#i feel like strangers of paradise was the only one they ever nailed the action in

[helladventurers]

Watching ff16 while i wait for the sleep meds to kick in, and it's such a bold move of square enix to move final fantasy into exclusively action oriented combat when they don't know shit about how to make good action gameplay

[sheeple]

The intern | 4: Friday evening plans

GIFS NOT MINE. THIS IS ALL FICTION. Genre(s): intern!au / fluff / mild angst Group(s): NCT / Red Velvet Pairing(s): Moon Taeil x fem!reader Summary: The new Elysion Publishings intern is the youngest they ever had. It’s not a problem until she grabs the attention of the IT guy. Warning(s): Age-gap of five years [Masterlist] [Mini masterlist]

“So”, asks Wendy with a smirk as soon as I set my backpack on my desk the Monday after the so-called ‘date’ with Mark. 

“So what?”, I ask, playing dumb. 

She groans and rolls towards me on her desk chair. She pulls me down by my collar and I look shocked at her. “Did you seduce my cousin with your white girl charm? I swear, he has a kink for that kind of shit.”

I pull her hands off my collar with wide eyes. “First of all, ew. Second of all, I had a lot of fun with him. He has a fun personality.”

“But... You sound like saying a but. There’s always a but”, she says as she looks at me disappointed.

“But... we noticed that we clicked wonderfull as friends. We exchanged our numbers, so we’ve been texting all weekend”, I say while shrugging.

“Who does who text? Are you and the IT guy texting?”, asks Johnny with a smug smirk as he and Taeyong arrive. 

“Oooooh, have you and Loverboy been sexting!”, exclaims Taeyong with a sly smirk.

I facepalm myself a little too hard before I lay my head on my arms with a groan.  “I try to convince myself every day that hitting old people is not okay but you three are making it really hard for me.”

It’s later in the day and nothing big happened. Nothing except the constant teasing of Wendy, Johnny, and Taeyong. But that’s a regular thing by now. 

So understand my surprise when I saw Taeil sitting at my desk chair, playing with the leaves of a plant I have on my desk as I return from lunch with Johnny. 

“Taeil? What are doing here?”, I ask as I approach him. 

As Taeil looks up from hearing my voice, a bright smile spreads on his face. He jumps out of my chair and shoves his phone in his pocket. Looking effortlessly handsome in the process but that doesn’t matter. 

“Ah, I texted you but you didn’t answer so I thought that it was far easier to just drop by but your friend told that you went out for lunch with your tall colleague before she left with that other one who just kept smirking and wiggling his eyebrows.”

Oh right, we exchanged phone numbers a while a. But since I don’t have any internet except for the wifi hotspots, I am not available.

I groan and throw my head back, breathing deeply in and out. “I swear to god... I am sorry for Taeyong, he doesn’t know when he’s being creepy.”

“Ah well, I am used to it by now. I mean, I am friends with you.”

I look at him with big eyes. “I am not creepy!” 

Taeil whines as I hit him on his arm. “Oh? You are not? Then explain why you hid under a strange guy’s desk and held his leg tightly.”

I lean back and let out a string of incoherent sounds out of frustration. In the corners of my eyes, Johnny shoots up from behind the dividers and looks at me sternly. 

“You did what?! Hid under his desk? Did I not teach you that you shouldn’t hide by strangers, but from strangers.”

With a roll of my eyes, I twirl around in my chair and say sarcastically, “yeah, sorry dad.”

“It’s Daddy for you, young lady.” Johnny winks before disappearing behind the dividers, probably continuing with the corporate identity he and Wendy have to create.

“If you roll your eyes more, I’m afraid they will roll out of their sockets”, teases Taeil as he sees me rolling my eyes, again.

“You know”, I begin with a spin of my chair, “if you’re only here to tease me and be mean, you can better leave. I have an internship to keep up.”

Taeil laughs. “Please, I saw your work before and it’s by far the best I’ve ever seen. I wonder why you’re not already under the graphic design team instead of design and development.”

“Me too”, throws Johnny over the dividers.

“That’s because I know when I have gold on my hands and I won’t let Team Leader Shin get away with the golden team award, again”, says a voice behind us and we turn around. 

Team Leader Byun stands behind us with a determined look on his face. 

I quickly get up from my chair and bow, elbowing Taeil to do the same. 

Ah, the endless fight between the design and development and graphic design team aka Team Leader Byun vs Team Leader Shin. They have this kind of friendly rivalry between them that is just hilarious to watch. 

Since the graphic design team is just a higher-paid design and development team, a lot of employees get tossed around the two teams. 

If it wasn’t for Team Leader Byun’s pride, I would definitely be on the graphic design team. But I like my deskmates way too much to ever leave them for a higher paying job. 

Team Leader Byun claps in his hands. “Well, enough chit chat. You, my fine young lad, are keeping my favourite intern off her work. Chop chop, off you go.” Byun shoves Taeil away from me and into the elevator. 

Before I lose Taeil out of my sighs, he holds up his phone and points to it. 

“Why are you smiling like an idiot at your phone. Did you receive a nude from Loverboy?”, teases Taeyong as he and Wendy come back from their lunch. 

I scrunch my nose and look in disgust at the smirking elder. “As if”, I scoff and turn towards my Mac, continuing my project.

“Okay, I had enough of it. Why are you dressed up so nicely?”, says a frustrated Wendy as she slams her Mac close. 

It is the end of day on Friday and all three of them have been eying me suspiciously.

“Wha... what do you mean?”, I look down at my outfit. It’s just a bright yellow blouse with some jeans.

“Yeah”, she begins, “but,  you’re hair is done neatly, you have jewellery on, your nails are painted. What’s going on?” Wendy lists the things off my appearance and a blush creeps on my face, my hands cupping my cheeks. 

“Let’s not forget the cute little twinkle in your eyes”, adds Taeyong with a flutter of his eyelashes. 

“Ah... well...”, I scratch behind my ear. “I have agreed to meet up with Taeil and his friends after work to grab something to eat and then visit the Coex mall.”

A string of teasing ‘ooh’s’ ring through the air and I groan. 

“So you and Loverboy are going on a date.” Taeyong folds his hands under his chin and flutters his lashes. 

I gag and scrunch my nose at his action. “As if! We’re going with his friends. There will be nothing date-like about the da─ about it.” 

“So you admit it’s a date.” 

I send Johnny a glare as I stand up from my chair. “I swear to God”, I hiss. “I’m going to the toilet. And not a word about this whole ordeal when I am back.”

“To touch up your make-up for your date?”

I hit Taeyong’s head as I walk past him. “No. To pee, oppa.”

I quickly walk to the toilet as it’s almost 6 o’clock and Taeil can come by any minute. 

And I am right. The moment I step out of the bathroom, I bump into a chest and stumble back. 

“Gotcha”, says the familiar voice of Taeil as he prevents me from falling, by wrapping his arms around me and pressing me close to his torso. 

I look up with big eyes as Taeil lets go of me, making sure I am standing steady on my two feet.

“Jezus dude, did you come straight out of a drama?”, I joke as we walk towards my desk. 

“Well, I try. How else can I assert my dominance and find a lady?” Taeil leans against one of the dividers with folded arms, earning a weird look from Wendy while I get teasing looks and kissy faces from Taeyong and Johnny behind him. 

“Yeah sure, mister paradise bird. I’m sure you attract all the pretty ladybirds who will court you. Or you can just T-pose”, I say while packing up my bag and flinging it over my shoulder. 

“ I’ll see you guys on Monday. Have a nice weekend!” I wave them goodbye before nodding at Taeil, signing we can go. 

“Oh wait”, I say as we pas Team leader Byun’s office. 

I walk towards the glass door and knock on it, opening it when I see Mr Byun nod. “I just wanted to say that I send those files you wanted through the mail”, I say with a smile and Team Leader Byun nods with a content smile. 

“Yes, I noticed that. Thank you for your hard work, even if it was on such short notice.”

I smile and wave. “It was nothing. Have a nice weekend, Mr Byun.” 

I turn around and walk with Taeil towards the elevator. 

“So, you had any last-minute projects?”, he questions with a cock of his head as we get into the crowded elevator. 

I hum.  “Someone didn’t deliver their work correctly and then skedaddled their way out of the office, right before their vacation. So Mr Byun asked me to fix it.” 

As we arrive at the bottom floor, I feel my phone vibrate and grab it from my back pocket.

I roll my eyes at Johnny’s text and put it my phone back in my pocket. 

“So”, I begin, dragging the ‘o’ out, “do your friends know I’m coming too?”

Taeil nods as he holds the door open for me. “Yup, I texted them right after and they were cool with it. They’re really chill people so you don’t have to worry, okay?”

I look slightly up at him with big eyes. “How... how did you know?”

“You just confirmed it. And I see it in the way you fiddle with your fingers”, he says with a chuckle as he points out the way I have been plucking at my nails and playing with the ring around my finger. 

I let out a soft ‘oh’ and turn right, to go to the metro, when Taeil’s hand around the strap of my backpack stops me. 

“And where do you think you’re going?”, he questions me with an arched eyebrow as he drags me in the opposite direction.

“To the metro?”, I state matter-of-factly. 

“Why would we go with the metro when I have my car parked here?”

My eyes grow big. “You have a car?”, I question astonished. 

“Yeah”, he shrugs. “Who doesn’t at the age of twenty-five? Don’t you have a car?” Taeil looks at me. 

“Well, no... But I do have my licence! Only took twenty lessons and one exam,” I beam proudly as we come to a halt. 

Taeil grabs a pair of car keys out of his pocket and unlocks his car. He opens the trunk and holds up his hand. “Give me your backpack so you don’t have to drag it with you this evening.”

I nod and quickly slide the straps off my shoulders. 

“Lemme first grab my wallet out of it.” I zip open the front zipper and grab my wallet, sliding it in the inside pocket of my jacket. 

“You don’t have to bring it with you, you know”, says Taeil as he closes the trunk and opens the car door for me. 

“But what if I see something cute and want to buy it”, I smile. 

Taeil mutters something under his breath and closes the car door, stepping in behind the wheel. He starts the car and drives away, into the busy Seoul traffic. 

We babble about work and life the way there until we arrive in a covered parking space and get out. 

“Doyoung texted that they already ordered a round of drinks. I hope you like water”, says Taeil as he checks his phone. 

“It’s perfect.”

[atruththatyoudeny]

Happy 1D Fanworks Appreciation Day!

I want to thank all the amazing authors and artists who make this fandom as special as it is.

Here are all the fics I read and loved this month: (this is going to be looong)

I don't want a taste (I want it all) || thedaggerrose (blessedfetish) || "Fuck me yourself you coward" AU - college - crack - humour - 3k

The AU where Harry tells Louis to go fuck himself, Louis tells Harry to fuck him himself, and Harry follows through.

Always || JamieJam93 || amnesia - references of past depression - 85k

Thousands, if not millions, of fans had been right. Harry and Louis had been in love and together for four whole years. They were 'the dream team'; the couple that made others sick while simultaneously envious.

But thousands of fans had been right about something else too. The pressure had been too much. The fame had been too much. The closet had been too much, and, four years after the pair swore to each other that nothing could break them on the night of their first kiss in 2010, they broke up.

Fast forward to 2018, on the night of One Direction's last ever concert, and Harry has yet to move on. It's not as sad as it seems-he still lives his life and, for the most part, he's happy-but he knows that Louis was his one true love and is trying to prepare himself for a life completely without the other when an accident erases Louis's mind of all of his memories. In reliving the moments with him, trying to make him remember, Harry comes to find that maybe he never really forgot them at all and maybe, like him, he hadn't moved on either.

Enjoy The Ride || 2tiedships2 || a/b/o - strangers to lovers - road trips - fluff - 11k

The one where Louis, an omega more than tired of being treated as lesser than alphas, is forced on a road trip by his beta besties only to meet Harry who might just be the alpha he never knew he wanted.

Whisper The Wind || jacaranda_bloom || strangers to lovers - surfing - fluff - 36k

The one where Louis rides an elevator that may change his life forever, Harry loves the ocean but is a terrible surfer, Liam proves not all heroes wear capes, and Niall might actually have all the answers.

A kiss to build a dream on || noellehenry || Christmas - social media - pining - 17k

Harry has a brief encounter with a handsome stranger at the local Christmas Fair, the romantic kiss they share changes everything.

Harry is determined to find his Prince Charming and sets up a tumblr blog with help from his best friend Niall, owner of the locally famous Steamin' mugs.

Let the challenge begin!

Enter the Rose Garden || angelichl || a/b/o - friends to lovers - 10k

Soft heats make omega Louis clingy. Enter alpha Harry.

I been feeling high when I touch your body || Anonymous || gym - boxing- 17k

Harry is a boxer, Louis is an architect and Liam is the worst cupid that could ever exist.

The Pink Ghost of Princess Park || objectlesson || PWP - humour - sex toys - established relationship - light dom/sub - 7k

The thought of the vibrator does not go away. It’s sitting there collecting dust all through January, and every time Harry and Louis have to leave town for a press event or a show or to record or what have you, they come back home, and it’s still there, the Pink Ghost of Princess Park, the fucking glittery haunting that Harry cannot stop thinking of Louis stuffing up his arse.

Leave Your Mark On Me || FullOnLarrie || a/b/o - restaurant - mating bond - friends with benefits - enemies to friends to lovers - 32k

When Chef Harry Styles’ unbonded Omega designation threatens to derail his career, he does the only thing he can, and goes in search of a black market bond.

You Can't Change The Rolling Tide || LiveLaughLoveLarry || sailing - enemies to friends to lovers - childhood friends - friends to lovers - 25k

Louis lives on a tiny island off the coast of England and runs a sailboat touring company. When Niall is sidelined for the summer after his knee surgery, Louis needs a temporary new partner. Who better to fill that role than Harry, recently returned to the island after five years away? Louis is pretty sure there are plenty of better options. They don't get along until they do.

