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bellamyroselia · 3 years

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Who could replace Hades as the new big bad? Overly long essay

Like pretty much everyone else in this fandom, I love Hades. Guy’s your typical pure evil villain with a personality larger than life itself and he’s having so much fun with it that it’s contagious. Every time he pops up, I’m delighted to see him. It’s so fun to see him do his shtick and have the time of his life with it, which also makes beating him feel so great. After all the crap he has put the main cast through, it’s so satisfying to blast him into the face because for a moment that confidence finally breaks and once it's all over, people cheer because they don’t have to live in horrible fear for a while at least. This characterization is mostly rooted on the sheer fear factor Hades had in the eyes of ancient people - even in civilizations which have rather chipper afterlife people tended to prefer living over dying, and this of course meant that they were absolutely terrified of the Underworld deities. Hades was mostly addressed by epithets in texts because people thought that if they called him by his name, they were drawing his attention and the last thing a sane person wants is the attention of an powerful god who has power over the dead. So if a god has this level of appeal, be it positive or negative, you may not even need excessive amount of mythological content to create a frame for a character!

This being said, I don’t believe his chances of coming back are as the big bad of a next game are high - that is unless we have to wait another 15-20 years to get a new game, but I’d like to be more hopeful than that. So if he isn’t coming back, who could possibly replace him as the new big bad of Kid Icarus? It’s not like the writers could ever run out of source material because there’s so many monsters to deal with and every god is more or less morally grey, meaning that there’s many possibilities for new bad guys regardless of the scale.

This took a lot longer than I originally expected and I’m sorry for that - there’s no worse idea than to jump into a rabbit hole and bringing a shovel with you because things will quickly spiral out of control into new interesting directions. The more info I gathered, the more interested I was on looking more into it and sometimes it even spiraled out of mythology into history and philosophy. If you’re interested on some specific reasons for why this took so long, here’s few: myths are long and there’s many different versions of them, epics are even longer, Peloponnese people couldn’t be bothered to write their own things down so I had to look what travelers wrote down, it takes Plato way too long to get into the point, Herodotus never gets into the point, someone translated the term metic as resident alien of all things which I thought was the funniest thing ever and Ludovisi Ares is really pretty.

This is the point where I give the obligatory warnings, so here - since I'm discussing mythology here, it's inevitable that there's some talk about violence and death. I'm not going to linger on the gruesome details, but know that it's there. At couple points this will spiral into a full-on history lesson because I thought that understanding the historical context was important regarding the topic I was discussing. Also this is a one long essay - and by long, I mean really, really long. If you want to read it all at one sitting, prepare some time for yourself. But with that all out of the way, let’s jump straight into the discussion on who could be the next possible big bad, shall we?

I’m limiting this mostly to the main 12 Olympians with the addition of some other big names to keep things simple - while some smaller mythological figures such as Arachne or Arke would work fantastically as villains, they don’t have that recognition or presentation the more well known characters have. We’re trying to speculate who could fill Hades’ shoes as the new main bad guy here after all, not who we could add on the list of great yet less significant antagonists like Medusa, Pandora and Thanatos. I’m excluding Zeus, Athena, Hephaestus and Demeter from this list for rather obvious reasons - Zeus because the the guy seems to be MIA for good so Palutena could rule the place, Athena and Hephaestus because Palutena and Dyntos practically are them and Demeter because Viridi pretty much is Mycenaean Demeter on steroids in a package way too small to contain all that anger within. I also don’t think her relationship with Pit and Palutena will change drastically, so she’s sitting comfortably on her friendenemy-zone.

As for already existing characters, I don’t think anyone of them could snatch the title of the big bad. Viridi is off the competition for already mentioned reasons and I don’t see anyone from Forces of Nature defecting to become the new main villain. Pyrrhon is either gone for good or went back to whatever is this world’s equivalent of Egypt to lick his wounds, so I don’t think he’s coming back anytime soon - and if he’s coming, I don’t think he’s coming back as a main bad guy since he really wasn’t one to begin with. Thanatos’ only major mythological appearance is the myth of Sisyphus capturing death which doesn’t exactly strike confidence on his abilities in general and if that version of Thanatos couldn’t do his job correctly when meeting one guy too stubborn to die, do you really think that I believe our Thanatos has any chances of becoming the new big bad? Bringing back Medusa would be beating a dead horse at this point unless they really twist the formula and I don’t think that’s going to happen, so Medusa is off the competition. Pandora wasn’t all that big of a threat to begin with, so if she comes back she most likely stays that way. So it’s definitely going to be a new character, but who could it be?

As for who for sure can’t replace Hades as the new main bad, it’s Hestia. She probably has the lowest chance of any big Greek god to even appear in a possible future Kid Icarus game simply because there’s next to no material of her and that’s for a good reason. She was the goddess of hearth, domesticity, family, home and state. Most of these were and still are considered private, so that explains why there’s very little material of Hestia actually doing anything - we don’t write epic poetry about cleaning the house, making a macaroni casserole for dinner or going to bathroom and so didn’t the ancient people. With Hestia, you’re dealing with the bare bones of a character because she’s so passive and non-confrontational figure. It would be hard to make her a central figure in any kind of plot, especially for a one centered around action, so she’s out.

Hermes is also a figure I don’t think would work as a big bad or as an antagonist in general and I don’t really have any concrete reasons for why I think so. I just feel that he would be unfit for the role. He’s a trickster who started his shenanigans on the day he was born and the rest is mythology - by cunning escapades and underdog tactics he became the messenger of gods and from that point onward he kept collecting even more jobs such as becoming the god of merchants, shepherds and thieves, being a psychopomp, guiding dreams and helping heroes whenever he felt like it. He has a lot of going on but he’s always regarded as someone who knows all the tricks and isn’t afraid to use them, not all bad for a guy whose name was derived from a word meaning a pile of rocks.

As for why I think Hermes would make an terrible antagonist is mostly because of his status as the god of thieves and how it’s pretty much the easiest way to turn him into an antagonist. The thing here is that I just can’t stand antagonists whose main thing is that they’re amazing thieves and/or tricksters in games. While I think they can be enjoyable in other forms of media if they’re written on a smart way, in games this is almost never the case because gameplay and story don’t always match perfectly and writers need to use cheap tactics to make the character work - and by cheap I mean either A.I stands for artificial incompetence and the character is simply bad at being a thief/trickster despite all the characters and lore saying otherwise or that the game just starts cheating against the player to make them feel dumb even though they did nothing wrong. Thieves and tricksters are just really hard to balance in a game when it’s not the player character doing the deceiving. That perfect sweet spot for a great character is too goddamn tiny and if the thief/trickster isn’t exactly in there, you have an annoying character either because they’re incompetent at their job or because computer is a cheating bastard. So while there’s many enjoyable antagonists who share traits with Hermes, combine them all into a one character with the problems I already mentioned and most of the time you have a figure everybody hates due to how infuriating they’re to deal with. We’re trying to make people interested of going on and seeing what happens next here, not trying to annoy them to the point where they can just drop the game and never pick it up again. As for another reason I don’t think Hermes would work all that well as an antagonist is because his whole shtick is that despite his incredible powers, he still manages to be an underdog. Needless to say, the way underdogs are represented in media is vastly different from the way major antagonists are and while it can work, it’s hard to pull off. And of course there’s the thing of Hermes being portrayed almost always as a positive figure in myths, meaning that I and many others have a hard time imagining him as a bad guy. At his most evil we imagine Hermes doing stuff such as saying to his nephew that grandpa equals target practice, not anything that could threaten the world. Though if Hermes is included into the cast of a future game, I can image him having a theme that sounds similar to the BW rival theme for some reason. It has that I’m a one chipper fella but I’m also extremely busy right now so goodbye for a moment, see you soon-energy in it that I associate with Hermes.

As for what kind of role Hermes could be playing, he could work rather well as a quick cameo like Poseidon was in KI:U, where he offers help in some form. If one wants to go deeper into it, he could possibly run some service since he was the god of merchants and trade as well - though if one want to involve the fact of him being the god of thieves in addition to previously mentioned things, make him an occasional scammer because that’s what one would expect from a trickster. Or have him as a boss in a training gauntlet. Works either way.

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If Artemis was introduced into the series, I don’t think she would be antagonistic. I can totally see her having a cold personality and her being bit of a hard person to deal with, but I don’t see her being actively malicious character - only example of Artemis being overly cruel towards figures KI-characters seem to be based on would be her sending the Calydonian boar to cause chaos in Calydon. It’s interesting if you believe Magnus and Gaol are at least partially inspired by Meleager and Atalanta like I do, but I don’t think it’s enough to make Artemis an antagonist, much less the main villain so she’s off the competition. Not to say she isn't wrathful, I looked into it and her wrath far outnumbers her blessings, though it's rather messy at times and some of them even can't co-exist the ones about Orion and Callisto definitely can't but her wrath is divorced from the main KI-cast. You'd have to create new characters to excuse it and KI already has a rather large cast, so I don't think it would be all that wise to create new characters just for the sake of goddess cursing them for a plot line that's resolved in couple chapters. Maybe she’s just a cameo or possibly a boss in a training gauntlet.

Apollo would be an antagonist. I just don’t see any other way how he could be introduced into the series. He has potential to be a charismatic, funny and mostly harmless antagonist who isn’t there to cause any trouble, he just really hates Pit and only Pit. But why would he hate Pit? It’s not like the mythological Apollo dislikes Icarus or Perseus and that’s indeed true, but there’s one more thing. For a god who we associate with a celestial body mostly made out of hydrogen and helium, Apollo has extremely high levels of sodium chloride within him - which is to say that he has been salty starting from the moment Hermes robbed him that one time and that lake of salt inside him has only become larger ever since. That salt is directed at people he dislikes and while he doesn’t dislike Icarus or Perseus because he never met either of them, guess who he does dislike? Angel-like gods, or just Eros to be more specific.

The story goes that Apollo’s enormous ego took the better of him one day and so he started to mock his nephew for what he thought was mediocre use of the bow and arrow. Insulted Eros decided that Apollo had officially lost his uncle-license which led him to curse Apollo to have the worst love life imaginable, starting with Daphne. And as we all know Cupid is Roman version of Eros and Pit is named after Cupid, so this was hatred made in heaven and it would be disappointing to not use the opportunity when it has been given to us on a golden platter. And you don’t even have to come up with an detailed and intriguing story to explain why Apollo hates him - something could’ve very well happened during the three years Pit’s consciousness was in that ring. His body may have ruined Apollo’s chances to hit it off with people because it was destroying their cities or something similar. Or just leave it as a noodle incident that’s referenced multiple times, everyone wonders what the heck actually happened but only Apollo knows, refusing to tell the story because he just assumes that everyone already knows it and they’re just messing with him by pretending to not know. Either way, Apollo should be an antagonist if he’s featured in a sequel. Not a villain, definitely not the big bad but fun antagonist to deal with.

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This is something that most of you probably already know or at least you would know if you’ve actually read something other than Ovid’s Metamorphoses, or as I like to call it Jaded man screams at Emperor Augustus because apparently telling the Roman citizens to go all out on every monument the prude ever built clearly wasn’t enough, please tell me you have but Medusa isn’t an only child. She’s in fact one of Phorcys and Ceto’s seven children, both of them being somewhat monstrous primordial ocean deities - Phorcys has been described as a merman with red skin and crab claws, Ceto’s name in the other hand just literally means sea monster. Besides Medusa and the two other gorgons Stheno and Euryale, the list of their children includes the graeae sisters, serpentine dragon Ladon and Echidna, which is quite a lot of snake monsters for two deities who themselves don’t have any snake traits. There’s a lot of potential in this group but ideas of any of them becoming the new big bad end up falling apart because just like Medusa, they’re all rather bland characters like you’d expect from a mythological monster. They’re less like characters and more like plot devices that the hero needs to deal with. The only two members of this family besides Medusa who actually get to do something of importance are Ladon and Echidna and even those acts aren’t all that interesting. Echidna gets to have her many monstrous children with Typhon and then she’s apparently is killed by Argus, Hera’s servant-giant while sleeping on a cave just like her sister. Ladon guarded the garden of Hesperides which was well known for its golden apples and he doesn’t get to die with much dignity either, since Heracles just shoots him in the back and literally the next day other Argonauts find nymphs looking at his still twitching body. Alternatively Heracles just tricks Titan Atlas to do all the apple picking, which leaves Ladon alive.

Possibly one of the biggest problems writers have to deal with is setting. Ladon is very strictly tied into the garden setting and Echidna was cave dweller who never left her home, so writers would have to come with rather specific situations for them to appear. Of course if one wants to be lazy, Underworld could possibly serve as their home. It could very well house caves big enough to house a snake monster and Greek Underworld does have Elysium, which is basically Paradise and it could very well also function as a garden. But honestly even with the right setting, I don’t think either of them would make all that interesting big bads. They would definitely work fantastically as large-scale villains, but they don’t really have that much intimidation factor all things considered - you can blame Argus and Heracles for that.

But I’m not done with this family yet as there’s one character connected to them who’s probably the most feared monster of all Greco-Roman mythology and that’s Typhon, Echidna’s mate. He’s essentially an ancient Greek equivalent of a kaiju, more a destructive force of nature than a monster and everyone fears him - and by everyone, I mean everyone. There’s couple of versions of what happens but the most popular one goes that when the gods saw him, their first instinct was to shapeshift into animals and flee into Egypt. Those who did stay behind such as Hades were said to cover in fear in their homes while Typhon ravaged the land. Zeus tried to fight him but when he went for the kill, Typhon caught him and cut off his sinews, then threw him into a cave under the watch of another snake monster Delphyne. This didn’t stop Hermes and Pan from getting the sinews back and saving Zeus, and once his strength has been restored he and Typhon fought once again. Zeus eventually wearied Typhon down and then either casted him down into Tartarus or dropped a mountain on top of him, that being Mount Etna.

He could work very well as a big bad, problem here are just how high the stakes need to be for him to work. He’d had to be the ultimate villain if that was the case, the stakes need to be higher than they were with Hades. And considering how Hades was pretty much your typical pure evil villain causing chaos, what separates Typhon from him? Just some more chaos and no wisecracking dialogue because everyone is too scared to talk? He comes off as way too similar to Hades without all the fun personality. Maybe if KI:U became a KI:U-trilogy he could work as the ultimate big bad of the last game, but I got to say no otherwise. The bar for making him work is already sky-high due to how destructive he is and we don’t want to repeat the plot of Uprising here. So while he definitely can work, maybe save him for later.

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Hera and Poseidon both have potential to be serious antagonistic forces, but I don’t think they have it to be main villains. Hera simply fits the bill because most of the times she’s the antagonistic force actively trying to make people’s lives worse, all because she can’t direct her anger at correct people. Some times she’s just blatantly evil, like how she imprisoned her own daughter Eileithyia or you may better know her as Lucina to prevent the birth of Artemis and Apollo or how she tricked her pregnant great-granddaughter into disintegrating herself Semele is her great-granddaughter by the way. As for examples of Hera being wrathful which don’t involve Zeus being horny, she was said to be the one who sent Sphinx to Thebes, no reason given why or if there’s one, I couldn’t find it. Works either way.

Because she might as well be the personification of divine wrath, it’s pretty easy to see why one would think she would make a great villain. However that wrath also gives us a big problem, it being that her evil escapades are mostly rooted on anger and spite - while wrath is a good driving force for a villain, it needs more to work. With Hades, he does evil things for fun and is having a blast while doing it. Hera on the other hand just rages and most of the times it’s because of Zeus, who seems to be out of the picture. She’s not there to have fun and when you add her general lack of charisma on the top, you don’t end up with the most endearing character. While wrath can serve as a character motivation, it can become stale very quickly and this means that unless the story regarding villainy her is short (as in solved in 1-3 chapters) it starts to feel like dragging. I overall think that Hera does have very low chances to appear in general, but if she does appear as an antagonist she should preferably be a minor one in the same way Viridi was. You know the meme of what makes villain a supervillain and the answer is presentation? Hera doesn’t have that presentation. Writers can certainly just give her that which is what they did with Hades whose mythological counterpart was more or less a basement dweller, but why go trough all that trouble when there’s so many better candidates to work with?

On to Poseidon, who’s an important figure in the founding myth of Athens - it’s honestly quite odd how it’s never mentioned in any shape or form in KI:U despite Palutena being based on Athena. But then again, considering how much “care” this series put on the names of its cities and towns, this being ignored doesn’t really surprise me even if it does disappoint. He was a really big deal during the Mycenaean period, besides being the god of ocean he was also seen as the head god and the ruler of the Underworld. Then the Late Bronze Age collapse happened and Poseidon was nerfed in the lack of better words - during the Dark Age, Zeus became the new head god and Hades popped seemingly out of nowhere, taking over Poseidon’s role as the god ruling the Underworld. On the other news Poseidon’s antagonistic potential is somewhat dwarfed by the fact that most of his escapades involve banging and they don’t really feature any figures the main cast of KI seem to be based on. It’s annoying because he does so much but because it’s mostly banging people and either helping or bullying very specific heroes, it’s just not something that’s all that relevant in the context of KI. But there’s couple myths and stories that would make him an easy bad guy, first one is that of Atlantis - and we’re going to jump straight to the source material because on it’s core, it’s technically just another tale of Athena and Poseidon having a conflict. Fish people under the sea is fun as well, but by using the source directly it gives us the most potential.

So Plato tells in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias that when Athenian statesman Solon visited Egypt, he found some interesting records about certain events during 10th millennium BCE and translated them into Greek. Only thing here that’s true is Solon visiting Egypt, everything else was made up Plato - if you need more proof, know that 10th millennium BCE was during the stone age for context, Britain wasn’t sharing a land border with just France, but also with Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark during this time. It was that far into the past. As for the actual story, it begins by gods choosing lots of land for themselves and Poseidon chooses Atlantis. He then falls in love with a mortal woman Cleito, builds her a luxurious home, they have five sets of twin boys together and once the kids have all grown up, they divide Atlantis into ten parts and so is born ten different lineages of kings. But by each generation the kings become more and more human, meaning that it’s much more easier for their wealthy lifestyle to hit them in the head - compare that to Athenians in the story, who’re not tempted by luxuries and have quite Spartan lifestyle interestingly enough. This wealthy lifestyle of the Atlanteans quickly leads into colonialism and war mongering, leading into them trying to take over the Mediterranean but they’re are stopped by Athens because naval warfare was the only type of warfare Athenians actually excelled at. Zeus eventually looks down to see what the heck is going on and then tells Poseidon to do something because this racket is technically speaking all his fault. Poseidon agrees, causes an earthquake and then sweeps Atlantis under his rug, that being the ocean. So Atlantis is pretty much an antithesis of a perfect society, a concept that’s discussed more in Republic and the lesson here is that being consumed by hubris in the search of luxury leads to ruin - but since we’re not here for philosophy lessons, let’s forget all of that and think what kind of plot one could craft out of this mess.

Island nation in search of wealth is a good set-up for some action, so I don’t think there’s much that needs changing. Have Atlanteans attack some cities which alerts Palutena and that leads Pit into a mission in which he tries to tell Poseidon what’s going on. After 2-5 chapters of war against Atlanteans, Poseidon deals with the problem either willingly or by force - whether he just destroys the place or makes Atlanteans full on aquatic folk who can’t survive on land meaning that they have to give up the conquest is up to writers. It’s honestly quite refreshing to have the original tale working so well, because usually everything related to Atlantis in media is so divorced from what Plato told. Sure, a submerged city full of fish people could still work but by using the original tale as base we get a story with clear beginning and end which makes perfect sense in context of KI. Or maybe have the a plotline inspired by the original story first and then later have something related to the submerged city with the fish people. Best of both worlds, amazing!

Also orichalcum, the metal Atlanteans were said to have aplenty, is pretty much just copper. Reddish metal and only gold is more valuable than it, it couldn't be anything else but copper. The term even translates into mountain copper! So why is it never portrayed as copper in fiction?

Besides Atlantis, Poseidon has couple other myths I’d like to talk about too. The first one has him and Apollo losing their divine authority for a while and as punishment they have to serve Trojan king Laomedon father of king Priam and grandfather of Hector among some others if you’re wondering. The king makes them to build the legendary walls of Troy and he promises them great rewards, but once he doesn’t deliver them Apollo sends the plague upon Troy and then Poseidon sends a sea monster to terrorize the place Heracles kills it if you’re wondering. There’s also certain another situation which I’ve actually already talked about on a different post and how with little shaking it could work nicely on a future game - what I said was that Pit should do something Poseidon is going to hate to the point that the god is screaming for his head and that he wants to settle things on court.

The myth I used as reference was that of the supposed first trial in history, in which Ares kills Poseidon’s son Halirrhothius for assaulting his daughter and Poseidon loses his marbles over it. The gods gathered on Areopagus which is a real place in Athens, fun fact and I’ve heard two versions of how the trial goes. In the first version everyone agrees that Ares’ actions were justified and in the second one gods side with Poseidon, but goddesses side with Ares and since there was more goddesses present than gods, their words mattered more. Either way, Poseidon loses the trial and Ares gets away scot-free.

Were a future KI-game do their own twist with this myth, Pit would obviously take the role of Ares. Besides the fact that we’re trying to make Poseidon more antagonistic, Pit just being on a situation similar as Ares makes sense thematically speaking and I’m going to talk more about this later since it’s rather interesting. As for why the trial happens in the first place, it could very well be over anything. Maybe mix it with the one where Poseidon sends a sea monster to terrorize Troy just replace Troy with some unimportant city as this series always does and he’s so attached to it that seeing it getting slayed deeply saddens and angers him. You don’t even need to get rid of the idea that it was over a girl, even if the motive for killing the monster is changed along with what kind of relationship the girl could possibly have with the main cast. This is something I’ll get back into later because there’s in fact one other character who I’d like to talk about and how their most cruel and personal form of villainy happens to bound to a certain girl.

So back to Hera and Poseidon. There’s definitely potential for them to be antagonistic, but I’d say they would work much better as arc villains rather than as the main bad guy. There’s only so many things you can do with characters whose actions are rooted on anger or wrath, especially when they don’t have all that striking personalities.

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As for someone who could well work as the big bad, Dionysus is the first serious candidate. It’s partially due to how inconsistent his characterization has been, which I guess is something one should expect from a figure who has been around since the Mycenaean times and who happens to be the god of insanity, vegetation, orchards, fruit, grape-harvest, winemaking and wine. Does this sound like someone you’d expect to be a member of Forces of Nature? Because it sure does for me and I’d honestly be surprised if he wasn’t one if he was introduced to the franchise.

Symbolism behind Dionysus’ birth is pretty neat, my favorite version of it is the one written down by Diodorus of Sicily in Bibliotheca Historica and in that one Demeter is his mother. It starts the usual way in which the poor kid is killed shortly after his birth by Titans and Demeter comes back just in time to gather his remains to allow his rebirth shortly after. It references the harvest process and wine making - the god wine is born from the union of rain and earth just any plant is, he’s torn apart and boiled alive symbolizing the harvesting and wine-making process, his remains represent the fallen bare vines which become fertilizer for the earth and lastly wine itself is supposed symbolize the now reborn Dionysus. All of the versions of his birth myth do have this symbolism to a certain degree but I’d say this version has it the strongest because unlike his other the mother candidates, Demeter is a nature goddess first and foremost and also the goddess of agriculture.

This next point is somewhat tied to the previous one which is that he actually has valid reasons for his absence, that being his meanderings. Long story short - Hera’s angry over the fact that he exists, she injects him with madness and he wanders around like a madman for a while, then Rhea cures said madness and tells him to go on a journey so he could teach people how to make wine. So he goes and wanders around the world with the exception of Britain and Ethiopia for some reason teaching people the art of winemaking and does some other things in the meanwhile, such as apparently founding a city it’s told that on his campaign Alexander the Great came across a city that was supposedly founded by Dionysus. And this is a fun fact, apparently Dionysus’ popularity exploding around late 4th century BCE can be directly linked into Alexander, which is pretty neat. Once he comes back home he firmly establishes his place as a god and then he starts doing shenanigans much more familiar to us, such as giving king Midas his golden touch and marrying Ariadne.

So why do I think Dionysus is the first real contender for a possible new big bad? Well, do you know what’s the first thing he did once he came back to Greece? According to Bacchae, he brainwashed a city to worship him, caused an earthquake, set a palace on fire, gleefully watched when his worshipers teared a man into pieces and then turned some other people into serpents. Now that’s an entrance Viridi would be proud of!

Besides this, there’s also two similar stories in which Dionysus meets some pirates and they both show him as an unhinged god. They capture him and in the first one Dionysus shapeshifts into a lion and unleashes a bear against his captors, causing the scared pirates to abandon the ship and then Dionysus turns them into dolphins. In the other one he turns the mast and oars into snakes, fills the ship with ivy and the sound of flutes to make the pirates go mad and once again when they abandon the ship, Dionysus turns them into dolphins. The tale of him giving Midas his golden touch could also count as him being antagonistic since the act gives Midas nothing but suffering. So while he is much more friendly towards humans than your average god, Dionysus definitely has an antagonistic flare deep inside him and a place in the Forces of Nature and you can’t change my mind.

If Dionysus was a major antagonist or the big bad, I could see the plot going a lot like this - he comes home, causes some racket because he feels neglected, Viridi is happy about all of this and tries to control it while keeping him on this state of mind because who wants a happy party guy when you can have a chaotic deity, for a while she can do it but not for long before things snowball out of control and he becomes an unhinged god dead set on causing chaos. As for how he’s defeated, I can’t really come up with anything concrete on a fly but I don’t think Dionysus would be defeated the same way Hades was. And while he has the personality and presentation needed for a main antagonist, I just can’t see him as a pure evil villain like Hades was. He’s very much redeemable in my eyes and as for what happens to him after his defeat, I could see it leading to him mellowing down kind of like how Greek wine was watered down before it was used for anything - he’s still part of Forces of Nature and perfectly capable of doing all the same stuff he did as a major antagonist, but he would prefer partying with humans over destroying them. Viridi probably isn’t going to be all too happy about this, but it’s not like she’s going to be all that angry about it either.

Also fun fact at the end - in Dionysiaca, Ariadne laments if Eros and Anteros hate her because she had amazing dream about a wedding, only for Theseus to piss off and abandon her on Naxos. But as we all know, she would soon meet Dionysus who she does end up marrying so hey, the dream just wasn’t about the guy she thought she would marry. So if Dionysus isn’t going to be the big bad and the arc devoted to his villainy is relatively short, this could very well be used as a blueprint for a funny side story. Ariadne lamenting about Eros and Anteros would give Pit and Dark Pit valid reasons to be there.

This is not a joke, by the way. The part of Underworld which wasn't either Elysium or Tartarus was commonly referred as "the House of Hades" in ancient texts.

As for someone else who could also work quite well as the big bad, that would be Persephone. You all know the drill with her - Hades takes her, Demeter panics and goes to search her, she causes the Mediterranean summer on the meanwhile and does a thing which looks awful without context Demeter sets a baby on fire which is supposed to make him immortal if you’re wondering, everyone else decides that enough is enough because endless Mediterranean summer is a nightmare, they beg for Hades to give her back and he does that but not before the pomegranate trick. Demeter causes Mediterranean winter to come, the trouble is solved, we have a nice functional couple in our hands and they continue to appear together when Underworld is relevant to the plot - which surprisingly isn’t all that often as only Adonis, Heracles, Theseus who loses his arse and friend in the process, Orpheus who loses his wife and will to live in the process, Odysseys, Psyche and Aeneas managed to go to Underworld and back. That’s not really all that much all things considered.

And before anyone says anything about seasons here - Mediterranean climate is a thing and it’s best known for its hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. One of these is much more preferable for plant life and in this case, it’s not summer. The more you know.

While there’s not much material of her when compared some other people in this list, I’d say there’s enough to create a frame for a character. In both Theogony and Iliad Persephone is described as dreaded and in Odyssey Odysseus assumes Persephone is the one sending ghosts to torture him while he’s visiting the Underworld. Just like Hades she has her fair share of vague epithets like Despoina (mistress) and Kore (maiden), presumably for the same reason as to avoid getting her attention. And while the etymology behind her actual name is rather muddied, the popular theories are that it means something in the vain of to destroy, to bring/cause death and she who brings destruction. And people have the gall to say she isn’t scary!

With this info and Hades’ characterization from KI:U in mind, you could very easily create a powerful pure evil villain who’s not going to be happy to learn what happened to her husband. As for why I believe she would be pure evil instead of redeemable one like Dionysus, it’s simply so she and Hades would match on their villainy. Considering how the big thing about Hades and Persephone is that they genuinely love each other to the point of possessiveness Pirithous and Minthe learned it the hard way, it would be weird if they hadn’t rubbed on each other during the time they were together. There’s an amazing chance for drama here and it would be dumb to ignore it when it has been given to us on a golden platter. And besides, unholy matrimonies are quite fun in fiction. Villains too have something they love.

As for attempts of villainy that don’t revolve around her being antsy at Pit about Hades, we interestingly need to look at the list of those she granted favors rather than those that had to deal with her wrath - or just one of them in particular, Psyche. As I’ve already mentioned she was one of those mortals who managed to go to Underworld and back and to make things better, she went to Underworld specifically so she could speak to Persephone. Persephone greets her with a nice cushion to sit on and a banquet, which Psyche declines because it’s a trap this is practically just the pomegranate trick on a larger scale. She tells why she came into the Underworld in the first place and Persephone fulfills her request, which is to say that she gives Psyche boxed death.

Coming to Underworld to speak to Persephone in particular definitely gives Psyche an edge compared to others when it comes to exploring Persephone’s potential villainy. But just why is Psyche such a big deal when compared to someone else like Orpheus, Adonis or Aeneas? Well, Psyche just happens to be the girl who would become the goddess of soul, a job that isn’t currently filled by anyone in KI-universe which Hades has kindly illustrated to us in KI:U by eating and repurposing souls for his own purposes. She’s also Eros’ wife with the addition of being the mother of his daughter and as we all know at this point, Pit is mostly inspired by Eros. While Persephone just being angry about her husband’s treatment makes a perfectly fine motivation, why not use the chance when it has been represented to us on a golden platter? Because while KI has a large cast of characters, most them are quite divorced from one another when it comes to their mythological counterparts interacting with each other. This subverts it since Persephone actually gets to interact with someone important to the figure Pit’s inspired of, which is more than almost anyone else in this list can say. The opportunity is there and there’s an open position for a new god, so why not take it?

Also if Persephone is going to be in a future game, I say I’m going to be so disappointed if there's not at least one pun about her epithet Kore. Like imagine if she was introduced on a chapter called Lost Kore or something similar and then the characters would just continue on making bad puns, annoying her. Wouldn’t be too out of line when it comes to this series humor.

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I know what I’m going to say next is probably going to be controversial, but anyway - if Ares ever makes an appearance, I don’t think he would be a bad guy and this is mostly due to how Pit has been characterized. I know that may sound weird at first but trust me, I do actually have a point with this.

So let’s start with something that may seem completely unrelated at first, these being a history lesson and some talk about over-demonization. We honestly don’t know much about how some city states worshiped gods and what specific versions of the myths they had because some people just couldn’t be bothered to write things down. Besides it being extremely annoying for me, this is also probably where the misconception of all of ancient Greece being either like Athens or Sparta came from, which just is completely false. However what is correct is that city states didn’t really like one another all that much and often engaged on stupid wars with each other, only uniting when there was a much bigger threat looming on the horizon - and with war comes propaganda and when only some people write things down, we’re usually left with really one-sided information when it comes to both good and bad. For one example of this coming off as hilariously hypocritical to me is Athena being worshiped under the epithet Areia in Athens. Areia is very obviously derived from Ares and means warlike, but Athenians had their heads so far in their arses that they came up with a reasoning that this version of the epithet is actually derived from areô or areskô, meaning to propriate or atone for. It’s most likely just some crap Athenians came up with to excuse the worship of Athena Areia, which I just can’t help but find pathetically funny - you can only blame your own propaganda for this, guys.

Historically speaking Ares most likely originates from Thrace since besides his popularity in there Herodotus notes in Histories that only gods from Olympian Pantheon that Thracians worshiped were Ares, Artemis and Dionysus, a really odd trio if I have to say so myself, it’s also said to be his birthplace in the myths. His name can be found on Linear B scripts, a writing system that goes as far back as 1450 BCE and which disappeared during the Late Bronze Age collapse around 1100 BCE. This informs us that he was part of the Mycenaean Pantheon in some way, most likely even then as a war god - it also informs us that he predates gods such as Apollo, Hades and Aphrodite who just don’t exist in Mycenaean texts at least in any recognizable forms. As for Ares during the Archaic, Classical and Hellenic period, especially when it came to places that weren’t either Athens/Attica or Sparta, I had to mostly rely on travelers who wrote things they saw down because some people just didn’t bother to write their own stuff down. Pausanias’ Description of Greece was especially helpful with the research, but what must be remembered is that he lived during 2nd century CE and that he was an outsider to these cultural aspects so how old some of this stuff here is and what the exact context behind it was, I don’t know and neither do others at least currently, one sure can hope so we know more in the future. Then again past is another country so maybe I'm setting my hopes way too high. When given anything in Linear A, people channel their best "I never learned how to read!"-impression.

