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that-shamrock-vibe · 6 years

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Movie Review: Venom (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review a week after the film is released worldwide, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie don’t read on.

Critics vs Consumer:

Alright, so I touched upon this briefly in my non-spoiler review, but I am actually quite disgusted at these critics and alleged “fake reviews” that are determined to tear this movie down until everyone hates it. I get that Venom comes out at the same time as Lady Gaga’s A Star is Born, but both are completely different movies in terms of genre and story so there shouldn’t be any type of competition.

As I mentioned the comparisons to both Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar and Halle Berry’s Catwoman are absurd. First of all the movie is carried mostly by Tom Hardy’s acting which both the aforementioned movies failed on and also, while I understand the one scene in this movie at the restaurant could be compared to Catwoman, it’s not in any way as random or senseless, in fact it is quite funny and organic to the story.

I also do not see why the public puts so much stock in what critics have to say about movies, they are just people who happen to have most likely studied movies. The main point of movies are to entertain and that opinion belongs to the individual not to a few snide individuals.

Characters:

As always my plan is to go into a character analysis of all the main players based on my fondness for them and also what they contributed.

Eddie Brock/Venom:

Tom Hardy was a fantastic choice for this role; not only did I find Eddie relatable as a reporter, studying media myself I do feel were I to pursue journalism this is how I would tackle it, but also just Hardy’s personality in general resonated so well here.

It was great to see Hardy in a movie as himself for a change rather than having some sort of mask obscuring his face...mostly obviously, but also Hardy proved apt at action sequences. I genuinely yelped with joy at the scene when he’s originally escaping the Life Foundation with the symbiote and yes while the hallway fight scene was very strategic in its editing so you couldn’t tell if it was Hardy or a stunt double jumping off the wall, it was still brilliant and I haven’t seen a comic-book movie do a continuing hallway scene like that since Iron Man 2 with Black Widow. Atomic Blonde is still the best when it comes to continuing hallway fights.

Eddie’s life in the beginning of the movie was also rather organic from having a fiancée to formerly being a reporter at the Daily Globe which are both comics-accurate, although I am surprised by the number of people that believe Eddie has worked for the Daily Bugle and I put that down to the 90s animated series which, for simplicity I am guessing, had Peter and Eddie working in the same place so that Eddie getting fired would spur his vendetta against Peter.

Speaking of the animated series, yes this does compare somewhat to the animated series with how the character of Venom behaves however I still rate Hardy’s version of the character higher than both that version and definitely Topher Grace’s interpretation. In fact if this version of Venom was in Spider-Man 3, it may have saved the movie.

Now I mentioned comedy, and from the minute Venom started talking as a disembodied voice, I was sold on the comedy; it is somewhat in poor taste to make a villain who is known to eat people a comedic character but this is where I think the movie could have excelled if the writing and directing was better.

I would have loved more exposition into the symbiotes; we had brief descriptions of their biology and behaviour from both Carlton Drake and Dora Skirth on separate occasions, however I would have loved them to explore an adaptive personality of the symbiotes. For instance, it would have made perfect sense for Venom and Eddie to pick-up and mimic traits of the other; Eddie became comfortable with Venom eating people towards the end, so if the movie had explored the fact that Venom’s language and personality switch was a result of being bonded with Eddie, because he did touch upon that towards the end when Eddie asked Venom why he decided to save the planet and Venom responded “Because of you” but they didn’t fully develop the symbiotic bond enough on an emotional level to warrant that one moment paying off to mainstream audiences. I could be spitballing ideas completely in the dark but I do believe that was the intention of the symbiote-human bond.

Having said that, this was a completely comic-book accurate portrayal of Venom, from the look to the personality. I loved during the scene where the SWAT team is cornering Eddie and he and Venom mimic the SWAT team’s actions of “Mask! Copy!”. Originally when I saw that in a promo clip I did not understand why they said that but now seeing the whole scene it does make sense and is very funny.

My favourite scene is possibly when Eddie first becomes aware of Venom and he makes the elaborate assumption that he has a brain tumour, it’s just the delivery of the line which made it so funny. But that whole motorcycle chase was brilliant and demonstrated Venom’s power wonderfully, even healing Eddie’s broken leg when taking over his body fully.

Also I loved how much of a wingman Venom was to Eddie because it did make sense the symbiote would want Eddie to be happy because it keeps him as a symbiote happy; happy host happy parasite, but Venom being the one who prompted Eddie to apologize and attempt to get back with Anne was a very friendly thing to do in exchange for obviously inhabiting his body.

Another great moment with the two is when Venom tried getting Eddie to jump out the window of his old work building and then in the next scene Eddie is waiting by the lift and all Venom can say is “Pussy” was hilarious.

The one thing that doesn’t make sense to me is the lack of explanation in Venom seemingly leaving Eddie after destroying the rocket containing Riot, but then in the next scene he and Venom are reunited with no explanation. It is simply Venom saying goodbye in one scene and then supposedly a day or two later they’re back in business...no explanation is given!

Anne Weying:

Michelle Williams could have very easily just been the stereotypical MJ damsel character in this movie, fortunately she was far from being a damsel. Deciding to essentially start off the movie by breaking up the main character and their love interest was an interesting move because it led to a continuation of Eddie pining after her and eventually at least being on a civil level.

I think her reaction to meeting Venom was quite genuine, freaking out at the site of Venom about to eat that guard and then Eddie taking control to try and explain was a very realistic moment. Being able to be at least friends with Eddie allowed for her to care about him without obvious romantic entanglement getting in the way. Although the fact that Venom then tried to harm Dr. Dan partially because it feels Eddie and Anne should be together made things slightly complicated.

During that hospital scene when the symbiote is forced to leave Eddie’s body and inhabits a dog in order to try and reconnect with Eddie was also interesting, not only because Anne proved herself a very capable woman with her ability to “handle weird shit” but also the fact she identified Venom had merged with the dog and the two, I am guessing, decided to merge to save their mutual friend was also rather savvy of a character pegged as the stereotypical love interest.

Speaking of She-Venom, this is possibly the scene that has caused the most uproar with this movie which, in my opinion is slightly unjustified but also understandable as it goes back to that lack of symbiote exposition. As I said, if the writers had made it so it was explained that Venom had grown to care about what happens to Eddie and looking out for his wellbeing or that it had felt what Anne feels for Eddie which led to that kiss then it would have made a lot more sense, and in my opinion took away from what was an awesome moment in the first appearance in film or television of She-Venom.

Also Michelle Williams played a blinder in an interview when stating that she was “ready to play She-Venom” but not specifically stating that part of her character would appear in this movie.

I do hope, if there is a sequel, that Eddie and Anne do end up back together because not only do I believe their chemistry but also Dr. Dan just didn’t do much for me.

Carlton Drake/Riot:

In terms of this being a “dated” comic-book movie, the villain was definitely a large part of that. Riz Ahmed very much gave a Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor or Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom type of villain as Carlton Drake. That’s not necersarrily a bad thing and both those villains had their pluses but it was just another businessman in a suit at the end of the day.

I did like the running like of “Have a nice life” first used by Drake to Eddie as a precursor to him destroying Brock’s career to the point he couldn’t even use his name in print anymore. Then at the end of the movie when Venom says the same to Riot just before the rocket explodes with him in it it further supports my annoyance of wishing the movie definitively explored the fact the symbiote and host were becoming more like each other.

Speaking of Riot, while I liked the character and the fact he was essentially a living weapon, I do think it was a missed opportunity not to make Scream the main villain symbiote. Not only is she an agent of the Life Foundation in the comics but her host Donna Diego was already in the movie as that homeless woman Eddie was friends with. Also it would have been nice to have a female villain in the Spider-verse as so far we’ve only ever seen male villains in any Spider-Man movie.

But also on Riot’s origin, the fact it took him so long to get from Malaysia to San Francisco with no exposition as to whether or not he’s been learning about Earth and instead just going from person to person, starting off with “Jameson” by the way which is a brilliant Easter-Egg for John Jameson III who is the son of famous Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson Jr, but not even showing us the fact he knew his kin were at the Life Foundation which is why he went there and chose Drake as his host. It just screams (ironically) missed opportunity.

Once symbiosis was achieved though, it did seem like Riot as a character was in control and Drake was just the vehicle being used. I do think, while Drake wanted Venom back under his control it was the fact Riot who demanded Venom to return to the homeworld that made it seem like Riot was the true villain of the movie.

I am actually glad they killed both Drake and Riot at the end of the movie, usually in Marvel movies it does annoy me they can’t keep a villain longer than a movie but both Drake and Riot had served their purpose so it was time for them to go.

Dora Skirth:

This role was interesting because, at first, her role plays a lot like Nebula in the first Guardians of the Galaxy in that she is the somewhat loyal right-hand of the main villain, there Ronan here Drake. However the fact they did not show any true villainous qualities in Dr. Skirth’s character and instead just made her a scientist who knows when she oversteps natural boundaries was a very fleshed out character.

