#yeah... perfectly acceptable 🤣🤣🤣 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

where-fading-princesses-live · 19 days ago

Text

Monsters, Inc./ Monsters University Analysis- Pt. 2

(WARNING: LONG POST)

-> Part 2/ ?

[click here to read Part 1]

Let’s break for a moment and talk about …….THEM! I love THESE BITCHES so much I can’t these bitches gay af

~MIKE + RANDALL= STILL A BETTER LOVE STORY THAN TWILIGHT~

Oops my hand slipped.

I can’t decide which is the better ship to sail…….. Mike + Sulley? Or Mike + Randall????

Mike and Randall have the tragic gay breakup tho……Sulley i love you but dude lmaoooooooooooo he’s so cucked………. What can I say? I’m Mike + Randall trash.

im not ready to have these gays relationship be destroyed 💔 💔💔 (I’ll talk more about that later but….)

Mike is the first one to give Randy validation. And acceptance. And the feeling of being *wanted*. The feeling of being *mattered*. To boost his confidence and make him come out of hiding. Maybe the first person who really SEES him. And LIKES him just the way he is. I mean-

This dynamic merits study: the interplay between a passive, often self-deprecating reptile, who may or may not have mental health challenges, and a highly assertive, narcissistic cyclops. Their interactions often appear as a paired phenomenon. But they seem to be perfectly suited to each other.

(Stop lying Randall you wrote this on your alt accounts didn’t you?)

Yeah, well. Purple goes good with green too. 💜 💚

They’re grapes, you’re honor!

Going to a football game on their first date????? Is Pixar trying to torture me???? like i was already drunk at 4pm this was the greatest thing i could have seen today.

(why bro sitting there like it’s just another Tuesday😭💀

bros not even paying attention 🤣

just kidding its Monday 🤣)

The sad almost unrequited way in which Randy is *always* fucking LOOKING at Mike for approval, confirmation, and consent and Mike doesn’t even *see* him like he’s not even present like he might as well not even BE there oh my god… and the fact that Randy isn’t smiling his usual smile here like the light is literally leaving his eyes…….Randy wants to support and encourage Mike but he’s losing his friend as Mike loses sight of what matters most….. Mike is withering away in his studies like he can’t even go to a college game with Randy without putting down a book and it’s obviously bothering Randy because Mike’s too busy to remember the value of social connections, of prioritizing hang-outs with his buddy and so he’s drifting away shutting out the world around him and unknowingly pushing Randy away and building up walls around himself…..

…look how happy Randy is just to *be* with Mike, just to exist with him even if their only quality bonding time is quizzing each other for the upcoming final exams… look at the way Randy smiles here, he genuinely enjoys Mike’s company even if they’re just doing the mundane, like he’ll never be this happy again-

….like it’s no longer mutual at this point but Mike doesn’t realize, he thinks they’ll always be together no matter what, so long as they share the same dream, but he doesn’t communicate his needs or put in the effort of maintaining what Randy is trying to maintain between them…. And Mike obviously isn’t doing it on purpose it’s just he’s never had friends before and hasn’t had much practice he’s been alone so long that he doesn’t know *how* to be a good friend he doesn’t know *how* to put other people’s needs before his own and doesn’t realize how needy Randy is…….. and he doesn’t want anything to get in the way of his dreams, even if it means sacrificing quality time with the only real friend he’s ever had…….. Randy has the dream, too, but not in such the extreme way that Mike does, like Randy obviously values friendships over achieving his academic goals not that his studies aren’t important too but like he WANTS Mike, he wants to be with him and hang out with him *in the present* not in the far future…… so is it any wonder Randy went and found another group of people who could give him what Mike couldn’t?????

…..Randy’s heart is breaking because obviously he can’t break down those walls……. That boy be breaking his heart…ohhhhh Randy wants a friend so bad….. great friendship is more than just having fun together and sharing things in common….. it requires an emotional connection as a stable foundation. Without that, it falls apart. And please believe, friendship is way more satisfying when it’s done with someone you have an emotional connection with… not ‘’fake friends’’. Imagine loving someone so much that even their absence becomes part of the villain origin story…. Oh, Randy. The ‘’quality time’’ with Mike probably only felt euphoric because you were starved in every other aspect of the relationship, hope this helps. ;-;

When you’re starved of love, any form of affection or attention feels amazing! And ROR gave Randy the attention Mike couldn’t….. That's why backsliding with a toxic ex-friend is never as good as it was before because you're not longing for the attention and approval they denied you anymore…. I get why Mike was so hurt when Randy turned his back on him, but then again, can you blame Randy? Well, it takes two to make a relationship work and it’s safe to say they’re both at fault. Like you boys have serious commitment issues… Mike learned how to be a better friend through Sulley, thank God… but Randy never got to know what it was like to have a friend like Mike ever again because ROR just used him as a pawn…. And it obviously shaped him into the grievous antisocial thug he becomes.

I honestly think what people deem as ‘’love’’ may actually just be obsession and infatuation. Not that Randy was more obsessed with Mike than he was with popularity, but if he *only* cared about popularity, he wouldn’t have stuck it out with Mike for so long and continued to hang out with him for a whole semester like as much as he wanted to get in with the cool kids, he still obviously deeply cared about Mike… he obviously idolizes and admires him, hence why he always follows Mike’s lead. He had no intentions of leaving Mike behind, he kept inviting him to the sorority parties and football games so they could get in with the IN CROWD *together*. That was Randy’s hope. He wanted to do *everything* with Mike because he was his first real friend. Why would he abandon the first person who probably showed him even a shard of kindness and treated him like an equal?

But Mike didn’t care about status as much, he cared more about being the Top Scarer than ROR accepting him as one of their own, and passing the exams of course wasn’t going to guarantee him a place in ROR anyway cuz they made it pretty clear from the onset that they didn’t want him in their group no matter how much he succeeded…. The more he succeeded in class, and the more he kept beating out Sulley’s ass, the more Johnny Worthington felt spited…. That little Mike was gaining the upper hand over his Star Quarterback. So, it was plain as day that Johnny would *intentionally* keep Mike from joining their group no matter what.

That was never Mike’s concern. He just wanted to do the best he could, even if it meant he would never be socially accepted. Being the Best Scarer wasn’t going to make him more popular and he knew that. Fame and fortune was not part of his plan. He just wanted to do good and make *himself* proud…. He wasn’t doing it for anybody but himself and that’s NOT selfish. Mike was out here living his best life, not relying on others for his own happiness. He chose HIMSELF. To respect himself; to honor himself. To love himself, and prioritize his own needs before anyone else’s and make HIMSELF happy. No one else was going to bring him happiness but HIMSELF and HIS OWN CHOICES. When Mike chose himself over popularity, he was also making a conscious effort to approach life with greater self-awareness. He’s acknowledging that he has the right to make decisions that are rooted in what’s best for him. It’s a practice of self-love and respect, and it’s an essential part of self-care…. Hence why Mike had the boost of self-esteem that Randy didn’t…. hence why Mike survived the college hivemind……. He went through hell and back again and came out smelling like a rosebush.

Randy’s reasons are a little more selfish….. he couldn’t be happy *unless* he was socially accepted. Just like any Freshman who could easily get pulled into the campus toxicity and the power struggles of upperclassman, he wouldn’t (or couldn’t) believe in his own self-worth unless someone popular like Johnny told him he was ‘’cool’’ or ‘’important’’. He needed to be part of a team, a social clique where he had no real identity or voice…. Once he joins ROR, he literally has no voice or individuality…. But that’s what he wanted. He didn’t want to be unique or different, because those things carry negative connotations for him (that’s why he lost the glasses even though it was Mike’s idea. Mike wasn’t necessarily implying that he should *never* wear his glasses, just that he shouldn’t when he’s trying to camouflage because it gave away his trick, but Randy took the advice to heart and decided to lose what was necessary to blend in and become ‘’cool’’… the glasses didn’t make him ‘’cool’’ even though he can’t see without them, and it’s a wonder he got through the first obstacle course without bumping into anything.. but do you think ROR would have let him on their team if he was still wearing them? Absolutely not!). Those things set him apart and keep him living an existence of anonymity. He wants to belong collectively, not individually. He wants to conform. So, he purposedly goes through deindividuation. Once he’s wearing the ROR sweater, he exhibits more antisocial behavior. He starts becoming more impulsive and engaging in deviant behaviors that target his old buddy….. his former best friend, his roommate.... the kid that was *supposed* to be his lifelong soulmate.................

🎵Tell me what's wrong with me My body, face, my hair Tell me all my many faults Tell me like you care When we both know you're cruel And we both know you're right I could listen to you, like a fool all night What's wrong with me? How I speak? How I dress? What's wrong with me? You keep me guessing Mama called me beautiful Don't believe her anymore Now I'm listening to you What do I do that for? Please don't ignore me Mmh, Mmh Tell me who we hate today And I will fall in line Hug me while my shoulders tense And we'll pretend we're fine

Though we both know one day There'll be blood on the floor But which one will betray the other more? What's wrong with me? Where is my mind Where does it end? Maybe I need to find a better friend What's wrong with me? What can I do? What's wrong with me? Could it be you? It's probably me See that, you see What's wrong with me Mmh, Mmh🎵

So Randy felt like he had no choice but to leave Mike behind…..Mike might’ve been dragging him down and he had to cut loose the emotional baggage he was carrying around…..But nothing great has ever been achieved without some degree of obsession…. Randy was obsessed with popularity; Mike succeeded because of his own obsessions with his academic pursuits… so they’re both flawed in that way… Mike’s inability to reciprocate Randy’s feelings gave Randy enough motivation to find the courage to break off from Mike and find his own way in the world and become his own person even if he ended up making a bad choice and ended up letting himself get taken for granted by people who didn’t care about him… and by doing so, he lost his true self. And this explains *so* much of Randall’s feud with Mike in the first movie, not just guilt by association with Sulley his rival, but these bitches have a history they have a past…. wtf omg omg omg 💚💜🏳️‍🌈 my gays

They’re so tragic. I’m in shambles.

yeah, I never want to read a serious article or post about the monster loneliness epidemic ever again.

There is nothing platonic about this image……BE SERIOUS💀and during pride month too… about 1049 fanart and fanfics spawned from this single screenshot, I kid you not. Don’t worry. I’m cool and normal…. legitimately can't tell if we're eating well or not 😭 cuz Pixar robbed of us of more Mike + Randall content…. Like I was *starving* when this movie came out…. I wanted more. That's insane they're insane. It's getting weird now.

I can’t tell which one’s the keeper, and which one’s the exotic pet…. I love their dynamic….. Mike the more dominant, confident one, leading the pack, diligent and intelligent, but also competitive, wise-cracking and slightly neurotic….Randy the shy, nervous, timid twink I mean model bookworm…..unsure of himself and staying safe in Mike’s shadow, depending on Mike as his sense of self security…. Cuz Randy doesn’t want to go to the parties by himself, he always wants to bring Mike along, so he doesn’t look like a loner……. Cuz he doesn’t have a sense of self beyond his friendship with Mike yet, he’s still finding himself and learning how to navigate the cold, harsh world and find his own identity….. and college can be a hostile environment if you don’t have a friend to help you belong. Thank goodness he has a friend in Mike! (I bet on Wednesdays, they wear pink......... god they're so cute. They're so cute together my babies.)

(the way Randy rolls his eyes... he's already 10000% done with Mike's shit and they've only known each other for five minutes💀 )

(there’s no way in hell these college boys keep their dorm room *this* squeaky clean has PIXAR seen actual college dorms???? Lived in by 17, 18-year-old teenaged boys who’ve never lived on their own before and never learned to clean their room without their mom constantly reminding them to???? Was Mike’s mom coming over to clean their room while they slept?? 75% of college dorm rooms are FILTHY – I don’t mean just cluttered – I don’t mean just in disarray – I mean possibly certifiable as a toxic-waste dumping ground DISGUSTINGLY FILTHY! Maybe Mike and Randy are OCD neat freaks….Mike and Randy are not normal…….. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised….. neat freaks that they are… man, this was a match made in heaven! I always did think Mike did all the cooking and cleaning between he and Sulley…… he would be the neat freak in the Odd Couple. Funny but concerning..)

…..sadly, Mike is too locked in and focused on passing the Scare Finals to pay much attention to Randy and spend quality time with him………their love I mean friendship was doomed from the start. (I want to talk about it in depth in a later post because there’s too much to cram here.)

Look at their body language, the way Randy always has his little hands balled up and drawn close to his body……the way Mike uses confidence as a shield, but his pie-eyed puppy dog look betrays his real emotions beneath the surface…he’s insecure, too but he plays it cool……they’re both hiding in plain sight. WHICH COULD MEAN EVERYTHING.

(off topic but…… cuz Mike blew his top when Sulley was shedding his long beautiful fur in their shared bunk bed…….. Randy probably sheds his scales, and it probably itches like hell….Mike better watch out for those mood swings, too, cuz reptiles can get pretty irritable when they’re shedding….like ew…… can’t Mike ever get himself a *normal* roommate? One that doesn’t shed his skin or cough up hairballs? If I was Mike, I’d be mad too…..)

(very normal straight platonic bestfriend behavior rofl…… these two fight like a married couple. I need the GIF of Mike kissing Sulley’s hand in his sleep because if that wasn’t the most QUEERBAITING scene in this movie.. suuuure not gay at all. They did this shit on PURPOSE when I saw it for the first time I was like there's no way…..that their new dorm in OK frat house is literally in a closet….. there’s no fucking way……propaganda I am beyond willing to fall for. Boy Pixar you are slick.)

But honestly…….. and this is probably a stretch, but Mike and Randy’s narrative seems unintentionally queer coded.

i can't believe im being queerbaited by MONSTERS INC in the year 2025 and it's WORKING

help I’m falling for this shit hook line and sinker 😭

Imagine that…..I hope the entire cast in Season 3 of Monsters at Work spends the whole time trying to outgay each other that's the dream………. I AM SEATED.

queer DISNEY nation we won you don't understand

It’s canon that Randy tried to blend into society and push down his camouflage abilities because he thinks it makes him a ‘’big joke’’ and he probably *was* made fun for it at one time, the way Mike was bullied too for not being ‘’scary enough’’. Like how is that NOT queer coded??????

Remember when gays tried to "blend in" to society, and ‘’assimilate’’ and live a double life, and we had to create our own bars, clubs, and social scene just to be ourselves away from public eye? That's because the "straights" who supposedly "didn't care about what we did in our private life" beat the sh*t out of us and murdered us. Hence PARADES. hm okay okay hm hmmmmmm hm OK

Why do you think Oozma Kappa created their own group of misfits? They’re not even a pledged fraternity. They’re not even officially recognized on campus. Because they were shunned and marginalized by the other prestigious campus frats….. because they’re unique. They’re different. They don’t fit in with the status quo. They’re loud! They’re geeky! They’re flamboyant! They’re UNAPOLOGETICALLY queer and everything in-between! They’re TOTAL ACHILLEAN QUEENS! AND THEY EMBRACE IT.

(these bitches too gay to function I love them so much ngl)

They don’t care what the others think of them……. They stay true to themselves…… they created their own community to celebrate their pride, their diversity, to create empathy and solidarity for other monsters like them who have their shared experience of prejudice, discrimination, and disrespect. These guys are literally urging each other to not be afraid of themselves and their differences, for self-affirmation, dignity, and equality and to rise up and fight against shame and social stigma—they’re encouraging each other to “come out of the closet” !!!!! (Who would ever think that Mike would become their unlikely leader? King of Queens? Self-Appointed Lord of Misfits? Or, The Losers Club, anyone? Because Mike sees Stars in all of these gays. ‘’Because if you knew how strong we were…….’’

(that’s the gayest thing you have ever said…….)

Mike Wazowski said, ‘’Gay Rights!’’

🎵 I see stars So many stars tonight We could make diamonds dull We are so beautiful I see stars We shine as bright as day I will look out for you We'll light each other's way We are so real, we are so rare We see you there, we see you

We're all stars🎵

He’s right and he should say it. Mike has nerves of steel!

……………. It’s honestly so wholesome.

happy pride to all my insufferable OK monsters we won truly 🌈)

When Mike and Randy enroll in college to begin a new life, they’re not simply “banging a drum” . They’re celebrating survival in a world that told them to hide, hate themselves, or disappear. The rainbow isn’t about forcing beliefs, it’s a symbol of freedom after oppression. What really offends the straights isn’t our pride. It’s the fact that we’re free enough to show it. Because when someone walks boldly in truth, it exposes the fears still shackling others.

And Johnny Worthington can’t STAND how much Mike embraces himself, loves himself, and loves and embraces his frat bros despite their flaws and builds them up and makes them become the Top Dogs on the campus that they later become. Because Mike believes in them. And by his believing in them, they learn to believe in themselves. Because the straights always fear what they don’t understand……… and they hate our pride. And you know what? They’re OK for a reason!

(I’ll come back to Mike + Randall and their sad love story but for now….)

~THE DEATH OF RANDY BOGGS= RANDALL DIES AT THE END~

So anyway……….

…….Think about it…….. would Randall be half as scary as he is if he hadn’t listened to Mike and kept his fuck ass glasses? Even though he can’t see past his own nose for the life of him, but he’d rather risk near sightedness if it makes him a halfway decent Scare Major with a kick-ass scare tactic?

So…………………………

Thanks to Mike, Randy goes from the Four-Eyed Hostess Twinkie to…….

………this Squinty-Eyed Ghost Pepper Bad Boy.

G’night Sweet Prince…..

You ain’t see nothing yet 😭😭😭wait for the transformation

THE PLOT THICKENS.

Now that we all know Randall couldn’t see for shit, hence the iconic ‘’evil’’ squint which isn’t actually evil, it’s just that he was blind as a bat….LEGALLY BLONDE…. I mean blind….like, you mean all this time?? and ….the jokes write themselves. The jokes that came out of this fandom will never not be funny….. you go back and re-watch MI knowing he’s *supposed* to wear glasses and then you realize why Randall never noticed the obvious even if it was staring him in the face……I mean yeah pretty much……….look at the way he squints at the Scare Board like an old Grandpa who forgot his specs……..The blind man knows he can't see... the fool doesn't.

…….or when he mistook Mike for Boo………. Cuz mf can’t see.

Like, homeboy, are you blind?????

Oh, wait-

So, when Randy loses the specs…. Little Randy died that day. Randy died and Randall Boggs was born. Randall the Fuck Boi. Or in Mike’s own words…… ‘’Wild Man.’’ You stay out of trouble you Wild Man, you.

Pffffffffft. As if!

He’s a Brooding Bad Boy. I think even geeky nerdy Randy had a bark worse than his bite underneath all that mushy gushy exuberant innocent endearing naivete. You can’t fool us, Randy! But he’s cool. And not 2000s edgy cool where the bad boy tries too hard to be edgy but ends up looking kinda... cringe. No, Randall is cool-cool, not cringe-cool. He’s not cooler than Mike, obviously, but he’s pretty darn cool. Dangerously cool. That bird is sharp!

I never liked Randall much as a kid but I like him now… it just took me decades to realize how cool he actually is. Better late than never. (He still kind of scares me tho… but if we weren’t a *little* scared of Randall we’d be missing the point of the whole movie.)

Btw I forgot THIS IS THE MONSTERFUCKER WEBSITE so…….

~LET’S GET FREAKY~

Some fans think he’s ‘’hawt’’ and ‘’sexy’’… cuz evil is the new ‘’sexy’’ I guess? But I never found Randall particularly ‘’sexy’’. Then again I’m just not really into anthropomorphic creatures in that way. They make for good characters but me being an animal lover and all (NOT a furry) I just can’t see these mfs as hot, fictional or not.. (That’s not knocking King Steve Buscemi, a National Treasure….. and Buscemi’s unique features were obviously assigned to Randall’s final design, esp. the long, skinny weasel body and the telltale Steve Buscemi eyes…)

He’s not unhandsome and unattractive, but……. I just think he’s creepy, not even mid, just creepy. The way the eyeballs move is so weird and unpleasant…. The way the eyes don’t line up…. The way he’s able to move his eyes independently is definitely adding to the whimsy…….Like how one eyes blinks before the other one does, like it’s NEVER in sync like a real reptile, like what on God’s green earth????….. The way his spine is always hunched over when he’s speaking to smaller characters as a means of intimidation (although it could also be because he can’t see too well and has to get uncomfortably close to look you in the eye)……. Like this angle right here is obviously from Mike’s three-foot-tall perspective…… and even though Randall only stands a mere five feet heigh when he’s on four legs (according to Pixar animators), he appears, from the ground level, to be so much larger than he actually is, because this unique camera angle specially makes him slightly out of proportion, with the head appearing closer to us than the rest of his body, because the way in which he’s crouching as low to Mike as possible, it almost looks like he’s going to jump out of the screen, like Samara coming out of the well in The Ring….

I mean, just look at the crocodile jagged toothy grin, and the prominent underbite that pushes his jaw towards us with those sharp, cone-shaped teeth and powerful jaws….. like Jaws, who????? The way he snarls in that crooked, lopsided smirk that transforms his face into the look of a misshapen Jack O’ Lantern…. I mean, the animators did such a tremendous job in upping the creep factor with this character design and making his movements so terribly unsettling and realistic, like you better believe how much creepier he was up on that Big Screen, magnified to glorious measures….. and even from a mature perspective, you understand why poor little Boo, a two, maybe three-year-old little girl would find this brute absolutely terrifying! Like, who wouldn’t??? I don’t think, of course, that Randall is Michael Myers Jump Scare!Scary, but he *is* creepy. There’s just something unnatural and disturbing about his cool, calculating demeanor. And that Chesire Cat smile of his………..like a frozen clown mask……..like Pennywise shit.

For a Disney/ Pixar movie, esp. he’s the scariest villain imho……………. (I’ll analyze it more later.)

(I’d never thought a salamander can be so creepy, cuz they’re usually very cute and squishable and I love them.) Randall, anyway. Randall’s a creep (a love to hate him kind of creep, but a creep…. A kidnapping psycho Norman Bates creep).

‘’Randy’’ is another story. Randy is a harmless brainy dweeb. Randy is just cute af okay??? They’re two different characters…..like a split personality, so you can’t even rightly compare them. Apples and oranges.

ANYWAY popular opinion will have you know that monsters are, indeed ‘’hawt’’. this serve right here should end all discussion

(And he’s got a scar on his right eye now which makes him MORE bad ass than he was before…. Pixar, you’re NOT helping………)

They said it, not me.

Actually you know what dawgs? You're so right about Randall. I was like "He's so hot and so fun. I want a thousand stories about him." Wait, stop. I didn't need this confusion... Well. To be fair, Randall here is hot in the same way Robbie Rotten and Sporticus are hot, so…… Well. Actually. He's 100 times better looking than the trash bags people usually thirst over, so………… this is absolutely against my will.

You'd actually follow him into a wood chipper wouldn't you? 🙄 Welllllll…… maybe.

~GLOW-UP OR GLOW-DOWN?~

Actually my only criticism with MU is…….. the changes in animation. Don’t get me wrong, there’s pros and cons with both movies.

For instance, I love the glow-up with the animation style in Monsters University. Pixar’s animation is less clunky and uncanny valley than it was in 2001……. As good as the animation is in Monsters, Inc. for the time period it came out, you can still tell it’s computer generated, so parts of it didn’t age as well, because of the way it moves like a computer model, or like a marionette puppet, it’s a little stiff and limited in its movements and aged a little bit like spoiled milk…….whereas in MU, it mimics more real life, like lighting and surfaces look so much more photorealistic and it looks less CD-ROM computer game-y, if you know what I mean, the movements of the characters are more flexible and smoothly elegant. Of course there’s a reason the color grading in MU is fire…… because they were using global illumination, a new lighting system that made the lighting setups more technologically advanced. Like it’s just beautiful to look at. It’s eye candy.

In MI, the animation looks groundbreaking for the time, but some of it looks outdated now. Not unwatchable, just dated. The characters don’t always flow. Like Randall looks great in most of the movie’s shots, but he always looks so weird in this specific frame, and it always bugged the hell out of me…. He springs up in a twisted unusual way like a jack in the box…. Looking a bit like a centipede… but the animation in general looks almost unfinished compared to the rest of the movie…….like it’s not completely rendered…. Idk if it’s just the lighting or……did they run out of budget?????? Was there a power outage????? A failed hard drive????? A computer crash??? WTF happened here?! He looks great in his first introduction in the men’s locker room, but then here… it’s like they just gave up and called it a day.

Plus, the colors in MI are a little washed out and dull and desaturated……… and maybe it’s on purpose because the majority of the movie takes place in a dark dirty factory with harsh fluorescent lights….

But MU is waaaaaaaaay more colorful and oversaturated in a Candy Land kind of way. I love the variety in settings. I love the slight redesigns of the monsters to show their youth compared to the first movie when they’re middle-aged adults, I love how bright and technicolor and pretty the characters look, BUT………

……..the animation style also took a bit of a glow-down, too….. like Randall specifically is a bit of a downgrade from MI to MU. Like I get not wanting to make him as evil looking and macabre and nightmarish, but……. Pixar simplified the designs to a point where the monsters look guppy, like they’re made of Play-Doh, which isn’t a bad thing…….. but if you compare the way Randall moves in the first movie to how he moves in the second movie, it’s vastly different. Like he’s more realistic in the first movie. His eyeballs are a big thing……. In MI, his eyes move independently, like I talked about, one eye moves before the other one does……but in MU, if you look closely, his eyes always blink at the same time, and it irks me.

Look at the normal eyeballs here:

Compared to here when they’re out of sync…. Right eye moves down…. A second later, left eye moves down…. (it’s so bizarre, but it looked better imo… that’s what *real* reptiles do… they blink one eye at a time, rather than both eyes simultaneously, don’t ask me why):

(i literally can't stop looking at it like it's so gross but epic)

(Also, in MU he seems to be missing the stripes on the eyelids??? And how do his glasses stay up if he doesn’t have ears???? And why does he only have three fingers?????)

Even the mouth shape is totally different…. In MU, his mouth moves up and down like a sock puppet, there’s no real incredible movement there…. In MI, they took great pains to shape every lip curl and every grimace and growl….. with those snaggle teeth, the way his face looks like a torn pocket when he smiles because the cheeks wrinkle up at the corners and the skin around the eyes and mouth stretches when he talks, like it lifts his whole face like a person and it’s weird and creepy and impressive at the same time…. It looks less like a computer model and more like a rotoscope….. like I said, it’s very uneasy and meticulous with the way he’s animated in MI compared to MU.

MU *looks* like an animation, you know? Which isn’t a bad thing. I like cartoons to look like cartoons but……..He may look more fluid and cutsey cartoon-y and vibrant and colorful in MU, but in MI………. he looks like an actual reptile, and despite the limited technology of 2001, his overall skin texture is so much more detailed and reptilian, like you can see every little line on his face, and the bags under his eyes, and patches of skin discoloration and different pigmentation, which is natural, like you can almost touch him through the screen he looks so hyper realistic (even Mike has the visible red veins on the sclera (white part of the eye)! That’s how detailed they were... I know they were older in the first movie but that's not the point). In MU, the characters are waaaaaay less detailed. Maybe it was to make them look more cute and aesthetically pleasing and easier to animate… Randall looks like a cartoon reptile, not a real one……. The scales and the details of his features aren’t as sharp and elaborate, he has no skin flaws, he’s so soft baby smooth, like he’s made of plastic, so it really downplays the creep factor of these designs.

Maybe that was the point? Idk.

Well at least they kept the best part about Randall’s design….. in both MI and MU he’s animated in such a complex way that all four of his arms are always doing something different….. it might get busy to watch but it’s just cool…. Imagine being that ambidextrous cuz Randall doesn’t favor either hand, like he can multitask like nobody’s business.

And then it makes his torture scenes towards Mike even more disturbing, cuz he can’t go more than five minutes without putting his hands *somewhere* on Mike to treat him harshly and inflict pain, like he’s got two hands here and two hands there, each hand doing something different, each hand restraining him, inflicting different levels of pain, one hand twisting his wrist, the other pulling his arm practically out if its socket, like I can literally hear the bones cracking, like poor Mike is a fly caught in a spider’s web……. Imagine being controlled and victimized by a dude with four arms, like Randall’s always got the upper hand over Mike, literally. It makes Mike 1000x more vulnerable because there's no way in hell you can defeat a guy who can make himself disappear and has four fucking arms, like there's no way…

….and you wonder why Randall targets Mike specifically and violently attacks *him* and not Sulley (until he’s forced to), cuz Sulley’s twice his size and he knows he doesn’t stand much chance against Sulley. Mike is half his size and easier to influence and dominate because he’s something like a Man Child who clearly lacks common sense and rationale….. like Randall literally talks down to him like a child.

I can’t see Sulley being cornered by Randall in a dimly lit hallway and being coerced to give information under pressure and physical torture…. Sulley has a little more sense than that. But Mike is too easily persuaded to do something he doesn’t want to do under threat….. Randall literally twists his arm. Randall uses mental and physical suffering to obtain confessions from Mike who easily breaks under Randall even if he tries to protect his friend… Randall *chooses* to threaten Mike for a reason, he knows Sulley will never break that easily. It’s not that Mike is a coward, it’s just that he’s vulnerable and can easily be manipulated and overpowered.

Notice how much more confident Mike is around Sulley when Randall confronts the both of them…. As soon as Mike’s by himself, without Sulley as his wingman, his confidence evaporates. He’s absolutely terrified of Randall. Notice too how Randall *only* specifically targets Mike when he’s alone and doesn’t have his bodyguard to stand up for him…. In the opening scene in the men’s locker room, he’s kind of a playground bully but his making fun of of Mike is more mean-spirited and mischievous but not necessarily in a violent or threatening way like we see him do later. He wouldn’t dare physically hurt Mike in that scene, because Sulley is right there and can stomp him on the sidewalk and turn him into grape Jell-O if he wanted to. Later when Randall realizes Mike is directly involved in letting Boo into the monster world, he literally waits until he can get Mike alone…. Away from witnesses, and away from Sulley, and stalks and traps him in an unoccupied part of the factory where no one would be able to hear Mike's cries for help. Like gee, Randall… you sure are tough messing with the ones you know won’t (or can’t) fight back. 🙄Randall’s over here abducting and exploiting children with their trusting nature and natural curiosity, and he has no qualms in doing the same to ‘’little monsters’’ like Mike (he even physically and verbally abuses his own assistant!)….. which is pretty low of Randall, cuz he never targets anybody his own size (or ten times his size), probably cuz he *can’t*……. Not that he’s all bark and no bite, but he’s only powerful if he’s preying on those he perceives as physically weaker than him……

…..but as I’ve said before, Randall can use his camouflage to his advantage, and so his small size doesn’t matter when it comes time for him to assault and ambush Sulley… David does almost succeed in taking down Goliath….. naturally Sulley can knock him over with his thumb, but that’s not Sulley’s nature…… he only knocks him out because he has no choice… but his pacifist nature won’t let him stoop to Randall’s level, like he doesn’t want to *kill* the guy……meanwhile Randall over here literally trying to *kill* Sulley by crushing his windpipe…… like, Randall doesn’t f*ck around, he means business… he’s like Sonny Corleone, he’s bulletproof! He’ll kick your ass, he’ll kick your dog’s ass…. Hell, he’ll kick his own ass!… Sulley, my man…. You’re too nice… you’re too soft…..

…..but yeah, Randall is just……. He’s an impressive villain for so many reasons, like no other villain in Disney or Pixar film history surpasses him. He’s just petrifying. He’s insidious. He’s deadly.

Now for the cons. Some folks criticized the animation in Monsters at Work, because…… well, obviously it’s not as good as cinematic animation because it’s a TV show, it’s on a stricter schedule and tighter budget, but they used the MU designs instead of the MI designs despite being a continuation of the first movie, so……… they made the characters look more like their younger counterparts and it doesn’t make too much sense continuity wise…. But animation wise, their simplified university designs were probably easier (and faster) to animate for a direct to streaming show……… but even if that wasn't the case, Pixar’s animation has changed so much over time. It’s almost ‘’dumbed down’’ a lot. Character designs are way less detailed than they used to be. It’s like they forgot how to animate the way they looked from the first movie. They were more crude and less ‘’cute’’ looking in the first movie but it worked for the story…… the cute designs work for college days, but I wish they went back to the older, rough-hewn, primitive looks they had from the first movie. they looked less like Sesame Street Muppets and more like.... you know.... monsters. The style is Night and Day. Just a minor thing, but yeah……………

In all seriousness, they couldn’t make Randall *too* scary. The early concept designs of all the monsters (including Mike and Sulley) were pretty terrifying…. But Disney execs had to step in and remind Pixar that they were marketing this movie for children, and in order to sell plushies and stuffies, they couldn’t make the monsters *too* scary. The kids wouldn’t buy the merch, and that’s *clearly* all Disney cares about, so they had to sacrifice hardcore bloodcurdling, bone chilling storytelling for the sake of the kiddos, and so they were forced to tone down Randall’s design and all the other monsters…….. so, even if they’re *kinda* cute in the final version, there’s still an element of creepy… maybe not Tim Burton creepy, but it’s there.

~A RANDALL BY ANY OTHER NAME~

btw Randall was never really a ‘’scary’’ name for a villain, it sounds like a FUCK BOI if anything…… well, at least it’s not ‘’Ned’’ or ‘’Switt’’ like what he was named in early story treatments, am I right? That would’ve been way worse… still, ‘’Kevin’’ would have been more villainous than ‘’Randall’’ like if that’s not the geekiest name on the planet…. It would’ve been kinda funny if they named him ‘’Donny’’ after his character in Big Lebowski……. His code name for Monsters at Work was ‘’Edward’’ to hide his eventual reveal from audiences. But that’s worse than ‘’Randall’’. You might as well have named him Barney the purple dinosaur…. with a name like Randall, it’s hard to take him seriously. But Randall Flagg the servant of Satan was the name of the villain in Stephen King’s The Stand, so Idk…. Is that who he was he named after? The Devil incarnate? The Eyes of the Dragon? Or was he named after Randall Weems in Recess? Idk…….

i’ll be damned if his last name don’t rhyme with ‘’dogs’’ like you know… Reservoir Dogs…. Reservoir Boggs, much???? Sure, cast the Sicilian Mafiosi from The Sopranos, why don’t you…. Is it just me, but I think Randall should’ve had an Italian name at the very least…. I mean if they were gonna go with a Polish-Jewish surname for Mike and cast a well-known Jewish comedian to play him, they should have committed to Randall once Steve Buscemi was casted… with the Brooklyn accent and all, they could’ve played him like an Italian gangster… cuz he literally tries to strangle Sulley to death, Godfather-style, using his entire body like a garrot … like dayum, this movie was messed up! Nobody better f*ck with Randall or you’d be sleeping with the fishes.

…..but no, it’s okay…… ‘’Boggs’’ strangely fits cuz it reminds me of a wet, muddy swamp… where gators thrive… and it kind of foreshadows his fate at the end of the movie, with his being mistaken for a gator in the Florida Everglades… or am I reaching????? Just say I’m reaching.

‘’Are you hurt from that stretch?’’ you ask. Yes. Yes, I am.

I’m dragging it lol

Oh we have lost the fucking plot.

Randall literally changed the chemistry of my brain forever…….. fuck you Randall. I love you. But fuck you.

----

To Be Continued……….

#happy pride 🌈#lgbtqia #films #disney #pixar #monsters inc #monsters university #mike wazowski #randall boggs #james p. sullivan #animation

22 notes · View notes

silcobrainrot · 3 months ago

Text

Get to know your mutuals!

Thank you for the tag @teawithghosts! I love a good tag game

What's the origin of your blog title?

It's on the tin my dude 😂🥵

OTP(s)+ shipnames(s):

This is my Arcane blog, so my Arcane OTP is Story x Character-Driven Plot. I liked Zaundads before it became wholesome. Sometimes when I put Jinx and Silco in a blender it comes out Jilco, so read the tags. Shipping really isn't that important to me tho. No one's ready for my ace headcanons.

Favourite color:

Purple. The hue my hair is (ask for pics).

Song stuck in your head:

Okay I discovered and then forgot Murder Drones existed, recently remembered so I have finally seen episode 8 and now the final boss song has been stuck in my head for like a week

Weirdest habit/trait:

3+ way conversations with myself. Sometimes I weaponize this for fic writing.

Hobbies:

GOOD FUCKING QUESTION Writing, bookbinding, film photography, starting collections and never finishing them because I start collecting something else

If you work, what's your profession?

Day job I'm customer support for a tech company. Theoretically I'm a freelance filmmaker on the side but I'm in between projects right now.

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?

I went to school for filmmaking and if it were up to me I'd be a full time video colorist by now, but school doesn't teach you the boring bits so we're still working on it.

Something you're good at:

Yeah I'll say it I'm a good writer. I know I'm a good writer. Mind the tags. I'm also good at my pictures. You have to be at least okay at film photography to get an image at all and I get those consistently.

Something you hate:

Borrowing one from prev, "proship DNI" culture. Grow up lol.

When something juuuuust barely doesn't fit. Applies to any and all circumstances.

That fanart is perfectly acceptable to monetize but fanfiction isn't. Not talking about copyright law, just in terms of fandom etiquette. There are people that make a consistent income out of fanart and fanmerch and commissions of copyrighted characters, but tell someone you took ONE writing commission or dare to have a Ko-Fi linked somewhere and they'll call the copyright holders themselves to make an example out of you. I know why it's more complicated legally, culturally people just don't think writing is as valuable of a skill.

Something you collect:

Anytime I take my film camera on an adventure I try finding a souvenir pin nearby. I'm making a map of where I've been on my camera bag.

Something you forget:

Oh lots of things, but I can't fucking remember any specifics 🤣

What's your love language:

Touch. I used to have a lot of platonic intimacy with my friends in middle and high school and it ruined adult life for me. I think the only fate worse than "touch starved and has never known touch" is "touch starved and used to have it all the time and now has none."

Favourite movie/show:

Movie [at the time of this question being asked]: I'm on a Cloverfield kick again

TV [at the time of this question being asked]: Arcane season 1

Favourite food:

Rice in any form. Humans really popped off with rice, potatoes, and bread.

Favourite animal:

Bats 🦇🥰 hoary bats are my favorite local species

What were you like as a child:

Talkative and extremely depressed. I knew when people were only pretending to listen.

Favourite subject at school:

English I guess. My favorite teachers were always English teachers. My school system was very essay-focused and by 8th grade they were letting us choose our own topics for the most part, so I learned that I actually enjoyed breaking stories down to their parts and seeing what makes them tick.

Least favourite subject:

Math. I learned I have discalculia a few years after graduating college.

What's your best character trait?

The BPD

What's your worst character trait?

Need to be right. Not in a "everyone else is the problem and I don't need to learn about anything" way but in a "if I'm wrong about this I deserve death and will never redeem myself" type way

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

"My mom is surviving cancer" -> "my mom will never have cancer"

-----

WOOF this got serious didn't it? Can't help it. Anyway no-pressure tags [apologies if you've been tagged before it's hard to keep track of the ones that aren't reblog chains]: @elizaviento @southsidestory @godlygivenanxiety @wildlybewitched @sorceressofthesky @constantfragmentation @mandofury

#tag game #ask game #mutual game #get to know your mutuals #the brainrot strikes again

17 notes · View notes

witchhuntress · 4 months ago

Text

Thinking about one of my fanfics where I wrote about Mai already going out w/ someone else before Naru realized he loved her & just…

It’s not something often done, I think? Tho I wouldn’t say I know the accurate statistic lol, but I think realistically, it’s natural for someone else to fall in love w/ Mai & for her to think, “Oh, maybe it’s possible I can like someone else than Naru/Gene.” I also think shoujo tropes aren’t all bad as long as the execution is great.

Ono-sensei pointing that one trope of jealous Naru during a case etc. as something she can’t write is definitely funny but also jealousy is something human & possible when you really like someone too jchchchg

So yeah I really did the metaphorical “hold my pen, I’ll write it instead” for Ono-sensei🤣🤣🤣🤣We fanfic writers can be such a menace; it’s funny jvjvjvh

But more than making Naru jealous, my main purpose really was to show that Mai is also desirable for being herself & that she can change her mind & have a relationship w/ someone else if she allowed herself as well. That her world doesn’t have to be narrowed down to liking just one person because she’ll meet many people still in the future. Also that other people can influence Mai & she can grow up trying out other’s advice because they have more wisdom than her & then finding out that maybe not all is applicable to her feelings & situation.

When I decided Mai is going out with someone else, I actually just wrote that as tho I was possessed 🤣It came to me when I was writing this one scene, & it was one of the most dramatic scenes I think because I was really lost in Mai’s thoughts & when I wrote that ending thought about her recalling she’s going out w/ someone already, it also made me stop & rethink tbh because WHAT? HOW???

It’s like hearing a gossip about you that isn’t true & you going, “I did WHAT?” Jvhvhh

I honestly thought I got so lost in the poetic rhythm because it showed up out of nowhere in writing but it felt so right when I read it due to the perfect turn of phrase. Like you know how you do a turn of phrase & it ends up rhyming perfectly? It was that Eureka type of moment.

It made me think, “Should I really do this? Can I do this?” It felt out of nowhere but at the same time I was already thinking of the time gap between this & that case, the possibilities, the conflicts. I think writing tropes is a challenge in itself because it can turn stale & predictable but also it can be easily half-assed. And I also didn’t want to do that.

But I think that was one of the best decisions I did for that fanfic because I delved into depths I didn’t think I would when I first decided on the case & story. Rereading actually made me realize how I was able to mix it w/ the case just right & my crazy younger self managed to write 7 chapters in 2 months🤣(something I can hardly do now tbh I’m a bit jealous of my younger self for that lol)

Never underestimate a motivated person 🤣🤣🤣

& that’s really the fun of it, isn’t it? Whipping up a story that you know some people will hate because of the tropes you used but then trying to find a way to make people understand why these characters decided to do this & that. And that tropes, when done right, can be palatable at least & acceptable at most.

In any case, I guess I also made a name for myself for being hard on the characters along w/ other fanfic writers hdhfhghgh I want a happy ending too, I promise

#ghost hunt #ghost hunt fanfiction #about writing tropes #and fanfics

13 notes · View notes

tiggymalvern · 2 months ago

Text

Burn Noticed 4x13 Eyes Open

This is another lengthy podcast ep that runs about an hour and a half. What does it mean this time? Where lies the disagreement between the podcasters? 🤣🤣

Bri loves the starting scene in the hospital - the callback to the pilot with Fi kicking Michael awake and then saying that the bullet missed his heart because it's so small. "She's so scared for him, and it comes out in being mean to him. I like watching her be a bit more vulnerable and covering it up with absolute violence." (It is cute, and so very Fi.)

She also loves the scene with Madeline and Michael after the credits. "When there's not a lot of cuts and Burn Notice just lets the actors work themselves, especially in more emotionally wrought scenes, it's so good. It gives them an opportunity to actually perform and these two actors are so good together."

Then they get into a lot of discussion about Dennis the serial killer...

Chris: Everything about his look and performance is 100% intentionally doing Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.

Bri: But isn't that the thing? He's a delusional narcissist who was born into money and has an inherent distrust of anyone he thinks is lower on the social scale.

Chris: Dennis is killing criminals and there's a weird morality thing to it - he's got a manifesto, and that's a different kind of serial killer than the American Psycho serial killer.

And then it turns out Bri doesn't know American Psycho, so there's a diversion. These younglings and their missed cultural touchstones!

Chris: He looks like Patrick Bateman but he acts like a weird, unwashed Rorschach character and those two things don't jibe. Killing criminals and killing homeless people, it's a weird mish-mash - they're fundamentally different psychologies so this character makes no sense to me.

Bri: He's killing anyone he feels is lesser than, he's like Darwin's tool.

The discussion goes on along those lines for a while and neither of them are convinced by the other's arguments. (I don't think it's that deep, honestly. He's a BN plot device of the week, and he's killing criminals because that's the plot and he's killing homeless people to make absolutely sure he's unsympathetic to everyone and none of the viewers are buying into his version of vigilante justice, as opposed to the BN version of vigilante justice.)

Bri likes the fact that the plan has to drastically change because Michael can't manage to get away when Dennis comes home when he's so injured.

Bri: Unfortunately, it doesn't really come up again that he has to reckon with his team about the fact that he's physically incapable of doing things like he's used to. He lies to Fi about what happened to save his pride and I feel like that's something that should come up again - forcing Michael to accept help because his whole stoic lone wolf thing shit can't get him out of it forever. I was initially very excited about this moment but then they drop it immediately. (Yeah, they do. His injury is mentioned again and used for humour, but this is the only time it causes a problem.)

They love the scenes where Fi is trying to get Jesse to be friends again and he's all, "Our marriage is on the rocks!" Bri: Jesse pouting aggressively I find incredibly endearing for some reason, and I think Fi also found it kind of endearing. (She really did 🤣)

Then they start talking about Jason Tracey and how he's really good at writing the comedy in BN. Those scenes truly are a delight.

Michael talks to Sam on the phone about the bombs then goes back over to Dennis. Bri: This is one of the first times we've got to watch him become the alias. He sort of shakes himself and then he slumps and kind of bugs his eyes out and starts to breathe a little different.

Chris: This is a good episode for Jeffrey Donovan. He's legitimately creepy in this episode. Talking about my complaints with Dennis, Jeffrey Donovan is playing this type perfectly. He's doing a much better job of playing this kind of zealot serial killer. (JD's acting is generally great, it's a huge part of the show.)

Michael and Sam use a flower delivery pretense to get close to the guards outside a house and disarm them, and then the guard throws the bouquet to the floor in frustration. Sam says, "Hey, pick that up! I worked hard on that bouquet!" and the guy actually does pick it up.

Bri: Sam is someone who really commits to the bit. He enjoys the drama of it, so I always like when Sam's around. (❤️)

Jesse deliberately detonates the bomb, and that goes down incredibly well with the podcasters.

Bri: Fucking dope move. That's the second time this episode that a really violent thing has happened unexpectedly and I think it really works. Jesse's like, "I'll help, but also kind of fuck you guys." I am digging this arc for him. (It is one hell of a wow moment 💯🤩)

It gets to be a great episode of BN easily, but not a great episode of television.

Bri: It's a perfectly serviceable action episode, it's very exciting to watch, but if you take a step back for a second, there are choices that don't thematically jibe. There were some thematic things they set up that were interesting but they didn't quite follow through with.

Chris: If they'd maybe pulled off that thing with Michael and his injury, that would have pushed it over the edge.

Bri: Totally. Because then the episode becomes about Michael Westen having to reckon with his own limitations, which is an interesting character study.

I definitely agree they could have done more with that, but it will be a little while longer yet before BN commits fully to being an arc plot show...

#burn notice #burn noticed #podcast #eyes open

14 notes · View notes

our-arospec-experience · 4 months ago

Note

It took me some time to write to you. I enjoyed seeing many kind and encouraging posts during Aromantic Week. I am still exploring my identity but am considering identifying as lithromantic and asexual.

I'm in my thirties, have never dated, and have not had sexual experiences. I have been open about my identity and try to discuss it frequently to raise awareness. In my free time, I volunteer with a local queer association, working with teenagers and older adults.

There are some aromantic and asexual individuals involved, but we don't often discuss these topics in depth because everyone has different perspectives and labels, which is perfectly acceptable.

I often feel lonely and misunderstood, but I appreciate being included in queer projects. I frequently find myself doing much of the talking, as others are more reserved about their romantic and sexual experiences. "I've never heard of that" is a common response when I share information, often about things I've learned from fanfiction and further researched online (please don't judge my curiosity).

The question is: why people frequently ask me for advice on relationships and sex (even at work). It's so weird 🤣

yeah, it is so weird lol. It's awesome that you're volunteering in spaces like that, I'm sure it's very reassuring for the younger aros out there that older arospecs do exist :D

#seriously anon that's so awesome of you #mod ozzie #lgbtqia+#aro #aromantic #arospec #queer #aro pride #our arospec experience

10 notes · View notes

leiawritesstories · 2 years ago

Note

I saw the below prompt and could easily imagine Aelin running a black market of printing services and I would love to see what kind of favors she’d take from a certain buzzard who is pressed for time.. especially if they’ve maybe been secretly pining after one another this whole time? 👀

Prompt: You’re the only one in our college dorm building that owns a printer so you run a black market of printing services for favors/money/food/etc. I don’t have time to walk twenty minutes across campus to the library, please help me.

Congrats on 500!

ANON DID YOU READ MY MIND????

Okay so.....this is actually real-life me at my college 🤣🤣🤣 I own a desktop printer so I don't have to use the campus printing service all the time and half the people in my building want to use it. Naturally I charge a fee--either money or food or coffee, i'm not picky lol. Anyway this is literally me in real life except for the secretly pining part bc i'm very very single and I adore this prompt, thank you so so much 😁

Here you go!!

Word count: 870

Warnings: maybe some swearing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Galathynius! Do me a solid?"

Aelin glanced over her shoulder to find Fenrys jogging after her, catching up to her before they made it to the dorm building they both lived in. "What do you want, Moonie?"

The blonde huffed a dramatic sigh. "First of all, stop calling me that, you know it doesn't fit my mature persona." Aelin snorted so hard she almost coughed. Fen just rolled his eyes. "Secondlyyyy," he groaned dramatically, "I need to print a paper. Lemme use your printer? Pretty pretty please?" He widened his big brown eyes irresistibly.

"Your sad puppy face isn't gonna get you free printing, Moonie," Aelin drawled. "A dollar a page, or $30 flat if it's more than 20 pages."

"Highway robbery!" he gasped.

She rolled her eyes. "It's the same price I've always charged and you know it."

"Ugh, fiiiiine," he grumbled. "Unless...how about I cover your coffee for the next week?"

"Hmm." She pretended to seriously think about it, knowing full well that she'd accept. Who was Aelin Galathynius to turn down free coffee, especially when she spent somewhere around 40 dollars a week on her precious caffeine. "All right, I accept. I'll text you my drink order, and I expect it delivered every morning as I leave for my first class."

Fen saluted her. "Yes ma'am!" he chirped.

She smacked his shoulder teasingly. "Cut the flourishing, drama queen." Fen flashed her a grin and jogged off towards his next class, while she swiped her student ID in the building's card reader and walked into the dorm. She, Elide, and Lysandra shared a triple room with an ensuite bathroom on the fourth floor, so she had to climb three flights of stairs to get to her room. As she opened her door, she noticed a sticky note stuck to the wood. It wasn't uncommon; people who wanted to buy her printing service often left notes stuck to her door. She gave the note a cursory glance.

HELP! Need to print 30 pages for 2pm class! -RW, #350

Aelin glanced at her phone. It was 1:15 pm, meaning whoever had left that note was probably pacing around their room in distress right about now. So of course, she decided to go pay Room 350 a little visit.

"Ah, shit!" yelped a male voice from inside the room when she knocked. There was a flurry of noise and stumbling, and a tall guy wearing a UTerr Hockey sweatshirt opened the door, his pale blonde hair a frazzled mess. "Um, hi?"

"Well hello there, Whitethorn," Aelin smirked, delighted to see the normally perfectly put-together Rowan Whitethorn, star defenseman of UTerr Hockey, all flustered over not having printed materials for class.

"Aelin, thank the fuckin' gods," Rowan gasped. "Did you get my note?"

"Mhmm," she hummed, intentionally vague.

"Ae," he groaned, his desperation showing, "can you print my articles? Please?"

"Got payment?"

"I--yeah, gimme a sec." He vanished into his room and banged around for another couple of minutes, rummaging through drawers and probably his closet as he tried to find cash. He reappeared with a sheepish, embarrassed blush staining his chiseled cheeks. "Uh..."

"No cash?" Aelin clicked her tongue softly. "Sorry, Ro. I don't take credit cards."

"Please," he begged, dropping right down to his knees in front of her. "Fuck it, Ae, I'm desperate! I'm fucked if I don't come to class prepared, the professor already thinks all athletes are dumb jocks who pass classes on daddy's money." He clasped his hands together and stared imploringly up at her, his deep green eyes wide and pleading.

A very naughty part of Aelin wanted to tell him all the sinful ways he could pay her for printing his articles. But because she was a mature woman, she kept that part of herself quiet.

"Well," she mused, "I suppose you could offer me a favor, but it better be worth thirty pages."

Rowan closed his eyes and tipped his head back, a soft groan slipping from his lips as he frantically tried to think up a worthy favor. That gods-damned little groan of his did bad, bad things to Aelin's naughty little inner voice.

Or maybe that was just her enormous little crush on him.

"Dinner." Rowan's voice broke through her traitorous wandering thoughts.

"What?"

"I'll buy you dinner," he repeated. "Anywhere you want, as much food as you want. I swear."

Aelin couldn't have stopped her response no matter how hard she tried. "Like a dinner date?"

Rowan's face flushed a surprisingly endearing shade of vibrant pink. "Um...yeah?"

A tiny, pleased smile curled the corners of Aelin's lips, blooming into a full-blown smile the longer she made him squirm. "Okay, I accept. It's a date." Without waiting for his response, she waltzed off.

When she returned to his room, his articles in hand, he was waiting by the door. He took the papers from her with a slow, relieved smile that made a dimple in his left cheek pop out.

"Thanks, Ae."

"Of course." She waved him off. "Better not be late, Ro."

"You too." Her brows furrowed in confusion, and he winked. "Our date, darlin'. Seven o'clock tomorrow. I'll pick you up."

Gods help her, she could not wait.

~~~

TAGS:

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@morganofthewildfire

@backtobl4ck

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@chronicchthonic14

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

#my writing #answered prompt #leia's 500 followers thing #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowan x aelin #rowaelin #rowaelin fanfic #college au #throne of glass fanfic

94 notes · View notes

whywhatswrongwithblue · 2 years ago

Text

DW REWATCH

S1E1 ROSE

When Rose Tyler meets a mysterious stranger called the Doctor, her life will never be the same again. Soon she realises that her mum, her boyfriend and the whole of Earth are in danger. The only hope for salvation lies inside a strange blue box.

1. LOVE this opening. Such a great bedroom hahah. Perfectly messy and pink—makes me wonder what t2r’s shared bedroom must look like now!

2. What does Jackie do for a living? I know it’s canon (or fanon?) that she’s a hairdresser but do we actually ever see her working as one?

3. Who’s Derek? And why does Rose think a mannequin prank would be up his lane? RUN. Such a great meet cute 😭😭😭😭 these two are married now you guys!!!!!!!

4. ‘Cos to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students.  That makes sense. Well done. 🥺🥺 nothing just the Doctor always appreciating the insight Rose brings🥺🥺

5. WILSON’S DEAD

6. ‘So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast.’ ohhhhh he wants her to join him so bad 😭 the poor guy. This is right after he’s destroyed his entire planet and there’s just SOMETHING about Rose he sees, huh? 😭🥺 also ’Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life.’ Such a great line!

7. TARDIS appearance!

8. ‘Honestly, it's aged her. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now you'd think I was her daughter.’ oh my God Jackie Tyler I have missed you. Imagine your mum reacting to you almost getting blown up like THIS though 🤣 yikes!

9. Rose doesn’t tell Mickey about the Doctor—no matter how ridiculous the plastic plot sounds she believes him, even if it is unconsciously at the moment

10. All the calls Jackie is getting one after the other insinuate a pretty closely knit neighbourhood, doesn’t it? All these people know where Rose works and are concerned enough to call up. Imagine how traumatic the sudden shift to Pete’s World must’ve been for Jackie—I know she’s got the parallel version of Bev but it’s not the same, and it must’ve taken a WHILE to adjust to everything.

11. “The airs and graces” comment. So much to be dissected here! Jackie’s relationship with herself and with her daughter implied very heavily in this one line. She seems to be jealous, even.

12. They have a cat flap! Rose confirmed cat person moment (1). The Doctor waiting outside the flat xD. Talk about picking up strays🥺

13. The dialogue is so damn gooood. And Christopher’s delivery is so endearing

14. Jackie hitting on the Doctor!!!!! Need tentoo to bring this up ASAP. She’s his mother in law😭

15. Staircase shot is incredible. Love the Sort of, yeah❤️ bit. Also love how the Doctor repeatedly checks on how she’s handling the information (*Are you alright? Do you believe me?*)—however unconsciously he’s doing it, he IS checking her suitability as a potential companion 🥺

16. Mickey SMH. Also apparently he doesn’t wash his dishes 🤣

17. Loveee Clive. RTD’s writing is so immersive, it really makes the whole world come alive. These side characters add so much depth to the story—something sorely missing in the Moffat and Chibnall eras.

18. THE WHEELIE BIN. I always forget how fucking ridiculous this episode is until I rewatch it 🤣 also lord Rose is so uninvested in this relationship. P-P-PIZZA will always be one of my fav lines

19. The infamous Jimmy Stone! I love how we’re given the one line about him and it’s inspired thousands of fics. Rose considering completing her A Levels here—would that be something she’d be interested in doing in Pete’s World?

20. TARDIS!!!!! Doomsday theme begins here 😓😓 love how the Doctor is judging how easily she can accept his alienness—he claims to be done with human companions every time but he is undoubtedly impressed by Rose. Also find it incredibly interesting he didn’t even think about Mickey being dead. This, contrasted with other alien lives (including the Daleks, sometimes) that the Doctor seems to value…is an intriguing juxtaposition. Is there a little simmering jealousy of the boyfriend already? Is he slightly unable to look at consequences of actions beyond his own? He has just come off of a genocide at this moment

21. Mickey’s mother! Bit of a mistake here, we learn that he was raised by his grandma in *Father’s Day*

22. Lots of planets have a North!!!

23. I always found it funny that Rose, who seemed so upset about Mickey a second ago, is now holding hands with Nine and running down the bridge lmfao. They really are very alike in their love for the thrill.

24. ‘Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy.’ You knew that and you never said?  Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?’ hmmm. Jealousy, perhaps? Or a disregard for lives he doesn’t believe are at the same level as that of higher beings? As much as he rejected the Time Lords, he is a product of his origin, and has quite a condescending view of humans

25. Shunt off. God, I love you RTD

26. The Nestene Consciousness is alarmed when it recognises that he is a Time Lord. Later in the show, it’s implied that the Time Lords were almost, if not as bad as the Daleks were, during the Time War.

27. RIP Clive 🕊️ fingers crossed it’s your cameo we’re getting in the 60th

28. Rose! My beloved! Bronze medalist! This screencap in particular is very Bad Wolf

29. I honestly can’t wrap my mind around people who say Rose was wrong for going with the Doctor. He came back for her!!!

30. The perfect opening episode. Extrapolation is done so elegantly and we even get a sense of how absurd the show can get. 10/10, and one of my favourite episode 1s!

#dw rewatch: s1 #ninth doctor #rose tyler #ninerose #nine x rose #rtd #meta

50 notes · View notes

los-ninos-tortugas · 2 years ago

Note

I get what you are saying about the 2003 Turtles being too serious for the Scooby Doo crossover... HOWEVER! What if they are the straight men?

The Gang accept everything going on as PERFECTLY NORMAL, because to them, it is. But then you have the 2003 guys just completely perplexed and out of their league because WHAT THE HECK?? The dog talks, and everyone is fine with that. What the heck is going on with those doors? Why do Shaggy and Scooby's terrible disguises trick the bad guy every time? Heck, if you get the right version of the Gang, they would be fine with 5 foot talking turtles immediately with the weakest of explanations!

Raph hates all of it. Mikey immediately makes friends with Scooby and Shaggy and joins them in being terrified. Donny is spiralling. Those clues make no sense - how the heck did Velma figure it out?? That trap should not have worked - it didn't even obey the laws of physics!! WHY IS EVERY BAD GUYS' PLAN TO DRESS UP AS A MYTHICAL CREATURE??? Leo is flummoxed; he has no idea what is going on and no idea what to do about it. Also Fred keeps trying to get him to wear a matching ascot because they are both leaders and leaders wear ascots!!

WAIT OMG YOU’RE RIGHT 🤣🤣🤣🤣

It’s got mild Turtles Forever vibes where the 2003 turtles are utterly bemused by these stranger’s abilities to bend the laws of the physics. But I’m just imagining it now, Mikey being buds with shaggy and scooby, being scared and also making impossibly tall sandwiches together. (Maybe shaggy is low key convincing Mikey to become a vegetarian)

Donnie both admiring Velma’s intelligence and also wondering how she comes to half the conclusions she does and is correct nearly every time?? How does she do it???

Lmao even Raph deciding that this is above their pay grade but he keeps getting dragged along cuz they’re in too deep now. He keeps spotting trapdoors before Daphne does and keeps pulling her out of the way just in the knick of time and is like “how do you almost keep getting captured every few minutes!?”

Leo must just be wondering “why does Fred constantly suggest splitting up? Why does it work??” And also the image of Leo with his own little ascot… too cute.

Love the idea that maybe this is one of those versions of the mystery gang where they’re just kind of an amalgamation of all their previous iterations so they’ve seen both sides of the spectrum of mysteries having real human causes or having genuine supernatural causes, so mutant turtles in the sewers? Yeah, nothing compared to those soul stealing cat demon ladies.

#answered asks #anon ask #tmnt 03 #2003 teenage mutant ninja turtles #03 leonardo #03 raph #03 donnie #03 mikey #the mystery gang #scooby doo #scooby doo crossover #tmnt crossover #katnip talks

35 notes · View notes

lamentationsofalonelypotato · 5 months ago

Text

@zepskies

I'm happy that you liked the "angsty love triangle" because let me tell you, it took years off my life 😂

Oooh my God, poor Dean. 🫣 This is literally torture for him! lol

Yes it is. And I hated myself for putting him through that, but it had to be done lol.

I had a feeling this was why he insisted on her living in the room next to his, our big protective man, but now it's coming back to bite him in the ass. 💀

It really did. Man just wanted to be close to the reader, not hear her do the horizontal mambo with Ben next door 🤣

And the fanning gif is perfectly used. The Dean literally having a whole expirence thinking about laying on top of the reader 👀

Sobbbiiiiiingggg -- oh Dean. 😭😭

I put him through so much in this part- oh goodness, he kinda deserved it, but it was struggle bus the whole way. He loves the reader so much, and wants to be with her, but we all know he's so bad at expressing his feelings 😭

God Dean! You can only bury your emotions under assholery and anger for so long. He can hate the fact that she's a hunter and want more for her, but he has to accept that it's her choice, and he can support her and be honest with her rather than succumbing to his assholery. 🥲🥲 But of course, his "I'm not worthy" mentality crops up as well. 🙃 Makes you want to throttle him (if in more than one way lmao)!! The thought that he was suffering so much while trying to find her when she was in another world is also heartbreakingly on-brand for him. He'd so be tearing through every piece of lore and resource to try and get her back. 😭

EXACTLY! He hates this life for her, but it is her life. It's her choice to be a hunter and he has to accept that. Because on one hand I do see the side of him that wants to protect her, but he can't shut her up in a glass box. He has to let her live her life and be okay with it. And YES, he should not hide behind the "assholery" (lmao 🤣) instead he should be honest with her!

Oh yeah the "I'm not worthy" was really pulling overtime- It DOES make you want to beat some sense into him with an encyclopedia lol. But we both know how much he struggles with that and I had to include it in here 😭

I KNOW! It fits Dean though. I could see him having the same reaction to it as when Lisa and Ben got taken. Because he loves the reader and he thought that he 'lost' her. Dean would have been almost FERAL to get the reader back.

💀💀💀 Come on now, Dean, don't be petty. 🤣

Dean is so petty you could call him Tom. 😆

TELL HIM, SAM. SHAKE HIM UNTIL HIS GREEN EYES ROLL INTO HIS HEAD -- make him see how he's acting!! lol

LOL YES SLAP SOME SENSE INTO HIM!! USE THE BOOK! Continuing with the trope that Sam knows everything.

Gahhh pain. so very pain, even though it hurts so good. 😭😭😭

Told you... YEARS off my life lol

I also love the use of the office gif- and I really love the little bit that you highlighted about what it was like to kiss Dean vs. Ben. Because yes Dean can say that Ben "is him" but they really are two different men with different mannerisms. And I had this idea that Dean's kiss would be softer, but also more tentative whereas Ben has the confidence to take what he wants.

Omggg finally!! Finally Dean's being honest about how he feels without being a dick about it. 😪

Literally all it took was a slap and the thought that he was going to actually lose the reader to put him over the edge. It was so satisfying to finally give him a vulnerable moment with the reader, especially after all the shouting between the two of them. But I think that he realized that the only thing he had to lose was the reader and she is everything to him 😭

Ughhh such soul-rendering description, and the spice here is oh so delicious. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 But I have to point out that the reading is having a DAY loll. Two beefcakes in one night?? 😏 (Also, I'm afraid of how Ben is gonna take this. 😬)

Thank you!! They needed a few moments of spice to make up 😉 especially after everything the two of them have been going through lol. And really after everything Dean had to listen to through the wall 😳

And I KNOW lol. The reader is really living the life we all want 🥴👀

Ben will take it... like Ben... and also a little bit like Dean- pushing it all down 😒

Oh sure, pretend she meant nothing to you to spare your deep-down man feelings. 🙄

Mhmm. It is unfortunately on brand for him and he will not be the one to admit that he has feelings for someone else. Especially not after everything that happened with Countess. And I also think that Ben understands that this reader, isn't really "his."

That was the biggest decider in this fic when I was trying to figure out if the reader should end up with Ben or with Dean. And it really came down to that she's not from Ben's universe. She's a hunter and there are parts of her life that Ben won't be able to understand that Dean can. She might be able to understand Ben, but she needs Dean and Dean needs her.

LMAOO Ben vs. Technology -- I think we all know who's winning. 🤣 And Ben secretly liking therapy just so he just has someone to vent to for an hour? Be still my heart, honestly. 😭

It is the first fight that Ben has ever lost 🤣 And I literally was like, yes Ben would hate being forced to go to therapy, but he would love to sit there and just rant with someone who has to listen to him. Unfortunately, I think that Ben would also be the person who has an affair with their therapist LOL

OMGGGGG I'M WEEAAAAK -- and he's already clocking IT girl's cuteness, I'm dead. 😂💞 The way he's already starting to like her better? I see what you did there. 😉

He's already smitten! 😍 And I had to give him a happy ending too! I don't think I would have been able to live with myself if Ben got sent off without someone to love him 😭 I also know that we've talked in the past about Ben needing someone in his life that gives it right back to him and doesn't put up with any of his antics, but I am so intrigued by the thought of what kind of person Ben would be with a shy/anxious significant other. I love that idea and I'm literally adding it to my WIPs lol 💗

ahaha you charmer, you. 😂 A swoon-worthy line, even if we do know how sleazy this man can be lol. She really has no idea what she's getting into with this guy, but I love to imagine that with this nicely wrapped up ending! 💕💕

He's got a line for everything *sigh* and he knows just what to say. I hate to say that this would have worked on me 😅 She has NO idea, but I like to think that the two of them are very happy right now. Also kinda know because I am slowly plotting out ideas for follow ups with the IT Reader and Ben lol. But I'm so happy you loved it friend!! Thank you so much for all your kind comments!!!💞

Part 3: Why Is It A Big Deal?

Pairing: Soldier Boy x f!reader, Dean Winchester xf!reader

POV: Dean POV, Reader POV, Soldier Boy/Ben POV

Summary: Dean's in for a rude awakening when he finds out exactly what you did when you got stranded in another universe.

Tropes: Fluff, Frenemies (Dean and the Reader), Enemies to Lovers, Awkward Situation, Multiverse Problems, ANGST, Crossover

Word Count: 12.4K (I PROMISE I DIDN'T MEAN TO)

Listen While You Read: Treat You Better By Shawn Mendes

Warnings: I'm gonna label this 18+ just to be sure. There is some swearing, Making Out, Sexual Innuendo, References to Sex, Jealousy, A little homophobia (it’s Soldier Boy), Feelings, Angst, Self Deprecating Thoughts? References to Past Sex (it happens quite a bit). Soldier Boy Being Soldier Boy (Everyone knows he’s a warning). Dean Winchester Being Dean Winchester.

Note: This is told from Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. There is no use of y/n. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!

Internal monologue is in italics and is in first person

A/N: It's finally here! I have loved the return to this universe more than words can describe. Each of the POV's are crazy in their own way. And again, don't forget to read the fic "Stranded" by @justagirlinafandomworld that inspired me to write this series in the first place! ENJOY!

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

Dean POV

Dean leaned back on his bed at the bunker and jammed the pillow further down around his ears over his headphones. He was listening to a mixtape that he had burned forever ago, chosen because it had the loudest drum solos blaring through his Walkman. However, it wasn't enough to block out the sounds that were coming from your bedroom or the subtle knocking of your headboard against the metal wall between his and your room that grew louder and louder every passing minute.

Dean had tried his best to get Sam on his side when he proposed the idea that Ben didn't have to come back to the bunker and instead should be sent be sent back to wherever the hell he came from right then and there, but Cas was still out doing whatever it was he was doing, which meant that Ben was going to stick around for a little longer.

And it meant that Ben was finally getting his wish… you.

Dean's teeth gritted together when he heard another moan over the sound of the cymbals and felt a white hot spike of something in the pit of his stomach burn through his body.

When you'd agreed to move to the bunker Dean had insisted you live in the bedroom next to his. It meant that if there was a problem in the middle of the night, Dean would be the first to hear you scream and the first to protect you. But other than the time you stubbed your toe and Dean kicked down the door when he heard you yell with his gun drawn, there hadn't been an emergent situation that required his help.

Right now he was regretting the decision to have you live next door wholeheartedly, because it meant that he was having a front row seat to everything Ben and you were doing in your bedroom.

Dean sighed, his eyes squeezed shut, as he tried not to imagine what was happening, but he kept having flashes skate across his mind. He didn't want to see what it looked like or sounded like to have Ben's name tumbling from your lips, all Dean wanted was to hear you say his name like that and to be the one making you fall apart beneath him.

Not some asshole from another universe.

The image of you laying under him back at the school came back to him in a wave, pushing away the revulsion momentarily. He remembered how soft you felt under him, how you clung to his body as if he was the only thing grounding you to earth, how natural it felt to be there protecting you, how you sighed when he pushed your hair back from your face, and how all the soft parts of you seemed to fit perfectly against all of the hardened muscles of him.

He hadn't even made love to you and you laying there on top of you felt more intimate than any experience he'd had in his life. Dean wanted to exist in that moment with you a little longer, to savor those last few seconds of you staring up at him as if he was the only person in the world.

The memory of Ben kissing you after followed. Dean remembered the way Ben's lips roughly took from you and the way he held on to your face and it snapped Dean out of it. It hurt him more that you let Ben kiss you after Dean had been the one to save you.

Fuck.

His teeth gritted hard together so tight that he heard them grind. He hated watching you with Ben, hated watching Ben do the one thing that Dean had wanted to do for years. And Dean also hated the way that Ben treated you, as if you were something to be possessed and showed off, as if you weren't smart or anything more than just beautiful.

Dean had known from the first moment he saw you in Ellen's bar years ago that you were the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his entire life. You were funny, kind, sarcastic, and had a hard edge that you'd developed after years of being a hunter, but there was something else, a softer side of you that you didn't let everyone see, something hidden beneath it all that you only allowed yourself to have whenever Sam was around, but never with Dean.

It made him hate his brother a little bit, seeing how effortlessly the two of you had developed a friendship, while Dean had to practically Heimlich you to talk to him.

Dean wanted to see that side of you so badly. He wanted you to smile at him the soft way you smiled at Sam, and wanted you to laugh at his jokes or tease him playfully about his hair or about what he was wearing that day the way he'd seen you with his brother.

He tried to find reasons to be in the same room as you, drifting to sit nearby while you read or watched a movie. You always seemed different then. Your body was relaxed, open, with just a hint of a smile curving on the edge of your lips that made Dean want to stare at you for the rest of his life.

He tried to make you laugh whenever he could and tried his best to impress you, but each time he did you'd only roll your eyes and make a sarcastic comment. You didn't like him, Dean knew that, but he wished you did.

Sure he was maybe a little harsh on you sometimes, but Dean didn't want anything to happen to you, he was trying to protect you, because he knew the moment he stopped caring so much would be the moment he lost you.

He'd lost so many things in his life and he knew that he couldn't lose you, not without losing a piece of himself.

He hadn't felt like this about anyone else ever, and he didn't know what to do with his feelings. Bottling them up only seemed to hurt him more, but whenever something happened on a hunt or you tried to split away from him and Sam, he panicked and said things that he shouldn't instead of the three little words that he'd been wanting to say to you for years.

That's what happened a few weeks ago on a hunt, when you went into a house alone and faced a poltergeist that threw you across the room and into a glass cabinet. Dean had stood there yelling at you trying to tell you how stupid it had been for you to go in alone, while biting back what he really wanted to say- that he couldn't lose you. He couldn't lose you because looking at you was like watching the fireflies along a misty road at dusk, each one lighting a path in the darkness that showed him the way.

Yes he was angry, but all Dean saw was the bloody ripped sleeve of your shirt, and the way your face had contorted in pain when Sam picked you up and helped you back to the car. It made Dean feel like someone had ripped at his insides with a pickaxe seeing you hurt and listening to the whimper of pain that passed through your lips. He knew that he went too far when you broke his nose, but damnit, Dean just wanted you to be safe! And you never listened to what he told you because you were just so damn stubborn and always got on Dean's last nerve.

The truth was he hated that this was your life, hated that you were a hunter and each day you put yourself in danger, because he believed you deserved more. You deserved a normal life with someone who loved you, maybe a few kids, a dog, and a life far from the world that Dean and you knew so well.

Of course the thought of you with anyone else made Dean want to put his fist through a wall. The problem was even though Dean wanted you, he believed that you deserved better than him. You deserved the white picket fence and suburbia, not a darkened bunker underground with a man who wasn't sure he still had anything good left.

It was the reason why he didn't want to tell you how he felt, that, and Dean believed you absolutely hated him and hated being around him in the first place. It's why he buried it beneath the surface for so long.

However, when he was looking at you Dean often forgot the things that happened to him. You made him want to keep getting back up to fight if not for anyone else, for you.

But then Ben had shown up.

When you'd gotten dragged to another universe, Dean had tried everything in his power to get you back. He'd screamed and prayed for Cas so loud and so many times he went hoarse, he'd looked through almost every book he knew of to find the spell to bring you back to no avail, tried several rituals that promised results but gave him nothing, looked at his computer screen for so long that it made him cross-eyed, and drank coffee so strong it made his heart race.

But all Dean knew was that you were somewhere else alone, where he couldn't get to you or protect you, and it made him sick. He hated the thought of you alone trying to fight your way to survival in a place like the Endverse. When Cas finally came five days later and helped Dean bring you back, Dean had been so happy to see you that he'd almost hugged you, but instead he'd made an off-brand joke and you'd run into Sam's arms for a hug that made his chest tight.

Dean thought that he was having a nightmare when he saw Ben, a man who looked so much like himself, stride into the motel room confidently and kiss you. Dean was waiting for you to push him away, to tell him to fuck off, but you didn't, you liked it. And judging by the sounds Dean was hearing through the wall he could see that you wanted Ben.

All it did was piss Dean off that another version of himself got to have you and he didn't. Not when he'd known you longer and you'd only known Ben for five days.

Five fucking days. She's known that asshole for five days and she likes him. She's known you for years and she can't even stand to be in the same room with you.

The thought made Dean's heart clench in his chest. He didn't understand what Ben had that he didn’t have, he was him after all as Dean kept saying over and over to you. But Dean knew that deep down the real thing he was telling you over and over was not that Ben was him, but rather was asking the question: "why not me?"

Does she really hate me that much that she can't stand the thought of being with me? That she can stand to be with someone who looks exactly like me, but can't stay in a room with me for more than ten seconds?

Dean gets out of bed, stomps out the door, and down the hallway towards the library to try and escape the sounds coming from your room. They vibrate down the hall after him, like a flock of seagulls, mocking him all the way and doing little to ease the anger and jealousy swirling beneath his skin.

Sam is sitting in a chair with a large volume in front of him and a piece of notebook paper scribbling furiously when Dean enters the library, but he doesn't appear surprised to see his brother.

"That better be a way for use to get rid of the walking Trojan ad." Dean huffs, throwing himself into the chair across from his brother.

Please let them be using protection. The last thing I want is to be stuck here to raise super baby. I had enough problems with Jack.

Sam gives him a sympathetic look, and pushes his long hair back behind his ears. "Sorry. I'm researching a case in Kentucky, but Cas said that he'd be back in a few hours-"

"He said that ages ago! I want that asshole gone now." Dean's hand tightens on the arm of the chair, so tight that his knuckles are white. He was happy that the library seemed to be far enough away from your room to escape the noise, but he knew it was happening, which didn’t help at all. "I don’t understand what she sees in that dick."

Sam hesitates for a moment, tapping his pen against the notebook paper.

"Just spit it out Sammy." Dean sighs.

"He might be an asshole to you, but not to her." He replies simply.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Well you're kinda…" Sam shrugs and leans back into his chair trying to find the words.

"I'm kinda what?"

"You’re kinda a dick to her." He finishes. "She's getting fed up with it. The other day she told me that she's been thinking about moving out and going back on her own. I've been trying to talk her out of it-"

Dean's blood ran cold. He hated the thought of you leaving again, it meant that he wouldn't know where you were or if you were alive and he wouldn't be able to make sure you were prepared for a hunt or at least be there to have your back if something went wrong- because let's face it, something always went wrong. "What? What the hell are you taking about?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because she hasn't made up her mind."

"But why?"

"Because ever since the first time we’ve been going on hunts with her, you’ve been rude and-"

Dean interrupts his brother with a shout. "What? Do you expect me to hold her fucking hand? We’ve seen experienced hunters get killed out there with one simple mistake! And she’s just some amateur-"

"Dean, she's not an amateur." Sam sighs as if he can't understand why Dean was being so difficult.

He was. Sam was used to it whenever the subject of you came up in front of Dean, but honestly his brother's stubborn attitude when it came to you was annoying him.

"She is!" Dean snaps back wishing that he had a beer.

"No, she’s not." Sam shakes his head. "She’s been doing this just as long as we have. You know who her mom was and you know that her mom was just as hard on her as our dad was on you-"

At the mention of their father, Dean can feel his jaw tighten, memories flashing across his mind that he wanted to forget. The cold feeling of disapproval begins to creep up his spine to his shoulders, but Dean shakes it off. "That doesn’t matter."

"I think it does."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, Dean you keep saying that he’s you, but I'm starting to think that she's you."

"You need to stop using all those hair products Sammy, they're messing with your head-" Dean scoffs.

"Just listen to me for a minute." Sam points at him with the pen. "She might be stubborn and sarcastic on the outside, but she's not callous or emotionless. She hides what she's feeling deep down, just like you do. And I think that she likes Ben because he doesn't hurt her and he makes her feel wanted."

But I do want her.

The thought rises before Dean could stop it and he wonders if you'd spent all these years thinking that he didn't want you around when it was all he thought about. Every decision he made was to try and protect you, to put you first, and the thought that you didn't see that hurt him.

"I'd never hurt her-" Dean's voice comes out a little softer and more broken than he meant it to, catching slightly on the words.

Sam shakes his head. "Not physically. But the two of you have been doing this for years and I think that she's sick of you treating her the way you do and then she met Ben. She met another version of you who appreciates her. I know that you’re a little jealous-"

"I am not jealous!" Dean says on instinct, but Sam knows the truth, he's always known the truth, and Dean knows it too.

Sam rolls his eyes at his brother. "You should talk to her. Take Ben out of it and talk to her the way you talk to other people."

"I talk to her like I talk to other people." Dean grumbles as he gets up out of his chair intent on going to the kitchen to get a beer or something stronger to take the edge off.

"No you don't. So go talk to her." Sam waves a hand in Dean's direction before his gaze drops back down to the book.

"She's kinda preoccupied." Dean mutters under his breath and the image of you and Ben tangled up in your bed makes him flinch.

Sam looks up at his brother again, sympathy flashing in his eyes. "Dean-"

"Just leave me alone Sammy."

And with that he turns and makes his way towards the kitchen, hoping that he won't be able to hear Ben and you, and wishing that you hadn't met Ben in the first place.

Reader POV

Ben mutters something in his sleep, rolling his body towards yours so close that his muscular right arm brushes against your bare shoulder. He was laying on his stomach, his face pressed into one of your many pillows, snoring softly, and taking up most of your bed.

It wasn't hard to. The full sized bed was hardly big enough for you, let alone two people, especially not someone as tall and broad as Ben. Which became more obvious when you noticed that Ben's feet were hanging off the end.

You sigh, laying on your back and staring up at the cracks in your ceiling, unable to fall asleep. You followed each one with your eyes, tracing the shapes they made like someone watching the clouds on a hill bathed in sunlight. You'd thought that after everything Ben and you did for the past two hours you'd be able to fall asleep as easily as he did, but you couldn't because your mind was awake and roaming everywhere it could.

It wasn't that you hadn't had a good time with Ben or hadn't wanted to have sex with him. Ben didn't force you into anything. You wanted to have sex with him. You had missed him and it had been a while for you, and you liked Ben. The problem was that now, after, there was an odd feeling stirring in the pit of your stomach, something that felt surprisingly like guilt.

I have nothing to be guilty about.

You chide yourself, hands curling and uncurling on the edge of the blanket the longer you stared up at the ceiling. But it was still there, bubbling up beneath the surface. Your mind kept slipping back into the memory of Dean and you in the broken auditorium.

Each time you closed your eyes you were back in Dean's arms, looking up at him while he pushed your hair out of your face and asked you if you were alright, his eyes filled with something that looked suspiciously like worry. He'd never acted gentle or caring like that before with you and you still felt odd from everything that happened.

Fuck. What is happening to me? I just spent the last two hours with Ben, I shouldn’t be thinking about anyone else but-

You sigh again and shut your eyes, but it just brings the image back to haunt you.

You hadn't had any thoughts like this about Dean, not ever, and you didn't know why now. You'd spent years thinking that he was a big jerk who hated you, but the Dean you saw earlier today was far from that.

In the past, Dean had your back a few times, but it hadn't been like earlier. He'd never held you close, covered you with his body as if he didn't care what happened to himself as long as you were safe, and he'd never brushed your hair away with such tenderness it made your heart flutter in your chest.

No. Dean has been a total dick from the moment I met him, he hates me, he-

The thought stutters to a stop when the hurt and jealousy in Dean's eyes when you kissed Ben comes flashing back through your mind.

Does he? Or did I just interpret that wrong? Maybe it was just the hatred he had towards Ben flaring but… why does he hate Ben? He has no reason to.

But despite everything that Dean had done to you over the years, you didn't hate him.

Even though he tap danced on your last nerve whenever he opened his mouth and often made you feel stupid you couldn't, not when you saw the way he cared so much for other people. Dean Winchester was selfless, he always put other people first and was willing to sacrifice himself if it meant someone else got to be happy and got to live.

You glance at the man lying in the bed next to you. Ben was handsome and strong. He possessed some of the qualities of Dean that you found attractive, but he treated you differently. It was what drew you to him when you got trapped in Ben's reality, not just that he looked like Dean, but that Ben joked with you, teased you, and he seemed to generally care about you.

Dean didn't act that way with you. At least, you'd never seen Dean act that way before today. Today was different than any other day and you wished that it hadn't been.

Ben mutters something else, and this time he leans more towards you, his arm coming up around your waist to hold you against his side. The warmth and weight of it was familiar, but it made the feeling of guilt grow larger in your stomach.

Why is this happening? I didn’t feel guilty the last time I had sex with him.

Your eyes trace the way his dark hair has fallen into his face and over the pillow, and you reach up to push some of the strands back from his face. But with it comes the ghost of how you wanted to do the same thing to Dean earlier, that your fingertips had itched to feel his brownish golden hair in your hands.

Before he'd drifted off Ben had asked you to come with him when Cas sent him back to where he was from, said that he wanted you there with him. You had an inkling that it was the first time that Ben had asked something so serious from a woman. But you weren't convinced that it was because Ben wanted to have a relationship, rather that he didn't want to be alone.

You'd be lying if you said you weren't considering it. Ben was kinder to you, gentle (in his own way), and he seemed to appreciate having you around. But there was something holding you back.

At first you thought it was Sam. He was your best friend and you didn't want to abandon him, but there was another feeling, an ache deep down that you didn't know the cause of. Other than Sam there really wasn't anything in this universe that would hold you back from going with Ben, but obviously there was, you just couldn't figure out what.

Sure Ben's reality was fucked up… yours was too. Demons and Angels duking it out for supremacy while other creatures hid under beds and in the dark to kill people or worse wasn’t ideal either. But you weren't sure what your life could look like there. There wasn't anything to hunt which meant you'd probably be dealing with supes instead and the thought wasn’t appealing. You weren't sure that you belonged in his world.

Maybe I should have asked him to stay with me?

The thought made you bite the inside of your cheek. You'd been thinking about moving out of the bunker. Yes it was the only permanent home you'd ever known, but Dean was getting on your nerves and you thought that maybe you should get a little bit of distance from him. Moving out and Ben staying meant that he could come with you on hunts, but you weren't sure that was the solution either. Ben was strong and brave, but you weren't sure that he had the precision or the delicate side you needed when approaching a hunt to do well here.

It was these thoughts that were keeping you awake and you decide to get some water to clear them.

You slowly begin to slip out from under the covers, gently moving Ben's arm off of you as slowly as you can as to not wake him before you make your way to your dresser to find a clean pair of panties and an oversized t-shirt. Ben sighs and shifts in the bed, the sheets pulling down just a little bit so you can admire the expanse of his freckled muscular back.

You'd seen Dean shirtless before once. He had come running out of his room with his gun drawn when you'd stubbed your toe on your bedside table and yelled. He hadn't put on a shirt before coming into your room, just aggressively kicked down the door wearing only a pair of hotdog pajama pants that you did mock him relentlessly for afterward. You didn't know why he'd looked so frantic when you yelled. It was just a toe after all. There wasn't anything for him to be worried about. Sam had showed up maybe ten minutes later rubbing the sleep from his eyes not worried at all.

But you'd remembered how Dean had looked shirtless. Sometimes the thought came flying into your mind at the most inopportune times, when Dean pissed you off and stuck his face so close to yours that you could feel his breath against your lips and the warmth of his skin through he air. The thought of him shirtless with his pajama pants hung so low on his hips that you could see every single hard defined muscle of his abdomen including the ones that made smart girls like you stupid.

You slipped on the clothes, but stop before you open the door to cast one more glance at Ben.

Although you knew that Ben and your relationship was more physical, there was a part of you that believed it could grow into something more if you went with him, something that you'd been wanting for a little while. Not just Ben specifically, but with someone.

Yes you were lonely, and Ben lessened the ache whenever he was around, but sometimes you wanted more than this and being a hunter didn’t help at all.

You never met anyone or tried to have a real relationship with anyone in a long time. The last permanent boyfriend you'd had wasn't a hunter, but someone you'd met in a bar after a hunt with Dean and Sam. It lasted Four months. Four months of you missing anniversaries, dates, and his birthday. He'd accused you of cheating on him with Sam and you'd found him in bed with his work partner when you'd tried to surprise him one weekend. You hadn't been surprised. Surprising was when the guy had tried to follow after you and both Dean and Sam had blocked his path and told him to "get lost." That was putting it nicely.

Sam had to hold Dean back from breaking the guy's arm when he shouted over the two of them at you that you "weren't worth the trouble." You didn’t understand why Dean was also just as pissed at the idea of the guy cheating on you as Sam.

You shake off the thought and tiptoe out of the room in the direction of the kitchen.

The bunker was silent, the metal floors cool beneath your bare feet as you walked down the desolate hallways. You glance at Dean's closed door for a moment as you pass and the feeling in the pit of your stomach tightens. A flash of the emotions on his face when you kissed Ben in the car and at the school flickers through your mind and you clench your jaw.

What the hell is wrong with me?

When you enter the kitchen you realize that you're not alone. Dean is leaning over the metal table his large hands braced on the top, his back to you, and his head bowed. A bottle of expensive whiskey sits on the counter in front of him next to a glass with the maple colored liquid inside. But the weird thing was that this wasn't the usual stuff Dean drank. This was the bottle that he had Sam hide from him for emergencies, the stuff that you'd only seen Dean drink when he was really upset and nothing else would cut it.

But what?

He turns when he hears you walk in.

You watch his eyes darken slightly as they skate over what you're wearing making your cheeks flush. You didn’t think he was still awake. If you had, you would have wore more than your favorite Metallica t-shirt that was worn soft from years of wear. Dean's gaze catches on the end of it where it hits mid-thigh, lingering a second too long, and makes something spark in your chest.

"Sorry. I was just getting some water." You clear your throat awkwardly.

"Romeo didn't get it for you?" Dean frowns as if the thought of Ben is an annoyance to him.

"No, he's asleep." You shake your head. "I thought you were asleep too-"

"Kinda hard to be sweetheart when the two of you are shooting a porno in the room next door to mine."

You feel your cheeks flush an even brighter pink. You didn't know that Ben and you were being that loud. The bed was a little squeaky, but you hadn't worried about the sound. The icky feeling in the pit of your stomach is back, the guilt rising in a wave the more you realize how much Dean heard.

Again? Why am I guilty? Ben and I had fun, he didn't force me to do anything. I wanted to have sex with him but-

"I'm sorry. I didn't know we were being that loud." You shake off the feeling and move around Dean to get a glass from one of the shelves.

"Guess he was making up for lost time huh? All those lonely months away from you fucking other women were hard I guess." Dean's words bite through the air and made your own temper flare up.

"He's not cheating on me. We weren't exclusive-"

"But you haven't been with anyone since you came back from his world."

Your hand freezes around the glass you reached for on the shelf. Why did he notice that? And why does he care?

The flicker of emotion in Dean's eyes when you kissed Ben in the auditorium comes roaring back, jealousy and hurt. It makes the guilt worse.

You let out a breath to calm the anger that wishes to bite back at Dean's comment. "Look, I know that you don't like him, but Ben isn't a bad person and even though it's not any of your business, we had fun."

You don't know why you felt the need to justify what you'd done with, but the words are out of your mouth before you can stop them. Standing here in front of Dean felt awkward, and it never had before. And it wasn't just because of what you were wearing, there was something else charging the air between the two of you. You were expecting a giant purple elephant to appear in the corner.

Dean chuckles, his eyes dark. "Did you now?"

"Yes." You reply, but you can't hold his gaze, not when he's looking at you like that.

Dean takes a long swig from the glass in front of him, his lips curling on the edges in a cruel smirk. This was the Dean you saw more often, the one that made you feel like a failure and a bother, but it was the first time that you longed to see the soft Dean who protected you from the fallen debris.

"I could hear just how much fun the two of you were having sweetheart." He continues. "But the man who isn’t a bad person toasted a woman that he slept with without batting an eye. Imagine what he'd do to you."

"A woman who was going to kill me." You say to defend Ben. "And he wouldn't hurt me."

Dean's eyes flick down to your thighs, his gaze hardening. "What do you call those?"

You glance down at the place where your shirt meets your thighs and notice the bruises. There were five on each leg and each was a perfect imprint of Ben's fingertips. They didn't hurt and you certainly hadn't felt or noticed them before Dean pointed them out.

But you knew that Ben would never hurt you. He wasn't like that.

Sure he killed that woman today, but she was crazy and she was trying to kill me and-

"He didn't it on purpose. He's stronger than us and sometimes-"

"Don't you dare make excuses for that asshole." Dean growls eyes flashing. "I don't care if he didn't do it on purpose, he still did it. He knows how strong he is and if he can't control himself he shouldn't be sleeping with you!"

"You're being ridiculous!" Ice clinks against the sides of your glass as you make your way back towards the sink.

"No, I'm not. And I want him gone!"

"Oh really?" You snark while placing the glass under the running water in the sink. "I had no idea. You've been so calm and collected since the moment Ben showed up."

Dean opens his mouth to respond, but instead huffs out a breath and pours himself another glass. The amber colored liquid splashes against the sides of the cup as Dean violently picks it up to take another drink.

An uncomfortable silence settles over the kitchen.

The water is cold, but you can't feel it when you take a sip, and you still can't quite look at Dean.

If he really is jealous, why can't he just come out and say it? Why is he being so stubborn and nitpicking someone else?

You sigh quietly to yourself and take another sip of water. The guilt was building again, prickling beneath your skin and bringing an uncomfortable sensation in the pit of your stomach the longer you stand there.

Why am I guilty? Dean being jealous has nothing to do with me and everything to do with him!

You think about going back to your room and being done with it, but you can't something is keeping you in that kitchen with Dean just as something is keeping him there with you.

"He-um-" You swallow. "He asked me to back with him to his universe."

Dean's entire body tenses as he explodes. "What? Are you fucking kidding me!?"

"No I-"

"Are you seriously considering that?" He demands looking at you like you're crazy.

"Yes. I am." You answer him honestly. There's something hidden beneath the surface that makes you want to tell Dean this. You're not sure if it's morbid curiosity or if it's something else, something that you can't quite place, but you want Dean to tell you what he thinks.

"But why?! You've known that asshole for five days!" Dean snaps back, but you can hear something in his voice, almost as if he's holding himself back from saying something else.

Dean please just say it! Don't keep it in!

"He's not an asshole, he's just rough around the edges." You shrug continuing to make excuses for Ben and thinking about the bruises on your thighs.

"Oh please." Dean rolls his eyes so far into the back of his head you wonder how they didn't get stuck on his brain. "If I took a piece of tree bark and ran it along his arm, he'd make it smooth."

"But-"

"Sam told me that you were unhappy here, but I didn't think you would throw your entire life away to be with that asshole!"

His words make you hesitate for a moment in surprise.

Sam told him that I was thinking about leaving? Why did he tell Dean that?

"What life Dean?" You shout, throwing your arms out to gesture to the entire room. "I don't have anything here! I can't keep a relationship because I let people down. I don't know who my dad is because he walked out on my mom as soon as he found out she was pregnant. My mom died four years ago. I go to bed every night wishing for something else to happen but-" Frustrated tears were burning in your eyes now.

You didn't want to cry in front of him, but the urge to was overpowering everything else, the emotions you tried to keep down for so long beginning to curl and reform from the dark recessive parts of your mind where you buried them the night you met Dean Winchester.

"You deserve better than that asshole!" Dean shouts over you taking another step in your direction.

"Oh and what do you think I deserve Dean? Are you saying that I deserve someone like you?

Dean grits his teeth in frustration, anger blazing behind his eyes. "No I-" He finds his words. “I can’t believe you slept with him.”

"Oh good! That dinosaur. Falling back on something familiar, what a typical Dean Winchester move!" You gesture wildly with your hands sloshing water onto the floor. "I don’t understand why you’re so upset about it. We’re both consenting adults. He didn’t force me to do anything.”

You put down the cup to avoid throwing the glass at him.

“I just don’t see why you did it!” He towers over you, his body pulled taunt with his own anger and frustration.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You shouldn’t be sleeping around with people like him!”

Is he out of his MIND?!

"Why not?" You demand, fists curling into balls at your sides because you know that it's not safe to put them anywhere else. The anger that was flaring in your chest was starting to rival how you felt the last time that Dean and you had an argument and you broke his nose. And it had just finished healing a few days ago.

"Because he treats you like a piece of meat!" Dean shouts it so loud you can hear the frying pans hanging in the kitchen clink together

"Do you even hear yourself? I have seen you in bars picking up women after a hunt-"

You had. Countless times. The bravado Dean had when the three of you were still floating on the adrenaline that was pumping through from a hunt you'd seen first hand in the bars where Sam and you sat at a one of the high top tables watching him weave through the crowds with the sound of classic rock blaring over the crackly speakers. You watched Dean find another woman for the night, saw how he tried his best lines and got what he wanted while you sat in the motel room next to his trying to read beside a sleeping Sam and avoid the noises coming from next door.

"This is different!" He fumes.

"How is it different Dean? I want to know!"

Is it different because he's jealous? Or did I just imagine that?

You didn't think that you did.

Dean's face is bright red with the force of his anger and you're sure yours must be too given how it feels like it's on fire.

"He's always touching you or kissing you, putting his fucking hands on you!" Dean's jaw is clenched tight. "I've never heard him give you one compliment other than how you look-"

You laugh in his face, but it comes out crueler than you meant it to. "In contrast to how many compliments you give me? Because I don't think there's been any of those."

"I compliment you." He huffs back.

"Oh really?" You scoff. "When?"

Dean is quiet for a minute. His eyes drag over you again, but this time the sweep of them bring a heat vibrating against your skin and your throat gets tight. "I like your shirt."

"HA!" You shout triumphant holding up a finger. "That's looks based."

"You didn't let me finish!" He scrambles. "I like your shirt because I like that band too and you have okay taste in music."

"Oh wooowwww. I have "okay taste in music" let me just swoon right here." You wave your hand back and forth. "Fuck you. I have awesome taste in music!"

"That's not what I-"

"And who is it that should I be sleeping around with? You?!" You roll your eyes trying to take a step away from him, but he moves to intercept you.

His fists are clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles are white. “I didn’t say that! Don’t put words in my mouth.”

His green eyes darken as he stares down at you, the fluorescent lights above the two of you catching the familiar hard lines of his face. Even though Dean looked like Ben, he still looked like himself in his own way. The familiar crows feet that graced under his eyes, the subtle tilt of his head, the rough stubble that pebbled over his chin and cheeks, the soft freckles, and the green eyes that you always found on you. There was a small scar just barely visible on the bridge of his nose and a few flecked on the edges of his face that made him more handsome.

You'd noticed how handsome he was in the past, but never like this. You'd never looked at Dean as other than someone who annoyed you. And yes he was annoying you now, but there was something else that you could feel threatening to explode, something you buried deep down and refused to unearth.

“I’m not putting words in your mouth Dean, I’m trying to figure out why this is such a big deal to you!”

Why is it a big deal?

“It just is!"

"Why? Because you're jealous?!" You hadn't meant to say it, but Dean's body goes taunt again.

"I am not jealous. I just don’t want you sleeping with him!”

“I think you are! And you’re not my dad Dean. You don’t get to decide who I sleep with!” You'd had enough of hearing him yell at you, of hearing him bitch about something that wasn't any of his business.

Who does he think he is? We're not together.

“That’s not what this is about-“

“Then what is it about Dean?! Why are you so hung up on something that is none of your business?!”

"It is my business!"

"How? How is it your business? Because you think that Ben is you somehow?"

"He is me!" Dean roars again and you wished he would stop saying it, because it was snagging on something in your chest.

A lie that you told yourself when you first started sleeping with Ben. You knew it. That you liked Ben because he looked like Dean and he appreciated you, that he didn't make you feel stupid, or ugly or not worth his time.

"No, he's not!" You shout back shaking off the feelings for what you hope is the final time. “Why do you care so much about this?!”

“Because I-“ Dean shouts, eyes narrowed at you. “Because I just do!”

“WHY?” You poke your finger into his chest. “I don’t care who you think you are. You don’t get to tell me who I can and cannot sleep with!"

“I’m not trying to!”

“Yes you are! And I am so sick of your bullshit Winchester. This is none of your business. None of this is. It's my life! So why don't you just take your unneeded opinion and-"

The rest of your sentence evaporates into thin air as Dean grabs your shoulders so tight you're sure they're be bruises and pulls you in for a searing kiss.

Your body is frozen in shock, the warmth of his lips against yours holding a softness that you'd never known.

Everything about this kiss is different than the ones you'd share with Ben. You knew better than to compare them, but Ben kissed like he meant to devour you. He wasn't hesitant or afraid to take what he wanted when he kissed you, but Dean?

Dean kissed like he wanted you to understand and that he wished to understand himself. Dean's kiss was passionate, filled with enough emotion that it left you breathless. Ben was never afraid to take what he wanted but Dean, he was almost asking, trying to let you understand, and trying to listen to what you wanted.

But just as he deepens the kiss you push him away and slap him across the face. The sharp sound rings through the kitchen and for a moment all you can do is stare at him shocked while the red mark on his face forms.

"What the hell was that for?" Dean shouts, but the emotion in his eyes wasn't anger, it was hurt.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" You shout back still out of breath. The ghost of his lips presses against yours and the taste of the whiskey remains on the tip of your tongue.

"I thought that-" He clears his throat, eyes widening.

"Thought what?"

"That you wanted me to-"

"To what? Kiss me?" The frustration was building again, because yes it had felt good to kiss him, but you hated that he was doing this now. That after years of him hating you, now when you had the possibility of being happy Dean was making this harder for you.

"Well-"

"No." You poke your finger into his chest, and this time you can't hold back the tears. They slip from your eyes, hot against your skin, as you feel every emotion that you'd kept bottled up beginning to surge up in a wave. "You don't get to do this Dean. Not now. Not after years of you treating me like shit."

Dean sighs and reaches for you, but you pull back from him. Hurt flashes in his eyes again and you can feel your own in the center of your chest. "I didn't-"

"Yes, you did. Damn it Dean, I'm not some shiny toy the two of you can fight over."

"That's not what I'm doing!"

"Then why now?" You ask in a half sob.

Dean pauses. "What?"

"Why after years of you hating me-"

"I never hated you." Dean's voice is more of a whisper than anything else.

"Oh bullshit. Yes you do!" You raise your hand to scrub at your cheeks, the tears falling quicker now.

It was the first time that you'd allowed yourself to cry in front of him, and you were fighting the urge to run back to your room. Ben was still there and you didn't know how the hell you were going to explain to you why you were crying.

"Will you just shut your damn mouth for five seconds and let me talk!?" He snaps running his hand through his hair, frustrated.

"Don't you dare tell me to shut up."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm going to break your nose again if you do!"

"You need to because I'm trying to explain-"

"Explain what? Explain that you've completely lost your mind? Explain that all the years of you undermining me, making me feel like a burden, teasing me, yelling at me, making me feel like I was stupid, and driving me absolutely insane, has just been you trying to say that you love me?!"

You hadn't meant to shout that at him. Hadn't meant to say the word love, but now it was there hovering in the air between the two of you. Dean's eyes are locked with yours and you don't think he's taken a breath since you spoke.

Because love was a little word, only four letters, but why did it always seem so heavy? How could one word have the same weight as a loaded gun? How could something so small cause so much pain and so much hurt?

"Yes." Dean looks down at the ground, not able to meet your eyes. He looks ashamed and you can't find the words to fill the silence.

Because Dean Winchester was in love with you. The man who you'd always thought hated you, who you thought wished that you were never around, and who you thought believed you to be an annoyance.

Holy shit.

"I-" He swallows. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how much I hurt you. All I wanted was for you to be safe and to talk to me the way you talk to Sam." His voice is quiet, just a soft rumble, but you can hear a tremor on the edge of his words. "I didn't mean to make you hate me."

The words strike you right in the center of your chest and it shocks you so much that you stop crying. You'd seen different sides of Dean before. Seen him angry, happy, annoyed, frustrated, sad… but Dean Winchester had never looked broken around you, not like this, and certainly not over you. Whenever something went wrong Dean would isolate himself from you in his room with a bottle of something to numb the pain. It made you feel like someone was gutting out your insides with a pitchfork.

The silence grows between the two of you again, and his head is still bowed and looking down at the floor in shame.

You exhale softly, controlled by something that you're not sure, and reach out towards Dean's face.

He flinches back from you, eyes rimmed red, looking at you suspiciously as if he believes you're going to break his nose. In hindsight, you supposed it was a reasonable fear to have since you'd done it in the past.

"What are you doing?" He asks, voice cracking. Dean's green eyes have dimmed, looking more like an aged jade pot that's sat outside in the sun for too long.

"Please shut up." You sniffle, the end of your mouth twitching into a smile, before you place your hands on the sides of Dean's face and pull him down to you.

The kiss is quick, only a brush of your lips against his to give yourself a taste and when it's done you pull back letting your hands fall to your sides. You're not sure why you did that. Maybe it's because Dean admitted to loving you and he looks like a lost puppy, but-

Dean steps forward into the space, his hands reaching towards your face, and you flinch.

“What are you-“

“Please shut up.” Dean murmurs, echoing the words you'd whispered to him moments ago.

His hands are rough and warm against your cheeks. Worn from years of carrying a gun in his hand and hard work he never shied away from. But they’re nothing but gentle against your skin as he pulls your face to his.

You could be standing on the surface of the sun and not feel as hot as you do now. A volcano could erupt and bathe you in lava and you would just scoff at it like it was a normal day, because kissing Dean feels infinite. It's all consuming. The scrub of his five o'clock shadow against your cheeks, the slide of his hands down your arms that bring goosebumps in their wake, the smell of his shampoo that you always catch when you walk into the bathroom, the nudge of his nose into your cheek, and the soft supple welcome of his lips that draw the breath from your lungs all take you somewhere otherworldly.

You couldn't stop. It was a compulsion, like magnets, like it was something you wanted to do for so long but buried it deep down to avoid the inevitable. Fueled by the belief that Dean would push you away, because Dean Winchester hated you.

But he didn't, he never did. And in the kiss is something else, years of emotions the two of you pushed down, years of being frenemies of almost losing each other, years of ignoring what was developing between the two of you, and years of watching the other fall for the wrong person.

Dean moans softly into your mouth and picks you up, his muscular arms fitting under your legs to place you on the counter, not pulling away at all and stepping into the space between them to fit himself closer to you. Your hands come to the back of his head, tangling in the short strands at the nape of his neck, shuffling your nails through his hair in a way that makes Dean shudder and pull you tighter to his chest.

Dean pulls back from you out of breath, but rests his forehead against yours, as if any further is too far from you and he doesn't wish to ever let you go.

"I don't hate you Dean." You whisper before he can say anything. "I can't. And I was only with Ben because I thought that this could never happen because you hated me-"

Dean's lips fall against yours taking your next words with it. "I don't hate you. I never did."

"Then why?"

He sighs. "I hated that you were a hunter, that this was your life, that you'd been doing this for so long with no one helping you."

"I'm okay."

"I know that, but I-" Dean hesitates. "I shouldn't have done what I did, but I didn't think that you'd want this-"

"This?"

"Me." Dean closes his eyes leaning further against you, almost as if he can’t hold himself up.

"Why?" Your grip on the back of his neck tightens.

"Because I'm-" He tries to find the word. "I'm not perfect. I'm a jealous asshole. I've done terrible things, made you cry.” He sighs. “You deserve better."

You kiss him softly. "There is no one better. I'm not looking for perfect, I'm looking for human. There's nothing wrong with making a mistake and being imperfect. The imperfections are what make you, you." Your fingers curl into the hair at the nape of his neck. "Dean, you're not a bad person. You are the most selfless man I have ever met. And maybe you've messed up a few times, but I have too. Do you think I'm a bad person for the things I've done?"

There was a list of them that seemed to grow longer each day and it was difficult not to dwell on the things of the past. But standing here with Dean, watching the weight settle on his shoulders, while he told you that he didn't think he was enough for you made you throw it all away.

"No.”

“Do you think that I’m not deserving of love?”

“No. But-"

You shush him. "Then don’t talk that way about the man I love."

Dean's eyes widen, but you watch the end of his lips twitch into a smile. "You love me?"

"Yeah." You whisper. "I think I always have, but I was afraid because you were-"

His mouth falls over yours so fast you don’t have time to finish the thought. "I love you too."

Your heart flutters in your chest with his words.

"Kinda hard not to." His thumbs stroke along your hip bone over the soft t-shirt sending electricity dancing along your spine.

You smirk. "You're right. I am pretty great."

"I think the word you're looking for is high maintenance." Dean smirks back at you.

"Aww… That means I'm out of your league and you're lucky to have me in your life." You giggle with a smile.

"I am." He murmurs, nudging his nose forward into yours moving in for another kiss.

Someone clears their throat from the other side of the room drawing your eye. Ben is leaning against the doorway dressed in his suit, watching where you're wrapped up in Dean's arms.

Any warm feelings you were having standing there with Dean immediately evaporate and the guilt comes roaring back. You'd forgotten that Ben was still here and you felt bad for him. You didn't want him to think that you used him.

"Ben I-" You begin to stutter, but he only shakes his head at you.

"You don't gotta explain anything doll, I know what this was." Ben smirks, but you see something flicker in his gaze for just a second before its gone. "And I'm man enough to admit when I'm beat. Even if I don't like it."

"But-" You try to say again.

Oh this is so awkward.

"Don't do me any favors sweetheart, we had fun." Ben shrugs. "That's all this was."

Cas walks into the room with Sam at his heels, who looks much too smug when he spies where Dean has you on the counter. You push Dean back and stand up, while Dean shoots daggers with his gaze leveled at Sam.

Sam isn't phased, but chooses not to say anything.

Ben rolls himself off the doorway and walks confidently to where Dean and you are standing, extending his hand towards Dean. "You take care of her." Ben's eyes flick to you for a second before focusing more on Dean. "She's special."

The hand of guilt on your throat tightens just a little more, because somewhere you wondered if Ben really was as aloof as he seemed or if he had started to care about you a little more than he let on.

"I will." Dean's smile is forced, and you see him squeeze Ben's hand a little tighter as he does. It only makes Ben smirk wider.

Cas begins to write the symbol on the floor taking care with each intricate detail to open the portal, but you stop him at the last minute.

"Wait." You take a step forward and hug Ben tightly. "Thank you."

"You're thanking me for fucking you?" Ben snorts throwing a smug look in Dean's direction that makes Dean bristle. "Guess I am a gift."

"Shut up." Your cheeks blaze bright red and you hear Dean growl something under his breath. "No, just thank you. For being here."

Ben hesitates. He raises his hand to your cheek, fingers tracing along your skin before he brushes away some of your hair. It was a gentle gesture from him, one that you weren't accustomed to. The emotion in his eyes shifts to something else, but he hides it with a smirk. "You're welcome sweetheart."

"Maybe you'll meet the me from your reality." You say, because you're not sure what else you can say, not when Ben is looking at you like that.

The entire situation was again reaching soap opera proportions and there was only so much you could take before you drove your car off a cliff.

The truth was, you did like Ben. You thought he was attractive, bold, strong, but there was always something a little gentle that lurked under the surface he never let anyone else see.

But you loved Dean. He understood what it was like to be a hunter, understood what it was like to not be able to live up to someone's expectations, and he loved you. You couldn't see a life with Ben, but you could see one with Dean. Ben didn't belong in your world and you didn't belong in his.

Ben's smirk twitches. "Maybe. But she won't be the same as you doll."

Dean clears his throat and steps forward to pull you back into his chest possessively. "I think your ride's leaving." You don't have to look up into his face to know he's frowning.

Ben chuckles. "You know what kid? You're alright." His eyes flick back to yours. "You give me a call if you get bored with him."

"She won't." Dean snaps. “And don’t call me kid.”

Ben only laughs at him and steps closer to Cas as he begins to finish the ritual and when the portal finally opens, Ben goes through without looking back.

And you don’t feel guilty anymore, because you knew that Ben understood.

"Finally." Dean breathes a sigh of relief that makes you snort, dropping his head to your shoulder. It was so casual that you had to remind yourself that Dean loved you and you loved him.

Sam clears his throat. "Hey Cas will you help me with something in the library-"

"What do you have to do in the library?" Cas frowns at him confused.

"Just something come on-"

"But why-"

"CAS!" Sam shouts casting an obvious look in the direction of where Dean and you are standing.

Cas looks at the two of you. "Are they coming with us to the library?"

Sam huffs out a frustrated breath and grabs Cas by the back of his trench coat to drag him out of the kitchen so Dean and you can have a few moments alone.

You snort at the confused look on Cas's face when Sam drags him out, before you turn your body in his arms to look up into Dean's handsome face. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous it is to be jealous of yourself?"

"I thought he wasn't me?" Dean smirks, his eyebrow arching with his tease. His fingers are resting resolutely on your hips, thumbs softly trailing in circles.

"He is a little bit." You admit defeated. "But don't look so smug Winchester."

"I think I'm allowed to be a little bit." His smirk grows and he leans his face down to yours. Instead of feeling angry at the appearance of his smirk it only makes you smile.

Standing here in the aftermath made you see Dean in a different light, made your heart buckle and jump in your chest the longer you stood there in the kitchen basking in the warmth that began to bloom in your chest.

"Maybe…" You gently touch the front of his buffalo print flannel, smoothing the fabric beneath your fingertips. It looked good on him, very little looked bad on Dean.

"Do you regret staying with me?" He mutters.

"What?" You glance back up to see his face and notice that he's not smiling, he's frowning at you, and his eyes aren't as bright.

Dean clears his throat. "Well you seemed like you were really going to miss him and-"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence. You throw your arms around his neck and pull him back down to you, putting you everything you have into the kiss, hoping that Dean can feel how you have no regrets staying with him, that all you want is him.

"Dean Winchester." You breathe, moving your hands to cup his cheeks so he can't look away from you. "I do not regret staying with you, because I love you." You pull him as close to you as you can, his warm hands splayed over your back. "This is where I belong." You kiss him on the tip of his nose. "And this is where you belong. With me."

Dean's eyes warm the longer you hold his gaze. "I'm starting to believe you."

"Anything that I can do to convince you?"

"I can think of a few things…"

Ben/Soldier Boy POV

"Stupid, fucking piece of shit!" Ben growled at the computer monitor in front of him that had a bright red ERROR message splayed across it.

It had been two days since he'd left your reality, and he was trying his best to shove away the disappointment at the fact that you hadn't decided to come back with him. It wasn't that Ben wanted more than what the two of you had, it was that he liked having someone to talk to or try to talk to, and you were a good listener.

He didn’t like opening up to people, but there was something about you. He could trust you and Ben hadn't found anyone he could trust since he got back from Russia.

Ben also wasn't about to admit that he was lonely, he had plenty of women who were eager to warm his bed, but there was something about you that always made him feel different. He wasn't sure what that was exactly.

He'd also be lying if he said that he had wanted to explore it a little more if you'd come with him to his reality. The thought of you staying with him for an extended period of time in his apartment hadn't been unwelcome. Ben had never allowed other women to stay more than a day, but you… Ben would have let you stay as long as you wanted to.

Fuck.

He knew that he wasn't in love with you, but Ben knew he liked having you around. He liked being friends with you and he liked fucking you.

And yes he was disappointed that you had chosen Dean instead of him, but at the same time Ben didn't blame you. You had a history with Dean and when you'd been forced into Ben's reality, you'd talked to him a lot about Dean. Ben knew that you liked Dean more than you cared to admit.

But there was still an unwelcome feeling in the pit of his stomach that Ben wasn't accustomed to.

Ben huffed out a breath to push away the thoughts, while looking at what was left of the keyboard on his desk. The keys were scattered across the wooden top like bits of confetti, broken easily underneath his large fingertips when he'd tried to write an email

When he'd come back from Russia, Ben had taken a job working for the Department of Supe Affairs, but he was "grounded" due to the "anger issues" that he swore he didn't have, and because he didn't listen to Butcher whenever he gave him an order.

I don't need to follow orders. I'm Soldier Boy! I should be giving the orders!

Basically it meant that he was stuck on a desk indefinitely until Annie January, the new department head, released him. She'd also ordered that Ben go to company mandated therapy sessions once a week. He'd refused to go, but after Annie threatened him with termination of his contract, which meant that Ben would have gone back to being someone who "looked like someone who used to be famous," he'd gone to therapy.

And he refuses to admit this to anyone… but he liked it. Someone who was paid to listen to him bitch for a whole hour about whatever pissed him off and actually kept their trap shut was just what he needed.

Sometimes it reminded him of when he would talk to you, but there were still things that he refused to tell anyone and some of those things he had told you.

Ben ran his hand through his hair frustrated at his predicament. He would have liked to go into the field and take out some of his frustration on another supe, but Annie refused to give.

Ben didn't like listening to women, but even he had to admit Annie had a set of brass balls and he respected her for it. She didn’t take shit from anyone and especially didn't listen to Ben's bitching over why he should be in the field instead of being chained to a desk.

"Oi you all right mate?" Butcher calls and Ben can hear the shit eating grin without looking up from his computer screen.

The error message was still displayed in bright red letters, mocking him.

Ben knows that Butcher doesn't give a shit, and is probably about to start teasing him about his inability to adapt to modern day technology.

It wouldn't be the first time.

"Don't you have something better to do? Like fucking that little bitch that Annie is ploughing?" Ben spits back, clicking on the mouse but all it does is bring up another error message in another language.

"Oh mon ami, that doesn't look good." Frenchie walks by to stare at the computer screen that has now gone slightly fuzzy.

"I don’t think that's going to fix it mate." Butcher laughs. " But I called IT."

"I don’t need any of those four-eyed fucks helping me!" Ben snaps turning to narrow his eyes at Butcher.

He's holding a white cup of tea, wearing his usual long trench coat and Hawaiian shirt, with the shit eating grin that Ben knew Butcher was going to have when he looked up.

The last thing Ben needed was some nerd telling him everything that he did wrong. He was already on a first name basis with the director of the IT department, who was a little weasel of a man and who no longer picked up the phone when Ben called to yell at him.

"I think you're gonna want to listen to this particular four eyed fuck. She's new." Butcher gloats. "But don’t say I never did anything for you Soldier Boy."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Ben shouts at Butcher's back, but he's already gone.

Ben turns back to the error message that has begun to flash an even brighter red and now has a countdown.

"Fuck, fuck fuck-" Ben growled and to remedy the situation he puts his fist through the computer screen. It makes a high pitched electrical popping sound, showering his desk in sparks, while the overhead lights flicker, before the screen goes completely black.

Ben was not stupid, but he was a little slow when it came to modern day technology. He was doing better than he had initially, but it was taking him a longer time to understand using his desktop computer at work than his cell phone.

"Hi, I'm from IT. Mr. Butcher called and said that you might need a little help." The voice was small and tentative, coming from somewhere on Ben's left.

"I don't need any help. Especially not from a fucking four-" Ben started to growl, but then he looked up and the words died in his throat.

Because the person standing next to his desk was you.

This version of you looked different. Ben was used to seeing someone in old band t-shirts, worn blue jeans, and flannel shirts, someone who carried themselves confidently and had a hardness surrounding their outer exterior that simply said "don't fuck with me."

But this version of you was softer and a little gentle. Your hair was longer and pushed back from your face by a simple black headband, you were wearing dark framed glasses, an oversized cardigan sweater that covered a simple pair of blue jeans, a striped blouse, and a pair of dark blue converse. The converse made Ben smile. He hadn't seen anyone wearing Chuck Taylors in a little while and it was a welcome sight, something from the past that he actually recognized.

The version of you Ben knew from Dean's universe flashed through Ben's mind again. She was more confident and outgoing, but you looked a little shy, hiding back in the cardigan and using the iPad in your hands as a welcome distraction to looking Ben in the eyes and like a shield.

He thought it was cute.

As much as Ben liked the version of you he knew who didn't shy away from anything, Ben found himself smiling at this one. You were definitely more soft spoken and a little less confident, but Ben could see a sweetness and sincerity in your eyes that he hadn't come across since he came back to the US.

It was the thing that always made him trust the other version of you, the part of him that made him want to tell the other version of you things that he hadn't told other people.

"I'm sorry." You say, even though you have nothing to be sorry about. "I-"

"No. I'm sorry." Ben clears his throat awkwardly and for the first time in a long time he feels nervous. He wasn't sure why that was, not to mention he never apologized to anyone, ever, but he didn't want to scare you away.

"It's okay." You give him a soft smile. "Computers can be frustrating, but sometimes it’s better not to put your fist through the screen."

Ben chuckles. "Probably not my best work."

You shake your head, a wider smile on your face, the motion of it sending the smell of your perfume over him, something floral and a little old fashioned. You look at the remnants of the computer and bite the inside of your cheek deep in thought.

Ben found himself tracing the furrow of your brows and the scrunch of your nose. You were beautiful in every reality to him.

"Well, Mr. Soldier Boy I don't think-"

"Please call me Ben." He interrupts.

Ben wondered if you were this shy all the time and if you'd be just as shy if he took you to bed. He wanted to find out.

Ben had slept with many women in his lifetime and he was usually drawn to women who were more confident and outgoing, sure of themselves, but there was something about your shy attitude that Ben found attractive.

"Ben." You say it in the soft voice of yours, cheeks flushed a little bit as if you're embarrassed to say it. "I don't think that there's anything I can do for this." Your hand waves over the computer. "But I can go talk to my boss and tell him you need another one."

"I'll go with you." Ben stood up.

He didn’t want to let you out of his sight, not when a part of him worried that you weren’t really there or you would evaporate into nothing before his very eyes.

"Oh, it's okay. You don't have to-" You stammer, shaking your head, and not quite looking at him as if making eye contact was a little harder for you.

"I want to." Ben smiles at you. He hears your heart beat quicken and can hear the small intake of breath you have when he smiles. "He's an asshole and I don't want him to chew you out for something I did." Ben explains.

It was partly true. The guy was an asshole. Not to mention, Butcher had said it was your first day and Ben wasn’t going to stand by and have the head of the IT department screaming at you when you had done nothing wrong.

"Oh." You clear your throat, cheeks blushing that cute pink color that makes Ben smile wider. "Well if you'll just follow me."

He hadn’t met someone like you in a long time. And even though he liked the other version of you, Ben was starting to like this one more.

"To the ends of the Earth doll." Ben winks and watches the flush of your cheeks deepen to a crimson and hears the way your heart buckles and jumps when he does.

And the longer he stands there watching you blush, Ben begins to feel an odd feeling flicker in the pit of his stomach racing up into his chest that he’d never felt before and for the first time in a long time Ben was curious to see where it could lead.

A/N: Alright we made it to the end and everyone got a happy ending! Thank you again everyone for all the love and support while I was writing this mini-series 💗

Reveal of the Poll:

🥫: Meeting the reader from Ben's Universe in a grocery store.

💻: Meeting the reader from Ben's Universe in the IT department.

Personally I liked the IT more, and the problem is now I really like the shy reader with Ben. They are so cute and now I'm hyperfixated on Ben with a shy reader so we'll see where that goes 🤣

Thank you so much for reading! As always likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated, but are not required. I love hearing what y'all think!

Taglist For It's Not A Big Deal:

@roseblue373 @mrsjenniferwinchester @livya99 @zepskies

@winchesterwild78 @ladykitana90 @spnfamily-j2 @whyyouegg

@suckitands33 @pizzagirlxnsfwx @s0uz4s @schinug @just-levyy

@xx-spooky-little-vampire-xx @minas-fantasies @ladysparkles78

@mochminnie @peachhiz

@impala67stellawinchester @nancymcl @lunaleah @lightdancingwords @kamisobsessed

@justwhisperingfantasies @lunaleah @kamisobsessed @kmc1989 @djudy99

@chriszgirl92

@toxicfataldestiny @im-bili @anniebannanie0315 @jays-bonnie-on-the-side @schinug

@shara-ne @gaida-511 @xxmusic13luverxx @bakugotypecrashout @n-o-p-e-never

@thoughtfullyfurryangel @youroldfashioned

@marvelgeeka @myceliumsunshine @hobby27

@funkenniffler

#why is it a big deal?#supernatural #spn #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you #soldier boy x female reader #dean winchester x female reader #soldier boy x you #soldier boy x reader #soldier boy #jensen ackles #dean winchester #sam winchester #dean x you #dean x reader #supernatural fanfiction #It's Not A Big Deal #Hello My Friend! 💗

386 notes · View notes

xplrvibes · 2 years ago

Note

i personally don’t like Bella because of both her pick meism and also because she reminds me of Ariana grande and I have a deep distaste for her, it runs deep in my soul so… and larri was annoying, too loud and joking too much. always with the “let’s get out of here” and you know that’s where gets me - why accept the collab if you’re going to be that obnoxious for one straight hour? it’s alright if you’re a skeptic and all but what do you expect of a place that inspired a horror movie franchise? flowers and chocolates and a welcome hug? come on, man. be serious for a second. and the whole melodrama heaven is real and it’s good and we’re okay? i HAVE to pass on that one, I’m sorry (not to say it’s not real by the way). let’s be logic here for a second (or as logical as discussing paranormal activity goes): do any of us really think that Abigail has ever seen or touched what Catholic Church describes as heaven? the old lady is stuck to a wooden, ancient house acting as its protector for years and years now and sometimes apparently she still thinks she’s in the 1800s and that the house looks the same? …yeah, she ain’t seeing no heaven. for the first hour of the video, I’ll give it a 2/10, one point for the effort and another because i’m in a good mood. to me, it was a waste of one perfectly good hour that could’ve been a perfectly good investigation had they not, well, wasted it. very hard to sit through it all and I skipped so much just bc i was bored. for the last 30-ish minutes, I’ll give it a 7/10. great pacing, thrilling times in those woods, the married couple bickering, Estes method with Colby is always an event on itself so I’m glad he was the one that went under first and sam’s turn was also very interesting and not half as bad as I thought it would be. guess he’s becoming more open and whatnot so who knows. last half should’ve been the whole hour tbh

(Third episode ask, will get to the fourth episode shortly!)

See, I don't know Bella at all so I don't know what she's like outside of this video - but as far as the video goes, I'd say she doesn't even Crack the top 10 of most annoying guests. Moat boring guests who didn't really do anything, sure. But, I don't know. She was fine, I guess.

Larri was too much. The flirting with Colby was funny, sure, mostly cause Colby accepts all flirts with this hilarious sort of pleased air about him, and he had a fee good lines - but overall, there was way too much joking and I kind of get tired of it all after a while. It's very reminiscent of the 2019 era of haunting, which does NOT hold up well, if you ask me.

Anyway, after they had their turn with the Merry Knockers, they really got serious and the vibes changed for the better, so I can respect and appreciate that.

And see, what I got out of their whole afterlife discussion with Abigail was more broad than being able to be specifically applied to one religion in general. It gelt more like she was saying, "hey, things are good after death. nothing sucks and everyone is happy," and, while super vague, to me that almost comes across more as a message that everyone gets their happy ending - no matter what your happy ending may be.

I guess Abigail's happy ending is to be perma-glued to her house for all eternity, so congrats to her, I think? 🤣

Anywho, I agree with you. The first half was entirely skipable; the second half is where the video got really interesting to me. The boys are just so much more in tune with each when they can be alone together, and I feel like everything works so much more.

Maybe that's "their" thing.

#asks #snc video review

1 note · View note

ladylooch · 2 years ago

Note

We need to find out what Nico’s hair care routine is! (I refuse to accept that it can be just soap and water 🤣)

-💜

I honestly think he is gifted. Like he has so much thick perfectly floppy hair. It’s naturally wonderful. And not frizzy at all. Maybe he uses some cream or air dry gel. He’s right out of a 90s show.

I can’t see him doing anything really intense. And if you asked him, his response would be: *pffft* ahm nothing special? I just wash it and it dries like this. So yeah. 💀

#b answers

0 notes

frodo-with-glasses · 2 years ago

Text

More Reading Thoughts: The Grey Havens

Oh wow, another chapter review, haven’t seen one of those in ten thousand years

I’m not ready I’m not ready I’m not ready aaaaahhh

this has been such an incredible year and a half; i don’t want this book to end

but the sooner i finish, the sooner i can start over again!! so let’s go

Fatty Bolger!! 😭 We missed you, friend!

Man how am I gonna draw him skinny and still recognizable?? Guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it

LOBELIA!

Man I remember being so annoyed that she received a welcome like this when I was a kid, but now that I’m older, the display of mercy is overwhelmingly touching

She’s leaning on Frodo’s arm!! FRODO’S! He brought her out himself! And they all cheer for her courage and tenacity!

AND SHE LEFT HER MONEY FOR CHARITY

Y’know what? You’re all right after all, Lobelia. You’re all right.

I love the implication that hobbits will not accept a mayor who is not RotundTM 🤣

Ahhhhh okay so THAT’S where I got my childhood definition of “horny”

I’m sure in this case it means “like horn (the material), hard and rough”, which is an excellent descriptor, and it’s a shame I will never be able to use it in my own writing

THEY FOUND THE HIDDEN FOOD AND HAD IT FOR YULE! HECK YES!

Aww, I love you, Gaffer

“It was a purely Bywater joke to refer to it as Sharkey’s End” PFFFFFFT 🤣🤣

The four hobbits being known as the Travellers is so sweet

Frodo: “Ah yes, your box of dirt, the box of dirt from Galadriel, the box of dirt given specifically to you by Galadriel, Galadriel’s dirt”

I love that Frodo knows every single grain of this stuff is magical

I love even more that Sam is antsy and can hardly keep himself from running around and checking if the dirt is doing anything LOL

MALLORN TREE IN THE PARTY FIELD

I’M GONNA FRICKIN’ CRYYYYY

Year 1420 haha blaze it

“All the children born or begotten in that year, and there were many…” Tolkien knows how baby booms work

“And no one was ill, and everyone was pleased, except those who had to mow the grass” BAHAHAHA 🤣

Ohhhhh oh Frodo, oh bby

Sam was away 😭 And Farmer Cotton was the one who found Frodo in his bed in pain 😭😭 o w

Okay but Frodo just automatically assuming like “of COURSE we’re gonna be roomies” is just *chef’s kiss*

IMAGINE. FRODO WAS PERFECTLY PREPARED TO LIVE WITH JUST SAM WITH HIM IN BAG END. JUST THE TWO OF THEM. IMAGINE

I love these boys so heckin’ much

Frodo: So we’re roomies, yeah? Sam: Er, I…well I’d love to, but…but Rosie. Frodo: MORE ROOMIES 8-D

Tolkien: “And they loved Frodo dearly, and no one in the Shire was better cared for” Me: Thanks, Tolkien 🥹😭💚

Merry and Pippin walking around like the local legends they are

Sam doesn’t even know how well respected he is in the Shire 🥺

Noooo Weathertop

ELANOOOOOOR

“Taking after Rose more than me, luckily” And this solidifies my headcanon that Rosie is drop-dead gorgeous

Frodo hiding his illness from Sam hurts, man. You can feel him trying to stay cheerful. Ow, ow, ow.

“‘You can’t go far or for a long time now, of course,’ he said a little wistfully.” I AM GOING TO EAT THE CARPET

ALL HE WANTS IS TO BE WITH HIS SAM

BUT HE WANTS SAM TO BE HAPPY AND ENJOY HIS FAMILY EVEN MORE

HE LOVES SAM ENOUGH TO LET HIM GO

I’M GONNA BREAK SOMETHING

“The Downfall of: The Lord of the Rings” Rollllll credits! *ding*

Oh. Ohhhh. The Elvish song meeting Frodo and Sam as they sit on their ponies in the forest in late evening. I’m gonna cry.

Bilbo: Well, I’m older than the Old Took now! Bucket list completed. Time to go!

“But I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too, for years and years, after all you have done.” Same, Sam…same. 😭😭 (that’s what the Magnolia AU is for)

How. How does Frodo predict the names of Sam’s kids. “And perhaps more I cannot see”—how can he see in the first place?? How does he know? He’s getting Elvish, Frodo is. Very, very elvish.

Just. Frodo’s whole speech. I don’t have anything to say, I’m just soaking it in, and I feel so joyful and so sad all at once. It’s so tender and intimate and yet so distant. Tolkien, you’re so cruel, I love you.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

I JUST TURNED THE PAGE

AND THE RIGHT SIDE PAGE IS HALF-BLANK

I’M NOT READY I’M NOT READY I’M NOT READY

Okay okay be calm, it’s okay, just keep going

MERRY AND PIPPINNNNNNN

THEY CAMEEEEEE

And they’re ending the story the same way they joined it because Frodo is trying to leave and they said “NOT WITHOUT US” I’M GONNA GNAW HOLES IN THE COUCH AND BAWL LIKE A BABY

KISSES!! FOR EVERYONE!!!

WHITE SHORES AND A FAR GREEN COUNTRY UNDER A SWIFT SUNRISE

S H U T U P DON’T TOUCH ME

The three of them riding back home in silence but taking comfort in each other

I joke about these things making me cry but I actually, literally, have mist in my eyes right now holy cow

It’s so melancholy and comforting and it hurts and yet it makes you feel so happy and whole

The story is coming to an end, and there’s so much you want to say, but you can’t find words for any of it, and yet the silence says everything and more

(And Merry and Pippin don’t start singing until they take their leave of Sam, almost as if they were being considerate of his feelings first, but as they go and you hear their voices in the distance you get the sense that everything is going to be okay)

“Well, I’m back.”

…

The end.

#frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #fatty bolger #lobelia sackville-baggins #meriadoc brandybuck #merry #peregrin took #pippin #rosie cotton #bilbo baggins #lord of the rings #lotr #my writing #assorted thoughts #somebody hold me i’m ✨emotional✨

101 notes · View notes

btsmosphere · 1 year ago

Text

EEEEEEK this part!!!! I was so immersed, I literally gasped when Hyunjin was also taken to the palace, and the fight was so well built!! the suspense and imagery😍😍crying at Hyunjin tearfully singing and facing down the leviathan.. and the entire Bang family are absolute and total legends, I swear Gina, every character you bring to the page is so delightful to read and so individual, it's an amazing feat, one of my fave things about your writing🤩

and we finally get some sexy sexy stuff after yn and Hyunjin have been drooling over each other this long🤣I loved the descriptions, and the gorgeous image of siren!Hyunjin in candlelight.... yeah I would have a heart attack dgjhdfgkhsd but I reeeallly love how yn is a character with so much sexual agency, and that Chan is so accepting and respectful (even tho we all know he wants in too👀). Their relationship is blooming so well, I love how they are so comfortable talking about all sorts of things.. like fucking Hyunjin skgfdgbkjh

I also continue to adore Minho, he's so fun in this fic! Plus we got to see more from IN👀and what a refreshing ending, the whole scene really brought that relief to perfectly close out this part after the adventure... I sort of like the place too🥰💜💜

The Drifter: The Sea King's Curse (1.02b)

Pairing: siren!hyunjin x fem!reader

Word Count: 10k

Genre: fantasy, smut, fluff, adventure

Summary: When the corpses of mutilated mermaids wash up on shore, the lawmen of Levanter Bay seek YN's help to find the cause. They end up discovering this goes much farther than expected.

Tags: Graphic violence (just fist fighting and monster slaying), kidnapping, animal death (hunting out of necessity), graphic descriptions of corpses, death, autopsies, thalassophobia, fear of deep water, megalophobia (fear of large objects), sea monsters, mind control, mind manipulation, mental illness, dark magic, mentions of war, slight ptsd. vaginal fingering, p in v sex, monster fucking, bigdick!hyunjin. underwater sex, public sex, outdoor sex, monster dick

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Drifter Masterlist

Part 2 < |

***

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Minho took your hand as he created a teleportation circle underneath you. In a lung-crushing second, you left the dusty roads of Levanter Bay and ended up right under the water. The freezing temperatures shocked your bones and muscles. That familiar burning sting radiated in your abdomen as you felt yourself drowning in the vast ocean space. Yet, in seconds, your vision cleared and you breathed through your gills once again. When you could see better, you realized you stood on the transport station platform. Several other people teleported into the designated area for mages and warlocks to plant directly into the city.

“Well, that was easy,” you said. “You should've come with us the first time.”

“And miss fighting pirates? No way,” he snickered, swimming ahead of you. “Let's go to Yejin. She'll get us into the palace.”

You weren’t sure how true that’d be. Considering how Yejin will likely be barred from seeing Tytos again, you’ll need another person to sneak you inside. Swimming through the city, you expected to find city guards in full force with orders to find you. Mizu might have not seen you, but his master might have if they’d gone into Tytos’s mind. You thought there’d be obstacles in place to stop you, yet you didn’t see anyone in particular. Hydrus ran business as usual.

“Minho,” Yejin spotted him first when you reached her shop, “Thank goodness you’ve come.” She embraced him, before she looked at you, “I trust you’ve learned something new.”

“We have everything we need,” you told her.

“Jeongin had these,” Minho showed her the pouch, “And he knew the incantation to draw it out. All we need is a way into his chambers. The sooner we can do this, the better. I suspect Mizu is already on to us.”

“He is,” she confirmed. “He sent his lap dogs in here to intimidate me,” she glowered, “Telling me that my services to the royal family will no longer be needed. They said the king and queen have a new physician, and that I’ve been relieved of my place on the council. Sungwoo told me he said something similar to him this morning. Mizu plans to replace all the advisors with people of his own.”

“That means the king must be close to death,” Minho said. “He wouldn’t make such rash decisions if he didn’t think he’d succeed. Yejin, tell me there’s a way into the palace. All I need is a few minutes.”

“I'm afraid it's been barricaded from the public,” she answered. “Nobody is allowed in or out.”

“Then what the hell can we…”

You stared out the window into the street. Up and down the road you saw people going about their daily business, but you then saw them. Yesterday, you hardly noticed the city guards in the street but today you couldn't help not noticing them. If anyone can get you inside the palace, it will be them.

“Minho,” you turned to him, “Have you ever been arrested before?”

“Once or twice in my youth,” he joined you at the window, nodding slowly, “I’ve heard the jail cells under the palace can be dangerous with the eels floating around.”

“We won’t be going to jail,” you removed your heavy jacket and shirt, “Follow my lead.”

“YN, what are you thinking?” Yejin asked, worried as you left the shop. “This can severely backfire on the both of you.”

“I know.”

The both of you went onto the street. Nobody in particular noticed you right away, but you knew it’d be a matter of time. People will eventually see your markings and the stumps on the top of your head, and alert a guard. You kept your eyes peeled for any signs of a guard as you and Minho moved in the direction of the palace. It did not take long to gain attention. Right outside a tavern, three city guards stood around a high-top table, feasting on crabs and oysters. You nudged Minho, who’d been checking the other side of the street, and nodded over to them. He agreed, and you swam near them.

“-You sure we won’t have to pay for these, Pollux?” asked one of the mermen in his bronze armor. A spear and shield strapped to his back, a knife also hung from his waist. He shucked another oyster as he said, “That barmaid seemed pretty serious about the bill.”

Pollux, a shark hybrid with his distinctive back fin and sharp teeth, scoffed at this, “As if there’s anything she can do. As long as we have this armor and these spears, boys, we run this town.”

A light brush against his back fin had Pollux whipping around as you continued walking.

“Hey!” he called after you, “Watch where you’re going.”

You turned around, trying to conceal your smile, “Forgive me.”

The mere glimpse of your stumps and markings made the hybrid pause. Black eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he grinned a toothy smile, “What’s a demon and a fairy doing so far from the mainland?”

“I’m going to visit my aunt,” you lied, “Alcina. She told me she’d be at the palace.”

“Bullshit,” he huffed, “No Alcina lives in the palace. The palace is off limits to citizens and…mainlanders,” he said the last word as an insult.

“Seems like you’re not as informed as you think, hybrid,” you replied back, “Go back to your crab and leave my business to me.”

“Why you…”

He grabbed your arm the moment you turned around, his hands digging into your flesh and bruising them. Minho immediately kicked at his arm, which loosened his grip.

“Minho!”

The hybrid took a bite at Minho, who dodged him and slammed his fist into his nose. Like a real shark, this blinded the guard for a moment before Minho dealt him another one. One of the other guards launched himself at you, but you sidestepped him right away. Long claws managed to scratch at your bicep, which burned and stung in the water. You didn’t let that stop you. Your movements are not as fast underwater, the merman easily swished and rounded you until you grew dizzy. You made weak attempts to fight against him, though everything natural instinct told you to kill him. He chuckled mockingly when your fist barely touched him. Minho, on the other hand, moved as easily as his opponent did. Both of them throwing punches and grappling, the hybrid eventually subdued Minho with a tight grappling move.

“You shouldn’t pick fights you’re not going to win,” the hybrid chuckled, pulling out a pair of shackles from his belt. You heard them clamp and lock in place at Minho’s wrists. “Now, you’re going into a cell until you rot.”

“Mizu won’t be happy about this,” you called out to him.

“And what would you know about that, mainlander?” grunted the merman holding you.

“Because I don’t think he’d like hearing the person he’s been expecting was so roughly handled by his thugs,” you thought up on the fly. “My aunt is a special guest of his, and she wouldn’t like hearing about this either.”

“If he was expecting you, why aren’t you there?”

Good point. “We were delayed,” said Minho, still struggling, “By that sea snake that is going up and down the coast. We’re on our way to see them now.”

“About what?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” you shot at him. “Go ahead and arrest us, and see that Mizu doesn’t have your heads for this.” When they did not appear convinced, you said, “My aunt is not a forgiving person. If I tell her Mizu’s men manhandled myself and my bodyguard, she will not be so lenient on him. You know how the chain of command works, right? Big boss gets mad, takes it out on the smaller boss and the smaller boss then takes it out on his pawns.”

The men weighed your words, “Cuff them both.” He gave you a simpering smile, “If you’re telling the truth, demon, then you’ll have no problem going before Mizu himself.”

“Do it,” you challenged, “It’ll be like getting a personal escort.”

Cold, rough steel went around your wrists, and the merman tugged you roughly behind him with a chain. You and Minho dragged down the street side-by-side, he whispered over to you.

“Do you really think this is going to work?”

“Maybe,” you said. “We only need to get inside the palace.”

“And what do you plan to do from there?”

“We’ll just have to wing it,” you shrugged.

“YN, you are the worst planner, you know that?”

You snorted, “You have no idea.”

The palace truly resembled a fortress now. Soldiers with bronze helmets and armor remained on the battlements, standing still and keeping an eye on the front entrance; two more stood on either side of the stone doors closing off the palace. The mermen and shark hybrid allowed through with a few whispered words, they dragged you and Minho towards the palace steps where you saw two more guards, and several standing around the expansive area. Inside the main hall, men in gold and bronze armor stood on either side of every doorway you passed. Yes, sneaking in here would have been difficult, especially with the domesticated guard sharks swimming up and down hallways. They took you towards a pair of golden doors, and you assumed this must be the throne room.

“Your Greatness!” the hybrid called out from the doorway, “I have brought more mainlanders.”

Swimming through the high ceiling halls to a throne room, you saw Mizu sitting on a throne of driftwood and stone. His eyes narrowed the second he saw you and Minho.

“You’re supposed to be dead, demon,” he grunted through sharp teeth. “I sent the pirates to finish the job.”

“That’s what you get for sending a pirate to do a professional's job,” you replied, staring straight back at him.

“She says she knows Lady Alcina,” the hybrid told him.

Mizu rushed over to them, crimson tail fluctuating between dark and bright reds, and examined you. A wicked smile crept over his pale face, “She certainly does. Lady Alcina has often spoken of the demon who brought ruin and pain to her masters.” His voice laced with venom, you wondered if Alcina herself happened to be in the castle. He looked over to Minho, “And you’ve brought a friend. Who is this?”

“Lee Know,” Minho responded, defiant eyes glaring at Mizu, “Her bodyguard.”

“Ha, some bodyguard you are if you both ended up in shackles,” he then snapped his fingers, “Take them to The Lair. They can join that siren we found sneaking through the garden.”

“Siren? What siren?”

Mizu chuckled as the guards shoved you forward, “You’ll see. It truly is a shame. Hwang would’ve made such a proficient navigator. But, this is what happens when you break the law around here.”

“What did you do to him?” you called back angrily, reaching a backdoor in the throne room. “What did you do?”

Mizu’s laugh was cut off by the shutting of a heavy door. Minho and you grunted and struggled against your captors as they led you down spiraled steps. The water here pinched your muscles and chilled your bones harder than before. Your eyes widened as light faded away into darkness the further you went down. Hyunjin must have gotten caught sneaking into the palace. The idea of them hurting him fueled your need for escape. You sensed where they planned on taking you.

“Ares!” Pollux called when you reached an iron gate, “Open up! We got more fish feed!”

Another merman opened the gate, and your eyes burned adjusting to the dimly glowing torches holding flaming fish inside them. You caught glimpses of other cells down the aisle. It was when the guards took your sword and Minho’s quiver and bow that fear truly set inside you. Your magic did not work well under water; Minho might be able to cast spells, but maybe not as effectively.

“YN…” Minho said, keeping his voice steady as they pushed you towards another gate at the end.

Through the gate, you saw light shining into the water, and you guessed it must be coming from a hole somewhere above. You did not want to know what might be behind that tightly locked gate.

“Bring out the siren,” Pollux called out.

From another cell, the guards pulled out Hyunjin. A gasp caught in your throat when you saw his face: the bridge of his nose broken by a nasty cut, his bottom lip swelled from the bruise on the corner and you spotted several bruises on the fleshy parts of his torso. They’d beaten him.

“Hyunjin,” his name left your lips in a soft cry. You tried reaching for him, but the guard tugged your chains away. “Hyunjin, what happened? Why are you here?”

“I tried getting to the king,” he said, teeth colored by blood in his mouth. “They caught me in the coral garden under his balcony.”

“What were you thinking, Hyunjin?” whispered Minho as the three of you went to the gate.

“Yejin said he might be awakened by memories,” he said, voice cracking. “I was good friends with Ormand. I thought showing him a gift Ormand gave me might snap him out of the haze. I…I only wanted to help him.”

“Hyunjin,” your eyes stung, but tears are hard to produce in water.

“Save your tears, demon,” Pollux said viciously, his men opening the large iron gates, “Pontus doesn't particularly care for them.”

With a hard shove, the three of you were casted off into the abyss. Panic struck you in the chest and tightened around your legs, making it hard to breathe even with your gills. Scanning the enclosed space, you saw the rocky stands where people might have occupied at one time; balconies high up looked down into the middle of the arena. The open ceiling kept the first rays of light from breaking through, leaving you in semi-darkness.

“What do we do now?” Minho asked, no longer hiding his fear. “What's in here?”

Something big. Something deadly.

“The leviathan,” Hyunjin breathed, moving closer towards you. “Pontus, the great leviathan. Back in the old days, before Tytos, they used to put really bad criminals down here. If they managed to defeat him, they could leave…Notice Pontus is still here and they're not…” He squeaked when a high cry came from beneath his feet. “YN, do something.”

“I can thwart it with shadow magic,” said Minho, “But I don't know how well it'd do against something so large. Even threshers who came onto land are hard to defeat alone.”

“My fire magic won't be of any use down here, and they took my sword.”

Defenseless. You hated the sinking dread pulling you down as you searched for a way out. The open ceiling seemed to be covered with a net: keeping victims in and keeping Pontus from breaking out. Hyunjin clung on to you, and Minho took your hand absentmindedly. The chilling sensation of being watched started consuming you. You sensed its eyes from somewhere below, possibly above now.

“The net,” Minho whispered to you, “You can burn through it.”

“I don't know if I could.”

“You can try.”

“It'll outswim me,” you said.

“Hyunjin can distract them.”

“What?” Hyunjin glanced over at him. “Distract it? How?!”

“Hyunjin, you're a siren,” Minho said, “Sing to it.”

“Sing to it?! It'd rather eat me than hear me sing.”

“Did you forget that your singing attracts anything with ears?”

“I know I can but…” he looked out into the opening apprehensively. “But, this isn't a shark or an octopus.”

“Hyunjin,” you took his hands in yours, “You can do this. Minho and I will be right here the whole time. We only need a few minutes.”

“Ha! As if that is going to help you!”

Her voice echoed throughout the arena. It bounced off walls and rippled through the air towards you. You had no idea where it came from, yet it boiled your blood regardless.

“Alcina…” You growled, but did not move from your hiding spot.

“Here she is!” Alcina cried out, “The brave fire demon, Multak! Multak, The Vanquisher! Multak, The Shield of Fire! How small you look down in this pit of mine! Step into the light, child. Let me look upon you.”

Hyunjin and Minho held onto you, but you swam forward into the arena. You stared up into the stands where you saw a pale woman occupying a box seat. Obviously meant for royalty, she stood there in a strapless strip with fringes that flowed about her like a curtain in the wind. You couldn't see her clearly from the height, but you still glared at her.

“Hmpf,” she huffed discontentedly, “I thought you'd be scarier. You really are a little thing aren't you?”

“I still vanquished your great master,” you challenged, “Clearly size isn't everything.”

“Until you're in a leviathan pit, I imagine,” she quipped. “You really should have kept your nose out of my business. Your kind don't do well underwater.”

“You're hurting innocent people. That is enough to make it my business.”

“Psh, I knew you were a mortal lover, but I didn't think it was this bad,” she cackled. “Well, now you can die with the mortals you so dearly love. You can think about that as Pontus swallows you whole.”

“You'll pay, Alcina,” you said, the threat turning into a promise. “I'll make sure you do.”

She cackled again, turning around, “Sure I will. I will be Queen of the Seven Seas and you'll be leviathan food. Ta-ta, little flame!”

The sound of the door slamming resonated through the arena. The high cry came once more, a hiss layered right underneath it. Your frustration outweighed the fear of being stuck in the middle of the ocean, weightless and dozens of feet beneath water. A creaking sound caught your ear from behind, and you guessed Minho or Hyunjin accidentally pushed on the bars of the arena. It was only you three down here.

You stared upwards to see the thin netting above. It was your only way out. Without another thought, you began kicking up to the ceiling. Currents reached your tiptoes, and you pictured the massive creature swimming right up behind you. The leviathan cried once more, the sound much closer and fear jumped into your throat. Adrenaline made you swim faster. You could feel it gaining speed from the bottom of the arena.

“YN, look out!” Minho cried from somewhere to your left as a jet of shadow magic sailed right under your feet.

You rolled aside as the monster hit the ceiling, though it did no damage to it. Pontus was about fifty to sixty feet long, made of gray and blue scales with fanned membranes around its narrow head like a lion's mane. Teeth as long as swords lined its mouth, and another hiss made its tongue quiver like a snake. Pontus was large enough to swallow a carriage whole if he wished; mouth wide enough to eat a regime of soldiers. Your entire body froze, drifting weightlessly away from the monstrous beast. At the sight of its slanted black eyes, you thought of Zunar when he'd taken you to a spider's nest.

“But, mentor, it's scary in there. I'm afraid. I’m not brave enough.”

“That is the only time we can be brave, little flame.”

You thought of his glowing orange eyes that always looked on you so fondly. He'd believed in you when others did not. He said he pulled your egg from the lava lake himself after it cracked open in the churning, boiling lava. You should have died, he told you, but you didn't. You lived with a few minor burns. Your strength, he said, is what he admires the most. Staring down this beast, you imagined what he might say when you tell him you died facing a leviathan head on. He'd laugh, and say something to the effect of “your fire burns even under water!”

Pontus’s next cry sounded like a low whistle, and you saw it bend its long neck all the way back. You did not dare wince or look away. If the thing did swallow you whole, you’d burn its insides. The leviathan rattled its neck, and made to strike until a voice came from below your feet.

“Upon one summer’s morning, I carefully did stray down by the walls of whopping, where I met a sailor gay …”

The beast whirled its head down towards the ground, though stayed still as if searching for the sound. You recognized Hyunjin’s sweet sounding voice. Although terror shook his notes, it still pulled the sea monster inwards.

“Conversing with a young lass, who seemed to be in pain, saying William when you go I fear you'll ne'vr return again…”

Hyunjin’s glittering scales stood him out in the dark vastness below, and you caught a glimpse of his glistening pearl and starfish headpiece. Pontus ignored his current prey to focus on the singing siren below. You shook in the water; both the cold and anxiety rattled your bones watching the creature slowly swim downwards. You couldn’t help following it, even if Minho might be perched somewhere nearby with a plan of his own.

“My heart is pierced by cupid, I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me, but my jolly sailor bold…”

You saw Hyunjin sit down in the middle of the arena floor, staring up at the leviathan with tearful eyes. In the glowing lights of the circular space, his body appeared to shine like a pearl in sand. You forced yourself not to listen too closely as he grabbed the monster’s attention. Looking around the middle balconies, you saw Minho pressed against a wall with another figure beside him. You also saw the bow he kept directed at Pontus. How did he get it back? When he beckoned you over to him with a head nod, you quickly reached him.

“He can’t sing forever,” you said, “Take the shot.”

“I got to get lower,” he replied, “But I can’t get him with only arrows. You’d need to get on top of its head and stab it right on the center. That’s where the skin is the thinnest.”

“And how the hell can I do that?”

“With this.”

He stepped out of the darkness, holding your sword. You’d never been so glad to see Sheriff Bahng until now.

“How did you get here?” you asked incredulously, taking your sword from him.

“I snuck in using Ma’s potion,” he said as if this should be obvious, “And took out the guards outside. It wasn’t hard with how clueless they are.”

“...His hair it hangs in ringlets, his eyes as black as coal. My happiness attend him wherever he may go…”

“You take the left and I’ll take the right?” he asked you, unsheathing his own dagger. “Minho takes the middle?”

You sneered at him, “Of course.”

The three of you separated to your indicated spots below. Pontus remained several feet above Hyunjin, whose hands gripped the sands underneath tightly. His tail rigid and body posed in place, you would’ve thought he was a statue. You noticed his singing grew louder, dark eyes glaring at the monster ahead of him. The defiance and daring in his eyes burned as he continued singing.

“...From Tower Hill to Blackwall, I'll wander, weep and moan. All for my jolly sailor until he sails home…”

You sensed his voice starting to waver, the song coming to an end. With its head straight ahead, you had a perfect view of the eye. Blind the creature, and it’ll be down one sense to prey upon. But, you couldn’t risk it seeing you. You wracked your brain for a song to sing, even if you sounded terrible, but suddenly your mind went blank.

“My heart is pierced by cupid. I disdain all glittering gold, there is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold….”

The singing came from the left side of the lower arena; a woman’s voice this time. Pontus hissed once more, attention snapping to this newcomer. Chan’s merfolk blood made him a much faster swimmer, so he had no problem shooting towards Pontus and stabbing his dagger into the black eye. Pontus screeched, his neck waving about as he thrashed at the pain. You saw Chan holding onto his weapon tightly and stabbing it a second time. When he moved away, he vanished back into the darkness quickly and you caught the faintest glimpse of him circling the back of him.

“My name it is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair, and I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year…”

This voice came from right under your seats, and you saw the shimmering tiara of Hannah Bahng . When Pontus whipped his head over towards Hannah’s voice, you took the chance. Using the railings for a boost, you raised your sword above your head and aimed into its left eye. The burning runes did not flash in flames, but instead small air bubbles and hot steam. Feet planted on its upper lip, you nearly slipped forcing your sword out of its head. Pontus’s cries shook the stone walls, likely alerting anyone within a mile range. You swam away, struggling to kick your aching legs before two arms went right under yours.

“Its head,” Hannah said in your ear, “Stab it in the head.”

“Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be, who love a jolly sailor that ploughs the raging sea…”

Yejin. That voice must be Yejin’s, and you spotted her right beside Minho. He notched an arrow made of wispy purple smoke and shot it. The arrow moved through the water like air, and lodged right in the gray membranes protecting the top of his head. The arrow’s magic spread across the head defense like acid, burning the thin skin away. Hannah dropped you off right inside the breakage, and you used your free hand to grab onto the cauterized webbing. Yejin, Hannah and Hyunjin continued singing through various points in the arena to distract Pontus from the demon climbing higher on his head. Your hands pushed against the hard scales to find the thin spot in the skull.

“My heart is pierced by cupid. I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me, but my jolly sailor bold.”

“Stab it, YN!” you heard Chan call from somewhere nearby, “Stab it now!”

Pontus bellowed, head turning upright and you nearly lost your balance. Catching yourself on a charred membrane, you took hold of your sword and stabbed it dead center. The sudden penetration made Pontus howl in pain, his body thrashing about wildly. You did your best to hold on to his broken fans as he waved his head to throw you off. Heart pounding loudly, you took several deep breaths as a rush of water and air blew past you. Gravity gradually began pulling you downwards, you frantically jiggled and pulled your sword until it came loose. Sword tightly in hand, you pushed off the beast’s head right as it sunk towards the bottom. You watched from above as Pontus’s body coiled into a spiral as it thumped to the sea floor. Against the white sand, it looked like a black picture frame.

“We did it!” Hyunjin cried gleefully, swimming up to you from the bottom. “We did it!”

You let him scoop you up into a hug, twirling you around in the water. “You were brilliant, Hyunjin,” you told him when he stopped spinning. “You were so brave.”

“You were braver,” he insisted. “You would've fought that thing head on if I hadn't distracted it, huh?”

“Probably. I would've just gone home if I'd died here,” you shrugged, “So no big deal.”

Hyunjin saw through your brave face, but kissed you anyway. You leaned into the kiss, wanting it to absorb you before you faced the next part. When you pulled away, you looked right at him.

“I’m surprised I didn’t get pulled into that voice of yours,” you said, fingers under his chin, “It really is enchanting.”

“I can do more of it for you later.”

“I’d like that.”

“Tytos,” Minho quickly swam past you both, “We have to get to him before she kills him! Yejin, what's the fastest way there?”

“Through that door,” she pointed to the double doors Alcina left through. “It has stairs that take you right to the second floor of the palace. It is a bit of a walk, but much faster than going back the way we came.”

“Then let's go.”

Minho led your group up to the double doors which Alcina left unlocked. The arrogance already jumped out at you. As Yejin said, a spiraling staircase that fit three people across went all the way up to the palace. The hidden doorway leading out from the arena suggested the royal family's personal entrance to their private box down below. You expected some kind of resistance or danger awaiting you, but the passage went rather smoothly up the unused staircase. Once on the first floor, more sharks and guards filled the hall. You thought one of them might see a group of people coming up from the arena, but none of them noticed you. Yejin guided you up the second staircase to the top landing where they’d stationed more guards. The guards here wore black breastplates and carried iron spears. When you got a better look at them, they shared the same blank eyes associated with brain fog.

“You got anything for them?” Chan asked Minho in a whisper.

“Only this.”

Out of a pouch on his belt, Minho withdrew what resembled a sea urchin. The spiky black ball gracefully floated away towards a pair of brainwashed guards. When one of them noticed the urchin, he reached forward to seize it and the moment he made contact, the urchin exploded. Instead of squishy remains, a thick black substance sprayed on both guards. You saw the toxic goo wrap around their mouths and eyes, slowly strangling them around the neck. None of you had time to scold Minho for using such a trick, since he sailed right past them to a pair of doors nearby.

“Minho, wait,” Yejin called out and stopped him from opening the door. “We can't just barge in. Allow me to handle this.”

Minho’s determination made it difficult for him to back down. He gave Yejin a stubborn glance as he said, “We don't have time for pleasantries, Yejin.”

“No, but storming in there will ruin everything.” From a bag hanging from her waist, Yejin withdrew a blue bottle holding a clear liquid. “Chan and YN will drink this potion, while you remain invisible on your own. Hyunjin and Hannah will distract them for you.”

“You already thought about this,” Minho said, impressed.

“You thought I’d come here without a plan?” she smiled. “Now, you two drink.”

Chan drank half the bottle and you drank the other half. Before your eyes, Chan’s features slowly disappeared until you saw nothing but the opposite wall. Minho, with a snap of his fingers, vanished instantly. Hyunjin brushed your hand with his as he passed you to join Yejin at the pair of doors. The group braced themselves when Yejin knocked on the door and a female voice called for them to enter.

“Yejin, thank goodness you’re here!” the woman cried out, “They won’t let me see him!”

Yejin, Hannah and Hyunjin went further into the room while you, Minho and Chan stayed on the outskirts of the lounge area. The mermaid’s black plaits flowed to her waist, and she wore a bralette made of shining seashells and gems. Like with so many merfolk, rows of tiny conch shells, pearls and opals shone against her dark hair, with ivory bands decorating her long hair. Queen Calypso looked as if she’d been crying for hours, her eyes puffy and red with her lips parted in every sob. Yejin embraced her immediately, causing the queen to cry harder.

“Who won’t let you see him?” she asked tenderly.

“Mizu and that sea witch he brought with him,” she sobbed. “He told me he brought her to assess Tytos’s condition and she says he is beyond healing. She said the best thing to do was help him along to The King’s Hall, an-an-and they won’t let me say goodbye!”

You listened to the queen’s heartache with stinging eyes. The pair won’t even let her see him off into the afterlife. It reminded you once again of the people who lost their loved ones so tragically during the war. You recalled the friends you’d made who died in battle, never able to give a last goodbye. Alcina and Mizu would rob her of this to fulfill their devious plan; the plan that killed several mermaids and took their dignity from them.

‘I, Multak of the Fire Clan, pledge my life and my sword to The Mar. I will be the shield who guards the innocent from the damned. I will be the sword who punishes the wicked and the cruel. I swear it from this day and all the days yet to come.’

Even if you no longer lived in The Mar, you’d made a vow for life.

“They cannot bar The Queen from seeing her husband,” you heard Yejin say firmly. “Calypso, you are Queen of the Seven Seas. You are wife to the Great King, and mother to his children. You are The People’s Queen. Mizu is only an advisor, and he has no authority to tell you where you can and cannot be. Come with me. We will see Tytos together.”

She glanced in your direction, linking her arm with Calypso’s and opening the bedroom doors. Right away, you followed the group inside.

“Your Majesty,” Mizu stood at the foot of the bed, stunned by her sudden appearance, “And Lady Yejin. I told you that your services are no longer-”

“-Shove it, traitor,” Yejin snapped. “Her Majesty wishes to see her husband. She is allowed that right.”

“She will disturb my healing process, Lady Yejin.”

Alcina stood on the other side of the bed, bent over the king with her hand on his forehead. You heard his faint groaning from the stone bed, seeing his body more malnourished than the last time. Calypso let out a tearful gasp, covering her mouth at the sight of her dying husband. Alcina was who you truly studied: lean, tall and pale, black scales went from her shoulders to the eight tentacles keeping her upright. The markings on her arms and chest swirled were the swirling patterns of the water clan. Unlike your bright markings, hers were pure black. She no longer carried demonic magic, but you spotted a glowing crystal hanging from her neck. A totem for magic. Every inch of you burned seeing the small horn stumps that once resembled ram horns. You were right. Alcina was an exile.

“Healing process?” Yejin gave the king a quick look over, “He doesn’t seem to be healing to me.”

“It’s a transition spell,” she lied. “It’ll help him pass painlessly to the next life.”

“And who gave you the authority to murder our king?” Yejin snapped.

“I did,” Mizu said. “I spoke with the other advisors, and we all agreed it is best for His Majesty to be given a merciful death. This is what is best for him.”

“Best for him or best for you?”

“I don’t gain any pleasure from witnessing this, my lady, but would you prefer Tytos continues to suffer?”

“He is only suffering because of you and this witch you’ve forced upon us,” she spat back at him.

“And what would your remedy be, my lady?” Alcina drew. “No meager potion or minor spell will heal him.”

“No, but I can heal him just fine, Witch.”

Minho clicked his fingers and he appeared beside Yejin. You saw the faintest glow of black and purple lingering over his fingertips like a baseball. Rage burned through the young fairy’s body, his magic threatening to spill over if pressed enough. You already saw him holding the black crystal in his hand, and knew with a quick flick of his wrist he’d get the job done. A brush of water went past you; Chan must be positioning himself behind Mizu. Alcina was all yours.

By her hesitation, Alcina did not expect to see Minho or Hyunjin ever again.

“On behalf of Queen Calypso and The Sea Council,” Yejin said, “I sentence you and your witch-”

“-I am no mere witch, sea scum!” Alcina snapped. “I am far greater than any mortal witch amongst you.”

“You are a witch,” Hyunjin hissed. “A witch who throws innocents into Pontus’s pit unjustly,” Hyunjin continued for her. “A witch who has been poisoning the king’s mind for months. A sea witch who orchestrated several merfolk slayings, predator attacks and pirate raids. We know who you are, Alcina, and you do not scare anyone here.”

Alcina cackled, “How cute. Where is Multak then, hm? I imagine the little fire brat died fighting our leviathan. I always told my master she wasn’t as strong as she seemed.”

You swam around the bed. Her words alone acted like wind fueling a kindling fire. You stood behind her, gripping your sword tightly in both hands. Already, the invisibility potion started wearing off. You must have not drunk enough to last as long as before. Good. You wanted her to see you.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he smirked, “YN’s not dead.”

“Oh? Then where is she?”

“Right here,” you said from right behind her.

Alcina whipped around, her eyes narrowed and searching the air around her for you. “Invisibility,” she scoffed, “Of course you’d use that. Dranesh always said you fire demons were bad with invisibility. You’re too brash and loud. Come out of the shadows, you little-”

“Silence, deserter.”

Your invisibility melted away when you thrust your sword into her belly. Runes burning like coals, the dragon fire in your blade seared her skin and sizzled her insides. Alcina, eyes wide and mouth blowing air bubbles in every scream, tried pushing you from her but failed each time.

“What was your real name?” you asked her in a growl, pushing it further into her. When she did not answer, you repeated, “What is your real name, oathbreaker?!”

“Ran-Rannuth…”

“Rannuth of the Water Clan,” you said, “You are charged with treason, murder, interfering in mortal matters and breaking your exile restrictions. I sentence you to death.” You moved closer to her as her body began dematerializing from you, “May The Blind One have no mercy on you.”

Withdrawing your sword from her torso, you watched Alcina gradually turn into seafoam in front of you. Your sword dimmed as its power faded away, but your own rage continued to burn. With one glance over at Mizu, you saw the terror instantly flush his face. This brief distraction was enough for Chan to hold a knife to his neck.

“Wha-wh-what?!” Mizu shrieked, looking frantically at each of you as Chan restrained him. “No, no, wait, wait!”

“Mizu Tanaka, you are charged with treason and conspiracy to commit treason,” Calypso sniffed, standing up straight with her head up high. “Guards, seize him.”

Chan only released Mizu when two guards clapped chains on his wrists. “Your Majesty, please!” Mizu cried, “Please, I was only thinking of the realm. I was thinking of you! Please, don't do this to me!”

“You only thought about yourself,” she glared, “You have plagued this family long enough. Take him away.”

“Calypso! Calypso, I only ever had love for you-” Mizu began to say as the guards dragged him from the room, “I only thought about your happiness! Do not do this to me! Please!”

You watched him be led from the room. Your markings glowed bright orange, hot to the touch and steaming in the water. Only the gentle touch of Chan’s carefully placed hand took you out of yourself.

“Talk about getting heated, huh?” He said.

“Shut up,” you said, embarrassed suddenly.

“Tytos!”

Hyunjin’s voice caught everyone’s attention, and you all turned to the bed. The king, frail and skeletal, began convulsing on the bed. His moans gurgled and a purple fluid seeped from the sides of his mouth. Minho didn't need to be told to act. He moved the queen and Yejin aside and pressed the black crystal to the king's forehead.

“Replenish thy mind and embrace the light,” he said strongly, holding the stone to the infection site, “Replenish thy mind and embrace the light….”

At first, the king continued seizing and frothing at the mouth.

“Replenish thy mind and embrace the light!”

A bright white light broke through the cracks in the stone. The rays directed themselves over Tytos’s face as Minho continued his mantra. Tytos’s head swished back and forward, feral growls coming from his throat while spitting more purple tinged foam. You saw his nails dig into the stone bed underneath him while the gem shone brighter on him. Whatever possessed him fought hard to stay inside. Tytos’s body went completely rigid, bones and skin stretched far, and let out a high scream; he whipped and resisted Minho’s words, but Minho held on strongly.

“Please!” you heard Calypso cry, “Please, Tytos!”

“Replenish thy mind and embrace the light!”

“Please, my love, fight it!” Calypso cried, tears in her eyes, “Please! Fight! Ormand would want you to fight it, love,” she came to his side, touching one of his trembling fists. “Arielle, Arista, Ronan and Kenn…They want to see their father. They miss you, beloved. You must fight this beast inside, and see them again. I wish to see you again.”

Words of love and a gentle touch made the beast fight harder, but you saw the cloudiness in his eyes slowly fading away. A healthy pink complexion came back as the stone’s light started absorbing the dark sickness.

“Tytos,” she called to him, “Tytos, please. Come back to me. Come back.”

His fidgeting softened as the last few wisps of the possession left him. Face full of color and eyes clear as day, the king groaned and gasped at the very last trickle. He stared around the room at everyone, confusion furrowing his thick eyebrows. You saw the question sitting on his tongue, but he did not say it out loud. It was when he looked upon his wife that a bit of clarity came to him. He touched her warm cheek with a pruned finger, and gazed over her soft, round features.

“I know your face…” he said in a raspy voice, hoarse and thin. “I know you…”

“It’s me, Tytos. It’s your Calypso.”

“Calypso,” he breathed out her name, and tears trickled down his temples. “Oh, my precious pearl…Where-Where am I?” he gazed around the room again, “Who are all these people?”

“Your Majesty,” Yejin bowed, as did the other two, “There is much for us to explain, but it is best you rest-”

“-What happened to me?” he asked, a bit of fear in his voice. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the royal palace,” Yejin answered, “Your ancestral home of Hydrus. You were possessed, Your Majesty. Mizu and a sea demon manipulated your mind, and you were near death before we arrived.”

Tytos looked at her with confusion, then turned to his wife, “Who is Mizu? Wha-What is she talking about?”

“I think you all should go,” Yejin said to the rest of you. “His Majesty needs time and rest.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Yes, Mama.”

Everyone aside from Yejin moved into the next room. You felt empty, as you always did after bounties like this. Plopping down on one of the couches, elbows went onto knees as you covered your face with your hands. Alcina was not the first exile you’d killed, and likely wouldn’t be the last. Yet, truly murdering one of your own left you with a melancholy feeling that didn’t wash off quickly enough. The adrenaline and fire that coursed through you refused to settle down; you rubbed your eyes until you saw blotches of darkness and took a deep breath. The others began discussing the next move: calling the advisors, informing the public of what transpired, and someone collecting the dead leviathan underneath the palace.

You needed a drink and a pretty boy to make you feel something again.

“Hey, Snake Slayer,” a voice pulled you from your thoughts, “Still burning inside?”

Hyunjin sat beside you, looking more beautiful than ever even with his injuries. The wounds given to him seemed to heal faster than they might on normal human skin, but the cuts remained visible to you. They looked strangely lovely on him. It added more charm to what he already had.

“It’ll die down eventually,” you breathed.

‘You’d betray your own kind, Multak? We are made of the same fire and stone. You’d kill your brothers and sisters based on foolish vows. You’d slay your own people in defense of those who’d rather kill you than respect you.’

You blocked out Nor’goth’s voice once more.

“I can imagine that hadn’t been easy to do,” Hyunjin said. When you gave him a quizzical look, he continued, “Having to kill someone you might’ve seen as one of your own once. Alright, so she was exiled after the war and therefore not really a demon anymore, but killing still isn’t pleasant.”

“But it's necessary sometimes,” you admitted. “If I hadn't killed her, she would've found a new person to control somewhere else.”

Hyunjin slipped his hand over yours, and said softly, “Still, it's not enjoyable.”

Hyunjin then hummed the same song he'd sung in the pit. It soothed you enough to turn when the door opened. Yejin and Calypso stood together, grinning softly at the group.

“How is he, Yejin?” Minho asked her first.

“It will be a slow process,” she said, “But with proper treatment and time, he will recover. I believe we came just in time; if we'd delayed any longer, Tytos wouldn't be with us right now.”

“I wanted to thank you,” Calypso sniffled, “For saving my husband.”

“It's what we do, Your Majesty,” Chan bowed his head. “What will you do about Mizu? Tytos isn't well enough to be sentencing anyone at the moment.”

“That will be up to the advisors and myself,” she said, “Since Ronan is only seventeen, he isn't of age to take his father's place. But, I assure you that Mizu will be dealt with to the fullest extent.”

“He was connected to crimes on the mainland, Your Majesty,” Chan intervened. “He commanded the pirates to poach merfolk for their scales and tails. They washed up on our shores which means he crossed jurisdictions.”

“You're free to attend his trial, Sheriff,” Calypso told him. “Mizu will answer for any and all crimes he committed.” She gave a playful smirk, “And so is your demon companion or has Alcina already been sentenced where you're from?”

“I killed her, Your Majesty,” she turned to her. “Demons can only die by dragon fire. That's what my sword is made from. But, my sword works just as well on traitors of all races.”

“We have our own executioner, Multak,” Yejin said, and this name caught Calypso's ear.

“This is Multak?”

You stood up, “Yes, Your Majesty.” You already sensed where this was going.

“Yejin, you weren't lying,” Calypso said to her, yet kept her eyes on you. “She truly is a hero.”

“I wasn't the only one there,” you said immediately. “Minho is the best with magic, and if Hyunjin, Hannah, and Yejin hadn't distracted the leviathan, I would've been its dinner. Chan helped me take the thing down too.”

“And modest,” Calypso said. “Once again, thank you. You all have saved my kingdom and my family. We would have been lost without your help.” When you all bowed to her, she continued, “Forgive me, but I must go inform the advisors of what has happened. We need to discuss our next step as soon as possible. Yejin, I trust you'll be there.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Calypso left the room, and Yejin turned to Chan. She stood there a few seconds, taking him in and he began speaking before she interrupted him.

“Oh, my baby boy!” she rushed at him, embracing him tightly.

“Ma!”

“My precious pearl, oh!” She started smothering him in kisses, which Chan tried pulling away from. “Oh, you scared me half to death when you fought that thing! I thought being a small town sheriff wouldn't be so dangerous! Oh, Channie!” She saw Hannah a foot away, and pulled her in too, “And my sweet angelfish! Hannah, you could've gotten killed getting near that thing! I told you to stay in the shop!”

“Ma! Ma, you can let go now!” Chan squeaked as she hugged him tighter. “Mama!”

Minho and you exchanged amused glances, then he tackled you and Hyunjin. “Oh, YN! Our little lava rock, you're so brave!”

You laughed, hugging him back, “That leviathan was so dangerous! It could've eaten you! Hyunjin, being a whale navigator shouldn't be so dangerous! You could've died!”

“Oh, Minho, you're so smart and strong for using that rock! Such a smart man, you are!”

The three of you laughed in the face of Chan and Hannah’s red cheeks. Finally breaking apart, Yejin addressed the group. It will take several weeks to fully restore the kingdom and arrange a trial for Mizu. In the meantime, you all could go home and get prepared for Founder’s Day. Chan and Minho started planning the moment everyone dispersed; Hannah went with her mother to see the advisors and Calypso. This left you alone with the prettiest face you ever did see.

“And then there were two,” Hyunjin said, that familiar glint in his eyes.

“And then there were two,” you agreed, unable to look at anyone but him.

When he swam to you, his tail waved behind him and you saw how it shimmered in the light. Hyunjin said nothing as he pressed his lips to yours; his hands slid up to your neck, holding you there to easily open your mouth with his own. The strange sensation of kissing underwater came back to you the longer you kissed, your breath coming through gills instead of your nose. This only made it easier to kiss Hyunjin longer. Your hands wrapped around his slim torso and brought him closer. His smooth scales allowed your fingers to slide further up his back and keep him closer to you. Every soft hum Hyunjin gave broke your barriers, washing away pain and memory.

“Come with me,” Hyunjin breathed, his forehead pressed to yours and eyes still closed.

“Anywhere.”

Hyunjin did not hesitate to take you from the front room down the hall. Nobody stopped you as he brought you into a room that might have once been a conservatory. Some glass panes still held up, but others became covered by coral reefs and plant life wrapped around them. A kelp forest covered the high ceiling, while more plants stayed growing out of the cracks on the floor and blossoming from the walls. Being on a higher level of the palace, in the daytime it must get much more light than the rest. Yet now, you only saw blackness with flickers of moonlight from above. The fish lanterns made Hyunjin glow like candlelight, and you brought him into your embrace right away.

On a bench underneath colorful purple coral and white plumed anemones, Hyunjin pressed you down and settled between your thighs. Excitement burned in your loins once his tail brushed your core, matching the hands slipping underneath your bra. All the adrenaline from the bounty turned from anxiousness into hunger; the kind of hunger that started slow in the gut and gradually pushed further down. Sliding your bra above your breasts, you let out a soft moan as full lips latched to your nipple. You kept your hands on the back of his head and neck, letting them get entangled in his black strands. You whimpered softly watching him cup and kiss your breasts, slashing his tongue over each one while he grinded into you. You heard sex with merfolk was an interesting experience, and you’d dive straight into it.

The heat rose between you once his hand touched your core. Long fingers massaged the throbbing center in languid circles through layers of underwear and pants. You wished you’d worn even less clothing. It only served to get in your way. Hyunjin’s lips found yours again as he removed those layers, letting your pants float away while he pushed your panties aside.

“Hyunjin…” you breathed his name, eyes falling closed as his fingers danced around your aching clit.

“Just relax,” he moaned against your neck, “Let me take care of you.”

“Not your first mainlander, huh?” you joked, which was then cut off by a thumb running over your clit.

“Of course not.”

You both shared a laugh, and soon enough he slipped a digit inside you. His soft panting became a sound you embedded in your ear drums; his hard body and long limbs would be mapped out in your memory forever. Hyunjin’s touch stoked fires inside you that rarely saw ignition. You rocked yourself needily into his hand, gripping his shoulders and whining in his ear. A hardness pressed against your inner thigh, and you discovered exactly where it came from. Pushing up on it, Hyunjin grunted into your mouth when he brought you into another kiss.

His cock was like nothing you’d felt before. From how it stretched you nicely, filling you to the brim, he would’ve split a normal woman in two. One arm wrapped around his neck, and the other around his waist, you and Hyunjin met in the middle in every thrust. The obvious bumps underneath his length added extra pleasure and the thin tip tickled against your g-spot each time. When he rolled you around, much easier in the water, you let yourself be impaled by his long length. Hands on his chest, you bounced up and down on him while he bit his lower lip to suppress his whimpers. His tip pushing right into your core, his thumb circling your clit, your body started trembling on top of him. Your fingers, sharp and black, made triangular marks on the soft parts of Hyunjin’s chest, drawing snips of blood. The need fueled your movements.

Were you above the surface, your orgasm would’ve been heard. Yet, in this secluded greenhouse, only Hyunjin saw you quake and stiffen as you came. Hyunjin’s moans drew you into him, a song as sweet and tempting as he was. The pleasure coursing through your body replaced the adrenaline high, spilling euphoria into you like a drug. As Hyunjin reached his orgasm, his cock started vibrating deep inside you. You almost heard it humming, and it had you rutting against him like an animal. Putting one of his hands on your breast, Hyunjin squeezed it as you rode out your orgasm with him. A specific type of heat spurted over your walls, with its stickiness distinct from the water around you. Hyunjin’s body arched in his climax, moans calling up into the ceiling as he came. Rather than push faster, it paralyzed him so he only came to your clenching walls milking him.

Collapsing onto Hyunjin, you both took several slow breaths through your abdomens. Pure relief glowed around you, and you felt a sense of triumph at this newest venture.

“So?” Hyunjin sneered.

“Let’s just say, I’ll face another leviathan if it means I get to have you again.”

Snickering, the two of you kissed again and embraced underneath the forest of green kelp and coral.

*****

You met Chan and Minho back on Jack’s boat a little while later. Refreshed and energized by your romp with Hyunjin, you gave them a satisfied smile. However, their faces fell and jaws dropped when they saw you.

“What?” you asked, taking a towel from nearby and starting to dry yourself off. Thoughts of Hyunjin’s sweet lips stayed implanted in your mind.

“Where in the blessed light are your pants?” Minho asked in disbelief.

“Hm, somewhere off at sea, I imagine,” you snickered. Doing your best to dry off your hair, you looked to see them both still staring. “Maybe a fish has already made them his home.”

“You fucked my cousin, didn’t you?” Chan asked, hands on hips. In all fairness, his tank top stuck to him like a second skin; the water made it nearly see-through. Once again, you forced yourself to look at him directly.

“Psh, since you asked,” you snorted, “Yeah, I did. I think I deserved a little something extra after nearly getting eaten by a sea snake.”

Chan did not appear judgemental like most men who heard you speak that way. He kept his eyes focused on you in the same flustered way you did to him. Briefly, you wondered how warm Chan might feel compared to his cold-blooded cousin.

“Damn demons,” Minho chuckled, shaking his head and going to start the boat.

As it took off, you let the ocean breeze dry off most of your body. You felt Chan’s eyes still on you from afar. He didn’t like hearing about you and Hyunjin, and you attributed that to them being related. Perhaps Chan suspected you would, just not so soon. You hadn’t expected it either, but you aren’t regretful. But, something about his soft eyes turning stone and sad bothered you.

“It’s not like we’re in love,” you heard yourself say to him as the boat reached the docks of Levanter Bay. “It was a one time thing. It’s kind of like doing it after a run or a fight. It happened and it’s over.”

“Um…okay?” Chan said, confused by your outburst.

“I’m just saying it didn’t mean anything to me or him.”

“Which is fine.”

“Yeah…”

You nodded and then turned away from him. You were the first to step off the boat when Minho docked at Levanter. Due to it being well past midnight, you didn’t see a soul when you stood on the wooden dock. Minho and you started forward towards town while Chan took a right.

“See y’all tomorrow,” he said wearily.

“See you, Chan,” Minho nodded, going ahead of you.

“Night.”

You watched him head eastward from the docks, and guessed that the sheriff of Levanter didn’t live in his station house. When you and Minho reached town, he then said:

“Well done, demon. You’ve saved another city from ultimate ruin.”

“It’s starting to become my brand,” you chortled.

“That and leaving a string of admirers in your wake,” he gave you a sideways glance.

“Oh hush,” you pushed him gently, laughing.

“You should’ve heard Eric Nam talking about you when you left,” he chuckled. “He didn’t know whether to be horny or scared.”

“Oh please,” you scoffed.

“Minho! Thank the Light you’re okay!”

Han bursted out of the station, a relieved smile on his face as he jumped into Minho’s embrace. You watched the two friends relish in each other’s arms before turning around. You reached the inn, which remained dark and quiet so far into the night. Changbin and Wooyoung are likely fast asleep by now. On the banisters and railings you saw the blue and gold streamers of Founder’s Day decorations. All around the town, you saw similar tidings in flower garlands over doors and flags hanging out of windows. They’d already set up Felix’s outdoor stage, and the various areas for the different in-town competitions. You even saw Seungmin’s family had placed a special one-day sale sign at the door. Founder’s Day might only be three days away, but everyone prepared like it’d be tomorrow. You heard a horse’s hooves ride off as you entered the inn, prepared for a long sleep.

*****

“Can’t take my charm, can’t take my humor. Can’t take my wealth, ‘cause it’s just a rumor…”

Felix and his band carried through the market square as you stepped out into the warm morning air. Three days have passed since the events in Hydrus, but you still felt a twinge of soreness straining your arms. You definitely knew you couldn’t shake the smell of the sea or the taste of Hyunjin’s lips. A trip back to the underwater kingdom came to you, then you realized how that might look to others. It’s always saddest when a pretty face can’t be revisited. The faint scent of food made your stomach growl, and before you could move from the steps, someone came your way.

“You just gettin’ up, young lady?” Mrs. Young huffed, coming to you with a small pie plate. “Just like y’all young folk to be sleeping the day away, especially on the important ones.”

“It’s only noon.”

“And you missed the opening ceremonies and the hoop-race, so you best be happy with yourself,” she handed you the pie. “Here, eat this. It’ll fill that belly of yours.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

She huffed again, then continued walking towards a nearby vegetable stand. You didn’t hesitate to dig into the chicken pot pie, the gravy hot on your tongue and chicken savory and delicious. It certainly filled the emptiness in your stomach. Staring around, you watched the children playing with sticks and hoops, and others playing with a ball. Dr. Yang Jeongin stood in a hanbok of pale blue and gold making flower crowns out of thin air for people to wear. Seungmin stood outside his family’s mercantile, handing out popcorn and candy bags. Honey contently sat nearby, relishing in the pats and scratches children and adults gave her. Changbin and Wooyoung served drinks nearby, everything from their best ale to water.

“Afternoon, Honey,” you smiled through a mouth full of flaky crust. The bear gruffed, then put her head up against the small werewolf petting her side.

“Look who just woke up,” Changbin beamed. He caught sight of the pie plate, “Mrs. Young found you, huh?”

“And scolded me for daring to sleep past six in the morning,” you said. You took the ale he passed you with an appreciative nod, and used it to wash down the pie.

“I heard you and our sheriff saved an underwater kingdom from being taken over by a crazy sea witch a few days ago,” Wooyoung said from behind him, putting out fresh bread rolls to go with the drinks. “Is there anything you can’t do, YN?”

“Open heart surgery,” you snickered, polishing off the rest of the pie. “It was only a job.”

“A job that helped a whole bunch of people,” he said. “I know if I ever get into a bind, I’m calling you.”

You laughed, “If you have the gold for it.”

“Will you settle for cinnamon bread?” he pouted, holding a basket of the soft sweet bread in front of you. “I’m good for it, I swear.”

“Hm,” you took one of the breads, biting into the softness to taste the cinnamon and glaze on top. Nodding thoughtfully, you said, “I suppose a deal can be struck.”

You gave him a wink and walked away. You saw Minho and Han underneath a nearby tree.. While Han still wore his deputy uniform, Minho changed into a gold and green jacket tied at his chest with pants that bunched around his ankles. Hanbok, the traditional attire of faefolk. He grinned when you approached.

“Where’s your badge, Deputy?” you joked, nudging him.

“At home. I’m just Minho today. Also,” he glanced at Jeongin, “Certain fae around here have been noting my ‘human attire’ lately.”

You smirked, “I didn’t think Dr. Yang bothered you.”

“He doesn’t,” he straightened up. “Besides, this is way more comfortable for my wings.”

“Alright, sure, Deputy.”

“Are you joining the archery contest, YN?” asked Han, munching on nuts and berries from a small pouch. “Or the wrestling match?”

“Nah,” you shook your head. “Not really for me. I was thinking about the pie tasting though. Mostly because the pies look insanely delicious.”

“They are!” he nodded, “Mr. Yoon makes a mean pecan pie. It’s one of my favorites.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

The three of you discussed the pie entries while the town enjoyed their special day. It made you reflect about Hydrus, which was minutes away from ruin before you arrived. Jinyoung might have burned Levanter Bay to the ground if you and your friends had not stood in his way. The image of a burning Levanter bothered you. You admitted the little town started growing on you.

You sort of liked the place.

***

A/N: aaand that is it for episode 2 of The Drifter! I hope you guys enjoyed this newest one, and stick around for the other episodes still to come <3 Thanks so much for reading, and feel free to like and reblog <3

#fic rec #non bts #skz

51 notes · View notes