As for how Ares’ Roman counterpart Mars came to be, it’s mostly due to syncretization. He probably was originally an agricultural god who was later associated with warfare once the Roman Republic started expanding. It’s possible that he was syncretized with an Etruscan deity called Maris, who was usually portrayed as a young boy whose caregiver was Menrva, a goddess who was later identified with Athena and Minerva. While this isn’t an universally agreed take, it’s still pretty interesting in context of Kid Icarus even if it wasn’t intentional or in the case of the take, true. Once Romans started to interact with Greek settlers from Magna Graecia Mars was syncretized with Ares, giving us the Roman god that looks familiar to us. One notable thing to keep in mind is that most of those Greek settlers in Magna Graecia originated from Peloponnese and what I’ve managed to find, they held Ares on much more higher regard than those originating from Attica did.

Okay, now when that has been cleaned out of the way, let’s go to the slightly more interesting stuff which is cult titles and epithets. Just like any other god he has his fair share of both, some examples include Teichesipletes (stormer of cities/walls), Hippius (horseman, of the horses), Theritas (beastly/brutish), Enyalius (warlike), Obrimus (strong/mighty), Thurus (violent/furious), Chrysopelex (of the golden helm) and Chalcocorustes (armed with bronze). I’m using Latin spelling of these to make things easier for myself if you’re wondering. But there’s two titles I specifically want to talk about, both them originating from Arcadia around Tegea because apparently all the cool stuff happens in Arcadia.

Interestingly also in Tegea there was a temple of Athena under epithet Alea. Pausanias tells that her priest there was a boy who held the title until he reached puberty, meaning that her priest was a child. Now this has nothing to do with Ares, but it’s pretty interesting when thinking of Pit. It’s not exactly same for sure, but could this mean that he would leave Palutena if he ever grew up?

The first one is Gynaecothoenas, meaning “Feasted by women” - and no need to worry, it’s nowhere near as sexual as it sounds. The story goes that Tegeteans were at war with Sparta and what decided the victory was an ambush by Tegetean women. Because of this, they offered Ares a sacrifice and celebrated the victory alone. The king of the Spartans at the time was said to be Charilaus, meaning that this victory must have happened around early-to-mid 8th century BCE, making this rather old cult title by the time Pausanias was writing. If only the research for everything else here could’ve been as easy as this.

The other and much more interesting title was Aphneius, meaning “Abundant” and under this title he was worshiped as the giver of food or abundance. The story behind this title goes that Ares fell in love with Tegetean princess Aerope and they had a child together, but she died during childbirth. Ares, doing his damndest to keep his son alive, managed to find a way for the baby to still have milk. Once he grew up, his son Aeropus then managed to do the thing that’s near impossible for a demigod, which is to live a normal life as the lord of Tegea. Now this would make a great character backstory…

… What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, history lesson is over! Finally! Now into the fun stuff, which is Pit’s characterization. It’s pretty common knowledge at this point that that Pit’s inspirations are Icarus, Perseus and Eros but when it comes to his characterization, Eros definitely takes the cake as the main inspiration. He is a fully realized character with multiple myths under his wing, unlike Icarus or Perseus.

Starting with Icarus, he isn’t even a character but a plot device. He’s a tool for Daedalus’ character development and that’s where his importance ends. He’s a miniscule part on a much larger narrative in which the most important part is the Minotaur, as it drives the plot for everything else in it. Icarus’ death serves to drive Daedalus’ character to the point which eventually leads into him killing Minos. He exists for a metaphor that pop-culture has blown out to be way more important than it originally was and that’s it.

As for Perseus… The guy is just really bland. While all the other heroes have their flaws like hubris and wrath, Perseus doesn’t really have any flaws. He doesn’t have that many achievements in either bravery or stupidity due to his method of dealing with things being the quickest way possible. This makes all of his battles extremely boring and because he’s one of the first demigod heroes in the mythological timeline, he doesn’t even get to interact with anyone who could be interesting. How many of you even know that he’s supposed be the founding hero of Mycenae? Not many, I’m sure about that. The most interesting thing about the guy his that he’s an ancestor to people such as Tyndareus, Alcheme, Heracles, Penelope and Telemachus but this doesn’t save him from being any less boring. He's that famous ancestor nobody gives a damn, so to speak. Pit certainly doesn’t get any part of his personality from a plot device or a blank of wood, only a literary reference and an antagonist.

Also can I quickly rant about the Angels in art vs. Angels in Bible meme because I hate it? For some reason most of times when people show art of these supposed angels, they aren’t even showing biblical angels but Erotes/Amores or Nike/Victoria instead. Erotes/Amores and Nike/Victoria are winged Greco-Roman gods, not biblical angels and using art of them proves absolutely nothing. Also you may have forgotten that there’s in fact hierarchy of angels and not all of them look identical. In Christian faith angelic hierarchy is composed of three orders, there being nine different kinds of angels - Seraphim, Cherubim, Ophanim/Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. Seraphim and Cherubim do indeed look terrifying and so do Ophanim, but Thrones are just bizarre because apparently they’re elderly carrying God’s throne, whatever that means also I’ve seen people use Ophanim and Thrones interchangeably which just makes the whole deal even bigger of a mess. And then there’s Dominions, who’re just really pretty winged people, proving that the idea of all biblical angels looking terrifying is completely false. I couldn’t find what Virtues looked like, but if they’re anything like Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels they’re most likely pretty winged humanoids. So yeah, surprising amount of biblical angels are indeed just pretty winged humanoids and only the highest order of them is clearly inhuman - so if you ever wondered why so many angels in art actually featuring Biblical angels have them looking so humanlike, now you know! It's not the highest rank's job to interact with the human world. Though in modern language, the term angel is simply used as an umbrella term which refers into a winged humanoid being regardless of which religion they originated from - so by using this as a frame, it would indeed make Erotes/Amores and Nike/Victoria angels along with some other winged gods such as Eos and Iris. This would also make Iris’ twin sister Arke a fallen angel because as punishment for siding with the Titans during Titanomachy, she was casted into Tartarus and her wings were ripped off so she could never escape from there. And then much later her wings are given as a wedding gift to Achilles’ parents, my god! You could actually a craft a plot out of this, hmmm. When it comes Pit and Dark Pit, I do think they’re angels only on this broad, modern way definition due to them being mostly inspired by the Greco-Roman Erotes/Amores and it’s possible that they’re only referred as angels because not only is the term Erotes/Amores is strictly associated with Aphrodite and only Aphrodite, it's also much more specialized term than just "angel". There has also been cases in art featuring multiple Nikes, but Nike's special role as the goddess of victory still prevents its use as a broad term. So I believe that in the case of KI, angel is just an useful umbrella term and nothing more.

So Pit’s mostly an Eros-expy when it comes to his personality and attributes, so what makes him so special when compared to many other Eros-expies in media? It’s actually a surprisingly small thing, but boy does it make a difference - on a thematic sense, Pit’s a total daddy’s boy and in this case the dad would be Ares. Most of the Eros-expies you see in media are completely divorced from anything related to Ares despite the guy being Eros’ dad but not in Kid Icarus, where we have a very blatant Eros-expy whose connections to his main mythological inspiration come almost exclusively from Ares. Just why is Pit doing Nike’s job? Because Nike happens to be Ares’ daughter according to some sources, like in the Homeric hymn dedicated to him. Why’s he a soldier in an army? Because Ares was a soldier and in some parts of Greece he was seen as a model of a perfect one who’s resilient and has physical strength that isn’t matched by anyone else. Apparently in Sparta they even had a statue of shacked Ares, supposedly as an attempt to keep the martial spirit and victory in Sparta I don’t know about you but for me this sounds like a very bad move, as if they were asking for the god’s wrath. Then again Athenians did the same thing with wingless Nike, so I guess it was fine in some twisted way. Why does Dark Pit exist? Because would you know it, there’s myth in which Ares and Aphrodite spot lonely little Eros and decide to create Anteros to be his brother, their only differences being hair, wings and weapons of choice Anteros has longer hair, plumed butterfly wings, golden club and lead arrows when compared to Eros' golden bow + both golden and lead arrows. Why does Magnus possibly being based on Meleager matter? Because would you know it, the dude’s sometimes a son of Ares. Why did he spend three years trapped inside a ring? It could parallel the tale of Ares and the giants, in which he spent a lunar year trapped inside a jar. Why does a dog help him during that section? It could still very well be reference Ares and the giants as Hermes and Artemis came to save him and one of Artemis’ sacred animals is a dog and Hermes is the god guard dogs. Also one of Ares’ sacred animals is dog as well, meaning that it could reference this as well. Honestly if Pit ends up having a divine parent and it’s not Ares, I call bullcrap.

So now when that has been made clear, what can writers do with Ares? Well if you take the myth of Poseidon wanting to settle things on court and give it to Pit, you end up losing one of his three major myths in which he’s wrathful towards someone odd I know, you’d probably expect a god of war to be much more wrathful but no, he’s not. The two ones that are left don’t really give all that great material either because in the first one, the target is Adonis and whether it even was Ares’ wrath that killed him is left open - in some versions it’s Artemis who wants him dead because she’s angry at Aphrodite for causing the situation which lead to the death of her hunter Hippolytus, sometimes it’s Apollo who still hasn’t forgiven Aphrodite for blinding his son Erymanthus, occasionally it’s Persephone of all people because she’s angry at Adonis for wanting so spend time with Aphrodite and at times it’s just an accident this all makes me think it was an elaborate coup. There’s always a reason for a divine being to be angry at Aphrodite because she just can’t help but cause trouble whenever she can. When it comes to the second one, it’s honestly pretty odd because not only does Ares forgive the man who originally was the target of his wrath, it illustrates how good of a parent he is on Olympian standards not that it’s a high bar but anyway - even better than the lady whose favorite boytoy he is, and she’s well known for being an overprotective parent.

The myth starts with this lad called Cadmus, who founds the city of Thebes, becomes its king and then kills a dragon residing on a nearby spring. Ares is furious about this since the dragon was sacred to him and apparently it’s sometimes his son, don't know how that works and as punishment, Cadmus has to serve Ares for eight years he got it easy when compared to Adonis and Halirrhothius. Once that service is over, Cadmus marries one of the two daughters of Ares and Aphrodite, this being Harmonia, the goddess of harmony. However not everything is all sunshine and rainbows because Hephaestus is still salty about how his marriage with Aphrodite went south and once he hears about a wedding, he prepares two gifts for the bride - first one was a beautiful necklace that could keep its wearer eternally youthful and the other one was a luxurious robe. But there was a catch, since both of these objects were cursed to bring bad luck to those who owned them. The bad luck eventually took its take on Cadmus’ mental state and one day he remarked that if gods fancied those serpents so much, maybe his life would be so much better as one. Gods fulfill this wish, he’s turned into a serpent and once Harmonia notices what has happened, she wishes the same. At one point Dionysus comes to the city, trashes the place and then gives them a propechy of this happening. Either way, Ares comes down to get the unlucky couple and then scoots them to safety in paradise-like Elysium, where they get to reside from now on.

You may already be familiar with this myth to a certain degree because Pokemon B/W could technically count as an adaptation of it. N is of course the most obvious parallel due to him getting his second name from Harmonia and Ghetsis takes a role comparable to Hephaestus. It all becomes even funnier because Harmonia hits some characteristics associated with yin - she’s passive, feminine figure who represents harmony which can only exist due to lack of action, an idea. It gains even more hilarity points thanks to existence of Adrestia, Harmonia’s sister and the goddess of revolt - she’s pretty much yang to Harmonia’s yin and to make things even more hilarious, she was often portrayed as a beautiful winged maiden. Now who would expect the goddess of revolt to be a lovely winged lady and the goddess of harmony to be at least momentarily a serpent?

While this is indeed an interesting myth, I don’t think it would make all great material for future KI-game, at least on its current form. The cast of KI doesn’t really get to interact with humans on a personal level, which is something this myth largely relies on. Honestly, I think the best way it could be referenced in game would be just Pit going to Elysium and meeting Harmonia still trapped on a draconic form. Considering the way Hades had been characterized in KI:U, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had just kept trapped Harmonia as a pet lizard in his garden. Maybe say something on the vain of him eating the husband’s soul or using it for something else to explain why she’s there all by herself. And if you want to make fun of the fact that the fourth wall might as well not exist, throw Adrestia in Elysium as well as a dragon as a nod to Pokemon. “The Twin Dragonesses of Elysium” sounds like it would make a very cool boss fight.

So a wrath or blessing, Ares gives us not much to work with either of those at least when it comes to him actually doing stuff - but that doesn’t mean we’re left with nothing because there’s three myths that I’ve glossed over quickly that could give us something, one just for comedy and two others actual plot. As for the one that’s just for comedy, it’s the one in which Sisyphus captures Thanatos. Ares is actually the one to save Thanatos from the tough situation since after it has continued for a month, he bursts into Sisyphus’ house, frees Thanatos and drags Sisyphus’ spirit to the Underworld… Only for him to come up with a sad story, which leads into Persephone letting him go only for it to backfire. Ares then disappears from the story, but it ends up with Sisyphus doing P.E for eternity in Tartarus once he dies for real as you all already know. This is pretty funny if a bit morbid myth, so it could be really easy to use it as a comedy goldmine if Ares ever interacted with Thanatos. Maybe have Thanatos trying to act like they’re friends, only for Ares to become more and more frustrated the longer Thanatos continues. Maybe once he mentions some of his escapades involving Pit, Ares finally decides that enough is enough and shows to Thanatos that mortals don’t call him by the name Thurus for nothing.

To the myths you could get some serious plot out of, the first one is very predictably the one in which he earns the title Aphneius. It just has everything a great character backstory needs on its original form, meaning that it could easily be inserted on the game with minimal changes and it could still work fantastically. It has a romance between a god and a mortal which ends up on a tragedy during a moment that was supposed to be joyous not because of any divine whim or I guess it could’ve been Aphrodite being salty because she has a habit of releasing her wrath upon Ares’ loved ones or relatives, usually grandchildren such as Hippolytus, but I think it would’ve been written down had the story actually said it was Aphrodite behind Aerope’s death, but because of something beyond their control. And instead of taking his frustrations on the baby like so many fathers in these stories do, he instead does everything to keep him alive and so Aeropus grows up to be fine ruler, if an unremarkable demigod. A writer could easily use Aeropus as a base for an interesting heroic character… And I guess you can already see where this is going. I already said that Ares would make the most sense as Pit’s divine parent if he indeed has one, so this would make an excellent backstory if that was the case.

I could see the timeline going something like this if this was true - Ares meets KI-universe’s equivalent of Aerope, the two have an adorable romance and are expecting a kid but something goes horribly wrong and Aerope dies, instead of letting Aerope’s family to take care of the kid Ares takes the baby with him because who knows what they would do to a winged baby so many myths have families abandoning their kids for dumber reasons than this so why wouldn’t he take the kid with him + this dude had 3-6 winged kids, one all by himself, so he definitely is the one hogging all the wing genes instead of Aphrodite, he tries single parenting but it’s hard when certain goddess is constantly shooting stinkeyes and paralyzing glares at his direction and it leads into him asking help from Palutena because a winged kid wouldn’t look too out of place among her angel minions. Considering how Palutena and Poseidon were capable of having a conversation in KI:U without any horrible atrocities being committed, I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to imagine her relationship with Ares being along your typical sibling-relationship rather than what Atheanians wrote down Ares and Athena were actually worshiped together in the town of Olympia under titles Hippius and Hippias, fun fact. You could also see it as a favor inspired by how Menrva took care of Maris. Anyway, this deal goes swimmingly for a while until the events of a certain other myth take place, which makes Palutena the sole caregiver of Pit - some unspecified amount of time later que the events of the original Kid Icarus and onward.

Fanfic time over, now to the other myth which could explain Ares’ absence - it’s the one about him and the giants. Long story short, there’s these two giants called Ephialtes (derived from the word meaning nightmare) and Otus (either derived from the word meaning insatiate, doom or horned owl) who’re sons of Poseidon because of course they are, goddammit Poseidon and a mortal woman Iphimedeia, they’re also called by the name Aloadae. They were planning to storm into Olympus to kidnap some wives for themselves, Otus wanting Artemis and Ephialtes wanting Hera what great choices, you complete imbeciles, absolutely amazing. So one day Olympians are surprised to find these two giants piling up mountains on top one another and as expected, there’s a big fight between them because no one comes to the Olympian home turf without facing the consequences. Once the two giants finally leave, the Olympians notice that someone is missing, that being Ares. Ephialtes and Otus probably realized way too late that kidnapping the god of war wasn’t the brightest idea and because letting him go wasn’t an option, they locked him inside bronze jar of which he tried to break out without success. It took around a lunar year for the giants stepmother to rat this out to Hermes, who went to save Ares with Artemis. While she distracted the giants and made them throw their spears at each other, Hermes lockpicked Ares out of the jar and so the three returned to Olympus.

So how could this myth be used while crafting a plot for a future game? I’d say it depends on whether writers want to use Ares as a full-blown good guy from the start or as an antagonist at first - and while I do still believe that Ares wouldn’t be a bad guy on his own free will, who said he’s going to burst out of that jar with that free will still intact? It’s not like we haven’t seen brainwashed antagonists in the series before, Gaol was a one.

So if we have Ares as an antagonist who’s brainwashed and crazy, how could the possible plot be handled? I could see it starting with the two giants resurfacing for something trivial but because they’re being destructive, it catches the attention of Palutena who sends Pit down to deal with them. The giants are dealt with in 1-3 chapters and one way or another Pit finds a large jar and breaks it, releasing the crazed Ares. Neither side recognizes each other and there’s possibly a boss fight which ends with Ares leaving and him becoming a wandering antagonist who causes racket when someone angers him. He most likely isn’t connected to any other antagonist or the main villain, but I could see them trying to recruit him without any success. As for how he was brainwashed in the first place, it could be the Aloadae wanting to get some use out of their prisoner and they decided to make him into an indestructible living weapon either to themselves or someone else - maybe it even was commissioned by the big bad because who wouldn’t want an powerful living weapon who’s loyal to you and only you. Either way it proves fruitless as Pit frees Ares from the mind control and slowly but surely he starts to establish himself as a good guy and an ally to Pit and Palutena.

This would actually go pretty well along with a certain another thing about Ares, that being helmet and symbolism connected to it - you see, mythological Ares was often portrayed to have something I like to call Meta Knight-syndrome. He was said to be a beautiful man with a lovely face, apparently much more prettier than any other male Olympian which could possibly explain why he’s Aphrodite’s favorite boytoy and he wasn’t particularly proud of it - just what kind of self-respecting enemy would take you seriously if you have a face of an angel? But that didn’t stop people from drawing or sculpting him without a helmet, and the result were indeed pretty my goodness is Ludovisi Ares a one beautiful sculpture. Just considering how the art we see of Ares can be categorized into him either with or without a helmet, writers could easily craft a narrative out of this - while wearing a helmet he’s under mind control and once freed he fights helmetless, allowing player to see him as who he really is. Helmet obscuring the face equals bad guy and once it cracks, we can have a very confused ally who cries over the fact that his baby is a big boy now, cries some more because there’s two of them now, may or may not join us to missions if there’s a two-player mode for story or just help with training and also maybe cracks dad jokes few times because humor is a valid coping mechanism. This all kind of reminds me how one other popular trend relating to Ares in art was to have him disarmed with young Eros playing with his armor. Cute!

Somewhat relating to the idea of Ares starting as a brainwashed antagonist turned ally once the helmet is smashed, I could see him having two different themes which illustrate the different natures of him. First one should be something brooding and terrifying, maybe something similar to Gustav Holst’s Mars, the Bringer of War which a really great piece of classical music that has inspired composers all around the world, even at Nintendo. If you haven’t heard it, you certainly have heard at least one song inspired by it metal genre can thank its existence on Mars, no kidding. As for the other theme, I think it should be a warm, calm and welcoming one with a hint of sadness, a complete opposite of the battle theme when it comes to the first expression. I’ve been recently listening a lot of TSFH and Hans Zimmer so if I had to say what kind of energy I’d want this possible theme to have, I’d probably say something between TSFH’s Friendship To Last from the demonstration album Nemesis, Final Days of Rome from album Unleashed and Now we are free from Gladiator. They all have this bittersweet yet beautiful feeling in them I love. Maybe there’s a shared leitmotif or something between the two themes connecting them into each other. Thurus and Aphneius were both titles for the same god after all, even if they were about wildly different aspects of him.

So just like with Apollo, I think there’s only one way to bring Ares into the franchise and in this case it would be making him Pit’s dad. It just makes way too much sense to me considering how Pit has been characterized that it would be odd if there wasn’t any connection between the two. And there’s even couple out-of-universe reasons why I don’t believe he would be the bad guy, the first and most notable being that the names Ares and Mars are already associated with morally righteous characters or at least characters we’re supposed to root for in Nintendo games. Sakurai certainly knows this, Marth has been in Super Smash Bros since Melee as a playable character and his name just blatantly is Mars in Japanese and his English name is just the Japanese way of saying Mars. You don’t bastardize the face of another franchise in your own one, especially if you’re both exclusives to the same company and the other franchise is much more bigger and important than yours is.

Since it would be hard to introduce Ares into the franchise, I would be completely fine with him not being featured in next game at all even though I would find it extremely disappointing. But if you’re not going to have him, at least have a reference to him in form of a weapon like Blade of Ares or Blade of Mars because would you know it, the legendary sword of Attila was also known as the sword of Mars. We’re probably never going to get actual swords in KI but blade has been used as a synonym for them, so there being a blade with said name could work just fine. That or finally add spear and shield combo into the game. But if you want to use the character who would work as the big bad the best into their fullest, maybe it would be a good idea to have Ares as well... All roads may lead to Rome, but not to the arms of Genetrix in this case.

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Call me crazy, but I think that Aphrodite would make the perfect big bad. Does she have that charisma and personality comparable to Hades? Yes she does, and unlike him she had all that in real life - one of her titles was Pandemos, quite literally meaning “of the people”. This made her extremely popular among people regardless who they were or where they lived, and how can you blame them since there’s not many people whom things such as beauty, love and sex don’t matter in some shape or form. Only Olympian who really matched her when it came to popularity was Zeus, but considering how he was the king of all gods it was to be expected that he’d outrank her on the popularity board. She was the most popular goddess in Greece by a longshot and that was also true for Venus in Rome, even if Mars took the place as the second most popular god after Jupiter. Due to her being the mother of Roman founding hero Aeneas, she was viewed as the mother of all Rome and it was used by people as a way to climb up the political ladder. The Julio-Claudian dynasty claimed to descend from her through Aeneas and it didn’t stop there - you can actually trace the ancestry of multiple mythological European figures all the way back to her! Some notable examples of this include Bladud/Blaiddyd, Leir of Britain, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia of Britain and supposedly even king Arthur himself last one is a bit iffy, but all the others are concrete, Aphrodite just flat out is their ancestor through Aeneas. She definitely has the charisma and presentation needed for a big bad because you simply couldn’t be able to pull of any of the previously mentioned things without them and if she could do it in real life, who says she couldn’t do it in a fictional world?

Pretty much only thing about Aphrodite that stays constant is her popularity because in the myths, her characterization is wildly inconsistent - I guess that something one should expect from a goddess who rules over matters such as beauty and love, two things one can never truly understand. However with that being said, there’s trends that stay with her regardless her ever-changing personality. She’s technically speaking an outsider to the Olympian family tree as her most popular and possibly the oldest one as well birth story has her as the motherless child of Ouranos, emerging fully formed from seafoam. Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera and Zeus form the first generation of Olympians and Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes and Dionysus are principal members of the second generation. By adding Eileithyia, Persephone and Hebe into the mix you get the main Olympian family, making Aphrodite feel like even more of an outsider. She only starts to fit among the family when the third generation is added and speaking of said generation, part of it forms her attendants. The two most important ones are her sons Eros and Anteros, love and love requited, whom she let’s to do pretty much all they want as long as they stay loyal to her. However once that loyalty shifts, she can be quite cruel towards them which is illustrated in the myth of Eros and Psyche quite well - and I’m going to let Aphrodite herself to do all the talking, so here’s a quote from from Apuleius’ The Golden Ass:

‘This is a fine state of affairs, just what one would expect from a child of mine, from a decent man like you! First of all you trampled underfoot the instructions of your mother--or I should say your employer--and you refused to humble my personal enemy with a vile love-liaison; and then, mark you, a mere boy of tender years, you hugged her close in your wanton, stunted embraces! You wanted me to have to cope with my enemy as a daughter-in-law! You take too much for granted, you good-for-nothing, loathsome seducer! You think of yourself as my only noble heir, and you imagine that I'm now too old to bear another. Just realize that I'll get another son, one far better than you. In fact I'll rub your nose in it further. I'll adopt one of my young slaves, and make him a present of these wings and torches of yours, the bow and arrows, and all the rest of my paraphernalia which I did not entrust to you to be misused like this. None of the cost of kitting you out came from your father's estate.’

Let’s file that under yikes. She’s saying this to her injured child and it’s about a girl he loves more than anything but she can’t stand her. And it’s not like Aphrodite dislikes her for any valid reasons, it’s all because Psyche is pretty and Aphrodite took it as a personal attack. This temperament is a stable with her, be the fuss she causes either positive or negative. It goes well in the line of the idea that she was never a child and was born fully formed, as it’s pretty hard to learn those important childhood life lessons as an adult. And do you want to know the best part about this mess? After this massive rant she’s confronted by Hera and Demeter, two goddesses who in all intents and purposes should understand what she’s feeling right now and guess what they do? They call Aphrodite a hypocrite in her face because that’s exactly what she is. Why is she so angry at her child for growing up and experiencing romantic love for the first time when she spends most of her time either being in love or making others fall in love?

Let’s leave the sad lovers behind for a while and talk about Aphrodite in some other myths. There’s not many myths about her that don’t feature romance or sex in some form, but those few are usually about her competitive nature. There’s a myth about Hermes and Aphrodite participating on funeral games yes, this was a real tradition organized by Apollo and she won, her prize being a zither which she later gave to Paris. There’s also a myth about her and Athena having a weaving competition which ended on her losing miserably because as one might expect, challenging the goddess of weaving into a weaving competition couldn’t possibly end well. But since these kind of myths are about things out of her assignments, there isn’t many of them. Most of them are about her helping people with their relationship problems, some examples could be her giving Galatea life on Pygmalion’s wishes and gifting Hippomenes the three golden apples so he could win the race for Atalanta’s heart. But it’s also really easy to earn her anger, some notable immortals who were victims of her wrath are the titan goddess of dawn Eos (she didn’t want to share Ares so she cursed Eos to feel uncontrollable desire towards a new man every day), the titan god of sun Helios (he ratted out her relationship with Ares so she cursed him to forget everyone he ever loved romantically and then made him fall in love with princess Leucothoe - it ends badly and that’s how we got heliotropes), the muse Calliope (Aphrodite saw Zeus asking her help for covering the whole deal about who gets to keep Adonis as a personal attack and so she cursed her son Orpheus to have a horrible death in the hands of Dionysus’ worshipers - interestingly enough this has nothing to do with the fact that Calliope did also sleep with Ares or that she married Oeagrus who’s sometimes said to be Ares’ son, which would make Orpheus his grandson), a minor ocean deity Nerites (he refused to follow her into the land so she turned him into a shrimp) and Pan (Aphrodite and this handsome lad Acheilus had a beauty competition and Pan was the judge - he said Acheilus was prettier so Aphrodite turned the poor lad into into a hideous shark-creature and then cursed Pan to be hopelessly in love with the nymph Echo, the very same Echo who had her eyes on Narcissus). It could even be said that her blessings aren’t going to last for long and by using Hippomenes as an example once again, we learn that in one version of the story she turned him into a lion all because he didn’t pay his respects back to her soon enough. Guileful Aphrodite indeed.

Due to her temperament and general lack of caring about the consequences of her actions, Aphrodite has earned the ire of many gods - just look no further than Adonis, there’s four possible culprits who could’ve caused his death. Because of their contradictory natures, she’s often portrayed as not getting along with Hestia, Athena and Artemis and while there’s not much material for Hestia there’s multiple myths of Aphrodite causing unpleasant situations for Artemis and her hunters, Hippolytus being the shining example of this. The judgement of Paris establishes her relationship with Hera and Athena as a rocky one and the Trojan war has them full-on enemies on opposite sides, Athena even telling the Greek Diomedes during the war that he should avoid fighting literally any god with the exception of Aphrodite - it leads into him throwing a spear at Aphrodite, piercing her wrist and this leads into Aphrodite cursing Diomedes in return. Also in some records such as Cypria Helen’s mother is stated to be the goddess Nemesis, so add her into the list of gods Aphrodite has angered so it turns out the goddess who truly was Nemesis’ enemy was never the one from Blue Sea Star but rather the one who represented Morning Star, how ironic. Her relationship with the male Olympians are a bit better but not always, in fact she has no meaningful one with Apollo at all. Her marriage with Hephaestus was an unhappy one and only after they divorced were they both allowed to be happy, Hephaestus by marrying Aglaea and having a family with her and Aphrodite by continuing her many affairs without any worries. She did scorn Zeus when he tried to get it on with her, but otherwise there’s not much either good or bad blood between them. Besides Ares, Aphrodite did find both Poseidon and Dionysus handsome and had affairs with them, but it’s unclear if they resulted any children - Rhodos has Telchine Halia and Amphitrite as her other mother candidates, Peitho is almost always said to be a child of Tethys and Oceanus instead, the Charites were more often said to be children of Zeus and Oceanid Eurynome rather than Aphrodite’s and Priapus just has no parents set in stone because no telling was seemingly more popular than others. The birth myth of Hermaphroditus starts with Aphrodite telling Hermes to piss off because he doesn’t come even close to her standards, so he asks little help from Zeus to get what he wants and therefore I can’t imagine them having a positive relationship because of this. And after reading so many myths in which Aphrodite targets Ares’ grandkids for whatever reasons, I’m starting to think that he should start running away and quickly. Maybe she really did kill Aerope.

Now returning to the love story with a happy ending which has the most famous victim of Aphrodite’s wrath, Eros and Psyche. It begins in a town with no name given oh, so this isn’t completely baseless in KI where princess Psyche (meaning either soul or breath of life) is having trouble socializing - the people have declared that she’s as if not more beautiful than Aphrodite and they have started worshiping her, denying normal human interaction from her. This obviously pisses off Aphrodite because it has been established that she has the self-control skills comparable to a toddler and so she orders her son Eros to make Psyche to fall in love with something hideous. While he agrees to do the deed, once he sees the beautiful Psyche he can’t help but to fall in love with her and then he chooses to defy his mother, crafting a plan on what to do next. In the meanwhile the loneliness is making Psyche miserable and that doesn’t go unnoticed by her parents, so they go to visit the oracle of Apollo for help. Considering how Apollo is still very much salty at Eros for cursing him to have the worst love life imaginable, his words aren’t all that comforting (another quote from The Golden Ass):

‘Adorn this girl, O king, for wedlock dread, and set her on a lofty mountain-rock. Renounce all hope that one of mortal stock can be your son-in-law, for she shall wed a fierce, barbaric, snake-like monster. He, flitting on wings aloft, makes all things smart, plaguing each moving thing with torch and dart. Why, Jupiter himself must fearful be. The other gods for him their terror show, and rivers shudder, and the dark realms below.’

She and her parents are obviously horrified by this, but they do as they were told to and Psyche is left alone on a cliffside where the god of west wind Zephyrus picks her up. He brings her into a lovely meadow where she takes a refreshing nap and after she wakes up, she sees a beautiful palace and goes in. She’s charmed by the looks of the place and then a disembodied voice tells her that she will be provided by many invisible servants while living in there. Once night falls she’s nervous to meet her husband, but after the first meeting she starts looking forward on their nights together. This continues for quite some time, but in the meanwhile Psyche’s family is starting to get worried about her and she’s in return worrying about them. Eros promises that her sisters can come to visit, but also tells her that she shouldn’t listen them if they sound jealous. Psyche agrees and Eros gets Zephyrus to scoot the sisters down to visit, but as expected the sisters get jealous really quickly and start to make her worry if what the oracle told about her husband was indeed true - what finally broke the camels back was the sisters suggesting that he’s planning to kill her and their unborn child. So when the next night falls, she has prepared herself a lamp and dagger to see if her husband really is a monster - once she draws the lamp near and sees that he’s in fact Eros himself, she’s awestruck and accidentally stabs herself with one of his arrows, making her fall for him even harder. But while admiring him some oil spills from the lamp on Eros, causing him to wake up and leave. Earlier in the story Psyche had said that she’d much rather die than throw this marriage away and she’s willing to live by that statement, so she goes to search Eros and atonement - meanwhile Aphrodite is beating her son in the head by talking how horrible child he is for daring to fall in love and then she imprisons him Genetrix knows nothing in this case. Hera and Demeter call her a hypocrite, which doesn’t ease her anger in the slightest.

Psyche eventually finds her way into a temple of Aphrodite and she calls her two servants to beat the poor girl to make herself feel better. After having a good laugh over Psyche’s suffering, she gives her another beating herself and then dumbs different kinds of grains on the ground, saying that she should sort them by night if she ever wants to see Eros again. Sometimes prompted by him, ants nearby take pity on Psyche and help her - predictably Aphrodite isn’t all too happy about this and she comes up with a much more deadlier task. By morning she tells her that she should get some golden fleece from the sheep living on a grove across nearby river. This disheartens Psyche because she knows gathering the fleas directly is a suicide mission, but she’s consulted by local river deity who tells her how the sheep behave and that instead of approaching the sheep at all she should just collect fleas caught on foliage. She does as was told and Aphrodite becomes even more enraged, telling her to go gather water from river Styx. While she finds her way to Styx without much hassle, she’s overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the situation - luckily for her everyone has come to the conclusion that Aphrodite is being horrible and Zeus sends one of his eagles to help Psyche to get the water.

