#and then at the end carmine goes to say something to you but is interrupted by briar and like. i know it was what she says later about

[kohakhearts]

anyone else think theres some kinda bizarre love triangle going on between the player and the dlc siblings cause thats all i took away from it lmao. cant wait for part 2 so i can take carmine on a true american date

[thepixelelf]

Rookie Moves

Genres: spy/secret agent au, romance Pairing: Reader & Bomin (Golden Child) Words: 1.6k Warnings: guns, injuries, a lil makeout. reader wears a suit Notes: ah yes, a baby fic that's too long to be a blurb and too short to really be a full fic 💕 we love consistency here on thepixelelf.com

On his first ever mission, Bomin decides to play hero.

Bomin watches you with narrowed eyes from across the room, leaned up against the wall between two floor-to-ceiling windows, a champagne flute in hand that he's yet to sip from. You, in the gorgeous, blood red waistcoat and slacks two-piece everyone at HQ said you just had to wear for this mission, don't notice Bomin's stare at all. Or, if you do, you ignore it. Your champagne glass is near empty, and it's your second one of the night.

Of course, that's your job. Get all smarmy with the target until they're drunk and enamoured with you — enough so that they'll give you the information you need so that you can pass it off to Sungyoon, who's making his own rounds within the party dressed as one of the many waitstaff.

You laugh at something the target says, and Bomin knows it's not real, but no one around you does. He scoffs at the way the target looks at you; like you're naive and easy. They have no idea they're being played.

But do you really have to stand that close?

"Easy, loverboy," Jibeom says through Bomin's comm. "You're gonna burn a hole through the target before we get anything out of 'em with all that glaring."

"I am not glaring," Bomin hisses. He should be thankful that Jibeom is in charge of communications and can make a separate channel with just him and Bomin in it, but since Jibeom is the one teasing him in the first place...

"Sure, sure. Just relax, yeah? Agent Carmine is your superior officer, Rookie. They know what they're doing."

Bomin scoffs again. "Yeah, and they're good at it."

"Okay!" Jibeom whoas out. "Let's just reel in that big green monster real quick before—"

The line goes dead, and Bomin frowns at the sudden, ominous silence. "Agent Grey?" He uses Jibeom's alias first, but when no answer comes, his brows furrow, and his hand instinctively goes up to his earpiece. "Hey, Jibeom? You there?"

A burst of static explodes in Bomin's ear, making him flinch and wince. Bomin stretches his jaw out to try to wave off the high-pitched ringing the burst left behind.

"—been made. Sungyoon—" Jibeom's voice cuts in and out, interrupted by static and, even worse, silence. "—he's down. Seungmin— They—"

Bomin's eyes frantically flit over the party, but he can't see Sungyoon. Nothing in the room even seems amiss, like everything that's so obviously going wrong on their end doesn't even matter to the rich people on the surface.

"—knew we were com— the whole time. I can't—" Jibeom sounds more and more frantic with each fragmented sentence. He's used to always knowing what's going on. Always knowing what to do. "—Agent Carmine. Their comms— down."

Rattled, Bomin returns his gaze to you, and his heart sinks when he realizes you're still talking to the target like nothing happened. You can't hear anything. You don't know the entire operation's going under.

"The target knows— Carmine— Rookie, you gotta— out of there. I'll—"

Jibeom's broken voice cuts out again, lost for more than a few seconds. Heart racing, Bomin can't remove his eyes off you to assess the situation like he knows he's supposed to. All that training never prepared him for this: a mission going sideways. Every other mission he's been allowed on, even though it was just backup, like now, went smoothly. He barely had to lift a finger.

But now, Sungyoon might be down, Seungmin might be god knows where, and Jibeom can't even reach you.

The target cradles your wrist in their hand, admiring your expensive cuff links, and before Bomin even knows what he's doing, he's next to you. He takes your arm in one hand and uses the other to remove the target's stupid fingers.

"We're going," he whispers, only to you.

Unaware of anything ado, you paint an awkward smile on your face and try to gauge the expressions of those around you. In your eyes, he sees you make the decision to pretend not to know him. "I'm sorry, sir, but—"

"But the party's just begun, don't you think?" the target speaks, seemingly unbothered by the way Bomin is now holding your wrist. That only makes Bomin want to hold you tighter. The target smiles, and it sends a shiver down his spine. "Wouldn't want to cut off the fun too early."

You laugh politely, nervously, and try to pry yourself out of Bomin's grip. "Of course, we can't..."

"Rookie—" Jibeom's voice returns, more panicked than ever. "—out of there. Now!"

Bomin doesn't really think.

(Well, he does, but the only thing in his mind is holy shit I might die before I ever kiss them. And that's not a very helpful or intelligent thought, so.)

All he does is spin you around, put his hands on your cheeks, and muffle whatever ass-kissing words you were trying to say by planting a big fat one on your lips.

You push him off, a scowl stretching the corners of your lips, your facade dropped. "The hell are you—?"

Bomin pulls the gun hidden beneath his suit out, pointing it directly at the target.

They just laugh. "Now this is fun."

Behind Bomin, you mutter, "What the..." just as the rest of the people you'd been talking to pull out their own concealed firearms, pointing them at you and Bomin. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

"It's cute that you got yourself a little guard dog, Agent Carmine."

Your eyes widen at the target's words. They even know your alias— Bomin tightens his grip on his gun, his trigger finger itching — what else do they know?

"Fortunately for me, I have a few of my own." They gesture to the people now circled around you.

"I always knew you were a coward," you spit at them. "What? Can't hold your own?"

The target doesn't fall for your taunts, though, chuckling in a way that sends a shiver down Bomin's spine. "That's cute, Carmine. I'll bother holding my own when I run out of people to pay to do it for me."

They laugh again, full-bellied with their eyes almost slipping shut.

Under your breath, you whisper just loud enough for Bomin to hear. "You wanna be helpful to this mission, Rookie?" You don't wait for an answer. "I'm gonna need you to do me a favour."

"Name it."

"Duck."

=

"You kissed them?!" Jibeom screeches, making Bomin scramble to cover his mouth with his hand. It's too late though -- probably the entire medbay heard him.

"I thought we were going to die!" he whispers harshly.

"Die?" Jibeom echoes, voice at a normal volume. His face is scrunched up from holding in his laughter. "With Agent Carmine? You saw how they single-handedly took down all those gunmen and the target, right?"

Bomin grumbles, "Yeah. I was there."

"Oh my god. You kissed Carmine--" Jibeom wipes away an actual, real tear from the corner of his eye. "Oh my god. They're gonna kill you. You're so dead!"

"Rookie."

Both of them turn to see Sungyoon walking into the medbay. His shoulder is messed up from the mission, but he refuses to take pain killers because of his stupid pride, so he winces when he cocks his head toward the exit.

"Carmine wants you in training room B."

Jibeom puts a hand on Bomin's shoulder. "It was nice knowing you, Rookie."

=

Bomin blinks at you, hands limp at his sides. "...What?"

"You heard me," you say. The training room is empty except for the two of you, so your voice echoes off the walls. "Punch me. Have at it."

"You got shot yesterday. Twice."

Adjusting the sling holding your dominant arm, you raise a brow. "And?"

"I'm not going to punch you."

"Well, you're gonna have to."

"Why?"

You smile, gesturing to yourself. "If you want a piece of this ass, Rookie, you're gonna have to prove you're stronger than me." The smile on your lips curls into a smirk. "I have high standards, you know."

Bomin splutters, choking on his own spit as he feels every drop of blood in his body rush straight to his ears. "I... I..."

"Hit me," you tell him. "At least try. I promise you can't hurt me."

Bomin fights back the urge to pout. "That's not true... You're at a huge disadvantage."

You let out a chuckle. "How about you try to punch me and find out?"

Sighing, Bomin bends his knees and balls his hands into fists, holding them up. If there's one thing everyone in the agency knows about you, it's that you never back down. He doesn't want to hit you. As great of a fighter as you are, your dominant arm is in a sling, and you've got another bullet hole in your side. You descend into a stance too, though, and wait for him to throw the first punch.

He'll just humour you. He won't use all his strength.

Any bit of wind that was in his lungs gets knocked straight, and before Bomin knows it, he's staring at the ceiling. Your good hand pins one of his wrists to the soft mat flooring, and his other arm is trapped under your shin. You rest some of your weight on his torso.

"What the--!"

"That was pathetic, Rookie," you tease. "I sure hope you were just faking that for my benefit."

"I--"

"Come to think of it, maybe this whole thing was a ruse." Still holding him down with ease, you glance upwards as if recalling the memory. "After all, that little peck during the mission was hardly a kiss."

Bomin's eyes widen, and he struggles to free himself to no avail.

"This--" You lean down, planting your lips on his, and Bomin freezes. He feels like he's made of molasses, like he can't react for way too many seconds, but then your lips move. You take his bottom lip between yours, and Bomin lights aflame. He kisses you back with everything he felt right before he kissed you the first time. He breathes out like he's held his breath since he met you. His arms are free -- when did that happen...? -- so he brings them up, one on your cheek and one on your side, careful not to upset your injuries. The world is on fire, but just as he braves his tongue out, you pull back, a wide grin on your face. "--is a kiss."

[mashedpotittiess]

Games of Tomorrow

Header created by my muse and bb R. Title: Games of Tomorrow. Pairing: Taehyung x Reader. Mentions of: Hoseok, Jin, Subin (Victon) and OC’s Summary: A simple game of beer pong stirred up some not so innocent feelings between you and the man you held much disdain for. After all, he was your enemy. The person you couldn’t seem beat when it came to grades. You were never enough for the rich and popular but maybe just maybe you’d show them what you were all about.  Words: 13k Rating: M  Genre: Enemies to Lovers!au, College au!, Smut, Fluff, Angst.

This was all inspired by this photo which I just edited (color, background and the text)so all original photo credits go to the owner.

A/N: What started as a simple short drabble ended in this much longer than intended fic. This is my first pic so pls be gentle. I am but a noob to tumblr writing. I hope you enjoy this craziness <3 this fic is dedicated to my friend who picked Tae to be the first character I wrote about and sat there and listened to me freaking out cause the fic kept getting longer. Ily R. This is Un-Edited so i apologize in advance for the mistakes. I’ll re-read it and fix mistakes as i come across them. Tags/Warnings: Smutty smut smut, Jealousy, Drinking, Mention of Marijuana, Oral (female receiving) Fingering (female receiving), Unprotected sex (wrap it up kids) Fluff, Angst, Size kink, Tae mentioning his DIG BICK, semi rough sex (not really though).

Fic inspired Playlist Link:

spotify:playlist:77Hd51hVnDHe8Q9JaLxGbD

Taglist: @a-mess-of-fandoms @dnyad

—————————————

“Absolutely not” you said calmly into the cellphone receiver. “But y/n! You need to let loose once in awhile, and no I’m not talking about sitting on your couch eating bowls of Ramen and cheese popcorn while watching re-runs of Boy Meets World with a big glass of too much Whiskey” Layla practically whined. She had been trying to convince you to go with her to Seokjin’s party on Saturday for an entire hour. She was right, you knew this coming weekend you’d be plopped onto that same blue couch in your big band t-shirt and fuzzy socks doing exactly that. “I’ll think about it” you finally mumbled out and could practically hear the smile in your best friends voice as she exclaimed a ‘woot woot’ “Okay Hot Stuff, i’ll text you later, gotta get to Volleyball Practice” with that she hung up and you continued your walk to what you’d call a ‘Headache’ of a class.  It’s not that you hated Econ per say, it’s that you studied your ass off, completed extra credit assignments with a flourish and took wonderfully color coded notes (if you say so yourself). But yet, HE still scored higher than you (even if it was just by one point) and what’s worse is that he NEVER seemed to study, never seemed to care.  Trudging into class you took your usual seat in the second row close to the middle. Organizing your laptop, books and assortment of pencils and pens on the table. As Professor Carmine began his lesson writing “Principles of Economics” onto the whiteboard with his usual navy blue marker, you diligently took notes and nodded along with his rhetorical questions.  “Before we end for today lets see who can answer this simple yet intriguing question, “Would you consider Inflation or Deflation of cost cycles to be more costly to a business?” You pondered on how to word your answer for about two seconds before raising your hand. “Yes Ms. Y/L/N” you shifted in your seat slightly. “While I know this question has no definite answer as it can be interpreted many ways, I would say with our current Economy, Inflation of prices would be more costly,” Before you could continue you heard a Deep Baritone voice that you knew too well scoff. “So you think Deflation would benefit a business? that’s essentially lowering your prices which in turn leads to loss of income” You rolled your eyes nonchalantly and turned around in your seat to look at the man in the fourth row who had not only interrupted you but disagreed and voiced his disagreement.  “I said with our current economy Inflation could hurt a business. Do you think regular people can afford to buy a $3,000 purse when they make minimum wage? It could cost a company to make said purse for $200 with cost of material and labor. If you lower those prices by a fraction, said company would still be making money and you could possibly have more demand as more people with regular paying jobs can afford you buy said purse. If you higher the price less  regular people can afford such a luxury item which could hurt the demand. Thus causing an issue with the income for a business”. You said staring at the red haired man pulling a cock of his right eyebrow from him. “Regular people don’t need a $3,000 bag, you want brands to lower the prices so poor people can buy their items? How sad. Tae is right, just higher the prices and get more money. Businesses will make their money regardless of the lower or middle class purchasing their items, as long as they have people like us,” a high pitched voice you recognized as Nami said gesturing to herself and the perfect barbies next to her “buying from them”. Before you continue the alarm from your Professors phone startled you and signaled the end of not only your Monday class but your discussion as well. You picked up your items, shoving them in your bag and trudged out of class. As you passed Taehyung with Nami, Michelle, Hoseok and Gigi at his back he smirked at you and you swore you heard Nami giggling ‘Bet she’s never even held a Chanel bag in her hands. she just wants everybody to be ratchet like people like her’. Smiling to yourself you turned around and flipped them the bird “At least I don’t have to go crying to daddy to buy me a new set of tits, I make my own money and work hard for it. Something you wouldn’t know a thing about, and THAT is what I find sad about your entailed fake ass”. your voice carrying through the hall as you turned back around and made your way back to your dorm. ——————————————— “You know what day it is? TACO Tuesday” You exclaimed while taking a shot of Jose Cuervo and stirring your meat to ensure its cooked properly. Your roommate Casey giggled and Layla downed a shot with you while blasting a Pitbull song. After plating your dinner of carne picada tacos topped with all your usual veggies and homemade Salsa you smiled while your friends posted pics to their instas, Captioning “BB y/n made us food”.  “I still can’t believe you told Nami her tits were fake” Casey giggled while shoving a fistful of popcorn into her mouth. “y/n said her tits and her ass were fake” Layla corrected and you smiled at your dorky friends. “She deserved it, nothing I said wasn’t true. You all were sprawled out on the couch pilled high with fluffy blankets watching a random episode of The Nanny and laughing at random jokes Layla said while scrolling through her Insta feed. “OOOOOOh Valeria is getting ice cream with Subin” Casey practically pouted at the post and you sighed knowing your roommates crush on Valeria which did not go unseen by Layla, causing a metaphorical lightbulb to go off in her head. “You know Casey, Valeria is going to be at Jin’s party on Saturday” Casey being held buzzed sat up catching the bait and worried her bottom lip “Is she?” Layla nodded “This could be your chance to get a fistful of all that Latina, metaphorically and not so metaphorically” she crudely added with a wiggle of her eyebrows and you literally face palmed at your best friends words. Instead of being equally gassed out, Casey however downed her coke and stood up triumphantly “It’s time I tell her!” Layla stood up with her screaming a loud ‘yaaaaas queen’ and both pairs of eyes looked towards you sitting their nursing your Sprite. “What?” you questioned and immediately regretted when both girls practically jumped on you, squishing you between their bodies. “I can’t confess without knowing you and Layla are both there” Casey pouted her soft pink colored lips causing you to shake your head. “You do not need me there while you confess to your crush.”  “But what if it goes bad? what if she rejects me, or worse; makes fun of me? What if i need to leave and I’m crying and I have snot everywhere an-“ Before she could continue you sighed and covered her mouth with your right hand. Nodding you stood up and smiled at both girls “Fuck it, Let’s get your Girl!” you knew Casey had liked her for literally an entire year and you knew you’d feel like shit if you weren’t there supporting your friend as she bared her heart. “I’m only doing this for you though, so know that I love you.” ——————————————— While the rest of the week you were dreading the party Saturday knowing Nami, Taehyung and the other were going to be there, it was Thursday night that was the straw that broke the Camels back. You had just finished returning your copy of Ulysses when you passed Nami practically hanging on the redhead talking about her Angel costume for Seokjins party. Rolling your eyes as you passed you stopped as you heard her ask “What are you rolling your eyes about? This is a private conversation” she flipped her hair over her left shoulder and you yet again rolled your eyes. “This is a public hallway, which means anything you say that can be heard by others can in fact get a response be it verbal or physical by someone other than the intended person in the conversation.” You were just about to turn around when she hmmphed “Whatever, mind your own business” turning around you were met with Layla jogging towards you. “Hot Stuff, what are we going to wear to the party? I’m thinking Doja Cat from the ‘Juicy’ MV, omg you should be -“ Before your best friend could continue, Nami stepped towards you with her arms crossed. “And how did someone like you, get an invitation?” punctuating the ‘you’ she pointed at you. “Jin and I are both on the Volleyball team” Layla stated and turned towards you “And he said I can bring whoever I wanted.” “I still don’t know why you hang around people like her” she once again pointed to you with her baby pink manicured index finger. You knew Layla had money and could very well fit in with their group. You sometimes felt like you were her downfall, the anchor to her social climb. But she always reassured you that she hated people like Nami and never understood why out of everyone, she hated you in particular for the passed two years. “Maybe because she’s my BEST friend, whoever gets invited to the party doesn’t involve you Nami. It’s JINS party, not yours.” Layla shook her head and you bit your bottom lip while curling your fists at your sides trying to calm yourself down.”Maybe she should be Donkey from Shrek, or maybe an edgy emo kid from 2010 with her ugly tattoos” Nami smirked and you heard Taehyung ‘who was scrolling on his phone let out a light laugh, his deep baritone further fueling Nami’s ego. “Have you ever even been to a party? like have you ever even left you dorm for something other than classes and your jobs” she sneered at the words jobs. “You should just reconsider coming, people like YOU don’t belong. People like YOU really should know your place” Your jaw visibly ticked “Seems like you have an obsession with anything my best friend does, is this like you having a big lesbian crush on her?” Layla said while placing a hand on your shoulder and doing her best Janice from Mean Girls impression. Before Nami could say anything back Taehyung nodded out a “Guess we will see you there then, bye Layla, bye y/n” turning to leave. Nami rolled her eyes and checked her phone “Not like it’ll matter what you wear, wait, OMG you should soo wear a ghost costume, it would suit you. Get it? cause you’ll be invisible and you don’t belong” then turned around, her yellow heels clacking against the tile as she following Taehyung down the hall cackling. “I still don’t know why she’s always hated you of all people? like it’s been two years of the same thing with her. I honestly don’t know how you haven’t hit her. I’ve seen you fight” She smiled and grabbed your hand, holding it while you all made your way down the hall, which made you smile and let out a small giggle at her comment about you fighting. She knew about your childhood and how you practically lived at you neighbors boxing gym to let off steam as a stress reliever. You had agreed to find a suitable costume as rage filled you from Navi’s moments and Taehyung’s lack of interest in the matter. (not that you would’ve expected much from him)

