#got to spend some uninterrupted time with someone special | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-one-where-casey-watches-tv · 3 months

Text

Lost episodes 2.03 "Orientation", 2.21 "?", and 2.24 "Live Together, Die Alone Part 2"

Despite having the worst title sequence I’ve ever seen in my whole entire life, Lost is really very special. It’s affirmed how much I love things that are bizarre and spiritual with a sprawling yet intimate ensemble cast. The amount of people they managed to cram on this island is truly crazy, as is its incredibly rich, decades-long history. I love everything about Lost, but what I love most is the hatch, which really had its moment to shine in season two, although of course the implications of what happened there reverberate throughout the series.

John Locke and Boone spend much of season one excavating the underground metal bunker that they and everyone else comes to refer to as ‘the hatch’. First of all, the way this show normalized its own verbiage and experimental plotlines is incredible to me. The amount of times I heard “I gotta go back to the hatch” without ever thinking anything of it, but then realized I couldn’t even begin to explain what was going on to someone who hadn’t been along for the ride. Lost was so itself.

John got pretty obsessed with the hatch as he and Boone tried and failed to get it open. It was only when Rousseau came to the beach and warned the camp of an impending attack from the Others that more people got involved with attempting to get the hatch open- namely Jack, Kate, and Hurley. The group got some dynamite from The Black Rock to blow it open, but at the moment of truth Hurley noticed the numbers embossed on the metal- his numbers, his cursed, evil numbers. He frantically tries to stop John from blowing the hatch open, which only proceeds to make John hurry the fuck up. I was John’s biggest fan in season one, but this was where I first started to see some cracks in his philosophy and motives. You’d think a man of faith would want to hear about these evil numbers, so that begs the question, what is it that he has faith in, exactly?

What’s actually in the hatch proves to be even more interesting than the shrouded mystery of an unknown underground structure. Desmond Hume is down there, on the fringes of sanity from three years of isolation and getting no more than two uninterrupted hours of sleep. Desmond, who, it turns out, has met Jack in LA (in another life), shipwrecked on the island while attempting to sail around the world. After coming ashore, he was brought into the hatch by a representative of the Dharma Initiative, who has since died. Desmond has since assumed the representative’s task of entering those fateful numbers into an ancient looking computer every 108 minutes. If he doesn’t, the world will end. Or something to that effect. He’s not exactly sure.

In episode 2.03, “Orientation”, Jack and John discover and view the Dharma Initiative orientation film that gives them all the same information that Desmond has, which really isn’t much. The film has clearly been spliced in places, with sections missing, but the ominous gist is this:

“Welcome. I’m Dr. Marvin Candle, and this is the orientation film for Station Three of the Dharma Initiative. The Dharma Initiative was created in 1970. Following in the footsteps of BF Skinner… imagined a large-scale communal research compound where scientists and free thinkers from around the globe could pursue research in psychology, parapsychology, electromagnetism, and utopian social… whose financial backing made their dream of a multipurpose social science research facility a reality. You and your partner are currently located in Station Three, ‘The Swan’…

“Not long after the experiments began, however, there was… an incident. Since that time, the following protocol has been observed. Every 108 minutes, the button must be pushed. From the moment the alarm sounds, you will have four minutes to enter the code into the microcomputer processor… Do not attempt to use the computer for anything… Congratulations!”

Matthew Fox and Terry O'Quinn in "Orientation". Image courtesy of IMDb.

John wins me back for a moment here by voicing my exact thought: “We’re gonna need to watch that again”. Jack, on the other hand, surprises me by how viscerally he rejects everything he just saw. The two men are incredulous at each other’s reaction to the film, and in this moment, I’m on John’s side. And ultimately, as much as he fights it, Jack is too.

The question that Jack furiously insists be answered isn’t even if the button is real, but why Desmond and John so readily believe that it is. When Jack first asks if Desmond really believes this is happening, he replies, “Why wouldn’t it be?” Sayid, who was brought down to the hatch to fix the broken computer that is still counting down, feels similarly: “All I need to know is that that timer is counting down to something, and that this computer needs to be repaired.” Jack is mystified by everyone else’s participation and pushes on:

“It says ‘Quarantine’ on the inside of the hatch to keep you down here, keep you scared. But you know what? We’ve been up there for over 40 days, and no one’s gotten sick. You think this is the only part of it that’s true? Did you ever think that they put you down here to push a button every 100 minutes, just to see if you would? That the computer, the button, it’s just a mind game? An experiment?”

While Desmond and Sayid fulfill what they see as an odd but important duty, John eats this whole thing up with a soup ladle in a different way. Desmond answers Jack’s question by admitting that he thinks about this possibility every single day, and even hopes that it’s true, but won’t risk blowing up the island. But just as John’s desire to open the hatch was clearly not rooted in saving the group, so too does he not push the button to save lives, but rather because he is confident that his pushing the button is part of his walk on a predestined divine path for which he will ultimately be rewarded.

Where Desmond and Sayid give the loyal, but reality-based responses of “I dunno about you, brother, but every time I walk past that wall out there, my fillings hurt,” and “I’m sure you’ll tell me why once I’ve [fixed the computer]”, John practically joins the Dharma Initiative right then and there:

JOHN: You saw the film, Jack. This is a two-person job, at least. It’s a leap of faith, Jack.

JACK: Some man takes you down here, shows you a movie, and you push a button on faith alone? Nothing is going to happen!

François Chau in Lost. Image courtesy of IMDb.

This is John’s worst quality, but I think at this moment it has a positive impact. Whatever John decides to do, the whole group has to do it. If he wants to push the button, everybody has the push the button. If he wants to stop, everyone has to stop. If he wants to stay on the island, he blows up the submarine so nobody can leave.

But at this moment in time, Jack needed to be put on the spot… and with seconds to spare, he pushes the button. Little does anybody know, Jack is actually the one on a divine path, and this is his first step on a journey that will end with him being the one adamant about destiny and what he’s “supposed” to do.

John seems like a man of conviction, but his belief system is actually incredibly fragile. I honestly just feel kind of sad for him, but my sympathies only go so far as he continues to make the same mistake over and over again. He puts all of his beliefs, faith, and livelihood into things outside of himself and is repeatedly left utterly lost when those things don’t care about him as much as he cared about them. On the mainland it was his father and the marijuana grow house community, on the island it was the hatch, the button, and then the nebulous character of “the island” itself. He’s the definition of a servant, and I appreciate what his ultimate fate suggests about living a life without independent thought.

In line with this behavioral pattern, John’s belief in the button, and subsequently his belief in himself, is shattered in 2.21, “?” (sick episode title also). In this episode, John begrudgingly helps a born-again Mr. Eko follow his dreams (literal dreams) to something he believes the island wants to show him. John’s impatience for anyone else’s faith-based escapades is another trait that annoys me, but it aligns perfectly with who he is- no one but him should be receiving any special treatment from the universe.

John and Eko discover yet another hatch (there are a few, it turns out), and yet another orientation film, not to mention a wall of screens that reveal that their hatch is under surveillance.

Terry O'Quinn and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in "?". Image courtesy of IMDb.

“Station 5, or The Pearl, is a monitoring station where the activities of participants in Dharma Initiative projects can be observed and recorded… your tour of duty in The Pearl will last three weeks, and during this time you will observe a psychological experiment in progress. Your duty is to observe team members in another station on the island. These team members are not aware they are under surveillance or that they are subjects of an experiment. What is the nature of the experiment, you might ask? What do these subjects believe they are accomplishing? All you need to know is the subjects believe their job is of the utmost importance. Each time a notebook is filled with the fruits of your diligent observation, roll it up and place it in one of the containers provided. Then simply place the container in the pneumatic tube and presto, it will be transported directly to us.”

This time, when Eko asks John if he’d like to see the film again, he most certainly does not. He’s completed deflated. Eko, interestingly, is invigorated, feeling more called to push the button now than ever. The possibility is raised that there’s no way to know how deep the layers of experimentation go- maybe the observers are in fact the ones being duped into a useless task. John doesn’t care anymore:

JOHN: I’m sorry, weren’t you just watching the same thing I was?

EKO: Yes, John, and I believe the work you have been doing is more important now than ever.

JOHN: What work?

EKO: Pushing the button.

JOHN: That’s not work. That’s a joke. Rats in a maze with no cheese.

EKO: It is work, John. We are being tested. The reason to do it, to push the button, is not because we are told to do so in a film.

JOHN: Oh, well, then, what is the reason, Mr. Eko?

EKO: We do it because we believe we are meant to. Isn’t that the reason you pushed it, John?

JOHN: I was never meant to do anything. Every second of my pathetic little life is as useless as that button. You think it’s important? You think it’s necessary? It’s nothing. It’s nothing. It’s meaningless. And who are you to tell me that it’s not?

This should have been an eye-opening moment for John. While I agree with Eko, John was also right about himself and had some important realizations- but not quite enough. He has had a pathetic little life, but that’s exactly because he is happy to be a rat, so long as there is cheese. While Desmond accepted his bleak life’s purpose of pushing a button forever to thanklessly save the world over and over with no expectation of getting anything in reward, John was only doing it because he believed some unknown entity would be pleased with him.

Terry O'Quinn in "Orientation". Image courtesy of IMDb.

I don’t blame John for wanting to stop pushing the button here, but instead of refocusing his energy on finding what he is meant to do, he rededicates himself to making everyone else stop pushing the button. Where Jack had the attitude of “push it yourself”, John is full of spiteful rage and wants to let the timer run out to stick it to… the seemingly extinct Dharma Initiative? It’s unclear. But the group, particularly Eko, has now committed to pushing the button. They’ve started taking shifts, they’ve built a routine around it. “Live Together, Die Alone Part 2” is all about John and Eko’s battle over the button- and the looming question of it it's real.

As much as John’s behavior bothers me here, I absolutely love that we get a concrete answer to if the button is real- and we wouldn’t have had they never stopped pushing it. In “Live Together, Die Alone Part 2”, John barricades himself in the room with the button, bringing impenetrable walls down around him to ensure no one stops him from letting the timer run out. Eko, determined to push the button, gets more dynamite from The Black Rock (this becomes a common errand) to blow the doors open. He detonates the dynamite as the timer counts down, but it doesn’t have the desired effect and he doesn’t make it to the button.

The hatch starts to shake, metal flies across the room as electromagnetic energy escalates. They didn’t push the button, and something happened. The exact something that Desmond predicted. Now poring over the reports Eko brought back from the Pearl, Desmond frantically realizes that the one time he ever failed to push the button was the same day Oceanic 815 crashed on the island. While we’re warned throughout this show not to mistake coincidence for fate, everything happening in this moment confirms: not pushing the button crashed their plane. The button is real.

Desmond, who has a fail-safe key from his old Dharma companion, crawls through some tunnels to turn it, a self-sacrificing mission that sends the full release of electromagnetic energy inwards. The impact reverberates throughout the island, but only the hatch implodes. The presence of electromagnetism on the island and Desmond’s fateful missing of the button/inadvertent crashing of the plane will continue to be a driving force of Lost’s action, but this is the end of the hatch as we know it.

And perhaps most interestingly of all, no one really cares. The hatch had a shower, a washer/dryer, and multiple beds, all of which seemed to be rarely used. In fact, it seems that many of the survivors of Oceanic 815 never even went in it. The food stockpile Desmond was living off of was freely distributed to the camp with no attempt to ration it. No one bemoans returning to sleeping on a tarp and doing laundry in the waterfall. This attitude is telling. As much as some characters are adamant about getting off the island, the happenings here are much more significant than mere survival, and on some level, everybody knows that.

I love all of Lost, but the story of the hatch is easily the most compelling, and the ideas batted around in season two hold many of the show’s key takeaways, which are revealed more bluntly in season six.

On that note, I wish I had more to say about the show’s ultimate conclusion. I liked it!

I was compelled to watch this show because I found all the discourse surrounding the series’ controversial ending so interesting, but as I was promised by a friend, I found it emotionally fulfilling and sound. The finale is comparable to those of Six Feet Under, The Leftovers, and The Good Place, which is great company to be in, but I do think those other shows’ conclusions are a little stronger.

However, I think that has more to do with Lost’s middle than it does its end. Lost never lost me (haha), but I’ll admit the end of season four and beginning of season five was a little manic. For the show’s ultimate message to be something so ancient, spiritual, and utterly simple, they sure spent a lot of time filling my head with quantum physics and generations worth of interpersonal alliances and rivalries. I was still working out what exactly Ben Linus and Charles Widmore were fighting about when the show told me that they don’t really matter at all.

I love Lost’s finale more and more the longer I sit with it, but in the moment my head was so cluttered with timelines and science and the momentum of the mission in the that it was hard to really feel the full extent of its serenity. I’ll defend it vigorously today, but I wasn’t as stunned, mouth open while the credits rolled as I was with Six Feet Under, The Leftovers, and The Good Place.

All this to say, talk to me about Lost! I think it’s the most interesting thing in the world at the moment.

#lost #desmond hume #john locke #jack shephard #mr eko #matthew fox #terry o'quinn #adewale akinnuoye-agbaje #sawyer #james ford #tv review #tv criticism #tv #henry ian cusick #damon lindelof

1 note · View note

peternelthorpe · 3 months

Text

What Is the Best Valentine Gift for a Girl?

New Post has been published on https://wr1tepress.com/what-is-the-best-valentine-gift-for-a-girl/

What Is the Best Valentine Gift for a Girl?

Looking for the perfect Valentine gift for that special girl in your life? Well, look no further because we have got you covered.

Whether you're in a new relationship or have been together for years, finding the best gift can be a daunting task. Should you go for something sentimental or something extravagant? Should it be a surprise or something you discuss together?

In this discussion, we will explore some of the top Valentine gift ideas for girls that are sure to make her heart skip a beat.

So, get ready to discover the ultimate gift that will leave her feeling loved and cherished on this special day.

Key Takeaways

Personalized jewelry is a thoughtful and meaningful gift that can be customized with initials, birthstones, or engraved messages.

A romantic getaway allows couples to create lasting memories and strengthen their bond by spending quality time together in a peaceful destination or exploring a new city.

A handwritten letter is a timeless gesture of love, conveying deep feelings and thoughts, and serving as a tangible reminder of the relationship.

A spa day experience offers relaxation, pampering, and quality time to reconnect, which can strengthen the connection between the couple.

Personalized Jewelry

When it comes to finding a Valentine gift for a girl that's both personal and meaningful, personalized jewelry is the perfect choice. There's something incredibly special about receiving a piece of jewelry that has been customized just for you. It shows that the person who gave it to you took the time and effort to create something unique and meaningful.

One of the most popular options for personalized jewelry is a customized necklace. This can be a necklace with her initials, her birthstone, or even a pendant with a special message engraved on it. Every time she wears it, she'll be reminded of the love and care that went into choosing such a thoughtful gift.

Another option is an engraved bracelet. This can be a simple bracelet with a personal message engraved on the inside, or it can be a charm bracelet with different charms that represent special moments or memories. Not only is this a beautiful piece of jewelry, but it also serves as a constant reminder of the love and connection you share.

Personalized jewelry isn't only a gift, but it's also a symbol of belonging. It tells the recipient that they're loved and cherished, and that they're an important part of your life.

Romantic Getaway

For a truly unforgettable Valentine's Day gift, consider whisking your special someone away on a romantic getaway. It's a chance to escape the daily routine and create lasting memories together.

Here are a few ideas to make your romantic getaway extra special:

Romantic Picnic: Pack a basket filled with delicious treats and find a picturesque spot to have a romantic picnic. Spread out a cozy blanket, open a bottle of champagne, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings while indulging in each other's company. The intimacy and tranquility of a romantic picnic will surely deepen your connection.

Weekend Retreat: Surprise your loved one with a weekend retreat to a peaceful destination. Choose a cozy cabin in the mountains or a charming bed and breakfast by the beach. Disconnect from the outside world and focus on each other. Take long walks hand in hand, cozy up by the fireplace, and simply enjoy the uninterrupted time together.

Explore a New City: Plan a trip to a city neither of you have visited before. Wander the streets, discover hidden gems, and immerse yourselves in the local culture. Visit museums, try new cuisines, and take romantic strolls along the city's landmarks. Exploring a new city together will create a sense of adventure and excitement, strengthening your bond.

A romantic getaway is a gift that shows your commitment and love. It allows you to escape the ordinary and create extraordinary moments together. Choose an experience that resonates with your partner's preferences and interests, and watch as your love story unfolds in a beautiful setting.

Thoughtful Handwritten Letter

If you want to express your love in a heartfelt and personal way, consider writing a thoughtful handwritten letter to your special someone. There's something truly magical about putting pen to paper and pouring your emotions onto the page. A handwritten letter allows you to convey your deepest feelings and thoughts in a way that no other gift can.

In your letter, take the time to craft a heartfelt message that speaks directly to your partner's heart. Tell them why they're so special to you and how they've changed your life for the better. Share your hopes and dreams for the future and express your gratitude for having them by your side.

