#couldn't make it before because couldn't find a suitable scene for this

[lonely-night]

seven re-viewing old messages sent by janeway when she ran away after starfleet rejected her application and became a ranger twenty years ago.

[back2bluesidex]

Where Do Broken Hearts Go - Chapter 5 (18+)

Pairing: Model, ex-boyfriend!Jungkook X Child psychologist, Fem!Reader X Lawyer, Single Dad!Hoseok. 

Summary: Jungkook stripped your emotions naked, left you bare in the chilly wind of despair and self-doubt with an unending heartache. You tried your hardest to move on from him, to live for yourself but failed miserably. Each night you had to come back to your empty home where memories and broken dreams were scattered all around the floor, until one day a little angel and her unbelievably beautiful father came into your life. Finally, when you find yourself healing, maybe falling too, Jungkook had to show up! Again!

Theme: Angst, pining, heartbreak, break-up, smut

Warnings: Mentions of school bullying, multiple pov changes, drinking, makeout

Word count: 4.4k+

Taglist requests are closed.

Minors and karens are not allowed in this blog

A/N: Finally!! They are kisssssinnngggg!!!

Main Masterlist

Chapters:- 

Prologue/Masterpost || Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 - Finale

Jungkook should have headed home. 

He knows he should have received Jiwon’s calls and replied to her messages at least once to confirm that he is alive. 

But he couldn’t.

He couldn't think of anything else after seeing you with another man, the man that you referred to as a special client earlier. He knows he has no right to invade your personal boundaries now, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be curious or worried about you.  

What if you are wasting your life away trying to move on from him, what if your client (that didn’t look like only a client) is a pervert? 

He should be there for you. you are, afterall, much more than just his ex-girlfriend to him. 

That’s exactly what brought him to your (once shared) apartment. Even though the decision is induced by two bottles of soju and three cigarettes in a row, he doesn't regret. 

Jungkook rehearses his lines again and again. He drew a mindmap of what conversations to initiate with you once he charges straight up to your door. But even before he could head near the entryway - he sees you getting out of the same car that picked you up from Jimin’s. 

And it’s the same man that had touched you in a way he doesn’t approve of. 

He lights another cigarette as he watches the scene upfolds one after another in front of him. That man says something, you reply to him, he takes a step towards you, you take a step back, he leans down and you don’t stop him. 

Jungkook’s blood starts boiling. He throws the cigarette away and surges forward to stop whatever is going on but the car window slides down and if he is not wrong then it’s a kid who talks to the man standing with you. 

Are you flirting with a married guy now? Are you that desperate to move on? To forget him? 

Before he can understand anything, he sees you bidding them goodbye and walking away. The car leaves a little later. 

Your face still feels hot. 

For a moment you believe that all of it is a dream. There is no way Hoseok said it’s impossible to fall out of love with you. There is no way he admitted that he could do anything to make you his. There is no freaking way he was seconds away from kissing you!  

All of it is happening too fast. It’s been roughly four weeks since you met him. And it’s been a month and half since Jungkook broke up with you. 

Aren’t you moving on too fast? Are you really attracted to Hoseok or is he just a suitable rebound to you? 

These questions plague your mind. You grip your hair out of frustration. 

Hoseok can never be a rebound. That won’t be justified to him or to the kindness he has been treating you with. 

But the way you felt nervous and breathless around him a few minutes ago, the way his dark eyes managed to make you want him shamelessly - not all of it was because you desperately want to move on from your ex-boyfriend, is it? 

The doorbell rings loudly in your empty apartment and you realize you are still sitting on the couch and you haven’t even changed. 

The clock says it’s 7:40 pm and you frown at that. You wouldn’t have visitors on a Saturday during this hour. So it might be your grocery that you placed an order for just this morning. 

Getting up from the couch, you take slow steps towards the door and the bell rings once again. The delivery guy must be in a hurry, so you scream a little “coming” as you take the doorknob in your hands and open the door. 

And your head starts spinning all at once. 

“What are you doing here?” You ask the man standing at your door. The same man who broke your heart six weeks ago. The words come out with less surprise and more anger. 

“I- uh- I need to pack rest of my stuff…” he pauses, visibly struggling with his words, “can I come in?” 

You sigh, a long one, as you open the door wider for him to come in. 

Today is indeed a bad day. You wanted to avoid him once and you ended up coming across twice. 

Shutting the door loudly enough, you look at Jungkook. He looks restless. He is still wearing the same clothes you saw him in earlier, so he might not have headed home since then. The strong smell of soju and cigarettes highents your suspicion. 

He looks back at you, with big, doe, glossy eyes. Once you felt unbelievably weak for them but now you feel numb. The moisture in those dark orbs does nothing to worry or unsettle you. 

You wait for him to say something or to head inside your (once shared) bedroom and pack up whatever stuff he had left behind. But he does nothing. He stands there staring at you as you do the same. 

You sigh again, “as far as my knowledge goes, you have nothing left to pack. But you can check again, or whatever you please.” 

You divert your eyes from him and walk towards the kitchen to pour him a glass of water. 

“I know that. I know there’s nothing left.” he finally speaks up, making your head turn towards him through the open space of the kitchen. 

You feel anger growing inside you with every passing moment. If he knew then why the fuck did he come? What brings him here at your apartment on a saturday night right when you feel way too much troubled with your feelings and emotions? 

But you control it. You are trained to control your emotions during these kinds of situations. So you take in a deep breath and open your mouth to speak again.

“Then may I ask what brings you here, Jungkook? That too in the state of intoxication? If this is about the apartment itself then let me remind you that the lease is in my name and I have already wired you the share you had paid up until the breakup.”  

He walks towards you. Standing on the other side of the kitchen counter he says, “I just wanted to see you, Y/N.” 

A sarcastic chuckle bubbles in your throat at that. 

“We don't really share a relation to see each other frequently, don’t you think so? Besides, you just saw me this afternoon.” 

This time Jungkook laughs. Just like yours, his laugh, too, is punctuated with sarcasm. But you don’t know how he can be sarcastic. He is the one who left you, he is the one who has a girlfriend waiting at home for him while he is here at his ex-girlfriend’s house and he is the one who should be guilty, not you. 

Suddenly you feel a strong urge to throw the glass full of water on his face. But you calm yourself down again. 

“Well, you didn’t even look at me properly. You were so eager to entertain your special client that you basically ran out of Jimin’s place.” 

The insides of your mouth taste sour at how Jungkook emphasized the words special client.

“I don’t get it.” your head feels heavy, squeezing your eyes shut tight you continue, “I don’t get why are you here at this hour, having an unnecessary argument about my life?” 

“I am not arguing with you.” Jungkook frowns as he manages to protest. 

“Okay.” you resign. You know stretching the matter any further will only complicate things and you don’t want that to happen. You don’t want him inside your home or within your 10 meter radius ever again.  

Feeling Jungkook’s constant stare on you, you stand straight and try to put an end to whatever is happening right now, “Jungkook, you are drunk. Let me book a cab-” 

“Who is he?” your ex-boyfriend cuts you off. 

“Who are you talking about?” you can sense jealousy and possessiveness in his voice. And this is something you never liked even when you were together. So, seeing him jealous now because of whatever reason, when he is the one who left you, makes you even more furious. 

“That guy you almost kissed a few minutes ago?” the words leave through his gritted teeth, triggering something venomous inside you. 

“Does your pretty little actress girlfriend know that you have been following your ex-girlfriend and keeping records of the guys I meet?” you actually grip the glass now, ready to throw the water on Jungkook’s face if he says another word out of line. 

“You didn’t answer me, Y/N. Who was he?” Jungkook stands his ground, stubborn to show his non-existent rights on you. 

“That’s. None. Of. Your. Business.” The words come out low but coated with anger. You fail to recognize yourself. 

Jungkook comes closer to the kitchen counter and lodges himself between the stools. Only the thin kitchen island is separating the two of you. 

Two months ago, you yearned to have him at this proximity at least. Ironically enough, now you hate it. 

“It is. It is my business if you are flirting with a married guy just to move on from me! I should.. I should step in.” 

And that’s it. That was the last nail in the coffin.  

You pour the water on his head without waiting for a second more. 

He closes his eyes with a visible tick in his jaw as the cold water runs down from his hair down to his face, gradually wetting his clothes. 

“Come out of your dream, Jeon Jungkook. The world doesn’t revolve around you. My life, my choices, my decisions - nothing, you impact nothing! You aren’t worth my thoughts or my tears anymore. Do you get that?” you spat at his face. 

Jungkook stands still. The change in your level-headed demeanor took him by surprise, it seems. However, his gaze softens, jaw relaxes soon. Maybe it’s the cold water or maybe his conscience decided to make a comeback now. 

Running a hand through his now dripping hair, Jungkook tries to establish his point again, “Y/N, I am sorry. I am just worried about you. That guy has a kid-” 

“I will give you two minutes to leave, Jungkook. If you fail to do so I am going to call your manager.” You garb a kitchen towel and throw it on his face, “or worse… the paparazzi.” with that you leave him hanging awkwardly at the dining space making a beeline for your bedroom for some solace. 

“Jungkook! Where have you been? Have you checked your phone? I have been texting and calling you? Are you alright? Did anything happen? Why are you soaked? Jungkook? Fucking answer me!” 

Jungkook’s head pounds more and more with every single word that comes out of Jiwon’s mouth.

He is still processing whatever happened tonight. But the alcohol level in his blood makes it almost impossible to form a coherent chain of thoughts. Jiwon, too, keeps throwing questions at him, pushing him towards the edge of losing his cool. 

Somehow managing to get out of his heavy boots, he trudges towards the couch and flops down, completely ignoring his girlfriend’s questions and presence. 

“Jungkook, please tell me. Did something bad happen? Where were you all day?” She sits at the end of the couch, by his leg, her voice is slightly less hyper than it was a minute ago.

“At Jimin’s” Jungkook whispers briefly as he covers his face with one of his forearm. He needs to rest. He needs to provide his mind and heart with a break after everything those went through today. But as soon as he closes his eyes, your face is what he sees. 

He has never seen you as angry as today. In those three years he spent with you, there were fallouts and arguments but never once you were as furious as you were today. You used to be either silent or passive aggressive before, but today you attacked him directly. There was fire in your eyes and venom in your voice. You even poured cold water on him. 

He knows he was unreasonable today. He knows he pushed all of your buttons. But what he doesn’t know is why he is hurting. 

He fell out of love with you. He, now, loves someone else. 

Then why on earth the prospect of you dating another man hurts him this much. Why couldn't he stop himself from acting unreasonable today? Why did he show up at your place and make a scene when it shouldn’t be his business to interrogate who you are dating.     

Jiwon shakes his body and he realizes that his sleeves are now wet with his tears. 

Fuck! Why am I crying? Jungkook thinks as he tries to sit up. 

“You weren’t with Jimin. He said you left after lunch. And it’s 9 pm now.” sniffing carefully, Jiwon adds, “and you are drunk.” 

“Yeah. I went for a drink later on.” Jungkook sighs. 

“Okay. But how did you get wet?” Jiwon throws her next question. 

“Can you please shut it, Jiwon?” the shout comes out of his throat involuntarily, so much so that it even takes himself by surprise. But he does nothing to conceal his bubbling annoyance, not even when he sees Jiwon’s eyes growing glossy. 

“I am sorry. I was just worr-” 

“I am sorry, too, Jiwon! I am sorry for not responding to your calls and messages and for shouting at you now but-” he sighs, feeling defeated, “but can you please leave me alone? I need to rest.” 

“Yeah, alright.” Jiwon gets up from her seat and walks towards the bedroom. 

Jungkook can feel her stopping in the middle of her tracks, turning towards him. 

“But if it’s about her, then… you need to fix yourself as soon as possible.” 

Jungkook doesn’t answer that.

Sunday and Monday go in a blur. 

You somehow feel way better after kicking Jungkook out of your apartment. A little, angelic part of you regrets being rude to him, especially for pouring cold water on his head. 

You could have handled the situation better, like the adult you are. On top of that, you are a psychologist. You should have acted more wisely. 

But the bigger part of you is satisfied. 

You accepted everything when he said he fell for someone else. You did let him go knowing that there is no point of holding someone on when their heart isn’t with you anymore. 

But you couldn’t accept his unreasonable possessiveness or the way he shamelessly showed up at your place and especially the way he talked about you and Hoseok. 

So in conclusion, Jungkook deserved it. 

And you feel good about it. 

After a while everything seems to be falling in place. You are starting to heal, you are getting attracted to someone very appealing, you had only two clients left, one of which just had her last counseling with you today. 