At this point Aphrodite’s patience is running thin and she gives Psyche a box, tells her to go into Underworld to get a part of Persephone’s beauty and come back with it because this whole deal of torturing her little daughter-in-law has been so hard for her and she needs to look good while going to the divine theatre. After being consulted by a tower on how to actually get into the Underworld without dying, she does as was told and and it doesn’t take long for her to be greeted by Persephone. After refusing to fall into an obvious trap, Psyche told her why she was visiting her and Persephone agreed to help her without hassle - but after returning into the mortal world, Psyche’s curiosity took the better of her and she wanted to see that beauty herself. Turns out it was Stygian sleep fancy words for boxed death and Psyche drops on the ground like a rock, but at this point Eros has escaped his imprisonment goes straight to her. He draws the sleep back into the box, gently pricks her with an arrow to wake her up, the two have a heartfelt reunion and Eros brings Psyche to Olympus, asking Zeus if the two can now get properly married. Everyone agrees, Zeus tells Aphrodite to stfu and they give Psyche ambrosia, making her the goddess of soul. The two have a glorious wedding and some time after it Psyche gives birth to their daughter, either named Hedone or Volupta(s) depends if it’s a Greek or Roman telling the story, the personification of pleasure, joy and delight. I personally prefer the name Volupta, it rhymes much more nicer with rest of the family.

And since we’re at here, that gorgeous painting by John William Waterhouse that everyone thinks has Pandora wearing a pink dress? It’s actually Psyche opening the deathly beauty box. Don’t believe me? Just check Psyche opening the golden box and you see who’s right. He however did create an equally pretty painting about Pandora though.

So now when the story time finally over, what can we do with all of this info? Well, it does tell how perfect of an antagonist Aphrodite makes for an Eros-expy. She has power over him and isn’t afraid of abusing it when she feels betrayed. Compare this to the tales of Icarus and Perseus which really don’t have a main antagonists - Icarus has no personal stakes in the story because he’s a plot device rather than a character and from Daedalus’ point of view, the main antagonist is Minos but mythology doesn’t really treat him as all that horrible person. After he died he became one of the judges of the Underworld and probably sent Daedalus to Tartarus once he died, which illustrates a one seriously big missed opportunity which should’ve been used if Icarus truly was that important inspiration for Pit. Instead it just makes it even more clear how irrelevant Icarus and the narrative about the Minotaur are to KI. As for Perseus, I already talked about how Medusa is a mcguffin while alive and the other ones aren’t much better. Polydectes, Phineus and Acrisius are all dealt with so quickly that they don’t really matter - his only fight that isn’t solved by a handwave is against Cetus and it’s just a sea monster sent to kill Andromeda by Poseidon. Poseidon’s antagonistic potential is a topic I’ve already discussed and the already mentioned possible fusion of the myths of Poseidon sending a sea monster to harass Troy and Ares’ trial covers the idea of Pit saving a girl from a sea monster which is bit funny because in the former one, oracle tells that king Laomedon should let it eat his daughter Hesione to get rid of the monster, so that doesn’t really add anything new here. But with Aphrodite as the big bad it could be rather easy to craft two different but overlapping plotlines, one with a main goal and the other with a personal one. Aphrodite always was Eros’ biggest personal antagonist who treated him as a trophy child and didn’t take it well when he stepped out of the line - how dare her little doll grow up, behave like a man and then decide that he wants to move on to build a family of his own, which now takes the priority over her? Him choosing Psyche over his mother is his defining myth, with the addition of it being the myth in which he finally gains the respect of the other gods. Besides having its message about heart and soul being capable feeling and creating joy while together, it also functions as a coming of age story for its main couple - and when those stories have an antagonist, things tend get really personal.

So going back to those possible two plotlines and goals, what could they possibly be about? I’d say that the main plot line shouldn’t really be based on any myth but instead it should take advantage of her popularity among ancient people, more so when it comes to Venus and Rome. Even as a city, Rome was massive - by the time of 1st century CE it had reached the population of million people, being the first city in history to do that. And this was only the capital of the empire! Rome wasn’t build in a day indeed. Venus wasn’t worshiped by the thousands, her popularity was in the millions during this time period. That’s a lot of power for one goddess and as we all know, too much power can easily hit one in the head - especially when remembering that we’re dealing with a Pantheon composed entirely of manchildren. Give Aphrodite an empire that looks up to her, doesn’t do anything without a last world from her and you’re set with a supervillain who has it all from power to personality. In this case, the reason why Aphrodite should be stopped is that she’s a conqueror who rules by fear, saying that if she was ever abandoned she would curse them and take away all the blessings she has ever granted, leading her empire to ruin. If you want to make her feel even more villainous, don’t even give her an army of her own like Hades and Viridi had but make her use the people of the empire she rules over. There’s nothing more evil than using people who look up to you for protection for your own selfish goals. What those selfish goals may be, writers can be creative with them - maybe she wants to be viewed as the supreme goddess above everyone else, maybe she wants everyone to worship her and isn’t afraid to use extreme measures to get what she wants, maybe she wants to wipe out everyone who could be a threat to her, everything goes. Considering her role on the judgement of Paris, her causing a war or chaos for selfish reasons isn’t out of character. But whatever her reasons may be, there’s going to sparks in the air and fights of massive proportions. Ares may be Pit’s father but Aphrodite definitely isn’t his mother, so she’s not going to show him any sympathy or kindness if he gets in the way of her plans.

This would be the plotline that’s more on the background and focused on Aphrodite’s relationships with Palutena, possibly Ares and the other gods, the main goal is their goal. It’s why they want her defeated. If Palutena is anything like Athena, she can’t get along with her and she understands that allowing Aphrodite to do whatever she wants will have catastrophic consequences even if she herself couldn’t care less about those. If Ares was featured on a future game along with Aphrodite, their relationship would probably be focused on how they feel betrayed by each other. The myth of her cursing Eos illustrates how she sees their relationship open only from her end so she’s very likely still angry at him for leaving her, be it for Aerope or something else entirely. If you want to go with the depressing idea of her being the one who ordered Aloadae to kidnap him, she probably feels even more betrayed because even under mind control he didn’t come back to her like she had anticipated. And if it’s indeed her favorite ex-boytoy’s son with some other lady who has been foiling her plans, her blood quite possibly starts to boil. Ares’ feelings of betrayal would likely stem from Aphrodite trying to kill his child for no other reason than sheer pettiness, along with orchestrating his kidnapping and torture just so she could get her boytoy back. Other gods probably want her stopped for similar reasons as Palutena, maybe with some selfishness rippled in - the consequences of her actions are hurting them and because she doesn’t care, something must be done to stop her. For example, Viridi could possibly oppose Aphrodite because she doesn’t care about how she’s hurting nature on her attempts to viewed as the supreme goddess. Not to say that Pit doesn’t also care about this goal since he’s an empathetic youngster, but I think that the more personal plotline should be his and it’s goal his main motivator during the story.

As for the plotline with the more personal goal, the myth of Eros and Psyche makes the perfect outline for it. Aphrodite is already the main antagonist of the tale, so there’s no need for any massive changes when it comes to her jealousy and want to dispose Psyche. The tasks she gives to her could also be mostly unchanged, if adjusted with something that makes gameplay more immersive assuming we would get to play as her like we got to play as Dark Pit in chapter 22 in KI:U. However what needs to changed is Aphrodite’s relationship with Pit, how he and Psyche first meet and how their relationship is evolves from that point onward since following the myth to a T isn’t an option in this case. I could see Pit and Psyche’s first meeting being a result of Aphrodite’s wrath manifesting on a relatively harmless way, meaning that she already knows about this new, pretty princess that challenges her status as the supreme goddess and she’s not having any of it. As for how her wrath could manifest, it could be a your garden-variety monster attack in the first chapter disguised as someone else’s troops so no one would suspect it was her behind it. The sheer weirdness of it could catch Palutena’s attention so she sends Pit down to investigate it and to get rid of the monsters. While getting rid of them, he meets Psyche in one way or another - maybe she’s trying to escape from them or she’s trying to fight against them, either way Pit comes to her aid and they befriend each other. Maybe she’s featured on a few following chapters as minor character doing something on the background, giving them more possibilities to interact and become better friends - in these chapters Apollo could possibly be introduced along with reintroducing Poseidon, to foreshadow the roles they would play later on. What side plots would these chapters have, it could anything - maybe Pit meets Ares for the first time at this point of the story, but he’s not freed from mind control just yet.

At this point Aphrodite could be getting more angrier but she doesn’t want to out herself as the main villain yet, so she crafts a plan that would eventually lead into Poseidon hating Pit into the point of him wanting to take things into the court. Maybe she tricks Poseidon and Apollo into becoming mad at Psyche’s home city for whatever reason, like how they got angry at Troy in mythology proper. If this was the case, I think that she would keep Poseidon in the dark while letting Apollo fully know what’s going on - if Poseidon doesn’t know the true reason why Aphrodite wanted his sea monster to terrorize the city and why it was killed, he would be much more enraged when it happens. I’ve already established reasons as for why Apollo would dislike Pit, so he probably wouldn’t really need any prompting to cause Pit suffering since he’d still want some payback from that embarrassing noodle incident. So Poseidon sends his sea monster to terrorize the coastline and once citizens start asking help from the gods, Apollo lets the hate flow through him and offers nothing useful - instead he tells them to take the Hesione/Andromeda-approach and let it eat someone to calm it down oh look, it’s a reference to Perseus that’s not about Medusa for once, nice. In this case, it would be Psyche and Pit’s of course not going to let his friend die so he goes to save her, be it with or without Palutena’s approval. In my head I did imagine this as a chapter that would work amazingly with multiplayer, starting with Pit and Dark Pit distracting the monster, then Pit freeing Psyche and them setting out to kill the monster before it causes more harm. Player 2 would have to deal with changing characters on the fly but if Pittoo and Psyche had similar weapons, I don’t think it would be too distracting since they’d be playable on different parts of the chapter. But once the monster has finally been defeated, the joy is cut short by Poseidon interrupting and wanting vengeance for what happened to his monster, ending the chapter. The plot would immediately catch on the next one and what I could see happening on this chapter is that Pit’s taken into the court by Poseidon and he’s not allowed to have anyone defending him, but Dark Pit and Psyche go into his defense anyway Pittoo being the playable character. After a long and treacherous journey they find they way to the divine courthouse and tell their point of view on the events, which gives Pit the sympathy of the court and he gets away scot-free. Poseidon and Apollo may face on consequences at this point and they may even rat Aphrodite out on a subtle way, but the main group doesn’t catch it.

The following few chapters would be breathers before the plot kicks in again, Aphrodite ousting herself as the big bad in one way or another. Maybe she has sent her troops to attack some place, possibly in search for Ares since he would make a great ally on this brainwashed state. Much to her dismay he declines her offers, he and Pit fight and the helmet is smashed, but Palutena recalls Pit before anything can come out of it. The fight continues for couple following chapters, Palutena and Aphrodite are gradually getting more and more mad at each other and maybe she comes down to face Pit herself because the little brat getting on her way is starting to be really annoying now this would make a pretty cool unwinnable boss fight, but Ares comes just in time save him - que silent, cold anger between them, confusion from Pit and Palutena’s end with some extremely awkward reunions and explanations.

What could follow from here is another set more lighter chapters focused less on Aphrodite’s plans to become the supreme goddess and more of the cast getting to know each other better - Palutena and Ares reconnecting, Ares trying to form a meaningful relationship with Pit and Dark Pit, Pit and Psyche becoming better friends, etc etc. Not to say Aphrodite has given up on her plans - she’s still doing things on the background, but it’s implied that what little chaos she currently causes is serving as distraction to hide her bigger plans. Persephone could possibly be introduced at this point of the story, making it clear that she knows about the events of KI:U and that she’s going to get her payback on what happened to Hades in one way or another, possibly drop an implication that she’s working together with Aphrodite. But since everything good comes to an end and so do the breather episodes, plot would go on with Aphrodite kidnapping Pit and getting Persephone to throw him into some dark part of the Underworld, maybe even to Tartarus. And now we get into the fun part of the myth, Psyche’s four tasks!

I could see the plot separating into two directions from here on, first one being Pit’s great prison escape from wherever Persephone threw him into and the second one being the titular four tasks. The prison escape is more focused on traversing the Underworld and Pit trying get out of there while Persephone throws all kinds of obstacles at him - maybe it ends with a ghost gauntlet, since Odyssey illustrated that she can summon ghosts. Arke would make a pretty great boss fight here as well, since she could be classified as a fallen angel. Maybe her motive for going after Pit is to get his wings for herself as a mean to escape, since her own ones were ripped off as punishment for siding with the Titans. But since Pit’s a brave boy, this isn’t enough to stop him and he eventually finds his way out so there could be reunion and a final battle against Persephone.

While Pit’s great prison break is going on, Aphrodite makes an empty promise to rest of the cast that she can give Pit back, with some conditions - but just like in the myth, all she actually wants is Psyche’s death so the danger factor is amped up to eleven. I honestly don’t know how the one about sorting grains could be handled I guess it could work as a puzzle chapter, but the rest work rather well without massive changes. The one about gathering te golden fleas could now take a more direct approach, the one about getting Styx’s water is now missing the helpful eagle and the Underworld trip is largely same with the exception of Persephone not being cooperative. This would be the point where the two plotlines merge together and they take Persephone down together before leaving from the Underworld. Psyche falling for Stygian sleep in this version is up to debate, I say it could work either way. It mostly depends on when she’s going to wake up - if it’s too early it might as well not matter, if it’s after the final battle I’d say that’s too late.

As one might expect Pit’s escape makes Aphrodite furious and she challenges him into a one final battle - that brat has stolen her favorite boytoy from her, satisfaction of getting rid of the annoying princess and also her chances to become the supreme goddess way too many times, she has reached her third-act breakdown and at this point she has nothing left to lose anymore. Ares isn’t going to come back to her, Psyche is not going to die and the people under her empire have started to become less dependent of her, the last thing she can do is get rid the troublesome kid that brought her into this situation. Of course Pit ends up winning, sending the goddess to Aether to hang with Hades where they can now together sulk over the fact that they got defeated by an angel. Pit triumphantly returns to Skyworld where Palutena and others have been waiting, there’s a joyful reunion between all of them and if one wants to follow the original myth at this point, Psyche could gain divinity or immortality for her bravery for standing against Aphrodite as a mere mortal. People have become immortals for dumber reasons in Greco-Roman mythology, so at least Psyche doesn’t become immortal merely because one god thought she was pretty. Have some little banter at the end between the cast and then credits can finally roll in.

When thinking of some nice bonus content, maybe there could be a secret ending player can unlock after beating all the chapters on a certain difficulty, which confirms that everyone is doing well. If we have to deal with another long hiatus that could last for decade or two or eternity, best the game can offer is closure. Pit doesn’t have to a married man with a daughter, but at least show that he’s doing well and ready for a new adventure or that he has had many of those under his belt at this point. All one can do is hope at this point that there will be a new adventure or a happy ending that ties all the loose ends together. Praise Volupta, maybe one day dreams can come true.

______

Welp, this turned out to be much more longer and heavier than I originally expected! If nothing else, that would make an interesting fanfic. Anyway, I think I made my point clear - Aphrodite has everything a big bad needs from power to personality and motives to harass the already existing KI-cast. Even if you don’t want to go with the ideas I came up with, there’s so many myths to use and modify in which she could fill the role of the main villain. And just because there’s heavy themes it doesn’t mean it has to be without humor - I mean, there’s a lot of heavy implications in KI:U yet the game still manages to be a comedy gold mine despite those heavy implications. Writers just need to know when to be serious and when levity is needed, good pacing is something that every great story needs. For some reason I could definitely see there being a gag in which Pandora has regained her true form, only for Aphrodite to snatch it away because Pandora was living on borrowed beauty anyway and she’d like to have it back.

Though I must say that I’m proud of all of these plot bunnies I came up with. It was a fun journey to me to research, overthink, adapt and mix myths while trying to imagine who could be the next possible big bad and what the plotline relating to their villainy could be. And I came out wiser from it, so I really can’t be angry over it even if it took so me so much longer than I originally planned. I never thought that me wanting to write about a Nintendo game would make me read this much about history and philosophy yet here I am. Also now when I’m thinking of it, that last one would tie a lot of threads nicely together if they had a plotline like it on a future game - Poseidon gets to be an antagonist, Apollo gets to be an antagonist, Persephone gets to be an antagonist and Aphrodite gets to be the villain. It’s so nice when things work out this well together! Dionysus is left out though, but I guess it’s not all that bad because having too many antagonists would make the plot feel overly complicated.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts of who could replace Hades as the big bad. You can’t change my mind on Aphrodite being the best possible candidate but if you disagree with me, who do you think it could be? I’m always open for discussion so feel free to talk with me. Now there’s only one question remaining on my head - if a future Kid Icarus game had Arachne, would she be a jorōgumo?

#kid icarus #kid icarus uprising #ki #kiu #pit #dark pit #palutena #viridi #tagging them all since they're relevant at certain points #and all of them expect pittoo are featured in my doodles in some way so there's that as well #does this count as a doodle dump?#bella draws #bella writes #overly long essay #mythology typical violence tw

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huntergatherercreator · 4 years

Text

The Takedown | Part Eleven

Pairing: Mob!Tom Holland x Detective Reader

Summary: NYC has a new drug lord determined to wipe out any and all competition in order to grow his empire. You're going undercover to stop him.

Warnings: Mentions of weapons, swearing, violence, drugs

Notes: In all of my plotting for this fic I’d never planned on writing a lot from Tom’s POV but I’ve really got into it. I hope everyone’s enjoying mob Tom as much as I am!

Part 11 – 1,547 words

Toms POV

It had been six days. Six fucking days and no retaliation from Rivera. In any other situation he’d take this to mean he’d won but he knew Rivera wouldn’t back down. Despite the warning Tom had dropped off at the docks Rivera would have a plan of attack. He always did. He pressed his forehead against his linked fingers. Thumbs rubbing at his temples he inhaled deeply trying to rein in his thoughts. Maybe driving him to madness waiting for the guillotine to drop was part of Rivera’s tactics. Get him too caught up by the question of ‘when’ that he missed the ‘how’.

The grating buzz of the intercom had his jaw clenching. He’d been in meetings all day with his men and not one of them had anything useful to say. As his assistant let him know his next appointment had arrived he was tempted to tell them to fuck off. He knew better though. He had to lead by example. Act as if the threat wasn’t a worry in front of his men otherwise they’d spiral. Settling back in his chair he adjusted his suit jacket as the door opened and Joe entered accompanied by a heavily tattooed runner. It took him a second to pull up the name. Tate, he realised with a slow sinking in his gut. Finding a replacement for Arnold was yet another thing he had to fix.

Glancing between his man and the newcomer he took in their shared unease as they perched in the armchairs before his desk.

“This is about her isn’t it?” he realised with growing anticipation. If his theory was right then she could be the key to toppling Rivera off his gunmetal throne. Joe nodded but wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Tell me,” he demanded.

“I’m sorry, boss. I couldn’t get anything on her, but-“

He stood swiftly, his chair rattling as it hit the wall. Hands gripping the edge of the desk he towered over them. “How is that possible? Is she working with Rivera or not?”

“I don’t know, boss. It’s like she knew she was being followed, she kept throwing me off her trail.”

“Did she know she was being followed, Joe?” He didn’t believe his best man would be obvious enough to get caught. He never had before, but it was the only explanation for the failure he could think of.

“No. I’m sure of it. I’ve had others track her at different points around the city and they’ve all lost sight of her too,” Joe insisted, squirming under Holland’s dark stare.

“What about her background?”

“Came up clean.”

“Too clean?”

Joe shook his head. “She’s been picked up a few times, mostly for theft, once for dealing but was released. That was when she was younger. If she’s been dealing since then she’s kept her head down. Which might explain why she’s so good at covering her tracks.” Tom threw him a pointed look.

“Don’t make excuses. You fucked up, Joe. One woman. That’s all I asked. One.” He was letting his temper get the better of him but he didn’t care. Now that his last lifeline had evaporated he was back to square one. Hand raking through his hair he closed his eyes for a brief second.

“Why is he here? What else has gone fucking wrong?” he motioned to Tate who’d sat unmoving through their conversation. Joe’s hesitation had his fists clenching. Without a word Tate lifted the backpack he’d been carrying and slid it onto the desk.

“She gave it to me. It’s the pay-out for her stash.”

Unzipping the bag roughly he balked at the cash within. Arnold had been an incompetent prick giving her more than one person’s lot to sell, but given the bundles before him she’d somehow pulled it off.

“Told me to give you a message, too. Says this is what you’re due, and she’s keeping the profit.”

Tom stilled. His skin prickled. Who the fuck did she think she was?

“And you did nothing to get the rest?” he snarled. His heart rate was picking up as adrenaline seeped in.

“Figured you’d prefer to get the cash back personally,” Tate motioned to the front of the bag where a slip of paper was tucked. “Found her address going through Sam’s shit.”

Some of the tension in his shoulders lifted. It had been a while since he’d dealt with anything like this himself. Unbidden an image of the last time he’d seen her flashed behind his eyes. She’d stared down the barrel of his gun without even a flicker of fear. He couldn’t wait to change that.

“I want a car ready in ten minutes.”

****

Detective POV

The hot water of the shower helped flush away the tiredness clinging to my bones. It was just after five in the evening and even with a full day of recuperating I was still drained. After giving Zoey and the girls their dues she’d tipped me off about a rave happening in Hell’s Kitchen. It had been risky given that was Rivera’s primary territory but a large portion of the drugs that had been left had been sold. What little was left got pushed on the streets and then I’d summoned Tate to take Holland what he was due.

Given the derisive smirk on Tate’s face he’d pass my message along, if only to be the one sent back to deal out my punishment. I tried to picture how Holland would react to the news but couldn’t get past the darkness of his eyes. A shiver snaked up my spine as my pulse spiked. I shook my head sharply to clear the thoughts threatening to creep in, turning up the heat as I did to chase away the chill.

Holland is a mobster. He’s a killer. He’s dangerous. I’d found myself repeating the mantra more and more since the Cove. Zoey had questioned me about it again too. Still probing about how I was dealing with the case, angling towards me stepping back again. I’d shut her down quickly. This was my case. I’d know when things went too far. Now, after clearing the literal weight off my back in the form of the drug filled backpack, I’d been able to find a way to reel Holland back in.

Wrapping myself in a towel I padded towards the kitchenette to grab a cup of coffee. Halfway towards the machine a thin slash of light cut across the floor. The front door was cracked open. It was undamaged, meaning someone had picked their way in. A quick glance around the small apartment and I couldn’t see anything else out of place. There was no sign of an intruder but my skin prickled. Tightening the towel I gently clicked the door closed. Reaching into the umbrella stand I picked out one of the many guns I’d stashed around after Arnolds visit. Double checking the clip as quietly as I could I moved back towards the only unchecked area.

The door was closed, how I’d left it, but the tingling of my scalp warned me to be on high alert. I pressed against the wall, my fingers resting lightly on the door handle. The roaring of blood in my ears made it impossible to tell if I could hear movement or if it was my adrenaline fuelled imagination. I took a slow breath and on the exhale threw the door open. A moment of pause to draw out any gun fire and then I swung into the room, weapon raised.

I froze unable to process the situation that greeted me. Holland was sat on the corner of the bed, his gun resting against his thigh, the other toying with the underwear I’d left out. Waves of heat warmed my cheeks as he stroked the lace without expression.

“Did you buy these with my money?” His even tone had my breath catching. I’d confronted him before, I’d seen him angry. I’d seen him humiliated. This was different. His curls were in disarray as if he’d been running his hands through them repeatedly. His shirt unbuttoned at the top, tie loose around his neck. I knew pushing him wouldn’t end well. I kept my mouth shut.

“How about this?” Picking up the gun I’d had hidden in my bedside cabinet he turned it over in his hand as if appraising it.

Excruciatingly slow his gaze turned from the items on the bed to where I stood still aiming at him in the doorway. Leaning back on his free hand those dark eyes appraised me. Shame flared as a new type of heat spread. I bit the inside of my cheek hoping the surge of pain would douse it before he noticed but I was too slow. He’d zeroed in on the change of my breathing and the new flush I could feel coating my neck. He shoved off from the bed. My trigger finger tensed as he stalked towards me. My mind swam with the mantra. Holland is a mobster. He grabbed my wrist, slamming it back against the door frame. He’s a killer. Pain shot through my arm and the gun clattered to the floor as my body reflexively let it go. He’s dangerous. His strong fingers enclosed my throat.

------

Taglist:

@spideylovin @lukesbabylon @panicattheeverywherekid @keep-bears-wild @unbelievableholland @tomholland-mcu @whattheheckparker @stargazerholland @gorillaglue23 @marvelpeters

Part 12!

#mob!tom #mob!tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland

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fly-pow-bye · 3 years

Text

DuckTales 2017 - “The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Ben Siemon, Bob Snow, Tanner Johnson

Written by: Colleen Evanson & Tanner Johnson

Storyboard by: Vince Aparo, Kristen Gish, Victoria Harris, Ben Holm

Directed by: Tanner Johnson

Spin it!

Before doing research when Don Karnage first came to the series, my knowledge of TaleSpin began and ended with me having that awful Genesis game as a kid. I do know that the show took place long before the modern day, which is when DuckTales 2017 takes place, and it appears that the events of TaleSpin in this universe still goes with that. Why do I know this? Because this episode does not start with Baloo piloting the Sea Duck...

...but a grown-up version of his surrogate son, Kit Cloudkicker, who is now running Higher for Hire by himself. However, while things have definitely changed for Higher for Hire since Baloo's apparent retirement, mostly for the worse, some things remained the same. Namely, he is still being tormented by the nefarious Sky Pirate of the Skies, the corsair of the air, Don Karnage. Or Dan, as he calls him much to Karnage's annoyance. The good news is that Kit is now an ace pilot who can easily fight off sky pirates like he did back in the glory days. The bad news is that he can still do what he did as a kid with a giant cargo plane. He even says it, and with most of his dialogue in this cold opening suggests this is going to make him look foolish.

Even worse news for the business is that the fragile box addressed to F.O.W.L. is just sitting in the center of the cargo bay with no security whatsoever aside from a caged chicken and a goat. After rocking back and forth due to Kit fending off against Don Karnage, the box breaks to reveal a rock with a blue lion carved into it, and when that aforementioned chicken and goat touch it, they both turn into some sort of chicken-goat hybrid that Kit has to fight. How is able to fight this goat-chicken while piloting the plane? Simple: he puts a crowbar in the steering wheel, just like Baloo did in the original. Here, the idea is played as silly as it would be to someone who had never heard of TaleSpin. It is doubly sad when one considers Kit treats this crowbar like his only crewmate, because it is.

I do like that this first scene introduces this show's version of Kit very well. He's obviously an incompetent pilot, and not one that is lovably incompetent like Launchpad, and this incompetence is pretty well known among his customers judging by this line:

Kit Cloudkicker: Who's the terrible pilot now, everyone?

He's surprisingly cheerful about that, which, again, makes him look foolish. Despite all of this foolishness, he does appear to still be competent at coming up with plans to defeat his enemies, whether they be sky pirates or mutated goat-chickens, even if those plans end up putting the cargo he was supposed to deliver into the water. This includes that lion stone. He looks onto this and says "my bad" in a way that shows that his business is definitely going to be in the red in a few years.

A few years later, we see that Della is taking Huey, Dewey, and nobody else to Cape Suzette, and she's even allowing Dewey to fly the plane along with her. It is easy to see why Huey is extra prepared even if Dewey is doing surprisingly well, as Huey is not only using extra seatbelts, but having a Safety Boy helmet as well. Huey's also prepared with the knowledge of that Lion Stone we saw go into the ocean in the previous scene, which, you guessed it, is a Missing Mystery of Isabella Finch. Specifically, it's the Stone Of What Was, which was described with the mysterious phrase "what was once two becomes a-new." Huey does not seem to figure that one out. The good news is that it was found, but the bad news was that it was found by F.O.W.L, but the better news is that they lost it, but the worse news was that the stone was made of potassium benzoate. Okay, that last one was made up. There's a few throwaway lines to fill in how Huey even knows F.O.W.L. had the stone in other scenes, and those plot holes are really not that important.

After nearing their destination, which we learn was based on a clue from an intercepted F.O.W.L. transmission from a throwaway line from Huey slightly later in the episode, Della has the bright idea to let Dewey land the plane. Letting a little kid fly a plane? Not a good idea. Letting a little kid land a plane? Also not a good idea. Telling that little kid that there's nothing wrong with a basic landing? May be a good idea in the off chance it could even come up, but definitely not a good idea when it comes to Dewey. To Della's credit, at least it was Huey that did that last one.

After the crash landing, and not a Launchpad-type one, they arrive at Higher for Hire, which shows an advertisement showing its legacy playing on a television screen with plenty of TaleSpin references. This includes one shot of Baloo and another shot of a younger Kit and Molly Cunningham riding on an airfoil done in the style of the original show. This is great for people who were not aware of TaleSpin, which the target audience for this show may not have seen unless they have Disney Plus. Kit, still shown to be the sole employee years later, assumes anyone knocking at his door is the bank demanding payments, but he's delighted to see one of his former classmates at pilot school. He constantly has to tell Della that he is an ace pilot now. Most likely, he's telling that to himself too, as we'll see in the next scene. He at least has reason to believe he's a better pilot than his former classmate, as it doesn't look like her plane is in good shape. Della could have explained that this state was because she let one of her less competent sons fly the plane...and that would have probably made her case about a thousand times worse.

That television commercial also inspires a sort of B-plot that also ties into Kit's character arc, as seeing young Kit cloudkicking makes him want to do it, too. Despite his failure at even mimicking it, Kit is happy to see a fellow cloudkicker and would be glad to teach him the ropes. Della is not too excited by this prospect, but ends up allowing it, because she doesn't want to be the mother that does not support her kid. They aboard the plane, which ends up being a very bumpy ride, and Della goes to investigate, only to find that Kit was in the bathroom, letting his only other employee, the crowbar, be his substitute.

Kit tries to stop what he calls "mutiny" by saying that he's the only one who knows where the cargo could be, only for the crowbar to slip and reveal that he's been keeping a map in the glove compartment. The map actually has some Xs and a circle on it, which suggests that Kit may have been trying to correct his previous mistake, but either never getting the motivation to go through with it, or, more likely, he isn't competent enough to deal with whatever is on that island he circled. Maybe I am thinking about this too hard, but I would say it would be fitting.

Kit decides to distract everyone from him getting kicked out of the pilot's chair by giving Dewey his airfoil and the cloudkicking rope for him to hold onto, and a shot of Dewey's excitement instantly cuts to Dewey screaming for his life, holding on for dear life as he can't seem to. The parallel between a former cloudkicking guy who isn't really a good pilot, and a kid who can actually fly a plane who isn't really a good cloudkicker is easy to notice, and the episode plays around with this. For starters, similar to Kit and his not-so-ace piloting skills, Dewey also tries his hardest to hide how terrified he is at the cool new thing he wanted to do. Of course, it is very possible that Kit is acting the way he does because he's in a certain someone's shadow. Dewey just does it because that's how he is.

Despite that difference, this parallel is enhanced even more when they get attacked by the Sky Pirates, and Kit has to intervene and show that he, at the very least, can get Dewey out of the danger that Kit himself has caused. And yes, Don Karnage's Sky Pirates are now working for the very organization that they indirectly harmed years before by attacking that cargo plane and making them lose that precious stone. That does not come up at all, not even as a throwaway line. What does come up is that Don Karnage is delighted that one of the people after the Stone of What Was is his new arch-nemesis, Dewey. It's a long story that started all the way back in Don's debut in Season 1. It's neat to see these old references. After they all make a landing on the circled island, some more safe than others, they get to meet the wildlife of the island. Let's say there's a good reason why this island was circled, and why Kit could not handle it by himself.

It's a rhino and a gorilla crossed together, either a rhinosorilla or a gorillanoceros depending on whether one likes Dewey's word for it or Kit's. Clearly, this is the result of the Stone of What Was...what was...Wuz...Wuzzles! Admittedly, the Wuzzle was also not a show I grew up with, though that could be because it lasted only a season. In fact, I just now notice the lion carved into the Stone of What Was happens to have bumblebee wings. These animals are a little more realistic here, as they don't talk, and they're not cute or fuzzy like the original Wuzzles were. In fact, the character this gorillanoceros was based on was actually a monkey-rhino. There is a difference, even if they are very similar species genetically!

They eventually get to the stone, only to see that Don Karnage and his crewmates have found the stone first. Hiding, they see Don Karnage command Hardtack Hattie, his strongest crewmember, to lift it up. Unfortunately, she happened to lift it as a bunch of ants were crawling on it, turning her into an ant centaur to her and Don's horror. Despite that horror, and fitting for someone who just wants to finish his mission, he tries to get some of the other crew members to lift it...

...leading to these freaks of nature, which is what Don Karnage actually calls them. DuckTales 2017 isn't too afraid to show the horrifying nature of some of these fusions, continuing with the theme of how they portray the Wuzzles as these monstrous beasts. I would not call it nightmare fuel, but I would not be surprised if it already has an entry on TV Tropes. What makes these even worse is that there is no way for these guys to revert back to their normal forms. There's no "if the stone feels like it, it'll separate you" clause here, that snail-dog is permanently a snail-dog, and that pirate will have to live with a hand for his head for the rest of his days. These guys just end up getting forgotten.

