#woo first special program time

[violetsareblue-selfships]

good morning!!! <3333

[enhypencores]

Bleed Me Dry Pt II

READ PART 1 HERE

Lee Heeseung X Y/N

Genre: Yandere Romance/ Thriller/ Stalker

Prompt: "If I carve you into my blood, will you believe my love?"

Word Count: 11K+

WARNING⚠️: Explicit content, profanity, sexual harassment, heated make outs, female stereotyping, use of a derogatory word, violence, lots of blood, aggression, toxic masculinity, yandere, manipulation, mentions of self exit, drugs, unhealthy relationships and mental health issues. Y/N described with long hair and brown eyes.

Cameos: Jake, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Yeji, Karina, Jaemin and Jisung

A/N: Please read the warnings carefully before proceeding. There's heavy discussions and complex character dynamics. None of it is healthy. This is a work of fiction, please read it as such. If I missed out any, lemme know.

PS: I’d love to hear your feedback <3

Heeseung had gathered some crucial knowledge from a heavily drunk Jake.

“Intelligent and tall. She’s got a thing for them… She had this crush on a dude in the first semester. Told her he was a jerk, didn’t listen, and you know… he broke her heart. His name? Think it was park jeong guk? jeong woo? I don’t know… It was just some guy. She’s stupid…”

He had wanted to punch that knowing look off Jake’s face as he insulted you, but Heeseung tried swallowing down the surging fury.

Because, indeed, you were so stupid. Why had you allowed some loser into your life? When Heeseung gets you, he will make sure to treasure every part of you. He wouldn’t need anyone else. He would use his every breath to cherish you, only you.

Despite the hostility he felt upon hearing of your previous crush, the good news was that Heeseung unintentionally matched the description. He had never been so grateful for his genes until this moment; traits he once considered useless suddenly becoming his most prized.

Heeseung bore a good height, and his mind was like a computer program. At just ten years old, his father had assumed he’d discover the cure for cancer—yet to come true, but everyone in college believed if anyone could do it, it was Lee Heeseung.

A special one, born to lead, a saviour, they claimed. But Heeseung never wanted to be his father’s golden child. He didn’t want to contribute to society or garner the world’s praise. He barely had friends—except for Kim Sunoo, Heeseung’s childhood partner in crime.

To the world, Heeseung was an overachiever, but he knew his excellence was merely a distraction from his twisted mind. His father was the first to notice the disconnect.

Heeseung chose medicine on a whim, a flick of a coin—heads or tails. The boredom in his life drove him to try everything: paragliding, boxing, swimming, drugs and unrestrained, animalistic sex. He had lived countless lives in two decades.

Early teenage years, his father took it upon himself to train his son, instilling social norms and enforcing strict rules as he tried moulding Heeseung into someone 'normal.' Like a dog on a leash, he made Heeseung more human while maintaining a safe distance to avoid getting scratched. Heeseung understood this from the moment he gained consciousness: his father was scared of him. Terrified.

He never discovered what exactly made his father lock his door every night, but whatever it was, it confirmed a small suspicion: Heeseung was unlovable.

It wasn’t anything detrimental really, because Heeseung never felt the need to seek love. Even in psychological terms, a human's absolute necessities were food, shelter, sex, and safety. When he could survive on the bare minimum, why should he look for something as wasteful as love? He'd rather spend time gaming and pretending to outshine the world’s brilliant minds.

Now, Heeseung was tired of the boredom. So tired that he thought to end it. How long could one treck through an aimless journey?

The realisation that he could cease to exist and no one would know his whereabouts made him feel somewhat better. The taste of death brought him immense curiosity. Would he turn to dust and ashes? Would he be forgotten in memories?

He didn’t think anyone would remember him. To his father, he was a trophy; to his friends, a competition; and to outsiders, a freak. His loss would merely be a statistic: a decline in Korea’s population digits, a decrease in the number of distinction holders in the country, and one less student in Seoul University’s register.

That’s what he thought.

Until he came across you.

You, with your brown eyes, small frame, your liveliness and your beauty.

It was a rainy day in Seoul when he was walking past the bus stand after wrecking his father’s beloved car in a deliberate crash. Unfortunately, he made it out unscathed, only injuring the vehicle. Maybe Heeseung had been born with a shit ton of luck, destined to waste it away.

Regardless, thanks to that golden tub of luck, he was able to land his gaze on you. Heeseung unintentionally remembered countless formulae and research, but the one thing he intended to remember—fucking forced himself to perfectly encode in his memory—was the way you looked that day.

Brown hair slightly wet, sticking to your jawline, knitted brows, and wide eyes staring up at the sky in vengeful retaliation. Heeseung stopped in his tracks.

He had never seen an angel angry.

You dialled a number on your mobile and spoke calmly into your phone.

“The bus is running late. Pick me up.” He remembered a sulking pout on your lips.

“It’s raining! I don’t even have an umbrella. You want me to walk?” He remembered incredulous horror written across your features, lips frowning at the caller’s words.

“Fine... Please! There, I said it, now come quick.” He remembered you rolling your eyes, biting your lip and clenching your bag’s strap tighter.

The phone call ended, and you folded your arms over your chest, letting the damp material cling to your bust, detailing the line of your bra as you tapped your foot on the drenched footpath, staring ahead in longing.

That day, an inactive section of his brain burst out with life, that’s all he could theorise. He wanted to devour you, grope your drenched body, kiss your red mouth, force his fingers into your most sensitive tissues and consume your cries.

He wanted to destroy the person on that call with you, bury them within the earth’s deepest pits so they’d never return to you. He wanted the earth to swallow you and him together, so he could hide you away and savour this moment. He wanted to be the only existence to remember you, here, standing at the bus stop, waiting for a ride home.

Why were you here alone anyway? Who was coming?

Heeseung wanted to shadow you from the rain. If he was a part of your life, he’d chase away all the buses—let alone make you wait for one to pick you up. He would stand drenched in the rain if it meant your ass would only meet the covers of his seat.

A booming motion of the car made your eyes light up. Heeseung’s chest knotted up, a foreign emotion bubbling in his throat as a blonde braked his car before you. You hurried to climb into the passenger’s seat, and then he drove away. Just like that.

He hadn’t hurt someone so far in this life, but the urge to drive a car into the blonde grew tenaciously strong. He had never felt such hatred and venom consume his being. The thought of you getting into that car, going away to share a life Heeseung wasn’t a part of left a gnawing anger in his chest.

His heart which hadn’t felt something in so long suddenly felt alive, riveting with twisted emotions. Heeseung didn’t want to live, but suddenly he didn’t want to die either. He didn’t wish to be remembered, but suddenly he wanted at least one person to remember.

That day he came to a staggering conclusion: Heeseung was unfit to be loved, but he wasn’t unfit to love.

—.—.—.—.—.—.—

Peak hours on a Monday afternoon started early. Waitresses ambled from one table to another, carrying orders as the room bustled with young college students, conversing and gossiping while awaiting their snacks. The rich essence of chocolate and coffee beans filled the air, stirring hunger among individuals working alone with their noses in laptops and textbooks.

Heeseung’s lips curved in a knowing smile: if you were here, you’d be one of those unaccompanied goody two shoes, sipping on a chocolate milkshake, jotting things down in your notebook. He pictured your brows scrunched as you wrapped your beautiful lips around the straw, gulping long sips and pulling away with a content smile.

“Baby, can’t we go somewhere more private?”

His jaw tightened, aggravated at the shrill interruption. He feigned a smile, his gaze falling back on the red-haired bimbo who stared at him like he was the answer to her every prayer.

Heeseung grabbed a fork, scooping up a bite of strawberry cheesecake before filling his mouth. His stomach fluttered as he revelled in the sweet texture. Ever since stealing those kisses, he couldn’t stop craving sweet treats. He even bought some candies on his way home that morning, already feeling the withdrawals kicking in.

“But how’ll we do this—in private?”

The girl stared in confusion before she was yanked into his embrace, his warm lips slamming into hers, kissing her aggressively, the sweet creaminess from the cake transferring into her mouth. She moaned, licking his lips incessantly, begging for entrance, but Heeseung dismissed her attempts, his brows furrowed in annoyance.

Nervously, the red-haired girl slid her chair closer, biting her lip as she observed the underwhelmed expression on his face.

“What’s wrong? Are you mad at me?” She sulked, sucking at her teeth, staring up with concern.

Heeseung shook his head and pulled her into his lap. “Did you do something to make me mad?” He mumbled, rubbing his nose down her neck, peppering small kisses to distract her from his response.

“Ah—n-no! I didn’t,” she gasped, her concern melting away already, her head tilting back as Heeseung planted kisses down her collarbone.

“Shouldn’t you be at uni right now?” He abruptly changed the topic, portraying the perfectly caring boyfriend who gave a shit about her life.

“Yeah, but I’ll ask a friend for the class notes,” she mustered up, her breath laborious as Heeseung ran his hand down her thigh, his kisses growing feistier against her exposed neck.

“Hm, are you that smart?” He pressed on, his patience running out. “Thought I’d fucked you dumb already,” he whispered repulsive words, his hand covering her thighs as the girl tightened in his hold, her lips pressed together to silence any sound, cautious of their surroundings.

Heeseung’s gaze changed, a menacing darkness flashing through. “Smart bitches,” he began, his words blunt and aggressive. “Fucking hate them. Running their big mouths all the damn time,” he declared, his bitter tone making her knees quiver in arousal.

“Tell me, baby, you’re not one of those, are you?” He urged.

One way to access a woman’s weaknesses was to put her up against another.

The girl whose name he had forgotten the second she uttered it, shook her head with desperation. Had he asked her to admit to murder, she would have agreed.

“No!” She yelped, alarmed at his lack of interest. “I’m so dumb. Barely passing this degree,” she confessed, her voice cracking as she spread her knees for his attention.

“Hm—really?” He mocked, and she nodded, her body pleading for his approval. “But your course is so tough. You must be so smart.” Heeseung’s tone dripped with sarcasm, his frown hinting at his displeasure.

The girl choked; her breaths alarmingly rapid as Heeseung’s fingers trailed closer to her clothed centre. “But not me—there’s some smart girls in my class. I—I’m not like them, Hee,” she rambled, her eyes screwing shut.

“Smart girls like—yourself?” He threw the bait, challenging her, and she immediately shook her head, her body jolting as Heeseung flicked his fingers against her centre.

“Not me—not me. This other girl—Ah!” She bit her tongue, her body trembling as Heeseung drew faint circles against her clit. “There’s—Y/N!”

Bingo.

“She’s like the smartest—oh!”

Heeseung halted his movement, his teeth gritting in frustration, anger bubbling up his throat as the girl kept moaning into her words, prolonging this ordeal. He hadn’t spent the last three days coercing a second-year pharmacology student from your college to serenade and romance. He wanted information.

The girl’s arched frame twisted at the sudden lack of touch, her wet gaze darting to Heeseung’s in urgency.

“Speak,” he commanded bluntly, his usual sugar-coated tone gone along with his smile.

The girl’s expression faltered, her blood turning cold. “Uh—there’s this girl—she’s really smart, always acing her exams,” she responded reluctantly, her insecure gaze attempting to read his intentions.

Heeseung’s hand slid back down to her leaking centre, his movement more vigorous as he wrapped his lips on her earlobe. “You’re so hot like this—like a dumb bitch for me,” he drawled, sucking her sensitive flesh.

His sudden shift in demeanour seemed like a hallucination, his voice now intentionally low and sultry. “You wouldn’t want to be like Y/N, hm? You’re my good girl.”

The girl was a goner. Her head dropped back onto his shoulder, her eyes shut, and her body trembling from his touch, his previous indifference a distant memory.

“Yeah—I am—so—so dumb for you,” she babbled nonsensically. Heeseung’s flicks quickened.

“That bitch—she’s so smart and talks too much, probably why no one likes her. Such a loser— I don’t know why Park Jongseong’s crazy for her.”

Heeseung’s arm faltered, his body freezing.

The girl, lost in the throes of her arousal, ignored it, urgently pressing her hand down to maintain the pressure. “She’s so full of herself. Bet she’s as virgin as a nun—but maybe—she finally let poor Jongseong have a go, who kno—Ah!”

Heeseung yanked her hair back, his clenched fist tightening and ripping a few strands. His gaze was predatory, chest heaving as he stared down at the horrified girl.

“I’ll rip that tongue out, sweetheart,” he hissed, his venomous tone cutting through and gripping her heart with horror.

The sickening words replayed like a broken record. A searing sting flared inside his chest, his jaw tightening as he thought of that name: Park Jongseong.

Of course, it was the guy from the photos—it fit him perfectly. His arrogant, self-righteous demeanour, that overly exaggerated smile on his face as he held you. It had to be him.

The imagery the stupid girl on his lap painted, her words dripping with malice for his Y/N; everything began to suffocate his lungs.

Heeseung stared down, his hand still gripping her locks as she looked at him with disbelief.

As he released his grip, she winced, her eyes wet with tears.

Heeseung wrapped an arm around her waist like a shackle, holding her captive as he leaned forward and picked up the steaming hot coffee she had ordered. She flinched as he pushed the cup to her lips.

“Drink.”

The girl stared at him like he had grown two heads.

“It’s too hot—”

“Leave one sip behind, and you’ll wish you had listened.”

Her heart raced, body turning cold. Heeseung’s chilling gaze and crooked smile were laced with demonic intent, making her stomach churn. She had never felt her organs shrivel with just the sight of a man’s empty gaze.

She realised at that very moment. She had to obey or else… she didn’t even want to consider what could happen.

She took the heated cup, gulping down her spit to ease the pressure in her throat.

Then she clung to the cup and downed the entire thing. The first rush of liquid scalded the roof of her mouth. Burns trailed down her tongue, to her throat, buzzing all the way into her stomach. Bloody broils flared up, her muscles jolting in agony as pain overwhelmed her cognition. With an excruciating sob, she dropped the empty cup, shattering it on the ground as she tried screaming for help. 

The busy café didn’t seem to notice anything but the shatter, rolling their eyes at the couple’s antics before continuing with their own endeavours.

Heeseung patted her head, smiling in satisfaction. “That’s my good girl.” 

The sobbing girl tore herself from his lap. Standing on quivering limbs, she scrambled to grab her purse and dashed towards the exit.

To Heeseung’s delight, the red-haired bimbo wasn’t so useless after all. He now had a name: Park Jongseong.

Grabbing his phone, Heeseung dialled a number.

“Sim, for your birthday, let’s plan something crazy.”

—.—.—.—.—.—.—

The homeroom buzzed with chatter as students scattered to join their friends at the end of the lecture. While most were preparing to head home, you had to stay back for the weekly council meeting. With your head slack on the table, you shut your eyes and let out an irked groan, wishing you could abandon all your duties and just scramble home.

“Y/N, just resign already. You’re too exhausted,” Yeji, your best friend, called out, rolling her eyes as she zipped up her tote bag.

You groaned again, slamming your head against the table. “You have no idea how badly I want to take your stupid advice,” you whined, rubbing your temples in pain.

Yeji, her pink hair perfectly styled, retouched her lip gloss and eyed your sulking frame. “You take on too much for no reason,” she sighed, finishing her touch-up and patting your head.

“Can’t you loosen up? Look at me, we have finals coming up, and I’m off clubbing with Jaemin,” she gloated, her smile widening at the thought of her boyfriend.

Getting into the world’s best university on an eighty per cent scholarship was tough, but no one prepared you for the strenuous part: upholding those perks. Paired with a demanding course load, extracurriculars and volunteer work felt like a constant nuisance.

“I wish…” you muttered.

Knowing her best friend’s upright nature, Yeji shook her head in defeat.

“Besides that, I’ll be having fun soon,” you iterated, and Yeji instantly grew alert, her eyes wide with anticipation.

“You’re getting a boyfriend?” She gasped, grabbing your shoulders to turn you towards her in excitement. 

“No!” You dismissed, and Yeji’s excitement died as soon as it began, releasing your shoulders in frustration.

“At this point, I strongly believe you wish to die a virgin,” she remarked, running her fingers through her dark strands, her gaze cold. “You even rejected Jongseong,” Yeji huffed.

You winced.

It had been three months since you had been hit by a truck of feelings from the raven-haired boy. Three months of discomfort and pain.

You were introduced to your senior, Park Jongseong, as a good friend of Na Jaemin. The two friend groups had merged, and soon the initial trio—Yeji, Ji-min, and you—grew an acquaintanceship with their group: Jay, Jaemin, and Jisung.

Since you had been to an all-girls school, the first few months of interactions were painstakingly awkward. You felt like an outsider even in a room full of familiar people.

You envied your best friends Yeji and Ji-min for their effortless socialisation skills. Whilst they enjoyed trips and study sessions with the guys, you drew a line, only speaking when spoken to.

In the first year, you were constantly running away from this new world of discomfort. Jay, however, refused to draw a barrier. Like the definition of a headstrong man, he never gave up. Gestures like stopping you in the hallways to talk about his hobbies and inviting you to all his parties showed you that Jay was making a real effort at friendship.

All of it came tumbling down when he confessed to you. The friendship you treasured faded, and you both became strangers again.

“Don’t bring him up,” you gritted, your heart plummeting as you remembered all the distant memories.

You recalled that nightmarish day. You might take this to your grave but Park Jongseong was your first crush. You secretly liked him throughout the farce of friendship.

He held your bag after class, joined extracurriculars like the music society and learned amazing guitar skills. He took you shopping to destress after you failed your lab assessment and played silly nursery rhymes on his guitar to make you laugh. Everything was special until the last day of the second semester.

Jay had asked you to a movie, and as always, you assumed he meant everyone in the friend group, so you called Yeji and Ji-min along.

The moment he saw you walk in with the girls, his expression fell with dismay. Instead of speaking to you about it, he handed the popcorn to your friends and left.

You followed him instantly, but maybe you shouldn’t have.

“Jay!” You chased after him, your heels thudding against the pavement, confusion painted on your features.

He paused in his tracks and turned, his eyes darkening.

“What’s wrong?”

Instead of responding, Jay’s gaze narrowed, a strained chuckle leaving his mouth. “Don’t act dumb now,” he rasped, his voice bitter.

You opened your mouth to question him, but he suddenly stepped close, his towering frame making your insides queasy.

“It’s always the same with you. How long will you pretend?” Jay’s voice trembled with accusation.

“Do you not see me? Chasing after you like a fucking loser. I’ve spent months trying to figure you out. Stop this game of hide and seek!” He roared, tightening his hold on your shoulders as he stared down at you like a wounded wolf.

You felt so wronged and hurt, your throat clogging up with emotions.

Because Jay was right. You were playing dumb, looking past his feelings, ignoring your own to hide away. Your insecurities and fear of disappointment were louder than his words, ringing in your head like tinnitus.

Because you had always assumed someone as rich and well-put-together as Park Jongseong didn’t need to like a mediocre girl on a scholarship.

You felt that breaking his heart might save his friendship, might save you from the pain of losing his love. So you wanted to sever all chances before you even tasted his love.

“What’re you talking about?”

“Tell me, Y/N. Have you ever once liked me?” He questioned, his gaze softening as he held your face in his hands, his pupils trembling with need.

Yes.

Yes!

“No.”

His arms dropped, his gaze dull and empty as he stared into your tearful eyes.

“We’re good friends, Jay. Look, we don’t have to rush into anything—”

You felt chills run down your spine as he cut off your words, his tone sharp and damaging.

“Delete my number. Don’t ever come see me.”

“And if I ever accidentally find my way back to you, slap me awake like this again.”

He tore his arm from your grip and you two never spoke again.

And then a week later, he started dating your friend Ji-min.

“Y/N!” You snapped out of your thoughts, head swirling with flashbacks as Yeji shouted for your attention. “What fun were you referring to?” She shifted closer, curiosity written across her features.

You smiled, flicking her forehead away.

“Jake suddenly wants a big birthday bash for his twenty-second,” you told her, thinking back to this morning when he was talking over the phone with his friends, inviting them to his party.

Seeing you pass by, he called you back, his face glowing with excitement as he ended the call.

“Invite all your friends and their mamas— it’s my 22nd!” He roared, and you imagined he’d burst into a Taylor Swift, ‘22’, any minute now.

“Jake? He usually calls them juvenile,” Yeji giggled, thinking back to the time she had a fat crush on your brother and how she stuck to him like a leech until he shooed her off.

You nodded, rolling your eyes at your brother’s weird mood swings. “He wants to hold a grand party. You’re invited, I guess,” you waved her off, and Yeji laughed, her eyes twinkling in joy.

“Of course, I’ll be coming with my boo,” she winked. “Is it at the house?” Yeji asked, twirling her strands excitedly.

You shook your head, tidying your desk and packing up. “He’s planning it with his friend, Heeseung.”

Yeji gasped at the name as if it had evoked a cocktail party effect, her eyes wide as she held onto your shoulders. “That friend you had a wet dream of?”

Your jaw dropped, eyes wide in fear, darting across the hall to make sure no one heard her. “Shut up!” You yelled, your cheeks flushed red, the memory of your filthy mind fuelling your embarrassment.

