#i think it would make for such a tense thriller

[merakiui]

omg stalker jade who’s living inside your home is such a scary thought…GOOD, but scary. i have such bad adhd and memory issues that i already forget things regularly, like what i just did yesterday or even just a minute prior. it’d almost be too easy for him. do you think he’d step his game up after a while? whenever things start to get too boring so he decides to play a game of just how much can he get away with before his housemate notices? i think he could pull it off, he’s certainly careful enough to hide his tracks again, and really—who’s going to actually believe there’s someone living inside their home without their knowing?

It's so easy, especially if you're busy or have trouble remembering things like whether you did the dishes, took the trash out, made your bed, and so on. Each of those tasks are simple and not truly worth remembering, which makes it all the more easier for Jade to live alongside you and you'll never know. He's best described as the monster under your bed, both literally and metaphorically. He'll lie under your bed and stare at your arm or leg as it dangles over the edge of the bed. He could reach out and hold it for himself, bring your finger to his lips and bite down hard enough to wake you—perhaps even sever your finger entirely; the jaw is monstrously strong, after all. But instead he just watches and waits, shrouded in darkness.

When you're out of the house (either to run errands, to attend classes, to meet up with friends, etc), he roams inside, cooking a meal for himself, tidying up certain places you don't pay much mind, going through your toiletries to see what soap scents you use, putting your toothbrush in his mouth to pretend it's a kiss, however eerily indirect it may be, and even lying on your bed to surround himself with your scent. He's careful to avoid standing near windows in case any neighbors see and make a comment to you, and he rarely goes outside unless he absolutely must. If anyone ever catches him and asks, he'll simply tell them he's a friend, a boyfriend, a housemate—whatever sounds best in that situation.

Jade is very daring at night. He'll stand over you in the darkness, sometimes leaning down to press a fleeting kiss to your forehead or the corners of your lips. When you shift and stir, making the cutest and sleepiest groans and whimpers, he can't help but look on fondly. He could hurt you while you're in such a vulnerable state, but there's no fun in ruining a good thing.

He likes to misplace some of your items (a key, your phone, headphones, an accessory you really like, etc) and watch you scramble in a panic to find them. If you believe in the paranormal, you might mistake these happenings for a particular mischievous ghost (or your own forgetful nature if you have a tendency to misplace items). Oh, you couldn't be further from the truth. What makes this entire game so fun—yes, he views everything he's doing to you (tormenting you) as a game to cure his boredom—is that you haven't suspected him yet and he's been here for months now. Months of toying with you in little, unimportant ways. Months of peeling the shower curtain away when your back is turned and eyes closed. Months of watching you through the crack in the closet doors to see you when you're most comfortable. Months of eating your food, sleeping in your bed when you're not home, washing with your soaps, going through your belongings, finding all of the secret pleasures you like to keep hidden in drawers.

You'll probably never know he's there until it's too late and you finally get to meet your secret housemate when he's chasing you through dark, shadowed halls.

[fingertipsmp3]

Like on the one hand I do want to read something that’s absolutely terrifying and breaks me down to my bare essentials, but on the other hand I’m a weenie

[hangup119]

FEELS LIKE A THRILLER! ᯓᡣ𐭩

06. @SMUbruhmomentswritten chapter | 1.4k words

THE ONE THING you didn’t expect to encounter tonight at Giselle’s party is Park Wonbin, resident campus crush previously at SM High School and now at SM University, pathetically stuck inside the window leading to the common area like some damsel in distress.

So, naturally, you make yourself known as his knight in shining armor. 

“You need some help, princess?” you announce with a teasing lilt in your tone, watching the way the black-haired man immediately tenses up at the sound of your voice. 

“Oh, my God,” Wonbin groans, craning his neck to face you. “Just kill me now.” 

Sungchan peaks from inside, a wide grin immediately appearing on his face as soon as he sees you. “Oh, it’s Y/N!” he exclaims, waving his hand enthusiastically. “You got kicked out, too?” 

“No…” you say slowly, stepping closer after placing your empty red cup down on the grass. “I wanted to step out for some fresh air, but then I got locked out; no one told me the door automatically locks! Giselle has bougie doors.”  

“It’s to keep this guy out,” Sungchan explains while patting Wonbin’s head, only to be smacked in return. He hisses, but keeps tugging on his arms to bring him in. Unfortunately, Wonbin doesn’t budge at all, as the window is still too narrow to accommodate his body despite being slim. Even Giselle’s windows reject him. 

You push on his back, causing him to groan at the strain. You laugh, saying, “How’d you even think you’d fit in this? Idiot.” 

Wonbin kicks his leg up, and you yelp as he almost hits you. 

“Dude, what the hell?” you cry, keeping his leg down. Then, threatening to twist it, you add, “Fine, stay stuck in here for all I care.” 

Wonbin flips you off without looking back. Then he cries out when you flex his leg uncomfortably.

“... Is that Wonbin’s ass?” 

You gasp, turning around to find the last person you wanted to see standing behind you. Unfortunately for you, Hong freakin’ Seunghan just had to show up outside Giselle’s house with his phone out in his hand, the brightness level turned up to the max, and his gaze flickering between Wonbin’s backside to you gaping up at him wordlessly. 

“Um,” he starts off awkwardly. “… Am I interrupting something?”

“Yes!” You shrill at the same time Wonbin yells out, “No!” 

From the other side, Sungchan starts hollering. He stops when Sohee appears beside him, sipping from a red cup. 

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he says. 

“You think I care about that right now?” Wonbin grits out. 

“You should,” Sohee simply says, taking another sip, “because Gigi’s coming.” 

Wonbin curses, wriggling himself only to no avail. He’s perpetually stuck half-way through Giselle’s window, and the rest of the student body will be seeing him like this and he’s gonna wake up the next day seeing pictures of him on the @SMUbruhmoments Instagram page with a lame caption or something. Sungchan would probably be the one to submit it. 

Ignoring the awkward tension between the gaping girl and Seunghan who definitely locked himself out just to play Pokemon Go, Wonbin turns to the both of them, hissing out: “Push me!” 

“What?” Seunghan asks. 

“Push me!” Wonbin repeats. “Just push me! Hurry!”

Seunghan looks back at you, then at Wonbin, before looking at his phone. “But…” he says, “I need to catch this—” 

“I don’t care about your stupid Pikachu! Just push me!” Wonbin all but practically yells. 

Seunghan pockets his phone with a sigh, coming over closer to you to get to Wonbin. “Excuse me,” he murmurs to you, and you back away with a too-quiet response he doesn’t bother figuring out. He pushes on Wonbin’s back while the latter claws on Giselle’s walls, also being aided by Sungchan at the front. 

As Seunghan continues pushing Wonbin from behind, all you could do was stare and gape at him. Although the principle of the situation seemed hilarious, the sound of Wonbin and Sungchan bickering alongside the loud boom of the music playing on the speakers pales in comparison to the sight of Seunghan using all of his strength to help his friend; his hoodie had been taken off due to the heat inside, and although he’s not excessively muscular like a bodybuilder, there’s some definition of it that appears on his biceps when he guides Wonbin’s leg in. He looks so focused, his dark eyebrows furrowed in utmost determination.

You could cry from how good he looks.

“Y/N, you’re staring,” Sungchan sings the moment Wonbin falls onto the floor, successfully getting in. 

Snapped out of your thoughts, you lie with an unnaturally high voice, “No, I’m not!” although Sungchan looks hardly convinced, considering he’s still giving you that teasing look.

“Thanks, you guys,” Wonbin breathes out in relief, patting Sunchan on the back and waving Seunghan goodbye. “I’m gonna go before Gigi sees me.” 

Then he leaves with Sohee, pushing past heaps of bodies within the common area until you no longer see them.

“You guys wanna come in?” Sungchan asks eventually, peeking his head out curiously.

You shake your head, responding, “Nah, I don’t wanna get stuck. Can you open the front door instead?” 

Sungchan pauses and looks at you silently, before turning his gaze towards Seunghan. Then, as if a light bulb has been lit up inside his small brain, he grins mischievously at you, saying, “Actually, I’m gonna go get a drink,” before shutting down the window on you. “Good luck!” 

Your mouth gapes again when you hear an audible click. He locked it.

“… What the hell!” You screech, knocking on the glass. “Sungchan!” 

No response. 

Seunghan shrugs, pulling out his phone. “Oh, well,” he says nonchalantly, looking at you. “Wanna go on a walk?” 

You look at him, incredulous. “That’s all you have to say?”

He shows you his screen, and on it you see a view of his Pokedex or whatever nerd shit he’s got going on with Pokemon Go, including the profile for some random Pokemon he had just caught within the three seconds you spent calling Sungchan who had definitely already left.

“I mean, you’re locked out, I’m locked out. I can’t just leave a girl alone at night,” Seunghan elaborates, “plus, this area has a lot of Pokemon, for some reason.” 

You feel a vein pop. Pokemon this, Pokemon that—Jaehyun was right, this is some bitchless behavior. And yet a part of you still finds this incredibly endearing somehow, like the way Seunghan just looks back at you expectantly while still holding up his phone to show you his stupid Pokedex at nine-something p.m. in the evening. 

“... Do you even know me?” you ask apprehensively. 

“Hm? Yeah, ‘course I do,” Seunghan casually responds, “Y/N, right? We had Calculus AB together in high school.” 

You blink. “Oh, okay.” 

“And we also had AP World, and APUSH, and I think AP Lit. Did we take AP Physics together? I don’t really remember…” 

Raising a hand towards him, you say, “Okay, you can stop now, I get it.” 

“You don’t have to go with me,” Seunghan says softly. “I don’t mind either way; I just don’t want you to be alone outside.” 

You look back at him, conflicted.

“Look, here,” he continues, quickly going through his contacts, “I can call someone else who isn’t Sungchan to open the door for you, is that—” 

You shake your head, boldly touching his hand. He pauses, looking back at you wordlessly as you say, “No, it’s okay. I’ll walk with you… dude.” 

You wince inwardly. Great. Just awesome. Here’s Hong Seunghan, your crush since your sophomore year of high school, and here’s you, already messing up your once-in-a-life-time opportunity to get closer to him by calling him “dude” like he’s one of your homies or whatever. Your budding relationship with each other will end before it even starts, as there’s no way he’s going to be willing to look at you in a romantic light when you’ve flat out bro-zoned him like the idiot you ar—

But Seunghan just smiles, his eyes forming crescent moons, and you watch, almost starstruck, when he says:“Alright. Whatever you want, Y/N.”

God, you wish fifteen-year-old you made a move on him before he went ahead and got himself a girlfriend. 

But it’s no use crying over spilled milk.

“... Let’s just go,” you murmur, already walking towards the paved sidewalk as you try to hide the rising heat on your cheeks. 

Seunghan catches up with you, messing up his hair before you turn to him. 

“So, what are you majoring—”

He cuts you off. “Holy shit! It’s a Snorlax! Wait, I have to catch this.” 

