#i need a updated version where the jacket isn’t as long

[wintercorrybriea]

i don’t like suits but something about the 70s-90s classic Giorgio Armani suit reminds of violence, hitmen and golden age Saturday Night Live (70s-90s).

#giorgio armani #fashion #i need a updated version where the jacket isn’t as long

[nctdreamcokr]

yanna’s relationship with nct pt. 2 (updated)

(this is an updated version of yanna’s relationship with her members + shotaro and sungchan, by age)

・❥・ lucas

(leaving this section clear until a proper statement about everything. this isn’t to delete him as a member nor to side with him, but i also have no idea what to write here because i’m unsure how he’s doing these days. i hope people understand.)

・❥・ mark

- yanna pinching mark’s ears unprovoked? more likely than you think.

- mark always says yanna takes good care of him and it makes him feel like he isn’t the oldest in dream sometimes.

- both admitted that they enjoy sharing verses and rapping back and forth with each other since their flow matches. and they know nctzens die everytime.

- recent fan favorite moment: beatbox starts off with mark and he basically turns over the first verse to yanna, during performances they would do it in different and random ways like yanna tapping him on the shoulder for him to turn so she could start off the song.

・❥・ xiaojun

- they’re closer but still not as much. they can sit beside each other now and talk casually, but they barely hang out.

- yanna’s incredibly impressed with xiaojun’s voice, and she’s vocal about it.

- kun said that the only reason yanna and xiaojun started trying to be friends is because they were scared the members would put them on awsaz. both denied it, of course.

- recent fan favorite moment: xiaojun mentioned in a recent live that yanna once kicked his knee and it hurt a lot. after a few minutes, she called his phone while the live was going on, basically yelling “i already said sorry!”

・❥・ hendery

- hendery’s the only person who leaves yanna perplexed.

- road to besties, to be honest. yanna finds hendery way too funny to not be bestie material.

- “henny and yanny”.

- recent fan favorite moment: there’s a selfie yanna posted on bubble, holding a piece of hendery’s hair as a mustache during his haircut.

・❥・ renjun

- literally her boyfriend. staying strong. not even sm can ruin their relationship. need i say more?

- group promotions are funny for fans because they almost get zero crumbs. they literally never sit next to each other. the most people get are subtle protective movements from renjun.

- but truly, weibo is where they mostly are. renjun posts pictures of yanna while the girl would always post short vlogs whenever they go out.

- recent fan favorite moment: during beatbox’s jacket behind the scene shoot, the two were paired up. yanna resisted eye contact the whole time, not wanting to look unprofessional. when it ended, renjun moved his face towards her and smiled while making eye contact. the staffs squealed at the interaction and yanna could only push him lightly.

・❥・ jeno

- bff #1. their handshake is through head bumps.

- yanna dropped honorifics for him in private and he didn’t mind. he calls her “ae cha” in return.

- jeno’s 65% done with yanna’s ass.(/j) he literally goes “we’ve been friends for way too long” on a daily basis.

- recent fan favorite moment: yanna’s drawer has various pictures on top of it, framed. one of those is a picture of predebut jeno and her eating ice cream together.

・❥・ haechan

- they’re over the enemies era, hyuck is now yanna’s baby.

- equally clingy. like, they’re usually the ones seated next to each other and yanna always has her hand under hyuck’s chin.

- they always speak softly to each other and give compliments, unless they’re in a goofy mood.

- recent fan favorite moment: as part of “yanna reacts”, which was changed to “ae cha’s corner” last 2021, the girl filmed a reaction to nct 2021’s universe album. in the middle of it, haechan entered the room and she invited him to join her. the whole video, her arm was around haechan’s neck and her chin was on his shoulder as she complimented everyone and would get excited for haechan during his parts.

・❥・ jaemin

- bff #2. help jaemin because as much as he loves how close they are again, yanna shares so much random stuff to him that he just ends up face palming.

- literally whispers and laughs about random shit, even high fives about it. jeno would have to walk over from somewhere to understand why his bestfriends are laughing.

- it really took them a while to become as close again, but they’ve always had a nice friendship. it’s just obvious how comfortable they’ve become to each other this year once again.

- recent fan favorite moment: during a recent group ig live, yanna accidentally shook her phone— making her realize her phone case makes sounds because of the liquid inside. she then paused and whispered to jaemin about it, making the man go “you’ve had that for 4 months, you’re just finding out now?” a little loudly. yanna then went “아가리 닥쳐”, to which her and jaemin both laughed at secretly while the other members were left confused.

・❥・ yangyang

- yangyang knows the passcode to yanna’s apartment unit. because he likes playing with her dog, neoran. not because of her and she has a “huge grudge” regarding this.

- yanna helps him out in his korean a lot, wanting him to write more korean lyrics for their nct releases.

- but she can’t even deal with the man’s cheesiness. specially towards renjun.

- recent fan favorite moment: on nct’s field day, there was a clip of yanna chasing yangyang around the area when the members started eating. no explanation given up to this day, because when yangyang was asked about it he just said “which one?” and ten followed with “they’re always fighting, and tell on each other to me.”

・❥・ shotaro

- literally her only possible reaction when facing shotaro is smiling, she can’t even help it.

- “shotaro-kun!”

- literally protects him from anything.

- recent fan favorite moment: during the behind the scene of the universe mv, he couldn’t stop saying how cool yanna’s hair looked and she could only mumble small “stop it”s.

・❥・ sungchan

- about to be bff #4, to be honest. same wavelength.

- he’s so tall and that angers yanna. because she’s older by months.

- sungchan admits he’s closest to yanna these days because the girl reaches out a lot and they have so many great conversations.

- recent fan favorite moment: during a fansign, yanna was asked who her favorite rapper was inside nct excluding taeyong and mark. she immediately said “sungchan.” she explained how his tone was incredible and he knows what attitude to have when he’s doing his lines. while sungchan also mentioned that yanna’s one of his favorite all-round performers. besties, fr.

#huang yanna #nct yanna #yanna huang #kpop oc #nct 24th member #nct dream 8th member #nct female addition

[placegrenette]

Every Ninety One Song Reviewed: “Көзімнің қарасы,” 2023

“Көзімнің қарасы,” from the EP Махаббат сөзі, 2023 Music credits: still complicated Lyrics credits: still Abay Music video director: Gakku TV isn’t coughing up that information.

I know: it’s been a while. In fairness, there was a long stretch of time where Ninety One was not doing anything other than occasionally releasing new goofy videos and, in Alem’s case, appearing on local singing-competition shows. (Also some percentage of them observed Ramadan. In the past I’ve heard that Ace and Bala fasted, though that was a while ago and I don’t know how reliable my source was.) But of late the dudes have been conspicuously wearing baseball caps and conspicuously posting cryptic pictures of feathers and then wiping their Instagram feeds, so I suspect we are finally, finally, finally getting that album, and I need to catch up.

As with the last song, Ninety One is working within an already-defined template: here’s a more traditional version of “Көзімнің қарасы,” where you can hear the existing melody. And here is a very nice breakdown of the lyrics, by a blog set up to teach Kazakh to English speakers (and, sadly, not updated since 2011). Interestingly, Ninety One seems to have dropped the last verse. Anyway, it’s a love song where the narrator seems to be asserting his right to miss his long-lost sweetheart. (According to this, the phrase “көзімнің қарасы” literally translates as “the pupil of my eye” and metaphorically means “my most cherished / that which is closest to me.”) The heavy-breathing effects don’t really convey a feeling of lost love; Ninety One seem at pains to make the song sound more chipper than it is. But they probably felt that if they were going to put their own spin on it, they needed something other than the standard ballad treatment.

This is probably the last interesting of the three Махаббат сөзі songs, although that’s praising with faint damnation: all three are more interesting than we had any right to expect from a sponcon Valentine’s Day project hemmed in by a century’s worth of musical tradition. There’s more harmonizing! I don’t know if this means we’re getting more harmonizing on The Long-Delayed Album, or if this was an opportunity to play around with harmonizing that they don’t usually feel they have on their usual idol-poppier work. Either way both Bala’s solo verse and Ace going higher behind Alem’s lead are worth hearing.

How’s the Hair/Styling? Good, if boring. I assume Bibotta had a hand in this, as we get a lot of the jacket/beads combination seen earlier in “Drift.” Should You Start Here? Again, no; I don’t think there’s much in the way of clues here for how The Long-Delayed Album is going to go.

#ninety one #every ninety one song reviewed #music from kazakhstan #come find me eaglez

[purplesurveys]

1466

survey by azari

Coffee mugs, teacups, or water bottles? I don’t really have a choice of...drinking source, lol. But coffee’s my favorite drink besides water, so I guess I’ll go with the mugs.

Bubblegum or cotton candy? Bubblegum. I’ve never appreciated cotton candy beyond thinking they’re pretty.

How did your elementary school teachers describe you? Shy and aloof, which are true anyway. I didn’t make an effort to be present because I didn’t want to be there anyway and because it was difficult for me to make friends at the start.

Do you prefer to drink soda from cans, bottles or cups? I don’t drink soda.

Earbuds or headphones? Earbuds.

Movies or TV? I seem to be preferring TV series now, as long as they’re already finished. You’ll never see me watching one that’s still ongoing as I hate waiting, lol. As for movies, I haven’t regularly seen them in years.

Favorite smell in the summer? Summer here isn’t as sunshine and rainbows as it is in other countries. It’s just the blistering heat, humidity, and everyone smelling like sweat.

Game you were best at in P.E./gym? Table tennis because I actually play it. But a fun little discovery I had was when we took up futsal and learning I also was kind of good in it, especially as a goalkeeper.

What do you have for breakfast on an average day? Iced coffee, if that counts.

Name of your favorite playlist? I didn’t make it but there’s a public playlist on Spotify called “BTS angry playlist (ugh focused)” that I like to have on when I’m tense or needing to go into overdrive for work.

Lanyard or key ring? Keyring. 

Favorite non-chocolate candy? Gummy worms and gummy versions of anything, really.

Favorite book you had to read for school? Dekada ‘70, which is about Martial Law in the Philippines.

Most comfortable position to sit in?  Idk, it depends what I’m sitting on.

Most frequently worn pair of shoes? My Adidas x Ivy Park pair.

Ideal weather? Rainy and cloudy with the occasional thunder and lightning.

Pencils or pens? Pens.

Obsession from childhood? Books. I loved to read and always smuggled in a book to school since we weren’t allowed to bring in books that weren’t our textbooks.

Favorite crystal? I have never cared for crystals.

Favorite activity to do in warm weather? Go to the beach, take a dip, and sunbathe. If I’m nowhere near the sea, I’d rather stay indoors, have the aircon on, and stay in bed.

Favorite activity to do in cold weather? Travel.

Five songs to describe you? I don’t feel like narrowing them down rn.

Best way for someone to bond with you? I was gonna say going to a museum with me but I really prefer to do that on my own haha...I would say going out at night! I get the chattiest by evening so it’d be cool to have fun conversations over dinner.

Top 5 favorite Vines? Child rapist, free shavocado, look at this graph, could’ve dropped my kwason, and huzzah.  

Ads you have stuck in your head? None at the moment fortunately.

Average time you fall asleep? Anywhere between midnight to like 2 AM.

What is the first meme you remember seeing? Trollface back in the vintage glory days of 9gag.

Suitcase, duffel bag, or backpack? Backpack. I rarely use the two others.

Lemonade or tea? Lemonade.

Last person you texted? My mom after she asked for an update on my whereabouts yesterday.

Jacket pockets or pants pockets? I don’t care, they’re just pockets.

Favorite type of jacket? Windbreakers probably. I like how they look.

Favorite scent for soap? I don’t have one. As long as they get the job done I’m fine with any.

Sci-fi, fantasy, or superheroes? These are literally my top 3 least favorite genres when it comes to anything.

What clothes do you sleep in? Thin ones because it’s warm where I live.

Favorite type of cheese? Feta.

What saying or quote do you live by? “Everything goes” or “It’s no big deal.”

What are you currently stressed about? It’s Sunday and I go back to work tomorrow and I’m still baffled why 3-day weekends aren’t a thing to begin with.

Favorite font? I don’t have one.

What did you learn from your first job? I’m a lot better at talking to people and even approaching them first. As much as I get anxious from my job now, that’s my biggest takeaway that I’ll always appreciate.

Favorite fairy tale? I was never into them.

Favorite tradition? Idk Christmas? just because it lets me have two weeks off work, haha.

Talent you're proud of having? Writing. I can make a lot of things come to life from writing and I’ve always enjoyed doing it whether for leisure or for work.

If you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? I’ve never thought about this and I’m not about to start to now.

If you were an anime character, what genre of anime would it be? Idk, maybe just drama since that’s also my favorite genre.

Character you relate to? Squidward from Spongebob? Ha.

Favorite website from your childhood? Just Y8, lol. That’s all I was allowed on other than YouTube anyway.

Any scars? I have a few.

Favorite flower? Peonies.

Any good luck charms? I don’t believe in those.

Least favorite flavor of food or drink? COCONUT.

Left or right handed? I’m right-handed.

Least favorite pattern? I’m not a fan of some checkered looks.

Worst subject in school? Chemistry.

Favorite weird flavor combo? Hotdogs and marshmallows, I’d say? Those two are a usual combination especally at Filipino birthday parties.

When did you lose your first tooth? It was in the middle of class when I was in Prep.

Favorite potato food? Croquettes.

Gas station coffee or grocery store sushi? I’d take the sushi. I don’t trust anything that’s meant to be consumed when they come from a gas station.

Earth tones or jewel tones? Earth. I’m not actually sure what jewel tones refer to.

Do you call them fireflies or lightning bugs? Fireflies.

PC or console gaming? Consoles. I was never into PC games.

Writing or drawing? Writing.

Podcasts or talk radio? Neither, and I don’t generally enjoy either format. But if I had to go with one of these I’d pick talk radio since I do recall one radio talk show that I enjoyed listening to when I was still in college.

Barbie or Polly Pocket? Barbie, though I never really played with either.

Fairy tales or mythology? Mythology just because I did enjoy reading Percy Jackson as a teenager. Not a fan of both genres though.

Cookies or cupcakes? Cupcakes.

Your greatest fear? Getting impaled or being in a plane crash.

Your greatest wish? To never have to worry about money.

Who would you put before everyone else? Myself.

Lamps, overhead lights, fairy lights, or sunlight? Cove lights. Sorry it’s not in your selection, haha.

Nicknames? The most notable one I’ve got is Byn, which is used by close family.

Favorite season? Wet.

Favorite app on your phone? YouTube.

What is your desktop background? BTS.

How many phone numbers do you have memorized? Just my maternal grandma’s, which is a given because I also lived in that house with that landline for 10 years.

Favorite historical era? I don’t have a favorite...I enjoy reading and learning about all of them.

#survey #surveys

[glowingspence]

44 ❤️

"Are you feeling okay, kid?" Worried Spencer walks towards Spencer who is hugging himself tight looking down to his feet. "What's wrong? What was that phone call about?"

Spencer starts shaking his head, a whine leaving his mouth while he does.

"It's okay" Gently Morgan reaches for the phone, grabbing Spencer's wrist when he starts fighting it, "It's okay, it's alright."

"No"

"It isn't?" He keeps his voice soft as he keeps prying it out of Spencer's hand. "What happened, kid?"

"Car accident"

"A car accident happened?" Morgan questions as Spencer takes one hand up to his head, hitting it with his closed fist regularly, "Careful please"

"What's going on?" Hotch questions walking down the stairs into the bullpen while Spencer lets out a strangled noise.

"He got a call, something about a car accident that's all I know." Morgan explains and gets the phone out of Spencer's hand and hands it to Hotch, telling him to call that number back. "Now we two are gonna take some big breaths okay? Hotch is gonna take care of figuring out what is going on. Don't think about that."

[More under the cut]

"Car accident"

"That must sound terrifying" Morgan tries showing understanding, he has seen Spencer having problems with a sudden change of emotions before, just not that much and this quick. Often he tends to quickly retreat from the situation and try handling whatever is going on for himself, so he assumes what ever that phone call was about, it must have taken him by surprise.

"It's Gideon. He was in a car accident and is in surgery right now. Stephen called Spencer" Hotch informs him.

"Is that right?" Morgan questions and Spencer nods. "Okay kiddo here is what's gonna happen, I'll drive you to the hospital"

"I will come with you-" Hotch offers but Morgan cuts him out with a hand gesture that is out of Spencer's sight, knowing that Spencer has a hard time with the fact that Hotch is his superior and showing vulnerability in front of him "You two keep me updated."

"We will." Gently Morgan grabs Spencer's hand and walks over with him to his desk grabbing his jacket and a book for distraction. "You okay with this? Me taking you?"

Timidly Spencer nods and just does what Morgan tells him to do. Getting into the elevator, into the car, buckling up and starting to read when Morgan suggests it to him.

"We are here." Anxious Spencer looks at the building and then back down onto his book. "Can we get out? See where Stephen is?"

"No"

"No?"

"Don't like hospitals." Spencer explains, his finger running over the page in his book. "Hospitals are to much. When something is to much, tell someone."

"Yeah you did a good job with that." Derek thinks about what to do for a second before announcing that he is going to look for Stephen and then come back but shortly before he steps into the hospital, he can feel something grabbing one of the loops at his pants which is something Spencer started doing very early into working with them all the time. Mostly when things get to crowded when to many people talk to him, when things pile up.

He does the same with the cord on JJ's coat or Garcia's bracelet.

"Hand?"

"Yes" Thankful he changes to grab Derek's hand and walks in with the man, carefully sanitizing his already dry hands when they walk in and afterwards shaking them out to get them to get dry faster while walking next to Derek to the waiting area.

"Spencer!" A man calls sitting up from one of the hospital chairs. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for coming. You are welcome." He answers still looking down onto his hands, waiting for the restricting feeling of the sanitizer to pass.

"I am Derek Morgan, I work with your father and with Spencer." Morgan introduces himself.

"It's good to meet you, I heard a lot about you."

"Only good things I hope." Comforting he places an arm around Spencer's when the man starts making a small noise in the back of his throat and screws with his eyes. "What happened?"

"I don't know either but police told me a child ran onto the street so he drove into the other side of the road and got hit there, he is in surgery right now." Stephen explains. "He ehm- they called because I am his son but I know that he- if there are decisions that have to be made he would want us both here. That's why I called-" He interrupts himself when Spencer gets more and more worked up.

"Kid what is it?"

"Hands" Derek grabs his hands into his moving his thump over his palm.

"They are dry and freshly sanitized, it's okay."

"Gideon"

"Dad is still in surgery we will see him afterwards okay?" Stephen tries calming him and then gets an idea, "If you walk out that door there is a small park for patients, nurses and visitors. The benches have lights near by, why don't you sit down with him there? I will get you when anything changes?"

"That sounds good" Derek announces. "C'mon kid, we are gonna wait outside for news on Gideon okay?"

"Help Gideon"

"Right now all we can do is wait."

"No"

"Yes" Derek waits for him to come up with the words he is looking for, but eventually he gives up. "Okay, come with me."

"Stephen?"

"Now just us."

"Here with Stephen."

"Okay, that we can do." They take place in the corner of the room, Spencer sitting down between them but quickly leaning his head onto Stephen's shoulder as the man starts reading out for them.

When Gideon is finally awake, Derek stays with them for as long as they need him too, making sure both Stephen and Spencer eat something. Making sure they get some sleep so when he slips into the hospital room three days later because Spencer in the car noticed he forgot his book, he gets greeted with a warm smile, "Just getting Spencer's book and then I will be out of your hair, Sir." He tells him with a playful smile, grabbing the book from the chair and he is almost out of the door when Gideon calls for him with his first name.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for taking care of my sons."

[You can find another version of this here]

[Prqompt list]

#thank you for your request❤️ #tw self harm #tw hospital #tw car accident #spencer reid #derek morgan #aaron hotchner #jason gideon #stephen gideon #i love you prompt list works #autistic spencer reid #my writing

[wakaoujisenhime]

Ah!~ I fall in love with your Takao headcanons! Can I ask headcanons about Takao from best friends to lovers?

A/N: But OF COURSE, you can, the more Takao you guys want, the better for me! ٩( ᐛ )و 

So this will be a continuation from his best friends headcanons I made a while back and for those who’d like to see a spicier version of the more or less same troupe, I linked a similar request I got below! Hope you’ll enjoy this! ❤️

Tags: Takao x reader ✅  fluff ✅  friends to lovers ✅  slight angst ✅

☞ 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝟙    ☞ 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕪 𝕧𝕖𝕣.

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

living with your best friend didn’t change your relationship as much as you thought it would

the two of you were still clinging to each other like leeches, supporting the other during hard times and in general providing a shoulder to cry and lean on when needed

now that you were roommates and not only neighbors you saw Takao every single day and that came with many advantages

you both shared the housework and came up with cooking/cleaning/laundry schedules that made your joint life so much easier

Takao had decided to start working after graduation while you continued your studies (and occasionally worked at a part-time job close to your apartment)

it heavily depended on your individual schedule, but in general, the two of you had agreed that the first one home should be the one to prepare dinner and help the other one out a little

usually, Takao would be the first one home and every time you came back he greeted you like some kind of butler, helping you out of your jacket, taking your bag, leading you to the kitchen where he showed you that evening’s dinner, and lastly he’d conclude his small tour at the bathroom where he had run a bath for you

both of you were so close that all of your neighbors (especially the older ones) continuously teased you, saying what kind of cute couple the two of you were and some even went as far as to ask when you’re wedding was going to be

in the beginning, your and Takao’s cheeks would flush ever so slightly but the longer you lived there the more used to it you got, and in the end, it even reached a stage where you’d counter their remarks with your own witty and comical ones

comments such as theirs didn’t bother you that much, or at least that’s what you thought ...

a couple of months after moving in you invited some members of Shuutoku’s basketball team over for a friendly get-together and a warm dinner

it had been a lot of fun

people were teased, embarrassing situations were denounced as hilarious, compliments fell left and right, and what not

at some point though Miyaji - the club’s former captain - raised the question of whether Takao and you had finally started a romantic relationship

it was just a well-meant question and perhaps a subtle hint and yet your best friend began to deny that so strongly that you couldn’t help but feel aggrieved from his over-exaggerated reaction

the evening was kinda ruined for you and some of them noticed it and felt bad for you

in the end, Miyaji actually came up to you and apologized, saying just how much he’d regretted asking you something that was seemingly a taboo-topic

since then the relationship between your best friend and yourself was quite shaky, you began avoiding too much body contact with him, tuned down your clinginess, and even started avoiding him at times

some people think that Takao isn’t the brightest and assume that he’s quite dense, but you knew better

it didn’t take him even a week to notice that something was wrong with you and before you knew it he waited for you to come back home and asked you to take a seat across from him on the couch

“(Y/N)-chan...I’m aware that something’s been bothering you for the past few days and I know that some topics are better left unsaid, but I really hate seeing you suffer because of maybe something I did.”

his words stabbed your heart like hundred knives and even if you’d planned to keep your hurt pride to yourself, you knew that communication was key in any kind of relationship so with a bitter smile you told him about everything, how his reaction had hurt you more than his captain’s harmless question and how these new and yet unknown thoughts had begun to cloud your mind with masses of doubts

there was a brief break during which Takao’s expression grew unbelievably sad, he had expected anything but this

and then finally after what felt like hours he whispered out your name, got up from his chair, and slowly walked towards you, kneeling in front of your seated figure

“I’m truly sorry...I-I wasn’t aware of how much this actually bothered you,” he paused as he took your hands into his own and continued, “all I wanted was to make Miyagi drop that theme fast since he’s the type to talk about one topic for hours and I really didn’t want to make you uncomfortable since that evening was meant for recollecting and updating each other about our daily lives and not a relationship counseling...”

with a sigh you shook your head and couldn’t help but laugh at just how ridiculous this situation was, Takao joined you not long after

after that small misunderstanding, you two needed a bit until your relationship had normalized, but you’d be lying if you said that everything was back to how it used to be

once the imagination of Takao as your boyfriend had entered your mind you began to realize just how close the two of you truly were

him tending to your needs every time you came back home late, resembled that of a worried father-to-be whose wife was to go into labor soon

the way he always jokingly offered himself as your dinner was a cliché joke and sometimes an invitation one would often see in romance series that once again fell between lovers

and the worst for your heart was how the word ‘personal space’ wasn’t even present in his vocabulary, he’d hug you whenever he could, lean himself on your back and leave his chin in the crack of your neck at every given opportunity, and let’s not mention whenever he had trouble falling asleep (which was basically almost every day)

all those small and seemingly irrelevant gestures which didn’t usually affect you were now the trigger for a deep-red blush along your cheeks and an increased heart rate

and it didn’t help that Takao would constantly tease you whenever he noticed your flushed face

.

as time went by though you noticed that something between you two had indeed changed

now his mere presence was enough to make your heart thump wildly against your chest

the only comfort you found was that he himself had started blushing more often as well

you thought that nothing of deeper meaning was behind it and just blamed it on your behavior, but what you didn’t know was that Takao was experiencing the same thing as you

for him, it was as if every single touch - no matter how featherlight it was - set his skin on fire

every ever so small and gentle smile or grin you directed his way, immediately brightened up his mood

and let’s not even talk about the small things you do for him, like cooking, preparing some late-night snacks for whenever he has to work on a project until very late in the evening, folding his laundry, ironing his shirts, and so on...

both of you were slowly starting to acknowledge the other as an essential part of your respective lives

on top of that, innocent and sweet thoughts such as kissing each other on the lips, taking a bath together, or just doing silly things such as hiding from the people outside so that you can feel each other’s lips began dominating your minds

and what choice did the two of you have but to bottle these feelings up and hide them from each other just because you didn’t want to ruin your friendship

it was painful of course, but you continued to put yourself through with it, determined to keep this a secret for as long as necessary

unfortunately, Takao wasn’t made out of the same cloth and was slowly but surely feeling how everything was about to explode pretty soon

and then finally one day when the two of you went out shopping together some of your elderly neighbors stopped you yet again and began interrogating you guys as usual

“Have you two dears finally admitted your feelings for each other?”

there it was, their favorite question, that was strangely accurate this time

you were ready to debunk it yet again, but Takao suddenly took a hold of your hand, squeezed it slightly, and announced: “Not yet, but I’m about to!”

three pairs of wide eyes were fixated on the slightly blushing young man who stood beside you and while you were still trying to decipher whether you’d heard him right he faced you and even took a gentle hold of your second hand

“(Y/N)...I feel like this should’ve happened sooner, but my fear of losing you as my constant pillar of support was too big. Your presence was always something extremely helpful and soothing, but as of late I started to truly notice just how much more it was for me and my life. The sheer imagination of me being without you hurt me more than any game my team lost, any missed promotion chance or anything negative for that matter,” he paused and took a deep breath before continuing, “what I’m trying to say is that...(Y/N), I’d like you to become my lover.”

silent gasps could be heard, but you were too overwhelmed to pay any attention to it

the fact that he’d felt the same way and was stuck in the same situation as you were truly unbelievable, but now that you knew it all those small things you’d denounced as an effect of your own unusual behavior made sense

you looked up into the slate blue eyes of the man you’d fallen for and slowly removed your hands from his tight grip, only to then wrap your arms around his neck and bring him closer to you

Takao immediately seized the opportunity to do the same, he was anxious about what you were about to say so he at least wanted to savor what might be his very last embrace from you

“Took us long enough now didn’t it?” was all you said before you confidently took a hold of his cheeks and brought his face closer to your lips until they touched

while you two kissed ever so passionately and drowned in the liberating feeling of mutual love, the two older women next to you smiled while commenting on how they’d always known and how bad you two were hiding it

after you’d finally separated from each other you gave him your obvious answer to which he simply giggled and out of happiness began cuddling and kissing your face all over

this was truly a wonderful moment, it might not affect your relationship all too much but it was nonetheless a step towards a new and yet unknown experience that the two of you would live through while constantly supporting each other ...

#knb headcanons #knb imagines #knb fluff #knb angst #knb takao #takao x reader #━𝙺𝙽𝙱 #━𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽'𝚂 𝙴𝙲𝙷𝙾

[apiratewhopines]

Thanks to @teamhook for the updated artwork. She’s the only person I know who will provide a gift for her own gift 💝

Thanks to @motherkatereloyshipper for helping me pick Killian’s hometown in this story and for being an all around lovely person

Midnight

Chapter 2 — The Stroke

Summary: In which our heroine does what she does best

Chapter 2 of 7 on AO3

“And my imagination will feed my hungry heart,

Leave me one thing before we part”

-A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Louis Armstrong

The spot he was referring to was an out-of-the-way pub serving the greasiest onion rings in existence and a lively clientele that didn’t notice it was one o’clock in the morning and all decent people were in bed. After days of getting by on breakfast bars and the memory of what a full meal tasted like, Emma thought she had died and gone to heaven.

Melancholy tunes droned softly in the background as she demolished enough food to feed an army. The pretty waitress earned her respect when the woman didn’t even blink at her handsome companion, and she liked to think she earned it back when she ordered three of their daily specials without a trace of shame.

Ignoring the way Killian watched with an expression close to awe as she stuffed her face, she happily gulped down a cup of coffee and observed, “Nice place. Come here often?”

“Not as much as I used to,” he murmured, taking a sip of his drink. “Tell me about this man you’re hunting. Is it personal?”

“Please, don’t make me lose my appetite. Surely we can come up with something else to talk about,” she groaned around a mouthful of beef and melted cheese. He had removed his leather jacket when they entered the pub, and his black short sleeve t-shirt stretched across his biceps in a manner entirely too distracting for comfort. Their high-backed booth made it feel as though they were on an island all by themselves, the dark wood and Tiffany lamps creating a cozy cocoon while still allowing a view of the nearly deserted dance floor.

“Ah, definitely personal then. Did he insult your honor? Break your heart? Have you ever even been in love?”

It stung how quickly he was able to see through her. Did she wear her heartache like a stamp on her forehead announcing to everyone she was an idiot? Ignoring the last question, she replied, “He hurt the only person who ever cared about me out of petty revenge. Neal Cassidy broke me. Now I’m going to return the favor.”

“Chills, darling.” His tone was teasing, but she thought she saw him shudder at her words. “I guess you don’t abide the notion of turning the other cheek.”

“Not when the first hit cost me my home, my possessions, and my peace of mind.”

“So he’s the reason you haven’t eaten in days and don’t have any luggage? Sounds like a lovely chap.”

“I don’t need your commentary or your sympathy, Captain. While I appreciate your help tonight, and I definitely owe you one for the meal, I think my past is closed for further discussion. Let’s talk about you instead. What’s your story?”

“I don’t have one, love. What you see is what you get.”

“What I see is someone dodging my question. Guess I’ll have to fill in the details myself then. Let’s see…thirty-something-year-old man who lives a life of boredom and pines for more while feeling stuck in his white picket fence world. You have a decent career in a field that pays well but decided to start a side hustle to meet new people and have something to do after eight in the evening.” Gesturing with her chin toward his forearm, she continued, “Currently nursing his own broken heart over the woman who loved and left him. The only thing I can’t figure out is what part of England you’re from.”

“Well, aren’t you the perceptive one,” he answered with a self-deprecating chuckle. “Although, I would argue it’s cheating since I have my emotional baggage inked on my skin for everyone to see while you carry yours around like an invisible tumor on your soul. As far as where I’m from, a man likes to maintain a little mystery.”

“Come on! You really aren’t going to tell me anything about yourself? After I guessed all that about you?”

With an unfathomable look, he smiled softly and said, “Fine, I’m from Cambridge. Now you know all my secrets. And allow me to call your attention to how well my devious plan worked. My first evening with my side hustle, as you call it, and I’m already having a late night rendezvous with a beautiful woman. One full of food and dancing.”

“There will be no dancing, Captain. But I wouldn’t be opposed to more food.”

“Not sure where you’ll put it, love, there’s no more room on the table. But I’m game if you are. Come on, one dance, and I’ll buy you a whole pie.”

She wanted pie but not as much as she wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted it so badly her mind raced with images of skin on skin and restless hands exploring. Then her stomach twisted at the knowledge they would say goodbye soon. They probably should have already said it, truth be told. As she debated what harm could come from giving in just this once, he extended his hand and pulled her gently from the seat. Slowly, she felt a small section of her walls crumble and gave him a reluctant smile. “One dance.”

The soft music wasn’t loud enough to allow for an appropriate selection of dance style, but she didn’t mind when he gathered her close and swayed gently in time with his soft humming. She felt his breath stir the hair around her face and realized this was a mistake. Now that she knew how it felt, it would be harder to deny herself an encore. Especially knowing tonight was a one-time thing.

“Tell me something, Swan. Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“No, I don’t believe in love at all,” she answered. Her words conveyed her deeply held conviction that poets and Hollywood movie producers invented love to make people so miserable with the lack of it, they had to seek out fictionalized versions to find some measure of happiness. Her tone, however, sounded as though she was open to being convinced otherwise.

“That’s a shame. I think you’ll miss out on a lot of what life has to offer by being so close-minded and scared.”

“If I were scared, which I’m not, I have every reason to be. One of my foster moms told me a long time ago that love wouldn’t buy me a diamond ring, and it was as easy to be in a relationship with a rich man as a poor one. Easier really. I used to think she was a witch, but now I think she had a point.”

“Bloody hell, what exactly did that man do to you?”

She felt his direct gaze like a physical thing caressing her even as his eyes flickered with disappointment. “I told you. He broke me. And my bank account.”

“Money isn’t everything, love.”

“Excuse me if I ignore advice telling me to count my non-monetary blessings from the man who picked me up in his Beamer. It may not be everything but not having it leaves you with nothing.”

“A person who needs forty dollars a day and makes forty is richer than someone who has everything and needs more.”

“Now you’re just being silly,” she said as she slipped from his arms. “And when a rainy day comes? What then?”

“I recently took up being an Uber driver in my spare time, love. I imagine I’ll make more on rainy days.”

Laughing as she looked at his endearing face under the dim light, she shook her head. “About my pie…”

—

She knew what she was doing. She lingered over the large platter containing a sampling of every type of pie the surprisingly eclectic menu had to offer. She watched him with affection as he critiqued each in turn, always saving the bites with whipped cream for her. The best parts, in other words.

She was stalling.

The night hadn’t turned out as she expected. While her main goal was unfulfilled, she couldn’t make herself think of it as a loss when her sides hurt from laughing, and her troubled heart felt at peace. It was a pity it had to end. And not because she had nowhere to go, although that was certainly the case.

Slowly they made their way back to his car, neither one speaking as the noises of the summer night buzzed in the background. She’d said a lot of goodbyes in her lifetime, eagerly in most cases, but was strangely reluctant to add this one to the list. “Well, Captain, it’s been an expensive night for you. I think you better drop me off at the nearest bus station before I cost you any more.”

“You’re always trying to bring the conversation back around to money. Get in,” he ordered as he handed her into the car.

The air in the cabin of his luxury sedan felt heavy with expectation. Neither of them spoke nor hardly moved a muscle. She considered asking him to turn on the radio but didn’t want to miss out on the last few moments of hearing his even breathing next to her. Minutes passed, and it took her a while to notice they had left Storybrooke and were heading back toward Misthaven. “How much further to the bus station?”

“We passed it several miles back. You’re going to stay at my place.”

Under normal circumstances, this would be where she prepared to kick someone’s ass, but she knew deep down, as surprising as his announcement was, she had nothing to fear from him. Well, nothing except a repeat of the broken heart fiasco that was getting harder to remember with every second spent in his company. “Oh no, I’m not. What happened to no strings and no funny business?”

“Calm down, Swan. Our deal stands. I’m working the rest of the night so you’ll have the place to yourself. Trust me, the bed in my guest room is much more comfortable than a seat at the bus station.” Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached into one of the compartments in the console and pulled out a key. “There are some shirts in the dryer if you need something to wear. Help yourself to whatever you want. If you hang around until nine, I’ll even make breakfast. If you don’t, leave the key under the Welcome mat.”

“I think you better keep your key, Captain. There are two ways this could end, and neither one is pretty.” She gave him a sidelong glance and was mildly irked to see him grinning at her.

“Only two? Please enlighten me with your power of premonition.”

Heaving a sigh of frustration, she wished he would be logical about this whole thing. Sure they had attraction in spades; the very air around them seemed to crackle with electricity whenever their eyes met. But she knew it would fade, and the only thing left then would be goodbye. Better to skip the messy part and go straight to the end. “The first is I stay and have breakfast, and it turns into the day and then another night….”

“That doesn’t sound so bad, love. And the second?”

“I leave the key under the mat, and we never see each other again.”

“Hmm, option two is decidedly less appealing. I’ll take what’s behind Door Number One, please,” he joked.

“You think so until reality sets in and you realize you’ve taken in a stray with a score to settle and not a cent to her name. It won’t be long before the sight of me in your shirts makes you cringe, and you resent having to share the couch with a woman who has nothing to give.” She would know having been in a relationship with a person who was only capable of taking, and she vowed never to do that to someone else.

“I have half a mind to hunt down this Cassidy fellow myself after seeing the hit job he did on you. Listen, Swan, the key has no strings. Breakfast is just food. Whatever happens, happens. But if you think I’m going to drop you off at a deserted bus station with only the clothes on your back, fetching as they are, you’ve got the wrong idea about me in more ways than one.”

“I’m not yours to rescue, Captain.”

“You could be,” he whispered in a voice that made her skin tingle. He tossed her a half-hearted smile, eyes stormy with the knowledge she was going to turn him down. Again.

“The fact we both want me to be is warning enough it’s a bad idea. Come on, Killian, let’s call it a night now so we can remember it fondly in the years to come.”

His jaw clenched, and she was worried he was going to fight with her sensible argument. People didn’t meet people in the middle of the road and form attachments in one night. This wasn’t a fairy tale, and she was as far from a princess as a person could get.

Although she had to admit he made a rather fine prince.

Pulling off into a nearby gas station, he turned to her and said almost threateningly, “We’re not through discussing this.”

Then he stepped out and slammed the door as the sky opened up.

—

It was a dirty trick. She knew even as she did it, but it was for his own good. For whatever reason, he felt like he needed to protect her, and she needed to save him from himself. So she waited until he walked into the convenience store and made a run for it.

That’s not to say she didn’t have a brief moment of whimsy. She couldn’t stop herself from placing a kiss on the key he had casually tossed to her as if inviting her into his home and his life wasn’t a big deal. Then she carefully placed it on the dash, grabbing the newspaper from his backseat as an afterthought, and scurried away before she was caught.

Like a rat.

Maybe Neal was exactly the kind of man she deserved.

The rain beat down in a punishing way, her makeshift umbrella getting soggy and soft under the onslaught. She was so busy looking over her shoulder, convinced he was going to search for her and half hoping he was successful, that the sudden absence of the storm took her by surprise.

“Here, miss, it’s raining cats and dogs tonight,” the sturdy doorman of the fancy establishment she was passing said as he reached out to place his umbrella over her. The burgundy awning extended to cover most of the sidewalk and, despite the late hour, classical music was drifting from the open door. Limousines lined the street, spilling well-dressed patrons as they approached the swanky club.

Before she could maneuver out of the way, she was swept into a tide of rich fish, all glammed out and ready for the party to start or continue as the case may be. She overheard one woman, whose hat was so large she had to tilt her head to make it through the door, complain, “Regina’s parties are always so dull even nature weeps.”

Deciding a boring party indoors was better than a lonely night in the rain, Emma changed her stance and walked over the threshold with her head held high like she belonged there. She noticed the plaque on the wall as she entered read The Rabbit Hole and couldn’t help but think it was aptly named. With its marble floors and curving staircase, it was no wonder this wasn’t one of the stops on the Captain’s tour of town. This place was as high-end as they came.

There was a man collecting tickets at a small side table and, with only a minute to improvise, she was glad to see the stubs were roughly the size of the photo she was toting around, one of the few remaining possessions to her name. Without a moment of regret, she turned the photo face down, relieved the love note Neal had written on the back was faded and worn, so only his faint signature was legible. Luckily, the sheer volume of people entering the place meant the employee merely took it from her without looking to confirm it was what it appeared to be.

Following the crowd into a large ballroom off to the side, she saw a black grand piano played with a precise kind of violence by a wild-haired man in a tuxedo. The room was packed to the gills, the group she straggled in with taking the last seats on the far side of the room. The audience was appreciative but far from silent, conversations carrying on as if private concerts of this caliber were a normal everyday occurrence for them. Every time Emma thought she found a place to rest her sore feet and sorer heart, someone took it before she could get there and, in one near miss, she almost flattened a lap dog that warranted his own seat for the show.

Finally, after pushing her way through a narrow row, she found a place and asked the man in the next chair with a hint of desperation, “Is this seat taken?”

Shrugging a silent negative with brooding eyes that lit up when she neared, she tried to ignore the searching glance he gave her as she dropped into the chair and surreptitiously removed her shoes. She could tell by the hint of a smirk he noticed the movement, but at least he had the good grace not to comment on it.

He was handsome in a careworn kind of way. His tousled dark hair and thick stubble were eerily similar to the Captain’s look, and it made her shuffle in her seat with guilt. The man kept staring, his light-colored eyes settling somewhere between gray and green, keenly taking in her appearance and finding it amusing if the continued presence of his smirk was any indication.

As the final notes of the concerto echoed through the room, a burst of applause started. Now that she was fed and able to sit for a few moments, Emma realized she was exhausted. It was a bone-deep weariness far beyond fatigue, and she was fairly confident it could be traced back to a man with blue eyes and more charm than any one person should be allowed to have.

She wondered where Killian was now. If he had already given up or if he was wasting more time and losing out on more money combing the streets looking for his erstwhile damsel in distress. Emma knew what she did was for the best as surely as she knew she would be haunted by the feeling of his arms wrapped around her for a long time.

After a brief break, the musician approached the piano again. Before he could start hammering out another song with the intensity of a madman, a raven-haired woman stepped in front of the instrument. She called out in a commanding voice, “Pardon the interruption but does anyone recognize this man? It would seem there was a mix-up at the ticket counter and someone accidentally handed in a photograph instead of their invitation to this private event.”

Resisting the urge to sink deeper into her chair, she furtively looked around as the audience murmured amongst themselves regarding the unusual disruption. She could tell by the sardonic tone of the woman’s voice and the way she emphasized the word private she wasn’t convinced it was an innocent mistake. A scene would be made if the guilty party were found and couldn’t provide the appropriate documentation.

“Really? No one is going to come forward?” With an annoyed look at the assembly, she sulked, “Fine, I won’t waste any more of your time.”

She saw the woman hurry to the corner and carry on a quick conversation with a few men before the group disbursed and fanned out to cover the room. Feeling her luck was running out, she slipped her feet back into her shoes with barely a wince and slowly stood under the watchful gaze of her neighbor.

She needed to escape for the second time that night, but now she had hundreds of witnesses. Nonchalantly, she surveyed the room, trying to determine the best way. During this perusal, a man caught her eye, and she froze as he began to cut across the room to her side. So much for a stealthy getaway.

Her pursuer had an air of refined boredom with an edge of mischief. His graying hair was an attractive finish to a lean, well-dressed form. Cocking an eyebrow in disdain or maybe curiosity, he spoke quietly to not draw the notice of the surrounding crowd. “A word, madam.”

“With me?”

“Indeed.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Squaring her shoulders, she ignored the way her neighbor watched with rapt attention as she resolutely marched toward her fate.

@teamhook @kmomof4 @jrob64 @motherkatereloyshipper @stahlop @xarandomdreamx @xsajx @klynn-stormz

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 15 Pt 2: Don’t Trust Anyone Who Wears a Floor Length Robe Over Their Casuals in Yugioh

Hey, it’s my birthday, so I’m gonna release this early because the rest of today I just have to work like an adult and that’s no fun.

In the first half of this episode we dunked the worlds smallest plane into a lake and so this second half of the episode involved the kids running as far away from their only responsible adults as they could.

Which like...took whole of less than a second for them to peace out and enter mortal danger.

...I’ve never been in a jungle in India but...I have seen the Jungle book many times...and there’s like tigers and stuff in there, right? and tons of monkeys that are hella mean? And freakin snakes? They sing jazz and scat? That’s some terrifying stuff.

Like these city kids have to learn at some point to fear the woods. But they just freakin don’t. And strangely, the most dangerous thing in these woods isn’t even a snake or something, but a human man just being as suspicious as possible lying prone on the ground.

(read more under the cut)

The card cultist happens to have a British accent, because this voice acting team freakin loves to pull out their British accents. It’s not as lowbrow as Valon, but it’s not as...well whatever Bakura is supposed to be. He’s a lot more tame than Bakura’s, but still very British.