Consider including a love poem in your letter. Poetry has a way of touching the soul and can convey the depth of your emotions in a beautiful and artistic manner. Whether you choose to write your own poem or borrow the words of a renowned poet, make sure it speaks to your partner's unique qualities and the love you share.

A handwritten letter is a timeless gesture that shows your partner just how much they mean to you. It's a tangible reminder of your love and a keepsake that they can cherish forever.

Spa Day Experience

Indulge in the ultimate relaxation and pampering with a spa day experience, allowing you to unwind and rejuvenate together. Imagine stepping into a serene oasis, where the worries of the world melt away and tranquility takes over. A spa day isn't just a luxurious treat, but a chance to connect with your loved one on a deeper level, creating lasting memories of blissful relaxation.

Here are three reasons why a spa day experience is the perfect Valentine's gift:

Relaxation Retreat: In today's fast-paced world, finding time to relax and recharge is essential. A spa day offers a peaceful escape from the chaos, allowing you and your partner to unwind and let go of stress. From soothing massages to calming facials, every treatment is designed to melt away tension and promote a sense of tranquility.

Pampering Package: Show your partner how much you care by pampering them with a spa day. From luxurious robes to aromatic oils, every detail is carefully curated to create a truly indulgent experience. Spoil yourselves with soothing treatments, invigorating saunas, and refreshing pools, leaving you both feeling rejuvenated and loved.

Quality Time: In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, finding quality time to spend together can be a challenge. A spa day allows you to escape the distractions and focus solely on each other. As you relax side by side, you can reconnect, share intimate conversations, and deepen your bond.

Give the gift of relaxation and pampering this Valentine's Day with a spa day experience. It's not just a gift, but an opportunity to create cherished memories and strengthen your connection.

Surprise Date Night

Immerse yourselves in an unforgettable evening of romance and surprise with a spontaneous date night that will reignite the spark between you and your partner. This Valentine's Day, go beyond the typical dinner reservation and take your loved one on a journey filled with passion and intimacy.

Picture this: a candlelit dinner under the stars or a cozy outdoor picnic in a secluded spot.

Start by setting the stage for an enchanting candlelit dinner. Choose a location that holds special meaning for both of you – perhaps the place where you had your first date or where you shared a memorable moment. Set up a table adorned with flickering candles, soft music playing in the background, and your partner's favorite dishes. As you savor each bite and gaze into each other's eyes, time stands still, and the world fades away, leaving only the two of you.

If you prefer a more casual and relaxed atmosphere, opt for an outdoor picnic. Pack a basket with delicious treats, a cozy blanket, and a bottle of your favorite wine. Find a picturesque spot in nature, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. As you lay on the blanket, surrounded by the beauty of the outdoors, you'll feel a sense of tranquility and connection with your partner.

Surprise date nights like these allow you to escape from the ordinary and create cherished memories together. They remind us of the power of love, the importance of quality time, and the joy of being in each other's company.

Conclusion

In the end, whether it's personalized jewelry, a romantic getaway, a heartfelt letter, a relaxing spa day, or a surprise date night, the best Valentine's gift for a girl is one that shows thoughtfulness, love, and a deep understanding of her desires.

It's about creating moments that make her feel cherished and valued. Remember, it's not about the material gift itself, but the emotions and experiences it represents.

So, choose wisely and make this Valentine's Day truly unforgettable for her.

0 notes

mugunghwc · 11 months

Text

unprompted ask / always accepting

@badheart said: Stares at a bouquet of flowers on Rei's table. It was obvious that it was not her choice but his, considering the choice of colours. So cheesy. It was an impulsive action as she suddenly pulled a flower off its stem, just when Rei got back. Fang stared at her rather wide-eyed, not sure what to even do.

it felt like a while since she last had fang over at her place, with one of those instances being that night in which she found about the secret that she had been hiding from everyone. it was both, relieving to finally be able to confide in someone about it, & not have to think of some excuse to justify this or that, but considering the interaction between those two... rei felt a bit guilty any time he was mentioned or alluded, as she did not want her friend to think that she’d suddenly forget about her. she wasn’t taking sides... even that wasn’t how the two perceived it.

in the end, rei simply wanted to spend some quality time with fang ; going into the bedroom to get some pillows & blankets to place across the living room & lay down while watching another ghibli movie. it was supposed to be a cosy night for the two of them, & with no messages from jiro, she assumed that their night would go uninterrupted. she hadn’t paid any mind to fang when she decided to stay behind, unbeknownst to her about her thoughts regarding the bouquet that was placed over the table. a gesture that had brought a big smile to rei’s lips, mostly because there was no special reason behind it like a holiday. that kind of detail always meant the most to her—just knowing that someone thought of her, filled her with joy.

upon her return, what she found surprised her, but as much as it confused her at first. fang looked like a child who had just been caught doing something they were not supposed to, with her gaze set on the flower that had been torn from the arrangement. did she try to grab one & it broke? that was her initial thought. the things that she had been carried were placed on the ground before going back to her friend & pulling the stem without a flower out of the arrangement ; staring at it for a moment. “... it’s okay.” assuming it was a mistake & not on purpose ( even if something nagged at the back of her mind saying otherwise ). rei ended up picking the flower & placed it just above fang’s ear while offering a smile.

“looks pretty still.”

#badheart #.ic / way too many people tryna take the crown — npc #.ask / never have any regrets after the game #verse 01. theory of beauty / main

1 note · View note

bahamaat · 1 year

Text

Wow, just wow.

That new playtest packet, am I right?

Seriously concerned about the lack of coherence in their edition balance patch.

Here are my thoughts: Weapon Mastery - a good first draft, but the system needs some more work, the mastery traits are all over the place, some are underwhelming and some are crazy, while Topple adds a whole new die roll to every attack to resolve so that will slow down game play.

One thing I really would like to see, is maybe exploring this mastery idea with other gear, including armor. Also, the traits/riders could be expanded to include unique ones for subclasses as special abilities, or magic items could get unique traits for a little extra treat for mastery users.

Barbarian - good, I still have issues with why Primal classes don't get the white glove treatment that Arcane and Divine classes got. The Berserker has a wild Frenzy buff to damage.

Fighter - huge missed opportunity, I've been convinced that Indominable is better than I thought, but I think all the mechanics could simply be replaced with Legendary Resistance - why a re-roll with a huge bonus to virtually succeed when you just make a simpler rule that says X times per day you go "nope" to a threat?

Also, they are really afraid of their underwhelming mastery system to give Fighters such a restrictive access to those, often underwhelming traits. And they didn't make use of stances/styles, which was an existing system that could have had more development. So now fighters gets two half-done systems, and then the already good Battlemaster maneuvers.

Sorceror - honestly nothing wowed me, the now-generic level 3 subclass choice makes levels 1 and 2 feel funny the same way it does for Clerics and Warlocks. Pretty sideways revision - a little buff here and there, the language with twin spells vs spending your sorcery points to simply buy another spell.

Warlock - I don't hate the whole rework, but I feel it really was a misstep from the reactions. I do think it is a nasty bait and switch as it essentially is another class or a variant Warlock entirely. It really makes them more of a melee/mid-range mix of melee/magic and very little else.

I think the issue here isn't so much the changes themselves, but they need a discussion about how the players wanted the Warlock to play vs how the designers think they ought to be played.

So maybe less of a revision and more of a Tasha's set of variant traits?

And yeah, the half-caster thing is really odd and really slows down their development over time in the game. For Arcane-using half-casters we already have the Artificer, the Eldritch Knight Fighter, one of the Monk subclasses and the Arcane Trickster. We didn't need Pathfinder's Magus, it's already a crowded fantasy niche and that will really confuse players.

Wizard - okay, I like the Academic ability.

The other stuff is pants as written. It isn't bad, it's too damn powerful with a lot of abuse potential (people are already demoing uninterruptable hastes, AoE spells that cover a quarter square mile in area, ICBM-level ranges, etc). And it has knock on effects that are really crippling to the class (if you destroy the wizard's spell book and they don't have Scribe Spell memorized they are fucked until they level up and burn their 2 bonus spells on getting Scribe Spell again, or they steal someone's spellbook).

That said, I do like the fantasy they are going for, as the Wizard approaches magic-as-science and so they use their theoretical to construct spells - whereas Sorcerors do this on the fly with their new class-exclusive spells.

I do dislike that the idea the designers had to rein in the Wizard was to burden them with so many "must memorize every day" spells that it eats up their spells prepared and limits what the player wants to do.

Epic Feats - man... this whole concept needs a serious rewrite, what they consider "epic" is so utterly trash and the balance is broken. +5 damage on a crit vs infinite free teleports are not equal in value.

This whole thing will need another year or more to revise, but I fear they are too in love with their ideas that they are unwilling to change significantly. And given the damage they continue to inflict on their brand both in the D&D context as well as the overall Wizards/Hasbro - they are really sending late-stage TSR vibes. Guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it comes to the Williams' family.

#onednd #onedndplaytest #hasbro #designer fail

0 notes

drabbles-mc · 3 years

Text

A Thousand Ways

Nestor Oceteva x F!Reader

Request by Anon: Could you do one liner prompts 3 (There are a thousand different ways to tell someone you love them, and I intend to try every single one) and 7 (Who doesn’t like a little murder to start their evening?)? Anyone would be great but i feel like it has Nestor or Johnny written all over it.😊 Thank you Queen (Prompts are from This Post in case you were wondering!)

Warnings: language, mentions of murder (in a crime documentary setting), Nestor being a sweet little gem of a man

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: Soft Nestor is the best Nestor and I’m willing to fight anyone about it. I had so much fun writing these prompts for him. Thanks for the request! xo

General Mayans Taglist: @mayans-sauce @thesandbeneathmytoes @paintballkid711 @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @queenbeered @sillygoose6969 @sesamepancakes @yourwonkywriter @chibsytelford @gemini0410 @multiyfandomgirl40 @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @plentyoffandoms @georgiaaintnopeach @twistnet @garbinge @themoonandthewicked @bucky-iss-bae @encounterthepast @everyhowlmarksthedead @rosieposie0624 @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo @mijop @xladymacbethx @blessedboo @holl2712 @lakamaa12 @the-radical-venus

By the time that Nestor walked through the door that evening, you had already gotten the house cleaned up and dinner ready. It was a pleasant surprise when he reached out to you during the afternoon and told you that he was going to be done earlier than expected—that was something that was practically unheard of. Since that was the case, you took the time to make your night in together a little extra special. He never asked you to, glad to just be able to see you and spend some uninterrupted time with you, but you didn’t mind. It never hurt to show a little extra appreciation, and Nestor always did the same for you.

He walked over to you as you set plates down on the coffee table in your living room. He waited for you to turn and look over at him, and once you did a smile broke out across his face. He stepped in close to you, pulling you into a kiss as his arms kept you pulled tight against his chest. You couldn’t help but to laugh as his lips attached themselves to yours, still needy after all the time you two had been together.

“What’s all this?” he asked when he finally pulled out of your kiss.

You smiled at him with a small shrug, “Just dinner.”

“Oh? Just dinner,” he shook his head, “You don’t have to do all this, you know.”

You pressed a kiss along his jaw, “I know,” you gently nudged him towards the hallway that led to your bedroom, “Go get changed so we can eat. Figured we could watch that new true crime thing they put on Netflix.”

He laughed as he walked down the hallway, unbuttoning his shirt as he went, “Ah, yea. Who doesn’t like a little murder to start their evening?”

You laughed as you called after him, “It’s murder and dinner!”

When he came back into the living room, he was in a plain t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Despite the fact that that was what he always wore around the house, you still found yourself staring and biting down lightly on your bottom lip as you looked him over. Nestor watched you taking him in and he couldn’t help but to laugh.

“Spend all your time staring, your food is gonna get cold,” he sat down next to you on the couch, leaning in and pressing a kiss to your temple, “And you’ll miss all the murder.”

“Well,” you laughed as you grabbed your plate and settled back into the couch cushions, “can’t be missing all the murder.”

Watching any kind of crime show with Nestor was always interesting. Sometimes he would watch them without making any kind of comment, just letting you enjoy the suspense of it all, trying to figure everything out on your own. Other times he just wouldn’t be able to stop himself from interjecting and telling you all the ways someone could have done something differently so they wouldn’t have gotten caught, or what the cops should’ve done that would’ve solved the problems instantly. You would listen, and sometimes you would laugh at just how frustrated he got over it. On multiple occasions you had to remind him that the people on the TV couldn’t actually hear him when he was giving his unsolicited advice.

“I’m just saying,” he shook his head slightly as he wrapped his arm around you, pulling you against his side, “If I was in charge, they wouldn’t have even needed to make a fucking documentary.”

You laughed, nodding your head, “I know.”

“Is that sarcasm I hear in your voice?” he looked down at you with a smirk.

You chuckled, “What? Never.”

He shook his head at you as he kissed the top of your head, “Sure.”

It got later into the night, and you were completely curled up in Nestor’s lap as the two of you worked your way through the last episode of the documentary. You toyed absent-mindedly with the end of one of Nestor’s braids while your eyes were glued to the television. Nestor was trying to focus on what you were watching, but every couple of minutes he found his gaze shifting back over to you. He loved how intensely you watched everything, no matter what you were watching. He smiled at the way your brows knitted together, the way that every now and then you’d press your lips together into a thin line as you were trying to piece things together on your own, all the while your fingers seemed to work independently from the rest of you as they stroked the braid in your hand.

He gave your thigh a light squeeze as he continued to gaze at you. He saw the smile spread across your face but you couldn’t peel your eyes off of the television, too invested in how things were going to be resolved. All he wanted to do was cup your face and kiss you, but he wanted to let you get your closure. He smiled and shook his head slightly as you straightened your back a little as your interest continued to peak.

When the end credits started to roll, you stretched your entire body out, nearly reaching both ends of the small couch, as you ran your hands over your face with a groan. Nestor laughed at your antics as he rested his hands on your stomach, waiting for you to gather yourself.

“How do you not get stressed out about these things?” you asked as you looked up at him.

He scooped you up and resituated you so that you were back in his lap again, your arms wrapping around his shoulders while his looped around your waist, “You get stressed enough for the both of us.”

You chuckled, “That’s fair,” you looked at the calm smile on his face and tilted your head slightly, “What’re you thinking, hm?”

He shook his head, “Nothin’,” he kissed you lightly on the lips.

“You lying to me, Nestor?” you laughed.

He smiled, pulling you tighter against him, “Never.”

“Then tell me what you’re thinking,” your tone was playful, light.

He laughed, “I’ve been thinking, for about the last hour or so, that I want to kiss you and carry you off to bed. But I couldn’t because I knew you would be distracted, needing to know if they caught the guy.”

You couldn’t contain your laughter, “You know me so well. Giving me time to watch my crime documentaries is a love language, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure it is,” he kissed your temple, “There are a thousand different ways to tell someone you love them, and I intend to try every single one.”

Your entire body felt warm as you took in every word that he said to you. Despite the fact that the two of you had been together for so long, he was still able to give you butterflies. You leaned in and pressed your forehead against his, allowing your eyes to close.

“How about you whisk me away and try a few other ways?” you couldn’t help but to giggle.

You felt his lips curl into a smile as he kissed your cheek. He stood up, easily shifting you so that he could carry you off to bed, “I thought you’d never ask.”

#mayans mc #mayansmc #mayans fx #mayans mc imagine #nestor oceteva #nestor oceteva x reader #nestor oceteva x you #nestor oceteva imagine #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

157 notes · View notes

everlarkficexchange · 3 years

Text

Just Close Your Eyes, You'll Be Alright

Written by: @alliswell21

Prompt 154: Soulmate au where your soulmates injuries and scars show up on your body tinted in their favorite color. Katniss through the years as she discovers new marks, pondering what it could possibly be, finally figuring out that her soulmate is being hurt way too regularly and in very specific places. Do her parents figure out Peeta is being abused? How do they find and “rescue” him? Or does Peeta live his whole childhood being abused before turning 18? Does he runaway? How do he and Katniss find their way to one another? [submitted by @lovely-tothe-bone / @peetamewllark]

Teen and up

AU- Modern setting (but like without cell phones). One Shot.

Warnings: Canon typical violence, Language, child abuse and neglect, injuries, implied (non-descriptive) underage smut. Nobody dies! Unbetaed.

-lyrics of Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift, Feat. The Civil Wars - Songs from District 12 and Beyond (2012)

Author’s note: Thank you to @lovely-tothe-bone for her inspiring prompt and to the organizers of EFE, for bringing the challenge back so faithfully, you ladies rock!

KPKPKPKP

“Look at her!” Papa screeched at the policeman, lifting the back of my favorite pink polka dotted shirt. “You have to do something about this, Sheriff Cray!” Papa demanded, angrily.

The man just watched, like he didn’t care. Then sat back down lazily, “There’s nothing much I can do, to be honest. Unless you can produce the child sporting the actual bruises, my hands are tied.” Said the policeman.

I had no idea what the problem was, I felt fine, but ever since my 5th birthday, every time Mama helped me out of my day clothes for my bath, she wept and held me close to her chest, whispering “No child deserves to be treated so poorly,”

Papa too always made a face and looked sad and angry when Mama showed him my back after my baths.

It was funny how bath time could easily be my favorite time of day, but it made the grown ups upset somehow. I just liked that mama would rub ointments on my back, bottom and thighs, carefully and without fuzzing about the time she was spending away from my baby sister, Primrose. Is not that I didn’t like Prim— I thought she was as lovely as a doll— I didn’t mind sharing mama’s snuggles with her either, but it was nice to just feel mama’s warm hands caressing me to sleep every now and then.

Either way, I wished someone would tell me what was so wrong with my behind that had the grown ups acting so weird.

They were starting to scare me, really.

“There has to be something we can do! There are genetic tests to determine matchless people, couldn’t we use the same technology to find the markers matching my daughter’s counterpart to identify him?”

“Mr. Everdeen, I’m not a geneticist. I wouldn’t know about anything like it… and who’s to say we could use it to find your girl’s soulmate? Then we what? It’ll open an unknown Pandora’s box situation, people would start tracking soulmates illegally or something less than honorable. It’ll certainly set a precedent we cannot foresee the ramifications of!”

“You’re telling me that there’s some kid out there, somewhere, getting beaten week in and week out, and you’ll do nothing about it?! You’ll allow the abuse to continue uninterrupted?”

The man nodded slowly, “You said it yourself, Mr. Everdeen. The kid’s ‘out there, somewhere’, we don’t even know if he’s local, or his age. In any case, I only have jurisdiction over District 12, and I can’t very well launch a country wide investigation on an alleged case of abuse, specially if we have no victim,”

“But my daughter’s soulmate is suffering! Who knows what permanent damage this poor child may have as an adult! It’s my daughter’s future we’re talking about!”

“Most unfortunate, sir. I don’t wanna seem unsympathetic, Mr. Everdeen, but unless your little girl can figure out a way to communicate with her soulmate, find… an address— at the very least a name— there isn’t anything we can do to help.”

Papa huffed, his nose flared, “Fine. Thank you for your consideration…Sheriff.” Papa put his big ol’ hand on my shoulder and guided me away, “Come on Katniss, it’s time to go home.”

I looked up at Papa and reached for his hand. I smiled at him, “It’s okay, Papa. Mama says to give grumpy people time, and they may be nicer the next time we talk to them.”

Papa smiled at me, but it didn’t crinkled the corner of his eyes, like real smiles did, “That’s nice sweetie… although, that usually only applies to people just waking up from naps, like you and me,”

I giggled when he picked me up and tickled my tummy.

Papa kept talking to grown ups about my back, but nothing was ever done about it.

———————-

I was 11 when our world pitched upside down.

Papa was one the foramen on shift at the town’s coal mine when the earth shifted and an entire tunnel collapsed.

Prim and I were in school when the sirens went off. There’s nothing worse than to hear the end of your world being advertised so loudly and without mercy.

I grabbed my sister’s hand and rushed to the mines; we found our mother there, clinging to the yellow tape cordoning off the site.

I should’ve known something wasn’t right when I was the one seeking Mama out, trying to comfort her, instead of the other way around. It was the first time the concept of a soulmate stopped being an abstract notion, and became a reality, because my mother stopped functioning altogether the moment she realized Papa had been hurt.

I saw how much a soulmate could affect you. It wasn’t only the marks on the skin— those came without conscious pain— it was the fear of knowing that someone you loved was hurting, sometimes badly, and not being able to do anything about it.

Mama’s left leg started glowing pink from the shin down at first, and the color began to shift to a darker red the longer Papa laid underground.

Unbeknownst to us, my father had been pinned under fallen rock and dirt after pushing a man to safety, risking his own life. The sharp end of a pickax perforated Papa’s leg in the cave-in. The pickaxe worked as a plug, keeping him from bleeding out while he waited for the rescue crew to reach him.

Papa laid on the floor of the very last lift to surface with rescued miners. He was unconscious. Had suffered extensive blood loss. The lone medic in the rescue crew couldn’t fix him up right away, but Mama was a nurse, and like a switch flipping on, she ripped off the bottom of her skirt, and tied a tourniquet around my father’s thigh, saving his life at the cost of his limb.

My father lived, but his leg had to be amputated.

He couldn’t work in the mines anymore, and what little money we got as compensation from his injuries, were put into paying off the mortgage, because Papa decided that having a roof over his family’s heads was far more important than having a leg.

The rub was, a roof didn’t fill our stomachs or put a coat around Prim’s shivering shoulders. Mama put a hold on her nursing career, obsessing over Papa’s care, despite his protests. Someone had to pick up the pieces, and that someone turned to be me.

I started selling everything I could carry out of the house in my arms: tools, kitchen appliances, small furniture, etc. But we never had many possessions to begin with, so my wares ran out soon, and I turned to our closets for their meager treasures.

I sold my parents best clothes, along with my sister’s winter boots that didn’t fit her anymore. I looked at my own shoes with longing, but put them into Primrose’s shoe rack, deciding I could manage with Mama’s boots, if I stuffed them with newspaper. Mama never left the house anyway. Neither did Papa for that matter, but he wasn’t dead, just convalescencing, so I left him a pair of footwear just in case, and sold his work boots and his Sunday loafers.

The day I was down to the last pair of clothing, we had been slurping on mint tea for the third day in a row from a few old leaves I found in the very back of the pantry. It was the last of our food, besides Papa’s bland diet, but I refused to let on on how precariously stocked we were, until absolutely necessary.

But, nobody wanted the hand-me-down baby clothes I had for sale, nor the slightly beaten stroller I was pushing around with my ‘merchandise’.

Icy cold rain, soaked me to the bone. I was so tired and downtrodden, I ran to the first awning I found, unwilling to go back home to Prim’s sunken blue eyes and chapped lips, asking for something to eat, while my hands were empty.

I tripped and fell face first on the umbrella stroller, breaking it irreparably and soiling the few onesies I’d been trying to sell.

With my wares ruined, and winded by a sharp pain shooting through my elbow, I limped towards a scraggly apple tree a few feet away. I recognized the place as the alley behind the town’s bakery, just by the smell alone.

I cupped my elbow, wondering if I’d broken it or merely banged it up? That’s when I saw the dumpster.

Big ugly thing, dirty and smelly. I climbed a wooden crate to dig for anything edible inside, but before I could lift the lid, a screeching voice shouted at me.

“Get out of there, Seam brat!”

I jumped off the crate, startled, and cowed behind the dumpster when I saw the baker’s grumpy wife sneering at me from the warmth of her kitchen’s back door.

A boy about my age— I recognized him as one of my classmates from school— peeked his towheaded face around the woman, and although they were a good five yards away, I could see his blue eyes widened as he took me in. The boy slipped back inside, as his mother spewed threats of calling the police on me and whatnot.

I started debating whether I wanted to trace back and drag my broken stroller over; pretend I was merely trying to dump it in the garbage, while inspecting the trash for food… but the baker’s wife was nicknamed the Witch by all the neighborhood children for a reason.

Before my mind was made, a loud, metallic bang resonated into the street from inside the bakery. Yelling ensued, then the sound of a meaty hand against a small face.

A few seconds later, the witch was chasing the boy out the back door, “Toss it in the trash, you stupid creature! Nobody will pay money for burnt bread anyway!”

The boy scurried by with his head down.

My eyes stuck on the bread in his hands, was probably the reason I missed the shiner under his eye. He stopped right in front of the dumpster, but instead of throwing the ruined loaves in, he tossed them in my direction.

I didn’t wait around to ask if he meant for me to grab them. I just scooped them up and fled like a bat out of heck.

When I got home, Mama gasped in horror. She grabbed me by the shoulders and pressed me to her chest. “Oh no! It’s getting worse. They don’t even care to hide the bruises anymore!”

Mama lathered my face with all the medicinal herbs she had at hand, while apologizing profusely for abandoning me and Prim to our own devices. She vowed to find a job, and to take better care of us.

“No child should ever suffer like this!” I couldn’t tell if she meant Prim and I, or whoever my soulmate was.

Mama interrogated me about my whereabouts and how I came upon the bread in my arms, but she seemed to rest easier after a while.

When I was finally able to look at my face in the mirror, I was horror struck by the deep orange bruise swelling under my eye. It took three days for the bruise to go away completely even with mama’s careful fingers.

Coincidentally, the baker’s son didn’t show up to school for the next four days. By the time he did, I had lost any confidence in myself to go up to him and thank him for the bread that fed us for a few days; the loaves were perfect! Only the crust had been charred, but I had a hunch the boy knew that when he threw the bread to me; I was also convinced he burned the bread on purpose, I was just too chicken to ask him why? Which made it even harder to hold his gaze when we crossed each other in the school hallways.

All I knew was that because of the selfless actions of the boy in my year at school, my mother seemed to wake from her single minded obsession. The boy with the bread gave our family a sense of hope, despite the fact that it would take some time for Mama to find work and produce enough money for the family. Papa’s medical needs had to be met as well, and he was due a new leg.

While those thoughts churned in my head, my eyes focused on a bright yellow bloom across the school yard. The first dandelion of the season! I picked the cheerful blossom, and the idea on how to feed my family until Mama was back on her feet, came to me.

After school, I took Prim’s hand and a clean bucket in the other; together we scoured the yard and the woods nearby for all the dandelions we could fit in the bucket. That night, we gorged ourselves on dandelion salad, and the next day, I pulled from under my parent’s bed, the only thing of value we had left in the house, Papa’s hunting bow.

“Are you sure you can handle it, pumpkin?” My father asked, watching me carefully.

“You taught me how to do it,” I said, trying to hide my nerves.

“I taught you with a smaller bow,” he pointed out, “why don’t use yours?”

I shouldered the heavy bow, and took a few loose arrows in my hand, “I sold it. These are all we have left now,”

After a handful of days practicing, I actually shot something worth eating. Seeing my mother’s blue eyes pop in surprise when I dropped the dead rabbit on the table, was priceless.

——————-

One early morning, right before summer break, I happened across another hunter… a trapper, to be precise.

A lanky, scowling boy, with three fat bunnies tied to his belt, and a fourth hanging in the air by a simple— yet elegant— wire snare.

I’d seen his traps before, his prey with their dead eyes and lolling tongues, just high enough off the ground to keep other animals from taking off with them. Papa told me that hunter etiquette was to be observed; if I happened across a trap that wasn’t mine, I was not to touch it, out of respect for my fellow hunters. That still didn’t discourage me from looking! After all, the snares looked like works of art, and I had no idea how to set any on my own.

“Stealing is a punishable offense, you know,” Snapped the boy, and suddenly I realized just how tall he was.

From up close, I could see the beginning of some stubble under his chin.

“I wasn’t gonna take it…” I stepped away from the twitching bunny, with my hands raised in surrender. “Admiring your work, that’s all. By the way, I’m Katniss Everdeen, what’s your name?” I asked, trying to be friendly.

“Name’s Gale. Hawthorne. So… you know how to use the thing hanging from your back, Catnip, or is that just for show?” He practically bumped me onto my butt, stepping passed me while pulling a knife from his belt to cut his kill down. He turned to watch me, smirking. “That thing looks bigger than you, are you sure you can lift it up?”

I scowled at him, wondering if he was expecting to see me squirm or something. I was smaller than the average 12 year old, but I was fast and scrappy.

“My name is KatNISS. I can shoot my own food thank you very much,” I held my bow aloft and moved so he could see my quiver full of arrows, “my weapons aren’t props or fakes,” I said, haughtily.

“Yeah, well, it still looks bigger than you,”

I rolled my eyes, fed up. Any other time I’d meekly shy away, and let him be; but I was feeling stubborn and confrontational, so I pulled my bow, nocked an arrow and let it fly, all in a fluid motion.

Gale gaped with a hint of fear in his gray eyes.

I felt smug and satisfied.

I wasn’t aiming at anything in particular, I just wanted the obnoxious boy to shut it, but by a stroke of luck my arrow pierced a falling leaf, and imbedded itself deep into the knot of a gnarly looking tree trunk.

“Wow! That was amazing, Catnip!” Gale said in awe.

“It’s Katniss… I’m okay, my father was better,” I said, puffing my chest a little, “I haven’t managed stealth yet, not like Papa before the accident, anyway. He doesn’t hunt anymore.”

Gale frowned. “Was your dad in the cave-in?” He asked grimly.

I nodded.

“So was mine. He almost didn’t make it.”

“Same.”

He just stood there, staring at the ground for a moment, then I tried to play cool, “Hey, I’d be willing to spare some shooting lessons, in exchange for some snaring techniques,”

Gale watched me, intently. He finally nodded and stuck his hand out for me to shake, “Deal!”

I smiled. Papa always said that good hunting partners were hard to find, and while I didn’t want a new hunting partner— I already had my father!— I could always exchange knowledge with a fellow hunter and improve my game.

——————-

Papa was fitted with a basic prosthetic leg. He couldn’t run or swim with it, but having the ability to walk without crutches gave him a “new lease in life”, as he called it.

He found work doing odd jobs for Haymitch Abernathy, a hermit drunk, with more money than he knew what to do with, and no family to spend it on. The man needed someone to talk to every now and then, and seeing as he and my father were close in age, they developed a strange rapport between them.

Still, Papa wasn’t completely confident with his fake leg, no matter how many physical therapies he attended; he still walked with a pronounced limp. Yet, he always had a word of comfort for Mama.

My mother often blamed herself for Papa’s disability.

He’d tell her that she did the right thing, that it was thanks to her torniquete he was still alive, and she should never doubt her own healing skills. But every now and then, my mother would catch a glance of her permanently grey skinned leg, and silent tears would slide down her exhausted, pretty face.

By then, I was old enough to know that the soft orange marks hidden under my clothes, meant a kid somewhere in Panem, probably my age, was getting beaten on a regular basis. It was sad to think about, but I’d grown so used to the marks, they felt like a distant happening without a meaningful connection to me. The bruises were there… just shy of a shirt sleeve, or around mid thigh, where they could be concealed by shorts; the way I saw them, they were like oversized freckles that came and went. A nuisance. That’s why watching my mother weep over her shadowy leg, was always unnerving and a little odd.

Was I supposed to despair the same way she did over my own soulmate marks? Was I broken or heartless if I didn’t feel as strongly?

Until I saw my mother’s grief over her soulmate’s leg, it didn’t register to me just how much the orange bruises were supposed to affect me.

I started to think if I wasn’t any better than the person dispensing the punches.

One day, I was leaning on my parents bedroom door, watching Mama applying soothing oils to her gray leg with the utmost love and care.

“Why do you rub so much medicine on your leg? It doesn’t seem to be bringing back your normal color,” I asked, staring where her fingers massaged into her flesh.

Mama stopped and called me over, to stand on her side of the bed.

“Papa is fast asleep, do you see?” She pointed out, kindly.

I looked past her shoulder, where my father was sprawled on the mattress on his stomach, dead to the world.

I nodded.

Mama smiled, “Do you remember all we’ve told you about soulmates? I’m sure they’ve taught you at school other stuff as well,”

Again, I nodded, just a little puzzled. “Soulmates have a very strong bond. They can’t feel when the other hurts, but they can see the marks, tinted in their favorite colors. That’s how we identify our soulmates, because we match and they can see themselves reflected back.”

“Exactly.” Said my mother, beaming. “Now, your papa and I are soulmates, and we love each other very much. When Papa’s leg was separated from his body, my body reflected that loss, despite still retaining my own leg. We match. The one thing most people don’t seem to realize, is that the connection goes both ways. I may not feel the physical pain Papa does, but I can still do things to my leg to help him feel better.

“For example, when he feels phantom itches, I scratch and his itching sensation goes away. When he can’t fall asleep because he’s uncomfortable without his leg, I massage lavender oil on mine, until he relaxes and goes to sleep. Everything I do to heal my body, and take care of it, helps my soulmate feel better.”

“Is that why you put lotions on my marks? To help my soulmate feel better?”

Mama’s lips thinned out; she didn’t like talking about the orange marks on my body.

“Katniss,” she said very seriously, “I tend to your bruises because I love you. I worry about your soulmate, because I love you. I try to keep you as healthy and happy as possible, because that will help your soulmate heal faster… because I love you. I can cure your soulmate’s body through yours, but I cannot protect his heart, mind, or feelings. Right now, you both are too young to feel the pull of your bond, but one day, when your bodies have matured, you’ll have this… yearning, to find one another, and then, I just hope, whoever your soulmate is, knows we tried to help.”

I cocked my head, “Should I be sad every time new marks show up?”

Mama inhaled a deep breath, “We should feel sad every time a child is mistreated, darling, no matter how we’re related,”

From that day on, I paid close attention to every child in my class for bruises matching mine. I also kept pomades and tinctures in my school bag, in case I ever saw another kid getting hurt. I wouldn’t say I started to develop deeper feelings for my soulmate after that, but I did feel deeper empathy for my classmates… I just couldn’t stomach big injuries, gore or vomit, but smaller cuts and bruises… those I could manage.

————————

“Silver Anderson figured out her cousin was dating her soulmate!” A girl in my year was telling a cluster of other 15 year-old girls in the locker room. “Do you remember how Silver has been wearing a turtleneck for the last two days with this darned awful heat?”

The other girls hummed their yeses.

“Well, is because Silver’s soulmate had a hickey on the throat, given by Silver’s cousin, who was his girlfriend or whatever. But apparently the cousin went over to visit Silver with her boyfriend, and one look at the guy’s neck, and Silver recognized the mark!”

There were gasps all around.

It wasn’t rare to hear of soulmates having relationships with other people before finding each other, but it was almost unheard of a relative dating somebody’s soulmate so close.

I finished tying up my shoelaces, and started rebranding my hair, making a mental note to double shampoo, to get all the sweat out.

“What an idiot! Who gets hickeys from their ‘whiles’?” Snorted somebody.

I wasn’t much for gossip, but even I had to agree.

‘Whiles’, weren’t permanent romantic interests, they were just to pass the time while waiting to find your soulmate. ‘Whiles’ were people to satisfy ones curiosity about dating and that kind of stuff, with no strings attached or substance; ‘whiles’ had a bad connotation associated with.

“Oh, the boy had never gotten one mark in his body that wasn’t his, so, he assumed he didn’t have a soulmate, and the cousin has already been confirmed to be a matchless.”

A big “Oh!” Swept the room.

Matchless were born without a soulmate, which meant they could choose to be with whoever they wanted as long as they were matchless as well, or with nobody at all.

Sometimes I envied their freedom to choose, but other times I felt a sense of safety, knowing there was a person somewhere in the world meant just for me and me to them.

Soulmates were genetically evolved to complement one another, but some just wanted to experiment before settling down. Lately, though, matchless births were growing in number, and that upset people for whatever reason, as if the freedom of choice was scary or a curse, then again matchless were usually whiles and those were looked down on.

“That’s awful!” Said a girl.

“I knew Silver’s near freakish obsession with keeping her skin pristine and hidden would bring her issues finding her soulmate someday,” Declared another.

“I don’t think she wanted to find him,” whispered someone else.

“Oh well, they did find each other! You can’t hide from your destiny. That’s just silly!”

“Either way, I feel bad for the cousin, because apparently she and Silver’s soulmate were talking about marriage, since they thought they were both matchless.” Informed the first one.

I lost interest in the conversation when it turned speculative, and stood up to shove my P.E. uniform into my locker.

Someone suddenly called, “Everdeen, how about those orange blooms on your arms?”

My eyes widened, and immediately, I dropped my arms, pulling my sleeves as far down as they would go to cover my soulmate’s private marks.

“Oh… um… yeah. My mother thinks my soulmate might be an athlete,” I stuttered; Mama had only said such a thing in passing once, when a couple bruises appeared that didn’t match the usual ones. “Also, he seems to work with his hands. Lots of nicks and scrapes.” I wiggled my fingers in front of me. That much was true, my soulmate probably wore those marks freely.

“Oooh!” A girl, Delly Cartwright, reached to take a closer look. “Could be a carpenter. Or a locksmith? Maybe a farmer!”

“It could be the blacksmith’s son! Doesn’t Silver have an unmarried brother?” Asked another girl.

“Yeah… a kid like 10! Ugh, Everdeen, I really hope he’s not your soulmate… can you imagine being so much older than your soulmate?!” Interjected the same girl that spotted my bruises.

I scowled. Age was a stupid thing to complain about. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to have an age gap between soulmates… my father was six years older than my mother, and Mrs. Sae from the Soup Corner at the market, was a handful of years older than her soulmate.

Still…

“No. My soulmate is most likely my age. I’ve gotten his marks my whole life,” I shrugged, absently rubbing my arm, where the brand new bruise appeared that morning.

“Oh… at least that’s something. Knowing that your soulmate isn’t so much younger than you, and that he might at least have an apprenticeship somewhere,”

“Right,” I said, turning away, wondering if it was awful of me to wish for a boy who never got marks on his body, like Silver’s pristine skin? At least that would mean my soulmate was safe and treated fairly.

———————-

Papa and I shared many qualities. I inherited his coloring: olive skin, gray eyes, dark, straight hair, our penchant for singing mountain ballads, and the same quickening of the blood when we got a kill during hunting. Prim favored our mother more closely, with their fair skin, blonde wavy licks and blue eyes, they also were more skilled as healers and more soft-hearted towards animals.

The day Prim brought home a half dead cat, riddled with fleas and missing an ear to be patched up and adopted into our family, my first instinct was to drown the orange pelt and be done with it, but Prim got upset and worked up, and I just couldn’t stomach her cries over what I considered to be the world’s ugliest cat… his face was flat, like it’d been smashed against a wall…

It took a long time to calm my sister down, and Papa made me pinky promise that I wouldn’t kill the fur sack and pretend it ran away, which I only did reluctantly, because I loved my sister and didn’t want her to be crossed with me.

Papa asked me to walk with him into the woods, afterwards, which I did readily.

Before he lost his leg, we used to go hunting all the time; everything I knew about hunting and foraging, I learned from him. But after losing his leg, we’ve only gone to the woods to hike and get him used to his prosthesis in the uneven terrain.

It was good exercise for him. The fresh air seemed to lift his spirits too.

We didn’t hunt together anymore. Papa’s tread wasn’t feather-like the way it used to be, prey scattered away before we even saw it.

It was alright. We enjoyed being out there together, and he still had lots to teach me about edible plants. Sometimes he’d find one of his old spiles, and then it would hit me: all his knowledge would’ve been lost if he’d died in that cave-in. I would’ve never known where to look for those spiles; I wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to harvest sap and turn it into syrup.

Sometimes, I had to sit down and catch my breath when those thoughts knocked the wind out of me.

I was having one such moment, when out of the blue, my father spoke in a low, calmed tone.

“There’s a new chief of police,” he said while sitting on a log, next to me.

“I heard.” I wasn’t trying to be snippy with him, but every time a new chief or sheriff was appointed to our district, Papa wanted to run back into the precinct, and demand they look for my soulmate.

Appealing to the police never led anywhere. It didn’t matter if they had new staff, they always gave us the same spiel: can’t investigate an abuse case without a victim. They couldn’t go looking for a person without a name or an address.

After a while, one just started feeling like it was an impossible task, to help one child feel safe.

Papa sighed. “We could try ourselves. I’ve been saving some money, and we could—“

“What? We could what?” I snapped. “We could go door to door visiting every little town in Panem until we find the bruised up mutt matching me?” I was at the verge of tears.

Mama said that once my body was matured enough, I’d start feeling the pull. Well, I kinda felt it, calling desperately. It started around my 14th birthday, when I started having a regular cycle, and puberty was at its summit.

First, I was curious about my other half and began cataloguing all the soulmate marks I could see easily. Suddenly I had whole maps of my hands and arms, and legs. Mama suggested I keep track of my hidden marks too, just in case. The curiosity persisted and evolved into an incessant wondering: where was he? How was he getting along? How could I help him protect himself?

“Haymitch may have a way, sweetheart. He knows people, and he likes you… he says you’ve got spunk,” Papa smirked.

I’d met Haymitch Abernathy countless times. He was rude and sarcastic. I usually responded to him in kind, earning myself a host of reprimands from my parents— although Papa still couldn’t hide his pride, despite trying his hardest.

“What would he know about soulmates anyway?” I muttered.

Papa shook his head, standing up, “Haymitch lost his girl, mother and brother all at once during a special outing. There was a car crash. Haymitch was badly hurt, but survived. His family didn’t. His soulmate was 16, so was him. The government paid him excessively for damages and the loss of his soulmate, because it was proved the city had skimped on roadside safety that caused the accident. But money didn’t fill the void of losing his loved ones. Haymitch never recovered.

“He told me once that losing a soulmate is akin to drowning. Except you’re still breathing without filling your lungs with oxygen…” Papa picked up the bucket we brought to collect sap, and smiled sadly at me. “Katniss, I may be exaggerating by hounding the police about your soulmate, but sometimes I worry that if we don’t find that kid soon, you could very well share Haymitch’s fate. Believe me when I say that I’d do anything in this world, to keep that from happening to you.”

I turned 16 that spring.

I started carrying a small mirror on me, to try and look over my shoulders into places I couldn’t reach, obsessing over every little mark that sprouted anew on my back.

I wasn’t sure if the all consuming watching, and the doubts that kept me up at night, not knowing what was being done to my soulmate, wondering if he’d survive another day, was the pull Mama talked about, or simply terror at becoming the next Haymitch Abernathy. Either way, I became more vigilant for injured teens around me, but a sinking feeling in my gut started nagging at me, that my soulmate was an expert at hiding in plain sight by now… how would I ever find him if he was as adept at camouflaging as I suspected?

—————————

“This spot is perfectly in the middle of the turkeys’ path.”

I crossed my arms over my chest to glare at Gale, “You just spilled a bunch of blood there. No critter is gonna come this way anymore with that stink.”

“Turkeys aren’t that smart, Catnip,” Gale looked up from his belt after securing his new catch— his pants were covered in gore from where the rabbit nearly cut its own foot off trying to fight the snare’s grip. “I’m more than confident that if we set traps here, we’ll catch at least a fat Tom…more if we set up a system wide enough,”

After a somewhat rocky start, Gale and I learned to respect each other’s skills, even joining forces for certain seasons, like deer and turkey hunting. We also fished together on occasion. It was safe to say we had a friendship after three… almost four years of partnership in the woods. At 18 Gale was less obnoxious, but still a stubborn ass.

“And I’m telling you, the path is tainted now. We need to put feed on the other side of the bushes, to keep them in the area.”

“That’ll take weeks!”

“Then you shouldn’t have let that bunny bleed to death in here!”

“Listen here, Catnip—” whatever he was about to say, died in his throat.

“What?!” I demanded, angrily, when he just stared at me horror struck.

“Your nose!” He roared. “Your eyes!” He tumbled forward, and squished my cheeks in his one, long-fingered hand. “There’s more coming!”

I yanked myself away from him. “Cut it out!”

“I think your soulmate is getting the shit beaten out of!”

I grunted and brought my fingers to my face, as if I could feel the changes.

Gale had seen some of my bruises, enough to be sure I had a soulmate, but not enough to realize my soulmate was being abused.

I rubbed under my nose, and the tip of my index came back bloody.

I gasped. That had never happened before.

“How bad is it?” I asked Gale, frantically.

“Um… orange keeps popping up all over your face. There’s some running up your arm right now.” He sounded careful, but frightened. “It’s like… burn marks,”

I looked down, where indeed, long, fat tongues of intense orange glowed up my left arm. I’ve seen glowing marks before, but always in the tip of my fingers or the sides of my hands, I never connected the glowing with fire— burn marks— but it made sense. I guess my soulmate must handle fire regularly.

“What’s happening?” I pulled my little mirror from my pocket, to see my face, and nearly sobbed at the sight.

One eye was completely covered in orange. Burn marks ran all the way from my elbow up to my cheek, and part of my forehead. My nose had a tiny, bloody smear, and my lip had streaks of orange here and there.

Whatever happened, was bad.

“Fuck… Do you know where he is, by any chance?” Gale winced.

“No… but I’m about to find out!” I looked around for a place to sit, then pulled my small knife out of my boot.

Once seated, I examined my forearms. The flaming marks started at the elbow on my left arm, and went up on that side, my right arm was free of injury, except for my palms. Both were glowing orange, but not too bad.

“Okay… here goes nothing!” I gritted through my teeth, placing the tip of my knife to my arm, I traced the word, “WHERE?” crudely, and just deep enough to break the skin.

Gale made a face, but crouched closed by, staring intently. “Do you think it’ll work?” He asked dubiously. “He might be unconscious for all we know,”

“We’ll see.”

The minutes rolled by and no answer came. I was starting to panic; all I could think about was would that be the day I became the next Haymitch Abernathy? At least he got to meet his soulmate and have a relationship with her before she died; I had no idea who mine was. Was it worse that way, knowing them and then losing them, or was it worst to never meet them at all? Would I become soulless? Would my entire body turn gray? Would I ever find another soulmate? Haymitch never said if he ever looked for another, but I knew it was possible to get a secondary soulmate if enough time went by.

“Look!” Gale shouted.

A shaky “D12” appeared under my message.

A relieved gasp left my mouth.

“District 12! That’s good! He could’ve been all the way in District 4, and then what were you gonna do? Call the authorities there?” Gale muttered, clearly invested in what was happening to me.

Tears stung my eyes. I wrote: “ME 2”

We’ve been in the same district the whole time, and I still had no idea where to find him!

I turned the knife back to the first word, and traced a line under it “WHERE?”

The answer came back faster. “S H”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I moaned, “What kind of abbreviation is that? Ugh! I’m trying to help you!” I screamed at my arm as if my soulmate could hear it.

“Seam House?” Gale mused… “No, there are hundreds, if not thousands of houses in the Seam,” he said.

The Seam was the poorer part of the district, where people like us lived: low income families, miners, laborers and the such.

“Ah! Ask if he means Slag Heap? If I was trying to pick a fight with someone, that’s where I’d go.”

“He didn’t pick a fight!” I snapped, defensive and angry. “He’s been beaten every other day, since I can remember. My parents used to go to the police station every year to see if they could do something about it. Nobody ever did! They always said we needed to figure out a way to communicate with him… well, I’m doing it now!”

Gale frowned, “That’s shitty. I’m sorry to hear that. The Slag Heap could still be it, though. Many people go there to be alone… if they’re running from someone, there’s plenty hiding spots,”

That sounded logical, “Okay… but the slag heap isn’t exactly small, and there’s some woodsy area to consider too,”

“Mmm… asking has been working so far,”

“Yeah, but the whole mutilation part is getting to me…” I glared, he wasn’t the one cutting his arm, “I’m starting to get woozy,”

“You’re a hunter, Catnip! Blood is nothing,”

“Animals, Gale! Not my own blood,”

“There’s no difference,” Gale cupped my face in his hands, to keep my eyes on his gray, steely ones. “we’re all animals. We all bleed the same. Your soulmate needs your help, if I knew who mine was, and I knew she was in trouble, I’d be rushing to them… you can do this, Catnip,”

I took a deep, cleansing breath, and nodded. “I’ll ask him. As soon as we know where to go… could you please fetch my father? He’ll know what to do,”

“You got it, Catnip!” He let go of me, and I felt renewed courage after his weird pep talk.

Once again, I trace the tip of my knife on my skin, “SLAG H? WHERE?”

“YES NE”

“North East! I told you it’ll work!”

“Yeah,” I grumbled, spelling making one last message: “W8 4 ME”

“K”

With half a plan in motion, Gale rushed to find my father, and I made a mad dash to the slag heap, where years and years of dumping dirt and rocks removed from the mines had formed small hills and mounds at the edge of the district.

“Hello!” I called out loudly. “Can anybody hear me?!”

There wasn’t a whole lot of vegetation in the slag heap, only hundreds of disturbed soil pits and little mountains… some were tall and wide enough they’ll easily conceal a person or two looking for privacy.

“Anybody here?” I called again.

A weak cough answered in the distance.

I rushed in it’s direction, hoping it was my soulmate, and not a couple trying to steal away a few minutes alone.

“Please, tell me where you are!” I called before another round of coughing reached me.

“Here to finish me off, sweetheart?” Came a weak, raspy voice from behind me.

I turned around but saw nothing besides dirt, and sticks, and moss on rocks.

I swallowed, “Where are you?” I stepped closer to the heap in front of me, and then…

“Well, don’t step on me!”

I jumped back and looked downwards, and finally saw dirty pieces of flannel and denim, incongruous with the area, and under all the debris, I realized a person had dug a little wedge at the foot of the hill, and thrown the stuff he’d dug out back on top of himself. The disguise was clever, camouflaging himself into the terrain.

I gasped and dropped to the ground, pulling handfuls of earth out of the way. A jolt of recognition hit me when a pair of bright blue eyes blinked open and shut, slowly, as if fighting off fatigue.

“Don’t go to sleep!” I warned.

“I’m sorry, but it might be too late for that already. There’s an angel hovering above me, and I’m not sure I’m not dreaming it,” a row of white teeth appeared from the soil.

My knee-jerk reaction was to chuff and roll my eyes, but if he was throwing me those cheesy lines, it meant he was somewhat lucid, and it was imperative to keep him that way.

“How do you know is not a nightmare?” I countered.

“Because Katniss Everdeen coming to my rescue, and being my soulmate could never be a bad dream. On the contrary It’s only my deepest, most desperate hope, really…” he trailed off, and closed his eyes again.

I was momentarily frightened.

“Keep talking,” I ordered, brushing dirt off his head. Some of it mixed in with his blood and sweat, turning into a thick mud. I could see more of his battered face; my heart beat erratically against my rib cage, there were so many bruises. “Peeta, keep talking,”

His untouched eye opened slowly, a lazy, sideways smile greeted me, warming me up. “You know my name?”

I chuckled, startled, “You know mine,”

“Everyone knows you, Katniss ‘the huntress’ Everdeen!” He reached up, tentatively, and touched the tip of my braid, whispering under his breath, something that sounded like: unreal.

Just saying his name felt otherworldly; like breathing for the first time. I’ve never uttered it before, for fear of bringing forward memories of that awful day in the rain, by the bakery’s scraggly apple tree.

“And you’re Peeta Mellark, the boy with the bread. I’ve known your name for a long time, baker’s youngest son, whose kindness saved my entire family from starvation,” I cupped his injured face in my hands, and I couldn’t help the slight tremble in my voice.

He seemed to melt at the sound of my voice; then his hands came to touch my face. “I can’t believe it’s you. I can’t believe you found me!” He said, an edge of incredulity and awe colored his tone, but then his face fell, “But, your sweet, beautiful face… it’s all…” a fat tear rolled down his muddy cheek, while his thumb gently caressed my temple and the side of my face. “I’m so sorry, Katniss… I never wanted you to look like this! I always tried to shift positions, so you’d never had to see how bad it got. I’m so sorry,” he was crying so hard, he started to shake and cough.

It took inhuman strength not to cry myself; I knew he needed me to protect him, and there would be time later to fall apart and feel emotional.

“Shush, I’m here now.” I knelt next to him and locked my arms around his head, pulling him against my chest, so he could hear my heart beating only for him. “I’m going to take care of you.”

“I really hoped it was you. I really did…” he heaved into my neck, his arms wrapping gingerly around my waist, “thank you for finding me,”

“Of course I found you… I’ve been looking for you for ages,” I whispered, finally giving in, shedding some tears, relieved that the tension, fear, uncertainty, and frustration were finally gone. My soulmate was in my arms, where he belonged! “My parents started looking for you when we were little. But we’re together now,”

Peeta calmed down some, but he was still breathing too fast, “Now that you have me… what are you gonna do with me?” He asked meekly.

I smiled down at him, “I’ll put you somewhere safe, where you can never get hurt again,”

He closed his eyes. “I’d like that…”

“Peeta, you can’t go to sleep just yet, okay?”

“I’m so tired, Katniss,”

“I know,” I cooed. I had no idea I was capable of speaking with such softness. “My father will get here soon, and then we’ll patch you up real well.”

“I can’t go back to my house though—“

“You ain’t going there, kid!” Papa said from a few feet away. Gale and two police officers followed closely.

I must’ve been completely enthralled with my soulmate, because I never heard them coming,

“Even if it’s the last thing I do, I won’t let you go back to that place!” My father stated.

And that was that!

——————————-

“Tell me what happened,” Officer Darius asked in a soft tone, trying to be encouraging.

My soulmate inhaled; one eye was so swollen it was completely shut, his other one roved around the room nervously. Peeta locked his gaze with mine, beseeching, and I offered my hand in support. He clung to it like a lifeline.

“My mother asked me to burn a pile of leaves and branches in the backyard that had been there since fall, but the branches were damp and it was taking me a while to fire it up. Since it’s the last week to burn stuff, my mom got impatient. She screamed at me, called me incompetent and useless… the usual stuff—“

“Does your mother call you names regularly?” Asked the officer.

“My mom calls everybody names. I guess that’s how she was raised. Her mom used to call her names too…” Peeta shrugged.

“That’s no reason to keep the cycle going,” my mama grumbled quietly, so only I could hear her.”

“After insulting you, what else happened?” Prompted the police woman, Officer Purnia.

Peeta scowled. “I told her I’d pour some lighter fluid on the pile and let it soak for a few minutes, but she wouldn’t hear it. Said I was doing it wrong, I was too stupid, I would never accomplish shit if I couldn’t even light up some dead branches… and, well. I got fed up. I told her she could start the fire herself if I was doing such a lousy job… my mom… she—She doesn’t like to be talked back…” He sagged on his hospital bed, and turned his face away.

“What do you mean?” Asked officer Purnia, taking notes, trying to keep an impassive mask on.

“The first slap landed across my ear because I dared to move away from her flying hand,” Peeta said tersely, “She didn’t like that either, so she took aim again, but with the bottle of lighter fluid on her palm. She practically smashed it against my face.” He stopped to gasp for air, while his good eye filled with tears. “I think fluid squirted everywhere, I smelled like my hair and clothes had been doused in the stuff,” he raked a shaking hand over the singed hair at his temple.

I caressed his arm to sooth him.

He smiled gratefully at me, and faced the officers to continue. “I’d just put a piece of burning cardboard into the pile. I guess the leaves caught fire during the squabble with mom, and I must’ve lost my balance after taking a plastic bottle full of liquid to the face, because next thing I know, I’m bracing my hands on the ground, on burning sticks, and then I’m on fire myself.”

Peeta sustained first degree burns on the different spots from his left forearm, up. Luckily, his wounds were managed as soon as we got to the emergency room, and his treating doctor said he would recover, with minimal scarring.

“How did you end up at the Slag Heap?” Asked Officer Darius.

Peeta sighed, “My mom kind of freaked out when she realized I was on fire. She picked up a rag from somewhere and started hitting me with it…” he paused, “in retrospect, I think she may have actually been trying to help me, but… I just saw it like she was still trying to beat me, so I ran off. I tripped, fell, then rolled on the ground, she started calling my name, coming closer to me. I was scared. I took off again and didn’t stop until I fell at the foot of that mound of dirt in the slag heap. That’s when I noticed my soulmate’s note.”

Officer Darius quirked up a reddish eyebrow, “Your soulmate’s note?”

“Yeah… these,” Peeta tried to peel back the bandage over his arm, but my mother put her hand over it, and shook her head.

“Here!” I said, immediately shoving my own arm in front of the officers.

Both examined my arm. “How did you think of doing that, Miss Everdeen?”

“I was inspired by your bosses actually,” I snarled.

“Katniss!” Mama chided, and then politely addressed the officers. “You see, my husband and I have come to the authorities for many years, urging them to find a way to locate our daughter’s soulmate. You see, she’d started exhibiting her soulmate’s bruises from a very young age, which in my professional experience, were inconsistent with normal toddler scrapes and bumps—“

“The chief of police always said to find a way to communicate with him, ask where he was… so I did,” I interrupted, haughtily. “I got you a real life victim to investigate. You’re welcome.”

The officers stared at me, flabbergasted.

Mama made a dismaying noise in the back of her throat, but Peeta’s face— burnt, bruised and swollen— lighted up, with the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen a person direct at me.

Mama interjected, conciliatory, “My husband and I believe, your department should have enough evidence to investigate Peeta’s case, now?” My mother’s searching blue eyes seemed to x-ray the officers.

“Well, Miss and Mrs. Everdeen, Mister Mellark, I think we have everything we need for now. Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll be in touch.” Said Officer Purnia snapping shut her notebook.

“Mr. Mellark, your case worker, Miss Trinket, will be in as soon as the matter of your emergency custody is settled.” Informed Officer Darius, right before wishing us a good evening.

Peeta frowned, “Are they sending me to like a home or something? What about my brothers? They can’t stay home with my mom… she’ll go nuts on them!”

“No, no, Peeta,” Mama spoke softly, “Miss Trinket is already on it. Haymitch Abernathy has offered his house for your brothers to stay at for a few days while things get sorted out. You’re welcome to join them, of course, but your injuries need supervision and several cleanings daily, so Mr. Everdeen and I feel it is in everyone’s best interest if you stay with us, at least until you’ve healed enough.” Mama hesitated, and then patted my soulmate’s hand, “I hope that’s okay with you, but if it isn’t—“

“It’s absolutely great, ma’am! Yes, I—thank you,”

Mama nodded, “Well, I’m gonna go get some stuff taken care of, and check on that case worker. Then they’ll hopefully let us go home… Katniss, I’ll need your help with something before we leave, alright?”

“‘kay.”

“Mrs. Everdeen…thank you,” Peeta said meekly.

Mama just stood stoically by the door, “You’re family, Peeta, it’s the least we could do for you.” The door clicked shut leaving me alone with my soulmate.

We were both silent for a minute. Then Peeta said half amused, half shyly, “I think the guy cop liked you. I caught him smirking a couple of times after your ruthless answers.” His smile was crooked. Boyish. I almost swooned.

I shrugged. “I don’t think he cared that much,”

“Are you serious?” Peeta laughed, “Katniss, you have no idea the effect you can have,”

I scowled at him, and he just shook his head. I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me or complimenting me. He changed the topic before I could decide which.

“So, you’ve been looking for me then?” He sounded nervous, and a little uncertain, “isn’t it weird…we are soulmates, but the only thing I know for sure about you, is that your favorite color is green?” He rubbed his fingers together, then showed me the tips, where he had dark green spots, exactly on the same place I had permanent calluses from pulling on my bow string.

I bit my lower lip, studying the thin spidering of green nicks and scratches, were I surmised my own marks have appeared after my daily trips into the woods.

“Your favorite color is orange. Not bright, but muted…”

“Like the sunset,” he finished for me.

Mind bonding wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities between soulmates, but my understanding on the matter was, that the bond had to be physically sealed before a pair could develop those empathic connections, where soulmates shared perfectly synchronized thoughts, as if they had one mind. Peeta and I weren’t there just yet, but it felt like we understood each other pretty well already.

He just stared at me in fascination, before his face fell, “I hope you don’t get permanently disfigured, if my burn scars don’t go away completely… you are so pretty.”

I rolled my eyes, pleased that he thought I was pretty, but not really knowing how to respond graciously. I’d never been called pretty by a boy before, not that it’d have the same effect as when Peeta said it… “You’re just saying that I’m pretty because I’m your soulmate,”

He smiled sadly, “No… I really mean it. I’ve had a crush on you since I can remember. I just new I belonged to someone since I was like 4, when I saw my first soulmate scratch on my knees. Your favorite colors back then were teal and pink. Your marks were always swirls of the two colors. I liked them. I liked that I belonged to someone who enjoyed colors, like myself… I wondered what your marks looked like, but then, I hoped you never had to see my marks. I was ashamed of them.”

My chest tightened, I climbed onto his bed, and pressed my side right against his, “Hey… I’ve like your marks.” I stuttered, “my parents never let me see the ones on my back until I was older, but I liked the ones you got in normal places. Yours appeared as rainbows where we were little.” I held his hand in mine. “I don’t care if we stay fire mutts forever, Peeta, the important thing is that we are together now,”

“Thank you for finding me,”

“Thank you for leading me to you,”

We leaned our heads together, and fell into an easy silence.

“Katniss…”

“Mmm,”

“We are soulmates.”

I tilted my head away, to look at him, “Yeah. We already established that,” I said suspiciously.

Peeta smirked, “You know, we’re supposed to be madly in love…so, it’s okay to kiss me whenever you want to,”

I snorted and rolled my eyes, but he was right. In any other circumstance, I’m sure we would’ve already progressed into couple-y, lovey-dovey stuff.

“If you’re already fishing for kisses, that means you’re healthy then!” I kissed his forehead. “But let me tell you right now, cheek and sass won’t take too far, sir,”

“It won’t?” he pouted, “then I’ll just have to swoop in when I see an opening,” he leaned into me, and I let him plant a peck, full on my lips.

My first kiss ever, and all I could register was how chapped his lips were… besides the small fluttering of butterfly wings in the pit of my stomach, of course.

“Well, time for a sip of water, and you should rest some too.” I said feeding him the straw in the Styrofoam cup full of icy water by his bed.

After he drank, we gravitated towards each other, meeting in the middle. Our second kiss was short, sweet, and full of relief.

I liked it. In fact, I wanted another, but Peeta was drowsy after the day we’ve had.

“I remember you used to sing, so beautifully, even the birds would stop to listen,” Peeta said, shyly… “would you… mind singing for me?”

“I don’t sing all that much nowadays, but if that’s what you want…”

He stared at me expectantly, so I had no other choice. I combed back his freshly washed hair, and started.

“Just close your eyes;

The sun is going down.

You’ll be alright;

No one can hurt you now.

Come morning light,

You and I’ll be safe and sound...”

When Mama came back, Peeta was asleep, and so she took me outside while my father sat in the room with the case worker, signing in my soulmate’s release papers, waiting for him to wake up.

“I want you to take these,” Mama produced a packet of medicine from a white, pharmaceutical baggie.

“Birth control?!” I groaned, embarrassed.

“Don’t look so scandalized, Katniss,” Mama rolled her eyes, “You and Peeta are healthy, newly acquainted teenaged soulmates, who will suddenly coexist together in close quarters. Papa and I agreed that starting you on contraceptives is the right thing to do,” she fixed me with a stare that broker no protests, “That said, we are not giving you carte blanche to act on pure hormonal instincts, Katniss. While we aren’t so naive to believe you won’t explore intimacy with your soulmate, we fully expect you to use caution, and make responsible decisions. Is that clear?”

I nodded, and snatched the pills from Mama’s outstretched hand. My face was burning with mortification, but I was grateful for my parents’ wherewithal and openness.

The next few days proved harsh and blissful at the same time. After 11 years pestering the authorities, Papa finally got the law to prosecute my soulmate’s parents for abuse and neglect. To call it a victory, was understatement.

Peeta’s father was declared another victim of the Witch’s abuse, but court ordered him to see a therapist and get evaluated by a professional, before he could come back home to his sons.

Mrs. Mellark was charged with endangering a child, battery, abuse and arson. She was court ordered to seek anger management and psychological counseling. She had been abused as a child too, and after watching her son in fire, it finally clicked in her head, that she needed to put a stop to the cycle… late as it may be. She went willingly when the police served her arrest warrants.

Since Peeta and his middle brother were still minors, they were temporarily placed under their eldest brother’s care; but the eldest brother was only 19 and had no idea how to be a father figure, so strange as it was, my parents insisted on having them all bunk in our tiny house, which was comically insufficient. Thank heavens Haymitch Abernathy was still willing to help.

The grumpy old drunk invited the lot of us to stay at his place for as long as we needed, and after cleaning up all the empty bottles and general messes around his huge house, we could enjoy the place at our leisure.

The boys kept working at the bakery, since they needed a source of income, and something to keep themselves occupied. Mama said they needed the normalcy of their business to cope.

It was a good thing Haymitch’s house was so big, since Peeta started having horrible nightmares after his mother was released from holding, after making bail; her trial was still pending, but my poor soulmate suffered severe PTSD from the events that brought us together. Neither of his brothers wanted to share a room with him at night…which allowed me to slip in when I heard him crying out desperately and fearfully.

�� Peeta would only go back to sleep after I laid beside him and sang, while carding my fingers through his sweat-damped, ashy blond waves.

“I’m not okay until I can see you’re safe,” he told me once.

After the third night in a row of this happening, I just stayed with him in his bed. My parents didn’t exactly approve— we were still 16— but there wasn’t much they could say to stop us. After all, our soulmate bond trumped any other familial bond; we just couldn’t legally get married and apply for housing until we were both 18.

Peeta still woke up in cold sweats at night, but my arms were there to fend off the terrors, and so were my lips.

On the night I felt a hunger so consuming and devastating, gnawing at me from my core, radiating to the tips of my being, I was glad my mother put me on birth control.

My soulmate gently, but steadily joined us together, cementing our physical bond for the rest of time, while branding his love and adoration to me into my very skin, with fevered lips and shaky hands. We gasped and whispered vows of devotion to one another, and then an explosion of feelings and emotions went off… I couldn’t tell where his life force started, and mine ended. We were one. Sharing a single soul.

After, we laid tangled together, our hearts beating as one. Peeta kissed my knuckles, and asked.

“You looked for me, for years. Real or not real?”

“Real.”

He kissed my forehead, “Will you sing?”

“Of course,” I combed back his hair with loving fingers, and sang.

“Just close your eyes;

You’ll be alright;

Come morning light,

You and I’ll be safe and sound.”

#alliswell21 #lovely-tothe-bone #prompt 154 #Springtime Edition 2021 #submission

127 notes · View notes

yulight · 3 years

Text

Snow Fall

Desc: Christmas seems like the only holiday which you are able to spend with your boyfriends. Their busy schedules always take every holiday away from you. They said they had two surprises, one you can have on Christmas eve, but the other you must wait for on christmas night.

Paring: Bang Chan x F.Reader X Han Jisung.

Warnings: Poly relationship, Smut, a small hint of fluff, oral sex(both), fingering, orasgm control, Switch!Jisung,Dom!Bang Chan, Sub!Reader, two soft slaps,Petnames.

word count: idk a lot like 4k

Merry christmas everyone This is brought to you by @clandestine-lixie Smutmas collab!

You woke up with a small hum feeling Jisung’s arms wrap around your waist tighter, you couldn't help but to smile watching his sleeping figure hug you tightly. You turned your head to look where Chan sleeps and to your surprise, he was still there sleeping peacefully. You were always thankful for these days, however more so thankful for this holiday where you get to spend the whole week uninterrupted. The days were now limited, leaving only today, and Christmas left. You left a gentle kiss onto Chan's cheek before running your figures through the younger male’s hair.

“Jisungie, wake up” you whispered softly trying to not wake Chan, Jisung however only let out a groan or two holding you even tighter making you sigh, as you try your best to wiggle out of his grip.

“Whyyy” he whined, you froze for a second as you looked down at the sleepy Jisung who eyes barely open as he buried his face into your chest. “Jisung, I need to pee” he groaned loudly as he let go with a small huff. The moment your feet touch the ground you hiss at how cold it was. Walking on your toes, you quickly ran off to the bathroom.

Your relationship with the two is a bit different; it started out as you and Jisung as a couple. Jisung was a very soft switch, who wanted to try new things leading to threesomes with Chan. Jisung ended up feeling like allowing him to enter into your relationship. Chan just evened out the both of you. You are very submissive, and Jisung needs to be submissive himself from time to time. It also made you feel more comfortable being Jisung was younger than you meanwhile Chan still being older. No matter what way it was looked at, Chan was the perfect match, making everything balanced between you and Jisung.

As you left the bathroom, you entered your shared room with the boys to see Chan awake Getting Dressed, however, Jisung was Gone. You ran over hugging Chris from behind your small arms barely wrapping around his waist “Good Morning Chris” you leaned into his warmth as you smiled happily. “Morning darling, why don't you go help Jisungie with breakfast hmm?”

You quickly nodded, as you let go of his warm body. As you left the bedroom, you quickly rushed your way to Jisung leaning against the kitchen counter. Watching Jisung as his head was stuck into the refrigerator “What's for breakfast?” He would look up as he pulled out the milk and some eggs “your favorite, pancakes” you smiled clapping a bit before going to grab a bowl before Jisung hand grabs yours “Nope, go watch some tv. I’ll handle it” he kisses your forehead before grabbing everything he needs.

“But.. chan told me to help you” Jisung would shake he looked at you and behind you down the hall “and.. I'll tell you to go watch tv. I'll cook don’t worry about Chan” You let out a small huff knowing that Chan wouldn't be happy with You listening to Jisung over him. However, he would be more upset with Jisung than you, as you moved to the living room you would sit down on the couch clicking around on the channels.

You didn't even notice that Chan had entered the room until you heard Jisung say your name. You're head turning in the direction of the kitchen. “Jisung. I told her to help you cook breakfast, and I told you to start breakfast, not cook it yourself.” You quickly stood up from the couch, making your way around the kitchen. You would continue where Jisung left off on the pancake mix, testing the heat of the pans before placing the mixture onto the pan.

“I just wanted her to relax, it's not that bad Chan it's not like I was gonna burn down the house from pancakes, I just wanted today and tomorrow to be as special as possible for y/n”

This happened a bit more than it should, Jisung may have a submissive side himself , but always found it hard to simply submit and let Chan handle everything. Naturally causing him to bump heads with Chan which he would quickly apologize for his mistakes, Chan knew this about jisung and never really took much offense to it, and always took the same approach on teaching him his place. It took a few times of you clearing your throat, for the boys to notice you wanted their attention.

“Breakfast is done” You hummed softly with a smile. The both of them turn to look at you, Chan stood with his arms folded across his chest while Han stood there chewing on his bottom lip. Jisung and chan exchanged a few looks before looking back at you. You honestly felt like you did something wrong in that moment.

“Bedroom now” Chan spoke firmly as he looked down at Jisung before looking back at you “By the time i get in there i want to naked and on the bed got it Y/N” You nodded quickly confused on what you did wrong.

Jisung noticed the confusion “why so early? I thought it was planned for later after the-” Chan would slap the back of Jisung's head as he pointed to the room before looking at you who was still standing frozen in the kitchen “babygirl?” You gasped lightly before running off into the bedroom.

Following Chan orders, you quickly Removed your clothes as you Laid onto the bed Before both men.Chan Fingers ran gently through Jisungs hair, before he slowly moved into whispering something into his ear, his lips folding into a smile as he nodded. A small feeling of worry washed over your body, unsure of the words that were whispered into Jisung's ear before you couldn't even contemplate more. Jisungs Hands grabbed your legs, spreading them apart enough for him to slide in between them. Your face grew hot when your eyes met down to his.It always felt embarrassing for you, Having someone head between your legs.

Jisung hands gently rubbed up and down your thighs, in his small attempts to relax and distract you from your embarrassment. Chan's body slowly dipped down onto the bed making you break your eye contact with jisung looking over your shoulder to Chan, whose Hard cock pressed painfully against his pants, slowly rising your gaze upwards. Chan typically wore gentle loving smiles, however today his lips only formed into a smirk.

“Alright Baby Girl, Since you have been such a good girl all year long, Jisunggie and I are gonna treat you so well.. However” His eyes would shift over to Jisung who was leaving small kisses up and down your thighs. “Jisung hasn't been a good boy, So he Doesnt get to cum, until i say so” Jisung head would snap upwards as he looked at Chan,

“Chan.. That's not Fair..” Jisung pleaded softly as he small whines left his lips

Chan Shook his head as he looked down at you, rubbing his thumb gently against your bottom lip.: “Jisung, You better use your tongue for something better than complaining. I Said it and itsFinal” Your gaze was fixed onto Chan the way he spoke was such a contrast to how he looked, his facial features were soft and gentle, While his Tone was harsh and vermonus.

You let out a small gasp as reality hit you quickly grabbing onto the bed sheets below you, The shure fact that Jisung was between your legs and he was now longer leaving small trails of kissing on your thighs.The smaller Male had his head against your wet heat, his tongue dragging across your folds before sucking lightly on your clit Your weak attempts at closing your legs was stopped by Jisung as he threw your legs over his shoulder as his hands held your hips down. Chan let out a pleased Hum as he watched your body react to the younger male.

“Look at that Y/N, Jisung. Watch him” Chan hand would grib your chin as he moved your head forcefully shifting your view down at Jisung. The younger male, lips never seemed to leave your clit as he looked up at you, his eyes flickering over to Chan, who sat beside you as Jisung's eyes quickly snapped back at yours, like Chan silently ordered Jisung to look back at you.

Your face grew redder by the second, your whimpers slowly growing into whiny moans. Chan Hands gently moved down your chest giving your breast a soft squeeze as your hands left the bed sheets as the grabbed onto his wrist, as you let out a small throat moan your hips Bucking up against jisung face causing the younger small to groan against your core Only sending vibrations that sent a small shiver down throughout your body.

Chan was always amazing how your body reacted to the smallest of things, remember how you and jisung were each other first it always did make sense how you both only knew so little. A loud moan from leaving your lips took Chan out of his thoughts as he quickly looked over at Jisung, from the reaction he thought Jisung did what he was told not to do when Chan whispered into his ear. However to his surprise the Younger male still had his head buried between your thighs. “Look at Jisung being such a good boy” His eyes went to you, as he leaned down kissing your neck softly his plush lips brushing against the shell of your ear. “Now baby girl, are you gonna be a good girl and cum all of Jisung tongue” Chan knew you were close the way your hands gripped his wrist, the way your legs shaked, the failed attempts of moving away from jisung mouth.

Without much a single second you nodded, as a string of whiny moans left your lips. “Then cum for him babygirl But don't you dare close your eyes look at him.” Chan knew you well, he knew your habits, as you fought yourself to keep your eyes open your hands would leave the older males wrist as it grabbed onto the younger hair the second your orgasm hit you, Jisung let out a moan as his mouth finally left your clit, only for his tongue to lick up all your juices. Your thighs shock lightly, as the grip into his hair didn't leave, Jisung mouth left your wet core, as now his fingers are finding their way to your entrance. He would look up at Chan, a small way of asking for permission.

Seeing that Chan agreed, inched himself back, as he slid his fingers Into your entrance, your head threw itself back as you moaned, your attention snapped to Chan. He had his hard cock in his hands as he gently rubbed the head of it against your bottom lip. Your hands leaving the younger males hair as you reached up to wrap your Hands around the base of Chan His cock, Chan shook his head as he grabbed both of your hands holding them up above your head. “No Hands Babygirl, just that beautiful mouth of yours”

You wanted to say something, say how you can’t take all of him in your mouth, you simply couldn't contest as every sound that left your lips were moans, actually you could barely even think right now, due to Jisung fingers curling up into you. As Chan took the moan as an invitation, he slid himself into your mouth. You let out a small hum as your tongue was greeted with the sweet salty taste of him, Jisung let out a small groan, as he watched the both of you. Jisung lowered his head as he hid himself between your thighs kissing them lightly as he slowly slowly worked his fingers against you.Jisung groaned softly as he rutted his hips against the bed, biting his lip as he whined. “Chan.. Please”

Chan would over at Jisung as he shaked his head, “How about you make her cum one more time, and i'll let her suck your dick hmm? But remember do not cum Baby boy” Jisung would sigh softly as he hid his face into your head leaving small kisses onto your sensitive clit.

Chan would roll his eyes as he looked back down at you, he couldn't help but to smile at your flustered faces, how your eyes were closed as you attempted your best to focus on him. The way your tongue wrapped around his length with small bobs of your head. Chan ran his fingers through your hair as he let go of your wrist. “Such a pretty girl you are.”

Jisung lips were once again attached to your sore clit as his fingers moved in and out of you curling against you. Causing you to moan and gag against chans. Your body attempts to run away from Jisung, only making the younger male growl against you pulling you down harshly as his free hand Slapped your Thigh as he looked up at You and Chan narrowing his eyes.

“BabyGirl, Don’t run away from Jisungie, come on, that's not what good girls do” Chan would pull himself out of your mouth, as moved from his spot on the bed. You let out loud whine, your walls clenching against jisungs fingers. Looking down at Jisung, he looked mad. Was it Chan making him wait or was it your running away from him? Both? You let out a small whine as he slapped your thigh again. His lips leaving your abused clit only to be replaced but his thumb as he looked up at you “Y/N go-”.

Chan grabbed a handful of jisung hair pushing his head back to your clit “Shut up and do you what you're good at” Jisung would whine softly as he went back to sucking on your clit licking. Chan rolled his eyes as he shoved the younger male head harshly against you making the both of you moan. Your hips raised off the bed as your second orgasm crash into your body, Jisung fingers fucking you through it casuing you to cry out.

Chan letting go of jisung head as he let the younger move take his dripping finger out of you.

“I’ll be nice, how about this Jisung. I’ll let you cum, however. If you cum before her don't even think about tomorrow's plans.”

Jisung nodded softly as he removed his pants freeing the painful restraint against his hardened member. The cold air makes him hiss softly. As he sat down onto the bed . Chan would help you up gently setting you on all fours as your hands wrapped around jisungs length, as Chan fingers rubbed gently down your wet folds. Both of you whimpered as Chan looked up at the both of you. The both of you so sensitive You being so fucked out before they even fucked you and jisung being out of pure desperation and need. Chan always found it so funny, how jisung has zero control, he would always get himself so worked up so quickly.

The small licks you left on the tip of Jisung’s cock, made him moan as he leaned his head back.

Chan had moved grabbing of the condoms that were in the dresser grabbing two and throwing the other on the bed, tearing open his rolling it slowly against his length before grabbing your hips. Chan lined himself with your entrance, the tip of his cocked swallowed effortless as your warm walls hugging him quickly pushed himself into you, as he leaned down kissing your shoulders down your back.

Your choked out a moan as your mouth was wrapped around jisung, the vibrations causing jisung to whimper as he looked over at Chan, The older male smiled as he watched the both of you.

“Look how cute my little babies are” Chan would grab the younger male by the back of his neck as kissing him harshly the taste of you still lingering in the younger mouth. He would pull away from the younger his hands going back to your hips his own snapped forward into you causing you to pull your head off jisung. Letting out a loud breathy moan. Jisung however didn’t agree with your move. As he grabbed your hair and quickly thrusted himself back into your mouth fucking into it with a small growl.

You gagged against jisung, as Chan hips slammed into you, your walls clenching harshly against chans members causing him to groan. He grew harder for him to properly move. Your next orgasm so close, as the tip of Chan cock hits every right spot every thrust.

“Already baby? Well come on cum all over Daddy's cock” Jisung hand held your head down against him as he fucked into your mouth with small whimpers. Chan watched as you struggled to keep up between the two of them as his hands would leave your hips again as he grabbed onto jisung hair pulling it as he growled. “Stop, or i will take back what i said” Jisung thrust would stop automatically as he looked up at Chan shaking his head lightly. As Chan let go of Jisung’s hair as Jisung raised you off his member .

You lean your upper half of your body against your younger thigh as he coughed out, moans trying to catch your breath. Your mind was so blank you, your orgasm around the corner as you dug your nails into jisung thighs. As Chan some hard thrust throws your body forward, losing your balance the second your third orgasm hit. incoherent words leave your lips as you cried out. Chan holding your lower half in place with ease as he groaned, feeling your wall squeeze against him. Jisung ran his fingers over your lips as he hummed softly.

“Chan hyung, i don't think she can handle anymore i honestly think she's gonna break if we go any further ” Jisung looked at Chan watching as the elder left kisses down your back rubbing soft circles on your hips.

“n-No” you choked out looking up at Jisung Chan ran his hands down your back as he hummed “BabyGirl, we can stop if you can't handle anymore just tell us when” Chan voice was soft as he spoke You let out a faint nod, your hands wrapping around jisung making his hiss softly. Chan thrusted felt soft and gentle, “You’re always such a good girl y/n,” Jisung hummed as he stroked your cheek gently.

The moment was so soft and tender, they treated you as if you are glass that could shatter at any harsh movement. It was such a contrast between what was happening only moments ago. Chan thrust never changed from the soft gentle pace he set, it was understandable as even though Chan was the harder Dom, he always found himself being soft after you cumming as hard as you did. Meanwhile jisung, always found it as a reason to fuck you hard, to drag out new reactions. Maybe it was just Jisung brat like nature

“Chan.. please.” You begged as your hands worked on jisung, pumping it up and down his length. “Please just fuck me harder again i can take it”

Chan let out a small sigh as he looked down between You and Jisung, Jisung's mouth hung open. Small whimpers leaving the younger mouth. “Fine, Since This is what you wanted, then we can have jisungie fuck you next too”

Jisung looked up at Chan, he swallowed harshly as he fought back the moans as your mouth was against him “but.. You said-”

“And now i’m telling you to fuck her after me, or do you just wanna cum in her mouth?”Jisung let out a small wine as he looked down at you, the way you bobbed your head up and down his length. He was honestly surprised he didn’t cum already. But he was painfully close.

“Exactly” Chan hips once again started to fuck into your harder, making you gag against jisung only making the younger man whimper. Your walls clenching against him as he fucked into you harshly, The way your walls hugged him, it was only a matter of time until Chan couldn't hold himself any longer.he let out a small growl as it grew harder for him to thrust into you leaving dark marks down your back.

His pace grew unsteady, His attention stuck on jisung who was visually struggling to keep his breathing under control. Chan knew all three of you were close. “Y/N, look how close you are, why are you holding yourself back cum princess?” Your body reacted to Chan's words faster than you could hear them.Your fourth orgasm hit you so hard. Pulling yourself off of jisung cock with a pop you let out a small screaming moan. Jisung would groan softly as he grabbed your face making sure you didn't attach your lips back to him. Chan pressed himself against your back, your wall milking his cock. Chan and jisung both start to rub smoothing circles onto your skin soothing your body from the shaking. As Chan slowly pulled himself out he would groan softly as he looked over at jisung throwing the second condom pack at him.

Jisung Took Chan spot from behind you. The younger male would look over at chan who was sitting on the bed kissing your forehead softly whispering soft praises into your ear. He would bite his bottom lip as he ripped out the condom, placing it onto himself as he leaned forward pushing himself in with ease. Hissing softly under his breath, with how sensitive the both of you were. He knew the both of you couldn’t last that long Jisung moved his hips slowly letting out a string of moans louder than yours.

Chan would look up at Jisungs Giving him a small glare, the both of them having a silent conversion without warning his hips would snap forward as he quickly started to pound into you. Chan would give a soft kiss onto your lips eating the moans that left your throat. The grip on your hips that jisung had was painfully hard, The whimpers from the both of you filled the room.

Chan sat there looking assumed between the both of you, all the was needed was for him to say the word you both craved him to say, as jisung thrust grew painfully unsteady, he would hide his face into your back as her let out whimpers that were nearly sounded like cries. Your wall held as you looked at Chan moaning. Your doe eyes begging for him to allow you both to cum.

“Alright fun, you both can cum” his words speaking like magic, as jisung groaned at release as he held you tightly. As your last orgasm of the night hit you like a train, if it wasn't for jisung holding you, you would have crashed into the mattress or chan, all the strength in your body was completely gone. Jisung took a deep breath as he left a small kiss onto your back as he slowly moved, pulling out of you, throwing himself onto the bed.

Chan placed you onto his lap as he rubbed your back lightly as he looked down at jisung who slowly made his way close to the both of you laying his head against chan shoulder. “I’m sorry to say… but breakfast is most definitely no longer good.”

#stray kids smut #bang chan smut #jisung smut #han jisung smut #smutmas #stray kids reactions #bang chan #han jisung #hyunjin smut #minho smut #han smut #chan smut #seungmin smut #lee know smut #changbin smut #felix smut #jeongin smut

202 notes · View notes

wisteriasxx · 3 years

Text

Valentine’s Day HeadCanons!

A/N: Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!! I made a headcanon list of how I think some of my favorite characters would treat you on Valentine’s Day, hope you enjoy❤️

Also I think most of this is gender neutral, I think the Thrawn one may be more dictated to a Fem! Reader but it’s whatever you make of it!!

Requests are still open <3

Warnings: lil nsfw

———————————————————————

Anakin

Anakin is going to just give you all his love all day. He’s going to set everything aside to spend time with you, no matter how busy he is or where he is, his only priority is going to be you.

He’ll probably show up with a gift of some kind, not you’re typical roses or chocolates though, he’ll probably give you something he made by hand or something he saw in a shop that reminded him of you.

He’ll offer you over and over again to make dinner for the two of you, but in my mind, I feel like Anakin would probably not be that good at cooking so you’ll want to make dinner.

After dinner, the two of you would sit outside, wherever you may be, and watch the sun set while sipping on spotchka and talking about your favorite memories with one another.

LOTS of kisses. I mean it might even get to the point of too much, but Anakin just wants you to feel loved, especially this day of the year.

Anakin is 100% the guy that’s gonna offer to “just give you a massage”, and then it ✨conveniently✨ turns to sex. But the sex is amazing obviously.

After all of the love making, the two of you will cuddle the night away. Anakin always wants to be the big spoon, he wants to feel you curled up against him, and in his mind, it’s a way of him knowing your protected. If Anakin isn’t the big spoon on some off chance, he always has you pulled close to him, with you cuddled up next to him, arm draped tiredly over his chest.

Obi-wan

We all know that Obi-wan is going to be the sweetest man to ever exist on Valentine’s Day. In fact, it wasn’t until this day of the year that you believed he could get any sweeter, since he’s always so nice and chivalrous all the time to you.

Obi-wan is definitely walking through the door with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. The bouquet has all the workings in it, you’re favorite flowers and his, ribbons, jewels, maybe even some candy snuck in there.

He’s also a great cook some how. He makes the most delicious meals whenever he is able to cook. And for Valentine’s Day he’s going to make your favorite. He’s going to make breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and dessert. Obi-wan is a man of quality, so only the finest for his love.

After dinner, he’ll take you outside, along with a bottle of fine champagne and the two of you will star gaze all night. It’s one of your favorite things to do.

The two of you will gaze at the stars and talk about anything that comes to mind for hours.

He’ll have you wrapped up in his arms, your head against his chest, holding you close, telling you how much he loves you and how he’s lucky to have you. He’ll tell you that he’s convinced you’re some kind of angel sent from the heavans.

Obi-wan isn’t the type to press for sex, but if you want it, he’ll give it to you in the most intimate and passionate way you can think of. Obi-wan may come off as a sweet and timid man at first, but in bed it’s a different story, and on the one day of the year dedicated to your relationship he’s going to completely let loose, a side of him you’ve never seen ;)

Ahsoka

Ahsoka is one of the most fun and most kind characters in Star Wars. Valentine’s Day is going to have a special meaning to her for you and everyone she cares about.

She’s going to take you on some crazy wild adventure to some planet she’s over heard you wanting to travel to.

Intially, she’ll have some plan for the two of you, but it will fall apart in a good way and the two of you will stray from your set path to do something spontaneous, creating more memories with one another.

Ahsoka likes to go out to eat, she doesn’t much care for cooking. She’ll take the two of you to you’re favorite restaurant and indulge.

Lots of hand holding with her, she’s always guiding you to your next destination on this day, and doesn’t want you anywhere away from her.

She’s going to do everything in her power to make you consistently smile throughout the day, she’s in love with your smile.

Her gift to you would be taking the two of you somewhere like a concert, a movie, or sight seeing on a new planet.

Plenty of cheek kisses and quick pecks to go around, she wants to be as affectionate as she can!!

Luke

For the sake of the headcanon, we’re going to talk about ROTJ Luke here.

Luke loves Valentine’s Day, because it means he gets to spend an entire, uninterrupted day with the love of his life. No Jedi business, no fights, nothing. Just you, and that’s the way he likes it.

Luke will bring you something special, and expensive, like jewelry. It’ll most likely be a necklace made of some kind of precious metal and small glimmering stones, nothing too flashy.

He’ll have 3P0 or someone else prepare dinner for the two of you for the sole fact that he wants to spend all his time with you, he doesn’t even want to be away from you to make dinner. And get ready for a lovely dinner outside on Endor.

The forest will be strung up with small, glimmering lights, with a low standing table and comfortable cushions to sit on. After the two of you are done eating, he’ll walk you through the forest to one of the waterfalls. And as the moon light and the stars reflect off the water, he’ll present the necklace to you. He’ll put it on for you, and when you turn to face him he can’t help but smile and kiss you.

After your little moment, the two of you will head back to your encampment and spend the rest of the night cuddling and drinking and laughing. The night will end with your head resting on his chest with him holding you close, fast asleep.

Han

Han usually was never one for the gushy stuff, which is why he would fail spectacularly at Valentine’s Day, but in the goofy, cute way.

He would definitely forget at first, and then when you present him with a gift or are being extra affectionate, thats when he realizes. he’ll of course talk his way out of your suspicions of him forgetting.

“Relaaaax, I’ve got a nice dinner waiting for us later don’t worry” *proceeds to find chewy to have him have a nice dinner waiting for the two of you later*

And then the gift, he realizes he doesn’t have anything. Han definitely consults with every woman he knows on what you’re supposed to get a woman on Valentine’s Day. And when he gets multiple answers, he thinks that there’s only one right answer, and that he has to figure it out somehow.

Shockingly, he’ll remember you talking about something that you love and conveniently the only place to get that something is guarded by imperials. But for you, Han would steal and smuggle anything.

He returns back to home base for you to see the falcon landing in a mass of smoke and damaged. Resulting with you quirking a brow in suspicion and question when he comes strutting down the ramp with whatever important thing he just stole for you.

Later the two of you will be sipping on spotchka waiting for your dinner, of course you’ll ask him over and over again where he got your gift but he tells you not to worry about it.

Dinner is surprisingly decent for being made by a Wookiee. Han cleaned up the falcon nice for the two of you to eat in as well.

After dinner Han is going to apologize for the horrible Valentine’s Day but you don’t care, you love him exactly the way he is, and you wouldn’t change anything about him.

Of course there will be make up sex ;) this is the most common way for Han to apologize, but you’re not complaining.

Boba Fett

With boba, you sit there and wonder if he even knows it’s Valentine’s Day. Just because it’s a holiday meant for couples, doesn’t mean he’s going to stop bounty hunting for the day, he takes his work seriously.

You don’t bring it up to him because you don’t want to add more to his already full plate

But he knows what today is, he just wants you to think that he doesn’t know. He just wants to work first, he’ll celebrate with you later.

When he’s away looking for his bounty, you’ll find a gift box on your bed saying it’s from him, opening it to find a luxurious, burning red set of lingerie. This of course puts a smile on your face, relieved that he didn’t forget about today.

After freezing his bounty in carbonite, he comes to your shared room on the slave 1 to find you lounging on the bed in your newly purchased lingerie, waiting for him.

Normally boba is the dominating one in the bedroom, but since it’s Valentine’s Day he’ll let you take the reigns and do whatever you please to him, all though your actions may have consequences in the future ;)

Din Djarin

Much like boba, you sit there and wonder if he even knows it’s Valentine’s Day, except with Din, he doesn’t. He’s completely clueless, but that’s okay.

He’ll act completely normal to you all day, doing daily routines, hunting bounties, or taking care of the child, doesn’t mean he loves you any less. You actually find it adorable that he’s clueless about today.

He doesn’t find out until later in the night when you present him with a small bracelet, forged from pure beskar. The bracelet has words in Mando’a engraved onto it. It reads “My protector, My light, My love, always”.

He’s so stunned by the gift he even takes off his helmet. Asking a bunch of questions like where you even got a pure beskar bracelet, or why you even got it in the first place, only for you to cut him off mid sentence with a kiss. And when you pull away, the phrase “Happy Valentine’s Day” slips gracefully from your mouth.

And that’s when he realizes he completely forgot. He would try apologizing a thousand times over but he would only get cut off again but the smooth feeling of your lips against his. He’ll promise you that he won’t ever forget again.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Surprisingly, Thrawn is going to set aside his duties on the Chimera and spend the day and night with you. Being a grand admiral meant that he could go wherever he pleased whenever he wanted with no qiestions asked.

He’s going to take you to some huge Valentine’s soirée with Coruscants most elite political and military personal. He’ll buy you a whole new dress and jewelry for the occasion as well, this man has excellent taste.

He wants everyone to see you, he wants to show you off, he’s proud to have a gorgeous woman like you by his side.

After an evening filled with drinks and slow dancing, he’ll take you to the balcony of the venue. There you can see the Coruscant night skyline, filled with the gentle glow of all the buildings and the snow falling gracefully from the sky.

And here, Thrawn would definitely propose to you. The setting is perfect, you’re looking your best and he just can’t resist. He needs to make you his permanently, and what better day to do so then Valentine’s Day? The day committed to ones significant other and the love they share.

Thrawn is also definitely the type to ditch the party early to take you back to his place to have drinks and the best valentines sex of your life heheh

Kylo Ren

Kylo has a very strong and thick wall around his emotions, he doesn’t like showing them unless he’s alone with you. So for majority of the day, he’s going to act like Valentine’s Day doesn’t exist, he might even act like you don’t exist.

You can’t take it personally though, you know what he’s been through, besides, he’ll open up later when the two of you are alone.

And that’s exactly what he does. When the time comes for him to retire, he’ll find you waiting in his chambers for him. And you just stare at him, waiting. A more gentle side of him will come out and he’ll act like he’s totally not hiding a small gift box behind his back.

“What? Waiting for something are we?” He’ll ask, with a brow quirked.

You’ll flash him a small and bat your eyelashes at him. He’ll roll his eyes and with the smallest smile he’ll toss your gift to you. And yes, you can tell he wrapped it himself.

You’ll open the box to find a ring. Not a proposal ring, more of a promise ring, just a nice gift really. A small ring made of doonium, simple and elegant. And as you put it on, he can’t help his smile from growing a little bigger.

Plenty of hugs and kisses of thanks from you.

Kylo only wants one thing in return, which is you. You’re going to be taken for the ride of your life in the bed tonight ;)

Rey

Rey would give you the standard flowers and chocolate. She’s from Jakku and spent most of her life trying to survive and fighting to become a Jedi. She doesn’t know how to do anything beyond the bare minimum, you can’t blame her though.

You’ll take her somewhere she’s never been, which could be anywhere really. She’s surprised you’re going to such lengths to make this day more then sufficient for her.

You’re going to take her on some crazy adventure for her to enjoy as well. You’ll probably take her on a camping trip to multiple worlds, it’ll be more like a valentines weekend then just a day.

Something will happen along the way of course, whether it’s vicious creatures attacking you or first order stormtroopers, nothing the two of you can’t handle.

“Was this part of your plan to take me out?” She’ll ask as the two of you are fighting. “Is this not a fun Valentine’s Day festivity for you?” You’ll say to her, smiling. And Rey can’t help but smile back.

When the fighting is over and all is well again, a Valentine’s Day victory kiss is in store.

The two of you will spend your weekend nights watching the sunset over the ocean of wherever you may be. Since Rey is from jakku, you elected to take her to a few planets with beautiful oceans.

Since the two of you are camping, dinners consist of rations and a single bottle of fine wine you brought along for the journey. It’s nothing fancy but that doesn’t bother either of you, she’s just glad you thought of her, and took on this trip. She believes that she is truly lucky to have you, and is already planning something for you for next Valentine’s Day.

111 notes · View notes

puckmeupfam · 3 years

Text

Sap | Jeff Skinner

Word Count: 2287

Note: My autumnal aesthetic piece that I started in July. Title is based on the fact that this is entirely fluff without plot, and because it takes place in the Northeast with references to maple syrup, cider donuts, and leaf-peeping.

Zipping your newly packed suitcase and pulling it off the bed, you heard the front door open signaling that Jeff arrived home from practice. It was a rare time when he had the weekend off. No games, no practices after the one he just finished, just free time which he chose to devote to spending with you. The two of you loved going on short trips whenever possible to escape the monotony of work and grocery shopping and Buffalo. Honestly, you could spend the weekend in Lackawanna and be happy as long as you were with Jeff. This particular weekend was special because it was now solidly fall. The temperatures were dropping. The leaves were changing. Swimsuits were being swapped out for sweaters. And golf was being replaced by hockey.

You had spent most of the summer in Markham. Coming from a smaller family, you were always enamored by Jeff’s. At this point, you honestly considered them to be your family, too. You loved talking to Jillian about her time in law school or asking Ben about his hockey career in Germany. It was also hilarious to watch the five siblings tease Jeff about his competitiveness or on-ice gaffs, but he was always a good sport about it and just laughed with bright red cheeks. You knew how much it meant to Jeff when he got to spend time with his family and experience that warmth and joy. The both of you were incredibly lucky that Buffalo isn’t too far away, but with his schedule, the uninterrupted summer was extra special.

As you were lost in your thoughts, you missed Jeff coming up the stairs and into your shared bedroom. His arms wrapped around your waist and his face found its way into the crook of your neck. The action brought an unconscious smile to your face as you leaned back into him.

“Whatcha thinking about?” he asked you, voice muffled against your skin as he lightly swayed. You shrugged in response, “We should probably get Andrea a birthday gift while we’re gone, something nice you know? Show we were thinking about her.” Jeff hummed in response. He rocked the two of you a bit before speaking, “Are you ready to leave?” You took a deep breath, inhaling his cologne. Turning your body to look him in the eye you smiled softly, “Almost,” you whispered, “we should probably get going before they decide they need you to individually kiss each fan.” This elicited a booming laugh from Jeff that you felt throughout your body, “The only person I’m kissing is you.”

After another minute of contentment, you shuffled him away from you to grab some chargers and last-minute necessities. He chuckled as he started pulling your suitcase down to the car, he knew how much you were looking forward to this trip. You had spent the last week researching and talking about all the spots you wanted to visit while you were away. Grabbing your purse and hoisting it over your shoulder you did a last-minute sweep of the house to make sure that everything was unplugged and you weren’t leaving candles lit or stovetops on. After your anxieties were quelled you went outside and joined Jeff in the car. He had already put your B&B into the GPS and he flashed you a large grin which you eagerly matched as he pulled out of the driveway.

This trip the two of you were going to Western Massachusetts. It was about a five and a half hour drive, probably longer since you knew you would be stopping for lunch and every state park that came your way. You synched your phone and started playing music, knowing that you had a playlist with the perfect ambiance. Jeff always teased you for making playlists for every mood, weather pattern, task, or aesthetic that came in your head. But when the soft chords came through the speakers and his fingers started a gentle tap against the steering wheel to the beat, you knew that it was appreciated.

In Buffalo, the weather was just cool enough that the seat warmers got turned on but not yet so cold that you were shivering. You were cruising down the highway, close to crossing city lines. When you glanced over at Jeff he had a small smile, like he wasn’t even thinking about it. Just watching the road with an underlying well of happiness. You took a minute to look at him, to take him in. His smile turned out to be infectious and you knew your face was probably spread with a dopey grin.

“You’re staring,” Jeff said, breaking the silence.

“You didn’t even look over. How would you know?” you complained.

“I could feel your stare,” he responded, looking over at you with a grin that took over his whole face. His statement made you burst out laughing. While the whole thing was funny and, you were sure that he really did get that weird feeling you get when someone’s looking at you, it made you think about how you were always so aware of each other. The two of you could be in a crowd of people at some Sabres bruncheon and someway somehow you could always glance up and see him already looking at you. Or when you would go to some team party, you always had a tendency to reach for each other’s hands at the same time.

“You would stare at you too,” was your response after you had realized that you went a few beats too long just staring into space.

It was Jeff’s turn to laugh, “what does that even mean?”

“It means,” you started, drawing out the word, “that you’re cute and potentially the embodiment of sunshine and everyone would stare at you if they could and I will simply not defend myself further.”

Jeff rolled his eyes at your dramatic tone and faux-seriousness. He swung his arm out over to you, holding it in the air until you grabbed his hand in both of yours. You pulled his hand into your lap and leaned further back into the passenger seat. Turning your head to the side to watch the city escape, your eyes unfocused and your brain turned to elevator music as your temple rested against the window. After a few minutes of contented silence, Jeff’s hand made its way to your thigh and squeezed, drawing your attention.

“Look at the leaves, babe,” he told you. The passing trees were dotted with warm-colored leaves of crimson, tangerine, marigold, and honey. It was absolutely gorgeous and seemed like a sign that your trip was only going to get better. You stared in awe for about a mile before you looked back at Jeff. His eyes flickered from the road to your face and the look he gave you, full of love and peace, made you feel so warm.

“They’re so pretty,” you said softly. You moved your hand to twine your fingers together and you watched his dimples come out in full force as he forced his eyes to stay on the road. After a few moments of contentment, you spoke again, “do you want me to tell you about the plant pigments that make these colors possible?”

Jeff chuckled, but you knew that your joke didn’t ruin the moment or anything else that you might think if you were talking to someone else. Because Jeff knew you, he loved you. He loved your bad jokes, your stories that you’ve already told him multiple times but just like telling again and again, the way you go into lectures to explain things that he had never thought twice about, your urge to talk during movies to comment on the scene or the actor’s personal life. He loved the best parts of you and he loved the worst parts of you. And this moment? Where you feel the light beaming out of your heart. It isn’t the moment. It’s just a moment in a string of hundreds of thousands of moments that you’ll experience with your favorite person.

After about two hours in the car, you were close to Syracuse and decided to stop for lunch. The two of you decided on a cute, local diner. Jeff parked the car and as you stepped out, you stretched your legs to rid yourself of the wobbly feeling from being in a car too long. The sidewalks were made of a red brick and there was a quiet hustle with people walking their dogs and couples going in and out of shops. The two of you walked side-by-side, but right when you were about to reach the door Jeff stepped ahead to hold it open for you. Stepping through you smiled at him and he followed you in. There seemed to be a typical lunch rush, but the restaurant wasn’t crowded. A waitress pointed you towards a booth and you slumped into it as Jeff sat across from you.

You both ordered coffees before cracking the menu open to see what they had. The pages were lined with different sandwiches, egg dishes, pancakes, and all the typical diner food that you loved. You settled on your order fairly quickly but Jeff scanned the pages until the coffees were brought out and the waitress was asking for your order. Handing her your menu, you explained what you wanted before both of you turned your attention towards your boyfriend.

“Could I have the brownie french toast?”

At that you raised your eyebrows at him incredulously. As the waitress walked away, scribbling your orders down as she went, Jeff looked back at you and laughed at your expression. “Cheat weekend,” was his explanation. He shrugged with an expression on his face like he was being forced to order what was likely the sugariest option on the menu. You threw your hands up to say you weren’t judging. Jeff quickly launched into a story about something Jack did at practice and that filled your wait until the food was brought to your table. Your boyfriend’s eyes widened comically when his food came out. It looked like there had been a blizzard of powdered sugar. It was topped with a whopping pile of whipped cream and a generous amount of rainbow sprinkles, just in case the brownie batter wasn't sweet enough.

Neither of you wasted any time in diving into your food and when you glanced up at Jeff after a few minutes you giggled when you saw that some of that whipped cream had ended up on his nose. You stealthily pulled out your phone to snap a picture of him. Once he heard the click of your camera he looked up at you which reignited your laughter.

“What?” he asked, chuckling lightly with you even without knowing the reason.

Without explaining yourself, you just reached out and swiped the sweet substance off his face before licking it off your finger. His response was just a sharp laugh with rolled eyes, head thrown back a bit at your antics. He knew full well that you were going to tease him for a long time for his choice of ridiculously confectionary lunch. You returned to your food with a shake of your head, but when you turned to take a sip of your coffee you noticed that Jeff had absolutely demolished his plate of french toast and was now trying to collect the remnant of whipped cream with his fork.

“It’s not going to be my fault when you crash from all that sugar,” you told him. He watched you dig your teeth into your lip to try and conceal the smile that was threatening to break through.

“Honestly, (Y/N), I’ve never felt better in my life. The sprinkles fuel me. I think I’ll make this my pre-game meal,” Jeff said with an air of seriousness. Sadly for him, but luckily for you, he had a genetic inability to suppress his smiles. You leaned back in the booth until your head hit the pleather upholstery and kicked your feet up to rest in his lap underneath the table.

“Don’t overwhelm yourself, I’m taking you to the Sugar Shack tomorrow and we’re getting the cider donuts.”

Jeff pulled a shocked and aghast face in response, “How dare you insinuate that I would ever be anything other than thrilled at the very prospect of cider donuts? You know, just because you said that I’m going to get two orders and we’ll see what you say when I eat those and yours too.”

You rolled your eyes so dramatically that you knew, if your mom were there, she would be telling you that they’d get stuck like that. Under the table, you kicked your legs up to rest in Jeff’s lap as he waved his arm to flag down the waitress for the bill. You sat quietly, just watching as he went through the monotony of thanking the waitress and putting his card in the sleeve of the bill. When he looked back at you, he smiled knowing that he caught you staring for the second time that day.

“You ready?” He asked you. A simple question, given that you were on a roadtrip with a predetermined destination. But with the opportunity to just appreciate him and your relationship, without the stress of your schedules or outside influences, it just felt meaningful. There was no one you would rather be with, during the happiest moments of your life or the worst. You felt a little misty with the joy of having him by your side.

“With you? Always.”

Pulling yourself out of the booth, you extended your hand for him to grasp and continued onwards.

#Jeff skinner #Jeff skinner imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction #nhl fic #buffalo sabres imagine #j.skinner #based in the fall started in the summer posting in the winter #not proofread #tw food

86 notes · View notes

chrisjake-cp · 3 years

Text

History 3 Trapped Filming Diary (full English translation) - Days 41-50

Masterpost here.

I don’t own the book so I can’t post my scans of the pictures that came with it. So I included some other pictures of the scenes that were being filmed. These pics belong to LINE TV or Choco Media, or I’ve taken screenshots from the episodes or the behind-the-scenes.

Read days 41-50 under the cut.

Day 41

On this day of shooting it happened to be Christmas, and the crew, waiting for the evening shooting process, enjoyed a Christmas gift exchange. Shaofei gave out a book; according to him it was a very inspirational book. A crew member who does hair and make-overs nearby opened it and laughed jokingly: “What kind of ‘inspiration’ do you mean?”, causing Shaofei’s thoughts to immediately go into another direction to the point of him not even being able to say it out loud (I can tell you: he was very bashful!). The whole crew also acknowledged that the most creative gift was a big bunch of green onions⁕ from Sanxing. When this present was opened the whole crew burst out in crazy laughter, but it need also be said that this was a most memorable gift.

⁕ Sanxing is famous for its spring onions! They even have a little museum dedicated to green onions there.

Also, what kind of book did Jake gift someone? 👀

Day 42

The day after Christmas, Boss Tang arrived at work, and the first thing he did was accept his gift from the Christmas gift exchange from the day before. So what did Boss Tang receive?

*ding ding* The answer is 20 Christmas trees and a bottle of “Indian Spiritual Oil”⁕ At the appearance of this gift, everyone nearby immediately laughed loudly, and I also silently expressed my heartfelt wishes for Tang Yi’s and Meng Shaofei’s happiness.

For today’s scenes, basically the whole ‘world’ had to be there: Unit 3, Tang Yi, A De, Hong Ye, Daoyi and Jingtang were all present, so the set was really lively. What was shot that day were the scenes after Hongye and Shaofei were injured in the parking lot. In order to increase the conflictual character of these scenes, the director assigned each actor their own, individual combination. What was interesting is that during rehearsals, the cameramen all quickly approached the actors like a large quantity of reporters. A De said smiling that the group of people was so large that it looked like an oncoming tank and he could only silently take the ‘card position’⁕ each time.

⁕ This oil is basically like viagra...but topical instead of taking a pill....It’s a natural plant oil but it contains some anaesthetics which will irritate the skin a bit (making your you-know-what more erect as it grows hot) and the anaesthetics will also cause you to last longer. Ahem. Let’s all imagine Chris receiving this gift. 😂

⁕ The card position comes from a basketball or football game. It means that during the game, when the ball is in the air, the player accurately judges the effective landing point of the ball, takes the lead in the opponent's position, and blocks the opponent out of the best position to gain control. Here it means that Stanley just chose the best position to gain control/the upper hand in the scene.

Day 43

Today we continued to shoot the hospital scenes. Shaofei said smiling that today was another aptly-named day of “earning money while lying down,” as he was lying down from the first scene in the morning to the last scene in the evening. After several consecutive days of intensive shooting, the hospital scenes were back in Taoyuan. Shaofei said he had been getting out of bed at 4am in the morning for several days in a row, and that day was no exception. So during the moments when he wasn’t in the shots, he could openly but stealthily catch up on some sleep in the bed, which made everyone present pretty envious.

Zhaozi just gets better the more he acts. Just look at his slightly wrinkled brows.

Day 44

In the last episode, Zhaozi took Tang Yi to see Shaofei [in the hospital] for the last time. Tang Yi, who had carelessly pulled the trigger and accidentally shot Shaofei was already handcuffed. He told Shaofei he would hand He Hang as well as Zhou Guanzhi over to the police. Zhou Guanzhi was the enemy who killed his father. In these past four years, Tang Yi’s biggest goal was to single-handedly murder his father’s killer. For Tang Yi to now agree to let Zhou Guanzhi live and to hand him over to the police, meant Tang Yi had made the ultimate concession.

Because he had persisted in his revenge, he had caused his lover to be hospitalized with a gunshot. Since meeting Tang Yi, Shaofei had been assaulted in big and small ways, and suffered injuries because of him. Tang Yi discovered that his stubbornly insisting on having his own way was a big factor in Shaofei getting hurt. If this continued, Shaofei would one day be ‘killed’ by Tang Yi. Kept apart by handcuffs, kissing your lover like that; what kind of plot could be more cruel than that?

Tang Yi, even while being handcuffed, was very witty/playful. He didn’t forget to stick his tongue out to the camera.

Day 45

Long time no see! I believe that people who have watched <Right Or Wrong< should not be too unfamiliar with Dr. Jintang’s “uncle-in-law” Jiang Zhaopeng. He is Qiu Zhiyu whom we haven’t seen for a while. Before filming, these two cultivated their understanding of their lines by videochatting [i.e. they practiced their lines] (and also cultivated the signals between both of their phones). One of the most frightening things in filming is the screen of a cellphone. Apart from this scene, the drama shows many different mobile phone screens; every time a call had to be made, or when a LINE conversation happened, etc. Only, whether or not the signal would be good, is an element that no one can control. If the signal is not good, phone calls won’t go through, or the moment when the phone rings doesn’t match the plot. Sometimes it can take a good number of takes, not to mention that this scene needed a video call. If the signal would not be good, the video and the sound might have been chopped. But we had a close call and the signal in the hospital was very stable, allowing us to be able to smoothly complete the take.

Zijian, who portrays Jiang Jintang, has a lively and witty personality. He would often say crazy things that amused the crew. In the evening, we filmed that Shaofei followed Tang Yi to the hospital to see Jintang [the massage scene]. Jintang wanted to angrily quarrel with Meng Shaofei, because he didn’t expect them to arrive together. His red face, his hard breathing and his stammering made all the staff on the scene instantly almost collapse from laughter. Even Shaofei, who was doing the scene with him, and Tang Yi, who was lying down behind them, couldn’t keep in their laughter.

At another rehearsal, Jintang was planning to jump on Tang Yi’s back, but because he hadn’t well coordinated his position, Boss Tang’s knees hit Jintang straight in his ‘important parts’. The staff who were on the scene jokingly told him to jump on the spot, and he actually did it. This was also a ‘pain in the balls.’⁕

⁕ Same expression was used in day 37. It’s more literal here. You can see this happening in the behind-the-scenes.

Day 46

Today we filmed father and son Chen Wenhao and Tang Yi meeting in front of Lizhen’s grave. The weather at the cemetery site was very unstable. Sometimes an uninterrupted drizzle floated by, and at other times wind and rain became quite strong. Occasionally, the sun would stealthily sneak out from the clouds to join in on the fun, adding many changes to the shooting. But the two actors were not in the slightest affected by these elements. As if their surroundings were all congealed together, the two looked at each other and cried really heart-wrenchingly. Afterwards, Chengyang [Chris] also frankly admitted that for this scene his mood was very complex, and it was very hard on him. Tang Yi stood in front of his biological mother’s tomb, and his biological father, whom he once thought to be her killer, walked up to him. At that moment, that kind of “crying” already wasn't just tears simply shed from sadness anymore.

When he heard the gunshot as he exited the graveyard without even looking back, Chris said that his heart was really hurting so much that he almost couldn’t go on.

A big thank you to teacher Jiakui, who plays Wenhao, to give [Chris] ample ability, and to push him beyond the limits of what he could do. What is even more special, is that today was, coincidentally, also Chris’ birthday. To shoot such a meaningful scene on his birthday and falling apart crying like that, really must have left a deep impression on him.

Day 47

The day when the entire Unit 3 team got together, happened to be the very last day of 2018. Today’s MVP was Junwei [played by Ethan Liu]. Everyone most likely knows about the meeting between Unit 3 and the international criminal police division where Junwei was tasked with reporting duties.

That day Junwei was constantly drilling and rehearsing, because all his lines needed to be correctly and fluently spoken for that role to be acted out well. One of the biggest causes for stress is that when you start failing takes, the whole crew and all the actors are just waiting. One can imagine that that is a very big pressure.

Originally everyone joked and said that before noon they would surely be able to go home to celebrate the New Year, but in the end, it took until in the afternoon for the first scene to finish smoothly and everyone on Unit 3 could begin to plan how they would spend New Year’s Eve. But our poor Captain and Shaofei had to stay behind to continue the next scene. Shaofei felt wronged and said to Zhaozi: “Where is the morality in him [the captain] being so happy?”

Day 48

Outside it was drizzling, but inside, the room was brimming with nervous energy as Tang Yi took Jack to negotiate with Old Ke, while Shaofei from his side and Unit 3 rushed inside as an important step and wiped out the place.⁕

While waiting for their scenes, each of the Unit 3 were doing their own activities. First Shaofei looked for a quiet place in the room and silently sat reading the script for the future scenes. With his usual style, he would use differently coloured pens to write down dialogue that belongs to Jake and Shaofei.⁕ Zhaozi, in turn, would be lying on the very big bed inside the room, and would both be talking to Junwei, having a pillow fight with Jack and taking selfies with his cellphone.

And how did Tang Yi spend the time waiting for his next scene? The answer is that he had rolled himself up in a quilt and fell into a deep sleep. No matter if Shaofei would loudly yell, “Where is Tang Yi?” outside the room, Tang Yi slept through it all.

⁕ The very first scenes of the whole show, when Shaofei and his team barges through the door! Some of the very first words we ever hear coming out of Shaofei’s mouth are “Where is Tang Yi?” MY HEART. This show is so well-made.

⁕ There’s an example of what Jake’s script looked like in the “HIStory 3: Trapped The Making of...” book. ankdlgdndkgn it’s the hospital balcony scene. The thing that he writes in black, between the two red exclamation marks... “This is the show’s first kiss!!! (Vixen Andy doesn’t count).” WHY IS HE SO CUTE?

Day 49

For shooting the scenes at the exterior of the police station, we borrowed the Xizhi branch police building. That Xizhi branch building which only opened in 2017, is very new and very beautiful. The interior was also very spacious, so we had plenty of room to use.

On that day there happened to be a major traffic incident in that jurisdiction area, and both clerical and field police officers were busy bustling about. Even news reporting vehicles were driving in and out. We were able to witness the police officers' work that we usually don’t have opportunity to see. Thanks to all the protectors of the people for their hard work.

Today’s Xizhi police station was bustling and lively. Thanks as well to the fans of Director Qingrong who, during the afternoon tea time, came to visit the set and brought snacks like donuts and coffee. In the afternoon the weather turned cold and it started to drizzle. But the fans braved the wind and the rain and came anyway, and even gave handwritten cards to the actors and the director, which was really sweet.

Day 50

Day 2 at the police station. Today’s weather was nothing like yesterday’s “sunny and cloudy with an occasional shower”. Today the sun was shining very brightly, and the temperatures soared straight to 30 degrees. It was the perfect weather to play a song called “I love summer.”

We shot the scene where three members of Unit 3 talked with Jack at the door. They had to walk outside from inside the police station and each time they had to redo the take, everyone went back into the building with a look of total unwillingness. They opened their eyes widely and took a very deep breath, and with a blank look in their eyes they wiped their sweat and used a small fan to keep cool. Phew, foreheads were filled with beads of sweat, and everyone’s clothes were also soaked with sweat.

In the afternoon we filmed the scene from the last episode when Boss Tang goes to the police station to wait for Shaofei to get off work, when Jack also happened to ride his motorbike to pick up Zhaozi from work. At that time, the weather was still very sunny. Boss Tang, who wanted to sit on his car’s hood to wait for Shaofei, suddenly yelled out. Apparently the vicious sun had rendered the hood burning hot, which made boss Tang jump up in sudden fright.

15 notes · View notes