Della tries to sneak by climbing around this horrific scene, only to be caught on some sort of sticky rock. Dewey decides to try to save her with his airfoil-riding skills, much to Huey's disagreement. Dewey's got to Dewey it! Oh yeah, I forgot, Dewey ends up doing "Dewey" puns for most of the episode. It's not funny, but I have a feeling it wasn't meant to be funny, and it's certainly not funny when he ends up falling down near the pirates. Face to face with someone who considers him his arch-nemesis, he tries to save face when he notices Kit stole Don Karnage's plane...which he immediately crashes into a rock.

As for the rock that Della was stuck on, it turns out it wasn't a rock. Nor was it a rock lobster, either!

It hatches into another classic Wuzzle character: the Butterbear, or the Bear-terfly as Don Karnage calls it. They never quite match the original Wuzzle names, and it is not like they would know them. There is one part of this where Kit and the Bear-terfly cross paths, and it almost seems like they're going to bond because they happen to be a similar race. Then, it instantly cuts to Kit running away from a rampaging Bear-terfly. How are they going to continue from this? Have the Bear-terfly get caught in some rope, and have it run in a way that ties up the stone, and have it fly away with Della still on its back. It is a bit convoluted, but it works in the end as it is a way for the stone to travel without it mutating even more people. Whether any of these fusions can use the stone to combine into other fusions is left unanswered, which is for the best.

One may notice I didn't talk a whole lot about what Huey did, and that's because he really didn't do much for most of the episode. He delivered the exposition, he tries to stop Dewey from "Deweying it", and that's about it. However, he does have a major part in the episode: he gets to take part in the scene where the two bumbling fools realize what they have been doing was foolish. Namely, they needed to realize that they should do what they were good at: Kit should cloudkick and Dewey should fly the plane. It is a good lesson that had some good buildup. Sure, they were pretty much failing throughout the episode, but there were scenes where they were surprisingly competent, like the scene where Kit rescued Dewey with his Cloudkicking skills, and Dewey managing to fly the plane in the beginning before he decided to "Dewey it" and crash it. It does not come out of nowhere. Speaking of which...

Dewey: Okay, let's do it.

What would be an unremarkable line actually works really well here, mainly because he decided not to make a pun on his own name, which he did way too much. It does show development, as if this fun-loving showboater is actually learning his lesson throughout the episode. I expect this from DuckTales 2017, and there are certainly cartoons where I don't.

Fittingly for a TaleSpin episode, this all ends with a flight chase scene. No, not the usual DuckTales 2017 fight scene, though there are some fights here and there, especially with Kit and Don Karnage, armed with that crow bar and sword, respectively. The scene actually manages to make Dewey keeping the plane steady an action packed scene, as he has to save his Mom while trying not to let the stone fall into the ocean and make an octopus-fish-squid hybrid that would rival the Eldritch horrors. Again, whether any of these fusions can use the stone to combine into other fusions is left unanswered, which is for the best.

It's not really a spoiler to say the good guys win, but I will say the TaleSpin part of the plot is very much all tied up in the end. If Kit only makes a minor appearance in the finale, and I'd actually be surprised if he didn't appear considering how packed the clips were, it would be completely understandable. Also, there's a cliffhanger and we finally get to hear Don Karnage sing another song, if a very short one. It seemed like he just couldn't do it in his other appearances.

How does it stack up?

With the genius way of using not just one Disney show's legacy, but another Disney show as well, there's a lot to love about this episode, though I wouldn't say it's among the absolute best. Four Scrooges.

Next, Scrooge gets indicted.

← Beaks In The Shell! 🦆 The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck! →

#fpb dt 2017 #ducktales 2017 #ducktales #disney #fpb reviews

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kyuublu · 4 years

Text

Red satin | Pt.1

Song Inspiration: Mayonaka no Door/Stay with me - Miki Matsubara

There were only two things in my life that were constant from the beginning.

Dancing & Atsumu.

Since I was little my life revolved around music and the way it made me feel. A person is able to convey every emotion through a few steps or a wave of their hand.

And two people, united as one? That was what sparked my interest the most.

Tsumu never saw dancing as meaningful as me. He enjoyed the temporary rush it gave him, the attention and most importantly; he loved winning. Seeing everyone clap for him and gaining recognition by all the people involved was what made him stay.

Before that though, me and him were assigned to be partners at the age of 10. Well more specifically, he was a year older.

Back then he wasn’t as cocky. Atsumu was just an 11 year old boy that wasn’t too sure about what he was doing. The two of us actually got along well the first couple of years.

But it went downhill after we became teenagers. The boy constantly bickered about my incompetence when I couldn’t follow his movements, he called out more things about my physical appearance than my dancing at times and he just became an overall asshole.

I let him though. I’d rather let him say all of those things and detach myself from these moments than having a new dance partner. He was the only one who could pull everything out of me, Tsumu made me push my limits. And he knew that.

Since we’ve been partners for over 7 years, our families became very close. Our parents practically became friends at this point and we stayed over at each others places more than I’d like to admit. Despite our differences, we would somehow survive these sleepovers because we mostly just continued training rather than chatting or watching movies.

____

As I turned around the corner, my eyes catched the all too familiar building at the end of the street. The leaves were turning yellow and orange, some of them slowly turning in the wind.

Today was the day of finally getting my new attire for the next ballroom competition. I dreamed of this dress for a long time, I was never able to wear something as risky before since I was too young. But now at 17/almost 18 years, Ms.Miya was finally on board with my ideas. The mother of the twins made all of our clothing for the competitions.

She usually went with the ideas our trainer had in mind but this time they let me design it; and I went all out.

I knocked at the door and shuffled around for a bit. When Tsumu knew I came over he would usually take hours to open the door. He wasn’t the type to have good manners anyway.

This time I was suprised when his twin opened the door. After their bold hair dye situation, I became even quicker at differentiating the two.

“Huh? Where’s your brother?”

The grey haired boy let out a dry chuckle, opening the door wider.

“Didn’t he tell you? That Idiot is still out.”

He mentioned me to come in. I let out a frustrated huff but walked inside. Somehow I knew Tsumu was going to ditch me again. After discovering the “fun” of messing around with different girls, he has been even harder to deal with than usual.

My thoughts soon got interrupted by a sweet smile from their mother. “Hey honey, are you ready to see your dress? You’ve been waiting long enough haven’t you?”

I broke into a soft smile and nodded at the lady. “Yes, I can’t wait.”

“I’m glad.” Ms.Miya than flicked her eyes to Osamu. “Is Atsumu still out?”

The twin was leaning against the kitchen counter, an apple in hand as he shrugged.

“I guess so.”

The mother rolled her eyes in annoyance. “This kid is going to be the death of me.”

She smoothly put a hand on my shoulder and walked me towards the stairs.

“His partner comes all this way to finally put the dress on and he isn’t even present. You know what-“

The woman suddenly swung around, pointing at her next victim.

“Osamu, you’ll have to step in.”

The boys’ eyes went wide, well he looked a little more shocked than his usual stoic face at least. “What?”

“Come on, if your brother can’t see this beautiful girl in the dress than you can. We need some male feedback.”

His mother grinned sneakily and ushered me up the stairs again before anyone of us could say anything.

The dress fit perfectly. I couldn’t imagine what it would look like on me but from what I could gather, it will probably be the best attire I had worn to any competition yet.

After opening the door of the bathroom I slowly walked inside Osamus bedroom. As soon as I opened the door both of the Miyas eyes were glued to my figure, a gasp leaving Ms.Miyas lips.

“Oh sweetheart you’re looking gorgeous! I didn’t think it would fit so well immediately. I may have to...”

As she kept on rambling and touching parts of the fabric that adorned my body, my gaze fell towards the only brother that sat on the bed.

He was still focused on the satin and the deep red of the dress.

“What do you think? You’re awfully quiet.” His mother looked back at her son, one hand on her hip.

“It suits you.” Was the only thing he could muster up to say at the moment.

But it sounded kind of sweet.

Sweeter than anything his brother would ever say.

Involuntarily my cheeks began turning slightly red and I began fidgeting.

“Thanks.”

Ms.Miya let go of the dress and frantically moved towards the door.

“I’ll get some pins to adjust some parts we might want to change-“

Then she was out the door quicker than we could follow.

I chuckled at her antics and trudged towards the empty spot next to Samu to sit down. She was always a very driven person, which reflected both of her sons very well.

The mattress dipped at the weight of my body and I was suddenly met with the twins’ gaze.

“Why do you never get mad at him?”

My eyes travelled to the boys face, his brows were furrowed as he kept looking down at his hands.

“I do get mad at him at times.”

Samu let out another dry chuckle, continuing to avoid my eyes.

“You never say it though. Always burying it won’t help you, you know?”

My head turned away from him and I also began looking somewhere else to distract myself. He was right.

My thoughts got interrupted as Ms.Miya returned in her cheerful manner.

“How about you stay here until I’m done with the dress, mh? If you stay the night I might be able to arrange some pancakes for you in the morning.”

I nodded a little absent but answered. “I’d love that. Thank you.”

____

After Samus comment I wasn’t actually that eager to stay at their home. Of course he didn’t mean anything mean by it but I was still kind of irritated.

His mother kept on working on the dress after we discussed what needed improvement. In the time she kept refining the it, I decided to watch some tv.

I knew their home as if it were my own by now and their family told me multiple times to make myself at home, so I did.

After grabbing a coke I walked towards the couch until I realized that a figure was already seated at the end of it.

Samu was watching some random show until he heard my footsteps. His head quickly turned to me and back to the screen again.

He didn’t utter a word.

Somehow his comment was pissing me of more than I thought it would. I took all of my confidence that was left in me and sat down next to him, my eyes glued to his face.

“I get mad whenever Tsumu begins correcting me for the smallest things. I get mad whenever he ditches a class a for his little girlfriends and I got furious when I saw you opening the door today.”

Suddenly his gaze was averted from the tv towards my form that sat across from him.

I sighed as he continued looking at me without a word.

“I don’t say anything because I’m scared I could loose him as my dance partner.”

His brows were furrowed again, as if he was deep in thought. I threw my hands over my face in defeat.

Yup, I just made it hella awkward.

“My brother wouldn’t leave you because of that.”

I cautiously peeked through my fingers as the boy continued talking.

“I think he would rather leave because you just do whatever he tells you to do. Tsumu gets bored of things pretty quickly-“

A small smile began spreading on his lips until his eyes finally met mine.

“but even then he’s been with you for such a long time. Maybe I was just overthinking, sorry if I made you feel bad.”

I shook my head, shuffling a little closer to the twin. “No! i mean...”

Looking back down at my hands I began thinking.

The one who knew me and Tsumus relationship the most was Samu. He was the closest to his brother and I have always felt pretty comfortable around him. I just didn’t think he would advice me to become harsher towards his family member.

Scratching my head akwardly I pulled myself together again. “I understand what you mean. ‘Guess it wouldn’t hurt to stand up for myself a little sometimes.”

This time Samu let out a genuine chuckle; I turned to him perplexed.

“A little would help you, sure.”

I pouted, crossing my arms jokingly.

“Oi, I’m not as confident as you are with these type of things, alright?”

His eyes met mine again, he still had a small smirk plastered across his face.

“It’s just Tsumu though. It isn’t that hard to make him listen. You just have to get up all in his face and show him who’s boss.”

Raising my brows at his comment I stared at him in disbelief.

Suddenly some weird power took over me and I came closer to him with a hint of playfulness in my eyes.

“Just like this?”

Samus face was quickly tinted in a sublte red. The close proximity wasn’t akward though, it was rather inviting. For a second I caught his gaze travelling to my lips.

I never really thought about him that way. Right?

“What are ya still doing here this late?”

Both of us were quickly seated further away from each other again before we could even turn towards the figure at the door. Did he see us?

“Thought ya were just here to pick something up.”

‘something’.

Everything broke inside of me when I heard that word. The pisshead knew I was coming over for the dress I had been imagining for a months and his mother had worked so hard on.

For a moment the “almost” kiss completely slipped my mind and I stood up, strutting towards my dance partner.

“Yeah and I’ll wear that ‘something’ to our next competition. But I guess that doesn’t peek your interest that much since you don’t seem to take our dancing careers that seriously.”

Crossing my arms I let out a loud huff before looking in his eyes.

Tsumu then had the guts to give me one of his infamous smirk. “What got ya so hot and bothered sweetheart?”

For a moment I could only stare at him in disbelief, but soon decided I couldn’t get to him any further tonight.

“You. Goddamn it it’s always you.”

With that I decided to head to the stairs and towards the guest room they usually let me sleep in.

I didn’t want to hear another word from him again.

Atsumu POV

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard her last words.

My thoughts were still at the scene I walked into a minute ago and then- this.

“Why the hell do you always have to mess with her like that.” My brother gave me an unamused look but soon turned back to the tv screen.

I trudged forward, then leaning against the couch. Without letting any emotion show that was building inside of me I began investigating further.

“From what I could gather; I’d say you messed with her more tonight than I’ve ever did.”

The grey haired boy gave me a quick side glance but focused more on the lit up screen again. “Just shut up.”

My eyes were glued to his side. Why the fuck did he get so close to her, does he think getting it on with my partner is a good idea?

“So ya like her? Is that what it is?”

A frustrated sigh escaped Samus lips. “What does it mean to you? You don’t care about her personal life anyways.”

Letting out a forced laugh I also turned my head towards the tv.

“So ya in her personal life now, huh?”

“I mean you wouldn’t know, even if I did.”

This dude acts all high and mighty again. After being all over my dance partner, he thinks I’m being the asshole for some goddamn reason.

“I know you won’t admit it but I can tell you have a soft spot for her. If you get your shit together and actually tell her what you want, she might want to get closer to you.”

Slowly getting away from the couch I began taking a step towards the staircase.

“She already thinks I’m an ass, so who the fuck cares.”

My form stood infront of the steps before I came to a halt due to my twin speaking again. “Maybe. But she cares more than you think.”

____

Y/N ’s POV

Atsumu and I haven’t talked again since that day. We have avoided each other for a month now, both not attending our dance practices. Usually we would somehow work it out but this time it felt different.

Tonight would be another practice that I probably won’t attend again.

As I walked through the supermarket, I began stopping myself from thinking about my him. We needed to sort it out or I’ll have find a new partner as soon as possible.

I know it sounds cruel but; what if Atsumu isn’t the right fit for me?

“Not coming again today, huh?” A female voice suddenly called out from behind me.

I cringed visibly as my head moved towards the woman I dreaded to see. My dance teacher.

“I’m sorry I just- I still feel pretty sick.” I mumbled, trying to fake a little cough.

Saeko stood confidently, arms crossed and ready to yell at me. My demeanor faltered when I began thinking about the real reason I didn’t go. All this time I was only thinking about myself and not the competition that was ahead of us.

Saeko watched me carefully until she decided to speak up again.

“Y/N, I know there’s something going on between the two of you but you’ll have to put it aside for now.” She came closer, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“You’ve both been working hard for this. You can’t just throw it all away. Besides, when your competition is over you guys can talk it out and see for yourselves what you want your futures to be.”

She was right. Do it for the competition at least.

I nodded slowly, still avoiding her gaze. “I’ll try to come to our training tonight. Thank you for worrying though.”

Turning away from her I just gave her one last wave and we said our goodbyes.

____

Atsumu’s POV

When Saeko called today and told me Y/N was going to come tonight my heart made a jump.

I know I should be mad at her but I somewhat understand what she’s been through because of me.

Waiting fucking sucks.

This time I thought I’ll be nicer at least. I can’t explain it but I got a bit excited when Saeko gave me the news. I even went and bought flowers- just in case she’s still pissed at me of course.

As I entered the dance studio I gave Saeko a quick smile. “Good evening miss.”

She rolled her eyes playfully and pointed towards the changing rooms.

“You better get changed, Y/N usually has her training clothes on already. Don’t want her to get mad as soon as she sees you.”

I smiled even brighter at her mentioning my partners name. My excitement was over the roof today.

A mans voice interrupted our banter as he trudged around the corner with a cigarette in his mouth. “Y/N is coming back? Thought she left for good.”

Saeko suddenly took Ukais cigarette out of his mouth and put it in a bin. “I told you, no smoking near my students. This is your studio anyways, you know smoking here aint allowed.”

Ukai wasn’t suprised at the action but still grunted annoyed at the dance teacher.

We all knew Ukai only got the place from his grandfather and wasn’t really interested in dancing; but he still cared for the students that came in.

“Yep. Y/N wouldn’t leave me like that, we all know she woulda missed this handsome face too much.” I pointed at my face teasingly until I earned a slap on my shoulder from my trainer.

“Oi! Stop being a little shit and get dressed properly.”

When I turned towards the changing room I heard a little gasp from the blonde again.

“Are those for her?”

She expectantly looked at the bouquet I had previously hid behind my back. Of course she had to make a scene about it.

I tried to stay casual as I continued to walk. “Maybe.”

A squeal escaped her lips and Ukai commented, also seemingly impressed by my action. “Wow this boy is going all out today.”

It’s been half an hour and my partner was nowhere in sight. Usually she would notify one of us if she came late or actually-

She never came late in the first place.

The last couple of years I would see her annoyed side glances when I came 20 minutes late.

Then suddenly her figure appeared in the studio hallway, her back was turned to me and I could see her through the glass door. The girl seemed calm as she removed her shoes and then walked towards the glass. Y/N opened the door without giving me a glance, put her bag down and put on her dancing shoes.

As expected, she already wore her training clothes. I faint smile spread across my face.

Y/N’s POV

I began putting on one of my shoes in silence. I didnt know what to say to him really. Missing the train and walking here wasn’t really planned for today, or coming here at all actually.

“You’re here.”

I stopped for a second before putting on my other shoe. Atsumu didn’t seem mad at all, he sounded rather timid.

I just nodded as an aswer and stood up. Stretching my arms I finally got the courage to look up at him. He actually smiled at me.

“I know it’s been kinda weird for the last month but I-“

“Atsumu let’s just let it go for now. I just wanna win this competition and then we’ll see what we’ll do.” Sighing I intervened his rant, I didn’t want my emotions to get the best of me again.

He stared at me perplexed but didn’t speak any further.

The whole practice was pretty quiet, both of us only talked when necessary. Saeko seemed a bit concerned at first but soon acted professional again when she saw the glances I gave her.

I just wanted to get it over with.

After practice had ended, Atsumu didn’t change back into his casual clothes. He immediately packed his stuff and got out. There was something he had in his hands but I didn’t really see what it was since he practically ran out as soon as the training was over.

I said goodbye to Saeko and walked into the hallway that led to the exit. My body came to a halt when I heard two familiar voices talking.

“Didn’t give her the flowers?” Ukai puffed out the smoke he had inhaled before.

Giving him a quick look, Atsumu shrugged and walked to the wall next to the man.

“She didn’t seem to be in the mood for flowers today.” I could hear the boy slowly sliding down the wall of the building.

Why did he have flowers?

“Yeah I could tell.” The blonde paused for a second until his deep voice could be heard again.

“Look, I don’t know what happened. I just think you should apologize this time. She usually always compromises for you and this time it’s your turn. If you don’t want to lose her as a partner, as a friend... then put your ego aside for once.”

My breathe hitched as my eyes began watering. The people here really cared more about us than I thought.

But I didn’t know if that was enough to make Atsumu understand.

Suddenly steps could be heard, nearing the exit I was standing in front of. I just walked straight towards the door, into the outdoors. Ukai halted, locked eyes with me with a reassuring smile and then began walking towards the studio again.

My gaze slowly shifted towards the body that was crouching down on the floor.

The blonde twin had the most beautiful bouquet in hand, his face was buried in his arms.

“Are those for me?”

My mind completely shut off, my tears were threatening to spill at any moment.

Atsumu perked up. The boy stared at me, with that same unsure and shy demeanor as before. Then he began scratching his head as he looked at the different colors adorning the plants.

“I didn’t know which ones you’d like but the employee said most girls like these, so...”

My heart was aching at this point. This wasn’t like the dancing partner I knew for years.

“Why?”

Atsumu let out a dry huff, still avoiding eye contact. “Why do you think?”

My gaze fell on the horizon. I tried as hard as I could to keep my tears from falling until I notice someone else sniffling.

“I was supposed to leave ya, yanno. Some judges in the competitions adviced me to change partners.”

My head snapped back to his figure that was still crouching down. “Then why didn’t you? God Atsumu, I wish we wouldn’t have been teamed up in the first place.”

The blonde suddenly stood up, his head still facing the ground.

“That’s not true.”

And here he was again, the Atsumu that always acted like he knew everything. The one that all the dancers would fawn over. The one that would bicker the whole day at training, but would perform with the most adoring smile.

“Please tell me that you’re joking.” He sniffled again.

What?

“Y/N I don’t want to lose you.”

My eyes went wide as I stared at his disheveled form. His eyes were red.

“Tsumu-“

“I’m scared alright. This is bigger than dancing. This is bigger than any other thing in my life.”

“Tsumu I don’t think I can follow.”

I was still so perplexed by the sudden turn of our conversation, I could barely understand Atsumus rambling.

“I think I wanna be more than your partner. More than a friend even I-„ The boys’ voice cracked as he looked at me pleadingly.

I stared at him for what felt like an eternity. My mouth was slightly open, eyes locked on his. Then, he turned around and left.

I couldn’t even say a word.

#hq x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu x reader #atsumu x y/n #atsumu angst #haikyuu au #miya atsumu #atsumu x reader

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beneaththetangles · 4 years

Text

BtT Light Novel Club Chapter 25: Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 2

It’s time for our discussion of volume 2 of Tearmoon Empire! We ended up having two whole posts of discussion on the first volume of this series (a hint to how much we loved it), but this time we managed to keep things down to a single post. Rest assured, though, Jeskai Angel, Gaheret, and I still had quite a lot to say about this volume, so let’s get started!

-----

1. What are your overall impressions of the volume?

stardf29: So if there was any concern this story wouldn’t hold up after Mia no longer has to worry about death by guillotine, this volume proves that it can do just fine dealing with other events. Notably, in this volume Mia’s scope of action goes beyond just her own country and into international relations, and she does it all while still “looking out for herself” and others misunderstanding her intentions to hilarious effect. There are a lot of great character moments throughout, and overall the volume makes for a great end to this first story arc (though far from the end of the overall story). I’ll go into details in later questions, but I’ll say that, with this volume, Tearmoon Empire has become my current favorite light novel of all time.

Jeskai Angel: It’s outstanding, a brilliant sequel that brought back the prior volume’s characters and plot threads but then built upon them in fun new ways. The theme of how Mia’s influence ripples outward to change others continues to be a delight. The humor remains a highlight of the story. The goofy chapter titles are great. There was a hilarious callback to the previous volume’s running joke that Mia doesn’t care enough to remember the name of Abel’s brother. And I loved the part where the conspirators are reading Mia and Abel’s letters and drive themselves crazy trying to find their (nonexistent) hidden meaning. Oh, and the scene where the villainous Graham sets his own doom flag by saying “There’s no way she can pull something like that off again.” I have a tough time picking “favorites,” but I feel comfortable saying Tearmoon Empire is undoubtedly in the very top tier of LNs.

Gaheret: For my part, I thought this one was an interesting read. I liked the first one better, though. The first novel had sort of a balance between Mia changing things by coincidence and Mia changing things as a result of a change of perspective. I felt this one was sort of a regression in that front, with almost everything being a result of sheer luck. The conflict with the tribesmen was great, but its resolution was too clear-cut for me. The disappearance of the diary midway took out a lot of the dramatic tension. All the twelve-year-olds infiltrating a supposed warzone was quite unrealistic, mostly in how the adults reacted to it. The clash of ideals between Abel and Shion was a great idea, but I think it was underdeveloped. And I felt that the conclusion of Sion character arc was too on-the-nose.

On the other hand, I liked -a lot- the fact that Mia had earned a Royalist resistance in the last volume, the fight against the future famine, the deal with Chloe´s father, the conflict with the tribesmen (with two different political cultures and sets of values), the revolutionary secret plot and the fact that both Tearmoon Empire´s and Remno´s were “manufactured revolutions” (very interesting parallels with the French Revolution), the idea of a conflict of ideals between Abel and Shion, the Penal King/ Libra King concept and the participation of both Sunkland spies and a satanic cult of sorts as fuelers or the revolution. I´d have liked more emphasis on Tiona, I think.

2. What are your thoughts on the characters, old and new?

Mia

Jeskai Angel: One thing that struck in this volume is that Mia herself has changed. She’s still not the great sage that everyone else thinks she is, but it feels like she’s moving in that direction. She can be still be quite derpy, but she’s definitely a bit more calculating than when she started. One moment that stood out was when Mia insists on sparing the lives of Jem and the White Crows…because she realizes she has no idea how or why this die-and-go-back-in-time phenomenon happens, and doesn’t want to risk any of the baddies getting a second chance and ruining everything. Mia also remains an unusually intuitive protagonist. There’s no other way she could so frequently say or do the right thing at the right time. “It wasn’t so much reasoned analysis as it was intuition,” as Narrator-san puts it at one point.

And she stays true to character in that, although she (wittingly or unwittingly) nudges people and events in the right direction, she’s still very much dependent on her friends and allies. For example, I loved this passage during Sion and Abel’s fight: “Did her words truly reach no one? No! Absolutely not! Though they fell on the deaf ears of the dueling princes, the bonds she’d forged would carry her voice. Whither would it go? Who was listening? Why, her faithful subjects, of course!” The seed/plant metaphor that runs through the book speaks to the same idea. Mia is verging on becoming a real leader — she doesn’t solve problems personally, but she does inspire others and point them toward the best course: “After all, Mia might be incompetent, but she’d surrounded herself with people who were anything but. When the Mia Brigade was on the job, problems didn’t stand a chance.” She’s a joy to read about.

stardf29: One of my favorite Mia moments in this volume is when she’s trying to figure out how to get the army away from the forest, and she decides to play up her perceived selfishness as an excuse to get the army out of there. That was quite a big brain play right there; it’s one thing to act “selfishly”, and another thing to know that people expect you to act selfishly and leverage that to solve a problem.

And yes, she’s definitely changed overall. I especially like the line at the end that says “when it came to happiness, she wanted every last piece — for herself and all those she held dear…” The old Mia would have only thought of herself, but now Mia has people she cares about and wants the best for them as well. (Even if she’s still primarily concerned about herself first…)

Gaheret: And as for her, well, I find her amusing and relatable, and I like her random strikes of brilliance, how she has come to care a little more for others, Abel especially (whatever Narrator-san may say) and also her lazy/tsundere-ish/go-with-the-flow usual personality. As I said, I enjoyed her sudden anger at those who judged and condemned her. I was puzzled by her “seductress of the Empire” behaviour with Shion, both because she seemed more carefree than I had thought (given the situation) and because she knows it could have been a huge problem for Abel´s self-esteem had he even suspected it. Giving that she is, in body and emotions, if not memories, a 12-year-old (and that, in any case, she wasn´t a very mature 20-year-old), I didn´t find her behaviour creepy, as the narrator maliciously implied, just puzzling. Why go there?

Narrator

Jeskai Angel: Am I the only one who felt the narrator was a bit mellower than in the previous volume? Still dispensing over-the-top criticism of Mia and associates, to be sure, but not quite as a harsh or vicious about it? I found it an intriguing change (or else I just imagined this change exists, LOL). It was also fun seeing Narrator-san use that razor-sharp wit to go after the bad guys. The first volume didn’t actually have any real villains, aside from Mia’s flashbacks — even her future-past enemies like Sion, Tiona, and Rafina are still just kids. As a result, all criticism was directed toward Mia and her friends. But with this volume, the narrator could start taking potshots at actual evildoers, and I loved it.

Sion

Jeskai Angel: I feel like Sion was the big winner of this volume (besides Mia) when it comes to character development. He got some great introspective moments where Mia (sometimes unintentionally) challenged him to reconsider his simplistic, black-and-white view of justice. There was also the cool contrast between the austere “Penal King” of Mia’s first life and the more beloved “Libra King” we learn he’ll become thanks to Mia’s influence. I recall that the LNC had some criticism of Sion back when we read the first volume, and it seems to me that vol. 2 goes a long way toward acknowledging his flaws and then helping him grow beyond them.

stardf29: Yes, Sion’s development in this volume was great. That moment when Mia calls him out for planning to enact justice on Abel if necessary without first trying to set him right was a wonderful moment, both for Mia’s personal vindication over her issues with past-Sion and also for Sion to realize that maybe the beliefs he held on to up to now were wrong.

The real highlight, though, was the chapter that showed what (probably) happened in the previous timeline after Mia’s execution. It’s very easy to appreciate how much better things are in the current timeline when we see how bad things got beforehand, and this definitely applies to the character of the “Penal King” versus that of the (future) “Libra King”. Past Sion’s story is a particularly tragic one; I can imagine few things worse than “dying unloved”. But now that he finally knows what it’s like to be in the wrong, and to have to deal with guilt, he can finally become a respectable ruler.

Gaheret: Well, that was a lot of teasing, both by Mia and by the novelist. Sion clearly liked Mia in the previous volume, but in this one, it´s hard to tell. He clearly admires and respects her and is willing to fight to help her, but has to be aware of the fact that she has chosen Abel. He doesn´t show any jealousy, is sincere when asked about his ideals and motives and reacts to her teasing (without knowing that it´s intentional) in the way any boy his age would react. Yet, the novelist keeps teasing us, maybe to make fun of Mia´s tactics of… revenge? Beautiful celebrity syndrome? I don´t know. In any case, as stardf29 and Jeskai have commented in detail, we are shown how he learns to have mercy, a much-needed development for his character.

Dion

Jeskai Angel: First, it throws me off every time Dion’s last name comes up, because in my head, Alaia is the name of an ancient Forthorthian princess. His last name should be Sanders. LOL. Dion was most notable “new” character of this volume, and I liked how the story retrofitted him into Mia’s history. The guy operating the guillotine didn’t really come up in vol. 1, but logically someone had to do it. It was a cool way to bring in a “new” character who had “always” been part of the story. Mia fainting upon seeing him was good for a laugh, but also a reminder that she really experienced that first life and bears scars from it. I liked that Dion feels more analytical and mature than most of Mia’s associates (Ludwig being the exception). It’s perfectly fitting, since Dion is older, more experienced, and exhibits qualities needs to become a general, but it’s great that the author/translator can successfully communicate that difference. There’s also delightful irony of role reversals, as Dion goes from Mia’s executioner to her bodyguard.

Gaheret: About Dion Alaia, I´m with Mia (sorry, Jeskai): I find him unsettling. What sort of Colonel Kurtz figure wanders out of the forest after his men have been killed in action and avenges them by personally executing the 21-year-old daughter of his king? Or infiltrates a foreign Kingdom, there being peace between it and the Empire, and provokes the most powerful fighter of the troop to a duel to the death? “Dion shot her a glance before letting out a very conspicuous sigh of reluctant resignation and plunging both swords into the ground. Then he gave Bernardo a questioning gaze, who tsked and lowered his “spear�� with a grimace”. Dion´s loyalty seems to depend on his judgement about the cunning of his superior in any particular decision, he acts as if he had a death wish and joins Mia´s team because he thinks it will be fun. On the other hand, he is competent and effective, and the flashforward chapters tell us that he will be loyal, too. Even so…

stardf29: All I’ll add to this is, Dion was looking like the guy that was most likely to see through Mia’s “not actually that great of a Sage” thing, but then Mia pulls a genuinely brilliant move (mentioned earlier) and now he’s got as bad of a case of Mia-itis as anyone else. But yeah, it’s cool to see Mia’s executioner in the past show up here, and have him ally with her as someone who can handle some of the… grittier? parts of Mia’s reforms.

As for his connection with a certain Rokujouma character… I’m sure I can come up with some kind of convoluted way the two are related if I really wanted to.

The new villains

Gaheret: I liked them. I felt Jem was an appropiated villain, sinister, clever, a fanatic, fearsome and unafraid of death, with the most generic plebeian name in the country he has infiltrated. I would have liked more personal details about him. Similarly, the unnamed assasins, Graham corrupting the Sunkland spies sounded realistic to me (reading about people like Kim Philby, Guy Burguess, James Jesus Angleton or Yuri Noshenko makes you realize how confusing and potentially corrupting the world of intelligence and counterintelligence is). Concerning Monica Buendia, I was thrilled to hear that she had killed Prince Abel in the previous timeline (with Marat and Mata Hari vibes), and I symphatize with her troubles. In a way, encountering her meant that the new Abel was confronting the old, which was especially welcome given that he had larguely been absent. That said, I´m not a fan of how things were played out, especially the melodramatic white crow/black crow thing. I´d rather prefer that we hadn´t been told what she had sent.

Lambert, the so-called Frontman and Firebrand, was a character I liked. Probably my favorite villain of this novel. A very young, orphaned, impoverished nobleman with a gift for discourses, popular and clever, with a loving but very worried sister, Lynsha. He starts talking about politics in a tabern, and ultimately leads the uprising against the Remno Government. We know that the people are being manipulated. While angry, they don´t want a war, or their king killed, or a bloodbath. Lynsha thinks that he is being infatuated carried by the situation, and blind to the consequences. But it turns out that this is not the case. He is fully aware of the plan, and is on board. This could have made everything much more difficult, given that there was a personal angle on both sides of the conflict, but it didn´t. Lambert is pardoned and we probably won´t see much of him. It´s a pity, I think he had potential.