Another one is Sua, and you have a very good feeling about her too. 

Tonight you decided to treat yourself a little. Lightening a lavender scented candle and choosing an over-expensive sheet mask to pamper your face, you lie down on your bed. 

For once you decide to think about absolutely nothing. You want to let your mind float and see where it lands. 

Your eyes close. The wet, cold sensation from the sheet mask feels too good on your face and you try to focus on that only. 

But bam! 

As soon as you let your thoughts flutter, those decide you paint a particular face with heart shaped smile, dark, warm and mysterious eyes, and a lithe body that you want on yours-

And your phone rings. 

An annoyed groan leaves your lips! 

“Why the fuck did I leave it on ring?” grabbing the phone from the night stand you scream at yourself. 

But your annoyance dies as soon as you see the intruder's name on the screen. 

It’s Hoseok. 

You gulp, smoothing your voice that went hoarse with the scream, and then you pick it up tapping the speaker icon. 

“Hey, Y/N” his smooth voice fills your ear. A smile creeps to your lips without your knowledge, “Is this the right time to talk to you? I didn’t disturb you, did I?” 

His unsure voice cut through the little bit of hurt that you have been feeling after experiencing radio since from his side after whatever happened on Saturday. 

“No, you didn’t. Tell me what’s up? Is Sua alright?” You try to keep your voice professional. And professionally he shouldn’t call you past business hours if it’s not an emergency. 

“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s better actually. We went grocery shopping yesterday and she was a lot more talkative. Thanks for everything.” 

“Eh. I’m not going to discount you even if you keep thanking me.” 

He laughs at that, making you feel lightheaded with the sound. 

“I have a favor to ask, actually.” hoseok says, as the laugh dies down. 

“Yeah. Tell me.” 

“Sua’s homeroom teacher has called for a PTA on wednesday and I have decided to let her know everything. But I don’t think I will be able to handle the situation wisely since I can’t keep my anger in check when it comes to her. So….” 

“So?” 

“So, could you please join me? Since you are her doctor you will be able to do it better.” 

You stay silent. The idea of joining Hoseok to his daughter’s PTA meeting feels too intimate. Even though you know you are going just as her doctor.  

“It’s totally alright if you don’t want to. I know this might not be under your responsibilities and I am sor-”

“I will join you. You can text me the time and address, right?” 

“Yeah sure. Sure, I can.” 

You can feel his smile on the other side of the line. 

It doesn’t take you a minute to spot Hoseok and his luxurious sleek car. And you feel your breath caught in your throat yet again. 

How can a man be so attractive? He is handsome indeed but the aura of authority that he exudes knocks you off your socks each and every time you see him. 

When your eyes meet, he is still on the phone. For a moment you wonder, if it’s the woman Mina or not. 

“Hi… Thanks for coming.” Hoseok voices, cutting the call. His dark eyes bore into yours. You can see his Adam's apple bobbing as he quickly checks you out from head to toe. 

Fuck! Did you overdress yourself? 

“Again, hoseok, I get paid for doing this.” you add a little playfully making him chuckle. 

This time, you check him out. 

He has chosen to wear a black turtleneck today, tucked inside tight black slacks, along with a black blazer. 

Miraculously enough, you have chosen to wear a black wrap dress. And you two look nothing short of a grim reaper couple today. 

You chuckle to yourself at the thought. 

“Do I? Do I look funny?” Hoseok asks in surprise. 

You wave your hands desperately to dismiss his thoughts, “No no. It's just that we look like a grim reaper couple today. Dressed in all black.” 

“Oh” hoseok laughs lightly, “but a couple regardless.” 

You lose both of your mind and heart at his statement. 

The meeting went smoother than you expected it to. 

Obviously, the homeroom teacher couldn’t find her voice when you handed her Sua’s counseling reports. 

Even though she once tried to defend herself when Hoseok told her that she should have focused on Sua better, that she should have monitored her behavior and informed him if she was being quieter than usual. But she acknowledged her carelessness when you pointed out all the behavioral changes that were easy for a teacher to spot. 

She decided to talk to Jaemin and her parents personally and let you and Hoseok know of the outcome. And she also promised to take special care of Sua and transfer Jaemin to a different section to keep him away. 

“Do you think that kid and his parents will understand his mistakes?” Hoseok asks as you two walk through the corridor. 

“They should but that depends a lot on what kind of people they are. Since Jaemin is as old as Sua, it’s impossible for him to develop the concept of an illegitimate child by himself. He must have heard that somewhere, most likely from his mother. Even though it’s just my assumption, if that’s the case then his parents need to be schooled as well.” 

“Then we will need to meet them personally.”  

“Yes, if that kid refuses to leave Sua alone, we will have to meet them personally. And I will try my best to make them reflect on their mistakes, don’t worry.” you add briskly, stepping out of the school building. “I’ll take my leave now, bye.”

“No wait.” Hoseok holds your forearm, even though you haven’t moved an inch or tried to walk away from him. 

The foreground is full of parents but it seems like no one is paying you any attention, so you try to relax yourself at his touch. 

Hoseok eases too and lets his hand fall by his side, “do you have any plans for this evening?” 

“No. I don’t.” Your heart starts beating loudly. Is he going to ask you out or something?

“It’s almost 3:30 now and I assume you have had your lunch already. So, why don’t you have dinner with me and Sua? I am gonna pick her up from noona’s place on our way home.” Hoseok proposes. 

You think it through for a while. Dinner? At his place? Will you be alive by the end of the day? 

“I don’t think-” 

“Please, Y/N? Please?” Hoseok pleads, stepping towards you. 

“Okay then.” you let your resistance fall limp on the feet of your emotions. 

Hoseok is not a good cook but he knows how not to mess simple things up. So he sticks to the basics - Kimchi fried rice and samgyeopsal, accompanied by all the banchan his mom and sister send him every week.

He knows he needs to focus on the vegetables while chopping those but he can’t keep his eyes from wandering towards you. 

You look so bold and beautiful today. The black wrap dress is perfectly professional yet too sexy. He wants to undo that tie and let the dress fall on your feet to discover whatever wonders you are hiding underneath. 

You giggle with Sua. Both of you are coloring something while you engage her in a casual conversation. 

Hoseok’s heart warms at the scene. 

This is what he always wanted. A small family, a mother-figure for sua and a partner for himself. But he knows he doesn’t deserve you. Why would you want a single father like him when you could have bachelors lining for you. 

But then again, you didn’t stop him when he was about to kiss you that day. You accepted his invitation even though Namjoon mentioned you to be strictly professional. And now you are at his house, sitting in his dining room, playing with her daughter as he cooks for the three of you in the kitchen. 

Is he being too greedy? 

“You have got a beautiful balcony here.” You mutter staring at the sight ahead. 

“Really? Thank you.” Hoseok comes to stand beside you, handing you the glass of wine. 

“Yeah. your house, too, is very clean and organized, which is very rare for single parents, especially single fathers. It tells of the fact that you are, as a person, very sorted out.” You complete before taking a sip from your glass. 

Hoseok’s eyes are fixed on your side profile. He doesn’t say anything, just keeps staring at how gorgeous you are. 

Then you turn your face towards him, giving him a lazy smile, you say “What? Am I wrong?” 

“No. Not at all. About cleanliness though, Sua helps a lot. Even though she is only seven, she knows how to keep things at their places. She’s truly much more mature than the kids of her age.” he smiles at the thought of her daughter. 

You smile too, remembering how she fell asleep keeping her head on your lap earlier. 

“Sua is very tired today.”  you whisper. 

“Yeah she is. She never slept before having her dessert. She is definitely very tired today.” Hoseok nods in agreement. 

“Do you know why she is tired?” 

“Why?” 

“Because she played around after a long time. She told me that she became friends with her hoobaes and taught them how to play red light, green light.” 

“What? Really?” 

“Yeah. She is getting better, Hoseok.” you finally turn towards the man fully and find him way too close to keep a respectable distance between two bodies. 

Hoseok, though, is loving the proximity. He wants to have you close, right now… forever. 

“And a lot of credit for that… goes to you. You are such an exceptionally great dad.” You smile up at him. Your heart is wilding inside your rib cage and you want to know if Hoseok is feeling the same.   

“What about me as a man in general?” Hoseok whispers, starting to lean down. You are irresistible and he doesn’t know how to control himself anymore. 

“That’s not under my diagnosis. I need to find that out personally. But my work ethic won’t allow me.” you let the words out of your mouth. But your body completely deceives you as you close whatever distance your bodies had left in between. 

The moment your body touches his, your eyes meet his pair, which are now hazy with lust, Hoseok loses it. 

“Fuck ethics” you hear him curse before his mouth crashes yours. His free hand winds around your waist, pulling you closer. You kiss him back instantly. 

Two pairs of lips mold perfectly against each other. 

Hoseok kisses you relentlessly, as if he has been hungry for your lips for a long time now. His hand holds you tightly to keep you in your place. 

Your free hand grabs him by his neck, kissing him with just as much urgency. 

He sucks your lower lip as you do the same with his upper one. Soon his tongue finds its way inside your mouth, testing every corner. 

You moan in his mouth when you feel his hands diving down to your ass and giving it a pleasant squeeze. 

“Stay the night?” Hoseok whispers parting for a bit, as a string of saliva connects both of your lips. 

Taglist 1:-

@phenomenalgirl9 @variety-is-the-joy-of-life @sukunabitch @chimchimmarie @coffeedepressionsoup @meowstake @vonvi-blog @nochuel @xjoonchildx @justmewondering-recs @cuteipat @miakey98 @purpleanchorcrown @chimmisbae @ane102 @junniesoleilkth @terjeonbebas @kookssecret @appleh4ad @kayleeshinee @whoa-jo @definetlythinkimanalien @lovelgirl22 @agrika

Taglist 2:-

@llallaaa @mikrokookiex @parkinglot-nights @hiqhkey @diamonddia-mond @00frenchfries00 @koalasandcuddles @superchamchi88 @ttanniett @coralmusicblaze @multiasf @kookscumrag @sumzysworld @knjjjk @xtrataerrestrial @survivalistghost @kelsyx33 @aann95 @btsffreader92 @jjk174 @dragonflygurl4 @xwniazx

[lixzey]

Letters

warnings: mentions of therapy, grief, child abuse, keeping a child in a basement, starvation and malnutrition of a child, mentions of bruises, mentions of child protective services, bullying, and hospitalization

a/n: PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION ‼️‼️‼️This has very detailed scenes which may not be suitable for everyone. The last five letters will be the same, so heads up!

The Thirteenth Letter

Timothée stared out into the window, taking a deep breath as the plane soared through the clouds. He knew he had to continue reading the rest of Y/N's letters, as painful as it might be. He was terrified; there was no denying that. The mere thought of a young Y/N going through more suffering made his stomach churn, but he needed to know more. He would find her, protect her, and be there for her in any way he could. He couldn't change the past, but he could certainly make a difference in her future. He had to be there for her, to listen to her, to support her, and to show her that she wasn't alone anymore. Timothée swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to make sure that she felt safe and loved. 

Timothée took another deep breath before opening the thirteenth letter, dated August 11, 2023.

Dear Timothée, 

Sorry, this letter took a long time to write. I got caught up in therapy. I have a new therapist; her name's Gina. 

She asked me about the letters since I had mentioned them to Julie before and they were written in my file. Gina asked me if the letters were helping me, and of course I said yes. She asked if I could show her one, and I did. She took it and ripped the letter into pieces, right in front of my eyes. I honestly didn’t know how to feel; I just stared at the pieces of paper on top of the table.

Gina said a lot of things about coming to terms with my past in a natural and slow process and that maybe these letters weren't helping as much as I thought they would. Writing to you was riling up those painful and bad memories, only making me feel worse. She also mentioned that false hope wasn’t good for me, which is bullshit because I don't really hope for anything anymore.

I know you won't reply. I know you won't even read any of my letters. Hell, I know you won’t ever receive any of the letters I wrote. I just like to pretend that you do, that's all. 

After the 'session', Gina gave me a pamphlet. It was 'How to Deal with Grief and Coming to Terms with Loss'. It was shit, really. Because one of the bullet points says to talk about your loss with another loved one. Funny, because all of my loved ones are dead. So here I am, talking to you, because you are the next best thing. 

So anyway, here's the continuation of the story of my fucking life. 

