#is her last name Kwan?

[oldmemoria]

How many genders are there

(Idk if you can tell I started running out of time towards the end oops)

[wooataes]

Real Eyes, Fake Lies (Part Ten)

Pairing: soulmate!Lee Jihoon x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: Hanahaki!AU, angst, alcohol consumption, green-eyed monster named jealousy, tears, lots of crying, heartbreak, mentions of death, suggestive thoughts? guilt, swearing

Summary: What do you do when you find out the one person that was created by the universe to be yours doesn’t want you back?

A/N: It has been a long time coming! Oh my goodness guys, thank you so much for your incredible patience with me as I have been navigating my life into the new year and getting my life together essentially. I finally (with the support of my friendos) managed to get this up and out for you all! Thank you all as always for your love and support of refl! 🥰

- Tae 💜🌸✨

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Ask to be added to my taglist!

Jihoon was so fucked.

To his credit, he is trying. Trying to ignore the fact that his body feels some sort of attraction towards his soulmate, situated only a few feet away from him on a beach chair. Trying to ignore the ink embedded into your skin along your collarbone that he can see out of his peripheral vision. 

Trying to ignore temptation. 

Your sunglasses are pushed up your nose to keep the sun out of your eyes, having opted to let the sun warm your body up instead of making your way into the water. It’s unusual for Jihoon to see you so still and so silent, simply basking in the sunlight as a hand belonging to Jisoo reaches up to pat your calf. Jihoon immediately scowls to himself when he sees the older man glance up at you from his towel, asking quietly if you’re good to which you respond with a little nod and smile before leaning your head back again and relaxing into the beach chair.

Your soulmate heaves a soft sigh as he checks his phone for the fourth time in the last two hours. Ji-ah was due to arrive back in Seoul soon and he has been growing increasingly more worried the longer it takes for her to not answer. 

“Y/N!” A loud voice rouses you from your hungover slumber, causing you to whine and look at the shadow that is now blocking the sun from you that comes in the form of a 6’2 man named Kim Mingyu.

“Mm?” You grumble.

“Why won’t you come swimming with us?” he pouts at you, hands on his hips.

“I’m having my enrichment time out of my enclosure.” You deadpan, eyes closing again, a little grin forming on your face as you hear Mingyu let out a loud whine.

“Please can you come in the water?”

“Why does it have to be me?” You groan.

“Because Wonwoo can’t do swimming because of an accident when he was younger, Kwan and Sol are in their own little honeymoon phase world over there,” he points to said couple who are making an intricate sand castle, “Minnie is hanging off Soonie-hyung like a rash, Hannie-hyung will just attempt to use us all as a floatation device-”

“What makes you think I won’t do the same?” You raise your eyebrow.

“AND,” he glares at you, ignoring your comment. “Your brother is sulking that it’s only me who is playing with him. Please?”

“Do I have to?” You throw your head back with a dramatic sigh.

“If you don’t come in the water willingly, I will have to take you by force, Y/Nie.”

“Ha ha ha.” You roll your eyes. “I’d like to see you try.”

Jihoon has kept his back to you both for the entirety of your interaction with Mingyu, deciding on his own that he needs to actually follow Jeonghan’s advice and actively make an effort to at least attempt to ignore you and help you move on. He is finding it extremely difficult, however, due to the bikini you’re currently in looking too inviting for you to wriggle your way into his thoughts like a catchy song that can’t seem to escape his brain.

Mingyu seems to take your words as a challenge though, as not even two seconds later, Jihoon is alerted by a shriek coming from you.

“KIM MINGYU!” You try and scold, the large man having now scooped you up into his arms, marching his way towards the water. Jeonghan and Wonwoo both begin to laugh at the way you flail and kick to no avail.

“Yes, Y/Nie?” Mingyu grins at you, and you thrash more.

“Kim Mingyu, I swear if you don’t put me the fuck down right now…”

“Oh, put you down?” He smirks. “Okay!”

“YAH!” You let out another squeal as he moves to drop you, but you’re faster. You immediately wrap your arms and legs around his torso, squeezing onto him for dear life. Seungcheol bursts out laughing at the sight of you, a big smile on his face as he watches on.

“I meant out of the water, you BRAT!” You smack at Mingyu’s back, who only trudges deeper into the water. You whine loudly and cling tighter to him. 

“Are you sure you want to call me a brat when I could sink both of us into the water right now?” He raises his eyebrows at you, arms down by his sides as you hold onto him like a backpack..

“Yah!” You whimper, burying your face into his shoulder. Jihoon bristles at the feeling in his stomach. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I’ll hang out!”

“Told you it would work.” Mingyu smirks to your brother, who only grins back triumphantly.

“I hate that you know me too well.” You groan, carefully untangling yourself from the overgrown puppy’s broad back, shivering at the feeling of the cold water as you sink your feet into the salty beach water. “I swear to god though, if you try to push me under the water, I will end you.” 

Soonyoung only giggles at the glare on your face, glancing back to the shore at Jeonghan. “Hyung, isn’t she cute when she’s angry?”

“The cutest!” Jeonghan calls back, an amused smirk forming on his face as you shoot your brother’s soulmate a glare.

“I hate you all.” You grumble, crossing your arms with a pout, only making the boys around you giggle more.

“Oh come here, you big baby.” Seokmin turns around, offering his back to you.

Jihoon feels the immediate change in your mood lift to excitement, glancing over to see you happily perched up on Seokmin’s back, who wades slowly through the water with you comfortably resting against him. 

“Thank you Minnie~” You sing sweetly, hugging around his shoulders.

“Hey!” Mingyu points accusingly at you. “That isn’t fair! I went through all that work to bring you out here only to have you be coddled in the water too?”

“Be grateful I’m even here, Mingyu.” You playfully glare at him, Seokmin turning you away from him as Soonyoung starts cooing and patting your head, making you grin.

“Aish, what are we going to do with you…”

For the next hour, Jihoon knows he is torturing himself by listening to the others around him (aka you) have fun. Him, alongside Jeonghan, Wonwoo, Seungkwan and Hansol watches as you with the others play happily around in the water. For the better part of twenty minutes, the game of choice, chosen by the birthday boy, has been Marco Polo. You have opted out of this game, your soulmate keeping an eye on your head currently nestled against Seokmin’s warm shoulder, eyes fluttering closed as the heat from the sun covers you like a blanket and makes your sleepiness return at full force. You look peaceful, he thinks. 

His calm thoughts soon turn to discomfort as he feels his phone vibrate against his pocket, hurriedly reaching down to check the text, only to feel himself deflate at the message from his girlfriend.

Made it safe. x

No nickname, no warmth, no nothing. This is seriously unlike Ji-ah at all, and it has Jihoon nervous. Should he reply like normal? Or should he give his girlfriend the space she needs to handle her emergency?

“Jihoon-ah?” Wonwoo’s voice cuts his thoughts short, startling his housemate as he turns to stare at him with wide eyes. “You okay over there?”

“Uh, y-yeah.” He hums slightly. “Ji-ah just let me know she made it home safely.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

Is it?

“Yeah, I suppose.” Jihoon replies after a short pause, sighing quietly. 

“It’s okay to be worried about her.” Wonwoo smiles at him, patting his shoulder gently. “After all, she is your-”

“YAH!” Your voice squeals out, alarming the others as they turn to look at the ocean. You’re swatting at your brother, who is loudly cackling and snatching you from Seokmin’s arms. “Get away from me, you big buffoon!”

The others upon the shore begin to laugh and smile at Seungcheol as he spins you around bridal style. “You dare be rude to your big brother on his birthday, hmm?”

“HANNIE OPPA!” You shriek as Jihoon glances at your brother’s soulmate, who simply smirks back. “DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR SOULMATE!”

“And ruin my hair if I fall into the water? You’re on your own, Ladybug.”

“You bast-AAAAAH!” You yelp as Seungcheol tosses you to Mingyu, who catches you effortlessly. “I hate you all!”

“What did I do?!” Seungkwan fires back immediately, wagging his finger dramatically at you as the others laugh at the joyful mood surrounding them all.

Jihoon breathes a sigh of relief at the change of subject from Wonwoo’s questioning, letting his head lean back to briefly glance at the sky as he delves back into his own thoughts.

“Aw, come on guys, leave the girl alone!” Jisoo chuckles as he rises from his towel, tucking a surfboard under his arm. He jogs into the sea, sitting up on his board as he paddles his way over to the group. “Come here, Goober. I’ll save you from these punks.” He laughs as Mingyu turns away from him, holding you tight to his chest.

“Nuh-uh! She stays with us!”

“She’s not going to stray far, promise.” He pats the board gently, making the tall man sigh and plonk you down in front of your childhood friend.

“Thank you, Shua’ppa.” You smile sweetly at him before poking your tongue out at Mingyu, who huffs and splashes you playfully, making you yelp.

“Do you know how to surf, Goob?” Jisoo asks gently, giving you a cheeky grin.

“Hong Jisoo.” You deadpan, raising an eyebrow. “I am a homebody girl from Daegu. What do you think?”

“Well,” he ignores your sass, crossing his arms across his chest as you mimic him. “Would you like to learn?”

“When I feel like throwing up from how the ocean is rocking me right now?” You laugh. “I think that’s a recipe for disaster.”

“Hmm.. you make a compelling argument.” He hums sagely, reaching up and stroking his chin, trying not to grin at the sound of your giggles. “How about then I teach you how to keep your balance on the board? No wave riding.”

“Can you guarantee that I won’t fall in?” Jisoo simply raises his hand up, his pinky extended to link with yours, flashing you an angelic smile. You narrow your eyes for a moment before reaching out to link your pinky with his. “I swear, if I fall in…”

“Trust me, Goober!”

Jihoon blinks and raises his head as he feels your amusement filling his veins, eyes coming into focus as he curiously gazes out to the sea to see why you’re feeling this way.

Your legs are shaking as you attempt to stand on the idle surfboard, your nervous laughs reaching down to where your soulmate sits. Jisoo is standing behind you with his large hands settled delicately on your bare waist, keeping you steady as he talks quietly into your ear on how to stand correctly that Jihoon can’t hear.

Jihoon feels his hair stand on end as his eyes zero in on the older man’s hands resting on your bare skin, bristling in his chair slightly.

“You can do it, Ladybug!” Jeonghan is cheering from the shore, an amused grin on his face as you flip him off.

“Focus, Goober.” Jisoo’s voice is steady as he keeps his hands on you.

You take a deep breath, standing with your legs apart as he directs you, biting down on your lip and holding your arms out to keep your balance, your eyes squeezing shut.

“That’s it!” Seungcheol cheers you on from the water, keeping a hold on the surfboard so it doesn’t toss and tip as much.

“Look at her go, babe!” Seungkwan coos excitedly to Hansol from their spot in the sand, as his soulmate watches on with an amused smile.

“Bug, open your eyes!” Soonyoung laughs at your scrunched up face.

“Goober,” Jisoo laughs, both hands now in the air. “You’re doing it. Open your eyes.”

You slowly open your eyes, looking down to see your legs balancing on the board. Your eyes widen as you look around at Soonyoung, Seokmin, Seungcheol and Mingyu in the water, all cheering excitedly at you and Jisoo standing behind you with a proud grin.

“Holy fuck.” You laugh nervously. “I’m doing it.”

“WOOHOO!” Seungkwan cheers from ashore, waving excitedly with Hansol as Wonwoo simply gives you a thumbs up from beside your soulmate, who just stares with a bewildered look on his face, not knowing how to comprehend the feelings that are in his stomach.

“See?” Jisoo smiles charmingly at you, leaning in to press his lips to your temple. “I told you that you could do it.”

Jihoon grimaces at the shy smile that graces your face.

“Jihoon-ssi?”

“Hmm?” Jihoon’s brain switches into focus at the sound of your brother's voice calling out for him.

They had been back at the campsite now for roughly two hours after a long birthday dinner in the city for Seungcheol, full of fried chicken and even more alcohol. Everyone now has settled down around the campfire, ready for a final night of alcohol and drinking games for the last hurrah of the trip.

“Soonyoungie said that you are studying music production.” He smiles warmly at him. Jihoon bristles. “What made you want to pursue that?”

“O-oh.” He stutters. “Umm..”

It’s not that he was afraid of his soulmate’s brother and the fact that if he knew that he rejected his precious sister, he’d rip his head off, no, it was the fact that Jihoon isn’t a very sociable person. He has never been one to hold any type of conversation for very long with anyone unless it was something he was passionate about. Luckily for him, music is one of his specialties that he could go on for hours about. So, he does.

”My older cousin is an amateur producer and songwriter.” Jihoon quietly smiles. “He has a few albums that he’s made at the moment. His soulmate does choreography for some of his tracks. I always thought he was really cool and wanted to follow his footsteps and do what he does. I guess I’m kind of his protege now?” He shrugs his shoulders nervously with a chuckle. “There’s just something I find really interesting about breaking down a song into different segments and sections, and creating completely new beats and melodies from the source material.”

“Wow,” Seungcheol replies with curious eyes. “That’s actually really interesting.”

”I suppose so,” your soulmate nods his head as he smiles shyly to himself.

“Do you plan on releasing things in the future?”

“Oh! Um.. Maybe?” He blinks. “I write a few things here and there, but they’re not very good, I don’t think.”

“Don’t downplay your skills and hobbies, Jihoon-ssi.” Seungcheol pats his shoulder once as he rises from his spot by the campfire. “If you enjoy it, that’s all that matters.” He makes his way to grab himself a second serving of the birthday cake you had brought from your work for the final night of Seungcheol’s birthday celebrations.

Jihoon smiles to himself.

He is so kind. No wonder you turned out so well. After all, he did help raise you for most of your teen years.

“It’s not tap, tap, kick,” Soonyoung instructs loudly. “It’s tap, kick, tap! Yah, don’t you remember anything from this routine, Kwan-ah?”

“We made this dance four years ago, Hyung.” Seungkwan glares, hand on his hip. “Please spare me for not remembering a dance that is nearly HALF A DECADE old.”

“NO EXCUSES!” He shouts back, pointing dramatically as he begins to get back into position. “Five, six, seven, eight!” Seungkwan groans and begrudgingly begins to move in time to Soonyoung’s movements, much to your amusement as you weave your way through the camping chairs, bundles of bracelets in hand.

“One for you,” You chirp, two bottles of soju deep as you slide a bracelet onto Seungkwan’s wrist as you pass without skipping a beat. “And a specially made tiger one for you,” You coo, squeaking and giggling as Soonyoung takes your hand, twirling you in his arms and dipping you dramatically as the bracelet slides with ease onto his wrist, your loud laugh echoing through the empty forest and right into your soulmate’s ears, sending goosebumps down his arms.

”Thank you, Buggie Wuggie Boo,” Soonyoung coos, making you groan and shove him away.

“ICK!” You yell as you continue to pass bracelets through the group, Jihoon eyeing you out of the corner of his eye as you draw closer towards where he sits. “Here you go, Hannie-Oppa!”

”Thank you, sweetheart.” your brother’s soulmate smiles, ruffling your hair as he admires the colourful beads on his wrist.

Jihoon takes a deep breath as he feels your presence draw closer, eyes downcast as you fiddle with one of two bracelets in your hand. “Jihoon-ssi,” your voice is once again timid and shy, and he dislikes it. “I didn’t know what colour you liked, and I noticed your wardrobe is pretty void of colour, so…” You quietly place a simple black and grey beaded bracelet with his name written in lettered beads in the middle on his lap. “I thought it matches your look.”

Jihoon stares at the bracelet, picking it up and examining it between his fingers. He can feel your nerves running through your stomach, fiddling with the remaining bracelet in your hands. After a soft sigh, Jihoon slips the bracelet onto his wrist, cheeks warming at the kind gesture of you still including him.

“It’s perfect.” Jihoon smiles softly to you. “Thank you, Y/N.”

Your cheeks flush as you give him a small smile, turning and making your way towards Chan, who said quietly beside Wonwoo as he ate.

“I saved the best bracelet for last,” you smile to the youngest, sliding the final bracelet onto his wrist delicately.

“What colour is it, Noona?” Chan asks quietly, staring at the beads intently.

“Well,” you begin, sitting down beside him. “I made this with every coloured bead I could think of. It’s a rainbow.”

“Huh?” Chan balked, tilting his head. “Why would you do that? I can’t even see them…”

”I made it this way because then, the day that you meet your soulmate,” you nudge the bracelet, “you will be able to see all the colours of the rainbow straight away.” Your eyes light up with a little smile.

Jihoon’s stomach drops at the sound of hope and joy in your voice that is almost infectious, and he scowls to himself.

“Hannie-Oppa did the same for me, see?” You chirp, holding your hand out and showing Chan your nails, now chipped and slightly overgrown. “He gave me all the colours I could have on my hand, and I wanted to do the same to you.”

“B-but…” Chan takes a quiet breath. “Noona.. wh-what if… what if I meet my soulmate and it doesn’t work out? What if… what if I’m left behind and look like a complete fool?” He stares at his lap, knee bouncing nervously.

Your soulmate feels a twist of discomfort in his gut at the maknae’s question, turning his head to see the same discomfort evident on your face.

“Chan-ah,” you smile softly, reaching up to ruffle his hair. “Don’t be silly.”

“B-but you-”

“Uh-uh-uh,” you wiggle your finger at him. “Things like that only happen to people like me, who are just simply unlucky in life.” Jihoon feels the dagger pressing against his chest. “You, little one, are lucky, and I know your soulmate will be absolutely smitten with you when you meet. And, in that impossible scenario,” You bump your shoulder against his, “you’ll always have all of these guys here to spend time with. And even Noona too.” You add on for good measure, smiling sweetly at him. Jihoon feels the dagger twist inside him. Chan shyly smiles back, leaning his head against your shoulder, signaling for you to give him a big side hug, cheek resting against the top of his head.

“Promise I’ll always have you, Noona?”

“Silly boy,” You giggle. “I couldn’t leave you alone, even if I tried.” You ruffle his hair once more, causing him to whine and swat your arm, your giggle growing once more as Jihoon feels his stomach twist and tighten, a million thoughts once again flooding his mind.

“Okay,” Seokmin settles comfortably in his chair, looking around at the circle. “Here’s a question.” He hums quietly at the small group that has formed around him of you, Wonwoo, Jisoo, Jeonghan and Jihoon. “If you could have one wish that could be granted, what would you wish for?” Before anyone can open their mouths, he points aggressively towards Jeonghan. “NO WISHING FOR MORE WISHES!”

“Yah, you’re no fun.” Jeonghan whines, slumping in his chair and crossing his arms.

“I would wish for…” Wonwoo mumbles. “Being able to have enough money in my pocket at all times to be able to afford what I need at that time.”

”That is… oddly specific.” Jisoo chuckles.

“But practical.” Seokmin grins.

“I would wish for Seokminnie to let me answer questions the way I want to.” Jeonghan huffs, shooting him a playful glare as Seokmin gasps loudly, pressing his hand to his chest in shock,

“How dare you!”

”What about you, Goob?” Jisoo nudges your side with a little smile.

“I’d wish soulmates didn’t exist.”

The group falls silent, the air filling with awkward tension as they balk, trying to think of an answer.

“Bug, I…”

“Not for the reason you think.” You mutter, staring into the fire with a dull look on your face. “If soulmate’s didn’t exist, I’d only have divorced parents, not a dead mother and an absent father. If soulmate’s didn’t exist, I’d still be able to go home and see my mother and tell her about how my day went. If soulmate’s didn’t exist, I’d actually be wanted.”

Jihoon feels his heart twist, teeth digging into his bottom lip as he eyes your face. You look empty. Jihoon can’t feel a thing, and that frightens him.

“C’mere.” Jisoo takes your hand delicately, leading you to a small clearing; the same clearing that Jihoon went to the night before.

The little conversations start up again, Jihoon’s ears zeroing in on Jeonghan’s light scolding to Seokmin as to why he’d ask such a ridiculous question. His ears are ringing as your emotionless words echo through his head, making him feel worse than he ever has before.

“Goober…” Jisoo encourages you quietly to speak.

“Remember how you asked me yesterday if I was okay?” Your voice shakes. “If I was broken?”

Jisoo nods slowly, hand resting on your shoulder.

“A-and I said to you I was fine?”

“Mhm…”

“I-I.. I’m not. I’m not okay.” You whimper, bottom lip trembling. “I’m living a good life, I have a job I love, friends and family who care about me, I can-” you hiccup. “I-I can see colour… and I’m fucking broken.”

You let out a loud sob, a heartbroken wail, letting yourself fall into Jisoo’s arms, your face burying into the warmth of his sweater as your arms wrap tightly around him. Jisoo feels his own tears filling his eyes at the sound of your broken cries, your hands gripping the back of his sweater for dear life, as if afraid he would disappear.

”I know, Goob… Don’t worry, I got you. Let it out.”

“Are you sure it’s been resolved?” Jihoon smiles at Ji-ah as they stroll through the street, making their way to Love Letter cafe.

It has been a week since he has returned from Busan with you and the others; the group having been mostly quiet as they recovered from the long weekend of partying and merging back into their daily lives. This is the first time Jihoon has seen his girlfriend, having given her space to get through her emergency. He’s finally happy he is able to have a date with her after being at university all week and catching up on the projects he wasn’t able to do while on the road trip.

“Yes, babe, I’m sure.” Ji-ah smiles back at him. For some reason, though, Jihoon finds the smile uneasy and almost hollow, and he can’t figure out why until a quiet voice cuts his thoughts short.

“Ji-ah?”

He pauses as he sees a tall man in front of him with a single rose in his left hand, right hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.

“Hajoon.” Ji-ah whispers out with a nervous breath, almost like she’s been caught.

Jihoon freezes at the sight in front of him - his not-soulmate with red tinged cheeks and shy smile on her face, and a stranger looking just as shy and sheepish smiling back at her. He feels his stomach drop as his mind flashes with realization at the scene unfolding in front of him.

He knows the look on her face. He has seen that look before with Wonwoo and Mingyu, Junhui and Minghao, and especially with Seungcheol and Jeonghan.

His heart breaks a little, as Jihoon knows in his heart that he’s already lost his girlfriend to her real love, her soulmate.