The rest of the villains are proud, vain people in positions of power who cause trouble by their arrogance and egoism, as Viscount Berman, Remno´s king or, to a lesser degree, Mia´s flippant father. Part of the diplomatic game consists in appealing to the things they value or respect (status, military honor, Mia herself) to solve the conflict without violence: I liked that approach. While they need to be corrected, I think that, when possible, this is the best way. After all, blessed are the peacemakers.

Other characters

Gaheret: Concerning the heroes, this novel has a similar structure to the first one, with Anne and Ludwig, fiercely loyal but blinded (to a point) by the achievements of Mia, helping her deal with the Tearmoon Empire, and with Shion, Keithwood, Abel, Rafina and Tiona playing a role in how she dealt with her social life, romantic life and international troubles in the second. Chloe´s merchant father Marco, Viscount Berman, the Lulu chief, the honest priest of Rafina and the Outcount of Rudolvon were credible characters with their own personality and motivations, and I liked that, and also how they were played (though I felt that the resolution of the Lulu´s chief conflict by pure coincidence was not as interesting as this could have been). Tiona´s maiden and Tiona´s brother, on the other hand, were less developed, and I feel there was a certain degree of Bakarina syndrome in how they were dealt with.

I liked Lynsha and the Diamond Spear well enough in their small supporting roles. In this volume, Rafina supports Mia and advises Anne, but to me, she still seems to be ready to cut ties and punish you in the second you do an evil deed. Chloe has a short appaerance, and I would like to see more of her and Mia acting as friends. Tiona appears briefly in the first volume, writes to Mia, doesn´t show signs of being in love with Prince Sion and, outside a significant moment in which she defends Mia´s honor in front of the king of Remno, inspiring the Diamond Spear to do the same, remains mostly out of the scene. I think she would be a very interesting rival/friend, but things don´t seem to be going that way. In general, I think it´s sad that to this point, Mia consistently can´t let her more carefree, tsundere-ish, impulsive personality show in front of anybody except (to a point) Anne and Abel. Her friends love her, but also misunderstand her, and she should be known and loved for what she is.

Anne and Abel had less protagonism that in the previous volume, while Ludwig´s position was similar. I liked how, at least, the first was able to see Mia being lazy, reprimand and advise her, and then save her. I hope Mia manages to tell her the truth about herself, or some of it, in the future. Concerning Abel, he is now a gallant knight and a full-fledged prince who behaves as such. I´m not 100% sure, but I think he was not wrong in carrying out the orders of his father and leading the army against the popular uprising (heh, just like him), and then trying to reform the country from the inside. My only complain is that, with so little time, we don´t see his development. Ludwig remains loyal, clever, useful and kind, but I think he and Mia have lost the personal connection they had in their previous life, and that helped her so much.

stardf29: So Lynsha is a cool gal. She obviously realized something was wrong and did what she could to find a way to resolve it, even if she did resort to some kidnapping to get it done… Anyway, I mention this because she has enough of a presence in this volume that I kind of wonder if she’ll show up more in the future…

We see a bit of Abel here, but perhaps most interesting regarding him is his effect on others back in Remno, particularly the maid and spy Monica. Realizing that he had grown into someone capable of changing Remno’s misogynistic ways and then basically exposing the White Crows’ plans, she shows just how Mia’s “sowing the seeds of hope” have grown. And again, it makes me wonder if we’ll see more of Monica in the future…

(Am I saying this because of certain things I’ve read in the prepubs of the third volume? Maybe…)

Lynsha even gets a full illustration, so clearly they want us to know what she looks like.

3. This volume introduces a greater evil force that is trying to bring the world into chaos. What do you think of this addition to the story?

Jeskai Angel: I didn’t much care for this twist the first time I read this volume, but it grew on me when I reread the volume for our discussion. This may sound ridiculous, but part of what bugged me about Jem’s group (not the White Crows, but whatever organization he really works for) was it’s unhistorical nature. I adored the many nods to real history that appeared in the first volume. Since the French Revolution was not the result some evil international conspiracy, so it felt jarring to have a sinister organization of chaotic evil in Mia’s world. It was like the first volume had a lot of historical allusions, but then the second one turned around and said “Forget history, let’s have a secret evil conspiracy instead!” But, as I said, the second time I read vol. 2, I found myself more accepting of this plot twist.

First, it occurred to me that there are certainly evil spiritual forces working unseen in the world. If I reframe Jem and his ilk as anthropomorphized quasi-demonic agents, working in unseen to lead people astray and cause chaos and suffering, then their presence in the story is more palatable. This is especially true in light of the existing supernatural (time-travel) element of the story. If we posit the existence of some benevolent force that gave Mia a second chance, it seems possible that there might be evil forces, too. I don’t expect this series to become high fantasy or anything, but it’s certainly plausible that supernatural forces’ role in the story will go beyond just Mia’s unexplained time travel. So, basically, refocusing on the supernatural premise of the whole story made me more accepting of the sinister-agents-of-chaos twist.

Second, I more fully appreciated the narrative function of Jem’s organization this time around. When I first read the book,I only saw Jem’s group as a regrettable divergence from the historical flavor of the tale. This time, though, I recognized that establishing a “greater scope villain” creates a bridge between the initial “Prevent the French Tearmoon Revolution” story arc and wherever the story might go from here. We can accept that Mia has successfully altered the timeline enough to avoid the guillotine, while not completely abandoning the story’s initial premise. Having this plot thread keeps Mia’s struggles thus far from becoming irrelevant to her continuing story.

Gaheret: I think I may go on a little about why I liked this development. At University, somebody told me to read Aristotle´s “Poetics”, and I remember this idea that a tragedy is simply history, but told as if the events were an unavoidable, chained to one another until the inevitable conclusion comes. This is why they are great means to learn about the world of human passions and human flaws. Mia´s story was like that: As the Marie-Antoniette of popular culture, she was the embodiement of a corrupt, cruel, vain and egoistical aristocracy which, in a way, brought her own demise upon herself by enraging their people more and more with their capricious and unjust behaviour. And thus, we saw how both the Tearmoon Empire and Mia´s personal world were bound to fall, and what were the deep and superficial causes related to her flaws as a person.

On the other hand, Tolkien observed how a story with a happy ending usually includes a “deus ex machina”, an “eucatastrophe”, which breaks this chain in the darkest moment, offering a path towards hope. Tearmoon Empire was unusual in that this eucatastrophe happened at the beginning. The story played with the fact that people are generally aware of how the French Revolution developed to subvert expectations. It worked, and it still works. It would seem that an evil cabal planning the Revolution, or it suddenly happening in Remno and not the Empire, or to setting Abel´s and not Mia´s flaws as the possible cause, may undermine the message. In fact, I think it deepens it.

How do revolutions work? It is interesting that they happen at times of reforms: It seems counterintuitive, but these are times of unrest and political struggle, after all, when ideas are in the air and everything seems possible. There are ideologues. There is propaganda, and manufactured incidents are very common. As we discussed, unlike Mia, Marie-Antoniette never said the famous “feed them with cakes” line, which had been attributed to a variety of unpopular aristocrats before the Revolution. There were only seven political prisoners at The Bastille when it was stormed. Jacques Necker, the man whose role is played by Tiona´s father in the story, was used as the proximate cause of that uprising, yet when he resigned there was general indiference. The faults are real, but they are also exploited by those seeking to destroy this specific order. I like how [Graham] and Jem literalize that concept.

What I felt lacking in the portrait of the Tearmoon revolution were the ideals of the revolutionary leaders, and whose immediate effect was the dire persecution of the Christians of France. I think it is telling. A totalizing regime, an utopia, will often divinize itself and try to get rid of what it cannot subdue. That is a sign of pride, and as Jeskai Angel said, also of Demonic temptation, masking as glorious freedom what is really self-deception and servitude. While I believe that revolutions can be legitimate in extreme situations, the destruction they bring is enormous, the cycle of violence cannot be ignored, and solving political problems by destructing the opponent has a dangerous appeal. Utopias are usually revolutionary, purporting the destruction of the present order to substitute it with the ideal one. In the end, getting any sort of power may easily make us think that to us that we could do better, if only we could get rid of the human obstacles interfering with our glorious vision. Certainly, the French Revolution, which rename the months of the year, executed the nuns who would not abjure and viciously killed its own leaders, had this approach.

My favorite moment of the novel was Mia basically saying to Sion: Okay, I had terrible flaws, you were right to be angry, but why didn´t you try your best to reform me? Why did you believe the worst? Why didn´t any of you had a little more hope, a little more patience with me, instead of trying to suppress me? I didn´t like everything (in particular, I thought it was a terrible idea to warn us beforehand, as a sudden revolution in Remno and the slow discovery of the propaganda campaign behind it would have been much more vibrant this way). But I think it is a great answer, a great statement of the central theme of the novels, and a great lesson to the rest, to Sion, to Dion, to the villains, to Mia herself. Don´t give up, even if you are flawed, and dealing with what is flawed. There was unsuspected hope, and there still is. Our Lord answering the pride of the Devil with His own humility and hope, and bringing us out of what would have been our tragedy.

stardf29: While I definitely also wasn’t sure if this was the best path when I first read it, as the story went along I definitely started to really like what was going on here, particularly with the hints that this villainous faction may in fact be a demonic cult. Sure, it might not be as “historical” but then again, the idea of a “devil” trying to cause problems in the world is definitely Biblically true for our world, even if there’s no explicit historical records of such. It also helps paint a better picture of what actually led to the revolution that ended Mia’s past life, and how just because her execution might have been averted doesn’t mean she’s “out of the woods” yet.

Also, I love how these “villains” get bamboozled by Mia in various ways (especially when it comes to horse shampoo). They’re a threat, but certainly nothing Mia can’t handle.

4. Last volume we discussed a number of topics about the world itself like the nature of the time travel and whether this story’s world has a “god” or not. How has the second volume affected your view of the story world?

Jeskai Angel: On meta level, I know light novels and anime almost never include the kind of all-powerful, one-of-a-kind deity found in religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. (The only exception I can think of is Invaders of the Rokujouma!?.) So from that angle, I don’t expect the story’s world to have a “God,” at least not one that bears the least resemblance to the Lord we serve. This volume hasn’t changed that view.

However, it has made me more inclined to think this world/story will have supernatural forces. This volume gave us the scene where Mia’s diary disappeared once she altered the past enough, and also the self-erasing anachronistic history book Mia found. Beyond that, there’s the unconfirmed but possibly (?) supernatural associations of Jem’s group, and the hint that Mia is going to end up interacting with one of her distant descendants. If the only remotely supernatural aspect of the story was Mia jumping back in time after dying, the story could probably get away with leaving it unexplained. As the story adds more “doesn’t normally happen” elements, the need for an explanation increases sharply. (The story could also take a sci-fi turn and use advanced tech as its excuse for time travel, but based on vols. 1-2, I think the supernatural is way more likely.)

Gaheret: In the epilogue, we have this: “Whenever demonic cultists or large bandit brigades sought to sow chaos, Dion Alaia would arrive on the scene, his sword offering a swift and deadly rebuke to their ways”. Coupled with Jem terrified reaction to the prospect of being brought to Belluga (while normal bandits smiled knowing that they would be better than usual there), I think we can assume that Jem and Garret are part of those “demonic cultists”, if not downright possesed. That would explain why Jem is not affected by the perspective of death or torture, but Rafina scares him. It makes sense only if Rafina (or her people) has some kind of power to banish or exorcise them.

Rafina´s Papal parallels are now almost complete with the dialogue between Mia and the priest and this description just before: “Offering guiding sermons of salvation to the populace was the Holy Lady, Rafina Orca Belluga, who dedicated her life to maintaining peace between nations”. We come to know that Mia has providentially frustrated the plans of [Graham], so I think we can safely assume that whatever god Rafina and her church represent is the god of this world, working behind the scenes with the purpose of frustrating universal destruction, saving the Empire and/or Mia´s betterment.

It may be, too, that Jem´s terror of Rafina or Belluga is merely superstitious, but having other supernatural elements in the story, I don´t think so. Mia says that it is “As if someone had fabricated this incident to purposefully incite revolution… Or indeed, as if it were willed by God, and the invisible hand of fate were pushing the empire toward its ruin”. It may be just the translation, but I think it may be intentional. So, it is not God or Providence/fate who wills the destruction of Mia and the Empire, the Continent…, but a demonic power, and “God” is fighting against that through Mia.

Time-travel and sudden inspiration would be the means.

Oh, and the diary. Which, as I mentioned, I don´t like very much. Having it vanish in a ray of light midway, especially, suggests that the threat against Mia and the Empire has already been prevented, which makes the rest of the action less dramatic.

stardf29: As interesting as it was to ponder how this world likely has a “god” that took Mia back in time, it’s even more interesting with the aforementioned “demonic cult” implying there may be a “devil” as well, in opposition to said “god”. Now, depending on how exactly the time travel works, and if the timeline in which Mia was executed still exists (and given the story of Penal King Sion, it very well might), the “god” of this world might not quite have the power or intention to completely stop the actions of the “devil”, but at the very least, can prevent it in a different timeline. And the fact that this “god” chose Mia to be the “divine envoy” and for her to be so effective at it… that is both awesome and hilarious.

And yes, this is a great way to provide a deeper conflict that persists even with Mia’s execution stopped. All things considered, there actually aren’t all that many explicit “god vs. devil” stories in light novels these days, huh? The trend seems to be moving towards the “devil” side actually being good, or at least the “god” side being just as bad or worse as the “devil” side. So I do like this more classic “good vs. evil” setup, with plenty of Mia hilarity in the mix.

On that note, I like how Mia considered that, if she was able to go back in time as she did, it’s possible that Jem could also do the same if she were to execute him. That’s actually a very smart perspective to have (and one that I haven’t really seen as much in other time-travel stories, though admittedly I haven’t read that many of such). Whatever we as readers might figure out about how this time-travel works, Mia is completely right to consider the same might happen to other people.

5. At the end of the volume we see a possible future for Mia’s story. What do you think of this future, and the fact that Mia ultimately rejected it?

Jeskai Angel: It was a fun what-if scenario (Mia’s reaction to having eight kids was especially amusing), but I also understood Mia’s logic in saying “No, we can do better,” in terms wanting a future that doesn’t cut Abel off from his family and home. It’s also a cool illustration of Mia’s growth: she started the story wanting to make her own future better, but now she’s valuing Abel’s happiness so highly that she’d also reject a future that isn’t good for him.

Gaheret: I would love to have a large family, so Mia and Abel having eight kids sounds great to me. That said, I think I would do as her: Except for prophecies or warnings that may be a calling for us here and now, I don´t think it´s wise to live constantly thinking about the future or the best outcome.

stardf29: Yeah, as good as that future might have sounded, it’s a great sign of growth that Mia would reject it if it wasn’t the best for Abel. Plus, with Remno basically completely against Abel, does that mean that in that future, Remno will continue to stew in its misogynistic culture? Mia definitely was right to see that as an unideal future, and it definitely makes it interesting to see where her story goes from there.

Final Comments

Jeskai Angel: The main extra thing I wanted to bring up was a statement in the Ludwig-and-the-Penal-King sidestory. Describing Ludwig’s respect for his late princess, the narration says “That was the story of his regent — a princess who struggled against her fate in the worst of times.”

Am I crazy for thinking that’s a reference to the famous opening line of A Tale of Two Cities? Charles Dickens’s novel set during the French Revolution begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I can’t read the phrase “the worst of times” in a context with links to the French Revolution and NOT see it as a literary allusion. Kudos to author and/or translator if this is intentional and not just coincidence.

Gaheret: I 100% agree that this is a literary allusion.

Abel may be my favorite character, so I think the moment will be this: “Prince Abel. I’ve missed you.” Her argent hair reflected the sunlight, emitting a soft glow like the moon. Wisdom radiated from her eyes, deep and coruscant. Then, there was her pearlescent skin… It was all as he’d remembered. With all the breathtaking beauty of that night at the dance party, Mia Luna Tearmoon appeared before Abel”.

stardf29: This volume concludes the first major story arc, but it’s not over yet! Volume 3 comes out on December 12th this year, and in Japan volume 6 has already been scheduled, so there’s still plenty more to Mia’s story. I definitely ready to be following Mia’s adventures for the long haul!

Jeskai Angel: Finally, if you read all this way but still haven’t read Tearmoon Empire, hurry up and go read it already! It’s awesome.

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Thanks for reading our discussion! As a reminder, we will be covering The Saint’s Magic is Omnipotent, Vol. 1 next month, with an earlier start time of November 14th for our discussion to account for Thanksgiving (the discussion will still conclude around the end of the month). Join our Discord if you want to discuss it along with us!

We’ll be taking December off for the holidays, but we do have January’s title announced on the Discord. I’ll make a post announcing that title next week, but if you don’t want to sit like a tree waiting for that, it’s all the more reason to join us on Discord!

#Light Novels #Christianity #Tearmoon Empire #Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari #Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari: Dantoudai kara Hajimaru Hime no Tensei Gyakuten Story #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: stardf29 #Author: Gaheret #Author: Jeskai Angel

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liveonmtv · 4 years

Text

cash machine || kth

pairing: kim taehyung/f!reader genre: fluff & humor. crack actually. crack cocaine. word count: 11.1k warnings: strong language, drinking, an unwated kiss (not from tae), unsanitary jokes (i’m immature), implied sex, vomiting extra: (fr)enemies to lovers, road trip au, rich kids au but it’s barely there also they’re on summer vacation, also this story takes place in the usa JUST to drag the trip out tbh

summary: Jungkook and Seokjin get a little problematic, you have anger issues and Taehyung is under the impression that he killed a man. Also, did you mention that you’re on your way to your unfunny cousin’s wedding? Go on a road trip from Missouri to Las Vegas and you’ll be in for a hilarious yet scary experience!

a/n: hi! i’m just starting this account out, so reblogging would mean a lot to me. i’m a novice to writing, so criticism is welcome as long as you’re not rude about it. have fun reading (i hope)! i also have a jungkook fic planned next (:

song

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Jungkook has that look in his face, the one he makes where the person sitting opposite of him is about as depraved as he is. He’s given it to you while you were explaining to him how to scam desperate men under the preface of a faux premium Snapchat and he’s given it to Jimin when they were finishing their high school careers and decided to release grasshoppers in the principal’s office.

However, if there’s one person that’s about as fucked up in the head as he is, it’s Seokjin. The man also suffers from SMSTS as well (Serious Misconception of Sexual Tension Syndrome, and yes, that’s quite a lot of s’s), which doesn’t hurt given the current affairs.

While Jungkook is aware that Jimin and Hoseok are always up for a bit of mischief, he has ruled them both out as incompetents and moved on to the real deal. Jimin has these rare moments of sanity and Hoseok, as your most loyal little bitchboy, would probably tattle the situation with made-up details to you before the plan is even set in action.

So, Seokjin it is.

The story begins in a faraway land before Jungkook knew about the tragic facets of your family’s relationships. Though his friend group is on good terms with your siblings and your other close relatives are aware of their existence and somehow only have good things to say about them, he never thought they’d be invited to your cousin’s wedding. To be fair, you had to do some serious persuasion for your family to allow you to invite six more people to somebody else’s wedding so there’s that factor contributing, but still, the offer is out of the blue.

Somewhere along the way, you went on a tangent about how much you hate your cousin and how your aunt doesn’t have eyebrows and how bothersome it is to look at her face. Your horror stories were mostly you just being your usual dramatic self, but they also revealed that the [L/n]s aren’t what they appear to be.

You begged and begged for them to accept the invitations, and though Namjoon and Yoongi, unfortunately, couldn’t make it, the others agreed.

Then arose the problem of the sixth spot that couldn’t be filled. You would’ve just let it be but your parents insisted that if you’re going to ask for something, you should fulfill it until the end. It was Namjoon you’d asked to come first, but he was busy with visiting family back in Seoul, and Yoongi then declared that he didn’t feel like humoring you this once. And that was the exact moment Jungkook decided to strike.

“You want to play matchmaker?” Jin asks. And though he looks almost skeptical, his tone is definitely an excited one. “With [Y/n] and Tae, of all people?”

“Well yes, think about it logically,” he explains as he is about to say something completely illogical. “She has that sixth spot to fill, she has no other friends and they’re perfect for each other. All the other shit we’re gonna pull is just for fun, though.”

Jin laughs an evil laugh, always one to be up for evil schemes. Just another evil day in the evil life of Kim Seokjin. “Well, [Y/n] is Tae’s perfect mean girl. And that girl needs either therapy or to get laid, but like, same.”

“See? You get me.”

“To be fair, I think that goes for all of us. No offense.”

“None taken,” Jungkook agrees. “Anyways, I was thinking of a… road trip.”

“Well you didn’t have to be so dramatic about it, this isn’t The Godfather. Though I do feel like I’ve definitely got a bit of Michael Corleone in me.”

Jungkook shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly at the other fiend’s remark. “You can pray to god all you want. Here in these streets, the only thing we believe in is El Chapo.”

“I— Okay…”

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[11:05] LeBruh James: wtf is wrong with u

[11:05] LeBruh James: get help seriously

[11:06] jk the slump god: all i said was that u should invite taehyung as the 6th person to ur cussin’s wedding

[11:06] jk the slump god: overreacting arent we

[11:10] LeBruh James: what the hell is a cussin bitch im gonna kill u

[11:13] jk the slump god: not like u have anyone else to invite tho

[11:13] jk the slump god: hes not that bad ur just being urself

[11:14] LeBruh James: ur literally Not helping ur case rn

[09:45] LeBruh James: none of the girls want to gooooo

[09:45] LeBruh James: fine if it has to be taehyung ig ill live w it

[10:30] jk the slump god: great he already said yes

[10:30] jk the slump god: btw we’re gonna go in las vegas at the end of a road trip u in?

[10:33] LeBruh James: HE SAID YES BEFORE I EVEN INVITED HIM…

[10:33] LeBruh James: EYE. OK.

[10:33] LeBruh James: on one hand i kind of dont want to see any of u but if ur all gone i wont have anything to do b4 the wedding so i guess im in by proxy

[10:34] jk the slump god: lovely doing business with u y/n-chan

[10:36] LeBruh James: call me y/n-chan again and I Will Put ur Dick-Chan in a Freezer-sama and then Cut-san it off

[10:39] jk the slump god: i dont think ur using the honorifics correctly tbh..

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“I don’t see how this is a good idea,” you state with a dramatic pout while looking out of the window. Your expression is solemn.

Taehyung kind of can’t believe that you’re throwing a tantrum just because you had to sit next to him in the three-row SUV, but on the other hand, he’s kind of into it. You’re more appalled by the fact that he’s not as disgusting up close as you’d imagined him to be. Well granted, you’re being immature, but it’s your shtick so they take it with a grain of salt.

“Why’s that?” Jungkook asks obtusely. He ruined your life the moment he started calling you [Y/n]-chan and he has that bad case of crazy eyes he gets sometimes when you look at his reflection in the mirror going on right now. You’d be more understanding of his condition, hadn’t your trip started barely five minutes ago.

“What do you mean why is that? We’re all unstable backstabbing lunatics, do you think we can survive together for six whole days?! Stranded or even in a hotel? And then the ride back to Springfield?”

“Hotel? You’re funny. It’s always been my dream to sleep in a motel,” Jin pipes up.

“Seriously? No limo, now this.”

“Hotel, motel, holiday inn,” Hoseok starts singing. Perhaps if it was queen Britney, it would’ve curbed your temper but fate doesn’t seem to be that kind.

“Hotel, motel, holiday inn! Hotel, motel, holiday inn! Hotel, motel, holiday inn!”

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“So we’re not going to visit the Grand Canyon?”

“It’s in Nevada,” Jimin explains. “We don’t have any business there except for going to the wedding. I’d be more down to do it if I wasn’t afraid that one of us, meaning [Y/n], would push one of the others, meaning you, in the gutter.”

“Just a little visit?” Taehyung is talented at only hearing what he wants to hear. However, that doesn’t make the conversation any more productive.

“Well not to be the acrophobic buzzkill, but why are you so adamant about visiting the Grand Canyon?” This is the first time you’ve directly addressed Taehyung since the beginning of these mind-numbing two hours. Jin, hands still on the wheel, dares to take a peek at Jungkook and smile an asshole-type smile before almost accidentally crashing into a pole.

“Watch the road!” Hoseok cries out. Everyone else either refuses to acknowledge what just occurred or decides to spare themselves from doing so.

“Jin says that he always wanted to sleep in a motel. I have another dream.”

“To visit the Grand Canyon?”

“Not exactly. I want to take a shit in there and see if I can hear it splatter. Think that’s possible?”

“Maybe if you angle your butthole the right way—” Jimin’s explanation is cut short.

“Oh my god, you are disgusting. Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”

“What did I tell you about El Chapo, [N/n]?”

“What about El Chapo?”

“Holy shit, I think I’m confusing conversations,” Jungkook admits. Jin offers no more than an eye-roll.

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Tulsa is a dump, really. Unfortunate that you had to make a stop here but also you’re satisfied because your right asscheek feels numb right now. Might have to take Kelly for a walk, though.

Taehyung stumbles out of the vehicle after you and all six of you seize each other fleetingly before making your way towards the gas station, a tense sort of silence following. You’re first to speak up. “Y’know, I’ve been listening to your voices for so long now that I don’t wanna look at your faces.”

“This tbh,” Hoseok agrees with your most profound sentiments as per the usual. He’s quick to match your pace, trailing after you like a lost puppy, successfully getting Taehyung out of his way. He puts his arm around your shoulders casually and you give him that sardonic smile that’s only really reserved for him.

“Don’t say tee-bee-aytch out loud. I get humiliation by proxy.”

Jungkook makes an exaggerated gagging sound before nudging Taehyung subtly enough that Jin is the only one who sees the interaction. Though the eldest had agreed with his deranged idea, there’s one thing that Kook knows that Jin hasn’t come to find out.

Taehyung has an ongoing problem or maybe he’s a masochist. He’s always been one to internally get attached to these girls who’d never give him the time of day, who can’t stand him at all. The tragedy-comedy that is his best friend’s love life started on a rainy day in second grade when a girl by the name of Seulbi punched him in the face and he was hooked on her for three years after.

After the infamous Seulbi, came Yeonji from the cheerleading club who blew off his invite to his first-ever party when they were fifteen. She’d called him a loser to his face and he was smitten with her for a while, too.

And then, you appeared in his life seemingly out of nowhere. Hoseok’s catty best friend with a tongue sharper than her stilettos and lipstick that goes perfectly with her skin tone.

Of course, he was aware of your existence prior to that accident he calls his first conversation with you—be it from the exciting yet flat-out brain dead antics Hoseok would describe you’d gotten caught up in at the time or from the sound of your heels sinking into the floor promptly before you entered math class. You were always late but claimed that the teacher should be grateful because you cut in line to arrive at school earlier. You always had one of those shitty overrated pumpkin spice lattes in your manicured hands.

Simply put, Taehyung likes you. Though after your disastrous first meeting during which, blunt-natured and seemingly lacking a sense of self-preservation, he called you a stuck up moron and you threatened to make an attempt at his life. With your bullheaded nature, things never did solve themselves after that one instance.

It’s not something that he’s expressed outwardly, but Jungkook knows him better than he knows the back of his hand. Unfortunately, he knows you too, even if not as well and he knows how you can’t get a boyfriend because you either scare them away or you find out they’re only after a quick fuck and some money.

Regardless, Jungkook writes off his inner ramblings as irrelevant before turning to Jin in what could be described as a conspirative manner. While clumsily handing the cashier gas money, he whispers something in the other man’s ear and Jin’s eyes literally twinkle like he’s in a low-budget porno.

He nods, furiously so, and the cashier simply stares at them like they’re two idiots that somehow merged into one. It’s not a pretty sight.

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“What? We’re sleeping out here?” Your whining is to be expected by now. Had any of your friends written an actual, physical, list of all the things you’ve complained about so far, it’d probably fill a notebook. Thankfully enough, said list remained as a mental compilation of your not-so-epic moments. “What about the motel?”

“Oh, so now you want a motel?” Jin quips back with a smirk. “They always come ‘round.”

Despite his boasting and apparent eagerness to go to a motel, that doesn’t change the fact that you all find yourselves in a campsite. You’re not an outdoor person save for going to parties or on a shopping spree with Hoseok. And well, your surroundings are a bit too green right now.

Taehyung is the next person to speak up, with a tense posture and his arms crossed over his chest, almost defiantly so. “Honestly, if you don’t want to be here, I don’t understand why you keep coming to these things.”

“Well, I don’t understand why I had to invite your dumb ass here either. I guess the inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.”

“Yeah, I thought Namjoon or Yoongi would be more fitting for your taste of guest,” he says, outright taunting you now, as if to remind you of your failed love rendezvous with your now close friends.

“Well yeah, but they both denied, so I had to invite you.”

“Ah,” he gives a slight sigh and you dismiss the sadness you register in his voice as something deserved for annoying you, “that does make more sense. Lucky me, I guess.”

“Awkies,” Jungkook announces as if it’s something that needs to be announced. Hoseok simply shrugs, and though you’re definitely not looking forward to sleeping out in the woods, he seems excited to try something new.

There’s something hilarious about seeing a bunch of upper-class kids trying to set up tents and start a fire. You’ve converted to the cavemen with Hoseok, seemingly unaware that engaging in a one-sided debate with a bundle of sticks won’t make them randomly engulf in flames while Hoseok is trying out a trick he saw in the movies.

Honestly, it’s enough of a miracle that you actually went out in the woods and helped without tripping your silly ass and getting lost among the catacombs. Granted, Hoseok would’ve been compassionate enough to look for you had you gotten lost, but you probably wouldn’t get over the trauma of being covered in mud.

Taehyung notices you both struggling. Part of him wants to make amends with you and a bigger part of him wants to leave Jimin to scramble on his own. Not that he’s sadistic or anything, he just likes seeing others suffer sometimes for entertainment purposes.

Anyways.

He approaches casually, like the kind of casual where you can tell that the person has an ulterior motive that they don’t want to reveal. Hoseok appears happy to see him, like he’s a savior on a white horse, while you don’t acknowledge him that much except for a sharp question regarding what he wants.

He greets the older boy with one of these grins you won’t admit you enjoy looking at before roaming through the pockets of his jacket. Now that you’ve noticed him wearing one, you come to the sudden realization that it is getting quite breezy.

Taehyung has the habit of scrunching his nose when he’s looking for something and then unconsciously smile broadly after succeeding in finding it. You don’t like that you’re aware of that and you especially don’t like that you can pinpoint the repetitive action.

It appears that Taehyung was looking for a lighter, of all things.

“I thought you quit smoking?” You simply give him an incredulous look.

He doesn’t grace you with an answer. Though he doesn’t reek of the putrid smell, you’re still hoping that the answer to that question is yes. Instead of soothing your curiosity, however, he uses the lighter to ignite a spark in the firewood and you guess that it’ll have to do.

“Well, that was quite pathetic,” you comment unhelpfully.

“Better than Hobi’s attempts and uh, whatever the fuck you were doing.”

Hoseok is enthusiastic to announce that the bonfire’s ready. You watch the clumsily prepped three tents in disinterest, not bothering to defend your attempt at enchantment to him. “Hoseokie, you’re gonna share a tent with me right?”

“Hoseokie,” Jin repeats, but in good fun, “I thought you were gonna crash with me tonight?”

You roll your eyes before redirecting your gaze towards Jimin and Jungkook. By the guilty smile Jungkook gives you, you can tell he doesn’t plan on letting Jimin out of his clown clutches. You narrow your expression and jut your lip out disapprovingly.

“Well, Mr. Handsome,” Jin interrupts whatever you have to say with a thank you, “since you and Kook have been jointed by the assholes since we got here, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“I think you’re just saying that because you don’t wanna sleep with Tae,” Hoseok comments obliviously.

“What he said. Also, these crackwhores are planning something, and I’m going to find out what.”

“Well, you’re in tough luck because Hoseok promised,” Jin argues, emphasizing the word promise. He has a shit-eating grin on his face and he’s not even denying your accusation.

Taehyung coughs once. The second time is overkill and sounds even faker than the first one. “Sorry, but if [Y/n] isn’t comfortable sharing the tent with me, it doesn’t really matter what Hoseok promised.”

You gape at him. This is probably the first intelligent thing that you’ve heard come out of his mouth. You almost reconsider your treatment of him after that, but then you remember that a guy being half-decent isn’t something you’re supposed to celebrate. You suppose that even he looks like a saint compared to some of your exes.

Everyone notices the conflict on your face but doesn’t say anything about it. Jin admits that Taehyung’s right with a wail yet the tension doesn’t dissolve, somehow. You excuse yourself by declaring that you’re going to get the blankets out of the SUV.

“Damn, that bad huh?” Jungkook laughs. It’s the hyena laugh that kind of doesn’t suit his face but also the one he does when he’s having fun for no good reason.

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“I heard in the girls’ bathroom once that this girl went on a diet where she only eats bananas for three months. Like, five a day,” you explain while you munch on your banana in front of the bonfire. Needless to say, you’ve come out to be severely underprepared in terms of food on your first day.

“That sounds like a strategy to make yourself unhinged,” Hoseok retorts. He believes your story but he’s skeptical about that banana business. “I’d never do that.”

“Me neither. Diets are stupid, anyway, can’t a bitch eat?”

Jungkook reaches over and high-fives you, looking at you like you’ve just invented air or some shit. “Amen to that sister.”

