#i keep thinking about how good she sounds live like if not better than studio versions

[jpmarvel90]

PR Relationship

Masterlist Scarlett Masterlist

Word Count: 3110

Relationship: Scarlett x Singer Reader

Summary: Y/n and Scarlett are in love with each other and have a secret relationship that only a select few know about. Things change when Y/n finds out that Scarlett may have her eyes on someone else.

(I do not own the rights to the lyrics, I just think this sounds fits the story perfectly. It’s Secret Love Song by Little Mix.)

Y/N’s POV:

For the last 3 months, I have been dating the beautiful Scarlett Johansson. However, as she hasn’t come out yet, it was a complete secret with only Lizzie Olsen knowing the truth. At first it didn’t bother me at all. It was exciting. The sneaking around was fun and trying to sneak dates and kisses without being caught was exhilarating. But the last couple of weeks have started to get tiring. If ever I stay over, she’s kicking me out at like 5am so I don’t get caught by the paps, we never travel anywhere together and I’ve lost count of the amount of times she’s totally changed her demeanour around me because someone has walked by us.

Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that Scarlett is scared of coming out. I’ve already done that and it wasn’t easy. I would never push her to do anything she’s uncomfortable with. But it’s starting to hurt, it feels more like she’s hiding me rather than protecting herself. Thing is, I love her and I’m willing to wait for her. Which is the problem, I’m scared this might break me.

So here I am, 4:30 in the morning tiptoeing around her bedroom getting ready to sneak out. I don’t want to wake her, she’s been so busy at work she deserves a good rest. I throw on some sweatpants and a hoody whilst picking up my underwear from the floor after last night’s activities. I leave a gentle kiss on Scarlett’s forehead before slipping out of the house, unheard, into the early morning.

As I’m sat in my car I can feel the exhaustion seeping through my body. I had been spending most nights at Scar’s which meant I was only getting a few hours sleep and it was starting to catch up with me. I’ve got to be at the studio at 8am so I decide there is no point in heading home. Instead I make my way to the beach to watch the sunrise and go for a swim. There’s no better way to start my day. Well other than getting to sleep in my girlfriends arms past 5!

I get to the studio early and I start having all of these thoughts in my head which I start to collate and write down. Lyrics forming as I write. I’ve not felt this inspired for a long time

We keep behind closed doors

Every time I see you, I die a little more

Stolen moments that we steal as the curtain falls

It'll never be enough

It’s not until I start to pull the lyrics together that I realise how much this whole situation is hurting me. By the end of the day it’s all starting to come together, the quickest that I have ever written a song. My team love it and are already planning for me to sing it on Jimmy Kimmel. I push back though. It’s not fair to Scarlett to hear about my feelings through an interview. But writing the song has helped, I’m feeling better already.

As I get into the car I check my phone. I’ve not spoken with Scarlett all day. That’s not unusual as for us though. But a smile forms on my face when I see a message from her.

Scarlett:

Hey Babe, thanks for this morning. I really needed that sleep. I know you’re in the studio all day so can’t talk. I’m working late but perhaps you could come over tomorrow? Love you xx

Me:

Hey Scar, no problem, you need your sleep! Tomorrow would be great. Love you too xx

The next evening I’m sat on the sofa in Scarlett’s living room her legs draped over mine as we watch TV. She has her laptop resting on her legs finishing up the last bit of work before she’s done for the day. I’m just sat scrolling through my phone when I seeing articles popping up about Scarlett and her new partner. We’d been so careful to not been seen together in more than a friendly capacity. In fact, by the way we act in public you wouldn’t think we were that close as friends.

But then my heart stops, the articles aren’t referring to me but Chris Evans. What the fuck?! I can feel my heart beating faster like it’s going to beat out of my chest. Then I click on one article, “Co-Stars Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans spotting kissing on a dinner date.” A photo accompanying it. That was yesterday! I sit up with a jolt feeling like I was going to be sick. My God she’s cheating on me and she’s not even trying to hide it!

“Hey what’s wrong Babe, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Scarlett says concerned looking over her laptop to me. I try to speak but I can’t form words. I can see her starting to get worried as she puts her laptop down on the table and goes to put her arm on my back. I’m quick to pull away and just throw my phone in her direction. She looks at the screen and her eyes grow wide.

“Y/N this isn’t what it looks like, I swear. Please..” Running my hands through my hair I stand up not even able to sit next to her. “I mean it looks like you’ve got your tongue down Evans’ throat. Not sure what else it could look like Scarlett!” I say coldly trying so hard not to yell. “Is this why you hid me? Not wanting anyone to know. Am I the dirty little secret to keep until you have Evans?” Pacing round the room I can feel my chest get tighter and my breathing becoming erratic.

“NO! I’m not cheating on you Y/N, I love you!” “THEN WHAT IS THIS!” So much for not shouting. I can feel my heart breaking in two. “Please just let me explain. With the new Avengers movie coming out our teams thought it would be good PR if we got some rumours going about being in a relationship. We had lunch and dinner dates here and there making sure to look like a couple for the paparazzi. I promise you Y/N there is nothing going on.”

I immediately stop my pacing, turning to her in disbelief. “So you can’t tell anyone about me, but you’re happy to go along with a fake relationship for you movie. Great, good to know where I sit in your priorities. Did you even consider telling me, it’s weird but I would have understood? Instead I find out by finding a picture of you kissing!” I can’t stop the tears anymore, but I won’t let her see me sob.

“Y/N please…” Scarlett grabs my hands trying to get me to look at her. “I-I can’t do this anymore.” I whisper pulling my hands away. “Wait, what do you mean? Y/N?” she says in a scared tone. “I’ve spent the last 3 months doing everything you ever asked. I never pushed for you to do anything you were uncomfortable with, even if it was at a detriment to me. I was waiting for you to be happy in yourself that you could share us with the world. I have always put your first. I knew this could break me and it has. I need to put myself first this time as it’s evident you won’t.” Turning my back on her I grab my things and walk towards her door.

I can hear her running up behind me and she grabs my shoulders spinning me around. “No, you can’t go. I’m so sorry Y/N, I love you, please you can’t leave me. Don’t go we can work this out.” Looking in her eyes I can see the pain. Her cheeks are stained with tears. “We don’t need to work anything out Scar, you do. I just hope you find happiness one day without having to hide yourself way.” With that I walk out, my heart tearing from my chest. A part of me just wishing that one day she might be ready for this relationship as a whole.

Scarlett’s POV:

I had really fucked this up. I hadn’t slept for days and had shut myself away, calling in sick to work to avoid seeing anyone. I had never felt pain like this. Y/N was my world. I love her with all my heart. I had always intended to tell the everyone but it just felt too hard and she was so great at giving me time. But this PR relationship with Chris was by far the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. This isn’t me, I don’t intentionally hurt people but it feels like I did with Y/N.

Whilst in my cave of self-pity and depression I hear banging on the door. Dragging myself up I find an angry Lizzie stood there with her Wanda head tilt. Shit that’s terrifying! “What the fuck Scar?!” She huffs pushing herself into my house. “Well hello to you too Lizzie” I half chuckle. “You broke her when all she has ever done is put your first. I warned you that you needed to be honest with yourself or you’ll lose her.” She’s angry but her tone softens when she sees the state I’m in. “Geeze Scar when was the last time you slept?” She said pulling me in for a hug. “I can’t sleep without her.” I whisper tears starting to form in my eyes.

We move to the sofa and she takes my hands in hers. “From what I hear, Y/N didn’t get much sleep with you. Staying up til God knows when with you then being kicked out at 5am. Did you not notice how tired she’d been?” I just shake my head in shame. “I’ve screwed up Lizzie and I don’t know how to get her back. I’ve told my team I won’t go ahead with the fake relationship anymore but I know I need to do so much more than that to show her I’m in this for the long run.” I don’t dare even speak that I’m terrified that I’ve lost her forever, in fear that speaking it will make it true.

“Scarlett, you need to decide what scares you the most. Coming out and fearing people will see you differently, or losing Y/N, the woman you are madly in love with, for good. Just don’t take too long in making that decision or it could be too late.” She pulls me into a hug and we lie together on the sofa. “I miss her Lizzie” I sniffle. “Well, she’s performing on Jimmy Kimmel. How about we watch that?” I nod and she grabs the remote switching over to her performance.

Y/N’s Performance:

Jimmy: Performing her latest single, please welcome to the stage, Y/N Y/L/N!

The lights dim with a sole spotlight shining on Y/N who is sat at a piano. She starts to play as the notes ring out through the studio.

We keep behind closed doors

Every time I see you, I die a little more

Stolen moments that we steal as the curtain falls

It'll never be enough

As you drive me to my house

I can't stop these silent tears from rolling down

You and I both have to hide

On the outside where I can't be yours and you

Can't be mine

But I know this

We got a love that is homeless

Why can't I hold you in the street?

Why can't I kiss you on the dance floor?

I wish that it could be like that

Why can't it be like that?

'Cause I'm yours

Why can't I say that I'm in love?

I wanna shout it from the rooftops

I wish that it could be like that

Why can't it be like that?

'Cause I'm yours

It's obvious you're meant for me

Every piece of you, it just fits perfectly

Every second, every thought, I'm in so deep

But I'll never show it on my face

But we know this, we got a love that is homeless

Why can't you hold me in the street?

Why can't I kiss you on the dance floor?

I wish that it could be like that

Why can't we be like that?

'Cause I'm yours

Why can't I say that I'm in love?

I wanna shout it from the rooftops

I wish that it could be like that

Why can't we be like that?

'Cause I'm yours

I don't wanna live love this way

I don't wanna hide us away

I wonder if it ever will change

I'm living for that day

Someday

When you hold me in the street

And you kiss me on the dance floor

I wish that we could be like that

Why can't we be like that

'Cause I'm yours, I'm yours

Oh, why can't you hold me in the street?

Why can't I kiss you on the dance floor?

I wish that it could be like that

Why can't it be like that?

'Cause I'm yours

Why can't I say that I'm in love?

I wanna shout it from the rooftops

I wish that it could be like that

Why can't we be like that?

'Cause I'm yours

Why can't we be like that

Wish we could be like that

The lights faded as the camera zoomed in close enough to see that Y/N was crying before the stage went dark and the audience erupt in applause.

Scarlett’s POV:

Lizzie and I just sat there in silence. I could hear the pain in her voice and it hurt me to know that it was me that caused it. I was pulled out of my trance by Lizzie squeezing me into a tight hug whispering in my ear. “If this didn’t help you decide then I don’t know what will.” She was right, the only person who I care about is Y/N. I’m not scared anymore. I’m going to win her back.

I’m up all night with Lizzie working a way out that I can come out and show my love for Y/N. An Instagram post didn’t seem like enough and a press release was too impersonal. It needed to be something special, and that’s when Lizzie came up with a risky but perfect plan. I just hope that she could forgive me and we can start out lives together a fresh.

Timeskip

It was a week later and here I am sat in the back of Y/N’s limo. She just doesn’t know it. It’s the night of the Grammy’s and Y/N is up for an award. I’m so proud of her and it’s time to show her that she is my number one priority. Lizzie’s grand plan so far had worked. We spoke with Y/N’s team and I explained the whole situation. Her manager was surprisingly nice about and said that it explained a lot about her behaviour recently. She had agreed to arrange a secret plus one for Y/N. I would wait in her car to surprise to walk down the red carpet with her, as her girlfriend. I just hoped she wouldn’t kick me out on the curb.

My heart rate starts to pick up as I hear her talking as she walk towards the car. God I’ve missed that voice. The car door opens and she gets in letting out a slight sigh as she sits. It takes her a moment before she notices me sat there with a nervous smile on my face and she jumps “Jesus Scar, you scared the shit out of me.” We both let out an awkward chuckle. “What are you doing here?” She asks not quite able to maintain the eye contact. This is it, the moment I win my girl back.

I put my finger under her chin and lift it so she’s looking at me. My God she is breathtakingly beautiful! I then take both of her hands in mine taking a deep breath “Y/N. Since the day I met you, I knew I was going to fall madly in love with you. Every day I spent with you I fell more and more in love. No one has ever made me as happy as you do. I know it’s only been 3 months but I know you are the women I want to spend the rest of my life with. I screwed up, I know I can’t take that back. I was so paralysed with fear about coming out and people’s reaction to it, that I didn’t think about you and our relationship. I just let you carry on making the sacrifices for me. But today that changes. I love you with all my heart and I’m not prepared to lose you again. I am so fucking proud of what you have achieve this last year. You deserve everything you are going to get tonight. And…. If you’ll have me… I want to be there for you every step of the way. No more hiding. I want to walk down that red carpet on your arm as your proud girlfriend. And then I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”

There is a long silence as her eyes flicker between my own trying to get a read of me. I hope she can see how sincere I’m being, that I mean every word that I’m saying. “Don’t hurt me again. I don’t think I can survive if you do.” She whispers. The biggest smile appears on my face as I reach up and put my hand to her cheek wiping away the stray tear. “I promise I won’t. Can I kiss you?” I ask. “You never have to ask Scar.” And with that I pull her into a passionate kiss. I have missed her lips connecting with mine. It makes me feel complete. “You look absolutely beautiful Y/N. I’m so glad I get to call you mine.” She laughs and pulls me in for another soft kiss.

As we pull up to the venue Y/N grabs my hand. “Are you sure Scar? I don’t want you to do something you’re going to regret.” I look at her and smile. “The only regret I have is not telling the world how much I love you sooner. Let’s do this.” The fear is gone, I’m only excited now. As the door to the limo opens, I see the start of our new life together.  

[emberenchanted]

For Keeps (2/3)

Pairing: Dark!Carol Danvers x Female Reader

Summary: Carol sees you. Carol wants you. Carol gets what she wants. 

Series Warnings: extremely dubious consent, strap ons (r receiving), sex (oral, vaginal), fingering, anal fingering, Dom!Carol, orgasm denial, spanking, violence (not really towards reader), manipulation, forced relationship, rough sex

18+ ONLY

Link to Chapter 1

Chapter 2

As you drag yourself up the stairs to your studio above the bar you reflect on whether living at home with your parents had really been that bad. This kind of thing didn’t happen where you were from and it had you thinking that perhaps it was time to revisit your long term plans. Coming back home after three months was kind of pitiful, but even that might be better than getting pulled into a world you have no business in. One filled with casual violence that made your stomach turn. 

Especially since you were now dreading the inevitable phone call from Carol. You knew she would call and you knew you wouldn’t be able to say no to her. That was a dangerous road to start down. Better to nip it in the bud ASAP. 

Calling an ambulance for Mel and closing down the bar mostly by yourself made for an extra late night and all you could think about was taking a hot shower (your meager attempt to wash the violence off of you and out of your mind) and climbing into bed. You wish you’d given yourself a glass of wine “on the house,” but after Carol’s display, it seemed like Mel really couldn’t spare the extra cash. 

When you awake late the next morning it’s with a pounding headache and two missed calls from an unknown number. You also see a voicemail notification. Your mind quickly flashes over the events of the preceding night and you immediately wish you were still sleeping. For some reason you feel like you should be sitting up while you listen to Carol’s message, so you throw your legs over the edge of your sofa bed and drag yourself into an upright position. 

As you suspected, the message was from Carol and she sounded like sin. 

Beep. “Hey, baby. It’s me, Carol. I had such a good time with you last night, and I can’t wait to see you again. How about I pick you up tonight at 7pm for dinner and a show? Call me back with your address as soon as you get this. Ok, bye baby. Talk to you soon.”  

You squeeze your eyes shut and press 7 to delete the message. You never should have given her your number. And you definitely couldn’t go out with her. She’d hurt Mel! In the three months since you’d moved to the city, Mel had been--well, not a friend exactly--but a stable acquaintance. He’d given you a job and a place to live, and only price gouged you a little. But the commute to work was unbeatable. You generally liked Mel and wanted him to be ok. Carol, or whoever she was representing, could have offered him some kind of payment plan. From what you could tell from his tearful blabbering while you waited for the ambulance, he’d made an honest mistake. 

You also knew that while you might be telling yourself you were refusing to call Carol back out of some source of solidarity, the simple truth was that Carol scared you shitless. She also didn’t seem like someone who handled rejection well. And you aren’t interested in standing up to her and risking her undeniably brutal wrath. You don’t think that she would hurt you like she’d hurt Mel, but you also don’t think she’ll simply accept your answer and leave you be. So, to your bleary brain, ignoring the problem is the next best thing. You busy yourself with laundry and tidying your small apartment; your distractions work well until Carol’s next two calls at 5 and 6pm. She doesn’t leave any more voice messages and you hope that she got the message that you weren’t interested and that she would lose interest in you. You spend the evening with a bottle of cheap red wine and Netflix. You tumble into bed around 2 am and fall into a fitful sleep. When you wake up in the early afternoon the next day, 6 hours before your 7:30 pm shift at Mel’s, you nervously check your phone for more messages. To your relief, there are none. 