It is also interesting that most of the background characters in this movie are created for the movie yet still managed to make an impression. I do feel her character was very believable in terms of working for the villain but trying to go behind his back to the movie’s hero is a real-life thing of working for someone you know is corrupt but being too scared of what may happen if they find out you’re trying to stitch them up.

Dr. Dan Lewis:

Alright so I have made it sound like I am not a fan of this character but that is only really in relation to him getting in the way of Eddie and Anne. I know in the comics the two are exes but I wanted to see more of them together in the movie.

I will say I did like that, once he got his head around the situation, he was ready to fight the symbiote by using the MRI machine. Granted it was not in a concealed room and Venom escaped through the air vent but it was still a very cool scene watching Eddie and Venom be separated.

I know he is still with Anne at the end of the movie but especially after that kiss between Eddie/Venom/Anne you would think she would have at least told him because in his defense he does seem like a cool guy, he’s okay with Eddie as Anne’s ex still hanging around so he may be understanding of the situation?

Mrs. Chen:

I just wanted to give a quick shoutout to my favourite minor character Mrs. Chen who owned the bodega Eddie frequented. Not only did she remind me of Delmar who owns the grocers in Spider-Man: Homecoming in terms of how the movie’s main character interacted with them, but also she was not shy to say her piece.

I also liked the fact that, even though we knew it was coming from the trailers, that scene of Eddie/Venom eating that thug at the end was foreshadowed towards the start of the film.

Ensemble:

Then in terms of the others, really there’s only the Life Foundation’s head of security and Donna Diego but while they both made an impression they didn’t take away from the main characters, if anything they aided them which is the right role to be in.

Post-Credits:

So there are two end-credits scenes that play after the most god-awful rap by Eminem I’ve ever heard, the first is relevant to the movie and the second is the big waste of time they make you sit through the entirety of the credits for. I have issues with both but for different reasons.

The mid-credits scene shows Eddie arriving at San Quentin Prison for an interview, the best thing about this is San Quentin Prison is the same prison Scott Lang was released from in the first Ant-Man movie. But he is there to do an interview with none other than Cletus Kassidy who in the comics is the first host of Carnage.

Now I had named who I thought would be great for this role during my fan-casting frenzy for Sony’s Universe of Marvel Character...but with the three suggestions I put forward, none of them were Woody Harrelson. I am not happy with this reveal, yes I knew Harrelson was cast in the movie but had no idea it was in this role. Not only is Harrelson 16 years older than Hardy so playing Carnage who is supposedly Venom’s “son” seems weird, but also that blood red wig, while fitting for the character, looked ridiculous on Woody Harrelson. I still think they should have gone with Will Poulter, but hopefully Woody Harrelson will surprise me in the sequel, I do still like the actor I just don’t think he’s the right fit.

The very end-credits scene is a promo for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which has no relevance to this movie what so ever other than the fact they’re both Spider-Man related. I just think this was a bad PR stunt to have a movie that is already being hated by some people immediately followed by an upcoming movie debuting Miles Morales...why not just have a trailer at the start of the movie? It still looked good and showed how Miles Morales meets Peter Parker but I do not understand why they showed it.

Overall I have to say this was a good Venom movie but not a great one and also I do think the 90s/naughties comparisons are apt as the movie does have that feel, but that isn’t a bad thing when you’re talking about a PG-13/12a rated movie about a supervillain who is known to eat people. Give it the higher rating and you may get what you want.

So that’s my spoiler review of Venom, again sorry for the delay but I am still curious how you guys feel about the movie. I am aware this movie has divided a lot of people but I for one would welcome more of Tom Hardy and this movie. Post your comments and check out more Marvel Movie Reviews as well as other Movie Reviews and posts.

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boarix · 5 years

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Wraith in the Ruins: A Fallout 4 Story Part II

Redemption in You

Trigger warnings: canon language/drug use. PTSD/angst/self-harm.

Game spoilers

Please enjoy!

MacCready had just returned from long patrol and in spite of being exhausted, he had insisted on being included in Wraith’s meeting with Hancock and Preston. Touting himself as the foremost expert on the Gunners, he had argued that his input would be “invaluable”. And yet, the young man was sprawled, fast asleep, the full length of Wraith’s office couch, covered by a furry Dogmeat blanket, contributing nothing but the occasional loud snore.

“I don’t think we can wait much longer!” Wraith was in a fury over the latest settlement attack. “They gain in numbers almost daily and I feel like I’m helping them. Every raider boss the Minutemen cut down just adds to the Gunners’ recruitment options.” She had stood up from her desk and was pacing and gesticulating as if she was conducting an orchestra, “If we don’t do something soon they will have every ex-raider in the Commonwealth, rank and file against us!”

“General, we simply don’t have the people.”

Preston’s repeated protest wore thin on Wraith’s nerves. Mostly because she knew that he was right. “They are growing much faster than we are.” She leaned forward across her desk and focused her laser gaze on the ghoul, “Hancock, if we were to attempt a direct assault, how many Neighborhood Watch could we count on from you?”

“Can’t believe I’d be the one to preach caution but, Preston is right.” Cocking his head to the side he returned her stare unflinchingly, “You know I hate to tell ya ‘no’ but, there is no way I’m gonna send my people to the grinder. That’s what it’d end up being sister, a huge, fucking bloody mess. The risk ain’t worth the reward, you feel me? Fahrenheit has been on my ass about learnin’ some patience…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“Then I’ll go myself! I have some power armor…” Loud, howling protests from Preston, Hancock and Dogmeat cut her off and she plopped heavily into her chair.

“Now wait a minute, we’ve been through this one-woman-army bullshit! MacCready! Wake the fuck up and back us up here!”

“Mmmmugh… You can’t go and kill yourself. Don’t be stupid.” MacCready had turned his head and was attempting to glare at her past Dogmeat’s panting muzzle, “What’s the point of havin’ a inner circle if you won’t listen to us?”

Wraith stood back up, waved her hands toward the ceiling and turned her back to them in a flurry of impotent anger. Spinning back around, mouth open for rebuttal, she was cut off by a knock on the door.

“Excusez-moi, madam.” Curie opened the door and stuck her head in, “Ze sun is setting and Monsieur Danse did not return with the rest of the work crew.”

“Danse was assigned to the morning shift. Are you sure he didn’t return earlier and he isn’t just in his room?”

“Non madame, a crew member just informed me that he’s been out all day.”

“Shit.” Wraith quickly skirted her desk, shooting what she hoped was an authoritative look at the three men as she headed to the door, “This discussion is tabled, not over.”

“You want me along sister?” Hancock had started to follow her out.

“No, you stay and babysit.”

MacCready flipped her off, “Ha! Up yours!”

Wraith had Curie run back to her clinic to grab a field med pack as she speed walked to one of Sanctuary’s warehouses. As she reached for the lantern she was after, Deacon’s face flashed in her mind.

No! No time for you. Go away! You weren’t my friend; just using me to defeat your enemies for you. Not my friend!

Waiting outside, Curie handed Wraith a ballistic weave Minutemen trench. She had, once again, been about to run off to possible danger while wearing nothing but a flannel and jeans. Smiling her thanks and shrugging into the coat, she reached out for the med pack. When it wasn’t immediately surrendered she waved her hand up and down with impatience.

“I should go with you madame.” Curie’s notoriously cheerful tone had been replaced with something bordering on scolding, “I should go to make sure you are both…”

“No, Baby Bird; this is a solo mission.” Taking the pack she turned back and forced a cheerful smile as she walked away, “We’ll be just fine.”

This should have been handled a while ago you fucking coward. You told yourself that you were giving him time apart to think, to come to terms with his new reality, when really you were just too scared to face him.

Jogging across the small bridge and up the hill toward the vault, she was once again confronted by a mental image of an unmistakably sad Deacon.

Why did he make that face? Because, you dummy, he’s a liar and a very good actor! He was never your friend and there was never any chance of being more… Stop obsessing; you have Danse to worry about right now.

Cresting the hill, she could hear the unmistakable sound of an ax chopping wood. As she navigated the broken ground and brush the sound continued almost unceasingly. There was a rhythm to the “thunk” sound and it wore on her already frayed nerves.

Danse was a visually impressive individual: tall, traditionally handsome with an impeccable physique. When she finally spotted him, her first thoughts were in line with admiring his form while swinging the ax. He looked pretty damn fine. However, as she moved closer she could see flecks of blood all over his white t-shirt and it was dripping freely down his arms. Swinging an ax all day had ripped the palms of his hands open and yet he continued as if oblivious to the injury.

His mental state decidedly questionable, Wraith decided to pop Buffout, just in case the situation became physical. “Danse? Hey, stop for a sec.” He continued on as if she wasn’t there. “DANSE, STOP!” Nothing. It wasn’t that he was ignoring her, more like he couldn’t hear her. She stepped behind him and deftly disarmed him, sweeping the ax behind her back.