As you scanned the rows of costumes hung on the wall neatly you waited by the changing room while Layla and Casey tried on their costumes. “I think i’ll just go with this one” Casey smiled softly while twirling in her peter pan costume, her blond bob swishing lightly. “It’s so cute!” you hugged her and turned to see Layla emerging with a shake of her head “This isn’t giving me enough Doja Vibes”. You let out a hmm and pulled the pink/red mid length wig from your left and threw her a pair of red tights telling her to go put those on while you scoured the items on the racks.  Layla finally emerged from the dressing room after you finished giving her the scattered pieces you had found. Clutching the green watermelon rind skirt, she twirled around in the same manor Casey did earlier and shook her pinky/red bandeau covered chest at you. After tightening the green suspenders that were connected to the skirt she smirked “Now it’s your turn Babe, and Casey and i are paying” before you could interrupt her she continues “not buts! You agreed to find a costume” Shaking your head you said a chorus of “No’s” vehemently at every option she held in front of you. “Y/n you need something to accentuate how hot you are! make her eat her words” you huffed and shook your head “Naughty Nerd is not the way to go Nami” Hanging the customer back on the rack she mumbled a “she said nerd so i figured hot nerd would be well, hot”. You grabbed a simple Witch costume that consisted of a mid length purple dress and a black hat with matching stockings, something low key but still a costume. Before you could go pay for it Layla grabbed your hand and stopped you. “No, y/n that isn’t enough, plays were paying” she pointed to herself and Casey who nodded.  “Layla I don’t want to draw anymore attention to myself, I don’t need to look “hot” cause I’m not. I’m just a regular person who isn’t enough for these people. I’ll never be or do enough” You look down at your right arm and traced the intricate patterns of your black and white peonies and hibiscus that lined your inner arm. Your friends had never seemed you look so vulnerable, and something in Layla snapped.  “She called you invisible and said you weren’t enough but guess what? She knows all about you makes sure you’re always uncomfortable around them. Which means she sees you as a threat”. you bit your bottom lip at her words “She has called you ugly, ratchet ‘which who says that anymore, poor, insignificant and she made fun of you working your ass off to pay your tuition because your deadbeat parents can’t do shit for you. You’re the smartest person in class, you’ve got street smarts and fuck man, you can literally kick a grown mans ass. Remember when those guys were grabbing Casey at the club and you stood up for her and literally fought two of them and won? Little miss prissy bitch couldn’t stand a 5 secs with that y/n. I know you don’t bother with fighting her cause you’re afraid of her connections and getting kicked out of school but fuck y/n grow some balls”  Snapping your head in her direction you walking up to her standing in her face and exclaimed “Firstly Taehyung is the smartest in my Econ class. Secondly, don’t you think I’m already aware of what she says about me? don’t you think i want to punch that stupid smile off her face full of fillers? You wan’t me to grow some balls? FUCKING FINE, but I’m not wearing a “sexy nerd costume.” Smirking and trailing your fingers along a row of costumes  you looked at your friends. “I’ll show her just how hot I can be”  Layla smirked at you “That’s my girl, so what do you have in mind then” You slid your fingers along what felt like vinyl. Cocking your right eyebrow up you gripped the material. “What’s hotter than the Devil?” ——————————————— Standing in front of your mirror in your bedroom you were already regretting your choice in outfits for tonight. As you stared at yourself you reminded yourself why you were doing this. You were going to prove a point and that was all that mattered. you were going to prove you weren’t any of the negative things Nami said about you. Running your hands down the scrappy vinyl like material that was covering your chest and part of your upper body. Your hands stopped above your navel where the top stopped and you cocked your hip to the side, descending your hands further down your bare skin to the top of the matching vinyl like skin tight pants that resembled shiny black liquid covering your skin leaving little to the imagination. You plopped yourself in front of your desk to the makeshift vanity that was full of makeup products for the nights preparations. Curling the ends of your hair you laughed as Layla pranced around shimmying to Nasty by Brooke Candy. “Don’t trust that hoe he N A S T Y” you all yelled the lyrics.  Finishing your Deep Burgundy and black smokey eye, you applied a sharp winged eyeliner and smoked out the lower lash line. Applying small round black jewels under your eyes you finished the look with a deep burgundy matte lipstick, fluffy lashes and a soft pink toned blinding highlighter. “We have like 5 minutes, get your asses in gear” Layla announced as you were tying your simple black leather choker around your neck. After zipping up your over the knee 5 inch stiletto vinyl black boots, you placed your black horned headband on your head securing the little clips in your hair and primped the strands around your face to frame sexily.  The ride there was filled with bopping to music and Layla yelling that you were a bad bitch out of the windows for all of the campus to hear which caused you to yell as the Uber driver. Taking a deep breath, you exited the car and holding Layla and Caseys hands, you walked the short distance of the walkway to Seokjin’s Lavish off campus Townhome. The smell of weed and alcohol mixed with the sound of loud bass thumping greeted you as Layla pushed open the door. Walking through a sea of bodies you felt several pairs of eyes on you and you had to remind yourself it was fine. Settling yourselves in the kitchen, you started to make you all some drinks while Casey looked out for Valeria and Layla handed you cups and bottles. You decided simple Margaritas on the rocks were safe for the night and handed them to your friends. A tall and beautiful man you knew as Seokjin himself walked in and greeted you all, making sure to give Layla a hug to which you noticed her little blush creeping down her neck.  “I’m glad you all could make it! Layla are you Doja Cat? omg Casey you’re Peter Pan! y/n are you the devil? oooooh are those Margs I see?” SeokJin asked which you nodded and asked if he wanted one as well. “Yes please! I suck at making drinks, oh and please just call me Jin” Smiling you stirred the mixture into a clear cup and handed it to him earning a dazzling smile. As he took a sip, Jin pressed his right hand to his chest over his heart “You NEED to come to all of my parties and make me drinks. This is so delicious” As he mimicked the chefs kiss signal you laughed and Layla beamed a smile at him. “Y/n works as a bartender part time at Nely’s next to campus” You nodded and sipped you drink while surveying the beautiful white marble kitchen and chrome accents. “You have a beautiful Home Jin” you smiled to him which made him softly pat you on the back “Thank you! I take pride in my kitchen. It’s where I blow off steam from Volleyball practice” Layla shook her head “You need to blow off steam? you practically don’t even sweat while we run plays” to which Jin scoffed “We all need to blow off steam Layla” You and Casey watched as both people seemed really comfortable with being around each other. You noticed Layla blush and Jin smile every time their eyes met. “Oh you’re here” said a shrill voice you knew none other than Nami herself, dressed in a fluffy white see thru robe, white satin dress that barely covered her butt, knee high white vinyl go-go boots, white lace stockings and sitting atop her head a thin gold halo attached to a headband. Next to you Layla smiled and placed her hand on her hip “Yeah, we said we would be here so here we are” you heard the brattiness in her voice and giggled when you notice Jin staring at her hips. “Ew, don’t stay too long” Nami said while walking out. Jin shook his head which prompted Layla to ask why he had invited Nami. “Well our families are friends and my roommates are friends with her” You cocked an eyebrow” You have roommates?” Before Jin could answer you heard a deep baritone laugh getting closer, turning your head to the side you saw Taehyung accompanied by Hoseok walking into the safe haven of the kitchen. “Tae, Hoseok, come meet Layla and her friends Casey and y/n!” Jin smiled “These are my roommates” As the men stepped closer you tried your best to cover the shocked look on your face. “HEY we have two devils!” Hoseok yelled out and smirked.  Taehyungs hair was parted down the middle and some of his fringe was swept up into two red ‘horns’ he donned black skin tight vinyl pants, red shiny shoes that looked a lot like Gucci Mules, a sequined Blazer with only one button down right above his navel that accentuated his chest as he decided to forgo a shirt and a thing black choker similar to yours but tied in a small bow sitting in the hollow of his throat. Feeling his eyes roaming over your body and landing on you horns you busied yourself by chugging your drink and earned a holler from Hoseok. “Hey y/n can party!”  Before anything else could be said, Casey spotted Valeria who was waving at you all to join her in the living room. Throwing your cup in the trash you followed Casey out of the now suffocating kitchen and tried to hide your expression as your eyes met the Red Devil while you slid passed him.  “Hey girls!” Valeria smiled and hugged you both causing Casey to blush. Layla had stayed in the kitchen talking to Jin which made you smirk knowingly. “This is Subin” the man next to her looked up from his phone and sent a side your way, you noticed his costume as a werewolf from the looks of his tattered ripped shirt and what looked like a gnarly bite mark on his collarbone.  “Hi I’m y/n and this is Casey” Casey narrowed her eyes at the man and how close he was standing to Valeria mumbling out a ‘I know who Subin is’. As you four talked you noticed Valeria standing closer and closer to Casey while laughing at some inside joke they shared. Before you knew it Valeria had swung an arm around your friend and they shared a soft smile. You really hoped all went well for Casey, if not, you might have to kick some ass. While you were thinking of the cuteness overload that Casey and Valeria together could be you heard a shuffle from your right “you look nice when you smile” Subin smiled at you and you felt the pink tint forming on your cheeks. As Casey pulled Valeria with her outside for some “fresh air” which you knew as go time. You decided to get straight to it and ask Subin himself “Are you and Valeria a thing?” choking on his drink he coughed out a loud ‘no no no no’ and you cocked an eyebrow. “Val and I are just friends, plus she’s not really into someone like me like that?.” “Someone like you?” Nodding Subin smiled knowingly and looked towards the door both girls had just slipped through. “As in she like boobs, your friends boobs to be exact.” Your eyes widened “Wait no! not her boobs, she liked your friend in general i was just saying boobs to accentuate how Val wouldn’t like me anatomically.” You giggled at how flushed he had gotten and he smiled along with you. You hadn’t noticed a pair of eyes staring as you talking to the man dressed as a werewolf. Hoseok noticed the look in his friends eyes, it was the same one Taehyung had gotten anytime you rolled your eyes at him, ignored his presence or had gotten in a heated debate. He had been sporting that look every time he looked at you for a little over two years now. Since your first year of college when you had shared a Psych class and battled for top spot in class. He knew his friend had taken an interest in you and it never dissipated.  Taehyung sipped his beer and kept his eyes glued to your face while you smiled and laughed at something the man next to you had said. Hoseok was tired of nothing coming from this and slammed his beer down hopping onto the coffee table earning a ‘that wasn’t cheap get down!’ from Jin “It’s beer pong time!” Hopping off the table he stood in front of you in all of his Napoleon Dynamite Glory. “Y/n come play beer pong” he smiled at you and you could help but notice how beautiful Hoseoks smile was. Shaking your head “I don’t think i’ll be playing tonight Hoseok but than-“ Nami cackled at you from her band of barbies and interrupted “ Hope, don’t waste your time with her she isn’t worth it. Plus she probably can’t even play, she’s never even been to a party before.” Thats what caused you to roll your eyes and place your hand into Hoses outstretched one. “I’ll play”. You and Subin followed Hoseok to the side of the living room where a few beer pong tables were already set up. Layla and Jin had joined you as well, intrigued to see you playing. “Okay teams of two. Usual rules of no leaning over the table, must drink your drink if a ball is sunk, one re-rack per person on each team, and if a trick shot made with one hand behind your back and a foot away from the table is sunk by the opposing team they may make a request that you have to complete. Said request can’t be anything illegal or THAAAT bad. “Can I take a shot instead of drinking a beer? I don’t really do well with beer” you asked honestly which cause Hoseok to holler “Fuck yeah!”  Before you could pick a teammate Hoseok smiled and pulled Taehyung over “We have to have the two Devil’s playing” You shrugged and asked Subin if he would be your partner to which he smiled an ‘of course’ which earned a cock of an eyebrow from Taehyung which Hoseok noticed and smirked. “I’d be on Tae’s team but I think to make it fair we should have another female” Nami walked over laying her hand on Taehyung’s shoulder and smirked “I’ll play” you rolled your eyes and mumbled an ‘i’ll play’ mimicking her shrill voice which earned a chuckle from Subin. “Ooh an Angel and a Devil on the same team, how heaven and hell” Hoseok smirked and set up the cups handing each team their set of ping pong balls. Layla and Jin brought you a bottle of tequila (your eyebrows shot up when you noticed it was ‘Gran Patron’ and then you remembered these people are well off. You had made the marg’s with a different bottle of Patron which while not cheap wasn’t as expensive as this particular bottle was) and shot glasses to replace the typical drink of beer if a ball is sunk. Beer really didn’t sit well with your stomach, you assumed it was the carbonation.  “Layla you do know this is like a $500 bottle of alcohol right?” Layla smirked and Jin smiled responding “I don’t really drink Tequila unless it’s in a marg and my uncle left this bottle here from his last stay, as far as I’m concerned you can have it.” You opened the bottle letting the smell of Agave fill your senses and re capped it. “Ready?” Hoseok asked to which both teams agreed.  Taehyungs team started to which Nami missed her shot, the next shot was Subins and he sunk it, picking her to chug what looked like some sort of fruity cider. Taehyung was next and he lined up his shot before seemingly sinking it before he looked up “Subin drinks” he said smoothly and Subin drank what was left in his cup. You were up next, carefully lining up your shot you watched as the ball plopped right into the cup and looked at the duo in from of you. “Nami drinks” Nami rolled her eyes “Ughh again??” she exclaimed and you smirked “What? can’t keep up?” you asked to which she grumbled and drank what looked like another cider. Nami sunk her next shot and picked you to drink, as you poured the liquid into your shot glass you smirked right at her while downing the shot like it was water. Unknown to you, a pair of dark eyes watched as you licked your lips while placing the glass down. The game continued with each of the teams missing and sinking shots until you won the game, hugging Subin you both had only had around 3 drinks each and decimated the other team. Taehyung called for another game as in 2/3 wins to win the full game. You had surprisingly agreed but only because Nami wouldn’t shut the fuck up with her little snide comments and you loved the look on her face every time she missed or you sunk her shot.  The second game continued until there were only 4 cups left on your end and 3 on the opposing team. You and Subin hugged each other after your last shot that nailed Nami yet again and she held her stomach calling celebrity shot which basically called Hoseok into the game to replace her. You were 5 shots in and feeling light, not nearly drunk but nicely buzzing as you could hold your liquor well. Stepping in Hoseok smirked “Imma flip things up, If i sink this shot ya’ll gotta do my request” Folding his left arm around his back he took a few steps away from the table and focused on nailing the center shot, and to your surprise he actually did nail it. “Hmm little devil, I request that you take a shot” Your eyebrows shot up as that sounded easy enough. “Oh dear, not a normal shot. I’m talking about a body shot, your partner needs to lay on the table and you have to follow all body shot steps down to the lime in his mouth.” Rolling your eyes you turned to Subin to ask if it was okay with him. Your buzzing partner agreed and insisted after you asked if he was sure. Laying his body down on the table with the crown of his head facing Hoseok and Teahyung. He lifted his shirt up to his chest so that you could sprinkle salt from his navel up to his chest. Filling the shot glass, you placed it above his belly button and gave him the lime wedge to slip between his lips. Taehyung gritted his tech as you climbed onto the white table situating yourself above Subins lap. People who were watching the game from afar gathered closer to watch as you once again asked Subin if it was okay and he smiled a yes. Leaning down you tentatively dragged your tongue from his belly button up to his chest licking up the salt, then dipped back down to his belly button and wrapped your lips around the shot glass leaning up and getting the liquid pour into your mouth and down your throat. You crawled up his body and carefully took the lime from his mouth, making sure to dig into the flesh of the lime and not actually touch his mouth. After all, you just met him and didn’t want him to think you were taking advantage of anything. Throwing the wedge into a discarded cup you hopped off of the table and handed Subin a napkin to wipe the remnants of salt and tequila off of his body.  “Can we get on with the game?” Taehyung grumbled and you rolled your eyes nodding. Subin sunk his next shot and Hoseok took a shot of Tequila instead of chugging a beer. It was now 3 to 2 and Taehyung missed his next shot, too focused on the way you were fanning your hand over the back of your next from the warmth the liquor was giving you. It was your turn and you sunk your next shot causing Taehyung to chug the beer Jin handed to him. Hoseok smiled and once again moved his left arm around his back “Might as well make it interesting, another request for another trick shot” you rolled your eyes and smiled at the brunette as he wagged his eyebrows and closed his eyes. You truly did not think he would sink another trick shot, let along with his eyes closed. But as you watched the ball sink into one of your cups your eyes went wide. You heard hollers and screams hyping up the shot that Hoseok had just made and mentally readied yourself for another body shot. “If you’re thinking I’m going to have you do the same thing, you’re wrong” Your eyebrows furrowed and he smirked “It’s Subins turn to take a body shot” Taehyung let out a deep warning “Hoseok, don’t” You didn’t understand why he would have a problem with it but you turned around to look at Subin to ask if he was once again okay with such a thing. He nodded and in turn asked if you were okay. Smiling you handed him a shot glass. After you situated yourself the same way Subin had, you saw him falter on where to put the salt since your top stopped right above your navel, and you grabbed the bottle of salt from his hand and placed a trail from your collarbone up your next. You figured it was safer than your cleavage.  