Carol’s good mood fizzles in the 24 hours after meeting you. The morning after Mel’s Tavern she’d woken up in high spirits. After a quick 6 mile run, she’d showered, eaten a hearty breakfast, and started planning her date. She’d settled on a location for dinner, made reservations, and bought tickets to a popular live show. She’d called Y/N to tell her all about their night, then called again to leave a message. By 5pm, Carol was irritated, and by 6pm she was worried. She’d even driven by Mel’s around 6:30pm to see if you were working. If Carol had known your address, she wouldn’t have hesitated to drop by. By 7:30pm Carol was back in the gym, sparring just a bit too viciously with Natasha. 

“Damn!,” Nat huffs out as Carol puts her on her ass for the fifth time that evening. She sits up while rubbing her side and looks at Carol through the red sheet of hair that has fallen over her face. “Did I happen to do something to you? Because, if so, you should know I’m very sorry. Can you please stop beating me up? ”

Carol sticks out her hand to help Natasha off the mat. “Sorry. I’m a little distracted today so I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Natasha, now standing, looks quizzically at Carol and then laughs, “I feel like I should be insulted.”

Carol smiles. “Never, Nat. You always give me a good fight." The next moment her smile turned sour. “I’m just frustrated and a bit pissed. I met this woman last night and she gave me her number, but then started avoiding me. She won’t answer her phone and stood me up for a date. That’s actually where I’m supposed to be now. But I know she likes me. I saw the way she looked at me and reacted when I touched her. But, she’s just too nervous to admit it.” 

Carol rolls her eyes and throws her head back as she releases a frustrated grunt.

“Ok, woman troubles. Now that I can help with,” Nat chuckles. “If she’s too shy, then you need to be bold enough for the both of you. Don’t let her say no.”

“You know what Nat?,” Carol grins, “it’s like you read my mind.”

Carol strides into Mel’s Tavern at 9 pm the following night. She walks directly to the bar, ignoring everyone around her and heading straight to you.

As she approaches, your heart starts racing and the room feels much hotter than it had moments ago. She was just as breathtakingly beautiful as you remembered and your mind empties for just a moment. She didn’t look happy, but she also didn’t look like she was about to fling a knife into your heart or drive a fist into your face. That had to be a good sign, right? 

“Hey, Carol,” you choke out quietly. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, Y/N. But I would very much like to speak with you.” Carol states calmly, hands braced against the edge of the bar and body leaning over the counter towards you. “Why don’t you take your break now?”

You gesture aimlessly to the few scattered patrons in the bar. For the second time in as many shifts nobody would look at you. They were all suspiciously interested in the glasses in front of them, even if those glasses were empty. You grit your teeth and say, “Someone might need me.”

Carol frowns, looks around and asks the room loudly, “Anybody here need anything?”

A chorus of “nos” come back to her.

Carol raises one of her perfectly arched eyebrows and beckons you over to her with a softly crooked finger. 

You scoot to the section of the bar directly in front of Carol, cross your arms and look down. Carol reaches across the bar with her right hand and, taking your chin between her thumb and forefinger, pushes your head up until you meet her eyes directly. 

Your brain races through excuses frantically. You knew it was a possibility she’d show up and you should have prepared better. Maybe you could say that things have been a little crazy in your life and you don’t have time to pursue anything... with anyone? Not just her? It was a pitiful excuse, but the best you could come up with.

Carol looks at you, head tilted slightly, brows furrowed, and eyes narrowed as her thumb gently strokes your face. Her expression could only be described as frustrated yet determined. “Baby,” Carol began slowly, “I’m confused. When I came in two nights ago, we had an instant connection. That doesn’t happen often, does it?”

Your head jerks quickly back and forth, signaling no.

“Ok, that's what I thought,” Carol continues. Her voice hardens slightly, as does the hand holding your face. You wince at the sudden pressure. “So why didn’t you call me back? Why did you make me call you four times with no response?”

Your head feels dizzy and your lips stay glued together. You're on the verge of a panic attack and all you could think of is getting her to let you go. 

“Answer me, baby. Now,” Carol commands, as her grip on your chin tightens further. 

“I’m sorry,” you whisper. Your eyes squeeze shut and your upper body is leaned back as far as you can while your face is still being held by Carol. 

Carol abruptly releases your face and you have to take a quick step and set your hand on the bar to rebalance your body. 

Carol’s hand snakes out and grabs yours, holding it firmly so you can’t walk away. Her voice softens some, but still sounds slightly harsh .“Ok, I’ll forgive you this time. But don’t let it happen again.” From her back pocket she whips out a piece of paper and a pen. “Write down your address so I know where to pick you up tomorrow.”

Once Carol pockets your address, she reaches for your hand once more. “How much longer do you have on your break, baby? Let’s go outside.” 

After walking you outside, Carol immediately presses you against the brick wall and pushes her lips against yours in a forceful kiss. Her tongue slips across the seam of your lips until you open to allow her entry into your mouth. She sets to exploring every bit of you, sucking your tongue into her mouth and nibbling on your lips until they are tender and you are breathless and dizzy. Then she’d promptly untucked your shirt, unbuttoned your jeans, and slid her hand down to your slippery folds. When you try to move away, her free hand tightens on your waist and shoves you back, making your back scrape against the wall. 

“Mmmm, is all this for me?,” she murmurs, nuzzling your ear, as her fingers part you and begin gently rubbing from your clit to your slick opening. You squirm on Carol's fingers, and Carol slides her thumbnail over your sensitive clit harshly, making you yelp. “Did I tell you to move?”

“No,” you whisper.

“When we're together like this you call me Ma’am,” Carol growls. “No, who?”

”No, ma’am” you gasp out while trying desperately to stay still. She slides two fingers into you and your walls flutter furiously around Carol's fingers, searching for relief. “Sorry, ma’am.” It comes out as a whimper. 

Carol pushes her fingers deeper up inside of you and you choke. Her free hand slides under your shirt, over your waist and ribs, before spreading and tightening under your breast, fingernails digging into the hollows between your ribs, scratching your soft flesh. Carol thumbs your taut nipple, and a moan bubbles up in your throat as you fight your every instinct in your attempt not to move. Her warm breath fans over your neck as she shifts your body flat against the wall, caging you in. 

Carol pinches your nipple sharply as her fingers begin to push into you harder and faster. She  focuses her thrusts, curling her fingers inside you to rub your spongy flesh until she hits that exquisite spot that makes you moan and shiver. The slick sound of her fingers pumping in and out of your pussy fills your ears. That and Carol’s murmuring are all you can hear. Her voice pitches you higher as she calls you her good girl, her sweet girl, her hot sticky tight little girl. 

Your heart pounds in your chest as you feel the relentless rising in your core. You approach the edge of a wicked orgasm, and just as you feel yourself begin to teter over, Carol slides her fingers out of you and starts slipping them, in a whisper soft motion, over your clit, just barely brushing you. The abrupt emptiness has you whining sharply. 

“No, no, no,” Carol whispers in your ear. She presses her body firmly against yours,  “No coming for you. You were a bad girl. Do bad girls get orgasms?”

“No,” you gasp.

Carol pinches your clit sharply once before going back to her soothing motion, “No, who?”

“No, ma’am,” you whimper. 

“Good girl. We’re going to do that a few more times while you apologize to me, ok? Hold on, baby.”

Feeling lost, you loop your arms around her neck and drop your head into the crook of her neck. Carol’s long slender fingers push roughly back inside of you, furiously rubbing you as you whine and squirm against the wall. Before long you hear yourself apologizing for not answering her calls, for worrying her, for standing her up. 

She tortures you throughout your broken apologies, bringing you to the edge over and over only to force you back down. 

Finally, finally, she must decide you’ve apologized enough, and she whispers in your ear as her fingers pick up again, “Shhh, now, I’m going to let you come baby. You’re being such a good girl and you apologized so nice. But don’t you ever ignore my calls again. No matter what.” Her voice hardens and her slippery fingers pinch at your clit gently--making you jump and yelp--before pushing them back inside you, “You understand me?”

Your brain is fuzzy and can’t seem to string together enough words to form a sentence. When you first saw Carol enter the bar you definitely didn’t intend for this to happen. You’d hope that you could somehow weasel out of a date with her without her getting mad. Things had obviously not gone according to plan. You must take too long to respond, because Carol’s free hand reaches to twist your clit harshly, making you howl. 

“Answer me. Now.” The fingers inside you don’t stop. 

The sharp pain from her twist radiates up your body, and temporarily mutes your rising orgasm. “Yes,” you sob pathetically. “Yes, I understand, ma’am.”

Carol uses the entirety of her body weight to push you up against the wall. Your back scrapes the wall as her fingers pick up speed and she coos softly in your ear. Her fingers push you violently over the edge, and you buck harshly between the wall and Carol's solid form. Carol’s fingers fuck you through your orgasm as she nuzzles your neck, licking and nipping at the tender skin there as you come down.  

Carol watches as you readjust your clothes and wipe at the mist in your eyes before she walks you back into the bar. She drops a possessive kiss on your mouth before heading toward the door. At the last minute, she turns and looks you dead in the eye. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Right, baby?” 

You look back at her and nod. “Yes, ma’am,” you whisper under your breath. 

After dropping you back at work, Carol walks to her car with her lips curled into a smile. She is sure that she’s on the right track with her sweet, shy little baby. She's even hopeful that she might be able to trade in her unused tickets for show credit that she could use for her date tomorrow night with you.

Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for reading and for any feedback you give. Please do let me know what you think so far. It's much appreciated. Also, I know need to work on my dividers.. haven't quite figured those out yet. Thanks for bearing with me.

[peanut-tyrug]

Pink City AU: Hunt for the Boxman

Chapter 3 - Fixing what’s been Broken

Hoonis and Dento team up amongst the discord and havoc of the Pink City to fix what they themselves and others have torn apart.

—

NOTICE: This AU is partially based on my ideas/interpretation. If anything appears to be inaccurate, I apologize. I tried to work with what little I had to make smth. I also took a few artistic liberties.

Another thing: THE PINK CITY AND IT’S CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME!! IT BELONGS TO GOOSEWORX!! Some canon lore for The Pink City has also been implemented in this story. This is just an AU/story I made based on it. If you’d like to check out The Pink City series itself, check it out here!

—

TRIGGER WARNING: This fic contains nightmares, threats, arguing, caps, swearing, an apocalypse, screaming, crying, death, stabbing, self hatred, and daddy issues. If you aren’t comfortable with these things, please don’t read this.

It hasn’t been long since the disaster that occurred live on television. Right on Bep’s show…

All she wanted to do was get her head back in the game. Get back into making her show. Forget all that had happened, forget that emotional breakdown with that… nosy little shit show host.

The stress hammers at Bep’s head like a mallet. She can’t help but stress over her show. How people will perceive her… all the disgust, confusion, rage…

It’s an absolute nightmare…

…A literal one.

Bep wakes up with a sudden gasp. She rises up and glances around, and hears her phone going off. She scrambles to her phone and picks it up. She holds the phone in her hand.

Her eyes squint angrily.

Someone’s calling her.

Hoonis is calling her.

…That blasted, dense man… the man the couldn’t help but press on about her deadbeat father. The man that couldn’t shut his trap about the person she hated with every fiber of her being.

The phone eventually stops ringing, going to the lock screen. Bep then goes into her messages and types out a message to Hoonis.

'Leave me alone'

Bep chucks her phone to the edge of her bed and lays back down…

…The nightmares continue to rage on in her head.

—

It’s the next day.

Everyone’s preparing for Bep’s next show. Setting up lights, doing sound checks. Everything must be perfect.

Perfect for her.

Bep storms around the small studio room, checking in on her employees. Although, she’s more uptight than usual.

“Hey!” Bep exclaims, pointing at a camera man. “Do NOT keep that lens cap on! I swear to God, you aren’t going to see the end of my wrath if you do!”

“Yes, ma'am!” The camera man says worriedly, fearing for his life.

Bep then turns to a sound guy, fiddling with the sound board. She storms to him, to which the employee responds by shivering in terror.

Bro slams her hands onto the sound board. “You better not fucking miss your cues, you hear me?” She says in a harsh whisper.

“Yes, Ms. Nemeni, ma'am.” Says the sound guy, his fear overtaking his voice.

Bep then turns to her small tech crew. Only few have actually stayed, including the team’s lead, since they need the money.

Bep struts over to the tech lead, Bendle. He quickly notices her approach.

“Bendle!” Bep begins. “Keep an eye on the tech team, please. We don’t need a light flickering or falling!”

“…Ms. Nemeni?” A tech guy questions. “Why are you always so hard on us?”

Bep averts her gaze to the questioning man. She forgot he was new here.

“…Well, that’s because I NEED TO BE!” Bep exclaims. “If I don’t keep you all in check, WE ALL PLUMMET TO THE GROUND!! We lose our AUDIENCE!! We lose our SOURCE OF PROFIT!! We mess up, we have NOTHING!”

“But why do you yell so much?” The tech guy asks. “I don’t think that’s a good work environment—!”

Bep proceeds to the yank the tech guy to her face. She stares him down, and he stares back, complete horror in his eyes.

“Sometimes I NEED TO BE LOUD!!” Bep exclaims. “I have to be the army general because people like YOU can’t get your work done! I need ALL OF YOU to get to work, RIGHT NOW, or so help me, I WILL TEAR YOU APART LIMB FROM LIMB!!”

Most of the tech team scatters to their positions.

All but one.

One of Bep’s most loyal employees. Practically her right hand man.

Bendle.

He stays in place, not even daring to move. Bep looks to the young man with fury. Bendle firmly glares to his boss.

“…Bendle?” Bep asks. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“I did hear you, ma'am.” Says Bendle.

“…Then why aren’t you moving?” Bep asks, voice seething with fury.

“Because I’m tired of the stress you put us through.” Bendle responds.

Bep quickly becomes infuriated and lost for words. As she stammers, trying to make a coherent sentence, Bendle speaks up again.

“You’ve done nothing but stress us out for ages.” Says Bendle. “You never seem to care about our emotional well being.”

Bep tries to retort, stammering, trying to make a good enough argument.

…But as she tries, a thought pops in her head.

“You’re a terrible boss, that’s what you are.” Says Bendle. “And I am so, so, so, tired of putting up with your shit. We all are. We could all leave, but we don’t. We need the money. If you want us to stay as bad as you do, why don’t you try to improve as a person?”

Everyone in the crew stares back at the brave man and his powerless boss. All Bep does is stand there, completely motionless, as a memory of old reappears in her head…

…A terrible memory. One that would make her seethe every time it popped up in her mind…

~~~

'Why not?'

'I don’t want to work on your stupid show!'

'But why? It’s done so well! You could get a lot of money!'

'It’s not what I want to do with my life!'

'But what about what I want for you?'

'What about what I want!? What I want to do with my own life!?'

'I am your father! You do as I ask!'

'But this is my life!'

'What about what I want for you?'

'…You don’t love me.'

'…What?'

'You don’t love me. You don’t care about me… you just wanted me for your stupid show!'

'No! I do love you!'

'Then why are you pressuring me to do something I don’t want to do!?'

'It would be good for you!'

'But what if I don’t want to do it!?'

'Then suck it up!'

'That’s what I mean! YOU DO NOT LOVE ME!!'

~~~

…That same argument… that same talk…

That same talk Bep had with her father…

…Darles…

The memory rings in her head. Reflects back to her...

Suddenly, a loud and thundering rumbling is heard from outside.

The ground begins to shake, causing equipment to topple and fall. The crew catches their equipment just before it hits the ground.

“The hell is that!?” A sound guy exclaims.

As the rumbling continues, loud bangs are heard…

Then, a sound that resembles the aftermath of a bomb slamming into the ground.

The ground vibrates even more, causing the crew to fall forward on their faces.

“EVERYONE!! GO!!!” Bendle exclaims.

As everyone scurries to the exit, banging is heard against the studio’s roof…

Suddenly, dark and inky tendrils protrude through the roof of the studio, quickly cornering the crew.

Bep watches as her crew is swiftly lifted into the air. Thrown against the wall. Chucked around the room.

…And slowly becoming disgustingly distorted.

Losing their logic and reason. Losing their ability to think. Losing their ability to keep a proper form.

Corrupted.

“Come on!” Bendle exclaims, running to Bep. “We gotta go!”

As Bep turns to face Bendle, she watches as Bendle is lifted into the air through the hole in the roof. Bep watched as the young man is carried into the sky.

And Bendle watches as Bep becomes further and further away from his view.

The tendril carrying the young man comes to a halt. Bendle quickly turns his head around.

And comes face to face with something that would forever lurk in his nightmares.

A thin, magenta-suited man with a box for a head, said box being covered in a black ooze with spider-like legs protruding from the sides of the head. Front and center, looking directly into Bendle’s soul, colorful yet petrifying eyes. The types of eyes that haunt you while you sleep.

…Bendle feels as if he could pass out.

Suddenly, the tendril holding the young man up slams him back down into the building.

Bep watches as the man falls back to the floor of her studio, complete horror in her eyes. A crater is created in the floor of the room she stands in. Bendle lays practically unconscious, his body glitched and distorted.

The young man slowly brings an arm up. He then begins to rise to his feet, much to Bep’s horror.

Bendle isn’t who he was anymore. None of her crew were.

They were all like mindless, bugged out zombies. Completely void of whatever proper mental state they had left.

Bendle stares at Bep, his eyes a bright blue aura. His body glitching and distorting beyond what Bep can comprehend.

Bep swiftly turns to the exit and scurries out of the studio. She runs almost aimlessly through the halls and eventually skids to a stop by a closet. She shoves herself into the closet and shuts the door. She sits back against the door and curls up into a ball.

…She begins to sob.

…All of what she had caused her employees… the anger, the fear, the stress…

…She had become the very person she hated…

…Her father… the one who caused her all the stress, the pressure she endured…

She had done the same…

…What had she wrought…?

—

It hasn’t been long since the carnage had started to rain down upon the Pink City.

Hoonis huddles away in his home, within a closet, protecting himself from the danger outside…

He can hear all of it.

All of the screaming, crying, bugged out terror. People getting slammed against buildings. He can feel the quaking hits against the walls outside.

…It’s terrible.

At least he knows Dento’s safe in his home, with his family… very likely mourning Elain.

…Poor Elain…

She had been taken by Darly. Lord knows if she’s still okay, wherever she in sky she was. Wherever in that void she was… maybe she was okay…

…Although, it may not be likely.

Darles— or Darly, is not the man he once was. He’s been bent to Darly’s will. Insane, sick in the head… Hoonis can only imagine what he’s done with her…

…He needs to get her back. Get Darles back… that was what he settled out to do anyway, find Darles and just speak to him. Just that time… but Elain, she and Dento had helped him. He was grateful for them. They were his friends.

…He can’t sit in his closet like this. He had to do something to help his idol and friend, along with the dying city outside.

…He needs to find Dento…

Wherever he lived…

Hoonis goes through his pocket and grabs his phone. He texts Dento.

'Hey. What’s your address?'

…For a bit, nothing.

Then—

'What do you need it for?'

'I want to talk to you. I’ll explain when I get there'

—

Hoonis scrambles through the streets of the Pink City, trying to evade whatever could suddenly decide to chase after him and get to Dento’s home.

Nothing really seems to be on his tail… at least, for a time.

The glitched citizens roaming amongst the carnage quickly take notice of the one unlike them. The small group eventually forming into a mob of people.

Hoonis doesn’t dare look back. He continues to run, not even paying attention to where he’s going.

He needs to hide.

As he turns into another street, he swiftly slides to his right and enters a random building. He shuts the door behind him and rushes deeper into the building.

As he runs, the place quickly becomes familiar…

…Bep’s studio…

…Surely if she doesn’t notice he’s here, he’ll be fine… right?

He rushes down a hall and enters the closest room to his left. He slams the door shut and slams his back to it.

“…The fuck are you doing here?” A voice asks from Hoonis’ left.

Hoonis glances to the voice’s origin. His eyes go wide.

Bep is looking directly up to Hoonis, her eyes watery with tears… what happened to her?

“…H-hey, Bep.” Hoonis says worriedly. “…Sorry. I didn’t know I had—“

“No, no.” Says Bep, softly. “You’re fine… they likely won’t find us here anyway. They don’t have any of their sanity left, it seems.”

“…Are you alright?” Hoonis asks as he sits himself next to Bep, since he knows he’s now allowed in the room.

“…I’m sorry.” Says Bep. “For… breaking out at you the yesterday.”

Hoonis suddenly appears surprised. He never expected to hear her apologize. Before he can speak, Bep continues.

“…It was wrong.” Says Bep. “I only inflected hell upon you… just as I did to everyone else… just like my father…”

“…What do you mean?” Hoonis asks. “I-if you don’t mind my asking, heh.”

Bep quickly appears hesitant…

She can’t keep it away forever. She’s done that long enough.

“…My father, you know him, along with what he did, if you rememeber. He— he didn’t want me to do what I wanted.” Says Bep. “What I wanted to do with my life. He wanted me to continue his show, and I didn’t… I’ve felt for years that he never truly loved me because of that. Despite my efforts to separate myself from him, I think I only became him.”

“…How?” Hoonis asks.

“I-I stress my employees out constantly. I never give them time to relax, take a mental break.” Says Bep. “I’m pushing them beyond their limits, and I was completely blind to it… my father did the same to me, stressed me out to my breaking point… I did the same to my own employees… I’m just as bad as my father…”

Hoonis almost couldn’t fathom what he heard.

…He knew Darles loved his daughter, he said so himself… he never intended this.

“…He never intended you to be upset.” Says Hoonis.

“What?” Bep asks, almost fiercely.

“I-I-I’ve seen him.” Says Hoonis. “He said he loved you with his life— he feels genuine guilt for what he caused you.”

“How do you know that?” Says Bep. “You’re making that up, aren’t you?”

“…He’s up there.” Says Hoonis, pointing upwards.

“I-I don’t understand.” Says Bep.

“In the sky.” Says Hoonis. “He’s stuck up there.”

“What?” Bep asks.

Suddenly, banging is heard. The corrupted have found them.

“SHIT!” Hoonis harshly whispers. “Take my hand!” He whispers as he turns to Bep.

Before Bep can even retort, Hoonis rushes out of the room. He barely escapes the corrupted hoard, just before he can even get hit. He and Bep eventually scurry out of the studio and into the outside world.

“Look up!” Hoonis exclaims, looking back to Bep. “Do you see what I mean now?”

Bep’s eyes go wide as she looks upon the carnage. Buildings are cracked or partially crumbled. Citizens limp around the streets, completely void of an actual mental state. As she gazes upon the city, she spots something in the sky.

…Someone…

The figure is faint, yet close enough to be visible. A man with an eye-covered box on his head, coated in a thick black ooze with spider-like legs sticking from it’s sides. The physique of the man is thin. Familiar…

Darles.

Bep can only pray that he won’t see her.

Suddenly, Hoonis and Bep find themselves in darkness again. Hoonis found an unlocked door to a nearby building. They’re safe now.

The duo quickly sits themselves down, breathing heavily.

“…I-I saw him.” Says Bep. “…What the fuck happened to him…? You know, don’t you?” She asks, turned to Hoonis.

Hoonis hesitates before finally finding what he wants to say. “…He’s a god now.” Says Hoonis.

“…WHAT!?” Bep shouts.

“Shh!” Hoonis hushes. Bep silences, letting Hoonis speak again.

“…He made a deal with these gods to make his show succeed.” Says Hoonis. “They took him, as part of their deal… and now he’s a god.”

Bep quickly appears suddenly confused. How did he even come across them in the first place? What are these gods?

“…He only gets worse…” Says Bep. “…He can’t improve… and if he can’t, then I can’t either…”

Hoonis processes her words… if she feels she’s like him, and he can’t change…

…She won’t change either…

“…Don’t think that way.” Says Hoonis.

“Why?” Bep asks, voice strained. “I’m just like him. I-I’m part of him— his genes are in me… I can’t change, just as he can’t…”

“Both of you can change, I know that.” Says Hoonis. “…Even if I have a terrible father who never loved me, who is a lost cause… whose to say your father can’t change? Why not give him a chance? Give yourself a chance?”

Bep processes Hoonis’ words…

“Why not try to actually change instead of wallowing in your guilt?” Hoonis asks.

…Why not change when you still have the time to do so in your life? Why not work to be better? Why not learn to grow as a person?

Suddenly, Hoonis places a hand on Bep’s shoulder. Bep swiftly turns her head to face the show host, her eyes wide with shock.

“You can do it.” Says Hoonis. “Just try.”

Bep hesitates before placing her hand onto Hoonis’. She doesn’t say anything, she only nods… she will try. She wants to try. She can only become a better person if she’s willing to try.

…Not only can she change… Darles can change…

The only way to know was to see him again… if she got to truly see his guilt… she wouldn’t believe it unless she actually saw it before her. To start her change, she can actually be less judgmental. Unlike Hoonis’ father… maybe her’s can change.

…Although, she appears hesitant to believe it. All that had happened in the past stays with her. All that she had done stays with her. Hoonis notices her hesitancy as she looks down to the ground.

“…I know that your hesitant...” Says Hoonis. “But I know you’ll see change in him, you’ll see change in yourself too. I promise.”

Bep doesn’t respond, appearing uncertain. Hoonis quietly accepts it and pats her shoulder… he knows she’ll see it. He knows so… he then gets to his feet and rushes out of the building and back into the city.

…Bep is conflicted… Can she change? Can Darles change…?

…All she can do is wait… All she can do is try. Instead of wallowing in your sorrows… she can’t sit here in guilt forever, right? …Just be less stubborn for a second. You can start your change there.

…Yes, she can change. She wants to change.

She just has to wait and see if he wants that change too.

As Bep sits, she hears a sudden banging on the door leading inside the building… along with the sound of bugging static…

—

Dento sits in his home, on the couch, moping quietly. Danina sits next to him, giving him comfort. Despite the assistance from his sister, Dento can’t help but feel like garbage.

If only he had known Elain would do that to herself, act ignorant toward her pain… he should’ve known… if she had known… this wouldn’t have happened.

If both of them knew…

“Oh, dear!” Says Dento’s mother, who is pacing around the living room. “Oh, where is your father!? I called him, he hasn’t come home—!”

“Mom!” Danina exclaims, cutting her mother off. “He’ll be home, I’m sure of it.”

“Who knows what danger’s out there, Danina?” Says the mother. “He could’ve gotten shot, or beat up, or—!”

Suddenly, someone knocks on the door.

“See?” Says Danina. “He’s home. You can shut up now.”

The mother seems to ignore Danina’s remark as she hurries to the front door and unlocks it. Suddenly, someone no one, except Dento, expected to see.

Hoonis slams the door open, causing the mother to get smacked onto the wall. “Where’s Dento!?” Hoonis exclaims.

“Where’d you come from!?” Danina questions as Dento swiftly moves his head to face the show host.

Hoonis closes the door behind him and notices Dento’s mother behind it. He gasps a bit as the mother recovers, completely fine yet dazed. “Sorry, ma'am!” He says.

“…Y-you’re alright, sir.” Says the mother with a slight chuckle.

Hoonis’ eyes quickly notice Dento sitting on the couch next to his sister. He rushes over to the Bounty Hunter, who jumps back in fright.

“Dento!” Hoonis says in a hurry. “We gotta talk, come on!”

“Hold it!” Says Danina, putting a hand in front of Dento as if to protect him. “What do you need him for?”

“You suddenly barged into our home without a purpose to be here.” Says the mother.

Hoonis turns to the mother. “I need to speak with Dento, miss.” He says. “It’s an emergency!”

“A-about what?” The mother asks.

“…I-it’s a lot, I’m sorry—!” Hoonis begins, before being swiftly cut off.

“You’re sending him back out there, aren’t you!?” Danina exclaims. “You’re crazy if you think he’s going out there, it’s a war zone outside!”

“I know, but I need him for this!” Says Hoonis. “It’s for a friend of his!”

“Wha— oh, her?” Danina asks, knowing who Hoonis’ referring to. Dento quickly notices who he’s talking about as well.

Elain.

“Yes!” Says Hoonis. “I need his help to get Elain back!”

“He’s mourning right now.” Says Danina. “I don’t think he’d—!”

Suddenly, Dento hops off the couch and walks up to Hoonis. He looks up to the show host with a stern expression. He wants to help, even if he’s in mourning.

Elain is his friend. Even if she hurt him, he knows she didn’t mean it… they can speak about it later. Learn to improve…

“Are you sure?” Danina asks.

Dento locks eyes with Danina and nods.

“It’s dangerous out there, hun.” Says the mother to Dento. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Dento looks to his mother and shakes his head. He lowers his hands from the top of his body to the bottom, displaying what he was wearing: Bounty Hunting gear. He’s a Bounty Hunter. He’s seen a lot of terrible things in his life. If he can handle taking down a bounty, then he can handle this.

“…You have faced a lot in your life.” Says the mother. “M-maybe I should let you go.”

If Dento had a mouth, he’d have the biggest smile on his face. He slowly nods to his mother. He rushes to his mother and hugs her.

“…Oh, my little boy.” Says the mother. “Your father would be applauding you right now.” She picks Dento up into her arms and hugs him back.

Danina then gets up from the couch and head to her family. She faces Dento. “You better come back alive, you hear?” She asks.

Dento looks to Danina and nods. He wraps an arm around her, giving her a side hug.

Hoonis looks at the scene tenderly… he can only wish he and Bep’s families had that bond… even if his father can’t change, Darles can. He can see it in him.

They just need to find a way to get him back.

Dento separates from his family and the mother sets him down. He rushes over to Hoonis with a confident look.

“Are you ready, friend?” Hoonis asks Dento.

Dento nods confidently. He’s ready.

Hoonis nods back, then looks to Dento’s family. “I’ll be sure to bring him back. He’ll make sure of that too.” He says. Dento nods in response to Hoonis.

“Just be careful.” Says the mother. “Please.”

“We will.” Says Hoonis. He then turns to the door and points at it triumphantly. “To the city!”

Hoonis and Dento rush to the door and swiftly exit the house and rush into the city. Danina and Dento’s mother wave them goodbye as the rush out of the door.

“We love you, hun!” Say the mother.

“Don’t get yourself killed!” Says Danina.

—

Hoonis and Dento scurry behind buildings and through alleys, trying as best as they to avoid any of the mindless civilians roaming the streets. None of them seem to notice they’re there, walking in straight lines like NPCs, completely lifeless and without their free will.

As Hoonis and Dento run though, they slow down and come to a stop, right behind a vacant building, as if realizing something.

Hoonis turns to Dento. He leans down to the Bounty Hunter’s level and whispers. “…What are we gonna do?”

…Dento eventually shrugs, unfortunately uncertain… neither of them thought far ahead. Just how were they going to take down Darly and end this carnage?

Suddenly, two floating hands appear behind the show host and Bounty Hunter. The hands swiftly grab their backs and lift to the air. The duo then gets pulled away from their spot at a tremendous speed, they can barely process what’s happening to them as they suddenly enter a forest.

The hands quickly come to a halt, causing the duo to jerk forward slightly. The hands slowly lower the two to the ground, back on their legs, only for them to immediately fall to their bottoms. As they recover, the hands retract, and a slight rustle is heard from the bushes in front of them.

From the bushes, an old companion appears.

Hoonis and Dento see Vondu exiting the small pile of shrubs, another familiar person in a third hand’s grip.

The librarian.

“You! It’s you!” Hoonis exclaims, pointing to the Bounty Hunter and cult leader. Dento only stares, not looking shocked, although he is.

Vondu plops the librarian down to ground, although not as gently as Hoonis and Dento were placed. The librarian thuds to ground with a grunt. His gaze shifts to the show host and Bounty Hunter.

Suddenly, breaking the slightly uneasy air, Dento’s phone vibrates. He takes out his phone and spots a text from Vondu.

'He can tell you everything you need' One text reads.

Another text suddenly comes in. 'I heard you from here. I know you want this carnage gone'

Vondu then gazes to the librarian, his look demanding. He needs the cult leader to speak.

The librarian appears hesitant, not wanting to speak of the secrets of the Elders. He turns to Vondu, wanting to retort against him, before Vondu swiftly pulls back his coat, revealing his mighty gun artillery underneath.

The librarian shrieks. “Fine, pest!” He says. “…I shall speak of true word.”

The librarian turns to Hoonis and Dento, who await an answer. He steps to the duo, pulling out a ritual knife from inside his robe.

The librarian holds the knife before Hoonis and Dento. “Pierce the leech that sits on the showman’s head, and the world will be cleansed of this carnage.” He says.

Dento gradually takes the blade in his hands. He stuffs it deep into the pockets of his Bounty Hunting gear.

Hoonis turns to the librarian, appearing grateful. “Thank you.”

The librarian doesn’t seem to respond. He’s not happy that he had to share any of that. He’d rather live to preach of his gods than be dead.

