be okay to tell her. Well, five years of friendship couldn’t mean nothing, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt. “It’s um… Someone from my literature class.”

“Ooohhhhh, what’s his name?” she bounced up and down a few times in excitement.

“Um…. H-her name is Eunjung,” I said, feeling nervous now that it was out there and I couldn’t go back.

“Huh?” Yunhee said, suddenly no longer as excited as she was before.

Maybe this was a mistake. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” I started standing up, ready to walk away and just pretend like that never happened, but her grip on my arm kept me from leaving.

She laughed nervously. “No, no, don’t leave!” she said. “I’m sorry, I just… I wasn’t expecting that. I never knew that about you.”

“Well, it’s not exactly something I can just go around telling everyone,” I said, nervously rubbing the back of my neck. “Not that you’re just anyone! It’s just… I wanted to wait to tell you and then it just kind of never came up or was relevant and I somewhat forgot about mentioning it.” I paused, waiting to see if she would say something. When she didn’t, I asked, “Are you weirded out, or-“

“Oh, no! No I’m not,” she smiled at me. “Don’t worry! But anyway, have you talked to her? This Eunjung?”

“Not really,” I replied, relaxing. “I haven’t really had the guts to yet.”

“Well, you should! You can’t exactly ask her on a date if you don’t talk to her first, right?” Yunhee said.

“You think I should talk to her? I don’t know, how am I even supposed to know if I’m her type?”

“Can’t know until you try!” Yunhee singsonged.

With her encouragement, I eventually worked up the courage to strike a conversation with Eunjung, and we ended up getting along really well. Casual conversations about class turned into getting to know each other. Short text conversations turned into staying up late talking for hours. The more I talked to her, the more I found my distant crush turning into real feelings for her.

And the more time we spent together, the more I paid attention to the little things she did. When she would let her hand linger on my arm just a little longer, when I’d look over to her to see her already staring at me, when she’d naturally and casually wrap an arm around my waist while we walked. I was worried the signals I was seeing were all my imagination or that I was exaggerating them, but they started becoming so frequent I figured there was no way they could be. So one day, I worked up the courage to ask.

“Do you want to go to dinner with me?” I rushed out as Eunjung was walking toward my door to leave.

She turned around, tilting her head while she processed my words. “Dinner?”

“Y-yeah,” I replied, suddenly embarrassed.

“You mean… like a date?” Eunjung asked as she slowly walked back in my direction.

I tried to not show my surprise at her clarification. “If- If you want it to be,” I said so quietly I would have been surprised if she heard it.

But she did, and she smiled at me. “Yes. I’d love to go to dinner with you.”

We scheduled a date, and I found a decent enough restaurant that wouldn’t completely break my bank account to take her out to. Despite being super nervous at first, I quickly relaxed when she acted just the same as she always did with me. We had a really nice dinner, followed by a stroll around a park where she took the initiative to hold my hand as we walked side by side. At the end of the date we went back to the dorm building, and I dropped her off at her room first.

“Thank you for tonight,” I said, a big smile on my face. “I had a really nice time.”

“I should be thanking you for planning such a nice date,” Eunjung said, taking my hand in hers.

I felt a blush paint my cheeks. “It was nothing.” I lifted our joined hands, smiling dumbly at the sight and rubbed small circles into the back of her hand.

When I looked back up at her, I barely had time to even see what was happening before she leaned in and placed her lips on mine. It was a short, gentle kiss. But I loved it, nonetheless.

“So, could I take you out again sometime?” I asked as she opened the door to her room

Passing through the doorway, she turned around and hummed before saying, “How about I let you know tomorrow?”

I was so elated that night. I had been on a few dates before, but I had never felt like any of them had gone as well as that. It was crazy and dangerous, how quickly I found myself falling for this girl. The last thing she said played in my mind as a promise that we would continue seeing each other, and I went to sleep so happy and looking forward to what was to come.

But the next day, my elation quickly dissipated when things seemed really off on campus. All over school, people were whispering and I was pretty sure many kept staring at me. I wasn’t one to feel paranoid, but something was weird and I just couldn’t shake off a bad feeling.

It was when I walked into my first classroom and it went deathly silent so quickly that I really knew something was wrong. Having noticed that many people were also glued to their phones, I thought the most likely place for whatever it was that was making everyone act like that would have been the school forum.

Sitting in my seat and logging in, I found the most popular post at the top where my name was prominently placed in the title along with words that I could hardly even believe. I suddenly felt sick, and I hadn’t even read the actual post yet. Without caring what other people would think about it, I picked up my bag and hurried out of the class, heading toward the closest bathroom and locking myself in a stall.

LESBIAN STUDENT PARK (Y/N) SEXUALLY HARASSES PEER

Needing to find out what could have possibly led to that title, I began to read through the words and what I found was unbelievable. The post claimed that after befriending another girl – whose identity wasn’t revealed – I started putting unwanted advances on her, until eventually pressuring her into going on a date.

It continued to claim that I kept being touchy throughout dinner and on our walk, making her continuously feel uncomfortable. And best of all, the post claimed that when I took her back to her room I forced her to kiss me, and tried to force even more on her – things that I would never do and couldn’t even imagine. It said that she managed to get me off of her before she rushed into her room and cried herself to sleep.

The further into the post I got, the more my hands shook and the blurrier my vision became as tears clouded my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The whole time I was nothing but respectful and kept my distance until I was sure that it seemed like she was looking for the same thing I was.

She had been sending me hints. She was the one who clarified that when I asked her to dinner it was a date and said she’d ‘love to go’ with me. She held my hand. She kissed me. I let her control the pace, handed the reins to her so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. So what was all of this?

After spending who knows how long getting over my initial shock and I was starting to be able to think a little more clearly, I noticed something a bit odd about the post.

There were pictures.

A picture of us eating dinner, of us holding hands in the park, of our kiss outside her room. Her face was blurred in every one, but of course mine was fully visible for anyone to see. How were there pictures? If there were pictures… Someone had to have followed us. I went over anything else I could remember from last night to see if something stood out. Then I remembered our last exchange.

‘So, could I take you out again sometime?’

‘How about I let you know tomorrow?’

It clicked. She planned this. She planned this from the start. She said that because she knew this post would be on the forum and it would be her answer – a blatantly obvious ‘no way in hell.’ But, why? How?

I scrolled all the way back up the page to look at the username of the person posting. Our usernames were assigned by the school and contained our real names, a measure to prevent us from abusing the forums.

I felt sick all over again when I saw the username NYunhee427.

The room was silent after I finished explaining what had happened last year.

Taehyung was the first to break it. “That is… absolutely disgusting.” He said. “Why would anyone do that?”

I shrugged. “To be honest, I’m not sure why. I mean, I guess I just found out why Eunjung did. Leave it to me to get a crush on a girl who’s homophobic,” I laughed humorlessly. “But as for Yunhee? I still don’t know. When I talked to her, she didn’t give me a reason. She just confessed that after I started talking to Eunjung, she told her about my crush and they decided to start this plan. So from the start, Eunjung purposely pretended like she was interested in order to bait me.”

“It still baffles me,” Jin chimed in. “I don’t agree with her point of view, but I disagree even more with the way she did things. If she wasn’t interested, she should have just told you no and walked away. But to purposely fool you, and then tell everyone that you harassed her when that didn’t happen at all?”

“It’s sick,” Jimin said, his voice muffled from where his head was buried in my hair.

“Oh and another star to go into the inaccuracies column,” I added, “is that I’m not a lesbian, I’m bisexual. Yunhee should have known that, but I don’t know. Maybe she thought me talking about boys before was all fake? Or maybe she figured calling me a lesbian would make a bigger impact.”

“She’s such a royal bitch,” Jimin said, pulling himself away from me for the first time since he sat down. “I still can’t stand that she did that to you.”

“Didn’t anyone question why there were pictures?” Taehyung asked out of nowhere. He must have been thinking about it for a bit.

“Oh yeah, some people noticed that was weird,” I said. “But Yunhee just said that Eunjung told her about what I was ‘doing’ to her and asked her to follow us just in case she needed help.”

“Oh yeah because that makes sense,” Taehyung said. “Her going to your supposed friend for help.”

I shrugged. “People didn’t think that far.”

“And people wouldn’t listen,” Seokjin said. “They believed Yunhee and the post because there was ‘photo proof.’ They didn’t care what we said to tell them it wasn’t true.”

I looked over at Seokjin. “We?”

“Well,” Namjoon said, “I’m sure it’s not really a surprise that it was something the students wouldn’t shut up about for a while. People would say stuff to us or around us and we would voice our oppositions, but they didn’t care. They’d say we were blind and stupid. When in reality, that’s exactly what they were.”

“Thank you,” I found myself saying. “For trying.”

Seokjin offered me a small smile. “I’m sorry I never talked to you before. I saw how others would treat you when they did, and I figured you wouldn’t believe that a stranger was on your side so easily.”

I smiled back. “You’re right, I wouldn’t have believed you. To be honest, I still had trouble believing you guys up until today. I wanted to, but I just had too many bad experiences since that day to fully trust anyone other than Chim. I’ve built up walls, and I don’t know if I can just suddenly take them down, but knowing all this now I can at least say that I’m glad I didn’t push you guys away.”

“Well,” Seokjin said, “if you want those walls broken down, we’d be more than happy to help.”

Seokjin really wasn’t joking. Within the last month, the three of them fully absorbed both me and Jimin into their friend group. Rarely did I eat at the cafeteria without at least two others now, and Jin especially seemed really adamant about bringing me out of my shell.

While all of them were very welcoming and nice, there had really been a huge shift with Seokjin in particular. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been friendly with me before, but ever since everything was laid out on the table there hadn’t been a day where he didn’t at least contact me, if not spent some time with me in person.

Today was no different–yet again, I found myself at Daydream Café. The biggest thing that had kept me away from this place within the last year was the fact that Yunhee and I loved to hang out here together. I had found myself here only one time after everything had happened and I felt lonelier than ever, suddenly having no one to share my time with.

But now things were a bit different. I could still feel the weird looks from other students here and there, but I wasn’t alone. I was with my new friends–a term that I was still getting used to thinking. Taking a sip of my drink, I looked across the table at Seokjin who gave me a smile. Next to him were Hoseok and another friend we had been introduced to, Yoongi. And next to me sat Jimin.

“What was up with that girl sitting with you in the cafeteria earlier today?” Hoseok asked, taking a bite of the pumpkin-flavored desert we were all sharing.

I shrugged. “Who knows. Apparently she’s a freshman and somehow heard that I’m into girls but not about what everyone thinks of me. She was pretending to flirt and be interested.”

“Maybe she actually was interested,” Seokjin said, only half serious.

I laughed. “Yeah, right. After how many girls have come up to me saying, ‘I hear I’m your type. Let’s go on a date,’ in the past year, I can tell when they’re full of shit. And trust me, she was.”

“Good thing she didn’t stick around when we got there, then,” Jimin said.

“She was so unbelievably awkward as soon as you sat down, Jimin,” Hoseok laughed.

I observed as Yoongi smiled softly at Hoseok while he laughed. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but I felt like there was something there that I was missing.

After Hoseok stopped laughing Yoongi looked at me, raising his eyebrows. “Why do you keep staring like that?”

I felt my cheeks heat up, embarrassed at being caught. “S-Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude.”

“Just go ahead and ask,” Yoongi said.

It was my turn to be curious. “What do you mean? Ask what?”

“I see you trying to figure out what’s going on with me and Hoseok,” he answered.

“Oh!” Hoseok said. “I guess we haven’t mentioned it, huh? Sorry, we’re just kinda used to everyone around us knowing.” Hobi lifted his hand from where it was under the table, showing that it was entwined with Yoongi’s. “Yoongi hyung is my boyfriend,” he said.

“Ah, that makes a lot of sense,” Jimin said. “How long have you two been together?”

“Three and a half years,” Yoongi said casually as he pulled their hands back underneath the table. “We’re not usually very obvious about it.”

“Yeah,” Hoseok said, mouth turning downward a little. “Can’t always be sure how people will react.”

“Don’t I know that all too well,” I said, staring at my drink sitting on the table, and Jimin placed a comforting hand on my back. I felt something brush against my free hand on the table and looked up a little to see Jin gently placing his warm hand on top of mine.

“Well, you don’t need to ever worry about that with us,” Seokjin said, giving a soft smile.

“And for the record,” Hoseok said nervously, “Yoongi and I don’t believe what everyone else says about you, either. Just in case we haven’t made that clear already.”

I felt a smile slowly grow on my lips. “Thank you.”

“Well, I should be getting to class,” Yoongi said, finishing his iced americano and pushing his chair back.

“I’ll walk you, hyung,” Hoseok said, standing up with Yoongi. “We’ll see you guys later!”

As they waked away, Hoseok waving goodbye, I could feel Jimin shifting around next to me.

“And I promised Jungkook I’d give him a call,” Jimin said. For some reason, he kept moving his gaze between me and Seokjin as he talked. “So, I’m going to get going now. Bye!”

Before I could blink, he got up and rushed to the door, leaving just me and Seokjin left at the table.

Jin seemed to be as flustered as me by his sudden exit, taking a moment to register what happened. “Alrighty then,” he finally broke the silence before removing his hand from mine and taking a sip of his tea. “Who’s Jungkook?”

“Oh, he’s Jimin’s best friend from back home,” I said. “He’s younger than Jimin, so he’s still in high school.”

“Ah, okay,” Jin replied before we fell into a bit of silence.

With it now just being the two of us and the comfortable quiet that hung in the air, I started to feel more conscious of the other people around us. Particularly of the next table over where a girl was whispering quite loudly with some choice words to describe me with.

I could tell Jin heard it as well, seeing him instantly tense up. “Why don’t we get going?” he offered, acting nonchalant. I just nodded in response before gathering my things and walking outside into the chilly autumn air.

As soon as we were out the door, Jin started striking up a random conversation with me. He was always doing this. Whenever we’d hear people talking about me or someone would say something to me, he made it a habit to start talking about something else as soon as possible.

I knew he did it to keep my mind off of what was said. By this point, there wasn’t really any more emotions for me to get out or work through with the situation–it had been going on for so long. So instead of going the ‘let’s talk about this’ route, Jin would do what he could to keep my mind off of it as much as possible.

