#The Hunger games series is all centered around the games and we already have their end

[originalwinnercheesecake]

Hearing about the Hunger games continuation and thinking about all the Story continuations/prologues I wish we could get for The Underland Chronicles

Gregor's dad

I want To know what Gregor's dad (Who I want a name for... Steve, Lee, Heidi... What is his name? ) first trip to the underland was like. How was he found and brought to Regalia? We know he met Vikus and Luxa's Parents, SO what did he think of them? The Books say he stayed in Regila for two weeks (During which time he was very worried about his pregnant wife, children, and mother) and that he took a BB gun from the Museum. So I am guessing he knew about the war with the rats, but his family was in hell and he felt he had to get back soon. What happened during his capture.

I don't really want to know about his torturous time with the rats, but I would like some on how he was able to keep both hope and his humanity, the interesting relationship he is hinted to have had with Ripred in book 3 (He says Ripred used to feed him sometimes. He also was not scared of Ripred, Even though he was a rat and was "pretending" to attack his son). And lastly I want to know what coming home felt like for him and why, unlike his wife, the experiences did not make him fear or hate the underland.

Ripred

Speeking of Ripred I want All of his backstory, being a pup and growing up with his litter mates. Going into battle and finding out he is a Rager. How this made him famous all around the Underland, but also made him hated by enemies, and feared by allies, unless they needed him. What was going on when He tried to "Take over the fount with an army of Lobsters"? Seriously the Rat's don't even want The Fount. It is surrounded by rapids and sea monsters! What did was your interest Buddy?

Also I want to see his Mate, their family, and how their loss first broke him then made him change his stance on the war. Him building his relationship with the human side. Going up to the Overland to visit Libraries. His view of his relationships with Gregor and Lizzie and how it feels to him to being taking care of kids again after so long.

Hamnet

Up Next is Hamnet. Solovet and Vikus son, the beloved twin brother to the wife of the King/Queen, Brother in Law to the King (recently reread has me thinking they had more of a business relationship than a familiar one), the Regalian Army's most skilled soldier, and for a long time he was Solovet's heir to becoming captain of the Army, because everyone thought he was just like his mother. This is what everyone thought, but they thought wrong. Unlike Solovet Hamnet felt guilt. Guilt that drove him to speak against his mother in a war meeting to which she locked him in the dungeon for a month. When he was finally let out he went back to being obedient to her and buried his grief down, let it eat away at him, until one last horrible act (As a solider) destroyed him.

But give me Hamnet's complete story. Show him being a ruthless soldier and a fearsome killer on the field of battle, then coming home to be a loyal son, good friend, loving brother, and doting Uncle; becasue that is how many soldiers have to be. Show me him not being Okay but doing his best to hide that because that is all he could do. Then show me when everything went to far, and when he decided to leave Regalia, everything he knew and loved and run to a place that he and all his allies feared, for good reasons. Show me him missing his former friends and family. But also show me him meeting Frill and her deciding to take a chance and help him, him also taking chance and letting her (The books generally imply he wanted to leave his old life but did not expect to make anew one). Give me him learning about life in the jungle. How the animals there do not attack each other and instead employ a method of survival where first you hide, then you try to give a warning, then run. fight last. Show me him finding an overland women lost in the jungle and helping her. With the pair eventually forming a relationship and going on to have a child. Why did she never return to the Overland? Hamnet is a good father to Hazard, but you cannot tell me that he wasn't terrified during the entire pregnancy. Anything about Hamnet has to end where he ended. Having to once again fight in a pointless battle on behalf of Reglia, that the city once again brought on itself and got nothing out of. Our tragic beauty

Ares

Speaking again of Tragic Beauties I want Ares to. What kind of Stuff did he get up to to earn the reputation of a reckless, rule breaking, ...thrill seeker?...strength tester? To where he bonded with Henry to be able to get away with more. What were things like in the time HE and Henry were together. I don't think it was all bad. The Books clearly state that what hurt Luxa, Ares, Aurora, Nerissa the most was that they had loved Henry and could remember good things about him. Things that no longer felt the same after he betrayed them, and things they struggled with only becoming memories in the wake of his death. But the also show me his side of his and Gregor's bond, of him coming to love Gregor like he once loved Henry, and how their friendship helped him move on from the Trauma Henry put him through.

Nerrisa

This last one will never happen because its not really Susanna Collins style, but since none of this will happen, I want more Nerissa. What is it like for her loving her family and people so much, but knowing with her frailty and the Kingdom consistently being on the brink of war she cannot protect them. Show me what her visions are like for her. Note whatever we learned about Sandwhich I do believe Nerissa is an actual visionary. Her Visions of a bad and mysterious fate happening to Henry, Hamnet living for 10 years and building a diverse family, and Gregor being secretly being hidden away in the dungeon by Solovet...all came through.

Knowing that I have another question: Did she know suspect that Sandwhich was a fraud? Nerissa spends more time in the Prophecy room, analysis them than any other character. Many of the "misunderstood translations" are later "explained" by Nerissa. She got Gregor and the other questors off death row by replacing Boots with the Bane as the aforementioned "Baby" in the prohpecy and telling everyone: "they actually did complete the prophecy, you are are safe from the imaginary threats Sandwhich illueded to. Let them go and let's get back what's actually going wrong." When Greogor sobs about not understanding what the point of the journey to the jungle was (It had no point) and how him fulfilling the prophecy did not make everything better, Nerissa twist the prophecy to being about a war for the cure and reminds Gregor that because of what they discovered in the Jungle the council was forced to give the Gnawers the cure instead. Lastly she loves the one Prophecy that suggest hope for peace, even though its title is the only suggestion of it. On the day of the surrender she knowing her cousin will want to make the wrong choice about how to end this. So when she see's Ripred marked himself with an X (If Gregor and Luxa knew he did it himself there was no way Nerissa did not, she was always smarter than the pair of then) she decided to lend him a hand in getting everyone to believe he is the peacemaker, and they need to have peace. I really love the theory that Nerissa had realized what Sandwhich and the prophecies were and spent the books studying them, so she could try and mitigate the damages they caused.

#Gregor the overlander #The Underland chronicles #The Hunger Games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #IF we can get more of one lets get more of the other #The Hunger games series is all centered around the games and we already have their end #as well as how they got descised as “Fun entertainment” #Which they never were. Just because Katniss and Peeta got dressed up and spent the night in a nice hotel room #Does not change the fact that both they and Lucy Grey were forced to kill or be killed for the capitals amusment. It is the same with Finni #and Johnna. There stores will not give us anything knew. #But their is plenty of TUC characters who's stories still have room too #I wish Suzanna or some clever fanfic writter could write them for us #THG #TUC #GTO #Suzanna Colins

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

The year is 2053. HBO and Disney merged together and then ate all the other media companies. Their new marketing strategy centers around making cinematic universes out of everything.

After much convincing, the Muffin of 2053 is tapped as head writer for the Twilight Reboot Cinematic Universe, under the executive mandate that the result must pull in at least two other series because "that's what the market wants".

What other media franchises does future you crossover with, and how are you cutting up the books to splice the new storylines into it?

Caveat

What idiot made them hire me for this job?

Well, there's a question in this: how much creative control and freedom does the Muffin have?

My guess, in a realistic scenario, they're not hiring me in the first place. But if we're pretending to have some realism: virtually 0. We're pulling in all these other universes because we aren't allowed to take risks. We know people like these things already so we'll just vomit back the things they like.

You put it well yourself: "how are you cutting up the books to splice the new storylines into it?"

It's expected that I have to take Twilight, as is, and pretend I can stuff Transformers inside of it and then skip back to Twilight. It's still, in its entirety, the Twilight novel people know and love just fooling them slightly into thinking 'Oh man, it's a multiverse now, radical.'

The result would be awful, truly awful, and not what I'd do if I had any choice in the matter.

So, I have to give you two answers.

I'm also assuming, for the sake of my sanity, I'm getting a solitary show rather than a series of movies.

Muffin: The Corporate Shill

I'm hired with very strict very clear guidelines.

I'm the head writer of the Twilight Reboot Cinematic Universe, I am not the producer, and the project already had a large pot of money allocated to it before I got there.

I'm told what I'm writing.

Because Twilight is YA we're going to try to maximize the YA marketspace and pull in those who otherwise wouldn't watch a Twilight show and draw in equally/more popular IP.

Our cinematic universe is going to involve three universes:

Harry Potter

Hunger Games

This is because they were/are perhaps even in 2053 big YA IP hits.

What I'm writing is also made clear: it's just those three IPs, but mashed together, but not. See, we're following all three storylines exactly as they were done, but we're pretending they can all happen at the same time.

"Knock yourself out, kid"

"Fuck," says I, and I crack my knuckles and prepare to get to work.

The Plot

I decide to start out simple, we're starting in Forks with Bella Swan, who will be our lead protagonist. The pilot, she sees Edward across the Biology classroom "so hot, such wow" and he runs away to Alaska.

However, we get immediate hints that something else is going on. Bella that day after school has a conversation with Charlie about the upcoming Hunger Games happening in some other war-torn country that may or may not be West Virginia (sorry, West Virginia).

Bella's country somehow avoided this fate and nuclear fallout by uh... That would make Twilight entirely different so I'm not allowed to explain that. So, I go for the explanation of "Bella's rural community is so rural it didn't get involved and now Hunger Games are for other people".

We also get a mention that Bella had a cousin who she's lost contact with. He went to some weird boarding school, and he doesn't seem to know how to use email. He used to send her fucking letters written in the worst handwriting imaginable.

We then confuse our readers/excite them with the other promised IP! We cut to Katiness Everdeen who is not in Forks and has much larger problems than scary boys running away from her in Biology. She's starving, the sole breadwinner for her family, and she has to volunteer herself for the Hunger Games to save her sister.

Then we cut to eleven-year-old Harry Potter who has a trip to the zoo then is told "yer a wizard, Harry" by a giant man. Harry also thinks Hunger Games are problems for other people. He's also not in Forks.

Having these characters all crammed together will fool the audience into thinking they actually have something to fucking do with one another. (They do not).

We progress through the original stories with a few hints layered into each storyline that the other stories are happening. Bella sees Katniss on TV and thinks "how awful" about the Hunger Games and Edward tells her, "Such a pity I've decided to be a good man and not murder everyone in charge of that pitiful little country". Harry reads up on vampires and discovers they're much more terrifying creatures than he imagined.

Eventually, we get to the part where they can intersect.

Katniss gets out of the Hunger Games and on her world tour a part of it's meeting foreigners. She doesn't go to Forks, but she gets to see what Bella's world (sort of) looks like and is struck by the unfairness that these places are like paradise compared to the totalitarian capitalist nightmare she knows. She tries to appeal to the foreigners to help put an end to the Hunger Games but very quickly discovers, like many in the Capital itself, they don't care/don't want to get involved. Katniss learns her society is the result of a bitter, terrible, war and then civil war that the rest of the world recovered from or else avoided.

She's then dragged into yet another Hunger Games, only this time knowing that perhaps, things could be different somehow.

Bella gets an arc where she investigates magic during the New Moon period, desperate for a way to turn herself not reliant on vampires/to become better. She follows up with her cousin who fell off the grid, who is in the American magic school (whatever it's called) and he plays the role of duplicate Billy where he tells her that you don't want to be a vampire. Bella, honey, they might be immortal but they're cannibalistic demons and ghouls who can't even perform full magic properly (they can, this is just because most have no magic education/wand, we'll pretend this works).

Bella points out Victoria is trying to murder her, her cousin says "the minsitry will take care of it!" The ministry will not take care of it as it involves only a small Muggle town so who gives a flying fuck.

Bella adds "potions drinking" to her dangerous attempts to hallucinate Edward and ultimately returns to Forks disheartened/even more depressed as her pitiful search for answers lead her to nothing. She's a Muggle, Edward's gone, and Victoria still wants to kill her.

The Volturi visit Hogwarts briefly in a cameo where Aro agrees with Harry that that Voldemort sure is an awful chap. They have no reason to be there, they're just visiting.

All three stories otherwise proceed exactly as they did in the books.

It's a commercial success, I cry.

Muffin: HBO's Biggest Regret

I'm doing whatever the fuck I want with only the guidelines you presented: at least two other franchises. I'm picking the following:

Alien

Blade Runner

What we get is barely Twilight if you squint.

The Plot

Bella Swan is a working-class teenager who's gotten her first job on a cargo space freighter. Space is vast and bleak, she's surrounded by much older and more worn people who don't have time or patience for her clumsiness or shyness, and her distant hope of having been able to obtain an education on a more central world is growing dimmer by the minute.

Bella's accepted that she's not going anywhere and she's not doing anything. This may be her first job, but she's probably going to be doing this for the rest of her life.

However, there's a solar flare, and as a result the ship has a catastrophic and unexpected shut off. The engine is completely fucked, they have to land and try, as best they can, to do repairs.

They do so on a planet that's barely habitable, very far off the map, and surprisingly unknown to all the crew. Terraforming isn't easy and usually, if a world is even somewhat workable, it's inhabited at least as an outpost.

On this place though, nothing.

There is water though and the crew has enough rations to hopefully last them for repairs. Then they can get the hell out.

Bella, who is useless, is told not to touch anything.

She wanders off and begins to see signs of an abandoned civilzation. These are clearly manmade structures, there's writing carved into the wall she can't read, but there's no bodies and no sign of any people.

Bella returns to tell the crew about it, hoping the scientist she sort of liked will be interested, only to find the crew isn't there. The engine's been abandoned, there's no sign of anyone.

Bella begins to feel afraid.

After some searching, she finds the robot accompanying them. It doesn't seem to know what's happened either but theorizes that there's something on this planet with them. There's water here, it's in a habitable zone, for the lack of vegetation they haven't explored much so far.

This planet is entirely capable of hosting complex lifeforms: specifically predators.

"Meeep" says Bella, who only wanted to go to university.

Bella thinks about spending the night in the ship but decides against it because she's Bella and this is how her logic works. She spends the night in the abandoned ruins instead, staying up the whole time, holding a wrench that she can try and fail to use to beat her attacker to death.

The robot thinks staying in the ship would probably have been a better idea but alright, Bella, you do you.

Bella and her robot friend have a lot of deep talks Bella doesn't understand about being a robot and what that even means.

"Edward" finds her.

Edward looks human but he doesn't. His skin is stonelike, his eyes gold, and he's much too still. He doesn't move like a person.

Edward introduces himself and--seems to want to get on Bella's good side for some reason.

Long story short, Edward was also marooned here, one of the original settlers who tried to colonize this planet, but something happened. He doesn't know if there was something in the water or in the food supply, but some of the people started changing. Edward is now the sole survivor and hasn't seen another person since they ah... all killed each other.

As in the original story, Edward is a telepath vampire who can't read Bella's mind. He'd ordinarily have eaten her, having been driven to starvation in this place, but he's so captivated that he just can't do it.

He also eventually tells her this, robot friend warns Bella this is a bad idea, but also says "Why yes, we absolutely should take him home with us" because this is Weyland-Yutani, bitch.

However, before they can, they're interrupted by yet another robot, a much older Weyland-Yutani model, who did not have the "ship back to HQ" command and has been stuck on this fucking rock with Edward. He's been trying to get Edward not to eat people. It's been going well since, until recently, there were no people.

Carlisle-bot tells Bella they should absolutely, under no circumstances, head to a populated planet. THIS THING WIPED OUT EVERYTHING, BELLA!

"But Edward!" Bella says

"EDWARD ATE YOUR CREW!"

Bella doesn't believe Carlisle-bot.

Edward refuses to leave Carlisle-bot behind though, so he gets powered down, stuffed in a closet, and Bella, Friend Robot, and Edward are headed back to Earth where Edward can reunite with humanity eat everyone except Bella who is so delicious he's in love with her.

Bella comes to realize that Edward could make her like him, if he wanted to, and she tries to persuade him to do it. Edward, after all, doesn't eat people, right?

Right, Edward?

Luckily for Earth, Bella's useless and so is Edward. Their trip back to Earth has many detours that allow for second guessing and drama as someone's eventually going to turn back on Carlisle-bot in the closet.

HBOsney asks me what the fuck I was even thinking or what this has to do with Blade Runner, Twilight, or Alien?

"Well, you see, sir, in space, no one can hear your robots or vampires scream," I tilt my sunglasses down a bit as I look at them.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #meta #opinion

[sleepyheadmike]

MEDIA ANALYSIS: THE PARALLELS BETWEEN GENERATION LOSS (2023) AND LITTLE NIGHTMARES (2017, 2021).

Little Nightmares is a two-game series that follows the journeys of two young children named Mono and Six. As the first game centered entirely around Six, we didn’t get introduced to Mono until the second game, in which he is now the playable character, whereas Six is an AI companion that serves to assist him throughout their journey. Generation Loss is a horror comedy created by a Twitch streamer known as Ranboo, who used their livestreaming platform of their choice to create an interactive horror experience, in which the audience could either click on their screens or vote in the chat to decide Ranboo’s next actions, right down to his fate. Though Ranboo makes many new friends along his confusing journey in the series, none of them seem to stick around for very long, many of them being killed by Showfall Media, the corporate villain in his story. However, one friend did survive all three episodes, despite being cast as a different character by Showfall each time. This friend is Charlie Slimecicle, who plays a spirit haunting a cabin in the first episode, an unfortunate victim of a botched surgery in the second, and his normal self in the finale. Due to the nature of Showfall wiping their victims’ memories, Charlie is not aware that he has been recast for every show that the company runs, and only remembers bits of his past when certain things are shown to him in the third episode. However, Ranboo recognises Charlie immediately upon seeing him in episode three, heavily implying that they were friends. Ranboo stops Charlie from livestreaming and breaks him from Showfall’s control, thus pulling him out of the technology that he had been sucked into; much like how all of the adults in Little Nightmares II were practically glued to their televisions until the broadcasts destroyed them entirely.

Both of these series focus on technology and its dangers, as well as showing the negative effects it can have on people. While this is a great social commentary, one that is honestly worth its own essay, there are also parallels to be drawn between the characters of both franchises. In my eyes, Ranboo can be compared to Six, whereas Charlie can be compared to Mono. To understand why these comparisons make sense, we have to backtrack to the original Little Nightmares game.

In Little Nightmares, we play as a young girl named Six, who is trapped on a ship called “The Maw”. As the player, our goal is to help Six escape the ship as fast as she can; however, this proves difficult sometimes, as there are moments when Six can’t go very fast. This is due to her extreme hunger pains, the first of which is noticed by a boy in a cafeteria who throws her a piece of bread to eat as she begins to keel over from the pain. The things that she eats only get worse, ranging from raw meat left in a trap for her, to a rat, to a woman whose powers she was able to absorb, all the way down to eating a small child who has been turned into a gnome – or, a Nome, as they are called in the game. Six’s eating habits and willingness to kill makes it obvious that she is willing to do ANYTHING to get off of this ship and survive, much like how Ranboo regretfully performed surgery on Charlie in episode two because of how badly he wanted to find the key to his escape. Just from this comparison alone, we can already see that these characters are alike, at least in some way: Both are willing to do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means killing or causing immense suffering. Another similarity between the two lies in their main character status, as Six appears in both Little Nightmares games, whereas Mono is only introduced in the second. This tells us that Six is an important part of the story, and most likely the one that we should be rooting for; the same can be said for Ranboo, who is the only person we see for a while after he wakes up in Charlie’s (or, if we are to use his demon name, G’lop’s) cabin. Both characters are introduced alone, waking up in unfamiliar settings, and are forced to navigate their way out while facing enemies along the way, all while doing whatever they must do to escape.

So, we’ve drawn a pretty clear tie between Six and Ranboo, but what about Mono and Charlie? This is actually a great question, as the very first episode begins to draw parallels between the two already, despite the fact that Charlie is a demon who is meant to be haunting Ranboo. For an evil spirit, he does have a friendly side. However, due to his unsettling nature, Ranboo is obviously a bit apprehensive towards him at first, just as Six was afraid of Mono when he used an axe to break down her door. However, a few scenes later, Six is in the attic, struggling to pull a ladder down from the ceiling, and quietly beckons Mono over to help her, showing that she is slowly learning to trust. Ranboo does the same: They take a while to begin to trust people around them, especially G’Lop, a demon who survives off of a diet of slime and has a suit drenched in the green goop. Despite his off-putting nature, though, Ranboo eventually grows more comfortable with G’Lop, although their final interaction does end in a battle; however, even this can be connected to Little Nightmares, as the second game’s ending requires you, Mono, to fight off a giant, evil, warped version of your best friend, Six.

The second episode doesn’t have any real comparisons to draw between the franchises, so we can move on to episode three, which is possibly the MOST Little Nightmares -coded episode of the series. Upon finding out that the warehouse he was trapped in for the entirety of episode two was actually an abandoned mall, Ranboo immediately searches for other signs of life, eventually finding Charlie streaming from his computer at an empty counter in the food court. When Ranboo yells at Charlie, nothing happens. Even walking in front of him does nothing. It isn’t until Ranboo pulls Charlie’s headphones off that the other man begins to understand where he is and why his friend is so concerned. This, again, can be used as a comparison to the television sets in Little Nightmares II, in which the adults are SO attached to their TVs, that they will literally kill anyone who shuts off the broadcast, as it seemingly snaps them out of their spell once they’ve already become mindless zombies.

Upon taking Charlie’s headphones off and briefly explaining the gravity of the situation at hand, the pair decide to run for an exit, only to be chased down by security guards and forced to lock themselves in an abandoned supply shop. While looking around, Ranboo grabs a small knife and places it into a bag that he finds on the floor. The two look for another exit, but are chased again, this time into a room where we see Hetch, a hacker who had been attempting to assist Ranboo, bleeding out. He explains to the pair that Showfall wiped their memories so that they would remember nothing besides being part of the show, which sends Charlie into a crisis. As they leave, Ranboo appears angry, while Charlie desperately follows behind him and begs for answers. A security guard directly approaches Ranboo as they walk, and with no hesitation, he grabs the knife from his bag and stabs the guard, who has wires leaking out of him instead of blood. After this happens, Charlie looks over and notices the set from the episode one cabin, which is the place that he believed himself to have grown up in. Distraught by realising that none of his childhood memories were real, he is easily distracted, and doesn’t notice a seven-foot-tall monster made out of wires and a TV head, who has creeped around the corner of the set and is now ready to attack him. Charlie has no time to run, and is presumably killed by the monster as Ranboo watches, his last words being, “The button, Ranboo!”, referring to a button in the distance that is allegedly supposed to set down all of the mall’s security. Ranboo runs to press the button, and though it does, in fact, work, he is now entirely alone.

In a stream after the finale premiered, Ranboo stated that there was a limited amount of time for their character to escape the mall, and by stopping to save Charlie, he lost that time, and never would have been able to escape. However, it is important to note that there is no universe in which Charlie could have been saved. Had Ranboo left him at the food court, he would have died in the mall. In the ending we saw, he was ripped apart by the wire monster: There was NEVER any way for Ranboo to save Charlie, and his lack of knowledge about this fact makes the show’s ending even sadder, as we see Ranboo get killed while knowing that he could have escaped if he had simply stayed alone. Even more unfortunately, we know that, since Charlie has died many times, Showfall is able to bring people back from the dead, meaning that Ranboo’s death may have only been a temporary sign of relief for the tortured youth. The point of Showfall having the power of resurrection is incredibly important to mention, as it fuels one of the main theories for this series AND the truth of the Little Nightmares games:

It’s all a time loop.

If Showfall were to bring Ranboo back to life after his execution and send him back to the cabin, he would meet G’Lop, or Demon Charlie, once more. This is similar to the time loop ending of Little Nightmares II: As the building that Mono and Six are in begins to collapse, the two run across an unstable bridge towards an exit. Six makes it there first, and offers her hand to Mono, who jumps and grabs on, obviously expecting her to pull him up. However, there’s a brief pause in this moment, one in which you can see Six looking into Mono’s eyes, then pulling her hand back in fear, thereby releasing him into the endless abyss of the signal tower, where he is trapped for years until he becomes the Thin Man, the game’s primary antagonist. The Thin Man is released from a television set when Mono goes into a TV and finds a long hallway with a mysterious door at the end; upon opening it, the man is able to escape and kidnap Six. However, this time loop would be impossible if Six had simply pulled Mono up onto the ledge with her; though it is possible that she looked into his eyes and saw the face of the man who tortured her just recently, and dropped him out of either fear or anger. Since Six will always feel this way, Mono will always be dropped, and he will always become the Thin Man at the end of the hallway.

So, how could this apply to Generation Loss? Well, if Showfall were to bring a resurrected Ranboo to G’lop’s cabin, he would once again meet the villain whom he was certain was going to kill him. What if Charlie became this villain, not because Showfall wanted him to, but because he was angry at Ranboo for simply standing back in shock as he was violently murdered by the Wire Monster? If the time loop theory is true for Generation Loss, what if Charlie wasn’t reset after his death in episode three, but rather after episode one, in which he still holds all of his memories from episode three? Did he become a mocking villain just to spite Ranboo for not saving him? Or is Showfall always in control of its cast members, just as the Signal Tower was always in control of the residents in Little Nightmares II?

#generation loss #generation loss theory #genloss #ranboo #charlie slimecicle #little nightmares #little nightmares 2 #ran.essay #sorry i'm insane about genloss right now especially charlie and ranboo they deserved the world

[silasbug]

dream log Nr. -017

i was going through some of my old files and found this, from 10 years ago. i was like.. 14? and my english was very rough at this point, ha. it feels weird reading something from 14-y.o. me.

in it i mention the "recently released" huger games and winx club and i am dying. oh my god. this is so precious. i can't. honestly, i'm not going to say that this is "cringe" because.. it isn't. it's awkward, sure, but this is an edgy lil' bug having a dream about a book they read in a day after a long time of not having been able to read a book & we were all awkward as kids. go bug.

10/04/2012

It was an average afternoon, we were on a field trip to an unknown location that we had already reached, our teacher told us about a new game that had recently been developed. He was standing in front of the gate to a labyrinth. It would really remind you of the garden of the Heart Queen in "Alice in Wonderland".

The sense of this new game was that, you go into this labyrinth that we were standing in front of, and we would each race through it individually, in hopes of being the first person to reach the center. In the center, you would find a platform. Shining lights circled around it, these lights come out of the ground, like some sort of force. As soon as you would step onto it, you would be warped into an arena that was on a plateau located high above the ground. This arena looked very old, like an ancient temple, with only a few posts left standing. (If you have ever watched Winx Club, it looks like the tiny Island thingy that Leila was blinded on. Just with some plants.)

When, or rather, if a person managed to reach there, they would be forced to fight against an adversary, which by default was… a living statue of an demon prince on a creature much resembling a Cerberus. Even though being made out of stone, the prince on his "horse" were quite agile(?), they moved the way huge Earth Trolls in the Fable game series would. The Cerberus would be able to breathe fire, while the prince could cast magic of the same element.

(NOTE: If one were to step onto the magic platform with another person, instead of fighting against the demon prince, the two (or more) persons would be forced to face each other in a fight to the death. SO be careful not to step onto this platform with anyone else.)

The teacher let us into the labyrinth for a test, yet he forgot to tell us that no one of us should even DARE step onto the platform, or even dare to win. And SURPRISE! That is exactly what happened. In fact, it was I who ended up stepping onto the platform that was taboo for us all, and I actually ended up winning. There is not much detail to put into this since this event actually happened within less than 30 seconds. So there is no detail to put into this, because in the dream, this wasn't detailed, or very long either. The only thing is that I ran past some of my classmates, and for some reason, Tony was the one I ran by the most. We were all behaving like we were pray being chased, much like in the recently released movie "The Hunger Games".

This is not the end, however…

Soon after I won, I was warped back to the beginning of the maze, the teacher staring at me with a surprised, yet disappointed expression on his face. He was disgusted, even, he resented me at this very moment. I looked at him questioning, but he simply turned away. I realized that everyone had suddenly returned to the beginning of the labyrinth as well, leaving me to figure out what happened. Strangely, the beginning of the maze had suddenly turned into a enclosed, very dark room. The walls were a dirty dark green, and light was barely available. It actually seemed to be another day, everyone suddenly looked different, not like they did before. I noticed some new people as well.

Our teacher proceeded to tell us about the game, and I was VERY surprised when he explained it in a completely different way… Everyone simply looked at him, not questioning anything he was saying at all. It was as though their memories had been wiped clean, blank expressions on their faces that weren't even showing the slightest hint of confusion. I would have though the same about my teacher, since he seemed to remember the game in no other way as well. My eyes made their way around curiously… was I the only one who had the slightest memory of what had happened just moments before? Was I the only one realizing that it seemed to be a whole new day and that the whole setting had become different? What was going on?! I decided to just stick to myself with my thoughts and not try and ask anyone about it… everything just seemed too off for me to feel safe sharing my thoughts.

As our teacher explained, I looked around the room.. it kind of looked like a maze in itself, just that it wasn't a real maze, because walls were made up of objects such as trash cans, tables, and other small things, things that would go to your waist. SO it would practically be very easy to see over them. Our teacher explained that, we woul have to run around the room, trying to find a contortion in space/time which would then result in the platform, which would warp you to the piece of earth floating in the air, appearing beneath your feet. (This really makes no sense, blame my subconscious. (And if THAT doesn't make sense, blame my brain.))

-- Something else happened then, but I can not recall this part, so I will simply spare me the time it would take to try and remember something I wont, and continue. --

We started running around the room like lab rats, into every direction, around every corner of the objects, and some even tried climbing up the walls. People knocked over the "walls" of this strange little maze as they were falling down regularly since a lot of people shoved by one another. People were pushing others like crazy, trying to find the contortion that the teacher said would constantly be changing it's location.

And FINALLY, after what seemed like a good half an hour in the dream, a girl finally found the contortion in space/time that would summon the platform. Her name was Oceane, and I know her from the school I went to when I move to Quebec at 10-11 years old. Oh, how I loathed that attention whore, always trying to get on the teachers good side, always sucking up to everyone. She annoyed the heck out of me. But I am not here to bitch and complain about someone that I haven't had contact with in two years, so I will simply move on and apologize. I am sorry.

(um, hi, yeah, hello, 2022 me here. i actually remember Oceane quite fondly? yes, she was the teacher's pet, but she was genuinely sweet and kind and i'm not sure what 14 year old me was on about to be so.. ah, negative about her? i must've been real angry about something, but for the life of me, i can`t remember. i just remember her smiling face, she had a really sweet and kind smile.)

Anyway, she found the contortion, and a light started glowing around her. However, instead of being warped to the plateau in the sky, she was warped to the magic platform that would warp her there. In this game there was the rule that, after stepping onto the platform, you would have to wait 1 minute, motionless, for the platform to warp you. After she was warped to the platform, we all noticed a glowing coming from behind a wall that nobody had before realized it was there. It was towards the left end of the room, (I forgot to say that, this room actually looked a lot like the inside of a "Horror" Roller Coaster in an amusement park.) but it wasn't exactly a wall, it was more of a half wall, it was so that you could go behind it, like a room that had been halfway seperated from the actual large room.

I walked up to her, all cheerful and said to her: "Hey, don't you want me/wouldn't you like me to come with you?" This part really irritated me, to be honest, since sucking up to people really is not my style. Shortly after having said it in my dream, I told her to never mind what I just asked her. What she did then seems really strange, but apparently it was possible. She remembered her friends, and she suddenly took a hold of the glowing hoops around her as if they were something solid to touch, hopped off the platform and walked into the room where everyone was, as if they had been frozen in time. She called over her friends and they came running. She then went back to the platform with them and they wanted to go all three. At the right minute, I ran over and told her that, it would be a HORRIBLE idea for the three of them to go, since they would be required to fight to the death against one another. Upon hearing me say so, Oceane's friends quickly got off and she was glad about it. The friends went back to the other room, and became like they were frozen in time again. I was still with Oceane, and as the platform warped her, for some reason, I ended up going with her.

The whole platform concept was almost like the being a Tribute in The Hunger Games. In the book I read that, people from some districts would volunteer to be a Tribute (and fight to the death for honor), just for the mere honor of it. And here it seems to be the same. This could very well be your death, but everyone still was eager to go, as though we were all suicidal.

As we arrived on the plateau in the sky. And what happened exactly after this I can not remember for the life of me. The next thing I remember, it was very strange. It was almost like the scene in the Hunger Games movie where Effie Trinket was sitting at dinner with the Tributes of District 12 (Katniss and Peeta) on the high speed train. We were sitting at a long table, which was covered in small bowls that contained a very large variety of candy and chocolates. It was the sweetes feast ever.

I don't remember much that happened here. I believe there was some talk, but all I end up remembering after this was, that the person that much resembled Effie Trinket stood up and left, I believe that Oceane was still at the table with me. I tried to resist temptation, but I just ended up taking some of the candy and stuffing it into my pockets. It was free candy, and it would be a waste to just throw it away, might as well take some with me, yes?

-END-

I do not remember anything that came afterward, if it even did. During the last part, I was so very aware that I might have just directly woken up right then. And if I did not, then my memory just really despises me this day.

#dream log #this is so so old #i know i had more of these but #i dont remember where i kept them #i did have an app for old dreams #but i deleted it goddamnit stupid bug #i am still able to picture some parts of it now that i've read it #huh

[demifiendrsa]

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin | Announcement Teaser Trailer

Japanese version

It’ll launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2022.

A demo—Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Trial Version—-will launch for PlayStation 5 today and be available through June 24, 2021 at 7:59 p.m. PT / 10:59 p.m. ET. A survey will follow from June 13, 2021 through June 30, 2021, accessible from the menu screen of the demo.

Logos

Key visual

Character renders

Overview and Developer comments

About the Game

Final Fantasy VII Remake veterans Tetsuya Nomura and Kazushige Nojima join forces with Team Ninja from KOei Tecmo Games to deliver a bold new vision for Final Fantasy. Get your first look at Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin . Coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in 2022.

With the memory of their struggle buried deep in their hearts…

Jack and his allies, Ash and Jed, burn with resolve to defeat Chaos as they throw open the gates to the Chaos Shrine. Yet doubts remain—are they truly the Warriors of Light the prophecy foretold?

Step into a world of dark fantasy and revel in the exhilarating, action-packed battles!

Trial version available on PlayStation 5 until June 24th, 2021.

Developer Comments

Tetsuya Nomura – Creative Producer

The initial concept for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin came up around the time following the release of Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy. I was thinking to myself about making my next game into one that featured action elements in which locations are conquered, rather than the kind with battles against characters. Some time passed without anything coming of it, but separately I was also thinking to myself about another plan for a new series of Final Fantasy titles revolving around “the story of an angry man”. Even more time passed, at which point I received a request for a new plan, so I combined these two ideas to come up with this.

While it is Final Fantasy, it feels different—but there’s no doubt that the blood ofFinal Fantasy runs through its veins.

We’ve undertaken the challenge of finding this difficult middle ground for this mature and stylish title.

We need a little time until we’re able to complete it, and while the battle system is a bloody one, it does links to the story, so I hope you’ll use this opportunity to give it a try.

Kazushige Nojima – Story and Scenario

“It’s not a hope or a dream. It’s like a hunger. A thirst.”

When I wrote this line, I felt like the story had been brought to life.

What drives them to want to defeat Chaos as much as they do? What, then, are their hopes and dreams?

It was in this moment that what used to be fragments and pieces of story came together in a powerful way. The story that I wrote—in what seemed like a single breath after penning that line—is Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. I think it turned out to be quite a memorable story that accompanies a game which prominently features brutal imagery.

Please enjoy!

Jin Fujiwara – Producer (Square Enix)

True to its label as “a bold new vision,” this title is full of new undertakings that draw a clear distinction between it and previous Final Fantasy series titles. I can’t divulge too many details at this stage, but we prepared a glimpse of these ambitions within the trial version, including the title’s direction and overall image, so please enjoy.

I believe that the feedback we receive from all of you around the world is very important as we improve upon the title even further. Please send us your thoughts through the trial version survey or through social media.

I’m already looking forward to the day I’ll be able to play this title with you.

Daisuke Inoue – Director (Square Enix)

This is a title that has been developed with the goal of bringing something new to sit alongside the many Final Fantasy titles in the series. I think it could be considered a side story in terms of how it is positioned.

There may be some people who were disappointed that this announcement was not a new, numbered title in the series, but this game contains ambitions within that even a mainline title may not have been able to achieve.

Grounded and challenging action created by Team Ninja. Our protagonist, sprayed with blood as he literally rips apart, throws, and pulverizing his enemies. The way he looks is almost as if—

Well, we have prepared this trial version with hopes of having players experience this new flavor that the title brings with it, even if just a little bit. As we are still in development, I think there may be some areas that are not perfect and may be that way for a while to come, but I hope you’ll enjoy the trial version regardless.

Additionally, please let us know your thoughts on the game, whether it be positives or negative that you noticed—we will make great use of this feedback as we continue development.

Fumihiko Yasuda – Head of Team Ninja, Producer (Koei Tecmo Games)

Playing Final Fantasy IV 30 years ago is what made me aspire towards a career in the gaming industry, so I always hoped that someday I could be involved in the Final Fantasy series. When Team Ninja was working on Dissidia Final Fantasy, I was in charge of a different section, which meant that every night I filled my pillow with tears. I’m truly happy to be involved with a new Final Fantasy, and a title connected to its Origin at that.

Using the feedback that the players provide after playing the trial version, all of us at Team NINJA will work to make this a title that meets the expectations of not only action game fans, but also Final Fantasy series fans around the world!

Hiroya Usuda – Director (Koei Tecmo Games)

I grew up playing Final Fantasy since I was very young, so it is a great honor to have the opportunity to be involved with this title. Furthermore, I’m truly excited that Team NINJA is able to deliver the first full-on action game in the Final Fantasy series to the world.

In this trial version, we’ve made specific demo-oriented adjustments so that players of all styles will be able to enjoy it—we have incorporated elements such as multiple jobs and weapon types, adjustable difficulty levels, and great replayability. Please let us know your thoughts and feedback once you have given it a try!

Nobumichi Kumabe – Director (Koei Tecmo Games)

I’m glad we were able to announce this new Final Fantasy game—an action game in which Jack, a Warrior of Light(?), lays waste to monsters while being bathed in the spray of their blood. I’m a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series myself, so I’m going to work hard towards release so that this blood-stained Jack can become a hero!

This is a title developed with the characteristic Team Ninja level of difficulty in mind, but once you start getting the hang of it, you’ll be able to defeat enemies in an exhilarating and satisfying way. I hope you will replay the trial version many times and try out the various weapons and abilities available.

The difficulty level can be changed as well, so one recommendation I have is to start playing on an easier difficulty and gradually raise it higher for a challenge!

Demo overview

The Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Trial Version was also announced during the showcase, which gives players the opportunity to experience a taste of the full game centering on Jack and his allies—Ash and Jed—as they throw open the gates to the Chaos Shrine. Burning with the resolve to defeat Chaos, and with the memories of their struggle buried deep in their hearts, are they the foretold Warriors of Light?

Players of the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Trial Version can explore this dark fantasy world as they battle an array of iconic monsters from the Final Fantasy series, using powerful spells and abilities from a sample of jobs including warrior, dragoon and black mage.

#Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin #Stranger of Paradise #Final Fantasy Origin #Final Fantasy I #FFI #Final Fantasy 1 #FF1 #Final Fantasy #Team Ninja #Koei Tecmo Games #Square Enix #video game #PS5 #Xbox Series #Xbox Series X #Xbox Series S #PS4 #Xbox One #PC #E3 #E3 2021 #long post #CHAOS

[panda-writes-kpop]

Take Me Away (TMA) Chapter 2:

A/N: Hi guys, girls, and non-binary pearls! I know that I said that I would update Take Me Away on Saturdays, but recent events in the Paladin world has made me push the release date up a day. A certain two people think they can provoke my wrath with no punishment, which I just cannot ignore. I also am announcing that the release date for future Take Me Away updates will be unclear. These are the sacrifices I must make in order to keep the crown that rightfully belongs atop my head. I hope you understand where I am coming from, and I hope you enjoy this part!

Did you miss part one, or are you looking for a refresher? Visit the Series Masterlist to get caught up!

TW: Mention of Hunger Games + Squid Games, slight body horror, royal themes and responsibilities, food, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, angsty angst, family issues; I’d grab a tissue before reading this.

“With her bright smile and kind eyes, she’s sure to win your heart over! I shall stall for no longer. Ladies, gentlemen, and folks of our country, give it up for the greatest monarch our castle has ever seen…”

The crowd leans forward in anticipation, and you find yourself doing the same.

“Queen SuA!”

The crowd breaks out into thunderous applause as the announcer in front of the crowd dashes out of the way. Your seat is a bit farther in the back, but you’re still able to get a view of the Queen in all of her glory.

She carefully strolls down the long, narrow hallway. Her white dress has a long train that trails behind her. The bold make-up on her face highlights her key facial features. You watch her as she walks past the crowded seating area. She pauses for a moment to observe the crowd.

Is she looking for someone?

Her eyes scan the area before landing on yours.

Oh god, she was looking for me.

SuA smirks as her eyes scan you up and down. The black lipstick on her lips perfectly contrasts her pearly-white teeth.

You blush slightly at SuA’s actions.

Is she checking me out already?!?!

She laughs to herself before sending you a wink. Your heartbeat quickens as she continues to the lone throne in the room.

If she’s supposed to be like this all of the time, then I’m not sure my heart can take her flirting.

Before sitting down, SuA beckons for two maids. The pair gently pull the train off of her dress as the crowd gasps in astonishment. Her dress now falls to her ankles.

Is this revolutionary to them? I thought that maybe a royal kingdom from hundreds of years ago could have something like that. I guess I was wrong…

SuA crosses her legs before leaning forward on the throne. The maids scurry away as she signals for the male announcer to continue speaking.

He quickly walks to the center aisle in between the split crowd.

“Now, here is the day that you have all been waiting for! The finest knights will duel, the fastest horses will race, and the archers will aim and fire as the Royal Games commence!”

The crowd around you screams as you sit in confusion.

Royal Games? Is this like a Hunger Games or Squid Game type of thing, or are we talking about something like the Olympics? There is a major difference between the two!

“The opening ceremony has finished, and now we shall head to the arena to see the first game!”

The crowd around you quickly disperses as you find yourself completely lost.

An arena? How am I supposed to get myself there?

You stand up while trying to find the knight who escorted you earlier.

And he’s gone too. That’s just great.

“Are you a bit lost?” A voice catches your attention.

“Ah, yes, I do believe-” You pause as the owner of the mysterious voice stands in front of you.

SuA!

“Yo-Your Highness, I-” You go to bow, but SuA’s loud laughter stops you from kneeling and begging her for mercy.

Huh?

“Ah, you foreign royals are just too funny!” SuA manages to speak while laughing.

I’m a foreign royal that must’ve come to see the Royal Games.

...That would explain why I woke up in the castle.

“My bad, Your Highness.” You blush in embarrassment.

“Please call me SuA.” She wipes tears from her eyes before letting out one last burst of laughter.

You giggle nervously just to appease her.

“I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Anyways, I was going to offer you directions, but you’ve pleased me so much that I’d like you to accompany me for the day.” SuA states confidently.

I’m not going to say no because I rather enjoy having my head attached to my neck. I know that she doesn’t seem like the type to behead people, but you never know!

“It’d be my honor, SuA.” You smile as you link arms with her.

You walk slowly with her as you enjoy a close-up of her features. Her hair is pinned back on both sides so you can get a perfect view of her face. Her sharp nose and jawline accentuate her soft brown eyes.

“Where do you come from, Y/N?” SuA turns her head towards you.

You gulp nervously as you scour your brain for an answer.

Think, think, think! What sounds like a believable answer?

You say the first place that comes to mind. “California.”

That’s the best I could think of? Really, brain? Are you enjoying your vacation up there?

“Ah, it sounds like a beautiful place. What do you do there?” SuA’s eyes light up with a spark of curiosity.

Why did I open my mouth and say that? Now I have to think of a good lie to tell her.

“Well, there are a lot of beaches that my people enjoy relaxing at. It’s also home to some of the best entertainers out there. The whole country is grand in its own unique way.” You carefully answer.

Maybe I can dig myself out of the hole I made...

“I’ll have to visit there soon. You make it sound so wonderful.” SuA comments.

Or I can open my mouth and insert my foot.

“I’ll be awaiting your arrival.” You say as the two of you arrive at the castle doors.

They’re at least three times taller than you, and their wooden material reminds me of your home.

Ah, home. I wonder what dad might think if he knew about this?

You shake your head as you exit the castle.

It’s better not to dwell on the possibilities.

~

The carriage ride to the arena is oddly silent. You quickly picked up that SuA was someone who liked to keep the conversation flowing, as she kept talking from the moment you met to the moment you entered the carriage. A single window in the carriage caught SuA’s attention, and she’s been silently staring out the window ever since the cart started moving.

Does SuA not spend much time outside of the castle? No one stares at a bunch of trees and houses for that long unless they’re bored, daydreaming, or very curious about the outside world.

“Where did you get that pendant?” SuA’s commanding voice breaks you out of your daydream.

“I, uh…” You nervously fiddle with the fabric of your shirt.

Think, Y/N, think!

Tell her that it's something you bought yourself.

Who are you, and why are you talking to me in my head?

Consider me a guiding voice and an ally. We’ll be great friends soon, Y/N.

Okay, then…

You follow the mysterious voice’s instructions. “It’s just something that I bought from a local vendor here.”

“Oh, how kind of you to support local business. I appreciate it.” SuA gives you a sweet smile before staring out the window again.

Nice addition. Making yourself look more charitable than you are.

...But I would actually buy a pendant like this if it was sold by a local business.

Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that. Ask SuA why she likes the pendant.

Why do you keep helping me?

Just do as I say, Y/N. Your opportunity at love is slipping away from you with every second that you spend waiting.

Alright, then.

“Why do you like ruby pendants?” You curiously eye SuA.

Good, you can listen.

Shush! I’m trying to listen to her response.

Rude.

It doesn’t feel good, now does it?

You smirk as SuA begins to talk.

“I was always fascinated by rubies when I was younger. They were so pretty yet so rare. My parents had a hard time finding them for me since they were all I wanted.”

“Do you still like rubies now?” You ask without the guidance of the voice.

“That’s one of the few things that has not changed about me since I was a child. Call me old-fashioned if you will.” SuA lets out a small laugh.

You unclasp the pendant from your neck. You can feel SuA watch your every move, and you consider asking the voice for help.

I don’t need a voice to tell me how to love. I can do that myself.

Show me how it’s done, then.

“Here. Consider it a thank you for your kindness towards me. I do not know if I would have made it if you were not there to guide me.” You confess with a slight blush on your face as you hand her the pendant.

“Really?” SuA gives you a child-like grin before staring at the pendant in her hand. “You wouldn’t mind helping me put this on, right?”

You swallow nervously as SuA turns away from you.

Not so smart now, are we? Isn’t it nice to blush every once in a while?

Shut up! I don’t need input from the peanut gallery.

Your hand shakes as SuA sets the pendant into your hand. You carefully brush any spare hairs away before securing the clasp. When your hand accidentally touches SuA’s skin, you feel chills run down your spine. The thunderous beating of your heart doesn’t stop until you have the pendant around SuA’s neck. You place the clasp on the back of SuA’s neck before she places her hair over it.

She then turns to you and proudly displays the necklace.

“How does it look?”

“As beautiful as you do.” You smile as SuA slightly blushes.

“A charmer, huh? I could definitely get used to that.” She smirks as you back away from her.

She’ll never fail to surprise me with her smirks and comments.

The two of you fall back into silence as the arena comes into view.

~

You simply stare in awe at the massive coliseum in front of you.

This place could rival any Greek or Roman building! How did someone build this? An architect from my time would be proud.

“This was my father’s last gift to me before he gave up the throne.” SuA says as she approaches your side.

This whole thing is a gift?!?

“Ah.” You walk towards the entrance. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, where is your father now?”

“He’s enjoying a much calmer life somewhere down south. It’s for the best since he’s getting older with each and every day.”

The caring nature in SuA’s voice makes you feel guilty.

I wish that my father and I had that connection…

Your father is resting his head in another life. Worry about this one until you get back.

Do you not feel any sort of emotion toward me?

I don’t feel anything at all because I’m a disembodied voice, Y/N.

That’s rough.

“It sounds like you and your father get along well.” You stop at the entrance as you wait for SuA to catch up.

“We’re quite close, and I write him letters when I get the chance. I just wish that I could see him more often…” SuA sighs before waving her guards away. “It doesn’t matter anyways. I am a queen, and I have responsibilities to my people.”

“You can still be a queen and want to see your father. It makes you human to have your own wants and desires.” You place a reassuring hand on her back.

Drawing off of your own experience, I see. You’re smarter than you look.

That’s one hell of a backhanded compliment, but I’ll take it.

“Thanks, Y/N. It’s so nice to have another royal here to talk with. I miss having a bit of company around.” SuA smiles as you pull your hand away from her back.

“I feel the same. You’re great company, and I cannot wait to experience the royal games.” You smile back at her.

You try to walk forward, but SuA catches your hand in hers. She tugs you towards her before spinning you around so you face her. You face burns as SuA stares into your eyes.

“Please come and enjoy the games with me. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and a lot of royals are not that way. It is my way of saying thanks.”

SuA’s invitation lingers in your mind for only a moment.

You know what to say.

“I’d love to.” You happily answer.

SuA grins at you before pulling you into the coliseum.

~

A small part of the upper seating in the coliseum had been reserved for the Queen. SuA insisted that you sit right next to her.

“Woah. You get this view all to yourself?” You ask as you sit next to SuA.

“Yeah. Isn’t it great?” SuA stares out at the middle of the coliseum where a few archers are preparing to shoot some targets.

“I would certainly say so.” You gaze at the archers as well.

“Do you plan on staying for the full two weeks?” SuA turns her head toward you.

That’s how long the games last, right?

Correct.

Am I staying for that long?

You’ll be here for 2 weeks and 1 day.

Specific, but useful.

You decide to honestly answer SuA’s question.

“Yes. I’ve come all this way to see you and the games that you’re hosting. It’d be a shame to leave earlier.”

“Of course you came to see me. I am the prettiest girl in the land~” She does a small hair flip to prove her point.

She’s absolutely gorgeous.

“You’re the prettiest girl of any land that I’ve seen.” You sheepishly mumble.

SuA giggles loudly before placing her hand on yours.

“Do you mean that with all of your heart?” SuA says as she begins to caress up and down your arm.

“Absolutely.”

Your face is burning up due to her forwardness, but you wouldn’t trade this moment for the world.

“I’m glad because…” SuA trails off as she leans in to whisper something in your ear. “I think you’re the best looking royal I’ve seen in a long time.”

“Ah, you think?” You swallow while trying to control your body’s reaction to SuA’s advances.

Don’t mess this up. Don’t mess this up. Don’t mess this up.

“I know it.” She mumbles closely to your ear before pulling away.

“Do you do this to all of your royal guests?” You ask as the blush on your face starts to diminish.

SuA wiggles her eyebrows at you. “Only to the ones I like.”

A moment of silence overtakes the both of you before you and SuA begin to laugh.

~

The games are nearly over for the day, but I still want to spend more time with SuA…

The last two gladiators begin to square off, but you haven’t been paying attention at all. You’ve spent all afternoon staring at the prettiest girl that you’ve ever seen.

She couldn’t be any more perfect for me.

The crowd cheers loudly as one of the gladiators takes the other’s sword.

SuA hollers along with them, and you gladly join her.

After the commotion dies down, people begin to slowly exit the arena.

SuA stands up first, and you do the same.

I can’t believe that it’s over already.

“How did you like the games?” SuA excitedly asks.

“I loved them.” You admit.

A huge grin appears on her face as she pulls you into her embrace.

“I’m so glad that you did. I couldn’t imagine the embarrassment I would have to endure if you didn’t…” SuA looks off to the side before letting you go.

“I’d still love being here anyways since I was with you, SuA.”

Make a move, Y/N. Do something she won’t forget.

You want me to do WHAT?

You want a love story, right? Take some action and make it your own.

Why do I listen to you?

Because I’m right.

You sigh before grabbing SuA’s hand in yours. She stares at you as you pull her closer.

This better work.

Trust me, Y/N. When have I led you astray?

Her face is mere centimeters away from yours as you let go of her hand. You gently cup her face with your hand as her watchful eyes stare you down.

What are you waiting for? Kiss her, you idiot!

You take a breath before connecting your lips to hers. SuA doesn’t hesitate to kiss you back as her hands travel to your shoulders. In response, your spare hand goes to her waist.

Your lips repeatedly connect and disconnect from hers until you run out of breath.

Oh my god…

A bright blush lies on SuA’s face as she lays her head against your body. You take your other hand and place it on her waist. She quietly lays against you as your heartbeat grows stronger and louder.

“Come back here tomorrow. I want to get to know you more.” SuA says as she untangles herself from you.

“How will I know-”

You’re silenced by the kiss that SuA plants on your cheek.

“Show my guards that lipstick mark. They’ll know exactly where you need to be.”

SuA slowly walks away from you. She stops for a moment before turning around.

“Rest well, Y/N. I’ll see you soon.”

SuA disappears into the shadows of the arena as you place your hand on the lipstick mark.

Did that actually work?

You’ll have to find out tomorrow, Y/N.

~

Tomorrow turns into the day after, and the day after turns into two weeks. You and SuA have been following the same routine for that long, which amazed you.

You’d wake up and show the guard your lipstick mark, and they’d take you to meet SuA by noon. You’d then talk until the carriage arrived, and then SuA would stare at you instead of the scenery around her.

The flirting would begin as soon as you’d enter the arena. You’d hug, caress, and even steal a few kisses from each other as the games would commence.

By the time the events were over, everyone else would leave as you and SuA enjoyed a bit of time to yourselves. The evening would always end with a kiss on your cheek from SuA. You’d go to sleep overthinking everything that just happened until you had to wake up and do it all over again.

My time with her is nearly over. My heart has never felt this full in my life. I don’t know if I’m ready to go back yet…

You still have six other lovers to meet, Y/N. I wouldn’t set your heart on this one yet.

What if I want to? SuA’s clearly interested in me, and I feel the same way.

You can’t, Y/N. I’m sorry to disappoint you. Today is your last day. Use it well.

You pull yourself out of bed as that pesky voice disappears from your head. You start your morning routine by changing and fixing your appearance.

Everything goes according to plan until someone knocks on your door.

Who could that be?

Expecting someone to open it, you stare at the door. Nothing happens until a note slides under your door.

I wonder who that would be from…

You set your hairbrush on your bed as you grab the note.

My dearest, Y/N,

I request your presence at a formal dinner that will just be between the two of us. There are many matters that I would like to discuss with you.

Meet me at the grand dining hall at a quarter past six, and do not be a minute late. I know you will be there, but I want to make sure.

Bring nothing but yourself because your presence is enough to bless me.

~ SuA

You hold the note to your chest as you let out a relieved sigh.

Are you going to go?

Of course! Why wouldn’t I?

I was just asking.

~

The sweet swell of food arrives at your nose as you travel down the long hallway to the dining hall.

I hope I’m going the right way.

Take another left and you’ll be there.

You follow the voice’s instructions as you turn the corner. The dining hallway awaits you beyond the large wooden doors.

It’s now or never.

You allow your beating heart to rest for a moment before you enter the room.

~

The large dining hall that was built to fit hundreds of people had transformed into a luxurious dining area for two. A small table with a fancy tablecloth over it sat in the middle of the room. Two chairs were placed on either side of the table, and SuA sat in one of them.

“You’re here.” SuA smiles as you approach the small table. “Come sit with me.”

“What have the chefs prepared for us?” You ask as you take a seat, “Or is it a surprise?”

SuA sends you a wink. “You’ll see.”

As the food is carried to your table by a few maids, you can’t help but feel hungry.

This all looks so good! I can’t wait to dig in.

After the two of you eat your dinner in silence, the maids carry your trays and plates away. The two of you are left completely alone as the last maid leaves the room.

“Tell me, Y/N.” SuA takes your hands in hers as she talks. “Why do you think I asked you to be here?”

“I…” You try to come up with something to say.

Be honest. She appreciates someone with honest intentions.

“I think you asked me to be here because you had a question for me.” You answer.

“And that would be?” SuA anxiously looks at you.

“Do you fancy me like I fancy you?” You ask nervously.

SuA laughs slightly as she tilts her head back.

“I suppose we both already know the answer to that question, huh? I do not know why I had a doubt in my mind.”

You give her a soft smile.

“So what now?”

“I supposed courting would be the next step.”

The tips of your ears turn pink.

Courting? As in, like, dating?

SuA laughs again. “Too soon? ...Maybe I will settle for another date or two until we can figure this out.”

I’d like that.

You’re about to answer, but the shaking of the castle walls and floors keeps you silent. You and SuA look at each other with complete confusion.

What’s going on?

The floor and walls shake more vigorously as the table and chair begin to shake as well.

“Guards!” SuA yells. “What is going on outside?”

A guard bursts into the room just as SuA finishes talking.

“Your Highness, we have to move. There’s been a surprise attack by a nearby kingdom.”

SuA immediately stands up and disconnects her hands from yours.

“Absolutely not. This is my homeland, and I refuse to let some weak underling of a country take it from me!” SuA storms over to the guard.

“You do not understand. We may have the advantage in men, but they have stronger weapons. They have already destroyed most of the kingdom. There is no time to lose, Your Highness. We must go now.”

“I…” SuA is completely floored by the guard's words.

You try to enter the conversation as gracefully as possible.

“They are right. We should make our escape and regroup somewhere else. We can’t fight for this kingdom if we’re dead in its rubble.”

“You’re right. Let’s go.” SuA hangs her head low as you take her hand and follow the guard in front of you.

The castle continues to shake and fall apart behind you as you try to escape with SuA. Her athleticism outmatches yours, and the guard and her are at least a few feet away from you as you try to sprint to catch up with them.

You hear the walls crack around you, so you try to run as fast as possible. You’re nearly able to catch up with SuA and the guard until the ceiling in front of you caves in. You harshly cough as the pebbles and dust forcefully enter your throat and eyes.

Did I make it?

By the time you can see again, you realize that the path in front of you has been completely blocked off. You turn around, only to see the same on the other side of you.

“SuA!” You call out.

“Y/N!” You can hear SuA’s voice from the tall pile of rubble in front of you.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Can you find another way out?” She nervously asks.

“No. Both sides are blocked off.” You shake your head.

You hear the ceiling above you crack as the realization hits you.

I’m going to die here.

“SuA, keep running and don’t look back.” You instruct as the cracking of the ceiling grows louder.

“I’m not leaving you behind! I can’t!” SuA yells.

“SuA, please go.” The ceiling stops crackling, and you await your fate.

“No! Y/N, please…” SuA begs.

“I love you!” You yell as a single tear runs down your face.

“Y/N!”

Her sweet voice is the last thing you remember as the ceiling above you caves in.

#kpop x reader #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #dreamcatcher imagines #dreamcatcher scenarios #dreamcatcher x reader #dreamcatcher #dreamcatcher sua #sua x reader #sua imagines #sua scenarios #girl group x you #girl group x reader #girl group imagines #girl group scenarios #girl group #sua x you #sua dreamcatcher #sua drabbles #sua drabble #dreamcatcher drabble #dreamcatcher drabbles #girl group drabbles #girl group drabble #kim bora #sua angst #dreamcatcher angst #girl group angst #kpop angst

[vanillann]

from stars to the balcony (b.b)

a/n: this is based off the prompt “Either Bucky or Reader are feeling down (in any way, sad, angry, angsty, whatever), there is a power blackout and the other one notices that now you can see the stars, fluff” by @emmabarnes !

word count: 2.3k

bucky barnes masterlist

I could feel my legs burn from pacing the length of my room, my finger toying with the sleeve of my long sleeve. The tea I had made earlier sat on the table but I had long forgotten about it, the conversation from the kitchen was replying too fast.

I was fired, I didn’t have a job. I had bills to pay but no income for the moment. It was because of downsizing, which meant I could get unemployment, but still. I had been working at this job since I was fresh out of college and now I was left to rot in my own self pity.

I pulled my shirt closer to my skin, hoping it would absorb into my skin. As soon as I got the call I turned the heat down, hoping it would save some money. I rubbed my hand up and down my face, trying to think something over in my head but I was too stuck.

The busy street of Brooklyn was calmer than normal, something I was thankful for. I didn’t want to listen to stranger arguments or drunk girl giggles tonight, I didn’t want to even hear my own thoughts. I picked up the tea cup, walking back over the microwave and placing it in the center. I punched in the numbers, turning to lean on. my counter as I rocked on my heels.

I wanted to scream, but I didn’t need a noise complaint either and considering the man next door always got home late, I had only seen his face and I recognized his face immediately but I said nothing, it wasn’t my business.

Suddenly the calming sound of my microwave had stopped, the little lamp in the corner of the was out and I already knew what had happened, This is why this place had 3 stars. I pulled at the shirt to cover my hands, hoping that would change something but I could already fill the cold air rush over my cheeks.

I turned to open the microwave, smiling, then I noticed the tea had a light smoke falling out the top, dancing in the pitch back air with a little heat rushing to my face. I held it closer, finding one of the many candles I had bought forever ago and lit it in the center of the room.

I would’ve scrolled through my phone for a minute but I didn’t need my data bill going up. The soft blanket my cousin had knitted me was wrapped tightly around me and I could already feel myself warming. I looked around the room, trying to find a book I hadn’t read or something to do when I noticed the clear sky. It made me wonder why the power even went out, my curiosity getting the best of me as I pulled the blanket closer and warmed my hands on the tea. I grabbed the metal handle of the door, opening it just enough to slip through before I rested my hands on the edge. I looked down for a second, the sidewalk only had a few people on it and there were only taxis on the street.

“You aren’t jumping, are ya?”

I turned around swiftly, spotting the silhouette of a person on the balcony beside me. He had a hat pulled down to cover his face, he was wearing a thin long sleeve and pants, definitely not bundled up in the cold breeze of Brooklyn.

I had to remind myself who he was, superheroes don’t freeze in New York city.

“Oh no, no,” I repeated the words quickly, finding I had leaned over slightly to look at the city below better.

“Just checking, wouldn’t want to explain that to the cops.”

I winched when I realized what he meant, they would think he did it.

“Your name is James, right?” I decided having a conversation with the man from next door never hurt anyone, although I noticed the book in his lap and I didn’t think he’d respond, I wouldn’t blame him.

“Yeah, but most people call me worse names.”

I frowned, moving to the corner closer to him so I wouldn’t have to talk as loud. This felt like a lot more intimate conversation.

“I’ve been called so pretty bad things, doesn’t mean they're true.”

He didn’t respond, I suppose he didn’t wanna get into it with a stranger.

“What book ya reading?”

“Hunger something,” he moved it slightly so I could see part of the cover. I smiled when I recognized the gold bird across the dark cover.

“The Hunger Games! I really enjoyed that one,” I turned back to look out at the sky, “I’ve watched the movies one too many times.”

“They made movies?”

I was about to yelp but I managed to hold it back, I had forgotten not everyone was obsessed with these things.

“Yeah, four of ‘em,” I could hear my own voice jump a few octavos, he was probably so annoyed with me.

“Oh,” I saw him nod out the corner and I decided I should shut up and let him continue his reading. It was only fair because if someone had interrupted me I’d probably pull a Katniss and shot them with a bow and arrow.

I let my eyes drift over the closed stores, the light around the area was out and it made me feel better. We weren't the only place without power. The few people on the sidewalk were gone and I watched the last taxi drive off with two giggling girls who were wearing those “I Heart NY” shirts. I always loved counting those as a kid, feeling a strange pride from being from New York.

“You must be from around here.”

There was his voice giving me a heart attack again. If he didn’t keep catching me off guard I would admire how rough and powerful it sounded, like he could tell you to sit and you’d do it like a sad puppy waiting for a treat.

“Yeah, Buffalo but I visited Brooklyn a lot, how’d ya know?” I turned slightly so I could look at him when I spoke, since he seemed to actually want to talk.

“Only people from New York would be amazed by the clear sky, I used to hate how you could never see the stars,” I watched him place the book to the side, standing up and leaning against his own railing. The faint light from the few buildings that had power flashed across his face. He was taller than I remembered and his hair was longer, pulled into a little ponytail at the nape of his neck. I watched him tip his hat up slightly, I could actually see his eyes.

“I didn’t even notice the stars,” I turned back to look at the stars in question, smiling when I could see all the consolation that people would point out in chessy movies.

“I was amazed I could see any, kinda glad the power went out.”

He shrugged so carelessly, something about the demeanor suited him.

“I wish I could say the same,” I whispered against the wind, trying to push the feeling I had earlier from my body completely but I knew that was impossible.

It was silent for a second like we both didn’t want to scare the stars from the sky.

“I never learned any of the consolations.”

I smiled this time when he spoke because he was trying to keep the conversation alive.

“Can’t say I have either,” I turned back to admire him, the way he looked at the stars like it was everything to him.

“That one looks like it would be a Latin name,” he pointed to a cluster of stars like he was pointing at a cloud and telling someone it looked like an elephant when it definitely didn’t. Instead of calling him out I smiled, turning and letting my own eyes ranked over the millions of stars.

“That one looks really important, you know like it comes out every two hundred years,” my finger extended to point at a few stray stars that seemed to shine brighter than the rest, but I doubted that.

“Wonder if you’re right,” I could hear a slight chuckle in his voice as if he knew something I didn’t but it was more than likely he did.

“If I am then you owe me ten bucks,” my own laughs filled in behind his own, the once silent streets were long gone as James pointed to a different star.

“That one looks like you.”

“How can someone look like a star,” I kept laughing, looking at the stars he was talking about.

“I don’t know, but you do.”

I felt his eyes watch me but I didn’t have it in me to look at him, just watching the star that apparently looked like me. A large, duller star sat beside it but as it moved it seemed to grow brighter.

“That one is you then,” I pointed, smiling when I heard him scoff.

“That feels like a burn!”

I laughed, smiling as the breeze spread over my body and I couldn’t help but pull the blanket closer. I wanted to go in, because while it wasn’t much warmer it was something, but picking out stars with this man next door was a lot of fun.

I didn’t expect to enjoy the powerless night so much, but I was suddenly just as happy about it.

“I think that is Sirius, the dog star,” the nerd in me jumped out, laughing when I heard him slam his hand slightly on the rail. I said nothing of the mental on mental sound, I knew some things that happen in pop culture.

“I thought you didn’t know about this stuff!”

“I don’t, I just like Harry Potter,” I shrugged, looking back at his face. The few lights that were once on were off down, the only reason I saw any of his face was street lamps and the moon itself. I enjoyed watching his eyebrows raise, disappearing under the brim of his hat.

“I think Banner mentioned that once,” I don’t think he meant for me to hear and I thought best not to talk about his line of work, I definitely wouldn’t want to have to talk about mine if he asked.

“Probably, book and movie series.”

He nodded, both our eyes filtered back to the night sky that hung above us. It was enchanting to say the least, two kids from the city looking up at the sky like they lived in the country.

“You seemed stressed when you came out, do you feel any better?”

For the first time tonight, he asked a question I didn’t want to answer. I didn’t want to talk about any of my feelings from inside my small apartment, that was too real for the boy next door. Out here was light and airy, no stuffy matter allowed.

“Yeah, but I’d rather not talk about it.”

“I wasn’t planning on asking, just wanted to make sure you were feeling better.”

Anyone else would have been offended. He wasn't planning to ask but I respected it. He understood not to ruin a good moment like this, not now. Keep it light while it can be, because the second things get heavy the feeling is gone, I needed a light moment for this single second. If he wanted to knock on my door in the morning and ask then, fine, but now wasn’t the time and I was thankful we saw the same thing.

Another breeze brushed over my skin, a chill running up my skin and I frowned when the mug was no longer hot. I heard a pop from behind me and I turned to notice my lamp was back on.

The power was back, which meant the moment was gone.

“Well, power is back,” he awkwardly pointed over his shoulder at the building, his own apartment didn’t have much light but I assumed he was out here before the power went out,

“Yeah, I should probably head in,” I knew it would be warmer, but I felt as if my body was so much calmer out here.

“Yeah.”

We watched each other for a minute, I took my last glance at the boy with the beat up hat and the laugh of a Greek God.

“Night James,” I waved over my shoulder, holding the mug to my chest and grabbing the freezing door handle.

“Night (Y/N).”

I slipped back in the apartment, smiling when the little heat crashed onto my freezing cheeks, the contrast nice for the first few seconds. I set the mug down, blowing out the candle as my apartment now smelt like apple cider, which was just as calming. I missed the moments on the balcony but I was happy for the heat. I moved around my apartment, fixing my alarm clock and resetting a few other things after the power outages. I had just replugged the wifi router when I heard a little knock at my door. I assumed it was the landlord to tell me the power was back, obviously. I slid across the floor, swinging it open as I was prepared to lean on the door frame. I felt myself frown, not out of sadness but confusion as I realized who it was.

“James?”

He pulled his hand out his pocket, holding out ten dollars with a little shrug.

“Some crazy eclipses thing is happening tonight, hasn’t happened in two hunder and nine years.”

I couldn’t stop the large smile that graced my lips as I reached out to pull the ten-dollar from his grip, smiling more when he lingered in the doorway for a second.

“The tea you had looked good,” he rocked back and front of his feet, his eyes downcast to his shoes.

“Like a mug of it?” He looked up, smiling as I opened the door wider from him.

“If you insist.”

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[zaffrenotes]

[TRR x ES] Viewing Party

Book: The Royal Romance & Endless Summer Pairings: Liam x MC (Katrina Bailey), Drake x OC (Alyssa Devereaux), Jake x MC (Laurel) Rating/Warnings: G; mild innuendo Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * Katrina Bailey & Laurel are the MCs I use when writing fanfic for TRR and ES, respectively; Alyssa Devereaux belongs to birthday girl @burnsoslow​ * This is my submission for @wackydrabbles​​ Prompt 80: Stop looking at me like that. * Author’s Note 2: * This is a birthday gift for my cheesy, potato loving homegirl Burnsie, who requested her very first Endless Summer/Jake fic, despite having never read any ES fic until now 🙈 for the sole reason being that she and Jake McKenzie are almost birthday twins, and my favorite pilot turns 30 this year. If you’re unfamiliar with canon ES trivia, Jake can hold his breath for 9 minutes, and Estela can hold her breath for an astonishing 14. This isn’t entirely what I had in mind when I set out to write an ES/Jake birthday fic, but I wasn’t about to miss your day because I’ve hit a whole ass writer’s wall, Burnsie! I hope you have an AMAZING day and I’m sending you so many hugs! You’re one of the sweetest ladies here, and I am so very thankful that I can call you a friend 🥰 also my real, real gift to you is coming at a later date, as I still have to work on it 😬 * and yes, that’s DDT in the moodboard - just for Burnsie, again - since I use Barnes as Drake’s FC in my TRR fics, lol * Word Count: 2000 on the dot!

It was nearly 10:00 PM on Friday evening, when Burns arranged things around the comfiest chair in her living room. The rest of her family already retired for the evening, after a small but wonderful birthday celebration in her honor at home. Within easy reach, she’d arranged drinks and snacks next to her laptop - a glass of water, a hot mug of tea, a slice of homemade birthday cake to take care of any sugar cravings, and a small platter of cheese and crackers for something more savory. She grinned softly at the newest addition to her mug collection, watching the steam rise from the contents within. 

The lavender mug arrived in the mail earlier that day from one of her friends, emblazoned with a quote from David Rose. Burns took a sip of the warm beverage before setting it down on the small side table and situated herself in the chair. She flipped open the laptop and pulled up a browser window, smiling at a gift from another friend - there was a sticker next to the trackpad with a drawing of a wedge of Swiss, quoting another memorable line from Schitt’s Creek, reminding her to “fold in the cheese.” Burns glanced to the time on the screen and logged in to her Netflix account, clicking until she arrived at the viewing party, and began typing to join the group chat. 

She was greeted with jubilant messages from Donna, Ella, Brandy, Anitah, and half a dozen other friends, wishing her a happy birthday before the show started. They’d formed an ever-growing viewing party for a new series titled Stranded in the Orchard, which was an odd amalgamation of Survivor and Gilligan’s Island. Taking a cue from reality tv competitions, there were hidden cameras all over the island to monitor everyone and reduce production crew intervention, and in a nod to Hunger Games, there was an omnipresent host that would drop messages to signal when challenges were about to take place. After four episodes, the ladies in the watching party started picking their favorites from the two teams. 

Team Ruby consisted of a group that appeared to have been shipwrecked onto the island. Leo was dubbed The Rogue; his brother Liam was The CEO; Katrina was The Attorney; Alyssa was The Teacher; Drake was The Cowboy; Olivia was The Weapons Expert; Bertrand was The Grump; Madeleine was The Whiner; Maxwell was Bertrand’s brother and The Jester; Hana was The Jill of All Trades. Bertrand and Madeleine had already been voted off when Ruby lost two events. 

Team Catalyst consisted of a group of mostly college students. Jake was The Pilot; Laurel was The Mystery Girl; Sean was The Coach; Michelle was The Doctor, even though she was only pre-med; Craig was The Muscle; Zahra was The Engineer; Aleister was The Slick One; Grace was The Brain; Diego was The Entertainer; Estela was The Huntress. Catalyst lost the last two events, which sent Aleister and Grace packing. 

Everyone settled in to watch the opening credits as they recapped last week’s episode, where Ruby won the immunity challenge and fishing gear by building a makeshift stretcher to rescue and carry Katrina from a jungle crash site to a first aid station on the beach; Catalyst voted Grace out. Burns popped a cheese cube into her mouth as she and her friends watched the two groups deal with day-to-day chores in their respective camps on Day 14 of the show. They chatted about the team members and how much Burns wanted to see Drake take off his shirt to go in the water, despite the knowledge that there were clips of him cuddling with Alyssa; Donna, Ella, and Anitah would keysmash in the group chat any time Liam appeared on the screen, even though he and Katrina were clearly sweet on each other, while Brandy and Alyssa Lauren would ask what was happening or who someone was from the Catalyst team.

—

“Pillows and blankets are nice, but what we could really use is food,” Maxwell said, drawing an octopus in the sand with a piece of driftwood. “I don’t know how much longer I can last on coconuts and rice.” 

“Liam and Drake took the raft out this morning to try fishing with the gear, maybe they’ll get lucky,” Katrina suggested, stirring the pot of rice in the fire. She set the lid on top and stood up from her kimchi squat position, dusting some errant sand off her leg. They both looked out towards the water, as dawn stretched out across the ocean, making out shadowy forms of their friends as they bobbed in the water, just before one of them went under the surface. Behind them, the rest of their friends began to stir awake from the scent of rice cooking. 

Back at the Catalyst camp, Jake sat by the campfire with Estela; they were working on making their own fishing gear from bamboo and camp supplies after losing the previous challenge. Jake fed a length of twine through a handmade fishing pole while Estela sharpened tips on one end of a pile of branches she’d gathered. “Whatcha whittlin’, Katniss?” 

Estela glanced at Jake sideways. “Stakes. Hand over some of that twine, I need it to bind these to make spears.” With a begrudging huff, Jake unfurled the twine and ran it against the edge of the makeshift bench he was sitting on to cut it, before tossing the rest at Estela. 

“How fast can you tie those off? We’re losin’ daylight for a morning catch, if you wanna ride on the raft with me.” 

“Five minutes,” she answered, already working nimbly around a branch to secure the whittled spikes. 

The screen cut back to Ruby’s camp, where Liam and Drake stepped ashore, smiles brighter than the sunrise as Drake held up a fish trap with small rays flapping against one another. 

—

“kjsdhfksjhfksjhfks,” Burns smashed into her keyboard. “Look at my man! With the sea bounty!” 

“mevmnbvmnxb,” Ella smashed back.

“How do you know Drake did all the work? Liam’s just as wet, hahaha,” Donna chortled in response.

—

After killing their catch as humanely as possible - with Alyssa turning her face to Drake’s chest to avoid witnessing it - Leo and Olivia gutted and cleaned the rays before setting them on top of their makeshift grill to cook. Liam and Drake regaled the group with their morning under the water, as they took turns fishing. 

While Team Ruby enjoyed some protein with their rice that morning, members of the Catalyst team glumly spooned rice into their mouths as they sat around the campfire while Jake and Estela dried off; their morning fishing trip had been unsuccessful. 

Later that day, both teams received messages from the host to gather for a reward challenge. Each team made their way to a small lagoon, where they saw a structure floating in the water. A booming voice overhead instructed them to swim out to the structure and await further instructions. Once everyone from both teams had done so, a blue holographic image of the host appeared in the center to explain the rules. “The challenge is simple,” she narrated. “We want to see who can hold their breath the longest. There’s a bar you can use to keep yourself from floating up if you need it. Last one standing earns the prize for the whole team — an overnight trip at the Celestial Hotel, where our rotating film crew goes to rest. You’ll be treated to clean sheets and towels, hot showers, along with a decadent dinner and breakfast menu the next morning, before having to return to your camp.” 

Everyone’s eyes lit up at the incentive of a night away from sleeping on the beach, away from mosquitos, rodents, and the threat of being waterlogged by passing storms. Stomachs gurgled at the thought of hot meals that didn’t consist of rice, and the possibility of cocktails or wine. “Oh, we got this,” Jake murmured quietly to Laurel. “Bet I can hold my breath longer’n any of those Ruby kids.” 

“Is that so?” Leo taunted, overhearing Jake’s comment.

“Just call me Poseidon,” Jake smirked. 

“We’ll see about that,” Leo replied. “You know most of us are from an island, right? We’re basically merpeople.” 

—

“Bets! Bets on who wins this!” Brandy typed into the chat window.

“Sticking with Drake,” Burns typed. “Maybe Hana. She could have another random talent up her sleeve.” 

“My money’s on Liam. Look how broad his chest is,” Anya replied. “He’s got to have massive lungs to match.”

“That makes no sense,” Ella typed, adding a laughing emoji. “But I’m Team Liam anyway.”

“Don’t hate me,” Donna began. “Something tells me Jake isn’t boasting right now.” 

From her screen at home, Alyssa Lauren used Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe to choose Zahra. The rest of the group picked their favorites as the castaways donned goggles and got into the water. 

—

“Ready? Set! Go!” 

Sixteen heads dipped under the water’s surface, with contestants pinching their noses and puffing out their cheeks as an underwater camera filmed them. A handful of them - Olivia, Alyssa, Maxwell, Diego, and Michelle - tapped out under a minute. As the sand settled, thirty seconds passed before Katrina, Laurel, Sean, and Drake headed to the surface. Just after the two minute mark, Hana, Craig, and Zahra gave up, leaving Jake, Liam, Estela, and Leo under the water. 

Jake looked positively peaceful, sandy brown hair swaying with ease in the water. Estela tapped her fingers lightly across the bamboo rod, counting each second as it passed. Liam glanced over to his brother, who’d begun to turn pink. Half a minute later, Leo popped up to the surface, muttering to himself out of frustration. 

Three minutes in, Liam surfaced, gasping for air, leaving Jake and Estela to battle it out between themselves. Even though the hologram host blasted a horn to signal the end of the challenge, neither Catalyst member surfaced. Liam ducked down to check on them, and Jake and Estela both signaled that they were fine. Everyone continued to wait as the pair spent minute after minute under the water.

—

“Seriously? They’re on the same team!” Anitah typed. “They won already!” 

“They’ve been underwater for a scary length of time,” Brandy added. “What are they, Navy SEALs or something?” 

“I think Jake mentioned he was actually in the Navy before,” Alyssa Lauren replied. 

—

A digital clock appeared in the corner of the screen as the two Catalyst members continued to hold their breath underwater. With each passing minute, members from both groups began to worry. After eight minutes passed, the host’s voice rang out, advising them to pull Jake and Estela up from the water to end the challenge. Laurel and Craig ducked down, eventually pulling their teammates up. “Congratulations to The Catalysts!” the host exclaimed. “A boat will be waiting at your camp to take you to the hotel.” 

Laurel swatted Jake’s arm as they made their way to the shore. “What’s wrong with you!? You were underwater for nearly ten minutes! Who does that!?” 

Jake looked over his shoulder to her with a grin, mischievous sparkle in his bright blue eyes. “Ten would be a new record, my best is nine.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Imagine nine uninterrupted minutes of me holding my breath, Princess. My birthday is tomorrow, and I know exactly how I wanna celebrate,” he winked.  

Laurel’s cheeks flushed at the suggestion. “Stop looking at me like that, Top Gun.”

—

That evening at the hotel, after a sumptuous feast of lobster, crab, and an endless supply of beer and wine, the Catalyst members eventually went to bed. Much later into the night, Jake was seen sneaking into Laurel’s room. 

—

“I KNEW IT!” Burns typed. She laughed as her friends typed in responses full of lemon, fire, pepper, and eggplant emojis. She popped another cheese cube into her mouth and smiled, watching the rest of the episode play out.

#the royal romance fanfic #endless summer fanfic #choices the royal romance #choices endless summer #liam x mc #liam x trina #drake x alyssa #jake x mc #choices crossover fanfic #wacky drabbles #survivor au #happy birthday Burnsie #birthday fanfic #zaffrenotes writes #there was an attempt #this is not what I planned #lol but I am out of time and don't have it in me to scrap what I've written #🙈 I watched an entire season of Survivor for like...3 scenes to add to the fic

[sokkas-swordgays]

I saw something somewhere about the protests with the line, “No one is free when others are oppressed” and it really got me thinking about how every popular series I grew up on was centered around that.

(uh this is a spoilers warning? i guess?)

In the Hunger Games, it’s more obvious. Winning the games is supposed to emancipate you from the struggles of the working class citizens of Panem, but it’s just a more covert type of oppression. You are forced to be a bystander, or your loved ones are murdered and you are punished. (Peeta lost his leg, Finnick was whored out for Snow’s political gain, Betee was forced to make tech for the game makers, Annie went crazy. Not only that, you were then expected to train hundreds of kids to fight to their death and couldn’t stop it. You’re not a victor, you’re a survivor.) Even in District 13 there was a mindset of military oppression; you were not an individual but what you could do for the cause. After the proposition of the Capitol Hunger Games, it was clear to see that things were not going to change. Katniss kills Coin because she is just that, the other side of the same system that Snow enforced. No one is free when others are oppressed.

Similarly, Percy Jackson’s isn’t as overt but is still obvious. There are only 12 dorms at camp, one for each Olympian. Percy, the only son (sorry Tyson) of Poseidon, has an entire dorm to himself. At the same time, all the children of minor gods and the unclaimed are crammed into that of Hermès, and it is overstuffed and underappreciated. Luke saw this injustice and became angry, to the point of attempting to overthrow the gods for the children they have harmed. Percy, who lived with an abuser, takes note of Luke’s perspective and turns down immortality to force the gods into expanding the camp to include minor gods and claiming their children.

I’m partially an ATLA blog, so it would be remiss to not mention Avatar. Aang’s entire civilization is wiped out due to genocide, and Katara and Sokka vividly remember the raids that wiped out the majority of their tribe and killed their mother. The Fire Nation harms the world even the Crown Prince. Never forget, Zuko was sent on a suicide mission, either to search the world for a dead person or to be killed by a fully realized 100 something year old Avatar; he was never supposed to return home. Even the Earth Kingdom, as peaceful as it seems is controlled by a dictator who brainwashes and punishes its citizens for speaking out about the atrocities going on across the world. In the first few episodes, it’s clear that the world had lost hope of ever finding freedom from the oppressive Fire Nation. It’s never a “let’s free one nation and the rest will follow”, it’s always “no one is free when others are oppressed.”

In Harry Potter, it’s still true. The book begins with Harry’s parents being murdered by a genocidal maniac for opposing his elitist attitudes, and almost immediately you as a reader are thrown into a dying elitist world that struggles with the fact that muggleborn wizards are more populous than those with “pure” blood. Never forget that the wizarding world, despite proof, refused to acknowledge Voldemort’s existence until he had already seized control of the government. (JK is a TERF, but she hit the nail on the head.) This runs in the background of the story for the first book, but quickly becomes the central idea of the series. This inequality in wizarding society seriously impacts the lives of every student at Hogwarts, and echoes the “no one is free while others are oppressed.”

I could go on about every series I watched as a kid, but the theme is present through every YA series we consumed, every story, every movie: we’re not free until we’re all free. You feed us these stories, and then wonder why we protest and demand change when we are oppressed?

#protests #food for thought #multifandom #hunger games #hg #katniss #peeta #finnick #annie #analysis #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo #harry potter #hp #harry potter series #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #aang #sokka #katara #zuko

[bisou-doux]

The Starving Games ft. Freddie Weasel: AKA Pt. 1 of my Hunger Games x Harry Potter crossover series (OC x Fred Weasley)

Warnings (None of these are really graphic, but feel free not to read if any of these things make you uncomfortable!!): Blood, knives, knife wound, character death(s), severe injury mention (lost limbs), dead animal mention?? (a rat) 

This is the first fic I’ve ever written! I got the idea from a post I saw from @wand3ringr0s3 Comments and criticism are GREATLY appreciated and it’d be really cool to get some feedback on my writing style!! 

a/n: Also if I do write more, this is gonna be an enemies to allies to lovers situation bc I <3 angst 

Tagging my mutuals: @ourloveisforthelovely @darthwheezely @amrtxntia  @anchoeritic @kellsslut @whizboingies @beiahadid

Darkness. Pure black. I hear noises coming from somewhere. Muffled. Echoing through the endless void around me. The noises become louder. Someone is talking. The more I listen, the louder and clearer they get. Clear enough that I can almost make out the words. Suddenly, everything goes deafeningly quiet. My ears start ringing. But then, a single voice echoes through the silence, “Seph?”. I recognize it immediately. “Maeve?” I call out. “Seph? Is that you?” she responds, her voice shaky with fear. “Yes, yes, Maeve, it’s me. Where are you?”

“I don’t know.” she responds, panic rising in her voice. “Seph, I’m scared.”

“I know. I know, kiddo,” I swallow hard, “Hey. Hey, listen, I’m gonna find you, okay? Just stay calm.”

My heart is racing. I look around for some sort of clue, but nothing but complete darkness surrounds me. I tentatively reach my hand out in front of me. My fingertips graze something. Something cold. I take a step forward and reach out again. My hand finds what feels like a thin chain. I roll it around in my fingers before pulling down on it. The space is immediately flooded with blinding white light. I blink a few times to adjust my eyes to the sudden brightness. I’m at home; a tiny one room flat that I share with my mother, sister, and our cat. Except it’s empty- no furniture, not even a door. I see my sister standing a few feet in front of me, her hands bound together by a thick rope. “Maeve!” I rush towards her. “Seph!” she cries. As I reach out to hug her I’m pushed back by an invisible force. I look up and there she is- standing inside a giant glass dome. I take a few steps back, trying to register what I’m seeing.

“Shall we draw the names?” I whip my head around to see a woman in a magenta frock standing on the other side of the room. Her dress is covered in so many frills and flounces that she takes up half the flat. On her head is a ridiculous blonde wig that must add at least two feet to her height. Her face is covered entirely in white powder, with her cheeks overly rouged, and her top lip painted magenta to match the dress. She looks like a very posh clown.

“I-I’m sorry what?”

She laughs airily, “The names, darling. Surely you remembered?”

“Remember what?”

She tsked then pulled out two smaller versions of the glass dome from the frills at the front of her dress. They each had a small slip of paper in them. “Go on. Pick one.” Her voice was incredibly high-pitched, and she spoke with a capitol accent. I stepped towards her and hesitantly reached into the bowl in her right hand. I unfolded the slip of paper, ‘Maeve Whitlock’. I stared at the name in confusion.

“I don’t understand.”

“Will you take her fate as your own?”

“What do you mean? What fate?”

The woman let out another laugh, this one high and cold, it echoed around the entire room and caused the floor to shake. Suddenly, I heard Maeve call out to me, “SEPH!” I looked back to where she was in the dome. There was a dark, shadowy figure standing behind her, holding a knife to her neck. Her hands and feet were bound to a small wooden chair, and her mouth was now gagged with a dishcloth. I ran towards the dome, panic rising further in my chest. “MAEVE!” I shouted desperately. She looked at me fearfully, tears rolling slowly down her cheeks. I banged and kicked and rammed my body at the glass so hard, I should’ve shattered something. But it was no use. I looked back to where the woman had been standing, but she was gone. The shadowy figure stood still, holding the knife to my sister’s neck.

“LET GO OF HER YOU FREAK!” I cried, banging my fists against the dome. Maeve was panicking now, her chest rising and falling rapidly, tears running down her face, her muffled pleas penetrating through the glass. “MAEVE.” I cried out; my voice cracked as the salty tears streamed down my cheeks. But I was too late. The dark figure suddenly slashed the knife across her throat, her cries stopped and she slumped down into her seat, eyes still half open, blood now seeping into her blouse. “NO!” I screamed, sinking down to the ground. The glass squeaked as my hands dragged down over the exterior. I looked back up towards the shadowy figure, only to see it was no longer there. In its place I saw myself, a satisfied smile on my face. I heard the clownish woman’s disembodied laugh echo through the flat, “What a pity,” the voice said, “you could’ve saved her! But now, I’m afraid, you must face the consequences of your actions.” The clone slowly raised the hand still holding the knife, and pointed directly at me. Suddenly, I felt the cool touch of metal against my throat. The other me winked, and I felt the blade drag deep across my neck. I started to choke, the blood pooling into my airways. I instinctively brought my hand up to the wound. My vision started turning black around the edges. I looked down to see the front of my dress already soaked in red. The last thing I saw was my own hand, holding the knife, droplets of blood falling steadily from the tip of the blade. Then, everything went dark.

My eyes shot open. All I saw was fur, and something was blocking my breathing. I sat up quickly, and the ball of fluff leapt off my face. The cat looked up at me from his new place on my lap- those big amber eyes practically staring into my soul- and meowed loudly. I sighed in annoyance. “Stupid cat.” I grumbled as I lifted him up and let him jump to the floor. I rubbed my eyes and tried to slow my racing heartbeat. My body was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. I looked down at the bed to see my sister still sleeping soundly beside me. I took a deep, shaky breath and stroked the top of her head, moving away some of the stray hairs lying across her face. I glanced over at the digital clock next to me, SUNDAY: JULY 4. 8:26 AM. Today was Reaping Day; no wonder I had that horrible nightmare. This would be my 4th year participating in the drawing, it was Maeve’s first. How unlucky it was that her twelfth birthday had only been three days prior. If she’d just been born a few days later, she could’ve been spared for another year.

I sighed and swung my legs over the side of the bed. My mother was already awake, sewing some buttons back onto Maeve’s school shirt. “Hi, mom.”

“Hi, sweetie. Did you just wake up?”

“Yeah, just now.” I yawned.

“Is Maeve still asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost 8:30. Should I wake her up?”

“No, it’s okay,” she sighed, “let her sleep some more. I’ll wake her up soon.” She held up the shirt to examine her work, “Still needs a few more stitches…” She held the needle between her teeth and reached down to her sewing basket to grab another spool of thread. I looked down as I felt the cat’s bushy tail brush past my ankles. I knelt down and scratched behind his ears.

“Did you feed Tulip yet?” I asked. The fluffy, tricolor, flat-faced cat was now sitting at my feet, purring contentedly.

“Didn’t have to; he caught his own breakfast. A huge rat, which he so lovingly dropped on my pillow this morning.” My mother replied.

I stifled a laugh.

“Since you’re already up, go ahead and shower. I’ve laid out your clothes for you on the kitchen table, so when you’re done, just change into them and come back here so I can do your hair. Okay?”

“Okay.”

She smiled at me then went back to her work. I grabbed some soap and a clean towel from the small shelf near the entrance and walked out. “Make sure you don’t use up all the hot water!” she called out as I closed the door behind me. “Don’t worry, I won’t!”.

We didn’t have our own bathroom- there was one toilet and one shower per floor, which could be shared by anywhere from 5 to 20 people. There were 5 apartments on each of the 4 floors- all one room- with one bed, a stove, a sink, a small table and chairs, and some shelves for storage. Each apartment had a heater and air conditioner, but they were never guaranteed to work when you needed them. Sometimes only one side of the building would have heating, or only certain floors had AC, or only specific apartments. Often, the whole building wouldn’t have either for days at a time. The same thing happened with the water and electricity. You could never fully rely on any of the appliances being in working order. As a result, we shared a lot with other apartments. If someone’s stove wasn’t working, they could just knock on a neighbor’s door and use theirs. If only one apartment on our floor had heating during the winter, there were no objections when everyone else would come over and make themselves at home. It made it feel like we were all one family, and it was customary to refer to many of your neighbors as your aunt or uncle. This was common throughout the District, as almost everyone aside from the mayor and peacekeepers lived in small, rundown tenements, expanding outwards from the city center, which was home to the Justice building. Here, in District 8, we produce textiles. There are 6 factories in total; one of which is entirely dedicated to making peacekeeper uniforms. We typically start in the factories at 14, splitting the day between school and work. We aren’t assigned specific jobs until we turn 18. Until then, those in charge of production make requests for certain numbers of workers, and we go wherever we’re needed. Once we finish school, we’re assigned permanent job positions based on both our aptitude tests and our performances in various factory tasks. The better you do on the aptitude test, the better (or at least safer) your job will be. Those with the highest scores tend to be assigned as desk jockeys- where the risk of dying on the job is fairly low. Those with the lowest scores are sent to work in the most dangerous parts of the factories; you can always tell who works there because chances are, they’ve lost some part of their limbs...or face...or they’re, you know, missing a hand...Then there’s those whose scores fall somewhere in the middle; if they have a specific skill, like baking, or perhaps healing, they’re assigned a job based on that. The rest are assigned mid-level factory jobs, which were still dangerous, but the chances of getting to keep all your fingers were significantly higher! (But not guaranteed).

When I turned on the shower, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the water was delightfully warm. It took everything in me not to keep standing there, enjoying the warmth, until the water would turn cold. I shivered as I stepped out of the shower and quickly wrapped my towel around me. I walked swiftly down the hall and flung open the door to the apartment. I grabbed my outfit from the kitchen table. A white trapeze-line dress ending an inch or so above my knees, long billowy sleeves pulled tight at the wrists, and a mock turtleneck with tiny ruffles adorning the edge. My shoes sat on the floor next to it; dark blue suede ankle-boots with small square heels.They were a birthday present from my mother; most definitely from the black market. I got dressed and pulled up a stool in front of my mother’s chair. She combed through my curls as gently as she could, but I still winced when she pulled too hard at a knot. She braided four small plaits at the front and sides of my hair, pulling them into two larger braids that she twisted together and pinned to the back of my head. She handed me the mirror. I looked into it and smiled, “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” I turned around and hugged her tightly. She smelled of soap and clean linen, and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on- all I knew was that it was comforting and warm. I held on a little longer than usual. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling her scent. She brought her hand up and gently stroked the back of my head. We both knew what could happen today...I tried my best not to think about it. Maeve soon came back from the shower and changed into a mod-style purple dress and black mary janes. My mother braided her hair in a similar style to mine, adding a small flower clip at the side. She looked us once over, nodded, then stood at the mirror and added a few pins to secure her own hairstyle. She sighed, “Ready?”

“Yeah.” “Yeah.” my sister and I said in unison.

My mother chuckled lightly as we stepped through the threshold.

We walked the few blocks over to the underground and boarded the train headed to the Justice building. The train car was packed. Everyone was dressed in their best (and most colorful) outfit. These types of clothes were only worn on special occasions; those above working age wore grey coveralls to work and school, and something drab and ill-fitting otherwise. As we exited the train car, I kept a tight grip on Maeve’s hand. As we emerged from the underground, our eyes were bombarded with light, and I squinted as the brightness flooded my vision. When my eyes adjusted, I spotted the registration table. I gave my mother a brief hug and went to join the girls’ line with Maeve. Soon, we’d reached the front. I looked down at Maeve, “You want me to go first, kiddo?”

She glanced up at me with wide eyes, then stared forward and shook her head. 

“You sure?”

“Mhmm. I just wanna get it over with.”

“Okay.” I hunched over and whispered into her ear, “You’re gonna be fine, I promise. It’s not as bad as you think. I’ll see you in a few minutes, yeah?”

She nodded. I gave her hand a squeeze and watched her walk up to the table. I heard them speaking faintly and a few minutes later, she turned around to look at me, a nervous expression on her face. I gave her a reassuring nod then headed over there myself. 

The woman at the table sat there with a bored expression. She looked to be in her 30’s, but the heavy dark circles under her eyes seemed to age her quite a few years.

“Last name?” She said. She didn’t bother to look up at me. 

“Whitlock.”

“Whitlock…” she muttered, flipping through the pages, “Right, Whitlock. Persephone?” 

“Yeah.” 

She crossed my name off the list. “You’re sixteen?”

“Yes.” 

“Okay,” she sighed, “Hold out your hand, please.” She took a small device next to her and clipped it onto my index finger. I winced when I felt the needle prick my skin. She unclipped the device then stamped my wrist with the capitol’s sigil. 

“You can go join your age group, fourth line from the left.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

She paused, then looked up at me sympathetically, “And um, good luck.”

I nodded and gave her a curt smile before heading over to join my peers. We were arranged by age and gender, boys and girls separate, all standing in rows in front of the stage. I stood waiting, and mindlessly watched the rows slowly multiply. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but soon enough, I looked up at the stage to see a woman in a bright magenta pantsuit. The hem of her skirt was decorated with a flounce of fabric, and she wore a light pink blouse underneath her suit jacket. The front of it contained so many ruffles, you could hardly see her neck. Her hair was pale blonde, and styled in a way that made it look like a cloud sitting on top of her head. Her face was powdered white, save for her blushed cheeks and glossy lipstick. Her lips were absurdly over lined, both painted a shocking fuchsia that closely matched her outfit. She approached the podium with tiny steps and cleared her throat daintily, “Welcome, everyone, to the reaping ceremony for the 59th annual Hunger Games!” People remained silent; the only reaction being a cough from someone in the crowd. She cleared her throat once more, “As always, we shall begin by watching a special film from the capitol, telling us the history and origins of this unique tradition, and to remind us why we are all standing here today.”

At her words, the two televisions turned on to display the Capitol’s sigil. It faded out, and a film about the glorious history of Panem started rolling. I tuned out and stared blankly at the rows of people ahead of me. When the film concluded, Ms. magenta up at the podium clapped enthusiastically. She was the only one. “Oh, wasn’t that wonderful?” She exclaimed, “What a rich history this nation has.” 

I scoffed, that’s one way to put it, I thought. 

“Now, as always- ladies first.” She stuck her hand into the large glass bowl on the right side of the podium and shuffled her hand through the slips of paper before snatching one up. She gingerly unfolded the paper and held it delicately between her index finger and thumb. 

She cleared her throat and read out the name, “Maeve Whitlock.”

I felt my heart stop in my chest.

No. 

My eyes darted through the crowd and I saw people make way for her as she slowly walked to the stage, shaking with every step. Images from my dream flashed through my mind- most poignantly, the image of me watching helplessly, as a dark shadowy figure slashed a knife across my sister’s throat. Panic rose in my chest; my heart beat so loudly in my ears that I barely heard myself shout, “WAIT!” Everyone turned to look at me. My breathing sped up as I suddenly felt at a loss for air, “I volunteer.” I added, my voice cracking slightly, “I volunteer as tribute.” Maeve looked back at me with pleading eyes and shook her head furiously. I avoided her gaze and stared straight ahead as the crowd parted to allow me through to the stage. I paused to grab Maeve’s hand and squeeze it tightly. I cradled the back of her head and planted a kiss atop her forehead. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment as I shakily released her from my grasp and allowed the other girls in the crowd to place a comforting hand on her shoulders as they quietly pulled her away from me. I walked up to the stage and slowly climbed the short flight of steps to then take my place just behind the glass bowl from which my sister’s name was drawn. I can’t believe I’m about to be shepherded to my untimely death because of a stupid glass bowl. I felt my hands getting clammy, and I held to the hem of my dress to keep them from shaking. Ms. Magenta smiled and stepped towards me, “And what is your name, dear?”

“Persephone Whitlock.” I stated.

“And you are…?”

“Her sister.”

“Her sister! Oh, well, of course you are!” she remarked, “Well, that was a very brave thing you just did, Persephone. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that this was a truly inspiring moment! Well done! And may the odds be ever in your favor.” she smiled brightly and turned towards the crowd. There were a few measly claps, but they quickly fell silent. “And now, let us draw our male tribute.” She stepped over to the glass bowl on her left and repeated the process. I stared blankly past the rows of people; only when she read the name was my trance broken, “Frederick Weasley.” A tall, redheaded boy emerged from the crowd. I stared as he made his way up to the podium. I recognized him from school. I didn’t know him well, but I knew he had a twin brother- George, I think- who’d lost an ear in a factory accident a few years prior, and was thus ineligible to compete in the Games, as his injury would be an unfair advantage to the other tributes. Apparently, he’d been checking the cogs underneath a broken machine when it somehow turned on and cut his left ear clean off. It was formally reported as an accident, but it’s been rumored that he did it on purpose. There were no witnesses, so no one can say for sure, but if it was intentional, I can’t say I blame him for doing it. There are very few ways you can get out of the games if you’re under 18- something as extreme as losing an ear would certainly fall under that category. I stared at the redhead as he took his place behind the other glass bowl. He was tall, at least 6 foot 4, and seemed to tower over my own 5 foot 10 frame. I’d always thought I was fairly tall for my age, and was used to surpassing most adults in height; but standing next to him, I felt like a child. His entire body was long and lean, but I could tell from the way his shirt clung to him that he was not just skin and bone. He had a well-structured face. Round brown eyes, thin lips, a prominent, romanesque nose; his jaw was clenched as he stared straight ahead and refused to look at me. Him and his brother were known for pulling pranks and cracking jokes at school- there was a strange, impish quality to his features that unintentionally revealed his penchant for mischief. Every inch of his cool, pale skin was covered in freckles. Despite his pallid complexion, his cheeks always seemed to have a slight blush to them that made everything about him appear bright and lively. However, at the present moment, his face had been drained of all colour, save for a rather sickly green tinge. No wonder he doesn’t want to look at me- poor kid looks like he’s about to puke. Ms. Magenta finally stepped forward, “Excellent! We now have our two lovely tributes! Both of whom will now be escorted into the Justice building to await further instructions; Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!” And with that, the Capitol’s sigil was once again displayed on the TVs, and its anthem blasted through the speakers. Suddenly, I felt four hands grab me by the arms and forcefully pull me backwards. I stumbled slightly, and looked up to see the two peacekeepers responsible. They continued to pull me across the stage before practically shoving me down the stairs and onto the cobblestone street. From the corner of my eye, I could see that my fellow tribute was receiving the same gentle treatment as they dragged- I’m sorry, escorted him- to the large, looming structure behind us. As they “escorted” me towards the building’s heavy brass doors, I looked back frantically, trying to spot my mother and sister. But the crowd had gotten rowdier, and they were all being jammed together as the peacekeepers continued to push them away from the stage. My breathing quickened, and I could feel the blood pumping through every vein in my body. When we reached the threshold, the brass doors opened to reveal a high-ceilinged marble hall, and a rush of cool air escaped them. So THIS is where all our air-conditioning goes, I thought to myself. Every sound echoed through the building’s marble interior. I craned my neck upwards and tried to take in every opulent detail as I was dragged down a hallway and shoved into a small room, where the peacekeepers finally released me from their vice grip. “Wait here,” one of them said. They both left and shut the door behind them. I massaged my sore upper arms. “You didn’t have to pull me so hard, you know!” I shouted at the door, “not like I was planning on going anywhere!”. I sighed and stepped back from the door. “Assholes,” I muttered to myself. I plopped down onto a green velvet armchair and examined my surroundings. The walls and ceilings were paneled in rich, mahogany wood. The square panels above me were covered in intricate carvings, complementing the elaborate crystal chandelier hanging in the center. While I assumed the floor was wood, it was hard to tell because of the heavy oriental rugs that adorned its surface. There were two large windows behind me, both framed by plush velvet curtains. They were the same emerald green as the chair, and were tied back with a thick, gold rope that had tassels on the end of it, so as to allow in natural light. There was not much furniture in the room aside from two armchairs- one of which I already occupied- a round, wooden coffee table between them, and two empty bookshelves inlaid in the wall on either side of the room. A thin blue vase containing a single white rose sat in the center of the coffee table. The smell of it was unnaturally overpowering. Something about it made me uneasy, so I carefully pushed it to the far side of the table and shifted away from it. I unconsciously started chewing on my lip. I couldn’t sit still. Sitting there shaking my leg, or playing with the hem of my dress, wasn’t helping. I let out a frustrated groan and jolted up from my seat. I continued to chew my lip as I restlessly paced back and forth across the room. The heavy rugs didn’t hide the creaking of the floorboards as I stomped across them. After what felt like hours, I heard the door creak open. I stopped in my tracks and ran to the door to greet my mother before she’d even entered the room. Her and my sister enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug which I eagerly returned. The peacekeeper standing behind them cleared his throat. We slowly let go of each other and turned to face him. “You have ten minutes to say goodbye- not a second more.” he said in a gruff voice. As my mother and sister stepped fully into the room, the peacekeeper roughly shut the door behind them and left. 

END OF PART ONE

a/n: If you’ve made it this far,  1. Hi, I love you 2. Will I write more for this series? To quote John Mulaney, “Who’s to say?”. 

#hunger games #the hunger games #hunger games au #hunger games fanfic #hunger games x harry potter #harry potter #harry potter au #crossover #fanfic #original character #oc #my oc #oc x character #fred weasley x oc #muggle fred weasley #harry potter oc #hunger games oc #fred weasley #harry potter fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #hunger games fanfiction #fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley fic #fred weasley fanfic #enemies to allies #allies to lovers #tw blood #tw knives #tw injury #tw death

[ears-awake-eyes-opened]

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes — my first impressions

(I’ve shared my thoughts and feelings about the book in the spoilers chat group, but I’ve waited awhile as a courtesy before posting them on my blog. The book has been out for over a month now so ***TBOSAS spoilers ahead***. These musings are not particularly organized and are a bit rambling and repetitive.)

***

I read the book over the course of 3 days, and then recovery afterward took several days beyond that. I love the disturbing coming of age tale that Suzanne Collins has crafted for Snow. Everything she wrote for him was trauma-informed. He experienced the severe early life attachment trauma of losing both parents between ages 3-7, which is old enough to have developed the capacity for love because he received that from his mother, and young enough for the severity of the trauma to be difficult to impossible to integrate, especially in an environment of poverty, hunger, manipulation and deception to hide the family misfortune. He spent his whole life trying to control the chaos which was really just trauma on repeat within himself. This showed up as perfectionism in school and ambition for more than survival. He was the ideal candidate to be groomed by Dr. Gaul. Under all those conditions, the kid didn’t really have the capacity to become anything other than a tyrant.

I enjoyed the unfolding of his relationship with Lucy Gray. I felt the intensity between them (trauma bond), and I felt their mutual recognition in 12 that the intensity didn’t mean they were compatible. The running off together near the end was a last-ditch effort for both of them at survival. If they hadn’t found the guns and actually had run north, then in time they probably would have abandoned one another, since they wanted opposite things: safety and control VS freedoms and song. In a short time I believe they would have resented and detested each other. 18 years old was too late for him. His patterns were already well established.

I think SC showed us every ounce of fluff that Snow had in him. There just wasn’t much fluffiness to work with. The book ended with me believing he had a capacity for love; he wasn’t a psychopath just a deeply traumatized person. I think it’s telling how in the middle he said something like, “I think she (Lucy Gray) may be in love with me.” Rather than, “I think I may be in love with her.” In that relationship he felt excitement within idealization which faded in reality and would have moved toward increasing disgust toward her if the ending had played out differently. It’s hard to have fluff when the characters motivations are self-centered. The opposite of Katniss and Peeta whose relationship unfolded as they were both trying to protect others. Snow felt as much for Lucy Gray as his capacity allowed, but the chaos in feeling and in relationship was the opposite of what he wanted for his life. When he started being irritated with song, that was ultimate sign of death for that relationship. Lucy Gray WAS song. And beyond the idealization phase he would have detested her.

The plot was so thick with characters and details. SC used 3rd person perspective for this one but it wasn’t omniscient. We only got to see through Snow’s eyes. I enjoyed those moments that felt more fluffy where we saw clearly the complexity of his character and humanity. This really is a coming of age story. He’s becoming the man he already is. Gaul’s influence was the clincher. She was a predator and manipulated Snow on the path he actually wanted most. I feel for him. Throughout the book and still. I even feel now for the tyrant he becomes. That’s masterful writing right there.

I like how in the end Snow vowed to marry someone he didn’t love, recognizing that love was too chaotic. I’m thrilled that Lucy Gray added verses to the hanging tree song for him and then all those years later Katniss sang those verses. I love all the insight into Snow’s obsessive hate for Katniss, not just everything she stood for but also everything she reminded him of that couldn’t be controlled. I like understanding how Snow grew his affinity for using poison. I believe he’s haunted his whole life by the memory of Lucy Gray, but he flips it around in his mind that he controls the haunting. Maybe he eventually poisons his wife because he grows tired of sharing space with someone he doesn’t care about and doesn’t desire possession of. He’d justify the killing of course, like with all the killings. Self-justification and execution will only get easier for Snow as time goes on, especially under Dr. Gaul’s tutelage/mind-control.

My favorite aspect of this book was SCs willingness in this sociopolitical climate to make bold statements about the value of freedom and its ability to endure as a human quality despite years of tyrannical control and propaganda. I view her as a hope-giver. Her writing is courageous. I felt deeply for young Snow, even knowing how his story would play out. The predictability of the novel was my only complaint. After reading a couple of chapters I said to my daughter, “I think Lucy Gray will win the Games and then Snow will end up killing her.” When Gaul showed up, I said to my husband, “She’s going to groom him. She’s going to manipulate him and in the process turn him from a manipulator into a master manipulator.” Done. Possibly done. And done. I like the idea that Lucy Gray lives on and makes a free life for herself. I like that Snow would be eaten alive his whole life by that possibility which is beyond his control.

I mentioned in a previous post that the conversation between Snow and Lucy Gray about safety and control vs freedom and song is the most important conversation of our time, and SC has solid guts to acknowledge that freedom will endure long after the Capitol is gone. And the conversation ended there. Because it’s the deep truth about humanity that propaganda is designed to fool us into not believing: People are fundamentally enduring whether or not they have the “protection” of government control. I was beyond thrilled to read that conversation in YA novel because it’s fringe now to speak this truth openly and her readership is gigantic. I loved watching the connection between Snow and Lucy Gray begin to disintegrate in this mutual understanding that they wanted different worlds, and the world that they each wanted was fundamentally appalling to the other, regardless of those moments when they felt an aliveness in each other’s presence , the kind of aliveness that’s always present in the idealization phase of a trauma bond.

This book was so raw in its presentation of starvation in the Capitol, cannibalism, the Snow’s salvation in those awful lima beans. All the pressures that would drive a young person to grow to detest chaos and wild. This lineage of trauma in the Capitol informs my understanding not just of old tyrant Snow, but the other Capitol characters. And makes the likes of Cinna and Cressida and Plutarch all the more awesome to have chosen a different path. Even Effie who is so much about control and appearances in this singularly thinking way ultimately sees through the veil and understands this kind of control is a profound injustice. I view the book as a prequel in that it’s so intimately connected to the series of 3 and makes those characters, plots, settings, and other details so much more rich. It’s been years since I last read the books. I’ll do so again next time with more clarity.

Dark novel. Not graphic, but oozing with the darkness of humanity. It’s great, and I’m not sure I can ever read it again. There’s so much real. Though I’d LOVE to see it on film. It would be easily translatable to a couple of screenplays. They’d need to cast a Lucy Gray who can sing well and act even better, and a Snow who can carry both the film and carry a tune but without the quality of a professional singer.

I didn’t expect to feel so deeply for young Snow. SC is deep into midlife, and she knows real shit about trauma. She is able to convey it to a YA audience without being overly graphic or disturbing — unless people are ready to be wholeheartedly disturbed. There were a few plot points that felt contrived, like housing tributes in the monkey enclosure, otherwise this book was smashing. I know this because days later I was still smashed. I’m recovered now and ready to reread The Hunger Games trilogy.

I can’t see myself writing TBOSAS fanfiction, but I feel like the bit of writing I do about that universe has already been influenced by the prequel.

#tbosas spoilers #tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #suzanne collins #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #hunger games musings #childhood trauma #trauma bonding #attachment trauma #freedom vs safety #chaos

[popculturebuffet]

Darkwing Duck Quadruple Feature! (Beauty and the Beet, Whiffle While You Work, Jurassic Jumble, Something Fishy)

Welcome back! It’s been a bit since I visited St. Canard and my march to watching Just Us Justice Ducks by watching one episode, with the exception of Megavolt the first chronological appearances of, each member of the Justice Ducks and Fearsome Five. The Megavolt exception was so I could, by comission, cover the one and only appearance of the OTHER Negaduck if you were curious.So far besides Negsy and Volty, i’ve covered both of Morgana’s first chronological episodes, Liquidator’s and (SIgh) Gizmoducks. But with only 6 left to go.. I put the seires on hiatus to work on ride of the three cabs and my minty fresh retrospective of life and times. At the TIME it didn’t seem like a bad idea, I could get to this any time and what not.. but in hindsight.. yeah putting an almost finished project on hold till two much larger projects, that at the time of this review have 10 and 13 installments left, WHILE also starting two more projects... was not my best move, especially since I have a comission, and an episode needed to properly review that comission AND a valentine’s day episode to review.. all of which come AFTER Just Us Justice Ducks chronlogically and 2 of which involve Negaduck. So yeah I whiffed it bad on this one and this mini-marathon is my way of fixing that, finsihing up the last few episodes before the big event. The episode i’ve waited almost a decade to watch and one of the most loved in the series history: Just Us Justice DUcks, which is coming up next week. Then LIfe and Times will be right back where it was and I promise to get that out weekly. But yeah with logisitcs out of the way and 4 episodes to go, I don’t know how to go slow so let’s get dangerous shall we?

Beauty and the Beat:The Misplaced Batman the Animated Series Villian

We open with one of the first Darkwings I watched via my old Darkwing Duck DVDS, rewatched a while back and easily one of my faviorite episodes and the first apperance of my faviorite Darkwing Duck Villian, though Liquidator and now Quackerjack are giving him a run for his money. But yeah I love Reggie and part of it is he’s something far diffrent than what Darkwing normally fights. 

While he still fits in with the Rouges gallery: someone with either powers or a good gimmick whose intresting, engaging and most importantly to this show, Reggie is still diffrent in that he’s an inherently tragic figure. While the rest of the rouges have sympathetic qualities theier still not really good people: Quackerjack chose to lash out at what drove him out of buisness instead of starting over again, Megavolt is your standard wants money bad guy, and Liquidator was a massive asshole. And if you add in the other villians i’ve covered, Taurus Bulba was basically Marvel’s Kingpin as a bul and Splatter Phoenix while having a noble goal of funding her arts does so via framing an innocent child and stealing. They aren’t unsympathetic, some of them anyway, but they are still ruthless because they choose to be.  Reggie.. didn’t get that choice. We see from the start of this episode his life has just been being everyone elses punching bag: His boss dosen’t respect him, his cowowkers not only don’t respect him but actively bully him and only the newsest researcher has ever paid him the time of day much less told the two assholes, Gary and Larson, a nice shout out, to stop. And given I reviewed Wonder Woman 84 yesterday i’ts NICE to remember a version of a “geek becomes a supervillian’ story that’s.. actually good. This is basically the same sorry, a disrpsected scientest trnasforms and gets revenge.. just you know done right. 

And SOMEHOW Reggie’s life only gets worse as asshole one and asshole two sabotage his work, he gets fired and is forced to experiment on himself. While that’s a classic mad scientst and supervillian trope what’s notable is Reggie didn’t go immiedtly to world domination. He just wanted to cure world hunger and get some respect. He just wanted to be treated like a human being for once. Instead he got turned into a plant and despite this being a miracle.. he gets MOCKED by gary and larson and runs away, feeling like a freak. And since after that the transformation has clearly made his brain unstable.. he goes from a sweet, put upon guy who just wanted help to people.. to an obsessive plant monster.. who still just needs HELP. He needs therapy and a warm blanket and to turn his life around. And his motivation.. is just not being alone. While his kdinapping of the one scientest who liked him, and he assumes has feelings for him, is bad, and selfish.. it’s clear by that point Reggie is just not himself anymore. He’s Bushroot now. He’s lost himself and were this a diffrent show maybe he could’ve gotten the help he needed and some empathy.  But what adds to the tragedy is Darkwing himself. This episode really showcases one of Darkwing’s biggest weaknses: his inablity to see crime other than in black and white terms. To him it’s just a game of heroes and villians. Nothing more nothing less. Villians can become heroes, as he hopes for Morgana, but to him there’s just good guys ,him and bad guys, everyone breaking the law. For someone whose often seen as an outlaw himself.. he still can’t see things in any other terms. However instead of just being lazy writing... it’s a clever character quirk, at the center of this episode and our final one, as well as one that pops up a little in Stegmutt’s first apperance. It nicely parodies/deocnscruts the whole good guy badguy dynamic by making it clear that sometimes while the person may be doing bad things.. they have a reason for it and sometimes the law just dosen’t work. It’s something I do wish they’d dug into more but given this was more of a comedy, I get why they didn’t, but what they did with it is great and it adds to this episode tremendously: Darkwing just sees Reggie as another villian to stop and not as a very unstable man who needs his help, but also needs tobe stopped for his own good. It’s why this is such a good episode, besides some great comic set pieces: it has a really tragic and moving story that , with some tweaking woudln’t of been out of place in batman the animateds eires. It’s still a bit goofy in places, as it should be giving the show it’s in btu at i’ts heart it’s just a relaly godo really tragic supervillian origin story. 

Whiffle While You Work: The Saving Grace of an Okay Episode This one’s more of a mixed bag. For the good... Quackerjack is fucking awesome. While I already loved him from the comics, I hadn’t met his more lightehearted tv counterpart yet.. but boy was he a delight. From his it’s play time catch phrase which despite being repeated a LOT never got bored to his really invenitve use of toys. While a vilian with a toy gimmick is not new, Toyman has been around for.. 80 years? Damn. I should do some Superman TAS episodes this year to commemerate that. Point is between him and the joker the gimmick isn’t “New” but Quackerjack still feels unique from using actual jacks, to a motorized hula hoop, to a GIANT CRYING BABY DOLL TO FLOOD A CITY. Jackie is just a delight every minute he’s on screen, and his motivation is solid: wanting to get revenge at the Whiffle Boy video game and i’ts insuing phenmonin and merchandise deals for squeezing him out of buisness. It makes him mildly symathetic enough to be intresting but not enough to override his terrible actions. He’s just fun to watch, and Micheal Bell is phenominal in the roll. easily one of my faviorite vilians thus far and it’s easy to see why he showed up quite a bit. 

Sadly the rest of the episode.. is not very intresting. It starts with your standard “Adult gets child away from the video game only to play it” plot which is belivieble, my dad was a gamer back during my childhood and probably still plays games ocasionally to this day. He fucking loved Starcraft, Ultima ONline, Super Metroid, Warcraft II and III.. and swearing. He really loved swearing at the games. And the idea of the episode isn’t bad, Drake is jealous that Gosalyn is in the limelight for once.. the issue  being a grown man competing with his own daughter just makes Drake really unlikeable. He at one point tries to use his parental authority to take her out of the contest, lies about being in the competition, and dosen’t apologize or learn enough to make up for his being a dick about this. THe episode really suffers from Launchpad not being around to be a buffer between the two and as ssuch it’s just uncomfortable. Hell Gos threatens to reveal Drake’s identity to .. someone.. but she still comes off sympathetic as when Drake presses her on it.. it’s very clear she made the threat on the spur of the moment out of hurt. 

Also the whole Whiffle Boy game craize extending to a city is delightfully batshit, and plausable given i’m pretty sure if nintendo could afford their own city we’d have it over in japan and for a video game episode in the 90′s, this one isn’t all that bad. It actually seems to get games on SOME level, and seems based more on an arcade game, which drake plays whiffle boy on at one point and the 80′s arcade competition craze, and since arcade comeptitions were still a huge thing in the 90′s, it’s very clear this si written by people who actually know what a video game is and don’t just fear it as some strange doodad their kids are into. Trust me I’ve been around animation so long this plot has become tiresome. So not a BAD episode, just held back by drake being written even more dickishly than usual.  P.S. there’s apparently an ultima level to the game.. so either Lord British is finally putting Chuckles down or someone needs to know what’s a paladin. 

Jurassic Jumble: Two Great One Shot Characters that Taste Great Together Well okay Segmutt does get one more episode but this is still his only episode on his own just like Neptuina next, so I count it well enough. Point is this episode is pretty good. It does have some weaknsses: It starts with Drake not beliviing Honker’s theory about a recent theft of acountants, one he’s only on the scene for because he happens to really need help with his taxes because, contrary to what Wesley Snipes thought, Superheroes still need to pay taxes. He dosen’t belive it’s dinosaurs.. he dosen’t belivie it’s dinosaurs despite the foot prints, honker being smart and HAVING FOUGHT A DOG MADE ENTIRELY OF WATER. 

I just get annoyed when superheros in a superhero universe don’t hav ea logical reason for dismissing something.. or random citizens.. it was fine if reptitous in the stan lee days because it’d been 20 years, at the time, since superheros were active and people can be stupid but it gets grating when someone says somethin’gs not possible in a superhero universe. Given we’re currrently dealing with an outgoing president who refuses to accept an election is real and his followers who think masks are a polical issue i’ts not exactly unrelasitic, dosen’t mean it’s enjoyable to read or watch. 

Still it works here because it splits the plot nicely and Gosalyn’s disbleif is less grating as she just wants it to be martians and dosen’t bully her friend or anything over it, just makes a few snyde remarks. The episode also wasn’t helped at first by the fact there’s a really reptitive bit where Darkwing bungies down to investigate the crook he thinks is responsible, but is actually just chilling at his minium security prison. It’s just not funny and takes up too much of the episode. But the episode picks up towards the second half when we meet our dinosaur: Stegmutt, a dumb but kind and friendly child like former janitor turned stegasaurs, whose unwittingly kidnapping people for his “friend” Dr. Fossil, the professor who turned him, and genuinely is not a bad soul and likes gosalyn and honker. He’s just clumsy and destructive and working for someone he dosen’t know is evil.  Speaking of which.. Dr. Fossil is really damn awesome and i’ts a shame he never came back in the comics or cartoon and hopefully Frank does him better in the reboot. Seriously he’s enjoyable, a bit nebbish but delightfully insane, deciding to wipe out all non dino life because he’s tired of getting panicked screams in the street and of all the dino merchandise like those puzzles with the pieces missing. He’ sjust delightfully nutty, with his love of saying bin bang boom and his having to put up with Stegmutt’s antics, as well as the whole joke that he TURNED HIMSELF INTO A DINOSAUR, yet gripes about being a dinosaur and acts like it’s humanity’s fault , balking when Gosalyn suggests he just.. turn himself back. Plus Ptetrodacytl’s are awesome so tha’ts a bonus. Seriously his showing up turns the episode from okay to fucking amazing. Seriously bring him back for the reboot.. and get Rich Fulcher to voice him. Seirously Bob Fossil as Dr. Fossil... it’s too perfect NOT to do casting gag wise, and he frankly perfectly fits the charcter down to the nasily voice. Plus Rich does voice acting quite a bit, so he’s already likely in Frank’s Rolodex. 

Stegmutt himself is also not too shabby, your standard child like moron, but he’s got a sweetness and niceness to him and we get some good gags like his habit of breaking off handles, his opening sodas with his tail and Fossil getting rid of him by telilng him to check if he left the bathroom light on...

And the climax with Darkwing.. turning.. into this

I don’t get it either but i’ts still a fun climax. Also forgot to mention Dr. Fossil can do that blow you away by flapping his wings thing Storm Eagle can do. Neat. All in all while not the series BEST outing, it has some flaws holding it back, it’s a damn fun one and one I highly recommend. Okay one more. 

Something Fishy: The Better Submariner This is a simple but good one: St. Canard beach has gotten trashy.. literally there’s trash everywhere. And while Drake is ambilent to it, Gosalyn is taking up the crusade to take out the trash and the garbage people... and gets her dad beaten up over it by dumping trash on some guys head but frankly, he deserved it.  Things go up a notch though when some sea creatures invade and .. clean up the beach and beat up darkwing. And while they destroy some property.. they aren’t exactly wrong? This is where that flaw I mentioned comes in though. Drake just.. can’t see things in shades of grey and insits he must be the good guy and whoevers doing this must be stopped.  However it becomes clear when we meet the antagonist that while her methods are wayy to extreme.. she’s in the right. Neputina is an awesome character, easily one of the series best and esaily horribly underulitized. She was a simple fish who thought a toxic waste barrel was a new friend.. and learned the hard way by becoming a sexy fish woman. Yeah I said it. But her motive is understandable thanks to her origin and just how BAD it’s gottne, with piles of trash all underwater and the laws Drake cites agianst this sort of thing not doing squat. It’s a nice take on the old enviornmental message , something I dreaded going in as it makes a valid point; sometimes diong things the “right” way isn’t enough.. but it still dosen’t justify harming innocent people in the process, as Nep’s ultimate plan to flood the city would.  Launchpad ends up being the voice of Reason as drake is too caught in his games of good guy bad guy to get Neptuina ISN’T a bad person, just one fed up with people hurting those she cares about. Neptuina is a unique villan in that unlike Morgana, who while having a sympathetic motive was out for herself, Stegmutt, who didn’t reailze he was on the wrong side, and Gizmoduck.. wellll

Neptuina.. is just misguided. She has the right idea but the wrong methods and Darkwing’s too stubborn to admit it.. but he’s also seen as in the wrong with Launchpad realizing DW just.. isn’t the good guy this time, but in the best scene of the episode talking Neptuina down by pointing out innocent people will get hurt. It’s a good, nuanced episode about envrionmetnalism with a throughly charasmatic and intrersting, acted wonderfully by Sussan Silo, antagonist. Neptuina is a better version of Marvel’s namor the submariner: she goes against humanity.. but I don’t want to punch her and dosen’t have one of her constnat character traits as “I want to bank your wife richards BANG YOUR WIFEEEEE”

So overall.. a good batch of episodes. Only Wiffle While You Work was all that weak, and even it had it’s charms and Quackerjack. It shows the series overall quality: even the just okay episodes here are still really fun to watch. It’s just a solid show overall and whie not without flaws is a classic to this day for a reason. Next week we’ll wrap this up with JUST US JUSTICE DUCKS! Until then stay safe and goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. 

#darkwing duck #drake mallard #gosalyn mallard #launchpad mcquack #honker muddlefoot #neptuina #stegmutt #doctor fossil #dr fossil #justice ducks #quackerjack #regenald bushroot #bushroot #whiffle while you work #beauty and the beet #something fishy #jurassic jumble

[kutemouse]

Caught (Part One)

Disclaimers: All “Save Me” webtoon and BTS MV/highlight reel/film references and plots belong to BTS and BigHit. All pictures of Kim Taehyung belong to BTS and BigHit, I just edited them for my header. The picture of BTS came from Vogue Japan, I just edited it for my header.

A Note from Kutemouse: I know, I know, this has been a long time coming, and I’m so sorry it took so long for me to post this!! I’ve actually had it written for a while, but today was the first day I was able to get up and do some stuff. Pregnancy is rough! Oh, that’s right, if you haven’t seen it yet, I made a Big Announcement earlier today that explains why I’ve been so inactive lately, and also explains my plans for the future.

Age Recommendation: 21+ (this is NOT one for youngsters, kuties, and is MOST DEFINITELY NSFW)

Genre: Mafia!AU w/ BTS, Jailbird!AU w/ Taehyung, Yandere!BTS

Warnings: Not many warnings for this part, kuties. Swears, I guess. Unsupportive SO? Kidnapping. Use of chloroform.

Word Count: About 3k

Summary: Kim Taehyung was the absolute love of your life… until he became a murderer. With him serving a life sentence in prison, you were finally free to live out the rest of your life however you wanted. Just when you thought you were at the top of your game, ready to take on the world, Taehyung reappears like a monster not even your worst nightmares could dream up. He gives you a year to fall in love with him, but now the question is, can monsters even be loved?

Master List

Tag List: @chocolatewolfuniversitytrash​ @btssmutheaven​ @taemaknae​ @rebeccawoodrow​ @sassysaxsolo​ @iconicgguk​

If you want to be added, just lmk!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Caught (Taehyung Series, Yandere, Smut, Angst) Part One

We were skipping class in the school greenhouse, enjoying the humid warmth and the earthy smell wafting from the plants. We were talking, I forget about what. What I remember most is fiddling with his large, rough hands, intertwining my fingers between his over and over again. I remember his deep laugh that seemed to rumble through the recesses of my soul. I remember glee blooming in my chest whenever he grinned at me. 

His tone was teasing, mine was indignant yet flirtatious. Again, I forget what we said to each other, but I clearly remember those two words. “Kiss me.”

I gaped at him. “What?”

“Kiss me,” he repeated.

I hesitated. “Here? Now?”

Taehyung leaned down, tilting his head, until his lips hovered over mine. I felt each of his exhales on my skin, practically heard my heartbeat speed up.

“Kiss. Me.” It was barely a whisper, yet it resonated through my body, down my spine and throughout my limbs.

Without another word, I pressed my lips to his, melding them to fit his, a thrill running through me at his appreciative groan.

He pulled back, his inky eyes somehow growing darker. “I love you, baby girl.”

I sat up, gasping. Blood rushed to my head, making me see stars. With a groan, I covered my face with my hands.

“Sweetie?”

My fiancé, Lee Chanwook, rolled over and peered at me. “You okay?” he asked, his voice husky from lack of use.

“Yeah. Fine. Just had a dream, go back to sleep.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. He rolled over, his breath growing deep and even as he fell back into the reaches of slumber. If I could be so lucky. I hadn’t thought about Kim Taehyung in… well, it had to be almost a year now. Or two. I wasn’t sure.

Either way, my life moved on without him after shit completely hit the fan. My aunt and I agreed I shouldn’t transfer schools, since I only had a month or so left til graduation. I graduated alongside Chaeyoung, who seemed to be my only friend after Taehyung got arrested. She held my hand tightly the entire ceremony, only letting go when I was called to accept my diploma.

As soon as I graduated, Aunt Sunhee and I moved into her place in Busan. It was a tidal wave of change. Compared to my mom’s cramped, two-bedroom apartment, my aunt’s large house was a mansion. She recently obtained a position as COO of a large company and applied for custody of me immediately after.

Before we moved, I found my aunt’s letters my mom had hidden from me. My aunt had tried to call me multiple times but was never able to reach me. She even flew out to see me a couple of times, but all it took was my mother calling me at school and telling me I needed to stay at a friend’s house for me to stay away. I guess my mom was scared she would lose me.

Yet that’s exactly what happened in the end. My aunt paid for my mom to go to a rehabilitation center, but after only a few weeks, the center called my aunt letting her know my mother had disappeared. Aunt Sunhee called the police and even hired a private investigator, but my mom was nowhere to be found. I succumbed to the realization that she was probably dead. I didn’t get out of bed for weeks afterward.

A year and a massive amount of therapy sessions later, I decided I wanted to do something with my life. I was already attending university to obtain a business degree, but I hungered for more. My aunt got me an internship within her company, and I learned a lot just by working under her. Four years later, with a bachelor’s degree in hand, my aunt hired me as her executive assistant, and I took a year off before going to graduate school to both work and plan my wedding.

I was introduced to Chanwook at a company get-together. He was the son of one of my aunt’s business associates, and he caught my eye almost immediately. Mostly it was the way he was the exact opposite of the boy I hadn’t been able to get my mind off of. He was a stickler for the rules, had a great relationship with his parents, and never, ever did anything that would cross the line or damage his flawless reputation. He was kind and funny, but there was no wild or daring side to him. At the time, he was exactly what I needed.

He helped me forget about Taehyung. In the years before then, whenever I had a spare moment for my mind to drift, Taehyung’s wide, boxy grin and deep voice would float into my thoughts. I spent days wondering what went wrong. When had he become a murderer? At what point did he crack? Why hadn’t I noticed sooner?

Chaeyoung and I kept in touch, and I heard some details of Taehyung’s trial from her. I heard he was sentenced to life in prison without parole, due to the one count of murder against him. It would have been two, but Taehyung’s dad’s body was never found. No one was even sure he was dead.

I spent many nights staring at the ceiling, thinking back to the night when Namjoon got that frantic phone call from Taehyung. When Jungkook wouldn’t let me see him. When he completely disappeared for that entire week.

I had no doubt he killed his father. I don’t think he did it maliciously or intentionally. I think he found the strength inside of himself to fight back, and it ended in a death. It didn’t make the murderous act any less horrifying, but it did make me wonder just how deep the darkness inside Taehyung ran. Was he really the monster the media made him out to be?

Aunt Sunhee caught me one night poring over article after article covering Taehyung’s trial. “Y/n, you can’t keep doing this,” she said, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “You need to move on with your life.”

It took a long time, but eventually, I stopped surfing the internet for mentions of Taehyung’s story. My conversations with Chaeyoung grew few and far between until they stopped completely. Memories of Tae’s smile, his voice, his laugh, his lips, faded away. I even changed my last name to “Park” both so I’d be recognized as my aunt’s relative, and so no one from my past could find me. Four long years later, I was finally free of Kim Taehyung.

Or so I thought.

Apparently, my damn subconscious didn’t want to let him go. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to wipe away the image of his smiling face. I never imagined that, years later, he would still be haunting me.

I got out of bed, wrapping a robe around my body before stepping out onto our apartment’s deck. The cool, four-in-the-morning air roused my senses even further awake. I stayed like that until the sun began to peek over the edge of the horizon, thinking of Kim Taehyung and our shared past.

“Hey,” Chanwook said, coming up from behind to wrap his arms around me. “Have you been out here all night?”

“Not all night,” I replied. “Just since I woke up from that dream.”

“Mmmm,” he hummed sleepily in response. “Was it a good dream?”

I bit my lip, mulling his question over. “No,” I finally said. “It was more like a nightmare.”

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

That afternoon, I yawned as I re-read the same sentence for the umpteenth time, willing my brain to focus. “You look like you need a cup of coffee,” my coworker, Lisa, said.

“That would be nice,” I murmured in response, still trying to focus.

She stood and grabbed her purse. “I’ll get yours with an extra shot of espresso,” she said.

“Just so you know, I absolutely adore you.”

She blew me a kiss accompanied by a cheeky wink. “I know. Be back in fifteen.”

With the promise of caffeine on the way, I sat back in my chair and rubbed my temples, telling myself I’d get back to that report later. My cell phone began to buzz, and I picked it up, frowning at the unknown number.

“Hello?”

“Miss Park?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Hello, my name is Choi Yeonjun. I’m a representative of the company Bangtan Enterprises.”

“Never heard of it.”

A chuckle came through from the other end. “That’s because we’re a small start-up just breaking into Seoul’s business world.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“Miss Park, we’ve been made aware of your extraordinary skills and experience. Your aunt is COO of her company, correct? And you’ve been working under her for how long?”

“Well, if you’re including my internship, about five years now.”

“Excellent.”

“Mr. Choi, what is this about?” I asked as politely as I could.

“As a start-up company, we’re in need of experienced people to help run it,” he explained. “We’re prepared to offer you the COO position here at Bangtan, which comes with your own office, and we’ll double your salary.”

My mouth dropped open. “Double?”

“Double.”

I shook my head in an attempt to pull myself together. This opportunity was huge. I’d been accused of exploiting nepotism in order to get where I was today, but this could be my chance to prove all my naysayers wrong. I could show them I was entirely capable of forging my own path.

Still, I wasn’t going to just jump at this. I pulled my keyboard towards me and searched Bangtan Enterprises. Only a few results came up, but they confirmed my hopes into reality. Bangtan Enterprises was indeed a start-up, but it was based on a very profitable idea and, from the looks of it, had already lined up some high-end clients.

“And you said you’re based in Seoul?” I asked.

“That’s correct.”

So I’d either have to move there or split my time between Busan and there. I chewed my lip, wondering what Chanwook would think. “Your offer is very generous, Mr. Choi. May I have some time to think about it?”

He chuckled once more. “Unfortunately for you, you are not our only candidate. You’re our first choice, but there are others who are willing to start as soon as tomorrow.”

I clenched my phone. “No! I mean, that’s fine. I’ll take it.”

I knew I might regret it later, but this was a hell of an opportunity. Besides, it wasn’t like I signed a contract. I still had time to back out.

“Excellent. We’ll send you an official offer via email. When is the earliest you can start?”

“Don’t tease me, Mr. Choi,” I said playfully. “I thought you said my competition could start tomorrow.”

“That may be true, but—”

“Well, anything they can do, I can do better. I’ll send you my plane’s arrival time.”

“We’ll have a car waiting.”

I swiped off the call, anticipation flooding through me, causing a burst of excited energy to run through my veins.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

“You what?” Chanwook gaped at me.

“I said yes,” I replied nervously. I just told my fiancé about the new job, and he seemed to think it was great up until I said I accepted.

“Sweetie,” he groaned, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Are you serious?”

I frowned. “Yes, of course I am. I wouldn’t joke about something like this, Chan.”

“Well, you’ll just have to tell them you can’t take it anymore.”

I scoffed. “And why not?”

“Because we have a great life here. You make plenty, I make more than plenty. Why do you need another job?”

“Maybe I don’t need it,” I retorted. “Maybe I want it.”

“Want to move away from here? Miles away from your friends, your family?”

I scowled at him in response.

He sighed. “Y/n… answer me honestly. Is this about your mom?”

I snorted in disgust. “Seriously, Chan?!”

“It’s a valid question! Are you sure you don’t only want to go to Seoul to see if you could find her?”

“No, that’s not the reason I want to go to Seoul!”

“Then why?”

“Because! This is something that I earned, that I did on my fucking own. In fact, this will be the first and only thing that’s mine alone.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? My job? Came from my aunt. My business degree? My aunt’s money. This apartment?” I said, gesturing around the room. “Your money.”

“So what?”

“So I want something for myself. We don’t have to move to Seoul, you know. I know your job is here, and I’d be willing to make the commute. You know, stay four days there, three days here, or something.”

Chanwook scoffed. “Do you even hear yourself?!” he shouted. “We are getting married! Planning on starting a life, here, in Busan! If you want a job based on your own merit and not because your aunt took pity on you, then find one here.”

I was rendered entirely speechless for a good few moments before I was able to gather myself back together. “I cannot believe how unsupportive you’re being,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m taking that job. It’s your choice whether you’ll let that affect our relationship or not.”

“Fine!”

“Fine.”

I turned and grabbed my suitcase before stomping out the door, intent on going straight to my aunt’s. If Chanwook was going to be a total ass, I didn’t want to be around him. Thankfully, Aunt Sunhee wasn’t there to ask prying questions when I entered the house with my spare key. I walked up to my old room and hopped on my computer to search for flights from Busan to Seoul. This was my dream. And nothing, nothing at all, was going to stop me from achieving it.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I walked briskly toward my destination, my heels clicking on the airport floor. As promised, a car was waiting for me, along with another passenger in the backseat. “Miss Park,” he said, extending his hand towards me as soon as I buckled up.

His voice sounded familiar. “Mr. Choi?”

“You can call me Yeonjun,” he said, his blonde hair falling over his left eye.

“And you can continue calling me Miss Park.”

He tossed me a smirk. “So, the boss would like to speak with you,” he said easily. “Nothing to be nervous for, he just wants to get to know you. However, he has an important meeting to attend over on the other side of town for which he’s requested your presence.”

“So this car is going straight there?”

“No, you’ll switch to his car once we get to the office. That way, you’ll have time to get reacquainted.”

I frowned. “Reacquainted?”

Yeonjun chuckled. “I meant acquainted. Slip of the tongue.”

“If you say so.”

We spent the rest of the ride in silence, something I was surprised over. I thought he would want to go over my contract or something, but I supposed that would all come later. The driver pulled the car into a parking structure, causing the interior to instantly darken.

“There it is,” Yeonjun said, pointing. A sleek, black SUV sat in the middle of the road, effectively blocking our way. “Go on. Mr. Kim is waiting for you.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the mention of my new boss’s name. Thoughts of Taehyung rushed through my mind, but I shoved them away. Kim was a common enough last name. I stepped out of the car, pulling my suitcase from the trunk before walking towards the SUV. Yeonjun did not follow. After stowing my luggage in the trunk, I opened the side door and hopped in.

A figure sat on the bench across from me, his face covered in shadow. “Mr. Kim? Hi, I’m Park Y/n,” I said, extending my hand. He did not take it.

“I know who you are,” he said, his voice an eerily familiar deep tone.

“Oh, of course you do. Yeonjun said you wanted to get to know me… What would you like to know?”

“I know everything about you already, baby girl.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see through the darkness that covered his face. “S-Sorry?”

“I said,” he replied, leaning forward. The light caught onto his inky eyes, causing me to gasp. “I know everything about you already, Y/n.”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Kim Taehyung was leaning towards me, a smirk dancing around the corners of his mouth. Sure, he looked slightly different. Older. More mature. He had definitely filled out, and his hair was now a complimentary jet-black falling attractively into his dark eyes.

“Hey baby girl,” he said, his smirk widening. “You lost?”

My body suddenly jumped into full-blown panic, and I grabbed at the car door’s handle, shrieking once I realized it wouldn’t open. Taehyung forcefully wrapped his arms around me, pinning me hard to his chest, clamping a hand tightly over my mouth. “None of that now,” he hissed.

I bit him, causing him to yelp, and continued trying to escape, fumbling at the lock that stood between him and my freedom. Taehyung pulled a handkerchief and a bottle from his jacket pocket, putting a dab of whatever liquid was inside on the cloth before clamping it over my mouth. His chuckle came out as more of a wheeze as he held me to his chest. “Damn, baby girl,” he said. “I hoped I wouldn’t have to resort to this, but here we are.”

With each one of his words, my field of vision grew smaller and smaller until my eyes rolled into the back of my head, and I felt myself falling into a state of unconsciousness not even the fear of death itself could fight off.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Part Two is Here! 😉

#bts #bts smut #taehyung smut #smut #kim taehyung smut #kim taehyung #bts taehyung #bts kim taehyung #save me webtoon universe #save me webtoon #bts angst #angst #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts mafia au #bts kidnapper au #bts yandere #yandere bts #yandere taehyung #yandere #bts mini series #bts series #bts one shot #bts one shot part one #part one #original header #taehyung x reader #taehyung x yn #kim taehyung x reader #bts x reader

[babieyangyang10]

violent ends (chapter 8)

(chapter 8)

series masterlist

genre: hunger games!au

pairings: huang renjun x oc, na jaemin x oc

warnings: language, mentions of blood, fighting, deaths, mentions of sex

A/N: I’m curious, tell me if you’re team Renjun or team Jaemin!

previous | next

Athena's POV

Sixty.

That's how many seconds I have before I have to step off this metal circle. It's all the time they give us to survey our surroundings. I look around to see the other tributes scattered randomly, all facing towards the cornucopia. Heart thumping, I spot Jaemin on the complete opposite end.

There are supplies almost an arm-length away from me, however everyone knows that the most useful supplies is placed in the mouth of the Cornucopia. Almost beckoning for me to take one, knifes are displayed on the walls.

Thirty Seconds.

I'm counting down in my head. Should I grab the book bag in front of me in case there's a weapon in it? But then, by the time I get to the Cornucopia, others will already be waiting for me with their fresh pick. However, if I'm quick enough I could get them while their backs are turned.

Twenty seconds.

Breathe. I look around to see no other than Haechan placed exactly to my right. That's a huge problem. No matter what I choose, he's going to be right on my trail. But the bag is so close!

Bag or Cornucopia?

Fifteen seconds.

My eyes dart, back and forth trying to come up with a decision. Then, suddenly I question how I will even be able to find Jaemin during the chaos, if he decides to ditch me and run away to the lake. He wouldn't, right?

I look him in the eyes and discreetly nod towards the Cornucopia, praying he gets the message. Or that he even saw it, considering he's about 20 tributes away from me.

Now back to the bag situation.

10 seconds. Big, yellow letters appear on a screen in the Cornucopia, counting down. 

Back and forth, I struggle to come up with a quick decision on which I should do first. However, when I look over to my left, over two tributes away is Renjun. Noticing my visible distress, he shakes his head at me.

"Don't." He mouths.

I get into running position and keep my eyes on the knifes. Guess I'll give up on the backpack. Although, since Renjun is officially my competition now, should I trust his input?

Is this a secret plan between the three of them to collectively slash me to bits?

5 seconds.

Fine, I've made up my mind. Okay, Huang Renjun, I'll forget the dumb fucking bag.

3 seconds.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Breathe you fucking moron, before you pass out.

2 seconds.

Then, I hear it, the gong. My body takes over and I'm sprinting as fast as I can. I'm so close now, I can practically already feel the blades in my hands. My lungs are burning, but I don't care.

I reach out and grab several, random knifes from the wall. However, once I turn around, my whole body collides with the sharp wall behind me. A boy from District 5 has his bare hands around my throat, making me drop the knifes.

Pivoting my body to the right, I strike his arm with my left palm. Once he falls forward, I use the same arm to lock around his neck. Squeezing as hard as I can, I grab whatever I can from the wall with my free hand and thrust it into the side of his neck.

Blood violently seeps in squirts from the wound onto me, as I release him from my hold. I grab my dropped weapons and a backpack by my ankle. When I look up, I am greeted by absolute madness.

Lee Jeno is standing over a young girl from District 3 with an axe stuck in the middle of her head. Meanwhile,  Renjun has just slashed open the District 8 boy's neck. Too occupied, they don't even notice me running past them. However, I feel someone leap on my back, causing me to crash face-first into the ground. I use all my strength to roll the large boy off of me, before stunning him with a sharp and painful punch to the nose. Wasting no time, I jab a knife into his throat, before pulling it out to keep.

Jaemin.

I desperately try to look for the blond boy, but he's nowhere to be found. There's beginning to be less people, meaning the Careers will spot me if I stick around much longer. While they're occupied with hacking away at the poor tributes, I decided to immediately follow Taeyong's advice of collecting water. It's important that I get there before Renjun does the same. I sprint through trees, trying to achieve a safe distance.

Once I've gotten away far enough to no longer hear the deafening screams of the dying children, I could softly hear the sound of moving water masked under the chirping birds.  At this moment, I can't help but feel jealous of them. They have no idea what's truly happening beneath them.  Stuck in their own little world, safe from harm's way in the trees. Even if something where to happen to them, they have wings to fly away with. I guess, they remind me of the people from the Capitol.

As the sound of water gets louder, I make sure to tread quietly. The Careers can't be far, and right now I'm alone and vulnerable. God, I wish Jaemin was here right now.

Noticing the dirt become muddier as I walk near the sound, I know I should be extremely close by now.

Snap.

Alerted, I quietly crouch behind a tree. Knife ready, I wait until the crunching of leaves get close enough, before I jump out and tackle the noisy perpetrator to the floor.

They put up a good fight too, attempting to push me off their back. During our wrestling, I notice them looking around frantically, probably looking for their weapon since they dropped it during the tackle.

Suddenly, the head becomes locked in one direction. Following his gaze, I see a trident laying on the forest floor.

A trident?

They notice me pause, throwing me backwards into the ground. My head smacks backwards against it, my eyes shutting in pain.

Once they open, I am face-to-face with the sharp prongs of the trident.

Cowering backwards, I frantically say, "Jaemin! It's me."

Once he realizes, the alerted look on his face fades away into one of concern, "Athena, are you okay?"

Jaemin chucks his weapon to the side and thoroughly looks over my face and body for injuries.

"It's not my blood," I assure him, "Ran into some people at the Cornucopia." 

"It's literally everywhere. Here, follow me to the lake, so you can wash it off." He gently pulled me up off the ground.

Grabbing his trident in one hand and my own hand in his other, he leads me to the lake. We crouch down by the waterside. My hands scooping up some water to cure the dryness in my throat. Then, I began scrubbing off the blood from my face and body.

"What happened out there? I couldn't find you at the Cornucopia." He asked, curious.

I watch the blood fading away into nothing in the river, as I speak, "I made it to the center. The guy from District 5 tried to choke me out right away. Then, after I started looking for you, I got tackled by a guy I couldn't see."

Frowning at the now clear water, "Honestly, for a second, I thought you left without me, when I couldn't find you there."

"I wouldn't leave you. We're in this till the end, okay?" Jaemin promises.

"Til the end, then," I agree, "What happened to you?"

"I only got to this," He held up his trident, "before Haechan is launching at me with bow and arrows. He kept chasing me, and before I know it I ended up far behind the back of the Cornucopia.That's where I spotted this lake from. He kept calling out for me, but eventually I guess he just gave up. That's when I decided to leave and set out to find you."

Taking in his words, I point out, "It sounds a lot like they were trying to purposely separate us, so they could kill us easier. Don't you think?"

"It makes sense, " He suddenly laughed, "it's funny though, we almost killed each other for them."

"I'm sorry for tackling you like that." I apologized.

"It's fine. Is your head okay?" Jaemin softly patted the back off my head.

"It is now." I bat my eyelashes, playing it up for the cameras. Looking around, I notice some  flowers sticking up through the water, surrounded by Lilly pads.

"What are these?" He curiously picked one from the water.

"They're pond lilies. They're good for infections and burns. Plus anti-inflammatory too." I remember what Taeyong taught me.

"Hm, so smart," He smiles down at me, before tucking the flower behind my ear, "and pretty too."

I don't hide the way my cheeks flush. Just like they did last night, when I was with Renjun.

Distracting myself from the thought, I decide to look throw the bright orange back pack I picked up after killing the District 5 guy. While rummaging through it, I found a pack of crackers, a pack of dried beef strips, a bottle of iodine, a box of wooden matches, a bit of coiled wire, glasses, and an empty black water bottle.

Grabbing the bottle, I began to fill it up with water for later. Then, I place it back in the backpack along with some of the knifes I've been holding onto. While doing so, Jaemin proceeds to try on the glasses.

"Wow, these really do suck. I can still see the sun." He murmurs, looking around.

"Then, they're probably supposed to be used during night. That'll be useful for hunting. Speaking of hunting, you hungry?" I ask, feeling my stomach rumble at the first mention of food.

"Yeah, let's go."

Renjun's POV

Jeno, Haechan, and I had decided to turn the Cornucopia into our own little camp. We had  all the supplies we could ever need. I mean, sure, there's about ten bodies just laying around, but home sweet home, right?

However, right now it wasn't feeling too sweet.

"What the fuck happened out there, Haechan? The plan was whoever was closest to her would kill her as soon as she stepped off the platform. You were the closest." complained an irritated Jeno.

I don't feel guilty that Haechan is unknowingly taking the hit for me. In fact, I was the one who stopped her from getting that bag and immediately dying by the bare hands of Haechan. I'm not sure what made me do it. I keep telling myself that maybe I was thinking about her being defenseless and unable to put up a fair fight would be unfair.

Or maybe I'm just pussy-whipped after last night, I don't know. My hand subconsciously goes to the hidden mark she left near my collarbone. Although I can't see it, I can feel the slight pain as my fingers pass over it. A reminder of last night.

Ripping my hand away, I try to tune back into the argument to avoid popping up a boner, while on live national-fucking-television.

"She was just too fast. I was sure that huge dude from District 5 was going to finish her off for me," Haechan suddenly remembered something, "Besides I was the one who made sure they were separated like our Plan B said to do."

I guess he's right. If we were able to kill them, we were going to do our best to separate them. Without Athena, Jaemin probably couldn’t survive, since District 4 is entirely a beach district. That fish boy probably has no idea how to survive for a week in the woods.

On the other hand, Athena, for some reason, needs him just as much. The three of us had debated on the reason why. Maybe she’s using him for his fame and sponsors? Although, she had received a lot of positive attention based on her own charms. She didn’t need him for that.

That’s what led us to the conclusion that she had a little girl crush on him. The thought makes me sick. I thought the Lee Athena I grew up with, would never waste her time on a guy like him.

As the sky becomes dark, I wondering what they’re doing now. Are they dead? Or still all alone? I can imagine Athena, hiding in a tree all by herself, frightened and scared. A little part of me wonders what would happened if she joined the Careers. Would she be here right now sitting next to me? Listening to these annoying boys bicker with each other.

Where are you, Lee Athena?

Maybe they found each-other. Maybe they’re looking up at the same sky right now.

I can see it. Them huddling close together, blaming it on their need to keep warm for the night. His arms wrapped around her, tightly. Her head resting against his check, watching the stars.

God, it makes me sick.

#nct dream smut #nct smut #nct au #nct #nct dream #nct dream imagines #renjun #jaemin #jeno #haechan

[notyetneedcoffee]

Check In Call

Continuation of the Calling Series (Masterlist)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: NSFW; 18+; Smut, smut and more smut

ooooo

You waited along with the other travelers in the airline’s lounge, sipping on a cup of coffee and flipping through your phone. They announced a two hour delay of your flight out of JFK. It was definitely one of the downfalls of traveling commercial. Working for Stark had its perks, and you realized how spoiled you’d become.  

The message alert popped up on your phone. ‘Have you boarded yet?’

You typed back, ‘There’s a couple hour delay. Don’t hold my place for dinner.’

The phone rang. You answered, holding the phone to your ear to hear Bucky’s voice deep voice. “Delayed? But, Doll, it’s already been more than two weeks. I need you so bad I’m about to bust.”

You smiled. “It’s just a couple hours more.”

“That’s hours I can’t have your taste on my tongue.” His voice dropped to that sinful tone that soaked your panties. “Told ya, I’m dying here, Doll.”

“You’ll survive.” You chuckled. “Aren’t you meeting with the MI-6 agents today?”

“In another ninety minutes.” You could hear the smirk in Bucky’s voice. “You caught me just as I got out of the shower.”

“Really? So are you, ah...” You glanced around the crowded waiting area. The young kid to your left was lost in his game, headphones on and all. The conservative looking older gentleman to your right kept glancing sideways at you over his Wall Street Journal.  

“Naked as the day I was born.” Bucky purred. “And thinking about bending you over one of these fancy chairs. Your naked skin against all this silk. Ass up. Cunt just dripping wet for me.”

“Buck.” You shifted in your seat, legs crossing tighter. The man beside you shot you a disapproving look.  

“Tell me, Beautiful, you want it?”

“I, ah... yeah.”

“Oh,” He chuckled. “Overhearing ears, huh? Guess you’re just going to have to listen up. This place is just full fun stuff. The bed is huge, but I really like these chairs. Sturdy. I could tie you down and fuck you hard without breaking it. Yeah, that’s gonna be, ah, sweet.”

You knew exactly what he was doing, and damn, you missed him. “Buck, do you have plans for when I... arrive?”  

“Yes, going to make you come all over me, Doll.” His breath hitched.

“Sound like you’ve got matters well in hand.” You smirked.

“Cock is so hard just thinking about you, feeling you, ah, tasting you.” Bucky growled. “Fuck, Doll. Missed you so much. Can’t wait.”

“Mmm.” You purred quietly, knowing his hearing could hear. “Yes.”

“Gonna bury my face in that pretty pussy until you come all over my face.” You could hear his breath quicken. “God, you taste so good.”

“I would like that.” Your own breath came a little fast, knowing he was on the other end of the line, cock in hand. “But, um, I would want to make it up to you.”

“Yes.” He growled. “Wrap those gorgeous lips around my cock. Fuck, you’ve got the best mouth. Oh, shit, Doll. So fucking close.”

“Just for me.” You breathed quietly in the phone.  The heat between your legs made you want to desperately want to ride his thigh until you came apart.  

He grunted, panted. You heard him come with growl of your name. “Oh hell, Doll. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Can’t wait to see you too, handsome.” You smiled. “Go play nice with the other spies.”

The man next you looked sideways at you, disapprovingly.  

“I’ll be waiting here when you get in.” Bucky sighed. “There will be a car waiting for you at the airport.”

“Just a matter of hours.” You sighed.  

“You be safe, Doll.”

“You too, tough guy.”

You stared at the phone for a long while after hanging up. As delightfully passionate and kinky as your relationship with Bucky could be, you cherished the fact that a deep powerful connection lived at its center. You’d never experienced anything like it.  

The flight boarded a little before the two hour delay. You settled in and when the attendant asked what you would like to drink and offered you a menu, you let her know you just wanted to get some sleep. Once allowed, you reclined back and fell into a light doze.  

Stark definitely didn’t spare any expense for the trip. You’d only seen the hotel on Knightsbridge in magazines. Beautifully elegant, it overlooked Hyde Park. The manager met you at the counter with a keycard, offering to have you escorted to your room.  

“Thank you, but I can manage.” You had no idea how Bucky would greet you at the door. It would be best if you were alone.  

On the eighth floor you slipped the keycard in the door lock, tummy fluttering when the lock clicked and you pushed the door open. You barely got the door closed when strong arms gathered you up, pulling you in tight. Everything fell from your hands as you wrapped your arms around Bucky’s shoulders.

Heat radiated off his body. He felt so warm. You sighed, burying you nose in his neck. You could feel him breath you in, his face rubbing along your hair. Being separated for weeks just came with the territory, still every reunion felt just as special.

Bucky’s fingers dug into your hair, his mouth covering yours. Kissing you desperately, he moaned into your mouth. You pressed into him.

“Damn,” Bucky’s lips smiled against yours. “It’s good to see you.”  

“I’ve missed you.” Your hands ran over the black silk button up shirt, pouting slightly. “You wore a suit today and I missed it.”  

“Nat and I kept working until I got your message that you’d landed. She still meeting with the Brits.” His hands removed your jacket.

“You don’t have to go back do you?”  

Even though you were not privy to the details of his assignment with the British Secret Service, you knew the debriefings and paperwork after long missions could take days. Sometimes, depending on the outcome, it could be weeks.  

Bucky led you further into the room. “Nope. We’re got the next three days all to ourselves. Natasha is taking care of the rest of it.”

For the first time your eyes drifted away from him and you took in the room. Extremely high ceilings topped with gilded molding made the room feel massive. A heavy four post bed took up one end. A seating area included a silk hunter green tufted sofa and two heavy wood frame Edwardian lounge chairs with over stuffed cushions and rich fabrics.  A giant bouquet rested on a wood sideboard and candles flickered in bronze cups on the night stand.  

“Wow.” You breathed. “What a joint.”

Bucky laughed at the way you copied one of his sayings. “Pretty nice, huh?”

“It’s gorgeous.”

“Look out the window.”  

You stepped away from Bucky and pulled back the curtains. Even though dark outside, the street lights allowed you to see enough. “We have a view of the park.”

“Yep.” Bucky’s arms wrapped around your waist. His fingers began unbuttoning your pants. “We may even venture out there at some point.” His lips trailed hot kissed down your neck. “Maybe, eventually.”

Leaning back against him, your hand came up to tangle in his hair. “We can order room service, right?”

“Mmm-hm.” His cool metal hand cupped your lace covered breast and his other hand skimmed along the edge of your panties.

“Then, maybe, oh, eventually.” He felt so good. “If we can get food delivered, it may be a while.”

Bucky pulled you away from the window. He spun you around to pull your blouse over your head. The hunger in his eyes sent heat straight to your core. His mouth crushed into yours against, wet and messy. One of his hands unclipped your bra while you pulled at his shirt. The rest of your clothes hit the floor quickly after.  

“Come here.” Bucky turned you toward one of the chairs. He gathered your hair in his hand, mouth nipping and kissing hotly over the back of your neck. His fingers pulled at your nipple. Shivers ran down your whole body. A moan rolled from your throat.  

He pushed you forward, your knees dipped on to the soft cushions. Your breasts pressed against the silky fabric with embroidered threading. The textures bringing your nipples to hard peaks. Bucky’s hands slid over your back, down your waist and to take a firm hold of your ass.  

“Give me your hands.” He ordered.  

You looked over your shoulder, eyebrow arching. He smacked your ass hard. You gasped, then smiled. He took both your hands behind your back, hold them both in just his left hand. His smacked your ass again, pushing you against the silky cushion.  

“Feel good?” His right hand slipped between your nipple and the silk to feel how hard your nipple has become.

“Yes.” You breathed.

His hand slipped between your thighs, middle finger gliding through your folds. “So wet.”

You moaned as he slipped his fingers into your cunt, spreading your wetness, and slipping in again. His fingers danced over your clit and you rocked against him. His hand disappeared, and you felt him rub the head of his cock along your opening.

“Close your eyes, Doll.” His rich voice slid over your ear. “I want you to feel the cold silk under your skin.”

“Yes.”  

“Feel how strong my hand has you.” His left hand squeezed your wrists a bit tighter.

“Yes.” You mewled.

“Feel how wet you are against my cock.” He pressed into you, pulling all the way out and in again.

“Oh, fuck!” Every nerve felt on fire. So focused on the sensations, you vibrated with it.  

Bucky leaned over you, breath tickling your back. “Keep your eyes closed for me. Keep focused just like this. We’re going to have so much fun.”

“Bucky.” You breathed. “Oh, fuck. Yes.”

His hand released your wrists. Pulling back, he scooped you up in his arms. You felt rich cotton under you when he laid you upon the bed. His mouth trailed kisses from your shoulder, up your neck and ghosted over your lips. “Eyes closed, Doll.”

“Promise.” You kept them shut even when you heard a glass, like he took a drink.

Hot lips and a cold tongue encircled your nipple. You gasped. He had ice in his mouth. Your back arched. Bucky’s hands slid over your arms, making it clear he wanted you to stay still. His mouth captured each nipple sucking hard until you whimpered.

He painted your breasts and stomach with an icy touch. You panted, fingers clutching the sheets. His metal fingers slipped over your clit, cold and firm. A violent shiver ran up your body. Before you caught your breath, something hot dripped over your breasts. You jerked. “Oh fuck!”  

Bucky’s fingers curled into your cunt, sweeping over just the right spot. You shook. More trickles of hot body wax spilled over your breast. You were quivering, panting, hips rocking into his hand. Moaning you writhed. Wet, sloppy noises came from where he pumped his fingers in you. You moaned as more wax dripped on you.  

You cried out when Bucky’s other hand pressed against your lower belly. Your legs shook. Fire exploded out from your core. You felt the flush spread. Felt yourself gush over his hand as you came hard.  

Before you came back to yourself, Bucky had climbed between your legs. Your eyes opened as he buried himself in you in one strong thrust. You both moaned. His knees were pulled up close to your ass as he held himself over you by one hand. He raked his fingers through the oily wax with the other. Slick, hard, sharp, smooth. So many sensations.  

“Yes,” Bucky rocked his hips into you, filling you. “So fucking good.”

Your hands grasped for him, taking a hold of his shoulder, his hair. When a low growl rumbled from his chest, you pulled harder. He slammed into you. “Yes.” You pulled him close, nipping his lip, soothing it with your tongue. You breathed against his mouth. “Fuck me hard.”

A hungry smile spread across his face. He flipped you over and slid off the edge of the bed. It was tall enough to leave you at just about the right height. Your upper body lay on the bed, but your toes didn’t quite touch the floor.  You caught a toe on the bed frame just as Bucky buried himself deep.  

His hands dug into your hips, holding you firm as he set a hard and brutal pace. You could only hold on to the sheets. His powerful hold, his strength, made your cunt clench around him. Skin slapped on skin. Your moans were joined by his grunts and growled. He sounded so fucking sexy. Your body twitched, shook. He pushed you closer to the edge.  

“Yes!” You growled. “Love, uh, the way, yes, you fuck me!”

“Mine.” Bucky’s pace increased. Your body clenched, spasmed. “Yes, mine.”

You came hard, crying out into the mattress as he rutted his own release into you. Panting, but still buried deep, Bucky fell over your back. Your thighs twitched. His lips ghosted over your spine. “Missed you.”

“Missed you, too.” You chuckled into the mattress.  

“I think I owe you a long hot shower to clean you up.” Bucky sighed. He slipped away from you with a moan.  

“You’re going to have to help.” You felt boneless. “I don’t think I can walk right now.”

Bucky pulled you against his chest, holding tight. His lips pressed into your temple with a chuckle. “Mission accomplished.”  

TAGS

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#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky smut #bucky barnes fan fiction

[percywinchester27]

About a boy (Part-10)

Word count: 3.5K

Warning: Suspense, feels, physical abuse, child-trafficking and bullying

Characters: Dean, Cas, Gabriel, Benny, Michael, OCs and… Sam?

Summary: Dean Winchester has a secret. A secret that could really land him in trouble. He never expected to connect with anyone when he walked into the ‘Blue Stone Orphanage for Boys,’ but even then, the walls he has put up are slowly coming down. Now, a series of strange events are threatening to expose him. When everything starts falling apart around him, will he still be able to save the one person that matters the most?

A/N: Hey, look! I wrote a part that is not a cliffhanger! Who would have thought? All the love to my babes @thing-you-do-with-that-thing and @deanssweetheart23 for beta reading this story <3

About a boy masterlist

It was a hot afternoon. Everything that moved and breathed in the boys home was either sweating or stinking or both. The game room especially was oozing of unnecessary enthusiasm over dumb games. Cas wanted to ask the ten year olds playing throw-ball in front of him to shut up.

He didn’t do it though, because deep down he knew that it wasn’t the kids he was mad at. If it had been any ordinary day on a Sunday afternoon, he would be right here with Dean going rounds at table tennis. He’d be as breathless and sweaty as everyone else. Instead, he was holed up in a corner here, giving a stink eye to people for no fault of theirs. No, he wasn’t mad at them. He was mad at Dean… and then feeling guilty about feeling that way.

Dean deserved the time off. Afterall he had found out that by looking at the records, he might never find his brother, because the name might have been changed. Cas had tried to console him that maybe they should still continue looking at the files. What if the name hadn’t been changed? Maybe Sam’s file- labelled as Sam- was still out there somewhere. But even Cas knew that was half hearted, because if there really had been a Sam, Will would have found him. They weren’t just looking for a needle in a stack of needles now. They were looking for a goddamn particle.

It had been a whole week since that night and Dean had refused to talk to anyone. It didn’t help that the school was shut for spring break. This way he wasn’t obligated to spend the classes with Cas. During the first couple of days, Dean had resorted to lying in bed and not speaking with anyone. Afterwards, he’d just disappear in the morning after breakfast to some corner of the estate and then return directly late at night, avoiding Cas at all times.

At first, Cas gave him his space, disheartened himself about the possibility of never finding Sam, but after a week of this, Dean’s behaviour was starting to get on his nerves. 

“Cas?”

The quiet and now familiar voice made Cas look up. Will was standing before him, eyes trained down, shuffling from toe to toe.

“Will!”

A small surge of pity went through Cas at the site of the boy. Despite Dean’s aloofness, Will hadn’t given up on the search. He was still on a lookout for Sam, he still picked the locks to look in the record room whenever he could. And in all of this, he was the only one who understood how hurt Cas was feeling.

“How’s Dean doing?” Will asked, still looking down.

“The same,” Cas replied. “Refuses to see anyone.”

“Hmmm…” Will nodded to himself. He looked like his head was someplace else. And his eyes were unfocused, not in the way that his head was a million miles away. They looked blank.

“Will, are you okay?” Cas asked cautiously. “You look… off….”

Will didn’t answer immediately. “Hhhuh?” He stuttered, head jerking up for the first time.

“I asked if you were okay,” Cas repeated patiently. A strange feeling was creeping up in his stomach, like a premonition of something bad.

“I-I’m okay,” Will said in a monotone. “I cleared the Olympiad.”

“Will, this is great news!” Cas burst out, his lips stretching into a smile. “You’re such a smart kid!”

Will said nothing. He was looking out of the window now, and Cas vehemently tried to suppress the icky feeling in his gut. 

Finally, Will turned to meet Cas’ eyes for the first time with some solidity to expression and tone. “If you get hold of Dean, tell him I want… no, tell him I need to talk to him.” 

“Okay,” Cas agreed quickly, hoping Will would say something more.

But Will was already walking away. “I’m gonna go now,” he said. “I have to find Barry.”

Cas sighed and slumped back. Poor Will, he thought. That kid had been trying to catch hold of Dean for a while now. He’d gone from worried to eager to this. However, behind Will’s odd blankness, Cas could feel a brewing desperation… the sort that came with fear. Will was scared of something, and as far as Cas could tell, it seemed to be something entirely new. It has scared Will enough to want to seek out the boy he looked up to… to seek out Dean.

***************************

Dean was sitting by the window of his empty dorm room, turning an apple over and over in his hand. He had sneaked it out at breakfast. Even though he had skipped lunch and was feeling the hunger pangs, he didn’t really want to eat anything.

Afternoons were the best to be holed up in the dorm sometimes. It was always empty then, his other three inmates involved in something or the other. It made sulking alone easier.

There was a slight shuffle and Dean could see Benny slide into his top bunk in his peripheral vision. Dean ignored him; and with how quiet Benny was, it was easy to pretend he wasn’t even there. That was until Benny spoke.

“Should have known you didn’t have it in you.”

Dean’s head turned like a whip. “What did you say?”

Benny snorted, looking into a book he had somehow managed to open in the short span. “I said,” he repeated, “I should have known you were a wimp. That you couldn’t do jack squat when it came to exposing the Stynes.”

Anger welled up inside Dean, as sudden as a volcano. “How dare you judge me when you don’t know shit!”

Benny remained unmoved, and his voice remained calm when he said, “Oh, I know enough. I know you had the epic realisation that your brother’s name might be changed on the papers. So what?”

“So what?” Dean growed. Was this guy evening listening to himself? Sam’s name was the only lead Dean had. Nothing else. Finding Sam was his goal, his only hope. What did Benny know of his hopelessness?

“I have lost every chance of finding my brother now,” Dean said slowly, his voice seething. “You have no clue how that feels.”

Benny looked down at him in disdain. “How much do you remember of this so-called brother of yours, Winchester? His hair color, his smile? You must barely even remember holding him, do you? And I? I knew Jaime for years. We grew up together, shared every scratch and every smile. When I was sick with pneumonia as a kid, he was there with me, staying up all night. He was more than a blood brother to me. So don’t you tell me I don’t know how it feels. And I did more to find Jaime than what you’re doing. I didn’t give up at the first obstacle and shut myself in a room, throwing a tantrum like a baby.”

“That’s enough!” said a sharp voice.

Dean turned to see Cas standing at the door, his finger clutching the edge of the door tightly. Tight enough that his knuckles were white.

“That’s enough, Benny!” Cas warned. “You don’t need to be this harsh with him!”

“Harsh?” Benny scoffed. “He’s a domestic kid, raised in a home, Castiel! He doesn’t know harsh. You know what’s harsh? What is happening to those poor bastards getting kidnapped out there. Sold, hurt… God knows what even happens to them! Your friend here has all the resources he needs to expose these fiends for what they are, and here he is acting like a wuss when one thing goes against his mighty plan.”

“Benny…” Cas looked thunderstruck, and Dean had gone completely white, his hands shaking at his sides.

Benny looked at Dean. “I really thought you were what this place needed. You’re smart and focused, and I thought you had the courage. But turns out you’re just too damn self-centered and selfish. Look around you, Winchester, the world is so much bigger than you and your long-lost brother. And honestly, you are not even helping that poor kid by giving up so easily-”

“Benny, SHUT UP!” Cas thundered. “Don’t say another word. Who the hell do you think you are going up against Dean like this? He isn’t at your beck and call to do as you please! Just because you couldn’t save Jaime, doesn’t mean it’s Dean’s job to save the world. Besides, he’s just a kid. Like you and me and Jaime. One word gets out about him being the police’s spy, they’d bury him and his records so underground that no one would even find his existence. Police support be damned.”

Cas took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “Jody is just one cop who suspects that something is amiss. Not even her whole department trusts her and the Stynes are powerful people. Besides, Dean has a juvenile record. How hard would it be to frame a runway case against him and then they’d make him disappear just like Jaime. Is that what you want? For him to keep going at it recklessly and then go missing forever?”

“I- “Benny’s eyes widened. All of his calm was gone, replaced by shock and horror.

“He’s not your pawn, Benny,” Cas said, sounding tired. “You can’t push all your anger and disappointment on him.”

“Cas,” Dean said, finally. His legs felt weak, and his heart felt heavy with shame. “Benny’s not wrong. I have been-”

The door sprang open and Gabriel came in. Looking around, he stopped at the sudden forced silence.

“Phew,” he whistled, plopping down on his bed. “Y’all look like you saw a ghost.”

He wasn’t wrong, Benny looked appalled and Cas looked vexed. As for Dean, he didn’t know what his face showed, but inside he felt so small and contrite he didn’t know how to face anyone. He had been so self absorbed the past week, fuming and wallowing in self pity, he had actually overlooked how it was affecting others.

“C’mon chaps,” Gabriel smirked, “What were you talking about?You don’t want to keep it from your best buddy here!” He winked.

Cas stepped forward. “You know what, Gabriel? You can shut it. This is none of your business and it shouldn’t concern you!”

Dean squinted at his friend. He had never seen Cas this mad. He was usually the most level headed person in the room, but today he was having none of it, and the way Cas had stood up for Dean made him feel even smaller.

“Whoa!” Gabe sat up. “What’s got your knickers in a twist, Cassy?”

“Let me think,” Cas said, eyes steely blue. “It might be the fact that you’re  a selfish jackass who thinks only of himself.”

All traces of humour vanished from Gabriel’s face, and his eyes took on a dangerous look that screamed not to mess with him. “Be careful there, little bro. I know you three have been up to something… and you don’t wanna get on my bad side.”

Cas’s eyes narrowed further. “Actually that is rather hard, considering we don’t even know which side you’re on. There is only one side with you, Gabe. Your own. If you actually wanted people to trust you with things, you better decide where your loyalties lie.”

Gabriel pursed his lips, expression full of anger. For a second Dean thought he was going to reach out and hit Cas. But the moment passed and Gabriel hurtled out of the room like a whirlwind.

“Guess there isn’t much left for me to say anymore, is there?” Cas asked bitterly, then went out of the room himself.

Dean could only imagine how Cas must be feeling. He was a gentle soul. Having said so many grating words must have hurt him as much as it hurt the others. Gabriel was his brother and Benny his friend. Cas had still gone out of his way to take Dean’s side against his own people. That too when Dean had been a jerk to Cas, himself.

He spared Benny- who still looked out of his element- a brief glance then followed Cas out of the dorm room himself.

Cas stood at the far end of the corridor, staring out of the window into the sunset. 

“What do you want, Dean?” he asked, still sounding tired, but his tone was sharp. Not his usual kind voice.

“I-I wanted to say sorry,” Dean said. “I know I’ve been an idiot and a jerk to you all of the past week. Drawing into myself like that was selfish and childish- Benny wasn’t wrong there. I’m just sorry!” He looked down, fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to kick the wall.

“It’s alright,” said Cas, and the tone made Dean look up. Cas was looking at him with a curious set to his mouth, eyes narrowed but in mirth. The way a parent would look at a child they had forgiven, but were curiously hunting for a motive behind the said mischief.

While Dean was at it, he apologised for one more thing, “I’m sorry you took up a fight against Benny and Gabriel for me.”

Cas shrugged. “They had it coming. Both of them.” He paused, then asked. “What’re you going to do now?”

Dean set his shoulders. “I’m gonna keep looking for Sam and check the records about the Stynes. See what they are really up to.”

“Alright.”

“So I’m forgiven?” Dean asked tentatively.

Cas smiled, then nodded. “While you’re at it, you should also apologise to Will.”

“Will?” 

Cas’s face clouded over. “Something is up with him. He was doing your research even after you’d given up, Dean, but I am worried for him. Something is bothering him.”

Dean felt a stab of guilt. That kid! Everytime Dean thought of him he felt a pang that he couldn’t quite place. Like he wanted to reach out and stake a claim. Even in the last week, he had missed talking to Will, missed being followed with those eager eyes.

***************************

Dean waited until it was past midnight. All was quiet in the room. Both Benny and Gabe were asleep with their faces to the wall. Cas was up, but he only offered Dean a knowing smile as Dean set out into the night. 

Earlier, he had caught hold of Barry and asked him about Will, but the bespectacled kid had squeaked two words about the Library and then ran off, like he was scared of talking to anyone who wasn’t Will. Dean had looked into the decrepit room that was the library, but either Will wasn’t there or he was really good at hiding. Disappointed, Dean had made his way back to the 5th floor.

Will had tried. He had tried to follow Dean, tried to console him, and then distract him by prattling about his day, but Dean had ignored all of it. On the second day, he’d almost slammed the door to be by himself. Thinking back now, he felt ashamed that he had let his thoughts get better of him like this and pushed his friends away. And now if Will had been in trouble all this while…

Dean slumped down against the dividing grill, hoping to get away from his thoughts now. 

Someone sharply drew breath on the other side.

“Will?” Dean whispered. “Is that you?”

There was no reply.

Dean gulped. Either Will was really angry or really upset. Neither was good.

“Look,” Dean said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have behaved the way I did. It was cruel and just… not me…”

As far as apologies went, that was going really sucky and Will wasn’t even retaliating.

“C’mon, man!” Dean pleaded. “Talk to me.”

“I topped the Olympiad,” Will said in a rush, as if his head had been forced under water and had been allowed to breathe only now.

That wasn’t what Dean had expected. “That’s great news! Congratulations!” he sputtered anyway.

His exuberant words echoed in the silence against the backdrop of Will’s uneasy quiet.

“This is good, right?” Dean asked uncertainty

“Dean!” Will said urgently, “There was a couple who came here two days ago. They want to adopt me.”

The words just hung in the darkness. Whatever Dean was ready to say to console Will, died in his throat.

“Their names are Mr. and Mrs. Kensington, from uptown New York,” Will said. “They were in the organising committee for the Olympiad. My results impressed them and they came looking for me. They said they’d take me away from this… this place and help me into a new school for gifted students. Mrs. Kensington…. She said I was a prodigy. And she… she kissed me on my forehead as she was leaving.”

Will was going to be adopted. 

Dean was stunned. He knew he should be saying something… congratulating Will. From what he knew, it was a big deal to be adopted and damn near impossible for anyone over 7 years to even stand a chance… and here was this glorious opportunity for Will to achieve everything he possibly could. He’d have the finest education. He’d have a new family to look after him, to take care of him. 

But he would also be gone.

“Well, man, that’s bloody brilliant!” Dean managed, even though his own voice sounded bogusly cheerful. 

“Is it?” Will asked, finally his voice betraying emotion. “Is it really, Dean?”

“Of course!

“They would have never even known I existed if it wasn’t for a math quiz!” Will said forcefully.

Dean shook his head, swallowing the irrational sense of dread he was feeling. “Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted, Will? You’ve always worked so hard so you could get somewhere in life. This is your golden ticket.”

“I don’t know what I want,” Will said in a small voice. 

Dean peered, trying to make out Will’s shape through the grill. If what he guessed was right, Will was also trying to do the same thing.

“Tell me something, and go with your gut here,” Dean said, “Did they feel like bad people?”

In the darkness, Will shook his head. “They seemed decent. Really interested in me… and nervous about what I had to say. I was so scared when Andy told me there was a couple coming to see me. I wanted to talk to you, but-”

“I was busy being an asshat,” Dean completed. He vividly remembered Will ambling up to him after one dinner and him having rushed away quickly.

It was like Dean’s heart was sinking through his stomach when Dean said it. “I think you should go, Will. It will be for the best.” 

Then why was Dean starting to feel so hollow inside?

Will hummed softly, and Dean felt that pang again. He was going to be miserable when Will left. That was always going to be the case though. Dean wasn’t here permanently; he had a family back home waiting for him. He would be parted from Will one way or another. 

 “What about Sam then?” Will asked, voice still soft.

“I’ll keep looking,” Dean vowed, more to himself than to Will. “Don’t you worry about that.”

Will sighed wistfully. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but the silence continued.

Dean gulped. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Will jerked up. “What?”

It felt like admitting to a sin, but after what Benny had said, Dean had to confess it. “I don’t really remember what Sam looks like,” Dean said. “I stay awake at night looking at the walls, trying to remember something… anything. It makes me feel like I don’t even deserve to find him. What if I find him and he isn’t what I imagined him to be. What if he’s a bully, or bitter? What if he hates me?”

“Hey! Don’t say that!” Will admonished. He sounded a bit mad which was surprising given that he was so meek just a few moments ago. It startled Dean.

Will got on his knees. His hands gripped both sides of the rail, the right one directly resting over Deans.

“You can’t think like that, Dean,” Sam said vehemently. “You have no clue how lucky Sam is that his big brother is out here looking for him. That too, a big brother like you!” His voice quivered. “I wish I was as lucky as Sam,”

Dean let go of the grill and placed his hand over Will’s. There wasn’t anything he could say to that, much less what he was actually thinking. Because there was one other thing that Dean had wanted to confess to Will, and had not- that, by some miracle if Dean actually found Sam, a small, horrible part of him was scared that he would go looking for all those little features of Will in Sam. The intelligence in his eyes, innocence of his smile and the kindness of his words. He would look for all of it… and he wouldn’t find it. Because no one else could replace Will, not even Sam. 

*******************************

A/N 2: What do you guys think about Will getting adopted? Good for him, yeah?

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#dean winchesteer fanfiction #weechesters #weechester fanfiction #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfiction #about a boy part 10 #aab 10 #anawrites #anawritesspn #Ana writes aab #q