Real Eyes, Fake Lies Taglist

@vixensss @hemmingsness @lizzymizzy-blogg @kawennote09 @breakfastburritosattiffanys @im-gemmy @friendlywraith @devinkelsey19 @kameko-ko @mar-627 @woozieeeee @milopenne @stellauniverse @addicsvt @changbinisms @phenomenalgirl9 @lanatheawesome @maidachi @jeanjacketjesus @sunnynapp @jihanniee @reallyshypost @jaeminsbuckethat @sweetchelly @iarayara @opheliaas-stuff @claireleem @hotricewoozi @beardedartgamingbakery @sumzysworld @lavayeon @unusuallyshy @woozixo @mirxzii @mhlsymlysn @seventeenthingsblr @kwanniesboo @loomsuhcats @markleehee @scuzmunkie @tumblerluvver @wooanghae @xxpr3ttyk173rxx @comingupwithacoolnameishard @whorecore-world @sana-is-ms-rmty @bitterbluemorningstar

(48/50)

[nastyburger]

Please say more about the awful Asian designs in Danny Phantom. I'm not Asian but I'd love to have a rundown on the elements that make them offensive so I can avoid and critique those elements in other works. And also you deserve to speak your mind about it

im gonna mostly talk about southeast asian designs since thats what i am and the most familiar with and also what i feel are the show's worst transgression with their casual depictions. tw for racist imagery im gonna link pictures.

there's not much to say about the designs aside from, you know, everything but things to note are the unnatural yellow tone for the skin and closed slanted eyes. veggie burger (fan name for the bg character in the middle) also suffers from the huge nose that sometimes shows up in racist depictions. the straight edge/cut hair as well is somewhat stereotypical. this one isn't as bad but in conjunction with everything else its not ideal. i will give the smallest molecule of credit that at the very least dp never gave any of these bg characters buck teeth.

some depictions are better than others, but theres still missteps happening in one aspect or another. kwan's eyes in a lot of shots/episodes can be too skinny and even too slanted, the girl in the middle is almost perfect but her skin is too yellow (she looks kinda okay on my computer screen but i remember when watching dp on my tv she looked real brightly yellow), and principle ishiyama (who was weirdly forgotten about pretty early on in the show and was replaced by lancer doing most of the school stuff despite not being principle?? which is a whole other issue with how dp treats its poc characters) the same usual notes about the slanted eyes but also the upturned nose is pretty reminiscent of racist japanese art during ww2. again it is not the worst way to draw a nose but combined with everything else in this show's depiction of asian characters its not great, they are on thin ice man.

not to mention, principle ishiyama is the only character here with brown eyes. this is a problem that extends to all poc characters in dp and to my knowledge i think ishiyama might be the only one with them tbh. this is, again, a whole other issue though.

i think the thing that bothers me most about these designs though is that dp is very clearly aware that these depictions are bad. the only difference between the first set of characters and the second is one singular thing: they have a clear speaking role.

suddenly when theyre not stock background characters, dp knows how to act when drawing them. i cannot for the life of me find the image of it, but the last jock guy in the first set gets a speaking role in reign storm (he's cosplaying phantom) and he is drawn with proper open eyes! (theyre also blue but whatever) it just makes me sad that this was a clear choice they made.

the show also went in a different direction in the final product, but early development stuff was really drawing from a lot of japanese/asian influences like danny was originally gonna have a motorcycle (pulling from ghost in the shell) and was even referenced in the show via the akira motorcycle reference (which i once again, for the life of me, cannot find. danny took johnny 13's motorcycle and did the classic akira slide i think it was in million dollar ghost?? idk whichever one where the giw are trying to blow up the ghost zone). danny's name was originally gonna be jackie, named after jackie chan, this i assume was given to jack fenton afterwards. and i think the show having a more martial arts direction with the action was also gonna be a thing? that one could be wrong dont quote me on that, there was an episode where danny and vlad have like a weird ninja fight though im pretty sure.

either way my point here is that they wanted to pull from all these influences and it was prominent enough during development that they sprinkle references to it throughout the show and yet their portrayal and treatment of asian characters in the show is so abysmal it just feels Bad™, you know? i cant really put it more eloquently than that, like its very take and no give with it.

it overall just puts a bad taste in my mouth, and its sad that it still affects people years later. like i mentioned in the tags of the post that started this discussion with that whole old trend of putting yourself into the bg of dp screenshots, i felt alienated by that. and its not the people who participated's fault obviously but most of the people i saw participating were white fans (going off of how they drew themselves) and it made me a bit mad that they were able to enjoy the style of the show in a more carefree manner than i ever could. i didnt want to ruin anyone's fun obviously, but a small part of me wanted to bring to light how i wasnt on equal ground with them in that situation.

[kwanisms]

🎄 Tales from Camp Holiday Special 08 🎄

«« previous | masterlist | next »»

➮ professor!Jihoon × fem!Reader wc: 8.3k summary: Jihoon attends Seungkwan's choir event and runs into Y/N. At her insistence, they meet up for drinks after the show. genres/themes/au: angst (but only a bit lol), fluff, smut; holiday themes; non idol au, music teacher au warnings: adult dialogue, female reader, mentions of abusive past, mention of abusive from parent, sexual content (18+ mdni), see smut warnings under the cut! taglist: @yoonguurt @wonw00t @aikisbbq @enhacolor @duchesskaren @sherituhhh @wonderfulshinee @gaebestie @drunk-on-dk @seokgyuu @salty-for-suga @aaniag @dnylwoo @1004luvangel join my taglists: main | TFC: Holiday Special closed! Strikethrough means I cannot tag you. MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. AGELESS BLOGS WILL ALSO BE BLOCKED.

a/n: Jihoon’s probably has the most angst in his piece of any of these special or original pieces. He’s been very regretful in the aftermath of his story and has wanted things with MC to go further but let things slip out of his grasp. So this is a redemption arc for him. A second chance at a happy ending with MC. Thank you so much for reading and if you like this piece, please reblog as it really helps! As always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only.

smut warnings: protected sex (do this. Use protection), oral (f receiving, m receiving), switch!Jihoon, switch!Reader, multiple orgasms (m receiving, f receiving), praise (f receiving), body worship (f receiving), biting/marking (f receiving), use of pet names (mainly babe and baby), slightly possessive!Jihoon, Jihoon kinda nuts early on lol but he makes up for it, lowkey highkey lovemaking, and I think that’s all but as always let me know if I missed any!

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

“I’m telling you, Jihoon, they’re demons! Every last one of them!”

Jihoon rolled his eyes as he opened his door, arms full of grocery bags.

As he entered, his roommate Soonyoung glanced over the back of the couch at him, pausing his game on the big screen. “You need help?” Soonyoung called, setting the controller down. Jihoon nodded as best he could with his phone squished between his ear and his shoulder.

Soonyoung vaulted over the couch, quickly taking one of the leavy bags from Jihoon, allowing him to grab his phone before it fell as Seungkwan continued to whine about his students over the phone. Soonyoung set the bag in his arms on the counter before moving to take the other one, something Jihoon was extremely grateful for.

“Are you listening to me?” Seungkwan asked suspiciously. “Yeah, I’m listening, Kwan,” Jihoon replied. “I’m sure the kids aren’t that bad. You’ve got help, right?” Jihoon asked, as he and Soonyoung started pulling the contents of the bags out and putting them away.

“Yeah, thankfully,” Seungkwan said softly. Jihoon felt the corners of his lips twitch. “Has Molly finally stepped up?” he asked. Seungkwan made an impatient noise on the other end. “It’s not Molly,” he replied. “It’s someone else but they’ve been nothing short of a godsend or whatever the phrase is.”

Jihoon let out a laugh as Soonyoung looked at him with a brow raised. “Look,” Jihoon said. “I’m glad you got help. That’s important. But I really gotta go. I have groceries to put away.”

Seungkwan whined on the other end. “You’re still coming to the show, right?”

Jihoon hummed thoughtfully in response. “You know I am.”

“And Soonyoung?”

Jihoon glanced at his roommate who seemed to have caught on and shook his head. Jihoon narrowed his eyes on his roommate. Looks like he’d have to endure Seungkwan’s panicked fretting on his own.

“No, he has a prior engagement. He apologizes heavily and promises to take you out for barbecue to make up for it,” Jihoon said, a smirk drawing on his face as Soonyoung glared at him, threatening to hit him with a raised hand.

“Hmm, I guess that’s okay,” Seungkwan said in response. “I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”

“Until tomorrow,” Jihoon said before hanging up and setting his phone on the counter.

“I can’t believe you offered me up like that!” Soonyoung grumbled as he took over emptying the contents of the bag Jihoon had been pulling from. “I love that guy but goddamn he worries over the littlest things,” Jihoon groaned, rubbing his temples as Soonyoung finished putting the groceries away.

“I can’t believe he agreed to do the show alone,” Soonyoung said, shaking his head. “He got help, apparently,” Jihoon offered, remembering Seungkwan’s slight evasiveness on the subject. “Must be someone he doesn’t want us to know about. He didn’t really explain much other than saying it wasn’t his coworker.”

Soonyoung narrowed his eyes. “You think he’s seeing someone?” Jihoon shrugged.

“I dunno,” he answered. “It’s possible.”

The rest of the day, Jihoon spent in his office, going over his students’ assignments. He’d been working as a music theory professor ever since finishing his education and even though he wasn’t actively making music, it was still a good job and he loved it.

It also allowed him to work on his music on the side.

Soonyoung had found work as a choreographer and quickly made a name for himself which allowed the pair to rent a decent apartment in the more expensive part of the city. Soonyoung wasn’t a bad roommate either. He was funny, helpful, and he kept his spaces tidy and always cleaned up after himself, something Jihoon had instilled in him during their college years.

The next morning, Soonyoung challenged Jihoon to a game of Mario Kart and the two spent the morning and part of the afternoon playing video games before Jihoon checked his watch.

“I better start getting ready. Seungkwan will have my head if I’m late to the show,” he explained. Soonyoung grabbed Jihoon’s wrist, checked the time, and grumbled, setting his controller on the coffee table and getting up. “I promised Daniel I’d come help set up for the party,” he said as he started for the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

All Jihoon had to do to get ready was shower and change. He exited his room almost an hour later to find Soonyoung dressed and turning off the console and TV. “How late you think you’ll be?” Jihoon asked, looking up at his friend.

Soonyoung hesitated as he struggled to put his watch on. “Uh…” he trailed off.

“I’m not sure,” he answered. We’re supposed to get some more snow tonight, aren’t we?”

Jihoon glanced out the window, the city blanketed in a layer of white from last night. “Yeah,” he replied. “I think so.” Soonyoung managed to fasten his watch and turned to Jihoon. “Then if the snow gets bad, I might stay at Daniel’s,” he answered. Jihoon nodded as he walked over to the door, slipping on his shoes. He grabbed his coat from the closet as Soonyoung joined him.

“That would probably be the best option. Don’t need you crashing your car,” Jihoon replied as he checked to make sure he had everything. His phone, keys, wallet, coat. He opened the door, Soonyoung following him as he pulled on his own coat.

The pair made their way to the elevator and waited for it in silence, Soonyoung texting someone on his phone. Jihoon pulled his own phone out of his pocket and checked his messages. Seungkwan had texted him in a slight panic but the crisis seemed to have been averted.

The ride down to the parking garage was also silent, Soonyoung still texting who Jihoon could only assume was Daniel. Jihoon focused instead on the lit up button on the wall by the door until the elevator dinged, the doors sliding open to reveal the dark parking garage.

“I’ll see you later,” Jihoon said as they stepped out of the lift and started in opposite directions. “Have fun with Seungkwan,” Soonyoung called, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Have fun at the party,” Jihoon called, turning to look at Soonyoung’s retreating back.

“And absolutely no bringing any girls home!”

Soonyoung simply waved, showing he heard him before reaching his car. Jihoon turned back around and reached his own car, unlocking the driver’s door and sliding into the black leather interior. He turned the car on, plugging the address of the venue to his gps and turned on some soft background music.

Seungkwan lived and worked about a couple hours drive outside of the city, preferring to be in the suburbs rather than the density of the city. Jihoon didn’t blame him and if he could afford the time to commute, he’d probably live outside the city too but his work was here in the heart of downtown.

The drive seemed to fly by and soon, Jihoon was pulling up to the location, pulling into a parking space and cutting the engine. Seungkwan had explained that the show was part of a larger event, a winter festival of sorts. It seemed to be a pretty large affair as well.

As he got out of the car, the sound of holiday music drifted towards him. There were lots of lights and displays. The scent of grilled food reached him and Jihoon suddenly found himself glad he came as he’d forgotten to stop and grab food on the way.

He paid for his entry ticket and made his way into the area, looking around at all the stalls of food, games, and even a few rides. Jihoon made his way past the stalls of food, ignoring the growling of his stomach to head to the building, following the flow of the crowd.

His eyes caught sight of someone familiar. His stomach churned, heart pounding in his chest as he could have sworn he’d seen… ‘Y/N?’ Jihoon tried to squeeze through the crowd, trying to keep his eyes on the figure but by the time he managed to reach the spot he’d seen the figure standing, it was gone.

‘Don’t be stupid,’ he told himself, looking around. ‘There’s no way it’s her.’

Jihoon continued towards the building, trying to put everything behind him and at the back of his mind.

Inside what he could only assume to be the gymnasium, Jihoon noticed how it had been turned into an auditorium. He walked across the wooden floor, memories of gym class flooding his memories but he pushed them away as he spotted Seungkwan across the room speaking to someone Jihoon didn’t recognize. She was wearing a green dress and a green hat to match.

Jihoon watched with amusement as she snatched Seungkwan’s hat off his head and pulled hers off to put his hat on instead before depositing her hat in his hands. Jihoon started to walk over, curious as to who the woman helping his friend was and how Seungkwan knew her.

About halfway across the gym, Seungkwan caught sight of him and waved, making his way over quickly.

“You made it!” Seungkwan said, sounding relieved. Jihoon fought the urge to laugh, opting to nod instead before he peered around Seungkwan at the woman in the green dress who was now sitting at the piano, reading over the sheet music.

“Who’s your friend?” Jihoon asked, nodding towards her. Seungkwan glanced back and Jihoon could have sworn he saw his friend’s cheeks turn slightly pink before Seungkwan cleared his throat. “I’ll introduce you after the show,” he said dismissively.

“We’re going to be starting soon, so go find a seat,” Seungkwan instructed, gesturing to the seats that had been set up. He made his way over, choosing a seat a few rows back and on the end. He looked around, inspecting the room as more people flooded in.

Slowly, the seats filled up, leaving a few empty ones scattered around. Jihoon watched as Seungkwan’s students filed in slowly, taking one of the reindeer antler headbands Seungkwan and his friend handed them before waiting to go on stage.

“Excuse me, is that seat taken?” a soft voice asked Jihoon, making him tense up.

He’d recognize that voice anywhere.

He turned his head slowly, looking up to find you staring back at him. ‘No fucking way.’

Your face conveyed the surprise he felt as realization dawned on you. “Oh my god, Jihoon?” you asked softly. He nodded, getting to his feet. “It’s open,” he said awkwardly, gesturing to the seat next to him. You chuckled slightly, moving to take a seat and settling in as Jihoon sat back down.

“Sorry,” Jihoon said suddenly. “How are you?”

You smiled as you removed your scarf. “I’m good,” you replied. “How about you?”

Jihoon hesitated. How had he been?

When he told his friends about the time you spent together at camp, he’d never told them what happened afterwards. How he’d wanted more out of that summer; more with you. He missed his chance though when summer came to a close and school started again.

The following summer, he never saw you again. He’d been beating himself up over ever since, wondering if or when he’d ever see you again and under what circumstances he might. He never actually expected to see you again.

The first couple years after the summer you didn’t return had been awful for him. He’d been so hung up on you that he couldn’t even look at anyone else so he didn’t even try. Soonyoung was always asking why he didn’t date but Jihoon couldn’t bring himself to tell his friend that he was most definitely still in love with you.

“Jihoon?” you asked, pulling him from his thoughts. ‘Stop thinking. It doesn’t matter anymore.’

“I’ve been alright,” he lied. “Just been working.”

You smiled as you settled back against your seat. “Yeah? What kind of job is Lee Jihoon working now?” you asked with a smirk. “I always saw you as a band director or something.” Jihoon chuckled, looking away from your face and down at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs.

“I’m actually a music theory professor in the city,” he answered. He hesitated, waiting for your response.

“No shit? That’s so cool, Ji,” you said, excitement in your voice. He finally brought himself to look up to meet your gaze. “What about you?” he asked. “What are you doing now?” You grimaced, looking down at your hands this time. “I ended up changing my major,” you admitted.

Jihoon’s eyes widened slightly. “Wait, is that why you never came back to camp?” he asked softly. You glanced up quickly at him. The two of you stared at one another before you finally answered. “No,” you said softly. “I stopped attending camp for another reason,” you said softly.

Before Jihoon could ask anything else, the audience started to clap and the lights dimmed. He looked forward just in time to see the kids climbing the steps onto the stage and then moving onto the riser. He could see Seungkwan’s friend taking a seat at the piano while Seungkwan waited for the rest of the students to get on stage before ascending the few steps and moving to the front.

Jihoon turned to look at you, leaning in. “After the show, will you stay? So we can talk?” he whispered. You nodded, whispering back a yes before the show started.

╾───────────────────⭒✧⭒──────────────────╼

Jihoon wasn’t sure why Seungkwan had been so nervous about the show. It went by smoothly. He found himself actually thoroughly enjoying it as he watched the kids sing and do their small little dances on the riser. It reminded him of when he was in choir as a kid.

After the last song, the audience applauded, Seungkwan motioning for the kids to bow before thanking his friend for filling in as the pianist at the last minute. The lights came up and Jihoon got to his feet, turning to look at you as you stood, grabbing your bag and pulling your coat back on.

“I need to go see my friend real quick,” he explained. “Seungkwan, the conductor, is a friend of mine. That's kind of why I’m here.” You nodded and gestured for him to go. “I’ll follow,” you said smiling. As you followed, your phone rang and you answered it quickly, keeping your voice down.

Jihoon found Seungkwan standing at the base of the stage, talking to what Jihoon assumed was one of his students’ parents. As he approached, Seungkwan excused himself, smiling at Jihoon before noticing you. Jihoon glanced back and then turned to Seungkwan. “Seungkwan, this is Y/N,” he introduced.

“Y/N, this is Seungkwan.” You looked at him, lowering your phone briefly to offer a kind smile. “Nice to meet you, Seungkwan,” you said politely. Seungkwan nodded before looking at Jihoon as you turned away, continuing your conversation. Jihoon couldn’t tell what was being said but you didn’t look happy.

“I have someone I want to introduce you to as well,” Seungkwan said, motioning for Jihoon to follow him. “Funny how you’ve just introduced me to the woman from your camp story,” he continued softly, leading the way over to the piano and the woman in the green dress.

Jihoon’s eyes widened as Seungkwan glanced back at him. He must have noticed the look in Jihoon’s eye because he immediately followed it with “if I can’t ask, neither can you.”

You followed behind Jihoon as he and Seungkwan walked to the other side of the stage. Your mother had been calling all throughout the show and you were only now able to take her call.

“I told you I’m not going to be visiting tonight,” you said under your breath. “I have plans.”

“You always have plans. You’re always busy,” your mother snapped. “Too busy to spend time with your family.”

You held back the urge to snap at her. It had been like this ever since you left home. Moving out as soon as you were able to. Living with your mother and stepfather had been… hell. A lot of your adult life had been spent attending therapy to undo the years of abuse.

Now that you weren’t financially dependent on them, you were trying to distance yourself before going no contact but it was difficult. She was still your mother after all.

“I’m out with a friend right now,” you said calmly. You didn’t have time for this nor did you want it to ruin your night, not when things were going so well. “Goodnight, mother.”

Before she could respond, you hung up and put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode. You looked up as Jihoon was speaking to Seungkwan, the pianist looking at you with a kind smile on her face. One you returned before Jihoon glanced at you.

“Sorry Kwan,” Jihoon said softly. “But I’ve got plans.” You noticed how his friend gave him a knowing look and Jihoon turned towards you. “Come on,” he said softly. “Are you hungry?” he asked as he led you towards the exit. You nodded. “I could eat.”

“Perfect,” Jihoon said with a smile. “I’m starving.”

Outside the gymnasium, the food stalls were still selling food. Jihoon led the way over to one, looking at the menu before asking what you wanted. After perusing the menu for a moment, the two of you settled on some eomuk, tteokbokki, and soondae.

You grabbed two waters from the vendor and followed Jihoon over to one of the tables he’d managed to snag. “I haven’t had soondae in so long,” he commented as he handed you a pair of chopsticks. Soondae wasn’t your favorite food but it went well with the tteok so you weren’t complaining.

“So,” Jihoon finally said after a moment of sampling the food. “What were you saying before the show? You changed your major?” he asked. You nodded, chewing on your bite of tteokbokki before swallowing. “Yeah. I switched from music to nutrition,” you answered.

Jihoon’s brows rose. “That’s quite the switch,” he said. “What made you change?”

You hesitated, wondering if you should tell him the truth. The one thing you remembered most about him was that he never judged you when you talked before. He never once made you feel like you couldn’t tell him anything. He’d always provided you with a judgment free safe space.

So you decided to come clean.

“My home life wasn’t exactly the best,” you started, watching as he stabbed a piece of fishcake with a toothpick. “My father died when I was a kid and mom remarried. Mom wasn’t always the… nicest person to be around but it only got worse after dad died. She got even meaner. And her new husband… he was just as bad as she was.”

You hesitated, taking a sip of water before continuing your story.

“I won’t bore you with the details but there was a lot of gaslighting, manipulation, and other similar tactics they used to try and guilt me into doing the things they wanted. When I went off to college, I realized that I wouldn’t have to live with them forever so I focused on trying to do what I loved and making a career out of it.”

Jihoon said nothing, letting you continue without interruptions.

“But I realized that making a career out of music wasn’t easy. And I didn’t want to have to go back to that house. It would make leaving that much harder. So I changed majors. Starting a course for nutrition, knowing I could land a job right out of college with it. But that meant I had to take less arts courses. Which also included band.”

You tried to mask the pain in your voice but Jihoon could apparently still hear it, taking that moment to reach out and place his hand over yours. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “You shouldn’t have had to make that kind of choice.” You looked up, giving him a small smile. “Thank you,” you said softly, placing your other hand over his. “It sucked but I actually love my job now,” you added.

“It’s not music, but I still love where I work and what I do.”

The conversation shifted after that and once you’d eaten, Jihoon found himself asking if you needed a ride home and you thankfully took him up on his offer. The ride was mostly silent except for you giving him directions softly over the sound of the music that played in the background. 

“I can’t believe you took a cab two hours out of the city to go to the festival,” he said as he reached the outskirts of the city. “Well, had I known we lived in the same city and you were coming,” you started, giving him a smile. Jihoon chuckled lightly, resting his hand on the console.

You turned your head to look out your window, your hand resting on your thigh. He was tempted to reach over and take your hand. You’d let him hold it as you walked around the festival, looking at the light displays and ice sculptures and it reminded him of when you’d sneak into his tent and the two of you would lay tangled up on his cot, talking for hours and he would play with your hands, tracing the lines on your palm and lacing his fingers with yours mindlessly.

Going against his better judgment, Jihoon took your hand in his, grateful you didn’t pull away but instead embraced his touch, tracing patterns into the back of his hand with your fingers. Jihoon said nothing, instead enjoying your light touches.

As he pulled up to your building, he felt his heart sink. This was it. He didn’t know when he’d get to see you again, if at all. As he was prepared to say goodbye and possibly ask for your number, you turned to him, giving him a smile.

“Thank you for the ride,” you said softly. Jihoon smiled back. “You’re welcome. And thank you for staying behind and spending some time with me. It made the trip out there a lot more worth it.” He noticed the way your eyes flickered down and back up but before he could even get so much as a word out, you leaned across the console.

Jihoon reacted before he had time to think, meeting you in the middle, one hand moving to the back of your neck as your lips crashed against his. He heard you whine into the kiss, lips parting and tongue slipping into his mouth.

Jihoon didn’t want the moment to end but his lungs started begging for air and he reluctantly pulled back, panting as did you, resting your forehead against his. Neither one of you said anything as you tried to catch your breaths. Finally you broke the silence.

“You want to come up?” you asked softly. Jihoon sighed, pulling back to look at you, hand moving to cup your cheek. 

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Jihoon pulled into a parking space on the street, getting out before pulling your door open for you and helping you out. You led the way, your hand in his as you pulled him through the lobby and past the concierge desk. The ride up to the elevator, you kept a firm grip on his hand and it was only once you were inside your apartment that Jihoon lost his composure. 

You let out a giggle as he kicked the door shut with a little more force than necessary. “Sorry,” he murmured, hands moving to your sweater and pulling it up. You helped him by removing your coat and letting it fall to the floor before lifting your arms as he pulled your sweater off over your head.

“Come here,” he murmured, pulling you closer as you tried to lead him through the apartment, giggling as he tried to stop you from moving. “Stop moving,” he whined. You pulled back to look at him. “Do you want to fuck me here or in the bedroom?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Jihoon’s brow furrowed as he looked at you before cupping your face in his palm, running his thumb over your bottom lip. “I don’t want to fuck you, Y/N,” he whispered, eyes scanning your face. Your own brows knitted together in confusion as you stared back at him leaning in, lips inches from yours.

