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#like him agreeing to go after a belt together was going to be ultimate sign of friendship and forgiveness for them
💋 - I wanna hear these pregame headcanons
//Alright fine, I'll summarize them as quickly as I can.
//However, these are CANON to the blog, so I might have to cut anything spoilery. Plus, some of them are pretty heavy, so keep that in mind
Kaede and her twin sister Kaori cut all ties with their birth parents because they did not agree with their life choices. Though they stuck together for a long while to carry each other through life, Kaori ran with a bad crowd, which caused her and Kaede to drift apart. Eventually, Kaori died in an accident, forcing Kaede into despair and taking away all faith she had in humanity.
Pregame Shuichi, much like V3 Shuichi, lived with his uncle thanks to his parents having a "hands-off" way of raising him. When he was in 5th grade, he solved a case of stolen lunch money at his school completely by chance; which resulted in a constant array of bullying from the friends of the thief who got expelled. This led Shuichi to question whether it was safe to reveal the truth or not, hence the inspiration for his Killing Game attitude initially.
Kokichi was raised by an abusive mother who lashed his neck and shoulders with a belt (which is why he wears the scarf.) The reason he joined Danganronpa is that the one thing that kept him going through his rough childhood was watching the goofy cartoon villains on children's TV shows.
Kaito's mother died from childbirth, and after becoming depressed as a result, his father drank himself to death, causing Kaito to be raised by his grandparents from a young age. Due to being a troublemaker who constantly got into fights with people, including his school teachers, great stress was put on the two old-timers. The reason why Kaito entered Dangarnonpa to achieve fame and fortune is because he wanted to stop being a burden to them and make life a little easier.
Maki pre-V3, much like post-V3 Maki, was raised as an orphan. With the help of an unknown best friend, she got a shady job (the inspiration for her talent and backstory in V3) and joined Danganronpa on a mission to find her real parents, hoping they would recognize her.
Tsumugi initially joined Danganronpa 52 to become more confident in herself, and to be someone else that she could truly be proud of. She stayed on Team DR who allowed her to write the 53rd season.
Keebo, originally a human before turned into the Ultimate Robot, was Tsumugi's childhood friend who she allowed to be incorporated as an additional cast member in the Killing Game narrative (this was based on a comic by chibigaia)
Rantaro first participated in the 52nd Killing Game to make money and support his very large family, but became trapped in the Killing Game cycle and was forced to participate as the Ultimate Survivor at the end of the game.
Miu was a gyaru through and through, being as much of a bitchqueen in real life as she is in the Killing Game, while also being a surprisingly studious and intelligent girl, but her attitude changed a lot after she suffered in a car crash (just like in V3's universe) which left her with some nasty body scars that she's embarrassed by.
Himiko was born (and in Survivor canon, does still have) autism, and as a child, was constantly depressed and out, like nothing she ever did really mattered.
Tenko was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, and while she's not as violently misandrous as she is in the Killing Game, she has terrible androphobia, which she joins the Killing Game in hopes of overcoming.
Angie is an outcast due to being a religious foreigner, and living as a true example of a third-culture girl. Trying to let people know she only wants to make friends and is completely normal is the reason she signs on V3.
Kiyo had a sister IRL who was also very sickly, that he was very close with, however, not to the extent that he is in V3. He tries to get a well paying job to support her, and joins Danganronpa because it's her favourite show, and he wishes to rekindle her faith in life by being on it (with the results being completely out of his control)
Despite her capabilities, Kirumi gained a rep as a "useless tall girl" amongst her peers, even though she acts mature and is still a workaholic. She doesn't have many friends, and joins the Killing Game because "she wants to be useful to others." She also STILL doesn't know how to cut Konjac.
While I never really put my finger on what exactly his case would be, I pictured Ryoma being a man with many regrets in life, having lost many relationships due to his nature and actions, and feels innately guilty because of his past. He joins Danganronpa because he believes the suffering he recieves will redeem him of his past actions.
Much like his backstory within V3, Gonta was much bigger than most kids, leaving many of them to be afraid of him. Not only that, but because he lived in a wealthy family, everyone else thought he believed he was too good for them. His only friend growing up was a husky dog, which inspired the aspect of his backstory where he was raised by wolves.
-Mod
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thedespondent · 1 year
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Crown Jewel 2022 Review
Sold my soul and morals out to watch an infamous youtuber have his third wrestling match. In many ways it wasn’t worth it, viewing such a thing feels like a co-sign on a lot of dodgy shit, specifically pertaining to the Saudi prince, but my understanding is at least that I’m not contributing to this horrific deal that hands over the WWE, just… observing it. Match by match reviews follow, rated on a five star scale. No half stars, no decimal points, that's the coward’s way.
Oh and as it wasn’t a match, loved Bray’s promo. Wish I could hear half of what Uncle Howdy said.
Match 1: Bobby Lashley vs Brock Lesnar
One of the two matches I explicitly tuned in for. Unfortunately the two being the opener and main event meant I couldn’t just check out in between. But yes, I had to watch it. I love Bobby Lashley, a formerly mediocre big man who went to Impact, became a top performer there, and returned to WWE and kept that energy going. He’s my fave WWE guy right now, a smooth-skinned adonis who can pop you like a grape. Enters a good dominant performance, a strong opening salvo before the bell showing how much he needs to beat Brock, and how to beat Brock you have to be a bit of a shit, even if that ultimately fails here due to a bit of turnbuckle kicking to fall back into a pin. Makes Lashley look a bit of a mug, but puts over the hurt locker huge! Brock couldn’t deal! Long may the feud continue. A solid three stars, mostly for the hurt locker and Brock’s suplexes, and hurt a little for some just okay spears.
Rating: ***
Match 2: Asuka/Alexa Bliss (champs) vs Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky/Dakota Kai)
This match was for the women’s tag team championship.
It sounds like, from the promotional packages, that the women’s tag belts have had a bit of a funny time since the tournament tried to raise their prominence. The roster can scarcely support them, but they DO feel more important for having had an actual tag team with a name hold them, lose them to a pairing that, while kind of flavourless, are two of the most notable women’s champs on the roster, and then lose them back again. Feels competitive, especially with a handful of long reigns with other belts making hot potato-ing the tag belts kind of novel.
The match was decent. Asuka is one of the best women in WWE, maybe only second to Bianca Bel Air, and Iyo Sky is always thrilling to watch. The other two did good work. But I just don’t know what to make of ropey put-together tag champs. Hopefully Damage CTRL winning them back now leads to something more, against stronger pairings. Two stars, just because I didn’t feel much.
Rating: **
Match 3: Drew McIntyre vs Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett)
This match was a cage match.
I told my wife as this match started that I hate WWE cage matches. Escaping the cage is a terrible win condition, outside of a weaselly heel getting out of receiving their comeuppance in the middle bout of a multi-match feud.
So naturally the face Drew wins by escaping, but escaping FASTER than the vicious heel Kross. After their Extreme Rules strap match this felt kind of stupid as a next step. But then Kross is great (with hair. Hated him before he remembered he could grow it. No idea why), McIntyre is a favourite, Scarlett is like a leather Dolly Parton in this, so… I didn’t hate it? But I’m opposed to the format, so one star.
Rating: *
Match 4: The OC (AJ Styles/Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows) vs Judgement Day (Finn Balor/Damian Priest/Dominik Mysterio) (w/ Rhea Ripley)
I fell asleep watching this. It was only mid-afternoon, but I was in front of a fire and was getting over a bad allergic reaction to a couple of dogs. I was knackered. Woke up in time to see Rhea interfere, agreed with my wife about how hot Rhea is, and that’s about it.
It feels like a mean dunk on the Good Brothers (Anderson and Gallows), who get this sort of shit regularly from people who don’t like them, but to be fair if they were more exciting and less bald I might have fought harder to stay awake.
I can’t rate this, that’d be unfair.
Rating: N/A
Match 5: Braun Strowman vs Omos
Big men! Having a match! Making little impact on me while doing so! Omos is finding a groove, which is a significant development for a guy who was NOT ready to hit the main roster, and Braun is way more appealing now than he was before his release, but the whole thing lacked a hook to make me care enough. One star, you gotta make me care who wins.
Rating: *
Match 6: The Usos (Jimmy/Jey) (champs) vs The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland/Butch)
This tag team match was for the undisputed tag team championships.
The Usos are a great tag team. They’re no MCMG, but who is. I can see why people argue who’s the best tag team ever between these guys and the Young Bucks (the answer, of course is the MCMG. Pay attention.). Ridge Holland and Butch (the former Pete Dunne) are two good singles wrestlers who make for a surprisingly cohesive tag unit, the sort of surprise that redefines careers. I feel we’re at a bit of a dead end for who takes the tag belts off of The Usos, and these guys could do it. But not here at Crown flipping Jewel, so a banger match that could be run back again some day is fine by me. A solid three stars, just because I see a high ceiling for these four together.
Rating: ***
Match 7: Bianca Belair (champ) vs Bayley
This was a last woman standing match for the Raw Women’s Championship.
Bianca Belair is the best female wrestler in WWE, and honestly in the top three in the world right now. Bayley is one of the biggest deals in the company, and as such can make Bianca in a match like this, and does. Bayley takes some hellish punishment, while giving an imposing character or Bianca to overcome, highlights are definitely in that painful table spot and the finish, but in general everything from when Bayley escapes up the ramp is gold on top of the finest silver that came before it. Last person standing matches need clever finishes now and then to keep them from being stale slugfests, and this was that and then some.
Rating: ****
Match 8: Roman Reigns (champ) (w/ Paul Heyman) vs Logan Paul
This was for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
I wish I hated Logan Paul more. I really should, for many valid reasons. But by God can this man fucking wrestle. It helps that he’s had three matches against amazing opponents, but he clearly takes this stuff seriously and learns his stuff, and ACTUALLY LANDS IT WELL. The story here of Roman underestimating him and Logan needing one lucky shot to win was oversold but delivered upon well, with Roman doing everything he can to make a star here, and succeeding. Logan gets to get so much cool shit in simply because Roman isn’t ready for him, and Roman gives him a bunch of 2.9 counts as a reward. Logan’s frog splash? Rules. Selfie crossbody? Rules. Buckshot lariat? Amazing sense of momentum, should be a finisher from this dude. And he sells well! A few too many one counts, but he takes his lumps well! Interference just kinda exists because fans expected it, but Jake Paul’s awkwardness made Logan look all the better, and Solo Sikoa coming out as an enforcer, looking every bit as hard as his Dad, was a hell of a thing. That kid has the look. Actually, if Logan ever goes full-time I’d love to see them feud. But for now having his third match be against Roman himself in a competitive match that burned the house down? That’ll do nicely. Five begrudging stars, you bastard.
Rating: *****
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wtf-yoongi · 4 years
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“Let me play you what I have.”
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pairing | yoongi x reader
summary | yoongi asks for your help with a song
genre/warnings | you’re both musicians (even though you don’t work in the music industry) so musician fluff i guess?
words | 1,648
note | i’m not even kidding at this point i think i’m in love with yoongi and i’ve never been more serious in the entirety of my life
“Mine was never this glamorous,” you joke as you stare into the high ceilings of the ground floor of the building. “This place is gigantic.”
“Well, it is fancy and over the top,” Yoongi agrees and shrugs as if he’s 100% indifferent to it all. “But this is just to impress visitors.”
You look around, trying to take in as much as you can while you follow Yoongi to the elevator area. Everything seems to be made of either glass or marble – well, the best glass and marble money can buy. The attention to detail is remarkable and you can’t help but agree with Yoongi: this is a little bit over the top.
“I thought you had seen this the last time you were here.” He looks at you now, taking turns between staring at your face and your hands. You can’t do it here where the walls are made of glass even if he’s wearing a cap and a mask, but you know his fingers are twitching.
“Not really,” you correct him and shake your head lightly. “First time I was here was before the tour. You gave me a ride and we took the elevator straight from the garage.”
“Oh…” Yoongi nods. He remembers now. “I should have showed you the place that day, sorry. We were in a rush.”
There’s a soft sound, signaling one of the elevators has finally arrived. Yoongi impatiently taps his right foot on the ground like he just wants the doors to open faster. You know he’s a little apprehensive from the moment he calls you to come around earlier, but you didn’t think you’d find him like this. 
You just want to calm him down somehow.
As soon as you’re safe inside the elevator with the doors closed, you extend your hand to him and his fingers stop fidgeting immediately to take yours. “You didn’t have to come greet me downstairs,” you comment casually, but there’s gratitude in your eyes.
“I know, I wanted to,” he says, taking his mask off and putting it in his pocket with his free hand. “And I needed to get out of the studio a little bit.”
“Something wrong?”
“Just a song that won’t come together, the usual,” he mocks and smiles to the ground. “This one is going to be stubborn, I just know it. I’ve been playing with this idea for days now and I don’t think I have a full verse yet.”
Yoongi’s voice is tired and passionate at the same time. Even if he’s complaining about it, you know he likes this sort of struggle to accomplish something he’s happy and satisfied with – the reward may be as grand as the effort. He’s always hoping for that. Artists are always hoping for that, you know it all too well.
“I was actually hoping you’d help me, if you don’t mind.”
He brings it up quietly and casually, but when you turn your face to him he’s not looking directly at you, deciding to keep his stare into the ground. He isn’t exactly comfortable with that idea and doesn’t know if it’ll work, but he’s happy to try.
You’ve talked about doing something together, working on lyrics or melodies or whatever came to mind, but never put much thought into it. Like that old group of friends who keep on saying you should meet sometime, but never actually do. You’re not mad if it never happens, somethings aren’t supposed to happen anyway.
Yoongi finally raises his head after he doesn’t hear it from you for a while, eyes expecting a positive reply so he doesn’t have to pretend that never happened somehow. Inside his mind, he’s already thinking about ways he can make it less awkward.
“That’s why you asked me to come?” You ask in a curious tone. 
“Well, yeah,” Yoongi laughs lightly and presses his left hand to the back of his neck, scratching it a bit in a nervous habit. “It’s ok if you don’t want to, though. It’d be good to just hang around and do nothing as well, I’m just waiting for some papers I have to sign and we can go somewhere if you want. It’s probably good to give the song some time as well, since…”
“We can try something, yeah,” you interrupt before he runs out of air. “I’m a little rusty, though, I don’t really know if I’ll be able to help with anything.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Yoongi shakes his head and his hand follows. “I want you to listen and give me your opinion, that’s already enough for me. And I highly doubt it.”
You don’t have time to question him what the last part is about. As if on queue, you arrive on the 21st floor and it’s really not as fancy as the lobby, just like you remember, but you can see someone was still thoughtful enough to add fresh flowers to the vase in the corner. The people in charge of running the building are not sleeping on the job.
Yoongi is silently dragging you around the corridors and you can see the directions on the wall, but not for long enough to make any sense of them. A dozen more steps and you both stop in front of a door, Yoongi quickly tapping the keyboard on the right. There’s a beep before it opens.
He reaches inside to turn on the lights, but ultimately lets you in first. The room looks just like the last time, simple and straightforward in furniture and color, but not in music equipment. You can see he upgraded the digital piano to one that looked more like a real one, but still plugged to the wall. Maybe it makes him feel better knowing it’s a little similar to the real deal?
“New piano?”
“Yeah,” he assents, closing the door behind him. “These keys feel a little better, you know?”
Yes, you know. You can always tell when the keys just feel better under your fingertips. Playing becomes easier, practicing technique feels less like a pain. You nod.
“Let me play you what I have.”
You sit on the couch in one corner while Yoongi sits on his own chair, moving his magic mouse to light up the screen in front of him. You can see there are many layers on top of one another, but definitely not as many as you would expect coming from him. 
You’ve seen him working from home well past midnight, shirt half dressed with headphones on, keeping quiet so he doesn’t notice you behind him. Making music is intricate, but Yoongi likes it even worse, adding one thing on top of the other, filter after filter, until it feels like it’s too much and he can finally recognize what is standing out in a bad way. Then he mutes and saves the ones he likes for another time.
He makes some quick adjustments before pressing the spacebar, turning slightly so he can see your reaction. The beat you hear is nothing out of the ordinary – it’s a 4/4 time signature major key song, exactly how most happy pop ones go.
However, in true Yoongi style, there’s something else to it. The bass line tricks your head into some sort of rhythm and, despite having the poppiest of beats, you can hear an acoustic guitar streaming in the very background, almost unnoticeable. More bars pass and you can now hear a piano playing some sort of arpeggio – simple, but effective. It grows into what you feel is a chorus and then Yoongi is hitting the spacebar again.
“That’s all I have,” he confesses and shrugs, looking at you from under his eyelashes and trying to figure out your puzzled expression.
“It’s good, I like it,” you start and he’s soon looking at you incredulously, waiting for the real response. “Yeah, it needs work, but you made it sound like you had nothing.”
You’re both chuckling softly now and Yoongi lets his body fall into the chair completely, covering his face with his hands.
“Tell me what I have to do!” He begs with a muffled voice. “I hate this song already.”
All of a sudden, you feel like you should have done this earlier. His busy schedule kind of gets in the way all the time, but not really all the time. You wish any of you had enough courage to bring this up earlier, to stop being that group of friends that say things with no real weight to them. 
Musicians are sometimes overprotective of their work or scared to stick their noses into somebody else’s, but Yoongi falls into his normal self too fast – too comfortable, no sign of nervousness anymore. He’s not scared to show you his unfinished and imperfect work. It feels like you’ve been doing this for ages.
“I told you I’m a bit rusty, I…”
“Oh, don’t say that,” he interrupts with a smile, letting his hands show his face again. “You’re a classically trained pianist, 15-plus years of music classes under your belt, three years of being a trainee with top marks in songwriting. You can’t say you’re rusty when I hear you playing my piano at home. You’re not. At all,” he emphasizes as you continue to laugh at his reaction.
“Yeah, but I have almost zero experience in music production. And I also gave up being an idol so…” You try to argue, but he’s not having any of it.
“I bet you my new piano you have at least 13 ideas for this, I just feel like you do.”
There’s a smirk on his face now you can’t resist.
“Where are the lyrics you wrote for this?” You ask and Yoongi soon hands you a notepad with many lines scribbled on the first page. “Can you hand me that pen?”
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jamielea81 · 4 years
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Conversations
Chapter 13
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Description: You accompany your friends on a day trip to Animal Kingdom Theme Park where you meet Scott Evans by chance. This one afternoon leads to a year long friendship with both Chris and Scott over text messages and phone calls.
Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader
Warning: Fluff, curse words, a little bit of NSFW - If you are under 18 please do not read!
Word Count: 6,700
A/N: I know nothing about the lives of the Evans family and mean no harm. This is purely fiction and for fun. Reblogs and comments are much appreciated! The tag list is now closed. Each chapter tends to get reblogged from me a few times, so if you’re following me, you can’t miss it.  
*Italics are internal thoughts
Catch up with Chapter 12
**
The boys had no clue about your plan. Frankly, no one knew what your plan was. You weren’t trying to be secretive, no, you just didn’t want all the fuss. One week was more than enough time to host someone in your home. Two weeks was outlandish. You would simply tell them later in the week that you were staying in Boston for an additional week. On your own.
You had rented a one bedroom apartment in the city near the harbor. Chris had been putting a lot of extra effort into your relationship recently by coming to stay with you every few weeks. You wanted to see if Boston was a place you could see yourself spending a lot of time in. Staying with Scott or Chris for the second week wouldn’t really allow for you to see if you could be comfortable there by yourself. You wanted to check out the coffee shops, parks, and small eateries. You had read through numerous travel sites and blogs by locals who boasted the neighborhoods that were not only hip, but had low crime rates.
Chris had gone back to Massachusetts from his latest visit just over a week ago and you had already begun to miss him. When he sent you a text three days after leaving, telling you he was missing you, you instantly felt relieved. The two of you had spent a lot of time talking on his visits which ultimately brought you closer. He slept in your bed all three days of this last trip, never pressing for more than a cuddle and a few kisses. Chris spent a great amount of time talking with you into the early morning hours about how it would be when he was away filming. The two of you would need to survive on Skype or Facetime as he was often away for months at a time. He said that you could visit him on set, but your time together would be limited.
The additional week in Boston was born from the vacation time you had to use or lose with the Orlando Sentinel. Asia was quick to agree that your start date with News Now could begin a few days after you returned from your trip. Having the ability to work from anywhere was a huge positive. Your lease would be coming up for renewal in February and you were honestly struggling with staying or leaving Orlando.
Central Florida had been your home for sixteen years, but you were still only renting. That had to mean something. You didn’t miss the long winters of Minnesota, but you did miss your family. Minnesota felt safe and comfortable for a place to start over again, but you still weren’t sure that was the right step for you. Logically, it was too soon to move to Boston. You were never the girl to move somewhere for a guy. Chris was one of the people closest to you, but the two of you were barely a couple. But why the hell was your heart telling you to give it a shot? At least you had a couple of months to figure it all out.
**
You had swung by Krispy Kreme on the way to Jana’s office armed with a coupon for half off a dozen. Not that you needed a dozen donuts, but a deal was a deal. That’s how you’d always been. You weren’t one of those coupon clippers, but you always shopped on sale and always looked in the clearance section. If there was a bargain to be had, you were a willing participant. This is why even looking at places to rent for the long term in Boston frightened you. Sticker shock was an understatement. You could buy a new, large family home in the suburbs of Minneapolis for the same price you could purchase a studio apartment in Boston. Technically, you could look outside of the city, but that’s something you’d have to think about later when a decision needed to be made.
“I brought food,” you greeted her, shoving the box in her face as she signed you in to the building.
“That’s not food.”
“You can eat it Jana. I’m pretty sure Brooks consumes these five days a week.”
“Fine. Maybe just one,” she replied, reaching into the box and pulling out a glazed one once you got to her office. You gave her a satisfied smirk before grabbing one for yourself. “You ready to work with Brooks again?”
“Is one ever ready? But seriously, I didn’t exactly work with him when he was at the paper so even now I still won’t see him,” you shrugged, taking a huge bite and promptly licking your fingers to Jana’s dismay.
“When are you starting again?”
“Like the twenty eighth. Some time that week. I’m going to try to have something to submit that week. Maybe about my time in Boston. Who knows?”
“You call me the workaholic, yet you’re working on vacation,” Jana said.
“Well, I’m nervous as shit, so I just want to be ready to go with something.”
With promises of dinner together when you returned, you left her office with the box of donuts in hand. Rather than heading straight for the elevator, you decided to stop by Ethan’s office. His door was open, but he was engrossed in a law book.    
“Hey,” you called out loud enough for him to hear you but soft enough not to startle him.
He looked up, grinning when he saw it was you. “How are you?”
“Good. I’ve come to tempt you with sugar,” you said holding up the box.
“No bribing needed. Whaddaya got?”
“A little bit of everything,” you said, stepping into the room and placing the box on the desk. You opened it for him to pick. He quickly pulled out one of the custard filled ones, moaning at the taste.
“Thank you,” he murmured, mouth still full.
You gave him an honest smile. Speaking to him the last time you were in the office really got rid of that tension about seeing him.
“You’re welcome.”
“What are you up to?” he asked.
“How much time do you have?” you asked.
“For you? As much as you need.” He gestured to one of the empty chairs in front of his desk.
You told him about the new job and how much you were looking forward to the change. You left out the part about possibly moving since nothing was set in stone, so there was no need to get into that.
“I’m sorry Y/N,” he started, you giving him a questioning look. “When I said that stupid thing about your job. 100% didn’t mean it. I was just angry and I aimed low. You’re a great writer. I read everything you wrote when we were together, and I still read it today.”
You gave him a small smile. “Thanks for saying that. And you still read it?” you asked surprisingly.
“Got to get my Disney news from a reliable source,” he shrugs.
**
Boston’s weather seems to be all over the place with predictions for the next two weeks being anywhere from the fifties to the low seventies. You packed a large suitcase and your trusty leather carryon with a few sweaters, sweatshirts, t-shirts, jeans, leggings and a couple pairs of short boots. You’ll wear your sneakers to the airport. At least that’s one less thing to pack. You’re staying with Scott and Zach, but you toy over bringing your cute yet flirty pajamas and lingerie. You and Chris aren’t exclusive, at least not technically. He told you he isn’t seeing anyone else and isn’t planning on either. But the words boyfriend and girlfriend or partner haven’t been uttered. Taking a guess, he’s most likely waiting for you to say it since he doesn’t want to push you. You’re not even sure how much you’ll be seeing him this trip. He said he’ll be around, but never made actual plans with you. Picking up your cell, you shot him a text.
Y/N: When am I seeing you in Boston.
Chris: All the time?
The fact that he adds that question mark makes you laugh.
Y/N: Well, we never made plans, so I wasn’t sure if you have stuff going on all week.
Chris: You’re such a dork. You’re coming to my town and you have to question when you’re going to see me?
Y/N: I thought it was Scott’s town, you know, since I’m staying with him.
Chris: What?!
Chris: That’s not fair. You didn’t even give me the chance to offer 😔
Y/N: My poor baby. I’ll be sure to kiss it all better.
Chris: You better
Yep, you were packing the cute underwear.
**
You sent Scott a text as soon as you landed.
Scott: On my way. White BMW.
Grabbing your bag from the conveyer belt, you grabbed a coffee before going out to short term parking where he said he’d meet you. The temperature was a cool sixty-three degrees, so you were dressed in a cozy hunter green sweater, jeans, and browns boots. You thought about throwing on a jacket, but figured the boys would tease you. Minnesota you would have teased you, but you’d been in Florida too long now. Sixty was cold.
Crossing over to the ramp, you looked around for a white BMW as instructed. A sudden honk jolted you, causing coffee to spurt out through the cup’s cover.
“Mother fucker!” you whispered to yourself.
The offending driver jumped out of the car, jogging toward you. “Shit! Sorry!” It was Chris rather than Scott. NASA hat on his head, Pats sweatshirt, and jeans. The epitome of casual, yet it he looked good.
When does he not look good?
“You scared the shit out of me,” you said, dropping your carryon to the ground and hugging him with your free hand. “I should be smacking you rather than hugging you.”
“M’sorry. Wanted to surprise you,” he said pulling away.
You kissed the pout on his lips, Chris smiling as soon you pulled back. He bent down grabbing your bag from the ground and then grabbed the handle on your suitcase. You followed behind him, admiring the view.
He really is America’s Ass.
The drive to Scott’s didn’t take long. He had a large two-bedroom condo in the city. Parking was a challenge, but Scott had purchased a second spot a year ago and since Zach wasn’t’ home, Chris parked there.
He grabbed your two bags while you easily toted your purse and now empty coffee cup into the building’s entrance and up the elevator. Chris walked in without knocking, but you supposed Scott knew you were coming since you did text him when you landed.
“I brought you a gift!” Chris called out.
Scott walked into the entry and living room giving you a big smile. “Oh. Is there a return policy?”
“You are such a brat!” you spat out. “Does your mother have room at her place? Feel like I’d getting a warmer welcome there.”
“Sassy, don’t give me no lip. You know I love you,” Scott said, pulling you into a hug. You let your arms hang to give him that bit of attitude, plus you still had your purse and cup in hand.
“Ahuh, love you too,” you replied.
Scott showed you to your room for the week while Chris followed behind, setting your bags on the floor. Light blue walls with dark wood furniture made up the room. A queen size bed placed in the center with a chest of drawers sat on the opposite wall. A relatively large flat screen TV mounted to the wall above the chest. On each side of the bed were a matching set of night stands. A vase of white daisies sat on the right-hand side.
“Bathroom is across the hall. Dinner is at six. Don’t be late. No fucking in your room,” he said, pointing between you and Chris, closing the door as he left. “Or at least be quiet about it,” he said through the door.
Chris looked at you with raised eyebrows while you shook your head. “Uh, we don’t have to,” he said.
“Well, definitely not now.”
“Yeah. Yeah, totally. That’s just Scott,” Chris said, shrugging. He was nervous and it made you smile.
Chris stayed for dinner but left around eight kissing you breathless before wishing you a goodnight.
**
Scott, Zach and yourself hit the road early starting with the Freedom Trail, making sure to see the graves of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere before stopping at the Old State House. Chris had wanted to join the three of you, but when you mentioned he would draw in a crowd being that you would be surrounded by tourists, he was quick to change his mind.
Scott brought you to Beacon Hill where you fell in love with the architecture of the beautiful brick homes. When he told you the average price, you choked on your breath, quickly deciding it wasn’t anywhere you would be able to live.
You moved on to Charles Street, stopping in a few shops to buy something for Jana as well as yourself. When it was time for lunch, Scott and Zach brought you to Cheers bar on Beacon Hill. Scott told you there actually two locations, this one was used for the exterior shots for the show. It was everything you imagined it would be. You were too young to enjoy the show when it aired originally, but picked up on the reruns when you were in your late twenties.
Harvard University was as grand and as beautiful as you imagined it would be bathed in the gorgeousness that is fall. You treated to the boys to ice cream, finding a nice spot on a grassy lawn filled with students and tourists alike. Scott took a few pictures of you with ice cream cone in hand and red and orange leaves all around you. You did the same for each of them. The spontaneous photoshoot turned into a leaf fight as Zach dumped a large handful on Scott’s head.
**
Nervous seemed like such an inadequate word to describe how you were feeling. You weren’t even a nail biter but you couldn’t keep your thumb out of your mouth as you chewed the corner repeatedly.
“Would you stop it? You’ve met her,” Scott said, taking his eyes off the road briefly to look at you.
“Yeah and she thought I was some floozy.” Scott snorted. “Do people still say floozy?”
“I’m pretty sure they don’t. And you know that’s because she didn’t know you were you. It’ll be fine. She loves you. I talk about you all the time. Well, not all the time, but I talk about you and she loves you.” You took a deep breath. “Now keep that finger out of your mouth. She will judge you for jagged fingernails.”
“Such a brat,” you said softly.
“Me? Do I need to have Chris take you and all your luggage back to his place tonight? Why’d you pack so much anyway? Must’ve packed like three winter coats or somethin’.”
“Shuddup,” you murmured. You’d only been in town for four nights and weren’t planning on having this conversation until Friday. “Was going to tell you later, but might as well tell you now. But do not tell Chris. I will tell him later,” you warned.
“Sounds serious,” he said.
“You know how with this new job I can pretty much work from where ever I’d like?” Scott nodded his head. “I’m still trying to figure that all out. Not that I don’t love Florida. Jana and Brooks are my family there, but I’m thinking it might be time to make a change. I thought about Minnesota since my parents and brother are there, but I also wanted to see how I’d like Boston.”
“What are you gettin’ at Y/N?”
“I’m staying in town next week. I rented an apartment to see if I feel comfortable here.”
Scott let out a low whistle. “Chris is going to be pissed,” he sing-songed the last word.
“You think?” you asked.
“Oh yeah.”
“Like pissed because I’ve thought about maybe splitting my time here or moving here?”
“Oh god, no. He’d probably love the fuck out of that. He’s going to be pissed you aren’t staying with him.”
You didn’t even think of that. The idea of having your own space to see if you’d like being here was still the right decision, but he was right. Chris would probably be upset you didn’t tell him what you were thinking. And he’d probably be mad you weren’t staying with him.
���Shuddup,” you said again.
**
“Ma! Your favorite son and Sassy are here,” Scott called out after opening the front door to his mother’s house.
“I’m already here,” Chris called from what looked like the kitchen. He walked into the entryway pulling you into a hug. “Missed you.”
“You just saw me at breakfast,” you replied, kissing his lips quickly before anyone else came in the room.
“Still missed you.” He interlaced your fingers and pulled you toward the kitchen. “Cah’mon.”
Lisa, the boy’s mother was in front of the stove, a few pans sizzling on the burners. It smelled delicious, so you knew you were in for a good meal.
“Y/N, it’s nice to see you again. How are you enjoying your stay?” she said turning to face you.
It was all so formal, you instantly jumped into interview mode.
“It’s been quite wonderful. Scott’s been a great host,” you replied.
She smiled warmly and went back to her pans.
“When are the girls getting here?” Scott asked.
“Should be here soon. Why don’t the three of you show Y/N around?”
Chris gave you the tour while Scott plopped himself on the sofa in the family room.
“And this was my room,” he said, opening the door. It was set up as a guestroom with a full-size bed pressed against the center of the far wall.
“So, is this where the Sandra Bullock poster used to hang?” you said pointing at the ceiling.
“Et tu, Brute? Never going to live that down.” Chis said, shaking his head.
“Oh, everyone does it babe. I’m pretty sure I had a couple of NSYNC pictures torn from magazines hanging on my walls. I know I had one of Joey Lawrence.”
“Joey Lawrence?” he chuckled.
“He looked good in Blossom when I was a kid. He had great hair.”
“Yeah? What do you think of my hair?”
You ran your fingers through his hair, giving the end a slight tug. “This hair?” you said softly, your face close to his. “This hair, I can’t get enough of. Probably the sexiest head I’ve seen in a week.”
“A week? You runnin’ your fingers through someone else’s hair?” he asked, his breath hot against your lips.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
He pressed his lips against yours. Arms instantly tugging you closer while you kept one hand in his hair and the other around his neck. Kissing Chris would never get old. He walked backwards until his legs hit the edge of the mattress, lowering himself down and pulling you onto his lap. You wrapped your arms around his neck, his hands instantly going to your ass as he pulled you to straddle him closer. A moan broke from your throat, catching you off guard.
“That’s it baby,” Chris whispered, lips attaching themselves to your jaw.
Instantly you were reminded that you were indeed in his mother’s house. The same mother who thought you were just a hook up when she first met. You sighed, loosening your grip from around his neck. Chris continued to kiss across your jaw and down your neck.
“We’re in your mother’s house babe,” you said.
“And?” he muttered into your neck.
“And, she probably wouldn’t appreciate this going on in her guestroom.”
He pulled back a bit, finding your lips and placing a kiss there. “I beg to differ, but I suppose this isn’t how you want to meet my sisters.”
“Nope,” you said, popping the p. You crawled off his lap and a ran a hand through your hair. It was a good thing that you only had on lip balm, because surely had it been lipstick it would have been a mess on your face. You tugged at your sweater, making sure the neck was straightened before turning back to Chris and smiling. “Why don’t I spend the night at that construction zone you’re calling a house tomorrow night?”
“Really?” he asked, eager smile on his face.
“Yes, really.” You’d tell Chris tomorrow about your extended stay. It would just be the two of you tomorrow, so it would be easier to talk to him about your thoughts on possibly moving. You hoped he’d be honest with his feelings on it as well.
The two of you made your way back to the family room, immediately spying Chris’ sisters. Scott told you tonight’s dinner would just be the siblings as his mom wanted to keep it small and casual as they got to know you. Saturday would have the whole Evans’ clan in attendance for a potluck type lunch.
“Nice of you two to finally join us,” Chris greeted Carly and Shanna.
“We’re on time, you’re just always early,” Shanna said.
“Wait until you have kids. You’ll see how long it takes to get out of the house,” Carly spat.
“Anyway. This is my girlfriend Y/N. Y/N, these are my sisters Carly and Shanna.”
Whoa. Girlfriend. I guess he’s saying it first.
You felt your face heat up, but you quickly extended your hand to Carly first who pulled you into a hug and then passed you to Shanna who did the same.
“Great to meet the often talked about Sassy,” Shanna said with a giggle.
“Oh boy. Hopefully only good things,” you replied.
“Maybe. Siblings never rat each other out, so we simply can’t say,” Carly added shrugging her shoulders.
“You know damn well, no one is saying anything bad about you Sassy. It’s  Chris that needs to worry,” Scott said. Shanna instantly nodding in agreement.
“Let’s get a drink!” Carly said, putting her arm around your shoulder and dragging you to the kitchen.
With beers in hand, the five of you went back into the family, sandwiching between Chris and Shanna on the couch. A few minutes later Lisa came and joined you. “Dinner in ten minutes kids,” she said, squishing next to Scott on a large oversized chair.
“Sounds good, Ma,” Chris said.
“What are you kids talking about?”
“We were just getting ready to interrogate Y/N,” Carly said, giving you a wink.
“No, we most certainly were not,” Chris said, putting his arm around you and pulling you close.
You chuckled lightly, patting his thigh with your hand. “Babe, it’s fine.” You pulled away and looked at each of the three women. “What would you like to know?”
“Dinner’s almost ready, why don’t we wait until we sit down?” Lisa offered.
**
With dinner on the table, you readied yourself for an onslaught of questions.
“So, you’re from Florida?” Carly asked.
“Actually, I’m from Minnesota. I moved to Florida for college and just stayed.”
“And you’re a Disney person?” Shanna asked.
“Absolutely,” you smiled. “I worked, well, still work for the Orlando Sentinel covering anything and everything Disney parks. I’m not sure if the guys told you I recently took a different job, but I’ll still be covering some Disney parks’ news.”
“They did. Congratulations Y/N. It sounds like it was a change you were looking to make,” Lisa said.
“It was. I love covering the parks, but I’ve written a lot of current events articles for various magazines and I’d really like to delve into that.”
Chris squeezed your knee pulling your attention to him. He beamed at you, literally beamed. You knew he was happy for you but this told you that he was happy with how this meeting was going.
“Do you have any siblings?” Shanna asked.
“I have one brother and his name is Heath. He’s three years younger than me. And I have a bunch of cousins that are all around our age, so they always felt like siblings growing up.”
“Are you all still close?” Lisa asked.
“My brother and I are, but it gets harder to keep in touch with my cousins as we get older.”
“Have you ever been married?” Shanna inquired.
“Shanna!” Chris hissed.
You looked at Chris and gave him a smile. “It’s fine. No, I’ve never been married nor engaged. I’ve had a couple of long-term relationships, but not in the last few years.”
Shanna smiled, apparently satisfied with your answer.
**
After dinner, you offered to help Lisa with pouring coffee and dishing up the cake she had made.
“Y/N, I just wanted to apologize for that day I met you in Epcot. I didn’t treat you fairly and I honestly feel awful about it.” She turned away from the cake to face you. “Scott has always spoken so highly of you. I truly am sorry that I wasn’t as welcoming as I should have been.” Lisa stepped closer to you, grabbing both of your hands with hers. “Chris hadn’t mentioned that you were the same friend that Scott had told me about. So, when he said he was meeting up with a friend, I was a little annoyed. I thought that this friend was someone that he just had met, so I was disappointed it was taking time away from the kids.” She chuckled softly. “That sounds awful. It’s not that Christopher does that regularly. He never does that.” She took a breath and started again. “Oh boy, I’m probably getting him into trouble with you.” You chuckled at her words and shook your head. “My point is, I’m sorry and I hope we can be friends because you are obviously a very important woman in both my sons’ lives.”
“No hard feeling at all and I hope we can be friends as well.” You leaned forward and wrapped your arms around here. She quickly followed suit, patting your back gently with one hand.
“Are we getting cake or what?” Chris asked, stepping into the room. “Didn’t know I was breaking up a Hallmark moment.”
“Har-har Christopher. Come grab some of these plates,” Lisa said.
Chris stepped close to you, grabbing a plate while you poured another cup of coffee. “Everything okay?”
“Completely,” you said with a smile.
**
“Are you really leaving me for my brother?” Scott asked in his best daytime soap opera voice.
“Well, I’ve seen him naked, so...” you trailed off, shrugging your shoulders.
“All you had to do was ask,” Scott offered.
“I’m sure Zach and Chris would love to hear that.” You patted his head, grabbing your carryon bag from the couch, making sure you had everything for the night. “I’ll be back with you tomorrow night for our best friends sleep over party like we planned. No boys allowed except for you.”
“Damn right! I’ll be sure to stock up on raspberry vodka.”
“No! Only wine. I learned my lesson when you got me drunk.” Scott scoffed, but waved you off. Chris was down stairs circling the block since he couldn’t find a spot to park. “Tell Zach when he gets up from his nap that I’ll see him tomorrow.”
“I will. Have fun and use protection!” Scott yelled out. You promptly flicked him off and shut the door.
**
Chris’ house was beautiful, even if it was being remodeled. The rooms that were currently being redone were the two guestrooms, the office, a guest bathroom, and the deck.
“See, you totally could have stayed here the whole time. Plenty of space for just you and me.”
The two of you were laying on his really comfortable couch. You between his legs and back against his chest. He kissed your neck and you hummed.
“Well, I remember someone telling me his house was practically unlivable. Then Scott offered and who am I to refuse? You’ll just have to have me stay another time.”
“Oh, I will,” he replied, then kissed your neck again.
“Your house is gorgeous. I really love this room and I’m sure this wall of windows out to the deck will look even better when it’s finished.”
“It’s going to be great. Like a second living space. At least that’s what the designer tells me. How are you likin’ Boston?”
You turned to face him slightly, tucking one leg underneath yourself. You licked your lips nervously.
Now or never.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“Okay, what’s on your mind?”
“Now, don’t get mad,” you started, Chris raising his eyebrows. “That’s not what I mean. Um. Okay, so you know how I mentioned that with this new job, I can spend time here with you or I could spend time with my family and work at the same time?” He nodded his head. “Well, I’m thinking about maybe relocating. I’m not sure what I want to do yet and I don’t need to make a decision right away. My lease isn’t even up until February.”
Chris face lit up, his smile as big as you’ve ever seen it. “What are you saying, Y/N. You movin’ here?”
“Not sure yet, that’s what I’m getting at. I’m staying in Boston another week.”
“You want to stay with me?”
“That’s the thing. I gotta make sure I’m comfortable being here. You’re not always here. Months at a time when you’re filming even. So, I actually rented an apartment for a week to see if I like the area.”
“Sweetheart, you could still stay with me and figure out if this is the place you want to be.”
“I know, but if I did move here, I’d have my own place so I wanted to get the feel of it. I didn’t mention it to you or Scott because I didn’t want you both insisting that I stay with you.” Chris narrowed his eyes at you. “Don’t give me that look. It’s way too early for me to be moving in with you. We both know that.”
“Fine. You’re probably right,” he murmured.
“Maybe I can cook you dinner at my pretend apartment next week,” you offered.
“You better. Don’t think you’re staying a whole ‘nother week and not seeing me almost every day.”
“Babe,” you sighed out. “The whole point of me staying another week is to see if I can get along on my own. If we are hanging out every day, that’s not how life is always going to be.”
“Five days.”
“Two days,” you offered.
“Two days?! Sweetheart…Four days.”
“Three, and that’s my final offer,” you concluded.
“Deal. But that’s you and me time. No Scott.”
“That’s fine by me. But it’s not an all-day deal. I want to try to work.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, grabbing your face and pulling it to his lips.
“Let’s go to bed,” you said, standing up and pulling him up with your hand. The two of you walked into his room, you slipping into the en suite.
You pulled off your sweater, cami, and jeans, folding them neatly and placing them on the far side of the vanity. You took a deep breath, admiring the see-through black bra and matching panties. You were ready to be intimate with Chris again and you hoped he was feeling the same. Giving yourself one last look, you ran your fingers through your hair and pinched your cheeks. You were feeling confident and you hoped it showed. Taking one more deep breath, you steadied yourself and opened the bathroom door, walking back in the room to Chris who had changed into a t-shirt that he wore with his boxers.
“Sweetheart,” he said with a shaky breath.
“Hi, Chris,” you said, moving closer to him. He sprung to his feet to stand in front of you. Your hands went to his chest, placing both palms on him. “Make love to me.”
It came out more like a statement than a question and you were proud of yourself in that moment. Chris visibly gulped, licking his lips, he nodded. His arms instantly wrapped around you, caging yours to his body.
“Oh sweetheart, I’ve missed you,” he said softly. His lips trailed from yours to your neck, back up to that spot behind your ear that made your knees shake. He walked you to the bed, gently laying you down with him coming to lay beside you. His knee went between your legs opening you up to him. One hand caressed your pussy over your panties as he mouthed your nipple through your bra, causing goosebumps to erupt down your body. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes, god yes. I want you babe,” you moaned as his mouth went to your other breast.
While the first time the two of you were together was fun and full of nervous energy, this time was the two of you truly making love. Chris took his time worshiping your body. It was slow and soft and you knew that it was absolutely right.
**
Lisa’s home was stuffed to capacity, much of the guests spilling into the backyard. It wasn’t just the Evans clan in attendance today. Everyone brought friends who they considered family. The names of everyone you met started to swirl together. The family was easy enough to get down as you met the kids back in May. Carly’s husband, Shanna’s boyfriend, a few cousins, and uncle were added to the list. Chris had a few buddies there as well as Scott that they introduced you to. Everyone was warm and welcoming and you felt at ease as they all seemed to want to get to know you. These were the important people in Chris’ life, so they were important to you as well.
Chris was relaxed which you loved to see. He had a few beers but wasn’t out of control. When you were around each other, he kept a hand on you. On your back. On your side. Around your shoulders. On your cheek. It was sweet and welcome, especially after the night you spent together.
You decided to stick to lemonade during the day, switching to white wine as the day went on. Getting drunk in front of these people wasn’t something you wanted to do even if Scott was trying to make that happen. He’d walk by with a bottle in hand and you’d quickly cover the top of your glass with your hand. It was slumber party night back at Scott’s, one of you had to be responsible enough to drive you home later.
One person you hadn’t even thought of meeting was Courtney. It was foolish of you to forget about her since Scott had told you she had been a long-time friend of the family, not to mention Chris’ on and off girlfriend for years. You wanted to like her and you wanted her to like you. It was such a weird thought to have. She’s Chris’ ex after all. She had been around for his other girlfriends including his longer relationships.
“Y/N, this is Courtney,” Scott introduced.
She gave you a polite smile and a wave which you returned. “The famous Sassy! I’ve seen you on Scott’s Instagram account,” she said.
Okay. This isn’t so bad.
“That would be me. It’s nice to meet you.”
She was prettier in person than she was in pictures. The kind of girl that didn’t need makeup but wore it anyway and it only enhanced her natural beauty. She was dressed casually in jeans and sweater, yet she looked unbelievably put together.
“You in town long?” she asked.
“Another week, then I’m back to the warmth,” you said with a smile.
“Suppose this is quite the change for you. Plus, the Evans family can be quite overwhelming.”
Scott scoffed at that, pushing her shoulder. “Only some of the Evans’ are overwhelming. I’m wonderful.”
You grabbed him around the waist, kissing his shoulder. “You sure are sweetie,” you said sarcastically, earning a laugh from Courtney.
Scott excused himself, leaving you and Courtney to chat. She was nice and sweet and easy to talk to.  You immediately understood why she remained friends with the family when her and Chris broke up the first time. It was still odd in away to be friendly with your boyfriend’s ex, but if everyone else loved her, you needed to give it a shot. Boyfriend. That was another thing. Chris was your boyfriend. You really liked the sound of that.
It was close to seven and Scott was itching to take off. He wanted to order pizza and have a dance party. Zach was staying with Chris for the night so the two of you could have that sleep over. You both had great boyfriends to put up with you. Confiscating Scott’s keys earlier in the day, you went in search of Chris to tell him goodbye.
You found Chris with a few of his friends you had met early in the day along with Courtney standing on the patio outside. Chris was telling a story, animated as ever. His arms flailing about, head tipped back as he laughed at his own joke. You stood back to admire him as he had the group enthralled with whatever tale he was telling. Courtney stepped forward, wrapping an arm around his middle. It seemed innocent at first until she placed a hand on his sweater clad chest, hand trailing lightly. Chris looked down at her hand and then to her face, neither of them noticing you had stepped outside. He lifted her hand from his chest, much to her surprise, and then stepped out of her embrace. “I have a girlfriend,” he said softly, but you still heard it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Courtney quickly replied.
You wanted to escape without being seen. It definitely felt like a moment you weren’t meant to witness even though you were happy with the outcome. You were mere inches from the patio doors when Scott popped out, calling out your name drawing the attention of the group standing nearby.
“Hey sweetheart,” Chris said, leaving the group and walking up to you, kissing your temple to greet you. You wrapped an arm around his middle and leaned into him. “Are you taking off?”
“M’hmm,” you replied. “Just coming to say goodnight.”
“I’ll walk you out,” he said.
“Hey, Y/N? Can I talk to you for a moment?” Courtney asked. You turned around to see a small frown on her face.
You nodded your head. “Sure.” You squeezed Chris’ hand. “I’ll see you inside,” you said to him.
Courtney followed you further into the backyard, taking a seat on a small bench.
“I’m not sure what you may have seen, but I wanted to apologize. I had my arms around Chris and If I had known he was with someone, I wouldn’t have been as handsy as I just was. That’s not me and I don’t want you to get that impression of me. M’sorry and I hope that you can accept my apology.”
Scott had not introduced you to Courtney as Chris’ girlfriend, so you did believe that she didn’t know and she did seem sincere. You didn’t want things to be weird, especially if you did end up moving here at some point.
“Already forgotten. I’d like for us to be friends, so no hard feelings,” you replied.
“Thank you,” she said, giving you a soft smile.
Both of you stood up, you walking back into the house and Courtney staying outside. Chris intertwined your hand with his, walking both of you out the front door to Scott’s car. He pulled you into a rocking hug, before pulling back, placing both palms on your cheeks and kissing you deeply.
“I’ll see you Monday for our day one of three?” he asked with a grin.
“I’d like that.” You kissed him again before climbing into the driver’s seat of the car. Scott already asleep in the passenger’s seat.
“Oh, Scott,” you said, shaking your head. He was lucky his car had GPS and you had his address.
Chapter 14
**
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a-black-pegasus · 4 years
Text
Bilbo x Thorin
The Burglar Borrower
(part 4)
Tiny borrower Bilbo Baggins! Thorin! Gandalf! The dwarf crew!
--------------------------------------------------
The entire crew of dwarves, and a single hobbits head, turned at the rumble of an angry wizards voice.
Thorins eyes widened the slightest bit. His back went rigid, and his sword hand gripped his belt. The white if his knuckles were the only give away to Thorins inner thoughts.
Bilbo for his part felt a barrel of relief spill over him. His whole body relaxed and swayed slightly, still in Thorins dangling hold.
Gandalf marched right over to Thorin, waving his staff.
"Thorin Oakenshield! You put my hobbit down right now!"
Thorin held Bilbo for a moment, before slowly lowering him onto the table.
"He is not your hobbit. If anything, he is my pest since I found him." He grumbled moodily.
Gandalf came to the table and towered over the dwarf.
"You may have found him, but only after I sent you towards his direction."
The wheels of realization turned in Thorins head.
Gandalf... Had given him a map with faulty directions... In the hope of running into the- the thieving Hobbit!!
A furious red bloom crossed Thorins face. His eyebrows creased as he snapped back at Gandalf.
"You gave me the wrong directions! On purpose!... Why?!"
Gandalfs protective anger for Bilbo, morphed into amusement as he sat down.
"Because I needed you to pick up an old acquaintance of mine. Bilbo Baggins."
All eyes turned to the hobbit. Bilbo, who had been listening in with close interest, suddenly jumped and stepped back to better meet Gandalfs eyes.
"Me?? Why, that's absurd!" He protested. "How-how did you even know I would speak to him or that he would find me? I'm an expert hider!"
Gandalf chortled. "Yes, but you are very nosy."
A ripple of good natured laughs went around the table as Bilbo crossed his arms.
"Alright well he was very noisy. Stomping around and huffing at godforsaken hours. What's the point of me being here anyways?"
At that, Gandalf drew a pipe and lit it. He slowly puffed at the stem as he mulled over his question.
"The point of your presence?" Gandalf began. He exhaled a circle of smoke into the air. "That will be explained momentarily."
He looked to the dwarven company, catching their eyes and silently getting their immediate attention.
"There is a reason why you are all here, in fact. You who have read my letter and joined, know the perils of the mission I propose. Since you are here, you have accepted."
A solemn nod was Gandalfs response. Nori spoke aloud.
"To reclaim our home! The mountain!"
"Precisely." Gandalf agreed. "But For our task we'll need a Burglar. Someone with skill, who can sneak in and out quickly to aid us." He looked down at Bilbo. "I would think that the answer to your question would now be apparent. Bilbo Baggins, you are here to consider joining our quest."
Bilbos jaw dropped. "What? M-me??"
Din smiled widly. "Of course! You would be a perfect candidate!"
Bilbo wheeled around to knock down Balins appraisal, but Gandalf nodded his head and added.
"Indeed. Hobbits are very light on their feet and can pass undetected when they wish to. I think Mr. Baggins would make an excellent addition to our company as a Burglar. And while the dragon knows the scent of dwarf, Hobbits are entirely foreign to him."
"Dragon?!" Bilbo squeaked.
The idea seem to take well to the rest of the dwarven crowd; All except for one that is. Thorin sighed and looked on, waiting to see where this was going.
Gandalf kept his gaze to Bilbo.
"Well Bilbo, the descion is ultimately yours. What have you decided?"
Bilbo wrung his hands and paced the width of the table.
"I-I just don't know. I just I don't-don't know. Is there something I could look over? Something more explanatory?"
Trying to be helpful Balin took out sheets of paper.
"Lad, this goes over just the basics. Just a review of all the things you might be facing. Broken bones, falling stones, dragon burns..." He rattled on.
Bilbo took a breath as the paper rolled out over the table for him to read.
"Dragon burns?"
"Aye!" Balin set down a feathered pen right where Bilbo had to sign. "Melt the flesh right off the bone. A quick death mind you. Now how would you like us to take care of your burial should it come to that?"
Bilbo drummed his fingers on his knee as he crouched.
"Dear oh dear. I think I just- I need a moment."
Fili winced. "I'm sure it won't come to that Mr. Baggins." He said trying to ease his discomfort.
"Oh naturally naturally." Balin agreed. "Trolls are much more common. They tear flesh right off with their teeth! Nasty business."
Bilbos knees knocked together.
"I might need a seat..." He said sounding not to steady.
One moment later Gandalfs hand shot out and caught Bilbo as he keeled back in a dead faint.
Chairs and benches scraped across the floor as dwarves stood and crowded around to check and prod at their fallen friend.
Gandalf had to smack several hands back.
"Give him room, give him room! Even if he is small he needs space to breathe, I dare say you won't be able to wake him faster with all that." He rebuked.
Bilbo came around with a start a few minutes later.
"Where am I? What happened?" He asked.
Thorin scoffed and backed away from the crowd. "This is a waste of time. Bring him back to the saftey of his burrow, with his Cotton, and his seeds." He said. "There is no reason to bring his death early."
Bilbo was rather shaken at Thorins startling words. He couldn't bring himself to reply.
Gandalf sighed. It seemed that Bilbo wouldn't be coming after all.
Gandalf stood and carried Bilbo with him in a cupped hand. "It is growing late. I'll take Mr. Baggins to his room and come back to continue business."
"Wait... Wait.." Bilbo protested but was ignored.
Gandalf took him up the stairs to one of the rooms reserved to the dwarfs. He ignored the beds and walked over to a pitcher of water and a washbin by the door.
"You've had a small adventure already I assume. Thorin is not the most pleasant traveling companion, but he is noble, and his intentions are true."
Bilbo did not know what that meant so he shrugged.
"I suppose so."
Gandalf poured the water into the washbin and murmed a small word. Steam visibly rose from the bin.
"A wash before bed will help your nerves. Business will be long tonight, so don't wait up. I'll take you home in the morning." He promised. "Goodnight."
Without another word, Gandalf walked out and closed the door softly behind him.
Bilbo heard his steps lead away, and looked to the steaming bath. A true rarity for someone like him. He quickly shed his clothes and climbed in, not about to waste the offer of hot water.
The warmth of the water enveloping him was blissful. He leaned back and closed his eyes to enjoy a moment.
He opened his eyes again a bit later And went to work. Although he had no soap, he used the corner of a nearby rag to scrub himself and his hair free of muck and grime.
As he finished and dried himself off, a somber hum came from beyond the door and down below.
He dressed, climbed down the nightstand. When he reached the door and wiggled underneath the gap, the song had already begun.
Bilbo peeked through the stair railing. Down below near the bar was Thorin leading the company through a somber song about mountains and gold, dragons and fire, a home that was lost, and honour to be won.
His heart cleanched in his chest. He felt overwhelmingly sad and wished he could help their adventure. He looked at the table, where his contract unsigned still layed.
It was at that quiet moment, he decided.
He would join them on their journey.
--------------------------------------------------
Thank you for reading! A fan gave me some of the insperation for this story. Because I'm just following the movie sort of I don't really have a plan LoL
Have a good one
If your name is not shadowed I couldn't find you. My apologies
@sammigruber @gatlily @nightmarejasmine @misfitsgalaxygt @obwjam @bee-wrecker @nerdqueenkat @tinyliltina @lost-done @queenofconstellations @dc41016 @tinyinabigworld @bloodmoon-memecore @exquisiteren @smolkuriboh27 @i-like-cookiez @shortmarcy @inthemusicbox @random-fandom-dragon
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guidedbygunpla · 3 years
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Gundam Redux Prequel Chapter 3: Father Knows Best
inside the great hall in Zum city, the Zabi family convenes, Degwen the Grand Duke of Zeon sits in a plush gold and red throne, to his left his eldest son Gihren, the Admiral of the Zeon Space Forces, to his right, Dozle, his second oldest son, commander of the Zeon Space Attack Forces, and on a video monitor at the end of the table, calling in from the Moon, where she oversaw the invasion of Afroeurasia, Kycelia Zabi, his Daughter.
           “the invasion is going according to plan. Garmas forces are sweeping North America, and Kycelias men are swarming the South of Asia and heading towards Africa. Soon we will be able to force the federation to grant us our independence” Degwin spoke, his voice low and raspy, he was a very old man now, at nearly 90 years old.
           “father, you are being too short sited, the federation has completely abandoned all assistance to the colonies, they have abandoned all Martian colonies and autonomous countries, they have abandoned all non Jupiter energy fleet controlled lands around Jupiter as well, the Federation is in shambles, if we can make a rush for Dakar, and a rush for Jaburo, we could end this war in a matter of months. Kycelia has her men working day and night to design a machine capable of punching through the bedrock above Jaburo, and we should have results from Rear Admiral Sahalin or General Mquve soon enough to allow us to not just get our independence but conquer earth.“
           “you are right Gihren, we could conquer the earth….but who would rule it? The Federation is built atop the united nations of Earth, established over 200 years ago. They won the trust of the world, they helped establish the colonies, they helped land men on mars, on the moons of Jupiter….they can only rule because the people in the countries aligned to the federation allow them to rule.”
           “then like the federation, we will force those counties to put us in charge, to allow us to rule!” Gihren shouted back at his father
           “you are short sighted Gihren, yes now we have these….these cyclops monsters, these mobile soldiers, tanks on legs, mowing through the enemy lines, but what happens when the federation fields their own weapons to match ours, or decides the treaty we signed does them no good, and decides to take their plentiful nuclear arsenal and aim it at our homeland, at your soldiers. What then Gihren?”
           there was silence in the board room after Degwans remarks, he sat back into his grand throne, Kycelia started in
           “father is right, the proper line of action will be to replace the Federation gradually, earn our indepence and then sow distrust in the Federation on Earth, putting Zeon commanders, the bishops and priests of the Contolist church and the Zabi family into places of influence and power, then after we have earned the trust of the earth sphere, we can bring them under our own web of influence, and remove the federation not through war, but through displacement. As the major powers did to the league of nations when it proved unable to protect them from another great world war, do you agree father”
           “….while I can see the benefit of growing our Duchies connections outside the bounds of Zeon Controlled territory, I am not sure I wish to replace the federation outright, I would prefer to dissolve the federations control of the colonies and remove the polluters and perverts in power of the federation. So that one day humanity can return to the earth, and not have to live in these giant tin cans floating in the sky.”
           “but father” Kycelia continued “ it is the belief of Contolism that man should divorce himself from the earth, so we can grow as a species and evolve, that one day the meek will inherit the earth, but not for generations. The earth must heal, it must return to the form it had during the times of-“
           “do not quote Zeon Zum Deikun to me!” Degwin snapped at her “I was there by his side for decades as he preached that gospel, trying to convince us refugees that we would be victorious in the end, and where is he now Kycelia! Where!” Degwin turned to Dozle “do you also want to propose some preposterous idea Dozle?”
           “no father, I believe that once we convince the federation to release the shackles of colonialism on us that the rest of the world will see they to are being controlled. I believe that once Garma frees the United States of Northern America for instance they will see that the Federation superseding their own governments right to self govern is a very undemocratic, and near authoritarian idea”
           “yes….that we can hope for certainly, the time for a single powerful government ruling the whole of this solar system is behind us, one man cannot control all men, he can control a few, and they can control many, but a few men in Dakar cannot possibly make decisions on what is best for Mars, for Jupiter, for mining colonies in the belt, for us here in Zeon. It should be our right to rule ourselves, as we see fit.” Degwin sat back into his chair, calm now that one of his children saw this all as he did
             “and what if one day the people of Zeon decide that they don’t need a Duke sitting atop their parliament? Decide that you being the final say in their governance, what if one day they want to be rid of you? What then father?” Gihren said standing up and staring his father down
             “then I will pack my things and leave, lest I watch myself and the rest of my family be beheaded as monarchs of the past were, I rule because the people of Zeon chose me, chose us, to rule them. They believe that through Zeon Zum Deikuns legacy, we will lead them on the correct path…..if that belief changes one day, than I shouldn’t force them to follow our family, and if our defenders, our benefactors refuse to protect us, I will pack my things….and I will leave” Degwin said, reaching into a box on the desk in front of him, and retreiveing a pair of black aviator style sunglasses and placing them over his face as he relaxed his neck into the soft fabric of the chair
              “father has lost the will Kycelia, he is a weak man at heart now…..I cant believe what he said back there” Gihren said looking out the bay window in his office, taking a slow sip of scotch as he did so.
           “he just wants to follow the will of Deikun, he believes that people of space will ultimately become the Newtypes as mentioned in the gospel, and eventually be worthy of inheriting the earth….he believes the people of Zeon will follow us, as we represent that will, we represent the message of the Gospel to them, we will be the shepherds to that promise land.” Kycelia said as she moved forward, placing a hand on her brothers shoulder
             “its all bullshit, we won’t inherit anything save a worthless duchy from that man, we wont inherit the earth, the only way Zeon will get what we want is if we take it……if the federation gives us independence how soon until we are no different than the United states, or the Greater European Union a country in name only, unable to make our own decisions for ourselves, or how soon will we becomer fucking Russia. How soon before the Federation backs a separatist movement against us? How soon until a band of Kievan militia storms our capital city? Father wants to bet that what? People will become Newtypes and rally behind us as the federation slowly kills itself and we watch the earth die as we evolve beyond its need?” he said sipping again “it’s all bullshit Kycelia”
           “but Gihren, you of all people should realize that the Newtype phenomena is-“
           “be careful what youre about to say sister, I am not as soft as our father”
           “Gihren please she’s your-“
           “GET OUT!” he shouted throwing his glass of scotch to the floor, shattering the glass “I have told you time and time again to not speak about her or anything related to that women around me.” He said staring daggers into his sisters eyes
           “Gihren be reasonable, we need to work together or this war will kill us all” Kycelia said, putting her hand on the gun on her hip
           “this war might kill father, and it might kill soft hearted Dozle, and our naive youngest brother, but it won’t harm the two of us….surely one of us is more than enough to steer this ship into port dear sister” he said reaching down to his side arm as well
           “….Gihren you sound like you think this war would be easier to win if some members of our family weren’t around anymore”
           “too many cooks in the kitchen does have a tendency to spoil the broth does it not?”
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roguesurvivor · 4 years
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Narcissists By Rebecca Fischbein
When Lisa* met Adam* in graduate school, she thought she’d hit the dating jackpot. “He was very wealthy, very charismatic, and at first he was very charming,” she says. “He was constantly showering me with gifts, fancy dinners, and romanic nights out. He was playing by this 1950s courtship rulebook.” But over time, Lisa says, Adam became condescending, controlling, and cruel. He criticized her working-class background and tried to mold her in his image. He learned her insecurities and trigger points and used them against her. He made her write him an apology letter every time they had an argument. Ultimately, he became physically and sexually abusive. It took Lisa years to escape him.
“I was in my mid-20s, a hopeless romantic, painfully insecure,” she says. “Here was a guy who was charming and handsome and going to help me fit in. I was so eager to please.”
Though Adam has not been clinically diagnosed, to Lisa’s knowledge, he exhibits classic characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which the Mayo Clinic defines as “a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others.” What we tend to think of as “narcissism”—vanity and extra-heavy doses of self-confidence—is a spectrum, and people can tip more heavily toward one end or the other. But someone with NPD is more than just self-interested and self-obsessed.
“It’s a lifelong pattern that a child started in childhood to cope with a certain family environment,” Elinor Greenberg, PhD., the author of Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid Adaptations: The Pursuit of Love, Admiration and Safety, says. “In adulthood, they overvalue achievement, they do not understand love, they have low emotional empathy.”
Julie L. Hall, a journalist and the author of The Narcissist in Your Life: Recognizing the Patterns and Learning to Break Free, characterizes narcissists as individuals who, to repress feelings of shame and inadequacy in childhood, take on an exterior persona designed to insulate themselves from criticism. “They miss out on numerous developmental milestones,” she says. “They do not form a secure sense of identity and self-esteem. They do not learn good emotional regulation, they do not learn to self-reflect, they do not learn emotional empathy. They do not develop a complex, mature sense of their own universe or the emotional lives of others.”
People with NPD are not able to see other people, which means they do not make for good romantic partners. Many can become abusive, emotionally or otherwise. If you’ve inadvertently entered into a relationship with a narcissist, it can be hard to figure out what’s going on at first. Here are some signs to help you out.
They put you on a pedestal (at first)
Narcissists see everything in black and white, including people. People are either “good,” which means they’re idealized, or they’re “bad,” which to a narcissist essentially means they’re garbage. If a narcissist is pursuing you as a romantic partner, that means you’re in the “good” category, and you’ll likely find that they shower you with compliments and charm to win you over. They’ll make you feel wonderful, special, and, ironically, seen right off the bat.
“Narcissists become infatuated. They tend to idealize a potential partner or love interest,” Hall says. “It can seem like you’ve met your soulmate, like, ‘Wow, I connect so much with this person.”
Narcissists may also try to alter themselves in an effort to mirror your personality. “They may suddenly share the same interests as you, and agree with you and your core values,” Hall says. “These are not necessarily things the narcissist is or believes, but they’re trying on your identity, and showing you what they think you want to see.”
But once you get deeper into the relationship, a switch gets flipped. “In the beginning, you’re getting all the wonderful things from them and they don’t even notice your flaws,” Greenberg says. “As you come closer, and they’re not just in chase mode, suddenly they’re going to see all these things about you they didn’t see before, that bleed through their image of you as perfect and special.”
Many of us idealize our partners in the beginning but recognize that everyone has flaws, and eventually the idealization gets swapped out for love and trust. But with a narcissist, there’s no substitute. “You flip into ‘all bad,’” Greenberg says. “That’s when they start their construction project.”
They try to “fix” you
Greenberg describes narcissists in search of a romantic partner as “looking for piece of cheese with no holes.” And since everybody has holes, that mission is doomed from the start. Once the narcissist sees those holes—which can be as minor as, say, you unloading the dishwasher in a way they don’t like, or mispronouncing “bagel,”—they can either “fix” you or dump you.
“You’re like a building under construction to them,” Greenberg says. “They feel like the Prince in Cinderella.”
Lisa experienced this with Adam. “He knew my background and upbringing and gave me tips on how to hide it,” she says. “One time, I mentioned I learned piano as a kid and that I wished I could go back and learn it. He said he would get me piano lessons for my birthday, because, ‘I think it would look better for you if you were a classically trained musician.’”
She adds, “It was like The Princess Diaries, where I was going to be this middle-class, out-of-place kid, and he was going to build me into this perfect little partner. I was this blank slate that he was just going to make his masterpiece.”
They have no boundaries and a sense of entitlement
One of the defining characteristics of any personality disorder is a lack of boundaries, emotional or otherwise. People with NPD are no exception.
“They often feel entitled to violate boundaries most of us accept and abide by,” Hall says. “Sharing intimate details about other people you don’t know about, wanting to get more committed really quickly, promising things or wanting promises from you like commitment, marriage, having kids together right away. Things that are really premature before you’ve had a chance to get there.”
Hall says narcissists just feel entitled in general. They can’t abide by the golden rule of do unto others as you would have them do unto you. “A narcissist walks around with very unreasonable expectations,” Hall says. “They feel entitled to get things other people shouldn’t get.”
Narcissists can have big “May I speak to the manager?” energy. They might mock or criticize other people behind their backs. They may be rude to or yell at servers. And they walk around believing and/or telling people they’re better than everyone else.
Lisa says that Adam, for instance, would wear a necklace with a formula engraved on a tag. He claimed he invented it, and that it was the “formula for the universe.”
“He said, ‘I solved the universe. This solves everything. And when someone questions my power, I just remember I’m more powerful than them,’” Lisa says.
They don’t hold back in a fight
It’s healthy for couples to argue sometimes. But when narcissists get into spats with their partners, their lack of empathy can lead to a nasty fight.
Greenberg says narcissists often do not have “object constancy,” which is the ability to maintain positive feelings for someone even in times of conflict. “Object constancy is what keeps people from abusing their mates,” she says. “People with object constancy can remember that they love you even when they’re mad at you.”
But narcissists can’t always do that. “If you’re in a fight with someone with no emotional empathy, who can’t remember they love you, they will hit below the belt,” Greenberg says, “All bets are off. They can say vile things to you.”
Narcissists love to argue—winning an argument is another way for them to prove that they’re better than other people—and they know how to push your buttons. They also tend have extreme emotional reactions. So if your partner is frequently hurtful, even over minor infractions, that’s a red big flag. And what comes after a fight can be a red flag, too:
They never apologize
Narcissists are incapable of self-reflection, which means that they rarely recognize when they’re in the wrong. So if your partner tends to sling throat-cutting insults at you during a fight and doesn’t ever meaningfully apologize for it, well, you might want to reassess the relationship.
“Being able to see that people have good and bad qualities, able to see that in themselves and other people, that’s something an NPD person can’t do,” Hall says. “They’re unable to look at things from an emotional perspective beyond themselves.”
If they do apologize, it can be more of an insult in of itself. “Sometimes narcissists throw out faux apologies with the narrative that you’re really too sensitive,” Hall says. “They’re unable to see things from your point of view, or validate your feelings as being legitimate.”
They turn their exes into villains
Here is a big one: If your partner or prospective partner has a narrative in which everyone they ever dated was “terrible,” “horrible,” and solely responsible for the destruction of the relationship, that’s a massive red flag. Sometimes someone does date a couple of assholes, but generally most people are able to reflect upon the ways in which both parties contributed to a relationship’s demise. Narcissists can’t accept criticism, can’t see the middle ground, and can’t self-reflect, which means they’re unable to recognize their part in a breakup. To protect their fragile egos, they are “good,” which means the ex must be “bad.”
“They often have a really negative assessment of previous relationships,” Hall says. “They pathologize and villainize their exes. The other person is a ‘jerk,’ an ‘asshole,’ a ‘disappointment.’” Basically, they don’t learn from relationships, and they’re constantly externalizing anything negative.
They gaslight you
With no boundaries, empathy, or checked egos, narcissists delight in manipulating people. It’s one of the ways they can feel superior than others, and it’s another method of proving to themselves that the rules don’t apply. It’s hard to tell if someone is gaslighting you—the very nature of gaslighting, i.e. psychological manipulation to make someone doubt their own feelings and lived experience, is set up to slowly chip away at your conviction so you think you’re the problem. But if you start to sense that your partner is manipulating you, get the hell out.
Lisa says Adam would frequently gaslight her. “We would be out at a bar or restaurant or something, and I would see him put his hand on the small of a woman’s back, and touch her ass or something,” she says. “In the car ride home, I would say something and he would freak the fuck out.”
He would deny it, they would argue, and in the end, Adam would manage to convince her that she was in the wrong. “The rule was that every time we got into an argument, I would have to write him a letter giving him an outline of how the argument began, who said what, and that I was sorry,” Lisa says. “At the end [of the letter], I’d be like, ‘You’re right, I didn’t see that, I must have been drunk.”
Narcissists do not truly understand or care about your emotional experience, your pain, and your personhood; moreover, they always have to be Right, and if you oppose them or call them out on their shit, that means you’re Wrong. That means they can pretty much do whatever they want without remorse, and they may do what it takes to convince you that their misdeeds are your fault.
If you’re dating someone who exhibits a number of these signs, consider confiding in someone you trust—friends, family, a therapist—and cutting ties. Narcissists can sometimes mitigate their worst impulses through therapy, but people who lack empathy have to do a lot of work to gain it, and they inflict psychological and emotional damage upon others in the meantime. You deserve better.
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so when I saw infinity war the second time, i brought a pen and a notebook with me and took notes in the dark the whole time. for my second endgame viewing yesterday, i did the same. i now present to you my Thoughts About Endgame. (this is. long.) 
Major Spoilers Ahead.
okay seriously, nobody called clint up when there was a giant invasion in wakanda??? nobody???
also it was daytime in wakanda when the snap happened. it’s also daytime wherever clint is in america when the snap happens. someone explain.
god the dawning panic when clint realizes his family is gone. that whole scene is so empty and unsettling, it was shot really well
i automatically associate 80s music with space thanks to marvel. 
tony stark adopting strays everywhere he goes since 2013.... i love this about him
nebula finally got to win something!!!! “it was fun.”
and then she gives him their final ration. i’m- :((((
back on earth..... thank god the beard is gone.
“I lost the kid” tony’s face wow that’s devastating, no thanks
“Is um...” what was tony going to say after that??
“I thought you were a build-a-bear.” “Maybe I am.” fuckign.... tony please sdfgdfg
“And I needed you.” tony :(((
“No trust. Liar.” this entire scene is just. chilling. heartbreaking. tony has nothing left for anyone, and especially nothing left for steve, except-
him ripping the metaphorical heart out of his chest and handing it to steve made me literally gasp the first time i watched this film. i feel like it hasn’t been talked about enough, but it’s incredibly poetic.
“where are you going?” “to kill thanos” i haven’t seen captain marvel but i’m already in love with carol danvers
and now they have hope, they still think they can bring everyone back... what a dangerous thing
suddenly steve is looking at his locket of peggy all the time.starting in this film only. can we let him grieve for his actual friends?? you know, the ones he just lost? does he even mention sam or bucky in the entire film?  alright russos, i have several bones to pick with you about this, but alright....
i gotta say, when i first watched this i was astounded that thanos destroyed the stones and then got beheaded in the first twenty minutes. it really left me wondering, well- what now? and that was exciting.
five years later. i mean, we knew there would be a time jump, but i wasn’t expecting this.
we’re really calling this cameo by russo representation huh
lol
and like??? steve brings up nobody he lost in the snap, instead chosing to focus on “the love of his life” that he met and lost in 1945. this struck me as odd the first time i watched and now i’m like. man they’re really trying 2 justify their later decision, huh
so they’re calling those who were snapped “The Vanished” according to the sanfran memorial
avengers r still a thing and their complex has actually grown in size?? who is funding this. is it tony
my next note just says HAIR SDFDSDFG aka heLLO carol danvers
nat :((((
crying and eating a sandwich is a mood
god. the quiet grief
natasha romanoff has come such a long way from her introduction in iron man 2. she cries freely, loves her family, actively wants to be a better person, even if a lot of her family isn’t around today. i just- love her so much.
“we both need to get a life.” “you first.” goddamnit
i.... love happy, peaceful, good dad Tony Stark, so much.
“define lunch or be disintegrated” morgan h stark is so cute
“you like going in the garage, huh? so does daddy.” tony was already so proud of her god i just :((((
me, zooming in on nat: ARROW NECKLACE
does she only wear that when she’s missing clint, or
I’m truly in my feelings about Tony being The Best Dad
Bruce apparently spent 18 months in a gamma lab, which is interesting.
god the scene with the kids asking for a selfie was so cringe are you telling me they could include this but steve couldn’t mourn for his friends
tony does dishes now. a true housedad.
that’s!!!! his first son!!!!!! :((((((
can you believe it was peter parker who pushed tony to invent time travel
“i’ve got something on my mind.” “is it juice pops?” i’m just thinking now about how howard most definitely would have sent tony straight to bed, but tony lets morgan stay up and eat juice pops with him. this is just. straight up great content.  
“I love you 3000″ can you just. his face when she says that. also i’m never getting over that phrase ever
“I can stop,” Tony says, on the brink of inventing time travel.
“But would you be able to rest?” says Pepper, who has been trying and failing to get him to stop for a good 15 years.
the parallels between this and her last words to tony. ouch.
this is such a good and steady relationship now :(.
sdfgfdfg why is steve dressing like he’s from the 40s again is this a visual sign of his regression
god they did thor so dirty in this film. not with his character- him falling into great depression and having ptsd is not a bad thing, but treating it like a joke is. the audience is invited to laugh at him. Bad.
thor threatening “noobmaster69″ over the headset for his rock friend is very funny though.
hey tokyo looks alright compared to a lot of america.
every single clintasha scene in this film kills the man.
also everyone knows thanos’s name. i assume that means the world knows why everyone disappeared.
“you’re only a genius on earth” yeah but who invented time travel, rocket
rhodey wanting to straight up murder baby thanos is hilarious
the explanations of time travel in this film give me a headache
“TIME HEIST BRAINSTORMING SESSION”
bruce, nat and tony all laying around throwing ideas back and forth.... this movie is valid sometimes
“see you in a minute,” natasha says, and she’s smiling.
this is her family you guys :(((((
NEW YORK 2012
MY FAVOURITE SCENE
omg bruce making such a halfhearted attempt at smashing things please i love
okay cut to 2013 Asgard, and Thor sneaks right by his currently dead brother without even looking at him. this movie confuses me
fuck the scene where rocket slaps thor for having a panic attack. i’m glad thor ended up abandoning him.
okay so everything important happens between 2012-2014
cap/tony/scott, clintasha, nebula/rhodey.... these are such ideal teamups
“we’re a long way from budapest” give me my clintasha movie, marvel!!!
okay back in 2012, HOW did JARVIS not register the fact that there were two steves and two tonys in Stark Tower
god this entire scene is fucking hilarious the entire mcu was worth everything for the 2012 time travel scene
fuckign.... loki
ELEVATOR SCENE
as a cap 2 stan i feel so validated
HA IL HYDRA
WHEN I SAY I GASPED IN DELIGHT
CAP VS CAP
“I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY”
“YEAH, I KNOW, I KNOW”
sadfgfdfg are u really telling me that cap takes the peggy locket everywhere
BUCKY IS ALIVE
THAT IS AMERICAS ASS SDFGFSDF PLEASE
2012 avengers best avengers
meanwhile the sorcerer lady is giving bruce a time travel lesson and i didn’t understand any of it but basically each reality requires six stones in order to not be torn apart by the forces of darkness? ??
I’m just glad thor got some kind of closure by talking to his mom
side note you can definitely tell that frigga raised loki
“EAT A SALAD”
“i’m still worthy” asdfgfdf yeah but now this timeline thor has no hammer!!!
QUILL SDFGFDSDFGHFDS
this movie is so entertaining
i live for nebula and rhodey just judging everyone
so do the guardians just.... not happen in the 2014 timeline?
gamora is ready to Fight thanos when the maw threatens nebula
was that young alexander pierce headed underground in 1970?
bone 2 pick with this whole time travel thing
thor got closure by talking to his mom
tony got closure by talking to his dad
steve saw peggy working, successful and thriving, through a window. closure where????
he should have gotten a chance to talk to her and received closure that way.
hank pym is an asshole but i guess we already knew that
“my wife is expecting” so tony was born 1970/1971 ig
howard’s dad beat him with a belt. i suppose every stark does a little better parenting-wise
Jarvis!!!!!!! agent carter is canon!!!!
vormir oh god here we go
“under different circumstances, this would be totally awesome” i’m inclined to agree with clint
this part goddamit
handholding :((((
my next note just says “aveng ers 1 paralels fu k”
the way this was filmed was beautiful. the colours, the lighting, the acting, the dialogue, the parallels to the first clintasha fight in avengers 1..... if natasha had to die, this was.... a good death, i think.
“damn you!”
“it’s okay.”
clint is begging her this hurts so much :(((
god. tears.
clint just sobbing in the water with the soul stone in his hand hits some kind of way
where is natasha’s funeral, huh??? why does steve shed like one (1) tear?
also why does the gauntlet need to physically be snapped like what does that dO
i just realized that thor’s fake eye is amber.
Infinity Stones:
almost killed thanos after 2 uses
destroyed bruce’s arm
killed tony
imagine an alternate scene where all six original avengers survived until this point and all of them held one stone as they snapped thanos’s army out of existence. that would have been the ultimate fanservice and i would have astral projected. anyway we’re getting off topic
“don’t change anything from the last five years.” what tony means is “please don’t erase my daughter”.
SNAP
yay they did it except-
how did everyone survive thanos blowing up the avengers compound
2014 gamora sounds just- slightly different than 2018 gamora. a little harsher. the guardians haven’t yet softened her edges.
“we become sisters” and suddenly gamora has hope
i- did that lightning just braid thor’s hair sdfgdsdfgh
this is a harsher thanos. thanos who died in 2018 had been changed. weakened, maybe.
thor, cap and tony fought in avengers one. now, they’re fighting thanos together.
l just. love that clint has a sword now.
“he won’t let me” nebula.... :(((((( and she dies crying
i have a note here that says “thor’s lightning + tony = c o o l”
STEVE WITH MJOLNIR
ASDFGFSDF FUCK THIS WAS WORTH EVERYTHING MARVEL HAS EVER PUT ME THROUGH
LIGHTNING POWERS
i LIVE
oooh it’s personal for thanos now
ON
YOUR
LEFT
the portals scene fUCK
this is just. worth it. on every level.
PETER AND TONY
“this is nice” please :((((((
poor peter quill gets snapped, gamora’s loss fresh in his mind, then he thinks he’s gotten her back and she’s not the gamora he knew. ouch.
tell me why everyone but steve gets a reunion scene lol
peter introducing himself to everyone!!!! he’s so sweet.
CAPTAIN MARVEL HAS ARRIVED
i’m gay. oh my god.
hhhhgn hair
GIRLS
this is fanservice!!! as in, i am a fan and i feel fuckign SERVICED
thor duel welding mjolnir and stormbreaker is AWESOME.
strange holds up one finger. tony gives a look of heartbreaking acceptance.
god. tony stark, you brave, brave man. he knew he wasn’t going to survive this one.
“I am inevitable.”
“I. am. Iron Man.”
SNAP (2)
you lose, thanos.
but also, i lose, because oh god tony.
peter :(((
“Mr Stark!”
“Sir!!”
“Tony!!”
oh. fuck.
“you can rest now” do you SEE the parallels to the earlier conversation between tony and pepper :(((
the arc reactor going out physically broke me
i didn’t take many notes after this because i was literally sobbing lol
“I love you 3000″ stabs me again
“proof that tony stark has a heart” yes well my heart is breaking
happy :((( is morgan’s jarvis :(((((
Queen!!!! Valkyrie!!!
this dick measuring contest between Quill and Thor got old five hours of content ago.
:))))) rage time :))))))
bruce tried to bring back nat with the snap :(((
oh god bucky.
his face!!!!! his voice!!!! he’s trying to be strong and find but he looks dead inside
i just- fuck. he knew and he let steve go.
why did he show up on that bench i don’t understand
“I’m happy for you” are you telling me sam wasn’t the least bit hurt or mad
the ONLY good thing about this is Captain Sam
fuck steve tho
what year is this dance in
i mean. it’s sweet. but this is not steve.
I think i’ve talked enough about my dislike of the direction steve’s character went in in this film. that was the major point of dislike for me, but given that the council has made a stupid ass decision i’ve elected to ignore it. i understand that both tony and steve had to make their exist from the franchise here, but.... there were better ways to go about that. 
i think a few different relationships slipped through the cracks here- characters suddenly grieving people they haven’t seen in /years/ and completely ignoring others who only recently died was a big one for me. but other characters saw a lot of development- nebula was a favourite of mine in this film, which i was not expecting! she and rhodey made a really good team- i feel like they understand one another. 
the Original Six all saw a decent amount of screen time, which i appreciated. nobody got left behind there. there were so many references to other films that i know i didn’t catch them all, but it really made this movie seem like a love letter to the fans. 
i want to make it clear that i actually loved most of this film. i think it was a good send off for the avengers and i love a good time travel plot (like, it’s one of my all-time favourite tropes. i was vibrating with excitement in the theater during the 2012 scenes.) i went in expecting a lot of the emotion to be sidelined in favor of plot and action, and while that happened a little bit, i was overall pleasantly surprised with the amount of emotion that they fit into this film. characterization and emotion is perhaps even more important to me than a good plot, and this film got the emotion down.
 it’s definitely not a perfect film but it could have been so much worse, so i’m grateful that we got a good sendoff for the avengers.
7/10. 
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toasttz · 5 years
Text
From the Tabletop #9
Welcome back. Let's talk about Exalted again! Last time, our new team had assembled and-- oh, right, I totally forgot we had a fifth Exalt. We have Zatch. Zatch is basically if you fused Albin and Rakis, I guess? But due to a change in work schedule, he's barely gotten to play with us. So, maybe we'll get to talk more about him later. He's Volkenstein's successor character, and it seems like his player has a good beat on him. Just real-life issues is all. Right, so, we were in need of some traveling funds, so we took on a job that was perfect for us - hunting a wild beast! No moral ambiguity or broken kneecaps required! So, we set out into the fields to find this dinosaur-like monster we needed to take down. En route, we discuss if there were any last-minute actions or supplies required. Doran: I could use a drink, frankly. Albin (OoC): I roll introduce fact. There are, in fact, large lizard creatures who naturally produce a form of booze in their stomach from the fermented fruit they eat. GM: Yeah. Okay. They're called Keggers. They are barrel-chested lizard creatures. You eat one, you're definitely getting drink. Doran: Glorious. Proceed the circle of three Solars and a Lunar all repeatedly failing their perception checks. GM: Guys, I think you're hunting an Indominus Rex, since its stealth rolls... well, let's just say you guys shouldn't be having this hard of a time of it. Suddenly, a big-ass dinosaur was upon us and we scattered around to combat it. Each of us defaulted to our usual combat tactics: Rakis mounted Wormsworth, Doran readied his sword, Albin prepped his Prayer Piece rifle, and Kharas... immediately mounted it. This created a little, brief, inter-party tension as Albin readied his flame-thrower rifle at the dinosaur. Kharas: Hey, wait a sec! You might hit me! Albin: I never miss. Kharas: I'M STILL UP HERE! GM: Roll attack. Albin: *Rolls freakishly well.* GM: Congrats, you don't hit Kharas. Kharas: You singed off my eyebrows! GM: You're in warform. You don't currently have those. Kharas: ... IF I DID, YOU'D HAVE BURNED MY EYEBROWS OFF! Ultimately, with a little coordination, the dino went down. We then proceeded to carve it up for its hide, meat, and a couple of us even took trophies. We even made "metric craptons" of dino-jerky, which we sold for a tidy profit, insofar as we couldn't bring it all back ALA Oregon Trail. But the dino hunt went well all-in-all. Afterwards, we realized we need to head towards Great Forks, but then had to find a way to cross a river. The ferry was our best bet, but money had gotten tight and we had to have a way to bring Wormsworth. Kharas attempted a rather clever gambit of disguising himself as a noble and forcing the issue, but the captain of the vessel was stern. Ultimately, we agreed to pay a price once we had arrived, which settled things, as Albin had done business previously with one Master of the Eternal Golden Paradise - a young philanthropist and patron of the arts and sciences. And Kharas, using Twin-Faced Hero, managed to "persuade" Master to paying their way, if you get my drift. Later, Kharas would use this as leverage against Albin, demanding a cool leather jacket. Albin and Doran worked together to make a badass leather coat for him, under the proviso it would have enough belts, pouches, and zippers to qualify him for a modern-day Squeenix character. Kharas happily agreed. Arrival at Great Forks more or less went off without a hitch (barring a gang of roving youths who attempted to sell Albin and Doran cutlery. I legit have no idea what to say on that and thus, will just move on). We even got to meet Teddy, one of the Giakell triplets (of which Albin is one member). Teddy is a huge, mountain of a man, quick to laugh, but became concerned when Albin mentioned that what they were doing was effectively hunting down serial killers. Teddy advised Albin to be careful in this pursuit, and Kharas, Rakis, and Doran played with the many, many nephews and nieces Albin had been blessed with due to his brother's undying love of his wife. Eventually, a lead with the guild took the circle down to the docks - whereupon I missed a good part of the conversation due to going to make popcorn and grab a soda. I return to hear Rakis explaining, at great length, how plan to BURN DOWN THE ENTIRE DOCK so we could investigate a ship belonging to a rich, now MIA, man who may well be tied to the mob of killers we've been after this whole time. Albin quickly shoots this plan down, insisting that there's no need to set fire to his hometown for something as straight-forward as this. Eventually, we also realize we could just have Kharas transform into a crane and inspect the ship anyway, as he did when he investigated the man's house as a cat. Let it be said - Rakis doesn't do things by halves. Eventually, clues began taking us north, so we bid farewell to Albin's hometown in order to cross the Yellow River. Albin then explains that there's an underground road they could use, leading to a trading town, partway across - called Yellow Shower - because I was really abusing "Introduce Fact" rolls this game and I am, in fact, 13 years old at heart. There, we even got to meet Albin's sister, Simone, who married a nobleman of the town, and we got to bum a free meal off them before we departed. We did fart around in Yellow Shower a while, but honestly, not much came of it. I also introduced facts about a local booze, Sewer Brue, a potent concoction sure to put you on the toilet for some time after drinking it, and that Yellow Shower was plagued by platypi, native to the region. Kharas took the chance to hunt one, in order to add it to his heart's blood. The platypus, not the drink. On the other side, however, all sorts of Hell broke loose, as Kharas, once more, became a bird and attempted to survey the above-ground scene, just in time to be fired upon by local hunters. He zipped back to the ground and transformed into a platypus in order to hide. Kharas: *SCARED PLATYPUS NOISES* We then asked the hunters for some advice as to where to go next, which ultimately sent us in the direction of a cave, which we spent... entirely too long standing outside of, debating if this was some "Cave of Wonders" shit and would slam down and kill us all if we ventured in. But ultimately, we headed in, and were immediately beset upon by a lesser fairy, who Albin and Rakis straight up merc'd without much hesitation. Afterward, we ventured further down, whereupon we found a cleft in the rock. And this happened: Doran: I guess I'll have a look and see what's down there. I have a merit where I naturally resist hot environments. GM: Yes, but if it's magma, you'll still suffer environmental damage. ... Hey, wait, didn't you write that Doran will die in boiling magma last time? Albin: Oh, crap. Doran: ... Okay, I'm going to have a look, but you're going to hold onto me and at the first sign of trouble, you're going to pull me back from it. Albin: Can do. Thankfully, Doran did NOT die in boiling magma and I was forced to sign a blood oath that I would not erroneously clickbait again. However, legit clickbaiting is A-OK! Moving on, eventually, we found a ways down, deeper into the cave. Rakis and Kharas both had ways of getting down, but the less-athletics-based Doran and Albin did not. And they also met a spirit flame serpent thing that apparently brews really good tea. Rakis then returned to try to help the others down, leaping up and easily getting Albin down safely. However, his return trip was a little less successful, as he ultimately dropped Doran on his face. On the upside, I finally got to roll those medicine dots I've had since I started this campaign. So there's that. Afterwards, we moved further in and found a colossal forge and its guardian - a four-armed giant creature who was quite talkative, but spoke in riddles. Doran and Albin questioned him for a while, and deduced he was no threat. He also helpfully proposed that Moonsilver could be used to bind the cursed aspects of Doran's artifact blade. We also disposed of the cursed Soulsteel garrot wire with help from the giant and his forge to completely destroy it. Doran: Well, I guess that's one cursed artifact down now. After tiring of bothering the giant (who was definitely talking about the Alchemicals and Autochthon, but I only knew that in the meta-sense and, thus, couldn't act on it in-character), we opted to try the last doorway available to us. Whereupon, all four of our circlemates throw lousy strength rolls, barely budging the door. Rakis then summoned Wormsworth, who easily threw the doors open on our behalf. Albin: I think it says something when a circle of Exalts failed to budge the door, but Wormsworth just did it no sweat. Kharas: Shut up. So, we went down into the mines whereupon we realized, Sol dammit, we HAD Moonsilver the entire time - the hammer Albin bought for Rakis back in session 2 was a Moonsilver weapon! So, we decide to do what you should never do in a party and split the party. Albin and Doran returned with the hammer to the giant's forge to ask for his assistance while Rakis and Kharas moved deeper into the mines in order to find what was down there. Albin and Doran use a crap-ton of craft charms and bond over their mutual tasks together over the last few sessions (moving each other up from Minor to Major intimacies as close friends), while Kharas and Rakis get ambushed by brigands deep in the mine and they proceed to kill the shit out of a lot of dudes. Kharas, at the end of the battle, began interrogating one of their number and the following happens. Kharas: Alright, you told me what I need to know. Get out of my sight. Random Baddie: *Gets up, flees* Rakis: By the way, Wormsworth just burrows out of the ground and eats the fleeing guy. Kharas: DUDE! I was actually going to let him live! Rakis: *SHRUG*. So, don't mess with Rakis, I suppose is the lesson here. Join me next time for D&D, because I currently have no more Exalted to talk about for a while! We're all caught up. Next time, in D&D: we meet dwarves! We meet demon cultists! We kill kobolds! See you there!
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fmdtaeyongarchive · 5 years
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↬ 괜찮아 괜찮아.
date: ~march/april 2019.
location: n/a.
word count: 1918 words.
summary: my attempt at setting a world record for how many times i can write some variation of “ash is thankful to candy”.
notes: creative claims verification for fantasy!
ash gets to work on the song not too long after he has his first conversation with candy about it. he leaves the conversation inspired and wants to see if he can whip up the beginnings of something to work on so he can create some kind of demo to send her to demonstrate to her that he’s interested and he believes in her ability to pull off a solo. even a solo made by him if that’s what she really wants. he’s proud of himself and his growth as a writer and producer, but his first instinct is still to doubt her judgment in coming to him. why him of all people when bc has some of the industry’s top hitmakers available feet away at any given time and ash is pretty sure he already peaked with his last album? the confidence she seems to have in him reassures him, though, in a way that lets him push past that block of insecurity that so desperately wants to wall off his artistic muse more quickly than usual, and, for that, he’s silently grateful to her before he’s even begun to work on the song in earnest.
at the beginning, he has no clue if he’ll make it very far before he surrenders and suggests someone else take up the mantle of candy’s album, but it’s a new root of inspiration for him, being so directly asked to create a song by someone who isn’t a messenger from bc entertainment’s a&r department with a pre-decided list of genres and themes and concepts they want incorporated to manufacture a hit, and he wants to toy with it for as long as he can before letting himself completely give up. ash has found he’s not very good at being handed a laundry list of items to work off of, if the numerous rejections he’s gotten by higher ups in his attempts to fulfill bc’s desires is any sign to go by. but candy isn’t bc, she’s a dear friend and someone who let him talk out the creative process with her to ensure they could find an understanding with each other instead of doing what bc does: piling everything onto him with too many unrealistic expectations and too few questions he’s able to ask. and that makes all the difference in the world, it seems, because once ash gets going, he finds it all comes almost unfairly easy to him for once.
he sets aside the lyrics for now. the track he has in mind after letting it bounce around in his head all day is driven by its atmosphere, something the composition and production, and eventually candy’s voice, will be critical in creating even beyond whatever words he comes up with to reflect the seductive fantasy concept she told him she’s looking for.
drafts of songs he’s supposed to send to bc soon for review along with ones he’s working on entirely of his own accord get pushed aside to focus on this one track. he keeps in mind what candy had said she wanted in her ideal solo debut, even the parts he doesn’t have any control over like lingerie styling and a mature, possibly shocking, music video. he can’t make those things happen, but any detail is a hint to what he could do to give her the closest thing to what she’d envisioned. if candy’s all in about it, ash will be, too. if it ends up being too atmospheric, too sensual and hazy, he can reel it back in until he finds the perfect balance. he briefly recalls an acting lesson he’d taken a few years ago back when bc had thought that’d be a good direction to try pushing him in. “it’s always better to overact than underact,” he’d been told by his acting teacher, “because overacting means you’ve already passed the ideal and you simply have to find your way backwards to it.” it isn’t something he’d thought of much since bc had mercifully dropped plans for that career path after his scandal, but now that he thinks about it, it’s smart, and it can apply just as easily to the creation of music. more layers means more opportunities to see what will work and what won’t. the first draft he comes up with doesn’t have to be perfection neatly wrapped in a pretty package with a bow. in the end, ash scales his earlier drafts back to something simpler than he starts with, but it allows him to tie in the experimental, playful synths that are used in the final product in a way he wouldn’t have risked if he’d kept it less hectic from the start.
ash makes sure to establish the base of the composition in an area that sets up the song for what he wants it to be. the main melodic line is, naturally, in a higher register than he normally writes, but he settles in a key and range he gauges to be well within candy’s abilities. he’ll send it to her later to see if it’s comfortable for her, since his main frame of reference is having heard her sing within the context of lipstick songs. he hasn’t written for her before, but there’s no one he really has that kind of knowledge of yet anyway, other than himself. if it works out as intended, he wants it to sit in an area that lends itself to the mix range of her voice that can lilt into something breathier and headier to keep with the tone, or maybe, if it suits her better, a shallow chest voice. it won’t require vocal gymnastics or skillful belts, but the melody takes shape into something that he envisions relying heavily on her delivery.
working on the song, one word in particular comes to mind: closeness. the tension of two people drawing closer together until they can both feel their breath mixing between them, the torment of being so close to touching. the slow burn moment of hesitance and coaxing before a barrier is crossed, that’s what he wants the instrumental to feel like because that’s the most simple fantasy in the most vivid detail. the song doesn’t need to be the entire fantasy; it can be a teaser.
it’s something he’d be scared to create for himself, the expectation of sensuality that comes with having to contribute to the mood vocally something he’d struggle with embarrassment over when put into a recording booth, but the knowledge candy’s expressed more comfort in the concept allows him to push past his own boundaries and make something suited for her instead. she seems more sure in herself with this kind of image, and that’s something ash admires about her: her ownership over herself in an industry that likes to play with idols like discardable dolls that will outstay their welcome in a few years time.
at some point, when he gets frustrated with the track sounding too dated (he’d wanted to incorporate some 80s sounds, not make something that sounded like it’d already been done thirty years ago), he finds himself straying to listening to past lipstick songs, grasping for inspiration. this isn’t a lipstick song, though, he eventually has to remind himself after his fifth listen to “hurt locker”. it’s a candy song, and much like he would hate to be handed a rejected knight track to head an album, he isn’t going to half ass this and leave his friend with something derivative of a bigger picture. instead, he makes a point to stray from the sounds most frequently heard in lipstick’s production. it’s not a song made for six or seven voices, it’s a song made for one. that’s the key to the intimacy of it, the illusion of a one on one conversation, as long as he didn’t wander too far off into trite fanservice. regardless of anyone else’s intentions, he isn’t in this to rile up the hormones of lipstick’s fans, he’s in it to tell a story. a story that’s different to most of the ones he’s tackled in the songs he’s created before, yes, a fantasy instead of a harsh reality, but a fantasy nonetheless.
once he’s happy enough with the instrumental, ash knows he can’t put off the lyrics any longer. he’d been so worried about them after his struggle with writing what he’d written of “swim good”, but when he gives in and the time comes to create the words to the song, inspiration swarms to ash much easier than it had before in his attempts to approach more blunt sensuality in music. he credits that largely to the fact that he won’t be required to sing any of the words himself and he thanks candy under his breath in the stale air of his studio again for the ease with which he’s able to create multiple lyrical drafts to see what fits the track he’s created best.
some choruses are more forward, some more coy, some more dangerously toeing the line of what an idol can get away with singing (he doesn’t anticipate those to be the ones he goes with even as he writes them, but they’re a fun exercise in expressing himself lyrically in much different way than he has before), but the one he ends up choosing is a delicate mix of everything. or at least ash thinks it is, and he hopes the people in charge of ultimately approving the song and its lyrics agree. the final chorus is subtle, but seductive. alluring, but not aggressive. and he bases the verses around that simple, but satisfactory chorus. any fantasy needs a steady center to swirl around in a haze of desire.
the chorus isn’t too wordy, but he still wants it to be lyrically driven instead of propelling forward by twisting synths to keep a throughline in the music. it all needs to be on the same level, in a way, to keep the fantasy going without pulling the listener out of the experience. as he moves to writing the verses, he keeps that in mind, putting extra work into keeping them all consistent with the chorus and playing with a slow, unfolding reveal of a fantasy. it’s fun to present words so forward and clear in their intentions while still holding back enough to keep it within the good sensibilities of the public who will listen to it. the idea of not faking innocence leaves him more room than the sugary sweet naivety of many an idol song with underlying innuendo. instead of acted inexperience, the focus of the lyrics is on coaxing the listener (reassuring is another word ash keeps in mind), though ash is careful not to assume innocence, faked or otherwise, on the part of the listener either and crosses off several lines that play too reliantly into that.
in the end, the lyrics are a game of gentle push and pull in a way, leading but not forceful, flirting, but not crude, and, frankly, ash really likes what he’s done when the whole piece comes together. he’s happy with himself for creating something he would have never thought he was capable of only a couple of months ago. comfort is found in writing for someone so different from him as a performer and idol, and for the first time, when presenting a song he’s written for someone else, he feels far more pride in his work than he feels nervousness of rejection.
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crazyfreckledginger · 6 years
Text
Part 2 To Prompt 32 And 154 With Roy Harper
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[Part 1]
Requested on Wattpad: “I wanna see a part 2 where Jason meets reader as a vigilante and is jaw dropped by reader’s fighting and Roy is just smirking in the background lol”
"You're such a dork!" I chuckled as I pulled his head back to mine, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss.
Summary: Reader wakes up alongside her boyfriend and tells him how worried she is when he for his nighttime escapades, and somehow, he convinces her to restart her hero work with him.
A/N: This turned out to be a lot longer than anticipated!
"You sure he's going to like me?" I asked him as we trudged along the dirty pavement.
"They'll both like you okay? Don't worry about it!" He chuckled.
"You have to be a 100% sure because-"
"You're the most likeable person baby girl," He interrupted, 
"Fine," I grumbled.
"Now give me some sugar," He demanded, I giggled and slid my arms around his waist, staring up at his tall frame.
"You're cute," I whispered, pecking his lips.
"Oh come on cupcake, I didn't even taste the sugar that time," He whined. I rolled my eyes, a small smile tugging at my lips as we locked our lips together. His arms found their way around my waist, pulling me closer as our lips moved against each other. I released a deep sigh as we parted, placing my forehead to his.
"Now that time was better," He chuckled. I lightly punched his chest and continued walking down the street. His hand found mine, interlocking our fingers together as he stopped me in front of a building.
"This is it, their apartment, my old one," He informed.
"O-okay," I stuttered, squeezing his hand more and hogging his bicep.
"Baby chill," He laughed as he entered his old key in the front door.
"If it's on the last floor could you carry me up the stairs?" I asked.
"Like a cliché married couple?" 
"Yeah," I chuckled. We entered the narrow hallway and quickly found the staircase, following after him, we climbed up the stairs quickly. Roy stopped in his tracks once we arrived at one of the third-floor apartments. 
"You ready?" He whispered.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I answered, locking my arm in his. He knocked on the door, waiting for it to open. My eyebrows furrowed as I heard shuffling inside. Soon a handsome black-haired man peeked out. 
"Hey, Roy," He smirked, stepping out fully and engulfing him in a bear hug. "Who's the cutie?" He scanned over me.
"Bro code Jaybird," The ginger reminded him, "she's my girl," 
"Really? You're (Y/N)?" He chuckled, taking my hand in shaking it.
"Yeah, that's me" I grinned.
"Well come in," He gestured, opening the door for us.
"Kori!" He called out once he shut the door behind us.
"Yes, Jason?" A calm voice asked. I gasped once an orange skinned girl with fiery red hair flew into the room. 
"Kori, this is my girlfriend (Y/N)," Roy presented.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you (Y/N)," She smiled, setting herself back on the ground. 
"It's nice to meet you too," I nodded to her.
"So," Roy started, pulling me closer to him and pecking my cheek.
"She's back in the vigilante business," He cheered.
"Nice," Jason smirked.
"Does that mean she will be on the team?" Kori asked. Roy and I glanced at each other as a smile spread on my face.
"Hell yeah," 
"This is so exciting, finally there is another girl on the team," She squealed, flying up to me to hug me. My eyes widened in surprise but I hugged back out of politeness.
"We're going out, we have to be there in about half an hour, see you tonight?" Roy asked.
"Yeah man," Jason agreed, "Same place, same time," 
"See you guys later," I waved.
*****
"If you like tonight, would you consider officially joining the team or would you stay as a solo vigilante?" He mumbled.
"I don't know, I'll have to see," I smiled at him.
"They're late," My boyfriend groaned as he stared at his phone," They're always late," I laughed at him as he rolled his eyes.
"We're not that bad," A familiar voice chuckled behind us. Our head snapped towards the voice. A small grin appearing on my face.
"Nice outfit," Jason nodded to me. 
"Thanks," I smiled back.
"Ready babe," Roy nodded to me.
"Born ready," 
"Let's move then" Kori informed.
*****
I jumped down behind Roy, right on one of the men that had lifted his gun up to my ginger. I rolled onto the concrete floor as he groaned in pain, quickly back on his feet. I kicked him in the face and flipped him over my back.
"He's down," I informed as Roy turned back to me.
"Wow, you guys are like the ultimate power couple," Jason gasped from the rooftop above.
"Well, we have history," I smirked. We climbed back onto the rooftop and followed them.
--
"There's this deal about drugs that is going to be made just outside of town and we have to stop it, it's too dangerous to the public," Red Hood informed from his motorcycle.
"Loud and clear," I responded, hugging Roy's waist as we sped down the street, behind Jason and alongside Kori's flying figure.
After about fifteen minutes, we arrived at the location. After parking our motorcycles somewhere excluded, we scurried into the building stealthily.
"The shipment will be accepted in about 30 minutes if you sign here," A voice stated. 
"Alright make sure to be on time," another one agreed. We crouched down over the fencing, inspecting the scene below.
"Three men, left," Jason started.
"Two on the back exit," 
"One big one at the front," I continued.
"(Y/N), take him down, Roy, take the back exit, I'll take the ones on the left, Kori, make sure the 'shipment' doesn't leave," Jason ordered. We all nodded at his instructions before jumping down. 
Roy shot a single electric arrow before fighting his assigned men as I kicked the big man in the legs in an attempt to make him lose his balance. As I punched him in the gut, I perceived a man trying to creep up on Jason, to which I took a dagger out of my belt and threw it at his head, the butt of the knife making him fall to the ground and engulf him in darkness. Red Hodd turned to me and nodded before continuing what he was doing.
After a few good hits, I lost my patience and took my gun out, slamming its butt in the side of his head. he collapsed instantly. I raced to another man that had somehow appeared and kicked his gun out of his hands before he could shoot Jason, the latter being too preoccupied in swinging one last punch before the enemy would fall to the floor. 
I grabbed the man's arm as he groaned in pain and pulled him over my shoulder, making him slam into the ground. I breathed out, watching his body relax before flicking my hair out of my face. I turned back to the team, to see Roy smirking at me, beside a now helmet-less Jason and Kori. They both stared at me wide-eyed.
"What?" I asked, walking up to Roy and kissing his lips.
"Holy shit," his best friend muttered under his breath.
"Aren't you a bit out of Roy's league?" He asked
"Maybe," I chuckled as my boyfriend slid his arm around my waist, "but I love him!"
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imnoexpertblog · 5 years
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Here's some stuff to do and listen to.
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7/20/18
Are you ready to receive some suggestions to entertain your fine selves? ‘Cause I’m ready to give it.
For those who are local: My dad and brother run NYFO together for Green Bay. What’s NYFO? WELL. “NYFO 7on7 Football is the next generation of player development, no matter your skill set. NYFO is the NATIONAL GOVERNING BODY for 7on7 & Non-contact Football. Our leagues, camps, and training exist to ultimately transition better, safer, and more fundamentally sound knowledgeable players. NYFO is committed to helping every player in our program improve no matter their skill level. By doing so we will ultimately enhance the sport of football, from youth organizations through the NFL. NYFO is ‘Non-Contact’ For parents, ‘non-contact’ can be translated into ‘one-hand touch.’ Without the distraction of full-contact, players can focus on fundamentals. With so much negative media attention given to concussions and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), 7on7 offers parents a safer alternative for kids wanting to play football.” Quick additional info: They offer programs for age groups 8U, 10U, 13U, 15U, and 18U. Go to their website if you’re interested in signing your kids up! Okay but anyway, if you need something to do this Friday you should go to a Bullfrogs baseball game! Bullfrogs “Stars Of Tomorrow” fundraiser family & friend tickets are $18 and include your ticket (duh), a Bullfrogs hat, a hot dog, AND a soda! A damn steal if you ask me. It helps out NYFO and you’ll have something fun to do! All registered players from NYFO get in free with and a portion of the proceeds from family/friends tickets sales going to the NYFO by simply using code “NYFO7on7” at the point of purchase. Go to greenbaybullfrogs.com, click Buy Tickets Now in the top right corner, and enter the promo code (NYFO7on7). Gates open at 6:05pm and the game is at 7:05pm!  See you at the diamond on July 20th! Give them a follow on Instagram! @greenbay.nyfo
I never really blog about music for how passionate I am about it. I have mentioned before that I sing, too. I’d love music even if I couldn’t sing though. Anyway, everyone loves finding new music, right? I’m gonna tell you my most listened to artists and songs on my Spotify. First, I’ll tell you how I found this data. I found this question forum on this link: https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-way-to-see-my-most-played-artists-songs-in-Spotify. You’ll see in the answer that there’s Spotify.Me or there’s ManageMyMusic to see your most listened to stuff. Spotify.Me is intricate and gives you information like your favorites, streaming habits, and listening insights. Apparently, what I listen to the most is considered to be a bunch of different types of “pop.” I don’t know if I agree with that. They also tell me that “I know what I want” because 84% of my favorite artists are within my most-listened to genre. That I can agree with. It says I’m high energy lately in my streaming choices, but I don’t see it. I have been choosing really chill music, in my opinion. The other link in that question/answer forum is called ManageMyMusic and it gives you a ton of lists; Top artists and tracks for the “Short Term (4 weeks),” the “Medium Term (6 months),” and for the “Long Term (Years).” I’ll give you my top ten for each category, though I know there will be overlapping. I obviously love everything I am about to include so please give this stuff a listen. You’re about to get an intimate peek at my soul.
Top artists -- Short Term (4 weeks)
Jon Bellion
Drake
Milky Chance
Hozier
Andrew Belle
Bazzi
Aaron Carter
Roy Woods
dvsn
Troy Sivan
I didn’t realize that I listened to that much Jon Bellion lately. I mean, he is fantastic. I just didn’t realize I listened to so much of him in the last month.
Top artists -- Medium Term (6 months)
Drake
Blackbear
Tory Lanez
Marc E. Bassy
Jon Bellion
Bazzi
Post Malone
Hozier
Aaron Carter
Sam Smith
I can say for DAMN SURE that Baby has heavily influenced who I listened to these past 6 months. Drake has always been my man but I never listened to Blackbear, Tory Lanez, or Marc E. Bassy before I met him.
Top artists -- Long Term (years)
Drake
Sam Smith
Troye Sivan
Andrew Belle
Justin Bieber
Jon Bellion
The Weeknd
Jessie Ware
Hozier
Tove Lo
None of that even remotely surprises me.
Top tracks -- Short Term (4 weeks)
Jessie Ware, You & I (Forever)
Hozier, Jackie and Wilson
Sabrina Claudio, Orion's Belt
Jon Bellion, Overwhelming
Jon Bellion, 2 Rocking Chairs
Vance Joy, Mess Is Mine
The 1975, Somebody Else
Jon Bellion, The Good In Me
JAHKOY, Still In Love
Young the Giant, Cough Syrup
This is all very "me" lately.
Top tracks -- Medium Term (6 months)
Alina Baraz, Show Me
6LACK, Learn Ya
Tory Lanez, I Sip
Blackbear, moodz (feat. 24hrs)
Marc E. Bassy, 4am
Tory Lanez, Skrt Skrt
Ansel Elgort, Supernova
Bazzi, Mine
Post Malone, Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
R I T U A L, Better By Now
This list is definitely Baby-approved.
Top tracks -- Long Term (years)
Justin Bieber, The Feeling
Troye Sivan, WILD
ZAYN, PILLOWTALK
Snakehips, All My Friends
Tatiana Manaois, Helplessly
Bryson Tiller, Don't
Chris Stapleton, Tennessee Whiskey
Sam Smith, Not In That Way
Hozier, Work Song
A R I Z O N A, Let Me Touch Your Fire
Honestly, the first 5 tracks do surprise me a little, but that was back when I had my music on constantly when I was single and home alone quite often. I remember keeping those on repeat for hours at times, so I’m not sure how accurate that actually is only because of that fact. This was all super cool to see, though. Some of it was expected, some unexpected. Either way, I hope I gave you some new stuff to listen to! And you should check out for own profiles. Nice opportunity to learn a little about yourself.
This past weekend, it was pretty warm out. Baby and I wanted to get Nugget a sprinkler so I took the little one with me to the store aaaaand they were sold out. Due to all the warmth. So I bought Nugget some water guns instead. We got 2 smaller ones and 2 larger ones for THIRTEEN DOLLARS, TOTAL. YEAH. This s’mom was shocked by that price, that’s for sure. We played and sprayed when we got home. Baby and Nugget had some fun together. The first thing Nugget did when we filled his gun though was spray me right in the (get ready) vagina. Yes. Then he yells, “I’M SPRAYING YOU IN THE PARTS.” I was like, “Uhhhhh, let’s not spray anyone’s parts and also let’s talk about anyone’s parts. It’s not polite and those are private” LOL. He’s never said anything to me about private parts or anything so that was new to me. He walks into my room when I’m changing a fair amount of the time and I know for a fact he’s seen more than I meant him to, but he has never asked questions, pointed anything out, etc. I think it’s important to set an example for your children in the sense to be comfortable with their bodies and such. This might be a whole new chapter with Nugget! We will see. Enough about my “parts” and back to the water guns. Baby said that on one of the weeks that we don’t have Nugget, that he wants to do a water gun race with me. I got 2 free beach balls from Sprint when I got a new phone last week (among a ton of other free shit, which I'll tell y'all about soon) and Baby said we should see whoever can get the beach ball across our backyard the fastest by spraying them with the water guns. I honestly think that sounds more fun than any idea I've ever had LOL. It reminds me of when I almost bought us both Nerf guns. So, if things are little mundane (or even if they’re not) maybe you and your love should find your inner children together! Get water-balloons and have a water-balloon fight, chalk up your driveway, set up obstacle courses, have a scavenger hunt! You can make it interesting by making fun deals. Whoever loses has to make dinner, for example. I think we will try all of these ideas eventually.
Speaking of shopping with Nugget, I am in the process of teaching him about not asking for toys every time we go. Baby went through a break up after a 3 year relationship before we was with me. He told me that he felt awful that Nugget no longer had two people raising him and Baby made up for that by buying Nugget toys every time they went to the store. I could tell there was a reason why Nugget would ask like clockwork what toy he would get every time we went shopping. I have been working on breaking Nugget of that expectation, as well as working on having him appreciate the things he has at home. I explain to him Daddy and I only have a certain amount of dollars and that its usually only enough to buy what we needed from the store in the first place. He actually understands this concept very well. He always asks why we are going to the store, so I always have the opportunity to tell him what we need to buy. When we went to buy the sprinkler he asked me, "Can we get a toy from here?" and I replied with, "Buddy, remember what we came here for?" He answered correctly about buying a sprinkler. I said in a very positive tone, "Yep and I'm pretty sure we only have enough dollars for a sprinkler. And you also have a bunch of toys at home that you love to play with." We walked by a few things that piqued his interest. As we walked by some bubble-guns, he goes, "Oooh, those look fun. But we only have dollars to get the sprinkler." I was so proud of him for making this connection and also proud of myself for explaining it to him so that he really does understand this. I was raised by people who didn't explain things. It was always a "because I said so" type of world and I learned to accept it. I won't put Nugget in that world, though. I want him to recognize reasoning and be able to grasp why things are the way they are. He is incredibly intelligent and capable of knowing this information. I also want him to trust me and be honest with me as we grow together, so the first step is me trusting him and being honest with him first. Just wanted to share my super proud s'mom moment of the week. I'll be back tomorrow with new recipes for you!
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Love is Ludicrous 004
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Jimin ft. Jungkook and Taehyung || Fuckboy! Maknae Line || 3801 Words
“Jimin Park being the ultimate definition of fuckboy along with his friends Taehyung Kim and Jungkook Jeon. Upon one of his best friends getting married, he’ll have to deal with consequences also known as Y/N.”
001 002 003 
;
The hustle of the crowd follows along as Hoseok and Y/N stroll through the halls complaining about the regular pains of working at such a busy hospital.
“It’s so annoying how we have to pay just to be able to do the surgery, do they think we’re made of money or something?” The sentence catches Y/N’s attention, after working so hard with the part-time modelling she was finally able to pay for med school and even then, she barely made enough.
“Money? No one told us about that”
“They give us a memo about it just before you get on the roaster, it’s like a five-thousand-dollar registration fee and you have to pay it all before your first surgery. Crazy, right?” Hoseok turns back to see nervousness grow on Y/N’s face, a face he hadn’t seen since they first started the program together a long time ago.
“Hey Y/N, are you okay?” Hoseok asks concerned at how usually quiet Y/N had gotten. The question causes Y/N to snap out of her thoughts and catch up to Hoseok.
“Yeah, I’m fine Hoseok. I just remembered I have to make an important phone call. We’ll catch up in the break room at eleven okay?” Hoseok nods at Y/N before she scurries off to a secluded part of the hospital, away from all the gossiping nurses and judgmental doctors.
The phone rings a couple times, longer than it usual.
“Hey Yoongi, how are you?” “Hey Y/N, I’m good and you?” “I’m good too, I wanted to ask about that Italian photo shoot… Is it still on?” “Yes, it is actually. My latest model cancelled on me when she found out the shoot involved moving vehicles. I wish you would just agree on doing it so I wouldn’t have to find another replacement” “How about I fulfil that wish then?” “Seriously? That’s perfect, I’ve got so many shoots going on this weekend and I don’t want anything but the best for my favourite shoot” “So when should I be there?”
;
Y/N passes by many others struggling to find their seats just as she tries to find hers in the crowded plane.
She passes by another air hostess guiding the business class to their seats until she finally arrives upon her own, seat C2.
It wasn’t until she pulls down her boarding card that she realises who her fellow passenger actually was.
“You? What the hell are you doing here?” Y/N exclaims, other passengers around them noticing her outburst.
Jimin looks up at her with a scowl for causing unnecessary attention towards them.
“Yes, it’s me, what do you want?” Jimin whispers, anger threatening his tone, “Show me your boarding card” Y/N exclaims, Jimin complies by passing her the tucked away boarding pass only for it to be chucked back at him. As if his patience wasn’t already growing thin with this Y/N girl.
Y/N searches around the area spotting an air hostess approaching her rushing her questions of moving to answer seat at her with little to no answers, “Please Miss, the flight is about to take off. I request that you take your seat”.
Frowning, Y/N takes a seat next to the smirking man leaning as far away from him as she could. She watches from the corner of her eye as Jimin leans back in his seat with his eyes closed yet the smirk remains, he begins to lean towards Y/N letting in deeps breaths as if he’s trying to locate something by scent. It wasn’t until Y/N felt the heat radiating off Jimin that she realised that he was leaning in towards her.
“What the hell are you doing?” Y/N questioned him as she took his features while his eyes remain closed, from his sharp jawline to the plumpness of his lips, even Y/N knows that it should be illegal to be that good looking.
“It’s a real shame baby. If you weren’t such a bitch I’d actually consider having a fuck buddy. Even your damn scent is sexy as hell” Y/N could only focus on the way his lips moved as he spoke but she was quick to blame the space, more so lack of, between the two.
“And what makes you think I’d ever fuck a dog like you?” Y/N countered as she finally made eye contact with Jimin, each gazing one another with such intensity. Jimin saw his opportunity to snake a hand down to the underside of one of Y/N’s thighs, the cold rings causing Y/N to shiver upon contact.
“If you want me to be as dirty as a dog then all you had to do was ask” He whispered squeezing and kneading the flesh between his figures. From the way Y/N breath is caught in her throat just like it was at the altar, Jimin knew he had her exactly where he wanted her.
The expression on Y/N face was quickly replaced by a smirk as she reached for the bulge forming in Jimin’s seamlessly fitting jeans giving it a sharp squeeze, “Well two can play at that game”
As Jimin’s hand reached further up the edge of Y/N’s dress, Y/N continued her simulation towards the hardening bulge, both trying to suppress any noise that may draw attention to them as well as given the other the satisfaction of gaining any sort of pleasure.
Just as Jimin’s hand reaches the hemline of her underwear, Y/N pulled away from the front of Jimin’s jeans causing him to chuckle to himself relaxing back into the seat of the plane.
Y/N 0, Jimin 1
;
As soon as the plane stabilises itself after lift-off, Y/N glares at the seat belt sign above them to turn off. Jimin notices her antics as he smiles to himself knowing he was the reason she was acting this way.
Y/N unclicks her belts and storms out of her seat just as the light for the seat belt is switched off. She wonders towards the centre where the economic seats are divided from the business class seats.
As she left, Jimin calls over the air hostess that had previously talked to Y/N. The bullshit he makes over the seat having a draft had him relocating to another given to him by the kind but slightly irritated flight attendant.
;
A hand brushing through a mop of obnoxiously bright red hair draws her attention away from her initial plans. The mop of red hair Y/N now knows as Taehyung was caught in the middle of having his hand shoved between the legs of one of the girls that had a small modelling part in Yoongi’s shoot.
‘Oh, how will men survive without sex’ She thought as she ignored the absurd scene in front of them and continued her plans.
“Hello Miss, how can I help you?” The flight attended asked, she seemed a lot nicer than the previous one she had spoken to. “Yes, I would like to change my seat, are there any other seats available?” She questioned and, in her mind, prayed that there are other seats availed so she wouldn’t have to sit next to that overly cocky, sleazy-ball of a man.
“Yes, there is, seats D to F are available in row 1, it’s just ahead of your original seat Miss Y/N” Y/N didn’t question how or why the flight attendant she had just met knew her name already, she was just happy to be away from Jimin.
Upon arriving at her new seat, she checks behind to her previous seat to see if Jimin still occupied it but due to the other passengers, and for being short, she couldn’t see past them.
Like the air hostess had said, row 1 was practically empty except for the window seat where a man had the blanket covering him from head to toe. His peaceful slumber against the window had Y/N lulling off to dreamland herself and before she knew it, she was cuddled up to the man sleeping against a window.
;
Jimin’s initial plan of pissing her off had come to a halt as he stared at the harmless face snuggled into his left arm.
He takes less than a moment to remember that this was indeed the bitch that sabotaged Jungkook’s marriage and dings the bell repeatedly until the flight attendant shows up, the same one that had irritably changed his seat.
“Can you please tell her to get off me, please?” Jimin grunts as he tries to put on the fakest grin he’s ever had.
The flight attendant shakes Y/N slightly before explaining that she was disturbing her fellow passenger. Y/N apologises to the flight attendant letting her walk away before turning to apologise to the man she fell asleep on until she realises that it was that it was Jimin all over again.
“You? Why are you here?” she exaggerated by pointing to the seat he was, Jimin rolls his eyes as the answer to her question which enrages her even further.
“When will you stop following me goddamn it” She exclaims, the heads of other passengers turning to the ruckus.
Just to spite Y/N, Jimin claims over his seat so he would look down at her directly when he spoke. “I am not following you. Now you are going to shut the fuck up, sit your pretty little ass in that seat and wait for this flight to be over. Understood?”
The tension in the air was thick but knowing she could handle any more embarrassment than she had already faced with Jimin, Y/N nodded at him just to get him back in his seat before muttering ‘fuckboy’ into the air.
Wanting to forget the events that had just occurred Y/N pulled out her phone to check the details for the shoot but not before hearing ‘bitch’ muttered into the air as both sat visibly annoyed in their seats waiting for this flight to be over.
;
Italy is a very beautiful place, Jimin and Taehyung knew that but why did there have to be so many photo shoots held one after the other? When would they get have some real fun around the area?
Jimin knew his dance apparel shoot wasn’t until 4pm but he needed to see all the models that he, may or may not, be working with for well ‘work’ purposes.
Jimin approaches Taehyung already clothed in the Gucci outfit he was supposed to model for the brand. Taehyung noticed Jimin and runs to the older boy shouting random questions that Jimin couldn’t understand a word of.
“Tae, slow down. What’re you so panicked for?” Jimin askes to which Taehyung takes deep breaths before answering.
“So, you know how hyung has a lot of models coming in for a lot of shoots? Well, this particular model doesn’t know how to be organized and showed up late so now he’s getting ready when they need to do his tracking shot with the other model and I’m already dressed for my shoot so in other words. Can you do the tracking shot for hyung?” Taehyung bursts as he moves around his arms to emphasise his words.
“Okay fine I’ll do it, where are the clothes?” Jimin agrees as Tae bounces around before dragging him in the direction of the dressing rooms.
;
“Okay so while we wait for both of the models, let’s get you to run through the shoot once by yourself” Jimin fixes his hair in the small mirror of the motorcycle while someone worked on the placement of his leather jacket.
Jimin starts the bike as told by the instructor and gets into the first position shot. He found it hard to believe that a shoot promoting clothing had to include such challenging aspects, for example, riding a fucking motorcycle which he’s only done a few times in his life.
The first run through went well but the male model Jimin had been covering for still wasn’t ready. The instructor came back and to explain how the bike would now be controlled by the tracks since they know the positioning of the vehicle now but also because he had to do another practice shot but this time with the female model.
If Jimin thought riding a motorcycle on its own was difficult, he didn’t know what severity it would be when the female model came in. Somehow, he had to pose a few times with the model behind him and then somewhere during the ride he needed to bring the model in between himself and the handles of the bike. He was just glad he wasn’t controlling the bike anymore.
Just as the stylist finished doing touch-ups on Jimin, he noticed a familiar head of her and bitch like face walk towards him. “What the hell are you doing here?” Y/N yells at Jimin, glaring as she sizes him up and down though if she had to be honest, Jimin looks damn good in a leather jacket.
“I’m helping out a friend, wait I should be asking you that. What the hell are you doing here?” Jimin yells back getting off the bike. “I’m the fucking model for this shoot that’s what and I know for sure that your shrimp ass isn’t the model I’m supposed to be working with” Y/N retaliates.
Before Jimin could get another word, he felt himself getting dragged away only to see Taehyung when he was as far away from Y/N as possible.
“Look Y/N, Namjoon came in late and we needed to get the tracking shots done before the real shoot, so Taehyung had Jimin step in for the time being since his shoot isn’t until 4pm” Yoongi explains to a furious Y/N, if it wasn’t for how much she needs the money, Y/N would have walked her way back to LA already.
“Do I have to go through the whole shoot with him? I despise him enough for being in the same area as me, I don’t know how I’ll react if I have to sit that close to him” Y/N retorts hoping that Yoongi will delay it instead, but luck doesn’t seem to be on her side today.
“Come on Y/N, we’re running late already” Yoongi sighs shoving her in the direction of the motorbike, she could see from the corner of her eye that Jimin was being pushed towards her by Taehyung himself.
Both reluctantly get on the bike as Y/N waits for Yoongi to come back with more information about the shoot.
“So even if this is a tracking shot, I still need to see the raw emotion and feelings that are going to be in the final photo shoot. Make sure to make this kiss look as passionate as possible since this shoot needs to promote pure love” Yoongi finishes speaking as Jimin’s eyes look as if they were about to pop out of his skull.
“Wait kiss? What kiss?” Jimin stutters as Y/N rolls her eyes at him, it’s not like he hasn’t kissed her before.
“Yes Jimin, kiss. Now guys remember, feel the love” Yoongi ends passionately before heading back to his position for taking the pictures. This is the most enthusiastic they’ve seen Yoongi for a long time.
“It’s just a stupid kiss, get over it Jimin” Y/N voices clearly irritated as she tries to shift herself as far back on the bike as she can but the little space, and her skin-tight dress, doesn’t allow much movement.
“I’m not worried about the stupid kiss, but you should hold tight princess unless you have plans to die in the middle of this” Y/N could practically see his smirk from the back of his head as she wraps her arms around his surprisingly small waist. ‘Great, even the guy I hate has better body curves than me’ she thinks.
As the shoot begins, Y/N follows her simple guide as to where she needed to look for the pictures that were being taken, she soon stands up behind Jimin letting the breeze of the air brush her hair back.
Knowing what comes next, Jimin wraps one hand around Y/N’s waist before pulling her forward as the other remains on the other handle. Despite her pure hatred towards the man in front of her, Y/N leans forward to have their foreheads touch, a simple gesture that looks as passionate as Yoongi had told them to be.
The eye contact the two hold with each other looks as if it was purely lustful. Tilting forward a bit more, Y/N places a delicate open-mouthed kiss on Jimin’s lips before using her teeth to pull at his plump lower lip.  Jimin could feel the heat rising on the back of his neck before he dips in for another kiss. He had to make it look real, at least that’s what he keeps reminding himself.
The bike comes to a halt making the two separate from each other, both holding a gaze full of fieriness. Yoongi approaches the two who remain in their positions unable to detach themselves until they hear Yoongi’s voice.
“Jimin you did an excellent job, I can’t thank you enough for helping me” Yoongi praises Jimin as he proceeds to get off the bike and hold out his hand to help Y/N get off.
His smug expression, however, is wiped off when he notices Y/N taking the hand of the actual model he was filling in for, a tall, handsome, tall, broad, tall, blond. Did Jimin mention he was tall?
Jimin watches with annoyance as this so-called model takes the back of Y/N’s hand before placing a kiss to it, the sight of it makes Jimin want to puke.
“Ah Namjoon, you’re finally fucking ready” Yoongi curses as Namjoon scratches the back of his neck, some stylists slapping his hand away as he manages to mess up a couple of strands in the back. ‘Amateur’Jimin thinks rolling his eyes.
“Hi, I’m Namjoon, thanks for filling in for me, hope it wasn’t too much of a trouble” Namjoon smiles towards Jimin to which he only replies with the fakest smile possible, biting his tongue to avoid any curses slipping by.
“Okay let’s get you on the bike Joon. Since you’re much taller than Jimin we have to adjust the cameras and lights to your height now” Yoongi pushes Namjoon towards the bike before helping Y/N get on as Jimin sulks watching the whole thing.
“Oh my Namjoon, you’re so tall. Guess height really does matter” Y/N smirks instantly griping on to Namjoon’s waist watching as Jimin’s sulk morphs into anger before he is shooed away by the rest of the camera crew.
Y/N 1, Jimin 1
;
Y/N twists her neck around hoping to hear a few clicks to relax the over-stressing muscle and bones around her neck but alas, nothing.
She had enough up-front cash from Yoongi’s shoot to pay for her flight back and half of her upcoming surgery fee but Yoongi had already assured her that she’ll get her final payment when she’s back home.
Imagining the feeling of being back in her own home, in her own bed seemed like a fantasy but that’s all Y/N could wish for right now. Instead, she’s subjected to the ear-splitting noises of strangers talking and children yelling at the airport.
Focusing her eyes on the environment around her, she notices a familiar head of red hair and, of course, along beside it would be a perfectly shaped blond head of hair too. The girl the blond had his arm around whispers something to him before making her way through the crowd and to the bathroom.
It probably wasn’t a good thing that Y/N wanted to get one ahead of Jimin after the whole flight to Italy incident she had to deal with but when did anyone say she was a good person?
Making her way towards the bathroom, she looks over hoping the two males didn’t spot her, but it would be hard to anyway considering the sea of people who decided to fly overseas from Venice.
Arriving inside the decently decorated bathroom, she pretends to fix her hair while waiting for the girl to come out of the stalls.
The brunette finally makes her appearance to wash her hands while Y/N smirks at her revenge plan towards Jimin is heading into action.
“Any reason you’re staring at me?” The brunette questions, Y/N sighs with her limited but very believable acting. She didn’t take those drama classes in college for nothing.
“It’s just, I saw you and thought it must be very brave of you to stay with a man like Jimin” Y/N leans forward placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder as if for sympathy.
“What the hell are you talking about? How do you even know him” She questions and all Y/N can think is, good fucking luck Park Jimin.
“Oh, that’s too long of a story but to tell you the truth, he hooked up with my best friend and me behind our backs and got us pregnant on purpose. He kept saying that he’d pull out, but he never did, and I know you wouldn’t be as stupid as me to not check if he’s wearing a condom or not but that little shit always took it off before he came. He has this stupid bet going with his friend, the red-haired one, Taehyung, to get as many girls pregnant as possible and I’m pretty sure he’s going to do the same with you”
The fake tears that fell from Y/N’s eyes really seem to have made the girl believe her but she needs something else to seal the deal.
“I’m sorry I told you this but I’m just looking out for you, he’s ruined my whole modelling career without a care in the world and I just wouldn’t want you to suffer the same fate as me”
Unexpectantly, the brunette pulls Y/N for a hug as she rubs her back for comfort. Checkmate.
Leaving you in the bathroom, she storms out heading towards a very oblivious Park Jimin.
Hurrying after her, Y/N only seems to catch the end of the brunette’s fury as she sees Jimin holding the cheek she had just slapped before she sees him laying on the floor clutching his balls, and little dignity, for dear life.
Taehyung seems to finally notice his friend in a shit ton of pain and rushes towards a very confused Jimin before lifting him up. Although Jimin’s confusion quickly went away when noticing a very happy Y/N winking towards him before strolling past them.
“Why were you on the floor Jimin? And why are you limping like that?” An absentminded Taehyung asks. In his pissed off state, Jimin only manages to knee Taehyung dick just as the girl did his.
Y/N 2, Jimin 1
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northstatenerd · 5 years
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WWE Fastlane 2019 Preview
WWE’s Fastlane takes place this Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio and it is the last big stop before Wrestlemania. For the most part this event will further the storylines we have seen over the last few weeks, but it will also launch a few others that will likely culminate at “The Grandest Stage of Them All” in April. Here are the biggest stories to keep your eye on.
1. The Shield will reunite for, what is supposedly, the last time ever. Roman Reigns returned last week to announce that his leukemia is in remission. He wasted no time reuniting with his Shield brother, Seth Rollins. However, since he left after his diagnosis, Dean Ambrose turned on Rollins and the two have been at odds ever since. This week, Reigns asked the two to put their differences aside and team up again. Ambrose finally agreed late into Monday’s episode of Raw. They are touting this as the last time ever, because Rollins will be preoccupied at Mania with Brock Lesnar and the WWE Universal title to team up again, and it has been announced that Ambrose will not renew his contract when it runs out after Wrestlemania. The interesting part of that is that WWE, as far as I know, has never announced a wrestler will be leaving before they actually do. So this could all be an elaborate work, and maybe we see the ‘Hounds of Justice’ back in action again, but I would plan on this being their last match together for a long time at least.
2. Somehow, the WWE has been able to keep the Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair story interesting for most of this year. After Becky was suspended until post-Mania, Ronda laid her title down and said she wouldn’t compete until Becky was reinstated. This week, Becky was reinstated and a match was set for her to face Charlotte Flair this Sunday at Fastlane. At the contract signing on Monday night, Ronda attacked Becky from behind and reclaimed her title. The stipulation was added that if Becky wins on Sunday she will be added to the Wrestlemania match. The best part of this entire feud is Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey going at each other on Twitter. The two of them do not seem to be holding back at all and it is fun to watch.  WWE is not known for being able to maintain a compelling story over a long period of time, but so far so good here, and hopefully they can keep it up for another month.
3. The Ronda/Becky story is so nice, WWE decided to do it twice! After Elimination chamber, Kofi Kingston was awarded a championship match against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane. Vince McMahon came out before the contract signing and replaced Kofi with Charlotte Flair. Sorry I mean Kevin Owens. Déjà vu. The crowd was so firmly behind Kofi and him finally getting a shot at the title, that we have to assume this is a placeholder until Mania. There isn’t currently a clear path for Kofi to earn his shot, and hopefully they don’t continue to follow the Women’s story, but I do believe Kofi will face Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship, and I believe he will win it. It is absurd at this point that WWE has never had an African American champion, and someone who has been with the company for so long like Kofi would be a perfect choice for that honor.
The Card
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
If Becky Lynch Wins, She is Added to the Wrestlemania Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
Prediction:
Becky Lynch has to win this. This is the best way to set up the Wrestlemania match we all want. After several weeks of surprise attacks and beatdowns to both Charlotte and Becky, I’d imagine we’re going to see a great storyline in this match of both competitors working specific body parts of the other. Becky will work Charlotte’s arm, to set her up for the Dis-Arm-Her, while CHarlotte will focus on Becky’s already injured leg. With how hot this storyline has been, I expect this will main event, and Ronda will be involved at some point. Possibly even helping Becky to win.
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kevin Owens
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Prediction:
Daniel Bryan retains. I expect this to be an excellent match between two of the best wrestlers in WWE, but I am going all in on Bryan holding the belt going into Wrestlemania, and dropping it there to Kofi Kingston.
The Shield vs. Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, & Bobby Lashley
Prediction:
This match goes one of two ways. This gets treated as a feel good moment to have the Shield reunited, we get the entrance through the crowd, the old music, and they win after a triple powerbomb to probably Baron Corbin. If that’s the case, Reigns will likely face one of the men from the losing team at Mania. However, there is another road to take. Dean Ambrose screws over his brothers and costs them the match, setting up Ambrose to face Reigns at Mania. That scenario gives us a much better match, but WWE is in a delicate position, where they finally have fans cheering for Reigns and putting him against Ambrose in what could be his last match in WWE could jeopardize that.
Asuka (c) vs. Mandy Rose
Smackdown Women’s Championship
Prediction:
For as exciting as some of the storylines are going into Sunday, this one is nothing. There is absolutely no reason for this match to happen, and even less reason for Asuka to lose the title. Asuka is arguably the best female wrestler in the WWE, and making her drop her title to Mandy Rose would be disappointing to say the least. But then again, Vince McMahon loves blondes....
The Usos (c) vs. The Miz and Shane McMahon
SmackDown Tag Team Championships
Prediction:
Usos retain here and this will create the friction between the Miz and Shane that will lead them to their match at Wrestlemania against each other. Shane will probably attempt another move he is too old to do, like a Coast-To-Coast or a jump onto a table that will look cool, but will still not earn Vince’s love and respect.
Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) vs. Tamina & Nia Jax
Women’s Tag Team Championships
Prediction:
Bayley and Sasha will retain. They will likely keep the belts until Wrestlemania where they will face off against a pair of legends, likely Trish Stratus and Lita. Tamina and Nia do seem to be formidable opponents, but after Bayley beat Nia Jax on raw last week, they have proven that it is possible to overcome the size disadvantage.
The Revival (c) vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet
Raw Tag Team Championships
Prediction:
This match could steal the show. Aleister Black and Ricochet are 2 of the most entertaining guys on the roster right now. The fact that this is a triple threat means there are no count outs, so there will be plenty of time spent outside of the ring, with everyone diving out of the ring onto everyone else. I think this will be a fun match but ultimately the Revival will retain. I hesitate to now include one single title change on this card, and if there is one I could see Roode and Gable reclaiming the titles here. I would be surprised if Black and Ricochet win, just because they are better off as singles competitors, and do not need to be stuck in a tag team. I imagine the only reason they are in this match is to promote the upcoming Dusty Rhodes Classic Tag team Tournament on NXT. I put the over under on flips performed in this match at 12.
Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade
Prediction:
Andrade and Mysterio have had some great matches over the last few weeks and this will be no different. I do think they will want to get Andrade closer to a title picture heading towards Wrestlemania though. With a guy like Mysterio, he really doesn’t gain or lose anything whether he wins or not, so I see Andrade getting the win and starting to move away from Rey and focusing on the new United States Champion, Samoa Joe.
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toshiro-46 · 6 years
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Of Branwens and Bulls: a connection between Raven and Adam?
I think there's a good chance that Raven and Adam are connected. While this isn't an original idea - when Raven appeared for the first time, it was assumed by many that she was a part of the White Fang, given her mask - it's died down in the past couple of years as we've learned more about them. Still, there's quite a lot of evidence, and I think I can make a compelling case for some sort of connection between them based on that evidence. And after I've done that, I have my own theory on what exactly that connection is. (oh and I’ve actually sort of learned how to use rich text, so the rest is beneath the “keep reading” thingie)
The Evidence Towards a Connection:
The biggest thing is their designs. Let's be real: Raven's design is pretty much a gender-bent version of Adam's initial design. Their designs have in common:
#1 - Grimm masks:
Raven is the only non-White Fang member to wear a Grimm mask.  
We know for certain after the Adam short that he was the one to begin the trend of wearing them, which begs the question: Where'd he get the idea? Maybe from the one other person who uses a Grimm mask? 
While we don't know how long Raven has used her mask, we do know that (based on V4C4) Qrow is seemingly familiar with it (which could possibly imply its usage even before she became a Maiden) and that a question about why she has it and how long she's had it at RTX was potentially a spoiler question that Gray didn't think he could answer. This suggests that it could have some further importance to the story besides covering Raven's eyes, and I can't see any other reason than it being an indicator of her connection to Adam.
#2 - Japanese-esque clothing:
While the general style of their clothing isn't *that* similar (both are just Japanese-Inspired), it should be noted that in Adam's conceptual design seen here, he's wearing clothing very similar to some Naruto ninja (specifically a younger Kakashi), with a flak jacket and kunai. This original design could've possibly been to parallel Raven's samurai-inspired appearance. 
#3 - A primarily red and black color scheme:
It's worth noting that red and black do seem to be the Branwen colors. Yes, Ruby has a red and black color scheme, but she mimics Qrow, so she got it from him. Other than her, many Branwen tribe members dress in red and shades of white or black. Yes, they're also the Evil!WF colors, but the Adam short shows us that he was using them well before the Evil!WF was a thing.
#4 - Red katana-esque blades:
It's hard to overstate how insanely similar Adam's and Raven's weapons are.  The only other pair of weapons that comes close in terms of similarity to each other are Winter's and Weiss's, and Weiss based hers off of Winter's. 
They look incredibly similar to each other, and not only do their sheathes both serve a dual purpose (shotgun/dust blade chamber), but both sheathes have been shown to shoot the sword out from them. So they have swords that look near identical and sheathes that 1. shoot their sword out and 2. have one other purpose besides that. 
Even after Adam gets his new outfit, there’s some telling clues to his possible background. 
His new outfit has something just like this thing on his belt. 
Speaking of his belt (well, he has two but the one with the buckle), it's the exact same as Shay D. Mann's, and both he and Shay have the same red strap on their thighs. For the record, it's not like this would be the first time CRWBY re-used assets to show connection between characters: When the V5 trailer came out, I noted that Shay and one of the bandits with Raven had the same gloves and correctly used that information to predict that Shay was one of Raven’s bandits. There’s precedent for them paying attention to stuff like this. Besides that, this bandit that ambushed Yang has a thigh strap (though a different color than Adam's and Shay's), so does one of the bandits that is with Raven when she finds Weiss, and several of the misc. tribe members that we see in the bandit camp also have thigh straps. As far as I know, no other characters besides Adam and Branwen tribe members have a thigh strap like that.
But swords and clothing choices aren’t the only things they have in common.
Philosophy: Raven, as we know, is all about strength. She has a survival of the fittest mentality: "The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules." So does Adam. While Raven's idea of strength is just pure power, Adam's seems to be Faunus in general: "We're better than humans. We have everything humans have and more. Humans shouldn't just fear the Faunus, they should serve the Faunus." Faunus are stronger and better, therefore they should be the ones on top.
Fighting style: They're the only characters in the show who have used Iaido. And both have been known to shoot their sword out of their sheathe as a start to their fights. Again, the only two characters who do so.
Finally, there’s a few more things that could indicate a connection:
A black bird appears at the beginning of the Black Trailer, and Adam even takes note of it and watches it as it flies away. We know Raven keeps tabs on those she has bonds with - we see her around Qrow several times throughout Volumes 3 and 4, and Yang saw her often enough to recognize her bird form. Is it too strange to think she'd be doing the same for Adam, if they were connected? (It should be noted that it's unlikely that this is just Monty signing his work. The birds in the Red and Yellow trailers are clearly the Branwen twins following Ruby and Yang, and he notably doesn't include a bird in the White trailer (even though that'd make it 4/4), possibly because it’s the one trailer that has no characters that are connected to the Branwens.
Cinder approaches both of their camps in a very similar manner/scene (making a proposition of working together, bringing Em and Merc, threatening to kill everyone there, etc, normal Cinder stuff). Adam is easily cowed by her showing of Maiden powers, whereas Raven - while still agreeing to work with her - doesn't submit easily and instead plans on (and ultimately succeeds at) backstabbing her.
It’d be entirely too fitting if one of Raven’s mistakes came back to bite Yang.
They're both emotionally manipulative towards Blake and Yang, even in a similar way: Both make excuses for their murders, both try to make themselves out to be victims, both try to scapegoat someone else, both bring up sore points (Raven brings up Blake in V5C6, Adam brings up Blake’s parents), etc. 
What is their connection?
I think Raven was Adam’s mentor. Just as Blake modeled her weapon after her mentors' (Adam and Sienna), he modeled his after Raven's. But he went a step further: he was incredibly obsessed with Raven to the point where he modeled himself after her. She taught him at least part of her fighting style - they both use Iaido, a style unique to them in the show - and in doing so also inspired his weapon: like hers, it’s a red single-edged sword with a sheathe that serves a dual function. He dressed himself like her - red and black in Japanese-esque clothing.
Eventually, though, I think they parted ways. I’m not sure why, but I doubt it was amicably. Maybe Raven found a more appealing apprentice in Spring, or maybe he just did something that she didn't like. It's hard to say, but whatever happened between them is quite possibly why Adam hates humanity so much. 
After Raven left him, he corrupted her survival-of-the-fittest/might-makes-right philosophy (“The weak die. The strong survive”) into “The Faunus are the strong ones. Humans should serve us, they are the weak ones.” He corrupted her idea of using Grimm masks to instill fear while raiding (assuming that was her original reason for using one) into using Grimm masks to instill fear into humanity as a whole. And finally, when he met a young Blake Belladonna (who looks quite a bit like Raven actually, except that - and this was key for him - she's a Faunus), he transferred his prior obsession with Raven over to her, taking her under his wing and training her to use a katana-esque sword with a sheathe that serves a second function as a weapon (sound familiar?). It’s a story of the cycle of abuse: Adam, abused by Raven, in turn abuses Blake (and tries to abuse all of humanity because he's an asshole like that).
To wrap this up, let’s quickly go through the three most popular ideas for Adam's eyes and how they fit into this theory: 
If Adam has Silver Eyes, it'd provide a reason for Raven to decide to train him. She's consolidating power/magic for herself to defend against Salem (and Ozpin), which is also why she picked up the Spring Maiden and decided to train her.
Adam having red eyes would suggest that Raven is his mom (she would likely have had him before going to Beacon in this case). I personally don't care for this, as she probably would've been underage then and I don't think RT would be willing to tell that story, and him turning out to be Yang's half-brother would makes a lot of things very complicated and possibly melodramatic.
If Adam is scarred/half-blind, Raven could've been the one who did that to him. His former mentor turning on him and trying to kill him would certainly be a good reason for him to hate humanity.
I was waiting until the Adam Short came out to write this up (in case it went into Adam’s origins prior to the WF), but now that it's here (and actually somewhat supporting the theory), here I am. Thanks for reading!
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twilightprince101 · 6 years
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Singanronpa: What is True Friendship? (Curtain Call)
[Previous] [Next]
Finally able to get this out there, coming to the second most important thing about Danganronpa; the investigations! Lemme just say that I’m really excited for how this turned out, and although it was a long time coming (exams and family stuff happened, my bad), we can finally get back on this train! However let me just say that, while in traditional Danganronpa games, you were able to see what was concrete evidence via truth bullets, I think I might be best to take a more Phoenix Wright route and leave everything up to interpretation. However if you manage to correctly guess what exactly happens before it is revealed, then kudos to you! (if you’d like I could even do a shout out once the full chapter is over) The main thing I’ll retain from the original game is the point and click style format; you’ll know it when you see it. But enough talk, let’s get to it!
ATTENTION!!! Danganronpa is home to lots of graphic content, particularly violence, death and graphic depictions of that death. If you are sensitive to any of these things and several other mature themes, DANGANRONPA IS NOT FOR YOU!!! You have been warned.
For what seems like an eternity, time stands still as all of the animals stare at the scene in front of them. Nobody knows how to react while looking down at the motionless bodies of Johnny and Stephanie. Meena is pressed up against the far wall, eyes staring at nothing while her breathing is as fast as a speeding train’s beat. Buster even refuses to believe it at first. But then-
Mike: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?!
Chaos unfolds and everyone freaks out.
Gunter, Nancy, David and Rosita scream in terror.
Ember, Jude, Matt, Ash and Mike all begin cursing up a storm and try to wake themselves up from the nightmare they’re in.
Buster and Julee try to hold back their dinner. Julee fails and sprints for the trash can.
Eddie and Riley go still from shock and are still frozen in place
Meena is now curling up and pressing her ears against her face.
While everyone is still freaking out, Monokuma appears, satisfied with the despair everyone is feeling. Although everyone keeps panicking and doesn’t acknowledge his presence, so the bear pulls out an air horn and honks it to catch everyone’s attention.
After tossing the horn, the bear comments on how the scene before them is a sight to behold at how the first murder happened so quick, yet so sloppily. However, he admits that he’s seen worse, and simply laughs, prompting a yell of denial from Mike.
Mike: IS THIS SOME SORT OF SICK GAME TO YOU?! TWO PEOPLE ARE DEAD!!!
Monokuma: Well, I literally called this the “Killing Game,” so…
The bear then prompts everyone that any questions about the oncoming investigation will refer to the black section of the pamphlets they were all given earlier. He also gives them a red folder with a black number 1 circled in white with the outline of the bear’s head, explaining that it is the Monokuma File, and “Gives all the juicy details on any murder that takes place here!”
Monokuma: We used to have a really cool digital version instead of paper but… well some budget cuts happened and now we’re here.
After wishing everyone (including the culprit) good luck, the bear vanishes once more, leaving everyone slack-jawed from their presented task. Riley is the first to speak up after the bear leaves, asking “Why… why did Johnny have to… how did this happen?”
Julee speaks up as well, stating that she had a slight feeling from the start that the quietest one would be the first to act. “It is the most common in these scenarios after all,” she says. “if there’s one thing I know, it’s that everyone has a dark side.”
But Buster immediately tries to counter this, saying that he’s researched everyone’s history, and Meena was one of the kindest people he scouted out, even going as far to list different charitable things she’s done like work at a soup kitchen. However, Ash and Gunter dismiss this statement as creepy, not taking it seriously. Rosita does jumps in, saying that she knows how certain people behave since she’s been around her kids for so long.
Rosita: I can say for a fact that Meena could not have done this on purpose. I’ve been around a lot of children throughout my life and I can always tell what exactly they’re like after being around them. My motherly intuition is never wrong!
This sparks a bit of debate between Rosita, Mike, Julee and Nancy while everyone else is still freaking out. Buster tries to think of any possible explanation for this situation, still denying in his mind that any of this was happening.
But once Meena begins to mutter “I didn’t mean to” over and over again, everyone stops and rushes to her side, asking her what exactly happened. The elephant is pulling her ears as close together as possible while streaks of tears wash away a bit of the blood splattered on her cheeks. Through a shaky breath, Meena begins to explain the events that had transpired in the room.
“Johnny and I… we were together in here, talking about the notes. Th-there was a knock at the door and, and Johnny opened it and-and she rushed in with one of Ash’s quills. She was trying to kill me I-I had to-... Johnny tried to protect me, but h-he was getting hurt and-and I tried to help but I hit him and then, Steph ran at m-me and… And I…..” She suddenly burst out sobbing again.
The room is silent once again. Everyone present is agape at the Soprano’s confession and doesn’t know exactly how to process what was just said. Even though it seemed like the most logical answer to some, they still couldn’t believe it.
Rosita and David try to comfort Meena, trying to calm her down while Matt sits down and chuckles in shock, trying to find some sort of humor in the situation.
Matt: The first murder of the killing game and it’s an accident. Haha… this isn’t even funny.
Mike then speaks up, saying that while it is shocking, he was silently expecting it due to Meena’s timid nature. “She was meek and quiet, it’s only natural for this to happen. It’s as they say though, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Buster, however, still states that something feels off about the situation, and all of the attention is turned towards him. Mostly everyone-save for Nancy, Eddie, Gunter and Ember-say that Meena had already confessed to the crime and question his morals.
David: Can’t you see she’s grieving right now man?
Ash: Figures, the morals align with the creeper’s actions.
Jude: What would even be the point of her lying right now if it would get us killed?!
After taking a moment of consideration from hearing Jude’s words, Nancy asks for what would happen if there was an accomplice involved and reaches for her pamphlet, reading the desired segment aloud. “In the case of the blackened gaining an accomplice to their crimes, only the killer, the one that has done the deed, will be permitted to graduate and escape to the outside world.”
While the other Ultimates become more sure than ever that Meena was telling the truth, Buster admits that he is still uncertain and asks Meena if she was certain that her entire confession was true. Perhaps she was mistaken at some point.
After jumping slightly, she stutters out a yes and states that she was absolutely sure. While this does cause more angered glances in Buster’s direction, the showman states that something else still could’ve happened. Gunter begins to catch on and states that, perhaps, Meena didn’t kill Stephanie and that she only THINKS she did so.
At this point, there are three groups;
Meena killed: Rosita, Meena, David, Riley, Ash, Jude, Julee
Something else happened: Nancy
Uncertain: Gunter, Mike, Ember, Matt, Buster, Eddie
After sides are taken, Buster requests that he takes a look around, since he assumes that these games typically include the investigations as well. Nancy confirms this, and also tells everyone siding with Meena that if they are way too hasty, then they’ll end up like Killing Game #14. Everyone in the room is sent a jolt of fear, and then after considering for a bit, Rosita reluctantly allows them their investigation.
Eddie, currently waiting in the hall due to concerns of being attacked, pipes up and says that he wants to help as well. Many are suspicious of him and are hesitant to this idea though.
Mike: Um, yeah, who ask you exactly?
Rosita: I mean… you don’t have to if you don’t want to, you could just leave it to us.
Ember: Yeah, I’m pretty sure we can handle it by ourselves.
Buster waves everyone down and asks that they listen to what he has to say. After giving a confirming nod to Eddie-who is visibly sweating from stress-the servant begins to explain himself.
Eddie: When Monokuma introduced me, he said I- he said I was supposed to obey him, but that I could be a p-player as well. A-and he also likes it when class trials are ex-exciti-cool, right? So maybe if I could-I mean, play too then, it would… be…. Alright?
The entire time he is saying this, he is staring at his collar, as if he’s preparing himself for the alarm to sound and to apologize. Everyone else feels his hesitation as well when they catch on to his worries. But then, the light on the collar turns green and emits a sound similar a the seat belt sign on an airplane, and the sheep gives a sigh of relief, followed by everyone else.
Those insisting that Meena is the killer grumble and go back to what they’re doing. Buster applauds Eddie for his bravery who, in response, blushes slightly and admits that he was scared to death the entire time he was saying that. But after a small talk, the two agree to investigate together, since both of them are the ones attracting the most suspicious glances.
Right before they begin, Buster remembers Crawley’s letter and tries to draw even the slightest bit of courage from it. He recalls Crawley telling him to not be afraid so he can end the killing games and lead everyone to freedom. So with a desire to prove himself to the Ultimates, the duo’s resolve strengthens.
-----INVESTIGATION START----
Monokuma File #1
To begin, Buster and Eddie read the Monokuma file aloud so everyone else can hear them. It contains a single laminated paper with a picture of Stephanie’s corpse, a grayscale photo of Stephanie with bits of pink highlights on her fur, and a list of notes. The following is a summarized version of the file:
“The victim is Stephanie Hornbaker, the Ultimate Makeup Artist. The victim's body was discovered in Meena Jones, the Ultimate Soprano’s room. The established time of death is [REDACTED]. The victim was subject to blunt force trauma to the back of the skull, resulting in cranial fractures and immediate death. Several miscellaneous injuries accompany the body as well, including significant lacerations along the torso and irritation on the upper arms.”
The two immediately take notice of how the time of death has been blacked out, despite all of the other details being so specific. To erase confusion, Ember states that different details in murders tend to be cut out in killing games, as they would be defining evidence to the Blackened. “It makes sense,” says Eddie, “since he also wants to make these games interesting for the animals watching.”
Mike is disgusted at how the bear treats the murder as some sick show and not-so-silently curses at the bear.
Matt then asks for what Johnny’s file says and the koala takes out the paper to look for the next but, to his surprise, he finds no such paper. The duo look around to see if the paper dropped anywhere, but once again find nothing. A bit of confusion is passed around to the animals, but then Riley gasps, realizing something that they don’t.
Riley: W-wait… does that mean…?!
A low groan of pain is emitted and everyone stops dead in their tracks. They look between each other for a moment, then once another groan is let loose, everyone looks to the floor to find Johnny struggling to get up. Johnny was alive!
Everyone scrambles around Johnny, Meena and Riley especially. He is still bleeding heavily and the metallic drops of red soak his fur. Rosita looks around the room and yells for “any medical supplies at all” so she can help him. Buster says that there’s some in his room and Eddie runs to go get it while the koala yells to him the details of its location.
The greaser flops to his back and everyone gets in his face, barraging him with a mini-gun's worth of questions.
Ember: What happened?! Did Meena really kill Stephanie?!
Riley: Please, please please, don’t go! You’re not gonna die too, right?!
David: Johnny, what happened here?! Are you alright?!
Amidst all of the animals clamoring to get an answer out of the gorilla, Johnny was only able to look at the soprano, who is currently leaking tears and gripping his paw while apologizing profusely. When he began to open his mouth, everyone went quiet once again. Right before he closed his eyes once again, Johnny spoke to Meena “It’s… n-not your… fault…..”
As the room goes silent once again, Eddie returns with the entire first aid kit. Rosita immediately gets to work, with nearly everyone working along with her. Meena, with a blank look in her eyes, goes back to where she was and begins to sob once more.
Once Johnny is patched up, the mother explains that Johnny will survive. He lost a lot of blood though, so it’s likely that he won’t wake up for a good while. But on the topic of the greaser, the participants talk about Johnny’s last words. Riley says that, along with Meena’s confession, it’s clear now what exactly happened.
This, however, sparks a bit of a debate between the Ultimates, with some saying that it didn’t clear up any suspicion while others say it’s the final nail in the coffin for the soprano. Riley, in an offended tone, accuses those not on Meena’s side for trying to drag out the elephant’s suffering, and tells the Ultimate that he’ll help her out. Meena says nothing in response to this, she simply looks at the stage actor, then looks back down to the floor.
Before the debate gets out of hand, Nancy and Ember calm everyone down and convinces everyone to get back to the actual investigation. Riley goes to Meena’s side to try and talk to her and see what he can do to prove her guilt while the rest of the Ultimates go back to what they were originally doing.
Stephanie’s body
Knowing that they should get it out of the way, the koala approaches the victim’s corpse, suppressing the urge to vomit. Buster looks at the Monokuma file once again and lists the different places that Stephanie was injured so he can inspect them, dreading the thought of even getting close to the body.
However as he’s about to put the file away, he spots Eddie approaching the body to inspect it without a smidgen of hesitation. The showman is astonished by this skill, but before he can say anything about it, Eddie explains the different details of Stephanie’s wounds.