Yeji laughed, a playful glint flashing in her hazel eyes. “What, did I lie?” She crudely announced, and you felt helpless, unable to feign innocence. 

The night had left you shaken up. The truth was, you had never felt this affected by a hallucination— imagination, whatever it was, it blurred the lines between reality and fiction. You imagined Heeseung fondling your breasts, kissing your lips. All of it was a newfound hunger.

You scrambled to call Yeji soon after to regain some composure. After a long discussion, her diagnosis was a ‘severe case of ovulation’, and she prescribed, ‘getting dicked down asap’.

After that night, you kept wishing for more hallucinations, but your brain refused to cooperate. You had to rely on a picture you had stolen from Jake’s phone of Heeseung in a black button-down with his legs spread apart on the couch, his lap seeming so inviting that your abdomen clenched with need.

Maybe, you were ovulating. But why was it so intense?

“You know, maybe you should shoot your shot with him,” Yeji suggested, patting your shoulder as she stood alert, waving at the man standing in the doorway.

“My ride’s here, bye girly!” Yeji waved, setting her already perfect hair for the nth time before skipping to the smiling blonde, his gaze practically shooting hearts at your friend. Jaemin grabbed her hand, and they scattered off.

You sighed.

Lee Heeseung, what are you doing to me?

—.—.—.—.—.—.—

Booming music drowned out any chance of conversation. Guests sprawled in like ants to a sugar cube. Faces glowed with joy, arms carried gifts, and gazes sparkled with anticipation as they searched for the man of honour.

But it wasn't the birthday boy they sought. It was Lee Heeseung, the man who had invited the entire university to his farmhouse. It was a privilege, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

During his four years at the university, he hadn’t spared anyone a glance—let alone befriended anyone. When news circulated of Sim Jaeyun’s birthday invite at Heeseung’s, everyone jumped at the chance.

Girls skipped lessons to find the perfect dress, while guys ransacked their wardrobes for branded watches. Curiosity grew almost sleep-depriving. Who was this friend that Heeseung, the man who never let anyone into his circle, deemed worthy of a lavish party? For weeks, the university buzzed with gossip and excitement leading up to this day.

Heeseung’s gaze was fixed on the main entrance, his lips pressed into a thin line. He remained unmoving as over-enthusiastic people rushed to greet him.

He knew the world like the back of his hand. They hated him and despised his arrogance, yet they flocked to him like moths to a flame. All he had to do was give them a chance, let down his guard and the world would surrender in his palms. But it didn’t matter.

As long as he had your attention, the world could be his.

Jake appeared out of nowhere, his arm settling on Heeseung’s shoulder, smiling as his soccer mates walked in.

“You’re ignoring the entire hall,” Jake muttered, his grip tightening on Heeseung’s shoulder to warn him.

Heeseung glanced at the clock for the nth time, his fingers tapping impatiently against his glass. He barely acknowledged the birthday boy's attempt at conversation, his irritation mounting as the clock ticked on without your presence.

“Where is she?” He questioned.

“She had a presentation to finish up,” Jake said, rolling his eyes. “She’ll be here with Yeji and Jaemin soon.”

Jake wasn’t stupid. He had once believed he was special to Heeseung. The notorious case of Heeseung’s egocentrism was a popular topic in the university’s hallways. Even his soccer buddies claimed Heeseung was a nutcase with extreme intelligence.

When Heeseung approached the basketball team and defeated Jake, the established ace of Seoul University, Jake developed a sense of respect and admiration for him. Despite everyone’s claims, Jake realized Heeseung’s issue wasn’t indifference or social deficiencies.

Everyone was infatuated, enthralled, and unequivocally aware of Heeseung’s gift; he commanded attention because he was extraordinary. The problem was that Heeseung didn’t care about them, and when people realized this, their fantasy shattered, leaving them scraping for bits of attention and bitter envy.

Jake knew Heeseung kept him around for a reason, but despite his awareness, Jake was willing to be a pawn if it meant catching Heeseung’s attention.

“Jakey Jakey— it’s your birthday!” Jake looked away, finding his best friend, Park Sunghoon, on the other end of the hall with a gift bag. Jake’s smile grew, and he signalled to Heeseung that he was heading over. Heeseung nodded, and Jake scurried off.

Heeseung averted his gaze, staring back at the main entrance. The delay grew unbearable, and he considered heading out to the parking lot when suddenly he spotted Jaemin and Yeji walking inside.

He stood alert, his gaze tensely fixed on the door.

He held his breath as you walked into his line of sight. His body felt the shift, breath quickening. His fists tightened, and his gaze traced your body with unfiltered haste. 

Fuck, that black body-con dress, outlining your curves, hugging your body like a second skin. His grip on the glass tightened. The dress revealed your defined collarbones, and the slit from the knee paired with black-heeled boots showcased your smooth, honeyed legs. Your hair was curled slightly, silky strands falling in waves against your cheeks, reaching your elbows.

Heeseung’s head throbbed as he tried to decipher his feelings. Seeing you walk inside with that dress made something rise in his throat, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. It was worse, mentally and physically damaging.

How fucking demeaning. He was a man who never felt the burn of envy, but a fucking dress had him feeling so weak—so horribly jealous.

He wished he could tear it off and burn it to ashes like the scorching flames in his own blood. He had planned this moment all morning, intending to walk up to you with a smile, but now he found it difficult to breathe, let alone move.

However, the world doesn’t stop. Even if he couldn’t move, you very much could.

Your stray gaze finally landed on the familiar figure, and you walked up to him. You still weren’t mentally prepared to face the man you had been dreaming of for the past few weeks, but you found it unkind to ignore him when he had planned this lavish party.

You smiled, holding out a small gift bag.

“As far as I recall, it’s not my birthday,” Heeseung finally found his voice, his cheeky comment making you narrow your eyes.

“It’s basic etiquette to bring something when you visit someone,” you replied a hint of playfulness in your tone. You caught sight of the gift display in the backdrop where innumerable presents were mounted on the table. “I’ll take it there,” you politely acknowledged.

You were ready to walk off, but Heeseung pulled you back, instantly grabbing the present. Taken aback, you opened your mouth to question him, but he ignored your curious gaze.

Everyone stealing reserved glances at the duo paused, their eyes wide, jaws dropped in amusement. Like a boy opening his Christmas gifts, Heeseung rushed to untie the ribbon and tear through the wrapping paper.

“Heeseung, it’s not that great…” your panicked voice cut through, cautious of everyone’s expectant gaze on your gift. The plea went right through him, and he finally discovered a small clear bottle.

You brought him cologne.

You had racked your brain for days on what to bring him, and you had decided upon a blackberry cologne. The succulent scent carried a sinful aura, an intimidating and enigmatic aroma that perfectly captured Lee Heeseung.

Heeseung ran his thumb over the label. Then he unscrewed the top and sprayed it on his wrist. As he brought it to his nose, his heart felt fuller than before.

He imagined you walking into a Jo Malone store, attentively trying numerous scents until the abundant smells overstimulated your senses as you thought of him. How long did you spend deciding on the perfect one? How long did he manage to fill up your head?

“It’s just a small gift,” you mumbled, analysing his features.

“It’s perfect.” He said it with so much sincerity, you had no choice but to believe him.

“Where’s my gift?” Jake appeared with some of his rowdy friends from the sports club, his arm linked with the ice skater, Park Sunghoon. He pouted dramatically, his bottom lip sticking out. You rolled your eyes at his antics.

“Last I checked, you asked me to buy you a Nintendo Switch as an early birthday present,” you replied. Jake gave you a mock glare. “That was ages ago,” he huffed.

Before you could retort, you caught Yeji's eyes from across the room. She stood by the bar, urgently motioning for you to come over. The alarmed look on her face made you excuse yourself from the guys as you hurried to her.

Yeji grabbed your arm with an intense grip, struggling to catch her breath as a crazed laugh bubbled up her throat.

“You’re kidding,” she gasped. “You were talking about Lee Heeseung!” She roared with laughter, her expression priceless as she turned to you.

You stared at her, confused. “What?”

“Y/N!” She shook you slightly, her wide eyes trembling with excitement. “You don’t know him? He’s popular across the entire district!”

Seeing your blank expression, Yeji took it upon herself to fill you in. She pulled out her phone and showed you Seoul University's popular forum dedicated to Heeseung. As she clicked through the links, you realised the man was practically the definition of perfection.

His father owned a large-scale pharmaceutical corporation, and Heeseung was the sole heir. Despite this parental security, he was at the top of his classes, captain of the basketball team, head of the arts and music society, and president of student affairs. By his second semester, he had already secured an internship at HYBE, a massive healthcare conglomerate—separate from his father’s influence. He was so incredibly intelligent that the college even commemorated his achievements with dedicated newsletter columns and interview sessions.

As you absorbed this overwhelming information, Yeji’s tone flattened, her lips pressing into a thin line. “But, Y/N, he’s known as a player,” she reluctantly added. “Apparently, there hasn’t been a girl he hasn’t had.”

You stared silently at the soles of your boots.

Of course, he was a player. Anyone would drop to their knees for a chance to be with him. You had read somewhere that gravitational pull was the strongest in a black hole, but science hadn’t investigated the world’s pull towards Heeseung. You had only met him a couple of days ago, yet he had already made you feel so unbearably enraptured.

Ruminating over Yeji’s words, you were speechless at your own disappointment. How could he affect you so terribly?

“But—he’s never had anything serious,” Yeji tried to console you, squeezing your shoulder.

Throat tightening, you attempted a smile.

“Who invited them?” Yeji's gasp broke through your thoughts, her mouth hanging open, eyes bulging in shock as she stared behind you.

You shifted, turning to see what had her so stunned.

Your jaw dropped.

In walked a couple, hand in hand, wearing complimentary outfits. A couple you hadn’t spoken to in ages, a couple that haunted your sleepless nights: Park Jongseong and Yu Ji-min.

Your frantic gaze searched for Jake, conflicting emotions swirling across your face as you tried to make sense of your surroundings. Your older brother stood inattentive, engrossed in a conversation with Sunghoon as Jay approached him, wearing a broad smile. You watched them exchange a quick handshake, Jake accepting a large gift box.

“Why would Jake invite him?” Yeji huffed.

You didn’t know—but a gut feeling told you this was meant to happen.

The familiar gaze met yours. He was now heading to the leather couch beside his girlfriend, his eyes trained on you. You offered him a tight smile, your insides trembling in growing anxiety.

Jay was stern, his gaze cold and disdainful. Whilst maintaining eye contact, he pulled his girlfriend to sit on his lap, his grip tight on Ji-min’s waist as she whispered something into his ear. 

Your smile dropped at his immaturity.

You had lost both your friends, Jay and Ji-min, because of your mistakes. You had avoided them like the plague, and something deep within you suggested that the mysterious rumours circulating around the university weren’t just random gossip; they were spread by someone you had once considered as close as Yeji.

Something more sinister gnawed at your insides. 

Heeseung.

Amidst the chaos, you felt someone’s piercing gaze on you. Like a magnet, you found him. Under the blue strobe light, Heeseung stood leaning against the bar’s counter, flanked by a few girls, with his eyes fixed on you, watching like a hawk.

Though he was a stranger—a complete nobody in your world—you still felt he was reading you like an open book. Anxiety washed over you, your throat drying up under his intense scrutiny. If your life was split into meaningful chapters, Heeseung knew it by heart, his gaze uncomfortably invasive, expectant as if judging your next move.

A waiter zooming by caught your attention, and you pounced on the opportunity. Fingers trembling, you grabbed a glass of champagne and downed it in one go, the liquor leaving a bitter burn in your throat.

“Y/N, you don’t hold your liquor well,” Yeji frowned. One drink never hurt anyone, and besides, this was a party—everyone was soon going to lose their marbles.

You turned away, grabbing another drink from a passing waiter.

“Y/N, stop!” Yeji warned. You smiled tightly, ready to throw more alcohol into your system.

In a flash, Heeseung, who had been a good fifty people away, stood towering over you. He snatched the glass from your grasp and chugged it down. You watched in disbelief as he slammed the empty glass on a passing waiter’s tray, his gaze darkening as he stared at you. Yeji took it as her cue to scram, rushing to accompany her boyfriend on the dance floor.

Your stomach clenched with want. Even simply dressed in a black t-shirt and leather jeans, his expression sour, his appeal was uncanny. He made you forget the elephant in the room.

“So— he bothers you that much?” Heeseung spat, his voice low and venomous.

He had planned to watch from the sidelines. Jongseong’s name was enough for Heeseung to find sources and sniff out your past link. He was told you had rejected the boy, but that didn’t match Jake’s description of your first crush.

It didn’t take long for Heeseung to realise that you really did like Jongseong, your affection reflected in that picture you still chose to keep. The reason you had declined his proposal wasn’t a mystery either. You feared ruining a chance at friendship, and that conclusion made Heeseung sleepless.

Heeseung had orchestrated this party and invited Jongseong, just to watch your heartbreak. He wanted to dwell in the forlorn misery in your gaze, relish in the fury and hatred fuelling your agonised expression. He wanted you to shatter so that you were left with no choice but to find him. So that he could collect those shards and piece you together. For himself.

Yet here you stood, bothered and apologetic. There wasn’t one bad bone inside you, your heart pure like the sunshine that streaks through his curtains every morning.

“How do you know about Jay?” You curiously pointed out, folding your arms and gazing up at the man.

Heeseung flinched at the nickname. Tightening his fists, he responded with gritted teeth. He didn’t need to lie for this.

“Jake.”

One word and your face crumbled, your finger pointing at the blonde who laughed beside his friends. “Why can’t that idiot keep his mouth shut?” You complained, glaring daggers. You couldn’t believe your brother blurted out your business to Heeseung.

“Do you still want him?”

Say it.

Say it, and he’ll burn this place down, along with Park Jongseong, leaving you with nothing—not even a corpse to mourn—just a speck of remains and dirt.

“I don’t.”

His eyes shifted back to their brown.

“I just wish I hadn’t lost my friends.” You glanced down at your shoes, face shrouded in despair as you reminisced the past.

Heeseung watched the sorrow flicker in your deprived eyes.

This was simpler than he had imagined.

“Let’s get the party started!” Jake yelled at the top of his lungs, carrying a huge celebratory bottle of champagne as everyone huddled around him.

Yeji appeared by your side, dragging you towards the crowd where Jake prepared to unseal the wine, like a cake-cutting ceremony. From your peripheral vision, you noticed Heeseung walk up beside you—until everyone, including Jake, roared for him to come forward.

You watched Heeseung shake his head dismissively, but Jake’s adamant smile made him falter. For the first time, you saw a crack in Heeseung’s stern façade, a genuine sense of joy flashing through his expression.

You watched with intrigue as he stepped up, and Jake finally celebrated his twenty second. Everyone cheered as Jake popped the cork and showered Heeseung and Sunghoon with the essence.

Yeji over-excitedly gasped. During her overjoyed dance, she accidentally slipped forward, toppling her glass of wine onto your dress’s front. You quickly wiped at it, but the liquid soaked into the flimsy fabric with ease.

“Shit— sorry boo,” she cried over the music. You shook your head, dismissing her concern.

“I’m heading to the washroom,” you muttered. She nodded, unsure of your words, as the loud roaring and music drowned everything.

You slipped away from the chaos, excusing your way through until you managed to escape to the other end of the hall. You followed the dim hallway, the raucousness dissolving, as you searched for the nearest bathroom. You found a door at the far end with a staircase to your right and sped towards it.

“Long time.”

You turned, instantly freezing up.

Jay stood at the other end, speaking with his familiar calculated baritone. He stepped forward, watching your shocked expression morph into disappointment.

“Oh, seems like you’re not too happy to see me here,” he claimed, now standing a mere step away, his tone dripping with malice. “Is the princess running away again?” The darkness returned, his jaw clenched.

You gulped, standing upright. “I don’t have anything to say to you,” you told him, turning away.

A bitter chuckle escaped his chest. “Of course, you don’t,” he spat. “Now that you’ve found a man, you don’t have much to say,” he claimed, running his fingers through his dark strands, his gaze menacing.

Your throat burned with hostility. “You’re ridiculous,” you huffed. “Following a girl when you’ve already got a girlfriend—seems like I dodged a bullet.” You uttered the words, disturbed by his arrogant nonchalance, and instantly the atmosphere grew with heightening tension.

Your cruel words seemed to inflict some damage as Jay’s body trembled, his fists tightening in aggravation.

Because you were right. He knew it.

As you stepped away, all common sense evaded him. He grabbed your wrist and slammed you to the wall, a gasp wrenching out of your chest as he hovered above, his hands gripping your waist with an iron grip.

“I never needed you,” he whispered, his eyes wide and pained as you attempted to free yourself, but Jay’s grip on your waist only tightened. “I’ve just liked the chase. You were so full of yourself—so pathetic. Nothing about you ever made me feel something—anything—”

A bloodcurdling scream wrenched out of your throat as a shattering sound reverberated within your frame. Your eyes bulged out, heart trashing and body quivering in horror. One second Jay was standing, staring at you like a madman, and the next, he was knocked to the ground, blood splattering against your cheeks, staining your dress and skin scarlet.

Breathe. Take a deep breath. Breathe.

You plummeted to the floor, your knees giving out as Jay’s forehead and neck covered in red pooled on the ground. You internally prepared yourself as you looked up, staring at the perpetrator.

A dull void of a gaze, Heeseung’s hand was wrapped around a half-shattered bottle with its sharpened edges dripping Jay’s blood. Your insides clenched in horror.

Heeseung stepped closer as Jay’s limp frame scrambled to sit up, his gaze chasing the danger, his grip on his head loosening as he spotted the man.

“You—you fucking lunatic—what the fuck is wrong with—”

Jay’s yelps fell on deaf ears as Heeseung discarded the bottle and plummeted to the floor before you, his pupils drained of colour and hands trembling as he caressed your cheeks. His thumb rubbed at the splashes of blood, eyes wide with terror—a terror you had never seen. More than his own actions, his line of concern was the beads of red staining your complexion.

“Hee…” you tried to speak, your throat dry and lips quivering.

“It’s okay—you’re okay,” his voice trembled as he consoled himself, more than anyone, his gaze frantically running over your body.

What you didn’t realise was Jay reaching out to grab the loitering bottle. Heeseung’s warm gaze and words were so captivating, pulling you away from the unfolding catastrophe. Suddenly, the fantasy shattered. Jay smashed the bottle against the back of Heeseung’s head.

You screamed, your body jerking alert as you pulled Heeseung into your arms, sobbing aloud. Jay stood on trembling legs, glaring at Heeseung with a poisonous look before limping away. You tightened your hold on Heeseung, your body shaking despite his grievous injury. The attack was strong enough to lash out blood but not wilful enough to break the bottle like Heeseung had done.

You tried to pull away to check his wound, but Heeseung pulled you back into his chest, his arms wrapping around you protectively.

Fuck. He could die right now and he’d be happy. Over the fucking moon. He almost wanted to thank that low-life for brusing him because it worked in his favour.

You gazed upon him with sympathetic attention, like you were gazing upon a wounded puppy. You were finally in his arms, letting him envelop you. He inhaled the scent of vanilla and fresh peaches, his hold on your frame tightening with desperation.

He wanted to consume you.

“Heeseung, let me see your wound,” you softly cried into his shoulder, unable to breathe at the intensity of his clutch.

“It’s not deep—nothing compared to what that moron will take home,” Heeseung arrogantly claimed. His prideful tone made your insides hurl; it reminded you of the initiation. Heeseung had started it all; he had slammed a glass bottle into Jay’s head.

You pushed him back, your gaze stern as you met his aggravated one. “Why?” You cried hysterically, recalling the insanity of the previous moment. “How could you—”

Heeseung’s expression grew colder than ice. “I’ll break every bone he used to touch you,” he declared, the honesty in his tone sending chills down your spine. 

“You literally almost murdered him!” You screeched.

Heeseung cracked a deluded smile. “He’ll wish I had.”

You felt speechless. Utterly stunned into silence. What did that mean? You wanted to assume that his fury made him speak nonsense, that he didn’t mean a word. However, when you stared into Heeseung’s gaze, your stomach turned at the resolute darkness, his words horrifyingly blunt and absurd.

You were about to call him out when you noticed trail of blood slither down the side of his face. You gasped. "You need to get to a hospital,” you urged.

“And explain what?” He scoffed with a playful smile.

You felt bewildered. Of course, you didn't care at the moment! As long as he got treated, you didn't care what lie he spat out.

You glared at him. “You need to get it checked out, Heeseung,” you muttered with concern, noticing the blood kept gushing in thicker streams.

Wordlessly, Heeseung grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers, and nodded as he pulled you to stand. You sighed in relief, grateful that he was finally listening. His grip never faltering on your hand, you both turned towards the venue.

Heeseung suddenly pulled you back, ignoring your confusion, instead climbing up the staircase. “What’re you doing?” You groaned, attempting to retract, but Heeseung just kept walking.

