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purecantarella · 3 years

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Sweet Promises

so this is overdue, i had this drafted a week ago but tumblr deleted ALL of my drafts :") so updates will take a little longer. i'll keep on writing but yeah, i'm gonna fix my account first. anyway, this is sort of my pride month fic. i genuinely hope you all enjoy it! 💖 disclaimer : shin yuna x female!reader, this contains hate speech and actions against the LGBTQ+ community. some angsty fluff ahead. reader's discretion is advised.

The story of your romance with Yuna was one of the classics. You'd been neighbours as kids and became inseparable as you both grew up and became best friends. Being attached at the hip since childhood, she knew your likes, your dislikes, your secrets, and your burdens. And you knew hers.

The attraction was hardly noticeable until Yuna had taken care of you after the biggest fight your parents had had to date.

The argument had been boiling in the house for the entire week when the brunette had come over to have dinner with you all since her parents had to work later that day.

"So, Yuna how are things at home?" Your father asked politely as you all ate at the table. Since all of you had sat down, the tension was present and eating away at the both of you. Yuna offered a polite smile before saying, "Good, Mr. L/n. But my dad recently got a promotion so he hasn't been home often and my mom is still looking for work." She explained hastily before taking another spoonful of food.

Your mother, who'd been glaring at your father, chimed in with, "Oh, see that, dear..." She began sarcastically. "Yuna's father has gotten another promotion." The man at the head of the table clenched his fist before giving the middle aged woman a tight grin. "And her mother is contributing something to the family, my love." With that harsh words were exchanged and they both screamed at one another, not even caring that both you and Yuna sat there in horror watching the adults fight.

She turned to you tentatively. As she saw you stare intently at your parents while your eyes glossed up with tears, she took your hand in hers under the table. Your gaze immediately shot to your best friend. She tilted her head to the backyard, silently asking you both to hang out there until things boiled down a little.

You and Yuna slipped out of the house and were welcomed by the cold night air and the beam of the moonlight. The shorter girl looked up at you, a broken expression etched onto your features. She gave you a small smile before plopping to the ground and dragged you down with her.

Giggles briefly swirled around the air, making light of the situation you were in. Once the both of you had settled down, she scooted her way into your lap as you chuckled and wrapped your arms around her waist. Your face nuzzled into her neck making her giggle. The night was almost serene, except of course for the heated debate inside the house. Yuna looked down at your comfortable features as she felt damp tears begin to trail down her neck. She bit her lip tentatively before placing her chin over the top of your head.

“It’s all going to turn out fine, N/n…” The brunette whispered in a baby voice, her hand moving to the back of your head. Making sure that you felt safe and secure despite your position. “I don’t know about that anymore, Yuna…” You paused to lean back. She shuddered as the cold wind hit the back of her neck, your warm embrace now missing. "This isn't the first time they've argued." You explained before returning to lean on her.

The dark haired girl turned her head, still cross legged, to look directly at you. It was a strange occurrence for her; seeing you so defeated. She'd always admired your strength in the public eye. You were the rock to her balloon. Yet here you were, so vulnerable. Yuna knew that she was the only one who got to see you like this. You needed her as much as she needed you, and that was always heart-warming to her.

But it was different this time.

The way she could feel your breath fanning her neck, the warmth that radiated off of you. Attempting to shake off the feeling, knowing you needed her support, she adjusted herself to no longer be leaning on you. Yuna moved to kneel in front of you, offering you a gentle smile, her hand placed over yours.

"I'm here Y/n. No matter what." She paused, leaning closer, brushing her nose against yours. "When things get tough, I promise I'll be here for you. For whatever you need, whenever you need it.” It was a simple enough promise. Something Yuna would always say. But there was something about the sincerity in her eyes and the proximity of her face, just a breath away.

You’d always known she was a beautiful girl. Everyone at school had their eyes on her but you’d just never seen the hype to her. She was your best friend after all.

Realizing you were both staring at one another, you pulled away and thanked her softly before laying down onto the grass to which she followed suit. You both stared up at the dark sky, your hands still intertwined.

After that, it became hard to ignore the creeping feeling in each of your chests that made your pulses hammer erratically. You couldn't ignore the butterflies in your chest when she smiled just for you, when her hand intertwined with yours, and when you cuddled how she propped her head over your chest listening to each detail, not letting a single thing run amiss.

It was the same with her. Movie nights became harder to navigate without getting too flustered, touches lingered longer between the two of you and it confused her to no end.

Before long, longing glances turned into loving stares and one drunken night after your highschool exams, you two finally kissed and admitted your feelings for one another.

Your relationship had become an open secret around the school and each of your households. Despite it being so out in the open, her parents had no idea. You were just clingy best friends to them. Which had become the subject of your petty arguments.

She was afraid to come out to her parents and with good reason. They'd raised her as a reserved child. Her parents wanted her and her sister to have a full and happy future. That came with a successful job, a loving husband, and kids. She didn't want to disappoint them. So you were understanding of her situation, as her best friend and her girlfriend.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" You said as you walked her to stairs leading to the porch in front of her house, handing her her book bag. She looked up at you and gave you an adorable pout. The dark haired girl wrapped her arms around your neck, pulling you down to her level. You grinned dumbly, leaning lower. "You know, this wouldn't be a problem if you weren't so small—"

She placed her hand at the back of your head. "You always like to run your mouth, N/n." Yuna teased before pulling you towards her, pressing your lips together ever innocent, ever sweet. You relished the feeling of her soft lips against your own, placing your thumb and pointer under her chin to deepen the connection.

Your arm was about to wrap around her waist when you heard a sharp squeal from the household's door. Both of you jumped back. Her head whipping to the side, eyes going wide in horror as she saw her mother looking at her with utter disgust and disappointment.

"Your daughter has corrupted ours!" Her father screamed to both your parents, his face going red in anger. You looked over at Yuna. Her lower lip was trembling, her eyes were red and puffy, and she had clutched herself as if preventing herself from falling apart right there and then.

You wanted terribly to hold your girl in your arms and tell her everything was going to be fine. But you knew that if you took even a step closer, you might not get the chance to.

Your father rubbed his eyes tiredly yet raised a brow at his neighbour. "What are you talking about. Y/n's been nothing but a good friend and person to your daughter." Her mother scoffed and rolled her eyes. Her brown eyes narrowing at you, silently cursing you before pointing.

"Or so we thought. Turns out she's been filling our angel's mind with sapphic and devious thoughts." She spat at you. Yuna tried pulling her mom back, begging for her to stop her attack on you before she was pushed back violently. "Do you see? This is all your daughter's doing!"

No longer caring, you strong-held your way to her. "Are you okay, baby?" You asked, your thumb tracing over her cheekbone in the most delicate way you could. Her arms jutted around your waist pulling you closer. "Shin Yuna, get off of the monster." Her father said sternly.

"That monster is my daughter." Your father said standing up. Both of Yuna's parents scowled at your father. "What's your issue here? These two clearly care about each other, why get in the way of their happiness." You smiled at your father's words as you made eye contact and he offered you a small smile.

"Well now it's clear that this isn't the child's fault, more so you both as parents didn't raise her right." Mrs. Shin said, tutting softly. Your mother then gave her a tight grin.

"If you're going to insult me, my family, and my manner of raising my child. You know where the exit is." Your father wrapped an arm around your mother, agreeing wholeheartedly.

The two glared at your family before turning a heel, motioning for Yuna to follow. But she simply held onto your torso tighter. The sneer on each of their faces deepened before her father spit in your direction and walked out the door, her mother at his heel.

Hours went by after the incident, her sister had called to check up on her and they had talked it through. It'd been decided that Yuna would stay with your family for the time being, not that either of you were opposed to the idea anyway.

You lay in your bed, she was curled up on your chest. Hiccups fell from her lips every so often as a result of her hours of sobbing. Your arm securely wrapped around her waist and your hand running through her hair as you whispered sweet nothings into her ear in attempts to calm her down.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way. I wish I'd never forced you to tell them." You said suddenly. Yuna got up to meet your eye. Her face was, at this point, flushed. Both your hands sat on her cheeks, wiping the damp patches on her skin. She choked on another hiccup before shaking her head. "No, it was right this came out now. I don't want to hide us anymore..." She paused, putting her hands over yours, pressing them harder. "I don't want to hide anymore."

You gave her a small smile before tentatively taking her lips again. Your forehead then pressed against hers, wanting to feel a little closer to her. Her eyes were downcast and her expression still grim.

"It sucks right now, I know." You paused to force her to look at you. As you looked into her gorgeous brown eyes, you finally said, "But I'll be here for you. Every step of the way. I promise."

A small smile crept onto her face as she asked, "Promise?"

"I promise." You sealed your words with another peck of the lips. You took her in your arms again. Yuna looked up at your serene expression and she'd felt content and safe.

She had you, you had her. That was your promise.

cheesy, overdue, and hella late. yeah that's my brand now apparently. HAHAHAHAHA i hope you all enjoyed and i hope you all had a good pride month. remember that if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable or bad for who you love, no matter who it is, it's probably best to distance yourself from them for the time being. love is love and you should never feel bad for feeling things. anyway, requests are open and i'm very open to criticism and comments are very appreciated. i love you all and stay safe always! 💖 mini update : tumblr said that they have fixed my tags and i hope you all can see this. taglist : @labrachrosite

#itzy #itzy x reader #itzy imagines #itzy yuna #shin yuna #yuna x reader #yuna imagines #girl group imagines #kpop imagines #gxg #girl group x reader #happy pride 🌈

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azaffranist · 4 years

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Frozen 2 deleted/early content

On the road to F2 there were tons of leaks and I saved as many of them as I could in the fear that Disney would delete them (because they loved to shut down whole websites because of that back in the day). As a result I have a lot of pictures saved on my phone and looking back on them... some don’t sound quite right because it’s definitely not what I saw in the movie. So here’s everythinggg I have. I did my best to organize stuff a bit but there are so many things it was... hard. Feel free to add more stuff in reblogs, replies and such!

Something to note is that we won’t take into account the “officially” released deleted content, which would include everything that’s in the Blu-ray, because basically everyone already saw that (Home, I Seek the Truth, Get This Right, Unmeltable Me, the Secret Room scene, Hard Nokks, etc). Generally, we won’t be analyzing deleted scenes from the official trailers, either, because of this very reason. Something “official” that we will consider, though, are the deleted clips animators have been releasing on Instagram and other sites, because those aren’t that popular.

Before starting here’s the link to all the deleted F2 lines I could find as well as some other additions. The post itself has even more links to other posts containing deleted content so have fun clicking on links.

Last thing to mention, none of the merch photos here are taken by me. I got most of them from the leaks channel of the Arendelle Kingdom server during 2019. If any image in this post belongs to someone here and you want to be credited please let me know and I’ll edit the post.

This post is long. Like really, really, lagging-my-browser-as-I’m-writing-it long. So grab some popcorn and get comfortable or just take a look at what interests you.

So without further ado, let’s get started!

Deleted Artbook Content

One of the most exciting leaks we got were definitely these sample artbook excerpts. None of these pages made it into the final artbook, though.

This piece definitely belongs in Iduna and Agnarr’s backstory, in which the Northuldra leader wasn’t an ordinary man but a shapeshifter.

The biggest picture in this page points to yet another version of Iduna and Agnarr’s backstory. It’s possible to deduce Bruni hadn’t been fully developed yet or created at all since the fire isn’t pink.

The one on the bottom right seems to be an earlier version of the “forest freed” scene in the final movie, or maybe it happened in another moment altogether.

The most interesting of the three, though, is this one. Nothing in the movie points to the existence of a place like this. It’s interesting to note that this peculiar house looks very similar to Iceland’s “elf houses”, tied to the myth of the Huldufólk, “hidden people”, who were said to be small and live in a parallel world, being able to make themselves visible at will.

These are definitely the inhabitants of the Enchanted Lands, who look completely different than in the final movie with their long cloaks, hoods and staves. They look like mages. Were these the very first concepts of the Northuldra, or another group of characters altogether that ended up being scrapped? Only Ahtohallan knows...

Even though the tree and the vegetation illustration is in the book, there’s one missing and that one is the bottom left. One of the most popular theories in the fandom regarding that illustration is that it was an Arendellian military camp tied to the expedition to the Enchanted Lands. I think what we got in the movie is a watered down version of a much more violent and sinister endeavor to invade the Northuldra. The above mentioned deleted scene of the battle of Arendellians agains Northuldrans is proof of that.

This one shows the Arendellian gang and most likely Mattias looking at the walls of a cave with drawings on it depicting the Nokk among other things that I can’t quite make out. I’ve heard people say that an earlier version of F2 involved the gang encountering Mattias in a volcanic cave and that’s where this scene would go, but I don’t know if those are rumors or there’s an actual source. If someone happens to have knowledge on this topic in particular please let me know and I’ll update the post.

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Incomplete Frozen Fan Fest books and their alternate scenes

As I’ve mentioned in another post, Frozen Fan Fest happened on October 4th, 2019, and it was the official release of the movie’s first merchandise. We were all super excited to look at the storybooks and read the ending!

Except there was no ending and the books ended abruptly right before Olaf’s death, completely skipping over Show Yourself.

You hear that? “Elsa bravely dives into the Dark Sea”. We know the Dark Sea scene was shortened and that’s more proof.

This section of a Frozen 2 storybook explains how it went a bit better. After Elsa was defeated twice by the ferocious waves she climbed up some giant rocks and dove back in. Only Ahtohallan knows how that would be effective in this situation and not a waste of strength, but hey, I’m sure it looked super cool and I’d be down to see it.

”Elsa trudged through terrible winds and thick snow”... um... she didn’t? This might’ve been created when Show Yourself wasn’t a thing yet and her path through Ahtohallan was just that, trudging through terrible winds and snow, and not an inspiring song about self-love and finding yourself. I wonder how that scene would’ve looked.

Maybe we can find something relating to that “unused” section of Ahtohallan in a book called “Anna, Elsa and the Secret River”. Basically Iduna tells them that there’s a secret river out there and after the lullaby Elsa and Anna go nuts and try to look for the river outside. Seems like it was all a shared acid trip because next morning they seriously consider it was a dream.

Maybe here they didn’t realize they were in front of a river, because “Glaciers are rivers of ice” and this is what that Ahtohallan Elsa ventured into originally would’ve looked like? The white river doesn’t know...

This is by far one of my favorite ones. I wouldn’t exactly describe post-Show Yourself as a moment of calm and peace. Maybe peace but definitely not calm. Then it says that the signal meant that “she managed to cross the sea”. That’s a really weird way to describe “horrifying ice statue of colonialist grandpa killing an innocent native man”. I don’t know if they’re hiding the actual plot here of if they hadn’t yet worked out all the details of SY and the moment Elsa found the truth.

Anna has her cloak on as she finds the truth. Readers have no idea what this enlightening truth is because the ice statue is indistinguishable.

As it shows here, the original Iduna being Northuldra reveal was going to happen in a different way. I’m glad we got that final version... Because wow, Elsa and Anna are completely unable to connect the dots here. Anna was smart enough to figure out what to do after receiving Elsa’s message, c’mon! This should’ve been piece of cake...

Iduna called Elsa “Little Snow”. This points to an alternate All is Found scene and we’ll talk about that more in depth later.

Same scene. Translation is:

“While tucking the little princesses in, Queen Iduna sang them a lullaby about a far-away river called Ahtohallan, which holds all the answers about the past.

“Does Ahtohallan know why I have powers?” asked Elsa her mother.

“If it exists, it definitely knows that and much more,” answered the Queen.

So in this earlier version, Elsa has always asked herself if Ahtohallan had the answer to her powers... Doesn’t this make Show Yourself work even better? Here she always looked for that answer and she’d learn that she is the answer. I wonder why they took it out because it makes a lot of sense and would give buildup to Show Yourself.

Here what really matters are the squares with text. Olaf never ran through moss or became covered in it. Olaf never looks down a brook to be met by Nokk’s gaze from below. Maybe it’s an alternate When I’m Older?

And relating to that particular piece of merch:

Seems like in an earlier version, the Nokk was associated with waterfalls.

Everyone shut up there’s SWORD ANNA here. Found in a coloring book. I don’t speak Italian but Google Translate says:

“Anna is a brave one: she does not hesitate to draw her sword to defend her sister Elsa and her friends from any new threat.”

GOOD FOR HER! This is definitely from the version we were shown in the teaser, when Anna wielding an actual sword and slicing someone with it was still a thing. Man, how I wanted that to happen...

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Alternate fully animated scenes found in animators’ posts

After the release of Frozen 2, animators started to post scenes they had worked on and showing the process behind them. Some of them were deleted, are different in the final movie, or have a completely different score accompanying them.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adam Green (@agreenster) on Apr 6, 2020 at 5:31pm PDT

A completely different dialogue during the boat scene. Pretty heartbreaking and it’s even more buildup for TNRT, when Anna was left by literally everyone she loved in the planet.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Trent Correy (@trentanimation) on Apr 14, 2020 at 8:50am PDT

Apparently, for whatever reason, Gale was going to appear in the castle first.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Trent Correy (@trentanimation) on Mar 29, 2020 at 10:51am PDT

Olaf’s revival was going to be way different, and this implies that his death might’ve been different, too. Maybe his snow just dissipated and didn’t go anywhere? Maybe instead of being neatly placed by a waterfall, it fell all over the Enchanted Lands? I have no idea.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mariusz Furmanczyk (@mariofurmanczyk) on Mar 21, 2020 at 7:11pm PDT

I absolutely LOVE this one, okay, and I have no idea why they’d leave it out. Turn your sound on and listen to the much more tragic alternate score. But more importantly, pay attention when she turns to solid ice: just like in F1 with Anna, her last breath is visible. Beautiful parallels, poetic cinema, and I’m hurt and confused and I want it in the movie. Excuse me while I call the police.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mariusz Furmanczyk (@mariofurmanczyk) on Feb 26, 2020 at 5:47pm PST

Here the only change is the different score as she unfreezes. I love it so much. It’s so tragic, heavy and powerful. You can basically hear the fragility of Elsa’s fate as the ice breaks and she falls. Help. Here, here, and here, you can see other glimpses of this beautiful alternate score. Once again I’m calling the police and telling them Disney hurt my feelings by leaving this out.

I’ve hit the 5 videos limit already, but here is a link to an animation by jdublish. The change isn’t the scene itself but the completely different siren call Elsa hears. Much more ominous and creepy and I also love it, even though I have to admit the final siren call sounds catchier and more iconic. Also, kids under five won’t start crying of fear when they hear it.

Then there were also plenty of changes in the Elsa vs Nokk scene and we got to see one. Thanks to @justlookatthosesausages for pointing this out and letting me use her gif! The original video was set to private for some reason so I can’t post a Youtube link, but this is @justlookatthosesausages‘ gif:

Elsa struggled way more in the original version. Go to her post to see a comparison with the final version.

And now the awaited All is Found alternate scene! Thanks a lot to @lovewillthaw-j who helped me collect all the scenes.

First two scenes from the trailers: the Official one, Elsa looks up and Iduna gazes at the northern lights.

The Japanese one, in which Iduna kisses Elsa’s hands. @catloafs pointed that out after F2′s release so thanks!

And the last two were found by @antoineharrakblog, so thanks for that! Here and here.

BUT there’s no need to click a bazillion links because @lovewillthaw-j‘s post reconstructs in a single video what the original scene would’ve been like. Go watch it!

UPDATE: Additions by @antoineharrakblog. Thanks a lot!

Here we can see that originally, as the elements fled and Kristoff held Olaf, he yelled, “Wow, you’re heavy!”. Don’t know why this would be removed. Maybe they wanted to keep the scene serious? Maybe they needed to shorten the movie so that it didn’t exceed 100 minutes and cut little jokes like that?

And here, showing Elsa seeing how Iduna saved her father, there’s some deleted dialogue: “Get the prince out of here!” “King Runeard, what did you decide?” in addition to a much more tense score in general.

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UPDATE: Screencaps of deleted/alternate scenes

Thanks a lot to @antoineharrakblog for bringing all of these pictures to my attention! Multiples screencaps have appeared in different magazines or books that clearly didn’t make it to the movie.

Anna never makes that movement in the final movie. There’s more proof of an alternate/extended “Elsa and Anna talk” scene.

This is another one. There exists a lower quality version of this picture which I can’t find right now, but it shows that Anna and Elsa are sharing kransekake in this particular scene (the particular food that we can see at the beginning of OFA).

These are all part of the All is Found scene we’ve been talking about. In the final movie we can see that All is Found serves as a sort of “bridge” between the past and the present, as it transitions from Iduna singing the song to Elsa to Elsa in the castle, reminiscing. But originally, Iduna finished singing All is Found in the past. There’s proof of this here.

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UPDATE: Novelization deleted content

This information was provided by @theupsidedownpyramid so thanks a lot! There are some really interesting deleted scenes in the novelization.

In this one, Elsa felt the urge to release her magic after hearing the voice at the end of All is Found.

In the novelization Mattias and Yelena’s (or Yelana? Disney will never decide) relationship was a lot deeper than what was shown in the movie.

For more information and a more thorough analysis, read @theupsidedownpyramid‘s reblog!

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Miscellaneous

So there’s only one image in this section but believe me, it’s so worth it.

An animator casually mentioned that there was going to be a head kiss scene. Process it. Can’t? I can’t either.

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Wow I’m TIRED. I must’ve missed something but that’s all my brain can handle as of now. Thank quarantine for giving me the opportunity to work on this post all day.

Disney committed war crimes when they deleted some of these scenes. I have only one question: Why in the world would they do that? And more information might see the light of day in the future. I’ll never get tired of trying to piece together the convoluted puzzle that is the original Frozen 2.

I will update this post if I remember something else or if someone else has more content to share. Let’s reconstruct F2 together to visualize that movie Disney deemed too cool for us!

UPDATE: Into the Unknown: the Making of Frozen 2 Documentary finally has a concrete release date, June 26th. Let’s hope we can see more stuff then!

#frozen 2 #frozen #elsa #anna #frozen analysis #frozen 2 analysis #kristoff #sven #olaf #frozen 2 deleted content #disney

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lexpressobean · 3 years

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Parent/Teacher Night: Ch 2, Remember When

In which Shino recalls some thens and compares them to the nows, and gets inspired to change some things with Kiba's encouragement.

*Modern AU, Swearing

**You can find this on AO3 now too, along with the first chapter. Let's gooooooooo!!!

•••

"He asked to trade numbers?" Kiba repeated, pausing all motion, chopsticks mid snatch for a gyoza.

"Yes. Is that... Weird?"

"Well, no."

Kiba reached over and chose his specimen, a plump piece just asking to be dipped. Shino continued eat his steamed rice. It was okay if Kiba wanted the last of the gyoza. Shino thought he might enjoy a serving of the restaurant's ice-cream after he finished his meat instead.

"But even I don't have Shikamaru's number. Least not his current one."

"You don't?"

"Nah," Kiba took in the gyoza whole and spoke as he chewed, "but ah neber bothered doo update it, I hab 'im on my socials anyway."

"Oh."

He swallowed, "But you didn't even have any kind of social media until later in college. You were late to the game!"

"I didn't see the point then..."

"And that's fine. He probably doesn't even know you have them now. But you know he's been pretty absent from social media too. Figures."

"According to Ino, he's been back in town since April."

"Well of course Ino would know, she's always been in everyone else's business. Especially Shikamaru's, and Choji's too!"

Shino silently made a face, distorting the corner of his mouth as if reluctant to agree, but Kiba barked out a laugh when he caught him.

"It's true though, isn't it!? You would know, Shino!"

Shino didn't plan to be seen, but oh well, "I think it's just her way of showing she cares. Those three are practically family, aren't they?"

Kiba sighed and rolled his eyes, "Listen, dude, just cause you 'dated' her for a couple of years back in college doesn't mean you have to be nice after the fact. It's okay! She has her manipulative bitchy side too. How else could she make it as a therapist."

"Psychiatrist."

"That."

Kiba emphasized the word "dated" in such a way that caused Shino to scowl. Geez, if Ino didn't insist on sharing pictures online...

"Don't invalidate my opinions just because you think they're biased, Kiba. Also, people grow from high school, don't be stuck in the past either."

"I'm not saying it's invalid, geez, but ever since you've always been soft on her..."

"Jealous?"

Kiba immediately threw a dirtied, crumpled up napkin at Shino's head as he blew raspberries in disbelief. Of course Shino dodged it.

"And that!" Kiba almost yelled, though he had a huge smile on his face, "You're sass meter has been off the charts since then!"

"I thought I was just asking a question," Shino simply replied, though he smiled too.

"Fucking jerk," he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, sighing dreamily, "Why would I be jealous when I'm with Tamaki now?"

Shino suppressed the urge to crinkle up his nose, "I remember back in high schoo-"

"THAT WAS HIGH SCHOOL!!" Kiba interrupted, not upset but voice almost breaking in both embarrassment and amusement simultaneously, "Now who's the one stuck in the past!"

"Well anyway, I was just curious if you had heard from him recently, because this was the first time I had seen him since he was an undergrad. That was a while ago."

"Same here, bud. But then here's a thought, if he's just working these days, and he's giving out his number to old friends, maybe we should all get together sometime! So why don't you also friend him on socials while you're at it?"

Shino paused and considered the suggestion.

Shino could do that. Actually, Shino could have done so a long time ago if he had wanted to. But for all the times he had seen Shikamaru's obvious username and cloud icon, he never sent friend request himself. He created his socials for the sole purpose of studygroup based messaging and had planned to delete his social media after school ended for good. But two months in and Kiba somehow found him, and then shortly after Hinata did too. Then Naruto also found Shino and from there he actually aquired a few more friend requests, including from Lee and Sai. Even Ino sent him a friend request, though Ino and Shino had actually attended the same University in the beginning. And then she called him out on it the next time she saw him in person, because how could Shino friend nearly all their mutuals and NOT Ino? He even friended Sakura before Ino! Though, Shino had a suspicion Sakura's request may had been a result of clumsy typing. Shino definately hadn't meant anything by it, but that started a series of... interesting talks between the two. But all and all, Shino suspected that's why he saw Shikamaru's icon so often, among others he didn't quite recognize himself.