Eddie: Everything in the Monokuma file does match. Bludgeoning to the head, lacerations across the body, significant rashes on the arms. But the one thing I don’t get is why the fur is wet-
Buster waves him to stop before he can continue, asking how he could have been able to just walk up to a corpse like that like it was nothing. A few of the Ultimates are also looking at the servant with a mix of shock and disgust. Eddie doesn’t understand why they’re shocked, but still apologizes.
Deciding it would be best to ask about it later, the showman asks about what he was going to say. Eddie then states that Stephanie’s entire body is damp, like a thoroughly ringed out towel. After trying to think of possible reasons for her fur to be damp, they consider asking Meena about it to clear the suspicion. But since Riley is still interrogating her, they save it for the trial.
Johnny Serafinowicz and Rosita Brown
The duo approaches Rosita, who is still trying to make sure that Johnny is safe and healing. The showman thanks her for her medical skills, saying that if she hadn’t been there, then Johnny most likely would have also went down with Stephanie. Rosita thanks them, but doesn’t think much of her skills, saying that it was just another thing that she needed to know to help her several children.
Rosita: Then again, I suppose that night school for my medical degree wasn’t all for nothing, so that’s nice.
When Eddie asks how long Johnny will be out for, Rosita admits that she isn’t exactly sure. The worst case scenario is that he’d be unconscious for the entire class trial, leaving the group without a key witness. However she still states with certainty that Meena’s actions were simply an accident, saying that the soprano would never do something so selfish willingly.
Rosita: I know for certain; my motherly intuition is never wrong!
The mother allows the two to check Johnny’s body, as long as they’re careful. After the two do a quick inspection, they find that many of the gorilla’s injuries are similar to those listed in Stephanie’s Monokuma file: cuts and bruises along the body and a blow to the head-the only thing missing is the rashes on the arms.
However in place of the irritation, Buster notices something about Johnny’s hands while the sheep and mother are talking about the injuries. He flips over the currently palm-down arm, much to Rosita’s disapproval, to find that the paw is completely clean. He flips over the other one as well, getting similar results. But due to Rosita heavily insisting him to leave Johnny alone to recover, the koala steps away and is unable to fully process what this could mean. He then leaves with Eddie to look for something else.
Ash Spinosa and Julee Hartford
Since he saw Ash right before he ran to his office, Buster tries to talk to the rocker and figure out what she might have seen or heard. The rocker is currently standing guard on the wall with Julee, making sure that nobody tampers with the crime scene in any way, while also talking about possible clues that could be useful during the trial.
When the duo approaches, the two are visibly disgusted by their presence and openly state this as well.
Ash: Ah look, the stalker and the creeper working together in arms. I honestly don’t know why I expected less.
Julee: Heh, to be honest I think they’re practically made for each other considering their hobbies.
The two pretend not to hear those comments and request that they ask the two some questions. Both of them clench their teeth in response to this, but since both of them know the gravity of their current situation, they allow the two to do their thing.
However when Buster explains what exactly he saw and asks the rocker about it, Ash has no idea what she’s talking about and thinks that the koala is spouting nonsense. When going deeper into detail about what he saw and what happened, Ash assumes that he’s crazy, as their rooms aren’t even remotely close to each other like he described.
Julee offers up the idea of Buster trying to pin the blame on her and Ash states that she wouldn’t put it past him. When Eddie tries to defend him by saying that it would only get him killed, the two say that they don’t really know what’s going on in the koala’s head so he can’t exactly say that. Deciding it would be useless to press any further, the koala leaves the two alone and investigates elsewhere.
Severed bed leg and Ember Gibson
In between Stephanie’s body and Meena, the giant bed leg laid on the ground just outside of the small pools of blood. Ember is currently inspecting the weapon herself as well, making sure not to touch it. The bed leg is half bloody and half clean and, due to Meena’s giant height, the bed leg was about as tall as the servant himself. Buster tries to lighten the mood by saying that it only helps with the investigation since he could crawl inside of it for clues.
Ember: You sound a little too enthusiastic to do that.
Buster: ...I like cramped spaces…
The rapper comments that she has finished her own inspection of the bed leg itself and shares her findings with the duo:
“The bed leg itself is the most likely candidate for the murder weapon according to Meena’s confession, the amount of blood covering the surface, and the indents aligning with the two head injuries. The indents themselves are strange though, as they’re both on opposite ends of the pole, even the clean part. It might be due to how tight Meena gripping the pole though; she’s naturally strong after all. However the most confusing thing is the heat of the pole. You would expect the clean part to at least be lukewarm, since Meena was gripping it while attacking. But it’s actually ice cold, like if it was left out during a snowstorm. *sigh* If I had some fingerprint powder this investigation would be done so much faster.”
Buster thanks Ember for the quick briefing and Eddie comments on Ember’s desire for fingerprint powder, saying that she sounds like a detective from an old school movie. The badger puts on a lax, smug expression, saying that before he came to the theater she was actually a pretty famous detective. But when Buster calls her out, saying that she didn’t work for the police, she begins to stumble over her words.
Ember: W-well, I, uh… I mean I still freakgigbph… why don’t you go investigate somewhere th-not here?
Jude Therna, Meena Jones, Jackson Riley, and David Flowerson
The showman and servant approach Jude and David, who are together comforting Meena while Riley asks her questions. When they spot the duo, they whisper something to the racoon and elephant, then get up to step in between the four.
David says that it would be best to leave the soprano alone for the time being, since she’s already on the verge of a breakdown because of Riley questioning her. He isn’t exactly being aggressive, but everything is a sensitive subject to her for obvious reasons.
Respecting their wishes, Buster decides to ask a few questions to the two, starting with who found the crime scene first. Jude freely states that they did, leaving the duo in slight shock. But before they can continue, the jaguar stops any suspicion towards them before it starts, saying that they have an alibi.
The entire night since 10:00 PM, they did a night watch to make sure that nobody tried anything. Although they do openly state their sorrow for not being able to prevent the crime in the end, David tries to comfort the street performer by saying there was nothing they could have done. Jude just shakes their head as if to shake away their doubts, then tells the three about the details of the night watch:
10:00 PM: Nightwatch begins. Buster is spotted running to his office, leaving his door open behind him. They checked his room for anything suspicious, but found nothing.
Buster looks away red cheeked at how obvious he must have seemed while he was “sneaking away.”
10:13 PM: Meena leaves her room while holding a letter in her hands, looking around as if she was trying to sneak somewhere. As she crossed the hall Jude intercepted her and began to ask where exactly she was going, startling her in the process. She then slips their note underneath Stephanie’s door and runs back to her room. Jude tries to knock on the door to see what the note had on it, but there was no answer.
10:59 PM: Jude does not go into too much detail about what happens, simply stating that they had stomach troubles and went to the downstairs men’s bathroom.
Jude: I swear we need more healthy things to eat in this stupid place.
Around 11:06 PM: David joins the jaguar in their bathroom suffering session.
11:13 PM: As the jaguar left the bathroom, a scream rang out, most likely Meena’s. They ran back up to her room, with David close behind, and then saw the crime already committed. Once the two had seen the scene, the Body Discovery Announcement played.
When asked by Eddie why the two went to the downstairs bathroom instead of their own, Jude states that their room was at the other end of the hall and they took watch by the stairs, as it was a better hiding spot. As for David, he simply states that his bad luck struck once again and leaves it at that. Buster guiltily admits that he hasn’t really been paying attention to the room layout.
When Jude complains about the lack of actual meals in the theater, saying that they could really go for a peanut butter-banana sandwich, Buster shamefully admits that he is used to eating the way he does.
Mike Maximus, Matt Pine and Gunter Schwartz
Over to the side, the Crooner, Drummer and Dancer are all talking together about something. From a distance, Buster can hear them saying something about Stephanie and the dorms, but once they spot the two listening in, they back off and don’t resume talking until the two leave.
Inside the bathroom
Deciding that there is nothing else in the main room to investigate, the two look inside of the bathroom for any more clues. Nancy is already in there by herself, climbing up one of the ginormous hand towels that’s the size of a refrigerator for her. When the duo comment on why exactly she was in there alone, she tells them that since everyone else is focused on the crime scene itself, nobody is looking for clues in other possible locations. She also states that her efforts weren’t fruitless, as she has already found something.
Nancy Addams
When the two join Nancy to try and figure out what she found, she climbs to the top of the rack holding the hand towel and shoves it off to the floor, sprawling it out for them all to see. It drops to the floor with an audible SCHLOP, getting a few drops of water on the two larger animals.
When the towel itself is laid flat, the trio finds that not only is the towel wet, it has a few faint red and brown spots sprawled across it. When trying to guess what exactly the spots could be and what the towel is used for, none of them can get a general conscientious. However Nancy does state that all of the spots were on the inside of the towel while it was on the rack. And because of how damp it is, the negotiator states that the towel was used recently, and it was also deliberately hidden from sight.
Eddie thanks Nancy for finding the towel, guessing that it is a very important clue. Nancy accepts the praise, saying that she had a sneaking suspicion that something else was happening. When asked by the koala HOW she knew, she looks away and rubs her shoulder, saying that she’s “had experience with liars before.” However she isn’t willing to go into more detail beyond this.
Messy sink
Spotting some puddles over by the sink, Buster walks over to investigate. There are several wet spots scattered about, with a few drops leaking from the sink itself. But because of the height, it takes the efforts of both Buster and Eddie to see what’s up top.
After being lifted up by the servant, Buster finds that the sink itself is empty, but very wet and slick. Upon closer inspection, the koala spots a tiny bit of fur near the drain and turns on the faucet to investigate, letting the clear water flow. Then, coming flowing out via murky brown water, several strands of small, brown fur come into view.
After being let back down, Buster (regretfully) takes a handful of the fur and tries to take a closer look. Due to the color of the water it appeared brown, but after being dried off by the bottom of Buster’s shirt, the three are able to spot a slight orange tint. However, none of the animals can think of who it belongs to or how it got there.
Exiting the bathroom
Finding everything they could in the bathroom, the three prepare to exit, but are interrupted by Eddie suddenly doubling over and clutching his stomach. Nancy and Buster can audibly hear his stomach gurgling as he winces from the pain.
Asking as nicely but desperately as possible, Eddie requests that the two leave him alone in the bathroom, deciding not to state the obvious. Nancy asks if the servant is okay, but Buster just decides to lead her out of the room for his friend’s sake, making sure to close the door behind them.
Spotting Mike, Gunter and Matt from earlier huddling around each other, the two decide to investigate and figure out what they’re up to. Once again they aren’t willing to talk to Buster, but with Nancy present, Mike suddenly grows a heart. The duo look at each other with the look.
Deciding it would be no use to argue, Gunter presents a small key chain that only contains a silver key and a plastic tag with a cosmetics kit logo on both sides. The dancer explains that, after inspecting Stephanie’s body, they found the key in one of her pockets. Matt also comments that they figured out that it was Stephanie’s room key, and were going to go to investigate.
The crooner then invites the negotiator to go with them and she says yes, but also offers that Buster goes with them. The three show hesitation at this offer and say that it might be best if not much of a big group goes at once, but then Nancy tells them about Buster finding the fur in the sink, stating that Buster is pretty skilled at finding small details.
Reluctantly, they agree. As they leave for the door, Buster feels like he should wait for Eddie to finish so he could come along as well. However considering the fact that they were already annoyed with him coming along and how long it took Jude and David to finish their “sessions,” he decided that it was for the best to just leave.
As the group heads for the door, with Buster being at the tail’s end, the showman suddenly stops and looks back to the door itself. It had a blood splatter along the bottom, most likely due to Stephanie slashing at the gorilla’s leg. 
Going along with a hunch, the koala backtracks and closes the door slightly to peek at the other side. Then, not being sure if he should feel accomplished or anxious, Buster spots a bloodstain around the top of the door with a strange shape. It does not seem like it got there naturally from the fight from earlier.
As much as Buster wants to bring it up, something in his gut tells the koala he should leave it be until the Class Trial, and he runs to catch up with the others.
Inside Stephanie’s room
After unlocking the door and opening up the makeup artist’s room, the five enter to find a cluttered mess. Clothes are scattered around everywhere with no sense of order, a vanity nearby is covered with makeup supplies for different features, varying from fur to nails, and any previous ideas of a clean, orderly room were thrown out of the window.
Mike comments on how unexpected it was for somebody with an Ultimate talent designed to make things look pretty would have a bedroom belonging to a slob. However Matt states that it might be like this so Stephanie could hide something. Right before Mike can scoff at the idea for sounding childish, Gunter says that it might be a good idea to search through the stuff to find any clues.
The group then splits up for the time being, with each animal looking in different places for clues.
Stephanie’s Bed
After cleaning out a bunch of junk from on top of the bed and making sure that everything was tidy, the showman was not able to find any clues. However after looking under the bed, he finds a crumpled up piece of paper that he can’t reach. The two mice, however, help roll it out for them to inspect.
After flattening it out on the mattress, the group reads the hastily written note aloud.
“I can’t sleep at all, I can’t stop thinking about my family. I’m scared that someone might kill me. So far in this theater, you’ve been the only friend I’ve had and the only one I can trust. Please come to my room, I need somebody to talk to. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand being alone.”
The note itself had no signature saying who it was from, nor a name stating who it was addressed to. The group discusses to figure out where it came from, but only Buster manages to figure out that it came from Meena, as Jude stated earlier that she slipped the note underneath the makeup artist’s door. However due to underlying suspicion, he cannot bring himself to tell the others and saves that fact for the class trial.
Gunter Schwartz
After some more searching, the dancer calls everyone over to the vanity to show his findings: a large, thoroughly used set of makeup tools and cosmetics. The brushes had been frayed and worn down, and nearly all of the cosmetics were used to the last pinch of powder.
Mike thinks of this as strange, as he has never exactly seen her with any sort of makeup. However Buster suggests that the fox might have always had makeup on, and they didn’t even know it.
To prove the point, Nancy asks Mike if she’s wearing any makeup, expecting it to be a tough question. But then the crooner tries to pull a fast one and says that, either way, she’s still the most beautiful woman he’s seen. Everyone is taken aback by the suddenness of the comment; Matt whistles and says “smooth.” Nancy goes back to investigating her side of the room while power walking.
Matt Pine
After LOTS of cleaning later, Matt finds a bunch of garbage that he tries to shoot into the wastebasket like a basketball. He’s almost dunked everything, but as he gets to a crumbled up envelope, he stops to take a look inside. After he does so, he calls everyone over so they can all look at the evidence.
The envelope was the one Stephanie had gotten for her respective motive letter. The contents within were similar as well: a news article showing that Stephanie’s loved ones had been kidnapped and a letter from Stephanie’s mother herself. The contents of the letter goes as follows:
“Stephanie,      Please, you need to help me. I’ve been kidnapped and I don’t know where I am or what’s going on. I’m scared and I want to go home, to see you again. I know that this may seem undignified for your mother to say, but I’m terrified. I’m not even sure if you’re safe, these men told us to write notes to you. Please be safe dear, oh god please be safe.      My little munchkin, I love you. I love you so, so, so, so much. So please, you need to get me out of here. I’m not sure what these animals want; if it’s money, get the savings for my student loans from the safe, you already know where it is. Don’t even bother with the code, break it open and give them the money. I want to hold you in my arms again sweetie; I want to feel your warmth again and play bad board games like we used to. I’m sorry for always putting so much pressure on you, just please, help your mother and get me out of here.      I love you my little munchkin. Always and forever. Your loving mother.
After a moment of silence, the five about the letter itself, with Nancy commenting on how sad it was. Matt says that he knows it’s supposed to be a motive letter, but that just seemed outright depressing.
Buster decides to explain to the others why it was written this way. The mother and daughter were always very close, as the father was emotionally distant while she grew up. She was supposed to inherit the family beauty parlor and walked in her mother’s footsteps, although it always caused her a great deal of anxiety to do so. In the end, though, it helped in a way, as that was her driving force to become an Ultimate.
Once again the Ultimates around him comment on how it was creepy he knew these things, but he shushes them and continues anyway.
Right as Buster is about to go into detail at how it caused Stephanie stress and what habits came because of it, a noise comes from the monitor up on the wall, showing Monokuma sipping martini from a fancy glass, despite him being a robot.
He tells everyone that he’s grown bored while the investigation has dragged on, so he’s gonna start the class trial right away, so all of the participants should meet at the front entrance of the theater.
Monokuma: I hope this turns out to be another thrilling, bone chilling, despair filling class trial for the ages! Puhuhuhuhu!
Despite having a lingering feeling of dread and a hint of there being something they didn’t get to in Stephanie’s room, the five head towards the front entrance after gathering all of the evidence that they found. Mike is relieved, as he was getting very tired with trying to clean garbage that was more than twice his size.
Moon Theater Lobby
When the group joins up with everyone else, they find the Ultimates loudly arguing amongst each other with no real side to the matter. Julee, David and Riley, however, are all talking to Ash, with all of them seeming downright furious.
Ash: So what are you saying I did?! Killed Stephanie, took a bath in Meena’s sink, dried off then walked back to my room naked?
Julee: I’m not saying it’s impossible!
Ash: AND I AM SAYING YOU’RE INSANE!!!
Stepping in to stop the fighting, the group asks what is happening to cause all of the commotion. Jude steps forward and points at the rocker, shouting that the porcupine had killed Stephanie. Ash yells back that they’re insane but Buster stops the fighting once again, asking Jude for proof.
The jaguar says fine in an aggravated tone, calling over Eddie, who is off to the side and holding something in his arms, looking deep in thought. The showman asks the servant what exactly is going on, to which the sheep steps forward and reveals what he was holding:
A wet set of Ash’s clothes and a bundle of porcupine quills.
Eddie explains that, right before he went to the bathroom, he flushed the toilet to make sure that it wasn’t clogged. “Just my luck it was…” but to his surprise, after he unclogged it, he found Ash’s clothes stuck in the toilet. It was clear that they were meant to be flushed away and hidden from view.
Ash butts in and tries to give her side of the story, which is simply “I don’t know how those got there, that sheep is trying to frame me!” which, sadly, isn’t much of a good argument in the killing games. As the group begins to argue once more, it becomes clear who is siding with who.
Meena Killed: Rosita, Meena, Riley, David
Ash Killed: Julee, Jude, Ember, Eddie
Something else happened: Buster, Mike, Nancy, Gunter, Matt, Ash
Eddie apologizes to Buster, saying that he can’t side with him this time. With the fur and clothes being in the bathroom and the hand towel being Ash’s height, he believes that the current evidence is leaning towards Ash being the killer. Buster does feel slightly hurt, but knows that he doesn’t mean it personally and focuses on finding the truth.
Johnny, meanwhile, is lying face up on a stretcher colored black, white and red. Rosita explains that, since it would be difficult carrying Johnny to the Class Trial, the MonoCult provided them with a stretcher. Unfortunately, Johnny has shown no signs of recovery, so it’s likely that they’ll have to do the class trial without him.
As the sides continue to argue, the iron plates on the front door begin to hiss and slowly open up, letting out a bit of steam for theatrical effect in the process. Once the steam clears, the hopes of the doors leading to their freedom is dashed, as on the other side is a rustic group elevator.
Feeling the tension lingering in the air, the participants are hesitant to step inside, as the bear obviously wants them to. However with the fact in mind that they are all at Monokuma and the MonoCult’s mercy, they all walk in, with Gunter and Meena holding the different sides of Johnny’s stretcher.
As the iron gate closes in front of them, the elevator begins to ascend higher and higher, making a few of the animals need to pop their ears due to the sudden change in pressure. Everyone is silent; the only noise is the clanking of the elevator as it rises higher and higher.
Ash, trying to not attract any attention to herself, nudges Buster and whispers to him if he believes that she killed Meena as well. Her wide eyes and shaky voice suggests that she is truly terrified, which is shocking considering how she tried to keep a calm demeanor the entire time she was in the theater.
Buster says that, even after looking over all of the evidence, he can not be certain as to what exactly happened. All he can truly say is that, no matter what happened and who is the killer, he’s going to try to find the truth. Ash does not know how to respond to this and steps away, going quiet once again.
Once the elevator screeches to a halt, the iron gate in front of them opens up wide to reveal the class trial room. Black and white checkered tiles on the floor accompany a red circle of carpet, lying underneath sixteen podiums similar to a witness stand in court. One of the podiums has a black and white portrait of the victim of the case, Stephanie, crossed off in red eyeliner and brushes painted over. David openly hopes that the red isn’t blood, but the bear simply chuckles in response.
Set aside from them all is a sort of throne designed for a small animal, and of course, Monokuma is sitting in it, drinking his martini.
Along the walls, blue wallpaper stood alongside golden pillars that reached to the high up ceiling, which stretched until one had to lie on their back to see the top. Along with the wallpaper, crimson curtains stood tall, hiding whatever could be underneath with an element of mystique.
Each of the podiums in the center were the same height, but a few had steps or ladders that allowed smaller animals to look over the stands. Along with being the same height, each stand had a brass symbol bearing logos that were similar to the ones on their key tags. The logos themselves were colored black, red and white. Buster begins to catch up on the theme of everything.
Buster: Two top hats and a cane Eddie: The iron collar he was forced to wear Meena: A treble clef Johnny: Their gang’s getaway truck Ash: Sheet music Gunter: Tap dance shoes Rosita: Plates and a soapy sponge Mike: A bass clef Nancy: A speech bubble Ember: Papers covered with lyrics and a magnifying glass Matt: Drums Riley: Comedy and Tragedy stage play masks Jude: A watch being held in a paw David: A stage light Julee: A microphone used for recording Stephanie: A cosmetics kit
Along the top walls are stadium-like seats, each filled with a different camera used for filming TV shows. When Riley asks what the purpose of them all is, Monokuma states that they’re used for broadcasting the killing game to their respective channels across the world. He wants to get the excitement at all angles, so he can get that sweet despair in HD.
Johnny, after being brought over to his stand, sat down by Meena in a folding chair. His body slides downwards awkwardly, and after a few attempts to sit him upright, she gives up. As the stretcher is set down and Gunter walks to his stand, Meena turns back to Johnny, gives him a hug, then walks over to her stand without saying a word.
With the tension lingering in the air, everyone can feel the stakes of the trail at hand; Buster especially. He thinks about how Stephanie’s death could have been avoided, and what he could have done to prevent it. But after grieving for a moment, he shakes it away, and focuses on the present.
“Somebody in this room killed Stephanie. Whoever had done it… I will find them. I’ll lead everyone to victory, and help everyone live on another day without fear. I’ll face this class trial head on, I won’t back down. This lingering dread, this despair… IT ALL ENDS TONIGHT!!!”
Ch. 1: What is True Friendship (Curtain Call) END
OC Credits
Ember Gibson and Matt Pine belong to @elceetheporcupine Stephanie Hornbaker belongs to @mediasploshion Jude Therna belongs to @twilightprince101 (hey that’s me!) Jackson Riley belongs to ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated) David Flowerson and Julee Hartford belong to @superlevelup-reviews
Writing and editing
@twilightprince101 and ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated)
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