Upstairs, the living room was carpeted with posh couches and chairs. You passed by expensive paintings hung up on the wall as Heeseung took you inside a dark room, stalking through blindly until he pushed at another door.

Lights flickering on, you surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings. Heeseung had brought you to a bathroom. You glanced at him in confusion as he shut the door and turned towards you.

“Heeseung, what’re you doing?”

“You said I need to get my injury checked out,” he responded, leaning down and grabbing a first aid kit from the cubby hole. “I’m doing it,” he flashed you a clever smile, his eyes shining with amusement.

Even if you were about to throw a tantrum, you couldn’t anymore. Heeseung’s words, his eyes, his smile, everything was enough for you to sit still and obey. You watched as he stepped towards the large mirror. He casually tilted his head to inspect the wound.

Expressionless, he opened up the first aid kit, grabbing a transparent bottle and cotton pads like a professional, as if he had already addressed such wounds in the past. With practised nonchalance, he soaked the cotton pad with the liquid and pressed it into the wound.

You winced, instinctively jumping forward to grab the bottle from his hand.

“Who deals with a wound like that!” You screeched hysterically.

Heeseung turned, his brows raised, lips pressed in confusion. You put forward your palm, glaring at him. He surveyed your stern expression and, to your surprise, gave in easily, handing you the stained cotton ball without putting up a fight. You had imagined he would claim he knew more—but Heeseung just stared at you passively. You gulped, edging forward.

You knew the wound was deeply ingrained on the right side of his head, but reaching it was an issue. You were a good half a person shorter than him, his towering frame allowing you to reach only his chest. Standing on your tiptoes, you could only make it to his collarbone. You tried pushing up to reach the mark, but it remained physically impossible.

You noticed the amusement sparking in his expression, his lips curving into a gentle smile. “What’s so funny?” You gruffly questioned, and his smile only grew more.

He wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you up, setting you on the cold basin. He turned, towering between your parted legs.

“There.”

You quickly recovered, ignoring the butterflies fluttering in your chest or the heat stirring from where he had just touched you. You reached up. The angle allowed you to address the wound better.

Thankfully, there was a single cut, slashing down to the nape. You held the cotton against the cut, letting it absorb the blood, and then gently swirled it across.

Heeseung’s breathing suddenly grew heavy, and you flinched, quickly scanning his face for hints of pain. “Is it too bad?” You muttered, your eyes wide and voice reluctantly soft.

He nodded. It was painful, so unbearably agonising like he was thrown into a fuming furnace, burning and dying, then reincarnating and burning every breath he spent in your vicinity.

His fists tightened, his gaze tracing your attentive expression, your lips puckered in deep concentration, hands so gentle, like a mother’s touch—or what Heeseung assumed must’ve been had he ever felt one. The past month he only dreamed of this moment—to have you before him, launched between his legs, attending only to him.

You cleaned up his wound with precision. He had practice, but your touch was magical—a healing balm of its own.

“Have you done this for anyone else?” His question came out gruffer than expected, his stomach twisting as he imagined you perched on a sink like this for someone else.

You finished cleaning up, moving to grab the bandage. “Of course not,” you huffed, peeling the bandaid from the wrapper.

“I just know I’m not supposed to stab wounds like that,” you sarcastically claimed, reminded of him jabbing his head. “You’re the future doctor… you should know this,” you leaned to the side, pressing the band-aid into his scalp.

“They teach us how to treat,” he stated. “Whatever gets the job done,” he shrugged.

You couldn’t help but grimace at his words.

“If you don’t treat with the element of pain in mind, you’ll hurt yourself more.”

Heeseung's throat was suddenly tighter than normal.

You wiped your hands with a tissue. Shifting closer, you inspected Heeseung’s injury one more time. You were about to get off the sink when you noticed glimmering bits of glass nestled in his hair. Impulsively, you reached out, flicking the strands.

“Oh—!” You jerked away, your finger cut by an unseen sharp edge that pierced the flesh.

Before the blood even oozed out, Heeseung sprang forward, grabbing your wrist, his gaze wide with horror as he impulsively pulled your finger into his mouth.

An astonished gasp escaped your chest.

Wide-eyed, you watched Heeseung suck around your finger.

At the first drop of your blood against his tongue, Heeseung’s eyes screwed shut, his body heating up, the metallic taste mixed with your skin’s sweetness creating a delicious buzz within his taste buds. Maybe if he drank enough, you'd really become a part of his being; if he fused your blood with his, you'd somehow become his.

He lapped at the drop incessantly, his hand reaching to lock your wrist in place as he covered your finger with saliva.

There was a shift in the air. You felt it in your bones.

As he looked up, meeting your eyes while simultaneously drenching your finger inside his mouth, your body began to heat up. A burn ignited at the centre of your legs, your imagination running wild, your limbs quivering.

Time became meaningless as he revelled in the euphoric bliss. When he noticed you weren’t pulling away or flinching, his muscles clenched with want. Instead, your cheeks were redd, eyes fluttering in bashfulness. Warmth in his blood shot lower, pooling within his sensitive region.

A thrum vibrated his own being as Heeseung popped another finger into his mouth, his sucking growing intense, lascivious, and hungrier. Your body jolted as his slick enveloped your digits, his tongue tirelessly flicking and tasting.

You wanted to intervene and stop this madness, but suddenly you couldn’t find your voice. Your throat refused to cooperate, and your lips denied any help.

His gaze was trained on your expressions, every blink, every gasp. He wanted to memorise the way your cheeks blushed scarlet and mouth opened in silent gasps. You were so beautiful, so perfect, so his.

“Hee—” you managed to choke out.

Heeseung’s hardness jerked in his pants, his body shaking with want. You had just attempted to say his name.

Suddenly, he pulled his mouth away and yanked you to the floor. You fell against his chest, your feet staggering on the marble floor, a stunned gasp escaping your mouth. He didn’t let you process it, his moves sharp and abrupt.

Your jaw dropped as you felt the tent of arousal straining against your abdomen. Your underwear was drenched, muscles taut as the reality dawned upon you. Lee Heeseung wanted you.

“Feel that—fuck—do you feel it?” He rasped against your ear, his hardened tone and body making you forget any coherent response, your body tensing up in his embrace. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful—stunning—so breathtaking. You make me—” His voice cracked as he felt nestled his nose against your neck, sniffing like a dog.

“Make you…” you pleaded for him to continue, craving his validation.

“Make me pathetic—so damn pathetic,” he blurted, his mind elsewhere as he sucked onto your earlobe.

His kisses ran down your neck, and he urgently flicked the hair away to feast. He pressed his lips gently, wanting to savour every moment and worship every inch, but within the first contact, his patience was out the window. He pushed his throbbing body into yours, knocking you against the sink as his mouth opened wide, biting into your flesh.

His mind fell numb as your taste and scent drove him to the brink of euphoria. He found it strange how you turned him into a quivering virgin mess with just this.

Your gasps reverberated in the bathroom walls, your frame quivering.

His touch was desperate, persistent like he was holding onto you for dear life. Fingers interlocked in your strands, body shaking with restrain as his mouth devoured your neck, you felt lost in a sea of pure bliss. You hadn’t had many sexual experiences in your life, but whatever make out sessions you had shared with boys in first year didn’t live up to this feeling, this hunger— from him.

“Ah!”

Every hair on his body stood alert. Your sounds were so pretty just like your body. He knew he couldn’t live without absolutely breaking your resilience. He had to tear through your exterior and drag out the vulnerable girl who moves to his rhythm, sings to his beat and responds to his call.

“Heeseung—Ah!” Your body tensed, his name falling from your mouth as his kisses grew frantic, prolonged. You were so flustered that you felt the world knock off its axis. You urgently held onto his tense shoulders, hoping you wouldn't fall over with the intensity of his want.

Had it been any other girl in his arms, anyone, he’d have thrown her on the floor and fulfilled his depraved desires. He’d have coerced her lust, used and abused her body like a mere object for his release. He wanted to do the same to you like he’d envisioned every night.

But you weren’t any girl. You weren't a momentary escape. For the first time in his life, he wanted it both: lust and love. He wanted to ruin you for everyone— not just physically but emotionally. He wanted your body and your soul.

And you were the sole reason he unwillingly held back, restrained his desire to rip you apart.

Breathless and flustered, you struggled to gather your thoughts. Your body was begging for him, but you couldn’t look past the reality.

This was Lee Heeseung, the hottest playboy, the genius, the most eligible bachelor in Korea—and most importantly, your brother’s best friend. You were calling his name so embarrassingly, and you were certain going all the way, he’d have nothing to do with you after tonight. He was like a forbidden fruit, so effortlessly desirable but never yours.

He will never be yours.

Your eyes burned with tears. You had managed to like him so much, and tonight it would crumble apart. Just the way you had ended up running from Jay, you should run from Heeseung before he takes your heart with him.

Determined, you pushed against him. The sudden move knocked him away, his reddened face twisting in confusion and frustration at the distance.

You quickly stumbled to the sink, splashing cold water on your face. Your complexion as red as a cherry, eyes shining, indicating hints of your previous bliss; Heeseung had littered red and purple marks all over your neck, his saliva still warming your flesh.

Behind you, Heeseung appeared, wrapping his arms around your waist. His eyes locked onto your reflection, his gaze darkening as it traced the curve of your neck. The heat between you intensified, his desire becoming evident as he pressed his aching body into yours. His eyes fluttered shut, savouring the sensation of your soft curves against him.

Embarrassingly, your abdomen clenched again.

“T—this is wrong. Stop,” you babbled, pushing him away, your dejected tone falling on deaf ears as he pressed into you again. “Heeseung—” You turned, using all your force to push him away. He looked up, his eyes clearly unfocused.

The bathroom was getting stuffy now. His unnerving gaze made it hard to breathe. You stepped away, yanking the bathroom door open and rushing out into the bleak room, your breathing unnecessarily heavy. Your body was aching with arousal, wanting to go back into his arms and give yourself up.

Heeseung shot out, grabbing your waist and jerking you into his hold, his heavy breaths lingering against your earlobe. You tried pulling away when suddenly he whipped you around.

With darkness blinding your vision, you couldn’t evade him as he yanked you into his chest and slammed his lips into yours.

The taste of cherries overwhelmed your senses, your body liquifying as he immediately plunged his tongue into your mouth, tasting you.

Every instant in his life had brought him to this moment. He knew it when he kissed your mouth, licked your tongue, traced your gums—he knew you were meant for him. Your beauty was his to ruin. Your taste was his to devour. Your love was his to take.

A strange sensation flared up in his chest, spreading to his heart. For the first time, all his medical knowledge felt useless—he didn’t even feel human because even they could identify sensations.

Heeseung cupped your jaw, his lips trembling as he took in all your taste had to offer. His teeth clashed with yours, and his saliva dripped down your chin, his tongue rolling against yours as he poured an overwhelming flood of unnamed emotions into you.

His erection pressed against your lower stomach as he kissed you breathlessly. Suddenly, he was tearing at his buttons, desperate to feel your skin against his.

His kiss felt urgent, charged with arousal. You felt like you would blow into tattered pieces with the intensity of his touch, his deprivation and lust. Your fingers ran through his tousled strands, clenching for semblance of control as he sucked the soul out of you.

Your lungs flared up in discomfort due to the limited oxygen supply. You gasped, pushing at his shoulders with all your strength. Heeseung’s grip didn’t falter. Your gasps grew more strained and alarming. Only when you felt tears blurring your vision did Heeseung relent.

Both of you panted like dogs, heaving breaths echoing through the room.

“Stop it!” You screamed, pushing him away as you blindly searched for the exit. 

Yellow lights flickered on, the sudden burst blinding you momentarily. Heeseung stood like a barrier blocking the door, his advantage clear as he seemed to have the room mapped out in his head.

Pupils blown out, he panted, his gaze clouded with the need to ravage and devour you whole. His undone button-down hung the shoulders, revealing honey toned chest and tense abs, descending lower into his pants. Your mouth dried up, but you forced yourself to remain unfeeling.

You voiced out, “Let me go—”

“Why?” He asked gruffly. His eyes locked onto your trembling orbs, his brows arching in frustration.

“I can’t have you?” He whispered.

His words were laced with provocation. He hadn’t felt such an urgency to ruin someone, ever. He ached to feel your skin against his. He was hurting to fill you. If you wanted, he would plummet to his knees, stick out his tongue and shamelessly beg, plead. 

You looked at him with indifference. “You’re my brother’s—”

“So what?” He barked, his abrupt interruption making your breath stutter.

He stepped closer until he had you pressed against the wall, his arms on either side, locking you in place. You hadn’t expected him to be this eager. Why did he care? A man like Heeseung could get any woman on earth. One look and they’d drop their panties to the floor. Your glare grew more acrimonious at the realisation.

You pushed at his chest, your fingers grazing his warm skin, lighting up fireworks in your system. “I refuse to be your one-night fantasy, Heeseung,” you stuttered, unshed tears slipping out.

The fury in his gaze collapsed, his lips parting in stunned horror.

This was your chance…to run free, to protect whatever’s left of your heart. Hastily, you dashed to the door, your grip pulling at the handle when suddenly Heeseung was behind you, enveloping your waist.

You screamed and struggled, your feet kicking the air as he carried you away and tossed you onto the bed. You fought against his manhandling, punching and pushing against him, but he just stared at you like you were a weak feline lashing out.

He let you burst out until your energy had depleted and you fell limp.

“You’re fucking joking,” he laughed, disbelief coursing through his frame. “One night fantasy?” He spat, his fists tightening at the audacity of your words.

You stared back, matching his intensity. “Isn’t it famously known?" You huffed. “You don’t touch a woman you’ve had once,” you snarled, your tone dripping with hostility.

That sent him spiralling. “I don’t,” he declared. He watched the spark in your eyes die down, tears running down your cheeks. You attempted to get up, but Heeseung dropped to his knees, his hands scrambling to cup your face.

His heart pounded so hard, that he felt its drumming within his entire being. “You’re not any woman,” his voice cracked, his throat tightening as he kissed your tears one by one. “You’re mine."

He hadn’t said anything more honest in his entire life.

Yet, you looked at him the same—awfully sceptical, disbelieving. He had attempted to pour out his heart, claim you as his, but you gazed at him like he was a liar, a deceiver. Heeseung dropped his arms, anger surging within his blood.

“You don’t believe me,” he declared, his tone laced with bitter sarcasm.

You wanted to so badly—but you had no reason to. Why would he fall for you?

You watched as Heeseung’s gaze frantically scoured the room.

Something ominous was happening. You felt your stomach twist. You called his name, but he turned away, dashing towards the study table. You stared in confusion as he grabbed his car key. 

Without any warning, Heeseung struck the sharp edge into his chest, stabbing himself in his sternum. A scream lurched out your throat, your breath stuttering as you attempted to get to him. He forced the key inside, tearing through the flesh in a line. Blood gushed through the wound, but Heeseung’s concentration remained firm.

“What the fuck— stop-stop!” You screeched, finally getting a hold of his arm.

He didn’t stop, still working on creating the art piece he wanted you to see. You felt lightheaded as you fought against his determined actions. Unable to knock him back into reality, you decided to fling at the key, letting it slip from his grasp.

Horror ceased your chest. The scarred flesh formed a letter— your initial. You gazed up at him, your throat constricting as a soul-stirring chill escalated down your spine.

“If I carve you in my blood, will you believe me?” A pained gaze, a torn heart, a horrifying smile.

Your limbs trembled.

You glanced at the wound, lips parting in silent horror.

This was absurd— absolute madness. You couldn’t wrap your head around it, but you knew it was awfully dangerous like playing with fire or chasing a lion into its den. You should be scared— fearing for your life. You should escape right now when you have the chance. You should run and never look back.

There are many shoulds' you encounter in life, but none of them hold any value when something as desirable holds you by the throat. Someone as irresistibly horrifying as Lee Heeseung. Whatever you did next, you knew your fate was sealed. Even if you ran, you couldn't outrun him-- and somewhere in the pool of longing in your depraved heart, you didn't want to. You didn't want to find a way out.

You leaned down and wrapped your lips around his honey peck, swirling your tongue and licking the scarlet oozing from his self-inflicted wound, surprising yourself as you swallowed it down. 

Life and death stood at a standstill. Had you pushed him away, he’d still have ruined you, broken your soul to pieces and killed himself over hurting you. But you chose to acknowledge, indulge in his pained longing, accepting it like a lover's call, making him want to live more— chase more— love more. 

Vision glazed, heart thundering against his chest, he wrapped you in a breathless embrace.

Amid the chaos, a strained voice invaded the room. “Hee— fuck, we’ve got a problem.” 

Your head shot towards the door, eyes wide with fear. 

Fuck.

Your brother was at the door.

A rampant knock. “Hee— you in there?” Jake's voice spilt into the heated room, your body freezing. Heeseung didn't even spare the door a glance as he pressed himself within your body.

“They’ve come looking for drugs— I don’t know who’s called but the police are searching the place.”

Your eyes bulged out of their sockets, jaw-dropping in horror.

Drugs? Police? 

Instead of concern or a slight hint of fear, Heeseung’s grip tightened on your wrists, and he attacked your lips, invading your mouth. You gasped, caught off guard, your jaw opening in a silent gasp. He swallowed your protests, his hands releasing your wrists to grope your butt-cheeks as he hoisted you up in his arms while sucking on your bottom lip. 

“Bro— are you seriously fucking someone right now?” Jake’s incredulous tone made you want to dig a hole and bury yourself inside.

Heeseung’s grip on your buttocks tightened, his groans purposefully filling the room like a silent message for Jake. His knees gave out, knocking you down, your body crashing into the bed as he vigorously unbuckled his jeans. His warm tongue feasted through your mouth, swallowing your complaints, his head lolling into your shoulders as he pressed wet, hasty bites down your neck. 

Another knock. 

“Fuck— Heeseung get out here! They’ve arrested Jongseong.”

You gasped.

What the fuck?

Heeseung paused.

Through glazed vision, he stared down at you. His lips slowly formed a smile that made every hair on your body rise.

Kim Sunoo had really come through, orchestrating a flawless drug raid, planting the evidence in Jongseong's bags and vanishing without a trace. Jay would waste away five years in prison for drug possession— barely enough to atone for the pain he gave you, hopefully enough to erase the longing that fucker held for you. Heeseung knew he owed his partner in crime a bottle of Soju next time Sunoo visited their shared farmhouse.

“Heeseung, we should—”

Heeseung licked your mouth, holding your trembling body in place, his fingers desperately tugging at your straps. Despite your persistence, he didn’t care for anything at the moment. Someone could tell him that the entire house was on fire or that the universe had collided into a meteor, crumbling to bits and pieces, and he’d still ignore it all.

For now, he will spend every second making you his—until his love is conveyed through his hunger, until his touch leaves scars and burns on your soul, until you love him enough to bleed him dry.

[mariacallous]

Next week, a coterie of crypto investors will share an extravagant dinner with US president Donald Trump at his golf club in Washington, DC. They won their seats at the dinner by purchasing large amounts of Trump’s personal crypto coin. But since their places were confirmed on Monday, almost half have gotten rid of their holdings, whether by selling the coins or transferring them to different wallets, a WIRED analysis shows.

The team behind the TRUMP coin announced the dinner competition on April 23, promising to invite the top 220 holders to dine alongside the president. The top 25, meanwhile, would qualify for a doubly exclusive tour and predinner reception, the website explained.

The organizers selected the attendees based on who had bought the most TRUMP and held their coins the longest between the announcement date and May 12. Although a few of the winners have identified themselves publicly—like Sheldon Xia, founder of crypto exchange BitMart—the identities of most are concealed behind leaderboard usernames and alphanumeric crypto wallet addresses.

To claim a spot at the dinner, investors had to purchase at least 4,196 units of the TRUMP coin, worth about $54,000 at the time of writing. To qualify for the reception, the VIPs held around 325,000 TRUMP coins on average, worth roughly $4.2 million.

At the time of writing, 100 of the 220 attendees have done away with practically their entire TRUMP stash, including 17 of the 25 VIPs. One VIP, going by the username Woo, appears to have made a $2.5 million profit on their TRUMP holdings, which they delivered to crypto exchange Binance on Wednesday, presumably with the intention to sell.

Though the attendees would appear to be eager for an audience with Trump, their trading activities since the competition deadline appear to imply a low conviction in the long-term potential of the president’s coin as an investment asset. Representatives for Trump did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

That sentiment appears to be shared broadly among sophisticated crypto investors. As of Friday, only nine smart money traders—meaning those with a strong track record of profitability—are invested in the TRUMP coin, according to analysis by Nicolai Søndergaard, research analyst at blockchain analytics company Nansen.

After the dinner was first announced, analysts expressed concerns about a potential slump in the price after the spaces at the dinner had been confirmed, caused by a sell-off among investors whose immediate incentive to hold the coin had evaporated.