I still spent the rest of my days down in the basement—locked up alone, scared, and nearly dead. I was sickeningly thin from malnutrition and dehydration. Bruises littered my body in all shapes and sizes; I had scratches all over—out of frustration and skin irritation from allergies, since I didn't get the chance to fucking clean myself. Every day, I prayed for some kind of miracle to set me free from that living nightmare. I didn't know how much longer I could survive in that hellhole. I could hear my aunt's voice upstairs every night, laughing and carrying on as if I wasn’t three feet under her house. It made me sick to my stomach to think about how she could go about her life while I suffered down below.

It didn't get any better, until my eleventh birthday came around. Honestly, I didn't know how long I was down in the basement. I had lost track of time, but it felt like I had been down here for years. Then one day, my aunt just dragged me out of the basement and shoved me into a bedroom upstairs. It turns out a social worker was looking for me. I was eleven, and the school year had just begun, but I wasn't at the local school, so child protective services got worried. My aunt got to work fast; she made me look as if I wasn't abused—that I was a normal and happy kid living with her. She did a fucking great job, I'm not gonna lie—she covered each and every blemish on my body with foundation and concealer—fucking impressive. She bought clothes, toys, and everything a child would need just so she could avoid getting arrested for child neglect. 

When the child protective services came again, I was forced to act like everything was alright and that I was in a happy home. I desperately wanted to tell the social worker the truth. I wanted to scream so badly and just run into the social worker's arms and beg her to take me away, but I couldn't. 

My life got a little bit better after that day, though. My aunt was forced to let me stay in the room upstairs rather than the cold basement downstairs since child protective services visited me every week. It was easier for her to let me stay in the bedroom than to make me look decent every time. I was never to leave the room unless necessary, not that I wanted to leave the room with my aunt around the house. I still got the bare minimum from her—I still got her scraps of food, but it was better than nothing. 

Then middle school happened. 

At first, I was excited to make friends with kids my age; I never had any growing up since I usually stayed at home with my parents and there weren’t really any kids in the neighborhood I grew up in. So, naturally, I thought that making friends would be easy.

I was too fucking stupid to believe that it would be easy. I mean who was I kidding? Middle schoolers were fucking mean—well,  not high school mean, but you get the point. I was bullied relentlessly, and I always dreaded going to school; it was torture. The kids in my class always made fun of me, calling me names and treating me like shit. I was the freakishly thin girl who always wore baggy clothes that no one wanted to be friends with. There was this one time when this girl—her name was Claire—tripped me in the hallway, and I crashed into the janitor’s cart. Bleach and other cleaning chemicals spilled everywhere—on my skin, on my clothes, and in my hair. It burned my skin so badly that I had to be taken to the hospital to get treated properly. Until now, I still have burn scars on my arms and neck area. I had to wear long-sleeved shirts to cover up my arms, though in the long run, the burns weren’t the only reason why I covered my arms up.

I just wanted a normal fucking life, but life decided to push me into a living hell. Was that too much to fucking ask? I’m so damn tired, Tim. I don’t think I can live like this anymore. I’ve been through so much, and what’s written in this letter isn't even half of what I’ve gone through.

I think it’s about time to stop writing, don’t you think? As if you’d answer me, God, I never fucking learn.

Maybe Gina does have a point. Maybe these letters really are making everything worse.

All my love, 

Y/n.

Timothée sighed, folding the letter and tucking it back in its envelope. He wanted to let her know that he was—in fact, listening—granted that it was a year late, he was listening. The pain and suffering she went through were unimaginable, and the guilt he felt for not being there for her when she needed him most was killing him. If the letters had just arrived earlier, he would have done anything to make it all easier for her. 

“I hope you're still here, Y/n. I hope you didn't give up.”

@helens3amstuff @gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl @lovemelikecrazyiloveyoucrazy @tchalamss @ashlynnmalfoy @imnotoverlyobsessive @crazycat-ladys-blog @michakune @mxltifxnd0m @spencerr3idd @dangelnleif @sthkate @ferrjulie @mel-vaz @elsagreeer @lovely-maryj @meowmeowmau @bobthe-turmpetman29 @saintcosette @ashisabitgay @ladyladybuggg @nyrasunderwrld @lizzxoxo @remussbitch @jadahxx @starrystormwritings @ell0ra-br3kk3r @dreary-salem @drewsandsebastianswife @greenapplegrass @lilianelena39 @danni-phant0m @haybellewrites @cloudlst @si4a @ev3ningrain @ttulipwritezz @bambikitten @bullets-from-another-dimension @siriuslycaptainofthedawntreader @reg-arcturus-black @abruuinlove @marina468 @3stelar @timhalamet @st4rf00k3r @idli-dosa @jimins15thhair @blacksgarden

[explicit-tae]

welcome to my blog - my name's quae. this is my main blog. trivia-yandere is my yandere blog. my ao3 is explicit_tae warning: majority - if not all -of my writings will be considered nsfw and suitable for those 18+. they will (sometimes) contain graphic smut scenes, yandere/dark moments, etc. please do not translate, repost or use any of my writing without permission.

Ungodly Hour - Alternate Universe - Mommy Issues - Halloween - Valentine's Day - Cruel Intentions - Trivia-Yandere

Plaything: Your first year in South Korea was amazing. You got to live out your dream of being an English teacher at a private Academy. You’ve attended concerts from your favorite musicians and even acquainted yourself with new friends. But no good life last forever and now you find yourself jobless, homeless and living out of cheap motels. You’ve reached your last resort- becoming an Idol playmate. W.I.P

The Feeling of Being Stared At: You and your friends are targets of a masked killer who terrorizes each of you before they make their move on massacring. Your instincts tell you that the call is coming from inside the home, and maybe the killer is closer than you think. W.I.P

Insatiable Part 1: You noticed your Junior Year of High School that Kim Taehyung, Senior, didn’t like you. It didn’t get too far, however, just verbal teasing and taunts. But, now that you were a sophomore in University he decided he had enough. Maybe he was a changed man - or maybe because he seen that tight skirt you wore with those lace panties peaking through. completed

Insatiable Part 2: One thing for sure, Taehyung compelled you. You couldn't not think about him after your night in the woods. However, you also couldn't keep your mind off of your best friend, Jungkook, who gives you every reason not to. completed

Starring Role: Jungkook regrets introducing Jimin to your content. You're his favorite camgirl (and the only one he watches rigorously) and he would've never thought he would be head-to-head with his best friend. The contest? Win a night with you. completed

Public Enemy (Part 6/7): You’re a young doctor - an intern fresh out of medical school - and begin your career at the best Hospital in South Korea. You would’ve been swimming in student loan debt if it wasn’t for your boyfriend of 1 year, Shin, paying it off in full. You were shocked at the action and questioned where such money came from. You got you answer when your boyfriend himself comes rushing through the hospital doors with a bullet through him. completed

Public Enemy (Part 7 of 7): Your elder sister was not one to disappear. After quitting her job, she fought and worked hard for years in, you knew something was wrong - even when everyone insisted there wasn’t foul play involved. So, you go on your own investigation to find the truth of what just happened to your elder sister. completed

Contagious: An alternate world in which at the age of 25, your true soulmate is revealed. Some choose to defy the soulmate tie - but you refuse; especially when it’s revealed to be your sister's boyfriend. completed

Carnal Desire: The last person you expected to see was an ‘old friend’ from nearly a decade ago, but you’re determined to show the man that you’re no longer the little girl he use to know. One | Two | Three

Public Enemy (Part 5/7): You wonder where Hoseok goes off to when his work phone calls at all times of the day and night. It’s a bother - especially when the two of you are on a date. You suspect he’s cheating on you and decide one night to follow him and witness just where he scurries of to. completed

Bound: Jimin has tried everything in his power for you - one of his closest friends - to get laid. He realizes that your kinks don't match with just any man besides one; another friend of his - Jung Hoseok. You've met Hoseok many times and don't think your masochism can be satiated by someone as bright and sunny as him. completed

Moral Dilemma: Your morality is tested at a monthly family dinner that gets interrupted by two masked men. completed

Love You (Just A Little Too Much): You're brought down memory lane and come face to face with someone you've completely forgotten about. completed

Public Enemy (Part 3/7): Your life was going great. You’ve been promoted from police officer to detective - something you’ve worked hard for. Your first case was to solve a murder of a local drug dealer brought to the hospital who you suspect foul play from. completed

Forbidden Fruit - Kim Namjoon is a new professor at a local University that has all the girls swooning over him. He becomes entangled with one student - you being far too persistent for his own good. Professors are strictly forbidden to have any form of relationship with their students - but the forbidden fruit always tastes the best. completed

One Time Thing: Namjoon was the whole package - tall, dark hair with an amazing physique. Let's not forget the personality and the intelligence that was an added bonus. Too bad he was your friend's boyfriend - even if he did appear a little too infatuated with you. completed

Public Enemy (Part 2/7): After the sudden death of your boyfriend, Shin, of 2 years - by the hands of what you assume was a rival of his - you find yourself in deep shit. He assisted in paying your college tuition and other expenses you needed for school. Once the bill runs high and you’re threatened expulsion, you need money fast. Your decision to work as a camgirl wasn’t your first option, however, now it may be your only one. completed

Public Enemy (Part 4/7): You’ve been with your boyfriend, Shin, for 3 years. The relationship wasn’t perfect and the two of you butted heads often which resulted in him buying whatever designer items to get back in your good graces. For the last few months, you begin to notice a slip in his character and question just what he does when he isn’t with you. completed

Unusual Suspects: You were always told that the internet wasn't a safe space and to be careful who you were talking to. Namjoon, your crush of years, was someone you thought was a safe haven - until you realized he wasn't the man you adored but instead a catfish pretending to be him. Now, said catfish is determined to ruin your life and the life of your childhood best friend, Taehyung, for their own sick pleasure. completed

V-Day Special: You ask your ex - who you're still close with - if he's willing to come on your cam-show for a valentine's day special. completed

Nefarious [Prequel]: A look back in your and Jungkook’s relationship, prior to the marriage, kids and detachment. completed

Repent: Adventures of Jeon Jungkook and the new girl who attends the church retreat - and who is also determined to fuck him.

Sweet Serial Killer: The city is shaken up by the sudden murders going around - all by a man who claims he is doing so in the name of justice. People are divided - those who agree with the mysterious serial killer to do what the justice system has not; and those who disagree and want him captured and sent to prison. (Part 1 to Lethal Lovers) completed

Lethal Lovers: After finding out Jungkook is Yeonma, the vigilante serial killer that has the nation in a chokehold, he offers you a deal you refuse to turn down. (Part 2 to Sweet Serial Killer) completed

Public Enemy (Part 1/7): You don’t ask many questions when your boyfriend - a High School sweetheart of 4 years by the name of Shin - splurges his money on you and other luxuries. However, you know well enough that he works for one of the biggest mafia leaders of South Korea. completed

Cult: You've grown reclusive and naive to the world - your mother has sheltered you throughout your life. That was until you've grown of age and desire to see said world for what it was - through the eyes of 7 men - 1 in particular - who all claimed to be Gods of a new world. W.I.P

One Way or Another: You recant the horrible story of how you met Jeon Jungkook - a now ex-boyfriend of yours - to your therapist. You opened up about the obsessive and toxic behavior that has you constantly looking over your shoulder for the man you've been running from for years. One | Two

Peepshow: You were Jungkook's favorite person to watch when he was outside your window. This time, he's determined to have a closer look. completed

Lick Back: Realizing that your boyfriend has become a completely different person & being malicious towards you could only mean that he’s being nice to someone else. completed

[mayuichi]

“Rest assured, it is not mine.„

William James Moriarty x fem!reader Warnings: dark contents (murders, beating, blood, etc...), spoilers of MOSTLY the second season! be aware!

note: i'm so obsessed again over MTP, you can't know how much. i'm rewatching it rn, and i'll reread it too. ALSO i'm so sorry for my absence, i'm procrastinating and finding it hard to stay motivated, especially with my nausea, but it's slowly getting better so i hope i'll be capable to write more!

Pictures from the anime Yuukoku no Moriarty / Moriarty the Patriot.

Being the child of an earl isn't too hard. But as a woman, you are expected to be nearly perfect. Graceful, elegant, flawless, and charitable. Most respect you, or more likely.. fear your father. Speaking of which, you still live with your parents. You haven't found a suitable man yet. It was infuriating for your father, he wanted you to find a husband. But you couldn't care less for now. Strolling around in town is much more entertain than finding someone.

After one more heated argument with him, resulting in a red mark across your cheek like it happened so many time before, you call it a day and leave to your room for the night. Clutching on the plush you have managed to keep, you sit on your bed, staring at the moon through the window. Your mother didn't even tried to protect you, never. If only things could change.

Undressing yourself to slide on a warm robe, you close the curtains and fall on the soft mattress, engulfing in it, pulling the covers over your frame. Tomorrow is another day, it will all be okay.

At least, that's what you thought...

Awakening by a voice. You focus on it, only to realise it's a stranger. You've never heard them before... did you? Chills parkour through your veins, jolting you forward. You don't know who they are, nor what they want. But you don't want to stay near them.

Stepping cautiously out of your room, you hurry as best as you can to the front door. On your track, your gaze averts on a gruesome scene. Your father, resting in his blood, his life slowly fading from his body. With your mother, next to him, heavily injured. The footsteps behind you make you believe they're after you, now.

Sighing in relief when you finally see the front door. Your hands reach for the handle, your body freezes at the voice. “Leaving so soon? I've been told this family was full of cowards, but still...„ his voice malicious. You couldn't even move, feeling the tip of the blade against the back of your neck.

Just swallowing was hard. One bad move, and you'd die. Trying to take a deep breath. Your heart is pounding in your chest, your hands sweaty. “I... I am not like them..„. Hesitantly turning around, you could perceive one of his eyebrow raising. “The day... The day I'd be like them, I'd rather die...„

You don't even know half of what your father does, but all you've discovered about has never been good. A smirk displayed on the stranger's face, his golden locks falling ever so slightly above his scarlet eyes. “Hmm.. Interesting...„

Staring at him, also because you don't want to miss any of his action, your eyes get used properly to the dark, allowing you to see more of his features. And it isn't long before you recognise the second son of the Moriarty. A mathematics professor, and a noble, now pointing a blade at you.

However, he withdraws his blade, sheathing it back in his cane. Taking a step forward, he moves his hand across your cheek, his fingers grazing gently. “... Such a poor thing. I suppose it's a recurrent treatment, isn't it?„.

His touch, his words, his expression... It's so sweet, so caring. Is it truly the same man that has murdered your parents? With a sigh, he pulls away, thinking of a way to be sure you'd keep your silence over his true identity. But before he could utter a word, you got carried away and whispered your thoughts.

“I wouldn't mind... joining you. I want to be useful as well...„. Surprise filled his eyes. His piercing gaze staring right through your soul, he leans in, his tall frame towering over you. “Are you sure ? It is a dark and dangerous path. You shouldn't be impulsive.„. He hasn't dismissed you. He feels it in you, after all. That strength and resilience after all those years. This desire to be able to make a change. Even if you aren't a good fighter for now, you could become one.

His associates were unsure, at first. You were so fragile, so sensitive. How could you become useful ? But he kept believing in you, training you, and asking for Jake to train you as well. Within weeks, you were already close to be as good as them. You just lacked experiences.

And perhaps, everything that happened got you closer to their leader, the true Lord of Crime... William. He'd often invite you over tea, or to stroll around town. At this point, it became a habit of you, to go buy some pastries to a hardworking baker and have your tea party. It wasn't always just the two of you. Sometimes, Louis and Albert would join in, or even Bonde. It was such heartwarming times.

It has never been a surprise for you that in a middle of your discussions, William would suddenly fall over the couch and sleep. It always made you giggle quietly. But despite it, none of you took a step further. After all, neither knew if the others actually had feelings or if it was just a mere thought.

Months after you joined, William has went again with Louis only to take care of some aristocrats, with Fred's intel. Those nights are the worst. You're restless, incapable to be in slumber.

Sitting on your bed, in your robe, you hear the front door opening. Footsteps in the corridor, and the brothers' voice, casting each other's goodnights. Stepping out of your room, you gaze over William, blood soaked. “Is... is that blood?„

He turns around to face you, a gentle smile spreading when he sees you. “Rest assured, it is not mine.„. You blink, unsure of how you should feel. It's clear though, it isn't having the right effect. “Is that supposed to reassure me?!„

Your exclamation caught him off guard, and he walks closer, placing a comforting hand over your shoulder. “Isn't it usual now, though? You have seen me bloody a lot before.„. His words hit you like a train. You have seen him blood covered, yes, but your mind has never been calm about it.

“I know! I just-.. Ugh..„, anxiety floods you, your head lowering as you dismiss his hand. “I never said it was fine for me. It makes me worry. What if you get hurt?„. It's a stupid assumption, and you know it. He makes plan for every tiny details. He never leaves room for uncertainty.

Hurrying yourself to ask him to forget it, you go back in your room, closing the door behind you. Plopping on your bed, you can't help but hate yourself. Why are you so worried about him? He's not a child, and beside, he knows how to act upon unexpected twists. You pick the pillow, placing it in your arms, hugging it against you.

“... I hate it so much.„ you growl under your breath. Eyes closed and lost in your mind, you don't pay attention to the footsteps and the door opening. You only get out of your thoughts when you feel something, or rather someone, taking place on the mattress.

You turn around to see William sitting next to your laying form, his hand hovering over your hair, caressing it carefully. He has taken off his coat and changed his clothes to his usual sleep attire. “I find it flattering, you know? Your worries being on me. But I have my shares of worries over you, too.„ he chuckles.

It makes you groan silently, turning again to make him face your back. Seeing you holding your pillow so tight, he allows himself to lay beside you, wrapping his arms around your waist. “Don't be upset, my dear. How about we plan a tea party tomorrow? As a token of apology for all those worries I fill your heart and mind with.„

Just the thought of it cracks a smile from you, and he sees it clearly. You slowly nod, closing your eyes as you lean further in his embrace. You know it wouldn't last forever, but you'd drown yourself in it for as long as it last.

It's an hour later he withdraws his arms from you, giving your hair one last stroke, before standing up. “I will see you tomorrow, my dear. Have a good night.„

As he walks away, you turn around, sitting up quickly, calling out his name. “... William!„. Your voice is so urgent, like your feelings are about to explode. “Yes?„ he turns to face you, his eyes softening at your desperate state.

“I...„ you hesitate. Is it truly a good idea to confess ? It isn't a secret for yourself anymore, you've fallen for him, smitten by his simple presence. But maybe it isn't a good thing to tell him... “... Take care... Goodnight...„

Something tells you by the look of his eyes, he knows you're hiding your feelings from him. But he doesn't push. Not yet. You're too vulnerable for now. He wants you to willingly admit them. He closes his eyes. “I will, thank you. I'll see you tomorrow.„ and with that, he leaves your room, the silence feeling it. Your feelings drowning you in slumber.

/ᐠ - ˕ •マ Ⳋmayuichi's property. do not repost, copy or translate without permission.

[maopll]

Helloooo! I saw your ,,pretty boy" post i love it!

I hope I don't break any rules or make you uncomfortable but I would like to request something.

I absolutely love hurt/comfort where reader is the one that comfort the character. So can I request nightmare comfort with overblot gang? (If not then maybe only Leona and Malleus) Let's say they cry in their sleep bc they were dreaming about hurting their s/o and they wake up without reader anywhere. Let say they went to bathroom or to get water and they come back seeing their lover in tears?

I hope it's not too much! Feel free to ignore it

(and can I be 🫐 anon? I think I will be here a lot ;D )

I will be by your side

a/n: 🫐 anon you did not break any rules and thanks for the hurt comfort I crave these. forgive me but I couldn't find a suitable picture for this fic :") and I'm not doing everyone but ills include riddle with leona and malleus

characeters: leona, malleus, riddle

warning: graphic content, nightmares, blood, please do not read if you're uncomfortable !

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

Leona Kingscholar

leona doesn't really admit it but he saw the face you made when he was sane after he overbloted he saw how touching your hands made you flinch

it pained him how just a simple touch from him made you flinch and your lips shaked from it

now he saw a nightmare which was like a fuel to his fears

he overbloted and hurted you

your breathing ragged with a big wound on your stomach as blood gushed out from it onto the floor

he was just standing there as if he froze and he was not even moving his hand

he wanted to scream but nothing came out

until your body suddenly dissipated

he jolted from his bed

he saw how much he was sweating but he got more scared when he couldn't find you beside him

he ran to find wherever you were just please don't disappear

then he saw you pouring yourself a glass of water

you noticed leona and rushed over to him because he was in a really REALLY bad condition

he just hugged you close and didn't say a word. all he wanted was to feel you and take in the scent which would always calm his nerves

Malleus Draconia

malleus never really had any nightmares and he never used to dream that much

if he ever did he would usually forget them

but after his overblot with you being there on the scene terrified of him because he was no longer sane was the most heart breaking sight he ever saw and vowed to never hurt you

but why

just why were you dying in his arms ?

you face no longer smiling and having the warmth which helped him go through the toughest of days and the sweet voice that would lul him to sleep

unable to take in the sight infront of him he shouted to the top of his lungs

then he woke up in cold sweat but then he started to panic when you were no longer found beside him

he scurried from the bed just to find you in the bathroom

he broke down right there and you got so confused about it, but you didn't question because he clearly had a mental breakdown right now so you just kissed his tear stained cheeks

Riddle Rosehearts

he noticed how scared and terrified you were of him when he overbloted

so after the whole situation he made sure to comfort you a lot and not be so rude to you like he was before all that happened

he stated keeping his anger in check but how did all of this happen?

how is your once lively face now pale and cold?

why is your body covered in red roses and thorns which pierced right through your body ?

why was the ground near you and the poison ivy and thorns covered in blood?

oh right

he was the reason why your lifeless body now lies infront of him while he just stood there

he wanted to scream, cry and run away and just forget that all of it ever happened and you never died you would be there in your dorm waiting when your lovely boyfriend would come back

all his thoughts soon disappeared as you shook him awake

he was crying so bad his eyes were red and hair was sticking to his forehead with how much he was sweating

he didn't want to tell you what happened and just said that it was a bad nightmare

he swore that he would never allow that to happen to you

he just cuddled you close for the rest of the night as you stroked his hair to soothe him

[fictionadventurer]

I happened to see a good chunk of the Netflix Persuasion. I can't give a complete review or analysis or whatever, but I have thoughts.

This movie has some very pretty colors. I like cool color palettes, what can I say?

There was one shot of a purple sunset where I was like, "Oh, I could live in this picture."

The aesthetic was so trendy I couldn't take it seriously. The clothes were that 2019 Little Women cottagecore vibe with lots of poorly-fitted textures and layers and colors. I laughed out loud at the Big White Text announcing LYME or BATH, because it's such a specific vibe.

I tried to detach from any notion of it as an Austen adaptation, and just enjoy it as its own movie that just happens to take place in a history-flavored fantasy world where everyone uses modern speech. Because sometimes those stories can be fun. It still didn't work.

Because it mostly just confused me. It was this weird mish-mash of genres and tones that didn't really blend together. Oil and water. It was Pinterest and Hallmark and Austen and College Humor and Instagram and Feminism and it's all felt like it came from completely different movies.

It was trying to be a sincere period drama love story and a goofy parody at the same time and it just didn't work.

Like, there were some sweet moments in it. Anne talking about poetry to Captain Benwick was rather nice.

But then you've got things like the weird octopus-sucking-my-face story Anne tells at Lady Dalrymple's. Even that could have worked okay in context, because Mr. Eliot jumps in and turns it into a metaphor about identity, which helps to cover for Anne's awkwardness and shows that he's willing to help her out. But then they keep bringing up the octopus as a sort of pet name and it's just so weird and doesn't fit with the rest of the story.

I've gotten ahead of myself so I'm going to backtrack to some specifics.

Mary Musgrove was excellent. Spot-on. I love how she's visibly younger than Anne. First adaptation I've seen that emphasizes that.

It was interesting how they emphasized the Mrs. Clay storyline. It actually sparked some interesting thoughts about the differences between the male social climbing of the sailors (shown in a positive light in Austen) and the female social climbing of the marriage-seeking ladies (shown in a more negative light).

I've never had a clearer picture of why Mrs. Clay matters so much to Mr. Elliot. Even in the book, it's a bit muddy, but it's crystal clear here. Mr. Elliot telling us his schemes straight-out did have the benefit of making the story very easy to follow.

I've got to back up again.

They completely altered the Anne/Wentworth storyline by mixing around all the plot points.

After they go to Bath, Wentworth seeks out Anne, says that they haven't had a chance to talk, and tells her how he always admired how good she was in an emergency. And this was before the staircase scene. I was extremely confused, until it hit me--this is a dream sequence! This is how Anne wants it to play out, but then she'll wake up!

But no! This actually happened! Wentworth says all this very sincerely and passionately, leading up to him declaring...that he wants to be friends. (At least there's context for "We're worse than exes--we're friends.")