Subin handed you the lime wedge and you softly bit into it watching him fill the shot glass and place it above your belly button. Layla looked down at you and smiled as she saw you getting chorus of “Fuck yeah y/n” which had made Nami who was sitting down roll her eyes. Climbing into your body and leaning down, Subin let his tongue drag along your collarbone to your neck slowly before leaning down and wrapping his lips around the shot glass in the same way you had done to him and leaned up to gulp it down. Leaning down once again he was about to take the lime wedge from your mouth when a hand n his shoulder stopped him. Before you could ask what was going on you saw a strand of red and felt a pair of lips on yours pulling the lime away.  Taehyung had had enough, he was tired of seeing you with Subin and even more tired of the games Hoseok was playing. When he watched Subin lean down to your mouth he couldn’t take it anymore and his body reacted on it’s own. Doing what it had been wanting to do for years.  You watched as Taehyung spit out the lime wedge a leaned back down to capture your lips in his in an upside down kiss. A chorus of oohs and oh shits followed which caused you to push him off and jump off of the table. You shook your head at him and wrapped your arms around your body “What the fuck Taehyung?” you asked but before anybody could answer you, you asked Jin where the bathroom was to which he pointed out and you ran there hearing a “wait” being yelled but you didn’t care you needed to get out of there. You were being watched by everybody and that accompanied with the kiss from someone you thought you hated and assumed he hated you as well, well that was too much. Walking into the first floor bathroom you slammed the door and made your way to the sink. You looked at yourself in the mirror then looked down, bracing your hands on either side of the sink trying to calm yourself down.  You could hear the bass thumping, causing the walls to lightly vibrate. There was a loud knock on the door followed by a series of “y/n please please open the door.” Letting out a deep breath you ran your index finger along your lash line, wiping any excess makeup that had smudged during your beer pong game. Stepping towards the door you swung it open only to be greeted with your best friend flinging herself on your short frame despite the high heeled boots you donned. “Hi, I love you, and before you say it. I know you want to go home but please don’t let those people get to you. So what if Tae kissed you? Don’t even acknowledge that ass wipe, and omg you should’ve seen Navi’s face when he kissed you. She legit looked like she was going to blow up like some sort of doll filled with helium!” Layla placed her hands on either side of you, softly gripping your shoulders, her deep brown eyes staring into yours softly. “Hey, talk to me? If you really do want to go home, i’ll go with you. But I really think you shouldn’t let anything that just happened get you down. Let’s just go back to the living room and dance all these feelings away! You’ve got me, Jin, Subin and Casey and Val ‘not that i know where they are.” While she rambled on you took in your surroundings, noting the pristine glass shower situated in the corner followed by the chrome towel rack that supported plush light grey towels. The porcelain toilet stood across from it, tucked into a corner of the light grey walls that matched the towels. As she finished her speech you already knew what you had to do, you weren’t going to let this get you down. You were so fucking tired of letting people get to you, you had no control over your life growing up but you sure as hell had control over your current self. You had amazing friends, were incredibly intelligent, worked your ass off at both of your jobs and were happy with the way you looked. Quirking up the left corner of your mouth you leaned in and planted a big smooch on your besties left cheek. “Layla, you’re right” Surprise crossed your best friends face, followed by a knowing smirk. “That’s my best bitch! Let’s get our asses down there and show them what a bad bitch you are, not that you haven’t already. I mean, dude you totes slammed like 6 shots no problem and you look HOT AS HELL.”  Giggling you took her arm into yours and let her take you down the hallway into the crowded living area. The LED lights lit a soft purple hue that bounced off of the cream colored walls, further creating that fantasy look that enticed party goers to let all their inhibitions go. You noticed someone had moved the coffee table to a far corner closer to the beer pong tables, which had expanded the makeshift dance floor. The DJ was bopping his head to the current track he was mixing and the sea of bodies moving themselves to the beat was massive. You clutched Layla’s hand in yours as she pushed her way through the dancers and you all finally settled closer to one of the couches that had been pushed to a corner opposite of the tables where Jin, Subin and Hoseok had been waiting for you two. Jin placed a hand on your shoulder as if you check if you were alright and you smiled while nodding. “I’m so so sorry y/n, are you okay?” Subin asked and searched your face for an answer. Smiling at the man who had been your partner in crime for the passed hour, you nodded. “It’s all good, no need to be sorry. I do need another drink though. I think that little stint in the bathroom may have sobered be up more than i’m happy about.  Hoseok smiled and shouted a ‘Gotchu’ before he bounded back off to the kitchen mixing up some concoction you knew would be strong. “Theres seems to be a lot more dancing than before” you jutted your chin towards the sea of bodies and Jin laughed. “I think most people are in that drunks haze where dancing is all they can do since they can’t seem to stand straight.” You chucked softly as you knew all too well how dancing enticed drunk people. The brunette thrusted a clear cup into your hands, quirking an eyebrow at him he responded with a chuckle. “It’s just bourbon on the rocks” Testing the liquid in the cup you smiled confirming it was in fact bourbon and nothing gross. You spotted Nami hanging herself on Taehyung in the corner towards the tables, your eyes met as she looked back at you with what looked like rage. Leaning her body upwards she leaned in towards his right ear and appeared to be whispering something to which he shook his head while staring into his glass. This seemed to upset her, huffing she once again leaned back up and attached you pink gloss covered lip to his neck. For some reason this had annoyed you to no end. For years Nami had been al over the tall man, only to be semi rejected with her advances which had brought you an odd sense of joy and seeing her lips on his neck as he just stood there caused you to rip your gaze away fro the pair and bring your cup up to your still burgundy tinted lips as the lipstick had faded away and left you with a just bitten look. Leaning you head back you downed the contents of the glass and slammed it down on the nearby end table that was situated by the couch. “Let’s dance?” you handed Jin your purse pulling Layla to the dance floor with you, not needing an answer to your question. As you both pushed through to the middle of the grinding crowd you best friend leaned in to your ear letting you know she’d be right back. Before you could ask what she was doing you saw her watermelon headband bounding up to the DJ who nodded when she leaned in close to him. As the first notes of the beat started you couldn’t help the smirk that planted itself on your lips. You giggled as Layla shimmied her way towards you and the first lines of the song began. Letting your body sway to the music, Layla laid her hands on your hips. “That’s my best friend, she a real bad bitch. Got her own money.” You both sang as you moved your hips in her hands.  Placing both of your hands on her shoulders you turned her around and pulled her back close to your chest. Jin had been staring at your friend’s hips swaying along with yours and you decided you wanted to put on a show for him. Running your hands up her tight covered thighs up to her waist she leaned forward and gave her ass a little twerk causing you to chuckle. Turning her body around she gripped your hand in hers and spun you around, you made sure to wiggle your hips as you spun. “She been down since the jellies and the bow-bows” you shimmied your hips and saw Casey and Val bounding their way towards you two. As they got closer you noticed Caseys Peter Pan hat had gone missing and Vals pink lipstick was smudged, both girls walking hand in hand. Throwing Casey a knowing smirk she shrugged lightly and Layla wrapped her arms around both girls, creating a circle. “Where have you BEEN?” Layla yelled over the music at the two but shook her head after taking in their appearances “Nevermind I don’t want to know, wait, or do I?” wiggling her eyebrows she smoothed down Caseys wild blonde bob. Val seemed to enjoy the blush that had formed on Caseys cheek and she leaned close to place a kiss on either cheek, further fueling the crimson on her cheeks. As the intro to Bad Bitch by Bebe Rexha came into play you all raised your hands up into the air and swayed to the beat. Hoseok came into view, thrusting a shot into each of your friends hands and you all posed for his snapchat video while downing the shots of what tasted like whiskey. “Gross, I don’t know how you like liquor” Casey said, her cute face scrunching up into a sour expression and you giggled.  Leaning down you touched your toes and twerked your ass to the beat earning a “fuck it up” from Layla and Val. As you ground your hips back into your best friend you looked up catching Taehyungs burning gaze on your flushed face. Cocking an eyebrow up at him you turned around in Layla’s hold swaying your hips. “Ugh, prissy bitch incoming” Layla whispered into your ear and you followed her eyes to Nami who pulled Michelle and a bored looking Taehyung onto the dance floor. Your eyes followed Navi’s movements as they slid up and down the devils chest and Michelle settled her hands on his shoulders behind him. Your jaw tensed as Nami’s hands trailed up to his neck. Meeting his dark gaze you narrowed your eyes slightly and shook your head, turning around and grabbing Hoseoks hands pulling him closer to you. The LED lights turned a deep red hue as the opening to Streets - Silhouette remix started and Val exclaimed “Let me put this on insta, y/n your horns loom so good in this light!” Posing with your back towards Hoseoks with your head leaning onto his shoulder, the latter gripped your hips and leaned his face into your neck while Val took the picture.  As the tune changed and the beat dropped with it’s intoxicatingly slow beat you swayed your hips against Hoseoks, bending your knees and slowly sliding up and down his body. Trailing his fingers up your sides he grilled your hips and turned you around to face him. You heard Layla lean into Casey saying something along the lines of ‘oh shit’. ‘I found it hard to find someone like you’ you slid your body down the Brunettes, never leaving his gaze ‘send your location come thru’. Leaning back up you rolled your head around and he wrapped a hand into your hair, his other gripping your right hip tighter. your hands settled themself on his shoulders and you leaned towards his left, your eyes catching onto Taehyungs dark gaze, his eyes never leaving yours as Hoseok ground his hips into yours. Even as Nami wiggled her hips in front of his and trailed her hands under his blazer, his arms stayed at his sides, never touching the Angel nor the Bunny who still danced her body against his back. Hoseok knew his friend was watching and he couldn’t help but smirk, gripping your hair tighter he moved your face towards him and pulled you in until you were a few centimeters from his lips as he moved your hips along with his. ‘We belong and I can’t be without you’ Doja’s voice crooned through the speakers as Hoseok leaned in closer to your lips over the hazey cloud of smoke and tightly packed bodies. You internally debated wether or not you truly wanted him to close that gap and land his lips on yours, but the only thing you could think of was the gaze of a certain someone on yours.  Before you fully decided on if you wanted the man in front of you to kiss you, your body was pulled away from his. A strong grip was formed around your wrist and all you registered was Layla and Casey wide eyes before you were being pulled away from the dancing bodies and up the stairs. You barely registered the click of a door being opened followed by your back hitting the hard wood. “What the hell were you doing?” Taehyung rasped out staring deeply into your eyes with a mixture of what looked like want and fury. You placed your hands on his chest pushing him back slightly and jutted your chin upwards. “Excuse me? I was dancing with my friends and Hoseok, not that that’s any of you business” Taking a step towards him. “What the hell do YOU think you’re doing? dragging me up to this room and thinking you can manhandle me.” Receiving no answer you shook your head and were prepared to turn around and walk right back out of that door. “You drive me fucking insane. Seeing that Subin guys hands all over you and then you dancing like that with my best friend.” You felt yourself being pressed against the door once again with his large hands on either side of your head, his rings glinting against the soft light filtering in through the open curtains. Cocking your eyebrow up at him you stood your ground. “What? are you Jealous?” you snorted out. “Yeah, yeah I fucking am” At his surprising answer you looked up seeing nothing but want in his deep eyes with a glint of something else you couldn’t quite place. “You’re fucking insane. Don’t play with me” you rasped out, your voice hoarse from singing and dancing earlier. “I’m not playing” was all you heard before your head knocked back against the wooden frame of the door followed by a pair of plush lips crushing yours with a ferocity you suddenly craved. He tasted like cinnamon and liquor and you loved it. Something inside you both seemed to snap in that moment and you trailed one of your hands up, curling your fingers into his soft hair and tugging on the makeshift horns it was styled into. Your other hand settled itself onto his warm chest fingering the labels of his blazer. Taehyung growled out at you reciprocated the kiss and trailed his right hand down the door, settling on your hip and pulling you impossibly closer to his body. Feeling teeth nibbling at your lower lip you gasped out and he took the chance to slide his tongue into your mouth, your tongues immediately fighting for dominance. Tugging his hair harder you felt his hand that had been on your hip slide lower until it was gripping a handful of your ass cheek, followed by a grunt. You could still hear the music that was thumping downstairs but it was slowly being drowned out by the man in front of you. The plush pair of lips that was against yours slowly trailed down to your jaw, nipping at the flesh softly until they reached your neck. Nuzzling his face against your warm flesh as he littered the area with whisper soft kisses. Slipping your hand under his blazer you trailed your nails lightly along his skin earning a low hiss from his deep voice. Smirking, you dug you nails harder “You’re playing with fire babygirl” Taehyung gripped both of your hands into one of his large palms and pressed them against the door frame grinding his hips into yours. Feeling his length against your covered core you couldn’t help the soft whine that escaped your lips. Taehyung trailed his lips back to your neck and sucked on your pulse point causing you to arch your back. “Y/n i really don’t want to stop, but I need to know that you want this too” the man in front of you pulled back slightly while he waited for a response. Letting out a small ‘yes’ he leaned back down capturing you in another searing kiss. Flexing your wrists in an outwards circular motion you freed yourself from his grip and took a step forward placing your hands against his chest and effectively spinning him around so his back hit the door.  Despite the height different even with your heels you kept your palms flat on his chest with your strength, keeping him against the door. Arching a dark brow up at you Taehyung smirked. “Not going to lie, that was pretty hot” you felt him grumble against your mouth as it attached itself to his tan neck. Sucking a few bruises against his flesh you felt his need growing against your stomach and you couldn’t help your involuntary clench of your thighs. His smell was intoxicating, a mixture of fresh linen, cinnamon and musk. You felt his hands trail up the backs of your thighs and grind the flesh under your ass, signaling you to wrap your legs around his waist. Leaving one more bite against his neck you complied and jumped up latching your legs around his sturdy hips. Walking you both backwards, Taehyung leaned you downwards until your back was hitting the large bed tucked against the wall. Arching your back towards him you pulled him onto your body by his shoulder and moaned into his mouth as he captured your lips in his. Biting down on your lower lip hard, Taehyung ground his hips down against yours.  While his mouth felt incredible against yours you knew you wanted, no, needed more.“Need more” you whispered out causing his to chuckle against your lips and lean his body up. Smirking down at you he cocked his head to the side and trailed his index finger up your torso and chest. “Sorry love, I couldn’t hear you. What was that?” Rolling your eyes you reached up tugging his hair into your grip. “I said, I.Need.More” you said though gritted teeth at the knowing look in his eyes. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?” before you could retort you felt his mouth latch itself on your collarbone and his hands trailing down your legs, pulling the zippers to your boots down before tossing them on the floor somewhere. Trailing his hands behind your back he began trying to undo your top. “While these straps are hot, they aren’t fucking functional for shit. How the hell do I take this off?” Taehyung practically growled out causing a chuckle to leave your lips. Leaning up slightly you helped him unhook the main portion of the top and pull the strappy harness over your neck. Tossing the item he had been fumbling with to the side he couldn’t stop admiring your breasts covered only by your black lace bra.  