On May 12, the day of the competition deadline, the organizers tried to encourage the qualifying attendees to hold onto their coins, presumably in a bid to avoid a sell-off. Any attendees who arrived at the dinner with as many units of TRUMP as they held at the end of the competition, the organizers announced on X, would be rewarded with a “very special and rare” NFT. They also teased a “rewards points program,” the details of which have not yet been revealed.Got a Tip?Have you invested in Trump’s memecoin? Are you attending the president’s crypto dinner? We'd like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact Joel Khalili securely on Signal on Joel_Khalili.28.

Though many of the qualifying attendees were apparently unmoved by the prospect, choosing to forgo the NFT in favor of offloading their coins, it has not had a material detrimental impact on the TRUMP price. At the time of writing, the TRUMP coin is trading for $12.86 per unit, down from $14.59 on May 12.

The limited decline in price had been predicted in some quarters, attributed to the possibility that holding the coin might yield yet further perks or advantages in the future—potentially including access to Trump.

In establishing an explicit quid pro quo—a large investment in exchange for a dinner with the president—the competition effectively turned TRUMP into a so-called utility coin. That idea is underscored by the rewards program teased by the organizers.

“The market will expect further utility to come from holding that coin,” Nathan van der Heyden, head of business development at crypto company Aragon, told WIRED in April. “Before, you were speculating on a TRUMP coin with no utility. Now you’re speculating on future access to Trump. That has to be worth a bit more money.”

[thefifthnetwork]

Week 5: Motorcycles and Thefts

This week we've got stolen lungs, a stolen TV, and two different stories involving motorcycles.

This is part of a project where I watch The WB and UPN on a 30 year delay. This is crossposted from my website, where you can find an interactive schedule for both networks, including where you can watch these shows today.

Monday February 6, 1995 Star Trek: Voyager S1E05: "Phage" - 8 PM on UPN

Don't you just hate it when an alien steals your lungs? This week's Voyager introduces the Vidiians, an alien species that's restored to stealing organs to try to combat a deadly disease (the titular phage).

The Vidiians will return at some point, but the focus here was really more on the Doctor starting to stretch the bounds of his programmed duties by creatively finding a stopgap solution to save Neelix, and then on Neelix himself dealing with the possibility of living indefinitely with holographic lungs. I'll link my friend @elimgarakdemocrat's recent post on Neelix here that was sparked by rewatching this episode with me [1].

Platypus Man E03: "The Apartment Show" - 9 PM on UPN

I generally liked the A plot of this episode about Paige wanting a baby and trying to find a sperm donor. The B plot about Richard trying to keep his rent controlled apartment when his ex-girlfriend's name is on the lease was more meh. The quality of the recording I was watching was also awful, with static-y audio throughout and occasional skips, so as an actual viewing experience, this was kind of unpleasant. Speaking of unpleasant...

Pig Sty E03: "Iowa vs. New York" - 9:30 PM on UPN

Actually, this week's Pig Sty was fine. The A plot about Iowa's misadventures in attempting to get cable legally was a perfectly okay sitcom story. The B plot about Cal stealing socks from an old man was weird but a pretty small part of the episode as a whole.

One bone to pick: the boys apparently need cable to watch Tess play a minor character in an episode of Voyager, but UPN should have been available over-the-air for free like other broadcast networks. Both new networks certainly had issues with getting affiliates to cover the whole country, but New York had UPN flagship station WWOR-TV for the network's entire existence. Am I misunderstanding something here, or was this just a plot contrivance that I'm reading too much into?

Tuesday February 7, 1995 Marker E04: "High & Wild" - 8 PM on UPN

In this week's Marker, Richard helps an up and coming baseball pitcher and the wife he's in the process of divorcing. The pitcher is attacked by someone on a motorcycle, and his wife's recent interest in them makes her a prime suspect.

I don't know what it is about this show, but I find myself fully engaged with pretty much every episode, even though I can't really find anything special about the show as a whole.

The Watcher E04: "A Change of Heart" - 9 PM on UPN

Wednesday February 8, 1995 The Wayans Bros. S1E05: "My Fair Marlon" - 8 PM on The WB

I was lukewarm on this week's Wayans Bros at first, where Shawn plays Cyrano to help Marlon woo a girl, but I thought the ending in the restaurant was really strong. Sidenote, but I loved Lisa's outfit in the scene where she discovers the love letter Shawn wrote on behalf of Marlon [2].

The Parent 'Hood S1E04: "Crappy Anniversary" - 8:30 PM on The WB

This week's episode of The Parent 'Hood felt a bit disjointed, though I think some of that might be some poorly timed ad breaks from Tubi. The A plot has Robert unwisely pretending to forget his and Jerri's anniversary [3], which backfires when a blizzard cancels his elaborate actual plans. The B-plot here involves Zaria loaning Michael the money to buy a 3DO [4] and making him earn back the money in increasingly embarrassing ways.

Definitely the weakest episode so far, but the cast and overall writing quality keeps even a meh episode of The Parent 'Hood enjoyable.

Unhappily Ever After S1E05: "Jack The Ripper" - 9 PM on The WB

Unhappily Ever After continues to have the occasional decent joke buried under mountains of misanthropy, sexism, and just general mean-spiritedness. This week's episode revolves around Jennifer's mother, who everyone in the family hates [5]. Jack accidentally(?) hits her with his new motorcycle. There's then an extended sequence of Jack's various fantasies of killing her, which honestly might be the episode's strongest part? Anyway, this show remains at the top of my list to drop when the schedule gets busier in the fall.

Muscle: "Episode 6" - 9:30 PM on The WB

Next week, we get one more new show from this first season, as there's actually an episode of The Watcher that I've been able to find a source for.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It refers specifically to the events of the fourth season episode "Mortal Coil", but it definitely applies more broadly. I'd forgotten an episode this early was so dark for Neelix, since I know there's another dark Neelix episode coming up towards the end of this season. ↩

See the header image for this post ↩

At the suggestion of his friends Wendell (Faizon Love) and Derek (Bobby McGee), who have appeared previously, but I don't think I've mentioned them, probably because they're the weakest part of the show. ↩

It really tightly dates this episode that the 3DO could have been the hot new game console, since it was released in late 1993 and was pretty much immediately obsoleted by the PlayStation, which released in September 1995 in North America. ↩

Seemingly even more than they all hate each other. ↩

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Pitch for a Dark Pictures Anthology game:

1) The title

“Siblings”

2) The prologue

In 1963, Dr. Sean West and Dr. Sadie Miller (the red herring protagonists) are members of the illegal CIA program Project MKUltra. They are experimenting on a woman who they believe has some sort of telepathic power.

Things go awry when the woman escapes, resulting in a massacre of the entire staff. West and Miller attempt to escape, but are eventually slaughtered by the unnamed woman.

(The order and manner in which Sean and Sadie can die will be affected by the players’ actions)

3) The main story

In the present day, the focus is on a fashion show in Milan, Italy. Our main characters are patrons of the show, there to enjoy the spectacle. The show is run by an elderly billionaire named Lawrence Donahue, who was apparently a big deal in American politics during the 1970s.

The show suddenly takes a turn for the worst with the arrival of two teenagers; Francis and his sister April. The two teenagers get into a fight and the crowd kicks both of them out, believing them to be unruly protestors of opposing causes.

That’s when it’s revealed that Francis and April are the great-grandchildren of the unnamed woman from the prologue. The woman’s descendants all ended up developing some sort of telepathic/telekinetic power. Francis has the power of mind control, to create mental illusions, and change how people view the world (so he’s like the fear gas from Man of Medan). April has telekinesis (so she’s Carrie or Eleven).

It’s revealed that Lawrence Donahue was a high-ranking member of Project MKUltra. In response to the unnamed woman’s rampage in 1963, Lawrence sent mercenaries to kill her in 1983. Since then, the unnamed woman’s family has tried to avenge her death, but failed every time.

Francis is here to kill Lawrence. April is here to stop Francis, believing that the desire for revenge is tearing the family apart. Unfortunately, our main heroes are caught in the middle of Francis and April’s fight. It’ll be up to the players to survive the showdown, as well as determine which sibling wins.

4) Inspirations

The real life Project MKUltra, obviously

Stranger Things (specifically El vs. Vecna)

Carrie

Kilgrave from Jessica Jones

The Umbrella Academy

Resident Evil (sorta, kinda)

Chronicle

5) Main protagonists

a. Chris “Reaper Rick” Bernstein (RELAXED, CONFIDENT): A mainstream hip hop rapper of Jewish and African-American descent. Despite his wealth, he’s down-to-earth and more focused on giving back to his family. He is played by the special celebrity guest star, Daveed Diggs, who you might recognize as Lafayette/Jefferson from the Broadway musical Hamilton.

b. Alison Parker (ARROGANT, OVERBEARING): A wealthy socialite and influencer from the UK. She blatantly admits that the only reason she’s attending the show was for the clout since this was the biggest fashion show of the year.

c. Cho Woo-Jin (COMPLEX, ABRASIVE): The CEO of a South Korean soju company. He was attending the fashion show to get away from his crumbling family life at home, while also supporting his daughter who is one of the runway models.

d. Cho Eun-bi (ADVENTUROUS, AMBITIOUS): Woo-Jin’s daughter and one of the runway models of the fashion show. She is close to her father, but wants to distance herself from her family by achieving her own wealth as an international model.

e. Hector Morales (BRAVE, TEMPERAMENTAL): One of the staff workers. It’s revealed that he hates the hospitality industry due to how the wealthy treat the staff, which is why he doesn’t get along with the other four protagonists at first. Hector fulfills the role of the protagonist who is different from the other 4 (Fliss, John, Salim, Charlie).

6) Other ways to change the ending: Francis or April?

Aside from keeping your characters alive, you can determine who wins the sibling war. So either Francis or April will be the final boss. The game can end with -

* Francis wins by killing April. He then goes on to kill Lawrence Donahue. However, Francis goes on to keep killing as he’s lost his marbles at this point. This would be one of the bad endings.

* April wins by reluctantly killing Francis, thus stopping the rampage. Donahue’s crimes are exposed and is arrested, thus the family gets their revenge anyways. This would be one of the good endings.

* Francis and April both lose since the players choose to tell both of them to fuck off. This results in Francis and April killing each other, leading to the total destruction of the area. The characters can still survive by escaping to safety. This would be a neutral ending.

In all endings, the survival of the 5 protagonists is a separate factor. You can save all of your protagonists in either scenario.

7) Bonus

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2024- Day 20- Alien- Part 1

Insurrection

Woo! I have been waiting for this day, actually since Kinktober Ended. And as you can see, I've been working on this since then too. But granted, I wish I had written more but to stay on schedule, I'm gonna have to end things here with just six parts instead of...however many it would take to finish this.

Ok, so here are the stories that are referenced here. You don't have to read all of these, surely you can get the gist of what's going on and should be able to read this as a stand alone story.

However, if you want the background- It goes back to the OG- the original Isthantari story I wrote- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. As well as characters from the series. Jago and Jaxx- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5. And this takes place during the events of the first story.

As always, huge thanks to @borealwrites for their wonderful Monster March 2024 Prompt List

Monster March 2024 Day 20- Alien- Jika. 

Part 1 

Insurrection

The moment Hazi got the message that Super Queen Kat was about to take over the hive once Jaxon bolted for his Isthantari- Sable, to keep her safe in the takeover, Hazi flew to the Royal Nursery Comb of the Nursery Complex, where the current Royal Princesses were in stasis in their own incubation cells as both larvae and pupae, along with the future consorts were also being incubated in their various stages of larvae and pupae in the Royal Comb. She readily reassigned the future consorts as Specialists and could do so for the entire group. 

Immediately, the other Nursery Drones came and moved the royal consorts and their special cells into the appropriate places for incubation for True Specialists since such cells were custom made for consorts to be organized and reorganized according to each Princess and future Queen. Hazi then called all of her true sisters to assist her in the moving of the larvae and pupae staged Princesses since they were in permanent cells and would need to be moved individually. She could count on the other Nursery Drones to carry out her orders for the Consorts, but the other Nursery Drones would not follow any order she would give for the Princesses because it went against protocol by the Greater Hive Mind Code. 

Because Hazi knew, without a shadow of a doubt that Princess Kai would fall and that all of her royal daughters who were out of the programming stage of their sub adult pupae forms as they would then fully develop into full queens- would be executed as simultaneously as Queen Kai would be. And she needed to save as many of Queen Kai’s true daughters as she could, the same way she had been when Queen Kai had killed and succeeded her own mother, Queen Hita. 

Hazi started with the youngest, moving from individual cell to cell and manually changed the coding on the actual cells to the various larvae staged Princesses- to Royal Nursery Drones- before trying to manually open each cell to get them moved because the Princess Cells were permanent structures, never meant to be moved. The doors were very slow to open and Hazi ordered for her true sisters to move them to the appropriate section and not stop for anyone or anything. Since her true sisters, all of whom - should have been queens in their own rights, just like her, but instead were considered Royal Nursery Drones instead. A very special and very rare classification that was created- just for times like this. 

But because it was not an original command, the Hive Mind was always slow in acceptance of the new orders and the new coding. But it meant that she and her true sisters all kept their higher brain capabilities to have the capacity to tell the Hive Mind ‘no’ or ‘in a minute’ and not complete, blind obedience all others had no choice but to give to the Hive Mind. And actually have something every Royal Class Jika took for granted, distinct, individualism and distinct, differentiated personalities. 

Hazi and her true sisters had to slice the feeding tubes that were attached to the mouths of the Princesses to free them out of the cells themselves when she and her sisters were running out of time to deprogram them manually and there were too many Princesses for just them to do one by one as the royal jelly practically started to ooze down into the floor of the cell out and onto the floor. She and her sisters did her best to cut them out in such a way so that they could readily and easily be hooked up in the nursery drone cells so that they would no longer be fed on royal jelly but a special jelly meant to sustain nursery drone pupae instead. All of her sisters readily pulled the larvae and pupae staged Princesses out of the cells and flew them to the Nursery Drone Comb and set them up with the special Royal Nursery Drone Codes on the cells so that the cells would accept the larvae and Pupae and the program that ran the Nursery Drone Comb- would know to read and assess where they were in incubation and them continue their incubation process according to Nursery Drone Classifications and Specifications. But Hazi stayed and instead did all she could to do the same for all other remaining Princesses so that when her sisters would return they could just take the bodies of the Princesses back to the Nursery Drone Comb. 

Hazi’s true sisters did as she commanded and flew the bodies of the Princesses above the fray of the other Nursery Drones moving larvae from the Queen’s body to the appropriate and regularly planned cells. They flew as fast as they could as they moved them to the Nursery Drone comb. All of them, practically shoving the Princesses into the cells and haphazardly hooking them up to the food and then quickly closing the cells and putting in the new codes before they flew back to Hazi, all of them trying to save as many as they could, some taking two larvae at a time, but the pupae were bigger and they needed to fly those pupae back- each one, only able to carry one in her arms- the same way they had been a generation before. 

Hazi knew the nanosecond Super Queen Kat took over and killed Queen Kai and was starting to take over the Hive Mind because she got the order from the Hive Mind to kill all of Queen Kai’s Princesses as her first order in taking control of the Hive Mind as the New Queen, and her Super Queen Status gave her superior codes to allow for this process to go even faster than any other. 

She could only answer her new orders from the Hive Mind - ‘in a moment’. Because to say ‘no’ would immediately flag her as a target to be killed. She could tell from the lack of feed from Queen Kai and her Mated Escorts- that they were already dead as there was an eerie silence in that part of the communication neural network highway she shared with Queen Kai and her Mated Escorts and Hazi could only hope to wait to hopefully start to hear Super Queen Kat and her Super Escorts begin to take their places on the Hive Mind Communication Network. 

But such things were not happening and she was terrified that they were using a network she was never going to get access to, because she and her true sisters might be killed off in the takeover because of how “new” Royal Nursery Drones were considered to the Jika in general. And because Queen Kat was from the Homeworld, she may not accept anything new. And want to re-establish everything “the tried and true way” or “factory settings” in a sense.  But Hazi couldn’t be caught up in such thoughts right now. She had to use the present to save as many as she could. 

She had to quickly fly to the other Princesses down the Comb- as she had taken to just pressing the ‘need to flee’ emergency evacuation protocols on the other cells so that they would unlock and their protective casings would recede so she could reach in and just cut each one’s feeding tube free so they could be cut out and cut free by her other sisters when they would return.

She continued to do this down the lines of comb to see who else she could save as her sisters came and had to also ignore the order as they cut the openings larger so that they could reach in and pull the pupae staged Princesses out of the cells directly to fly them back to the Nursery Drone Comb again before Queen Kat’s super Consorts came to kill the Princesses themselves when Hazi got the order to clear a path to the Royal Comb for them to do so. 

Hazi knew the ones that had already been programmed to be synced with the Hive Mind itself along with the code to develop their egg cells and were now simply in stasis, fully formed as Queens or at the very least, had already started to develop their own eggs- were as good as dead, as they rested in their stasis cells, completely unaware of the danger looming or the eminent destruction. 

She knew from experience of what happened when her savior had also tried to save even those, last time. They had gotten pregnant and had to be killed pregnant. And it was too dangerous to the Hive as a whole to save them and had even been a risk to her and all of her other sisters. And she couldn’t take that risk with the Princesses she had already saved. 

But she pulled the princesses that were just now entering the programming stage and even in the middle of it- out, handing them to her true sisters that had just returned a third time to try to save the others that Hazi had identified as savable. 

She got all the way down to the very last stage of programming, right before the now programmed queen would sync with the Hive Mind and get the final programming code to develop eggs, just to see one get out of it and start the process of developing eggs. She knew that that Princess was now as good as dead too. 

But the one that just entered the last programming stage? Could be saved. Even the one that was right in the middle of the programming phase? She could still save that one too. She could do it. She was down to these last two. She could save these last two. It wasn’t too late for them. 

Hazi did a forced shutdown of the program itself as she could hear the thunderous, furious buzzing of the Super Consorts who were coming to kill the other Princesses as the whole Nursery suddenly stopped everything. Queen Kai’s body, now dead, immediately stopped laying Larve and the deathly quiet from the Hive Mind besides the order to kill All Princesses and to let all Super Consorts Into the Nursery Comb. They were mere seconds away once they entered the Hive Nest Structure- and would be there any second. She had to use every nanosecond wisely. 

Hazi had no sooner tore the actual cell apart and pulled the princess out to hand to her sister to move into a brand new nursery drone cell before Queen Kat’s escorts came into the Royal Nursery Comb and swarmed the remaining pre-synched and completely programmed and developing princesses, all still in stasis, so that they were never really alive in the first place. They tore the cells open to eat them in order to dispose of them and killed them by eating their heads first as Hazi had to quickly replace the three princesses that had been in the programming phase with the bodies of unprogrammed drones that had been brought by her true sister Hebi when she saw Hazi try to save the ones in the programming phase and knew that the Super Consorts would not stop or rest until all of the “threatening” Princesses were either neutralized or killed. Hebi put the first one into the cell the Princess that had just started to go through programming in after she handed another to Hazi to put into the spot the Last Princess had just been pulled from while their sister Hyi put another pupae in the one in the middle as they put them into cells without the Super Consorts seeming to notice until they moved down the line to kill any who would have even started to enter the programming stage. 

Thankfully, Hazi and her other sisters still had royal jelly to swipe onto the drones to make them “look and taste” like princesses from the royal jelly on their own arms. And with royal jelly dripping down and able to convince the Super Consorts that they had killed all other princesses as they moved to the now empty Princess cells and stopped when there was no one else to eat and recognized Hazi, Hyi and Hebi as the Nursery Drones they were as Hazi’s true sisters told her on their private communication network that they shared just outside of the “public” Hive Mind, that the last three princesses were now safely in Nursery Drone Cells. 

They had done it, they had saved all of the Princesses that they could. 

Hazi smiled victoriously behind her mandibles as her chest heaved from her hard work. She and her true sisters had done it. They had saved who they could. They had done it and done it in time. 

However, once the Super Consorts had reported to the Hive Mind and then went silent when they were all clearly communicating on their own private network too- that they had killed the “Threatening Princesses” and that no other remained. The Order from the Hive Mind ceased and disappeared and instead, was eerily quiet and even practically silent as they simply stood and stared at Hazi and her sisters, who in turn, didn’t move either and just stared back at the Super Consorts. Fearing that if they moved, they would be attacked. 

But instead of leaving, it was clear, these Super Consorts were not as stupid as Hazi and her sisters were hoping for. There was an agonizingly silent stand off between the two sides as neither Hazi, nor her sister Habi or Hyi- stayed perfectly still- as did the Super Consorts. Both sides talking to their own private networks but saying nothing to the Hive Mind. 

The Super Consorts used the awkward moment and soon checked the Hive Mind to see what she had already done to the Princesses who should have been in those empty cells behind the three odd Nursery Drones- that had been there only moments before in order to “neutralize” them as they formed a small triangle between the three of them. But the closest of them, seemed to have her hands out splayed protectively to her sisters behind her. 

The Hive Mind kept no secrets, and plainly told what Hazi and her true sisters- the Royal Nursery Drones- had done, and overridden the programming on the cells before cutting the cells open to release the Princess’ bodies when they had not wanted to open upon Hazi and her sisters’ commands. They themselves had taken Hazi’s orders and moved the Princesses. Once it was clear that Hazi had been the originator of the orders for the Princesses, they all seemed to lock on and onto Hazi as Hazi realized, every single Super Consort was now training their piercing gaze on her. 

‘We should flee’ Habi mentally urged her sister on their own private network that piggy backed on the Hive Mind. That was unique to them and only them. The same way there was a unique private network for unmated Royal Consorts to talk to each other without involving the Hive Mind as well. 

‘No. We move, we’re dead. Just stay still. Don’t move. Don’t show weakness, or guilt. Just stay still, wait for them to move first. But you need to alert the others, I can feel them narrowing on me in particular because I was the initiator. Put a partition on the network to keep our sisters safe from whatever is about to happen to me for being the instigator and initiator.’ Hazi said before she put up a mental divider between herself and her sisters’ on their own private network before she pulled out of it all together. 

“Nurse Hebi, Nurse Hyi- you are both dismissed.” One of the Super Consorts insisted and five of them left the formation to physically escort Hebi and Hyi out of the Royal Comb. 

“Nurse Hazi, you need to stay where you are.” One of the Head Super Consorts- Klip- who was directly across from her- insisted before Hazi gave her sisters one last meaningful look over her shoulder and nodded to the door before Hebi and Hyi- both reluctantly, but obediently moved as the Super Consorts grabbed them by their arms and wings and moved them out of the Royal Comb Room before shutting the door once they were out as all of her other true sisters were anxiously waiting outside the door before they shut, then locked the door and had Hazi fully surrounded as Hazi embraced what would surely happen next, her own death. And could only hope they did so quickly wouldn’t make her suffer too much as she took on the tallest and strongest posture her body would allow, looking this Super Consort right into the eyes and not moving her gaze from him, the same way he wouldn’t move his from her. 

“What’s happening?” They whispered to Hebi and Hyi. 

“I don’t know.” Hebi breathed back in a shaky whisper as she started to try to catch her own breath from practically holding it during the stand off, and could she cry, she would be starting to actually weep from fear for her sister Hazi who was on the other side of that door and completely surrounded.  

The Super Consorts seemed to take a moment to communicate with Queen Kat directly on their own private network as Queen Kat linked up with the Hive Mind fully and successfully took it over as the Super Queen she was. 

Once she was done with that, Queen Kat demanded an “audience” with Hazi, privately too, and for Hazi to be brought to her in the Heart of The Nest. And judging by the tone Queen Kat just used, Hazi knew she was about to meet Queen Kat’s wrath for her lack of obedience to her first order in the Hive Mind. 

The Super Escorts escorted Hazi to where Queen Kat still was, in the heart of the nest where the Queen usually always was- to where the front of Queen Kai’s lifeless body was and her direct link with the Hive Mind from her nest was in the Queen’s inner sanctum as it was clear that Queen Kat had already interfaced with the Hive Mind from here, it’s interface, already her crown on her head in the from of two curved horn like antennae. 

The whole way there, Hazi could do little but try to remember everything her own mentor had taught her before her mentor had passed and had coached Hazi and her true sisters on what to do when this would inevitably happen before they had passed away the previous year before. 

“Isthantari.” Hazi greeted respectfully once she was brought into the front of the nest to greet the markedly tiny pint sized Queen Kat before they were left alone. 

“So, who told you to change all the Princesses to Nursery Drones? That is not something I ordered, nor was it an order from the Former Queen, and it definitely was never an order in the Hive Mind itself. So where did that command come from? Is the Hive Mind itself compromised?” Queen Kat demanded, her offense, that anyone would dare not follow orders taken as a direct insult to her and her reign and rule of this Hive, no matter how new her reign was. 

“No. The Hive Mind is not compromised. It came from my own experience and sense. I gave myself that command and therefore, I carried it out. However I had good reason to give myself the command in the first place.” Hazi answered as tactfully and respectfully as she could.

“What reasons could you have possibly had?” Queen Kat sneered in exasperation as her abdomen began to buzz angrily. But the Super Consorts were right outside the Royal Sanctum- leaving this conversation to be private between the two of them as Hazi could already sense Queen Kat was restricting her access to the Hive Mind in an effort to make the final sever from the Hive Mind that much easier to do when she would decide to end Hazi’s life. But her own Royal Consorts were urging her to hear Hazi out and wait to make a final decision once she did, and doing so from the Hive Mind, so that Hazi could hear it. Which was…odd, especially when they didn’t need to do so, from the comfort of their own Super Private Network. 

“Because it was something that you needed.” Jazi supplied- both calmly and respectfully and most importantly, submissively. 

“Explain.” Queen Kat demanded wearily. 

“Isthantari, I understand that Jaxon reached out to you to come take over this hive because the local human population unintentionally posed a threat to Jika Superiority. A threat that I’m sure you will not have a problem- in dealing with. However, since you are a Super Queen, it means that you will soon need to lay your own Super Princesses when you are not needing to lay Super Drones or any other classification of Jika- yourself. So I simply changed the careers of the remaining, undeveloped and unprogrammed princesses to nursery drones since biologically, there is very little difference between them. They were all young enough and underdeveloped enough to not enter the final developmental stage where they would have eggs of their own, nor, were they ever in the programming stage, and thus, never be a threat to your control of the Hive Mind. And they were also young enough and underdeveloped enough, that when they do finish with their new reassignment and ultimately emerge from the Nursery Drone Cells in the Nursery Drone Comb, and have their own careers changed to that of a Nursery Drone and fully emerge themselves, fully formed as Nursery Drones- they will never know, or be, or act, any different than any other natural Nursery Drone. And that if anything, they will actually be more intelligent and more adaptable and more capable of serving you and the hive by caring for your own Super Princesses and any other classification of any other type of drones as well as any other- when you will lay them yourself. And will be intelligent enough to see probable outcomes and then anticipate and carry out future commands the same way I just have, without the hassle of being told to through the Hive Mind, which already is at its capacity and limit. Especially since taking over a Hive Mind is already a lengthy, intense and complicated process. I did not wish to complicate things further, and only wished to lessen your own load with gaining the control of the Hive Mind as our new Super Queen, which we are happy, relieved and excited to have and serve you from this moment on.” Hazi tried to reason with Super Queen Kat, and do so loudly enough that those Super Consorts could hear too. And hopefully not take too much issue with since she was not allowed to put anything out onto the HIve Mind herself, only “see and hear” in a sense. 

“Now, instead of having to decide on what to do with the remaining larvae, pre-pupae and pupae Princesses, now you no longer have to decide anything, since that issue already has an equitable solution. All those former Princesses that were a threat, have been killed off. All those who never would or even- never will- be a threat, have also been neutralized by having a simple career change and have already been moved and are being nurtured as replacements for the current nursery drones who are already aged and will need to be replaced right when they would be done finishing themselves. And you will have- instead, more avenues to use as discipline and deterrent to the remaining Consorts and even to keep your own Super Consorts in line and always performing their duties perfectly, as such perfect service is especially owed to a Super Queen.” Hazi appealed, the same way her own savior had done to Queen Kai. 

Queen Kat paused to look over Hazi once more, this time, more carefully and actually taking note of distinct characteristics that Hazi had that normal Nursery Drones usually didn’t have. 

“I see from your coloring, that you must have been such a product of having a “change of career”.” Queen Kat snipped, looking at the pearlescent magenta tinged maroon and the subtle metallic gold of her yellow. As if the maroon and dark opaque yellow was an overlay on the royal colors, subduing them and creating its own unique hues. 

“I am. I am one of over a dozen or so in this hive and one of hundreds, in this quadrant and one of thousands in this galaxy and one of millions far and wide across the universe. And it is because of us, that this hive has been as large and successful as it is, even when we had such a weak queen in Queen Kai. It is why this Quadrant is as highly prized as it is. And it is why Hives who have done the same are more successful than the ones who do not take up the new change in protocols. Use the Greater Hive Mind Network and see for yourself what the results of adopting such protocols have done nothing but become even more successful and more profitable. And it is also why this Galaxy that others have come from all over the universe to send their consorts just to this quadrant, in particular, just this hive and others just like it. Because the Hives with the New Protocols are actually better Hives as a whole. The fact that The Hive Network still leaves the New Protocols as up to the discretion of each individual Queen to either accept or refuse, at her and her Hive’s own success or peril.” Hazi explained as she couldn’t help but cast a look over at Queen Kai’s still twitching corpse as it continue to twitch and spasm sporadically and knew her time to convince Queen Kat of the benefits of herself and her true sisters and their “New Codes” was all she could do now before her body joined Queen Kai’s. 

Queen Kat seemed to think this over for a moment as her Super Consorts actually used the Hive Mind to reach out to the Greater Hive Mind Network as well as the local unmated Consorts and all other Royal Families in all other Hives to see if Hazi was speaking the truth before they seemed to all get an overabundance of confirmation as Hazi, could hear it and kept her proud grin under her own mandibles. 

“I would however like to make a suggestion Isthantari.” Jazi said after another moment of awkward silence between them. 

“Oh?” Queen Kat asked, still deciding on whether she should be offended by another female offering her anything other than their complete submission and obedience outside of her own mother and “sisters” in the form of other Jika Queens in the Quadrant. 

“Because you were called early from the Home World, I would suggest keeping Queen Kai’s body alive, to continue to deliver every classification of larvae except royal class- for you while you get up to proper breeding size and any other princesses can simply be added to the natural nursery drone larvae when they would naturally be birthed while the royal consorts would naturally be put with the true specialists since that is what they all end up being when unmated anyway. It will not be hard or difficult for you to get to proper breeding size- here where we have such a nutrient rich planet to pull resources from. Meanwhile, all of the cells for your own Super Princesses will stay free and clear for when you are ready to have them in the Royal Nursery Comb, along with their future Super Royal Consorts. The Royal Jelly will, of course, keep until you are ready to make more yourself for them. But I would hate for this hive to have a whole span of generations lacking in its drones and other non royal members of the hive. For that would be detrimental to this hive and nothing detrimental can be allowed to happen to this hive- especially since you are now The Super Queen of it.” Jazi suggested as she eyed the dead queen’s body worriedly since it was without her head and the embryos and the larvae that were beginning to wriggle in her abdomen were starting to move in anxiety as they sensed that their mother was dead and that they too, would be too- soon enough- as their squirming made Queen Kai’s whole personal nest begin to wriggle and squirm from her extra large abdomen from under the layer of her nest cradling her body, now over full from a pause from not being in a constant state of giving birth to the larvae. 

“Very well, revive only the body to deliver those disgusting squirming drones, take the phallus’ out so that no more eggs will become fertile and prolong her artificial life for a nanosecond longer than it needs to be for. But once that abdomen has delivered the last fertile larvae are laid, kill the rest of it for good, so that I can fully take her place. Because it is clear that there is more than just this matter left unsettled with my takeover.” Queen Kat huffed as she reinstated Hazi’s access and place in the Hive Mind once more before she practically stomped away out of the Queen’s Royal Birthing Sanctum. Her light little steps hardly tapping on the floor as she left as she left with her Super Consorts following behind her. Hazi seemed to get a flurry of messages from the Super Consorts in her own personal message center as well as her sister’s personal correspondence- all of them saying they were looking forward to working with them in the future. But Hazi cared little beside repeating the same polite sentiment back to them, since she cared little about that, but cared all about reviving Queen Kai’s body, just to the point she could reanimate and lay her fertilized eggs and larvae and that none would die and threaten to rot in their spots and possibly kill their neighboring eggs and larvae. 

“Yes my Isthantari.” Hazi readily agreed as she hurried over to Queen Kai’s corpse and had to call in her other sisters to help her revive the body to save the larvae trapped inside the dead queen’s abdomen.

[idolskpop]

Im Soo Hyang and BLACKPINK Jennie: The Secret Behind Their Friendship

Im Soo Hyang and BLACKPINK Jennie are two of the most popular celebrities in South Korea, but did you know that they are also close friends and furmoms? In a recent radio interview, the actress revealed how she met the idol-actress and how they bond over their love for dogs.

How Im Soo Hyang and Jennie Met

(Photo : Singles Magazine's Instagram) Im Soo Hyang and Jennie first met on the set of the variety show “Village Survival, the Eight” in 2018. The show was a mystery-themed program that featured eight celebrities who had to solve clues and find hidden money in a rural village. Im Soo Hyang and Jennie were part of the cast, along with Yoo Jae Suk, Yang Se Hyung, Jang Do Yeon, Son Dam Bi, Kang Ki Young, and Song Kang. The show aired for two seasons, and during that time, Im Soo Hyang and Jennie became close friends. They showed their chemistry and friendship on screen, as they teamed up to solve puzzles, played games, cooked meals, and shared stories. They also had a lot of fun moments, such as when Im Soo Hyang teased Jennie for being scared of bugs, or when Jennie helped Im Soo Hyang with her makeup.

(Photo : Im Soo Hyang Official Instagram) The two also supported each other’s careers. Im Soo Hyang attended BLACKPINK’s concert in Seoul in 2018, while Jennie sent a coffee truck to the set of Im Soo Hyang’s drama “Graceful Family” in 2019. They also exchanged gifts, such as when Jennie gave Im Soo Hyang a large flower pot and some Gentle Monster goodies in 2022.

How Im Soo Hyang and Jennie Bond Over Their Dogs

(Photo : Im Soo Hyang Official Instagram) Another thing that Im Soo Hyang and Jennie have in common is their love for dogs. Im Soo Hyang raises three bichon frise dogs named Aki, Ori, and Rai, while Jennie has two dogs named Kai and Kuma. Kai sadly passed away earlier this year, leaving Jennie heartbroken. Im Soo Hyang shared that she often visits Jennie’s house with her dogs, and they have playdates together. She also revealed that her dogs participated in a photoshoot with BLACKPINK for their Season’s Greetings Calendar. On October 2nd, Im Soo Hyang appeared on Park Ha Sun’s radio program “Cinetown” and talked about her friendship with Jennie. She said: “Aki, Ori and I were invited to Jennie’s Season’s Greetings Calendar photoshoot. We’re both furmoms. My dogs took photos together with BLACKPINK. It’s an honor to my family. I regret not bringing Rai with me.”

(Photo : Im Soo Hyang Instagram) BLACKPINK Jennie with Im Soo Hyang's dog She also mentioned that she met Jennie through “Village Survival, the Eight” and that they are very similar in personality. “We’re both shy at first, but once we get close, we’re very talkative and playful. We also have similar tastes in food and fashion.” Im Soo Hyang also praised Jennie for being a kind and humble person. “She’s very sweet and considerate. She always takes care of me and asks me how I’m doing. She’s also very down-to-earth and doesn’t act like a superstar.”

What Im Soo Hyang and Jennie Are Up To Now

(Photo : Im Soo Hyang Instagram) Im Soo Hyang is currently busy with her acting projects. She recently starred in the historical fantasy drama “Kokdu: Season of Deity” alongside Kim Jung Hyun, Kim Da Som, Ahn Woo Yeon, Kim In Kwon, and Cha Chung Hwa. The drama aired from January 27 to March 24, 2023 on MBC TV. She is also set to lead the upcoming romance drama “Beauty and the Devoted” with Ji Hyun Woo. The drama is written by Kim Sa Kyung, who previously worked with Im Soo Hyang on “Young Lady and Gentleman” and “Blow Breeze”. The drama tells the story of an actress who falls from grace overnight and a producing director who helps her rise again through love. The drama is expected to air in early 2024 on KBS2.

(Photo : Ji Hyun Woo Instagram) Jennie is also busy with her activities as a member of BLACKPINK. The group recently celebrated their seventh anniversary on August 8th with a special live broadcast for their fans. They also released their movie “BLACKPINK: The Movie” on August 4th as part of their “4+1 PROJECT”. Jennie is also preparing for her solo comeback, which is rumored to be released in October or November this year. She debuted as a solo artist in 2018 with her hit song “SOLO”, which has over 700 million views on YouTube. She is also known for her fashion sense and endorsements, such as Chanel, Hera, and Dashing Diva.

Conclusion

(Photo : Im Soo Hyang Instagram) Im Soo Hyang with BLACKPINK Jennie's surprise gift Im Soo Hyang and BLACKPINK Jennie are two talented and beautiful stars who have a lot in common. They are not only friends, but also furmoms who love their dogs. They also support each other’s careers and personal lives. They are an example of a true friendship in the entertainment industry. What do you think of Im Soo Hyang and Jennie’s friendship? Do you like their dramas and music? Feel free to share your thoughts and leave a comment below. Subscribe to IDOLS KPOP for exclusive updates and captivating content. Read the full article

[w4rningbutterflies]

at the mention of the pond, she perks up a little bit, leaning in to listen; ever since she's moved here, she's found solace in koi ponds.  something about watching the fish swim among themselves peacefully managed to calm her down as well; she debated once having a koi pond built, but the apartment she lived in was no place for it.  so for now she takes to visiting them in parks and at businesses, spending time out there and carrying around a small bag of the food in her pocket.  it's a gentle offering to them and whatever peaceful god that they seem to serve.  it never ceases to amaze her just how big they get, either.  part of her questions if this is another sign that maybe semi is worth her time, that this relationship is some sort of divine intervention.  though, it's not a relationship  ––  they're both just merely interested and maven has to remind herself of that.  if she doesn't, part of her worries that she's going to freak out and ruin it with her inability to actually be in them.  she supposes he might understand though; he had played volleyball and had been an athlete for a time  ––  did he have to dedicate as much of himself as she has?

she watches heat travel up his neck and the faintest of smiles curls at the corners of her lips.  he's embarrassed.  it feels good to have the heat off of her for a moment, to give her a familiar upperhand.  she rocks on the balls of her feet, forgetting for a moment that she still has blades and guards on.  it's almost enough to take her off balance, but a lifetime of doing it keeps her straightened, only the most miniscule tightening of her thighs.  ❝ roselle said it was your band that was playing that night at the bar.  i walked in on the last few songs and it didn't sound half bad. ❞  a gentle tease; giving him somewhere to interject if he wants to rightfully stick up for his music.  it's the type that she listens to  ––  something that's got feeling to it and a good beat.  the heavy guitar and fast drums pounded in the time with how she could toe at the ice;  she's been experimenting with it lately and it's seemed to work well.  she can't say for certain if she can map out an entire routine to it yet, but it feels promising.  it feels like something that she's needed  ––  something darker that makes heads turn in the way that settles in her veins.  ❝ i'd like that though, the tickets to come see you.  i don't need backstage access  ––  that's not really watching anything.  seeing how you guys connect with a crowd?  that's how you can tell if someone's meant to be a musician or not. ❞  part of her wonders if she sounds pretentious for that comment, but figures it's honest enough that it won't bite into her chances too much.

surprise does come across her face though at the offer; is that an annoying flutter in her chest at such a thing?  it's just a music track  ––  there is nothing to feel special about.  she's positive that he uses lines like this on everyone just like every musician does.  but maven lets herself feel special for a moment, allows her to feel the warmth of it that spreads in her stomach and up her chest.  ❝ we'll see.  it comes down to what the committee thinks is good for the program as well. ❞  it comes out dismissive and she means it to  ––  to show that she will not be easily wooed by something as simple as an unreleased song, even if she knows she is.  it's not that she doesn't like semi or wants to take his ego down a notch; it's that her guard is coming up slightly, whether she means for it to or not.

at his suggestion though she laughs, because she honestly would love to get out of there.  she's tired of watching other skaters and having a camera pan over like she is meant to be excited to see where they place.  no, she has her assurance, she has her win, and she is more than ready to actively eat something.  ❝ some food sounds good. i have to change out of this first and exchange my skates out, but then i should be ready. ❞  reaching out, she loops a pass around his neck so that he can come backstage, and she leads effortlessly toward where the dressing rooms are.  ❝ wait here. ❞  for a moment she hesitates, but then she slips past the doorway and heads to where her stall is.  she makes quick work of changing out of her outfit and takes her time tying her shoes and packing things up.  it's only after a moment that she hesitates putting the snake in the bag, then finds a gentle place for it where it won't get jostled too much.  she slings her baby over her shoulder and heads out, surprise showing over her face at the fact that he's still there.  ❝ you…waited. ❞  for a moment she feels foolish, soft pink tinting her cheeks, then she shakes her head a little as she nods toward the exit.  ❝ there's a diner a few blocks from here i think.  unless you have a better suggestion. ❞   she's used to take out in her apartment after a competition if she's not on a plain, and even then she's usually so exhausted that it's a few forkfuls of rice before she's passing out on the couch.  this is new territory for her  ––  and as she looks over at the pierced boy beside her, she wonders if it's wrong to want to get used to it.

no one was the same as they were in high school, even if it hadn't been that long ago. he's not in his forties reminiscing over the boy he once was. no, semi liked to think that he had changed, even just a little. the people he knew in high school would agree, especially the boys on the team. he hears it frequently. comments about how he appears more approachable, even with his current edgy fashion sense, that he seems more comfortable in general and has come out of his shell more, and his absolute favourite is that people think he looks happier. sure, semi was happy in school and in volleyball, he had the drive to train and get better and the passion for it, but there were some parts of the whole experience he hadn't enjoyed. their coach, for one, was borderline abusive towards them all. semi remembered countless times he had almost vomited from the amount of cardio their coach had forced them to complete as punishment for losing a match, the karasuno punishment being almost scarred into his memory. perhaps that was why he looked happier now, knowing he didn't need to worry about brutal punishments for getting the pitch wrong whilst testing out new lyrics in a song, there was no such thing as one hundred pushups for being out of tune on his guitar.

even so, he doesn't resent the old man. he learned discipline and routine, something a boy needs to become a man. and that's something semi uses every single day. from brushing his teeth to picking out his socks, it's wired into his being now. funnily enough, it didn't help much with flirting, which semi was horrible at. even so, he thought he was doing alright based on maven's reaction. the way her cheeks warmed at his compliment made him almost smug, but his smile remained innocent as he watched her try to sort out her emotions and think of a way to react. it made him feel like he was doing this right, that he wasn't being too pushy, but not nonchalant in his advancement. he likes her, that's not exactly subtle, and neither is the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing. what is subtle is the fact he can't talk to women as a whole, that he's not the type to chat his way into bedding pretty girls. he's rather private about that sort of thing, especially when being interviewed with his band, which was now beginning to gather a nice fanbase. no, he wasn't a whore, but he's aware of the stigma around bands. especially the type of band he's a part of. and yet, maven still remains interested.

she seems to collect herself enough to ask him to thank his drummer, to which he nods at politely, intending to do as much. but she continues, revealing another little tidbit of information that he takes a mental note of. ❝ koi are beautiful. there's a lovely pond near where my band practices, we've named all the fish. ❞ he'll be sure to take pictures and send them now that he knows she also likes them. before he can continue that conversation, she changes the topic, now bringing up his band's music, which, for some reason, has him stumped for words. for some reason, he'd never really considered the fact she'd listen to his music on her own accord and actually enjoy it. to willingly search up the name, listen to a few songs -- to listen to every second of just one song. it's his turn to feel embarrassed now, and he doesn't hate the feeling. the way the heat travels up his neck, the way his lips curl into an almost shy smile, yet he feels absolutely ecstatic about it. this was an odd feeling. and she wants to dance to it? for a good moment, semi can't think of a single thing to say, his head has turned upside down. when he does sort everything out inside his head, he huffs a gentle breath, his smile widening even more. ❝ i'm at a loss for words, if i'm honest. for some reason i didn't think you'd listen to my music or like it... ❞ trailing off, his eyes soften at a thought he has, but he doesn't voice it just yet. ❝ you should come and see my band then. i'll get you tickets, let them bring you backstage and stuff. ❞

now he knows she likes his music, he'd give her all the access he could.

❝ if you decide to submit one of our songs for your next competition, you can use one from our new album we've not released yet. ❞ he's certain his band would be alright with that. while his intentions weren't for his own benefit, it would help promote his band and their music. but he doesn't particularly care about that in this instance; he just wants maven to feel special. skating to one of his songs that no one else had heard, one that hadn't been released into the world, seemed like quite a romantic gesture. it seemed like a conversation they could have, but not in the middle of a skating competition, not when someone else was being brought out to the rink. turning his head, semi watches as the crowd cheers for the new skater before turning back to maven and clearing his throat, dipping his head down a little so she could hear him over the cheers. ❝ i'm not too sure what skaters do after their competitions, but do you want to go grab a drink and something to eat? or even a coffee? ❞

[annasghosts]

Here's some other Jily fics I love!! Part 1 here

Love Is Complicated by @theesteemedladydebourgh : Three years. Longing. Academic shenanigans in Egypt. Almost-kisses. A snowed-in office on Christmas Eve. Or, the one time James Potter’s (who is not Indiana Jones, no matter what he thinks) spur of the moment passion quest isn’t for an ancient artifact.

This was the first muggle AU I've ever read so it has a special place in my heart! James is both hot and dorky and Lily's pining is *chef's kiss*

Everything but the Kitchen Sink by @ghostofbambifanfiction :consequences ensue when James Potter drunkenly promises to bring his arch-nemesis to his friend's wedding as his date. Oops?

James is horny AND terrified by Lily (as he should be!!)

(Didn't I?) (Didn't I?) Didn't I See You Crying? by @wearingaberetinparis : James Potter has fancied Mary Macdonald for as long as he can remember. Everything about her is practically perfect, except for – if he were being honest and he always liked to be – her choice in friends. For Mary’s best friend, Lily Evans, is a right shrew and, much to his dismay, the Head Girl to his Head Boy. Lily Evans had disliked James Potter with a passion after their first interaction on the Hogwarts Express. A dislike that turned into hate – never mind that she also has an infatuation going, but no one needs to know about that – as soon as he decided to make her life a living hell. Unfortunately for her, he also decided (a few years earlier) that her very best friend in the world was the worthy object of his affections. (Which was fine, really. She wasn't about to cry over it, for Godric's sake. She was a strong and independent young woman, thank you very much. And yes, perhaps she was a little in love, but it was all for nothing, so she had to keep calm and carry on.) Certainly, their complicated past would result in major disaster if common ground was not soon established. For the love of Merlin, though, why did either of them think it would be a good idea for Lily to help James woo Mary Macdonald?

This is peak idiots in love! Lily, my love, why would you play cupid for your best friend and the boy you have a crush on?? 🥺

And all the pieces fall by @downn-in-flames : When Puddlemere United picks up the infamous James Potter’s contract, the entire program is thrilled… with the exception of one assistant coach by the name of Lily Evans, who had really hoped she'd never see him again.

HOT, HOT, HOT!! A great enemies to lovers with a very intriguing plot. BAMF Lily alert!

On a Scale of One to Ten by @petalstofish : Lily starts falling for an insecure, yet charming auror named James who is recovering from injury in her ward. No one else on staff will sit and talk to him, mostly due to septic skin covering most of his upper torso. Lily, however, finds him charming and funny. Naturally, when James' injuries start healing, he grows more and more handsome. The other healers suddenly take interest in James, romantically, and Lily grows jealous.

So wholesome!! Such a sweet take on Jily falling in love ❤️

[grrrlsoverdramas]

Here with my semi-annual brain dump about global perspectives vs culturally-informed criticism!!

So, my main perspective on Autistic rep in Extraordinary Attorney Woo is informed by being a teacher in Korea for 2 years + having friends who worked with students with developmental differences there for longer than me and then being a teacher in the US for many years who has worked with a number of students with Autism.

Which is to say I don’t get to decide if something is good or right, but here some things I consider when thinking about the representation here (or elsewhere) in Kdramas. Most of this sort of applies broadly to how I think of rep of any type of difference, not just developmental differences:

You might be interested in this scholarship review on ASD in Korean children to see where I’m coming from. It’s outdated (from 2013) but that’s how such things work.

Be aware of when you are thinking about global representation vs. kdrama representation. When it comes to representation, I am a big proponent of the idea that more representation is better than “good” representation.  The more characters with xyz difference, the more opportunity there is for characters to be diverse, specific, and interesting, and the less important it is for them to be “accurate.” (I know it’s not THAT simple -- like there are things that ARE just wrong... my Big Thing as the granddaughter of someone with schizophrenia is media ALWAYSSS confusing it with DID... so the “diversity” of schizophrenic characters is just a bunch of characters who aren’t schizophrenic -- check out a beautiful mind or, surprisingly, criminal minds for the only portrayals I personally like) You might look at this drama and feel like it’s all been done before or it’s leaning into tired tropes, but are those *GLOBAL* tropes or things you’ve seen a million times in kdramas?  I’m not saying one way of looking at it is better, but I always think it’s important to be aware of the fact that even a netflix kdrama that is meant to be “global” is also being made by Korean people with a Korean audience in mind. Just as an example, many people who watch this show will hear the Korean term for echolalia for the first time. Even if they might have seen it in other foreign-language media, I think that sort of thing is valuable if we’re thinking exclusively about representation as a societal device for good.

Developmental differences and disabilities are treated very differently in Korea than where I live in the US.  Schools don’t have inclusion programs, for instance.  At one of my schools in Korea, a student who needed a lot of extra academic support was lucky if a public service military officer happened to be assigned to the school.  He would sit next to them and “help” - but obviously wasn’t a teacher and didn’t know what he was doing. Of course this show isn’t about her childhood, and I’m NOT saying that Western/American special ed is good for all students all places or even most students in most places, but it’s just an example of the fact that things are different, how society works is different.

Korean culture is its own thing and how someone with social communication differences interacts in that culture feels VERY hard to compare to American/Western culture.  Like, if you read the above scholarship review, there is a difference in themes of pretend play for anglo-american children and korean-american children! Wild! I’m interested in how much this portrayal is driven by actual input from or research into Korean Autistic people and how much is driven by portrayals of Autism in Western media. For instance, they showed Young-woo being uncomfortable with a handshake, but handshakes are RARE in Korea, even when being introduced to people! Korea also has MANY more social RULES. Meaning, you don’t need to use subtle social cues to determine how to interact with someone. You are taught at a young age how to greet people, when to use honorifics, how to refer to people. In fact, according to the above scholarship review, a child’s difficulty to use honorifics correctly is one way to help form a diagnosis. All of this is to say that trying to read characters in kdramas based on expected Western behaviors or values will always be flawed, and that continues to be true in this context!

[wonlouvre]

wonwoo + childhood friends to lovers?? maybe some jealousy involved on woos side eliciting a confession?❤️❤️

home | j. ww.

pairing: wonwoo x g.n. oc genre: fluff warnings: none (please tell me if i missed anything!) word count: 1.3k

💌: thank you for requesting dear anon! i hope you really like this :’) so much wonwoo content if you haven’t noticed by now and i’m living for it! thank you again! please do tell me what you think <3

Wonwoo thinks of himself as a coward for not swallowing his pride and reservations in telling you the truth. The truth about how much he is so in love with you,  it’s making it difficult for him to physically breathe. He hasn’t planned on confessing yet, but as the days go by, he thinks he’s running out of time. And even though he still sees you every day and you still keep him around, it's not enough. It’s not enough that he’s not holding your hands like he wants to or kissing you senseless like he wishes to. 

It’s not enough that he can’t love you more than just a friend. 

 “Wonwoo?”

You have been trying to get the boy’s attention for the past minute because it’s starting to concern you how much he’s spaced out. You have already tapped his shoulder, poked his cheek and even tickled his side. But to no avail, he was just staring at his book and sighing defeatedly. 

“Wonwoo?” You shake him again and finally, he looks at you. 

“Oh?” Wonwoo leans close and gives his glasses clad eyes to you. “What’s wrong?”

You sadly smile, bringing a hand up to fix his fringe. “Don’t you think I should be asking you that? You’ve been distracted ever since we got here.”

You and Wonwoo never created a schedule to study together, but by some unknown force, you always gravitated towards each other. It usually just takes one text message or one call and you’d be meeting at the university’s library in no time. Maybe, it’s a thing to be in sync with your childhood friend. You’re not sure, but you’re not ruling out the possibility. 

You and Wonwoo became friends when you just turned six years old and he was already nine. The two of you are next door neighbors, even up to now. Both of your parents became friends in an instant, automatically drawing you close to the shy boy with ease. He was timid and reluctant at first, but eventually he warmed up to you. 

The two of you were at each other’s side growing up. Attended the same school and always hang out afterwards despite the fact that he’s ahead of you. Went to the same playground. Ate at the local street food stands. Played at the only arcade established in the neighborhood. All of those done, together. 

It’s not that difficult to keep communication lines open and connection intact most especially when your bedroom windows are both adjacent. It’s a little bit unbelievable, but you and Wonwoo saw the different phases of your lives through those windows. You saw him escape through that window to play computer games with Woozi once. On the other hand, he saw you through that window dancing to one of your favorite songs. No hints of embarrassment. You even developed a code where there’s a number of knocks on the glass that will indicate your identities. You can enter at the main entrance of course, but this is special between the two of you. 

Well puberty was a different chapter and the two of you may or may not have distanced for quite a while. But, your friendship triumphed over the trials. 

Several people have asked if you have feelings for your friend. And several times, you denied. Likewise, Wonwoo has had his fair share of nosy people. It’s a conversation that you two have already talked about a year into college. The two of you were awfully awkward in denying, but shrugged it off nevertheless. By far, no one has asked again ever since. 

It didn’t affect your friendship, but a shift definitely happened. Like, the two of you became hyper aware of each other’s presence and actions. Casual gestures became lingering touches. Casual nicknames became specially endearing (that no one else is allowed to say them).

You could say this friendship also became something more as well.

Wonwoo’s heart skipped a beat at the warm sensation of your hand. He plays it cool and scratches the back of his neck, a habit he does when he becomes nervous.

You take notice of that, making you conclude that there’s really something wrong.  “Is there something that’s bothering you?”

Your friend sighs for the nth time and slumps on the open books he has failed to study. Wonwoo’s afraid to ask and he doesn’t even know if he really should. But, he has to get this out of his chest one way or another. “Are you really going on that study date with Jeonghan?”

Suddenly? You frown, confused as to where this is coming from. 

You answer him nonetheless. “Yes. You know I can’t fail this class, right? Jeonghan seemed to be the ace and he’s willing to teach me for free.”

“I can tutor you too, you know?” Wonwoo’s pouting now.

You grin and lean your arms on your notes, mirroring his position. You teasingly narrow your eyes at him and he looks away, annoyed at your antics. “But you don’t have this class in your program, remember?”

“And so?” Wonwoo asks, eyes boring back to you at lightning speed. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have good knowledge about the subject.”

You smirk. Yes, Wonwoo is a coward, but you’re confident. You’re confident with how you have found the only person you’re still friends with since childhood. You’re confident with how you found the only person to teach you how to ride a bike and play computer games. You’re confident with how you found the only person you want to grow old with.

And, you’re confident with how you found Jeon Wonwoo as the only person’s initials you would allow to be at home inside your heart. 

“I smell jealousy,” you state the obvious for him. “Can you confirm that for me, Mr. Jeon?”

Wonwoo was a coward. But not this time anymore. 

Your eyes widen when he suddenly stands up, chair scraping against the wooden floor. What he does next almost made you topple over, but your tight grip on the table kept you grounded. Wonwoo gently holds your chin between his fingers and softly presses his lips against yours. 

Wonwoo is kissing you.

Suddenly, you’re not so confident anymore. Your breath hitches for a short second, but you relax immediately after. You close your eyes and eagerly return his kiss. 

“Uh, guys?”

Wonwoo immediately pulls away and stands straight while you cast your eyes down and pretend to read your notes. Idiot, you scold yourself. There’s nothing wrong with what you just did. Why are we acting like we just committed a crime?

Just like that, the magical moment bursted like a bubble due to Jeonghan's appearance. 

Jeonghan clears his throat and looks between the two of you, back and forth. “You can continue, you know? I'll come back when Y/N���s ready.”

“No!” You and Wonwoo shout in unison and everyone in the library is hissing and shushing. 

“Woah.” Jeonghan raises his hands. “No need to be angry.”

“No, I mean,” you stutter, finding the right words to say before holding the hand of the man who just kissed you. “Wonwoo will tutor me instead.”

Wonwoo blinks in surprise, but gets the message and holds your hand back tightly. “Yeah. I’m- I’ll handle it from here.”

“You know you can just tell me that you have a date, right? Why are you two acting like I don’t know what relationships are,” Jeonghan complains with a roll of his eyes before turning around and walking away. 

You and Wonwoo release a breath of relief, eyes meeting. You couldn’t hold your giggle meanwhile he couldn’t hide the growing smile on his face. You bite your lip and gaze up at him. He fondly caresses the back of your hand and tilts his head, a gesture you clearly know the meaning of.

“How about we do go on that date Jeonghan’s talking about?”

Your face warms, in love. “I’d love to.”

[crustymeowman]

[ crusty rants #2: dual edition!! ]

AD: This volume of crusty rants is brought to you by Dual Argument Shampoo for Eyes. Become the pain in the butt, live out your debate urges. Just joking, eat your opponent's eyeballs. That's Dual Argument Shampoo.

This Program is rated whatever Alexander and Hephastion got on. May contain themes about family issues and verbal fights. Viewer discretion is advised.

Welcome back, I am your host crustymeowman, you can call me crusty.

( AUDIENCE LAUGHS FOR NO REASON )

Today is a very special edition to crusty rants as it has two rants in one post. I learnt the other day when sitting at the table, alone because my wife left that I really hate venting in Discord Channels.

( AUDIENCE FUCKING LAUGHS AGAIN, FOR NO REASON )

I like the concept but I found I like to blog on Tumblr.com because it sort of has that thing where people don't feel entitled to respond. And I like to call my venting more of ranting as you know us sad men, we love to rant about our troubles.

( WHY DOES THE AUDIENCE LAUGH AGAIN. I'M LOOSING IT CRUSTY )

So I wondered why I started this show, why this platform of all things. You know, I enjoy the style of social media this platform carries consistently well.. more very consistently. I'm looking at you Tumblr TV.

( AUDIENCE LAUGH?? )

That aside I have to introduce today's rants. Drum roll please!

( DRUM ROLL SOUND )

My shittyness towards people + a reflection rant on an incident that happened 7 months ago! Woo give a round of a clause people!

( AUDIENCE OBEDIENTLY CLAPS )

Let's start with the first one.

Here I'm going to give a little bit of context. Lately I have been on and off fights with my mother, with stuff like not doing something asked straight way or a slight offset in the tone of my voice. Heck, the tone of my voice is the reason why we get into these hectic fights in the first place. I am nearing the end of a school pathway that was never right for me in the first place and it's stressful. You know that feeling like you want to be glad you are doing something better for yourself, but also like you feel it's a bad idea? All the time man. All the time. But it's worst because we are told whatever we do now, is going to impact our lives. I constantly make impulsive decisions and switching out now, feels like a bad idea. I feel like I'm doing to to be impulsive.

This seems to impact my current relationship with my mother. I don't mean to hurt her with the way I act but sometimes on top of what I said before, school and that way she tries to control what I do, it sets me over the edge. I yell back, I argue back. I'm having screaming fights to fight for my own justice because I'm sick of the little things that annoy me.

But it's whats said that makes me think I'm hurting her. "You cause me stress." That's what she has told me numerous times. It hurts yes, and I understand that I might've been acting and responding in a way so I can understand where she might've been coming from.

We fight mostly also about our miscommunication. I can't find the obvious from her vagueness and she can't tell what I mean half the time. We had a small little fight this morning when she asked me, "How are you cooking the chicken?" which I responded in a jokey manner of, "In a pan?". She thought I understood what she meant; she meant how was I going to cook the pasta sauce for my assignment. I can never really joke around because it's a fifty-fifty chance she might not get the joke. So doing this was playing a dangerous game. Very dangerous game.

( AUDIENCE CONFUSED LAUGH. THEY WERE PROMPTED TO BY LORD FARQUAD'S GUARDS )

It's just not her I feel like I'm hurting. I feel like I'm hurting my friends being just there, making things difficult for everyone. My problems and making things hard for everyone just to get along. I hurt my friend that time when we had that friend group, because I was trying to help her do the math for the costs going out. She got upset but that was not was I intending. I don't intend to hurt my friends. never have been. Though I am very quick to see that I am the problem and apologise without hassle. One of my good traits don't you say my lovely audience?

(I AM NOT GOING TO PUT THEY ARE LAUGHING )

My bluntness and lack of appropriate expression seems to shine through in frustration or when I'm being a stupid shit when joking around. That happened recently online and in real life on two seperate occasions. I don't remember half of the conversation in real life so it's hard to see whether I've hurt someone.

The online was sorta an innocent joke about how i was going to leave a special surprise for them on a very specific date just to be funny. It had fun and good connotations but they took it too literally and it turned out they didn't find it funny. Mind you they found something ( I won't say) funny which wasn't funny but mine was funny cause I actually thought about bringing something nice like a pack of coke cans to them instead of that "devilish surprise" which by the way, I wasn't going to do.

The real life one was I didn't realise it. It was innocently just me hating on vegemite because I revolt the smell of vegemite, like I cannot stand it. That and so many other smells. But another friend and I was joking about it and how it was something on the lines of that joking concept of "white people food". It then evolved into something worse, which I deeply apologised for.

I can't tell when people are upset with me most of the time but I know is when they start to act different around me. And to my beloved audience, help this logical old soul out and do tell me if I have upset you in any way. It is better we resolve it than being upset about it. The solution is key in life

( AUDIENCE CLAPS???!! )

At the end of the day, It's what the kids call a "skill issue" with how I deal with others. They way I act and then the reaction of how I act, sort of piles onto the reasons I don't wanna integrate everyday into our society. I'd rather stay in my house most of the time at this point because I feel I don't deserve friends. I am just a shitty person but hey, isn't everyone? We all have our flaws, we all have bad shitty things we do. As long we as people acknowledge it, we can grow as people.