The response was savage: whipping around while snarling, he raised his bloody hands and flexed his fingers like claws. His face a twisted mask of rage, he bore a striking resemblance to a yao guai.

Despite the threat, Wraith took a step toward him while yelling up at his face, “What the fuck are you doing?! Look at your hands! Danse?!”

“M7-97.” In an instant all emotions fled from his face and his eyes became dispassionate and empty.

“What?”

“M7-97. ‘Danse’ does not exist.” His shoulders sagged somewhat and he wouldn’t look into her eyes. “I was instructed to process this fallen tree for lumber. I am completing my assigned task.”

Taking a deep breath, Wraith tried again, “Danse, look at your hands. Don’t they hurt?”

“It is inconsequential data. A damage prevention signal…”

“THAT’S WHAT PAIN IS, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” In her anger, Wraith threw the ax, rather artfully, into a nearby tree. The Buffout, combined with her own considerable strength, resulted in the tool being completely embedded in the trunk.

Well… shit. Stupid. Violent and stupid.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she counted to 10 and tried again, “You are an organic being, not a Mr. Gutsy. You need to eat and drink and rest. Danse, you’re bleeding and sweating, how many robots that you know of do those things?” Hoping to elicit some sort of emotion, even if it was anger, Wraith was intentionally crass, “I know for a fact that you take dumps! How many protectrons are there who shit?”

“DANSE DOES NOT EXIST!” His face was florid in his anger. He took a menacing step toward her but then suddenly swayed on his feet and would have fallen had Wraith not caught him.

Gently lowering him to a stump, she steadied him with one hand while removing a canteen from her pack. “Tilt your head back.” For a moment she thought that she would have to somehow fight the water into him but thankfully he complied. As he drank involuntary tears filled his eyes. “That’s it, nice and slow.”

When the canteen was empty, Wraith kicked a split log next to Danse’s stump and plopped down. “I’m going to field dress your hands now. When I’m done I want you to drink some more water and eat something.”

His eyes were empty again and he didn’t fight or acknowledge her as she worked. Cleaning and wrapping his large hands she was overcome by self-deprecation as her mind ground her down. She couldn’t stop thinking about how sad Deacon had looked, or that when she returned from Goodneighbor, Curie had barely spoken to her and seemed to be slightly scared of her.

Did Deacon talk to her before he left? Did something happen? Did he… would he have hurt himself? No. That doesn’t make sense. And now… poor Danse... I scare and ruin and I’m so LOUD and mean!

Despite her best efforts she started to cry. “I’m so sorry Danse! This is all my fault. I should have been there for you but instead I avoided you like a fucking coward!”

“No.”

Her eyes were on his in a flash. He looked away but she could tell he had returned. “Yes Danse, I completely destroyed your life. I literally burned it to the ground!” She was sobbing now, her face in her hands, “I killed all your friends!”

“My friends?! You mean all those people who immediately turned their backs on me? Who wanted me dead?! Who… who thought that I was… was a spy? Who thought that I knew?! And that everything I had ever done for them was a lie to further some Institute agenda?!” Danse had stood up but wobbled on his last few words and he sat down rather heavily.

“Not all of them. Haylen didn’t. She pleaded with me to spare you.”

“She… she did?” Surprised, he leaned toward her.

“Yes, which is one of the reasons I didn’t kill her.” Wraith stood up to pace, “I scared the shit out of her, I’m sure, but I didn’t kill her. When Hancock and I boarded the Prydwen, I grabbed her and told her she needed to round-up all of the squires and as many of the fucking cats she could find and get off the ship. I told her to pack them into a vertibird and go back to the Capital Wasteland. God knows I have enough on my conscience…” She trailed off once she realized Danse was crying. Not an involuntary watering of the eyes but a real emotive response.

“Thank God!” He had brought his wrapped hands to his face and was openly sobbing into them.

Wraith didn’t know what to do. She wanted to hug him but felt she didn’t have the right. Sitting back down, she reached out and rather awkwardly patted his shoulder. To her surprise, he grabbed her and pulled her into a crushing embrace.

“I don’t know who or what I am! What am I supposed to do now?!” He cried into her shoulder as Wraith patted his back. After a few moments he released her, Wraith passed him another canteen and the two sat sniffling as he drank. “Ugh. I’ve been so rude to your ghoul.”

Wraith cocked an eyebrow, “You’re going to have to be more specific, Danse. My friends are quite lovely people and a lot like potato crisps; you can’t have just one.”

“I’m sorry. I’m still being rude… the mayor… Hancock.”

“Well… just lose a couple of hands of Poker to him and I’m sure all will be forgiven.” Although she was joking Wraith figured an honestly repentant Danse would get considerable traction with the ghoul.

“Oh, of course, he gambles.”

Wraith rolled her eyes at his tone, “With our group we normally bet chores rather than caps; Mac hates doing dishes.”

“Why… why did you join the Brotherhood? You declined in Cambridge. What made you change your mind?” He had been looking at the canteen in his hands but now moved his eyes to Wraith, “Did the Railroad send you… did you just…”

“That’s actually pretty complicated.” Wraith frowned at her feet while trying to decide how much to tell him. How much would he even believe? “I did it to save you.”

When Danse’s face clouded over with doubt and confusion, Wraith’s explanation tumbled out of her in a hurried rush of words, “In Sanctuary there is a woman. She knows things… things that she should have no way of knowing. She told me that there was a ‘soul lost in steel’ and only I could ‘lead them home’.” Wraith returned her eyes to his, “At first I thought that she meant Maxson. That’s why I tried so hard with him. It took me a while to see that there was no saving him.”

“He is dead then? Arthur?” His tone was resigned.

“Yes.” Wraith didn’t flinch or look away, “He was dead before the charges went.”

“You…” He swallowed, “It was you then?” There was pain in his tawny eyes.

“No. I had intended to but lost control. Hancock killed Maxson.” There was no regret in her voice. As far as she was concerned he was a fanatical monster and completely irredeemable.

Monster. How many would say the same about me?

They sat quietly, lost in their heads, as Danse finished off the second canteen. It was fully dark now and for a time they listened to the eerie sounds of a Commonwealth spring night.

Wraith stood up and lit the lantern and began rummaging through the med pack, “There should be jerky and sweet leather in here…”

“Sweet leather?”

“Yeah, it’s mashed up mutfruit, corn and carrots, boiled down, dried and then cut into strips. It’s really tasty. In fact, we have to keep an eye on MacCready while we’re making it cause batches have a way of ‘disappearing’. Here we go!” Wraith handed him the sweet leather first and watched in amusement as Danse made an involuntary “BOS-new-thing-scary” face.

After the first hesitant bite he smiled, “It’s softer than I thought.”

Wraith returned to her log and passed him some jerky, “Danse, I think we can help each other a great deal, if you feel that you can trust me.”

“I trust you.” He said it softly and gave her a sad smile.

“I would like to move you to the clinic.”

“What! Why?!” He noted her more formal tone and was immediately on guard.

“I thought you said you trusted me.” She gave him a smile that she hoped was gentle, “There are plenty of available rooms and Curie is almost always there. She isn’t a psychologist as far as I know but she is a capable doctor. She is also kind and sweet and soothing to be around. She’s like a balm.”

Danse had stopped eating so Wraith pantomimed the action to remind him: taking an imaginary bite and nodding when he mirrored her. It was a very motherly thing to do and it touched him. Chewing and smiling he had an odd thought about how much Wraith reminded him of Haylen.

“I’ll be close too; my office and house are right next door. As to who you are and what you’re supposed to do… well… I have some ideas but that can wait. Moving forward from this will be hard. You are going to fall. You’re going to have days when even getting out of bed will seem the greatest of challenges. Curie and I will be there for you but you’re going to have to steady yourself as well. Taking responsibility for your past and facing the consequences of your actions will require massive fortitude but I believe you’re up to the task.”

Wraith offered him a huge encouraging smile, “Starting tomorrow you’ll be with me. I have a huge walk-in freezer project that I’d like to get done before summer. There will be lots of physical work for you. I also would like to get at least a small unit set up for Curie before her next semester starts.”

“Semester?”

“I have Curie training field medics for the Minutemen. She also insists on my core group being trained. That includes you FYI.” Wraith began tallying items up on her hands as she spoke, “The lumber project, the mill, Mac wants more sand bags behind the practice targets before his spring semester starts, he’s been bugging me about watchtowers too. Oh, and I want a better road cut out…” She made a vague circle gesture with her hand, “here.”

“MacCready’s semester?”

“Yes. I have Mac teaching sniper school and basic gun skills to… well pretty much everyone.” Wraith sighed: 101 projects and only one her.

“MacCready teaches… people?”

Danse’s incredulity made Wraith chuckle, “Believe it or not, that kid has a vast amount of skill and knowledge. Folks get used to his… brusqueness. Oh, please don’t tell him I called him ‘kid’ again; for some reason it really pisses him off.”