“By the way, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Jimin is the one to speak up this time.

“I have quite the plan for you, alright,” Jin laughs. His next statement, however, is the embodiment of his immature nature. “But that banana talk had me all distracted.”

Everyone collectively groans. You’re not really sure if what he said would classify as a dad joke at this point; you’re now entering single-and-desperate-dad joke territory. Can’t say that you’d enjoy it coming from someone else, but Jin is Jin.

“Anyways,” he dismisses his previous remark with an easy-going smile and a wave of his hand in thin air, “we’re going to a breakfast place first thing in the morning. By foot.”

His grin is mischievous. You think this is the worst idea he’s had yet and no one else present seems attracted by the prospect of it either, so you vocally oppose him with a raised brow. “Don’t you realize how likely it is we’ll get lost?”

“Yeah, I also don’t wanna walk too much.” Hoseok’s always one to back you up.

“Technology doesn’t lie, [Y/n].”

“If technology doesn’t lie how come I had a D on my maths test in junior year when I used Photomath?”

Hoseok agrees, remembering the incident. That day was truly one of sorrow.

“Technology only lies if you’re gullible enough,” Jin now changes the narrative.

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You sneak out of your and Hoseok’s tent with a brief explanation thrown over your shoulder. Something about getting your make-up wipes from the trunk. Hoseok mutters inspiring words of advice—be careful, it’s dark and who knows what animal puke is on the ground—and you stumble your way to the SUV.

Shoving the keys in the hole proves to be a difficult task, however. You aimlessly jut it in, hoping to hit the correct place by some sort of miracle. This is the moment that you realize that your eyes aren’t so good at adapting to the darkness.

“Hey, what’re you doing?”

You jump up out of pure reflex. Startled, you whip around with a bemused look on your face. You’re gonna get wrinkles, damn it.

“Woah, girl jumps in heels,” Taehyung comments dryly.

“Don’t sneak up on me, you idiot cokehead,” you retort. You’re not sure why you said that. He’s not a cokehead.

“No, but seriously, what’re you doing?”

“I’m trying to look for my make-up wipes.”

Taehyung takes the keys from you. Without half as much fumbling as you’d done previously, he opens the trunk and you proceed with looking through your purse, only to come to the conclusion that you’ve forgotten your make-up lines somewhere. There’s now a new resolve, clear as day in your twisted mind—you have to find the supermarket you passed by on your way here and buy new ones.

“Did you find them?”

“No.” You scoff. An angry thaw and the trunk is now closed. “I’m going to buy some.”

“Woah, calm down tiger. Can’t you just sleep with it?”

“No! Do you know how bad that is for your skin?”

“Well, we could find a river and you could wipe your face with the dirty water.”

You give him a blank stare, barely suppressing a small giggle. “Do you understand how ridiculous you’re being?”

“I’m being ridiculous?”

Silence.

“...You’re not planning to go off in the woods during the dawn of asscrack, right?”

“The what? Yeah.”

Taehyung looks towards your tent only to see that the light is completely shut down. Hoseok must be asleep already. “I’ll go with you.”

You roll your eyes. “Do whatever you want.”

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“So, why do you hate your cousin so much?” Taehyung asks abruptly from behind you.

Most of your walk has been a silent one, so far, except for an occasional grumble from you and an absentminded one-liner from him. There’s also the sound of sticks crumbling under your high-heels that’s slightly irritating.

“Because she’s unfunny,” you reply seriously.

“You have issues.” This is probably the least significant reason someone has ever hated somebody else for, in the entire history of hatred. Strangely enough, however, Taehyung can’t help finding it endearing how outlandish you can be.

“I’m sorry, I must have Alzheimer’s because I don’t remember asking,” you snap with a roll of your eyes.

“You know, I have a dog,” he begins dramatically. “And sometimes he shits on the carpet and one time he puked on me, but I still love him very much. He’s gang, you feel?”

“I don’t see how that helps with my family situation.”

“I never said it’s supposed to help, I just wanted to talk about myself.” He snickers. You’re getting the most violent of urges.

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Leering over the thin metal fence that looms over an otherwise mundane hill gives you an idea. Down the admittedly high hill, the supermarket is obnoxiously lit up. However, the hideous sight doesn’t deter you—this is what your nirvana looks like in the given moment.

With one bold move, you lift your leg up the fence and Taehyung considers you, your motives and perhaps even your life until now. “What are you doing?”

“It’ll be faster if I go down the hill.”

“You’re gonna break your ankles in these shoes,” he rebuts, his voice a tilted monotone. “Also, I can see your underwear like this.”

“Perveeeeert.” This is your final taunt before you do make it over the short fence and onto the other side. Examining the hill from up close—but not before you roll your miniskirt down—you come to two conclusions. The first one is that it’s quite steep and the second one comes when you’re one step down, that maybe, just maybe, you’re a bit deranged.

With your back turned to him, you don’t get to see Taehyung experiencing the five stages of grief. There’s obvious conflict on his face and to be precise, his current dilemma is between worry for you and a lack of power to stop you. Perhaps had you turned around, you’d find the sight entertaining.

His movements are leisurely once he does get in motion. Taehyung’s plan is to simply help you up now that he noticed that you’re hesitating to go further than you’ve already gone.

His voice cutting through the night’s silence startles you. “Hey, you really shouldn’t do this.”

You stumble.

As tragic as that is, there’s something else to placate you; you’ve never seen Taehyung move so fast. Not even during the blip test in high school. The rest of his actions are less endearing—he throws you over his shoulder carelessly, stumbles onto the sidewalk and drops you like it’s hot. And then your legs are a bit wobbly, but you pretend they aren’t.

The unnerving silence remains all the way to the supermarket, then back to the campsite and even when Taehyung’s awkwardly using his phone as a flashlight in your face while you remove your make-up. There’s nothing to say, except maybe if he were to ask you a question that’s not to your liking.

(He’s not that bad.)

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Jin is in a hurry, but you’re not sure what for. It’s been practically less than a day since you started this road trip, but it feels longer. You’re conflicted about how to feel regarding that, but even so, Jimin and Hoseok’s enthusiasm is hard to ignore.

The feline smile on your face drops the moment Jungkook basically drags you out of your tent, bare-faced and severely underdressed. Well, to be honest, you blend in with them just fine, but in your head, you’re severely underdressed. Something more boujee is usually your style, but you realize your predicament won’t magically change the longer you’re walking in what feels like the middle of nowhere.

Tusla is gross, yes, but maybe Oklahoma is just gross in general.

When you’re unhappy, you don’t get shy about it—honesty is the best policy, after all. So you’re going on one of those annoying tangents you like to go on like it’s second nature to you. Maybe it is.

Taehyung drones out whatever it is you’re saying the moment you start talking about a pimple in your nostril that has hair growing out of it. He’s not particularly grossed out by this revelation, rather, he doesn’t like listening to you go on and on about everything you don’t like about yourself.

“And I couldn’t put on that necklace you got me for my birthday,” you complain before linking your arms with Hoseok’s and feigning a sniff.

“That is pretty horrible,” he hums in agreement. “I think I have a rash on my thigh.”

“See, if Jungkook wasn’t being horrible I could probably get some kinda product to smear on it.”

Taehyung feigns a loud yawn. Tagging along with you and Hoseok isn’t as tiring as he’d like to make it out to be.

“What’re you yawning so blatantly for? I hate being interrupted.” You roll your eyes cockily.

“Sorry, I almost fell asleep during this uninteresting speech of yours.”

You fume again and Hoseok reassures you with something along the lines of don’t worry, [Y/n], it’s very interesting. Then, silence follows. It always seems to end up like this between the two of you.

“Well, if it helps,” Taehyung starts, tone breezy, “you’re still beautiful.”

You feel your face heat up. Sure, boys have given you plenty of compliments before—you’re no stranger to it—hot, sexy and maybe pretty on a good day. But beautiful? Especially without any make-up on? This is definitely something new.

Hoseok smiles. “Yeah, he’s right.”

You don’t want to admit just how flattered you really are. “Of course I am.”

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You take the first thing you find to your liking once you reach the breakfast place. Actually, it’s more brunch than it is breakfast, but all that walking is making you starve so you don’t feel particularly inclined to be hung up on semantics.

“It’s on me.” Jungkook sweeps in smoothly, giving you a flashy smile.

“Fuck off. I’m still mad at you.”

“You might be, but not for long,” he argues with an obnoxious grin on his face. “They call it… The Kook Effect.”

You shake your head. “I’m pretty sure you just made that up.”

“Yeah? Remember when you won a bet against Jimin and he had to call you Supreme Majesty in freshman year? And then you pretended that he did it out of his own volition.”

“Oh, I’m not taking this from you and your dead trim.”

“My trim is fine, thanks.”

“Dead trim!” you repeat, almost frantic. You’re so caught up with Jungkook’s dead trim that you don’t notice that Taehyung is giving you a cheesy smile as he buys you your food. He looks like the greasiest gentleman alive when he hands it to you.

“And what’s that about?”

“In junior year, at summer camp, they took away our phones because someone recorded the instructor jerking off. And then like, blackmailed him.”

You quirk an eyebrow up at this, unsure what he’s hinting at. “Right.”

“Right. And then they took all of our phones for a month and you started crying about how your life is a living nightmare.”

“Right…” you trail off, suddenly embarrassed as if that hadn’t happened a whole two years ago. But like, it totally was a big deal! “The no phone rule was the worst. Even worse than the public bathroom rule.”

“I did it. I’m making it up to you,” he explains.

You feel your mouth twitch into a small smile, one that he hasn’t quite seen on you before. “I forgive you this once, then.”

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“We’re going to a hotel after sightseeing,” Jin explains. It’s like he’s got everything figured out all by himself and perhaps with the help of Jungkook’s annoying personality. “I arranged the rooms and everything while you were eating.”

“Quite epic,” Jimin comments absentmindedly. “Wait, rooms? Like, you mean who’s rooming with who?”

“Yeah, I finished the registration.” He stares directly at you and then Taehyung. “You could switch if you wanted to, it doesn’t really matter.”

You give him a light glare, already having a brief idea of what he’s done, but don’t comment any further. With a sense of deja vu, you speak up again. “What about the motel?”

“I wasn’t sure if we’re going to be passing by one today, so I thought hey! Better safe than sorry.”

Everyone nods in half-agreement until Jin speaks up again. “Plus, you guys reek. You should shower. Couldn’t be me.”

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Predictably, Jin did set you and Taehyung up. You can’t tell what kind of game he and Jungkook are playing, however, the poor boy isn’t half as insufferable in your eyes ever since this road trip began, so maybe you should thank them. Still, you don’t trust them—their minds are as twisted as yours.

As the two of you are dragging your luggage towards your shared room, Taehyung reminds you that you’re free to tell him if you don’t want to sleep with him. “I could go to Jungkook’s room or something.”

You find the idea of being alone more unfavorable than you thought you would. Perhaps your high-school, drastically more histrionic, self would’ve found anything more pleasant than sharing a room with Taehyung. You’re a (slightly) changed person now, though. Or at least you’d like to believe you are.

“Let’s put it like this. I hate a lot of things.”

“You don’t need to tell me that, I already know,” he interrupts with a crude giggle.

“But you’re not one of them,” you admit.

There’s also the fact that the two of you are blatantly ignoring that you could switch with Jin and sleep with Hoseok instead.

No more words are spoken between the two of you that day. New Mexico isn’t half as bad as Oklahoma was.

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You wake up before Taehyung does, punctually so. Rolling out of bed, you partly don’t care whether you wake him but at the same time, you try to avoid making too much noise before slipping into the bathroom. Though you’re definitely one to value your beauty sleep, yesterday’s incident left you paranoid over whether Jungkook or Jin would catch you unprepared.

You go through your routine calmly and by the time Taehyung goes in the bathroom to take a piss, you’re ready to start doing your make-up. You stare at the foundation in your hand but before you can apply it, you hesitate.

Do I need make-up to be desirable?

Of course, you’re aware that not all women who use make-up are insecure, or that it’s always necessarily toxic for your self-esteem. And you thought that was the case with you as well, but your doubts suggest otherwise. Swiftly, you put all of your stuff away, stick with your trusty lipstick and nothing else.

“Morning,” he says, groggy still.

“Morning.” You look over to him from the corner of your eye and he looks kind of dazed. “Jin says we’re staying here until tomorrow morning.”

“Cool. Hotel’s nice. The scenery too.”

“I guess.”

There’s something cripplingly awkward when the two of you aren’t hurling insults at each other, you realize.

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You’re off somewhere with Hoseok and Jin when Taehyung is hanging out with Jimin and Jungkook. Turns out their room has a nice balcony, and with the others out of the picture, there’s some kind of buzzed chatter about incoherent topics swirling around.

Jungkook suddenly decides that it’s a good idea to start talking about his sexcapades. Maybe it’s the alcohol or maybe his mind’s slipping. Jimin kind of wants to admit how much he doesn’t care what his friend does outside of watching anime and playing video games, but there’s also a part of him that’s morbidly intrigued by Jungkook’s words. Like a dark spell or something.

“I wanted to hit it off with [Y/n] in high school,” he admits bluntly.

The other two stare at him.

“Oh really? What made you change your mind?” Jimin asks, now more awake than ever.

“Dunno. Like, she’s more like, the bitchy rival in rom-coms, not the protagonist. I liked her, but I didn’t think I could handle her,” he admits.

“Once we were clubbing and this guy was messing with me and I complained to her about it,” Jimin begins, leaning into his chair with a fond smile on his face, “and she was all like, I’ll show him. And I was like, what? And she was like, I’ll show him who he’s dealing with. And then I was like, okay, maybe don’t show him that much.”

The three of them chuckle. Taehyung talks for the first time in a while. “Nah, I agree.”

“You dig it though, right?”

Jimin gives him a knowing look right after Jungkook shoots his question with a drunken smile. He guesses that since Hoseok isn’t here, he can finally admit it.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. But I can’t get things right with her.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s like, we’re either fighting or it’s really awkward.”

“You’re on your own.” Jimin dismisses him with a wave of his hand. “I don’t think she hates you that much. It’s always Taehyung this, Taehyung that.”

“True,” Jungkook agrees. “Like yes, maybe she’s complaining about you half the time and I know she loves gossiping but I’ve never heard her talk about someone else that much. Except maybe Yoongi. What I’m sayin’ is, you should give it a shot.”

“Why do you guys even fight so much?” Jimin laughs. “Whenever it happens, I like, forget what even happened to lead up to that.”

“Well, you know me. I’m always too honest for my own good and when I hit her with some snark she starts getting all defensive. I just...” He sounds defeated by the time he’s finished with his explanation. Taehyung’s shoulders visibly slump and his frame slides down the uncomfortable chair. “I just want to get along with her.”

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The fourth day is the first time you actually aren’t sure where you are. Save for supposedly being close to Nevada by now, you tuned out the rest of Jin’s explanation despite your previous attempts at keeping up with your location.

Regardless, what’s important is living in the present. And the present for you right now is walking down a nameless street, in a mess of other tourists, with your pants uncomfortably sticking to your ass with sweat. In short, you feel gross.

Taehyung doesn’t seem to be having the same problem, while you can’t even fake being unfazed. You envy him just the tiniest bit.

A trashy souvenir shop seems to catch Taehyung’s attention. In the scorching heat and sand-yellow scenery of this town, however, even that seems more appealing. So when he urges you to go with him, you find yourself reluctantly agreeing.

When you step in, the air conditioning of the otherwise homey shop welcomes you like taking a breather during an overcrowded party. You let an unconscious smile take over your face when you greet the cashier. She’s cute and her adorableness factor only spikes up when she practically beams at the sight of customers.

“Hi! Please, feel free to look around.”

“We will,” Taehyung answers offhandedly. Her gaze lingers on him.

Most of the things don’t interest you. Actually, they’re hideous if you had to be completely honest. He doesn’t seem that enamored by them either, but you can tell he finds more redeeming qualities about them than you do.

Your eyes almost bulge out of your face when you see the most live-laugh-love-esque decoration to exist. Like something your mom would laugh-react to on Facebook.

The offender is no more than three inches tall and wide, a ceramic plate with a cartoony burger portrayed on it. It’s holding a flag that says two simple words: “Nice Buns!”

You can’t tell if it’s the radioactivity of Jungkook’s cooking from earlier or if this thing is what’s making you nauseous. However, food-poisoning or not, you’re quite disgusted by what you’ve just seen. “Oh my god, the caucasity.”

“Aw, you don’t like it?” Taehyung says with a mocking pout. “I think it’s cute.”

“What’s wrong with you? It’s corny.”

“No, it isn’t. It might’ve been if it was a corn-dog, though.”

You heaved an over-dramatic sigh. “You’re saying words that have no positive impact on my life.”

“I think I’ll buy it,” he declares, before checking the price and realizing he hasn’t brought enough money with himself.

You shake your head. “I’m not gonna be an accomplice to… that.”

“Well, of course not. This is your Valentine’s present.”

“Go to hell. As if I’d be your Valentine in the first place,” you reply sardonically before pushing him out of the way.

Taehyung realizes something at that moment. Even outside your evident disinterest in him and his affairs, the two of you are completely incompatible. You, too quick to judge and be offended and him, too quickly to say the first thing on his mind, obviously don’t mesh smoothly.

Neither of the boyfriends you’ve had that he’s spoken to is anything like him, either. If Namjoon and Yoongi have one thing in common, it’s that they’re both calm, collected and have a good head screwed securely on top of their shoulders. He’s not like that.

Even so, that revelation only makes the concept of being with you more alluring.

Kim Taehyung is an idiot. But more importantly, with one glance towards the admittedly good-looking cashier making googly eyes at him, Kim Taehyung makes a decision.

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While you’re taking a shit in a nearby cafeteria, you receive a text from Taehyung. This is shocking by itself since despite the two of you having each others’ numbers, you never really text.

[15:30] pain in the neck: im going on a date w/ the cashier

[15:30] pain in the neck: feel free to leave

[15:45] Princess Complex: i’m just gonna hang with jungkook thank god

Why is your stomach sinking?

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Once you meet up with Jungkook, you explain the situation briefly. He quickly looks you over, confusion evident on his face. “What? On a date?”

“Yeah, he just kinda left me in the toilet,” you confirm with a shrug. “Anyways, where do you wanna go?”

It’s not like Jungkook is an oblivious idiot with the emotional capacity of your aunt’s mutated sixth toe, even if he may appear to be. But you never thought he’d call you out the moment your overly confident facade starts slipping. His gaze softens. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

He isn’t examining you when he asks. No, he appears to be looking off, somewhere behind you. However, you remain ignorant to that fact.

“Yes! Why would I care? I’d rather drink toilet water for ten years straight than spend any more time with that moron,” you snap, too worked up for someone who supposedly doesn’t care.

“Is that how you really feel about Taehyung?”

“Yes! Yes, oh my god, let it go.”

Jungkook makes one more helpless expression, shrugs lightly, and you fail to realize that neither of those gestures is directed at you. “Let’s go to the arcade.”

“I’m not really into video games,” you lie as you run your hand through your hair, “but fine.”

“Hell yeah.”

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When Taehyung goes back to your room in the trashy motel, notably late during the night for a mere first date, the atmosphere is tense. There’s a crease in your brows when you unlock the door and obvious bite marks over your bare lips. He stumbles ahead to enter, but you continue blocking his path with your arms frigidly crossed over your chest.

“You’re late.”

“And what’s it to you?” He’s never spoken to you so harshly. There are moments where his words bite, but never does he say them with an expression and tone that are so frosty.

“Nothing in particular.” You move out of his way, finally, and he enters. You briefly wonder if he’s had alcohol before you start talking again. “I’ve been stuck in this room for like, an hour because the keys are in me. Waiting for you...”

“Poor you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I heard what you said about me to Jungkook. You know, I’m starting to understand why you scared away all your exes.”

Warth washes over you in waves for a millisecond before it disperses into nothingness, a cold numbness that makes your back shiver. Your gaze on him is empty yet livid at the same time and he cowers under it. You’re not sure if the guilt on his face is a flicker of your imagination or if it’s genuine, but you hope it’s the latter.

It’s never his words that are a big deal to you. It’s the way he speaks every syllable, so earnestly with truth laced in every letter, that makes you go off the hook. Because deep down, you’re aware that he doesn’t mean to be malicious or to offend, it’s merely him telling his truth.

You grab a few things impulsively with a mundane declaration, before storming off god knows where. “I’m not sleeping here tonight.”

When the door clicks behind your frame, Taehyung backs down and sprawls out across the bed. Truthfully, he regretted his words before he even opened his mouth. But he was so angry, be it with you or with himself.

It just seemed so unfair that you could blow him away time after time and yet, on his date the only thing on his mind was you. The mediocre make-out session and him awkwardly leaving out of nowhere didn’t help, either. And then you had to be so perfect, waiting for him instead of locking his ass out like he thought you would.

It isn’t the girl’s fault she’s raised to be as sweet as sugar while you’re more like citrus. He’s always had a knack for lemons, anyway.

The fact that you spent the rest of the day with Jungkook only aggravates him further, the younger’s words repeating in his head. I tried to hit it off with [Y/n] in high school, or whatever it was that he said exactly. All of this is his own fault, anyway—if he hadn’t been so temperamental, you would’ve stayed with him for the rest of the day.

Taehyung stares at the cheap lights hanging on the ceiling until his eyes hurt that night.

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Half-way through your trek to Hoseok’s room, you crumble. A sob escapes your throat and then another one. After these two instances, your tears don’t cease.

At first, Jimin is excited to see you at their door but his smile slips the moment he realizes what a bad state you’re in. You’re practically making whale noises while desperately searching for Hoseok.

“I’ll give you two a moment.” He gives you one final look-over and leaves with a not-so-threatening threat. “Or maybe thirty. You better be smiling and singing Toxic by the time I’m back, [Y/n].”

Hoseok rushes to hug you. “God, girl, what’s wrong?”

“I like Taehyung.”

“Is that it? You’re a strong girl, y’know, I never pictured you crying over some pretty boy.”

“No. I’m crying because I’ve liked him all this fucking time and I tried to run away from him because I’m scared. And he said the most horrible thing to me,” you explain as you bury yourself deeper into his embrace. “That’s why I’m crying.”

“I hope he isn’t allergic to hands, because he’s about to catch them. Actually, I hope he is allergic.” Hoseok isn’t one to ask about details. He lets you get it out of your system, makes a few promises (most often of violence) and then allows you to elaborate if you wish to do so.

You laugh, but it turns into choking considering how much snot you have running down your face by now. “He said that he understands why my exes run away from me. I mean, I— I said something rude about him first, but Jungkook was backing me into a corner and I didn’t know he would even find out about it, I just—”

“Forget about him, forget about Jungkook, everyone. Tonight is for Britney,” Hoseok commands more than he asks you.

You smile sadly at him before uselessly wiping your tears away and giggling like you’re on the brink of losing your mind. Perhaps you are.

“My 45-carat booger. Hey, let’s make Jimin do the chicken dance,” Hoseok starts off like he’s coddling you in his strange way of doing so, but then quickly turns diabolical. He throws some tissues at you and you accept them. If there’s one thing you’re truly grateful for, it’d be your best friend.

You nod, suddenly more excited than you should be. Hoseok’s right—you don’t need some pretty boy when queen Britney is watching over you.

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The next day, you’re wearing a full-face of make-up, and Taehyung notices it. Hoseok’s driving and you’re in the passenger seat, talking about some nonsense as usually do. The atmosphere is light, with Jimin and Jungkook occasionally joining in your conversation and Jin sleeping with his forehead pressed against the window.

Truth to be told, Taehyung feels like a zombie right now. Pretending that your scuffle with him meant nothing to you only convinces him further how little you care about anything that has to do with him.

“I think we’ll be in Las Vegas soon,” Hoseok announces cheerily.

On one hand, you’re happy to finally be seeing the end of this road trip. Though you’ve technically just been relaxing, you wanted to be done with your cousin’s dumb wedding and go back to spending an average amount of time with your friends. You want to forget how flippant things are between you and Taehyung, your quote-unquote friendship dictated by mood swings rather than actual feelings.

“Fuck yeah! I wanna get drunk in Vegas,” you say with a smirk. “It’s on my bucket list.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“You want to get drunk everywhere,” Jungkook corrects with a laugh. You can’t help agreeing with him. “And Jin will probably stay in the hotel and play Candy Crush or something.”

“Ew, ew, ew, a fucking millenial,” you exclaim in mock disgust.

“Jin can be a beast if he wants to. Remember when he twerked in front of the whole school on Taehyung’s birthday party?”

“Shit was wild, man.”

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No one except you, Hoseok and Taehyung himself is aware of what transpired yesterday. So Jungkook and Jin are still stubbornly placing the two of you together, yet you’re too powerless to fight it.

The hotel is a fancy one, courtesy of your annoying cousin. She’s been texting you and you sent a short message back to inform her you’ve arrived, but you haven't bothered to deal with her provocations any further.

After dumping his luggage near his bed, Taehyung was straight out of the room and you started getting ready. And that was that.

You feel more like yourself when you find the wine hidden in the fridge, a free present from the hotel. Or maybe your cousin’s way of making peace. Ha, as if that’d happen.

When Taehyung comes back to get dressed, you’re already tipsy and acting like a fool.

“Drinking already?” There are many things that Taehyung wants to say to you. An apology he’s too sober to say and a confession you’re too drunk to hear, to begin with.

“It’s pre-game,” you explain dizzily. “You know. I never told you why I hate my cousin so much. She used to bully me and she stole my first boyfriend from me. And we never got past it.”

With your trademark look, high-heels, acrylics, a fancy yet revealing dress along with whatever else you consider fashionable at the moment, Taehyung feels familiarity staring at your lopsided smirk. Though he’s gotten glimpses of other sides of you during these past few days, like how you like cuddling during the night, this is the epitome of who you are.

“Yeah,” he replies agreeably, though you’re not sure what for.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but Hoseok is waiting for me. So, this is bye-bye.”

“See you there.”

“Probably not.” You snicker. Taehyung can tell that you’re still upset with him.

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You’re so wasted that the things happening around you aren’t really making sense anymore. While you and Hoseok were drinking together for a while, at one point Jungkook whisked him away, then there’s a blank in your memory and now you’re here. Alone. And you’ve lost count of how many drinks you’ve had.

A man, that’s definitely a few years older than you, finally approaches you after observing you from afar. He says some sort of sleazy line—you’re not sure what it is, you’re not really listening—and offers you a drink.

You consider him. He’s not your type at all and that pornstache isn’t helping his case but, when you look at Taehyung and see him talking and having fun while you’re being an alcoholic by your lonesome and moping about him, you quickly accept his offer. Pornstache or not.

“Pick anything you’d like, kitten,” he purrs, in an attempt at being seductive.

“Well first off I’m not a furry so don’t call me that,” you snap with a self-assured grin. And then you start listing off the most expensive drinks on the menu.

This man is so enamored by you that he buys you all of them. You’re three steps closer to alcohol poisoning when you clumsily stumble onto the dance floor along with him, running your hand over his jaw in what you believe to be a sensual manner. He seems to dig it, but from an outsider’s perspective the two of you look like junkies trying to get off.

Your experience in the club is romanticized. The dim lights are reminiscent to those few times you’ve gone to a rave and it reeks of alcohol, overpriced perfumes and sweat. You and your nameless pathetic fan mingle with the grinding crowd and begin imitating them.

As the poet Lady Gaga once said, “redlight pornographic dance fight”.

The act itself is indifferent to you. From across the room, Taehyung locks eyes with you and you’re not really sure why but you feel this sudden need to provoke him, even when you know he most likely wouldn’t care. You sloppily kiss your suitor’s cheek while looking at him intensely from across the room. A red trail from your wet lips makes its way down his face.

For the sake of pettiness, you might’ve gone further—I mean, you were already playing some weird game of tug-and-war but with clothes—but you don’t want to know the feeling of this guy’s lips against yours. He finds the mostly innocent action as an invitation, though, and abruptly halts your staring contest with Taehyung by forcing you into a greedy kiss.

Pushing him away, you give him a pointed stare and rejection is clear on his face. “Excuse me…”

He’s a terrible kisser.

Pushing through everyone that’s in your way, you make your escape through the first door you find. In your intoxicated parade, you fail to make sense of the words ‘CLOSED’ that are so blatantly taped over the entrance. So, you find yourself in front of a swimming pool.

The cold breeze outside prickles at your skin unpleasantly, and a quick look around tells you that there’s no one around to put this in their cringe compilation. Apparently more disgusted than you’d initially thought, you puke your guts out in front of the pool. Now light-headed and somehow empty, you stare at your vomit and take a deep breath.

“Hey, why’d you run away?” Your suitor from earlier appears to have followed you outside. You stare at your feet—doesn’t he understand that you wanted to get away from him?

“You’re a bad kisser,” you say bluntly after getting over your little trance.

“Give me a chance to change your mind then,” he offers smugly, taking menacing steps towards you. You move away instinctively before you’re quickly backed into a wall, with his two hands trapping you in between.

Your eyes widen with fear and you sink into yourself. If you had anything else to puke out, you’re sure you would’ve done so at this point. “I have sharp nails and I’m not afraid to use them.”

“Oh, she bites-”

The events that play out next happen so slowly, you’re not sure why you’re surprised. Taehyung appears, and you do see him in your peripheral vision, stares for a bit before knocking the guy out with a punch to his temple. He falls unconscious on the ground.

“Oh god, did I kill him?” he asks, a vacant look on his face. He imagined his first kill to be more thrilling, but on second thought, he’s not sure why he was thinking about that without being under the influence of substances in the first place.

“I’d be happy if he’s dead, if that helps,” you comment dryly.

“Do we dump the body in the pool or what?”

The two of you are drunk enough to consider it. Your mind is blank for a bit, before you finally speak up. “I’m trying to think of what I saw on How To Get Away With Murder, but it’s not coming to me. But like, on Blacklisted, there was this guy who like, made the corpses turn to gas or something!”

“You watch too much TV. Also, I’m pretty sure it’s called The Blacklist.”

“Whatever. Do you know how to do that?”

“No.”

“Hey, what’s going on here?” A new voice cuts in.

“You better come up with something convincing or we’ll have to kill him too,” you urge.

“Did you say something?”

“No.”

“Umm, awkward believe it yeah,” Taehyung begins, a strong start. “This guy slipped on her puke and hit his head. And he has a concussion now.”

“Man, that sucks,” the guy says. You’re relieved that he’s as trashed as he is, otherwise the situation would’ve went really badly, considering how Taehyung straight-up lied to his face. “I’ll go call someone over ‘ere.”

Once he’s out of sight, the two of you stare at each other and decide to flee the country. But then change the plan with the more economically-efficient idea to simply leave the club.

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“Why were you with that guy anyway?” Taehyung asks. Frankly put, neither of you know where you’re going, but you’re boldly leading him through the artificially-lit streets of Las Vegas as if you’re born there. Where you end up is a concern your sober selves of tomorrow should worry about.

“I wanted to make you jealous,” you reply, bold, like everything you do when you’re drunk is.

“...I don’t get it.”

“You pissed me off so much yesterday. And you made me jealous when you went out with that cashier. But also, you killed a guy for me, so I guess I’m not mad at you anymore.”

“Well aren’t you high-maintenance,” he retorts sarcastically, gaining what feels like a confidence spurt because of your sudden confession. “You don’t have anything to be jealous of, anyway. The only thing I had on my mind during that stupid fucking date was you.”

You freeze up. You thought that your own attitude was what made any possibility of him returning your feelings seem laughable. Even if it’s drunk blabber, alcohol is an honesty elixir, at least in your case. “Kiss me?”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, attacking your lips so eagerly you’d consider it funny if you were in a right state of mind. Still, your reciprocation is just as hungry, so maybe you don’t have any room to laugh. He is indulging you, after all.

The wipeout that happened at the club happens again and you’re left to wonder how things escalated. From teeth clashing against each other in pure excitement, you’re left hovering over Taehyung’s form and straddling him unsteadily.

He reaches under your already high dress and the glimpse of your panties seems to excite him. “You have no idea how much I’ve thought about this,” he admits breezily.

You smile, a teasing one, adjusting yourself better. “You don’t need to be so dramatic about it, it’s just underwear.”

“Dramatic is how many times I’ve jerked off after we went to the supermarket and you flashed me.”

“Ewwww, we shared a bed like three times, freak,” you scold and he pouts when you distance yourself from him.

“I was just trying to be funny!”

“Not funny. Didn’t laugh. It’s better when you don’t talk,” you instruct before leaning down again to kiss him. At least he’s having fun with groping whatever he can get his hands on.

“You’re so annoying it turns me on. Always whining, it drives me nuts how much I really like you.”

You snicker. “Well, I sure am feelin’ the love here.”

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When you wake up, you register three things. Four, actually. First—your left shoe is missing. Second— Taehyung is knocked out cold next to you. Third—you don’t know where you are, except for the fact that there’s a garbage bin next to you. Fourth—your head is throbbing with pain and you’re so sore you’re not sure if you can walk. Needless to say, you had the wild night in Vegas you wished for in your bucket list, and you only half-regret it.

You see your shoe discarded near you and nudge it with your toe for a bit before finally gathering enough power to sit up and put it on. Or so you think, because the moment you’re propped in a standing position, you vomit like you did yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, the only thing you remember is that you and Taehyung were convinced that he’s now a murderer on the run, confessing your feelings for each other in an anti-climactic manner and then having like seven rounds of public sex.