Take Care Down By The Water || shyserious || fantasy - magical realism - celtic mythology - fluff - angst - 37k

Louis has spent his summers at his Granny's in the Isle of Barra for almost as long as he could remember.

This summer wasn't supposed to be any different, but the little Scottish island turned out to be harbouring more than just the gorgeous white beaches, the clear waters, and the town drunk scaremongering the foreign tourists.

Pray Till I Go Blind || el_em_en_oh_pee || religion - religion kink - demon - homophobia - blasphemy - 19k

Louis is (kind of) a preacher. Harry is (probably) a demon. Of course, nothing's as simple as that.

This is not a love story.

Nocturne || rosegoldhl || fairy tale - fantasy - action/adventure - pining - 36k

Harry is a goblin living in the woods, entirely enthralled with a human named Louis.

I'm still learning to love || literato || minor character death - kid fic - pining - fluff - light angst - 74k

An au where Harry has almost everything in the world except for the will to move on.

Tell Me Your Secrets || dimpled_halo || For A Good Time Call AU - enemies to friends to lovers - dirty talk - phone sex - humour - fluff - angst - 17k

A For a Good Time Call au where Harry and Louis get off on the wrong foot when they first meet. When dire circumstances forces them to become roommates, Harry finds out some things about Louis that he doesn't expect will help him discover some things about himself.

We come in line || starsinoureyes || The Switch AU - mpreg - fertility clinic - 19k

Harry decides to have a baby on his own, Louis doesn't agree it's a good idea but lets him do it anyway. It took seven years and Harry getting artificially inseminated for them to find each other. Louis has a secret he didn't tell Harry and it might affect their family. Also featuring: a pre-pregnancy party, fertility clinics and pregnancy scares.

Sugar, butter, flour || EmmyLouWho || Nailed it! (TV) Fusion - reality tv - pining - 5k

Louis watches Harry start to pour icing onto his half-raw, still hot cookie, and tries to hold in his groan. He isn't sure if they’ve ever had a contestant on the show who tried so hard…and yet completely failed at every single step.

You can’t rig the show to help a contestant, he tells himself. Even if they’re adorable.

dopamine || Only_angel_28 || collge/university - meet-cute - social experiments - fluff - strangers to lovers - 7k

Louis honestly doesn’t know how he gets himself into these types of situations.

Well, actually, that’s a lie. He’s doing this because he needs the money, and because he’s curious. And, okay, maybe because he might be a little bit lonely too. He has always had what his mother affectionately calls an “adventurous spirit.” Couple that with being a (tragically single) broke grad student and voila! here he is scrawling his signature on a release form provided by the university’s sociology department. Essentially, he is agreeing to snog a stranger on camera for the sake of science.

Shouldn’t be a problem, right? All he has to do is lock lips with a (hopefully) fit bloke, collect his money, and be on his way. Easy peasy. Little does he know, fate has other plans for him in the form of one adorably quirky art student who goes by the name of Harry Styles.

Best kind of bad something || wildestdreams || established relationship - angst - fluff - ambiguous/ open ending 40- k

A NorCal AU where Louis is the town troublemaker and everyone hates him except for Harry.

What, like it's hard? || starkidpatronus || Legally Blond Fusion - girl direction - enemies to friends to lovers - enemies to lovers - humour - fluff - 25k

In which Harry goes to law school to win back her man, but gets a lot more than she bargained for.

Tell Me This Is Paradise || QuickedWeen || girl direction - smut - 5k

Harry Styles has been lucky in love but unlucky in the bedroom with all of her previous boyfriends. When her best friend Niall finds out that she's never had an orgasm, she knows just what Harry needs: Louis Tomlinson. Niall sets Harry up to get sorted out.

Your rainbow will come smiling through || hazkaban || Cinderella Story AU - minor character death - bullying - fairy tale retelling - 17k

When harry isn't working at his stepfather's cafe, he's trying to make swim captain and trying to finish all his coursework on time. when he's not doing any of those things, he's talking to the boy he met on the oxford hopefuls subreddit. when they decide to meet, he's elated. he finally gets the chance to meet the boy he's been crushing on! when the day comes to meet his prince, he learns that his online crush is none other than louis tomlinson, captain of the football team and friend of his terrible stepbrothers. now harry has to decide whether telling louis the truth is the right choice or if it's better to just let sleeping dogs lie.

From, your secret admirer || flicker_album || secret admirer - Valentine's Day - tumblr - mentions of anxiety - 13k

The one where Louis is Harry's Tumblr crush so he sends him secret admirer messages for Valentine's Day

Every Story Has Its Scars, Ours Is a Brand New Start || Rearviewdreamer || strangers to lovers - hurt/comfort - domestic violence - angst - dubious consent - implied mpreg - kid fic - 62k

Life as a devoted husband and an amazing father turned out to be a little different than Louis had expected. Everyone tells him it doesn't have to be that way; that he's worth more and that he's so much stronger than any one person trying to keep him down. It's all just words though until he meets the one person who makes him truly believe it.

The Pain Is For Pleasure || lovelarry10 || BDSM - established relationship - 67k

Louis and Harry have been together for a few months. Everything is great, but there’s one question burning in the back of Louis' mind - why won’t Harry have sex with him?

I Just Wanna Get Back to Us || louiesunshine || soulmate-identifying marks - angst - post-divorce - exes to friends to lovers - mutual pining - getting back together - slow burn - 62k

Or, where Harry and Louis are divorced soulmates who are seeing each other for the first time in two years.

Soup Of The Day || jacaranda_bloom || strangers to lovers - minor injury - hurt/comfort - 20k

The Restaurant AU where Louis and Niall are chefs, Chicago is windy, and cracking the big time is harder than they ever imagined. But when a mysterious man starts grading Louis' soups by leaving little piles of rocks, could it be just the thing they need to get them on the road to success?

Bleeding Love || momentofclarity || girl direction - enemies to lovers - famous/non-famous - 27k

Louis is an animal rights activist who throws red paint at fur coat wearing it-girl Harry Styles. Then there's a crack in the surface and something new starts bleeding through.

Oh, Darling My Heart's On Fire (For You) || aiienharry || girl direction - fluff - angst - 33k

Two girls fall in love on a road trip that was supposed to last a week and a half, but it ends up feeling like a lifetime.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This || MrsStylinson || fake/pretend relationship - escort - angst - heartbreak - fluff - friends to lovers - 30k

Loosely based on The Wedding Date. Inspired by 27 Dresses. Basically, Fake Boyfriend AU with a twist. Louis' sister is unknowingly getting married to the ex who broke his heart. When faced with the prospect of turning up alone, Louis panics and hires a corporate escort named Harry. General chaos and epic jealousy ensues.

[eccacia]

Favorite Snowbarry Fics

So I have a bit of free time before things get busy again, and being Snowbarry Trash™ I thought, What better way to spend it than rereading my favorite SB fics????? At first I compiled all the links in one place as a reference for myself, but what the heck, it won’t hurt to put these fics out there again and send the writers some love.

Before anything, a caveat: this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the best SB fics. There are a lot of other great fics out there. Also “favorite” here probably more accurately means “fics I reach for when I’m having a bad day,” lol. So to these writers here, THANK YOU. Your fics really get me going again. (And to other fanfic writers out there, keep writing! You’ll never know when a fic will make someone’s day a little better, as these did for me.)

The fics are below the cut, arranged alphabetically. I put in the summary and a brief gushing of what I liked about them. Happy reading, everyone! Don’t forget to give the ones you like some love!

& If It Never Ends then When Do We Start, by @ttinycourageous​

Far too soon, a common occurrence for them, their time together is up. Looking up at him Caitlin wonders how long they’ll be able to keep this going; Barry gone on a mission, she back to the lab ignoring Jay’s advances, both of them under the scrutiny of the agency they work for. How long before her heart gets broken?

“Can you keep a secret?” Barry asks.

[00Q au in which Barry's the spy, and Caitlin one of the scientists providing the gadgets. The two grow closer over the course of several months, mostly due to Barry's insistent inquiring after her real name.]

Spy AU? Secret Identities?? Forbidden Relationship?????? Uh, count me in. What really gets to me about this, though, is that unlike other spy AUs, the language isn’t punchy and action-packed; instead the story’s told with restraint, and the language pulses with quiet longing. Tension and suspense aren’t so much in the external circumstances as in the internal conflict, so the moment that they finally come together is the climax in both external and internal tension. It’s just brilliant. Also I live for coded affectionate exchanges, that whole saying one thing but meaning something else, and it was so well done in this fic.

at first sight, by @tinytendril

College Pride & Prejudice AU. Literature student Barry swears he hates everything about the privileged side of Central City, including one leggy, doe-eyed, bon-mot tossing, label-worshiping vortex of girly vapidness Caitlin Snow. Until, as these things go, he doesn’t, not even by a small measure, and not at all.

I’ve read this so many times I’ve lost count. But really, wow. Barry as Lizzy and Caitlin as Darcy just makes so much sense, and the rest of the cast were slotted so naturally into their P&P counterparts that I couldn’t imagine it any other way. The dialogue’s also very witty. I love how Caitlin calls Barry out for his pretentiousness. (The pretentiousness is so well-done, by the way. I mean, just look at the summary. It’s a mini-adventure into the dictionary.) I always get this sense of vindictive joy when Barry realizes that Caitlin can match him line for line. Ha, you show him, girl. Serves him right for underestimating you. Anywaaay, I could go on, but in short, I love this fic to bits.

Blind Date, by @chasingblue57​​

Iris just knows that Barry & her TA are perfect for each other, she just needs to get them in the same room [college au].

Iris as a matchmaker, Barry and Caitlin being set up on an awkward blind date, them talking about awkwardness during said blind date... It’s the most adorable thing, I tell you. Even if the same can be said of nearly all of Blue’s fics, this one’s close to my heart.

cold and paperskin, by @briarsrosie​

You're Killer Frost. Caitlin Snow is dead. You deserve to die, too. / Trigger warning.

This technically isn’t SB or even romance. It’s Snowbarisco friendship, and I’m glad it is. It’s also a great rendering of Caitlin’s disjointed, fractured consciousness following her rampage as Killer Frost, and the obsessive repetition of that “you-deserve-to-die” reveals the destructive quality of her guilt. But what really got me was the friendship. I mean, friendship’s usually light and fluffy, but their friendship here is tenacious and stubborn and hopeful, and it’s what saves Caitlin in the end. It’s so precious.

Could End in Burning Flames or Paradise, by NeoNails

Or 5 Times Caitlin Had Sex with Barry & the 1 Time It Meant Something. "She didn't know what series of events culminated in Barry's mood that night, but she did know it began with him pulling the bottle out of her hand and taking a long swig for himself."

This one needs little explanation. I don’t know about you, but one of the first things I did as a new SB fan was to look for good smut, and this one was the first one I came across. It definitely did not disappoint. It was written way back, but it remains my favorite smutty fic.

here is my heart (your love is everything i need), by @roastytoastyprincesss

AU: In a world where soulmates exist, when your first touch with them shall brand you for life, Barry Allen gets marked. By who he's not quite certain, but he's determined to find out. Caitlin Snow however, she knows... she's just not ready to deal with it's repercussions. Snowbarry.

The angst almost killed me in this one. It’s a masterful prolonging of a misunderstanding, with every opportunity to right it consistently thwarted; and when the truth is finally revealed, it’s in the worst circumstances possible. It’s what makes their reunion so cathartic, and their hot make-out scene towards the end so satisfying.

(i know that) we’re cool, by Lint​

She hasn't smiled much because there hasn't been anything worth smiling about. But all of a sudden some string bean of a police scientist wakes up from a lightning induced coma, and her facial muscles magically remember how?

Probably the first SB fluff I’ve read. Whenever I reread it my facial muscles still ache from smiling. Also, I’m pretty wordy as a writer, so it amazes me to see how much happens and how much is conveyed through short sentences and succinct dialogue.

If summer is for lovers then consider me in love, by gustin puckerman

When Barry finds out about the kiss.―Barry/Caitlin. Post 1x19 "Who is Harrison Wells". Oneshot.

This has the most adorable SB conversation ever. Barry and Caitlin tiptoe around the elephant in the room in the most endearing, awkward way, but what really gets to me is that behind the innocence of their words, their verbal dancing around each other feels like a strip tease, a slow revelation of the truth one line of dialogue at a time. It ends in the purest way possible, though: not with a kiss, because that would have been a decisive gesture, one that doesn’t quite fit with the atmosphere of the story, but with tentative hand-holding and a walk home. What’s not to love?

Knowing the Flows of Time, by @christinafalls

There is no greater pain than knowing. Barry travels back in time to save his mum, that single event is the catalyst that allows him to have a life with Caitlin he never expected he'd want. But could he truly fight destiny when he knows they were never meant to be?

I was an emotional wreck after reading this fic. I was in tears by the end. Everything hurt. I was in a daze for the rest of the day. This story, I remember thinking to myself then, is one that knows how to end. The storytelling was beautiful, with not one scene out of order. I still reread this from time to time just to marvel at how seamlessly everything unfolds.

Lifeguards’ Summer, by @destianac

This was going to be the longest summer of her life. First, she had to work instead of travelling with her best friend. Second, she was paired with that tall brown-haired guy and his cocky grin. Snowbarry AU one-shot. Summer Lovin' 16 - Day 2 - Lifeguards AU

My favorite SB summer read. Destiana pulls off a Barry with boyish charm, cocky and goofy at the same time. The dialogue is light and funny, and there’s a ton of fluff. Not just any fluff, too — it’s sexy fluff. Destiana practically invented that genre for SB. I read this on bad days to cheer up, and it always does the trick.

Swimming Lessons, by chasingblue57

The gang heads to the beach so Barry can teach Caitlin to swim, things get a bit handsy.

This is one of my favorite tropes of all time, and Blue just nails it. The moment when he first sees her in the bikini. The tickling. The not-so-accidental, lingering touches over bare skin. The “Don’t Worry, I Won’t Let You Drown” speech. The innocent flirting contrasted with the fact that they’re both half-naked and, well, wet. I grin like a fool every time I read this, especially when I reach the last line, because it recasts everything in a different light. Read it if you haven’t yet and you’ll see what I mean. It’s just delightful.

somebody sweet to talk to, by tinytendril

Isolated and jaded, executive assistant Caitlin finds an unexpected companion with a stranger, or her IT specialist, Barry. Except, they’ve only got a single phone line to connect them.

AUs are usually more difficult to ease into, but in this case I’m in awe of how I already have a feel of the setting and the characters from just the first paragraph. I also love how Caitlin and Barry’s relationship progresses through dialogue, how they initially get in touch because of professional necessity, and how that professional necessity soon (d)evolves into a sly ruse for another kind of necessity altogether. I’m a sucker for those things, and this one was beautifully done.

text me a heart attack, by @shyesplease​

Caitlin texts Barry because she needs a little bit of saving, but Barry might be the one having a heart attack.

One of the best things about reading drunk!Caitlin is watching how she (and the author) comes up with ways to reduce Barry into a flustered, tongue-tied mess, and in this fic it’s done so deliciously: drunk!Caitlin sends Barry a hot pic of herself that he receives during a nice, wholesome family dinner... and, well, you can read on to enjoy the hilarity that ensues. I also love the devious twist at the end, during the post-drunk!Caitlin conversation in the morning. Barry’s teasing her mercilessly, as expected, and Caitlin endures it... until she turns the entire conversation on its head with a single line, and then saunters away leaving Barry simultaneously confused and turned on in her wake. Poor Barry. Good thing there’s a sexting sequel...

Untitled, by @snow-bellarke-barry​ 

Barry sneaks into Caitlin’s house at night & asks for her help.

My favorite Caitlin-nurses-Barry-back-to-health fic. I just keep going back to the scene where Barry, after two days of being knocked out by an injury, finally wakes up to see Caitlin dozing off, and then he correctly surmises that she hardly slept for the entirety of those two days while keeping watch over him. It just seemed so Caitlin to worry to the point of forgetting to care for herself, but at the same time not exactly revealing or broadcasting the extent of her worry (except probably in the form of a warning, or in this case in eliciting a promise from Barry). And the scene at the end when they kiss after the culmination of all the anxiety was definitely a wonderful bonus.

wanna be around, girl, by tinytendril

1960s Snowbarry AU - Marrying into wealth isn’t Caitlin Snow’s idea. It takes an annulment and a pool boy with a smart mouth to break out of her perfectly colourless suburban lifestyle.

Oh my God, I live for this fic. I have a soft spot for heroines who go through their lives having everything externally but feeling a diffuse, unnameable restlessness inside, and then meeting someone who finally, really sees her behind all the glamor. I’d like to think it goes beyond just romance, this seeing; it’s like being acknowledged and respected and accepted as an individual... Or is that what romance is? Lol anyway, I love how the choice of setting further emphasizes the importance of appearances. It makes Caitlin’s developing relationship with Barry all the more deviant, and it becomes an important stepping-stone to her questioning of societal expectations and finally breaking free of them; it enables her to not only choose whom she wants to be with but also what she wants to do with her interests and talents. Other than that, I also love the progression of their relationship: how rigid their interactions first seem, marked by the obligatory proprieties; how they slowly shed those proprieties; and then how, during the climax, they just throw all caution to the wind. A really wonderful, engrossing read. I always feel so content after reading this.

Well, that’s it for now. I might add more in the future when I’ve read more fics or if I’ll suddenly remember one that I’ve missed. If you liked anything, don’t forget to let the writers know, or reblog with your comfort fics if you like :)

[apostateangela]

Death and Consequences

Religion provides answers to the hard questions:

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Why am I here?

Is there anybody out there?

Where am I going after I die?

As humans we struggle with our worth and connections in this world.

I am no stranger to self-loathing and loneliness.

Some of those feelings have been fertilized by the Mormon cultural and theological structure as well as my abusive husband.

But I do not think I would have been exempt from them without those influences.

I believe I would have still struggled with my worth and my place in the universe.

Most people seem to.

The LDS church has fairly beautiful answers to these questions, like most ecclesiastical faiths.

I am a child of God.

I lived with him before I was born.

There is a plan created by God and His son Jesus Christ whereby I can learn, grow, and find happiness in this life and go to live with Him in the next.

God is out there and cares about me individually and I can pray to Him and receive comfort, help, and answers in the midst of this brutal, lonely life.

Life does not end.

When I die there is something else, an extensive afterlife where I can live for eternity with my loved ones.

So even though I struggled with the parameters of the church, these carefully constructed, multilayered answers to life’s impossible questions created more of a comfort and stability than I realized.

In fact, they were my gravity.

Now that I no longer subscribe to these parameters, I find myself both adrift and bereft.

You can survive adrift fairly well.

The creation of new gravity lies in meeting your needs with something other than God.

I am lonely?

I make friends.

I take lovers.

I go get my nails done so someone will hold my hand.

I wonder about my purpose here on earth?

I create purpose by pouring myself into my career as a teacher and try to make a difference in the lives of young people.

I write and paint so as to leave a mark of some significance on this planet.

I seek to love people and animals and places in hopes of that large and powerful love doing both.

I try not to worry about the past, pre earth or otherwise.

My future exists in hours and days and sometimes weeks and months.

My mind rarely considers eternity.

Until it sucker-punches me out of nowhere.

Death does that:

Death sneaks up on you.

Death is ugly.

Death is brutal.

Death doesn’t play fair.

Death is Eternity’s thug, pack of thugs really.

There is no end to their creativity and pain.

Religious answers seek to leash these hellhounds, or at least muzzle and blind them so as to provide some kind of extension that cancels out an end.

It’s a distraction really; the more details created the more high def the distractive picture.

Mormons paint a multileveled detailed version of the afterlife.

There are 6 different places you can go after you die.

With so many places, the belief deepens--distracting from the grief--at least some of the time.

Here’s what Mormon’s believe:

After death your spirit/soul goes to a kind of way station (named Spiritual Prison and Spiritual Paradise) to wait for Christ’s second coming and the following final judgement.

A basic Heaven and Hell scenario.

After the apocalypse and its fallout, the final judgement happens and you go to one of four places according to your actions during your mortal life:

Celestial Kingdom: Basically Heaven (there’s even tiers within this kingdom based on marriage and such)

Terrestrial Kingdom: Not a bad place. For basically good people who didn’t know any better than to be a Mormon and make the covenants.

Telestial Kingdom: Basically Hell, but like earth now--I imagine complete even with the Trump administration. No fire and brimstone bullshit. But it’s for certain commandment breakers: sorcerers, whoremongers, and adulterers. (sex and lies mostly)

Outer Darkness: Real Hell. Here you are forever cut off from God and anyone else you loved. It’s reserved for the Sons of Perdition and really evil murderous people. (I’m one of those, remember? Denying God anyway)

I only provide this brief outline to help you understand the layers and details that help Mormons in the processing of life and death. There’s so much more doctrine and symbology here, but it doesn’t really hold relevance to this post.

I’d come to some kind of peace in my shedding of the Mormon structure. I admittedly entered into perdition as I believe most of the principles of the LDS church to be oppressive, misogynistic, and harmful as evidenced by my own experience and it was important to write about it all. This public writing is an action against their God.

But for the most part my place in eternity doesn’t trip me up anymore.

What will come will come.

For me.

Then, the Dogs of Death came on and took someone from me that I loved deeply.

And I am undone, spinning in the savage vertigo that this depth of grief brings.

My friend, my mentor, my sister; my partner in teaching and philosophy and memory and poetry and quilting was gone.

She was full of light and the most beautiful person I have ever known.

Grace filled every molecule of her.

Cancer came and snuffed her out; little by little for years, and then suddenly altogether.

The pain I felt at her death was that of oblivion.

It was a different pain.

It was as if I had been shot full of holes and my hands had been cut off.

Even the pain I felt when my own grandmother had taken her own life did not compare to THIS pain.

Because THIS time, I was alone without any answers.

All I wanted was God’s hand to hold and a place for her to go so that I could clutch the possibility that I would see her again.

But there was nothing.

I sought it.

I knelt prostrate on the floor of the spare bedroom in my friend’s house, pounding my actual fists on the floor, crying out to God.

But to no avail.

I reached out with everything within me, like I’d been taught all my life, trying to find what I wanted so desperately.

Nothing.

I wanted nothing more than to go back to my constructed belief.

But there is no going back, at least for me.

For weeks after her death, even until now, I’ve asked myself the questions:

What did this mean?

Is there really no one there?

Is death really the end?

Is there really nothing else?

Ultimately, I can’t accept that.

Not because of the religious answers constructed for me.

But because of my actual experiences with the spiritual and metaphysical.

As well as the experiences of others whom I trust as both intelligent and reliable.

The new pain I felt at the death of my dear friend has caused me to begin a search for answers that resonate within me. Answers that I can construct FOR MYSELF, instead of those that others construct for me.

It is sure to be a lifelong search whose answers will only be truly realized at my own death.

Therefore, I am in no hurry.

It is too hard to rush to this kind of thing.

Beyond the fact that I shall never really and completely know unless I die,

the very process of searching hurts.

Every time I approach a potential piece of information, I have to dig up my pain and hold it in my ghostly severed hand saying, “What do I do with this?”

The experience is much like poking that beating question with a stick; it doesn’t accomplish much and is painful anyway.

But sometimes the stick is electrified, and the question does something interesting--reacting to the shock. That reaction then becomes information gathered and filed away in my brain and heart.

One such moment recently came in the form of a poem, my best and most loved language:

Pass On

by Michael Lee

When searching for the lost remember 8 things.

1.

We are vessels. We are circuit boards

swallowing the electricity of life upon birth.

It wheels through us creating every moment,

the pulse of a story, the soft hums of labor and love.

In our last moment it will come rushing

from our chests and be given back to the wind.

When we die. We go everywhere.

2.

Newton said energy is neither created nor destroyed.

In the halls of my middle school I can still hear

my friend Stephen singing his favorite song.

In the gymnasium I can still hear

the way he dribbled that basketball like it was a mallet

and the earth was a xylophone.

With an ear to the Atlantic I can hear

the Titanic’s band playing her to sleep,

Music. Wind. Music. Wind.

3.

The day my grandfather passed away there was the strongest wind,

I could feel his gentle hands blowing away from me.

I knew then they were off to find someone

who needed them more than I did.

On average 1.8 people on earth die every second.

There is always a gust of wind somewhere.

4.

The day Stephen was murdered

everything that made us love him rushed from his knife wounds

as though his chest were an auditorium

his life an audience leaving single file.

Every ounce of him has been

wrapping around this world in a windstorm

I have been looking for him for 9 years.

5.

Our bodies are nothing more than hosts to a collection of brilliant things.

When someone dies I do not weep over polaroids or belongings,

I begin to look for the lightning that has left them,

I feel out the strongest breeze and take off running.

6.

After 9 years I found Stephen.

I passed a basketball court in Boston

the point guard dribbled like he had a stadium roaring in his palms

Wilt Chamberlain pumping in his feet,

his hands flashing like x-rays,

a cross-over, a wrap-around

rewinding, turn-tables cracking open,

camera-men turn flash bulbs to fireworks.

Seven games and he never missed a shot,

his hands were luminous.

Pulsing. Pulsing.

I asked him how long he’d been playing,

he said nine 9 years

7.

The theory of six degrees of separation

was never meant to show how many people we can find,

it was a set of directions for how to find the people we have lost.

I found your voice Stephen,

found it in a young boy in Michigan who was always singing,

his lungs flapping like sails

I found your smile in Australia,

a young girl’s teeth shining like the opera house in your neck,

I saw your one true love come to life on the asphalt of Boston.

8.

We are not created or destroyed,

we are constantly transferred, shifted and renewed.

Everything we are is given to us.

Death does not come when a body is too exhausted to live

Death comes, because the brilliance inside us can only be contained for so long.

We do not die. We pass on, pass on the lightning burning through our throats.

when you leave me I will not cry for you

I will run into the strongest wind I can find

and welcome you home.

-----

Besides the crying part, this is where I am right now.

My first answer about Death lies here:

seeing my dear friend... in the faces, words, and voices of students she has touched, in the smile of a woman with a book in her hand at our coffee shop, in the kind touch of the nail technician who uses her eyes instead of language, and even in the handwriting of a well-crafted note of encouragement.

I feel her in the wind, ruffling my hair and invading my senses with the rich smell of baked beans simmering on the stove, with the perfect taste of an Almond Joy bar, and with the amber glow of an interesting and well crafted beer.

Add to that my desire to honor her belief.

My friend saw God everywhere.

She was an authentic believer, not a constructed one.

She had as many icons as her small corner shine could hold.

She sought God her whole life.

She herself, within many organized structures and outside of them.

We talked of it many times.

I wish she were still here to be my spiritual sounding board.

But she is not, at least not in the same way that she was anyway.

Her absence is both catalyst and quicksand, as I’ve already explained.

However, something I know well is that pain is usually required for growth.

So I will engage.

In my quest for the Collective Divine, I have much work to do: reading and listening and watching and traveling.

But like my darling friend, I feel God everywhere:

in beauty and tragedy, light and darkness, joy and sorrow.

I always liked the Mormon idea that we could become Gods someday,

it was my take on evolution.

And maybe this is how it will be; our energy rushing out of us EVERYWHERE to join the electric and become godlike.

My contained human mind and heart wants it to be more like it was when those I love were alive, whole and organized and accessible.

But if, after I die, I go out to join them in the wind and in everything around me, maybe that desire will be left behind with my body.

I don’t know.

The most painful part is not the unknown, but the known and lost.

It is the missing.

It is the wanting.

[thomasroach]

Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection

The post Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection appeared first on Fextralife.

Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5 Review: Action game reviews are often hindered by the issue of accessibility and the skill of the reviewer, which can skew impressions depending on what fence you sit in: the casual audience or the min-maxers aiming to do flawless Hell or Hell runs. In this DMC5 review, I will aim to breach that gap between skill levels, and explain why Devil May Cry 5 is a game you really should buy and enjoy, regardless of how “good” you think you are.

Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection

Genre: Action Developed by: Capcom Published by: Capcom Release date: March 8th, 2019 Platforms: PS4 (review platform), Xbox One, PC Price at the time of the review: $59.99

Devil May Cry 5 Review Story and Setting

DMC5 follows DMC4 hero Nero and newly introduced V as they set forth to stop a dangerous demon from awakening and overtaking earth. New players are treated to a short introduction to the events so far in the form of a video, which is “just the highlights” but still provides enough context to ease newcomers into the world of Devil May Cry. I was happy to see that the horrible aberration by Ninja Theory DMC did not make it into the game’s cannon. Thank you Capcom!

The story is delivered via a complex back-and-forth that makes the player take on the role of different characters at different points in the game’s timeline. Despite the initial confusion this generates, it is not long before the player gets the hang of the storytelling method and can follow through easily. However, it does create an issue where you just learn one characters controls and then switch to another, which can be frustrating at times.

The game also provides detailed records on characters, enemies and situations that may be referenced in an internal library. This is particularly useful for those wanting to understand the actually complex lore of the series, which is an underappreciated aspect of the title as most coverage focuses on gameplay.

That’s the kind of outfit one wears to hunt demons! What? It might distract them?

Of course, Devil May Cry follows the tradition of manga titles such as Bastard! and is a demonic hard rock paradise of cocky demons who flaunt their stuff with the addition of naked girls wherever possible. The game embraces the corny and rebellious hard rock teenager feel of its origins and unabashedly commits to making you, the player, feel COOL. And that, I did, as I fancied myself an unstoppable force of awesome wrapped in a mantle of tricksy shadows with a side of several swords, all to the tune of some modernized metal. Feels good, man.

In short, the game walks the right line for an action title, delivering decent worldbuilding and over-the-top characters that match the over-the-top action, with intermittent humorous moments – mostly provided by a demon bird called Griffon who is most certainly inspired by Jafar’s parrot Iago (from the movie Aladdin). Seriously though his voice nearly sounds identical. The one-liners and punchlines had me chuckling, which only added to the giddy overall feel that results from kicking demon butt “SAVAGELY”.

Combos feel fluid and pack a satisfying punch.

Devil May Cry 5 Review Gameplay

Gameplay is the main appeal of this title, as players take on different characters and master their skills. Nero is down an arm from the previous game, but this has been replaced with a powerful Devil Breaker that adds depth to his range of actions, which are certainly not few. Players will gather Red Orbs dropped from enemies and the environment or by completing missions Stylishly, and use them to upgrade and unlock skills, adding to a veritable arsenal of combinations that make it so no encounter is likely to be the same for any two players. The complexity of move combinations are further reinforced by the fact that each playable character has their own set of moves, unlocks and weapons.

As I progressed through the encounters, I found myself wanting to redo them to get that combat rank up and showcase my moves to perfection, and that drive to keep playing comes from the fact that any frustration I felt with the fight was 100% my own fault and a result of my execution mistakes. I never felt an enemy was cheap, or an attack unwarranted, but rather that I could have done better and gotten that SSS ranking “if only I had just…”

The gameplay fun factor is simply off the charts, and the more you play the more you want to play.

And thus, DMC5 lures you into its cycle of progressing through the game’s difficulty options and replaying each mission dozens of times on all its 6 difficulties. This is where the misconception that players must be skilled to enjoy this title should be addressed: just like Dark Souls requires you to be patient and learn, so too does DMC require you to invest time learning mechanics. To enjoy the game, you don’t need FPS no scope headshot skills, but rather you need to learn the combos, figure out the counters, and be creative in your battling.

DMC5 is here and with it action games are back for real. Many players are likely eagerly awaiting the release of Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, and to them I say: go buy DMC5 now, as Sekiro will likely be your From game of the year but DMC5 is THE action game of 2019, and rightly so!

Devil May Cry 5 Review Audio & Visual

DMC5 has excellent voice acting, which is saying something when you consider how cheesy some of the lines must have felt to the actors. The music does not disappoint, bringing each demon encounter the right amount of tension and excitement, and even delivering some unique nostalgia feels as players can customize their jukebox with tunes from DMC1 through DMC4. I can hear Capcom in the idle screens, that vaguely reminded me of Resident Evil and even Dragon’s Dogma. Overall, a well-balanced and well-implemented combination of calm and quieting tunes, tension-building violins, modern techno and hardcore metal.

The game’s visuals are, without a doubt, the best that Devil May Cry has ever looked, and the most important part is that the glorious graphics do not affect performance at all. I played for hours and hours, on 4k at 60FPS and did not see 1 frame drop. There are zero stability issues and I encountered zero glitches. Combos are executed flawlessly with accurate and responsive controls that have zero input lag or deficiencies. This is where action games must deliver or they fail: both controls and performance must be perfect. Devil May Cry 5 nails it on both counts.

Griffon can act as convenient transport and give you a great view to boot

Devil May Cry 5 Review Replayability

DMC5 is a pure action game, which means that if you don’t want to play it over and over again, the game is doing it wrong. Fortunately, Capcom has delivered in the gameplay department, and provides ample reason for re-visiting missions in the form of hidden collectibles, secret missions, and of course to farm red orbs and unlock more skills. Further, the game has tons of unlockable artwork and even unlockable skins that open up as you progress in difficulty.

Each difficulty mode adds its special touch, making enemies tougher and adding different combinations of them to the mix. If you start on normal difficulty (veteran players), you’ll find yourself quite enjoying NG+ on Son of Sparda, as you get to chain longer combos and make full use of your new abilities and extended powers. If you’re new to the series, you might be surprised to learn that you can get better mission ranks on higher difficulties, and this can be incredibly satisfying.

You’ll get to pull of better combos as you unlock more abilities, face tougher enemies, and get used to the flow of combat

There’s also the new multiplayer component, that gives players both asynchronous and real time options for interacting with other players. In some missions, secrets and collectibles on “your side” of the mission depend on whether your online partner has done specific tasks that affect your progress. Multiplayer also adds the option to rate other players, and good ratings result in Gold Orbs (a continue for your mission), so we can expect new players to be able to obtain several of those from generous strangers, or even from signing in as there’s a daily login bonus. This further enhances the appeal to new players, whilst adding a fun factor for veterans.

Please note that multiplayer interactions were sparse at the time of review, so we only had limited experiences with this aspect.

You will get a daily login bonus, and daily rewards for your rankings from “Link” missions.

Devil May Cry 5 Review Price Point

DMC5 is hitting a sweet spot for a release window, as there’s a lull in all action, rpg and adventure genres in late february-march. This puts the game in a good spot as it won’t be competing for your time with other titles, but of course the question is whether it is worth your hard-earned cash. At 60USD, the game gives a basic 15 hours of content for a playthrough for a casual player. From there, the replayability kicks in and you would be looking at 70+ hours for full completionism, depending on your skill.

For the average player who enjoys action titles but doesn’t want to unlock everything and see every secret, 60USD for 30 or 40 hours of content might be steep, but the game more than makes up on it in terms of fun. The fun factor is simply off the charts with Devil May Cry 5, and playing it is an enjoyable endeavor regardless of your skill level, so long as you give yourself a chance to learn a combo or two and get satisfaction from smashing demons.

Many hours of content for the dedicated, average for the casual, but all of them packed to the brim with action

Devil May Cry 5 Review Final Thoughts

I had been waiting for DMC5 (the “real” one, not the DMC abomination) for many years. I am positively thrilled that the title is here, but as all fans I am always wary that microtransactions or modern business practices could ruin a beloved series.

Those fears were unnecessary, as Capcom (much like they did with Monster Hunter World), kept to the title’s original appeal and amplified it rather than reinvented it. Microtransactions are there for certain cosmetics such as previous title soundtracks, and there’s an option to buy Red Orbs for those who do not want to farm them, but none of this made me feel as if the base title was lacking, or if any mechanic had been tinkered with to favor an extra purchase.

All in all, Devil May Cry 5 is unexpectedly leading the pack for Game Of the Year due to great production values and an incredibly polished delivery.

I’m sexy and I know it

The post Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection appeared first on Fextralife.

Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

[whorefield]

Chapter One- You Look Beautiful While Dancing

Wowie what is this Summary: Two strangers meet at a party. What could possibly go wrong? Genre: Fluff? AU A/N: ugh I'm sorry my fics are so short I'm working on it, okay? Btw this is a chaptered ficerooni And ye it's really bad but I want you to enjoy anyway Songs (in order) • Stolen Dance -Milky Chance • Toxic -Britney Spears • The Love Club -Lorde • Feel It Still -Portugal. The Man Daniel swayed into the party. It was just a gathering of friends and kids from his year, but there was still a sizable amount of people there, a large chunk Dan didn't even know. He smiled and waved to a group of his close friends as he walked to them. He sat with them and had some playful banter until a certain man entered his vision. All coherent thoughts exited his mind as this man danced with an awkward yet gracefully charm, his long limbs moving around perfectly to beat. He bit his lip lightly as the man let out one of the beautiful noises Dan had ever heard; the stranger's singing followed by his laughter. "I want you by my siiiiddddeeee, so I never feel alone, again. They've always been so kiiiinnnnddddd-" his laugh rung out as he and his friends danced. Dan was pulled from his daze from a nudge at his side. "Dan, we can see you staring. Go dance with him!" Louise had said encouragingly to him. She smiled and gently pushed Dan up. His cheeks burnt a red-hot fire and he awkwardly cleared his throat as he gave her a questioning glare. She just laughed and pushed him farther. Dan, being Dan, toppled over and conveniently landed at the stranger's feet. His face got impossibly redder. The stranger laughed it off and helped him up. "T-t-thanks.." Dan managed to mutter out. "No problem!" The stranger said back. "Now, are you going to just stand there or are you going to dance with us?" "I- I don't really know how to dance..." "Bullshit! Everyone can dance." The stranger laughed and pulled Dan to him. He placed a hand on Dan's hip and began a rhythmic swaying along with him. "I'm Phil, by the way." "Dan. Nice to meet you." They shared a quick smile as Phil turned and swung around with Dan. "I want you. We can bring it on the floor. We've never danced like this before! We don't talk about it..." Phil began to sing along and smiled wider at Dan. They intertwined fingers and held them up in the air as they swung and laughed. /Dancin' on, do the boogie all night long. Stoned in paradise. Shouldn't talk about it./ They laughed at each other. Phil's clumsy moves matched Dan's inexperience. Every wrong step was smiled away and every right one was cherished. Eventually, Phil's hands were on both of Dan's hips as Dan clapped along to the mellow beat of the song. It faded to an end, and a new one started up. This one they both knew. They shared a hearty laugh as the beginning of the song. They both screamed along to the lyrics. "BABY CAN'T YOU SEE, I'M CALLING, A GUY LIKE YOU, SHOULD WEAR A WARNING!" They laughed as they jumped around as the song continued to play. Dan was getting a little more confident, so when the line, "Too high, can't come down" played, he turned and lined his bum with Phil's crotch, lifted up and arm, and did the classic slut drop. He hyena laughed at Phil's red-cheeked responsive squeak. A dart to where Dan's friends were sitting revealed that they were in utter shock of his previous actions. He laughed harder. They intertwined fingers on both of their hands. Matching the sexual tone of the song, their movements got a little dirtier, but still PG, nonetheless. Dan ran his fingers down Phil's chest and only stopped them at his V line. Phil slid his hands farther down Dan's hips, teasing, but not touching. Dan pressed his back against Phil's front once again, loving his squeaky responses. Soon, the song was over an a new one began to play. More romantic tones were with this one, so their movements were soft and meaningful. Dan slipped his fingers under Phil's shirt and rubbed his fingers over his hip bones. Their hearts began to race, and they met each other's eyes. They began to lean closer as the music sounded. /be a part of the love club, everything with glow for you. You'll get punched for the love club, for the love club/ Dan's eyes darted between Phil's and his lips. His own lips had begun to part slightly as he leaned in closer, but someone bumped into them, ruining the moment. They both went beet-red and looked down. They met each other's eyes again and laughed. They swung along softly, enjoying the other's presence and embrace. Another song sounded over the cheap speakers and Dan practically shrieked with excitement. "WooOOoo! I'm a rebel just for kicks yeah, I've been feeling it since 1966, now!" Dan laughed as he sung the chorus with broken high notes. He and Phil swung around, twirled, and danced about. Easy laughter fell from their lips once more. Inevitably, in their hasty dancing, Phil, in Phil fashion, tripped and fell on dan. Dan's cheeks burned with the realization that Phil was suddenly straddling him. They both coughed awkwardly, their blushes only comparable to the nasty red color on old women's chipped nails. They stared at each other. Out of nowhere, Dan's friends began to wolf-whistle. He laughed and gently slid from under Phil and helped him up. The song was still playing, and its upbeat melody helped in their quick recovery. Dan grabbed a small ounce of confidence from inside him, and got dirtier with his dancing. "Might be over now, but I feel it still." He sung as he harshly grabbed Phil and pulled them closer together. He rushed his hands over the other man's body. They smoothly pushed and pulled together, getting braver with their touching. As the night went on and more songs fueled lustful, yet PG, dancing. It was agonizingly painful for Dan to keep it appropriate for everyone in the room, but he had managed. They ended the night by exchanging numbers. Dan rushed home, hair disheveled, face red, and heart beating. He went into his room and did his nightly routine. He sat on his bed and stared at his phone. Finally, after minutes that felt like hours, Dan received a text. "Hello!" It read. Dan smiled to himself and buckled in for a wild ride.

[exosmutxoxo]

THE CHOSEN ONE (PART 4) 🌙

A/N: Firstly, I would thank @nemogirl02 for the lovely moodboard above! I’m utterly in love with it and I cannot thank you enough for your efforts and your endless support of this series of mine! Secondly, thank you to all my followers/mutuals who have been supporting the past three parts of these series! I bring you Part 4, and I hope you’ll enjoy it! x

Genre: Dystopian/Action/Smut in later parts 

Word Count: 11,593

Soundtrack:

Young God // Halsey

Everybody Wants to Rule the World // Lorde

Synopsis: In the land of Exotica, thirteen kingdoms reign. Thirteen different types of bestowed powers, thirteen different types of abilities, thirteen different types of gifts. In this world, everybody is bestowed with only one ability. So what happens when The Chosen One is discovered to possess all thirteen powers at once?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | PART 4 | Part 5

‘Baby girl, my tongue is one of my most lethal weapons’.

As the day of the wedding looms, I spend most of my days in a clouded daze. I wake up, head down to the field for my daily training, thrash the hell out of the Peace boys, wander through the woods and sprawl out on the grass, blankly staring up at the sky while my thoughts race through my head a million miles per minute. I spend most of my free time on my own, avoiding Chanyeol’s presence as much as possible. It’s not that I have anything against him; I just need some time by myself, some breathing space as I brace myself for the big day.

Occasionally, Jongdae finds me in the depths of the woods at an ungodly hour in the evening and invites himself to take a seat beside me on the dead grass, never saying much. It’s surprising that the talkative Lightning prince has nothing to say, especially since we’re getting married to each other, for God’s sake. For a soon-to-be married couple, it’s scary that we don’t have anything to say to each other.

But it seems like he understands the inner turmoil I’m going through, since he often utters some words of positivity such as ‘You’re not so much of a bitch after all’ or even ‘Your hair looks even prettier when the sunlight reflects off it’. In response, I emit disgruntled snorts and roll my eyes, too preoccupied with my roiling thoughts to bite out another one of my snarky remarks.

Four weeks eventually dwindle down to four days and my stomach twists up even more as the big day approaches, a tidal wave of conflicted emotions crashing through me. Father refuses to speak to me, blatantly giving me the cold shoulder whenever we amble past each other in the castle and I’m silently grateful for his icy silence. At least I won’t have to deal with anymore ugly gashes adorning the length of my jaw or hurtful words on his part. On the flipside, Mother hovers around me like a bad odour whenever I set foot back in the castle after a long day of training and excessive overthinking, an artificial smile pinned to her face as she desperately attempts to coerce me into a conversation revolving around wedding gowns and decorations. I bat her off irritably, too frazzled to actually sit down and ponder over the design of my gown because I’m sure she has the right people for the job. Clothes are the least of my problems.

As for Yuri, she makes an effort to quietly slip into my bedroom every night before I drift off to sleep with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, the door sliding shut behind her silently. We don’t say much to each other, just indulging in companionable silence as I slurp at the hot drink noisily. She doesn’t chastise me for my unmannered way of drinking, opting to observe me from the foot of the bed with those eerie cat-like eyes of hers. Then when I’m finished with the drink, she would take the empty mug from me and wish me a good night’s sleep before slipping out as quietly as when she entered. From there, I drift off as soon as my head hits the pillow, hazy dreams flooding my mind incessantly. Images of Jongdae and Chanyeol haunt me on a nightly basis, their faces and features blending together until I have no idea how to tell the difference between them anymore. One of them is a boy I’ve known forever, the other a complete stranger who is capable of ripping me to shreds and tearing me apart with his ability. To be honest, I don’t know which is worse; tying myself down to a man who could electrocute me right down to my last bone, or walking away from my best friend and the memories we’ve shared for the past many years.

Either way, my emotional turmoil doesn’t end there. The lingering memory of Taeyeon’s soft silhouette and equally soft facial features fill up every inch of my mind in my dreams, sending me spiralling into a temporary paradise. For some foreign reason, my dreams of a young woman I barely know delivers me with more comfort than anything else and I cling onto them desperately, basking in the peace and serenity the Lightning princess provides me with. I finally understand why Baekhyun gushes about her so incessantly, and I don’t blame him at all. It’s impossible to not moon over Princess Taeyeon’s attractive aura.

Then the dreams would dissolve away like clouds in the sky, leaving me with an empty head as I open my eyes and wake up to another day, slowly but surely inching towards the big day. The cycle repeats itself as I roll out of bed and freshen up for a full morning of intense training and so on. Life is a beautiful, repetitive fucker at times.

Today, Jongdae is seated beside me as usual, his back pressed against the trunk of a tree as he tilts his face up towards the sunlight, eyes shut as he basks in the sluggish warmth of another draggy afternoon. I have no flipping idea why he even bothers to linger in my presence when he could be off slaughtering some other poor victim of his, but I don’t question him. In some odd way, I’m glad for the silent and unassuming company so for the first time ever since we got betrothed to each other, I keep my mouth shut. Instead, I opt to study my future husband’s side profile while his eyes remain sealed shut, taking this golden opportunity to fully drink in the sight of his sculptured features.

His jawline is sharp enough to cut through steel, his jet-black hair falling over his forehead in little waves like the curved petals of a rose. His pursed lips match Taeyeon’s in every way, dusty pink and perfectly curved upwards at the ends in a permanent smile. Trademark purple sparks snake around his fingers, his wrists draped over his knees lazily and I have to resist the urge to reach out and touch one of the sparks. My bones feel ignited, my senses electrically charged as I stare at the Lightning prince’s ability blatantly displayed at the tips of his slender fingers. All I see is purple, all I feel is lightning coursing through my veins and it’s odd that I, a master in metal manipulation, can actually feel my betrothed’s ability flooding through me like a ruthless storm.

My own fingers twitch uncontrollably, as though my power is threatening to burst out of them and I clench my fists. Jongdae chooses this exact moment to open his eyes with a blissful sigh, his gaze resting on my stiffened form and he raises an eyebrow in question. “What crawled up your ass, baby girl?” He smirks, eyeing my white-knuckled fists in amusement.

Annoyance quells the rising anxiety in the pit of my stomach and I whip around to glare at him. “Get rid of that fucking pet name before I get rid of you”, I snap, angling myself away from him with a gracefully cold air. My elbow juts in his direction prominently and he grabs it playfully, his electrified fingers shooting straight up my arm and shocking me right down to my bones.

“For God’s sake, you need to loosen up-”

I don’t give him the chance to complete his sentence before I drive my elbow against his jaw, his grip on my arm slackening as a sickening crack reverberates throughout the serene forest air. Jongdae flinches from the physical contact, the back of his head slamming against the tree trunk with a deafening thud. I rise to my feet, my arm still throbbing with the burst of electricity from his fingertips and a combination of fear and confusion crashes through me mercilessly.

Pushing the doubts aside, I whirl around to direct my dagger-like glare at him once again. “What are you playing at?” I snarl like a feral animal, spitting the words out with dripping disgust. “I’m not a fool, Jongdae, so stop playing games”.

Jongdae clutches at his jaw, staring up at me incredulously with those blazing eyes of his. “Christ, Syona. You need to calm the fuck down and stop assuming that everybody is out to get you. I’m due to marry you in four days, for God’s sake! What’s the worst I can do to you? Shock you in your sleep? Stop running around in circles, stop chasing your own tail and take some time to breathe, you bitch”.

As soon as the last word leaves his mouth, Jongdae’s contorted facial features freeze up as realization dawns on him. Wariness flickers across his face as he observes my reaction, his sparks returning to his fingers in preparation for an attack on my part, but I don’t move to tackle him. Instead, I unleash the most horrific laughter I’ve ever mustered up, the sound of it like nails scratching on a chalkboard, and take a step towards him menacingly, closing the gaping distance between us. He rises to his feet as well, back pressed against the tree trunk as we eyeball each other like boxers before a match.

When I speak, my voice is bone-chillingly low, rumbling through the woods like a distant echo. “Do you know how hard it is to be in my position, Jongdae?” I say quietly, another one of my disgusting smirks creeping up onto my face like a poison. “Do you know what it’s like to be against the world with only an awaiting crown and a throne as your only friends, while everybody else in this godforsaken land is just waiting for you to fall? Do you think I’m oblivious to the fact that your Bloodbath friends are secretly hoping for my downfall, secretly hoping that I’ll fuck up as queen so they can overthrow my kingdom? Do you think I’m just another foolish bitch who’s willing to drop and roll over on my feet just because you’re going to be king?”

My words are like dagger, like bullets, every single one of them cutting through Jongdae ruthlessly and tearing through the defiant mask he’s wearing. That very mask cracks, giving way to a stumped expression. He’s flabbergasted, put in a corner and unable to weasel his way out. Then the shock clears and is replaced by that trademark Chesire grin of his, stretching so wide that it almost splits his face in half.

“You really are something, aren’t you, Princess?” He chuckles sarcastically. “For such a tiny thing like yourself, your mouth really makes up for everything else. The fact that I’m tying the knot with you is astounding and I still can’t believe it. But all the same, you’re going to be my wife and so I’m going to treat you like one. Let me start by assuring you that I’m definitely not playing any games with you and I swear that on our unborn children”.

I sneer up at him, baring my glistening teeth. “If our children are going to take after you, I definitely don’t want children”.

“Touché”. He rolls his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

“You’re a Bloodbath boy”, I spit out venomously. “Your words mean nothing to me, they’re just carefully crafted lies all over again. You and your people don’t associate yourselves with the word ‘truth’, you’re all cunning and manipulative and crafty. Hearts have no place in reality, you told me. Those are the only words I’ll ever believe from you”.

Jongdae heaves a sigh, his gaze never wavering from mine. “How long are you going to keep up this defensive act of yours? We’re due to be married in a few days’ time, Syona. As much as we hate each other’s guts, why don’t we try to make things a little bit easier for both of us?”

“Is that the pathetic reason for why you’re hanging around me like a bad smell these few days?” I shoot back. “If you feel obligated to linger in my presence just because I’m going to be your wife, don’t. I don’t need you around and trying to prevent me from enjoying my last few days of freedom”.

“You lost your freedom as soon as you were born”, Jongdae remarks flatly. “You were always destined to rule our land, tied down to a fate of having only a throne and a crown as your closest friends. You were never free to begin with, Syona”.

His words sting and it feels like I’ve been brutally slapped across the face with the truth. It feels like I have an elephant on my chest, squeezing every last bit of air out of my lungs until I’m gasping and desperately clinging onto my sanity by the tips of my fingernails. With a flushed face, I turn away from Jongdae and set my jaw tightly, refusing to look him in the eye.

“Why are you here, then?” I ask softly, my tone laced with venom.

Jongdae doesn’t utter a word. Instead, he speaks with his actions. Reaching out, he cups my cheeks in his hands and instantly, electricity jumps from his fingers and burrows deep into my skin, forcing me to look up at him as his sparks jolt through my veins painfully. Just like that, he has me rooted to the spot and unable to move, my entire body bent to the will of his manipulative ability. I’m a puppet in his hands, his lightning coercing me into staying still. And it hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

I want to lash out, to scream, to beg him to release his hold on me, but I can’t. Not only has he shocked me mindlessly still, but he seems to have a hold over my tongue as well, preventing me from even spitting in his face. His sparks bleed through me, freezing me up and numbing me from head to toe and a smirk blooms across his face at my predicament. Wordlessly, he leans in and attaches his lips to mine, pouring even more electricity into me through the intimate physical contact. I’m numb, eyes wide open as he pushes more of his ability into my trembling form and if it’s not for his deathly grip on my cheeks, I would be on my knees by now.

His mouth brushes against mine fleetingly, teasingly, tauntingly. And I loathe myself for not being able to push him off, for not being able to break free of the shackles he has put on me. My head is caught up in a whirlwind, stars dancing before my eyes as he bends me to his will with his sparks and I can slowly feel my own metal ability slipping away from me, replaced with agonizingly evident electricity. Never before have I felt so weak, so useless, so wasted. I’m not even a person anymore, I’m just a puppet dancing on his controlled strings. I’m rendered useless, unable to speak or move. And he loves it. He’s relishing the way he has me dancing in the palm of his hand, a doll for him to fuck around with, a toy to boost his smug ego.

Fucking men and their egos.

“Do you really want to know why I’m here with you, Princess?” Jongdae rasps as he pulls away, my face still cupped in his hands. Purple snakes of sparks curl around the edges of his fingers, hovering dangerously close to the skin of my cheekbones and I tense in his hold. The weight on my tongue loosens up, allowing me to speak. The muscle in my mouth still tingles from the shock of his electricity but I manage to croak out a few words anyway.

“Tell me”, I bite out, gritting my teeth as I feel my limbs grow numb in his grasp, ruthless lightning replacing the blood coursing in my veins. By now, I feel like a walking live wire ready to explode at any given moment but deep down, I know he won’t let me erupt so easily. He takes his own sweet time, providing me with ample time to feel the threat of his power overwhelming every fibre of being so that I’m utterly sure about what kind of monster I’m tying myself down to.

Just like that, Jongdae’s malicious grin melts into a hideous snarl, his lips peeling back to reveal glittering white incisors as sharp as mine while the storm rages on in his eyes. “I’m here to remind you of what I am”, he sneers down at me. “I’m a true Bloodbath boy like you said, with vengeance and violence running in my veins. I could rip you to pieces and tear you to shreds right here, right now if I desire to do so. If I were you, I would watch that mouth of yours before it gets you in trouble, baby girl”.

As soon as his hands leave my face, his electric hold over me melts away and I’m free to take a step towards him. My limbs are loose and free, my heart pounding to its own preferred rhythm and nothing has ever felt so good. To be free, to be released from the shackles of another person’s ability is like taking that first gulp of oxygen as soon as your head breaks out over the surface of a swimming pool.

“Somebody’s getting cocky”, I smirk, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. “The king’s crown isn’t even on your head yet and you already think you’re a young god. You wouldn’t get rid of the one person who’s going to make you a legend, so don’t get mouthy with me. If I were you, I would control your own tongue before the promise of a king’s crown is stripped away from you”.

“Baby girl, my tongue is one of my most lethal weapons”, Jongdae leers down at me, grabbing onto my finger and using it to drag me closer towards him. “And so is yours”.

We eye each other for a long time, the humid air bubbling with our overflowing abilities. My senses sharpen with every passing second until I’m blatantly aware of the low hum of electricity and the familiar feel of metallic energy running through my bones. Jongdae’s gaze never strays from my face, his irises glowing a deep purple as lightning blooms deep within him like sprouting flowers and I realize that he’s still gripping onto my index finger with his sizzling hand.

With narrowed eyes, I cautiously withdraw my finger from his grasp and he releases his hold on me easily, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips as he does so. We say nothing to each other, resuming our usual silence as I turn my back on him and amble off with my hands in my pockets, sneakers crunching on gravel and light footsteps echoing throughout the silent woods. He falls in step with me, his arm bumping against mine deliberately and it takes all my willpower to not elbow him in the face again.

“Taeyeon has been asking about you”, he remarks quietly, his mellow voice bouncing off the trees and ringing through the depths of my mind.

At the mention of the Lightning princess’s name, I feel myself stiffen in anticipation as I wait for him to elaborate further. Obviously he doesn’t, forcing me to turn my head a fraction so that I’m staring at the side of his sculptured face. “What did she say?” I ask tentatively.

Jongdae smiles knowingly, satisfied that he has my full attention. “Nosy, aren’t we?”

I huff, bunching up my shoulders defensively in response. “You brought it up”.

“She sends her thanks and regards to you again”, he explains, solemnity settling across his features for the first time since I met him. “Her gratitude towards you is…overwhelming, to say the least”.

I have no idea on how to respond, so I pinch my lips together tightly and continue my steady stride through the woods, cheeks flushed from the sluggish heat. Silence pounds between us like a dull heartbeat, a Metal princess and a Lightning prince walking side by side without a word like as though we’re strangers. In a way, we are. I don’t know Jongdae, I have no clue about his ulterior motives or his hidden agendas and vice versa; he has no idea about the raging suspicion that seems to eat me from inside out, he has no idea about how I feel like I’m walking on a very thin blade whenever we’re together. If I let my guard down, if I slip up even in the slightest bit, that’ll give him the opportunity to rip me to shreds like how he was raised to. He’ll dance on my grave if I give him the chance to.

Impulsive as I may be, I’m not stupid. Trust is never to be put in the hands of a Bloodbath boy, regardless of marriage or not. Jongdae may be a part of me once we recite our vows to each other in four days’ time, he may infiltrate my beloved kingdom with his poisonous presence, he may rob me of my last name and replace it with his.

He may rule our godforsaken land with a lightning fist. He may wreak havoc over the entire grey land of Exotica, he may sit on a throne with the king’s crown on his head of ebony hair.

He may be King Jongdae of Exotica, marking his claim on everything he desires to own.

But he will never own me.

Over the course of a few years, I’ve witnessed a handful of marriages between heirs of various kingdoms. Weddings are beautiful, if I’m being completely honest. Usually, they take place in the grand hall of one of the castles. Symbols of the thirteen different kingdoms would be printed on regal, coloured flags and strung up around the grand hall, their silky material fluttering proudly.

The entire hall would be split in half with the aisle running through the centre of the room, and the Peace Kingdoms would be seated on the left while the Bloodbaths are on the right. The double doors would swing open, signalling the bride’s entrance and heads would turn to drink in the breath-taking sight of a young princess all dolled up in a wedding dress of her choice with her collarbone exposed for the exchanging of vows. Cue the music from the organ player at the furthest end of the hall and she would begin the slow walk down the aisle, holding onto her father’s arm while her team of bridesmaids brought up the rear, delicately holding onto the long train of her lovely dress.

Gasps of awe and ecstatic sobs would reverberate through the crowd, be it from the Peace or the Bloodbath side. Weddings are the rare occasions on which I always got the opportunity to witness the emotional side of the Bloodbath Kingdoms and as far as I’m concerned, it’s amusing. Such vile and violent creatures of nature shedding tears over the bride and groom. What a joke.

The bride would take her own sweet time to make her way down the aisle, teetering precariously in her six-inch heels as the crowd keeps their eyes fastened on her. But despite the heavy weight of the hundreds of scrutinizing eyes, she would only have eyes for her betrothed waiting on the dais. The prince would be in an impeccably-pressed suit, his collarbone exposed just like the bride’s and his best man would be right behind him, hands clasped obediently.

Fast forward to the exchanging of vows, the part which everybody looks forward to. Things get interesting from here. Firstly, the couple would exchange their vows and proceed to hold up their right hands, allowing their respective abilities to flow right out of their fingertips. They would interlock fingers with each other, their eyelids drifting shut as they physically tied their kingdoms together. As their powers blend through their interlocked fingers, symbols of their betrothed’s respective kingdom would tattoo itself into the tender skin of their collarbones (which explains why their collarbones are exposed in the first place). Cool shit.

Following that, the king’s and queen’s crowns would be presented and the coronation would carry itself out before the very eyes of every single person in Exotica. The crowns are fashioned accordingly, symbolizing the respective kingdoms tying the knot. For Jongdae and I, the crowns take after the symbols of the Metal and Lightning kingdoms, which means that artistically intricate lightning bolts are beautifully entwined with carefully crafted steel blades. In short, the crowns are breathtakingly beautiful and soon, they’ll be adorning the heads of the future king and queen of Exotica.

Jongdae and I wearing matching crowns. Even the thought of it is frighteningly hilarious.

But the wedding ceremony isn’t the only aspect I’m nauseously anxious about. You see, the post-wedding activities are as equally scary as the wedding itself and the worst thing about it is that I can’t weasel my way out. Let me explain the horrors of these so-called activities. After the feverish and chaotic celebrations which are usually accompanied by one too many drinks and an excessive amount of gushy speeches, the bride and the groom are ushered into one of the awaiting carriages which takes them back to the groom’s castle. There, the newly-wedded couple have no other option but to make their way up to the groom’s bedroom where the post-wedding ‘activities’ take place (Lord, help me).

As though the horrifying thought of bedding the Lightning prince doesn’t revolt me enough, my torture doesn’t end there. The tattoos on our collarbones aren’t just for show; instead, they’re used to announce to the world that the newly-wedded couple have sealed the marriage by sleeping with each other. Yeah, I know. Classy.

As soon as the bride and groom reach their climaxes, their respective tattoos would glow permanently to mark their eternal bond. If not, the marriage would be deemed as ‘invalid’ and the bride would have to embark on a head-hunt for another prince to marry. The cycle repeats itself viciously, which just means there’s no way I can weasel my way out of sleeping with Kim Jongdae. Horrifying. Revolting. Disgusting.

At the end of it all, we women are still treated as mere fuck toys, objects to be owned and sources of pleasure for the vile kings and princes out there. There is no way out of this hell. I’m doomed to be Jongdae’s trophy for the rest of my life, a pretty little prize to call his own. Secretly, I wonder how many girls he’s shagged before our betrothal to each other.

And yet, I’d rather take the brunt of it all as compared to Taeyeon being coerced into a marriage of her own. Someone so sweet and unassuming as her doesn’t deserve the hell Exotica is going to put me through, and I would walk to the ends of this goddamned earth to prevent another innocent girl from throwing herself into a marriage which is only going to clip her wings for the rest of her life.

Thoughts of Taeyeon are what keep me going, even when the crippling anxiety threatens to overwhelm my entire being by the time the day of the wedding rolls around. For the past month, Mother and Yuri and a whole army of wedding planners have thrown themselves into the preparation for my big day, all of them scuttling around our castle frantically as they sorted out the decorations.

From what I saw when I wandered through the castle’s double doors earlier this morning, the planners have done a tremendously impressive job. The symbols of the thirteen kingdoms adorn the entire grand hall of my own home, flaunting their evident power as the respective flags flutter in the air proudly. The aisle cuts through the length of the hall, eerily resembling the boundary running through the entire land of Exotica. Hundreds of plush chairs are set up on either side of the aisle, the glittering white chairs symbolizing the Peace Kingdoms while the deep ruby red chairs symbolize the Bloodbath Kingdoms.

On the dais, six thrones sit tall and proud and facing the neatly-lined chairs. Three thrones glow a deep regal purple, signifying the Lightning kingdom where King Daesuk and Queen Jiyeon are going to be seated during the exchange of vows. The third purple throne is reserved for Jongdae during the best man’s speech, and the same goes for the other three silver thrones on the other side of the dais. Mother and Father will be seated while I exchange vows with Jongdae, while the last throne is mine. Yuri will be seated with the rest of the crowd, although she is going to be in the front row on the Peace side with the rest of our Metal cousins and distant relatives.

Behind the row of the Metal Kingdom will be Junmyeon and the Water Kingdom, followed by the Earth, Fire, Light, Teleportation and Air Kingdoms respectively. On the other side of the hall, Taeyeon and the rest of their Lightning relatives are going to occupy the front rows, followed by the Flight, Healing, Frost, Time Control and Telekinesis Kingdoms. Sehun would be elated to know that he and his family are going to be seated directly across from Luhan’s kingdom. And ironically, the Water and Flight Kingdoms are next to each other with only the aisle segregating them. Even after centuries of conflict between these two kingdoms and yet, here they are, only a few feet away from tearing each other apart and relieving the war from centuries ago. On the bright side, I trust Junmyeon’s well-trained control over his tsunami waves and his ability to hold himself back from ruining my big day. Although a freak tsunami doesn’t sound too bad, now that I think about it.

From what I’d overheard from Yuri’s and Mother’s eager discussions, the wedding cake is a generous contribution from the Frost Kingdom themselves and I internally cringe at the memory of Minseok’s handcrafted snow rose an entire month ago. As far as I’m concerned, the Frost prince needs to get laid badly, and not by me.

Where the food is concerned, I’ve been reassured by Yuri that there is going to be a huge feast. Buffets, desserts, chocolate fountains, the whole works. According to my cousin, various performances by various kingdoms are also going to be carried out as sources of entertainment. From what I remember, Kris Wu and Jessica Jung from the Flight Kingdom are going to perform an aerial dance with their graceful ebony wings, followed by a fire-eating contest by Chanyeol’s cousins.

Breath-taking decorations, wonderful performances and scrumptious food and yet, I still have no clue about my wedding dress. I don’t have the slightest idea about what kind of look I’m going for, what kind of killer shoes I’ll be forced to wear, how my silver hair is going to be styled.

With my heart in my throat and my blood roaring in my ears, I stride down the royal hallway of my castle with my hands stuffed in my pockets as I stiffly make my way down to the dressing room where Yuri and a dozen other stylists are waiting for me.

Countless number of royal guards line the hallway, all of them saluting me as I amble past. “Princess Syona”, they boom in perfect harmony, the powerful sound of my title bouncing off the marble walls.

A shiver of addictive authority shudders through my bones like a tremor as I lift my head higher, donning on an artificial smile for the sake of my own image. Security has been beefed up a notch for my big day, thanks to Yuri’s paranoid fears of aliens abducting me in the midst of reciting my vows or something like that.

My fingers tremble as I finally reach the dressing room at the end of the hallway and turn the door handle, slipping in soundlessly. Immediately, I’m welcomed by a blast of perfume-scented air and a chorus of ‘Greetings, Princess Syona!” from the dozens of female stylists scuttling around.

Yuri looks up from whatever she’s preoccupied with, a huge grin splitting her face in half upon catching sight of me. “Cousin!” She squeals, pushing her chair back and holding out her arms expectantly. “Come here, baby girl!”

Baby girl.

Internally, I shudder at the sickly sweet pet name, Jongdae’s voice still echoing through the deepest depths of my mind. Hastily, I shake the memory off and direct my attention to Yuri, raising an eyebrow at her gushy demeanour. This is nothing like Lady Yuri, the same woman who canes me with a bamboo stick whenever she catches sight of my piss-poor posture and forces me to prance around the castle with a book on my head. Instead, this is just Cousin Yuri, the girl who loves weddings just as much as the next person. Obviously, it’s expected that she’ll be over the moon that her baby cousin is getting married in a few hours’ time.

Heaving a sigh, I return her hug stiffly, warily patting her on the back as she bends down dramatically to wrap her arms around my smaller form. The overwhelming scent of her floral perfume floods my nostrils, causing my eyes to water uncontrollably and it takes all of my willpower to not sneeze.

“Alright, let’s get to work!” Yuri yells, snapping her fingers briskly.

The stylists leap into action, scuttling around the room while my cousin shoves me back into a nearby swivel chair. She then proceeds to spin me around in a business-like manner so that I’m staring at my own reflection in the dressing table mirror, a makeup brush already in her grasp and brandished like a weapon.

“You’re going to be a doll after this, Syona”, she coos, moving to attack my face with the brush. “Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands”.

My knuckles turn white as I clutch at the armrests of the chair I’m in, the nerves eating away at me from inside out like a poison. “Yuri”, I mutter tersely, “please tell me that the wedding dress isn’t overly cringe-worthy”.

As always, she raps me on the head with the back of her knuckles sternly. “Language, Syona”, she says gently, expertly swiping over my cheekbones with the makeup brush. With each passing second, my cheeks start to glow prettily in the soft light of the dressing room and I bite my lip, keeping my fingers crossed that she won’t turn me into a clown.

“As for the wedding dress”, my cousin breezes on, “don’t worry about it. I designed it myself”.

Some of the worry in the pit of my stomach melts away at that comforting piece of information; if there’s anyone I can trust when it comes to knowledge of my fashion sense, it’s my own beloved cousin. Yuri has been an expert when it comes to fashioning my outfits ever since I was a little girl, so it’s safe to say that my dress is going to be a masterpiece without even looking at it.

A few makeup artists wander over to where I’m seated at the dressing table, hovering over me and swiftly slicking on the appropriate makeup onto my lips, cheeks and lashes with quick and nimble fingers. I’ve never been one for makeup, so I pinch my lips together tightly as they decorate my face to their hearts’ content.

Soon, a group of stylists descend upon me like vultures pecking at a carcass, hair products already at their disposal as they tackle my tangled silver hair with a vengeance. Skilfully, they undo my messy bun and run brushes through the stubborn knots, tugging at my scalp gently as they do so. I let them do as they please, my dark eyes fixated on my reflection instead. My made-up face glares back at me, radiating an aura of power and royalty.

An intimidating aura. A queen’s aura.

Gone is the youthful face of Princess Syona and ruthlessly replaced with the hardened, made-up mask of Exotica’s future queen. This queen looks lethal. She looks cold, conniving and heartless, just like how a real queen should be. And yet, for some strange reason, she also looks sad.

She looks nothing like me.

How ironic. I want the crown. I want the power and full control over Exotica so that I can make a change in our miserable grey land. But I also desire my freedom, the limited freedom that was in my hands when I was nobody but a young and foolish princess. Now, as I stare at my hard expression in the crystal-clear mirror, I can already see the youthful princess slipping away and out of my reach. As she fades away, so does my freedom and my old life.

I will never be the same ever again.

As I lose myself in my thoughts, the stylists work on me feverishly, nimbly braiding separate locks of my hair back into a high bun. They’re doing a fantastic job at beautifying me and dolling me up. But it’s impossible for them to beautify me on the inside, impossible for them to doll my ugly heart up and get rid of the permanent poison coursing through my veins. Even up till today, I can still feel the horrifying weight of Jongdae’s lightning bleeding through me, his electrical energy gaining control of my tongue and rendering me mute. My tongue, which is my most lethal weapon, cannot escape from the horrors of his ability and that frightens me more than anything else.

Prince Jongdae of the Lightning Kingdom is going to be a complete monster once the crown is his.

The deafening bang of the dressing door yanks me from the demons in my mind and I jerk my head up, catching a glimpse of Chanyeol’s lanky form in the mirror as he breezes into the room cheerily.

“Goodness gracious”, he booms once he meets my eye, striding over to where I’m seated. “Look at our queen!”

I roll my eyes in response, reaching over to bump fists with my best friend chummily. “What brings you here, Flame Boy?” I ask good-naturedly.

As the stylists add the finishing touches to my hair, I blink at my unfamiliar reflection warily and emit a sigh through my pursed lips, slumping back in the chair. Chanyeol takes a seat nearby, crossing his long legs and peering at me in the mirror with his chin propped up on his fist. “Just wanted to pop by and see my best friend before she’s gone forever”, he says quietly, audible enough for only me to hear.

I force a brittle laugh, turning my head a fraction to meet his eye. “What are you talking about, Chanyeol?” I mutter through gritted teeth. “I’ll still be here even after the marriage”.

“You know what I mean”, the Fire prince mumbles knowingly. “You’ll never be the Syona I once knew”.

“I don’t know her”, I remark sarcastically, shooting him a sideways glance. “I change every five minutes, Chanyeol. You know that”.

“If you consider switching from ‘bitch mode’ to ‘asshole mode’ a drastic change, then I guess you’re right”, he teases, clapping me on the shoulder fondly.

That makes me crack a smile, albeit a very small one. “You’re not going to lose me, Yeol”, I say in a low voice. “As long as I don’t lose you”.

“You’re never getting rid of me”.

“Good”.

We exchange a glance, his eyes glowing a deep shade of red-gold and I have to force myself to turn away before the ache in my heart gets too overwhelming for me to handle. If I have to look at Chanyeol any longer, I feel like my heart might shatter into a million pieces; he’s more than just a best friend to me. He’s a huge part of me, a part I hope I’ll never lose.

Because if I lose him, I lose part of myself too. And I don’t think I can bear the heartache of that happening.

“Syona!” Yuri calls out from across the room, her grin twinkling as much as her glowing silver hair cascading over her shoulders. “It’s time to change into your wedding dress”.

Chanyeol rises to his feet, pulling me in for a hasty hug as he does so. “Congratulations, Syona”, he whispers delicately. “I hope Jongdae treats you like the queen you are and if he doesn’t, promise me you’ll whoop his ass. Best wishes, princess. You may be the queen of our land, but you’ll always be my princess”.

A strange stinging sensation pricks the back of my eyes and I blink rapidly, croaking out a raspy laugh to distract myself from the tidal wave of sadness flooding through me uncontrollably. “You’re an idiot”, I tease, patting him on the back. “But you’ll always be my idiot, Park Chanyeol”.

And just like that, he’s walking out of my life. My best friend of so many years is slipping away from me, just like everything else around me. That precious piece of me is drifting away from my fingertips and as much as I want to scream and cry and grip onto it with every ounce of desperation I possess, I can’t. I don’t. And I won’t.

Steeling myself, I push my chair back and amble over to where Yuri is waiting, her smile like a beacon of light in the darkness of my slowly crumbling life. In one swift motion, she pulls back the silk curtains she was grasping at, revealing the sight of the most breath-taking wedding dress I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

The bodice of the dress is fashioned out of glittering silver sheets, twisted in the most artistic ways so that it fits my small form perfectly, thanks to Yuri’s expert metallic fingertips. An equally silver belt adorns the waist of the dress, bearing the symbol of the Metal Kingdom which is a tiny sword crafted out of pure, hard steel. The skirt of the dress is silver as well and flares outwards beautifully, a perfect balance between elegant and bold.

A chiffon veil dangles from a nearby hook, boasting the regal colours of the Lightning Kingdom. It glows a deep purple in the soft lighting of the room, eerily resembling the permanent sparks curled around Jongdae’s fingertips and a sense of dread tightens into a knot in the pit of my stomach at the haunting memory of the weight of his ability intruding into my veins.

A pair of glittering silver stiletto heels are neatly placed at the foot of the wedding dress, catching the light and reflecting it off in all directions. Upon closer inspection, I realize that the heels are crafted out of actual knife blades, sharp and gleaming eagerly. Metal spikes protrude from them, glinting like actual teeth and I can’t hold back the shit-eating smirk tugging at my lips as I drink in the sight of my killer shoes.

I’d always knew that Yuri was fantastic at designing my clothes but this seriously takes the cake. She doesn’t have to tell me twice to strip myself of my leather jacket and plain ole’ sneakers. In a matter of seconds, I’m all kitted out in my wedding attire, the bodice of the dress hugging my form perfectly while the train of the skirt spools over the floor like a silver puddle. In my heels, I’m almost as tall as Yuri herself, although still shorter than Jongdae. Typical. To men, height is power and they can’t have a young woman towering over her future husband for fear that she’ll crush his power-obsessed ego.

Yuri makes her way up to me, pressing something into my open palm and shooting a wink at me as she does so. Upon glancing down, I catch sight of the tiniest pair of earrings fashioned in purple lightning bolts and instantly, my heart lurches into my throat. They glower up at me tauntingly, mockingly. I can almost feel Jongdae’s aura in them, indirectly chaining me to his side. They’re like shackles, but only in the form of an accessory. How clever.

“Just another accessory to add your collection”, Yuri remarks playfully, her dark gaze flitting over the tiny steel nose stud which I’ve had on forever. Although she doesn’t mention it, I can practically feel her disapproving stare penetrating through my pursed lips and honing in on my steel tongue stud which I’d gotten a few years back. I can still remember her overdramatized horror when I’d wandered into the castle, poked my tongue out at her and revealed my fresh piercing, to which I’d received a tireless lecture in return. Ah, good times.

Now, my cousin slips the lightning earrings into the vacant holes adorning my earlobes and steps back to admire me from head to toe, a prideful smile adorning her features. The stylists and makeup artists crowd around us, fawning over me adoringly and even wiping away tears of joy. If I’m honest, I want to cry too. I want to burst into furious tears at the incredulousness of it all, I want to weep over my ruthlessly stolen freedom, I want to cling to the edge of the dressing table and never leave this damn room.

I never want to see Kim Jongdae ever again.

But alas, I don’t have a choice in this matter. As soon as Yuri slips the purple veil over my perfectly-done hair, there is a loud knock at the door and it swings open on silent hinges, revealing the stoic sight of Father. He is dressed in a suit crafted entirely out of armour plates and they reflect the light blindingly. Around his neck, a necklace dangles prominently, the silver pendent bearing the symbol of the Metal Kingdom and the king’s crown adorns his head of equally silver hair.

The crown which will soon belong to Jongdae.

“Beloved daughter”, Father booms, his black eyes skimming over my form feverishly. “Are we good to go?”

I release the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding in and nod wordlessly. Cautiously, I take a step towards him in my stilettos, silently grateful for Yuri’s gentle grasp on my upper arm. Without a word, Father offers his arm to me and I take it stiffly as my cousin proceeds to bring up the rear, holding the train of my dress delicately to prevent it from dragging across the marble flooring.

The door of the dressing room slams shut behind us, forcing me to begin the long walk down the corridor which leads to the grand hall where the whole of Exotica is waiting. The guards lined up along the corridor drop into deep bows, their right hands pressed against their hearts loyally as they chime out, “Long live the future queen of Exotica!”

The blood roils on in my ears with every step I take, my heart slamming so hard against my ribcage that I absentmindedly start to wonder if I’m actually suffering from a heart attack. My heels clack against the marble flooring threateningly, each clack resonating throughout the hollow corridor and I want nothing more than to dig my feet into the ground and beg Father to let me out of this.

I don’t want this. I don’t want to be in this suffocating dress and killer heels. I don’t want to be wearing a veil which eerily resembles the same colour of my betrothed’s lightning bolts. I don’t want to even see my betrothed.

But I say nothing. Like King Daesuk said, brats like me should learn how to keep my pretty mouth shut.

With every step I take, regret stabs me in the stomach. Regret of giving in to Exotica’s marriage law so easily, regret of not putting my foot down more firmly. Regret of picking Kim Jongdae.

The smart-mouthed Lightning prince awaits me in the grand hall, ready to snatch the remaining bit of freedom from my fingertips and replace it with a queen’s crown. Replace it with him. Even though Father, Yuri and I haven’t reached the door leading to the grand hall, I can already feel his lightning running through my blood, marking his claim on me. Kim Jongdae fills up every crevice of my mind, tauntingly beckoning me over to the grand hall where he waits for me.

I’m shackled. I’m trapped. In just a few mere minutes, I’ll be his.

Run, Kwon Syona. Run while you can, run while you still have a claim over your family name. Run, before his lightning replaces the blood in your veins.

“Ready?” Father’s gruff voice rips me from my inner turmoil, forcing me back to the ruthless reality in which I live in.

No escape. No turning back.

“Yes”, I respond coldly, bracing myself for the door to the grand hall to swing open at any given second.

The three of us inhale collectively, squaring back our shoulders and steeling our facial expressions. On cue, the double doors to the hall swing open on silent hinges and instantly, thousands of eyes settle on me. They skim over me, prickling through my skin and tearing me to shreds from inside out.

The aisle stretches ahead of me, leading up to the dais where the thrones sit in wait for me. Mother is seated on one of the silver thrones while King Daesuk and Queen Jiyeon are seated on the purple thrones on the opposite end, crowns glittering on their raised heads as their sharp eyes focus on my approaching form.

And standing right in the centre of the dais is the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, his electric gaze fastened on me. Kim Jongdae is dressed in a stark white suit with a silver tie, a brooch fashioned in the shape of a lightning bolt pinned to the silk material and matching the earrings adorning my own ears. Besides that, the suit is fashioned in such a way that his collarbone is exposed for the exchanging of vows. His polished black shoes gleam blindingly, matching the glimmer of the silver rings on his slender fingers.

Silver rings. A symbolism of the Metal Kingdom.

His jet-black hair is pushed back neatly to flaunt his God-sculptured features, causing his jawline to stand out more prominently than ever and my ever attentive eyes don’t miss the way his Adam’s apple bobs up and down against the tender skin of his throat, a clear indication that he’s as nervous as I am.

Kim Jongdae. Nervous. What an oxymoron.

All the same, his blatant display of anxiety neutralizes the poisonous dread curling up in the pit of my stomach, propelling me to stretch my lips into my trademark smirk as I regard the crowd with a perfectly raised eyebrow and the cold regal grace of a real queen.

The faces before me blur into nothingness and in that moment, I recognize nobody. Nobody matters to me as Father and I begin the long walk down the lengthy aisle, the gaping distance between me and Jongdae narrowing with every step I take. The disgusting smirk on my face twists into a sneer as I approach my betrothed, silencing the crowd’s animated whispers at the sight of my cocky expression.

In that moment, I almost forget that my freedom is about to be stolen away from me. I almost forget that the royal court is about to put the shackles of marriage on me and attach a chain ball to my feet, binding me to Jongdae and his blasted kingdom for eternity.

In that moment, nobody owns me. I’m nobody’s princess, I’m nobody’s queen. I am my own person. I am Kwon Syona, owned by no kingdom and owned by no man.

I am not a queen. I am a storm.

Until I set foot on the dais and move to stand next to Jongdae, forcing myself to turn around and face the awaiting crowd as Father moves to take up his position between me and the Lightning prince.

Automatically, my eyes search the crowd for a handful of familiar faces and the first person I lock eyes with is nobody other than Park Chanyeol himself.

Amidst the sea of empty faces, his eyes glow a menacing shade of red and gold, showcasing the blazing flames within him. I know better though; that glare of his, no matter how demonizing and predator-like, is reserved not for me but for Kim Jongdae himself. My best friend glowers at the Lightning prince, a silent warning which nobody else understands. It’s clear-cut and blatantly obvious: Park Chanyeol is on the verge of tearing Jongdae apart.

“People of Exotica”, Father booms authoritatively, raising his arms in a welcoming stance. Instantly, the crowd’s attention snaps to all of us standing on the dais, their beady eyes drilling holes into me and Jongdae mercilessly. As far as I’m concerned, this feels more like an execution rather than a wedding, and I pinch my lips together tightly to prevent myself from falling to pieces in front of every single person inhabiting this miserable land.

“Today, we are here to witness the marriage between Kwon Syona, my beloved daughter and heir to the throne of the ruling Metal Kingdom, and Kim Jongdae, heir to the throne of the Lightning Kingdom. This marriage serves only one purpose, and that is to tie these two kingdoms together for eternity. My daughter has made the decision to tie the knot with the powerful and lethal prince of the Lightning Kingdom, and this is a decision worth celebrating.

However, this is not just a simple marriage. Today, we are also here to witness the crowning of the new King and Queen of Exotica”.

As if on cue, two royal servants scurry up to the dais from the sidelines, each of them clutching a silk pillow in their hands. On these two pillows sit the King and Queen’s crowns, handcrafted by the most skilled Metal and Lightning manipulators. Both crowns consist of artistically intricate lightning bolts beautifully entwined with carefully crafted steel blades, regal purple blending in with blinding silver. The only outstanding difference is their sizes; while the King’s crown is large and bold and suitable for a man’s head, the Queen’s crown is smaller and more delicate, eerily similar to a tiara.

The servants take up their positions, one on either side of Father as they clutch the silk pillows proudly, their faces expressionless and completely cold. They give away no ounce of emotion, wearing their masks like how they’ve been brutally trained to.

Father gestures to me and Jongdae wordlessly, prompting both of us to turn and face each other directly, the Lightning prince’s height towering over mine despite the stilettos I have on. Satisfied with our positions, Father clears his throat and levels his gaze with ours.

“We will now proceed with the exchanging of vows”, Father announces, capturing the crowd’s attention immediately.

With bated breath, Exotica leans forward in anticipation and perches on the edge of their seats eagerly. They’ve waited forever for this moment, and now they’re expecting a show. They want to watch another prince claim another princess as his own, tying her to his side for eternity and I internally loathe the situation I’ve gotten myself into.

After years of rebelling against the law of marriage, of mouthing off to Father and stomping out of the castle, of shunning away the princes who would die to have my hand in marriage, here I am.

Here I am in the grand hall of my very own home, bent to the will of the royal court and coerced into something which I’ve tried my best to avoid for the past eighteen years of my life.

Here I am, unable to escape from the shackles threatening to chain me to Jongdae’s side.

“Raise your right hands, children”, Father instructs solemnly.

Jongdae and I adhere to this blunt command, steadily raising our right hands and entwining our fingers together without a word before the eyes of Exotica. Silently, we look deep into each other’s eyes, feverishly searching for any ounce of emotion lingering in each other’s irises. I see nothing in Jongdae’s dark eyes and he sees nothing in mine, two heirs from two entirely different kingdoms communicating wordlessly.

“Before the eyes of the royal court and the land of Exotica”, Father barrels on, each word like a twist of the knife, “do you, Kim Jongdae of the Lightning Kingdom and Kwon Syona of the Metal Kingdom, pledge yourselves to each other?”

Jongdae’s burning gaze never strays from mine as he parts his lips to spit out the words which define our fates for the rest of our lives. “I pledge myself to you, Kwon Syona of the Metal Kingdom”.

Everything around me melts away. I see nothing, I feel nothing but Kim Jongdae and his electric fingers entwined with mine.

There is still time, time for me to turn around and flee from all of this nonsense. There is still time for me to cling onto my freedom.

I could pull my hand away from his, unleash a bloodcurdling roar and tear my entire castle to pieces. I could buy more time for myself, to flee, to escape from the incredulousness of it all.

But what’s the point? In the end, I’ll still have to hunt for another prince out there and let the vicious cycle repeat itself. I’m doomed to be trapped in this labyrinth for the rest of my life, running around in circles and chasing my own tail.

This is it. No turning back now. The Syona I once knew is slipping away from me, fading away into nothingness. Soon, she’ll be replaced with the miserable queen I saw in the mirror back in the dressing room and as much as I want to smash that hideous reflection into a million pieces, I can’t.

Because that miserable queen is already a part of me, no matter how hard I try to escape from her. Princess Syona is dead and gone, and now I have to move forward to embrace Queen Syona with gritted teeth and a shattered heart.

With the eyes of the entire land on me, I muster up a shaky breath and glare Jongdae right in the eye. And with that, I spit out the bitter words that have been lingering on my tongue like a sour aftertaste for the past month, hammering the final nail into my coffin. The doors to my old life, my old self and my past slam shut in my face and it takes all my willpower to not fall to my knees and scream in anguish.

“I pledge myself to you, Kim Jongdae of the Lightning Kingdom”.  

Over the ecstatic roar of the crowd, Jongdae’s sparks bleed through the pads of my fingertips, setting my nerves ablaze and I wince inwardly at the sore intrusion of his ability forcing its way through my veins. In return, I mentally reach for the comforting silver of the rings adorning his fingers, pouring my energy into them.

Lightning collides with metal, resulting in a mini explosion going off between our entwined fingers and the crowd gasps in awe, their eyes fixated on the silver and purple fumes blending in together and wafting up into the air. Clenching my jaw, I push more of my ability through his sizzling fingers and slowly but surely, the symbol of the Metal Kingdom tattoos itself into the skin of his collarbone.

The symbol is in the shape of a sword, the tip of its blade pointing outwards and it singes itself into Jongdae’s collarbone, showcasing the Metal Kingdom’s mark on him.

Then it’s his turn and he furrows his brows in concentration, gripping onto my fingers tightly. Electricity fills my body like a storm, rattling my bones as he forces his ability through my veins and up towards my collarbone. The flow of his sparks bends to his will, surging through my tender skin and causing the symbol of the Lightning Kingdom to singe its way through. A jagged lightning bolt imprints itself on my collarbone, a clear-cut indication that I’m eternally bound to him.

It’s done. It’s finished. Jongdae is tied to the Metal Kingdom now.

And I’m tied to him. I’m his now. His wife, his queen.

His property.

As the crowd bursts into uproarious applause and rowdy cheers, Father reaches for the queen’s crown lying on the nearby silk pillow, holding it up for everyone to lay their eyes upon. It catches the light, reflecting it in all directions and twinkling tauntingly down at me, and a lump starts to form in my throat.

With thousands of eyes resting on me, Father places the crown on my head and steps back, reaching for the awaiting king’s crown. Quickly and nimbly, he lays it down on Jongdae’s dark head and gently turns us towards the crowd again.

Clearing his throat, he then unleashes a roar and thrusts a clenched fist up towards the ceiling. “Long live King Jongdae and Queen Syona of Exotica!”

The crowd descends upon the powerful words like savage vultures, imitating Father’s roar and echoing after him. It’s madness, it’s chaos, and the deafening chants cause my head to throb nauseously, the shackle of the queen’s crown weighing me down like a chain ball.

“Queen of steel!” The Peace Kingdoms howl, rising to their feet and holding up their clenched fists authoritatively. Jets of water and rays of light shoot through the air, courtesy of the Water and Light Kingdoms respectively and amongst the sea of empty faces, I catch glimpses of Junmyeon and Baekhyun stomping their feet and waving at me elatedly.

“King of electricity!” Not wanting to lose out, the Bloodbath Kingdoms on the other side of the grand hall rise to their feet as well, drowning out the cheers of the Peace Kingdoms.

From my position on the dais, I can see the tension building up between the two kingdom groups and I feel myself tense up in anticipation. The crowd is getting out of hand, tight expressions on their faces as they eyeball each other over the aisle.

Junmyeon and his cousins have their attention fixated on the Flight Kingdom, their fists tightly clenched and I can feel the moisture getting leached from the air, absorbed by the hands of the Water Kingdom. In return, Kris Wu and Jessica Jung spread their ebony wings defensively, to which the rest of the Flighters follow suit.

“Long live King Jongdae of Exotica!” Someone from the Bloodbath side yells, to which the rest of the vile creatures echo after viciously. It takes me a moment to realize that it’s Kris himself, his fist held high in the air as he leads the rest of his kingdom in his little chant. The Flighters emit deafening roars, wings flapping in astonishing unison while their beloved ravens let out high-pitched caws.

A quick sideways glance tells me that Jongdae is equally as stunned as I am at the sudden outburst from the Flight Kingdom, his jaw slack as he drinks in the chaotic sight. Father steps forward to intervene, his cheeks flushed beetroot red. “Silence!” He roars.

But to no avail. His command is instantly drowned out by the defiant rebuttals of the Peace Kingdoms, chimes and yells of “Long live Queen Syona of Exotica! Equality for the new queen!” ringing out like warning bells. All I’m capable of doing is remaining rooted to my spot on the dais, numbly watching chaos break out amongst the Peace and Bloodbath Kingdoms.

Behind us, my own mother and Jongdae’s parents are glued to their thrones, their knuckles turning white as they grip the armrests tightly. Their eyes glaze over and I immediately know what the look in their eyes stand for: fear.

The previous rulers of Exotica are frozen in utter fear, their skin turning ghostly shades of white as one of the ravens zip through the air and swoops down on one of the members of the Water Kingdom. The ebony bird emits a shrill caw as it tears towards Junmyeon’s father and knocks the king’s crown straight off his head. It clinks across the marble flooring, lying on the tiles in an offensive manner and that triggers tidal waves of rage from the Water Kingdom.

Before anybody can even blink, a water ball sails through the air and splashes Kris right in the face, dampening his wings in the process. “Long live Kwon Syona!” Junmyeon roars.

“Long live the Peace Kingdoms!” Baekhyun choruses from somewhere in the crowd, the fury of the Light Kingdom triggering frantic rays of bent light to swing throughout the entire grand hall blindingly.

Chaos explodes amongst the crowd, accompanied by a frightening war cry from the Bloodbath Kingdoms. “Justice for the Bloodbaths!” The Telekinesis Kingdom howls furiously. “Long live the Lightning King!”

Without a further thought, I’m stripping off my stilettos and charging down the aisle with Jongdae by my side, my shouts getting drowned out by the cries of the rage-filled kingdoms. Chairs fly through the air like daggers, colliding with a few unfortunate members of the Peace Kingdoms as Luhan and his family members work their mental magic on the objects lying around.

I’m swift enough to conjure up a metal wall to defend the Peace side of the hall, chairs and random objects slamming against the temporary shield due to Luhan’s unstoppable ability. Tsunami waves begin to flood the entire area, destroying everything in its path as Junmyeon and his kingdom attempt to drown the Flight Kingdom and dampen their wings to prevent them from flying.

The Bloodbaths are not easily deterred. Screeching ravens and chairs slam against my makeshift wall, determined to penetrate through and to my relief, Yuri and my parents hurry to my aid, relieving me of the burden instantly.

“Leave the wall to us, Syona”, Yuri yells over the noise, pressing her palms against the cool metal and nodding at me frantically. “Go and thrash the hell out of the Bloodbaths, baby cousin!”

I don’t need to be told twice. On nimble feet, I swing myself over the metal wall and plunge into the warzone, holding up a makeshift lead shield over my head. Somewhere above, dark storm clouds cluster together and spit hissing webs of lightning down at the Bloodbath Kingdoms, courtesy of Jongdae and his family.

Calling upon the metallic forces of the grand hall, I fling daggers and blades at the encroaching Frost Kingdom, catching most of them across the face. Crimson blood drips onto the marble flooring due to the large gashes I leave in their skin and from behind me, a raging burst of flames explode, indicating Chanyeol’s presence. My best friend falls into motion with me, hurling blazing fireballs at the frostfaces with an undeniable vengeance.

“Justice for the Bloodbath Kingdoms!” Somebody screams. “Down with the Peace Kingdoms! Long live King Jongdae!”

“Long live Kwon Syona and the Peace Kingdoms!” My allies screech in response, descending upon the enemies like savage vultures pecking at a carcass. Tsunami waves wreck everything in their paths, teleporters dart in and out of the chaos, frenzied gusts of wind sweep the chairs off the floor, blinding light flashes everywhere, earth walls rise from the ground as sources of defence and glinting swords and knives slice through the air threateningly.

Jongdae’s lightning crashes down on his fellow Bloodbath mates, smashing through the marble flooring vigorously. The room bleeds a variety of colours, chaos and destruction and violence ripping through the air like nobody’s business and I’m so shaken up that I don’t notice the uncontrollable fireball whizzing towards me, ready to singe my skin right off.

“Syona! Watch out!”

It’s Jongdae’s panicked bark of my name that snaps me out of my rapid thoughts and before I can comprehend anything, the Lightning King hurls himself at me, shoving me out of the fireball’s raging path.

However, in the split second as I raise my arm reflexively to protect myself with one of my lead shields, a tremendous jolt rocks throughout my entire body. Before I know what’s happening, a gigantic pair of ebony angel-like wings rip themselves out of my shoulder blades and tear through the material of my wedding dress ruthlessly, flapping forward frantically and engulfing Jongdae and I.

My startled screams and Jongdae’s panicked yells reverberate through the air, lightning shooting straight out of his fingertips as we cling to each other tightly, my face buried in the crook of his neck and his arms wrapped around my waist.

Suddenly, the world stops. The destruction halts, the war comes to a standstill. My breath leaves my lips in short gasps, the wings sprouting out of my back still shielding Jongdae and I from the dangers of our surroundings.

The Lightning King stares down at me, his eyes wide as he drinks in the sight of me in his arms. The rest of the hall holds their breaths, their stunned gazes resting on my slumped form. For the longest time, nobody dares to breathe or speak.

Then Jongdae draws in a breath of his own, still holding me in his arms tentatively as he whispers, “The Chosen One”.

Like I said, I’m not a queen.

I’m a motherfucking storm.