“You can’t be that much older than him.” He hurried on when her eyebrows popped up, “I mean besides the two hundred years spent frozen.”

“Danse, I was thirty-eight when I became a meat popsicle.”

Shocked, Danse looked at her as if for the first time. He had never seen her with long hair as she had worn it buzzed but there didn’t seem to be any trace of grey. Her light green eyes, although frequently sad and tired weren’t framed by crow’s feet either, “Well, you are remarkably well preserved.”

She snorted in amusement, “Flash freezing is the way to go.”

Waving his bandaged, mitten hands, he looked mortified, “No! No, that isn’t what I meant!”

Standing and stretching, she gave a regretful glance to the ax before repacking the med kit. “I know what you meant and that’s kind of you. You ready to go home?” She held her hands out to him and to his surprise he needed her help to stand up.

The next couple of weeks were filled with highs and lows for Danse. In one moment he looked to the future with hope and in the next he dwelt on his past with despair. Curie was God-send: her gentle positivity a perfect counterbalance to Wraith’s sometimes harsh, “accountability=reality” take on life.

Then after having several good days in a row, an emergency broadcast from Radio Freedom threw a wrench into his recovery. There had been an accident at the Castle and Preston was critically injured.

“He just got back for fuck’s sake!” Wraith was in a flurry of motion and within 20 minutes, she, MacCready, Curie and Dogmeat were jogging out of Sanctuary. “Danse, you’ll be okay.” She had stopped to give him a reassuring hug, “Sofie has all the task lists and Hancock will be back in a week or so to pick up a load of freezer parts. Sturges has everything labeled and set aside in warehouse B.” She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, “We will be back as soon… Soon.”

MacCready’s helpful advice was less conciliatory, “Try not to burn the place down, tin can.”

Then they were gone.

Sofie, a tiny ghoulette, was the village head whenever Wraith was away. Standing next to Danse she barely reached past his waist. “Don’t worry honey; they’ll be back before you know it.”

He tried to keep busy. He focused on the big watch tower (Wraith had already named it “Big Mac’s Nest” and although MacCready had scoffed at the name, his huge smile told on him). Mostly, Danse hated going back to the clinic at night. All alone in the large house, his mind would start cranking out little nightmares to torture him. After 3 days of trying to work himself to unthinking exhaustion, he reverted back to robot mode. Speaking only when asked a direct question, if at all, he went about his duties with as much life and enthusiasm as a plastic toy.

Sofie had been warned to make sure that he ate and she took it seriously. She would sit with him after bringing him food but neither spoke and she wasn’t even sure that he knew she was there.

When Hancock and his provisioner Bossy arrived in Sanctuary the ghoul made a bee-line for Wraith’s office. After speaking briefly with Sofie he headed over to the watchtower looking for Danse.

“He’s not here.” The foreman seemed irritated, “He hit himself with a hammer and was just staring at it. He was freaking me out, so I told him to go and take a break. Check down by the river.”

“I just fucking walked across the goddamn Commonwealth…” The ghoul continued to mumble irritably as he made his way back through town. When Hancock spotted him, Danse was standing under the big bridge and staring at a tire as it bobbed through the water. “Hey crew-cut, I have a present for ya.”

Danse turned from the river, his eyes dispassionate, “Hancock.”

“Uh, yeah, that’d be me. Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“Nothing.”

“Well, that’s fascinating. Here, check this out.” Hancock maintained a rather forced smile as he handed the large man a book on medieval armor and weapons. Although the cover was worn, the tome was in remarkable condition, all things considered. “There’s some cool knives and swords in there too.”

Looking down at the book then looking back at Hancock, Danse seemed to thaw, “Why?”

“Well, shit kid, I figured you’d like it.”

“No. That’s not what I meant. Why would you give me anything but your scorn?” His eyes narrowed in mistrust, Danse took a step backward while holding the book at arm’s length. “I have never been anything but rude to you! Why would you even speak to me, let alone give me a gift?”

Hancock lifted his arms, palms up, to appear as non-threating as possible, “Never thought giving someone something thoughtful would be met with this level of resistance. I have another copy, for one. And two, Wraith trusts and likes you a whole lot. For me, that carries a ton of weight.” Hancock’s tone became softer, almost gentle, “She handed you the strand of thread and it’ll be interesting to see what you do with it.”

“I’m sorry… Strand of thread?”

“She gave you a piece that you never had before and as you pull it, all that bullshit that you’ve been told, all the lies and hate, it’ll unravel. That small reality you’re left with? That’s something you can build on. Something true.” Hancock’s gentle smile was genuine now, “I know one or two things ‘bout turnin’ over a new leaf and trying to find redemption. It takes time son, so give yourself a break.” Hancock watched the rippling emotions cross Danse’s face then turned and walked away. “I’m going to help Bossy load up all that junk. You should come help us.”

Danse was reading in his room a week later when someone knocked on his door. Answering, he was so shocked to see Wraith he stood frozen, speechless and blinking.

“Um… hi Danse. You okay?”

“Yeah. Yes! Hi!”

Laughing a little, she pointed to the book, “I see Hancock decided to give it to you after all.”

“Yes. Yes he did. He and I talked as well. I think… we might be friends now?”

Wraith’s warm smile spoke volumes, “I’m happy for you both. Would you like to go for a walk with me?”

Wraith filled Danse in on Preston as they headed toward the Sanctuary warehouses. Soon after returning to the Castle, he had been crushed between two brahmin. “I’m so glad we had some of Curie’s students there. He would have died had they not started treatment right away.”

Stopping in front of warehouse C, Wraith undid the padlock, then adopting her formal “General” voice she turned to Danse, “I’m fortunate to have friends like MacCready and Curie who are able to teach the Minutemen and anyone willing, these important survival skills. I’m hoping, Danse, that you might also help the Commonwealth in much the same way.” She opened the door and made an “after you” gesture before following him inside and flipping the light switch.

Danse had never been inside C. From the outside it was clearly the biggest of the three and had two huge generators hooked up outside. As the lights flashed on he could see why: the entire space was filled with power armor.

“Sturges and I have been working on my little… collection, but we don’t have the expertise that you possess.” Smiling sadly, Wraith crossed her arms like she was hugging herself, “Nate would have loved this. I think he would have liked you a lot too. You remind me of him sometimes.”

Danse ripped his eyes from the treasure trove in front of him. Blushing, he cleared his throat, “You… you want me to teach the Minutemen to use power armor?”

“Yes. I realize it’ll take some time. We are short on people and some of these units are in pretty bad shape. With you helping us with acquisition and training, in maintenance and tactics, we can avoid a lot of trial-and-error.”

Danse had been wandering the room like a kid in a candy store when he came to a dead stop in front of a familiar set of T-60d armor. “This… this is mine?!” He placed his hands on the breastplate, “How did you get this?”

“Maxson gave it to me.” Her mouth twisted in disgust, “It was a reward for my loyalty. Danse, I kept it for you. Regardless of what you decide it’s still your armor.” She followed him as he explored. “You wouldn’t have to actually join the Minutemen; Mac didn’t. Your knowledge can help us as a consultant. If you do decide to join I will appoint you a suitable rank as an officer of the Minutemen Cavalry.”

Danse couldn’t help but smile, “Cavalry?”

“I haven’t nailed down a name yet but I want to incorporate ‘Dragoon’ into it. I have to keep with the revolutionary theme after all.”

Continuing his exploration, Danse gave a low whistle when the Quantum X-01 suit came into view.

Wraith leaned against his arm, “Nice, huh? That one is for you too, once again, regardless of your choice. I want you to know that whatever you decide, I’m your friend and you will have a home here in Sanctuary.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Danse put his arms around her, his voice cracking with emotion, “I will follow you and help you with whatever you need, my friend… my General.”

Thank you so much for reading! Like what you read? Looking for more? Please see my master link located under my bio. I will be updating and re-posting the master as well. Please consider reblogging, I could us the signal boost. As always my ask is open (anon too) if you have any questions/concerns/comments. =^..^=

#wraith in the ruins #fallout #fallout 4 #fallout 4 fanfic #hancock #john hancock #fallout 4 john hancock #maccready #rj maccready #fallout 4 maccready #preston garvey #fallout dogmeat #paladin danse #danse #fallout danse #fallout 4 hancock fanfic #maccready fanfic #danse fanfic

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wowiejimin · 6 years

Text

Safe - Chapter 6

Please read the little note at the bottom!! Once again, thank you for reading <3 Very happy to post another chapter LOL

Pairing: Gang Member!Jimin x Poor Heart!Genius!Reader

Genre: Angst, Romance, Lots of Action, Humor, Fluff, & Smut (In the Future)

Length: 5.5k

Warnings: Swearing, SOMEWHAT FLUFF IN THIS, Smut (In the Future)

Members Included: All of BTS, other KPop groups in the future

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In his world, being a part of a mafia gang, known as Bangtan Boys, is a bit terrifying. They were truly a filthy rich and powerful group that everyone feared. 22-year old Jimin was described as the stealthiest and most skilled member of Bangtan, playing an important part in their group. Whereas for 20-year-old (Y/N), a genius with a weak heart is suffering inside the cruel world as she is experimented on on the daily basis. Jimin finds himself protecting a gifted girl whose memory can hold numerous things in a blink of an eye. Jimin finds an interest in her, visioning that she may be a valuable asset to their group. Jimin has never paid attention to girls. However, that started to change when he met her.

It's been a week and a half since Dongnim has been training with (Y/N). And she had to admit, she didn't like it at all. He was rough and very straight-forward with a lot of things. (Y/N) had a lot of trouble to keep up with his brutal training, feeling as though when she is experiencing chest pains nowadays, it was a lot more painful. A week and a half of pain and tears and did not want to be seen as weak from the others.

The coppery tang of blood burst in her mouth as Dongnim's foot connected with her cheek, sending her stumbling backwards. (Y/N) winced, feeling the enormous amount of pain erupt in her mouth. (Y/N) blinked quickly in attempts of getting rid of the tears in her eyes, "O-Ow..." She mumbled, bringing a palm up to her face. Dongnim sighed, "C'mon, sweetheart, a few more days and we'll be making our way to the Golden Flies headquarters. If you manage to beat me once, then I can vouch that you're ready." He says, placing his hands on his hips.

(Y/N) breath hitched, nodding eagerly before as she lunged at him unexpectedly, her fist sinking into his stomach. Dongnim grunted as he was sent backwards and into the ground with flailing arms. (Y/N) gritted her teeth before kicking his legs out from under him, and with an open palm, she slammed Dongnim into the mat.

Dongnim coughed slightly, getting up with a smirk, "Well, done, hun. Now, one more time before we're done." He smirked before backing away, placing a palm where (Y/N) shoved him roughly. (Y/N) looked at the clock, 6:30 PM. Jimin should be coming home soon, She thought before getting into a fighting stance. "Okay." She says quietly.

Jimin and Taehyung were out on a mission, trading a couple of documents and weapons for something more valuable, Jimin claimed. Namjoon and Yoongi were out in the city for a meeting with EXO whereas Hoseok was undergoing an experiment with Jin with his new upgrades. Jungkook is most likely with the two, wanting to see the explosive upgrades and how it worked.

Dongnim grinned in return as he darted forward, bringing his leg around in a wide sweep. (Y/N) gulped before jumping high, causing Dongnim to stagger backwards. Seeing this as an opportunity, (Y/N) brought her leg up to kick his face, smirking slightly at the quiet sound of a crack. Dongnim let out a frustrated sigh, gritting his teeth as he wiped the small trail of blood away from the corner of his lips. He then smirked at her, "Not bad." He says before curling his hands into a fist, throwing them at (Y/N)'s face. (Y/N) panicked as she ducked them all. However, one punch managed to land on her jaw. It skimmed her jaw but still managed to pack force enough to hurt her. Taking her momentary blunder as an advantage, Dongnim then sank another into her stomach.

(Y/N) gasped as oxygen squeezed out of her lungs as she lurched away, holding her abdomen tight. (Y/N) landed on her butt as Dongnim smiled down at her teasingly.

(Y/N) let little whimpers of agony, squeezing her eyes shut. "Did I hurt you that bad?" He asked and she shook her head, "Do you want me to kiss your boo-boo?" He cooed in a teasing way.

"(Y/N), I'm back." She hears Jimin's voice from afar. (Y/N) opens her eyes quickly before catching her breath, gathering her strength before delivering a swift and strong uppercut to Dongmin's chin, throwing his head back forcefully. Dongmin gagged as (Y/N) took the opportunity to kick out his legs. With a cry, Dongmin crashed to the ground. He grunted, trying to get up but (Y/N) planted her foot down roughly on his chest, pushing him down.

"I think I'm pretty ready for this mission, Dongnim. No need for this unnecessary training." (Y/N) says lowly before looking at Jimin, who had his arms crossed over chest with a proud smirk grazed on his face.

(Y/N) smiled with a tired expression before walking towards him, placing her arms on the ropes of the ring, "Am I done training now?" She asked and Jimin nodded, "Yup. Dongmin, bring your ass home." He says and Dongmin shrugged. "Alright. Goodnight guys," He says before smirking at (Y/N), softly rubbing where she had punched him, "See you tomorrow, (Y/N)." He says sweetly before leaving, jogging up the stairs.

(Y/N) watched his retreating form before slipping out of the ring with a deep sigh. "You okay?" Jimin asked, helping her get down. (Y/N) held onto Jimin's hand as she jumped down. "Yeah, just a little sore is all." She smiled sheepishly and Jimin grunted, "I wish I could train you, I really do." He murmured as (Y/N) sent him a smile as the two walked up the stairs, "No, it's fine. I'm okay with this training, he's just a little tough is all." She says quietly and made her way towards the kitchen, meeting with Taehyung who sat on the kitchen counter.

Taehyung smiled at her, "Hi (Y/n), how was training with the bitchass?" Taehyung asked as (Y/N) laughed lightly, "It's alright, I guess. I miss training with you, though." She says with a smile as Taehyung whined, "Don't worry, you only have one more day of training before you will be proceeding with your mission." Taehyung reassured as (Y/N) nodded, "I suppose that's true." She says and Jimin walks in with a bag of Chinese takeout. (Y/N) looked at the bag as Jimin pulled out a container, placing it in front of (Y/N). Taehyung then received one as Jimin pulled out what seems like his own before putting the rest in the fridge.

"That's dinner. Jin hyung won't be coming till later. Apparently, something went wrong with Hoseok's upgrade experiments." He chuckled as Taehyung sighed, "Aish, hope they're okay." (Y/N) nodded in agreement before opening the container she was given, revealing her favourite meal from the specific restaurant. She smiled widely, "You got my favourite." She was in awe as Jimin chuckled, "Of course." He cooed as Taehyung wiggled his brow at the older boy who rolled his eyes.

"I bet in no time, you'll be her favourite, Jiminnie."

"Shut the FUCK up, Tae."

(Y/N) chuckled at the two, "He already is." She whispered to herself before swallowing her pills before her meal.

~/~

Jimin's small yet large and strong body hovered over the sink, brushing his pearly whites as (Y/N) lathered moisturizing lotion on her face. (Y/N) slightly winced as she grazed her thumb over her jaw, biting her lip as she held in a quiet whimper. Jimin turned off the sink before turning to (Y/N).

"Alright, I'm done. Let's go--" He says before noticing the slightly bruised skin on her jaw. "What the fuck is that?" (Y/N) slightly jumped at his sudden growl, "Oh, you startled me." She placed a hand on her heart, "Do that once more and I'll have a heart attack." She joked as Jimin placed his hands on each side on her face, pulling her in close as their faces were merely inches apart.

(Y/N) felt heat rush into her cheeks and to her ears, her eyes wide as she watched Jimin examine the bruised skin. (Y/N) then started to stare at his facial features. She watched the way his crescent moon shaped eyes would flutter and the way his eyebrows would twitch every now and then every time he lightly touched at the bruised and sensitive skin. His plump and pink lips looking soft as ever as he softly bit into them, almost looking like a cushioned pillow.

"So cute."

(Y/N) suddenly says before realizing what she has said out loud. She widens her eyes and pulled away before Jimin could react before walking into his bedroom, her face heating up, "U-Uh, I just got hit pretty badly during training. That's it." She recovers and Jimin shook his head, clearly ignoring what she has said about him before he followed her. (Y/N) sat in his bed, pulling his covers to her face as Jimin let out a huff of frustration.

"Did he do that to you?" He asked. (Y/N) knew that he was obviously talking about Dongmin and nodded, "Yeah, he did. But we were training--"

"He can't fucking do that. What if you had it worse? What if your heart--"

"I'm fine, Jimin, I swear... It was kinda tough today, though, but tomorrow's the last day before--"

"I don't give a shit."

(Y/N) flinched at the sound of his voice. Jimin noticed and sighed, relaxing his tense muscles. "Sorry, I just don't like the idea of you getting hurt by him. Or in general..." He trailed off, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. (Y/N) smiled softly before crawling up next to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she looked up at him with the smile still present, "Don't worry, Jimin. I'm fine, tomorrow is the last day of training before the mission itself." She says as Jimin looked at her, turning his head towards the girl.

"I swear to fucking--" He paused, "If he lands another bruise on you, I'll kill him myself." He muttered as (Y/N) sighed, "Or... I'll just train you myself for tomorrow." Jimin says with a light smile as (Y/N)'s face lit up, "Really?" She says with a hint of excitement in her voice. "You really mean that?"

"Yeah, not gonna lie but I've been wanting to train you, although Taehyung and Jungkook are. I'll just persuade my way through Dongnim and Yoongi hyung." His smile increased just a little. (Y/N) smiled widely, "That'll be great, it really will." She says shyly, feeling the heat rise up to her cheeks when she notices Jimin staring at her.

"(Y/N)," He breathes her name, leaning a little closer as (Y/N)'s eyes fall on his lips.

Making a bold move, (Y/N)'s hand reached up to touch his cheek, her palm resting on the smooth honey skin. He leaned into her touch, his eyes drifting closed. (Y/N)'s breath quietly hitched as she took in at how beautiful he looked, letting her touch him like this. (Y/N) slowly pulled away as Jimin wrapped his hand around her wrist, beckoning her not to stop.

It was almost like he was addicted to her touch, to her.

"(Y/N)..." He turned his head slightly, gently kissing her palm. (Y/N) gasped lightly before clearing her throat and this time, Jimin doesn't stop her from pulling her hand away. (Y/N) backed away slightly as he did as well, running his shaky fingers through his dark hair. Jimin doesn't look at her, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"U-Uh, I forgot that I needed to shower." He says, biting his cushioned lips. "Oh, right." She sent him a nervous yet reassuring smile. Jimin got up and muttered something under his breath, but (Y/N) caught it.

"Preferably a cold one."

(Y/N)'s ears heated up.

~/~

(Y/N) laughed nervously as Dongnim and Jimin stood in the boxing ring, standing a few feet from each other. Jimin stared intensely into his eyes, his eyes hooded and dark. However, Dongnim was acting cocky and playful as ever.

"Yah, Jimin. So you're telling me that you want to train (Y/N) today?" Dongnim asked and Jimin nodded, "Hell fucking yeah I do." Jimin responded as Dongnim lightly laughed before sending him an intense glare back. And once that happened, the two lunged at each other.

(Y/N) gasped as Hoseok chuckled at her, "Whoever wins gets to train you today before your mission, noona." Jungkook says and watches the two.

Jimin threw a punch at Dongnim's jaw, sending him to the ground. Dongnim chuckled, "Since when did you become a fucking bitch, Jimin? What kind of punch was that?" Jimin growled, curling his fist, "You know, whenever I fucking see you, you're already on my goddamn nerves." Dongnim got up, "Yeah, well when I'm done with you, I'm gonna take your little girlfriend."

Jimin glared at him, "W-What the, you're gonna what?!" He questioned and Dongnim smiled, "Oh you know, I'm gonna do this and a little of that, and I'm definitely gonna do that." Dongnim says as Jimin's eye twitched, W-What is he--? This is the same fucking kid that always got lost when going to the washroom if I didn't take him. And why does he have to bring (Y/N) into this? What's she got to do with anything? And what does he mean with this "I'll do this, I'll do that" crap, Jimin thought before glancing at (Y/N), who looked worried as ever.

Whatever it is, He thought before scoffing, "You're sick." He says lowly before charging at him.

Jimin dodged the couple of punches Dongim sent and kicked him in the gut. Groaning, Dongnim threw himself onto him. Jimin grunted as he tripped over his own feet, Dongnim sending him punches at his face one more. Jimin dodged them all he shoved him forcefully, pushing him to the ground with his feet. However, Dongnim grabbed his arm and held it between his shoulder blades, Jimin groaned quietly and kicked him in the face, hard, without thinking. Dongnim let go, bringing a hand up to his face as nose gushed down his face.

"Alright, I fucking won. Get your ass out of here." Jimin says as he breathed heavily, pointing at the stairs. Dongnim spat blood at Jimin, who swiftly moved out of the way before it could even touch him. Dongnim looked at him before getting up, laughing. "Alright, fine. But I'll see you," He looked at (Y/N), a glint in his eyes, "Tomorrow." He says as he went up the stairs, Hoseok following him, "I'll be following to make sure he doesn't cause trouble." Hoseok says, clearly not trusting him.

Jungkook smirked up at Jimin, "Looks like you won, hyung." He says as Jimin shrugged, "Of course." He says and glances over at (Y/N), "Come here." He says and she obeyed as he grabbed her hand, propelling her forward, helping her over the edge of the ring. (Y/N) smiled shyly as he placed his hand around her waist to support her.

"That was amazing, Jimin. That fight went by so fast though, it's kinda weird how he just got up and left." She says with a smile. Jimin tried hiding his smile, "Don't worry about that fucker. He's probably begging Jin hyung for some treatment. But anyway, let's get started."

Jungkook walked over to the machines, "I'll be working out." He announces as Jimin nodded his head, "Alright."

"Hit me." Jimin says and (Y/N) looked at him in confusion, "What?"

"Hit me." Jimin says once more and (Y/N) furrowed her brows, "I-I'm not going to hit you." Jimin sent her a smile, lightly slapping her arm, "You're not ready, (Y/N). Before any fight, tighten your arms. Just pretend that this a real fight, 'kay?" He says and (Y/N) looked at him with confusion and worries. "Okay, if you say so..." She says and Jimin sprinted towards her as (Y/N)'s body twists, shooting up her arm to snatch his before Jimin can do anything.

Jimin's lips lifted upwards, "Good." He says with a nod, circling around her as she did the same. "Again." He says as (Y/N) huffed, not liking the idea of hitting him, as if she could actually hurt him. Jimin noticed her behaviour, sending her an encouraging smile, "Have no worries in hurting me, (Y/N), I'm a man of steel." He jokes as (Y/N) rolled her eyes playfully, "Okay, but how about this?--"

(Y/N) charged at him, aiming to punch his face. Jimin immediately locked his arms in front of his body in an "L" form as (Y/N) quickly pulled back her fist, trying to punch him with another.

Jimin let out a breath as she continued, grunting with every punch he blocked. Jimin had to admit, for such a small person, (Y/N) had some skill in power. (Y/N)'s force in her punches almost pushes Jimin back. Once (Y/N) attempted to lunge at him, Jimin diverted her hand with his. He then grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm back until (Y/N) was hunched over, slightly groaning from the pain. As soon as Jimin heard her groan, he let go, (Y/N) falling back onto her bum.

"Shit, are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you." Jimin says as (Y/N) laughed, placing a strand behind her ear, "I'm okay." She says and gets up. "That was fun." She smiled, "Are you sure?" Jimin asked as she nodded, "Yeah, no worries, I feel as though you're a tad gentler and smoother than Dongmin sunbae." She says and Jimin nodded before scoffing, "Ew, don't call him sunbae, he's so below you." He chuckled.

"Alright, let's see what you got, (Y/N). Just once more." He says as (Y/N) nodded.

This time, she came up to JImin with her knee, lifting her strong leg to attack. Jimin reacted quickly and jammed his arm down, blocking her kick. (Y/N) gasped in surprise as Jimin turned around and ducked before she could even land a fist on him. Jimin then used his right leg to trip (Y/N). (Y/N) yelped as she attempted to catch balance, only to trip on her own feet, landing on her bum once again.

Jimin winced in guilt as he watched (Y/N) rubbed her bum in slight pain.

"Y-You're fast." She chuckled, clearly embarrassed. Jimin held her up to her feet, "You're fast too, (Y/N)." Jimin placed both hands on the sides of her face, "Not gonna lie, but you have tremendous power, (Y/N). I almost felt like falling when you threw punches at me." He says encouragingly before letting go. (Y/N) gave him a hopeful smile, "You think so?" He nodded, "I know so." He says and huffed.

"Again."

This went on for another two hours, (Y/N) hits Jimin, he blocks it. Again and again.

~/~

(Y/N) panted as she entered the shower. She was surprised that she was able to get past Jimin's defence. Over the past two hours, she quickly learned and memorized Jimin's spars and blocks, using it as an advantage. Even though Jimin randomizes his blocks, (Y/N) still managed to land a punch.

Jimin stayed down in the gym room, punching the sandbag that hung from the ceiling. With every punch he gave out on the bag, he felt the aching pain from (Y/N). He had to admit, her punches hurt.

Jimin paused as he took a swing from a water bottle. He ran a hand on his arm and chest, "Damn, she's a good offender, but also has drawbacks." He whispered to himself. Taehyung then skipped down the stairs, his silver hair bouncing. He then scrunched his nose, "The fuck, why is it so hot down here?" He asked and took a seat on the edge of the ring, towards Jimin.

Jimin chuckled, "I've been training (Y/N), that's why." He says and starts to pack up his things, "Speaking of (Y/N), where is she?" He asked. Taehyung hummed, his ears twitching as he used his hearing, "She was just showering a few minutes ago, but now it's just quiet. I think she's taking a nap." Taehyung shrugged and Jimin nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna shower then." He says and Taehyung sighed, "Is she really going on that mission with Dongmin tomorrow?" He whined.

Jimin sighs, shaking his head, "Yeah, she has to. But then again, I wonder what those documents they're obtaining are about." He mumbled and Taehyung nodded, "Yeah, I heard about that. It seems important, though. I heard Jin hyung saying that it's got to do with (Y/N) herself." Taehyung says and Jimin turned to him right away, "What do you mean?"

