#comedy doesn't work out? just be a lawyer

[crotchapple]

Ya know, I think the biggest twist in the last episode of Mentopolis was when Brennan threw A Tension and Dan Fucks into an Ace Attorney farce style courthouse only for Danielle Radford to absolutely fucking crush it, then reveal she used to be a paralegal before her comedy career took off

#dimension 20 #d 20 #mentopolis #danielle radford #this is why it's always important to have something to fall back on #comedy doesn't work out? just be a lawyer #crotchposts

[mariocki]

Cape Fear (1991)

"Let's get something straight here. I spent fourteen years in an eight by nine cell, surrounded by people who were less than human. My mission in that time was to become more than human. You see? Granddaddy used to handle snakes in church, Granny drank strychnine. I guess you could say I had a leg up, genetically speaking."

#cape fear #1991 #american cinema #martin scorsese #wesley strick #john d. macdonald #robert de niro #nick nolte #jessica lange #juliette lewis #joe don baker #robert mitchum #gregory peck #martin balsam #illeana douglas #fred thompson #zully montero #james r. webb #elmer bernstein #freddie francis #Scorsese fully channelling de Palma for this queasy Southern gothic remake of a beloved bit of Americana kino. this was actually meant to #be a Spielberg project (yeesh can you imagine?) but Marty traded him Schindler's List which worked out better for everyone. initial #reaction to seeing Marty's right hand arm de Niro as the antagonist was‚ admittedly‚ to snigger but give the man his dues he fully embodies #this grotesque‚ repellent boogeyman. crucially tho he has the seed of a genuine grievance against Nolte's (also fairly unlikeable) lawyer #lead and i think that's what really propels this script. the film is stacked with great performances‚ with a young J Lewis really #standing out in a layered and thoughtful performance. the cameos by prev Cape Fear stars are perhaps a tiny bit gratuitous (and it's kind #of sad that Peck's final role was little more than a brief meta injoke) but i get why and it doesn't detract too much from the film‚ #particularly once it lurches full throttle into a biblical tinged flood and fire apocalypse for the (very well executed) final act #ott stuff and boundary pushing not just in its freakier moments but in its commitment to underscoring tension with moments of near pure #comedy‚ but i had a great time with this. oh and what a score! i mean i think it's just a re arrangement of the og score but still it slaps

[skzhua]

Caroling to my Heart

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Lee Minho x Female!Reader

Genre: Inspired by A Christmas Carol, Christmas love story, angst, fluff.

Word Count: 14,653

Warnings: Swearing, talks of regrets, mentions of alcohol, heartbreaks.

Summary: Christmas is meant to be spent with your loved ones. Minho stopped loving a long time ago.

A/N: Credits to my boyfriend for the general idea of the plot (story is all me, though)

November nearing its end, Chrismas was approaching quickly. Children playing in the snow, shops filled with decorations to sell for the holidays, sales everywhere for presents shopping, music playing everywhere you go; truly the most wonderful time of the year.

At least, that's what most people think.

Chan has always loved Christmas. He always took it as an opportunity to gather up with his college friends with whom life was always enjoyable. Jeongin had recently gotten a promotion at work which he took very seriously, Hyunjin finally opened his dog rescue center a few years back, Felix was happily getting married in the following spring, Seungmin had finally started to get recognition for his stand up comedy shows, Changbin had entered a production company with Chan, and Jisung was finally seeing someone after not daring to date for years.

And then, there is Minho.

Him and Chan used to be the closest friends ever, and Minho was always the life of the party. He messed around in college, got good grades, made his way up to become a successful lawyer. Overall, things had turned out pretty well for him.

What Minho considered as his biggest accomplishment was his lover. The apple of his eyes, the prettiest woman he had ever laid eyes upon, the sunshine of his life. Y/N was in the same major as him, one of the top students. It started out as a very typical college love story. He was annoying her, she found him funny, they were paired for a project, they got closer, and they got together in a matter of weeks. From that point, life was perfect. They moved out together after college, adopted a ton of cats, went on so many trips outside of the country... they even got engaged.

That was until Minho messed it all up, losing everything he loved the most in one go.

Ding dong.

Jumping at the sound, Minho takes a second to recover and puts the movie he was watching on pause. He checks the clock; it is 7 o'clock in the evening. He wasn't expecting anybody to visit him. Nonetheless, he goes over his front door and looks into the peephole. He isn't surprised to see Chan waiting patiently with a plastic bag in hands. He rolls his eyes in annoyance before letting his friend in, greeting him boringly.

"Hey, Chan," he says before yawning loudly.

The older man looks him up and down, analyzing every bit of his friend's appearance. "Wow, you look like shit."

Minho doesn't answer, giving Chan the death stare instead. "What do you want?"

"Well," he starts while allowing himself to get comfortable on the couch. "Jisung is presenting his new girlfriend to us and because you didn't answer in the group chat, I thought I would check on you."

"Tonight? No, I have to get up early tomorrow."

Chan's shoulders drop as Minho, once again, declines an invitation. "You haven't come to see us in months."

Minho shrugs, visibly not seeing a problem. "I'm just very busy. I have cases coming in all the time and I can't trust my associate to work on them."

"You're overworking yourself, a break would do you some good. Besides, we miss you."

It's not that he doesn't want to see his friends, of course he does. He just knows very well he'll only end up ruining the night by not being the funny guy he used to be.

"I don't know."

Chan takes a nicely ironed shirt out of his plastic bag and puts it on the coffee table in front of him, and stands up to walk to the door. "You're welcomed to drop by if you change your mind. It's at the restaurant we used to go in college."

"Why the shirt?" Minho's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Consider it as an early Christmas gift from me."

After throwing a small smile his way, Chan opens the door and leaves. Minho finds himself alone again, perplexed. He approaches the shirt and scrutinizes it. It's a designer piece which does not surprise him, Chan has always been the kind to go an extra mile for his loved ones. Looking at the clock again, it indicates 7:20 P.M. Does he still have time to go? It would mean he has to shower, get dressed, drive all the way to the restaurant... Right, that specific restaurant.

He will visit his friends, just not tonight.

2 years ago.

Christmas was the most important holiday to Y/N. It brought so much nostalgia to her and she absolutely adored every aspect of it. Baking cookies and go ice skating were part of the many activities she loved doing in December.

This was also the first year she had to spend it away from her family. She didn't regret choosing to study so far away from home but it hurt nonetheless. It would be difficult and Minho knew that.

Y/N had to work an extra shift that night if she wanted the day of Christmas Eve off. It was ridiculous, she thought. As if the restaurant really needed her to stay so late. Coming home, Y/N was so glad to finally be able to relax as she climbed up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Minho was waiting excitedly at the front door of their shared apartment. He made sure the gingerbread cookies were all ready to be assembled to construct a house, checked if the Christmas lights were working fine, and put a playlist of Y/N's favourite holiday songs on his speaker.

"Soonie!" he yelled frantically at his cat as he saw him get on the counter. "You don't want to ruin your mama's night, do you?"

He picked him up and brought it close to his body, petting his head lovingly. Needless to say, this couldn't be a cuter sight to have when Y/N walked in.

"Hey, my two favourite boys," she chuckled at them before taking in how well-decorated the home was. "Min, did you set up all this?"

Her boyfriend put his pet down before bringing her into his arms. "I did. You've been feeling off recently, I thought it'd be a good idea to cheer you up. And since Christmas is next week, why not decorate cookies for the occasion?"

"You made gingerbread cookies?!"

Y/N's eyes lit up from seeing the baked goods and she rushed to go sit at the counter. Minho smiled at himself, proud he had managed to lit up her inner light just a little.

"Thank Felix for these."

"Well, thank you Felix."

Present.

Minho remembers every night she came home from that workplace. He always tried to make her feel better each time, Y/N despised working so late but she somehow always stayed positive.

How much he misses her.

Minho gasps for air, sweat all over his body. He had another nightmare, nothing unusual. What is odd is the phone ringing nonstop at this hour of the day; 4 o'clock. Who in their right mind would call someone so early?

"What?"

The person on the other side of line doesn't respond, Minho can only hear them breathe unsteadily.

"Hello?"

"Minho," Jisung finally speaks. "Sorry to bother you this early."

"It's 4:00 A.M."

"I know, I know. Just, I'm getting worried about you and I can't call you tomorrow –well, today–  or you'll say you're busy with work as always. You're not okay and I think you could use a friend."

Although not wrong, his statement fueled Minho with annoyance and frustration. He doesn't need help, or anyone for that matter.

"Minho?" Jisung speaks up again as he doesn't get a response.

"Good night, Jisung," he simply says with the intention of hanging up.

"Wait!" he hurries to stop him. "If you don't want to talk for your own sake, at least do it for mine. Not just mine, the other guys' too."

Sure, Minho hates talking about his feelings. Still, he's not a monster and cares a lot about his friends nonetheless. Feeling a bit obligated, he agrees.

"So, uhm, who's your new girlfriend?" he asks, getting uncomfortable already.

"She's a friend of Jeongin. Remember that girl he worked with in college? Well, that's her. She's so nice, I wonder why Jeongin hadn't introduced me to her sooner. She kind of reminds me of..." he trails off but stops himself before stepping out of line.

"I'm happy for you two. I'm sorry I couldn't come."

Jisung lets out a huff. "Thank you but I know you could have, you just didn't want to."

"That's not-"

"Don't lie, Minho," he cuts him off. "You didn't come because of her, am I right? Because of Y/N again?"

Minho can feel his heart tighten while his friends keeps going at it, insisting on speaking about her. He doesn't want to, is it so hard to understand?

"Let's not talk about her."

"That's the problem, Minho. You never want to open up about it."

"She left. What is there more to say?"

"How you're coping with all, how we can help-"

"The only thing you can do to help is leave me alone. I'm doing just fine. Talking was a bad idea, I should go back to bed."

"Min..." Jisung says in a desperate voice.

"Good night."

As he hangs up, he can sense it might have gone too far. Regardless, he discards his phone on his nightstand and buries his body in his bedsheets. He hears meowing coming from the entrance of his room. A second later, his cat Dori jumps on the mattress to come and lay next to him. Minho reluctantly cuddles the cat back, his last one he got with Y/N. Dori is technically her baby but she left so suddenly that Minho had no other choice but to keep him.

"Where are your brothers?" he whispers affectionately to the ball of fur who replies with some more purring. "Are Soonie and Doongie sleeping too?"

Chan is probably the only one able to get Minho out of his house, especially during Christmas time. Maybe it is guilt or shame that he feels, but Minho hasn't been so great ever since he had his early chitchat with Jisung. Shopping for presents wasn't what he had in mind when he thought of making up for it but Chan insisted it would be a good idea.

"Look," he says while pointing at the pig plush on the top of the pile. "It looks like Changbin."

Minho shrugs. "I guess it does."

"What about this?"

He looks boringly at the shirt Chan is showing. Yeah, maybe he should have done something else to make the most of his day off. A good meal at home seems so much more appealing to him.

"Come on," Chan encourages him. "Enjoy a bit."

"I am enjoying, look," Minho tries to convince him with a forced smile.

"Hmm, maybe it's time to go to the food court and take a break."

Dragging his friend behind, Chan moves from restaurant to restaurant in search of a meal for his lunch. After a while of debating internally, he settles for a hamburger. As for Minho, rice with pork seems to be tasty enough. They sit at a table and start to eat in silence. Minho looks around the place, watching people chat and laugh. He sees one couple in particular and they remind him too much of Y/N. Adverting his gaze from this spot, he focuses back on his food before speaking.

"I was thinking of buying a new hoodie for Jisung."

Chan is surprised his friend is even conversing with him but smiles. "A hoodie? Doesn't he have plenty of them already?"

"He does but he sent me a picture of one specifically the other day."

"Then you should buy it for him. Have you heard from him, by the way?"

Minho gulps. "No."

Although suspicious, Chan doesn't push it. They quickly finish their lunch and decide to head towards a clothing store to find Jisung's present. At a certain point, they unconsciously part ways as they look at different pieces of clothing. Minho would look for Chan but he has the hoodie to find. Chan is fine on his own anyway, he tells himself. He goes to the right section and begins to browse through each item. He frowns as he inspects them, not convinced these would be appropriate for his friend.

"Minho?"

He freezes in place. Has he gone crazy or has he just heard Y/N's voice?

"Minho," she says again.

Finally turning around, he is somewhat relieved that it isn't his former girlfriend, but her sister. "Deena," he greets her politely.

"It's been a while, wow. How have you been?" she asks cheerfully, too much in his opinion.

"Nothing much."

She seems taken aback by the short length of his answer. Minho used to be the nicest man she knows. Of course, she doesn't know the full story about what happened. Nonetheless, she still considers Minho as family. So seeing him so lifeless in front of her is quite a shocker.

"I'm in a bit of a rush but we should go grab coffee soon and catch up," she suggests but from the look on Minho's face, she knows she shouldn't have.

"I'm pretty busy."

"Alright," she answers, uneasy. "I'll see you around then."

"Yeah."

Without adding anything, he resumes to looking through the hoodies. Deena eventually leaves and Minho feels like he can breathe again.

He has nothing against his former "sister-in-law" but seeing her so unexpectedly is not something he has prepared himself for. He will go grab a coffee with her when he feels ready to.

Chan comes back a few minutes after with a couple of black shirts and an oversized pair of jeans he picked for Jeongin. As they wait to pay for their things, Minho can feel that Chan has something to say. It wasn't an abnormal occurrence but this time feels like it's eating him inside.

"What is it?"

Chan hesitates for a second. "It was Deena, right?"

He hums. "Yes."

"I'm running out of ways to tell you appropriately but you need to get your shit together. The girl did nothing to you and she seemed to be on the verge of crying when she left the store."

Minho rolls his eyes, like always. "What do you want me to do? Run after her and apologize? I didn't do anything."

"Exactly. Dude, everyone around you is getting sick of your way of dealing with what happened. Sure, your feelings are valid. This doesn't mean you have to inflict your pain onto us. We only want to help," Chan responds, not realizing his tone is increasing more and more.

"Always wanting to play the good savior, uh?" Minho scoffs. "In front of strangers too? Look, I don't need you to tell me how to be. You're not my dad or anything."

"I took you under my wing in college, of course I'm still looking out for you."

"That was back then. I don't need your pity anymore."

Chan's jaw clenches as the two men stare right into the eye. The cashier awkwardly calls for them to proceed to payment which breaks their staring contest. They hurry to pay before storming out of the mall, both of them fuming with anger. The moment they get into Chan's car, the latter explodes.