You shivered as he trailed his hands up your chest, his cold rings causing your nipples to perk up and a gasp to leave your mouth. Leaning his face down, Taehyung started trailing soft kisses along your chest downwards to your torso and back up. His hands were once again at your back, this time working fast successfully unhooking your bra. Looking into your eyes he hooked his fingers under the straps on your shoulder and slowly pulled down releasing your breasts from their confinement. Biting down on his lip he started at your perky nipples and full breasts. He had always loved your curves and didn’t ever think he’d get to see them this way. You felt his soft lips wrap around one of your nipples and gasped as his tongue lightly flicked against the hard pebble. Your hand in his hair pulled him closer to your chest and he smirked. He pinched your other nipple between his fingers which earned a low moan. His mouth being soft on one of your nipples and his fingers being rough on your other one caused an intoxicating juxtaposition and you couldn’t help the little whines that left your throat. Fiddling with your button and zipper, Taehyung successfully started to pull your pants down, leaning up and leaving your nipple with a loud pop of his mouth. Tugging to pull your pants off of your legs he hissed when he saw your core only covered by your thin lace panties. You heard your pants hit the floor in a loud thump and bit your lip in nervousness as you realized just how exposed you were in front of this infuriatingly beautiful man. “You’re fucking beautiful” He rasped out, trailing his eyes up your body and landing on your face. Before he could hike your legs open and upwards you spoke up “You have way too many articles of clothing on” Smirking he complied with your request and popped the single button holding his blazer together, sliding it down his shoulders and throwing it in a heap on the floor. You heard his shoes being kicked off as well before he leaned back down to resume his earlier ministrations. His large hands slid down the insides of your thighs and pulled them open to reveal your soaked panty covered core. You swore you head him let out a low whine but before you could comment on it you felt a warm pair of lips latch onto your clit through the fabric. Arching your back off of the bed you gripped his shoulder in your hand. Taehyung rubbed his index and middle finger along your slit and hooked themselves around the fabric pulling it to the side and exposing yourself to the cool air and his waiting mouth. Laying his left palm flat against your lower tummy he leaned in giving you a soft tentative lick to your slit. Biting your lip between your teeth you moaned out when he latched his mouth around your clit and sucked harshly. “F..Fuck” Hearing your moan he sucked against and gripped the flesh of your thigh with his other hand keeping your legs open. Alternating between sucking and flicking his tongue against your sensitive nub he loved the way you tasted and couldn’t get enough of it. If it was up to him he would do this all day every day.  You ground your hips up into his mouth causing him to smirk against your cunt. “Needy” he growled out and trailed his fingers that had been on your thigh down to your slit, running the tip of his middle finger around your opening before sliding itself in to the knuckle. You brought your right fist to your mouth and bit down to keep yourself from moaning out. Slowly pumping his finger in and out, he watched as your finger disappeared into your wet heat taking him in so good. “Fuck you’re wet” Looking up into your eyes he saw you biting down onto your fist and stopped his ministrations “ If you want more I need to hear you babygirl” Muffling a ‘please’ you released your fist from your mouth and wove it into his hair. Pleased with your sounds he continued sliding his finger in and out of you, adding his index finger into your heat hissing at how tight you were. “Shit you’re tight, gotta make sure you’re nice and ready for my big cock babygirl” Arching your back, you felt his press against your inner walls and curl his fingers causing you to dig your fingernails into his shoulder and tug his hair harder with your other hand. Latching his mouth back onto your clit he lightly hummed which sent vibrations through your body. Whining with need you continued grinding your hips up onto his face and rolled your eyes closed. Taehyung looked up at you watching your fucked out expression and almost choked when he heard you whining his name. Working his tongue against your click he started to harshly pump his fingers into you before slowing down and inching his middle finger into your heat. You felt your cunt burning at the stretch but the look in his eyes caused another gush of arousal to seep out and coat his fingers further. “Jesus..fuck you’re so hot and you taste so fucking delicious” As he slowly pumped his fingers in and out you felt your stomach clenching, that familiar feeling on your realize building with each flick of his tongue against your clit. “Tae.. Tae i’m going to cum if you keep doing that.” Sucking harshly he curled his fingers and pressed against your g spot “Cum babygirl, let me taste you before I slid my fat cock into your needy cunt” Rolling your eyes back you felt your legs start to shake as you gripped his hair almost painfully between your fingers. Your stomach tightened and you felt yourself clench around his fingers. Your breath becoming shallow as you let out a series of ‘oh fuck yes’ and ‘omg omg’ your hand that had been on his shoulder came up to your chest as your pinched your nipple between your feelings and felt the metaphorical dam of your orgasm approaching.   Taehyung sucked harshly before grazing his teeth lightly against your clit and your eyes shot open feeling your legs convulse and your toes curl. With a final whine you felt yourself cum all over his tongue which he licked up like a starved man. Breathing deeply you felt the sweat drip down your brow for your intense orgasm and when he stood your eyes followed down his torso gleaming with sweat and down to the prominent bulge in his pants. Biting your lip you caught him staring at your cunt that had just cum around his finger and he started to pull your beyond soaked panties down and off of your legs. Looking back up into your eyes he slipped each finger between his plums lips and licked them clean.  Groaning at the action you felt yourself clench. “Think you can take more baby?” He smirked at you and you wrapped your legs around his waist pulling him against you and ground your soaking cunt against his covered length. “You’re getting me all dirty, fuck that’s hot” He growled out and slid his fingers down unbuckling his belt. Popping the button of his pants, he pulled the zipper down with your eyes following every movement. Sliding his pants down his thighs he kicked them off and hooked him thumbs into his black briefs. You couldn’t tell if you were really drooling but once his slid his fried down and his cock sprang free you knew me heard your very audible groan followed by a clench of your thighs. Sliding his hand along his shaft, he pumped his leaking length a few times and reached to the side opening a drawer and seemingly looking for a condom. Gripping his arm you shook your head “I’m on the pill, are you clean?” His eyes widened at the possibility of what you were saying and he nodded “I haven’t had sex in a few months and when I did I wore a condom, I also get checked every month if you want to see the results I have them on my pho-“ You cut him off by leaned up and kissing him. As you layed back down against the pillows you smiled up at him an he swore he felt his heart flutter and his cock pulsate. Hooking his right index finger under your thin leather choker he pulled you up and he ground his uncovered cock against your dripping pussy. “As much as I love these, they have to come off they’re barely hanging on your head. Not knowing what he was talking abut you felt his fingers prodding at your scalp and finally run through your hair with the devil horned headband and clips in his hand. Setting them down on the beside table he leaned back piping his cock and wrapping his fingers around his thick head of his shaft. Leaning down he took your mouth against his and you felt his thick tip push against your slit. Locking your ankles around his back you ran your hands down his shoulder and gripped his back. Your walls pulsated around him as he slid in inch by inch and you threw your head back as your walls accommodated his thick size. When he finally bottomed out in your heat he stilled letting you relax as he filled you to the brim.  Sliding his tongue against your he grunted when you involuntarily clenched around him. “You're so fucking tight, you make me crazy” he growled out and settled his mouth against your neck, nipping and sucking the skin as he slowly pulled out only to ram himself back in. Moaning loudly your grip on his shoulders tightened and you knew you were leaving crescent moons on his luscious tan skin. “Crazy? you seem pretty soft to me. Why don’t you fuck me and show me just how crazy I make you” you teased. After sucking harshly on your neck he sat back up and gripped the undersides of your thighs pulling them apart from his hips. “You’re so bad, want me to ruin you? Open you up with my fat cock?” you nodded and  trailed your tongue along your lower lip preparing yourself for what he was about to do.  Ramming himself up into you again you grated your teeth and looked up into his dark eyes. His rhythm was slow and harsh, pounds into you with each thrust of his hips. Your walls enveloped him and he swore he wasn’t giving you up after this, hell he wasn’t giving you up after that first kiss on that beer pong table. He was going to make sure you knew how he felt and hopefully you felt the same way. If not, he’d respect it but at least he’d know you knew how he felt. Watching your tits bounce with each thrust he heard you mumble out a raspy ‘faster’ and he complied, pushing your thighs farther up against your chest. At this knew angle you swore you felt him in your stomach. “Oh god” you ground out and his eyes flashed even deeper if that was possible “Fuck yeah, moan for me y/n”  Sliding himself in and out of you at a fast pace, you could hear his balls slapping against your ass. The room filled with shallow breathes and curses spewing from either of your mouths.  Taehyung slid his palms under your ass and gripped your cheeks between his large hands, squeezing harshly before pulling you up so you were sitting on his lip with his cock still stuffed inside of you. As he thrusted upwards you met his thrusts by bouncing your hips and wrapping your legs around his waist. His hands held you by your ass, pushing and pulling your body on and off of his cock. Leaning towards him you sucked a bruise onto his neck and wrapped your arms around the back of his neck. Feeling his cock his that sweet spot you shuddered and clenched around him tightly. “Stop doing that before I cum” he gritted out and you pulled back from his neck smirking. “mm maybe that’s what I want” With a sharp thrust upwards into your tight cunt he splayed his right hand agains the bottom of your spine and pulled you as close as you could get. “You’re devilish, I swear. You want me to fill up your little pussy with my cum? is that what you want? to get filled?” his deep baritone voice filled your ears and you clenched impossibly tighter around his shaft. “T..Tae fill me up..I need it!” you moaned out loudly and he pushed your body back down onto the bed, pushing your ankles towards your chest he situated himself on his knees and started ramming into you to the point where your body slid against the bed. Reaching one hand down, he lightly gripped your neck. “Yeah? want me to fill you up? Then cum baby, cum all over my cock.” “Tae..Tae..I’m going t..to cum. Fuck you’re so deep” your eyes fluttered closed as he gripped your throat and you held onto his back. “Cum for me y/n, let me feel you soak my cock as I fill you to the brim” Feeling your body start to convulse you opened your eyes to see his fucked out face, sweat dripping down his cherry colored hair and down his neck. His hand flexing on your neck and his abs flexing with every thrust. His low moan of your name sent you over the edge and you clenched around him. Your thighs closed around his hips and you moaned out his name. Curling your toes your this quivered and your inner walls fluttered around his throbbing shaft. Arching off of the bed and towards him his grip on your neck loosened and he leaned down capturing your hips in his as his hips stilled and you felt his warm cum spitting inside of your waiting heat. Thrusting his cock back in and out slowly he let out a low groan as the remnants of his cum filled you.  Taking deep breath he watched your face as he slowly slipped out of you and trailed his eyes down to watch the clear and white liquid leak out of you. Letting out a deep whine he leaned forward and captured your lips between his. His lips were soft against yours, still passionate but not as fiery as they had been earlier. Pulling back his gaze studied your face. “Tae..I” before you could continue he shook his head. “Wait before you say anything, please let me get this out. I’m sorry for the way things happened tonight but I don’t regret any of it. Iv’e literally liked you since we first argued about the attributes of the human brain during psych. That one time you called me an aloof imbecile I almost pulled you out of class and kissed that pretty look off of your face. I assumed you hated me and it made me mad, instead of being a normal human being and just asking you why you hated me I decided to take it out on you. If you didn’t like me, at least I could gain your attention arguing with you.” “And tonight, seeing you with those other guys..I couldn’t help but think it would’ve been better if it was me. I needed to stop being a pussy and just fucking tell you how i felt.” He shook his head as he spoke. “ What about you and Nami? and the fact that you laughed the other day when she made fun of what I should be for halloween and my tattoos” Scrunching his face he sighed. “First of all Nami is just a friend, well more like a family friend. Iv’e known her since I was young and I guess I was just used to her being there. Nami and i have never done anything and never will. Secondly, I didn’t laugh at whatever she said. to be completely honest I drowner out her voice after she asked how you got an invite. I has laughed at a meme Jin sent me of our other friend Namjoon whos away for a semester in Paris, with a bald cap on looking like a grandpa due to his old school vibe he always has. That being said, i’m sorry I never defended you when she said anything to or about you. I really wanted to but you were always so good at defending yourself and that one time Jose defended you, you had turned around and told him you didn’t ‘need a man’ to defend you. So that combined with me thinking you hated me, I just assumed you’d end up really hated me and wouldn’t give me the time of day when we argued anymore.” Climbing off of your body Taehyung sat down next to you and studied your expression. “I don’t hate you per say, I hated that you always argued with me, I hated that you scored higher than be despite never seeming to study while I worked my ass off, I hated that you came from money, you never had to fight for what you wanted or what you deserved. I hated that you were Nami’s friend and always seemed so aloof, like you really didn’t care about anything. But I didn’t..I don’t hate you as a person” you turned towards him. “Who said I never study? My parents would kill me if I scored sub-par. Hell, the only reason I can live here with Jin is if i keep up my grades and don’t disappoint them. If i didn’t care about anything my ass would be living in on campus housing and having an RA breath down my throat while my parents called me everyday asking if I was completing the study forms they sent over. Yeah I’m well off, but that’s my parents money and they worked hard for it. They put hard work and intelligence above all else.” your eyebrows rose at his confession and you get bad. You had assumed so much about him these passed two years and none of it seemed to be right. “I think that’s why I started to like you so much, you’re so intelligent, you work so hard at everything you do and you carry yourself like such a strong person. You kind of scare me if i’m honest” his deep voice chuckled and you smiled. “You’re beautiful inside and out”  Taehyung said softly brushing his thumbs against your cheeks. You could feel the tenderness in his chest and your heart fluttered. “Maybe I liked you too, maybe that’s why I always waited for you to argue with me. I like how intelligent you are, I like that you always have something to say about whatever point I’m trying to prove.” You said softly and the corner of his mouth lifter slightly “liked? past tense” Rolling your eyes you covered your face and grumbled. “fine, LIKE. As in present tense” Taehyung stepped off of the bed and chuckled “THE y/n likes me? i’m honored. Sure its not cause I just made you cum twice?” throwing your arm off of your eye you watched his figure retreating into another door before flicking a light on. “Shut up Tae!” Chuckling he emerged from what you assumed was an ensuite bathroom with a wet cloth and situated himself between your legs. “I like when you call me Tae” he said and you blushed, feeling the cool cloth wipe gently along your folds. Sliding the cloth along your legs he finished cleaning you up and smiled up at you gently with his every so beautiful boxy smile. Returning to the bathroom to drop off the cloth you heard the water turn on and assumed he was cleaning himself off as well. Letting your gaze look around the room you noticed the bookshelf across from the bed you were currently on. On its shelf sat different picture frames, books and what looked like plushies. On the other side of the same wall sat a dark grey desk complete with a laptop, a mini plant and various knickknacks and a chair with a navy blue hoodie that you noticed to be Taehyungs hanging off of the back of the chair. Next to the bed was a nightstand that had a lamp, an iPhone charging dock and a bottle of water. The door that connected to the rest of the house was on the same wall. Against the wall to the right of the bed was a large dark grey dresser that matched the desk and what you now noticed to be the bed frame. On the dresser sat bottles of cologne, accessories and a picture frame. Next to the dresser was the door Taehyung had disappeared into and another door you assumed to be maybe a closet. Furrowing your brows you realized this was Taehyung’s room and not just another guest room. Up until his confession earlier you assumed he lived in a luxurious off campus house paid for by his parents. While this was a luxurious Townhome it still wasn’t what you had pictured. As Taehyung walked out of the ensuite he opened a drawer and dug through until he found was he was looking for. Sauntering up to the bed he handed you a t-shirt and what had seemed to be your phone that had been tossed on the floor earlier and pulled on a pair of briefs over his legs. Holding the soft cotton material in your fingers you smiled and thanked him before slipping over your smaller frame. Checking your phone you immediately noticed a series of texts from Layla starting from concerned up to a text that had a winky face telling you to ‘get it, I came upstairs to check on you but your moaning let me know you were doing just fine’. Smacking your palm against your face you blushed bright crimson. Taehyung who had looking over your shoulder when you gasped at the text was giggling and you smacked his chest. “Ow, you hit hard” He said while still giggling. “So, would you..uh stay the night and maybe grab breakfast with me in the morning? I mean know that we’ve realized we both don’t hate each other and we kind of lik-“ Pressing your lips to his you felt him smile against your lips before you pulled back. “Yes, now can we sleep?.” Nodding Taehyung pulled you against his chest and brushed a few strands away from your face as your eyes fluttered closed. Running his hand along the flowers that decorated your right arm he smiled to himself before eventually closing his eyes as well. Interesting how Misunderstandings happen, isn’t it?