With a recap of yesterday’s events, you digress and put your shoe on before reaching in your purse. Surprisingly, you haven’t been robbed. Fishing your phone out, you come to the conclusion that you’ve been knocked out cold for way too long.

Hoseok has generously spammed you with seventy texts, but you don’t bother to read them, already assuming that the gist is something about where the fuck you and Taehyung are. Instead, you call him immediately.

“Hi,” you greet casually.

“[Y/n]! Where the fuck are you and Tae? We were so worried. Jin almost declared you two missing. But on the positive side, Jungkook didn’t care because he got food poisoning yesterday at the club.”

“I don’t know where we are, but he’s with me.”

“What do you mean?!”

“I’ll send you my location. I don’t have money for Uber, love you, kisses and hickeys,” you say in one breathe before hanging up quickly and doing what you said you’d do.

At first, you thought this road trip was an opportunity for you to grow and mature. However, after yesterday’s shenanigans, you’re almost convinced your sociopathic tendencies are now higher by 5%.

You start shaking Taehyung until he wakes up and swats your arms away. Now upon closer inspection, while you’re aware that you look bad right now, he’s not looking too hot either. The lipstick marks you had left on his face make it look like you’ve either slobbered all over him or that he’s a vampire, you’re not sure. And you’ve bitten him so much somebody could think he got attacked by a racoon judging solely on those bruises.

You quickly explain the situation to him as you’re fixing up your bra and top. Considering the fact that you were bordering on nip-slip territory, that was your priority. Smoothing your dress is easy enough, but your pantyhose is mysteriously ripped in some incriminating places.

He reaches out, rips out the fake eyelash that was pathetically hanging off the corner of your eye and throws it away. You take care of the other one, wipe off your ruined make-up and then wipe off the lipstick on his face.

Your head hurts so much that you don’t know what to say to break the silence. Though you also don’t doubt that he’s in the position, and so, for the first time it doesn’t feel awkward between the two of you.

“Hey, [Y/n], are we like… dating now?”

“I think so? You can be my date to the wedding if you want.”

A dopey smile takes over his face. You realize you’ve made someone this happy before with merely being yourself. It fills you with a kind of warmth you’ve never felt before.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

“Your cousin won’t stop calling you,” Taehyung emphasizes as you’re pointedly ignoring your ringtone while you get ready. Considering the atrocious state both of you came back in, the process taking longer than usual shouldn’t be a surprise. Especially since you had to take turns for the shower.

Also the part where the two of you got into a fight over who should go in first—your thesis being arguably stronger once you mentioned the mud ingrained in the left sole of your feet—only slowed you down further.

“I know right? Can’t this pregnant moron get a life.”

“No, I think she’s calling you because we’re late to the wedding,” he elaborates. “You should pick up.”

“But I hate her!”

“You can roast her at the wedding and I’ll hype you up if you do what I ask.”

“Oh my god, promise?”

“Promise.”

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

“Look who finally showed up,” your cousin greets you with a tight smile. You can only return the sentiment as Taehyung dumbly trails behind you.

Well, as much as you don’t like your cousin, the wedding is certainly nice. With a light atmosphere and a fancy ceremony, he can’t pretend he hates it—that much is certain. Though he can also tell that it’s a lot of money wasted on food that doesn’t look appetizing in the slightest the more he examines the buffet.

“I see you’re not wearing the dress I shipped to you. Is it too tight, perhaps?” She’s smiling fakely and sweetly as she waits for your answer to her provocation. Of course it’s too tight; what else could it be when she picked it two sizes smaller than what you usually wear. And she did it on purpose too.

Despite the rather mundane conversation happening, the tension is thick.

“I’m going to be quick. You look like a greasy manatee.” You give her your own uptight smile before strutting away, cueing Taehyung to follow after you.

“Pregnancy-shameeeeed,” he yells out as he offers her finger guns and speed-walks in your direction.

Once he’s caught up with you, he speaks up again. “I know you could’ve been more brutal than that.”

“Oh please, I’m sophisticated, I’d never engage in some barbaric behavior.”

You both burst out laughing at your blatant lie.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

“Do you think they’re dating now?” Jin asks, looking at the two of you as you dance and joke around. Though he imagines that you could only be having a deranged conversation, one that isn’t as sweet and lovey-dovey as it might look from an outsider’s perspective, it’s still quite disgusting how smitten Taehyung looks with you.

“I don’t care,” Jungkook answers. Him saying he doesn’t care is a metaphor for how much he doesn’t care about anything after his food poisoning.

Jimin rolls his eyes. “Oh definitely. I saw them making out near a garbage dumpster when we were driving back to the hotel.”

Seokjin chokes.

#bts scenarios #taehyung x reader #bts x reader #bts fanfiction #taehyung fanfic #bts fluff #kim taehyung #taehyung scenarios #taehyung imagines #taehyung fluff #bts fanfic #mine

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lisinfleur · 5 years

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Surprise, surprise!

Hey guys!

This month I saved this sweet surprise for you all. Believe me, it was a surprise for me as well. I never thought it could happen someday and to have this content to offer you guys is really something impressive and almost unbelievable to me.

I have been working hard on edits and fictions all this time to provide the events from the "Uncrowned King's Thursday" to the "5 Crowns Weekend" and, somehow, it filled my life with joy, so add this small interview as a part of this event - especially for THIS prince you all know is my favorite haha - is something very special and a huge gift. Maybe the hugest a fan could ever get from its idol.

Well, let me stop the rounds and rounds and tell you what this surprise is all about: dear David Lindström agreed in answering some questions for me to publish here, for you guys!

We all know our sweet bardic prince launched on July 12 the first single of his album to come, a beautiful song named "Autumn". If you didn't hear it yet, you're losing a hit! However, I didn't lose time and pre-saved my single and my chance to have this amazing content for you guys!

Enjoy!

Image source: Instagram (@dalindstrom, credits to the owner)

Me: First of all, and once again, thank you for this amazing opportunity! Considering this small article will be published in an event about Sigurd, I would like to start with a few questions related to him if you allow me. Would you mind telling us a bit of what was the meaning of this character in your life as an actor? How did it contribute to your professional career, acting style, and personal life?

David: My pleasure! Obviously, the role of Sigurd has been extremely important for my career, giving me exposure and resources that I would otherwise never have had at this point which in turn has made possible almost everything I do today. But it was actually the process around getting the role that impacted me the most personally and that has affected the way I approach acting, music, and life in general. Here’s the story: When I got to the open audition for the sons of Ragnar at 07:30 in Stockholm there was already a line outside the building with 200 giant dudes in a Ragnar mohawk, each and every one having about as much mass in their beards as I had in my entire body at that point. I realized that I was never going to get the job by competing with these guys on who’s the biggest, baddest warrior so if I were going to do this at all I’d have to take a different approach. I had the belief that even in the Viking age not everyone could have been the giant beasts that we associate them with, so what if I could present a character that was a little more sensitive, slender and insecure? Even better, what about a Viking in his awkward teenage phase, gradually growing into the legend he would later be known as? I took a shot and was told from the start that I was unlikely to get the part, but there was something interesting in my interpretation so I was still brought back repeatedly up until the final audition in Ireland. At this point, I was auditioning both for the role of Sigurd and Ivar, with the latter having a flamboyance and hubris that was suppressed in Sigurd. When all was done Travis Fimmel and Alexander Ludwig came into the room for a group shot, during which I awkwardly waved to the camera and was promptly called out by Travis and told that I could forget landing the role. I’ll admit that I believed him, and part of me would continue to believe him all the way through filming and even long after. But what was so special about the whole thing was that from the very first second I was put in a situation where I was forced to believe that I had something unique to bring to the table, if I didn’t go all in on embracing my differences I could as well forget it. So, whereas I’d never normally trust my instincts and go out on a limb that way, when that became the only option, I had a chance to see for myself that it can be worth it. Ever since, I try my best to remember how hopeless it all seemed until it suddenly worked out, and that no matter how inferior and incompetent we feel at times, it’s our unique combination of flaws that make us valuable, exciting and irreplaceable.

Me: We’re a large community of Vikings fans, passionate about the series, their actors, and everything related to the world your talent helped to bring for us. This community embraces the characters with such love, that many of us write fictions about the series, giving our beloved characters what we think they should achieve or deserved. How it is it for you to know there are such fanfictions and that - in a great number of them - Sigurd was described with a different ending, where his life followed the curse of history and he became a king, or he found love, had children, etc.? How does it feel for you to know so many people wanted a better life and a sweet ending for your character?

David: It’s incredibly humbling to see the passion and investment that so many of you put into the character’s fate. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but it’s sort of just the reassurance of having a whole bunch of great artists on your side. Even though the reason behind Sigurd’s fate has been somewhat explained to me, I can’t honestly say that it’s a decision that I really agree with. Of course, Hirst does a job writing the show that I can’t imagine many others could, and it’s crucial for a good story that the writer’s vision takes precedence over the actors getting what they want. That said, it’s obviously no question that I personally would have wanted more time to release what I’d built up, and for Sigurd’s coming of age-arch to be completed. When I was told what was going to happen, I actually felt I had to get involved with making suggestions to Hirst for the remaining scenes to get some sort of closure, which can be seen in Sigurd being noticeably more proactive and confrontational towards the end. The fact that so many in the community seem to have similar ideas and feelings on the subject means more than you’d really believe. Still, we should never underestimate the impact that a story can get out of an uncompleted pattern, maybe it’s better that Sigurd left us wanting more rather than outliving our interest for him. But there’s so much good writing in the community that I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it became a great screenplay of its own.

Me: Despite the huge project Vikings represented for us or the fact that many of us came to know you because of Sigurd, you worked in different projects on Swedish television, theatre, and other fields. Would you mind talking about some of these projects for us? Something you recommend for your new fans?

David: I’d love to! The part I’m proudest of is probably Simon in the TV series “Blue Eyes”. It was my first major professional role and I was overjoyed to receive such a well written, complexly human character that I felt really fit my style. The filming was also incredibly fun, I was warmly welcomed into the business and had great guidance from a number of caring directors and while I was personally going through a major heartbreak at the time, I had the opportunity to make use of those emotions and grow both artistically and personally. The series itself is a great political drama that mirrors the ideological situation that much of the world was dealing with at the time in a way that I thought was both insightful and thrilling.

Image source: Google Images (credits to the owner)

Me: Now, speaking of your present life, you changed your focus from acting to your musician self, now gifting us with this amazing work that's your soon-to-come album. What is the meaning of this project to your life as an artist?

David: I’ve probably always seen myself as a musician more than anything else, and although acting has been another one of my favourite things since long before I got paid for it, my go-to source of expression has always been music. I’ve loved sharing musical ideas with my close friends and processing life through song writing, and few things have been as exciting as finding someone willing to give my stuff a listen. Landing a record deal like the one I have means the sudden realization of so much that had only been fantasy before, and it’s been surreal to see this imagined world take shape. But that’s still something I’ve had more than a year to prepare for. What I could never prepare for was the reception we’ve had so far. I know that I tend to not expect things to go very well, but even when I allowed myself to dream big, I thought that it would take Autumn a year to get where it’s now at after a month. It’s once again the feeling of being surrounded by incredible people giving incredible support, and there’s nothing quite as uplifting as the feeling of being in such good company.

Me: I'm a writer myself. And to compose my text works, I usually have some sources of inspiration like listening to some specific musicians and music styles, reading books related to the work I want to compose, etc. What are your inspiration sources when composing your songs?

David: Of course, my main source of influence is other music, and that would mostly be my favourite artists such as anything Julian Casablancas, Muse, Kent, MGMT and Lars Winnerbäck, as well as the classical music of Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff. I love anything with great lyrics or big melodies. I’m also lucky enough to live with one of the most creative people I know, so I always run my ideas past her when I’m stuck or unsure, but the ideas can really come from anywhere. If I come across a story, place, picture or anything that resonates with me it usually has something special when it comes to structure, dynamics or flavor that I can try to apply on what I’m working on, so I find that really just living life and being aware of the world around me gives me more than enough input without having to actively pursue it. However, if I’m working towards a deadline, I find it most effective to take an idea that I already like and either jam with it or elaborate on it until it’s become something else. In either case it’s important to remember that the majority of creative work is just finding out what doesn’t work, so no effort is ever really wasted. I sometimes task myself with writing 10 songs that I think are shit, because even if I’m right 90% of the time that will still leave me with a good one.

Image source: Spotify (Autumn, 2019)

Me: Dayfelice. At the pre saving of your album's first single "Autumn", we saw the album was signed "by Dayfelice". I already know this is a new artistic name, but how did you come up with the idea and what’s the meaning of this name you chose, in your personal view?

David: It’s a stylized version of my first names “David Felix”. When I make music, I try to liberate it from trends or expectations when it comes to genre and sound, and to end up in a space where the song’s emotion, narrative, and imagery can really shape it without limits. So, most of the songs are very different from each other, but they center around an emotional, cinematic larger-than-life style, and I wanted to signal that with an artist name that had a romantic, elevated feel without saying too much else. Something that could be either a band or an artist of any gender, as well as something that just sounds good.

Me: I’ll never be tired to thank you for this amazing moment! Would you like to leave a message to the fan community of Tumblr and Vikings' fans that will reach this work?

David: I know it's cliché, but I genuinely just want to thank you all for your amazing support. I want you to know that I see your comments, I read your messages and it truly means a lot be surrounded by such a smart, progressive and kind community. Stay awesome and take care of each other.

Well, that's it, guys! The apex of what a fan could get and one more of the thousands of reasons why David became one of my favorite artists in this world: his sweetness and kindness towards his fans is admirable such as his talent and beautiful work. A complete artist bringing to us not only our sweet and beloved prince Sigurd but also lots of amazing works and new songs for us to enjoy!

Thank you one more time for your gentleness, dear David, and for you guys, thank you for bringing me the courage to go there and get this for us! I hope

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#history vikings #imagine vikings #sigurd #sigurd snake in the eye #sigurd imagine #sigurd x reader #sigurd ragnarsson #sigurd lothbrok #sigurd’s fairy muses #sister wives #5CW #5CW Event #5CW Sigurd #sneak peek

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kweebtrash · 5 years

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Eri’s First Time Meeting Yuta

[12:04am]

"Ten, what the hell did you get me into?" I asked, looking around at the leather, PVC, velvet, and lace clad partygoers. This was my first time ever going to a BDSM party and I had no idea what to expect. Some people were paired off, partaking in spanking, whipping, caning, you name it, while others indulged in their voyeuristic nature. Dozens of others were making out and groping one another while on the road to getting drunk. Down the hall I could see rooms with little occupied signs hooked on the front. I could only imagine what was going on in there.

"You need to get some more experience. You're still a little too green for me but you're getting there." Ten wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kept me close. "You're not scared are you?"

"Scared?" I shook my head and turned away from seeing someone's bra drop to the floor. "Just a little nervous I guess. A lot of people are starting to get naked."

"We're all consenting adults here. Being naked isn't a big deal. If you want we can rent out one of the rooms later?" He gave me that devilish and sadistic smile that always appeared when it was play time.

"Slow your roll, Ten. The nights still young and I still need to get used to this."

I felt his fingers dig into the back of my neck and force me to look up at him. "What did you call me?"

I swallowed hard and realized that I was in trouble for not calling him by his proper title. It hadn't been long since I discovered this side of myself and there were plenty of times where I slipped up. I would get punished, sometimes gentle, most times extremely rough so he could brandish my mind with the consequences of my actions. There were so many rules and things to keep up with it was overwhelming. I didn't understand certain things and in that aspect he was my mentor, slowing down and helping me figure out if I liked a particular kink or not. Ten had the capability of being patient though it wasn't really his forte.

"S-sorry, Sir." I said softly. He gave me a small nod, letting me know that I had satisfied him and it was exactly what he wanted to hear. That was one of our teaching moments.

"There's a bunch of stuff to do around here, just ask." He continued without a hitch. "I'm supposed to meet up with my roommate but I have no idea where he went off too."

"Your roommate? I didn't even know you had one. I thought it was a single room." I said.

"It mostly is, though we share a bathroom. That's how they're connected." He dropped our conversation in favor of looking around to spot the familiar face. I didn't want to wander by myself and hoped to God he wouldn't leave me. I clutched onto his mesh shirt and pressed myself to his side. He must've taken pity on me because he placed a kiss on my forehead and tapped my shoulder. "This way. I think I know where he might be."

Ten led me up a grand staircase, weaving through the clogged space. The crowd was making me even more nervous and was chipping away at my social anxiety. It only made me cling to him even tighter, not letting him go for even a second. When we arrived at the top of the stairs it gave way to a large open balcony. It wasn't as crowded as the downstairs area but rather more orderly with single file lines of people waiting to partake in the activities. On one side there was a massage table where someone was laying face down with glass orbs resting against their back. A flame danced over the top of the glass and I almost cringed. What in the world was that?

"It's called cupping." Ten said as he must've noticed my weirded out expression. "It was used as a medical practice before but now most people like it for the marks it leaves behind and the sensation." He pulled me towards something I was more familiar with.

There was a wooden set up that was large enough to weave someone within the confines of decorative rope knots and have them suspended a foot or two off the ground. I perked up instantly when I saw a gorgeous, mostly naked, woman swinging slightly and flushed with happiness. Rope had been a high point of curiosity and I had been dying to try out some more complicated ties. "Can I do that, Sir?" I asked, excitedly.

"I knew you would want to. And look, it's exactly where I knew Yuta would be." Ten waved at a taller guy with shaggy deep auburn hair and a 1000 watt smile that made my heart feel like it was going to burst. It was like he was the human embodiment of the sun, radiating warmth and passion, infecting everyone around him. To say he was gorgeous was an absolute understatement but I couldn't find any word in my flittering mind that would compliment him enough. When Ten joined up with him I stood behind, not sure what I should say or do. Beautiful men made me shyer than I normally was. It had even taken me awhile to even open up to Ten because he was a stunning model and I hadn't really been out on the dating/hook up scene since my relationship ended. Meeting Ten was an act of fate (aka Tinder) and it had been a few months since then. Now that this Yuta had come into the picture I was curious enough to see if I could get with him too. I just couldn't make the first move or my heart would dissolve as soon as it hit my stomach.

"What's up?! I was wondering when you'd come!" Yuta said.

"We just got here not too long ago. I was trying to find you and figured you'd be by the rope." Ten replied.

"I'm helping my buddy out tonight since so many people lined up and it takes awhile to load them. Who's this?"

My head shot up as the attention was brought to me. "This is Eri, the chick I was telling you about."

"Ahh, the famous curious kitten, Eri. Glad to finally meet you since Ten won't shut the fuck up about you." Yuta chuckled.

"What? Really?" I was kind of stunned at the admission.

"Oh yeah, he likes to brag about how you're into everything and he's turning you into the 'perfect little sub'."

"Oh, gee thanks. I'm not that much of a sub." I rolled my eyes and nudged Ten in the ribs with my elbow.

"Well she can be a bit feisty and definitely a brat. You know I like a challenge." Ten dove towards my cheek, making obnoxious playful kisses at me. I shoved him away, smushing my hand against his face.

"Cut it out, weirdo.” I grunted.

“Yuta, can you watch her? I’m gonna see if I can sneak some drinks for us.”

Yuta nodded. “Just tell Ronnie it’s for me. He’ll do it.” Ten pushed me towards Yuta before leaving me stranded. I had no idea what I should say to him or even if I should asked to be tied up. Luckily, he beat me to the punch. “Want to try it?”

I looked at the line of people behind me. “I can go to the back of the line, I don’t want anyone to be mad.”

“I’m in charge, I do what I want. Come here.” It took a bit of time to untie the woman who was caught in Yuta’s web but once he was done I was placed in the center of the support beams and his slender fingers worked over me. I felt my entire body flush as he stood so close, commanding me to turn and move when needed. Before I knew it, he was on his knees, sliding the rope between my thighs. I looked down at him and he winked flirtatiously as he secured the knots. “Ten ever tie you up?”

“A little but not as extensive as this. He just normally ties my arms and legs down. I’ve always wanted to try shibari though.”

“Well I’m the right person to come to. Ready?” He gave a tug on a few knots to make sure they weren’t going to come loose then grabbed the ends of the rope that would hoist me up. I nodded, still a bit nervous as my feet were swept from under me and the ceiling lights were the only thing in my line of sight. I closed my eyes quickly as I felt my body start to swing gently from the momentum. My stomach lurched a bit, not out of fright but something similar to the thrill and adrenaline you feel before hitting the drop of a roller coaster. It made me smile and settle into a place of peacefulness. When the swinging slowed I opened my eyes and saw Yuta above me. “How was it?”

“It was so cool. This is amazing! I want to do it again!”

He started working me free, almost pressing his body flush against mine. "If you want to try it again you can come to my room next time." He whispered lowly in my ear. I tensed beneath his touch as his hands slid over my stomach, over my hips and under my thighs under the guise of removing the rope. I swallowed hard and fumbled free as he made me an incompetent mess, almost tripping over myself.

"Oh, um...I'll ask Ten if I can."

Yuta laughed and rolled his eyes. "Dude, Ten has people in and out of his room all the time. You're not his only sub. He wouldn't care if we play together." He nodded towards a man that was coming towards us, presumably to switch shifts. "C'mon, I'll take you upstairs."

"What's upstairs?" I asked as he grabbed my hand and lead me away from the rope set up.

"Peace and quiet."

It was better than being stranded, especially since I didn't know anyone else here. We went up a few flights until we reached a hall that had absolutely no sound coming through from the party below. He lead me to a white door and opened it, giving way to a small room with toys set up all around. I found myself anxiously tugging and twirling the hem of my skirt around my fingers, unsure of what to expect. This was a new person that I didn't know with clearly more experience than I had. He could take control in an instant and I would be at his mercy.

"So, besides rope, what else do you like?" He sat on the loveseat that was against the wall and patted the space beside him. I sat down keeping as much space as possible between us. "C'mon, I don't bite that hard."

I nibbled my bottom lip and scooted closer to him. "Are we gonna…?"

"Not if you don't want to but that's why I asked what you liked first."

"O-oh, sorry. I'm still not used to…"

"I know. I've had a few newbies before. Trust me I got you." He smiled and tucked a stray curl or two behind my ear. "Well?"

"Oh, right! Well, uh, obviously getting tied up. Ten and I have been working on anal-" I darted my eyes away in case he somehow thought that it was weird but mostly because I was embarrassed. "Um, gags are fine, orgasm denial- I have a love/hate relationship with that one. We did blood play once but it didn't end so well. Choking, biting, spanking, all those usual things."

"Have you tried pet play?"

"Where you like wear cute stuff and crawl on the floor like a cat or something?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, something like that."

I shook my head. "No, not really. But I think I'd make a cute cat."

"You really, really would." Yuta leaned in a bit closer to me, leaving only a few centimeters between our lips. "Are you up to try a few things with me? I'll only be as rough as you want me to be, kitten."

I looked at his lips that were now curled in a smirk then moved to his eyes that were full of mischief. His hand rested on my thigh, slowly creeping its way up to tease beneath my skirt. My heart raced as if it was going to burst out of my chest but I took a leap of faith and crashed our lips together in a heated clang of desire. I had no idea what Yuta could do and I was scared, nervous, and ever so eager to learn all at the same time. I guess I was a curious kitten after all.

Time Stamp Masterlist//Recommend me Drabble Ideas

#messy #time stamp #Yuta #yuta fanfic #nakamoto yuta #ten #ten nct #nct 127 fanfic #nct 127 fanfiction #ten fanfic #ten fanfiction #yuta fanfiction #nct drabble #nct time stamp #nct 127 drabbles #drabbles #fanfiction drabbles

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sandreeen · 5 years

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Touken Ranbu: The Movie Cast Roundtable Talk, A Summary ②

This is from Ginmaku no Touken Danshi, the behind the scenes special for the Touken Ranbu movie. Part 2 is discussion between the actors of: Nihongou: Iwanaga Hiroaki Heshikiri Hasebe: Wada Masanari Uguisumaru: Hirose Tomoki Fudou Yukimitsu: Shiina Taizo

Taizo, as he sits down: Whew! Hirose: Whew~ Hirose, points at Taizo: Only old men act like that! Wada: You did the same thing!

Any special memories with other cast? 　♔ Iwanaga shared how Yashima Norito only had scenes with Wada and Iwanaga, and it was a lot of fun. Hirose was envious that they worked with Yashima. When you see the latter act, you could tell he was an experienced actor. Wada said he learned a lot from him. Yashima always gives his 100% when he acts, even during dry runs.

　♔ Taizo's scenes were mostly with Wada and Hirose.Wada brought up how Hirose went strawberry picking: 　　Wada: Didn't you go strawberry picking? 　　Hirose: I did, but are you really bringing that up now? 　　Iwanaga: And he didn't go with his fellow cast members; he went there by himself! 　　They asked him if he had fun doing that, and he answered that it was lonely doing it on his own. 　♔ The day after, Hirose had a scene with the Wada and Taizo, and he failed to say his lines 3 times, much to Wada and the staff's amusement. Taizo was on standby far from where they were filming, he had no idea why everyone was laughing. He'd come up to where everyone was every time and be like, "What, what is it?" Only to find out Hirose made a mistake.

Which scene did you have difficulty with? Which were you satisfied with? 　♔ Taizo had an action scene he wasn't allowed to mess up because there was something in that scene they could do only once. It was very nerve-wracking for him, but the scene turned out great so it's something to watch out for. 　♔ Iwanaga had a tough time with the action scenes since Nihongou is so long. "Shocking long", Hirose and Taizo said. The spear broke on his first day. He wanted to be careful with it, but was told not to by director because it would've made his movements smaller. He also had to use it often in melees, and it was a challenge to not accidentally hit anyone near him. 　♔ Wada was satisfied with his short scene where Hasebe was very pissed off at Mikazuki.

What do you think of Mikazuki Munechika's actor, Suzuki Hiroki? 　♔ This movie was the first time Iwanaga met Hiroki, and he said Hiroki was one of a kind. It's not that he gives off a leading role aura. He's the type of person that would silently support everyone else, and express himself through actions. He may look delicate, but he's actually manly on the inside. It made Iwanaga believe that Hiroki must have a lot of grit to be the way he is. 　♔ Hirose has known Hiroki for a long time now, and Taizo has known him for even longer (10+ years). Hiroki and Taizo moved to Tokyo around the same time, and probably were in their first play together too. Back then, Hiroki wasn't very agile, and not very good at stage combat either. He also struggled with his acting. Taizo was very worried for him, even though Hiroki was a year older than him. Still, Hiroki did various plays, and probably worked so hard through his incompetence to get to where he is today. Now Taizo looks at him and sees how cool and compelling he is. He's shining so much that it made Taizo wonder just how much he must have gone through to be where he is today. 　　Hirose: He looks like he's about to shed a tear! 　　Taizo: Oh, that's because I yawned a little. 　　Wada: You didn't need to admit it! You should've just agreed! 　♔ Hirose said Hiroki himself admitted how much he fumbled back then, even though it's hard to imagine, seeing him now. Surely it's because he worked hard to get to that point. 　♔ Hiroki and Taizo hung out at Wada's family home before and played with his niece. However, Hiroki doesn't really change even to his niece. He's still the same old Suzuki Hiroki, the Buddha. He just placidly hums at Wada's niece. Then Wada's brother came back, and Taizo introduced himself and Hiroki in a friendly manner. Then, recently, Wada's brother recently called him on his phone, and at some point they talked about their meeting with the other two. 　　Wada's brother: "What's the deal with that one guy? The tiny one was very friendly, but what was up with the other guy?! The unfriendly one!" 　　Taizo & Iwanaga: *laughs* 　Wada said people from Osaka who had not heard of Hiroki before may find him gloomy, which Taizo found amusing since Hiroki himself was from Osaka. (T.N.: People from Osaka are stereotyped to be more boisterous compared to people from Tokyo.) On the other hand, people who have seen him and worked with him have witnessed how much charisma he has, and Wada thought that the gap between how he seemed and how he actually was was amazing.

Favorite scene/Which scene to look forward to? 　♔ Iwanaga's favorite line is from Hasebe: "We arrived just in time, huh." (間に合ったか) 　♔ Taizo liked the stage direction, when the footage only showed Nihongou and Hasebe fighting, and then Fudou suddenly swooped in the frame. He thought this was something we got to enjoy because it's a movie. There was also a scene by the waterside that Hirose and Taizo weren't in, and they were envious of the ones that were since it looked cool. (Yagen was in that scene, apparently.)

Ending: 　Taizo: Okay, how do we end this? 　Wada: All together! 3,2,1.... 　Iwanaga, Wada, Taizo: Thank you― 　Hirose, holds up hands at the same time: Bam! 　Taizo: Wait, hold up! What was that?! What did you say? 　Hirose, laughing and holds up his hands: Bam! 　Taizo: What was up with that! In the end, they decided to go "Bam!" together and thanked the viewers . 　Iwanaga: What a mess. *laughs* 　Wada: It's okay. It had personality.

#touken ranbu #touken ranbu the movie #touken ranbu movie #wada masanari #hirose tomoki #translation #touei translation #shiina taizo #iwanaga hiroaki #nihongou #heshikiri hasebe #suzuki hiroki #fudou yukimitsu #uguisumaru #ginmaku no touken danshi #surprise #part two #touei gif

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chrysaliseuro2019 · 5 years

Text

The Boat was Rocking

It was time to leave the Peloponnese and head to the island of Folegandros. Prior to that we wanted to look at the archeological museum in Nafplio and we also had to return the car to Piraeus the port of Athens from where all the ferries leave. Liz had timed it to all fit together. Car due back in Piraeus at 1.30 with a half hour leeway and ferry leaves for Folegandros at 3.45pm. Two hour drive to Piraeus so we wanted to be on the road by 11.15. We headed for breakfast at 8.30 and had a very pleasant one in the main square with just a few people around at that time. Headed for the museum post that and we were the only visitors in there. It is a really attractive building dating from 1713 in the Venetian style. It was very imposing. The first thing we saw which had been the real drawcard was a midden which was 32000 years old (you don't get a chance to see something that old very often) used by hunter gathererer cave dwellers in the region. Looking up the word midden it appears to be some sort of dump for all sorts of domestic waste which might be human excrement, animal bones, shells, molluscs, charcoal could be anything. Presumably the archaeologists gave it the once over and found all sorts of goodies or possibly baddies in there. In truth it looked like some flattened clay so imagination required. Though not too much. I didn't want to contemplate some ancient cave dweller squatting over the midden (though now I am). The rest of the exhibits were very interesting with a lot of artefacts which had been placed in the tombs of eminent people. Also examples of tools and weapons which showed the transition from hunters to other forms of "economy" and survival. Exhibits ranged mostly in age from 6000 BC to around 400 AD but some much older and covered everything from ornate urns and jugs (which were fantastically reconstructed), figurines, jewellery, tools and a suit of armour from 1500 BC which did not look very manoeuvrable. You felt that anyone inside it would be a sitting duck though it would have taken some penetration. Had a touch of the Monty Pythons. We stayed for around an hour and I think someone else rolled up to visit in that time which was just as we all as the 6/7 staff needed something to do given the museum was only on two not huge floors. We headed back and scurried around packing. Liz keeping a very watchful eye on the time and my intricate packing and ablution procedures. The time was called out at 5 minute intervals. It seemed to work as we head off in the car at 11.19 (precisely). Four minutes late, not bad, in fact in my book that's early. The journey was uneventful with a mix of freeway and standard roads. You can do 130km/hr on some stretches of the freeway so that was handy to keep on schedule. You have to stop for tolls every 20/30kms or so which is usually around 2 euros which slow things down a little. The biggest deal at the end was finding a petrol station. I had bypassed the last one so was not popular. We had to roll up at thrifty/hertz and ask for directions - very handy as station was around the corner. Interestingly when we picked the car up it had been left on half full as they said they had not had time to fill it up. We dubiously wondered if this was another lurk as it's pretty hard to return a car on half full. You are bound to go over. We pondered the various ways that dosh could be made on this but perhaps it was genuine. When you believe there's a conspiracy it's usually incompetence. Never ever happened before though in other countries. We handed the car back around 1.45 as close to half full as we could manage so all good and I must say the staff were very friendly and helpful. Now for the ferry. Piraeus is a pretty large passenger ferry port. There seemed to be around 10 or more quays and perhaps more that we couldn't see and they are spread out around a sort of horseshoe bay with a distance of a kilometre or two (hard to tell) covering them. We set off wheeling our bags with back packs on and it was pretty warm but we weren't 100% sure which quay we had to go to though had an idea. Anyway after about 20 mins of wheeling with a few stops including to buy some savoury pastries we entered a gate and were directed to the kiosk of the shipping line we were using. Now around 2.15. Ferry due to leave at 3.45. Of course we had walked past the kiosk on our way so were now doubling back through the heat but had found where we needed to be so didn't care. Not good news, ferry was running late. They weren't sure why but later said it was the weather and certainly the wind was very strong which wasn't filling us with joyous anticipation for the trip. It would be arriving at around 5.00pm. Leaving, some time after that, typically a half hour turn around so we were told. Nothing to do but head for some covered shelters to get out of the sun, eat our pastries and settle down for a long wait. 5.00pm became 6.10 and the ferry finally rolled up around then. Around that time proceedings descended into farce as another ferry from the same shipping line came in first at a slightly different dock nearby. All those waiting for the Folegandros ferry including us scooted over to that ferry, watched cars and people unload only to be told that we needed to go back to the original spot and wait - it wasn't ours. There was scurrying as everyone tried to get good positions to be on early. This presumably was because some did not have reserved seats and wanted to find the pick of the unreserved seats. We had reserved a couple of seats though our last experience on a ferry to Sardinia had been that reserved seats were not reserved seats and people commandeered them. So we were playing it sort of safe and trying to make sure we were not at the rear end of the line. As our ferry approached people moved from side to side 30 or 40 metres trying to anticipate and partly as directed by staff as to where the ramp would actually be. Imagine a couple of hundred people moving back and forth with suitcases, kids and various holiday paraphernalia all in still warm sun. It was quite something and we for our part were trying to stay reasonably at the front too. To add to the confusion a large petrol tanker was right in the midst of us presumably ready to refuel the ferry and had to reverse causing more chaos. We chatted to an amusing guy from New York and his wife who was good naturedly bemoaning the fact that as we stood in the queue he was supposed to be at a beach birthday party on one of the earlier island stops for this ferry. He and his wife had flown from America to specifically make this event. The best laid plans. Still he said the party would still be going when he got there. Finally around 6.30 the ferry started to unload people followed by cars while some onboarders rushed up the ramp against the flow of offboarders trying to stake their spots. This sent the officials into minor apoplexy and these people were stopped at the top of the ramp while disembarkation finished. We all then put our heads down and rushed up. Elbows weren't quite out but there were no beg pardons. Luckily I was with someone who can handle herself in the clinches and Liz beat me up the ramp hands down. One good reason to be up the ramp relatively early was that the formal storage racks for bags soon ran out though in truth people then just stored their bags alongside them and it didn't seem to be a problem. Also the ferry had several stops at different islands and theoretically each island had a separate storage section. We ignored that as clearly did plenty of others and chucked ours where there was a space. All worked well. Finally we had to negotiate the narrow doorway where tickets were checked with a couple of hundred people trying to be first through but from there the bedlam ceased. Our reserved seats were very comfortable. In a separate section with a hundred or so others though the seating was not full. An attendant checked tickets so no one could take your spot. I immediately shot to the bar and they actually did vodka and tonic which Liz was v pleased about after 4 frustrating hours of sitting on our hands preceded by a 2 hour + drive. I enjoyed a couple of cleansing ales too of course and we settled back to await departure. Of course the boat took another hour and a quarter to depart so finally left around 7.45pm - 4 hours late. Thems the travel breaks sometimes. A bit aggravating apart from the boredom of hanging around. It meant we lost the latter part of the evening and a decent dinner in town in Folegandros. Also we were paying essentially for a bed for a night and Folegandros prices not that cheap. If you knew that you would be arriving so late you would stay at the $50 a night job at the port, assuming it existed, though we reconciled ourselves that with a 1.45 am ferry arrival finding a hotel would have been impossible. Anyway, very efficiently, staff at the apartments where we were staying pick you up from the port and much to our relief after a 6 hour journey due to the rocky weather one was there to transfer us to our digs. The boat trip because of the strong wind did cause a bit of seasickness. There was a lot of side to side rocking. I managed to stay OK though felt a tad uncomfortable from time to time but Liz felt a bit queasy though through a mix of sleep and willpower managed to hold things off and we arrived without any technicolor events. You get these days from time to time. Not much you can do but go into some waiting zone, google, write blogs, go for walks, chat. We had left our hotel in Napflio at 11.20 am and arrived at our new one just after 2.00am. 15 hours. The ferry mob were apologetic and free cokes came round and we were told we could all claim a free ferry ride in the future. Do they do Tasmania? We crawled into bed.

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infinitum-imaginaerum · 6 years

Text

UMBRA | LUCAS

Bodyguard!AU | Mini-Series

Words | 2,700+

Language, mature themes, mentions of death, illegality; we’ll see where else this goes

I | II

Holed up in your room was where you spent most of your time these days. With the dark halls of marble flooring and Victorian architecture accentuating every sound ever made in the house you were forced to live in, it was hardly a good idea to be wandering around, especially since the next to silent padding of your feet was about the loudest noise on the face of the planet in the middle of the night.

It was an interesting lifestyle you had to live considering you were essentially the target for any potential blackmail or ransom, the type of exposure your family couldn’t risk. Your mother had feared so much for your safety, she often argued with your father about it—booming through the aforementioned halls when your father insisted that you had to live your own life, with her retorting that she wasn’t going to lose you because of his past. Karma was a bitch, and because of your father’s rather nefarious and disillusioned lifestyle when he first met your mother, you were trapped in his luxurious quarters potentially until his death.

After a couple of failed attempts to run away—much to your chagrin, but owed to your father’s assistance—you were essentially under twenty four hour surveillance. The extravagance of your father’s home allowed for the Umbra to be live in assistants.

The Umbra…there was a high turnover when it came to them thanks to your mother. Your parents met on a job, your father participating in undisclosed gang-esque related ordeals, your mother the hired protection. She was highly experienced in the field of assassination, a bounty hunter per se. She taught you everything you needed to know about growing up in this type of household, the types of people you’d no doubt come inadvertently into contact with because of their reputation and she wanted to you be prepared.

But perhaps she prepared you a little too much.

Back to the Umbra. You often gave them the slip, your hiding and escape skills far superior to most of the men your father hired which proved to truly irritate both of them.

That’s the argument you had the misfortune to overhear. They were down the hall just a little way from your room in the master bedroom, the door closed but it didn't matter. The argument was loud enough to let the residence in on the particularly convoluted situation.

“It’s the fourth time this week she’s gotten out of this house! What type of guys are you hiring, because they all seem quite incompetent to me! How hard can it be to keep tabs on a little girl!” Your mother’s voice boomed down the hall and permeated through your door, the shrillness of her voice able to penetrate your earbuds.

You raised an eyebrow, removing a bud from your ear to change your motive from overhearing to eavesdropping.

“At some point you have to come to accept that she’s top tier in the department of mischief and getting away with it with a mother like you.” Your father seemed to be taunting your mother, laughing off his previous statement and you could only imagine the enraged look on your mother’s face as she stared down the man she married.

Your parent’s marriage had been on the outs lately because of you. You couldn’t spend your whole life cooped up in their house—it became quickly apparent just how necessary it still was when you unintentionally got an Umbra killed in the line of duty, trying to protect you from the vengeful outside world. It was at that point that your mother realized your father had continued with his risky business.

“Oh, so now it’s my fault her life is in danger? Maybe if you hadn’t led such a flowing blood trail, they wouldn’t know that you even had a daughter in the first place!”

You winced at the unceremonious sounds of glass smashing around on the marble floor. He was a whiskey sipper and it didn’t take long anymore for your father to become a complete fool and get a little aggressive with your mother. You didn’t have to guess what the sound was—you father had intentionally chucked his glass to the floor to make a point—and silence ensued. Your mother was used to this by now; divorce was just around the corner.

“You are the one who taught her how to protect herself—she’ll use it on anyone she deems threatening,” he slurred, successfully ticking his wife off even more than she already was.

“You’d think men who are trained to deal with this type of thing would be able to handle it. She’s just a little girl.”

“You keep saying that but she’s of age now. Do you remember where you were at when you were twenty one? You had fifty kills under your belt,” his punitive voice reminded her, dripping with venom though a little slurred.

“You will always find a way to turn this on me.”

“So what do you suggest then, all-seeing-eye?”

Another unceremonious smashing of glasses jerked you under your covers. It was already so late at night and you had been trying to sleep, relaxing to the placid music in your ears, the moonlight trickling through your blinds just enough to illuminate the room to realize every detail of it as you glowered at nothing in particular.

The silence continued, which was a little disconcerting. Your father asked a question, and he mostly demanded answers so when no reply came, you ripped the covers away from your body and tossed your headphones to the side and touched your feet to the soft shag rug covering the chilled marble flooring of your room.

It took only a moment for your feet to slide into the slippers you left next to your bed and head out the door of your bedroom. The Umbra posted outside your door turned, concernedly, to give you a look and reached his arm out to block you from advancing, but you shoved it out of the way, almost completely disregarding him. You shuffled down the hall to the Dutch doors of your parents’ bedroom, having every intention of throwing them open to ask what could possibly be so pressing and heated to be breaking glass, but you were stopped when another hand grabbed your arm.

“Step off,” you growled, turning your widened eyes to the man stopping your attempts. He was suit clad, as all of them were. The sheer determination in your eye to interrupt their little conference was nearly dreadful.

“I’m ordered to keep you out of the room,” he tried, voice firm but intention unsure.

“I’m ordering you to take a fucking hike,” you snapped back, “This is entirely my business—it’s not as if I couldn’t hear the whole conversation from my bedroom.”

He released your arm, a man whose name was entirely unknown to you as the turnover of these men was so great, you could hardly keep their names straight before they were replaced by new employees.

Your attention shifted back to the Dutch doors, not even bothering to turn the handle as you heaved the center crease, propelling both doors open and shake the walls upon impact, disturbing the wall adornments in the near vicinity.

Two sets of eyes were immediately on you as you scanned the luxurious master bedroom before landing on the culprits of your disturbance. The man who previously tried to stop you stood tall and presented, waiting to speak once spoken to, but your parents had other ideas.

Glossy eyes fell unto them, waiting for an explanation once you checked that everyone was in one piece, that there were no mishaps like you initially suspected. Glass scattered the floor, expensive whiskey trickling in this direction and that, your father sitting and your mother standing, enough distance between them.

They both looked at you, waiting for you to say something, so you took it upon yourself to open the conversation.

“What the fuck is so important that you must discuss so stridently past midnight?”

Your mother approached you, reaching out a hand to perhaps offer some solace from the hostility she knew you’d overheard, but you clouted it away.

“I mean, I know what you’re discussing, but does it have to be done so noisily and, I don’t know, so inconveniently?” you inquired, disregarding your mother’s proximity and focused a majority of your attention and the entirety of your gaze on your temperately toasted father.

“Your father and I were discussing his inability to hire anyone even abstemiously qualified to keep watch of you while we sort out his retirement.”

She used the term retirement very loosely. It really was just to cover up the fact that while your mother had been kept in the dark, your father couldn’t let go of his old life and continued to indulge in pilfering everything from money to fine art, cars to properties—whether that involved violent ends or not was not your business, but seemed to be a bastardized clarification of why it was your problem.

Despite all of that, your father was a successful businessman, legally. He used gargantuan proportions of his wealth for charity purposes and auctioneering. If that was to cleanse his wrongdoings in some sick and twisted way, that was his shtick; at any rate, it caused a lot of elegant and, for lack of better words, superfluous gatherings at your estate. You called it superfluous, because it was really just a gaudy attempt to prove your father’s status in the community—and what better way to do so than throw extravagant cocktail parties—since he’d been questioned by other members of the community of his authenticity. But who really needed authenticity when it was all about charity in the first place.

Amongst the vast amounts of people who attended these events, which were typically celebrations for winning a high bid or for receiving a letter of recognition for contributions, there could be anyone looking to end your father, or, perhaps, yourself. That was where the Umbra came in.

“If you honestly expect me to be under twenty four hour surveillance by a man twice my age and me be quite unprotestingly accepting of it, I think the both of you need to reevaluate. I want nothing more than to remove myself from these slime balls. It’s disgusting to be so objectified by middle-aged men.”

Silence fell over your little family, the realization of your discontentment with the Umbra finally washing over the face of your mother. You’d leave it to them to figure out, “Clean this up, and try to actually let the residence of this house, including myself, get some sleep.”

You dismissed yourself, spinning on the polished floor to head back to your room. The shuffles among the silence seemed to be deafening, only drowned by the clopping of black dress shoes as those on duty returned to their assigned posts.

Pithily, you slammed your room door and crawled back into bed, hardly having the mind to remove your slippers, pleased when they removed themselves, descending to the floor at their own volition. The covers had been half-tucked over your body, face down in the pillows and forcefully shut your eyes in otiose attempts to sleep.

Days passed and for once the quarrelling ceased. It was the first time in a while that you’d approached them in such a manner. It was disrespectful, sure, but it appeared to be the only avenue by which you could get both of them to listen at the same time.

There was muttering amongst many of the house staff about a new young hire, information attempting to be hidden from you, as they all knew how much you just adored new Umbra hires. It must have been the reason your mother called for your appearance in the foyer in the first place. She could hear you coming down the hall, the almost silent clops of suede peep-toe wedges making your presence known.

“This is my gorgeous daughter, your assignment.” Your mother was in the middle of a sentence when you’d finally made it within ear shot. You knew you should have worn something besides what you were. A rayon crepe black sundress. Of course, the dress was flattering. A simple but elegant white floral print, fit and flare cut, puff sleeves and a regency style lace trimmed neckline to top it all off. Your hair in loose beach curls shrouded a bit of your face as you avoided gaze with the new hire.

You had anticipated mental drools, a predatory look of epic proportions—the type you normally got but gave your best attempt to brush off. You stance was implicative of your mood, hip jutted to the side with your arms crossed over your chest, very closed off body language. Out of the corner of your eye, though, you didn’t notice the stares you were used to.

He examined your face, the spoiled brat look written all over it. Fancy makeup, shimmery earrings, perfectly styled hair and flattering but expensive clothing. You were the definition of an only child to a filthy rich set of parents. His gaze never faltered from your eyes, though you knew he was scanning every bit of you he could see, but not in an objectifying way—it was almost as if he was measuring you up.

It was your turn to give him a good judging onceover. His suit was perfectly pressed and his stance was secure, feet shoulder width apart, chest out and shoulders square, hands hooked behind his back, jaw firm and head high. He was as legit as they came, so you softened a little.

Amidst your final mental verdict, your mother was calling your name somewhere in the back of your mind. Once you finally snapped back to reality, your mother cordially introduced you to one another.

“This is Wong Yukhei, a prospect from Hong Kong. He’s come a long way—”

You were already done listening, distracted by his sharp features. For such a young man, his jawline and cheekbones were pretty set. His eyes, a gorgeous mix between coffee and ebony, serious and attentive, stared you down. You examined the rest of his features. His nose was straight, buttoned on the end. His jaw tightened when your eyes fell onto his lips. They were a pale muted rose, top thicker than bottom and before you were staring too long, your eyes regarded his honey brown locks, parted on the side, hardly considered combed—some tassels were falling into his eyes.

He was tall, an observation you’d missed upon first sight and judging by his stance, his set jaw, and the wear of his pants, he was fit. He had to be for this type of job, especially considering your agility and tendency to disappear unwarranted.

His ears were pierced. That Cupid’s bow was something else, glittering in the dim light of the foyer, all natural light from the skylights above. His neck was long and slender, fading into square shoulders with the curve of his traps, which you only became aware of by the fit of his jacket, hung up a little too high for a normal boy his age. He was easily unlike anything you’d ever experienced around here before.

When he finally spoke, his voice was something ethereal. For such a young man, his pitch was deep, too deep. You hadn’t even realized your mother had stopped talking until he was speaking. His voice was velvet in your ears. Suddenly, you were moving. Despite his velvet voice, you were finding it difficult to focus on exactly what he was saying—it was short lived and your mother was talking again as you headed down the hall, herself at the head of the train and you the caboose, sandwiching Yukhei between to take the first right, which was the hallway your bedroom was down.

Speaking of, your mother mentioned you being Yukhei’s new assignment. Your heart skipped a beat; it had to have, when your mother stopped at the door across the hall from your bedroom. What had happened to the previous resident of that room? It was always a seamless transition when someone new took that room.

“… the bathroom is that door there…”

You were almost panicking when she pointed to your door. Yukhei was so serious about this job; he didn’t even turn to look at it and took the information at face value, having no particular significance or point of interest to him. It was a job, a job he was paid for, a professional job.

Wong Yukhei was your new personal bodyguard.

#yukhei #lucas #yukhei scenarios #lucas scenarios #nctwriters #nct #nct scenarios #bodyguard!lucas #this boy won't let me live so i'm going to spend my days writing this since i've had this idea for some time now and lucas fits the bill #good day infinites

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hot-mysticc-mess-blog · 7 years

Text

Slow Burn

If this were a Panic! At the Disco song it would be titled The Fourty-Three-Thousand-Eight-Hundred Hour Burn Time of the Bath and Body Works Three-Wick Candle that is Jaehee and MC’s Relationship

Rating: G

Pairing: Jaehee x MC

Words: 4,024

[Bracketed] text is content transcribed from Jaehee’s good ending.

Jaehee has been telling herself she just hasn’t found the right man for years now. One day, the right one would come along and her heart would flutter and she would live happily ever after…or, far more realistically, end up in a reasonably comfortable marriage. Girls, on the other hand, she has always had a fondness for. She remembers being little, playing with other children on the playground and wanting to be the prince just so she could save the beautiful princess stuck in the tower. “Girls can’t be princes,” they’d say.

…no, she supposed they couldn’t.

She assumed her first kiss would be with a boy, but the first time she actually imagined it she was fourteen and her fantasies revolved around the captain of the women’s soccer team. Surely, these were just intrusive thoughts. Girls were beautiful, the occasional thought of running her hand over every swell and curve of a woman’s body meant absolutely nothing. Mostly, Jaehee avoided the topic of romance all together. In the eyes of everyone around her, she was a strong student and very modest. She was someone her parents would be proud of, and was happy to keep it that way. In the end, her first kiss and her first time were both with men and both fairly average experiences.

Through high school and part of college, everyone approved of Jaehee’s choice to focus on her studies. Afterward, when she started getting criticism for her lack of suitors (and advice, so much unwanted advice) she brushed it off, compensating for it with her long hours and high-profile job. She may be alone, but she was a confident and financially stable woman, and all would be well.

That was, until MC showed up in the chatroom.

At first, Jaehee was suspicious. Among a group of high profile people, someone breaching their way into a private app with top-tier security measures should always garner a good amount of suspicion. After learning a little more about the situation, she was convinced the woman must be incompetent. Maybe she was very young? Teenagers were known to be impulsive, perhaps that was what convinced her to be led by a complete stranger to break into someone else’s apartment over such an obvious ruse.

Except once MC arrived the chatroom she was cautious in dealing with the rest of the members. She came to trust them all quickly, but it was reassuring to see the woman did have some sense. She was kind and bubbly and in no time had committed herself to a huge role in an organization she had no real reason to join. MC encouraged all of the RFA, but she seemed to pay special attention to Jaehee.

Jaehee looked forward to chatting with her during her breaks.

After only a few days, MC was already standing up against Mr.Han for her. A major executive of one of the largest companies in the world getting angry at his secretary for not doing the job he paid her to do, and this woman was brave enough and foolish enough to tell him ‘There must be a reason why Jaehee didn’t do it…Calm down first.’. Initially, it made Jaehee nervous. The last thing she wanted was to be responsible for a conflict among members of the RFA. Thankfully, Jumin’s cool head and MC’s politeness kept that from happening, but MC never stopped voicing her concerns or encouraging Jaehee to try new things and take breaks when the workload got too heavy.

Jaehee started calling MC whenever it felt like she was drowning. The woman’s “cheer up!”s made Jaehee feel awake and ready to take on whatever task was set in front of her no matter how little sleep she had gotten the night before. She could talk about anything with MC and know that she would never be harsh or judgemental, even after only a few days of knowing each other. When there were things she did not want to talk about, MC did not pry. The increasing list of a special requests for a growing guest list told her how smart and well-spoken MC was, and how hard she must have been working for the party. This woman was amazing.

This woman made her heart flutter.

Feeling this way about another woman wasn’t normal. Jaehee Kang was a business owner, a primary member in a high-profile charity organization, and the only remaining member of her immediate family. Image meant a great deal to her. Her status as a Catholic woman meant a great deal to her. She tried to convince herself these feelings were platonic. Jaehee had never met MC, they had never done or said anything that couldn’t be said between two friends. Female friendships were often particularly emotional and intimate. They were just friends, and that would make everything okay.

Unfortunately, that did nothing to change the fact that Jaehee had never felt this way about anyone else before.

It was a big decision to quit her job, or rather get herself fired, but that had been a long time coming. A long time of unbearable hours and tasks that were well outside of her job description. Jumin Han took whatever she could give, more than he should have. Babysitting his cat was a questionable task, but some assistants did that. Then he gave her the job of presenting the coffee shop proposal, a task she should never have been put in charge of. Doing the research for a presentation was one thing, but making her do the job? Asking her to purposefully slack off on it, sacrifice her integrity, for his own personal vendetta against his father’s carousel of girlfriends? It made her…angry.

MC was a stark contrast to her boss. She was kind and bright, always cheering her on. She pointed out how much Jaehee had liked this project, that Jaehee did not have to give up her soul to her job, and she was right on all counts. Jaehee had something she wanted to do now, and under the warmth of MC’s encouragement she was sure she could do it. She would open her own café, and she had never felt more certain of who she wanted to run it with.

Of course, if MC rejected her proposal, that would be okay too. Surely, MC would be supportive even if she did not want to the responsibility of running a whole café, but Jaehee hoped desperately MC would, and spent a few more hours than she needed to agonizing over the possibilities before deciding when to ask. The party would be the best time, the very first time she would be able to meet the woman in person. She wanted to be able to watch MC’s expression when she asked.

Though she was the one to tell MC to be patient, the last couple of days before the party were nerve wracking. She pressed her outfit twice after getting it back from the dry cleaners, ran over her to-do list for the party three times, and even managed to do some much needed deep-cleaning of her apartment. The night before, she tried to go to bed early only to end up with a cup of coffee in her hands trying, and failing, to pay attention to her favorite Zen musical at 3am. She was going to get to see MC. She was going to show her how well she was doing now, and offer a wonderful woman a piece of her dream. The last time hours passed this slowly, she was still in college.

Jaehee slipped through the large double doors after checking off the last of the names on the guest list. As expected, MC had done a spectacular job gathering up a large number of diverse guests, including plenty of charity organizations and rich benefactors to fund them. She worked her way around the room in search of MC, hoping to make her proposal before the auction began and the party kicked into full-swing. She mingled with guests in the process, and it took some getting used to not to introduce herself as Jumin Han’s Chief Executive Assistant. A hand reached out and tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned, expecting to find another guess only to meet up with Yoosung’s familiar stare. His tie was a little off-kilter and he looked worked up enough that Jaehee would not be entirely surprised if he started bouncing.

“Jaehee, I finally found you! MC’s here! She’s—” he swiveled his head around, expecting to find her with Zen still, only to spot a well-dressed elderly couple in their place. His eyes bugged out as his looked around frantically. Jaehee had no idea what MC looked like, but she found herself scanning the room too. Zen sauntered up, moving urgently through the crowd with surprising grace.

“Jaehee! You had something to ask MC, right? Trust fund kid is over there hogging her! He wouldn’t let me go with them, either. I don’t know what he’s up to, but if its anything shady I’m gonna—” Zen speaks of Jumin with his usual venom.

“Oh, thank you. Excuse me you two,” Jaehee side stepped them both and made her way to the microphone. She knew Jumin had wanted MC as an assistant, but she didn’t think he would work this quickly. She’d need to distract him. Setting aside all of her worries, she smoothed down her skirt one last time before stepping up to the mic.

[“One- Two- Mic Test. Is Mr.Han in the party room? If you are, Mr.Han, you must return the RFA member you just took with you. Oh, there you are. Pardon me, everyone. I was looking for someone. Mr. Han has been hogging one of our organization members so I had to take the mic. I assume that Mr.Han has begun personally recruiting candidates to fill his empty Assistant position. But if anyone knows someone who’s qualified to be Mr.Han’s next Chief Assistant, then please give recommendations.”] She had found him earlier in her speech, but if it had been unclear the throng of women beelining toward the edge of the room acted like a neon sign. Jaehee did her best to hide her self-satisfied smirk. MC stepped away from the new crowd, looking up toward the stage in confusion.

Beautiful, is Jaehee’s first thought as her heart begins to race, she’s so beautiful.

[“Now that I know I know where Mr.Han is, I’ll leave the mic. Thank you for your cooperation.”] Jaehee kept eye contact with MC as she moved from the stage to greet her. If she looked away for even a couple seconds, it would be all too easy to lose her in a crowd this large. Now is the time, and she wouldn’t let anything else get in her way. The words spill from her mouth the moment she gets close enough to MC, and the woman listens with endless patience as Jaehee rambles her way into her proposal.

[“Found you…MC. Look at all the people here. It’s all because of you. You did so well…I don’t know what to say. I am very happy right now. Very happy to finally meet you. It’s the first time I’m meeting you…but I feel like we’re old friends. Do you remember...all the conversations that we had? I really wanted to see you, I mean it. I was so curious what you’d be like that I barely slept yesterday. But seeing you in person like this…I actually feel more excited. Feeling excited at seeing a girl, how strange. Love between a man and a woman is beautiful…but I think a friendship between two women can be just as powerful. I’d like to become better friends with you. This is a bit awkward, but I look forward to being friends with you. Oh…and I knew Mr.Han would try to recruit you, from the moment I heard he took you somewhere. But more than that…I have a better proposal to make.

Now that I’m not working for Mr.Han, I will no longer be working at a big corporation. Instead I want to make a fresh start from a very very small place. I’ve made the decision that it’s better for me to work among people than live inside a cubicle. I had several thoughts…but to be realistic I checked my bank account. I was quite surprised with how much I saved during the past two and a half years. The amount itself isn’t much…but it is enough to create a comfortable space for my own. And…if you’d like I’d like to create it with you. So that…it’s not my small space, but ‘our’ space. All you need to contribute is your ideas and positive mind. It’ll be at least 20 times more fun than being an assistant. MC…won’t you create a space of our own with me? Will you be my partner?”]

The smile MC gave Jaehee was one of the most fantastic things she had ever seen, and she knew the answer to her question long before the words left MC’s mouth. Jaehee remembers it as one of the best days of her entire life.

Opening a cafe, as it turns out, is a fantastic way to get into fights. The first fight they had ever had was about cups. The little building they leased was still barren and grey with half-functional lights. Their floor was plastic tarps over concrete, and they could barely move around between all of the mug and paper cup options laid out on the floor like some horrible prank. The walls reeked of paint fumes and they were working nearly 16-hour days, with the knowledge that they were sinking nearly all of their savings into an establishment that was statistically likely to fail.

“These cups are cost effective, efficient to wash, and the perfect size for most drinks!”

“This one is the exact same size, Jaehee!” MC started pacing back and forth to try and relieve some of her aggression, only to spin on her heel and head into the back room. “I need a minute! I’ll be back.”

Jaehee knew how foolish she was being as soon as MC left. They were both tired, and while cups were an important part of the café, there was no reason for them to be yelling like this. She brought MC onto this project for her ideas, it would be foolish to ignore them entirely. MC came back into the room after a few minutes, and both of them were tripping over their apologies almost immediately.

“You’re more stylish than I am, MC, I’m sure your cup choice makes more sense.”

“Jaehee, I’ll trust your decision. You’re the one who has done the research, I’m sure these will be great.”

“We just need to take a break,” comes from both of their mouths at the exact same moment. MC bursts into laughter, and Jaehee follows close behind.

“Well,” MC said, voice still breaking from the occasional giggle, “let’s take that break and then…we can make a list of things we want to see in the design? There has to be something in here we both like.”

“That sounds perfect MC.”

They picked out everything together, the location, the wall color, even the molding when they found out it needed to be replaced. The fights they got into only seemed to pull them closer once they made up. They were learning how to deal with each other, even at their worst.

“People who open a café together stay together,” MC teased once. It was a terrible joke, something Jaehee expected from Luciel rather than her best friend, but Jaehee found herself genuinely laughing. MC could always make Jaehee smile, and the longer they spent together the more they touched. At first, they never touched each other. Even when they closed the deal on the building for the café, they both shook the realtor’s hand, but not each other’s. Instead, they showed their affection through smiles and laughter. The first time they touched, they were doing renovations on the building. MC was putting up some shelves and Jaehee was walking behind her with a set of utensils for the kitchen. MC shifted like she was going to step back into her, so Jaehee put a hand on her arm to let MC know she was there. Suddenly, it was something they had been doing forever.

Then, it was the primping. Both of them worked long hours, and during the renovations appearance did not really matter. However, after opening the café, they found themselves scrambling to remain put together while running around. Jaehee worked an office job, she had mostly just done paperwork and made phone calls. She never had to worry if she sweat off her makeup or that her shirt would come untucked anytime except when she went to the restroom.

“Jaehee!” MC called out to Jaehee just as she was about to leave the kitchen one day. MC paid no mind to Jaehee’s confusion, running her fingers through Jaehee’s hair to smooth the flyaways before borrowing a bobby pin from her own bun to pin back the hair around Jaehee’s face. “There. Your hair was a mess. It’s getting really long now though!”

They had crossed yet another line, but this was still normal. Friends helped each other get ready. It was still normal when MC came all the way to the café with a mostly-zipped dress just to have Jaehee help her. It was still normal when Jaehee brought all her makeup over to the café so MC could help her with her eyeliner. It was still normal when Jaehee found herself watching MC carefully safety pin a gap in Jaehee’s shirt. What was not normal was the feeling it gave Jaehee between her thighs.

Jaehee tried to convince herself it was a fluke, a totally unrelated and meaningless reaction. She was more than happy just to look at MC, to have her around, to be her friend and keep her close and happy. The feelings never lessened though. Sometimes, Jaehee even found herself giving in. She would ask MC to help her put on lipstick, and watch in awe in the mirror as the most amazing woman she had ever met concentrated so intensely on her lips for just a few seconds or let her heart skip a beat when MC asked about her day as if she hadn’t been there watching for the entirety of it. Little mundane things that friends do, things she knew she should think nothing of.

The decision to move in together was purely practical, Jaehee was quick to announce to the entire chatroom after Luciel had called her and MC a ‘cute couple uwu’. Their leases ended two weeks apart from one another, and it would be much easier to make business decisions if they were together most of the time (though for the most part they already were), or at least heading back to the same place. Plus, it took away some of the strain of paying the rent, which left more money they could invest back into their café. The fact that it felt like the best decision Jaehee had ever made was just an added bonus.

After spending so much time together because of the coffee shop, domestic squabbles were nothing. MC made sure Jaehee got to bed on time, and they both ate a healthy breakfast together (sometimes on the way over) even if their lunch habits still tended toward convenience store meals. In a lot of ways, it was refreshing to have each other around after work. Most of the day they were busy acting as managers, it was nice to come home and have the opportunity to be together as friends.

Their schedules were hectic, and during the day plans got changed and switched around, but at night suppliers were closed and the streets were dangerous and it left them with time they could always spend together. On Tuesdays, they had a standing movie night where they sat on the couch together and shared the huge fluffy blanket they had both simultaneously fallen in love with at the store. On nights they couldn’t sleep, the two of them tried out the sample bags of coffee companies sent their way and chatted until someone yawned and the other sent them back to bed. They fought about whether or not to keep the windows open.

For the most part, they were incredibly happy. They both knew there was something more to their relationship. They would find themselves up in the middle of the night again, but inches from each other’s face, looking into each other’s eyes and smiling like idiots. And yet, they were just friends. They were just friends when they cuddled up together on the couch. They were just friends when they brushed their teeth together in the morning. They were even ‘just friends’ when they woke up on top of each other, half-dressed and still slightly wine drunk after an RFA party.

Like most things between them, the change comes to them like the first step off a ski lift: sudden, fast, but a long time coming.

“Jaehee!” MC called, closing the front door while trying to keep the plastic bag in her hand from twisting around. Jaehee knew that voice well, she had a treat.

“What did you get?” Jaehee came out from her bedroom, already dressed in sweats and trying to peek into the bag. MC moved past her, shoving what looked like pints of ice cream into the freezer. She kept one out, tucked the bag into their bag saver, and grabbed two spoons for them to share with.

“It’s coffee ice cream from the Blue Bird Parlor,” MC explained, “they had five different bean varieties, so I got us one of each.”

Jaehee acknowledged it with a smile and a soft hum. “Are we still watching The Jalapeño Topping Was Pretty Spicy? I know you don’t usually like watching Zen’s musicals on movie night.”

“It’s fine, Jaehee. Is it in the DVD player already or should I put it in?” MC set the ice cream down before getting changed, only to find the main menu screen already up on the television when she looked up. “Well, that answers my question. Let me get changed and I’ll be right there.”

The two of them snuggled up on the couch, blanket over their laps while they ate spoonfuls of ice cream. Their spoons bumped together and they caught each other’s gaze. For a few moments they were stuck as they often got, marveling at each other, at something beautiful that they could never quite reach. But that night, something broke.

MC brought her hand up to Jaehee’s cheek, cupping it gently, the tension between them palpable, pushing the boundaries between ‘friends’ and ‘more’. This might be just another Tuesday move night to anyone else who had been watching them for so many years, but they knew otherwise. Jaehee’s favorite scene was coming up. Zen, captured by the enemy and in chains awaiting death. They offered him safety if he joined their cause. He declined, of course, like all good protagonists. Both of them enjoyed that he just so happened to be shirtless, but Jaehee said it was her favorite because she could see the refusal in his eyes.

Jaehee lets out a little breath, rolling her lips together as she watches MC intently. Years ago, she said she would be happy just getting to look at MC, but was she really? The kiss MC presses to her lips is so gentle and quick that Jaehee sits stuck in her own head for a couple of beats before coming to her senses. By that time, MC has let go and is already back to resting her head on Jaehee’s shoulder, watching the screen intently.

“I love you,” Jaehee says, so quiet it’s nearly a whisper.

“I love you too.” They would talk about this, what it meant for them, later that night curled up in bed together. It had been five years, what was another hour? This was Jaehee’s favorite scene, after all.

#mc x jaehee #jaehee #mm jaehee #mc #mystic messenger #mine #my writing

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