Taehyung shrugged, "I dunno. But... I don't get why they're making her get it if it's about her. Kinda weird, huh?" He says and walks past Jimin up the stairs. Jimin huffed, thinking about what the hybrid had said. "What does that mean?" He asked himself.

Jimin started to go up the stairs up to his room. He sighed, making his way over to his washroom. Without thinking, he opens the door, only to be engulfed with warm steam. He blinked before blushing, seeing (Y/N) with nothing but a towel around her body. (Y/N) gulped, blushing as well as they both stare at each other. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat, "S-S-Sorry." He says curtly, turning around fast, only to bump into the doorframe, really hard.

(Y/N)'s blushing then goes away, giggling at Jimin instead. Jimin placed a hand on his forehead before closing the door. (Y/N) sighed, looking at her choice of clothing before slipping them on. She then dried her hair before walking into Jimin's bedroom.

Ever since (Y/N) told Jimin that she was fine with him sleeping beside her, he has been sleeping there ever since. It was his room after all. It also turns out that (Y/N)'s new room wasn't able to be completed due to the fact that Namjoon had already planned to make a second office. (Y/N) did not mind at all and Jimin didn't mind as well with (Y/N) sharing a room with him. So now, they both shared a room together. It took a while to sort (Y/N)'s belongings into his closet, to his bathroom, and to his dresser. But nonetheless, (Y/N) was much more grateful for Jimin as he was happy to share a room with (Y/N), especially because he knows she is most relaxed in his presence.

(Y/N) walked into Jimin laying on his side of the bed, eyes closed. (Y/N) tilted her head, noticing that Jimin was indeed sleeping. She chuckled before sitting on the edge, poking his arm. "Mmm?" He hummed, "Ah, I'm done with the washroom, you can take a shower now." She says as Jimin groaned, "Later." He says and (Y/N) looked at him in slight disgust, "B-But, you're covered in sweat!"

Jimin then sat up, eyes still closed, "Good point." He says and gets up, "Nice shorts, by the way." Jimin says and makes his way over to the washroom. (Y/N) looked down to see her dolphin shorts. They were typically short but not too short but was definitely short enough to see a good view of her thighs. (Y/N) gulped, "T-These are my pyjamas..." She mumbled.

"I should change." She says to herself and sighed, "What going on with you, (Y/N)?!"

~/~

(Y/N) fidgets the hem of the skirt she wore whereas Dongnim scanned her body, biting his lip in the process. She wore a simple white button-down blouse that was tucked into her black bandage midi skirt that showed off her curves, looking professional. "Are we almost there?" She asked and Jimin nodded from the driver's seat, "Yup." He says and (Y/N) looked down at the pen she was given in her hands. It was really a knife, just disguised as a pen.

Yoongi looked over at (Y/N), him sitting in the passenger seat, "Alright, just remember, if you're stopped, your cover story must be iron-clad." Yoongi says, "Let's go over this again." (Y/N) nodded, "Your name is Kang Yunha, a trusted military staff of the ambassador."

Both (Y/N)'s and Dongmin's undercover profile was created with precise and careful details made by Yoongi and (Y/N) themselves. The two were given papers that provided their information and purposes.

"I was sent by Beoyong Hwuang in Foreign Intelligence to arrange for Hyunwook's safe evacuation back to China." (Y/N) says. Although she really didn't really know what the special documents she was about to obtain had, she knew that the man Beoyong Hwuang was also undercover whereas Hyunwook was the Golden Flies' gang leader.

Yoongi nodded, "You two can take your time to review your profile." Yoongi says before looking back to the road.

(Y/N) nodded as she looked through her papers. "What does this Beoyong Hwuang man look like?" She asked and Yoongi showed her a picture of them on his phone. Young man indeed but was older than 18-years-old for sure. (Y/N) analyzed his features, him having dark hair the fell in waves over his forehead, almost covering his eyes as he had somewhat tanned skin and a stocky build.

(Y/N) noded at Yoongi, "Alright. So all I have to do is find him and switch briefcases with him?" She asked and Yoongi nodded, "That's right. Dongnim will be there to guide you if any trouble comes by, right, Dongninm?" Yoongi as the man beside her nodded with a groan, "Yeah, I know."

"Now, remember, they're only fluent in English and Mandarin." Dongnim looked at the girl as she nodded understandingly, "Got it." Yoongi leaned back onto the seat, "Hopefully he's obtained the documents we need." He mumbled.

Soon, they slowly pulled up near the front of the HQ. Jimin looked back at the two, "I'll meet you in front of the building when the operation is complete." Jimin says and (Y/N), "Okay." She nodded as Dongnim gave out a small groan, opening the car door, getting out.

Before (Y/N) could leave, Jimin grabbed her wrist. (Y/N) looked back at Jimin with a surprised face, "What is it?" She asked and Jimin sighed, "Just be careful, alright? Don't get hurt." He says gently as (Y/N) smiled softly at him, "I won't, I promise." She says and Jimin nodded before looking darkly at Dongnim's form, who kept staring at (Y/N).

He grumbled lowly before looking at (Y/N), who noticed his behaviour, "And make sure this bitch doesn't cause trouble for you." (Y/N) lightly laughed, "I'll make sure of that."

He breathed, looking at (Y/N) with soft eyes, "Now go on, good luck. I'll see you later." He says as (Y/N). She started to get out of the car before pausing.

(Y/N) bit her lip before kissing Jimin's cheek softly, taking him back by surprise. Her face heated up and met eyes with Jimin once she pulled away, only to see him blushing deeply as well.

"Bye, Jimin oppa." She says and turned to Yoongi, "Bye, Yoongi oppa." She says and stepped out of the car, "See you guys later." She says in a hushed toned before closing the door, walking towards the HQ.

Dongnim looked at her, "Really?" He rolled his eyes as (Y/N) sighed, not wanting to do this mission along with Dongmin, of all people!

Yoongi looked at Jimin with a smirk as the blushing boy remained focused on the world. "She's gonna be okay, I know she's doing this with the last guy you want her to do it with but there's no way she's going to come home injured. She's smart, Jimin." Yoongi reassured with the smirk still present. Jimin sighed, "Yeah, I know, but--"

"But?" Yoongi asked, "She'll be fine." Yoongi says and Jimin huffed, "I don't care if she's under Dongmin's watch, he's under her watch and it's her first mission without me or any of us. Don't you think this is too much for her? I think we're moving way too fast." He mumbled the last few sentences, "I don't think she knows what she's getting herself into." He says and Yoongi hummed, "What do you mean?" He asked. Jimin glanced at him, "Being in a gang and stuff... Now that I think of it, I wish I intervened more when Namjoon hyung was talking her into becoming a member, you know? It's too dangerous." Jimin sighed.

Yoongi understood what Jimin was coming from. Yoongi knew that Jimin had a deep concern for (Y/N). Both Jimin and Yoongi have been pretty close friends ever since Jimin joined, so Yoongi knew Jimin pretty well enough to know how Jimin feels about everything.

"I know where you're coming from, but don't worry. We're protecting her from all those people, are we not? We're never letting her go back there and she doesn't want to either. We're strong and you know that." Yoongi tells Jimin who gave him a slight smile, "Yeah, you're right." He sighed and Yoongi quirked a brow, "Why are you so worried about her anyway?"

Jimin shrugged, "I don't know. When I saved her, she had this look on her face." Jimin clenched his fists, "She looked so scared but fearless at the same time. But knowing that she's going to be out there along with us, doing missions and stuff. It makes me worried knowing that she's possibly going to get hurt. There are people after her too." Yoongi looked at the younger boy, "Mmm. Are you in love or something?" Yoongi teased and Jimin looked at him weirdly, "F-Fuck no." Jimin stammered.

Yoongi chuckled quietly, "He's so in love." He mumbled to himself as Jimin rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, what is (Y/N) suppose to obtain anyway?" He asked as Yoongi sighed, "Special documents that contain something important. I'm going to use it to hack into a certain system and get rid of some shit." He sighed.

Jimin furrowed his brows, "S-So... Why have (Y/N) go in and get it?" Yoongi looked at him, "Like I said, she's the only one who's fluent in the both Mandarin and English. And she's smart too, so it seems appropriate for her." Yoongi says and Jimin stopped the car, looking at Yoongi. "Hyung, I know there's more to it than that."

Yoongi looked at him, knowing where this was going.

"I heard that those special documents as something to do with (Y/N)." Jimin says lowly, looking at him in the eyes. Jimin was known as the interrogator of the group, the best one at that. Yoongi smirked, knowing he was using his skills on him, although, Yoongi seemed to fall into his trap. "That's right."

Jimin gritted his teeth, "So, what are those documents about?" He asked. Yoongi chuckled, "Jimin, trust me. Once I get these documents, it'll be for the good, good for (Y/N)." Yoongi says and looked at Jimin, who continued to look at him.