"This has lasted long enough. How long has it been now? A year?"

"Eleven months," Minho corrects.

"Whatever, same difference. My point is that it might be time for you to move on or at least stop being such a pain in the ass."

Minho's eyebrows raise as he lets out a chuckle. "I didn't know such strong words could come out of your mouth."

"Minho," Chan says in a warning tone.

"So what if I'm not as easygoing as before? You don't understand how it feels anyway."

"Help me understand, then!"

"You just wouldn't!"

He surprised himself by yelling so harshly. The hint of regret creeps up but he tries to hide it by looking away. They both know this is the end of this conversation, neither want to continue anyway. Chan starts the car and the ride home can't be any worse. The tension is so heavy, he swears he feels his body crushing.

Still in silence, he drops Minho off in front of his apartment complex and drives away. Face blank, Minho goes in his building and lazily enters the elevator. It's like he's in a daze, not fully aware of himself. Before he knows it, he's back home sitting at his counter with three cats waiting patiently in front of him as they expect him to fill their bowls with food. But he remains still and stares at nothing in particular. Has he gone too far this time?

In all of the people he knows, Chan is the last one he would have thought to snap at him so harshly. Most importantly, he never thought he'd yell at him for no reason. For the first time in a while, Minho allows one single tear drop from his eye.

Christmas has come. Well, almost. Work has been the same and no contact have been made with anyone for the last week or so. The lack of human interaction felt both good and bad, but mostly aching.

Every day is the same, Minho realizes. Waking up, eating a very mediocre peanut butter toast with coffee, scrolling through his feed on social medias, getting dressed, going to work, bossing his ass off in return of a less than decent pay, coming back home, eating, washing up, going to bed, sleeping, only to do the same all over again the next day.

In a way, he loves not having to think about planning things out. On the other hand, his life is becoming more and more dull with less of a purpose. Why is he alive for if it's only to do the same task over and over again?

For a change, Minho decides to start a Christmas film instead of rotating watches of the same five movies. A mistake he does is not reading the synopsis before pushing play on the remote. He settles comfortably on his couch while Soonie and Doongie cuddle next to him. Dori is somewhere nearby, playing with a piece of paper Minho had dropped on the floor earlier that week.

At first, the show is boring he thinks. The more the story develops, however, the more he sees the resemblance between himself and the protagonist. The movie is A Christmas Carol, one Y/N once had begged him to watch with her. Scrooge is very unlikable, there is no denying in that. But Minho tries to ignore the similarities he shares with him and keeps on watching the screen in silence. At some point, it simply became impossible to ignore the tightness in his chest. In an abrupt move, he turns the TV off, picks up his two cats, and heads to bed.

Christmas is so near, he thinks as he is watching his alarm clock getting closer to midnight. He really does his best to not make a big deal out of it but his mind can't stop having these images of Y/N, his friends, Christmas... everything. He can't escape pain, no matter what.

Thankfully, Dori comes in his room to join the other felines which distracts him for a second, just long enough so he can finally fall asleep.

The clock indicates 11:55 P.M. when Minho is in a deep sleep and the only sounds that can be heard throughout the whole flat are the appliances running and the cats snoring. Maybe some snores are coming from the man himself but they are faint. Slowly, Doongie wakes up. He wiggles around to find a new comfortable position but fails and falls off the bed. Luckily, cats always land on their feet. He was going to hop back on the bed but a weird sound catches his attention. It sounds like a bell. Curious, he comes out of the room in attempt to find where it comes from. But nothing. Or maybe there is something.

A faint light can be perceived from the bottom of the front door. The cat carefully gets closer, lowering his body. In a single snap, something flies right from under the door and moving straight into Minho's room which scares Doongie well enough to go hide in his cat tree and let out a cry.

This immediately wakes Minho up as his instinctive cat dad senses take over but it is soon replaced with an unsettling feeling as he sees the bright light in front of him. He squints as it almost blinds him but he wants to know what it is. He can feel his heartbeat increase by the second as the source of light gets closer and closer. Holding his breath, he shut his eyes closed and moves his head away from whatever that is. Until he hears a sigh too familiar to his liking.

He dares to open his eyes and his shoulders drop at the sight. "Chan?"

It's not exactly Chan, it is more of a ghost-like version of him. He wears a very formal suit with his hair styled with gel and his body is translucent, making Minho very skeptical. This is a dream, he thinks. Chan is very much alive and very much not in his apartment. Certainly not after the events of the other day.

"I see you didn't even reach out to me."

Minho frowns and looks around the room as if to make sure he really is speaking to him. "What do you mean?"

Chan chuckles, his voice sounding more like an echo. "After our fight, dumbass! Come on, you weren't going to leave things as it is until Christmas."

He checks his alarm clock quickly. "Well, it is Christmas."

"In five minutes," Chan smirks at him. "I know the past few months have been hard on you."

"Great, even my subconscious is trying to fix me," he whispers to himself, loud enough that the ghost-like figure hears it.

"As in a dream?" Minho nods to the question only for Chan to laugh some more. "You're funny. Anyway, I'm not here for fun. I'm here to help you."

"You tried that already," Minho grumbles in an annoyed voice but receives a shook of the head as an answer.

"My human self tried, I haven't tried yet. You see, I only appear if I'm really needed and your case is a pretty severe one."

Minho tries to protest but is quickly shushed.

"Look, this is a night shift on Christmas Eve, I don't want this any more than you do so let's do it quickly. I'll send you three spirits tonight before it hits midnight. They'll guide you through your entire life and help you make the right choice. Got it?"

"Midnight is in five minutes."

"I know."

"But-"

"You'll understand," Chan cuts him off. "As for now, bon voyage."

Not even conscious that he had been awake —or dreaming— Minho hears a snap of fingers before opening his eyes widely and gasping for air as he wakes up. He is still somewhat confused, but rather glad this was simply a dream. He can feel that the sweat has gone through his pyjamas and makes a face out of disgust.

Quickly, he eats breakfast and freshens up before leaving for work. Yes, he is working on Christmas day. This might be the only way he can get distracted from everything going wrong in his life.

As he approches his work building, he notices a young man. He looks awfully similar to Jeongin but not quite. Curiosity gets the best of him, however, and Minho instinctively walks up to the man. He takes a moment to scan his appearance: he's shorter than Jeongin, has light golden hair and wears loose white streetwear clothing. He also takes notes on the grey of his eyes.

"Lee Minho!" he says cheerfully before Minho could let out a single word.

The man jumps in surprise. "Jeongin?"

He shakes his head as a no and smiles brightly. "No, my name is P."

"P..." Minho repeats slowly, slightly confused.

"Shall we go in?"

He doesn't wait for an answer as he begins to walk and Minho automatically follows him into his building, assuming this boy might be a new worker in his firm. They hop onto the elevator together and P pushes the button to level 7. As Minho is about to look for his own floor, he notices something odd. The building has 26 levels. So why the hell are the numbers going up to 30? He slowly turns to come face to face with the younger man who keeps a wide smile on his face, fear creeping in.

"Who are you?" he dares to ask.

"I told you, I'm P!" the boy repeats with an even bigger grin, almost creepy. "Short for Past."

Oh. Oh no. It all suddenly clicks in Minho's head. Either this is a dream occuring because of the movie he had watched before going to bed or this is his own story of A Christmas Carol. He pinches the side of his arm, hoping he would be back in his room but it only results to him hissing in pain.

"Do you remember your Christmas when you were seven years old?" Minho can only glare at him but P doesn't seem to care. "This might refresh your memories."

The doors of the elevator open right after and not only are they not in his workplace anymore but the setting is exactly as he remembers it from his childhood. They are right on the street of his parents' home. The street is empty, understandably so because of the light snow falling down and the cold weather. It is early in the morning and his childhood home looks much smaller than he remembers, and in a much poorer state.

P walks out first before turning around, encouraging Minho to follow. "Can they see me?"

"No."

The answer satifies Minho and he finally steps out of the elevator, letting himself get led by this Jeongin look-alike. He wonders why this specific time was chosen in all of his years of life. He ponders the idea of asking P but it soon vanishes when he spots his younger self coming out of the house with his parents observing him in a loving way. A knot forms in his belly. He hasn't talked to his parents since Y/N left. Are they doing okay? Maybe he should have called a few times at least.

"Can we bring one home?" younger Minho asks his mom, eyes full of hope.

"Do you want a kitten as your Christmas gift?" his mother asks and the child happily nods. "We'll go see the cats and I'll think about it, okay?"

Satisfied enough, he skips down the street while humming a Christmas song. Oddly enough, it is Y/N's favourite: Winter Wonderland.

Minho watches his former self with nostalgia. He remembers the moment perfectly. This was the first time he ever owned a cat after begging his mother to get one years after years. He had named her Nala, which he thought was very clever at the time.

"Can we follow them?"

P takes his hand, much to Minho's surprise, and they begin to float just slightly above ground and fly right to where his past self is. He doesn't question the spirit about how this works and resumes to watching himself coo at the cats. For a brief moment, his eyes advert from the scene and land on his parents. But there is something catching his attention. He sees his father emptying his wallet as well as his mom before they give it to the worker. His breath gets heavier as he looks back and forth from them to himself.

"Is this why my mother stopped going out for tea with her friends? And why my father couldn't take my mother out for dates? They used to argue so much about it..." Minho almost whispers.

"Parents make great sacrifices for their children," P says longingly.

"Why didn't they tell me?"

P shrugs. "Probably because you were a literal child but also because they didn't want you to feel bad."

"My grandmother would have helped us in an instant if she knew."

P shrugs again. "They didn't want help."

He easily catches on why the ghost brought him at this exact moment. Just in time, Minho gets a hold of himself and says in incoherent words that he won't fall for P's tricks. The latter isn't nearly fazed by this statement and he takes the man's hand to bring him back to the elevator in a quick flying trip.

After the door closes, Minho is relieved that he can finally go back home. That is until P pushes the button for level 18 which earns a frown from Minho.

"Aren't we done?"

"No, you have other things left to see before I send you back. Well, a few more years to see."

"And me at 18 years old was an important year?"

P sends him a knowing look but he acts clueless, as if he doesn't know what happened back then although it's painfully obvious he does. Denial is the best way to cope, isn't it?

The doors open to the hallway of his college dorm he used to share with Chan. He can instantly recognize the said-man and Changbin joking around before they walk in his dorm. Without waiting for P, Minho follows and freezes when he stumbles upon Y/N. This moment was merely over two months into their relationship but he could tell he already knew she was his everything at that time.

Y/N greets the two boys and encourages them to put their wrapped presents under the mini Christmas tree she had insisted on making to display in his small living room. Meanwhile, a nearly adult Minho is unwrapping takeout as he watches the scene with a huge smile.

"What took you two so long?" he asks, walking towards the group with the food in hands.

"Chan's fault," Changbin immediately accuses, earning a stare from the older man.

"Not true."

"I'm not the one who lost Hyunjin's present."

Hyunjin's eyes lit up. "You got me a present?"

A small smirk appears on Chan's face. "I got all of you a present."

"Even me?"

Minho's heart tightens. He still struggles to listen to your voice and because you were there physically in front of him, it pains him so much more.

"Even you."

"Can we open them?" Felix asks, eyes lighting up.

"After eating," younger Minho says in a stern voice. "Otherwise, you'll get your dirty ass hands on the gifts, or on anything for that matter."

Y/N glances at Jisung with a knowing smirk that his friend returns, something he hadn't caught onto back then. She still hastens to give Minho a hand with all of the food dishes, not forgetting to give a napkin to each person. He knows he can be a bit peculiar with keeping his place tidy and he never wanted Y/N to feel pressured with that. Still, it visibly seemed to have been a common issue she and Jisung had with him.

"Y/N, I thought you were supposed to go back home for the holidays," Seungmin tells with food already being chewed in his mouth.

"I was," she confirms. "Minho and I determined we wanted to spend our first Christmas together and, sorry, but I rather be here than with my aunts. They were going to be all over me about not knowing what I want to do with life, I can spare myself from it."

The whole group lets out a laugh as they go on with their feast before discussing all sorts of things. Hyunjin and Chan are in the corner laughing their asses off, much to Minho's dismay who is keeping a close look at his white carpet. Hyunjin has always been clumsy and this wouldn't be the first time he spills something.

Present Minho watches it all, fully aware of what is about to happen. He never regretted getting mad at his friend for a small spoil but this kind of behaviour is one of the many that contributed to his separation. He sees what P is trying to do by showing him this.

"I get the point, can we go?"

P chuckles. "After you know what."

In shame, he observes from the corner of the eye himself exploding at Hyunjin for staining the carpet, Chan nagging at him for doing so, the boys uncomfortably watching the scene as they back away from him... and he catches a glimpse of Y/N getting the necessities to get rid of the sauce stain, not even complaining.

"I think we're good here," he tries again to convince P.

He receives a playful smirk from the spirit. "Are you sure?"

Minho groans but, nonetheless, nods. "Please."

P is quick to grab his hand and fly right back into the elevator, doors shutting behind them. He does give Minho a minute or two to recuperate from the sight before pushing the button 24. Minho's eyes are stuck on the lit up number and gulps, feeling suddenly hotter. That was last year.

"Don't you have another Christmas to show me before..." he trails off.

He is met with no answer and has to settle for the tranquility of the metal box going up. Anxiety keeps letting itself known through his body the more the number rises. Finally, after what felt like eternity to him, the ding sound signals that they have reached the level.

"You might want to prepare yourself for this one."

Minho huffs and glares at the ghost as to tell him "no shit". The doors slide open and they are already in his apartment. At least, P was kind enough to spare him from reliving what triggered the actual argument.

His cats are all doing their thing as normally. All seems out of the ordinary until he feels footsteps through the ground. He takes a deep breath in and watches Y/N barge into the place, hair messy and tears streaming down her face. The guilt pit down in his stomach when he sees himself step inside after you, throwing his scarf carelessly on a chair.

"Are you going to talk at least?" he asks, looking down at Y/N who scoffs at her boyfriend's question.

How dare he is the one demanding explanations from her?

"Are you going to talk about it?" she questions back, crossing her arms on her chest.

"Oh, come on, I didn't do anything."

"Telling everyone you want to call off the engagement is something."

P hisses in a disapproving way. "Man, you outdid yourself with this one."

"Shut up."

Y/N still waits for Minho to speak up but nothing comes out of his mouth other than his unsteady breathing. In a swift manner, she walks behind the counter and fills their cats' bowls in the meantime of waiting still for her lover to say something. But the man stays where he is, observing his surroundings in awkwardness.

"Minho," she finally calls out.

"I didn't call off the engagement."

"Really? Saying getting married is bullshit isn't telling everyone you don't want to marry me?"

"It's not like that. I meant it's not a necessity for us to know we love each other."

"You don't get that marriages can mean something other than that, it's so much more."

"It's an excuse to spend thousands of dollars on things that will last a day or two at most."

Y/N buried her face in her hands as she let out a groan. "You've always been like this."

"Realistic?"

"No, a grumpy old man. You can't see the beauty in anything."

Minho smirks for a second. "I see beauty in you."

"Don't try with your sweet words, Lee Minho," she says, raising a finger up at him. "You know exactly what I mean. I can give you so many examples. Firstly, you never buy me anything on Valentine's day because it's a marketing holiday. Then, you want every single aspect to be perfect and at their exact place although life isn't like this. And finally, you just see the negative everywhere, always pointing out what is wrong. What happened to my sweet Minho who would smile at the slightest thing?"

He remains quiet as he sits on one of the dining table's chairs. Not knowing what to do next, Y/N copies his actions and gets seated in front of him. They don't dare to look at each other just yet but Minho most definitely wants to. His ego too big, he doesn't budge.

"Minho, please," she begged.

"Alright, it's enough."

P lets out a huff. "The action barely started."

Clenching his jaw, he doesn't insist more and settles on looking at the ground while the scene he had been trying to forget about for almost a year was happening right in front of him. Minho hates it, his heart is bleeding in pain.

"I've grown, maybe that's something you should consider doing as well," he hears himself say.

Curiosity gets the best of him and he can't contain himself from looking at her, he never knew how she had reacted to his words. The view he has in front of his eyes makes his heart shatter in an instant. He swears he can see her soul leave her body just now. Had he really done this to her?

"What- Min, I-" she tries to speak, but struggles.

"Y/N, we want different things now."

She chokes out on her tears, the ones that she finally lets stream down her face since she had been containing them. She hated crying, especially with Minho.

"No, we want the same things," she affirms, her voice breaking. "You've just become too obnoxious and focused on your career that you don't see it anymore."

"You think I'm the obnoxious one? Y/N, have you seen yourself?" Minho asks in a loud voice as he gets up from his chair. "You're so full of bullshit with your positivity and ignorance towards actual problems, it makes me sick. Take the cat, for example. We don't have space for a third one but yet, here is Dori who can't even behave properly. And your Christmas decoration is taking too much space too."

"This is about space now?"

"Yes, I need space! And I'm sorry I cancelled our last date but I just can't deal with you right now. You're in the way and I can't work and- Fuck, I don't know how to tell you but we can't keep on going like this."

Her breathing is becoming more unsteady while the tears are still flooding out of her eyes. Present Minho approches her and tries to put a hand on her shoulder, but it goes through. Right, he forgot. He is not really there.

"I didn't want to call off our engagement. But maybe I do now."

Slowly, she gets up and walks towards their shared bedroom which leaves a perplexed and helpless Minho standing alone in the middle of his dining room. He hears unknown noises and hesitates on whether he should go to you or wait. But again, his ego takes over and he stays right where he is.

Soon later, only a couple of minutes, he sees Y/N walk out of the bedroom with one bag and two suitcases full of her belongings. His face dropped immediately.

"You're leaving?" he asks, desperate. No answer. "For how long?" Still silent. "Y/N, please, I know we can figure it out."

Her lower lip quivers as she sobs some more, trying her best to ignore the man in front of her. She dares to walk towards their front door, not acknowledging her lover for one second.

"My love, please," Minho tries once more.

And just like that, she walks out, door shutting quietly behind her.

"We've seen enough."

P is about to say no when he catches Minho's watery eyes. He taps himself on the back mentally, he didn't think he would break down so fast. Taking him by the forearm, he leads him towards the elevator. The doors slide shut rather fast, which Minho is thankful for. In a careful move, P presses the ground floor button and the elevator goes down.

Once arrived, the doors reveal Minho's bedroom. It looks the same as it did the night before. Minho takes notes on that, it means his night is far from being over.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"You will," P reassures. "I'll leave you alone, now. It was my pleasure being your guide for tonight."

As the two men exchange a small smile, more as a form of respect, P begins to glow, brighter and brighter. So much that Minho can't even look at him anymore and is blinded. He tried to look away but even then with his eyes closed, the light goes through.

Suddenly, there's nothing.

The morning is brighter than he thought it would be. He swears he saw on the news the day prior that Christmas day was going to be gloomy. The blue sky with the sun shining is definitely a pleasant surprise.

Enough with admiring the weather, Minho finishes rapidly his coffee, grabs his briefcase, and heads out to work. As he walks towards his building, he can't help but think of his dream from last night. He did expect dreaming of Y/N but not having to relive the day she left so vividly.

As he is about to cross the road, he feels his body collide with someone which is soon followed with the feeling of burnt. He curses out loud and is considering telling the other person off. Only, it is someone he hasn't seen in a while and who has a face he definitely recognizes.

"Hyunjin?"

The man cocks his head to the side and frowns. "Are you Mr. Lee?"

Minho, as equally confused, nods. "You don't recognize me?"

The Hyunjin look-alike seems to take notice of his whereabouts and clears his throat. "I apologize, sir. This is my first year working as a guiding spirit. Shall we start over? Hi, my name is P."

Suddenly, Minho has flashbacks of his encounter with the boy of the same name. Was he still in the dream? Or was the Chan spirit saying the truth? He feels a lump growing inside of his throat as the P man in question goes on about himself.

"I'm sincerely sorry about the coffee I spilled, let me fix this," he says before splashing Minho's figure with gold dust. The stain instantly disappears. "Now, where was I..? Oh, right! I'm P, short for Present. I was assigned to you to review your Christmas of this year."

At this point, Minho doesn't have it in him to protest. Without saying a word, he walks in the building as P follows him behind. This one spirit is much giddier than the previous one. The moment he steps in the elevator, he does nothing but look around nervously. It is with a heavy sigh that Minho empresses himself to push the button next to 25.

"I thought I forgot something, thanks," P laughs nervously, receiving a glare in return.

The ride up is quiet and awkward but when the doors open, they both step out in sync and walk along the trail of snow. The Christmas market is an event that the real Hyunjin takes part in each year. He always contributed with an animal rescue center to help them give puppies up for adoption.

This year is especially important to him, it is the first time he does it with his own dog rescue shelter. For the occasion, a few of the boys promised him they would come by to encourage him. Including Minho.

Far from the distance, Minho sees Felix and Seungmin arguing about whatever while Chan greets warmly their friend who has just finished setting his booth up.

"Guys, come look at the doggies," he calls the younger men who rush to pet the furry creatures.

"I'd call this one Seungmin," Felix jokes as he picks up a baby labrador.

Hyunjin laughs at the comment. "Her name is Daisy."

"Not very original," Felix allows himself to point out to which Hyunjin chuckles again.

His laughs trails off while he looks around, brows furrowed. "Didn't Minho say he'd come too?"

Chan sighs heavily, giving one of the poodles some scratches. "I called him but he didn't answer. Plus, we had an argument last time I saw him so I don't think he'll come."

"About Y/N again?" Seungmin asks and Chan nods. "The number of times I told her to talk it out with him, she really should call him. The guy is getting on my nerves."

Minho's heart stops for a moment. Not only because he finally knows what his friend thinks of him but also because he apparently has been in contact with Y/N, without his knowledge. He thought all of his friends haven't heard from you since.

"I told her too but what can I say? They're both stubborn," Felix shrugs. "I thought of stopping by her place today to see how she's doing but Minho would kill me if he discovers."

"Oh, please. He'd kill you if you even mention her name."

The four men share a sad laugh before changing topics. Hyunjin is careful with each dog as he introduces them one by one. All of it becomes a blur for Minho, he doesn't know if he wants to leave now or listen more to it. As much as it hurts him, he can't help but be curious.

"Did you know this?" he finally says, turning his body towards P.

"I did read it on the report paper before meeting you but, hey, I don't know you all," he responds with his hands up in defense. "We can go see her if you want."

Minho ponders for a moment. Was he ready to face her once again?

"No. Not yet."

"As you wish. Your friends are having a party tonight if you didn't know. We have to see that."

"I know, yeah."

P takes his hand as they float away all the way to Changbin's house. Before setting foot on the ground, he can already see all of his friends with Felix's fiancé, Chan's wife and Jisung's new girlfriend. Everyone is there. Except him.

He carefully approaches the group inside the living room where the girls are busy putting the presents under the Christmas tree. What takes him aback the most is seeing a tall and beautiful woman coming down the stairs before placing a kiss on Changbin's cheek. Since when is he seeing someone? It takes everyone a few minutes to settle down and serve themselves drinks. Once everyone is sat, they hold their glasses up for a toast.

"Who wants to do the honours?" Jeongin asks and Jisung immediately gets up.

"Merry Christmas, guys! Thank you for this year and thank you to Changbin for hosting the dinner tonight," he says, bopping his head towards him. "And let's have a moment for our Minho. He might not be here but he's in our heart. Let's hope he can get back on the right track next year."

There is a pause in the room, everybody suddenly feeling a wave of guilt and sadness. They know they've done everything for their friend, but they still feel like they should have tried harder.

Minho, this time, doesn't try to contain his cries. He walks up Jisung and smiles, just a little.

"Thanks, Hannie," he whispers.

"To Minho," he cheers, holding his drink higher.

"To Minho."

P lets out a cough, grabbing Minho's attention. "Not to be a mood breaker but I think you should see Y/N."

"What do you mean?"

"See what she is doing at this exact moment."

He surprisingly agrees with no hesitation and they both float away to another neighbourhood of the city. One Minho isn't too familiar with. This must be why she chose to move there, somewhere she knew she wouldn't encounter Minho. They float down at the apartment's balcony and Minho can see her right away through the window.

"You can go through walls," P informs and he does as told.

He's surprised to see her alone with her sister. She used to be a social butterfly, he wonders what happened. Deena sets the table while humming to Christmas music and Y/N finishes up with cutting the ham. It's not as Christmas-y as it should be, it's rather sad. The atmosphere is sad.

"Need help with that?" Deena offers.

"I'm good, thanks," Y/N answers as she brings the dishes on the table.

She looks paler than he remembers, maybe because of the lighting. Her hair is longer and she seems to have dyed it brown. She's also much skinnier.

"Thank you for cooking," Deena smiles warmly at her.

"It's nothing," she smiled back and begins to serve herself a plate. "I would have definitely given a piece of ham to the cats if they were here."

Deena shakes her head. "How many times did I tell you that I can go get them back?"

Y/N shakes her head too and sighs. "He loves them as much as I do, maybe even more. Who knows how he would survive without them."

"He's not really surviving, if you want my opinion. You should have seen him at the mall the other day."

Y/N shrugs while playing with her potatoes. "He's coping in his own way."

Her sister lets out a groan, desperate. "Jeez, you two are so sad to see, it's depressing."

Well, if Minho wanted to be sure Y/N is still struggling with getting over their separation, he has his answer right there.

"I'll be fine and so will he. Besides, it's not like we lost everything. I still have you and he has the boys."

Deena deadpans at her and then points at her ring finger. Minho looks at it more attentively and allows himself to gasp quietly. Y/N still has the ring, the one he proposed to her with. After what he said to her, she still wears it?

She is quick to pull her hand off the table and cover it with her sleeve. "It's a pretty ring."

"It means more to you than that and you know it."

"He didn't want to get married and it's alright. We grew apart and it is what it is. Can we talk about something else now?" she says in annoyance.

"Y/N, Felix, when he called-"

"Stop," she cuts her off. "Felix doesn't know what happened. He doesn't understand."

"Okay, I'll stop. But just so you know, this is doing no good to anybody, especially the two of you."

Minho can't hear any more of it. In a second, he turns around and goes back to the balcony which indicates to P that the visit is over. The ghost throws some of his golden dust in the air and the elevator magically appears next to them. They step inside and press the button to the ground floor.

As it goes down, Minho is looking away from the spirit, he has a certain pride to maintain. P hesitates but decides to put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Can I just say? In my whole year of working, this might be the only case where I really empathized with my client."

Minho moves his hand away from him and grumbles something under his breath. P doesn't hear it properly but it goes along the lines of "I don't need empathy, don't act like you care".

When they get to his room, the spirit is quick to take a leave, leaving Minho alone in his cold room. At least he has his cats. He has them because of Y/N's kind heart knew he needs them.

At least, maybe she still cares a little.

The formula is the same this morning. So much that Minho knows he isn't going to work and is still trapped in this weird loop of exploring his life. He doesn't bother dressing properly nor bringing what he needs for his job. He doesn't even change his cats' water.

The moment he walks in his workplace, it doesn't even take him a second to spot the ghost of his future. It's Jisung this time. Well, not him exactly.

"Hello, my name is-"

"F, I suppose? For future?"

The spirit, stunned, slowly nods. "Usually, people are happy to see me."

"I had a long night, buddy. Just show me what you have to show me and I can move on with my life."

F doesn't argue with him and he leads him to the elevator when he presses the button 30 right away. "We'll do the quick version since you're in such a rush. I would have gone through 26 beforehand but-"

"What happens next year?" Minho interrupts him.

"No, you want this to be quick. I respect that. It's Christmas anyway, I can make an exception."

"What happens next year?" he repeats.

F smiles knowingly before glancing at the button 26. Minho, hesitantly, goes ahead to press it himself to which the ghost responds with a satisfied smirk. Before he knows it, they already reached the level.

As the doors open, Minho soon recognizes Jeongin's penthouse. Looks like that year's Christmas is settled to be at his place. Jeongin is alone with Changbin as they seem to be preparing food and drinks for the guests they are expecting. It is soon confirmed when Jisung walks in without knocking, alongside with his girlfriend. In the following minutes, each of his friends, sometimes with a significant lover, come inside and the party gets louder and merrier. However, after Hyunjin arrived, it dawns on him that his future version himself won't take part on that year's dinner.

Just like the previous year.

After chatting some more about what they are up to in their lives (nothing much other than Felix getting married but everyone knows as they attended the ceremony), Changbin calls everyone for dinner and they sit around Jeongin's dinner table.

"Can I make the toast this year?" Jisung asks, earning looks from his friends.

"You did last year, I say our host of the night does it," Seungmin suggests and they all seem to agree.

So, a bit uncomfortable still, Jeongin gets up with his glass of wine in hands. "Thank you for another year of our usual Christmas party. I'm really glad all of you were able to come. Of course, we still have a thought for our Minho who won't be joining us, yet again, tonight." The guests exchange glances in agreement and let the youngest continue. "Merry Christmas and let's enjoy our meal!"

They cling their glasses together, wishing a merry Christmas to one another, and don't lose another second to attack their plates. Although it pains him to not see himself enjoy the feast with them, Minho is somewhat happy. At least, they still have each other.

"Why couldn't he make it, anyway?" Chan asks around the table, looking at anybody who might have the answer.

The only person to answer is, unsurprisingly, Jisung. "The last time I saw him was in September and he said he had some issues with the cats. I don't know if he was making up excuses but he seemed to be alright."

"It was a miracle he even showed up for my wedding," Felix scoffs, making Minho huff. "An even bigger miracle was that he didn't make a scene when he saw Y/N there."

"They left together, no?"

What Seungmin just said gives him some kind of hope. Wanting to be sure he would hear every detail, he gets closer to his friend who continues to speak on the matter.

"I know they drank a lot but has someone seen what they were doing?"

"He was cuddly," Jisung answers. "No, clingy as hell. Poor Y/N who had to drive him home."

"They could have made up then?" Chan questions and Jisung nods.

"But we all know him, he missed his chance to fix things again."

"I really thought inviting both of them would have put an end to their mishaps," Felix sighs, discouraged. "I'll send Minho a message later."

"We could call him all together?" Chan suggests but by the reactions of everybody, this is not an option.

Just like that, they change subject and continue to discuss cheerfully about everything and anything. F gives a sad smile to the man, who watches the scene feeling beaten. There must have something really wrong with him that his closest friends wouldn't even wish him a merry Christmas.

"Where am I while all of this is happening?" he asks the ghost.

Carefully, he is transported away from the penthouse and directly to his apartment. The moment he takes in the sight of his place, he sees how nothing much changed in a year. Everything is still where it was during the present year.

His hair is longer, he notices. Not only that but he grew a bit of a beard, a choice he questions a little. His cats are still doing their thing, none of them appear to be sick. What particularly catches his attention is the glass filled with a bright yellow liquor that is set next to him as he scrolls down through his feed on his tablet.

Is he drinking? He does have a few occasions where he'll consume alcohol but a glass full of whiskey is new.

Soonie jumps on the counter and, unlike what Minho would automatically do as of right now, his future self pushes the cat off. He gasps in horror and runs to catch his pet. Only, he did forget he isn't actually there and that things pass through his body. Fortunately, Soonie is fine.

"I should text her, at least," he hears himself say.

The man he sees is far from being remotely close to what he is. Hair messy, tie loosened and a beer belly growing; he wonders what caused him to let himself reach this point.

Future Minho opens his e-mail app and clicks on New Message. He is quick to find Y/N's e-mail address, which real Minho takes as a sign he must have done the same more than once in the last year. He tries to read what he is typing but the amount of typos is quite overwhelming. Despite that, he manages to make out a somewhat coherent note.

___

Hey,

I know I should probably not be writing this but it is Christmas today so, merry Christmas. Remember how we used to go out with the others and play stupid games until late? Then, we'd come home and I'd make you a hot chocolate before going to be? You remember all of that, don't you?

I miss it, and I miss you. I know I said I'll stop writing but you broke my heart, Y/N. How can I forget and ignore what happened? You left so suddenly for no reason. I should be furious, maybe I am. No, I know I am. I still can't help myself but longing for you.

Have a jolly holiday, even if it's without me,

Min xox

___

"Wow, that's pathetic," Minho breathes out after reading. He turns to face F and frowns. "That's a year from now?"

"Precisely."

"No, it can't be. I'm alright, I moved on."

F visibly tries to contain himself from speaking on that, but he can't. "You're one oblivious man."

"I am okay!"

F scoffs. "Sure. Now, shall we visit you at 30 years old? It's Christmas and I have others plans after this."

Minho keeps finding it ridiculous how these ghosts continue to act as if they are actual people. He's still dreaming, why would he bother imagining spirits with personalities?

He is soon led to the actual elevator of his apartment building where F presses the button quickly. Once the level reached, the doors open to a beautiful wedding reception, leaving Minho confused. He does not know anybody other than Felix, who is supposedly already married by then, who is engaged.

The two men walk around the room, recognizing a few faces, and Minho finally spots himself sitting with his friends. At least he isn't alone, he tells himself. He goes straight ahead to observe the scene where he is obviously bored and sick of being there. He does notice how his appearance seem much better than before with gel in his hair and a tuxedo well ironed on.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Chan asks him in a concerned voice.

"Stop with that, I'd leave if I wasn't fine," Minho rolls his eyes.

"You haven't spoken to her, though."

"You really are good at observing, Chan," Minho responds in a mocking way and the older man simply sighs.

Suddenly, the entirety of the room begins to cheer loudly and clap. Minho tries to follow their gaze to find out who they were waiting for. After moving around to see through the dozens of head, he finally spots her. And him.

Y/N. It's her wedding. And she invited him of all people?

His brain short-circuits and he feels his heart pounding faster and faster. He can't think properly anymore, the only thing he can vividly see is her. How she smiles at every single person who congratulates her. How she clings onto this man as if her life depended on it. But most importantly, he sees how her smile just gets sadder when her eyes stop on him.

He knows time stops for the two of them before they walk towards each other. He knows so many things are still left unsaid. Gaining back his consciousness, he follows himself to watch what is about to happen.

She hugs him, a bit awkwardly. "I didn't think you'd come. Thank you."

"Congratulations," Minho says, retracting from the hug as fast as he can. "You two make a fine couple."

"Thanks," she chuckles. "Look, Min-" she starts but Minho shakes his head.

"Don't, it's okay. Enjoy your day."

Grateful, she sends him one last smile and moves to thank other guests. Chan, at this point, can do nothing else but pat his friend's shoulder. Surprisingly, Minho doesn't budge. He does, however, let one single drop fall from his eye.

"That's it?" he exclaims, now looking at F. "I'm not even trying? I just gave up? What even happened between then and that moment?"

"I've shown you plenty, you can figure it out by yourself," F says calmly and then begins to walk back to the metal box.

Minho, refusing this as an answer, runs to join him hastily. "Who's this guy, anyway?"

"Does it really matter? You two are not together anymore."

"Yes, if it can help me to prevent this."

"So you don't want her to be happy?" F perks an eyebrow making Minho groan in frustration.

"I'm asking you what I need to do to change this. It can't be like this. I'm the one who's supposed to marry her."

F smirks as they walk in the elevator, presses the button to the ground floor and finally looks at the man. "You know what has to be done, you're just afraid."

"Of what?"

"Oh, please. Stop with the act. How has the last year really been like for you?"

Minho gulps, already feeling himself choke up. "I-" he starts. "It's been hell."

F nods. "What else?"

"Y/N was right, as she always is... I'm the one who lost myself with time. I did want to marry her and I did not think she was obnoxious. Certainly not..."

He starts to cry, heavily this time. There is no more hiding or denying, he just said it all out loud. Regrets and pain, that's what's been eating him. He sobs as everything finally hits him so brutally. He lost Y/N for good. Or he will lose her for good if he keeps acting the way he does.

And his friends, the only people who stick with him through everything. The ones he keeps pushing away in fear of himself.

"You're home," the spirit says, interrupting the moment.

Minho doesn't hesitate to crash into his bed and sob some more. Even if F wanted to leave so badly, he doesn't think he should just yet. Cursing at himself, he comes to sit on the bed and pats the back of the broken man.

"It's alright, let it all out. You've had a rough night."

Minho hiccups and sniffles before glaring at the ghost. "No shit."

"You know, I think you can fix this."

Minho shrugs. "I've been horrible to everyone."

"You acknowledge it, that's a start. From there, only you can decide how things will be." F looks at his watch for a second and gasps. "I'm late for my next human! Good luck with everything."

Minho doesn't watch him leave. He is still crying but he has no more energy. He desperately wants to wake up, but mostly, he wants to see Y/N.

Minho doesn't wake up until the later morning. With the dream he just had, the sleep deprived guy seriously needed more than eight hours of resting. He does miss out work but, honestly, is not bothered the slightest. In fact, he is grateful he won't be working today.

After feeding Soonie, Doongie and Dori, he determines he should catch up on the gifts he planned on offering to his friends. Walking to his home office, he pulls out the wrapping paper he hadn't touched in a while and begins to wrap each and every single one of the presents he bought. He is definitely happy to have made some purchases the day he went shopping with Chan.

The task does grow tiring and boring after a while. To keep himself motivated, he plugs in his speaker to play some music and hums alongside the lyrics. He hasn't done that for a long time. As he is about to skip the current song playing on his playlist, his solo karaoke session is interrupted by a call coming in.

Not bothering to look at the contact, he answers happily. "Merry Christmas, you joined Lee Minho. How can I help you?"

The other side of the line is silent but he can hear that there is someone. Frowning, he repeats himself to encourage the person to talk.

"Minho, it's Changbin."

"Oh, hey! How are you doing? I was about to call you to ask what you wanted me to bring for tonight."

He senses that his friend is quite taken aback and he smiles proudly to himself.

"You're coming?"

"Unless I wasn't invited-"

"No, no," Changbin cuts him. "You're always welcomed, you know that. I'd just expected you to say you have work or something."

"I was supposed to clock in but I didn't feel like going to the office. Oh, by the way, can I ask a favor from you?"

"Uh, yeah, go ahead..." Changbin replies, skeptical.

"I know you're still in contact with Y/N."

Changbin, on his side, freezes. "How did you- Min, I swear we all wanted to tell you-"

"I'm not mad. I just wanted to know if you could possibly invite her and Deena for dinner, please? Don't tell them I'll be there, though."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, I want it to be a surprise."

He doesn't say anything for a minute, processing what is happening. "Then, I'll invite them and say you aren't coming."

"Good! See you tonight! And tell your girlfriend I'm excited to meet her!"

He doesn't let Changbin question him on how he learned about his girlfriend and hangs up. Resuming to his activity, he stops when he sees Soonie playing with wrapping paper. Filming him, he coos at him before giving him loving scratches.

"I won't ever hurt you, I promise," he tell his cat, recalling what happened in his dream.

When he has finished with wrapping his gifts, he goes to his closet to find an appropriate attire for the night. For the last year, he hadn't wore anything other than work clothes and sweats. The nice shirt Y/N once bought him catches his attention. The dark green buttoned blouse seem to be a perfect match for his black clean pants. He changes fast and does not forget to add a few pieces of jewelry to finish his look.

He is all set to go. But one look at himself in the mirror at his entrance stops him for a moment. It suddenly clicks that he is a couple hours away from seeing Y/N again, for real this time. Although terrified, he has found some peace with it from the events of the previous night. He wants to make things right.

And one thing he can do just now is call his parents, the ones he has been ignoring for a year. He did expect his mother to cry but certainly not his father. Both incite him to come to his hometown in the following days and he can't refuse the invite. Not when they are begging with their puppy eyes.

"I'll come for New Year's, does it sounds okay?"

His mother nods vigorously through the screen of his phone. "Will Y/N be coming with you?"

He might have left out that he isn't with her anymore. Seeing the look on his parents' faces, he does not have the heart to tell them yet. Instead, he goes with a safe answer.

"I'll see with her if she can clear her schedule, but no promise."

"Tell her she's always welcomed here whenever. Merry Christmas, son!" his father wishes him adoringly.

He smiles, feeling suddenly nostalgic. "Merry Christmas to you two!"

And he hangs up.

Before going to Changbin's place, he doesn't forget to stop at the Christmas market to pay his friend, Hyunjin, a visit. Mentally preparing himself to face a pissed off Chan, he strolls between the booths and stops at a few of them. Some are selling soaps, a lot of them in fact. Others sell clothes they crocheted themselves and a few offer samples of their baked goods.

A few minutes later, Hyunjin's golden locks are easily found from afar. Minho also spots Chan, Seungmin and Felix. He has a heavy case of déjà-vu when he sees the four of them discuss with frowns on their faces.

Discreetly, he walks towards his friends who don't take knowledge of his presence yet. That is until he arrives right behind Felix.

"-stopping by her place today to see how she's doing but Minho would kill me if he discovers," the man is telling the others, oblivious that Minho is hearing everything.

Seungmin gulps and nods his head towards him but Felix cluelessly frowns. Hyunjin does the same which finally makes him turn around and come face to face with Minho. His eyes grow twice their sizes and his mouth opens slightly in shock.

"Hi, Yongbok," Minho says, unbothered. "Cute puppies you got, Hwang."

Hyunjin smiles, thankful. "Do you want to pet one? I've got this chihuahua that looks like Kkami."

He doesn't have the time to answer when a small dog is suddenly placed in his arms. With no complaint, he pets the puppy affectionately. The four men look at him, rather confused, and say nothing. They simply have no idea on how to react to this.

"Minho, what I said about Y/N- She- Uh... We-" Felix stammers out his words but Minho interrupts him.

"I know and it's all good. She is your friend too, I can't be mad at her for wanting to keep you all around."

"I see you've made some thinking," Chan finally speaks up, eyes stern.

"You can say that... I'm sorry about the other day, you were right. I shouldn't have shut you out of my life," he admits, much to his own surprise.

"Apology accepted," Chan grins. "A little birdie told me you asked Changbin to invite Y/N and Deena for dinner."

Seungmin's eyes lit up. "So you changed your mind? You'll come?"

Minho huffs. "I never said I wouldn't come."

Hyunjin sneers. "I know someone who'll be ecstatic about that."

The girl paces the floor nervously, biting her nails as she waits for her sister to arrive. Even if Changbin assured to her that her ex-fiancé wouldn't be attending the party, she can't help but feel like he will find out. She already feels guilty for keeping contact with his friends, who knows how he would react if he learns she went to celebrate Christmas with them.

As Deena finally walks in the apartment, she lets out a heavy sigh of relief. "Finally!"

Her sister rolls her eyes. "It took me barely five minutes to get here."

"Still," she chuckles sheepishly. "Thank you for coming with me."

"What would you do without me?" she exclaims dramatically. "For real, it's very nice for them to invite you. Especially after last year. Plus, it's better than our sappy sister date night."

Y/N lets out a small laugh but resumes automatically to biting down her lower lip in nervousness. Deena notices it but doesn't comment on it. Instead, she rushes her to leave, saying they will be late otherwise.

In the car, Y/N can't wait any longer. She has worries and needs to let them out or she'll go mad.

"What if Minho ends up showing up?"

Deena gives her a look but answers nonetheless. "He won't. And if he does, he'll have to suck it up and be an adult about you being there."

"Do you think he'll get mad when he discoverd that I still talked with the guys?"

"Y/N, for fuck's sake, it's not your problem to deal with! He's the one being a little bitch. Besides, you're not with him anymore."

"It doesn't mean I want to hurt him... and..."

She doesn't complete her sentence since she knows Deena must have understood right away. Y/N is still hopelessly in love with Minho. As much as she believes that leaving was the right thing to do, there were so many instances where she tried to convince herself that he'd change if she goes back to him.

She knows, deep down, she might be right on that.

"I can't believe you're actually here with actual presents!" Jisung almost yells as he brings his friend into a warm hug.

Hyunjin scoffs. "Let the man breathe! See, Min? I told you."

Minho taps Jisung's back a few times as to tell him to let go but he refuses, tightening the embrace. Jeongin is the one to break them apart to be the next in line to hug Minho. Everyone is baffled by his change of heart but they look past it and are simply grateful to have gotten their friend back.

"So? Is she coming?" Minho asks Changbin once he greeted everybody one by one.

"She confirmed she is."

Chan frowns and takes him by the shoulders. "Are you sure you want to talk to her?"

"Things were left unsaid, I need to clear this out once and for all."

Ding dong.

Oh. Now things are getting a bit too real, and panic begins to settle throughout his entire body. With once glance exchanged with Chan, it somehow reassures him. Still with his heart beating fast, he retreats himself behind the group as Changbin goes ahead to open the door.

She looks just like he remembers, stunning. There is, however, a hint of something he can't quite understand. She is paler and shyer. Past that, she is the same. While hugging everyone with her bright smile on her face, she shines. Minho is not too sure if he wants to ruin her brightness by letting his presence known. Looking around nervously, we wonders if this was a bad idea after all.

Before he can escape, he hears his name being called from afar; Jisung. Cursing at him mentally, Minho steps aside from behind Hyunjin and waves, embarrassed.

To no one's surprise, there is a moment of awkwardness settled in the room. While Minho is too ashamed to look back at her, Y/N can't rip her gaze away from him. She can't believe he is actually there. She has to make a mental note for later to smack Changbin for lying to her.

The moment is interrupted by Deena, thankfully. "Hey, Minho! I didn't think you'd be here."

"Hi Deena," he replies in a small voice.

This seems to be enough for the others to resume to their thing: Changbin taking his guests' coats to the other room while his girlfriend offers drinks, Deena putting the presents under the Christmas tree, Chan's wife and Felix's girlfriend sitting in a corner to discuss... Y/N, however, does not budge. Not until everyone leaves the entrance, revealing Minho standing in front of her.

"You dyed your hair?" he finally says, more or less to break the weird tension between the two.

She chuckles and runs her fingers through her longs brown locks. "I did, I thought a change might be good."

He nods as he puts his hands in his pockets, rocking his body back and forth. Now what? He knows he wants to talk about the obvious, but how?

"You're wearing that shirt," she points out with a smile. "It fits you well."

"Thank you. Your dress is cute."

"Thanks. I haven't wore this in a while."

"In a dress or not, you're cute either way."

She blushes. It's not as bad as she thought, they can at least do small talk. Still, this is far from being what she was used to with him. It suddenly snaps in her mind how much she missed him.

"I'll go get a drink, you're welcomed to come along," she offers which makes Minho smile.

Changbin's girlfriend makes no complaint when Minho asks her to make a specific drink, one Y/N would always get when they were together. It does not get unnoticed by the latter and she is amazed he remembers such details even after not speaking to each other for a whole entire year.

"You seem to be doing good," he comments once they get a hold of their alcoholic drinks.

"I'm not too bad. I joined a new law firm and, hopefully, they'll let me work on a case on my own."

It pains him to know she is still struggling with work, this was never an issue for him. "One day, someone will recognize your competence."

"Easy for you to say. I've heard you climbed status and have your own office?"

"Which one of the boys told you that?"

By the look on her face, he has managed to surprise her. "So you know."

He takes a sip of his glass and shrugs. "It did hurt a little that nobody told me but it's alright. You needed them as much as I did."

Her eyes soften. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm the jerk here. I pushed you away to the point you left and after you did, I was so close to losing all of my friends. You did nothing wrong."

She moves her head to the side, unsure on how to react. "We both made mistakes."

He scoffs. "Maybe, but you have to admit I did things way worse than you."

"It's alright, we're okay now. It wasn't meant to be."

His heart tightens and he scoffs once more. "What if it was?"

"Minho-"

"No, Y/N, listen to me for this one. Please." The gleam in his eyes convinces her and she nods for him to continue. "I don't know exactly what happened, it might be work, but I lost myself at some point. I never thought weddings were bullshit, not once in my life. My dream the moment I met you was to put a ring on your finger."

Minho stops himself and gives a scan around to make sure nobody is watching. He is thankful when he realizes his friends are busy with watching a funny video on Felix's phone. With no hesitation, he takes Y/N's hand and moves her sleeve up to reveal her engagement ring, still beautifully worn on her finger. Embarrassed, she is quick to retract her hand back in hiding. How did he know if she has been hiding it as soon as she saw him?

"And I think you might still want that."

Her eyes get watery when she forces herself to stare back at him. "This year has been... a lot. I was not ready to remove it just yet and, I guess I just got used to wearing it."

Although tempted to correct her as he know the truth, Minho does not insist any more. Instead, he sends her a look that says he understands. Almost as if it was planned, Chan calls everyone in the living room to open the presents and to, as they do every year, make a toast.

It takes a few minutes until everyone is sat and silent but once they seem good to go, Chan nods his head at Minho. "Why don't you do the honours this year, Min?"

"Oh, um..."

"I think it won't be appropriate if it is anybody else other than you," Seungmin adds to which the others seem to agree on.

Reluctantly, he gets up from his seat and clears his throat. "First of all, I'd like to apologize for the way I've been acting. I was going through a lot and I shouldn't have imposed it on you, I'm sorry. Second of all, thank you all for sticking by my side although I was a total asshole."

"Heck yeah, you are," he hears Changbin jokingly respond.

"Something else I want to mention," he continues, ignoring his friend, "is how much regret I've felt this year. Y/N?"

All eyes move to her figure by the mention of her name. She looks at Minho, feeling a bit intimidated, but smiles to let him know she wants him to go on.

"I've never loved anyone else more than I have with you. I am aware things were not ideal but you brought the best out of me. I'm sorry I had to be the one ruining this for us. I love you still and I can only wish you the best from now on." He gives the others a last glance before raising his glass. "Thank you Changbin for hosting this year's party, and merry Christmas!"

Even though the entire room cheers and applauds in response to Minho's sweet speech, Y/N is not mentally there anymore. Her mind going wild, she can't think straight other than what Minho has said. She undeniably still loves him, more than she'd like to admit. But is she ready to let him in again?

"Hey," Deena calls her out, shaking her away from her thoughts. "You might want to figure some things out with lover boy."

Her face grows red. "You think so?"

"He just left outside to go for a walk but I'm sure he isn't too far yet. Go join him."

"I don't know..."

"Y/N, stop being in denial. You still love him, he still loves you, he obviously wants you back... Just go get him already."

Slightly intimidated by her sister, she doesn't need to be told twice to go grab her coat and boots, and walk out the door. She expected for him to be at least further away on the street but it is definitely a surprise to see him sitting down on the porch. His back facing her, she quietly approaches him and sits beside him.

There is a moment of quietness before he finally looks at her. "It's snowing."

She chuckles. "Thank you for the info, Mr. Obvious."

They share a laugh and both go back to watching the snowflakes fall. It's calm and peaceful, Minho loves it. It painfully reminds him of many occurrences where they'd watch outside the window for no reason on snow days.

"That was a good speech you just made."

He smirks. "I know."

His playful demeanor is something she doesn't remember seeing in the last moments of their relationship. It feels nice to see him back, as himself.

"What you said earlier, did you mean it?"

He frowns. "The part about regrets? Yeah, I mean, I was an ass and it didn't help me getting better so... I just know I want to fix it."

She shakes her head. "Not just that. The part about still loving me."

He moves his eyes from the snow to her own and she looks at him expectedly. She is so pure, he hates himself from even thinking he had hurt her. Carefully, he takes her hands in his and sets himself just a bit closer to her while still giving her space. He feels the sweat on his forehead, waiting for either getting rejected or getting the love of his life back. Either way, he has to say it. He's been putting it off for too long.

"I meant every word I said, I still and will always love you. How can I not? You're sensitive, smart, beautiful, and so caring. You always put me before yourself. So far, you were ready to give up your cats so I could have them because you knew I needed them."

"Minho-"

"No, you don't get to interrupt me until I'm finally done saying what I have to say. Y/N, never once did I think you were obnoxious. You see beauty in everything, something I'm incapable of doing and that's what bugged me. It bothered me how you are so perfect while I am not even close to be as loving as you are."

She scoffs with a knowing smile pending on her lips. "Now, I'll have to cut you here. You don't see yourself how I see you, Minho. Why do you think I fell in love with you in the first place? You have your own little ways of showing affection, each cuter than the other. I don't mind the rest because I know you do love me."

"I hurt you," he argues sadly.

"And I forgive you, just as long as you don't do it again," she grins, tightening her grasp on his hands.

Minho raises an eyebrow in confusion. "You forgive me... As in-"

"Don't make me say it, I have my own pride too."

Minho wipes away his tears he hadn't realized were starting to fall on his face and doesn't lose another second to bring her close to him and crash his lips onto hers. They're just like he remembered and maybe better, sweet and soft. At that point, both of them are crying. Only this time, it's not because they are hurting. So many feelings are said through the kiss and not a single one is coming from pain. It's sereine and warm, Minho can feel his whole body get lighter.

"Fuck, I missed you so much," he says when they break away, holding her close to his chest. "I'm never letting you go again."

"You better," she chuckles through a sniff.

The door behind them opens wide with more than seven pairs of eyes on them. Minho blushes while Y/N hides herself in the crook of his neck.

"So we good? Everything is sorted out? Please, the food is ready and I'm starving," Jisung complains, receiving a smack from Changbin.

"You're not starving and let them have their moment!"

Jeongin sighs. "I think the moment was already ruined.

The couple, who are still sitting, explode in laughter before getting up and joining their friends in the warmth of their home where Changbin's girlfriend has selected a nice Christmas playlist to complete the ambiance. Music Minho recognizes to be Y/N's favourites. A coincidence? Probably but he likes to believe it isn't.

While the boys congratulate him for being back together with his love, Minho looks outside through the window one last time. He isn't too sure if what he sees is right but four figures seem to look at him proudly.

While nobody is watching, he mouthes a "thank you" before the silhouettes fade away in the wind.

Minho still doesn't know to this day if what happened that night was real or not. One thing for sure is he can't be any more thankful for these spirits. Most importantly, he is finally in a happy place.

taglist: @lenilla15 | @muddy-waters | @nanaspalette | @nattisbored | @popcatx0 | @vanblack95 | @aestheticsluut | @thanxxskz | @minhoino | @taetertotsv | @luvscrazy | @lethallyprotected | @foxinnie8 | @jisuperboard | @jihanlovic | @soobin-chois | @jinxwhore28 | @purplelandsworld | @yeojoongiee | @smugrogerina | @jaehyunicecream | @urmomlikeslinotoo | @syprosight | @thesassy-mia | @chaotic-world-of-the-j | @heartsforlevi | @miyakoa | @seungincore | @skzsilentcryy

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#stray kids #stray kids x reader #stray kids fanfic #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids christmas story #stray kids lee know #stray kids lee minho #stray kids x you #stray kids x y/n #lee know x reader #lee know angst #lee know fluff #lee know scenarios #lee minho fanfic #lee minho x reader #lee minho angst #lee minho fluff #skz scenarios #skz fanfic #skz fluff #skz angst #skz x reader #skz x you #skz lee know #skz #skz x y/n

[thegreatsinnamonroll]

I am immensely enjoying new people getting into HypMic (mostly on this hellsite fuck Twitter) but you poor babies. Oh my god. You have zero knowledge coming into contact with BAT and Dotsuhon. So here is, admittedly rather condensed, a lore drop and why BAT and DH are important:

Bad Ass Temple

Starting with Nagoya's fiercest, Bad Ass Temple represents courage, standing for what's right, and never backing down.

Their leader, Kuko Harai, is a Buddhist monk (in training), and despite his unconventional appearance and punk-like personality, he's devoted to his faith and friends. Before he was part of BAT, he made friends with Ichiro Yamada after an aggressive fist fight where they were evenly matched. They gained respect for each other and made a team called Naughty Busters. Kuko was eventually brainwashed into leaving Ichiro, after which he went back to school and got in trouble for fighting off bullies from a friend of his.

Jyushi Aimono is a visual kei vocalist for the band Argo Orchestra as well as chunni (like his seiyuu!). He had a deeply troubled past, his parents often ignoring him. Jyushi became extremely close to his grandmother, who made him a small toy pig he named Amanda. He took Amanda everywhere with him, even to school, but a former friend motivated by jealousy relentlessly bullied him and encouraged others to do the same. Eventually Jyushi's grandmother was killed as a result of their hazing, sending Jyushi into a massive spiral.

Hitoya Amaguni is a lawyer who's seemingly only motivated by money, however his true colors shine when he takes on bullying cases. His brother was bullied until it caused his death, and since then Hitoya has been hunting down the people who did it. He has an intense sympathy for Jyushi and Kuko, despite trying to appear as if he doesn't care. He took on Jyushi's case and landed his bullies in prison, as well as clearing Kuko of the charges put against him. Because of their connection, the three of them were able to form Bad Ass Temple under Kuko's guidance.

Dotsuitare Hompo

Dotsuitare Hompo, or Dotsuhon, is a team that always gets back up when they're knocked down, a team that keeps fighting to make their place even if the world is against them. They're fun and engaging, bringing the joys of Osaka to HypMic.

Sasara Nurude may not seem like a leader to the untrained eye, but digging deeper into the comedian's backstory reveals an odd intensity for someone who never stops smiling. Due to his parents' rocky marriage and messy divorce, young Sasara found comfort in comedy and making people laugh. That carried with him to college, where he met his then comedy partner, Rosho. The two took Japan by storm, but a nasty breakup shattered all of Sasara's dreams. He wasn't about to give up, going to Tokyo to get a new outlook, and meeting up with Samatoki Aohitsugi, who, at the time, reminded Sasara of Rosho. A second nasty breakup occurred when Sasara was brainwashed, and the comedian resurfaced later on as the leader of Dotsuhon.

Rosho Tsutsujimori both blends in and stands out. He suffers from intense gifted kid burnout from his parents pushing him in grade school, resulting in him gaining a violent streak that persists to this day. He entered comedy school and formed Dotsuitare Hompo with Sasara until his stage fright and mutual miscommunication broke them apart. Since then, Rosho found a career in not just being a teacher, but being someone who supports and nurtures young talent. Sasara returned to him to have him join the new Dotsuhon, though at first Rosho declined.

Rei is the lore holder here, being the man who developed the Hypnosis Mics and Ramuda Clones. His past is shrouded in mystery, but we know that he only works with the government because they are holding his wife hostage. He calls himself a conman, wickedly intelligent and crafty. He was able to get Dotsuhon together by scamming one of Rosho's students, provoking the teacher enough to get him and Sasara to admit they missed the other.

I tried to make this as basic as possible but feel free to ask about other tidbits, there's a LOT that goes on outside of the anime but it can be hard to find. Anyway I'm Emmet, your local lore keeper!

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #bad ass temple #dotsuitare hompo #dotsuhon #kuko harai #jyushi aimono #hitoya amaguni #sasara nurude #rosho tsutsujimori #rei amayado

[stardustedknuckles]

I can't stand Lucien but on second watch I cannot deny the sheer comedy of the Nein and the Tomb Takers traveling together because like. He has NO IDEA why he showed the empire kids the book and gave them access to the power he's so clingy about. "Oh it was so he could threaten their autonomy at will" except he never did. He had the ability the entire time to control Beau and Caleb through the eyes and it never even occurred to him and you KNOW that had to be unconscious because he's the exact smarmy dick who would lord that over them at every possible opportunity.

But the absolute funniest part is watching him bitch about having the Nein along. He's literally out here talking like they are forced to work together when the reality is that the Nein are here for a version of him he doesn't remember and claims doesn't exist, and he himself would have no fucking reason not to slay them where they stand except for that piece of him. It is so fucking funny to watch him rules lawyer rules he doesn't even know about. Passive destruction - letting the dragon take Beau - is allowed. Direct action is only permitted in the case of direct aggressive behavior and even then, the psychic blast that killed Vess DeRogna was not enough to kill Beauregard Lionett. He calls out the Nein for plotting the deaths of the TT every night - he has heard everything - and he still acts like they're traveling together because they have to. Partially he's certain the Nein can't stop him, sure, but that's just a cover for his blind spot. He's not calling the shots he thinks he is. He doesn't consider the Nein friends and he talks about friendship with the Tomb Takers in the abstract - he says he prioritizes their lives over the Nein's, he talks a good game, but when three of them are killed he is inconvenienced above all else. And we all know what happened to Cree. And yet.

I hate him more the second time, but it is also undeniably more satisfying to know exactly how upside down he is without even realizing. Even forcing eyes on all of the Nein and making them more vulnerable to him also made him more vulnerable to them. To the point it was a legitimate mechanic in the final fight.

The Nein found a sliver of Lucien's soul less than a year ago and were as kind to it as they knew how to be. They were really fucking bad at it then, but that sliver was powered by and recognized kindness arguably more than he understood his innate powers. It was instinct. And that instinct is inside of Lucien now, and that instinct loves and loves and loves them and there is fucking nothing Lucien can do about it. Making himself stronger made all of him stronger, and a very real piece of him is not his to direct.

What a story. What a hilarious situation for such a dickhead.

#Critical role #The Mighty Nein #mollymauk tealeaf #CR c2 #lucien nonagon

[journey-to-the-attic]

I'm so sorry that happened to you! Glad that you were able to come out the other side just a little sore!

As for an AU distraction, what about a classic swap where IK is the only demon and the rest if the cast are just ordinary humans?

oooooooooh i like it!! for fun, let's take this out of the devildom context and make it more horror-movie-demon-esque (mostly bc there's a lot of logistical fun in integrating their demons' roles in particular into a modern human society and turning them into like, regular salarymen)

okay here's the premise: diavolo inherits his father's Miscellaneous Big Company and must now revitalise it and also manage all the business malpractice lawsuits left behind. in doing so he uncovers his dad's secret second life as a pseudo-cult leader who is convinced of the existence of demons

it turns out! the demon that his dad was attempting to contact IS real, but hasn't been responding because she doesn't like his gross offerings of blood and bones or whatever. one day, while cleaning up his dad's old cabinets of stuff, diavolo happens to leave behind a cereal bar on a summoning circle, and then when he comes back in the next morning there is a demon just chilling there

in this au's version of the devildom, there's really not much for a young demon to do, so ik starts visiting the company building whenever, and ironically all the haunting rumours this causes actually helps them out somehow

this ik i think would still be very earnest and sweet, but just by virtue of being a demon, she's also a little bit unhinged by human standards - and also impervious to things that would usually kill a person - which could make for excellent comedy

(lucifer's a lawyer who, as part of an agreement, is helping diavolo with all the lawsuits, so either his brothers all have their own jobs, OR they all work in the same law firm together, and they started it after lucifer was disowned from the original family law firm -this au's version of the celestial realm - for exposing corruption)

#answering asks #sythesizeher #jtta aus #diavolo will worrying over taxes or something and ik (sitting on the ceiling) will innocently offer to blow up government buildings to help #also the big question: would being human give the brothers better or infinitely worse ways of processing trauma #the office demon au

[grapenehifics]

Trick or treat! I have a costume on but you can't see it because I've got a giant snowsuit over top in true Canadian Halloween fashion

Ah, in that case I will offer you a steaming mug of hot chocolate or apple cider, your choice, I have both, and also this plot bunny I've had running around my brain for the past couple of days:

Anakin moved to (city housing large university) to attend (said large university) but after a semester or two discovered that formal schooling wasn't doing it for him and he was both making good money with and getting more enjoyment out of his side hustle, custom carpentry, than from his classes and quit, but he still lives in (city). He's had insomnia his whole life and some nights just gives up on sleep and goes out to his backyard/garage converted workshop. There's an old transistor radio out there - maybe it got left behind by the last owners - and he turns it on just to have some background noise while he works.

He's scrolling the dial past all the commercials for personal injury lawyers and lands on some real banger of a song, which he's never heard before but he's into it so he pauses the lathe or whatever he has running and waits to listen for the station to tell him the name of the song so he can look it up later, but after the song ends it pivots straight to some spoken-word poetry thing, and now Anakin's intrigued because, what the hell is this station?

Finally the dj comes on and says okay, folks, that's the end of the show, I'm Ben Kenobi and this has been Guiding Light, thanks for staying up with me. Anakin looks at the dial and realizes he's been listening to the local university student station.

This keeps happening, and Anakin kind of becomes obsessed with Ben Kenobi and Guiding Light. He's only on two or three nights a week, for only a couple of hours at a time, in the middle of the night, and he seems to have no oversight at all because he plays the weirdest mix of stuff - classical, film scores, comedy albums, half of an audiobook, one night he played a Robert Johnson song and then for the next hour nothing but cover versions of that song, the show before Halloween he played the entirety of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds and then one of those 'spooky sounds' albums while reading Edgar Allen Poe short stories on top of it - one time he even said he'd been really caught up in this book he'd been reading and he didn't want to stop long enough to do the show so he was going to give a synopsis of what had happened so far and then read the next chapter out loud on the air. Anakin has no idea what to expect but he knows that he feels less lonely, when Ben is there, and somehow even though Ben has no idea he exists it feels like they're the only two people in the world, out in Anakin's workshop in the middle of the night.

Anakin Googles him, because he's kind of worried that if he's on the university radio station then maybe that means he's some university kid and Anakin has a crush on a nineteen-year-old (even though he doesn't sound anything like a college student), and all he finds is the radio station website, which has a huge page for all their other shows but Guiding Light gets exactly one sentence: "Ben Kenobi has been hosting Guiding Light since 2004". So, probably not a kid, then, but he's got no social whatsoever, no pictures or online presence at all, and Anakin considers driving down to the station but dismisses that as too creepy so he just resigns himself to listening to Ben when he can.

And then one night Ben gets on the air and says, 'I've got nothing planned for tonight and I feel like chatting. Here's the number of the station. Anyone want to talk?'

Anakin swallows, picks up his phone, and dials the number.

#wip wednesday #obikin #wolfman jack AU #that's a joke; I'm not really going to call it that lol

[agentgrange]

True Rules for Life by Brace Belden and Liz Franczak

Below is a nonexhaustive list of certified life tips offered by Brace Belden and Liz Franczak from the investigative comedy podcast TrueAnon. While generally good advice to live by, I highly recommend the following for any Delta Green agents in the field:

Don't smoke marijuana out of a pen, smoke it out of a pipe or bong. Don't do drugs in concentrate.

If you're pushing through a land reform program of any kind on behalf of the peasantry, push it through very quickly without telling anyone first.

The coalition always fractures.

Always get the Interior Minister position. Do not let anyone else in the coalition get the Interior Minister position. If they do, have a random person assassinate them first before they assassinate you.

Never ride in a helicopter. (Unless you're a door gunner, or getting MEDEVACed.)

A large plane is always safer than a small plane.

Always watch your ratio of officers to enlisted, you don't want too many or too few.

Don't talk about the coup in public, do it day one or just shut the fuck up about it until you do.

If you sentence a guy to death, kill him the next day.

If you fly, don't all fly together.

Never, ever, give up your nukes. If you don't have any, BUILD THEM. If you absolutely have to get rid of them, always keep ONE hid in reserve.

Treaties are fake. NO ONE is maintaining your territorial integrity for you.

Never release political prisoners to placate protestors.

Never let the opposition delay elections.

When someone you know gets really into German runes (or really any kind of runes at all) get them out of your life.

Never trust a South American with a German name. Be careful around any with Italian surnames.

Never move anywhere for a religion, especially South America.

If your affinity group starts any sort of compound, don't move in. Be the guy that works and lives outside the compound. Better yet, become their lawyer or some other type of public facing middleman.

Never go into sewers unless you're a sewer guy. (Molemen, professionals, etc.)

If someone is trying to talk you into committing a crime, assume they're in the FBI.

Never become an FBI informant, they will never let you go. If you do become an informant, record EVERYTHING Nixon style.

Never relinquish your arms-- if you're going to get patted down, hide your first weapon as a decoy weapon. Act like they found your hidden weapon and let them take it, but keep a secondary weapon in an even more elaborately concealed area. If you can, bring a third even smaller even more well hidden weapon in case they find the secondary weapon.

Aim for the eye at point blank. It doesn't matter how small the caliber is, if you shoot someone in the eye they're cooked.

Always get it in writing. Duplicate that writing.

If you keep gambling, you'll eventually win. The long arc of the universe favors the gambler, the house just thinks it can outlast you.

Never talk to cops without a lawyer. You think you know this one, everyone thinks they know this one, but you're gonna forget. You're gonna want to seem helpful or honest and they'll try to sound friendly. It doesn't matter if they're nice to you, they already think you're guilty. That's why you're being arrested or interrogated dumbass.

Pay taxes on crime money. They don't get you for the crime, they always get you for the taxes. Get an accountant.

Never deal with an "explosives expert." If they know what they're doing, they're probably an informant. If they don't, they'll get you all killed. If they know a very specific, seemingly perfect spot to place the C4 they're *definitely* with the FBI.

Always duck if you're getting shot at. Then, shoot the other guy. If you don't have a gun... then you haven't followed the other rules, have you? As a last resort, wait for them to run out of bullets then roll away.

Distractions work, and they're a really good move. Learn the art of distraction. Example-- take your jacket off, throw it over their head, and fucking punch. Or bend down to tie your shoe, then throw pocket sand.

Never let a woman see you play videogames.

Never talk to journalists, they're just like cops. There's no such thing as "off the record."

Don't fuck your roommate.

Always pay your guys on time. Don't try telling them you can pay them later, the moment you admit you don't have the money they're no longer your guys.

Keep your dollars in money.

Don't give up your passport. Take the other guy's passport.

Everybody snitches. Not *us*, I'll never snitch. And I know you're not going to snitch. But you have to treat it like everyone else that you ever did anything with is snitching.

If a guy with an analog camera wants to take your picture, they're trying to have sex with you.

Whenever the FBI foils anything, assume it's fake.

Always shoot first. If you find yourself thinking "am I gonna need to shoot this guy" you probably do, and if you have to shoot someone just do it immediately. Ideally when they aren't looking. Honor is fake.

Under the waste isn't attempted murder. If you shoot someone under the waste, it's legally a warning shot.

Never warn anyone just attack.

Always keep it loaded.

Always keep cool, baby.

#delta green #call of cthulhu #field notes #trueanon #brace belden #liz franczak

[kukokun]

I put the hypmic members in a randomizer and switched their occupations a while ago but never got around to drawing it out. Here’s my take on how they’d fare (their ages change depending on who they switched with)

yorozuya doppo: ends up biting off more than he can chew and is exhausted everyday

highschool student rosho: uhm..a bit rowdy but does his work and becomes valedictorian

middle school student rio: a lil odd but well-liked among classmates..very good boi

yakuza jiro: intimidating as f but his face still lights up when he gets a call from nii-chan uwu

officer gentaro: I could not think of anything that wasn’t boring

soldier hifumi: idk much about the military but he doesn’t make it past boot camp

fashion designer jyushi: marketed towards goth/emo teens!!! popular af!!! often gets commissioned by bands with that style!!!!

writer ramuda: "truly a genius of our time..the way he masks the underlying horror of his pieces in a deceptively sweet mask is always chillingly satisfying..."

gambler samatoki: makes bank and eventually just ends up running the casinos lmao

doctor saburo: "give it to me str--" "we need to amputate your penis." "....." anyways he's like a fucking genius master of medical talent where did he get all these qualifications from wtf????

host jakurai: forbidden from actually drinking alcohol and instead provides a more comforting atmosphere for those who don't actually like grandiosity but would like to be pampered or smth

salaryman sasara: absolutely adored by his colleagues and is just about to get a second promotion since he entered the company three months ago

comedian kuko: taking inspo from the traditional aspect of his original profession, he probably does that rakugo style of comedy with the sitting and the props

teacher rei: loved by his students for his lightness, but well known for being a bit scary..and pop quizzes. no one knows him outside of school and he def has a side job

conman jyuto: just doing the same damn thing he's been doing as a cop lol

monk hitoya: HUH....this is the one i've had the most trouble with...he doesn't have the damn pompadour anymore and he's not greedy

vocalist dice: uhm instead of visual kei he would do something closer to the style he usually raps in. a lot of penis party music. struggling to get popular

lawyer ichiro: like matt murdock. only taking cases for those who are really innocent, unlike hitoya who would take the big money cases (and the ones he thought really needed it like kuko and jyushi) and therefore not being R I C H but feeling fulfilled

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #ichiro yamada #samatoki aohitsugi #ramuda amemura #doppo kannonzaka #dice arisugawa #hifumi izanami #kuko harai #jakurai jinguji #jyuto iruma #jiro yamada #saburo yamada #sasara nurude #yumeno gentaro #jyushi aimono #rei amayado #rosho tsutsujimori #riou busujima

[dee-morris]

Buckle Up, It's a Time Travel Theory

I've been thinking about this for months in a not serious way, then for weeks in a slightly serious way, and now I. Kind of think I know how it could work.

The problem with time travel is that is an OP deus ex machina in a world with OP characters and it would break the universe if it were introduced. Time Travel pretty much only works in a universe that is a complete comic book like Doctor Who. Good Omens is a comedy that plays fast and loose with reality and physics and even consistency, but it's not quite on Doctor Who's level in that regard. Nothing is, really.

But here me out.

@sayuri-of-the-valley and I were chatting yesterday and she pointed out an inconsistency in the Edinburgh minisode. At the beginning of the journal entry he says "last month" as if it all just happened, and then at the end he concludes with "it was the last I was to see of Crowley for quite some time."

Doesn't add up, right? A month is nothing to immortal beings. And I said (as I have said repeatedly since the end of July) "If this were any other writer but Gaiman I'd say we're overthinking and it's a simple error." But we know him better than that.

So I'm thinking, maybe he had two diaries, or maybe he added to it later. And then I remembered the Metatron saying something like, I've examined your exploits through history... Etc etc etc. So I'm thinking, he means the Earth observation files, he peeked at some footage. But the phrasing was weird, imo. He didn't just say, I've looked at our old files. He acted like he'd actually watched it happen in real time.

So what if.

There's a mechanism in those files that you can access if your rank is high enough that allows you to visit the past in person?

If it were possible to actually change things then the story would be broken. Metatron could have done it at any time and pop goes the weasel. But what if our rules lawyer Angel, who can find a work around for any scenario that will allow him to do what he wants and still follow heaven's instructions, found a way to leave clues without actually changing anything by adding to his journals?

It would have been very unsafe for Aziraphale to write every detail of that episode when it happened, so what if he mentions the statue as a humorous aside and nothing else... But later he goes back and finishes the story?

That incident is important to the larger story, I'm convinced of it. The Resurrectionist Pub, Dalrymple, that stuff is important. What if present day Aziraphale is leaving clues for Muriel or Crowley to find in the bookshop while he's gone?

I have more thoughts about Crowley in that episode carrying books around and tossing them everywhere but this is already too long so I'll save it for another time.

#good omens 2 #time travel #good omens season 2 #good omens #aziraphale #crowley #the metatron #good omens meta #crowley x arizaphale

[isadorastarotcards]

Reading the Court Cards -Jobs and characteristics of each court card

Court cards can represent people or you in a reading. There are four groups of court cards with four different characters. Depending on how many court cards are in a reading and how they are facing each other can tell you a lot about your answer to your question. They can also represent characteristics in a reading. Many readers use court cards in love readings to figure out the zodiac, physical attributes and other characteristics of a future lover. Now let's go down the list of what each court card represents.

King of wands

Zodiac: All fire signs more commonly for Sagittarius I've noticed, also common to come up for Scorpio placements due to the s*xual nature of the king of wands.

Planet: Mars

Jobs: Father, Teacher, Politician, Marketing, Producer, Businessman, Relator, Agent, Motivational speaker or Manager.

Characteristics: S*xual person, athletic, outgoing, optimistic, innovative, competitive, magnetic, impulsive, protective, magnetic, obsessive, honest, charismatic, domineering

Queen of Wands

Zodiac: Leo in the traditional deck there are lions decorating her throne. Pisces as well.

Planet: Sun

Jobs: Counselors, Exotic dancers, Dancers, Artist, Performer, Art director, Interior design, Aerobics, Business women, Human Resources, restaurant, hotel, Actress, someone who works with animals.

Characteristics; Loud, proud, extroverted, confidently different, exaggerated expression, passionate, ambitious, warm, kind, fun, opinionated, rash, bossy.

Knight of Wands

Zodiac: Sagittarius, occasionally July leos/cancers

Planet: Jupiter

Jobs: Soldier, Construction worker, Marketing, Promoting, Electricians, travel guide, travel influencer, waiters, Day trading, working with cars, horse stables, stage actor, stage man, startup, sports, activism.

Characteristics: Charismatic, Adventurous, Energetic, moves around a lot, Fearless, foolish, happy go lucky, cocky, Superficial, Restless, Confident in his actions, believes more in people's actions than words. S*xual card as well.

Page of Wands

Zodiac: Aries

Planet: Mars

Jobs: Gym coach, trainer, sneaker designer, improv actor, entry level job, band member, stage hand, yoga instructor, taxi/Uber, someone who works with a lot of hot food, dog walker/caretaker, veterinarian assistant.

Characteristics: Outgoing, childish, lively, someone who needs a lot of stimulation, someone who falls in love easily, young soul, immature, optimistic, loves trying new things, takes chances, gambler, rash, easy going, impatient, doesn't keep mouth shut, naive.

King of Swords

Zodiac: Capricorn/Aquarius

Planet: Saturn

Jobs: lawyer, judge, mediator, CEO, tech industry, crypto, banker, telecommunications, accountant, insurance, brain surgeon, newspaper writer, tax office, news reporter, high government job, politician, math professor.

Characteristics: Cool tempered, business oriented, analytical, conservative, ambitious, authoritative, ruthless, dishonest but also blunt, high standards, disciplined, cruel, direct, introverted, mature, intellectual, integrity.

Queen of Swords

Zodiac: Libra can sometimes represent a 1st Deacon Virgo.

Planet: Uranus/Venus

Jobs: Lecturer, executive, working in prisons, editors, journalists, coding, business women, quantum physics, statistics, lawyer, politics, publishing, medicine field, chemist, mediator, divorce lawyer.

Characteristics: Crone, critical of herself and others, analytical, direct, intelligently charming, truthful, just, constructive, single women, witty, pessimistic, realist, sharp, independent, sophisticated, can get a read on people very easily, women whose into psychological tricks.

Knight of Swords

Zodiac: Gemini/libra

Planet: Mercury

Jobs: Radio station, media, stand up comedy, attorney, Translator, military, detective, game developer, para-educator, teacher, EMTs, administrator, analyst, people who work with weather. Jobs with a lot of communication or speed.

Characteristics: assertive, communicator, dashing, brave, speedy, talkative, opinionated, intelligent, determined, ambitious, sarcastic, comedic, impulsive, arrogant, self confident, dashing, over estimating themselves, goes into situations very quickly.

Page of Swords

Zodiac sign: All air signs

Planet: Mercury

Jobs: Entry level communication jobs, Customer service, apprenticeship, maybe tattoo apprenticeship cause swords could be needles, technician, spy, blogger, flight attendant, leasing agent, student, IT person.

Characteristics: Curious, childish, thinking outside of the box, puzzle solver, quick thinker, complains a lot, nit picks, good writer, frank, alert of their surroundings, quick learner, agile, innovative, abrasive, observer and takes mental notes on people and their environment, lively, scholarly.

King of Cups

Zodiac sign: Pisces/Aquarius

Planet: Neptune

Jobs: High level entertainment or art industry, Doctor, photographer, stay at home dad, therapist, psychiatrist, marine biologist, veterinarian, working around water or boats, fisherman, teacher, CEO, owner of a club or bar or restaurant.

Characteristics: Kind, fatherly, stays in control of their emotions, family person, passionate, romantic, delusional, liar, exaggerates, creative, intuitive, opportunist, may like alcohol or drugs, passive aggressive, caring, charming, empathetic, flexible.

Queen of Cups

Zodiac sign: Cancer

Planet: Moon

Jobs: Stay at home mother, nurse, nursing home worker, zoologist, creative therapist (music, art), nutritionist, cosmetics industry, detective, party planner, actor, LPN, herbalist, case worker, massage therapist, physical therapist, seamstress, someone who cares for others and is creative.

Characteristics: Warm, maternal, heart of gold, loyal friend, imaginative, not punctual, intuitive, empathetic, can notice "vibes" very easily, nurturing, creative, sensitive, psychic, emotion over logic, peace keeper, bystander unless it's their children or family, illusions, dreamy, soft.

Knight of Cups

Zodiac sign: Scorpio/1st decon pisces

Planet: Pluto

Jobs: Diplomat, babysitter, health care, musician, writer, stylist, fashion designer, hairdresser, may have a job in spirituality, politician, graphic designer, zoologist, doggy daycare, daycare worker, groomer(pets), costal guard, pharmacist, graduate.

Characteristics: mediator, emotional, charismatic, idealizes everything around them, good at taking care of themselves, loyal, supportive, creative, jealous, possessive, moody, affectionate, love language might be gift giving, dreamer, polite, good with animals.

Page of Cups

Zodiac sign: All water signs

Element: Moon

Jobs: student, life guard, entry level jobs, counseling, art therapy, mental health worker, fisherman, model, artist for commissions, seamstress, content creator, retail worker.

Characteristics: Sensitive, fashionable, vain, nice, sweet, easily gets in relationships, obsessive, dreamer, gentle, loves love, positive, childish, cries easily, imaginative, good with animals, may have lots of pets, intuitive, intuitive dreams, optimistic

King of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: Taurus, Capricorn and Aries

Planet: Saturn

Jobs: Finance, Big CEO, banker, accountant, Stockbroker, financial advisor, something to do with the earth (landscape, plants, building, oil...), Lawyer, carpenter, landscaper, bodybuilder, executive, consultant, real estate, investor, flipping houses.

Characteristics: Strong willed, steady, responsible, calm headed, stubborn, authoritative, hard worker, if he has money he will make sure his family are taken care of, presents well, persistent, professional, solid, successful, dependable, reliable, provider, protective, determined, loyal, work ethic, good taste in food, good with money.

Queen of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: Taurus, Capricorn

Planet: Earth

Jobs: interior decorator, real estate agent, finical manager, business manager, business women, CEO, investor, angel investor, jeweler, personal shopper, someone who works with nature and animals, mother, private cook, business in the home, designer, psychologist.

Characteristics: Down to earth, calm, stable, knows herself and her surroundings, organized, materialistic, micromanager, green thumb, nurturing, silent, luxurious, compassionate, devoted, doesn't do flimsy relationships (friends and romance), knows what she wants and how to get it, dresses to impress, business minded.

Knight of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: Virgo, Scorpio, gemini

Planet: Mercury

Jobs: Retail manager, quality control, explorer, herbalist, zoologist, biologist, blue collar worker, carpentry, potter, wood carver, soldier, landscape, works with horses, veterinarian, mechanic, security guard, works with safes and safe keeping stuff, works with metal and land, waiter.

Characteristics: Hard worker, grounded, efficient, diligent, ambitious, considerate, influential, has your best interest at heart, quiet, not a complainer, ambitious, good taste in food or cooking, patient, forgiving but if you cross this person most likely to play the long game, methodical, young person but old soul.

Page of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: all earth signs

Planet: Earth

Jobs: Cashier, entry level, beginning level business or accountant job, someone who makes a lot of money off small gigs, entrepreneurship, generally a good sign for careers as it means the person has a lot of potential and is going on the right path career wise.

Characteristics: Studious, focused on their goal, loyal, might be overworking themselves with too many goals and not enough balance, practical, methodical, rational, can indicate a person who is a little lazy but has potential, young at heart.

#beginner witch #free tarot #green witch #tarot blog #witch #witchblr #witchcraft #tarot witch #tarotblr #baby witch #grimoire #green wicca #witch tarot #tarot deck #tarot reading #tarot cards #tarotcommunity #tarot #court cards #divination #moon witch #money witchcraft #kitchen witch #witch coven #witches #witchcraft history #astroblr #astrology #astro placements #reading tarot

[byneddiedingo]

Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow in Two Lovers (James Gray, 2008)

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini, Moni Moshonov, Elias Koteas, Bob Ari, Julie Budd, Iain J. Bopp, David Cale. Screenplay: James Gray, Ric Menello. Cinematography: Joaquin Baca-Asay. Production design: Happy Massee. Film editing: John Axelrad. 

A Jewish man who lives with his parents falls in love with a pretty blonde shiksa, despite his parents' urging him to marry the nice Jewish girl whose parents are involved in a business deal with them. Seen this one, have you? Was it an early Woody Allen movie? Or the one with Richard Benjamin and Cybill Shepherd? It was a comedy, right? With lots of ethnic jokes and some cringey scenes? No, it's a James Gray movie set in Brighton Beach. Oh, then the son is a hitman and the business deal is a shady one involving the mob? And it's bleak and unforgiving in both mood and setting? Sorry, no. It's a tender, romantic film, perhaps still a little bleak, about some damaged people who nevertheless find a resolution to their problems. Two Lovers marked a remarkable turn in Gray's filmography, not so much away from the melancholy New York streets of his first films as toward a perception that there's another side to the lives led there. Gray knows the clichés and stereotypes that his plot evokes and deftly avoids them. There's even a bar mitzvah scene that in other hands would have been fertile ground for ethnic stereotyping but just skirts it. It helps that he has actors who know how to avoid the clichés, too. Gwyneth Paltrow, who is sometimes mocked for epitomizing an aloof upper-middle-class image, finds the poignancy in her role as the kept woman of a married hotshot lawyer (Elias Koteas). Isabella Rossellini completely ignores the Jewish mother stereotype while managing somehow to remind us of it. Vinessa Shaw is terrific as the nice Jewish girl who may hear the ticking of her biological clock but doesn't show that she feels pressured by it. But mostly it's Joaquin Phoenix's film as Leonard Kraditor, a man in early middle life who has never found a place in life that wasn't prepared for him by someone else. He opens the film with what may be a suicide attempt -- he's tried it before -- from which he decides to rescue himself. He's had a breakdown before and is on medication, and he's something of a screwup in his work for his father's dry cleaning business, but he realizes that he's still loved by his somewhat bewildered parents. When he gets involved in a relationship with Paltrow's Michelle, a head case and a druggie, we fear for the worst -- which almost happens. But then it doesn't, and in a scene that might have been sentimental, except that it was created by Gray and Phoenix, one of the best director-actor relationships in film, things turn out at least provisionally okay. And we recognize that sometimes that's just the way life is.    

#Two Lovers #James Gray #Joaquin Phoenix #Gwyneth Paltrow

[wafflesinthe504]

The Rookie 5x06 Thoughts

Another Halloween episode! Is The Rookie finally establishing an actual timeline? It took a few seasons but we're here now.

Spoilers for episode 5x06 for The Rookie below. If you don't care about spoilers or have watched the episode, please enjoy!

Starting off with Wopez and Elijah Stone. I'm so excited for the upcoming arc with Elijah Stone. I can easily see this arc potentially putting a strain on Angela and Wesley's relationship for a bit only for them to come out stronger like they did the first time around. When this episode's description said that Wesley knew Elijah's lawyer I didn't think it would because they were engaged previously! And then to find out he cheated on her and not the other way around was surprising.

I do wish that the writers had alluded to Wesley's previous relationship prior to this episode. The reveal felt a little bit out of place left field since there wasn't any previous discussion of Wesley being in a serious relationship before Angela. At least with Angela we do have a scene where she says she hasn't been in as serious of a relationship before Wesley.

When Wesley was explaining his former relationship with Monica (Elijah's lawyer) to Angela, I appreciated that he confirmed to Angela that he wouldn't cheat because he is truly in love with and not because he's scared of her. Wopez for the win!

The last scene between Wesley and Elijah has me excited for the rest of the arc. Also I think that Monica is already stuck under his thumb because of something he has on her or she's actively working with Elijah of her own will.

P.S. Bridget Regan's performance of Monica was great to watch I know her from White Collar. I was trying to place her for like half the episode and when I finally placed her I jumped out my seat.

(I couldn't find a gif of Lisseth on the Rookie so I'm borrowing one of her from Legends of Tomorrow. She's in the last season if you want to see her in something else. Don't worry about trying to understand anything the show is basically a sci- fi crack fic so just enjoy the crazy ride.)

Celina continues become a better and better character with every episode. She's just so much fun to watch and get to know. Her falling asleep while standing up had me cracking up. The fact that she continues to process information that she sees and knows through her dreams is great. I like that Nolan doesn't brush her off even though he has his own reservations about it.

Celina and Nolan teaming up with the DEA agent to solve the case was cool to watch. The case itself was pretty interesting but I moreso enjoyed learning about the DEA agent and his connection to the case. (It was lovely to see J. August Richards again. One of the last times I saw him was on Agents of SHIELD)

Celina not being able to sleep and ending up at Nolan's house was hilarious. I was cracking up when Celina immediately passed out on the couch after listening to Nolan and Bailey argue. Celina wearing the Turning Red merch at the end was adorable.

Nyla and Angela's friendship is always great to watch. All of the Wesley, Nyla, Baby Harper and Lilah scenes were great. James coming to the station with the baby was so cute. Also the way they handled Lilah being uninvited to trick or treating as a family and Nyla reassuring Lilah that she can come to them with anything was so wholesome. Honestly, I just love their whole family dynamic.

And finally, Lucy and Tim. Tiny steps forward are still steps forward. Lucy pranking Tim by sending him on a goose chase around the city for his radio was peak comedy. As funny as it was to watch it also showed us just how well Lucy knows Tim and its somehow better than we originally knew.

Tim with that old giant radio and Lucy having to get a picture with it just shows that their phones camera rolls are definitely of each (and Kojo). Also the fact that Lucy called in a check in just to get Tim to raise the radio so she could get the picture was the perfect combination of smart and petty.

Pranks and Bets really are just their love language at this point.

Finally, we have officially reached Chenford pining era!!! Lucy and Tim looking back at each other in the parking lot but just missing the other looking at them. I call Lucy and Chris breaking up soon. (It would be absolutely cracked if they end up breaking up when Lucy and Tim start riding together again.)

That's it for now hope you enjoyed. Until next time have a great day or night. ✌🏾

#the rookie #lucy chen #tim bradford #angela lopez #wesley evers #nyla harper #wopez #chenford #lucy x tim

[sunlightandsuffering]

A while ago you said you had a fwb somewhat angsty au in mind. Can you please share us a little bit about it? I'm so curious

oh my god lol, I have been talking about my friends with benefits AU since the dawn of time tbh 😂 I started it SOOO long ago, i'm sure i've posted it before but Ill post the snippet again for u lol. But basically I wanted childhood friends to lovers friends with benefits where Mikasa is a super rich girl, and Eren is her bestie, been together forever, off and on a lot bc Mikasa's family doesn't really approve. She goes to balls and big galas a lot and they want her to marry someone of similar status and altho Eren is a great guy, he's probably in trades or something, or just in school rn, not a lawyer or a doctor, or some super rich billionaire they have in mind. So they have like the same recurring fight and it's painful as fuck but this time Eren is kind of the simp can u believe??? LOL! And he's basically been chasing her forever! and he's not so sure he can handle the heartbreak anymore 🥲 i'm laughing tho bc i just reread all of it, and wow I made it so much more painful than i thought lol!

They’re laying together watching some romantic comedy that Mikasa chose, and she’s draped across him like his own personal blanket, wearing little to nothing as usual. His hands clamped around the curve of her waist, stroking up her sides, teasing her lightly.  He knows how to work her up and when the movie changes to a love scene, he observes the first signs of her wanting him. She starts to squirm on top of him and buries her head further into his shoulder ignoring the movie entirely as the actors on screen start to go at it and Mikasa takes the opportunity to begin grinding on him.  If they were wearing less clothes he could slip inside easily right now, and it would be bliss.  Mikasa says exactly what he’s thinking, “Take your pants off?” 

Neither waste much time and his sweats are pulled down just enough to release his throbbing cock and Mikasa slips her panties to the side before positioning her pussy over his dick and they both let out sighs of pleasure as he slides in.  “Fuck.” 

They don’t move much, content just to be connected and Mikasa lets out a soft little moan, “God it’s been a while.” “Who’s fault is that? I told you that fuckwad wasn’t worth your time.”

There’s an edge to his voice as he speaks and he hates it, but it’s hard to control when he considers her getting with someone else.  She moans a little as she slowly begins to rock herself on him, “I just- I thought I’d give it a try—fuck.” She murmurs to herself as she rocks back farther and he bottoms out, his tip kissing her cervix and she bites the muscle of his shoulder, her eyes closing at the pleasure. 

His own hands move to the plush cheeks of her ass to knead and spread them more as he helps her fuck herself on his dick. 

“And what’s the verdict Miki?”  “I’m not gonna try again, I’ve got you.”

A stab of pain cuts through the pleasure at her words, straight to his heart like pins and needles. His next question is cutting, savage, “Did you fuck him?” “Yeah, ate me out too, couldn’t make me come.” 

This ignites the burning fire of jealousy and rage, and he doubles his efforts. “You’re not gonna do it again right? This is my pussy.” He slams into her roughly and she chokes on her next sentence.  “Yeah, -ngh—Fuck Eren.” He grins as he begins to guide her movements more harshly and thrusts himself up inside her as far as he can from his position. 

He tries not to think about how many times they’ve made this exact promise, and just how many times they’ve broken it.  But fuck she feels good, her walls clenching around him every time he tries to pull out, tight and refusing to allow him to leave. 

Sure, they fuck around with other people occasionally when they’re both pissed off like last week but for better or for worse, he’s the one she always comes back to, and it pleases him in a twisted way. 

He’s the only one. 

Except when he’s not.

Except when she’s out at a gala or a charity benefit with her family getting fucked in the bathroom by some douche canoe with more money than he knows what to do with. It doesn’t matter that he’s the one with her right now, carving out his place inside her, a hole no one else can fill, he’s reminded brutally that he has no permanent claim to her. They’re not dating, not married, engaged, nothing, they’re strictly friends with benefits. 

It’s been years since they’ve started this arrangement and its never changed, no matter how much he wants it to or how many times she stabs the knife into his heart.   

His pretty girl tucks a lock of hair behind her ear as she sits up, removing herself from his chest and holding herself over him instead, onyx eyes staring down his face before she goes in for a searing kiss as she spears herself on him again. God had he missed this when they were fighting.  His tongue slides past her lips to tangle with hers before he takes her full bottom lip between his teeth, biting gently. 

His thrusting slows a bit and Mikasa lets out a whine into his mouth, but he wants to enjoy this, it’s been too long, and he wants to drag it out for as long as possible. 

“Eren!” She whines impatiently, pulling away from his lips and he grins up at her, hands still holding her waist and gently rocking her back and forth.  “Let me enjoy this baby it’s been weeks.” “Fine but only if you tie me to the headboard after.” “You got it Miki.” 

[marinerainbow]

Imagine Poppy and Foghorn Leghorn!! XDD I can only picture a silent cartoon of Foghorn just talking onandonandon- as he does- and Poppy's just there unable to get a word in edge-wise for a whole 10 minutes, until Wile E Coyote pops his upper body into the screen and offers her one of his signs XDD

She's takes it gratefully and holds up to the audience while Foghorn's still talking... it's just says 'Help'.

🤣🤣🤣

That, or Barnyard Dawg (BD for short?) just walks on over and thumps the rooster one 😅

Oh my goodness, poor Poppy XDD I can imagine this! Probably during Mr. Acme's funeral (one of the deleted scenes was Acme's funeral, and Foghorn was there. Pops would attend the funeral too, even if she didn't really know Marvin). Or they're just on the streets. And Poppy... She'd feel bad that Barnyard Dawg had to knock the chicken out, but at the same time she's also relieved she can actually say something now XD don't worry, she'll help drag Foghorn off to the side so he doesn't get stepped on or anything.

In fact, I think this could be one of the gags in her cartoons- if she was a comedy toon (or I could make a comic/cartoon series of her life); being talked over, not getting a word in, allowing for plenty of ridiculous misunderstandings or just eye-rolling jokes. Kinda like in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, when the lawyer is interrogating McBadger, but Badger can't even say anything because he's constantly interrupted 😅

Also! If I may add onto this with two suggestions. Poppy running into Elmer Fudd, and Wile. E. Coyote.

Remember that post you made about hoping Poppy will stay safe during rabbit season? Weeeell, there's a reason she doesn't like going into Uptown during rabbit season- not that she can escape it, she can't exactly skip work. All the hunters up there seem to go back to their cartoon roots and start looking for rodents like her to shoot. Fudd is on her trail and starts looking around for her while she's just trying to get to work. She's hiding behind some conveniently shaped object. The hunter is closing in on her hiding spot, so Poppy does the only thing she can think of to do... She starts quacking in hopes it'll throw him off (look, they're all toons, she reasons that this'll work because it'd be funny to the audience if it did XD)

As for Wile, the encounter I've got in my head is that he approaches her the sane way he did Bugs... By knocking on her door and politely telling her that he's going to eat her now and there's no escape 😅 Poppy is panicking, but then Wile mentions the customary two minutes to say her prayers, and she thinks of an idea; she'll act like she's accepting her fate, but insist that she needs to spend her two minutes inside. Wile let's her (again, they're toons XD), and Poppy of course takes that opportunity to climb out the fire escape and run as fast and as far away as she can (and she's a rabbit. She's fast). All while counting down the two minutes she has XD

#asks #Poppy #my own OC's #my own characters #Looney Toons #Foghorn Leghorn #Elmer Fudd #Wile E Coyote #WFRR #Who Framed Roger Rabbit #can Wile give her the 'help' sign when Pepé goes after her? xD #Barnyard Dawg

[noonecaresaboutmyreview]

Love to Hate You - Kdrama Review

Finally finish this gem! It was a very fast watch with only 10 episodes. It was truly a great watch while grinning and blushing the whole time cause this show was so entertaining and funny.

Love to Hate You is about Yeo Mi-Ran (Kim Ok Vin) a lawyer at Gilmu who have dated countless men and Nam Kang Ho (Teo Yoo) a famous actor who has social anxiety towards women. They met because Nam Kang Ho is being represented by Yeo Mi-Ran for anything legal related. Due to some misunderstandings, Yeo Mi-Ran had a bad impression of Nam Kang Ho but he in turn gets curious of her odd behaviour and grows interested in her.

NOW LISTEN, PRAISE THE LORD FOR STRONG FEMALE LEAD ERA 2023! I love that Yeo Mi-Ran is portrayed as someone who can fight and is a justice vigilante. She doesn't allow herself to just watch injustice happen. She fights back and she is not your typical damsel in distress character. But she's also not overly reckless. She's professional at her job as a lawyer and isn't afraid to speak and show how she feels.

Nam Kang Ho at first appears to be this cold straight forward rude character but that doesn't last long. He becomes so soft with his long time friend and manager Do Won-Jun (Kim Ji Hoon) and when he is in love, he is soooo adorable. I can literally see the heart eyes he's giving Yeo Mi-Ran. I love that he is not unreasonably jealous and doesn't mind the fact that Yeo Mi-Ran have dated a lot of guys. He is not insecure of their relationship at all. AGAIN PRAISE THE LORD FOR GREEN FLAG MALE LEAD ERA 2023!

Mature relationships will be forever my favourite genre. They are much more healthy and so cute to watch. I love how both male and female leads break barriers and stereotype of their gender. Honestly, this topic could actually be cringe or unbalanced if not written properly but this drama did a good job at addressing it but also keeping it light.

There is also a 2nd couple in this drama that is just so cute and funny. Kinda wished Kim Ji Hoon had short hair tho but it's probably cause he was shooting this around the same time as Money Heist Korea.

Special mention to Teo Yoo cause he is 41 but still look so good. I remember watching his episode on Omniscient Interfering View (The Manager) and found out that he married Nikki S.Lee, a famous visual artist who have works being exhibited in New York City and Seoul. He is born in Germany and is fluent in both German and English. I heard him speak German and mans got even more attractive! He has been in many works but so glad that this drama made he even more popular to the general population.

Overall, if you're looking for a romantic comedy drama with the early 2000s vibe but with both green flag leads, this drama is for you.

Rating: 4.75/5

-- Fary

#love to hate you #teo yoo #kim ok vin #kim ji hoon #korean drama #kdrama #fary