It completely alters the trajectory of their relationship. Instead of jumping from the passion of hatred to the passion of love, Wentworth has gone to the other end of the pole--friendly indifference. He likes Anne and is totally okay with her marrying someone else.

I think they changed it so Mr. Elliot could be a serious contender in the love triangle. Wentworth has let her go--can she find happiness with someone else? I'll admit it's an interesting change, even if it's not Persuasion.

But it also seems like they're trying to make Wentworth a Suitable Love Interest for the Twitter Generation. Wentworth gets weirdly bristly with Mr. Elliot. Then Wentworth apologizes because Anne is a strong woman who doesn't need his protection. He tells her she should have been able to be an admiral. He's being mature and letting go of his resentment and wishing her well and showing that he doesn't like Regency Gender Roles. It's like they're shaving away his character growth in favor of a bland Nontoxic Relationship (TM).

But then Anne likes Mr. Elliot because he's bad? He openly talks about how he's trying to wreck her father's relationship to get the title. He insults her family. And she likes it.

This version of Anne holds her family in contempt. She doesn't like them or how they treat her and she openly disdains it. So she connects with Mr. Elliot. But the book Anne seems sad for her family--she doesn't like their behavior because she wishes they could be better people. She has compassion while movie Anne is resentful.

Persuasion is all about restraint. This movie is all about lack of restraint. People speak bluntly and say what they think and openly insult people. It's a completely different culture from the usual Austen movie, because it's modern culture. Which emphasizes how little we value good manners and restraint.

It's also weird how in changing the story, they also turn it into a generic rom-com. There's a more blatant love triangle between the good boy and the bad boy. Wentworth is starting to fall in love with Anne, but he's got an opportunity to advance his career, and he has to decide within a few days, oh no! It's textbook romcom plot points.

There was another point that I'll probably think of later.

EDIT: Oh, I just remembered! I think it was that the movie was so interested in the vibes and emotions of each individual scene that it didn't bother to try to stitch them together in a coherent whole.

The ending kiss looked 1000% like the cover of a cheap romance novel.

And the final moral of "don't let anyone tell you how to live your life" feels so simplistic and selfish and weird.

Overall, I'm not angry. I'm just confused. It's not the type of movie to arouse any kind of emotion other than "Huh???" And maybe a bit of regret that they couldn't have done better things with the interesting bits.

[hydriotaphia]

With thanks (and apologies) to @rebelrebelwrites for borrowing her formatting. She has great Friday fic recs if any of you are also in Haladriel fandom.

Dark!Anthony Bridgerton fic recs

If you read my stuff you know my tastes often run to the dark, so here are some Dark!Anthony fics to get you through your own midweek slump.

The Classic You’ve Heard Of And Hopefully Have Read: A Devil's Love by formerlyir

Kate goes undercover as a waitress to find her sister, Edwina, who's vanished from one of Crime boss!Anthony's clubs. This fic keeps the beats of the original show with both Kate and Anthony focused on their families, keeps the discrepancies in their wealth and status, their comparable losses, and Edwina feeling betrayed by Anthony. And yet, it is its own complete and delicious world with intrigue, deception and the wariness they both bring to the undeniable connection building between them. On top of that, the sex is scorching hot, all ferocity and physicality, plus one of the earliest breeding kinks I remember in Kanthony fic. This one is the least dark if you want to dip your toe in this water first.

Complete, Rated Explicit

===

The AU That Lives In My Head Rent-Free: Doomsday by penny_loaf

Penny always has fascinating premises and this one shakes the whole idea of Kanthony on its head. Edwina is looking for an escape from the every day grind and she finds it in secret explosive sex submitting to her sister's ex-boyfriend, Anthony. It opens mise en scene and doesn't let up from there - the opening is brain-searingly hot. This Anthony is an addictively seductive dom and they both go into the arrangement with eyes open. The darkness comes from the emotional layers underneath what's otherwise a fantastic BDSM relationship. The whole fic plays with the building tension between how perfectly matched Anthony and Edwina are in the bedroom contrasted with the emotional sledgehammer of knowing that Anthony's still in love with Kate but that they couldn't make the sex work. It's incredibly rich for a short fic and when the inevitable happens, you may find you don't quite know how you want it to end.

Complete, Rated Explicit

==

The (Mesmerising) Darkest Anthony Timelines: Every Breath You Take and Tainted Love by 55anon

These are both stand-out Dark-thony fics from Anon55 and there's nothing else quite like it for Kanthony.

Every Breath You Take is a series spin off an AU where Anthony and Kate meet when they're very young but are forced apart because she is not considered a suitable match. Ten years later, they meet again in a ballroom, much as in canon, as fundamentally changed people. Anthony cannot stay away and is determined to prove to Kate that he will not be swayed this time. His secret: in the intervening years, he has become London's most prolific serial killer. And delightfully, Kate is equally dark in this. Mind the warnings for Rape Roleplay and violence. So good!

Tainted Love is almost an AU of an AU where serial killer!Anthony is executed but a rumour begins to spread that his ghost is taking revenge on the living. This one is a doozy in terms of the supernatural elements, body horror, gore and violence but still with that unbreakable bond between Kate and Anthony - one that even death bows before. Mind the warnings but god, it's fascinating.

Complete, Rated Explicit

==

Kate as Genghis Khan! The Queen Who Loved Me by CherriesOnTheCake.

It's not strictly dark but it's amazing as a role reversal. I won't say more. If you haven't read it, let the story tell itself to you.

Complete, Rated Mature

==

You can see my other Bridgerton recs here.

[unremarkablechap]

META : ARTHUR'S TRAUMA . ↳ AND WHAT IT DOES TO HIM .

We all know that Arthur isn't perfect. Though generally very cordial, polite, and considerate, he has a sort of air to him of emotional instability and jealousy. Also, he can be a bit defensive and self-centered from time-to-time, often putting himself first when it comes to situations that may induce any emotional, physical, or psychological damage to him. If things aren't necessarily the way that he finds suitable for him, he tends to flee the scene.

So, that begs the question. Where the heck did all those glaring flaws come from?

( TL;DR -- Loads of emotional abuse by an emotionally absent father, the death of a mother, and a woman who never gave him a secure relationship lead him to have a rather temperamental attitude. Both because he subconsciously doesn't know how else to get his feelings out but by being as emotional as possible as he was never taught to rationalize or emotionally regulate and because he never had the chance to put himself first having been forced to watch someone who had autism as a preteen. )

Let's start with Sally Boyle. The first woman that Arthur ever loved. He knew her since primary school and used to watch her from her window from time-to-time, the pervert! Without knowing how else to approach her as his mom was already sick from an odd disease and couldn't help him talk about women, he waited to spend time with her until she began living with him.

It was a wonderful time at first. As hinted in the game multiple times, Sally encouraged Arthur to trespass in places they weren't supposed to. They blew up a postbox, and they put fish in the fountain at a park. Normally Arthur isn't this type of person -- he's very sheepish and to himself. He'd rather read a book than go off and rob a place. But because Sally had that spunk and he loved her to bits, he did it for her because he wanted to spend time with her.

But then she started spending time with other people:

"The thing is, I don't trust her. She was always so wonderful when she was there, but a girl like Sally always has so many better places to be, and better people to be with, or worse people that she prefers anyway for some reason." -- Arthur's Notebook in game.

Which immediately hints that she never made their relationship secure. Now you may doubt that but here is a note from Sally when she kisses him on impulse.

"why did i do that?

it was nice. why didn't i ever do it before?

because look at what happens. i fuck everything up. think, sally, think!" -- Sally's Notebook in game

At multiple points in Sally's act, you hear reminiscing from her thinking about how much she loved Arthur, but she could never just take that step to make it official. She only knew how to use men because she doesn't trust or necessarily like them. And because she never made a relationship secure with Arthur, he felt like she was never honest. And never wanted to be around. Or always fancied someone else, even if she never really did.

But Arthur can only comprehend what he believes to see. He is so adamant on what he witnesses, as he is an extremely analytical person. Though he gets that from being a stupendous student and excelling at english class, he was also abused from his father. And those abused are often more than not, rather astute at others body language and emotions. Though it doesn't outright say it, you can gather the hints at it in his memories.

At the memory in 7:28, it talks about Arthur's father calling his son down from a tree after realizing he's being sent off to Germany. Instead of trying to rationalize the situation and allow his emotions to be regulated or teaching him to regulate them, he simply manipulates him into coming down.

At 10:55, the memory talks about Percy wondering why the Germans are taking the kids away. Instead of taking a moment to regulate emotions, Arthur lets them out impulsively and regrets it a second later. This hints again, he was never taught to regulate.

At 14:20, there's another memory where the same thing happens again.

At 17:50, Arthur's father tells his son that they're bringing him Sally from her house. Begrudgingly, Arthur disagrees and says that she's an idiot. Instead of trying to explain how that's not generous of him, he says "you two should get along perfectly." Literally him bullying his child.

At 20:21, the memory talks about how Percy doesn't want Arthur to leave for Germany. But it also says that their father never really talks to Percy, opening up a whole new can of worms for his abusive nature. Also, if you look at their birthdays, they are genuinely less than a year apart, meaning that his father wanted to have a kid as soon as they realized that he wasn't "normal."

And at the last memory, his father tells Arthur he doesn't talk bollocks all the time when he realizes that Percy is gone forever. He never wanted that child. And frankly, because he's such a shit man, he never treated Arthur right to begin with.

He just wanted to have a kid to seem "proper" to everyone. He never knew how to raise something and didn't want to after his wife died.

Throughout the game, there are various voicelines articulated by Arthur that describe a hatred toward his father. He never missed him, he never treated Percy right, and he was generally a pisspoor person. Though he did teach Arthur how to be a handyman and punished him whenever he fucked up at school or trespassed with Sally, it doesn't add up to horrible mistreatment, manipulation, and general lack of decent parenting over the years.

After all, he was left to raise Percy on his own as a child. He wasn't equipped to raise Percy! He didn't know how to handle someone with autism! In fact, there's a voiceline Arthur says that hints that he didn't even know what Percy had!

"I remember when they came back from London, Mum wouldn't stop crying for a week, but all Percy could talk about was the train." -- Arthur Voiceline whilst Idle.

"They never told me what that specialist said, the one in London, when they took him to see him." -- Arthur Voiceline whilst Idle.

Arthur never felt like he could do anything by himself. He never had a childhood, and as such, he grasps what control he can have now since his father never cared for his brother and his mom died when they were growing up. If he can try and manipulate a situation or perhaps a person ( which his dad did too, btw, like father like son ) , maybe he can get off scot-free? Though that usually only happens, as I said before, in situations he doesn't seem that would be pleasant to him.

Percy wasn't a pleasantry. He loved his brother and cared for his brother, but he was just so tired. He wanted to be by himself. He wanted to have a childhood that Percy was having. So, because he neglected the emotional regulation thanks to a neglectful father, his impulsive behaviors lead to the departure of his brother.

Arthur has grown so much. But because of his father, because of Sally, and because of the death of his mother, there are just some pieces of himself that he can never change. Emotional regulation is extremely tough, and his expressive nature, exploding rage, and immense jealousy is a prime example of that.

[1rsoldiersince2012]

Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x Reader)

Words: 2405 (chapter 27)

Summary:

You and Matt met in the courtroom. Now, you may think that Matt was a knight in shining armour and defended you in the name of all United States laws, but that was not the case. Matt was totally destroying your client, and you wanted to tear him into pieces right then and right there, because with Murdock as your rival, your head is on the firm's plate with each case. Did Matt care? No, he only cared about bringing justice, he was a human-machine, driven by the need to bring righteousness no matter the cost. Or was he just that? What happens when you get involved in Fisk's business and Daredevil's lies against your will?

UPDATES: expect the unexpected

Find my other accounts on ao3 and wattpad!

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1rSoldierSince2012

wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/1rsoldierSince2012

27. Deadly Dance

"Oh, what a beautiful bouquet!" Karen exclaims when all three return to the office.

"You've missed those delicious bagels, by the way." Foggy comes inside last, closing the door. "Oh, a secret admirer or a grateful client?" He points to the vase on your side of the table.

"Uh, is 'kind of both' a suitable answer?" You lean on the table, cup of coffee in your hands.

"Why didn't you come with us?" Matt comes into the room, but stops next to the threshold. 

"I couldn't find my wallet in that junk in my car." You say, but Matt feels a change in the air... and your heartbeat. "Will they still have those delicious bagels tomorrow?"

"Not if you keep bailing on us like that, y/n," Foggy plops down on one of the armchairs in your and Matt's office and exhales like he just ran a mile. "I would've bought you that bagel."

"Foggy, I'm already in your debt, forget that bagel." You smile slightly, feeling grateful for the environment you have a chance to work in, yet you begin to feel guilt creeping in right after.

"So, anything happened when we were gone?" Karen asks, visibly admiring the roses, while Matt quickly turns his head to the side like a puppy and listens intently.

"No, not really." You blow the steam from the cup away, looking at all of them in front of you. Foggy looked like he was about to fall asleep any moment. Matt furrows his eyebrows slightly, not understanding anyhting. 

"Maybe we could finish up earlier tonight? The exterminator wants to come take a look at the situation." Karen says, with a sour expression on her face.

"The who now?" Foggy almost jumps from his seat, you stand up straight, putting the cup on your table.

"I think the rats ate the wires of the copier."

"Great, we have rats now, I'm never sleeping here again." Foggy looks around terrified, afraid that a rat might jump at him now out of nowhere.

"You slept here?" You ask with a slight disbelief, looking around for rats as well. If you saw one right now, you'd probably faint.

"I was drunk." 

"Foggy, I warned you about losing the keys-" Matt begins, yet gets interrupted by Karen.

"Okay, I also remembered that the phone guy is also coming here, because the phones are not working."

"I wonder why." You say sarcastically, and your tone doesn't get past Karen's ears.

"Maybe the rats came with the equipment?" Matt steps in before you two make a scene about it again.

"Yeah, sure, I bet they enjoyed the ride here." You roll your eyes, and take another sip of your coffee, which suddenly got a bitter taste.

"Let's just hope we don't see any rats running around the office when we're with clients." Foggy brings the calmness to the office again, and seeing the awkward faces, suggests calling it a day.

*** 

Matt is attacking the Russians again. When armed goons emerge from the garage, he hides behind the taxi door, right next to the mysterious boy sitting in the car, when suddenly the boy gets shot by one of the Russians. Matt tries to take the three of them, but one starts making his exit. Catching up to him, Matt grabs him harshly by the collar and roughly shakes his body up from the ground, "Where's Vladimir?"

"No, please!" The guy shouts, fear evident in his eyes upon seeing the man in the mask in the flesh.

"Vladimir! Where is he?"

"Please, I'll tell you what you want! Just don't cut my head off!" The guy begs, almost crying.

"What are you talking about?"

"Vladimir's brother. Everyone knows you took his head."

Siren blares loudly just a building away, and Matt lets go of the guy, running away into the darkness.

"On the ground! On the ground!" Officer's screams ring in the alley, indicating that Piotr was taken away.

*** 

Next morning Matt surprises everyone with his question, "Hey, you guys hear anything on the news about a Russian getting his head cut off? In Hell's Kitchen?"

Foggy sighs heavily, "This city. Bad enough you get mugged, now they chop your melon off. What's next, groping corpses?"

You pucker your lips in disappointment, because after all, in Hell's Kitchen only that mysterious devil figure was a surprise, and a big mystery.

A knock on doors get everyone's attention, and turning to look back into the main room, you notice a familiar face coming inside with Karen.

An elderly Hispanic woman smiles at Karen, and looks at you with somewhat disaproving look.

"Uh, por favor, sit down, Mrs?" Karen politely offers a chair to the woman, and she gladly sits down, exhausted from the journey.

"Elena Cardenas."

*** 

As the music gets closer to its peak moment, Wesley spins you faster, not breaking the intense eye contact, and skilfully not stepping on your shoes or your long dress, or ruining the harmony of the dance in any other way.

Matt starts running faster too. Getting closer to the warehouse full of people who were kidnapped by Fisk's accomplices, and held captive, for no particular reason. They never needed a reason to break the law.

You see the lights from the chandeliers reflect on Wesley's glasses, they change quicker, almost making your head spin. Was it the champagne or the endless spin?

Lights go out and the warehouse drowns in an absolute darkness, making them all panic, including the kidnapped people. They were waiting for him to arrive, but when the moment comes, they are still not ready to face him. The devil is out and thirsty for revenge, unfortunately for Fisk's men. Gracefully, Matt lands on the box of guns, knocking the closest five men who were standing next to it.

The violins get louder and more aggressive, musicians are in absolute trance, the couples spin one last time, men turn women in their arms to the sides - from left to right, left to right, just like the Devil of Hell's Kitchen is sending punches and kicks - from left to right, left to right.

The music stops with the violins, and you find yourself looking at the ceiling, chest heaving, tightly holding onto Wesley's shoulder and half bent back. On the same note that you ended the dance, Matt punched the last guy, breathing heavily as well. Muffled noises and cries reminded him that he had to set those poor people free. The adrenaline of the fight, the build up anger drove him crazy, and he almost made a mistake.

Wesley lifts you up, breathing heavily as well, you hold onto his arm, not hiding your smile. "You okay?" He asks, noticing how you closed your eyes for a moment, waiting for the room to stop spinning so fast. His eyes lingered on your lips a moment longer than it would be necessary for his mission, but he just couldn't help himself, the dark red lipstick on your full lips drove him crazy. He had no comment on that wine red dress and that deep v-neck, just for his eyes -

"Yes." You breathe out, feeling how Wesley's hands snaked behind your back, subtly pressing you into him. Your bandaged arm today looked quite different - the usual white bandage was switched to a skin-colour one, for the sake of being less noticable. You were able to change it yourself, without a struggle since it was healing well.

"Care to get another drink?"

"I thought you were driving us home, James."

"It's not nice to let a lady drink alone. My friend can pick us up." He doesn't let go of you yet, feeling something more than just a need to perform excellent on another job. It drove him crazy the way you said his name.

"Or we can catch a taxi." You break free from his arms in a little spin, and make your way towards the champagne tower, Wesley looks around and notices one of Fisk's men standing in the corner, pretending to be one of the security guys. The man shakes his head slightly and the previous smile from Wesley's face is quickly replaced by a deep scowl and a look of disappointment, the devil ruined his plans again. This was their plan to lure him in. Unfortunately.

Matt opens the main door, sending people free, and listening for a second to their hurried steps and distant running. Another evil plan ruined, but why didn't he feel the satisfaction that usually came after such missions? Why was there an empty spot in him that demanded to be satisfied, that demanded a touch of that one woman who was currently dancing with another? With the real devil, the devil who sought to ruin everything on his way, and not protect at any cost.

"Mm, the champagne's nice, I wonder what's it called." You swallow a big gulp, Wesley downs half of the glass at once, missing the moment you raised your eyebrows at him.

The second he swallows, his facial expression softens for you once more. "We can ask the waiter if-"

"No, no need, I can even smell how expensive it is." You laugh shortly, and hear the soft sound of violins again.

"Care to share one more dance with me, Miss y/l/n?" Wesley puts his empty glass on the passing waiter's tray, extending his arm. You elegantly put yours on his, holding it firmly.

"Just one?" you smirk, leaving your glass as well, and a familiar melody of Sebastian Bach fills up the room again.

"With you, I'd dance until my feet fall off." He places a chaste kiss on your hand, not breaking the eye contact again.

"Let's hope that this will never happen." You blush under his gaze, feeling his palm rest on your waist when you begin the last dance of the evening.

Matt feels like there's so much he could do tonight. If there was a marathon happening now, he'd probably run it twice. His feet involuntary took him onto the roof of the ballroom. He knew that there were Fisk's men, involved into some dirty business. Maybe tonight was a trap to catch him, but he was smarter than Fisk again. Small smirk is wiped off his face when he remembers... Matt was now lying to himself about the reason he came here. He told himself that it was important to catch Wesley in a compromising phone call or chat with one of the undercover goons. But his heart was telling him to check on you. He heard your heartbeat, and your heavy breathing from all the dancing, which you didn't even do for years. Out of frustration, Matt almost punched a hole through the glass roof of the ballroom, especially when Wesley put his jacket on your shoulders, and gently led you out to the taxi, closing the doors after you and- Shit. You both drove off. Matt pulls himself away from his spot, running to the other rooftops, just to get on your flat's roof before you two return.

You don't feel tired or tipsy, maybe a little, but you feel so full of energy and so... Happy? No. The emotion was not to be described as happy. You weren't happy for so long now that you simply forgot how that emotion felt.

Matt pulls another perfect landing just before the taxi stops in front of the building. "Keep the change, pal." Wesley says to the taxi driver and waves him off, catching up with you on the stairs of your building.

You glance at your watch, looking then at Wesley. "Not leaving?"

"You want me to-"

"No... Stay." You say and gently put your palm on his cheek, caressing it.

"I had a great time tonight. You're an excellent dancer." Wesley says, snaking his hand on your waist.

"My dad taught me everything." You mutter before leaning closer to his face, when you catch him doing the same. The kiss is soft, yet you don't feel the fireworks or butterflies in your stomach. Just cold lips as if Wesley was dead inside.

Matt rolls his eyes, and Fisk's men confirm to him the situation, "he's good," one of them mutters to another in a car on the other side of the street. "To be honest, she looked like she could be easily seduced," the other replies, sipping on his coffee. Fisk trusted Wesley with his life, but sometimes he just had to be completely sure. It happened to be one of those times.

You both disappear in the darkness of the building, but Matt not once loses you, on the contrary, your steps are getting closer to the top floor, and he's only a concrete wall away from you. But that changes nothing, just as you close the door behind you, Wesley takes out his tonight's anger on you - kissing more aggressively but with a slight precision of a man who knows exactly what he wants. His glasses get thrown on your coffee table, and you almost rip your dress on your way to the couch, laughing.

"What is it?" Wesley laughs, out of breath as well.

"Let's get it off, I have to return it."

"I liked it a lot. In fact, like liked it so much that I could buy it and get you out of trouble." Wesley brushes his finger on the silky fabric of the dress, making you shiver.

Matt rolls his eyes, feeling like he should leave because he might beat someone up from this anger, but he wants to make sure that nothing bad happens to you.

"A lady never wears the same dress twice." You fix his jacket's napkin, not pulling your arms back.

"I'm not a picky man." Lies. He was indeed a picky man, but for you, he'd forget it. He'd forget everything.

"I'm not dressing for men, James." You smile brightly, noticing spots of your lipstick on Wesley's lips.

Matt smirks to himself. Only you could put someone in their place so subtly. He has already experienced that. Although now that he thought about it, you were shooting those remarks mostly at him. Something worth thinking about, since he didn't want to listen to your bedroom talk but remained in his spot, mentally putting this down as a God's punishment.

And he was right. God was punishing him.

In the morning, you woke up wrapped in a blanket and Wesley's jacket put on your shoulders. Rising from the uncomfortable position that you slept in, you notice a bouquet of lilies on your table, along with a neatly written note: "even the most beautiful flower is still not as beautiful as you".

Involuntary, your lips twitch into a small smile.

[mirageofadesert]

Rating cdramas I watched as a newbie pt. 3

!! Spoiler Warning!! You can find part 1 and part 2 here!

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty  8/10 

Acting: 9/10 World-building: 8/10 Production: 8/10 Storytelling: 8/10 Re-watch Value: 7/10  Pacing: 8/10 Bonus: I loved the intro and OST so much, I added it to my playlist.

I started to watch this drama a while back, but gave up after the second episode, because I couldn't follow the plot. I'm glad I came back after having watched more cdramas. Those gave me more background knowledge to follow to complex political structures and plots. After finally understanding the backdrop of the story, I was surprised to find out, that this show was vaguely adapted from a danmei novel.

While the story-line was interesting, it were the characters that really got me hooked, especially Wang Zhi. His character and story had so much more potential and I would love to watch a whole show with him as a main character. It kind of blew my mind that he was that young - and while his actions made you forget about it at times, the show manage to remind you of his youth in really great scenes.

Overall, the show suffered from the same problems many shows do: The story-line becomes to convoluted, the stakes don't fit the established tone of the show and some plot-holes are hard to overlook. For example, there should have been a better way to set up the empress as a warrior, because that came out of nowhere (twice). While the action scenes were great at first, when trying to raise the stakes during the last few episodes, it became over the top and felt out of place. In addition, some serious topics they tried to address (e.g. PTSD, domestic violence, human trafficking) didn't go anywhere and lacked consequences.

In spite of these problems, I loved the show and their main characters a lot. They did have great chemistry and I'm curious how a BL adaptation of this show would have looked like.  

---

Destined  7/10

Acting: 8/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 8/10 Storytelling: 4/10 Re-watch Value: 6/10  Pacing: 5/10 Bonus: For Gu Jiusi charming mumbling and Liu Xueyi as the villain

The first episodes of this show were so great - I was having so much fun and I loved how the tone of the show switched by episode 9. In hindsight, I should have seen this as a sign, that the script would become messy: Stringing together too many impactful scenes, without letting the the story enfold. The problem with this is, that they lose their emotional impact and start to feel over the top and unrealistic. Somehow the ML is a playboy that does not care for women, but is also secretly one of the best martial artist out there even through we never see him practice during the episodes that follow his every day life in detail? It was just a bit too much lazy writing, trying to establish the path of the main characters. The idea was great, but the execution was a bit lacking. It's such a shame.

I think the riches to racks to riches story they wanted to tell was to convoluted even for 40 episodes. The ending was especially disappointing for me - but not because of how the main characters' story ends, but rather because of how they solved the succession problem. After making the question, what makes a suitable ruler, a focus point of the show, they make the next (next) crown prince some never before mentioned character off screen? It felt so unsatisfied! I feel like the show lacked a clear meta plot, a massage beyond the love story.

---

Light Chaser Rescue 5/10

Acting: 7/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 4/10 Storytelling: 5/10 Re-watch Value: 3/10  Pacing: 6/10 Bonus: For not centering the plot on the love story alone.

I'm currently on a mission to watch Luo Yunxi (allegedly) mediocre filmography and Light Chaster Rescue was next on the list. It turned out to be a decent show! My biggest grievances is, that the rescue scenes lacked suspense and I think that's a budget and production issue. Some of the characters were quite flat and annoying and I'm not sure how much of it was insufficient acting skills or a bad script (I lean towards the latter).

In addition - and it really pains me to say this Luo Yunxi's character was not written well and I'm not sure he was the best fit for the role. In the beginning Luo Ben was supposed to be self-centered and annoying. Still, the dialog was just not well written and no amount of excellent acting could save come of the lines. The whole over-protectiveness over his mute little sister was also not done well and made me dislike Luo Ben. Now, this might be quite controversial, but if they cast an actor, that does not fit the typical build of an rescue worker, it would have been better to actually make this part of the story. Ignoring it most of the time, made Luo Ben unconvincing. I think they tried to set it up in some ways (e.g. pointing out his tactical skills, driving ability and how the other members don't see him as suitable at first), but the drama failed to deliver it. In my opinion, it would have given the show a bit more depth and realism.

On that note... I would like to know if Luo Yuan actually signed CSL or if it was just some gibberish. Adequate representation of dis/abled people in media matters, so I really hope they got it right. I also had mixed feeling that she was only mute and not hard of hearing. I know it's possible, even if uncommon. It's obvious why they made that decision, but it felt (again) unconvincing.

Overall, I still enjoyed the show and the pacing was quite nice. I liked the long build up to the different characters joining the Light Chaser Rescue and how they did the big revelation later on!

---

Broker 6/10

Acting: 7/10 World-building: 6/10 Production: 6/10 Storytelling: 6/10 Re-watch Value: 4/10  Pacing: 6/10 Bonus: A research focused plot!

This one came as a surprise to me. After Light Chaser Rescue I expected another okay-ish drama, I only planed to watch for the lead, but I ended up really enjoying it. The initial premise of cooperate espionage is interesting and I wish they would have focused on that in the later part, instead of it become a family conflict with high stakes. The backstories of the characters were also a bit too wattpad. However, I got rather invested into the characters and story. The acting was good as well, with the exception of the white actors they hired, who were just horrible - barely being able to say their lines. It gave it some unintended comedy. As someone who has worked in research for the last couple of years, this show was really fascinating to watch (even through it's not realistic), but I liked to see a story-line like this in a drama! The patriotism was a bit hard to get used to, but I can't deny the anti-Chinese racism within the scientific community.

---

Thank you for reading my rumbling on the internet! I think next I will do a post about why I dropped certain shows and what I learned about myself as a cdrama audience by doing so!

[goest-and-fuckest-thyself-blog]

Stranger Things Have Happened

Steve Harrington x OC

Chapter No.1

Summary- Will is back from the upside down and Eleven is still “missing”. With Nancy and Steve being not only on the outs, but calling it quits, Steve is actively mourning the loss of their relationship. Though, when a new set of siblings arrive alongside the Hargroves in Hawkins, Steve can’t help but take an interest in the eldest sister. Even when he’s promised himself he is only interested in her as a friend, Steve finds himself sharing things with her only his closest friends know of his life.

⚠️ warning ⚠️

Some chapters may contain explicit content, graphic imagery and scenes not suitable for children. Minors DNI. Republication or distribution of my work will result in legal action being taken. I do not own Stranger Things, but all characters inserted into the Stranger Things universe of my own creation are owned by me.

Basketball was ridiculous... I never in a million years thought I'd say it, but it was ridiculous. I'd lost my throne to Billy Hargrove.

"Harrington right?" He had blocked me on the court, making it impossible for me to pivot around him. "I heard you used to run this school," I sighed as I dribbled the ball attempting to get around him. "Is that true? King Steve, huh? Then he turned bitch."

"Hey maybe you should shut up and just play the game," I shot back, moving to get around him. But he knocked me to the ground.

The ball was lost to me as he made the basket and hooted and hollered. He was becoming a thorn in my ass.

"Steve?" I turned to see Nancy standing in the doorway of the gymnasium. Goddammit... this day couldn't get any worse.

I followed her out of the gym and to the alleyway between the school buildings.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, angry and annoyed.

"What do you think? Where were you this morning, I missed first period!" She whined up at me. I had no time for this.

"I figured Jonathan would take you," I answered calmly.

She furrowed her brows and shook her head, "what are you talking about?"

"Jesus," I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my own head. "You really can't handle your alcohol. You remember going to Tina's party last night? Right?"

"Yes," Nancy answered with a curt nod.

"Okay, and then what?" I asked.

"I remember... dancing, and spilling some punch... you got mad at me because I was drunk?" She rattled. That wasn't what happened

~*~

The day was already too long as I sat in class, thinking of the events that had transpired Friday night.

Nancy had proceeded to drink herself into oblivion, causing a scene with an argument that we shouldn't have even been having.

"Bullshit," she had called it. "It's all bullshit."

Drunken words from sober thoughts. She had been pulling away from me for a while. Now, I didn't know what to do. She had broken up with me.

Although I wanted to apologise, I didn't do anything wrong! She was the one that spilled the drink, she was the one that ripped our relationship to shreds. It's not like it would've worked out anyway.

I’d seen the way she’d talk to Beyers in the corridors when she thought I wasn’t looking. I knew she’d invited him to that party, and he had taken her home. It had to have all been planned somehow.

As I slammed my head down on my desk, the last bell of school rang, releasing us from the prison that it represented. I quickly grabbed my things, slinging my bag over my shoulder and stalking out of the school.

"Yo, Harrington!" I turned to see one of the younger kids on the basketball team, Connor, run up to me as I leaned against my car. "I heard about you and Nancy, what happened?"

"None of your business," I offered in a mumble. I leaned back a bit further into my car. "It's nobody's business but mine and Nancy's."

"Okay..." Connor nodded as he stood before me. "Did you hear about the new kids?"

"That prick Hargrove?" I questioned, taking another drag. I hated that kid. He was such a dick head. "Yeah I met him."

"No," he motioned to my left, making me turn my head. "Those new kids."

I peered over the rim of my sunglasses to see a girl, one that closed the door of a Sixty Seven Impala, wrapped in a black leather jacket, smoking a black cigarette.

"Who the hell...?" I questioned as she walked past us, her hips swaying in a way that not even Nancy's did. Her blonde hair hung in thousands of waist length ringlets, tossed to one side of her head. 

To her right was a boy much taller than her, lanky but built well. He looked to be her complete opposite in style, Khakis, a blue polo shirt and yellow sweater accompanied his boat shoes.

"Mayor's Niece and nephew," Connor offered. "They just transferred from out of state."

I couldn't help but stare as the girl strutted down to the middle school before I felt eyes boring into my skull. As I looked away from the blonde beauty, I noticed her brother staring daggers at me from where he waited for her beneath a tree.

I cleared my throat and averted my eyes, pulling my sunglasses back Over them. I tried not ti make it obvious as I watched the girl accompanying a smaller blonde girl back to their brother, before they all hurried back to their car.

"That's their little sister," Connor offered. "She goes to school with my brother."

I shook my head as I watched her walk back to the Impala, her red converse catching my eye as well. She had good taste.

"Look at that ass," Connor drooled over the girl as she opened the door for her sister.

I couldn't help but peek as he said the words, yet I slapped him over the back of his head.

"Leave her alone," I mumbled. He was right, she did have an amazing... No, I was grieving over Nancy. That's what I was doing.

"She has chemistry with us, you dick," I heard from behind me. Tommy appeared out of nowhere, coming to stare at the girl as he sat with me on my car. "And you're single now, remember? You can look at that sweet, thick, succulent-"

"Shut up, Tommy!" I spat taking the last drag of my cigarette. "You don't even know her name do you?"

With a chuckle and a shake of his head, Tommy nudged me. "You should find out."

I shook my head as well and chuckled as he nudged me more.

"Come on Steve, get back in the game! You know, get yourself a piece of small, blonde, and extra sweet cake," he smiled as I began to crack a smirk. "Forget Nancy, she left you! You have nothing to do but move on, and what better way to do that, then to find out who little miss leather jacket is?"

He was right! I needed to forget Nancy! I knew she was gonna go straight to Jonathan! I fucking knew she would, and just as I thought the words, my heart sank.

Across the lot, Nancy was walking with that freaky kid, hurrying away from the school with him like they had somewhere to be. Finally, I saw her climb in his car, proving my suspicions.

"Woah, Steve-o, was that confirmation or what?" Tommy asked. I didn't bother to look away from Nancy as she drove off with Jonathan.

Finally, I peeled my eyes away from the brunette, and let them land on the Impala that now drove straight in front of me.

My eyes locked with a pair of candy apple green ones that watched me, analysed my every move as if we were in slow motion. The new, unknown girl couldn’t peel her eyes away from my hidden gaze until she fully passed my friends and I.

Something in my brain clicked, and I was filled with a fascination to know this girl. Who was she? Why had she moved to Hawkins? Would her brother be a problem? He was bigger than me.

"Little miss Leather Jacket might be kind of interesting…” I admit to Tommy and Connor, both of whom were still watching her sleek black car drive down the road.

“See, Harrington,” Tommy once again nudged my shoulder, earning a grin from me once again. “What’d I tell ya?”

[dukeoftheblackstar]

hello again! 🧡🧡 Once again I want to know more about Plo and Duchess 🧡🧡

8. Who tends to worry the most? 9. Who is more inclined to be jealous or possessive? 10. How do they resolve their arguments? 13. Who steals the blankets?

Ahhhhh!! Crystal ♥ You're making me melt ♥♥♥ @kimiheartblade I don't talk about my girl so much because I don't think many would be interested ><

8. Who tends to worry the most?

Plo worries the most because of a plethora of reasons:

Duch is obsessed with picking up pets that aren't really suitable for the humble abode that is the House of Koon. She has undying love for sharks, isopods, and tardigrades.

Mama Koon once sent a giant isopod intended to be eaten but Plo couldn't break her heart and delulu on thinking that Plo got her the giant isopod as a pet. She named it iso-Plo and Plo is not at all happy. She also adopted a tardigrade named T-Wolffe. Plo is also not at all happy because they are enclosed in a large aquarium over the master bedroom. Making love to that site is not at all exciting.

Plo worries that at some point, Duchess will get lost and won't be able to find her way home. She struggles with direction, let alone her lefts and rights.

Plo worries that at some point, wifey (WY) will not be able to resist the urge and pluck out Wolffe's eye carefully (she's tech savvy with cybernetics and droids) out and keep it all to herself.

Also worried taht she might accidentally kill somebody over how violent she can get when she's very much jealous.

During gestation wherein the eggs are out, he worried Duch would accidentally cook one for breakfast or actually eat one their babies. Yes, Celestians eat their young (this is Duch's childhood trauma).

9. Who is more inclined to be jealous or possessive?

Duchess. Without a doubt.

My girl is so unhinged about Plo, she knows every bit of move and angle. If Plo so ever twitch his cock in ways she has never felt/seen/noticed before, she's mega sus.

She doesn't mind Plo being affectionally given attention by anyone, be it touch or be complimented, even flirted as long as she doesn't sense it to be a threat.

She is also not above shipping her husband with anyone she trusts. But if she doesn't like you, touch him and you die.

Plo can be possessive in ways that imply his discomfort when Duch is getting a little too friendly or entertaining. This is very rare. But a subtle grab on her hip, a pull on her arm, him emerging from behind and slowly dipping his arm under hers and lifting to hold her by the neck, before turning to pry her away from the scene is him being gentle yet possessive.

