#. . .actually now I kind of want to seriously compare Impression to the Blood Bond

[shimmershae]

My thoughts on Episode 8--For Blood

As always, placed behind a cut for those of you that would rather escape my babbling, lol.  You’re welcome.  

Sadly, I don’t think this is anticipation I feel.  I’m pretty sure it’s dread but okay.  Here we go.  

This episode has to go up from the rock bottom boredom of last week, right?  

Let me preface what I’m about to say with the truth that I in no way hate Maggie.  She’s been with us since Season 2 and I have an emotional attachment to her, mostly due to my love of Glenn and the way he loved her.  She’s not my favorite by any means, but the fact of the matter is, I do like and appreciate her and don’t mind that she is back because it’s nice to have old familiar faces with us to take us into the final season.  That said?  Forcing Maggie front and center after her long absence ultimately, IMHO, has not worked in these first 8 episodes.  I can’t help but feel if ASZ had been the A story with Maggie/Negan and Daryl/Leah/the Reapers the B1 and B2 story?  These episodes would have been better received overall and not feel so much like they’re trying so hard.  Maybe lead me toward the water instead of shoving my head in it next time, Angela?  Hmm?  

Oh goodie.  They’re opening at Meridian.  Should I get my bathroom break out of the way now or give myself an out for later?  Call it Shae’s choice, lol.  

That flicker of a smirk Leah gave to Carver after their mini walk down memory lane had more spark to it than the entirety of her and Daryl’s toxic relationship.  In the future, maybe Angela will lean all in on them instead of Leah and Daryl.  Something tells me Leah knows this “brother” biblically.  

Daryl recognizes Whisperer moves when he sees ‘em.  Somehow, he realizes Maggie and Negan have banded together however reluctantly.  

Pope doing it “Dixon’s” way but not allowing Dixon to do the actual thing shows the level of distrust and paranoia the man still haves for outsiders. 

Look at Daryl chewing his lips with worry for his people.  If he and Leah know each other even a little bit, she has to recognize that as one of his tells.  

Ooohhhh.  Who took the first stab at Wells?  Maggie?  Negan?  Father G?  I swear.  I took my eyes off the “ball” one second and the whole damn play is halfway down the field.  Sorry.  If you cannot tell, I watched football with the fam yesterday, lol.  

The Walking Dead logo didn’t crumble this time.  Interesting.  Parts of it looked like it had been rebuilt.  With brick.  Wood.  Other parts of it looked reclaimed by nature.  Call me crazy, but that almost looks like an eye/part of a face on the first D.  

Okay then.  Babbling nonsense about the logo over, lol.  Tell me.  Please.  Anybody.  How do the events at ASZ line up with the events at Meridian?  Because it’s night and full-blown storming in ASZ and still daylight at Meridian.  But hey.  Thank fuck we’re in ASZ.  

All the babies huddled together giving me feels.  Sorry.  I know some feel they have no place on the show, but I personally enjoy their inclusion from time to time.  It usually plucks hard at my heartstrings.  

Connie tenderly comforting an injured Virgil is sweet, not gonna lie.  

Aww.  Is that Hershel petting a scared RJ’s hair?  Unless it’s a case of me not being able to pick out and place all the little hands, which it most certainly could be, I’m thinking Judith’s got her hand on her knee and that’s Hershel’s hand in RJ’s hair.  Regardless of whose hand is where, it was a sweet little scene.  What can I say?  I’m easy because Baby Glenn and Baby Rick, ya’ll.  

Oh snap.  The windmill’s on fire and pieces of the wall are blowing down main street ASZ like steel tumbleweeds, lol.  

Anybody else having flashbacks to the barn from Season 5?  Good times.  We still had most of Team Family with us then.  They were in a bad place, hurting and lost and just trying to survive--when are they not just trying to survive?--but they were together.  I miss them.  

Carol and Lydia holding each other.  These two, lovelies, have my whole heart.  

Wells is Walker Jerky, Shaw.  Stop wasting your breath.  

“She did.  My enemy.”  I mean, are we supposed to get the impression Maggie’s been a formidable adversary to Pope?  Because she feels more like a roach that simply knows the best rocks to hide under.  Granted, roaches are hard to kill but still.  I’m gonna need them to give us something better than Maggie being Pope’s enemy simply because she didn’t want to give up her home without a fight because this is frankly unbelievable and bordering on stupid.  