I don’t know if this is because British English tends to be taught instead of American sounding English in many parts of India, but, most likely they just wanted to do an accent. And like...he’s an archeologist...and so the stereotype is there...but honestly, the decision of making this guy British gets weirder and weirder as this episode goes on, get ready for it. None of you are ready for what I assume is the very obvious plot twist of this freakin guy.

Catfish of the century, this freakin guy, I’m pretty sure.

Yugi immediately believes this completely out of place white British stranger in the Indian backwoods next to this inaccessible lake and immediately thinks “yes, my Grandfather crash landed in India EXACTLY where I’m standing right now, and now I must save him.”

Thankfully, Yami exists to gently and politely tell Yugi to hella stop.

Also, I like that Yugi has finally stopped wearing his school outfit out of school. But, he is instead wearing a jacket that is so close to his school outfit I honestly couldn’t tell until the end of this episode. It’s like...I think one shade more purple, it has white piping, and his undershirt has a center seam. It’s nice Yugi has 3 versions of the same black sleeveless undershirt, and this show cares enough to show that tiny factoid about Yugi’s closet.

So, because Yugi is a dumbass and Pharaoh has to just sit back and watch this happen so he can say “told you so” later, they follow this random cultist they found in the woods. Much like Hansel and Gretel, we snack on cake crumbs all the way to the witches house, which in this case, is an undiscovered monolith you would have easily seen from outer space.

HMMMMMMMMMM.

And so get ready for this:

Hey guys.

Remember how Alexander the great was buried in a pyramid?

Now because they’re name dropping Alexander, that’s actually kind of helpful, because Alexander the Great’s favorite damn horse in the entire world died while he was at war with India so he named a city after it. It’s believed to be in Punjab, which is in the Northern part of India

Which means we first of all, definitely crossed the tallest mountain range in the world to get here, and also means that we are like...in some really disputed territory of India right now, and it is crazy that these kids went here for a vacation completely unsupervised.

Another fun fact about Alexander is that when he died, it took 6 days for his body to decompose. At the time, they thought it was because he was a God (or in Yugioh’s case, Extremely Cursed) but nowadays historians think it’s because it took him 6 days to fully die. He just wasn’t dead yet. Had to give it a minute and the ancient Babylonians just got way too excited.

Anyway, Alexander super died in Babylon so I don’t know what the hell he’s doing in India. There is a fun spot in History where his body did get dragged to a couple different places, meaning we probably did lose the original Alexander and there’s a lot of people just guessing at where he ended up...but putting him clear up in India sure was a choice when one of his assumed burial sites was literally Egypt, which would be a more fitting location for a Pyramid and a more fitting location for this show.

Especially since Alexander was trying to invent a new race and culture...it seems a little strange he’d be buried in such a massive pyramid, but maybe he got a really, really good pyramid deal from the funeral home when he was like 28 and just figured he’d change it before the time he died at 32.

Which...now that I’m older than 32, how crazy is it that Alexander the Great died at freakin 32? You blink twice and you’re 32. Is history seriously trying to tell me this guy wasn’t like secretly 62? That maybe he just celebrated his 20th for like 20 years in a row as a royal mandate? I just feel like history is playing pranks on me with Alexander.

Anyway, our weird shady new archeologist guy is named Alex and so take that as you will.

I sure hope Alexander the Great was revived to wear khakis and bother children. Guy conquered the world once and was one of history’s Freakin Worst so he does deserve it, but also...it would explain why he thinks it’s normal to wear a Darth Maul robe over your business casual.

Anyway, lets enter the obvious trap pyramid.

Joey just wanted a nice time running around Northern India. He just wanted to eat some yummy chaat and look at some tourist destinations and maybe glance at a Bollywood star or two. But instead he’s gotta deal with spike floors because Yugi couldn’t say no to a cultist.

Also...one of those spikes clearly went through Tea’s feet, right? And she is absolutely fine? Just checking on Tea’s godlike strength and clearly it is still godlike.

Alex gives us a very long explanation of how he went upstairs and Grandpa went downstairs, and there was a door or something so Alex turned back around and Grandpa was gone.

All of those steps were probably plot relevant and I’ll probably forget all about it in 2 episodes.

The thing is Alex...literally thinks he evaporated. Literally thinks that. But how do you disprove it to this freakin guy who like...might have named a city after his horse once and thinks that’s a normal and acceptable thing to do?

and so Joey immediately leaps onto the haunted playing floor.

the way Yugi said this line was sort of hilarious to me so I may cap it. If I remember to do it (I’ve been a little busier lately, with things opening up, as you can tell because my update schedule is in the toilet.)

So, if Joey jumps in...everyone else has to, also.

And we say good bye to Alex and enter the new forest zone, which looks a LOT like the other forest we were just in.

Nice Protoss armor.

We get some hijinks from the local wildlife, which are all cards but real (but not real because we’re in a board game...don’t think about it) and the off brand Sheikah tablets have helpful monsters in them if you touch em.

This season may have been better off as a video game, being honest.

Joey has gone somewhere else, despite going onto the same game tile, and he’s too busy on a mountain range to really help anyone out. So he’s just gonna vibe up here for a bit.

Tea got up after this point and said along the lines of “k, what’s next?” Because mortal danger does not affect her and she fears nothing.

At a beach somewhere, Tea and Tristan spend some quality time together forming a new family with whatever these creatures are.

And Tea’s love of her winged angel comes full circle and now I will suffer this winged orb for the rest of this arc, pretty sure.

Please admire the number of belts on Tea. Her outfit is like max 00′s and I appreciate that. We’ve had a lot of questionable fashion on Yugioh, but they actually dressed Tea pretty on point this arc. Like I often feel like 00′s fashion is hard to define or describe, but it’s Tea right now. That’s it. She did it, it’s right there.

Yugi gets a new flagship card for this arc, and this time it’s Celtic Guardian. Hell why? I feel like his defining card changes every single arc, and they need to like focus and just give him one. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s still Dark Magician...and maybe the show forgot?

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to read the rest:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

I think I forgot that link in the last recap because yo it’s kind of been a while since I’ve updated, I feel. (well I had a graveyard post and those don’t count really) But, we’re back, we’re still going, slowly but surely.

#YGO #yugioh #Yu gi oh #episode recap #photo recap #S5 #Ep16 #yugi muto #yami #capsule monsters #tea gardner #tristan taylor #Joey Wheeler #Alex Brisbane #Alexander the freakin great #and a pyramid in the middle of Northern India #And lets just make it an isekai for kicks

[chernobog13]

MOONLIGHT MASK

Starman, aka Super Giant, was Japan’s answer to Superman, appearing in theaters in a 9 films between 1957 and 1959.  He was also Japan’s first superhero on film.

During that time, Japan’s answer to Batman or The Shadow appeared on Japanese television.  Gekko Kamen, aka Moonlight Mask in English (also Moon Mask Rider), was the very first tokusatsu, live-action superhero on Japanese television.

Moonlight Mask fought crime, carried two snub-nosed .38 revolvers, rode around on a motorcycle, and usually could be heard singing his theme song (I ain’t making this up!) before he appeared out of the darkness.  He had no super-powers except the ability to never run out of bullets, and never get his cape caught in his motorcycle’s spokes.

As for his choice of weapons, he couldn’t have picked worse.  .38 caliber revolvers were standard issue for many police forces at the time.  However, the .38s were notorious for terrible penetrating and stopping power; there have been documented instances of the bullets bouncing off someone just wearing a nylon windbreaker!  And generally, the longer a handgun barrel is the more accurate it will be.  The only reason anyone wore snub-nosed.38s was because they were easily concealable underneath jackets or other clothes.  But for 99% of users they were only effective at point-blank range.

Japanese DVD cover for episodes 47-58 of the television series, part of the Skull Mask storyline.

Moonlight Mask was always coming to the aid of Police Inspector Matsuda, usually when some bizarre, diabolical villain was involved.  No one knew who Moonlight Mask was, and his secret identity was never revealed.  In the cast credits Moonlight Mask was always played by a question mark (”?”).  However, even the dullest of audience members could figure that Moonlight Mask was very probably private detective Juro Iwai, played by actor Ose Koichi, because the two characters are never, ever seen at the same time.

Cover to the Japanese DVD for the film Moonlight Mask - The Monster Kong.  Gotta say, this Kong isn’t as impressive as the television version.

Moonlight Mask debuted on Japanese television in February 1958 and ran for a total of 131 episodes, ending in July 1959.  The episodes were run serial-style, with each episode picking up right where the previous one ended (usually with a cliff hanger of sorts).

The episodes were organized into 5 stories.  The first story, Skull Mask, ran the first 72 episodes.  The second story, The Secret of the Paradai Kingdom, ran 21 episodes.  Mammoth Kong, the third story, was 11 episodes long, and featured the first television kaiju.  Story number four, The Ghost Party Strikes Back, was 13 episodes long.  And the final story of the series, Don’t Turn Your Hand to Revenge, ran for 14 episodes.

Mammoth Kong as he appears in the television series.  He’s a fearsome looking brute!

 I was only able to find available for sale in the USA the first four chapters of Mammoth Kong.  Above is the cover of the DVD that I purchased from Amazon.  The episodes are subtitled in English, but appear to have been lifted from Youtube. 

Despite being an early television show, with a very limited budget, I was very entertained by these episodes.  Mammoth Kong is a mutant giant ape, approximately 45-50 feet tall.  The scale model building for the Mammoth Kong scenes, while not up to Eiji Tsuburaya’s standards, were convincing enough.  And instead of using an expensive optical process to put humans in the same scene as the Mammoth Kong, they used marionettes instead.  It sounds goofy, but it was actually pretty effective.

In addition to the television series, Toei Films produced six Moonlight Mask films during the same time period.  There films were released in 1958, and the second three films were released in 1959.

That’s the diabolical Skull Mask and his gang of eyeball minions threatening Moonlight Mask.

The films were Moonlight Mask, Moonlight Mask - Duel to the Death in Dangerous Waters, Moonlight Mask - The Claws of Satan, Moonlight Mask - The Monster Kong, Moonlight Mask - The Ghost Party Strikes Back, and Moonlight Mask - The Last of the Devil.

The films were adaptations of the stories from the television series. with Skull Mask - the longest story - getting divided into two films.    They were filmed in 2.35:1 aspect (”Toei Scope”) and had slightly better production value.  Also, Moonlight Mask and Detective Juro Iwai (if they really are the same person) is played by actor Fumitake Omura.

Japanese DVD cover for the film Moonlight Mask - The Claws of Satan.

Think about how neat it was to be kid in Japan back then: not only could you see Moonlight Mask on TV every week, but you could go to the movie theatre and see him at the same time!  The equivalent today would be watching Superman and Lois on TV at home, and having a new Superman film showing up at your local multiplex (anybody remember those?) every 4 months.

The television series and films were quite popular and doing well.  Unfortunately, a young Japanese boy died imitating one of Moonlight Mask’s stunts.  This led to the cancellation of the television series and the films coming to an end.

(A similar incident led to director Teruo Ishii, who directed several of the early Starman/Super Giant films, to leave the series after a young boy had been hurt imitating Starman.)

An early soft vinyl (sofubi) Moonlight Mask figure. 

A manga of Moonlight Mask made the scene a few months after the television series started.  Much of the artwork in the manga was by Jiro Kuwata, the creator of 8 Man.  He is better known in the West as the artist of the Batman manga from the 1960s, which were collected and released by DC Comics a few years ago.

The Marmit 1:6-scale Moonlight Mask action figure.  He has automatics here, which he never used in the television series, so thes may be based on the film version. (Yeah, I know he needs to be touched-up with a Tide Pen.  You try keeping your white costume clean when you’re tussling with bad guys!)

Moonlight Mask would return in 1972 for a 39-episode anime series.  He had an updated costume, with a motorcycle helmet instead of a turban.  He was also sporting two .357 Magnum revolvers, which in real life would be only slightly more accurate than his old snub-nosed .38s, but with a heck of a lot more stopping power.

The Medicom Real Action Heroes (RAH) 1:6-scale action figure of the anime version of Moonlight Mask.

The anime series was apparently very popular in Latin America, where it is known as Centella.

The anime was broken into three 13-part story arcs: The Claw of Satan, The Mammoth Kong, and The Dragon’s Fang.  I’ve never seen the anime, but based on the titles alone I’m assuming the fist two stories are based on the original series.

There was also a gag anime, We know You, Moonlight Mask-kun, which had 25 episodes broadcast between October 1999 and March 2000.  I know next-to-nothing about this series.

That brings us to 1981, and the most embarrassing point on Moonlight Mask’s career:

The Moonlight Mask movie, known in English as Moon Mask Rider.

This movie was an attempt to update Moonlight Mask for the 1980s, complete with giving him a suped-up motorcycle.  I’ve only seen clips from this film, and I was not impressed.  The kindest review of the film of several I’ve read describes it as dull; not bad, but not good.

None of the original series’ characters return, and Moonlight Mask even has a new secret identity!  The actor who played Moonlight Mask, Daisuke Kuwahara, was never seen in films again after this movie bombed big time at the box office.

The 1981 movie version of the Moonlight Mask costume, which seems to incorporate elements from both the television and anime versions.

Sadly, that was the last time Moonlight Mask was attempted in live action, and he hasn’t been seen in anime in over 20 years. Unfortunately, only Japanese versions of the Toei films, and a few chapters from the television series, are available for sale in the USA.  The DVD covers shown above are all from Amazon’s site.

Some random episodes of the television and first anime series are available on YouTube, but I couldn’t find any subtitled in English.

One of the Toei films - I think it’s Moonlight Mask - The Claws of Satan - is available in its entirety on YouTube, but it is not subtitled either.

I’m hoping one day someone will subtitle the original television series and films and distribute them to the USA.  I’m dying to see how Moonlight Mask manages to defeat Mammoth Kong and the evil gang controlling him.

#Moonlight Mask #Gekko Kamen #tokusatsu #Mammoth Kong

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

The Mask Rebirth Drawings Part 3

In order.

Samuel Pretorius - Big Bad Wolf.

Stanley Ipkiss - The original Big Head Killer in 2014.

Owen Heffernan. The modern Big Head.

Stanley Ipkiss. During the present time.

Maybe for two hours or whatever, I was drawing these. And with the recent developments. Dorian isn’t really a big deal in part 1. He’s no longer the Big Bad Wolf. And Pretorius is no longer the, “The Mad Sorcerer Of Shadowland”. Instead he starts out human. But my original drawing of him will still count. His first name has changed, and he’s back to his original idea. A scientist basically.

Things are kind of being developed for Pretorius. The drawing I did of him I may likely count as his final look. While his original looks are at first normal clothing, and then he puts together this look that seems like he put together quick maybe. Kind of mirroring his original appearance with his clothing. I’m not sure if I’ll follow through that much.

But also yeah, I gave the Big Bad Wolf the mohawk. XD While Pretorius in Rebirth has long hair. I wanted to change up the Big Bad Wolf’s look a bit. It’s not perfect, and I wanted to draw it like that. I also thought that he does has possibly some orange fur on the side of his arms.

Also, don’t worry. The Big Bad Wolf form of his isn’t a main stay for him. There’s this developing idea it’s the start of his, “Mad scientist” role. Meaning I am trying to have him become a cyborg and the whole spider head thing too. So if you love that, don’t worry. XD

I also wanna say that I changed his first name because there is another character that uses that name.

-

I really wanna say that Stanley Big Head’s look is maybe the best I’ve ever drew Big Head. Mainly because of the head and he just looks like one of the classics. But maybe modernized or something. 

What’s interesting when drawing this. And even before then if I recall right. I had this idea to basically mix Travis Bickle’s iconic look and Big Head’s first appearance in Mayhem Issue #1.

Trivia, these were the references I used when drawing him. Including that 2nd one if I recall right, a version of that shot.

I felt like instead of drawing him in a suit, I wanted to draw him in something well...three ways to put it. Something more unique, something easier for me to draw, and something that falls in line with Stanley’s time as Big Head. Because his story isn’t like the original Stanley’s. But something else I’ve been talking about a prequel story to The Mask Rebirth. Where Stanley’s time as Big Head is basically if Taxi Driver and The Mask 1994 fused into one film. Especially inspiration from Halloween 1978, and taking Kellaway’s arc from the first official Mask comic run.

I’m rambling on. In a nutshell, Stanley is mainly a good man. But has some issues.  When compared to Owen as Big Head. There’s a reason why I call Stanley Big Head the, “Cartoon Boogeyman” even if he’s an anti hero with mainly good intentions.

I just find it amusing how during development of The Mask Rebirth. Stanley went from more comic accurate version of his original counterpart. Then to a tragic villain that Owen wanted to save. And finally more into a character that while he is a dark mirror of what Owen could have became. He’s a good person at heart, but the dude genuinely has issues who needs help. Rebirth Stanley is like a mix of his movie/cartoon and comic counterparts. 

-

I am glad I finally drew Owen and Stanley. Gonna admit, Stanley looks very similar to his cartoon counterpart. I had almost forgot to give him stubble or so. He’s 28 in that drawing while Owen is either 19/20. I just didn’t want to draw Stanley’s normal animated look. I think you can say this is his casual look. And maybe I could’ve gone better with Owen’s clothing. I’m being critical of myself. I strangely thought to myself I didn’t wanna give his clothing all three of the colors his Big Head has. 

Edit update honestly, Owen’s look isn’t bad. I’m maybe overthinking. I wanna reveal his jacket I got inspiration from Steven Universe when Steven is older. But I do wonder if I should add more color. I’m really overthinking.

I think I’ve done enough talking.

Here’s parts 1 and 2 of my drawings. 

Part 1. https://geekgemsspooksandtoons.tumblr.com/post/666104477654433792/the-mask-rebirth-drawings-part-1

Part 2. https://geekgemsspooksandtoons.tumblr.com/post/666274559234883584/the-mask-rebirth-drawings-part-2

#The Mask Rebirth #big bad wolf #big bad wolf pretorius #Samuel Pretorius #Stanley Ipkiss #stanley big head #big head #Owen Heffernan #GeekGem's Art

[romance-geek]

sleep my long, unbroken sleep (niragi x oc)

warnings: violence, blood

author’s note: it's been a long long time?? i feel like most of the hype for alice in borderland has gone now, but i've gotten the urge to write again. so sorry it took so long! i'm thinking i'll do big chapters every update since future updates will probably a while, depending on my mood. hope you like it!

summary: Kuroba Chiyori may be born in the Borderlands, but no way in hell does she want to die in it.

AO3 LINK

CHAPTER TWO: fires find a home in me

PRESENT

Chiyori crouches down behind a tree outside one of the city’s stadiums, where the lights are as bright as can be in the Borderlands, beckoning players from all over Tokyo to join. There are signs nearby to lead people into the venue. Having been a citizen for all her life and a child of two of the most ruthless Game Masters, Chiyori knows the usual haunts; where to avoid and where to flock.

As much as she likes to consider herself an independent woman (and she very much is a woman now, thank you very much!), she prefers being surrounded by people whether familiar or not. Those earlier years spent locked inside a library with only books and dust as friends truly did wonders for her touch starvation. Craving companionship, but knowing death could pry them away from her bloody fingers in a blink of an eye. Her eternal dilemma.

And that night, nearly a decade ago, a decade of murder and sin, death stole the ones who brought her to life. She who guided the fates’ scissors, who lured her parents into a game they had a hand in orchestrating.

Thus began her undoing.

She could never really recall the whole night, most of her memories were of after. Bits and pieces would flash to her mind at the most inopportune moments (resulting in many near-death experiences), and to this day she cannot say what events led to the single clear picture in her mind. Of blood, gushing like a geyser from her father’s headless neck; of his wide-eyed head with a mouth frozen in a silent scream, rolling to a still beneath the shaking legs of her mother as her pulsing entrails out of her with a katana stuck to her spine, like a sick version of a magician’s show but only nearly succeeding.

Countless deaths had she witnessed in her childhood alone, usually by the lasers that come to claim players with zero days left as she watched through her library windows while nibbling on biscuits. Yet, this was the one that had her hurling her guts, almost in tandem with her mother’s dripping entrails.

Chiyori couldn’t tell you when was the first time she witnessed death, but she remembered the first time her hands took away someone’s life.

In a bout of adrenaline, and because the rules of the game permitted her to do so (each weapon can only be used once by each player, to up the ante), Chiyori wrenched the katana her mother’s killer used and drove it straight to his heart.

Battle Royale Kill Count.

Pretty straightforward name. Like Battle Royale, except only the one with the most kills survived. It was unlike the fiction novels she had read in her little library home, not like The Hunger Games where it only mattered who survived until the end even if you barely killed anyone, or like The Lord of the Flies where an adult appears to save you in the end.

At first, no one wanted to harm her. A child in the Borderlands? Unheard of. But as the game went on, the timer ticking down, the number of players dwindling, she knew they would come for her.

So she had to come for them first.

The katana was of no use to her any longer, so she had left it on her parents’ killer’s chest as he laid facing the ceiling, like a crude cross marker for her two parents.

She spent half of the time left looking around for stray weapons, but most of what she found were close-range types. She didn’t want to risk revealing herself to the others, so she persisted in looking around.

In one of the many rooms there, she found tucked into the corner behind a pile of boxes a large jug of gasoline. Relief flooded through her body as she scrambled for it. It was perfect! She only needed to spread the gasoline around, and it would only take one match for the whole building to burn.

Speaking of matches… She smiled horrifically, her face a mess of tears and snot with blood dripping down her nose, finding a little box with a few matchsticks amidst the junk.

Chiyori ran on the tips of her toes to avoid attention, hefting the jug and pouring it everywhere she could. All of a sudden, someone violently pulled at her ponytail. The gasoline sloshed over her front and clung to her clothes as the jug crashed to the floor.

She screamed as she was dragged back by a man with desperate eyes. He held a small knife, which trembled in his hands. The man struggled to straddle her as she kicked frantically, keeping eye contact with her while seeming to be in an internal war with himself. He raised the knife up high with both hands, the dull glint of it invoking her to grasp for something, anything to defend herself with. Her fingers latched on a broken piece of wood, with splinters and nails at the other end.

With a guttural yell, akin to the sound of pigs being slaughtered, the man drops his knife to try and dislodge the wood from the side of his head. It squelched in his efforts, blood and bits of skin coating the nails. While he was distracted, she grabbed the knife and plunged it into his right eye and twisted.

Chiyori knew something was wrong with her when she relished in his pain.

He dropped to the ground as she pushed him off, taking the jug and what amount of gasoline it had left to dump it all over his writhing body. She grabbed the matchbox from her pockets. She took one stick and struck it to light.

For a moment, she stood there, transfixed in the tiny flame.

Then, she dropped it.

The man lit up in a manner of seconds, his screams reaching a crescendo as the flames enveloped him.

Vicious thoughts ran through her mind. Vengeful. Mournful.

Hysteria replaced them when the flames licked at her clothes and ignited her as well.

She tried to roll around, but the room was quickly filling up with smoke and grew with even more flames. Chiyori ran outside, flailing her arms to no avail as it only seemed to fan the fire. Finding a clear patch of floor, she dropped and rolled for what seemed like hours of agony but was probably only a few minutes until the fire was completely smothered.

Third degree burns covered her arms, part of her abdomen, and her left thigh. The clothes stuck to her skin. The smell of barbecued pork along with smoke made her dizzy.

She stood up with a pained cry and limped as fast as she could to the entrance of the game venue. From different rooms, she could hear the panic of the remaining players as they fought against the fire.

The screen that dictates the amount of kills per player chimed with each death, the only number to increase was under her name, as she lit the fire that killed them. Subsequently, the number of remaining players were slowly counting down. She kept her gaze locked onto that number. The only way the game would end was when everyone else died.

Smoke started seeping into her nostrils again. She knew it was only a matter of time until the flames were upon her once more.

Finally, the screen changed.

𝐑 𝐄 𝐌 𝐀 𝐈 𝐍 𝐈 𝐍 𝐆   𝐏 𝐋 𝐀 𝐘 𝐄 𝐑 𝐒 : 𝟎

𝐆 𝐀 𝐌 𝐄   𝐂 𝐋 𝐄 𝐀 𝐑 𝐄 𝐃

𝐂 𝐎 𝐍 𝐆 𝐑 𝐀 𝐓 𝐔 𝐋 𝐀 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍 𝐒

The phone she grabbed at the beginning chimed in one of her cargo shorts’ pockets. When she fishes it out, the screen lit up with the following message:

【 𝙶 𝙰 𝙼 𝙴 】

♤　♤　♤　♤　♤

♤　♤　♤　♤　♤

𝐖 𝐄   𝐖 𝐈 𝐋 𝐋   𝐒 𝐔 𝐏 𝐏 𝐋 𝐘   𝐀 𝐋 𝐋   𝐆 𝐀 𝐌 𝐄   𝐒 𝐔 𝐑 𝐕 𝐈 𝐕 𝐎 𝐑 𝐒  

𝐖 𝐈 𝐓 𝐇   𝐀   𝐓 𝐄 𝐍 - 𝐃 𝐀 𝐘   𝐕 𝐈 𝐒 𝐀

The irony of her father, the King of Spades, dying at a Ten of Spades game to protect her and her mother… Were it not for Chiyori, both of her parents would still be here right now. Maybe they would’ve trained her in preparation for the games that she wanted to play since she was a child.

But now?

She wondered why she ever wanted to play.

After that game, she immediately sought help from her parents’ fellow game masters, but after her wounds were cleaned and patched she holed up in her library home with the intent to let her visa run out by itself.

Only it didn’t. Not really.

She thought she lost her sense of time when the number stayed at zero for nearly a week, only to realize that the Borderlands didn’t want its single native citizen out of its clutches. Whichever god that rules this sinful place, if there ever is one, plays with her life almost daily with its cruel tribulations, but condemns her efforts to die outside of the games. It is almost as if they want her to play in order to die.

Chiyori isn’t particularly religious, but she has often read books about religion and philosophy. When one has questions, one seeks answers, but none of the books in any library in Tokyo have ever explained the nature and laws of this place.

With the games not being necessary to her life and being the only way to die, she needn’t participate. And for a while, she didn’t want to either.

Slowly, she began to open up to her parents’ friends, but the Borderlands only took them one by one as each cycle passed until she didn’t have anyone left but herself and her books. But even books couldn’t give her the happiness it gave when she was younger. By that time, she was thirteen, still a child but now numb to the death that surrounded her. She started participating in a few games a year, to a few games a month, now nearly everyday when she realized that those deadly games were the only things that made her feel alive anymore.

Sure, she meets friends along the way, but they only die in the end. Sometimes by her hand. Such is life in the Borderlands. The sooner you accept that, the better you’ll survive.

When a good amount of people have arrived at the game venue, she stands from her hiding place and nonchalantly walks over to join them, hands tucked into her denim jacket, the leathery scar on her left thigh visible as she only wore cycling shorts.

The clunk of her combat boots prompts several of them to glance at her entrance. She coolly raises an eyebrow and runs her eyes over everybody, reading them almost like her beloved books.

Chiyori runs a finger along the table of phones, choosing one with a sleek black case. After it scans her face, she saunters to a wall and leans back to continue her survey of the other players.

“Hey, are you new here?” A guy wearing a long-sleeved neon green shirt asks her. There’s a girl with a thankfully less bright top holding his hand. Both of them are looking at Chiyori worriedly.

She gazes distastefully at his shirt. With a scoff, she asks, “What makes you say that?”

“If I may, miss,” the girl interjects, “You look like you don’t realize how dangerous these things can get… We only wish to help educate you.”

Their familiarity with each other suggests that they knew each other before ending up at the borderlands. Both of them had dyed hair, the guy sporting blond tips while the girl had long pink hair. The fact that the girl had no roots showing tells Chiyori that they must’ve only been in the Borderlands for less than three weeks.

No, Chiyori decides after a peek of inked flesh on the guy’s bicep, about as big as the size of her palm. It still has a cling film wrapped around it, so it couldn’t have been more than three to five days.

The girl knew the games were dangerous, so they played at least one, not very hard if they’re already at another. This is probably their second or third game. Most likely the second.

In spite of herself, Chiyori smiles at them. They might end up betraying her later when the game starts, but she appreciates their concern. Not that she needed it.

“Thanks,” she says. “But I think I can manage. You guys worry about yourselves, you haven’t experienced real danger yet.”

The couple looks at her, at each other, then they shrug as if to say ‘Suit yourself.’

Chiyori’s gaze drops to their locked hands as they leave to go back to their corner. A twinge of longing cuts through her.

She thinks the game should start any minute now when a guy with black hair almost to his shoulders and a few face piercings walks in hesitantly, looking around in confusion as he taps his hand against an ear. Her eyebrows go up as she checks him out appreciatively.

“He’s new,” she remarks quietly to the couple. “You guys have been here only about a few days, I can tell.”

The girl whispers, “How’d you know?”

“You guys are pretty obvious, as is that guy. How?” Chiyori nods to the guy with piercings. “Look at his hands. He’s patting his pockets, and from the shape of it it’s a phone. Where he came from, it was loud, so he’s here to watch a game but when he entered the noise was gone. So he’s new new.”

Chiyori can tell that although they’re impressed, they’re unnerved by her. As most people are. So she pushes off the wall and saunters towards the guy who is now fiddling with his phone, trying to turn it on.

The way he hunches his shoulders tells her he is a private person, so she stops a respectable distance from him. “Hey.”

He lifts his head up to look at her, eyebrows furrowed. “What?” His voice snaps, almost defensively.

She doesn’t smile at him, thinking he seemed the type of person to think it was condescending. Instead, she points with her thumb to the table where only a few more cellphones were available. “Your phone is busted. Take one of those.”

He sneered at her and says, “Fuck off.”

Rolling her eyes, she says, “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. Take a phone or you’re disqualified and trust me, you don’t want to be disqualified.”

He still makes no move to the table, so she takes his busted phone with a quick movement and throws it to the entrance of the stadium. The other players watch them, not wanting to intervene.

“You bitch, what—?!” His enraged shout is cut off when a red laser beams down from the ceiling and puts a hole into the phone. “What the fuck?!”

Chiyori locks her eyes with his, smirking at the contempt that he displays for her. “You came here to watch a game, did you? Which teams are playing? Doesn’t matter. You’re not here to watch. You’re here to play.” She shoves a new phone in his hands. “Humor me, would you?”

With a glare, he turns on the phone. Almost as soon as his face is done scanning, everybody’s phones start chiming.

“Let the games begin,” Chiyori says, her excitement evident.

𝐑 𝐄 𝐆 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓 𝐑 𝐀 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍   𝐇 𝐀 𝐒   𝐂 𝐋 𝐎 𝐒 𝐄 𝐃

𝐓 𝐇 𝐄   𝐆 𝐀 𝐌 𝐄   𝐖 𝐈 𝐋 𝐋   𝐍 𝐎 𝐖   𝐂 𝐎 𝐌 𝐌 𝐄 𝐍 𝐂 𝐄

𝐆 𝐀 𝐌 𝐄 :   𝟐 𝟎 𝟎   𝐌 𝐄 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑   𝐑 𝐀 𝐂 𝐄

𝐃 𝐈 𝐅 𝐅 𝐈 𝐂 𝐔 𝐋 𝐓 𝐘 :   𝐓 𝐄 𝐍   𝐎 𝐅   𝐒 𝐏 𝐀 𝐃 𝐄 𝐒

When the difficulty level is announced, almost everyone starts cussing or panicking, apart from Chiyori and the guy with piercings.

She is momentarily breathless as memories of another Ten of Spades game come to her, but she shoves them at the back of her mind and turns her attention to the guy. Hostile he may be, something in her wants to help him. “This is the last time I’m gonna warn you. It’s kill or be killed, alright?”

He looks at her almost like a puppy, the angry facade he keeps up down for a moment.

“Welcome to the Borderlands,” she tells him.

They enter through another entrance to go into the arena itself. She hears the guy mutter in shock when he sees the arena. Like the rest of the Borderlands, the fauna is overgrown intermixed with other weeds and plants, except for a rectangular patch of land in the center where it was just plain dirt. Ostensibly 200 meters wide.

At the end closest to the entrance they came through is a long table full of weapons ranging from bows and arrows to javelins to throwing daggers. No guns. There are three people wearing grotesque halloween masks and nondescript clothes behind the table, waiting patiently for the game to start with hands clasped.

There were 21 participants in total. You know what they say: the more, the deadlier.

The guy in neon moved to grab a weapon off the table, but one of the dealers stopped him from doing so by brandishing a machete to his face. “Shit!” He squeaks. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing!”

The dealer with the machete brings one finger up to the lips of his mask, as if to sush him, then wags the finger like scolding a child. The other dealers gesture for them to wait for the rules.

Their phones chime once again. “Rule: Players must race through 200 meters to get to the other side. Condition: Finish the race within ten minutes.”

Chiyori smiles grimly, realizing what the weapons were for. She drops her denim jacket to the floor, revealing the burns on her arms, and readies herself.

“Start.”

She sprints ahead of everyone else, zigzagging and changing direction at random intervals. Screams start to rise. Behind her, the familiar squelch of someone being stabbed urges her to run faster. Someone manages to run even faster than her, even with her head start, but who said the game is about how quick you can finish the race?

A javelin goes through the head of the player.

Not even sparing them a glance, she jumps over the body - because that’s all the player is anymore, a body - and nearly collides with the guy from before. He looks like he wants her to die, but contradicts himself when he pushes her away from a flying arrow.

She barely gasps out a whisper of gratitude before they both continue their run. The timer loudly ticks down from the stadium’s screens.

They are only a few meters away from the finish line when she notices a small movement from behind the tall grass at the other end. She grabs the guy’s arm and pulls him while still keeping them in motion, albeit going back in the opposite direction.

“What are you doing?! The finish line’s right there!” He growls.

“Look again,” she snaps at him. “Someone’s waiting for us.”

He glances back and confirms it for himself. “What the fuck kind of dystopian shit is going on here?”

“These games are never simple,” she says.

By now, there were only about half of them still alive. A few have run past the two of them already, but Chiyori knew they would regret not thinking twice. She runs to a body that has a throwing axe deep into the side of her neck.

A glance at the starting line lets her know that the masked people only have a few weapons left to throw at them, but she still remains cautious in her running patterns as she runs to a few more bodies to collect more light throwing weapons. The guy follows her example, a bloody machete in hand.

They run back to the finish line, where a few of the others have begun to realize that there was one more masked person to torment them. Their weapon of choice? An actual roaring chainsaw.

“I should have stayed home!” The guy with piercings groans.

“Would’ve been the better choice,” she agrees.

The masked person slashed their chainsaw with reckless abandon at whoever dared to come close. One of the players was using someone’s lifeless body as a shield to get closer. Another player runs to the side of the race track, but a laser immediately comes for them.

Chiyori glances at the guy with piercings, locking eyes with him, darts her eyes to the masked person then back at him. He nods.

Holding her breath, she assumes a throwing stance. She brings the axe behind her head, then extends her arm forward while at the same time letting go of the weapon while keeping her wrist and elbow firm. It sinks into the masked person’s jugular.

Trusting that the guy would take over, she whips back to face the starting line and grabs the small throwing daggers she collected in each hand. Just in time to dodge a masked person’s forward slash. She drops to the floor and rolls over, kicking them on the head to dizzy them. She jumps on their back and uses another dagger to cut their throat open.

With her legs wrapped around their torso, she rolls both of them over just as several arrows lodge onto the masked person’s chest. Heart pounding at the close call, Chiyori throws her remaining daggers and knives in rapid succession towards where the arrows came from, hoping to buy time.

She crawls to the nearest body, who is rendered nearly headless by a curved blade. She pulls it out, spraying even more blood all over herself and the floor. When she looks up, she finds a masked person struggling to remove a knife embedded into their eye socket. Stopping for a second to marvel at her blind but successful aim, she puts them out of their misery with a swing of the blade.

Chiyori looks around for the third masked person, finding them grappling with another player. She turns her gaze to the guy with piercings, who seems to have successfully dispatched his opponent. He has his hands cupped around his mouth, shouting at her, but she is too far away to hear him clearly.

“... over here!”

“What?!” She screams.

The guy runs a hand through his hair in frustration, then points furiously at the stadium screens. She follows the direction of his finger, to find that there is only less than a minute left for her to cross about 100 meters to the finish line.

With no time to waste, she tightens her grip on the handle of the curved blade and runs for her life.

Chiyori is only a few feet away when a javelin twirls through the air and nicks her calf. She nearly drops at the pain, but perseveres and limps as fast as she can.

The guy with piercings picks up his opponent’s chainsaw and turns it on with a loud roar.

He sprints for the masked person making their way to Chiyori and slices them in half jaggedly.

With only twenty seconds left on the clock, he barks for the two other players in the finish line to help him drag Chiyori to safety, but only one actually does.

They cross the finish line with two seconds to spare.

Their phones chime in unison.

𝐆 𝐀 𝐌 𝐄   𝐂 𝐋 𝐄 𝐀 𝐑 𝐄 𝐃

𝐂 𝐎 𝐍 𝐆 𝐑 𝐀 𝐓 𝐔 𝐋 𝐀 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍 𝐒

They all pant in exhaustion, bodies slick with blood. Blood from the masked people, from the other players, from them. Chiyori can’t wait to go home and wash it all off, maybe take a week off from playing the games.

【 𝙶 𝙰 𝙼 𝙴 】

♤　♤　♤　♤　♤

♤　♤　♤　♤　♤

𝐖 𝐄   𝐖 𝐈 𝐋 𝐋   𝐒 𝐔 𝐏 𝐏 𝐋 𝐘   𝐀 𝐋 𝐋   𝐆 𝐀 𝐌 𝐄   𝐒 𝐔 𝐑 𝐕 𝐈 𝐕 𝐎 𝐑 𝐒  

𝐖 𝐈 𝐓 𝐇   𝐀   𝐓 𝐄 𝐍 - 𝐃 𝐀 𝐘   𝐕 𝐈 𝐒 𝐀

She struggles to stand, waving off any help offered to her.

Hand still gripping on the curved blade, she uses it to cut away at the long grass until she finds a small table with a single Ten of Spades card on it. Despite not having the need for it, she swipes it and hides it in her bra.

Chiyori limps back to where the others are. The guy with piercings has blood dripping down his nose, and a cut somewhere on his trunk causing the shirt he has on to cling to his form.

“Welcome to the Borderlands,” she repeats with a smile, referring to before the game started. “I’m Kuroba Chiyori. What’s your name?”

Warily, he considers the hand she offers for him to shake. He glances at her face, at her horrific smile, teeth stained with blood. He takes her small hand into his much larger one and slowly shakes it, feeling vaguely like he is making a deal with the devil.

“Niragi Suguru.”

#niragi suguru x reader #niragi x reader #niragi #alice in borderland #Dori Sakurada

[rubix-writings]

Punisher Pt. 3

Third part of Punisher. I apologize it’s taking me so long to post these, but want to make sure they’re good for you all. Thank you for the support so far!! This is a Chicago PD/Fire imagine with an original character. I don’t own any of the plot points or characters from the show. Also, it doesn’t follow any particular season or sequence in the shows.

Series Summary: Josephine (Jo) never expected to find support and pure love when she left Los Angeles. She ran away to Chicago and was content with living an insignificant, hidden life. But everything changes when she walks into Molly’s to get a job.

Josephine (OC) x Jay Halstead

The italicized lines are internal thoughts of the character.

Warnings: language, mentions of drinking, long (!)

Things are going really well at Molly’s. It’s like falling into step during a choreographed dance. It feels odd to say that I’m comfortable and confident when it’s only my second shift. I’m working with Stella tonight, who to say the least had a lot of fun the night before. When she first walked into the bar she looked as if Casper made a stop in Chicago. At the start of opening she kept her jacket on and slammed down cups of black coffee. Her body seemed to stay in a permanent state hunched over the bar top while she only communicated through slow movements with her fingers. I couldn’t watch her pain any longer, so I used my break to grab a cheeseburger and fries so greasy the oil soaked the paper bag. 

“You need to put something solid into your body,” I announce as I plop the white, greased bag on the bar top in front of Stella’s practically limp body. She slowly lifts her head with a deep groan and analyzes the bag.

“I’m a firefighter Jo, my body is a temple. I can’t eat this,” I can’t stop the laugh that escapes my lips.

“Are tequila shots a part of your ‘temple’s’ regimen?” she sniffs the bag and sighs.

“You see, the tequila actually kills all the bacteria in the stomach,” Stella examines the golden fry before taking a bite. 

“Be sure to tell your theory to the doctors that come in later, I’m sure they’d love to hear that.”

“I will,” she says with a mouthful of cheeseburger. 

Just like magic, Stella is back to her bouncy self. It amazes me how much like Hermann she is, she practically floats around Molly’s. She talks to everyone and makes sure they’re having a good time. Stella sets the tone of the entire bar, bringing life to every inch of the place. It’s nice to watch her interact with others, a part of me is envious of how natural it comes to her. A part of me is, also, envious of her relationship with Kelly. His eyes when he looks at her are filled with unconditional love and the way Stella looks at him when he’s not looking confirms that she feels the same. I’ve never had that… or will have it. The bar top serves its purpose as a closed door to the patrons on the other side, I open it as much as I want and they see what I want them to see. I’m in control.

It’s a busy Friday night, the bar filled quickly. The firemen I met last night stroll in with the same vigor as the night before, obviously hurting a lot less than Stella was a few hours ago. Stella plays it off as if she didn’t have a raging hangover, but Kelly quickly throws her under the bus. Cruz yells as he claims he’s known the truth all along, but Mouch steps in to deny it, leading to Cruz listing out facts about how he knew. I place a few beer bottles in front of the guys, trying not to get involved.

“I’m sorry about them,” Matt says.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. They’re funny,” I smile.

“You don’t have to hear it all day long,” Matt grumbles as he takes a long sip from his beer.

“This is true. I get them in concentrated doses,” I excuse myself to collect empties at the tables scattered around the room. With my hands full I turn to head back to the bar top, but crash into a hard body. I stumble back from the blow and the mystery man swiftly grabs my arms to keep me from falling. Once I get my footing back, he releases my arms.

“Sorry about that. Are you okay?” His voice is like velvet that draws my eyes up to look at his face. Wow. My mind fell into a haze barely registering his question. 

“Um, yeah. Thanks,” he smirks at how long it took me to answer his question. Really smooth Jo. “I should get back to work, sorry about running into you,” I walk backwards a few steps, he immediately steps forward keeping the same amount of space between us as before.

“Let me at least help you with those, I’m heading to the bar anyway,” before I could object, his large hand cradles the numerous beer bottles that were once in my hand. Before my brain can spiral about his large hands, I spin and head back to the bar. I silently weave through the customer’s of Molly’s, I needed to get back to my safe zone to hopefully make his charm less effective. He gently places the bottles on the bar top for me to discard, I smile and thank him. Before I can ask for his order, the firemen and Stella welcome him to the bar.

“Hey Jay, haven’t seen you around here in awhile,” Stella mentions. 

“Yeah I know. Um have you seen my brother anywhere?” Stella shakes her head no. Brother? I try to seem like I’m not listening while cleaning up behind the bar and get any excuse not to look at him again. One embarrassing moment for tonight is enough. Out of nowhere, Will pops up and slaps Jay on the back. They go in for a quick hug before Will says hi to everyone. 

“Hey don’t kill me, but I invited Nat. I know it’s supposed to just be us, but she had a really rough day,” Will whispers, Jay shakes his head to let him know he’s totally fine with it. “Great, thanks man.”

I put two glasses of red wine on the bar top for two women that definitely want to take a firefighter home tonight. After how many women these men turned down the night before I highly doubt they’ll have any luck, but I’m kinda rooting for them.

“Hey Jo,” Will smiles.

“Hi Will,” I say in monotone to mess with him.

“Have you met my brother Jay?” Will slaps Jay’s chest which startles Jay a little, making me smile. Geez, these guys must have gorgeous parents. Will is handsome of course, but Jay... 

“We kinda ran into each other actually.” I smirk.

“Oh that’s great, he’s a really good guy. He’s a cop, detective, sorry,” Will corrects himself, Jay is glaring at him.

“I’m not making you a manhattan,” he slaps his hand against the bar top.

“Worth a shot. Can I get a glass of chardonnay and a beer, oh and whatever Jay’s having,” I nod and grab Will his drinks. He slides me his credit card to open a tab then walks off to see Natalie at the table.

“I’m definitely missing something, why does my brother want a manhattan?” Jay finally asks. 

“Oh Jay it was great!” Stella jumps in to tell a very colorful version of the events that happened between Will and I. As she finishes up she is swept to the end of the bar to take an order. 

“She was drunk last night” I mumble under my breath. Jay smirks, knowing Stella’s retelling was probably fabricated. “What can I get you?” I try to change the subject.

“A beer please,” I nod. “You’re new here Jo?” He phrases it as a question, but it's definitely more of a statement. 

“Yeah, started yesterday,” I hand him his beer. 

“Thanks. Are you from Chicago?”

“No, LA actually, lived there my whole life,” I lean my forearms on the bar top in front of him.

“Wow, big change.” “Yeah, I don’t know if I thought it all the way through to be honest,” he smiles.

“Well let me tell you if you haven’t figured it out already, snow and winter are incredibly overrated.” “Ah yes, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. I can go back to LA now.” “Glad to be of service,” he shrugs. Jay stayed on the same stoll at the bar for the rest of the night. It was strange how easy it was to talk with him, he offered stories about his job and funny stories about him and Will growing up. It’s so beautiful to have those stories, that he’s gone through life with someone that deeply and come out the other side. I tell him that I don’t have siblings and mostly spent time with my mom when I was young. Jay was quick to offer up Will to fill the void.

“I’ll keep you updated on that,” I laugh.

“Are you and your mom still close?”

“Um no, she… she died about ten years ago,” even though her death happened so long ago it still felt so weird saying it out loud. 

“I’m sorry Jo. I lost my mom to cancer a few years back.”

“So you get it,” he nods and offers a somber smile. 

It wasn’t till Will and Natalie announced their departure, that Jay made any moves to leave Molly’s. The bar was slowly emptying out as last call was already declared. 

“I should head out, it was really nice talking with you Jo,” Jay stands.

“It was really nice talking with you too Jay,” I say sincerely. He smiles wide before making a beeline for the front door. I can’t help but stare until he’s fully out of sight, my cheeks start to hurt from fighting the smile on my face. I tuck my loose hair behind my ear and start grabbing the empty glasses from the bar top. 

“Have fun?” Stella questions, I jump slightly not realizing she was standing there.

“Another good night for tips, yeah,” she looks at Kelly who’s the last of the firefighters at the bar. 

“Sure, doesn’t hurt that Officer Handsome was here all night either.” “I… I’m going to wash the glasses,” I pick up the large plastic crate with dirty drinking glasses and head to the back where Hermann showed me where the sink was. Stella didn’t mention Jay again, but it didn’t matter. The damage was done, Jay’s blue eyes and the way he got so passionate during a story were ingrained in my mind for the rest of the night. 

***

Hermann asked if I could open Molly’s for him the next day as he was running late with paperwork at the firehouse. I had a short shift that night anyway and could use the extra money no matter how little. Hermann told me to meet him at the firehouse to give me the keys since they haven’t been able to cut me my own yet. The firehouse isn’t far from Molly’s, a couple blocks on foot. I prepared myself with my warmest coat for the trek since the wind chill makes Chicago brutally cold. I focus on the sound of my shoes against the wet pavement to take my mind off of how cold I really am. 

The firehouse is a ball of color on this cold, dark Chicago day. The plain brick buildings surrounding it emphasize the reds and yellows. It somehow feels untouched by the rest of the city, a true sign of purity. As soon as I walk through the doors of the firehouse I’m met with the sweet smell of food cooking. It’s as if my feet have a mind of their own and take my body towards the magnificent smell’s source. The kitchen was buzzing with people cooking, talking, and playing card games. 

“Jo!” Stella yells, “what are you doing here?” she walks over to me, leaving her conversation with Matt and Kelly, who both wave at me.

“I’m here to get the keys from Hermann, do you know where he is?” 

“Yeah, he’s in the garage let me take you to him,” I try to argue that it could wait, but Stella insists. “Hermman!” she yells once we get into the garage. 

“What?!” he snaps back. She giggles as we both walk towards the outburst. As we turn around the big fire engine, I see why Stella was so insistent about not waiting. “Oh hey, Jo,” he says calmer.

Jay is standing tall with a notepad in front of Hermann. Stella silently excuses herself from the conversation and makes her way back inside. Hermann pays no attention to his surroundings as he’s searching for the three keys I need to open Molly’s. 

“Hey,” Jay smiles.

“Hi.”

“Here you go, I labeled them for you so you know what lock they go into. Once you get inside, lock the front door, just in case,” I nod and take the keys from him. The silver keys have thin pieces of masking tape on them with dark blue sharpie stating what they open. 

“Thanks, I’ll see you there,” I back away from the men to head back to the bar. Hermann nods and waves.

“Hermann we’re done here right?” Jay asks.

“Yeah, let me know if you find anything,” Hermann states somewhat hopeless. Jay puts away the notepad in his back pocket of his jeans and jogs to catch up to me. The sound of Jay’s thick boots hitting the cement fills the sound of the garage. When he finally catches up to me, he moves ahead to open the door to outside for me. 

“So you’re stalking me now?” He jokes.

“Um how did you get to that? Hermann asked me to come here,” Jay quickly fell into step with me, not that it was difficult as he’s much taller than me.

“I was here first,” he says plainly.

“Oh well, with that bulletproof logic…” he laughs.

“You headed to Molly’s?” we stop walking once we get to the sidewalk.

“Yeah, I’m opening today,” Jay slips the keys to his car from his jacket pocket. 

“Let me drive you.” “Oh no, you don’t have to do that. It’s only a couple of blocks and you’re working,” I spew out trying to find an excuse that’ll stick.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m parked right here,” he brushes off quickly. I roll my eyes at his back and get into the car. Jay puts the car into gear and sets off towards Molly’s. 

“So, is Hermann okay?” I ask since I couldn’t get his hopeless tone out of my head.

“His house was broken into, they didn’t get a lot, just some jewelry and a few Alexa’s. His wife came home which freaked them out and they bolted before they did any real damage.” “Jesus. Poor Hermann. Do you think you’ll find his stuff?” “Probably not, that sort of stuff is so small that they may keep it for themselves instead of pawning it, but we’ll try,” the car is silent for a little while till Jay pulls in front of Molly’s.

“Thanks for the ride.” “Course,” I get out of the car and make my way onto the sidewalk. “Hey Jo,” Jay says out of his rolled down window. 

“Hey Jay,” I say while playing with the keys Hermann gave me.

“Are you working late tonight?”

“Not too late, I have a short shift.”

“How about I meet you here later and we get a drink?” Jay says casually. I bite my lip and look down the street in hopes to take my mind off of what he just asked.

“Maybe,” I say as I make eye contact with him again. “See yah Jay.”

“See yah Jo.”

I’m losing control.

#Chicago PD #Chicago Fire #chicago one #chicago fire x reader #chicago fire imagine #chicago pd x imagine #chicago pd imagine #chicago pd x reader #jay halstead #jay halstead x oc #jay halstead x reader #punisher

[flowersonmymind1016]

Top 5 Malec moments (in either the books, movie or tv show)

Thank you so much for the ask! Okay, so I read the first three TMI books back in 2013 after seeing the movie and never read the rest. So, I’m just now rereading them and planning to read all of Cassandra’s book. I’m a horrible fan, I know. Once I’m done reading them, I’ll probably come back and do an updated version of this, but for now, here is my list!

 Their first time (Shadowhunters): Exchanging kisses in between laughs and smiles and not to mention when Magnus falls on top of Alec, his necklaces are dangling between them. Magnus' surprised, "That was graceful," and Alec's, deep, breathy reply, "Shadowhunter," as he pulls Magnus back down for more kisses. And Alec, a 6'3 warrior falling onto Magnus' silk sheets, wanting kisses between breathless laughter is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It’s art. But with this scene, we also got Magnus being ashamed of his Warlock mark and Alec cupping his cheek and telling him, “Magnus, they’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.” And Magnus’ worries evaporated away and his hand came up to rest on Alec’s, his thumb stroking the skin of the back of Alec's hand. I also love how when Magnus jerked up and away from Alec, the first thing Alec asks is, "Did I do something wrong?" Because it's his first time ever and he's worried about messing up. But Magnus assures him, "No such thing." It's all so sweet and makes me smile like an idiot every time. 

Alec kissing Magnus in front of everyone in Alicante (TMI): Alec gave everyone quite the shock kissing a warlock, especially Magnus bane. Not to mention in front of his parents and every important Shadowhunter there is. And Magnus just kind of stands there in shock. And Maia's comical, "Wait a second. Do we all have to do that, too?" If Magnus had any doubts about Alec’s feelings before, he didn’t after that! 

Their second breakup (Shadowhunters): This scene is heartbreaking and devastating, so you're probably thinking, "Why is it in your top 5 favorite Malec moments?" Well, I'm gonna tell ya! You know the entire way to his mother's shop Alec thought how is he possibly going to do this? What is he going to say? How could he break Magnus' heart? They've fought so hard to get where they are. Magnus is as happy as ever to see him, starts in rubbing Alec's shoulders. Alec closes his eyes, reveling in Magnus' touch, knowing this is possibly one of the last times he will feel it, he's trying to pump himself up. And when he finally tells Magnus he "needs a break", it goes completely over Magnus' head. He didn't even consider for a second that Alec had meant breaking up. Instead, he thinks Alec is suggesting they go off on a vacation! And then Alec has to try again. "No, Magnus, I need a break from us." The confusion on Magnus' face. Like, stop it, Alexander. This joke isn't funny. But then Magnus, who always seems so cool and sure of himself, thinks it's because of his drinking. Alec, bless this man, has to go about it differently, "It's about what you said. Without your magic, how you could never be happy." Magnus tells him, yes he is suffering without his magic, he's hurting. One of my favorite things about this scene is when Magnus tells him, "This isn't you. You're not this selfish." Because this is one of the most selfless things Alec has ever done. It isn't working, so Alec has to go in for the kill. "Days ago I didn't know the spark inside of you - the one I fell in love with -was out for good." His voice wavers there. And it's like he can't take this anymore and has to leave, but of course, Magnus can't let him go without begging him not to do this. Magnus' soft, but panicked, "No, no, no, please." Followed by his, "I've-I've lost everything. I've lost my home, my job, my powers. I can't lose you too, Alec. Okay?" And the whole time he's holding Alec's face, forcing Alec to look up at him, for Alec to see his pleading eyes. And he kisses Alec, long and slow, and you can tell that Alec wants nothing more than to return the kiss. Magnus' whispered, "Stay with me. Okay? Come one, stay with me." Alec has his eyes closed by this point, he can't bear to look at Magnus anymore. He can't bear to see the pain his Magnus' eyes, the pain he caused him. "Magnus...I can't. I'm sorry." And then he leaves. Magnus is so shocked he just stares at where Alec had been just seconds before. This whole scene was, yes, sad, but so beautiful in my opinion. I like angst, okay?!

The wedding Kiss (the first one): I love this scene for the same reasons I love the kiss in Alicante in City of Glass. Alec is coming out, he's being himself, he's kissing the man he loves (has the potential of loving). He's doing it in front of the important Shadowhunters and his parents. He's finally standing up for himself and I just love it so much because he deserves to be happy. I love how supportive Lydia was in this scene (I wish we could have gotten more friendship moments between her and Alec). I love Alec's deep, stern, authoritative, "Enough!" When Maryse tries to stop him. The way he grabs the lapels of Magnus' jacket and pulls him in and Magnus' hands on his waist (you see it in behind the scene pics). It's a lovely picture. I love it when they part and just look into each other's eyes and at their lips, breathing in each other's air before going back in for another kiss. Oh, and let's not forget everyone's reactions. His friends' and siblings' reactions were amazing and make my heart so happy. Simon's little Graduate speech makes me laugh every time! He's so cute!  

The morning after their first time: The scene opens up with the camera showing the trail of their clothes and shoes on the floor. They wake up, all cuddled up next to each other, the morning sun streaming in from the window. Their sleep-rough, whispered, "Morning" and "Good morning". Alec's "Oh no. What time is it? I have to get to the institute." Magnus' face is a mixture of bewilderment and disappointment. "Oh, I was just kidding" and he looks so amused, so proud of himself for making this joke. It's adorable. And as he rolls over onto his side to look at Magnus with the morning sun shining on him, he is a sight. He's so pretty it hurts. Magnus tries so play it off, "No." "Then what are you afraid of?" Magnus does his best to sound serious as he answers, "Acid wash jeans." And I just adore Alec's soft, "Oh come on, Magnus." And then he adds, "I'm serious. You're an all-powerful warlock. You can summon demons. You've lived through centuries of war and you're immortal. What scares you?" "The key to having no fear is having nothing to lose. I guess that's why I haven't opened my heart in almost a hundred and then I met you." Alec's little smile is everything. He's lived a hard life. All he's wanted is to be able to be himself, to be loved, and here is Magnus, who loves him, who is opening his heart up to Alec. It's so sweet I can't put it into words! And their hand-holding at the end. I love Alec's bare fingers against Magnus' ring littered ones. 

I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to be this long! I just love the books and show (and the movie too) so much. 

#shadowhunters #the mortal instruments #malec #Alec Lightwood #Magnus Bane #asks #me

[goodwriterwithbadhabits]

Play Brave

(Alright, so as it turns out I can’t write mystery, so I made it kinda fluffy with lowkey hints of the beginning of a cop show. I hope you like it tho.)

Master List

~~

“What you did was very brave.” The paramedic, a man whose name tag read “Wonpil”, complemented, dabbing the cut over your eyebrow with alcohol. “You’re lucky you aren’t seriously hurt.” 

“I just wanted to protect my friends,” You confess, “Lots of crazy people out tonight.” 

“Well, its a full moon, its Halloween, and everyone’s been cooped up for 6 months, I’m not really shocked everyone’s gone a little crazy.”

“Nurse Wonpil, how’s our little hero doing?” A new, yet familiar voice asks, which makes Wonpil roll his eyes. 

“I’m an EMT, not a nurse. And Y/n here is fine, some cuts and bruises, but nothing warranting a hospital visit, unless you get a headache that persists longer than an hour, then go see a doctor.” You nod at the EMT, jumping down from the back of the ambulance to spot the mystery speaker. 

“Detective-”

“Jaehyung Park.” You realize, “Everyone in town knows who you are.” You defend yourself awkwardly. He’s a lot more handsome in person, there's the hint of dark roots in his sandy blonde hair and his dark eyes are hidden behind big glasses. You wonder for a moment how people could think he’s intimidating. Yeah he was really tall, but he was kinda skinny and even in his dark clothes, didn’t look very threatening. “I thought you only worked as a violent crimes detective, I didn’t think a random dude with a knife would count.” 

“It’s Halloween, the entire precinct is working where they’re needed.” He shrugs, “Besides, I think someone attacking trick or treaters is a bad thing.” You couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled up at his casual shrug. “Also, when Sungjin mentioned your name, I couldn’t help myself.” You freeze at his comment, more than just a little confused. 

“Me? How come?” 

“I read your book. “Something happened in Seoul” I’ve always liked mystery novels, so when I found out it was based on one of my cases, and you knew my Captain, I had to meet you.” He scratches at the back of his head nervously. “Kinda wish it was under more favorable circumstances.” You both laugh at his comment, and you’re thankful the darkness of the night is hiding your blush. 

“Me too, but it’s always nice to meet a fan.” The silence that falls between you is heavy with something you can’t quite place. “Anyway, the investigation?” You prompt. Jae nods, laughing sheepishly as he pulls a pen and pad from his pocket. 

“Right, you’re right. Where was I?” He double checks his notes, face falling serious as he refocuses on the case at hand. “Okay, your friends over there told me their version, can you tell me yours?” You nod, clearing your throat. 

“My friends and I were walking home from Fabel, the bar on third. I was closest to the street and Minju was about a step behind me and in the middle and her brother Minsung was next to her on the house-side. We were talking about our plans for the rest of the night, when I heard what sounded like running footsteps. When I turned around, I thought it was maybe someone we knew, this guy was running towards us. He had something in his hand, but I couldn’t tell what it was. I don’t know why but I put myself between the twins and this guy and next thing I know he’s slamming into me. I didn’t fall, but when he tried going after them again I panicked. I grabbed his jacket and yanked him sideways, right into the bus stop. I didn’t realize he had grabbed my arms until I was already falling. I hit the other glass panel and went right though.” Jae winces as you gesture to the cuts on your face. 

“Ouch.” He comments, “But Wonpil was right, that was pretty brave.” You huff at his words. 

“Didn’t feel brave. I just panicked, the twins have never fought anyone ever, and I can survive a few cuts better than someone can a knife wound.” Jae nods, although you can tell its tentative. 

“What can you tell me about the man?” You wrack your brain for a few moments, trying to recall all the small details. 

“He had a kinda long beard, like maybe five inches, and it was curly and grey. I’m pretty sure he was Caucasian.” Jae nods along as you speak, diligently writing. “I’m pretty sure I was taller than him, and he was strong enough to take me down with him, so he isn’t weak.” Jae nods again, glancing up at you when you don’t add anything else. 

“Is there more?” You shake your head, a little disappointed you couldn’t help further. 

“I’m sorry, everything happened really quickly, I’m shocked I remembered that much.” 

“Don’t be sorry. Did you see what happened to him after you fell?” 

“He just got up and ran away like nothing happened. Minju called the police right after.” You pause thinking about the events of the last hour and can’t help but find it a little funny. 

“What?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking, it’s Halloween, if you’re going to go around attacking people, why not wear a mask? Or dress up? This guy was just wearing jeans and a tshirt.” Jae lets out a small chuckle as well. 

“That is kinda strange. Thank you for the information, and the call.” He glances back towards his partner and the twins. “I think Brian’s going to take them home, I’m sure he could drive you if you like?” You wave off his offer. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’m only a few blocks from here, I can walk.” Jae looks at you like you’ve grown an extra head. “What?”

“Do you really think I’m going to let you just walk home alone after being attacked? Are you crazy?” He scoffs in disbelief when you don’t answer, turning back to the trio a few feet away. “Brian!” His partner sighs, reluctantly looking over. 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“I’m going to walk Y/n home. It’s not far, I’ll meet you back here in 15.” Brian nods, flashing you a thumbs up before turning back to the twins. Jae turns back to you, a lopsided grin on his face. “Shall we?” 

You wave goodbye to the twins, who smile knowingly and wave enthusiastically before turning to lead Jae to your apartment. 

“So, “Something Happened in Seoul” how’d you get that kind of information from Sungjin?” Jae begins, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coat as you walk. 

“Oh, we’re friends. I was working as a journalist at the time, so I was getting insider details.” You explain, trying not to glance over at him. He was very cute and it was very distracting. 

“So how’d you two know each other?”

“College. His girlfriend at the time was my roommate. He used to hang out at our dorm all the time to avoid his roomie.” Jae’s laughter echoes off the houses around you and you have to physically restrain yourself from putting your hand over his mouth to quiet him down. 

“I thought he and Dowoon were cool?” He wonders, tugging you closer by the wrist when someone on a bike rides past. You have to pray he can’t feel the way your heartbeat increases at his touch. 

“They are now. But in the beginning when Dowoon was still figuring out his major he just played video games all night.” Jae laughter is much quieter this time around. 

“So tell me, Y/n, how did you go from being a reporter, to writing a New York Times Bestseller?” You’re thankful, once again, for the darkness as your cheeks heat up again. 

“I always wanted to be a writer.” You shrug. “Nothing had really piqued my interest, until Sungjin told me how you had found the kidnapper. I thought it would make a really interesting story.” 

“And the romance? How did you come up with the idea of the reporter and the detective?” He glances over at you, a cheeky smile on his face. 

“I um, everybody likes a cliche.” You’re pretty sure he can see right through your lie, but let's be real, you were not about to say “well the real detective was really hot and I was basically writing fanfiction” because that would be embarrassing. “This is my complex.” You point to the coded gate a few feet away. 

“Ah, okay.” Neither of you move for a second, somehow feeling like this was some kind of date, and yet knowing it wasn’t. “So um, how about you give me your number so I can update you on what’s happening. Maybe you can write about it.” He refuses to look you in the eyes, but you’re pretty sure his cheeks are turning red. 

“Maybe you can leave yours with my publisher?” You tease, turning to the gate to punch in the code. 

“Maybe I can leave it with you?” He tries again, which makes you laugh to yourself. You tug open the gate, turning back to look at him. 

“I’m having a book signing tomorrow at the Public Library. Second floor conference room. Bring your book and I’ll give you my number.” Jae’s smile is contagious as he shakes his head in disbelief.

“Alright, what time?” 

“Noon.” 

“Okay then, tomorrow at noon. Second floor conference room of the library.” He jots this down in his notebook with a nod. “I will see you then.” 

“Have a good night, Detective.” 

“You as well, Y/n, stay safe.” He closes the gate between you, his fingers lingering next to yours. He has a small, far-off smile as he stares at you. “See you tomorrow.” You tap his pinky with yours, some kind of silent promise to fulfill your end of the bargain. 

“See you then.” 

“Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” You’re the first to move, taking a small step back, which seems to draw him back into himself. He offers you a small bow, and one last smile before heading back the way you came.

#jae park imagines #jae park imagine #jaehyung imagine #jaehyung imagines #day6 imagine #day6 imagines #jae #jae park #eaj #eajpark

[oracleofdelphl]

Know Your Rights: Advice on Arrest/Police Powers During Protesting (London Edition)

Hey all, I haven’t seen a post like this advising on what to do in the event you are taken to police custody that is UK-based. so I thought I would share some tips/contact numbers/advice. In light of the upcoming #BLM protests coming up in London, I thought I would share some resources/tips on your rights and dealing with the police. 

[Disclaimer: I am not a legal practitioner - this is NOT legal advice. This is all advice that I have collated from various grassroots organisations, charities, and government websites] 

1. Here is a bustcard - print one out and keep it on you during the protest! Always have either this bustcard on you, or write down the contact number of a trusted solicitor and the Protest Support Line at all times. (If you are outside London, check the greenandblackcross website for a bustcard specific to your location)

Plain text version:  ADVICE ON ARREST 

Say “NO COMMENT” to all police questions during casual chats, ‘booking in’ & interviews. At the police station you may wish to give your name, address and date of birth to speed your release. If asked your nationality you must give it. For protection and that of other people don’t answer further questions. 

Do not accept a CAUTION without advice from a recommended solicitor. This is an admission of responsibility and goes on the police national computer. 

You have the right to FREE LEGAL ADVICE at the police station. Duty solicitors do not always have experience with protest law, we recommend asking the police to contact one of the following: 

ITN (Irvine Thanvi Natas): 020 3909 8100  HJA (Hodge Jones & Allen): 0808 252 8678  Bindmans: 0207 833 4433 / 020 7305 5638 (out of hours)  Kelly’s: 01273 674 898 / 0800 387 463 (out of hours) 

You have the right to have someone informed of your arrest. (Make that the Protest Support Line unless otherwise arranged: 07946 541 511).

You have the right to an interpreter if English is not your first language.  If you are or appear under 18, an appropriate adult should be called.

LEGAL QUESTIONS about PROTEST? 

STOP AND SEARCH: You do not have to give your name and address under any stop and search power, see below website for more details. Legally you must be told the reason and the power that you are being searched under. 

If you witness an arrest, want support or have legal questions about protest: [email protected]  07946 541 511 

Legal Observers are independent volunteers who gather evidence on behalf of protestors and act to counter police intimidation and misbehaviour. Read more about your rights and protest legislation: www.greenandblackcross.org

After arrest &/or if you have a court date & want advice, email [email protected]

2. Stop and Search: Know Your Rights Linked above is the official gov.uk webpage regarding the police power to stop and search. Read it fully before a protest so you know what your rights are when asked to submit under this power.

Important: ‘stop and search’ is NOT the same as ‘stop and account.’ Under stop and search, you are well within your rights to refuse to answer and walk away! 

Police Powers  A police officer has powers to stop and search you if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect you’re carrying:

illegal drugs

a weapon 

stolen property 

something which could be used to commit a crime, such as a crowbar

You can only be stopped and searched without reasonable grounds if it has been approved by a senior police officer. This can happen if it is suspected that: 

serious violence can take place

you’re carrying a weapon or used one 

you’re in a specific location or area

Before you’re searched  Before you’re searched the police officer must tell you: 

their name and police station

what they expect to find, for example drugs 

the reason they want to search you, for example if it looks like you’re hiding something 

why they are legally allowed to search you 

that you can have a record of the search and is this isn’t possible at the time, how you can get a copy

Removing clothing: police powers A police officer can ask you to take off your coat, jacket or gloves. 

The police might ask you to take off other clothes and anything you’re wearing for religious reasons - for example a veil or turban. If they do, they must take you somewhere out of public view. 

If the officer wants to remove more than a jacket and gloves they must be the same sex as you. 

3. Key Messages  NO COMMENT  NO PERSONAL DETAILS WHAT POWER?  NO DUTY SOLICITOR NO CAUTION

No comment: 

You do not need to answer police questions, so don’t.

This is for your own protection and for the protection of others.

The police will try to pressure and deceive you into incriminating yourself. Instead of trying to decide when it seems ‘safe’ to answer, just say “No comment” to all questions. During ‘informal chats’ in the police van and especially in interview. 

If your friend in the next cell knows you aren’t going to talk, they will feel better able not to talk themselves. Remember, interviews only help the police - they will not interview you if they already have enough evidence to charge you. 

A good solicitor will sometimes suggest that you make a prepared statement in interview. In that case, you or your solicitor will read the statement and you should answer “No comment” to any more questions. 

For a longer discussion, see the “NO COMMENT” booklet produced by the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group. [Their website seems to down at the moment - will update when I can get the link!] 

No personal details: 

You do not have to give personal details under ANY stop and search power, so don’t. 

On protests, the police often use searches as a way of finding out who is present, both for intelligence purposes and to intimidate you.

Police also use arrest as a means of gathering information, particularly when they arrest a large number of people together (“mass arrest”).

As a default, you do NOT have to give your personal details to the police at any point during the arrest process. However, since 2017, if you have been arrested, the police can require to say what your nationality is and can require you to produce nationality documents, if they suspect that you are not a British citizen.

We recommend not giving personal details to the police for as long as possible – for more information on why, see the page “Do I have to give my details?”. If you have been arrested and taken to the police station you may wish to give your name, address and date of birth at the custody desk to speed your release. Police will usually check the address and may visit at a later date.

Once you reach court, you can be required to give your name, date of birth and nationality.

There are a few situations in which police may have a power to require personal details: if someone is driving a vehicle (or another licensed activity); if they are being fined under a Fixed Penalty Notice; under a particular anti-social behaviour power (which should not generally be used against protesters); or if there is a particular by-law.

What Power?:

Ask “What power?” to challenge the police to act lawfully

Some police officers rely on you not knowing the law. If you are asked to do something by a police officer, ask them what power (i.e. what law) they are using and why they are using it. Make a note of what was said, by whom (numbers) as soon as possible afterwards.

Don’t let them turn this into a situation where they ask you questions though – just walk away once you have your answer, and remember No Comment!

No Duty Solicitor:

Use a recommended solicitor with protest experience. Here is a list of trusted solicitors who are experienced at dealing with cases surrounding police and protest. 

The “duty solicitor” is the solicitor who is present at the police station. They may come from any firm of solicitors, which means they almost certainly know nothing about protest.

Duty solicitors often give bad advice to protesters; we recommend you always use a good solicitor who knows about protest. 

You are entitled to free legal advice inside a police station and can ask for one of the solicitors in the above list. 

If you do not know which solicitor to call, contact the Protest Support Line. 

No Caution:

Cautions are an admission of guilt

Offering you a caution is a way the police may ask you to admit guilt for an offence without having to charge you. It is an easy win for the police, as they don’t have to provide any evidence or convince a court of your guilt.

At the very least, you should never accept a caution without taking advice from a good solicitor.

4. Guides

For supporting yourself:

Key Advice when going on a Protest Stop and Search Being Trans and Protesting Looking after your health on actions Trauma and Emotional Support What happens if I’m Arrested? I’ve been Arrested! What Next? Should I ignore Police Bail? The Post-Charge Legal Process DBS checks and being arrested on protests Key Advice for Protesting in France Demonstrations and International Students

For supporting others: 

How to give Police Station Support My Friend has been Arrested! Support for People going to Court What is a Legal Observer? Witness to an Arrest or Police Violence?

For organising an action:

Guide to Injunctions Planning an Action Protesting on Private Property

Protest Laws:

Filming and Photographs at Actions Laws Commonly Used at Protests Obstructing Workplaces: Trade Union Legislation Police Liaison Officers

Challenging the police:

Holding the Police to Account How do I find out what Information the Police hold on me? Making a Claim Against the Police Making a Complaint Against the Police What is a Judicial Review?

For more information: www.greenandblackcross.org 

5. General protest advice

Look out for things that don’t seem right. Stay alert for undercover white supremacists who may be infiltrating the protest. If anything seems off to you, document it. 

Follow the directions of grassroots black organisers. 

Film safely - do not film anyone’s faces/anything that could identify individuals at a protest. There are other, better resources online for successful filming.

Wear unassuming clothing and face coverings.

Buddy up - write down each other’s contact details on your arm, as well as the Protest Support Line. Make sure someone is keeping an eye on you and check in on them. 

Keep socially distanced - we’re still in the middle of a pandemic! 

Wear masks and protective eye gear if possible. 

Tie hair up.

If you can, leave your phone at home and bring a burner phone for contacting your buddy/contacts.

If you must bring your smartphone, first turn off Face/Touch ID, disable data and location services, and go on airplane mode. Also, watch this video on signal proofing your phone.

Don’t bring anything incriminating e.g. drugs, weapons (including pocket knives) - don’t give them a reason to arrest you! 

Don’t wear contact lenses or jewellery 

Bring water (for hydration and tear gas) 

Bring snacks (thank me later) 

Bring first aid supplies

STAY SAFE AND LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.🖤 

Safe protesting, y’all ✊🏽 #BlackLivesMatter

#if I forgot to source something please let me know! #I will update it as/when appropriate #ok to rb #please reblog and spread! #sorry if this is too London centric! #London #uk #black lives matter #blm #protest #protest advice #resources #cynthia.txt