#also imagine living knowing that the random crack head can just buy a gun

[nenehyuuchiha]

When you're feeling down, sad or Feeling Unmotivated, just remember,

At least you didn't born in U.S.A.

[blonde-toddy]

Random and Not So Random thoughts while watching Bridgerton: Season 1, Episode 4

Oh they're at court.

Also she's not a commoner. She's the daughter of a Viscount.

Another Daphne brag moment, but homegirl really got the juice. She's bagging mfs over hand holding and dancing.

Violet dgaf. She's hungry now, damn it!

Oh he's buying jewelry already.

Ooooooh the way she imagines the Duke behind her. Honey yes. That scene was hot.

Too bad she came back to reality.

Hyacinth is my spirit animal.

Lady Whistledown ain't ready to write Simon off yet. She's waiting on the Dukes Hail Mary.

Shit. So am I.

I have never seen someone look so depressed in such an exquisite piece of jewelry. It's like the necklace chokes her. Testament to the acting and script for that though. It truly represents a trap.

Awww Simon is wearing that heavy bag out. I would say poor Simon, but he made this damn bed.

I love Alice and Will. They are the kind of wholesome love I need to keep my heart steady watching this damn show. She's his rider and I love it.

Alice roasting Simon over Daphne. Get. Yo. Girl. Mane.

I always cringe when a man tells a woman to smile.

Poor Marina. Portia is determined to find her the oldest mf. She's playing smart though.

Those damn dingbat sisters.

Maybe Penelope does care.

Well at least the least mean sister got a caller. They're awkward/cute.

Eloise girl, I love feathers in hair. Your one dimensional preaching is wearing me out again.

A boxing match date? I'd be down.

The prince legit seems like a nice guy. And Daphne is trying....but she's CLEARLY hung up on Simon.

Oh look Simon's losing focus on his friend because he's too focused on Daphne and the prince.

Ok mf! Take that shit off and roll them sleeves up. It turns me on too sis!

Oh look at the sweet family talk with the prince. Girl he'd give you any and everything you wanted.

But you and the Duke are just ATE TF UP about each other!

Mondrich for the win!!!!

Oh Benny. You've got a new friend. But what kind of friend? Give me more of this.

Well Anthony is smug and pleased as punch. Simons courtship of Daphne has ended. She has her perfect suitor. And Simon is leaving England to go rake and fuckboy about.

Though Simons hard slammed shot when the prince approached says he's anything but happy.

Violet always worries about the wrong shit.

Hyacinth always wants to know the good shit.

Be Hyacinth.

Oh fuck the prince is ready to propose. That shit escalated quickly.

SIMON!!!!!! Now would be a good time for that Hail Mary.

Good job Anthony. Way to realize that the women in your life have agency over THEMSELVES.

Violet always beating around the damn bush.....but she is still 100% #teamduke

Aw Daphne you're gonna break down snitching on yourself.

If it wasn't real with Simon you wouldn't be so ate up about it, and you would be rocking tf out of that necklace from the prince instead of crying.

There's a reason for the black in her outfit. For Daphne, who is normally all pastel blues, that black is her mourning. It's her 'attempting' to put to death her feelings for the Duke. And also I think mourning the loss if the bond they shared. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But this seems like a very deliberate show with it's details.

Danbury ripping Simon open before she sends him off. Big energy.

She knows everything you thick headed mf. Why won't you just listen?! You letting your rank ass daddy live rent free in your soul.

He's so jaded it hurts.

Ayyyye this Trowbridge party looks like the real deal.

Oh gawd. Marina and the old man.

Mr. Finch and the cheese frock. Jesus who wrote this. I love it

Cressida you have been Daphnes biggest hater all season and now you're mad that she's with the prince. He was never gonna marry yo basket headed ass anyway.

Oooooh shit Simon sees the 'intimate painting' and has 2nd thoughts.

Go. Get. Yo. Girl.......Bitch.

Ooooh Benny's at the new homies spot and it's lit!

Naked models, easels, mingling between the classes. Yes indeed.

2nd sons having fun. Hell yes.

Damn Even Sienna at the ball...as a performer of course.

And Anthony looking tongue tied.

Violet....you need to chill. There take another sip.

Portia trying to shade Lady Trowbridges style is comical. Both of y'all bitches gaudy as hell.

Oh shit Phillipa lost her man.

Wtf is wrong with Lord Featherington?

And wtf are you doing Eloise?

Ayyye she just let her have it. You think servants have the time to be Lady Whistledown? I'm dead.

"Get out."

Ok Penelope with your saucy ass.

Well fuck! You just pushed him right to Marina. You played yourself boo.

Oooh the prince is about to shoot the big shot and Daphne keeps running away.

She done spotted Simon. Its over.

Fuck off Cressida.

Rip that mf necklace off girl.

Simon followed her ass outside.

"Miss Bridgerton." Motherfucker, call her Daphne.

"I came to say goodbye." Man. Go to hell.

Daphne serving those barbs. You not ready to keep playing with her.

Damn, Simon. If you're not gonna give her what she wants, get out the way.

Tell his ass sis.....even if you don't believe it yourself.

Really Simon? You stand there quiet as a mf church mouse whiles she's pleading with you to say something.....then you take off after her once she walks away from your shit

I swear.....men.....yall mfs really do shit like this. Speak up! Or...LET. ME. GO.

She's really cracking on his ass and I'm here for it....but wtf us up with his "I forbid you." Who tf are you to me? I'm glad she ain't playing with his ass.

Ooooh he called her Daphne and grabbed her.

Oh honey this is what fulfillment feels like, isn't it?

He's definitely fulFILLing her all the way up!

Oh shit Anthony caught them.

At least he finally landed some decent blows on Simon.

This RAKE ass mf still won't marry her.

Oh Simon.....for once.....Anthony is in the right and you the wrong. You are really about to die over your fucking daddy issues. Boy bye. Again.

Poor Daphne.

Wait, how did Cressida know she was in the garden?

That can't be good.

At least Benny is having a good time.

Dearest Portia, when you go looking for shit, it usually falls in your lap.

Marina keeps carrying on about Colin and Penelope is crushed.....or scheming....or both.

Aww Penelope let her hurt feelings cause a fight with her bestie. Her jealousy is seething.

Daphne still out here having to educate Anthony....though I get the need for the duel. And he still thinks he's running something.

Ooooh this is why they brought up 2nd sons.....Anthony is prepping Benny to take over. Well Benny, at least you had one good night out.

Colin caring for drunk Violet is parenting goals one day.

Oh great, now yall wanna bring Colin into the shit.

Simon raiding Wills spot for booze was so uneccesarily loud.

So Berbrooke alludes to her dishonor and Simon caves his fucking head in. Simon legit dishonors her and he's just like ,"Kay, guess I'll go get shot now." Someone get this man some therapy.

Oh great Anthony is back at Siennas door with more of his bullshit. Girl. Close that door.

No, not after you've let him in and climbed his torso. I guess y'all fuckin again.

He lost all the money and now he's fucked up.

Her face while he cried, is literally the face of every woman sick of a mediocre man's shit.

Oooh now they're all riding off into battle like the fucking idiots they are.

Colin is so pure.

I knew that Cressida shit would come back.

Well at least Anthony was willing to care for Sienna in his death....but damn mf, treat me right while WE'RE here.

Oh the dramatics of drawing a gun.

Nobody is here for Simon's weak ass apologies and I'm okay with that.

Hurry hurry Daphne.

Daphne down....but she's alright.

Call them idiots just like they are.

Simon still being a hoe about this shit. You really about let her be ostracized because you're a fuck boy.

Ultimate fuck boy line...I can't be with you because I love you too much. Fucking hell.

They do obviously love each other though.

Hold up.......you CAN NEVER, or WILL NEVER give her children. Don't play this like you have a reproductive issue.

So your reason for not marrying her is that you "can never" give her children and you know that's what her heart desires.

You playing with fire, Simon.

I wonder how much shit I let slide with his character just because he's portrayed so well by the phenomenal Regé-Jean Page.

No, I do love Simon's damaged ass. He just makes me so mad.

So the duel resumes......or not.

Daphne said, "Fuck them kids, give me my husband." Or something like that.

Well. This us an uncomfortable arrangement even though both of these idiots are in love.

Simon's evasion will most certainly come back to bite him in the ass.

But I'll be here with my popcorn and tissue, rooting for these cool kids to make it!

[nad-zeta]

Hello, hello, hello! I loved your head canons about the warlords' ages and I wonder if you can write head canons of the warlords' profession, not in modern AU but the warlords deciding to go to the future with MC and well, the profession they would have!! Thank you so muuuuuuuuuch. 💕

Hi hi, love! 🌻Thank you sooo much for the ask! This is legit my third time writing this up, the first time I did this, I forgot to save the word file, and the second time my laptop crashed right after I finished writing it😭....... But finally, here it is🌻! I’m so happy you liked my HC, I hope you enjoy this one, and I hope you have a good day! ❤🔥

Headcanon: Warlords and their future jobs 

Nobunaga

I think the second Nobunaga arrives in the future he would become a businessman

He would start off small from your apartment, but within the month he will turn into the biggest corporate leader, having thousands of people working under him

He would spend the first few weeks just chilling in the future with you but soon start to get bored

He would also, low key feel like its wrong for you to be supporting both of you

He does some research on stock trading and then starts playing around with your life savings

Good thing for you, Nobunaga is a clever man, and he manages to triple the money in a week by playing around on the stock market

He uses the income made, to start a small business, which soon starts growing at the speed of light

This man will not be able to work for someone so I can definitely see him being the CEO of his own company

He will be the ruler of the corporate world in no time

It’s pretty funny how in the span of a year he has earned the old name he once carried in the past “Devil king.”

Masamune

This is a no brainer

Obviously he will be a chef

I think he would start off small like finding a job at a local café but then soon take the culinary world by storm

It started off when the two of you went to eat at one of your favourite cafes

He enjoyed the food so much, he couldn’t help but pop into the kitchen to thank the chef (◕‿◕✿)

The kitchen was absolute mayhem and the chef had told him that he was very short-staffed

And that is how Masa got his first future job

He worked in the café for a few months picking up experience and learning to use all the futuristic equipment

From there, he bounced around from place to place learning all sorts of cool culinary techniques

I think at the end of the day he will most likely open his own restaurant

One that specializes in authentic Japanese cuisine

Hell I wouldn’t be surprised if he opened a branch of the restaurant in Nobunagas company

Mitsunari

I can see this cutie angel being a teacher or professor

I think he would be a great academic and educator

I can actually, see this boi being a professor teaching all sorts of subjects from statistics to the art of war ヾ(●ε●)ノ

The first few weeks of being in the future with you, he spends in the library absorbing as much knowledge as possible

One day while he is sitting and reading up on every and any subject, he overhears a group of struggling professors at a nearby table

Apparently they had been trying to solve a certain equation for months now but to no luck (ﾉಠдಠ)ﾉ︵┻━┻

Mitsunari walks up to the group and cheerily asks if he can be of some assistance (◕ᴗ◕✿)

Usually the group would just laugh and chase the random stranger away but desperate times…

They hand Mitsunari the equation and this clever boi takes one look at it and starts writing out the answer

The math professors were sister shook… Like he didn’t even freaken, need a calculator (◯Δ◯∥)

They legit offered him a job as a lecturer and he soon becomes the students’ favourite absent minded professor (◕‿◕✿)

I think he will most definitely also publish a few research papers as well and contribute to the body of knowledge in all sorts of subjects

Ieyasu

Also super easy he will either be a vet or a doctor although I am leaning more towards veterinarian cause of his love for animals

He will most likely join Mitsunari in university, cause he is a super-smart porcupine he will become a certified vet in no time

Also spends the first few weeks of being in the future at the library absorbing as much medical knowledge as possible

He gets the idea of becoming a vet after watching a bunch of animal rescue shows on the national geographic channel 

While you are at work he starts volunteering at an animal rescue during the day to pass the time

That is where he met one of the vets that help out at the rescue in their free time, he legit liked Ieyasu so much he took him on as an apprentice, while Ieyasu was busy completing his studies

Later on he will most likely have his own veterinary practise

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he starts his own animal rescue on the side as well

Within two years the two of you move to live on a big plot with all yours and Ieyasus rescued pets

Hideyoshi

Hideyoshi could go one of two ways hehe 

If Nobunaga comes to the future with yall then you best be sure this boy is ganna help Nobunaga rule the corporate world

Buuuut if it’s just the two of you, I 100% see him becoming a primary school teacher

Like he would just be so good with kids

He is basically trademarked as mama hen anyways, so why not put him in a primary school to teach lil chics

I think he would be such a good teacher, supportive, kind, and patient

He has enough practise lecturing Nobunaga for bad behaviour, so he might as well put that to good use correcting the behaviours of troublesome kids

He gets into teaching when your sister drops her kid off at your apartment to babysit

You had work, so the only one that could care for the child was, the mother hen himself

He sat and taught the little boy how to read and write, this impressed your sister so much that she recommended him for the position of substitute English teacher at her child’s school

At first Hideyoshi worked as a substitute teacher, but soon he became the designated aftercare teacher and within a few months he was teaching his own class

The children absolutely adored him although they would sneak behind the school building to eat candy cause, they didn’t want to get yet another lecture from Yoshi on the negative health consequences of their favourite sugary treats

Mitsuhide

100% detective (¬‿¬)

I mean can you just imagine how sexy he would look in a trenchcoat… like OMW (づ￣ ³￣)づ

The first few weeks of spending time with you in the future you introduce him to CSI and Law and order and he is super fascinated

You are so amazed by the fact that he can figure out who the perp is 5 minutes into the show

The crime in your neighbourhood was pretty bad, but since Mitsuhide’s arrival something crazy happened 

The crime seemed to disappear. 

Like no more robberies, no more drunks walking up and down the street, just peaceful quiet calm neighbourhood 

One day as the two of you were buying snacks for your CSI bingeing session, two armed men came into the convenience store 

You looked over at your lover who seemed completely unphased, like one of the robbers were legit pointing a gun in his face, yet Mitsuhide looked uninterested

Within a blink of an eye, Mitushide managed to disarm the men and tie them up 

The police were hella impressed with the way Mitsuhide handled things 

He helped the police department solve a few petty crimes in your neighbourhood and soon they started calling him up, to help them crack some difficult cases

After a while he becomes the most famous and popular detective in town

The government low key recruits him as an agent to help them

Kenshin

Again I don’t see Kenshin working for anyone

I think the first few weeks the two of you arrive, bunnies start following him around

Looks like the bunny lord is never safe from the love of the cute fluffy creatures 

The two of you will definitely be living on a bunny farm

Kenshin, although he doesn’t admit it, has a soft spot for the cute fluffy creatures 

So the bunny farm is actually more of a bunny rescue although that’s just his part-time job

As he adapts to the future, I can see the farm transforming into being a bunny and sake farm

Lol Kenshin loves Sake so much 

He knows how good sake should taste, so naturally he starts to make his own and sell it

This starts one day when a friend of yours invites the two of you to a sake tasting

The instructor was so impressed with Kenshin’s keen sense of taste that they got to talking and before Kenshin knew it, he had two people willing to sponsor him, to start his own sake brand

Naturally he never backs down from a challenge

He actually goes on to become the largest Sake producer and bunny rescue

Yukimura

I can legit see this boy doing something active like being a firefighter or gym instructor- cause lets be real this boi is ripped

Or actually maybe both

The first few weeks of being in the future he managed to save 2 peoples lives by fearlessly running in a burning building

The firefighters were legit so impressed they decided to take him on as an intern

He got some of the perks, i.e. free gym membership to stay fit

That’s when he started giving out a few pieces of advice to the people around him

“Like seriously dummy, don’t you even know how to do a proper squat, u legit ganna hurt your back if ya keep doing it like that.”

The members of the gym appreciated his advice so much, some of them started paying him to become their instructor, and soon the gym decided to hire him part-time

Now when Yuki isn't running into burning buildings saving people he is training people in the gym 

Best be sure he is gonna drag you to the gym with him

Shingen

Hehe I’ll admit I’m not too sure what this boi would get up to in the future

I think the first few weeks will be spent with you just adapting and getting to know everything

I think he would continue on with his carpentry

He kinda starts to notice your apartment is furnished in super cheap furniture

You tell him you are just a student in this time and don’t really have money to buy anything fancy

He buys a few cheap pieces of wood and starts furnishing your apartment with the most beautifully crafted furniture

Some of your friends visit the two of you and notice the remarkable craftsmanship and start commissioning him to make them some furniture

After a while he becomes the best carpenter in town

Goes on to open up a shop selling the different furniture he makes

I can see him hiring people in need, and that need a fresh start and then teaching them the trade to be able to make something of themselves

I can also see him volunteering at rescues and fostering bear cubs cause he misses his so much

I hope you enjoyed this dear and thanks again for the ask! ❤❤🔥🌻

[dracusfyre]

Missed this when you first posted it, so, belated but: #12 from the 50 kisses list? any pairing is fine

The prompt from the prompt list was “ Sneaking away to a hidden corner to share a secretive kiss,” and I went with winteriron (surprise!). Setting is CA:TFA meets Iron Man Noir. :D  (Also on AO3) As a warning the set up took 3k words, which probably explains why I am constitutionally incapable of writing PWPs.