Of course Shino knew he didn't have to accept the requests at all. He could've delete them even. But... it didn't seem right to ignore them either. And maybe it felt... kinda nice being reached out to...

"I mean, shit, maybe I should shoot him a message too..." Kiba mused.

"... I was under the impression it was for Mirai's sake."

Kiba perked up, "Huh?"

"That's because a cellphone number is a personal and direct line. If Mirai is currently under my care as a student, wouldn't it make sense to have multiple contacts in case of an emergency?"

Kiba sighed. Typical Shino, "Did Shikamaru say it was strictly for emergencies only?"

"... No."

"So, Dude, maybe... just maybe, Shikamaru simply isn't aware that you have socials? I know I know... social media is meant to be for socializing, but so are direct lines! Why does a direct line have to be so off limits? You're not a stranger to Shikamaru either, Shino. I mean, if anything, he probably trusts you a lot, knowing the kind of person you've ways been. It's a personal line after all, right?"

Not a stranger, but definitely not the person closest the Shikamaru either... It didn't quite make sense beyond Mirai's safety... but, maybe that was Shino's own opinion...

"... I'm over thinking it again."

"Yup."

"... Maybe I will. I'm already friends with Ino and Choji..."

"Yeah! Just complete the trio! Here let's see..." Kiba took out his phone and started to review something, "... I think the only people you're not friends with besides Shikamaru are... Sasuke, who simply deleted everything at one point, Neji, but he really only followed me because of Hinata," Kiba added wearily, "aaand a lot of... other people... but, like, you're better off that way. I have a lot of those assholes blocked or didn't bother. Even Sasuke had been more better of an option than them!"

"Like who?"

"Like I had to block Shikamaru's psycho ex-girlfriend Tayuya. Fucking nightmare that girl was..."

"Ah... the flute player," Shino wasn't all that to date back in the day either, but even he knew about Tayuya...

"Sure that was YEARS ago, and maybe she's different now? But she was... not okay then. To be fair, Shikamaru wasn't blameless, but cripes... After the break-up she was constantly stalking him online... I've just kept her blocked for good measure, I don't know if she's still even there."

Another reason Shino didn't want social media at the time... It made it too easy to let people in. In all honesty the idea had felt overwhelming, and sometimes still does...

"So you're good there."

"Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji..."

"... Anyone else?"

"... I think those are the last few people from back then I'd actually tolerate. Shikamaru had been your friend, and Sasuke... wasn't always so aloof before he disappeared... And then Neji is Hinata's cousin..."

"Ha! Perfect! So then why not friend Neji too, just for the hell of it? You two had some kind of bro pact, I do remember that."

"He just worried about Hinata, Kiba. Between you and Naruto, I could see why."

"Sue me Shino, it's not my fault the school was full of cute girls!" Kiba nearly whined, but with a ridiculously dopey smile on his face.

It made Shino think. Shikamaru was one of the only people he more regularly saw who didn't reach out to him. But of course Shikamaru had a problem with a stalker at one point. That would make anyone weary of social media. Kiba had even stated he wasn't on much. Shino couldn't fault him for that.

Sasuke apparently deleted his, but it wasn't like they were the closet to begin with, despite humble beginnings. Shino had his fair share of complaints when it came to Sasuke, but when he transferred to a different school before senior year started, even Shino felt his absence.

And recalling high school, Neji did once ask for Shino's socials before. But it was obviously for the same reason of wanting to keep extra tabs on his little cousin and her "new friends" in Environmental Club. Shino had already explained he didn't have any, and he wasn't sure Neji believed him, but had agreed to be very careful with Hinata, who had started to hang out with he and Kiba more after they returned her book she had left in the club classroom. Shino kept it as Kiba was terribly tempted to take a peek, but once it had been returned, and Kiba expressed his curiosity, Hinata shyly presented them with page after page of pressed flowers, all marked with name, date, and little tidbits of info. She became even more bashful at Kiba's amazement and Shino's praise. It was just very well organized and aesthetically pleasing, something she and Ino would bond over later into their friendships.

So then, it was very surprising to know that such a timid girl had an incredible amount of skill in Martial Arts, but had opted to join Environment Club instead of Martial Arts Club. It was less of a shock to find out she and the school's Number One MAC member were related, first cousins even. They had a strong resemblance to each other.

As for Shino and Neji, their mutual fondness for Hinata became a source of camaraderie at some point. Despite expectations and Neji's sterness, all he really wanted was for Hinata to simply have fun during school, and he very much appreciated Shino looking out for her. So Kiba wasn't wrong. And in current time, Hinata had ultimately decided she was gonna live out of town due to... many reasons, but mainly because of her job as a pastry chef in a very successful and family owned cafe and bakery. Of course cinnamon rolls were her specialty, but Shino's feed always had some of the most delightful pictures of various decorated confections, most made by her too. He wasn't the biggest fan of sweets in general, but he was very fond of her handy work. You could tell she loved her job with every detail.

"Crap! Hey Shino, did you wanna order anything to go?"

"Uh, no. I think that was enough."

"Alright cause it's about time I go meet Tamaki," Kiba grinned, "Here's my part!"

Kiba slammed a twenty dollar bill down onto the table and hurriedly put his jacket back on. When Shino looked at the time it was nearly half past six. Oh, the reservation was made for seven. Maybe he talked too much.

"We might've pushed it, Kiba."

"No way, it's fine! I mean I don't mind going if that's where she wants to go, but you know how fancy places are! I need food Shino, actual food!"

Shino was glad that his friend was putting in so much effort for this girl. It seemed like he really liked her, and she was pretty cute, and also... nice. But when it came to things like this, Shino wasn't sure how long this was really gonna last. But it probably wasn't his place to comment.

"Make sure Akamaru takes his medicine, he'll definitely down it if you give him the peanut butter too."

"Sure, no problem."

"Also, Shino."

"Yes?"

"Seriously, don't be so shy! Just friend them!"

"Stop dawdling, you're gonna be late."

Kiba laughed as he waved and nearly jogged out of the restaurant. After paying and boxing the rest of Kibas plate for later (Shino was sure his idiot friend was gonna be hungry again) Shino headed out to Kiba's apartment. He already had a key, ever since he had come back to town. They had always been close like that, though with these new developments Shino always made it a point to give Kiba space and a heads up.

Akamaru was getting old. This medicine was supposed to help him in his old age, and just as Kiba said, Akamaru took the medication with no problem. Shino also made sure that the bowls were full of water and food. Because there was now also Akemaru, a younger dog of the same breed that Kiba had come across one day at the shelter. After only a few weeks and no adoptions, Kiba couldn't resist and ended up adopting him, and he and Akamaru became very close. As a favor to their otherwise absent owner, Shino got the younger and more energetic dog ready for a walk. When Shino offered to take Akamaru, the old boy wagged his tail and came to lick Shino's hand, but then retreated back to his bed and laid down. Looks like that was gonna be a pass, but he was thankful for the offer.

...

Shit.

Okay. Okay, that was it. Actually, this was perfect. Before Shino really started the walk, he pulled out his phone. He scrolled through he recommended friends list of his most commonly used social and easily found the cloud icon that belonged to Shikamaru. It was the same app he even had people like Kurenai and his father on. Just being able to keep anyone of relevance to his social circles on the same app was fine. It kept them close, but not too close either. Available, but at a distance. The only other people who had Shino's personal line were Kiba, Hinata, Kurenai, his father Shibi, Torune and Neji.

Shino hadn't mentioned that to Kiba, but in reality, they hadn't kept much contact anyway. So Shino hoped Kiba didn't snoop his friends list later, but he decidedly sent Shikamaru a friend request and put his phone away into a pocket. Then after switching out his glasses, as to see better in the evening, he left the apartment and began his walk with Akemaru. This would definitely keep him from getting too anxious about it. Shino didn't really know why he was like this, but it was done and now it was up the Shikamaru if he really wanted to catch up. Not that there was a whole lot to catch up on. He was more Kiba's friend after all, always had been, but Shino was sure Kiba didn't really think about that kind if thing too deeply.

Thankfully there was a park a couple blocks down, which even in the evening looked easy to navigate. The air was fresh and chilly, but tolerable with his coat on. Akemaru was good on a leash, and so Shino was able to keep a steady but not rushed pace. He followed a predetermined path, one Shino was actually familiar with too and so he was able to relax as his body went into coast mode.

...

It was nice. Just focusing on the walk. But Shino couldn't help thinking back to his high school days too. Seeing Shikamaru hadn't really been a shock so much as a surprise. He definitely... grew. His voice was deeper. His hair seemed more or less the same length, but maybe looked longer as now he styled it differently. Instead of the low and rather disheveled ponytail he used to wear, he now kept it only half up it looked like. Shino didn't think it looked bad at all, but with some loose strands in his face and the more casual clothes he had been wearing, Shino really wondered if Shikamaru wasn't more or less dragged last minute to PTN. But maybe he was thinking of the Shikamaru from before. Because this Shikamaru was actually... really approachable. And very kind with his words. Maybe that's what growing up some did to people.

Because the one from before was always annoyed, and grumpy, and quiet unless spoken to, yet Naruto and his shenanigans always put a mischievous smirk on his face. Shino had found him a little intimidating. But it wasn't until Kiba and Naruto decided to drag Shino AND Hinata out to a lunchtime hangout and pretty much threw them into the mix of different friends they shared that Shino met Shikamaru, as well as most everyone else. Shino had recognized Ino, and Ino did too after he mentioned Torune, seeing as Torune and Foo both graduated the year before.

"Torune? Like, short black hair, really thick glasses?"

"He has green eyes too."

"Hey, yeah! You're my cousin's boyfriend's cousin! What a small world!"

It was pretty lame introduction.

"And... you're Ino, right?"

"Wow, Ino, he remembered you!" a pink haired girl chastised.

"Oh, shut up, Forehead, it's not like we ever really hung out before. I think we met, like, once at one of Foo's birthdays?"

"That's true," Shino agreed, "I just went for the drive to drop off his present since that day he couldn't stay. You're mom insisted on giving us goodie bags anyway before we left."

"Ugh, good, our parents always go over the top with the decorations and stuff, believe me!"

"Ino, you are over the top."

"Shikamaru, no one was talking to you!"

"Wait, wait wait, your cousin Foo has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, what of it," Ino immediately scowled at Kiba.

It made Kiba shut up immediately, but then he turned to Shino and whispered, "Hey, is your cousin gay?"

Shino shrugged, "I didn't ask, but it's none of my business." He was. Shino had known but Torune never outright told him they were officially dating. So as far as he was concerned it was a mystery.

"What about you, Hinata, I don't think we've met before. I'm Sakura."

"Um, hello-"

"Actually! We're in Home Ec together!" another boy munching on chips said, "She made the best cinnamon rolls in class the other day!"

Hinata blushed, "Ah, thank-you, Choji..."

"Cinnoman rolls!? I saw that that roll! Hinata, that was yours!?" Naruto asked, super impressed.

She only blushed even harder, "It might've been...!?"

"It was!" Choji confirmed.

"Naruto stop crowding already!" Sakura scolded, poking him against the side of his forehead, "You can be so loud!"

"Augh, alright, Sakura stop!"

It had actually been a relatively friction free integration. Hinata and the girls got along faster than he would've guessed, and later Shino and Sasuke would meet again, with Naruto giving Shino a suspicious stink-eye.

"We've been in the same classes since elementary school," Shino commented, "You have to really go out of your way to ignore someone for that long..."

"Hn..." As friendly as always...

...

From then on, Kiba always insisted on Shino and Hinata joining them at lunch, which Shino did. But Shino couldn't quite fathom the idea of sacrificing his after school time to go to out and do... well, who even knew? Back then, he had a routine, he had things to tend to back home. His terrariums that his father put him in charge of, his guitar practice because he wasn't about to let those lessons go to waste, his study time, and planning for EC activities as he was a more involved member, he was already a busy guy. At least that's what he used to think. But he would be a sad ass liar if he didn't appreciate the invitations. Towards the end he broke a few time at his father's insistence. He was mentally drained each time, but he did have fun, and Kiba always seemed excited to recall the events with Shino after.

Once he had attended collage, Shino really wished he would have taken more time to simply enjoy a more decent social life with the people he called friends at school outside of school. Was he too shy? Was he too selective? Was he socially inept? It didn't matter now. It wasn't until Shino's very first job that he felt like he got to a level he wished he could've reached sooner. Being a cashier at a fast food chain really taught you how to handle and tolerate people, and definitely brought Shino out if his shell more than he would've ever thought. College in general did a lot for him in that respect.

... Kiba was right. If old friends were reaching out, why couldn't Shino do the same?

Well, apparently the universe was glad he agreed, because the second he did, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Shino stopped in place and Akemaru whined. When he checked his phone, he saw not only a "Request Accepted" message but also a simple text message as well, also from Shikamaru.

-----

Hey, can you talk? Call me if you can.

-----

Oh what the fuck.

Shino felt his nerves stand at attention with the prospect of a sudden conversation. What... What did Shikamaru even want right now? Did he really want to talk now?

... No. No, dammit, no! Not this time. Shino took a deep breath and continued to walk, much to Akemaru's delight. And as he got a steady rhythm, Shino highlighted Shikamaru's number and pressed "Call".

It was settled. If he was gonna start making up for lost time, it was now or never, awkward interactions be damned!

#anime: naruto #shikashino #aburame shino #shino aburame #shikamaru nara #nara shikamaru #dusk's fanfic #gosh look at me im on a friggin roll wtf #i know it probably has a lot left to be desired technically and diction wise #but im trying!

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daleisgreat · 3 years

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The Avengers: Endgame

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Over the last couple months I finally upgraded to somewhat modern TV and gaming rigs in the form of a 55” Samsung 4KTV and Xbox Series X. I own three 4K UHD discs, but one I already covered a couple years back with my entry of the BluRay version that came bundled with the 4K disc of Die Hard. The other is a two pack of the first two John Wick films, and rest assured those will get their day in the sun here eventually. From my research, the Xbox Series X is not a top shelf 4K BluRay player, at least not at the system’s launch before presumable system software updates, but also sounds like a fairly better quality version of the drive that came in the Xbox One X|S, and also supports upscaling of regular BluRays to 4K. Coincidentally, on top of my movie backlog pile was a movie I absolutely wanted to take advantage of that 4K upscaling and thus here we are with today’s write-up for 2019’s The Avengers: Endgame (trailer). WARNING: Unlike nearly most of my other movie recaps I will be diving into serious spoiler territory ahead. The amount of hype leading up to Endgame was insurmountable. Anthony and Joseph Russo did an astounding job directing the first part in 2018’s Infinity War (read my entry for it here). Both that and Endgame top the three hour mark to squeeze in as many characters, references, periphery side plots and so much more from the previous 21 Marvel Cinematic Universe films that lead up to this finale. By accomplishing just that, both movies are the breeziest three hour viewings I have experienced because the Russo brothers do a commendable job at keeping the scenes flowing and doing their best to give everyone their proper time to shine. The ending of Infinity War saw Thanos (Josh Brolin) deliver the snap heard around the world that vanished half of all life in the entire universe. It was a soul-crushing downer of a cliffhanger to end on, but the post-credits tag hinting at the cry of help for Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) left crowds with a glimmer of hope. This being based around comic books there is the unwritten rule where no one truly stays dead either, so part of the experience going into Endgame was to see how the remaining Avengers plan to bring everybody back. Endgame kicks off with the fresh effects of ‘the snap’ when it starts with Hawkeye’s family all getting dusted from him in the middle of a picnic.

The film transitions to the remaining un-dusted Avengers squad of Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Iron Man (Robert Downer Jr.) floating aimlessly in space until the convenient deus ex machina that is Captain Marvel miraculously tracks them down and hauls them back to Earth. A few weeks Avengers HQ tracks down Thanos on an isolated planet and with Captain Marvel’s power, they anticlimactically kill him off in a brief scene. This was one of the parts of the film that did not sit well with me after building up Thanos as this unrivaled threat in all the previous films, and to have the Avengers cold-bloodedly put him down in quick order seems so……unlike them, but he did off half the universe so I understand how the Russo’s felt justified for filming it that way, but I cannot help that it did not come across right, and could have been handled better. Of course, a more proper Thanos battle would be coming later in the final act thanks to my pet peeve plot device that is…. …TIME TRAVEL!!!! This and alternate dimension traveling I despise and have turned me off to many shows over the years like Lost and CW’s DC shows. The worst of it is indeed present here because meaningful character deaths that happened in Infinity War to Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Gamura (Karen Gillan) become undone and their sacrifices proved for naught. All that griping aside however, I will give the Russo brothers credit because even with those qualms I feel they pull off time travel and have it appear as more than a convenient storytelling method. Again, major props because that is a hell of a hurdle to overcome. The filmmakers go out of their way in a couple scenes to directly call out Back to the Future’s style of time travel bullshit, and have a couple characters ever-so-carefully explain in detail and for the laymen how “real” time travel works.

This is all thanks to a rambunctious rat who inadvertently zaps Ant Man (Paul Rudd) out of the Quantum Realm…after being trapped there five years due to his team being on the end of a dusting before bringing him back. Ant Man deduces upon his return that he is able to undo the dusting through his van-quantum-realm-contraption, and convinces the Avengers to conjure up a plan they cleverly dub the “Time Heist” to travel back to capture all the Infinity Gems Stones before Thanos does. I loved how these scenes played out, and there is a plethora of fan service throughout it as the three squads of Avengers jump to different periods like the final battle of the original Avengers film, and a 1970 military base where Howard Stark (John Slattery) unknowingly meets his son. Plans do not proceed swimmingly to say the least, and past timeline Thanos becomes clued in to their plan and thwarts the Avengers attempt at trying to undo the past in a CG showpiece for the ages with his assault on Avengers HQ. The CG fireworks continue to dazzle for the bulk of the final hour of the film with a climatic showdown between Thanos and his forces against The Avengers and the returning of the dusted Marvel characters. I have seen too many comic book films fail at translating over-the-top comic book action on the silver screen, but the Russo brothers always manage to pull it off. I fondly remember the theater crowd going gaga when Captain America (Chris Evans) summons Mjolnir and wallops Thanos with it. The women of Marvel have another moment to shine together where they collectively team up to kick ass. Moments of levity are brilliantly peppered in throughout the chaos for a much-needed chuckle from the nonstop adrenaline-boosting action. That final battle masterfully builds up to the dramatic sacrifice of Iron Man in the standout emotional scene of the film.

The resulting aftermath was heartwarmingly done here with a pre-recorded farewell from Iron Man, and a collage of nearly all the major and minor MCU characters at Iron Man’s funeral. I believe this is the first MCU film without a post-credits tag, and that is 100% fine by me, because the beginning of the credits is a lovingly crafted tribute to the original Avengers cast done in the fashion of the Original Series cast of Star Trek VI that resonated with me feeling the end of a pivotal era of the MCU that I have been largely enjoying since the original 2008 Iron Man. I usually do not dive into this much detail and spoilers when recapping the movies here, but due to this being the final chapter of this era of the MCU films I could not help myself, and believe me there is so much more I wanted to dive in here on because like I said, the Russo brothers crammed in an incredible amount of narrative into three hours. There is so much ground in here it is impossible for me to recap it all, and that it will in all likelihood be the fastest three hour movie you will ever endure. I did not get a chance to even touch on over-the-hill Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the hybrid Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo (spoiler: they both killed it!)). Endgame unsurprisingly did major bank at the box office, so I feel safe knowing most of you reading this already watched it by now which is another reason I went all out on the spoilers.

I re-watched the film for this entry a second time with commentary from the Russo brothers, and writers Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and that greatly helped explain some little tidbits that were easy to miss and/or not fully comprehend in the midst of the three hours. I know this is a little detail, but I want to give props to Marvel for being one of the few companies out there for shelling out resources to caption the commentary track! I exponentially appreciate it more than you know! The commentary helped with understanding why they did not do a lot for Black Widow’s (Scarlett Johansson) aftermath of her death because she has her prequel film set to release. Other notable takeaways from the commentary was how Stark’s “I am Iron Man” line was a last minute addition to the film, giving credit to Star Trek VI as inspiration for their credits sequence, being hopeful for Marvel capitalizing on Falcon donning Cap’s shield and lots of understandable love for the visual effects team for their hard work. Aside from the commentary track, the BluRay has a second disc with just under an hour of bonus material. There is the requisite short, but top-of-the-line gag reel that is standard in most Marvel Studios home videos. There are five minutes of deleted scenes worth a look, with some of them lightheartedly covering up plot holes. Remembering Stan Lee is a touching tribute to Stan, filled with archived interviews from him on his experiences in the cameos, and showing plenty of delightful off-camera interactions with the cast and crew. There are well done character profile pieces for Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and Iron Man, with each one having countless cast and crew state proper kudos to what the actors have done for those characters over the years. If you only have time for one then I recommend Man Out of Time: Creating Captain America, because it goes into a little more detail than the others and Chris Evans has some intriguing introspection from his years with the character. Finally, there are short, but worthwhile pieces on the Russo brothers and the women of the MCU that should not be skipped out on either.

As I mentioned above, the hype building up to Endgame was insurmountable, but Joseph and Anthony Russo overcame the odds and delivered a gratifying conclusion to this era of the MCU. Watching the BluRay upscaled in 4K on a TV about a third bigger than my previous set made it a grander experience too for those showpiece moments. Sure I had quibbles and nitpicks I mentioned above, but by and large those are easily overcome by how much the Russo brothers got it right with this film. I am kicking myself for waiting a year and a half to re-watch it, but picked up on a lot of little things that went right over mine and Drax’s heads the first time out. If you have yet to give The Avengers: Endgame another viewing, then do not hesitate because you will not regret once again taking in this landmark epic that delivered against all odds! Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve The Clapper Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Last Action Hero Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Ref The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

#random movie #marvel #avengers #avengers endgame #joseph russo #anthony russo #chris evans #Robert Downey Jr #mark ruffalo #Scarlett Johansson #jeremy renner #chris hemsworth #josh brolin

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libermachinae · 3 years

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Fault Lines Under the Living Room

Part III: Watch - Chapter 8: Registered Purple

Also available on AO3 Chapter Summary: Drift thinks he has the situation on Vitrious handled when he receives unexpected support. Chapter Word Count: 3134

---

Wing had taught him a mantra.

Many mantras, in fact, a few glyphs composed to hold him to the path of redemption and humility, charity and strength. Most he had deleted moments after being taught, having witnessed by then the intangible, transient nature of words, but this one he’d kept. He had never recited Wing’s version in full, his bastardization of the lines one of the few acts of rebellion he could get away with, but like most of the training he had received in Crystal City, he had discarded the substance and retained the structure.

In the years since, he had modified it as his circumstances changed and his path wound out of sight. Its recitation had proven one successful method to ground himself, so he focused now on the words, the shape of the glyphs against his thoughts.

My name is Drift.

He dodged behind a pillar as the spot he had been standing on exploded, a hail of blasterfire igniting the organic soil in his wake. The shots followed him, peppering his defenses, and he knew he had only a moment before the porous material gave way.

I’m not an Autobot.

He ducked, rolled, and unfurled into a sprint out the other side. Grit’s crew hesitated, their aim swinging wide before locking onto their target, giving him enough time to dive behind a larger building, a step closer to the cliff wall the city backed into. A lucky shot clipped his shoulder pauldron, sending him stumbling, but he was back behind cover before they could follow it up with a more decisive blow.

I’m not a Decepticon, either.

He pressed his back to the wall and waited for the barrage to let up. Rogue Decepticons tended to go heavy on ammo and light on fuel and medical supplies, but even Deathsaurus’ storage capacity was limited, and these runaways had nothing on that mammoth. The shots eventually petered out, replaced by footsteps.

“That’s it? You think you can just sabotage my operation and run?”

Drift’s spark burned at the reminder of Grit’s business on this planet: non-aligned organic labor procurement. Slave trade. They did not deserve their Deceptibrands, to count themselves among a movement that had fought for freedom. It was an effort to remind himself that he had already been stripped of his badge and was no longer obligated to defend it, and further effort to convince himself, again, that the symbol no longer represented the ideals he had sworn himself to. The people of Vitrious, they were the ones who needed his anger right now. Not a long-dead dream.

He braced his hands against the ground.

What I am is in trouble.

Drift sprung as the muzzle of a pistol appeared around the corner. Pushing off, he lobbed himself over the wall, onto the roof. Two strides and he landed on the other side, crouching to absorb the impact. He was up and sprinting again before Grit could register which way he had gone.

He was looking for an opportunity to catch one on their own, but the trio stuck together and moved as a unit. Hoping he might force them to spread out, Drift jumped for a narrow ledge, sacrificing a moment of vulnerability for the sake of speed. From his new vantage point, he spotted the pier. He considered it, adjusting his plans.

I’m also—

His thoughts were cut short by the roar of a shuttle’s engine.

Drift leapt from the wall and landed back on the rubble strewn street. Not as maneuverable, but like Pit he was going to stay up top to be fried by Grit’s reinforcements. Or the Galactic Council executive force, come to cleanse this system of its Cybertronian problem. He kept moving with his head down, not wasting the seconds it would have taken to look up and confirm. Either presence meant things were about to get complicated.

He stole into an alley just as heavy artillery formed the percussion over the engine’s bass with the Decepticons on vocals, the onslaught driving them to panicked shouting. Galactic Council, then, Drift reasoned. Decepticons gave each other a chance to posture before they started blasting.

Drift’s opinion on the Galactic Council was complicated. He trusted their judiciary system, insofar as he doubted there was anything better. Certainly not where his own kind was concerned. Cybertronians had failed at holding each other accountable for their crimes, given that judge, jury, and prosecution tended to be guilty of actions one step removed from those of the defendant. Their shared history had resulted in societal biases, and while Bumblebee and his enemies might have been trying to reestablish their sense of justice to one another, there yet remained a galaxy of people who did not have the luxury to wait for Cybertronians to realize they were incapable of convicting themselves. The victims of their atrocities deserved control over their justice, and the Galactic Council courts had structures and precedent to provide it.