————————————

Omg this was supposed to just be a drabble from the pic of red haired Tae and inso from a game of beer pong, BUT ALAS this monster was born. this is my first fit so any constructive criticism is appreciated. Any love is beyond appreciated too <3 I have some ideas for other pics but i just want to get my page situated first. Any messages are welcome too <3 i lub talking to people.

-C otherwise known as, Potitties

[dreamingwithbts]

Demon (Boku No Hero) - Chapter 19

Warning: Swearing, Violence and Blood

Hawks made me and Tokoyami run all over the city while he freely flies over us. “Oh? I thought you guys from U.A. were better than this. Come on! We need to go faster!” Hawks says teasing us flying ahead of us. “I want to rip those wings from him.” I say tired and starting to sweat. “Hn.” Tokoyami agrees also tired and sweating more than me because of the sun. “Let’s go!” We heard Hawks scream. “JUST SHUP YOU DAMN BIRD!” I scream making Hawks laugh. “Feisty!” Hawks says. “You sounded liked Bakugo.” Tokoyami says to me. “Dammit.” I say sighting.

Tokoyami and I after a day of running through the city, catching some simple villains, we finally are on our rooms in the agency resting. “I can’t even get out of bed to eat, my body hurts.” I think sighting then I take my phone and firstly text Izuku.

Me:

Hey. How’s your internship going?

Broccoli Freckles:

Hey Aka-chan, for now is going weirdly. Gran Torino is kind of crazy, and I’m panicking! How is Hawks?

Me:

Ahahaha, you’re going to be fine Izu-kun. Hawks is awful! Hisalways teasing and making us run while he flies. He’s lucky his hot.

Broccoli Freckles:

Oh my god, Aka-chan. Don’t say things like that. I have to go, I still have training to do.

Me:

Okay, good luck. Text me if you need anything.

The conversation between me and Izuku ended quickly and the moment I put my phone on the bed and close my eyes I receive a call, and I’m shocked seeing who it was. “Hello? Bakugo?” I answer it. “I’M GOING TO KILL BEST JEANIST!” It’s the first thing I heard. “What did he do?” I ask him confused. “He knew I only choose him because he is the number four pro hero, and he only put an offer on me, so he can educate me on being an exemplary hero, he wants to change the way I am!” He says and I try not to laugh. “ARE YOU LAUGHING?!” He asks screaming again. “Of course not!” I say containing my laugh. “But is kind of funny.” I continue and I heard him scream. “What are you going to do?” I ask him. “I don’t know.” He says sighting, and we stay in silence for a few minutes. “How’s Hawks?” He asks me. “A IDIOT HOT BIRD!” I scream now me angry. “He made me and Tokoyami run all over the city while his sexy ass was flying above us like nothing.” I say angry. “Serves you right.” I heard Katsuki joking. “Oh, shut up!” I say angry, but smiling and we stay talking all night until we had to go to sleep.

Day two started, the day started normal, this time Hawks walked with us on the street explaining us actual very useful stuff. “I wonder how’s Katsuki doing.” I think after remembering our conversation last night, not knowing Katsuki and his hair were suffering on the hands of Best Jeanist.

Day three came quickly, and the three of us are getting closer actually, we started to get comfortable with Hawks and start teasing him too, well more me. “Cannibal! You’re chicken is here!” I say giving him his lunch. “Thank you!! And it’s not cannibalism!” He says. “That’s what a cannibal would say!” I say teasing him making us laugh and Tokoyami smile. It was already evening when Hawks let’s go rest earlier than normal, saying it was a gift from him. “Gift, right. He’s probably lazy and going to eat chicken all night.” I think entering my temporary bedroom, I look at my hero uniform that I was still wearing. “I have a bad feeling.” I think then suddenly a heard a notification on my phone. “Izuku sent a message.” I say out loud.

Broccoli Freckles:

HELP! HOSU CITY!

“Shit!” I cursed and without seconds thoughts I leave my room running. “I’m coming Izuku.” I think. I start running and teletransporting as fast as I could and when I arrived at an alley, I see Izuku frozen and Lida on the ground and a villain walking towards him. I teletransport next to Izuku and I use my red mist to stop the villain from walking. “Oh? Another one?” The villain says turning his head to see me. “Aka-chan! I mean Carmine!” Izuku screams next to me not moving. “I got you.” I say to the villain, but my mist wasn’t strong enough, and he got loose and turns to me, smiling sadistically. “Carmine, be careful! If he gets your blood, you get paralyzed!” Izuku screams when the villain came running towards me swinging his swords. “You’re next girl.” He says while I try to escape his blades. “Shit!” I say when I almost get caught. “Who is this guy?!” I scream. “That’s the villain Stain! The one who hurt my brother.” Lida screams. “No...” I whisper in shock, frozen in front of Stain. “AKA!” Izuku and Lida screams when Stain blade catches me, but I still got in time to move next to Izuku again. “Shit!” I say and move my arm to see blood. “What do we do now?” I say looking at Izuku who looks at me in shock. “How are you moving...?” He whispers making me confused. “Girl, who are you? And how are you still moving?” Stain asks me angry looking at me. “You remind me of someone.” He says. “Does he know?” I think scared then I see him turning towards Lida again. “Stop it...!” Izuku screams then suddenly a tunnel of fire appears attacking Stain, but Stain jumps back. “One after another... There are a lot of people getting in my way today.” He says. “Shoto!” I whisper seeing him.

Shoto starts battling with Stain while the others stays frozen because of Stain Quirk, while I stay frozen for another reason. “Todoroki, you can’t let this guy lick your blood!” Izuku starts explaining Stain Quirk to Shoto. “Aka-chan is the only one who wasn’t affected it by his Quirk.” Izuku says. “Aka. Aka!” I unfroze when hearing Shoto scream my name. “We need to fight him together.” Shoto says, and I nod and get beside him and look straight in Stain eyes. “Let’s do this.” I say, and red mist covers my body. “That mist...” Stain thinks.

Shoto and I start fighting with Stain while Izuku and Lida and the pro hero Native stay frozen on the ground. I fight Stain while Shoto and Lida talked about Lida brother, I notice that Stain is hurting Shoto more than me. “Shit, why isn’t he attacking me.” I think then try attacking Stain closer while Shoto attacks him in the distance then suddenly Stain is beside me on the air. “I’m not going to hurt you, my daughter.” He whispers on my ear while I froze again in shock. “He knows.” I think while he attacks Shoto. “Aka-chan!” I can hear Izuku scream from the distant, but I just couldn’t move. “What is wrong with her?” Lida asks but no one could answer, before I notice I was at the ground emotionless and Stain comes to be in front of me. “I’m going to take you with me.” He whispers while glaring at the others. “STAY AWAY FROM HER.” Izuku screams and I look up seeing him now unfrozen next to Shoto. “Izuku...” I whisper looking at him with no emotions. “Aka-cha...” Izuku says confused, in panic. “Did she got hit?” Shoto asks. “I don’t know.” Izuku responds. “I’m sorry guys....” I say, looking down, not being able to fight Stain, no matter how bad he is, he’s still my biological father. “We can’t count with Aka right now.” Shoto says making Izuku more in panic.

“How am I going to look at them after this? I am a daughter of a villain. I can’t even fight him and help my friends. How can I be a hero after this? I’m sorry for disappointing you Dad...Izuku....Katsuki...” I think hearing the battle happening in front of me. I look up hearing them doing the final blow on Stain. Eyes big, scared, I scream. “NO!” And vines of red mist goes towards Stain. “What?” Shoto asks while the three looks at Stain floating in red mist, unconscious, still impaled on the ice but not hitting any vital organs. “Aka...” Lida says watching me. “Aka-cha...what....” Izuku says too shocked. “You can’t kill him.” I say, my eyes on the ground, my hair covering my face, hands up supporting Stain. “Why?” Shoto asks me but I don’t answer. “He hurt my brother Aka! He’s a villain, he...” Lida screams. “SHUT UP!” I scream and everyone was in silence. “Just shut up, it’s over now.” I say then use the mist to put Stain on the ground, wish Shoto immediately ties him up with some rope he found, then without looking at anyone I got to Izuku and put him on my back. “You hurt your legs, right?” I ask him. “Aka-chan...” He whispers, appreciating my help. “I’m sorry Izu-kun.” I say to him. “What happen?” He asks me. “I’ll tell you later.” I say, and he nods, resting on my back then we walk in silence, Izuku and me in the front, while Shoto, Lida and Native stay behind pulling Stain, then all of us stop at the alley entrance. “Now, let’s quickly get him to the police....” Native starts saying only to be interrupted by a new voice. “Wha...? Why are you here?” The voice says, and I look to the front seeing a very small old hero looking at Izuku on my back. “Gran Torino!” Izuku says surprised. “That’s Gran Torino! Not what I imagine.” I think, in seconds he is in front of us his foot on Izuku head. “I thought I told you to stay seated on the bullet train!” He says. “Who’s that?” Shoto asks Izuku. “The hero I’m interning with, Grand Torino. But why?” Izuku explains. “I was told to come here all of a sudden. Well, I don’t really know what’s going on, but I’m glad you’re okay.” Grand Torino says looking also at me for a few seconds. “So, this is the girl All Might told me about. She really is protective of him.” Grand Torino thinks.

Suddenly a lot of heroes appear out of nowhere, shocked by seeing us and Stain captured, some try seeing our injuries, Izuku now good enough to stay up on the ground. I stay away of everyone, not confident enough to stay near them. Everything was calm until I hear something coming. “Villain!” I scream looking at the sky. “Get down!” Gran Torino screams then the flying villain captures Izuku. “IZUKU!” I scream making my mist go after him but the wind of the villains wings made it difficult. “Shit.” I say then suddenly the villain starts falling. “What the hell?” I say then suddenly someone passed by me fast. “I’m doing this for you.” The person whispers. “Stain...” I say shocked seeing him defeat the villain, killing him. “This is all...to create a more just society.” Stain says while everyone is shocked then I start walking towards him and Izuku that was on the ground next to Stain, nervous. “Girl what are you doing?” Some heroes ask scared. “Oi! Aka!” Shoto says, but I just walk slowly to them, Stain looking at me calmly and Izuku sweating scared. I go near them and stay in front of Stain looking him in his eyes. “Thank you.” I say, and he nods, I kneel and help Izuku up and slowly walk back to the others. “What...How?” Lida asks confused. “He let her take him.” Shoto says shocked. “Hm.” Grand Torino says. “Aka-chan...” Izuku whispers while I just smile at him.

Endeavor arrives and Stain mood changes, I could feel the blood thirst in the air. “He’s back again!” Some of the heroes scream seeing Stain smile sadistically. “You fake... I must make things right...Someone must be dyed in blood... I must take back what it means to be a hero! Come! Try and get me, you fakes!” Stain says. “Great, both me and I hate Endeavor.” I think. “The only ones I’ll let kill me it’s the true heroes... All Might! And her!” Stain screams pointing at me. “What....” I whisper feeling everyone eyes on me then Stain falls unconscious from the injuries of the fight with the others. “Shit.” I think tired.

Note:Hope you like it! New chapter every Friday!

Tag List: @holaaaf

[markeffie]

Tickets at the door, add $5.

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Hughes grinned ruefully, amazed at how much that delivery lifted, and two balls later his aggressive innings came to an end, as he tentatively poked at an Ishant delivery that crashed into the stumps.. “Do you take me for a fool, Obara?” The prince sighed. When it comes to gaming performance Itook a quick look at GTA V and found that bumping up the cache just 300 MHz gave us about half a frame per second higher frame rate on average. He is also survived by his wife's family; Marsha Slow, Evan and Roberta Slow, Francine Slow and Nowel Lustgarten; nieces and nephews, Jared, Hannah, Paulina and Elijah.

[razorblade180]

OC test:Speech!

[everyone shall be put in front of crowd and say something. Think of it like rallying troops, orientation, declaring war, whatever. The crowd is 500 strong.]

All the characters stand on a stage, overlooking the wave of people. Jacquelyn stands behind a podium with a microphone while everyone waits their turn.

Jacquelyn:Ummmm, sup? Not much for speeches so I’ll keep this brief. I don’t know what problems you all have, your background, or where you’re heading. What I do know is I’m down to listen to all of it. A traveler loves a good story, so make it your best.

The crowd of people seem a bit caught off gaurd, yet enlightened. They lightly clap and nod as she bows before letting Sienna take the spotlight.

Jacquelyn:Good luck!

Sienna:(How the hell do I follow that up!?)

Sienna:*clears throat* Yo, my name is Sienna Frost. The lovely lady before me was my mother if anyone was wondering. I might have two sets of ears but I assure you, story time isn’t my favorite thing. You wanna show me who you are, then do it instead. As far as mine goes, don’t worry where I’ve been. Just watch where I’m headed. I just might surprise you.

She held up a peace sign and made her exit, leaving the crowd with nothing to say. It would’ve felt like going against her words. Jael came up next. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The girl chose to back away then began to float up to draw everyone’s direction.

Jael:Remember, on the ground or in the air, look up to me.

That’s all she said before leaving. All the characters were absolutely stunned. Even Carmine. She was sure she’d be the only one to say something wild. Yujin awkwardly walked up next. People immediately started to smile and seem pleasantly surprised.

Yujin:By the looks of some of you, I take it you see my mother’s face in me? That’s fine, it’ll make this easier. Yujin Xiao Long, the girl that’ll be in future text books. Until then, watch me do my thang!

She gave the crowd a prideful smile and a fist bump into the air to hype them up. The crowd did it back and cheered. Tenzen used that energy and added it to his own charisma, choosing to stand on the podium.

Tenzen:Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about. Those with heart of fire and wild dreams, stick around! We’ll have the time of our lives! Never stop doing what you want!

The crowd got even more hyped as him and Yujin high fived before running off stage into the crowd itself. Everybody was given a high five and watched both leave as they laughed. Nick was next to go up. To get their attention, Nick made a glyph in the sky that made it snow. A quick change in the crowds attitude was immediately noticed as they stared at the dignified young man show his usual charming smile and kind eyes that made the women blush and most of the men jealous.

Nick:Good evening, I’m glad to see everyone so lively. As heir to a company you would think I’d be good a speeches. To be honest, I’m panicking inside right now. I made it snow, who just does that!?

The question got the crowd to laugh a little. Jealous faces unknowingly got a little softer.

Nick:Anyways, I just wanna tell everyone here that no matter the situation, lean on me. If not, then those you care about and have better spending habits. Hehe, I think I’ve said enough. Thanks and I hope you all have a good time listening to everyone else.

Crowd:(He’s so polite...)

Snowflakes crew:(There he goes, charming the masses like usual.)

Summer walked up next. Much like her twin brother, a glyph formed in her hand that quickly mixed with fire dust in her clothing. The warm of brace of embers flew out of it like a flicker camp fire that was drawn toward the snow. The gentle blend of fire and iced danced in air around the crowd, leaving them amazed. Summer was no stranger to a crowd or a stage. This might be her easiest test yet. The girl sung a simple word that enchanted everyone like a siren spell. “Mirror~”

Summer:I hope you all enjoyed that little tease. I typically like to warm my voice before addressing an audience so I though of that on the fly. Anyways-

The crowd interrupted her with applause. She hadn’t even spoken what was on her mind and they were hooked! Summer chose to accept it and made her way off the stage. It was even easier than she thought. She turned to Veronica and stuck her tongue out. The faunus responsed by flipping her off and walking away.

Eliza:You’re not making a speech?

Veronica:No, I hate people and do this sort of thing too much. I’m goons go draw or some shit. (Summer can’t say she had a better speech if I never do one.)

Valerie:Wait, this is optional? Guess I’ll leave too.

Eliza:At least day a sentence you two!

Both girls rolled their eyes and walked up together.

Veronica:Sometimes being the change you want and the change the world needs are two different things entirely; acknowledge way and take the step forward, not backwards.

Valerie:A jack of all trades is an ace to no one. Not that it’s a bad thing. Just find the other playing card.

The girls waved to the crowd and went off. Valerie started thinking, which card was she? Nick clapped for the two of them like he always does. Eliza took the opportunity to step forward. A snap of her fingers negated all the semblances still at play. Eliza took a running start to hop off the stage and land with a mighty thump that started a wave of sprouting flowers. This was beginning to be more of a talent show then a public speaking test. What was once winter had turned into spring!

Eliza:Sorry, but I think being eye level and warm with you all is far more appealing. I doubt many of you have heard of the a Marigolds but that’s fine. All you have to know is I’m the one who will elevate their status. Playing nice with others isn’t my strongest quality but fairness is. If by any miracle fate comes to join us together for a purpose, I promise I’ll stand by to the very end and pull out all the stops. I simply ask to put in all the effort you can as well.

A gust of wind came by and swept petals into the air as Eliza did a curtsy. As far as theatrics go, it was show, but more than that. It was the truth. A fair and honest truth. Like a gentle breeze on a spring day. Sparrow stood up to go next.

Sparrow:I....do not care about outcomes.

Crowd:.....What?

OCs:Yeah, what?

Sparrow:Good, bad, surprising, or boring; those concepts don’t apply whenever I’m sailing across the seas with passengers and crew mates. Everything that happens is apart of epic journey. Now I’m not gonna stand here and act like I’m anything special, because I’m not. All the same I am a captain and a damn good one at that. For those who passing through life with ambition in their hearts and freedom through their veins, sail with me. You might just be surprised. Thank you for your time.

The ex-military man put on his captain’s hat and walked away, never looking back at the crowds faces. All he heard were the footsteps of those who dared to follow him. The allure of his words reached some of the young men and women. 500 became 450. Kovu felt nervous, but a bit more confident as he went up to go next. All the women, children, sons and daughters, he looked at them in a different light because of Sparrow.

Kovu:Before Sparrow went up here I had the idea of talking about my family and how they motivate me to do my best. While that is true, now I can’t help but sing a different tune. This isn’t my first time with a microphone in front of my face and it probably won’t be the last. It’s what happens when you’re a Belladonna and your other mom is a top rate huntress. Still, it doesn’t feel real that I should get a microphone and a podium because of that; I’m just a regular guy. Being down there feels more comfortable to me than being up here ever will. Average strength, intelligence, normal qualities, but I guess that last one is debatable.

Carmine:Yeah, you dork!

The crowd and Kovu chuckled at the call out. Carmine didn’t know people too well, but she knew Kovu well enough to know when he’s being hard on himself. She spoke up more for his benefit than anybody else.

Kovu:The point is I’m stunned that despite me just being some normal person, I’m very thankful for the fact that you all stand before me to listen. That’s what motivates me most. Thanks, I’ll keep doing my best.

The crowd happily applauded for him. No fancy tricks or even something to leave the biggest impression. Just a boy who made a speech. On a stage full of giants in their own right, having Kovu being so relatable was a breath of fresh air in its own way. Carmine gave him a thumbs up and finally stepped forward. She ignored the podium entirely, choosing to project her voice to all who looked. The commanding yet calm presence she gave off was already at play.

Carmine: Once upon a time my mother Ruby Rose saved the world. She did it with strength, intelligence, and kindness above all. Her dream to protect others fueled her keep striving towards a happy ending. That same compassion wasn’t paid forward unfortunately and my mother suffered a loss some time later that nearly broke her. My mother wasn’t a very religious person until that incident from what people tell me, but it helped give her peace of my. Everyday she prayed to her god for the strength to press and breathe new life into her symbolically. Until one day it became literal. She asked her god for strength and he gave her me. I’m hopes and dreams given flesh. Not just hers, but I’m yours too. *points to the crowd* To all of you good people wanting peace and needing a defender of your normal life, pick whatever god you worship and thank him for me. To those who decide to rot the world they live in with hate and malice, choose a god and make your peace when you meet me. My name is Carmine Arc Rose, the greatest huntress, no, the greatest huntsman in general to ever walk Remnant. I’ll move forward first to keep you all safe. See you at the finish line, eventually.

Her body faded away into rose petals that were carried into the wind. She was never there to begin with. Carmine had more important things to do. The crowd once again fell silent as the petals kept scattering. All the other testers were at a loss for words themselves, except Kovu.

Kovu:Oh boy, as blunt as ever. To think she’d declare her standing among them like that? She might’ve just told them out right how far away they are compared to her.

Yujin:That was badass!

Sienna:More like cocky. She said she’s the greatest huntsman ever. What does that make her mom?

Kovu:The greatest hero. There’s a difference between the two in Carmine’s eyes. Try not to bring it up though. It’s a can of worms she won’t answer. Ruby is no doubt a Great huntsman but....Carmine has feelings about that title.

A petal gently fell into his hand before taking flight again. Aero still silently resting in the question tree with Carmine sleeping under it. Her little brother fast asleep in her lap. An exceptional huntsman yes, but an even better big sister.

[alandofhoneyedfruits]

where wild flowers are roaming free [Master Attendant/Toso]

[lizartgurl]

Suited Up (Young Justice Outsiders, OCs)

Willow Lance returns to high society, now with her girlfriend, and tries to get her parents to talk to each other. Bruce Wayne, however, may throw a huge damper on her night.

Word Count: 3132 

“Diggle,”

“Miss Lance. Welcome back,” The ex-navy seal-turned-bodyguard for Queen Industries smiled warmly as he opened the door, holding it wide open as I stepped out of the backseat, and then as I helped Serene out of the car.

For a moment, the cameras stopped flashing as the paparazzi scrambled to recognize either of us. They returned in full force, screaming my way. With Serene’s arm in mine, I ignored them, making my stride quick and purposeful as I led her into the venue.

The glass geometric dome was bordered with gardens, plants cleverly hiding the speakers for music and raffle announcements. On the far side of the room were tables, piled high with every rich delicacy you could think of, next to the bar, which led to the kitchen (and bathrooms).

The entrance, where we stood, was a grand staircase, which led down to the dance floor that made up the majority of the venue.

Much like the paparazzi outside, many people stopped what they were doing, eyes on us in silent wonder.

I could feel Serene’s grip on my arm tightening.

“You ready?” I asked her.

“So long as you are,” She laughed lightly.

By the time we’d reached the floor, the live orchestra had started back up again, and all the donors had gone back to their own business, except for the two middle-aged blondes who hurried to greet us.

“Willow,” Dinah gasped, hugging me tightly.

“You look stunning,” I told her. Dinah’s hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and her slim, midnight-blue dress sparkled with a thousand glittery stars.

She smiled, wiping something from the corner of her eye with care not to smudge her eyeliner. “You too.”

“Hey chickadee,” Oliver hugged me too, “Glad you could make it.”

He glanced at Serene, “That you both could.”

I smiled at my girlfriend, sliding my arm around her. “Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Serene. Serene, my parents, Dinah and Oliver.”

Dinah grasped Serene’s hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Serene.”

“You as well, Mrs. Lance.”

“Call me Dinah,” She insisted.

“How’s Olivia?” I asked.

“With Will and Lian for the evening,” Oliver grinned, “Why? Were you hoping to get away with babysitting duties? After that entrance?”

“Maybe,” I teased right back.

I could see it in their blue eyes, in their aching smiles. They had millions of questions pressing at their polite appearance, but I couldn’t get away with explaining everything now. It would have to wait for a quieter time, where we weren’t surrounded by the well-to-do of society.

“If you’ll excuse us for a moment,” I led Serene over to Emma, watching me with a huge smile to go with her brother’s trollish grin.

“Wow,” Emma couldn’t stop smiling, looking me up and down, “Just...Wow!”

“You like it?” Serene lifted my arm to give me a spin.

“I think you rock a suit better than any guy,” Emma shook her head.

“Even me?” Rick begged.

“Especially you, Mister Fashion Disaster,” Emma hummed in satisfaction.

“Why, if it isn’t Little Miss Willow!”

I winced, vaguely recognizing the creaky voices of Gretchen “Granny” Goode, of Goode World Studios, the same studios that produced the Logan twins’ show, and once upon a time, M’gann’s ancient favorite: “Hello Megan!”

“Good to see you, Mrs. Goode.”

She gave a hoot of laughter, “As if I haven’t heard that one before. And call me Granny, Willow. And that goes for all of you as well,” She pointedly eyed Richard, Emma, and Serene. Funny, I don’t recall giving her permission to call me by my first name.

“How’s the fundraising going, Granny?” Emma asked, handing Granny a glass from a passing waiter’s tray.

“Oh just wonderful! I only wish Bruce could be here, he always brings in such a haul,” Granny sighed melodramatically.

“He’ll be here. You know Bruce, fashionably late as always,” Rick promised her.

“As if any entrance he made could top Willow’s!” Granny held out her arms, as if she expected a hug from me.

“Thank you,” I nodded awkwardly, holding out my hand to Serene instead.

“Would you care to dance, my love?”

She smiled softly, eyes glittering and reflecting the lights, the bubbles from the champagne, everything in the room all at once. It felt like the whole world was contained in her eyes.

“I would love to.”

I swept her up with the swell of the music, both of us floating across the floor, lost in each other’s arms. And that’s how most of the evening was spent, dancing with my girlfriend to avoid awkward rich people who tried to claim some sort of connection with me in an effort to rebound off the attention I received from entering with Serene. We finally managed to catch Emma and Rick by the appetizer buffet after they’d successfully ditched Miss Goode, loudly laughing at inside jokes to drive away any intruders.

“Bruce is gonna kill me for being so rude,” Emma snorted into her small plate of shrimp.

“Nah, he’ll think it’s hilarious,” Rick said, now on the lookout for anyone making a beeline for our table.

“Dinah’ll be mad, but she won’t go as far as grounding.”

Serene shrugged, “My dad would be the one hiding from everybody.”

We all fell into laughter again, and I waved over the waiter for another flute of champagne.

“This is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had at a gala,” Emma sighed happily.

“Even more than when Mara, Livvy, and Stephanie stole all the cream puffs?”

“I was panicking for half the evening wondering where they were before we found them. Under the bar of all things.”

Richard shrugged. “Miss Serene, would you mind to terribly if I asked you to dance?”

“Oo, watch out, Will, Rick’s gonna steal your girl.”

“As long as you understand that I am taken,” Mister Richard,” Serene giggled, taking his offered hand.

Emma shrugged, the two of us alone at the table with four empty plates, and Carmine Falcone heading straight for us.

“Wanna dance?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” We ducked into the crowd, leaving Falcone scratching his head in our wake so that we were almost laughing too hard to joined in the foxtrot they were playing.

“You look so much happier nowadays,” Emma observed.

I nodded, “Serene says I’m even better now that I’ve started talking to you guys again.”

Emma tilted her head back and forth, “Well that, and you look so much better in a suit than you ever did in a dress.”

I snorted softly, “You sure?”

“Well, it could be a combination of that and you don’t look nearly half as awkward dancing with Serene as you did with Kaldur.

“That was seven years ago! And he was your boyfriend!” Emma giggled as I spun her.

“Are you happy with him?” My tone serious as Emma came back to land in my arms again.

Her face serious, but with a smile slowly etching into the corners of her mouth, Emma nodded. “I love him, Willow. And he loves me too. I see it every day.

“We’re thinking of getting married.”

“Married?” My voice squeaked, too late to stop us from running into six-foot-four Bruce Wayne, immovable and unfazed.

“Bruce,” Emma gave him a quick hug, “How is everything?”

“It’s all well, Emma, Barbara has things well in hand.”

His gaze looked up from his adopted daughter, focusing in on me now. “Miss Lance.”

“Mr. Wayne,” I folded my arms across my chest, as if he were Superman with the x-ray vision and could see right through me.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your dance, Emma, but I need to speak to Willow.”

“Alright,” I shrugged, and leaned back on my right leg.

“Alone, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I do,” I growled, following him back by the bar. I glanced back over my shoulder, seeing Richard and Serene stopped by Emma, watching me retreat after Bruce.

“Two bourbons, please,” Bruce asked the bartender, taking a seat at the end of the bar, away from the gossiping drunks. A Batman-esque glare was enough to drive anyone else away.

My drink came, but I refused to drink it, watching Bruce drink his first.

“What do you want, Wayne?” I asked.

Bruce downed the last of his glass, but when he went to put it down, he winced and nursed an area by his ribs momentarily.

“Where have you been, Willow?” He asked with a grunt, struggling to breathe evenly.

“STAR Detroit. I’m surprised you don’t know that.” I huffed.

“When you left, you said you needed space. I decided to give you that, so long as you didn’t go crazy and burn down Lexcorp headquarters in Metropolis.”

I was surprised that he’d actually managed to stay in his own business for two years, but annoyed that he thought so little of me. Then again, my tantrums over the teams first few years didn’t give him much reason to.

“So, still in STAR Detroit. I assume with Doctor Silas Stone?”

I glared at him.

“He is the leading expert on alien technology, two fields you are uniquely familiar with. And after all, you are here with his daughter.”

“I thought you said you stayed out of my business.”

“I did, but I make it a point to background check anyone who the league trusts with alien technology such as a Father Box.”

I froze, hand around my glass.

“It was only decided last night. When Jeff returned from deep space after what happened on Rann over the summer, he brought with him a Box Diana and her team had captured from a fleet of parademons they’d fought.”

He held up his phone, showing me security footage one of the Leaguer’s off in space had recorded of a dark Father Box healing a parademon’s half-missing limb and repair the staff he was holding. I felt a surge of pride in my chest noting Doctor Adam Strange in the background, having master his jetpack and his laser gun as he fought alongside Alanna, daughter of his scientist friend.

Bruce only played the clip once, on silent, before hiding it back in his pocket. “When Steel and the Lanterns couldn’t figure out how to make it work, Kaldur decreed that it would go to STAR to be studied. Of course, with Strange in space and Dorado now managing the metahuman youth center, that leaves Doctor Stone. And you, as his brilliant underpaid internist.”

I sighed. “What do you want, Bruce?” I emphasized again. “How do you even know all this? Emma says you quit the League, and so did Ollie.”

“I had a hand in creating every piece of technology that the League uses. I modified everything on the Watchtower myself.

“But this isn’t just for me, Willow, it’s for the League, for Richard and Emma’s team, for all of us still trying to make the world a better place. We don’t know Stone like we know Strange, and we know he’s a little...irrational at times. Rationalizes too much, loses himself in his work. We need you to keep him on track, to keep him from using the Father Box in the wrong way, or at all.”

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do since I became his intern?” I snapped suddenly.

“Excuse me-” I spun about to tell whoever was interrupting us to buzz off, when I saw Ollie smiling at me.

“I’m sure you won’t begrudge me the opportunity to dance with my own daughter, Bruce. Would you?”

Bruce sighed heavily. “Think about it, Willow.” Without gracing Ollie with an answer, he left a sizable tip for the barkeep and disappeared into the crowd.

“What was that all about?” Oliver asked, offering his arm.

“Just Bruce being Bruce,” I sighed.

Oliver chuckled, bringing us into dance position for a waltz, “Figures.”

“Anyone else I should be worried about running into?” I asked, trying to remember the lady’s steps instead of the gentleman’s this time around.

“Well, Granny insisted on inviting Luthor, but he declined, insisting that his focus was needed on the UN’s efforts to eradicate meta-human trafficking.”

The short bark of laughter that painfully tore itself from my chest drew the attention of several other dancing couples for a second.

“You look happy, Willow.”

“I am happy.” I told him.

“I’m glad,” He smiled beneath his dopey goatee, eyes crinkled sadly.

“What about you? Are you and Dinah happy?” I asked.

“That...” He sighed, spinning me around. “That’s a tough question to answer, Willow.”

“Why’d you leave?” I asked, a sudden edge to my voice, “I could’ve told you and Bruce years ago that Luthor was going to make things harder for the League. The people love him too much, you’ve seen it.”

He nodded stoically. “But that doesn’t mean we stop trying, chickadee. When we told you and the team to stay behind in the cave, did you guys listen?”

“No,” I said. I stared down at my feet to make sure I was putting them in the right spots.

He smiled again. “You have a heart for good, and a smart head on your shoulders. You’re going to do whatever you need to make sure that people get the help that they need, in whatever way that may be.

“With the League, we were able to keep reaching people on a wider range, at least for a while. That tsunami in Rhelasia was the last straw for me, personally, and when Bruce offered a way to keep reaching those people, I had to take it.”

“So why didn’t you tell Mom?” I begged, “Olivia called me the night you left the League. She saw Dinah drinking, and she’s terrified that you two are going to get a divorce.”

Oliver’s face was slightly pale in the already white lightning of the dome.

“I’m not sure, chickadee,” Ollie sighed. “I love your mother, I always have. I don’t want to leave her, but she cares about you guys so much, I couldn’t ask her to betray Kaldur. At least until it was too late.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Bruce seems to think you’re still working with the League,” I glared over at the bar, my face hot.

Oliver chuckled, “Bruce thinks a lot of things, not all of them true.”

I sighed, resting my head on his chest.

“What are you thinking now, chickadee?”

I pressed my lips together. “I’m just glad to have a dad again.”

The dance ended, and Oliver kissed my forehead. “I’d love another dance with you, but I think your gal pal is a little anxious to talk to you.” He attempted to grin, and gave me a little push toward Serene, who waited at a table with a glass of champagne and one solitary cream puff.

“May I?” I asked.

She slid the plate towards me with a giggle.

“I spoke with your mom, you know,” She nodded over my shoulder, and saw that Ollie had headed in Dinah’s direction. She stood on the edge of the dance floor, surveying everything while swirling her glass, which had a potent lipstick stain on the rim.

“Did she interrogate you or anything?” I asked.

Serene chuckled, “No, no, she was very nice. In fact, she told me a very fun story?”

“Oh?” I raised my eyebrow at her.

She nodded, smiling slyly. “It had Emma in it too, I think, about the time that she got sick and you tried to make her a pot of soup to make her feel better?”

I shoved the cream puff back her way, hungry no longer. “She swore she would never tell that story.”

Emma and Richard, having a drop too much to drink, danced past us, twirling elegantly. “She comes bearing soup!” Emma laughed.

“You’re all awful and you know I can cook much better now.”

“Yes, but can you make soup?” Richard wiggled his eyebrows before dancing off with his sister again.

Serene giggled, “Is that why you never make soup?”

“Come on,” I took her hand, “Let’s dance over there, there’s more room.” Serene laughed as I led her across the dance floor, and sure enough Emma and Richard followed us, but fortunately for me, not another word was spoken of soup for the rest of the evening.

-------

“She’s very happy,” Oliver said as he approached Dinah.

“I can tell,” Dinah said stiffly.

Oliver gently lifted the glass from her hand, letting a waiter take it away, before bringing his wife onto the dance floor. Though she didn’t resist, she seemed determined to stare at the floor, at the ceiling, at the bar, anywhere but at his face.

“I spoke to Serene. She’s a brilliant woman, and she loves Willow very much.”

“Dinah, we’ve been married for almost ten years now. When are we going to talk to each other?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Dinah quipped.

“Dinah,” his hand left her back, coming up to hold her cheek, “I couldn’t ask you to leave the kids.”

“You could have told me what you were planning.”

“I could have, and I should have.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

It was Ollie’s turn to look away. Across the room, Willow and Serene were spinning around, and emma was probably recording it on her phone.

“It was Bruce’s idea, of course.”

“Since when do you listen to Bruce?” Dinah huffed.

“He had some pretty good reasons. He was asking each of his potential recruits one on one, and he didn’t want them to join just because of peer pressure. And he never said it outright, but I don’t think he wanted Kaldur to get wind of it either.”

“Why not? We don’t have the power to keep people from leaving the League.”

Oliver shrugged. “And this one’s more personal, but I didn’t want you knowing that I was leaving to drive us apart so soon.”

“Some good that did,” Oliver spun Dinah around, bringing her back around to land in his arms.

They stopped dancing.

Dinah gripped his lapels. “I...I know that you look out for the little guy. You always have. That’s why I fell for you in the first place.”

She held up one finger to keep him from interrupting, “I can’t leave the League. You’re right. I won’t abandon Kaldur when so much has already gone south for us.”

She glanced over at Willow and the others, “And second, you need to talk to me. No matter what, if we really love each other, we can’t be keeping things like this from each other.”

“Deal. Anything else you’d like to get off your chest, Pretty Bird?”

A wicked grin etched itself into Dinah’s mouth. “Oh, I can think of a few things, Mr. Green.”

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s4e18 – That’s Entertainment!

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Jerome invaded a beautiful 1960s office building to find his estranged brother, Xander Wilde.   Then he did find him, and told him he was going to drive him mad.  In an outrageously dull and dumb storyline, Barbara is apparently the demon’s head. Bruce didn’t kill Jerome, and now he feels bad about it.  Jerome has a plan to turn the city into a madhouse.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

The interim mayor is holding a meeting in front of a large painting (did anyone catch what it was?).  A representative is there from the Moral Authority Society, as well as Gotham’s ‘Mother of the Year’, and the Police Commissioner.

The Moral Authority woman is making outraged noises about criminals taking office and gunfights in the streets.  Those are both definitely Bad Things, but anyone from anything called the Moral Authority Society is so instantly intolerable that criminals in office and gunfights look just fine and dandy in comparison.

The interim mayor tells Moral Authority woman, Mrs Haverstock, that they have been working to improve the way the city conducts itself.  

The lights go out. The mayor sends a bodyguard to see what’s going on.  The people round the table shiver suddenly, and wonder if a window has blown open.  

They all stand about anxiously – and then stare as Victor strides in, giving them a dry good evening.

They ask what’s going on, but Jervis now appears and tells them there’s no time for questions – they’re needed elsewhere.

Outside, Jervis and Victor usher into the mayor into a van containing a smirking Jerome, Firefly, and a very pretty-looking Oswald.  This is the problem with Gotham - the villains are all absurdly hot.  Law and order just isn’t as enticing.

The mayor instantly demonstrates how completely full of bullshit he was earlier by blurting out that he has access to the police pension fund.  Jerome shrugs at this, unimpressed.  The mayor turns to Bridget – saying her knows her.  He can offer her money and a new home.  

Bridget smiles at him, and says that it was people like him who got her locked up in Strange's lab – the result of which being there is no Bridget anymore.

Getting desperate, he turns to Jervis and offers him a pardon.  Even Jervis looks baffled by that one.  I don’t like Jervis’ new coat.  It’s not half as nice as his old overcoat.  The collar sits all funny, and I don’t like the cape.

Jervis makes some noise about how they’re visionaries.

Finally, he looks to Oswald

Oswald - can't you do something?

Oswald looks back at him. He plainly wants to do something, but can't be seen to be a dissenting voice.

Absolutely not.  I am with Mr Valeska 100 percent of the way.

The mayor says cops looking are looking for him and there’ll be no mercy, just bullets.

Jerome tells him he’s so serious – and that’s why his approval ratings are so low. He needs to smile more.  He puts an arm round Oswald’s shoulders, and Oswald offers a fake smile in agreement.  

Jerome goes on to comment that it’s time to give the city the boost it needs. Jonathan sprays the mother of the year with some of the purple gas. As her vision blurs, and she starts to convulse, we hear Jerome say

Come on, Gotham what do you have to lose?  Except your sanity.

From the back of the van, Oswald watches – wide-eyed and pale.  He’s terrified.

 Bruce and Alfred in the garage at Wayne Manor.  Bruce asks why they’re there – and Alfred drops a small box into his hands, and wishes him happy birthday.  Bruce smiles

You remembered

You think, Bruce?

Alfred says of course did. He bloody loves Bruce’s birthdays. His seventh was a blinder.  Bruce got a little red truck which he took outside and played with alone.  When Alfred found him, he was gathering stones in order to build a secret place for it.

Bruce smiles – touched that he remembers - and opens the box.  It's a car key. He presses the button, and a very fancy car starts up.  Even Bruce, who must be used to fancy cars, is impressed.

Alfred – I don't know what to say

Alfred tells him all the fancy specs.   5 litre, 460 horsepower.  Matte black. Bulletproof. Ye gods -  the insurance will be astronomical.

Bruce hugs him. Alfred is also moved.

Aw, mate

GCPD- where Jim is telling Harvey about the kidnap - everyone is out searching. Harvey says he was going to say that he had won 100 bucks from a scratch-off lotto ticket and was going to suggest they go blow it at the track and the pub. I’m not sure whether Harvey’s just being flippant here but – if not – some of this might help explain why he was having money problems earlier in the season.

Jim’s phone rings.

We need to talk

Oswald

I’ll be out back - come alone

Jim hurries downstairs to the evidence room, where there is a persistent knocking at the door.

This is a first

Apparently, Jim and Oswald haven’t yet used the evidence room for one of their exciting clandestine meetings.  That’s the only part of this that I’m buying as ‘a first’, Jim.

Oswald is agitated, and asks Jim if he’s doing anything about Jerome.  Jim asks if he knows where he is.  Oswald tells him that going in all guns blazing would not help.  He also tells him that everyone is under his thumb – they’re all part of his dark, terrible plan.

Jim asks what the plan is. Oswald tells him about the gas Jonathan’s made.  Jim asks if it’s like the fear toxin.  Oswald says this is much worse.  It’s not neutralised by water or concentrating really hard, for a start. He saw it turn someone into a maniacal cackling violent animal.

Jim demands more information.  Really, Jim – I think this is more than you had before, so let’s be grateful.  

Oswald protests.  He says Jerome doesn't share his full plans- he’s not stupid. They’re all assigned separate tasks.  Jim snarls – asking why he’s come if he won’t help him.  Jim, he is.  You know now that all the villains are likely to carrying out individual missions at different parts of the city; that – if caught – it’s a waste of time to interrogate them about Jerome’s master plan; that a poison gas is involved, so there’s likely to be a need for Jerome to find a way to circulate it widely; and that this gas is essentially a way of weaponizing the public – so you need huge containment measures in place.  C’mon now.  Lazy writing. You can have him desperately ask Oswald for more information– but not act like he’s not given him anything, because you just make him look either stupid, assy, or like he’s not been listening.

Anyway – before I ranted, Jim had asked Oswald why’d he’d come at all. Oswald is exasperated, and tells Jim that Jerome scares the living hell out of him.  Oh, Oswald. That response to the fear serum wasn’t a one-off, apparently.

Jim gives him a considering look.  Oswald says he thought Jerome might get them power and money – a return to the good old days.

I really love the notion that Oswald is nostalgic and longs for tradition - because it’s so tricksy, and not quite how things were.  I can see it on one hand – because he’s not really like the rest of the villains.  His MO and needs are much more standard, and less obviously outre.  On the other hand, Oswald is the upstart outsider who completely subverted the old order and caused chaos so he could take the crown.  The likes of Sofia and Carmine just curled their lip at him, and saw him as a freak.  So he’s in this odd situation of not wanting to be part of the new wave, but being rejected by the old order.

Jim, already turned on by this illicit meeting at work, decides that he wants to provoke Oswald, gives him one of his looks that wander well below the neck, and suggests that maybe he just doesn’t want the competition

Oswald scoffs at this. He says Jerome is simply chaos – an anarchist, whereas he is an honest criminal.

OK – at this point Jim makes a series of weird faces which, frankly, baffled me. Mouth ulcer?  Popcorn stuck in teeth?  I have no idea what these were.  

Jim asks where the gas could be.  Exasperated, Oswald reiterates that Jerome only tells what he has to – and that all Oswald knows is he has to be stopped.

Jim and Oswald being Jim and Oswald, they’re standing very close.  Jim raises his eyebrows at Oswald’s comment and looks down at him.  

Harvey yells downstairs for Jim, at which interruption Jim’s lips thin in a momentary expression of annoyance (it’s in the gifs, I promise it’s not shipper glasses), and he and Oswald slide into a hilariously smooth and practised quick escape.  Once Oswald is safely out the door, Jim walks back towards the stairs to meet Harvey – who tells him that Jerome has been spotted at Paisley Square.

 At Paisley Square, we see a very small music festival in progress.  The main act is being interrupted by Jerome, who has invaded the stage and his shaking his ass at the crowd.  The singer tells him to get lost, and is bludgeoned with the mic stand for his troubles.  We also see that Firefly is on stage.

Ladies and gentlemen.  We are the Arkham Asylum lunatics – and we are here to blow some minds.

He tells them they’ll love this next one, and brings his hostages onto the stage: the mayor, commissioner, bishop and…. this lady, whoever she is.

He’s waiting for two more guests, though, so – in the meantime, he’ll explain the rules. Basically, they have dynamite strapped to their necks, and he has the trigger – so if he doesn’t get what he wants, headless people.  Only one man get him what he wants

Gordon!  Calling Captain James Gordon!

Oh tremendous – it’s the League of Shadows, which saves me a lot of typing. Some guys is mad at Tabitha’s arrogance and disrespect for throwing his brother out of the club.  Tabitha says he a rude ass who won’t pay his tab.  The faux girl-power stuff with the Sirens storyline is annoying, because Tabitha is arrogant, and disrespectful, and downright rude – we saw that when she threw Ivy out for no good reason.  But because this story is mired in its own weird powerful women rhetoric, she can’t just be called out on it.  Her behaviour has to be seen to be justified.

Barbara struts in and wants an apology.  The man demands blood.  Barbara summons her army, and the men are all taken out.  They turn to Barbara afterwards and ask her about continuing Ra’s’ legacy, as opposed to petty shit like this.   She apparently has more to learn.  Barbara makes a destiny face. Tabitha channels the audience, for once, and rolls her eyes.

My wrists are really suffering today – so this is summarised.  Jonathan and Victor invade Wayne Enterprises and demand that they make a huge amount of poison madness gas.

Back to the music festival. Jerome is dancing to the Batman theme. My love for 60s Batman knows no bounds, so this makes me happy

As I live and breathe, Jim Gordon is in the house.

Jim doesn’t want to talk until he knows the hostages are OK – but Jerome says he is the one making demands. Jim says this is an act of terror, which seems to offend Jerome.  Jim moves a little closer, but Bridget sprays flames into the crowd.

(An aside.  So – are the people in the crowd also the kind of people that allowed Bridget to be experimented on by Hugo?  Ivy’s resentment towards the entire city is more understandable.  She was repeatedly let down on a personal and impersonal level.  She wants revenge on everybody – which is exacerbated by her immaturity.  Even so, there’s a transformative element to what she wants to do – making them something better, in her eyes.

Bridget, on the other hand, is seemingly just happy to roast civilians alive if needs be.  So – what’s stopped her just going on a killing spree before now? Does she need direction?)

Jerome lets Jim know that this is a dead man's trigger – if it falls out of his hand, then the collars still detonate.  He comments again on the two empty chairs.  Jim asks who they’re for.

You’re a detective.  Do some detecting

Jim guesses Jeremiah – but can’t think of the second.  Jerome asks about the other irksome do-gooder who's spoiled his fun – and answers for Jim: Bruce Wayne.

Jim says to take him instead, but Jerome doesn't want Jim.  He wants his brother and the version of his brother he’d liked to have had, who – when he had the chance -  didn’t abandon him to his violent uncle.

Jim tries to clear the crowd – but Jerome gets angry.  Anger manifests, in this case, as making the commissioner’s head explode.  He demands Jeremiah and Bruce again.

 At Wayne Manor, Alfred sings happy birthday to Bruce as he presents him with a cake.  Selina appears behind Bruce’s shoulder and blows out the candles – telling him his security sucks.  A slightly put-out Alfred greets her with Miss Kyle, before putting out plates and leaving.

(An aside – Selina is virtually Bruce’s only friend – of his own age, anyway.  She got shoved out a window on her way to let Alfred know he had been kidnapped.  She nearly died.  He… didn’t think to invite her?  Stay classy, Alfred.)

Bruce thanks her for visiting on his birthday – But Selina denies knowing that’s what today is.  He says it’s good to see her.  She says that she knew his bratty stage was just an act, but Bruce says she’s more sure than he is.

Alfred announces visitors – Jim and Lucius letting them know about the Jerome situation.  Lucius says he’s designed some radio wave jamming technology that would keep Bruce safe long enough for GCPD to ambush, but Alfred still isn’t happy, and nor is Selina, who is now perched on the table and still picking at the cake.

In the meantime, Jerome makes the bishop’s head explode.

Jim appeals to Bruce’s good nature by saying they can prevent deaths

Bruce agrees and asks what they’re waiting for – people need their help.

Ra’s house.  There’s a secret door with no key – but, luckily, Barbara can open it with her magic hand.  Just take a moment to ponder exactly how stupid the thing I just typed sounds.

She enters a room full of random pieces of art and culture.  Walking reverently through, she catches sight of a very bad painting, and stops short.

Good lord – wtf is that? From what one of the assassin sisters said, it should be– what, 17th century?  It doesn’t look it, though.

Barbara is all awe-struck – saying that she’s always knows she was meant for more.  Sure, Barbara.  Whatever.

I’m home

Back with Jerome and co, we see snipers on the roof – who are being coordinated by Harvey.  

Back to Jim – he’s trying to convince Jeremiah, who is pouring himself a stiff drink, and telling Jim he’s mad to consider this plan at all.  Jim gets nowhere trying to persuade him.

Bruce introduces himself with a handshake.  Jim and Lucius watch him – guessing he might have better luck than them.

Bruce says he wishes the circumstances were better, and asks what Jeremiah is working on – listening with genuine interest.  He says that Jeremiah has a brilliant mind, and hopes that he can carry on after his brother is gone free from fear.

Jeremiah watches him as he speaks.  He doesn’t seems suspicious, or dismissive – just intent.

Bruce says he trusts Jim and Lucius. And even if things don’t go to plan – they will show the city that standing up to terror is the only way to take its power away.

Jeremiah considers this

Well said

Jim’s phone rings. It’s Harvey – letting him know about the lab break-in.  Jim tells him what ‘Penguin’ said about the gas.  Yeah yeah, Jim.  We all know you use that name for show.

They all leave to head to Paisley Square

There’s a very unnecessary scene where Harvey gets to the lab and learns that they made loads of gas which was then taken away again.

 Jerome is singing on the stage when Jim and co. arrive.  Jerome invites them to take their seats.  Bruce strides up to the stage, face defiant.  A nervous Jeremiah follows.  Lucius says the device has been activated.  Lucius is wearing a purple shirt and paisley tie, which is a fairly consistent style choice for him.

When they get to the stage, Harvey tells the snipers to fire – but the snipers are shot by Arkham patients. Jerome guessed they’d do this – and set his own men up in position last night.  They’ve been watching the police all day.  In short, they’re fucked.

 A genuinely beautiful shot of a glass aircraft hangar – with clear blue skies outside – with the remainder of the villains walking through it.

Jonathan gasses one of the pilots there.  Oswald looks nervy.  Jervis asks the remaining pilot if it can be piloted alone and hypnotises him.

Oswald’s brain is whirring, and he exclaims aloud when he realises the plan – draw a crowd to the square to drop the gas and infect as many as possible.  He can’t contain his genuine feelings about it anymore, and says it’s madness.

Jonathan said he thought he'd appreciate the beauty of it – but that Jerome had already anticipated his betrayal.

You went to Gordon

Ooops.  They all ship it.

He adds that Oswald is a Judas – before hitting him on the head.  Jervis tells two random goons to tie him up and put him on the blimp - Jerome wants him to have a bird’s eye view

God – this storyline again.  Ra’s cellar of random objet d’art.  Tabitha says he was a cult leader with brainwashed assassins.  Barbara’s gone all conspiracy theorist – poring over one text which outlines how Ra’s has influenced all world history.  That’s one document, Barbara.  This is not how we do historical analysis.  

Now she’s going on about spells.  Tabitha says that Barbara would have sold all this once upon a time, and asks her what about how she begged to be part of her and Selina’s team.

Barbara points to the portrait and says that portrait shows her and Ra’s 400 years ago, and that this is her.  She’s found her true purpose.

Barbara tells her minions to escort Miss Galavan to the street – and, plumbing hitherto unknown depths of unlikeableness, tell her that she’ll have her loyal servants teach her manners – she wouldn’t dirty her fingers with the task now.

Back to the festival. Jerome is monologuing.  

Everyone's got their favourites – the one who cleans their room and does their homework.  Mr Perfect – this guy

Jeremiah was adopted by rich folks, while Jerome was dragged up by a depressed alcoholic mother and had to clean up elephant dung.

He faces Jeremiah

But I know something mommy and daddy never knew.  You're as crazy as I am

Jeremiah grimaces and struggles.

It’s in the DNA.  You see, we’ve got the same blood - we are practically identical.  You are a killer.  It's your nature.  Don't try and fight it.

He gives him the knife.

Take your best shot

Jerome stands back. Jeremiah roars and launches at him. Jerome easily disarms him, laughs, and punches him.

Jim and Harvey have a quick phone conversation about the chemicals headed their way.  Jim tells him to evacuate the site, and says he’s going to kill that maniac once and for all.

Back on stage, Jerome is still beating Jeremiah, while telling him he loves him. Suddenly, the tables turn – and GCPD cops are shooting the Arkham patients stationed on the roofs.  Jim, meantime, shoots Jerome.  Bridget aims her flamethrower at him, but Jim manages to get away.  Jerome – on his back on the stage – shuffles away.

As he does, Bruce and Bridget brawl.  Jerome tries to hit the switch – only to realise that it’s not working.  

From the crowd, we hear a voice

Hey – look up at the sky!

The blimp is now overhead.

Oswald wakes up, tied to something on the blimp, and is instantly wide-eyed with terror

Holy crap!

He frees himself and tries to get the pilot’s attention politely – but realises he’s been hypnotised.  The captain goes on to say he’s going to dump the chemicals.  

Oswald, bless him, decides that the way to go is to yell bossily, because that’s what he does

You turn this thing around right now!

The captain turns and aims a gun at him.  Oswald raises his hands and backs off.

Chaos below.  Jerome runs up an alley, and Jim follows.  On a rooftop, Harvey looks up and sees the blimp. He calls Jim and suggests shooting it down – but, as Jim points out, that’s incredibly dumb, because it’s carrying all the chemicals.

 As Jim chases Jerome upstairs, he gets a call from Oswald.  He tells him he was knocked out, and then panics down the phone – telling Jim that he has to help him, the blimp has that horrible poison gas on board, and the pilot has been hypnotised.

Jim says that Oswald is going to help him – and tells him to steer the blimp away.   Oswald splutters.  He can’t steer a blimp – he doesn't even drive his own car.  Thousands could die.  Jim tells him there’s something worse.  Oswald asks what’s worse than that.  Jim tells him he can't run an empire in city full of lunatics.  Again – that writing is weird, because it makes Jim come off as more morally bankrupt than Oswald.  Or maybe it isn’t weird.

(An aside.  Ahhh.  In times of true need – as with the fear serum – Jim is Oswald’s first port of call)

On the rooftop, Jerome on the ledge.  The pilot calls to say he’s in position, but before Jerome can reply, Jim shoots the phone from his hand.  

Jerome says it’s too late anyway – and laughs, calling out bombs away!

Jim shoots him in the gut.   Jerome is momentarily shocked, then laughs, falling backwards.

Meanwhile, on the blimp, the pilot starts to pull the lever.  Oswald lurches forward, yelling no, and struggles.   He overcomes him by smacking him in the face, and takes the wheel, chanting up up up.  As he manages to get it to do what he wants, he laughs nervously

Ok ok ok…river, river – where is the river?

Oh, Oswald.  I do actually properly love you.

Jim looks over ledge at Jerome dangling from a pole.  Jerome comments that it’s quite the dilemma.  Let him die – or pull him up and arrest him.  What’ll it be? He extends a hand and asks Jim if he’s a lawman or a murderer.

Jim thinks for a moment before reaching down towards him – but Jerome withdraws his hand.

Good old Gordon, always playing by the rules - that's why I’ll outlive you and always be loved.  I don’t play by rules.

Jim comments that it’s a long way down.  Jerome responds that he’ll live on because he’s an idea.  A philosophy.  He’ll live on in the shadows of Gotham’s discontent.  

He tells Jim he’ll be seeing him soon and, with an au revoir, lets go of the pole, laughing hysterically as he drops towards the ground.

Jim watches, wide-eyed, genuinely shocked.

On the street below, Jerome’s body – looking oddly unharmed – lies on a crumpled car roof, eyes open – still smiling.  The crowd surge round him, before the police usher them back.

Jim stares.  A tearful Jeremiah hovers close for a moment, and then makes to walk past.  Bruce stops him, and says he meant what he said about work – he wants to fund him with a grant.  Bruce also looks tearful.  Jeremiah walks away, still limping as a result of the beating he took on stage.  Bruce acknowledges Jim before walking away.

Jim's phone rings. It’s Oswald

Um – hello.  I’m still here.  Will someone get me the hell off this thing?

Jim says they’re on it, and asks Harvey how they get a blimp down safely.

Harvey says let him stew. You know, Harvey, any residual shame you feel about being on Oswald’s payroll during the Pax is all on you – so anytime you want to stop being a prick where Oswald is concerned is good.

Jim says they’ll get the standby pilot and he will advise him, adding that he should sit tight.  He takes a moment and adds a well-deserved and just ever-so-slightly fond, with the use of his full name.

And Oswald Cobblepot?   Gotham thanks you.

Oswald stares incredulously at the phone and yells Jim’s name as the blimp drifts off.  Someone is getting a spanking when Oswald lands.  I suspect he’s into it.

Tabitha is thrown out. Barbara’s plan doesn't involve her. Honestly, Tabitha, I don’t like you – but I would leave the vortex of dumb that is that storyline while you have the chance.

One of the sisters tells her to leave the city and never come back.  Tabitha tells her to kiss her ass

Which one of you bitches wants to go first?

Tabitha starts well, but is quickly overpowered and beaten.  From a car a little way down the street, someone watches all this.  It’s a pretty ugly scene, with four or five of them kicking Tabitha’s ribs as she lies on the ground.

The sisters walk away.

Next time, we kill you

They close the gates behind them.

Tabitha is lying in the street.  The man from the car walks towards her and extends his hand

Let me help you

Tabitha takes it.

Who the hell are you guys?

They’ve apparently been watching her and Barbara Kean ‘the imposter’.  Poor sods.  They must be both bored and irritated.

They say that Ra’s is the true master.  Tabitha points out his deadness, but they tell her death is an illusion, and inject her with some very green stuff that looks like Herbert West’s reagent.  She’s dragged away, unconscious.  The street is really pretty.

Back in Jeremiah’s drab home, where he pours himself a large whiskey. Jeremiah fairly knocks it back, doesn’t he?  We saw him drinking the same way earlier, without a wince or a cough. It suggests that he’s maybe used to it.

Looking over at the table, he sees a present.  He walks over and looks.  It looks creepy, even with its little tag claiming it’s from Wayne Enterprises.

Now.  Would you open that?  I wouldn’t.

He opens it.  It’s a toy – a jack-in-the-box that can only be described as ‘menacing’.  And if opening the original parcel wasn’t dumb enough, he actually turns the handle.

Predictably – an evil looking clown springs out and sprays him with gas. Jerome’s voice plays from some recording.  Jeremiah staggers round the room, his face twisting.

Hello brother.  You didn't think get you’d get rid of me so easily.  My days were always numbered – but you can continue on for me.  Be my revenge.  Don't fight it – it’s a special mixture I had Scarecrow mix especially for you, to finally set you free.  It’s time to have some fun.  Burn it down. Burn it all down.

General Observations

A strong episode - excepting the League of Shadows stuff, which I find ludicrous and dull.

A couple of interesting nods to the past in this episode.  

There’s Jim and Oswald, of course.  They never really stray too far away from each other – but the secretive meetings, and Oswald as informant hark back to the good old days of season one, as does them working together.  When push comes to shove, they seek out that dynamic which must - by this point - be almost comforting.

There’s also the moment with Jim and Jerome on the roof – which calls back to the moment at the church, when Barbara attempted suicide by letting go of his hand. There’s a similar rhetoric, too, about being set free through insanity.

Fate or Choice?

There’s quite a lot here to do with free will and determinism, and fatalism.   Was Barbara really fated to always end up here?  Is Jeremiah bound to end up as murderous and insane as Jerome?    

Gotham has played with the idea before.  I’m not really fond of it, to be honest – and found it particularly annoying when creepy Elijah revealed the dark past of Oswald’s relatives.  Of course background is important, but to reduce Oswald’s life to ‘well – of course, he wound up heading that way, because his grandfather was crazy’ completely cheapens his story.  

It also raises the queasy notions like, well, do you even bother trying to rehabilitate those people? Maybe some people are just born bad, and can be written off?  

Jeremiah was an example of that, to an extent.  Even if you go with the idea that he maybe suspected something wasn’t quite right somewhere, in terms of his mental health, it doesn’t seem as though he had acted on it.  He was controlled and secluded, and had found an outlet for his energies in his work.  If he was aware of certain impulses and compulsion, then he apparently hadn’t acted on them.  He made a choice, in so far as he was able (which is, of course, not to say that this is feasible/realistic/appropriate in a wider and more serious discussion of mental illness – I’m talking about it purely as it’s presented within this narrative).

But Jerome’s final actions removed that choice from him, and framed it as ‘setting him free’.  So freedom is giving in?  Jeremiah to his (apparently) familial madness?  Barbara to following a path set out for her? Bridget can remember being Bridget, but she’s given up on her in favour of living out Strange’s vision of her?

Jim

Jim more or less continues on the path set out last episode, of trying to more solidly be a ‘good guy’. He offers himself up in Bruce’s place, and tries to rescue and arrest Jerome.  His interactions with Oswald are occasionally assy (if you watch it with shipper glasses on, Jim seems to enjoy riling Oswald up into a hissy fit) – but his thanks at the end are sincere, I think.  He could have said something mean-spirited – but acknowledges instead that Oswald saved the city, and ‘Oswald Cobblepots’ him in the same way that Oswald likes to ‘Jim Gordon’ him.

His interactions with Harvey seemed to be business as normal – Harvey’s slid back to his comedic, mostly ineffectual, ways.  This return to old days makes me wonder if the ‘betrayal’ we read about elsewhere might come from this quarter, after we’ve been lulled into a false sense of security.

His bond with Bruce in terms of ‘helping people’ was reaffirmed here, and deliberately made distinct from Bruce’s ties with Alfred.

Oswald

I wrote earlier that Oswald occupies an odd bridge between the old and the new.  The old order didn’t want him, but he can’t find a common ground with the new order: their motivations baffle him.  When pushed, he prefers order – and if that order happens to be lawful, he’ll take it, temporarily, anyway.

Here – Oswald falls back on what’s instinctive to him which, despite everything, is to seek out Jim. There’s a double aspect to how he goes to Jim here.  It makes logical sense, because Jim wants to stop Jerome too, but there’s also an emotional element to it: he’s scared, and he trusts Jim to help him.  

Bruce and Jeremiah

I think Bruce and Jeremiah’s relationship - which we know will become hugely important - was really well set up.  Although Jerome would frequently puncture the moment with humour, he had poignant moments throughout.  Part of him did love his brother.  In many ways, they are alike.  His brother did abandon him.  His childhood was terrible.  He willingly lets himself fall at the end.

By the end of this episode – before the gas – we see Jeremiah also deeply unhappy.  His home looks dark and enclosed.  He’s drinking heavily.  He’s traumatised by encountering his brother again.  He’s tearful when he sees his body.  The one glimmer of light in his life was Bruce’s offer of work, in much the same way that Bruce’s refusal to leave Jerome to be beaten was the lone example of decent behaviour he’d seen in a long time.  And now that’s all ruined, and the relationship - which could have been good for them both - poisoned from the outset.

I’m not commenting on Barbara’s storyline.  It’s silly.

Things that remain open. Sofia is still in a coma – what happens when she comes round?  Does Victor know yet that Oswald didn’t kill Carmine?  Will Martin put his stabbing skills to use?

Thoughts?