"You see Jimin, I know this is a real risky task, but, trust me on this," Yoongi paused, "Golden Flies are after her as well." Yoongi says and Jimin fumed in anger, "Then why--?!"

"They don't know what (Y/N) looks like at all. But just know that the Golden Flies are holding onto something important that has to do with (Y/N)." Jimin looked at Yoongi, "Well, what the fuck are they?"

Yoongi sighed, looking at Jimin, "They're (Y/N)'s files." Jimin widens his eyes, "You mean--" Yoongi nodded.

"Ever since (Y/N) was saved from you, all of (Y/N)'s files and her records of her existences are erased and is replaced with criminal records, marking her for termination. It is said that Banjo, (Y/N)'s somewhat father, has hired someone to do the job."

Jimin gritted his teeth, "D-Does that mean if she's caught, she'll be--"

"Captured and returned to the lab. Or even worse, killed."

OHHHH SHIIIIIIII--- okay hey guys sorry for not posting in so longgggg, exams are coming up so i had to so sum studying ya feel meee. unfortunately, i won't be updating until next saturday due to vacation. However! I will be updating as soon as I come back. Sadly, there is no internet to where I'm going, but I will be writing the next chapter on my phone so it'll be ready to post as soon as I get home!

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violetsystems · 3 years

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#personal

I had an epiphany last week during the break from writing. Having a space where you can go to where people understand you is paramount in life. Not many people have the luxury of being understood without question. Some people have it harder than others in mainstream society. There are complex reasons for this. But most of my young adulthood was spent finding spaces out on the fringe that just didn't waste time caring about any of it. Nobody likes people telling them what to do or what to be. It's such a simple feeling to fathom. I live in a country where freedom is supposed to be our secret sauce. Where everyone could be free if we just left it at that. And yet we're too busy arguing our little lines in the sand. Some people have more of it. Some people cross the line with it. And some of us are left creating some sort of metaphysical bulwark to seal up the gaps where other people sink into our own rights to be. I'm a bit of a scientist when it comes to the socials I'm adrift in. So I believe in quantitative results. I always think the problem is me. And this Is why as a writer I internalize so much. I am literally thinking aloud about how to socially engineer a situation to be less encroaching. I ask myself from the beginning of when I wake up where the points of failure might lie. If writing on the internet really were the cause of everything then I'd follow my mom's advice she gave me in college. I used to dress weird according to some people. I challenged the social norms because this is what I liked to do particularly with punk fashion at the time. Some jocks at the college called me any number of slurs. She told me simply to face it or change. No matter how rude people were. I dressed that way for some time. And went on to be known for many things that eventually went nowhere. But the knowledge never left me. There are some things worth fighting for and others a Sisyphean task. Last week I stopped going out somewhat altogether. I ordered groceries for the week. I made coffee and cooked chicken in my sunny kitchen. I cleaned dead mice with severed heads off the property before the sun rose and woke my neighbors. I paid my rent electronically for the first time from my bank and not my credit union. Serves them right for that James Webb shit. I focused on the things I couldn't escape. The times I left were to fly a drone out in the park for free with the newly licensed flight license I acquired through the Boy Scouts of America. I finally spoke with my neighbors across the way after intervening as a Good Samaritan in the laundry room we all share. That earned me two donuts and a long John. It also feels the politeness has lowered the defcon ratio of mistrust that exists on my porch. That shadow is more cast by what people expect out of this city. To trust no one. To think everyone is spying on them. To worry about what people say behind your back. That world exists out there every time I step off the property. It's a culture I do not welcome on my doorstep. I live in what they call a sanctuary city that nobody will talk about for fear of going on record. The silence is meant to protect but mostly a large defense that keeps people from healing and growing. And yet another year here locked in my little hut by the train seems different. What could have changed?

I'm not a mind reader. I'm not psychic although my mom's Croatian gypsy and Bohemian German roots claimed they saw the future. Nature is overlaid onto of us at all times just like the internet. The mysteries and the wonders are happening right in front of us as we fixate on a microscopic display. Most people live an encapsulated life in a walled garden of their own data. They're afraid of freedom and so they sacrifice it for a jailed security. I somehow end up the same. Trapped here in some weird prism of questions nobody really wants to ask. They tell you that's the first thing that bothers people. When people ask too many questions? What are we doing here? Are we alone in the universe? Where is this thing we have headed? Will I see you again on Tuesday? Do you remember Kid Entropy? I remember the reverse entropy of working out every day and not looking like I did when I was younger. Just sore. All over my body. The Body by Jake sore and not the I fear I'm dying of Covid sore. Not even the wake up on Monday and have to face your fuckhead boss kind of sore. I remember having a job once. Or at least being on someone's payroll because music wasn't good enough of a career to justify your existence. It still isn't. I make more money mining ethereum than I did on band camp sales. And even then it's not that much. Why are all the people I help shoot videos getting featured on bandcamp daily while I'm invisible to everyone and everything. Maybe it is best to not focus on what isn't being said. Everything is a double edged sword of Damocles in this era. You get what you wish for. Or do you? Nobody but you will ever know. And that's a level of confidence that goes deep into the void if you follow it. Nobody out there is sure of anything. They ask for reassurance. Sometimes they don't ask. They want to control your stage time on this episode of real life. And I live on a backlot where anything is possible. Anything except having a real job and being seen as important. I was never as important as I was when I started writing here. And that's not very important really except to a few dear friends. I always say stick to what's worth it and then stick to what's working. I just said that now. But anything worth it is worth fighting like hell for. And it's pretty clear to see what is working and what isn't. I have a space where I live alone and wonder aimlessly. I try to figure out what I should be doing to be relevant. And then I realize there is a lot I already do. So much so I've done or did that nobody can forget. I've been cancelled without even a word or a poor deed to speak of. Nothing to be remembered and nothing to be gained. Is this why they are so worried about cancel culture? I existed this far in life by sticking to my morals and ethics. Nobody really has ever asked what they are. People want the abridged version. They want to know what God you worship or what your favorite sports team is. They don't want the heavy lifting of understanding what singular identity you represent. They don't want the burden of caring. They're too busy caring about themselves. When you do care nowadays it shows in ways that seem arcane and wizardly. I'm not a mind reader at all. I am considerate enough to go above and beyond your expectations. That is if you are worth it.

Some shit out there is just not worth it. Not worth explaining. Not worth thinking about. Not worth fighting to be heard amongst people who can't even remember your name. Fake names included. There's people out there who still remember every bit of the last twenty to thirty years of my existence. I wish they'd understand why it doesn't mean anything. And yet I'm still alive. I still look out for people. I didn't ask for a medal or a star on a walk of fame. I'm still that guy you try to copy but can never get the swagger right. I still foster the culture even if I felt abandoned by it all. I still think it's worth it to be the impossible version of me. A kind, stern figure that moves deliberately like a shadowy colossus as not to hurt the blades of grass flowing underneath my feet. I walk off my steps onto the concrete and it's a million human eyes perched like grasshoppers. I could endure that for anyone but around here it's more trouble than it's worth. I've been walled off behind an understanding. One that has no guarantees and no goal posts other than how I hold it down. How things can be so fucked up out there but always so safe with me. I wonder sometimes. Why people don't strive to be more like me instead of chasing after some stupid shit. Like everyone writes on the internet that people like me should be more like me. And yet people like me are horribly forgotten. After all this time, it's better off that way. But what kind of a mind fuck would it be to explain that to people. I stopped explaining. I stopped going out and dealing with the constant silent prodding. I resisted by mothballing my entire life and hiding. I wanted people to seek it out. The horrible and bitter truth. Whatever my history is. Because I'm not like anybody after all of this. I'm in a place where I can truly say you deal with me and me alone. If I write about it, you can read it for your own very eyes. I've cultivated that for years. Sometimes it's been used against me. Sometimes it's my own fault for not realizing things sooner. But nobody can grow when they're constantly being uprooted by hazing, gaslighting, intimidation and pack tactics. That's not provoking culture. This isn’t the army. That's being an asshole. If anything delicate plans need deliberate decisions and timing. And we live in an era where everyone thinks they can brute force, glitch or subvert their way to the top in a two week news cycle. I've been casted to the side more times than I can count. And I get back up and reinvent myself. These days I'm through being tested by people who can’t be bothered to look themselves in the mirror. And I'm through watching other good people have their time wasted by useless roasting and disingenuous provocation. If anyone has learned anything about me is that they've tried it all. And it all just sits there on the wall. Other people's failures of vision of what I could excel at. All the failed pranks and dumb attempts at guerrilla warfare. They couldn't see a world where we win by our own standards. Maybe if they rolled the old gypsy bones a couple more times, you'd be able to predict my outcome. I've rolled them for you. Bohemian rhapsody all day. You can unlock the layman's interpretation on Tumblr+. Everything else you should have figured out already. The people I really care about already have. <3 Tim

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