And that statement leads us into our next segment. Keep watching, we will be back shortly, after the break.

AD: Do you ever see yourself in the mirror and see a person? Yeah, me neither. INTRODUCING: See yourself serum. It rejuvenates that invisible skin of yours and makes you appear visible effortlessly. Try See yourself Serum today and get 99 % off your first order when ordered online! We are not responsible if you start to see yourself 24/7.

Brought to you by clown people co.

( AUDIENCE CLAPS AS CAMERA PANS ACROSS THE AUDIENCE SPRAYING SOMETHING THAT SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT ACROSS THE AUDIENCE. AUDIENCE CLAP IN TEENAGER ANGST.)

Welcome back everyone! If you just tuned in we just talked about my shittyness as a person and how I feel it affects people. You missed something worth breaking your whole body for *laughs*

(AUDIENCE LAUGH ANGSTY )

For those who just tuned in, we are having a dual rant episode today. Our sponsor Dual Argument Shampoo kindly sponsored us today. The stuff... is amazing and you should try it. That was totally not scripted. Give a round of a clause to Dual Argument Shampoo! Eat your opponents eyes!

Ah, now that sponsor is out of the way. Segment 2: My reflection on a incident that happened just a little of 7 months ago.

The context will be short on this one as I want to keep names private and the detail will be lacking due to copyright reasons. They will be referred to as P.

The event where this person and I stopped being friends was on Valentines of this year. I already had a bad feeling about being wanted there, so was this friend (we will call Bel for the sake of confusion) because Bel recently broke up with her boyfriend a week prior to the events and was originally going with him. I know that Bel was about to be uninvited because I saw screenshots of them about to being uninvited as they were no longer in a relationship and this event on Valentines was, "couples only".

So as they good friend I am, I offered to go as replacement for Bel's boyfriend. I got there without Bel so I messaged P asking where they were. My eyesight was bad as I didn't bring glasses so I had trouble seeing afar, especially in a dark place like the event we where at. I was left outside on read for 20 nearly 30 minuets. I was starting to get worried, so I cried outside in distress until Bel arrived. She came down to get me, dragged me upstairs and had a go at P for not answering my messages. They claimed I didn't message them at all on the spot. '

The event was fun and all but the vibe was off the whole time. I felt uneasy most of the time through.

Then after the event was when we walked up and down the road many times because we didn't know what to do. I remember there would be times me and Bel were sat on the park bench and the real couples walked off into the park. This set my uneasiness further.

Then came 6pm and everyone had to leave. P and the other couple carpooled in P Mother's car. Bel had left before 6 so I was left with P. I was left to wait 20 minutes all by myself again outside the closed place and it was the dodgiest part of the area too. I didn't feel safe but that's when I saw Bel walk over. She was pissed at P for leaving me at the place again.

I had enough. The only time iI spoke to them after that was the week after, reluctantly on wanting to speak to them. I had had so many times where they've done stuff to really hurt me and I've easily forgiven them. Not because I was over it it was because it would be a pain within our friend groups since everyone in the friend group were friends. The was many times I could've stopped talking to them like I'm doing now but it was all for the sake of keeping the waters calm.

It's been 7 months now. I'm not upset about Valentines. I am pissed about not getting my apology...we could've solved this problem months ago. And I feel like it's not my place to initiate talk, you audience feel like that? I've asked advice from others but it's the whole thing about that I may have done something wrong. From what I've gathered, the only thing that I could've done wrong was the relationship I had with Bel and the whole beach drama. Which by the way, those were both out of my control, and the friendship thing felt like P was jealous of how strong Bel and I's relationship was. I could feel it when we hung out as a trio, the awkwardness was at times very unbearable.

( CUED MFING CLAP TO BREAK THESE PARAGRAPHS UP )

I have no hate towards this person. I am not angry nor upset. I just didn't agree the way they treated me and others and the whole attention thingy. It was fine before but as you grow as a person, you start to see others for who they are. I chose to ignore, forgive and forget the things that made me dislike them when I was younger.

There was many other things as well that caused conflict in our friendship. I am just glad they are finally attempting to fix those issues but one issue they haven't seemed to fix is the main important one.

I didn't ever stopped talking to P because I didn't want to be friends. I just wanted my apology and them to acknowledge what they did to me and other people. And that's the hard part folks, admitting you are the problem. It's a common coping mechanism to conflict and that's totally okay. As long as we acknowledge that it is okay to be wrong, and it is okay to be the bad guy for a few seconds. There is nothing wrong with it; it makes you more human.

I used to blame others but all it ever did was make the issue worse. You lose people for no reason, you don't gain anything from running away. Heck maybe folks, I should apply that quite literally in real life when I'm running from my never ending job or maybe the reigns of this sloppy life *laughs manically like joker because a joker kinnie*

( CUED LAUGH CUS IT WASN'T FUNNY )

Maturing comes at different stages for different people. We can all learn from today's crusty rant and apply it. Well I hope not because I don't want too many intelligent people on the street having Fight Club fist fights with themselves.

( AUDIENCE LAUGH BECAUSE IF NOT CRUSTY WILL GET MAD FOR NOT LIKING THE SUBTLE FIGHT CLUB REFERENCE. IT AIN'T THAT SUBTLE CRUSTY )

I'm your host crustymeowman and I'll see you next time on crusty rants. Until next time! So long my angsty crusty teens!

OUTRO MUSIC PLAYS OF XENOGENESIS, MATCHING WITH CRUSTYMEOWMAN'S LAST WORDS AT THE BEAT DROP.

[davidlikesguys02]

We Interrupt This Program

M/n= Male Name 

Bold- Means its on a tv screen. 

GIF Not mine

Word count: 2,932

“No, I can't leave Monica.” “mom? It's ok, I can stay with grandma and…” “I can't leave” “maybe I'll build a spaceship. I wanna be an aircraft pilot.” “when they were handing out kids they gave her the toughest one. Lieutenant trouble.” Monica wakes up breathing heavily and hearing crashing and people screaming as she makes her way towards the door and walks out. “Excuse me….” “they're all coming back. We don't have the capacity” the doctor tells her

“Excuse me. I'm looking for a patient. In room 104…” she asks a nurse “who, my wife? Do you have a phone?” “no” “i have to call my wife.” she makes her way towards the front desk “watch out” she bumps into a man, they both fall backwards grunting “let me help you. Are you ok? You ok?” “I got him. I got him.” “Are you ok?” she asks as she gets up groaning. She turns to the lady in the front desk.

“Excuse me. I'm looking for a patient in room number 104.” “I don't know what to tell you” she starts looking around her “Monica?” “oh, Dr. Highland, thank god!” “I can't believe it, where did you go?” “well, in her room since she came back from the surgery. I mean, I might have fallen asleep, but no longer than 20 minutes. Dr. Highland, where's my mom?” “your mom, she died honey” “what? No, no, no, no you're mistaken. My mother...the procedure went well. You said so yourself. Clean margins. You’re discharging her today”

“The cancer came back.” “Okay, stop, stop. No youre...my mom is Maria Rambeau. Look it up. I mean look it up. Maria Rambeau.” “Monica, I don't understand what's happening, but you need to listen to me Marian died three years ago.” “three? No. no. no…” “which was two years after you…” “after i what? After what?” “after you disappeared.”

Monica is walking towards big metal doors. She takes out her keycards but it beeps so she tries again but it beeped again “Ma’am? Over here please” she walked over to him smiling “hi, good morning. I work here. And…” “if you did, your badge would work, wouldn't it?” “right um… I have a meeting with…” “hey. You know who this is?” “..this guy” “Captain Monica Rambeau.” “Director Tyler Hayward”

“Acting Director. You haven't aged a day” “and you look old as hell” Tyler chuckles “come on, let's catch you up. It's been three weeks and you're the first to report. Cant say I'm surprised captain.” “How are the numbers for the astronaut training program?” “ Dismal. Lost half my personnel in The Blip and half of those remaining have lost their nerve. The program hasn't been the same since you've been up there, Rambeau. We shifted away from manned missions and refocused on robotics, nanotech, AI. Sentient Weapons, like it says on the door.”

“It also says observation and response on that door, not creation” “worlds not the same as you left it. Space is now full of unexpected threats” “always was full of threats. And allies” “Listen, Monica, I just wanna acknowledge the awkwardness of the situation. I know S.W.O.R.D.'s your home. Your mom built this place from the ground up. You grew up here. You should've been here to help name the replacement.” “you were the obvious choice”

“I was the only choice.” “I wasn't gonna say it. Look, Tyler, you know the job you have to do. I'm here to do mine.” ”Let's get you back out there.” he takes out his keycard and opens the door to his office. “The FBI is in a tizzy over missing persons case up in Jersey…” “missing persons?” “I know. But they have requested use of one of our imaging drones, and I need a chaperone.”

“Tyler, drones usually chaperone me.” “i get it” “look, if this is because of...you don't have to worry about me. I'm good.” “There's no easy way to say this, but you're grounded.” Monica chuckles “you're kidding. For how long? Who whose protocol is this?” “Your mother's. She implemented guidelines in the event vanished personnel ever returned. Look, I know it's a raw deal, but there is one positive takeaway.” “what's that?” “she believed you'd come back. You'd be doing me a big favor with this FBI thing, but if you need more time…”

“No. no. I'm good to go” “excellent. Keep me updated, captain.” Monica finally arrived at Westview “James E. Woo, FBI” “Monica Rambeau, S.W.O.R.D. what's the story here, agent woo?” “I've got a witness setup down the road in Westview, and this morning, it looked like he flew the coop?” “Your missing person is in the witness protection program?”

“I have contacted known associates, relatives…” “and let me guess, none of them have seen him either?” “No. None of them have ever heard of him. Something seemed hanky to me, so I took the first flight out of Oakland to interface with local law enforcement, which is when I encountered a new wrinkle.” “what's that?” “Pardon me, Sheriff. Would you mind repeating your claim about Westview to my colleague here?” “no such place” “you're saying the town of Westview, New Jersey, does not exist?”

“It's what I keep telling your G-man here, but he won't listen.” “I see. and , um, I'm sorry, what town are you from?” “Eastview” “Thank you, Sheriff. I'll reach out if we need any further assistance. I, uh, pulled phone numbers for all the residents. I'm only through the D’s, but so far I got Diddly Squat.” “So you can't reach anyone inside and everyone on the outside has some sort of selective amnesia?”

“This isn't a missing person's case, Captain Rambeau, it's a missing town. Population: 3,892.” “Why haven't you gone inside to investigate?” “Cause it doesn't want me to. You can feel it too, can't you? Nobody's supposed to go in.” Monica walks over to her car and pulls out a drone. “What about you?” “Me? Well, I'm from Bakersfield, originally. Growing up, other kids had Michael Jordan posters on their walls, but I had Eliot Ness.”

“No, no, no, no. I mean, why is it that you have an awareness of Westview? Or me, for that matter? Is it because we are outside of a certain radius, or maybe because we don't have a personal connection?” She looks at the screen but the drone malfunctions. She looks up and it's gone “Wait, where'd it go?” “It was right there.” she walk towards the town but stops as she hears electricity bussing “whoa..”

“What is it?” “some sort of energy field” “Careful, Rambeau. Captain Rambeau! Watch it. Rambeau! Captain Rambeau! Captain Rambeau!” she sticks her hand in and it pulls her in and she disappears.

24 Hours Later

“Hey. What's your field?” “We're not supposed to talk to each other.” “hmm? Boy scout leader. Got it. And you” Darcy asked a woman next to the boy scout leader. “Nuclear biology” “artificial intelligence” “astrophysics. We got the full clown car. It means whatever the threat is, S.W.O.R.D. clearly has no idea what they're dealing with.” “I'm a chemical engineer” “no one cares”

“Alright grab your gear.” Darcy walks around the S.W.O.R.D. camp. “Ms. Lewis?” “Dr.Lewis” “we have your gear set up inside.” the man walks Darcy inside a tent “those drones you're sending in, what kind of data are you getting?” “I'm afraid that is highly classified.” “You can't see anything? FBI, Army. I saw the Air Force Office of Special Investigations out there. Research Lab, Space Command, too. A bona fide, joint, multi-service response. Really looking forward to the commemorative T-shirt. Is there somewhere a lady could get a cup of coffee? You guys look like you might get down with those little pod things. Horrendous for the environment…”

“Make your assessment, please” “whoa… I mean, whoa..” “what are you getting?” “a colossal amount of CMBR” “CM…” “Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.” “we've been told the radiation is within a safe limit” “uh, it is… for now” “wait what do you mean” Darcy shushes the man “there's are longer wavelength superimposed over the noise here” she looks under the desk and struggles to get something ���I got it”

“I need a TV. an old one. Like, not flat.” After a few hours it started raining. “Are you good to go?” Hayward asked an agent “yes, sir” “these sewers will take you straight into town. Try to find anything you can on Rambeau” “copy that” “keep me updated” Hayward says as he walks away. “Director Hayward, between you, me, and the bedpost, I am not confident about this mission.” “Thanks for the feedback, Jimmy. If only my drones were as forthcoming.”

“There's no reason to suspect the perimeter doesn't extend subterraneous.” “There's no reason to suspect it does.” Jimmy sighs “We don't know enough about the nature of the threat to send in another agent when the first is yet to return.” “Someone must really miss you back in Quantico.” “No, sir. Softball season's over, sir.” “what do we have up?” Hayward asked agent Rodriguez “Radar, sonar, infrared” “cycle through. Will someone get me a useful visual, dammit?”

Everyone hears a studio audience laughing in the tent “what is that?” “Can I see you in the kitchen for a moment, sweetheart?” “Who is doing that?” “Who are those people?” “What are you wearing?” “Why are they here?” “Well, it's our anniversary!” “our anniversary of what?” “Well, if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you!” “is that..” “ yeah, it looks like him.” “you move at the speed of sound and i can make a pen float through the air, who needs to abbreviate?”

“Look , I know it's been a crazy few years on this planet, but he's dead, right? Not blipped, dead.” “excellent plan. Where's the tenderizer” “what am I looking at? You? What is that? Where's this coming from?” “out there” “you didn’t answer the back door. For your upside-down cake. oh hi, I” “is it authentic?” “I'm not sure how to answer that” “is it happening in real time? Is it recorded, fabricated?” “I don't know. I don't know. And I don't know” “what do you know?” Hayward said annoyed “My equipment registered an extremely high level of CMBR. That's…”

“Relic radiation dating back to the Big Bang.” “Yeah, entwined was a broadcast frequency. So I had your goons pick me up a sweet vintage TV. And when I plug this bad boy in, voilà, sound and picture.” “Dinner is served” “So you're saying the universe created a sitcom starring two Avengers?” Jimmy asked, confused “It's a working theory” “Get me a transport back to headquarters now. Are we recording this?”

“Never stopped.” Darcy says “I need immediate analysis. Now, people. Let's go!” “He’s a charmer.” “great work” “hey, thanks, maybe I could get that cup of coffee now? Or not. It's cool.” ”Aw” Darcy turns to the screen to see you and Vision kissing “Aw”

“First and foremost, our main objective is to get any intel on Captain Rambeau, but originally, this case was a missing person, so we're going to start there. We've successfully identified two individuals inside the Westview anomaly. Let's keep going.” Jimmy says as he puts two pictures up of you and Vision. “This guest is leaving your home” “yes, thank you for coming” “Mr. and Mrs. Hart. played by Todd and Sharon Davis.”

“Computational forms. And no one can process the data quite like you do, pal.” “Agent Woo” “you're like a walking computer.” “Abilash Tandon is Norm” “Harold Proctor is Jones” “we got Isabel Matsueida cast as Beverly” “John Collins as Herb.” Darcy gasps, dropping her Noodle cup and calls Jimmy over “Really?” “Does she seem okay to you?” “Well, she doesn't appear to be harmed in any way, but that is definitely not the boss lady I met yesterday.”

“So what, deep cover? Monica has to play along?” “With whom? Or else, what? All right. Brass tacks, Dr. Lewis. What are we looking at here? Is it an alternate reality? Time travel? Some cockamamie social experiment?” “It's a sitcom. A 1950s sitcom.” “But why?”

“Hey, man, we're working with the same scarcity of intel. But, listen, I do have an idea. So, you've seen that radio in M/n’s kitchen counter, right? The next time he's washing dishes, which, by my count, happens about once an episode, barf, we'll shoot a signal to that little guy. This transmitter will mimic the frequency of the broadcast, and if my theory is right, allow us to speak directly to her. This is totally gonna work. Don't touch that.”

“Agent Woo.” agent Rodrigues hands Jimmy a folder inside the folder there's a colored image of a retro S.W.O.R.D. drone “Is this from the current episode?” “aired about two minutes ago.” “What is it?” Darcy asks “what does it look like to you?” “like a retro version of a S.W.OR.D. drone?” “bingo” “but how did it change and why” “uh, to go with the production design” “or render it useless”

“why‘d you colorize it?” “I didn't” Darcy heads back to the tent. “Let's get this show on the road. Jimmy, you ready?” Darcy asks through an earpiece. “Ready” “bigger and better every season” “uh, Jimmy, Monica is talking to M/n. she's got a speaking part now.” “what is she saying?” “those jeans are peachy keen” “she likes M/n’s jeans” “we only have a few hours” “M/n’s at some sort of swim club. We've never been here before.”

“Is it the 60’s still?” “uh, uh, M/n’s with another character.” “real person?” “ohh, uh, radio on the side table. start talking.” “M/n. M/n, can you read me over?” “I don't...” “Can he hear me?” “I don't think so, keep trying.” “M/n?” “M/n?” “M/n. Who is doing this to you, M/n? M/n? Can you hear me? I'm here to help” “please give us a…” “pop quiz M/n how does a housewife or in this case househusband get a bloodstain out of white linen?”

“Wait” “what?” “I don't know” “by doing it yourself” “that's weird” “what was?” “Nothing, it's over. Mission failure” “it was worth a try. Good effort, doctor.” “yeah come in”

Both Jimmy and Darcy are watching you and Vision on TV “darling, do you think it's time to..” “call the doctor?” “yeah” “yes, I do dear” “1950s, 1960s, and now the '70s. Why does it keep switching time periods? It can't be purely for my enjoyment, can it?” “I cant believe M/n and Vision are having a baby” “you want any?” Jimmy chuckles

“Heck, I thought about it for sure. A little Jimmy Woo. Get him a tiny little FBI badge. Oh, you... Chip? Sure.” “you're doing great. You're doing great. Look at me. Look at me.” “The jig is up” you scream. After a few minutes you hear the baby cry “hi, oh, he's perfect” “what a twist.” Darcy says as she's tearing up “What? I'm invested” “he was killed by Ultron, wasn't he?” “Did she just say the name Ultron? Has that ever happened before? A reference to our reality.”

“No never” “hey I'll take a shift rocking the babies” “no I think you should leave” “oh, M/n, don't be like that” “who are you?” “M/n” “wow this is different” The Tv cuts and Monica is gone “what happened? Where she go?” “god not again” Darcy replays the footage back “who are you?” “M/n” “there's nothing here. One second, Monica is standing right there, and the next she isn’t. Someone is censoring the broadcast.”

“But where's Rambeau?” they suddenly both hear the alarm “Alert! Boundary has been breached! Alert! Boundary has been breached!”

Inside Westview

“Who are you?” “I don't..” you walk closer to her “who are you?” “M/n i'm just your neighbor.” “Then how did you know about Ultron?” you start to see the familiar red glow around your hands “You're not my neighbor. And you're definitely not my friend. You are a stranger and an outsider. And right now, you are trespassing here. And I want you to leave.”

Your familiar red glow wraps around Monica Sending her back through every wall and fence. You gulp “I… I…” you raise your hands and start to fix the hole on the wall as if it never happened. You walk over to your babies hearing them “M/n?” Vision comes in through the door turning back to his synthezoid form “where is Geraldine?” “oh she left honey. She had to rush home”

You turn around to look at Vision and you gasp making you look down “what? What is it? What's wrong?” Vision asks you concerned “Uh..” you slowly look up at him and see that he looks normal again “we don't have to stay here. We could go wherever we want” Vision tells you “no, we can't. This is our home” you move your hand to crease his cheek and he holds onto your hand “are you use”

“oh, don't worry darling. I have everything under control.” you walk over and grab Tommy “oh hi” you turn to Vision smiling “what should we watch tonight?” you walk over to the sofa, Vision sits next to you. He puts an arm around you.

Outside of Westview

“Monica, are you okay?” “it's M/n. its all M/n”

[flameo-hotman]

Zuko Adoption Menu #31

@zukoscalzones selected adoption #31, Ty Lee’s family adopts Zuko. This one was way too much fun for me to write and I high key want to turn it into a full length fic.

The news that the crown prince had vanished the same night as Lady Ursa broke not long after Ty Lee had talked her mom and dad into adopting a boy off the streets.

She had known exactly who the boy who became her brother was.

But maybe it was for the better that the new Fire Lord didn’t know who Ty Ken actually was. Besides Zuko seemed happier as Ty Ken than he had been as Zuko. Though it would be two years before he would tell her why he hadn’t gone wherever the Lady Ursa had gone.

It happened when she was braiding a pastel grey ribbon into his hair.

“I found her when she was talking with the Mother of Faces… She chose to forget about me. That’s why I came back to the Caldara.”

It was sudden and blunt, but Ty Lee kept braiding, asking, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Was Ty Ken’s answer.

Ty Lee didn’t need to ask who her brother was talking about. Azula didn’t like talking about Lady Ursa either, but like most people, Azula had assumed that Ursa had likely died. She didn’t know what to think about this information.

Once she had finished with Ty Ken’s hair, the two of them got up to head on over to the vanity that they shared with their sisters and started on their makeup.

“You always do your makeup all gloomy like Mai’s,” Ty Lee teased her brother, but he just shrugged and answered, “It goes better with my outfit…”

But he seemed to pause for a moment and look at himself in the mirror for a few moments, and suddenly grabbed the pot of red eye shadow.

She smiled at her brother and helped him blend out the red smokey eye he had decided on, before handing over the eyeliner so he could do his winged eyeliner. It was a good look and really made his eyes look nice.

“Don’t say it.”

“I won’t.”

Just then Ty Lao came rushing in and plopped down in the seat next to Ty Ken grumbling, “Ty Woo said my mascara was smudged. Is any of the waterproof stuff left?”

“Yeah,” Ty Ken answered, before handing over the mascara he had just used on his own lashes to their sister.

She looked relieved, as she excepted it and started to fix it, asking, “So, are the two of you ready for the show we are putting on for the Princess?”

“Totally, I showed Azula the acrobatic routine I am planning was and she liked it,” Ty Lee answered, as she made a note that they would need to get more mascara. “I think she is going to love your dance routine you have planned.”

“Thank you! Ty Woo saw it and she-” Ty Lao started, before Ty Woo popped her head in and finished, “It looked like something that a noseless shirshu would come up with.”

“I think it is nice,” Ty Ken snapped back, accepting the mascara back once Ty Lao was done with it, and went back to work on his lashes.

Ty Woo groaned, “Make your lashes any longer and you’ll cut them off with your swords, Ty Ken.”

“At least my special skill is good enough to perform, Ty Woo.”

Their sister only answered by rolling her eyes and retorting, “At least I’m not adopted, Sword Boy.”

“Love you to, Jerk,” Ty Ken answered, as he tossed the mascara off to the side.

And with that Ty Woo gave him a soft smile before she vanished from the room.

Ty Ken looked at himself in the mirror for a moment like he was unsure of something.

And well Ty Lee understood because Ty Ken hadn’t been to the palace since he was still Zuko. His nervous aura was completely understandable. He was eleven when he left that life behind him, and some soldiers were still assigned to investigating his disappearance. There was a lot that could go wrong.

And they hadn’t even told their parents who Ty Ken actually was.

But Ty Ken didn’t look much like Zuko had, so it wasn’t like anyone but Mai and Azula would recognize him. And that was only because those two actually knew the truth about Ty Ken.

It didn’t take very long for them to finish getting ready for Azula’s birthday, and then they were headed to the palace with the rest of their family.

“You’ll be fine,” Ty Lum assured him, as she entered the makeup room and kissed the top of his head. “You are amazing with swords and please tell me there is some mascara left over for me.”

“The backups are in the locked case that I definitely don’t know how to pick the lock of, Ty Lum,” He answered producing another mascara out of said case, before handing it to her and giving her a smile.

“I don’t know why you use so much mascara. If I had eyebrows like yours I would try to draw more attention to them,” She giggled as she accepted the mascara and sat down next to Ty Lee.

Ty Lao turned to her and asked, “So did you figure out how to turn origami into something you can do as a performance?”

“Really really big paper.”

“Smart.”

“Thank you.”

Ty Lat peaked her head in and announced, “We need to get going so Ty Ken time to put the mascara down.”

“I just finished my lashes, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

His sisters giggled, as he slipped one of the spare mascara’s into his pocket, but he ignored them, as he got up and left to go grab his dao swords.

He seemed happier living with them than he had been living in the palace.

Ty Lee watched her brother leave, a soft smile on her face.

“It is kind of sad that Ty Lat can’t do her swim program for the Royal Family,” Ty Lao sighed as she put the mascaras back into the lockbox and locked it.

Ty Lee nodded and followed her sisters out of the room.

 Ty Le and her brother ended up in the carriage with Ty Lin and Ty Liu, who were going over their sheet music for the event. They didn’t bother to try and talk to them, since the last few times they had when those two were pouring over their music they snapped at them and hid Ty Ken’s mascara.

And well he may have burned down part of their private forset because of that.

Normally though they got along with Ty Ken and he would play the tsungi horn with them.

Once they got there they made their way to backstage of the stage that had been set up for their performances.

Ty Liu checked over her harp, while Ty Lin got her flute out of its case, and the rest of them got set up for their numbers.

Ty Woo and Ty Lat introduced themselves to their audience, before welcoming Ty Lum onto the stage so she could open the show with her massive origami crown of fire, while Ty Liu and Ty Lin started the first song of the night.

Ty Lao was up next with her dancing, and Ty Lee followed replacing her as the music changed tempo to match with her kart wheels and summersaults.

Azula seemed pleased by the show even if the Fire Lord seemed to not be paying any attention, instead choosing to say something to General Iroh. Whatever he’d said seemed to upset the man, as Iroh grimaced and made the point of not looking at his brother.

The music took a sudden dramatic turn, and Ty Lee shot herself up into the rafters, as a plum of fire unfolded beneath her like a blooming lotus blossom, and there stood Ty Ken with his swords.

She watched him twist and slice, ribbons of fire bursting from his swords.

Watching him with his swords was like watching Ty Lao dance. The music swelling with his movements, as he burned his way across the stage like he was a shadow sending up a prayer to Agni.

He finished his routine using his swords to send a burning dragon shooting up into the sky.

And then all was quiet.

Azula began clapping with as much enthusiasm as a princess was allowed to, and the others watching began to follow suit until Ozai stood and roared, “SILENCE!!!!”

Zuko flinched.

“You dare to dishonor me like this, you insolent whelp?!”

Zuko’s eyes went wide. Ozai had recognized him.

The Fire Lord stormed over to the stage, and Zuko scrambled back, as the man leaped onto the stage.

Zuko tripped and fell backward.

Everyone was frozen, as Zuko began to plead with the Fire Lord,  “It’s not what it looks like, Father! I didn’t mean you any-”

But Zuko’s pleas were cut off by screams and burning flesh.

All hell broke loose, as Ty Lee and her sisters reacted.

Ty Lee dropped down from the rafters and jabbed the Fire Lord with her chi blocking, as Ty Liu and Ty Lat rushed to throw Ozai from the stage.

Mai, while not one of Ty Ken’s sisters, joined the fight with her throwing knives.

General Iroh stood and for a moment Ty Lee feared he would attack them, but instead he attacked an approaching guard, as Azula rushed onto the stage and helped her get Ty Ken to his feet.

Neither of them willing to look at what remained of his face, as they ran with the other Ty Sisters, Mai, and General Iroh, fleeing the palace.

“Happy Birthday Princess, we’re all traitors,” Ty Woo groaned, as they burst through the palace gates and onto the streets of the city.

Azula responded with her trademark smirk, “Well, at least it wasn’t boring.”

At least General Iroh had a ship in the dock that they could use to flee to the Earth Kingdom.

Ty Lee didn’t chi block the Fire Lord of all people just to let her brother die after all.

[sevenkittensinatrenchcoat]

Scribbled Screenshots: Gumbie Cat

In Which: Misto confuses Demeter, Munk and Jenny confuse Bomba, and Pouncival confuses everyone. But it’s mostly about other stuff.

Alonzo: Why are we on the ground with the kids?

Mungojerrie: How’d I end up with the girls?

Rumpleteazer: Jerrie! Over here!

Munkustrap: Misto what are you doing?

Mistoffelees: Tonight, I become a man

Mistoffelees: It is I!

Munkustrap: Uh...

Tumblebrutus: dude wtf

Jellylorum: Fucking really?

Mistoffelees: Wait...Fuck.

Jellylorum: Again?

Munkustrap: I warned you...

Demeter: ???

Rumpleteazer: Lol he messed up!

Mungojerrie: lol

Plato: Whoa! What just happened?

Mistoffelees: stress stress stress stress stress!!!

Munkustrap: Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.

Demeter: Seriously though, is he okay?

Jellylorum: He’s like this all the time.

Demeter: Poor kid...

Bombalurina: Hang in there, bro!

Mistoffelees: I long for the sweet release of death.

Etcetera: wtf were u thinking, sillyhead!

Jemima: Cettie, he already feels bad.

Mistoffelees: Munk says I’m a special magic boy...

Mistoffelees: This is the closest I’ll get to being petted tonight.

Etcetera: ur a weirdo.

Munkustrap: Tiger stripes!

Asparagus: I didn’t read the program

Etcetera: Tiger go ROAR!!!

Jemima: It’s time to calm down, Cettie.

Rumpleteazer: Munkustrap is such a dork lol

Mungojerrie: ???

Plato: ???

Rumpleteazer: Where’d Jerrie go?

Plato: I’ll fill in for him.

Cassandra: I think we’ve entered a different take.

Alonzo: Who tf edited this?

Munkustrap: Dramatic gestures!!!

Alonzo: You’re really going all out, aren’t you?

Etcetera: Munk is also a weirdo

Victoria: We all are

Jemima: I want a taiw to catch

Mistoffelees: May I pretty please do some magic now?

Mistoffelees: :(

Munkustrap: *unhappiness detected*

Etcetera: *gossip*

Jemima: I’m friends with the ground!

Mistoffelees: Can do magic now?

Munkustrap: You may now magic.

Mistoffelees: I love you!

Munkustrap: This is gonna be good!

Munkustrap: Get ready!

Mistoffelees: I will not disappoint

Jellylorum: Please don’t set anything on fire!

Mistoffelees: Is it time yet? The magic’s getting hard to restrain!

Munkustrap: Go ahead, just don’t hurt yourself.

Mistoffelees: I hath telekinesis!

Coricopat: Dude. Whoa.

Skimbleshanks: He’s a special magic boy!

Skimble: Are you okay down there?

Jenny: I’m fine, though I still don’t know how I got shut in here in the first place.

Misto: That actually worked!

Demeter: Time for the fun part!

Jelly: Let’s create the melody together so it can’t be sung as a solo!

(No really, I’ve tested this)

Etcetera: Gotta wear masks it’s the rule

Electra: I don’t think this is what they meant.

Jenny: Tatting is like a sewing thing.

Jemima: Does anyone actually know that?

Munk: You’re wonderful

Jenny: tysm

Pouncival (Pouncibeetle): Woo! Party time!

Jenny: Did no one tell you when your cue was?

Jenny: It’s always you

Pouncibeetle: And you all love it don’t lie

Jenny: So forward!

Munk: This is not what it looks like I swear.

Narration: And now: most of the cast pretending to be tap dancing beetles.

Cassandra Beetle: stand at attention

George Beetle: :D

The text is a bit small, so I’ll transcribe:

Mungobeetle: Normally, I’m a bad boy, but right now, I’m at the front of the line and I’m being a good beetle

Jenny: Ta da!

Skimble: woo!

Electra, I Think: Lol my pose is silly!

Demeter: Good job! Have a wrist touch!

Jenny: Thank you!

[skullsandwineglasses]

You Are My Hero (2021) Review

Overall impression: The drama started off really cute and promising in the first half, but was weak and underwhelming in the second half. In-depth review below (with spoilers).

A cute and fluffy romance premise

Right off the bat, the love story between the leads is tropey as hell, but manages to not be tacky and is actually really endearing. The ML, a SWAT officer, rescues the FL, an aspiring neurosurgery medical resident, from a bank robbery 2 years ago. They leave a lasting impression on each other, but don't keep in touch afterwards. The FL never sees his face because he's wearing a mask, but the ML remembers her name. 

Fate brings them together again 2 years later when the FL enrolls in an emergency rescue training camp that’s supervised by the ML. He recognizes her and falls for her immediately, but she doesn’t know he’s the one who rescued her years ago. 

Their relationship starts off rocky, similar to how a CEO romance would start: the ML first appears cold and distanced, strict and brooding, but actually has a huge soft spot for the FL. The FL is put off by his coldness, but is sometimes surprised as random moments of tenderness. When the training camp is complete, the ML becomes a cute and awkward lovesick puppy who tries to figure out how to woo the FL because this is his first time (and hers) falling in love. It’s fun seeing him become so flustered around her when he’s usually so calm, collected, and in control as the leader of a SWAT team. 

On other hand, the FL slow falls for the ML when he reveals a more real and vulnerable side of himself. They banter a lot, but she slowly warms up to him. 

And as a no-nonsense drama, the two leads acknowledge their feelings for each other quickly (although they haven't directly admitted it to each other yet). They're in the awkward phase of attraction and going on semi-dates, but they haven't defined the relationship yet. *Sigh* First love. 

Things I enjoyed

I appreciate that although the FL is a Mary Sue, she does make mistakes. She's smart, but she isn't the top of her class. She’s kind and selfless, but she also isn’t overly tolerant of people. When people overstep their boundaries and are unjust to her, she’ll confront them. Ma Sichun is such a natural actress. She can do cute and flirty, she can be clueless and lost, she can be confident and in control, she can be angry and indignant. I especially loved her character’s adorable interactions with her best friend Xiao Xia. 

The acting in this drama was all around great. It’s probably the best part of the drama. It was so comfortable and fun to watch. I think AvenueX described it best: the acting in the drama was so natural that sometimes it felt like the actors broke character but the director kept the take. Some of the laughing, giggling, and gestures felt so genuine that you wonder if it was improvised, scripted, or a blooper scene that became canon.

I like how the FL and ML are each experts in their respective fields. They have very separate careers that occasionally intersect. I'm tired of CEO dramas where the FL is working for the ML, or there are class differences between them. Instead in this drama, the FL faces problems everyday at work that the ML doesn't know about. Her problems do not relate to him at all. She has problems that he can't understand or help with. Likewise, he also goes on missions that she isn't aware of. They work in completely different fields with different skill sets. They even talk about how their philosophies differ. Her job is to save lives but not make moral judgments of character, while his job is to enforce the law, which is all about assessing character. Where their careers do intersect, is the goal of saving others and putting others first before themselves. 

Another dynamic of the relationship that I really like is that the FL and ML are always occupied and on the move because of their professions, and yet, their loyalty and devotion to each other never change. They are each other's rock. Despite encountering so many different situations and people, despite all of the chaos and noise from their careers, nothing can really outweigh how important they are to each other. Despite being out in the field, far away from home, their hearts are anchored to each other. I just like this trope a lot, i.e., the trope of being away from home, but remaining true and loyal and unwavering. Despite having bigger and more important things in the world to deal with, their ultimate dream is wanting to just spend some time together. It's analogous to how in ancient period dramas, there are generals who command armies and and maintain a strictly professional demeanor and don't mention a word about their family to their soldiers, but when the general retires to his tent at night, he's writing a long and thoughtful letter home, because his loved one was on his mind all day. 

The supporting characters are great, but I do like the older and mature supporting couple (Xing Ke Yao and Shao Yu Han) more than the younger supporting couple (Xiao Xia and Shu When Bo), despite the actors playing the younger couple being literally my age. I also appreciate how the FL has multiple close friends who are quite separate from each other, instead of just the single token sidekick best friend (although the second half of the drama does just focus on one of her main friends). It's relatable because we all have different groups of friends. We have friends from high school, we have friends from college, and we have friends from work. Most of these friends are kept separate, and sometimes they interact. But I like how this drama shows that the FL has a small network of friends from different walks of life. 

Things I didn’t enjoy as much

The plot derailed and lost its charm after episode 30. There were fewer hospital cases, and the ML had to complete a mission that I had no interest in following. There was no other point to the superfluous mission besides to show that the ML has a busy and demanding job that prevents him from being at the FL’s side when she needs him the most. 

I also really, really disliked the introduction of the random love rival in episode 31 just to try to stir some angst. The plot device was pointless because in the end, there was no angst because the leads have a strong and healthy relationship, and so the love rival’s attempt at sabotaging the relationship was just laughable and completely random. It just disrupted the mood and pacing of the drama because that plotline just came out of the blue. It was just so annoying seeing the love rival and her sister cause trouble and wreak havoc in the FL’s workplace. 

The drama did a good job at showing how the leads put their careers first, which caused strain and tension in their relationship that they tend to ignore. But, the drama never explores this further, even though it’s a very real problem that many career-driven and ambitious couples face. The drama presents a very idealized vision of a relationship between a police officer and a doctor. Like when the FL leaves for a special research and training program in the States, the drama shows that the leads breezed through the two-year long distance relationship in a quick montage. They had no issue in communication. Yes, they miss each other, but they’re blissful. But what kind of long distance relationship has no bumps in it? The drama also implies that they never saw each other in person during two years (in the final episode, Xing Ke Lei squeezed her arms and said that since they haven’t seen each other in 2 years, he had to check if she was missing anything), which is highly unrealistic. Was she never able to go back home for the holidays? Did Xing Ke Lei, whose parents live and work overseas, never bother to visit his girlfriend? Overall, it seemed a little off to me that despite the budding tension and issues they’ve been having between them, they were able to overcome a long distance relationship so easily. You could argue that they’re used to long separations because of their work, and the drama has shown that they’re used to communicating over video calls, but I was just a little disappointed that they rushed this final plotline when so much more could have been done with it. 

Speaking of parents, we never actually got to see their parents. I understand that the parents are not relevant to the focus of the story, but the parents are rarely even mentioned, which further makes the romance in the story seem too idealistic. Whether it’s a near-death situation, getting engaged, or studying abroad for 2 years, the FL never mentions talking to her parents about these decisions and life changes. The drama handwaves the parents’ absence and lack of influence by having the FL mention early in the drama that her parents are busy with their business back home, so they don’t have time to worry about her. She also no longer bothers to update them about her work because she’s afraid they’ll be worried about her. And then from there, we never hear the FL mention her parents again. It’s just so weird to see that the most important person in her life is the ML and she only ever talks about major life choices with her friends. I mean, if the plot had said that she didn’t have a family, it wouldn’t have mattered. But the fact that she does mention her parents, but they’re completely absent and non-existent just felt a little off, like something was missing. But in the grand scheme of things, this is not really an issue. I’m just nit-picking. 

Lastly, I just want to comment on Bai Jingting as Xing Ke Lei. I admit that he sells the part well. At first I was skeptical about Bai Jingting as a SWAT officer because of how skinny and baby-faced he is, but he actually pulls it off surprisingly well and has some unexpectedly good chemistry with Ma Sichun too. Although during moments when he isn't talking and we're just left with his resting face, I'm suddenly hit by how young he looks, but then he speaks or is back in uniform and again, the gestalt shift goes back to Xing Ke Lei, the handsome SWAT officer. They made a point of showing how muscled his arms are, which was a little jarring to see in comparison to his youthful face, not gonna lie. So, while I liked him as Xing Ke Lei, it was a little distracting switching back and forth between seeing him as a really young, adolescent-looking actor, and him as the broad-chested character. 

Should you watch?

All in all, a really cute and easy-to-watch drama with some thoughtful and sentimental moments. Very fluffy. Minimal to no misunderstandings. Charming characters. There are the storylines of three couples with medical/police subplots interweaved between the romance. On bilibili, some people even edited clips of the drama with theme songs from TVB medical and police dramas like The Hippocractic Crush and Tiger Cubs. So, as someone who grew up with TVB dramas, it was nostalgic to see those thematic parallels. 

But, the drama does lose steam in the last 10 or so episodes, and has a lot of filler to stretch it out to 40 episodes. That’s the issue I have with modern dramas. The plot in modern dramas is usually quite basic, and I would argue that the modern romance is easier and less angsty. You either love each other or you don’t. You either are willing to commit or you’re not. There aren’t many external excuses for angst or misunderstandings. (Of course, I’m trivializing things; real life isn’t as easy). 

Still, I would recommend this drama for anyone who’s between dramas. I watched this drama to help me get over the rut I was in because I was going through withdrawal after finishing The Rebel Princess, so I needed a light-hearted drama whose genre was completely different from TRP. And this drama was perfect for breaking that rut. 

Rating: 8/10. Simple, fluffy, and not too much to complain about. I also forgot to talk about the great humour in the drama, but there were many moments when I laughed out loud or couldn’t stop grinning. This is also a drama you can take your time with because there aren’t constant cliff hangers to peg you on. It doesn’t consume your life, and you can pause (although, the first 18 or so episodes are definitely binge-worthy because the development of the leads’ relationship is just too cute, and so they suck you right in). However, while it is one of the better modern romance dramas I’ve watched (and the characters are very consistent), it’s not a very memorable drama. It doesn’t make me linger. I guess it’s because I’m more of a historical and xianxia drama kind of person. So take from that what you will.