“I want to make love to you.”

You felt heat rise to your cheeks, the urge to turn and hide your face from him nearly winning except he pulled you into a kiss. “Last time we did this, it ended up going nowhere,” he continued in between kisses as he guided you backwards through your apartment in the direction he had hoped was your room. “I don’t want this time to be just meaningless sex.”

You nodded, following his lips as he pulled back to look at you. “Y/N,” Jihoon said, taking your face in his hands so he could hold you in place and look in your eyes. “I mean it,” he added. “I don’t want this to be just another hook up.. I want this to mean something.” You nodded, looking back at him.

“I know,” you confirmed. “I heard you. I want it to mean something, too.”

Jihoon hesitated, making sure he heard you correctly. “Wait, really?” he asked.

You nodded, leaning in to kiss him. “Yes,” you murmured against his lips. “I do, but I also really want you right now,” you added, pulling him to the door of your room, passing the other doors entirely. Jihoon stopped you before you could open the door, taking both your hands in his. “So if we do this, you’ll let me take you on dates? We can spend time at each other’s places, watch movies, make dinner together?” You smiled, chuckling softly at the potential memories you could make.

“Yes,” you said with a nod. “We can do all of that but right now,” you continued, pulling a hand from his to push open your bedroom door. “I really need your cock inside me.” Jihoon let out a sound like a mix between a growl and a groan, his hand finding its way to the back of your neck and pulling you into a kiss, his tongue slipping into your mouth.

The two of you stumbled into your room, somehow managing to not break the kiss until the back of your legs bumped into your bed. Jihoon wasted no time in pushing you back onto the mattress. Before he could follow, you held him in place by the hips before moving your hands to undo the button and zipper of his pants. You felt his hand cup your chin, tilting your head back.

“You don’t have to do that,” he started. You smiled up at him, lips parting slightly as his thumb brushed over your bottom lip. The tip of your tongue peeked out to taste his thumb and soon he had it in your mouth, pressing against your tongue as you pulled his pants and underwear slowly down, taking your time. You’d forgotten how big he was as his cock sprang free once you’d pulled his underwear down far enough. You continued to push them down before wrapping your fingers around the base of his cock.

Jihoon let out a low hiss as you squeezed him. He pulled his thumb from your mouth, hand moving to the back of your head. “Make it quick,” he said in a low tone, his voice shaky. “Wanna be inside you.”

You opened your mouth, jaw falling slack as he guided your head towards him, the tip of his cock resting against your tongue. He groaned as he pushed your head further, filling your mouth. He kept pulling your head closer under all of his cock disappeared in your mouth.

“Fuck,” he rasped out, his breath still shaky despite his attempts to even it. You pulled back only for him to pull you back closer, setting a steady rhythm as he used your mouth. The only sounds that could be heard were the wet sounds of his cock hitting the back of your throat and his strained groaning.

You closed your eyes, letting yourself get lost in the feeling of his hot cock on your tongue and the salty taste of his precum mixed with your saliva which had started to spill out of your mouth, falling onto your bare chest. Jihoon let out a particularly low groan, forcing his cock into your mouth, the head squeezing into your throat as he came unexpectedly, his cum spilling down your throat.

Thinking quickly on your feet (or not in this case as you were sitting down), you swallowed all of it.

“Fuck,” he cursed, breaths coming out in pants. “Shit, I’m sorry,” he grumbled, pulling your head back and his cock from your mouth. You shook your head, looking up at him. “S’okay,” you replied as he pulled his shirt off and carefully wiped your lips, chin, and chest with it before tossing it to the floor.

“Let me take care of you, yeah?” he said softly, guiding you onto your back before stripping you of your leggings and panties, letting them fall to the floor. Jihoon climbed over you, leaning in to press a quick kiss to your lips before he started kissing down your chest, stopping to pay special attention to your breasts. You sighed, back arching as you felt his tongue drag lazily over your nipple.

“God,” you heard him groan against your skin, his breath hot. “Have I ever told you how fucking beautiful you are?” he asked softly. You moaned, his hand kneading your breast as he started kissing down your stomach. He slid off the bed, grabbing you by the hips and pulling you to the edge of the bed.

“I don’t care how pathetic it sounds,” he started as he forced your thighs apart. “I’m so fucking in love with your body. With you.” You felt his lips on the inside of your thighs, leaving a trail of kisses from your knee and moving closer and closer to your aching core.

Just as he reached your mound, he pulled back, repeating the same on the other thigh. You gasped as he stopped to nip at the skin, sinking his teeth into your soft flesh. “Gonna mark you up so everyone knows you’re mine,” he muttered so low you almost didn’t hear it.

You let out a whine as his mouth moved closer and closer to where you wanted it. “Please,” you breathed. “Don’t tease me anymore, Hoonie.” Jihoon nearly melted when you used that nickname. “I don’t plan on it, angel,” he said softly, his hot breath fanning over your sex. “Wanna taste you so bad I can barely stand it.” You whined, legs spreading at the sound of his voice. “Please, Jihoon.”

You heard Jihoon chuckle lightly; felt his breath on you. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “Just let me take care of you.” That was the last thing he said before you felt him lick slowly up your sex, spreading your folds to expose your slit. His tongue passed over it, dragging up to your clit before sucking, making you mewl in surprise as the tip of his tongue flicked against it rapidly.

He pulled back, giving your clit a slow lick, glancing up at you where he could see your chest heaving.

One of your hands moved down to comb through his hair, fingers tangling in his locks as your hips started to move. Jihoon grabbed your hips to hold you in place. “Ah, shit,” you whined as he impeded your movements, holding your hips in place.

You propped yourself up on your elbow to look down at him. His eyes were shut, tongue flat as he ran it over your clit repeatedly. You pushed his hair back off his forehead, groaning as you felt your thighs start to tremble. “Jihoon,” you whined, trying to move your hips. He groaned against you, his hands moved, arms wrapping around your thighs.

He pulled back only for a moment to speak. “Go ahead, baby,” he urged. “Ride my tongue.”

His tongue was back on your clit, groaning as he tasted you. You started to roll your hips, grinding your clit against his tongue like he asked, letting out almost pornagraphic moans as your orgasm approached. “Fu-fuck. I’m gonna cum,” you announced, thighs shaking as your walls clenched around nothing.

A wave of euphoria washed over you as you finally came with a broken cry of Jihoon’s name. Your hips slowed to a halt. Jihoon pulled back, grabbing his shirt from the floor to wipe his chin before guiding you back up the bed, lips meeting yours as he laid against you, between your thighs. You could feel his cock poke against your thigh and you whined, wiggling your hips.

“Want it,” you murmured against his lips, pouting when he pulled away to look at you. “Want what, baby?” he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Your cock,” you pouted harder. “Inside me. Want it so bad.”

Jihoon let out a light chuckle at your pouting despite his cock twitching at the thought of being inside you. “You sure you can take it without prep?” he asked, kissing across your cheek. You nodded fervently. “Yes,” you breathed. “I can take it.”

Jihoon fought the urge to laugh, opting to smirk instead as he pulled back, cupping your cheek in one hand. “Alright,” he cooed. “Where do you keep your condoms?” You turned your head, pointing to your bedside table. Jihoon leaned over, pulling open the drawer and reaching in to find the box of condoms. He also found a bottle of lube as well as a small ping bullet vibrator.

‘Another time,’ he told himself as he pulled out a condom, shutting the drawer again and sitting up to open the condom. He rolled the latex down his length. “You sure you don’t need me to stretch you first?” he asked, looking down at you. Shaking your head, you reached out for him. “No, just need it now.”

Jihoon couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped him as he took one of your hands, the other guiding his cock to your entrance. “Squeeze my hand if it hurts,” he said before taking a deep breath. You nodded, looking up at him with expectant eyes.

Jihoon slowly pushed into you, letting out a groan as your walls welcomed him. You let out a whine but didn’t give his hand a squeeze so he continued, gliding into you with ease. “You feel so good,” Jihoon groaned as he stilled, his cock fully enveloped in your warmth.

“So fucking good, baby.”

You whined in response. “Feels so full,” you commented. “Yeah?” Jihoon whispered, moving his hand to cup your cheek. You nodded, a choked moan coming from the back of your throat as he pulled back, softly thrusting into you. “Sshit,” Jihoon cursed under his breath.

He gave you another slow thrust, slowly increasing speed until he was at a slower pace. You whined, moving your hips to meet his. You wanted him to really fuck you properly. “Jihoon,” you said his name, licking your lips. “Please move.” Jihoon let out a soft laugh, moving his hand down to the front of your throat. “I am moving, baby,” he replied.

“Faster,” you whined, frustration setting in. You heard another soft chuckle from him and decided to take matters into your own hands. You moved so quickly, it took Jihoon a moment to register what just happened.

One minute he had you flat on your back as he thrusted slowly into you, the next, he was on his back and you were on top, fingers gripping the sheets under him as you rolled your hips much faster than he was giving you, riding him. His hands flew to your waist, trying to hold you still.

“Stop it,” he groaned, cock twitching inside you when your walls clenched. “I’m trying not to cum so quickly.” You whimpered, moving your hips faster. “Sorry,” you whined. “I just need more.” Jihoon let out a growl, flipping you back over on your back as he hovered over you.

“I was trying to be sweet,” he murmured, one hand moving to your throat and gripping it firmly but not cutting off your air intake. “But you’re acting like such a brat right now.” He slowed his thrusts, despite your protests. “Jihoon!” you pleaded. “Please just fuck me already.”

He shook his head, keeping the same steady pace. “I already told you, baby,” he started. “I don’t wanna fuck you.” He leaned over, pressing his lips to yours. “But if you don’t stop acting like a brat, I will fuck you and you won’t get to cum.” You whined, shaking your head. “Okay, I’m sorry,” you backpedaled.

There was no way you were going to let him deny you your orgasm. “I promise I’ll behave.”

Jihoon gave you a teasing smirk. “Good girl.”

Your walls clenched around him and he let out a moan. “Keep doing that,” he gasped when you did it again, this time intentionally. “Are you close?” you asked, looking up at him. He nodded, eyes fluttering shut. “I’m almost there,” you replied. Without needing to ask, Jihoon moved his hand to your face, pushing his thumb between your lips and gathering your spit before moving the same hand down to rub your clit in time with his thrusts.

“Come on, baby. Cum with me.”

Your back arched off the mattress with a mewl as Jihoon drove you both closer and closer to the edge. “That’s it, pretty girl,” Jihoon murmured. “God look at you. So fucking beautiful. And all mine, aren’t you?” he continued. You nodded wordlessly. “Say it,” Jihoon growled. “Say you’re mine.”

Your lips parted but the only thing that came out was a moan of his name. You felt him snap his hips hard against you. “Say it. Tell me you’re mine. Only I get to have you like this.” His thrusting turned into pounding, the sound of skin on skin growing in volume and your moans increasing in pitch.

“I’m yours,” you managed to gasp. “Only yours, Hoonie.”

Jihoon let out a deep moan, hips stuttering as he came, filling the condom. He continued to thrust, riding out his high as he brought you with him, pushing you over the edge after a couple more thrusts and hissing when he felt your nails dig into his arm as your cunt convulsed around his cock.

Instead of collapsing on you like his body wanted, he chose to carefully pull out of you and roll onto his back, eyes fluttering shut as he tried to regain his composure, breathing slowly to calm his heart rate.

His lips pulled into a smile as he felt your fingers card through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead before you leaned into him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He turned his head, capturing your lips with his. “You’re sweaty,” he murmured as you partially draped yourself over him.

He heard you scoff lightly. “As if you aren’t covered in sweat right now too,” you retorted, making him laugh, the sound of it musical and light to you. “We should probably get cleaned up,” you murmured, lightly tracing the curve of his cheek with your fingers.

Jihoon grabbed your hand, eyes still shut and brought the back of your hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. He finally let his eyes flutter open and looked up at you. “Later,” he murmured. “Let me take care of this first,” he added, sitting up to remove the condom, tying the end before tossing it into the small waste bin beside your nightstand.

He laid back down, arm wrapping around you as you laid your chin on his chest, looking at his face as he shut his eyes again, chest rising and falling as his breathing finally returned to normal. Silence washed over the two of you as you continued to stare at him. He looked as if he’d fallen asleep but he opened one eye to look at you through a squint.

“It’s not nice to stare,” he said, his voice gravelly. “I can’t help it,” you replied. “You’re just so pretty to look at.” Jihoon felt heat rise to his face, extending into the tips of his ears which he was sure were red now. “You can’t say stuff like that and expect me to not fall for you,” he replied, rolling onto his side, his other arm coming to wrap around you and pull you closer.

“Maybe that’s what I want,” you replied. Jihoon murmured something into your hair, making you ask him to repeat it. “I said go to sleep,” he said a little louder. “We can shower, stare, and talk in the morning.”

You grumbled, letting your head fall against his bicep under you. “Fine,” you muttered, eyes sliding shut.

You weren’t sure how quickly you’d fallen asleep but when you woke up, it was already morning. Bright light filtered into the room through your blinds as you blinked the sleep away and started to stir. You felt warmth behind you and turned your head to find Jihoon fast asleep, one arm under the pillow under your head and the other wrapped around your waist.

Sometime in the night, Jihoon must have woken up and put both of you under the covers. You stretched your arms in front of you, letting out a yawn and started to sit up. You were held in place as Jihoon curled both arms tighter around you and grumbled.

“I have to get up,” you whined, to which he murmured a no in your shoulder as he ducked his head in the crook of your neck. “Jihoon!” you admonished as he started pressing light kisses to your neck and shoulder, making you giggle as you tried to free yourself from his iron grip.

“No,” he whined as you peeled his arms back and managed to escape, sitting up and scooting to the edge of the bed. You got up, letting the sheets fall as Jihoon made a swipe for you but missed. He fell back against the pillows, pouting at you as you walked away from the bed and over to your bathroom.

“I’m taking a shower,” you announced, looking back over your shoulder at him. “You’re welcome to join me if you’d like,” you added before stepping into the bathroom and closing the door until it was open a crack.

Jihoon rolled his eyes and turned over to grab his phone from the nightstand. He checked the time and saw he had several missed texts from Soonyoung. He ignored them, locking the screen before setting his phone back down and sitting up. He’d deal with his roommate later.

Getting up from the bed, Jihoon padded over to the bathroom door where he could now hear the shower running. He pushed open the door and peered in. The curtain was pulled closed and he assumed you were already in there. He pushed the door open fully before shutting it behind him to trap all the warm air before walking over and pulling back the curtain to find you standing under the stream, water cascading down your body.

He stepped in behind you as you turned to him. “Morning,” he murmured, hands moving to your waist and pulling you into a kiss. “Mm, morning,” you replied as you pulled back and started to grab your body wash and a washrag. Jihoon took the items from you, giving you a smirk when you raised your brow.

“Let me,” he simply said, squeezing the soap onto the washrag. “Gives me an excuse to touch you all over.” You rolled your eyes as he started to scrub the soap onto your body. “Never knew you were so big into body worship,” you joked as he turned you away to scrub your back with a hum.

“I think it’s just you,” he replied, running his hand over your body, spreading the soap further. You leaned back against him as his hand not holding the cloth traveled down your stomach. “Really?” you asked as his fingers dipped between your thighs, his lips kissing at your jaw. “Yes, really,” he murmured.

“Just let me take care of you, yeah?”

You snorted, letting out a moan as his fingers moved against your clit. “You said that last night, too,” you breathed, head falling back against his shoulder as he continued to play with your clit and scrub your body at the same time, moving the washcloth carefully over your breasts.

“Baby, I’ll keep saying that to you every day and every night if you’ll let me.”

You let out a whine of protests when he withdrew his hand from your sex. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he chuckled. “Let me finish washing you and then I’ll give you what you want.” You groaned in annoyance as he merely laughed at your impatience. “You better,” you replied. “Now I’m horny again.”

Jihoon stayed true to his words, washing and rinsing your body before he satisfied both your appetites by fucking you against the tile wall and pulling out to cum on your ass which quicky washed away under the stream of hot water. Once both clean and dry and Jihoon had a couple of marks littering his neck and shoulders, you headed out to the kitchen to start making breakfast, thanking your automatic coffee maker for doing its job and making a pot of hot coffee.

Jihoon joined you moments later, wearing only his underwear. “Where are my clothes?” he asked as he approached the kitchen. “In the wash,” you replied. “I thought it would be nice to go home in clean clothes,” you replied. He grumbled about being cold and you let out a laugh.

“Grab a blanket then, you big baby,” you replied. “Or you can check my closet. I’m pretty sure I have some old things that will fit you,” you added. Jihoon padded back down the hall to your room, entering your bathroom and walking into your closet. He started to search, wondering why you would have something that fit him.

He ended up finding a pair of plaid men’s pajama pants and eyed them suspiciously. He grabbed them and carried them back out to the kitchen where you were cooking. “Are these okay?” he asked, holding up his find. You eyed them and nodded. “Yeah, those are my brother’s. They got mixed up in my stuff when I went home during college and my mom did my laundry. I just kept them,” you replied.

Jihoon felt instantly much better and quickly pulled the pants on and walked around the counter to prepare a mug of coffee. The two of you stood in the kitchen in comfortable silence as he made his coffee and you cooked breakfast, stirring the eggs.

“So,” Jihoon finally said after taking a sip and leaning against the counter behind you as you worked. “Are we going to talk about this?” he asked. “About what?” you asked, not looking back at him but lifting your head so he knew you were paying attention.

“About this. About us,” he answered, gesturing between the two of you, even if you weren’t looking to see. “Well,” you started. “What do you want to talk about? Do you want to define things?” you asked. Jihoon contemplated for a moment before responding.

“I’d like to know what direction we’re heading,” he answered. “Are we together? Are we dating? What does this mean to you?” You lifted slices of cooked bacon out of the pan, dividing them between the two plates on the counter before cracking open the eggs.

“I want something more than just sex,” you said as you cracked the eggs one by one. “I said this last night and it’s still true today. I want more than a sexual relationship with you, Jihoon.”

Jihoon set his mug down and closed the distance between the two of you, leaning against the counter next to you. “I want that too,” he stated. “I’ve wanted that since camp,” he added, moving his hand to take your chin in his hand and turn your face towards him.

“It’s a little backwards,” he started as he let go of you, watching you stir the eggs, the clear parts turning white as they cooked. “But I want to take you on a date. I know we’ve already hooked up a few times,” he continued. “But I really like you, Y/N,” he said softly, heart skipping a beat as you smiled shyly at his admission. “I like you too, Jihoon,” you answered softly.

“So let me take you on a date,” he countered. “We can go on a date, see each other outside of the bedroom for once.” You let out a giggle as you stirred the eggs, making sure they were fully cooked before plating them. “Alright, Mr. Romantic,” you said, turning off the stove and turning to him, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Let’s go on a date.”

Jihoon lifted a brow. “Mr. Romantic?” he asked, sounding thoroughly offended, making you laugh loudly before pulling him in for a kiss. “You’re so annoying,” he mumbled against your lips, his smile holding nothing but adoration for your antics. “You still like me though, right?” you asked softly.

Jihoon nodded, reaching up to cup your cheek.

“Definitely,” he answered. “Hell,” he continued, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to your lips.

“I might even love you.”

ⓘ Graphics made by me. Content and support banners made using a template by cafekitsune. I do not allow reposts, translations, or continuations of my works. All writing and graphics are ©️ kwanisms.

[lexosaurus]

The Fog Around Us: Chapter 1

Hello all here's my second fic for the @ecto-implosion! This one with @nightwanderers12081 who did AN INCREDIBLE PIECE OF ART LOOK AT IT!

Please enjoy my accompanying fic!

read on: [ao3]

[see all chapters]

Characters: Danny Fenton, Valerie Gray Tags: Amnesiac Danny Fenton, Enemies to Friends WC: 4476 Summary: Two weeks had passed since Danny Fenton went missing. Two weeks had passed since Phantom had disappeared as well. It couldn't be coincidence.

****

“He can't have gotten far.”

Those were the words Valerie had heard the first day the missing child report had been filed. The first day Danny didn't show up to school.

“You kidding, Fenton?” Dash said, emphasizing Danny's name with the sort of disbelief one would say about a toddler training for the Olympics. “No—no way! He's so annoying, I bet whoever nabbed him will get so pissed at his loser squeaky voice that they'll toss him right out of their truck. They probably didn't even get him out of the city!”

“No way he's gotten far,” Kwan agreed.

The next day in homeroom, it had come from Sam. She hadn't been in school the previous day. Well, she had at first, but after the whispers started going around and the police showed up at the school, she and Tucker had been pulled to the main office all too quickly.

“He can't have gone far,” she whispered to Tucker, who was wringing his red cap around in his fingers. “It's Danny we're talking about. He's probably—you know. He's fine.”

Tucker was silent for a moment. To an outsider, it would look like he simply had nothing to say. But Valerie knew better. She could see how his jaw twitched, just barely suppressing whatever words were swimming around in his mind. It was only after his muscles relaxed that he finally spoke, his voice so quiet that Valerie almost didn't pick up what he said. “I know you want to think that, but Danny wouldn't...do this. He wouldn't slip away without telling us first.”

Whatever temper Tucker swallowed, Sam had no problem spitting out. “You don't know that. You know how he gets!”

“I do know, Sam. There's no way—”

“This is the same guy who—” Sam stuttered, then lowered her voice, hissing something too softly for Valerie to hear.

Tucker's reaction was telling, though. He sighed, not sharply, but still showcasing his frustrations all the same. “This is different. Come on, you know that.”

“I don't want to hear it,” Sam snapped. “He's fine, Tuck.”

And that was that.

Valerie could almost believe them. And god, she yearned to believe them with a fortitude that nearly crushed her heart, but on the third day, she made the mistake of passing by the teacher's lounge.

In an instant, she was plunged back into this new ice-cold reality.

“His parents suspect ghosts,” came the gruff voice of Ms. Tetslaff. “And you know, as wacko as they are, this time? Yeah, I might believe them.”

“It's not too far-fetched. You know that the CPS investigation came up clean. Especially after speaking to Ms. Jasmine Fenton directly, nothing came up that was particularly worrisome from their house. They seem like a good family, albeit a bit to the left. It feels unlikely that any of this could have stemmed from within the home,” Mr. Lancer said.

CPS investigated their house? Valerie thought back, but she didn't remember Danny ever mentioning it. So, why? Why had CPS gone?

“And you know how Mr. Fenton gets whenever a ghost gets near,” Mr. Lancer continued. 

“Oh yeah, he's a jumpy one,” Ms. Tetslaff agreed. “Always the first one out of the class.”

“And the last one back, sporting some sort of bruise,” came the voice of the old history teacher. What was her name, Mrs. Sawyer?

No, her name didn’t matter right now. What, with this information piercing every wall around Valerie's mind.

Danny was...getting hurt? And she hadn't noticed?

But she didn't have long to process this before Mr. Falluca took his chance to interject. “Didn't I tell you? After that whole CPS debacle? I told you all it was ghost related. I told you that the parents are weird, but Danny was always getting hurt around a ghost attack or on his way to school.”

He was what?

Why hadn't Valerie seen anything? Or heard anything?

“And I agreed if you'll recall,” Mr. Lancer said.

“I wouldn't be surprised if a ghost kidnapped him this time,” Mr. Falluca said.

“To get to his parents, most likely. The weekly harassment wasn't getting anywhere, so they had to escalate,” Mr. Lancer concluded.

“Poor kid,” Ms. Tetslaff murmured.

“Indeed. And if that's truly the case, then who knows how far they've gone. They're ghosts, after all.”

But Valerie was through listening to the teacher's gossip. She backed from the door, stumbled over her feet, and bolted around the corner, nearly slamming into some upperclassmen as she did.