Galactic Council defense squads operated on a precedent of eliminating Cybertronian threats at any cost. Its structures included battle cruisers, drone swarms, and mobile tactical arrays. They were not lawless entities, but they had been granted all necessary privileges to apprehend those who were, and had, in Drift’s opinion, become that which they had been commissioned to destroy. A single recon squad versus a handful of desperate rogue Decepticons could level a minor metropolitan neighborhood, and most of their standoffs occurred in locations with significantly less infrastructure than that. Drift never called the Council before all combat capable Cybertronians were subdued and removed from vulnerable areas, because otherwise it almost always ended up like the nightmare scenario he was now racing toward.

His priority trees reoriented: he had to get the fight out of the city. He remapped his route and updated acrobatic and combat protocols, shifting stealth to standby. His plating flared out to catch the sun as his pauldrons relaxed, swaying with each step to create a blinking effect. He revved his engine and pushed it into a lower gear, opting for more power, and drew his swords, using them to add volume to his movements as he jumped and spun, landing mid-stride on a roof.

That his optics registered purple when he looked up did not disrupt his momentum and only barely adjusted his plans. A rival group, here for their share of the cube, would be less likely to kill potential merchandise but have no qualms about murdering Grit before the Retins could serve their own justice.

Drift charged forward, up onto a ledge and then across, rooftop to rooftop. The newcomers were staying high and playing cautious, likely because their ship was more transport shuttle than combat vehicle. Offensive capabilities amounted to a single turret lowered from the underside of the ship, but the rapid-fire machine gun was much more intimidating than Grit’s shotgun and his team’s pistols. They were returning fire, but their shots angled wide or fizzled out before they breached the hull, the few that left a pockmark of warped metal the only reason Drift’s acrobatic leaps had yet to gain him any attention.

He got a foothold in the battered outer wall of a tower and launched himself up, arm outstretched. He caught a ledge and propelled himself further, calculating his trajectory in the split seconds he spent with hand or pede on the wall. Up, higher, he flung himself, until he was brushing the sky with his fingertips, brought high by the weight of his frame.

With one final leap, he reached the peak.

From here, the shuttle was still above him, but close enough that he could have seen into the cockpit, had he the time to adjust his lenses that much. Instead, he bent to one knee and retrieved a throwing knife from his lower leg. He pulled his arm back, lining up a shot at the central forward end of the viewshield, approximately where he remembered the pilot’s seat to be. He doubted it would penetrate, but maybe the noise would—

His comm buzzed.

He startled, losing his aim, at the assault of static from a component that had gone too long without use. It was not white noise, though: it peaked and valleyed, following the pattern of speech, until the sound coalesced into recognizable syllables, spoken by a familiar voice.

“Drift, it’s us.”

He almost dropped his knife.

“Ratchet?!”

“And Rodimus,” Ratchet said. “He wants me to say hi. He’d do it himself, but he’s focused on those guys that were giving you trouble.”

“Stop shooting!” There would be explanations later; he had come up here with a purpose, and despite his brief shock, he had not forgotten it. “The Retins are still down there.”

“Got it.”

The turret stopped firing, though it remained engaged and ready, staring down at Grit where he and his crew had been backed into a corner. Their shouting turn to celebratory whoops, assuming their enemies had run out of ammo, and their own assault gained a new vigor as they pressed their assumed advantage.

“No guns,” Rodimus agreed as he joined the channel. “What do we do about them?”

“I’m taking care of it,.” Drift stooped to slot his knife back in, using the familiar motion to calm his scrambled thoughts.

“How do we help?” Ratchet asked.

“By staying out of the way.” He stood and jumped, scaling down the tower pede over hand a fraction faster than he had ascended it. He landed in a roll on the ground, stealth programs back online, and made his way in the direction of Grit’s shouting. There was more rubble the closer he came to the center of town, chunks of walls that had been blown out and shards of glass, and he focused on keeping his movements light and quick, hard to trace as he came closer to listening audials.

“Decepticon ship, fragging answer me,” Grit demanded from around a corner. Drift stilled; he stalled his fans and dropped his engine. “You have some nerve, showing up here without an ident. Who do you think you’re gonna fool, a colorblind Autobot?”

“50 shanix that jerk is dead,” one of the others said. They had stopped shooting.

“What’s the point?” the third asked. “You saw him jumping all over the place like a flashy piece of target practice. I could’ve blasted him myself with my aiming module offline.”

“Just not with your blaster fully loaded, huh?”

“Screw stripper, you weren’t any better.”

“Decepticon shuttle, this is Grit of Polyhex. You’d better answer, or we’ll blast you out of—”

Drift whipped around the corner with an elbow aimed at the back of Grit’s head, where he should have found the exposed juncture between spinal strut and helm. Instead, he hit solid armor, and though Grit stumbled forward a couple steps it was nowhere near the complete freeze Drift had been banking on. He started to reach for a gun, so Drift knocked it away, then danced back as the others realized what was happening and started shooting.

Drift was back where he had started, in close quarters and surrounded. He cursed himself for not realizing how thick Grit’s plating would be while he dodged the incoming fire. He leaned to the side as he hopped out of the way, then back twice and behind a wall. They were following fast, though, he only had a couple seconds to—

“Incoming,” Ratchet warned, before the gunshot.

Drift looked up and saw the shuttle had descended, its hatch lowered with a familiar, flame-like beacon spilling out. Rodimus kneeled at the edge, an oversized Earth rifle perched on his shoulder.

He fired again, the gunshot accompanied this time by the sound of a solid matter bullet hitting plating. Drift peeked around just in time to see one of Grit’s grunts topple over backward with a dent in the front of his helm. Rodimus’ weapon didn’t puncture armor, but it packed enough power to put a bot in stasis.

“Got ‘im!” Rodimus shouted.

It was also concentrated enough to minimize the risk of collateral.

Drift sprung over his cover to the other Decepticon, who had just enough time to shout, “Hey, that’s an Auto—” before a sharp blow with the heel of his hand knocked him back. The Con automatically reached up to his face and Drift took the opportunity to sweep his legs out from under him, ending with a firm kick to the helm that put him out as well.

Grit was alone, swinging his gun between two targets. Drift withdrew his sword as he stepped forward, mindful of the gun but not scared of it.

“Should I shoot him?” Rodimus asked. Drift held up his hand, wait.

“That was a scummy trick,” Grit growled, finger starting to squeeze around the trigger.

Drift moved. Grit fired and he felt the plasma burn the air past his audial, but then he was in front of his assailant, sword pressed to the fuel lines in his neck.

“This was barely a trick,” he said. “Now, enslaving people? That seems pretty ‘scummy’ to me.”

Grit glared at him, optics fritzing. He glanced at the sword, then the gun in his hand.

“You should drop it!” Rodimus called down. “Drift takes things like disarming literally!”

Grit glanced at Rodimus, realized his mistake, and looked back at Drift. Miraculously, his lapse in judgment did not result in getting his head cut off, and that realization seemed to be what forced him to stand down. His optics settled into a steady glow and he set the safety on his gun before dropping it. Drift waited for the clatter before he retrieved his cuffs and fastened them around Grit’s wrists.

“What’s the plan now?” Rodimus asked as Drift set to cuffing the other two. He was surprised the others had not dropped into the fray. Ratchet had the excuse of being confined to the cockpit, but it seemed exactly like the kind of dramatic entrance Rodimus preferred.

Something wasn’t right.

“Same as before,” Drift said. “I take these three to the authorities and we leave the citizens of Vitrious alone.”

“Want us to watch these three while you go get it?” Ratchet asked.

Drift paused snapping on the last pair of cuffs to swivel and side-eye the shuttle.

“Uh, no,” he said. “You do realize how sus that sounds, right? I've had no one but rogue Decepticons for company for," he realized he had no idea how long he'd been out here, "a while, and that’s still the second sketchiest offer I've been made.” He glanced at Rodimus, and this time zoomed in. His face was pinched, frame stiff with tension. “What’s going on?”

He was not looking for an answer, though, his processor already generating the scenario and inserting it into his queue like it was fact. It laid out the team: a back-alley medic could retune a vocalizer, a gifted outlier could copy a frame, and enough living people were owed vengeance against Deadlock to fund the venture. Well honed instincts had him standing up, hands moving to clasp the hilts of his swords.

“We’re here for you,” Rodimus said.

“Then get down here.”

Rodimus stared at Drift. He set the rifle down behind him, at the top of the hatch, but he made no move to disembark, nor did Ratchet lower them to the open street.

“Why are you here?” Drift demanded.

“It’s complicated,” Ratchet and Rodimus said simultaneously, and Drift bristled. He drew his swords and put himself in front of the prone Decepticons, senses cast outward in case this proved to be a distraction.

“Whatever business you have with me, fine, we can deal with,” he said, “but that’s personal. You’re going to leave these bots and this planet alone.”

“Fraggit, of all the lousy—we’re not here to hurt anyone, Drift,” the voice that sounded like Ratchet’s said. “Least of all you.”

The tips of Drift’s swords came up as his grip tightened.

“We need your help,” Rodimus said. “Have you ever heard of the Enigma of Combination?”

Drift’s guard did not waver, but he combed through his archives for anything relevant and was surprised when several files were flagged. Those were old memories, from well before he had joined Turmoil’s squad: a decade in which his service was turned over to Shockwave to act as a research assistant. Test subject might have been a more accurate term, but since he had been designated Subject A and assigned to pull the trigger, Deadlock had stuck around long enough to earn a more permanent title.

Shockwave never mentioned the Enigma outright. Deadlock discovered it while flipping through research materials, trying to pass the boring period between trials, a few entertaining horror stories hidden within the precise jargon. Long lost and, he had assumed, made up.

“Where did you hear about that?” Any potential impersonator could flip through a copy of the Lost Light Insider and gather he had history with Ratchet and Rodimus, but these details were top secret, and he doubted Shockwave cared enough about Subject A to send experienced hitmen after him.

“It’s an ancient artifact, from what we’ve heard,” Ratchet said. “It’s…”

“It’s weird,” Rodimus said, glancing toward the cockpit.

“We have it onboard.”

Drift sheathed his sword, though he kept his position in front of Grit.

“You didn’t—”

“It’s complicated,” they repeated.

“Frag,” Ratchet swore.

The story was outlandish and the circumstances suspect, and Drift’s logic centers were trying to work through his complex feelings even as he shoved them down. It meant something, that the latest reminder of his old life came in the form of these two bot specifically. There was a story here, and it seemed he was intended to hear it.

He glanced at the Decepticons, then back at the ship.

“There’s a clearing west of the city,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere else. I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay,” Rodimus said. “Will you be alright with those guys?”

“Yes.” He turned his back on Rodimus and finished clamping on the last set of cuffs, focusing on keeping his hands gentle while he handled the unconscious prisoner. The other was starting to stir, and Drift debated whether it would be easier to let him wake up or put him back into stasis.

“We’ll see you there, then,” Ratchet said.

They waited to leave until Drift was standing again, one body lugged over his shoulder and the other supported with an arm around his back, Grit walking out in front of them. He heard the raise, then the engines fire, and the shuttle gently peeled away from the city. Drift watched it to confirm its direction before he grunted to Grit to start moving.

“Fraggin’ Autobots,” Grit muttered. Drift was inclined to agree.

#maccadam #transformers #ratchet #rodimus #drift #dratchrod #my writing #fault lines #longfic #ghhh it took a while but we MADE IT

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kimnamshiks · 4 years

Text

You Got it Like That?

Alternately longer Title: You Got it Like That? (Damn that’s crazy)

Pairing: Wooyoung x Female Reader

Genre: Whatever the hell this plot is and Smut

Rating: Explicit

WC: 7.5k+ (below 8k that’s for sure)

Tags: Smut, light fluff, bad attempt at humor, brief Minsan shenanigans, Fingering (female receiving), Temperature play kink, slight praise kink, slight kink discovery (anal), marking kink, some other shit I’ll update if I missed it. Briefest mentions of Seonghwa

Summary: You just needed to get through this week at the resort at the hands of 20 coworkers and Wooyoung; the Sales Department Supervisor who got some raunchy photos of you the day prior.

Taglist: @atiny-piratequeen @thereal-smolchild @angel0taiyo

You stumbled through your house happily, sorta out of it since you’re still high on the party you just left from. A little drinking here and being around smokers that had you linger in the weed; the endorphins coursing through you were pretty higher than usual on this Saturday night. A friend’s night that turned into crashing someone’s party freely without judgment which made everything better in your opinion.

You were on your way to stripping off your clothes when a buzz alerted you, taking your attention away from your work at hand.

+1[245] woobieboobie Uh… I believe you sent it to the wrong person? But holy hell you really did that. Didn’t expect that this late but thank you (;

Confused, you opened the message in full and damn near dropped your phone in shock. Six photos of you in states of undress stared back at you. Provocative and cheeky (literally, ass cheeks showing in some) as you smiled happily towards the lens of your phone. Your breast pushed up in the little strappy blue chemise set you wore to show off your body littered with little bruises and fingerprints on your thighs. Even some prints were dark on your shoulders from one of your wilder nights from a quickie. Honestly, you can’t even remember who’s house you took them in..

Though you managed to send them out to for… what exactly? Looking at it, you couldn’t help but groan in dismay.

+1 [873] me [image89.jpg attachment sent] Feeling sorry that you can’t leave these on me huh. SOL~ Gotta work for it if you want it, doll xoxo

Above those photo messages were questions about the next team-building trip that your company was supposed to take for the week, discussing with your co-manager Wooyoung, from the sales department. Just brainstorming ideas on how to get the departments to know that they work together, no matter how much push back you get from each other.

Both of you got close over the process of thinking this up and getting approval by the company head. If it brings back good results they may make this an option across the board for the rest of the departments who can’t get along. Yea you crushed on him a bit but who wouldn’t? He was hard-working, caring, pretty funny and fucking fine as shit.

You weren’t trying to mess the good balance of friendship up right now cause of some tipsy texting.

There was one for almost every photo too! You didn’t drink that much did you?

+1 [873] me [image90.jpg attachment sent] Wanna know what you like about this pose.

+1 [873] me [image95.jpg attachment sent] Tbh my form looks the best it’s ever been.

+1 [873] me [image105.jpg attachment sent] Call me pretty cause I almost had to beat an asshole up for saying I looked like shit tonight :(

You couldn’t do anything more than spam a message out in response and hope, praying that Wooyoung doesn’t say anything to you tomorrow.

+1 [873] me Kfajsdlgjskfjogsldfj!!! uH THANKS?! DELETE PLZ. SEE YOU TOMORROW!

+1 [245] woobieboobie ….. (: Hmm. See you tomorrow beautiful~ ;3

Based on that response, you knew he wasn’t. The fucking troll. Regardless you made sure the pictures were saved and got ready for bed. There were no real regrets, just the slight anxiousness of the unknown

Would he ask you about it?

Did he want details?

Would he ask for more of them?

Which you wouldn’t mind if it was any of your girlfriends, but you two haven’t hit that stage yet in friendship to even know if jokes like that were allowed (from what you thought). So this was a huge deal for you.

With a sigh you set your alarm and laid down. No one was going to hear about your lapse in texting, you were going to take this to the grave.

If your dream happened to have a certain male coworker and a few Kamasutra positions no one was going to know.

When Sunday rolled around, Wooyoung was nothing but a gentleman to you. He made sure to carry your bags or help get the large group of 20 people to quiet down enough to listen. It was like he was trying to somehow stay on your good side. It had you relax enough to not think of this type of trip of anything business, just a group of people trying to understand each other at the end of the day.

His conversation light on the bus to the resort that was agreed upon, having you laugh, choosing dumb driving games to pass the time there. It was nice to see both departments playing The Movie Game or even having acapella showdowns.

It was pretty nice. Even when they got to their destination to see their sleeping arrangement, he didn’t bring it up. Well… If he wasn’t going to say anything you would pretend like nothing went on. Wooyoung and yourself had one cabin, then there was 5 to the large cabins in the surrounding area.

“Okay guys! We’re going to make you all pull colored sticks -- Whatever color you get we’ll throw a number and that’s the cabin. No switching at all and I mean it!” Wooyoung said above all the groans and whining.

“But you two get your own that’s not fair!” his friend, Mingi exclaimed.

San moved up with a giant pout on his lips. He knew you were sorta weak for them anyways. “Yea why don’t you guys have to do the popsicle thing too!”

You pinched his cheeks playfully, yet your voice was slightly stern. “Because Wooyoung and I made the decision to do this. We’re supposed to have fun but we are also supposed to make sure you guys stop trying to destroy each other’s job.”

“Regardless of what happens do know you guys are still getting the normal pay that you would if you did work. So no need to worry about that.” Wooyoung assured them at your side.

Everyone seemed to relax more at that before they got the sticks to be roomed. Once it was fixed and you sent each group on to their merry way Wooyoung hip-checked you to get your attention.

“So roomie shall we get our little cabin together?” he was twirling the room key as he asked. He stuck his arm out afterward with a little wink.

“Aah… I guess roomie. It shouldn’t be so bad~.” you sang, sauntering off towards the destination.

The rooms were beside each other, pretty spacious from everything of the bathroom to the living room and open floor kitchen. Covered in soft colors you would think it was more of someone's house than that of a resort. Both of you moved things into the respective rooms to set up, heading to sleep since it was pretty late for the first day.

“Night Woo!” you sang to the wall, getting comfortable into your bed.

“Night. Sleep well~” he sang back.

There was more shuffling on his side before you succumbed to sleeping, tomorrow’s worries for the you of tomorrow.

As the week progressed, to you it seemed as if your coworkers were actually getting along with each other. Besides the standard disagreement or someone getting into their feelings, it wasn’t so bad. You got to know Wooyoung’s team more so as you helped them when you explained why your promotions team needs their hand in hand cooperation when asked of them. Just a simple “Everyone on the same page makes things run smoother.”

You also got to know Wooyoung more so in his work environment. He made sure to repeat anything that someone needed help with, ready with a playful remark if someone would call him out on being wrong. He even entertained everyone with a little dance if someone got a question right.

He was so fucking cute you could honestly get cavities right now.

When everything was done you all would head back to either the cabins or the entertainment on the property to set up. Sometimes you had a few of your teammates, like Dahyun or even Jessi who would take you out to see all that the full resort had to offer. Drink or flirt a bit with the other distant company people who used the other spaces.

Mingi catching you out late for talks and jokes before San would join, all of you guys laughing till your stomachs hurt. Maybe stay up later than normal around a little fire looking at the stars.

Other times it was just you and Wooyoung laughing about on the walking trail or sharing snacks with some dumb reality tv show. When you would cook he’d try to be helpful, making sure nothing was too far or too hard to reach. It was really sweet, learning more about him. From the favorite foods or movies-- learning about his whole squad of friends are apart of the company. (He didn’t tell them that he personally knew them for years, just of their working together) Mingi and San being his department while the oldest one, Seonghwa, being apart of your team. 4 other members were spread out in the other departments.

Being so domestic so quickly like it was second nature to both of you.

He even made sure to knock before trying to enter into your space or making sure everything was alright before doing something that he would consider uncomfortable for you. (“Hey I’m gonna come out shirtless!” “Okay that’s fine!” “Don’t look!” “Why cause you got cute nips or something?”) When you asked him about it, he just smiles cutely to tell you it’s to make sure you were dressed or that if you brought anyone in while he was in the shower, all parties would know.

Sometimes Wooyoung would forget of course. You would sneak glances at him every now and then; wet and soft from the shower. His body a touch pink from the hot water with his bottoms hanging off his hips.

“Like what you see~?” he’d whisper over to you when he caught you looking.

“It’s here for show so I might as well enjoy it huh?”

“Then I deserve one too right? You are very beautiful.” He told you one time when he was drying his hair and he looked at you expectantly. Even when you flushed hard from the statement, shoving him playfully and whining, he just ruffled your hair up.

You two got comfortable enough that you would be cooking in your pjs just after a shower. Where you wouldn’t be fully dry and the clothes would stick to your frame just a bit more. He never made comments but you felt eyes on you more so than not.

“What am I going to do once we leave here? I’m not going to have your cooking anymore~,” he lamented over the ribs he ate.

You scrunched your nose at his messy eating, even as you were thinking that he looked like a little chipmunk with his mouth full. “Well, we can always hang out after this you know. Or I can just bring food to the job?” you offered.

“Mmm…” he trailed off as he finished chewing-- eyes focusing back on you sharp and serious, “Rather just hang out with you. Then I don’t have to share at all.”

His tone was playful when he said it, but his eyes told you a whole different story. It wasn’t something you saw directed at you so it kind of made you a bit hot under the collar of your pajamas.

“I like sharing though~. It’s okay you’ll just need to work for that huh?” you giggled in the same breath to reach over and clean his face with your thumb.

You sat back without care, cleaning your hands to resume eating but Wooyoung was sort of stuck in his thoughts. Seeing you eat so cutely after doing something like that without warning had his heart rushing. Blinking back into the present he finally responded with a,

“I’ll work for it. Don’t you worry.”

The light-haired male sounded cocky, in turn, you shrugging your shoulders to continue eating.

“We’ll see about that.”

Sometimes… Mingi and San were your main trouble makers from Wooyoung’s team who continued to push your buttons when you were just trying to be informative. Mostly making you come over and show them easy steps in the program that you guys utilize to get any updates. Hands-on enough that they start to look flustered as well when you press up against them, voice soft with a bit of an edge cause your patience was running thin.

Maybe you were teasing them. No one’s gonna notice since everyone should be focused on their work anyways right? San’s face flushing harder than usual though this time. He seemed almost shy with you, whispering “Oh okay I get it now.”

Wooyoung stood off to the side of one of your workers, clenching his teeth at the scene. Trying to figure out what was going on between you three right now.

When you turned to him and gave a thumbs-up, he scoffed and focused on his work at hand with helping. You were confused at his antics but shrugged-- He’ll talk to you if something serious was going on. He was probably just pissed about something.

Later on in the day everyone seemed to be doing better now when they got paired up to work on a small project together. Quiet laughter or a little flirting here and there happened.

You moved over to Wooyoung who stood against the wall silently, murmuring “You alright..?” “‘M fine.” He gritted out, gripping his arms tight before letting them fall to the side. His brows were still pushed together in a slight frown, purple locks of hair sort of sticking to his forehead. You reached out to move them out of the way to smooth the wrinkles from his face.

“You’re not but I won’t pry. Just relax your face hun, you’ll have your face stuck like that~” you playfully jeered and bumped shoulders.

He seemed to freeze a bit before relaxing, giving you a quirk of a smile that you couldn’t help but be extra over.

A faux gasp and a coo came from you. “Aw see? You turned that frown upside down~ Good boy!”

He choked on seemingly nothing before pushing away from the wall. “Shut up dork. Let’s finish, got an announcement for everyone.” “Not even a dork!”

A call of your name distracted you both for a moment before you looked at him seriously.

“But you’ll tell me if somethings wrong right? I won’t judge you or anything, Wooyoung.”

He gave you a look that said something that you couldn’t quite understand. He nodded, making a face when Mingi came over and dragged you away in excited chatter.

“I heard there’s a dance tonight! San and I are going to take you as our date~”

“Hey how did you hear about that!” Wooyoung’s voice screamed across the area.

Both of you giggled, gossiping about what to do as well as what to wear for later that night. Both unaware of the slightly angry look Wooyoung gave to your backs.

You’ve been added to the group chat: Date night!

+1 [177] minglepringle Hope you’re ready~ Me and san will be over there soon~!

+1 [392] sanscript I look better than Mingi just letting you know.

+1 [177] minglepringle We’ll see about that.

+1 [873] me Boys I bet you both look dashing. Stop fighting I’m TRYING to finish getting dressed! Or I’m dumping both of you!

Your mind was too busy giggling at their antics in the text messages. Their playful banter and whining that you got used to over getting close with them, you enjoyed seeing it as much as you have. You also think that they may be fucking but that’s on a whole other note. So immersed into everything that you missed Wooyoung’s warning of checking in that his loud gasp had you turning quick.

There he stood, so fucking beautiful in his all-white suit with his hair fluffed up fully around his head, the middle-parted style that fit his look too well if anyone asked you. His eyes were rimmed in light brown eyeliner; a thin diamond choker on with a pair of earrings that added to the overall expensive look. Your eyes couldn’t help but follow down the expanse of his neck to the peak of collarbone winking at you from behind the open plackets of his black shirt. It was tucked into his pants to showcase the little waist and his pants clung to thick thighs and calves.

“Holy fuck Woo…”

Your eyes trailed back up his form with no shame as you damn near undress him mentally. Shouldn’t do that given you guys work together but what the job doesn’t know won’t hurt anyone.

“You look... Really good.” You finally finished when you gathered yourself together, looking up to meet his eyes. They were slightly hazy and far off before they focused on you. His jaw set when he walked farther into the room.

“Thank you. I’d say the same for you though. Is that all you’re going to wear darling~?” he asked in such a soft candied voice that you got whiplash from the change of his tone, “Just a bralette and boy shorts? Think the boys would like that a lot hm? Seeing their stern supervisor looking all pretty like that.”

You sucked in a quick breath, feeling your nipples harden against the cloth at attention from his voice. Even your heartbeat began to pick up when you realized he was watching your body respond to his voice, a smirk on his features. The thought of covering yourself up shyly was the last thing on your mind as you shakily exhaled.

“Not at all,” voice in a whisper as you grab your dress to slowly slip on in front of his eyes.

“I was just caught off guard, Wooyoung.” you kept the same tone as he tilted his head.

Probably taking in your figure now that it was covered back up in the peach shade maxi wrap dress, long enough to brush against the floor with the slit high enough to show your legs. White liner with darkened lashes with a smudge of brown shadow with nude glossed lips was the choice of makeup.

You added a pair of brown studs into your ears as you bit your lip, giving him a slow twirl so your dress could float around you. Stopping, you asked softly, “Well? How do I look now?”

Wooyoung stepped closer to run the back of his knuckles against your cheek, opening his mouth to say something but it was interrupted by a knock on the main door from two excited voices.

“We’re here to pick you up~!”