Alright.  So they’ve obviously been sowing the seeds of distrust and defiance between Leah and Pope because she doesn’t like losing family but Daryl?  Man?  You and Leah have differing opinions about how family operates.  Trust me on this.  

So.  Three teams, huh?  Aaron fighting the windmill fire, Carol repairing the breach in the wall, Rosita protecting the babies that represent their future.  Choose your fighters, lol.  Seriously, though.  Why do I have the sinking feeling only one group is going to be shown actually doing their thing?  

Listen.  Am I pissed we haven’t gotten the scene we deserve yet between Carol and Connie after all that’s happened and we’re getting crumbs mainly because Angela wrongly feels the Reapers/Maggie & Negan/Daryl & Leah need more focus?  Absolutely.  You bet your sweet asses.  But Melissa fucking McBride just took the crumbs allotted her and made a magnificent, work of art cake out of it trying all on her lonesome to feed us starving Carol fans.  

Bless Connie wanting wanting to go with Carol.  What a show of trust and sister-like solidarity that must have some hate-rotted guts about to turn themselves out.  

I love Kelly and Connie’s sister bond.  No ill will intended, but It takes the good parts of Maggie and Beth and elevates it beyond anything those two ever showed us.  I really feel like that’s a testament to Angel and Lauren’s real life ease with each other.  

Magna choosing to go with Aaron makes me wonder if it’s possible she feels some kind of residual guilt over Connie.  Not guilt for anything she’s actually done, but simply guilt over making it out.  

Virgil volunteering to help.  Okay.  Damn.  I’m honestly starting to like the guy.  

Judith offering to go with her aunt Carol had me all up in my feels.  I mean, granted.  It was a blink and you miss it scene.  We really deserved a longer heart to heart between that little girl and the woman that’s sacrificed so much to keep her safe and loved her for so long, but you know I’ll gobble any and all Judith/Aunt Carol content up.  Seems to me, Little Ass Kicker is just as afraid of letting Aunt Carol out of her sight as Uncle Daryl.  My heart.  

Gracie and Aaron are sweet.  And honestly?  I find them more realistic and true to what normal parents and children would be like in a ZA than Judith and Michonne no matter how much I love that bond.  I mean no disrespect, but I really do.  

“Why am I keeping you around?”  Pope asking the question we’re all wondering.  

Not Apocalypse Popeye comparing Daryl to a stray dog.  Joe from the Claimers already declared Daryl an outside cat that thought he was an indoor cat.  I did have to internally cheer when Daryl was like “I’m ain’t gonna lick it” talking about the helping hand Pope had extended him.  

“Somehow she has turned the dead against the living.  Oh, that’s impressive.”  The thing about Pope respecting Maggie so much as an enemy is I just find it hard to buy, lol.  Like if this had been Carol, yeah.  But Maggie?  Nope.  They’ve mostly shown her (with Gage being the bewildering exception) to be all bark and no bite.  

Has the house in ASZ really become that dilapidated that they can see through its walls?  Because its original owners dodged a bullet if so.  

Look at Grace hero-worshipping Judith.  It’s sweet.  

Virgil telling Judith Michonne would be proud of her is nice but doesn’t feel as earned as if someone like Daryl or Carol that actually knew Michonne well said it.  But maybe that’s the whole point--Judith needs to hear it from someone she knows isn’t going to just say what she wants to hear.  

Call me jaded, it was a touching scene, but also?  It felt designed to allow Judith to move beyond her very normal and realistic feelings of being abandoned by Michonne, even though she gave her the “okay” herself.  Like she’s still a kid.  Wants don’t always line up with feelings.  Anyway.  Cailey continues to be a bright, shining little star and I love how she’s managed to make Judith a true amalgamation of all the people she’s loved who have loved her in return.  Not just Michonne.  I know people like to overlook and cheapen the fact, but it’s taken a village and entire family to raise her from infancy.  

Gracie really should have known better than play in front of the windows during a storm period, but oh well.  Plot point, lol.  

Seriously, though.  I feel like they’ve teased poor Gracie’s demise in a multitude of ways since the beginning of the season.  I hope nothing ultimately comes of it but I fear it will.  All I can say if the worst comes to happen is poor Aaron.  