----

Bucky watched Steve leave with the lady in red – Agent Carter, Steve had called her – and felt the sour taste of jealousy on his tongue. Turning away, he downed the rest of his glass of cheap rotgut whiskey and gestured for the bartender to give him another. He hated that Carter hadn’t given him so much as a glance, and he hated that Steve had followed her without question, leaving him alone here at the bar, and he hated himself for caring about either; he should be happy for his friend, shouldn’t he, be happy that he was big and strong, America’s golden boy, a lady’s man, able to jump tall buildings in a single bound. A hero. “From zero to hero,” all the newspapers were saying. Meanwhile Bucky was what? Steve’s buddy, his pal, his childhood friend. Not Sergeant Barnes, a rank he’d earned through being the best goddamn sharpshooter in boot camp and being the most well-respected corporal in his unit when their last sergeant got blown to hell. Meanwhile Steve’s a captain, since presumably “Private America” or “Lieutenant America” didn’t have the same ring to it.

“Fuck,” Bucky said, grinding his palms into his eyes. This was what he was talking about. When had he become so bitter? He felt full of broken edges inside, jagged and vicious; maybe they’d pumped him full of poison there on that table, and that’s why Bucky felt like vitriol would come spilling out of him at any moment. He wished there was someone to fight right now, wished for the roar of artillery to drown out these thoughts and a bayonet in his hands so he could have some place for these feelings to go instead of building up inside him like a head of steam. His hands fell away from his eyes and he picked up the whiskey again, draining half of the glass in one go and hissing at the burn.

“Hope you’re drinking the cheap stuff if you’re going to chug it,” a voice said from beside him. Bucky jerked, because he hadn’t even noticed that someone had sat down and that’s a good way to get killed, isn’t it? Even here in jolly old London, jolly old safe London, home of Agent Carter, far from the guns and bombs and needles and lasers-

“Hey,” the voice said again, “are you with me?”

Bucky pulled his gaze from his whiskey and dragged it to the man next to him. The man was watching him with bright blue eyes that were sharp but not unkind; he had a hard time meeting those eyes, so he looked back down at the bar instead. “Whaddaya want?” Bucky asked gruffly.

“Good question,” the man said thoughtfully. Out of the corner of his eye Bucky saw him scratch his chin. “World peace comes to mind right now,” he said, and Bucky rolled his eyes. “A good old American hamburger is on the list,” boy could Bucky sympathize with that, “but for right now, I was mostly really curious why you look like your dog died when everyone else is just celebrating the fact that they’re alive.”

“Well, there’s your answer,” Bucky said, still staring at the bar. The truth was tumbling out of his mouth and Bucky couldn’t stop it, didn’t want to. It was fucked up, he knew that, but Bucky had used up all of his ability to pretend everything was ok on Steve. “I guess I don’t have anything to celebrate.” He punctuated that with another swallow of whiskey and wished he’d start getting drunk already.

“You leave someone on the battlefield?” the man asked after a moment, and the understanding in his voice – not the cloying sympathy he’d heard from others, nothing so soft as an I’m sorry but rather a me too, it’s fucking awful isn’t it – made Bucky’s throat feel thick.

“Yeah,” he managed. “Me.”

The man was quiet for a few moments, long enough that Bucky was sure that the man would just get up leave, and that was good, that was fine, Bucky didn’t want company, he just wanted to be left here to drown himself in peace. It’s not like he was lonely, there were dozens of people in this bar, right? He didn’t need Steve, he didn’t need Dum-Dum or Gabe or any of them, and he certainly didn’t need this random fucking stranger-

“Hey, what do you call a soldier who can read and write?”

Bucky stared at him blankly. “What?” he asked as the man just looked at him expectantly.

“What do you call a soldier who can read and write?” the man repeated.

Bucky blinked at him, but apparently the man was serious. “I don’t know, what?”

“Sir, yes sir!” The man said.  “Where does General Marshall keep his armies?”

“Are you kidding me?” Bucky asked, but the man just shrugged. “Ok, where?”

“In his sleevies. What’s long and hard and full of seamen?” the man asked next.

“God,” Bucky groaned with a disbelieving laugh, less because the terrible jokes were funny and more because of the self-satisfied look on the man’s face when he said them.  “Why the hell are you telling me these terrible jokes? I just came from the front lines, haven’t I suffered enough?”

“Because you’re a soldier,” the man said with a grin, reaching out to flick the rank on Bucky’s collar. “If I told you good jokes, I’d have to explain them.”

“Fuck you,” Bucky said, but he couldn’t help the grin cracking his face.

“That’s more like it,” the man said. “Here, let me buy you a drink. A real drink,” he added, grimacing at the smell of the cheap whiskey in Bucky’s glass.

“Who are you?” Bucky asked after the bartender poured them both something top shelf, at least, as top shelf as it got during war time. “Because if you’re about to tell me you’re with the USO, you might want to rethink your career.”

“How dare you,” the man said cheerfully. “Made you laugh, didn’t I?”

“At you, maybe.”

“I’m Tony,” the man said, holding out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Bucky,” he said, shaking it. Bucky got a good look at the man this time, realizing just now that he tall and leanly built, dressed less like a man who had gone out for a night on the town and more like someone who had just taken a break from working with his hands and planned to go back to it soon. A mechanic, maybe, or a builder, judging from the nicks and callouses on his hands.

“So are you in London on leave?” Tony asked, sipping on his drink, turning in his seat so he was facing Bucky. “Or are you on your way home?”

Wasn’t that the question? He should be going home, if he had an ounce of brains. “Leave,” Bucky said. He glanced at where the Dum-dum and the others were all still drinking together on the far side of the bar. “And I’ll probably be heading out pretty soon, I guess.” Steve was sure ready to get back into the fight, and why wouldn’t he be? He’d never been one to back down from a fight, even if Bucky had been the one to get the bruised knuckles and bloody noses. He wondered if Steve would be so excited the first time he saw what a German howitzer could do to a human body.

“You got plans before you go?”

Bucky shrugged. “Get drunk and pour myself into bed sometime before morning reveille, I suppose. Why?”

“Well,” Tony said slowly, looking down at his glass and fidgeting with it. “I know you’re wearing a uniform, but I was wondering if you might be active duty.”

Bucky went hot, then cold, with fear at the question, and glanced around to see if anyone had heard. “Are you crazy?” he hissed.

“Aren’t we all? There’s a war on out there, and I’d rather get busy living before I get busy dying,” Tony said. “If you aren’t interested, just say so.”

Bucky studied Tony consideringly. “How did you know I wouldn’t punch you in the face just for asking?”

Tony snorted. “I saw how you looked at your friend as he walked out with that beautiful dame. If you’re going to pretend to be something you’re not – or rather, pretend to not be something that you are – you’re going to need a better poker face.”

Bucky took a sip of his drink and turned the offer over in his head, suddenly aware that he hadn’t had anyone touch him, really touch him, in months. His eyes caught on Tony’s hands again and he couldn’t help imagining how they might feel on him. “What did you have in mind?” he said in a low voice.

“I didn’t think I’d get this far, honestly,” Tony said with a rueful smile. “I was out here on a wing and a prayer. But, uh, I got a room at a hotel?”

Bucky looked down at his uniform. Disheveled though it was, it was distinctive and recognizable. “You can’t smuggle me into a hotel, Tony.”

“Right. I have a workshop,” Tony ventured. “It’s not much, but it’s not far.”

“Okay.” Bucky nodded, rubbing his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants. “Let’s, um…”

“Finish our drinks first?” Tony suggested.

“Sure.” Bucky took a swallow of his drink, now drinking for courage rather than to forget. “Do you do this a lot?”

“No, not with, uh,” Tony gestured at Bucky and Bucky nodded with understanding.  “But…” Tony took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Once I’m done with the – this project I’m working on, I’m going back to France. Southern France. So I came out for a drink because my workshop was too quiet, then I saw you, and I thought, he doesn’t seem like he should be alone right now, and when I talked to you, I realized that I don’t want to be alone right now, so…yeah.”

“Oh.” Bucky looked at Tony with new eyes, and saw the tiredness around the eyes, the slightly grim cast to his mouth. If Tony was working in southern France, he was probably with the Resistance, and if there was a more shit job than infantry that was definitely one of them. “Carpe diem, eh?” he asked, and tapped his glass against Tony’s.

“I want to carpe something, alright,” Tony said with a smirk.

“You Americans only want one thing,” Bucky complained, lifting his nose in the air and turning his face away. “You should be ashamed.”

“Aw, c’mon, don’t be like that, doll,” Tony crooned. “I just want to show you a good time, I promise.” Tony risked a hand on Bucky’s leg, just above the knee, and squeezed, fingers rubbing along the inner seam of Bucky’s pants before he withdrew. Bucky almost choked on his whiskey as he inhaled sharply at the touch, heat suddenly thrumming in his veins. There was a glint in Tony’s eye as if he knew exactly the effect he’d had and was looking forward to doing more of it.

Then his face changed as he glanced up and leaned away from Bucky. “You gentlemen doing alright?” The bartender asked, and they both nodded.

“I’ll go ahead and pay my tab,” Tony said, and passed over way too much money for their bill. “Keep the change,” he said, and the bartender disappeared again.

But the reminder that they weren’t actually alone had been like cold water to the face, and suddenly Bucky was ready to leave. “You wanna get out of here?” he asked. He looked at how much alcohol was left and drank it all, coughing a little at the burn.

“Sure,” Tony said, taking one last swallow of his own before pushing it aside. Bucky stood and hesitated, remembering that the others were sitting by the front door and he’d have to pass them to get out of the bar. Tony touched his arm and jerked his head towards the back of the bar. Night had fallen while they were inside, and it took a few moments for their eyes to adjust; citywide blackout conditions meant that they only had the moonlight to see by, which was a week or so away from being full. “This way,” Tony said, and the hand on his arm slid down until Tony was curling his fingers around Bucky's palm.

The simple touch of another hand in his own made the words get stuck in Bucky’s throat, so he just held on, gripping maybe a little too tightly while Tony led him through the narrow streets and back alleys of London town. Tony stopped as their narrow alley emptied out into a larger street, moonlight gilding the pavement silver. He backed them up a bit, then herded Bucky into a dark corner away from the busier street.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky whispered, wondering if Tony had seen something on the street, like police or other Army officers or something. Instead, Tony just crowded him against the wall, arms coming up to bracket Bucky’s shoulders.

“Can I kiss you?” Tony whispered.

Bucky nodded, then realized it was probably too dark for Tony to see him, so instead he fisted his hands into Tony’s shirt and pulled him closer, sliding his hands up Tony’s chest to frame his face so he could slant his mouth across Tony’s. Tony made a soft hum, deep in his throat, and leaned in until Bucky could feel him from chest to knee. The stone wall was cold against his back, but Tony was so warm, so solid; Bucky suddenly wanted that weight on top of him, pressing him into a mattress. Tony’s mouth was hungry, and Bucky reveled in it; he could taste whiskey on Tony’s tongue and chased it with his own. Tony’s hands were fumbling at his jacket, then at his shirt underneath, trying to find skin. Bucky let go of Tony long enough to help him, trying to pull his shirt out from where he had tucked it into his pants because suddenly he wanted Tony’s hands on him more than he’d wanted anything, ever; this was glorious, it was heady, it was exactly the forgetting that he had been wanting. Then Tony was finally touching him, hands almost hot, the roughness of his callouses as he stroked along Bucky’s ribs making him feel like a plucked string. Relief swelled in him as fire crawled in his veins, making him feel lighter and more alive than he had in months. Tony slipped a thigh between Bucky’s legs and Bucky almost sobbed at the pressure against his aching hardness, especially when he realized that Tony was hard too.

He didn’t realize he was crying until Tony pulled away and Bucky could taste salt on his lips. “Bucky?” Tony said softly. “Are you ok?”

And to his dismay Bucky felt a sob burst out of him, all of the anger and bitterness and joy and loss and fear overflowing like a levee had broken. He felt arms wrapping around him and he buried his face in Tony’s neck and cried into his rough linen shirt. Tony didn’t say anything, didn’t try to comfort him or tell him well-meaning lies like it’ll be ok and you’ll be alright, he just held him close until the sobs trailed away into a stuffy nose and a headache.

Bucky finally straightened, feeling his face burning in the dark. “Christ, I’m so-“ Bucky started, but Tony stopped him with a kiss.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Tony said, digging into his pocket and handing Bucky a handkerchief. Tony’s hands came up to cradle Bucky’s elbows and he rested his head against Bucky’s forehead. “All of that has to go somewhere or it will eat you up inside. I’m glad that I could be here for you when you needed it.”

Bucky grimaced but he had to admit he felt better, like a flood had washed him clean inside. Except, of course, for the embarrassment of having cried on someone he was just about to get off with.  “Do you still wanna…?”

“Do you?” Tony asked. They were still cradled in the soft darkness of the night, and Tony’s breath was a puff of warmth on Bucky’s lips; he could smell the whiskey on his breath and the faint threat of Tony’s cologne and what might be grease. There was the faintest murmur of conversation from pedestrians on the big street nearby, but it felt like they were in their own little world here, and Bucky wanted nothing more than to be able to disappear into that as long as possible. So he nodded, knowing that Tony could feel it. “Then I do, too.”

The next morning came all too soon; Bucky sighed with resignation when he saw the clock and realized he’d have to leave now to sneak back to his barracks before morning formation.

“Do you want me to walk with you?” Tony offered, propping himself up on one elbow to look at Bucky’s face. They had ended up on a cot that Tony kept in his workshop, which was better than the floor but meant that they had pretty much had to be on top of one another all night in order to fit.

“No, if I get caught then it’s just breaking curfew, getting caught with someone else would just raise more questions.” Bucky kissed Tony’s forehead, the only place he could reach, then started to slide out from under him and get dressed.

“By the way,” Tony said, rolling over onto his back to watch Bucky pull his clothes on, “my full name is Tony Stark.”

“You mean, like the character from the book?” Bucky said skeptically. “Come on. You don’t gotta give me a fake name, here.”

“It’s not fake,” Tony protested. “I am the character from the book.”

“You mean he was named after you?”

“No that’s –“ Tony sat up with a huff, looking outraged. “The books are about me.”

“Bullshit,” Bucky said as he tucked his shirt into his pants. “That stuff can’t possibly be true, with Atlantis and magic masks and hidden temples and shit.”

“It is. If we had more time I’d show you,” Tony insisted. “And it’s not magic, just science we haven’t figured out yet.”

Bucky thought about blue beams of light that made people disappear as if they’d never existed, and a man who could rip his face off to show just a bloody skull underneath. “I guess,” he conceded. “So you’re a celebrity, eh? Wait until I tell absolutely nobody that I slept with a celebrity,” he said wryly, then did a double take as a thought occurred to him. “Wait, they sent you, a celebrity, into Vichy France?”

Tony winced. “That’s why I don’t tell people my real name,” he said. “It’s not like people can recognize me from the cheesy cover art of those books. I was just telling you so that…you know, in case, after the war – if there is an after – maybe you could look me up.”

“Oh.” Bucky sat down on the edge of the cot and cupped Tony’s cheek in one hand, running a thumb over his cheekbone. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

[xxisxxisxxis]

Gateway Drug | Part Sixty-Nine

A/N: soooooo, last minute I decided to torture you guys:) I made the chapter into 2 parts, next part will be posted tomorrow night. I'm prepared to be cussed out in the comments 😤 love y'all tho

Also, I'm saving the picture for the next part because *cough cough* so I'm sorry if this appears a little naked.

Words: 2.6k

Warning(s): explicit language, mentions of drug abuse

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S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 7

“Where are you--”

I’m shut up with the sound of Nikki slamming the door before I can finish asking him where he’s going, and I let out a heavy breath.

"--Going." I finish my question with a heavy sigh.

We’ve only been off the road for a couple days and tomorrow is our last day home, so we decided it’d just be easier for us to stay at the house instead of one of us sleeping elsewhere, but he’s been staying somewhere else every night we’ve been home...I don’t want to know who he’s been staying with or what they’ve been doing, so I haven’t bothered to ask.

I glance at the clock, seeing it’s 5:47pm, and go ahead and assume that since he’s been leaving the house around this time every day and hasn’t been coming back until the next morning, that he’s not coming home again until tomorrow.

Which means I’m by myself, being that Karen is on a small vacation ever since we’ve been home and she hasn’t been having to watch our house.

“Great.” I sarcastically mumble to myself, deciding to start on dinner, Whisky staying under my feet. "If Daddy isn't careful, I'm going to choke him with his own hair." I say to him and he looks up at me with a wagging tail and big smile. "Glad we can agree."

I get one pan out of the cabinet before I’m putting it on the counter, and sighing out.

“You know what? I don’t want to cook.” I state, putting the pan back, shutting the cabinet door, and stepping to the phone, dialing a number.

It rings a couple times before the line is picked up, and I smile at the voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Stevie, it’s Viv.” I tell him.

“Hey, babe, what's going on?" He asks me.

"I'm looking for Duff, do you know where he is?" 

"He's in the shower." He replies. "You want me to tell him you're on the line?"

"No, it's okay, just tell him to gimme a call ba--"

"--Duff, it's Viv!" I hear Steven scream and I cringe, pulling the phone away from my ear a little. 

I hear Duff's muffled reply, opening my mouth to tell Steven that I'll call back later, but I'm being cut off again. 

"I said, 'Viv's on the line'!" Steven yells again, hearing Duff respond. "He's coming." Steven assures me.

"Stevie, you could've waited until he was out of the shower." I comment. 

"Trust me, Viv, he would want me to interrupt him if it's for you." He states. "Ok, he's here, I love you, bye."

"Love you, bye." I reply. 

"Hey." Duff takes over.

"Hey, I'm sorry I interrupted your bathing, I tried telling Stevie you could just call me back later." 

"No, no, Viv, you're fine." He assures me. 

"Oh."

"What's up?" He asks and I look around my kitchen.

"Um...I was just wondering if you're free tonight?"

The line is quiet for a second and I raise my brows, rubbing my lips together, waiting for him to say something. 

"...Hello?" 

"Oh, yeah, s-sorry, you wanna do something or something or--I mean, like you wanna hangout? B-Because I'm free, ya know. Yeah." He stutters out awkwardly and I hold back a laugh. 

"Smooth." I hear Steven comment in the background. 

"Dude, shh!" Duff replies in a whisper. "Um, anyway, yeah, I'm not busy."

"Okay, I was gonna order take out if that's okay with you?"

"Whatever you want is fine with me." He offers. 

"Okay." I reply. 

There's a long pause and the both of us finally try to talk at the same time:

"Alright, well--"

"Cool, so--"

We stop for a second, the two of us chuckling a little. 

"Sorry, you go." He tells me. 

"I was gonna say, 'I'll see you in a few minutes'." I say. 

"Good deal, I'll see you then." He agrees. 

"Okay."

"Okay."

Again, another awkward silence. 

"...Okay."

"Okay."

The phone is suddenly hanging up, the dial tone in my ear, and I quirk a brow, before putting the phone back on the hook. 

I wasn't sure why things were so freaking awkward with us, nothing had changed, nothing had happened. I hadn't seen him since the Playboy shoot a month and a half prior, so I didn't understand what exactly shifted.

I hear the doorbell ring and Whisky starts barking while I grab the Chinese takeout boxes and some silverware. 

"Whisky, who is it?" I ask him sweetly as I step to the door, opening it to see all six feet, four inches of Duff. 

He's in a CBGB t-shirt and black jeans, a bag of gummy worms and a six pack of Pepsi in hand. 

"Hi." He says, and I step aside and let him in as Whisky immediately starts sniffing at him, starting at his boot, up his leg, and I politely keep him from getting too personal as soon as his nose goes for his crotch. 

"Ohhhkay, Whisky, that's enough." I tell him, nudging him away from Duff as he hands me the Pepsi and candy, crouching down to pet him. 

"No, it's fine. He's just trying to know me." Duff chuckles, he and Whisky bonding the second his fingers move over the back of Whisky's ears, making him melt like butter in Duff's hands.

After a few minutes of me putting our food on plates and him going to wash his hands, we're finally eating in the living room floor, at the coffee table, with the dog eating his food several feet away, despite coming over to try to eat some of ours every now and then. 

"So, like, apparently Nikki's trying to get you guys a spot on the tour." I inform him and he raises his brows. 

"Really?"

"Yeah. Slash and Stevie have been conspiring and shared it with Nikki...and he loves you guys so he and Tommy and Vince and Mick are down for it. He's been pestering Doc and Doc said he'd contact your manager a little later." I add.

"Well, we've got some shows coming up to promote the album but, I mean, I don't see the harm in going on tour with them." He shrugs. "It'd be good exposure." 

"It would."

"I don't know." He shakes his head a little, swallowing another bite of Lo mein, and I furrow my brows. "I just expected more people to buy 'Appetite'. And they would, if we had our video on MTV, and radio actually played us." He vents. "We're just chomping at the bit, ready to run our asses off the second the race starts, and nobody's firing the fucking starting gun."

The radio was afraid to play them, MTV refused to put their video for "Welcome to the Jungle" on air because John Malone (who owned half of the cable-houses that broadcasted MTV) only saw them as a heroin band, and promoting them wouldn't sit right with his strong Republican, conservative,"christian" morale...so he threatened to drop MTV if they played Guns N' Roses.

"I can talk to Doc and see if he can pull any strings. I mean if they'll play Mötley Crüe--"

"--Tom is vouching for us to anyone that will listen." He explains. "Right now it's not something to worry about, but if it's still like this six months from now, we need to panic a little."

"There's no way in hell it's gonna take six months for you guys to pick up traction." I state in disbelief.

"Viv--"

"--If six months from now you guys still aren't on MTV, I'll harass whoever I need to, to make it happen. I'll go to their houses." I promise and he shakes his head, chuckling. 

I was serious, and I ended up delivering on that.

"None of them are worth the trouble. Just a bunch of money-hungry hypocrites hiding behind religion to validate their assbackwards logic." He shrugs. 

"You sound like my dad." I point out and he smiles, taking another bite of food as I sip from my bottle of Pepsi. 

He stares at me for a moment before I'm raising my brows, silently asking him what's up. 

"So, like, how is your dad so cool and your mom is so…" he trails off and I take a breath, shrugging a little. 

"That's how she was raised. I mean, I know that's not an excuse but her mom and dad were both that way on her and my aunt--my aunt obviously cracked under the pressure and just gave up trying to please them back when she was a teenager. My grandparents have been dead for years now but my mom still acts like she's trying to make them happy." I mumble. "Which, according to my dad, she wasn't always like that. She did a small 'wild' thing one time, and got knocked up with me." 

"What?!" He gawks. 

"They got married seven months early to avoid her parents knowing what they had done." I add.

"Dude, imagine losing your virginity and getting pregnant from it." He tries to hold back a laugh. 

"My mom always told me I was planned, and once I was old enough to do the math between my birthday and their anniversary, I put the pieces together and my dad finally told me what happened when I turned sixteen." 

He nods, and licks his lips, awkwardly clearing his throat before saying:

"So...what about your first time?" 

I scoff, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. 

"Um, seventeen, Nikki, their roach-motel apartment." 

"You've only dated one guy?" 

"Yeah." I nod. 

"Wow…" he says it like it's hard to believe. 

"What's that mean?"

"I just expected you to have dated a couple more guys before settling on Nikki." He replies. 

"I didn't settle for Nikki." I tell him, matter of fact. "Being with him was a good idea at the time." I add. 

"Nah, I get it. That's how it was with my first big-boy girlfriend." 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah."

"What happened to her?"

He takes a second, taking in a heavy breath, but trying to keep things light with his smile. 

"We were, like, kids basically. Like sixteen/seventeen, and I had to go out of town to visit some family, and when I got back she told me she had hooked up with this dude at a party while I was away. And we broke up, and then got back together, and then things were good for another year until the big heroin epidemic hit Seattle." He informs me. "It got its hooks in her and wouldn't let go. I finally just had to break things off because I couldn't watch her kill herself in an overdose like some of my friends had already done, and I left for L.A. shortly after. I know that's selfish but ignorance is bliss. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I were to ever find out she'd died." There's a small gloss to his eyes, like he's holding back a few tears. 

"That's not selfish." I tell him, shaking my head. "Some people aren't meant to be in our lives forever. Some are just there to grow you in some way and if it's not God's will for them to stay around you he gives you the strength to just walk away." I suggest. 

"Is that what's happening with you and Nikki?" He asks next, looking at me. "He's giving you the strength to walk away?" 

"God's ignoring me currently so I wouldn't know." I admit. "He wants me to stay with Nikki, but Nikki won't even say whether or not he truly wants a divorce. He just avoids the conversation. I think he feels like if he ignores it, the issue will resolve itself."

"Well...what do you think? I mean, has anyone asked how you feel about this? Like having to make people think you guys are together and stuff." 

"It doesn't really matter how I--or even Nikki--feels."

"Okay, Vivian, I didn't ask about Nikki, alright?" He politely tells me and I sigh. 

"I'm miserable." I finally get it out. "We pose for pictures in magazines, still, a-and pile on the PDA anytime press is around and it freaking sucks. Because we're arguing more and more lately so it's like as soon as we get inside we're going back to being mean to each other. And I'm over him, like I've accepted the fact that we're more than likely divorcing, I've gotten all of it out of my system, but the waiting and dragging it out for another year is just getting to me." A couple tears topple over my lashes. 

"If you want out then get out, Viv." He says to me. 

"It's not that simple, Duff."

"Yes, it is. You're just waiting for Nikki to tell you he wants to work things out, and using Doc telling you guys to hold off on any decisions until the tour is over, as an excuse." He states, as noninvasive as possible and I hate to hear the truth. "If you wanna stay, stay, if you want to leave him, leave him. You shouldn't have to explain yourself either way. It's your own business but at least be honest with yourself and call it what it is."

"I will when you do." I argue and he looks at me with raised brows. 

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, please, Duff, you act like this when you're sober but then when you're drunk you're telling me you love me." I state. "You're not being honest with yourself, either."

His brows furrow.

"Viv, what the fuck am I suppose to do? Huh? You're married. You've been married."

"Barely." 

"What do you want me to do about it?" He defensively chuckles out. 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" 

"Nikki's done a lot for me and the band, and I don't want to disrespect you or him so I've kept to myself, alright? So just leave it at that and let's finish eating because I got rehearsal tomorrow." He tries to change the subject. 

"He had an entire mistress, Duff, telling me how you really felt about me wouldn't have--"

"--You wanna know how I really feel about you? Fine. I don't understand how someone so beautiful and insanely kind could fucking exist, but you do. My hands get all weird and sweaty and gross when you're around. I can barely walk at times because my legs feel like jello anytime I'm talking to you. It pisses me off that you're so talented and a fucking genius but all you see is how you aren't good enough because you aren't the 'type' that guys like Nikki usually desire--but I'm telling you now, people stare at you anywhere we go like you're healing lepers or something and it's definitely not because they think you're ugly. I know what my boundaries are and would never purposely do something that would make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry I said that to you when I was shitfaced. I'd much rather have told you when I was sober, but there's never been a point of me telling you because--"

"--Tell me." I cut him short. "You're sober." I point out, shifting to my knees. "So tell me." 

He licks his lips, his breathing picking up slightly as he looks me dead in the eyes. 

"I love you." He tells me. "I love you, Vivian." He repeats it, more confidently. "I have since the day we met."

I nod a little, my eyes getting teary and I'm kissing him before I can talk myself out of it. 

[cherrydae]

Clandestine | Final

Series: see the masterlist for the links

Genre: Assassin!Baekhyun

Word count: 6k

Warnings: Violence, angst, uhhh more angst?

Summary: One drunken night leads to your life getting entangled with a network of assassins. You became their target, and Byun Baekhyun the shooter.

__________________________

Any other person would need weeks to plan out a plan to break into a well protected assassin headquarters. Yet it took Baekhyun and your friends merely two days to have everything sorted out. Especially because the clock was ticking, and every minute they waited, Minseok would lose his patience more and more. It was risky, there was a lot at stake starting with their lives and your own. But it seemed to be the only way where they’d have a chance at success when it came to rescuing you. 

Baekhyun was pacing around the livingroom of Yejin’s house. It was dawn, and tonight was the time for them to move, and it was slowly hitting Baekhyun what was at stake. “Can we go through the plan once more.” He said as he continued to pace around, a hand threading through his black hair.

“We’ve done that already. Four times so far. Baekhyun, our plan is solid. It will be fine.” Yejin said from the couch, where she was busying herself with strapping a small knife to her leg. “Doesn’t matter! A fifth time won’t hurt. Chanyeol, what’s our plan again?” 

Chanyeol was about to protest, but once he locked eyes with Baekhyun, he saw an unusual blaze in them. The usually fearless assassin was drowning in fear. “Alright, Baekhyun. We’ll go through it one more time, but then you’ll need to calm down or else we won’t be able to set foot out of this house.” Chanyeol replied, to which Baekhyun frantically nodded.

“We’ll go undercover. You said you had it all sorted with your friends and they would be the ones letting us in. We will go pretending that you are bringing Yejin in as a client, with me playing her bodyguard. Jongin will monitor everything from the car and guide us through the building with his weird tech bullshit.” Jongin rolled his eyes and extended a hand to whack Chanyeol across the head, causing Chanyeol to grin before he continued. 

“We’re in, we get rid of our outfits and from then on we find Y/N and try to avoid any ugliness. Which, to be honest, I doubt will happen. But…” Chanyeol cracked his knuckles before winking at Baekhyun. “We can handle that, don’t you think? Plus, we have Jongin. Anyways, we break her out and leave through the exit Jongin found for us. That’s basically it.”

Baekhyun nodded before sitting down, both his hands now in his hair. “But what if the security doesn’t buy our shit? Or if Yixing and Kyungsoo aren’t capable of convincing them? Or if we’re too late and Minseok would have her killed off alrea—” Jongin cut him off, moving from his spot on the couch to sit next to Baekhyun. “Enough. Baekhyun, why are you so afraid? Weren’t you supposedly a cold blooded assassin? This can’t be the toughest case you’ve ever had.” 

“I am! Or was— or whatever! But with all my other cases, I couldn’t care less about what happened to the targets or whoever was involved. It’s different this time. Y/N’s life is at stake, and it suffocates me to know that our mission could literally end or save it.” Baekhyun hung his head as he shook it, leading to Yejin moving over as well to kneel in front of him, both her hands resting on his knees. 

“Hey. Where is the cocky Byun from a few months ago? We will save her, Baekhyun.” She nudged for him to look at her, and he softly murmured a reply as his eyes locked with hers. “I love her, Yejin. More than I could ever imagine myself loving someone.” He dropped his head low again. “I can’t stand the thought of losing her.”

Yejin reached her hand out to lift his chin, making him look at her again. “We love her too, Baekhyun. Which is why we’ll make sure nothing happens to her. We want to save her just as much as you. Why else would we be working together? Nothing will happen to her. I promise. We all promise.” 

Baekhyun took in a deep breath, eyes fluttering shut and exhaling before he opened them to look at her again and nodding. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I lost myself for a moment there. It won’t happen again. What did you say again a few days ago?”

Yejin frowned. “You mean let’s kick some ass?”

He nodded. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

______________________________________

The sun was down, which meant that it was time for the plan to be set in motion. Yejin was dressed in a black dress with spaghetti straps that reached until her calves. To top it off, she wore black stilettos and had her hair clipped up. When the boys looked at her shoes with confusion, she waved them off. “Definitely taking them off when we’re inside. Now, can we move?” To which all three quickly nodded, packing the final things before heading out for the car.

The entire car ride was silent, however not in a bad way. Everyone was just trying to regain themselves for what was about to come. Baekhyun’s eyes then drifted to the passenger seat to Yejin. He knew that Yejin was also having trouble with this situation, despite her trying to play it off cool. She found out through the assassin boyfriend of her friend, that her own boyfriend is an assassin as well. It mustn’t be easy for her as well. Especially since they haven’t heard from Jongdae ever since. 

Soon, they arrived at the headquarters, making sure that the car was parked not too close by. Jongin handed out earcoms to the other before opening his laptop and connecting them all to each other. “Can you all hear me?” He spoke, before the other three nodded with their thumbs up. 

Jongin heaved a deep breath before nodding himself. “Then it’s time to get this over with. Stay safe guys, okay? I’ll help you the best I can from here.” Baekhyun gave Jongin a smile, before reaching out to grab his shoulder lightly. “Thank you, Jongin. Thank you everyone for trusting me enough to do this. Let’s go.” 

The three of them walked towards the headquarters that was heavily guarded at the entrance. The amount of guards might be little, but the surveillance and the amount of automated guns placed on the fence were uncountable. Baekhyun and Yejin walked in front, with Chanyeol walking right behind Yejin, a pair of sunglasses resting on his nose. 

This moment was dependent on Yixing and Kyungsoo coming on time at the entrance. Baekhyun met up with them one day ago to talk with them about his plan, which they were originally against. 

“Baekhyun you’re insane! Once it sinks, the entirety of Black Lotus will know you’re a traitor. And I’m not sure we can take part in this.” Kyungsoo mumbled, shaking his head as he sunk back in his seat. Yixing was chewing on his lip as he shook his head as well. 

“Guys please. Jongdae told me, and I can’t get the image out of my head of Minseok hurting her. Please. I—I love her. I want to be with her…” Baekhyun practically begged, looking his friends in the eyes, pure desperation evident in his irises. “I can’t do this without your help. Please…” He choked out the plea, his head falling down between his knees.

Yixing took a deep breath before speaking up. “Fine! Fine. I’m onboard. But what you need us to do, can’t be done by myself…” His eyes slowly drifted towards Kyungsoo, whose eyes widened as he quickly shook his head.

“I can’t do it! I can’t betray Black Lotus like this.” Kyungsoo uttered, shaking his head more frantically. “Kyungsoo you know I can’t do this on my own. They listen more to you than to me anyways! You’re practically a second Minseok, just a tad less intimidating.” Yixing said, to which Kyungsoo pursed his lips.

“I can’t…” He whispered. “Kyungsoo. It’s for our friend. He’s been with us through everything. You can’t even set aside your loyalty to Black Lotus for a split second to help our friend?” Yixing sat up straighter, and Baekhyun slowly lifted his head to look at his friends.

He could see Kyungsoo ponder, the gears twisting and turning in his head before he heaved a deep sigh. “Fine. Only this time. Never again.” 

The three of them stopped by the entrance, two guards advancing towards them, their assault rifles resting comfortably in their hands. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had a handgun clicked at their belt, but they agreed to try and use it as little as possible. Gunshots equals a recipe for disaster. 

“This is private property. No trespassing allowed.” Did one of the guards say, to which spoke up. “Shame of you to not even recognise me, Song. I work here. Do I need to show you my tally of successes?” The guard, supposedly Song, rolled his eyes before stepping closer to Baekhyun. “I haven’t seen you in weeks. How am I so sure you’re not smuggling some random people in?” 

“Excuse you? Some random people? I might just be the daughter of the wealthiest man in Korea, so watch your tone you imbecile. Amy Lee, at your service.” Yejin spat at the man, rolling her eyes and leaning back against Chanyeol.

Song turned towards Chanyeol, with raised eyebrows. “I don’t know if you’re just stupid, but do you really think her father would let her even leave the house unguarded? I’m her bodyguard.” Chanyeol said with an irritated tone. 

“She’s our newest client, and I’m bringing her to introduce her to Minseok. So step aside, Song.” Baekhyun said with a grin. Song was about to protest, but that was until the gate opened, and Yixing and Kyungsoo stepped out.

“Let them in. They have to meet Minseok.” Yixing told both the guards, but the other guard spoke up. “I don’t trust Byun here. I haven’t heard anything about a new client visiting today.”

Kyungsoo stepped forward, eyes narrowing at the guard. “Then that is your own dumb mistake for not knowing the schedules around here. She is to be expected in 2 minutes, and if you don’t step aside right now and she’s too late for Minseok, I’ll be the one to drive that bullet through your skull.” He hissed, to which both guards gulped before nodding and granting entrance.

The five of them then walked past the guards and into the building, before Yixing and Kyungsoo turned towards them. “This is as much as we can do. Please, don’t get yourselves into trouble.” Yixing said, and Kyungsoo reached out a hand to pat Baekhyun’s shoulder before they quickly walked away. 

Baekhyun then dragged both of them to the left  and into a silent hallway before kneeling down, as Chanyeol got rid of the glasses and jacket. “Okay, we’re in. Step one is a success. Jongin, do you hear us?” “I can. I’ve managed to access the surveillance system and I can see you too. There are several ways to get downstairs and to the chambers, however every one of them has guards there. So be prepared to take them out quietly. I’ll guide you through the least guarded path.” 

All of them nodded, until Yejin slowly stood up. “What’s wrong Yejin?” Chanyeol asked, furrowing his brows. Yejin merely shrugged before kicking her heels off, her hands grabbing the ends of her dress and ripping it off until the dress came mid thigh. “Much better.”

Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Jongin that was looking through his laptop screen all widened their eyes at her before Baekhyun emitted a whistle. “Someone’s feisty. We ready to go now?” He murmured as he looked at both of them, before they gave him a smile and a nod. “Let’s do this.”

“Alright, you have to get out of this hallway and go to your right and take the first right as well. There you will be met with two guards. There’s an abandoned room in that hallway where you can dump them.” Jongin spoke, and the three of them nodded before getting up and quietly making their way out of the hallway and towards the place Jongin directed them to.

They stopped before they had to turn the corner, before Baekhyun and Chanyeol glanced at each other, nodding before they sprinted around the corner and lunging at the two guards. Chanyeol quickly moved behind to guard to take him into a headlock, making sure to press tightly against the guard’s throat to block his airways until he lost consciousness. 

Meanwhile, Baekhyun quickly kicked the gun out of the guards hands, before grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, quickly moving behind him as well and grabbing his gun to hit the back of the guard’s head, letting his body drop next to the one Chanyeol just took out. 

The two of them looked at each other with a satisfied grin before dragging the two bodies into the room Jongin mentioned, binding them tightly against each other before slipping out of the room and meeting Yejin whom has advanced already. 

“Nice job. Now continue on down this hallway and the end of it, turn left. There you will be met with a staircase that leads you one floor down. After that we’ll need one more floor and you reached the chambers. However, there are two guards at the end of that staircase, right behind the door that leads you to the floor below. Watch out for them.” Jongin said, as he typed away on his laptop to grant himself access to more cameras. 

They nodded before they ran down the hallway, turning to the left and in fact there was the door that led to the staircase. Baekhyun was in front, as he quietly opened the door, and carefully stepped down each stair, trying to avoid any noise echoing and putting off the guards behind the door. Once they reached the end of the staircase, Baekhyun motioned for Chanyeol to follow him, causing Yejin to huff and roll her eyes. 

Baekhyun motioned that on the count of three, he’d open the door, and they’d have to lunge at the guards again. Chanyeol nodded, and Baekhyun started to countdown before busting the door open, and immediately turning right, to grab the guard’s head before he could process what happened, bringing it down to be met with his knee. However, that didn’t seem to know the guard out, as he reached out for Baekhyun’s leg and pulling it with all his might, sending him tumbling down to the ground. 

Chanyeol on the other hand gave a firm punch into the solar plexus of the guard on the left, before giving him a harsh elbow in the temple and sending him to the floor out cold. Once he turned around, he saw Baekhyun and the guard struggling on the floor, either one of them desperately trying to land punches on each other. “You piece of shit—” Chanyeol hissed before dragging the guard off of Baekhyun, and punching him square in the jaw before landing another firm punch against his temple and knocking him out cold. 

Yejin then peeked out of the door, eyes widening and quickly walking over to Baekhyun to help him sit up. His lip was busted and bleeding, and there were wounds all over his knuckles. “Oh my god, are you okay—” Yejin quickly said, yet Jongin hastily cut her off. “A guard is running towards your direction! He’s coming from the right!”

Yejin quickly stood up, shaking her head. “Oh no he’s not.” She hissed before dashing to the right, meeting the guard at the end of the hallway. Yet before the guard could process what happened, Yejin had already jumped up on him, her thighs secured around his neck and using her bodily weight to send the guard to ground, his head hitting the ground and knocking him out cold as well. 

Once she got up and turned toward Chanyeol and Baekhyun, whom once again looked at her with widened eyes, did she frown. “What? I told you I could fight a little. And you haven’t even seen me work this one yet.” She motioned towards the knife strapped to her leg.

“A little? You literally jumped up with your thighs around his neck like a boa constrictor—” Baekhyun said, slowly standing up as Yejin made her way back to them. Yejin merely shrugged and gave him a grin before motioning for him to move on.

“Remind me to never anger you, Yejin. Anyways, you’re almost there. Turn right there and you’ll find the door to the last staircase that will lead you to the chambers. I can only see the hallway there since there is no surveillance inside the cells, so you’ll have to find out on your own which one she’s in. There’s two guards down there as well so be careful.” Jongin said, to which the three of them nodded, quickly hiding the three guards in one of the rooms, strapping them to each other before making their way towards the staircase.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Chanyeol stopped Baekhyun from advancing. “Yejin and I will take them on. You come after us and look in every single cell to find her.” Baekhyun was about to protest, before pressing lips on each other and nodding. 

Chanyeol then threw the door open before grabbing the nearest guard by his neck, which alarmed the other guard and caused him to come lunging at him. However, Yejin appeared from behind Chanyeol, her fingers grasping the knife and taking it out to stab the guard in the leg, quickly using a hand to cover his mouth before moving behind him. She wanted to once again envelop her thighs around his neck, yet the guard quickly elbowed her in the gut, causing her to fall back before he turned around, taking the knife out of his leg, ready to stab her.

Yet Chanyeol came lunging at him, sending the guard to the ground before straddling him and landing several punches onto his head. “You asshole!” He spat, yet the guard tried to shield himself with one arm, slowly lifting up his other to press the knife into Chanyeol’s leg. Chanyeol wanted to let out the loudest scream, but he knew that would cause an uproar and decided to swallow it.

However, before the guard could further press the knife into Chanyeol’s leg, Yejin got up to kick the knife out his hand, and firmly kicking him into the temple with the heel of her foot. She then helped Chanyeol off of him, helping him stand up and giving him a worried look. “Are you okay? I’m sorry I didn’t help sooner.” To which Chanyeol shook his head, waving her off. “He didn’t stab me deep, I’ll be fine. Are you okay?” Yejin nodded.

“Guys! Found her!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he stood by the door of the room that contained you. Both of them rushed towards Baekhyun, before Chanyeol quickly tried to rummage with his lock picking gear. Baekhyun was impatiently waiting beside him, his foot tapping on the ground as he kept on repeating a “C’mon, c’mon….” 

And then a click echoed, indicating that he managed to pick the lock. Baekhyun quickly pushed past Yejin and Chanyeol before rushing into the room and towards you. You were in the chair, your head hanging low with both your hands bound to the back of the chair again. 

“Y/N! Y/N, wake up please!” Baekhyun said before he dropped to his knees in front of you, his hands reaching out to touch your cheeks, slowly lifting your face to meet his. The sight caused his eyes to widen, and his blood to boil. There were angry bruises all over your neck, and there was a big bruise on your cheekbone, as well as a deep cut on your lip. “Oh my god—” Yejin whispered as she saw you, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.

“I’m going to kill him.” Baekhyun coldly stated as he stood up, turning around to head to the door. Yet Chanyeol stopped him. “Are you that stupid! We found her, let’s get her out of here rather than draw even more attention towards us!” He said to Baekhyun, his grip firm on his arm. 

Baekhyun took a deep breath before turning back around to walk to you again, kneeling down once again. “Hey… are you okay? We’re here now, we’re going to free you.” He whispered towards you, causing you to weakly smile at him as you gave him a small nod. Baekhyun leaned up to give your lips a light kiss before moving behind the chair to undo the confinements. He had to once again keep his cool as he saw the wounds on your hands as he was trying to free you.

Once they were off, he quickly moved back in front of you, draping your arm over his shoulder before helping you stand up. “Let’s go, okay? We’re taking you home.” Yejin walked towards you, leaning in to press a light kiss to your forehead. “I’ve missed you so much…” She choked out, as Chanyeol came to lightly touch your cheek with a smile. 

Chanyeol and Yejin walked in front, with Baekhyun behind them as he helped you follow them. The four of you were now walking up the stairs per Jongin’s instructions, since he found an exit to escape from. However, once you were all on the first floor again, Jongin panicked.

He didn’t have his eyes on his laptop screen for a few seconds, because he had to arrange everything to start up the car again, yet when he looked back, he saw Minseok advancing towards the four of you from behind.

“Guys! Watch out! Behind you—” Yet before they could process what happened, Minseok had already kicked Baekhyun in the back of his knees, sending him to the floor and quickly grabbing Y/N, and pressing a gun to her temple. “Follow me if you don’t want me to shoot her right here right now.” He hissed at them, before slowly walking both you and him backwards and up the stairs. 

Chanyeol helped Baekhyun stand up, and kept his grip on his arm firm as they slowly followed Minseok, a bitter expression painting their visages. Soon, they were on the roof, with Minseok mere metres away in front of them, his gun still pressed against her temple.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol saw this as an opportunity to draw both their guns, pointing it at Minseok, to which he cocked his gun, pressing it even firmer against her temple. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He said to them, a disgusting smile on his lips.

“What do you want, Minseok.” Baekhyun spat at him, still keeping his gun pointed at him. “What I want, is to know why you’re such a useless human being. I sent you on one job. Only one. It wasn’t even that difficult. All I asked was for you to bring me information, and yet you managed to screw this up. The easiest job, and you managed to let me down!”  Minseok yelled at him.

You were struggling against Minseok’s grip, yet his grip tightened on you, so struggling lead to no avail. “Minseok. Let her go.” Chanyeol coolly said, his eyes narrowed. Yejin was standing next to Chanyeol, tears pricking in her eyes. She felt powerless. If she advanced, you’d get shot.

“And why would I do that? She brought this upon herself! She is the whole damn reason we are up on this roof. Hadn’t she stuck her nose where it didn’t belong, the three of you would still be getting drunk at your oh-so amazing university, and Baekhyun would be bringing me in more cash. Yet here we are!” Minseok turned his head towards you, leaning closer to your ear. “I should just kill you off right here right now, don’t you think? You have been a real pain in my ass these past months.” He softly whispered, causing your eyes to widen as you whimpered. 

At that moment, a gunshot could be heard. When they all turned to where it came from, it was Jongdae whom managed to make his way onto the roof as well, as he shot up a warning call into the air. “Minseok, enough is enough. Your games are getting too much.” Jongdae said, before pointing his gun at Minseok as well.

“Jongdae…” Yejin uttered, eyes widening as she looked at him. Jongdae glanced at her, giving her a small nod before turning back to Minseok. Minseok however, caught on before letting out a laugh.

“You! The whole damn reason why you’ve been slacking off for me is because of her? You are disgusting! I sent you to fix Baekhyun’s mistake, yet you commit the same sin!” Minseok emitted in disbelief, shaking his head as his eyes fluttered shut.

He then slowly opened them, a sly grin curling on his lips. “Ah. I figured out the best way to ruin all of you. It’s not you.” He motioned with the gun towards you in his grip. His eyes then drifted towards Yejin, causing Jongdae to widen his eyes when he realised. “It’s you.” Minseok then quickly turned the gun towards Yejin, and pulled the trigger.

However, when Yejin opened her eyes, she realised that it wasn’t her that got shot. Jongdae’s eyes met hers, before his body fell to the concrete. 

Baekhyun’s eyes widened, and he felt himself lose all of his cool. He was fuming, which is why he didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, and shoot Minseok straight through his skull. Minseok’s lifeless body dropped down, as well as letting you fall to your knees as Baekhyun quickly rushed towards you to help you sit up.

Meanwhile, Yejin was shaking as she slowly got down to her knees, reaching out for Jongdae with trembling fingers, lightly touching his cheekbone as she saw him look at her, his entire body trembling as well. “J-Jongdae— please… no.... Chanyeol! Call someone, anyone!” Her voice raised in volume as hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Yejin I can’t—” Yet she yelled at him once again. “I don’t care! Anyone! Fix this! I don’t want Jongdae to go, so go fix this!” Her hands cupped Jongdae’s cheeks as she slowly brought his bleeding head onto her lap, shaking her head frantically. “Please don’t leave me. Jongdae, stay with me… P-Please—” She choked out, to which Jongdae managed to weakly smile. His lips slowly parted, and he tried to push out a sentence, yet his eyes fluttered shut as his head lulled to the side.

____________________________________

You’ve all managed to escape, and both Jongdae and you were rushed to the hospital. Jongdae was rushed into the ER, whilst the doctors took you to a regular room. 

Baekhyun sat by your bed, whilst Chanyeol decided to join a frantic Yejin in the waiting room of the ER. She couldn’t stop pacing around, as her sniffles echoed throughout the room. “Yejin, please. It’s been hours. Come sit down. The doctor will come out soon, but you have to calm down.” Chanyeol softly said, patting the spot next to him. Yet Yejin shook her head.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be completely fine. Pacing around won’t do me harm. I love him, Chanyeol. Don’t think about my pacing. Shouldn’t you get your leg checked?” She stopped pacing around for a moment, turning towards Chanyeol. “I’m fine. Jongin patched me up. It wasn’t deep, so I won’t die.” His last word however, caused Yejin to flinch as she paced around again. 

At that moment, though, did the doors open, and the doctor stepped out whilst taking his mask off. Yejin rushed towards him, and Chanyeol stood up as well. “And? Please tell me he’s alive, doctor…” Yejin murmured, the tears welling up in her eyes once again. The doctor took a deep breath before nodding. 

“He was in a critical condition, and he slipped back into it during the surgery several times. But the surgery was a success.” The tone of his words however, didn’t seem as relieving as they should. Yejin felt rather weak in her knees, and Chanyeol noticed so he quickly moved to stand by her, his arm gripping her waist tightly.

“There’s more isn’t there…” Chanyeol whispered. The doctor slowly nodded. “Though mr. Kim is in fact lucky that this gunshot didn’t lead to imminent death, the wound isn’t minor. We managed to get him out of the critical state, however…” Yejin spoke up, the desperation evident in her tone. “However, what, doctor?!”

“However, he has slipped into a coma, and I’m afraid that we don’t know when he’ll get out of it. I’m really sorry.” The doctor gave Yejin a small smile, reaching out to pat her shoulder before he headed back inside. At that moment, Yejin’s knees gave in, yet Chanyeol was holding her firmly against him as he slowly walked the two of them back to the chairs, and pulling her against his chest for her to sob into.

Baekhyun’s hand reached out to lightly take yours into his own once he noticed that you woke up, and he brought it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to it.

“Welcome back.” He softly whispered to you, causing you to smile. “Thank you.” You softly replied, slowly turning your head towards him. “I’m so...glad that you’re alive. I don’t know what I would’ve done if… and the thought of you just— it was killing me.” Baekhyun said, once again bringing your hand up to his lips. 

“I’m okay. Just a little bruised, maybe a little traumatised. But I’m okay, Baekhyun.” You replied with a smile. Baekhyun then got up from his seat, to sit on the edge of your bed, letting go of your hand to lightly caress your cheek. “God, I’m so in love with you. I’m so happy that you’re okay.” He then slowly leaned in to press his lips softly against yours.

He then pulled away to lock eyes with you, his lips widening into a smile before he leaned in for another kiss. You, however, stopped him this time. “Baekhyun I—I can’t.” 

Your words caused Baekhyun to frown as he slowly pulled away from you. “What— is this too soon? I’m sorry, you just got out of a life threatening situation. I should’ve been more considerate, but I just missed you too much. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again—” You intervened however, shaking your head and speaking up.

“It’s not only that, Baekhyun. I just— I can’t kiss you, without having the image in my head of you killing people.” You murmured softly, your gaze falling down to your lap. “Y/N I—” Yet you shook your head again. “No, Baekhyun. Listen to me, please.” 

“It’s not that I don’t love you. I love you, Baekhyun. I love you so much. You really do make me happy, and you have made me happy. But I just can’t do this anymore.” Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed as he reached out for your hand again. “What do you mean? Didn’t you say you loved me… Is there someone else—” 

“No Baekhyun you don’t understand! That isn’t my issue at all. You are the only man for me. But I just can’t be with someone that kills for a living. I can’t be with you, in your apartment, knowing that every piece of furniture there was bought with money you earned through taking someone’s life…” You heard your voice crack, as tears were brimming your eyes. 

These words pained you to emmit, but they were the truth. You couldn’t be with a killer. “But, I told you! I would drop it all for you. Don’t you remember? Under the stars? I promised I’d leave it all behind for you, and we could live our lives together, right?” He started to sound frantic, his eyes searching over your face to find any form of hesitation. Anything that he could say to convince you to not push through with what you were about to say.

“I’m sorry, Baekhyun. It doesn’t change the fact that you’ve done it before. As much as I do love you, we can’t continue on like this. I can’t do it. I’m really sorry, but we’re done. And please, don’t try to convince me or come after me. Once I’m discharged, I’ll move away.” A few tears rolled down your cheeks, as you avoided Baekhyun’s gaze. You didn’t want to watch his expression, because it would break your heart even more. But this decision was something you were sure about.

“Please… I love you. Don’t do this, please—” He croaked out, tears pricking in his eyes as well. You shook your head however. “I’m sorry, Baekhyun. Could you please leave my room now? I want to get some more sleep.”

He was about to speak up again, yet you pulled the covers further up, turning your head away from him, indicating that the conversation was over.

Baekhyun parted his lips to speak again, yet he decided to swallow his words, reaching his hand up to wipe at his eyes before slowly nodding and making his way out of the room. Before he closed the door, he turned around to look at your form once again, whispering a soft “I’m sorry.” before shutting it after him.

___________________________________

It was two years later. You have said your goodbyes to your friends once you were discharged, and decided to move to London, as you wished. You would finish your studies here, and find a job in the city of your dreams. Yejin refused to leave Jongdae’s side, especially after the doctors have found a hint of activity, indicating that the possibility of Jongdae waking up increased.

Chanyeol and Jongin decided to move to Busan, yet they would visit Yejin every weekend to make sure she’s still doing alright. 

No one at Black Lotus found out about Yixing and Kyungsoo being the ones assisting the breakout of you, which is why they have appointed Kyungsoo to be the new leader of Black Lotus, with Yixing now being the best assassin.

Ever since you moved away, you haven’t heard a word from Baekhyun. Of course, when you were first discharged, did he try to talk to you again, as well as text you numerous times. You, however, were sure of your decision. As much as it ached then, you knew it was for the best after everything that happened. 

It would be a lie for you to say that you didn’t miss him, but it didn’t bother you as much as it did at first. You were happy where you were, especially since you rounded off your bachelor’s degree and were about to start your master’s.

You were sitting in the lecture hall. It was the first day of the year, and thus the first day of your master’s. You were thrilled to be part of this, especially since you were once again at a prestigious university.

The professor clapped her hands together, before shushing the students and speaking up. “Welcome, everyone to one of the final chapters of your life. I can assure you, that this master’s degree truly is one of the most interesting ones.” Her remark caused the students, as well as you, to let out a chuckle.

“Now, before I get into the details of this study; I would like to introduce a new exchange student. He came all the way from Seoul after rounding off his bachelor, to finish off his studies here at our university!”

You felt your heart hammer in your throat, as your eyes slowly widened. It couldn’t be. You must be getting paranoid. Anyone could transfer from Seoul, to here right? It must be a coincidence.

Yet at that moment, Baekhyun walked in, stopping right next to the professor, and right into your line of vision. His black hair was now traded for a deep wine red, and he had a cheeky grin hanging from his lips as his eyes were fixated on you. 

You felt your breath catch in your throat.

“Nice to meet you all. My name is Byun Baekhyun, and I’m thrilled to be joining your programme.”

a/n: anyways!!!! that was it!!! the end of clandestine!!! kinda left it open for you to fill in what happens next. I want to just thank you all for being so patient because it took me months to finish this, but a promise is a promise. i swore i wouldn’t drop clandestine, and here we are! thank you everyone for being with me down this path for a year and liking my story! each time i read a comment, it really does give me the strength to go on. i also want to give a special thank you to @chengf because she’s been with me through this entire ride and dealing with my desperate facetime calls whenever i got stuck. i couldn’t have done this without her. this is also my way to announce that after this, i’ll be going on rest. i’ll try to bring out one more work since i promised @chengf a cop!baekhyun one shot, but after that i’ll be on rest. this is my first series, and my last series. so yeah, thank you everyone for all the love and support! please, don’t hesitate to leave me comments and asks about the series! what did you think of it? was it okay? do you have any questions? i love reading comments and questions. so yea, thank you all! i love you! lots of love, from valerie

[hyunsracha]

hurt — stray kids

word count: 4.3k

summary: a night at the seo residence with your best friends. what could go wrong?

warning: killer!au so um....there are lots! of deaths and it’s overall a very Heavy story w sensitive topics so if you’re sensitive i advise you don’t read this!!! 

It wasn’t uncommon for you to spend your Friday nights at the Seo residence.

He had the biggest house, and with the biggest house comes the most money, so his parents were usually out working. A perfect scenario for 10 teenagers to fuck around.

You usually spent your Friday nights binge-watching TV shows and buying $100 worth of Postmates with Changbin’s card when he went to the bathroom.

This was another one of those nights. You had had a shitty day and you wanted nothing more than to curl up with your 9 best friends and forget your worries.

“I say we watch really bad horror movies. Like, they’re not even horror movies but Netflix puts them in that category anyway.”

“No, that’s scary!”

“Jisung, don’t be a pussy.”

“Fuck you, Chan.”

It started off innocent enough, with horrible films such as Sharknado and Piranha. Then, Chan had the lovely idea of watching Scream 4.

“Isn’t this like...an actual scary movie?”

“Only if you’re a coward.”

“Well, maybe I am a coward!” Jisung pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. As much as he complained, he would sit and watch the movie. Jisung was like that. Probably the nicest person in your friend group; Jisung was ready and willing to give his spine for any of you at any time.

Tragic.

Scream 4 soon became Halloween, then Friday the 13th.

“Channie,” you had whispered to him halfway through Halloween, “What’s your sudden obsession with slasher films?”

He didn’t look at you, choosing to keep his gaze locked on the large television in Changbin’s living room. The light from the screen gave Chan’s wide eyes a glare you didn’t quite like; it pushed a shiver down your spine.

“No reason. Just felt like watching them, that’s all.”

You leaned back on the couch, Jeongin immediately cuddling into your side. Most of your friends were, for lack of a better word, cowards. Jisung and Changbin especially. Those two were currently wrapped up in each other, looking down at their phones to avoid peering into the holes of Jason’s mask.

You, on the other hand, weren’t afraid of horror movies. Especially slasher films. So what if a creepy dude in a stupid mask tries to stab you? You’re not an idiot. You could defend yourself.

After Friday the 13th was over, Changbin turned on the living room light. Everyone groaned at the sudden brightness that filled the room.

“No more! Please. Can’t we just watch something funny?”

“Like what?” Hyunjin asked, sitting up from his upside down position on the couch.

“Bubble Guppies!”

“Jisung….what?”

“It’s a fucking kid’s show and I’m terrified. I’m still a kid! I bet Jeongin wants to watch it too! Right, our little baby?” Jisung cooed. Jeongin rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway. You knew Jeongin didn’t like being babied. In fact, he hated it. But he also put up with it because it meant that his friends did things for him.

“First things first, though, I want a drink. Does anyone want anything?” Changbin opened the door to the garage. The garage is where Changbin’s parents kept all of their alcohol.

“I’ll help you carry!” Felix stood from his place on the floor, bringing his arms above his head to stretch them.

“Me too! I need to stretch my legs. Keep me limber so I don’t end up immobile when I’m an old hag.” Jeongin followed the pair out to the garage.

“Hey!” Woojin yelled, but they were already gone.

“I have to pee, feel free to start your kid’s show without me.” Chan stood as well, lightly kicking Jisung’s leg as he passed by.

The remaining six of you discussed what to watch next, with Seungmin recommending something dramatic, while Minho wanted action. With so many different opinions, it was hard to pick.

In the midst of your discussion, the door to the garage flung open. Jeongin and Changbin rushed into the living room, panic obvious on their features.

“Why are y’all running? And where’s my drink? I’m not watching Bubble Guppies sober.” Minho complained.

“He- oh my God, oh my God, oh my fucking God.” Changbin’s breath was labored, and he looked on the verge of tears. Jeongin wasn’t any better.

“He what? Where’s Felix?”

“He’s- I can’t- just come to the garage.” Jeongin’s voice shook as his spoke, his shaking hand gesturing for you to follow him. Fear now present in your bodies, the six of you stood to follow the two boys.

You would never forget what you saw.

Felix’s body crumpled against the garage door, an axe’s blade shoved into his throat. His clothes were covered in blood, and his eyes were still open, peering lifelessly into the souls of your group.

Your shrieks of pain were in unison, but your reactions were different. Jisung collapsed onto the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest as he began to shake. Hyunjin quickly followed, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. Minho was frozen in shock, and Woojin’s face was just blank.

You stepped forward, slowly approaching the body of what was one of your best friends. You placed your hand on his cheek, getting some of the blood that had splattered onto his face on your hand.

“What’s with all the screaming?” A voice suddenly spoke. You jumped, whipping around to see Chan standing behind all of you. His eyes moved from your eyes to your hand before finally landing on Felix. You could hear the breath get knocked from his body as he fell to the floor as well.

“S-Someone call the police.” Your voice cracked as you spoke. You watched as all of your friends either pulled out their phones or ran back to the living room, confusion soon evident on their faces.

“What? Why aren’t you calling?”

“No signal.”

“It’s fucking 2019 what the fuck do you mean, ‘no signal’?”

“Like...everything got cut off. Someone wants to isolate us.”

How could that even happen?

“I’ll go and get somebody.” Woojin finally spoke, moving towards the front door to put his shoes on.

“Are you sure?” Chan was immediately at his side, seemingly snapping out of his daze.

“I’m one of the fastest, it shouldn’t take that long.” Woojin shrugged, still not showing any emotion. He opened the front door, giving the group one last long glance before running into the front yard. You all moved to the large windows on either side of the front door, watching in horror as there was a gunshot and Woojin’s body fell to the ground.

You turned the porch light on, exposing a trip wire that was connected to the trigger of a gun. Blood poured from Woojin’s neck.

“So no one gets out-” Seungmin started, but was cut off by Changbin.

“Or gets in.”

The group went back to the living room, everyone sitting down in a tight circle on the floor. You were all too scared to move; too scared of what’s just around the corner.

“What do we do?” Hyunjin spoke after a long moment of silence.

“Well, I don’t wanna sit here and wait to be fucking killed! We have to do something.”

“We can’t leave, Minho. Someone’s here, in the house, watching us.”

“Or it’s one of us.”

“Seungmin can you shut the fuck up? Two of our friends are dead, and you’re making jokes? What do you think this is, some shitty horror movie?” You were shocked. Jisung had never raised his voice like that at any one of you. He wasn’t looking up from his lap, but you couldn’t even imagine the look on his face.

“I’m not kidding, Sungie. It...it makes sense.” You trusted Seungmin’s instincts; Seungmin had always been good to you, and most of his guesses ended up being correct. Just the thought of one of your friends being behind this made your blood turn cold.

“So you’re just going to assume one of our friends is a fucking murderer?”

“I don’t want to! Why would I want one of my friends to be a murderer? I’m just saying...it’s possible.” Seungmin leaned forward in the circle to grab Jisung’s hand, but the older pulled it away before standing up. He stared down at Seungmin for a second before storming off.

“I’ll go.” Chan waved a hand before anyone else could speak, getting up to follow the boy. Another long silence followed. You leaned on Seungmin’s shoulder, resting your hand on top of his to assure him that you weren’t mad.

“If we just stay here together, we don’t die, right?” Hyunjin asked, not bothering to wipe the tears that were steadily rolling down his cheeks.

“I doubt it.” Minho replied.

“Thanks for the optimism!”

“Shut up.”

“S-Should someone go and get Jisung and Chan?” Jeongin was staring at the staircase, biting down on his lip as he worried for his friends.

“Yeah. I’ll go. Jeongin, come with me.” Changbin stood, holding a hand out for the younger to take. Those two went upstairs to find Jisung and Chan, leaving only four left in the living room.

Your eyes were slowly fluttering shut, and you looked at the clock. 02:36. How was it already so late? You could tell your friends getting tired too, as Hyunjin soon laid his head on your lap.

“Don’t fall asleep, Jinnie.”

“But I’m tired.” He whined. For just a moment, you forgot about all the bad shit that had just happened to you.

That moment didn’t last very long.

All of the lights in the room suddenly shut off. You assumed the power in the whole house went off, judging by the familiar screams of your friends. You heard thudding as Changbin came down the stairs, screaming at all of you to run. You were on your feet immediately, grabbing onto somebody’s arm and running off in a random direction. You didn’t know who you were with or where you were going, but hopefully you would end up safe.

Whoever you were dragging along with you suddenly fell, a low grown coming from their body as they hit the ground.

“Fuck,” you mumbled, bringing your other hand to their arm to pull me up. In that moment, the lights flickered on. Merely a few feet away from you, someone stood, their face covered by a black mask and their head and body covered by what looked like something you could buy from a costume store. You looked down at the floor.

“For fuck’s sake, Changbin, get up!” You were still pulling, but it wasn’t doing much.

“My ankle!” Changbin cried, struggling to get up. The killer stepped forward, brandishing a blade that they pierced into Changbin’s calf. He yelped, tightening his grip on your arm.

“My parents’ room, that’s where Jisung is. Go get him, he needs us.”

“Changbin, I’m not leaving you here to die!” You pulled on his arm again, harder this time, guilt washing over you as you watched his face contort in pain. The killer pulled his knife from Changbin’s calf, this time shoving it through his back. Changbin let go of your arm; a signal of surrender. The killer locked eyes with you through his mask. You’ve seen those eyes before; you recognize that stare. You just couldn’t recall who.

So you ran. You ran, trying to block out the sounds of your friend’s screams of agony. They didn’t even bother chasing after you. But you didn’t know where Changbin’s parents’ room was.

“Jisung!” You called out, sticking your head in random rooms.

“Minho, Hyunjin, Seungmin, anybody?” Where was everybody?

“Y/N!” You heard a familiar voice. Jeongin.

“Jeongin!” You ran to him, where he stood in front of a door at the end of a hall. You wrapped him up in your arms, the two of you shaking with sobs.

“Where is everybody?” You asked as you pulled away.

Jeongin opened the door, showing your friends- or what was left of them- all sitting in front of the bed. On the bed was what was once Han Jisung, though it was hard to tell with how mangled his body was. It was hard to tell that the walls were supposed to be beige, because now they were red. The only part of Jisung’s body that wasn’t fucked up was his face, like the killer wanted you all the see that it was Jisung that he had just ruined. His face had even been cleaned up, as you could tell from the smears of blood on his face that were reluctant to leave; determined to stay and show the world that precious, sweet Jisung had been completely destroyed. You never thought that you would see your friend’s organs, but they were put on display for you all to see, lined up above his head like he was a fucking art exhibit.

Once the door was opened, Minho immediately latched himself onto you, pulling you down on the floor with him as he sobbed into your shoulder. You wrapped your arm around him, staring straight ahead.

Why were you not crying? You had cried for Felix. You couldn’t already be numb, it’s already been a few hours. You can’t be numb to the deaths of your best friends, Y/N. What are you, a fucking sociopath?

“I love him, Y/N, I love him.” Minho cried. It was hard to tell what he was saying, but you nodded anyway.

Minho and Jisung were always close. They had been best friends for years, and about a year ago, Minho had confided in you and told you about his growing feelings for the younger boy. It wasn’t a big deal; Jisung had told you the same thing about Minho. That just made your heart hurt more for Minho. Having to see the one person you love more than anything in this world murdered...you couldn’t imagine.

You all sat there for a moment. You still couldn’t will yourself to cry, and you felt like a shitty person. Everyone else was crying, why weren’t you?

“You guys,” You started, your voice weak, “I was w-with Changbin. He fell and hurt his ankle and...I couldn’t get him up in time.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Everyone was staring at you and you felt like withering away. You felt so horrible. You couldn’t save Changbin, or Jisung, or anybody.

“Can I...have a minute alone?” Minho pulled himself away from you, crawling closer to where Jisung’s body laid.

“Minho, I don’t think you should be alone right now.” Chan spoke, standing up, presumably to bring Minho closer to him.

“Well, I’m not alone. Sungie’s here, too. So get out.” His voice was flat, deprived of all the joy he used to hold.

“Minho, no.”

“I said get out!” He started pushing; not hard, but with enough force to get his point across. Once all of you were out of the room, he slammed the door and locked it.

“Why- why did he lock it?” Hyunjin mumbled, twisting the doorknob. You shut your eyes tight, taking deep breaths to try to calm your nerves.

He wouldn’t. Minho wouldn’t. He wouldn’t, right?

Bang!

He did.

Hyunjin gasped. Chan sighed. Jeongin started to cry, as did Seungmin. You merely flinched at the noise, not even bothering to open your eyes.

“So what now?” You asked, looking to Chan for an answer. Everyone always looked up to Chan in a leader sort of way. And he always pulled through, giving advice that helped you all through tough times.

“I don’t know, Y/N. I just...don’t know.”

You thought of going back down to the living room, choosing to stay somewhere central where you could see most of the house. Chan went down first, followed by you, then Hyunjin, then Jeongin, then Seungmin.

You would think that going down a goddamn flight of stairs would be peaceful, but apparently, you were wrong. It was Jeongin’s scream that alerted you. You all turned around, expecting to see the killer but only seeing Seungmin coming down at you at full speed. He was falling fast, his head or feet hitting almost every step. He landed at the bottom of the stairs with a thud, and you swear you hear a snapping noise.

“Oh God. Oh my God, Seungmin!” You cried, practically leaping down the stairs to see your friend. You pulled him into your lap, your hands gently running along his face.

“Jeonginnie, c’mon.” Hyunjin was begging. Jeongin wouldn’t move from his spot, his eyes blown wide. It was like he was a block of ice.

“Jeongin, please. We have to stick together.” Chan was trying to get Jeongin to come down, too. But the boy wouldn’t budge. Chan moved up a step, closer to him, and that’s when he ran. All the way back up the stairs and to the right, away from Jisung and Minho.

“Fuck!” Chan quickly chased after him. Hyunjin sighed and sat down on the stairs. You always knew Hyunjin was a crybaby, and you usually teased him for it. But all of these tears made sense.

“D-Do you think I’m gonna be next?”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m scared. I miss our friends.” You nodded, still staring down at Seungmin as you listened to Hyunjin speak.

Jeongin screamed again. You brought your hands up to your ears, beginning to mumble nonsense at yourself to block the sound.

You heard Hyunjin faintly, “Y/N, what are you doing?” But that only made you talk louder. You couldn’t do this anymore. How could you? How could you keep listening to the sounds of your friends dying and know that you couldn’t do anything to save them?

You only moved your hands from your head when Chan pulled them away.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?”

Chan nodded. You sighed, standing up from your spot on the floor. You walked back to the couch, sitting in the middle and pulling your knees up to your chest. Hyunjin sat on your right; Chan on your left. The three of you just sat there in silence, comforted by the sounds of your breathing. After a while, Hyunjin leaned his head on your shoulder, whispering so no one else could hear:

“I don’t trust Chan.”

Then the fucking lights shut off again. Hyunjin yelped, immediately grabbing onto your hand. You grabbed onto Chan’s, and you shut your eyes again.

And then you felt it. You assumed Hyunjin felt it too, judging by his scream. You jumped back once the warm liquid hit your face.

The lights turned back on, and you looked to your left. Chan’s head was pushed back and his throat was slit, covering everything around him in his blood. You two leaped off the couch. Hyunjin ran towards the garage, and so you followed him. You slammed the garage door shut after him, flicking on the light.

Felix. You had almost forgotten about Felix.

Hyunjin was obviously panicking, judging from the way his head snapped to every corner of the room, looking for a way out.

“Look! A dog door!”

“Hyunjin…”

“No, listen to me! If we open the garage door, he’ll hear us. If we go out this way, he won’t!” Hyunjin practically threw himself to his knees, crawling towards the door. You wondered if he could even fit.

Apparently he could. You stood a few feet behind him, ready to follow after him.

But then the door starting raising. You whipped around, looking back into those masked eyes from earlier.

“Hyunjin get out of the fucking door!” You cried out to him, but it was too late. The door was raising higher and higher, and Hyunjin was stuck. He collided with the top, his neck immediately snapping. His body hung lifeless, and you started to shake.

He was the last one. You thought you would get out of this with someone.

You turned back to where the killer was, only to see a blank space. He was gone.

You don’t know what snapped in you.

Whoever this person was, they wouldn’t live to see another day.

You ran back into the house, first going to the kitchen to grab a knife. Then you started roaming the halls, peering into every room and every corner. You had to come face to face with the bodies of all of your best friends, and every time you saw one of them, your soul became emptier and emptier.

You were heading back to the kitchen when you were pulled into a closet. The scare made you drop your knife. You started kicked, screaming into the person’s palm to try and get free.

“Stop screaming, stop screaming please! It’s just me.” You’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“Jeongin? But- but I thought you were dead. Chan saw you-”

“I got stabbed in the shoulder, but that’s it. I just passed out for a little while.” You were relieved. No, you were more than relieved. One of your friends did make it out alive.

“Okay. We’re gonna make it. We can find this guy. Right, Jeongin?”

Silence.

“Jeongin?”

You heard small sniffles in the darkness.

“Jeongin, what’s the matter?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He was full on sobbing at this point, so you brought him closer to you.

“You were always my favorite, Y/N. Always. You were so smart and nice and you never babied me like everyone else did.” You started to smile, but then you felt cold metal on your back.

“But if I let my favorite live, it would be obvious who killed everyone else, hmm?” The cool was gone for a moment, only to be replaced by a burning feeling. That feeling surged through your back, quickly spreading through your entire body. You always knew that being stabbed would hurt, but you didn’t expect it to hurt this much. You gasped, immediately crumpling to the floor.

“You’d be surprised how easy it was. You would think killing nine people would be difficult, but hah, you’d be wrong. It only cost me like $20 to get a guy to cut off all the signal in the house. Gotta love technology, right?” Jeongin didn’t sound like Jeongin anymore. He sounded cold; heartless. Nothing like the Jeongin you had known and loved for years.

“I bet you’re wondering why, right?,” He continued his little speech, “I’m so tired of being fucking babied by them. I’m almost 18 fucking years old and they treat me like I’m five. I bet this really fucking showed them, huh?” He chuckled, a dark sound in contrast to all of his little giggles you were used to.

By this point you were losing consciousness, and you were kind of glad. You didn’t want to live with this burning pain. Your body was getting colder; you guessed it was from all the blood loss.

“Chan even bought me a juice box once. A juice box, a fucking juice box! Isn’t that ridiculous? Right, Y/N? Oh wait, you’re dying. Sad. I’ll miss you the most. But I’ll probably forget you once I become famous. Because obviously I’ll become famous. The poor, innocent boy who lived through all of his best friends being murdered? And I’m cute. Win-win.” God, he sounded fucking insane.

You couldn't breathe. You figured this is what dying felt like.

“Oh, and yeah. I did stab myself. It fucking hurt. You must be going through some shit right now, huh?”

And then it all went black.

—

You thought you died. You really did.

Maybe you did. Maybe you were in Hell.

Waking up in a dark hospital room next to two people, one of which you thought you knew, did seem like Hell.

But in the other bed was Seungmin. You thought Seungmin was dead.

The other bed, which you assumed once held Jeongin, was now empty, which terrified you. You tried to sit up; the stinging in your back prevented you from doing so.

“Seungmin.” You whispered, bringing a weak arm up to shake the boy lightly. He had a cast on his arm and on his leg, and a few scratches on his face.

He stirred slightly, not yet opening his eyes, “Five more minutes.”

“Seungmin I swear to fucking God if you don’t wake up right now-”

“Shut up.”

Jeongin.

“God, how are you two not dead yet? I pushed you down a flight of fucking rich people stairs!” He stood in front of Seungmin’s bed, a harsh glare cast upon the boy in the bed.

“You won’t get away with this.”

“Oh yeah?” And he pounced. He jumped on Seungmin’s bed, wrapping his hands around the boy’s throat. You tried pushing him off, but you were weak and he was a lot stronger than you initially thought. Seungmin’s eyes were open now, and there was nothing he could do except gag as he stared up at what he thought was his best friend.

You started screaming. For a nurse, a cop, anyone.

Thankfully, a nurse entered the room, worried by all the noise. She gasped at the sight in front of her, quickly hurrying away.

“Son of a bitch.” You started pulling the needles out of your arms, pushing through the pain and standing up. You started pushing Jeongin again, this time with more force. But it still didn’t work. You ran to the other side of the room, looking for any tools that could help you.

“I don’t fucking think so!” You heard from behind you before you felt a painful thud on your head. You collapsed to the floor, a hand coming up to feel the back of your head. You didn’t have time to think before Jeongin hit you again.

And again.

And again.

Your head was bleeding; you were getting blood in your eyes. He was impossible to fight.

But you didn’t have to.

You watched the bullet pierce through his forehead, and you saw his lifeless body fall on top on you. Looking over his shoulder, you saw a police officer running towards you, and the nurse headed for Seungmin. The cop pulled Jeongin’s body off of you before extending his hand for you to take.

“It’s okay. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

But he could. And he would.

The thought of Jeongin would always hurt you.

[derryhawkins]

Growing Fame (2/??)

summary: A modern AU where the losers are semi-famous for different things, and when they all run into each other at a certain event, all of their fans go bat-shit crazy – wanting the seven to spend more time together. What they didn’t expect even more than that, though, was a well-known and mean journalist to write bad reviews on them all. Their growing fame could soon shrink, they quickly realized. warnings: nothing, really; swearing pairings: benverly; the rest is undecided a/n: btw they’re all around the ages of 20-21 in this fic. Except for Georgie, he’s like 13. If there are any spelling mistakes, I’ll make sure to fix it up as soon as I can.

word count is 2.6k

CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3

First Meetings and Greetings

“We’re gonna be late!”

“You’ll live, Eddie, chill out.”

“Why do we have to get Georgie anyway?”

Bill glanced to the passenger’s seat of the car where Stan was sitting and then behind him some as Eddie’s head appeared between the two seats. He quickly looked back to the road and said, “Mom told him we’re going to comic con and Georgie has always wanted to go, so she called me and basically forced me to come pick him up. He just wants to meet Princess Merida from Brave and a few Marvel characters.”

“Isn’t he, like, six?” Eddie asked.

“Thirteen,” the two up front replied in unison.

Eddie shrugged and looked down at his costume. Right after picking up Georgie, they were going straight to comic con. It wasn’t too far of a drive but he wasn’t looking forward to sitting down for a long while in a skin tight, red, and blue suit. He was Peter Parker, Spider-Man, one of his favorite Marvel characters. He then looked over at Stan who hadn’t dressed; he just wanted to hang out there with his friends and record a few things and talk to a few fictional characters. Eddie then looked at Bill. The guy was wearing a Flash suit.

“Is Georgie doing a costume?” Eddie asked.

“Peter Pan,” Bill said simply, though Eddie and Stan could hear the fond amusement.

Stan looked over at Bill and cracked a smile at seeing him smiling to himself. Eddie looked over as well and grinned; it was clear as day that Bill Denbrough loved his little brother immensely. “That’s cute - forever young,” Stan said.

“He claims they look exactly alike.”

“They kinda do, actually,” Eddie pointed out.

Bill rolled his eyes, “Tell Georgie that and he’ll love you forever.”

The short boy grinned. “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

The rest of the drive to the Denbrough’s house was filled with the radio playing music constantly and Stan filming a short portion of the drive, explaining what was happening for the vlog he would be putting up later. Time went by rather quickly as the three boys goofed off with each other. Stan even cracked a few jokes. Because of their actions, and their joyfulness, the three boys felt as if the drive went by in a blur. By the time Bill pulled up into his parent’s driveway, their cheeks were red and hurting from laughing and grinning so much. Bill honked the horn as he rolled down his window. He yelled out as the door opened.

“Hiya, Georgie!” He grinned and waved, half hanging out of the car. (Eddie and Stan both got pictures of it).

“Hey, Billy!” The kid yelled back as he ran to the car, clad in a Peter Pan costume, after hugging their mother who had shouted for the boys to drive safely. 

Once Bill’s kid brother was fasted down in the seat beside Eddie, and after waving to their mother, Bill backed out of the driveway and left for comic con. It didn’t take long for Eddie to go back to freaking out about possibly being late, or Stan to try to fix his slightly crooked clothes, or for Georgie to yell at Bill to play his favorite songs. Between talking about how they couldn’t be late, Eddie talked to Georgie about random, small things and laughed when the kid pouted about hating a song that played. It was a crazy ride there, Bill will admit that.

Mike and Ben entered the building with wide grins on their faces. They both were dressed as characters from Marvel; Mike had a costume of Miles Morales’ Spider-Man and Ben was fully dressed as Peter Quill, Star Lard. Together they walked around and socialized. Mike had taken off the mask and held it tightly in one of his hands as he walked. Ben twirled the fake gun in his hands and a walk man on his hip, the earbuds wrapped around his neck. Once in a while, a kid would run up with their parents and ask for a picture with them both. They also got stopped because people recognized them from the Internet.

It made them smile even more; it made them even more ecstatic of being there.

“You should play the walk man and dance around like he does in the movie,” Mike suggested to Ben as they past a booth, dodging running teenagers.

“Uh, no thanks,” Ben chuckled nervously.

“Dude, step out of your shell! Star Lord isn’t a shy hermit, B.” Mike pulled out his phone then to check his messages. He smiled at seeing a text from his mom, and he tried to swipe it to answer the message but because of the cloth around his fingers he was unable to. He glowered and shoved the phone to Ben for him to answer it for him.

Ben laughed and grabbed the phone, replied to the message, and then gave the device back. As Mike muttered a thanks, he said, “I’m not really Peter Quill, okay? Just plain old Ben.”

“Plain old Ben who’s had girls all over him!”

“Only because I lost weight and gained muscle instead.”

“Okay, that means you are Peter Quill. You know how played him? Chris Pratt! Pratt was fat once upon a time and now he’s hot as hell. You two are the same, man, just let out your inner Peter Quill.” Mike patted his old college roommate’s shoulder and gave a kind, reassuring smile. “Or Chris Pratt, whichever comes first. The ladies love ‘em both.”

The slightly shorter male rolled his eyes but a thankful smile formed. “I’ll try my best,” he sighed.

“Great!”

Thirty minutes later Mike was trying to get Ben to talk to a pretty red head dressed as Poison Ivy from DC’s comic universe. Ben was more than hesitant to go over to her and talk, especially because tall male with curly dark hair dressed up as Deadpool stood beside her. Mike kept on reassuring him that they weren’t dating; Ben didn’t buy it one bit. It was a back and forth bickering between the two friends as Mike occasionally shoved Ben in the girl’s direction, only for him to shout in protest and stand his ground.

“Ben! Look, that’s Richie Tozier from The Records, okay, he’s fucking single! He broke up with his girl a month ago. The red head is his best friend!”

“Okay, no, that can’t be the dude from The Records.”

“You don’t even listen to them, let alone know what they all look like.”

The light haired male simply stared. Mike let out a sigh and rubbed a hand over his face before looking back to Ben.

“Okay, look, here’s the plan-,”

“Dude.”

“-we both go over there but I do the talking. Mostly to Richie about music shit. You converse with the girl,” he explained, “Got it?”

Once again, Ben simply stared. Though, a few seconds of silence later, he sighed in defeat. He knew Mike wasn’t going to let the situation go, especially if the guy was in fact who Mike said he was. The Records were growing with fame everyday, especially since they got signed, and Mike was quick to join in on the hype some months ago. They were good, Ben has to admit, just not his type of music. Ben eventually gave Mike the ‘okay’ and regretted it instantly as Mike happily led the way.

Shit, she’s prettier up close, Ben thought to himself as he stopped in front of the two strangers. Mike instantly started talking to Richie after they introduced themselves, and Ben nervously greeted the girl he learned to be Beverly Marsh. Despite going as a DC villain, Beverly was sweet and easy going. She wasn’t too intimidating at all, Ben realized as they conversed about how fun comic con was, and he was a bit grateful he gave into Mike.

They all seemed to talk for a while. Occasional Mike and Richie would bump into Bev’s and Ben’s conversation and vice versa. It was smooth. Not many awkward pauses, something Ben was happy about. It wasn’t until Richie gave a short and loud shout after checking his buzzing phone when Ben and Beverly actually stopped talking. Richie’s hand went to Beverly’s elbow as he pressed his phone to his ear.

“Big Bill is here, Bev!” He shouted enthusiastically. A large grin on his face.

Ben and Mike stared in confusion at the sudden excitement. Meanwhile, Beverly grinned back. She knew of Bill; she butted in on Richie’s and Bill’s FaceTime call once a month or so back. He was a kind young man, Bev will give him that. 

“Really?” She asked.

“Fuck yeah- Bill?! Where the fuck are you, man?” Richie talked into the phone as he let go of Beverly’s elbow, finally. He moved to the side some, too.

“Who’s Bill?” Mike asked the redhead as Richie talked a million words per second to the Bill guy on the phone.

“Richie’s best friend,” Beverly said, “They’re super close and haven’t seen each other in, like, seven months.”

“I couldn’t imagine not seeing this guy for that long,” Mike said. He patted Ben’s shoulder and they grinned at one another.

“Same here, man,” Ben said. “Is it the same with you and Richie?”

“Dude’s like my brother, but yeah,” she laughed.

“Guys!” Richie wrapped his arms around Mike and Beverly, and used his closest hand to Ben to softly nudge him in the shouder. “You wanna meet Bill Denbrough?”

The three stared at each other for a moment before back at Richie. A chorus of agreements followed soon after even though Mike and Ben had no clue who Bill Denbrough was. But nonetheless they followed an excited Richie Tozier. Sure enough, they got stopped a couple of times because of Richie’s growing fame; actually, because of all their fame. Each of them got stopped at least once as they made the trek to wherever Richie’s best friend was. None of them minded it. They actually loved it.

The curly headed male moved around people as he walked as he searched for the familiar brown, red-ish hair of his best friend. Richie was pretty tall, so it was easy for him to look over people; it also helped that Bill was on the tall side as well. Soon enough, Richie noticed the familiar head of hair and didn’t hesitate to run to the boy. Beverly groaned and complained as Richie took off running and Mike just laughed; he didn’t hear anything from Ben, but he was sure the guy made an facial expression of sorts.

The instant Richie got close enough, he tackled Bill Denbrough in a hug from behind. One arm over one of Bill’s shoulders, the other arm over Bill’s arm; both arms held him in a tight hug. His head head went in the crook of Bill’s neck and he grinned. Bill knew instantly that it was Richie. No one else had hugged him so oddly from behind before. Plus, no one else was so touchy, either. Richie loved hugs - both getting and giving them.

“What’s up, Rich?” Bill asked with a large smile, laughing slightly as he patted Richie’s arms.

“Not seeing my best friend for seven months fucking sucks,” Richie said.

“Uh, Rich, my brother is-.”

Richie flung from Bill and looked around until he caught sight of a taller Georgie Denbrough. “Georgie!” He shouted. There was no denying the fact that Richie loved the two Denbrough brothers; everyone else standing around them could tell exactly that.

“Richie!” Georgie shouted back and rushed to hug the older boy.

After pulling away from the smaller Denbrough’s hug, Richie leaned on the short male beside Bill. His arm rested on the unknown guy’s shoulder. “So, let’s do some introductions, yeah?”

“Get the fuck off of me,” the short guy snapped out and shoved Richie’s elbow off of him.

“Eddie, stop saying the f-bomb around my brother,” Bill said.

“Your mom was saying the complete opposite last night, cutie.” He winked and smirked, making the other boy groan and roll his eyes.

“Beep beep, Richie,” once again, it came from Bill.

For the next twenty minutes, introductions were said and the group of eight talked among themselves. Everyone got along pretty well. The occasional “fuck off” was thrown at Richie from Eddie Kaspbrak or Stan Uris, but still the two boys found some humor in what the singer joked about. It wasn’t until, though, that Ben noticed the absence of a certain thirteen year old boy that everyone realized they weren’t a group of eight. It was a group of seven.

Bill instantly started freaking out. Where the fuck could he had disappeared to? He couldn’t be the reason his brother was kidnapped. His parents would  be devastated, including him. Richie calmed his best friend down enough to say they should all split up and search for Georgie. And that’s how a Jedi, the Flash, two Spider-Men, Deadpool, Star Lord, and Poison Ivy started yelling the kid’s name as they searched everywhere they could in the building.

Thankfully, though, it didn’t take long at all to find Georgie. He had ran off in excitement at seeing someone cosplaying as Princess Merida that he simply bolted without telling the others around him. The rest of the time they were there, they walked around as a group and hung out. It was amazing how easily they all got along, even with the occasional ‘beep beep, Richie’ from Bill or Beverly when the guy had almost gone too far with saying something.

It was also almost like a train wreck around them as well. Not a bad one, if that makes any sense; but a train wreck where they were all just goofing around and sometimes causing a scene within the crowds with how loud they got. (No thanks to Richie or Georgie or Eddie).

“Where do you guys live from here?” Bill asked.

“Rich and I are just thirty minutes away,” Beverly answered.

“Two hours,” Mike said for himself and Ben. “You guys?”

“Forty-five minutes, an hour at most,” Eddie said.

“Why?” Ben asked.

Bill shrugged and carefully watched as Georgie fumbled with a toy of sorts he had gotten earlier, trying to open the box it came in. He then looked back up to the others. “Just wondering. Maybe we could all hang out? You’re pretty fun to be around with,” he explained.

Stan raised an eyebrow but it quickly went back down as he said, “I agree, honestly. Even Trashmouth over here isn’t so bad.”

“Trashmouth, that’s a new one,” Richie laughed.

“I’m surprised,” Eddie said. Richie looked at him and flashed him a smile. The shorter male just shook his head and looked away.

“Yeah, you guys are pretty cool,” Ben said.

“Even though I’m literally the only girl here, I actually don’t mind being with you. So I will fu- freaking love it if we hung out again,” Beverly quickly corrected herself to not say the f-bomb around Georgie, even though she was pretty sure he had probably heard it from a few strangers at comic con.

“Then it’s settled!” Richie yelled. He threw his arms around the two people beside, which happened to be Beverly and Bill. “Let’s all exchange numbers and figure out a day to hang out so we can get to know each other better!”

And that’s exactly what they did. Well, actually, Beverly got a pen and a random piece of balled up paper from her bag and wrote down everyone’s numbers. Once she was done with that, the seven took a picture of the piece of paper so they could all add the numbers in later.

TAG LIST: @cupcakeatl @howellhxlic

[simsstuffmarie]

100 Questions To Invade My Personal Life

I haven’t been tagged by anyone but I just thought I’d give it a go as I’m bored! Found this on @angelisims Simblr 😁

1. What's your middle name, and do you like it? My middle name is Marie and I do quite like it actually...it's pretty common lol

2. Are you artistic? Yeah I love doodling and just drawing random things occasionally

3. Have you had your first kiss? Duhhhhhh! I have a boyfriend!

4. What is your life goal? To be successful in my personal goals

5. Do you have any experiences with a famous person? I met Princess Diana when I was little, and a few years ago when I was doing my family tree I found out that my 5th cousin is Michael Douglas lol

6. Do you play any sports? Only if sleeping is classed as a sport?!?!

7. What's your worst fear? Being unhappy and unsuccessful....oh and spiders and heights

8. Who's your biggest inspiration? Myself....never aspire to be anybody else because it will never make you happy

9. Do you have any cool talents? Not really....I can fit my fist in my mouth! Does that count?

10. are you a morning person? HELL NO!!!

11. How do you feel about pet names? Me and Will have them....so I don’t really care. I never really call people by their proper names anyway 12. Do you like to read? Yes. But I rarely get time to sit down with a good book without being interrupted by someone 13. Name a list of shows that have changed your life. Grey's Anatomy - I’ve loved that show since episode one Band Of Brothers/ The Pacific - Just amazing True Blood - Yeassss Vampire Diaries - Ermmmmm....is their one member of that cast who isn’t hot?!

14. Do you care about your follower count?

I’m not overly obsessed with it, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I see I’ve got a new follower (love you all btw!!)

15. What's the best dream you've had?

I can’t really remember my dreams

16. Have you ever kissed someone of your same gender?

I always kiss my girlfriends....not in a passionate way, just a little peck! Especially when we’ve been out for the night haha

17. Do you have any pets?

Not personally, but I treat my boyfriends' dog like he is mine

18. Are you religious?

Nope

19. Are you a people person?

I get a bit anxious and stressed out/ short tempered if there is a lot of people around in large crowds

20. Are you considered popular?

I don't think so..............

21. What is one of your bad habits?

Self-doubt

22. What's something that makes you feel vulnerable

Being around people who “look better” and are in better physical shape than me

23. What would you name your children?

Girl - Raynor Boy - Finn

24. Who's your celebrity crush?

Tom Hardy, Kellan Lutz, Charlie Hunnam, Shemar Moore, Jamie Dornan, Henry Cavill, Tyson Beckford.....I could actually go on forever!! 

25. What's your best subject?

Human Biology, physiology and anatomy

26. Dogs or cats?

Both

27. Most-used social media besides Tumblr?

Facebook

28. Best friends name

Vikki, Hayley and Nikki

29. Who does your main family consist of?

Me, my mum and my older brother

30. Chocolate or sugar

Chocolate

31. Have you ever been on a date?

Several

32. Do you like rollercoasters?

Only if they have over-the-head supports....not just the lap bars

33. Can you swim?

Yes, but not very well

34. What would you do in the event of an apocalypse?

My boyfriend and me actually always have this discussion and have it all worked out! There's an old prison near where we live and an abandoned army base just up the hill - and the town centre is only 10min walk away! Perfect!

35. Have you struggled with any kind of mental disorder

Anxiety - increasing at the moment.

36. Are your parents together?

Nope - divorced when I was really little

37. What's your favourite colour?

Any warm colour

38. What country are you from/do you live in?

ENGLAND!!! 

39. Favourite singer?

P!NK, Adele, James Arthur

40. Do you see yourself being famous some day?

Nope

41. Do you like dresses?

Yeah, as long as it isn't too tight

42. Favourite song right now?

Thunder - Imagine Dragons Skin - Rag’n’Bone Man

43. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?

No, if you’re old enough to do it, you should be mature enough to talk about it.

44. How old were you when you first got your period?

I was quite late starting. I was 15.

45. Have you ever shot a gun?

Yeah

46. Have you ever done yoga?

Yep

47. Are you a horror girl?

I don’t mind them, but they can all be quite similar

48. Are you good at giving advice?

Great at giving it. Crap at taking it!

49. Tell us a story about your childhood.

My dad used to be in the army and we lived several places. When we lived in Cyprus we used to visit the old ruins and amphitheatre and there were loads of lizards that used to hide in the cracks of the old buildings. I decided I wanted one of them to take home so I grabbed hold of its tail, but it was stuck and I kept pulling and pulling and eventually the tail actually came off of the lizard! Immediately I started crying.

One Christmas 9also when we lived in Cyprus actually) I wanted snow on the Christmas tree, but we didn't have fake snow, so I decided to use my mum's expensive face cream and smothered the tree in cream. 

The same Christmas, me and my brother woke up before my mum and dad and decided to “sneak” into the front room to open the presents. When we got to the front room door, the handle had been taken off the door and closed, so we decided to go around the back door, which was also locked. Then tried looking through the windows but they had put bin bags all over the windows and drawn the curtains. We went back in and decided to sit my the front room door until they woke up, but we fell asleep and they found us asleep by the door on the floor.

50. How are you doing today?

Yeah, I’m OK. Thanks for asking

51. Were you a cute kid?

Newborn - yea I think I was Toddler - I was cheeky Child - Scrawny Teen - awkward

52. Can you dance?

When I’ve had a drink

53. Is there anything you do that you can't remember ever not doing?

Breathing? Eating? Drinking?

54. Have you ever dyed your hair?

Yeah quite a few times actually, just not for a long long time now

55. What colour are your eyes?

They change depending on my mood - green/blue/hazel/grey

56. What's your favourite animal?

Hedgehogs - I want one

57. Have you ever made a huge fool of yourself?

All the time!!!

58. Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

My mum and I are close (even though she annoys the hell out of me) But me and my dad not really because he left when I was young. We still always saw him, but it sometimes feels like I don't know him properly...IDK....

59. Do you have good friends?

The most amazing friends....

60. Are you close with anyone of the lgbtq+ group?

I know loads of different people...I don’t really label anyone. If you’re decent to me then I’m cool with you...

61. What's your favourite class?

I don’t really have class at university....

62. List all the tv shows you are watching.

Love Island, Big Brother, OITNB, Sons Of Anarchy, Prison Break, Benidorm, Grey’s Anatomy

63. Are you organised?

I try to be

64. What was the last movie you saw? Opinion?

Split....it was actually quite good

67. Which tv character do you relate to most?

I have no clue

68. What are some things that stand between you and complete happiness?

Finances

69. If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing?

Travelling the world

70. What would you change about your life if you knew you would never die?

Nothing....because every decision I made before has made me who I am now

71. What would you do differently if you knew that no one was judging you?

I don’t care if nobody judges me

72. If you could start over, what would you do differently?

Nothing

73. Would you break the law to save a loved one?

Definitely

74. When was the last time you travelled somewhere new?

Today

75. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind?

My bed

76. What have you done to pursue your dreams lately? How about today?

I got off my arse and got myself into university

77. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Everything! Nurse, Air Hostess, Vet, Super Model, Ballerina, Solider, Farmer, Roman, Pop Star, Barbie, Nightclub Owner, Architect, Interior Designer..... 

78. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking?

Nothing...because real friends and family support you no matter what.

79.When did you not speak up, when you know you really should have?

That's really personal and I don’t wanna talk about it.....sorry.....

80. Describe the next five years of your life, and your plans, in a single sentence

Finish my degree, get a job, buy my own house, get married and have children

81. What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like?

Skinny

82. If you could live forever, how would you spend eternity?

Seeing new things, trying new food, living!

83. How would you spend a billion dollars?

Same as above - maybe invest half of it and buy a new house and treats for my closest

84. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?

Future - there is no point in trying to change the past as it got you to the place you are now....Live and Learn

85. What motivates you to succeed?

My family, friends and boyfriend

86. What dream that you’ve had has resonated with you the most?

It was an awful nightmare - about my brother and mum being murdered in front of me

87. Would you rather live in the city or the woods? Why?

The woods - because it's peaceful

88. Do you believe in life after death

Yes

89. What teacher inspired you the most? How did they?

They all thought I’d fail. Love proving people wrong. It makes me fight for everything

90. What’s your fondest childhood memory?

Living in Cyprus

91. If you could have dinner with any one person, living or dead, who would they be and why?

My Grandad - I miss the old grumps

92. What would you have to see to cry tears of joy?

Some of these really beautiful videos about people helping in the time of need, really romantic marriage proposals, and probably my first ultrasound scan if I was pregnant

93. What is the hardest lesson you had to learn in life?

You need to make a decision for yourself. Never be pressurised into it. It may be a tough one to start with and it will probably make you cry for years and years to come. But somewhere it was the right decision for you. 

94. What do you think happens after we die?

Life carries on....

95. What would you do if you could be invisible?

Sneak into loads of celebrities houses because I’m nosey

96. What's something you can't do no matter how hard you try?

Roll my tongue and roll my R’s

97. Would you want to choose the sex and appearance of your offspring?

Nope - they'd be perfect no matter what

98. How did your first crush develop?

Not very well lol

99. Is there a feeling you are trying to ignore? What is it?

Anxiousness and regret

100. Do you live or do you just exist?

At the moment I just exist - but I’m trying to live

I’d like to nominate people, but it is actually really long, and took me forever to do. So if you fancy doing it, just tag me because I’d love to read them all.

[junker-town]

‘The Bachelorette’ Episode 4: This show isn’t fun anymore

In light of the racism in recent episodes and sexual assault allegations on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’, the franchise has turned sinister.

The intro of this weekly recap is usually where I say something along the lines of, “Hello, Sports Bachelor Nation!” and crack a joke about how you’re probably getting ready to pour a bottle of wine down your throat, or about how this reality show is sports, or something else that’s meant to entertain you as you read about a show that is also meant to entertain you. In fact, whose only job is to entertain you.

Tonight is not that night. For several reasons:

1) I can’t get the taste of last week’s episode, in which Lee, a racist piece of garbage, picked a fight with several black cast members.

2) The Bachelor in Paradise had to shut down filming because of alleged sexual assault between two incredibly drunk cast members, a situation which casts a very sinister shadow over the entire franchise.

Neither of those things are entertaining. They’re both dangerous. They’re both gross. They both make me feel sick to my stomach, so you’ll excuse me if I’m having trouble mustering up enthusiasm.

With that said, let's take a look at what happened last night.

DEALING WITH LEE SOME MORE

We left off with Lee baiting Eric with racially-charged statements. Lee refuses to apologize. Instead, he says:

“You’re damn right I enjoyed pissing him off. I have so much fun talking shit on these nights.”

Eric removes himself from the situation. Lee drops the “I’m not here to make friends” line, which used to be funny, and now, like so much else on this show, is not.

Then Lee interrupts Kenny while Kenny and Rachel are talking to each other. He refuses to go away, then gives Rachel a block of wood that he rudimentarily carved the word “enchanting” into using his grandfather’s pocket knife. This is not only creepy, but also means that this guy came onto the show with a switchblade and no one was like, “hey, maybe we should take this guy’s switchblade away.”

Dean, one of the white guys, says, “I think Lee’s a f[bleeeeep]ing moron,” and, “I just think he’s kind of a bitch.” It’s good to see a white dude grow a pair and call Lee out, but of course Brady, another white dude, is like, “Everyone comes form a different background and has weird quirks.”

Oh, is that what we’re calling it these days? Being racist is like, a fun little character flaw?

Meanwhile, Bryan tells Rachel that they’re in a 100% real situation that’s like a fairy tale. Sure, if by fairy tale you mean the original text of Grimm’s Brother’s stories in which they describe the bloody way Cinderella’s sisters cut off their own heels to try to squeeze into the glass slipper. And then everyone dies of the bubonic plague.

Dean says he hopes Kenny punches Lee in the face and I’m like, why don’t you just do it, dude?

ROSE CEREMONY

Rachel speaks to the camera about the pressures she feels about being a black woman on this show. She’s crying.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she says. “I get pressured from so many different ways, being in this position. I didn’t want to get into all of this tonight. I already know what people are going to say about me and judge me for the decisions that I’m making. I’m going to be the one that has to deal with that, and nobody else, and that’s a lot.”

Good work, Bachelorette producers. Way to put a smart woman who appears to be trying to take this show as seriously as anyone can in a really horrible position. Knocking it out of the goddamn park.

Rachel gives Lee a rose. Diggy goes home. I liked Diggy.

GOODYEAR BLIMP DATE, THE ONLY GOOD THING

The fact that Lee is still around makes everything extra bad, but Dean and Rachel go on a one-on-one date in the Goodyear blimp, which is a bit of brightness in an otherwise very dark moment for the franchise.

Dean is absolutely petrified of heights, not in a cute “haha I’m so scared LOL” way, but in a “oh my god I’m going to puke everywhere and maybe actually pass out” way. Rachel is a little worried. But then Dean gets himself together and drives the blimp, then he and Rachel drink champagne in the blimp, and then they make out in the blimp. Lotta blimp action. Also: I’ve always wondered what the inside of a blimp looks like, and now I know: a bus.

The Goodyear Blimp’s Twitter account proved to be the only good Bachelor-related thing we have left. It was trolling people all night as the episode aired:

When throwing shade, it helps to cast a blimp-sized shadow. (and have a giant LED screen, sure) https://t.co/2inuOHnbUK

— Goodyear Blimp (@GoodyearBlimp) June 20, 2017

Awesome people. https://t.co/CDl9MVmz3a

— Goodyear Blimp (@GoodyearBlimp) June 20, 2017

Back at the house, the guys are like, “Dean is five, six years younger than Rachel,” as though that were a problem. My dudes, I’m sorry you’re so insecure in your own fragile masculinity that you can’t imagine an older woman with a younger man.

DEAN TALKS ABOUT HIS MOM’S DEATH AND IT’S MOVING

At dinner, Rachel and Dean talk about their upbringings. Dean says he was raised very religious, and that his mom died of breast cancer when he was 15. He says that when she moved to hospice, he asked her when she’d be coming home, and she said, “never.” And then Dean says that his dad sobbed on his bed the day he told him that she passed away, while Dean just sat there, stoically, supporting his father.

I’m not not tearing up.

My tears quickly dry when Rachel and Dean go to a surprise country music concert. The singer’s name is Russell Dickerson, which is like Mad Libs for a country singer name. But everyone knows it’s not an episode of The Bachelorette unless a generic country singer gets his two minutes of glory. The producers probably go on the Facebook group called, like, Aspiring Country Singers Who Want to Sing Good and Look Good Too, and just choose a guy at random.

I can imagine the conversation. “Who should it be, fellow producers? Harrison Butterson or Flint McDustbuster?”

What is a Russell Dickerson

— Jonquilyn Hill (@jonquilynhill) June 20, 2017

PLOT TWIST: Russell Dickerson is actually a hologram of a stock art photo of a country music singer.

BOAT DATE

The group date takes place on a boat. They’re all dancing, and for some reason Peter decides to rap, and his bars are trash. He rhymes “heart” with “fart” and calls Rachel a “girl from the hood.”

Let’s go to writer Katie Barnes’ Twitter feed for a moment:

Um. Rachel's dad is a judge. She is not from "the hood" as it were. She's just black. #TheBachelorette

— Katie Barnes (@katie_barnes3) June 20, 2017

SPELLING BEE

Rachel says she wants to test the men in a cerebral way, so she’s making them compete in a spelling bee to find out how clever they are. This is terrible news, because I can’t spell for beans. If this is the measure of a human’s brain power, it’s truly astonishing that I even have a job.

All the words have to do with dating, like, polyamorous, which I couldn’t spell without spellcheck if you put a gun to my head.

Iggy sucks. He’s talking to the camera about how much he hates Josiah, and I can tell that he’s turning himself into the Dude Who Hates All The Other Dudes. Which means that he’ll be going home soon. Someone I can’t remember calls Iggy a “gossip queen,” and I’m laughing.

Josiah wins.

Josiah floats like a butterfly, spells like a bee! #TheBachelorette http://pic.twitter.com/ErVDWCbN5b

— The Bachelorette (@BacheloretteABC) June 20, 2017

NIGHT GROUP DATE WHICH IS AWFUL BECAUSE LEE IS THERE SO OF COURSE IT IS

Josiah spills a drink on his crotch. I deeply identify with him. Iggy calls Rachel sweetie. I hate Iggy. Iggy seems to have aligned himself with Lee, so Iggy can go straight to hell.

Rachel takes Lee aside and Lee says that Eric screamed at him aggressively. He calls Kenny a ballerina. He picks fights with almost every black contestant while telling the white guys at the bar that he doesn’t have a problem with them.

When Kenny tries to talk to Rachel about Lee, Rachel is like, “Why would Lee say you were aggressive if you weren’t?” And Kenny is like ... “Because Lee doesn’t tell the truth?” And Rachel doesn’t seem to totally buy it. Kenny is left sitting there on a bench with his head in his hands, and I want to punch my television screen.

“Nothing I said made a dent in how she felt about me,” Kenny says. He also says he feels like he’s living in a reality of alternative facts, which is true, and sad, and descriptive of not only the Bachelorette, but also our current cultural state.

NEXT WEEK WILL BE EVEN WORSE

Lee is a reptilian piece of trash. The producers might be, too, because they’re setting Kenny and Lee on a two-on-one date from which only one can return. Oh, and they’re getting two episodes of television out of it. Yup, that’s right: Next week we’re stuck with two evenings of this show.

Clinton Yates, of ESPN’s The Undefeated, said it best:

yeah, two night special with this particular relationship? Incredibly slimy

— Clinton Yates (@clintonyates) June 20, 2017

ENDING THIS RECAP ON “UGH” FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO WEEKS

In light of The Bachelor in Paradise allegations, I’ve been reading a lot of first-person accounts from producers on the franchise. They’ve all basically said that morals come second, behind explosive filmed moments, as the TV show UnREAL made so clear.

I can’t help thinking of all of that while watching the microaggressions and coded, racist language that Lee spews everywhere. These people are in a mansion they can’t leave with 24/7 surveillance — it becomes a cage. They have no cell phones or any connection to the outside world. Their environment revolves around killing time and withstanding excruciating boredom. It’s punctuated with bursts of intensity when they’re with Rachel, followed by hours of emptiness to obsess over what they just said and did, as well as what everyone else just said and did.

Producers use this pent up energy and brain spirals to build beds of tinder out of people’s emotions. Then they get contestants to rub each other the wrong way until the whole thing goes up in flames.

This is what reality shows are made from, and it’s slimy in any context. But it can be slimy in a funny way when the lighter fluid is, say, the fact that a contestant eats too much cheese, as it was during Nick’s season. It’s an entirely different ballgame to make blazing drama from racism. It’s not drama. It’s just awful; and the fact that they could’ve avoided this by not putting Lee (whose alleged racist tweets recently surfaced, meaning that the producers either didn’t check his private account, as they claim, or willfully ignored it) on the show, makes it far worse. This is not some way to further a conversation about race in America; it’s exploitative and painful.

I can’t remember what it feels like to watch this show and be amused. I forget that we’re supposed to be watching a show about dating, or something like dating. Instead, it’s become a sinister fun-house that traps viewers and contestants for two hours on a Monday night that we can never get back. And I, for one, would like to get out.

[airadam]

Episode 94 : The Illest

"...yo' ass lie like the president!"

- Ice Cube

This month marks twenty years since the death of Biggie Smalls - and yet it somehow doesn't feel like that long ago. The B.I.G man's influence still looms large over the culture and this show is no exception. Several Biggie tracks and others inspired by him dot the episode, alongside choices from the discographies of the late Phife and Nate Dogg. Besides those, a few classics and some fairly modern gems you may have missed!

Catch me DJing at Eastern Bloc Records on April 22nd for Record Store Day and then stay out for their big party in the evening! Just over a week later, check DJ Andy Smith at Whiskey Jar for a Sunday night session :)

Twitter : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Ice Cube ft. Chris Rock : You Ain't Gotta Lie (Ta Kick It)

The way things are right now, I should do a whole mixtape strictly on the subject of lying! Chris Rock was an inspired choice to guest on this track from "War & Peace Vol.2 (The Peace Disc)" for the adlibs, while Cube just goes in with venom on an assortment of unnamed dishonest people. Production comes from Chucky Thompson of The Hitmen, and it does have a little of that Bad Boy flavour - you could imagine someone like The Lox on this beat back in the day.

Da Beatminerz : Bentleys & Bitches (Instrumental)

Tough beat right here from instrumental version the "Brace 4 Impak" LP (can't believe it's 16 years old this year!) - definitely an album to have in the collection if the ruggedness is what you seek. 

ODB : Hippa To Da Hoppa

Two short verses of battle rhymes in Dirty's own truly inimitable style :) I don't play much ODB here somehow, but he was an MC unlike any other. This isn't one of the most often heard tracks from "Return To The 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version", but it popped into my head as one to bring out this month. The beat was one that RZA had in his archives and that Dirty had mentally bookmarked for himself when the time was right. 

Lords Of The Underground : Chief Rocka

I was well pleased to be able to cut this in and have it rhyme with the hook of the preceding track! A classic Hip-Hop single out of Newark, New Jersey, with K-Def on production. This is the video version, taken from the 12" single, with the original of course being available on the "Here Come The Lords" LP. This tune is quality all the way through, but we don't quite make it to the end of the third verse, because it made sense to loop up a notable Mr.Funkee line and then come in with...

The Notorious B.I.G. : Machine Gun Funk

...a track which happens to use it as a hook! The 1-2-3 combo on "Ready To Die" of "Things Done Changed", "Gimme The Loot", and "Machine Gun Funk" is phenomenal, but this is still an underrated cut in my opinion. Easy Mo Bee contributed an absolutely cracking beat, and Biggie's rhymes are enough for his son to rate this as maybe his favourite from the catalogue. Pure fire.

Mary J. Blige ft. The Notorious B.I.G. : Real Love (Remix)

If you weren't around at the time, it's hard to communicate how revolutionary this was. Hip-Hop and R&B were very separate things back then, and it was people like the Harlem DJ Ron G with his innovative and influential blend tapes who showed the possibilities of combining the two. When Puff Daddy (now P.Diddy) went to Uptown Records, he masterminded producing that kind of combination to the studio, and the "What's The 411? (Remix)" album is one of the most well-known examples. Ron G is actually on the intro to this track (just before the part I start playing from), but Puffy and Daddy-O (of Stetsasonic) are credited with the Hip-Hop-heavy production, blending several classic samples together to give Mary a fitting backing - which also works brilliantly for Biggie, when he comes in.

[Buckwild] Sadat X : The Lump Lump (Instrumental)

Classic boom-bap from 1996, Buckwild's bumping instrumental for the Sadat X track discussing... adventures about town. This was a quality single from the "Wild Cowboys" LP - remember when a tune like this could be a club banger?

Curren$y ft. Nate Dogg & Nijay Sincere : Let's Get It Crackin'

This has one of those hooks that just sticks in your head - Nate Dogg can do that to you. Just know that you cannot sing like him :) Anyway, this is kind of an interesting one; you may be familiar with Curren$y's recent career, the "lifestyle rap" and the sonic flavours that come with it, but this 2010 single sounds more like a move for the clubs and the radio - not necessarily a bad thing at all. He's firmly midtempo here over the DJ Taylormade beat with Nate supplying a hook that may not be catchy, but one that works for sure.

A Tribe Called Quest : The Donald

RIP Phife Dawg...aka Don Juice, apparently! Dancehall-accented tune with some nice turntable work (courtesy of DJ Scratch) for the sureshot combination of Tribe and Busta Rhymes on this closer from "We got it from Here...Thank You 4 Your Service", the final ATCQ LP. One of the only things I've heard in months that involves the name "Donald" and doesn't make me want to be sick!

Lexxus : Stress

I'm kind of mad I had to buy the "Mr.Lex" album a second time (on CD) because so many tracks aren't on the vinyl. Still, big tune here with Bobby Konders on the digital production! Lexxus only has two albums, but his singles discography is deep if you like what you hear.

Large Pro : Off Yo Azz On Yo Feet

The live guy with glasses just keeps on going. His latest LP, 2015's "Re:Living" was a concise eleven tracks, with this being one that just stuck in my head. Self-produced, of course, with the snare smacking away relentlessly in the mix. Lyrically - I guess it's motivational music, after a fashion? The hook certainly leaves no doubt about the message :)

The Alchemist : The Thirst

Thinking about it recently, I realised that in this post-anthem world with an explosion of music availability, Alchemist has quietly worked his way into the pantheon of greatest all-time producers. A nice dark beat from the first "Rapper's Best Friend" beat compilation. 

Mega Ran : 10 Gamer Commandments

Random aka Mega Ran is best known for his skill at blending of video game culture and Hip-Hop, and he gives just a piece of it on this cut from his "Notorious R.A.N - Ready To Live" tribute album. Twenty years after the passing of Biggie, Mega Ran reworks some of his tracks in tribute, and this bonus track is of course his flip of "Ten Crack Commandments"; a step-by-step booklet on how to conduct yourself in the gaming world ;)

Kaytranada ft. Craig David : Got It Good

A year ago we heard a Ras Kass track based on this instrumental, but I thought it was worth giving you the original! Coming strong for the crown of best producer to come out of Haiti, the Canadian-raised Kaytranada made some serious noise among those who know last year with the "99.9%" album, and this was a standout cut for me. The highly underrated Craig David supplies a smooth vocal performance at the high end while the beat bumps along at the bottom - great blend.

Omniscence : Golden

North Carolina coming through! The likes of Bandcamp is a godsend for allowing independent releases to be easily obtainable by the fans, and after putting out stuff like the previously-unreleased "The Raw Factor" digitally, Omniscence then moved on to bringing new material onto the platform. This piece from "The God Hour" has some bump but the gentle keyboard work is a fitting backing to Omni's two contemplative verses.

Geto Boys : Leanin' On You

A group often missed when we discuss Hip-Hop legends, Houston's Geto Boys went through lineup changes early in their life, then settled for a while before changing again, and finally coming back together with what most consider the canonical MC lineup - Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill. Here, we take a reflective track from their seventh LP, "The Foundation", with each MC taking a turn to describe a missed person or a struggle in their own lives. The production comes from someone you may not associate with this style, and also may not have thought about in a while - Mr.Mixx of 2 Live Crew, a pioneer of the Miami Bass sound. This certainly has some heft in the mix but rather than the accelerated beats that he made his name with, this sample re-work is slow and somewhat solemn, perfectly matching the lyrics. 

Oddisee : Brixton

A bit of an old one (2010) from Oddisee's "Traveling Man" instrumental album; I don't know if he made this beat in Brixton or just took inspiration from there, but it's quality as usual. I'll likely play you something from his new album "The Iceberg" in the coming months.

Willie Evans Jr. : Nerd English

Finally, we come all the way back to the theme from the episode opener! A very amusing but sincere track about keeping it all the way real, staying in your lane...however you want to put it :) It reminds us that trying to be something we're not is stressful, hard work, potentially trouble, and just generally undignified. A solid tune from the "Introducin'" LP that always makes me smile.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!