But this time, I just found myself thinking about something else, instead. While Jin was rambling on about something–I think I heard him complaining about something to do with his business management course–I was examining his face, trying to will his inner thoughts and feelings to write themselves on his skin so I could understand him and why he did this.

At some point, he had stopped rambling and turned to me, apparently waiting for me to answer a question I hadn’t heard.

I blinked, refocusing my attention to reality. “Sorry, what was that?” I asked.

Jin gently shook his head. “I know you weren’t listening,” he said, but he didn’t sound accusatory, just understanding. “What’s on your mind, (Y/n)?”

Put on the spot, I wasn’t sure how to voice my thoughts. Seokjin waited patiently while I tried to put them together, and then contemplated if I really should say them out loud.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Jin assured, noticing my hesitance. “But I want you to know that you can trust me. I hope I’ve done enough to prove that to you.”

“You definitely have,” I said, barely audible. “I just… Sorry, I’m having trouble putting my thoughts together.” Jin nodded in understanding, remaining silent while he waited for me to continue. I took a few moments, looking around at the trees colored in reds and yellows while I figured out how to voice my thoughts. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out why you try so hard.”

Jin stopped in his tracks suddenly, eyeing me curiously. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“You’re just always putting such an effort into trying to make me feel comfortable and welcome,” I elaborated. “Even just now, I know you were only talking about random things to keep my mind off of what other people were saying.”

“Well, that’s what friends do, don’t they?” Jin asked, still clearly confused about why I had to point it out. “We are friends, right?”

“Yes. At least, I hope we are,” I answered bashfully. I looked forward as I continued walking. “But I wonder if you do it because you feel some kind of… obligation to be nice to me. Maybe to try to make up for what I’ve been experiencing.”

“(Y/n),” Seokjin said, placing a hand on my shoulder and turning me toward him, making us stop once again. “Is that what it seems like to you?” His voice was gentle and his expression full of concern.

I shrugged, staring at my feet. “I just worry. I told you it would be hard for me to accept all this for a while.”

“Well, let me put your mind at ease,” Jin said, lifting my chin with his forefinger. “As much as I wish you never had to experience everything you’ve gone through the past year, I don’t feel any obligation toward you. Everything I do for you, I do because I consider you my friend and I care about you. If you need me to back off a bit, I will do that for you. But I can’t tell you how much I’ve been enjoying spending time with you this year so far.”

Jin moved the hand on my shoulder to the middle of my back to gently usher me forward and continue on our way, dropping it away once we were walking again. “Every time I spend time with you, I see that wall of yours slowly come down. A little more of your personality, the part of you that you’ve kept hidden from everyone comes out and it makes me so happy to see, and I realize that I really like who you are a little more each time. I know you haven’t shown us the entire real you yet, but I can’t wait for the day that you do.”

Looking at him, I could see him smiling softly and his eyes full of… something. Care? Adoration? Whatever it was, it made his eyes look like they were sparkling and I found myself both wanting to never look away and too embarrassed to keep looking. I managed to give him a smile before ultimately tearing my gaze away with a blush on my cheeks and feeling my heart race. How seeing him like that made me feel was definitely something I wasn’t going to be examining anytime soon.

“Thank you, Jin oppa,” I said, barely above a whisper. “I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say something that sounded that sincere to me in a long time.

We walked the rest of the way back to the dorms in comfortable silence, while I hoped Jin couldn’t tell the battle going on inside my head to keep thoughts that shouldn’t be there out. If I were honest with myself, it wasn’t the first time those kinds of thoughts surfaced in my mind. But I couldn’t let them take hold at all. I’d found new friends, and I wasn’t going to ruin it by letting my heart run off with fantasies at one of the first people to show me kindness like Jin has.

If only that was as easy to control as I wanted it to be.

Seokjin walked me back to my door first and before I could even think about the words, I asked, “Do you want to come in for a little bit?” I internally grimaced at myself for not being able to control my tongue.

Jin however, seemed pleased with my offer when he smiled and said, “Of course.”

This was the first time I had openly invited any of my new friends into my dorm. Luckily,  I was a relatively clean person so there weren’t any big messes around for me to fix and he wasn’t going to get an accidental look at my underwear selection.

After taking a quick look around, Jin made himself comfortable on the lone couch in the corner. “You keep your room nice and clean,” he commented, seeming to approve. “I wish you could rub that off on Joon. I’m the only reason our room isn’t a disaster.”

I chuckled as I poured us both some water from the kitchenette. “If you couldn’t get him to be more organized after being with each other for your whole lives, I don’t think I can do much.” I handed him his glass as I sat next to him.

Jin threw his head back when he laughed heartily. “That’s very true.”

I was surprised at how easily the two of us settled into conversation, chatting literally about anything. The nervousness I initially felt when I invited him in without thinking was soon long gone and replaced by a comforting warmth, wrapping around me like a blanket that I never wanted to let go of.

“You’re kidding!” I laughed when Jin recounted the story of when Namjoon found out about Hoseok and Yoongi’s relationship.

“I’m serious!” he said. “He walked into the room and saw them kissing, screamed like a little girl and ran down the hallway, tripping and knocking over this jade statue my mom had. He fell flat on his face and started crying.”

I doubled over sideways onto the couch as I couldn’t stop laughing, holding onto my stomach. “Oh my gosh, he must have been mortified.”

“Oh, he was,” Jin said, having a hard time talking between his own fits of laughter. “So were Hobi and Yoongi. They thought he was uncomfortable about them, but it turned out he was just shocked and utterly embarrassed about catching them. And then even more embarrassed by his fall.”

“That is definitely one way for your friends to find out about your relationship,” I mused as I righted myself and calmed down. I turned to look at Jin, whose gaze was already on me with a bright smile.

“There she is,” he said quietly.

I tilted my head, confused. “What do you mean?”

“The you behind that wall.” Jin reached his hand out to brush back some of my hair that had fallen in my face during my laughing fit and rested it on my cheek. “I’m really happy to see the real you come out like that.”

I felt my face flush while I tried to not smile too much. There was that look in his eyes again–the one that made them sparkle. Something about it was so captivating that I couldn’t look away, and Seokjin didn’t seem to want to break the eye contact anytime soon.

“I don’t want to overstep,” Jin started, seeming to think carefully about each word that left his mouth, “but I also want to be honest with you.” He took in a deep breath before continuing. “(Y/n), I-”

My ringtone rang out into the room, interrupting whatever it was Seokjin was about to say and bursting the bubble that was created around us. With a quiet sigh, Jin dropped his hand away from where it still rested against my cheek.

After shaking off the fuzzy feeling that had invaded my mind, I recognized the song playing as the one I set for Jimin. “Hey Chim, what’s up?” I asked when I answered the call.

“Noona, where are you right now?” he responded, sounding out of breath.

There was an urgency in his voice that made me concerned. “I’m in my room. Why? Is something wrong, Chim?”

“Okay, good,” he said. “Just- just stay there, okay? Don’t go anywhere. I’m on my way.”

“Jimin, what is going on?” I asked again, entirely confused.

“I’ll explain when I get there. Just trust me when I ask you to not leave your room, okay? And don’t go on the school forum or Twitter or anything. I’ll be there in five minutes, tops.”

He hung up the call before I had the chance to ask anything else, leaving me an utterly bewildered mess.

I looked at Jin who, being close enough to have heard the call as well, looked just as confused as me.

“What was that about?” he asked, but it wasn’t really directed towards me.

“I have no idea,” I said, trying to revisit the conversation in my head. “He said he’s on his way here and to… not look at the school forum.”

As soon as the words left my mouth Seokjin was on his phone, most likely doing exactly what Jimin asked me not to. It only took a few moments for his fingers to stop in their tracks, his face looking shocked before quickly changing into anger.

“Yeah, don’t check the school forum, alright,” he mumbled. “What the fuck is this girl’s problem?”

With his reaction, I quickly went to take a look myself. When I made it to the forum, I had no trouble finding the post that Jimin obviously didn’t want me to see. It would have almost felt like déjà vu, if my initial reaction this time hadn’t been to laugh incredulously.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, scoffing.

Sitting prominently on the first page of the forum was a post titled ‘PARK (Y/N) FINDS ANOTHER VICTIM TO PREY ON,’ posted by Yunhee. Skimming through the post, I saw a picture of me and another girl sitting in the cafeteria. I didn’t really care about the contents because I knew it was full of nothing but lies. But looking closely at the picture, I was able to recognize the other girl even though her face was blurred.

“That’s the girl we were talking about earlier,” I told Jin. “The one who sat with me before Jimin and Hoseok got there.”

“Well, that’s just great,” he said, running a hand through his hair and clearly frustrated.

It wasn’t long before there was a knock at my door and I heard Jimin’s voice calling through to let me know it was him.

I got up to open the door and he hurried in, swiftly closing and locking the door behind him. “Noona, you haven’t looked at the forum, have you?” he rushed out.

I showed him my phone which was still in my hand, and he sighed.

“I told you not to look,” he said, concern lacing his features.

“Well,” Seokjin said, making Jimin jump in surprise since he hadn’t noticed him yet, “if you explicitly say, ‘don’t look on the forum,' it kind of makes us curious about what was on the forum.”

“Hyung! I didn’t know you were here.” My brother relaxed a little. “Well at least you weren’t by yourself when you saw it,” he said, looking at me closely. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Chim,” I answered. “I’m more in disbelief than anything. I don’t get why she’s doing this again.”

“Show me your class schedule,” Jimin said suddenly.

I raised my eyebrows at him. “Why?”

“Because you’re not going anywhere alone,” he said. “I need to know your schedule, and I’m going to talk to our friends and see how we can arrange that.”

I sighed. “Jimin, I told you not to try to be my bodyguard-”

“Yeah, that was before this-” he pointed at his phone, where he had the forum open as well “-happened. Things are a bit different now.”

“How?” I asked. “It’s not like people ever stopped bothering me, and they will keep doing it now.”

“You told me just a few days ago that it’s calmed down a lot since last semester,” Jimin said. “But this post is going to make it worse again, just like when the post last year went up. And I am not letting you go through that alone again.”

Not knowing what to say, I turned to Jin in hopes of some assistance.

“Sorry, (Y/n),” Jin said. “I actually agree with Jimin. That’s probably why she did this. She wants people to start bothering you again. For what reason, I don’t know. But if you think I won’t go out of my way to make sure you have one of us with you as much as possible, then you clearly don’t know how much I care about you.”

I could have sworn I saw a smirk appear on Jimin’s face for a moment, but it was gone so fast I couldn’t tell if I imagined it or not. “Well, that’s settled then. Let’s see if we can get everyone here and come up with a plan.”

I sat down, giving into their insistence. While I had gotten more or less used to everything by now, imagining things going back to being just as bad as they were those first few weeks after the original post made my stomach drop—even more so when I imagined having to go through it on my own again. I knew there wasn’t much I could do, so I figured I should be happy with the fact that I had people to help me this time.

But there was one thing I knew I wanted to do. I needed answers, and I was going to get them one way or another. I needed to talk to Yunhee.

“Noona, I’m not letting you do this alone,” Jimin insisted once again as I walked down the hallway.

“Jimin, I have to,” I responded. “This is something I need to talk to her about on my own. If I bring you in there with me, it’s only going to make it look like I can’t handle it myself.”

It had been four days since Yunhee posted to the forum again and what Jimin expected was exactly what happened. People were so much more vocal about their thoughts about me, not even bothering to whisper their accusations and choice words. Whenever I was alone—which was mostly during classes—it was the worst. But between Jimin, Seokjin, and the others, we were able to work out a way for one of them to walk me between each class and be with me almost all of the time.

Hoseok had also talked his parents into letting me eat at the café for lunch and dinner. They had a private room in the back where they would rest and eat, and his dad was kind enough to make some extra portions for me. They didn’t even need us to explain the situation, having heard gossip from the students who frequented the café. And luckily, they already knew from their son how untrue it all was so they were more than willing to help me out.

I had already known which room in the dorm was Yunhee’s, having visited it many times before, so all I had to do was wait for a time when she was in her room so I could confront her. I knew for sure she was there right now, and I was more than eager to find out what her issue was and try to put a stop to all of this.

I paused in front of her door about to knock, when Jimin grabbed ahold of my arms to stop me again. “Are you sure I can’t come in with you?”

“Please, Chim,” I said. “I want to do this on my own. I need to.”

He sighed and slowly let go of his grip on me. “Alright, fine. But I’m staying right here. You call for me if you need me, understand?”

“I will,” I said, figuring I wouldn’t need him but knew agreeing would put him at ease. “Thank you.” I offered him a smile in gratitude before I took in a breath and finally knocked on her door.

“I know it’s you, (Y/n),” I heard Yunhee call from inside. “I heard you talking.”

“Well, then you know why I’m here,” I said firmly. “And we need to talk. You might want to let me in before I make a scene out here in the hallway.”

There was silence for a few moments before the door clicked as she unlocked it, slowly opening it to allow me in.

After I walked in and she shut the door behind us, Yunhee leaned against it and crossed her arms. “Well?” she asked. “What is it you feel like you need to say.”

I felt anger boiling in my stomach. “You know exactly what I’m here to talk about,” I said, clenching my fists. “You know just as well as I do that everything you posted, the other day and last year, is bullshit.”

Yunhee shrugged. “Well, they’re already out there, so I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“Why would you even post them in the first place?” I asked. “You and Eunjung did enough damage last year, and I know it must have been you who asked that freshman to approach me the other day. Why would you do all of this?!”

Yunhee didn’t answer; she just looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“I haven’t done any of the things that either of those posts claimed, and you damn well know it.” I took in a deep breath to try to calm down a little and gather my thoughts. “I still don’t understand why you started this, Yunhee. I considered you my best friend. When I opened up to you about my orientation, I didn’t think you’d just throw five years-worth of friendship out the window and stab me in the back.”

“Stab you in the back?” Yunhee pushed herself away from the door. “Well, I felt like you stabbed me in the gut. For five whole years you couldn’t tell me that you were into girls?”

“I told you why I didn’t say anything before then. And apparently it was for good reason, seeing how you plotted against me with a homophobe and just tossed me aside when I did!” I rubbed my face with my hands in frustration. “Did I really disgust you that much that you felt all of that was necessary?”

“Disgust?” she asked, walking toward me. “No, (Y/n). You are completely missing the mark here. What happened was that the moment you decided it was appropriate to come out to me, it just had to be when you had found some other random girl—who you hadn’t even talked to at that point, might I add—to fawn over. In all the years I knew you, I never thought that you would have even looked at a girl like that. But you did, and instead of being someone that you knew and who cherished you, it had to be some random chick?!”

“W-What?” I had to run the last sentence she said through my head again to really understand the meaning behind her words. “No way. Were you- were you jealous?”

“Yes, I was jealous!” Yunhee admitted. “Here I was, thinking there was no way you could care about me the way I cared about you, that I was absolutely not your type. But then I found out I was wrong in the same breath that you confessed your crush on some other girl. Of course I'd be jealous!”

Taken aback, I needed a moment to absorb the new information before I could respond. “Well first of all, it's not like you ever told me that you were into girls either-"

“How could I when you were the only girl I had eyes for and I thought it was hopeless?” Yunhee said.

“Okay, I can see your point there,” I said. “But you could have told me after I was open about it! It didn't have to be the same day or even soon after but, Yunhee, there were so many things you could have done instead of letting your jealousy drive me away and make up lies about me!”

“I didn't know what else to do!” She shouted, flailing her arms in the air. “You clearly weren't interested in me like that and I was just so angry.”

“You said you cared about me as more than a friend, but that didn’t stop you from kicking me to the curb and starting all these rumors that not only alienated me but made me look like I was some terrible person when I hadn’t done anything wrong! That doesn’t exactly look like the actions of someone who cares. Did you even feel bad at all?”

“Of course I did,” she almost mumbled. “When I started it, I just wanted you to feel rejected, like how I did. The date and the post were all Eunjung’s idea. I had let Eunjung use my account to post it, and I didn’t know she was going to go that far with it. Once I read through it after it was posted, I felt really bad for what she said about you.”

“Why didn’t you just talk to me, Yunhee?” I asked, finally taking a seat on her couch. “I can understand you feeing jealous, but you didn’t need to let your jealousy govern your actions. I was going to be rejected by Eunjung either way. And I get you wouldn’t have known that, but if you honestly cared about me and considered me your friend, you could have waited. Maybe even opened up about your own preference in the meantime.

“And when I inevitably got hurt by Eunjung, you could have been there for me. Who knows, you might even have been able to get the courage to own up about your own feelings about me too. There are just so many things you could have done better, instead of all of this!”

I took a moment to breathe and collect myself, while Yunhee remained silent. She was still standing in the middle of the room staring at the ground, at least having the decency to look a little ashamed.

“And what about this new post?” I asked. “If what you said is all true it doesn’t make sense why you would do that again.” When she still remained silent, I took the time to think about it. The only encounter I had with her recently was the day in the park, before Seokjin and Namjoon told me what they knew and I told the story to Taehyung. Maybe… “Don’t tell me you got jealous again.” I guessed. “That I had found new friends.”

Yunhee turned away from me, seeming to refuse to answer. But that was all the answer I needed.

“You did!” I said. “What the hell, Yunhee?!”

“What?” she finally responded, whipping back around and anger lighting her expression. “I was supposed to be happy that you found some new people to be friends with? That I didn’t seem to matter to you anymore?”

I scoffed. “Oh, and I was just supposed to forget about everything you had done to me and come crawling back to you saying, ‘Oh Yunhee, I miss you. I forgive you, please be my friend again’? Why the hell would I do that?! You completely betrayed any trust I had in you. I didn’t know that the worst part was all Eunjung’s idea, so I’ll give you that. But what’s even worse is that you let her go along with it, and afterwards you didn’t say anything!

“You didn’t tell me that that part was all her and you didn’t know she’d say that. You never came to me to apologize or try to make amends. I wasn’t the one who needed to reach out here, Yunhee. It was you. I don’t know if you still feel like your reasons justified their actions, but let me tell you as the one who get the shit end of the stick, they didn’t.”

We were both silent for a few moments while she took in my words and I calmed down a bit. When I spoke again, my voice was much more relaxed. “If you were hoping for us to be friends again, you should have apologized. You should have told me everything you did just now, not because I dragged it out of you but in an effort to be honest and ask for a second chance. But if you were looking for one, that chance is now completely blown.”

She lifted her gaze from the floor, all the fire in her eyes gone. “I’m sorry,” she said so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.

“It’s too late to apologize to me now,” I said. “But I hope you will do better in the future. I don’t wish bad things on you, Yunhee. I just can’t forgive you for what you’ve done.” I sighed as I stood up to leave. “Thank you for finally being honest with me at least.”

Yunhee made no move to say anything else or stop me as I opened her door and left. As soon as the door to her room was closed again, Jimin wrapped me in a tight hug. I had no doubt he was able to hear almost everything that was said with how thin the walls here were.

“You did well, noona,” he said, giving me a kiss on the crown of my head. “I’m proud of you.”

The next day was luckily the weekend, and I wasn’t surprised at all to receive a text from Jin asking if he could stop by. Jimin had been the one to let the others know about my conversation with Yunhee, which I really appreciated. I needed some time to recover yesterday after what I had learned.

As for how people were treating me, I was clueless on what to do. As wrong as what she and Eunjung had done was, I wasn’t about to go telling the whole student body Yunhee’s secrets. Her sexual orientation, her personal thoughts and feelings, those were all her own business to tell. That luxury was taken away from me, and I knew that I didn’t want to do the same to anyone else.

Not to mention, I doubted anyone would even believe me anyway.

A light knock on my door sounded while I was eating my cereal. I opened it to let Seokjin in, and he followed me back to the kitchenette.

“How are you doing?” He gently asked.

I shrugged. “I’m fine. To be honest, I’m glad I have answers now. I’m no less upset with her but at least I know why she did it, even if it wasn’t right.”

Seokjin’s gaze when our eyes connected was so soft, it almost made me feel like I could melt. “I can’t imagine how hard all of this has been for you,” he said.

“I just wish she would have thought to react differently,” I said. “None of this would have happened if she just didn’t act on jealousy.” I sighed, briefly imagining how things could have been different. “But then again, I may not have become friends with you guys if none of this happened.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Jin said, taking a seat across from me. “Our brothers still would have met and would have inevitably gotten us to mingle.”

“We probably would have just been acquaintances,” I pointed out.

Seokjin chuckled. “Would going through everything the past year really have been worth it, though? Only to become friends with us?”

I honestly thought about the answer to that while I finished my breakfast. I spent a lot of time building up walls, being alienated and ridiculed. It hadn’t been easy at all to get through, and it still wasn’t. But if all of that was a dark tunnel, then the light at the end would’ve had to be the new friendships I made, especially with the man sitting across from me right now.

“Yes,” I decided. My eyes met Seokjin’s, and I could see the bit of surprise in them from my answer. “Even if the only way for me to have become friends with you was to go through that shitshow, I would do it all over again.”

There it was again, that sparkly look in his eyes. A wide smile slowly grew on his face. “You amaze me, (Y/n). Do you know that?”

“There’s nothing ‘amazing’ about me, oppa,” I said.

“You are amazing,” he countered. “Not everyone would have the strength to do what you did yesterday. Or to get through the last year as well as you have. You’re so much more than you give yourself credit for.”

Finding myself blushing at his words, I decided it was a good time to rinse out my bowl so he hopefully wouldn’t notice.

Once I was done I made my way to the couch, Seokjin following behind me. I sat down, but he remained standing close by for a moment, seeming deep in thought.

“Do you remember how I was about to tell you something the other day?” he suddenly asked. “Before Jimin called you.”

I racked my brain, pulling out the memory—mostly about how intensely he had been staring at me and how fast it made my heart beat. I cleared my throat before saying, “Yeah, I remember.”

“I think now it’s even more important for me to be honest with you,” Jin said. “And I think I know you well enough to tell, but I just want to make sure first. You’re not feeling emotionally vulnerable right now, right? I know that yesterday was a lot for you to take in, but you seem to be doing well today.”

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, wondering what this was about. “I mean, yeah. I’m not like in shock or dazed or feeling particularly vulnerable or anything. Why?”

“Because what I have to tell you is important but I want to be sure that whatever you have to say in response is honest and comes from your heart,” he said.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, becoming worried. “Did I-”

“No, absolutely not,” Jin assured me, gently smiling. “Nothing is wrong.”

I nodded in understanding, but didn’t say anything as I waited for him to continue.

Jin took in a deep breath before sitting next to me and gently taking my hand in his. “I told you the other day about how the more I get to see who you are beyond your wall, the more I realize how much I like you. I wasn’t exaggerating at all, (Y/n). I didn’t realize it at first, but my feelings toward you started to become less and less platonic the more I got to know you. And before I knew it, I started to really like you. Not just as a friend, but as something more.”

I felt my heart pounding in my chest. So that’s what that sparkle in his eyes was—the same one that prominently shined in his earnest gaze now. Butterflies had completely swarmed my stomach, making me almost feel dizzy from his confession. I could hardly believe it. After I had worked so hard to try to keep those same thoughts and feelings from taking root in my own heart, he had felt that way all along?

“I don’t expect you to feel anything more than friendship toward me,” he continued, “but I just feel like I need to be completely honest with you. I can continue to just be your friend, but I don’t want any secre-”

I couldn’t stop myself from closing the distance between us and placing my lips on his. I felt him hesitate, probably shocked at my actions, but he quickly relaxed into it and returned the kiss. Despite not letting go, neither of us made any move to deepen the kiss, keeping it soft and light.

Eventually, I pulled away just slightly and slowly opened my eyes. “You have no idea how I’ve been internally battling myself to not fall for you, oppa.” I spoke barely above a whisper, knowing he’d be able to hear me with how close our faces still were. “I was scared that I was looking too deeply into things and didn’t want to ruin the best thing that had happened to me in so long.”

“Oh, thank god,” Seokjin said, looking relieved. “I was worrying about it so much, especially after learning how Yunhee had kept her feelings a secret and I was scared that if I didn’t tell you and you eventually found out about it later then it’d cause problems between us. But then I was so scared about telling you because we haven’t known each other very long and what if you didn’t feel the same and-”

I cut off his rambling with a peck to his lips before chuckling. “Well now you know you don’t need to worry about any of that.” I pulled away to look at him, feeling practically giddy now that I let myself feel everything I had been holding back before.

He smiled, leaning forward a bit to let our foreheads touch. “I guess I don’t, huh?” he mused.

“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I mean I’m glad that we were actually on the same page, but even if I somehow managed to not develop feelings for you, I would have really appreciated the honesty.”

“Of course,” he replied as he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. He leaned in to connect our lips once again and I let myself get lost in the feeling of our mouths moving together, exploring each other for the first time.

Time had fallen away. It felt like only seconds had passed, but at the same time it felt like it could have been years that we spent connected at the lips. Tentative and careful touches started to grow more confident and certain until I was practically sitting in Jin’s lap, feeling lightheaded and out of breath.

And then my phone started ringing. Jin groaned in frustration as he broke our kiss, catching his breath. “That’s Jimin’s ringtone isn’t it?” he asked.

I was still too out of it to use my voice so I just nodded, planning on ignoring it as I trailed my lips from his jaw down his neck, not wanting to separate from him yet.

Seokjin didn’t seem fully opposed to that idea either as I let the phone ring until it went to voicemail. But it was only a few seconds later when it rang once more.

Sighing, Seokjin gently pushed me away from him. “I think you’d better answer that, babe. He probably isn’t going to stop calling.”

Despite what we were just doing, I blushed at how casually he used the pet name with me. Realizing he was probably right, I got up to retrieve my phone from the nightstand, answering just before it would have gone to voicemail.

“Yes, Jimin?” I asked, trying my best to not sound out of breath.

“Noona!” he yelled. “What took you so long to answer?”

I walked back to the couch and Jin wrapped his arms around my waist as I sat down, resting his head on my shoulder. “I was… busy.” I heard Jin snicker next to my ear. “Do you need something?”

“Check the school forum!” Jimin replied.

“The school- but why?” I asked.

“Just trust me,” he said. “There’s something there you need to see. I’ll be at your room in like ten minutes, so please make sure both of you are decent before I get there.”

I spluttered, wondering if he had some secret cameras set up in my room or something. “Wha-what are you talking about?” I managed to get out.

Jimin laughed on the other end of the phone. “I knew Jin hyung was coming to see you, and you were just vaguely and suspiciously saying you took so long to answer the phone because you were busy? Come on, noona, I wasn’t born yesterday.”

“We were not doing anything inappropriate!” I said.

“Yeah, we were just making out,” Jin added cheekily, earning a smack on the arm from me.

My brother laughed even harder. “I knew it!” He took a moment to calm down before saying, “Anyway, I really am going to head over. Check the forum, trust me. I’ll see you soon!” Jimin hung up swiftly.

“Alright, I guess we should check the forum this time,” I said as I navigated my way there on my phone.

The top post today yet again had my name in the title and was posted by Yunhee, but seemed vastly different from the previous ones. I clicked on the post titled ‘THE TRUTH ABOUT PARK (Y/N),’ finding myself completely shocked at what was inside.

Yunhee confessed every lie she told. Everything that was fabricated, even to the point of exposing that it was Eunjung who went on the date with me last year and lied about our interactions. She even admitted her reasoning on why she did it, saying that it wasn’t right for them to expose my sexuality to the whole school like that and that it was only fair that she exposed herself for what they had done.

My jaw dropped to the floor at the text displayed on my phone screen. “I can’t believe this,” I said, voice barely audible. “Did she seriously do this?”

“Unless we’re both hallucinating, she most definitely did,” Seokjin said, tightening his hold on me. When he placed a light kiss on my temple, I could feel the slight smile on his lips. “She may know she can’t take back what she had done and that you won’t forgive her, but she’s trying to make things right for you.”

“Yeah, I guess she is.” I surveyed the comments underneath where students expressed their outrage at Yunhee and how sorry they felt for criminalizing me over false rumors. “But now she’s going to be the one with fingers pointed at her and whispers behind her back.”

“She must have known that,” Jin said. “She knew it would be a price she had to pay for what she had done.”

I locked my screen and settled back into Seokjin’s embrace, feeling like an immense weight had just lifted off of my shoulders. I wouldn’t have to worry about facing my peers anymore. I could go outside, unconcerned of what people would say about me.

And best of all, I had people I cared about and who cared bout me to spend my suddenly new free time with. I had Seokjin.

After a few moments of relishing in the calm silence, Seokjin spoke. “So now that we’ve more than established how we feel about each other, and know that we can hang out without people bothering us, can I take you on a date?”

I smiled up at him before placing a quick peck on his lips. “I would love that.”

A/N - My first one-shot! I originally thought this would be about 10k but I ended up almost doubling that.. oops lol. I enjoyed writing it and I hope you guys like it as much as I do! Let me know what you think!

[probably-writing-x]

Knocked off guard.

Arón Piper x Reader

Request by @isthatmaryanna : the other one is with aron where he is like super stressed on the filming of season 4 and he ends up bumping the female reader on the set, she apologizes and he got very mad and stuff like that just because he is stressed, and then he finds out she’s new to the cast and is chris new love interest and he starts to get a crush of her and gets jealous when she’s filming scenes with christian till one day he kisses her when they are recording (Wrote this with Samuel instead of Christian so that it matches season 4🤍)

Gif is not my own

Requests are closed🤍

You’d never known nerves like this until today, they’d been basically eating away at you since you’d first woken up and they hadn’t ceased yet. You were terrified of the impression you’d make on your first proper day of filming for Élite and even more terrified of all of the things that could go wrong. You’d made sure to wake up early enough and try to get onto set within enough time but already found yourself rushing to catch up with the hectic schedule.

“Shit,” You mutter to yourself as you try to find your way back to where they’d told you to meet for your first call to makeup and hair.

You’re so busy trying to make sense of the timetable they’d given you that you don’t notice anybody else around you. Only stopping when you knock into one of them abruptly.

“Fuck!” They exclaim as the drink in their hand spills all down their outfit.

You recognised the clothes instantly as the Las Encinas uniform and realise painfully that you’d just made a first impression on one of your cast mates by knocking into them.

“I’m so so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going-“

“Clearly!” The boy scoffs, trying to pat down the wet patch now covering the front of his crisp white shirt.

“I’m so sorry, I’m-“ You stop as you glance up and recognise him as Arón, who played Ander in the show.

“I’m going to be late,” He rolls his eyes, “Just please try and keep your eyes ahead of you next time.”

With that, he takes off in the opposite direction as you try to regain composure and continue in the direction you’d been previously heading towards.

You reach hair and makeup and it relaxes you when the team are genuinely nice to you for the whole time. They ask you about your new role as Samuels love interest and you chat to them about everything they felt you should know about working on the show.

“No I don’t think we need to-“ A new voice speaks as the door opens and two guys walk in to have their hair and makeup done, “Hey! I don’t think we’ve met before.”

You stand up and recognise the boy as Omar, who played his same name character on the show, “Yeah, no, I don’t think we have. I’m (Y/n), I’m playing Savannah.”

“Yes! I completely forgot you were starting today!” Omar exclaims, “Well, I’m Omar, and this is Arón.”

You glance to the boy that had entered with him and notice him instantly as the boy you’d knocked into earlier. His eyes fall to his feet to avoid eye contact as he instead turns to sit down in one of the chairs to get his hair done.

“Dont worry about him,” Omar rolls his eyes, squeezing the boy’s shoulder, “Someone’s being a little grumpy today. Anyway, tell me about yourself. Have you done much acting before?”

Just like that, the impression you’d made on the cast so far seems to clearly improve. You chat to Omar and get up to the stage where it feels as though you’ve known each other for a lot longer than a matter of minutes.

“When are your first scenes?” Omar asks you, “I’ll walk you down to set if you like.”

“I think I have to be there in ten minutes, that would be great thank you!”

He agrees and the two of you head out to start walking towards where you’d first be filming for the day.

- - - - - -

You’re introduced to Itzan who was going to be your main love interest in the show. It’s a relief when he’s genuinely lovely to you and makes it easy to feel natural around him.

“I wouldn’t worry, this place is full of second chances,” Itzan shakes his head as he speaks Samuels line, “All of us here, we’re on at least our fifth chance.”

“Maybe I won’t do so bad then,” You smile, “Thank you, by the way.”

He readjusts his grip on his bag strap and nods bashfully to you, “It was nice to meet you, (Y/n).”

The director yells cut and somehow you find yourself finishing your first full scene of the day. It had gone a lot more smoothly than you’d expected. Especially having started the day by spilling hot coffee over one of your cast mates.

“Omar and Miguel to set for next scene,” One of the crew calls, you think they introduced themselves earlier but it was already becoming overwhelming to remember all of these new people.

You take your seat on one of the black canvas chairs and prepare to watch the scene unfold in which Guzmán and Omar share a heart to heart about Nadia, where Guzmán confesses everything he regrets about what happened between them and what he would’ve done if he’d have had another chance with her before she left. You’re soon joined by someone beside you in the next seat and glance over to recognise Arón on your right hand side.

“So, you’re the new cast member,” He comments, twisting open his water bottle, “You didn’t introduce yourself earlier.”

“I didn’t really have the chance,” You return, shifting a little in the chair beneath you.

He scoffs, “I was too busy being late and covered in coffee.”

“I did apologise,” You defend, still slightly nervous despite your hope of appearing somewhat confident.

“And I was stressed.”

The conversation falls flat and you let the silence remain as you watch the scene unfold.

- - - - - -

Over the next couple of days, you’re starting to get settled into the motions of things. You’re starting to remember everyone’s names and the crew have been complimenting you on some of your scenes. Itzan was a good screen partner to have, always making you laugh and giving you tips whenever he felt like you were uncertain.

You’re walking through the different sets when you stumble upon Arón in one of the rooms. Nobody was filming at the moment so you found yourself slightly bemused as you watch him flop face down onto the bed beneath him that was normally used as a bedroom in the show.

“You know the cameras aren’t rolling?” You comment, unsure as to why you bother speaking anyway, “Or did you just need to practise that scene?”

He turns his head and looks in your direction. The two of you had spoken very minimally over the past days as he’d clearly continued that stressed attitude ever since you first met. You’d gotten to the point where you simply treated it as him being completely rude. Even if you didn’t want to accept that.

“I just needed some peace,” He mumbles, shuffling on the duvet of the bed as his arms fall at either of his sides.

“Sorry, I’ll leave you,” You comment bashfully, going to walk away.

“How have you been finding it so far?”

It surprises you. Of course it does. Up until now you’d assumed that he simply just didn’t like you. Perhaps not.

“It’s been good, everyone’s been really friendly,” You smile, “And I think my scenes have been going well.”

“Yeah, they won’t stop telling us how great you are,” He scoffs, “Seems like you’ve made a good first impression.”

“Well, on most people.”

He’s silent this time.

“I should go,” You say, not wanting to say anything more that might ruin the nicest moment you’ve shared with him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so rude to you. I’ve just been a little stressed,” Arón admits, “I’m not really sure how to approach my storylines this season and I guess I’m just letting it get to me too much.”

“What do you mean?” You walk into the room and take a seat on the bed beside him as he shifts to sit up.

“I’ve always had such intense storylines, theres always something bad going on. But, this time, Anders actually happy - him and Omar are doing well for the first time in forever. I’m not really used to it,” He shakes his head, “Sorry, you don’t need to hear my acting problems.”

“Well, I guess I’m not the best person to give advice,” You start cautiously yet again, “But I would say that you should use exactly that. Anders not going to be used to it either, he’s never had that time where he’s simply been happy so he’d probably feel exactly the way that you do about having to act that story. Use that.”

He stays silent and you’re certain you’ve said the wrong thing.

“I’m sorry, I know that’s probably useless bu-“

“No, no, that makes sense,” He interjects, “Thank you.”

“Well, I should go, I asked Itzan if he’d run lines with me,” You explain, “See you later.”

“Yeah, bye (Y/n).”

- - - - - -

The next day, you’re filming your first kiss with Samuel. It sounded silly but you’d never been so nervous to film a scene - it would be the first time where you had to show that sort of affection on camera and it felt intimidating to say the least.

You’d been nervous all morning, for something so annoyingly simple.

You’re hurrying down towards your trailer when you knock into someone on the way.

“Fuck!” You exclaim as your water pours down you.

As irony would have it, it’s Arón stood in front of you.

“Looks like karma circled back round,” He smirks at the sight.

“Not now Arón,” You mutter, dashing off before he can say anything more.

It was harsh, you knew it was deep down. But you were so caught up in your own stress that you couldn’t really think of anything beyond that. You carried on towards your trailer and prayed they’d left you a spare uniform to change into if need be.

It’s ten minutes later when there’s a knock at your door and Arón is stood on the other side.

“Hey! Sorry about that, I should’ve been looking where I was going,” He comments, you’re too pressured to notice how he seemed slightly nervous.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” You rush to say as you search for the right script amongst your stuff.

“Are you okay?” He frowns, “You seem a little-“

“Stressed?” You finish for him as you turn around, his appearance relaxing you a little, “I’m sorry, I’ve just got my first kiss scene with Itzan today and I’m really nervous about it.”

He laughs gently, “Why? Do you like him or something?”

“What?” You scoff, “Of course I don’t. I just don’t want to fuck it up.”

“Okay...” Arón starts, “Well, wouldnt your character be nervous too? Maybe you should take your own advice and use that.”

You smirk at his attempts at helping, “Well, this is a real role reversal!”

He steps inside from where he’d been waiting in the doorway and smirks, “Or... you could just practise.”

“Practise?” You cock a brow, “What? Ask Itzan to kiss me before the cameras roll?”

Without any further introduction, Arón takes a stride forward until he’s close enough for you to understand his real intention. He leans in only ninety percent of the way, waiting for your approval to seal the last ten percent. When you do, his eyes flutter shut and his lips curl into a smile against yours.

“Was that your plan all along?” You mumble against his lips as he pulls away.

“We all need ways of coping with stress,” He smirks a little, “Is that so bad?”

You laugh and try to fight against the bold blush on your cheeks.

“And you have nothing to worry about. You’re a much better kisser than Omar.”

“Well, I was coming to get (Y/n) to set but looks like I’ve seen and heard much more than I needed to,” Omar raises his brows from where he stood at your door, “I’ll tell them you’ll be a little late. Close your fucking door next time!” He laughs and walks off.

“Any less stressed?” Arón cocks a brow at you.

“Maybe let’s try that again.”

[plaidstiel-wormstache]

Got a Good Feeling

This is a late entry for @atc74​‘s challenge - #Angelina’s Duets Reboot Challenge. Prompt: Something Bad - Miranda Lambert ft Carrie Underwood Word Count - 5454 Summary - Sam and Dean head to a bar for a night off, maybe they’ll get lucky, and who’s to say they won’t meet their matches? Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Fem!Reader, Carrie (OC). Warnings: gambling, fraud, potential violence, sex (nsfw) A/N: This is unbeta’d, all mistakes are my own (let me know if there’s a big one so I can fix it). There’s a mix of points of view, I’ve separated the scenes by ***

The eight ball spun towards the pocket, everyone seemed to be holding their breath, and then it bumped the corner and stopped short, almost resting on the precipice. “Fuck,” YN muttered. The bulky jock laughed out loud, an overly confident noise. He had to be compensating for his lack of skill… and maybe something else. “Double or nothing!” He announced, looking at YN, her grip on the pool stick tightening. She thought about it, glanced towards the bar and held up two fingers and then returned her attention to the jock. “Double or nothing,” She agreed, downing the last gulp of her beer. The jock looked a little surprised but nodded all the same, squared his shoulders and lined up his shot. The striped four ball was the last he needed to sink before moving on to the easy shot. He ripped back and pumped his arm, sending the four spinning. It didn’t look pretty, but it dropped into the pocket with the weight of his willpower. 

“What’s double for you sweetheart? I’ll take a night instead,” He laughed loudly when YN scrunched up her nose. She took a deep breath in and glanced towards the bar, waiting for him to focus his attention on the pool table again. “Where are those drinks?” She called out, holding up her hands in apology when the jock raised his pool cue from the table, leveling a heavy gaze at her for trying to distract him. He did a few practise moves and then pulled back, leaning heavy on the table, everyone around holding their breath, again.

Suddenly there was an outburst of noise and movement as the bartender smacked into his back, splashing the tray of drinks onto his shirt, someone nearby catching her before she fell over completely. “Whoa!” YN called along with everyone else standing around. “What the fuck!” The jock exploded, having scraped the cue along the table, connected with the white ball only for it to roll an inch. “Easy dude,” One of his friends tried to calm him down. “I just lost everything ‘cause of this dumb slut.” The guy yelled. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, let me get you a drink on the house.” She tried to make up. “Sorry? Do you know how much a porsche costs?” He was going red in the face and this bartender was now bending to pick up the glasses, ignoring him. “Hey! I’m speaking to you!” He yelled again, reaching for her, and before YN could launch herself over the pool table to stop him, a handsome man stepped in and caught his arm. He was tall and broad, a match for the aggravated jock. “You gonna hit her?” He accused, staring the jock down, his arm still held tight in this guy’s hand. “No I was gonna--!” The jock tried to wrench his arm out of the man’s hold, but this guy had a vice like grip. YN watched in awe as the sandy-haired man in  the well-worn canvas jacket put the jock in his place. She was almost too enthralled to notice the bartender being escorted towards the bar by an even taller man, his hair long, his shoulders broad, he’d be very intimidating if it wasn’t for the kindness in his eyes. 

“Give the lady her money and get out.” The tall guy growled, still holding the jock’s arm. “She hasn’t--” YN lined up the white ball easily and tapped it, landing the black and keeping the white just out of the pocket, then looked up with a grin on her face. She winked at the jock and held out her hand. “I believe that’s the porsche, sweetheart!” She threw the name back at him, fluttering her eyelashes. The jock snarled, literally snarled, at her. The man must’ve squeezed the Jock’s arm, because he whimpered and dove into his pocket. “Listen,” YN said, watching the pain with which the man withdrew his keys, “You can keep your porsche,” His eyes lit up, “But,” he looked wary, “You take out what’s on that amex you’ve been flashing around, and we’ll call it even.” She offered. “That’s not--” “Don’t be a dick, either give up the four-hundred k car out the front or take your card--” “The machine’s limit is two thou,” One of the people from the crowd called out. The Jock looked around at his friends and then conceded, pushing his keys into his pocket and pulling at his arm, still in the man’s hold. Both sets of eyes bore into the other as they sized up who might win if this turned into a fight, and the tall guy seemed not to think it was worth it; tossing the Jock’s arm back to him as he let go. The Jock pushed through the crowd to the ATM and puffed himself up as he slipped his wallet from his back pocket.

YN set her pool cue down in the middle of the table and began to empty the balls back onto the table, ready for the next people, and the tall, broad, sandy-haired, green-eyed, man helped her. “How ‘bout you give me a turn to swindle you out of that two thousand?” He said, a sly smile on his face. He was pretty and he knew it. “Hmm,” YN feigned thinking about it, “Nope,” She popped the P as she watched the denial only spur him on. “Guess it was just beginner’s luck then, huh?” He challenged. She scoffed, “I see through you--?” “Dean,” He introduced. “I see that bait, Dean, and I ain’t bitin’,” She said with a sly smile of her own. “Why don’t you let me get you a drink, you can watch me make my way round the room,” Singling out a few of the guys, “And then, you and me?” He gestured between the two of them. “Why don’t I buy me a drink, watch you lose, and call it a night?” She teased. “You want your money or not?” The Jock called out, impatient that he had to wait even a second more than he had. “You want to keep your porsche?” YN called back as she rounded the pool table. The jock held out her money and ripped it from her hand as she tried to take it, looking for the last laugh. She stared at him, jaw muscles flexing as she grit her teeth. She held out her hand for the money, the other hand clamped into a fist, knuckles white. He tried it again, looking around at his friends and laughing as he did. She grabbed at the front of his shirt with her outstretched hand and punched him hard on the nose. It hurt, it hurt more than it probably hurt him. But she was fast despite the pain, and grabbed the money as he reeled back, clutching at his face. “Now fuck off out of here,” She said bravely. He glared at her over his hands, threatening silently. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the hot guy standing behind her, but she couldn’t resist the urge that was building within her, “Sweetheart!” He launched at her but his friends surrounding him grabbed him before he could get at her. She was startled and had adrenaline coursing through her blood, pumping in her ears, but she was safe. ***

“Thanks, you really didn’t need to do that,” The bartender said as the tall, handsome man helped her away from the potential fight. She glanced back at the group, the man who’d saved her still holding the Jock, YN trembling with anger as she stood by. “Please, I didn’t do anything,” The big guy said, putting the glasses on the bar as she rounded it. “Okay, well, let me get you a drink anyway,” She said, hurrying on when he looked like he was about to protest, “For not doing anything,” He smiled, giving in, “A beer,” He conceded taking a seat and watching as she grabbed a pint glass from under the bar and tossed it under the tap, tipping it and opening the nozzle.

“Name’s Carrie,” She introduced, wiping her hand on her jeans before offering it to him at the same time as sliding his beer towards him. “Sam,” He said, shaking the offered hand. “Nice to meet you, Sam,” She said with a grin, “You know him?” She said with a nod towards the pool table. “Uhh, yeah, my brother, Dean,” He said, glancing back towards the pool table. Things seemed to have deescalated and he could see Dean was making moves on the chick holding the pool cue, the group around them had gone back to their drinks, but the jocks remained. “You know her?” He said. “Yeah, YN, she’s a regular.” Carrie said, looking to someone who’d moved up next to Sam. “Two buds, love,” The older patron said, gruff but kind. She turned her back to Sam, then bent to retrieve the two beers from the fridge below the counter top. His eyes moved over her; the jeans were snug, pockets accentuating her plump ass, the loose black shirt looked like a men’s but was tied at the front, buttons undone to reveal a bit of cleavage. “Here ya go,” She popped the caps off the bottles as she placed them on the bar top and took the cash he put down in their place.

“You were saying,” She said to Sam, turning back to him, catching him off guard. “Uhh,” He stammered, frowning, then shook his head before raking his hand through his hair to restore it. “You were asking when I finish up,” She said with a broad, confident smile, winking at him when he blushed. Sam took a sip of his beer, hiding himself behind it before he made up his mind. “So what time do you get off?” He asked, mind made. “An hour,” She laughed. “Right,” He said, awkward now, unsure what to do with himself in the meantime. “So what do you call work, Sam?” She questioned, knowing exactly what to do with him for now. ***

YN left the game underway, Dean up two on an old trucker who seemed overly confident in himself when they started out. “Two beers,” She said over the bar. “How’s the game?” Carrie asked, setting out getting two beers for her. “Oh, I got a good feeling something bad’s about to happen,” YN said, winking at the bartender who tried hard to hide her smile. “This is Sam, your friend’s brother!” Carrie introduced, pointing to the tall guy sitting a seat away at the bar. “Wow, brothers?” YN mused, looking from Carrie to Sam. “Uhh, yeah,” Sam said, extending his hand when YN did. “So you must know exactly what kind of a pool player he is?” YN asked him. “He’s good, don’t let the idiot act fool you,” Sam warned, turning in his seat to face the way YN and Carrie were looking.

Dean took a shot and missed, exaggerating the reaction when the Trucker added another note to the pile on the side. Dean looked to the group by the bar and winked before turning back to the older man. Sam huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes, turning back to the bar. “And don’t let the bartending fool you about this one, she’s putting herself through college,” YN said, nodding over her shoulder at Carrie. “What course are you doing?” Sam said, leaning closer. “English lit,” Carrie said, blushing. “What major?” Sam was intrigued. “Criminology,” She said, giggling when his eyebrows lifted into his hairline and he swung back on his seat. “Right, I’ll leave you two with that,” YN said, picking up her drinks and winking at Carrie before leaving, back for the pool table. ***

“I was feeling generous,” YN said, placing the beer on the table next to Dean’s winnings, winking at him when he looked up. “Generous enough for a game?” He asked, picking up the beer and taking a swig. “Honey, you gotta earn it,” She teased, an encouraging smile on her face. She enjoyed Dean, enjoyed him chasing her, pushing for a game, hinting at something more. He was handsome; green eyes that gave him away, a long neck that she could sink her teeth into, rippling muscles hiding under the jacket, with a confidence to match his strength. He knew he had her in the bag the moment she licked her lips when he pulled the bottle from his lips. There was a tell about a woman, and she was telling a lot. He bit his bottom lip and tore himself away from her stare, looking around the crowd of the bar. “Who’s next?” He asked her, leaning back against the table. She joined him, her arm against his, looking through the crowd. “What about him?” She said, pointing at his brother. He scoffed and shook his head, then nodded towards a twenty-something man that had just entered the bar. “Hang on, you don’t want any competition?” She asked, looking back to Sam. “I don’t want any trouble, have you seen the size of him?” Dean joked. YN realised he was playing a bigger game, maybe even the same kind she was already playing. “Okay, this guy then,” She said, nodding to the table next to them, an older man and a younger woman had just settled in after getting their first drinks of the night. He was a well dressed man in his forties, gelled hair, crisp shirt, faded jeans and loafers, an expensive looking watch on his wrist, a tan line on his ring finger. Meanwhile she looked half his age, giggled at everything he said, sipped at her cocktail, and hung off his every word. Dean smiled and looked back at YN, she was good at this. Maybe a little too good? “Okay,” He said, accepting the challenge. “Excuse me,” YN called out, reaching across Dean and tapping the guy on the shoulder. “Yeah?” He turned around, looking up at Dean and then YN. “Hi, sorry, my boyfriend’s saying he thinks he can beat you at pool, and I don’t think he can,” YN led, a shy smile on her face. “Oh?” The guy said, looking back to his girlfriend who was smiling up at him, doe eyed and possibly tipsy already. “Go on baby, you can take him!” She cheered. The man stood, looking Dean up and down. “Nah, it’s all good darlin’, I don’t wanna take an old timers money,” Dean said, turning to YN, a hand on her waist, a glint in his eye as he met her gaze. “You ain’t gonna take anything,” The guy said confidently. “Don’t worry, I’ll find someone else,” Dean wasn’t even trying to be convincing. “I’m not worried, you should be though,” The man oozed bravado, rolling up his sleeves, already headed for the pool table. “Get him, baby!” The girl cheered again, but she was eyeing Dean the moment her sugar-daddy’s back was turned. “Alright, okay,” Dean was cool, nodding, shooting YN a sly smile before turning back towards the man, “Should we start at fifty--” “Fifty? This is a man’s game,” The guy was trying too hard to impress the ditzy girl he left at the table, and it wreaked of desperation, “Why not two hundred?” He challenged, pulling out his wallet, thumbing through the notes, pushing the rest in and smacking two hundred down on the green felt. “Whoa, okay, okay,” Dean pulled out his own wallet, and although he’d just won that easily, he pulled out one-fifty and turned to YN, “Baby, I need fifty,” He said sheepishly. “What?” YN questioned, looking at his wallet, glancing back to the pocket of his jeans and back at his face. “Oh, man, that’s weak,” The guy laughed, “Gotta ask your girl for the money,” If YN wasn’t in the same room as this guy, she would’ve thought he was in his early twenties, surrounded by his mates cheering him on while he ragged on a teenager. “Why should I give you fifty if you’re just gonna lose it?” She questioned, teasing Dean with a brilliant smile. “I won’t lose it babe, I promise,” Dean played his part, hand out, looking sorry. “Whatever... you owe me,” She said, handing over fifty dollars in the form of five tens. Dean leant in for a kiss, hamming it up and shooting his shot, but YN turned her head, letting his lips land on her cheek. “Oh,” The man hooted, “That’s cold, so cold,” He laughed. No wonder he was divorced. “Don’t worry man, I’ll make it close.” He hushed loudly at Dean. “Kill me,” Dean whispered, but his eyes were alight, he knew he had this guy and he was going to savor beating him. ***

“So, what brings you two to town?” Carrie asked, taking off her apron and bringing her own beer around the bar to sit next to Sam. “Uhh, we’re just passing through, on our way home.” “Where you coming from?” She asked, crossing her legs, the heel of her boot came to rest against Sam’s calf. “We just finished up with something in Cedar Rapids,” He said, vague, “What about you, grow up here or…?” Sam didn’t want to lie about work, he didn’t want to get into that, he wanted to know about her, have an intellectual conversation about books and university and studying, about the world. “I grew up in Georgia, went to Ole Miss, dropped out, somehow found myself out here, serving drunks for bad tips, so I thought I’d give study another crack,” She said with a shrug, picking up her beer and sipping at it. “What happened?” Sam asked, he saw himself in her story and was curious as to what happened to her. “Bad choices,” She said with a sad smile. “I, umm, I actually went to Stanford for Law,” He said, continuing when she raised her eyebrows, “Yeah, I uhh, there was a family emergency, my Dad died, and I never went back.” he said, frowning into his own beer. “I’m sorry about your dad,” She said, reaching across and placing a hand on his arm. He took a deep breath and looked back up at her, she was sweet, her eyes kind. “Thanks,” He said, taking a gulp of his beer. He looked over at Dean who was showing off, while the man at the pool table stared at a pocket, dumbstruck. “He looked after you, huh?” Carrie asked, she looked at him as if she could read his soul, like she had known him all his life. He chuckled, “Yeah, he did.” Sam pushed a hand through his hair, “Enough about me,” He sighed, “What about you? Brothers, sisters, family?” He asked. “Uhh,” It was her turn to clam up, she downed the rest of her beer, and plastered on a smile when she resurfaced. “That bad?” He questioned, patting her knee. “Let’s put it this way, I chose the person I call a sister, and she chose me.” ***

“Come on,” Dean begged, “I’ve won everyone’s money, let me win yours!” He was leaning against the pool table, opposite YN who was resting against a bar table. “Well when you put it like that,” She teased, raising the beer bottle to her lips. “I set up the table, no one else wants to lose their money, come on, please?” Dean tried again, pushing off the pool table’s edge when she narrowed her eyes at him, wrapping her lips around the bottle and tipping it back. “Okay, how about this?” He pushed his hand into his back pocket and produced the cash he’d won, “Let me give you a chance to win this,” He showed the corners of each bill as he counted them out and laid them on the table next to her. An easy five hundred. “Oh, now we’re talking.” She said, a sly smile on her face. His eyebrows shot up, the excitement was almost like she’d promised him more than a game. YN pulled out the wad of cash from earlier and put it on top of his stash. “All or nothing?” She challenged. “Darlin’, you may wanna break first then make that call.” He warned, chalking the tip of his pool cue and blowing off the excess as if he was making a point.  “What, are you scared to live dangerously?” She asked, licking her lips and slipping her hand down her own cue, letting it glide in her fist before she tightened her grip and lifted. He quirked a brow at her, sure he was playing for something more now. “Oh darlin’ Danger’s my middle name,” ***

“Whoa,” Carrie was taken aback by the Impala parked outside the bar. “My brother’s,” Sam said, his hand still in hers as they stepped into the cool night air. “Compensating?” She joked, looking over her shoulder at his smile and roll of his eyes. “He does buff it frequently,” Sam laughed. “Bet he spends hours on it,” She added, leading him towards her old, red, truck. Sam stopped her before she could let go of his hand. “What--” She asked, interrupted by the look on his face. His eyes were dark, lips glistening in the street lamp light, his other hand reached up, hooking his index finger under her chin. “Can I kiss you?” He asked, already leaning down. “I’m hoping you’ll do more than that,” She confessed quietly. Sam’s lips met hers, soft and gentle as he angled her just so. His fingers spread and pushed into her hair as she stepped closer, winding his other hand around her back before she held onto his shoulders, pulling him into her. “Where are you staying?” She whispered against his lips. “Motel,” He mumbled against her, then pulled back, “You sure?” “Are you?” She laughed as he groaned, pulling her back in for another kiss. ***

It was a close game, right down to the eight ball, and YN was sure she’d seen real panic in Dean’s vibrant green eyes when she was lining up her shot. But with a subtle twist to her wrist and a pull of her power, the eight ball curved and stopped right before hitting the last remaining ball. He sighed relief, masking his features as she looked up to him, defeated. “All or nothing?” He checked, balancing the cue over his knuckles, lining up, waiting for her response. She sighed heavy, conceding victory, “All or nothing,” She agreed. Dean didn’t even look down as he took the last shot, sinking the black and then white. “Show off.” She said, shaking her head as she collected the money, and turned around. “Listen, you won yours fair, and I won mine fair, let’s just split it?” He offered. “No, Dean, you won this fair too,” She stepped in closer, looking up at him through her lashes. “Won what?” He asked, swallowing thickly, her body now pressing against his, he could taste her breath, and although he’d only seen her drink beers all night, she was sweet. “The money,” She said, pushing it into his chest as she pushed away, watching as he swayed towards her first then blinked, snapping back to himself. “Am I reading this wrong, or…” He took the money, but held it in her hand, tugging her back toward him, and when she stepped in, he was sure he had his answer, “Do you want me as much as I want you?” He was brave, normally there was a cheesy pick up line, but YN… she was a woman after his own heart. “I’ve been waiting for you to make a move all night,” She said, meeting him in a fiery kiss. A bar goer whistled at them, drawing attention till a few people were howling and cheering. “You wanna get out of here?” He asked. “More than you know,” She said, picking up her bag and jacket, leading the way out of the bar, Dean hot on her heels. ***

Sam rolled over Carrie, holding her to him as he did, pinning her to the bed before pushing himself up onto his arm. He looked down between them, following his hand as it traced over her breast, stomach, hip, then he dragged his fingers along the flesh of her thigh. When he looked up, there were her eyes, eager, begging, pleading for him to move. He pulled back and pressed in, rocking into her, drawing each breath from her as he did. She was breathy, needy, her hands wandered his back, traced his tattoo, then clung to his shoulders as he fucked into her, each thrust getting rougher. She rose up to catch his lips, biting at the lower, he hissed and dipped his head to her shoulder biting at it, savouring the gasp that fell from her lips. “Sam, don’t tease me,” She whined, digging her heel into his ass, “Fuck me,” Her breath at his ear sent a roll of energy through him, his hairs standing on end. He sat up on his knees and pulled out of her, flipping her onto her stomach and pulling her hips back roughly. She let out a moan as he pressed the head of his cock against her lips and sunk in. He admired the give of flesh under his fingertips as he held onto her hips and plunged into her, over and over. The room filled with the sound of her cries, his grunts, their skin meeting with each thrust. ***

Dean parked the car out the front of the motel, his hand resting across the back of their seat. He looked over at her, the glisten of the street light off her bottom lip that he imagined she’d just licked, the electric look in her eyes, the flush of her skin. They seemed to have the same thought as each reached for the other, desperate for the attention, craving the satisfaction. Pool had been the foreplay, and this was their time, the tension between them palpable, the mix of lust and admiration had them tearing at their clothes. Hands pulled at zips and fiddled with buttons until an unspoken agreement was found and they separated long enough for him to get his pants around his knees and her to pull one leg free from her jeans and panties. She bit her bottom lip when she glanced at his erection. “Fuck,” She muttered, smiling, blush raising over her cheeks. Dean wore the proudest smile, the twinkle of mischief in his eye, the wink. He ripped at the corner of the condom square and pulled out the rubber. But YN was quick and took it from him as she climbed over him, she eased it down his shaft with one hand and licked her other, taking him in her palm and pumping him twice before shifting and lining up. “Oh,” The noise popped at the back of Dean’s throat as she lowered herself onto him, he grabbed the top of the seat, the other hand on her ass. YN licked at his top lip, her tongue just grazing it, teasing a reaction from him. And it worked, he captured her lips in a seering kiss, tongue pushing into her mouth, dancing with hers, then he stilled as she swiveled her hips experimentally. She was slow and deliberate, and he lavished her neck and chest in nips and kisses, savouring the feel of her under his hands, the taste of her on his tongue. “YN,” He groaned into her neck, slapping at her ass. “Close?” She asked, lips against his ear. She took hold of the seat at his back when his hands caught her hips, tight, holding her down on him as he raised his own hips, bucking into her, once, twice, three times and then he tensed, a shout of pleasure, and then his lips found hers again. As he got his breath back, he pulled away from her, searching her eyes. “Why don’t you come inside?” He asked, kissing her before she could speak. “You gonna make me feel like a winner?” She teased, jolting when he slapped at her ass again. “You know it,”

Just before sunrise, YN woke up, her eyes searching for the dull red, fuzzy numbers of the alarm clock. It blinked 0457 at her, she wiped a hand over her eyes and looked at Dean, still sleeping peacefully. He looked so relaxed, so sated. And so he should, she’d never had a guy work as hard as he did to please, and for that she’d always remember him. Then she looked at the arm across her stomach. Pulling the pillow out from below her head, ever so carefully, she flattened it as best she could, pushing it down her side. With a quick move that jostled the bed once, she was out of his hold and replaced by a pillow. Standing naked and frozen, she watched as he pulled it into his side instinctively, but didn’t wake. Like a fish taking bait! She looked across the floor for her clothes, pulling on her panties, then jeans, her bra, and finally her shirt, then she found his jeans. Glancing up at the bed once more, she crouched down and went through his pockets, finding the five hundred he’d won in the first few games, then found her two thousand. She opened his wallet and pulled out the credit card. Mr Dan Hermansen She frowned at it, then pulled out the license. Jerry Wanek She smiled knowingly and looked up at the bed, mentally tutting him. She left the cards and found an extra forty-five cash. She wadded it up and stuck it into her back pocket as she felt through his other pocket. The keys to the Impala. ***

Sam rolled over in the bed, finding it empty. He looked up at the bathroom door, open. Then he searched the rest of the room. No one. And there was no sign he even had a guest, except for his neatly folded clothes on the small sofa. He threw back the sheets and headed towards them, a knot forming in his stomach. He pulled his jeans up and reached into the pocket, no wallet. He looked around the room, and then picked up the pile of clothes, shaking each item, then found his wallet underneath them. Empty. ***

YN squinted, holding her breath as she closed the motel door room behind her, waiting for the quiet sound of the lock to click. “Took your time,” Carrie greeted from her place leaning against the Impala. “He was cute.” YN offered as an explanation, stepping away from the door, “Got the money?” “Yep, got the keys?” Carrie tried, pressing her hand to the Impala’s bonnet. “Uhh, about that…” “Oh, come on, please? Please?” Carrie was begging, literally; hands in front of her face, a puppy dog look in her eyes, bottom lip turned out. “Yeah, I couldn’t do it, he really loves this car,” She said with a shrug. “You’re soft on him.” Carrie accused, turning her shoulder when YN swatted at her. “No,” She defended, “We said--” “Yeah, yeah…” Carrie interrupted, pulling the truck’s keys from her handbag, “Nothing that no one can get attached too.” She repeated the rules, set from long ago.

They climbed into the truck, and Carrie gunned the engine, revving it loud. “What are you doing?” YN said, a laugh caught somewhere in amongst the sudden burst of adrenaline. “I got a good feeling something bad’s about to happen,” Carrie said through a big smile.

There was a swish of a curtain a few doors down, and then another at Sam’s motel room. Dean was the first out of his room, a pillow held over his groin, then Sam came out of his, jeans on, looking directly at them. “What are you waiting for?” YN asked her best friend. “I just want one more--” But as she leaned further over the dash, she got a glimpse of a gun in the waist of Sam’s jeans. “Oh shit!”  “Go, go!” YN squealed, holding the dash as her friend floored the truck, tires screeching, before kicking up a cloud of dust for them to disappear in. ***

“Was that--” Dean asked. “Yeah,” Sam said, raking a hand down his face before looking at his brother, “Dude!” He shook his head and laughed. A bright red lipstick mark was pressed on Dean’s cheek, and the pillow hiding his modesty completed the picture of jilted lover. “It was a good night,” Dean defended, shrugging it off, unabashed. He was turning back for his room when Sam spoke. “How much did you pay for it?” He asked, making Dean scoff. “I don’t pay for--” “One-twenty, what I got out yesterday.” Sam explained, handing his wallet to Dean. Realisation dawned on the older Winchester and he dashed back inside the motel room, his ass on full display. He found his trousers and stuck his hand into the pockets. Nothing. “No, no, no,” He chanted as if it would change everything. Then he spotted the Impala’s keys on the bedside table and sighed a breath of relief. And then he spotted his wallet on the floor. He snatched it up, opening it to find it empty. “Son-of-a-” 

[wondersofdreaming]

Lost Boys - EIGHT

Characters: August Walker / Captain Syverson / Walter Marshall

Word count: 1.524

Warnings: I don’t know, there’s guns?

Author’s note: Everything in this story is a figment of my imagination, with inspiration and snippets from the movies ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’, ‘Sand Castle’, ‘Nomis/Night Hunter’. This is pure fanfiction. If something doesn’t make sense, it’s not supposed to.

And a little inspiration from ‘Furious 7’.

I do now own any of the characters from the movies that I write about in this story. Only the OFC’s are mine.

Tag: @katerka88 @littlefreya @hell1129-blog @mitzwinchester @mary-ann84 @valkavill @sciapod @henry-cavlll @luclittlepond @iloveyouyen @trippedmetaldetector @radaofrivia @omgkatinka @gothwhopper @fcgrizi @vania-marie @alyxkbrl​ @readings-of-a-cavill-lover​ @singeramg​ @onlyhenrys​ @henrythickcavill​ @madbaddic7ed​ @palaiasaurus64​ @mis-lil-red @queenslandlover-93​ (I’m so sorry I haven’t tagged you until now, love, I think I must have run into some technical issues when I wrote your URL in my document with tags, but you’re there now to stay)

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list.

Feedback is appreciated.

MASTERLIST

[ONE] [TWO] [THREE] [FOUR] [FIVE] [SIX] [SEVEN] [NINE] [TEN]

“Don’t worry brother. I’ll save you instead.”

There was a knock on the door. August quickly closed the laptop. He moved with stealth towards the wooden entrance, silently clicking the safety off on his gun. He looked into the peephole and let out a breath of relief.

He opened the heavy door to let his tech-associate inside.

“Were you followed?” He asked as he investigated the hallway, it was empty.

“No,” Marc sounded offended. “Listen, Lark…”

“My cover has been blown, call me Smith.”

“Fine, Smith. You’re in deep shit. The bounty on your head has doubled, and now it’s definitely dead instead of DOA. You need to move away from here, go to some island and lay low for a few years.”

“Marc… I don’t have a few years.”

“Smith, you’re being hunted. Every government agency in the world is looking for you.”

“I know.”

“If you are recognized, I won’t be able to help you out of this country.”

“I know.”

“You need to keep moving.”

“I have a place in mind. But you’re not going to like it.”

“If you say that shitty cabin in Northern Thailand…”

“I won’t say it.”

“But it is that place. Fuck man! That place has no connection to the outer world! No internet. The nearest village is 10K away…” Marc took a deep breath, “But it is the safest place for you right now.”

“When can you arrange a flight?”

“Let me talk to my contacts. I’ll have a plan by tomorrow.”

Melanie could guess from the knocking who was on the other side of the door. She smiled brightly at the grumpy face that met her.

“Good morning, Walter,” she chimed happily.

“Morning, where’s my brother?” He grunted.

“Answering a phone call. Coffee?”

“Yes, black, no sugar.”

Melanie poured the dark liquid into a mug and handed it to him. Lucas walked out of his bedroom with a grim look on his face.

“Luc, what’s wrong?”

“That was Aiden. The bounty on August’s head has doubled. It’s up to two hundred million now, and they want him dead.”

Lucas plopped down on the sofa and ran his good hand over his beard.

“Then we better get started on finding him,” Walter mumbled.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Lucas’ voice sounded hopeless.

“You can start by telling me, when and where you last saw him.”

Walter wrote down the information, Lucas was giving him in a little black notebook that looked brand new.

“My brother, Charlie, works for the FBI, he should be able to help a little with this case.”

“Should I arrange for travel plans for Iraq? That’s where you last saw him,” Melanie inquired. The two bulking men stared at her.

“Don’t think he’s back in the Middle East, Mel. He might have passed through and gone across the border to hide in another country,” Lucas explained.

“Then how are we going to find him?”

“We’d have to speak to the people that know him. His colleagues, his adopted parents, his friends, if he had any, and so forth,” Walter chimed in.

“Alright, then it seems we’re going to Virginia after we’ve talked to your FBI brother.”

Walter and Lucas swallowed their cooled down coffees, they were mimicking each other without knowing it. They held the mugs the same way, on the opposite side of the handle and chugged the black liquid. They would lean their heads back a little to catch the last drops before putting down the empty cup with a loud thud.

Melanie was amazed by the two men, who looked so much like each other, but at the same time looked so different. One with long curly hair, the other with a military styled buzz cut. They both looked intimidating as hell, and Melanie prayed she’d never get interrogated by those two brothers.

Walter led them towards his truck. The drive took almost an hour before he parked at what looked like an abandoned warehouse.

Melanie felt Lucas tensing up next to her. He made sure to walk in front of her. She knew it was to protect her, but at the same time, she was annoyed, because he knew that she knew how to bring a man to his knees, in more ways than one.

Walter opened the steel door. He motioned with his head to follow him.

Inside looked to be a normal old warehouse with an abundant number of wooden crates. The smell of the room was awful. The waft of rotting fish and mould mixed together in the worst way possible hit Melanie’s nostrils. She nearly gagged at the odious place.

A door opened across the room, lighting up the dark room.

“Good to see you out of the police station for once, little brother,” the man said with a smile. He wrapped Walter into his arms. Melanie noticed that Walter didn’t wholeheartedly return the hug. Charlie Marshall was taller than his adoptive brother, but not as broad and muscular. His blonde hair was cut short at the sides and longer at the top. His deep ocean eyes were dancing with mischief until he locked eyes with Melanie. The smile disappeared from his lips and was replaced with a more curious look.

“Charlie, this is my brother, Lucas, and his sister, Melanie,” Walter introduced them. Charlie walked around his brother and greeted Lucas with a firm handshake, while he kissed the back of Melanie’s hand.

“Pleasure to meet you both. Walt told me about you last night, come in and I’ll show you what I’ve found so far.”

Lucas was burning holes into Charlie’s skull. Having not liked him kissing his sister’s hand. Melanie was elated to be shown a little attention.

“Charlie, back off. She’s not here for you,” Walter grumbled and walked into the tiny office space. A black-haired woman was sitting in front of multiple screens, tapping on the keyboard in front of her at lightning speed.

“This is Raven, she’s a hacker and technology expert. We’re doing this behind the scenes because we want to find your lost brother as soon as possible,” Charlie explained.

Raven didn’t look up but grumbled a greeting of some sort.

“How are we going to find August?” Lucas asked.

“With this,” Raven motioned to the screens. The monitors filled out a picture of the earth moving. A picture of August sitting on the top left.

“What does it do?” Melanie asked.

“It’s using all the cell phones with cameras to find him, kinda like God’s Eye from Fast and Furious.”

“Is this legal?”

“Not at all. That’s why we’re here, hiding from the rest of the world. This is only used during emergencies, and I consider this an emergency.”

“Found him yet?” Lucas grunted. He stood behind Melanie with a rank back and stern look. Walter stood almost in the same stance next to him, except he had his arms folded across his chest.

“Last time he was seen, was in an unused airport hangar in Northern Italy last night. He could have travelled anywhere since then,” Charlie said.

“How long?” Walter muttered.

“Hours, days, weeks. I don’t know, he’s really good at hiding,” Raven threw her arms in the air.

“Then there’s nothing to do but go to Virginia. Call us, when you have something, and thank you, Raven, for helping us,” Melanie sent the pale woman a soft smile and went to walk out the tiny room. Lucas, Walter and Charlie followed her to the truck.

“Thank you, for your help so far,” Lucas told Charlie and held out his good hand.

“If I had a lost brother, I’d do anything to find him too.”

Charlie winked at Melanie and walked back into the building. Walter drove the two back to the hotel in silence. Everyone was grumbling over their own things.

“Thanks for your help, Walter,” Melanie cut through the silence when he parked.

“I’m coming with you to Virginia,” Walter told them.

“What about your daughter?” Lucas asked.

“She said, and I quote: ‘You either find your long-lost brother and bring him home, or I’ll be the worst rebellious teenager that’s ever existed in the history of police-dads.’”

“Three tickets to Virginia, coming right up,” Melanie smiled.

The plane ride was fast and short. They landed, got their luggage, found the rented car and drove to the hotel. Another huge suite with three bedrooms. At first, Lucas wanted three separate bedrooms next to each other, but Melanie had stubbornly told him off that he needed her help with his broken arm. Walter didn’t have a say in anything as Melanie shut him up with a fiery glare.

They ventured out towards the house where the lost brother had grown up. The house looked like it needed a loving hand with the front garden, and the paint on the front door was slowly peeling off in large spots.

Walter rang the bell and knocked loudly. They heard a commotion inside before the door was opened. A short woman with greying hair stood in front of them. Her eyes widened and tears formed at the corners.

“August? Is that you?”

[wisteria-underground]

Some thoughts on Hanyo no Yashahime ep. 15 (some serious, some not):

1. Hats off to Riku for being at least a mildly interesting OC. I care about his motivations enough to keep watching the show, which is more than I can say about most anime-only characters. Congratulations to Riku and his amazing eye makeup, here’s to the rest of the season

2. Inuyasha finally got to live the life - more or less - that he and Kikyo originally dreamed about, and I think that’s nice! He has a little house with a garden, and a “job” exterminating demons, and a local community of friends and neighbors, and friends from further afield who come and visit him, and his social circle is a nice mix of humans and youkai. Inuyasha is fully and (by the looks of it) happily integrated into his found community without having to sacrifice either his demon or human side, and I THINK THAT’S NICE

3. In modern times, Kirinmaru would be known as “our family friend” and Sesshomaru would be obligated to introduce him as “Uncle Kirinmaru - well, not my real uncle, I just call him that because he’s known my dad for, like, forever” 

4. At first blush, this would make Zero Sesshomaru’s mean auntie, but what with the whole “humiliated by your father” line and the Gold and Silver jewels being made from her tears, I suspect she’s actually a jilted lover - or would-be lover - of Toga’s who now lives to stir up trouble for his kids. Toga probably tossed her aside for Izayoi and she’s clearly still salty about it

5. Rin’s childbirth scene is the worst thing I’ve seen in a long time, but not for the reason everyone’s fighting about. It unfortunately exposes two major flaws, one of writing female characters in the shonen genre, and one of Rin’s character specifically. The first problem is that shonen writers usually have no idea what to do with pregnancy and childbirth, because, I suspect, they have no actual interest in the mother’s experience; for them, pregnancy and childbirth serve purely as plot devices, and the postpartem female body becomes a problem to be gotten rid of as soon as possible.

Usually this is ‘solved’ by killing off the mother right after giving birth. Rin escapes this fate, only to be subjected to having both her babies and her agency taken away. Shedding a single tear? Uttering such an inane line as “I have faith in Sesshomaru-sama” when he didn’t say a single word to her after what was likely hours of being in labor? I confess that this is the point when I lost it and just started laughing, the scene was so bad-hilarious. Nobody is this long-suffering and trusting about being ignored by their husband as he silently kidnaps her children literally from under her nose. Nobody. Rin was done dirty by this scene, and it just underscores the misogyny running through the shonen genre.

Unfortunately, this scene also doubles down on Rin’s role as a device for Sesshomaru’s character growth, which is itself pretty problematic. Her (multiple!!) deaths in IY prompt Sesshomaru toward emotional turning points in his character development, and here again in HNY her confusion and sadness over losing Towa and Setsuna lend pathos to Sesshomaru’s actions. We, the viewers, know that Sesshomaru is hiding the twins away so that Kirinmaru and Zero can’t find and kill them; I think the writers somehow wants the viewer to feel anguish on Sesshomaru’s behalf that he must commit such a seemingly cruel act for the sake of his family’s safety and can’t tell anyone about it because he’s such a tough guy loner etc. etc. But instead it comes across as confusing and unnecessary, especially since Kagome already knows the whole story and asks Sesshomaru point-blank about it. [Edited to add]: This model of stoicism-as-masculinity has not aged well from the original IY run. Female characters should not have to passively accept pain and confusion inflicted on them by male characters in the name of male characters acting “for their own good.” Sesshomaru’s refusal to communicate anything, ever, is not a romantic character trait: it does not make him mysterious or cool or badass, it just makes him kind of an asshole to the people he supposedly cares about, and I hope the rest of the series will actually grapple with that. Sesshomaru, in this scene, kicks off a whole chain of events that end up going disastrously for his family. One daughter stuck on “the other side”? One daughter with her memories and sleep stolen? His wife stuck in a tree? I have a hard time believing all of that was planned. The whole scenario is contrived and stupid and I hate it. 

6. Not least because Sesshomaru’s proposed solution makes no sense! What are these babies going to eat? Where will they sleep? If Sesshomaru is ok with bringing newborns into a forest and leaving them under a tree, why wouldn’t he just bring Rin at the same time and make her recuperate from - again- a physically grueling ordeal under said tree? It’s not like he knows what the heck childbirth involves anyway! His whole decision-making process is bizarre and confirms my suspicion, held for some 15 years, that Sesshomaru is not some cool lone wolf type who has it all together, but instead is merely a fuck-up like the rest of us. As any quiet person (*raises hand*) knows, a great way to pick up a reputation for being ‘aloof,’ ‘cold,’ or ‘intimidating’ is to say as little as possible, even if on the inside you are hopelessly just trying to keep your head above water. 

This is HNY Sesshomaru in a nutshell:

Where were you going to get all of these things, Sesshomaru?! Oh that’s right you didn’t think that far ahead DID YOU?!????

7. If Sesshomaru is at his mom’s house, and Jaken is at his mom’s house, then who is watching the babies????? (Tbh probably Sessho-mama)

Anyway this episode was A Mess but it was nice seeing Inuyasha and Kagome again. More of them and the rest of the original gang, please! 

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Buddy Revell

(This gif came out kinda alright considering it was made by me)(requested by @oh777 )

(My inner love for dissecting characters came out so if you’d like to see my ideas of why buddy is the way he is you can find them at the bottom of this post.)

- You, of course, meet Buddy at school. You’d had all morning to hear about the new psycho student before you actually got your eyes on the him. Because of that your first actual meeting was...kind of disappointing. Well no not disappointing just anticlimactic.

- It was just after first period, you were heading to your locker to get some stuff for your next class when you saw him. He was standing in front of your locker looking at the little slip of paper the main office gives you that has your combo printed on it. You debated just going to class unprepared instead of talking to him but you decided against it and walked up to him.

“Hi,” you greeted awkwardly. “Sorry but you’re standing in front of my locker...”

- He looked down at you and your heart stopped beating for a second. That is until he shuffled to the side with a low ‘sorry’ before he began trying to open what must have been his locker. Jerry had seen the entire thing right before he tried to verbally convince Buddy to let him off the hook.

- After your next class he begged you to try and help him survive. He wanted you to try and distract him after school so that he could have more time to plan what he was going to do. You hesitantly agreed but didn’t promise him anything.

- You stress over what you’re going to do all day, how are you going to distract a guy hellbent on killing your friend? You aren’t sure but by the end of the day you have to think fast. Your legs are jelly and you’re gulping as you walk towards him but you just focus on how he didn’t kill you this morning and how that’s probably a good sign.

“Hi, Buddy is it? I’m y/n I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier,” he didn’t answer just kept moving stuff around his locker. “So...uh, how was your first day?

“Fine.” He responded after an awkward silence.

“Good, good! Do you have a favorite class yet? Well I guess it’s probably too early to tell, huh? I-”

“Listen girly I know what you’re trying to do.” You stiffened like a deer in the headlights. He looked at you for a long moment. “Why don’t you tell me something, hmm? Why would you stick your neck out for that kid?”

“Because... that’s what Jerry would do for me.” You shrug. He looks away and goes silent for a minute

“I’ve got a kid to kill.” He says and shuts his locker. You trail after him quickly, wide eyed and silent as he walks out into the parking lot.

- Jerry didn’t seem nearly as nervous as you thought he would be which you took as a good sign. So the fight happens, Buddy is defeated and the crowd begins to clear out until it’s only really you left in the parking lot with a few unconscious bodies. You hear Buddy let out a groan so you hesitantly creep over and stand above him.

- He opens his eyes and they focus on you for a long minute as he tries to get his bearings. Finally he sits up and pushes himself to his feet, remaining silent as he stumbles to his car.

“I really don’t think you should be driving right now!” You can hear him let out a sort of low chuckle before he turns to you.

“Yeah? How else am I gonna get home?”

“Well... I can drive you...if you want?” He doesn’t say anything for a long time, you’re just about to leave until he throws you his keys and climbs into his passenger seats.

- You hop into the drivers seat and push the key into the ignition while he pulls down his mirror and rubs at the blood under his nose. He tells you what street he lives on and you start your drive towards his house. For the most part you’re silent until you decide to shoot your shot at the weirdly handsome new to the school psycho.

“Do you uh want some lunch or something?”

“-Fuck it; sure why not.”

- Before you know it you’re sitting in a booth with him at a pizza place not too far from school. You don’t talk for a good few minutes until he finally speaks.

“How does a girl like you wind up hanging around a kid like ...Jerry.” You quirk a brow in confusion. “I mean you’re nice and pretty and all that. Why would you hang around a wimp like him. How do you even become friend with a guy like that.”

- You start to talk about how you got to know Jerry and told him a few stories of things that had happened during your friendship with the boy. You were definitely less uncomfortable around him by the time the two of you had finished eating. When you’re walking out of the pizza place he convinces you that he’s fine to drive and you hesitantly give him your address so that he can drive you home.

- Once you pull up in front of your house, you thank him and start to get out until he grabs your wrist. You quickly turn to face him and he asks if he can “drive you home tomorrow”. You know exactly what he means by it and agree with a smile.

- The next day at school, Jerry tells you all about how Buddy gave him back the money and how he thinks he respects him now. You smile but neglect to inform him or anyone else that you’re going to be going on a date with the guy later that day.

- After school Buddy waits by your lockers and let’s you gather your things before the two of you walk to his car. He takes you to the movie theater where the two of you share a large popcorn and different boxed candy. You spend a lot of time glancing over at each other rather than watching the movie.

- Once the movies over the two of you sit in his car and talk about the cheesy parts of the film while you finish some of the candy you hadn’t eaten before. You realize just how much you’re beginning to like him as you watch him smile and shake his head while mentioning a particularly stupid scene.

- He drives you home and parks in front of your house; rubbing his hands across his jeans as he leans back in his seat. You give each other a long look before you slowly lean in and kiss him soft and quick. Once you pull away you quickly hop out of the car and give him a smile, telling him you’ll see him tomorrow. After you’ve disappeared inside your house he touches his lips; staring at your door before he shakes his head with a smile and drives off.

- You finally tell your friends about you and him, the next day. They think you’re crazy for even talking with the guy let alone going out with him. You assure them that he’s actually pretty nice but they don’t believe you. You can’t bring yourself to care.

- It’s not long before the whole school knows about the two of you. Some people will avoid you, others will try to get you to explain why you’re doing this to yourself but you just ignore them. You’re happy with Buddy and that’s all that matters.

- He always walks you to class.

- He usually walks with his arm around your shoulders during the school day. Everyone tends to move out of your way as you walk down the hall.

- You do make him seem a little less evil. It’s hard to maintain the reputation of a brutal killer when a girl half your size is tugging you around by your hand.

- Getting driven to and from school every day.

- Going places with nice views to just hang out in his car and talk to each other.

- Sitting with him when he smokes.

- Sitting with him in the library during lunch.

- You start off with soft kisses and that’s all you really do at the start of your relationship, up until he just can’t take it anymore and ambushes you with a full on heated makeout session.

- As much as he doesn’t like being touched by anyone he doesn’t particularly mind when it’s you doing the touching. He trusts and likes you, and that makes all the difference in the world.

- After a while he starts to really enjoy physical contact, well, as long as it’s with you. You’re the exception.

- He isn’t really sure how to respond to just innocent affection. He likes it...in a weird way, it makes him a kinda flustered and sometimes a little uncomfortable but it’s kind of nice at the same time?

- Brushing his hair out of his face.

- Sitting in his lap.

- Laying your head on his shoulder while he reads.

- Piggyback rides

- He could honestly lift you up with one hand if he wanted. It’s like you weigh nothing to him at all.

- He always wants to be seen with you; he’s proud that you’re his.

- Constantly says how you’re too good for him. He’s only partly joking.

- He doesn’t really like talking about his time in continuation or at his other schools so you have a kind of murky collection of different moments but not a full story.

- Learning why he doesn’t like being touched and supporting him, promising to help him in any way he needs.

- You’re admittedly extremely in love. He likes when you tell him, over time he’ll mutter it back to you.

- He loves hearing you ramble on about something you’re passionate about.

- He doesn’t really have any reason to be jealous since no one ever really dares to even talk to you knowing that you guys are dating.

- He still intimidates any guy who seems to be trying to get too friendly.