Where are Negan and Elijah though?  Ouch.  There they are, taking on shrapnel for the cause.  

Ready the what now?  

There’s ASZ’s Baby Sitter Extraordinaire!  Barbara, is it?  That lady’s been putting in the work since Season 5 at least.  

I’ve honestly grown to love Rosita.  More of her and less of Maggie, please and thank you.  

“Let’s stay away from the windows.”  I’m sorry but I had to LMAO at that.  Still a badass moment though.  

Gabe hobbling toward his assigned sentinel.  At least they haven’t forgotten he’s injured like they seemed to forget Daryl was near death last season before the attack on Hilltop, lol.  

“It’s hard to watch something you care about change.”  Listen, Leah.  Chick.  You and Daryl obviously never really knew each other.  It’s always been obvious but I have a feeling “DIxon” is finally going to show you, spoilers or no spoilers.  

WTF are they calling that thing?  Sorry.  I have just as hard a time understanding Pope’s accent as I do Maggie’s sometimes.  

That’s not love that has Daryl telling Leah she can come with him.  That’s care for somebody he used to know.  There is a distinct difference that’s obviously lost on so many.  How can you really and truly love someone you cannot trust?  Especially in Daryl Dixon’s case?

Why does Angela hate us so much?  Giving us all these Reaper scenes and leaving us to simply imagine Carol and Connie and Kelly working side by side to save the wall?  

I think I honestly could have enjoyed this whole Reaper storyline more, at least a little bit anyway, had they not retrofitted a half-assed romance between Daryl and the story’s weakest link and if only they’d made it the B storyline and given earned deference to the goings-on in ASZ instead.  

I wonder if Glenn taught Maggie how to hot write a car?  I miss my baby Glenn.

Apocalypse Popeye is several fries short of a Happy Meal.  What else is new on this show, lol?  

I care for Maggie.  Mostly for nostalgia’s sake and Glenn and Baby Hershel but damn, man.  She’s not actually proven herself got be worth killing your entire “family” for.  But are too far gone, so.  We’ll make allowances.  

I will say at least this episode is not as abysmally biring as last week’s episode.  

Leah finally giving Pope the throat punch he’s been asking for but I’m not fooled she’s on Daryl’s side here.  She’s always been on her own side.  

Look at Father G returning the favor for Maggie saving him in the tower.  Taking Deaver down!  Poor Deaver barely saw the light of day.  

Here comes that woman scorned part.  I can feel it.  

“Pope is dead.  Dixon murdered him.  He’s with the enemy.”  

Please, Angela.  I’m begging you.  Bring Carol into this story and ramp it the fuck up.  You been idling too damn long and the car is fast running outta gas.  

Bitch really has to die to framing Carol’s Pookie.  

Rosita and Lydia and Carol and Connie and Kelly and Magna have literally been holding up this damn show while Angela farts around with the Reapers bullshit.  Honorable mention goes to Aaron but these lovely, badass ladies been putting in the real work and not getting any of the glory.  You just know they’re tired AF.  

Not my babies Lydia and Judith being the cliffhanger!  Oh and Gracie.  Angela?!  A word.  

Listen.  Carol’s already done that fireworks trick.  That Reaper dude owes her royalties.  Granted, it was on a smaller scale but much more impressive for it because she was left to be the sharpshooter.  

Angela has a point.  It is kind of cool how Team Family have learned from their enemies and assimilated their useful points into their own cache of knowledge.  

I truly feel like the Leah/Reaper storyline would have benefitted from a much stronger actress.  Just saying.  

I know Judith annoys some with her precociousness but Cailey just keeps teeing off on what they give her and personally?  I feel she’s so very talented and light years beyond her little acting counterparts so it still works.  

“They’re never gonna choose each other over the people that they’ve loved and fought for because they simply cannot really trust each other.  There’s sort of, like a toxicity at the base of that relationship.”  Straight from Angela’s mouth.  

“At the end of the day, Daryl chose his family.”  Yeah, he did.  That “I belong with you” shit only happened when he felt they were all gone, including the one he loved above all others--Carol.  Fight me.  

Overall impression of the episode?  

On its own, disregarding how much I can’t help resenting how much time I feel has been “wasted” setting this story up, it was much more entertaining than Episode 7 which was only epic in that it was an epic bore.  There was still too much focus on the Reapers when I just just kept wanting to see what was happening at ASZ.  I mean, they cheated us out of Carol and Connie and Kelly working together. Of Aaron and Magna.  Call it personal preference coloring my opinions if you want, but the characters I care about feel like they’ve been shown the backseat for this self-indulgent exploration of Angela’s OC and her version of self-insert FF with Daryl Dixon.  If we can return to Team Family?  The whole Team Family and not just Maggie and Co. against the world?  You’ve got me.  If not?  Well.  You’ll keep losing me by degrees and you don’t want to do that on the final season.  

Anyway.  The ASZ parts were my favorites per usual.  The episode could have used a lot more of those.  

[adiabolikpastel]

Title: Lunar Eclipse Masquerade

Karlheinz pt. 3

Rating: NSFW | PG-18

Word Count: 1,947

Pairing: Karlheinz x Skye (m/m)

ღ As the part unwinds, Skye is finally able to take a breath. Though maybe there is something else on Karl's mind, as the moons affects finally seem to reach him. ღ

Mun Yu: We did it! These are the last pieces of the LEM story. The end to our Lunar Eclipse. I hope that you have enjoyed the ride, and gotten to know the stories on this blog better! Tune in at the end of it all for Authors Notes!

☆+ ﾟ .+ .ﾟ.ﾟ｡ ﾟ ｡. +ﾟ ｡ﾟ.ﾟ｡☆*｡｡ . ｡ o .｡ﾟ｡.o｡* ｡ .｡

Despite what most people think, demonic beings are very social creatures. The elites hold countless balls and parties, celebrating their immortality together, and entertaining one another with stories. Typically, they are done in celebration for something – though this is not always the case. All types of beings from across the Demon Realm will come if the host is of high enough prestige.

There would be no such host if it was not for Karlheinz. Seated as the head of the Bat Clan (vampires), Karl’s reach spans far. Being the widow for the former Demon King’s daughter, and having children of the first blood, an invitation from the Vampire King is not one to refuse. Though why would you? In his immaculate castle within the Demon Realm, Eden Castle, it is always quite the spectacle. While the celebrations held in his Human World mansion are nice, nothing compares to a true night of pleasure within the true home of the King.

On this night, there was to be a Masquerade in honor of the first Lunar Eclipsed Moon in over two years. While this night may serve each species differently, the idea to celebrate its return was simply too tempting. For this reason, Karlheinz took it upon himself – or rather – his house, to host the event. This extended to his offspring as well, regardless of their personal agenda. Members of every social elite race accepted the offer, and gathered for a truly unforgettable evening

While he was sure others had a marvelous time at the event, Skye was exhausted. It was one thing to organize and watch something happen from afar. Being one of the hosts was completely different. There was never a moment of peace. At any time someone would come up to speak with Karl, and he would have to smile and pretend to be interested.

It was enough to just be seen and not heard. How did his wives ever deal with this? Then again, they were probably all bread for this kind of thing. After departing from Shu and his new bride, Karl had insisted on taking Ajax and his wife with him on a tour. But not before getting Burai – what were these three frat brothers?

To see Karlheinz in this light was rather amusing. Not that he was very different, but one could tell that the three men had a special bond about them. Perhaps that wasn’t something Skye could understand. He wasn’t too keen on the history here in the Demon Realm, but he did know that there used to be battles constantly. These three must have been allies through all of that. Or perhaps they were enemies which Karl subdued? Skye wasn’t sure which.

“And then, wouldn’t you know it, Meteo surprised us with a visit! It was glorious to see him! Xyander and Xylon met him for the first time. Hard to think they are already three and never met their brother. My son has been so busy – but Stevi and Helios were excited to see him. Little Onan was sleeping, but I am sure they are having a great time while we are away.” Ajax prattled on and on while they walked through the castle. Skye couldn’t help but roll his eyes, just how many kids did this guy have?!

“Dear, you speak of our children much too much. Your castle is beautiful as always, Karlheinz. Thank you again for allowing us the honor of visiting. Even if it was just to swoop away with our daughter.” His wife chimes, wearing a smile, but her words drip with venom.

