#i think the last series i watched all the way through was peacemaker. but i did it for james gunn and john cena and it was only five eps

[sciderman]

pls watch the interview with the vampire series it's so much better than the movie or the books...... and yes its actually gay

ACTUALLY GAY?? thank god. the only thing that can save the vampire genre, i think.

i am so chronically unable to commit to tv series though i am so sorry. everyone tells me the what we do in the shadows series is amazing and i have watched the first two episodes and love it but i am chronically unable to commit... my body is physically unable to sit still for longer than two hours without exploding and it makes watching tv series nearly impossible because once i break the streak i never come back... i'm cursed to an existence where i will never watch a series all the way through

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day One - Spring @sapphicmicrofics

April Daily Series - 717 words

**Series 5/5 of a continuous multi-ship story**

<<<Previous Series OR Beginning

The train station was busier than she expected for this time of day. It was too bloody early for normal people to be awake and yet here they were flooding Cardiff’s Central station. Ridiculous.

Marlene dug through her backpack until she felt the tangled cord of her earbuds. “Ah-ha! There she is.”

“Is everything feminine to you?” Regulus asked. His head was tilted slightly toward James to accommodate headphones they shared. The cord was still wrapped around Regulus’s neck while James listened intently to the song that Regulus played for him.

“Only things I value,” she replied, grinning wickedly at him.

Regulus rolled his eyes, as seemed to be his habit. The bloke was certainly a different breed from his brother. Their similarities were entirely skin deep, but it startled her to see the same features that she associated with general merriment contort into a glare or bored apathy so often.

Except for the similarly adoring expressions the brothers turned on James. It was impressive how thoroughly he’d charmed both of them. Not that Marlene was surprised. She’d watched James charm nearly everyone he’d ever met rather quickly.

They were complements in many ways. Where James was bold and confident, Marlene was bold and brash. Where James was eager and determined, Marlene was eager and hungry. They were different branches springing from the same tree and worked well together. Which was why they were old childhood friends and current hockey teammates.

Sirius prodded her hip. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to Edinburgh with me? Those two will be all over each other the entire time. Last chance.”

“As if you and Remus will be any better?” Regulus snarked. “You’re like dogs in heat.”

Sirius flipped him off. Before he could retaliate, James stuck the headphones back onto Regulus’s ears and distracted him with a quick kiss. It was becoming a common interaction between the brothers. Sirius loved winding Regulus up and Regulus enjoyed lashing out.

Marlene shrugged. “I’m due a holiday anyway and Pandora insisted that she and Lily needed help rearranging things at the London flat. Who am I to tell a pair of pretty women ‘no?’”

“Fair,” James agreed. He then swatted Regulus’s boot away from Sirius’s shin with a sigh. When his feral boyfriend grumbled a threat, James picked him up and promptly settled him into his lap. “Both of you, behave.”

Sirius smirked at Regulus, but his brother was entirely unbothered now that he was comfortably snuggled into James’s chest. It was probably best that Sirius wasn’t joining them on the train to London. Marlene was just about sick of the bickering.

“Can you not?” she said, budging Sirius’s shoulder.

“We have lost time to make up for, Marls.”

“Which you want to spend quarreling?”

He flashed a bright grin at her, then draped an arm over her shoulders. “It’s what siblings do. You know how it is.”

She definitely did. Her three brothers were constantly scrapping with each other or poking fun at her when she lived at home. It was just as irritating.

“James is being entirely too nice about it. I’d have knocked you about by now.”

Sirius laughed, loud and sharp. “Nonsense. Our rows give him an excuse to ‘rescue’ Reggie. He loves it.”

Marlene glanced back at James to find him smiling fondly at Regulus while he stroked his back to soothe him. He always was the righteous peacemaker type. It sort of tracked that he’d take advantage of the chaos to play hero.

“Utter twats.”

“You should be used to it by now,” Sirius said, leaning his head against hers. “Honestly, Marls. I think you’re jealous.”

She stared at him incredulously. “Of who?”

“Regulus.”

“What? Why?”

Sirius nodded at his brother again. “Didn’t you have that in London? The calm to your chaos?”

Marlene immediately dropped her gaze to her backpack and toyed with a loose thread. She couldn’t think about that right now. Walking away was the worst decision that she didn’t make.

Dorcas was right, of course. Long-distance was shite and they were never “just friends.” It was entirely logical to end things cleanly when they did, and also complete bullshite.

“Are you going to look her up?” he persisted.

“London is a big city and I doubt she’d want me to.”

Next Part>>>

[snackleggg]

I've been having Thoughts™️ about how nearly every time dragons appear in Atla it has some relation to Zuko. Been thinking about how the dragons are used as representions of Zuko's complicated family history & how that ties into his redemption arc.

First, there's the red dragon. The first red dragon we see is Roku's, immediately creating the association between the two which becomes important in the episode "The Avatar and The Firelord" when we learn that Roku is also Zuko's great grandfather. But the red dragon had also been associated with Iroh, as when Zuko becomes ill and dreams about the two dragons, the red dragon has Iroh's voice. I think it's clear that the red dragon is supposed to represent the good part of Zuko, the peacemaker, the part associated with Roku & Iroh. It makes the scene in "The Firebending Masters" where Zuko is dancing and the red dragon is dancing alongside him very significant, as it represents Zuko finally being in harmony with and accepting that fundamentally good part of himself, which contrasts with his dream in season 2 where the red dragon is trying to warn Zuko but he isn't able to listen. This is also important in Lok as Zuko's dragon is also red.

Then there's the blue dragon. The blue dragon is heavily associated with the bad side of Zuko's family history, with bloodshed and war. Sozin's dragon is blue and the blue dragon in Zuko's dream has Azula's voice. This becomes important when Zuko is judged by the dragons, as even though he danced with the red dragon, he is judged by the blue one, by the representation of all his families misdeeds. He has to face it, in order to truly understanding fire bending he must face the damage his family did to the world, represented in him facing one of the last dragons whose race was wiped out due to the tradition his great grandfather started.

The dragons represent Zuko's roots and in "The Firebending Masters" they represent the roots of firebending and the firenation as a whole. How Sozin began the tradition of hunting dragons despite having one himself is symbolic of the war he started erasing the cultural roots of not only the other nations but the fire nations roots as well, as we see that dancing is an important aspect of firebending yet in "The Headband" it's borderline illegal. The blue & red dragons represent the dual nature of firebending, as it is destruction which we see early in the series through characters like Jong Jong but like the Sun warriors said, it is also life. This dual nature existing in Zuko as well through his heritage. There is also importance of Iroh having claimed to have killed the last dragon but actually lying to keep them safe, which happens before Zuko is born, so long before his son dies and Iroh stops participating in the war. This showcases how even before he stopped participating in the war, Iroh had the capacity for good and held respect for the ancient ways and his roots.

The dragon dream sequence when Zuko is sick feels out of place or strange on the first watch, but with the context of how the dragons represent Zuko's struggle between good and evil, it becomes very important. During this period of time, Zuko is truly questioning his future, his role, and who he wants to be. That's why he has this dream. It represents how these parts of himself are finally clashing now that he is no longer just blindly following his father's wishes.

A lot of people consider Zuko's redemption arc to reach its completion when he confronts his father, but personally, I think it is in the episode "The Firebending Masters" as his redemption arc isn't just about him turning to the side of good but also acknowledging and facing all the damage and pain his family has done, both to the world at large and their own people.

TLDR: The red dragon represents the peacemaking and good part of Zuko, and the blue dragon represents all the damage and war his family brought on the world. His character arc is fully realised in "The Firebending Masters" when he dances with the red dragon and faces the blue dragon for judgement.

[pmkscanlations]

PMK DVD Booklet Interviews 5

Thanks to @/pmkloveadmin and their kind friend yuunsoba who provided the raws for these interviews! Here’s the fifth set; please enjoy!  I’ll be posting the final set tomorrow!

STAFF COMMENTARY Kimiya Shigeru (Director)

I believe the production work has currently reached its climax, but please tell us your frank impressions as the director of the Peacemaker Kurogane movies.

I’ve always wanted to direct something based on the end of the Edo period, so I was delighted to come across this. In particular, I’m a fan of the Shinsengumi, so seeing all the typical characters like Kondo and Hijikata made me excited. I’m also glad that I got to know the lesser-known member Ichimura Tetsunosuke through it.

In working on this movie, were there any things you kept conscious awareness of?

Above all else, I tried not to change the flavor of the original work. I also thought carefully about the art setting and tools etc., because even though it’s a fictional work, the audience won’t be immersed without creating the world view of the Bakumatsu era. Finally, I was careful not to turn the enemies into mere villains. After all, even with the differing factions, the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate was an era where everyone simply lived according to their own ideas and ideals.

Tell us about a scene you had a particularly hard time directing and put a lot of time into. Please let fans know if there are any points in particular that you want them paying attention to.

There are plenty of parts that mirror real historical fact, so I took care to pay extra attention to Saito’s death chronology records and its consistency with historical timelines. I had the hardest time deciding how far to adjust historical facts and which parts to arrange. Though it’s a small detail, I tried to add a natural Tennen Rishin-Ryu flair to the way they drew and cut with their swords.

In a nutshell, how would you describe Peacemaker Kurogane from the view of a director?

An ensemble drama full of tragedy. As far as easily understood examples go, there’s the budding love between Saya and Tetsunosuke, the brotherly love between Tetsunosuke and Tatsunosuke… All of the main characters in this work are fighting for someone else while suffering. I think even Suzu, who has fallen into the dark path of revenge, still does it out of his admiration and affection for Toshimaro Yoshida. I think there’s something for everyone to enjoy, no matter what relationship diagrams and so on they think up for their favorite characters.

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

In part two, the Shinsengumi will be swallowed up by the times as the battle of Toba-Fushimi starts. It focuses on the previously invincible Shinsengumi suffering its first defeat, and the friendship between Tetsunosuke and Yamazaki, who are each struggling with their own ways of life. Last year marked the 150th year anniversary of the Meiji Restoration. I would like to consider this work a bouquet dedicated to it.

Eiji Umehara (Script & Series Composition)

Please tell us your first impressions for being in charge of the script for this work.

It was a very meaningful and rewarding script to do. I remember rushing to buy Shinsengumi-related books at the bookstore on the day I got the script order. The original work is quite dense and complex. If you move this, you can’t draw that, and if you add this, then that becomes a contradiction. On top of that, it has some heavy drama. While scripting, I often thought things like, “Chrono-sensei often draws things like this, huh?” and “the staff who chose to make this into a movie were brave”.

Where did you stick close to the source material, where did you struggle, and where did you pay the closest attention to?

I always asked, “do they both reflect the feelings of the characters?” The plan was to start filming immediately after the Aburanokoji Incident. So at this point, for example, Shinpachi and Sanosuke had just lost Heisuke, Tetsunosuke discovered the depth of Suzu’s darkness, Tatsunosuke saw how powerless he was… Everyone’s feelings and situations were quite dire. After writing, I was immediately thrust into having to put them all together in the movie and it was a bit more of a barrier than I expected.

As the screenwriter, are there any scenes you want people to pay particular attention to?

First of all, probably the scenes with Tetsunosuke and Saya in general. Even with all of the various things happening, these two make up the main axis of the drama in the first part. Then, the scenes with Hijikata and Okita. As I mentioned, because the original work was so dense, I didn’t have much space to add original elements. However, I wanted to dig down and see a bit more in-depth interaction between these two in particular, so I added back a few scenes that would have been omitted originally.

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

Thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to watch. While writing the script, I read and re-read the original series and related books many times and became entranced by the world views there. I’m proud to say I’m a decent Peacemaker Kurogane fan, but I’m sure all of you are even bigger fans that I can’t even compare myself to. All staff members brought their all in facing this behemoth of a work by Chrono-sensei. I’d appreciate it if there were parts that tugged on everyone’s heartstrings even a little.

Yoko Shiraishi (Producer)

This work has numerous different forms of media. How did you settle on a movie?

Actually, I’ve been working on Nanae Chrono’s other series since Vassalord. Though that serialization is ending, I heard about Peacemaker Kurogane starting up again and asked if I could take part. We started with talk of a drama CD first but then eventually started discussing a movie instead. It’s been a long time since I’ve made a movie, so I wanted to draw the main character Tetsunosuke with my full heart. That’s why I designed the movie after the theme of the two partings that occur after the Aburanokoji Incident, and Tetsunosuke growing up during it.

From the producer’s point of view, what is Peacemaker Kurogane? Where does its power lie?

I drew the Shinsengumi head-on, parallel to their historically factual story. The Shinsengumi began its decline after the Ikedaya Incident. In it, characters are running away and worrying without caring about looking cool, which felt very human. I was able to empathize. I also cried several times when reading the original when people would die, because my feelings for that character and those around them were so chaotic. As far as characters go, I like both Shinpachi and Susumu, but Tetsunosuke is the one that makes me feel the most emotion.

Did any scenes or lines leave a particularly big impression on you? Please explain why.

The scene where Tetsunosuke and Susumu use Tatsunosuke’s loincloth to play a prank while they’re practicing shooting. I loved how the three had this relaxed conversation in the middle of an otherwise tense movie. Outside of that, the scene where Okita asks Hijikata, “can I have a rifle too?” Even if Okita’s body is yielding, he still wants to be of use to Hijikata and the Shinsengumi. On the other hand, Hijikata wants Okita to live as long as possible, so he doesn’t want to force him too hard. When feelings differ like that, it’s painful and leaves a deep impression.

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

Thank you for watching part one of the Peacemaker Kurogane movies. Part two begins with the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, and things just get rougher for the Shinsengumi from there. But there are still plenty of scenes well worth watching, like their actions and the appearance of a certain nostalgic person. Please look forward to it. I hope everyone will continue on to watch part two.

Toshiki Denyama (Sound Director)

What was your first impression after reading Peacemaker Kurogane for the first time? Did the drama CD or anime change that?

When I think about the path from prosperity to ruin that the Shinsengumi, which bloomed like a flower in a troubling time, took – it imbues the characters with a sort of endearing sadness as they struggle bravely and desperately to live. The already harrowing story of loss becomes even more poignant in movie form. But it’s impressive that a certain level of transparency exists in depicting the hearts of these characters.

Various scenes exist in this show, ranging from daily life to serious matters of life or death. As sound director, what did you keep in mind while working?

Seeing these characters all trying to move forward with deep trauma, it lit a fire in my heart and I decided it was my mission to bring that theme into my work. At the same time, when drawing the Shinsengumi – a dying force – I always kept “partings” and the reason why “here and now” is so precious in mind to explain the regret seeping through the story. That’s remained the same even through the movie.

There are plenty of interesting characters, but do you relate to any on a personal level? Please tell me why.

It’s the second division captain, Nagakura Shinpachi. Rather than just calling him a favorite, it’s more like I want to watch over him. Historically, he survives, so I’m sure he’ll survive in the series. But then I think about what he would have thought, crossing the turbulent times into the Meiji era. I imagine that the weight of his losses and the proof of his life are immeasurable, along with the depth of his feelings.

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

I think people may not be able to fully realize just how precious the “now” is. Even if you think it’s important now, you’ll have to wait until later to truly feel the weight of that importance. I think that’s why stories like this, which depict the bright souls of people who once lived, shake our hearts. Please stay tuned for more!

[sirsleeps]

typical occurrence pre-movie nights. | sbi & gn!reader

Hi 😈 anon!! I hope that this satisfies all of your conditions, and that there were enough sbi chaos for you…. though I think I stuck to Mr Blade a bit too much (to which I’d just like to apologize for :(() thanks again for requesting this! It’s been a lot of fun writing it (though I’m not gonna lie, the movie of choice really gave me so much freedom I really couldn’t choose which hence) hope you enjoy the fic! :D

request: [by 😈 anon] “Hello! Do you think you could do a SBI x Gn! Reader! The SBI have a movie night and invite the reader! You can do any type of movie! (Maybe a horror one!) I just think it would be chaotic! You can do a one shot, Hc, or small scenarios! Whatever you want to do!”

pairing: sbi & gn!reader

warnings: swearing, potentially ooc sbi, not beta-read

word count: 1.4k

There were a few unspoken traditions that took place every Friday evening.

It was a time where everyone within the SBI family would put down their work and rest to get together for their weekly movie night. Whether they were far away from home, busy with work, or doing some laborious, mundane task, their chores would be held on pause for that evening. And if, for some apparent reason, one is unable to physically attend the gathering, then they would all host it on a computer so that one could watch along.

As per usual, (name) was in charge of bringing the drinks to the weekly movie night. This was typically because (name) didn’t live with the formerly mentioned, nor were they a household member of the SBI despite being given the decision to move in with them. With a couple bottles and cans of assorted drinks in their tote bag, they unlocked the front door.

Walking in they were greeted by Techno, who looked like he was anticipating their arrival, and the sound of squabbling. ‘From Wilbur and Tommy, no doubt,’ (name) thought.

“Hey Techno, I assume we’re going to spend the next half hour arguing about which movie to play again?” They asked, handing a couple of cans and bottles to him.

The rhetorical question emitted a laugh from Techno. By the number of times (name) was invited over for their movie nights, arguing over the movies to show is a habit that never changes. At this point, it’s become such a common occurrence that it would feel weird if neither Wilbur nor Tommy bickered over which movie to screen.

“Ehh… it is what it is.”

“So, how are you?” (name) laughs as they hauls the bag of drinks over to the table near the bickering duo.

“We met up not even two days ago, I don’t think much would’ve changed since,” Techno rolls his eyes, “but s’alright, I’m doing well.”

Though their attempt to drown out the bickering in the background was futile as Wilbur turned his head towards (name) and Techno demanded for their input on the movie choice, which made them sweat, anticipating the flurry of questions that were bound to be sent their way.

“(name)! Tell Tommy that we shouldn’t watch Into The Spiderverse, because we always play it every movie night!” Wilbur exclaimed, pointing a finger to Tommy.

“We do not!! Stop exaggerating, Wilbur!” Tommy cried in retaliation, “(name), tell him that we aren’t watching the Fantastic Beasts Series because it’s shit!”

With a dramatic gasp, Wilbur quickly turned back to Tommy. A series of ‘how dare you’, ‘take that back’, and further incessant shouts of why either movies of choice is-good-and-should-be-watched-again, were exchanged. (name) quickly glanced between the two, their hands up to grab any stray jabs as they tried to break up the ‘fight’.

A wave of exhaustion soon came upon them as the two subconsciously ignored the peacemaker, trying to one-up the other with their playful insults. Letting out a heavy sigh, they took a step back seeing their fruitless attempt to settle down the squabble. They looked at the two with tired eyes, Techno right behind them, cracking open his beverage, enjoying the show.

“So how long has this been going for?”

“Uhhh, about twenty minutes or so, give or take.”

“..Rright. Where’s Phil? I thought he’d be here to break up this uh.. soap opera…”

“He’s microwavin’ some popcorn,” Techno took a big gulp from his drink, “wait, isn’t this his turn to choose the movie?”

“I… think so??”

(name) furrowed their eyebrows, turning their head to Techno, before looking back at the two infront of them. Their hand reached in their pocket to bring out a phone, sending a quick message to Phil about the query. A few seconds had passed between them before a reply was given.

‘Yepp’

‘What are we watching tonight?’ (name) asked once more.

‘We’re finishing off whatever we have left on IT… then onto its sequel’

‘K’

Moving over to the couch, (name) whispered, “Should we tell them that neither of their movies are going to be played?”

“…Nahh,” Techno dragged on, pleasantly amused by the ‘soap opera’ as (name) puts it.

“Well as fun as it is, I’m gonna need them to stop screamin’ their lungs out—”

“What?! No, why would you do that—”

“—before we get our asses busted.”

(name) finished, getting up from their seat on the comfortable couch, before moving over to Tommy and Wilbur, to once more attempt to settle the trivial argument. They gave Techno a side eye, gesturing to help them in case anything ends up broken.

“Tommy, Wilbur,” they started, only to be cut off by Wilbur mocking Tommy with a squeaky voice.

It didn’t end there, no, in fact, anytime they tried to start or complete their sentence, they got cut off either by Tommy’s shouting or Wilbur’s imitation of what the latter sounded like. With a heavy sigh and a facepalm, (name) went back to Techno, drink in hand, and plopped down on the couch. This time, absolutely done with the mess in front of them.

“That was hilarious.” Techno commented.

“Oh shut up, smartass,” they grumbled, taking small sips from their bottle of coke, “I’d like to see you try.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“I dunno bro, is it?”

“Oh, are you seriously askin’ me that bro?”

“Well let’s say that it is, what are you gonna do about it?”

In the midst of their back-and-forth bantering, and with Tommy and Wilbur who now have migrated from their place over to the table of drinks near them, none had noticed Phil, who had entered the room with two bowls of popcorn in his hands.

Looking at the sight in front of him, Phil rolled his lips, oscillating and producing a ripple-like sound. He stomped down one foot, grabbing the attention of the other four in the room, who turned their heads towards his general direction.

“Okay chill mate, I could hear you all the way from the other room, and you know how thick these walls are.”

“Sorry Phil—”

“Yea, ‘m sorry.”

“Sorry, this wouldn’t’ve happened if someone didn’t suggest such a horrible movie to watch—”

“OHH! You take that back Wilbur!!”

“Oh? What are you gonna do about it?!” Wilbur exclaims, crossing his arms, raising a brow as if to challenge the younger male.

“YOU B—”

“Ohhh-kay, how about we put those movies up, it’s my turn to choose the movies anyways.”

Phil interjects, evoking a laugh from both Techno and (name) as Wilbur froze in shock from the statement. Tommy’s finger dipped along with his shoulders, jaw dropped as he turned to look at Phil once more.

“What?” the two sputtered.

Handing a bowl over to (name), Phil moves over to the laptop hooked up to the projector, and scrolls through the horror section to find IT. While he was scrubbing through to find the timestamp of where the family had last left off, (name) walked to Wilbur to hand him his bowl of popcorn.

“You knew about it?” Wilbur asked, coming out of his shock.

“Yep,” they confirmed, popping the ‘p’, “I was gonna tell you and Tommy, but the both of you kept cutting me off every time I tried.”

“Oh…”

“S’alright, all in good fun,” they let out a small laugh.

Placing down the bowl on the coffee table, they moved to dim the lights in the room. Techno, finished with his drink, got up from the couch to get his second, pulling Tommy along with him back to the couch. A soft, “Let’s go Tommy,” was heard from the pink haired being.

With arms crossed, and an exaggerated frown, Tommy silently grumbled to himself, disappointed that they weren’t able to rewatch the incredible Spiderman animation. Wilbur, on the other hand, vocalised his disappointment to Phil.

“Phiiil, why’re we watching horror movies? That’s like… that’s so cliché.”

“Well it’s my turn to pick the movie, and I want to watch some spooky movies, so that’s what we’re watching.”

“I mean… he’s got you there Wilbur,” Techno gave his two cents.

“Oh shut up, Techno,” he retorted.

(name) came up to the group, quietly laughing to themselves as they handed a can of coke to Tommy and a caprisun to Wilbur, a small smile plastered on their face.

“Well, that was eventful… and the movie hasn’t even started.”

[linkspooky]

TogaChako - Good Girl and Bad Girl

Toga Himiko and Uraraka Ochako embody the classic good girl slash bad girl dynamic. It’s a classic dynamic in which one girl will represent what is the traditionally held notions of what a “good girl is” ie/ pure, nice, friendly and the other girl will embody the opposite of that a “bad girl” impure, mean, slutty. Inevitably, these two girls will fight. However, the crux of the good girl bad girl dynamic is that while the girls are total opposites on the outside, inside they’re the same, cuz they’re both girls after all. 

Uraraka and Toga are written to be compared, they’re character foils, because the conclusion we’re supposed to come to isn’t one of them is good, one of them is bad, one of them is selfless, one is selfsh. Rather, they’re written so we see it’s the difference in circumstances that made them who they were. Toga became bad because bad things happened to her. Uraraka is good, because she was born into a good life. What makes a bad girl bad and what makes a good girl good? More under the cut. 

1. Good Girl

Describe Uraraka Ochako. She’s a normal girl. She’s spunky. She puts other people first. She became a hero to help her parents make money, and feels bad because her motivations aren’t as selfless as say her close friend Izuku Midoriya’s. (But that’s wrong because she literally is being selfless, her reason for becoming a hero has entirely to do with benefitting someone else and not herself). She’s supportive, and friendly. She’s always cheerful and never lets herself get too down. 

Uraraka represents the standard of a good girl in hero society. She’s always ready to help her friends, but ultimately she’s kind of passive. She works hard but is not too ambiitous. She’s selfless and always thinks of other people before herself. She has all of these good qualities. 

However, I would argue Uraraka is a lot more complex then this. On the surface she seems to be just a good, nice girl who wants to help others, but her internal mechanisms are complex. While yes I agree Uraraka doesn’t have much of an arc so far due to lack of focus, there’s a difference between not having an arc and not being a complex character. 

A simple character - what you see is what you get.  A complex character - Has internal mechanisms that show the surface isn’t as simple as you thought. 

A simple arc - character moves through the plot without changing who they are. A complex arc - character struggles in a way that fores them to change. 

Uraraka’s inner mechanisms are complex in that there’s more too her in what we see at the surface, it’s just she hasn’t been challenged in any way. The plot doesn’t address her flaw and try to force her to change. 

With that in mind let’s get into Uraraka’s character. Uraraka is defined to her goodness. Uraraka pushes herself to always be good to others. The reason being is that Uraraka is a very sensitive girl who is attune to the feelings of other people. 

Uraraka gets serious for just a second, and people remark that she doesn’t seem like her normal self. 

Uraraka then immediately backs up and gets embarrassed. She goes out of her way to beat herself up and denigrate herself in front of others, insisting her motivations are much more selfish than people like Ida and Deku. 

Uraraka then tells Deku and Iida that she’s not becoming a hero for her own sake, but for someone else’s. Her entire motivation is to help both of her parents live easier lives, because she feels like she’s been a burden on them and pursuing her own dreams would be too selfish. 

Uraraka is very secretive of her own feelings. She’s almost afraid to come off as selfish which is why she doesn’t share what her real goal is. Also, when she starts to get a little motivated to accomplish something for herself, everybody around her remarks how different this is from the fun-loving Uraraka they all know. Also, one last detail Uraraka never even talks about herself, and her friends don’t really think to ask, because Uraraka just so naturally makes things about others and not herself. 

It’s already been elaborated why the reason Uraraka grew so perceptive. Uraraka’s parents were struggling to make ends meet and she grew up in poverty, and even if she has good parents that try really hard not to let the effect of this struggle show in front of her, Uraraka saw it anyway because kids are always watching their parents. 

Uraraka learned to be sensitive to her parents needs, to never demand too much for her parents, her behaviors all became centered around not becoming a burden to others. 

Uraraka thinks it’s only natural to put others first and help others before helping herself. That other people’s happiness is more important than her own. Because she’s someone naturally empathic. Because she’s someone naturally able to see the pain and struggle other people go through, because she grew up seeing it. However, the problem with this behavior is it makes Uraraka essentially a support to everyone else. 

Uraraka is constantly putting others up on a pedestal and using that as an excuse to lower herself further and further. As cute as her admiration for Deku is, it’s also a bit unhealthy - as she uses it as an excuse to beat herself up. She sees Deku as this amazing person, whose always struggling to help everyone, whose always saving everyone for completely selfless reasons and she always suffers in the comparison.

I think part of Uraraka wants to stand out like Deku does, and has the same desire to go all out to save people, but Uraraka is so used to being secondary in her own life she can’t bring herself to. 

Uraraka can’t even cry in front of others. I think, the most telling behavior she has in the entire series is the moment where she breaks down on the phone describing everything she did wrong because this is how Uraraka sees herself. She’s so extremely critical of herself, and constantly apologizing for herself, while at the same time hiding what she really feels from others.

Uraraka has all these self esteem issues that she basically just shelves so she can play the good, nice girl, that gets along well and is friends with everyone. 

Uraraka assigns the role of group placater and peacemaker for herself because it’s something she’s so naturally good at and she’s always thinking of others, but because of that, Uraraka herself suffers. Uraraka only knows how to help people by belittling herself and her own role in things. 

Uraraka’s greatest fear is being selfish. She doesn’t want to look like a bad girl. That’s the connection between Toga and Uraraka, because what Uraraka is afraid of ultimately is living her life the way Toga does. 

2. Bad Girl

Toga is everything that Uraraka is afraid of being, and lives the life that Uraraka is afraid of living. Uraraka is someone so afraid of being selfish, and getting distracted that she is not even allowed to have a crush on a boy. Whereas, Toga lives her life chasing what she loves. Everything Uraraka represses about herself, Toga expresses. That’s the difference between the two of them. 

When Uraraka first encounters Toga, her willingness to chase what she loves looks from Uraraka’s perspective to be entirely monstrous. Uraraka sees Toga as a selfish monster, because in part she is afraid of appearing that way. 

Toga Himiko the bad girl. 

However that’s far from the whole picture of Toga. When we see her away from Uraraka’s perspective she’s entirely different. She’s someone empathic, capable of being kind to others, and thinking about others feelings. 

Toga’s just as capable of reading other people and addressing their feelings as Uraraka is. However, there’s still a key difference in their behavior. Uraraka acts to avoid conflict. When she intervenes, what she usually does is act in a way that avoids stepping on toes, and touts the “we should all get along and be friends’ line. Whereas, Toga is someone who directly addresses the conflict and the hurt feelings of others. 

For Uraraka the most important thing is getting along with others. For Toga the most important thing is being true to her own emotions. Which is why she’s able to directly address the problem with Twice, she didn’t tell him to bear with it, she told him she knew he was in pain but that the two of them could take down the mafia together. 

Even Himiko’s most selfish monster moments aren’t really that monstrous. Himiko’s reason for stalking both Uraraka and Deku is not because she’s weird and creepy, but because she wants to be a normal kid just like them. 

Himiko’s reason for sucking the blood of high school girls and taking on their appearances isn’t because she’s preadtory, it’s because she’s been a runaway with no home for two years and she’s terrified of getting caught. 

Himiko who is framed as a selfish monster, is actually quite the normal girl. She’s a normal girl reacting to the pressures of the society around her. The kicker is that Himiko isn’t someone who just decided to flip and turn out this way, she is only the way she is because she tried to live like Uraraka did at first.

Himiko tried to push everything down and live like a normal girl. She tried to lie about herself so she’d be a good, nice, harmless girl. She only became so selfish, because she tried to live selflessly first. She only prioritizes herself, because she was used to putting herself down before this. We see her classmates react to her, they all describe Himiko was the kind of girl that Uraraka is right now. 

However, behaviors in Uraraka that are self-defeating and unhealthy, are absolutely ruinous in Himiko. Himiko has no sense of self, because she spent so long trying to be what others wanted her to be. Himiko is who she is, in reaction to the pressures of everyone around her. 

When Himiko tries to figure herself out, she always gets the same response. Why do you have be so selfish? Why can’t you just act normal? Which completely ignores the fact that she TRIED and that’s what got her here. 

The main difference between Uraraka and Toga is not one of them being good, and the other being bad. Toga’s been through way harsher life circumstances. Uraraka has parents that affirm her identity, and Toga’s parents deny her over and over again. 

The point of the good girl bad girl dynamic is that they’re both girls in the end. Yes, Uraraka’s never reacted as badly as Himiko has. However, Uraraka’s also never been pushed so far. In fact someone as empathic as Uraraka can be oblivious to the suffering of others. 

Uraraka doesn’t see what Himiko is going through, because she hasn’t suffered the way Himiko has. 

It’s like. When you have a good sibling and a bad sibling. The good sibling always behaves because they conform to the pressure their parents put on them. The bad sibling acts out in response to that pressure, and because of that their parents have to discipline them and they end up soaking up most of the parent’s attention. In that situation the good sibling can come to ressent the bad sibling for acting out and needing attention in the first place. 

Reasonable child and unreasonable child. There exist these black and white categories to define children into where one looks good and one looks bad, that actually totally fail to address the child’s behavior because people are complex and therefore don’t fit into black and white categories. But, Uraraka is still working with that black and white logic when it comes to heroes and villains. Even though she’s usually so good at sussing out the complex nuance of other people’s feelings. 

This is what’s happening here in this chapter. You can apply the dynamic between the two of them to the conflict at large. Toga is selfish for acting out and causing problems for others, because she wants her own personal grievances to be addressed. Uraraka is sefless because all she cares about right now is helping the most amount of people. Uraraka is willing to repress herself, and put others needs before her own, because what’s most important is everybody gets along.

However, Uraraka insinuates, the same way that Himiko’s parents once insinuated that Himiko’s acting out just makes her selfish. 

We’ve seen this conflict before. Himiko literally went into the conflict to ask this question. Do problem children like her count as “everyone”. However, no matter what happens this arc, no matter what critcisisms the villains levvy against the heroes we get the same hollow repettition of “Heroes save everyone”. Which is why Himiko looks just about to snap here.

Uraraka who is used to brushing conflicts aside and avoiding them for the sake of “everyone gettling along” sees the girl who can’t get along with “everyone” and calls her selfish. To Himiko, this is the same words she’s been hearing her entire life. “Why are you making a fuss? Why can’t you just be normal.” 

From one perspective, yes Uraraka is the one fighting seflessly because she’s just trying to save as many people as she can and Himiko is getting in the way of things. However, Himiko is someone who grasps the bigger picture. Himiko addresses the problem directly rather than sweeping it under the rug, there are people who aren’t saved by the hero system. Those people are just as in need of saving as what heroes deem to be innocent people. You can’t claim to save everyone and then ignore the suffering of people you deem as “bad”. Himiko seems like she’s acting selfishly, but then again she’s acting for the sake of people like Jin who died because heroes insisted that his life was less important. 

Uraraka is at the same time very perceptive to the suffering of others, and also very oblivious, and it has much more to do with personal hangups than anything else. She doesn’t want to see Himiko as someone similiar to her, because Uraraka is someone so deathly afraid of coming off as selfish. To the point that she treats people with genuine grievances against society as selfish childrens making demands for atttention. 

Uraraka is the one who can’t face herself, and therefore the answer she gives Himiko is to the effect of “Shut up and deal with it.” It’s a very personal thing for Uraraka once you realize that Uraraka has also been shutting herself up all this time, pushing herself down, always letting people walk all over. Uraraka is capable of putting herself aside for the sake of others, so as a result she sees people who can’t put themselves aside as selfish. 

“I can do it, so why can’t you? Why can’t you be normal?” 

I hammer down so hard on this point because there’s a difference between placating and conflict resolution. 

Placating comes from a place of “I want the conflict to go away” or “I want the hurt feelings to go away.” Placating is just saying whatever you think the person you’re talking to wants to hear in order to please them. It’s behavior that’s based entirely around avoiding conflict. Uraraka placates, she sweeps it under the rug, she swallows her grievances for the point of everyone happily getting along together. 

This placating also applies to the hero system at large. It’s not really designed to save everyone, so much as make the vast majority of people feel safe at the cost of the minority. 

When there is a problem does Hero society directly address the issue? Or do they sweep it under the rug for the appearance of everyone getting along?

I think the fact that every time a villain brings up a problem this arc, the heroes just shout “Heros save everyone” and “Heroes never give up” is evidence of the latter. That’s why, when Uraraka says it, when Hawks says it, “Heroes save everyone” just comes off as hollow because in the very same breath they both make it clear that Toga and Twice are not part of the everyone who gets saved. 

[agentnico]

The Suicide Squad (2021) Review

This may be the better of the two, but the first Suicide Squad film will always hold the crown for managing to win an Oscar... somehow.

Plot: The government sends the most dangerous supervillains in the world -- Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Harley Quinn and others -- to the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Armed with high-tech weapons, they trek through the dangerous jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Col. Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave.

“So that’s it, huh? We’re some kind of suicide squad?” says Will Smith in the original first film, with the line in itself being a poor attempt at a fourth wall break, yet, that movie never reached that promise of being a true Suicide Squad film. Because hardly anyone died, and as a whole David Ayer’s film was a generic mess, regardless of studio interference or not. In comes James Gunn from Marvel, who seems to have cracked the code for how to bring this comic book series to live action in proper gratuitous form, with even the ‘The’ in the title symbolizing that this is the one!

I remember going to see the first Guardians of the Galaxy film at the cinema, and back then I was still only just getting acquainted with watching western media, and that included superhero films. Heck my first ever Marvel movie was Thor: The Dark World! I know, what a banger to start with.......NAAAWT!! Anyway, I went to see Guardians and it was one of the first superhero films I came out of feeling like I truly witnessed something special. It had action, comedy and a good heart to it, and wouldn’t you know, my good old pal James Gunn was behind that flick. I don’t know why I called him my good old pal, I don’t even know the fella. Except in my dreams, but we don’t talk about that. So, flashforward to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which I absolutely hated, and for that movie I’m pretty sure Marvel gave Mr Gunn mostly full reigns of creative freedom, as long as he kept it family friendly, and the result was a mess. Hence naturally now I was really sceptical when James Gunn ended up at Warner Bros. following the controversial moment when cancel culture decided to aim it’s slimy fingers at him, as he was given directing and writing duties for this new The Suicide Squad film, and also it was heavily insinuated that Warner Bros. basically told him he could do with the movie whatever the f*** he wanted, excuse my French. And we remember how it panned out last time when James Gunn was given a lot of creative freedom. 

Flashforward to present day; here I am wondering and scratching my head thinking what in the heavens has happened, as by golly I am happy to report that The Suicide Squad is a total winner and a blast with a capital B - Blast! Gosh goodness golly goblin, this movie is so much fun from beginning to end. Right from the opening sequence you know that this film isn’t holding back any punches. It’s going at a 447.19 km/h speed of a Koenigsegg Agera RS crashing through any barriers like it’s nothing. Speaking of the opening sequence, it establishes why the movie is called what it’s called from the get-go. You straight away are proven how not a single character is safe, minus the obvious one that we know who it is, as there ain’t no way Warner Bros. would have allowed James Gunn to kill off that one character. But besides that person, everyone else feels like they could die at any given moment. That’s really a big charm of it, as it is frustrating how in many superhero films, let alone any blockbuster action flicks, so many characters always feel so safe and unstoppable, no matter how many times they get shot or how many buildings crash down upon them. And yes, this movie features a certain CGI character that constantly gets that treatment and survives, although it’s very self aware in that regard and is purposefully humoristic. But overall the entire set of characters feel easily disposable, and so so many of them die in such gruesome fashion, so indeed don’t get attached, as they don’t. 

Speaking of which, this movie is hardcore gory! You see limbs and intestines flying round left and right, a guy gets ripped in half by a humanoid shark, another’s face gets teared off by a shotgun bullet and so on forth in all kinds of gruesome fashion. Visually this is one for the big screen, as here’s the thing: you’re either a mummy’s boy or you grow some cojones and go see a man’s heart get stabbed with a piece of debris glass in 4K high rate definition! Your choice! Oh, and it’s not just the violence, also the cinematography and the practical set pieces all look incredible. This is easily James Gunn’s best looking movie. The entire think LOOKS incredible!

We also have to talk about the cast, as they are all great! There literally isn’t a single weakling among them. Each one, no matter how big or small their role is, brings something to the table. I can’t talk about all of them, as we’d be here all day, so I’m simply going to mention a few of the stand-outs. Idris Elba comes in to replace Will Smith as a character called Bloodsport, who is in some ways a different character but evidently is a replacement of Smith’s. But that’s no bad thing, as with any ensemble movie you still need a main character to latch onto and have an emotional hook towards, and he is that character. In fact, I’d say he’s arguably better than Will Smith in the last movie, or at least he seems to be having more fun here. He works as a solid leading man, however what works even more is his banterous competitive genital-size-measuring back and forth with John Cena’s Peacemaker, who by the way is awesome as that character. He is not a good character, in fact he is as bad as a bad guy can get, especially cause he’s someone who believes that what he is doing is right, making him much more of a dangerous wild card. This is easily John Cena’s best role, with him adding to the comedy one-liners, but also delivering such an interesting character who I’m looking forward to seeing more of in his standalone spin-off show confirmed for next year. Oh, and he wears a toilet helmet on his head which he defines as “a beacon of freedom” which says it all. We also have returning characters from the last film Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis as Rick Flag and Amanda Waller respectively, and both are given much more room to stretch their talents and spread their beautiful acting wings like the Hollywood angels that they are. Kinnaman’s Rick Flag is the moral compass of the group, as even though Elba is our main guy, he’s nonetheless a villain still, whilst Flag is a genuinely good guy and what is defined as a true American hero, to which Kinnaman fits the part well. And Viola Davis as Amanda Waller is on an absolutely different level. You can tell she’s an Academy Award winner through and through, as she plays such a serious character in an otherwise goofy movie, and so her presence is felt and it is felt BAD! She’s such a despicable yet intimidating personality and she gravitates all of the screen presence to herself. Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, and she gets even more chance to develop this character that she’s played in multiple DCEU films now, and as per usual the Harley Quinn shtick works well for her, though I do kind of wish she didn’t always get all the attention. Look, I think she’s a fun character and Robbie plays her well, however she’s constantly used to overshadow others in these films which I don’t think is too fair, and its evident as ever in this film too. Anyway, the remainder of the cast including Jay Courtney as Captain Boomerang, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Michael Rooker as Savant, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2 (who gave me strong A Plague Tale: Innocence vibes) and many more all play villains, but villains that don’t have particularly great superpowers. This is where the tragedy of Task Force X as a team plays a part, as many of these villains aren’t even good at being villains. They are useless, and the movie is really self aware of this and so treats all characters as they should be. Dare I also not forget to mention the CGI characters in this film, with both Weasel and King Shark being absolute scene stealers! 

The Suicide Squad is the type of wham-bam-thank-you-mam batshit crazy entertainment which exists for the pure reasons of fun. It doesn’t set out to be the best superhero film ever, nor does it need to be. It’s an exhilarating, shocking, funny and amusing ride from beginning to end, with the energy never stopping, and is easily the best time I’ve had with a comic-book film in a long while, and I’m even talking about before COVID! Do yourself a favour and watch this one as soon as you can, as I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - The Suicide Squad is a BLAST!!

Overall score: 9/10

[thexfridax]

Wynonna Earp Boss Hopes Syfy Finale Made You Feel 'All the Things' — Plus, Scoop on One Happy Wedding Accident

By Matt Webb Mitovich, tvline.com / April 9 2021, 8:02 PM PDT

The following contains spoilers from the Syfy finale of Wynonna Earp.

After four years of protecting Purgatory with her Peacemaker, Wynonna Earp got to quite literally ride off into the sunset. And she did so while straddling a motorcycle, with Doc Holliday seated behind her.

Mind you, the two almost didn’t wind up together. Following the simply beautiful “WayHaught” wedding, Doc (played by Tim Rozon) was determined to put Purgatory in Charlene’s rear view mirror and get to living life as “just a man,” and Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) felt compelled to stay put as Purgatory’s protector. But with an empowering nudge from li’l sis Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley), Wynonna caught up to her man and professed her love, after which they decided to travel light, for the first time in a long time, and pay their daughter Alice a visit in MIracles, Montana.

TVLine spoke with series creator Emily Andras about crafting this very fine finale, at least one “happy accident” that wound up stirring many emotions, and more.

TVLINE | The finale has just aired…. What emotions do you hope the fans are feeling at this moment?

Just head-to-toe body warmth, and love, and affection, and wistfulness…. And a little bit of bittersweetness. I feel like joy has to be paired with nostalgia, so I hope they’re feeling all the things. But hopefully not hungover!

TVLINE | At what point over the years did you ever envision Wynonna and Doc riding off into the sunset?

Ahhh! I almost never even let myself envision it, you know? It’s so funny — when you start doing a show, you have all sorts of ideas about what pairings are going to rise to the top, who’s going to end up with whom, and one of the joys of Earp is that so many different things have happened. But those two characters have certainly earned the chance to try to be happy, whatever that means to them. I never knew that I would be allowed to end such a romantic pairing with the woman driving the motorcycle and the guy on the back.

TVLINE | I’m watching that final sequence and it almost feels alien, seeing the two of them head off into what I think of as “the real world.” But I also found that viscerally exciting, to see so much ahead for them.

That’s so lovely, thank you for saying that. I feel like having the world ahead of them and being such an unusual couple, I would love to see what happens next for them. I’m sure there will be lots of crazy sex and crazy arguments and crazy laughter. So, godspeed! Godspeed.

TVLINE | When throwing a season-ending wedding, what is Emily Andras’ marching order? “Above all else, this wedding has to be…”?

It has to honor to all of the characters — and by that, I mean it has to try to find a moment for every special pairing on the show, not just WayHaught. I think it’s important to pay due respect to how far Waverly and Doc have come; she never gave up on him, she always saw a better man in him — and now he gets to be the best man! Nedley (Greg Lawson) and Nicole’s (Kat Barrell) relationship, that paternal/daughter bond is so special, so honoring that was very important.

And at the end of the day, I still think the real love affair of the show is the Earp sisters, so I ended to make sure that that was honored. I really love the parallel with the pilot, where Wynonna came into town against her will and was so hungry to leave but was forced to stay. And now you have Waverly secure enough in how their relationship has evolved, that she knows Wynonna deserves to leave again — because she’ll come back.

More than anything, it was about giving every character a moment of happiness. Even Jeremy (Varun Saranga) becoming deputy chief of Black Badge and maybe finding a new date…. It was all about finding everyone a moment of potential joy, after they’ve gone through so much after four seasons.

TVLINE | Talk about the decision to have empty guest chairs laid out with the names of those who are no longer with us or didn’t make it to the wedding.

That was such a happy accident. We were on-set, it was very much in the middle of the pandemic, and we knew we were going to have a limited number of people for the wedding. But then we put out chairs so you could understand where the aisle was, and they looked really empty. So my incredible director, Paolo Barzman, who also did the pilot, and my art director Trevor Smith, pitched this idea to me. I had sort of joked about, “Wouldn’t it be cool if you had the ghosts of characters past?” In the moment, they said, “What if we hung names on the chairs?” and it was just one of those goosebump moments, like, “That’s brilliant.” So then we have people writing up these cards, rushing them out, and it’s honestly one of my favorite things. Whenever I see that Dolls chair, I just can’t help but feel things.

TVLINE | But Mercedes (Dani Kind), to be clear, is still with us.

She’s just out, like, being her best vampire self. She’s out being an amazing vampire, yeah. I still have that spinoff if you want to help me sell that!

TVLINE | If anything caught me a bit off-guard, it was us getting a song from Rachel (played by Martina Ortiz-Luis).

The thing about Martina is that she is a phenomenal singer. She is the anthem singer for the Toronto Maple Leafs — so she’s quite a star here! — and she was on Pilipinas Got Talent back in the day…. It seemed like a waste to not have someone with such an exceptional voice perform! And what better song to lay over the necessary wedding montage than a WayHaught classic (Fleurie’s “Wildwood”), the song that was playing the first time WayHaught kissed. It’s a bit of an Easter egg for those hardcore WayHaughters!

TVLINE | I don’t think anyone would have ever felt like a “Dark Angel Waverly” detour was missing, if you hadn’t spent time on it the episode prior. Why did you feel it was important to go there during one of the final hours?

The truth of it is that honestly we’ve been balancing the spectre of whether we were going to have a Season 5 or not. When we started breaking Season 4 two years ago, we were looking down the barrel of about 24 episodes, so [when you get half that] you’re like, “What are we going to keep, and what are we going to pitch overboard? What can we live without learning about?” I would argue that this idea of Waverly having a darkness inside of her did have to be highlighted after four seasons. I completely agree that in a perfect world I could have done eight episodes of Dark Angel Waverly, exploring that and seeing it come to pass. But if we ever get more story, I don’t know if Waverly has complete control over that part of herself. I dont think it’s “gone.” If Nicole puts mayo instead of mustard on her sandwich, who knows what’s going to sprout out!

TVLINE | I mean, if only to see what other outfits Dark Waverly has.

As long as she keeps her thigh holster, she’s ready to go.

TVLINE | Looking back at these last few episodes, what are you most proud of?

‘m so proud of this cast. It’s so boring, but God, just to see them grow and thrive and shine…. performing comedy and emotion, seeing their commitment to the show, and the feelings…. It’s just been such a joy to see such an amazing group of people get their due. They really are that wonderful, off-screen as well.

I’m also pretty happy — in this day and age, and despite all the fights the show has been through — that if this is the end, I feel like that’s a pretty nice finale, a pretty good topper on the cake. I feel like the fans will feel like they went on a journey, and they left the characters in an interesting, good place. And look, that’s really rare in TV, to end your story the way you want. How can I be anything but grateful, at the end of the day?

TVLINE | When I was writing my tweet the other morning, I wanted to call it a “very fine finale,” but I worried you’d think I was saying it was only “fine.” But it was a very fine finale!

No, you have to keep me hungry! You get to challenge me, Matt. Listen, I just didn’t want to risk…. I’m the queen of 75 cliffhangers, but I feel like the fans have worked so hard for us, for so many years, that it was more important that they got closure, just in case. But there’s always another demon, there’s always another thing to trigger Dark Angel Waverly. There’s always more story, but at least you have this, no matter what.

TVLINE | And if some network or streamer does ride to the rescue, would there be something that brings Wynonna and Doc back to Purgatory? Or might a Season 5 be without the two of them?

Look, the show is called Wynonna Earp, so you need Wynonna Earp. She’s still the champion, she’s still got the magic gun and the best hair on the show — sorry, everyone else!

There are a couple of unresolved issues. We still have Eve, who we kicked out the the Garden very early in the season, and who can kind of shapeshift; she could take on the appearance of any one of our characters! That would certainly throw a wrench in the works in Purgatory. There are a million different reasons to bring Wynonna back, to help out her sister.

TVLINE | And lastly, was there anything you had to cut or just didn’t have room for, or any returning cast you couldn’t fit in?

Oh, tons. But look, you kind of hit the nail on the head earlier. I’m always striving to be better, and some stuff at the end felt a little rushed, with Dark Angel Waverly. I think if it hadn’t been a pandemic, there would have been more people at that wedding. I would have loved four more episodes to round the bend there. But look, that’s Wynonna Earp, man — perfectly imperfect! So that’s what we did, and what a ride it’s been. The ride of a lifetime for me.

[sincerelyella]

RAMifications Chapter 10 - So Emotional

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

Song Inspiration: So Emotional by Christina Aguilera

Pairings: Liam x MC (Ella)

Characters belong to Pixelberry; MC Ella Brooks belongs to me.

Summary: The entire idea for this came from @burnsoslow​​ and her unBEARable series. RAMifications was born and this is the story of how Ella met the love of her life Prince (and then King) Liam of Cordonia.

Catch up here

Warnings: Angst; some stupid life choices; adult language; sexual talk

Words: 1519

Ella had cried herself to sleep on the floor after the incident with Liam. She had half concocted a stupid plan to leave Cordonia and its Prince in the dust. Suddenly, several knocks sounded on the door, and Max’s voice carried through the thick wood. “Ellaaaaaa! Wake up!! It’s 7 am! We gotta go!”

With a groan, Ella picked herself off the ground and twisted the doorknob to reveal a grinning Maxwell.

“What’s cookin’, good lookin’?” Max studied his new best friend, and his smile faded. “What happened? Did Liam not last long last night?”

Ella rolled both her shoulders back to relieve the pain from sleeping on the floor. She ushered him inside and shut the door behind him. “Yeah, something like that.”

Maxwell’s eyes widened. “It’s because he hasn’t been with anyone for a while! I promise he’s better! There was this one time at a Beaumont Bash, he and this girl got together and maaaaaan the noises coming from that room-”

“Oh my God, Max, stop! I don’t wanna know!” Ella exclaimed as she waved her hands in the air.

“Sorry! Probably TMI. But when you said yes, I really just had to go with it.”

Ella sighed. “Max, you know when you’re watching a horror movie, and the girl’s like ‘Oh my God, there are weird noises in the basement. I’m going to see what’s going on in the dark in my underwear.’ And you’re all yelling at the TV like ‘What. Are. You. Doing?! Call the police!’ And then someone with some sense tells her to call the police, but it’s too late because she’s already pranced downstairs and is getting murdered?”

Max nodded slowly with a curious look on his face. “Umm, yeah, I’ve done that once before. Probably why I don’t watch horror movies!”

Ella chuckled, but there was no joy in it. “Yeah, well … that’s kinda like me in that horror movie.”

“Wait, what? What happened?”

“I … don’t want to talk about it actually,” Ella shook her head. “Are we leaving for Applewood?”

Max eyed her with some skepticism. “Yeah, we’re leaving in about an hour. B told me to come wake you up!”

“I just need to shower and pack my things,” she gestured to her clothes.

“I’ll do it! Just go shower.”

An hour later

Bertrand, Maxwell, and Ella settled in the limo on the way to Applewood. Max nudged Ella with his elbow.

“Hey, who’s Ethan?”

Ella’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“He called your phone like 20 times while you were in the shower,” Max’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t snooping, I promise!”

“I know you weren’t,” she sighed. “He’s the ex that cheated on me in LA. I left without a word, only told my parents where I was going.”

“Another man is vying for your affections?” Bertrand interrupted. “That is not appropriate! Your focus should be the prince!”

“Ethan is nobody,” Ella explained, exasperated. “And the Prince’s focus is clearly on several other women. Why am I even in this competition?!”

“This competition is all about the Prince and Cordonia! I suggest you switch your focus, Lady Ella,” Bertrand said gruffly. “You are representing House Beaumont!”

“Yes, thank you for the reminder.”

Maxwell, always trying to be the peacemaker, chimed in. “Why did you look like you were crying this morning?”

Ella sighed and waited for Bertrand to answer another phone call before answering. “I shouldn’t be here, Max,” she said softly. “This is a very different world that I have no business being part of.”

“You aren’t thinking of leaving, are you?”

There was a long pause before she began to speak. “I already bought my plane ticket.”

Maxwell stared. “Wh-what?!”

Ella flinched. “Shhhh! Keep your voice down,” she hissed as both of them turned to look at Bertrand, who was on the phone, barking out instructions.

“You’re leaving?” Maxwell whisper yelled. “What happened with you and Liam exactly?”

“Well, things were getting pretty … hot and heavy,” Ella felt her neck get hot, and her face flushed red. “And my shirt came off, and he pumped the brakes.” She covered her face with both hands in an attempt to stop herself from crying.

“Okay, that’s … bad,” Max murmured. “But I’m sure he had a good reason! Why don’t you sleep on it? I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning. We can do a movie night, and I can pierce your ears!”

“Max, my ears are already pierced,” distracted, Ella reached up to touch her friend’s earlobes. “I can pierce yours, though!”

“No, my mom always told me that pierced ears were for whores, pirates, and genies.”

Ella’s brows furrowed. “Wait, what?”

“See, you can’t leave, Ella.”

“He’s got a social season and can’t do anything like that with me. It makes me think that he won’t choose me in the end.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Maxwell cradled his head in his hands.

“Alright, you two, we’re here,” Bertrand interrupted. “Let’s get settled in; we have a lot to prepare for.”

The three of them piled out of the limo and were escorted inside the manor to their rooms. Max sat on Ella’s bed and looked at her with sad eyes.

“Are you going to go back to Ethan?”

Ella’s eyes widened. “What? No! I want nothing to do with that asshole. I don’t want to be embarrassed anymore than I already am. I don’t belong here, Max; I think I made a huge mistake.”

Maxwell stood from the bed and pulled Ella into a hug. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” he pulled back and wiped a tear away with the back of his hand. “What time is your flight?”

“It’s the redeye; it takes off tonight at 11:55 pm,” Ella brushed another tear from her friend’s cheek. “I’m sorry if I let you down.”

“You didn’t,” he sniffled. “I’ll go and set up a car to be ready to take you to the airport.” He gave Ella one last hug and let himself out of the room.

Ella decided to take a small nap before her flight and woke up to see it had gotten dark outside. She was surprised Bertrand hadn’t barged into the room and demanded to do some lessons. Checking her phone quickly for any text messages, and she found a few from Liam.

Liam: Ella

Liam: Ella, please answer me

Liam: I’m sorry about last night, can we talk?

Ella: Okay

Liam: I’ll come by tonight when I arrive.

**

Liam let out a sigh of relief. She’s going to talk to me. Thinking back on last night and why he even backed away from her in the first place made him cringe. He was so stupid. The last few days, he told her how she was her choice, but when it came time to show her, he failed miserably.

“Liam?”

His stepmother’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “I apologize, Regina, what did you say?”

“Are you alright? You seem a little … preoccupied.”

“I’m fine, thank you,” he met her gaze and smiled. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“A lot on your mind, like that California girl?” Constantine interrupted with a scoff, a touch of disdain in his voice. “She might be good for a night, Liam, but she’s no queen.”

Regina’s eyes widened. “Constantine!”

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You will never speak of her that way, father,” his voice boomed inside the limo as he enunciated every single word. “I don’t care who you are; if you ever talk about her like that again, it will be your last.”

An awkward silence settled as Liam and Constantine stared at each other, willing the other to respond. Finally, Constantine relented. “I … apologize,” he set down his glass of scotch into the ice bucket. “It seems I’ve had too much to drink today.”

The rest of the ride to Applewood was quiet, Regina and Constantine speaking in hushed tones and Liam thumbing absentmindedly through his phone.

**

Ella tossed her phone onto the bed, put her shoes back on, and walked out of the room to get some fresh air. Once outside, she saw an endless amount of trees, flower bushes, and greenery. She wandered through the beautiful gardens and stood in awe in front of a majestic tree that seemed to stretch for miles upward. An apple tree, of course. Ella smirked and tried to grab one, but it was just out of her reach.

“Seems like you need some help,” a deep voice cut through the chilly air as a hand grasped the apple that was hanging above Ella’s head.

“Uh, thanks,” Ella turned to face the mysterious voice and narrowed her eyes to see better in the dark. “Who are you?”

“My name is Tariq.”

[themonotonysyndrome]

The Queen’s Lynchpin

We’re getting to part 3 of the ‘Successors of the Future”! This week has gone back to being hectic so I could only write this part here and there for only a few hours. Still, I’m happy that I could finally finish it. 

And we have the names of MC’s and Yandere!Malleus children as well as his second wife and the other prince! Any piece of info from @tri3tri Second Wife AU is always fun to read! With that said, I’ll be adding their names into the 2 previous oneshots after this is posted so it’s all align. If you want to know more about this AU, please drop by at @tri3tri blog. Their content and drabbles are amazing!

Lastly, I think it’s alright if I don’t add the link and summary of the previous oneshots of this series in every new piece. The intro is just gonna be super long otherwise. But if you guys think that a link and summary it’s a good, please let me know I’ll be sure to add them in. 

-

“Uh Mama? Have you been hearing... noises in the middle of the night?”

“You mean your sister talking to her mirror in her room in the dead of the night? Then yes, sweetie.”

MC smile, deeply amused, when her son let out a huge sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s just her talking to Ren.” 

“I’ll tell her to keep it down if she’s talking to Renata at night, don’t worry.” MC assured him with a pat on his head. 

“Thanks, Mama. Say, do you have any plans for today?” Lucien’s sudden question was a little odd to MC. The three of them have been staying in the house - only going out for a grocery run - lately, and she didn’t have any plans to change it. 

“Not really. I was thinking to catch up with some leftover work from the office before Monday comes. Why? Do you want to go anywhere?” MC inquire curiously.

Lucien is quick to shake his head. “Oh, no, no. Umm... Mama, you often look so sad lately. We know that having Ren away at Twisted Wonderland has been hard on you, so I just thought maybe we could all do something to help make you feel better.” He explains with a bit of hesitance, wringing his hands. It’s clear to MC that this is one sensitive topic that he didn’t want to unintentionally hurt her with. 

MC couldn’t help but smile at how thoughtful her little one is. Really, all of her children can be rowdy in their own way but at the end of the day, she always noticed that they tried so hard not to make her worry. But as the parent, it’s her honour to protect her children - not the other way around. Which is why seeing the hesitant expression on Lucien’s face tugs her heart. 

“Oh, Luci. I didn’t mean to worry you and your sisters. It’s just that...” MC paused for a moment to think on how to properly express her feelings. “None of you has ever been separated from me. The issue with your father is one thing, but I can’t help but fret about your oldest sister. Is she eating well over there? Sleeping early on a school day? Oh, but then again, she does have a habit of waking up around 2 in the morning looking for a snack if she sleeps too early.” MC bit her lower lip, she should have told Renata during their last talk to keep some snacks in her room in case she gets hungry. 

Ever since Renata had first contacted Sherrie and taught her the communication runes and she in return, taught her and Lucien on how to draw them on any mirror in the house, they all have been talking to Renata through the large, hanging mirror in the living room every day. 

“We can ask her if she’s been waking up in the middle of night after our dinner, Mama.” Lucien assured their mother. He took her empty tea cup and pour some tea from the still hot pot and push the porcelain cup back to her. They were having tea and a light meal in the kitchen after he had woken up from his nap. 

Sherrie passed on their invitation since she’s too busy livestreaming her latest game in her room. From below, they could hear her muffled voice. 

MC took a sip and hums thoughtfully. “You’re right, Honey. I’ll be sure to do that. Anyway, you mentioned a family activity - what do you have in mind?” Perhaps a distraction is just what she needed to get her mind off Malleus and the inevitable danger he’ll bring. 

Lucien’s eyes brighten in delight. Happy that he could do something to cheer her up. 

“I found this recipe recently and I was hoping that we can all cook together? It’ll be fun I promise!” He pleaded. Among all her children, Lucien is the only one with the knack for cooking. Sherrie can make simple meals whenever she wants. 

Renata, however, needs to be supervised even if she wants to boil a pot of water. 

“Sure! I’d love to. So what’s this recipe you want to cook?” 

Much later when it’s almost dinner time and Sherrie wrapped up her livestream, MC and Lucien are already in the kitchen preparing to cook. Curiously, she glances at the list of ingredients and steps for dinner that was left on the kitchen counter and her eyes bugged out at what they were going to make. 

“I feel like there are things that mankind should never attempt lest the price be their sanity. And this? This is it!” Sherrie shrieked, flapping the flimsy paper incredulously at them. MC is preparing the dough while Lucien makes sure they got all the ingredients out and ready. 

“What? Boba pizza sounds delicious!” Lucien rebuke with a small frown. “And beside, you won’t know if you like them if you haven’t try.” 

Sherrie just slap her forehead at his words, as if she couldn’t believe this. “I know you’re pretty crazy for boba teas but this is ridiculous! Pizza dessert for dinner? Can’t we have something normal, Mama?” She pleaded their mother. 

MC toss her a playful smile as she rolls the dough. “Well honey, it does sound pretty exciting when you said it. Pizza dessert!” When Sherrie’s face scrunched up in disgust, she tries to coax her daughter, “Aww, c’mon, honey. Look, you can order a delivery for yourself but come have fun with us! I’ll even let you toss the dough if you want.” 

Sherrie folded after that. Honestly, making pizza - of any kind - is always messy process, but her children are having fun with smudges of powder on their faces and MC felt her heart lighten just hearing them laugh. Dinner might be unconventional tonight, but it was worth it to see Lucien enjoy eating his pizza and Sherrie reluctant admittance that it tasted alright, if a bit weird. 

Once the kitchen is all cleaned up and their stomachs full, they settled in the living room. MC and Lucien watched as Sherrie used her old, red lipstick to draw the runes on the mirror. The surface rippled once, sinking the runes and reveal Renata in her pyjamas beaming at them. 

“Good evening everyone! How are ya’ll doing?” 

“Hi sweetie. We just had dinner.” MC said, glad that her eldest daughter still looks healthy and happy. 

“You wouldn’t believe what we had for dinner.” Sherrie interjects dryly. The 3 of them are sitting on the couch with MC in the middle. “It’s so weird!”

“But you liked it!” Lucien countered with a smug grin before turning to his oldest sister. “We had boba pizza! It was amazing!”

“Boba pizza!? Nooo! I can’t believe you all ate them without me! I’ve been wanting to try them!” Renata whines. “I wish we can pass stuffs through the mirror. Wait - I might be able to do something about that actually.” She goes on to mutter about needing to bully the headmaster again.  

The family traded what they did during the day, Renata assuring them that yes, she had a storage full of snacks in her room and that her favourite lesson so far is Flying class. Once that’s out of the way, MC asked her daughter, “How are your assignments? Is Leona-senpai’s son helping you out?”

When Renata told them that her History’s assignment partner is none other than Leona’s son, MC was a bit worried if he carries his father prejudice against Malleus towards her daughter, but Renata assured her that other than his funny attempts at posturing and warning growls, Bakari Kingscholar has been nothing but civil and helping out with researching and editing their papers. 

“Yup! We’re nearly done with our homework and I think we’re friends now? He’s a bit of tsundere which makes teasing him so much fun!” Renata giggled. “You know, just today we decided to have lunch together after our assignment and when I went back to my room and check my bag, there was a candy bar inside. He must’ve slip it in when I told him that I snacked often.” 

Sherrie immediately drop her phone. She was mindlessly browsing through her Twitter account while they talked, but her attention perk like a hound dog. “Whoa, whoa wait - he bought you food when you told him that you eat often? Me thinks he might like you, dude.” 

MC’s eyes widen and Lucien gape. Could that be true!? 

But Renata just rolled her eyes. “Oh please, I think he was thanking me for not making him do all the work. You know those tough guy acts? Yeah, it’s nothing special.” 

Sherrie tilt her head, clearly not believing it, but keep it to herself for now. 

“Being the only girl in a school for boys must be tough.” Lucien mused sympathetically. “I’m glad that you have a friend with you, Ren.” 

“Well, Diasomnia students has mostly been friendly yet distant with me so far. Probably because of this,” Renata twirl her fingers beside her horns to emphasise her point. “But it’s cool. So far, no one tries to bully me or anything. And by the way, I’ve been staying out of trouble, Cherry. I haven’t even landed myself in detention so far.” She proudly announced. 

“Yet.” Sherrie snickers. 

Lucien frowns at her. “Ren has been working hard, Cherry. She’s been sticking to your plans, right? I seriously don’t think she will mess it up.” 

“Nah, it’s all cool Luci. I’ve mostly been blowing off steam during Magishift. It’s super fun! I wish you guys could play too.” Renata said and then proceed to explain to her siblings what Magishift is all about. 

That’s another thing that MC had picked up as Lucien grew up. Despite how close her daughters are, they do bickers as sisters tend to and Lucien usually act as the mediator and peacemaker between them when things get too heated. 

MC couldn’t help wonder if her sweet boy would ever be like this if he was raised in Malleus’ castle.

The family talked a little more until it was getting late. After bidding each other goodnight and MC telling her daughter to keep herself safe, she ushered Lucien and Sherrie to their bed and tucked herself in. 

That night, she dreamt of a past memory. However in her dream, all 3 of her children are laughing and free as they grow in her world. 

-

Now that Lucien thinks about it - he doesn’t really know what Sherrie plan is exactly. He’s aware that they’re doing their best to help Renata avoid being discover by their father as long as they can and Mama told her to make friends with the children of her old friends since they helped her out a lot during her school life in Night Raven College but other than that? He doesn’t know what they would do once father found out about their oldest sister. 

That particular though came back in his mind when he woke up from his sleep because he heard Sherrie giggling in her room. With blearily eyes, he checked the time on his phone and groan. 

It’s 3.15 in the morning. 

He push himself out of his warm bed with great difficulties and slowly padded towards Sherrie’s bedroom. 

He knocked twice and groan, “Sherrie? It’s seriously late. Why aren’t you sleeping yet?” 

“Shit, Luci-chan? Sorry, did I woke you up? You can come in if you want. The door is not locked.” 

With a tired grumbled, he swings open the door and zombie-walk to her sister who is sitting in front of her vanity table, talking to Renata. 

“Hey Luci! Sorry that we woke you up!” Renata apologised quickly, guilty that they’ve disturbed their little brother. “I was just reporting to Cherry that I found several hidden and unmarked paths that connects to father’s castle and to the outside world of the Valley of Thorns. I thought it might come in handy so I wanted to share it with her.” 

That sounds interesting to Lucien. He’s a little more awake now. “Did you use your spells to scout the area?”

“I sure did! Haven’t been caught by anyone or any bat so far.” 

“What... what does father’s castle look like?” Lucien couldn’t help but asked. It’s hard to believe that he and his family are actually royalty. That his Mama and sisters used to live in a castle. 

It’s still hard to accept that he’s actually a prince. 

“Gloomy.” Was Renata immediate reply. All her previous good humour vanishes and her hard glare surprises him. “We hardly get any sunshine because father controls the weather with his temper tantrums.”

“Not to mention that we had to live with basically strangers.” Sherrie added. “I never really feel comfortable around the castle’s staffs. Sure we got the family wing all to ourselves but we still had to deal with them.” Both Lucien and Renata understand her unspoken words: having to deal with judgemental strangers is difficult. 

“What are you going to do once father founds out you’re in Twisted Wonderland, Ren? Are you going to go hiding?” Lucien asked. 

It’s Sherrie who answered him, “No. We’re going to make sure that he can’t forcefully take Mama or any of us back to the castle. I just need a little more info and we can act once the 3 of us are in Twisted Wonderland.” She explains. 

“We suspect that once Cherry hits sixteen, the Ebony Carriage will also pick her up and by that time I’ll be in my second year as a student here. If that’s the case, we just need you here and then it’s the second phase.” Renata took over explaining here. “Rumours spread fast in Night Raven College, but it’s not going to reach to father. He’s in an isolated country. Well, not until he’s here.”

Lucien blink, now lost. “He? Who’s he?” 

“We have a halfbrother - Victor. He’s the same age as you, Luci-chan. Looks like father didn’t waste any time getting his second wife pregnant.” Sherrie said with a smile that honestly send cold shivers up his spine. It’s sweet with a poison laced underneath. Lucien seen this smile only once. A girl from school tried to blackmailed and bullied her into doing her biddings. 

He heard that the girl was transferred to another school in a different state soon after when news broke out that she was selling drugs with her boyfriend to the students. 

Lucien would like to believe that the incident had nothing to with his sister, but he’s seen what she does for Renata whenever she lost her homework or to the English Literature teacher that had an issue with her. 

So Lucien needed to asks this. “Are you... are you going to hurt him?” His voice is soft and careful. 

Through the mirror, Renata eyed Sherrie in which his second sister leans into her chair and relaxes. “I won’t, don’t worry. After all, he’s not at fault.” 

Words are Sherrie’s favourite playthings and at that moment, Lucien hopes she means it. 

-

Funny enough, I’ve been calling S/N (Lucien) as Luciel because it means light and I HC that MC sees him as the unexpected light that Malleus gave her. Her daughters are a treasure but Lucien serve as MC’s light. It’s fate! 

So far for Lucien, my main reference for him are two people actually. Dead Master from Black Rock Shooter and Nisha Labyrinth from Elsword! 

Will expand more on them as I continue to write. Also, I’m shit when it comes to timeline and ages so here’s my rough idea so far:

Renata = 16 years old (first-year student)

Sherrie = 15 years old

Lucien = 13 yeard old

I’ll change the kids’ age if Tri reveal them on their blog.  

[luxaofhesperides]

it showed me the world and said i’m not a part of it

@tucweek DAY FOUR: TEMPORARY

also on ao3 with an author’s note.

. . .

Nerissa looks at the Overlander, and only sees him leaving.

This is a gift of foresight, rather than prophecy. She does not have visions of the future that show themselves in rhymes and words, waiting to be carved into the stone walls of her home. She is nothing like Sandwich, who looked into the future and left warnings for them all, unable to decipher them fully until the events have come to pass. She does not see battles and glories; all Nerissa ever sees is people leaving.

Not once has she seen a future with a place for her in it.

Sandwich was praised for his visions; Nerissa is ridiculed for hers when each of her visions has come to pass. There are never heroes or villains in the futures (and pasts) she foresees. There are only bodies to be buried.

Nerissa looks upon the people of Regalia, of the Fount, and understands that she has no place among them. No one ever welcomes an omen of death, after all.

She keeps to herself, locked away in the Room of Prophecies, and waits for the future to meet them in all its unforgiving glory.

Here’s the thing about the future: there is only ever one outcome, but the pathways there are endless. It’s the choices made to get to the destination that alter what it really means. A message warning the Warrior about the death of a baby was not meant for Boots, but for the Bane. Anyone else would not have hesitated, but the Warrior has cared for others far longer than he has hurt them, and so his past choices lead to the future where he spared the Bane, if only for a moment.

The Bane will still fall at his hands, but not as a child. Death comes for them all, in the Underland. There is no escape.

The past is always what shapes the future. There is a reason why she divines past events when trying to understand what events wait for them ahead. 

The people of the Underland consult Sandwich’s words endlessly, pouring over his prophecies without ever acknowledges how looking at what he said in the past affects their future.

Nerissa says nothing about this, and stares into the still waters of her cup in the hopes of seeing something other than her face; a horrible face that only ever saw people as the corpses they would become.

She keeps her distance, watching the people live in a distance place called the present, and keeps her visions to herself.

It is lonely, but it is familiar.

If she chooses this herself, the scorn of others will not affect her so badly. 

(She still hurts. She has never been good at lying to herself.)

The loss of her parents, after a series of vivid dreams showing how they die, made her realize that everyone will leave one day. People are only ever safe when they are dead. All bonds and relationships are temporary. It will all disappear when the future comes. 

Luxa has only ever known the violence of the Underland, and the burning desire to live despite how often she convinces herself she will die. Nerissa looks at her and sees a crown on her head, bonds stronger than steel, and an empty throne besides her. 

How lonely. How inspiring. 

We are all children, Nerissa wants to say, when Luxa speaks of battle and death the way she used to speak of picnics and playdates. But that isn’t quite true: they are Underlanders, and this is how they all live. Children confront death quickly, and though it hurts, it is inevitable. Few live long, and even fewer die of old age. Such is the way of their world.

Could she live long if she went with you? Nerissa wants to ask the Overland as he looks through items found from the Overland, always forgein and always ready to leave. This is a silly question; their worlds are too different, and she can see clearly how the Underland has hurt the Overlander. He was not always a Warrior, nor will he always be. The scars will remain. 

Scars are the only thing the Underland can give. 

She sees Boots singing to crawlers and envisions a future where she lives in only one world, forgetting this one, and is happier for it. Her skin is dark, her cheeks are flushed, her body carries no scars, only laughter. 

She sees Hazard unable to sleep, and knows in the future he will venture to the Overland and spend much of his time away from Regalia, unable to feel at home without his father besides him. 

Nerissa sees them all leave and looks away.

“Cousin,” Luxa greets as she enters the Room of Prophecies. Nerissa doesn’t look at her, focused on running her fingers over the words carved into stone. The feeling of it keeps her grounded in the present instead of drifting away and being surrounded by visions of funerals.

“Cousin,” she says again. “I know this is strange, but I must know… What future do you see for me?”

Nerissa wants to laugh. She wants to cry. She knows that Luxa wants to know if the Overlander will return to her in the future. She knows she has no answer Luxa wants to hear.

But Luxa grew up when she wasn’t looking, too caught up in what will come to see what is already here. No matter the answer, Luxa will take it with grace and continue to live her life as a queen. 

“I thought you didn’t want to hear of my visions.”

“I wasn’t fair to you. Regardless of what others may think of you and your abilities, you will continue to see the future. It would be unreasonable for me to treat you badly for something you can’t control.”

Nerissa lowers her hands and faces Luxa. Already, she wears a crown. Or perhaps she has been wearing one for a while? Or… the crown is gone when she blinks. Another vision, perhaps.  Nerissa can’t remember when she last saw Luxa before her, instead of in the future. 

There remains two prophecies for the Warrior. The Overlander must come back for fulfill them. After that, however, there is no future for the Overlander to be a part of. 

She sways a little, letting go of her focus to allow the future to play out in bits and pieces before her. “The Overlander will end the war, and you will begin the peace. You will not be as alone as you think you are, but you will still be lonely in a way that can’t be changed.”

Luxa frowns and glances up at the Prophecy of Time. “It will happen soon, then,” she says. 

“Yes. Soon the Warrior will no longer be needed.” 

Nerissa watches as Luxa tenses, eyes dark and troubled. She knows how Luxa feels for the Overlander. It is hidden well under her focus on her responsibilities, but Nerissa has seen how Luxa relies on him, trusts him, is comfortable in his presence. She wonders, sometimes, what it must be like to love someone instead of mourning them.

“It is for the best. Gregor belongs in the Overland,” she says, trying to hide her hurt. 

The Overlander, the Warrior, Gregor. Nerissa has seen how much pain he will go through. Referring to him by his title rather than lets her keep her distance from him. It does not do much, but Nerissa takes her little comforts where she can. It would be unbearable otherwise.

“He does,” Nerissa agrees, and turns her attention back to the Peacemaker, hoping for that future to greet them soon.

“But there will be peace? As long as we endure whatever comes next, we will have peace?”

Nerissa nods, absentmindedly. This is a frequent guest in her nightmares: war that changes the very shape of the Underland, the peace that can only arrive on tides of blood. “Yes, there will be peace. It will come at a great cost, but there must be peace in the end.”

Luxa is silent for a long moment. Then she draws herself up, easily settling into her role as queen, and thanks Nerissa. She leaves after that, and Nerissa is alone again with only the ghosts of the future to keep her company.

A day before the Overlander arrives again in one of his frequent visits to the Underland, Nerissa wakes up gasping for breath. It is only practice that keeps her from screaming. 

Soon. The end is soon.

Nerissa looks out to the lights of Regalia, and can only see how they will go out. 

She stays silent. 

The only kindness she can offer is swallowing down visions of the future so she is the only one who suffers them. 

Whether this is a kindness to others or to herself has never been clear. 

Nerissa mourns the living, and keeps her place in the future, always watching but never a part of it.

[lauwrite1225]

Splendide mendax. Aldhelm x Eadith

Summary : Aldhelm has always had a bad eye on Aethelred's mistress, Eadith. But the turn of events teaches him that he shouldn't have misjudged her so fast.

A/N: I announced it, and there it is, my new crackship.

It isn’t a surprise to Aldhelm when Aethelred removes him from his position as Commander of his household soon after the battle against the Danes. He can’t tell if he is relieved, this position so close to the Lord of Mercia was giving him the possibility to at least temper him. But Athelflaed undeniably represents his idea of what kind of leader Mercia deserves, and being her trusted man has more value than any title.

No. What comes more to a surprise to him is the man who succeeds him one day. The young son of a Mercian traitor, ambitious despite the disgrace of his family. Aldhelm can’t really blame the boy for his ambition, who wouldn’t try anything to take back what they lost? However, it doesn’t mean he likes it either. He knows Aethelred and someone pouring honey in his ear would only increase his delusional goals. 

But what makes Aldhelm even more weary of Eardwulf’s intentions, and mostly the manner he wants to reach them, is the presence of his sister, Eadith. A pretty flower she is, with her fiery hair and emerald eyes. She laughs and smiles all the time, and as much as Adhelm finds the sound and vision quite pleasant, he can’t help but see through it. The way she regularly seeks for Aethelred’s gaze across a crowded room and her fingers lightly grazing over his arm when he is close enough to her. Athelflaed doesn’t miss it either and despises it. Not that she is jealous, she hates her husband even more, but she doesn’t like the woman’s intention toward Aethelred and she fears for her own life. After all, he already tried to have her killed on his own, an over - ambitious woman whispering in his ear is all he needs to try again. 

So, it’s more out of support for the Lady of Mercia that he starts to dislike Eadith and keeps staring at her with a bad eye. And it doesn’t fade with time. In early summer, Aethelred plans to attack the Danes while they are supposedly sailing toward Ireland and neither he nor Athelflaed doubt this decision to be the result of Eardwulf and his sister’s plans. But things don’t turn as gloriously as it should have and saxons, mercians and welshs find themselves united against the Danes. And despite a great victory that Aldhelm claims proudly to have been led by Athelflaed, it has cost many lives, and mostly one that will bring discord in Mercia : Aethelred’s. 

Now Mercia needs a new Lord but Ealdormans can’t agree on a man and Edward suggests that a peacemaker should be nominated. Of course, it’s Eardwulf that is chosen, the man he is sure is at the origin of this mess. And Aldhelm is now pacing in circles in his bedroom, trying to find a way to reverse the situation until a series of knocks brings him to a halt. He opens the door, his eyes widening in surprise at the woman standing in front of him, looking nervously around to make sure they aren’t being watched. 

“Lady Eadith.” He says, scanning her from feet to head.

She finally dares to look at him, her fingers playing with one of her bracelets. “Lord Aldhelm.” She looks another time behind her, Aldhelm following her gaze. When she turns to him again, she straightens her shoulders, a determination mixed to what he guesses is fear burning in her eyes. “The Lady Athelflaed needs you.” He furrows his eyebrows, confused by what sounds like a plea. “My brother locked her up for her to mourn her husband. But I think it’s more to have her out of his way.”

Aldhelm’s hand holds the handle of the door tighter, he should have predicted such things to happen. At least, Uhtred is already gone to protect Aelfwynn from Edward’s men in charge of bringing her back to Aeglesburgh and to her betrothal, Eardwulf again. He opens his mouth to thank her for this information, but suddenly, the thought of her brother makes him weary again. She’s Aethelred’s mistress and her brother is about to have the highest position in Mercia, why would she betray her brother now, when what they have been seeking to take back, and even more, is finally in their hands.

“Why are you telling me that?” He asks, almost coldly and despite the fact that they have never really talked to each other before, it shocks her and she makes a small step back. 

She looks down to the ground, her arms wrapping around her chest as to hide her sudden vulnerability and Aldhelm regrets the roughness of his words. “I think we all can make a mistake on the person we should believe in.” She says shamefully, looking up to him with sorry eyes. 

Aldhelm clenches his jaw, feeling more concerned than he wishes he would have been by her words. His hand loses grip on the handle and comes to scratch his beard as he thinks of a way to put Athelflaed out of this situation. Eadith patiently stares at him, but she starts to play again with her bracelets, the cling of the metal reminding Aldhelm of the time passing. 

Eventually, he stares back at her, not missing the light of hope in her pupils. “Tell Lady Aethelflaed that I will wait for her with horses to flee out of Aeglesburgh. But you must tell me in which room she’s locked up.” Eadith nods vigorously and she immediately indicates him the exact location of the room before they take different directions. 

Thanks to Eadith, an hour later, he and Aethelflaed are riding out of Aeglesburgh in the night with only the moonlight to allow them to see through the darkness. Even the Lady of Mercia is stunned by the sudden change of side of the red hair who’s now riding to find Uhtred and his men to warn them of their changement of plan. 

During the following days, Aldhem thinks occasionally of Eadith and how she bravely decided to go against her brother. It reminds him of his own realisation about Aethelred and he regrets having judged her so badly all this time. He also didn’t properly thank her for her precious help and fortunately, God gives him the occasion to.

He crosses her in Aeglesburgh’s palace corridor the morning after he came back with Aethelflead, Sihtric and Young Uhtred, dull and mourning as they thought the poor Aelfwynn had succumbed to the sickness. But thanks to Eadith again, they were wrong. And so, when he sees her in her purple dress, now rid of its brightness after spending days crossing the countryside, walking gracefully, he gives her a smile. She immediately slows her pace, averting her eyes as Aldhelm keeps walking towards her. 

When they are close enough, Aldhelm joins his hands behind his back and clears his throat. “I should thank you Lady.” He keeps smiling and she raises two surprised green eyes. “And I also should ask you for forgiveness for having misjudged you.” He adds, bowing his head slightly.

Her mouth falls agape, blinking several times at him. And suddenly, she giggles, a sound more beautiful and pleasant than any bird song Aldhelm has ever heard. She stretches out a hand, wrapping it around his arm, her thumb lightly grazing over the fabric of his sleeve and his still joined hands part. This time, it’s him who’s almost too shy to meet her eyes, but when he finally dares to, he is rewarded by their softness and brilliance. “You’re forgiven Lord Aldhelm.” She smiles kindly. 

Her hand drops to her side again and with a last smile and a small nod, she continues her way through the corridor and Aldhelm can’t help but watch her leave him until she disappears from his sight. He lets out a sigh, realizing he has been holding back his breath. Maybe it had been his greatest mistake, to have misjudged her. 

[argylemnwrites]

I Fold

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (Book 1, chapter 12)

Word Count: ~2400

Rating: PG-13 (language, mild sensuality)

Summary: Spending time with her always feels like a gamble

Author’s Note: Written for the @choicesmonthlychallenge for August 21 - temptation. With TRH3 coming out today, I found myself feeling a little bummed that I had no desire to play this series I once loved, so I decided to throw this together to revisit a time when I adored this series and these characters.

Drake stepped into the lounge almost tentatively, scanning the room quickly from the doorway and letting out a sigh when he confirmed he was alone. He didn’t want to think about the fact that there was a lot of disappointment mixed in with his relief at that realization.

He walked over to the bar, rooting through the bottles of liquor until he found the Bushmills he was looking for. He had no reason to suspect that she would be joining him tonight. She wouldn’t even know about this lounge at Applewood. But then again, she’d stumbled upon him in that lounge back at the palace without any warning, and she hadn’t exactly known where to find him then, at least at first. It had been pure coincidence.

The truth he didn’t want to admit was that he’d rather enjoyed the handful of nights they’d spent drinking whiskey and playing poker. Before they’d made the trip to Applewood, it had kind of settled into a late night tradition, with her waiting for him in the lounge after the first couple of times. But now, things were apparently back to normal, which Drake knew in his soul was for the best. Since his birthday yesterday, he was having thoughts he definitely shouldn’t be. Or rather, more thoughts he shouldn’t be. But part of him still just wanted to spend a little more time with her.

He took his glass of whiskey and headed for the couches, pulling out his phone and trying to not feel let down that it looked like she wasn’t joining him. After all, he’d never had problems drinking alone before she dropped into his life. So, he pulled up scores from the football matches today and was ready to watch some highlights when he heard the door creak open.

His eyes flew to the door in an instant. There she was, her dark hair swinging as she glanced around the room, a smile appearing when she met his gaze.

“There you are. I’ve been hunting for where you might be hiding,” she said, stepping fully into the lounge, closing the door behind her. She’d changed into a pair of tight jeans and a loose, purplish sort of top. She looked good, so much more comfortable than he’d seen her all day. “After not only being forced to bake today, but forced to bake with Olivia, I definitely need a drink.”

Drake moved to stand up and pour her some whiskey, but she shook her head. “I got it. Why don’t you find some cards?” And just like that, she was striding over to the bar like she owned the place. His eyes drifted down, watching the way her hips and ass rolled in those jeans before he snapped out of it, jerking his head to the side and standing up, running his hands through his hair as he made his way to the small cupboard off to the side. He needed to stop. He couldn’t let himself get carried away here.

“What’s on the drink menu tonight?” he heard her call out as he dug around, trying to find a deck of cards and some poker chips.

“Bushmills, but if you want something else, Liu-”

“Nah, that’s fine with me.” He heard the splash of liquid into a glass as he continued his search. He eventually found an old deck of cards, but there did not appear to be any chips.

“How’s the hunt going?” she asked, her voice much closer. She must be at the coffee table.

“I don’t think there are any poker chips here, Liu.” He reached his arm in as deep as he could, feeling around the back of the cupboard, but he was still coming up empty.

“Hmmm. Do you have any cash on you? We could use that.”

He pivoted to face her, finding her sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, her arms wrapped around her knees. “Are you literally trying to take my money? Because of all your potential marks at the manor, I’m probably the dumbest choice.”

She threw her head back and laughed at that, deep and rich, her black hair hanging like a surreal curtain behind her. “Maybe I just figured I could start small, gradually work my way through the court!” He chuckled lightly at that before she continued, “But seriously, I don’t know. I was just trying to come up with something we could use. So unless you have other ideas…” She trailed off with a little shrug, her dark eyes wide as they locked on his. The silence that followed was tense and expectant. 

Drake swallowed roughly. He could think of one option besides poker chips as he let his eyes drift across her body, picturing each piece of clothing she was wearing piled on the table in front of her. Those damn jeans that fit her like a second skin. That shirt that was loose and slipping off her shoulder just a bit. The bra he knew was blue based on the strap he could see on that shoulder. Her panties, probably not a matching blue, but still undoubtedly perfect, regardless of color.

He tried to reign in his overactive imagination, dragging his eyes back to her face, shocked to see a coy little smirk on her face. It almost felt like she was flirting, like she wanted him to suggest strip poker or something, but he knew he had to be just imagining things, so he shook his head to get that way too appealing fantasy out of his mind, twisting back to the cupboard and looking at their actual options.

“How about Scrabble tiles?”

There was a slight pause before she answered, “That could work.”

So he tugged the old box of Scrabble from the shelf and joined her on the floor, resting his back against the couch behind him as he set the game on the coffee table and handed her the deck of cards, ignoring how her fingers brushed against his as he did so. As she shuffled the deck, he sorted out the tiles, dividing them into vowels and consonants, then sliding half of each pile over to her. 

“Alright, vowels are one, consonants are five, ante is one? That work for you, Liu?”

She nodded. “Five card draw?” They’d mixed it up a couple of times, but they seemed to both prefer the standard.

“Sounds good.”

And so she dealt the cards. He watched her hands as she briskly alternated placing cards in front of each of them. He noticed a bit of glitter in her pink nail polish. He wasn’t sure if she knew that wasn’t exactly appropriate for court, or if she did and it was a tiny bit of rebellion. He liked to think it was the latter.

“So, how long do Apple Court cup-bearer duties last?” Riley asked as she picked up her cards, scanning them over without changing her expression. “Should you have tasted my whiskey before I had any?”

Drake lifted his eyes from the five cards he was holding to look at her. Her eyes were bright and playful, an eyebrow cocked and the corner of her lips quirked up.

“Ha. Ha,” he deadpanned, looking back at his cards, trying to decide whether he should play it safe and keep his pair of tens, or trade in one of them and to go for a flush as he tossed in an “I” as his initial bet. “Nice to see the power of being fake queen is already going to your head. Good practice for when you’re actually queen.”

She let out a little hum at that, but didn’t say anything else when she matched him with an “O.” It surprised Drake, as normally she gave as good as she got. But for whatever reason, his little teasing comment didn’t draw a response from her. He wondered if he’d struck a nerve. That hadn’t been his goal, but maybe she was worried he really saw her as just as stuck up and irritating as the rest of them. He didn’t know how that could be, because who else at court would sit on the floor and drink whiskey straight up with him? But this place tended to have a way of screwing with minds. He knew that better than anyone probably.

“Liu, I was just teasing. I know you aren’t-”

“It’s not that,” she interrupted, shaking her head lightly as she took the three cards he offered her and passed him three new ones from the deck. “It’s just… Do you really think I’ll be queen?”

He felt a gnawing in the pit of his stomach. Of course she was just worried that Liam wasn’t as interested as she was. She didn’t care how he saw her at all. He glanced at his new cards, disappointed to find nothing useful. The pair of tens was going to have to be good enough. He tossed an “E” tile into the pot before he answered, “Liu, I’m not gonna act like a teenager and gossip about my best friend’s feelings. You are smart enough to see that-”

“That’s not what I meant. I… sometimes… I don’t know. I just don’t feel like I’m cut out to be queen, you know?”

His eyes jumped to her face, but she was staring at her hand, aggressively avoiding eye contact with him as she tossed in a “K” tile, raising his bet.

“Liu, where is this coming from?” He kept staring at her, trying to determine what she wanted here. Did she want a confidence boost and pep talk? Or did she want his honest assessment? Because while he was sure she could be an amazing queen, a breath of fresh air, bringing common sense and real world experiences to the role, he also was scared of what being queen might do to her. To be queen was to play peacemaker, to embody decorum and diplomacy at all times. And she was too fierce, too intense, too free to ever be truly happy locked away in that gilded cage.

She gave a little shrug after a moment, finally looking up to meet his eyes. “I just don’t have anything in common with any of the other suitors. I’m nothing like them at all, and it just makes me wonder if I’m right for this. They’ve trained all their lives for this shit, and if I am so different from them, then I don’t see how I am remotely the right choice.”

“Your differences from them are why you are the right choice, Liu. You aren’t sheltered or out of touch or completely stuck up your own ass.”

“I just don’t know. It feels so weird and the closer the Coronation gets, I just…” she trailed off, biting her lip and staring at him with those damn eyes. She looked lost and unsure, and he wasn’t used to that.

“Did Olivia or Madeleine say something today?” It was the only thing he could think that would have made her suddenly unsettled.

Riley shook her head aggressively. “God no! And I know better than to let anything those bitches say get to me. I’ve just been thinking about it more lately, and I just can’t picture myself sitting there with a crown on my head and a smile plastered on my face.”

Drake shrugged. She wasn’t exactly wrong, and he wasn’t going to lie to her. She would have to put on a happy face publicly a lot when she married Liam.

When he didn’t say anything, she kept going. “Sometimes it all just feels so surreal, like I’m an actress in some cheap romance movie. I don’t know… I guess the only times I feel like I’m still a real human are…” 

Her eyes dropped to the surface of the coffee table as she trailed off again. He followed her gaze, surprised to see her hand mere millimeters from his, his little finger nearly touching her thumb. It happened almost in slow motion, as he watched her thumb scoot over, brushing over the back of his hand deliberately.

Drake looked up and was shocked to find her staring at him, her gaze so intense it almost felt like it could cut through him. He didn’t know what she was looking for, what she was searching for in him, but he couldn’t bring himself to break the moment, to look away. So he stared right back. The urge to slide their hands together, the temptation to lean over and kiss her was so strong, he almost felt himself leaning towards her.

But he knew he couldn’t. It would be a massive mistake. She was just getting worn down by the stresses of the social season, and she was looking for comfort where she could find it. He knew it had to be true. Hell, the only reason she kept coming back for these midnight poker games was probably because she just needed a moment away from all the pressure and he kind of just represented the antithesis of that whole world. It had nothing to actually do with him beyond his outsider status.

She was here for Liam. He should be the one to kiss away her worries and fears, to hold her close, to reassure her. Drake was just supposed to keep an eye on her, not steal those intimate moments. So he closed his eyes, trying to break the spell it felt like she had him under with her stare as he cleared his throat, sliding his hand back. “I fold.”

He opened his eyes to find her still staring at him, an almost skeptical look in her eyes. He felt his cheeks getting slightly warm with her continued attention, so he shoved the handful of Scrabble tiles over to her, trying to move this evening back in a safer direction. “Here, just take your damn winnings so I can deal the next hand.”

She didn’t say anything as she tossed her hand onto the discard pile and handed him the deck. Out of curiosity, he flipped over those five cards. The five of clubs, the three and nine of diamonds, and the six and Jack of spades. She had nothing, had been bluffing the entire time.

“What can I say? Sometimes you just need to raise the stakes.” He glanced up at her statement and saw her watching him. “What did you have?”

“It doesn’t matter, Liu.” And with that, he shuffled his hand into the deck, dealing the cards out without saying another word. From where he was sitting, the stakes were already high enough.

Permatag: @choicesficwriterscreations  @walkerswhiskeygirl   @riley--walker  @bebepac @ravenpuff02 @oofchoices @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5  @mfackenthal  @thequeenofcronuts  

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @iaminlovewithtrr @ao719 @mskaneko @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @axwalker @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC: @no-one-u-know @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria  @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @notoriouscs  @drakesensworld @drake-colt-lover-99​

[mystic-shadows42]

The Wolf and Sheep

Pairing: Ubbe x reader (series)

Warnings: Language and Violence

You felt Ubbe’s hand brush your hair back. He was always so gentle and soft when it came to you. That’s one of the reasons why you loved him.

You opened your eyes to see him already looking at you. He smiled making your heart flutter.

“What are you doing?”

“Admiring you.”

You huffed out a laugh. Your appearance in the morning was nowhere near worth admiring. It was still sweet of him to say.

“How did I get so lucky with you?”

“The gods wanted us to be together. You’re stuck with me now.” He said as he flashed his smile at you.

You laid your head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

“Are you still going hunting today?”

Ubbe brushed his fingers through your hair as he looked up at the ceiling. 

“Heard rumors there’s some sort of animal going through towns destroying everything. A catch like that is worth something.”

“Is it? What if you get hurt? I can’t begin to comprehend that.”

“The only reason why I’d risk it is for you. For your safety. Then once we catch this beast, think of all the stories we can tell our children. It’ll be a tradition. We’ll be old sitting around the fire watching as our family grows their own thinking we made such a thing happen.”

“That’s a pretty picture.” you hummed along with him. You looked up from his chest and captured his lips with yours while he was caught off guard.

He reciprocated the kiss molding his lips onto yours.

“When you come back we’ll have to work on creating our family.”

He smiled as you gave him a knowing look. You traced your finger on his chest loving how it sent shivers down his body at your touch.

Ubbe brought your hand up to his lips as he kissed it.

“There’s nothing more I want than to have a family with the woman I love. I’d be proud to father your children. I always dreamt of having a family and settling down. Now that’s all going to finally happen. Thanks to you.”

“You weren’t hard to lock down.”

Ubbe chuckled at your words. It was no secret that he had gotten around before but as soon as he locked eyes with you for the very first time he knew he was done for. He was done with his previous lifestyle.

You had him wrapped around your finger and he knew it too.

You patted his chest and started to gather his belongings that’ll he’ll need for his hunt.

“Do you have everything you need?”

Ubbe had a tendency to forget to take a lot of things when he goes hunting.

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll be home sooner than you think.”

“You’re not going alone right?”

“I’m going with my brothers and others who volunteered. Otherwise, it’d just be Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar. Who knows what they’d do without me there?”

“You’re right. Always the peacemaker.”

You kissed his lips briefly. “Be safe.”

“Always.”

You were about to go outside when Ubbe pulled you back.

“Do I get a kiss?”

You pecked his lips. 

“For protection.” You said as he stood there with his arms crossed waiting on you to attend to him.

Kiss. 

“May the gods watch over you.” 

Kiss.

“May you have luck on your journey.” 

Kiss. 

“May you come back to me.”

Kiss.

Ubbe cupped your face in his hands. “I’ll always come back to you. If we can’t find it before sundown then we’ll head back. It’s not worth it if we risk it all.”

“I thought you said it was, earlier?”

“If there’s a chance then yeah, but if its something that ends my life and keeps me from you, then no. Killing this thing is a bonus. You are the prize, my love. One I’d like to come back to.”

“Such a sweet talker.”

Ubbe kissed your lips synchronizing his mouth with yours. His lips were soft and his hands on your face were rough but gentle at the same time.

Ubbe was reluctant to let you go. He made this kiss last longer than the others.

When he finally pulled away he watched your reaction. He always enjoyed watching as your eyes were closed and your lips plump after he kisses you.

When you opened your eyes you couldn’t help but shy away from his gaze. He just had that effect on you. Every time.

“You better be off. Be safe my love.”

“Always.”

After Ubbe left you prayed to the gods that he and the others would return safe and that the beast would be brought down.

It brought you some peace of mind. Although, your mind never seemed to ease whenever Ubbe would leave. Even for simple trips. He would constantly plague your thoughts.

If wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t getting dark already. You stared at Ubbe’s now cold food as you continued waiting. Everybody was indoors early since the stories of a beast had begun circling around Kattegat.

A sudden commotion brought a few on comers outside to investigate. You opened the door and saw people gathered in one area. You followed them to see what was happening.

A man stumbled onto the floor disheveled with blood all over his clothes.

You got closer and noticed he had gone with the hunting party that left earlier.

“There... was a beast,” he said out of breath.

“Where’s everybody else?”

He shook his head rapidly.

“We have to go out there for potential survivors.” A person spoke up.

“No way! I’m not going out there again.”

“Out of the way! Move! Get back!”

All the commotion brought more attention to the people wanting to know what was going on. There were a few more people coming from the woods headed in.

You tried to get a look to see what was happening but the crowd kept you in place increasing your frustration.

People in the crowd began to turn towards you and parted a path. It confused you but you made your way through nonetheless.

“Oh my,” you covered your hand over your mouth at the sight of Ubbe. He was covered in blood which seemed to be endless.

You didn’t know where it started and where it ended because there was so much blood. He was practically drenched in it.

The healer cut off his shirt and exposed his skin what was left of his skin. The crowd from behind clamored at the sight.

Some had to look away. It was a bloody mess. You didn’t know how Ubbe was still alive after such an attack. But yet he was still breathing. Faintly.

There were substantial gashes on his body. Where there was hardly any skin left.

“What animal could’ve done this?” You asked the healer.

“I don’t know but from the looks of it, it had to be of an incredible size to do this to a grown man.” The healer looked at you with remorseful eyes. “It’s best you say your goodbyes. He probably won’t make it through the night.”

You couldn’t fathom the possibility of losing Ubbe. It seemed unreal. Everything was fine this morning and now he was going to die.

Tears fell down your face blurring your sight of him. You wiped them away quickly and continued to stare at him.

This was the love of your life. No words could possibly do him justice for what he brought into your life.

You wanted to hold him but you were afraid to. Any wrong move on your part could possibly cause him pain or to bleed out even more.

“I love you, Ubbe. I love you so much. You’ve brought me more joy than you can imagine. Thank you, so much. Rest now.”

You kissed his forehead and brushed his hair back.

Tagged: @belovedcherry​ @lordsexmachine​ @lol-haha-joke​ @mariaenchanted​

[out-of-jams]

Gossip Girl

↠ Gossip Girl ↞ Part of my Bangtan Netflix series!

Every year, you and your seven childhood friends spend the holiday weekend together at Jin’s resort in the Alps. It’s always a good time: drinking, the occasional recreational drug, and the divulging of secrets. It’d been another routine, fun weekend with your friends.

Until one of you leaked everyone’s secrets to the city’s biggest gossip site. Should be easy to find out which one of you did it, right? Who was responsible for dragging everyone’s reputation into the dirt? Too bad no one could remember what had happened that weekend. Or so you all say.

Which one of eight, pretty little socialites spilled their ugly truths? Why, that’s a secret I’ll never tell.

                                           xoxo

                                     Gossip Girl

              Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

              Warnings/Genre: Mature themes. Socialite!au. Gossip Girl!au. Explicit language. Fluff. Angst. Backstabbing. Mystery. Drug use. Alcohol use. Light violence. Allusion to criminal activity. Friends to lovers.

              Word Count: 18.5k

A/N: Whew! This was a beast for me to write let me tell ya! But it's also my first one shot of this size and caliber. Well, and my first time writing smut too (cringe). Hopefully it turned out well.

All of my works are purely fiction. Everything I write is my intellectual property and therefore belongs to me. ©out-of-jams. Do not copy or repost without permission.

                               | | Masterlist | |

             Hey Upper-Eastsiders, Gossip Girl here: your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. And do I have the biggest news ever. One of my many sources sent me something that I think you’d all like to see.

Not even the gentle hum of the elevator could drown out the sound of your rapidly beating heart. While you watched the golden lit numbers above the steel doors count up as you ascended, you couldn’t help the shaking of your hands. You had maybe fifteen more seconds to pull yourself together.

Your mascara coated eyelashes tickled your cheeks as you squeezed your eyes shut. One, two, three. That was all you gave yourself before you opened your eyes and stood up straight. The silk yellow ribbon tied around your neck threatened to strangle you to death, but you ignored it in favor of the elevator doors opening.

Cigar smoke. That was the first scent to assault your nose.  

Fuck.

Jin only smoked cigars when he was overly stressed and on the precipice of a meltdown. He always complained that they damaged his beauty. Like the tobacco would somehow come to life and mar his face. He always was overdramatic.

Now, however, you were almost tempted to steal one for yourself.

The deep vocal fry of Hoseok’s voice met your ears as you stepped out of the steel box. Heels clacking against the glossy wood finish of the penthouse of Jin’s hotel, you rounded the corner of the foyer. The fancy, grey bricked finish of the walls were normally familiar-- comforting. But now it chilled your veins with ice.

Standing at the bar in the living room, Namjoon was pouring himself a generous serving of scotch. His silver colored hair was glossy under the overhead lights. He must have just recently bleached it since it’d been honey blond just a day ago. Namjoon’s back was to you, but at your entrance he turned with a glass of liquor in hand.

Jin paused from where he was pacing a hole into the expensive persian rug he’d purchased last summer abroad. The pink jacket of his suit was discarded on top of the pool table and the long sleeves of his white button-up were rolled to his elbows. A fat, half-smoked cigar dangled from one of his slender hands, the other moving to push his dark hair away from his forehead. Jin’s normally grinning plump lips were pursed in irritation, nostrils flared.

From his seat on the long, orange colored couch, Hoseok halted his movements, his fingers halfway to his lips with an unlit joint. Most of the buttons on his light blue shirt were undone and the muscles of his pectorals were peaked through. And his own blazer was flung over the arm of the couch without care.

“Was it you?”

You didn’t even get to take another step before Jin was all over you. He never yelled at you, at least not in the way that he was now. And you couldn’t help your eyebrows from shooting up into your hairline in disbelief.

“Me? Seriously?” An unamused huff left your lips. “Why the hell would I expose myself?”

“She’s got a point.” Hoseok mumbled around the joint pressed between his heart-shaped lips. His eyes were downcast as he flicked open his 18 carat gold Dupont lighter and held it up to the end. The scent of marijuana mixed with cigar smoke with thick tension.

“So it wasn’t any of us.” Namjoon spoke up, knocking back an unhealthy amount of scotch.

“Who was it then?” Jin turned to Namjoon with fire blazing in his eyes. The ash from his cigar threatened to sprinkle onto the rug, but he didn’t notice. Or care.

“How the hell would I know?”

“Where’s everyone else?” You cut in before the frown lines in Namjoon’s forehead could deepen. WIth a click of your heels, you dropped your birkin purse onto the glass coffee table and sat down next to Hoseok, who offered you the joint and a sad, tiny smile. He should have expected for you to decline. You rarely partook.

The heat of secondhand smoke filled your lungs as Hoseok exhaled and your eyes searched over the stressed men in the room. Jin finally made his way back to the pool table and leaned against it with his forefinger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Not here yet.”

Footsteps sounded from around the corner on the opposite side of the penthouse entrance. Through the smoky haze filling the room you could just make out the figure of a man that you would recognize almost anywhere.

With long, curly black hair and broad shoulders covered by a black cashmere shirt, Jungkook sauntered into the room with his customary swagger. Three silver hoops dangled from each ear and the heels of his designer black boots knocked against the floor as he approached. His doe-like eyes met yours and he faltered in his stride, golden ringed hand pushing his hair from his eyes.

Jungkook’s mouth parted like he had something to say, but stopped himself and settled for just giving you a silent head nod of greeting instead. You simply shot him a quick, closed mouth smile and grabbed the dangling joint from Hoseok’s hand. You didn’t usually participate. Didn’t normally take what Hoseok had to offer. But damn did you need it. Especially with what was to come.

The sound of the elevator dinging was a grateful distraction from the way Jungkook’s thighs strained against the fabric of his black slacks when he took a seat on the other couch. Everyone in the room looked up at the two men who rounded the corner. One short and the other taller: Jimin and Taehyung. Also known as the Dynamic Duo.

Taehyung had always been someone of ethereal beauty. With his blond hair and perfectly sculpted face, he’d graced more covers of magazines than you owned. His tall, slender figure was covered head-to-toe in nothing but Gucci as he crossed the room. The man’s normally bubbly, cute boxy smile was gone and replaced by a serious look that you’d never seen from him in all your years of friendship.

And at his side, Jimin possessed a beauty that rivaled your own. While Taehyung was handsome, Jimin was pretty. His light pink colored hair complimented his dainty features and made him look like a fairy with plush, kissable lips and tan skin. Even though he was the shortest of the men in your group, Jimin made up for it with his ability to catch and bag any woman he wanted. Or man. Whichever he was in the mood for.

“Well?” Taehyung’s deep baritone voice spoke up before anyone else could. His steps halted once he made it to the center of the room, though Jimin headed straight to the bar. “Who’s going to take responsibility for this? Which one of you did it?”

You’d never seen Taehyung so angry. Not even when Jungkook shaved half his head and eyebrows as a prank in middle school. But now, Taehyung was burning with heat, the steam from his anger mixing with the smoke intermingling in the air.

“Calm down.” Jin huffed. His dark eyes burned with authority while he puffed on his cigar, his teeth holding it in place like some kind of socialite mobster.

Though, you supposed, he kind of was in a way. Whether the people in the room agreed or not, Jin was the unspoken leader of Bangtan. Which, coincidentally, was the most powerful group of socialites in the city. Everyone turned to your group when they wanted juicy gossip, or for the next big fashion trend, or for a leg up the ladder of the elite. All eight of your families ran a different part of New York City, and since you were the next heirs, it fell to you to follow in your parent’s footsteps.

“Calm down?” Taehyung clenched his jaw in anger. “How the hell am I supposed to calm down when the whole fucking city knows that I--”

“Look, let’s just wait for everyone to get here before we start in on each other. Cool?” Namjoon, ever the peacemaker, spoke as he poured both himself and Jimin another full glass of scotch.

Namjoon wasn’t the biggest heavyweight when it came to alcohol, so you were a little concerned for his sobriety.

“Speaking of,” Hoseok leaned back against the couch and stretched his arms along the back. The warmth of his skin brushed against the back of your neck and you met his eyes as he turned to you. “Where’s Yoongi?”

All attention was on you, but all you could do was shrug. “No idea. He left early this morning and didn’t tell anyone where he was going.”

Hoseok’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Looked like you weren’t the only one wondering what the hell your brother was up to.

“Did anyone try calling him?” Jimin plopped down next to you on the couch so hard that it sent you bouncing into Hoseok’s side.  

The pink haired man ignored your annoyed glare in favor of topping off his glass and setting the bottle of liquor on the coffee table. Jimin’s sweet scented cologne mixed with the aroma of marijiauna in a dangerous cocktail of temptation.

“He said he’d be here.” Jin spared a glance down at the Rolex fixed to his wrist. “Though it better be soon.”

“In a hurry? You have other secrets you need to go sell?” Taehyung buried his hands deep inside the pockets of his Gucci slacks.

He’d yet to take a seat and continued to stand in the middle of the room like the center of attention he loved to be. His blond hair hung across his brow as he sent Jin a dangerous glare.

“Watch it.” With a growl, Jin pushed off the pool table and stalked closer to the blond.

“Why? You gonna send me away too?”

Your fingers found your temples in frustration. Fights would break out occasionally between the eight of you. It was normal. Expected, even. Given how long you’d known each other, the hard-headed determination that you all possessed sometimes got in the way of one another. Backstabbing would happen from time-to-time, sometimes purposeful and others not, but at the end of the day you’d always be there for one another. But selling each other out?

It was a whole different ball game now.

A sigh left your lips as you drowned out the bickering going on back and forth between Taehyung and Jin. Even though the older man liked to play at being a no-nonsense businessman, he was one of the most immature out of all of you.

Looking up from the rug underneath your heels, you just so happened to meet Jungkook’s stare. His lips were pressed together and his doe eyes shone with an emotion you couldn’t discern as he refused to break his gaze. Jungkook’s brows pushed together in an attempt to wordlessly communicate something with you. What that was exactly, you had no idea.

Your eyes dropped back down to the rug with pursed lips and the side of your body that still pressed against Hoseok’s simmered with heat. How did you get yourself into this situation?

Well.

                                   Two Hours Ago

“Time to wake up, Miss Min.”

The sound of metal rings being dragged across a curtain rod wretched you out of peaceful slumber. With your mind hovering halfway between the land of dreams and that of the living, you subconsciously turned away from the sunlight that suddenly beamed across your closed eyelids.

“Not now, Yoomin.” You words were slurred into the cool silk of your pillow. Snaking a hand out of the comforter wrapped around you like a burrito, your fingers searched your forehead blindly. Sometime throughout the night your sleeping mask had gotten pushed up and away from your eyes. “I was having the most wonderful dream. Now let me get back to it.”

Yoomin tutted her tongue somewhere behind you, not that you’d bother to look anyway. The older woman should have been used to your morning routine by now. She’d been working for your family ever since you were a baby and if you were being honest, she’d raised you more than your own mother.

“If you don’t get up now, Miss Min, you won’t get to your first day of the semester on time.” Yoomin scolded softly, voice lilting with her hard Korean accent.

“Five more minutes.”

Instead of granting your wish, Yoomin’s feet padded across the shag carpet in your bedroom and ripped the covers from your body. She ignored your grumbled moans of protest and tossed them somewhere you couldn’t easily reach.

“Breakfast is ready for you downstairs, Miss Min.” Even with the sleep mask covering your eyes, you could picture the woman’s stance: hands on hips and lips pursed. “Get ready and come down.”

“Ugh.” Once again, Yoomin paid no mind to your wordless plea and left the room, closing the door behind her. With a sigh, you tore your mask off and threw it somewhere on the other side of your king size bed.

The royal blue walls of your bedroom greeted you as you squinted against the sunlight. And silk sheets caressed your bare legs while you slowly sat up, fingers running through your tangled hair. The clock on your bedside table read that it was only 9 am and you took a moment to mourn the loss of sleep.

You’d gotten back home sometime late last night/early in the morning. The flight that you’d taken back from the Alps had been delayed due to severe weather conditions. Or whatever. Therefore, you’d only been able to squeeze in a few hours of sleep.

“I really should have taken Jin’s offer and used his private jet.” Your mumbles met no one’s ears but your own as you pulled back the door of your closet. Though, you supposed, it was your fault for wanting to take the latest possible flight back to New York.

Fingers pressing a button on the small remote in your hand blindly, you tilted your head to the side as the designer clothes hung up inside your walk-in closet rotated. Pops of color came and faded out of view while you debated what to wear for the day. Just because you were tired didn’t mean that you had to look it.

Well that, and you would be dragged to hell and back on Gossip Girl, the city’s biggest gossip site, if someone caught you looking less than your best.

Which would happen over your dead, decrypt body.

With a hum, you plucked a black and yellow versace dress from the rack, and grabbed a solid dark green overcoat and matching mustard yellow scarf and birkin bag. You only debated for a moment before grabbing a pair of fishnet tights and wandered into the ensuite bathroom.

The heated tiles were warm and welcoming against your bare feet. And as you showered, you couldn’t help but mentally go through your calendar for the day. It was Monday, which meant that you had a full day of classes and then afterwards you’d stop by Jin’s.

He was the oldest of your group, having four years on you and five on the youngest--Jungkook--so he’d already graduated college. Not that he really needed to, since Jin had been set to take over his father’s five star hotel chain since he was in his final year of high school. He had an older brother, Seokjoong, but he was so wrapped up in the party lifestyle that he’d disappeared into Europe ages ago. It was rumored that he’d cleaned out his bank account and changed his name right before going M.I.A.. No one had heard from him since.

And so, Jin was appointed the next heir of Kim Industries.

Lips pursed in a pout, you swiped on a final layer of lip gloss and fluffed your hair. Your reflection stared back at you in the floor length mirror as you gave yourself one last look over. With skin perfect and makeup flawless, you gave a one shouldered shrug of approval.

The stiletto heels of your mustard colored pumps clacked against the twisting marble steps of your high rise penthouse as you descended. It was quiet. Which wasn’t anything out of the ordinary in the Min household. So your arrival on the first floor went unnoticed by anyone but yourself.

Right at the bottom of the steps, across the row of red marble pillars, was your favorite sitting room. A healthy selection of fruits were spread across the knee-high table in the center of the room. But you ignored it in favor of the steaming china cup filled with coffee. The hot liquid hit the back of your throat as you plopped down onto one of the four plush couches.

Reaching across the table, you grabbed the newest Vogue magazine and flipped through it. “Yoomin!”

Your shout didn’t go unanswered for more than a few ticks of silence.

“Yes, Miss Min?” The older woman appeared from somewhere else in the apartment, most likely the kitchen. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a low sitting french bun. A lacy black and white maid’s headband sat atop her hair that matched with the rest of her outfit. You weren’t really a huge fan of the whole ‘suppressed woman’ look, but Yoomin liked it for some odd reason.

With your lips pressed carefully to the porcelain cup in order to preserve your lipgloss, you eyed the woman over the rim. “Where’s my brother? Isn’t he usually forced out of his hidey-hole he calls a bed by now? Or is he still cooped up in the batcave?”

“Ah,” Yoomin folded her hands daintily in front of herself. “Mr. Min left earlier this morning. A few hours ago to be precise.”

Now that had your eyebrows shooting so far up into your hairline that you were surprised they didn’t take flight. Your brother wasn’t known for mornings. Or waking up any earlier than 2pm. He usually had to be forced out of bed if anyone needed him before that, which was a job that nobody wanted. While your brother was quite the softy deep down beneath his cold exterior, he wouldn’t hesitate to tear anyone apart who dared to rouse him from his precious slumber.

You lowered your teacup to your lap, the contents already drained. “Yoongi, up early? Being productive? Sounds suspicious. Did he leave to go back to Korea already and not tell me?”

“No, Mr. Min is still in the city. As for where he went, he didn’t say.” Yoomin wet her lips almost nervously and you narrowed your eyes at the action.

“Really, now?” The cup met the surface of the table. “He left and didn’t say a word? Just waltzed right out the door? Very unlike him.”

While Yoongi wasn’t very warm and receptive towards strangers, your brother had a soft spot for Yoomin. Her family had worked for yours for generations. In fact, she’d left everything behind in South Korea to join your family and immigrate to America. That’d all been years ago, before you were born.

Yoongi was three years older than you, so he’d been around one-years-old when your mother packed up and moved her fashion company from Seoul to Manhattan. Your father moved to Italy right after their divorce, and while you only got to see him during certain holidays and summer vacations, you were a daddy’s girl through and through.

Yoomin paused for a millisecond before responding. “Yes, Miss Min.”

“Ah!” You pointed an accusatory finger at the woman. “You hesitated! What do you know?”

“Nothing, Miss Min.” Yoomin bowed her head before glancing over her shoulder. “If you’ll please excuse me, your mother asked me to drop a few things off at her office.”

The woman disappeared before you could respond, the heels of her mary jane’s clacking against the floor. The ding of the elevator richoched, steel doors closing and leaving you alone in a place that held too much silence.

You’d barely had any time to ponder on the woman’s strange actions when the chirp of a text message rang from the pocket of your purse. Absentmindedly popping a grape into your mouth, you slid the device out and glanced at the text on the screen.

         E-girl blast #830: This just in: looks like if you take the Bang out of Bangtan, you get a very bad girl. Rumor has it that our High Rise Princess isn’t as innocent as she portrays herself to be. Someone should really change her name to High Rise Porn Star.

The blood in your veins froze, lungs stopped inhaling breath, stomach dropped down to the floor. With your mouth hanging open and eyes wide in complete and utter humiliation, the color drained from your face. Because there plastered for the whole world to see on Gossip GIrl’s website was a photograph of yourself. But not just any photo, no.  

It was of you, lying beneath the silver silk sheets of a bed. Your hair was flowing free across the pillow, side profile exposed. And you were obviously naked, only the important bits covered by the sheet. Eyes closed in sleep, you were completely oblivious to the person responsible for the photograph.

The room was familiar. You would have recognized where the photo was taken even if it wasn’t. It was in one of the various guest suites at Jin’s lodge in the Alps. Where you’d been less than twenty-four hours ago. Where that exact picture was taken.

But that wasn’t what caused panic to well in your throat.

                But who is the one responsible for the deflowering of our pretty little princess? Take a closer look and you tell me.

Right below that was another photograph. A cropped version of the first that showed an arm poking out from underneath the covers. It was zoomed in just enough to be able to make out the lump of another body in bed with you. Luckily, the identity of the man couldn’t be seen as he’d burried himself under the sheets like a gopher.

“Fuck.”

           But if you think that’s bad, wait until you hear the rest of what I have to say. Looks like Bangtan aren’t as bulletproof as they want you to think. Let’s move on to our Golden Boy, shall we?

The message continued on, but with the way your vision clouded with panic, you wouldn’t have been able to read it even if you tried. Who the hell sent in that photo to Gossip Girl? And how did they even get the picture in the first place?

Hands shaking, you almost didn’t look when another text message pinged on your phone. But thankfully, it wasn’t from Gossip Girl. With a shaky exhale, you read over the text.

     “It wasn’t me, I swear. You know I would never do that to you.”

Your thumbs hovered over the touchscreen keyboard, bottom lip caught between your teeth as you debated messaging back.

                          “Please believe me.”

The chance to respond disappeared as the phone in your manicured hands rang. You hesitated, not wanting to answer, but knowing you couldn’t ignore it either. Not if you didn’t want him to show up on your doorstep fuming. You blew air out of your mouth nervously and swiped accept.

“He--”

“Family meeting. Ditch your classes and get here now.”

                                   Present Time

“What’s with all the screaming?”

The voice drew you from your thoughts and all sound in the room cut off as heads snapped up in unison.

In the wide entrance of the living room dressed like he was fresh off the runway was your brother. Your heart stopped in your chest and you silently prayed for a bolt of lightning to strike you down. Yoongi was what you would call an overprotective older brother. He’d always held you up on some sort of pedestal with high expectations that you tried so hard to meet. And you really, really didn’t want to see how he would look at you from your new place on the ground.

Yoongi’s cat-like eyes surveyed the room almost lazily, like he couldn’t be bothered to be there. Whether or not he was affected by the leak as much as everyone else was impossible to tell. Or it would have been if you hadn’t been so close.  

The story that the aggressively bitten nails on his fingers told of his anxiety at the circumstances. His messily styled hair spoke of how he’d threaded his hands through the strands over and over again in an attempt to gather his bearings. And the rhythmic way he clenched his jaw let you know that he was trying to hold himself together.

You hadn’t seen Yoongi like that in a long time. Not since he broke the news to your mother that he had no desire to take over the company. That she should give it to you, the one who actually wanted it, so he could pursue his dream of becoming a music producer instead. Suffice to say, she hadn’t taken it well.

“Finally!” Jimin raised his glass in an alcoholic salute. The scotch splashed dangerously around the rim and you side-eyed the man. Hopefully he wasn’t already drunk off his ass. “Welcome to the party.”

“All sunshine and rainbows here.” Hoseok leaned over to dig around in the breast pocket of his blazer draped across the couch and pulled out another joint. He waved it towards your brother with a smile that lacked its usual warmth. “You’re gonna need this.”

Your eyes dropped to the coffee table when Yoongi’s stare flickered over to you ever so briefly. A coward you definitely were. If you couldn’t even look your brother in the eyes, how in the hell were you supposed to face the rest of the world?

“Alright, listen up.” Jin, finally free of his finished cigar, captured everyone’s attention like the charismatic man he was. His dark gaze met each and every eye in the room before he stuffed a hand in the pocket of his slacks and continued. “One of us here is a dirty, backstabbing scumbag--”

“How are we even sure it was one of us?” Jungkook’s voice finally filled the room, dark brows scrunched once again. With a flash of pink he wet his lips and he glanced around at everyone present.

“The secrets that were leaked to Gossip Girl,” Namjoon leaned against the back of one of the couches, scotch glass filled once again. At the rate he was drinking, he’d be passed out face down in less than an hour. “Were only told to the people in this room. Well...”

Namjoon paused and his eyes found yours. “All but one, at least. But that’s not important.”

Your cheeks heated under the heavy weight of your childhood friend’s stares.

“Or were you too high off your ass to realize?” Taehyung addressed Jungkook, thankfully tearing the attention from you. He crossed his legs from his new spot leaning against the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. With his head tilted to the side, he analyzed the youngest with a look that threatened retribution. “Maybe it was you.”

“Why would I expose myself?” The tip of Jungkook’s tongue poked the inside of his cheek roughly. “Or any one of you? It was probably you.”

“Me?” A sharp, humourless laugh bubbled past the blond man’s lips. “I could lose my job for this shit. How stupid do you think I am?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?” Jungkook raised an eyebrow at Taehyung condescendingly.

“Arguing isn’t going to solve anything.” Hoseok’s vocal fry spoke over the impending argument before it could start. His eyes were bloodshot and it made you wonder just how high he was. You couldn’t blame him. Not with what he was probably re-living due to the recent exposure.

“Oh really?” Taehyung turned his anger towards the man sitting at your side, lips pressed into a thin line. “This is all your fucking fault. You’re the one who thought it’d be a good idea to drug us.”

Hoseok flinched so hard that you were surprised no one else could feel it. He didn’t respond, instead choosing to cast his eyes down at the persian rug under his feet. The brunette hair that shifted across his forehead did little to hide his crumpled, guilted expression.

“Fuck off, Taehyung.” Junkook’s nostrils flared as he leaned forward in his seat, elbows braced against his knees like he had to physically hold himself back.

“I mean, Tae kind of has a point, as shitty as it is.” From your left came Jimin’s adolescent-esque deep voice. The pink haired man’s stare was captivated by the way the amber liquid in his glass swirled with a flick of his wrist.

“Pointing fingers right now isn’t going to solve anything.” Jin pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“What do you suggest then, your royal highness?” No one commented on the sarcasm dripping from Taehyung’s tongue.

Instead, Jin stood tall and surveyed the room once again. “We’re going to sit here and go back over every single last detail of what occurred this past weekend. No one’s leaving until we figure out which one of us is the snake.”

He paused, face dark. “And you better pray to God that it isn’t you.”

You couldn’t stop your eyes from glancing at the man sitting near you. His own met yours and reflected the same fear that mixed a dangerous cocktail in the pit of your stomach.

“How will going over details help?” The question came from your brother. He’d been so quiet that you’d momentarily forgotten he was there.

He took a few steps further into the room, shedding his jacket along the way. Yoongi sat down in the empty seat next to Jungkook, who didn’t spare him a second glance.

“We weren’t all together the whole time.” Namjoon half-slurred. The scotch was heavy on his tongue, but you couldn’t really blame him either. “People who went off on their own have the highest probability of being the rat.”

“Okay then, let’s just go through everyone’s texts and emails. See who sent it in to Gossip Girl.” Jungkook leaned back into the couch with a shrug of nonchalance.

“Do you know how easy it is to delete a text or an email?” With a snort, Taehyung spoke slowly, like Jungkook was an invalid.

The youngest clenched his jaw in irritation. “Then we’ll just contact Gossip Girl and ask her.”

“You know she doesn’t reveal her sources.” Jimin murmured into his glass.

“I still don’t see how any of this will help.” Yoongi’s raised eyebrow disappeared underneath his blond bangs. The marijuana smoke from his exhale punctuated his words. “But whatever. The sooner we get this done the sooner I can leave.”

“Somewhere more important to be?” Taehyung crossed his arms across his chest.

Your brother looked unamused. “Unlike you, some of us actually work hard for a living.”

You could see the moment the anger behind Taehyung’s eyes burned deeper with rage. “Modeling is--”

“For fucks sake, shut up! You think you’re the only one with things to do?” Jin rolled his eyes and stepped between the two. Yoongi always knew which buttons to push to send someone right over the edge of self control. The eldest’s withering stare shifted over to a wavering Namjoon. “And stop drinking. You’ll be useless if you’re face down in a toilet.”

Jin’s sharp tone called everyone’s attention yet again as the elevator door dinged. From around the corner emerged one of the hotel’s many staff members. The suit wearing man pushed a large rolling whiteboard into the living room, the type that you usually only saw in crime television shows. The wheels squeaked lightly across the wood floor.

“There is fine.” Jin nodded at the staff member who disappeared with a bow of his head.

The eldest strode up to the board where it was situated in front of the room and picked up a black erase marker. He turned to the group as he uncapped it. “Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?”

                                Forty Hours Ago

“It’s cold.”

Turning to peer over your shoulder, you sent your brother a yeah, duh look. “We’re in the mountains in mid-December. What did you expect?”

From the roof of the resort, Yoongi stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the private helicopter pad that Jin had installed years ago for easy travel. His icy blond hair was pushed back from his pale forehead with a black headband and his mouth was pursed in a cute pout. Though he’d deny its existence if you pointed it out.

The daegu accent that he’d picked up from his past two years living in South Korea stretched out his words into one long drag. “I hate the cold.”

It seemed that not even the thick Givenchy coat drowning his smaller frame could keep him warm. And the fuzzy earmuffs nestled in your hair couldn’t protect your ears from his complaints.

“The sooner we get inside, the sooner we can get warm.” Your own gloved fingers wrapped around the padded material on his upper arm. Yoongi followed after you without resistance, though the pout failed to fall from his face.

Behind the two of you, a handful of staff members descended the helicopter pad’s steps with you and your brother’s suitcases in hand. Luckily it wasn’t snowing, but the wind from on top of the resort was harsh and sharp. It turned your nose into a runny, red mess within minutes. Which was why you couldn’t disappear behind the metal roof door soon enough.

A sigh of relief left your lips at the feeling of heated air hitting your chilled skin. Yoongi’s own grunt sounded from behind you while your fingers hurried to unbutton your thermal coat. The heels of your boots clacked against the hotel’s floor as the two of you strut down the hallway.

The resort was completely empty, as it always was that time of the year. Not because there was a lack of patrons, but because Jin would block out the weekend so your group could reunite before tackling the New Year. At the end of the hall, your fingers pressed the button to call the elevator. Yoongi, red cheeked and sniffling, leaned against the wall beside the closed steel doors and sighed.

“Something wrong?” Your voice was quiet in the empty hall. It’d been a long time since you’d seen him. And while you still managed to call each other at least once a week, it felt like there was some sort of rift between you. An invisible wall that you weren’t sure how to breach.

“No.” Yoongi’s cat-like eyes squeezed shut around a yawn. “Just tired.”

The dark bags under his eyes were prominent. He’d taken a flight from Korea all the way to New York, just so he could join you on another flight and helicopter ride to the resort. Two years ago Yoongi had moved out of the country to pursue his dream of becoming a music producer. And he liked to hide his failures from you as much as he could, but the dejected way he’d sounded on the phone the past few months told you everything he couldn’t.

He was struggling to make a name for himself outside of your mother’s. Yoongi was crazy talented, but he’d chosen to forgo the connections and opportunities that your family name could bring him to start from the bottom. He wanted to build himself from the ground up to prove to himself that he could do it. That he didn’t need your mother to succeed.

Though you supposed that you couldn’t blame just him for the feeling of separation between the two of you. The secret that you withheld from him threatened to drown you with guilt.

The elevator ride was quick and silent. Yoongi leaned against the corner of the steel box with his head flopped back against the wall. You stood at the opposite end, the handles of your purse dangling lazily. The air was tense, yet barren.

With a ding, the doors slid open and the marble flooring of the obnoxiously large and flashy lobby greeted you.

Past the rose gold pillars and other elevators was a classy seating area. Leather couches formed around a roaring, lit fireplace. And behind that were floor to ceiling glass windows that overlooked the snow-capped mountains. Standing in front of the fireplace and roasting himself like a marshmallow was a familiar head of pink hair.

Jimin turned at the sound of your footsteps, bare collar bones poking out from the top of his unzippered ski-coat. His hair was dripping with melted snow and the usual golden hue of his skin was heated with pink. Jimin’s plump lips pulled back into a grin, flashing you his crooked front tooth.

“Hey! Look who finally decided to arrive!”

Hoseok’s brown hair poked out from underneath the thick wool blanket thrown over his head from his seat on one of the couches. You could tell that someone had managed to get the scaredy cat out onto the ski slopes by the pale complection of his skin. His snow boots were scattered on the floor around the couch haphazardly while his fluffy-socked feet were tucked underneath his thighs.  

“Sorry we’re late.” Yoongi spoke from behind you, though his tone didn’t sound very apologetic.

“You missed the whole first day!” Jimin complained as he approached with his arms outstretched. He enveloped you into his hold first, his damp hair brushing the top of your head and his warm breath ghosting your ear. “It’s been a while, Princess. Glad to see you.”

“You too, Jiminie.”

Your own arms wrapped around the man’s slim shoulders and his sweet smelling cologne cocooned your nose with a scent you could only call Jimin. He gave your waist one last squeeze before parting from you and moving over to your brother. Yoongi wrinkled his nose in disgust, but didn’t move away when Jimin crushed him in a hug of his own.

Jimin hadn’t been lying. It really had been a while since you’d last seen each other. Even though you were the same age, you went to university at Columbia in the city and Jimin spent his days performing on Broadway. You’d only get to see each other when he had a gap between shows, or during the holidays when everyone had breaks in their schedules.

“You look miserable.” You smirked down at Hoseok as you stood in front of him. The older man looked like a pathetic, soggy burrito wrapped in the blanket like that. He pouted up at you with his heart-shaped lips and dimples and warm brown eyes.

“You have no idea.” Hoseok replied with a sniffle of his red-tipped nose. His socked feet hit the floor as he stood, towering over you. “But it’s nice to see you.”

If you had to rate your friends based on hugs, Hoseok would be the winner without a doubt. Despite his cold fingers, the rest of him was warm, familiar, comforting. Not counting your brother (though you weren’t so sure nowadays), Hoseok was the one you were closest to. His bright personality and welcoming persona drew you to him like the ray of sunshine he was nicknamed after.

“I just saw you two days ago, Hobi.” Your humor filled words were muffled into his shoulder.

His shrug pulled you closer. “Two days too long, Princess.”  

With a snort and a roll of your eyes, you pushed him away playfully. “You’re lame.”

Hoseok stumbled back into the couch dramatically with a hand pressed against his chest. He shot you a fake wounded look. “Lame? Me? Ouch.”

“You’re both lame.” Jimin butt into the conversation, slithering his way between the two of you to stand back in front of the fireplace. Ignoring the pink haired man, Hoseok darted over to your brother with a squee! His socks skid across the floor as he lifted the blond in the air with a tight hug of greeting.  

Yoongi made a noise of annoyance, though the gummy smile that overtook his face told a different story. Hoseok was one of the only people who were capable of bringing out Yoongi’s playful side. While the two of them had their reunion, you busied yourself with plopping down on Hoseok’s abandoned couch.

“Where’s everyone else?” You asked Jimin. The heat of the fireplace brushed the thick padding of your coat and threatened to make you break out into a sweat. With a few practiced movements, you managed to shed your plaid printed coat and scarf, leaving you in a knee-length green sweater dress and black leggings.

“I--”

Like magic, the front doors of the lobby swung open, bringing with it a gust of cold bitter air and the trademarked ha-ha-ha! of Namjoon’s loud laughter. In stumbled the rest of the group: Jin, Namjoon, Taehyung, and Jungkook.

“Is it lunchtime yet?” The question came from Jungkook as he shook out the snow from his hair. A pair of ski-goggles were perched on top of his head, but he ignored it in favor of stripping his hands of gloves. The bottom of his boots tracked in snow like it was his job, but it wasn’t like he noticed.

“We just ate two hours ago!” Jin scolded the younger without heat. His honey colored skin was splotched with shades of red from the cold air. Though somehow it only seemed to accentuate his handsome, angelic features.

“Yeah, but I’m starving.”

“Still a pig, I see.” The group stopped in their tracks at the sound of Yoongi’s voice echoing in the lobby.

With a big, boxy grin, Taehyung yelled in excitement and sprinted across the floor of the lobby, his own blond hair dripping wet. “Yoongi!”

“You’re tracking snow everywhere!” Jin’s shout carried well beyond the lobby.

                                Present Time

“That was way before we even played that stupid drinking game.” Taehyung grumbled in annoyance. His eyes were glued to the whiteboard as Jin neatly wrote out the list of events. He was having each and every person go over what had happened from their own point of view. “So why do we have to go over all the boring shit?”

Jin turned to glare at the blond over his shoulder. “Because what I said goes.”

Taehyung simply raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Well no one cares about this. Let’s just cut to the interesting bits.”

Before Jin could rip Taehyung to shreds with his heated scowl, Namjoon spoke around the rim of his glass of water. “I hate to agree, but I do.”

“Third.” Jungkook raised his hand in the air like a child in a school classroom.

“Fourth.” You finally spoke up, fingers toying with the cap of your bottle of San Pellegrino.

“Fifth.” Surprisingly, Jimin’s voice came out clear and uninfluenced by half the bottle of liquor he’d downed.

Yoongi just grunted his own agreement, eyes lidded with what looked to be exhaustion, but what you could tell was anxiety.

“Seriously?” Jin waved the marker in his hand around wildly. His eyes landed on Hoseok who just shrugged silently. He hadn’t spoken ever since Taehyung made that comment to him almost an hour ago. “Whatever. Fine. We’ll move on.”

The eldest took a swig out of his glass of scotch and turned back to the board. “We’ll start with the night of the game, then.”

                         Thirty-Two Hours Ago

“Okay, rules of the game.”

Namjoon stood in the center of the seating area with a shot glass full of tequila raised high above his head to gather attention. The eight of you were scattered around in a circle on the various couches and chaise lounge chairs in the sitting area of Jin’s room. It was long after the group of you hit the mountains for some intense snow tubing. And after you’d all headed back to your rooms to shower and get ready for dinner served by some michelin star chef that Jin staffed.

Now, with bellies full and body’s warm, you all sat around in your most comfortable clothes. Multiple bottles of alcohol were lined up on the bar in Jin’s room, but a handle of tequila was currently serving as centerpiece on the coffee table.

From your spot in the middle of the comfy couch, squished between Taehyung and Jimin, you had your own shot glass in hand. It’d recently been refilled, since the group took one together to start off the night. With fire seeping through your veins, you paid special attention to the words coming from Namjoon’s lips, even though you knew the rules of the game by heart. The crackle of the lit fireplace behind the other couch threatened to drown out his deep, raspy voice.

“The name of the game is Sip, Snitch, Spill, or otherwise known as Triple S. Starting from oldest to youngest,” Namjoon gestured to Jin with his shot glass, ignoring the tequila that spilled onto his fingers. He then turned in a slow circle clockwise. Everyone was sitting in age order.

Namjoon pointed at the empty beer bottle on the table. “The one who’s turn it is has to spin the bottle and whoever it lands on gets to choose the dare that the person who’s turn it is has to complete. If they opt out of completing the dare, then they have to spill a secret that no one here knows. But it can’t be something stupid that no one cares about; only top secret shit here. Each person only gets three seconds to decide which option to take.

“After that, everyone in the room gets the opportunity to snitch. If someone knows a secret about you that no one else does, they can snitch to the group and skip their turn. If you fail to take the dare, you have to take a shot. If someone snitches on you, then you have to take two shots.”

Everyone glanced at each other with mistrustful, playful eyes. While the game was fun, it was costly as well. Because in the world of the elite, nothing was more valuable than a secret.

“Do all here agree to the rules?” Namjoon raised a brow.

“Here, here!” The shouts of seven people filled the room and overpowered the music flowing from the surround sound speakers.

“Then let’s get messy.” A smirk lifted at the corner of Namjoon’s mouth as he finally took his seat on the other side of Hoseok.

“That sounds dirty. Let’s not.” Jin wrinkled his nose with a huff of amusement.

“What I think you meant to say was,” the comment came from Jimin as he unnecessarily knocked back a shot. “‘That sounds dirty. Let’s.’”

“Anyway.” Yoongi rolled his eyes and elbowed Jin in the ribs from his spot next to him on the love seat. “Start.”

The eldest hummed and rubbed at his chin dramatically as he eyed the empty beer bottle. Like he’d actually have a choice on who it landed on. Jin took his time leaning forward and grabbed the body of the bottle with three fingers, ignoring the groans of impatience coming from the circle. Finally, with a flick of his wrist, he spun it.

Around and around it went, the green of the glass glinting under the overhead lights. Everyone was at the edge of their seats, minds calculating what dare they’d make the elder do, as they waited for it to stop.

“Hah!” Hoseok cheered, doing a stupidly cute dance in his seat at the chances of being the first to give a dare. The leather chaise lounge he sat on made a sound of protest at his rapid movements. But he ignored it in favor of pointing a finger at Jin with a flourish. “I dare you to give Yoongi a lap dance!”

Ooooh!’s erupted from around the circle as each and every person screamed in excitement. Jin’s mouth dropped open in disbelief and he gaped at Hoseok with a look that said dude, seriously?

“Woo!” Jimin’s contagious giggle left his lips, eyes squeezed shut in amusement. “What a way to start.”

“I’m not drunk enough for that.” Jin knocked his shot back and grimaced at the taste. “I slept with my personal assistant last month. Then I fired her.”

“Wait, so if you were drunk enough then you’d do it?” Hoseok’s comment was rudely ignored by Jin.

“Linda?” Jungkook gaped at the older man from his place on the other lounge chair across from Hoseok. “Isn’t she in her late fifties?”

With a shrug of indifference, Jin poured himself another shot. “And?”

“Wow.” Taehyung tutted around the laughter that bubbled up his throat. “Did you really have to fire her though? That’s harsh.”

“She started to get feelings for me.” Jin shrugged yet again. “After I specifically told her not to.”

“Poor Linda.” With a shake of your head, you crossed one leg over the other. You could remember briefly meeting the woman once. She’d been kind yet carried a no-nonsense air about her, which made you wonder just how Jin had managed to bed her. Though you supposed he had his ways. He always did.

“Sometimes it’s hard to be this handsome.” The eldest’s unabashed response had everyone cringing as he broke out into his trademark windshield wiper laugh.

“Moving on.” Yoongi reached forward to spin the bottle without waiting for anyone’s attention. Everyone’s eyes were once again glued on the glass as it spun.

“Huh.” Namjoon hummed from his seat on the leather recliner next to Hoseok. The honey haired man steepled his fingers in front of his chin in thought.

“Why did it have to land on him?” Taehyung pouted. “He takes forever to decide.”

“I do not!” Though the seconds that ticked by into minutes told a different story.

It was clear the moment an invisible lightbulb went off over his head. The dimpled man jumped up from his chair and cleared the room to disappear around the corner into the kitchen. Before anyone could question what the hell he was doing, Namjoon reappeared back into the room with a gallon of skim milk and set it on the table in front of Yoongi.

“I dare you to chase every shot you take with a shot of milk.”

“Ew, what?” You stuck your tongue out in absolute disgust. Though it could barely be heard over the fake retching noises coming from the rest of the boys.

“What’s wrong with milk?” Jungkook asked innocently, causing everyone to shoot him a look.

Yoongi just stared at the gallon of milk thoughtfully before shrugging and knocking back his shot of tequila. The room watched on in shock as he then poured milk into the glass and swallowed that as well.

“Yoongi!” Jin pressed himself into the arm of the couch in an attempt to get as far away from your brother as possible. His handsome features were scrunched up in revolution. “You know you didn’t need to do that, right? Since you took the dare?”

With his gaze focused on refilling his shot glass with tequila, Yoongi’s face remained blank. “I’m not a bitch.”

“O-kay.” Hoseok dragged out the word with a grimace and slid forward on his chair to take his turn. “Let’s all just pretend we never saw that. Anyway.”

The game continued with Hoseok and Namjoon both taking dares. Hoseok had to strip down to his underwear and stand outside on the balcony for five whole minutes. He’d returned inside a shivering, pale mess. Jungkook had taken a ridiculous amount of pictures of him literally crying from the cold to hold over his head as blackmail at some later point in time.

Namjoon had been dared by Jin to order a bunch of lingerie to be delivered to his ex-girlfriend. That one had everyone begging him not to do it. Because unfortunately the last girl Namjoon had dated turned out to be a complete psychopath who stalked him for months on end after he dumped her. But the man just shrugged and stated, “I like them crazy.”

When it was Jimin’s turn, the pink haired man licked his lips in anticipation and spun the bottle. It didn’t turn very fast, just barely cleared two loops around the group before it pointed straight at you.

Jimin turned to you with a smile on his pretty lips. “Give me your best shot, Princess.”

Your own eyes narrowed at the challenge in his and you pursed your lips in thought. No way would you let him get off easily, especially not with the way he was looking at you. So with a smirk quirking your mouth, you spoke, “I dare you to call up your job right now and tell them you quit.”

Another round ooh!’s came from the group at your words and Jimin gaped at you in open mouthed disbelief. “Seriously?”

You gave Jimin a saccharine smile. Normally, you wouldn’t be so vindictive against him, but you were never one to turn down a challenge.

He knocked back his shot and slammed the glass down on the table with a glare directed at you. With a smack of his lips, Jimin begrudgingly addressed the group. “You know how I was able to join my broadway show after open auditions closed last year?”

Jimin’s eyes were glued to the table as everyone murmured their agreement. He was the only one out of your group who didn’t come from a successful family. Instead, he’d had to build both himself and his reputation from the ground up. It’d been hard on him, had taken a lot from him. But now, he starred in one of the most successful, famous broadway shows.

The silver rings on Jimin’s hand caught the light as he thumbed his plump bottom lip. His words came out hesitant, confession caught in his throat. “Yeah, well, I only got the spot because I slept with the director.”

“But you’re so talented!” Now you were the one staring in open mouthed shock. Never would you have expected that to come out of his mouth.

Jimin brushed off your comment and filled his shot glass once again. His words were murmured into the table. “They didn’t think so.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone took time to absorb the information. You weren’t kidding when you’d said that he was talented. You’d never seen someone who could dance as gracefully as he could or who could sing with the soft, unique voice that only Jimin possessed.

“Anyway,” he elbowed you gently and nodded at the bottle. “Your turn.”

The glass was cool under your fingers. You watched intently as around and around and around it went. There weren’t a lot of secrets that you had to hide from your group of friends. Usually, you were pretty transparent. Not only that, but you were the only one in Bangtan made a conscious effort to stay out of drama or scandals. Hence the nickname: High Rise Princess.

“Oh, no.” You groaned, throwing your head back against the couch. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that you had the worst luck ever. God, you hated that game.

“Well, well, well. How the turn tables.” Jimin threw an arm around your neck teasingly and pulled you into his side. His fingers rubbed at his chin menacingly as he stared at you out of the corner of his eye. The man didn’t even try to hide his smirk. “Let’s see.”

“This’ll be good.” Taehyung relaxed back against the arm of the couch with a smirk of his own.

The second you saw Jimin’s eyes flicker to the blond and the cheshire-cat-esque smile on his face widen, you knew you were in trouble. He gave your shoulder a squeeze before letting go and pushing you over to Taehyung. “Okay, Princess. For your dare, you have to make out with Taehyung for a minimum of thirty seconds.”

The room exploded  and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. You were known for being “pure” or whatever bull they labeled you as and the fact that you’d never dated any of them, it was kind of a big deal.

“Jimin, what the fuck?” All attention went to Yoongi, who was staring Jimin down with a harsh scowl. He really was overprotective of you when it came to pretty much anything. And that included any and all men.

Jimin just shrugged, but didn’t appear very apologetic. “Sorry, man. But she doesn’t have to do it.”

“I’m not a bitch.” You echoed your brother’s words from earlier before turning to Taehyung. His eyebrows were raised into his hairline and his mouth was agape, but the look in his eyes shone with sudden interest. So you couldn’t help tilting your head to the side and challenging, “unless you are.”

Hoseok’s loud screech and Jin’s obnoxious windshield wiper laugh overpowered everyone else’s exclaims of surprised disbelief. The fact that you weren’t even drunk meant that you couldn’t blame your actions on the alcohol. If you were being honest, you were just tired of everyone looking at you as some kind of sexual pariah. Like you were incapable of being intimate with another person. Maybe it was because you’d all grown up together that they saw you that way, you weren’t sure. But you hated it.

It was suffocating to have to force yourself to be someone that you weren’t.

Plus, it didn’t hurt that Taehyung was one of the most beautiful men that you’d ever laid your eyes on.

“I don’t want to see this. I’m going to the bathroom” Your brother rose from his seat with one last glare shot at both Jimin and Taehyung. “Don’t make me kick your ass.”

The atmosphere after Yoongi disappeared was the kind of tension that you only felt when watching a car crash. Like you just couldn’t look away. Hoseok was on the edge of his seat with his jaw hanging open, Jimin was frozen in a state of excited incredulity, across from you Jin covered his eyes with his hands while he continued to laugh, and Namjoon--

“Come here, Princess.” Taehyung scooted closer to you on the couch and gently placed his hands on either of your cheeks.

His warmth seeped into you from his palms and the husky scent of his Dior cologne washed over you. Taehyung was a touchy person by nature, so it wasn’t like he hadn’t cuddled up to you on multiple occasions. But this time was different. Be it from the way his eyes were half-lidded with an emotion you’d never seen him direct at you, or for the way his voice dipped a few octaves deeper from his usual baritone.

“You can still back out.” The words were spoken softly, only for your ears. But his eyes flickered down to your lips when you murmured,

“Why? You scared?”

Without acknowledging Hoseok’s squawk, Taehyung huffed. He didn’t even give you a moment to prepare yourself before he closed the distance and his mouth was on yours.

His lips were both warm and soft. And despite the firm way his hands held you in place, Taehyung’s kiss was gentle. Just the right amount of pressure that bordered on tender and not enough. So when you pressed your lips harder to his to deepen the kiss, you felt the smirk that twitched at the corner of his mouth as he obliged.

The heat of a stare burned into the side of your face, but you brushed it off in favor of parting your mouth at Taehyung’s questioning lick to your bottom lip. His tongue met yours in a dance and you could taste the remnants of tequila on his breath as his fingers tangled in your hair. Your own hands remained still in your lap, but you couldn’t help but press closer at his urging.

“And that’s time!” Jimin’s voice sounded from somewhere behind you. “Thirty seconds are up!”

Whether he didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him, Taehyung crushed his lips harder to yours in a breath stealing kiss.

“Or not.”

With one last lingering press of his mouth, Taehyung caught your bottom lip and dragged it slowly between his teeth as he pulled away. His fingers left your hair and he sent you a flirtatious wink before casually leaning back to his side of the couch, taking his warmth with him. All while dragging his tongue across his kiss bruised lips.

You’d be lying if you said that you weren’t at least a little bit turned on. It was no wonder he had both men and women falling at his feet left and right.

“That was hot, not gonna lie.” Hoseok whistled, falling back against his chair. “But weird at the same time.”

“Agreed.” Nodded Namjoon slowly. The expression on his face was a mixed bag, stuck somewhere between horror and something else.

“It was okay.” You shrugged nonchalantly, facing back towards the coffee table once more. Out of the corner of your eye Taehyung snapped his head towards you so fast that you were briefly concerned for the muscles in his neck.

“Oka-”

“It’s your turn.” The cheeky smile you sent Taehyung’s way coaxed a hard laugh out of Jimin.

The petite man threw an arm over your shoulders once more and pulled you into his side. Though with the way he could barely hold himself up with his body shaking laughter, it was more like he was leaning on you than the other way around. “A few months apart and it’s like you’re a whole new person. Who are you, Princess?”

The game continued once your brother returned from the bathroom. He’d entered the room and eyed Taehyung with a look that would have any lesser man trembling in his seat. But Taehyung had just given him his cute, boxy smile and took his spin.

Around and around the bottle spun as everyone took their turn. But it was only a matter of time before Jin finally snapped.

“Alright, this is boring! Everyone’s just picking dare and I want some juicy gossip.” His head fell back against the couch with a dramatic sigh. And he took a moment to bask in the attention of everyone in the room before he turned his head, rosy cheek pressed against the couch to address Hoseok. “Go make us some stronger drinks or something. I’m barely buzzed.”

Hoseok simply raised an eyebrow, arm still extended to take his turn.

“Yeah, Hoseokie.” Jungkook mocked in a high pitched voice, lips pursed in a dramatic air kiss. “Go make us drinks.”

“Yah, brat!” Said man kicked a foot half heartedly at Jungkook, not that it would have dealt any damage anyway seeing how far apart they were sitting. “Maybe if you ask nicely I will.”

“Nevermind.” With a shrug, Jungkook leaned back in his seat, “I don’t want it that badly.”

“Please, Hobi. I’ll take literally anything other than tequila.” Namjoon sent his full shot glass a dirty look. He always had preferred dark liquor.

“Well since one of you knows how to use their manners.” That was it took to have Hoseok hopping out of his chair and sauntering around the corner to the kitchen with a shout over his shoulder. “No one play without me!”

“Make something strong!” Jin called after him, standing up himself. Brushing off everyone’s eyes on him, he straightened his shirt and stepped away from the couch. “Bathroom. Be right back.”

And then he made himself scarce as well.

“Well since everyone’s taking a break.” Jimin was staring down at the screen of his phone. You could just barely see a name flash across the screen as it vibrated in his hand. Standing, he gestured blindly to the front door. “I gotta take this.”

“Which booty call is it?” Namjoon wiggled his eyebrows at the petite man suggestively right before he exited the room. “Not that it’ll do any good out here. Unless they can teleport.”

“That would be a cool superpower.” The comment came from Jungkook, who was busying himself by playing some game on his phone. No one paid attention to the sound of the front door closing.

“Right?”

“You guys are lame.” Yoongi absentmindedly toyed with the milk jug on the floor with his foot, his attention taken up by whatever was on his phone.

He either felt your stare or you were just that predictable, because Yoongi looked up to  scrutinize you. His eyes narrowed and flashed over to Taehyung and back to you with an eyebrow raised. A silent, questioning what’s was that?

You only shook your head with a roll of your eyes and the protective anger simmering behind your brother’s eyes dimmed at your wordless, nothing, relax. It was a little relieving that even with the distance between the both of you, the ability to read each other’s mind was still there. And must have felt similar if the small smile at the corner of his mouth was any indication.

“Alright!” Hoseok’s loud voice filtered into the room as he rounded the corner with a tray held between both hands. Eight glasses filled with a yellow, bubbling liquid were balanced on top and you took a moment to silently pray for luck.There was a reason why Hoseok was always chosen to make drinks. And you wouldn’t make it out alive if you didn’t pace yourself.

“Wow, perfect timing.” From around the corner leading to the hallway emerged Jin. He eyed the suspicious looking drinks as he reclaimed his seat. “What’s in it?”

With a noise to seal everyone’s fate, the tray was placed on the table. Both Yoongi and Jungkook looked up from their phones and Namjoon paused to eye the glasses. Hoseok just shrugged. “No idea. There’s like--”

He halted his words and you could literally see the way mentally made calculations in his head. “Like five different types of alcohol in those? I think.”

“Better than tequila at least.” Namjoon shrugged and grabbed a glass for himself. He hesitated for a moment to sniff at the contents, like that would somehow help him discern what it was he was about to drink. And finally, he shrugged and took a tiny sip.

Everyone’s attention was on him as he tongued his lips and hummed. “Not bad. Kinda sweet actually.”

Namjoon’s conscensious was apparently all anyone else needed because you all reached forward to grab your own. But you couldn’t help but suspiciously eye the liquid in your cup first.

“Where’s Jimin?” Jin asked around a big swallow and an obnoxious smack of his lips.

“Taking a phone call.” Taehyung walked around Hoseok, who was still standing in front of the table, and reached for a dangerous cocktail. “He’ll probably be a while.”

“Should we wait then?” You asked.

“It wouldn’t be as fun without him.” Hoseok winked down at you. “Who knows what other secrets he has.”

“Messy.” Shaking his head, Jin snorted into his glass.

“Like you’re one to talk.” Jungkook stated nonchalantely, though the shit eating smirk on his lips told another story.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

You tuned out the bickering between the eldest and the youngest, especially when Taehyung joined in. Somehow they always managed to bring out the immature side of Jin, not that the mature side of the man appeared that often either. The alcohol was sweet, yet tangy on your tongue with an addictive aftertaste that chased away the bitter remnants of tequila. It was easy to drink more than intended with how difficult it was to percieve the alcohol content.

“Hey, Hoseok.” Namjoon’s raspy voice was almost drowned out by the yelling between the others. Both Hoseok and yourself looked over to the dimpled man, only to see him completely enraptured by the glass in his hands. Namjoon’s voice came out unsure, confused. “What did you put in this?”

“What?” Perplexed, Hoseok tilted his head. “I told you, like five--”

Namjoon cut him off with a small shake of his own head. “No. What did you put in this?”

“I don’t--”

“Did you drop acid in these?” Namjoon’s question caught the curiosity of the others in the room. Even Yoongi looked up from whatever he was reading on his phone.

Hoseok sent his drink a puzzled look. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” Mouth agape, you stared up at the man with a look of disbelief. “How do you not know?”

By the wide-eyed look he shot your way, you could already garner a guess. And apparently so could everyone else.

“Have you been tripping this whole time?” Taehyung collapsed back onto his end of the couch laughing so hard that you were a little concerned for the liquid splashing at the rim of his cup.

“Uh.” How you all missed his dialated pupils were was incredible. Hoseok paused for a moment before whirling around to face Namjoon. “Wait, how would you even be feeling it this quick if I had? It’s been like ten minutes, it shouldn’t have hit if I did.”

“Yeah?” Namjoon was still staring incredulously at the almost empty glass clutched in his hand. “Then why is my cup looking at me right now?”

“Oh shit.”

“Oh shit is right!” The sudden panic that welled up in your chest surged to your throat as you waved your almost empty cup at Hoseok. “I just drank like all of this! What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Never in your life had you ever taken fucking acid. Maybe some marijuana here or there, but that was about the extent of your recreational drug experience. God, what the hell had you gotten yourself into?

“Not freak out, that’s for sure.” Taehyung wet his lips and raised his glass to you in a salute before knocking it back. His adam’s apple bobbed as he chugged the whole glass of alcohol in one go.

“Maybe you should go lay down.” From across the room your brother gave you a concerned once over. He was extremely calm given the circumstances. Then again he used to hang out with Hoseok the most so he’d probably actually partaken before. “Try and sleep it off before it hits.”

Slowly, you nodded in agreement, already rising from the couch. You were pretty positive that you were the only person in the room who hadn’t taken the drug. And the thought of experiencing LSD was enough to tighten your chest with panic. Maybe it would be best if you tried to sleep before it properly hit your system.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

“Wait.” Hoseok stumbled over to you and grabbed at your arm. Before you could process what was happening, he slipped a pen out of the pocket of his pants and glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall. The scratching of the pen against your skin caught your attention as Hoseok wrote out the time from ten minutes ago.

“What’s this for?”

“That’s the time you drank it. It’ll be important later just in case you don’t know when or where you are.” Ignoring your I’m sorry, what?, Hoseok looked up at you from underneath his lashes. “Since this is your first time, I need you to pay strict attention to what I’m about to say, Princess. Got it?”

All you could do was nod your head, mind too overrun by alarm. Hoseok paused for a moment to convey the importance of what he was about to say next.

“Three rules for being on acid. One, and this doesn’t really apply to this situation, but it’s important: cars are real, okay? Two: anything you want to try, do it from the ground first. And three: don’t trust everything you see.”

“Very imformative.” Came Namjoon’s sarcastic reply. “Would have been helpful ten minutes ago.”

Hoseok paid no heed to the comment, too busy looking you over with concern. “Do you want me to walk you to your room?”

How he was completely functional was mind-blowing to you. But then again, with the amount of pressure his parents put on him to take over a company that he didn’t want, you weren’t surprised by the frequency of how much he tried to make himself forget.

“I think I’ll be okay.” You reassured both Hoseok and the rest of the room with a small smile. Gratefully, no one commented on how forced it was.

The only thing you wanted to do was collapse in bed before it was too late. Besides, it wasn’t like you weren’t tired anyway. It’d been a long day.

“If you’re sure.” Hoseok flashed his dimples and the rest of the room bid you goodnight as you slipped from the room.

                               Present Time

“Why are you all staring at me?” You asked incredulously.

“Because you left early.” The capped end of the marker tapped against Jin’s cheek from where he stood in front of the almost filled whiteboard.

“And?”

“And.” Jin stared at you over the rim of his glass of scotch. “That makes you a suspect.”

“Are you being serious right now?” Gaping, you surveyed the rest of the room to find them all looking at you with various degrees of doubt.

From your side piped up Hoseok for the first time in hours and the hoarsness of his voice showed it. “Wait, wait, wait. She wasn’t the only one who left. Besides, wouldn’t that not make her a suspect since she wasn’t even there when we all told each other our secrets?”

His statement gave Jin pause.

Yoongi scrunched his eyebrows together in bewilderment at the statement. “Who else left?”

A moment of silence.

A quick intake of breath.

Hoseok turning to stare at you with wide eyes that knew too much. And it seemed like he wasn’t the only quick witted one in the room because Namjoon’s jaw dropped open in shock.

“I’m confused.” Jin pursed his lips in annoyance at the scene. “Explain.”

Hoseok just shook his head, scandalized. And upon seeing how Hoseok failed to explain, Namjoon took it upon himself to do the honors, ignoring your pleading eyes with an apologetic expression. The fucking traitor.

He cleared his throat, “One person left the room after her. Remember?”

Said person froze, eyes wide and breath stalling in his throat as all attention switched to him.

“Oh yeah.” Nodding, Jin turned his analysing gaze to the person in question. “Where did you go?”

You could literally see the moment that the cogs in your brother’s brain halted and the split second the realization slowly dawned on his face. The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension as your brother stood from the couch with absolute rage clouding his face. Fists clenched at his sides like he had to physically stop himself from exploding, Yoongi’s words were bitten out between his teeth.

“You fucked my sister?”

“I-” Jungkook sprang up from the couch, hands raised in surrender and doe eyes blown wide. The rest of the room was too busy staring on in shock (Taehyung), or in messy interest (Jimin), or open mouthed surprise (Jin) to step inbetween Jungkook and your brother. “It’s not what you think.”

Yoongi was seething, tonguing his cheek in a way that warned how close he was to snapping. “Not what I think.”

Jungkook nodded his head vigorously, shooting you a look begging for an assist. But you didn’t know what to say to stop it. And upon noticing your hesistation, Jungkook turned back to your brother and uttered a sentence that sealed his fate in the worst way possible.

“We’re not even dating!”

While Jungkook had enough muscle and strength to disuede a majority of people from trying to pick a fight with him, Yoongi was small and lithe, but strong in a way that most people wouldn’t expect. Your brother had been in many fights throughout the years; he used to hang around the wrong crowd growing up. He was rarely angry, his patience was almost never ending. But if you managed to push him over that line, well, everyone knew not to get on Yoongi’s bad side.

His face clouded, feet carrying him into Jungkook’s personal space. Yoongi’s voice was dangerous and words slow. “So you’re just using my sister for sex?”

Jungkook’s eyes widened even further with panic, but he didn’t step down, didn’t move out of your brother’s range. “That’s not--that’s not what I meant.”

“Yeah? Then what did you mean?” Even you could tell that the question was rhetorical.

The tenstion of an impending fight finally spurred you to stand up and stumble a few steps closer to the pair, voice pleading. “Yoongi.”

He turned to glance at you from over his shoulder with furious cat-like eyes and hackles bristled. His stare froze you in your tracks, but you continued on regardless. “It’s fine.”

“Fine.” Yoongi’s tone was blank before he rounded on you. “How long?”

There was nothing that would ever make you feel as small as the way he was looking at you right then. Like he didn’t know who you were, like he was staring into the face of a stranger. Your voice was tiny. “A few months.”

Your brother nodded his head, lips tight. “So you’ve been going behind my back, lying to me, for months?”

He rounded back on Jungkook. “You’ve been fucking my sister for months?”

Again, the question was rhetorical, but apparently Jungkook missed the way you quickly shook your head at him to keep his mouth shut. “I--yes?”

You knew it was coming and yet you we still taken by surprise.

A crack rang heavy in the air as Yoongi’s fist impacted Jungkook’s face. He stumbled back with a hand flying to grasp at the pain you knew was radiating through his jaw. But Jungkook didn’t hit back, didn’t give your brother the fight that he was looking for. He just stood there, palm pressed to his face and eyes rooted to the floor. You couldn’t make out his expression by the way his long hair fell in front of his face like a curtain.

Yoongi, however, looked far from satisfied.

By the was his back tensed, you knew that he was going to go for seconds, and probably thirds, maybe even fourths. Until he felt like Jungkook had paid enough retribution for him to stop. And that, it seemed, was where Jin drew the line.

“Yoongi.” Jin’s voice was almost hesitant. Even the elder man knew that your brother was on a very short fuse and didn’t want to be on the recieving end of the backlash.

Yoongi’s attention flickered over to Jin for a split second and that was all it took for the elder man to step forward. “Kick his ass later, I don’t care. But now isn’t the time; we have bigger fish to fry.”

There was a long, tense filled silence where no one dared to move. Jin just stood his ground, gaze holding your brother’s and refusing to back down. And whether or not that's what broke the fight apart, you weren’t sure. But with one last hostile glare at Jungkook, Yoongi turned on his heel and brushed past you without a second glance.

“Do what the fuck you want.”

The balcony door slammed shut so hard you flinched.

“That was..,” Taehyung let out a low whistle, shaking his head at Jungkook first and then you. With a wiggle of his eyebrows, he smirked. “Didn’t know you had it in you, Princess. Congrats on finally losing your innocence.”

You weren’t one to pick a fight with anybody, didn’t like confrontation. But all of the stress made you snap. “Shut your fucking mouth, Taehyung.”

From the corner of your eye, Jimin sipped at his scotch with eyes flitting back and forth between you and the blond to watch the drama unfold. There was a pause in the air before Namjoon filled it. “Let’s just finish what we came here to do.”

His words went in one ear and out the other, your attention focused more on the figure of your brother slumped over the balcony railing. Your feet carried you across the room before you could second guess yourself. The handle of the sliding door was cold against your palm as you slid it open. And the sudden breeze that hit your face was biting.

Cigarette smoke.

Yoongi hadn’t smoked cigarettes since he was in highschool. You didn’t even know where he got one. Guilt sank heavily in your stomach at being the catalyst to the habit he’d spent so long trying to kick.

Not even the noise of city life could cover the sound of your heart beating a tattoo into your rib cage. Yoongi didn’t move, didn’t even turn to look at you when you stood next to him. He just continued to stare down at the people below who covered the streets like ants. A lit cigarette dangled in his hand over the railing, white smoke disappearing into the sky. You let the quiet stretch for a few moments longer in order to gauge his anger. And when he failed to acknowledge your presense, you spoke.

“I wanted to tell you.” The words that left your lips were carried by the wind, but you knew he heard them anyway by the way his jaw clenched in your periphrial. A deep breath, and then, “But I was afraid.”

Whatever he thought you were going to say must not have been that because he angled his head to look at you. But you kept your vision trained on the cars passing far below. The silence he responded with urged you to continue.

“I didn’t want you to look at me the way you are now.”

Yoongi rubbed the end of his cigarette against the railing to extinguish it. And finally, his deep voice broke the bubble that encased the two of you. “You thought I’d be disappointed.”

Leave it to him to be able to dig right to the root of your problems with barely any information. He was called a genuis for a reason, you supposed.

A huff of dry laughter passed your lips. “Which you are.”

“Only because you hid it from me.”

His response had you turning to look over at him. Yoongi was staring at a spot on the building across from you without seeing it, jaw sharp and cheeks already turning red in the winter air. It was a testiment to his anger that he was even enduring it in the first place.

“You really think I’d be disappointed in you for being an adult? You must not know me as well as I thought then.”

He turned, brown eyes meeting your own like a mirror. People always used to say that the two of you looked alike, could pass as twins even. “I don’t want to hear the details of your...business, but I thought you’d at least trust me enough to confide in me that you’re in love with him.”

Yoongi’s words took you aback and you gaped at him in shock. “How did you know?”

He simply raised an eyebrow with a silent really? “It’s pretty obvious.”

“Seriously?” You spluttered, spit catching in your throat. Had you really been that obvious? Talk about embarassing.

He sighed. “I think the only person who hasn’t realized is him.”

Groaning, you buried your face in your hands. “Do you think anyone would notice if I just jumped over the railing right now?”

Yoongi hummed, not even trying to hide his amusement. “I don’t think Jin would want to have to fill out that kind of paperwork.”

“He’ll live. Might even thank me for the free publicity.”

A snort left your brother before he sobered and leaned his elbows on the railing. A comforting pause and then, “I got signed to a record label.”

“What?” You twisted to the side to stare him down as he nervously ran a hand through his blond hair. “As a producer?”

Yoongi’s eyes met your again, most likely trying to gauge your reaction to what he was going to say next. Whatever he found must have satisfied him. “As an artist.”

“Yoongi.”

He broke eye contact to once again stare down at the tiny dots below. “That’s where I was this morning. I was signing my contract.”

Your hands came up to grasp onto the arm closest to you and you squeezed to gain his attention. “That’s so great, Yoongi! I know you used to rap back in the day, but I didn’t know you still did. I’m so proud of you. You’re going to be so amazing!”

A gummy smile finally found its way onto his face as he looked at you with masked excitement. “Yeah?”

“Seriously, Yoongs.” You nodded your head with rapid quickness, a grin revealing your teeth. “I want the first copy of your album. And it better be signed too.”

Yoongi hissed through his teeth. “You’ll have to pay a premium for that, sorry.”

Your hand slapped the covered meat of his arm and your laughter that intermingled with his broke through the invisible wall between you. “Aish. Cheapskate.”

His lips parted, most likely to shoot off a sarcastic response, but the sliding of the balcony door interrupted. Both of you turned to look over at Namjoon standing in the entryway. His face was taut with an emotion you couldn’t discern, but with the way raised voices spilled from the open door answered your unasked question. You exchanged glances with Yoongi before trailing after him as he brushed past Namjoon.

Everyone was standing now, attention trained on the way Taehyung once again stood in the center of the room. He glanced up from the phone in his hand at the entrance of you and Yoongi, his other stuffed deep in the pocket of his slacks. The air he carried was haughty, knowing. And he greeted you with a raise of his brows.

“Well, now that we’re all present, let’s get this out of the way, shall we?”

“What’s going on?” Your feet came to a halt as you slid in to stand next to Hoseok and your brother. The former gave you a tiny smile at seeing the tenstion between you and Yoongi gone.

“What’s going on,” Taehyung waved his phone in the air like a token. “Is that while you two were off settling your differences, I got a text.”

“Congratulations.” Yoongi deadpanned, but the model ignored him in favor of continuing.

“I think you’ll be interested in what I have to say.” Taehyung shrugged and barreled on without waiting for a response. “Because you see, while you all were too busy playing Clue, I got into contact with my cousin earlier this morning. You know, the one who works for my mother’s magazine company?

“Anyway, as you all probably aren’t aware of, my cousin used to do some side work with the government in cybersecurity. And wouldn’t you know, Gossip Girl isn’t as untouchable as she thinks.”

“Oh, shit.” Namjoon’s eyes widened as he came to the same conclusion that was slowly starting to dawn on everyone else.

“Oh shit is right.” Taehyung nodded. “My cousin found a backdoor past her firewall and straight into the heart of her most coveted possession.”

The man paused, like a movie villian right before a grand reveal. “Her sources.”

“And?” Jin tossed the dry eraser he still held in his hand onto the coffee table imaptiently.

“And wouldn’t you know,” once again, Taehyung waved his phone back and forth in the air like the cat that caught the canary. “At exactly 3:32 this morning, she got an email from a recipient by the name of...”

“I swear to god, stop playing games Taehyung.” Yoongi huffed out in annoyance at the dramatics the other man was playing at.

“So impatient.” Taehyung tutted, arrogant stare meeting everyone else’s before he finally opened his mouth and dropped the bombshell.

“Park Jimin.”

Said man stared open mouthed at the man in shock, unable to formulate a proper response over all the shouts of anger. Jimin threw his hands up in surrender and backed up until his calves hit the side of the couch. “What? No--I--it wasn’t me, I swear!”

“Yeah?” Taehyung stepped into his personal space and shoved his phone under his nose. “Then explain the evidence.”

“I--”

“You were the only one who wasn’t drugged that night.” The blond continued, bulldozing over Jimin’s high-pitched voice. “You were the only one sober who was present when the rest of us confided our private affairs. And--”

His finger jab into the smaller man’s chest. “You’re the only one who had something to gain from ratting us out.”

“Gain what, exactly?” Jin’s voice was steel, broad shoulders straightened with a quiet rage that honestly scared you.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Taehyung glanced at Jin from over his shoulder before digging his finger into Jimin’s chest harder. “He was offered a large sum of money to take us all down.”

“By who?” This time the question came from Namjoon, who’s expression was clouded over with a mix of betrayal and the want for retribution. He had the most to lose out of all of you from the leak afterall.

“That’s a good question.” The model rounded back on a wide-eyed Jimin. “Who indeed.”

“Look,” Jimin liked his lips anxiously under the weight of everyone’s simmering fury. “They offered, but I refused--”

“Who?” Jin stalked over to the petite man, the air around him dangerous.

“I-I don’t know.” Jimin stammered. “They were anonymous. But I swear I didn’t--”

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Jin fisted the front of his shirt and shook him hard. You could hear his teeth rattle from feet away. “You little fucking rat.

“I want you to listen, and listen very carefully.” The elder man’s voice was sharp, syllables carefully annunciated. And with a flex of the muscles in his bicep he threw Jimin from his grip so hard that the smaller man stumbled to the floor. “You have twenty-four hours to get the fuck out of my city before I do something that I’ll regret.”

From his place sprawled out on the floor, Jimin’s pleas to be heard went ignored.

“And if I ever catch wind of you stepping even a toe over the state line, it’s over for you.” Everyone in the room knew that Jin’s threat wasn’t to be taken lightly; he’d follow through on his word. “Now get the fuck out of my hotel and pray that I never see your face again.”

Jimin’s eyes quickly flitting back and forth between the seven of you as if trying to find someone to take up for him, to plead his case. And when his gaze met yours, you broke eye contact, choosing to stare at the rug under your feet instead. The feeling that churned your gut was heavy as your heart slowly hardened towards a man who you couldn’t even look at anymore. Who you were once able to call a best friend.

The heels of Jimin’s shoes scuffed the floor as he slowly stood, lips parting to give one final parting blow. “You really shouldn’t trust everything you hear.”

And then he was gone.

Betrayal tested bitter on your tongue.

                               Six Hours Later

The sound of the elevator door opening halted you in your tracks with one foot on the staircase leading up. Out from within the confines of the steel box stepped a familiar head of dark hair and your heart stopped in your chest before picking up speed.

“What are you doing here?” Your lips parted at the object held tight in one of his hands, the pop of color catching your eye. “And with those.”

“I--” Jungkook licked his lips and threaded his free hand through his locks. The nervous look on his face was something you hadn’t seen aimed at you before and it caused a feeling you didn’t want to acknowledge to well up in your chest.

He stepped further into your apartment, his all black outfit standing out against the bright interior. You hadn’t seen him since everyone left Jin’s earlier. He’d departed so fast that you hadn’t been able to apologize for the way Yoongi punched him. And now there he was, fidgeting in the middle of your foyer.

“I wanted to talk.” Jungkook’s voice caressed your ears.

“Okay.” You nodded slowly, stepping down from the stairs and gesturing to the sitting room across from you. He trailed behind as you entered and sat down on one of the couches. But instead of sitting somewhere else, he plopped down right next to you. The paper in his ringed hand crinkled around the two dozen roses it contained.

Jungkook hesitated for a moment before shyly extending the bouquet out for you to take. Your fingers brused against his as you slowly accepted them from his grasp. “I got these for you.”

You completely and utterly failed at hiding your smile and chose to bury your nose into the soft petals to distract yourself from the anxious way he played with his hands. Sweet, they smelled sweet. “What’s the occasion?”

Never had he ever done something like that before. Jungkook and romance wasn’t something that went together in your expierience. And there it was again, that feeling that you chose not to name.

“Y/N.”

The seriousness in his voice had your head jerking upwards. He was staring down, fiddling with one of the rings on his fingers. “I think we should stop.”

Your stomach dropped to the floor and your mouth went numb around the response you forced yourself to give. “Stop?”

Jungkook’s gaze lifted to meet your blank stare and he nodded slowly. “Stop hooking up.”

You were thankful that he didn’t comment on how small your voice sounded. “Why?”

“Because,” his fingers grabbed at yours gently and you couldn’t help but drop your eyes to the way he intertwined them. “I don’t want to hook up with you anymore.”

His grip on you tightened when you tried to pull away, his other hand lifting your chin until you looked at him again. Jungkook’s lips were parted, two prominent front teeth displayed. “I want to date you.”

A pause.

A sharp intake of breath and the tightening of fingers. “I’m sorry, what?”

Now he definitely looked nervous. Jungkook’s words came out quickly, like he was afraid you’d stop him before he could get them all out. “I’ve been in love with you for years, Y/N. And I thought that maybe if you hooked up with me, you’d fall for me too. But I...I don’t want to lose you because I took too long.”

All you could do was stare open-mouthed and bug eyed. And the longer you took, the more Jungkook started to fidget. “Look, please just say something.”

“You’re an idiot.” He flinched at the deadpan tone in your voice. “I’ve been in love with you for the longest time.”

“Really?” Hope filled his voice and he leaned closer, both hands capturing yours. “Seriously?”

Giddy, you grinned so hard your cheeks hurt under the strain. “Yes, really.”

“Can I--can I kiss you?” With a shy nod, you let Jungkook’s hands come up to gently cradle your cheeks.

It was different, the way his mouth captured yours. Instead of the fierce desire he usually kissed you with, this time it was slow, gentle. And god his lips were soft and your heart rate skyrocketed at the love that showed through the way he pressed against you.

“Don’t make me kick your ass.”

The deep voice of your brother had you and Jungkook pushing away from each other like teenagers caught by their parents. And both of your necks snapped over to see Yoongi walking past the entryway to the sitting room. A teasing smirk was aimed your way as he continued on his path to the elevator.

“Mind your business!” Your shout was met with Yoongi’s high-pitched giggle.

                            Eighteen Hours Later

      Well, UpperEast Siders, did you enjoy the story? Because I sure did. Oh, and what’s this? Looks like not even a dark scandal can force Bangtan out of the light.

Laughter rang loud through the busy resturant and all eyes turned at the sound. But the seven of you paid no mind to the stares.

“A toast.” Jin stood in the middle of the half circle you all formed around the bar, a glass of bubbly champagne raised high. “To lifelong friendship.”

         Spotted: Manhattan’s King. But can he really be crowned royalty when his throne was built on the steps of family betrayal? I’d say just ask his brother, but, well, be careful or you might just disappear too.

“And,” Namjoon raised his own glass into the air, golden liquid catching the light. “To trust.”

          Oh, and what’s this? I wonder, how will our lovely God of Destruction talk his way out of jail time? Tell me, do they teach you how to get away with embezzlement in law school?

Hoseok’s dimples came out to play around his own bright smile. “Don’t forget loyalty.”

          It’s a surprise that Manhattan’s Sunshine is even able to stand underneath the weight of a dead body. And if the allegations are true? Well, stay away from drugs, kids.

“And love.” The addition came shyly from your lips as you gazed warmly up at the man to your side. Jungkook’s lips pressed fondly to your forehead.

            If anyone needs help passing their SAT’s, make sure to hit up our Golden Boy. Surely he’ll get you a passing grade if the price is high enough.

“To success.” Yoongi smiled and raised his glass in a salute, skin glowing.

            Can a Genius really be a genius if he has to buy his way to a degree? Someone’s money should have gone towards a tutor instead.

The sound of seven glasses clinking together overpowered the other voices in the room. “Here, here!”

             Everything appears to have gone back to normal ever since our resident Pretty Boy was outed as a little tattletale.

It was raining.

Water pelted the top of his umbrella, the soft plop-plop-plop blending into the noise of city life. People bustled around him, but he didn’t pay it any mind. No, instead his focus was rooted to one spot, one person who he could see through the glass windows of the resturant. One person who’s profile he would recognize anywhere.

He watched, silent, as the man threw his head back in laughter that ghosted his ears. And either he felt the stare burning into the side of his face, or he was expecting him to be there. Because with a turn of the neck, brown eyes met brown. And the tension was palpable on his tongue even through the walls that separated them.

             Out with the old and in with the new, that’s what I always say. Oh, and one last thing:

A haughty smirk turned up the corners of Taehyung’s lips and Jimin watched with narrowed eyes as the blond man raised his glass of champagne in a silent salute.

  You really shouldn’t trust everything you hear.

                                         xoxo,

                                    Gossip Girl

[l0lsat-wod]

~Random Domestic Head Canon Series~

On the topic of fear...

Hawks x fem OC

Warning! Slightly steamy toward the end - read at your own discretion!

Misaki had never been a fan of horror movies. Particularly the ones that were designed to terrify people about perfectly normal occurrences—like the power going out during a typhoon. The tropical storm had hit land earlier that afternoon, prompting the government to issue a discretionary advisory to remain indoors until the worst of it had passed. And so, Misaki was contently snuggled into her bed with one of her favorite books, a pair of earbuds nestled into her ears and playing a soft symphony of orchestral music in an effort to drown out the sounds of the storm raging outside her apartment.

Under normal circumstances, she would not have thought twice about the lights flickering for a moment before snapping off. Being the overly prepared person that she was, there were several, strategically placed flashlights and candles all over her apartment; at least two weeks’ worth of emergency provisions were also stashed away in her pantry in the event that she became unable to leave. The building she lived in had fortified storm glass on all of the doors and windows that was certified to withstand winds up to 190 km/h. She had absolutely no reason to be worried about being alone in her home during a typhoon.

Under normal circumstances.

Goosebumps skittered over the skin of her arms and neck as she was suddenly awashed in pitch black. The sun had already gone down outside her window almost an hour ago, granting an ominous feel to the torrential rain that poured from the angry clouds overhead. She could hear it over the music playing in her ears, beating against her windows with a driving force that threatened to overcome the reinforced glass. Taking a deep, calming breath, she carefully set her book aside and removed her earbuds, placing them on the nightstand before reaching into the drawer to pull out the flashlight inside. She clicked the button on the barrel of the device to turn it on, sighing softly in relief as the bulb flickered to life and cast a beam of bright light across the floor of her bedroom. Her relief was abruptly replaced with a flash of panic as the light suddenly cut off and she was once again bathed in darkness.

Misaki had never been afraid of the dark. She didn’t believe in ghosts or any of the multitude of creatures that were made up to keep little children from venturing out of their beds in the middle of the night. It had always been a philosophy of hers to face things that seemed intimidating with a rational mindset. Prepare. Remain calm. Don’t overreact. As was her mantra in fearful situations.

Under normal circumstances.

But Misaki’s circumstances were somewhat abnormal at the moment. She had engaged in an activity recently which she’d never allowed herself to experience before—mostly because she found the practice of subjecting oneself to something that was made to induce irrational fear utterly ridiculous. However, she had grudgingly let Hawks talk her into watching what he called a “cult classic” horror film during their regular date night last week. The black and white zombie flick had been more campy than frightening, but Hawks had insisted that they watch it in the dark in order to set the proper mood. She hadn’t thought the experience had affected her much, until this moment.

A soft rattling sound from the main room made her jump. Her eyes, which still weren’t quite adjusted to the dark, shot over toward her bedroom door. A sudden wave of fear sent shivers racing up from the base of her spine to the roots of her hair. Reaching out for her phone on the nightstand, Misaki kept her eyes trained firmly in the direction of the living room. Visions of zombies clamoring at her front door filled her mind, feeding her irrational paranoia about the skittering, scraping sound that was probably just a piece of debris washed up onto her balcony by the storm. She felt her hand brush the edge of her phone on top of the nightstand and a new wave of horror assailed her when she heard it clatter onto the floor a moment later. The light from the screen flashed for a second before going dark.

Her heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach. Not only had she apparently forgotten to check the batteries in her stash of flashlights, but her ridiculous fearfulness had sent her only other source of light into the oblivion of darkness beneath her. She slid her eyes closed and took a moment to calm her nerves, determinedly beating back the thoughts of zombies and any other nonsensical fears her subconscious mind had seen fit to drum up to suit her current situation. Swallowing down her anxieties, she carefully swung her legs over the edge of the bed and settled her feet onto the floor, sighing dejectedly when she didn’t feel them brush against her phone. Making her way across the room by memory alone, Misaki slowly and carefully headed for the bedroom door.

Almost apprehensively, she stepped out into the living room of her apartment, scanning her cherry blossom colored eyes across the open space for any signs of abnormality. She still couldn’t make out much more than vague shapes in the darkness, but her eyes finally appeared to be adjusting. Her bare feet softly padded across the cool hardwood, carrying her over to the side table next to the couch where she had another flashlight stored—hopefully with a set of fully charged batteries inside. She sighed in relief, shoulders visibly slumping, when she clicked the button and soft light lit up the space—and remained lit.

Again, the scraping sound drew Misaki’s attention, but it wasn’t coming from the balcony—it was coming from the front door.

Panic gripped her. Who in the world would be trying to access her apartment during a typhoon? She hadn’t ordered anything to be delivered, and maintenance would have announced themselves before attempting to enter her home. Her subconscious brain took the opportunity while her conscious mind was spinning through all of the possible rational explanations to remind her of the zombies, and she immediately shook her head against the thought. The most likely scenario, she decided, was that someone was attempting to break in and rob her. Now that she could handle.

She kept her footsteps light as she tiptoed across the room to the front door, picking up the softball bat that she kept in the umbrella carousel next to the entryway closet as she moved. She lifted it up over her head in preparation, clicking off the flashlight as quietly as she could as the lock on her door clicked open and the handle began to turn. As soon as the door crept inward, she swung her bat down, aiming at the top of her intruders head. The trespasser swiftly sidestepped the swing, gripping her wrist and sweeping her back up against the wall behind her. The glow from the emergency floodlights in the hallway outside her apartment just barely illuminated the side of her intruder’s face, and she sucked in a sharp gasp of surprise.

“Keigo?”

He glanced up at the weapon she’d used to attack him with and asked in an incredulous tone of voice, “Is that a steel bat?”

“It’s composite,” Misaki grumbled.

Hawks sighed as he released her and stepped back. “Steel would be better if you’re planning to use it for self-defense, you know?”

She dropped the bat back down into the umbrella carousel and shrugged. “The steel ones were too heavy.” Turning toward him, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and shot him an incredulous glare. “Mind telling me what you’re doing coming in through the front door unannounced?”

His hand rose to rub the back of his head in a sheepish gesture. “Sorry about that. I kinda dropped my key on the balcony and it got washed away by the rain… I tried calling once I got inside but I couldn’t get through.”

Misaki widened her eyes and blanched, suddenly remembering the scraping at the balcony door earlier, and her fallen smartphone laying on the floor of her bedroom. “So that was you…”

“Who did you think it was?” Hawks curiously asked, cocking his head to the side with an expression of concerned interest etched across his handsome face.

There was no way in hell she was telling him that she’d considered there might be zombies trying to break into her apartment.

Crossing her arms, she turned her head to the side and scoffed, glancing back at him mischievously from the corner of her eye. “Just some vagabond looking to escape the rain and raid my food stash.”

He raised an incredulous eyebrow. “On the twentieth floor?”

“Was I wrong?” She playfully shot back.

Hawks let out an uncomfortable chuckle while nervously scratching his cheek with his gloved finger.

The lights in her apartment abruptly flashed on, drowning out the shadows and illuminating the two of them—one clad in an oversized light gray sweater and sleep shorts, and the other in a sopping wet beige hero costume. Blinking at the sudden brightness that seared through her retinas, Misaki quickly noticed the growing puddle that Hawks was making on the hardwood floor of her rented entryway and gasped. She flung the front door closed and reached behind him for one of her fluffy scarves hanging from the coat rack on the wall, tossing it at his feet before pushing him into the open doorway leading into the kitchen to his right. The floor in there was tile at least.

“Hey—!” He protested at her forceful actions.

Her eyes flashed up at him in warning as her dangerously low toned voice growled, “If you ruin these floors, you’re paying to have them replaced.”

“Geh—!” Hawks flinched away from the death glare currently aimed his way before shrugging out of his coat and gloves and carefully laying them in the kitchen sink. His boots and pants were next until he was standing there in his damp, but no longer dripping undergarments. Holding up his hands in a peacemaking gesture, he cracked a nervous grin and asked, “Better?”

Raking her eyes down his scantly clad form, she took a long moment to enjoy the view before she heard him nervously clear his throat. She finished sopping up the puddle he’d made and stood, stepping toward him and tossing the wet scarf into the sink with his clothes. He held his ground, gazing down at her with heated interest as she invaded his personal space. She held his stare as she slowly and deliberately trailed her index finger down the middle of his pecs and between the chiseled line of his abdomen to curl into the waistband of his boxer shorts.

The telltale bobbing of his adam’s apple drew her gaze just before his lowered voice murmured, “Misa-chan?”

Sliding her gaze up to his, she smirked at the heady look in his golden stare and the faint flush coloring his cheeks. She could almost hear the thrumming of his heart in his chest, beating at a cadence to match her own as she felt her arousal spike in response. She was suddenly transported back in her memory to the night that they’d watched that ridiculous horror film, could feel the rush of adrenaline that had sent her pulse racing—and the excitement that had lead to a very passionate lovemaking session right there on the living room couch as the credits rolled.

Her smirk widened into a wicked grin; perhaps horror movies weren’t so nonsensical after all…

~

Part of a planned series of short, domestic drabbles featuring Misaki and Hawks. They will be based on how both of them react to certain emotions (mostly). This one is Misaki's fear drabble. Planning to write Hawks next - wish me luck! 😬

Might add some tags later... might not... who knows! 🤷