You look at him, incredulous. “Seriously?” 

previous | masterlist | next

SUMMARY. pining after hong seunghan has always felt like an unachievable reality; however, just a few months into your first year of college, it seems that the gods have finally listened to your prayers when news breaks out that your long-time crush is single once again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE. woo first written chapter! hoorah

TAGLIST. @shguacamole @miyawwn @starwonb1n @hwadejectedyoung @revehosh @alwayswook @snowyseungs @rksbae @emohoon

[pucked-bunnie]

bf headcanons ⎜j.swayman

pairings: jeremy swayman x reader prompts: bf headcanons + "where my hug at?" warnings: none! word count: 1k note: i absolutely adore mr jeremy swayman and think he would be such an adorable bf.

(unedited)

- Is 100% the sweetest little dude in the whole wide world. 

- The kind of boyfriend who is so attentive to everything you could ever need. Would have a drawer set up for you when you first started dating in case you ever wanted to stay over. 

- Would go to your house and take photos of every type of hygiene product you use and keep it in his bathroom just in case. 

- The kind of man who is actually obsessed with you - your biggest fan in every way possible, everything that is your favourite is now his favourite. 

- Quality time is one of his top love languages, he would absolutely love to do activities for dates: hikes, bowling, waterparks, painting classes etc. 

- He was so nervous on the first date, he face timed his sister to make sure what he was wearing was appropriate and gave “boyfriend core” vibes 

- after a few weeks of dating he started making his ‘wedding day’ playlist - because it’s good to be prepared. 

- the first christmas you spend together he was adamant about not getting each other presents - he didn’t want you to waste your hard earned money on him, but trust that when you show up for lunch with him and the Ullmark family he had bought you more gifts then you can fit in your car, claiming “I have all this money and now I finally have someone to spend it on.” 

- Just everything about spending christmas with Jeremy would be magical. 

- Jeremy is a ridiculously empathetic person, when he walks into the lounge room and see you tearing up at the adoption campaigns on tiktok for the local shelter he sits a cries with you. “We can get them all, I promise.” 

- Not to mention the way his body would tense, even though his eyes soften any time you talk about how your ex boyfriends treated you - or how people were mean to you at work today, all this man wants is for his girlfriend to be happy. 

- This man is a sucker for eye contact - if you make eye contact with him for more then thirty seconds he is swooning hard.

- He loves to show that he’s paying attention and eye contact is how he does that - he is very much an active listener, just small ‘uh huh’s’ and ‘mhms’ every now and then to make sure you know he’s listening. 

- He would 100% go for a book girlie - taking you out to the bookstore every time he’s going away for a road trip to make sure you have entertainment while he’s away. 

- Love taking your recommendations and reading them on the plane or team bus and sending you his thoughts, don’t even get me started on when he figures out what annotations are. 

- Would share earbuds with you on a hike, a thriller playing the two of you gasping as you walk over rocks and hills. 

- This man is such a chatter box, he would have so much to say after a game, his hand swinging yours between the two of you, his other hand making gestures as he tells about all the goals he stopped and about the blink 182 song he couldn’t stop singing - would proceed to play that song when you get in the car. 

- I feel like Jeremy would be so private about your relationship, as much as he’d love to show you off and make sure everyone knew you were taken - he would want to wait until you were comfortable, and until you were sure that you wanted to be seen as a “bruins wag” 

- Coming back to love languages, Jeremy is very much a physical touch kind of person, his hand has to be in yours at all time, he would hold his hand behind him making grabby motions whenever he’s walking in front of you. 

- When your standing next to him, his arm would wrap around your waist, or hang over your shoulder, rubbing soft patterns on your limbs. 

- He is also the type of person to un-ironically ask “where my hug at?” whenever he see you. 

- Whenever you two go to bed, he would strip off his shirt and lie face down on the mattress, placing your hand on his bare back demanding scratches as you flick the pages of your book on your kindle. 

- His favourite game is trying to guess what shape you are drawing on his skin. 

- Is an ally for every cause you can think of - would go with you to pride parades, and show up to any kind of charity event. He gives bi-wife energy ngl. 

- He’s also an ally in the sense that he would love to have kids one day but ultimately thinks it up to his partner - it’s your body you can do what you wish with it. He’s a big fan of the idea of adoption. 

- Let’s be real for a moment, Jeremy is very serious under his goofball demeanour, he would be one of the kindest and most honest partners you could hope for. I feel like he would always be the kind of person to be in a friends-to-lovers scenario, wanting to make sure you were compatible before he committed. 

- Jeremy all round is such a cuddly teddy bear, he would do anything for his partner and would give the world to people he loves, in return he needs someone who would extend the same to him. 

- Every tough guys needs to be spoilt every now and then, despite asking you to not spend your money on him, he would blush the entire time if you took him out for a surprise date. 

- He would gush over photos of you in your wag jacket, and would giggle and kick his feet and the video of you and Moa sharing a goalie hug. 

- He loves seeing the person he loves, enjoying the things he loves so seeing you at games and cheering him on is almost an out of body experience for him. 

- Jeremy Swayman is the standard. 

[shitsndgiggs]

Hiii! Can you write one about Kenan where him and the gf are just chilling at his house after his training please? Thank you so much!❤️

SAFE HAVEN - KENAN YILDIZ

Chilling with Kenan after a long day

Kenan Yildiz x fem! reader

︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿

The sun was beginning its descent, casting a warm, golden hue over Kenan's living room.

After a long day of training, Kenan and I were finally able to relax. He had just returned home, and we were lounging on his couch, enjoying the peaceful evening.

Kenan stretched his arms above his head and let out a satisfied sigh. "Man, it's good to be home. Training was intense today."

I smiled, scooting closer to him. "You did great, though. I watched some of the clips online."

He turned to me, a playful glint in his eyes. "Did you now? Were you checking out my moves, or just me?"

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "A little bit of both, maybe."

He chuckled, pulling me into his side. "You're the best cheerleader I could ask for."

We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, listening to the faint sounds of the city outside.

Kenan's hand absentmindedly traced patterns on my arm, sending shivers down my spine.

"Hey," he said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Wanna watch a movie?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Sure! What do you have in mind?"

Kenan grinned mischievously. "How about something scary?"

I groaned playfully. "You know I hate scary movies."

"That's why it'll be fun," he teased. "I get to protect you from all the monsters."

"Fine, but if I get nightmares, it's your fault," I warned.

He laughed, grabbing the remote and scrolling through the movie options. We finally settled on a thriller that promised just the right amount of suspense without being too terrifying.

As the movie started, I nestled into Kenan's side, feeling the warmth of his body next to mine.

Every time a suspenseful moment happened, he would tighten his grip around me, and I couldn't help but laugh at his over-the-top reactions.

"Kenan, I think you're more scared than I am," I teased, poking his side.

He feigned offense. "Hey, I'm just being protective. Gotta make sure you don't get too scared."

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh, sure."

Halfway through the movie, a particularly tense scene made us both jump. Kenan's reaction was so exaggerated that I burst into laughter, nearly spilling the popcorn bowl.

"Okay, okay, maybe I am a little jumpy," he admitted, laughing along with me.

As the credits rolled, I let out a relieved sigh. "Well, that was something."

Kenan grinned, turning to face me. "You survived. Proud of you."

I playfully shoved his shoulder. "Thanks, I guess."

He leaned in closer, his eyes softening. "I'm really glad you're here, you know."

My heart fluttered at his words. "Me too, Kenan."

He brushed a strand of hair away from my face, his touch gentle. "You make everything better."

Before I could respond, he pressed his lips to mine in a sweet, tender kiss. I melted into him, feeling the world fade away.

When we finally pulled apart, I rested my forehead against his. "I think we should make this a regular thing."

He smiled, his eyes sparkling. "Absolutely. Just you, me, and a lot of movie nights."

As we settled back into the couch, wrapped up in each other's arms, I knew that there was nowhere else I would rather be.

Kenan was my safe haven, my best friend, and my everything. And in that moment, I couldn't have been happier.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 2 - Thriller

@wolfstarmicrofic July 2, word count 989

CW- Blood, guns, gunshot, open wound

Sirius darted down side streets and into alleyways. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving as it dragged oxygen into his exhausted body. Pounding footsteps approached. He ducked down behind the small rubbish bins, clamping his hand over his mouth, so his rapid breathing didn’t give him away. 

Multiple footsteps ran past his hiding place, but one set lingered, turning into the alleyway. Sirius took a few steadying breaths and tensed his muscles, ready for action. The person came closer, kicking the bins out of his way. There was only one bin left between them. With all his remaining strength, Sirius kicked the bin, knocking his pursuer to the ground. He launched himself over him, catching a glimpse of his face on his way past. The man’s mask had slipped. It was Regulus. Fuck! Sirius took off running the way he’d come, the others long gone. A shot rang out behind him as he sped around a corner. It just missed him, ricocheting off the wall right where his head had been a second before. Regulus never missed. What was he playing at? Sirius didn’t hang around to find out.

He laid low until he could get to the safe house. When he finally felt it was safe, he made his way there, making sure she wasn’t followed. A grizzled man was waiting for him. He held a gun to Sirius’s temple while he searched him and took the flash drive from his pocket. 

“Congratulations, Black. You managed to not fuck up an assignment or get killed doing so,” Moody grunted at him. 

“Regulus was there,” He told him. Moody took a deep breath and growled. 

“Did he make you?” He spat through his teeth. 

“I don’t know. I threw a bin at him and ran. He took a shot, but he missed and you know he never misses his target.” Moody grumbled something under his breath that Sirius didn’t catch. 

“We’re going to get you a partner for your next mission. Ah, no, I don’t want to hear it, Black,” He said when Sirius tried to protest. “If Regulus is caught up in this then it’s too dangerous to send you out alone. He knows how you think, how you move and how you fight. You’ll be a liability we can’t afford to have.” Sirius gritted his teeth, but he knew it was for the best. 

“Who do you have in mind?” He blew out. Resigned to his fate. 

“New lad. Ridiculously smart. Calm in a crisis. Perfect balance for you and your chaos.” Sirius rolled his eyes. 

“Has Mr Perfect got a name then?” 

“Remus Lupin,” Moody grinned a toothy smile. Sirius felt a chill wash over him. 

Remus Lupin turned out to be a tall, skinny, well-spoken man who shouldn't have been anywhere near all this.

 Moody had them train together. “I want you to know each other inside and out. Shut up Black, that is not what I meant and you know it.” Sirius bit his tongue to keep from smiling. “You need to work together or no assignments. Do I make myself clear?” They both nodded.

They trained together for weeks, learning how the other moved and thought until they flowed around each other, predicting what the other was going to do before they’d even thought about it. 

The other side had a plan for something terrible and it was their job to infiltrate and find out what was going to happen. 

Sirius watched in awe as Remus expertly picked the locks on a small side door and they slipped into the dark building. 

It was freezing inside. Sirius shook it off, getting his head in the zone. 

They made slow progress up the levels. Riddle would be on the top floor, with his second-in-command on the floor below. That’s where the information would be. 

He couldn’t shake off the feeling that this was too easy. Why hadn’t they met any of the grunts lower down? 

He gingerly pushed open the door to the floor they needed and crept into the large-decadently-styled open room. Remus sped across the room to the computer and began trying to find the information. It was taking too long, and Sirius felt the panic setting in. 

“Hurry up, Remus,” He hissed, his gun trained on the only door in or out of the room. A hidden door on the far wall opened silently. 

“Tut tut, brother of mine. I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here, are you?” Regulus drawled, his gun pointing at Remus. “Call off your man and I might let you out of this building,” Sirius froze and turned to Remus in horror. 

“Come on, Reggie, you know it’s me you want.”  

“I’ve been watching you, Sirius. I know exactly how you feel about him,” Sirius swallowed. Remus typed furiously on the computer. He gasped and met Sirius’s eyes. He’d found something. Remus suddenly jumped up, a flash drive in his hand.

Regulus cocked his gun.

“You don’t think you’re going anywhere with that, do you?” Regulus held out his hand. “Give it here, Lupin.” He swung his gun to Sirius, who’d started inching towards Remus. “Ah, ah, Sirius, no sneaking now. Hand it over, Lupin!” He repeated, pulling back the hammer on the gun. “Final warning, give it to me!” 

The gun went off and Sirius dove in front of Remus. 

He felt a strange pressure, he looked down and saw a small hole just below his heart, red liquid dribbling out. 

“Oh, shit,” He breathed out. Remus rushed to his side and grabbed his hand, pressing it into the wound. He screamed. 

“Keep your hand there and don’t move it,” Remus grunted as he threw Sirius over his shoulder and fled the building. 

He woke up in the hospital, somehow alive, Remus holding onto his hand and all he could think was Regulus never missed. So why had he for a second time?

[lurkingshan]

Hii, hope you're doing well!! I've been meaning to check out more c-dramas. I've never really watched any, but I keep seeing them on my dash and want to start giving some a shot since I watch every other type of drama (BL or otherwise lol). I saw you post often about c-dramas, so I wanted to ask if you had any other recs besides Tender Light (which I'm planning on watching when it's done)? I'm more curious about c-dramas in general rather than any specific genre, since I'm so new to them

Hello, thank you for the ask! I'm glad my obsessive Tender Light posting has got you curious about cdramas. Some of my all time favorite dramas are from Mainland China, and I would be happy to share some recs! Since you are looking for a general sense, I am just going to give you a sampling of some of my personal favs.

Tender Light

Obviously I will be taking this opportunity to talk up this drama some more, which will be ending its run this weekend. This is, hands down, my favorite drama of the year and easily going on my top 10 dramas of all time list. It's one of the most gorgeous and precise and unflinching pieces of media I have ever seen. This is definitely one for people who love smart mystery writing, dark themes (I mean this for real, if you have a lot of triggers ask for CWs), and explorations of the human condition. It will be staying with me for a long time.

Go Ahead

Another of my all time favs (and with cast crossover from Tender Light), this is a family drama that digs deep on the meaning of family, finding your people, and resilience through intergenerational trauma. I love it so so much (I am actually rewatching it right now).

Lighter & Princess

A fantastic romance and owner of a coveted spot on the ride or die drama couples list. In this story you get to watch these two fall in love twice, first in college and then as adults, and both times it's epic.

Reset

How about a time loop thriller? This is one of the best I have ever seen, and its relatively short run keeps it tight and tense all the way through. There's a romance in this one, too, but kissing is definitely secondary to finding their way out of this death trap.

The Rebel Princess

Let's dip our toe into historicals! Granted, I still have plenty of gaps in my historical cdrama watch list (there are just so many and they're so long, I am doing my best people!) but this remains my all time favorite to date. It's epic, it's shockingly well written and paced for its length, the characters are excellent and compelling all around, and it has one of my all time favorite male leads and drama couples (another from the ride or die list!). Don't let the episode number intimidate you, it will fly by much faster than you think.

The Untamed

You watch bl so I am assuming you already know about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, but just in case I will also include this drama as a much watch. It's likely the best live action danmei we will ever get.

Love Between Fairy and Devil

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if a show put all your favorite fanfic tropes in a blender, cast beautiful people to act them out, and put them in lavish costumes? Well, here is your answer.

Love and Redemption

This one's for us angst with a happy ending girlies. An epic love story with lots of pining and struggle and strife, and it's so worth it.

Falling Into You

Back to the modern era, this is a classic sports drama with a noona romance. Very unassuming but full of charm and very well executed.

Fake It Till You Make It

An unusually mature take on adult romance from a cdrama, this one is about two career focused permasingle love skeptics who meet, realize they actually like each other, and try to figure out what the hell to do with that. I love it a lot.

That should be enough to get you started! There are many many more recs to be had, so once you give some of these a try and figure out what you like, feel free to hit me up for more!

[thatdesklamp]

One Month Before Suguru Geto's Betrayal, 2007

My final satoru POV oneshot before the next intrinsic warmth update. Five is a nicer number than four, and I really wanted to put some more focus on Geto before I continued with IW canon. (This has been in the drafts for a while but I had a free half hour to clean it up a little and figured it was better posted than not posted. Enjoy!)

“You’re good for him,” Satoru hears you say, through the thin partition of the wall.

Satoru pauses outside the door. He wasn’t expecting to hear you: this is Suguru’s room, and it’s early evening on a Wednesday night, which means Satoru and Suguru are going to boot up a movie on Suguru’s shitty DVD player and watch it until one of them falls asleep. Which will probably be Suguru: he’s always falling asleep, these days.

Satoru has a thriller movie jammed under his arm, because he’s figured that it’s impossible for Suguru to fall asleep to something that’s meant to make you all tense and wired, and it’s the kind of thoughtful thing he thinks Suguru will appreciate.

“You think?” Suguru responds. His voice is quieter, muffled, like he’s facing away from the door.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

It’s you again. Satoru has his fingers on the door handle. They catch there, hesitant.

“Tough luck for him.”

“Geto.”

“What?”

“I’m not joking.”

“Well. Neither am I.”

Satoru’s fingertips slide from the door handle. He is very aware of how loud he is breathing, and how thin the door is. Satoru doesn’t move, wary that the floor will creak, and that you will know him from the sound of his footsteps.

“I’m trying to be nice here,” you say.

“You don’t need to. Just be honest.”

“Then I’m being honest.”

“No, you’re not.”

You let out a sharp sound, a quick exhalation of air. “Come on. This is a compliment. I wouldn’t say it to anyone else.”

“Sure.”

“I’m serious—Geto, what’s with you today?” Your voice is pitching up, questioning and quietly teasing. It borders on playful, and Satoru doesn’t know what to make of it. You never act like this with him. “Did you wake up cranky, or something?”

“Probably.”

Satoru doesn’t hear your reply, if you give one. He rests his forehead against the door, trying not to make a sound.

You’re good for him, you had said. You had to be talking about him—who else could you be talking about? You and Geto talk about things other than him, yeah, Satoru gets that. But who else would Suguru be good for?

It’s got to be Satoru. Satoru is Suguru’s best friend. Satoru is the most important person in Suguru’s life, and he knows it. He likes it, being that important to someone who is so important. And it’s not as if Suguru isn’t just as important to him. It’s Suguru. Satoru has never had to think about why he’s so important to him: it’s always been obvious, and accepted, and he’s never needed to justify himself to anyone.

You had said it. Why?

“Would you really not say it to anyone else?” Suguru murmurs.

His voice is quiet, so quiet Satoru can barely hear him. The low scratch of his voice is familiar, from all those times Satoru would sneak into his room after curfew, when they’d stay up and talk about any of their wild ideas until the sun made them squint and blink. Satoru would steal the bed, but Suguru never minded; he would sit splayed on the room’s desk chair, or lie down on the floor and look up at the same ceiling as Satoru, or he’d go cross-legged at the foot of the bed, pretending not to notice when Satoru prodded him with his toes.

Those nights, especially in their first year, were the moments Satoru really began to understand Suguru, right to his core. He hadn’t known what to expect from him, back when he was just Suguru Geto, child prodigy, and when Satoru was assumedly just Satoru Gojo, heir to the Gojo clan. And then when you stopped talking to him, just a few months before his sixteenth birthday, Satoru came to rely on those nights more than he ever had.

Satoru would walk into a room, and your conversation with Shoko, bright and friendly and cheerful, would fall quiet. You would look at him with such hatred, and such sadness, and you would turn your back on him, just like how you had promised never to do. Satoru hated your silence more than anything, but he knew he would always have Suguru, and Suguru would never let their silence fester.  

They would talk until their voices were hoarse, because Satoru had never met someone so intrinsically similar to him before. He and Suguru disagreed, but he could feel the underlying rush of recognition permeate every conversation, and so even in their disagreements he could only see their likeness. Satoru devoured every word, because every word led him closer and closer to confirming what he was desperate to know: Suguru was the same as him. Suguru is the same.

Satoru has missed their evenings together. He’s knocked on Suguru’s door, but he hasn’t had it open to him in a while, not the way it used to, every night, without question.

Satoru has wondered if Suguru’s getting to be an insomniac, because he looks so tired all the time, like he hasn’t been sleeping. Satoru figured that him knocking on Suguru’s door in the middle of the night, every night, was probably the thing keeping him awake, so he’s stopped.

“I just said so.” Satoru tries to picture the scene: you’re leaning against the headboard of Suguru’s bed, arms crossed, attempting to hide your impatience with Suguru. Suguru’s a good distance away from you, because he’d have to be, since you’re still not comfortable for Satoru to be close to you anymore, and so Satoru decides Suguru will be sitting on the end of the bed, or, more likely, on the desk chair, or on the floor. You’ll be rolling your eyes, but trying not to. Something alights inside Satoru’s chest, fond. “And then I said I wasn’t lying.”

“I guess not.” Suguru chuckles to himself; it’s not his usual laugh, which is loud and broad and compelling, the laugh Satoru hasn’t heard for a long time. It’s more subdued, and it sounds meaner, somehow. “I figured you were playing dumb on purpose.”

“That’s not really me,” you say. “You’re thinking of Gojo. He’d play dumb for the attention: I wouldn’t.”

“Satoru would.” This time, when Suguru laughs, the mean tinge has softened. He sounds, just for a moment, familiar. “Yeah. You’re right, he would.”

“Course I’m right.”

“Now you do sound like him.”

“Oh! Oh, don’t! You’re so mean to me!” You let out a loud gasp, a touch too overdramatic for you, and Satoru realises a second later that you’re imitating him. He presses himself closer to the door, eager to hear. “But Geto, don’t you remember, I’m the—shit, what did you call me? Ages ago? Do you remember? The… like a snake charmer—”

“The Satoru whisperer.”

“Yeah!” Suguru laughs again, but you’re smiling: Satoru can tell that you’re smiling, from the roundness of your voice, the endeared tone you can’t get rid of. Satoru isn’t even offended that you’re both comparing him to a snake. You’re smiling, and Suguru is laughing.

You’ve made Suguru laugh. Satoru’s memory—his perfect memory—reminds him with the emotionless cruelty of his six eyes that it has been two months, one week, four days, since he has made Suguru laugh. He remembers the moment, the day, the joke he had made.

“I’m the Gojo whisperer. The Satoru whisperer.” Satoru’s heart stumbles. “That’s my real cursed technique, Geto, did you know?”

“I didn’t. Take off the gloves, then.”

“No.” Your laughter fades, naturally, and then with a dull thud. “Nah. I’ll keep them on.”

“I guessed as much.”

“Yeah.” There’s the sound of bedsheets rustling, and your long exhale, and then the soft scuff of fabric on fabric. Your gloves against the itchy blanket Suguru keeps on his bed: you’re fiddling with it. You’re nervous, or you’re thinking deeply about something. If Satoru could see you, he would know which it is.

“Still.” You continue, with a touch more hesitation. It surprises Satoru: you haven’t been tentative for all of this conversation. Why would you be now? He’s struck with the fear—fear?—that it could be Suguru, making you nervous. Suguru’s expression, dampening your mood, making you doubt your words. Satoru tries to brush it off.

“What is it?”

“It’s what you said.” You trail off. Then, when you next speak, it’s with the hard set your voice gets when you’re striving for manufactured confidence. “Why’d I be playing dumb? Telling you you’re good for him—or that you’re the only one?”

The conversation holds, and Suguru doesn’t say anything. It stretches long enough that Satoru, impatient to hear Suguru’s reply, fears that he’s missed it, if Suguru responded in a whisper he couldn’t catch.

But then Suguru clears his throat, and says: “Because, Hebi, it’s obvious you’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“You are. Of course you are.”

Lying? Satoru shares your confusion, and his brain races to provide answers. This cryptic thing is something new that Suguru’s been trying out, and it doesn’t suit him. Satoru has always liked his friends honest: it’s why he likes you, and how blunt you can be, even when you’re pretending to insult him.

“About which part?” Yes! Good question, that’s a good question: which part? That Suguru is good for Satoru, whatever that means, or that Suguru is the only one who is?

But, no—he doesn’t need Suguru to answer! Satoru comes to the answer before Suguru has decided how to phrase it. It’s the second, of course it’s the second.

Of course Suguru isn’t the only one. He never has been; he’s just been different, a different facet to the desperately necessary friendships that Satoru keeps close to him. There’s you: you, his longest friend, the only person who has seen every shade of him and still wanted to stay. You: his first, his only, his best.

Thinking of you, Satoru understands what you had meant, when you had said that Suguru is good for him. Because you’re good for him, too—you’ve changed him, him and his life, and Satoru could not be himself without you by his side. He knows, because he’s lived it.

Satoru is still fresh from your absence, when just last year you were still cold and distant. Satoru had hardened into someone he hadn’t liked, and he has only been able to thaw now you are back with him.

So of course it’s the second: of course, everyone knows it’s not only Suguru. Suguru isn’t the only one, not when Satoru needs you, too.

“Both,” Suguru says.

Satoru can feel his heart contract.

“Oh.” You hum. “How have you figured that one?”

“Well. I know why you’d think you’re right—I shouldn’t have said you were lying, that wasn’t right. But we’ve changed a lot, all of us. And I don’t know how much Satoru needs me anymore.”

Anger flares up, hot and fast. What is Suguru blabbering on about? Of course Satoru needs him!

Why is Suguru saying all of this with some straight face—Satoru knows what Suguru sounds like when he’s being honest, and he’s being honest now, but Satoru keeps waiting for the punchline. Seconds pass, and Satoru hears the tick of every single one as they go, and he strains his ears for when Suguru will laugh again, and say he’s kidding, that of course he knows Satoru needs him.

“I know what you mean,” you say, quietly, and Satoru’s blood curdles. He goes completely still, even as his heartbeat thumps in his ear.

You know that he needs you. You know he does.

A flash of bitterness—how many damned times does he need to tell you, before you get it? He tells you all the time, he laughs with you and has never shared a conversation with you in which you haven’t been showered with compliments, all of them genuine. What can he do, then, if you don’t believe him? What more can he say?

And then it subsides. The hot spike of cruelty fades, and Satoru is left with a gaping hole in its absence.

“Maybe it’s an age thing. Us getting older.”

“It could be.”

“You don’t think so?”

Suguru pauses. A beat. “I think you’re good for him. Not me, not anymore.”

“You are. You just don’t see it, but you are, more than me.” You say the final word—me—so dismissively, almost with revulsion. Satoru cannot comprehend how you could think of yourself like that.

“I know what you think, and why you said I am. But it still doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

“You make him better.”

“You’ve far surpassed me in that skill, Hebi.”

“I can’t give him what you can.”

“Neither can I. Not what I used to be able to.”

“No. No, Geto, you don’t see it.” Your voice picks up, and it sounds like you’re about to say everything, to finally be open as well as honest—and then you sigh, quiet and small again. “It’s different, with you. You’ve got something different with him.”

Suguru laughs that mean laugh again. “It’s interesting you still think so.”

Still? Satoru waits for you to echo it yourself, for you to insist Suguru gives you an answer. The conversation isn’t complete, and it’s unsatisfying and vague and Satoru can’t stand it. He wants you to ask for more. But you don’t: you don’t push, you don’t pry. You hold yourself back, and let everything remain unsaid.

Satoru can’t ask Suguru himself. Suguru will not be this honest with him, even though he’s been so equivocal with you.

“It was meant to be a compliment.” The words come out in a whisper, like a child at a sleepover.

There’s that rustle of bedsheets again, and Suguru says, kinder this time: “I know.”

“Yeah?”

Suguru must nod, because you let out a soft huff of breath, small and trying at laughter.

Satoru stands there, his forehead still resting against the wooden door. He only realises when he opens his eyes that he’s had them squeezed shut: his glasses have been pushed down his nose, and even though it’s late in the evening, the dim light is blinding. Satoru straightens, his mind full and thrumming and painful, and adjusts the lenses.  

“Hey.” Your voice: Satoru knows this voice. You are strong, with this voice, and so gentle.

He remembers being eleven, sitting on warm wooden stairs with the orange afternoon sun blazing behind your head like a halo. He remembers the realisation that you would die before him, that you knew, and that you accepted it. He remembers the blazing look in your eye, when you told him he would never be alone when you were still living with him.

He remembers crying in front of you, how much he’d hated it, and how much he’d wished you would take his hand and hold him.

You had comforted him with this voice. And, now, you comfort Suguru.

“You’d tell me,” you say, so tentative and kind, “if there was something wrong. Right?”

“Yes.”

“You would? Really, Suguru?”

“Yes,” Suguru repeats. Then he chuckles, blows out some air, and you squeal.

“Hey, you—!”

“Everything’s fine,” Suguru says, as you both laugh, and as your laughter dies down. “Seriously. Sorry if I’ve been short with you lately, it’s just the heat getting to me.”

His voice is light but genuine, and when you reply, you’re echoing his tone. “You sure, yeah?”

“I’m sure. I promise. Why, did you want to pinkie swear on it?”

“Oh, you’re a bastard. Maybe I will. Take my gloves off and turn your fingers into ash, see how you like it.”

“It sounds intriguing.”

“Ew.”

“Maybe it’s like a hot stone massage. Have you ever thought to try?”

You scoff, and it’s rich with the same affection as when you laugh with him. “Geto, you’re really weird.”

“You might have mentioned that.”

“Might I? Yeah, no, I think I have.”

Satoru doesn’t want to listen anymore. He pushes the door open with too much force and it bangs on the wall opposite, whining on its hinges. He feels high on adrenaline, and he doesn’t know why, but it’s the rush he gets when he’s in a fight and tastes blood.

You look up. Suguru looks over his shoulder. “Oh. Satoru, hey.”

Satoru stares at you two. He’d thought—he’d thought you’d be sitting apart, that you’d have insisted on distance between you and Suguru. You insist on it when you’re with Satoru, and he hates it, because it shows that you still don’t trust him after what happened in the Chapel, and that you’re still not properly friends again. But you and him are still much closer than you and Suguru, so—

Why aren’t you far apart? Why is Satoru standing in the doorway, staring at you and Suguru lying on the same bed, lying down next to each other, both on your sides, facing each other, only, like, actually only inches away from each other?

You’ve discarded the duvet on the floor, but you’ve draped Suguru’s shitty itchy blanket over both of you, and you’ve got a section of it wound between your fingers. You’re fiddling with it, like Satoru knew you would be. But it’s only a single bed, and you’re close to Suguru—actually, weirdly close, closer than you’d let Satoru get. And that’s him! He’s your best friend, not Suguru.

“What are you doing?” Satoru asks, before he can stop himself.

You prop yourself up on your elbow and give him a small wave. Your body had been half-obscured by Suguru’s.

You open your mouth to answer, but Suguru cuts in, dry and sarcastic: “Finishing some intense, passionate lovemaking, Satoru. What do you think?”

Satoru reels back, even though he knows Suguru’s just being a dick, teasing him. Satoru gives him a warning look, and Suguru holds his gaze, undeterred. He doesn’t know if Suguru’s bringing it up on purpose, or if he’s just being cold—Satoru had told him about the dreams he keeps having, and he wishes he hadn’t, because Suguru hadn’t said anything helpful about it. Not at all the way Satoru’d hoped he would, because he’d just given him an uninterested look and told him not to tell you about it. Which, yeah, obviously Satoru wasn’t going to. That wasn’t the question he needed answering.

Satoru looks back to him. Suguru’s hair is down. It’s like pen ink, the way it spills across the white of his pillow. Suguru raises his eyebrows at him, and Satoru knows his face has been burning scarlet.

You snort, and drop yourself back down on the bed.

“You haven’t finished next week’s essay, have you, Gojo?” you ask, placing a gloved hand over your eyes and letting out a tired sigh. “I was going to make Geto help me with it, but he distracted me, and I’ve only just remembered about it. Eugh.”

“Distracted?” Satoru’s brain goes on autopilot, and he clocks what he’s saying whole seconds after the words leave his mouth. “Hey, that’s not some innuendo is it, Hebi-Hebi? Have you two been holding out on me?”

“What? Oh, right. The passionate lovemaking.” You laugh, amused and tired. “Yeah, you know me. Number one playboy right here.”  

“For sure,” Satoru says, playing along. “I feel you could be a player, you know, if you went and got yourself a boyfriend sometime. What do you think?”

His eyes flick between you and Suguru. He doesn’t have a name for the boiling feeling rising up in him, but it’s got him flushed and out of the loop, and he dislikes it vehemently.

“Probably not anytime soon,” you say. Satoru notices Suguru’s lips curl, knowingly, and he almost blurts it out right here, that he knows Suguru knows something, and that he needs to know it too.

“Hey, never say never.” Satoru shakes it off. He tries to: the boiling feeling stays simmering, and he still can’t squash it, no matter how much he wants to. But Satoru is excellent at ignoring and pretending, and so he does, and turns to Suguru. “Yo. Movie night. I’ve chosen a good shitty one, yeah?”

Satoru thrusts the DVD case in front of him. Suguru’s eyes flicker on it for a second, and then he leans back.

“I’m pretty tired, Satoru,” he says. He rolls onto his back, his hair ink on the pillow, his dark eyes closed. “Can we skip this week?”

“What?” Satoru blinks. Then his face contorts into a scowl, and he grimaces down at him. “What do you mean, tired? It’s Wednesday night. I’ve picked us a movie.”

“I could do with the sleep. Next time, yeah?”

“But—”

“You have been looking tired, Geto,” you say, standing. “We’ll leave you be.”

You send him a look, but Satoru ignores it. “No, we won’t.”

“Gojo—”

“C’mon, Suguru,” he urges. Satoru crouches down next to him, so their heads are level. At the proximity, Suguru opens his eyes, and turns his head so he can meet Satoru’s gaze. Satoru sends him a grin. “C’mon. Movie night. You won’t remember you were tired when you’re thirty. Movie night, come on.”

Suguru watches him. Satoru swallows.

It’s not just his eyes that are dark. There are heavy bags around them, deep-set and puffy. Suguru’s cheekbones are gaunter than they used to be. His gaze has been losing its warmth. He even says his name differently. Satoru.

Satoru has asked. Suguru doesn’t let him in. Suguru doesn’t think Satoru needs him.

For a split second, Satoru wishes you weren’t here: if it was just them, maybe Satoru could admit that he’d heard it all. Maybe he could grab Suguru by the shoulders and shake him, and then he’d force sense into him, and make him realise that yes, Satoru needs him, that Satoru needs him desperately and that Satoru cannot imagine carrying on without him. Maybe Satoru could say that to him.

Maybe he will. But Suguru just quirks him a smile, and waves him off. “Nah, honestly. I’m tired. I’ll get an early night, and we can do something later.”

Satoru is not used to being dismissed, but he has learnt what it means now, after all these years.

“Yeah,” he says, brightly. “For sure. Next week.”

Suguru hums, and Satoru tries not to read it as non-committal.

He avoids your gaze as he ducks through the door. If he looks at you, or lets you see his face, you will be able to read every emotion flickering through him. Better than himself: Satoru doesn’t even know what he’s feeling.

“I’ll walk you back,” you say, as you shut the door.

“Great.”

“Yeah. Hey, Gojo, I’ve got a DVD player in my room. I can watch it with you, if you really wanted to see it.”

Yeah, sure.

Will you let me get that close?

Satoru wants to say it, biting.

As close as you let him get? Both of us, on your bed, inches away?

Will you do that again? Will you do that with me?

Will you?

He looks down at you, ready to spit it out.

Satoru falters. Your smile. The small upturn of your lips, the gleam of your eyes, the warm glow to your skin in the evening light. You’re smiling up at him, and Satoru knows you better than anyone; you know that he’s upset, and that this boiling feeling is going to burn him alive, and you’re trying to make him feel better.

You know him. You want to spend time with him.

Satoru lets out a breath, and feels the tension, heavy set in his jaw, leave him. He looks back to you, to your shy hopefulness, and there’s that rushing feeling, that affection and fondness and warmth all rushing together.

“Now, if you insist,” Satoru says, grinning broadly down at you. “I know you’re desperate to stay in my company, Hebi-Hebi, but you don’t have to be so obvious about it! But, I guess I’ll let you see it with me, if you really want to.”

Your eyes shine. “I’m glad I can. Thanks, Gojo. Come on.”

[foundtherightwords]

🤫🍕🐈 "AQPD1" thoughts 🤫🍕🐈

I just got back from the movie, and here are my rambling thoughts (below the cut to avoid spoilers as usual.)

I have to preface by saying that I'm not a huge fan of the Quiet Place franchise or anything - I quite enjoyed the first movie and thought it was a really clever concept, but I didn't think it needed a second one at all. In a way, that gave me the perfect mindset to watch this because I had very few expectations of it (other than seeing Joe on the big screen for the first time!)

First of all, this is more of an apocalyptic thriller/monster movie for me than a horror. I was tense, but I was never scared. But that's OK because I wasn't scared by the first two movies either.

Second, this is a lot more character-driven than the first two movies. All the monster stuff only serves as a backdrop to explore Sam and Eric's emotional journeys as they navigate this end-of-the-world scenario. Fans of the franchise and horror movies may want more of the monster, but I think it has a good balance between drama and horror.

In fact, I wish the movie delved even more deeply into the characters. Sam has a fairly solid arc, and I like that her goal is so simple and relatable - it's the end of the world and she's dying anyway, so let's just get pizza. Eric is such a sweet puppy, but we know next to nothing about him (the articles aren't lying when they describe him as "a man of mystery"!) and I find it kind of weakens his connection with Sam a bit. I remember that in an early screening of the movie, Eric was suicidal because his father rejected him. I wish they'd kept that, because it both paralleled and contrasted nicely with Sam's own journey, and it would make their friendship and the ending even more powerful. There is also a hint that Eric has a fear of water (either because of his encounter with the monsters or something in his past), but it's never explained, which makes the ending a bit rushed to me.

Still, I enjoyed the movie and was ecstatic to see Joe on the big screen. Eric has one hell of a character entrance, and I totally did this when he appeared:

Some more random thoughts:

Frodo is too darned adorable. Between him and Eric, I spent most of the movie going "aww" or squealing.

The pizza/card trick scene is so, so sweet and made me tear up. My headcanon is that Eric wants to become a magician but his dad forces him to study law.

They cut out the stuff about Eric's shoes!!! There is only a very brief moment where Sam gives him the Reeboks to change into, but otherwise it's not addressed at all. I guess it's for pacing/time, but it's a shame.

In fact, there are a lot of scenes/moments from the trailers that are not in the movie. They're not important, but it's kind of annoying.

It's so funny that in the red carpet interviews, everybody was saying Alex Wolff would be the first of the cast to die... and his character IS the first to die!

The buzzcut has grown on me immensely, but seeing his curls on the big screen made me miss Joe's hair (especially in the earlier scenes, where it's all floppy and looks so cute.)

Anyway, that's it for now. Oh and I wanted to get one of those flyers/posters, but my theater didn't have any! These would have to do for now (I may have to go to a different theater to watch the movie again and see if they have a poster I can take home):

[finniestoncrane]

🩷🍿 Finnie's 2k Follower Event 🍿💚

🩷💚🩷 EVENT NOW CLOSED 🩷💚🩷 hello and welcome to my silly little cinema 🩷💚🩷💚 this time around i've got options for moodboards, mini playlists, character pairings, and as always, ficlets and headcanons!! as always my little beloveds, read my rules, & send your requests in (and include reader's gender/pronoun/genital info where needed!) i don't know how many requests i'll do (edit: i'll be doing 50 requests for this event, there are still plenty of spaces!!) and i'll try to avoid similar prompts!! (normal requests are still open just now but i won't be writing them or posting them until after the event) along with the drabbles and headcanons, i'll also do a little giveaway of sorts with some commissions, so anyone who asks off anon will be included into a little draw for a free 500 word commission, and i'll pick some winners just to express how much love i have for you all ;-;💚 🔞minors dni🔞 • masterlist • kofi link • tag: finnie2k (to follow or to block)

hi welcome to the cinema!! are you ready to purchase your tickets?

i'll let my date decide [tell me a bit about yourself for a character pairing!]

yes!! [please scroll for options and prompts!]

if you're not here for a date, please choose from the options below and let me know which character you want!! (pick literally any character from my "will write" list! 1 for x reader, 2 for ships)

no more requests for btaa!scarecrow or zero year!riddler, please! their egos will explode lmao

where would you like to be seated? (pick 1 option)

right in the middle [movie soundtrack - mini playlist based on the character]

aisle seat [movie poster - i'll make a little moodboard based on the character]

front rows [short fic/drabble - scroll for the next options!]

back rows [headcanons/short form - scroll for the next options!]

which genre of movie would you like to see? (pick 1)

science-fiction [smut/pwp]

horror [dead dove/something dark]

action [hurt/comfort - physical]

drama [hurt/comfort - emotional]

romantic comedy [tooth rotting fluff]

thriller [angst]

and what would you like in your snack box? (pick up to 3, also yeah whatever my theatre serves fries and burgers!!)

🥤 soda [praise kink]

🧋 bubble tea [posessiveness]

🧃 fruit juice [touch starved, tensing up when shown affection]

🍹 cocktail [acts of care]

🍷 wine [confessing feelings]

🍺 beer ["i didn't mean it... it was an accident"]

🍕 pizza slice [dry humping]

🍔 slider [begging]

🌭 hotdog ["they'd/you'd never feel that way about me"]

🌶️ nachos [comforting through a breakup while pining]

🍟 fries [pet play]

🥓 jerky [oral sex/rimming]

🍿 sweet popcorn [sex as a tension release]

🧂 salted popcorn [watching a movie together]

🧈 butter popcorn ["look at you, you're dripping all over yourself"]

🧀 cheese popcorn [rough sex]

🥨 pretzel [roleplaying]

🍩 donut ["i think i love you"]

🍪 chocolate cookie [biting/licking/sucking]

🌈 rainbow cookie [clumsy first kisses]

🧁 cupcake [cnc/noncon/dubcon]

🍎 fruit cup ["you're going to ruin me"]

🍫 chocolate bar [voyeurism]

🍬 candy ["keep your eyes open, i want you to look at me"]

🍭 lollipop [choking]

🍧 frozen yoghurt [blushing in front of your crush, who finds it cute]

🍨 sundae [blind date]

🍦 vanilla ice cream ["that feels nice... it feels right"]

🍌 banana ice cream [sitting in their lap]

🍑 peach ice cream [spanking/impact play]

🍒 cherry ice cream [a kiss, then a slap, then a returned kiss]

🍓 strawberry ice cream ["your hands are so soft"]

🌰 trail mix [facefucking/face riding]

🥜 peanuts ["you're doing such a good job"]

🧅 grilled onions ["i want to smell myself on you"]

🥒 pickles [humiliation/degradation]

🥬 slaw [memorising the scars/marks on their body]

🔴 ketchup ["you said you'd never be caught dead doing something like this"]

🟡 mustard [piss]

🟢 ranch [feeling safe enough to fall asleep in each others' arms]

🥛 sour cream [cockwarming]

🥚 mayo ["let me show you"]

[slytherinshua]

SCAREDY CAT

genre. fluff. warnings. they're watching a horror show (not specified or described in detail). reader gets scared. (affectionate) teasing from sungho. pairing. sungho x fem!reader. wc. 838. a/n. sing sungho said horror was his fav genre, i got some inspiration hehe.

Sometimes, you despised how whipped you were for your boyfriend. If it wasn’t for his damn charming smile and cute pleading, you would have won with picking a cute rom-com to watch, instead of some horror show which Sungho had been obsessed with recently. Every Friday was your designated watch night with him, but it being a particularly stormy and gloomy night did not help with your current mood.

You got scared easily. So easily that you were embarrassed over it a lot of the time. The things you saw in shows stuck with you, and you often lost sleep whenever you decided that you could handle something in the thriller or horror genre. You weren’t quite sure what the appeal was, but you were certain you were not the target audience.

You were a couple feet away from Sungho on the couch. You had your own blanket that you were huddled under while Sungho had a snack bowl. As the episode progressed, you started flinching from the scary scenes a bit more. You didn’t know if Sungho had noticed or not. If he did, he would either tease you (most probable, the boy was a menace), or try to comfort you. 

You could feel a jumpscare coming, and tensed up prematurely, clutching your blanket a little closer, debating snuggling up to Sungho for extra safety. But, no. That would guarantee his teasing. You glanced over at your boyfriend, resisting the urge to throw yourself into those very comforting arms. You’d already been teased enough today, you didn’t need him calling you a scaredy-cat as well.

Well, maybe you were a scaredy-cat. You nearly jumped as the screen flashed with a horrifying image that you were sure would be ingrained in your brain forever. 

You shrieked. 

Your boyfriend turned to you at the speed of light, the words “are you okay?” falling off his lips naturally. You exhaled slowly, calming your nerves and racing heart. Tears started prickling at your waterline, and you suddenly regretted ever agreeing to this.

You were a scaredy-cat, and that was a fact.

Seeing the first tears slide down your cheeks, Sungho was quick to flick off the TV screen and switch on a lamp, providing the room with soft, warm toned light to help calm you down. A hand wrapping around your shoulder, he gently pulled you into his lap, letting you cry quietly into his chest.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have picked such a scary show…” He whispered. You focused on steadying your breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly, aided by Sungho’s slow rubs on your back.

You calmed down quickly in his arms, sitting back once you had stopped crying. Sungho smiled a bit guiltily. He hadn’t meant to make you cry. He should’ve remembered how prone you were to getting traumatised by jumpscares and anything within the horror genre.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He cooed again, thumb gently swiping away at the lasting tear tracks on your cheek. 

“I’m okay.” You assured him, placing a hand on the couch to help you get off his lap, but he held your waist, keeping you in your spot.

“Stay and cuddle?” He suggested, eyes shining with a hint of tease.

You could never say no to a request like that, so you snuggled back close to his chest, head resting under his chin, fitting perfectly in his arms. He loved having you so close, though he wouldn’t ever tell you. He had the role of teasing in the relationship, and he would think twice before giving you an opportunity to tease him back about him being cheesy.

You sat in comfortable silence, and you could practically count down the seconds until Sungho opened his mouth again. And, right on queue, he started to speak, a quiet mumble leaving his mouth. You couldn’t see his face, but you could hear it in his voice that he was smiling.

“You get scared so easily.”

“I know. I can’t help it.” You replied, one hand tightening around the fabric of his shirt, silently letting him know that if he continued his teasing, you would get up off his lap. He took the hint, giggling softly at you.

“You’re cute.”

You glanced up at him. His eyes always caught you off guard. They sparkled with such devotion and love. He didn’t have to say anything, you could tell exactly what he was feeling just from those big brown eyes. 

While Sungho spoke with his eyes, you preferred to speak with your actions. And, you did, quickly leaning up and pecking him on the lips. He whined a little, clearly complaining at how insufficient the kiss was. It had barely lasted a second. 

You laughed. Sungho always acted like he was more mature than you because he was tough and didn’t get scared. But, truly, he was just so endearingly clingy. You didn’t make him wait too long before giving him another kiss. A proper kiss, this time. One that lasted for a lot longer than a second.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ boynextdoor taglist: @rizzshimura,, @captivq,, @icyminghao,, @yeonjuns-redhair,, @metalchick529

[chocojae]

[02:47]

pairing ▸ boyfriend! jaehyun x gender neutral reader  genre ▸ fluff | crack word count ▸ 788. warnings ▸ profanity

YOU ROLLED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF BED, EYES WIDE OPEN AND HEART BEATING ALOUD.

The constant rustling of the bushes seemed to echo in the tense room, and it only made you jump out of fear. 

It would be an utter lie to say you are not scared to the bones. Because you are. 

Funny how your stupid ass is admitting it now because just three hours ago you remembered fishing out your laptop from the bag and courageously watching a horror film to shoo your boredom away.

A loud thud against the wall made you flinch, and the sound of muffled footsteps following soon after only made you shoot open your eyes. Hey, wait! Did someone just stack up the ladder against your dorm’s wall and was climbing up?

Several scenarios ran through your head. Could it be a killer who’s going to murder you because killing was his hobby? Or could it be a haunted doll who has a butcher’s knife in her left hand and a creepy smile — whatever be it, it was clear you were in danger.

So, with every little ounce of courage left in your body, you pushed the blanket off yourself and took the heavy ass book from your side table, approaching the window carefully and angling the book to smack the stranger.

Soon your eyes caught a well built figure releasing a sigh. You couldn’t make out who it was due to how dark it was — and because of your tinted window, of course. But the second the window slid open, you hit the stranger with all your might. 

“Oh shit—”

As you were about to close the window and lock it, the stranger’s voice caught your attention. Holy shit, it was your boyfriend. Your eyes widened and you abandoned the book in your hand to help your boyfriend crawl in.

He was groaning and hissing in pain. All of a sudden guilt rushed through you. Though you were trying to protect yourself (and ignoring the fact that a book isn’t even close to being suitable for self defense) you accidentally hit your boyfriend, your freaking boyfriend.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Jaehyun didn’t reply, looking at you with his squinted eyes. Maybe he was judging you? Maybe he was thinking of beating the shit out of you? You didn’t know. “I know that,” He pauses, gulping. “I ate your pizza without your permission but hey that’s mean.” 

“I am serious.” You gently shove his hand off his face. “Did it hurt?”

“Not really, but yes—“ 

“Oh my god! I am so sorry. I thought you were someone who came to kill me so I smacked you—“

“You didn’t even let me finish, babe.” He chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “No, it didn’t hurt when you smacked me with a book but yes,” He passes you a silly grin. “It did hurt when I fell from heaven.” You couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at his dorkiness. 

“But, things aside— why in the world are you here literally at 3 in the morning?” Jaehyun doesn’t say anything, opting to flop on your bed instead. You follow him soon after, facing him as he stared at you intimately.

“I missed you.” He finally says, dimples flashing. A comfortable silence takes over the room as you stare into his beautiful orbs. It almost turned into a staring contest before he once again spoke.

“I still don’t get it though, why are you awake when you are usually sleeping at this hour? Also, pretty disappointed you didn’t lock your window.” You fake a cough, cheeks turning pink from embarrassment. 

“I— um, was watching a movie since I couldn’t sleep. I genuinely thought I would be worn out after watching the movie and will fall asleep but oh, well.” You sigh, earning a deep chuckle from the man beside you.

“I bet it was a thriller movie, right?” 

“More like a horror.” Jaehyun nods at your answer. “Finally understood why you threw that book of yours in my handsome face.” You mumbled a quiet sorry before laughing along with him.

“Since both of us can’t sleep, how about we snuggle up?” You suggest, watching his eyes twinkle up in amusement as you embrace his torso, leaning in close enough to get stiff of his cologne. It didn’t take him long to hug you back.

“Goodnight. Hope you dream of me.” Though you couldn’t see him, you were sure a stupid grin would be adoring his face.

“Lord, I hate you.” You whispered sweetly, leaning in to press a kiss on his jaw.

“Love you too.”

feedback is much appreciated! | find my other works here!

© chocojae 2023

[prongsfish]

sigh

im post blocked

anyway

FISHALICIOUS

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE EVAN ROSIER HEADCANONS

(ive been asking everyone because he's slowly becoming my favourite)

just now realising you asked this nearly a month ago i'm so sorry i don't know why i struggle with answering asks so much!! but anyways evan headcanons i will GLADLY give. my characterisation of him is less concrete than characters like barty or regulus but i think about him loads still i love him...

this is a classic ofc but i will always see him and pandora as twins!! i love siblings in media so much and i think it allows for suuupper interesting dynamics between them, even in canon

in muggle aus my go-to career for him is either a piercer or something in the medical science field. i can just picture him as this mildly off-putting medsci student who goes on to be a forensic pathologist or something, he's really intrigued by the human body and how it functions in various ways. could definitely also go the way of unlicensed surgeon or mad scientist who performs fucked up experiments on people but that sort of thing doesn't quite fit into every fic lmaoo

i've always thought of him as more of a piercings guy than a tattoo guy (which is the opposite to barty). he'd definitely have both but i associate him more with piercings if that makes sense? i imagine he'd have a labret, bridge, stretched lobes (~7/8"), stretched septum (~0g), eyebrows (normal and middle placements), and high nostrils. all symmetrical!! plus probably some other non-facial piercings

he'd love sci-fi, thriller, and horror (especially psychological) films. anything super tense and probably confusing

when he was a child he and pandora would trap and kill insects. they'd spend ages examining little bug bodies and dissecting them with sticks and stuff... as he grew older he became more and more interested in bigger animals. occasionally he would kill animals himself but more often he'd search for those already dead, especially roadkill. once he was finished with any given specimen he'd carefully remove, clean, and reconstruct their skeletons to give to pandora. she didn't like the organs stuff as much as he did but she loved collecting bones and taxidermy insects, in exchange one year for his birthday (10-14th, maybe) she spent ages searching to buy him a surgical set from an antique store

waaay scarier than barty. if you don't know them you might be more initially scared by barty but while barty is loud and crazy and violent and laughs at pain/danger, evan is creepy. he knows way a million and one ways to kill someone without leaving behind any evidence. he knows every single pressure point on the human body. someone mentions a medicine they've taken their whole life for the first time and when someone else asks what it is he can explain in minute detail exactly how it works to the point where not even the person who takes it knew even half of what he says. he's super quiet moving without even meaning to be so he scares the shit out of people all the time. he doesn't blink as often as he should but just often enough that you don't notice until you're paying attention. and this is all revealed gradually, whereas barty's most "scary" traits are purposefully the most surface level things about him

he loooves medical dramas. he's watched tons of them. he HATES the good doctor though, purely on principle because once someone said that must be his favourite because he's autistic. his actual favourite is house

he runs cold and NEVER wears shorts. lots of beanies and jackets

these were so random and i went on a few tangents but oh well i did like five other things between writing these so it's a bit of a mess LMAO

[juniperhillpatient]

Chaos Theory sounds so good!! I hadn’t heard of it until now. I’ll definitely be adding it to my list. I love a good found family series! I’ve only watched 2/3 (?) of the newer Jurassic World movies. I still need to watch the Original Jurassic Park movies. Which one is your favourite?

Fair warning you have triggered a topic I’m very autistic about there’s a TLDR bolded & surrounded by TLDR disclaimers at the end of this post lol —

I love all Jurassic Park content even the objectively kinda bad stuff aghhh it’s such a special franchise to me <3

My favorite of the movies is the original like. It’s just a classic. A great adaptation of the book’s themes. (& the book is good but im aware not everybody had the patience for that & that’s ok don’t worry the movie is great in its own right too, I actually saw it before I read the book & loved it so much I read the book which is kinda the reverse of the usual order of events for me lol).

It’s just. A brilliant thriller that all other movies attempting to put audiences on edge should take notes from. One of the most amazing stunning pieces of cinema with practical effects that will ever be made. If you like the Jurassic World movies I feel like the Jurassic Park sequels are skippable but the original at least is mandatory viewing. Then again I think the original Jurassic Park is mandatory viewing for all movie fans.

Then there’s the Jurassic park sequels which…. are great & all because hiii dinos I mean I like them but also if I’m being so honest they blend together in my head there’s nothing particularly stand out about them I’m so sorry. I like them for what they are which is fun Dino movies.

I clown on Chris Pratt & he does deserve it BUT the start of the Jurassic World trilogy WAS what was needed to revitalize the franchise whether a lot of og fans want to admit it or not. It’ll never be the brilliant original & it’s not trying to be & that’s ok it shouldn’t! It’s fun cgi & bigger louder scarier monsters & here’s a hot take - the trilogy eventually does some pretty interesting stuff as far as exploring what a post Jurassic Park technological innovations world would look like & the discussion on cloning & biological warfare is actually pretty surprisingly clever for an action movie starring Chris Pratt.

NOW.

Chaos Theory is great & I’m glad I got you excited about the idea but unfortunately it will probably mean nothing to you if you don’t watch Camp Cretaceous first & I KNOW I know that’s an annoying thing to say. I know that’s overwhelming. I’d be over it already if someone told me I have to watch another show first to get into this show they mentioned but I’m sorry it’s a follow up series that will make no sense without Camp Cretaceous & Camp Cretaceous is also really really good.

I will say this. I struggle with attention span & Camp Cretaceous & Chaos Theory are both shows I found impossible to turn off because the characters are engaging & the action & pacing are just so enticing it’s like a delicious drug for my adhd brain.

If you love a good found family you will LOVE Camp Cretaceous. It’s a show that keeps me, a seasoned horror fan, stressed & tense & gripping the edge of my seat but it also has some of the most compelling characters & dynamics I’ve seen in a show. What makes it a quality boost for the franchise in comparison to the fun but ultimately shallow in terms of characterization Jurassic World movies is that it does what the original does in even more intensity given the series format - it makes you CARE. These aren’t just vaguely likable action heroes (like Chris Pratt & the hot ginger & their adoptive creepy clone daughter I can’t be bothered with their names rn) these are kids whose insecurities & trauma & relationships you relate to & care deeply about!!!

Anyway. TLDR: if you like the Jurassic World movies I highly recommend you at least check out the original movie if nothing else. Camp Cretaceous as a show actually stands on its own if I’m being honest & if you love found family it’s kinda a must see it does it so well & you WILL want more & Chaos Theory Is a rare brilliant flllow up (so far as of season 1) to a show that actually had a decently satisfying ending overall. It does a really good job going just a little darker than the original while feeling true to the characters & themes. I mean the Jurassic World movies are helpful for context since they’re all part of the same cinematic universe but it’s not hard to pick up context clues. You should watch these shows regardless if you watch anything else in the franchise if you like exciting shows & found family. TLDR over.

Also like I haven’t even talked about what the shows are about lmao — Camp Cretaceous: A group of teen campers at Dino camp get abandoned after Dino’s in the theme park get free. Horrors & bonding over horrific trauma ensue also lots of horrifying reveals & mysteries & conspiracies regarding the evils of humanity that fit in with the themes of the franchise about greed & exploitation & lots of fun animated Dino’s & brilliant use of what I think of as the Batman Animated Series rule. (If you haven’t heard me talk about this to sum up - BtaS is brilliant of course. It was tv y7 but it’s famously a bit dark. That’s because it took the ratings rules as a challenge in creativity! Scarecrow can’t be a serial killer? Ok. Instead he has poisonous gas that makes you see your worst nightmares!) It’s Tv y7 & that means no fun but ultimately forgettable Dino’s chowing down gory style onscreen. Instead you get much more creative & terrifying shots of things about to happen or characters in terrifying situations. There’s a scene with a woman trapped on a boat with two hungry Dino’s closing in that comes to mind.

100/10 highly recommend as a show. Chaos Theory picks up years after (spoiler) the (surviving?) campers are rescued & now they’re all young adults & it’s a lot darker & one of them was investigating a conspiracy & now she’s dead (or IS she?!). It also uses the Batman the Animated Series rule in some GENIUS ways like a particularly haunting shot of a boy staring at his fathers face as a raptor taps his claw against the fathers forehead & a return shot of the boys face. I could go on & on about why this show is pure genius.

Anyway stan Camp Cretaceous & Chaos Theory for slowburn nuanced sapphic representation a racially diverse main cast complex found family a cast compelling characters each so enticing it’s hard for me to pick one favorite excellent mysteries & exciting tense well done action & thriller moments. I cannot recommend these shows highly enough. Camp Cretaceous has a bit of a slow start the first few episodes if im being honest when they’re just like. At Dino camp. But TRUST me when it picks up it stays picked up & it does not slow down.

Anyway I did a tldr then kept going because talking to me about anything related to this franchise is like hitting a button that gets me talking & then I just don’t stop thank you so much for the ask I’m done for now 🫶🫶

[thetruearchmagos]

WIP Questionnaire

Thank you kindly for the Tag, @theprissythumbelina !

1. What is the first part of your WIP that you created?

Well, the Setting, probably, which as an answer works for just about any of the WIPs I could name. In theory you could argue Gustav and the Magician, individually and as a 'set' of sorts, technically predate my coming up with the 12 Worlds, but the form they took then has only passing resemblance to their current incarnation.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Ooo, well, I've been thinking I'd probably see about getting something original made, or making something myself as a side thing. I mean, I kinda envision a lot of my WIPs as serial animations in my head anyhow, so I've put more thought into this question than reality is ever likely to require.

3. What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

Well... You know how big this list could be. I love all of them, and at any moment which forces / allows me to dig deeper into any single one of them makes me love them even more. Still, my final choice is an obvious one: Gustav Johann Schmidt, who's been in it since the very start, and who's voice has by now almost become my own whenever he comments on some facet of his world in the same way I would.

4. What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share?

Hmm, well, I've always thought this would go down two tracks. First of all being the classic 'Techno Thriller' crowd, the sorts who like tanks going boom and spies under deep cover: I'd go with things like The Hunt For Red October and Red Storm Rising, both being stalwarts of the genre which have absolutely been personally inspiring. The second track goes down the wider book / writing community, or at least those looking for 'genre fiction' and all that, who might discover the 12 Worlds more on its fantastical or worldbuilding grounds than for its techno thriller nature: I don't really 'understand' what I'd mean by this cohort myself as much, but I guess it could include series like ASOIAF, possibly.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

Well... If we're speaking in the past tense, as far as things that have already happened go I'd put forwards "making sure the worldbuilding exists and isn't utterly contradictory", since there's too little writing down so far to count for a big struggle. Dates are hard, and measuring things on the order of decades to a century leaves me with a lot of uncomfortable dead space on one hand, and a bunch of events clustered together on the other. Untangling this has to happen before the writing does, to me, and it's gonna be hellish.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Uhh... Technically, Snake In The Sandbox (Gustav's third and least brought up WIP) features two animals! One's a snake which literally scares G's shirt off when he finds it in his tent, and the other's some sort of desert lizard the 18th Corps adopts as its mascot.

7. How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Oh, probably their respective combat vehicles more than anything, though long distance stuff gets done by plane / aeroship, and getting between Worlds means ships for everyone. Non military types might get their own car, or plane.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

Technically brought this up already, but the answer's worldbuilding. It's always worldbuilding. Though within that category, I'm technically supposed to be writing up a piece on the UC' policy towards Goilac / Nouvoulouis pre SSAW, but... I have been having a lazy weekend.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in?

Big flashy boom booms and cunning military tactics, strategy, and leadership on the one hand for sure, but I'd like to think the depth, history, and life that exists within the 12 Worlds might have some appeal to readers.

10. What are your hopes for your WIP?

Published novel, or really a few considering how many there are already for the 12 Worlds. Then... Well, I think I've got a few ideas in me for the Setting yet.

Anyone fancy a boardgame?

And that's that! Tagging @athenswrites @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations @sanguine-arena @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling @thatndginger and anyone who'd like to take part!

[theshittymarimo]

The Prince's Blazing Fury

Fandom: One Piece Character: Sanji Words: 2,755 Link to Ao3 Note: I wanted to write something and I thought of the scene with Sanji and Absalom's fight in the Thriller Bark Arc. I didn't like what it did to Sanji's character to be so similar and compared to the creep Absalom. So here is my slightly (hopefully) improved fight between them.

“Nami-san, I’ve come for you!” Sanji shouted with tears in his eyes. “There she is!”

Relief flooded through him as he saw her, she looked uninjured he decided with a glance over her. He swirled around in a storm into the chapel, his heart brimming with happiness. He was just in time to save her! He would be her saviour; he could already imagine her gratitude…

“Skip, skip, skip”, Sanji murmured joyfully to himself as he tapped further into the chapel. “Nami-san~!”

Well, after he saved her, that is.

“Get your grubby hands off her!” Sanji shouted, delivering a swift kick to the zombie holding her unconscious body, sending it crashing into the wall behind.

With outmost care, he caught Nami in his arms – “Sorry to have kept you waiting, Nami-san. Your prince is here.”

He turned to the other two zombies in the doorway and the one he suspected was Absalom, making sure they weren’t close enough to disturb them. Then, he looked down to Nami to ensure that she wasn’t hurt.

“Nami-san, you’re in safe hands”, he started, but then stuttered as he saw her appearance in that white wedding dress. She was always beautiful, of course, but this…

“Is she a goddess?” he whispered to himself, then shook his head. “Uh, no. It’s Nami-san. Focus!”

The beast Absalom approached, and Sanji immediately shifted his gaze to keep an eye on him.

“What are you going on about? As I recall, you’re part of the crew that was on that pirate ship”, Absalom said, but when he looked at Nami, he gasped. “A-an angel? N-No, she’s human. I’m sure of it. Ah, she had me scared there!”

Sanji’s eyes narrowed, but he decided play along with a relaxed grin – “I don’t blame you! Nami-san and rice are about the only things that look this good in white!”

“Yeah, seriously!” Absalom immediately agreed.

“I know, right?” Sanji continued grinning, though his legs tensed in preparation. “You get it, right?”

“Why must she look so stinking good in white?!” Absalom answered, and Sanji’s grin disappeared.

“What are they going on about?” One of the two zombies asked.

“Lowly pirate!” Absalom gasped and raised his palms toward them. “I don’t need to be chums with you!”

He fired at them, and Sanji leaped away just in time, already prepared for the attack. The shots left only marks in the stone wall, leaving dust in their wake.

“Hey!” Sanji shouted angrily. “You nearly hit Nami-san! When a lady is in the vicinity, you should avoid attacks that could hit her!”

“I’m impressed you dodged that, bastard! I see you’ve already lost your shadow”, Absalom remarked, eyeing the floor beneath Sanji’s feet. “Come to think of it, one of our new zombies was oddly obsessed with that woman. He retained some will of his own, so he wasn’t fully subservient. I suspect that was your zombie. Considering that your shadow wasn’t put into a general zombie, your fighting ability can’t be all that impressive.”

Sanji carried Nami to a bench while the beast was talking and carefully placed Nami there to keep her safe. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be leaving as quickly as he’d hoped to protect her.

“In fact, that penguin talked big, but was terribly weak!” Absalom continued, still behind him. “I’m known as one of the phantoms and lead the General Zombies. It was impudent of that small fry to defy me!”

“I will be right back, Nami-san”, Sanji assured her with a smile and a soothing tone, wanting to make sure she felt safe, even if she couldn’t hear him.

“Listen to me, punk!” Absalom shouted angrily, stomping on the floor.

“I’m so glad that I managed to get here before anything happened”, Sanji sighed in relief. “Everything will be fine now.”

“Don’t heave a sigh of relief! You know, it doesn’t matter how obsessed you are with that woman! I’m going to marry her!” Absalom declared, and Sanji’s smile immediately disappeared. “Now take a word of advice and leave that woman with me while you spend the rest of your life hiding in the shadows!”

Sanji straightened up and lit a cigarette.

“I’m rather busy at the moment!” Absalom continued. Sheesh, he was certainly chatty, Sanji thought. “Your captain’s zombie may have crushed some of my most powerful subordinates. Before I deal with that, I need to kiss my bride!”

Sanji clenched his teeth furiously.

“I’m in a foul mood right now”, Absalom growled. “I don’t have time to deal with weaklings like—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Sanji kicked him square in the face, sending him hurtling through the air.

“Shut up, fur face!” Sanji shouted angrily at him.

“Absalom-sama!” The zombie priest exclaimed in shock.

“No way!” The other zombie shouted. “He weighs 300 kg! How did that man send him flying?!”

“You are the invisible man Usopp mentioned, aren’t you?” Sanji asked as he walked up to Absalom, who groaned amidst the wreckage of the bench he had collided with.

“Hands of the Dead!” Absalom shouted, raising his palms at Sanji. However, Sanji leaped up and stood on his arms, redirecting the shots away from him and causing them to strike the ceiling instead. Absalom gaped in surprise.

“Basses Côte!” Sanji shouted as he delivered a powerful kick to Absalom’s jaw. “Longe! You’re the beast that showed up on Sunny and licked Robin-chan, aren’t you?!”

Fire ignited in Sanji’s eyes.

“And you ogled at Nami-san in the bath, didn’t you?!” Sanji shouted furiously, landing several more kicks on the beast. “Tendron! Flanchet! Quasi!”

Fury coursed through his veins like wildfire.

“Queue! Cuisseau! Jarret!” Sanji continued to unleash a flurry of attacks with fire blazing in his eyes. “Why is she unconscious?! You didn’t touch her, did you?! ‘Marriage’, my ass! Take a good look at my eyes, I’ll crush you under my feet and turn you into a croquette!”

“Damn it!” Absalom gasped. “I’ll have to retreat for now. Skating!”

Absalom turned invisible. Sanji looked around, but he had already planned ahead, his hand finding its way into a pocket.

“I’ve got Usopp’s salt balls”, he muttered to himself, throwing small salt balls in different directions until one hit something invisible in the air. “Over there!”

“What is that?” Absalom’s voice sounded from the spot Sanji had struck. “It’s salty!”

“Veau Shot!” Sanji shouted, launching a barrage of kicks that sent Absalom flying through rows of benches, reducing them to splinters until he crashed into the wall.

It seemed like Absalom lost focus as he turned visible again, all the easier for Sanji to keep going.

“You said that you were in a foul mood?” Sanji told him furiously. “That doesn’t begin to describe mine. I’m so mad I feel like my body could explode!”

Sanji didn’t even feel it when his body exploded into fire.

“It did!” The zombies shouted in the background.

“And unfortunately for you, there is bad blood between us over one more thing!” Sanji glared angrily at Absalom, who lay bloodied amidst pieces of ruined wall.

“A-Absalom-sama…” One of the zombies murmured, both of them gaping in shock.

“You… and I… have bad blood?” Absalom winced as he looked up at Sanji.

Sanji hadn’t intended to reveal it, but the anger over what Absalom had done to Nami loosened his tongue. Ah well, it didn’t matter, they wouldn’t meet again.

“That’s right”, Sanji replied coldly as the fire dissipated.

“Doesn’t ring any bells”, Absalom hissed as he sat up amongst the rubble. “There must be some sort of misunderstanding. You and I … met for the first time today! I’m going to send you flying! … with my Hands of the Dead!”

Sanji turned around and blew smoke out – “Take them off.”

“Huh?”

“I said drop the bazookas attached to your arms”, Sanji spoke calmly.

“Wha--?!”

“Do I need to spell it out?” Sanji asked furiously, glaring at Absalom. “If Nami-san gets hurt because you went overboard, no one will be able to tell you were ever alive by the time I’m through with you!”

But Absalom fired anyway, the shot hitting the wall as Sanji jumped aside.

“I said to lose the bazookas!” Sanji shouted as he kicked one of Absalom’s arms, causing the bazooka to fell off. Quickly, he turned to deflect a rock debris from hitting Nami.

“Wow! A bazooka magically materialized!” The zombies gaped in bewilderment. The morons.

Absalom growled as he glared at Sanji.

“Yeah, that’s about what I thought”, Sanji remarked. “It seemed like the type of attack you would come up with. You can make yourself invisible. While in that state, you can make anything you touch go invisible as well. That is your current ability. Invisible man born of the Clear-Clear Fruit. I know every possible move you could make!”

“Who the hell are you..?!” Absalom growled.

“Has that man met Absalom-sama somewhere before?” One of the zombies wondered. “Why does he know his powers inside and out?”

“What could this bad blood possibly be?” The zombie priest asked.

“Back when I was a kid”, Sanji said, clenching a fist that steamed of heat. “I read an encyclopedia on the Devil Fruits. I had no interest in a shady object that would make the ocean grow to hate you. But there was one and one alone that caught my interest. I decided that in the unlikely event I came across that Fruit, I would eat it, even if it meant losing the ability to swim! But there aren’t two identical devil fruits at the same time! If I ran into someone with that ability, my dream would go up in smoke! Now do you get it? I wanted to become an invisible man!”

“Is he venting?” One of the zombies wondered from behind them.

“I put a lot of thought into it! If I ate the fruit, I would be able to turn invisible at will. No one would be able to find me! Just think of all the things I could use it for! At first, I just wanted to avoid my brothers, but then I imagined how I could help others!”

“His brothers?” One of the zombies asked in surprise.

“Shut up!” Sanji snapped annoyed at them. “That’s not the point! After long years of imagining what I’d do, I’m fully aware of what I could do with that ability!”

The fire in his veins reignited, and his body burst into flames once again.

“Between this and endangering Nami-san, you have compounded transgression upon transgression making it impossible to forgive you!” Sanji shouted at Absalom. “Prepare to wave goodbye to your life!”

“I was wondering what your problem was!” Absalom retorted as he stood up from the pile of broken wood from the benches. “You’re picking a fight over the stupidest thing! It’s absurd!”

Absalom grabbed his coat and ripped it off, exposing his muscular torso covered in scars from surgeries and various colors from transplantations.

“Have it your way! I will throw your sudden claim of bad blood and rage right back at you!” Absalom growled. “The lion muzzle wasn’t my only transplant! Elephant skin! 300 kg of compact bear and gorilla muscle! Dr. Hogback had conducted one transplant after the next on this body, allowing me to become the ultimate beastly masterpiece! The Clear-Clear Fruit’s ability is a mere bonus. Next to my strength, it’s nothing more than an accessory. Get it?”

Absalom grinned at him. Sanji was boiling of fury, but the issue that bothered him more than the fruit was …

“You peeped at Nami!” Sanji shouted furiously. It was unforgiveable! He kicked Absalom’s face down onto the floor, cracking the stone.

“He’s right!” One of the zombies admitted.

Absalom slowly got up from the floor, shaking with blood pouring from his head wound. He seemed shaken from Sanji’s kicks, but he glared at him.

“Regardless, I will be the last one laughing!” He said, grinning as he turned invisible. Sanji gritted his teeth as he took a few steps back, scanning the surroundings. “I have claimed the power you wanted! And the woman you longed to protect is about to become my wife! I could not imagine a more bitter defeat!”

Sanji gritted his teeth, but then he remembered what Usopp had said about Nami vanishing with Absalom when he abducted her. They had lost the trail after that. Sanji’s eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

“You want to make Nami-san go invisible!” Sanji said and quickly turned back to her, taking her in his arms again. “But you can’t have her!”

With her in his arms, he looked around anxiously, trying to listen to where Absalom could be coming from. Now, it was more important than ever to see where he was coming from, to not let him hurt her.

“Where do you think you’re looking?” Absalom’s voice said. “You’re wasting your energy! It’s time I showed you… the power of a Phantom!”

A burst of pain exploded in Sanji’s jaw, but he kept himself standing, shaking, and lifted Nami above his head. He could not let her get hurt. This was nothing, he thought, with the fresh reminder of his brothers. He had survived worse.

“What’s this? You’re going to sacrifice yourself for that woman?” Absalom’s voice laughed. “Protect her! Assuming you’ve got what it takes! Phantom Hand!”

Pain hit Sanji in the back.

“Phantom Leg!”

Pain hit Sanji in the leg. Then back. Chest. Back again. Sanji lost count of how many hits he took. Blood spurted from wounds opening up from the hits, but he kept Nami above his head. Sanji was panting when a break in the hits came.

“I wouldn’t drop that woman if I were you!” Absalom laughed.

She’s not just a woman, Sanji thought, irritated by his laughter but didn’t have time to say it before he groaned loudly as a worse pain hit him in the back. He could feel it, a large knife, the harsh steel stabbing through his muscles, and pain, pain. In the corner of his eye, Sanji saw Nami’s pure white dress swaying in the wind. He shook and gritted his teeth.

“Damn beast!” He gasped for air and fell to his knees. In the last second, he threw Nami in front of him to safety so that he wouldn’t fall on her. “Sorry, Nami-san…”

“You dropped her!” Absalom laughed. “I guess you didn’t value her as much as your own life.”

Sanji fell on all fours and coughed. Blood splattered on the floor.

“I’m sorry Nami-san… I can’t soil you with my blood…”, he panted through gritted teeth. “Damn invisible man, sneaking around! I’m over my childhood dream now! I don’t need to be able to turn invisible anymore, I’m strong enough to face them! I don’t care if they can see me!”

“… Is he talking about his brothers again?” One of the zombies wondered aloud.

Sanji ignored them as he heard Absalom’s steps come closer and closer. Until he saw an invisible step in his blood, he was by his side. Sanji grabbed his leg.

“Let go, bastard!” Absalom’s voice shouted at him as he could feel his leg trying to pull away. “Unhand me!”

“I’m not about to let go, you sick beast!” Sanji looked up with a grin. “If you’re a mix of a bunch of animals, I bet you’ll make lovely mincemeat!”

He could hear Absalom gasp and then he hit Sanji in several places – “Shut up, jerk! Let go of me!”

Sanji reached behind his back, grabbed the handle of the knife lodged in his back, and pulled it out in a spurt of blood. There, no more metal hindering him in his moves. Immediately, Sanji moved and started kicking Absalom. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop, he’d fall if he does.

“Extra Haché!”

“Absalom-sama!” the zombies shouted.

Absalom’s invisibility wavered, and Sanji could see him enough to kick him into the rows of benches, blasting off so hard and far that he crashed into the wall next to the door, leaving a crack from his invisible body. Sanji panted. Absalom spat out blood.

“A beast should be satisfied with a beastly bride”, Sanji murmured as he lit a cigarette.

It seemed like the Clear-Clear Fruit was only as good as its user. Sanji concluded that it wasn’t worth the trouble anymore. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest; he was stronger now, and he would make sure to be strong enough.

End notes: At first Sanji didn't mention his brothers explicitly. He just mentioned a "them" and the zombies wondered who he meant. I think that would've worked just fine in the manga/anime, like a tease about things in Sanji's past.

But since most people now know about his past I decided to let him mention them here in this fanfic. I hope that it gave a bit more of weight to his statements.

I also first wrote something about that he knew he had another family now. But I decided to delete it, in fact Sanji hadn't really learned the lesson by this time. He was still prepared to sacrifice himself for the others, ignoring of his own self value completely. It wasn't until the Whole Cake Island Arc that Sanji really understood that his crew was his new family through thick and thin.