A bitch, her plushie, and her favorite murder knife — scalpels ♥

10. How do they resolve their arguments?

Plo has to have the final say in all arguments because Duch trusts his wisdom over her own emotional turbulence. Plo rarely speaks when they argue but he's not one to coddle her when that happens. He presents facts and stays firm to what he believes is right, while also accommodating her points.

Duch is emotion-based. Anger is something she finds difficulty in handling, so she cries and bears her heart at the slightest hint of them in a proper argument, but she never utters any word to jab, curse, or disrespect him.

It usually ends with Duch saying "it's your fault!" and Plo agreeing, in spite it not being his fault. "Yes, my love, it is." The cycle will repeat for the next five more minutes until she has calmed down enough to let Plo hold her. And when the heat has dissipated, you best know Plo's gonna hit her with "But really, my baby. It was indeed your fault." And with proper coaxing in the form of food, kisses, and tight cuddles, Duch will reply with a 'Mmhm, your fault." And then they repeat this positive version of the cycle until they just end up all over each other silly fucking.

13. Who steals the blankets? <- Answered ♥

Duch. Mainly because she wants to be all cuddled up to Plo without the constraints of a blanket. She also gets hot easy.

Plo is very against this and would merely sigh unimpressed and would now need to manipulate the molecules surrounding the room to alter the temperature for his benefit, re-alterit for her benefit, and go through the motions of molecular-thermostat balancing act until sleep consumes him.

[blueberryomega]

I just want you to stay with me, please...

Match: Kenny Omega and Matt Jackson

Summary: Kenny Omega wants someone near him after having a traumatic nightmare of a gore reality.

Warning: Blood, fading, death, language (not suitable for kids)

PS: Sorry for my bi-gay cuddle scene at the almost end, I just wanted to add a little more detail to the story.

If you don't like the content of the story, just DON'T READ IT.

KENNY POV

I was very tired, you could tell I had a busy day. The gym. Recovery of my remains. Absolutely everything. At the same time I felt good, because I have support and I am the happy face that fits the group.

Straight to the point. I went to my room, Matt and Nick were there (it was ordinary), eating and talking about their relatives, as was Brandon. I just wanted to go to bed, sleep and not hear from anyone all fucking day.

I opened my eyes again, but this time everything was in black and white, with some red details. I had a floating bed and a stomach ache. Then I started to put my head towards the east side of the bed to vomit, but the strangest thing was that I was vomiting blood, which was a surprise. I looked in the mirror and noticed that I had a bruise on my cheek, which was also a surprise.

I couldn't wake up or know what was happening, until... a little human appeared in my bed. She was a girl, a sweet girl who didn't break a plate, she was more or less like an eight year old kid.

"Hello." I told the girl, not noticing that she suddenly turned into a cannibalistic monster. Extremely rare.

"Okay, I made you mad. But we just met, little girl."

Back then, the monster turned crazy, instead of resorting to cannibalism as he thought, he took out a blade and tried to cut my throat. But it wasn't that easy. He had a plan B.

"Open your mouth." He ordered me.

"You're not going to do anything to me, are you?" I asked him nervously, but he seemed to be annoyed.

"What a stupid question you just asked. I'm going to be the one to cut out your tongue."

So, several of his henchmen put up with me. My face was full of horror, but none of that stopped that animal from sticking its blade in the middle of my tongue, making it bleed. I screamed loudly in pain. The monster, while laughing, fell off the precipice, being devoured by purple lava. Then I saw his squeleton convulse in a horrific way.

I opened my eyes suddenly, seeing that everything returned to normal, that it was just a nightmare that is not going to come true. In the same way, I was traumatized by that movement.

MATT POV

Nick, Brandon and I started ordering food from outside. We haven't heard from Kenny since he went to his room. So I went to find out what was going on. I entered the room, and found him. Crying, trembling with horror and with his chin on his pillow.

"Hey..." I started to make conversation. "Are you alright Ken?"

He didn't say anything to me, but he kept crying. It was obvious that something was going on in his mind and he didn't want to tell me.

"Everything is fine, Ken. I'm here, I always will be no matter what. Do you understand?"

He nodded, took a deep breath before whispering:

"Promise me that even if they're going to cut out my tongue, or even if they want to traumatize me with a lot of things, you'll always be by my fucking side."

"You won't have any problem with that, I'll always be there for whatever you need. My brother and I will be. But if you don't want to tell me anything about what really happened, then I'll forget the question."

He sighed. "I just want you to stay with me, please..."

"Okay, okay. I'll stay, chicken nugget. Just because you ask me to."

Ken wiped his face, hugging me with that affection that he always has, as I cuddled him for a while. There will never be anyone as friendly, funny, loyal and talented as he was.

"Hey, Nick, Brandon and I ordered pizza. Do you want to come down?"

"It would be fine by me, but I don't want the two of them to notice that I've been crying over a shitty nightmare."

We went to Nick's room, and none of them noticed anything unusual about Kenny, the only thing they noticed was his unexplained tiredness.

[blorbologist]

Kittens AU bc of course

and then two Wild Card AUs of Your Choice

Hmmm to find things I haven't shared with you:

A lot of the inspiration for the more benign aspects of this AU is going to come from my experience with two litters: the one that resulted in Jolie, my lil bastard runt, and Miss Thing + Pam, my Gorls my Criturs

However, a lot of the more dramatic beats are just... inspired by how hard life is for abandoned cats and kittens in general. Because as cute as kittens are, unwanted cats are a real problem and everyone loses when unplanned litters happen :c

I figure Percy actually named Curio - he noticed this pretty cat started hanging around the workshop a month or so before the events of the story. He built her some shelters to keep her warm in the worst of the chill - she was very curious but terrified of him, and he had never seen a stray cat with her colors: hence, Curio. (I asked @insyndiar for name ideas SO nkjgrtn <3)

My backstory for Curio is that she was someone's pet, a kitten taken home by a family who never had cats before. She didn't get spayed before her first heat and got out, and when her owners realized she was pregnant they just... dumped her because they couldn't afford to get her spayed, let alone feed and house a litter of kittens. She's very lost, scared and confused, and hardly more than a kitten herself. :C I figure if she got inside, with consistent meals and care, she'd be quite the sweetheart.

There are plenty of other options for housing the kittens: most sensibly, Percy can just take them on and bring them to his house (ok bourgeoisie boy) instead of practically moving in with Vex. It's just that his place is 40 minutes away, so they first bring the kittens to Vex's to warm them up, and from there it's just... too much of a bother to move them. (Also Vex knows Percy has little experience with animals so she'd rather be on standby in case he calls in a panic because one of them is dreaming and twitching in its sleep and Vex is this normal??)

And for some more AUs!

Let's start with some One for sorrow / Two for joy HCs I'm not sure I'll squeeze into the sequel fic or not:

Allura has PTSD now :D yay :D I'm not sure how much I can devote to it, but being Feebleminded for several days with little food and water, with a dragon and his army actively hunting you? Yeah that'll fuck a girl up. Still unsure if she'll keep her position on the Council or retire as a result.

OOC, the same mixup as canon happens when Grog has Kaylie draw a card from the Deck: Matt initially thinks it's the card for the random magic item, but later retcons it to be the curse. So Kaylie's cursed now! Make of that what you will. :)

I had thought up a scene were Percy and Cass visit some graveless gravestones placed in their parents' and siblings' names before the Thordak fight - however, given how long the chapter was getting + the fact neither Vex nor Vax would see it, I kept it to myself. It would have really made it obvious Percy had decided to leave VM once the world was safe. The remaining de Rolos really just ended up talking about what they remembered of their family, how their people would remember them, and what to do going forward. Cass absolutely made a comment about Vex being nobility as soon as she got the paperwork filed, so, y'know, perfectly suitable to court (they certainly have room in their little family for her), which made Percy Unusually Solemn instead of blushy.

As soon as VM left, Cass cornered Percy in his workshop and absolutely fucking chewed him out. He has friends, he has freedom, things she's absolutely dreamed of having these last five years, and he just - he just threw that all away? She eventually quiets when she realizes he's not responding, he's just so drained and focused on his project. They eventually settle for a hug and some quiet support.

Trinket is actually pretty happy with Cass! He misses Vex of course, but trusts Vax to protect her. Galdric? Verdict's out on Galdric - bears and wolves don't get along as a rule, but this one smells of power and ancient magics.

Oh god this is getting so long erfkneknger uhhh one more AU, let's sayyyy Bashter 2/3 Vampire AU:

Yasha was turned by Obann, which caused her whole Orphanmaker thing and is why she easily get swayed under his control under Bazzoxan despite, yknow, being a vampire in this AU.

I think Jester almost dies, for good, in the final fight against Lucien. Somehow Yasha turns her into a vampire to avoid this, which - severely miffs half the party. But Yasha was just forced to help kill this thing who still is, deep down, her best friend. She's not thinking straight and she can't lose anyone else.

Beau and Yasha help Jester adapt to the whole creature of the night thing. It's a weird irony, that adventurous Jester is forced to become more sedentary like her mom and dad as a result of the whole 'burning in the sunlight' thing. Yasha, being a nomad, has some helpful tips for handling it, but it's definitely a harsh learning curve.

I feel Bad about excluding Fjord from this after watching the M9 reunited, given he and Jester are so fucking cute together there. So? I guess it's Bashter + Fjester. Tusks and fangs look very cute together when they're smiling earnestly at eachother. Fjord was very conflicted about Jes being a vampire initially, given he's familiar with being beholden to terrible power, and keeps gently prodding her to be honest about her feelings about the less pleasant sides to it. So like Polynein with only half the Nein while Cad, Caleb, Veth, Essek and Kingsley all just watch this with varying levels of confusion.

Essek whips up a simple cousin to the light-blocking spell of Rosohna he enchants to the Bashter home, so they don't need to worry quite as much about carefully keeping the windows drawn. He makes a Very Specific Face when Jester makes jokes about him totally being a vampire too.

[laurfilijames]

Thank you to @the-poldarkian @blairsanne @medusas-hairband @shiinata-library for showing interest in my WIPs 💗 Going through each fic to find a scene to share felt really nice.

I hope you enjoy!

Incandescent 2:

Watching a rose-coloured flush wash across his chest and neck, you released his shaft and dug your fingers into the bowl of ice, holding a few cubes between your palms until the cold created a burning sensation. Now that your hands were wet with cold water, you carefully pressed them onto his chest, watching his eyes flutter closed as he breathed through the relief. Before his heated flesh stole away all the cold, you carded your hands up through his chest hair to his neck, feeling his pulse hammer through the thick column, his Adam's apple moving as he swallowed. A contented hum vibrated through him, and soon you felt the heat from his skin radiating back onto your palms, the temporary cooling effect no match for the man below you who always ran as hot as the sun itself.

Durin’s Garage 4:

Your eyes remained closed, relishing in this moment while praying that his lips continued to kiss you, but they flashed open again when Fili removed his hands from you and cursed.

"Shit," he hissed, reaching for a suitable rag to wipe his hands.

"What is it?"

"I got oil all over your neck." Unable to find one that would clean them, he began rubbing them on his shirt, only making matters worse, and held them up in defeat, his dimples deepening in his cheeks as he grinned at you. You rubbed your neck and checked your palms, confirming there was, in fact, oil smeared into your dewy skin, and chose to rub it across your chest.

Fili's eyes widened at your act, and you didn't miss the dilation of his pupils as you stepped toward him again with a smile on your face that matched his that was full of temptation.

You gripped at the bottom of his shirt, beginning to lift it up slowly so the backs of your fingers grazed against the trail of hair that disappeared below his jeans.

"It's fine," you purred. "I like when you get me dirty."

And finally, Words Unspoken 3:

You couldn't even manage to make her stay using your powers, could you? Mike's indictment hovered over him like it was floating around just outside the covers. Were you here because you wanted to be, or did you just fall for the shit-talking god whose only appeal was the charm dripping from his lips?

Anders let out a growl resulting from the mix of pleasure and resentment, and as if you could sense his turmoil and blatant uncertainty, you cupped his face and kissed him with purpose, allowing him to find reprieve in being against you.

He carded his hands through your hair and looked at you with a penetrating stare, his voice dropping and words sounding far-off when he spoke.

"I need you to tell me-" but he stopped, the heightened control and slight tingling sensation in his veins vanishing just as quickly as it came. He blinked and when he made eye contact with you again it felt raw, like you were looking at just him. "Tell me again," he requested, his voice honest and not laced with anything that would sway your thoughts.