Karl laughed slightly at her, Skye could tell that it was mostly in triumph. “Now Catalina, we both know that Ajax would never simply give away something so precious. Callista will be well taken care of, of that I assure you.” Karl offered her comfort, but it was more so in an attempt to get the matter dropped. He had won, there was no sense in her dwelling on the past.

“Honestly, the fuss you all make over children.” Burai finally speaks. “That is why you have them one at a time. Devote what you can, then move on.”

“That is an interesting stance, though, given your record my friend – I wouldn’t lead with it.” Karl states, in reference to Burai being not only his friend, but his ex-father-in-law.

“I would choose one child every century- millennia even - over the amount you both have.” The Demon shivered, disgusted by the idea it seemed. “They are simply a means to an end. We must produce them to preserve the line and power, but nothing more.”

“That is not true! My children bring me such joy! You cannot say that you feel nothing when you look at your son now!”

“I won’t comment on that.” Burai simply answers, as Ajax berates him with further justifications of his unending love for his offspring.

Skye walks quietly next to Karl while the demons talk amongst themselves. He was ready to retire for the evening, and as they came back into the ballroom, he was glad to see most of the guests had gone. Especially at least half of Karl’s sons – all that remained were Kanato, Shu and Reiji… wait! Was Reiji seriously trying to take Shu’s dance!?

“Well isn’t that quite the problem.” Karl muses beside him. “Seems those two just cannot get along.” Skye knew that this had to be part of a larger plan. Karl doesn’t simply do anything. There is always a motive.

“Callista my dear!” Ajax’s voice boomed from behind them, the large demon B-lining straight to his daughter. He did not seem upset by her daughter being in the arms of someone other than the man he had just left her with.

“It is still a mystery how that man became a Demon Lord.” Burai comments stepping up to Karlheinz. “He is a fool.”

“Some just have other reasons for fighting. He is plenty powerful to make up for the fool. Not to mention his wife does a fairly decent job keeping things in check.” He shrugs it off, watching the ever doting father collect his daughter. “What of you? Any plans I should know about for a future love affair?”

Burai scoffs, “My last child is still alive, so do not count on it.” He says, gesturing to someone. Skye looked in the direction, hoping it would be Alrick. To his surprise, a woman seemed to respond to the signal. She was dressed in a floor length gown, but not something fancy, something closer to a maid’s outfit really. Was this a familiar? Her appearance was almost human; very bland everything. There wasn’t even a demonic presence about her.

“You have summoned me, Lord Burai?” Whoever this was, they were most certainly a servant. Not looking up even slightly, that was some quality training.

“We are leaving.” Burai dictates, the young maid bowing and excuses herself. “You celebrations are nice, however, please do keep me off any intimidate affairs. I have little time to deal with such things.” Almost as quickly as he finished his sentence the strange woman was back, and helping him put on his coat. Perhaps she was a familiar.

“You are the last person I would want to have anything intimate with, my friend.” Karl waves off the demon lord, and escorts Skye to the head of the room. Skye looked back at the Snake demon to see if Alrick was going to show up.

Instead, he saw this supposed happy bachelor prude, actually link arms with the servant! What a hypocritical- oh god was that a kiss!? Skye couldn’t believe it. Even if it was on the hand, that ass hole. Giving everyone the ‘oh look at me – I’m all business. Big bad demon lord’. He couldn’t wait to tell Alrick about it later.

“You are quite distracted. I think that’s enough sharing you for one day.” Karl’s voice brings Skye out of his train of thought. “Come, we shall retire for the evening.” His voice was soft, as if he was purposely only allowing Skye to hear.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to imply something, my king.” Skye knew that there was no way this night was not going to end without the two of them becoming intimate. Honestly he was pretty tired. Not to mention, it was his impression that the Bloody Moon was supposed to affect the bat clan. Here the night is over and Karl’s been the same. Rip off.

Karl laughed a little at Skye’s comment, “Haha, you know me too well.” He moves a hand around Skye’s waist, holding him close. Within moments the two of them were moved out of the ballroom and into their room. Well, this was the room they typically fooled around in. Skye knew this wasn’t Karl’s room – he actually doubted that the man slept at all.

Skye smiles up at Karl and moves over to the bed, sitting on the edge, crossing his legs. “I must say, that was fun being your little arm candy ~ I don’t think there was a single person who missed it.” That thought sent shivers up his spine. What a thrill it was to be seen. