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min-arya · 3 years

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Change of Mind

Pairing: jimin x reader

Genre: Fluff

Note: this was my very first work last November 2020. I tried to give it an ending but, I genuinely cannot think of a good ending for this story. it sucks but whatever. pls send me your ideas aaa i would love to read them. thank you for supporting me!! i adore y'all! :) <3

You hate children.

Everyone who knows you knows that. They really can’t convince you to pick up their baby, or coo at them. They didn’t even try to hide the disappointment in their eyes when they saw you roll your eyes when their children copy you. They keep pestering you about how you hate children when one day you’re going to have one. The thought made you smirk, as if. It’s easy to say that you won’t have one because you don’t have time as a single busy woman. And also, they’re pretty loud and dumb. They’re always so dependent; can’t do things on their own.

“I think you’re being too hard,” your brother, Namjoon, said. He was a married man for 4 years now. You can see the dark bags in his eyes as he looked at you in concern. You rolled your eyes as you already know where this is going. “They’re just kids,” he added.

“We’ve had this conversation for a long time, can’t we drop it already?” you said a little loud out of frustration. Namjoon shushed you, scared to wake up his cranky daughter. By the way, you were at their house because it was your pregnant sister-in-law’s birthday. They invited you this morning, and you decided to drop by for a little greetings and told her that your gift will be a little late, which she didn’t mind. “ughh! It’s getting late. I’m going home.” You said irritatedly.

“Okay, so you see, I have a very important meeting tomorrow,” he began. You know something was off, and you’re not going to like it because of the way he slowly and carefully stated his words. You don’t want to hear it, honestly. But you didn’t and can’t cut him off because first, it’s disrespectful; after all, he is the oldest, and second is that, he beat you to it. “I need you to attend the family day in Miyoung’s school.”

You were bewildered, maybe beyond that but, you were. He knows that you hate children, why would he do that? Is it because you’re the only one who is free on Fridays? That’s not even an acceptable excuse. You hated children! You expressed countless times of how irritating they are, how can your niece be any different? Is it because he raised her? You looked away for a second, not knowing what to say. You brought your gaze up, about to protest until you caught a glimpse of his tired pleading eyes, you had no choice but to comply. “Fine, but you owe me 50 dollars,” you agreed with a groan.

Namjoon smiled weakly, knowing his pregnant wife doesn’t have to stress herself up for this school activity and get all the rest she needs. “I’ll double it if Miyoung comes home with a smile.” He said, playing along with his sister’s antics. “By the way, it starts at 8:00am. Don’t be late.”

“Fine,” was all you said standing up to reach your bag. “I’ll be here tomorrow, 7:00am sharp. Thank you for the meal, Oppa. I’ll be going now.” You stated, from you professional voice to a surprisingly calm voice after the news of babysitting your niece.

Tomorrow is going to be a long, long day.

You finished your morning routine with a groan and a pep talk. This is only for today. This is only going to last a few hours. After that you’ll have the peace away from children. After that pep talk, you left your garage to go to your brother’s house to fetch your niece. You internally wished she’s not as annoying as any other kids her age.

You arrived 15 minutes later. Seeing how your niece is crying in front of a kneeling Namjoon made you realize that she hates this idea, too. She’s scared of you, that’s for sure. But, what can you do? Imagine your babysitter hates children. Damn.

“Why can’t you go instead, Daddy? She hates me, I know it!” your niece said as she started to sob louder, not stopping any sooner no matter how much your brother is trying to convince him.

“She doesn’t hate you, baby. She’s just jealous because she’s old and lonely.” He said as if he didn't know you'd already arrived. You scoffed loudly at that. It was almost funny. You…jealous of a kid? Pleaaaaase. “It’s only for today, Miyoungie. I promise I’ll make it up to you. We’ll get ice cream after this event is finished.” He ended, knowing his daughter is a weakling for ice cream.

“Fine.” She stubbornly said. Angrily stomping to the shotgun seat of your car.

Namjoon walked towards you with a paper bag in his hands. “Here’s her costume, by the way. I think the event ends at 3pm. It’s only 7:15, have you had your breakfast?” he rambled. Even though he was annoying most of the time in your childhood, he was, no doubt, caring.

“I’m fine. Has she had her breakfast or do I need to drive her to McDonald’s?” you smirked victoriously, proud at your comeback sass. It didn’t last long though after Namjoon playfully smacked your head with the word pabo leaving his mouth. “Anyway, we’ll be going now. Don’t worry, she’ll be safe.

Namjoon handed you the paper bag filled with clothes and lunch box for two before walking towards his daughter, kneeling to her height and hugging her. He whispered something to her tiny ear before she nodded. He wiped her tears away. He opened the door to the passenger’s seat of your car, making sure he fastened the seatbelt as he closed the door gently, not wanting to startle his daughter.

You went to the driver’s side to finally start the car. You badly want to end this day. You glanced at your niece who was sulking beside you. I mean, who could blame her tho? This was so unplanned. She already informed her dad about this last week. And now, he’s telling her that he won’t be able to attend so he needed you as a substitute guardian. Isn’t that a little heartbreaking? But, anyway, your niece just wants to get close to you.

“Are you ready to go, kiddo?” you asked in a surprisingly calm manner. You saw how she nodded cutely. So you reached for the clutch and got ready to go.

The silence between you was pleasant, it surprised you. Everything about today surprised you.

You feel the stares Miyoung was giving you. They weren’t out of hatred or adoration. It was out of curiosity. Maybe something about you fascinated the toddler’s tiny mind. ‘What did Daddy mean when he said that she is lonely? Is she sad? Is that really why she hates me? Is she going to eat me?’

“What is it?” you asked, growing frustrated by the curious glares she gave you. She looked away, and shrugged.

“Daddy said to not cause you any trouble. If I do, you’re going to eat me. Is that true, Aunty?” she said with a slightly shaky voice. So that’s how he raises his kids huh. “Please don’t eat me, Aunty.” She faced her body towards you with her hands clasped together, practically begging.

It was cute, no doubt. Is that what Namjoon whispered to this baby? You laughed at the thought. For the first time in, like, your whole life, a child has made you laugh. Your niece’s eyes widened at your laugh. The tiny toddler is overthinking too much for her tiny mind to handle. She now thinks you’re really going to eat the sweet sweet child.

“What?! AHAHA. NO! Of course not. Why would I eat you? I don’t eat children, that’s gross.” You said between your laughs. Feeling the atmosphere between you lighten up. This day was going better than you thought it would be.

Maybe kids aren’t so bad after all.

After a few hours of meeting (more like seminar or something) with the parents and this really charming teacher, accompanying Miyoung to eat her sandwich and her meal but she offered you her sandwich because you don’t have anything to eat even though you have money but she insisted so you accepted, and phone calls from your work, it is time for the little performance the toddlers from this said kindergarten prepared for their ‘parents’. So that’s the costume for, now I get it. You thought as Miyoung came up to you and handed you the video camera that you didn’t know that she had. Maybe Namjoon packed it since he couldn’t go.

The performance was good, entertaining even. You felt like a proud mama cheering for her baby while holding the camera. It surprises you on how you reacted, you seemed really fond of the child, and you were though.

After the performance was done, the crowd dispersed into sections, making the columns and rows you all formed a while ago a mess. Miyoung rushed into you and held your hand. And suddenly, your phone rang. You let go of your niece’s hand to reach for the phone in your right pocket.

It was no surprise that it’s your boss. “It’s me, Sir Kim. What seems to be the problem?” you said. What could be the problem? Mr. Kim always bothered you, like he was really annoying. And now, you’ve filed your one-week leave and yet, he’s still bothering you and bombarding you with work. Man, he’s the worst.

“Nothing, I was just saying you got the promotion. Have fun on your leave.” With that, he hung up. Maybe he’s not so bad after all, pfft. That was amazing news, so amazing that you decided to take Miyoung to an ice cream parlor yourself and treat her with her favorite ice cream that you had no idea of.

You were happy, so happy that when you put it back to your pocket and reached for your niece’s hand, she wasn’t there.

Oh no. I’m doomed. Namjoon’s going to kill me. You thought as you started formulating a plan on searching for Miyoung. Internally panicking. What to do? You scanned the whole area to see if someone found Miyoung. Unfortunately, the messy crowd started to disperse slowly.

The pounding of your chest, beads of sweat start forming on your forehead as you spin around trying to look for a familiar small girl with a yellow humongous ribbon on her head. You were out of luck. Stupid phone call. Stupid promotion. Stupid boss. Stupid life!

You approached a middle-aged woman who looked like a principal in this kindergarten, thinking it would help you search for your niece. But then, an unknown number called you. Anxiety filled your stomach, a slight ringing in the background was heard, then silence.

Oh no, is Miyoung kidnapped? Are they going to ask me for ransom? Why is this happening? You thought as your shaky hands answered the phone.

“Hello? Hello, Miss?” a sweet honey-voiced man talked through the phone. He didn’t sound like a mysterious criminal, did he?

“Hello? Who is this?” you cringed at how shaky your voice was, you should’ve sounded tough not like some scared girl.

“Oh, where are my manners! I’m Park Jimin, Miss. Kim Miyoung’s teacher. I found your business card on the child’s ID. Don’t worry she’s in good hands but, be sure to pick her up though. We’re at the teacher’s faculty. I’ll hang up now.” He started, sounding so sure and professional.

You have finally arrived at your destination, the teacher’s faculty. You see Miyoung, sitting on a chair with a chocolate in her hand, eating happily while she swings her feet.

A man approached you, just as you reached to Miyoung. The man smiled down at you. “You must be Y/N. Miyoung’s this way.” With that, he led you to the faculty room that your niece was staying on.

“Aunty!” she shouted as she jumped off the chair, ran to you and hugged you as if you were the one who got lost. “Jiminie told me that he’ll buy me ice cream if I behave until you arrive.” She said, giggling. “Now that you’ve arrived, I can finally have my ice cream!”

“Jiminie?” you asked, curiously. “I thought he was your teacher?” you added.

“Yeah, but he’s daddy’s best friend so it’s fine.” Huh, that explains it. “Come on, Jiminie. You still have to get me ice cream.” She said as she skidded away from you and closer to the teacher who happened to be your brother’s best friend.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to you, almost stumbling at how much height difference they have. “Woah, easy Miyoung.” The teacher said between his laughs. He genuinely seemed to be enjoying kids his whole life. Heck, why would he even be a teacher if he doesn’t?

You didn’t think you could handle being in the same room with someone the total opposite of you yet, here you are. Everything about this day seemed to surprise you. “Wait, are you even done with your work? We don’t want to cause you any trouble.” You said. Well, that came out wrong. It sounded like you didn’t want to be with him. Wait, no…not really. It's nice having him around, maybe cudd—NO Y/N, you just met hi—

“Y/N? Y/N, right? I was just telling you that my shift was done half an hour ago.” He said, interrupting your internal rumbling. You looked away from the scene of trees swaying with the wind to glance at the handsome guy looking at you in concern. “Uhm, shall we take your car or mine?” he asked, fidgeting the keys latched to the belt loop of his pants.

“Uhm, I’m not sure. Huh, I guess I haven’t thought about that. Miyoung?” you looked away from the stunning man to look at your side thinking that your niece might be by your side. But sadly, she was long gone to her teacher’s side, trying to pull his weight away from the direction of your car.

“Let’s go to Jiminie’s car! His car smells like vanilla and strawberries!! C’mon c’mon!” She squealed to you while pulling on her teacher.

You shrugged. So much for an ice cream, you thought as you followed the two.

The whole ride was surprisingly pleasing. Miyoung was right, his car smells good. Strawberries and vanilla.

You glanced to your left, looking at his hand at the clutch lever. By the way, you were on the passenger’s seat since Miyoung insisted that she needed space. You became silent, staring at your niece. What did she mean when she said she needed space? Is she trying to sell you out? You thought as you continued to watch her looking around, trying to find something. And then, she pulled a blanket from the back of the car. She happily hugged it before spreading it to cover her tiny body. She sat up again, reaching for a certain purple pillow.

To say that you were confused was an understatement. You reached for the door handle of the passenger’s seat before boarding. You finally noticed that Jimin was watching the whole scene. He explained that he was the one who Namjoon asked to drive her daughter. And that today was different since he had to assist and entertain parents so he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on Miyoung. You nodded in understanding.

“We’re here,” you snapped out of your daze when you heard his sweet honey voice rang throughout the car. You turned your body to look at your niece, you noticed that she’s still in her mini dreamland. You unbuckle your seatbelt before going around the car to wake Miyoung up. You opened the car that was facing the top of her head, noticing the slow but calm pace of her breathing while she sleeps. Just as you lifted your hand to shake her shoulder awake, a hand grabbed your wrist. “She gets cranky if you shake her awake. Let me do it,” he said before letting you go slowly.

You step aside to give him a way to Miyoung’s head. You tilted your head to the side to watch what he was doing. He was stroking her head gently as he whispers into her ear. It freaking worked. She sat up while rubbing her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her off his car. She looked at you before waving her hands enthusiastically before yelling, “Hi Aunty.” You waved back before walking to Jimin’s side.

You leaned towards him to give him a compliment, “You’re really good with children.” He looked down at you before facing forward, smiling adorably. He mumbled a small ‘thank you’ as he led the way.

You finally reached to Miyoung’s favorite ice cream park in front of a park. The place was spacious yet, simple. Groomed trees around it, benches and a playground. It’s the perfect destination to couples, and couples with children. That’s probably why this is Miyoung’s favorite place.

Jimin sets Miyoung down as he goes to the counter to place an order. You saw how Miyoung immediately ran towards the playground, communicating with some kids her age. You turned your head towards Jimin who was looking at you, “Yes? Is there something wrong?” you asked him.

“Uhm what flavor do you want? My treat,” he said, pulling out his wallet. you held out your hand, about to tell him that he didn’t need to buy you an ice cream, He was persistent as he said, “don’t worry, it’s on me.”

“Cookies n’ cream,” you mumbled while looking down. He nodded then faced the cashier attendant. You unknowingly pouted when you noticed they were close to each other, whispering something between themselves. You saw him moved away, shaking his head as if he was denying something. You turned away towards the playground, just to forget the scene and also, to keep an eye on Miyoung. She seemed to be enjoying her life as a kid. Lucky.

Jimin shyly cleared his throat, snapping you out of your daze. You noticed he was holding two cones. He handed you the cookies n’ cream flavor, before turning back to get Miyoung’s favorite ice cream. “Thank you, though you didn’t have to,” you said, as you gave him a genuine smile.

“Nah, I wanted to,” he said as he giggled slightly. You two walked side by side towards the playground. You sat on a bench while munching on your ice cream. He called your niece to give her her ice cream. She ran towards him immediately before going back to the playground. Jimin sat beside you as he started to devour his ice cream. “So, Namjoon-hyung’s sister?” he started, facing you.

You snorted lightly at how awkward he sounded when the question left his mouth. He looked at you, amused. “Yeah, and you’re his best friend?” you said with just right amount of sass while you raised your eyebrow at him. “How come I’ve never heard of you before?” you asked with genuine curiosity as you faced the scene before you.

“Hmm, probably Namjoon-hyung forgot again. You know how he forgets stuff like that.” he said facing the same directions you’re looking at. It’s hard not to notice how the air around you is claiming, and the getting-to-know conversation the two of you are having feels like two best friends catching up with each other. It was nice. “I heard that you hated children. Why is that?” he suddenly asked, catching you off guard.

You shrugged. You were about to answer but a detail on his sentence stopped you. “Hated? What do you mean? I still hate them.” you said, calmly. You inhaled before talking, contemplating what to say. “Well, I just don’t like how high-maintenance they are. They always demand attention and can’t do things on their own. But, I can stand children; just don’t let them copy me. I hate how they do things I do.” You finished your rant with a sigh. You turned your head to Jimin who nodded in understanding, he looked amused. Fuck, I sound like a child.

He let out a short laugh as he leaned towards you. “Same, but I find it adorable though,” He said, trying to ease himself. “To answer your first question, you seem too fond of Miyoung, so I assumed that you have changed your mind,” he ended before proceeding to continue his ice cream.

“what? I mean, she’s a great kid...she doesn’t annoy the hell out of me,” you replied with a shrug. “Well, what about you? What’s something about children that fascinates you that you chose to be a teacher other than every other career that you can have?” you questioned him. You were grateful that he didn’t hate you for hating something he finds adorable.

Jimin looked towards the playground, thinking deeply for a wonderful example. “I love how innocent they are. They don’t have to worry about anything. All they want and need to do is to be happy and enjoy their childhood. And, I want to be a part of that wonderful memory.” He said as his eyes glowed in adoration of the kids playing with your niece. Laughter was heard as you two talked. “And then, there’s just the hint of pride whenever they achieve something. Even the tiniest victories, they’re so happy,” he added. He was shaking his fist adorably as if trying to contain his excitement.

“I think you’re going to be a great dad in the future,” you complimented, giving him a sweet smile.

“Thanks, I think you’re going to be a great mom too. Someday, he said.

An unfamiliar warmth swells up to your chest as you took in his words. “Yeah. Someday.”

#jimin x reader #bts jimin #jimin x y/n #jimin x you #jimin x army #bts x army #bts x you #bts x y/n #bts x reader #bts fluff #jimin fluff

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richsretroreviews · 4 years

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Star Wars Knights of The Old Repbulic II Review

Release Date: NA; 6th December 2004 (Xbox) 8th February 2005 (PC) EU; 11th February 2005 (Xbox & PC)

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Publisher: LucasArts

I had gotten my Xbox Christmas of 2004. It was the crystal one too and I had been wanting one all year. I kinda spoilt the surprise for myself though because in a poorly chosen hiding spot by my parents I found the crystal box poking out of a bag. It was torture to occasionally look at it and do nothing with it but gawk and wait until Christmas and almost feign a reaction to it. Sorry mum and dad…

But Knights of the Old Republic II was the third game I got myself? I think? First two I can remember were Ninja Gaiden and Soul Calibur 2… let’s just say Kotor 2 was the third game I got for myself.

So I went down to Game, saw the cover with that haunting image of Darth Nihilus on the front, nabbed it, got home, played it for the weekend and got bored of it… Shamefully. There were parts that I liked but it played so differently to other action games I was already accustomed to at the time it threw me off. Little did I know how much of an RPG it was and the action was so different to what I was used to.

The initial problem I had with this game was it didn’t meet my expectations of what I wanted out of a Star Wars game, especially one where I knew you could create your own character and make them Sith or Jedi. Perfectly what I wanted. But after playing it for 12 hours and still on Telos and still without a lightsaber, I lost patience with it and gave up. How foolish my 13 year old self was. I then traded it in and got something else instead. If I remember right they even had Kotor there as well…

But so ignorantly did I miss out on one of the greatest games and greatest Star Wars games of my budding teenage years that it wasn’t until 5 years later I gave it another try and since then it might be one of my most played games without even realising it.

I got it again on the Xbox, played through it with a video walkthrough and I completed it. Although this first run through felt a little disconnected because I was almost playing it alongside the video and didn’t fully experience it all myself with my own choices and completely understanding what choices I was making. But the fact was I completed it regardless, I got my damn lightsaber—lightsabers even! Goddamn plural!—and loved the characters and every moment of it. The story was completely different to any other Star Wars story I was accustomed to which delved into themes I didn’t fully understand yet, but I loved it all the same.

I loved the planets, the characters, the combat I grew to love, the music, the voice acting, the twists, the scope it all conveyed and perspective it gave on the force and the Sith and what it is to be Jedi. All of it influenced me even and inspired my own Star Wars stories I want to write.

Since then I have played and completed it 3 more times. Once more on the Xbox, a save on the 360 I completed and a Sith run I started, and recently on PC. I’ve only ever completed it as a Jedi and the Sith run I still haven’t completed after… 6 years now I think? Maybe? Probably longer than that. But the best thing about all the times I’ve completed it is that as much as I have tried to stay close to what I will always do in the games I have always gotten a different outcome in the end. I’ve had an ending where no one survived, where some survived, and where everyone survived, and another where all survived but Atton died. And I know next time I play through it again I’m going to get another ending completely different. That’s the best thing about this I think, that each ending isn’t guaranteed to be the same even if you play close to the same as before.

So, how this game plays. It’s space D&D. The game uses a d20 system so it was akin to playing Star Wars D&D. You can even see these roll stats in the game in the journal, message log and combat filter. Kotor also used this system. And you know what? The system works. Not only for its combat mechanics but for its character creation. You can have more freedom to play about how you want to build your character and class as you level up.

Want to be a Jedi Knight? Consular? Sentinel? Just be a Scoundrel or Scout and be allergic to lightsabers? (Weirdo, how would you not want a lightsaber?) A Techie? Sith Lord? Jedi Master? Sith Assassin? All these classes and builds gives such freedom and variety it begs for multiple playthroughs with its open ended opportunities for how you want to make this story go and develop your character. You can go on with a single lightsaber or sling dual lightsabers, optionally with a short lightsaber in your off hand (it works better that way), or go all Maul and swing about a double edged lightsaber, mow down rebel and Mandalorian scum with a mini minigun. You can rely solely on force powers and go all Palpy or completely ignore using the force and stick to your guns. (Seriously, why not use the force or lightsabers? Goddamn weirdo you are.)

You get a multitude of gear to equip that can help out your stats further, naturally. And you can modify your own lightsaber! When you’re on Dantooine, the home of the Jedi Academy that has long since been abandoned, you can delve into the Jedi caves that house the crystals that all blossoming Jedi in training go to when it comes time to build your own lightsaber. And in this crystal cavern you can find your own special character specific crystal. Of course you can find other crystals in this cave to help power up your lightsaber and other colours (I’ve always gone dual orange and yellow), but this crystal holds a special connection for your character both narratively and gameplay wise. As a gameplay mechanic; when you level up or change alignment from light to dark, or just get lighter and become Keanu Reeves or more darker and go goth, you can take the crystal out of your lightsaber, take it to Kreia and she will enhance it to better reflect your character’s growth. So if you’re majoratively light you can gain more damage to dark side, or if you’re dark you gain more damage to light, more attack power, more damage etc.

As a narrative device, it works for the Exile’s lost connection from the force.

Which, now I think it’s time to get to the main appeal of this game.

Knights of the Old Republic II is possibly the best Star Wars story ever told next to Knights of the Old Republic and the films themselves.

You play as The Exile, a Jedi exiled by the Jedi council because you chose to defy them and go to war with Revan and Malak against the Mandalorians before they slaughtered everyone. The bastards. Who’s the bastards? The Jedi council or the Mandalorians? Maybe both? You be the judge.

Seriously, you get to decide who the bastards are. Disagree with the council? Agree with them? Resentfully chose to fight the Mandalorians? Or gleefully sided with them and fell to the dark side because everyone are bastards and you wanna watch the galaxy burn?

Hell, maybe you’re the bastard…

Anyway!

That’s all you’re given. You get to weave your own story throughout this. If you’ve played the first Kotor then you know the deal with Revan and Malak. If you’ve read the Revan book as well then you will know too that this Exile is canonically Meetra Surik. You can make and choose whoever you want easily. Want to be Revan again even? Go for it. But she’s the main character of this story and it finishes on the light side.

As Meetra, you wake up on a Peragus mining facility in your undies with amnesia. You run into a cranky old woman called Kreia and an imprisoned dodgy scoundrel named Atton. You eventually come across this game’s resident R2, T3-M4, returning from Kotor. You escape the doomed planet with the repaired Ebon Hawk-- also back from Kotor-- as the Sith arrive, who is led by the walking zombie Darth Sion. You arrive on Telos, get your barings, either help some environmental Ithorians or corporate Czerka, solve a few security cases before you’re off and on your way to the big wide galaxy ahead and the story opens up.

Now, you’re being chased by Darth Sion because he and Darth Nihilus believe you to be the last of the Jedi (ha.) But you are not! Your task is to find the remaining hidden Jedi masters and, depending on your alignment, gather them together at the ruins of the Jedi Academy on Dantooine or kill them.

Along the way you’re going to meet new party members and Kreia will train you in the ways of the force.

Then, you get four planets to choose from to find these masters; Dantooine, Onderon, Korriban, and Nar Shadaa. And you can go to any of these planets in any order you like. Though, my order has always been Dantooine, Nar Shadaa, Onderon, Korriban.

I’m not going to go through each planet and explain what happens and spell it all out, but you find more party members to help you along the way, find the masters and then shit unfolds in a greatly unexpected way…

Mandalore, another returning character from Kotor, at one point on the Onderon moon of Dxun has a confrontation with Kreia and tells a fellow Mandalorian “Forget the Jedi. Keep an eye on her…” Which, seriously. Keep a very close eye on Kreia, pay attention to what she says, what she does and how she can influence others. She’s the most curious of all your party members…

Which, speaking of, as Kreia teaches your character and you grow and you attract more followers, you eventually get the chance to train your party members into becoming Sith or Jedi. Those who are force sensitive are the Handmaiden, Mira, Bao-Dur, Atton and the Disciple. Although, the Handmaiden is a character who you can only recruit when you play as the male. Taking Handmaiden’s place when you play female is the Disciple, someone you meet in the Jedi ruins on Dantooine.

And then comes the romance options! Because what RPG game wouldn’t have one. As the male character you get Mira, Visas and Handmaiden, and as the female you get Atton and the Disciple.

I’ve always gone the way of the male and choosing the Handmaiden. Helps she’s voice by Grey Delisle…

Anyway.

Time to get into the story more.

So, you’re trying to find these Jedi masters while running halfway across the galaxy from a zombie Sith and a gluttonous Sith.

Sion is a man who should long ago have since died, but is using the force to keep himself held together. His body is decayed and falling apart, he’s got one working eye, his voice is dried and husky. That is a man whose sheer force of rage and anger and willpower to control the force as such to keep himself together and alive is incredible. I’ve never seen something like that nor someone use the force so creatively.

And then there’s Nihilus. A man no longer who feeds on the force. A wound in the force who feeds on all life throughout the galaxy. He sees not the form of flesh and sinew in front of him, but the living force around him and all is his for the taking, to consume and draw on until there is nothing left. He is a vampiric, poisonous leech the likes of which no Sith has ever matched before. Again, something I have never seen before in how a character, or even how the game’s developers, has ever used the force, to bend it to his will and develop the force more into something greater and more mysterious and powerful than the films have ever elaborated on.

And that leads me into my next point; the force and Kreia. Which, spoilers for the twist and ending. (I know I said earlier I won’t spoil but this needs talking about! At least I’m leaving some mystery.)

Kreia is a Sith… Or is she?

Well, she is truly Darth Treya. If Sion is the Sith of pain, and Nihilus is the Sith of hunger and annihilation, then Treya is the Sith of betrayal. And therein lies the twist.

Kreia is seemingly a Jedi at first, perhaps even a grey Jedi the more you talk to her. I mean, her alignment on the character screen is permanently neutral, no matter which side you sway to the heaviest or how much you influence her. Until eventually you come to learn she was once Darth Treya, a powerful Sith Lord who once had the galaxy firmly in her grasp accompanied by her pupils Sion and Nihilus. Until those two overthrew her and imposed her into her own exile. Now, where else have we heard of that…?

So naturally, with Kreia wise to the force and of the Exile’s being, she works to control Surik and do her bidding no matter which side she may fall on. She manipulates all that occurs right up until the game’s final stage; Malachor V, the final battleground and graveyard of the Mandalorian wars, where so many Jedi died and where Meetra Surik became a wound in the force herself.

Once you have defeated Nihilus and convinced Sion to finally die and let go of the force, you face Kreia. Or, Treya, rather. And it is here you learn more about the force, its sides, its control, Treya’s motivations and the why of everything.

Treya, hates the force. The reason why she does what she does is because she hates it. She wishes to see it dead and destroyed because of the hold it has on all those in life. And, as much as she betrayed Meetra Surik, she holds a special kind of love for her. She doesn’t wish her dead or any kind of harm or anything like that to have happen to her. But for her to understand more on the force.

This is where the best part of this whole game and story culminates, the reflection on the force and what the force is.

The force is a powerhouse. The force is a living beast. A galactic behemoth that is almost a deity or living entity that is all that lives. It is not these midichlorians, this kind of blood bacteria. It is not this mysterious magic. The force is an all-consuming, all controlling, all illuminating and suffocating creature that presides in everyone and everything. It controls the motion and flow of everything. It is reactive to emotion and try as they all might, the Sith and the Jedi may never really fully understand what the force is other than be a slave to it or try to control it to their will.

There was once this one interesting theory I read about what the force is and related it to a swimming pool. The Jedi only swim in the shallow to middle part of the pool. They can see how far the pool stretches and understand its breadth but dare not delve deeper into it else they get lost or drown within it, and so stay safe and respect the shallow part of the pool. While the Sith dive deep into the pool and swim far and wide into the deepest parts and soon find that it is really an ocean and discover all these other monstrous beings deep below. And that makes total sense honestly.

I love more the concept of the force being this uncontrollable being, this literal special force that is everything and there are a special number who are sensitive to it and can control and use it. And not just for magic tricks like lifting things and confusing chumps, but to use the force to manipulate, influence and shape things as sizeable as an entire galaxy. To control something on that scope with that kind of a power is intangible yet fascinating.

And so, regarding that, Treya hates that people in the galaxy might not have full control over themselves and she wishes to see the force die. And that is an immense ambition. How could you kill the force? Could you? Darth Nihilus fed on it and wiped out star systems, Meetra Surik was a wound and brought death and suffering to those around her and amassed a loyal following that fought when she fought (a very, very clever piece of writing to implement a simple game mechanic such as levelling up into the story as for each enemy you defeat or kill the stronger you become), and Sion relied on the force to live until he gave it up. There are those who rely on it who perhaps shouldn’t be around and those who are a poison with the force.

And, perhaps, even all of Treya’s ambitions aren’t really her conscious choices either? Maybe in that, the force controlled her choices because that is what the force wills and dictates…

Maybe the force wills to die too but learned it cannot…

Who knows!

It’s this writing and Sara Kestelman’s acting as the conflicted Sith Kreia which helped this game win awards and cement Kreia as one of the most recognisable and compelling video game characters ever.

And that’s another one of this game’s strengths; the voice acting. Everyone does stupendously and there’s not a wrong word put out or spoken.

Either way, Knights of the Old Republic 2 is an incredible Star Wars game and an incredible Star Wars story that is critical and self-reflective on itself, superbly creative, immersive, poignant, and did more to develop the Star Wars lore than it is recognised for.

Do yourself a favour and play it and play it again.

If you’re playing it on PC, get the Restored Content mod that fixed everything Obsidian didn’t have time to fix and which includes all cut content. Go fulfil your Sith or Jedi dreams and get lost.

I have spoken.

Where to Purchase:

7/02/10

Steam: £7.19, $9.99

Amazon: £2.33 - £15, $17 - $70

Ebay: £1.25- £59, $7.67 - $325

GoG: £7.69, $9.99

#star wars #knights of the old republic 2 #kotor 2 #star wars knights of the old republic 2 #xbox #games #video games #reviews #video game reviews #pc

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kainks · 6 years

Text

midnight suck. 1

pairing: vamp!jungkook x reader

genre: vampire au, destined lovers au

warnings: scary vampy jungkook, minor character death, slight blood & gore, nothing bad i promise, mentions of stalking, cranky yoongi

words: 4,639

summary: you had seen him drain the life out of someone, there was no way he could leave you alone now.

“Come on little human, come out and play.”

–> 2 | 3 | 4

Series updates every Saturday at 8PM PST!

Midnight never seemed as dark as it did, that summer night. It was an eerie type of desolation, isolated between buildings of red rust and shadowed eyes that watched your every step. More so, it was the sensation of being completely and utterly alone with your thoughts that ran wild at such a night, where you were free to conjure up any horrifying scenario on your trek home.

You never worked the late shift at Johnny's Pizzeria. For the simple fact that it had previously conflicted with your schedule of classes that used to take up most of your free day, keywords being used to.

It was a satisfying failure to finally admit that you were in fact, a newly found college dropout.

With a heavy heart and even heavier determination, you had left behind a world of anatomy and medicine, for the sweet and freeing bliss of writing. You could only imagine what your classmates must have been saying about you, a pre-med student leaving a successful future for one that was bleak and foggy at best. Yet you couldn’t help the way you longed for late nights, your computer by your side, as you typed until dawn was rising once again.

So yeah, you never worked the late shift at Johnny’s, but since you’d left college for your own dreams, your parents had all but cut you off financially, any help you’d once been lucky to receive was now nonexistent. Adding a few more hours of work was a newfound necessity if you wanted to keep your small, yet cozy one bedroom in the outskirts of town. It wasn’t ideal, but it was home, and you loved it all the same.

Jimin, your shift manager, had been all but pleased to hand over to you the night shift four days out of the week, especially if it meant he could leave earlier to go home and see his boyfriend.

You’d met the guy twice, both at employee parties when Jimin had brought him as a date. Yoongi was considerably hard looking, like he was much older, more wiser to the world than the people around him. It was strange, how reserved and intimidating he was, yet was completely soft when it came to his smaller boyfriend. The couple was so sickeningly sweet, you probably gained a few cavities whenever you saw them together.

The only downside to closing for the night, was the walk home. By the time the doors were securely locked, you were tiredly preparing for your twenty minutes of anxious speed walking back to your place. Your apartment was conveniently located a short distance from your work, which had been a huge benefit when you’d gotten the job at the pizzeria two years ago, except for the fact that the shortcut was through the back alleys of intertwining apartment buildings and small businesses. Though it hadn’t bugged you too much in the beginning, as you had always had the safe haven of daylight to make you feel the smallest bit better, now you were confined within total darkness. The only guiding light you had was the flashlight on your phone, and the flickering dull glow of porch street lamps every block or two.

It was like a scene out of a horror movie if you were being honest. You were sure you’d passed by a few drug deals in the past, yet had pretended to be listening to music, your silent earbuds being your temporary saving grace.

This time though, the walk home felt different. Like impending doom lay just over the horizon, the horizon being overflowing dumpsters and the people sleeping beside them. It was a feeling you couldn’t shake, and it made your steps a little lighter, little quicker.

It wasn’t until you were about ten short minutes from your apartment, that things went terribly wrong. It started with a dull scream that echoed throughout the night like a warning, fright flashing across your face as you heard a loud bang just around the corner you were currently walking towards.

“Please, s-somebody help me!”

The voice was gargled, deep, obviously belonging to a male, and utterly stricken with terror. His pleading seemed to echo in your ears, nothing but deep gasps preluding the plea, the call for help that no one was around to hear. Well, except for you.

“Oh god, no, no!”

Your fingers trembled as they came to clutch at the edge of the brick building, your pulse running wild as you hesitantly went to peak around the corner, careful not to be seen. It was truly bizarre, unreal, what you witnessed then. So much so, that it left your head feeling light, fuzzy as adrenaline coursed through your veins like fire.

A middle aged man, dressed in what looked like a designer suit, was pinned by his throat to the side of a brick building, loafers a good foot from the ground and eyes stricken in horror. What really made this scene all the more insane, was the guy pinning the male to the building, with his hand. You couldn’t see his face, only the back of his head, broad shoulders flexing as he lifted the male further up the building, to which he choked out a terrified scream.

“Please, please!”

What should you do? What you were witnessing, was it even real? The guy pinning the older male to the wall possessed inhuman strength, was crushing the poor man’s windpipe as you sat there contemplating. Should I run? Yet the thought of fleeing, it felt wrong. Not when a man was about to die as you sat back and watched.

“Oh fuck, fuck.” You whispered hastily to yourself, nails digging into brick.

Only after speaking to yourself in a frazzled panic, did the older male flicker his eyes towards you, your own directly in his line of sight, over the shoulder of the guy with inhuman strength. His eyes startled at your presence, most likely thinking you were there to save him, that everything would be okay. His mouth opened faintly, as he was about to call out to you, which was bad. So bad. Then the both of you would end up dead, and fuck who was going to feed your fish if that happened?

You quickly shook your head at him, pushing your finger over your lips in a gesture for him to keep quiet. How long was the guy going to keep him pinned like that? You quickly thought. The older male furrowed his eyebrows at you, gasps startling from his mouth as he attempted to breath and you realized you needed to do something quick.

Without thinking, your fight or flight actions kicked in and you stepped around the corner, because you were not about to let some guy die on your watch. As he saw you, despite the lack of color to his face, he look relieved, like you were about to save the day. Were you though?

“Thank god.” You heard him quietly choke out, to himself no doubt.

What you didn’t expect, was for the guy with his hand around the man’s throat, to laugh. It sounded sinister, evil, and chilled you to the bone as you once again froze on the spot, not having made more than three steps in your progress.

“You won’t be thanking him anytime soon.” The voice.

It caused your lungs to freeze, no oxygen being supplied to your shaking form. Never before had the sound of someone speaking, truly petrified you. It was like a clear sign, to turn back and run, to get the hell out of a place you were never supposed to be in the first place.

“I’ll make your trip to hell a lot more painful, as it is, i’m particularly starving tonight.”

You didn’t get a chance to be confused over whatever the hell he meant, because soon the man was being lowered to his feet once again and the guy was ripping into his throat like a ravenous beast.

You gasped then. A mistake on your part, one that would most likely cause you your life.

It was the only appropriate action upon seeing such a kill, the man's eyes rolling back into his head, blood squirting from his throat onto the wall behind him as the guy pushed further into the man’s neck, snarling for more.

It made your stomach turn, nausea curling up on you unwelcomingly. You couldn’t see directly what was happening, but you had a pretty fucking good idea. The man, the one you had tried to save, was having his throat ripped open by a human.

No.

That guy, he couldn’t be human.

The man was suddenly dropped to the wet ground, lifeless limbs scattered around him unnaturally. A large wound was on his throat, blood smeared over his white dress shirt, completely soaking through the fabric. You felt bile rise.

As for the guy, he stepped away from the man, head tilted back as his fingers rose to wipe at his mouth, sucking on them in a manner too seductive, for the situation.

Holy shit, he was licking the guys blood!.

You shook your head, as if not quite believing that you’d just witnessed a man get drained, literally.

The guy chuckled then, head suddenly turning to stare right at you menacingly.

Your eyes widened.

“Aren’t you going to come out and say hello?”

Shit, shit shit shit.

“I heard you arrive five minutes ago, your heartbeat sounds delicious.”

You watched along in horror as he came two steps closer, standing beneath a street lamp and for the first time, you were able to gaze upon the face that would forever haunt your dreams.

He was so young, it’s what you first noticed. Raven locks parted into a messy fringe, dressed completely in black, to which his eyes of crimson red stood out like beacons of hell itself.

That was all the confirmation you needed to let on that he was anything but human, and you found your knees shaking as you saw fresh trickles of blood leak down the corner of his lips in a thin line, dripping from his chin in silent drops.

His jaw was sharp, shoulders broad, legs long, and completely beautiful. Hauntingly so.

“Come on little human, come out and play.”

Your only reaction was to turn around and run for your life, which is exactly what you did. Until your feet were practically numb, eyes constantly looking over your shoulder at the fear of being followed, a lingering threat the entire way home.

Even as you practically threw yourself through your front door, securing the deadbolt into place, you felt anything but safe.

/~/

You woke up the next morning with a pounding heart. Saturday morning, bright and early, you had sat up with fright, fingers grasping bed sheets and a cold sweat dampening your night shirt.

You’d done nothing but dream about fired red eyes and death. The mans lifeless body replaying in your mind on loop, the way he had begged for help, from you, only to die a horrible death in the end.

It was your fault.

You wanted to cry, yet the pure unadulterated fear was holding you back. That and the lingering question that sat heavy on your tongue.

Why were you still alive?

The guy, whatever he was, hadn’t come after you like you’d anticipated. Even knowing that you had witnessed him murder someone in cold blood. He knew you were there the entire time. He’d known, yet had waited until after he had fed, to say something.

It was surreal, the type of thing to happen in movies, not to you. Not in real life.

What even was he?

You already knew, just couldn’t find it in yourself to say, let alone think, the word.

They don’t exist idiot, they don’t. You thought bitterly, pulling your comforter around you tighter, more securely, as if it could help shield you from the unyielding fear in your chest. You were scared, so scared. What if that thing had followed you home, was waiting until nightfall to break in and kill you, suck you dry like he’d done to the poor man?

If he wanted you dead, you’d already be dead.

Somehow, that thought wasn’t as comforting as you had hoped.

“He saw my face.” You spoke to yourself, mind running a million miles a minute.

“He knows what I look like, oh god.”

You weren’t safe. You didn’t want to live in a perpetual state of fear for the rest of your life, in a way, it would have been a heck of a lot better if he’d just killed you then.

But my poor fish.

Glancing out the window to your left, you saw the bleak gray sky, rain drizzling in a quiet murmur through the dirtied glass. The weather closely resembled your overall state at the moment. You couldn’t stay at your apartment. Somehow you just knew that he had followed you, even though you’d practically spent more time looking over your shoulder than forward on your way home.

Your gut instinct was telling you to get the hell out while you still could, which is why you were calling Taehyung within ten seconds, phone pressed closely to your ear, slightly shaking in your weakened grip.

“Hello?”

He sounded tired, voice raspy and barely on the brink of consciousness. Eyeing the clock on your bedside table, you noted with a wince that it was only eight thirty in the morning.

Sorry Tae.

“H-hey, umm.. Sorry I woke you.”

It was as if he sensed the tremor in your voice, noting that something wasn’t right, because he sounded a lot more clear headed and awake as he spoke softly, words more calculated.

“It’s fine ___, what’s up? Are you okay?”

You screamed inwardly.

Hell no.

“Y-yeah I’m fine! I just-” You paused, chewing on your lip thoughtfully. “I was wondering if I could crash at your place for a few days?”

You had absolutely no idea what your reasoning was going to be, you happened to be a terrible liar, and after so many years of friendship, Taehyung had a knack for knowing when you weren’t being completely truthful.

“Of course, you’re always welcome here.” He said as a gentle reminder. “But why? Did something happen?”

Yeah, I saw a guy die and almost joined him myself.

“Uh, no. They’re just doing renovations for a couple days, and it’s going to be um.. noisy.”

You were doomed.

“Hm, alright. Come over whenever today, I’ll be here.”

He didn’t sound convinced, but otherwise didn’t comment on your halfassed excuse, which you were more than grateful for.

“Thanks Tae..” You sighed in relief, chest feeling a little less tight. “I’ll see you later today then.”

“Sure thing.”

The line went dead, and there was no doubt that he’d question you later on, and you’d crumble under his concerned stare that always had a way of making you come clean. But there was no way in hell he’d believe you. Taehyung was open to a lot of shit, but you’d be pushing it if you asked him to believe that you had seen something supernatural.

A vampire.

“Oh my god.” Bringing your hand up to your head, you rubbed your temples gently, trying to will away the headache that was already brimming.

“I’m going to die, I just know it.”

/~/

Taehyung’s house was only a short, fifteen minute uber ride away. Even though you internally cried at the thought of handing over money you really didn’t have, the idea of walking made you want to cry even more.

You were not about to offer yourself up as a free meal to whomever that crazy thing was. He was most likely following you, just waiting for the perfect time to sink his teeth into your delicate flesh and fuck, did that sound painful.

It was around two in the afternoon when you’d arrived at Taehyung’s apartment, knocking on the door with urgency, because standing out in the open was making you more anxious by the second. It was depressing, how paranoid you had become over the course of a few hours.

He lived closer into the city, located where there was more traffic, more shops and entertainment than where you lived. Just a short car ride could bring you into a completely different atmosphere, and you felt just the slightest bit better knowing that there were hardly any dark alleyways around Taehyung’s place for you to die in.

“Hey, you made it!”

He opened the door hastily, blond tufts sticking up every which way and still drowning in oversized Gucci pajamas while cuddling the cutest, angriest, looking puppy under his left arm.

You cooed softly at the small ball of fluff snuggling close into his chest.

“Since when did you get a dog!”

You reached out with two fingers, gently petting the wiggling puppy on the head and you might have squealed over the unyielding cuteness it possessed.

“Since two days ago, come on in. We were just about to eat breakfast!” He spoke more to the dog than you, nuzzling his cheek into the soft fur before delivering a quick kiss to it’s little nose.

You gave him a puzzled look. “Breakfast? It’s two in the afternoon..”

He waved you off, closing the door behind you after stepping through. You kicked off your shoes, and set your bag down next to the hallway closet, before turning to see Taehyung set down the small puppy, it’s little legs quickly scurrying into the kitchen, as if it knew it was time to eat.

“Like I said, breakfast. I’ll whip up some pancakes for you.”

As it was, Taehyung was considerably good at making the fluffiest, sweetest pancakes. But you knew it was really the only thing he could cook decently without catching anything on fire, well that and a mean cup of ramen. Really, neither one of you could cook efficiently, always resorting to take out from regular shops that knew you guys by first and last names no doubt.

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d cooked anything, or had anything cooked for you, which is why you practically inhaled three pancakes easily, your stomach feeling satiated as you swallowed back the last bite, lazily sinking down the wooden dining room chair sat across from Taehyung himself.

He eyed you teasingly, smirk resting on his lips, along with a small drop of syrup that he quickly licked away. “Wow, you didn’t waste any time there did you?”

“Shut up, I was hungry. I haven’t eaten anything since my shift yesterday.”

At that, Taehyung’s shoulders perked up, dropping his fork back onto his plate with a loud clang, his eyes widening in remembrance.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me!” he hastily spoke, “Did you hear about that guy that was found dead in your area? It was only like, five minutes from your apartment”

You felt your entire body freeze, veins like ice and heart beating erratically as you let Taehyung’s words run wild through your head.

Man. Found dead. Five minutes from you place.

Suddenly all the food you’d consumed felt too heavy in your stomach, like it was about to make a reappearance the longer you recalled upon the memories from last night, blood red eyes and crimson drops.

“W-what?” The question came out too softly, and Taehyung took that as you just being surprised over the news. If only he knew.

“Yeah, it was on TV this morning! He was an attorney I think? Anyways, they found him dead in some back alley, totally drained of blood! Can you believe that!” He shook his head, lips turning down into a steady pout.

“I feel bad for him, the guy had a family and everything..” His somber eyes looked up at you. “Make sure and be careful walking home from now on okay? I don’t want to see your face on the news next.”

Neither did you.

“Yeah, i-i’m always careful..”

He nodded. “Good!”

You watched him stand up, grabbing both of your empty plates and walking them to the sink, setting them in there carelessly, the cute little puppy followed at his feet with every step, having already eaten his breakfast.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you, I invited Jimin over for dinner tonight, which means he’s probably gonna bring Yoongi. We’ll all probably watch a movie or something, you’re free to join of course!”

Of course. Taehyung had been the one to help get you your job at the pizzeria in the first place, because his childhood friend Jimin happened to be one of the managers there and had been looking for adequate employees, ones that had both brains and skill. You always found it a little odd, working under your best friends, best guy friend. Jimin and you weren’t close, about as close as co-workers could get, and you found it a little disheartening to find out that he’d be showing up tonight, with his stoic boyfriend who never cracked a smile at anyone other than the small, sunset haired boy himself.

Never the less, you were the one imposing on Taehyung, so you put on your best smile and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sure, sounds great.”

Taehyung gave you a please grin, grateful that you were open to the idea of hanging out with all of them, despite knowing how you would probably feel awkward and the slightest bit uncomfortable. He sent you a silent thank you, and poured himself another cup of coffee.

“Awesome! We’re totally renting a horror film tonight, what do you think… zombies or vampires?”

You choked on your glass of apple juice.

/~/

Seven rolled around way too soon, your alarm ringing dully into the guest bedroom. It was already dark out, the faint glow of city lights peeking through the mesh curtains of the curved window. The small, but comfortable bed, creaked as you rolled onto your back, sighing out to no one but yourself as you swiped your phone back into silence.

Jimin would be there with his boyfriend anytime, and you were feeling anything but social. In fact, you felt completely on edge, like something horrible was about to happen, and you were just a waiting participant with no voice in the matter. You had laid down for a nap two hours ago, because really, you had slept like complete shit the night before.

You were thankful that this time you didn’t have terrifying nightmares, which was probably due to the fact that you weren’t alone in the apartment. Taehyung was there with you, which meant you’d be fine, right?

He’d probably get eaten right before I did.

You cringed, hands coming to cover your face as you groaned. “Ugh!” You kicked your feet against the soft mattress in protest, feeling overwhelmed and scared all at once. You really didn’t like how the sun was no longer out, which meant that whomever had seen you last night, was out again, probably killing another poor person for their sick enjoyment.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted your session of self pity, the loud chime echoing throughout the apartment four times. You faintly heard Taehyung’s heavy footsteps rush down the hallway past your room, rounding the corner and answering the door.

“Hey, just on time!”

“We brought pie and wine!”

“It was Jimin’s idea, not mine.”

“Shut up babe, you spent twenty minutes deciding on apple or peach.”

You heard the faint voices of the three men through the bedroom walls. It was your duty as a friend and employee to make yourself present, at least for a little while. Surely Taehyung couldn’t hate you too much if you swept in for pie and a glass of wine, before running back to the isolation of your temporary bedroom and burdening thoughts.

Maybe two glasses of wine.

Stepping out of bed, you quickly stretched and ran a brush through your hair so you didn’t look completely like shit, before grabbing your phone and leaving the sweet solace of the room.

“..forgot to tell you, ___ is here to crash for a few days..”

“That’s fine! More the merrier, right babe?”

“Mmm, sure.”

You smiled faintly to yourself, mostly at the chipper voice of Jimin and the grumbly, husky drawl of Yoongi. Really they were such a contrast to one another, it was hilarious.

Just as you rounded the corner, you were met with the sight of the three of them standing by the front door, Yoongi leaning casually against the hall closet with his arms crossed, and Jimin showing Taehyung the contents of the pie he’d brought, the warm smell of apple and spices already wafting through the small area and making your mouth water just so.

“Finally, I thought you’d died or something.” Taehyung teased as he glanced up at you, playful gleam to his eyes. You’d noticed that he’d changed his attire, now dressed in a pair of black slacks and an obnoxiously loud print shirt, one that had a busy design of floral and paisley.

Jimin looked up then too, smiling in your direction.

“Hey ___, how are you?”

You waved stiffly, pushing a friendly smile onto your face for show. “Good, great!” You laughed, scratching the back of your neck albeit awkwardly, your motions a little jarred. He didn’t catch on, to which you were pleased, just sent you another beaming smile that only he could possess and was ushering Taehyung into the kitchen with him to help get started on dinner.

“Yoongi, have a seat, you and ___ can talk while we start on dinner.” Taehyung spoke from over his shoulder, two steps behind the shorter male as they walked through the small archway from the living room, into the kitchen.

Then it was silent, and that’s when the awkward atmosphere truly surrounded you in a suffocating tension. You eyed the blond male to your right, still leaning casually against the hall closet, but this time looking straight at you. His eyes were cold, calculating, like he was attempting to decipher every secret you’d ever possessed.

“Umm-”

You never got the chance to finish your sentence, because two heavy knocks were rasped onto Taehyung’s front door then, booming throughout the otherwise quiet air that you and Yoongi shared.. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

“Was anyone else supposed to show up?”

It was aimed at the older male, still looking at you, but this time the corner of his lips turned up in a grin, one that said ‘i know something you don’t.’

“Yeah, a friend of mine.”

Yet he wasn’t taking the initiative to open the door?

Pursing your lips, you let the smallest breath of air escape, clearly a little annoyed at his strange behavior. “I uh- I’ll answer it then.. I guess..”

He didn’t say anything as you brushed past him, you could hear the faint voices of Jimin and Taehyung in the kitchen, arguing over what type of cheese to put in the casserole, and you would have laughed if your heart hadn’t started beating erratically for no good reason at all.

Clasping the brass knob of the door in your palm, you twisted it and opened the door with ease. Despite the sky being black, and the stars mostly indistinct, you clearly, so clearly, saw the tall figure stood before you, face just as evident and sharp as you remembered.

Only this time, red blazen eyes were now a soft mocha brown.

“O-oh my... oh my g-” Your voice shook with complete horror.

His teeth glimmered under the blinding porch light, lips tugged into a taunting smirk at your incoherent stuttering, and wild eyes focused directly on you.

“Little human, nice to see you again.”

You screamed.

a/n: more to come!

#bts scenario #bts au #bangtan scenarios #jungkook scenarios #jungkook au #bts vampire au #jungkook vampire au #bts #bangtan #jungkook #jeon jungkook #eventual smut #this is sort of crack #lmao

4K notes · View notes

captainsrogers7 · 6 years

Text

Babysitting

Please Send Requests

Prompt:“Are you insane?”

“ Do you really want me to answer that ?”

Loki x Reader

Word Count: 1,393 ( I know it’s a little long. Sorry)

Warnings: fluff

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

_______________________________________________________________

The Avengers had left you in charge of babysitting Loki, the guy who tried to take over New York, the guy who killed 80 people,the guy who scares you more than anything in the world.

You were in an apartment-like room on the heli-carrier, it was well furnished but had a steel door, this made me nervous. You made your way towards couch and made yourself comfortable, you had brought a book that you had been reading, you opened to your current page and started to read.

It had been only a few moments before you felt the room grow cold, you shivered and retrieved the blanket that was at the other end of the sofa. The room continued to grow colder and colder until a thought popped into your head. Loki was a frost giant, he can make things grow cold.

You slowly turned you head half way until you saw the fair skin and raven hair of the man that everyone was saying was so dangerous. Looking at him now he appeared as nothing more than an ordinary person.

“Hello dear, I suppose you are the one they have sent to watch over me.” he raised his eyebrows, he hasn’t made any eye contact, “ What is this rubbish that you’re reading?”

“ It is not garbage, it is a masterpiece !” I slammed the book shut, which surprisingly made him jump, “ The name is, y/n.”

“ Opinions,” he sounded rather smug while saying this,” your race seems to be quite dependent on them, y/n.”

He flicked his wrist and my book flew out of my hands and into his. He waved his finger above it, there was a green light coming from his fingertips, then my book exploded and all that was left was the tiny fibers that used to be my novel.

“ Are you insane?” I shouted at him.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” he looked extremely proud of what he had just done.

I ran to where the pile of fibers are on the hardwood floor, the floor near him felt like ice. I turned my gaze in his direction, fir in my eyes. I got up off the floor and ran towards him. I didn’t think my plan all the way through, as I was about to pounce on him he simply held his arms out and caught me.

I guess the look on my face was quite amusing because he burst into laughter. This is not what I would have expected from this man. Everyone made him sound so menacing and cruel, but here he was laughing and holding me ever so carefully while I was midair.

“ I think I’m going to like you.” he laughed putting me back on the floor.

“ You still owe me a book.” I pushed away from him, I felt myself blushing.

“ Give it time, you’ll get what you want eventually.” he turned and disappeared into the room I’m guessing he came from, “ Are you coming?”

I followed close behind him, we entered a large room, there were no windows only a few lights barely illuminating the entire room. In the center of the room was a table, it seemed to be full of children’s games.

“ What’s this?” I smiled at some of the items on the table.

Some games included, UNO, Monopoly, and Jenga.

“ They were here when I got here, I have no clue what they are for, I was hoping you would tell me.”

“ Well they are games, usually children play them.” I laughed at his confused look.

“ Why on earth would they provide children games for me?” he sounded truly offended.

“ Well, maybe they wanted to give you things that were easy to understand so that you weren’t bored.”

“ Could you teach me how to use them?” he sounded hopeful.

“ Sure which one would you like to start with?”

“ Perhaps, Moo-no-poo-lie.”

I laughed so hard that I keeled over, I think he thought I hurt myself because he picked me up once again.

Y/n! Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

“ You said the name wrong, it isn’t Moo-no-poo-lie, it’s called Monopoly.” I was still laughing.

He just rolled his eyes at me, “ Well can we start with that one?”

“Of course.”

It had been just over an hour and Loki still didn’t understand the concept of rent.

“I own that, you owe me $21. We went over this twenty minutes ago.” I was starting to get a little annoyed.

“Well yes but I paid you $21 dollars already. I don’t see why I should do it again.” he also seemed to be getting quite annoyed.

“ That’s just how the game goes.”

“ How do I know you’re not making this all up just so you can win?”

“ Oh my goodness, you wanted to know how to play, I’m just teaching you.”

“ Well maybe we could play something else, a game that you can’t cheat at perhaps?”

“ Fine which do you want to play?” I wasn’t going to lie, I’m happy we don’t have to play anymore.

“ How about Uh-new?”

I laughed again, “ It’s called UNO. Okay bring it over let the games begin.”

I gave him a brief summary of the game and he seemed to understand. Once we began playing it became quite noticeable that h was either quite skilled at the game, or was cheating. I grabbed the stack of played cards and half of the cards he had laid began to glow green and turn a different color. The trickster was also a cheater.

“Hey, that’s not fair! I wasn’t cheating which means neither can you!” I threw the cards at him and stomped off to the living room.

“ How can I know that you weren’t cheating during Moo-nopoly?” he said to me, he sounded as though he was close behind me.

“ You’re the God of Lies, it’s like your superpower to know when people are lying!” I was angry, “ I just met you and now you are accusing me of cheating at a game that I was teaching to you. I have never met a person more rude than you!”

“ You’re right. I’m sorry.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to not accept the apology, it sounded so sincere, “ It’s alright, but don’t do it ever again.”

He began walking towards you, a magnificent idea entered your mind. You let him come right in front of you before springing to action. You grabbed his arm and swung him around, you had your arm around his neck. You then used your feet to knock him to his knees.

Your small performance didn’t have the effect you were planning. Instead of shock on his face, Loki looked amused at the state he was in. Perhaps he really was crazy.

“Y/n, you should really think about what you are up against before jumping into action.”

You had barely blinked in the time it took him to undo what you had just done and have you in the position he had just been stuck in.

“ Should we return to our game now?” he cooed into your ear, “ Or do you wish to continue this new game, I do enjoy it.”

“ Fine fine, let’s go play UNO. Just no more cheating, alright?”

“Sounds lovely.” he released me.

I rubbed my neck, it was a little sore from his grasp. We both made our way back to the table in the other room to continue our game. I’m not sure whether or not it was luck or he had decided to cheat again but he won the next three rounds.

It was around 11 o’clock when the intercom turned on and said that the night worker was coming and that my shift was over for the day.

“ Until tomorrow,” Loki said to me as we came to the door, “ should we start with Jeen- ga or Doom-een-oes ?”

I laughed again, “ I think we’ll start with telling you the proper names of each game.”

There was a knock at the door, which Loki quickly opened to reveal a cranky looking man who raised an eyebrow at the smile on my face. I said my goodbye’s to Loki and made my way back to my room, very excited to return the next day.

________________________________________________________________

Should I turn this into a series? Comment if I should. Comment if you want to be tagged.

Tags: @5aftermidnight @bethany-zor-el-danvers @bellag8 @marvelouslyme96 @kayleedolan101 @projectprotectloki @the-lokis-queen @lokidoki-imagines

#loki #laufeyson #loki laufeyson #loki fanfic #loki imagine #marvel #marvel imagine #marvel fanfiction #loki fic #mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel fandom #lokisarmy

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goforwardgreenwriter-blog · 6 years

Text

The Worm Reads: Empire of Storms, Ch 42 - 43

I AM ACTUALLY SPEECHLESS HOLY FUCKING SHIT

Manon Blackbeak cracked open eyelids that were too heavy, too burning, and squinted against the flickering lantern light that swayed upon the wood panels of the room in which she lay.

HHHH I’VE BEEN DREADING THIS. Please kiss the Manon we know goodbye, because we’re likely gonna never see her again after this chapter.

[Manon] bolted upright. Abraxos. Where was Abraxos—

Unghhh their relationship is too pure and wholesome for this shitty novel. I seriously want Manon to leave this series and go to HTTYD, it’s what she deserves.

(...) the chains now around Manon’s wrists, around her ankles—anchored into the walls with what appeared to be freshly drilled holes.

FRESHLY DRILLED HOLES. What did they use to drill those holes? Don’t tell me they popped down to Home Depot and picked up a brand new screw gun I am l aughing

Alien is there and already I’m seeing red please SJM i am begging u keep Alien’s crusty ass 100000 miles away from Manon

[Aelin] jerked her chin toward the floor. A pitcher and cup lay there. “Water’s next to the bed. If you can reach it.”

YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE YOU’RE GOING TO LET MANON DIE OF HYDRATION IF SHE CAN’T REACH THE WATER?? FUCK YOU, ALIEN, YOU MASSIVE PIECE OF SHIT.

And as it turns out, Manon can’t reach the water and passes out soon afterwards. Fuck Alien I can’t think of one character I hate more than her fucking selfish ass.

Even unconscious, Manon’s every breath, every twitch, was a reminder that she was a born predator, her agonizingly beautiful face a careful mask to lure the unwary to their doom.

idk this seems weird... Manon is passed out from pain but they’re all splooging over how hot and dangerous she is... idk...

They were nearing Banjali now—and Dorian had tried and failed not to think of his dead friend with every league closer to the lovely city. Tried and failed not to consider if Nehemia would have been with them on this very ship had things not gone so terribly wrong.

*sobs* I miss Nehemia.... she deserved so much better....

“Hello, witchling,” [Dorian] said. [Manon’s] full, sensuous mouth tightened slightly, either in a repressed grimace or smile, he couldn’t tell.

What the fuck is up with SJM making all her men horny for the women’s lips during situations that are in no way sexual?? Like Manon is a prisoner tied up and dying of hydration, why is Dorian thinking about her mouth this is so fucking weird

Dorian didn’t feel like mentioning that he’d been the one who’d jumped into the water [to save Manon]. He’d just … acted, as Manon had acted when she’d saved him in his tower. He owed her nothing less.

Ungh SJM is totally gonna make this a thing ain’t she. Like Dorian is just repaying her here but you know, you just know SJM is gonna use this for them to hook up.

Manon asks Dorian about Elide and the Thirteen and Dorian is like “who the hell are those guys” and Manon gets all sad and I’m :(((((

Whatever had happened, whatever [Manon] had endured … Dorian draped an arm along the back of his chair. “It’s coming in a few minutes. I’d hate for you to waste away into nothing. It’d be a shame to lose the most beautiful woman in the world so soon into her immortal, wicked life.”

Heh, that’s typical Dorian for you. Hey, maybe this ship won’t be so bad! Maybe they’ll become really good supportive friends who bond over all the trauma they went through and-

“I am not a woman,” was all [Manon] said. But hot temper laced those molten gold eyes. [Dorian] gave her an indolent shrug, perhaps only because she was indeed in chains, perhaps because, even though the death she radiated thrilled him, it did not strike a chord of fear. “Witch, woman … as long as the parts that matter are there, what difference does it make?”

WHAT

THE

ACTUAL

FUCK

SJM. ARE YOU EVEN FUCKING KIDDING ME. DO YOU KNOW TRANSGENDER PEOPLE EXIST?? THAT NOT ALL WOMEN HAVE VAGINAS??? ARE YOU FUCKING SAYING TRANS WOMEN ARE LESS OF WOMEN IF THEY DON’T HAVE BREASTS AND VAGINAS??? BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT IT FUCKING LOOKS LIKE TO ME.

I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE THIS IS IN AN EPIC FANTASY SERIES. SJM WROTE THIS, EDITORS EDITED IT, AND THEN IT WAS PUBLISHED, AND NOBODY THOUGHT “oh hey, the implications of this are reaaaally bad, let’s cut it”

DJFHSJDFHAFJ THIS IS SO BAD THIS IS REALLY REALLY BAD HOLY SHIT I THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST A BOOK WITH SHITTY PLOT AND WRITING AND CHARACTERS BUT NOW WE CAN ADD TRANSPHOBIA TO THE LIST THATS JUST GREAT.

Sorry about that little tangent but my jaw actually hung wide open when I read that line. Holy fucking shit this novel is going to put me in the ground six feet under.

Dorian offered a lazy grin in return. “Believe it or not, this ship has an unnatural number of attractive men and women on board. You’ll fit right in. And fit in with the cranky immortals, I suppose.”

I’m so heartbroken but... I have to disown my baby boy. Dorian was once one of my few favorite characters but SJM has killed him and replaced him with a transphobic asshole. I’m so sorry my baby boy, you flew too close to the sun. You are hereby demoted to Dorito.

Assdion rears his ugly ass head to be rude to Manon and kiss Alien’s ass before leaving. Bye bitch, hope you fall off the ship and drown.

“Then I suppose you and I are both heirs without crowns.”

Remember last time Alien said this and I defended Dorito, saying he deserved his crown? Oh, how I took those earlier chapters for granted......

The rest of the chapter is Manon angsting about all the shit she’s been through lately. Since I like Manon and she has reason to be upset, I don’t have anything to make snarks about so next chapter.

Lorcan was still wondering what the hell he was doing three days later

Oh fucking great, I just witnessed the murder of my son Dorian and now I gotta read in Lorcan’s POV? Just keep kicking me while I’m down why don’t you, SJM.

“It’s going to rain.” [Elide] slid a flat glance at him. “I do know what thunder means.”

Just fucking stop. This isn’t entertaining at all to watch two people bicker and made snarky remarks 100% of the time to one another and yet we’re supposed to believe they’re bonding I want to d ie

“Drink,” Elide commanded him. Lorcan debated telling her not to give him orders, but … he liked seeing this small, fine-boned creature in action.

What the fuck does that mean?? Fine boned?? Is that really a way people describe others???? What the fuck am I reading???

So Lorcan drank and watched [Elide] while she watched others. So many calculating thoughts beneath that pale face, so many lies ready to spill from those rosebud lips.

I’m so tired like. You guys have done nothing but argue and avoid each other and now Lorass is getting horny at the sight of Elide’s lips I’m so tired.

[Elide] was going to leave. Tomorrow, whenever the carnival rolled out. She’d likely hire one of these boats to take her northward, and [Lorcan] … he would go south. To Morath.

:(( the girl I emotionally abuse is going to leave after we both lied to one another :((( this is so sad can we get 100 likes

Elide talks to some people inside a tavern about Alien.

“Seems like the queen has a habit of showing up where she’s least expected, unleashing chaos, and vanishing again.

FINISH HER

Elide walked out of the third tavern, Lorcan on her heels. They hadn’t spoken once since she’d gone into that first inn. He’d been too lost in contemplating what it would be like to suddenly travel on his own again. To leave her … and never see her again.

I am utterly baffled you two have been nothing but assholes to each other!!! Like seriously you haven’t done anything nice for each other!!! Like wtf SJM is trying make us all :’((( about them splitting up but I can’t wait until this stupid subplot ends!

Elide reveals she can’t read to Lorass and he tries to compliment her, but...?

He wondered if he would have ever noticed if she hadn’t told him. “You seem to have survived rather impressively without it.”

I mean, good on him for not judging her, but like, she was locked up in a tower doing maid work? Reading skills really wouldn’t have made much of a difference there.

Turns out their carnival co workers ratted them out and sent guards after them. Lorass hauls Elide over his shoulder and makes a run for it.

“The gates at the city entrance,” [Elide] gasped as muscle and bone pummeled into her gut. “They’ll be there, too.”

Holy shit that sounds painful. She’s not a sack of potatoes Lorass, try some gentleness.

Lorcan pocketed the axe he’d thumbed free

You literally just took out your axe like two paragraphs ago on the same page. What was the point of this?

They find some rando and force him to get them the hell out of dodge on his boat. Elide hears a splash but doesn’t think anything of it until she sees Lorass again.

[Elide] glanced at the hatchet at [Lorcan’s] side as he strode out of the cabin. “You killed him, didn’t you?” That was what the splash had been. A body being dumped over the side.

So, just to recap, according to Lorass.... killing an innocent man who helped you escape the guards; completely justifiable. Stealing something you suspect is bad from a woman you don’t even like; evil, unacceptable, crossing a line.

“He might have had a family depending on him.” [Elide]’d seen no wedding ring, but it didn’t mean anything.

I was about to get tilted but SJM corrected herself. I hate the mentality that if you don’t have a spouse, you clearly can’t have a family who depends on you. Kids from previous relationships, parents, grandparents, siblings, they’re family too y’know.

Lorass finds out the Wyrdkey he carried is a fake and loses his shit.

Then Lorcan flung open the door, so violently it nearly ripped off its hinges, and hurled what looked to be the shards of a broken amulet into the river. Or he tried to. Lorcan threw it hard enough that it cleared the river entirely and slammed into a tree, gouging out a chunk of wood.

I enjoy his misery tbh. Lorass is so pissy he reveals to Elide that Alien was Celaena, or as I like to call her Celery, at one point.

“You knew, and you didn’t tell me. Why?” “You still haven’t told me your secrets. I don’t see why I should tell all of mine, either.”

I mean, yeah, hate to agree with Lorass but fair enough. You’ve both done nothing but lie to each other’s faces, why would he tell you that? I want to like Elide but all this shitty drama and bickering is making my affection for her wear thin.

Then - holy fucking shit, there’s like a bunch of huuuuuuge paragraphs of Lorass and Elide bickering and they’re so fucking big. This hurts my eyes to look at. I’m gonna screencap one of them, just to show you how fucking huge they are.

HOLY SHIT SJM BREAK UP YOUR BIG ASS BRICKS OF TEXT PLEASE. My eyes started to cross trying to read this, it took me like three tries.

tl;dr because of some bullshit Lorass is staying with Elide because they both have business with Alien. Fuckin’ great, I love everyone’s agendas revolving around the main special snowflake, just fuckin’ great.

There’d been nothing inside the amulet but one of those rings—an utterly useless Wyrdstone ring, wrapped in a bit of parchment. And on it was written in a feminine scrawl: Here’s hoping you discover more creative terms than “bitch” to call me when you find this. With all my love, A.A.G.

Maybe I’d find this amusing if Alien wasn’t a walking shitstain, but... I’m tired. I’m so goddamn tired.

[Lorcan]’d kill [Aelin]. Slowly. Creatively.

Damn wish you would fam, but Alien’s got plot armor bigger than her fuckin’ ego. Lorass ends the chapter by saying he’ll kill Alien, which we all know won’t happen. I’m betting money that there’ll probably be a Lorass/Rowboat/Alien love triangle once Lorass sees what an ~uhmazing~ queen Alien is. Don’t give me that look, you know SJM would.

#the worm talks #the worm reads: eos #anti sjm #anti tog #anti eos

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queenharumiura · 7 years

Note

✍ [ let's focus more on TYE this time, our bento thing and other encounters ]

Send me a ✍ for me to write a small drabble about your muse from my muse’s perspective! (Ohhhhh okay! I accept this challenge!)

Other encounters, huh? Huhuhu... I’m gonna choose some of my favorite meme responses >w> [x] [x] [x] I am the very definition of SORRY NOT SORRY.

Determination.

She was going to conquer and win this battle! A battle of getting this stubborn guy to eat her bentou, say that it was good and not kill her in the process by scaring her poor heart into ceasing to beat with a single glare.

What? You think that a glare can’t scare anyone? Mister, you surely don’t know what you are talking about. Don’t you know how scary THE Hibari Kyouya is?

Have you not seen the way he beats people up for being late for class? The way he threatens to bite everyone for crowding around? What about the way that Haru went to the hospital for a visit one time and the doctor was bowing down to Hibari?

No, that image has never left her and it left a very deep impression on her.

He didn’t like crowding, he was bad at remembering names (or so she thinks), and he apparently disliked cameras. She for one, was under the impression that he was camera shy. There was once a time she managed a photo with him before, with the help of Reborn-chan.

Her secondary mission today was to get another picture! She was going to try to get him used to cameras so he no longer feels a murderous rage when he sees one! How dangerous.

Still, he can’t be all that bad, since his animal friends adore him. You can’t be completely bad if animals love you! That much, she was sure of!

She was going to be sure to assert her name to be Haru Miura. She’s seen him call other people herbivores and such like it’s some kind of intimate(?) nickname. Unless the herbivore is a cute Usagi-san, she doesn’t want to hear it! Call her by her real name.

He asked her once if she had a name or would it be okay if he called her his and at first she thought he was suffering from memory loss but she soon learned that wasn’t the case and she swiftly got dragged away by Tsuna who just so happened to witness her speaking her way to her doom.

It was later that night when she finally went: “Hahi! Haru understands now! He was requesting that he can call Haru by a nickname, right” Oh little confused, naive Haru.

With his nicknaming sense, she’ll have to respectfully decline. She’d rather just be called by her name, thank you very much.

Anyways, going back to the topic at hand, she made a bento! Not any plain old bento... but a ... CHARA BENTO! She’s been into making cute things since Lambo seemed to really like them.

The bento had a lot of meat in it like some tako-weiners, hamburger steak, and a small tonkatsu covered with an egg like a donburi.

The hamburger steak was made in the image of Roll, the little hedgehog, and the tonkatsu covered with an egg like a donburi was made to look like Hibird! The Tako-weiners she added because who didn’t like them? They were cute little octopuses! Details on the animals were done with finely cut out vegetables.

Though he really liked meat he had to have other things in the bento as well, right? So she added in some riceballs, one of them looking vaguely like Hibari. Why not? He had his animal friends in food form, so why not add him as well? They were always together so just having the two animals didn’t sit right with her.

She worked hard on this, and she wasn’t going to sit quietly if he refused to eat it. At least take a bite, tell her it was good, and then comment on the cute animals at least! She wasn’t asking for much! (yes you are, don’t lie).

For the fun of it, she also cut out some carrots shaped like flowers, added bamboo shoots, and also some cherry tomatoes!

A masterpiece if she were to say so herself.

Talking things over with Kusakabe first, she found out that Hibari was on the rooftop of Namimori, likely taking a nap. She’d heard that he was rather cranky when woken up, but... she was brave! She could do this!

She was confident that no matter how angry he got with her, he wouldn’t harm her! Why? Why else was she wearing this hamster costume for? Can’t hurt a cute animal, riiiiiiiiiight?

Maybe if she was lucky, she’ll catch him at a time when he’s already woken up from his nap!

Bursting through the door to the rooftop, with a sing-song voice:

“Hi-ba-ri-saaaaaaan~ Haru has come by once again with another bento! Haru is hoping that you’d try it. This one is very wonderful. Special-desu~!” Expecting eyes as she held it out for him, waiting anxiously for him to curiously look at the contents of the bento she prepared.

The poor prefect didn’t know what a bento was shiku shiku and Haru then vowed to herself that she was going to teach him! Surely he knew WHAT a bento was, but it didn’t seem like he understood what it really was. It was a meal prepared for you by someone else who worked very hard to make you happy! It was full of all kinds of affection!

Happiness, love, kindness, the desire to make you finally admit she’s a good cook, warmth, and of course the feeling of hoping you’ll eat well and be healthy!

“Haru hopes that she isn’t being too much of a bother... she just wanted to make you happy with a bento she made...” She admitted her honest feelings with a small pout.

‘She also wants to play with your animal friends while you eat’

Hey, stop that Haru. Stop thinking like that. Wait until after he accepts to start thinking that way. Geez!

#Lanuvolasolitaria #meme answered #Neo's fic #Thanks for the ask!#haru speaks #((Muse; Hibari))#((Geebs this took me a while my bad))#((Hope you enjoy it all the same!))#lanuvolasolitaria

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readbookywooks · 7 years

Text

3. The smell of blood ... it was on his breath. What does he do? I think. Drink it? I imagine him sipping it from a teacup. Dipping a cookie into the stuff and pulling it out dripping red. Outside the window, a car comes to life, soft and quiet like the purr of a cat, then fades away into the distance. It slips off as it arrived, unnoticed. The room seems to be spinning in slow, lopsided circles, and I wonder if I might black out. I lean forward and clutch the desk with one hand. The other still holds Peeta's beautiful cookie. I think it had a tiger lily on it, but now it's been reduced to crumbs in my fist. I didn't even know I was crushing it, but I guess I had to hold on to something while my world veered out of control. A visit from President Snow. Districts on the verge of uprisings. A direct death threat to Gale, with others to follow. Everyone I love doomed. And who knows who else will pay for my actions? Unless I turn things around on this tour. Quiet the discontent and put the president's mind at rest. And how? By proving to the country beyond any shadow of a doubt that I love Peeta Mellark. I can't do it, I think. I'm not that good. Peeta's the good one, the likable one. He can make people believe anything. I'm the one who shuts up and sits back and lets him do as much of the talking as possible. But it isn't Peeta who has to prove his devotion. It's me. I hear my mother's light, quick tread in the hall. She can't know, I think. Not about any of this. I reach my hands over the tray and quickly brush the bits of cookie from my palm and fingers. I take a shaky sip of my tea. "Is everything all right, Katniss?" she asks. "It's fine. We never see it on television, but the president always visits the victors before the tour to wish them luck," I say brightly. My mother's face floods with relief. "Oh. I thought there was some kind of trouble." "No, not at all," I say. "The trouble will start when my prep team sees how I've let my eyebrows grow back in." My mother laughs, and I think about how there was no going back after I took over caring for the family when I was eleven. How I will always have to protect her. "Why don't I start your bath?" she asks. "Great," I say, and I can see how pleased she is by my response. Since I've been home I've been trying hard to mend my relationship with my mother. Asking her to do things for me instead of brushing aside any offer of help, as I did for years out of anger. Letting her handle all the money I won. Returning her hugs instead of tolerating them. My time in the arena made me realize how I needed to stop punishing her for something she couldn't help, specifically the crushing depression she fell into after my father's death. Because sometimes things happen to people and they're not equipped to deal with them. Like me, for instance. Right now. Besides, there's one wonderful thing she did when I arrived back in the district. After our families and friends had greeted Peeta and me at the train station, there were a few questions allowed from reporters. Someone asked my mother what she thought of my new boyfriend, and she replied that, while Peeta was the very model of what a young man should be, I wasn't old enough to have any boyfriend at all. She followed this with a pointed look at Peeta. There was a lot of laughter and comments like "Somebody's in trouble" from the press, and Peeta dropped my hand and sidestepped away from me. That didn't last long - there was too much pressure to act otherwise - but it gave us an excuse to be a little more reserved than we'd been in the Capitol. And maybe it can help account for how little I've been seen in Peeta's company since the cameras left. I go upstairs to the bathroom, where a steaming tub awaits. My mother has added a small bag of dried flowers that perfumes the air. None of us are used to the luxury of turning on a tap and having a limitless supply of hot water at our fingertips. We had only cold at our home in the Seam, and a bath meant boiling the rest over the fire. I undress and lower myself into the silky water - my mother has poured in some kind of oil as well - and try to get a grip on things. The first question is who to tell, if anyone. Not my mother or Prim, obviously; they'd only become sick with worry. Not Gale. Even if I could get word to him. What would he do with the information, anyway? If he were alone, I might try to persuade him to run away. Certainly he could survive in the woods. But he's not alone and he'd never leave his family. Or me. When I get home I'll have to tell him something about why our Sundays are a thing of the past, but I can't think about that now. Only about my next move. Besides, Gale's already so angry and frustrated with the Capitol that I sometimes think he's going to arrange his own uprising. The last thing he needs is an incentive. No, I can't tell anyone I'm leaving behind in District 12. There are still three people I might confide in, starting with Cinna, my stylist. But my guess is Cinna might already be at risk, and I don't want to pull him into any more trouble by closer association with me. Then there's Peeta, who will be my partner in this deception, but how do I begin that conversation? Hey, Peeta, remember how I told you I was kind of faking being in love with you? Well, I really need you to forget about that now and act extra in love with me or the president might kill Gale. I can't do it. Besides, Peeta will perform well whether he knows what's at stake or not. That leaves Haymitch. Drunken, cranky, confrontational Haymitch, who I just poured a basin of ice water on. As my mentor in the Games it was his duty to keep me alive. I only hope he's still up for the job. I slide down into the water, letting it block out the sounds around me. I wish the tub would expand so I could go swimming, like I used to on hot summer Sundays in the woods with my father. Those days were a special treat. We would leave early in the morning and hike farther into the woods than usual to a small lake he'd found while hunting. I don't even remember learning to swim, I was so young when he taught me. I just remember diving, turning somersaults, and paddling around. The muddy bottom of the lake beneath my toes. The smell of blossoms and greenery. Floating on my back, as I am now, staring at the blue sky while the chatter of the woods was muted by the water. He'd bag the waterfowl that nested around the shore, I'd hunt for eggs in the grasses, and we'd both dig for katniss roots, the plant for which he named me, in the shallows. At night, when we got home, my mother would pretend not to recognize me because I was so clean. Then she'd cook up an amazing dinner of roasted duck and baked katniss tubers with gravy. I never took Gale to the lake. I could have. It's time-consuming to get there, but the waterfowl are such easy pickings you can make up for lost hunting time. It's a place I've never really wanted to share with anyone, though, a place that belonged only to my father and me. Since the Games, when I've had little to occupy my days, I've gone there a couple of times. The swimming was still nice, but mostly the visits depressed me. Over the course of the last five years, the lake's remarkably unchanged and I'm almost unrecognizable. Even underwater I can hear the sounds of commotion. Honking car horns, shouts of greeting, doors banging shut. It can only mean my entourage has arrived. I just have time to towel off and slip into a robe before my prep team bursts into the bathroom. There's no question of privacy. When it comes to my body, we have no secrets, these three people and me. "Katniss, your eyebrows!" Venia shrieks right off, and even with the black cloud hanging over me, I have to stifle a laugh. Her aqua hair has been styled so it sticks out in sharp points all over her head, and the gold tattoos that used to be confined above her brows have curled around under her eyes, all contributing to the impression that I've literally shocked her. Octavia comes up and pats Venia's back soothingly, her curvy body looking plumper than usual next to Venia's thin, angular one. "There, there. You can fix those in no time. But what am I going to do with these nails?" She grabs my hand and pins it flat between her two pea green ones. No, her skin isn't exactly pea green now. It's more of a light evergreen. The shift in shade is no doubt an attempt to stay abreast of the capricious fashion trends of the Capitol. "Really, Katniss, you could have left me something to work with!" she wails. It's true. I've bitten my nails to stubs in the past couple of months. I thought about trying to break the habit but couldn't think of a good reason I should. "Sorry," I mutter. I hadn't really been spending much time worrying about how it might affect my prep team. Flavius lifts a few strands of my wet, tangled hair. He gives his head a disapproving shake, causing his orange corkscrew curls to bounce around. "Has anyone touched this since you last saw us?" he asks sternly. "Remember, we specifically asked you to leave your hair alone." "Yes!" I say, grateful that I can show I haven't totally taken them for granted. "I mean, no, no one's cut it. I did remember that." No, I didn't. It's more like the issue never came up. Since I've been home, all I've done is stick it in its usual old braid down my back. This seems to mollify them, and they all kiss me, set me on a chair in my bedroom, and, as usual, start talking nonstop without bothering to notice if I'm listening. While Venia reinvents my eyebrows and Octavia gives me fake nails and Flavius massages goo into my hair, I hear all about the Capitol. What a hit the Games were, how dull things have been since, how no one can wait until Peeta and I visit again at the end of the Victory Tour. After that, it won't be long before the Capitol begins gearing up for the Quarter Quell. "Isn't it thrilling?" "Don't you feel so lucky?" "In your very first year of being a victor, you get to be a mentor in a Quarter Quell!" Their words overlap in a blur of excitement. "Oh, yes," I say neutrally. It's the best I can do. In a normal year, being a mentor to the tributes is the stuff of nightmares. I can't walk by the school now without wondering what kid I'll have to coach. But to make things even worse, this is the year of the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games, and that means it's also a Quarter Quell. They occur every twenty-five years, marking the anniversary of the districts' defeat with over-the-top celebrations and, for extra fun, some miserable twist for the tributes. I've never been alive for one, of course. But in school I remember hearing that for the second Quarter Quell, the Capitol demanded that twice the number of tributes be provided for the arena. The teachers didn't go into much more detail, which is surprising, because that was the year District 12's very own Haymitch Abernathy won the crown. "Haymitch better be preparing himself for a lot of attention!" squeals Octavia. Haymitch has never mentioned his personal experience in the arena to me. I would never ask. And if I ever saw his Games televised in reruns, I must've been too young to remember it. But the Capitol won't let him forget it this year. In a way, it's a good thing Peeta and I will both be available as mentors during the Quell, because it's a sure bet that Haymitch will be wasted. After they've exhausted the topic of the Quarter Quell, my prep team, launches into a whole lot of stuff about their incomprehensibly silly lives. Who said what about someone I've never heard of and what sort of shoes they just bought and a long story from Octavia about what a mistake it was to have everyone wear feathers to her birthday party. Soon my brows are stinging, my hair's smooth and silky, and my nails are ready to be painted. Apparently they've been given instruction to prepare only my hands and face, probably because everything else will be covered in the cold weather. Flavius badly wants to use his own trademark purple lipstick on me but resigns himself to a pink as they begin to color my face and nails. I can see by the palette Cinna has assigned that we're going for girlish, not sexy. Good. I'll never convince anyone of anything if I'm trying to be provocative. Haymitch made that very clear when he was coaching me for my interview for the Games. My mother comes in, somewhat shyly, and says that Cinna has asked her to show the preps how she did my hair the day of the reaping. They respond with enthusiasm and then watch, thoroughly engrossed, as she breaks down the process of the elaborate braided hairdo. In the mirror, I can see their earnest faces following her every move, their eagerness when it is their turn to try a step. In fact, all three are so readily respectful and nice to my mother that I feel bad about how I go around feeling so superior to them. Who knows who I would be or what I would talk about if I'd been raised in the Capitol? Maybe my biggest regret would be having feathered costumes at my birthday party, too. When my hair is done, I find Cinna downstairs in the living room, and just the sight of him makes me feel more hopeful. He looks the same as always, simple clothes, short brown hair, just a hint of gold eyeliner. We embrace, and I can barely keep from spilling out the entire episode with President Snow. But no, I've decided to tell Haymitch first. He'll know best who to burden with it. It's so easy to talk to Cinna, though. Lately we've been speaking a lot on the telephone that came with the house. It's sort of a joke, because almost no one else we know owns one. There's Peeta, but obviously I don't call him. Haymitch tore his out of the wall years ago. My friend Madge, the mayor's daughter, has a telephone in her house, but if we want to talk, we do it in person. At first, the thing barely ever got used. Then Cinna started to call to work on my talent. Every victor is supposed to have one. Your talent is the activity you take up since you don't have to work either in school or your district's industry. It can be anything, really, anything that they can interview you about. Peeta, it turns out, actually has a talent, which is painting. He's been frosting those cakes and cookies for years in his family's bakery. But now that he's rich, he can afford to smear real paint on canvases. I don't have a talent, unless you count hunting illegally, which they don't. Or maybe singing, which I wouldn't do for the Capitol in a million years. My mother tried to interest me in a variety of suitable alternatives from a list Effie Trinket sent her. Cooking, flower arranging, playing the flute. None of them took, although Prim had a knack for all three. Finally Cinna stepped in and offered to help me develop my passion for designing clothes, which really required development since it was nonexistent. But I said yes because it meant getting to talk to Cinna, and he promised he'd do all the work. Now he's arranging things around my living room: clothing, fabrics, and sketchbooks with designs he's drawn. I pick up one of the sketchbooks and examine a dress I supposedly created. "You know, I think I show a lot of promise," I say. "Get dressed, you worthless thing," he says, tossing a bundle of clothes at me. I may have no interest in designing clothes but I do love the ones Cinna makes for me. Like these. Flowing black pants made of a thick, warm material. A comfortable white shirt. A sweater woven from green and blue and gray strands of kitten-soft wool. Laced leather boots that don't pinch my toes. "Did I design my outfit?" I ask. "No, you aspire to design your outfit and be like me, your fashion hero," says Cinna. He hands me a small stack of cards. "You'll read these off camera while they're filming the clothes. Try to sound like you care." Just then, Effie Trinket arrives in a pumpkin orange wig to remind everyone, "We're on a schedule!" She kisses me on both cheeks while waving in the camera crew, then orders me into position. Effie's the only reason we got anywhere on time in the Capitol, so I try to accommodate her. I start bobbing around like a puppet, holding up outfits and saying meaningless things like "Don't you love it?" The sound team records me reading from my cards in a chirpy voice so they can insert it later, then I'm tossed out of the room so they can film my/Cinna's designs in peace. Prim got out early from school for the event. Now she stands in the kitchen, being interviewed by another crew. She looks lovely in a sky blue frock that brings out her eyes, her blond hair pulled back in a matching ribbon. She's leaning a bit forward on the toes of her shiny white boots like she's about to take flight, like - Bam! It's like someone actually hits me in the chest. No one has, of course, but the pain is so real I take a step back. I squeeze my eyes shut and I don't see Prim - I see Rue, the twelve-year-old girl from District 11 who was my ally in the arena. She could fly, birdlike, from tree to tree, catching on to the slenderest branches. Rue, who I didn't save. Who I let die. I picture her lying on the ground with the spear still wedged in her stomach... . Who else will I fail to save from the Capitol's vengeance? Who else will be dead if I don't satisfy President Snow? I realize Cinna's trying to put a coat on me, so I raise my arms. I feel fur, inside and out, encasing me. It's from no animal I've ever seen. "Ermine," he tells me as I stroke the white sleeve. Leather gloves. A bright red scarf. Something furry covers my ears. "You're bringing earmuffs back in style." I hate earmuffs, I think. They make it hard to hear, and since I was blasted deaf in one ear in the arena, I dislike them even more. After I won, the Capitol repaired my ear, but I still find myself testing it. My mother hurries up with something cupped in her hand. "For good luck," she says. It's the pin Madge gave me before I left for the Games. A mockingjay flying in a circle of gold. I tried to give it to Rue but she wouldn't take it. She said the pin was the reason she'd decided to trust me. Cinna fixes it on the knot in the scarf. Effie Trinket's nearby, clapping her hands. "Attention, everyone! We're about to do the first outdoor shot, where the victors greet each other at the beginning of their marvelous trip. All right, Katniss, big smile, you're very excited, right?" I don't exaggerate when I say she shoves me out the door. For a moment I can't quite see right because of the snow, which is now coming down in earnest. Then I make out Peeta coming through his front door. In my head I hear President Snow's directive, "Convince me." And I know I must. My face breaks into a huge smile and I start walking in Peeta's direction. Then, as if I can't stand it another second, I start running. He catches me and spins me around and then he slips - he still isn't entirely in command of his artificial leg - and we fall into the snow, me on top of him, and that's where we have our first kiss in months. It's full of fur and snowflakes and lipstick, but underneath all that, I can feel the steadiness that Peeta brings to everything. And I know I'm not alone. As badly as I have hurt him, he won't expose me in front of the cameras. Won't condemn me with a halfhearted kiss. He's still looking out for me. Just as he did in the arena. Somehow the thought makes me want to cry. Instead I pull him to his feet, tuck my glove through the crook of his arm, and merrily pull him on our way. The rest of the day is a blur of getting to the station, bidding everyone good-bye, the train pulling out, the old team - Peeta and me, Effie and Haymitch, Cinna and Portia, Peeta's stylist - dining on an indescribably delicious meal I don't remember. And then I'm swathed in pajamas and a voluminous robe, sitting in my plush compartment, waiting for the others to go to sleep. I know Haymitch will be up for hours. He doesn't like to sleep when it's dark out. When the train seems quiet, I put on my slippers and pad down to his door. I have to knock several times before he answers, scowling, as if he's certain I've brought bad news. "What do you want?" he says, nearly knocking me out with a cloud of wine fumes. "I have to talk to you," I whisper. "Now?" he says. I nod. "This better be good." He waits, but I feel certain every word we utter on a Capitol train is being recorded. "Well?" he barks. The train starts to brake and for a second I think President Snow is watching me and doesn't approve of my confiding in Haymitch and has decided to go ahead and kill me now. But we're just stopping for fuel. "The train's so stuffy," I say. It's a harmless phrase, but I see Haymitch's eyes narrow in understanding. "I know what you need." He pushes past me and lurches down the hall to a door. When he wrestles it open, a blast of snow hits us. He trips out onto the ground. A Capitol attendant rushes to help, but Haymitch waves her away good-naturedly as he staggers off. "Just want some fresh air. Only be a minute." "Sorry. He's drunk," I say apologetically. "I'll get him." I hop down and stumble along the track behind him, soaking my slippers with snow, as he leads me beyond the end of the train so we will not be overheard. Then he turns on me. "What?" I tell him everything. About the president's visit, about Gale, about how we're all going to die if I fail. His face sobers, grows older in the glow of the red tail-lights. "Then you can't fail." "If you could just help me get through this trip - " I begin. "No, Katniss, it's not just this trip," he says. "What do you mean?" I say. "Even if you pull it off, they'll be back in another few months to take us all to the Games. You and Peeta, you'll be mentors now, every year from here on out. And every year they'll revisit the romance and broadcast the details of your private life, and you'll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy." The full impact of what he's saying hits me. I will never have a life with Gale, even if I want to. I will never be allowed to live alone. I will have to be forever in love with Peeta. The Capitol will insist on it. I'll have a few years maybe, because I'm still only sixteen, to stay with my mother and Prim. And then ... and then ... "Do you understand what I mean?" he presses me. I nod. He means there's only one future, if I want to keep those I love alive and stay alive myself. I'll have to marry Peeta.

#CatchingFire

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