“Move Woo stop hogging our date!”

It broke whatever air wrapped around you two that you put on your boots and felt your face heating up quickly.

You didn’t know what to say as he still stood there, looking at you with so many emotions that you felt hot yet again.

“I gotta go Wooyoung…”

He sighed and backed up, his playful air back around him “Save me a dance would you?”

You booped his nose and nodded, giving a bashful smile before leaving to San and Mingi’s insistent whining. You couldn’t really process what was going on but at this point, it didn’t matter; two gorgeous men were your date for tonight and you decided you were going to have fun.

Which you were having. The guys made you three take so many pictures you were sure there was a whole album dedicated to it now. Lots of solo shots of you making funny faces or doing runway poses that you made them do tenfold. (”Can’t wait to use this cute one as blackmail” “You wouldn’t dare!” “Oh doll, you will learn real quick I’m vindictive.” “That’s kinda hot...” Choking sound here somewhere. “Mingi plEASE”)

They layered on the compliments thick to get you to giggle or shove at them on the way there, even when they were the equivalent of models on the fashion runway themselves. Each male held the door open to the pavilion to you before all three of you walked in with each other. It was gorgeously colored with a stage where the DJ was switching up his songs in front of the large dance floor littered with people. Surrounding it were the tables that already had forgotten drinks or people’s belongings there, or just people not really dancing just relaxing with food on their plates.

The music was everything from every genre you could think of that you could sing or dance to, open bar and buffet that you won’t admit you visited more times than you’d admit. It was only to keep your mind off your roommate but it wasn’t helping when your eyes would drift over to him from your peripherals, catching him drinking at the bar or laughing loudly at something someone said.

Fuck it. You can get lost in the dancing since you felt a little looser from the alcohol thrumming in your system. Dahyun and Jessi off doing lord knows what with whatever guys they suckered into doing their bidding for the night.

“Mingi come here! I lost you somehow and you’re supposed to be dancing with me,” you whined loudly while pulling him close and grinding on him before dropping it low to your knees.

He laughed around a whispered “holy shit” as he followed your dancing, his big hands pulling you back up to roll and dance on him again. Songs passed with the two of you sharing another drink before San joined to sandwich you in. It gathered a crowd when you three started dancing raunchier with a couple of other people. Especially with the way the two males really had you going because of their wandering hands and smoldering gazes. When you were gyrating really hard on San, he gripped your hips before trying to tickle your sides.

“You’re such a tease~. We’re definitely going clubbing when we get back to the city.” San whispered in your ear, holding up a finger sandwich to feed you.

You turned to blow a kiss at him before eating the offered food. “I would love that! I’ll go get some water and some food. I don’t wanna eat everything you’re feeding me~.”

Both nodded at you when told them you’ll take a break since you were so sweaty and out of breath from all the dancing, happily giving each of them a small peck on the cheek. You laughed at some of the comments of surprise that you got as you made your way to the bar.

Yea no one’s seen you dance like that but again you all were here to have fun right? It’s bound to happen sometime so at the end of it all, it was something dumb to think or fret over. None of them were CEO’s or anything (well you couldn’t say that for the other people at the resort, but they don’t know you.)

Yet before you could make it there you were stopped by an unfamiliar male stepping into your space.

“I’m sorry but I’m trying to get somewhere so if you could just..Move out the way please that would be great.”

“I just wanted to tell you that your dancing out there was really sexy,” the male stated, moving into your space with an open look on his face. You didn’t really respond but you were guessing your nonresponse was a good cue to him.

“Maybe if you like for me to get you drinks we can get to know each other. Or just let off some steam, if you know what I mean.”

You stepped around him, shaking your head. “Sorry but it’s not what I’m looking for now excuse me--”

He takes a grip at your hand, tight that he had to have heard you snarling. “So you’ll dance like a slut for those two guys but you won’t even give me a look? Especially when I look better than them both?”

You bristled at the comment of him talking about Mingi and San like that, turning around to give him a piece of your mind when Seonghwa steps up to you with Wooyoung in tow.

“It seems like she doesn’t want to deal with you sir,” Seonghwa’s voice was firm, gripping his upper arm tight enough that the guy yelped and let go.

Wooyoung makes sure to stop you from clocking the guy by putting his hand onto your lower back. It was a nice touch but it didn’t calm you down at all.

“This has nothing to do with you--”

“Assholes who think their hot shit? Overcompensating too? Guys like you aren’t the ones I go for.” you spat quickly, “Fuck with me again, or any of my people and you’ll be trying to find the best doctor in town to stitch your dick back on to yourself.” Angrily you stared him down, allowing Wooyoung to tug you away from the asshole and off to a quiet room.

Once the door was locked, he watched as you paced back and forth for a few minutes. He was even calm as you blew up.

“The nerve of that dickwad! The way I dance has nothing to do with who’s allowed to talk to me or not! Literally has no correlation.”

Wooyoung stood by the door and listened as you ranted, sipping on his drink.

“Lucky I didn’t fuck him up. I look too good to be brawlin today. He even had the nerve to talk about Mingi and San? He really fucking lucky--”

“You really fucking do and it’s driving me insane,” Wooyoung growled from behind you, having you jump from how close he was. “You look like a goddess reincarnated and I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”

“Wooyou-” you began as your body responded to his closeness again.

He slowly pressed his body against yours, unashamed at the loud gasp you gave him because of his clothed dick hitting your hip.

“See?” the male whispered, looking up into your eyes, “Being so carefree from judgment, dancing how you want. Singing loudly and having a good time regardless of who is around; gorgeous. You made sure to include everyone that was close to dance or sing because you wanted to enjoy this party.”

You really didn’t know where he was going with this but you heaved a shaky inhale when you caught him looking at your lips.

“It just made me like you a hella lot more… Sweaty, hooded eyes were so enticing. Then when you handled yourself with that guy back there, you got so protective and serious…” he trailed off, his dick twitching against your hip again.

“Really wanted to get on my knees and eat you out right on that dance floor… it was so damn sexy you just don’t know what you do to me.”

An airy moan slipped past your lips from his confession, his response of holding you closer and a tad bit tighter had your nipples pebbling to hardness swiftly. Wooyoung’s hands slid down to cup your ass that you whined out his name.

“When you sent those photos… I wanted to have a quick jerk session. Had a hot moment of jealousy…” he whispered now, leaning in to brush his lips along the quickening pulse on your neck. “I wanted to mark you up like that. Have my fingerprints linger on you for days from holding you so hard. Wanted my mouth to find out all your weak spots to have you crying..”

Your arms wrapped around him as you shivered, hips canting slowly against him in the slow simmer of want.

“Wha- What stopped you then hm?” It was a breathy ask while you carded your fingers through his hair, your leg sliding up to wrap around his hip to hold on. You were feeling a bit faint.

His moan vibrated against your skin as he replied “Wanted to be a good boy for you. Said I had to work for it, remember? So I have been.”

Pulling away, you looked at him questioningly, his skin pinkening with an almost boyish shyness to it as he mumbled, “Was gonna wait for the perfect time so I could take you out to dinner then hopefully get to this point now.” Which done it in for you.

"Tell me more doll, wanna hear it." You purred sweetly, feeling him give a full-bodied shutter.

"Didn't want you thinking that I suddenly wanted to fuck because of those pictures. But I've looked at them once in a while this week, hoping I could get you like that myself."

He was suddenly picking you up impatiently to set you on the table in the middle of the room; his lips nipping at the skin he could reach right now as you whined under him.

"Shit, Wooyoung," a hard whimper left your throat and you rutted up against him. "Same. It's the same. I've been crushing on you but didn't wanna complicate things I.."

Your words died on your tongue as he trailed his hand along your body, letting you arch into the feather-light touch before he put his glass down. “Can I kiss you?”

Your arms shot up and tugged him half onto you, nipping his bottom lip hard before kissing him deeply. His mouth tasting of Malibu Sunset shots and something else you couldn't place, both of you groaning at the contact. Tugging at fabric to get to heated damp skin made you a bit desperate, given how many times you have imagined doing anything remotely sexual with him.

“Pretty baby, panting so hard and we haven’t even gotten naked yet huh? You want me that badly? Want my hands on your bare skin that much.” he taunted, pulling back from your grabby hands with a playful pout.

“You take your dress off and then I’ll be good for you to take my clothes off too.”

You sat up with a pout back to him, tone going sultry instead, “That’s unfair cause I really am. If you’re my good boy you’d let me take off your clothes for you. Maybe even let me choke on your dick. I’ve been wanting it for so long~”

You watched as Wooyoung’s dick twitched hard, seeing his hands shake to a stop before moving back towards you in a flash. Inwardly you cheered in victory, hurriedly breaking a few buttons off his shirt and shoving everything off his body. As a prize, you immediately went to sucking marks on to his skin-- feeling his groan of your name vibrate on onto your lips.

You left lipstick marks in some places before sucking harshly on others such as his cute nipples and the lines of softly defined muscle, all the while he tried to push your dress off your shoulders. You made a show of sliding your hand into his pants and gripped his dick that was already slick.

“Who’s wet now doll? Hm?” you moaned out high and breathless, skin prickling with goosebumps from the sudden attack of cold water droplets falling onto your chest.

“Baby, you will be soaked when I’m done with you. Come on, clothes off wanna try something.”

He was asking you in a rush which was sweet but you really wanted his dick in you someway so you relented your control this time to him. You hurriedly slid your dress off your body and moved to get onto the table before Wooyoung tugged you by your bra and kissed you hard again. He was mapping out your mouth like he wanted to remember every dip and curve of it; sloppy, messy and so fucking hot you knew you were dripping in your panties now. “This okay? Not uncomfortable?” he pulled his lips away from yours, gently pushing you back from following.

You swallowed, whimpering out a “Yea it’s fine” from his serious gaze at your face.

When you didn’t change your mind he relaxed and kissed you again. Stealing your breath and making you drool a bit making it hot and messy in the right way.

When cold, wet fingers slide down the curve of your breast your body curved to the touch happily, mind already dopey on wanting Wooyoung’s touch; on wanting anything Wooyoung could give you right now. His mouth moved down your neck, lapping and sucking just as many bruises into your skin in repayment to your own work.

Wooyoung would cover the next stops of his lips with thin layers of alcohol to suck off your skin as if you two had all the time in the world, skipping past your aching breasts to apply more of the sweet liquid on your stomach then your thighs. He made you sit back on the table as he made a promise to his earlier statement and marked you up basically head to toe; his eyes dilating fully to the point of pitch blackness cause of the whining and mewling.

“Fuck. Just let me..” Wooyoung spluttered while grabbing his phone to take a few photos.

You were leaning back with your legs spread, fingers rubbing your clit over your soaked through panties frantic now. Honestly, you don’t know how you even made it through his markings because you couldn’t describe how much you loved it; probably looking too gone already by how he froze for just a moment. He joined you after shuffling his pants off to finally snatch your bra off to give some love to your aching breasts.

But not without adding an ice cube between his lips then sucking a nipple into the same space. The moan that bubbled out of your mouth was nothing less than dirty, making Wooyoung double his efforts. He did this to the other one as well to make your peaks harder than they ever felt. Bringing that same numbing cold heat combo onto your neck then back down, across your navel and your hip line. He skipped over your core to press his now cold lips onto the marks he left earlier, grinning at your pleas leaving your lips quickly.

“Please Woo, ngh! Please!” you cried, holding his head to your chest while he moved your panties to the side and slid two fingers in immediately. The shock of his cooling mouth and cold fingers onto your burning skin brings a pleasant hum to your body and even heavier wetness between your legs.

You never knew how much you liked the combination.

“Need you, baby, please ‘m tired of waiting.” Your head buzzed as you slipped further into his ministrations, alternating from begging or crying out his name to scrambling for purchase on the table when he moved his body away from yours. You had to have left a few more marks in the shape of claws along his skin.

“Want my dick that bad? Kinda like how you're begging right now,” He pressed into you harder that you choked for a moment.

Why was he teasing even more now holy fuck. “Yes let me have it!. You didn’t let me suck you off like I asked earlier.”

“I’ll let you suck me off later, I’ll blow my load if you even so much as touch it.”

You whined even harder. Maybe you wanted him to dirty up your face, he keeps taking everything away from you. It was a fun back and forth game but you were truly wanting his dick like months ago.

It was distracting enough that you just registered the sounds of how wet you truly were, body experiencing harsh pulses of pleasure from Wooyoung’s fingers and the zip of chill his mouth left before he laved his tongue onto your clit. Harsh flicks of his tongue coupled with the perfect curling of those fingers you’ve also obsessed over sent you reeling. Such a move brought you hurling over the edge to your release quicker than you expected.

“Wooyoung! Holy shit!” you shouted, voice pitched higher than you’ve ever heard it, legs trembling around him as he sucked onto your clit to help you ride that high before layering wetter kisses to the inner thighs. Your head went back with another curse, feeling your body turn into a liquid state of pleasure, unable to ride out your orgasm on his fingers. When your eyes fluttered open suddenly you took in Wooyoung's features.

“God..” he breathed, looking up at you as if you were his whole universe at this point and slowing down his fingers, “you’re so fucking perfect aren’t you baby?” In your hazy state, you keened at the compliment, body curving up slow as if it was reaching for more praise. Slowly, you rotated your hips in small circles to beg for everything he could give.

“Oh? You want me to fuck you while you are just loose and pliant for me baby?” To your little happy hum, he smiled gently. Removing his fingers he made the show of licking them clean, gently taking off your panties and giving you a soft kiss for your patience. “Lemme get a wrapper and I’ll be right back. Okay my pretty baby? Be patience.”

Slurry on your high still, you stayed spread onto the table. “Hurry... Really wan’ your dick Wooyoungie. Need it.” You could feel your eyes tearing up at your denial of feeling him in you.

He tripped in his haste with the condom already on and picking you up into his arms much to your protest. You could see how little it mattered as he held you to rut up against your folds to slick himself up, kissing away your tears with a coo of your name and how precious you were crying for his dick like you were.

Little words whispered against your ear of "I got you, princess, shh" and "Fuck if we go past this I have so much planned for us, holy hell." You wrapped your legs and arms around him tight, leaning in to suck a lobe between your lips and tug, whining yet again.

“Wooyoungie, please. Wanna feel it for days.. Nothing else but your dick please." You hiccuped over a short sob, honestly too fucking horny to care at this point. "Please Woo please I’ve waited for you this whole time plea-”

When Wooyoung finally pushed into your body after making sure the condom was on, it gave way like a greeting. Your walls fluttering and kissing his dick inch by inch like it was meant to be there; so happy that you squeezed him tight and mewled loudly.

“Yess what I’ve been waitin’ for. Wan' it deep~. Make me yours~.” he cursed and started a slow pace.

Honestly, you couldn't believe how much patience he had given the circumstances. His strength on display as he brought your hips down when he fucked up into your body with a slowness that had you singing. He was so hard inside of you, hitting all the right ways when he readjusted his grip on your sweaty body, the slight curve helping to graze your g-spot when he was being nice to you. It was hurting just a tad from the build-up to overstimulation but it felt too good to stop. Clit being abused against his stomach while you arched to throw your hips back onto him to get him to quicken the pace.

You were moaning his name and nonsense when he slid home deeper into you, praising him. Mouthing out on how you crushed on him since all those years he helped you. From when you decided to let him get closer because you wanted to be in the same playing field.

He paused mid-thrust with a tremble and a gasp, "Is that true..?"

Blinking past the tears you nodded, feeling bare to him suddenly.

His mouth worked around its sound for a moment, so focused on you that your breath stuttered on an exhale.

"Fuck... Fuck love, you don't know how much that means to me." He said, voice pitched so low it sounded like a snarl. Though the continuous pulses of his dick inside you spoke volumes.

Slowly you ran a hand through his sex mused hair and brought him close to your face, looking into his eyes, "Then please Wooyoung… Ruin me. Show me how much it means to you."

His resounding growl made your toes curl as he moved you two a few feet to the wall, pushing you hard against it now.

"My pleasure baby." He panted, "Gonna give you what you wanted since you asked so sweetly." He sealed his promise in a kiss before pulling out slowly.

The sudden snap of his hips made the surroundings turn to colorful constellations. Everything else fading to the haze past his beautiful expressions, the feeling of you two joined together, the cries and moans of each other’s name. Mind filled to the brim of Wooyoung, trying to kiss him but both of you are just sharing each other’s air now with little nips or licks here and there.

You don’t know how long he went at it but it felt like hours that he was pounding into you. You couldn’t even moan anymore, just whimper or keen or silently scream while he cursed in between punches of your name from his lips.

You both knew you were going to bruise on your hips and ass cheeks with how his grip tightened and loosened. At a particular shake, his fingers slid and pressed hard against your asshole, almost slipping in a bit from the dripping wetness from your folds and it tumbled you into your second release; so hard that you happened to squirt against him.

The wide-eyed look Wooyoung gave you when you screamed his name had him jerking his hips twice more before he came into the condom. He cried out to you in return, full-body shaking from its intensity that he leaned to kiss all over your face softly. Staying still and bringing you back down to him with kisses and murmurs against your skin. Breathy gravel tones from how spent his voice was blanketed you back down.

"I've been crushing on you too, you know."

"So gorgeous."

"I'm lucky to have such a beautiful princess."

"Come back to me love. I'm right here."

It was a few minutes before you gave him a satisfied smile, lazy in the afterglow and bright for him.

"Mmm, you’re the best."

He took the time to pull out and maneuver the hold on to bridal style, holding you closer to his frame as he set you back on the table with a laugh.

“I must be if I made you squirt~.”

You swung at him weakly, hiding your face from him at that and you kept it there as he moved around the room. You could hear him bump into things, mumbling to himself before he found what he was looking for and moving back to you.

“Come on my pretty baby lets get you slightly cleaned up and get out of here. We can take an actual shower and cuddle together,” he whispered softly, moving your hands out of the way with the sappiest look you’ve ever seen on his face.

Not before he took another of you posing for him to show the additional fingerprint bruises on your lower half, then immediately went to cleaning you with feather touches in case you were too sensitive with the clean rag and water bottle he found in the room. You were getting sleepy under the treatment so you allowed him to do everything; fix your hair, help you back into your dress and watch him put your undergarments into his jacket and fold it up. Making every sure you two had everything you needed.

You even watched him get himself dress sluggish and tired as you were. Something about watching him get dressed was so enticing to you. Maybe it was the way his veins in his arms and hands looked… You couldn’t wait to trace them with your tongue sometime.

When Wooyoung offered to carry you back to the cabin you agreed happily, secretly enjoying his display of strength as you guys avoided the still pretty heavy partying people further down the hall.

“I owe you a dance don’t I?” you mumbled against his neck, curled tight to his chest.

“Yea you do.”

“Damn... We’re starting off our trysts with owing each other.” he laughed into your hair, kissing a free spot on your forehead. “Alright, that’s a bet.”

You left it at that from his questioning hum.

You both got back to the cabin without being caught by anyone who knew you two. He held on to your clinging form as you whined about showering later, you were tired and you just wanted to cuddle up to him and sleep. So much so he relented with a playful sigh and tucked both of you into his bed. He did take a makeup wipe to remove any lingering product on your face and his,

“So I can see your cute natural morning face~” with a kiss to your giggling lips.

The both of you held each other to sleep, tangled head to toe with Wooyoung being the little spoon. You’ll deal with the irritating clothes and washing in the morning you thought. You were excited to think you’ll wake up to Wooyoung beside you finally.

“I h a t e your friends Wooyoungie, I really fucking do.” you groggily said when you woke up to your phone’s reminder buzzes and took a look at the notifications.

“Mmm, why is that?”

You happened to look down at his soft sleep puffy face laying on your thigh, pouting up at you so you blew a kiss at him before showing him the messages.

+1 [177] minglepringle So.. heard you had a grand slamming of a time last night

+1 [177] minglepringle As well as seen him carry you off like a princess being saved by her prince~ So now we don’t have to worry about not seeing you for the rest of the night

+1 [392] sanscript A lot of slamming. Seems like our “Make Wooyoung jealous plan worked”!

+1 [177] minglepringle Glad you finally got that dicking you been thirsting over~ Congratulations! +1 [177] minglepringle DON’T EXPOSE US YOU ASSA LSDKJFLSJGSDJF--

+1 [392] sanscript Don’t forget to call us next time so we can hear better~! We’re friends now your supervisor status means nothing now!! (:< Besides you completely dipped on us and we would have asked you for a threesome but Wooyoung beat us out-- +1 [177] minglepringle sAN OH MY FUCKING LORD STFU +1 [392] sanscript What they gonna do? Beat us?

Then an extra one from an unsaved number,

+1 [524] Unkown As much as I love that you two resolved your heavy sexual tension can I get a raise for having to hear your horny asses going at it like rabbits and dealing with the Minsan duo? Thanks, boss. -Seonghwa

Wooyoung laughed hard, screeching about his embarrassment at his friends and how he was going to beat their asses. He was ranting, fumbling for his phone to give him a piece of their mind but you just watched him being animated. Still a bit sleepy, the marks dark against his skin while his eyes caught the light just right to sparkle slightly. Even when he was squeaking into the phone’s receiver at Mingi, San, and Seonghwa, you couldn’t help the happiness you felt at the turn of events.

Wonder what your friends will say once you tell them everything that happened. That would be for another day, you think as you stroke Wooyoung’s face and trace the features. He doesn’t stop talking but he does look at you with a sappy smile, wiggling and making kissy faces at you.

This was something you could really get used to.

#ateez fanfiction #ateez oneshot #wooyoung smut #ateez smut #wooyoung #oneshot

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dato-potato · 4 years

Text

The Lost Son pt. 4

Took too long but here it is after being written, rewritten, deleted on purpose, deleted accidentally, glitching and then disappearing and finally being written again. Part four of the AU where Talia leaves Damian in an orphanage in Gotham when he’s five.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

——————————

Damian sat awkwardly in silence, Bruce Wayne in front of him and Alfred Pennyworth to his right. Mr. Pennyworth seemed to be enjoying his time, watching the two others as he grinned. Damian sipped carefully at his tea when Bruce Wayne cleared his throat, Damian nearly choking on his drink.

Damian hit his chest with his fist a few times, “Are you all right?” Bruce Wayne asked him, concern clear on his face.

“Yeah,” Damian managed as he coughed a few times for good measure.

Bruce Wayne nodded, “Right, well, I was going to apologize for my sudden intrusion on your visit,” he started, directing his gaze at the butler, “I hadn’t been made aware that we’d be having guests over.”

Mr. Pennyworth smiled pleasantly back at his boss who continued to glare, “I don’t believe it’s stated anywhere that I cannot invite guests to the manor.”

Bruce Wayne mumbled something under his breath and Mr. Pennyworth cocked an eyebrow at the man. Damian wasn’t sure what he was to do in such a situation, he had been in plenty of incredibly awkward positions but that was by far the worst.

Mr. Pennyworth turned back to Damian, “Apologies young sir, I doubt you expected to see such a sight when you accepted my invitation.”

Damian gave him a polite smile, “Not exactly, but it’s interesting to see Mr. Wayne and Mr. Pennyworth interact naturally, almost as if you’re related and not an employer and his butler.”

The two men glanced at each other and Mr. Pennyworth smiled kindly at Damian, “I wouldn’t exactly describe our relationship as a simple butler and employer, sir.”

Bruce Wayne nodded as he sipped at his tea, “Alfred has been with me since before I was even born and he’s stuck with me through my parents’ unfortunate deaths.”

Damian held his teacup in his hands and inspected it. He felt out of place watching the two of them.

Mr. Pennyworth cleared his throat, an apologetic smile on his face, “What about you, Mr. Alistair?” Damian raised an eyebrow at the old man, he was sure he had told Mr. Pennyworth about the circumstance of his parents but the man just smiled innocently, “What did your mother do?”

Damian froze mid-drink and swallowed hard. Since Janet never bothered to ask questions about his mother and father after the first night, he never really thought about how he’d have to eventually answer such questions if he planned on hiding his true identity.

“Well,” Damian started, trying to stall as he thought up a satisfying reply, “I’m not really sure,” he said, defeated.

Mr. Pennyworth nodded and Bruce just stared, clearly not convinced, “Well, what was she like then?”

Damian fidgeted in the seat, the questions were making him uncomfortable and he was desperately trying to relay that message to the two men but they either weren’t getting it or they simply did not care.

“I’m not sure,” Damian repeated. When neither Mr. Pennyworth nor Bruce Wayne spoke, Damian sighed, “She wasn’t exactly around much. She was usually with my grandfather.”

This seemed to pique their attention, “Grandfather? I’m assuming it was your maternal grandfather. What was he like?” Mr. Pennyworth asked. Damian glanced at the older man for a long moment, so he did remember their conversation about his parents at the orphanage.

Damian sighed again, “Yes, he was my maternal grandfather,” he thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure what the best way to describe his ‘family’ was, if you could call them that. “He was a leader, and I was supposed to succeed him.”

Bruce Wayne and Mr. Pennyworth seemed to get quite serious, “Where is your grandfather?” Damian tried to focus on the heat of the tea in his hands, the hum of the lights above them, anything but the thought of his family.

“I don’t know,” he said lamely, eyes not meeting either man in front of him, fidgeting slightly in the overly large chair. He had attempted to search for his grandfather before, but nothing ever came up.

After Damian made it clear that he didn’t like the personal questions, the three of them moved on to small talk about other meaningless things. Alfred looked out the window, noting that the sun was setting.

“Master Bruce,” he said, catching Bruce Wayne’s attention, “I believe it’s about time to send the young sir home.”

Bruce Wayne glanced out the window, “Right, of course. Shall we head out then?”

Damian nodded and followed after them through the maze of a mansion. Outside, a car was already waiting, the same fake mustached man leaning against the car. He waved when he saw the three of them come out and opened the doors with a deep, exaggerated bow. Bruce Wayne looked disapprovingly at him and Alfred simply sighed and chuckled. As Damian got in the car, he glanced up at the man, his mustache slightly askew. Damian raised his eyebrows and mouthed that his mustache was off and the man nodded his thanks as he fixed it. As for why he was even wearing a fake mustache, Damian had no clue.

