#huh its been a while since they've gotten to do much

[aectpen]

STRAWBERRY ✯ 𝙕𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝘼𝙊!

m.list

synopsis: 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐥

pairing: Zhang Hao of ZB1 and fem!oc

status: ongoing

chapter 5: haohao

it's been two nights since rina last saw hao, but a few weeks since he first brought her to the park. they've been exchanging texts frequently. they've even gotten comfortable facetiming while hao had some downtime. rina never thought she'd come to terms with even being acquainted with him let alone practically become the best of friends. he would wish her good luck on her shifts at the convenience store while she'd wish him good luck on his performances.

it's the closest she's ever gotten to anyone other than haemin even in such a short period of time. it's usually very difficult for her to become close with someone, but he made it feel easier. he initiated conversations which took pressure off of her.

she was hanging out with haemin today while she did some shopping at the mall. rina always found herself following haemin like a lost puppy.

haohao🐼 sent a message what r u up to?

riri🐼 nothing much just following haemin while she shops

haohao🐼 park tonight?

riri🐼 oki i'll bring uno cards for us

haohao🐼 i'll bring the ice cream

"rina are you even listening?" haemin sounded annoyed.

"huh?"

"this one or this one." she held up two different necklaces.

"that one."

"okay, thank you. i'll get this one." she chose the necklace rina didn't choose.

"hey, i have a fashion sense." rina crossed her arms.

"yeah but it's not a good one." rina held up her middle finger in response.

the left the mall looking for a cafe to get some drinks. "look its the zb1 fancafe event oh we gotta go." haemin tugged her arm.

"um can't we go to starbucks or something." rina suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the idea of fangirling over them.

"come on, don't be weird. i'll make sure you get a zhang hao sticker." rina bit her tongue and let her continue dragging her.

they ordered their drinks and received freebies with them. rina received a zhang hao photocard and sticker and immediately stuffed it in her bag.

rina approached the park looking around to see if hao was there yet.

"BOO!"

rina screamed and held her chest. "oh my god you're so sick for that. i almost had a heart attack!" she hit his chest.

"it was kinda funny you gotta admit." he held his stomach from laughing so hard.

"ha. ha." rina walked to their table.

"laugh a little." he sat next to her and poked her side.

she dug through her bag to find the uno deck, but something fell out in the process.

the photocard from earlier.

she stepped on it after gasping, but he got ahold of it before she could cover it all.

"so i really am your bias." he laughed while holding the photocard up to his face.

"you wish. that's haemin's not mine." she responded matter-of-factly.

"you can admit it riri." he began calling her this nickname when saving her phone number.

"it's rina to you." she scrunched up her nose.

he grabbed her phone and put the card in the back of her phone case. "there."

"whatever." she playfully rolled her eyes while dealing out the cards.

they played about a billion rounds and rina won just about all of them.

"nope. rematch." hao refused the defeat every time. "i don't know if you have x ray vision or something because this can't be possible."

"i'm not new to this, i'm true to this hao." rina patted her own back. "what did you do today? i forgot to ask you."

"we were recording." he brought his index finger up to his lips.

"will i ever get sneak peeks?"

"i'll have to think about that."

"you know it feels weird not to tell haemin that i'm friends with you now. it feels like a big secret." rina confessed. she did feel guilty whenever she texted hao while she was around. if haemin was doing that she'd seriously want to know. they tell each other everything.

"i understand, but for now let's just keep it to ourselves. i haven't even told my members about you."

"um ouch much?" rina held he heart. "i'm just too hot and amazing, they couldn't handle that. i understand."

it got to that point in the night where they'd wordlessly stare at each other. this was when rina said in her mind, what are we?

they'd just wait it out and say their goodbyes, neither of them ever wanted to leave.

rina elbowed his side playfully and got up. "don't stare too long or you'll fall in love with me." she held her hand out to get him up. before she could let go, he pulled her into a hug. they stayed like that for a while. his cologne filling up her nose always brought comfort to her. it was their first hug, so she wanted it to last forever.

she craned her neck up to look at his face and he just smiled down at her. "oh, rina"

"oh, zhang hao." she countered.

they reluctantly pulled away from each other, gathering their things walking towards the park exit. they stood next to each other quietly. they both didn't want to take the steps away from each other.

"bye bye hao."

"bye bye rina."

hao returned to the dorms and tiptoed back in like he always did. it was usually half asleep and half awake. this time all of them were awake watching a movie. he casually plopped down next to hanbin like he wasn't out for hours. they got used to it and didn't question the nightly routine.

"so, what's her name?" gyuvin asked, earning a slap in the back of his head from taerae.

"who?" hao tried his best to stop the heat from rushing to his cheeks.

"oh, he totally has a girlfriend." gunwook looked at him in disbelief.

"what? she's not my girlfriend!"

"so, there is a girl." hanbin punched hao's arm. "how could you keep this from us?"

"we're just friends hanging out, there's nothing to tell."

"does she know you?" jiwoong asked.

"yeah, she found out pretty much."

"ooooooh he's getting in trouble!" yujin clapped.

"it's not like that. i've seen her before debut i just never showed my face or told her my name." hao shrugged. "she's just my friend, don't worry. she hasn't even told her friend that's a fan of ours."

"okay, don't let the company find out." hanbin played the movie again.

riri🐼 sent a message goodnight haohao

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #207: Beyond a Shadow...

May, 1981

“After countless centuries HE LIVES AGAIN! THE SHADOW LORD COMETH!”

He cometh riding upon a tornado like its a mighty sand worm. What a guy, this Shadow Lord.

Honestly seeing the Avengers tumbling about in a tornado cracks me up every time. Especially Wonder Man who looks nonchalant about it aside from being ass over head.

So I don’t think we’ve really talked about it but this period of Avengers is kind of between main writers.

Since issue 200 and its four writers, we’ve had David Michelinie and Roger Stern on the two-part adaptation of that Ultron novel, David Michelinie for that weird story with the Crawlers in the sewers; Jim Shooter, David Michelinie, and Bob Budiansky for the Yellow Claw two-parter, Bill Mantlo for the everything is on fire story and now Bob Budiansky and Danny Fingeroth for this issue and the next. We start getting a consistent writer again starting in #211.

I wonder what was going on behind the scenes around this time.

Anyway, onward.

So we start the issue with who I assume is the Shadow Lord. But he’s not riding a tornado, like Pecos Bill. He’s standing on an invisible ocean structure of some kind. Apparently a mysterious invisible ocean structure of some kind that hasn’t been seen for almost two millennia.

And yet, someone has kindly painted the title of the issue in English on the mysterious invisible ocean structure of some kind.

Some guy, maybe the Shadow Lord: “The dreaded time has at last arrived, the moment I prayed would never come... the moment I knew would surely come. He is soon to return, and only the power entrusted to me is capable of stopping him. And even that power may not prove sufficient.”

“With every passing second, my city and myself pass ever more fully into the Earth’s plane of existence. Would that the cause of my return here from the barren vastnesses of the Shadow World was as joyous as the glow of this new day’s sun.”

“But the grim responsibility of an entire race is my unwelcome inheritance. It is a duty I cannot shirk. Alas, I must take what comfort I can in knowing that no matter what the result of the coming debacle, I will at least be free to rejoin Ayshera, she whom my heart holds most dear... though whether our reunion will be in celebration of victory -- or in darkest mourning for the ashes of this planet -- none willy truly know until the final battle.”

Some Guy sure is helpfully monologuing his entire life story here. And even so he manages to be vague, inside his own mind, about the nature of the threat he faces. Way to preserve the mystery, Guy.

Also, he’s from the Shadow World so he may be a Yugioh.

Anyway, as one might expect, a city appearing in the middle of the ocean out of nowhere is of alarm so US aircraft carrier Poseidon shows up and starts yelling at Some Guy.

Some Guy decides that they sound mad but he doesn’t have time for lengthy explanations so instead he gestures and the winds and waves start whipping up.

Welp! Seems like the US Poseidon is going on an Adventure!

Meanwhile, Mt. Vesuvius!

Yup. Its that kind of story, the kind partially set at Vesuvius.

Some archeologists are digging in the foothills of the mountain in what has been a fruitless several weeks of archeology but one of the archeologists finds a hand shaped object which may be a hand.

They mistake it for a statue at first but realize its actually a perfectly preserved lava mummified corpse.

And while they’re busy congratulating each other about how wealthy and famous this discovery will make them, they fail to notice the hand moving its finger shaped fingers.

And elsewhere again, the best damn thing.

A cowboy shouts “SLAP LEATHER, YA GALOOT!” and then gets shot by a cannon.

This isn’t the Wild West of the America, this is a spaghetti western film set and the director is very upset at Black Bart’s shitty death acting. How hard is it to get hit by a cannon and then to fall down and pretend to die like you just got hit by a cannon?

You wouldn’t think there’s a wrong way to get shot by a cannon but you’d be wrong.

Simon Williams, Wonder Man: “I’m sorry, Mr. Bertolini. It’s just that, being Wonder Man, it’s hard for me to pretend those cannonballs are hurting me when I can hardly feel them.”

Mr. Bertolini: “True, signore Wonder Man, but I hired you because I thought you could-a act!”

Oh yeah, Mr. Bertolini talks like Mario. So that’s another tally for Marvel’s respect of other countries and cultures.

Aside from this being the seventh take on a ‘guy gets hit by a cannonball, beefs it’ scene, cannonballs are expensive. The cannonball that bounced off Wonder Man’s midsection looks fine but maybe you can’t just reuse them.

The filming breaks for lunch and Wonder Man wanders over to where his moral support is.

His moral support, of course, being Beast.

And he is moral supporting but he’s also multitasking with some women because even in Italy, women are just fascinated by blue fur. Furries are universal.

Wonder Man doesn’t feel supported though and this lousy spaghetti western film is a good opportunity for him.

If you remember, the last project we saw him get was as a cheetah print leotard wearing muscle man on a kids show and he got fired for making the host Uncle Elmer look ridiculous.

(Revealed to Simon’s chagrin in #194, lost to mishap in #201)

Being in an actual movie, even a spaghetti western, is the boost his career needs.

(I think we need to confront the actual possibility that Wonder Man is not a very good actor. But he might be a good stunt man if he can learn to act like things hurt)

Wonder Man’s publicist Rachel Palmer shows up as well and wow. Rachel has never appeared before and given the fillery nature of these chaotic no consistent writer times may not appear beyond this story. But you instantly get the sense of their working relationship.

And they have good banter too.

Wonder Man: “Wait. There she is -- Rachel Palmer -- the apple of my eye, the light of my life, the bane of my existence!”

Rachel: “If you delivered your lines that well in front of the cameras, Simon, you might actually keep this job -- which’ll make it just a little easier to hype you as a star back in the States.”

Wonder Man: “Your encouraging words are a constant source of inspiration, Rachel. But I’d appreciate it if you’d confine them to your press releases.”

Rachel: “You’ve got me all wrong, Simon. I hope this whole thing turns out well for you. Really.”

Wonder Man: “And for yourself. After all, if you make me a big name, you can ride along on my coat-tails and become a media hotshot -- instead of being stuck as a flak for Grade D Westerns.”

Rachel: “No, Simon. I--”

Wonder Man: “Forget it, lady. I’m a big boy. I know that all’s fair in love -- and show biz.”

And then he walks off towards his trailer, satisfied at getting the last word with someone whose job it is to make him look good. Beast says that he thinks Wonder Man was too hard on her and that Rachel probably digs Wonder Man.

Wonder Man: “Maybe you’re right. But I still can’t get over feeling that Rachel’s motivated by sheer self-interest and everything else places a distant second.”

(I’m pretty sure she does dig Wonder Man because unbeknowst to Wonder Man and Beast, she follows them to the trailer, wanting to convince Wonder Man that she’s not as self-serving as he thinks and also to invite him to a romantic dinner)

Anyway, Wonder Man’s social life isn’t important. At all. And not right now. Because when he and Beast go into Wonder Man’s trailer and discover the Avengers’ emergency signal briefcase is BEEP BEEPing.

It’s Cap and there’s an emergency situation that demands immediate investigation.

A brand new island city has just popped up in the middle of the Mediterranean slash off the coast of Majorca from out of nowhere and the government wants the Avengers to investigate.

Presumably the US government.

Because if I know anything about mysterious island cities appearing from nowhere - and I know exactly one thing - by jingo, they start wars!

Beast is enjoying his vacation so asks why the US Sixth Fleet doesn’t handle it instead. They’re actually paid to do things while on an ocean. But Iron Man just says that the fleet has had problems.

And with a little reading comprehension we can guess what problems. Because we’ve seen it. Its not a mystery.

Iron Man has a Stark plane sent to pick Beast and Wonder Man up and fly them to Majorca. Or somewhere thereabouts. I don’t know if Majorca has or had an airport.

Wonder Man bemoans that he’ll never be a movie star if he keeps leaving the set to go have exciting comic book superhero adventures.

Which is a little like complaining about being too handsome. Ya jerk.

And remember how Rachel Palmer was peeping on them? No? Scroll up a little and look at the above panels again. Back? And remember how Rachel Palmer was peeping on them?

Her media senses are tingling and telling her that she should definitely go check out the city that appeared in the middle of the ocean. She’s much intrepid for not a reporter.

Meanwhile, some slice of life filler fluff that doesn’t matter but that I find delightful.

And if this liveblog isn’t about sharing things that I find delightful then what is it about? Exhaustively recounting plots to comic books from decades ago? That’s just a side benefit!

The call to action back at Avengers Mansion comes right when Wanda is having Vision move a couch.

Vision: “Wanda, while it may be true that I am capable of moving this couch about all day, it seems a gross misuse of my android abilities to do so.”

Wanda: “Maybe if we just move those shelves then you just put it down there. We’re Avengers, not interior decorators.

This is the content I eagerly crave.

So back in not America, Beast and Wonder Man complain about the plane ride but passing over the ocean they see what trouble the Sixth Fleet was having.

Some Guy, Possibly Shadow Lord managed to strand the Poseidon aircraft carrier fully on a deserted island.

And I was wrong about the plane taking them to Majorca. Its apparently taking them to Poseidon because it lands on the ship’s airstrip so the two Avengers can consult the stranded sailors about what the heck is going on.

Captain Paul Garrison tells them that they were investigating the mysterious new island/city (not mentioning that they were also yelling at it) when a tidal wave suddenly swelled up and carried the Poseidon several miles and left it on this island.

And apparently the same thing happened to any other plane and ship that attempted to approach the island. Thwarted by winds and waves.

Damn you, nature!

Anyway, its all rather mysterious but Wonder Man figures

“Well, we were sent here to investigate. So... let’s investigate.”

And Wonder Man rockets off to investigate the city. While giving Beast a piggyback ride.

Which. Amazing image. Bless this issue for its bounty of amazing images.

Bear in mind that the captain said that the aircraft carrier was carried several miles. Wonder Man’s belt rockets have impressive duration considering he can’t be carrying much fuel on his person.

When they reach the city, they find a localized hurricane hovering right above it. But Wonder Man just flies down through the eye of the storm to get to the city.

Some Guy Shadow Lord is surprised because he had been expecting big boats and planes. Not a guy with rocket pants and a blue gorilla riding on his back.

But he’s able to shoo them away just as easily as any big thing, with a wave of his hand summoning a wind that carries Wonder Man and passenger Beast away from the city.

Meanwhile, Rachel Palmer is also here. She spent all her money renting a plane and then a boat but she’s going to get to that mysterious city and get an exclusive inside story!

So is she a journalist? Or what? She’s Lois Laneing but as far as we’ve heard her job is to convince people they want to see Wonder Man do stuff in movies.

Wonder Man spots her and tries to fly to her rescue but two water spouts spurt up to ruin this rescue plan.

The first one launches Rachel’s boat into the air and smashes it to pieces. The second blasts Wonder Man out of the sky preventing him from saving Rachel from falling to her death.

But unseen by either of the Avengers, a strong breeze safely lowers Rachel to the ground of the city.

Because what is an Avengers comic without men developing weird and intense feelings for a nearby woman.

Some Guy: “How beautiful she is, how like my own Ayshera. And, also like Ayshera, she is courageous... and more than a little headstrong.”

Cool. I hope this doesn’t get weird. Or that we’re not asked to sympathize with a guy whose only ‘sympathetic’ trait is a possessive attraction to a woman. Looking at you, Living Laser. And, I guess, Graviton.

Anyway, Wonder Man doesn’t see Rachel getting rescued by an airbender so he works himself into a lather.

Wonder Man: “That sinks it! It’s one thing to attack naval ships and planes... one thing to attack Avengers... But when he kills an innocent woman who could do him no harm -- that guy’s gonna answer to WONDER MAN!”

Honestly, I think you’re selling Rachel short. I’m sure she could do harm if she put her mind to it.  Like, what if she covered him in bees. That would suck.

Anyway, Wonder Man rages through the city’s protective winds and then gets SAFUUSH!’d between two walls of solid water.

He’s left sputtering and disoriented in the ocean. At least until some hooks hook down from the Quinjet, hook Wonder Man, and then hook him up into the ship.

I didn’t know that the Quinjet had hooks for grabbing people out of the ocean but I am thrilled.

Ideally, the Avengers would use their newfound ability to vaudeville hook people into orbit more often. I can think of so many instances where it would be useful, or at least hilarious.

Anyway, Wonder Man apprises the other Avengers into the situation.

Meanwhile, not dead Rachel Palmer wakes up and finds the Shadow Lord brood slouching in a chair and watching her while she was unconscious.

She is alarmed that he’s just sitting there staring but he basically goes ‘DON’T WORRY I READ YOUR MIND TO LEARN YOUR NAME AND LANGUAGE’ and then decides to explain his entire backstory.

Shadow Lord: “The city in which we stand is the Shadow Realm and I... I am called the Shadow Lord!”

DAMMIT I KNEW HE WAS A YUGIOH!

Anyway.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO! Give or take! An ancient tribe decided to move to an island to isolate themselves from “primitive, superstitious neighbors who feared [their] more advanced society.”

Off to a good start with this guy.

Free of the mundane concerns of living in a world that hated and feared them, they were able to peacefully ALL BECOME WIZARDS WHO COULD CONTROL THE FORCES OF NATURE.

Maybe the X-Men are onto something.

So the Shadow Lord’s people learned to control, winds, waves, earth, and maybe fire so what I’m saying is that it was an entire island of Avatars.

Boom, sequel idea. Give me millions of dollars, Nickelodeon.

“Though veiled in mystery, rumors of our existence spread throughout the world. We were feared and shunned by the other peoples of the Earth -- which allowed us to continue our studies undisturbed.”

“Those who mistrusted anything they could not comprehend... they called us witches and sorcerers. Those who knew and understood us called us... the Earth Lords!”

“For centuries our sole purposes were to augment our knowledge of the Earth’s forces and to maintain the natural balance between these forces. Otherwise, we had no interest in the day-to-day affairs of the outside world.”

Maybe I was wrong about them being Yugioh. Maybe they’re the Time Lords from the Doctor Who.

Anyway, the Earth Lords were happy sitting on their island being Avatars but over the eons they sensed a disturbance in the Force, for I must reference all the things.

"Over the eons, we became aware of a seemingly immortal, human force of awesome destruction, one who could potentially plunge mankind into an irreversible slide to its doom.”

“Singlehandedly he could destroy towns. With an army beside him -- countries. Time and again, he did. It was when he finally joined the legions of Rome at the peak of the Empire’s power... that we first feared the balance of nature was in danger of being destroyed. Rome could forever take over the world.”

The Earth Lords tried on several occasions to destroy this menace. We don’t get to know what constituted these efforts and that’s disappointing because of what the final successful attempt was.

By 79 AD, they knew he was on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius so they caused it to erupt, just to bury this one guy under hundreds of tons of rock and ash and lava.

Mission accomplished.

Except for the little thing where the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius also wiped out Pompeii and Herculaneum and other cities people know significantly less about, killing over 20,000 people.

As things go, that’s pretty dire amount of incidental deaths to kill one person. And the Earth Lords realize that this was a pretty major fuck up.

So they decided that they couldn’t be trusted with their powers and that they would disperse into the outside world to live and die as people do and have their powers dissipate over the years.

But before they did that, they discovered that the seemingly immortal guy they hit in the face with a volcano was somehow still alive somehow. Just trapped. Under hundreds of tons of rock and ash and lava that cooled into rock.

They killed thousands and didn’t even permanently kill the dude they were trying to kill? That’s pretty incompetent. They really can’t be trusted with their power.

Since he eventually might get out and resume being a dick, the Earth Lords drew lots and chose one of their number, the Some Guy later known as the Shadow Lord from the Shadow Realm, to forever watch over the city alone and await the day that the immortal guy would again walk the land.

And to help him solo the dude that took an entire city of people and a volcano to deal with, the Earth Lords concentrated all of their powers into this one Shadow Lord guy and taught him how to send himself and the city into a twilight plane of nothingness which is back to being called the Shadow World.

So this might also be Twilight Princess.

For two thousand years the Shadow Lord in the Shadow Realm in the Shadow World observed Earth and waited. And now, it seems that the seemingly immortal dude is back.

Rachel: “But I don’t understand. How can one man threaten a whole world -- and live for thousands of years in solid rock?”

Shadow Lord: “This is no mere man, my dear... this is the Berserker!”

And speak of the devil and we scene transition to him because we scene transition to Pompeii.

The lava mummified human figure that seemed to move before has stopped beating about with finger twitches and has gotten up to rampage around and backhand archeologists.

Don’t feel bad though. They were in it for the money and fame, those fiends.

Back at the city of Shadow Realm, the Avengers suddenly show up as a full team and basically enter swinging. Iron Man even blasts a wall for no reason.

Rachel tries to tell the Avengers that Shadow Lord means no harm but the Avengers can’t hear her over the sounds of Wonder Man loudly reassuring Rachel that they’re here to rescue her.

Iron Man exploding a wall for no reason probably also didn’t help.

So Rachel instead tries to tell Shadow Lord that the Avengers are a force for good. While he can hear her, he chooses to ignore her.

Using his powers of being the Avatar, he tries to pull a rocks fall but nobody dies. Rocks falling is something the Avengers deal with panache and also lasers and punches.

Some panache. Beast’s skycycle gets hit by a rock and he ends up leaping onto one of the spires of the city to avoid crash. And then, like a cat who climbs a tree except its a building in this context, Beast has a hard time figuring out how to get down from there.

While the larger Avengers punch and laser boulders and jump onto spires, Wasp just flies right in and shoots Shadow Lord in the eyebrow.

Amazing. Another good use of Wasp powers, being able to get in close while the opponent thinks the team is distracted at a distance.

Shadow Lord is none too pleased to be shot in the eyebrow by a tiny insect-sized flying woman and decides that a particularly karmic punishment is required.

Shadow Lord: “An insect-sized flyling woman! What sorcery is this? But if an insect you be, then it is only fitting I ensnare you in a cocoon of living wind... a cocoon which will grow and envelop your so-called fellow Avengers!”

And as Rachel still pleads with Shadow Lord to knock it off, he summons a giant tornado that suck in all of the Avengers (save Beast stuck up on his spire).

Shadow Lord even has the tornado carry him along, the better to continue mocking the Avengers as he carries them to their doom.

Shadow Lord: “You hopeless children! Did you actually think to defeat me, to deter me from my purpose? I who who command the earth and wind themselves to do my bidding?”

Yeah, dude. Definitely not sounding like a supervillain now. Cannot fathom why the Avengers are assuming you are one.

Iron Man manages to escape the tornado by firing his boot-jets at maximum, sending him flying free with a SHA-BOOSH! but also carrying him far away because momentum.

Shadow Lord then creates a whirlpool in the ocean and has his tornado carry the Avengers towards it. The whirlpool goes to the bottom of the ocean. Which then cracks open to reveal bubbling magma.

That’s right. The Shadow Lord is going to shoot them out of a tornado, into a whirlpool and into magma beneath the ocean floor.

Its. At least more precise than hitting them with a volcano, I’ll give him that. Definitely feels like overkill to go from rocks to tornado-whirlpool-magma execution but its definitely more precise.

Somewhat more precise.

Because when Iron Man manages to slow himself down to turn back he notices that a yacht is being swamped by the waves Shadow Lord is churning up.

And because of heroism, he takes the time to scoop the yacht out of the ocean and rest it safely on an island.

Geez. There’s a lot of boats being beached in this story.

Shadow Lord actually sees this. And a thought starts penetrating his thick skull that maybe he should have listened to Rachel.

Shadow Lord: “The armored one paused in his attack on me to save those people -- innocent people... which is more than we were able to do 2,000 years ago. Perhaps, as Rachel says, they are not agents of evil...”

He decides that he’ll stop throwing them out of a tornado into a whirlpool into magma but he doesn’t get the chance to put that train of thought on the tracks.

Beast waves Iron Man over. From his perch on the spire he’s noticed that the building he’s on is cracking from the strain of all the power Shadow Lord is throwing around even though he’s not been throwing it at that building.

So Beast deduces that the city is key to Shadow Lord’s power in some way and should have the shit beaten out of it.

And as Iron Man starts punching some wall, Shadow Lord doubles over in pain and the tornado he was about to dissipate dissipates.

The other Avengers get free and decide hey, follow the leader.

Jocasta: “The battle has truly just begun. Malevolent power such as this must not be allowed to exist. We must follow Iron Man’s lead and destroy the city -- totally!”

So unnoticed by the Avengers as they level the city into a pile of rubble, Shadow Lord staggers and swoons at Rachel’s feet.

But even dying, he still has some exposition bottled up.

To be fair, he’s been isolated for 2,000 years with no one to talk to.

He explains that the powers of an entire population of Avatars was way too great to be contained in one squishy mortal body so the powers were instead imbued in the city itself.

And with the city destroyed, it can no longer serve as a source of power and also can’t keep him alive anymore.

He’s honestly not too broken up over it. Since the Avengers are valiant and worthy, they can pick up his unfinished business while he goes and dies and gets to reunite with his girlfriend who died sometime during those 2,000 years.

Shadow Lord: “But please understand... I am as much to blame for today’s events as anyone... I bear you no malice... we misjudged each other. I have done my best... no more can be expected of a man... perhaps you will succeed... where I have failed. So do not mourn my passing... for me, death is but the long-awaited door that opens to my beloved... Ayshera.”

And the Avengers realize belatedly ‘we done goofed.’

“A sad -- and confused -- group of heroes grimly watches the passing of the Shadow Lord... and only then does the cruel truth reveal itself to them: what they had thought to be one of their greatest triumphs is instead... one of their most bitter defeats.”

Oh, and as I expect they’ll soon find out, the Berserker has been kicking the Italian army’s ass near Pompeii so that’s probably escalating into a bit of a situation and they just accidentally killed the guy who could have helped with that. Although in fairness, he deliberately ignored Rachel when she told him that the Avengers were heroes.

Like he said, he fucked up too.

Still, while its a bit of a Marvel tradition to have mighty misunderstanding fights, I don’t think they tend to result in people dying. One for the history books.

Next time: the Berserker.

Follow @essential-avengers​. Also like and reblog. And send me Avengers triumphs that are way more impressive than beating up a city.

[mikkomacko]

Domestic Wolf 2: The Return of Bucky Barnes

Hello everyone! I’m back with more Domestic Wolf, this time in a bit of a flashback. If you haven’t read the first part here it is!

Part 3

Thanks for reading!

Warnings: Angst, Smut, Mentions of death, Sad Bucky :(

2023

The address in Queens sits useless in his text messages, ready for him to click on for directions but he doesn't need it. Truth is, he doesn't even need to read it anymore considering it's been burned into his mind since she first sent it to him. Almost a week ago the text had come through with the address, followed by a sweet message of "come home soon or I'll kick your ass".

It wasn't the first time she told him that and he's certain it won't be last.

By the time he's at the iron gate of the building, hands tucked into the pockets of his leather jacket, Bucky's feeling like the man that would show up on her doorstep in Romania all those years ago, guided by loneliness and guilt. Back then he had nothing but her. Now he has nothing but her. It's like stepping back in time, back to the apartment he'd hide out in for as long as he could, grounding himself to a new world with the help of a woman that always cared for him. She picked him back up after Hydra, dusted him off and kissed the wounds better. And he knows she'll do it again now, more dusting and kisses for the fact that he just lost another 5 years of his life and his best friend.

Bucky doesn't know this world, doesn't trust it. Even when he was on the run he didn't trust the world. It's why he always kept them hidden, only took her out into the city late at night when he knew he'd could keep her safe, keep her as his little secret. It's also why he refused to let her travel up-state for him, refused to let her meet him outside on the sidewalk. He doesn't know who or what could be out here, and until he does, she's remaining hidden.

A quick glance up and down the street, Bucky let's out a nervous puff of air and opens the faux lock on the gate. She had told him on the phone that it wasn't real, at one time it had been but it broke awhile ago and was never replaced. He hated it then and he hates it now, so he makes a mental note to get her landlord to replace it.

Through the entryway, up the flights of stairs, and to the fifth floor. Maybe he should be looking around, taking more note of the details of this building but he can't bring himself to do it right now because his girl is waiting for him. She's been waiting for him since he left to Wakanda 7 years ago and he's tired of it. He wants- no needs - to see her right now.

5B. A dark blue door with a little rug in front that reads "Hello, is it me you're looking for" with a depiction of who Bucky believes to be Lionel Richie but he's not sure. Y/n liked a lot of different musicians. It's hard to keep track of who sings what.

Bucky's boots have barely touched the mat before the door is ripping open. His eyes meet hers, tears already welling on her waterline and Bucky's sting with tears of his own. Body moving instinctively, he steps into the apartment, kicking the door shut with his foot and reaching for her waist.

"Doll..."

"Bucky..."

She flings herself at him with enough force to knock him over if it weren't for the serum running through him, legs around his hips and arms around his neck. He tucks his face into her neck, fingers trembling as they grip her back, her shoulders, her hips, anywhere he can get his hands on. It's surreal, holding her again. He hasn't felt her skin, heard her voice, kissed her lips since he went under after Zemo scrambled his brain again.

"I missed you, so much Bucky." She whispers, voice cracking under the stress of the sentiment, and he's reminded that while it's been a long time for him, it's been even longer for her. He died. He was gone, wiped from the Earth and she had no idea if he was coming back or not. Had the roles been reversed, had he been the one left standing here while she was reduced to dust, he can't imagine staying as sane as she has. He has a feeling an unwelcomed friend would've returned and he probably would have done things to pile onto his ever present guilt. Another reason why he doesn't deserve her.

"It's ok sweetheart," he promises, voice thick. "I'm back and I'm not going anywhere, ok?" She pulls back from him, just enough to cup his face in her right hand. Her thumb brushes over his cheek bone, wiping away tears he didn't know he shed, and he takes a moment to admire her.

Her hair is longer, face thinner, and dark circles sit under her swollen eyes. She looks exhausted, like she's been holding the weight of the world on her shoulders for far too long but her eyes hold all the joy in the world. She's happy and beautiful and even better than he remembered.

"I can lock you up in here," she offers, bottom lip trembling but still smiling. "they'd never find you again."

He can't stop himself. He kisses her for the first time in years, soaks up her startled gasp and replaces it with a hum of contentment. Her fingers tangle in his hair, nudging his lips even closer to hers, and he grips the back of her neck to remind her that he's here, he'll always be here.

"Just you and me, huh?" He murmurs, mouths still hovering close. She smiles shakily, tilting her head to kiss the corner of his mouth and giggling when his beard tickles her lips.

Just Bucky and his girl.

~

His jacket finds its way to the floor of the entryway, a pool of leather on the light wood panels. His boots are kicked off, toppled haphazardly next to her shoes by the door. Two leather gloves are thrown onto the table leading to the living room. Her shirt sits with his, layered on top of each other in the living room. She's somehow managed to wiggle a hand between the two of them, enough to unbutton and lower the zipper of his black jeans. In a room he doesn't care to admire yet, sat on the edge of the large matress with her on his thighs, Bucky's breaths tremble as y/n ghosts her fingers over his left shoulder. The last time she saw him like this, his arm was still made of the same silver metal that had ruined so many lives, hurt so many people. And yeah he'd gotten this one in order to fight another war, one he lost before actually winning, but at least this time he was fighting for the side he actually believes in.

He reminds himself of that when she kisses over his heart. "They're gone," she murmurs, pointer finger trailing over what used to be scar tissue, mangled flesh, and nail marks.

"They're there if you look hard enough."

She looks up at him through her eyelashes, understanding the double meaning. Shuri couldn't erase them entirely, not on his skin and not in his soul.

"The good thing about scars," she says, "is that they don't hurt you anymore. And eventually you accept the weight of them."

He kisses her again, unable to voice his appreciation and love for her. His fingers slip under the band of her jeans, digging into the soft flesh and her own dominant hand finds it's way into his pants, groping at the chub on the inside of his thighs and ghosting over the bulge in his boxers. Bucky manages to pull her bottoms down, nudging her up to her feet so she can kick them off.

Giggling, she presses a sloppy kiss to his chin before dropping to her knees between his thighs. A kiss to the scar just above his belly button pulls a laugh from him, Bucky burying his fingers in her hair to keep it from falling in her face. Her fingers grip the sides of his jeans and boxers, and he lifts his hips so she can pull them both down in one go.

Maybe they should be talking, reacquainting with one another. After all, he knows nothing about how she got here. Where's she working? Why'd she pick Queens to live? Why did she leave Romania? What's she been doing the past five years? But maybe they need to find each other physically first. Because it's been so long since they've touched each other, loved each other. And this is how it started all those years ago. The first real thing Bucky was able to give to her after Hydra was his body. That was all he had, and luckily for him she accepted it and cherished it. For the first time since the 40s his body had been used for good.

Maybe that's what they both need again.

Bucky finds himself sprawled out on the bed, head on her pillows and hands on her waist as she climbs on top of him. Their mouths meet again, a soft groan leaving his lips as she threads her fingers through his hair. Out of habit he reaches for her bedside table, sitting up just slightly to open the drawer. Y/n moves her kisses to his jaw, breath hot on his skin. By the time he's registered that's he's reaching for condoms that probably aren't there, his fingers catch on a familiar box.

"How long have these been here doll?" He asks, praying to the Gods that they're not expired. Or even worse, that they'd been there for someone else to use. The thought makes him ache so painfully he'd rather have his brain fried again than imagine someone else loving on his girl.

She pulls back, meeting his eyes with a cheeky smile. "A week."

A week. About the time she got that first phone call from him, the call that confirmed Steve's and the Avengers success in bringing everyone back. She went out and bought him condoms as soon as she found out that he was alive. Needy girl.

"Went shopping for me sweetheart?" He teases, pecking her lips and tearing open the box. He digs out a foil, tossing the box off to the side, hearing it clatter to the floor.

Laughing, she kisses him again. "What can I say, I missed you Sarge." Bucky's dick throbs, groaning dramatically at the name. She occasionally called him Sarge back in Romania, after he'd come to terms with the memories that plagued and confused him. Sarge made him comfortable. He knew he used to be a Sergeant, could feel it deep in his bones that that was a title he held with pride. Hearing her say it to him, in a way that had his spine tingling. Like she was proud of him too. Bucky will never be able to explain how good that makes him feel.

She takes the packet from his fingers, kissing the tip of his nose with a coy smile as she opens it. He barely gets the chance to grip the back of her neck and bring her lips back to his before she's gripping him in her hand, stroking him a couple times and giggling through his choked gasp. The condom is rolled down his length, her fingers familiar and comforting on his skin, welcomed.

"Come on doll," he whispers, lashes fluttering as she drags the head of him through her soaked folds. Then she's sinking down on him, slowly easing his cock deeper and deeper. Bucky's toes curls, stomach swirling, and skin burning in pleasure.

"Oh God," y/n breaths, nails digging into Bucky's chest as her nose scrunches and her eyes fall shut. He takes a hold of her waist, sitting up against the headboard so he can pull her chest closer to his. She moves with him easily, melting in his hold when he presses his lips to her shoulder. His right hand drops to cup her ass, pulling her hips up and then guiding them back down until she's carefully riding him.

"Let me hear you baby," he requests, brushing his lips under her ear. "haven't heard your voice in so long."

Y/n's fingers tug at his hair, drawing his mouth back to hers for a brief kiss. "Haven't felt you in so long, Buck," she whispers back, teasingly. His cock pulses as she rolls her hips on him.

"Been waiting for me?" He asks, dragging his lips down her collar bone. She nods, a breathy "Yes" escaping her above him. "Poor doll, waiting for me all these years."

"Worth it," she says with conviction. "you're always worth it."

A kiss over her heart, Bucky digging his nose into her soft skin to feel her heartbeat. He pulls her down on his cock, grinning when the beat stutters in time with her gasp. He loves it, loves hearing her, feeling her. Unable to help himself any longer, Bucky digs his heels into the sheets and starts fucking up into her, hips meeting hips.

The noises she makes, the moans of his name make his belly tighten and his cock twitch, enough to have him nearing his end far sooner than he hoped. It's been so long since he's had her and he can't even get his fucking dick to cooperate. A tug on his hair and a quick bounce of her hips has him biting back a moan, almost frantic as he moves his left hand between them, thumb finding her clit. The sob that leaves her has his head spinning, Bucky occupying his mouth with her pebbled nipple to keep from moaning. He still hasn't gotten used to the fact that he can openly make noise now, something he used to work on around her, but he prefers using it as an excuse to keep his mouth occupied elsewhere.

"Fuck, so close Bucky," she pants, thighs trembling around his and he takes it upon himself to hold her full weight with his free arm, lifting her up and pulling her back down on his cock. He feels like a whole different man when his orgasm hits, burying his face in her chest with a loud groan.

"Oh doll, so good y/n, so fucking good."

She follows shortly after him, nails digging into his bicep and scalp, body trembling and clenching. He coaxes her through it with wet kisses and gentle circles of his thumb on her sensitive bud. His bones and muscles feel like jelly when he relaxes back into the pillows, carding his fingers through her messy hair while the other strokes over her hip.

"If I knew this would be my homecoming," he murmurs, "I would've been back days ago."

She giggles, cheeks rosy and eyes bright. "Isn't this the proper way to welcome a soldier home?"

He smiles and shrugs, bittersweet. "Wouldn't know doll, this is my first time making it home."

~

"You wanna tell me what happened?"

Her thumb strokes over his bottom lip, dropping down to the dimple in his chin, and Bucky sighs contently. Truth is, he doesn't want to tell her what's happened. He doesn't want to talk about Wakanda, or Thanos, or being dead, or Steve leaving. He just wants to be here with her, pretending that he's normal for once in his God damn life.

"How about you tell me first doll?" He whispers, his eyes soaking up the sight of her. "Last time I saw you, you were saving lives in Bucharest."

"Actually, I was sitting in Wakanda with the love of my life," she corrects, smiling. His heart flutters happily, ears heating up with a blush. Pretending to blow her comment off, he rolls his eyes and chuckles.

"Alright, what happened after that?"

Inhaling deeply, she settles further back against the headboard. Bucky tilts his head up, just enough to kiss her stomach through the fabric of his t-shirt before laying his head back in her lap. Her fingers card through his hair as she speaks.

"I stayed in Romania after you went under, kept working at the camp and stuff. Steve would call sometimes, make sure I was ok," she lets out a little laugh, oblivious to Bucky's sudden nausea at the sound of his best friend's name. "We actually broke into your old apartment. It was still technically a crime scene but I knew there was stuff in there that you'd want."

"Doll," he interrupts with a sigh, "you didn't have to do that. It-all that stuff was just stuff."

Her fingers pull on his hair, enough to make him wince. "Not to me," she insists, "That "stuff" was you a-and us. It was our life before we were even allowed to have a life and I couldn't just let them box it up as evidence."

Guilty, Bucky swallows the lump in his throat and nods. Of course those things, the letters and drawings and stories all meant something to him, but not enough for her and Steve to risk punishment for. Never enough for that. He wishes she'd see that.

"After Thanos," she continues, voice falling weak. "I stayed in Romania for as long as I could, trying to help everyone. It-it was pure chaos, all these people trying to figure out what was going on. And the whole time I kept thinking of you. As soon as footage of the attack in New York got out, I knew he'd be going for you. I-I thought that you'd be fine. You're so fucking stubborn I knew there's no way you wouldn't survive.

"Even when people started to disappear, I didn't-I couldn't even convince myself that you would be one of them. It was a few days later when Steve called. I knew before I even answered the phone."

At the first sniffle, Bucky sits up, pushing himself to sit next to her. Before he can even reach for her, she's climbing into his lap, laying her head on his right shoulder and setting her hand over his heart. He holds her tight, trying his best to soak up her tears.

"It was so unfair Bucky," she whimpers, "because I was just about to get you back a-and you were supposed to finally be happy and he took you from me. After everything you've been through, you lost even more of your life and I couldn't do a damn thing about it."

Fighting back his own tears, he shushes her. "I'm here now, and I'm happy," he promises. "I'm always happy when I'm with you. What happened isn't your fault y/n. I'd never blame you for that."

If possible, she snuggles even closer to him. "I thought I could ignore it. I could stay there and pretend you were still just in Wakanda, getting better so that you could come home."

Bucky's heart aches at that. Picturing his girl, his kind and strong girl, saving and repairing lives in a war torn society, pretending that the man who loves her will be coming home soon when it reality he didn't exist anymore...it all hurts him too much. It's all too much, especially knowing that she loves him enough to live in denial just to imagine he's with her.

"But everyone kept asking who I lost, where were we when it happened and I kept insisting that it didn't matter because you were coming back and we were going to live happily ever after. I realized that we don't have a home, you and I, and I remembered you talking about moving to Brooklyn one day. That you wanted to go back to your home city.

"I couldn't bring myself to move there without you. It didn't feel right. So I picked Queens. It's close and the hospital nearby had an opening in the ER, so I figured why not? That way when Steve got off his ass and decided this time he was going to save his best friend, you'd have somewhere to come home to."

Steve, his best friend. The man that couldn't find enough of a reason to stay. Bucky wasn't enough to make him stay, because he has his soulmate here with him, and Steve's was long gone. He chose love over friendship and Bucky wishes he could hate him for that, but he can't, because he chose y/n too. If it weren't for her, he'd have been begging to go back to the 40s too.

Gently, he grips her chin between his thumb and forefinger, guiding her to look up at him. Through wet eyelashes and puffy eyes, she looks at him with so much love he can feel it burning in his chest. A kiss to each of her tear stained cheeks.

"Thank you doll," he whispers, "for never giving up on me. For doing all this for me-for us." He swipes his knuckle over her chin, smiling softly when she giggles. He missed that. "I love you."

He kisses her, cupping her jaw and pulling her into him until it feels like they're one being. Her fingers trace over the edge of his left arm, chills running up his spine. He missed that too.

"You're getting soft on me James," she teases breathlessly, smiling against his lips. He hums in agreement. He did get soft for her, but he doesn't fucking care. No one will ever make him feel bad for loving her. "I love you too Buck. Always will."

[donggyul]

Fuck Toy (sixsome)

Member : X1 hyung line (Seungwoo, Seungyoun, Wooseok, Yohan, Hangyul)

Genre : Fluff/Smut

Note : I finally start writing after a long time!!! This is like the longest I've ever written😂

Warning : Well there's not exactly a warning but hey it's a smut so...

You were really close to the X1 members, especially the hyung line because you were their manager.

On Sunday morning, they asked you and the other managers to come over to play some games together as they were bored and out of things to do since they've been in quarantined for almost a year.

15 of you, 11 X1 members + you and 3 other managers, played various types of games, from board games to video games to simple games the whole day, having breakfast, lunch and dinner in between. It was close to night time so the other 3 managers had to leave for some work/home so you're the only manager who stayed to take care of them. The maknae line had already went to bed as they had school the next day.

You're left with the hyung line so you suggest they go to sleep early so that you can head home to rest. But they have something else in mind...

"Let's play one last juicy game before you go..." Seungwoo suggested.

"Juicy...?" you questioned

"Okay then let's play truth or dare!" Seungyoun said.

So the remaining 6 of you played a round of truth or dare, you know it's always save to pick truth because who know what dares they'll make you do.

"Y/N's turn! Truth or dare?" Wooseok asked.

"Why do you even bother asking...she always chooses truth" Yohan said sarcastically and that made you feel challenged.

"Says who? Dare!" you said.

"Fell right into our trap!" you heard Seungwoo whisper.

"Trap? What do you mean?" you ask him.

"So, we have a dare for you but we can't do it here" Seungyoun explained.

"Oh boy, what crazy things are they gonna ask you to do now" you thought.

"Okay so where should we do it?" you asked.

"Your house" Wooseok answered.

"My house...? Why?" you ask.

"You'll see" Yohan smirked and in a flash the 6 six you sat in the car and head off to your house.

"Woah this house is huge...You live here all alone?" Hangyul said amazed when you arrived.

You turned to answer him but something about him makes you feel butterflies. You've had this huge crush on him ever since you saw him at Music Bank when he first debuted in IM, you didn't dare to approach him that time so you were over the moon when you heard that you were in charge of X1, the group that Hangyul newly debuted in. Sure, the other member's visuals were stunning too but somehow there's only Hangyul in your eyes. He was the shy type so you never really gotten a chance to really talk to him, especially because the other members would be swarming with questions to ask you or stories to tell you before you can even say "Hi" to him. You stood there staring at him until he turned around to look at you, catching you off guard. The both of you turned away from each other, embarrassed.

"Yeah, my parents left this for me before they passed away" you answered.

"Ohh I'm sorry, I didn't mean too..." Hangyul apologized.

"That's okay...I'm used to it now" you answered and opened the door to let them in.

They explored the house with amazement. There's 10 rooms, 7 toilets, 3 kitchens (one for upstairs, two for downstairs) and a lot of living room space.

"I'm glad we decided to come here, its perfect for the dare" Yohan said.

"So what's the dare?" you asked when everyone's done exploring.

"We've been eyeing you since the first day..." Seungyoun said.

"And we figured you'll be the perfect fuck toy for us..." Seungwoo continued.

"WHAT?!" you said shocked.

"Don't be so surprised... You'll love it" Wooseok said.

You were speechless but before you can say anything Seungwoo cut in.

"Let's start slowly, we have the whole night after all... So choose one of us to start it off" Seungwoo looked at you.

You thought for a moment and you really didn't want to do it but since its a dare you have no choice.

"Okay...Hangyul" you said.

He looked surprised when you said his name, he didn't expect you to choose him at all.

"Ughh fine... Go pick a room and start doing whatever you're supposed to do" Wooseok said.

You pulled Hangyul into the biggest room (two king sizes bed side by side and a huge toilet). The two of you awkwardly sat on the bed while the other 4 watched TV and played whatever video games there is at your house. He looked somehow nervous and scared.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to you know?" you said looking at him.

"How? They're gonna notice if we fake it" he said turning to you but turning away when he realize you were staring at him.

"Okay then, we can get to know each other first? How about that?" you suggest.

"HEY! You guys better start ASAP! There's like 4 of us waiting" Seungwoo knocked on the door and said.

You looked down, you really didn't want to do this, the only reason you chose Hangyul is because you wanted to get to know him a little more.

"You don't want to do this do you?" Hangyul said noticing your facial expressions.

"Not really..." you answered.

Silence filled the room.

"I like you" he suddenly blurted out.

You look at him surprised.

"For a very long time... I first saw you at Music Bank when you were in charge of Wanna One, since then I couldn't take my mind off you" he confessed.

"Me too" you decided to confess.

"What?" he said.

"I first saw you then too, you have no idea how excited I was to be in charge of taking care of X1" you said.

"Well yeah who wouldn't be? There's so many handsome people here, except for me, I look hideous" he said.

"No silly...I was excited because you were in this group, I actually had this huge one-sided crush on you since that time I first saw you and please do not call yourself hideous, you're perfect" you said and you could've sworn you saw a small smile and a slight blush on his face when you said that.

"It's not one-sided you know..." he said.

"Well I know now..." you said wiggling your eyebrows making him burst into a small laugh.

"I hear you're not doing anything" Seungyoun said knocking on the door.

"Ohh and we'll switch after an hour so hurry up, you know what happens if you don't do it right?" he added.

"Can we, I mean can I? No..." Hangyul stuttered.

Something went over you and you smash your lips to his, leaving him shocked and frozen. He didn't budge at first but you didn't care and continued kissing him. Soon after, he kissed you back pulling you closer to him. The kiss was sweet and soft, exactly what Hangyul is. Both of you pulled away, trying to catch your breaths.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what came over m-" he kissed you again before you can even finish your sentence.

"Can you take care of this?" he ask pointing to his bulge.

"I'll be delighted to" you said and he quickly pulled his pants and boxers off revealing his huge cock.

"I..." you stammered.

"It's huge I know... Think you can make it?" he said worriedly.

You didn't waste a second and started stroking and sucking on his huge hardening length, making him moan at the sudden touch. He took off his shirt and leaned back using both his hands for support, giving you more space. You kept sucking and licking, massaging his balls with your free hand. He was a moaning mess, sweat running down his body, he looked even hotter and sexier from your point of view. He gripped the sheets tighter as he was almost there. After a few more sucking and licking he finally cummed in your mouth making you cough but you still swallowed it.

"I'm sorry are you okay, that was a lot wasn't it?" he said embarrassed.

"I'm fine, but I do get something in return don't I?" you said.

"Of course, but can we skip the foreplay? We only have 45 minutes left" he said.

"Impatient huh? Fine by me" you answered and he wasted no second to quickly pull all your clothes off.

As soon as he pulled you bra and panty off, he started sucking on one of your nipples and massaging the other, taking you by surprised. He's been doing it for about 3 minutes, switching sides every now and then with you playing with his hair.

"Gyul... I thought you said no foreplay?" you said.

"Sorry I can't help it, I wanna taste every inch of you before they do" he pouted.

"Well even after they fuck me, I'm still all yours..." you said tousling his hair.

"But still! I wanna be the first one" he pouted cutely again.

"Alright alright" you chuckled at his cuteness.

After another minute or so of sucking your boobs, he lays you down and starting licking the outside of your clit making you slightly moan. He smirked and started licking your clit harsher and sucking harshly. Your moans just got louder as he stuck not one but two fingers in and started thrusting in and out, curling his fingers while sucking harsh on your clit. The moment he added another finger and thrusting it faster and harsher than before, it became too much to handle. You felt like screaming because it hurt too much but you can't bring yourself to stop him because the pleasure was too good to be true. Without warning you cummed all over, and he licked every single bit of cum left on your pussy. You wiped the remaining cum on his lips, trying to catch your breath.

"You okay?" he asked to which you nodded in response.

You climbed on top of him and sunk down, slowly moving your hips to make sure his length is fully in you. It took a moment for you to adjust, in that short moment, he took both your hands and placed it on his chest, then he guide your hands slowly down till his abs, making sure you touch every inch of it. "This is all yours" he whispered sending shivers down your spine. You started gently rocking your hips, he gripped your butt cheeks, squeezing and slapping it. You soon got the hang of it and sped up the pace, both of you moaning because of the pleasure. He started pounding upwards and you started grinding down on him, both wanting to feel each other more. But soon enough, your orgasm got onto you, the pleasure was so overwhelming, you forgot to tell him that you were close and squirted all over his cock. "Wow I didn't expect you to squirt" he said looking down at the juices you released. "Oops sorry" you said embarrassed but he didn't seem to mind at all.

He took you off him, laying you down, licking the cum that you squirt till there's nothing left. He slowly inserted his humongous dick into you making you winced from the size. After checking that you're okay, he slowly thrusted in and out of you. It's the most careful he's ever been as he didn't wanted to hurt you. It's the 2nd time he's entering you but it still hurt a lot but after a few thrust, it eventually felt so good. He started thrusting faster and faster after seeing your relaxed expression, hitting every spot perfectly. Your boobs was shaking uncontrollably as he went extremely fast, determined to make you cum. The room was filled with skin slapping and moaning noises. You grip on tighter to the sheets as you were close to your 2nd cum.

"I'm close... Please don't stop..." you begged.

And luckily for you he didn't. After 3 more thrust you squirt all over but he still didn't stop. He kept thrusting and thrusting, overstimulating you until he was almost there. He was going to take it out and cum elsewhere but you wanted him to keep going.

"Hangyul, just cum inside me, its okay" you stopped him.

Hearing this, he immediately spill everything inside of you, so much, you can feel it filling you up and some spilling out of you. He took his time catching his breath, and laid on top of you hugging you tight, still not taking his length out. He didn't want to, but he also doesn't have any strength to go on.

"You okay?" you asked wiping the sweat off his face.

"Tired but extremely good..." he replied.

"I'm glad my first time was with you" you said.

"You're lying about your first time aren't you?" he said still hugging you.

"I'm not, it really was my first, was I okay?" you asked.

"Okay? You were amazing, I can never get over how you sucked my cock so good like that" he answered.

"You were amazing too... Guess you had lots of experience huh?" you said.

"I was? Not bad for a first time I guess... Wish I could've done better though" he said.

"Wait... It's your first time?" you ask.

"Duhh... I don't have time to date or have a one night stand with a stranger, nor do I want to" he said.

"So why did you do it with me?" you ask.

"To tell you the truth, I was hesitant at first, and I didn't agree to it because well, you are our manager after all. But I didn't want to lose to them as well" he explained, turning to lie to the side, his cock still not leaving your pussy.

Pulling you closer, he continued "but I was willing to do it because it was you, if it was other girls, I would've never done it"

"Liar... there's so many other pretty girls out there" you teased.

"I'm not lying" he said kissing your forehead.

"Thank you" you said pecking his lips.

"For what?" he asked.

"For liking me and being my first for everything" you said.

"I love you, you know that right" he suddenly blurted out making you blush, breaking eye contact with him.

"What are you shy?" he teased.

"No I'm no-" he cuts you off by tickling you.

The two of you spend the remaining 5 minutes talking, laughing, sharing the weirdest stories, and it so amazing how both of you just clicks whether its having sex or not.

"Alright times up, its our turn" Seungwoo interrupted.

You turn to take a look at Hangyul and he does not look pleased but you had to comfort him somehow.

"Hey, don't worry, no one is gonna be better than you and its only gonna take 4 hours, which may seems long but I'll be back before you know it! Okay?" you said giving him a few kisses in the middle.

"Actually we just decided to fuck you all at once and it'll only take an hour because 4 hours is way too long" Seungwoo said.

"We includes me too right?" Hangyul asked almost immediately.

"Yeah yeah whatever" Seungwoo replied.

"Even better! You'll be here so there's nothing to worry about okay?" you said hugging him tight.

"I'm okay, I'm just scared they'll be too harsh on you and hurt you" he said with a pout.

"Well if they're too harsh, then you can stop them for me, how does that sound?" you said and he nodded in response, hugging you close, not wanting to let you go.

Soon later, all of them came in the room naked and prepared, ready to wreck you.

Hangyul slowly pulled away from you as you winced from the sudden emptiness.

"My baby is fully stretched I see" Seungyoun said flicking your clit making you startled.

"So, who's cock do you want into your holes first?" Seungwoo said.

"Anyone is fine" you answered.

So they played a short game to decide who goes first.

Order : Yohan, Hangyul, Wooseok, Seungyoun, Seungwoo

Yohan pumped his cock a few times before you climed on top of him and slowly sat down to fit his length, his was not as big as Hangyul's one but it was still big. You gently rocked your hips to make sure that Yohan was fully inside you. You leaned forward to let Hangyul enter your 2nd hole. He gripped your hips and slowly entered you but stopped when you winced. "I'm okay, just keep going" you assured him. All 3 of you took a second to adjust to the new feeling. Yohan and Hangyul thrusted in perfect rhythm, when Yohan was thrusting in, Hangyul thrusted out, your body felt so full. Hangyul pulled you up to play with your nipple while Yohan played with the other nipple.

"You okay?" Hangyul whispered sending shivers to your body. You answered by nodding, eyes closed.

"Gyuliee can you please go a little faster?" you begged.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" he asked worried.

"Don't worry" you said.

They both started going faster. This time Yohan groped both of your boobs while Hangyul stretched your clit with his fingers. You were practically screaming but didn't care anymore if you were loud, all that was in your mind was how their cocks both fit perfectly into you and how good both of them made you feel. You grinded more and more into them and they pounded more and more into you. You didn't want them to stop, the pleasure was too good, you tried to fight your orgasm back but your body wouldn't let you and you eventually squirted all over. Yohan looked panicked, he needed somewhere to spill but you're still on top of him. "It's okay, you can spill in her" you heard Hangyul said startling you. Yohan was hesitant but he couldn't really hold it in anymore and cummed inside you. Hangyul pulled out of you and pulled you off of Yohan, putting his length back in your pussy to spill his seeds in you for the 2nd time.

You tried catching your breath but the other 3 boys wouldn't let you, Wooseok basically shoved his cock into your mouth, gripping your hair and started fucking your mouth. You couldn't even move, tears running down your face, he was very harsh, you were gagging but he didn't care. Seungyoun and Seungwoo grabbed your hands and made you stroke their cock. "Suck bitch" Wooseok said finally letting go of your hair. You started sucking, licking and softly biting his cock, both your hands still stroking, pulling and twisting Seungwoo and Seungyoun's cocks. You can feel Hangyul hugging you from behind, one hand pinching and playing with your nipples, the other hand lightly tapping your pussy to make sure that you're not in big pain before slowly inserting his fingers, moving his fingers in and out, curling them inside you. Wooseok then again grabbed your hair, fucking your throat, making you gag and making him cum. "Swallow" he command and you did.

Seungyoun laid down on the bed, pulling you to lie on top of him and inserting his length into your 2nd hole. You didn't have any strength or energy left due to the amount of orgasm you've already released but they're still not done with whatever they planned. Wooseok entered your clit soon after and they started pounding hard. It wasn't exactly the perfect rhythm, it was more like them doing whatever they want. "That's my good pretty girl" Seungyoun said groping your shaking boobs, squishing it, twisting and pinching your nipples. They were pounding so hard you felt like your bones were gonna break. Wooseok was the first one to cum, he took his cock out, pumped it a few times before squirting everything on your belly. Seungyoun on the other hand was still abusing your 2nd hole when Wooseok left your exposed reddish vagina. After a few minutes, Seungyoun carried you up off him and squirted in Wooseok's mouth, as per his request.

The other four boys left to wash up, leaving you alone with Seungwoo. He was the only and last one that hasn't went into you yet so he laid you down, head facing the pillows. He grabbed both your hands and put them behind your back and started to pound into your 2nd hole without even caring how much pain you were feeling at the time. He used his free hand to finger your bruised pussy. It was 3 fingers at once, the pain was almost unbearable. "Seungwoo please stop... It hurts..." you begged but he didn't seem to care. After he a few more thrusts, he stopped. You thought it was over but he turned you around and made you ride him. You tried resisting with all your might but he was too strong. Before you know it he was gripping your hips tightly, pounding into you like an animal again, even harsher than before. "Swoo please, it hurts so much" you cried. "What? You gladly take all their cocks but you wouldn't take mine?" he said. "I would take yours if you just gave me a break" you said, tears rolling down your face. "Fuck toys don't have breaks" he roared and pounded harder, making you bounce up and down. Your whole body just gave up at this point, tears streaming down your face nonstop, praying for Hangyul to finish washing up so that he can somehow stop Seungwoo.

Fortunately, Hangyul came out of the bathroom just in time. He was shocked to see you cry, he knew he had to do stop Seungwoo before you got even more hurt. "Gyul..." you cried with the little strength you have left. With all his might, he pulled you up from Seungwoo, hugging you tightly in his arms. You felt a rush of emotions and tears flew out uncontrollably, it was unexplainable, painful, but you were also glad that Hangyul was there by your side no matter what. You heard Seungwoo grunt and curse, leaving the room. "It's okay... You're save with me now bub" you heard Hangyul say. Hangyul helped you to clean up, and dressed you in comfy clothes.

"Does it still hurts?" he laid you down on the bed hugging you softly, you nodded, still unable to speak.

"Don't worry about anything and sleep okay? I'll be by your side the whole night" he assured, caressing your hair, making you fall asleep.

Tiredness wash over you, falling asleep in his arms, peacefully.

The next morning

Hangyul woke up first, staring at you, slowly running his fingers through your hair and face, touching each of your facial features softly and carefully. He smiled at how cute you were when you were sleeping. He moved to grab his phone, accidentally waking you.

"Hangyul?" you said half awake.

"Sleep more, you must've been tired" he said hushing you back to sleep.

"Thank you" you said hiding your head at the crook of his neck.

"Anything for my baby" he lightly kissed your forehead.

"What?" you said looking up at him.

"Am I wrong? You're mine" he said smiling softly.

"Well if I'm yours then you're mine!" you said.

"Of course I am" he chuckled, patting you back to sleep like a baby.

"What do you wanna eat later? I can cook anything you know" he said.

"Anything is fine, but don't go till I wake up" you pouted.

"I won't... I'll be right here so you don't have to worry okay" he said.

You nodded and went back to sleep.

I'm sorry if this sucks 😭 I wanted to end it sweetly and Hangyul here is such a sweetheart 🥺 also I'm terribly sorry for making Seungwoo the "villain" I just felt that Seungwoo is the perfect role for it...

[sunrise-sunsxt]

Hey, Mr. Green! How's your relationship with the news team from SCTV these days? I heard you had some personal beef with them a while back...

Huh, it's been awhile since they've been mentioned.

Well, I haven't really gotten to talk much (even though I've been terminated as station manager, I'm still under contract and am responsible for a lot of the bookkeeping still- remember everyone to check to the extra fine print of your contracts)

Work is busy per usual, haven't had much to say or have anything to say to either of them other than a quick hello last week.

Who said I had beef with them? Only beef I can recollect is the one that's currently defrosting in the break room right now.

I mean, there may have been some pranks here and there and probably some talk (like the times Robertson closed the door to the boiler room and I fell down those flight of stairs a multitude of times.

Or the April Fools prank with half of my office being submerged in jello. And who could forget the time him and Camembert rallied everyone to snap my suspenders after talking to me?

BOY, did I have a laugh about those last two!)

BUT those were just mere pranks, simple tomfoolery between co-workers. I am a mature adult, I do not stoop down to bringing up much of the past or do guilt tripping in any way.

I have no personal ill will or any type of feud with them, I even wished them well on their upcoming engagement! (Does that seem like someone who has personal beef with them?)

Its started anew between the three of us in our new work settings.

Let bygones be bygones.

[auncyen]

ok while I mostly like gaa resolve I do have some gripes about the ending so spoilers under a cut:

The biggest is that the last trial's ending would have been much more satisfying if they'd ended it just a little sooner. The jury system in GAA is pretty weak especially since they remove it entirely in Resolve's final eps, but they have an echo of it when the chanting of "TESTIFY, TESTIFY" and popular opinion of the judiciary compels Stronghart to continue the trial.

Why did they undermine it? There was no need for Stronghart to have that second wind where he's like "haha but gentlemen I somehow both did nothing and am also responsible for deterring crime" and they go "huh, yeah" like NOOOO. IT'S STUPID. Especially since at that point they've made it clear that Stronghart's ordered kills purely for his advancement! (also why the hell did Klint go along with that killing so he wouldn't have to tell his wife and then tell his wife anyway in the end. I'm sorry Barok but your family's backstory is...a little "uggggh" overall.)

They should have just had Stronghart had a breakdown as he realizes that even if he somehow gets out of this trial scot-free, he's lost his pawns and none of his peers trust him and his ambition will never be met because they'd be doing their damnedest to undermine him, whether for justice or because hey, they don't wanna get murdered either. LET THE JURY OF HIS PEERS CONDEMN HIM, the hologram nonsense was so stupid.

It's also really weak that Iris' true father is only revealed at the very end for absolutely nothing to be done with this information, and honestly, why is Mikotoba even revealing that information to Ryunosuke when he makes a big deal of how secret it's supposed to be and it's not something Ryunosuke needs to know? It's just.....I really do think the whole "half-sisters" thing would have at least been a little more meaningful, even if it had its weaknesses too (no matter what Iris' mother would probably have gotten swept under the rug in terms of importance, and I gotta say I feel bad for her considering the canon explanation is "yeah she went through a mini trauma conga line and now she's dead and of no importance even emotionally").

I do like when she acknowledges Hurley as her daddy, though.

Also I just..........don't really like how Gina and Gregson were handled. Gina has a near breakdown over Gregson being implicated as part of the Reaper and she's had a huge thing about adults being liar, but then at the end she's just fine because oh at least he left her a note like. ...no I think there'd be a little more to deal with here. Especially with the case ending on a note of "lol the judiciary's okay with Stronghart's corruption" it feels kind of bad that Gina's just...okay with continuing being a detective.

[shyrose57]

2: Upon first glance, no. Though they do tend to avoid the subjects of parents or siblings, and also try their best to avoid conversations that lead into sharing their past. Their also not so pushing about knowing the brothers past relationships and their childhood. Ranya and Seth are the brothers parents! Ranya is their mom who is 20% enderman, and Seth is their dad who's fully human.

3: But is there any proof of it being bad for you? That's exactly what it is, its just Team Rocket but switched if that makes sense. Raq's trying so hard to capture Ran and now Ranbob, he's planning so many plans and coming up with so many unique ways to capture them. But the groups dumb shenanigans and the fact most of them just kinda flop around half the time SOMEHOW manage to foil every plan he has and its pissing him off. But now I also have a angst idea that features Raq getting his hands on a potion of blinding and using it. 

4: He was screaming because he was trying to escape the others and resorted to trying to make himself seem big and stronger than them, like a animal sometimes does to escape a predator. And also he was screaming because Cletus grabbed his arm and was trying to keep him from moving, and Ranbob's brain sadly registered the touch as painful. 

6: Benjamin does actually just carry around blankets, mostly just in case someone gets cold or someone gets wet and need to be dried off. But he also does carry a special blanket only for Ranbob, its a very fluffy blanket, is a bit heavy (which helps ground and reassure Ranbob), and is big enough to cover the top half of his body. But they don't carry around tea or anything for Ranbob to drink when he gets sad, mostly cause the times they tried to do that either it got spilt or Isaac drank it. 

10: I have developed the town a bit further. The town has a population of only 300 (may change though, but no matter what it's going to be a small town), and is situated in the Crater, where homes and business are built into the side of the Crater, with overlapping bridges, stairs, overhangings littering all around the Crater (if anyone is having problems imagining it tell me, I have some pictures I found that fit what I'm trying to describe pretty well). Wilburs decendent shall be called Lucia, and some residents of the town are Siren-the towns only blacksmith and armourer, also one of the most knowledgeable people in the town due to their great fascination with history, Adler-one of the only remaining Clerics that actually make all possible potions and even new ones at times, and almost freely gives them out, Atlas-the towns trouble maker, and the one who goes adventuring, but he also has a great interest in astrology, and can read the stars to figure out locations of things or upcoming events, Josh-He's just Josh, no one's quite sure what he does, Atlas suspects he has a secret mob grinder since he has so many mob parts and seems to have whatever someone needs, and Lucia insists that he's the one that does the communication and trading with big cities but no one believes him (spoiler, he's the redstone expert but since redstone isn't used a lot in the town he hasn't actually told anyone), Asidi-town guard, mostly just checks on the residents, though is also greatly defensive of his home, and Mripat-the towns mayor/leader, though she mostly lets people do what they want to do, its only when people want to build new things or have suggestions, or break a law does she actually act like a mayor/leader. The town itself doesn't have a set name yet but im thinking maybe Kelalen Kepungkur (Forgotten Past), but just Kelalen for short. And its mostly forgotten by other kingdoms and towns, because it doesn't belong to any certain kingdom, and due to them being forgotten, their incredibly nice and tight knit, but also suspicious of new comers. Infact Ran and Ranbobs groups where going to be chased out of the towns property until Lucia stepped in, saying how he recognizes the black and white skin. 

11: It is! He figured, hey the memory book seemed to help Ranboo, who says it won't help him? Though it only slightly helped him at first. Eventually he'll get hugs without pain, I promise you.

12: IN MY DEFENSE, you never told me not too.

13: Ok so this is the additional fluff, this is not canon to the story at all, as it just simply seems to out there to actually fit in the story. But anyway, I was thinking that upon returning to Mizu, Ranbob finds a hidden room. And in one of the rooms there's a sort of ghost box type thing, where people can hear and even see nearby ghosts (that is what immediately got it out of the story). So Ranbob manages to get the box to work, and when it finally starts up, the ghosts of his family is actually behind him cause they've been following him the whole time. At first Ranbob is horrified and quickly backs away from them, borderline breaking down crying at seeing them again, cause he's gotten overwhelmed with grief. At first the ghosts don't follow him, but suddenly Memi runs out after him, and Ranbob has to fight the instinct to protect himself, and instead leaves himself vulnerable to whatever they want to do to him (which he imagines is degradation and even hitting). But instead Memi just hugs him tightly and cries into him, saying how she missed Big Brother so much. And Ranbob can feel this, and this wasn't what he was expecting, so he's left shocked and frozen. Until Lias also approaches and hugs him too, saying how he's so sorry and how he missed him too. Then Seth and Ranya both join in on the hug, saying how their so sorry Ranbob had to suffer alone and how they failed him because they didn't protect them. Meanwhile Ranbob is shocked, but he soon gets over it and hugs them back just as tightly. Repeatedly saying how he's sorry and he didn't mean too, all while his family comforts him. In the end, they manage to convince Ranbob they have no harsh feelings towards him, comfort him, talk to him about what to do with Ran not trusting him, say how their so proud of Ranbob for growing so strong and breaking Dreams hold on him, and listen to Ranbob share stories of his haunting. 

2: First glance, huh? How about further glances? Also, how did Ran get so much Enderman blood in him if he had a human father and a mother with only 20% in her?

3: Yeah, actually, I think they have medical studies on it? Something about blood loss, or infection, maybe? Idk the specifics, anon.

Okay, so I’m not sure I read this right. The group’s shenanigans accidentally defeat his plans? Is that right? Or do his plans just flop on their own? Also, oof. Can’t wait to see how bad that goes. Which poor Ender boy is subjected to blindness?

4: Hahaha, ouch, ouch, ouch. So, like Endermen screaming? Also, he registers touch as painful? That’s...not good. Is that something that happens often, or just during his relapses?

6: Benjamin just carries around blankets. He’s a fluffy blanket dealer. You come to him looking even slightly in need of a hug, and he burritos you in blankets. Payment is self-care. 

Also, Isaac drinks it? Is he like a tea gremlin? Locates tea and drinks it no matter what?

10: Sounds like a lively little place! And quite frankly, I already love Lucia. For what reason do the townsfolk have towards being suspicious and chasing people off though? Have they had trouble before? Also, Lucia recognizes Ranbob as Ranboo’s descendant? Or just that he looks similar? How does everyone react to the sudden hostility, and then being allowed in?

12: EVERYONE KNOWS YOU DON’T ADMIT TO A CRIME, ANON, GOODNESS! Also, fair. Mean, cruel, and sadistic, but ultimately fair. I did not say not to. That is true.

(Still mean, how dare-)

13: Anon, how dare you call this fluff, just. This is so bittersweet, I’m literally crying. I can’t believe you’ve done this.