No...no way....Danny? Her Danny?

She'd broken up with him so he wouldn't get hurt, hadn't she? She'd predicted this. Ghosts were ruthless and vengeful and ugh, she had let him go to prevent this from happening!

And yet!

And yet...

She skidded to a stop, her heart thundering in her ears. Around her, the hallway bled Casper High red, posters about kindness and unity hung haphazardly over the walls, and the ever-long fractals of lockers wove spiderwebs around her vision.

And yet, he'd been hurt anyway. No, it was worse than that. He'd been hurting the whole time, and she hadn't known. He'd...never told her.

But why would he? It wasn't like he knew that she was the Red Huntress. Maybe if she'd revealed this to him, he would have told her about the ghosts harassing him. Maybe she could have done something. Maybe, maybe it wouldn't have come to this.

Now, it was too late. Danny was gone.

And she had to bear the weight of the blame.

Her breath shortened, and hot tears sprang to her eyes too quickly for her to will away. They spilled down her cheeks and splashed onto the disgusting red and white tile below her.

She should wipe them off, stop crying, suck it up. She couldn't break down now, not while Danny was out there with god only knew which rogue now.

But shit, it was her fault.

Her weakness got to her, and she found herself standing before the row of lockers with her forehead pressed against the cool metal. Her curly hair fell around her, shielding her from the view of any potential onlookers. But thankfully, the science hallway—tucked in its own small corner of the school—was always nearly deserted while classes were in session.

She should have saved Danny. She should have noticed something, anything. What was even the point of having all this gear if she couldn't protect the people she cared about most?

She wanted to crumble, to disintegrate into a pile of dust on the floor. She held her hand against her mouth, choking back sobs that tried to rip from the core of her diaphragm, but she knew that the lunch period was nearly over and it would only be a matter of minutes before the hall was populated once again.

So she breathed. In, then out. First, nothing but a shaky jolt, and then steadier. In and out until the thick tears had reduced to rubble, and her sobs were nothing but hiccups. 

And then she made a promise to herself. One to bring Danny back home.

She may have failed to protect him before, but she wouldn't fail to save him this time.

She wouldn't.

****

The air was still tonight—unusual for this particularly windy fall—and it was as if Valerie could hear every secret Amity Park whispered into the stars. Every owl hoot in the surrounding air, every soft click of someone’s heels on the pavement below. 

There was a certain serenity to these kinds of nights, ones that were bathed in countless stars glittering in the air above. Not that Valerie had really cared about silly things like the stars before. But after she began donning flight in her red suit alone, they became a source of comfort to her. A constant that she could count on—if the clouds allowed so. 

And it was all thanks to one particular boy that she had even looked up in the first place, hadn’t it?

The past two weeks, she found herself leaning on their comfort more as she spent the nights searching, and searching, and searching some more.

But where should she look? She didn’t know. It had been so long that he could be anywhere. There was a chance—a very likely chance—he wasn’t in Amity Park at all.

Especially if what she’d heard about him was true.

It was Johnny 13 who had let it slip. After a week of no leads, of no sleep, Valerie had the rather unfortunate pleasure of running into the biker ghost himself.

Or, maybe the fortunate pleasure. Because after cornering him and pressing her gun to his temple, his silver tongue was all too eager to spill.

“The kid?” Johnny had asked.

“Fenton. Son of the ghost hunters? Maybe you’ve heard of him.” Valerie wedged her gun into his skin just a little more.

“Jeez, cool it. Yeah, I’ve heard of him. Kid’s damn annoying enough on his own without his parents getting involved.”

Confusion sliced through her, but she had only just begun to react when Johnny slid out from her hold, reappearing on her other side.

“What are you talking about?” Valerie whirled around, nearly forgetting to keep her gun out in front of her. “Danny? The son? He doesn’t have anything to do with ghosts!”

Johnny barked a vicious laugh. “Oh, is that what he tells you? Man, you humans are so blind. Well, kid’s a good actor, I’ll give him that.”

Then, black cloaked her vision, and she could hardly escape the swirling shadows before she looked up and realized that Johnny 13 was gone. And then, so was his shadow.

That had happened almost a week ago, and since then she had questioned any ghost that crossed her path, but either no one knew or no one would tell her.

As the days stretched on, her suspicion about who could be behind Danny’s disappearance only grew, molted, and then solidified until there was only one ghost it could be.

The one ghost that had—not-so-coincidentally, Valerie was sure—disappeared as well.

In fact, Valerie was sure she hadn’t seen Phantom since before Danny’s disappearance. She tried to remember and…yeah, he hadn’t made any appearance grande nor small over the past two weeks.

That was unusual for him, the ghost that almost seemed to live in Amity Park for how much time he spent here.

So Phantom had to be involved somehow. He just had to. Perhaps he was the one who took Danny, or he could be just an accomplice. Either way, the timing was too exact for him not to be involved at all.

But he was just. Gone. 

Valerie had searched high and low, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of him anywhere. And if he was the one who took Danny, then where had they gone? The Ghost Zone?

Valerie tried not to think about that possibility too much.

So when a frighteningly familiar ecto-signature reading popped up on her wristband, Valerie didn’t hesitate to jet over to the source of it. He was just around the block—so close—and soon, she would have answers.

That little asshole thought he could just appear after two weeks of Danny’s disappearance as if everyone was going to welcome him back with open arms? As if nothing ever happened?

Yeah, fuck that. 

Drawing her weapons was a subconscious action at this point. Valerie didn’t have to think before her gun of choice had formed in her hand—black, with red on the side. Sleek and deadly, just like her.

She whipped around the corner of a building, looked out into the street, and there he was, hovering thirty feet above the sidewalk. Bathed in white with wild hair floating around him as if underwater and his black and white suit unmistakable against the Amity Park skyline, there was Phantom.

He was slow to face her, but that only worked to her advantage. Because as soon as it clicked in his head what was happening, Valerie was already on him, her gun trained at his forehead, her eyes fiery with weeks of untapped fury as she shouted, “What the hell did you do to him?”

Phantom blinked once, his eyes flickering to the gun, then Valerie, then to the gun again. He blinked again, this time slow, and perhaps so obtuse and obnoxious that Valerie couldn’t help but press her ectoweapon into his aura as she yelled, “I’ll fucking kill you again, Phantom! I’m not playing. Tell me what happened to him! What did you do to Fenton?”

Knitted eyebrows shot up along with his hands, and he jolted back as if seeing the gun for the first time. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on, what are you talking about?”

But that only enraged Valerie even more. “Don’t play dumb with me!”

“Seriously, I don’t know what’s going on! I don’t even know who that is!”

“You disappear for two weeks the same time as Fenton does, and now you’re claiming to not know anything?” Valerie’s glare narrowed as red tinged the edges of her vision. “Seriously, how much of a dumbass do you think I am? Spill! What the fuck happened to him? What did you do?”

He inched back more, his hands clasping, unclasping, then dropping once again. There was a nervous energy around him, and Valerie noticed—odd—that his chest seemed to be rising and falling almost as if he were hyperventilating.

But no, that wasn’t possible. “Answer me!” she snapped.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Do I even know you?”

Valerie could have laughed at the sheer audacity of Phantom, but then she looked at him—really looked at him. His wide eyes quivering in anxiety, his ears which seemed to be pointed lower than usual, his panicked stance, and his fast…breathing…and suddenly, Valerie wasn’t sure anymore. Because the Phantom she knew would have made a stupid quip, shot her gun, and darted away.

But this? This Phantom? The one having anxiety before her?

This Phantom was almost pitiful.

She felt her grip on her gun weaken, and her arm lowered ever so slightly. “You don’t…remember me?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, but I think you have me confused for someone else!” he said, drawing his palms up once again in surrender. “I’ve never met you.”

…How?

She tried again, gritting her teeth and drawing her gun back to full force. “Oh no, you don’t get to do that game with me, ghost! Tell me what you did to Danny. Now.”

“I don’t know who that is!” he pleaded. “I’m serious! You have to believe me.”

Why did she believe him?

No, he was a ghost. Ghosts were conniving and evil. They were made to trick humans into getting their way. Valerie knew this. It was as ingrained into her as any self-defense move was.

So then, why? Why could she look into his acid-green eyes and instinctively know that he was telling the truth?

“What do you mean by that?” she pressed further. “I saw you just a few weeks ago. Hell, you live here. I know you do, even if you refuse to admit it.”

“I don’t—I don’t know. Really, I don’t know what you want from me. I’ve never been here, I promise! I was in the Infinite Realms and—”

“What? Where were you?” 

The glow in his eyes flickered, and his nervous energy was suddenly so palpable that Valerie could almost taste it. “The Infinite Realms! You know, where all the ghosts live!”

But…Phantom had only ever called that the Ghost Zone. Like all the other humans did. 

Infinite Realms? Was that…what the ghosts called it?

“I’ve only ever been there, I promise! I just…just woke up there one day, and I’ve been there ever since. I only got here—the Human World—a few minutes ago. There was a portal. Green, swirling light? You know? And I flew through it. I swear that’s the truth,” he insisted. “I promise I’ve never been here before. I didn’t know it was forbidden to come to your territory. I’m sorry! Once another portal comes, I can leave—uh, what’s your name?”

What. The. Fuck.

Valerie hovered in the air, stunned, staring into the eyes of a ghost she knew like the back of her hand, but one who didn’t seem to know…anything about her, about Amity, about anything. 

“You are Phantom, right?” Valerie asked.

“That—that’s what the other ghosts call me,” he said.

So…this was Phantom. It wasn’t some strange clone or anything. So then, what the fuck was going on?

“But you don’t know who I am?”

“No,” he said, then his eyes widened once more. “Am I supposed to?”

A fit of hilarious anger surged through Valerie, and she wanted to snap at him that of course he should know! What was he, stupid? But almost as that spiked her, it dissolved away. 

It wouldn’t have been fair to be angry at this Phantom. This one had no idea who she was, he didn’t know their history, and he apparently knew nothing about Amity Park, which Valerie had more than assumed had become his haunt.

Deep breaths, then. She needed to figure out what the hell was going on, then she could give Phantom a ginormous piece of her mind.

“You’ve been here before,” she explained. “A lot, actually.”

“I haven’t, I swear,” he insisted again in a panic, eyeing the gun that Valerie had forgotten was still between both of them.

She dropped her arm, though she didn’t retract the gun into her suit. One could never know, with ghosts as duplicative as they were.

“You have,” she retorted, now without the gun backing up her words. “I’ve seen you here more times than I can count. I’m The Red Huntress. That ring a bell at all?” 

He shook his head, though his brow was furrowed. “I was born in the Realms like other ghosts, and I’ve only ever been there. I’ve never left!”

This game of ping-pong wasn’t going to work. At least, it could only work so long as Valerie was willing to sacrifice her entire night’s sleep for the cause of Phantom’s mental rehabilitation, which as it stood, she wasn’t. 

Okay then. Time for plan B.

She pulled her cell phone out of the pocket in her suit’s thigh and opened TikTok, typing Phantom into the search bar.

“What are you doing?” a panicked voice asked.

She shushed him, eyeing past all the debate and theory videos until she found what she was looking for. Then, without so much as looking past her thumb clicking on the thumbnail, she shoved her phone in Phantom’s face.

He watched what sounded like some sort of compilation video with eyes expanding to comical proportions. Whatever weird fast “breathing” he’d been doing before was picking up again, and if it weren’t for Valerie’s adept reflexes, he probably would have swiped her phone out of her hands when he made to lunge for it.

“Nuh-uh!” Valerie said, holding her phone back.

“That can’t be right!” Phantom said, turning on her. “I swear, it’s not me!”

“It’s from a month ago, glow-boy!” she said. “There’s literally thousands of videos of you on here from the past year!”

He halted, his body growing rigid. “The past…how long?”

“Year,” Valerie repeated. She clicked another video and turned up her volume in time for the video Phantom to say a truly god-awful pun.

“Year?” Phantom’s voice was breathy. He wasn’t looking at the phone anymore, but Valerie could see him flinch at hearing his voice. “But that…no, that can’t be right.”

“I think your brain is having a hardware issue,” video Phantom said. “Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on?”

“You just don’t understand my BRILLIANCE!” a nasal voice screeched.

“Technus, your brain is slower than an Internet Explorer loading screen. I wouldn’t exactly call that brilliant.”

The Phantom in front of her shook his head incessantly. “That’s not me. It can’t be.” However, his voice sounded anything but convincing.

“It obviously is. What, you think I just made up a bunch of videos to confuse you?” Valerie snorted. “Give me a break.”

“But…I’ve only been a ghost for a few weeks! See? That can’t be me.”

A few weeks?

But that’s…

Valerie swiped down to the next video, this one a close-up of Phantom’s face grinning down at the camera below. He brought his gloved hands up behind his pointed ears like moose antlers, sticking his tongue out as he did. His white fangs poked out of the corners of his lips, his smile stretching until he broke into laughter.

The Phantom before her was sheet white.

“I’m only a few weeks old,” he begged quietly, hiding his eyes behind his hands as if Valerie’s phone screen was displaying imagery too horrific to look at. “This is impossible. I’ve been in the Infinite Realms. It’s…this is…no…”

“Phantom, I’ve known you for months.” Valerie leaned in, but as if sensing her, he reeled back, curling into himself.

“Is that how everyone knew who I was?” Phantom peered up from his hands. 

“Who?”

“The other ghosts. They…they acted like they knew me. Like I should know them. But I’d never met them before.”

Valerie didn’t know what ghosts he was talking about specifically, but she had a general idea. “You have. You do know them.”

Phantom reached for her phone again, and this time Valerie let him have it. But, to her amusement, when he jabbed his finger at her screen, nothing happened.

“You have to take your gloves off.”

Phantom’s brows furrowed, and he surveyed his hands as if seeing the gloves for the first time.

“Do they come off?” he asked himself mildly.

“They do,” Valerie answered, even though she was sure he didn’t expect her to. And sure enough, at his look, she explained, “I’ve seen you do it before.”

“Oh.” 

He handed her phone back to gently peel the white hazmat gloves from his suit. To his shock, but not Valerie’s, as soon as they left the vicinity of his aura, they simply dissolved into a green goo that began falling like rain before evaporating into the air.

“So that’s how that works,” he mused.

On one of his hands was the faint green glow of lightning that spindled up his wrists and disappeared into his suit. It was something that Valerie had seen before but never had the balls to ask about. Considering how much Phantom didn’t seem to know about, well, anything, she was sure as shit not getting that answer tonight either.

But on his other wrist was something interesting. And it was a small, skin-tight metal wristband.

“What’s that?” Valerie nodded toward the wristband.

“Huh?” Phantom asked, following her eyes to the bracelet. “Oh, I don’t know. I woke up with it, so I must have died in it. It’s how our outfits work, I think. Well, until you get powerful enough to change your appearance.”

Valerie filed away that bit of ghost lore for later. Her Phantom was never so forthcoming about the inner workings of ghosts as this. 

“No, you didn’t. I’ve never seen that before, and I’ve seen you with your gloves off.”

“Well, I don’t remember. Maybe I was starting to figure out how to change my appearance before I got like this?” He reached for the phone, clearly uninterested in talking about a silly bracelet when his entire world seemed to be imploding.

Valerie relented, handing it over. But, to his growing agitation and her further amusement again, his fingers had little impact on the screen.

“How the hell do you work one of these?” he growled.

“You might be too cold. What are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to see if I knew that ghost! The metal one that was attacking me in the Realms yesterday!”

Valerie plucked her phone out of his fingers. “Okay, chill. Did he tell you his name?”

“Yeah. Said it about a million times.” He rolled his eyes. “Skulker, greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone. That’s what he said, anyway.”

“Oh, you definitely know him,” Valerie said, while still typing Ghost Skulker into the TikTok search bar. Sure enough, hundreds of videos appeared before her displaying the same annoying face in various poses on her screen. She clicked on one and handed her phone over to him.

His reaction made Valerie wonder if a ghost could jump out of its own skin. “What?! How? How is this possible?”

“I told you, we all know you! You’ve been around for a little while longer than a few weeks, Phantom!” 

She took the phone from his fingers. Just in time too, because he looked about ready to kneel over.

Could ghosts faint? As soon as the question popped into her mind, she realized that she didn’t want to test that theory. She barely knew what to do when a human fainted, let alone a ghost. And Valerie wasn’t one to start coddling ghosts.

She sighed, then glanced around. “Hey, wanna sit and talk for a minute?” She gestured over to the tall office building nearby. “If you like heights and privacy, I know a good rooftop.”

He squinted as if trying to figure out if he knew that roof. And then Valerie remembered all the nights on patrol, ambushing Phantom on that same building.

She thought back. What had he been doing those nights? 

“Sure,” he said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Right. She didn’t have time to waste on Phantom’s silly actions. She was here for Danny. And somehow, this amnesiac was connected—she was absolutely certain of it.

They flew over and touched down on the roof, Valerie’s hoverboard retracting into her boots. She looked over to see Phantom’s flight tail morph into legs before he cautiously hit the roof as if he were afraid of breaking it. He looked down curiously at the ply and gravel roof before crouching down and…touching it? With his ungloved fingers?

What the hell?

As if noticing her staring, he answered, “Everything here feels weird. It’s missing that charge.”

“Charge?”

He glanced back at Valerie. “Yeah, the charge from the ectoplasm.”

“You can feel that?”

“You can’t?” 

Okay…yet another weird thing to file about ghosts. Apparently, they had some sort of sixth sense for ectoplasm.

It was like every single word out of this idiot’s mouth left Valerie with more questions. For a moment, she wondered if that was on purpose. If he was using his classic ghostly manipulation to try to distract her from asking about Danny.

But then, she looked back down at him rubbing the grains of rock and pebble between his fingers, and yeah…no freaking way this was an act. Her Phantom was an idiot, but not this stupid.

So what the hell was going on?

****

next chapter

[read all my works here]

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

Got bit by the fic bug

Beep beep beep beeeeeeeep.

Valerie stared at the device in the Guy in White's hand as it went off, the little blinking light on top flashing wildly.

Another agent dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"You need to come with us."

Valerie stared at him, as the students all around stared at her.

"What?" she didn't understand, why her? She wasn't a ghost, why was it responding to her?

"You're under arrest for suspicion of harbouring a ghost fugitive." the agent pulled out a pair of high tech looking manacles. "We're taking you in for questioning and decontamination."

Valerie smacked his hand off her shoulder and took several frantic steps back.

"I'm not harbouring anything! Your stupid scanner's busted or something."

"Yeah," Nathan spoke up somewhere from the line of students behind her. "She hates ghosts, she wouldn't be helping them."

There was a murmur of agreement among the crowd of teenagers gathered in the school's gym.

"Anyone with high ectoplasmic readings is to be taken in for questioning." the agent grabbed at her again. "No exceptions."

His hand barely brushed her shoulder when she gripped onto his forearm and twisted until his elbow popped. He cried out in pain as he dropped to his knees.

The students went nuts.

People cheered and screamed, hooting and hollering in excitement as Valerie let the agent go and stood back.

The organised lines of students were now a crowd surrounding Valerie, cheering her on. She held her ground as more agents approached.

"You're not taking me anywhere." she said through gritted teeth. "I don't care how many arms I have to break."

True to her word she lashed out at the agents surrounding her, kicking one in the knee and sending him to the ground before swiftly turning on her heel and planting her foot in another man's sternum with a loud CRACK.

Dash and Kwan were jumping up and down, clutching at each other in excitement as Valerie took down another agent.

"GO VAL GO! GO VAL GO!"

The chant picked up and soon enough half the student body were cheering her name.

Mr Lancer struggled through the packed crowd.

"'THE LAST CONTINENT', PEOPLE, THIS IS A SCHOOL ASSEMBLY! NOT A MOSH PIT!"

He stumbled his way to the nearest Guy in White and grabbed him by the lapels.

"This has gone far enough! A mandatory assembly is one thing, but physically attacking my students-"

"Your student is physically attacking my men."

Another agent skidded across the floor past their feet.

"She is clearly dangerous and obviously enhanced by some kind of ghostly contamination. For everyone's safety she must be contained."

Lancer watched as the man pulled an ecto-gun from his jacket and pointed it at the girl.

"No! You can't-" but before he could finish his sentence, someone else had stood directly in front of the barrel.

A concentrated ball of ectoplasm slammed itself into Danny Fenton's stomach and sent him flying backwards, almost crashing into Valerie.

There were more screams than cheers now, those who witnessed the gun go off began backing away from the agent in terror.

"He shot someone!"

"He shot Danny!"

"Fenton's been shot? Fenton's been shot!"

"Is he okay?!"

The circle around Valerie widened as the students fearfully retreated from the scuffle. Danny stood bent over clutching his stomach, Valarie grabbed at him desperately.

"Danny?? Danny are you okay?? Tell me you're okay!"

The agent with the gun looked down at the scanner on his wrist, it was beeping twice as fast as the other agent's device was minutes ago.

"The two of you huh." he murmured. "Guess you're both coming with me."

Valerie tightened her grip on Danny's arm.

"I'm fine Val." he grunted, "Run, hide in the crowd, I'll keep him busy."

No, absolutely not.

When the sound of the gun discharging a second time reached her ears, Valerie didn't even think before shoving Danny to the ground and taking the blast directly to the chest.

Everyone screamed, and then there was an eerie silence as Valerie stood tall, unharmed. Her iconic red armour's breastplate clinging to her form.

Danny looked up at her from the ground, eyes wide in shock.

"Val, you-"

"No time for that." she said as she bent down beside him. "We need to get out of here."

"We?" Danny's question cut off with a strangled squeak as Valerie scooped him up bridal style, the rest of her armour crept over her skin, her helmet closing over her head.

"Hold on tight."

[jeonghanspookie]

The New Hire

As the Back to School season was coming to an end, it was now time for the store to start preparing for the holiday seasons.

One preparation was hiring some seasonal employees.

Seungkwan was minding his own business, just sitting in the team lead office, recently named 'The Den' (named by Soonyoung ofc).

Seungkwan had been in there for a while now. He was on minute 32 of his 45 minute lunch.

After a while, the door opened up and in came in Mingyu and Soonyoung. It seemed like they were in a pretty serious conversation.

A conversation that sounds like it was just between the two of them.

So of course, Seungkwan did the sensible thing and took his airpods off so he could eavesdrop.

Thank god he decided to sit by the desk with the computer blocking him from view.

"He's a mess. He just follows her around like a lost puppy!" Mingyu exclaimed, "ITS LIKE ITS HIS FIRST DAY OR SOMETHING!"

Soonyoung pondered for a minute. "Wait. Isn't it his third day?"

Mingyu rolled his eyes, "Yeah. But still."

Soonyoung pouted.

"You're right though. He is getting on my nerves. He's been hogging all of Y/N's attention lately."

Mingyu pouted as well.

Just then Seungkwan's alarm went off indicating that his break was sadly over.

Mingyu and Soonyoung turned their heads and looked at Seungkwan with wide eyes.

Seungkwan awkwardly laughed, "Hehe Hi guys! Gotta head back!"

Soonyoung smiled at Seungkwan. "Oh enjoy your shift Kwan!"

Seungkwan made a sigh of relief. It seems like weren't annoyed that he heard their conversation. Maybe he could pry for some more information.

"I'll try! By the way... who were you guys talking about?"

Mingyu let out a loud and annoyed groan.

"The new seasonal guy Y/N is training. His name is Mark."

"Yeah so that's pretty much all there is to know! You'll be working in fulfillment with Vernon. Let me or him know if you have any questions. You'll be off on your own now!" Y/N spoke.

Mark let out a breath. "Uh yeah dude. Thanks so much for showing me around."

"It's no problem!" Y/N smiled, "all part of the job."

Mark laughed at her comment. "For sure. Thank you Y/N!"

