#and serena gets one last shot at getting better and getting out as she tries to fix everything in a way that respects her sense of justice

[vanderwoodlings]

Honestly maybe all season finales should’ve involved the gang scheming to take down a corrupt member of their social circle with increasing Shenanigan level until we just mutated into Leverage

[terrainofheartfelt]

Dair + 9

Dair + 9…in public.

I wrote this as a sequel to this flash fiction I wrote for the last time I did a tumblr prompts meme. what can I say, I was inspired. and I could have written a wayyyyyy better breakup arc than the show. there I said it.

it got long (typical) so continue reading the whole bit under the cut <3

The party is already in full swing by the time Dan and his group get there. The subway would have been faster, but someone insisted that the lowest she would stoop to get to Bushwick was a cab. 

“Why did we agree to this again?” Dan asks out of the side of his mouth. 

“Not like she gave us much of a choice,” Vanessa mutters back. “Maybe we can get her to do something really low brow, like drink PBR or sing karaoke.”

Dan snorts, watching as the third member of their reluctant trio stomps into the crowd, clad in the tunic and pleather leggings Vanessa loaned her. 

A lot has happened since Dorota and Vanya’s wedding: Serena skipped town and came back with her dad, Eric hasn’t spoken to Serena since she came back with her dad (or their dad, but only in the biological sense). Vanessa got into Tisch, Dan didn’t. They evaluated their relationship at the three-month mark and decided that it just wasn’t working.

And, strangest of all, in the wake of her breakup—and Dan decking her ex across the face in public—Blair has seemingly attached herself to Dan and Vanessa and NYU as a whole, like she’s using the whole of Greenwich Village as a shield against the reach of Chuck Bass. 

“Hey, by the way,” Vanessa adds under her breath, “Willa is probably gonna make a move on you tonight.”

Dan blinks slowly, unsure how to answer. Breaking up was the right choice, he knows that. He spent most of his time as Vanessa’s boyfriend missing his best friend, Vanessa. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel weird about how she’s been pushing him into the path of other girls ever since. Like he’s a loose end she needs to square away before she starts at Tisch. 

“I’ll try to stick to a minimum six feet distance then.”

“Better make it ten,” Vanessa advises as they approach the bar, “she seemed pretty determined.”

Dan inwardly cringes, then orders two shots of tequila. Tequila and Vanessa have been somewhat of a dangerous combination for him these past six months, but if he’s going to endure the awkward ordeal this party is turning out to be, he cannot be sober for it. 

Vanessa’s pulled into a conversation with other Tisch people soon after, and Dan lets her go and tries not to feel too bitter about it. 

He’d really wanted it, but honestly, he can’t really explain why. He guesses that if he had to, then he’d have to admit it was because if he could break into the prestige of the Tisch name, it would make losing out on Yale sting a little less. Which is just fucking embarrassing—that was a year ago. What is it with Dan’s inability to move on anyway?

“Humphrey,” Waldorf greets him with a cursory nod, “holding the wall up all by yourself?”

He tips his beer bottle towards her. “Tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.”

She gives him a withering look. Fair, not his best material. 

“This has been a bust so far,” Waldorf declares, unprompted, slumping against the wall next to him. “The so-called art here is terrible, and there isn’t a single guy in this room I would even think about kissing.”

At a loss for how to reply, Dan just asks, “What?”

Waldorf heaves out a sigh. “To get around Chuck’s fatwa? That was the whole point of this exercise, Humphrey!”

He shakes his head, like Waldorf’s obstinance is something that’s possible to shake off. “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

“Whatever,” she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “The point is, no matter what I do, or where I go, he’s just –” she gestures wildly, “there.”

Dan follows the direction of her wave, and nearly spits out his drink when he sees Chuck Bass lurking in the corner. There could only be one reason for Chuck to come to Bushwick, and it’s certainly not to see Willa Weinstein’s performance art on corporate coffee chains.

“That’s…” he trails off, searching for an apt descriptor, “fucked up.”

Waldorf snorts at his eloquence, hands tightening around her elbows. “Yeah. It just – makes it impossible to move on. Him being around all the time.”

Dan looks at her carefully, holding herself in that defeated-yet-determined way she had been at Dorota and Vanya’s game night, and feels that same impulse to reach out, to try and make it better somehow, even though he hasn’t a fucking clue where to start. 

“It’s hard having an ex that’s always around,” he offers, eyes finding Vanessa in the crowd, laughing with the theatrical writing majors they met at the cabaret. “It’s not even that you want them back, you just…could do without your history popping out around any corner.” 

Blair looks at him curiously, her hard protective gaze softening into something more contemplative. Dan gets a sudden flash of deja vu, to a different year, a different heartbreak, a different warehouse wall. 

“For what it’s worth, Blair, I’m sorry.”

Her eyes cast down at the floor, at her boots that are disproportionately expensive to the rest of her outfit. She hasn’t said any more about why she and Chuck broke up, but Dan’s seen enough to know that it must have been really bad. 

“And – you know –” he stammers, “if there’s anything I can do –”

Blair’s eyes shoot back up, questioning. “Kiss me.”

“What?”

“Yes. Yes that would do it,” she continues, as if that explains anything. “Come on, Humphrey, hop to.”

“I…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to write a sonnet or whatever it is you do. This is just a favor.”

He arches an eyebrow. “A favor would imply that we’re friends. Are we?”

She blinks at him, nonplussed. “Does it matter?”

He shrugs. He doesn’t really care about the answer, it’s just that it’s easier to debate Blair on semantics. It’s a dynamic that makes sense to him. 

“Fine,” Blair huffs, “if it helps you sleep at night, then yes.” She pushes away from the wall, turning to face him. “So?”

Dan blinks. “Like – now?”

“That would be the idea, yes.”

“Okay,” Dan lets out a breath, and turns to face her, eyes dropping to her lips. She is pretty—it’s not like he’s never noticed—and there’s something about seeing her outside her typical Edith Head dress code that heightens it, or shines a light on her from a different angle. Or maybe he’s just drunk. 

He’s apparently stalled too long, because Blair mutters. “Oh, for crying out loud, Humphrey,” and yanks him in by the collar. 

A shock runs through him, then another, then another. First from: oh, she’s kissing him now, then from: oh, he’s kissing Blair Waldorf, then finally: this is actually a really good kiss. 

He opens his mouth on instinct, her lips moving with his. She tastes like cheap booze and expensive lip gloss, like every contradiction and complexity that makes his life interesting, that’s ever made him want to pick up a pen or sit at a keyboard. 

They break away to breathe at the same time, inhaling in tandem. It’s hard to tell in this lighting, but Dan’s sure Blair’s face is ruddier than when he was last looking at her. 

“Thank you,” she says bluntly, stunned.

“You’re welcome,” Dan automatically replies, blinking dumbly as Blair turns tail and disappears into the party. 

He’s going to need another drink. 

[all-that-is-gold-is-now-gone]

Forgive My Trespasses

Mmm Serena/Lyn gets robbed and shot in the strip mall. Idk its just been in my head so I wrote part of it out Warning: blood, violence, all the things.

Laurel had gotten to the hotel late in the night. She and Alicia had gotten a call for help while the two of them were out on a run. Lyn and Troy and their group had run into the Clark they had long thought dead about two months ago, she had been out helping people in any way that she could. It was a cool summer day when Alicia had asked Lyn to assist her with a run, helping some people who had called out to her for help, and Lyn had agreed to help leaving little baby Tracy with her husband at the camp. It was supposed to be a quick trip but after the pair were done with their first stop another two calls came through the radio. Alicia said they should split up, she would take the first call and Lyn should head to the location of the second call which was an old strip-mall, the group called for medicine and aid for some children they had with them. Alicia promised she would meet Lyn at the mall when she was done with her drop. Before Lyn could think better of the plan Alicia took off in the MRAP and Laurel took the truck she was driving and headed off towards the mall. It was a ways away, so by the time she got there is was dark, and Alicia was nowhere to be found. Lyn really should have gone back, turned back and fled back to Troy. Her body screamed at her to go back, but she remembered the radio call, they called out for help for their children. Lyn knew if she ever needed someone to help Tracy she would want people to help and not turn away. So she took a deep breath and walked into the hotel with her medic bag of supplies slung over her shoulder, her machete at her waist, and her gun in her belt.

Although it was all a trap. Lyn knew that the moment she saw the group. There were no children, and the group was larger than was said. The doors she walked through were slammed shut behind her, and she knew deep down, she was screwed. First she tried to reason with them, keep them at bay and bide her time, maybe Alicia would show up. They took her bag, her machete, her gun and her walkie, the one thing she could use to get ahold of Troy. Of Russell, of anyone. She fought then, taking two of the people down with her, grabbing the walkie from one of their grips and quickly pressing the button.

"Troy!" She cried out painfully, in a panic, "Troy-help..." She took in a ragged breath, "I'm in the Strip Mall off of Jackson St. Help, I-" Before she could finish the call, or even hear Troy's reply she was sent to the ground with a rough hit and then kicked in the side repeatedly. The group beat her then. The last thing Laurel did was beg, pushing herself to stand up against the wall she took in a ragged breath and looked at the leader of the group and begged. Begged to be let go, to return to her home, to her husband and their infant child.

"Please...please..." Laurel said softly, begged. The wife of Troy Otto, the daughter of a man that only knew how to use his fists, the woman that had punched Jeremiah Otto without fear, was begging. Tears brimming in her eyes as for once, she actually felt scared, "please I have a daughter." The words left her lips in a soft cry, "she's only two." Laurel shook her head and sucked in a sharp breath, "she won't even remember me if I die now."

But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Then the leader raised his gun and shot two bullets into her torso. Laurel fell back with a painful cry, blood pooling around. Laurel laid on the ground, watching as she cried as the group left through the doors and took the truck she had brought and drove away.

[crystalelemental]

If I had to pick which characte r was the most consistently good trainer for sync pairs, I'd probably say it's Serena. Girl never misses. I mean aside from Hypnosis.

Vs. Hala I love using P!Serena, but she's really demanding of specific buffs. SC Jasmine provides them beautifully, while P!Dawn supplies much-needed debuffs. Usually what happens is Serena nukes side for a nice denial, then Jasmine syncs while Serena goes ham on DPS on center. Her last Moonblast one-shot the side for like 11k. She's good.

Vs. Olivia So! I wrote that retrospective about the 2.5 anniversary units, and mentioned SS Serena really benefits from the other Dragon Protagon boys. But I have actually never used this comp before! So I decided this was a good opportunity, and friends? I am here to say this core fucks shit up. Good god with that damage. Serena hit the sides for like 20k under Zone and with full debuffs, then hit center with a Core Enforcer that hit, off-type, for like 14k. I don't think they were even fully debufffed, it was like -4. This core is ridiculous. We didn't even get to SS Brendan's double sync buff. Off-type. What the hell?

Vs. Acerola Okay. The most challenging decision was "How do I utilize Lodge Serena?" She's not exactly a great sync nuker, all things considered. There's been worse, but there's definitely been better, and easier to set up. In retrospect, I should have tried SS Hau for the Cakewalk/Inertia combo on sync 1, but I wasn't confident and didn't feel like trying. So, I opted for something stupider. Helping set up Cakewalk. This core was not exactly the best solution, but it did work. Because of stall-like shenanigans on offensive parameters. SC Lillie did keep the team alive here, and the double flinch potential was good for disruption. Satisfied Snarl on Clemont, combined with Serena's debuffs, did make them pretty tanky. We actually took first sync with only like 30% damage. The trouble was the Surf spam. See, Clemont is not great on damage, and relies on sync, which definitely needed two shots to take down Acerola. Which means you're taking a lot. But. Flinch disruption, combined with Serena's evasion boosting via Slippery on trainer move, and Clemont's healing through parabolic charge, actually salvaged it nicely. It's a stupid clear, but it worked.

Vs. Kahili And after that nonsense I was in no mood. Kris, kill this clown. Champion Serena hits like a goddamned truck, there are no issues with her performance. I brought in Eevee Lyra, since I don't recall ever actually running this core with Kris before. It's good. It's really good. The speed boosting is outrageously effective, and the special defense debuffing divine.

Vs. Kukui If there's one thing I've learned about base Serena, it's that Overheat DPS is honestly better than her sync. As a result, SS Dawn easily takes first sync for the bonus power, and Serena just obliterates left for a denial. Sure Hit on entry means an immediate denial of action, and SS Dawn with All Ramped Up can perfectly cap Serena's offensive needs. As always, Blaine is an ideal partner thanks to Fire Spin and Sun support. The only hiccup is that Kukui has +1 evasion, which is bad for Hypnosis. Thankfully, Go Viral means Serena can target the side, and the effect will spread regardless, bypassing that check entirely and stalling out a turn for DPS to finish its job after Blaine's sync sets Sun again. I love it, that's so stupid. There's a bit of gauge issue, I won't like, but they handled things well enough that I didn't notice much.

Final Thoughts Serena's really consistent. All of her alts feel really, really good. Which is staggering, because I feel like damage dealers can often fall off, but Serena's entirely offense and she keeps up. Her base form is still a very respectable damage dealer. The only one even slightly off is her Lodge form, which I don't think is even strictly bad. It's kinda nuts how good Serena is.

[colourful-void]

Supporting Satoshi - an examination and comparison of JN36 and XY121

Part One: Snowballs do not cure depression but it was worth a shot

You know that episode of Pokemon where a gym leader beats Satoshi in a battle so hard that one of his pokemon gets mildly hurt (though there's no long term effects) and because of it he becomes depressed, closing himself off from his friends before someone comes along to pull him out of that mental state, and also severe weather phenomena is involved and a reflection of a persons mental state? Or rather, the two episodes?

So when I was watching Journeys, I noticed an episode that had a similar-- but distinctly different-- plot to an xy episode I had seen before. And what was particularly interesting was that while I couldn't stand the xy episode, the journeys episode was one of my favourites. I won't drag this out for you guys, I love the journeys episode and re watch it a LOT and the xy episode sort of just leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. and don't go claiming its solely ship bias, because i saw the xy episode first and disliked it then.

This will analyze both of these episodes, comparing them against each other. Specifically within the context of how Goh and Serena both help Satoshi through a similar situation There will be some discussion of AmourShipping and Satogou in this analysis. I'm going to be a bit negative regarding Serena's actions and the potential "romantic" weight of them here, but I want to be clear that I Do Not dislike Serena as a character. Personally, I wish the writers had given her more room to grow outside of her romantic interests, but I do not hate Serena as a character. I do, however, disagree with her actions in this episode. Please don't take this out of context and dont be ship fighting in the comments, it's boring. This is a comparison of These Two Episodes, not of Goh and Serena and their respective ships as a whole.

This part mainly focuses on the xy episode and the second will focus mainly on the journeys. It's only divided into parts because of the tumblr post limit.

(If you like the xy episode or hate the journeys episode, awesome! having your own opinions is great. these are mine though, so i hope you'll listen to them)

With that out of the way, let's start. And I'm going to use mostly japanese names here because I'm taking screencaps from the subbed japanese copies.

The set up for each of these episodes is eerily similar as pointed out in the gag at the start.

Xy has a bit more set up before the episode in question though, with the initial loss and retreat into the forest by Satoshi taking place the episode before. The episode opens up proper with Satoshi taking time to breathe to himself, alone in the forest.

Emphasis is placed on him taking a deep breath, aided by the visuals showing them (thanks cold air) and the silence of the rest of the soundscape, with the only other sounds being the wind and some bird pokemon, plus some falling snow.

Journeys Satoshi starts off in a better mental state than Xy, with the episode starting off with him jogging along with his pokemon.

However, we can still see that he's been affected by the last battle he lost, against Saitou, as he's putting a lot of effort into training and doing better.

Which, doesn't go well for him, as he loses his next two battles as well, and drops in the World Championship ranking as a result

And he's pretty upset about it too. Same thing as over in xy. In both cases, a respective friend/love interest notes that Satoshi is upset and expresses concern.

He's got support from his friends in both situations! But that support comes across in very different ways.

But, to understand how that support manages to affect Satoshi, we need to understand the problem at play.

Now, I wanna make something clear here. Satoshi's problem is not that he is a sore loser. I'm not arguing that's not a contributing factor, or that he's not upset about the loss (particularly in the world championships), He's still bitter about the lost part, but the root of the problem is not losing, he's been shown to be fine with losing (if not a bit more motivated to win now) in prior episodes.

Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are getting hurt. Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are getting hurt, because they're losing battles. Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are losing battles because he's not training them well enough. And to clarify, that's not my viewpoint, it's his. Satoshi's problem is that he's not good enough for himself, and he feels that that's something he has to fix on his own.

So how do we help him?

Our weather event in question is introduced in separate points in the episodes, but I'll cover them both now.

In xy, it's this snowstorm, which conveniently becomes a problem directly after Serena returns to the Pokemon Centre.

In journeys, it's a sandstorm! That's in near direct contrast to a snowstorm! Incredible.

Heading back to xy Satoshi, things aren't going great in the forest. Luckily, Serena's run off to find him.

I think it's of note here that Serena runs off with the best intentions, she wants to help Satoshi, plain and simple. It just sort of goes wrong along the way.

It's worth noting that Xy Satoshi tries to bring himself out of being sad by the tried and true method of "stop being sad"

Despite telling himself this, he doesn't get anywhere. Which makes sense, because it's not getting the the root of the problem. It's not even addressing it at all. He's just trying to 'be better', which isn't even a battle strategy. However, it is something I can see him saying, so this isn't a critique of Satoshi's thought process, but me pointing out that this isn't really effective. Which is supported by the narrative, because again, he doesn't get anywhere, he doesn't even move.

I can't show it in screencaps but the lights in Satoshi's eyes are shaking here, something that they consistently do throughout the series when he's feeling a particularly strong emotion. Keep that in mind. It couples well with another trait of his, and that's his hat!

And by that I mean how he hides his eyes with the brim of it when upset, something he does exactly as Serena shows up and calls out to him. Now, he's not upset that Serena is here. He's upset about the pokemon stuff still. He's trying to hide the fact that he's upset from Serena.

Serena starts off with her speech well, trying to appeal to Satoshi to let her in and talk things out. And maybe it's because he wasn't ready for it yet, or because of the way she phrases it (a lot of 'i' and 'me' language which can be helpful but can also come across as though she's making it about her. not her intent i don't think, but a possible interpretation.), it's not her fault for how Satoshi reacts regardless.

But how Satoshi reacts is not good.

Now it's really interesting to note that before this, Serena was standing while Satoshi was sitting, putting her above him in terms of active power, when it comes to how the shot is presented, but when Satoshi stands up, the camera tilts with the movement so that they're on equal level. Neat!

And Serena yells in return, scolding Satoshi for not talking about it. Not the best move, since pushing someone to talk about something that's upsetting them isn't really productive, but she's trying here and she's frustrated.

Satoshi continues to withdraw and self isolate, claiming it is his problem and that he wants to be left be. Now, this is the mindset of a clearly upset person and isolation may not be the best option, but he did make the explicit request to be left alone here.

He's clearly upset as he turns away from Serena's eye and slumps over a little.

And then Serena throws a snowball at him.

Angry as he is, you can see Satoshi's expression change when he sees Serena's reaction.

Serena tells Satoshi that she's not like the Satoshi she knows, who is always full of energy and positive and a leader, and a bunch of other positive traits. The problem here, is that Serena's looking at an idealized version of Satoshi. And while the intent here was probably meant to be something more like "you have so many wonderful traits about you I know you can do this", coupled with the snowballs and the phrasing, it seems as though Serena is scolding Satoshi for being sad.

Or rather, being angry with him for not living up to her idealized version of him, and not wanting him to express any negitave emotions.

Which is sort of a really bad mindset.

The snowballs continue, never once does Satoshi fight back. In fact, he stops arguing entirely after the first one. Serena knocks him off his feet and tells him he's not being himself, before running off. (In the english dub, Serena claims that Satoshi isn't being "the real satoshi" and then demands that the real Satoshi be "given back", so it could be worse)

Satoshi decides to literally run his problems away, because it will help him reach some kind of conclusion, and immediately trips and falls down a large hill. No, I'm not making that up. Something like this just isn't like him. He's just gotta stop being sad!

Now personally, I really disagree with the idea that "being upset" isn't "like a person". That's because based off of my own experiences, I know it can be really damaging to hold the mindset that any negative emotions you feel aren't a part of you and that you shouldn't be upset because you're usually a positive and happy person. Not the case with every person, but I personally really have a problem with shows telling children that they just shouldn't be upset instead of processing their emotions in a meaningful way. (The journeys episode doesn't do an outstanding job of it either, but this is a bit of a tangent anyway. A show that does do this right is "OK KO! Let's be Heroes" which actually deals with this problem in greater depth and does a fantastic job of it.)

But the snowball scene ends here. Now I'll get back to Journeys in a moment, but since Serena has finished her part of the comparison for the most part, I'm going to summarize a bit more of the xy episode.

Satoshi decides to literally run his problems away, because it will help him reach some kind of conclusion, and immediately trips and falls down a large hill. No, I'm not making that up.

The snowstorm kicks in, Serena get back annoyed, then similarly groans and yells, and the whole xy gang + pokemon go running off in search of Satoshi. Pikachu appears the most concerned.

Now Serena tells the others she lost her cool and said something horrible to Satoshi, but explains its because Satoshi is someone she admires. Cool motive, I get it, still kinda bad.

and in the end, it's not Serena's words that get he message across to Satoshi. The solution to this problem was Satoshi finding a way to reaffirm his abilities and instinct.

In the xy episode, he helps some pokemon out of the tree, and when his very cool frog friend shows up, they're able to work together with their bond to save this one from falling off a cliff.

Here's the point. Satoshi learns by doing, by actions. He needs to see first hand that there are ways of getting past his problems, and that it's worth having the courage to keep going. The lesson is about valuing pokemon as equals and partners, and specifically that trying to be better as the trainer alone isn't going to help.

This is essentially where this plot line ends, team rocket is there for a bit as well but as much as i love them they're not relevant here, and some fun stuff with the league, love it not important right now its like 3am and I'm not sleeping until this is finished so we gotta keep things moving.

This was no doubt Serena's intent to get a similar point, but she goes about it the wrong way. She tries to convey this with words, as conversation and motivational words have helped her in the past (Elle's words of praise stick with her, Satoshi's words from when they were kids, etc). It's a good idea, but their different ways of learning and growing from a similar situation are incompatible, and that's why things don't work out in Serena's favour. There's also still the problem of "pulling yourself together" not being helpful in this case.

There's also a very similar line in this scene to the one at the end of the journeys episode, as Satoshi says to his frog that they should start over from scratch. It's essentially the same phrase with different wording. It's great. The Storm ends as he realizes this as well! Wonderful in terms of pathetic fallacy.

The gang all reunites, its nice. Satoshi thanks Serena for what she said after apologizing to everyone, which contradicts what he said earlier but I've already established that I dislike this message here so I won't go over it too much. I guess he's right in a literal sense in that in response to her words he went and ran until he tripped off a cliff but the emotional growth here was because of his own actions (and the frogs), not Serena's. Sorry Serena, you'll get em next time.

This is essentially where this plot line ends, team rocket is there for a bit as well but as much as i love them they're not relevant here, and some fun stuff with the league, love it not important right now its like 3am as I write this so we gotta keep things moving.

So. What about Goh?

Well...

(Part Two here on account of image limit!!)

[phoenixduelist]

College verse

Rozália had a peaceful childhood. Loved by both of her parents, her talents encouraged, their love not suffocating. Despite her appearance, she was rarely trouble, or better said the source of the trouble. Bold and always getting in fights for the weaker earned quite a reputation but her heart was warm, kind. She was an outgoing spirit, readily showing off the newest kickbox or taekwondo moves she'd learned or improvised something on electric guitar to entertain. Her joy was broken when her mother revealed she had breast cancer.

Despite the treatments, her state was rapidly worsening; the sight of her beloved mother turning into a husk of herself hardened and broke her spirit. She no longer found enjoyment in anything, just in her achievements, so she pursued both the physical and mental challenges. As a result she graduated from highschool as one of the best of her year, having a black belt in both kickbox and taekwondo.

She thought she will probably end up in the Honvédség like her father with all of her pent up sorrow, but her mother had a different idea. Before her death, without Rozália's knowledge, she had sent applications to the best universities, colleges in hope of giving her daughter a chance in life she had given up on. She was accepted, the letter arriving the day after Serena passed away.

Her father not only convinced her to go but also traveled with her to America. He quickly found a job in the police department due to his military past and Rozália took on a double major: English language and History. Just when life supposed to settle, her father took part in a case stretching way past him and the members of the mafia gunned down their door at night. He was almost immediately killed, for punching one of the executioners her right hand was shot through, with an another two bullets following into her chest.

By miracle Rozália survived and her physical condition was the same as before after years of physiotherapy. And there she stood, in a foreign country as an orphan, with lost scholarship due to the time she spent in hospital. All she had was her mom's last unspoken wish to live a better life than the paths grief guided to.

She had no intention of being trapped in debt, so she made use of her talent: she became an illegal cage fighter, soon gaining favors, better pay and the Devil alias; which she honored with a full back tattoo:

However one job didn't cover all of her expenses, so she decided to use her acrobatic abilities in a strip club, as a pole dancer. Her upper body was always clothed to conceal the tattoo along with a mask to protect her identity. Due to her always wearing leather or latex, never allowing to be touched by clients and the tattoo peeking out from the bodysuits,

her alias in that world became Burning Rose, a name that hinted at her incredible strength for the acrobatic pole tricks, nor the passion in her dance.

Rozália is often late to her classes, her accent is strong and she won't hesitate to harshly correct someone guessing she's Eastern European. Full of mysteries and secretly longing for to play the guitar once again, she balances her triple life extremely well, save it for a few times when she couldn't hold her opinion at the supposed notes of the professors.

She could pass as Kate Beckinsale's stunt double in Underworld with her clothes and hairstyle, goddess with a switchblade. A rare glimpse of her light which is clouded by the raging storm within shines through at the playful flirting and almost Victorian era gestures.

Since leaving the hospital, Rozália tried and succeeded in making her life too busy to mourn, to remember; the scar on her palm however still manages to haunt her. And she haven't dared to touch a guitar since, despite the raw yearning to hear creation flowing from her fingertips.

[amanda-glassen]

Jerena honeymoon? 😏

I know you wanted smut but this is pure fluff and I apologize hahaha. Also this was supposed to be a drabble but I think it's 3000 words. Sorryyyyy.

Serena hated lingerie. She hated the complicated straps and clasps and the way the material felt against her skin. Most importantly, she hated the way she looked in it. She felt it didn’t flatter her the way it did the curvier, well-endowed women in movies and on TV. It made her feel too skinny and like she was lacking, but it was the first night of their honeymoon and Serena wanted to wear something special for her new wife. She put on a pair of cheeky white panties with a lace ruffle trim that she special-ordered with ‘Mrs. Castillo’ printed on the front in baby blue lettering. She touched up her hair and makeup, even if she knew Jamie wouldn’t mind that a few strands of hair were out of place or that her mascara was slightly smudged, but the more she fussed over her makeup, the more she realized she was stalling.

“Babe, are you okay?” She heard Jamie ask from their bed.

“I’m fine,” Serena responded although she was feeling anything but fine. “I’ll be right out.” She’s my wife and she loves me. Everything is going to be okay. This is nothing we haven’t done dozens of times before. But it was their first time as a married couple and Serena felt she had to make everything perfect for Jamie. Or maybe I should just be myself.

It was Halloween night and Serena had packed her pair of Freddy Krueger gloves that she usually wore when she took Olivia trick-or-treating. She opened the bathroom door and stuck her hand out so she could tap on the doorframe with the fake blades on her glove.

“Serena Benson!” Jamie shouted. “You scared the hell out of me. How is it that we’ve only been married 30 hours and I already want a divorce?”

Serena tapped the doorframe one more time before peeking her head out. “I’m sorry, but Serena Benson doesn’t exist anymore. You must be mistaken.”

“Babe, come here,” Jamie urged. “I wanna lie down with my wife.” Lie down. She thinks she’s slick.

Serena stood next to their bed, her hands covering her chest. “I’m ready to...lie down.”

“I’ve never been this over you,” Jamie grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed, eliciting a squeal from Serena. “Babe, take those gloves off.”

“I was going to and then you pulled me on the bed.” Serena took off the gloves and tossed them aside.

When Jamie started to kiss her, Serena felt as if her mind was elsewhere and without realizing it, she had started to pull away. “Do you want to stop?” Jamie asked. “I know it’s our honeymoon, but I’m just as happy holding you or hanging out with you.”

Serena captured her lips in a kiss. “No, no, I want to. I just feel like my mind isn’t here. I’m thinking about Ollie. This is our favorite holiday. She’s twelve and it’s her last kid Halloween, you know? I take her trick-or-treating every year with Elliot and her other friends. I even took her last year before I went over to your house. Next Halloween, she’ll be a teenager, and I feel like I missed my last shot. I’m just glad Mr. and Mrs. Cabot let Alex stay with her in LA. My heart and my mind are both here with you and over there with her. For the past twelve years, I’ve just been a mom and now I’m a mom and a wife and I have to learn how to balance the two.”

“Serena, look at me,” Jamie cupped her face in her hands. “Being my wife doesn’t mean you ever have to take time away from being Ollie’s mom. The three of us are a family. We’re a new family, but we’re going to make it work. Like with any family, there’s going to be a lot of trial and error, but I promise to never make you feel as if you have to choose between me and Ollie. Why don’t we call her right now and see how her Halloween is going?”

Serena immediately grabbed her phone from on top of the nightstand. It rang only one time before she heard her overly excited daughter on the other end. “Hi, Mom! I miss you!”

“Hi, Olliegator. I miss you too. How’s the haul this year?”

“Not as good as Alex’s neighborhood, but Lexie and Kyle helped us salvage the night,” Olivia responded. “Your candy map is a bust, Mom. Half of the houses on there don’t know the spirit of Halloween.”

The candy map in question is a map Serena created of the houses in Beverly Hills that gave out the best candy, had the scariest haunted houses, and the best decorations. “Ollie, I made that map in 1998. It’s not really relevant anymore.”

“See, that’s what I thought at first,” Olivia responded. “But Alex and I were just too taken in by the retro ‘90s charm. So, Mom, tell me about this cabin in the woods. Don’t most people honeymoon in Hawaii or Cabo or the Bahamas?”

“Too ordinary,” Serena responded. She knew Olivia would think it was because she wanted to be out in the woods on Halloween, but the real reason Serena wanted a honeymoon in a cabin away from everyone was because she wanted an entire week of being shut-in with Jamie with nobody else around them. “I’ll give you the grand tour of the cabin and the lake tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I think that would have been ordinary, too,” she could hear her daughter smiling through the phone. “Just remember if you find a creepy cellar, don’t go in. Also, if you meet an old man at a store or gas station that looks abandoned, heed his warnings and listen to his tales of forgotten lore.”

“Of course, Olliegator,” Serena laughed. “Lexie told me she’s taking you and Alex on a Haunted Hollywood tour. Remember, after coming home from those places－”

“When in doubt, sage it out,” Olivia recited the advice she had heard countless times. “We’re gonna leave now. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, Ollie Koalie.”

Serena felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders when she hung up the phone. Her Ollie was having fun with her aunt and uncle and Alex. Olivia was going to be okay, just like she was going to be okay.

“Feel better?” Jamie asked. “Is our Ollie okay?”

“She’s okay,” Serena responded. “I think I am, too.”

Serena thought back to their first time last Halloween. It was raw and animalistic, the result of six months of pent-up sexual tension between the two of them. Jamie had her against the wall, on her back, on all fours, and on her knees. But none of that felt right for their first time as a married couple.

Her wife was ready for her as was evident by the bulge in her boxer brief harness that Serena was able to feel between her legs now that Jamie was on top of her. Jamie was playfully nibbling on her neck, putting her at ease. The deeper they got into their relationship, the more loving and even playful sex had become between the two of them. The passion was there, the attraction was there, but Serena felt as if what they did was no longer performative. They could be themselves and focus on each other instead of focusing on an image.

Jamie propped herself up on her elbows, which was one of Serena’s favorite positions for her to be in so she could feel more skin-to-skin contact and nearly the full weight of Jamie’s body on her. She looked down at Serena before leaning in to kiss her. “I love you so much,” she said in a tone that Serena found reassuring. “If you ever want me to stop anything I’m doing, just tell me.” But she didn’t have to tell her. Sometimes she didn’t have the nerve to tell her and Jamie could just see it in her eyes. Her wife could read her better than anyone.

Jamie slowly kissed her way down her body, stopping when she reached her white panties with ‘Mrs. Castillo’ printed on them. “Have I ever told you that my name looks good on you?”

“Several times,” Serena responded. “And it makes me roll my eyes every time you say it.”

Serena’s legs were spread and bent at the knee, giving Jamie access to kiss her on her inner thighs. “I guess I can’t say it anymore because it’s our name now and not just mine. I’m also sorry I didn’t notice these earlier, but when your wife comes out with Freddy Krueger gloves covering her breasts, your eyes just shift to that instead.” Serena felt Jamie tug at the waistband of her undies and slide them off. “As good as they look on you, you don’t need these right now.”

When Jamie flung them to the side, Serena was reminded of an incident that happened a few weeks after their first time. “Do you remember that time you flung my underwear and we couldn’t find it?”

“And my roommate found it the next morning?” Jamie added. “Yeah, how could I forget that?”

“But it was nothing even remotely sexy like I wore the first couple of times,” Serena laughed. “They were my cotton boybriefs with Rainbow Brite and Starlite on them. In my defense, I didn’t know I was getting laid that night. When you said, ‘Serena, come hang out,’ I thought we were actually going to hang out like you hang out with the guys.”

“That explains the hoodie and jeans you wore,” Jamie quipped. “I tried to be good, kind of like I’m trying right now, but my focus is on my favorite freckle of yours.”

Serena remembered the first time Jamie discovered her favorite freckle, one located near her clit that immediately became Jamie’s favorite spot to kiss like she was in that moment. The back and forth and casual banter had eased her nervousness and, although that banter had stopped and she was open and physically vulnerable, her nervousness was still gone and she was able to enjoy every movement of her wife’s tongue.

“I bought you something,” Jamie said, picking her head up and wiping Serena’s wetness from her mouth.

“Later,” Serena insisted, feeling slightly frustrated with her wife.

“Trust me, you’ll want this now.” Her gift was a vibrator that nestled comfortably over Serena’s clit. “Just a little helper because I can’t touch you where I want to when I’m on top.” Jamie used the remote to turn it on one of the lower settings.

Serena pulled Jamie close so she could kiss her, the feeling of the vibrator on her clit and the taste of herself on Jamie’s tongue sending her into overdrive. When Jamie turned up the intensity of the vibrator, she couldn’t help moaning into her wife’s mouth.

“Spread your legs, baby,” Jamie insisted. Serena felt her wife enter her first with one finger before slowly interesting another when she felt Serena had adjusted. She was tight, she knew she was. She always clenched her muscles when Jamie first entered her, but the more she pumped her fingers in and out of her, the more relaxed she became. She could hear how wet she was and she reveled in the feeling of having Jamie inside of her －the first, last, and only woman to be so intimate with her.

“You’re so wet, baby,” Jamie told her as she increased the speed that she was pumping her fingers in and out of her. Serena knew what Jamie wanted. She wanted her cock buried deep inside her. She knew Jamie wanted to fuck her hard and rough; she wanted to claim her.

“Jay,” Serena moaned. She couldn’t get the words out but Jamie knew exactly what she needed.

Serena grabbed the warming lubricant from on top of the nightstand and rubbed it on Jamie’s clit, the feeling of Jamie’s wetness making her throb even more. The warming lubricant had been Serena’s idea the first time they went toy shopping together. It was meant to heighten the sensation for Jamie and make her feel like she was actually inside Serena when the base of the toy rubbed against her clit.

Jamie positioned herself in between Serena’s legs, teasing her entrance as she turned up the intensity of the vibrator enough to make Serena moan even louder. “Jamie, fuck…”

“Is that an order?” Jamie asked and then realized Serena was less than pleased with her question. She entered Serena with just the tip and slowly went deeper, allowing Serena to adjust to being so filled.

“Come here. I want to look into your eyes.”

When she knew Serena was ready, Jamie began to thrust deep and hard into her. She had once wanted soft and sensual but Jamie had awakened that need inside of her. “You look so hot when you’re being fucked, Ser.” She knew the deeper Jamie went, the more she could feel the base press against her clit, so Serena wrapped her legs around her wife’s waist to make her go deeper. “You feel so good.”

With Jamie now propped up on her elbows, Serena ran her fingers down her back. Her caresses were gentle until she felt her wife fuck her harder and faster. Her nails dug into the skin on Jamie’s back and she felt herself tighten around her cock. “Jamie, keep fucking me, baby. Don’t stop.”

She felt the toy rubbing against her g spot, the vibrator pulsating on her clit, and the sound of her wife moaning in her ear. One more thrust as Jamie sucked on her neck proved to be her undoing with Jamie’s orgasm following just a few seconds behind her.

“I love you,” Serena told her as Jamie nuzzled into her neck. “I’ve never felt so connected to anyone before.”

“I’m literally still inside you,” Jamie teased. “We’re very connected right now.”

Serena playfully smacked her arm. “Now it’s my turn to be done with you.”

“You can’t be,” Jamie responded. “You’re stuck with me for the next 50 or 60 years and I couldn’t be happier about that. I love you, Serena Castillo. One thing, though…”

“Hmm?”

“With the way you were clawing at my back, I’m really grateful you took off your Freddy Krueger gloves.”

[mrschuckbass]

Opposite Sides of the Bridge Chapter 2: We Should Be Friends.

Disclaimer: I only own Elizabeth and a few minor characters that you will meet along the way.

~Well then, we should be friends~

(Miranda Lambert)

I bet you're wondering what Gossip Girl is doing up so early. Truth is, I never went to bed. Why waste precious time dreaming when waking life is so much better. Is there really anything better than a lazy Sunday? Reading the paper in bed, sipping coffee. Scrambling an egg or two. Yeah, right. We Upper East Siders don't do lazy. Breakfast is brunch. And it come with champagne, a dress code and a hundred of our closest friends…and enemies. Chuck's dad Bart Bass is hosting the annual brunch for his foundation. Everyone is invited. Well not everyone.

Elizabeth woke up to Dan raising the door between the rooms. Normally she was a morning person. In fact, if she hadn't spent the night in her sister's room she probably would have already been up and out by now. But that was not the case.

"You're up?" Dan said to Jenny who was sitting at her desk.

"Not sleepy…" Jenny began and looked at Elizabeth "Actually she's up too"

"Dude, it's a Sunday. It means sleeping in" she replied.

"Says the girl who is up at 6am every day to go for a run and then hits the ice rink before any of us are up." Jenny said. "Plus, he is just checking in on me"

"Now that you see she is good, can we go back to sleep? When I sleep in I wanna sleep in. And those who want to not get punched should follow that rule." Elizabeth said glaring at her brother.

"Lizzie is right. I'm okay" Jenny said. "I just feel really stupid. I mean how could, I have actually thought that Chuck Bass just wanted to talk to me?"

"Alright I am up" she replied sitting up.

"Because you trust people" Dan replied "Which is normally a good thing"

"Except on the Upper East Side" Elizabeth said.

"Pretty much"

"So how are you?" Jenny asked Dan as he was putting the door down.

"Me?" he asked and pushed it back up. "Why wouldn't I be, okay?"

"Oh" Elizabeth said "She means the uh…"

She and Jenny did the awkward wave.

"Was it really that bad?" he asked.

"Um yeah" Elizabeth replied "You could have walked her to the door or at least the elevator. That's the gentlemen thing to do."

"I tried but she shut the door in my face"

"After she sat there basically signaling you" Elizabeth said, "You really need to learn girl signals, or you will never make it in the dating world."

"Really?"

"That's why I told you to go" Jenny said.

"J and I were probably the most embarrassed" Elizabeth said "We were trying to be friends with her, and you ruined our chance"

"She probably thinks I hate her now. I've waited my entire adolescent life for a date with this girl. You know Serena Van der Woodsen. And I decided to close the evening with a wave"

"It was a nice wave"

"Lizzie?"

"Well, it was nice but for an already weird date, you could have done better. Like way better"

"You only get one shot with a girl like Serena, and I blew it"

"Which means you have nothing to lose" Jenny said

"Except my last shred of dignity"

"No that's gone too" Elizabeth said then smiled "You know you're very blessed to have two sisters to guide you. Without us you'd be so screwed."

"Without us he wouldn't have even got the first date to begin with."

Dan smiled and shook his head. They were pains in the ass, but he did love his sisters.

"You know what? You're right. I'm just gonna go talk to her" Dan said "I'm gonna go apologize for the wave. Then tell her how much I like her and I'm gonna ask her for a second chance. No, I'm gonna get a second chance"

"Yeah, you are!" Jenny shouted and Dan went to leave.

"Dan!" Elizabeth yelled and he came back "Maybe shower first?"

"Yes, thank you" he said then shut the center door. Elizabeth laughed then turned to Jenny.

"What are you doing today?" she asked her sister.

"Don't know? You?"

Elizabeth smiled thinking of her talk with Nate. Her first conversation with Nate where he said she had a cute laugh.

"I'm gonna see if Dan goes through with it" she said then went to her room and changed into something cute and a little noticeable. She checked herself in the mirror and pulled her hair back. "And maybe I'll run into Nate"

Chuck and Nate*

Nate's phone rang. Chuck laid there annoyed.

"Nathaniel keeps it down, some of us are trying to regain our strength"

"Your dad's brunch is today"

"Alarms set for 9:00"

"It's 10"

Chuck sighed and sat up.

"Ladies, double-time" Chuck said then spotted Nate "oh unless…Nathaniel?"

"I'm good" Nate replied "Actually could you two bring some coffee when you get a chance and some water, lots of water"

"You want ice with that?" one of the girls asked then turned to Chuck "Looks like you could use some"

"That's enough ladies" Chuck said, and they left.

Nate looked at Chuck's eye.

"That kid popped you pretty good. Never mess with a guy's sister. And in his case, he has two"

"If I knew his name, I'd hunt him down and kill him" Chuck replied.

"Why 'cause you kill people now?" Nate asked and picked up his scarf. "You gonna strangle him with your scarf"

"Don't mock the scarf Nathaniel. It's my signature"

"Just saying, death by scarf, not that intimidating"

"He sucker punched me, I told you. Besides better a broken nose than a broken heart"

"What? I didn't even talk to Serena last night" Nate replied.

"Who said anything about Serena" Chuck replied.

"Oh, you were discussing your mystery girl your so fond of. This Ballerina you saw in the gym."

"She bends in ways that would make a night with her an incredible one" he replied.

After changing she headed to the Palace hotel where she knew Serena was staying and assuming Nate would be here because she knew Chuck's father owned the hotel. She stepped into the elevator.

"Liz, right?" she heard Nate say and she turned to him.

"Um yeah it's short for Elizabeth" she replied with a glare.

"You're mad at me?" He asked

"What?"

"Your face. The glare. You gave it to Penelope after she push all your stuff out of your hands freshman year."

"You remember that?" she asked. "How?"

"That's how I knew your name. You told me when I handed your stuff back"

"Oh" she said looking down then back up.

"And I'm sure you were about to introduce yourself to me last night as well?"

"Yeah, about that. You just walked away from a conversation. Who does that?"

"I'm sorry. I was actually enjoying talking to you. You are different than anyone I've met"

"And yet you walked away from that?" she asked folding her arms.

"There was a thing from my past and I had to keep my girlfriend from killing her"

"Blair?"

"Yeah" he replied, "You two friends?"

"Yeah right. That would probably be a cold day in hell when that happens"

"You just say what you feel?"

"No filter, or so they say. I'm also an intense rambler and have probably bored people to death with the constant rambling" She said "Like now"

"I see" he replied "I really am sorry. If it would have been different, I may have stayed to talk"

"Likely excuse" she said looking at him then laughed "You're forgiven"

He smiled and the elevator stopped, and they both got out.

"You here to see Serena?" he asked.

"I need to apologize on behalf of my brother and his awkward ending to their date"

"That was your brother last night? The guy who showed up with Serena."

"Yeah" she replied, "That was the Blair killing event?"

"He punched Chuck" he stated avoiding that last part she said.

"Well Chuck deserved it" she replied.

"I'm not gonna argue with that" he replied

"Good" she replied "If you did, I was gonna say we couldn't be friends"

"We're friends now?"

"Well, you are definitely on a trial run, but we will see how you do" she flirted, and he laughed.

"Sounds good friend" he replied.

"Hey Nate" A lady said "It's good to see you"

"Hi Mrs. Van der Woodsen. Good to see you as well."

"Who's your friend?"

"Elizabeth" he replied.

"Humphrey" she responded "I'm a friend of Serena's"

"Is she in?"

"You guys just missed her. I can tell her you stopped by."

"That's okay" Elizabeth said as they rounded the corner.

"Dexter here can take care of you. I'm just gonna step out for a while" the lady said "Nate and his friend are gonna wait for Serena"

"Great, they can get in line behind that guy" Dexter said and pointed to Dan.

"Lizzie?" Dan questioned.

"I had a feeling you'd be back. Dan, was it?"

"Humphrey yes. And I see you've met my sister Elizabeth. It's nice to see you again Mrs. Van der Woodsen" Dan said shaking her hand "I hope you've had a pleasant um 21 hours since I last saw you."

Elizabeth was trying her best not to laugh at her brother.

"Yes, it's been very pleasant…until now." Mrs. Van der Woodsen said then left. The boys looked at each other.

"Hey" Nate said.

"Hey" Dan replied.

Silence filled the room. Elizabeth looked between the two.

"What are you doing here Lizzie?" Dan asked.

"She was mad at me and wanted to confront me" Nate replied smiling at her.

"I didn't know you two knew each other. Lizzie doesn't really associate with…"

"Um, well we ran into each other last night at the party." Elizabeth replied "I'm gonna go now"

She looked to Nate and smiled.

"Thanks, Nate, for the talk in the elevator."

"Anytime Liz" he smiled. She went to correct him but the way he said Liz made her smile

She got back home and spotted stuff on the counter to make waffles. She smiled and began to make some. A little while later the door opened, and her dad walked in.

"I thought I smelt waffles" her dad said.

"I only made enough for me, but I can easily make you some"

"I'm good. I already ate"

"What! Rufus Humphrey doesn't want Waffles. Are you feeling, okay? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

"Funny Rock star" he said picking up his guitar and playing.

Elizabeth loves listening to her dad play. In fact, she probably loves music as much as he does. It's their thing.

Dan, Nate, and Chuck*

Dan stood on one side and Nate the other. Dan turned to Nate.

"So, uh…what do you need to talk to Serena about?"

"Nothing just in the neighborhood"

"Well, what was that with my sister?" "Just friendly conversation" Nate replied, "What did you need to talk to Serena about?"

"I'm nowhere near the neighborhood but I'm working on a better excuse"

"You guys like…"

Dan looked at him and began shaking his head.

"Oh, uh… I… I don't know"

"Yeah, well that's Serena" Nate replied. "With her you'll never know"

"Nathaniel. There you are" Chuck said walking out of the hotel. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just waiting for you" Nate said walking toward him. Chuck spotted Dan then took off his sunglasses.

"Him?"

Dan started walking toward him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Chuck asked Dan.

"Why, what is this, uh your hotel?" Dan asked.

"Actually, it is" Nate replied.

"Yeah, so unless you have a reason to be here, I'll have to ask you to wait on the curb with the rest of the trash"

"Trash? Look, man. I live in Brooklyn, alright? Not the Ozarks. No offense to the Ozarks. But don't you think you're taking this class warfare thing a little too far?"

"I haven't even started man" Chuck replied.

"Okay, man. Let's just go. Tell me about the Ballerina again" Nate said trying to keep Chuck from starting a fight.

"Don't tell me you're sticking up for Serena's new bitch. If anyone's got a reason to kick his ass, it's you"

"It's not worth it. Not here" he replied.

Chuck went to lunge at Dan and Nate pulled him back. And they started walking away.

"This isn't over!" Chuck shouted.

"Hey, anytime man. That one black eye looks a little lonely" Dan shouted.

"Come on," Nate said dragging Chuck away.

Rufus continued playing while Elizabeth picked up the kitchen. The front door opened, and Jenny walked in.

"Hey Dad. How's the new song going?" Jenny asked.

"I think I need more coffee" he said putting the guitar away.

"Whatever works?"

"What's in the bag?" Elizabeth asked.

"A dress" Jenny replied taking it out.

"Where'd you get it?" Rufus asked.

"It was a thank you gift from Blair for doing the party invitations"

"It looks like a very expensive thank you gift"

"Knowing Blair, it probably is" Elizabeth replied

"She has a closet the size of this apartment full of them" Jenny replied "See her mom designs it"

"And her mom is very talented." Rufus said, "But the dresses you made for you and your sister were much nicer."

"Which is why you don't wear dresses"

"That and he'd look funny. No offense dad" Elizabeth replied.

"None taken"

"Hey, do you think the farmers market is still open?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah why? You wanna go?" their dad asked.

"Yeah"

"I thought you were getting too old to go places with your dad."

"Well, you used to be cool, and the 90s are having a comeback." Jenny said and walked to her room.

"You have no idea how much that hurt"

"You're always cool dad" Elizabeth said.

"You wanna come?"

"I think I'll stay, maybe jam out a little, I actually wrote a song I want to try out" Elizabeth said. That was another she loved doing when she wasn't focused on skating. She was also a musician.

"Don't get better than me" he joked.

"Never" she said

Jenny and her dad left, and Elizabeth went to her room and pulled out her guitar. Her dream was to be either an Olympic Figure skater or a Rock Star and though it was far-fetched she practiced every day. When she wasn't on the ice, she was playing the guitar or singing.

Dan (At Brunch) *

Dan walked around wondering where Serena had gone. He was starting to get why his sister hated social events, but he was sure their reasoning's were completely different. Blair started walking toward him.

"Dan. Hi" she said putting her hand out and he shook it "I'm Blair Waldorf, Serena's friend"

He knew she was because neither one of his sisters would shut up about her and not for the same reasons. Jenny looked up to her and Elizabeth couldn't stand her.

"Oh, hey. Yeah, uh, do you happen to know where she is?" He asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do"

"Blair" Serena said coming over Nate behind her.

"Serena, there you are. Uh where were you?" he asked.

"She was waiting in a hotel room for my boyfriend" Blair answered.

"To talk" Serena replied.

"About why we weren't talking" Nate replied.

"That doesn't sound any smarter the second time" Blair added.

"Why weren't you talking?" Dan asked confused. "Does this have anything to do with why you were waiting for Serena this morning?"

"You were what?"

"Here I thought you were waiting for me" Chuck responded joining the conversation.

"Oh, exactly what the situation needs, Chuck." Dad said, "Now what is going on here?"

"We were just getting to that" Blair said.

"Blair, please. Don't do this" Serena pleaded

"Sorry" Blair replied then glanced at Serena "Oh, do you wanna tell him?"

"I'll tell him" Chuck blurted.

"You know?" Everyone asked.

"I know everything."

"And apparently I know nothing" Dan said.

"Look, Dan. It… it was a long time ago, and I regret it"

"Look Serena, stop trying to pretend you're a good girl. So, you slept with your best friends' boyfriend. I kind of admire you for it"

"Is that true?" Dan asked.

"Well, then she ran away and lied about it." Blair said then turned to Dan "I just thought you should know before you fall head over heels for your perfect girl and her perfect world, and then get left all alone with no one but your cabbage patch kid and your loner twin sister."

"Cabbage patch?" Nate asked.

"Did you talk to Jenny" he asked knowing Elizabeth would never tell Blair about Cedric.

"Ah, yes, little Jenny. I do believe she and I have some unfinished business or perhaps your other sister Elizabeth and I can get acquainted."

Dan got in Chuck's face.

"Stay away from them"

"Poor Daniel, so little time so many sluts to defend" Chuck said, and Dan pushed him knocking over a waiter then left.

After a few hours the door opened, and Dan walked in mad. Elizabeth put her guitar away and put the kettle on for some tea.

"So?" she started.

"I don't…"

"Then we will sit in silence, and I'll try Twin mind reading."

"I lost her" he replied.

"I'm…"

"Lizzie it's okay" he said,

It was silent for a second and she thought of what Nate said earlier.

"Does it have to do with Nate?" she asked. Dan gave her a curious look.

"What do you know?"

"I know that last night I was talking to Nate and then he was gone"

"That's why you were mad at him?"

"He said earlier today that he was sorry that something from his past had shown up and he had to keep his girlfriend from killing her. You and Serena showed up around that time."

He looked at her weird.

"I'm always the smartest person in the room. I can put two and two together faster than anyone can say what."

"Turns out he and Serena slept together"

"Wow" she replied. "I knew it was something in that region but not that exact thing"

"Yeah" he replied, "Does that make you look at Nate different?"

"No, we all have a past. You can't exactly hold people accountable now for something that happened then. That's why it's the past. But it does teach us not to make the same mistakes"

"Are you sure you're not really the older twin"

"Nope sorry you were born first; I just got all the wisdom" she smiled.

Dan nodded then looked around.

"Where's dad and Jenny?" he asked as the door opened.

"Hi" Jenny said.

"Hey! Jen said you went looking for Serena. Did you find her?" their dad asked.

"I found her and then I lost her" Dad replied.

"That's uh…"

"Like I told Lizzie it's fine. It's all for the best. Serena and her friends and her family…her whole world…turns out it just wasn't for me." Dan said and Elizabeth grabbed his hand. He gave it a light squeeze then took it back and stood up and began walking to his room.

"Wait Dan what happened?" Jenny asked.

Dan stopped and turned back around.

"Did you tell Blair Waldorf about Cedric?"

"That's not good" Elizabeth said

"I…it may have come up" Jenny replied.

"You can't trust these people, Jen. Don't tell them anything" he said then spotted Jenny's flowers "Those are nice flowers"

Dan walked into his room and shut the door. Elizabeth turned to Jenny.

"They're very nice J" she replied, "How was the farmers market?"

"It was good" Jenny smiled smelling her flowers.

Later that night Elizabeth followed her brother onto the fire escape.

"Penny for your thoughts" she asked, and he held his hand out and she dropped the penny. She sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder grabbing his arm,

"It's always gonna be us against the world?"

"Humphrey Twins versus the World." She smiled "Sounds like an awesome Comic book"

He laughed and shook his head.

Well Serena's man is a mystery no longer. His name is…oh, who cares? Now that he and S are over, so are his 15 minutes. But his sister Jenny was spotted with a new dress…gifted from Blair herself. Everyone knows an Eleanor Original is the uniform of B's private army. But will J be a Loyal Soldier, or will she side with S's rebel forces? And as for S herself. We hear that she left today's brunch with no friends, no boy, and nowhere left to run. It looks like the ultimate insider has become a total outsider. It's your move Serena. And you know who will be watching.

X.O.X.O Gossip Girl

[blackqueenstarseed1]

The Friend

Chapter one - Fall out

Paring -  Rafael Casal x black!reader AU

Summary - You've been in love with one of your best friends for years, you've actually agreed to reveal your feelings to Daveed, but what happens when you find out he's got a new girlfriend. Will his best blonde-haired pal be the one you've always been waiting for?

Warnings - slight angst, heartbreak, Alcohol

Word count : 2,274

Note: Let me know your thoughts please. I love Rafael, and he needs more love on here. 

I’m also making a tag list, let me know if you want to be apart of it.

“Not that dress it’s giving grandma vibes.”, your roommate Jamie said leaning against the doorway to your bedroom. As she nodded towards your floral dress that was in your hands. 

“Well help me find something, I wanna make sure he noticed me this time.” You mumbled closing your eyes imagining his beautiful brown eyes that can warm an entire room. And that smile, oh that fucking smile that felt as pure as the source of light. Returning back to reality you signed, “I’m gonna tell him how I feel tonight, and  I- I want it to be special. You know?”

Jamie raised her brown, walked towards your bed, and took a seat next to you. Staring you in the eye giving you her concerned motherly look, oh here she goes, you thought not wanting to hear another lecture, especially with your nerves today. “Listen y/n, no matter what happens tonight just know that you don’t need some guy to be happy okay? Daveed is an idiot if he doesn’t see how much of a wonderful person you are.”

That was his name Daveed, Daveed Daniele Diggs, and you were in love with him since you first met at freshman orientation which was five years ago. You wanted to tell him how you felt, but he was in a long-term relationship with a girl named Lisa. But about three months ago he learned that she was cheating on him for over 4 years. You honestly felt bad at how happy you were at the news, throwing yourself a little party at some misdeeds. No, really you actually did throw a little party, from buying a mini cake, and jumping up and down as ‘lovely day’ by bill withers played through the stereo. Pathetic. With that, you decided to give him time to heal before you tell him that you were helplessly in love with him. Three months should be good enough you mused.

“Yea, yea I get it. Love myself before someone else. I didn’t ask for a Ted talk, but okay.” You replied getting up from your seat, throwing the dress back in the closet. “Now help me find something to wear. Let me see if that fashion degree was worth it?”

Jamie chuckled, shaking her head at you. Walking into your closet she nodded, “sure.”

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

Your stomach was beginning to do circles as you and Jamie arrived at the party. It’s okay you can do this ...after some drinks… but no I should stay sober for this.

“Y/n! Jamie! Come and take a shot with me.” Oak yelled, walking towards the pair of you with two shot glasses in his hands. As he came up to the both of you his eyes went wide as he looked at you up and down inspecting your outfit. “Damn y/n, you look ummm, y-you look, I-I mean wow.”

You nodded with a satisfied smile on your face. I hope Daveed likes this too. “Thanks, oak, and no thank you I’m the DD tonight.”

“Cool, cool. Well, I’m over there if you need me.” He winked and walked towards a group of guys.

“Hey wait, I never said that I didn’t want one,” Jamie yelled frowning as Oak walked away selectively not hearing her plea. Turning towards you with a knowing smirk on her face, she shook her head. “See I told you bitch. You’re  fucking hot.”

“Oak flirts with anything that moves, that was nothing.” You mumbled, rolling your eyes. It was true though, you loved Oak to death but if you had a penny for every compliment he gave to anyone you’d be a trillionaire.

“True but- Oh fuck look who just arrived. Twelve o’clock your way.” Jamie mumbled and nodded her head towards the front door. Slowly looking up your heart began to beat fast, increasing in an unhealthy way. Daveed walked in the room like the goddess that he was, dressed to the gods, hair moisturized to the lords. He waved at people nearby as he walked further through the party getting closer to you. Jamie squeezed your shoulder, giving you a warm smile. “Do it now, so you’ll have the rest of the night to drink the pain away.”

You nodded not being able to reply as Daveed walked up to you.

“Hey! Y/n, Jamie. It’s good to see you both.” He said with his beautiful eye smile lighting up the room giving Jamie a side hug. Pulling you into a warm hug looking you up, and down biting his lips. “What’s been going on with you? I felt like we haven’t talked in years!”

“Oh, y'know works have been pulling me in all areas.” You replied, wishing you had taken the shot Oak had offered you earlier. Liquid courage can be a good thing. Gathering the little courage you had you shot him a smile, “Actually I been wanting to talk to you about something-“

“Thanks, diggs for the correct directions. I really appreciate it. If you haven’t noticed I’m being sarcastic.” A voice yelps in the near distance interrupting your plan to drag Daveed away, to confess your love for him. Balling your fists trying to keep your cool, looking up trying to see who was brave enough to interrupt a girl so helplessly in love. Wearing a yellow ‘Oakland’ hoodie, with glasses on, walking towards you with a girl walking beside him, you signed as you made the person out. Rafael Santiago motherfucking Casal, great, now you didn’t hate him per se but you greatly dislike his white ass. From disagreeing on everything, arguing over stupid shit, him teasing, and poking fun at you every chance he got on you. Let’s just say you two weren’t exactly close. Walking up to the three of you he smiled, “ Hey, Jamie. I love ya man, but never ask me for a favor if you can’t cooperate okay.”

The fuck did he just ignore me. You thought saying a silent prayer in your head trying not to go off on his ass.

“Sorry, my phone went dead once I realized I gave y’all the wrong direction,” Daveed mumbled, shrugging his shoulders, reaching his hands out to the girl who arrived with Rafael. What? Who is she? “ Guys I want y’all to meet my girlfriend Serena.”

At that moment you could’ve sworn that the entire room can hear your heart-shattering in millions of pieces. After all this time of pinning after a guy, you always cared for giving your every thought to, but in reality, he will never give you the time of day. Fuck I’m a desperate piece of mess you thought feeling your throat getting hard. Fuck don’t cry you weak bitch. Jamie looked up in surprise, her eyes instantly falling on you shooting you a sympathetic look. But no you weren’t gonna be a bitter bitch just because someone wasn’t into you, you were better than that. Putting all of your feelings aside you nod. “Nice to meet you I’m, y/n, and that’s Jamie.”

“You too. Oh my god, I love your outfit, it's beautiful.” She smiled, making Daveed grin as he pulled her into a side hug, happy that she was getting along with his friends. Mumbling a small ‘thanks’, you felt defeated, not only was she pretty, but she was nice too. You couldn’t even hate her if you tried, at least his last girlfriend Lisa was a total bitch, something that your whole friend group silently thought as well. Which was good because it didn’t make you feel guilty for your feelings for Daveed because you had a villain in your love story. Kissing her cheek making her giggle, Daveed smiled and looked up at you. “So what were you trying to tell me earlier?”

“Oh, um it was nothing. Just forget it. Listen I should go see everyone else.” You rasped, pointing towards an area of the house far away from them. “It was good seeing you all.”

 “Okay, well don’t be a stranger.” Daveed frown noticing the change in your state, just a minute ago you were on cloud nine. Serena waved bye at you. While Jamie stared at you squinting her eyes, silently asking if you needed her, you shook your head no. Rafael glanced up looking away from his phone for a moment and mumbled. “See ya.”

Oh? so he did know that I was here, fucking bitch.

Grabbing a bottle of vodka on your way out towards the pool area, you found a place farther away from any eyes. You began to take a gulp from the bottle. “Fuck.”

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

“I guess I don’t need this.” You laughed fully drunk after finishing almost half the bottle of vodka. Standing by the pool with the letter you wrote Daveed in your right hands, and a lighter in your left trying to burn your feelings away. Maybe it was because you were drunk off your ass, or maybe the lighter was cheap as hell. But It wouldn’t work no matter how much you flick the little rolling thingy. “Fuck can something work for me for once. DAMN IT!”

“Hey what the fuck y/n! Are you trying to burn the house down?” Rafael yelled running up to you snatching the lighter from your hands. Making you jump in surprise, him coming out of nowhere throwing you off, so much so that you slipped on a puddle of water nearby. Feeling gravity defy you, You gasped “Shit.”

But before you could even fall into the pool, you felt warm arms around you. Looking up into the eyes of the person who saved you from embarrassment. You tilted your head, eyebrows furrowed, confused as to why the guy who hated your entire existence decided to save you from humiliation. Rafael’s expression hardened. “Are you insane? What if you would’ve gotten hurt?.”

“Please, stop yelling. My head hurts, and the room is spinning.” You whined, placing your hand on your forehead trying to block any more noise, coming your way. You didn’t need someone, especially him, making you feel guilty for drinking your feelings away. Because you weren’t in the mood right now. Shoving the letter back into your purse you glared at the blonde man, 

“Leave me alone.”

“There’s no way I’m gonna leave you in this state. I mean look you can barely walk.” Rafael proclaimed pulling your arm sitting you down on a nearby bench. “Stay here.”

He walked back into the house as you sat there with a dumbfounded look not believing that he was actually trying to help you at this low point. Coming back towards you he hands you a bottle of water. “Drink this.”

Squinting your eyes at him wondering if this was a setup and if he poisoned the water. You decided to take the risk, and grabbed the water from him and mumbled a small  ‘thanks’ as you gulped down the water. Rafael nodded watching you finish the water pleased with your compliance. “You good?”

“Yes. Thanks,” you replied, playing with the top of the bottle trying to avoid any eye contact with this confusing man.

“Ain’t that’s what friends are for?” He mused, staring into your eyes with his beautiful eyes. You always thought that Rafa was a handsome man, especially with his way with words, and his wisdom was simply out of this world. And your attraction to him never fully went away, especially after your altercations. But just because you think he’s cute doesn’t mean you’ll go out with him, he’s still Rafael the guy who gave you hell. Peering up at him leaning further into the bench you replied. “Friends?”

“Yes, friends. What?” Rafael questioned eyebrows raised at your statement.

“I’m just saying I never consider you a friend, and I’m pretty sure you would say the same too.” You confessed not caring how honest you were being. Liquid courage 1, sober 0.

“Ouch.” Rafael chuckled, as he jammed his hands in his front pocket. 

“I’m serious Raf, for as long as I can remember. You couldn’t stand to be in the same room as me, and now you wanna help me. What’s your deal? Huh.” You demanded crossing your arms, glaring at him. Wanting him to stop playing games with you.

“That’s not even remotely true! I-I, look listen to me when I say this. I know pain when I see it, and it’s written all over your face. I just want to make sure you don’t do anything stupid. Okay.” Rafael answered threading a hand through his hair, his lashes fluttering. Staring deep into your soul, bringing an unfamiliar sense of comfort to you. Damn he really is serious

“Thanks, but I’m fine. And I don’t need you to check on me.” You argue, looking away from his intense stare. Rafael huffed, shaking his head in return. “Sure.”

Sitting in silence for a few minutes Rafael stood up from his seat and jerked his head in the direction of the back exit. “This party is getting pretty boring. You wanna go grab something to eat.” 

You honestly didn’t know what to make of his sudden interest in you. For the longest time, the only attention he has ever given you was to either say something rude, or correct you. This was definitely weird, yes, but you were too drunk and too hurt to care right now. Glancing up towards the house seeing Daveed with his arm around Serena. You frown, tearing your eyes away from the man who still had your heart. Standing up, throwing the water bottle by a nearby bush, you nodded. “Let’s go.”

[undeadsnorlax]

Alone at Midnight, Inside My Mind

@badthingshappenbingo

Ao3 Link

Bingo Card

using the prompt in a metaphorical sense, as opposed to the medical aid sense

Prompt: Crutches

Fandom: Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku

Warnings: a lot of alcohol related issues, including addiction and withdrawal, some suicidal thoughts and body image issues, hurt/no comfort. set pre-Yakuza 2.

Wordcount: 5511

2pm. He could tell it was because his downstairs neighbour was home, attending to the array of plant pots she kept littered outside her door, and playing music on the radio that bled through the crack of the open window.

Daigo squinted in the afternoon light that managed to make its way through the blinds, groaning loudly.

“Fucking hell…”

Suppose now was as good a time as any to start the day. Especially when he felt his stomach rumble.

It took some effort to get to his feet, but soon he was dragging himself into the kitchen, yawning loudly. He needed something quick and tasty, now.

The fridge had nothing but convenience store sushi and days old leftover curry. The cupboards were also pretty bare, half a bag of rice and a ramen cup.

Daigo sighed heavily, setting his kettle to boil before grabbing the sushi. He stuffed a piece into his mouth, wrinkling his nose at the taste of stale rice but ate another without any complaint.

Head to the store. Get some more food, he thought, holding the ramen cup in place as he lifted up the kettle.

The water splashed on the counter a little, narrowly missing burning his fingers, making him forcefully slam the kettle back down once the cup was filled.

Daigo gripped the sides of the counter, closing his eyes as he felt a pulse of nausea rush through his body. If he forced the tension against the surface hard enough, he could stop his hands shaking for just a moment.

Eat noodles. Have a shower. Go to the store.

Opening his eyes again, he ate another piece of sushi, absolutely no taste on his tongue as he chewed it into mush, before taking his ramen into the living room.

He slumped down on the couch, turning the TV on and forced the food down him. He still felt nauseous, but he knew he wouldn’t actually vomit. He already had last night. Doubled over in a bush outside the train station and puked his guts out, despite not having much solids in him. Even now his throat felt sore from it. Classy.

He wasn’t even hungry, really. He was eating out of obligation, feeling his stomach gurgle happily at finally being filled with some kind of food.

As he ate, he noticed his cell phone on the table in front of him, discarded amongst the empty bottles and candy wrappers. It was flashing.

Daigo frowned, reaching over and flipping it open.

Three new answer machine messages.

Who the hell had tried calling him?

Message one - 9:25am

“Daigo, it’s your mother. Pick up.”

Message two - 9:43am

“Me again. Please answer your phone.”

Message three - 10:08am

“Daigo...it’s Mom-“

Daigo groaned, snapping his phone shut to end the messages. Nope! He was not dealing with this today.

He discarded the empty ramen cup and chopsticks with the rest of the trash on the table, storming towards the bathroom.

Shower on, clothes off. He used the toilet as the water heated up, catching the reflection of his upper half in the mirror as he finished.

“Hrmph.”

He ran a hand down his front, resting it on the middle of his stomach and huffed again.

His weight had been up and down the last ten years, though it had obviously settled during his stint in prison, with its shit food and no alcohol. Now that he was out, with all the freedom to indulge in every last inch of hedonism he could find though, he had developed a bit of a gut. Just a bump, but it was…noticeable, it was there. It stuck out.

No surprise really. How much did he drink last night again?

Enough I puked in a bush.

Daigo shifted on his feet, standing up a bit straighter and sucking his stomach in. It didn’t make much difference. He suddenly wondered how visible it was under his t-shirt, glad he usually wore a thick coat to hide himself in.

“Great,” he growled, stepping into the shower. Another thing to feel insecure about.

He stood there, forehead pressed against the wall as he let the water run down the Fudo Myoo on his back.

His hand started shaking again.

“Give me a break,” he said, clasping it to his chest, “A few hours, a day.”

He dried himself off, going back to his bedroom for a clean shirt and pair of jeans – both black, of course.

He also grabbed a heavy hoodie to wear to the store, a way to feel a little more comfortable in himself in a public place.

Wallet, keys, phone. Go to store. Buy supplies.

Daigo pulled his hood up as he jogged down the stairs, immediately blocked from leaving by the downstairs neighbour still gardening.

“Lovely afternoon, isn’t it Dojima-san?” Ito cried, beaming at him. She was older, always so chipper. How did she manage?

As much as he wanted to ignore her, Daigo had been raised with far too proper manners. He still remained casual, grunting a little and rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah, suppose.”

“You came back late again last night,” she added, hands lifting a plant to move to another pot, “Ouma-san went off about it before going to work this morning.”

“Oh, did he now?”

Ouma was the guy around his age in the apartment next door. Always miserable, always bringing a new girl home every weekend that Daigo had to endure hearing fake horribly through his thin bedroom walls.

“I’ll try to be a bit quieter next time, Ito-san,” he mumbled. For her sake, not for that asshole Ouma.

“Or maybe you should stay in once in a while, hm?”

Daigo scowled, jerking his head and storming off toward the store. With any luck the old bag would have gone inside by the time he was back.

As he made his way down the street, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He went to answer but paused, clenching his fingers tight into his palm. Nope. He knew who it was, and what she wanted, and he didn’t care.

His supply run was basic. More noodles, packs of chips and cookies, some onigiri and bentos that could last a few days.

Whilst picking up a few bottles of Staminan and Tauriner, he stared blankly at the alcohol.

His hands still shook. There was such a quick fix to settle that.

He grabbed a six pack of beer and a bottle of scotch and vodka, unable to help a crooked little grin.

The cashier looked at him a little oddly as he set his basket down on the counter. And yeah, he’d admit he looked strange. Sweating and shaky from withdrawal, under his eyes dark and his brow pulled into a near permanent scowl, face otherwise obscured by the shadow of the hood.

“Get me some cigarettes too, huh?” he mumbled, taking out his wallet and avoiding eye contact.

He was a mess.

He stared at the glass case of baked goods, unable to resist the pull from his sweet tooth, and asked for two donuts as well.

He arrived back home rather pleased with his haul. He had enough in him to pack away most of it, before he stared down the booze he bought.

He could...not do this, actually. He could not drink. It was easy, in theory.

He wiped his damp brow, licked his dry lips. His head hurt, despite the slight gloom of the kitchen.

They could sit there as an ultimate temptation. He could ignore them. He could do all manner of things.

But he wanted to drink, that was the issue. That was the whole point. Drinking was the only thing he had that stayed consistent.

He grabbed the scotch and slugged back a long mouthful, feeling everything just melt away. He let out a relieved gasp, the taste strong on his tongue and warming his throat. Felt like a part of him was back. His mind became a little clearer, his mood a little more elevated. He took a shorter swig for luck, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Much better…”

He spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on the sofa, playing video games. There wasn’t much else for him to do during the day.

Evening was his time.

When seven rolled around, Daigo got ready. His jeans and t-shirt were fine already, so all he had to do was put on his usual cross necklace to complete the outfit. He spent a while staring down himself in the mirror as he applied a shaky dash of eyeliner around his lid.

Once upon a time he shied away from doing this publicly, but since leaving jail he stopped caring. Wore eyeliner and straightened his hair. Painted his nails black and picked at the polish when he was anxious. Who gave a shit? Anyone dumb enough to say anything soon regretted it.

Keys, wallet, phone. Same routine. He chose his white puffer jacket to wear instead of his hoodie, enjoying the barrier it gave him from the rest of the world.

One quick metro ride later, he was in Kamurocho, just as the town was coming alive in a burst of neon. Daigo lost himself in the crowds, thinking of which bar to hit up first.

He paused for a moment down Tenkaichi Street, staring at the sign for Serena. Place was closed, and had been for a little under a year now.

He knew what happened last year, of course. Heard about Rina through another barkeep. Not that he’d known her well, or spent much time at Serena, but something in his chest ached hearing she was gone in such circumstances.

He soon forgot about it with another glass.

With a weary huff, he decided the Champion District on the other side of town was the best place to start. The bar he chose was quiet, no other customers, and a barman who knew when to keep his mouth shut.

Perfect.

Instead of conversation, Daigo focused on the soft jazz music playing as he nursed his whiskey. He was into heavier tunes, but he needed a bit more of a buzz before going to his favourite rock bar.

He tapped his nails against the glass, tilting his head. Good idea, actually. They did cheap shots and a big array of imports.

He slammed some cash down on the counter before stumbling into the street, glad to feel the slight evening chill on his cheeks.

Down to Pink Street, and into the rock bar he enjoyed. Already feeling at home with the heavy guitar music blasting over the speakers, most of the other patrons dressed in a similar style to him. He’d missed out on a lot of stuff whilst locked away, the slight sways in fashion that happened in such a short amount of time, but he liked knowing he was still on trend within his scene, mostly.

He sat at the counter, giving a half-grin to the girl working there, and ordered himself five shots of vodka.

His earlier drinks had been a warmup, these were the first leg of the race. The second came in the form of a large scotch, some new brand they’d started selling.

Honestly, the start to a perfect night for him, until he heard a small gasp from behind him.

“Hey! Aniki!”

Daigo’s heart sank at the voice, glancing over his shoulder. Five of the guys he usually hung around with were there – or more accurately, they hung around him.

He rolled his eyes and groaned, turning in his seat and glaring them down. He should never had shown them this place.

“What do you want?” he muttered, already knowing the answer.

“We didn’t know you were out today!” Arita cried, leaning up next to him, with that sycophantic look he always had in his eyes. As if Daigo wasn’t out every night.

“Why don’t you join us aniki?” Kubo asked, which actually translated to wanna pay for all our drinks because we’re cheap scrounging bastards?

Daigo groaned again, knocking back his glass and waving the bartender over again.

“If you quit calling me aniki.”

They didn’t, of course. They gleefully accepted the drinks he bought them with more coos of thank you Dojima-aniki. Daigo rubbed the bridge of his nose and ordered himself two double scotches, slugging them back like they were water.

“I was thinkin’ we could go to Dazzle after this,” Arita said, having not left Daigo’s side. He always babbled and talked too much, like he felt he had to fill every silence with his own voice save people be left alone with their own thoughts.

“Why there?” Daigo asked, thinking of all the things he’d rather do more than go to a hostess club, including and not limited to slamming his face into a lit stovetop and drowning in a hot tub.

“I just think the girls there are really underrated, y’know? I like that they have some slightly older gals, I love a mature lady. How about you?”

Daigo shoved a shard of ice from his glass into his mouth and let it melt on his tongue. “Come on then.”

He was paying for two hours and that was that. At least he could get a bottle for himself and work through that, sitting at the edge whilst the others enjoyed the girls’ company.

Dazzle might have specialised in more mature women, but the decor was a nightmare like every other hostess club. Why’d they always insist on so many sparkles, it gave him a headache.

“Um...are you enjoying yourself?”

Daigo lowered his gaze to look at the girl. ‘Mature’ really meant ‘late twenties’, and she was running on the younger side of that.

“What do you think?” he said coldly, swirling his drink in its glass.

She seemed a little dazed at this, glancing back at her fellow hostesses, but kept going.

“M-my name is Nashi. Yours?”

“Daigo Dojima.”

He clicked his tongue, emptied his glass and went to refill it, his shoulders slouching slightly. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be so short, you’re only doing your job.”

“Oh, it’s fine, I’ve had far worse responses.”

Daigo just gritted his teeth. Another reason he hated hostess clubs was he knew how other men treated these girls, saw it himself the times his father brought him along as a teen.

The least he could do was give this lady a nice conversation.

“Well, I’ll try to be a bit better than them,” he said, gesturing with his head towards the others, so loud and obnoxious.

Nashi smiled a little. “They’re not so bad. Your friends are just a bit...out there.”

He scoffed. “They’re not my friends. I don’t really...do friendship anymore.”

“Oh? How come?”

Shit. Of course, when you say something like that, people have questions. Daigo licked his lips in thought, considering how he should phrase this.

“You...don’t recognise my name, do you?”

Nashi blushed a little, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Um, well, you do have a bit of notoriety around town, Dojima-san. I know girls in other clubs, and they always talk about you.”

Daigo did a slight double take at this. “Wait, seriously?”

“Yeah. You’re a rather…” She gestured at his coat and skinny jeans. “A striking figure, you know. A lot of girls like the edgy emo bad boy look. It’s popular right now.”

“Hm, figures.” A lot of men are also fans…

Daigo sat up a little straighter, gazing Nashi down. “Do you?”

“H-huh?”

“Find me attractive?”

It was a joke, said with a dry smirk, but she flustered, clearly uneasy. Daigo grimaced, sliding up a little closer and putting a hand to her knee.

“Hey, hey. I’m kidding.” He made his smirk a soft smile, broke down the facade for just a moment to put her at ease. “Don’t worry about it.”

Nashi’s eyes went wide, but nodded, brushing down the edges of her dress.

“A-anyway, I...I’ve heard you...were involved with the Tojo Clan. Is that why you don’t ‘do’ friends?”

“Mm. Essentially.”

Daigo gave up on the glass, swigging back from the bottle which got him a funny look from one of the other patrons across the way.

“My only friend murdered my father,” he said, so matter of fact. He hesitated a moment, letting out a short huff. “Well. He went to jail for the crime, at least. He was actually covering for someone else. Either way, I was left without his guidance for ten years, thinking he had betrayed me like that.”

He paused a second, swilling whiskey around his mouth, before continuing.

“I came back to town a few months ago and...he hasn’t bothered trying to find me. Which shows how little he cares.”

“Oh. That sounds...awful, Dojima-san.”

“It sure does, doesn’t it?”

Daigo shrugged, tilting the empty bottle back so he could savour just a few more drops as best he could. “That’s just how my life is now.”

He grumbled a little as he set the bottle down, belching into his cupped hand before draping himself back against the seat.

“Sometimes you gotta deal with the hand you're given,” he added, scratching lazily at his middle, “And unfortunately, I’ve had a poor deck from the start.”

He shut his eyes before letting out a laugh, forced and hollow. “Sorry. I’m not the best at keeping things light.”

How many hostesses had he paid to listen to him whine? Then he thought how they were probably all used to it, which made it even worse.

“Well, given your circumstances…”

Nashi glanced back at her co-workers, the barely hidden looks of disdain towards the rest of the crew and their boorish behaviour.

“I’d much rather talk to you though,” she said, reaching over to grab another one of the bottles along the table, gesturing toward his glass, “You’re nice.”

Daigo swallowed, nodding in approval as she filled it to the brim. His head pounded, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the music or the cravings.

“If you say so.”

The glass was empty in a flash, and filled just as quick.

“You’re good at this,” he purred.

The bottle was empty by the time the waiter came by. Daigo had just enough mental capacity to dig through his pockets and pay, giving Nashi a shaky smile and a pat on the knee.

“Thank you for tonight. You’re great.”

His friends, on the other hand, all started to whine as the waiter began to urge them into finishing their drinks.

“Aw, c’mon aniki, let’s hang around a bit longer!”

“If you want that, pay yourself, ya cheap fucks.”

Daigo stood up, a bit too quickly as he felt the room spin. He stumbled to the side slightly, wincing as he contained a belch that very much tasted of vomit. Nope! No puking tonight. Keep it all inside.

“I’m outta here,” he mumbled, resting a hand on any available solid surface to keep himself steady as he left.

He blanked out the cries of the others as he did. He’d wasted enough time with them tonight, and he was craving something else.

“Burger,” he mumbled, squinting as he glanced up and down the street, “Pffft...that way.”

This was always the worst part of the night. Trying to sober up enough so he could keep going, or at the very least get home in one piece. Stumbling through the streets and trying not to crack his skull open.

It wasn’t just food he craved though. He felt...itchy. That was the only way to really explain it. The desire to go wild, start a scuffle. Really earn that reputation he supposedly had.

To hell with staying in one piece.

But first, Smile Burger.

The fact that the poor worker even understood what he said through his slurred words was impressive and soon he was curled up against the window, feet pulled up on the chair beside him as he made his way through a burger that tasted like the finest wagyu steak right now.

All the while, he kept his eye out.

Yeah, it felt shitty to target people for a fight like this, but he made sure it was a fair fight. Usually a few guys, who looked like they could take a hit as well as throw one, maybe even have a chance if they weren’t facing someone running on adrenaline and too much booze.

He cocked his head as he focused on a table nearby. Four men, mid-twenties, definitely young yakuza from some family. He couldn’t see any lapel pin from where he was sat, but they were perfect.

Childishly, he picked up one of his fries and threw it in their direction. It hit the back of one guy’s head, and he looked around puzzled. Daigo just threw another, chuckling as it hit him again. A bit too obvious, as he was spotted this time.

“What the hell’s wrong with you dude?” one of the four cried.

“I dunno,” Daigo said, stuffing a bunch of fries in his mouth before flinging another their way, “Target practise.”

This one hit a guy in a striking red sports jacket right between the eyes, and Daigo could barely contain the full-on cackle he let out at the expression he pulled. It was almost too easy.

He grinned when one came over and jabbed him in the chest.

“Outside. Now.”

“My pleasure.”

He followed them into a nearby side street, hands in his pockets and head held high. He liked an audience sometimes, but a private fight was fine enough.

The biggest one of them threw the first punch. He was expecting it, crossing his arms over in front of his face to block it, before kicking out at the guy’s ankles.

The whole fight was messy. The little gang clearly had never been in a proper fight, had no form. They kept punching poorly, wincing with any that managed to hit as they stung their knuckles.

Not that Daigo was any better. He was still far too drunk, but that was half the fun. Stumbling about and getting in a rough hit that frightened these kids who’d never experienced this before. He just wanted the thrill, the rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins. Anything to feel something.

Daigo landed a punch on that guy in the sports jacket, right in the middle of his face. It sent him flat on his ass, skidding down the street slightly.

“Come on!” he groaned, “Grab him, idiots! We outnumber him!”

A moment of pause. Daigo tried to catch his breath, but ol’ sports jacket was right. He was outnumbered.

Two of them grabbed his coat and pushed him back against the wall, holding him there. The third punched at his gut, over and over. Daigo gritted his teeth, tensed his stomach for every punch.

He knew he could get out of this, easily. The guys holding him were hardly doing much, weren’t even gripping his actual arms, just the sleeves of his jacket. It wouldn’t take much to duck and slip down, then send them crying home to their mommies.

“Come on!” he hissed, baring his teeth.

But he wanted them to hit him.

“That all you got?”

He wanted them to hurt him.

Sports jacket guy had gotten back on his feet now, face already starting to bruise. His fist met the middle of Daigo’s face hard, harder than they’d been hitting before. It stung, a lot, which is exactly what he wanted.

Not that it solved anything.

It never did.

“Oi!” They all froze, turning toward the entrance of the street. Daigo, semi-dazed, managed to look too, and felt his stomach drop.

Kashiwagi's expression, initially a scowl, changed the moment he saw him, shaking his head and blinking a little. “Daigo?”

He sighed heavily, storming over and waving his hand at the little gang. “Shoo. Don’t let me catch you boys doing shit like this again, you hear?” “Y-yes Patriarch Kashiwagi.”

They scurried off further down the street, leaving Daigo to stand up straighter, rubbing his nose. He groaned a little as he saw the streaks of rusty red on the back of his hand, sniffling heavily. “Great.”

“Daigo…”

Kashiwagi sighed again, rubbing at his temple. “What are you doing?” “I’m just...I’m just out.” Daigo sniffed again, scrunching his nose. “Just finished dinner.”

“You know what I mean…”

Kashiwagi looked around, then grabbed Daigo by the shoulder. “C’mon. Let’s talk in the office.”

Daigo went to argue, but it only took one stern glare, the kind the older man had given him his whole life, for him to clench his jaw and follow.

Kashiwagi led the way toward the Millennium Tower, hand on Daigo’s shoulder the whole way. It felt so patronising, like that time he accidentally broke a window at the Dojima Family offices when he was ten, and Kashiwagi had done the exact same gesture, marching him to his mother.

“Nice upgrade,” he still said, gazing out the wide window of Kashiwagi’s office once they arrived, “From that little place on Tenkaichi.”

“Well, we make do. I’m second in command now.” Kashiwagi set down the plastic convenience store bag he’d been carrying on his desk, letting out a small, bemused exhale of air. “It’s not all bad. Now come on. Why were you fighting?”

Daigo clicked his tongue and shrugged, staring at the blinking lights below them.

“Daigo…” “I just was, okay?”

He gave a dismissive shrug, walking across the floor toward a cabinet, throwing the doors open. Kashiwagi watched him with tired eyes, slumping down in his chair. “I think you’ve had enough to drink tonight.”

“How did you know that’s what I was looking for?”

“Your breath reeks of it, kid. Your whole body does.” He took out a bento and can of coffee from the plastic bag, raising a brow. “And I know what you’re like, especially lately. How’s being a free man by the way? Haven’t seen you since you were released.”

“It sucks ass.”

Daigo slammed the cabinet door shut, opening another and grinning as he saw half a bottle of whiskey there, as well as some crystal glasses. He heard Kashiwagi tut loudly as he slammed both down on top of the cabinet.

“What did you expect?” he scoffed, pouring a very large measure, “Mom told me the news the moment I got out. What Nishikiyama did. That it wasn’t Kiryu. He hasn’t even come to see me, to apologise for it.”

He knocked the glass back, the sensation warm and familiar down his throat. “Hardly feel free. Just not in jail anymore.”

“What happened to the boy I knew?” Kashiwagi asked, walking over and placing a hand on Daigo’s shoulder once more. This time it was gentle, kind, attempting to be comforting. Not Kashiwagi-san, one of his father’s men, but Uncle Osamu, his mother’s best friend.

Daigo scrunched his nose up, taking another slug of whiskey. “You say that like I’ve ever been cheery.”

“Well, okay, you’ve always been a serious young man, but…”

He just shook his head, moving his hand away. He grabbed the whiskey bottle in the process, making Daigo let out a pathetic little whine.

“I’m not going to enable you any more than I have,” he said firmly, before adding, “I mean it though. You don’t need to throw your life away like this.”

Daigo didn’t reply, because he didn’t like the real answer. There wasn’t much of a life to throw away. He was doing everyone a favour with this.

“You bring me up here just to lecture me old man?” he growled, narrowing his eyes.

Still looking for someone to fight. Kashiwagi would wipe the floor with him, he knew that, but he didn’t care. He also knew he wouldn’t get that kind of satisfaction.

Didn’t mean Kashiwagi wasn’t frustrated with his attitude. He closed his eyes, clenching his fists and let out a deep exhale from his nose. “I saw your mother today. She’s been trying to call you all morning.”

“I know.” The empty glass was set down heavily, with a grunt. Daigo dug around for his phone, holding it out so Kashiwagi could see the countless missed calls and texts from her on the home screen. “I know what today is.”

“...and is that why you’re-”

“You know I’m like this anyway.” He stared at the texts, all similar in tone - Daigo, please call me. Daigo, it’s important. Are you okay? He got them most days from his mother. She was trying so hard. He didn’t want her to. He would rather she forget about him. She deserved that much.

Kashiwagi wasn’t looking at him, staring up at the ceiling as he thought of what to say next.

“I understand that...none of us could have predicted the extent of what your father was like.”

Daigo did a double take, noticing Kashiwagi immediately cringe. At least he knew what he said was stupid.

“Sorry, that was-”

“Yeah. It was.” Daigo looked up, head cocked to his shoulder. “Anyone could have guessed, really. We just pretended otherwise, because somehow he seemed to be the only thing keeping the Tojo Clan from completely falling apart.”

He was up in Kashiwagi’s face now, feeling his chest clench tight. He was working himself up over nothing, over that bastard. He hated it, but thinking of what his father did to get himself killed, the kind of man he was, it made his skin crawl.

“He deserves to spend every birthday after what he did having the most miserable time in hell,” he said with a hiss, noticing his voice wobbling, “I know it. You know it. But Mom refuses to let go-”

The slap felt cathartic, for both of them. Daigo shut his eyes and nodded as his cheek stung. He deserved that. He was trying to provoke that kind of reaction and got exactly that.

“I take back what I said. That boy you were is still there. An insolent brat,” Kashiwagi said, walking back to his desk, “Daigo, one day, you’re going to have to grow up. You can’t keep doing this until you die.”

He threw a semi-sympathetic look over his shoulder, but Daigo mostly felt it was piteous. That’s what he was. A pitiful, useless mess.

“Go home, Daigo. Call your mother. And for everyone’s sake, don’t have anything else to drink tonight.”

Daigo sucked in through his teeth and nodded again as he walked toward the door.

“...good night, Kashiwagi-san.”

No response. Yup. I deserve this.

He made his way home in a daze, everything working in automatic. Kashiwagi’s words kept echoing in his head, over and over.

You can’t keep doing this until you die.

Because that’s what he was trying to do, wasn’t it? Die. Suicide by hedonism. He was born already holding the worst hand life could deal, and he was never going to get anything better. After his father was killed, the one tiny scrap of potential good he could have in his life was gone, even if that prospect was a life of crime.

So why not? Why should he grow up when there was nothing to grow up for?

The moment he was inside his apartment, he slid down the door, staring blankly ahead. He’d needed that talking to, he needed a few really, from people who were currently pretending like he didn’t exist. That’s what he really needed. For Kiryu to talk to him, apologise for ruining his life, try and talk some sense into him. He always knew what to do.

But it was like he didn’t exist. Kiryu didn’t care. Kashiwagi tried to care, but knew he was a lost cause. Who did care?

Daigo opened up his phone again, staring at the missed calls and sighed. That’s who cared. Mom.

He should talk to her. He knew he should. He was an awful son who loved his mother very much, which is why he knew she deserved better. She was trying despite knowing she’d made mistakes, but he just couldn’t let that go.

He hovered on her number, ready to press the button to call...but instead he tossed his phone to land on the couch, walked to the kitchen and wrapped his fingers around the neck of the vodka bottle still on the counter.

He licked his lips, swallowed heavily...but let go, pushing it away.

“You win this time old man,” he grumbled, picking up an energy drink and the donuts he’d bought earlier in the day instead. Kashiwagi could never be allowed to know that though.

He knew this self-control wouldn’t last long. Come morning, he’d be shaking again, a hangover banging in his skull, and he’d be dragging himself towards that bottle like it was the source of life.

The same thing every day.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

He couldn’t have it any other way.

[girlsgonemildblog]

I Am In This Episode and I Don't Like It - Emily in Paris, Season 1, Episode 6 Recap (Spoilers!!)

Poster from IMDB

Birds having sex. That is how this episode opens. Shots of birds fucking. We then cut away from this to Emily lying in bed, unable to sleep because Gabriel and Camille are having extremely loud sex. I have heard neighbors through walls and the people above me's bed banging on the floor, but never have I heard the people who live below me (like Gabriel and Camille do to Emily) having sex. They must be really loud. Also, based on this scene, Emily sleeps with full makeup (including lipstick) and her hair perfectly curled. I honestly think the production team wanted this show to be mocked.

The next morning, Emily is again eating at a café with Mindy, who is whining about how her dad wants to buy her a BMW and a mansion. Her life is honestly so hard. She then reveals to Emily that she was on a singing competition show in China, where she failed miserably and became a meme. Not to repeat myself, but I think the show's goal is to be mocked.

Emily gets to work, and we learn that, because they are meeting with an important couture designer that day, she was told specifically to wear all black. At least the show is self-aware with how terrible her outfit choices are. They arrive at Pierre Cadault's studio, and it is clear that his aesthetic is definitely not all black - more beiges and pastels, just like the rest of Paris. I think the writers were thinking of New York when they chose all black; someone should tell them fashion isn't the same everywhere. Cadault comes to meet them, sees Emily's tacky Eiffel Tower bag charm, and calls her "ringarde" or "basic,” and then storms out of the meeting. A bit dramatic, if I’m being honest, but also, the bag charm was pretty basic:

That night, Emily is minding her own business eating dinner alone when some (not even cute) man begins talking to her about whether a couple at another table is mother-and-son or dating. After a cut to show that time has passed, Emily finishes the story of her meeting with Cadault. The man, named Tomas, says that it is "ringarde" to call someone "ringarde" and then says he doesn't think she's basic - he clearly does not know her very well. He then starts a pretentious speech about known sexist pig, Pablo Picasso, and a bunch of other buzz-word names. Tomas is a know-it-all asshole and reminds me of every guy I have ever dated. Emily is impressed, nonetheless, and sleeps with him. Do better, Emily. Also, while I love Lily Collins, she is not great at acting in sex scenes; it was unbearably awkward. By the way, even Emily's bras have pictures of Paris on them:

The next morning, she runs into Camille, who tells her that she can hear Emily just as well as Emily can hear her and Gabriel. The fact that they all hear each other, but not any of the other neighbors, is pretty solid evidence for my no-one-else-lives-there theory.

At work, Emily brags to Julien about how Tomas quoted poetry to her, and Julien rightfully says that's boring. As an English major who has had to deal with many men interested in poetry, it's only hot in theory. In practice, it's boring and annoying, and they always expect you to be so impressed that they can quote the same Shakespeare sonnet that everyone had to memorize in High School Brit Lit. Emily then learns that Sylvie is holding a meeting without her and not speaking to her because she lost them the account with Cadault, one of Sylvie's favorite designers. Apparently, Emily is not the only person at this office with no sense of professionalism.

Emily meets Mindy at their bench in the park, and they are again talking about Mindy's singing career. I cannot express how little I care about this plotline. Mindy says she has too much PTSD from her failure on "Chinese Popstar" to audition for a local jazz club, but when Emily asks her to sing for her right there, Mindy is belting in the middle of the park with very little convincing. (Here is the moment where I take a break from my criticizing everything to say I absolutely love Ashley Park's voice. Please go listen to "What's Wrong With Me?" from the Mean Girls Musical soundtrack.)

That night, Emily and Tomas run into Gabriel and Camille outside their building, because of course they do. (It was at this moment that I realized the actor who plays Gabriel, Lucas Bravo, could very easily fill the Armie-Hammer-sized hole we currently have in society.) Being her always-friendly, always-oblivious self, Camille forces Emily and Tomas to go on a double date with her and Gabriel. Gabriel sees right through Tomas's bullshit, which is probably easy to do since Tomas is blatantly rude to Gabriel because Tomas is the type to only be polite to people he wants to fuck. Back at her apartment, remembering her conversation with Camille that morning, Emily tells Tomas that they need to be quieter when they have sex. They are (somehow) even louder than before.

Because the whole premise of this show seems to be that Emily lucks herself into things, while walking to work the next day, she notices in the corner of a sign for a ballet that Pierre Cadault designed the costumes and that opening night is that night. After Sylvie refuses to go with her (and rips up the original tickets), she invites Tomas to join her.

As she's leaving for the ballet (in an absolutely ridiculous outfit), she runs into Gabriel again. Are you guys as tired of reading that phrase as I am of writing it? We may have to turn it into a drinking game. Gabriel tells Emily the truth about what he thinks of Tomas, calling him "an asshole masquerading as an intellectual." I loved that line. He also tells her that she is "wasting her time with a guy who doesn't deserve her," and um, what exactly is so great about Emily?

When Emily arrives at the ballet and meets up with Tomas, he asks her if he is playing a joke on him by bringing him to see "Swan Lake", which, according to him, is "for tourists". "Swan Lake" is actually my favorite ballet, so fuck him. Emily then has a moment of clarity and finally realizes what her horniness had kept her from seeing the last three days; Tomas is a pretentious douche. (Emily actually said "snob" but I feel "pretentious douche" is more precise). Tomas responds by calling Emily "simpleminded". When he realizes she's offended by this, for some reason, he tries to better the situation by calling her "simple but beautiful". I believe the sound I made at this point would be called a "guffaw". When she still isn't happy, he tells her to go to the ballet, and he'll meet her afterward and "treat her to some amazing sex." She flips him off and walks away, which is actually a lot more polite than how I would've responded in that situation.

She then finds Cadault and explains to him that she always wanted to be Serena van der Woodsen and would buy bag charms because it was the only thing she could afford from the designers that she worshipped. Cadault turns out to be a Gossip Girl fan, which is revealed by having him spoil Gossip Girl. Seriously, he just straight-up SAYS who Gossip Girl is. I know it's been 8 years, but there should've been a spoiler warning or something. I already knew, but what if I hadn't? It was rude. Anyway, the next day Sylvie gets a call from Cadault that he wants a meeting with her and tells her to "bring Gossip Girl". Everything always works out for Emily in the end.

[blueberrypossum]

Wounded Lover

I’M BACK!!!

No one tells you how much college takes up your free time but I’m back with my Mud Dogz content (especially Leonard, my boy). I’ve never posted much on Leonard and Nova’s friendship/relationship so this is how they bounce off each other’s personalities!

⚠️WARNING⚠️: There is usage of inappropriate adult words and sexual comments and insults. 

(Shoutout to the lovely @ultra-gingerlotus   for making me fall in love with the Snow Leopard from the Shiki x Danny reading! Also @greaser-wolf for drawing them on the motorcycle! Go check them out!!!)

“I’m not getting on that if you’re driving.”

“Then I guess you are just like other girls then, huh?”

Nova eyed the ogre in front of her as he once again offered his hand towards her, the motorcycle under him letting low growls of excitement rumble under their feet. 

They had planned to go out to eat and get away from the other members of the Mud Dogz, Leonard explaining that the love flying between the couples was making him sick and he needed a little bit of excitement. 

The mountain cat looked across the bike with her sunset eyes. She never knew that the ogre yokai had this stashed away, never once talking about it.

“I’ve never seen you ride this and then all of a sudden you have a bike? It’s kind of hard to believe, Leon.”

The feline walked around the bike as if it was an artifact on display, her fingers trailing over the front of the bike as she looked at her reflection. 

“You never asked.”

“You never presented.”

The ogre leaned his arm against the handle of the bike and rested his face in his hand, sending a smug smile up towards the feline.

“I mean, if you’re a scaredy-cat-”

“....Scoot.”

The Mountain cat was hesitant at first as she tried to get herself comfortable behind her friend, he boots trying to find their footing as Leonard revved up the beast under them, causing Nova’s tail to spike up in shock. 

“Titans above! I get it, it’s a motorcycle! Let’s just get there,” the cat grumbled, her arms snaking around Leonard’s waist. 

The leader of the Mud Dogz let out a gruff chuckle at the feline’s reaction as his fingers worked on the handles, the soft paws around him distracting him for a split second before he brought the machine under him back to life. 

“Whoa wait, no helmets?”

“No helmets.”

“Oh great, so that’s where you get it from. Nice to know.”

With that comment, Leonard pulled quickly out from the front of the orphanage and sped down the road, the gravel threading under the tires flying up behind them. 

Nova let out a loud meow of alarm and tightened her grip around his leather jacket, the wind whiplashing her hair as she closed her eyes against his back. Usually dangerous things didn’t scare her, but she knew what was coming, she could predict what would happen, but not with this. 

The ogre rolled his eyes as she shielded herself behind him and took a light left. 

“Do you not trust me?” Leonard screamed at her, his voice carrying with the wind. 

“I got on the bike, doesn’t that tell you?!”

“A little!”

Nova let out a gust of air as her curled up hands unclenched from his shirt and she opened one of eyes, the wind fluttering between her eyelashes as she took in the traffic around them. 

The bridge they were crossing was pouring with life, with other vehicles passing by and yokai’s walking on the sidelines, the city lights sparkling over the outline of each individual. The feline couldn’t contain her gasp of wonderment as she steadily rose herself up to get a better view over Leonard’s hair. 

She let the strong breeze push her hair behind her and her claws dug into the ogre as the bike wobbled a little bit, her face snuggling into his shoulder out a sizzle of panic. 

“No wonder you have whiplashed hair!” Nova laughed out as she felt her brown hair tangle within itself behind her, more fits of laughter barreling out of her as the chill of the wind settled in her fur. 

Leonard couldn’t help but feel beyond warm due to the feline’s face so close to his, even with the wind chilling him to the bone, he could feel the slightest bit of warmth against his neck and goosebumps traveled over his skin. 

Her yellow and green eyes shimmered like a sun’s shadow in a pool, the curl of her smile almost causing the sun to set as she turned to look at him. 

She was definitely different from most women he had run into. More brash and overly-confident, but he wasn’t stupid, he knew that there was some dark shit buried within the cracks of the mask she wore. But he didn’t push, he didn’t want to push and make her feel uncomfortable, when she was ready, he would be there. 

He revved up the motorcycle and a squeal purred against his back as more frightful laughter came from his friend and for once the leader of the Mud Dogz felt the tension in his body go dull. The howls that parted from her mouth would make anyone laugh with her, even causing him to release a chuckle or two as he turned the corner and into one of the multiple towns of side door restaurants. 

He parked the machine into one of the parking areas behind a building and he could still hear the upchucks of giggles come from the tabby, her claws brushing through her hair to undo the knots. 

“You take all the girls and boys you meet for a ride?” She asked as she flipped her leg over the side and leaned into the bike. 

Leonard could help but stare at the feline as she presented herself on the metal bike, her wine colored jacket edged over the black lining and her thighs jetted out from the tight leggings. Her leveled out hair was loose over her face and her bangs waved over her face as she looked up at him, a raised eyebrow motioned towards him to show that she knew he was eyeing her. 

“Only those stupid enough,” he replied as he rose from his spot and awaited for the feline to follow him into the busy market, the fresh scent of meats and fried food wafted from the corners of the stores. 

The streets that were decorated with food stands were brightened with lined lanterns and the air was warm due to the passing conversations of the animals and plants and the steam from pots and pans. 

 Nova felt her stomach grumble as her eyes darted between the different food stands, the engrossed horde of yokai buzzing around them as they tried to pick which stand to eat from. As Nova darted over to a stand on the far side to have a natural smoothie, she turned to see Leonard talking with someone, and by his face she could tell it was not a good someone. She quickly grabbed her drink and felt balmy rage hit the roof of her mouth as she caught who he was talking to. 

The feline could feel her extended claws trying to push through her fingertips and she shoved them back as she came up behind the female that was talking to him, a slash of ease crossing the ogre’s dark eyes. 

“How’s the cut in your ear, snow leopard?”

The white and grey cat yokai turned with a snarl, the long tear in her ear flicking as Nova recalled the fight, the tabby’s claws sinking into the grey cat’s face and then ripping into her small ear and creating the new scar. 

The snarl dwelled in her white throat as she sent Nova a cocky smile as she turned herself to face both members of the Mud Dogz, her back up against one of the pillars holding up a snack bar. 

“Oh, you’re here, too? I thought you would be off swimming with the fishes,” the female leopard cooed as she rolled her eyes and turned back to Leonard, her eyelids fluttering her sky blue eyes. 

“The names Serena, by the way.” She purred, her fingers working to pull her shirt lower as if she had forgotten him knocking her out and giving her a bloody nose in their last encounter. 

“Oh because you’re such a saint,” the ogre huffed back as he leaned away from the furry yokai and Nova’s tail flicked back and forth in irritation, her mind seeping with her feral instincts as she almost stalked over to her. 

Sunset eyes and sky eyes met in a battle as Nova stood in front of Leonard, Serena only an inch taller than her and she took it to her advantage as much as she could. The sparehire’s in her head looked down at the tabby’s bruised knees that were light against her dark leggings and the pearly cat let out a chuckle. 

“Are your knees always bruised? I’m surprised that so many men would pay for it from you.”

“At least someone wants me on my knees. Is it fun being a guy’s target practice?”  Nova shot back, her finger pointing to the dark white spot on the snow leopard's shirt and she scoffed, but pulled her green jacket closer as Nova let out a chuff. 

Leonard was a little taken aback by the women’s cruel words, as if it was a normal day to insult one another. Well, for Nova it was at least. But he had never seen her like this before, her form almost covering him as if trying to protect him. 

Her tail was lowered but the fur stuck out of its ends and her shoulders were risen from their usually slacked posture. As they continued to slap slander at each other, the green yokai realized that if Serena would move to make herself an inch closer to him, Nova would move as well, her tail swishing side to side and her ears going flat against her brown hair.

The ogre didn’t know much about cat conflicts, but he wasn’t blind and he could scent the traction that vibrated between the two. 

Nova was being territorial of him. 

And Leonard could feel a feverish desire rise over his body as Nova’s tail curled into his chest. 

“So, are you here to seduce yokai for your boss or to fight us?” Nova asked, snapping the ogre out of his thoughts.

Serena shook her short hair with a feral grin, as if she was trying to hide the fact she wanted to rip the cat in front of her in two. 

“Relax, pretty kitty. I won’t make a scene with you two with the public around, someone here has to have some class.”

The tabby opened her mouth to report back but a strong hand was placed between her shoulder blades and she turned to Leonard, his face now leaning from her shoulder.

“Look, if you want to bother someone, go to the corner, you’ll find yokai’s there that are right up your alley, good-bye.”

Nova let a few snickers carry over to the snow leopard as the snow leopard’s face lit up like a stoplight, her black and white ears going back against her head as Leonard led Nova away. 

“What’s up with you making everyone want to kill you?” The ogre grumbled as he took her over to one of the food stands they had chosen. 

“Guess I’m just irresistible,” the cat purred, her once agitated tail now calmly swayed back and forth. 

“More like irritable.”

“And you love it.”

His hand was still in the middle of her back when he looked down at her, her head barely passing his shoulders even with her boots on. The curve of her smile, the flicker of tease that pounced between her eyes, how she was jealous of Serena, it was a side of her he hadn’t seen before. 

It made his heart go rigged in his ribcage as he moved his arm away from her, the warmth and the yearning disappearing as he went back into his own bubble.

Forget it, idiot, she’s just a friend. Only a friend. 

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After eating, both of them went back to where Leonard had parked his bike, the once lonesome piece of metal was now surrounded with other types of mobilization. Nova held her fist over her mouth to subside a burp as she crashed onto the bike’s seat. 

“Uhhhhhh, why did I eat that fourth taco?" She groaned out as she bent into Leonard’s back as her stomach felt like it was going to bust past her leggings. 

“Because you didn’t want to waste it.”

“Stilllll.”

 The ogre started up his motor and took things a little slow as he drove from his parking spot and into the silent night of the Hidden City. The once busy streets were now barely rode on and only a few animals walked on the sidelines. The feline’s claws barely tugged on his jean jacket as the food that settled in her stomach made her almost fall asleep on his back, until the bright lights of a car behind them blurred past her eyelids. 

The mountain cat turned around to find a dirty jeep speeding up behind them, the figures driving hidden under hoodies that somehow fought against the thrustful wind. 

Nova narrowed her eyes as other jeeps started to follow the leading jeep, more hooded figures filling in the seats, and then past the yellow beams she saw the small tufts of white circular ears. 

“Leonard, we got company,” Nova choked out as the ogre turned to look at what she was talking about. 

“Shit, who is it this time?”

“Well, you did say that I make everyone want to kill me,” she nervously chuckled, and then gave him a nervous smile as he narrowed his eyes at her. 

The first jeep was at the edge of the bike’s bumper now and Nova could see the snow leopard clearly now and the snow cat was sending her own confident smirk as the car hit the edge of the bike. 

Leonard’s lips were slipping curse words as he sped up, his bike roaring to life as it gave it all it had and went further down the highway, the group of jeeps racing after them. 

“Did she really send a whole army after us?!” He hollered as he took a hard right, cutting a car off as he intersected onto another road. 

“She sure does want your number,” Nova joked as her grip on him tightened as the wind pushed against her.

‘Oh I’m so going to have a talk with her later,’ he thought as he opened up a secret compartment on the side of his bike. 

“Here, take this.”

Nova couldn’t help but gasp as the gun was placed in the palm of her hand and she darted her eyes from him and to the gun. 

“YOU HAD THIS THE WHOLE TIME?!”

“It’s for emergencies!”

“HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO REALIZE THAT THIS IS AN EMERGENCY?!”

“JUST SHOOT!!”

Nova let out a hiss of displeasure as she checked the rounds in it and then once he slowed down for the next turn, she flipped in her seat, her body now facing the rows of vehicles. 

She took aim and shot at one of the jeeps on the left, taking out two of its four tires and watched as the ruined rubber rolled over in its spot and then caused the vehicle to crash into the side of the bridge, the large explosion giving a wave of heat over them as the chase continued. 

“Alright, one down, four to go,” the tabby whispered to herself as she aimed at the next jeep, her eyes widening as she saw them take aim with their own rifles and guns. 

“Len! They got guns as well! Bigger ones too!” She screamed to him as she shot at them to keep them from firing at them. The leader of the Mud Dogz let out a growl of frustration and  turned the bike into a narrow alleyway, the closest jeep coming to a screeching halt before reversing and faded away. 

The feline on the back of the motorcycle let out a sigh of joy as she leaned her back against Leonard’s, her free hand gripping the seat she sat on as they turned back onto a new street, not a jeep in sight. 

And then one crashed right next to them, sending both of the friends screaming in shock as Serena’s jeep closed in on them, her handgun taking aim towards them. 

“Alright, leader, got any plans?”

“Not really!”

“Okay, don’t wait up for me then!”

Leonard turned to question her but the feline had shoved the gun back into its box and lifted herself up into a crouch and once the jeep got close enough, she launched herself onto the hood of the jeep. 

Serena pointed her gun at the feline but she quickly knocked it over, the driver receiving the bullet into his arm and a loud scream echoed through the night. Nova then lifted herself over the mudded window and slammed her boot into the snow leopard’s face, sending the white cat into the back seat. 

Nova then punched the driver in his wounded arm and used the chair and the window panel to hold herself up and used both of her legs to kick him out of his seat, the male yokai rolling out onto the street with a thud. 

In the span of five minutes the mountain cat had taken over the car and was then turning the wheel to strike the jeep next to her, causing the vehicle to rock and the yokai’s in it to lose the grip on their weapons. 

‘I can’t tell if I should confess that I like her or am terrified of her.’

But the ogre swallowed and pulled the gun out she had put back, taking aim to the leftover jeeps and shot into their tires, redirecting the muddy piece of metal over the ledge of the new bridge they were on, the thunderous splash of water the only thing left of them. 

They both turned and surprise watched as the last jeep turned off onto a different road as if giving up on the hunt.

Nova sped up until she was right next to Leonard, a smug smirk crossed her face as they turned a corner, the next bridge they would take would have them home free. 

“You act like you’ve done this before!” Leonard laughed at her and she shrugged her shoulders with a confident flip of her hair.

“Mess with the kitten, you get the claws!” She joked as she tilted her head to laugh at her own joke and then white paws like snow were over her chest to hold her place. 

“Now! Come now!” Serena screamed into a radio she held in her hand. 

Both Leonard and Nova turned to see the last jeep come from its hiding place, like a predator staying in plain sight for its prey. 

“Leonard!”

Nova elbowed the snow leopard in the face and sped up the jeep, the hunk of metal taking the hit as the ogre’s motorcycle got out of the way. 

Nova held onto the wheel as the jeep t-boned in the passenger seat, rocking the car onto its side and then into a roll onto the bridge until it rammed up against the stone railing, the girl’s heads inches away from making contact with the rocks. Serena was pushed into the ground while Nova’s seatbelt held her in place, cuts now sliced into her skin and she had bitten her lip hard enough to cause it to bleed. 

She could faintly hear her name being called out but it almost seemed like everything was fuzzy, her vision, her hearing, even the blood that was trickling down her throat was fizzy like pop. 

The leader of the Mud Dogz had left his motorcycle on the side of the bridge and was racing over to the wreckage, but had to take cover behind a pillar as the last standing jeep started to fire at him. 

The tabby released a groan and spat up a few drops of blood as she felt the spark of flame flicker next to her, instantly waking her to her full senses. 

‘Come on, can’t I catch a break?!’

She lifted her hands up, her digits and elbows ached with pain but they weren’t broken as she undid her seatbelt, her arms barely supporting her as her shoulder slammed into the concrete. The snow leopard was motionless next to her and a big gash was bleeding from the back of her head. 

The mountain cat grunted as she pushed past the wheel and watched as the fire started to creep around her like a nightmare come to life. Her now stained paw pushed the small roped door of the jeep and crawled her way out, the broken up cement tearing into her elbows and forearms as she made distance between her and the fire. 

Leonard had taken out two of the yokai’s, the last of them ever so slightly getting closer with their larger rifles with more ammunition than his small handgun. He turned back to the rubble of metal scraps and raised his eyebrows in horror as the red hands of death started to consume the fire as its own, a barely breathing creature laid in a pile next to it. 

Leonard felt strength and courage rise in him as he turned back to his two main targets, giving it all he had so they wouldn’t see her trying to get away from the burning debris. 

Nova wheezed in the fresh air into her bruised lungs as she tried to get onto her hands and feet, but a pair of hands engulfed her hair into a bundle and had her rise to her feet. 

“Hey, hey! Only my dominatrix can do this!”

“Ugh! Do you ever shut up?!”

Serena dragged the feline out into the edge of the bridge and threw her down, a few strings of hair pulled from Nova’s hair and hung off of the leopard’s nails. The leopard's face was painted with blood from her wound, the only white that shined against it was her fangs that gleamed in the city lights. She bent down and dug her hand into Nova’s skull and pushed her face into the ground, the red liquid dripping onto the side of Nova’s face. 

“Y’know, your type always acts like they’re so strong and confident with themselves,” she snarled into her ear, her knee digging into the tabby’s scarred back to keep her in place. 

“But we all see that you’re just sad and scared. That when moments like this come all you can do is joke and hope that your charm can save the day.”

“I didn’t know that villains actually monologue like this! What’s next? You’re going to tell me how mommy didn’t love you and daddy left once he knocked her up?!

Serena let out a fake roar and slammed Nova’s head into the cement, the feline letting out a wail, causing the other fight to look over. 

In Leonard’s fight the guns had been dropped and there was nothing left but fists and kicks, his knuckles busted and split open, unfortunately the bad guys had gotten a few hits in his face and over his chest. 

The snow leopard lifted Nova’s head up towards the ogre with a sinister smile as her nails dug into her scalp. 

“Take a long look, ogre, because this pretty face will be at the bottom of this bridge before I’m done with it!”

Nova let out a cargled laugh as she looked up at the snow leopard and then back at Leonard. 

“Hey Len, she’s got an extra stain on her shirt. Which goon do you think it was?”

“Really Nova?! Joking now?!”

“Well, it distracted her.”

The mountain cat had wrapped her claws around Serena’s ankle and used it to flip herself over and with her feet now placed into the snow leopard’s stomach she lifted her over her and straight into the gushing river below, the feline letting out angrish cries as she was swallowed by the dark liquid. 

Nova rose to her feet and looked at her friend and then to the last standing bad guy, her large eyebrows raised in annoyance. 

“Can you, uhh, finish your fight so we can leave?”

The ogre raised his fist and made contact with the yokai’s face, knocking her straight out as he came over to where Nova was limping, his arms barely coming up in time to catch her as she leaned into him. 

“Did you know that snow leopards aren’t the best swimmers, so she’ll be at the bottom of the bridge instead of me,” The feline joked into his chest, the dots of blood that were spilled on her face smearing into his dusty shirt. 

Leonard pushed her away with his hands on her shoulders and he brushed a few loose strands out of her face and Nova believed that the heat of the crash was making her sizzle like a fryer. 

Why was he staring at her like that? The worry that burned in his face was unmistakable as the feline felt like she might pass out due to his comforting touch. 

“Are you okay?”

Nova’s tail curled against her back as she couldn’t help but lean into his hand, his calloused and strong hand that seemed to hold her effortlessly. Blame it on all the adrenaline or the loss of blood, but she let him hold her as she finally let the throbbing pulse of her wounds settle. 

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine. You?”

“One kicked me between the legs and I’m screaming on the inside.”

“Don’t worry, your future children will be fine. Somewhat if they turn out like you.”

The mountain cat hissed as weight was placed on her right leg, a long gash on her calf making her come to a halt. 

The ogre turned to her and let her go from his hold, only to bend down and wrap his arms around her thighs and throw her onto his back,a smile breaking against his lips as she let out a small mew of surprise as she gripped his shoulders for support. 

“You know the bike is only a few feet away, right?”

“You know you’re still irresistible.”

“What?”

“Irritable. I said irritable.”

[440mxs-wife]

The Hunter’s Princess - Chapter 5: Arrows, Knives and Pistols

Pairing: Dean x OFC Kira (eventual), Prince!Dean x OFC Lady Kira. Other Characters: Sam Winchester, Prince!Sam Winchester, Castiel, Rowena, Gabriel, King!John, Queen!Mary, Lucifer and assorted minor characters.

Chapter 5 Word Count: 2490+

Warnings: None really. Each chapter will have individual warnings as needed.

A/N: This is from some material that’s been rattling around in my head from another project that changed direction. Couldn’t let all this content go to waste, though, so here it is. It’s a work-in-progress, and I will try and update as regularly as I can. If you want to be tagged in this series, send me a message!

Thank you and happy reading!

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On the morning of the first day of competition the air was crisp, but not cold enough to warrant an overcoat. Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was out in full force, bathing the field of competition in its warmth.

Today, Kira would be demonstrating her skill with weaponry. First, the bow and arrow, then throwing knives and lastly, the flintlock pistol. She'd had plenty of practice over the years with these items, so she was not at all concerned about her performance.

Tomorrow's competition was an equestrian event, which involved a course of jumps and turns to prove her skill on horseback. Again, no worries, because she was perfectly comfortable on the back of a horse. Kira used to ride horses on her Aunt Brenda's farm, her favorite being an Arabian stallion named Midnight.

The part that scared Kira the most was the interview with the king and queen. Kira knew she had made an impression on the queen, but she had yet to  cross paths with the king. She could tell that the princes held a healthy respect for their parents. Kira had also heard stories that the king was not a man to accept disobedience lightly.

For anyone who had met Kira, it was well known that she has always had trouble following instructions. She had a tendency to follow her heart and leave her head to either catch up or be left behind. That alone was enough to make Kira a little anxious about meeting the king.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sarah entered Kira's room and opened the heavy window curtains, which allowed the abundant sunshine to flood the room with light. Kira was excited for the day's events, so she didn't need much coaxing. But as soon as Kira sat up, she felt a little dizzy so she stopped. She tried again to sit up, albeit a little more slowly and the feeling disappeared.

Kira reviewed her wardrobe and considered her fashion choices for  the day. She decided that a day dress would not be practical for the day's events. She   pulled on a pair of black leggings, a long rust-colored tunic and her black knee-high boots. She added the leather gauntlets for her wrists. Of course, Kira also made sure she had the locket, which she tucked under the collar of her tunic.

Sufficiently clothed, Kira wandered into the dining hall for the  morning meal. Serena and Christina were already seated at one corner of  the table, whispering with heads bowed together. As soon as Kira entered the room, Serena and Christina stopped talking. Adriana sat alone in the corner opposite the other two ladies, so Kira walked over to her.

Adriana had long, curly blond hair gathered in a low ponytail in back. Her coffee-colored eyes took in Kira's appearance, almost as if she were sizing up the competition. Adriana's attitude this morning seemed to be a complete   turnaround from their conversation at last night's dinner.

Kira wished Adriana good morning, and she politely responded. "Is it all right if I sit with you?" Kira asked.

"I'd rather have the time to myself, to prepare for today's competition if you don't mind," Adriana replied icily.

Kira could feel her cheeks growing warm. "I'm sorry if I have offended you in any way Adriana. If I've said something--" she cut Kira off.

"I'm not really interested in making friends or alliances. I'm here to compete for myself and for my homeland. So, you stay on your eastern side of the kingdom and I'll stay on my southern side of the kingdom. That way, we'll get along just peachy with each other," Adriana retorted as she got up to leave.

"Wow, making lots of friends, aren't we?" Serena sneered. "You've been doing a lot of running around with Castiel and the princes. You probably think that makes you better than the rest of us, but it doesn't. I'd watch your back if I were you, Lady Kira. Accidents can happen," Serena added darkly as she and Christina left the dining hall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kira made her way to the field for the targeting event, where the other competitors were already waiting. While she walked, she thought about the conversation at breakfast, and each lady's reaction to her. She knew that she wasn't Serena's or Christina's favorite person. However, she thought she at least had a chance at friendship with Adriana. Guess I'm on my own here, she thought.

The firing lanes were spread ten feet apart between each of the competitors. Points were to be scored as follows: Bull's eye was worth 25 points. Moving farther away from the center ring, the point values were reduced to 10, 7, 5 and 3. Each competitor was given ten arrows. The one with the most points at the end of the day wins the event.

First up were Christina and Adriana. They each shot their ten arrows, with Christina earning a total of 75 points. Adriana did almost as well, turning in a good performance with 72 points, while Serena shot extremely well for 87   points.

Finally, it was time for Kira to compete. She stepped up to the firing line and shot her ten arrows. All that practice at the firing range in the bunker must have paid off, because Kira pulled in 89 points. That put her in the lead after the bow and arrow event. She looked over at the royal viewing box, and locked eyes with Prince Dean. He gave Kira a somewhat subtle wink and a smile, causing her to blush slightly.

The next event involved the use of throwing knives. Kira had definitely had plenty of practice at this when fighting shapeshifters and werewolves. She again came away with the highest number of points. By the time the first two events were finished, it was time for the midday meal. The royal family left first to be seated in the dining hall, followed by the competitors.

After everyone was fed, they all trudged back out to the competition field. Each lady's personal flintlock pistols were waiting on a table inside each firing booth. This time, competitors would only have five shots instead of ten. This made the margin for error much smaller, so all shots had to count. Kira only hoped that the lead she had built up from the first two events would be enough to distinguish herself.

Christina and Adriana fared a bit better in this task, while Serena continued to turn in a superior performance. Kira knew she had her work cut out for her. She currently held the lead, but the gap had narrowed to less than what she was comfortable with.

Kira stepped up to the firing line and waited for her cue to begin her performance. As soon as she picked up her pistol, she knew something was wrong with it. Kira examined her firearm, and did not see any immediate evidence of tampering, so she decided to move on.

She lined up the target in her sights and fired the first round, but it went wide of the center. At that moment, Kira figured someone had messed with her sights so they were completely off. Fortunately, she had enough firearms experience to be able to compensate for this occurrence. Kira adjusted her aim and fired her next round, which pierced the target in the center area. The three remaining rounds joined it and the crowd applauded in  appreciation.

Kira and the other   competitors were called over to the royal box to receive the results of today's events. As they waited, she happened to again lock eyes with Prince Dean, who smiled and nodded in Kira's direction, causing her to blush  again.

A page handed Queen Mary a piece of paper with the day's results. She cleared her throat before reading aloud the information. "There are a total of six points separating the top performers. Here are the rankings: in fourth place, Adriana of the Southern territory and third place is Christina, our competitor from the Western territory."

The queen paused at this time, because she had yet to mention two competitors, Kira and Serena. "In second place but only three points off the leader, we have Serena from the Northern territory, leaving Kira from the Eastern territory as today's winner!" The crowd jumped to its feet and broke into a thunderous applause.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After the announcement that Kira was the points leader in the Princes' Challenge, she received no end of congratulatory hugs and well wishes. She began to get a little uncomfortable with all the attention, so she excused herself to her room for some rest. Prince Samuel caught up to Kira as she walked back to her quarters. "Is everything all right, Lady Kira?" he asked.

Kira gave a quick curtsy. "Yes, Your Highness, everything is fine. I just need a small break for now, but I'll see you at dinner," she answered.

Prince Samuel took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I look forward to seeing you, Lady Kira. Absolutely magnificent performance, by the way. Can't wait to see you on horseback tomorrow," he grinned. "Until dinner, Lady Kira," he said softly, kissing her hand again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Prince Dean saw Lady Kira try and gracefully remove herself from the crowd of well-wishers. His heart went out to her because she looked a little overwhelmed from all the attention. The prince walked around the corner from the competition field, and saw Lady Kira in conversation with his brother. Only it looked like he was letting his lips on the back of her hand do more of the talking.

Dean didn't blame Lady Kira, she was only being polite, but he was angry with his brother. Sam saw how Dean reacted when he saw Castiel and Lady Kira together that first day in the marketplace. On that day, Prince Dean admitted that he was a little jealous. Castiel assured him many times that he had no intentions towards Lady Kira other than friendship. Prince Dean, however, had other ideas.

Lady Kira, he thought. She's....amazing. She's smart, determined and beautiful, with a generous spirit. She certainly proved her weapons skills today, he acknowledged. The prince could see that the lady cares so deeply about others. It made him wonder if she's ever given a thought about what she wants from life.

It was clear to Prince Dean that Lady Kira genuinely wants to help people, not for the fame or recognition, but because it's the right thing to do. It sounded to him like the makings of a good queen. Collins told the princes and Castiel that her people absolutely adore her and are fiercely loyal to her. Prince Dean thought that it was easy to see why.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dean and Lady Kira arrived in the Tub Room, where Dean showed her where the shampoo, soaps and towels were located. She had brought some clothes from her room to change into after her bath.

"There's hot and cold running water in here, 'hot' is on the left and 'cold' is on the right. I'll get it started, then you can adjust the temperature to however you like. When you're done, just pull the plug at the bottom and all the water will drain away," Dean explained. "Any questions?" he asked. Lady Kira shook her head. "Welp, then I guess I'll leave you to it. Enjoy," he remarked.

"Thank you," Lady Kira murmured. She marveled at the convenience of not having to heat up the water before bathing. She wondered how she was ever going to go back to the way things were when she returned to her home dimension. Nevertheless, she was determined to do whatever it would take to restore balance in the universe.

As the water filled the tub, Lady Kira selected some lavender bath salts, which she knew would smell nice and help her to sleep. She grabbed the pitcher from the cabinet shelf and the shampoo so she could wash her hair as well. She sprinkled in the bath salts and let the water run for a few more minutes before turning off the faucet and stepping into the tub.

After Lady Kira finished washing her hair, she nestled into the tub and let her mind drift to the three men in charge of her return home. For a situation that ought to be scaring the daylights out of her, she was surprisingly calm. It was like she'd met them before, but how could she have done that?

Castiel....an Angel of the Lord here, but there was a Castiel who was best friends with the crown princes....Samuel and Dean! Of course, that's why these men looked familiar, why she felt so at ease around them.

She wondered if the princes and Castiel in her world were also hunters. If they were, it wasn't something that was well-known. Lady Kira imagined the circumstances were the same in this world, that these men saved people. They just didn't want the recognition for it.

When the water started to lose its warmth, Lady Kira exited the tub and reached down to pull the stopper, as Dean instructed. These men were certainly attractive, but she was drawn to Dean in particular. The way he carried himself gave off an air of protectiveness, determination and strength.

However, his moss-colored eyes held a hint of sadness in them each time he looked at her. His look reminded Lady Kira of a man who clearly longed to be with the woman he loved. She wondered if there was some sort of attraction between Dean and the woman whose place she had taken. Lady Kira made a mental note to ask Sam about the nature of their relationship, if any.

She caught a whiff of the scent from the lavender bath salts and inhaled deeply. As she stood up, she felt a jolt of dizziness in her head. She braced herself on the edge of the tub as a slide show of images flashed through her mind.

At first, she saw Dean standing next to an older man with a beard and a kind face. She recognized Sam, but this was a much younger version. In the next flash, there were two women, one with short dark hair and one with long blond hair, taking turns hugging Sam and Dean. Another flash featured a short man in an all-black suit with a dark beard and mustache, standing next to a woman with long and wavy red hair.

These must be her memories, Lady Kira thought. That lavender smell must have triggered it, she reasoned. Another dizzying jolt brought an image of Dean and Kira, sitting on a couch, his arms wrapped snugly around her. She reaches for Dean's hands and intertwines their fingers. Although they are not looking at each other, Lady Kira can see it in their eyes.

They are most definitely in love with each other.

Part 6 here!

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Tags: @janicho88 @akshi8278 @magssteenkamp @swiftlymoniquesblog @lyarr24 @miss-nerd95 @distefano123 @hobby27 @deanwanddamons @jessica-noel94 @wayward-mikaelson @jawritter @gabrielslittleangel @jensengirl83 @deangirl93 @ellewritesfix05 @supernatural-jackles @babygurltt

The Hunter’s Princess Series tags: @flamencodiva

[staytheb]

Elusive

Pairing: TXT’s Yeonjun x OC [Chaeyeon] Genre: college!au, slice of life, slight fluff Word Count: 4,580 Summary: Yeonjun and Chaeyeon are just friends, but it could be a little more than that. Well, maybe more for Yeonjun as Chaeyeon’s a bit oblivious.

Warning: none... i think. lol

hi! so i got to writing about Yeonjun from TXT! so the group has been removed from RESERVED and over to INACTIVE for now as i still dunno how often i will write with them in mind, but this came about and i’m still learning the members so this may not be as accurate. then again, this is a re-work of my other story Exclusive which only features one pairing and not a second one like the original. anyways, hopefully all my re-works can be done by the end of the year and to include more groups to write for as well. other than that, happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

"You've got to be kidding me." Chaeyeon said in disbelief upon arriving early to her 8AM class.

Apparently it had been cancelled for the remainder of the week and she totally forgot about it.

"I really need to pay better attention."

Running a hand through her hair she heard a chuckle from behind her and turned around to see her classmate and friend, Yeonjun, walking up to her with a bubble tea in each hand.

"You're cute."

Chaeyeon made a face upon hearing his compliment.

"I'm not."

"Anyways, good morning." He greeted with a cheery attitude.

Chaeyeon frowned knowing that for her it was not a good morning.

"It's not. Anyways, why are you here?"

"To hang out with you since I knew you forgot that this class was cancelled for the rest of the week."

He grinned as Chaeyeon rolled her eyes.

"Oh wow, the great and mighty Choi Yeonjun gracing me with his royal presence. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness."

Yeonjun's excited expression dampened a bit.

"Gee, thanks, Chae. I was gonna give you this taro milk tea to make you feel better, but instead I'll enjoy it myself."

He smirked as he took a sip out of the purple drink.

"Ah, so delicious."

"Go ahead."

Chaeyeon shrugged as she walked right pass him.

"I'll buy myself something else and kill time before my next class."

Yeonjun followed after her with a pout.

"You do know that the taro was for you, right?"

"I do, but you put your nasty germs on it and so I don't want it."

"But you share things with everyone else though?"

"I know, but you're a different story."

"Then you can have the other one."

He offered her the greenish-brown drink.

"No thanks. I don't really like mint chocolate as bubble tea."

"It's not like I have cooties, Chae."

"Um, Jun, have you forgotten about your fans?"

She shot him a look.

"Because I'm not tryna get killed, which I'm surprised that there is none lurking around sending me death glares."

"Stop. I don't have fans." Yeonjun disagreed as he brushed off the topic.

"Whatever you wanna call them, they won't kill you. You're my friend and I haven't seen them give you any dirty looks."

"One, they're two-faced because when you turn around to look at them their so-called angelic faces appear. Two, I'm a female friend that's closer to you than they'll ever be to which to this day I still don't know how we're friends, honestly. We don't really have that much in common."

"Friends don't always have to have similar interests, Chaeyeon. It's mutual respect and a connection. Anyways, is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?" Yeonjun interjected upon hearing the part about them being friends.

"You can take it however you want."

Chaeyeon chuckled before continuing.

"Anyways, true, but maybe it's because you always copy my homework and sit next to me in class when you can literally sit anywhere else."

"Because you have better handwriting and you don't stare at me constantly."

"I wonder why."

She rolled her eyes before shooting him a look.

"Psh. And here you say they're not your fans."

Serena then took the purple drink from him and took a sip to assure him of their close relationship.

"Thanks though, but you still owe me something to eat from last time."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You won't stop reminding me. Anyways, forget about them. They're not important."

He dismissed the topic about the fans.

"I'll meet you in the library at our usual spot then, yeah?"

Yeonjun informed her as the two split in different directions. While Chaeyeon was casually making her way up the stairs towards the library she suddenly heard her name being shouted from behind her. Just as she had turned around to see who it was she was suddenly tackled to the ground with the person on top of her while her drink fumbled away from her.

"Smile!"

The male announced happily as he held up his phone with one hand while the other hand held a placard to take a self-portrait of himself and Chaeyeon which she immediately partially blocked her face in time.

"Get off, Sim Jaeyun!"

Chaeyeon tried shoving the friend and classmate of hers off of her.

Jaeyun chuckled nervously as he obeyed while backing away from Chaeyeon with a good amount of space between them as another friend and classmate, Park Jongseong, joined them a moment later while catching his breath.

"Sorry, Chaeyeon. I tried, but once he saw you he ran so fast that I couldn't keep up." Jongseong explained once he caught his breath before a cheeky smile appeared on his face.

"Also, I wanted to see what would happen and the outcome was hilarious."

"You're a brat, Jongseong." Chaeyeon scoffed while fixing herself, but shot the two a friendly look.

"What are you two doing out and about so early in the morning?"

"Trying to complete the scavenger list." Jaehyun answered as he held up his placard.

"I really want this customized leather jacket just for Beta Heta Mu members."

"Of course. You're cute, Jaeyun."

Chaeyeon smiled before her eyes landed on the boba that Yeonjun had given her.

"But you owe me a drink though."

"I will if only..."

"If only what?"

"Basically Jaeyun wants you to help him out with gaining points." Jongseong answered with a blank look.

"That's why he ran so fast to catch you."

"The last time I helped I still didn't get my reward."

Jaeyun nervously rubbed the back of his neck before casting the female a pleading look.

"I will double the reward. Please help me out, Chaeyeon, especially since you're a Nu Tau Zeta member and it'll double or even triple the points."

"Ugh, fine, but I'm only gonna do just like two with you since you tackled me."

She then glared at him.

"You already took one, so you're left with one now."

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Jaeyun thanked her while wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"You're the best."

"Yeah, yeah. You're lucky that you're cute. Anyways, just tell me one of them that you need to do."

"I don't get why you put up with it when you know that you don't want to do it." Jongseong stated as Chaeyeon shrugged.

"I dunno. I guess you gotta give good karma to receive good karma."

"Wow. So it's basically for your own selfish gain?"

"Sure, why not? Don't judge me, Jongseong."

"You're cute, Chaeyeon."

He laughed as she narrowed her eyes at Jongseong.

"You want to do a few tasks, too, don't you?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"If there's a customized leather jacket, then yes."

Jongseong laughed with a nod.

"You caught me."

"Anyways, I already did the 'Tackle the opposite gender'. Let's see what else I can do." Jaeyun muttered as he checked his list and marked off the ones that he had already done.

"Oh, how about this one, Chaeyeon?"

Jaeyun showed Chaeyeon one of the tasks as she nodded.

"Sure, Jaeyun."

Jaehun happily got his phone ready to take the picture as Chaeyeon endured Beta Heta Mu's scavenger list for the sake of friendship while partially covering her face since she didn't want to get exposed either. She ended up doing a few more for both Jongseong and Jaeyun. The things she does in wanting to help out friends since the tasks weren't breaking laws or humiliating towards the members or others involved. Something she definitely gave the fraternity credit for. After that the trio bid goodbyes with Chaeyeon picking up her wasted boba drink to toss before making her way inside the library.

Yeonjun entered the quiet area where he and Chaeyeon met often in the library while spotting her sleeping with her arms folded on the table and using them as pillows. He chuckled at the sight while placing a ham and cheese bagel sandwich along with an iced americano by her things. Once he settled in the chair next to her while taking a sip of his own iced americano did Chaeyeon stir awake. She looked over at him sleepily while scrunching her nose at the aroma of the drinks.

"Gah, I hate the smell of coffee."

Yeonjun's eyebrows furrowed.

"I thought you like coffee?"

"I actually don't like coffee at all."

She pushed her coffee away and towards Yeonjun while picking up the bagel to eat.

"Thanks."

He stared at Chaeyeon questioningly in mid-bite of his own ham and cheese bagel sandwich.

"Wait a minute, Chae. Are you telling me that you hate coffee despite me buying it for our study sessions together since we've met?"

"Uh, yeah, basically." Chaeyeon answered with a sheepish laugh.

"Sorry, not sorry?"

"Dude, why didn't you just tell me? You honestly finished it every time or left a little bit and I didn't think anything of it."

"Because you genuinely looked pleased every time you gave it to me. It was cute and I just didn't have it in me to tell you the truth."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"You'll get over it. Anyways, Jun, now you have double the coffee for your day today."

Yeonjun side-eyed her while taking the other drink back and taking a quick sip from it.

"What else are you hiding from me?"

"A lot of things." 

Chaeyeon cast him a secretive smile as she continued eating the bagel. Yeonjun left the subject alone as he brought out his materials to study, a loose piece of paper floated to the ground and Chaeyeon went to retrieve it instead before her friend could. Upon closer inspection she realized that it was the same BHM scavenger list that Jaehyun had.

"I forgot you're a Beta Heta Mu member." Chaeyeon remarked while placing the paper on top of his bag.

"So you're doing this, too?"

"Something like that."

He picked up the paper to scan it.

"I haven't really started, but I don't think I'm gonna do it either."

"Why not?"

"I don't have time. I really need to pass my classes this semester. I barely managed last semester."

"It's easier to do with a friend or two, Yeonjun. The scavenger hunt list, I mean. I'm sure you have some."

Yeonjun rolled his eyes.

"I do, Chaeyeon, but my schedule doesn't correlate well with theirs."

She glanced at him curiously.

"Do you want to complete the list?"

"Well yeah, I do, but I don't have the time to do so."

"What do you get out of this list if you complete the whole thing?"

"Well the points I accumulate will give me entries to the End of the School Year raffle."

"But there's something else that you want, right?"

Yeonjun smiled embarrassed as the thought of what he wanted popped into his head.

"Yeah."

"And that is?"

Chaeyeon tried to get it out of him.

"Tell me and I'll help you."

"You will?" He asked shocked before eyeing her suspiciously.

"Wait, why? You would rather be in bed right now than doing anything really productive."

"I have my moments, Jun, and I feel like doing something productive today besides school stuff at the moment."

"Y'know there's like more than fifty things on that list, right?"

"True, but it's mainly to help out a friend. Also I know that you want this. So what is it?"

"If I complete that list or score the most points out of anyone for that list, then I get to be center for the group photo when school's over."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. Oh and I get to host the final house banquet this school term and the first house banquet next school term."

"Okay, that's good."

Yeonjun looked at his friend unsure.

"Are you sure you want to help me?"

"I mean, not really, but I don't mind helping out others from time to time." 

Chaeyeon shrugged with a small smile.

"Alright, thanks, but I do need a date though for the banquet."

"And I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"Could I ask you in advance since you won't be all..."

"Fangirl mode?"

She cocked a brow as he nodded with a laugh.

"Yeah."

"You're cute, Jun. See, even you're thinking those people are fans now."

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, but looked at her with hopeful eyes despite feeling a bit giddy inside.

"So what do you say? Will you be my date?"

"I'll think about it."

He scoffed at her response as Chaeyeon chuckled.

"Anyways, let's go make you center, Choi Yeonjun, and a banquet host."

The pair got to working on the tasks that were quick and easy to do at the moment. After helping Yeonjun complete almost everything listed that she was comfortable with, Chaeyeon went to her last class for the day. Afterwards she had tutoring sessions in the library. Just as the tutoring ended Chaeyeon felt her phone vibrate. She ignored it since it was only a text message, but when it vibrated several more times she went on ahead to check it out while gathering her things and headed out of the library. Chaeyeon received several messages from her sorority's president, Im Jinah, and upon scanning the last one it was informing her to report to the president as soon as possible.

"Hello, Chaeyeon." Jinah greeted her with a smile as she motioned for her to sit.

Chaeyeon noticed the others of her sorority council in the room as she took a seat.

"Take a breath and slowly exhale. It's nothing bad or serious, so don't stress about that." Jinhee, the vice-president, chuckled as the treasurer, Jiyeon, smiled.

"Yeah, it's only to discuss attendance for the social gatherings this school term."

Chaeyeon relaxed and looked at her fellow sisters calmly awaiting permission to speak when prompted to.

"Now, Chaeyeon," Miso, the secretary, began with a gentle look in her direction, "We know you wanna be low- key and we're okay with that."

"Yeah, like super low-key under the radar type." Jinhee added with a laugh before speaking again, "But we definitely would appreciate it more if you attended one more event before the school term ends."

Jiyeon nodded in agreement.

"We acknowledged the fact that you do, do your part as a fellow sister of Nu Tau Zeta and haven't caused us any scandals or embarrassments since being with us."

She then cast a look at her fellow council members.

"Still..." She trailed off as Jinah continued instead.

"As the president of Nu Tau Zeta, I'm ordering you to attend one more social event as per socializing with those around you not in Nu Tau Zeta. Plus, you'll need to stay for more than an hour. Not just make appearances to several attendees and leave soon after."

Jinah smiled as Chaeyeon made a face causing everyone else in the room to laugh.

"You don't have to mingle much, just chill or relax and eat good food. Just stay past an hour and you're set to leave."

Chaeyeon nodded.

"Alright, will do, Jinah."

"Think of it this way, Chaeyeon, by joining a sorority you're committing yourself to a lifetime of network connections."

Miso grinned as Chaeyeon nodded with a smile.

"I know."

"Wonderful. That is all."

Chaeyeon was dismissed and returned to her room for a quick nap.

"Alright, fellas, it's officially midnight and the votes are accounted for and the results are now out!"

Yeonjun and the rest of his brothers awaited the results of the overall winner of Beta Heta Mu's Scavenger Hunt.

"Who will be our number one picture center and banquet host this school term and next school term?!"

Yeonjun anxiously awaited the announcement.

"Number one is..." The member paused for dramatic effect.

"It's Choi Yeonjun with a whopping nine hundred and nine points!"

Everyone congratulated Yeonjun as he was shocked and surprised that he actually won the scavenger hunt. He later learned from his president that Chaeyeon was an elusive member of Nu Tau Zeta and that a majority of the campus forget she's a member. The Nu Tau Zeta's president assisted in adding the sorority into the fraternity's scavenger hunt and was the one to review all the photos to see if any sorority members were featured in any of the pictures. Anyways, Chaeyeon's elusiveness allowed Yeonjun to win. Yeonjun smiled, causing him to think seriously about her.

Chaeyeon's phone buzzed and she reached out to find her phone to silence the call. She almost fell back asleep, but her phone buzzed once more and she silenced it once again without bothering to look at the caller ID again. Chaeyeon sighed when her mobile went off a third time and she repeated the same action as before. She felt it vibrate and dinged a second later to notify her that she now got a message and it repeated three more times and Chaeyeon knew that she wasn't going back to sleep peacefully unless she put it on 'do not disturb' and only set it for alarms instead.

Picking up her phone to do just that, Chaeyeon was surprised that it was already so late and that it was Yeonjun contacting her. He usually just messaged her once or twice. Even then he hardly ever called her unless he needed something. Or wanting to be an annoying brat to bother her, but it didn't happen often. Just as she was about to set her phone to 'do not disturb', Yeonjun's name popped up indicating that he was calling her for a fourth time. Chaeyeon contemplated whether to ignore it or not, but decided to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Can we meet?" Yeonjun asked her out of the blue.

"Bruh, it's like one in the morning."

"Please, Chaeyeon."

Chaeyeon was about to decline when she heard his next words and reconsidered his suggestion.

"I got your favorite boba."

"I'm listening."

"You're cute. You know that, right, Chae?"

"I'm not, Jun, but whatever."

Yeonjun chuckled before speaking again.

"I also have your favorite snacks. So will you meet with me please?"

Chaeyeon thought about it before speaking a few seconds later.

"Honestly, it's late, Yeonjun, and yesterday's events were super eventful for me. I just kinda wanna sleep before classes start later today."

There was a long pause and Chaeyeon believed he may have hung up on her or she may have dozed off for a bit, but he was still on call with her and she gave him a moment to speak again. Still, Yeonjun didn't speak and she wondered if he had dozed off instead.

"Yeonjun?"

"Hmm?" He hummed a few seconds later.

"Oh, you're still awake."

"Yeah, I'm still awake."

Silence fell between them again until Chaeyeon broke it.

"Do you still wanna meet right now, Jun?"

"Yes, Chae, I do, but I also don't want to trouble you if you don't want to. I know how important sleep is for you."

"True for sleep, but you've already called and messaged me, Yeonjun."

Chaeyeon sat up and ran a hand through her hair slowly.

"Plus, I kinda can't go back to sleep right now."

"I'm sorry, Chae."

She could hear the sincerity in his voice and a small smile graced her lips.

"It's fine, Yeonjun. I'll get ready after you tell me where you wanna meet?"

"Do you remember the place where we met the first time?" Yeonjun asked not hesitating to tell her the meeting point.

Just as Chaeyeon was about to reply she was distracted by the vibration sound and light blinking from her roommate, Nayoung's, phone across the room. She ignored it, replied back to Yeonjun that she did, and hung up.

"Um, is it right here?" Chaeyeon asked herself when she arrived outside the classroom that she had first met Yeonjun.

"Or was it at the library?"

She second guessed herself upon not exactly remembering which location it was that they had met first.

"Shit. I should've just asked him."

"You're cute."

She heard from behind and languidly turned to face Yeonjun.

"You know, Chaeyeon, if we were together, I would have to set your alarms for all of our anniversaries and add in notes of our special places." Yeonjun responded while appearing from around the corner of the building holding a bag of snacks and two bubble tea drinks in hand.

Chaeyeon laughed with a shrug.

"Luckily we aren't, huh? I'll be a lost cause if anyone was in a relationship with me." She admitted taking her boba from him along with the bag.

"Thank you, Jun."

"You're welcome, and you're not a lost cause, Chae, just forgetful. Super forgetful and clumsy. It's cute."

"True, but not the cute part."

The two began roaming the campus aimlessly.

"Anyways, why do you wanna meet so randomly?"

She nudged him after taking a sip of her bubble tea.

"Oh, did you win the list thing and now you're center and host?"

"Yeah. It's all thanks to you."

"I helped a little. It was all you, Yeonjun."

"Actually, I only won in the end because you were a Nu Tau Zeta member that helped double my points along with gaining secret bonus points."

"Ah, so now you know I'm part of a sorority."

He smiled, but was still left wondering what other things she kept hidden in general.

"I know it's none of my business, but I feel like there's a lot of things I still don't know about you."

"But isn't that better though?" Chaeyeon remarked not looking at him.

"The less you know, the less you are aware of things."

"Why do I have a feeling that there's another meaning to those words when its coming from you, Chae?"

Yeonjun looked at her with a curious look just as she turned to face him with a small smile.

"You're thinking too much, Yeonjun."

"I don't think I am. I feel like you've been hiding yourself from me or at least trying to keep yourself distant for some reason."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but I would like to get to know you better."

"Isn't what we have good enough?"

"But what if I want more?"

Chayeon stopped walking with Yeonjun doing the same and they faced one another while she cast him a curious yet cautious glance.

"Why?"

"Why what?" He asked, confused.

"Why do you want more? Why do you wanna get to know me better? Why are you suddenly interested in my life? Why?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that I have feelings for you?" Yeonjun answered with his own question instead.

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes, I am."

"Choi Yeonjun." Chaeyeon used his full name as a warning while Yeonjun did the same thing to mess with her.

"Lim Chaeyeon."

She narrowed her eyes at him with him shooting her a playful one.

"Out of all the girls and maybe guys in this school and your life, why me?"

"Honestly, I don't know, but here we are and all I know is that I like you and I would like to take our relationship to the next level."

"You do know that if we don't work out our friendship is ruined, right?"

"Chaeyeon, meeting you was fate. Becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control."

"Gosh, you're such a dork. I can't believe you would use that on me." 

Chaeyeon playfully punched his shoulder when she heard those words fall out of his mouth with Yeonjun laughing sheepishly.

"Okay, maybe I picked up a few things, but I really do mean them."

"Seriously though, love is a little too strong right now. We're just gonna go with like, okay?"

"So does that mean you also like me, too?"

"Well, I never actually thought about it beyond that or anything." Chaeyeon coyly responded as Yeonjun rolled his eyes knowingly.

"Nayoung was right. You really do like playing hard to get."

"I do not."

She then narrowed her eyes at him.

"You should not listen to Nayoung. She likes messing with me."

"Oh, yeah?" He answered with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he neared her and brought his face closer to Chaeyeon's.

"I started noticing all of your little signs yesterday that Nayoung pointed out to me when she told me, but thought it was just your introverted self at work."

He smiled wider.

"But now I'm beginning to think otherwise."

Chaeyeon slightly pushed him away while taking a step back herself to put some distance between them.

"Whatever, Yeonjun. Is this the only reason you asked me to meet you at one in the morning so you can clarify my feelings for you?"

"Partially." He answered with a chuckle before continuing.

"But I was hoping you'll actually say yes in being my date for the banquet."

"What if your fans kill me when they find out about us or whatever. I'ma die at the hands of some stupid girls that only like you superficially."

Yeonjun started laughing and Chaeyeon punched him again.

"Seriously, Yeonjun, it's not a laughing matter. I'm being serious about my future life here if we actually get together."

"I know, Chae, I know."

He calmed down from laughing before reaching a hand out to pull her body against his.

"And I'll be here to protect you."

"Couldn't you've just said that without pulling me against you?" She asked him while becoming aware of their close proximity.

"No, then I wouldn't be able to do this easily."

"Do w-"

Yeonjun pressed his lips against Chaeyeon's, silencing her in mid-sentence. When he pulled away, breaking the kiss, her first response was to slap his chest after regaining her senses back and he laughed.

"I can't believe Nayoung basically told you about my kissing preferences." Chaeyeon stated while feeling all sorts of emotions building up inside her and she didn't know which one to express more.

"Well she did tell me that I would have to make the first move since you would continue to run away from it."

"Of course she would."

"Anyways, now that I got the elusive Lim Chaeyeon to myself, you think she'll open up to me more now?"

"I dunno. She has a mind of her own, but I'll ask and get back to you as soon as possible on what she says."

Chaeyeon smiled after calming down the feelings inside of her.

"Although she does say and think that you're cute though."

Yeonjun gave her a look and she giggled at his reaction while hooking their arms together and leading them to walk aimlessly once more in a random direction after taking another sip of her bubble tea drink.

"C'mon. Let's just take it slow for now. It's too early to process all of this. We can deal with this when it's later in the afternoon or something."

"How about an official date?"

Yeonjun offered as Chaeyeon side-eyed him with a playful smile gracing her lips.

"How about no?"

"I respect your decision, but you're really not making this easier to take it a step further."

Chaeyeon chuckled as she took a sip. Yeonjun still didn't give up.

"I'll show you that it'll be worth it in the end, Chaeyeon."

"Okay, Yeonjun, and I'll try my best to be more open with you as best as I can."

"It's a start."

Yeonjun grinned happily as Chaeyeon smiled with a shake of her head.

"Yeah, it is."

[amanda-glassen]

Nugget prompt #128483937

I want….. Jamie and the bb feeding Serena carbs when she’s drunk 😆 because yes

...because drunk snack thief Serena is one of my favorite versions of Serena.

Binge drinking happened twice a week when Serena was in college, rarely when she was in her twenties and almost never once she reached her thirties. The former sorority girl had become mature and responsible even if her sister teased her for being a stereotypical wine mom; however, that weekend her sister Lexie, the vodka aunt, was in town and she wasn’t going to let Serena get away with just a couple of glasses of wine with dinner.

They had martinis at an upscale lounge, but the vibe of the place didn't satisfy Lexie, so she soon found herself at a college bar playing Shot Roulette with some frat boys. She couldn’t remember how she got to that point and, quite frankly, she didn’t think that mattered. What did matter to her was that Serena Benson, winner of their brother frat’s flip cup tournament in 2008, still had it in her to steal drinking game glory away from frat boys at age 34.

It was a little after midnight when she got home, which was earlier than the usual 2 a.m. that she’d end her nights at in college, but after a martini and 10, 11, or 12 shots－she couldn’t even remember－all she wanted to do was get home to her girlfriend and her daughter where there were no frat boys and the floors weren’t sticky with spilled drinks. She took off her dress and tossed it on the couch the moment she entered the living room, feeling grateful that she had decided to wear biker shorts and a cami underneath. Next were her strappy heels that she almost fell over trying to take off. 

“I’m home!” she shouted a little louder than she had hoped when she got into the kitchen. Her daughter and her girlfriend were making pizza rolls, her daughter’s favorite midnight snack, and it dawned on Serena that she needed to load up on carbs if she wanted to soak up all the alcohol she had consumed.

“Mom!” her daughter said as she rushed over to give her a hug. “Jamie and me made pizza rolls! Want one?”

“My sweet little girl,” Serena responded, holding her a little too tight for Olivia’s liking. “My Ollie Koalie, I would love a pizza roll.” She looked over at Jamie who had placed Olivia’s plate of pizza rolls on the counter.  “Isn’t she beautiful, Jay? I made her! She came from me. This perfect child who I never want to stop cuddling…”

A pleading look from Olivia signalled to Jamie that it was time to intervene. “I know, babe. Ollie is a great kid, but maybe it’s time to let her have her snack.”

She looked over at her sister who had begun rummaging through the cabinets for some tortilla chips. “Bless you, Serena, for always having junk food.” Lexie sat down on the floor, her back against the wall, and started shoveling chips in her mouth.

Serena hopped up on the counter－or at least she attempted to－and was thankfully caught by Jamie who lifted her up so she could sit on the counter. Olivia may have offered her one pizza roll, but with the plate so conveniently located next to her, she quickly popped two in her mouth followed by another three.

“Mom!” Olivia looked in disbelief at a nearly empty plate. “You only left one for me!”

Serena gave her daughter her most pleading look. “You know I love you more than anything.” 

“Here,” Olivia groaned, giving her the last pizza roll.

“Did you two have fun?” Jamie asked while she put more pizza rolls in the microwave for Olivia.

“Your girlfriend still has it,” Lexie mumbled, her mouth full of chips. “Serena is a fucking beast. Pardon my language, Ollie. We played shot roulette with some frat guys and even if you can stop after three shots in a row, my little Ser Bear kept going. She had a shot of Fireball, a shot of fucking white wine, and a shot of vodka in a row and didn’t even flinch. Those guys looked at her like she was one of the seven wonders of the world. They were so weak. They couldn’t even hold their alcohol.”

Jamie took the plate out of the microwave and set it aside to cool down. “Babe, how are you alive? How many shots did you take? Are you feeling okay?”

“Somewhere in the double digits,” Lexie answered for her, her voice filled with pride. “Serena is fine. This is nothing though. You should have seen her in college.”

Serena had started to question if she was, in fact, fine. The room wasn’t spinning and she could still feel her face, but she didn’t remember feeling this tired when she was taking shots at 18. Maybe I just need more pizza rolls. When Olivia left to get something from the fridge, Serena took it upon herself to start eating the freshly microwaved pizza rolls.

“Mom, what the heck?” Olivia set a water bottle next to her on the counter. “I go to the fridge to get you some water and you repay me by eating my snack? Why are you stealing food from your child? I need this so I can grow!”

Her daughter’s outburst made Serena start to laugh uncontrollably. Okay, now the room is spinning. She held onto her daughter so she could stay balanced. “I love you, Ollie.”

“No!” Olivia said as she broke free from her mom’s embrace. “Snack thieves don’t deserve koala cuddles.”

“It’s okay, kid. I’ll make you some more,” Jamie told her as she put yet another plate of pizza rolls in the microwave. “Just keep these out of reach of your mom. She’s too drunk to get off that counter so as long as you eat them in another part of the kitchen, you’ll be fine.”

Lexie and Olivia went to bed fifteen minutes later, which left Serena alone with Jamie in the kitchen. “Did I ever tell you how hot you are?” she tried to say in a flirtatious tone of voice, but soon realized her words were probably slurring.

When Jamie stood in front of her, Serena wasted no time before wrapping her arms around her neck and leaning into her. “Do you feel okay, babe?”

Serena nuzzled into her, hoping it would make her feel better. “Everything is spinning and I can’t feel my lips. I don’t feel okay. I don’t feel 18 anymore or 21. I feel 34. I’m gonna be throwing up all morning, aren’t I?”

“Yup,” Jamie tried not to laugh. “I can’t say I’ll hold your hair back, but I’ll put your hair in a bun so it doesn’t get in your hair.”

“Thank you. And Jay?”

“Yes, Ser?” 

“I can’t get off this counter. Can you carry me to our bed?”

[aion-rsa]

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Recap: Baby Nichole, June’s Flight Plan and the Waterfords’ Fall

https://ift.tt/3gvFaYa

Warning: contains major spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale seasons 1-3.

After the misery of season two, which slouched from one cruelty to the next, The Handmaid’s Tale season three owed viewers some victory. Broadly, that’s what it delivered. We saw Fred and Serena’s marriage implode, June make new alliances in the Lawrence house, and cracks begin to appear in Gilead. 

First, the regime lost baby Nichole and Emily over the Canadian border, and then it lost the Waterfords – now both under arrest and facing trial for their actions. Finally, Gilead suffered the loss of its most precious asset: children. June and her collaborators risked their lives to rescue 86 children and infants, carrying out a plan to successfully spirit them away on a plane to Canada. 

With season four approaching, here’s a recap of what changed in season three, and where everybody was left…

June Osborne, From Survivor to Badass

If seasons one and two were all about June becoming a survivor of Gilead, enduring its brutality but not breaking, season three was all about her burning it down. A radicalised June transformed from survivor to resistance fighter, sacrificing people and to some extent, her compassion in service of that goal. 

The last we saw June in the season three finale, she was being carried away by the Handmaid resistance after getting shot. Her plan had worked – a network of Marthas and Handmaids had smuggled the stolen children of Gilead to Commander Lawrence’s house. From there, they’d hiked to an airport and got the children onto a plane, creating a diversion so it could take off. 

It was a hard won victory. At the start of season three, June’s focus was on her and Luke’s stolen daughter Hannah, now Agnes Mackenzie. Hannah was the reason June didn’t escape to Canada with Emily and Baby Nichole in the season two finale; this time, she vowed not to leave Gilead without her. June visited Hannah at her home, and later tried to see her at her heavily guarded school, as a result of which Hannah’s much-loved Martha was hanged and the Mackenzie family left the district for an unknown location. 

Distraught at losing the chance to reunite with Hannah, June attacked Ofmatthew (Ashleigh LaThrop) – the pregnant Handmaid who’d informed on her aborted Hannah visit to Aunt Lydia – and encouraged her friends to alienate and bully her. Cruelly, June told Lydia that Ofmathew had confessed to feeling ambivalent about her third Gilead pregnancy, an unthinkable crime in this world. Ofmatthew eventually snapped, stealing a Guardian’s gun and attempting to shoot Lydia, but was shot by a Guardian and went into a coma as the doctors tried to save her unborn baby. Forced to pray at Ofmatthew’s bedside until the baby was delivered as punishment, June went through her own rebirth of sorts. After Janine caught her trying to disconnect Ofmatthew’s ventilator and told her she was being selfish, June understood the error of her ways. Separated from her own daughters, she promised the unconscious Ofmatthew that she would help Gilead’s other children, and hatched a plan.

To pull it off, she needed the assistance of Commander Lawrence, the head of June’s new household after the Waterford house burned down, and the man who had helped Emily escape after she attacked Aunt Lydia in the season two finale. Lawrence was an economist whose ideas were used in the creation of Gilead, but who was trapped inside the regime, which he covertly opposed. He secretly refused to carry out the monthly Ceremony in which Commanders and their wives raped Handmaids, and pretended not to notice his staff running Mayday operations from his home. If he and his much-loved and mentally unstable wife Eleanor ever escaped Gilead, he would be imprisoned for war crimes, keeping them in place.

An increasingly ruthless June manipulated Eleanor into helping with her unsuccessful visit to Hannah’s school. Eleanor was put under more pressure when Fred Waterford, in an act of characteristic cruelty, forced the Lawrences to rape June as part of the ‘Ceremony’ to prove their loyalty to Gilead. It was after the rape that a sickened Lawrence agreed to help June’s plan by providing a truck to transport the kids to the airport.  Afterwards, when June walked in on a dying Eleanor who’d taken a deliberate overdose, she chose not to resuscitate her and watched her die. June saw Eleanor as a liability who would put the rescue plan in danger, and so she sacrificed her for the greater good. 

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June’s ruthlessness in season three culminated in the murder of Commander Winslow at Jezebels. June had made Commander Lawrence take her to the illegal brothel used by Gilead’s Commanders, so that she could arrange the plane to rescue the children through a contact who worked behind the bar. Seeing June there, Commander Winslow attempted to rape her in his hotel room, but June fought back and killed him. The other women at Jezebels disposed of his body and Winslow was officially recorded as missing. 

From survivor to freedom fighter to murderer to… what will June be in season four? By the looks of this trailer, next on the list could be war hero. 

Baby Nichole, Serena and Fred Waterford: Loss, Lies and Betrayal

At the start of season three, Serena Waterford looked like a candidate for becoming a double agent in the fight against Gilead. The Sons of Jacob had maimed and humiliated her – cutting off her finger as punishment when she petitioned for Gilead’s girls to be taught to read the bible. She’d seen Eden, the teenaged ‘bride’ forced upon Nick, drowned for falling in love with another teenager when her husband, rightly, refused to touch her. And in the season two finale, she agreed that Baby Nichole would have a better life in Canada, so allowed June to take her away. Nichole’s escape was reframed as a kidnap by ‘unstable’ Handmaid Emily, and Serena’s involvement was covered up.

After losing Nichole and her finger, Serena set fire to the Waterford house in a suicide attempt she survived after June led her out of the flames. Separated from Fred, she also tried to drown herself in the ocean while staying with her mother, who told her she was nothing without a husband. When she agreed to reunite with Fred, who needed her as social capital, there was hope that she was about to use her insider position to help to bring Gilead down. 

She did no such thing, because unlike June – who realised that she had a responsibility to all children, not just her own – Serena could only think about Nichole and herself. Betraying June, she agreed to an international campaign for Baby Nichole’s return, including televised appeals and a prayer event in Washington DC prayer (where Handmaids’ mouths were sewn shut with metal rings). The Sons of Jacob, led by Commander Winslow (whom June murdered in Jezebels, see above) wanted Nichole returned to set a legal precedent that would see all the other escapees sent back to Gilead to be punished for their crimes. 

After Luke and Nichole were spotted at a televised anti-Gilead protest in Canada, June was forced to arrange a meeting between Serena, Luke and the baby. Serena travelled to Canada for the visit, where Mark Tuello once again tried to get her to defect, and slipped a satellite phone into her luggage. Wanting Nichole back, Serena made a secret deal with Tuello, tricking Fred into driving over the Canadian border where he was arrested for his Gilead crimes, in exchange for a new life in Canada, with access to Nichole. However, that plan backfired when Fred told Tuello of Serena’s crimes, namely, forcing June and Nick to try to conceive in season one. Serena and Fred both ended the season under arrest and facing trial.

Aunt Lydia‘s Past Revealed

Lydia vacillated in season three, between her usual brutal self and unexpected flashes of warmth to her ‘girls’. Being stabbed and pushed down the stairs by Emily in the season two finale made her unpredictable and violent. She tasered June for trying to help her, and viciously beat Janine when she asked the Putnams if she could return to their household to make baby Angela a sibling. She forced June and Ofmatthew to take part in humiliating rites and for June to help to execute Frances, the Mackenzie household’s Martha who’d helped June to secretly visit Hannah. Lydia also facilitated Fred Waterford and Commander Winslow’s plan to force Commander Lawrence to rape June in a ‘Ceremony’ by witnessing it. 

But then, when she chaperoned June on the Waterford’s trip to Washington DC, Lydia admitted that she didn’t agree with the capital’s new method of sewing shut Handmaid’s mouths. She also presented Janine with an eyepatch to cover her mutilated eye socket, hinting at (deeply) hidden kindness and maternal feelings for Janine.

In a pre-Gilead flashback episode, we learned that Lydia was once a schoolteacher who befriended a young single mother who encouraged her to dress up and date a widower. When he turned down Lydia’s sexual advances on their date, she felt such shame that she turned it outwards and betrayed her friend by calling social services and having her son taken into care, citing her as an unfit mother – an easy thing to do in the very early days of Gilead’s growing rhetoric about the divinely appointed responsibilities of motherhood.  

The Nick Blaine Enigma

Of all the transformations in season three, Nick’s was perhaps the greatest in that he went from driver to Commander to military leader extraordinaire. After the state murder of his ‘wife’ Eden and the destruction of the Waterford home, Max Minghella‘s character was deployed as a soldier outside the district, on the front line. He met up with June in Washington DC, where she tried to make a deal with the Swiss to keep Nichole in Canada, using Nick as leverage. The Swiss informed her that Nick wasn’t just a lowly driver, but had been an instrumental part of Gilead’s coup and occupation of American soil, so the deal was off. After the season aired, actor Dominic Minghella confirmed that he’d filmed scenes which weren’t used in the finale, which would have explained more about Nick’s role and allegiance in Gilead.   

The Canadian contingent: Emily, Moira & Luke

Over the border, Emily (Alexis Bledel) struggled to recover from the trauma of Gilead. She became involved in anti-Gilead activism with Moira and Luke (Samira Wiley and O.T Fagbenle), protesting visits from Gilead leaders. She initially refused to see her wife and son, until Moira convinced her to visit them, when they agreed to take things slowly. 

Luke and Moira cared for baby Nichole, and had her baptised just as Luke and June had done for Hannah. Neither wanted Serena to have access to Nichole, but reluctantly agreed. Serena passed Luke a cassette recording in which she told him that Nichole wasn’t born of rape and that her real father was Nick, whom June loved. 

We last saw Moira greeting the planeful of Gilead refugee children now on Canadian soil, and Rita introducing herself to Luke, who was disappointed not to find Hannah on board the plane. They hugged and Rita told Luke who was responsible for rescuing the children. “She did this. June. Your June.”

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The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 starts on April the 28th on Hulu in the US. It’s due to air on Channel 4 in the UK later this summer.

The post The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Recap: Baby Nichole, June’s Flight Plan and the Waterfords’ Fall appeared first on Den of Geek.

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