- Hes very protective even though no one would ever think about hurting you.

- Wearing his leather jacket.

- He lets you look at his brass knuckles when you spot them in his room one day.

- If you pester him about it he’ll “teach” you how to fight. The quotations are there because he never really takes it seriously, it’s alright though because neither are you.

- Watching wrestling with him at his house.

- Tossing a football to each other every now and again.

- He gives you his old jersey to sleep in.

- If you want to spoon then he’s always the big spoon because there’s just no other way that shits going to logically happen. You usually cuddle with either him as the big spoon or with you snuggled into his side with his arm wrapped around you.

- Sharks are his favorite animal so if you were to ever get him anything shark related he would be elated.

- He’s actually really smart. He doesn’t mind helping you study or do homework.

- You have to stand on your tippy toes to kiss him; he finds this adorable.

- He’s in awe when you wear his clothes. They’re huge on you and you think you look a little stupid in them but it doesn’t change how amazing he thinks you look.

- He just thinks you’re so beautiful. Even if he doesn’t tell you a lot, he’s constantly thinking it.

- Forcing him to make amends with Jerry. He does apologize but they don’t exactly become friends, they just kind of tolerate each other.

- I feel like Buddy would find Jerry and rant to him or silently hang out with him whenever you two were fighting. All Jerry would be able to do is just sit there like he was in the twilight zone or something.

- Double dates with Jerry and his girlfriend.

- You’re the talk of the school. There’s so many rumors going around about you.

- Helping him work off his anger ;)

- He thinks everyone’s trying to start something or try something with him. You have to convince him that they don’t mean anything by what they say.

- Patching him up after fights when you can’t stop him.

- Hes really nervous when meeting your parents. They don’t approve of him until they meet him and realize he’s actually kind of sweet especially to you.

- The future will happen when it happens. He just wants to enjoy the fact that for now you’re utterly and completely his.

{ Alright so here’s the thing; Buddy is a really complex character that I just cannot perfectly understand. Here’s a little bit of what I’ve picked up and decided is a plausible explanation for why he is the way he is~

Buddy seems like the victim of abuse, most likely by his father since every time he’s reacted violently to being touched the victim was a guy. Another reason behind my thinking is that he looks scared and uncomfortable rather than embarrassed when Jerry does land a punch on him; it looked a lot like he had a flashback. So in my opinion it’s a case of serious same sex touch aversion caused by some traumatic experience in his life.

That’s why I think he’d be alright with you touching him because it seems a lot like it’s just male physical contact that really gets to him. }

[scoobydoominuscoobydoo]

An older ask had asked you how you would rewrite return to zombie island. How would you rewrite scoob?

Oh I’ve already put some thought into this while I was actually watching the movie simply because I was thirty minutes in and didn’t see it getting better.

The first change I would make is that I would get rid of the whole beginning scenes with them as kids. We didn’t need it and it literally added nothing to the story. You can convince your audience that the characters are close without needing to completely illustrate why.

I would definitely open the film up with them probably in mid-chase at the climax of a mystery because that’s just how you need to open up a Scooby movie. Right from the beginning this is where I would introduce the character conflict. Maybe after they’ve caught the guy and the police are commending them they wouldn’t really have anything to say to Shag and Scoob (who are probably disheveled and starving from running for their lives once again). Shaggy and Scooby have never felt bad about being cowards so I doubt this would really hurt them that much (maybe annoy them at the most). But it identifies where the story is going to focus.

We’d then move into some transitional scenes where you can watch how the gang’s dynamic works and this is where you sell their friendship. This ain’t just a Scooby and Shaggy movie, this is a whole gang movie (the central conflict just stems from Shaggy feeling under appreciated). So their relationships are an important part of getting the audience to care what happens. I would say you subtly show how Shaggy might break up little arguments or remind them to eat. Nothing in your face, more or less it would be weaved in with the gang’s standard banter.

Then we’d get to the gang talking about turning MI into a legitimate business by finding investors and stuff. I think this would be a good opportunity for a montage scene where we get to see a lot of other Scooby/HB characters without it taking too much out of the story (this is where I would show the Blue Falcon and Dyno Mutt). All of them seem to reject the proposition though. I didn’t have major issues with Simon Cowell because random celebrity cameos have always been a Scooby thing but I mean.... Why Simon Cowell of all people? I feel like there are way more suitable celebs to choose from. I feel like it would be funny if they brought in one of the actors from the 2002 live action film (playing themselves) and everyone is just like: “Who the heck is this?” And then Shaggy (who always knows who everyone is) just goes: “Um??? You uncultured swine??? That is obviously Linda Cardellini!” And then she’s the one who is finally willing to invest but says she’ll only do it if Shag is out (Scooby can stay because animal mascots are in and it doesn’t get anymore in than a talking Great Dane).

And the gang gets all offended at this and Linda (it doesn’t have to be Linda but for all intents and purposes I’m just saying it is) will just be like, “Fine, I’ll give you my money if you can tell me what he does for you. For your team.” 

And they’ll all stay silent, trying to think of something and that’s when Shaggy finally takes it personally. It’s one thing to be judged by people he hardly knows. But for his best friends to be given like the easiest ultimatum and they can’t even deliver on it? He wonders if he’s being taken for granted. He decides he is and explodes. Shaggy never explodes so it freaks the gang out.

I think he’d call them out for not considering his constant submission into being the bait as a contribution - despite the fact that he always states that he’ll never do it again. But of course they wouldn’t count that because they’re always too focused in on the details to miss the big picture in front of them. Because, ultimately, that is what Shag adds to the team. Daphne, Fred, and Velma tend to get so wrapped up in the small factors that they sometimes miss the obvious. And that’s when Shaggy will point out the big thing that they’re missing. Shag has always been big picture over nuts and bolts so of course he’s the one to bring up the primary detail missed. This has been an element in almost every single show so I feel like it’s funny that it’s never been spelled out.

Velma is a little hot-head who doesn’t love being demoralized by anyone so she might say something uncalled for and that’s when Shaggy walks out and Scoob follows suit. That’s a pretty major conflict to take up the runtime so there you go. 

Shag and Scoob being pissed at the gang makes a little more sense now and can be further elaborated and expand into Shag’s self-confidence issues. It’s at this point that the two of them can get kidnapped by an unrevealed villain because why the heck would I take the mystery out of it? 

It wouldn’t be by a group of semi-sentient robots because this the 70′s or 80′s and technology wouldn’t be that advanced. Instead, I’d shoot for classic, masked henchmen (maybe disguised as horrifying Greek gods or something) who swipe Shag and Scoob from the bowling alley without even giving them a chance at a comedic chase scene because the audience is supposed to feel unnerved.

We’d cut back to the gang, 1/3 of them a little steamed and the majority feeling bad for selling their best friend short. It’s revealed that they didn’t take the investment offer because there’s no way they would further exclude Shaggy from anything. They decide that they should let everyone cool down before they go and talk things out and while that’s happening Daphne is trying put together a list of all the things Shag and Scoob add to the team. She gets even more upset with herself because this is their best friend and this shouldn’t be that hard. 

In the background, Fred and Velma start arguing and it would act as a kind of callback to the beginning where we see Shag break up their bickering. But since he’s not here the fight begins to escalate and it’s only when they start yelling that Daphne comes between them. Then her face lights up and she gingerly adds that to the list. 

As the movies cuts back and forth between Shag and Scoob’s perspective and the gang’s perspective the list gets longer.

Speaking of, Shag and Scoob are being kept prisoner at the abandoned carnival because that’s always an interesting set-piece that just so happened to be totally pointless in the actual movie. At some point the two of them are split up and this is when it’s hinted that the kidnappers where originally aiming for just Scooby but Shag was also there so they just rolled with it. But because Shaggy isn’t important to them, nobody is really guarding him anymore (they were originally guarding him because Scooby was with him). 

Scooby being taken is the motivation he needs to try and escape and save his dog (in his head he’s pretty sure these whackos are gonna freaking sacrifice his dog to the powerful god of all things creepy). His escape attempts would be interspersed between scenes of the gang looking for him, and Scooby being intimidated by the masked big bad (who is of course explaining the plan in great detail). The gang’s hunt for their guys would be a lot more difficult since they can’t just Life 360 up where he is. It would rely more on visual clues, eyewitness testimonies and choppy security footage, which is overall more engaging and gives the gang an actual thing to do.

While Shaggy is formulating an escape he’s able to pick up bits and pieces of what the crazy people want to do with Scooby and this acts as him getting closer to finishing a puzzle. But he doesn’t analyze the puzzle pieces he gets and tries to guess what the puzzle will look like, that’s not his area or his goal at the moment.

In a big triumphant moment, Shaggy escaping and the gang figuring out where he is happen at the same time. This gets the spirits high before things go wrong again.

And when I say wrong - I mean the gang get capture by the villain. Shaggy isn’t aware of this as he’s sneaking around the carnival grounds trying to figure out where someone would keep the actually important prisoner. I feel like a comically large circus tent would be a cool location for the climax of a movie Scooby’s probably in there. But when Shag gets there he’s quick to hide (like under the seats or something) and this is how he’s able to finally see the whole puzzle put together.

The gang escapes rather quickly because say what you will about Danger Prone Daphne but she’s just as good at getting out of tough situations as she is at getting into them. And so begins the epic journey to find their boys (they escape and Velma just instantly goes, “It’s obviously the huge circus tent.”). And at this point it’s like a One Piece arc and all you want is the whole gang to be reunited again. But first we need a fun scene of the VFD trio trying to evade the henchmen to like a Smash Mouth song or something because remember this is Scooby-Doo.

Shaggy realizes he has to do something fast otherwise his dog is going to be used to open the Underworld. He runs out of the shadows without any real plan with just the goal of taking down the bad guy. But he doesn’t get there in time and the whole tent like erupts into green and blue flames as Cerberus stomps out of the gates and Shaggy is just frozen in place. The masked guy seems a tad surprised to run into Cerberus so fast but is quick to gain control of the beast. He orders the monster to start wreaking havoc on a nearby town something, he doesn’t care so long as he can enter the Underworld without distraction.

But before he can do that, he gets jumped by Shaggy who’s really only trying to keep him pinned down while he comes up with a step two. But Mr. Mask has some fight in him so it becomes this epic struggle between Shaggy, Scooby, and the bad guy while the place is still on fire and we have an epic orchestral score playing in the background.

Right when it seems like the villain has the upper hand, Daphne comes in and like roundhouse kicks him in the head, and he’s out cold. And before Shag and Scoob can react they’re dogpiled by the other three and it’s very heartwarming.

Fred eagerly ties the perp up and then we get our unmasking and it’s Scrappy-Doo!!! Just kidding that’d be stupid. I’m really not sure who would be the best surprise villain but if anyone has a good idea for one please let me know!

When the bad guy comes to, Velma starts shaking him to tell them how to get Cerberus back into the Underworld and how to close the gate. He reveals that all you need to do is whistle and he’ll go home (Cerberus is Hades’ domesticated puppy so obvi that would work). Maybe we get a gag where someone tries to whistle but it’s too hot in the tent for it to work and they’re like: “Does anyone have like some water?” And then Shaggy just rolls his eyes and whistles and boom, big angry puppy comes home. 

Daphne smiles and says, “I’m gonna have to add that to the list.” And Shag is like, “Like, the list of what?” And she explains that the gang has been putting together a list of all the things he brings to the team and it makes him happy that they’re putting in the effort.

We cut back to Velma torturing the info out of our mask on how to close the gates and he just evilly laughs and only a dog or dog’s best friend can close the gate. But, unfortunately, the gate will take them back down to the Underworld. The gang just sits in shock because there is no better option there.

But without missing a beat, Scooby decides he’s gonna do it and runs for the lock. He’s about to put his paw on the thingy when Shaggy beats him to it and nobody even gets a second to process before he’s sucked in and the gate vanishes.

The whole gang run to the spot where the gate used to be and Daphne falls to her knees crying, Scooby is digging at the ground trying to get to the gate and Fred has to get him to stop.

“I never even got to give him the list...” And Daph pulls it out and just drops it on the ground. Velma is on the verge of tears as she adds, “I still owe him an apology. I owe him a lot of apologies...” And as Fred is comforting Scooby he says, “We all do...” The scene ends with the gang all hugging Scooby and the list bursts into flames and disappears.

Then we cut to Shag in the Underworld and he’s just leaning against the gate and crying because what else is he gonna do? “At least I was finally useful to them...” He thinks and slowly begins to walk around and is surprised to see that the Underworld is prettier than he expected. 

“Thank my wife. She’s always looking for ways to brighten this place up so I don’t feel so miserable when she’s gone. “

Shag screams bloody murder and jumps like a ten feet before turning around and seeing a dude in a chiton. Surprise surprise, it’s Hades (Who can also be a celebrity cameo whatever). We get some nice banter before Hades holds up something and asks, “Is this yours?” 

Shaggy looks down and sees that it’s a piece of paper, he shakes his head.

“Really? Because it mentions you an awful lot.”

Evidently it got snagged on the way down and ended up in Hades’ lap - he’s certain he wouldn’t have even noticed that Shaggy was there if it weren’t for that. And then Shag’s face lights up and he realizes it must be the list, as he reads it we cut to all of the times Daphne thought to write these down on their trip. Finally he believes that he’s useful to the team, that he is a valuable part of the gang. 

Hades looks at him and just says, “How do they survive without you?” 

And Shag just shrugs and goes, “Believe me, like, I have no idea.”

Hades smiles and replies, “Then you best not keep them waiting.” Before snapping his fingers and poofing Shaggy back home.

When he gets there, the gang are slowly making their way out of the tent so they don’t see him. So Shag takes the opportunity to say, “I read y’all’s list.” And everyone instantly makes a 180 turn with their eyes super wide and he continues, “You know I think you missed a few but it’s the thought that counts.” And then we get dogpile number two of the movie.

The final scene is the gang opening up Mystery Inc. and them asking Shag where the entertainment is and he’s just like, “I asked our surprise investors to put something together for us...” And then we get the Hex Girls performance we deserve and I can totally buy them investing in Mystery Inc. because they freaking love Shaggy and Scooby so.

We get an ending shot of the gang going off to solve their first monetized mystery (we could have like a soft instrumental version of the first theme song playing) and then we fade to the end credits where we get the What’s New Scooby-Doo theme.