From a distance, three very annoyed men watched as Y/N and the new guy interacted.

"Pshh. foR SuRe! tHaNK YoU Y/N!" Jeonghan mocked. "Can you believe this guy?"

Seungcheol shook his head. "I don't like him. I sense something off about him. And his name. Mark."

"I know what's wrong with him. He's Canadian." Joshua replied.

"THATS IT"

Even further away stood a confused Seungkwan.

Why is everyone so annoyed at the new guy?

After observing almost everyone's weird behavior towards the new guy, Seungkwan decided to call his 12 coworkers into 'The Den'.

The only person missing was Wonwoo. He was scheduled to work at 2:30 and it was almost time, but Seungkwan couldn't hold it in anymore.

"OKAY" Seungkwan called their attention, "What is going on with you guys?"

Seokmin looked up confused, "What do you mean?"

Seungkwan glares at the 11 men. "You know what I mean. Why do you guys hate the new guy?"

Jihoon looks even more confused, "We have a new guy?"

Seungkwan decided to ignore his comment.

"I've caught some of you guys hating on the new guy. From his name, his lack of work ethic, and even his nationality." Seungkwan emphasizes the last part as he stares at the three oldest.

"I don't have a problem with him" Vernon says. "He's pretty cool. Plus we were thinking about collabing on a mixtape"

Seungkwan looks at the group again.

"I just don't get it. He hasn't done anything to you all. He's still getting used to the job. Do you guys have some hidden vendetta against him?"

"Like sure he's new and bad at the job, but Y/N has been helping him. IN FACT, Y/N has been the only one being nice to him. He's been following Y/N around and sticking to-"

Oh. OH

Seungkwan got an epiphany.

He turns to the men with wide eyes.

"Are you guys jealous that he's been spending time with Y/N?"

The room was quiet. No one knew what to do or what to say.

This only confirms Seungkwan's theory.

"Do you guys... like Y/N?" He asks

Minghao was the first to speak up. "Well I don't know about some of you, but I care for Y/N as a friend."

Jihoon nods his head in agreement.

Vernon nods his head as well and Jun agrees.

"I'm not sure about LIKE like, but I just felt a certain way about seeing the two of them." Soonyoung stated.

Seokmin seemed to agree with Soonyoung.

Chan decided to speak up, "Raise you hand if you like Y/N as more than a friend!"

Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Joshua, and Mingyu all raise their hands.

Chan squinted at the group, "Okay raise your hand if you're confused about your feelings!"

Soonyoung and Seokmin raise their hands.

Seungkwan stands in front of his friends in disbelief.

"I CANT BELIEVE YOU GUYS! WHAT ABOUT OUR FRIENDSHIP! WHY DID YOU GUYS NOT SAY ANYTHING! THIS IS INSANE!" He spits out as he paces back and forth in front of the group.

Just then Wonwoo walks into the room.

Chan looks over at him, "Oh Wonwoo you're here! Now tell us, do you like Y/N?"

Wonwoo pauses.

"No."

The rest seem to relax and feel relief after hearing his answer.

"I'm in love with her."

...

"DEAR GOD HELP US ALL"

A/N: SORRY YALL IVE BEEN BUSY AND HAD NO INSPIRATION.

prev <- masterlist -> next

[kimberlyannharts]

LAST TIME ON MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE RETURN: Depressed milf Kim just got finished traumadumping onto Trini's relative Selena about all the shit that happened on the Moon 22 years ago, just to find out that this wasn't Trini's relative at all, but some mysterious white-haired witch out for revenge???? I guess it makes sense it would never be the simpler option. MMPR: The Return #3!

= So here's the reveal of the dialogue that was blacked out in the previews! Selena Repulsa, the daughter of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, is official! There's something very funny about the fact that she didn't even use a fake name for her Kwan family disguise. She heard Sylvia had an S name and was like sweet, I can just play the alliteration card

= I mentioned before in the first issue that this series was already discussing the topic of secret identities in a more nuanced way than the main series' "Zordon is a tyrant for having rules" strategy so I'm happy that's being continued here. YES public use of the powers can be used for good in society but ALSO it can make it really, really, REALLY easy for your enemies to pick you off the street

= also UNCLE HOWARD SPOTTED

= YEAH BABY

= Selena is hilarious btw. YOU BUILT A BOMB AND ARE SURPRISED IT KILLED PEOPLE?

= this is Dungeon Meshi

= I already made the Paul Dano does he know?.png joke but I can't help it. It's too perfect. Alternatively: Kimberly Hart Dreamworks Face

= Zedd is noticeably less involved in this story than Rita is (as per the usual with BOOM books, admittedly) but I do like how this plan still uses him in some way. Part of me is still curious as to what Dad Zedd would have been like, though

= she's meditating, guys she's died

= he was literally born to be a girl dad and the fact that his "main universe" child is a son makes me fucking sick

= also off-subject but I see the occasional comment about how the civilian forms for these flashbacks look too young and it's like.....guys. They're only 22. If anything, drawing them like how they looked on the show is ACCURATE to their age, considering how old the actors themselves were when they were on the show kjdkfjdkfjd and anyway Dino Thunder lied to you. Tommy would absolutely be wearing tank tops as an adult. Those long sleeves were the devil's work

= I still say I don't want to get attached to any theory about Tommy and whether or not he'll end up alive but Rita seeming to be aware that he saved her daughter and getting his attention before doing the spell...........that's probably going to be important

= You guys don't understand how much I need the scene where Tommy and Kim discovered she was pregnant and the conversations they had afterwards. Every "ranger kid" story has been so bad about "what does the parent think about their kids one day inheriting their ranger powers" and The Return is the one closest to understanding this is a very logical and rational conversation to have!!!!!!!

= also Olivia was 100% unplanned this i just the vibe i get. And props to my gender-inclusive king Tommy Oliver

= "no more Power Rangers.......except my daughter who's COOL as FUCK"

[lover-of-mine]

Anna!!! Any greys thoughts now the season has finished?? 💚

Hi baby, okay, I have thoughts but first I need to say I'm obsessed with the rep of people attracted to multiple genders, Teddy, Amelia, Mills, the peds lady, and the way it's never a big deal, let's gooo love that. But yeah, the last two episodes kinda make the season worth it kapaksoska I love the fast paced drama, I was never big on Catherine, maybe because I really love April and I hate the way she handles the situation when they find out April was pregnant during the divorce, but she really pushed it too far. Firing Meredith, Amelia, Teddy AND Owen is nuts, the chief of surgery, neuro, and trauma on a power trip? What????? Very interested in how that's gonna go especially with Bailey threatening to quit for Lucas. Kinda weirdly invested in the interns drama, the way they keep trying out different pairings, Mills and Yasuda almost kissing was something, I was on the edge of my seat lol, more backstory on Kwan, I'm surprised the fiance is alive but with amnesia, with the way they made him talk about it, I just assumed she was dead, which I guess was kind of the point, but of course greys was gonna go the more over the top route lol, Lucas proving he has the Shepherd brain all tied together with Amelia's empathy was amazing, but can someone address his ADHD again please. Simone needs to stop. Even more with the way she keeps pingponging Lucas. It's not her decision to keep him there and yes, he deserves the recognition for what he learned from his mistakes, but the opportunity with Maggie is too good to pass on for a hospital that's falling apart lol I like the way Amelia and Owen's friendship evolved to that moment of confidence in her, didn't think he had it in him kapakapakaa also LOVED him standing up for Teddy, Teddy and Owen as a relationship and a friendship is all very realistic, I think, I love how their marriage works, even more now that the show remembered they were supposed to be best friends. I am intrigued by Jo deciding to hide the pregnancy, I know they had the kids conversation and Link told her he's not ready, but this is not a hypothetical child anymore and they were doing so well with the communication, I guess they need a conflict. I was surprised Ndugu and peds lady (sorry I can't remember her name to save my life kspakapa) I saw it coming when they were at the bar but it was still surprising kskapakpakaoa. Overall, I think it was a very solid season finale event, the pacing was nice, we were getting a good amount of drama, the surgeries were interesting, it all elevated the season in my opinion. I still don't think it's an amazing season, but it went from just being there to nice, which is a win kspskspskspkaa what about you? Give me your thoughts.

[bloodgulchblog]

Can you believe we're over half way through this season and it's still not good?

(This is a rhetorical question, I super can.)

S2e05.

We dive right in where we were with Vannak dead, Jimmy Rings injured, and everything on fire and exploding.

But Halsey sees something.

It's a bird!

It's a plane!

It's.... LAERA AND KWAN!

The gang shoots a brute and bails onto the ship with Kwan providing covering fire.

But Riz decides she's going to go back for Vannak's body and I genuinely think for 5 seconds that they've just straight up killed her too.

We get a flashback to James Circle being super fucked up with Cortana in his brain after the end of the 1st season (the thing we started this one with flashbacks to) and get slightly more information: Halsey asking Parangosky to help him... somehow.

(Also I didn't talk about this last time but: Parangosky is still secretly working for ONI, which makes her whole subplot make more sense but also I don't care about it and it was much funnier the other way.)

Anyway they haven't killed Riz yet but considering this is the second time they've acted like it, I'm not holding my breath.

Okay, everyone knows how bad this can be, cue title.

Makee is crying about Reach. You and half this fandom every day, Makee.

We get more confirmation that Arby's is trying to be who I think he is trying to be. (Still can't be assed to look up what this character's actual name was, it's not Thel 'Vadamee so I'm very relieved and otherwise don't care.)

He's mad that Makee stopped him from killing Jonas Oval.

Makee and Arby's still have the flash drive with Cortana on it. Arby's doesn't give a fuck about that, but Makee tells him it's important and he's like okay fine then you figure out what to do with it.

Then we're back on the boat.

Jimmy drags his injured ass over to Riz and Halsey shows up.

Jimmy starts tearing into Halsey about treating them as weapons instead of people. The reflection on how he hurt Riz earlier is alright, but I just consistently hate how this actor emotes this character and between that and how hamfisted the writing always is, I can't enjoy anything about this.

(I do miss some lines of dialogue when i do screencap piles like this, just because of the nature of how I'm doing it and how I'm limited on images, but I promise nothing of value is lost.)

The emphasis on family as the thing that defines humanity makes something itch about this for me.I'm out of images already. I'll finish this scene in the next post.

[authortobenamedlater]

S2 deep dive. The whole season. Bring the scuba gear for this one.

Negatives, positives, overall impressions, speculations about a possible S3 under the cut.

This has been sitting in my drafts for way too long and even though it’s incomplete I’m posting it. I’ll have more later I’m sure I just need it out there before it becomes irrelevant.

The bad:

It’s too short. I have pontificated about short TV seasons and long waits between seasons before so I won’t revisit it.

The fall of Reach felt more like a speed bump than the single most traumatic event in the Human-Covenant War. This is probably related to the It’s Too Short problem.

This one is entirely subjective, but I am here for The Chief & Cortana Show and this season was not The Chief & Cortana Show.

Much of the unfinished business from S1 remained unfinished or was finished lazily. The Reach for Life Project and the weirdness surrounding John’s childhood? Never mentioned. Madrigal? Glassed. Separating John and Cortana? Reduced to a one-minute flashback. This isn’t to say these threads won’t get picked up down the line, but having to potentially wait another two years doesn’t appeal. Again, this goes back to It’s Too Short.

The Spartan-IIIs made little sense. And why were they capturing kids if they can use adults to make Spartans now? Are there enough left to make up a Spartan corps?

Somehow, Makee returned. This isn’t bad in itself, but it’s never explained. The closest we get is Var saying “you live only by my grace.” OK, what grace is that? Did he resurrect her? Convince the prophets to resurrect her?

Speaking of Var, why did he exist? To make way for Thel next season? Why not just have Thel from the start? Especially since deleted dialogue from S1 had that Sangheili who ran out of the cave on Madrigal named as Thel ‘Vadamee.

Jacob Keyes is dead. It’s somewhat canon, but I didn’t want it to happen. I wanted him to live and face his music.

I did not like what they did with Soren this season. The Kessler storyline got draggy. And the way Soren acted at times didn’t really seem in line with the guy in S1 who made a promise to John and kept it even though he could probably have broken it without John ever knowing. Soren also gave the impression in S1 that he didn’t want anything to do with fighting a war and just wanted to hole up on the Rubble with his family. That changed in S2 without any real reason given.

They still can’t figure out Kwan. I liked the direction they were taking her last season, but that all got blown up, literally.

The Spartan-IIIs seemed awfully rushed. We don’t know anything about them, if or how they are augmented, or what.

The good:

Halo’s cast continues to rise above the show’s shortcomings, and the crowning achievement this season is Joseph Morgan’s Ackerson. Morgan manages to make Ackerson the bad guy, but never a bad guy. You love to hate him and want him to realize he’s wrong just in time to make that last-second pivot and then he does.

Laera might not be back for S3 (although hey, somehow Makee returned), but she got some great material this year.

For all its flaws, Halo does have a way of sticking the landing and the final episode of this season delivers. The introduction of the Flood was about as great as I could have asked for. That scene where the no-name bit part gets infected and the ironically happy music is playing while everyone goes about their business? Appropriately horrifying.

I liked Talia’s progression from jumpy regular Marine to confident Spartan-III, even if the show didn’t have enough time to do it well.

Makee and John continue to have a fascinating dynamic.

The back and forth with John and Guilty Spark (I assume) in the last episode was excellent and did a fine job setting the stage for season 3.

The big question: Will we get a third season?

Nothing is guaranteed in the era of streaming shows, but Halo has been P+’s most watched show since it launched. It’s been the third most watched original show in the US across all streaming platforms this year. Basically, no matter how terrible the show is sometimes or how much fan hate it gets, Halo is making money. I can’t see it not getting renewed. If Halo didn’t get renewed, another network might want it, or P+ might do a spinoff (thoughts on that at a later date).

[flowerwrites06]

neon smoke — knj

NEON SMOKE | Kim Namjoon | Oneshot | Requested by Anon. 

Original Request: Hiii! I have been a fan of yours since break my mind's eye ❤️ Can I request for Namjoon x female reader. I loooove reading angst so make it as much angsty you want for a deranged woman like me :) I am not sure about the exact idea but you can make it either mafia au or e2l. Thank you ❤️ Plot: Namjoon carries out a dangerous love affair. Pairing: Drug Dealer!Namjoon x Mafia Princess!OC (Name: Minnie) Genre: Mafia Type: Oneshot Rating: 18+ Word Count: 4.1k Warnings: violence (guns, blood & gore), minor character death, mentions of drugs, organised crime, sexual content (rough, anal, choking, unprotected, fingering). Author’s Note: not quite the deranged level imo but I hope you enjoyed this! I've posted this while dead tired and sleep drunk atm, it's been a hell of a week so let me know if there are any major posting issues in the fic I've missed. Other than that, thank you for reading!

Requests are open until Oct 1st! Send yours ideas in!

The den closed when midnight swelled. A dingy green painted the rooms and any pungent smell that was ignored during the day fumed thickly in Namjoon’s nose. He found the silence haunting without the workers in the underground or the runners scuttering across the plastic carpet floors. Except there was a peace to it and the familiarity that the silence won’t last too long.

He heard Minnie’s footsteps echo through the door before she knocked four times. Kwan, his right hand man, usually ate dinner during this time and Namjoon made sure it was that way. Except he thought it was some girl Namjoon took an interest to and not the sister of Don Leon, his own boss.

Minnie opened the door when Namjoon responded. He saw the shine of her black heels before she appeared into the room. She wore a pretty red silk dress, delicate pearls around her neck, dark hair thick and curled with a black coat over her shoulders. Her lips, red like blood, smiled as she closed the door behind her. “I saw you hired a new girl. She almost kicked me out.”

Iseul was Namjoon’s new runner. Namjoon forgot to mention that he had a visitor every night, but he wasn’t too afraid of Minnie handling her own.

“Did she recognise you?” Namjoon asked.

“Clearly not, she was very protective of you.” Minnie smirked, stepping closer and leaning herself at the edge of his desk. She shrugged off her coat at the heat of the room compared to the night outside. The red dress had pinstripe sleeves, one of them shyly trailing off her shoulder before she fixed it.

“I didn’t get the chance to explain it to her,” Namjoon said, keeping his eyes on the computer as he had been for hours. Entering data and ensuring every sell was called for. “Your brother has been working us hard.”

“He wants to impress the buyers in China.” Minnie shrugged. “I told him rushing it was going to be a detriment but you know him.”

Namjoon hummed. “At least he’s not asking us to cut the pure stuff.” That was usually when problems began and he had enough scars to know they were never pretty results.

Minnie stayed silent for a moment. “I wouldn’t hold my breath. He’s done impulsive things before.”

As soon as Minnie and Leon’s father passed away, Leon made it his mission to overproduce his supplies so he could get more American and Chinese allies. Except all that forced scheduling made it difficult to keep strong ties with the Japanese and Korean allies. If Leon kept going this way, they would risk war with their age-old allies. Yet Minnie knew all this. Namjoon heard their fights before and Leon’s stubbornness that needed to be crushed for days before it showed cracks.

Namjoon rested back on the chair, as it squeaked in response. “So more runners and dealers.”

“Pretty ones.” Minnie gave a teasing smirk.

Despite the risk that came with seeing Minnie, Namjoon found strange comfort in it. At first, guilt choked him after laying with her, slick with sweat and the smell of sex around them in the hotel room. But then it became habitual and only a few months later, Namjoon looked forward to her visits even if it didn’t always end the same.

“Do you have a problem with Iseul?” Namjoon asked, mainly as a jest to keep her smiling.

Minnie lifted her shoulders, moving off the table and stepping towards Namjoon. Her thigh gently brushed against the back of his fingers. “No. No problem.” She snuck onto his lap, long nails tracing the side of his neck. “Just checking.”

His hand traced up her thigh, grazing just softly on her skin so it raised gooseflesh. “I mean she is pretty now that you’ve mentioned it.” A smirk curled at his lips.

Minnie pouted. “Then I suppose you don’t need me to warm your lap.” She tried to lift off him but his grip tightened, nails digging through her clothes until she gasped lightly.

“Keep that ass right here,” Namjoon said, nose brushing against her jawline.

Minnie giggled, tracing one of her nails down his neck and chest as he felt a tingle down his spine.

Namjoon bit into the skin of her neck until she let out a small whimper. The tip of his nose trailed up to her chin before she took her bottom lip between his teeth. Sinking in until it hurt before letting go, watching how it turned crimson.

A whimper left her lips, eyes blown out in lust as her face twisted to something that no one would ever see outside this door.

Minnie chuckled, cupping his cheek and kissing him. Her lips hot and raw from his bite as her hips swayed, feeling him harden under her thighs. “Excited all of a sudden?” she asked.

“You were late today,” Namjoon said, tracing his fingers up the length of her spine until she shivered.

Minnie hummed as she straddled him. Her warm core perfectly placed atop his taut cock. Arms wrapped around his shoulders while his hands instinctively cupped her ass, squeezing and pushing her to grind against him. “You missed me?” It was a whisper, sweet and teasing.

Namjoon didn’t notice but his lips stretched into smile, full of affection and perhaps a terrifying pinch of worship. He hooked her panties to the side, taking a sneaky touch between her cheeks and feeling something cold with the shape of a gem. “Seems you were more prepared than me.” He held onto the buttplug, gently moving it as she moaned into his mouth.

“You know you like it,” she said.

“I do.” Namjoon brushed his fingers through her thick curls, the soft scent of roses enticing to move closer and consume himself with it. He lifted to his feet, carrying her with him as she let out a small giggle.

Namjoon lay her down on the chair and pushed it to recline. Minnie spread her legs, hanging them over the arms so she give him the best view. A hungry smile graced her features as she watched his fingers rub over her throbbing clit. He pushed his middle finger into her slick entrance, making her feel full.

Minnie threw her head back, relishing in the gentle waves of pleasure. Her thick curls bunched beautifully at her shoulders as the thin straps of her dress hugged her arm.

His fingers glistened as he spread her arousal all over her cunt. Namjoon’s other hand gripped her neck, squeezing just enough to make her breath hitch. He pushed two fingers into her, pistoning mercilessly into her.

Minnie let out a choked scream as the edges of her climax closed in.

Namjoon loosened his grip on her neck so she let out a deep, heaving breath. Minnie held onto her thighs, watching him maintain his aggressive pace. Her vision blurred as her entire body melted into the pleasure he gave her, nothing but whimpered sounds leaving her lips.

Namjoon pulled his fingers out with a light squelch, rubbing her clit again with his thumb.

Minnie lifted her legs to her chest. Namjoon pulled out the buttplug, keeping his fingers inside her to keep her stretched as he put it away. He pushed into her entrance, tight and maddening. Minnie let out a whimper, smiling as he buried himself entirely.

He pushed his fingers inside her cunt, making her feel full and her mind cleared of nothing else but the pleasure that surged through her.

“Touch yourself, princess,” Namjoon spoke in a slight growl.

Minnie did as he asked and rubbed her clit, her wall clenching at the jolt of ecstasy from her sensitivity.

Namjoon pressed his forehead against hers, her legs over his shoulders. “Feel good?”

Minnie whimpered in response, trying to make words but it only came out in unintelligible sounds.

Namjoon chuckled breathlessly, pounding into her ass, moving the chair so it pressed against a wall. He grew relentless as his orgasm rushed to the edge. Hearing her reciprocate so deliciously to every one of his movements sent stars in his eyes. Heat rushed to his tip and his entire body, legs jerking and jolting as he filled his seed into her.

The chair creaked under the pressure, melding with the sounds of Minnie’s whimper and the scream under her breath. A laugh passed her lips as Namjoon caught his breath. “I should be late more often.” She grinned.

-

Two days had passed with a better mood. The days still filled with endless schedule clutter but at the very least he was able to get a handle on it without a headache. Minnie had to visit every second or third day instead of the usual which put a slight downer on his mood but during the visits she did come in, she made up for the lack of time.

It was only a month later where things rot.

The doors burst open to Kwan in the darkest hour of the night. His clothes soaked in blood as he shuffled to safety. Eyes hooded as he tried to open his mouth to say something but only stumbled.

“What happened?” Namjoon asked.

Kwan let out a shaky sigh, holding onto his shoulder to keep himself up. “Korean gang members. They were sent to ambush the warehouses.”

Namjoon called for Seokjin in as he lifted Kwan onto the table, helping him lay down as his blood left a trail from the entrance to his own feet.

Kwan kept heaving, groaning as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

“Do you know why?” He asked in a gentle tone, not wanting to pressure him but he needed to know. His den or warehouses were never attacked. Not since Leon started yanking at his strings.

Kwan groaned again in response as Seokjin walked into the front entrance. Without a word, he laid his out tools and began taking pieces of the bullet out of his wound.

“They didn’t get their full supply. Leon. . .” Kwan kept speaking but it only ended in a cough, blood at the edge of his lips. “Sorry, boss.”

“Give him time to breathe, Joon,” Seokjin said. His brows were far too scrunched for Namjoon’s comfort.

The bleeding wasn’t stopping and Namjoon could practically hear the heartbeat resounding in the room.

Namjoon touched Kwan’s shoulder. Part of him wanted to speak more, in the hope that Kwan would come up with a joke or something to reassure him that he was going to be fine. But he knew this wasn’t that kind of business. “Alright. Get him better.”

Iseul stood at the archway leading up to the private rooms, tears filling her eyes as she watched Kwan get patched up.

Namjoon patted her arm. “He’ll be okay.” He said to her but mostly to himself.

Fate didn’t give them that kind of luck, however.

Namjoon and Iseul sat near the kitchens, silently at first but Iseul’s shaking fingers and body legs got her to speak.

“That woman probably attracted them to us,” Iseul said with poison lacing her voice. “She’s too close to Leon and they must’ve known she’s coming to us.” Her reddened eyes kept a gaze on the floor.

Namjoon rested back on his chair, the chair squeaking back as he watched one of the den members clean up the floors. “This was bound to happen. Leon was snagging his connections too much.”

“But they came to us,” Iseul said. “We don’t get into the spotlight. We’re not even the biggest den. It’s her. I’m telling you, it’s her.” She built a wall over her words, ensuring that Namjoon didn’t push through and try to convince her.

Before Namjoon could respond, Seokjin stood with a solemn expression before walking towards them, stammering. “There was a bullet shard that pierced his heart.” His throat bobbed up and down.

Iseul’s breathing grew ragged as they both watched Kwan’s still body. Sobs left her body as she rushed to Kwan.

“This can’t go on, Namjoon,” Seokjin said in a lower voice. Namjoon wasn’t sure whether he meant the affair with Minnie or the situation with Leon but knowing Seokjin, he knew he meant both. “We thought having Minnie was going to keep us safe and our business going. Now this.”

It sounded wrong the way he spoke those words. Namjoon knew he only pursued Minnie for reasons aside from the den. The fact that they were safe this whole time was just a coincidence. But he never predicted that it would now cause more harm than good. Namjoon’s breath turned ragged.

Seokjin was right. This has to end.

-

Minnie came to his room today after four days of not speaking to him. No smile on her face. “I heard about an ambush.” Her tone was so soft and loving. “Was your den involved?”

Namjoon had been drinking to calm himself down but it didn’t seem to help. It probably made it worse. “Yeah, it was involved. Kwan’s dead.”

Minnie walked to him and touched his shoulder. It was so warm and genuine but part of him was still determined. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ve tried to send contact to Leon but he’s not answering,” he said. “Where have you been for the last few days?” Namjoon looked up at her, eyes burning from how tipsy he had become.

“Leon kept inviting me to his meetings,” Minnie explained. “He’s trying to marry the daughter of a Chinese Don.”

Frustration nipped at him. While his dens were suffering, Leon was off to marry a foreign ally with no care. “His own local allies are turning against him.” His words turned sharp and cutting.

Minnie stammered, reaching out to touch his hand. “I’m trying to talk to him.”

He pulled his hand away, standing up to his feet. “Well, you’re not fucking trying hard enough, are you?” Namjoon seethed, his heart aching as Minnie stepped back.

“What Leon’s doing is stupid but these things take time.” Minnie shook her head.

“So you’ll wait until innocent people die before you start actually doing things?” Namjoon walked over to her, towering over her. “You’re no better than your fucking brother.”

Minnie’s expression hardened, not stepping back anymore. “When you work in a place like this, death is a risk you’re taking. Don’t place the blame on me.”

“The blame is on you because you should’ve kept us safe,” Namjoon said. “You come waltzing in here, I expect you to ensure we’re not at risk for attack. Otherwise, don’t fucking come back here.” He wanted her to be angry. He wanted her to cry and scratch at him for only wanting this affair for his own benefit.

Minnie’s face quickly turned to steel, posture straightening as she intertwined her fingers together. “I’ll inform Leon about the casualties and see what he can do for changes,” she said. “You want me to relay anything else?”

Namjoon swallowed the lump in his throat. “No.”

Minnie hummed. “Alright.” She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving a suffocating ache in Namjoon’s chest.

-

A month had passed. No attacks. Iseul had convinced herself that it was Minnie’s fault but Seokjin calmly explained that there was something else going on since all the Korean gangsters were staying quiet. When it was this much silence in the underground, a big event was about to happen.

As much as Namjoon hated it, Seokjin was right. News came a month and a half later on a piece of paper, handwritten.

Helmina Cordon and Jung Hoseok are engaged to marry on the 27th of November. No weaponry or negotiations permitted in the reception.

Namjoon’s body burned, fingers squeezing the delicate paper as if perhaps he was just dreaming. He was thankful that only Seokjin was in the room so he let his hands shake before curling his fingers into fists.

“With the Min family connected to the Jung family, the Korean gangs aren’t going to touch us,” Seokjin said, trying to make some light out a situation that suffocated Namjoon. “This is good. We wanted this. Jung Hoseok is a precise drug lord, him with Minnie’s organisation and influence will help us get back on track.”

“Right,” Namjoon said, partially focusing on his words.

Seokjin took a breath to say something but sighed in slight defeat. He patted his shoulder and left him to his cluttered lonesome.

This had to happen. What did Namjoon even expect? That Minnie was going to be with him forever with no consequences whatsoever? Of course, she had been holding back marriage proposals. That was the quickest, simplest way to solve most alliance problems. All Namjoon had to do was take it for granted, as if their relationship was immune. When in reality, it was hanging on the balance of how much Minnie trusted him and how much he trusted her.

Now it was gone. And he was cordially invited to watch it all rip away from him.

-

Seokjin accompanied Namjoon to the wedding reception. The ceremony had been private to the two families but the reception was open to whoever was significant enough in the underworld. Despite Iseul’s assumptions, Namjoon’s den had some traction with Cordon family especially with Minnie’s connection to them.

Namjoon pushed that thought down quickly, not wanting to be reminded of how much of his success was also attributed to her.

They entered the event hall, glittering chandeliers reflecting against the freshly polished marble floors. Tables scattered all throughout covered in white linen and a pianist spread delicate notes through the halls.

He didn’t want to but his eyes did look for her in the front tables. And much to his own misery, he saw Minnie.

She wore a pretty white silk dress, transparent lace gloves, her hair curled beautifully and her lips painted in deep red. While Don Leon sat on the right, ordering another round of drinks. He had the same thick curly hair, cut to his ear and a small build but silvery and convivial demeanour. A man on Minnie’s left was whispering in her ear, making her smile. Jung Hoseok, clad in a deep blue suit and a dahlia in his breast pocket.

Namjoon hated that he could tell Minnie’s smile was calculated and not real. He hoped and prayed that she looked genuinely happy but this was a business transaction. And she smiled just like it was business so they looked the part.

“Just say hello, stay at your table and pass the time,” Seokjin said as if reading his subconscious instincts to walk right up to her and tell her to stop.

As they padded closer to the main table, Seokjin gave a brief bow to Leon and Namjoon followed a minute later.

“It’s good to see you again, Kim,” Leon said, that same silvery tone. This has been his fault. If Leon had just kept the schedules reasonable then none of this would’ve happened. Yet it was Minnie who Namjoon put the blame upon and it was Minnie who took it. “I was hoping this occasion might lift your spirits a little.”

His chest squeezed but he lowered his head again. “I appreciate it, sir.” Namjoon’s eyes flickered to Minnie who kept a neutral expression on her face. He forced a small smile and gave a bow. “Congratulations on the engagement.”

Minnie smiled, still not a hint of joy in her eyes that merely glimmered from the chandelier light. “Thank you.”

Seokjin patted his back as they walked back to their table and Namjoon was ready to drown into a bottle.

-

Minnie needed to excuse herself. She tried to count the minutes before Namjoon walked away. Struggled past an hour or two of smiling until her cheeks screamed for her to stop lying so much. Eventually after the third hour, Minnie rushed off to the powder room. It was a large expanse with floor to wall mirrors, crushed velvet chairs with the colour of violet and the same pretty white marble floors that led up to the actual restrooms.

She stayed near the mirrors, staring at herself. Minnie had flowed along the path this past month, hoping her numbness would turn to resilience as she agreed to this economic marriage. But today, seeing Namjoon’s face melted her and it made her face the gruelling reality of what she was about to do permanently.

Minnie didn’t have to wait long to ruminate when Namjoon stumbled straight into the powder room. “This is the women’s room.”

Namjoon parted his lips in confusion before closing it. “No one else here, it’s fine.” He rested against the edge of the counter, next to her. He left enough moments of silence to make her uncomfortable.

To make her think and regret what she was doing which only made her angry. “What do you want?”

“How long has this been going on?” he slurred.

“We had a meeting two weeks ago.” Minnie kept her gaze in the mirror. “Having this alliance will help us gain trust with the Korean syndicates. Leon still gets to do what he wants with the foreign allies while I handle the locals.”

Namjoon hummed, not facing her either. “It’s a good deal.”

“It is.”

“Don’t take it,” he said and the entire room turned cold.

Minnie paused in her actions, her body freezing under the sudden request. Both in a yearning satisfaction of hearing Namjoon sound desperate but the anger of how filmy he considered their relationship. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking.” Namjoon shook his head.

Minnie sighed in frustration, trying to walk past him but Namjoon grabbed her arm. “Stop.”

“We’ll figure out a different way to deal with the Korean syndicates,” Namjoon said, leaning forward, his nose brushed against hers. The scent of whiskey hot in his breath.

“The alliance is already made.” Minnie tightened herself like steel, looking at the end of the room instead of him. “It’ll make things worse if I back down.”

“Then we’ll deal with it.” Desperation seeped in his tone. “It wasn’t your fault, okay? I’m sorry I ever implied that.” Namjoon rubbed both her arms, making her feel so comforted and loved yet so much more angry.

“It is my fault.” Her teeth gritted. “I took advantage of what I could do.”

“You were with me because we both wanted to.” Namjoon held her chin, soft and affectionate. “Both of us.”

Minnie’s chin quivered as the chills of the room melted into her chest, tears burning in her eyes. “Don’t do that now.” No more steel cut through her voice. Even if she desperately wanted to. “Please.”

Namjoon rested his forehead against hers. “You mean a lot to me.”

The whisper sent her into a frenzy. “Please.”

Namjoon pulled her chin closer, kissing her. Tongue pushed through her teeth as he pressed her against the edge of the counter.

Tears finally spilled down her cheeks as she felt the warm, sweet kiss on her lips. Every inch of Minnie wanted to keep going, to let him take her here. Even as Namjoon kissed down her neck, hot and wet, Minnie only relished in it.

Then sense kicked in.

She was engaged now.

“Stop, stop.” She pushed him off and Namjoon did as she asked, though brows furrowed and breath heavy. Minnie leaned against the counter, trying to catch her own breath. “Don’t do that. Not now, not anymore.”

Namjoon stammered, sighing in frustration as he roughly raked his fingers through his hair. “I said a stupid thing, are you really gonna upend your whole life just to spite me?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“Yes. You think I wasn’t taking a risk being with you?” Minnie asked.

“I know you were, I was just angry.”

Just angry. The alliances and things she had paused were crushed by Namjoon because of a burst of anger. It sounded pathetic yet that was the reality. Which was why Minnie had to keep that distance and let the thread between them tighten. “Well, this is not the fucking business for word slips. Your word is my trust in you.” Minnie poked at his chest. “Your word slips, I make changes.”

Namjoon let out a shaky sigh, his eyes now glossed. A rare sight which nearly broke Minnie for a brief, weak moment. “Then run with me.”

Minnie grimaced. “What?”

“Run with me. Leon isn’t going to give you the chair and you’ll be stuck being that douchebag’s little wife.” Namjoon gestured outside. “Just run with me.”

She shook her head in disbelief. Minnie knew he was drunk and angry but a part of her felt a painful ring of truth. Was this how Namjoon viewed her this whole time? Perhaps in this course of making a business transaction, she was making a good decision in distancing from Namjoon. “You really have no faith or respect in me, do you?” she asked.

Namjoon’s chest rose and fell. “That’s not what I meant, Minnie, please.”

“No. I’m done making things work for you,” Minnie said, a look of disgust on her face. “Run on your own.” She turned on her heel and walked back into the arms of her future husband.

The thread between them snapped. 

masterlist

[lordkingsmith]

Zack Taylor known canon children and au children

Man I love Zack. When I was a kid I loved that Zack was a dancer, and was so cool. I loved how NICE he was. He’s a friggin sweetie. In comics I like how this is really focused on; he’s sweet, he’s popular, he’s a nice guy who’s doing his best. He’s not perfect but he’s trying. He can be serious, but he’s never straight up mean unless he has to be, and you can tell he hates it. Should have said so with Trini XD she’s the same way. I just ship her and Richie and got carried away, apologies.

If I’ve forgotten anyone you want to see or I think of them as I go, I’ll add 😁😁

Zack Taylor’s Canon Children;

I do like he didn’t end up with any of his high school sweethearts. Cute as the trope is, doesn’t work for everyone and that’s not a bad thing. Zack's a very fun character, and very charming, but it's cool it wasn't a sweetheart, and I do like thinking he and Billy are together. And I love the chemistry of Zack and Billy in once and always. There's something so sweet about those two bonding when in the first season, Zack had to keep asking Trini for help understanding Billy.

Minh Kwan. He is a great dad to Minh lol. I love how you can see the dawning “oh grid this is what ‘teenager with attitude’ means. I was just like this and this is not good”. Darling I see your pain but you’re doing a good job! She loves you very much! You and Billy are her dads!

My OC’s for Zack Taylor’s Non Canon Children;

Angela (last name unknown);

-props face in hand- seems she was another "had a larger plot relevance that got rewritten and thus wrote the character out of the show" character. That makes three I've run across. Sharkie, Richie, Angela. You could almost make an entire team of their own with these written out of the show characters. I won't say anything more about that, it is what it is. I will say while I wasn't the biggest fan of Angela's episodes, she seemed okay, and Zack was smitten. Which was definitely cute to watch, he was adorable in love with her. But I do have ideas for their kids, and I am quite taken with these two if I do say so myself.

Zack had a long love affair with Angela and they had two kids once he completely retired from being a ranger. She’s a senator’s wife, and they’re a senator’s kids. This has the predictable outcome of the two, Neveah, aged 21 and Bernard Taylor, aged 19, being a bit rebellious.

Neveah is a wild child, though not malicious in the slightest. Trickster type, very mischievous, she's definitely the class clown type. Prefers lightening the mood or getting back at people in the most prankster chaos way possible. She's aware of the rangers, and helps as a senator's child with all the perks that comes with it. She's going into business with the interest of owning a coffeeshop and gallery, so that the community can come and display and possibly sell art, and have a safe place to talk and decompress. Her brother included. They're not especially close, but she does want him to have a place to just be a person. Neveah is also not super close to her dad or mom, though it's more over their work than anything.

Bernard Taylor has absolutely no idea what he wants to do with his life, and works as a preschool dance teacher at the library. He also volunteers for arts and crafts classes. A huge lover of kids, and little kids adore his cheeky personality and his creative problem solving solutions. distraction and dancing, mostly. He's been dating Selena Bulkmeier-Skullovitch for two years, only recently found out Selena was Rita and Zedd's daughter. Upset she didn't tell him sooner, though can't argue he probably would not have taken this revelation well, and it's not like it matters. She was raised by Bulk and Skull, right? He's a bit corny in his romance, and is hoping if she is secretly evil, every time he makes her laugh it's another way to convince her not to follow in her biological parents' footsteps

Melissa (last name unknown);

Zack and Kim were the two who encouraged Melissa to join a disability inclusive dance class, and while it didn't click at first, Zack was the most delighted when she got the hang of the dancing. She told Zack she knew he was the black ranger, and managed to stick close enough by in school and in general people thought they were dating. It was easy to play along, and she was able to act as a great lookout. They have one daughter, Lila Taylor. Aged sixteen.

Lila is not deaf, and she's blunt and strong willed. People tend to underestimate her, and she's fairly quick to correct them. Some people think she's too strong willed, she thinks she's as loud as she needs to be. Lila is a dance teacher and volunteers at the library. She wants to go into library sciences, and is considering perhaps working at the Library of Congress. It's very difficult to get the position, but Lila is willing. She loves music, she loves dancing, and she loves knowledge. Everyone deserves it. not associated with a Color.

Violet Arias;

Zack and Violet are a lot like the sun and moon or moon and sea; there's an equal push and pull with them that can't be ignored. High school sweethearts in the greatest sense, though things hit a rocky patch when she figured out he was a power ranger-not that he'd made it particularly hard. They got engaged when he wrote her a poem cipher asking her to marry him. With help from Billy, of course. The two run a music shop together, with Violet running the area that has the retro music devices and Zack in charge of the CD's and vinyls. Violet and Zack have twins, Elodie and Mona, aged 16.

Elodie is very mellow, and smart. She's curious about a lot of things, and enjoys music based philosophy. Wants to be a song writer, wants to write music for bands from the other side of the galaxy. Just because it'd be a fun, cool challenge. Relatively popular, very forgiving, but not stupid. She's got her limits. Has opinions on a variety of subjects but it's extremely weird what things she's got an enyclopedic knowledge of and what she doesn't. She's often hyped and made brave by her sister, who is the opposite of her in every way. not associated with a color

Mona is going to be a music based power ranger, she is going to be a green ranger. And she is everything her parents and Elodie are not. Brash, loud, vengeful, crass, wild, but her sister keeps her calm and she in turn boosts her sister and gets her able to do things. Mona's somehow managed to be the most popular girl at school, but more than a few people are hoping for the day when this hot headed queen bee gets her comeuppance and gets knocked down a couple pegs.

Trini Kwan;

They started dating in space, and it was nice. When Trini became red, it got more serious, and being with each other was always so safe, emotionally. They don’t spent a lot of time on earth, but they do have two kids. The two don’t see their kids much, Jethro, age 16 and Avery, age 15 are on earth and do school on earth. They see their parents on holidays when they can, but mostly live with Kim. They have very distant relationships with their parents, even if they wish their parents would retire. They partially retired until both of them were in Junior High, which makes it extra tough. It feels a little like an abandonment, even if it isn’t.

Jethro is not really open to his parents, and has a better relationship with Kim. He wants to be a DJ, and does DJ’ing stuff for school dances and parties. Annoyed by his parents, has a ton of friends, prefers his friends. He likes Kim just fine, and everyone else. He just thinks his parents are using their duties as an excuse to get out of raising their kids. Jethro tries to avoid talking about his parents and what they do. He’s got his own things to do, they have theirs.

Avery loves her parents. She misses them dearly and wants them to come home. She’s become a bit of a people pleaser, swallowing down anxiety or unhappiness so nobody worries. She worries about them, a lot, and wishes they’d just stay home with their kids, who love them. While she doesn’t get why her parents are always in space, she knows they are doing important work saving people, and thus, tries to be understanding and patient and not worry anyone. Not associated with a color.

Kimberly Hart;

Tommy had a lot going on, and Kim realized she couldn't keep spending all her energy on him if he wasn't going to notice she cared. They went into a close friendship, and Kim and Zack stumbled very gradually from close friends to dating to married. Kim's a famous singer now, and Zack helps her make her music. Their dynamic duo for creativity continues evolving their music. They also employ animators for all their music videos. They have one son, aged sixteen. Joshua Taylor-Hart

Joshua's tone deaf, but loves playing violin. He has great technical skill, though struggles with the frustration that with being tone deaf, the six sounds most people can hear that would allow him to elevate his music are deeply absent. He likes his music, he loves music. It's hard not to be jealous of his parents, though, sometimes. Dancing's easier, so's cross country running. He's a hard worker, he's smart, and he's used to looking at things outside the box. Is not associated with a color.

Matthew Cook;

During everything Zack and Matt were friends with benefits, though Matt tended to use Zack as an emotional scapegoat as well. Zack finally had enough after a bit, and told Matt either he got his head out of his ass or they weren’t continuing. He was serious, too, and Matt got left in the lurch for a little while before actually looking at himself long and hard and deciding whether or not his grudge was worth losing Zack again. It wasn’t. His parents loved Zack, Kira loved Zack, and most importantly he loved Zack. He came out to his parents and family, and then put in the effort to get over himself to get Zack back. One daughter by surrogate parent, and Matt owes Kim big time. She’s made it clear though. This was for Zack. He gets this, and accepts he and Kim are probably never even going to be friends. His and Zack’s daughter is Layla Cook-Taylor. Layla is sixteen, tiny firecracker of positivity. She has her low moments, but she’s never down for long. She likes swimming and playing guitar. She dances with Zack in dance classes and Matt adores her so so much. She’s frank and earnest and tries her best. She doesn’t give up easily if ever. White ranger. Saba loves her, too. Yes Matt has gotten in arguments with the uppity dagger why do you ask?

Jason Lee Scott;

There really wasn't anyone else, honestly. They got each other. Blue and red is fine, and red and pink, but red and black? when it works it works and honestly they work. For obvious reasons, while they started dating in space, they didn't make it public when they came back to earth until Jason's dad died. At that point, there was nothing holding them back, and Zack understood the reason Jason waited. There was never going to be a relationship with his dad if he came out, and he was the sole caretaker. He had a responsibility. Zack respected that.

They have two kids, by surrogate. Kristen of the dark rangers, actually, offered. They didn't talk to the five much, but knew them well enough, after everything. When she offered it was actually a surprise, but they were willing if she was. When they decided they wanted a second kid, she was still willing. They're half siblings. Cleo, aged 24, is Jason and Kristen's daughter. Valeria, aged 18, is Kristen and Zack's daughter. Through this they became better friends with Kristen as well and that was really nice, especially for Kristen.

Cleo's more dramatic and adventurous than her younger sister. She will try anything once, do anything once. The whole world's a stage and she's one of the leads. Not afraid to take life by the horns and ride for all it's worth. A little bit of a mean girl, especially to anyone who dares hurt her sister or sister's friends. Was a queen bee in high school. She designs outfits for athletes. Sportswear is a passion of hers. How to make it fashionable and nice to work out in. Everyone deserves to look their best. She, herself, has an almost boho goth mix as a style. it was a mistake to let her watch incredibles; Edna Mode is her hero and role model. is not associated with a color. However, she'd be Fuchsia if she did. Unusual, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Valeria is 18 and in awe of her family and their legacies. She feels like she won't be able to be able to match any of them, but is trying not to let that bother her. She's captain of a breakdancing team, and mixes it with hard shoe Irish step-dance, which she's been taking classes for since she was four. It's something new, something fun, something her, and while she doesn't see the value in it, Zack and Jason do. Cleo's first experimental skort (skirt/short combo) was for Valeria to better be able to mix both dance styles. It's sometimes difficult for the sisters to talk to each other or show affection, but when they do its usually through things made for the other for their hobbies. Valeria also likes doing basic build type things, such as building sewing machines or computers. She only does this for family, but Cleo loves the custom machine she got. So does uncle Adam.

Currently working at a pizzeria, the tips are good and she likes being able to think while in high stress situations. It's where she thrives. Valeria is not associated with a color. however if she was, it'd be coral or black.

Tommy Oliver;

Tommy is an airhead, and very hard to convince he’s being flirted with. Kimberly, for months, tried to flirt with her new teammate, and eventually moved on because it just didn’t connect in Tommy’s head. He misunderstood Zack trying to explain it to him as Zack flirting, which made a little bit of a mess, but once it was sorted out Kimberly was dating someone else, and Tommy and Zack realized they did like each other. So they started dating, although there was some hurt feelings between themselves and Kim for a long while. Unfortunately, shortly after they successfully adopted a four year old, Tommy disappeared.

Eighteen years later, Landon Taylor works at Promethea as a systems programmer intern. It’s the closest to Tommy and Zack’s old work that Landon can get. Zack doesn’t want him any closer, and Billy, now CEO of Promethea, takes care of his old friends’ son. Landon admires Promethea and power rangers immensely. He wants to help them by any means he possibly can, and he does so to the best of his ability.

Nothing has come of years of searching for Tommy, and vice president Zack Taylor has proposed several amendments to help protect the teenagers that become rangers. He knows better than to make it illegal for teens and young adults to be rangers like some propose, but he also knows there needs to be suitable protective safety nets just in case. He’s proud of Landon, who’s helping program these safety nets, and he’s proud of the current rangers.

Billy Cranston;

They adopted Minh together basically. But in an alternate reality they got married and have two adopted kids, Harlow, aged 19, Selena, aged 17, and one kid by surrogate, Dylan, aged 9.