——————————

Alfred watched the car drive away before hurrying back into the mansion. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time so he quickly gathered the cups from the sitting room and headed down into the cave. He sat at the computer, inputting his access code and swiping a cotton swab across both teacups. Alfred placed the cotton swabs into the compartment to process them. He sat in the chair, waiting for the results, watching the bar fill as the DNA gathered on the swabs was analyzed.

Too soon, the car pulled into the driveway, alerting Alfred to Bruce’s return home. He glanced between the screen with the outdoor cameras and the nearly completed loading screen. As soon as the green bar filled, he printed the result, deleted the history and then logged off before he could see the result and making his way to greet Bruce. Alfred couldn’t tell Bruce unless he was certain about his suspicion.

Later, after Bruce and Tim had left the cave, Alfred carefully brought out the hastily folded paper. Reading over the information given, he sighed deeply, “Master Bruce, what have you done?”

——————————

Damian stared up at his ceiling and sighed heavily. He couldn’t shake that uneasy feeling. Giving up trying to sleep at a reasonable time, he swung his legs over his bed and got dressed. It had been a long time since he had gone out, not since before Aurora was kidnapped in August and October was already half over. The sun had long set over the horizon but Damian was feeling restless after his earlier meeting with Bruce Wayne and Mr. Pennyworth. Why did he care about his family from before? Could they even truly be called that? His grandfather who groomed him to take over the League of Shadows, his mother who trained—more like tortured—him, and his father who Damian had never had so much as a glance at. That couldn’t be family.

As he slipped his shoes on, the foyer light flicked on, “Going somewhere?”

Damian glanced down at his watch, noting the late hour, and then behind him at Janet who looked less than impressed, “Yeah, I shouldn’t be gone long, just want to get some fresh air.”

Janet didn’t move from her spot leaning against the wall as she watched Damian carefully, “You know I gave you a cellphone for a reason, right?”

Damian sighed, “Yes, I do know. I used it, didn’t I?”

Janet pursed her lips as she remembered only a handful of weeks before when Aurora was nearly taken for good, “I want you to use it more. I want updates, ya hear me?”

Damian chuckled as he zipped his coat on, “Yeah, I hear you. I’ll send you a message when I’m on my way, so go to bed, please don’t wait up.”

Janet stood for another long moment before shaking her head and sighing, “I make no promises.”

She stepped quickly and caught Damian in her arms. There was a slight tremor in her embrace that he couldn’t help but notice.

Damian grabbed his bike from the side of the house and headed into town. That uneasy feeling still eating at him. What was it that was making him feel so anxious though? Damian huffed and pushed the bike forward, trying to distract himself from his thoughts.

Once he was in the city, he stored his bike safely, double-checking the lock before he continued. He walked down the street, glancing this way and that, the feeling still there. He could feel it, someone was watching him. He just didn’t know who.

Ignoring the feeling, he continued through the streets. It was Gotham, someone was always watching. Damian walked, watching his breath form clouds in front of him, although it had been a while since he had last gone out, he couldn’t say he didn’t miss it and he could probably use the exercise. He felt stiff. Damian soon found a nice building and scaled it, sitting and looking out at the city.

His thoughts all returned to the same thing: family. When he thought of family, Janet and Aurora and the rest of the kids at the orphanage came to mind, and as if as an afterthought, his mother and grandfather came after. The more his life from before was brought up, the more uncomfortable he became. He felt guilty, mostly to Janet who had been supporting and raising him for nearly eight years and yet she still knew little to nothing about him, not even his real name. Was that really an issue, though? Did Damian have to tell her about his mother?

“Hey, been a while.”

Damian glanced lazily behind him at Robin who sat down beside him but didn’t say anything to the older boy. Damian realized he had to have been sitting for a while, judging by how his fingers had begun to numb from the cool night.

“You seem kinda, I dunno, perturbed?” Robin smiled sheepishly.

Damian chuckled dryly and shook his head, “Kinda.”

Robin watched the younger boy carefully for a long moment, “Why don’t you actually talk about what’s bothering you for once?” Damian considered his proposition for a moment longer than he usually would’ve.

“Were...” he trailed off, resigning himself to the fact he’d probably come to regret saying anything but continued regardless. Maybe talking about it might actually help, “Were your parents good people?”

Damian realized he didn’t know much of anything about Timothy’s parents. Richard Grayson was well-known as to why and how he was adopted by Bruce Wayne and the second son was known to have lived on the streets, abandoned by his own parents, but Timothy’s case wasn’t something Damian ever really thought necessary to look into. He was pretty sure that Timothy’s parents were dead, though.

Robin gave Damian a tight-lipped smile, “I think so.”

Damian let it sink in a moment before turning to the cityscape and standing up before Robin you continue the conversation. He wasn’t fast enough, “And yours?” Robin called out to Damian who had reached the fire escape, “Were they good people?”

Damian glanced over his shoulder to the caped boy, his lips forming a hard line, “No. I don’t think so.”

His thoughts raced in his mind, thinking about his family, his previous one, and his current one. Maybe it was time to tell Janet. If anyone deserved to know who he was and where he came from, it was her.

He decided it was time.

As his thoughts wandered through his mind, much like Damian wandered the streets, police cars with sirens blaring passed him and he watched as they went, a faint outline on the night sky of a boy, Robin no doubt, swinging to another building, chasing after them. Damian watched until they were out of sight before continuing down the road. He walked for another twenty minutes until he came across Mrs. Williams’ store and figured he’d stop in and grab a water or maybe a snack, he’d already stayed out much longer than he had thought and Janet was surely going to give him a stern talking to for staying out so long.

As he made his way across the street, deciding to buy something and head back so he wouldn’t worry Janet, two unnecessarily huge guys entered the store. Damian scoffed and shook his head; just his luck.

As he opened the door, the chirp sounded above his head, alerting to a new customer. Mrs. Williams glanced up to see Damian. “Evening, Mrs. Williams,” Damian nodded to her.

She beamed back at him, “Oh, Damian, I haven’t seen you in ages! Janet keeping you busy?” she chuckled.

“You know it,” he rolled his eyes, the old woman smiling and waving a hand to dismiss him to continue his shopping.

Damian strolled through the aisles, keeping an eye on the two other guys. They didn’t seem to be doing much of anything and Damian was just about to grab some sweets for the kids and head back when one of the guys knocked one of the display stands over.

“Whoops,” he smirked smugly over at Mrs. Williams who didn’t look anything more than annoyed at his behaviour. As the other guy knocked a second stand over, Damian intervened, standing in front of the two men.

“If all you plan on doing is causing a disturbance, I’m going to ask you to leave,” he told the two of them in a threatening voice. Damian could hear Mrs. Williams behind him, telling him to let it go and not get involved. There were only two and, although they did have the advantage of their size, they moved torturously slow. It wasn’t as if Damian hadn’t done this before.

The two thugs looked at each other and then back at Damian before cracking up. Mrs. Williams was visibly worried, but Damian just flashed her a quick, reassuring smile before turning back to the two men in front of him. He had just been thinking about how stiff and out of practice he felt, this was just too perfect an opportunity.

Damian contemplated asking them politely to step outside, but as the two men began to stalk towards him, he figured they’d be led outside much faster if he didn’t. Instead, Damian whipped a packet of skittles at the bald one’s head and sprinted out the door, the angry shouts and footsteps from the two men following quickly after him telling Damian he was right in not asking. Damian turned the corner into an alley and spun around to face the men.

The one with hair flicked out his wrist, a blade glinting in the light, “You’ll pay for that one, boy,” he told Damian in a threatening voice.

Damian smirked and chuckled softly, “For the skittles?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

The man growled lowly and lunged, knife first at Damian who easily dodged his clumsy attack. Damian grabbed the man’s wrist and brought his opposite elbow down, the hand holding the knife going limp and dropping the weapon.

The man with hair cursed at Damian as he turned to the bald one, but as Damian turned, a heavy fist came down to meet his face.

Damian groaned on the ground, it had been a while since he had been hit, especially so hard. He shook his head and attempted to get up as a foot was sent into his side.

“What now, kid?” his voice was muffled, like someone was covering Damian’s ears, “Not so tough now, huh?”

Another kick to the ribs and Damian was sent back, hitting the wall of one of the buildings. His head was ringing as he did all he could to block the strikes but they just kept coming. It felt like nearly forever before they finally left and Damian straightened himself out, everything aching. He groaned and got up on his knee but decided he’d take a moment to rest as he slid down the wall behind him. Damian touched his temple when his vision began to blur, edges fading in and out, and examined his hand with squinted eyes. Blood. Shit.

Damian continued to curse as his eyes got heavy. Footsteps began to come close, but Damian could barely stay conscious.

“Shit,” a low voice groaned above him. Damian did what he could to stay awake, “Let’s get you to a hospital, kid.”

Damian’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest as he grabbed the person’s arms, “No,” he pleaded, his voice awfully pitiful and weak even to himself, “No hospitals.”

The other person cursed again, scooping Damian up as he slipped into unconsciousness.

——————————

Damian woke to the sound of steady beeping and hushed voices. As he cracked an eye open, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at exactly. The place had a ridiculously high ceiling, in fact, the entire room was enormous. Damian glanced around, was it a cave? He looked around some more, noting the many different variations of Batman and Robin uniforms in glass cases.

Damian went to sit up but gasped from the pain in his ribs and chest. He looked down at his dirtied clothes, dried blood on his sweater. Janet’s gonna kill me.

“Oh, shit, B,” the low voice Damian had heard before he passed out said, “He’s awake already.”

As Damian turned towards the voices, he was quickly blocked by the large, looming figure of the Batman who began to carefully examine the boy, shining a light in his eye and telling him to follow it, asking him simple questions like the date, the last thing he remembered and such.

Damian pushed the Bat’s hand away as he tried checking his injuries, “I’m fine, it’s not that big of a deal,” he told the man who just continued to scowl down at him.

Suddenly a finger jabbed into Damian’s ribs, causing him to double over in pain, “Doesn’t look ‘fine’ to me,” the voice sang behind Damian.

He turned, as well as he could with his injuries, and was met with a fully helmeted head.

“Hood, stop that,” Batman scolded the, what was he? A villain? He was known to have killed more than a few people but he was with Batman so what did that make him? Just trying to figure out something simple like that was a pain, literally, Damian thought bitterly as a throbbing began through his head.

The Red Hood put his hands up in defence, “All right, all right, even though I was the one who brought him here,” he grumbled as he busied himself over by the computer.

Batman sighed as he turned back to Damian, “Were you injured anywhere else?”

Damian took a deep breath, trying to focus and assess his injuries himself, “It’s fine, I can handle the rest on my own.”

“No, he can’t!” Red Hood shouted from across the cave.

Damian glared at the back of the red helmet, “Let’s see them then,” Batman said crossing his arms across his chest.

Damian held his gaze for a long moment, waiting for the old man to give in. Finally, Damian caved, “Fine.”

“Atta boy!” Red Hood shouted again, earning a glare from both the Bat and Damian. Red Hood simply shrugged it off and continued to inspect something under a microscope.

Damian sighed and gingerly removed his sweatshirt and shirt, with some help from Batman. After his top was bare, Damian shivered against the cold of the cave. Batman continued to examine the wounds, pressing around the bruises and suspicious lumps that shouldn’t have been there and every so often he’d stop and stare closely certain spots.

After he finished examining Damian, Batman bandaged Damian up and watched as he delicately pulled his sweater over his head. Once Damian was fully clothed again, he looked over at Batman, “Thank you,” he nodded to him and turned to Red Hood, “And thank you, for not leaving me in the alley and not bringing me to the hospital.”

Although Damian couldn’t see, he assumed Red Hood was smiling as he walked over to Damian and ruffled his hair, “No problemo, little dude.”

Damian hopped off the medical bed and shook his legs out a bit to get blood flowing a bit and feeling back in them before turning back to the Bat, “You uh, wouldn’t mind giving me the directions out of here, would you?”

Batman stared at Damian before moving to the Batmobile and getting in. When Damian didn’t follow, Batman grunted, “I’ll give you a ride.”

Damian glanced at Red Hood who shrugged and turned back around. Damian sighed and made his way to the vehicle, aware of the aching in his left leg, now that the feeling had come back, where a bruise was surely blooming beautifully.

Damian watched out the window as the Bat drove through the streets of Gotham. Batman forced Damian to wear a blindfold while they were leaving to protect the location of the cave and neither had spoken since.

Batman cleared his throat, “So,” he started awkwardly, “those scars...”

Damian was confused for a moment before he realized he had seen the scars that littered the boy’s body. He looked out the window, uncomfortable, “What about them.”

“Where did you get them?” he asked gently. Damian realized he wasn’t using his normal, gravelly Batman voice, but something closer to his Bruce Wayne voice. Damian didn’t feel any more comforted by it.

“Training,” he stated flatly.

Batman clearly didn’t like his answer, “Who trained you?”

It was something he had been asked before, “My mother.”

There was a tick in the Bat’s jaw, “Your mother gave you those scars?”

“Yes,” Damian looked back out the window.

Batman was silent again for a moment, and then he asked something Damian never planned on telling him, “Who is she?”

Damian snapped his head towards the man driving, “What’s with all the questions?”

Batman didn’t look at him, nor did he make any move, he just kept driving, “It’s not exactly a common thing for mothers to do, scar their own children. And with such deep wounds too.”

Damian shook his head and returned to gazing out the window, “She wasn’t like other mothers.”

“Clearly,” the Bat muttered. “Who is she?” he asked again, this time with more force, as he pulled up to the orphanage.

“No one,” Damian said opening the door of the Batmobile, “She died.”

Damian pushed the door closed and walked up to the front door as the Batmobile sped off back through the city. Damian sighed and opened the door, immediately attacked. Trembling arms held him tight, too tight for Damian who was wounded all over. He winced and Janet released him from her embrace.

“Damian, what the hell!” she shouted, wiping a stray tear from her eyes, “Where were you? Why are you so beat up?”

Damian chuckled and took her hand, “It’s all right, Janet, I’m fine, I just ran into some no-goods at Mrs. Williams’ store and I got a little overwhelmed,” he told her.

Janet was definitely not all right, “Where’s your phone,” she demanded angrily.

As realization rushed over him, Damian hung his head, “I’m so sorry, Janet, I completely forgot,” he groaned.

Janet took his face in her hands and began to inspect him, gently touching his bruises and the bandage on his head. “Next time you do this,” she started seriously, “I will call the cops. And I won’t bail you out.”

Damian laughed until he winced from the pain, “Got it.”

——————————

Bruce removed his cowl after returning from dropping Damian off and sighed, “Long night, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked, handing a steaming cup to him.

“Man, it was nonstop action, huh?” Tim sighed loudly from his spot at the Batcomputer.

Alfred eyed Tim carefully before turning his back to him, facing Bruce fully and lowering his voice, “Master Bruce, I have some... Concerns.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow at the tone of his butler but nodded and followed after him quickly.

Once they reached the study and closed the door, Bruce turned to Alfred, “What’s wrong?”

Alfred gave Bruce a look that the detective couldn’t decipher before handing a piece of paper over to him. Bruce scanned the document, stopped, and read it again. Then read it once more, just to be sure.

“Alfred,” he started, “This says that—”

“Yes, Master Bruce,” Alfred interrupted, “I checked it myself.”

Bruce fell back into the chair behind him, staring blankly at the paper, “But then who—”

“I was hoping you could enlighten me,” Alfred interrupted again. He watched Bruce carefully, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Damian is my son?”

——————————

I uhhhh I don’t have words... I’m not dead? Yet? Idk, it took way too long but the next part shouldn’t be too far behind.

#im not dead #yet #...again #fanfic #damian wayne #bruce wayne #batman #alfred pennyworth #tim drake #robin #jason todd #red hood #batfam #batfamily #my fic

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blossom-hwa · 4 years

Text

Leave an Angel - JENO

i fucking deleted the original post i’m so fucking stupid

YES I know it’s been MONTHS since I updated this series but inspiration is very fickle and it seems to have finally hit!

Thank you to those who keep reading this series and sending me beautiful messages about it - you all really, truly are the reason why I find the strength to continue this. In particular thank you @hyucksong for your lovely comments on Believe a Demon - your words helped inspire me to continue Jeno’s story! And of course, thank you @chenle for allowing me to use her guardian devil idea that sparked this series! if you want to read it, here it is!

Pairing: Jeno x fem!reader

Genre: angst, fluff, angel/demon!au

Triggers: death, cancer (not as much as in “Love a Demon” though)

Notes: reading the other stories aren’t necessary to understanding this story - however, it might be helpful to read “Love a Demon,” and the other member’s stories are mentioned here as well, so reading the other parts will shed some more light on the series as a whole.

Word Count: 9.5k

Loving a demon comes at a price.

NCT Masterlist | Angels and Demons

You really aren’t doing anything, just leaning against a shelf of CDs, eyes closed, head bobbing slightly to the beat of the song playing in your brother’s shop. And yet Jeno can’t take his eyes off of you.

A new assignment. You shouldn’t be anything to Jeno but a simple star imprinted into his left wrist, someone he has to save when the time comes. But you might be one of the most simplistically beautiful people Jeno has ever seen, and that makes you dangerous.

Maybe not dangerous in the traditional sense. You (probably) won’t come at him with a knife or gun, but even if you did, Jeno could easily fight you off. No, feelings are far more dangerous than any weapon. Look at what happened to Chenle. Maybe the fallen angel is happy now, but at what cost?

Jeno is happy now. He will not make things more complicated because of strange feelings. He’ll do his duty, and that includes knowing your face so he can save you when the time comes.

He’s not stalking you. He really isn’t, or so he tells himself. Sure, you can’t see him – no one can, he’s made himself invisible – and he’s watching you, but it’s all for his job. It’s all because you’re his assignment.

The tiny voice in the back of his head says otherwise, though.

Scowling slightly, Jeno wills his thoughts to go away. You are an assignment, nothing more, nothing less. He now knows what you look like. Now he can save you when needed.

He takes one last look at your pretty face and then leaves, disappearing in a flash of light.

. . . . .

When the star first burns on Jeno’s wrist, he doesn’t wait. Years of practice have honed the instinct and in less than a second, he’s disappearing from his conversation with Renjun into a shower of light.

Immediately, he homes in on your stunned face and the huge block falling from the crane overhead. His arm stretches out to grab your limp hand and pull you to safety –

But someone gets there first. Someone he never thought he’d see again.

What is he doing here?

But there are too many people around to ask questions, and based off of your clear, confused eyes, you’re an exception, which just makes everything worse. So he beckons to Jaemin, all the while avoiding his gaze as much as possible, and reappears in a small alleyway.

You and Jaemin materialize into existence less than a second later. The demon wastes no time. “What are you doing here?” he yells.

“She’s my assignment, what about you?” Jeno snaps. His gaze locks on Jaemin’s hand still holding yours and a wave of bitter jealousy crashes through his chest.

Your hand shouldn’t be in Jaemin’s. It should be in his. You’re Jeno’s assignment, not Jaemin’s.

The lack of response from Jaemin brings a smug smile to Jeno’s lips and he looks up again, ready to berate Jaemin for interfering in matters that don’t belong to him. But Jaemin’s eyes are filled with confusion, not venom, so Jeno closes his mouth, equally confused.

“How can she be your assignment when she’s mine?”

“Stop lying,” Jeno retorts automatically, but Jaemin’s demeanor makes him pause. Years spent in heaven together have given Jeno a window into Jaemin’s character and he can easily tell when the demon is lying.

There are no indications of untruth in Jaemin’s expression and Jeno’s stomach flips. How can any of this be possible? There’s never been any account of a human having more than one guardian, so assuming Jaemin’s telling the truth, how can Jeno be your guardian as well?

“No lie, Jael.” Jaemin’s smirk makes Jeno want to slap him. Gone is any hint of warmth in his expression, any clue that the two of them used to be best friends. A pang hits Jeno’s heart but Jaemin’s next words push it away.

“Lost your touch? Can’t tell when I’m lying or not anymore?”

That hurts. And maybe it shouldn’t hurt that much, to hear Jaemin taunt him and call him by his God-given name, but it does. Jeno’s scowl deepens.

“Don’t call me that,” he snarls. “You don’t deserve to.”

“Um, guys?” Your small voice cuts into their argument, diffusing some of the tension beginning to build. Jeno looks over and immediately feels guilty when he sees your white knuckles clutching your bag and the cautious confusion in your eyes. “What… what’s going on?”

Jeno sneaks a look at Jaemin. Who will be the one to explain?

“I saw the block falling… and then someone pulled me away? Who was it?”

The green jealousy wraps around Jeno’s heart again. He wishes he could say it was him, but he isn’t a liar. So he only watches with narrowed eyes as Jaemin claims responsibility.

Your soft smile eases some of the bitterness Jeno feels, even though it’s mostly directed at Jaemin. He almost finds himself relaxing until you utter your last three words, smiling at Jaemin.

“I owe you.”

Jeno clenches his fist. He can’t stay quiet any longer. “No, you don’t,” he snaps. “It was his job.”

“Job?” You look very lost, once again.

Jeno ignores the murderous look Jaemin throws at him. “Why do you ruin everything, Ja – Jeno? Now we have to tell her!”

He flinches. He tries not to. But somehow, Jaemin not using his God-given name hurts a little more than him using it.

Why did he say anything? He promised himself not to get involved in any sort of feelings with you, but here he is, saying stupid things because for once, he can’t keep his mouth shut. Still, he has to maintain a façade. So he only shrugs slightly.

“We’re…” Jaemin sighs. “Well, he’s a guardian angel.” He jerks a thumb sharply at Jeno. “And, um, I’m a demon. A guardian demon.”

Silence.

“Angels and demons exist?”

“Yes, they do.” Jeno flashes a tiny smirk at Jaemin, who curbs his annoyance, but not quickly enough for Jeno to not notice. A rush of mean satisfaction runs down Jeno’s spine.

“I’ve never heard of a guardian demon before,” you murmur, looking between the two boys. Your gaze lingers a bit longer on Jaemin. Jeno tries not to be annoyed.

“Well, now you have.” Jaemin laughs a little.

It’s too hard to not be annoyed. Jeno allows the feelings to flood through him, tired of keeping them at bay. He glares at his former best friend.

“So I have a guardian angel and a guardian demon?” you ask. Jeno’s annoyance fades away, replaced with concern for you. You’re taking it surprisingly well, however. “How come I’ve never seen either of you until now?”

“Well, technically you’re only supposed to have one.” Jeno grimaces. “Either an angel or a demon. But I guess the universe screwed up this time,” he continues, emphasizing the words “screwed up.” The look he sends Jaemin is nothing less than poisonous. “And we only appear when you’re in a life or death situation, like just now.”

Slowly, you nod. “Interesting,” you mumble. “Well, it was nice meeting you…?”

Names. You want names. Jeno panics for a second, instinctively glancing at Jaemin. They come to a wordless agreement before tearing their eyes away.

“Jaemin.”

“Jeno.”

“It was nice meeting you, Jaemin and Jeno.” You bow slightly to them both, the sweet smile back on your face. “I’ll leave now.” You begin to turn around, then turn back again. “Thank you for saving my life.”

Jeno wishes the smile you flash Jaemin was directed at him.

“The pleasure was all mine.” Jaemin’s smile is soft, so soft. Jeno hates him for it. “Try not to get into too much trouble.”

Jeno’s eye twitches and he misses your reply. It doesn’t matter. Once you’re gone, the tension thickens exponentially again as he stares into the eyes of the demon he used to call his best friend.

“Of course if the universe screwed up, it’d have to put me with you,” Jeno spits, allowing all the bitter loathing in his heart to coat his voice.

“You think this is any fun for me?” Jaemin crosses his arms, any hint of a smile gone.

There’s no point arguing. If they’re going to be paired up to save your life, Jeno’s going to see Jaemin’s face way more than he wants to (which is not at all). Better to just leave now, before he does something rash that will merit punishment.

He disappears, childishly hoping the resultant flash of light will blind Jaemin.

. . . . .

It happens at first by chance. Jeno’s walking around on earth, trying to enjoy the sunshine on his face. Renjun isn’t here at the moment, a fact that he’s secretly quite relieved about. The angel has only become more overbearing since Chenle fell.

Though Jeno sympathizes with Renjun – after all, he’s the only one who knows Renjun’s entire story – he feels for Chenle too. He misses the younger angel and his dolphin laugh, even though instances of the high-pitched screeches had all but died away during the years after their original group split up. Still, seeing Chenle’s smile used to be one of the high points in his day, after Renjun almost stopped smiling completely.

So Jeno tries to enjoy the day and take some comfort in the healthy aliveness of the city around him. All around him are people who are living their lives, blissfully ignorant of the turbulent worlds beyond their comprehension.

In a small part of his heart, Jeno aches to return to that simpler time. He doesn’t regret staying in heaven. Renjun needs him and in a way, Jeno needs Renjun just as much. But sometimes, ignorance really is bliss.

He tries to shake off these heavy thoughts that contrast so darkly with the bright sunshine of the day, but something just feels… off. Like something will go wrong. Jeno attempts a smile in the hopes that faking happiness will bring the true emotion, drifting his gaze to the shops that line the streets.

Then he scowls. Any tinge of happiness he felt disappears.

Of course Jaemin would appear to ruin his day.

Mumbling apologies to those who bump into him, Jeno turns and starts walking in the opposite direction, stopping in front of a shop window full of CDs and albums. Inside, he sees Jaemin smiling at someone.

As he peers in as surreptitiously as he can, he realizes that that someone is you.

If there was anything in his hands, Jeno would have crushed it with how hard he’s clenching his fists right now. What is Jaemin doing? Exception or no, he shouldn’t be seeing you unless he’s attempting to protect you. And as far as Jeno can see, there’s nothing life-threatening in your way at the moment.

Through the window, he watches Jaemin say something. You laugh in response. Jeno’s teeth clench with his fists, inordinately annoyed at the scene in front of him.

It’s just because Jaemin isn’t following the damn rules, he tells himself bitterly. Stupid demons and their blatant disregard for the established rules surrounding interaction with humans. Look at Haechan. Then Mark. And now Jaemin too?

Feelings are such a messy topic, Jeno thinks in disgust. He should go. This isn’t any of his business. Let Jaemin be punished for whatever he’s doing – Jeno may resent Lucifer, but he does mete punishment fairly.

But he stays. Something roots him in place in front of the shop window, watching your interaction with Jaemin. And the longer he stays, the more his chest tightens.

It’s just annoyance, he tells himself as he finally walks away. Nothing more, nothing less. He has no feelings for you. It’s just annoyance and anger at Jaemin.

Still, the voice in the back of his mind tells him otherwise.

Shut up, he tells the voice.

His mind responds with an image of your laughing eyes and smiling face.

. . . . .

So what if Jeno returns to earth more and more often these days? Renjun might question it, but Jeno just tells him he needs to get out of heaven. The ever-present brilliant, white purity gets stifling.

The excuse, for the most part, is true. Especially after recent events, Jeno finds himself feeling a little trapped within heaven’s bright clouds. But that still doesn’t explain why Jeno consistently returns to the same place every time he descends.

There’s a little café next door to your music shop. Over a couple of weeks, he learns that the shop belongs to your brother, and you merely help there part-time. In front of the café, there are a few small tables and Jeno often sits there, absently sipping at a cup of coffee.

It feels a little stalker-ish. He doesn’t talk to you like Jaemin does, but he tries not to watch you too obviously either. He doesn’t exactly know what he’s doing there. All he knows is that seeing your smile and hearing your voice, even if they aren’t directed at him, make him feel a little happier every day.

But his blood boils whenever he watches Jaemin enter the shop with a cup of coffee, exiting with your hand in his and sweet words on his lips.

What is Jaemin doing? Jeno wonders. Is he hoping to form a relationship with you? Surely even he wouldn’t be that stupid? That would just hurt you in the end.

This is why Jeno avoids feelings, tries to keep everything professional. Because if he doesn’t, he could just end up in the same sticky situation he is sure Jaemin will end up in. He’s not blind. He sees Jaemin’s small winces when you hit his arm a little too hard, sees the bright red markings on his skin where his shirt dips a little too low in the back. Lucifer is punishing him, definitely.

He doesn’t feel any satisfaction, though. Maybe Jaemin is getting what he deserves, but he just keeps coming back like a fool. If anything, he feels anger. Frustration. When will Jaemin learn that actions have consequences? His actions will only end up hurting himself. And more importantly, they will only end up hurting you.

So he corners Jaemin one day. He ignores Jaemin’s yelp of surprise when he grabs his shoulder, ignores the small wince of pain and look of loathing Jaemin flashes his way. Schooling his features into a cold glare, he snaps, “Leave her alone.”

Jaemin’s features set into ice. “And why should I?”

“You’re corrupting her,” Jeno snaps. “And you’re not supposed to be with her, exception or no.”

He can tell he’s hit a nerve and that just infuriates him even more. Jaemin knows what the consequences of his actions could be – he just doesn’t care.

“Too bad I’ve never quite been one for rules, though, Jael.” Jaemin’s lighthearted tone is forced and he refuses to look into Jeno’s eyes. It’s all Jeno can do to not smack the younger demon in the face and force him to make eye contact. “And corrupting? I think that’s a bit of a strong word, don’t you think?”

“Clearly not if I just used it,” Jeno spits. “I choose my words carefully, unlike you.”

A beat of silence. Then – “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Jeno lets out a carefully measured sigh, biting back his instinct to just punch Jaemin in his stupid face. Ignoring all of the passerby’s looks, he grabs Jaemin harshly and forces the demon to face him. “What do you think you’re doing?” Jeno hisses. “Telling her sweet words, making promises you can’t keep, revealing everything? She’s a human, she’s your assignment, for heaven’s sake. All you’re doing is hurting her!”

His outburst leaves him breathless. He has so much more to say and he almost spits it all out, but he forces himself to shut up.

Jaemin fights to maintain a neutral expression. “If I didn’t know better,” he responds coolly, “I’d think you cared for her.” He raises an eyebrow. “But we both know that isn’t true, right?”

Jeno wants to slap the smirk off of Jaemin’s lips, even as the demon turns to walk away.

“I may not be able to stop you,” Jeno warns, “but your kind most certainly can.”

He sees Jaemin’s jaw clench, but he doesn’t look back.

Jeno remains there for some time, gazing into the shop window and watching you help customers with that bright smile on your face. Something in his heart aches a little.

It doesn’t matter. Jeno turns around, looking for a quiet place where he can disappear without notice.

You don’t deserve for Jaemin to break your heart. You don’t deserve the pain he or Jaemin will bring.

As he disappears into light, Jeno promises himself that he will help you live as long as you can.

No matter what.

. . . . .

Several months after your first meeting, Jeno finally musters up the courage to visit you under the pretense of making sure you’re okay. Your most recent brush with death, an encounter with an armed man in a dark alley at night, left you very shaken and truly, Jeno feels bad enough for you that he’s willing to break the rules of heaven and hell to make sure you’re alright.

“Jeno!” you exclaim as he walks through the doors. For a moment, Jeno contemplates running away. The full force of your bright countenance is almost too much for him to handle.

He steels himself. He came to see you and ensure that you’re alright. He broke rules to come here. So instead of bolting, Jeno gives you a small smile. “Hello, Y/N.”

A short bout of silence hangs in the air as the two of you simply look at each other. Jeno starts to feel a little uncomfortable. Who knows what Jaemin’s told you about him, or even about angels in general? What if you already hate him?

The thought of that hurts a little more than he thought it would.

But your smile doesn’t fade. If anything, it becomes gentler as Jeno’s discomfort grows.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Jeno finally blurts out. “You looked a little shaken up last time. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”

Pain flashes across your eyes for a moment, and then it clears. “It’s alright.” You look down for second, then grin brightly at him. “Besides, I have you and Jaemin to protect me, don’t I?”

Well, yes, you do. Until some predetermined point.

A point that Jeno is more than willing to push back for you.

“Yes,” is all he replies. “Did…” He trails off. He wants badly to ask if Jaemin has already come by to comfort you, but that’s a dumb question. Of course he has. He wouldn’t have waited several days, unlike Jeno.

“Hm?” You look at him questioningly.

“Never mind.” Jeno shakes his head. “I just came to make sure you were all right, and you seem to be fine.” He does his best to smile, turning to leave.

“Would you mind staying a little longer?”

He freezes in place. Why would you ask that?

“I just…” Jeno turns back around to see you playing with your fingers. “I’m very curious about this whole angels and demons thing. Jaemin’s told me some of it, but I’ve only ever gotten his point of view. I want to know what you think, as an angel.”

If he stays, he will be a hypocrite. He will be doing just what he berated Jaemin for doing – for breaking the rules, speaking to you, telling you about his world.

But at least he isn’t whispering sweet nothings in your ear. At least he isn’t giving anything but rote information, not giving into the fluttering feelings in his chest. He might even be helping you by giving you another point of view to see things from.

“Sure.”

This time, the smile on his face is real.

. . . . .

Jeno hands you your cup of coffee across the table. With the sun so bright, the two of you are sitting across from each other in a darker corner of the café. The air conditioning is blissfully cool against Jeno’s skin.

“So what do you want to know?” Jeno asks to start the conversation.

“Tell me about fate.” Your face turns serious. “I know what demons believe – or at least I know what Jaemin believes.” You gaze at him intently. “I want to know what you believe.”

Jeno swallows, wondering how best to express himself. Several seconds pass, then he opens his mouth to speak.

“Fate exists. It is real,” he begins carefully. “But as an angel, I believe fate can be changed. Who says that the universe has to set the future in absolute stone? No one knows.”

Your gaze, steady in his, gives him the courage to continue. “I don’t believe in unnecessary tampering with fate. But I don’t think it’s quite fair that some die so early, when they have their entire lives ahead of themselves, while others who are far less deserving are allowed to enjoy life for so much longer.” He takes a sip from his cup. “Demons will tell you that it is not our duty to meddle with fate, that the universe has a balance we cannot upset. However, if someone deserves to live longer, I can’t stand idly by. I will do my best to help them enjoy the gift of life for longer.”

You nod slowly. “I see.”

“That’s my view.” Jeno attempts to smile. “I think I’m correct. I think the demons are very wrong, so I can’t get along with them. But…” He swallows. It’s hard to get the next words out, but he manages. “People are not all the same. In fact, not all of us angels agree on things completely. Some angels I know don’t believe in fate at all. So if someone else has another view, they are not necessarily wrong. Merely… different. Different from me.”

If Renjun could hear him now, he’d probably give Jeno the cold shoulder for a week. But Renjun isn’t here, and for once, Jeno is free to express the thoughts he’s kept buried in his mind since the first day someone shook up his thoughts.

“Why did you want to ask me about this, anyway?” Jeno looks at you curiously. “I would’ve thought Jaemin would tell you all you wanted to know.” He’s not sure if he’s successful at keeping all the bitterness out of his tone.

You purse your lips. “I like to hear all sides of a story,” you finally reply. “In order to form an opinion, one must always hear all views, no? Your beliefs are as important as Jaemin’s, and even though Jaemin might do well in summarizing the way you think, you do much better explaining because you know yourself.”

He feels oddly touched at that, touched that you trust him enough to listen to his opinion. His heart beats a little faster.

“I’m glad you trust me enough to talk to me.” Jeno smiles softly.

“I’m glad I have someone else to speak to,” you reply.

Jeno’s eyebrows furrow at that. “I thought Jaemin might give you plenty to talk about.”

A pensive look stretches across your face. “Jaemin is lovely.” You smile, though it’s a bit more reserved than before. “But like I said, he only expresses one set of beliefs.” Your smile turns sadder. “And to form an opinion on this… matter… is very important to me.”

Worry furrows Jeno’s eyebrows even further as he carefully takes in your appearance. He didn’t quite notice it before, but your eye bags are a little darker, your face paler. Is he just imagining it? Or are you really sick?

And if you are sick, is it life-threatening?

A stone drops in Jeno’s stomach. Jeno can attempt to prolong lives through many means – carrying someone out of a fire, blocking a knife, pulling them back from tipping over a bridge. But terminal illness?

That isn’t something he can easily help.

You place your hand over Jeno’s, jerking him out of his thoughts. “I’m fine,” you murmur, answering his unspoken question. You smile gently as though to prove it, though Jeno still isn’t fully convinced. “Thank you for talking with me.” Your smile grows wider. “I know you’re a little more of a rule-follower than Jaemin is, but if you ever want to come over to visit or anything, the shop is always open to you.”

Jeno blushes a little. “Thank you,” he murmurs.

. . . . .

He doesn’t expect to be cornered later that week but Jaemin exists to surprise him. Jeno is lying down in a small, secluded park, staring at the sky when Jaemin yells. “Jael!”

Jeno already knows this can’t be good when he stands, turning around, to see Jaemin’s snarl.

“What do you want?” Jeno snaps. Trust a demon to ruin his day, he thinks.

Jaemin’s eyes flash with fire and pain. “So you told me to stay away from Y/N,” he hisses, “but then you go and tell her a bunch of crap about me, right?” He heaves a breath. “Hypocrite, much?”

A bunch of crap? Jeno thinks that’s a little unfair. Though he did express his own perspective as an angel, nowhere did he outright bash Jaemin for his beliefs. Staring into the demon’s eyes, though, Jeno thinks maybe you didn’t get to tell that part. Because clearly the two of you talked.

Jaemin’s always been a hot-blooded one.

“What is wrong with you?!” The wind starts picking up on Jaemin’s anger, swirling leaves about their feet. He doesn’t even seem to notice. “What is your problem? I get that you hate me and I do too but for fuck’s sake, I would never purposely try to ruin your happiness!”

His happiness. You are Jaemin’s happiness. His joy. His love.

Something sinks in Jeno’s chest.

“So you admit it, then?” Jeno finally asks, his quiet voice a sharp contrast to Jaemin’s barbed tones. “You admit that she’s your happiness?”

The wind grows stronger, but Jeno holds his ground, staring into Jaemin’s conflicted eyes. He wonders briefly why he doesn’t loudly proclaim his love for you.

Then he knows.

Despite Jaemin’s hot blood and quick temper, he’s also very sensitive to emotion. At this point, there’s no way he hasn’t picked up on Jeno’s feelings for you.

And even though there are years of hatred between the two, Jeno knows that Jaemin wouldn’t be able to stomach gloating in front of him, not with so many emotions involved.

There’s no resentment left in Jeno. After years of people leaving him, after years of reflection, Jeno can’t bring himself to hate someone for feeling love. His hatred led to Haechan’s departure with Mark and Jaemin and Jisung. Then Chenle. Years of hurt suddenly manifest in Jeno’s chest and the pressure makes him want to collapse, but he forces himself to remain standing.

No, he won’t condemn feelings. He’ll just make sure those feelings are healthy. That you’ll be good for each other.

And right now, Jeno isn’t so sure Jaemin is performing to his expectations.

He studiously avoids Jaemin’s gaze as he disappears into a flash of light.

. . . . .

It takes weeks for the urge to build up again, enough so that Jeno takes action. He’s very good at suppressing his own feelings, and usually they don’t bother him again once he’s ignored them for long enough. But the urge to visit you only grows stronger, bit by bit, until it’s so strong that Jeno can’t ignore it any longer. Against his better judgement, he touches down in front of your shop and enters the door.

He can’t see you, though he thinks he hears your voice in the back room. Awkwardly, he stands by a rack of CDs and waits. The wait gives him some time to think.

Jeno likes you. That much is obvious, even to himself, and he can’t deny it any longer. What else could explain the urge to break the rules and visit you? What else could explain the stuttering of his heart and the burst of happiness in his chest whenever he sees you smile?

So maybe Jeno has less-than-neutral feelings for you, something he never thought would happen. A little burst of annoyed shame colors his cheeks slightly. He used to berate Jaemin for going against the rules and falling for a human, and now he’s done the same.

In his defense, though, he isn’t acting on the feelings. The most he’s doing is making sure you’re okay. No teasing words, no flirtatious smiles. No empty promises.

But none of that matters, does it? It isn’t like being a gentleman will win you over. It’s already very clear that Jaemin has your heart, and even though Jeno would dearly like to compete, loyalty to heaven and concern for you prevent him from doing so. He won’t make himself happy at the cost of his wings and your smile.

Lost in thought, Jeno nearly misses you coming out of the back room. He only notices when you call out his name, eagerly heading toward him. He gives you a small smile and a wave before his eyes widen in shock.

If you were pale last time, your skin has now taken on a bit of a sickly tinge. The bags under your eyes are gone, but Jeno can see the foundation cracking slightly where they would be. The sparkle in your eyes is still there, but barely present, and your smile seems a little forced.

Quickly, he looks down at his wrist at your star. Only then does he realize how pale it’s become.

His heart drops.

“Are you alright?” Jeno asks, almost reaching out a hand to touch your face. He quickly stops himself.

He knows it’s bad when you don’t even deny it. “I don’t think so.” Your lips sag into a half-smile. “Haven’t gotten any diagnosis yet, but I don’t think it’s going to be good.”

“Sit down,” Jeno instructs, heading over to a small bench beside a shelf of albums. Quietly, you sit. Jeno takes his place beside you.

“You knew,” he starts. “You knew the last time we talked.”

You shake your head slightly. “I didn’t know at the time. I suspected it though.” You bring a hand to your heart. “Sometimes you just… feel things. You know?”

Jeno does know. He nods. “Have you told Jaemin yet?”

The question burns on his teeth and tongue as the words leave his mouth, but he needs to know if Jaemin is still following his heart. What if that weakens you further? Emotional tolls can lead to physical degradation, and Jeno doesn’t want any of that to happen to you, even if Jaemin might make you happy.

You shake your head. “No. I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

The answer surprises him. He knows the two of you spoke at least once after you met with him, and that the conversation might have led to a quasi-fight. But the fact that you haven’t told Jaemin of your condition and the fact that he hasn’t come by in weeks speaks volumes.

Did his words have that much of an effect on the two of you? The thought should make Jeno feel some mean happiness, but he only feels slightly sick.

“He knows we met.” You turn your clear eyes to Jeno again. “I told him a little bit of what you said. It’s partly my fault – I was a little upset at him so he left. He just… didn’t come back.”

“That’s… that’s not right,” Jeno whispers. He shakes his head. “I met with him after you talked, I guess.” He grimaces a little at the memory. “He wasn’t very… happy?”

You snort without mirth. “I didn’t tell him because at the time, I wasn’t sure of anything. But I think he does suspect something’s up.”

Jeno sighs. “I’m sorry if my words made things difficult between you two.”

“Don’t be.” You touch his arm softly. “You told the truth, which was what I needed most. I needed your words. I just… I guess Jaemin assumed you’d talked shit or something, and I didn’t get the chance to tell him you didn’t.” You look down again. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right.” Jeno smiles down at you, then notes the time. “I should probably go now, but please get some rest. Even if nothing’s official yet, I don’t want you – I mean, you shouldn’t get hurt.”

You thank Jeno with the gentlest look in your eyes. The look stays in his mind as he leaves the shop, giving him the determination to do what he must. Even if he hates it.

. . . . .

He scours the world to find Jaemin and finally finds the demon taking a walk along a quiet beach. Clenching his fists and jaw, Jeno touches down in front of him, making Jaemin yelp in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” Jaemin finally asks after a long period of silence.

Anger boils in Jeno’s chest. “Y/N told me you haven’t been to see her in weeks.”

More silence.

“So you’re still visiting her?” Jaemin asks, looking something between furious and resigned.

“That’s what you’re fixated on?” Jeno yells. “She’s sick and needs you by her side and that’s what you’re fixated on?”

Jaemin’s eyes widen. “She’s sick?” he whispers.

“You dense piece of shit.” Jeno kicks up sand out of frustration. “She’s waiting for you! She needs you!”

“I thought she hated me,” Jaemin murmurs, more to himself than to Jaemin.

If you could see the look in her eyes when she spoke of you, you would know she definitely doesn’t hate you, Jaemin.

“Cut the bullshit.” Jeno roughly shakes Jaemin’s shoulders. “Go back to Y/N. Comfort her. Do your best to keep her happy. You hear me?” He shakes him again. “Do you?”

Jaemin pulls away. “So you don’t make her happy?”

Jeno swallows. “Not the way you do.”

The tension in the air thickens.

“Sorry,” Jaemin mumbles.

Hearing Jaemin apologize does something to Jeno’s heart. It doesn’t flip-flop, but it stutters bit little. It feels a little warm. He looks at Jaemin with less venom in his expression.

“Don’t be,” he replies brusquely, even though he still hurts. “I care about her. Not about you.” He stares right into Jaemin’s eyes. “Go back to her, or I’ll hunt you down.”

Jaemin nods, then disappears into his shadow. Jeno stays for a little while longer, mulling over his own thoughts. In the end, one goal emerges.

Jaemin may make you happy. But Jaemin is a demon. He believes in predestined fate, in letting the universe work out the way it wants.

Jeno is an angel. He believes you deserve a longer life.

So even though Jaemin may be your happiness, Jeno will do all he can to keep you alive as long as possible.

Just so you can feel happy longer.

. . . . .

Jeno visits you a little more often, but always avoids Jaemin to the best of his ability. He manipulates the doctors at the hospital you end up at, pays for some of your bills, gets you moved into one of the nicest wards at the facility. He may not know anything about medicine, but he can pay your bills and get you the best treatment.

But it irks him that Jaemin does nothing. He brings you snacks and books, but where is his dedication to keeping you alive? Jeno understands that Jaemin is a demon, but surely your love won’t prevent him from wanting you to live?

“Jaoel,” he calls out on one particularly bad day. His bad mood is half the reason why he won’t call Jaemin by his human name. Jaemin’s walking out of the hospital when he hears Jeno. No one else is around.

“Who’s the one that didn’t want me calling them by their God-given name?” Jaemin mocks.

Jeno bites down on his lip and prays to the heavens for patience. Anger and impatience and sorrow and terror roil in his mind, condensing into one single thought.

“Are you really going to let her die?”

The wind starts to pick up, but this time, it isn’t because of Jaemin. It’s because of Jeno. Flecks of dirt and small pebbles start to rise around their feet but he can’t find it in himself to care.

Because the hopelessness at possibly losing you is far more important to him now than anything else in the world.

“Don’t you dare,” Jaemin whispers.

“Don’t I dare what, Jaoel?” Jeno steps forward. “Tell me. Don’t. I. Dare. What?”

Silence, save for the whistling of the wind.

“You’re not the only one who loves her, you know,” Jeno hisses.

“And you’re not the person who knows best for her!” Jaemin yells.

“And are you, Jaemin? ARE YOU?!”

Because at least Jeno’s trying. He can’t see any of that effort from Jaemin.

“No,” Jaemin snaps, “but I know that she doesn’t deserve to suffer even more than she already has.” Pain clouds his eyes. “Would you really want her to suffer like this?” he murmurs, turning away.

That last action, Jaemin turning away, sets Jeno off. “Do you really love her if you would let her go so easily?” Jeno finally spits, giving voice to the thoughts ricocheting through his mind at the speed of light. “Is that really love, Jaoel, is that all she’s worth to you?”

Jaemin spins around. “Don’t you dare insinuate that I want her to die!”

“If you truly loved her, you’d want her to live as long as possible!” Jeno yells.

“And this is what I hate about you angels!” Jaemin screams. “You always think everything can be perfect, but it can’t. Nothing can be perfect! No one, just because they are who they are, can live longer or shorter than they are supposed to! You can’t decide that!”

“And look at you.” Jeno’s chest is heaving with all the pain he feels in his heart. “All high and mighty because you think you’re doing the right thing. But should some lives not be preserved for as long as possible?” Tears threaten to slip out of Jeno’s eyes but he holds them back with herculean effort. “You can’t tell me you don’t believe she deserves it. No, not even her – you can’t tell me you’ve never met a single person who deserved to live longer than they did!”

The ache in Jeno’s heart feels stronger, heavier than ever. If he was ever in doubt of it, he is sure now.

He, Lee Jeno, Jaoel, angel of God, is in love with you. And it hurts to know that you will never love him back. That your affectionate eyes will never gaze upon him with anything more than friendship, that your gentle touches will never mean anything more than small comfort.

If anyone deserves to live longer, Jeno thinks, it is you. He can’t understand why Jaemin doesn’t see that.

“Do you think I want her to die?” Jaemin’s whisper carries like a gunshot. “Do you really think I want her to die?”

No. Jeno doesn’t. But he thinks Jaemin’s actions say otherwise.

“Life is only precious because there is death. The only thing people can do is treasure life as long as they have it.” Jaemin swallows, and for the first time, Jeno sees the glimmer of a tear in Jaemin’s eyes.

“Then shouldn’t people have it longer?” he whispers.

“If that is so, Jael, then why aren’t humans immortal?”

Jaemin’s next words strike Jeno straight in the heart.

“Part of loving someone is knowing when you must let them go.”

. . . . .

Renjun’s waiting for Jeno when he returns to heaven with an uncharacteristically blank look on his face. He says nothing when Jeno greets him, only looks at him, lost in thought.

“Renjun?” Jeno plasters a fake smile to his face, waving a hand in front of Renjun’s eyes. “You good?”

“You love someone, don’t you?”

No.

Renjun can’t have found out. It can’t be true. Terror races through Jeno’s heart and he can only think no, Renjun can’t tell anyone this because Jeno can’t lose his wings and his ability to protect.

He can’t.

“Relax.” Renjun’s hand on Jeno’s arm jerks him out of his spiraling thoughts and he fully takes in the look on Renjun’s face. “I won’t tell.”

“How…?” Jeno whispers.

Renjun shrugs. The look on his face is a little hurt, but also very understanding and even a little ashamed. “You were disappearing to earth for longer periods than usual. There’s also a very obvious look on your face. I got curious. Please don’t be angry but… I followed you the last time. I heard your argument with… him.”

Jeno should probably feel some sort of annoyance that Renjun followed him, but the lost, sad look on his friend’s face wipes any of that away. Instead, he sits Renjun down and drapes an arm around his shoulder.

“Do you think I’ve been too harsh?” Renjun mumbles. He turns to Jeno. “Don’t lie to me. It’s… I mean, it’s gotten to the point where even you’ve been hiding things from me.”

A wave of shame crashes over Jeno, but he only sees understanding and sadness in Renjun’s eyes. It gives him the courage to nod a little. “Too harsh… might be putting it lightly,” Jeno says carefully.

Renjun sighs. “I’m sorry.” A tear spills out of his eye. “I’m sorry I’ve been so fixated on heaven, so fixated on… me, to give any thought to you. Or Chenle. Or anyone else.” He swallows as another tear runs down his face. “It just hurt. Hurt too much.”

Jeno knows what he’s talking about. After all, he’s the only one Renjun told his entire story to. And the knowledge of what Renjun is feeling only urges him to pull his friend closer, which he does.

“I won’t deny that your behavior was… really harsh and bitter.” Jeno swallows. “But I understand. You loved her. It was betrayal.”

“But I let it get to the point… the p-point where everyone left.” Renjun hiccups, trying to swallow his incoming sobs. “First her. Then Haechan and Mark and Jaemin and Jisung. Then Chenle. What if…” He tries again. “What if…”

Jeno’s heart clenches. “Never,” he whispers. “I won’t leave you. Ever.”

“I’m sorry.” Renjun is full on sobbing into Jeno’s shoulder now. “I’m sorry I ruined everything. I’m sorry I ruined our relationship with the others, I’m sorry I ruined your friendship with Jaemin. I’m sorry I drove Chenle away. I’m sorry he was kicked out of heaven.”

“Wait.”

Renjun lifts his head.

“You mean you weren’t the reason Chenle lost his wings?” Jeno whispers.

Renjun’s lips curl in an ashamed smile. “My actions must have been so bad that you’d think that of me,” he murmurs. “But no. Someone else saw. I don’t know who, but it wasn’t me. I was angry and betrayed, but it wasn’t me. I wouldn’t do that.”

Now it’s Jeno’s heart that fills with shame and against his will, tears start slipping out of his eyes too. “I’m sorry too,” he whispers, pulling Renjun close. “I’m sorry I ever thought that of you.”

The next few minutes are only filled with sniffles and hiccupped sobs.

“It’s my fault, isn’t it?” Renjun finally whispers. “It’s my fault Mark and the others left without saying anything to us.”

Jeno thinks for a moment. “No,” he answers. “I think… I think this was a long time coming. We had different beliefs that we pretended not to see. Haechan’s trial was just the tipping point.”

They stay silent long enough to watch the lights start blinking out in the city beneath them.

“Tell me about her,” Renjun suddenly says.

Jeno looks at him, surprised.

“Tell me about the girl you love.” Renjun smiles, and for the first time in over a decade, it looks truly genuine. “I want to know the girl who melted Jeno’s stone-cold heart.”

“Hey!” Jeno whines, pushing Renjun away slightly. “I don’t have a stone-cold heart!”

Renjun only raises an eyebrow and leans back into Jeno’s shoulder. “Tell me about her.” His voice becomes quiet. “I want to hear about your love.”

Something happy and sad fills Jeno’s body with warmth. “All right,” he murmurs.

And that night, as they watch the stars, Jeno tells his true friend of the girl with the gentleness of the stars in her eyes.

. . . . .

Jeno steps into your room quietly, closing the door gently behind him. “Hi,” he greets.

“Hi.” You smile at him from the hospital bed.

He smiles, sitting down at the chair beside your bed. “Just making sure you’re all right.” He places a bag of cookies on a small table nearby. “And…” He swallows. “I was wondering if we could talk.”

“Of course.” You touch his arm, and in that press of your skin against his, he feels the warmth of friendship. And though he knows it’ll never be a touch of love, he finds that he’ll be okay with that. The realization gives him the courage to keep speaking.

You listen intently as Jeno admits his feelings for you. Not once do you turn away or let your gaze waver and Jeno only feels his heart expand with affection. This is the reason he fell for you, he thinks. Your quiet strength and strong conviction.

“I know you love Jaemin, and it’s clear to see that Jaemin loves you too.” The smile he wears still carries bitterness, but far less than it used to. It’s a start. “I just wanted to give you closure about me. I won’t compete. I just… I don’t think I could let you go without telling you how I feel.”

He only just finishes the sentence when the door opens.

Speak of the devil.

Jaemin stands in the doorway.

“Hi,” you greet, a smile on your face. Jeno sees the love in your eyes and when he looks over at Jaemin, he finds it mirrored in his.

You belong together.

“Hi,” Jaemin greets, shooting a cautious glance at Jeno. “Why’s he here?”

“We were discussing things,” Jeno replies, a little miffed at Jaemin for interrupting. “Can you leave us for a bit?”

Jeno watches the two of you exchange a look, then Jaemin nods and closes the door behind him.

“Back to where we left off,” you joke, but then your expression turns serious. “Thank you, Jeno.” Your smile is genuine. “Telling the truth… that really means a lot to me.”

“I hope things won’t be weird between us now?” Jeno finds the courage to ask. “I’d like to still be… friends? I guess?”

Your laugh fills the room with cheer. “Always, Jeno.” You squeeze his hand quickly. “Friends. Always.”

There are no regrets left in Jeno’s heart when he stands up to leave. A small smile has made its way onto his face by the time he opens the door, but the sight beyond in front of him quickly erases it. “Sorry,” he mumbles to Jaemin, whom he nearly knocked over with the door. He quickly begins to walk away.

“Hey!” Jaemin yells down the hall. “What were you talking about in there?”

Jeno turns. “I was giving her some closure. About me.”

Jaemin’s shoulders tense.

“Don’t worry.” The laugh he lets out has no joy behind it. “She still loves you.”

The two of them stare at each other for a long time, a thousand words hanging unsaid in the air between them. Jeno’s just about to leave when Jaemin utters two words.

“I’m sorry.”

Jeno’s eyes widen slightly in surprise. So many emotions ripple in Jaemin’s eyes and it would take Jeno years to decipher them all, but he can pick out the remorse. Remorse for leaving. For the betrayal. For loving you. For everything.

The tightness in his chest loosens as the tension leak out of his expression. “Don’t be.”

Jaemin’s gaze remains steady. “But I am.”

For several seconds that feel like hours, the two boys stare at each other. Then Jeno nods a little, turning away.

He accepts it. He accepts the apology. Maybe one day, he’ll find the courage to apologize to Jaemin too.

. . . . .

Jeno is there when you die. He knows the drill. Your star glows, he touches it, and then he finds himself in the corner of your room, invisible. Jaemin might be able to sense his presence, but if he does, he doesn’t show it.

Understandable. With everything going on, Jeno is only able to focus on you. He can’t imagine how Jaemin must feel.

Well, actually, he can. But no matter. Jaemin should be the one at your side. Not him.

So Jeno watches from the corner, watches Jaemin hold your hand, watches him kiss you one last time, watches your eyes flutter open and your mouth whisper something to the demon you love. He watches your eyes shut, watches your hand go slack in Jaemin’s, watches the heart monitor go flat.

He leaves immediately after, unable to stomach the tears of your relatives and unable to hide his own. Renjun holds him that night as Jeno hiccups sobs under the stars. You will appear in heaven soon, he knows, but the pale purity of God’s realm is a far cry from the comforting reality of the city streets. He would give anything to give you the gift of life for just a little longer.

. . . . .

He finds you three days later. You’re being shown around by an older angel, looking healthy and whole and Jeno thinks his heart bursts when he sees you.

You look uncomfortable, though. Jeno can see it in your eyes, in the way you shift your weight from foot to foot as the angel explains things to you. He can see it in the blatant look of relief on your face when you see him, when the older angel finally lets you go with a practiced smile.

“You’re here,” is the first thing you say against Jeno’s chest when you crash into him in a massive hug. “Thank the stars.”

Jeno can barely find it in himself to say anything, so he only pats your head a little awkwardly. When you pull away, neither of you are dry-eyed.

“You want to find Jaemin, don’t you?” Jeno asks when the two of you are calmer.

You bite your lip as you nod. “I don’t know where to start, though,” you confess.

Staring into your eyes, Jeno falls in love again with your determination and perseverance. And in that moment, he makes a choice.

“I’ll help you.” He smiles a little. “Don’t worry.”

. . . . .

He sees Jaemin later that night, leaving a convenience store with Jisung. Head buried in a hoodie, Jeno doesn’t look up until right before he passes them. In that moment, he shares a glance with Jaemin.

I’m sorry, Jeno tries to say through his eyes. I’m sorry for your loss.

Jaemin’s look is one of apology as well.

Quickly, Jeno turns away. The two demons pass and melt into the shadows of a storefront. Jeno stares at the space where they disappeared for some time.

You’ll see her soon, Jaemin. He swallows. I promise.

. . . . .

“Here,” Jeno whispers, his eyes darting from side to side. He knows Renjun promised to cover for them, but he can’t help but be cautious. It took a lot of sneaking around to find this place and he really doesn’t want all of his hard work to be for nothing. “This is where the divide between earth and hell weakens. Just go down these stairs and wait. Someone will sense your presence and take you to Lucifer.”

Your eyes are bright with unshed tears. “Thank you, Jeno,” you barely whisper.

He squeezes your hand once. “When you get there, Lucifer may interrogate you.” His jaw tightens. “If he decides to allow you in, they will rip off your wings. I would tell you to be brave, but…” His eyes soften as he looks at you. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that.”

Unexpectedly, you seize Jeno into a tight embrace. “Thank you for doing this for me,” you whisper into his ear. “Thank you so much.”

Jeno starts a little.

Thank you for doing this for me.

In that moment, he realizes. It wasn’t just for you.

It was for love, yes. But friendship is also a type of love, is it not?

It was also for Jaemin.

“You’re welcome,” is all he can say in the face of this realization. Jeno bites his lip hard to keep the tears from falling. “Make sure Jaemin treats you right. If he doesn’t, you’re welcome to let me know.” A teasing half-smile appears on his trembling lips.

You laugh, and Jeno tries to memorize the sound. He hopes to hear your laugh many more times in the future, but just in case that doesn’t happen, he wants to keep a memory of it. A memory of you.

“Go, now.” Jeno gives you a gentle push. “Be brave.”

So what if his heart breaks a little as you descend the stairs?

. . . . .

Jeno sits with Renjun on a small field in the country, gazing at the night sky. The stars twinkle cheerfully against the blackness of night. The sight is comforting and soothes Jeno’s cracked heart.

“It hurt, didn’t it?” Renjun murmurs.

He nods. “Yes.” Because it did – it hurt a lot. But at the same time…

“But not as much as I expected.”

They sit in silence for a while. “How so?” Renjun finally asks.

That makes Jeno think for a bit. Why doesn’t he feel all the pain that he expected?

“Maybe…” Jeno starts slowly, “maybe it’s because I know we might meet again in the sky.”

Renjun hums a little, staring at the blanket of night.

“And I think…” Jeno places a hand over Renjun’s. “When you love someone, their happiness takes precedence over yours. If they’re happy, you will be too.”

“Yeah.” Renjun sighs. “But at the same time… everyone, not just her… they just left. I loved them all. Why did their leaving feel so difficult?”

“We were all close,” Jeno replies. “So close. It would’ve hurt anybody. You truly loved her and your story in general is just so built around giving people the life and love they deserve, so I guess everyone else’s departure just… hit you the hardest.”

“When did you become so wise?” Renjun looks over at him, a hint of a smile on his face.

Jeno smiles. “Well, a lot of things have made me think over the past year.”

They sit in silence for a while longer.

“Do you think anything I did could’ve made them stay?” Renjun whispers, so softly that Jeno almost doesn’t hear. “Anything?”

“I don’t think so. Not in the long run.”

Wind whistles in the ensuing quiet.

“How did you let her go so easily?”

A half smile of sadness spreads across Jeno’s lips. “Someone once told me that part of loving someone is knowing when to let them go.”

Renjun nods. They stare at the winking stars.

So far as Jeno knows, no one controls the stars. Not God, not Lucifer. No, the stars are controlled by a force far older, far more powerful than any Jeno has ever known.

For in the night sky, there are no angels, there are no demons. There are only stars, beings who have been rewarded for their faithful service, no matter their side. For who knows which side is good or bad? What controls each side are beliefs, and only the universe will ever know which belief is right. No one else will.

They say that in the sky, the stars twinkle side by side in peace, with no divisions to split them. An angel’s star may be next to a demon’s, yet they coexist in tranquility, lighting the shadows of night no matter what.

Jeno smiles a little sadly, staring up at the dark sky studded with lights.

Maybe one day he will have a star, a star that will glow bright in a constellation with his friends. Maybe in the night sky they will smile and laugh the way they did so long ago when they had not a care in the world, when they were on the same side. Maybe your star will be there too – Jeno has no doubt that you will be rewarded for your service.

The constellations wink at him, as though promising that his wish will come true. And why not? He already has one friend by his side. As if to affirm this, Renjun squeezes his hand softly.

Jeno’s smile grows a little wider. Maybe one day he will have a star.

And maybe his star will be next to yours.

#nct #nct dream #nct 127 #nct scenarios #nct jeno #jeno #kpop #fluff #angst #triggers #death #cancer #angel/demon au #nct dream scenarios #nct jeno scenarios #leave an angel #scriptura-delirus

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jenoptimist · 4 years

Text

5 times you try to confess to him and fail plus the 1 time you succeed

Today is the day you are going to do it. There can’t be a day that triumphs Valentine’s Day when confessing feelings, right? At least that’s what Kunhang and Yangyang have been telling you for the past two weeks leading up to the festive date. According to them, there is no other day to do it but then.

It is absolute chaos trying to make chocolate the day before with them zooming around the kitchen and distracting you with their hilarious antics but you persevere, resulting in cute heart shaped chocolates. You place it in the fridge overnight so it can set, preparing the small paper bag you want to pack it in as well as a small, rectangular card with a simple note.

They walk along with you, flanked on either side, singing love songs teasingly while acting out overly dramatic scenes involving hand holding and making kissy faces at the air. Their contagious smiles are enough to coax a laugh out of you even as the anxiousness keeps building up inside you, enough to make you feel faint. The high nerves make you grip tighter onto the cute paper bag they helped you choose two days ago.

“You’ve got this!” Kunhang cheers enthusiastically, punching the air for emphasis, as you begin to approach your destination. At the nervous look you give him he wraps his wiry arm around your shoulder. “You do! Right, Yang?”

“Of course!” Yangyang huffs out. “How could anybody ever reject you?”

Just as you are about to begin the long list of the amount of times you have ever been rejected which, to be fair, has only ever been twice but twice too many if anyone were to ask you, Kunhang redirects your attention.

“There he is! Now’s your chance.”

“Maybe this is a bad idea.” You mumble, watching as your crush approaches his locker.

Dread washes over you at their twin looks of mischief and before you can tell them off, they are already shoving you towards your crush while yelling his name loudly. Kun looks back, spotting the two of them in an instant and immediately greeting them with his gorgeous smile. The bright smile remains on his face even as his gaze switches from them to you.

“Hey,” he welcomes as you slowly walk closer towards him, hands behind your back to hide your present. “How are you, y/n?” Struck by the pretty shape of his eyes and how they seem to sparkle (how do they even do that?) in the sunlight, you end up stuttering pathetically. And because Kun is an absolute angel, he doesn’t make fun of you. Just waits patiently for you to gather your words.

“I’m good thanks! What about you?”

“I’m great, thank you. How is your assignment? Do you need more help with the calculations?”

“Oh my assignment is going good!” You try not to visibly cringe at the tone your voice takes on. “I, just, uh. Well.” Inhaling deeply, you think of your friends cheering in your head in hopes of raising your courage. “I came over here because-”

“Kun!” A bell-like voice calls. From behind Kun, you can make out the figure of one of the popular girls. She’s surrounded by her friends, giggling among one another, and you can’t help the irritation that stirs in your gut as you watch her twirl her hair around her fingers. “We have our student council meeting now! Should we walk together?”

“Sure. Just a minute.” Kun answers and when he turns back to face you, her and her minions glare daggers at you. They mouth something at you as well but the joke is on them because you aren’t good at lip reading. Judging by their nasty facial expressions, it’s probably just some stupid threat, so you turn your attention back Kun. “Please continue what you were saying.” And he is so sweet, being patient with you and everything, but you can’t have him late for his meeting. Plus the courage you have built up has dwindled due to the presence of the vice president and her clique.

“No, it’s okay. You go on ahead! Can’t be late for your meeting.” You tell him, chuckling awkwardly at the end.

His brows furrow, the corners of his lips curling into a frown. “Are you sure?”

“Yep! Totally.”

“Well okay.” He says hesitantly, looking uncertain. “See you later?”

“Of course!”

You watch him walk away as you kick at nothing, fighting down the urge to scream bloody murder when the vice president looks back at you and smirks smugly as she cozies up next to him while chatting his ear off. Her giggle echoes in your mind as you leave the building.

“Well?” Your friends say in unison, expressions bright with anticipation.

You thrust the bag at them. “Here, you guys have it.” They mirror each other’s look of confusion and before they can ask, you beat them to the punch. “No, he didn’t reject me. He was running late for the student council meeting.” They still look unsure about whether or not they should take your chocolates but you swish your hand at them dismissively. At least the people you love can eat your hard work. They scarf down the sweet treats in a matter of minutes, bellowing praises at you exaggeratedly.

Later you are awfully grateful when they buy you ice-cream to help cheer up your mood because it helps you eat your feelings of regret. Damn your vice president.

It would be so easy to do it now.

Everything is perfect; it’s just the two of you alone since the other member of your group project is a no-show. The two of you are at a small, cozy café with textbooks surrounding the table, Kun focused on his laptop while you gather the information for him from the textbooks to include in the project. You can barely hear the music as you watch him stare at the screen in complete concentration as he types, the sound of his fingers hitting the keys somewhat comforting to your ears.

“What is it?” He asks without looking at you, pressing the backspace to delete a sentence that you mutually agreed doesn’t sound good. Should you tell him? Maybe. But it isn’t the time though, is it? The two of you are just here to do your project after all. There’s faint voices in your head, sounding awfully like Kunhang and Yangyang, calling you a chicken and mimicking clucks. The mental image of them moving around and making chicken noises is enough to bring a goofy smile onto your face. Alright. It’s decided. You’ll do it.

“Kun,” you call as you square your shoulders, waiting for him to give you his full attention before continuing. Swallowing audibly, you begin your sentence. “I’ve been meaning to–”

“Sorry I’m late guys! I know, I suck, but I’ll treat you guys to lunch! Promise!” Yongqin says breathlessly as he reaches your table. A groan threatens to escape your lips but you hold it in, listening as Yongqin vents about the terrible morning he has had while you resist the urge to slam your head on the table. “Have I missed anything?” The two of you shake your heads at him and take turns at updating him on the work that you have done so far as he produces his tablet from his tote bag.

Kun looks at you expectantly, probably waiting for you to finish what you were saying earlier but you wave him off. Yongqin watches the interaction pass between the two of you, wiggling his eyebrows and he winks at you when he’s sure Kun doesn’t notice. The rest of the day involves him play flirting with you like he always does, mischief in his eyes, only hesitating when Kun mumbles something about you being uncomfortable. Yongqin’s eyes sparkle brighter at that though, as if he’s hit the jackpot, and resumes his flirting–laying it on even thicker than before.

Weeks later, when you receive a stellar grade for the project, Yongqin is still play flirting with you and you desperately hope that Kun doesn’t get the wrong impression. You still haven’t told him your feelings about him after all, so you don’t want him to think that there is anything going on between you and Yongqin.

Baffled at Dejun’s suggestion, you continue to look at him as if he has grown a second head. Sure, you know that he is a big romantic but his idea? Definitely out of the question. How could he think you could serenade Kun? Has Dejun heard your voice? You can’t sing for your life! Karaoke is fun because none of you take it seriously but to actually sing a full song and mean it? With your vocals? That is a big no-no. You tell him as much.

“What!” Dejun exclaims. “Why not? C’mon! Just imagine it.” He wraps his arm around your shoulder, steering you around, as his other hand raises in the air as if to create a picture. “Him and you, alone on the rooftop at night, the stars shining bright while you sing your love for him.” Sucking a breath through his teeth he adds, “it would be so perfect.”

“I don’t love him.”

“Wha- That’s all you got out of my vision?!” At your deadpan expression he says, while swatting his hand at the air, “alright, fine. Sing your feelings for him or whatever you wanna call them.”

Eventually, however, you do give in to his idea. Although you lack the vocal skills, you have to admit; serenading seems like a very unique way to confess your feelings to him. Besides, Dejun promised that he would help you–seeing that is his ‘brilliant’ masterplan. You are extremely thankful for his resolve to train your vocals since him and his entire family are musically inclined.

It’s a month later and while you aren’t Grammy Award ready, you certainly have improved. The palpitation of your heart is all you can hear in your ears as you wait for Kun at the rooftop that the two of you frequent when you want to stargaze. The crisp weather nips at you which makes you worry at your lip, knowing how much Kun despises the cold. Maybe this is a bad idea, he could catch a cold or something. Should you cancel? Maybe you should.

Kun appears seconds into your internal debate, making sure to leave the fire exit open, you take in how cute he looks all bundled up in his parka paired with a thick scarf that’s neatly wrapped around his neck and the beanie you got for him for his last birthday. As always, he greets you with that shining smile of his while he makes his way over to you. You return his welcome just as heartily albeit laced with nervousness.

“So, stargazing?”

This is it. You are going to sing to him and then confess your feelings for him. Geez, you are so nervous that your palms become clammy which causes you to rub them on your sweats. Would he like it? You sure hope he did. He didn’t even have to like you back. It would be amazing if he did but knowing your luck, he would probably reject you. You know he will be nice about it because, well, he’s Kun–one of the biggest sweethearts you know.

“Well, uh, actually,” damn it could you get straight to the point?! “I didn’t ask you here to stargaze.”

“Oh?” His faces scrunches adorably in confusion, “then what do you want to do?”

When you are about to reply, it begins to rain. Not the light sort rain, of course, because you are extremely unfortunate. No, instead it downright pours and a hysteric laugh almost pulls itself out of you. Was the universe trying to say something? Maybe Eros has decided that you two aren’t meant to be. Goodness, of course the weather had to be atrocious the night you decide to confess your feelings on the rooftop–the weather has been perfect all week! The weather app must have lied to you. The creators will definitely be reading a review from you. Ugh.

You’re pulled out of your thoughts by Kun grabbing your hand and leading you back inside the apartment complex that you both live in. He leaves no room for you to expose your plan, instead quickly ushers you back to your floor and tells you to take a hot shower and drink some tea to prevent you from becoming ill. You allow him to fuss over you, promising that you will do as he says as he bids you goodbye.

After closing the door of your home, you loudly smack your forehead against the wood and stay there for a minute or two, resisting the urge to scream, before composing yourself. When you spin around, you find your dad and older brother blinking at you owlishly.

“Don’t even ask.” You grumble, accutely aware of the wetness that has crawled into your socks. Stupid fabric shoes.

“You look like a wet kitten.” You stick your tongue out at your brother who in turn kicks lightly at your leg when you pass by him on your way to the bathroom.

“The way to a man’s heart is his stomach.” Yukhei informs you confidentally. “But I know you can’t cook.” You make an indignant noise but he shrugs unrepentantly at you, knowing that he is right. “So here’s what you do; after school stomp up to him and just say it confidently. ‘I love you, Kun! Please tell me you love me too!’ Or whatever you want to say.”

“Why do all of you think I’m in love with him!” You all but shout. Yukhei shushes you, glancing apologetically at the patrons at the diner you both work out. There are barely any people–Sunday afternoons are always dead so he’s just being dramatic as usual. “And besides, it’s easy for you to say! You practically reek of confidence.”

As he’s about to reply, his eyes wander behind you and then he dashes away from you all the while claiming something about how he promised your manager that he would take stock of the napkins. At first you don’t question it because it’s Yukhei–he probably did forget to do it or something. However, when you turn around to keep your eyes on the area, allowing you to slyly check on the customers that are present, you spot Kun approaching the counter.

That mischievous lanky brat.

“Hey Kun! Table for one?” You greet, already grabbing a menu from underneath the counter.

“I’ll just sit here, if it’s okay?” He replies, gesturing at the seat a few meters down.

“Yeah, no, totally! That’s totally alright!” If you could face palm, you would. Curse Yukhei for leaving you on the floor alone.

“Any recommendations for today?” He inquires as you pour him a glass of water. You list off what you like from the menu, avoiding anything that included salmon due to his aversion of it. When you have taken his order and given it to the chefs, the two of you slip into easy conversation while you tend to the other customers in between.

After Kun’s meal, Yukhei emerges from the back and pretends that he wasn’t the one to see him walk through the door first. The tall teen makes sure to slip in the fact that your shift is over somewhere in the conversation that the two of them have, winking at you exaggeratedly when the older teen isn’t looking. Kun offers to wait for you, smiling pleasantly, and how could you say no? Simple, you don’t.

Before you leave, Yukhei ruffles your hair and wishes you good luck. As you turn back to look at him, exiting the diner with your crush, he flashes you two thumbs up with a large grin. “Confidence!” He encourages silently, punching the air.

The thought of confessing slips inside your mind as Kun takes you on a detour, asking you whether or not you would like to go to the museum with him. He’s been meaning to go, he informs you, but something always comes up or none of your mutual friends are free. Knowing them, they probably refused on purpose so that he would end up going with you. That’s what you suspect, anyway, and you are almost one hundred percent sure that you’re right.

You go because you have never refused Kun and you aren’t about to start today. At the end of the day, after you have done various activities, you are absolutely positive that your feelings are going to bubble over and that you’ll end up word vomitting your confession.

Fortunately (or is it unfortunately?) that doesn’t happen because his mom ambushes your little hang out and that’s how you find yourself in the supermarket, you and Kun trailing behind her with one basket each as she ticks off the items on her grocery list.

The sun shining brightly is the reason why you find yourself at the beach. The others are playing in the water, splashing at each other as they yell over one another. Except for Kun and Sicheng, that is. Kun is taking a stroll by himself, taking pictures every now and again, while Sicheng lays next to you on his towel. The two of you swap stories which allows you to confide in him about your current obstacle. He listens patiently, nodding empathically here and there and laughing at Dejun’s ‘ridiculous’ plan.

“Maybe I’m not meant to tell him.” You sigh dejectedly, flopping onto your back dramatically as you close your eyes to shield them from the sun.

Sicheng hums thoughtfully. A moment of silence before he decides to say something. “Or maybe you’re thinking too much about it. It doesn’t have to be the perfect confession as long as you get your feelings across, right?” You open your right eye to peek at him. “When it’s meant to be it’ll happen.”

You roll so that you’re holding up your weight on your forearms. “When did you get so wise?” Sicheng shrugs at you. “I dunno. Maybe you’re right. But I also don’t want to just wait forever either, you know?” From behind your friend, you watch as Kun’s figure slowly becomes a dot in the distance.

“And?” At your guilty look he huffs out a laugh, “I know you better than you think so go on, finish your sentence.”

“And,” you add, returning his curious stare. “Nothing will happen if I don’t do anything.” You avert your stare back to Kun. Should you go up to him? He is walking alone. But maybe he wants to be alone and that’s why he didn’t stay with you and Sicheng. Yeah, he probably wants some solitude–he has been a bit stressed lately.

“Go,” Sicheng tells him, lazily throwing some sand in your direction. “I know you want to.” Your mouth twists at his command. You don’t want to leave him alone. He seems to hear what you are thinking and clicks his tongue at you. “I’ll be fine. Now go, create your opportunity.”

“Thanks. You’re the best.” And with that you haul yourself up, building up courage while fighting off the nerves as you make your way to Kun who is steadily returning to your group. When you are finally a few meters from him, you recall what Yukhei told you previously and square your shoulders as you stomp over to him. Confidence. All you need to do is channel your inner Yukhei–his confidence is out of this world and you find it extremely admirable.

The only thing you manage to utter is a greeting because suddenly there is a wet snout pressing into the back of your legs and when you whirl your head around, you find and extremely friendly looking dog staring up at you before it barks loudly. The cute retriever looks like it’s begging you to play which leaves you no choice but to bend down and coo at it, scratching at it’s ears. Kun is quick to huddle beside you and mimic your actions.

“Sorry ‘bout that!” Comes the breathless voice of the owner, “aw he likes you!”

With your opportunity lost, you do nothing but smile brightly at the owner as you shower compliments about her pet.

Taking Sicheng’s words from weeks ago into consideration, you decide not to try and create any opportunities. Instead you let time take its course–which proves to be difficult due to your impatient nature. To distract yourself, you dabble in various activities; Yongqin and Sicheng teach you how to dance, Kunhang and Yangyang alternate between taking you to the arcade and cinema, Dejun and Yukhei go to different food joints with you. When you aren’t with them, you spend your time on the rooftop reading books or painting whichever paint-by-numbers you have recently purchased. Today you find yourself reading the book that you purchased a few days ago, your back against the brick wall of the building.

“Hey,” Kun’s voice calls out from somewhere ahead of you. As you place your thumb in between the pages so you don’t lose your spot, he takes a seat on the ground beside you so that the two of you are shoulder to shoulder. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah,” you agree blandly, “the boys have been hogging up all of my time.”

The explanation ensues a long conversation about what the two of you have done over the past few weeks, catching each other up with what either of you haven’t mentioned through the text messages that you have sent each other. Somehow along the way, and you are incredibly perplexed as to how it even happened in the first place, Kun ends up laying his head on your lap as you read your book aloud to him from the very beginning. At first you catch a glimpse of him smiling contently from the top of your book, his eyes closed as he catches the sun’s rays. But now, four chapters in, you find that he is sleeping–you can tell by the way his features have relaxed and the way he breathes in a slow, constant pattern. You stare at him for what feels like aeons simply because you can without being called out.

“Kun,” you whisper as you trace the slope of his nose down to the curve of his cupid’s bow. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while but I like you. Like, butterfly eruptions in my tummy and sweaty palms kind of like. I’ve liked you for months at this point and it’s okay if you don’t like me back or anything, I just had to tell you.”

Unlike in the movies or dramas that you have watched, your crush doesn’t open his eyes at your confession and demand what you say before declaring his own feelings towards you. Instead he remains as asleep, blissfully unaware of your confession. You eye him for a bit longer, internally cursing that you didn’t bring your phone with you so that you can snap a picture, before returning to your book.

It’s game night with the boys and this time it’s at Yongqin’s house. You and Kun brought the huge load of snacks while the others bring a selection of board games and extra sets of Nintendo Switch controllers. It’s all fun and games until they get bored and decide to play truth or dare. You love the boys, really you do, but you swear that you are going to end up exploding on them with the way the game is going. For the past half an hour they have been on your case, squeezing you to admit your feelings for Kun and every time you take the penalty. At this point you can’t even look your crush in the eye, too busy glaring a hole into the floor of Yongqin’s living room. Even Sicheng and Dejun are trying hard to make you voice your feelings.

“You know what,” you snap as you stand up, “I’m going to get a drink.” They whine at you but all you do is give them a stink eye before stomping away. They know what they are doing. Why can’t they just accept that it is never going to happen no matter how much they try catch you out with their truths and dares.

After gulping your ice-tea you remain in the kitchen, choosing to stare out the window rather than to return to your friends. You pour yourself another glass, downing the beverage before settling on eyeing the bottom of the cup. Would it hurt them to leave you alone? And what happened to Sicheng’s advice? Gosh, knowing him he probably was bribed into their plan with the promise corn chips or something. Ugh. One more glass and you’ll go back. Hopefully they wake up and realize that they need stop their antics. They mean well, you know they do, but if they don’t stop you’ll go home.

“Sorry about them.” Kun apologizes awkwardly as he appears through the doorway while your pouring your final glass. You almost drop it in shock because of his surprise entrance, your mood gradually mellowing at the sight of him.

You huff out a laugh, rolling your eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry about. They’re just being stupid.”

Kun shrugs, leaning against the doorframe. “Yeah, you’re right. But they wouldn’t be poking fun at you if it weren’t for me.”

“Weren’t for you?” You echo in confusion. “What are you talking about? The only reason why they keep egging me is because they want me to admit that I like you.” There’s a pause as the two of you sink in what you have just disclosed. “Wait! That wasn’t–! I mean–” The groan that escapes you isn’t loud enough to drown the sound of your racing heart. Of course this would happen to you. Could the ground please swallow you?

“You like me?” The tone of his voice isn’t the one you imagined he would use–a soft, pitying one while he rejects you. It isn’t that at all. Rather, it’s one of awe. As if he can’t believe what he has just heard. “Really?”

Not trusting your voice, you nod at him while sneaking a peek at his expression through your lashes. The sheer glee plastered on his face gives you enough courge to stare at him head on. Something warm and fuzzy settles in you when you realize that you have only seen this expression a handful of times.

“Yeah,” you confirm, swallowing audibly before you continue. “I do. I really, really do. I’ve had a crush you since you offered to help us move into the building.”

“That was three years ago.”

“Yeah. And my feelings have only grown since then.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” The silence that follows is agonizing. “Well,” you say, unable to hide the awkwardness that shines through, “I, uh, better head back in I guess. They’re probably looking for us.” You avert your gaze as you inch towards the door, hoping that this is all a dream because him not saying anything is better than rejection. “Uh, excuse me.”

Kun doesn’t move from where he is blocking the door. “Wait! Sorry! I just can’t believe that you like me back.”

“Oh.” You whisper breathlessly. Well, that changes everything. “So since we both like each other,” you start saying as you lick your lips nervously, “would you maybe like to go on a date next Saturday?”

“Of course I would! Pick you up at two?”

“Two is good.” You confirm shyly, smiling stupidly at the tiled floor. Kun’s hand appears in your vision and although your hands are slightly clammy, you take it anyway, allowing him to lead the two of you back to the others.

The rest of the boys break out in wild cheers the second they spot the two of you holding hands. Your jaw drops when, after the mini celebration has ended, they hand cash over to Yongqin.

“What?” He asks innocently as he stuffs the notes into his pocket.

“You’re all ridiculous.” Is your answer as you and Kun take a seat on the couch.

“Ridiculous?” Kunhang repeats, “you want to hear ridiculous?” He then begins recalling his version of how ‘painful it was to watch you and Kun dance around each other’. Which begins a chain reaction, the others dramatically telling it from their points of view. But even as you slowly sink in the chair, your cheeks flaring, you find that you don’t mind considering you got your dream boy.

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coverpillow4 · 3 years

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10 Critical Skills To View Deleted Tweet Remarkably Well

Lets acquire one concern clear: you wont be accomplished to find deleted tweets from a deleted account, not unless you use a third-party app or access an internet archive of Twitter. Thats just how it is. To guard your privacy and to preserve Twitters focus upon recording moments rather than serving as a database for whatever that goes upon in your day, the microblogging site makes determined that theres no pretentiousness for you to entry someone elses deleted tweet. But what more or less your own deleted tweet? Now thats another story. Unbeknownst to most Twitter users (except for the real, hardcore, coding types out there), there are actually a couple of ways to door deleted tweets from your own account. This can be curtains either through the indigenous Twitter app or through a third-party app. Of course, relying upon third-party apps to find deleted Tweets can be dangerous what bearing in mind the amount of pining guidance youll be giving them access to. But gone a trusted app by your side, you wont have to trouble practically some weird troll farm in some backwater country stealing your login info. How to locate Deleted Tweets To save you from confusion (and attainable phishing), weve compiled a list of some of the most full of life ways to recover or view deleted tweets: Use Twitters indigenous enlightened Search As in imitation of most pieces of digital tech, using the native app for every your needs, including retrieving info, is by far and wide the safest. To right of entry or view deleted tweets from your account using the indigenous Twitter broadminded Search: Go to your Twitters radical Search page Go to the People Subheading Enter your username (without the @ symbol) below the From These Accounts field Under Dates, input your start and stop date search parameters Click Search, and Twitter will display all the Tweets from the become old era you chose. Alternatively, you can moreover search for your tweets keywords below the Words subheading. under the Words Subheading, youll be definite three options: All of These Words (will lonesome display tweets that be the same your search parameters), This correct Phrase (will isolated display tweets that have the similar truthful word and word placement as your search), Any of These Words (will display tweets that have at least one of the words in your search). Sure, this method has its limitations, but if youre one of those tinfoil-hat-wearing paranoid types that dont desire to share personal info to third-party apps, subsequently using Twitters native unbiased Search Feature is your best bet. Request for a Copy of Your Twitter Archive archive folder Retrieved from Pixabay This is a more pure habit of seeing every the tweets you ever posted before the coming on of your account. But more than just finding or recovering deleted tweets, having an updated hard copy of your social media accounts is a responsible matter to realize (not to citation a fine mannerism to recover your account if it ever gets compromised). To request a copy of your Twitter archive: Go to your Account Settings tally in your Twitter account Go to Content From there, youll see a button that says Request Your Archive. Depending upon the volume of data that Twitter needs to compile, your copy will arrive within minutes, hours, or even days. When your viewable archive is ready, youll be sent a push notification that will guide you put up to to your Twitter accounts page. From here, click the Download Archive button. Just a reminder previously take action this to create certain that the email united to your Twitter account is verified and updated. Twitter usually sends a downloadable file to your email address as a backup. When you demand a copy of your Twitter archive, youll be sent a .zip file that contains an index.html file that allows you to browse your archive from your web browser, and a .csv file that can be opened using your favorite spreadsheet program. Find Deleted Tweets Using the WayBack Machine wayback machine Granted, those two methods might not law you every your deleted Tweets; theres a lot of data to compile, and the Twitter servers might not have the data you need. appropriately what if you download your archive and use the futuristic search and are still unable to locate the tweet youre looking for? You might have to try your luck afterward a mature machine. Specifically, an internet mature machine! Although not exactly the DeLorean, the WayBack robot is the next best situation to a dynamic flux capacitor. Founded by the nonprofit management Internet Archive, the WayBack machine is a digital archive that scours the internet and takes screenshots of distinct pages for posterity. Notice that we said screenshot: you cant actually admission full tweets, and the WayBack robot takes random screenshots at random times, but its the closest you can acquire to look a deleted tweet from a deleted account. But again, no reassurances. To use the WayBack Machine: Access the WayBack robot and type the full URL of the Twitter page you desire to see. Input this in the search bar and click Browse History. If the WayBack robot has crawled this page before, it will decree you a screenshot of that page. This is organized by year and day. Choose the Year and hours of daylight of the deleted tweet and try to find it there. Remember, the WayBack machine unaided takes screenshots, consequently you wont be competent to scroll through the page subsequently you normally would. It in addition to wont consent screenshots constantly, appropriately if a tweet was deleted in the past the archive could crawl the page, you wont be practiced to locate that deleted tweet. Tweet Responsibly responsible tweeting Some people who locate deleted tweets may want to use the results to discredit others. But if you tweet past care, you wont have to trouble about out of date posts haunting you in the future. Photo by Ravi Sharma upon Unsplash Finding deleted tweets is one of the most popular ways to discredit someone for something they said years ago. I mean, sure, you could along with use it to locate a tweet you found funny. But lets be honest: in the advocate world, finding a copy of a deleted tweet saw some terrible things said by a celebrity or politician is similar to finding a diamond in a gold mine. Donald Trumps deleted tweets, for example, can be a source of humor and horror. They can be essential more than play in or could be just inane rants of a dull-witted mind. Whereas Trumps shocking or inane tweets barely affected the former POTUS, further celebs have floating jobs because of in the same way as tweets. Writer and director James Gunn was afire from enactment Guardians of the Galaxy V.3 higher than a deleted tweet that resurfaced. It was dug taking place by conservatives, according to a report. The read out reportedly went: I taking into account it with little boys touch me in my silly place. Shhh! Iggy Azalea dropped out of a self-importance concern after pressure from LGBTQ groups cited her once tweets. One of which allegedly read: This Asian lady upon the jet tried to clash when she didnt comprehend me I told her a** bi*ch u subsequently know English today cause thats my seat! And later there was Kevin Hart. The comedian was slated to get the Oscars in 2019 but backed out after a 2011 tweet resurfaced. What you herald today could have lasting impact tomorrow. thus tweet responsibly. Think practically what youre going to proclaim in the past you send it out for the world to read, interpret and dig happening when the epoch is right. If you have fixed idea beliefs about some controversial issue, consider how it will do its stuff others. If https://insuiter.com/how-to-view-deleted-tweets-on-twitter-easily/ to the platform, learn very nearly Twitter first. If you yet direct to tweet something that could haunt you in the future, know that Twitter made it in fact difficult for people to find deleted tweets, especially from deleted twitter accounts. And although radical Search and Archive requests might act out to see your own deleted tweets, you wont be competent to view tweets from archived or deleted accounts. The WayBack machine takes screenshots, but its random at best, and might not acquire you the results youre looking for.

#view deleted tweet #how to view deleted tweets #see a deleted tweet

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hydrus · 3 years

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Version 420

youtube

windows

zip

exe

macOS

app

linux

tar.gz

I had a great week fixing a whole bunch of bugs.

bugs

I fixed taglist drag-select, which was not moving the to-be selected indices down with the scroll. Sorry for the trouble here. You can now also ctrl+drag-select to deselect.

There was a bug in the new virtual siblings and parents lookup system that meant some grandparents and siblings were not appearing. For instance, for parents, 'samus aran' might have 'metroid', and 'metroid' would have 'nintendo', but 'samus aran' would not have 'nintendo'. Thanks to help from users, I was able to reproduce it and fix the problem. When you update, the client will spend a few seconds regenerating the lookups and finding the missing links. It will queue up a bit more work for the background display sync to do later on. In my test situation, the PTR went from 189,000 sync rows to 192,000.

Autocomplete results in manage tags now list parents beneath every tag they apply to. Previously, parents could only exist in the list once, so they were accidentally de-duping and only ending up beneath the last applicable tag. Now you get plenty.

Also, these 'write' autocomplete results now show sibling and parent data for the tag that matches your input text even if that tag has no count. When that tag has sibling data, all the siblings are loaded as well. This sounds obscure, but you'll notice when you next start entering tags on a service with a lot of siblings. It should make it easier to quick-type complicated tags in manage tags.

Typing to get autocomplete results in search pages with thumbnails is now significantly faster and more responsive when 'searching immediately' is turned on. This routine gathers count-accurate results based on the thumbnails in front of you and then sends that data down to the database for sibling population. This suddenly got laggy with the new virtuals system, but I have improved how it schedules its searches and performs its tag lookups, and it should be much better now.

An unusual situation with a 'null character' tag that could not be displayed in the client should be better. This tag is detected, the rendering problem caught, and the user notified. The database routine that corrects bad tags now also fixes this tag and forces a tag presentation refresh once it is done.

speed

I spent a bunch of time in the siblings and parents system this week, and autocomplete and tags in general, running profiles on complex data and optimising various calls. I also sped up a critical new optimisation used across the program. Tag searches, autocomplete lookups, tag processing, tag display sync, and anything that runs frequently in small amounts should now be a bit faster. The only thing that may run a bit slower is tag display sync for very complicated tag parent situations, due to the more thorough logic in the fixes above. Thank you to users who helped with profiling here.

Tag display sync now only tries to run every 30 seconds (up from every ~3 seconds) when allowed to run in 'normal' time. It also takes breaks when it thinks a bunch of other work is going on. It was running hotter and faster than we needed, and it made the client too laggy, so I am pulling it back until I can make it more intelligent. I am also considering breaking the main display sync maintenance job into even more granular pieces. I will keep working.

full list

misc:

fixed the bad position indexing when drag-selecting taglists that were scrolled down. this also caused some weird selection when scrolled and clicks included a little mouse movement. sorry for the trouble!

ctrl+drag-select now deselects!

fetching tag autocomplete results when you have thumbnails and 'searching immediately' on, which has been way too slow recently, now cancels much faster. in some large page situations, it was adding multi-second lag on the first character-press. it also runs faster overall

hydrus should now deal better with invalid tags that contain the null character (there it one we know about on the PTR, from a decode of botched Shift JIS, which could crash the client from too many errors during critical paint periods). when a tag like this turns up in a taglist, thumbnail, or canvas background, it now renders as an appropriate 'invalid tag' string, and a one-time 'woah, bad tag, run fix tags now' popup appears

regular tag cleaning now looks for and removes null characters, so all new sources of these bad tags should now be eliminated

_database->check and repair->fix invalid tags_ now fixes tags with the null character. it also fixes tags so broken that after cleaning they have no subtag left. it also now forces a full media tag reload when it is done for all media

the 'regen storage mappings', 'regen display mappings', and repopulate from cache' database routines now have an additional step where you can order them only to work on one tag service, so regenning or repopulating local tags, which usually takes a couple seconds, doesn't need to wait two hours for the PTR to go as well

added some menu help to the 'profile modes' debug menu, and gave 'reducing program lag' help page a pass

fixed virtual display regeneration on service delete

parents and siblings:

fixed situations where some grandparent and sibling relationships would not appear in the virtual system. it was a bug when certain links of a multi-part display 'chain' were updated at different times. when repopulating chain data, the sibling and parent update routines now correctly chase their complete chains both when wiping ideal data and repopulating from raw data, hitting all levels of the chain, ensuring to go back up and down chains when there are multiple grandsiblings/children/parents, and chasing parents where one or both members have better siblings. thank you to the several users who reported and helped figure out this problem, which was not simple to reproduce (issue #725)

your ideal display data will be regenerated on update, which should not take more than a couple of seconds. it will likely correct some siblings and add some grandparents to be filled in by the siblings/parents sync. my PTR test environment went up from about 189,000 display rows to 192,000

while sibling and parent lookup is more thorough (and hence more expensive), I also optimised many parts of lookup week. I believe tag display sync and tag processing will be much faster for tags with simple sibling and parent relationships, and slightly slower for tags with complex relationships and many instances to files on your drive. as always, let me know what sort of processing speeds and lag you get, and if you know how to make a db profile, please send them in when it gets bad

when a 'write' autocomplete results list includes parent expansion rows (as in _manage tags_), parents now show duplicated and properly for all the tags that have them, including siblings and other children/grandchildren (previously, a parent label could only exist once in a list, which meant parents were ending up hanging off the last valid tag for which they applied)

'write' autocompletes now show results that exactly match the text entry, and all their siblings, when they do not have count but do have sibling or parent data. so, if you type in 'samus aran', and it has a sibling to 'character:samus aran', but 'samus aran' doesn't actually have count, you now get it and all siblings anyway. this may need tuning, but it solves a persistent and annoying lookup and quick-sibling-access problem in _manage tags_

copying tags and their indented parents now removes the parent indent whitespace

tag sync display now takes way longer breaks (now 30 seconds, was 2.5) between 'normal' background work periods. this thing was hammering people far harder than needed and could clog up db write/commit time and nobble UI responsitivity when big bumps collided

the tag display maintenance manager now also tries to detect when many siblings or parents are streaming in (from a migration or a repository process with a heap of data), and pauses work while that continues

greatly sped up mass imports of sibling and parent data, either from tag migration or big dialog pastes. what was 40 rows/s should now be about 1,000 rows/s

fixed the database menu's 'regenerate tag parents lookup cache', which wasn't hooked up

boring changes:

gave tag parents and siblings update, regen, and chain fetch a full pass, correcting bad queries to fix the above, fixing raw pair chain level navigation and parent-sibling idealisation, and optimised these lookups as well

fixed some tag_id vs ideal_tag_id nomenclature (and related bugs) in tag parents cache

optimised 'all known tags' autocomplete count fetching a little. tag autocomplete and search should be a bit faster in this domain

reduced display sync pre-processing overhead by about 30% with a better random pair sampling routine

reduced the overhead of my now very commonly used single integer memory table select optimisation. this now recycles tables after use, which reduces overhead about 50% in small number scenarios. all features of the database will enjoy this speed improvement, particularly small repetitive tag lookup jobs (such as the new display sync and repository tag processing)

reduced overhead on some sibling chain lookup code

reduced overhead on the sibling lookup used by manage tag dialog taglist

reduced overhead on some parent chain lookup code

tiny optimisation on single sibling chain lookup

sped up the ancient OG single tag->tag-id fetching routine, seems to work about twice as fast now

more misc optimisations, mostly list/set/dict comprehension rewriting to reduce overhead, across virtual sibling and parent code

added a full combined siblings and parents unit tests for the main missing parent chain link problem solved this week

added a full combined siblings and parents unit test for large real world data added in multiple pieces

'a file identifier was missing!' critical errors now print a stack trace to the log for further debugging info

updated the 'help my db is broke.txt' document with a couple new comments

next week

I want to do some code cleanup, catching up on bad old code and making the duplicate potentials search non-interrupting. I'll also prototype a database mode that may improve performance on HDDs. Other than that, I want to properly plan and start work on the big network improvements that I will finish the year on.

#release

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skookworks · 4 years

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Gallery: Delta Green

Most of my RPG illustration work has been for Call of Cthulhu related projects. That’s the result of intention and good luck and accident.

The Intention part happened in the year 2000. I submitted some illustrations to the Delta Green website. Delta Green was a Call of Cthulhu RPG set in modern times – the late 199os. Most CoC games are set in the 1920s/1930s, the time the original stories were written and set. I discovered Delta Green in 1999 when I working at Half Price Books. I was the buyer when a customer sold us his collection of RPG manuals. In the buy was Delta Green and its sequel Delta Green: Countdown. I bought those books for myself. I loved the ideas behind the setting. It updated the Cthulhu Mythos for the late Twentieth Century in ways that surprised and delighted me. It created a means and a reason for investigators to, well, investigate the horrors from beyond.

I’d wanted to illustrate RPGs but didn’t have much of a portfolio of examples to show. I found the Delta Green site early the next year. I don’t think it had a way to send submissions and I don’t think they were asking for any. What it did have was a way to submit fan art and writing. So I worked up three illustrations (see the follow gallery) and submitted them. They got posted. No one from Delta Green contacted me.

Oh well.

Two years later those illustrations got me work at The Black Seal. But that’s another post.

#gallery-0-6 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-6 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The original photoshop files of these illustrations are, possibly, residing on an old back up drive. It’s formated for Mac and I currently use a PC so I haven’t tried plugging it in. A lot of the work I did in the first ten years of this century was done on a Mac. The art always started as graphite and ink on paper and then had photoshop magic applied to it. I’ve got the original drawings in big metal flat files but the art that got published looks different.

Earlier this year I realized that I’d sent most of those illustrations to the editors and publishers via email and I’ve never deleted any personal emails. So I’ve tracked down a lot of that older art and will be showing it in future galleries. I found the two black and white illustrations in the above gallery in my emails.

The first three images, however, I couldn’t locate in my gmail archive. AOL has long since deleted all my old emals. At first they didn’t appear to be on the current Delta Green site but, after doing some obsessive google searching and some sort of back door poking around on DG I found them in an archive. Huzzah!

Story Seed #54 The Time Line AntiDefense League

There are a lot of stories that feature some sort of organization whose mission is to defend the “correct” timeline, to make sure that history works itself out the way that it is “supposed to”. Bleah. How about an organization whose mission is to create timelines where history works itself out in the best ways for the most people?

Recommendation

Beeple. This person’s art started showing up in my tumblr feed, shared by other folks I followed. It was weird and creepy so I subscribed to his feed. He posts an image a day, every day.

Also, the Growing Up / Overnight Kickstarter concludes on the 30th. If you’ve been putting off backing it. please jump in.

Local News

Last week, in one of our stand up meetings at USPS, we were reminded that we, the letter carriers were not supposed to talk to the press. That if a member of the press attempted to engage us in conversation we were to refer him/her to management. Also, while we were in uniform, we were not to engage in political discussions with anyone lest they assume that our views represented those of the USPS. We were also to be careful not to express politcal opinions on social media in such a way as to lead people to believe that our views represented those of the USPS.

Sigh.

To be clear, anything I write here about my job at USPS is just my experience and my opinion. I like to assume that those of you who read these newsletters recognize this but, on the off chance you don’t, I AM NOT A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE POST OFFICE. I’m just a guy who works there. In my opinion, the USPS can’t actually have an opinion since it’s an organization. Organizations are not people. The people in charge of organizations may claim that their opinion represents the opinion of the organization but that’s just a fiction.

Anyway.

The most interesting part about the day job right now is that I have a new T6. USPS delivers mail six days a week. Regular carriers work and deliver theri route five days a week. A T6 is the person who delivers the route on the regular carrier’s day off. My last T6 had medical issues that prevented them from delivering my route on a regular basis. My new T6 is healthy and detail oriented. More detail oriented than I am, actually. And that’s good. It means I’m updating labels in mailboxes and doing maintenance on my route that I’d let slide. I keep most of my customer changes in my head. Having another person who has to regularly work my route reminds me that I should communicate customer changes in clear, written methods. It’s only polite.

We’ve also moved our start time from 7 am to 7:30 am. I’m not a fan but I’m adjusting.

I’ve left my alarm at 4 am. I get up. Drink coffee Write. Do computer art or make products in either my Zazzle or my Redbubble stores. I’ve updated my various websites to include a “store” page with links to each. This week I spent most of my store time working on an Oz Squad collection for Zazzle. Oz Squad is Steve Ahlquist’s creature but, as a fan and sometime collaborator, I try to find ways to keep the brand active.

Oz Squad Land of Oz

by Skookworks

In the evenings, once we’ve finished dinner and our spot of television, I work on physical art. Right now I’m doing pirate sketches. More about that when the project can be talked about publically.

Thank you for dropping by. Remember that life has always been insane. Look out for yourself and your friends. That’s where sanity and security dwells.

See you next week!

Tuesday Night Party Club #34 Gallery: Delta Green Most of my RPG illustration work has been for Call of Cthulhu related projects.

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nethwan · 4 years

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A Life By Your Side

Summary: Both, Lars and Mei receive important news.