Vondu then swiftly swipes the librarian in a jar… he’s a bounty. He averts his ominous gaze from the jar to Dento and Hoonis, who stare back.

“…T-thank you, sir.” Says Hoonis. Dento nods, also saying thank you.

Vondu continues to stare before ominously creeping back into the shrubs. Hoonis and Dento slowly back away before Hoonis suddenly dips the scene, sprinting away. Dento quickly follows.

As they run, they spot the faint figure of Darly hovering over the Pink City’s center, the world appearing slightly distorted and apocalyptic, the large gaping hole in the sky aiding the terrified feeling within them.

—

Dento and Hoonis stay hidden behind a building, away from the pedestrians. They peer over to the street, not seeing anyone, but the carnage being most apparent.

“…We still don’t have a plan.” Says Hoonis.

How were they going to get to Darly? It wouldn’t be easy to get to him, since he’s so high up… what would they do?

Suddenly, Dento looks to Hoonis with a stern gaze. He places the knife in front of the show host and swiftly bolts away.

Directly into the street.

Hoonis peers over the building with a gasp. “No! wait!” He exclaims to Dento. His plea falls on deaf nonexistent ears as he watches Dento bolt into the street.

As Hoonis desperately watches Dento bolt away, he feels something tap his shoulder. He turns and yelps at the sight of Vondu suddenly appearing behind him.

“You!” Says Hoonis. “What are you doing here, friend?”

Vondu points forward, and then glances to Hoonis, asking what he was looking out to the street for.

“…Dento left.” Says Hoonis. “He’s entrusted me with the dagger… I don’t know if I can—!”

Vondu places a hand on Hoonis’ shoulder, as if to console him.

Hoonis sighs. “…You’re right.” He says. “I need to do this. That isn’t Darles… I will do it! I have to!” He says as he turns to Vondu with confidence in his eyes.

Vondu nods. He then averts his gaze to the street ahead. He steps to the alley’s edge and peers over the building to the street. Hoonis huddles just behind him as watched Vondu and waits for him to act.

Vondu then points upward toward the city’s center, having spotted Darly a decent distance ahead.

“…What about Darles?” Hoonis asks.

Vondu looks back to Hoonis and points at the dagger, then points back to Darly.

“How am I going to get there?” Hoonis asks.

Suddenly and swiftly, Vondu picks Hoonis up and holds him in the air, as if preparing to chuck him to Darly.

—

Dento’s been running for awhile. His legs hurt, but he’s willing to do this… if Darly has Elain, then wouldn’t that make Darly want Dento too? If he wanted her so bad, and since he seemed to know a lot about her, he’d know Dento is Elain’s crime fighting buddy.

Dento runs through the street a bit, before stopping and coming to a halt. He turns a heel and stares upward, directly up to Darly.

…He’s offering himself up as a sacrifice.

Darly is so high up, Dento can barely see him… yet he can feel those petrifying eyes staring down at him…

Then, something pushes Dento down to the floor. He can barely process what’s happening as he slams onto the road… Dento’s eyes then come upon a horrifying sight.

Elain.

Elain remains on top of her former partner in justice, keeping him pinned to the ground. She then picks Dento up by the arms, letting him hang in the air. Dento only stares in shock and disbelief, looking deep into Elain’s dead blue eyes.

…What had happened to her?

“Well, well, well!” Says a voice from above. An awfully familiar one.

Darly.

Dento looks over Elain’s shoulder to see Darly looking down to the ground, looking upon his partner and her former friend. “Look at who we have here!” He says. “The puppet’s little partner? Coming to be almighty and safe his friend? Delightful!”

There is then a suspenseful, long pause…

“DESTROY THE PEST!!” Darly suddenly shouts. “BEAT HIM UP!!”

Suddenly and swiftly, Elain begins punching her former partner across the face. Dento can barely avoid Elain’s attacks as she swiftly chucks him into the air and kicks away with a leap.

Dento skids to the ground, his back grinding against the road. He slowly picks himself up to see Elain quickly approaching him. He swiftly pulls a gun out from his side… but hesitates.

He’s never had to shoot someone such as Elain. He didn’t like the thought of it.

She may have hurt him, and was still hurting him now, but he knows she doesn’t want any of this… she never did…

Before Dento can even move again, Elain throws him into the air once more. While Dento falls through the air at the absurd high altitude he had been thrown to, Elain mercilessly begins to smack and slap him around like some kind of toy. As the two approach the ground, Elain holds onto to the barely conscious Dento, allowing him to fall back to the ground first.

Elain holds Dento down to the ground. They lock eyes again as Dento hears an evil maniacal laugh approaching them. Dento turns his head slightly to spot Darles slowly descending to them.

“Pathetic!” Says Darly. “You couldn’t even lay a scratch on her! And I thought you were good at beating people up! Ha!”

Darly then goes into another round of awful laughter. As Darly laughs, it descends into an odd shriek.

As Dento stares upon Darly, he waits for Hoonis to strike…

Nothing.

…Until he suddenly sees the show host slam onto Darly’s back, the dagger in his hand.

“What in the FUCK!?” Darly shouts. “GET OFF OF ME!!” He exclaims as he struggles to get Hoonis off of his back.

“I’m doing this for you, Darles!” Hoonis says in an overly dramatic tone. He holds the dagger just above Darly’s head, but he appears to be shrouded in anxiety…

He just can’t do it. Not to Darles.

A tendril then yanks Hoonis of Darly’s back, causing the dagger to almost fall out of his hand. Just as he clings onto it’s handle, another tendril yanks the dagger from Hoonis’ hand and brings it to Darly to inspect.

Darly inspects the dagger in a cartoonish manner, rubbing his chin with his hand. He then turns to Hoonis. “Ah!” He says. “Publicly executing me, I see? How futile!”

“Why can’t you just stop this?” Hoonis asks, a terrible tinge of desperation in his voice.

“Unlike you, I’m not letting my feelings get in the way of what I need to do!” Says Darly. “That ungrateful man must see what his gift can bring onto himself! You are only a hindrance in what he needs to understand what a TRUE celebrity is!”

Darly then turns to the tendril wielding the dagger— he notices it has suddenly disappeared. His eyes glance around, wondering who could’ve taken it.

Suddenly, a large entourage of bullets soar through the area, causing Darly and Elain to retreat, Elain taking Dento with her as she hovers into the air and stops beside Darly. As Hoonis is brought into the air, the tendril he’s in gets shot at and eventually disappears, causing Hoonis to fall to the ground. Hoonis lifts his head, spotting a quickly approaching figure.

Hoonis sees Vondu rushing toward him, his artillery of fire arms revealed. The guns continue to shoot, as if they have unlimited ammunition. In one of his floating hands is the dagger. He had taken it when no one was looking. He stuffs the hand holding the dagger in his coat.

Vondu stops in front of Hoonis and glares at him, angry that Hoonis didn’t do his job. His eyes are like daggers staring directly into Hoonis’ soul, piercing his very spirit like a red hot spear.

Hoonis flinches. “I just couldn’t!” Hoonis says desperately. “I’m sorry!”

Suddenly, pedestrians begin flooding the streets, racing for the sane people standing in the road. Vondu begins to fire his artillery aimlessly at the hoard. All of them trip and fall as the bullets pierce their skin, only making holes with no blood seeping from them.

Hoonis stays huddled behind Vondu, not certain of where to go. Out of nowhere, a tendril grabs Hoonis by the waist and pulls him up to Darly.

“Three little lackeys in one day?” Darly asks himself. “What a show!”

On the ground, Vondu continues to shoot at the pedestrians. Most of them have been taken down and lay on the ground unconscious. With a few more shots, the city goes dead quiet. The zombies remain on the ground while everyone else stays entirely silent…

…Until the sound of another hoard is heard.

Vondu swiftly turns his head around. He spots a few bugged out office workers chasing after an unarmed woman. As he watches, and before he can swiftly react, he suddenly gets pulled into the air by a tendril. As he gets pulled away, the dagger falls out of his coat.

“You’re too slow there, pal!” Says Darly. “There’s nothing you can do! This world is MINE!! And MINE to own! …Now, where is that dagger?”

Tendrils then begin to shake Vondu, causing various random items to fall out of his coat.

…All but the dagger.

Down at the ground, Bep continues to run from the workers. She had been running from them for who knows how long, but she still tried to run away from them.

As she runs, she spots a dagger sitting in the road. She bolts to it and swiftly grabs it, holding the weapon triumphantly in her hand. She rushes to the zombies and begins to ruthlessly stab them until they fall unconscious.

“Where is that dagger!?” Darly shouts into the air.

Bep turns. Her eyes quickly face the demented man hovering above her.

Darly’s eyes swiftly glance down to the woman on the ground. He spots the dagger sitting in the woman’s hand.

Darly wants to attack… and yet, he doesn’t… he only stares at the woman. Not with any anger, no… he stares on with regret.

…He could never hurt her… not again. He had yet to attack her all this time, and he wasn’t doing so now.

His feelings are getting the better of him.

“No!” Darly suddenly shouts. “Let all your MORTAL compassion die down! You do not need it! WE NEED THAT DAGGER!!”

Suddenly, tendrils shoot from the sky hole and launch forward to Bep. She barely avoids them and begins to run… until the tendrils halt.

Bep continues to run, not trusting the tendrils sudden stop she sees as she turns back. She faces forward, running forward.

As the sane trio in Darly’s grasp watch Bep scurry, floating hands from within Vondu’s coat hurry toward the woman and pick her up. The hands carry Bep away for moment, out of sight from Darly as he struggles with his head.

Bro is swiftly hovered over the Pink City and swooped over to a safe distance behind Darly, before halting. A hand taps the dazed Bep’s shoulder. Bep turns to Vondu, the source of the hand. Vondu points to the dagger, then to Darly’s head.

Go for the head.

Bep, appearing slightly confused but determined, nods. Bep is slowly lowered to Darly. Once she’s there, the hands let go of the woman, allowing her to plop onto the demented man’s back.

Darly suddenly shrieks and hovers away from his captors, trying to get Bep off of him. Bep can barely hold onto Darly, but she tries to keep herself clung to him.

“GET OFF OF ME!!” Darly shouts. “HE DOES NOT NEED YOU!!”

As Darly says that, Bep becomes uncertain again.

She could totally jump off and end this fight now…

“…Tell me you love me, damn you.” Bep says desperately. “Show me that you can change… please.”

…Darly then goes quiet… before suddenly speaking again.

“…I loved you with my life, Bep.” Says Darly. “I didn’t want this, I did it to myself… and I fucking hate myself for it… please, understand me, when I say that I love you with all my heart… you are my daughter, and I love you.”

…Bep only stares upon the back of Darly’s head. She notices that Darly is beginning to slow and hover back down to the ground.

“I wouldn’t be letting you shank me in the head right now if I wasn’t willing to change for the better.” Says Darly. “We can end this hell, and start over. Right here, right now.”

Bep continues to stare…

If she wants to change, she has to prove it. Take his word… she knows he wouldn’t be saying any of this if he didn’t truly care.

her expression goes stern. She slowly lifts the dagger…

…Then she strikes.

A hard blow directly to the back of the parasite’s head. Darly shrieks with gut wrenching agony… the city then begins to distort and bug out. Colors and unknown sounds fill the Pink City grounds as the world practically falls apart…

…Then…

…Nothing but darkness.

Horrendously quiet, deafening silence…

…And then… light.

Everything in the Pink City is quiet, practically dead, but it isn’t. Everyone that was once a dead brained zombie lay in the city’s center, so do the saviors of the city and the mad man. Everything is quiet…

Until everyone slowly begins waking up…

Everyone glances around. It’s like the entire universe suddenly reset… whatever god or legion may have allowed this change, they are eternally grateful for it.

As everyone wakes up, Darles slowly rises to his feet, the parasite no longer clinging to his head… his deal was broken, and the damage it caused was undone… he could actually change, even when he never thought he could… he can now.

Everyone in the city, including the idol hunters and Vondu, look upon the scene.

As Dento stares, he has a swift realization… he turns his head…

Elain stands directly next to him… Elain slowly processes the eyes looking to her, but she slowly sets her eyes back down, appearing ashamed.

…This shame stays, until Elain feels something cling to her side. She looks down to see Dento tightly hugging her leg, being too short to reach any higher. Elain only stares at the sight, appearing to be caught off guard by the sudden act… she wasn’t expecting this at all.

She expected he’d be upset with her, not even daring to look her in the eye, but he isn’t.

All Dento could focus on in that moment was his closest friend being alright. He could care less about what had happened, what they both caused.

That was in the past now. And they were going to use the future to improve. Change for the better.

Darles, in the crowd of citizens just coming to, stands in almost complete disbelief… it was done… he could actually try and live his life. A second chance…

“Darles!?” A voice shouts from the crowd. “Oh, golly, where’d you go!?”

Darles quickly recognizes the high pitched sound. His eyes dart around, trying to spot the voice’s source.

“…T-Thlouretta?” Darles exclaims softly into the crowd.

Suddenly, Thlouretta pops out from the crowd, appearing panicked. Her eyes glance around, until they halt onto the tall suited man in the middle of the crowd… a smile creeps up on Thlouretta’s face.

“…Darles?” Thlouretta asks in disbelief. “Is that you?”

“…I-I’m all that’s here now.” Says Darles.

Thlouretta, still smiling, slowly walks over to her old friend. As she stops, Darles gets down on one knee to be close to her height.

“…I missed you so much.” Thlouretta says softly.

“I did too.” Says Darles. “…I’m so sorry I left… but now that’s behind us. I can actually live again—!”

“Dad!?” Another voice shouts. Darles and Thlouretta look back to the crowd as Bep races through the citizens, marching directly towards her father. Bep gives Darles a stern look as she approaches him. Thlouretta steps to the side to give them so room.

Bep’s expression the softens. She’s almost in disbelief at what she’s seeing… her own father, actually willing to change. Bep and Darles exchange the same soft but awkward look.

“…I’m sorry, my daughter.” Says Darles. “I did you wrong, and I didn’t know… what I did was stupid… I can’t change what I did, but… I can at least change now, right?”

“…Yeah.” Says Bep, voice cracking slightly. “You can… so can I.”

The crowd softly gazes upon the the three in the center as Bep and Darles tenderly look to one another before Bep slowly brings out her arms, appearing hesitant. Darles never liked physical contact, and she knew that.

To Bep’s surprise, Darles tightly clings to his daughter in a hug. Bep gradually wraps her arms around Darles. Everyone begins to gush at the sight, including the idol hunters. Vondu though still appears stern, as usual.

Hoonis would love to ask to speak with Darles, but he believes he should give him time… he may not even want to be in showbiz anymore.

That doesn’t mean he still can’t speak with the showman… maybe, with time, he could befriend him.

—

It’s been a few days since the apocalypse had happened.

The Pink City has gone back to its regular cycle, for the most part. Some still appear traumatized by the attack, but with time, they will improve. A bunch of news reports had come out on the situation and it’s causes. Some didn’t pay attention to them, not wanting to think about the treacherous day.

Elain and Dento sit in their apartment’s kitchen, quietly eating the breakfast Dento prepared. Dento turns to Elain, who appears to look ashamed.

Suddenly, Elain’s phone goes off. A message from Dento.

'You ok?'

'No'

'Whats wrong? You can tell me'

'I feel horrible'

'Why?'

'All that crap I did to you. I hurt you'

'Yea?'

‘Why do you still keep me around after all I’ve done to to you?'

'Bc you are my friend Elain. I care abt you'

‘Why? I hurt you?'

'Bc you’re my friend'

'Friends care for each other. I know you care abt me. You didn’t mean to hurt me'

'You were just being stupid. I was too, but ppl do stupid shit all the time'

'We just have to learn how to improve'

'You get me?'

Elain appears hesitant to respond. Dento gives Elain and stern look and rises from his seat. He walks to Elain and jumps into her lap. He rightly hugs her. Elain is swiftly taken aback.

Dento picks up his phone again.

'You weren’t telling me things you should’ve'

'And I wasn’t paying enough attention to you'

'We both did smth dumb, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change'

'We just gotta learn from what we did. I know we can do that. Work together to change, just as we always have'

Elain looks to the messages from Dento on her screen as Dento remains in her lap. Dento turns to face Elain, giving her a look that says 'You get me?'.

Elain turns to Dento, still appearing hesitant, before Dento gently hugs her… a realization then comes to her. It all finally hits her.

She can change. She will change.

Change for the better.

…Elain gently returns the hug, promising to Dento that she will change for the better. And she imagines Dento promised the exact same thing.

They make a great team.

—

After preparing for the day, Hoonis exits his apartment, heading to Bep’s studio. She was quickly beginning to get her show back together after the tender meeting with her father, and she was having her first new airing that morning.

As Hoonis steps away from his small apartment complex, he pulls out his phone and goes into his contacts. As he finds Bep’s contact, he gazes upon the contact for his father.

…Unfortunately, not everyone can change. Not everyone wants to.

Hoonis swiftly deletes the contact from his phone. He doesn’t need that sour, unchangeable man in his phone anymore.

Hoonis presses on Bep’s contact, and his phone begins to ring. It takes a moment, but Bep eventually picks up.

“Hello, Bep!” Says Hoonis. “Are you ready?”

“Almost.” Says Bep from the other line. “Give me a moment.”

“Alright, see you in a bit!” Says Hoonis.

“You too.” Says Bep.

Hoonis hangs up and proudly struts down the street to Bep’s studio.

—

Bep sits in a small dressing room, prettying herself up for her first airing in days. All while she prepares herself, Bendle stands outside, directing the crew.

Suddenly, there is a knock on the dressing room door.

“Who’s there?” Bep asks her from seat.

The door slowly opens, allowing Bendle to peek through the door. “Someone wants to see you, Ms. Nemeni.” He says. Bendle steps aside and lets the guest in.

Darles steps from beside Bendle and slowly enters the dressing room. As he approaches Bep, Bep turns to Bendle.

“Thank you, Bendle.” Says Bep.

“No problem, Ms. Nemeni.” Says Bendle. He shuts the door, giving Bep and Darles privacy.

Darles turns to face Bep. If he had a mouth, he’d have a wide smile on his face. “You look wonderful, Bep.” Says Darles.

“Thank you.” Says Bep. “I appreciate it. You look great too with that new look.”

Darles looks down at himself. He had bought a new suit and tie, the suit being an emerald green and the tie being an vibrant yellow, colors contrasting and pairing with his body tones of teal and magenta.

“Thank you!” Says Darles with a slight chuckle. “I thought it would be a nice change. I’m not wearing that old shit suit anymore.”

“Hey.” Says Bendle, peeking through the door again. Darles and Bep turn as he begins to speak again. “You’re almost on. And Mr. Boogie’s here.”

“Thank you, Bendle.” Says Bep. “We’ll be out shortly.”

“No problem.” Says Bendle as he exits.

Bep notices Bendle didn’t call her 'Ms. Nemeni' like he should’ve…

She doesn’t mind though. She knows it was an accident.

She had changed. She no longer snapped at people.

She changed for the better. Something she never thought she could do.

Another knock on the door is heard. “Come in.” Says Bep.

Hoonis peels in through the door. “It’s about to be showtime!” He says. “Come on!”

Bep and Darles look up to each other with confidence. They both them head to the dressing room’s exit, now being backstage. They stand next to Hoonis, who stands next to Bendle.

“I’ll let you know when you’ll be on.” Says Bendle.

The trio nods. Bep then looks to the crowd, gazing upon them with wide eyes.

“You ready?” Hoonis asks Bep and Darles.

Bep and Darles nod confidently.

Suddenly, intro music is heard.

“You’re on!” Bendle whispers.

The trio then slowly walks out onto the stage and take a seat as the intro music ends. They all look out to the audience.

“Hello, again!” Bep announces to the audience. “It’s been awhile! Welcome back! Today’s very special, as I have not one, but two guests here today! Do you two want to introduce yourselves?” She asks as she turns to face Hoonis and Darles.

“Hello, everybody!” Hoonis dramatically exclaims to audience. “I am full-time show host Hoonis Boogie! A pleasure to see you all again.”

Darles appears slightly hesitant to speak. “…Hello.” He says. “I am Darles Nemeni, former showman and Ms. Nemeni’s father. It’s nice to be here.”

“Today, we’ll be interviewing these two beacons of entertainment, discussing their lives since the recent apocalypse and where they’re going from there. Do either of you have anywhere you’d like to start?”

“Oh, well…” Hoonis begins. “I’ve been fine, mostly… nightmares are a pain, but that’s life! Am I right?” The audience chuckles.

Darles chuckles softly. “I’ve been okay.” He says. His eyes trail off a bit. “I’ve been at home, getting used to… living again… it’s refreshing.”

“Since recent news broadcastings after the initial attack, most people know about the involvement you two had in it.” Says Bep. “How do you feel about that?”

“…Weird.” Says Hoonis, chuckling slightly. “I never thought I’d be a city-wide hero. Now my dad can shut up about me being a failure!” The audience laughs, with some cheers sprinkled throughout.

Darles’ gaze averts again. He appears ashamed. “…I was almost surprised no one looked at me funny.” He says. “I caused that mess and yet… I’m not being attacked.”

“I think that’s because they saw that you wanted to change, dad.” Says Bep.

Darles chuckles. “…Maybe.” He says.

Bep then turns her head to face the audience. “To my audience, I want you all to know this.” She begins. “Anyone can change, if they’re willing to. To truly change means to show that you want to change, you want to be better. And that’s what my father and I have set out to do.”

“Not everyone can change, and that’s okay!” Hoonis butts in. “Focus on the ones who actually want that change. Like Darles and Bep here!”

“Exactly, Hoonis!” Says Bep. “You took the words right out my mouth.”

“…I may have another chance, but not everyone gets that.” Darles butts in. “Use whatever chances you have to improve. It’s good for you, for others.”

Bep nods. “You have the opportunity to change for the better.” She says. “Use it.”

The sound of the outro music then cuts through the motivational air. The interviewer and showmen look to the audience.

“Oh, it’s time for a commercial break!” Says Bep. “We’ll see you all real soon!”

As the outro music comes to a close, everyone who had been watching is left in a quiet awe.

Anyone can change. Everyone has the ability to be better, but not everyone can be better.

Such is the way of life.

Imperfection is very prevalent in our world, but that shouldn’t stop you or others from seeking great things.

- END -

Previous Chapter:

[svt-yexi]

Glimpse: How the members handle Yexi on her period...

Seungcheol - if she needs emergency supplies he's on it like superman. He gives zero fucks if people catch him out buying tampons or pads. He keeps menstrual pain meds in his bag for emergencies because Yexi always forgets.

Jeonghan - Will absolutely tear into anyone who 'picks' on her. He must protect his temporarily fragile baby at all costs

Joshua - he's there to make to her happy. She wants chocolate? He's getting it. She wants to watch a certain movie? He's there.

Jun - He dotes on her hardcore. If his meimei is in pain he fretts on how to make it better ASAP. Heating pads, belly rubs, etc...hes already taking care of it before she asks. He also makes her hot pot to eat.

Soonyoung - Look he tries to be a little less chaotic but it's hard and does she glare at him more often during that time of the month? Sure. But he always cuddles her in apology and she can't stay mad. He also tries to temporarily gift her one of his tiger pillows to make her feel better.

Wonwoo - they're roomies, he knows what to expect. When she gets wound up he just pets her head and hugs her. If she ends up getting emotional he's there with tissues and lays with her until she feels better. He also is one of the only ones that's able to get away with gently reminding her that she might be getting irrational if she snaps at the members.

Jihoon - He's just not good with all that stuff. He likes to just stay in his studio and work. He will usually share sound files with her to get her opinion just to keep her occupied.

Minghao - He calls her out when she's being overly sensitive and snapping at people. He's not mean about it but he's one that's willing yo take the blows and they'll argue in Chinese but it never lasts long. He also makes her a lot of tea and reminds her to drink warm/hot liquids.

DK - They boy tries to be her happy virus and tries to make her laugh. He's kind of neutral over the whole thing and doesn't really have a particular role like some of the others but they'll get together and watch YouTube videos and he's just the softest boy.

Mingyu - they're roomies and he's on food duty. He's willing to wake up whenever and cook for her if she's craving something salty or sweet. Late night convenient store runs and movie nights. If she's grumpy he pouts about it and whines to Wonwoo to fix it.

Seungkwan - that week is tea week. The gossip! He'll check on her and such but he's just not really equipped to handle it.

Vernon - the poor boy. He tries to act like it doesn't phase him but if there is period talk he's removing himself, it's weird to think about that and his Noona in the same sentence. He's obviously mature enough to handle it but if possible he tries not to.

Chan - This boy avoids it like the plague. He also has a tendency to joke a little too much since that's usually how they're relationship is. He stands by the saying that nothing should bleed for 7 days and still live. It's just too much to handle.

Taglist: @multiplums @giverosespls @sunflower-0180 @smoooore @kimhyejin3108 @enhacolor @wcsterias @kimhyejin3108 @allthings-fandoms @cixrosie

So I decided that I'm going to start doing glimpses into Yexi and her relationships with members/friends/family in different scenarios so if you are curious about anything like this just send in a request. This will allow posts when I'm busy rather than just SNS posts and having to wait for me to be able to post a writing.

[bts-hyperfixation]

Outside of the fox

Chapter 14

Y/N longs for a new life when the one she'd been living comes to an abrupt stop. Without much thought to those she is leaving behind, the little fox packs a backpack and disappears. She stumbles across the shelter and makes an interim home for herself while she works out exactly what she wants from her second chance.

Last

"Good Evening Kim family." Dr Jin says as he looks up at you all over the chart in his hand.

"Hello, Jin." Jungkook practically giggles before Namjoon even has a chance to extend a greeting himself.

You all glance at the rabbit, bewildered by his sudden confidence.

"You seem to have some new additions with you today." The doctor comments, gesturing to Hobi and Tae in the corner.

"Friends joining us for the holiday." Namjoon fills in.

"Ah, of course, a wonderful time to spend with friends, although it's a shame you seem to have ended up here..."

Jin places the chart on the end of the bed and shoos Jungkook and Namjoon from Jimin's side to get a better look at Jimin's arm. The red panda is clutching it to his side with his good arm. The nurse gave him a painkiller, but it didn't do much for the odd angle it was stuck at.

"Do you not have plans for the holidays Doctor?" Jungkook asks peering over the man's shoulder.

"Me? No, I have the day off which is a blessing, but my plans are limited to dinner alone and a movie marathon." He shrugs. "Anyway, Jimin, I think you have definitely dislocated your shoulder, and there is potential for a fracture, I would like to get a better look with some x-rays. I'll have the nurse set up radiology for you and I'll be back."

He nods his head firmly and exits the room. Namjoon and Jungkook immediately take up positions next to the bed again. Jungkook nuzzles into Jimin's uninjured side while Namjoon pets Jimin's hair, careful to avoid all contact with the shoulder.

You sit across the room with Taehyung, Hoseok, and Yoongi. Yoongi uses his nervous energy by playing with Hoseok's hair, musing it up beyond easy repair. Taehyung looks far more upset than you would've thought possible for a near stranger. His leg jitters, knocking in to you in the cramped space.

"How are you doing Chim?" Namjoon asks.

"It hurts Joonie." Jimin pouts.

"Why would you hide so high up in a tree baby?" Namjoon pets him softly, trying not to sound accusatory.

"It worked didn't it?" Jimin laughs, the motion causing him to squeak in pain. "Someone distract me."

"How?" Yoongi asks, desperate to be helpful.

"Tell me a story, in fact, tell me my favourite story."

"That story? You've heard it a million times." Yoongi sighs, but a smile pulls at the edges of his lips.

"And I want to hear it at least a million more."

"What story?" You ask.

"The story of how I met Yoongi." Namjoon supplies.

"Okay, if that's what you really want, settle in." Yoongi begins

_______________

It was almost ten years ago now. On a dreary day, on a run-down campus, in a little town, not far from where they now called home. Yoongi had come to the music studios inside the university library to work on his latest composition for his final assessment. He already spent hours on the track and it seemed like he might still have hours more ahead of him.

He'd gone through countless coffees and instant noodles trying to keep himself isolated in the little room. He was practically pulling his hair out trying to understand why his bridge section wouldn't flow how he wanted it to into the chorus. Both sections were exactly what he wanted them to be and yet neither one fitted together in the way that he wanted them to. It was infuriating.

Eventually, he decided if he didn't remove himself from the room he was going to drive himself insane. He wandered through the stacks on one of the lesser-used floors, something about obscure medical studies. He was always alone when he walked this floor, but today it seemed someone else was around. He couldn't see them, but he could hear them, humming along to something. The sound was offkey and unfamiliar but the melody stuck with him.

He never found the source that day but it did give him the inspiration he needed to work out exactly what he was missing to connect his piece.

______

Namjoon had been studying hard in his first year of medical studies. No matter how hard he tried though the information just wouldn't stick. It wasn't that he wasn't smart enough, it was just that it was dull. He had tried many different ways to get himself to focus. He studied completely alone in the depths of medical journals at the library but his mind always wandered and he would end up writing stories or making up pointless songs. He tried working in groups with other students on his course, but they somehow made the content even less interesting. He even tried working amongst the other first years in the more populated areas but they were all too chatty, not really there to work.

He found his solace by accident. He was stumbling through the library looking for another place he could study when he stumbled into the music studios. Each one was locked but he could hear a song coming from one that left him mesmerised, he sat down outside of the door and finally managed to get some studying done. The repetition might have annoyed some people but he enjoyed the slight changes each time to track was replayed.

He returned to that studio for the next couple of days, sitting cross-legged outside the door with his notes splayed around him. A perfect setup, until one day when the composer came tumbling through the door tripping over his work.

"Wah, the fuck..." The stranger said as he stumbled.

"I'm so sorry," Namjoon said.

He rushed up to help the man balance and found himself getting lost in his eyes.

"You realise there is a whole library full of workbenches outside right?" The man asks annoyance evident in his features.

"I... I struggle to work out there." Namjoon rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

"So you are just perched outside of my studio?" Yoongi raises an eyebrow.

"The music sounded pretty..."

"You're a fresher, aren't you? I haven't seen you before" The annoyance slowly fades from the older man's face as he takes in Namjoon.

"Yeah, first-year medical." Namjoon confirms "I'm Namjoon."

The bear extends his hand and the musician takes it.

"Yoongi, senior in music production."

He isn't sure he would call it a friendship. More of a partnership from there on. Namjoon was invited inside the studio to sit in the corner so he could work and occasionally Yoongi would talk to him so he wouldn't go days without talking to another person again.

He told Namjoon how he had stolen part of the melody from someone humming on the upper level, Namjoon decided it best not to tell him that it was most likely his off-key attempt that Yoongi had heard (although he did find out shortly after his graduation).

They spent months together in that little box of a room, sharing parts of their days with one another as they worked on different assignments. They really didn't realise how close they'd become until it was a week before Yoongi's final submission and their time together was coming to an end.

Namjoon's heart grew heavy as Yoongi concluded that his work was complete, there was not another note that he could add that would make the slightest bit of difference to his grade. The senior ordered pizza and beer for them both to enjoy that night and instead of studying with minimal conversation, the two of them talked all night.

Yoongi shared his dream of wanting to produce music for the biggest stars, but he also wanted to produce an album just for himself, one where he would rap and sing, and maybe dance if he were brave enough.

Namjoon shared that he wasn't really sure medicine was for him. In fact, he was only going through the motions because his parents had thought it would be a good idea, he was so smart after all. He wanted to be a writer.

Yoongi had looked Namjoon right in his eyes, grabbed his shoulders, and told him that he should go after what he wanted, others be damned. He went on a monologue about others always putting people like them in a box and telling them what they could do and how they should act. He was so passionate in his delivery, so fired up that the passion was all that Namjoon could see on his face.

Yoongi was mere inches away from Namjoon's face when he finished, making one last comment about taking the things that were meant for you before anyone else tried to take them away. The younger man couldn't resist closing the gap and taking Yoongi's lips in his.

It was evident that the older man was startled, pulling back confused.

"What was that for?" He asked, blinking owlishly.

"Taking what was mine before it went away I guess?" Namjoon shrugged, although inside he felt like he was about to explode if this didn't go how he thought it would.

"I just meant you should change your major..."

"Oh, okay, yeah maybe I should..."

Yoongi fiddled with his hands, thinking through what to say next. Namjoon stuffed more pizza into his mouth. The silence grew quickly as they both awkwardly thought of how to pass by what just happened. Eventually, Yoongi swallowed his pride and spoke first.

"Namjoon?.."

"Uh-huh?"

"Do you really want me to be yours?" Yoongi doesn't look up from his hands.

"Yes, yes I do."

"Okay."

Namjoon studies the older man's face as he finally looks up to face him again. He looked unsure and insecure but resolute in his words. So Namjoon leant over and kissed him again, this time receiving a kiss in return and from that moment onwards they truly did belong to each other. And Namjoon changed his major the very next day.

________

"That might be the sweetest story I've ever heard." Doctor Jin says as he comes through the door breaking the silence in the room. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I didn't want to interrupt either, Jimin we are ready for you in radiology."

Next

Masterlist

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[srorgana1]

Into The Reverb (Kylo Ren/Reader)

Chapter Forty Two

Kylo stood on the side stage with his bandmates as Horizons came down the stairs one last time. It was an unreal feeling that this tour was ending. After hugs and congratulations, he heard Vic ask Sykes if he was still good to perform Watch Me Burn with them. He confirmed by screaming out a hell yes and hugging both of them.

As they leave, he shuts his eyes and takes a centering breath. He can do this. He just must get through the next two hours and then he is free to fix his relationship with you. He hasn’t heard from you in almost a month, but his heart and soul are still yours. You asked for time, and he gave it. He just hopes that you haven’t decided he wasn’t worth the time and energy.

He feels a hand hit his shoulder. He looks over to see Kurak standing there. “You ready?” he says, giving him a sly smile. He nods as the lights dim. The crowd roars as they ascend the stairs and get into their positions. It starts low, mixed with the roaring crowd. As the electronic voice starts up, the chant becomes louder. “KOR, KOR, KOR…”

He smiles, happy to be back as he hits the opening trill. The curtain drops with a flash with the opening bang. His fingers fly over the frets and chords, spurred on by the energy of the crowd. He hits the slide and joins the chorus. Something about tonight feels right, he thinks as he sinks into the harmony.

---

You stare dumbfounded at what is before you. You had watched the Knights perform so many times in the studio and on social media, but seeing it live was a whole new experience. You could feel the raw energy and your body craved it like a drug. Your eyes barely left Kylo. He was a beast on stage. You don’t know if he was feeling the energy as well, but what you saw was perfect.

You scream and clap as they finish playing Make Believe. The lights focus on Ushar as you see the others walk to the side stage for a quick break. “Holy shit!” Rae yells in your ear over the continued roar of the crowd and Ushar’s fierce drumming. “Right?!” you respond, nodding your head. She smiles at you as she finishes her water. The songs you toiled over sound so good live, honestly better than the recordings. You feel a sense of pride that you helped them make this experience for everyone here.

You watch their return in the darkness and take a deep breath in as you hear the intro. Here we go, you say to yourself as Kylo and Ushar hit those magical first notes. Your eyes tear up as you sing the lyrics, your body reacting to the song you intimately wrote with him. He hits the growl before the bridge and you shiver. This was so much more than just a song to you and these people around you have no idea.

You feel a hand on your shoulder as you watch Kylo hit the final chords. You look up to see Cassian smiling at you. You smile back, wiping a tear away. You barely notice Vic thanking the crowd as you and Rae follow Cassian. On your way, you run into a couple people, each of them wishing you luck tonight. You didn’t realize how many people knew about it and were willing to keep it a surprise.

You turn the corner and enter the Knight’s dressing room. “Hello Y/N” Hux says, giving you a hug. You hug him back, hopeful he can feel every ounce of your appreciation. He laughs softly, letting you go. “Thanks for keeping Cass occupied, he gets so bored sometimes when I am away” he says, kissing Cassian’s cheek. “Callate” Cassian says with a grin.

You giggle as you hear the door open. You turn to see a tech and a stagehand standing there awaiting Hux’s orders. “Alright gents this is Y/N, our guest of honor for the night. Get her hooked up and sound checked so we can hide her away until the encore, okay?” They both nod and get to work. You take off your TEAM KYLO shirt and hand it to Rae who stows it in her bag. She helps you fix your top under your blazer as the men secure your pack and headphones.

You can hear the crowd through the wall as the Knights finish playing Watch Me Burn. You are handed a black and sparkly gray Fender. You run your hand over the beautiful detail as you check the tuning. The sound tech tweaks the pack, asking you to check it again. You are so focused you don’t notice the door opening again.

“Ah, so this is our girl of the hour” a somewhat familiar voice says. You pull out one of your headphones and turn your head, shocked to see none other than Oli Sykes leaning next to the doorframe. He gives you a big smile as he takes you in. “My my, Kylo has good taste. You look beautiful” he says as he sits down next to Hux.

Your cheeks warm as you fiddle with the guitar. He leans back as Cassian gives him a look. “What? I can’t mention she’s pretty. You know I’m hitched, and Alissa would have my balls if I tried anything. I just know once Kylo sees here, there won’t be much time for conversation” he says, laughing.

Cassian rolls his eyes as you laugh to yourself, knowing Oli is probably not far off. You give him a smile as you finish your sound check. You pick out a quick melody, checking for interference. “Damn she is good” Sykes says, “she could give Ky a run for his money.” “That I do agree with” Hux says, slapping his shoulder. “You think your good Y/N?” Cassian says, standing up. “Yeah” you say, fiddling with your other headphone.

He places his hands on your shoulders and looks into your eyes. “Don’t be nervous mi amor, remember why you are doing this” he says lowly. You nod as you blow out a breath. Rae walks up next to Cassian and gives you a hug. “You got this” she says as she fixes your hair one more time.

You smile softly, your heart full. “Knock ‘em dead!” Sykes yells as you follow Cassian and the stagehand to your hiding spot on the side stage to the right. You can see the stage and part of the crowd from here. Everything is set, now all you must do is wait until they give you the signal. You can do this; you say to yourself as you shut your eyes and drown in the music around you.

---

The crowd screams and roars as he waves at the crowd with his bandmates. They get louder the longer they stand and salute the crowd. The photographer comes out and takes a picture of them with the crowd. He runs a hand through his sweaty hair as he finishes throwing the rest of his picks out to the crowd. The stand hands swarm them as soon as hits the bottom of the stairs, passing out water bottles and switching out instruments and sound packs as they sent up for the encore.

He looks out at the darkened stage and takes a deep breath. It’s not often they do encores but this show called for it. The crowd was amazing and they deserved it. “You ready Ky?” Vic says, stopping next to him. “Acoustic Miracle right?” he asks. Vic smiles widely and slaps his shoulder as Hux walks up. “Okay, change of plans. Kylo, you are going out first. Sykes just agreed to do this with you instead of Vic” he says, straight faced.

“Dude this is gonna be epic!” Vic crows, jumping up and down. Kylo smiles, excited to perform with his friend once again. He gets his cue and ascends the stairs. The lights focus on him as he walks to the set up in the center of the stage. The sound of the crowd is deafening. He fixes his mic.

“Wow! You all are fucking awesome!” he says with a big smile. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your support, we really appreciate you…” The words die in his throat as his eyes freeze on the side stage. You. You’re here. His breath hitches as he sees you smile as you slowly walk on stage with a guitar in your hand. The crowd noise becomes dull in his ears because all he can focus on is you.

He watches you approach as he gapes at you. You stop and stand in front of him, and lightly cup his cheek. He can’t help but melt into your soft touch. He shuts his eyes, nuzzling into your hand and placing a soft kiss in your palm. “Hi Ky” you whisper, low enough it’s not picked up by the microphones in front of you. “Hi baby girl” he responds, kissing your palm again.

You smile as you stand next to him, adjusting your guitar in your hands. His brain struggles to keep up as he has a strong case of déjà vu. He is suddenly back on his couch with you working on Miracle. He clears his throat, pushing down his rioting emotions. “The Knights and I have a special surprise for you. We want to introduce someone very special to you all. This beautiful woman here is Y/N, our wonderful producer from D’Kar Studios” he says as you smile and wave at the excited crowd.

“Thank you Kylo. I want to thank each and every single one of you out there for your continued support of this band and this amazing man next to me” you say smiling at him. He fights off a shiver as your angelic voice fills the venue. “So, in thanks, we would like to do something special for you all tonight. This song means a lot to the both of us and we hope it means something to you all too. I love you Kylo. This is Miracle.”

His brain short circuits as watches as your slim fingers hit the strings, his heart overwhelmed with joy. You really just did that? You just announced to the world you loved him? The crowd roars as you look at him, your eyes full of adoration. He nods as he starts to play as well. It’s perfect. It’s how the song is meant to be played. He strums the strings as you start to sing.

You are a natural performer. He knew it from the first time he saw you in that recording booth all by yourself. You were meant to be up in front of tens of thousands of people doing what you loved. He couldn’t help but watch you, wanting to remember every single detail. Going into the chorus, you twist your arm slightly as you change your fingers’ position on the frets. He swears he sees some ink as he starts into the chorus with you.

They are so involved in the song and each other, they don’t notice the growing crowd on the side stage. “Rae, did you get his reaction?” Cassian show-whispers in her ear. “Yes, now shush” she says, hitting record again on her phone. There are multiple phones recording. Hux grins, so bloody proud of himself as he sees one of the photographers stationed at the base of the stage snapping away.

Kylo continues to harmonize with you through the second chorus as he lets up, allowing you to play the bridge. His heart flutters as he watches you transition seamlessly through the bridge and back to the chorus. You look so happy and carefree, and it makes him feel reckless. He wants to show the world you are his as much as he is yours.

He smirks, deciding quickly as he hits the last few chords, playing a little ad lib riff at the end. You smile widely, playing out the final chords. He swings his guitar to his side and offers you his hand as the crowd goes wild. You look up at him like he was the only person that has ever mattered as you take his hand, squeezing it lightly.

This is all he wanted: you and him against the world. He knows with you by his side he can do anything. He raises your combined hands as the crowd continues to cheer. He looks over to see Hux, Vic, Cassian, Kurak, Rae, and Sykes all standing there with big smiles on their faces. He smiles and nods in thanks to them. He gets it now why everyone has been so tight lipped around him now this past week.

He turns back and looks at you reverently as you soak up your well-earned ovation. He counts to three slowly in his head as he watches you put your guitar on the stand. He swings his guitar to his back and swooping you up into his side. He feels you gasp as he kisses you hard. He sighs as he feels one of your hands land at the nape of his neck, your fingers already entwined in his hair.

Pulling back, he smiles and places his forehead to yours. “I love you Y/N, thank you. Thank you so much” he rasps loud enough for the crowd to hear through the microphones. You smile and kiss him as the lights dim around them, signaling the end of the show. He doesn’t notice as holds you closer, deepening the kiss.

He lifts you by the thighs, continuing to kiss any part he can reach as he turns and descends the side stage stairs. God, he missed the feeling of your body wrapped around his. The group stationed there hoots and hollers as they made room for him. “Wow guys wow!” Rae says, taking more photos. You turn and smile at the group as he nuzzles into the crook of your neck, reacquainting himself with your scent as the techs untangle and remove the packs, cords and guitar.

“Ky” Hux says, drawing his attention from you. He turns his head to see Hux standing there with your bag and his phone in his hands. He smirks, handing it to him. “Your ride is waiting. Text us when you are available tomorrow” he says winking at him. He looks at Hux and then back at you trying to connect the dots. “Congrats you two, you deserve it.”

He feels your hands tighten around his neck as he clears his throat, trying to compose himself. “It’s okay Ky” you whisper, kissing his jaw lightly. “Let’s go, I’ll explain everything there.” He nods and kisses your forehead one more time, turning towards the back exit. Through all this craziness he has learned two things. One: he performed the show of a lifetime and Two: you are his and he is yours and nothing will ever change that.

✨️✨️Surprise✨️✨️ 🥰🥰🥰

Big thanks to my girls @asnackdriver @punk-in-docs @waywardrose @thepilotanon @ladyzimmerman and @mrs-zimmerman their amazing support. ILY ❤️❤️

[mercurygray]

Postwar TDS....Ruth and the dress shop she works in please and thank 💕

She gets home and knows she needs a job.

She did everything to get by in Atlantic City, waiting for Joe. Waiting tables, working in an automat, checking coats at a restaurant. All the other girls in the boarding house were war wives, too, waiting for husbands to get home, from the navy or the hospital or who knows where else.

They all talk about medals their husbands won, about battles. Ruth never tells them that she has battles and medals, too. Here she's just Mrs. Toye, from New York, waiting for Joe to finish his rehab. And they talk all the time about after - about houses, about babies, about the jobs their husbands are going to get when they get home. Drive a taxi, or work at the bank, or the factory, or the farm. None of them will work, it seems - they want that normal back, too.

Not Ruth. She has no idea what Joe's going to be able to do. But she knows what she can do, and if that's all they've got, then that's all they've got. She jumped out of airplanes and killed men and won Purple Hearts and she'll be damned if she has to make a man do all the work to keep them together. Why should she worry about the future - it's just borrowing trouble.

It's just by accident they all discover she can sew. Someone's sleeve nearly comes off before the in-laws are in town, and Ruth flies into action. You'd never know anything was wrong, the ladies all say. Better than it was before.

Suddenly everyone has mending to do, and Ruth lets the coat check job go so she can keep up - for a modest fee, of course. But she's still waiting tables and making sandwiches. A paycheck is a paycheck. Who can live on taking in mending?

Back in New York, there are always spots for waitresses. She takes the late shift at a diner down the street, fills in at the counter at a deli a couple of days a week. The old neighborhood doesn't quite welcome her back with open arms, but what was she expecting, marrying a Catholic? Joe keeps filing out job applications and she never says a word on her way to work. It'll work out, one day. It'll come.

One day there are two women at the deli counter, talking about how the seamstress down the street can't find good help - my dress for Georgie's bar mitzvah not done yet! But who else would I ask? Her daughter says she doesn't want the business, and the son in California! A shame.

She sees the shop on the way home - a little basement studio, the front window half-visible from the street. There's a dress in the window the color of orange sherbet, with a nice big bow on the front. I could do that, Ruth thinks. The bell over the door dings as she comes in - the only sound in the place. It feels like walking into an ambush. And Ruth knows she should be scared…but she's not. She's a long way past being scared of anything.

"I hear you're looking for help," she announces to the silver-haired woman behind the counter. "My name is Ruth Toye, and I can sew just about anything."

The woman raises an eyebrow at the name. "Toye sounds English," she says.

"And the Megillot says Ruth was a good daughter to her mother," Ruth says straight back in her best Yiddish. The seamstress doesn't seem to have an argument for that.

They agree on a time tomorrow morning. Ruth walks home feeling on top of the world, better than she's ever felt about sandwiches or slicing deli meat or bussing dishes.

It's something beautiful, she says. I want to put something beautiful into the world. She's still thinking about that dress, how it's ice cream and sunrises and fresh starts. It's late and she and Joe are lying in bed, listening to the traffic in the street outside, her leg hooked up over his side, one hand on his chest.

Like a baby, she adds, before she can stop herself. I want one of them, too.

[silveragelovechild]

Disney has had a rough year…

February 2023 - Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania falling short of its break-even point of $600 million and has a 46% score at Rotten Tomatoes

June 2023 - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is considered one of Disney's largest financial film failures

November 2023 - The Marvels is the lowest-grossing film in the MCU, and is considered to be a box office bomb

Which leads us to “Wish” - a film intended to celebrate 100 years of Disney Studios. Its opening weekend box office was well below projections and ticket sales dropped 62% on the second weekend. The reviews were even worse with a poor 48% score at Rotten Tomatoes. (I’ll bet Bob Iger wished for better reviews and more dollars at the box office.)

I decided to check “Wish” out at my local movie theater’s discount ticket night. I have to say that the movie isn’t terrible but perhaps even worst, it’s forgettable.

The best things I can say about it is that I liked Ariana DeBose performance as the main character Asha. I also like the animation style. While is was done via CGI, it hinted at an old school 2D with backgrounds that suggested water color paintings.

But the movie was cluttered with a supporting cast of 11 characters - way too large to keep track on or care about. There was:

Asha’s mother & Grandfather

Seven coworker friends (apparently based on the Seven Dwarves which I would never have guessed).

Two anthropomorphic sidekicks (a talking goat and a magical star)

The plot was muddled and confusing. We are told that King Magnifico (voiced by Chris Pine) establish the island kingdom of Rosas and invited dispossessed people to live there with the promise he would provide them a happy and safe home. (So far so good.) But he requires them to give him their “wishes” when they reach the age of 18. (But they are getting a safe and happy place in exchange, that’s better than a “wish” that you knew how to play the guitar, right?)

The movie opens with Asha arriving at the castle to apply for a job as Magnifico apprentice and within minutes asks the king for a favor. (A little pushy isn’t she.) He tells her most people wait days or weeks or even a year to ask for a favor.

Asha wants the king to grant her grandfather’s wish. The kings explain that he thinks the wish could be dangerous and declines. So what does Asha do? She decides to start a revolution and overthrow the government. (Whaaa!!!) This is starting to sound like the Bolshevik uprising in Russia which introduced communism.

Asha’s argument is that the wishes don’t belong to the king. BUT the opening narration told us the people gave their wishes to the king (he didn’t coerce them, instead he offered them a safe and happy home in exchange). If you want to know how to play a guitar - practice at it - you won’t appreciate a skill given to you by magic!

Perhaps the biggest failure of the movie is that the songs are utterly forgettable. It’s been over a week since I saw it and I can’t remember any of the songs… not a lyric and not a tune. Disney made a big mistake hiring songwriter Julia Michaels who is known for writing for the likes Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Demi Lovato. Were fans of teen pop music the target audience for “Wish”?!?

[thebonggirll]

chapter six

< previous: chapter five

Jongwoo was wrong.

He thought Moonjo was the only person that he can relate to, but after the conversation they just had, he realized how that was absolutely not the case. Okay, he can admit that Moonjo was actually much more normal than the rest. Maybe he was overthinking after his little statement about killing people, cause he can sense how he liked to scare people in the first place. Or maybe he just became abnormal after staying in a place like this. He can't blame him.

Cause he too, in fact, started losing his patience.

Maybe Moonjo wasn't aware at all of his behavior after staying with these people. Whatever the case, Jongwoo didn't yet want to lose the little bond. He was the only escape from this hellish place.

The next day, he tried talking to his girlfriend about the events, but she actually sounded pissed. Well, she was having a hard time too and he wanted to know the reason behind it. Maybe if she vents it out to him, she might actually feel better. But ever since he came here, it felt like she didn't care enough to talk to him.

Almost like she found him annoying and sensitive.

All of it, starting from the people in the building, his boss, the insecure colleague to his girlfriend, everything was starting to take a toll on him. Maybe these little jabs to him won't bother any other person, but it was a headache to him. He just wanted one day to relax instead of worrying 24/7 about what was going on around him.

That was probably the reason why he got impulsive and thought of having a beer with Moonjo later. Yes, he was creepy but currently, he was the only one who actually made him feel a bit at ease. Moonjo made him feel like he didn't need to have everything under control. He can do whatever he wanted to do.

"Mr. Jongwoo?" Hearing the voice, he got startled and looked back. It was the police officer who came searching for a person who went missing.

"Oh, I didn't mean to scare you! I'm sorry," she apologized and then asked, "Are you not feeling well?"

Of course, people who are observant will definitely notice the struggle on his face. How come Jieun didn't?

"Me? I didn't get much sleep last night," he said fidgeting and opening his backpack, taking out a small notepad, "and this belonged to the foreigner that lived there before."

"Thank you," she said.

"I'll get going now," he said and started walking away but stopped, hearing her call him once again.

"Jongwoo, did anything strange happen in the studio?"

"Anything strange?" he asked, contemplating if it would be a good idea to let her know about his suspicion.

"Yes."

"Well, I was told that nobody lives on the fourth floor, but I keep hearing sounds."

"What sounds?"

"Thumping sounds. I keep hearing them but..." his voice trailed off as he looked at the end of the street. Jongwoo felt shivers down his spine.

Wasn't that the landlady?

He looked back at the police officer and quickly said, "I don't know," before leaving for his office. His mind was filled with questions.

What was she doing here? She has nothing to do on this street in the first place. Was she following him? He halted by his steps as he crashed into a girl. She was yelling at him for dropping the coffee she was carrying, on her. For some reason, maybe because he was too busy to think about the landlady, he tried to help her in a way that he would've never thought of before. Why did he even try to clean the stains on her dress with his shirt? What was he thinking?

He was not sure why so many things were going wrong when the day began. But he was sure of one thing.

Beer just won't do it for him. He needed a damn drink after his shift was over.

Jongwoo felt under the weather. He sat up on his bed with a splitting headache and looked at his surroundings, and then at himself. He felt his heart drop.

Not only was he in a different room, but he was also not wearing clothes. He tried his best to remember the last night's events but he just couldn't remember them clearly. All he remembers is how he met up with Moonjo after his shift was over and had some drinks. He started talking about his career, and books, and somehow the conversation slid toward the residents.

He groaned and got up, finding his clothes neatly kept on the table. Jongwoo realized he must've been a huge hassle to Moonjo. At least he was a gentleman enough to not enter his room when he was intoxicated. But he was a bit worried.

He felt an uncomfortable pain in his lower back. Well, the building didn't offer much comfort in the first place. It was a surprise Moonjo was still living in this hellhole.

As he was about to leave the room, he came face to face with his drinking partner.

"Did you sleep comfortably?" Moonjo asked quirking his head to the left, looking at him.

Jongwoo kept his eyes fixed on his face. He was extremely wary of this person at the moment, knowing the man before him stood with a bare chest and wearing jeans, a towel around his neck, and somewhat of wet hair. Why was he suddenly so focused on his presence? Why were his cheeks feeling hot?

"Uh yes, thank you for taking care of me last night," Jongwoo smiled, "I'm sorry but I need to get ready for work. Thank you." He quickly went off toward his room.

Throughout the day, Jongwoo was a bit out of it. He tried his best to remember the events of last night but he wasn't able to. At the end of his shift, when he got invited to drink with his colleagues he couldn't decline. Although drinking quietly, his mind kept going back to him.

"Oh, looks like someone had a busy night yesterday," Yoojung whispered to him. He looked back at her, his heart started beating fast. Yoojung pointed out towards his neck and then fixed his collar, to hide something that he could only understand as a hickey.

Hickey?  

And then he remembered something from this morning. When he looked at Moonjo's face, from his peripheral vision, he could make out that there were some red marks on his body. Earlier he tried to ignore it but now that he thinks about it carefully, there was a mark on his shoulder that he was clear about. A bite mark.

As his thoughts were jumbled, his office colleagues left the restaurant to go for a second round at another place. On the way he seemed to see the face of the same guy whom he has been thinking of the whole day. But when he looked back again, he disappeared. Running into the alley, he tried to find the familiar face once again but much to his dismay, he wasn't able to.

He was starting to feel scared and angry. Jongwoo was too scared to go back to that building. What happened last night? Why do the people living in the building keep following him?

Most importantly, did he cheat on Jieun?

next: chapter seven >

forever, jagiya.

MASTERLIST

[firstagent]

Digimon Con Part 5 (AiMxOhta Concert)

After some unreliably translated card/poll stuff, it’s concert time!

Leading off with AiM and I Wish. This sounds great live!

Moving right along to Keep On. Let’s see if the streak keeps going through the Zero Two and Tamers endings.

Recorded I like Keep On more than I Wish. Here, live, it’s reversed.

Ashita wa coming up! Streak’s up to 3! Not quite as good live just because there’s so much else going on in the recorded version.

Four! Itsumo Itsudemo! How far will it go?!

Recorded I like Ashita wa more than Itsumo Itsudemo. Live, again, reversed.

And it keeps going with My Tomorrow! She better do Days now!

Yep! And Days is always better, fight me.

Doing all six of those, even in order, is shockingly satisfying.

Obligatory banter with Ohta. AiM asking if his guitar is a guitar. Obvious build up to Endless Tale.

Ohta says counting OPs, EDs, backgrounds and character themes, he’s done about 70 songs.

Which leads to a random Salamander drop!

Followed by Duskmon’s theme Blader. I don’t even think I’d heard this one before.

Concert banter just doesn’t work as well when there’s only like a dozen people in the studio.

Ooh, acoustic FIRE! All dozen people in the studio surely have their lighters out.

We’re like 10 minutes behind schedule. Totally worth it but that’s hilarious given how much is pre-recorded.

[theflyingfeeling]

I was so excited about UMK this year but now that all the songs are out I'm so disappointed and I need to process this somehow, so...below the cut is my (cynic) review of the songs this year, I wrote this for me but you may look ✨

Keira: No Business on the Dancefloor

I hadn't heard of her before, so I had no idea what to expect. She sings well, but there's nothing too special in the song. Songs similar to this advance to the ESC final every year, but I don't think this one's interesting enough to do that. (Also, I'm scared to even ask but can someone explain the line "swing it like Harry Potter" to me? I haven't read the books nor seen the movies, what did he ever swing? His broom? His peepee? lol)

Benjamin: Hoida mut

I don't know, man... There are songs that imply sexual content without being explicitly sexual that do it better than this one. The lyrics sound immature, in parts (maybe less so in the English translation), and I'm not a fan of how some of the words are stressed/emphasized. Not a huge fan of Benjamin's singing voice either, and he is definitely the weakest singer in the whole bunch.

Robin Packalen: Girls Like You

Robin was the very reason why I was so excited about UMK this year and, consequently, the reason why I'm so disappointed in this year's competition overall. I had such grand expectations for him, perhaps unreasonably so; I just really wanted him to have a great song and be sent to ESC and do well there 😔 However, having listened to the song on Spotify (i.e. without the mv), I have to say that the song isn't terrible. It's actually quite catchy and uptempo, and in my opinion the vibe in the music video doesn't quite match the vibe of the song. So IF they manage to compile a live show that brings out the good qualities of the song (because there are some!) and IF/when Robin's voice brings the song into life in the live version (because it certainly doesn't do so in the studio version), I think we MIGHT be able to ignore the weaknesses of the song (such as the tacky lyrics; then again, there have been and will be songs with even worse lyrics in the ESC every year, this one wouldn't even be the worst eh?)

Lxandra: Something to Lose

Not memorable at all (I couldn't even recall the name of this song without checking it). Really not my kind of music, not a fan of that kind of singing technique at all. If you're gonna do a ballad in the ESC, it needs to be bigger and stronger than this one.

Käärijä: Cha Cha Cha

Without having seen the live show for this, I must admit I'm also one of those people who are ready to send this to Liverpool. That is not to say I love the song, although it is the only one that evokes any kind of (positive) feelings in me. I don't know, maybe I feel pretentious jamming along to this song because I don't go to bars safe for Samy Elbanna acoustic gigs and BC tumblr meetings and I've never been drunk in my life? 😂 Still, it was the first song that I nodded my head along to and that brought a smile to my face (for some reason the line "toinen silmä jo karsastaa" / "one eye keeps turning crossed too far" always cracks me up). I'm just a little annoyed because people (mostly at the Finnish eurovision discussion board I've been reading) keep praising this song to the extent that I think it's a little over the top, saying stuff like "this is the best UMK song ever!!" and "this is the new Lordi!!" but like...it's not?! Or is it me who's in the wrong here? 😟 I don't know, maybe I should just lower my expectations and accept that I'm not gonna get another "Dark Side" out of UMK any time soon...

KUUMAA: Ylivoimainen

Another song that is praised a lot and I'm not quite sure why. Again, it's not a bad song, but something in it just feels...off. I think it's partly because I'm not a huge fan of Johannes' vocals/singing voice, but also because of the lyrics. I understand it's about the ecstasy one feels when falling in love, (and I want you to know that I'm saying the following even though I know y'all think I'm crazy) but instead of romantic, the lyrics seem sort of...obsessive? Every single line in the song is so desperate to the point that it makes me feel a little anxious. Yes, I also understand that song lyrics and poetry tend to exaggerate things and that none of this is to be taken literally, but even so, it doesn't evoke the feelings in me that it's probably intented to. If someone told me that "there's nothing left for me but you" I wouldn't feel enamored, I'd feel...sad? Because what if a day comes that we break up and you don't have me anymore, then what? You'll jump down the balcony? I don't want to be the only thing that's left for you, come on, there's gotta be something else in your life too, I can't handle this pressure! And with the sort of melancholic, yet upbeat melody of the song it feels kinda distressing and I almost feel like I can't breath when I listen to it. Then again, I've never been in love myself, so what the fuck do I know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Portion Boys: Samaa taivasta katsotaan

Well 😂😂😂😂😂 In Finland we have this thing called junttidisco, and this is it. I have good reason to believe their other songs are like this too (I've only ever heard two of them), so what the hell were you expecting? 🤣 This is the only song that made me really laugh out loud (with Käärijä it was more like a sensible chuckle), but not necessarily in a good way. The lyrics in the verses are so cringe, although I did love the bit in the chorus about Kimi Räikkönen 😂 The worst part is that I'm not sure whether this is intented as a parody or if they're actually serious about this. I want to believe it's done tongue in cheek, in which case I appreciate them not taking themselves too seriously.

~

To conclude, I don't really give a fuck who will advance to Liverpool, but I guess if we absolutely must send one, then let it be Käärijä, assuming his live show will be fit for ESC. And despite having a horribly boring, mainstream, flavourless song, I still want to put Robin as my 2nd favourite, because I want to believe the live version of the song will be much better than the studio version 🙏

[shinagawa-division]

Sumire’s Thoughts on Akihabara Division

Keiko Yumi

“Criss and Nikki introduced me to her and honestly, I was excited about meeting the person who created Red of the Ambitious, it’s one of my favorite manga series at the moment and Player One Studios is in charge of making the video game adaptation which I myself had greenlit the project. So when I finally did meet her…my disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined.” She deadpanned.

“How someone can be both boring and annoying is beyond me, not to mention that she’s also working for Chuuoku which is an automatic red flag and more than enough reason to dislike her, seriously, how are Nikki and Criss friends with her?! Honestly, they’re the only reason why I put up with her when all four of us hang out and even then, I can’t stand her. You know, you’d think having a porn star for a mom would make you a little more fun but I guess not…and another thing, I know I keep saying how some parents don’t deserve children and I still stand by that but…sometimes there are exceptions, sometimes children don’t deserve their parents and Keiko here is a clear example.” She glared at the photo of the mangaka.

Criss Hiromi

She grinned. “Criss, my fellow believer!” She raised her hand and separated her middle and ring finger, creating a space between the two fingers. “I’m a huge fan of her channel! I always have my notifications on whenever she posts a video and I’ve been in a few myself, those were always fun and we always have the time of our lives. My favorite video is when we went to the clown hotel with Janine and the others and well…shit had gotten out of hand pretty quick, you’re gonna have to watch the video to see.” She snickered.

“I met her in the woods, apparently she was looking for Bigfoot…er, well, the Japanese equivalent to Bigfoot but had gotten lost.” She shook her head with a laugh. “Thankfully I found her because she was real fucking close to finding Scorpion Den or rather…one of the traps we had set in place. So I lead her back to civilization and offered to show her an abandoned asylum that’s rumored to be haunted and well, we’ve been friends ever since, if Criss ever wants another collab for her channel then she knows how to contact me, I can never say no to discovering the unknown!”

Nikki Yoshie

She took one look at the photo and smirked. “1-Up herself, I’ve been tailing this girl for a while honestly, at first, I was impressed with her gaming prowess but later I found out that she’s pretty damn good inside a computer. So like 10 minutes of hacking later, I decided that she had the potential to be part of Scorpion Den so I gave her the invite and sure enough, she’s in the Den. While Nikki is a good programmer, she has the skills to be placed in the Second Unit, we usually have her help out with Player One Studios either as a beta tester or getting rid of bugs or getting rid of competition, same difference.” She shrugs, “But besides all that, Nikki is actually pretty fun to be around, she makes a great gaming buddy and even better ally in both in game and IRL.”

Otaku Corps

“How much you wanna bet that Criss was the one who came up with the name?” She snickered. “That aside, this team is one I wasn’t expecting but not complaining…well, there is one thing to complain about that’s Keiko but whatever, I’m surprised that Nikki and Criss are in the DRB but I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to what their sound is like. I actually want to face these guys just for shits and giggles.”

[glitchafton]

Vanessa: Sir?

William: I'm sorry to say you're still stuck with me.

Vanessa: I know, you kept saying "Why." whenever I'd look at the bedroom window too long.

William: It's between the bedroom and living room, anyone would be baffled by that.

Vanessa: Having no window to the outside in the bedroom lowered the cost so I didn't have to get a studio. Plus it gives the place character. There are more positives than negatives to the window thing.

Vanessa: But besides that you're okay? I usually don't keep my PC off that long...

William: Why do you think that would be a problem. As it is, I was fully with you the entire time. And the virus half to start with.

Vanessa: One of these days I'm going to need you to fully explain how anything about you functions from your side of things because I'm getting a bit over just nodding along when you say things.

William: Now that I think I've worked it out myself, I'd be glad to. It's...strange, even to me. Not the worst situation I've found myself in but still not ideal.

Vanessa: I'm too exhausted from hauling boxes for that right now, but this is important right now can you go between infected computers and people without internet?

William: No. Even moving between computers that aren't in the same network isn't as easy as I'd like.

William: So I'm trying not to fixate on being confined yet again...

Vanessa: I'm gonna annoy the landlord about it in the morning. Past Monday I go around her.

William: So just a few days.

Vanessa: Do you have something you want to get done or is it just being the whole confinement issue.

William: The 2nd.

Vanessa: Oh.

Vanessa: I don't know if I ever actually said that I'm sorry about the whole RabbitSnare thing. I didn't know it was going to hurt you, or that it could. Or that you have more than the normal level of issues with being trapped.

William: It's fine, a bit of pain was worth the long term of it, and at least it was feeling something. Just anything. Describing my normal state as numb is too strong for how void it is.

Vanessa: You say that now, but when I tried launching it again, you made it sound like I was torturing you.

William: Because felt like being repeatedly stabbed the entire time and the one benefit it had already done. That might even be a contender for one of the worst things I've lived through.

Vanessa: Both times or only when I tried containing you again?

William: Both.

Vanessa: Hid it well that first go. And still spent the entire time trying to claw your way out.

William: Why would I lie?

Vanessa: Sympathy?

William: I'm good without it.

Vanessa: I know, sir.

William: I'm surprised you and your ex didn't have more of a fight around the move.

Vanessa: You're not even going to try to change the topic naturally?

Vanessa: But I'm sure Abby realized we basically already broke up weeks ago. And it's better that it ended like this than with another fight, I hate getting into fights with her. But even if you weren't involved I doubt we were going to last much longer, we were already having problems before you made it more complicated.

William: Or you would have gotten bored, she was a bit of a ditz

Vanessa: Hey! Most of that is just that she's from the valley and sounds like it. I don't date people who are stupid or boring.

Vanessa: But you just wanted to watch us fight didn't you?

William: I only get so much entertainment in my life.

Vanessa: That's fair. You might still get it, I stole her favorite blouse and a little frog figurine that her girlfriend before me gave her.

William: But why?

Vanessa: I don't know. It seemed like a good idea in the moment ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Vanessa: Also probably just that I'm not used to breaking up with someone so calmly. Normally you would get the show you were looking for, screaming, fighting, scratching, throwing things, saying the exact worst thing possible thing they could ever hear someone tell them just because I want them to be left feeling worse than I was.

The best was when I was 19 I lit my ex-boyfriend's car on fire, and I wish I went further because he deserved it.

Vanessa: So I think I just needed to cause a very tiny issue.

Vanessa: And it's a really cute frog figure, I'd miss having him around.

[kyungwonrp]

+ … // STUDENT PROFILE … LOADING

SEO SAEBYUL, is 20 YEARS OLD and currently enrolled in kyungwon university, as PREMADE 008. she is in her 2ND YEAR of the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, majoring in JOURNALISM with a minor in ACTING. she is notably in the NEWSPAPER CLUB and the DRAMA CLUB. you may find her in the HWAN RESIDENCE (ROOM #6).

                    + ... // LOAD STUDENT BACKGROUND . . .

dear diary,

i did it! i convinced them to let me become a trainee. i can't say i've always wanted to be an idol but i'm interested. the extra dance lesson's and vocal lesson's paid off for my audition. i do like the singing and dancing, especially the dancing. the authority figures said i have to keep my grades up. i don't think it'll be too hard as a long as i throw myself into it. let's see if this will work out.

fighting!

dear journal,

doesn't journal sound a little more mature? but it's the same thing i guess. anyway, this is a big update. it's a been a week and i'm having mixed feelings. it's cool and all, i'm at a big company, i've made some good friends but the environment has a lot of drama? i'm not staking my entire life on this career so maybe i'm less stressed than some. it's kind of scary to see how some of the girls really, are pushing themselves. i'm butting heads with mrs. seo. i feel like she wants to live her idol dreams through us.

dear journal,

it's been two months and thing's are a bit better but i've been talked too about my 'attitude'. i don't even have one? i just don't think i need to loose more weight and i can admit, some of the people are creepy. if they have SUCH an issue, get ride of the creepy people. i know the world wants idols to be skinny but they want us to be able to perform right? anyway, it's such bull. on another note, my summer will be spent training, school is coming to a close soon. so i'll check back in.

dear journal,

it's been hot this summer but some fun thing's are in the view. i heard the company is setting up to debut a new girl group and they're about to start picking through the pool of trainee's (including me!), i've been thinking about it for a while but if i don't make it into this group, i think i'll be leaving. this isn't something i want to spend years on, i'd rather live my life but if i do get to debut, then hey! i'll give it my best. with that in mind, i've been thinking about what i want to do later in life and i've started to like acting. the acting trainee's seem a bit happier as well.

dear journal,

it's been a while right? i know i was here a few weeks ago but i've been wanting to just dump it all when i'm ready. the rent's are fighting again, they're using me in the fights. well, they're trying too at this point, i've been over it for a while. it's spilling over into training life, i wish, unless it was about my SKILL, those people would leave me alone. i was invited out for drinks and said no, now, it's seems a little colder. whatever. i like some people but i'm not interested in making friends with most. i did get a chance to do some background vocals, that was a huge deal. for me at least. i liked this a lot better. and i got to be a backup dancer, i liked the studio they worked with so i've been hanging out more and doing some busking in my free time.

it's making me feel a bit better about not debuting, if i don't, i can still connect with the arts. i have been taking on more acting classes, it's fun and i think that might be my direction.

i also got in trouble for asking too many questions apparently. what's there to hide? i guess in the entertainment industry, a lot.

dear journal,

i've made some connections, i've heard some rumors about the line-up as well, once again, i was called nosy but whatever. this is just a short note, we're going through the process of picking the members and it's been intense.

dear journal,

and the idol chapter has closed in my life. i'm pretty sure. the final line-up was announced and it wasn't in it. i think i ruined my chance in a way, not that i meant too but being nosy helped. i heard that the girls being considered were going to be invited out. i find some of the people...yeah, the invite came and i said no. when it was announced, my name wasn't one it and i left the company. so maybe, i did mean it.

i didn't leave with nothing though...like i said, connections have been made. remember the dance studio? well, i'm with them now, in a way, if they're needed for performances or maybe backup dancing..i'm there. i still do some busking with the team members and i've been given the chance to teach a class if someone is out. nice little sub job and everyone wasn't horrible at the company, i've been doing more guide vocals or background vocals for another bit of side money.

i also now have time for more acting classes, so i've been doing that. it's easier to go on audition's. i haven't gotten a role yet but hey, what's wrong with a cameo? nothing. it's a fun experience. and the next big news! it's my final year and so far so good, i joined the acting club at our story but even more so, i joined our school news paper. it was on a whim, their pitch got to me. i've always pushed the envelope right? (at least the company thought so and my parents, more on them in bit.)

why not?

finally my parents, i've been doing some digging and i got to the bottom of their fight. both of them are wrong but it's tiring. i've been spending more time at my grandparents because my home has become a war zone. i got yelled at for snooping but whatever. the house is more peaceful when they're not around. i can't talk to them but does it really matter? they don't care to talk when we're together.

you know more about me than them, feel lucky.

dear journal,

officially at my grandparents house. i don't even want to talk about it. just know, my parents need to get a divorce at this point. love is toxic and just blah, life would be better if they simply walked away from each other but what do i know? in fact, i don't even want to know. they can have it.

better topics, i'm looking at kyungwon for college. this year has been busy and i've been having fun with both my interest. i've managed to get a few small roles, just as waitress or host. it's still fun and a film set is amazing. nothing that's taking away from school, not that anyone would care but it's been a show up for one day thing. as for the paper, i started out doing some interviews for various events at school.

i've been wanting to branch out and do local news. since it's not super-school focused, i've been an column once a month for things going around the school. they have a blind item sections, i don't know why it's allowed but it's fun. i've only sent in one so far, with pictures, the pictures didn't get published but dabin won't be bullying girls pretty than her anymore.

no one could prove it was true but the thought of it.

you find interesting things when you go looking for stuff. i have the taste for it.

dear journal,

my parents didn't come to my graduation.

still no divorce but they wanted me to chose who i wanted there. i told both of them don't bother.

i started at kyungwon, majoring in journalism, and a minor in acting. i've been leaning more towards journalism but acting is still fun. i don't have the biggest urge but it's there okay? you never know what will happen in life but that's why it's taken so long for me to update you. once i put it on paper, it's real and i still can't get over the fact they couldn't get over themselves.

school as been good. i've started my own little-side job along with my other interest i haven't given up. it brings me a little extra money. the only thing my parents have managed to agree to do was pay for my schooling and my grandparents got me the apartment. soon, i don't want to depend on them at all. my grandparents are old and once i'm set up, i can cut contact with my parents for good. i can't take life like this.

i'm investing this account as well, this ms. bee person. it's not new but no one knows anything, nothing they're willing to share at least. maybe it's because, i've been on the inside, not outside. it's bugging me. could this be my big university scoop? maybe but i want to find out for myself.

just to prove i can do it.

i've gotten into some tricky moments but i haven't lost my head...or my spot in school. yet.

i'm doing good.

hopefully, we can keep it that way!

[0nlinejournal]

beginnings: repost

i don’t know why but i’ve always felt compelled to keep an online public journal. not actually the best idea, i know. but i enjoy writing and typing and i don’t think it’ll hurt to get some comments here and there.   i apologize for my lack of capitalization, my shift button is stuck on one side and it’s easier to just ignore it all together for now.   i still haven’t decided exactly how i would like to go about this. i’m pretty set on writing my day to day, maybe even the relational drama betwixt those days. i’ll probably change names, though, just in case. you’ll get my thoughts and potentially some entries will be just my thoughts. i don’t know why i’m already choosing to write as if this will be read.   it’s interesting how we go about doing things with and expectation a performance for some ever-present online audience.   what’s even more interesting is that said audience might never even so much as glance at these entries! writing to a presumed audience that might not even exist! definitely doesn’t exist yet. anyway, a brief introduction, (although i hope if one reads this they’ll gather a better idea of my existence along the way).   i am a 25 year old gal (she/her), around 5ft 3inch tall, and i live in a very small studio apartment. i used to exist solely at home, and had maybe three close friends. this past year while nearing graduation i moved in with two of my male friends, and was dead set on stepping out of the apartment and making many more friends. i am very proud of myself for seemingly to have achieved my goal. i love the friends i have made this past year, but i am not practiced in being a good friend to a group. i fear i don’t do enough, while simultaneously fearing that i am stretching myself too thin. i am very tired, always tired. i work a manual labor job not at all related to my degree. i don’t feel any need to rush into the corporate world, although after having been at my current job for almost a year, sitting down sounds a bit nice.   that’s a bit more detailed than i meant for a “brief” introduction. hm. i guess that will suffice for now, there will be many more entries with my character laced throughout. i actually need to start getting ready. in an hour i need to be at a pizza joint downtown as my friends are throwing a surprise going away party for one that will be leaving our town soon.   i have an hour for hair, makeup, and deciding on an outfit. it’ll be a race against the clock for sure!

- goodbye! 7:03pm

[dangan-kagura]

Why I Don't Like the Gold Third

This isn’t a rant or anything, but it’s one of those opinion blogs about why I don’t like this one thing. This time, I’m gonna talk about the Gold Third from the Neptunia series and why I don’t like them.

I just found out that the Gold Third will be returning for Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution and suddenly I’ve lost all interest in wanting to try the game out. Literally, these characters are the one reason I probably won’t play it. Part of the reason is because I simply don’t like their games, specifically C-Sha and S-Sha, but also because some of them, specifically B-Sha, are just too confusing because I don’t quite understand what game publishers they represent, but it’s just B-Sha, the other three I already know.

Who is B-Sha really?

Is B-Sha supposed to represent Bandai Namco? Let me clarify that Bandai is the toy company owned by Toei, the anime studio best known for anime series’ like DragonBall, Sailor Moon, Gundam, Digimon, Naruto and One Piece, as well as the studio that does the live-action series Super Sentai (or it’s Americanized version the Power Rangers). Bandai pretty much also does video games based on Toei anime. By the mid 2000s, Bandai ended up joining with Namco, the publishers best known for games like Pac-Man, Tekken, the Tales Of series, Ridge Racer, Time Crisis, Soul Calibur, Katamari, Dark Souls and Idolm@ster.

I’ll get to the point, I think it makes better sense if B-Sha was instead named “N-Sha”. That way, she can represent Namco instead of Bandai. Now that I have a better look at her, that thumbs-up pose does make her look like Pac-Man, the official mascot for Namco. But I’ve read that her interests include toys, robots and superheroes, are these all references to Gundam and Super Sentai? I just feel like Namco would be a much superior gaming publisher then Bandai. If B-Sha was named N-Sha, it would be much cooler to see her make MORE references to some of Namco’s best games like Pac-Man and Tekken. That’s just my opinion.

I never did think C-Sha and S-Sha were cool.

In C-Sha’s case, at the time Megadimension Neptunia came out, I was fed up from having to see Capcom take all the glory since the early to mid 2010s. I was annoyed by things like…

The live-action Resident Evil film series.

Resident Evil 6 and the series’ bad spinoffs.

Street Fighter getting more praise than my favorite fighting games.

Mega Man being a fan favorite in Super Smash Bros.

Akuma’s appearance in Tekken 7.

Ace Attorney getting special editions for the 3DS and the original games being ported to the PS4. Like, how many more ports are they gonna keep making?

The popularity of Monster Hunter. Seriously, I never understood the hype about that series.

It was enough to make me want to not play Capcom games and instead boycott them. Doing this meant that I had to quit playing Devil May Cry which was the ONLY Capcom game I’ve ever appreciated. It was just annoying to see people think of Capcom as number 1 but I had the opposite opinion and thought Capcom was just sold out. Even to this day, I’m still not over it.

As for S-Sha, well, I’d rather not get into too much detail as to why I’m not into Square Enix games, but the constant popularity of games like Final Fantasy was just too annoying for me to handle, simply because I was bad at Final Fantasy and thought that it’s popularity as the number 1 game series was more like peer pressure. And having to hear S-Sha say “I’m not interested” that one line Cloud had in that CG movie Advent Children is not really funny. Like, why did they have to make it sound cliche?

K-Sha is probably the only one I thought was good enough for my tastes.

I got nothing against Konami and I don’t mind the Metal Gear references K-Sha makes. But after learning about the shady stuff the company’s been doing for the last decade, it made me think that maybe K-Sha should’ve made those kinds of references. Here's what I think.

Since the early to mid 2010s, Konami has had a lack of interest in wanting to keep making big AAA (triple A) games and instead showed interest in wanting to make cheap mobile games, the kind of games that involve either microtransactions or gacha mechanics. However, games designers like Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima didn’t like this shift, so what did Konami do about it? Fire Kojima as soon as he was done with Metal Gear Solid 5. I had an idea for a joke that K-Sha should’ve appeared in Sisters VS Sisters and befriend Maho, whose favorite games are mobile gacha games, and that K-Sha had a close friend important to her, but fired her because her friend wasn’t into mobile gacha games.

Likewise, I feel like I would’ve liked K-Sha more if she made more then just Metal Gear references and made MORE references to some of Konami’s other great games like Frogger, Castlevania, Contra, Silent Hill, Dance Dance Revolution, Zone of the Enders, they could even have her make Yu-Gi-Oh references if they wanted. Or better yet, they should have K-Sha marry Peashy or Yellow Heart, that way, their new marriage can be a reference to Konami’s acquisition of Hudson games like Bomberman.

Who is F-Sha?

So I just ended up learning that Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution has a new character to the series, calling themselves F-Sha. I literally have no idea who this character represents. She dresses like a knight in silver, but the name or design doesn’t give me any idea as to what sort of game publisher she’s named after. Like, what company in the gaming world do I know that starts with the letter “F”? Odds are, it’s probably a Japanese publisher that does Japanese RPGs I’m not familiar with, you know, because I’m a Westerner and I don’t normally play RPGs. I could just look it up on the fan wiki, but I don’t think I’m gonna like this character based on the other members of the Gold Third.

If Neptunia really wanted to impress me with the Gold Third, they could’ve included members that are based on other kinds of game publishers. Like, I would love it if there was a member called “U-Sha” who would represent Ubisoft. But of course, Ubisoft is based in Canada, not Japan, so they can’t do that. Heck, I had an idea for a joke that K-Sha is married to someone called “T-Sha” and the two of them represent Koei Tecmo and this is to reference Koei’s joining with Tecmo. And as I mentioned, it makes better sense if B-Sha was named N-Sha and should instead reference Namco instead of Bandai, otherwise, you can make a joke saying that B-Sha actually represents Bethesda (I hope that’s how I spelled it).

In Conclusion

Overall, if I had to name the worst Neptunia characters, it would be the Gold Third. I realize that the reasons I don’t like them is simply because…

In C-Sha and S-Sha’s case, I don’t like their games.

I think B-Sha should’ve been named N-Sha and have her represent Namco instead of Bandai.

They should’ve had more members, like a member called U-Sha named after Ubisoft.

I don’t want to say I’m not excited about this new Neptunia game, but depending on what gaming references this one makes, I probably won’t be that interested if this one makes references to games I’m not entirely big on. And it's worse because the Gold Third is making a return. But sooner or later, I’m probably gonna have to suck it up and deal with it.