Harlow was adopted by Zack and Billy when he was seven, and is the first kid they adopted. He and the senator bonded over a shared love of music, and breakdancing. He bonded with Billy a little bit later over Billy mentioning that like Harlow, he used to have a fear of fish and water, and it was fine feeling irrational fear. Harlow tries really hard to make both his dads proud. He's got a lot of pressure he puts on himself. He's a perfectionist. Everything has to be perfect all the time. Billy's the first to try to get him to see the beauty in sometimes things just...not...being...perfect, and it's okay if he's not immediately good at things. Tommy Oliver is his favorite honorary uncle, and is a huge help with how he feels and living in a family. Is the blue ranger, alongside Selena, who is the orange ranger (there is no pink on their team).

Dylan was born a couple years before Selena was adopted. rambunctious kid. Gives his dads a heart attack all the time. His mom was Aisha, and his dad was Billy. There were long talks about it, but it was actually decided by a coin flip because Aisha could see they were psyching themselves out, and were going to talk themselves out of a choice they very much wanted. So she took charge for them. They love Dylan, and Dylan loves his dads, and his brother, and his sister. He likes music and playing pirates. He's one of the smartest kids in his grade school class, but Billy and Zack want him to make friends, so he's not allowed to jump a year. He does get supplemental lessons by both of them, though, so he doesn't stop being curious. Not associated with a color.

Selena has a lot of self doubt about being in this family, and doesn't get why Billy and Zack keep going to bat for her. They go to bat for her because they see in her a lot of themselves, and a lot of Tommy. She's a cheerleader at their school, and does baby sitting as a side job. She struggles to feel worthy of being the orange ranger, but she likes her new brothers, and she likes her dads, and she likes being able to show some of how grateful she feels back to them.

In a small variation, Minh would come live with all three of them as their sister and yellow ranger.

Farkas Bulkmeier;

Zack realized he was crushing on Bulk when Bulk explained his plan to be homecoming king. Zack loved his tenacity and how genuinely excited Bulk actually was over this. Overhearing Marleau’s threat and Bulk backing down, Zack backed him, and got the rest of the rangers and their dates to back him, because Marleau might think she rules the school but she really didn’t.

He completely fell in love with him seeing him crowned homecoming king. However nothing happened in school, and they fell out of touch for several years. Later, they met again when Zack went to a bar with friends, and found the bartender and owner was a familiar face. Farkas was happy to see him, and Zack was extremely happy to see him. He stayed over that night, and then never left. They work well together and have two kids via genetic splicing courtesy of Billy and Aquitar technology. Brianna, aged thirteen, and Devin, aged ten.

Brianna goes to dance classes twice a week, is as friendly and strong in her sense of Justice as her dad Zack was when he was a teenager. He is so proud of her. Her sense of Justice is perhaps a little too strong, and Zack is watching his thirteen year old like a hawk. Power rangering is fine, but he is not letting his baby girl do it before she’s sixteen. Out of personal experience. She often has a group of kids around her, as a sort of social butterfly nexus; and their house is apparently the ��safe house”. Polite, energetic, friendly, everyone’s her friend and she’s everyone else’s friend. Bulk and Zack have had to tell her more than once she needs to know her limits. Not associated with a color; but she’ll be silver the second she’s old enough.

Devin wants to go to Mirinoi when he’s grown up and explore everything there. He likes being everywhere, and doing things with his dads. Happy learning how to bake and cook, is fascinated by sewing and Bulk’s hand sewn jackets. Interested in his sister’s dance recital outfits and often borrows them to study. Bulk’s happy to help him in all his interests. Not associated with a color, but he’d be pink if old enough and chosen.

Eugene Skullovitch;

Zack's always tried to give Bulk and Skull the benefit of the doubt and never felt any true antagonistic feelings to them. Annoyance sure, but he doesn't hate them. Eugene took a while to warm up to Zack though, because nice doesn't mean trustworthy, and the two eventually started dating when Eugene realized no, Zack really is just that sweet. They run an ice cream parlor together and have two adopted kids. Achibald "Archie" Taylor and Marigold "Mari" Taylor.

Archie was adopted in his teens, and while this means he doesn't get to have as much time growing up with Zack and Skull as his dads, he's got the rest of his life with them as his parents, and that's the best thing he's ever heard. He was adopted out of the foster care system at thirteen, and is nineteen. He loves botany and magic tricks. Being a stage magician or professional botanist would be really really cool. He doesn't play piano or dance but he loves watching Zack and loves listening to Eugene practice at night. Is unsure what he wants to do with his life, but inheriting the ice cream parlor would be nice, if the botany or the stage magician thing doesn't work out. is not associated with a color.

Mari was adopted last year. She's fourteen and getting used to living with her brother and her dads. They're kinda weird, but she likes them. It is weird going to a new school in a new town, with a new last name. She doesn't really know what she likes, she's still figuring it out, but she knows she likes it here and that's good enough. She does miss her old friends and home a little, but she is making new friends. Zack and Eugene give her space and understanding, and Archie's been great with advice and settling in. not associated with a color.

Richie (last name unknown);

Richie was Zack's best friend, and while Zack was at first really interested in Trini, and then in Tommy, he and Zack eventually fell into a natural relationship. It was as simple as anything for them. It is a source of curiosity for when they actually started dating, it was so gradual. Even they aren't really sure. Tommy was chosen to go to the peace convention instead of Zack, and this certainly helped the budding relationship, especially when Tommy gave Richie Saba. Richie was a great ranger, and it was nice for Zack having him with him in battle. They flowed so naturally. While they've never gotten married, everyone agrees they're basically as good as. They've adopted two kids, and have a magic baby Zedd made, a clone that through the bumbling of Goldar and Squatt, was a perfect mix of both of them. They managed to get this teenager reverted to a child, and were just glad this happened in their 20's and not their teens. Their kids are Keller, aged 29, Coda, aged 17, and Ethel, aged 15.

Keller, while intended to be Richie's evil clone, ended up being a child when the dna of Zack and Richie got mixed. How it happened they're not entirely sure, just that Squatt was involved. He's certainly an odd mix of the two, but with their more negative traits more prominent. However, despite this, he was given help and support and love to be able to have a chance at a normal life. Richie named Squatt as his godfather as a joke, but when Squatt heard he took the position extremely seriously and reformed for Keller. Squatt’s been almost more helpful with raising someone like Keller, and Richie and Zack were definitely grateful for the help. He's currently going to school to be a councilor, with monster and power ranger related trauma as his primary focus. There's certainly a lot of people who would benefit from a therapist like him. He's definitely the oldest sibling with the personality and self expectations that entails, and is used to picking the younger two up and out of bad situations at the drop of a hat. not associated with a color though if he was it'd likely be white or pink

Coda's working at the juice bar, mainly saving up for a proper car instead of borrowing the family car whenever he needs to be somewhere. He likes living with his dads and siblings, and thinks Keller's one of the more interesting people to come out of power ranger stuff. Coda wants to be a journalist, and is interested in interviewing Colors themselves. Though only Saba has ever talked to him, and when he did Coda didn't learn much. He wants to be a power ranger specifically to get an interview with his color. A strange motivation, but it will pay off. He will eventually be a silver ranger.

Ethel's not very outgoing, and is extremely shy. She is actually Billy's daughter, but Billy and his partner died when she was very small, and Zack of course adopted her without a second thought. He blames himself for Billy's death and does his best to make it up to Ethel every day. She's shy, quiet, and rather small for her age. Thankfully she's not the target of bullies and is on the school's robotics team. Richie and Zack do worry for her, but she seems to be doing ok. she will be on a team with Coda in a few years as the blue ranger.

Justin (last name unknown);

Justin was the red ranger leader of the Dark team, and Jason's more dark counterpart. Zack didn't really like Jason at first, but he did respect his devotion to his friends. They were dark mirrors for a reason, after all. Once they saved them, Justin and Zack had several classes together and just got close from revolving each other's orbit for so long. Justin got a job as a janitor, Zack as a gym teacher, and they had one kid via a surrogate. Patricia, aged 11.

Patricia is into the concept of vaulting, and likes sports. Serious, dramatic, a huge collector of beetleborgs, and a fan of action movies. She's got a lot of energy, has decided she doesn't like the taste of meat and gone vegan (which has if anything given her even more strength boost). She knows her own mind and her own heart. Her loyalty is rock solid and so is her stubborness. not associated with a color though if she was it'd be violet.

Tina (last name unknown);

Zack was a candidate for the Dragon Coin, and while it was close; he won. Essentially, he and Tommy swapped places. He became Rita's champion, and Tommy took on mighty morphin Black. The whole team tried, but couldn't break Rita's hold on Zack. However; Zack didn't have loyalty to Rita, and when Zedd showed up Zack swapped sides. When he kept losing to the good rangers and later to their sixth, the white ranger Richie, Zack convinced Zedd he needed a team to help him. So, Zedd created the Dark Rangers out of the new group of bullies that had just showed up at the school. Zack settling in nicely as their sixth. Before he'd gone bad he'd been close to Trini, and when he met Tina they hit it off quickly. Together the Dark Team forced the mighty morphin group underground. Zack and Tina have been off and on for several years at this point, and they have a daughter. Suki, aged eleven.

Suki is a belligerant though intelligent child. If you tell her the sky is blue she'll say the sky is gold. Rita and Zedd made good with each other, and Selena is practically an older sister to Suki. They're basically villainous comedic duo, with the added problem of Suki and Selena being perfectly willing to pose as Trini's daughters for the sole purpose of drawing out the hidden mighty morphin. Thrax is actually on the ranger's side, here, a forgotten little brother of Selena and trying very hard to reign in his sister and the little girl who idolizes her. Suki wants to be just like her parents, and her parents are villains. But, she is eleven. Olivia, current mighty morphin black, is trying to gently convince Selena and Suki to go against their parents. It's been slow going. There's time, it's just frustrating.

Marleau Eskin;

Zack was the only one that ever managed to get through to Marleau, for any reason. He was nice, but nice has it's limits and sometimes the nicest thing you can do is just be a little mean. He made her question herself, got her tongue tied, self conscious, and suddenly she was chasing after him, in a completely different manner than she'd ever expressed interest in anyone before. They went to a dance school together, after high school, by complete coincidence. He for contemporary dance, her for classical. She avoided him for a year just because she didn't know what to do with how he made her feel. They finally got stuck in a class as partners for a project together and had a very long conversation about many things, past and present and beyond. Things progressed got serious, and she got pregnant. Her parents had hoped she'd marry someone better than a professional dance choreographer for hollywood musicals, and disinherited her when she eloped. She runs a dance studio and he works for mucical movies as a dance choreographer. They have one daughter, Priscilla, aged 14.

She has two left feet, which is a running joke in the family. Instead she's kind of a brilliant budding politician. When she's old enough she wants to run for class president. Very friendly, very good at problem solving and defusing situations, she's popular and open minded. She wants to be the youngest governor in their state, and she's got the temerity to actually make it happen.

[glimmerlofsea]

Jason Scott x Reader

RANGER WHAT?

PT. 1.

Warning : Fightinggg

WC; 3,5k

#TALKISSA; This part two of 'Ranger What'!

Jason explain it to you all the parts and every detail. That Jason and his friends are the Power Rangers, heroes of Angel Grove— well, your brain can still accept it. But not when he started mentioning that you were the next Ranger, the Lost Ranger, the White Ranger with their instinct abilities, and other nonsensical things.

You sat on a chair in the empty room, Jason sat next to you,

"...And we purposely arranged the tour to come to this museum, because we just found out that our last coin was here, Y/N. And it called you, didn't it? That means you are-"

"A Ranger, yes I know." You replied, cutting him off, still trying to digest what he said.

Your gaze was locked on the floor, Jason said being a Ranger required great sacrifice, even if you guys had to die you had to be ready- but you couldn't. Never will.

"Jason." You turned to him, "I have a family, Jeremy is not old enough to be able to take care of my father who is getting older, if I do this and what if I die? What if I fall? I'm not a soldier. I'm just a girl-"

"Hey, hey."

You stop what you're talking about,

"I won't let that happen. We won't let that happen."

He held your hand, holding it tightly, "We take care, we protect each other because that is our principle."

You controlled your breath, "I can't. I still can't."

"The coin chose you, Y/N. It has to be you. Somehow, the coin believes that you are the right choice for it." Kimberly said which made you looking at her.

You could feel Jason releasing his grip, "How about we get reacquainted first?"

"Y/N. I'm Jason Scott, The Red Ranger."

"Kimberly Hart. Kim, The Pink Ranger."

"Billy Cranston. The Blue Ranger."

"Zack Taylor, The Black Ranger."

"Trini Kwan. The Yellow Ranger."

You look at the girl named Trini, she looked petite and very beautiful, she looked like she had Latin blood.

"I love yellow." You said while smiling slightly looking at her, she smiled, "Thank you."

"Your turn, Y/N." Jason said.

You nodded and looked at them all, "Y/N Y/L/N."

They all seemed to be waiting for you to say what color Ranger you got, you smiled awkwardly and shook your head, "No. That's not gonna happen and I won't say it."

"You're still in denial, I get it, Y/N. But the coin chose you. There's nothing we can do about that, and we can't just change it." Trini said walking towards you.

You took a breath.

And here you are, trying to accept the fact that you were one of them, the heroes of Angel Grove.

You and the others are walking towards a mine that is still under construction.

Trini and Kim were seen early in front, Billy and Zack chatted and joked, you walked alone behind. Your mind is not in sync with your body, as if someone is taking over your body.

You felt your feet slipping, until finally a hand grabbed yours,

You widened your eyes with what just happened, you could have died.

"Careful, White." Jason said smiling, you faked a smile, "Yeah, thank you, Red." He chuckled at your reply.

He matched his footsteps with yours, "Jason,"

He cleared his throat, you opened your mouth, "The huge sacrifice that a ranger requires... Have you ever done it? I mean- on the verge of death and so on?"

He smiled, "No. You know, the last time Angel Grove was under siege by evil—like huge gold-plated monsters was a few months ago, so that's when me and the others were really fighting for our lives."

You nodded and took a breath, "Hey," he said which made you look at him, "I know maybe you're nervous, feel weird, scared, and so on, believe me, I was like that too when I first experienced it. But, Y /N, everything will be fine. We'll just take you to Zordon and you'll take a little training."

You nod again,

"Guys, we have reached the edge of the cliff. Do you want to jump first or jump straight into the water?"

You heard Zack screaming. Slowly you advanced your steps— and saw how high it was to reach the surface of the water. You didn't know the Angel Grove mine had this.

"Forget it, I'll go straight into the water." Zack said, he looked at you and waved his hand, "See you, odd girl."

He immediately dropped to the surface there, you swallowed your thirst, Billy followed Zack, Trini grabbed your shoulder before she caught up with Billy and Zack, Kim approached you, "Don't worry, we won't die." She smiled and jumped.

You just stay silent, it was just you and Jason left up there. You looked at Jason who smiled at you, “Jump together?”

"I would love to do that."

Jason took your hand to hold it, "Ready?" You nodded.

You can't explain the situation, but when you jump you scream as loud as you can and it feels like you're in the air for a long time, like you're moving in slow motion, you know?

Once you reach the surface of the air, you close your nose to not let air in.

You floated in the air and saw Zack, Kim, Trini, Billy, and Jason looking at you. You rubbed your face so the air on your face wouldn't interfere with your vision, feeling strange that they were all staring at you, you let out a voice, "What?"

"You are the brightest." Billy said.

You were confused, but after seeing their bodies glow according to the color they had, you looked at your own body which was surrounded by white light. You let out a smile, happy to see the radiation of the light you had.

"Okay. Without further ado, let's go to Zordon?" Kim said a little hesitantly.

You nod, they start to dive back down, you follow them, and suddenly in your blurred vision in the water you see them slowly disappear as they touch the reflection of the water. Only yourself is left in the water, you are out of breath, for now you won't ask too many questions, you follow them.

Touch the reflection and everything is upside down, you fall due to gravity. Luckily you didn't fall right to the bottom of the rock, you groaned and then realized you were on top of someone, you widened your eyes when you realized you were on top of Jason, your hair was still wet, dripping onto Jason's shirt.

"Hello there," he said with a sly smile, you stiffened and immediately smiled awkwardly, maybe you could say you were a little comfortable with that position...?

You heard Billy clear his throat, you immediately got up and stood up straight, "Sorry,"

"No problem." Jason smiled back, he also aroused himself like you.

You shook the dirt off your clothes, that's when you realized that you were in a cave.

"Come on," said Trini.

You follow them, and are amazed by what you see, a large ship hiding in the cave. Long story short, they take you on the ship,

"Zordon! Zordon! Zordon! She's here! The white ranger is here!"

You hear a shrill voice shout. That's when you see robot prototypes walking around. You were so confused that you put on your stupid face, you heard Jason chuckle, “Come here.”

You follow Jason, "That's Alpha 5. Weird I know, but can we say he's like our mentor's assistant?"

You nod.

You are taken to a room that could be said to be the heart of this ship,

"Y/N Y/L/N. White ranger. Welcome back."

You were speechless... What really spoke to you was just a face, "Oh my fucking god." you whispered.

You heard the face chuckle, "I know it's weird, as do the rest of your friends when they set foot here. And I'm so glad our missing Ranger is back. It was nice meeting you, Y/N."

You smiled awkwardly, "Nice to meet you too, Zordon?" Your tone sounds unsure.

"I'm sure Jason has explained everything to you?" Zordon asked, you nodded, “Then today we will try to get you to morph into your costume, understand?” You nodded your head a second time.

"And how?"

You are taken to another cave on the ship, but Zordon's voice can still be heard.

"Actually, our previous enemy has fallen... And I'm not sure I would use a hologram of our old enemy. So, Y/N, you will fight your friend." Alpha 5 said, at first you were confused, “What?”

Until you see the 5 Angel Grove heroes in their costumes, you chuckle in disbelief, "I won't fight them in those costumes, right?" You looked at Alpha 5, he didn't say anything back, "I wish you a good luck, Y/N."

You looked back at those who were really ready to fight you, "Great. I'm fucking dying."

You prepare your moves, you actually don't know how to actually fight, it's only because you often watch several movies that you know some of the moves you have to use when fighting.

The blue one stepped forward— Billy came forward to fight you, his movements were very fast, he threw a punch but you quickly dodged and kicked him, your legs were in pain from the attack of the silver plated costume, "Damn it!"

Not long after, Trini and Kimberly came forward, Trini managed to land a punch on your face while Kim aimed for your stomach, you felt cramps all over your body, you tried to fight it, slowly you twisted your leg so that Trini suddenly fell, when Kim's attention was distracted by Trini, you punched her in the face which was visible through her mask.

You felt blood flowing from your nose, you saw Zack who was advancing his steps, you immediately wiped your blood, he pushed you until you were cornered on the rocks of the cave, you hit his back using your elbow, you thought you were starting to get used to the presence of this coin on you. You feel.. Stronger.

You kicked Zack's genitals with your knee, cliche but successful enough to send Zack sprawling on the floor. You immediately chuckled at him.

No sooner had you seen Jason standing side by side with Kim, as if they were ready to fight you, again, than you groaned, “Ugh.”

Kim goes forward and throws all the punches she can, you grab her hand and twist it so she groans, you immobilize her on the surface and push her far away.

You looked at Jason who was taking off his mask, he smiled, "You're getting used to it, aren't you?"

You smiled and he put his mask back on, "Take it easy on me, Red." You said before your fight started.

Your fight with Jason didn't require what you went through with all of them, he didn't hesitate to throw punches, kicks and whatever he had to paralyze you. You threw your fists, but he grabbed your hands and lifted you onto his shoulders then pushed you back, making you groan, you took the opportunity to wrap your legs around his neck.

"Sorry." You said before hitting him on the head again with your elbow, making him lose his balance and the two of you just fell.

"It's so tense here!" shouted Alpha 5.

As you fell together, Jason and you looked at each other before you were completely pressed against him, he was on top of you, holding your hand with both of his. Your breathing is irregular, you try to control your breath.

He took off his mask and showed a sly smile, "Am I 'take it easy on you', White?"

You smiled, “Sure you are.”

You heard a lot of fake coughs, as did Jason, you immediately stood up, you were amazed to see that their costumes had completely changed to how they were before.

You sigh, "So what? I don't see me 'morphing'?"

Trini looked at Kim, then Kim looked at you, "If this doesn't work, then we'll do something else."

"Oh, please, don't fight anymore. My body hurts so bad." You whined.

Jason chuckled, "No, we won't. Come on."

You follow them, they take you to the edge of the mine which is not far from Zack's residence, he said. You sat around the campfire, you sat between Zack and Jason.

You took off your leather jacket to reveal yourself wearing only a white tank top, you looked behind your shoulder which had many wounds, you thought that during the fight you accidentally rubbed against a rock.

"So what are we going to do? I don't think I have much time because my dad will be worried and I really need to treat this." Your words ended by pointing to several wounds on your face.

Zack chuckled, "You pretty much beat us there, Y/N. I mean... You're cool because you can fight us in costume."

You smiled, "Thank you. And I'm sorry for kicking your dick."

Zack was seen feeling embarrassed while the others laughed. You brought out your sly smile.

“Did you learn martial arts, Y/N?” Trini asked, you shook your head, “I watched a lot of movies, plus this coin's ability, I think I became more… I don't know, stronger?”

Trini smiled and nodded.

“So, the first thing we do when we can't change is open up to each other, Y/N.” Kim said.

You nod your head, “Okay, then my assignment is open to you all?” You looked at everything slowly, until your gaze stopped on Jason who nodded.

You don't mind sharing your story, "Okay.. I'm Y/N Y/L/N, a new kid from a town far from here. I live with my dad and my little brother, Jeremy, who really likes you guys. I mean, really. Like a maniac. And you have a lot of that maniacs, Scott." You said looking at Jason, the others groaned making Jason chuckle shyly.

You smile.

"Where is your mom?" Billy asked, your smile faded, things got quiet, Zack slapped Billy lightly on the chest, "Dude."

Billy, who looked confused, showed his flat face, "What?"

You smiled, "It's okay. Actually I don't know. And I never want to know. She was rude. To me, to my father, and before she managed to touch Jere, my father decided to move first leaving my mother. And I'm glad he did it."

"She was not only physically abusive... But mentally, she often cursed me with obscene words, such as being called a odd girl, a worthless girl, kind of a bitch, and other insults."

Recalling all those bad memories made you stare straight at the fire and felt warm drops of water fall from your face, you felt someone gently caress your back—and without you looking you knew it was Jason.

You blinked a few times and tried to smile, “That's all I think?”

“I'm sorry, Y/N.” Kim said followed by nods from Billy and Trini.

You smiled, "No need, Kim. But thanks."

"Okay... And as I remember the last time we morphing there must have been a sacrifice?" Zack asked.

You looked at him quickly, your whole face tensing up, Zack chuckled, "No, I'm kidding. It's just because of that creepy witch, Rita."

You breathed a sigh of relief.

At first Zack chuckled, but his smile disappeared again when he looked at you, again and again you were confused, they all looked at you, "What?"

You looked at Jason who smiled in awe, "You did morphing."

You look at your own body in a white costume... You did it! Whatever the term, you morphed!

But it's strange that you don't wear a mask like them...

“But why isn't she wearing a mask?” Billy asks which one is confusing you.

“Take her to Zordon, perhaps?” Trini suggested.

"Good job, Y/N. I didn't expect you to change so quickly." Zordon said to you.

"Thank you. But do you have a reason why I'm not wearing a mask?"

"Oh! Of course. Don't panic, the White Ranger doesn't have a mask because its ability is specifically for physical contact. If you want to use your contact ability, you need eyes to see clearly without a mask."

Ah, that makes sense.

"So cool! Can I be white?!" Zack exclaimed while laughing.

"No." Zordon answered, making you laugh a little.

"However, Y/N. Promise me, all of us, to use your abilities only for good, only for Ranger purposes, and no evil."

You nodded your head, “Thank you for entrusting this coin to me.”

You could see Zordon smile, "You're the one who deserves it, kid. Wear it well."

After that you separated from Trini, Kim, Zack, and Billy. Jason offered to take you home since he was the one who caused all this. If I'm not mistaken, you only got home at 2 in the morning.

The streets were very quiet, Angel Grove was very quiet, only Jason and your footsteps could be heard.

Until you were in front of your house, "This is where we have to part ways." You said with a smile.

He smiled, "It's a shame I still want to spend time with you."

You chuckled, "Thank you. Thank you for promising me and believing in me, Jace."

He chuckled, "Jace? I love that. And also, anytime, Y/N. And everything I said on the bus, it's true, I watch you a lot in class."

You stepped forward and kissed his cheek, then stood up again, “Goodnight.”

Before you heard his answer, you went straight into your house, usually your father would turn on the lights if you weren't home yet, but not this time. Something is wrong and you don't like it.

You open your door... The door is unlocked.

You felt something was wrong, because you felt Jason was still there you screamed his name, "Jason!"

You see your house is completely a mess. Your family photo frame is broken, scattered on the floor,

"What's wrong?!" Jason exclaimed.

You didn't answer him, your breath was already short, you were afraid, you were afraid that the consequences you got as a Ranger would be passed on to your father, and what was worse... to Jeremy.

You took your steps towards Jeremy's room, "Jere?!" Your voice trembled, but there was no answer at all.

The room is no less messy than your living room... What actually happened?

You sobbed, you put one hand on your waist while the other hand you held tightly to your hair, Jason noticed that and held your hand gently so as not to hurt yourself, "Hey. Hey, breathe."

You cried uncontrollably, "What happened? Where are my father and brother, Jason?"

He pulled you into his arms, gently stroking your back, "Sshh. It's okay. We'll figure it out together, okay?"

You cried into his chest. Now the house that was once filled with your father's laughter and Jeremy's jokes has dimmed, even the light that illuminated your own father no longer appears in the house. Where are they? What really happened? You don't like this.

Author Note : I apologize profusely if there are any typos because I originally wrote this from a first point of view... Hihi. I really hope you enjoy it, issea! and I'm really bad at writing fights...

[torscrawls]

Out of the Loop ch.2

Wordcount: 2,801

Can be read on AO3!

--

When lunch rolled around fifteen minutes later Wes had come to three conclusions.

One. People here thought that ghosts were real. He was unsure if this was because of a huge misunderstanding, a result of mass hallucination, or if Wes had actually managed to stumble upon the only town in the US where people were more into conspiracies than he was. Or maybe it was only a result of poisoned lunches.

Two. The Guys in White were the people behind the security cameras that were everywhere in the school. Everyone seemed to fear them. No one would tell him what they wanted. This couldn’t be legal, right?

Three. Bathroom-boy’s name was Daniel Fenton, called Danny. Or Fenturd, Fentonail, and a variety of other increasingly absurd and childish nicknames if you asked the jocks. Son to the local ghost hunters, best friends with Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, and a huge nerd.

So far he hadn’t been able to combine all three into a configuration that made sense—did Danny work for the GIW? Was the school a test-sight for a government led drug program? Was Danny working for the GIW? Or the supposed ghosts? Who even is the GIW?—and his confusion wasn’t helped by everyone refusing to answer his questions.

Wes stumbled out of the classroom and tried to decide on where to go now, who was most likely to give him some information.

He saw Danny, Sam, and Tucker huddling further down the corridor. Tucker was gesticulating wildly and Sam was nodding along as Danny laughed and shook his head.

Before he had the chance to approach them and get some answers, he was intercepted by Star and several of the more popular students in his class.

“As you know, my name is Star.” She gestured at the people next to her. “This is Paulina, Kwan and Dash.”

Wes noted that the last jock was the one who had tripped Danny when he got back into the classroom earlier.

Dash gave him a once-over before giving a short nod. “You might do. You play any sports?”

“Basket.”

Dash shrugged. “Not football, but good enough.”

“You wanna eat lunch with us?” Kwan asked with a big smile.

Wes sent the trio down the corridor another look, but Star was still the only one who had given Wes any kind of information, however little that might be, so he nodded and decided to try his luck with them first.

As they sat down at a table Wes stared at his lunch with suspicion. He really hoped it wasn’t drugged, even though that would explain a lot.

Star sipped her drink and said, “Okay, so. Here’s the deal.” She placed her hands on the table in front of her and leaned in towards Wes. “We have to be a bit careful when we talk since…” she paused and raised one eyebrow, eyes shifting to one of the security cameras on the walls, “the ghosts can listen in.”

Oh, so they were talking around the issue. That was no problem; Wes was good at reading between the lines. He would make sure the ghosts didn’t find out anything! “Of course.” He winked.

Star pressed her lips together as a furrow appeared between her brows.

Paulina leaned in and causally asked, “You know about ghosts?”

Wes pursed his lips in thought. “I know they’re dead people?”

Paulina shook her head and then said, in an overly enunciated way that Wes had never heard her use before, punctuating each word with a jab of her fork.  “Yeah, no. They're not people. They're monsters.”

“Oh,” Wes blinked. “I thought the whole idea of ghosts was based on the fact that they'd been humans?”

Paulina and Star exchanged a glance before Paulina shook her head. “No. They're all just bad. No personality. No emotions.” She raised her eyebrows and gave Wes a meaningful look. “They are bad. Evil.”

“Okay, alright,” Wes nodded. He understood what they were trying to say; all ghosts were evil and they had no personality. Finally he was getting some useful information!

Kwan joined in, “They’re very much not like people.”

“Yeah, I mean, sure,” Wes agreed with a nod. “They're ghosts. They're not humans anymore.”  He understood what they were trying to say; all ghosts were evil and they had no personality. Finally he was getting some useful information!

Star paused, a small frown on her face. “Right… It's just important to know that they're all very evil.”

She placed a weird emphasis on the last few words and Wes hesitated. This must be her telling him that the last part is extra important. So ghosts are, at the very least, very evil, probably even worse than that but she couldn't explain more because of the surveillance. That had to be it.

Wes patted himself on the back for his quick thinking.

Dash jumped into the conversation with half a potato in his mouth and unnecessarily added, “Yeah, so evil. No exceptions.”

Wes frowned as something occurred to him. “But you didn’t seem to hate the guy with the white hair?”

Star blinked before sending another pointed look to the nearest surveillance camera. “Yeah, no. Of course we don’t like him. He’s a ghost.”

Wes narrowed his eyes. He felt like he might be missing something. He turned to look at one of several cameras on the wall but Kwan reached out to stop him from turning fully in his seat. Wes hesitated and then slowly asked, “Sooo… What’s up with the cameras?”

“It’s the GIW. They make sure were safe,” Paulina said with the same conviction as Wes uses against his dad when he says he’s not going to stay up past midnight reading on conspiracy-forums.

Kwan nodded. “They’re watching and listening in the school to look for… evil ghosts.”

“So who are they?”

Dash, somehow still with a potato in his mouth, said, “The GIW stands for the Guys In White.”

Star smacked his shoulder. “It stands for the Ghost Investigation Ward, idiot.”

“I knew that!” Dash exclaimed in outrage.

Wes nodded. “Ah. So they are a group of ghosts that investigate things, got it.”

Star blinked. “Eh?”

Kwan snorted. “No, man, they investigate ghosts.”

“Oh,” Wes blushed. “Of course. Yes.”

“And hunt them,” Paulina added with badly concealed disdain, “Don’t forget the hunting part.”

“They hunt ghosts?” Wes asked as he finally started on his lunch to try and hide his red face. “Like, for real?”

“Yeah,” Star said before rolling her eyes and sarcastically saying, “Someone has to keep them in check.”

Wes nodded. “Yeah, sure,” he paused. “No, wait, what? Like whacking weeds? Or pest control?”

They all stared at him as if he was crazy. Then Dash gave a slightly strained laugh. “You’re acting as if you’ve never heard of ghost hunters before, man.”

“We don’t… Really have that where I’m from?”

Star blinked and tilted her head. “But then, who fights the ghosts?”

“No one,” Wes said as he wondered what alternate reality he had landed in where he was the sensible one.

Kwan tapped his chin as he asked, "Doesn't ghosts work the same way where you're from?"

"Don't be stupid!” Dash said as he punched him in the arm. “Of course they do. Maybe they just use different words?"

“Right! So,” Kwan said and here the whole table turned to face Wes, “Who controls the ghosts that escape from the Ghost Zone? Wait. Maybe you have another word for that too. What do you call the dimension the ghosts come from?”

They were crazy. This whole town was crazy. Absolutely bonkers. Wes itched for something to write all of this down on. It was too good.

But first he had to try and get this conversation back on track if he wanted more information. “We don't… Have ghosts? Like, at all.”

This statement was met with a stunned quiet.

Then Kwan laughed. “Right. Right. We didn't always have them either.”

Star shook her head. “It feels like such a long time ago.”

Wes saw his chance. “So when did ghosts first appear and how—”

He was interrupted by several people screaming down a corridor, followed by a sudden commotion by the doors leading into the cafeteria.

A group of people burst into the room, pristine white suits gleaming beneath the fluorescent lamps. Only outshone by the raised weapons in their hands.

Before Wes had time to do more than blink, all the students in the cafeteria were suddenly on their feet, displaying a creepily fast reaction time in response to people interrupting their lunch with drawn guns

All the people at his table glanced to the same corner. Wes followed their line of sight but could only see Danny, Sam, Tucker, and a few other students huddled around a table.

One of the men in the white-clad group raised his gun and fired a glowing bolt into the ceiling. Wes squeaked in fear and ducked under the table for the second time that day.

Star looked down at him with clear disappointment on her face. “Seriously, Wes? This again?”

The man that had fired the gun screamed, “We know the ghost that calls itself Phantom is hiding in this school!”

“We saw Phantom on the cameras! Where is he hiding?!”

Wes poked his head out from under the table and hissed at Star, “Why do they come now?! It’s been like half an hour?!”

Star winced. “Yeah… They’re not exactly the most… effective hunters in town.”

One of the people in white, a woman holding some kind of large and beeping device, pointed and screamed, “The signal came from in here! There! In the far corner!”

Wes glanced back to the corner where Danny and his friends had been, but now it was crowded with people; a majority of the students seemed to have moved over to that specific corner and surrounded the table like a barricade. There was still no ghost in sight.

This didn’t seem to deter the men and women in white suits as they scrambled towards the far corner of the cafeteria, ignoring the protests of the students around them.

Wes watched as several students tripped and spilled their food in their way, tripped over stools so they sprawled in front of them, two girls even managed to tip a table to block their way with a giggling excuse of “being so clumsy”.

As the white-clad group passed by Wes' table, one of the maniacs’ eyes landed on him and they paused. “You! I haven't seen you before! Who are you?!”

Wes instinctively raised his hands, bumping into the table above him. “My name is Wesley? I'm new in town?” He didn’t mean to make it a question. But he suddenly had several guns pointed in his direction and felt more than a little nervous.

The woman who had stopped to interrogate him narrowed her eyes. “Hmmm, convenient.”

“Is it?” Wes squeaked out.

She tapped the trigger of her gun, aimed right at Wes. “Why are you hiding under a table?”

“Because you have guns? And ran into the room screaming?” And I don’t know what the fuck is going on, he thought but didn’t add.

“You’re saying you don’t trust the GIW?” She frowned. “I would call that suspicious.”

“You’re the GIW?!” Wes gaped and then managed, “I didn’t even know who you guys were like five minutes ago!”

“How can you not know who we are?” Another man in white spoke up, real confusion in his voice.

“This is my first day in this school! I just moved into town three days ago!”

The woman narrowed her eyes further, grip tightening on her gun. “Maybe that’s exactly what a ghost would say to throw us of his trail.”

Wes was starting to get angry. How dare they accuse him of being something he wasn’t?! The indignity! He would never do something like that to anyone! “How can I be a ghost when I’m not even sure what they are?!”

The woman opened her mouth to no doubt spout even more nonsense, but they were—once again—interrupted by a group of people bursting into the room with drawn guns. But this time it was only two; a man and a woman in aggressively colorful jumpsuits.

Wes distantly recognized the woman carrying a bazooka from when he’d first arrived in town. It didn’t make him feel any better.

“Where is he?!” screamed the woman in a blue jumpsuit.

The man in orange followed it up with an equally aggressive, “Where is the ghost boy?!”

The woman looked around the room. “There was a spike in his ectosignature from the school!”

Wes looked around in dazed confusion, distantly noting that the students around Danny and his friends drew in closer around them, effectively shielding them from view.

The two groups of gun-wielding maniacs—one white and one colorful—nodded to each other in greeting. The woman who had interrogated Wes spoke up, “We think we might have found the bastard!” And then she gestured to indicate Wes.

Wes gaped as the man and woman in colorful jumpsuits perked up. And then immediately raised their guns in Wes’ direction.

Wes shrunk back, trying to fit himself completely underneath the table.

The woman raised some sort of device in Wes’ direction and it screeched and hummed. Wes said his prayers and cursed the moment they had arrived in this insane town.

The woman pocketed the device. “He’s not a ghost.” And she sounded so disappointed by that fact. But then she paused and frowned as she studied the device in her hands. “In fact, he has a lower ecto-contamination than anyone I’ve ever seen…”

She stepped closer, too close. Wes tried to scramble backwards but the man reached under the table, grabbed Wes’ arm and dragged him out and up. Wes squeaked as he dangled in front of the woman, the white-clad maniacs and the whole of the student body of his new school.

Jack hummed, “That’s interesting, maybe we should take him back to the lab to see why—”

Danny poked his head up from the mess of students huddled around him. “Hi mom! Hi dad!”

Jack dropped Wes’ arm and started waving intently at Danny. “Son!”

The woman turned away and smiled wide from underneath her threatening goggles. “Hi honey!”

Wes stared as he massage his arm where the man had gripped it—where Mr. Fenton had gripped it.. That’s Danny’s parents? The towns ghost-hunters?! They were all so screwed.

Star grabbed him by the shoulders and ushered him backwards, covering his retreat with several well-placed students who stepped in without any hesitation. Kwan stepped up to his other side, keeping a steadying hand on his back.

Wes glanced over his shoulder at the man and woman and asked faintly, “Are they the most effective hunters in town?”

Star snorted. “Oh, Ancients no!”

Kwan laughed. “But they are the loudest.”

Star pointed at him. “Can’t argue with that.”

“But…” Wes tried to make sense of what had just happened. “If they’re ghost-hunters, how come they can't even differentiate between a ghost and a human?”

Star pursed her lips in thought, tapping her chin. “You know, it can be surprisingly hard sometimes.”

Wes wasn’t even surprised anymore. He had thought being dead meant being dead and that it was pretty clear-cut, but he had also thought that you weren’t supposed to threaten students with guns, that ghosts weren’t real, and that

Jack’s voice boomed over the chatter of the cafeteria, “We'll let you go this time, but we'll keep our eyes on you!”

Wes turned to see him looking right at him. He scowled. He would be the one keeping his eyes on them.

Wes turned back and caught Danny watching him from across the room, a laugh dancing over his face.

Wes narrowed his eyes at him. He knew something.

Wes would find out how this all fit together and how it connected to Dan—

He froze.

Danny had left the room before the ghost attack.

The hunters had followed their readings, right towards Danny, before they had gotten distracted by Wes.

It was so clear, so obvious. Why had no one else connected the dots?

Danny and Phantom was the same person! The same way his old teacher and the big, scraggly and unkempt dog Wes had seen behind the school had been the same person. He was sure this time! He would prove it.

And he would bring the proof to the whole school; freeing them from being tricked into protecting an evil ghost!

Star looked back at him with concern in her eyes. “You okay, Wes? Did Jack pull on you too hard?”

Wes smiled wide. “No worries. That was just what I needed.”

[btsqualityy]

Today been a hard day and I need drama! Eunji and her parents bring that almost every drabble day!

Request: Eunji’s parents finding out she’s married at 19 years old

Another anon also said: For my request, can we see Junior and Eunji official first meeting and Junior and him meeting her parents for the first time. Please and thank you! 😊

Warnings: super critical parents, unhealthy parental relationships lol

"Look who did it again!" Junior bragged as him and two of his friends walked out of their astrophysics class. "Best grade in the class once again!"

"Well, all of us aren't super geniuses," Seojun huffed.

"Literally. I studied for that exam for two weeks straight and still came out with only a 78%," Kwan agreed.

"Hey, either you have it or you don't," Junior smirked. "If you need me and my amazing 99% to tutor you, I'm available Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"If anyone needs the tutoring, it's you," a voice spoke up and when Junior turned towards it, he saw what was arguably the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

"Me?" Junior wondered. "Not to brag or anything but I got a 99% on that last exam. I'm sure I don't need tutoring, especially not from you."

"You sound very confident about that," the woman said and Junior scoffed.

"Why wouldn't I be when I'm the smartest person in the class?" He wondered and the girl smiled softly before she held up a small packet of papers, which Junior realized was the exam that they had taken. When he looked closer though, he was shocked to see a bright red '100%' on the top of it.

"What the fuck?" He uttered.

"See that name right there?" The girl wondered as she pointed to the top of the page with her free hand. "That's me, Kim Eunji, the one who's actually the smartest person in the class."

"Oh shit," Seojun laughed hysterically.

"Have a nice rest of your day," Eunji smirked before turning around and walking away.

"Who the fuck is that?" Junior spat.

"That's Eunji, she's pre-med," Kwan explained.

"Why the fuck is she taking astrophysics then?!"

"Maybe she's just doing it for fun," Kwan shrugged.

"Or to bust Junior's balls," Seojun snickered.

"Whatever," Junior muttered petulantly, his mind lingering on how beautiful Eunji was.

.......................................................

After that first meeting, Junior and Eunji had a small class rivalry which ended up with them becoming friends with benefits. Not too long after that though, they both fell in love with the other and at Junior's suggestion, went off and got married in Las Vegas once Junior graduated from college with his Bachelor's degree.

"Will you calm down?" Junior said as the two of them got out of the car and walked up to the front door of Eunji's parents house.

"Well, excuse me for being scared shitless," Eunji huffed. "We just got married last week and the first time my parents are going to be meeting you is as my husband."

"Are you scared of their reaction?"

"Terrified," she nodded as they stopped outside the front door. "You don't know my parents. We don't have the best relationship and they tend to find fault in any and everything that I do."

"Who cares?" Junior shrugged. "We both feel that getting married was the right thing to do, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So if they get upset, we'll still be together, or at least I hope so," he joked, making Eunji laugh.

"Alright," she sighed. "Here goes nothing." After turning around and using her spare key to unlock the front door, the two of them walked inside and took off their shoes before Eunji called out to her parents.

"Eunji? Is that you?" Her mother called as she walked out to the front hall to greet them.

"Hi eomma," Eunji said, bowing in respect. "How are you?"

"I'm well," Jungah nodded. "Is this the mystery man?"

"Kim Myung," Junior introduced himself as he bowed deeply. "It's so nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Jungah replied. "Chul! They're here!"

"Here I am," Chul chuckled as he jogged into the front hall. "I heard Eunji's voice from upstairs."

"Hi appa," Eunji smiled softly.

"And this is the man who's distracted our Eunji," Chul chuckled as he looked at Junior.

"Nice to meet you Sir," Junior said, bowing once again. "Kim Myung."

"Come on in, you two," Jungah said, motioning with her hands. "I have lunch on the table."

Once everyone gathered into the dining room and began to eat, Eunji's parents didn't hesitate to start questioning Junior.

"So, Eunji tells us that you just got your degree in astrophysics?" Jungah said.

"I did and I start graduate school in the fall," Junior nodded.

"What's your end goal with that degree?" Chul wondered.

"I want to work for NASA someday."

"Really?" Chul muttered. "That's a lofty goal."

"I know but I've always been interested in science and math and particularly space so it feels right," Junior explained. "Plus, I come from a family that believes you can do anything you set your mind to."

"Speaking of your family, what do they do?" Jungah wondered.

"Both of my parents are in the music business," he said.

"Anyone we might know of?"

"Ah, Min Kinsley and Kim Mason," Junior revealed, and both Jungah's and Chul's eyes widened.

"Kim Mason that owns JWA Entertainment?" Chul wondered. "And who's the son of Kim Namjoon from BTS?"

"And Min Kinsley who seemingly produces every well known Kpop these day?" Jungah added. "And who's the daughter of Min Yoongi from BTS?"

"Ha, you guys know your stuff," Junior chuckled. "But yes, that's them."

"Wow," Jungah whistled. "How did the two of you get together?"

"We took a class together and I was bragging about having the highest grade, when in all actuality, Eunji did," Junior explained with a laugh. "We had a little mini rivalry at first but as we got to know each other, we fell in love."

"Bragging, were you Eunji?" Chul tsked. "I thought we taught you to not be so prideful."

"You're right, you did," Eunji nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Luckily for you, Myung here seems to be a good sport," Jungah huffed. "He seems like a good one so you don't wanna let him go, yes?"

"Yes," Eunji nodded. "But you know, I'm happy you guys seem to like him."

"I have to say, he's head and shoulders above the last bum you brought home," Chul sighed. "He already has a degree and is planning to continue his education even further. He treats you well and speaks highly of you. What more could we ask for?"

"I'm happy to hear that because we have something to tell you," Eunji said.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Jungah deadpanned and Junior choked on the sip of water he was swallowing.

"No eomma, I'm not pregnant," Eunji snapped. "But we are married." Silence fell over the room then, both of Eunji's parents staring at her in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," Jungah laughed. "Repeat that please?"

"We're married," Junior spoke up. "We got married last week when we were visiting Las Vegas."

"Oh my god," Chul muttered, running his hands over his face in frustration. "What were you thinking?"

"What?" Eunji wondered.

"You're 20 years old, Kim Eunji!" Jungah exclaimed. "You haven't even finished your bachelor's degree and yet you go off and marry the first man who treats you decently?!"

"What are you going to do about school?" Chul demanded to know. "I hope you don't plan on dropping out."

"No, I'm not dropping out!" Eunji snapped. "I'm still going to finish school."

"How do you expect to do that now that you're a wife?" Jungah wondered. "You have to find a place to live, make it into a home, you have to work because the two of you can't survive on hopes and dreams, and if you plan on having children someday-"

"Uh, that's very far off into the future," Junior interrupted her. "Eunji and I both have goals that we want to achieve before we expand our family."

"I just can't believe you would be this irresponsible," Chul smacked his teeth. "And to marry this man before you even introduced him to us?"

"I swear, every time you start doing decently in life, you just have to go and do something to potentially mess it up," Jungah muttered. Eunji could feel the hotel tears beginning to well up in her eyes and instead of responding to her parents, she abruptly stood upon from the table and ran out of the room. Sighing heavily, Junior got up and followed behind her, realizing that she had ran through the kitchen and out into the backyard.

"Hey," Junior said softly as he set his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Eunji whispered. "I just, had to leave before I said something I regret."

"I see why you've never talked about them much," he said. "Are they always like that?"

"Yep," she huffed. "I'm always the fuck up, the one who can never do anything right."

"I'm sorry Eunji," Junior said as he wrapped his arms around her now. "Nobody should ever have to go through that, especially not with their parents."

"Well, now you see why I was so emotionally cut off," Eunji chuckled ruefully.

"Yeah but you're not now, right?" He murmured. "And that's why we're here now, together and married."

"You're right," she replied, turning around so that she could look up at him. "I don't care what they say, I don't regret marrying you."

"I'd hope not," Junior joked, laughing when Eunji smacked his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too," Eunji smiled softly, moaning softly when Junior cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly.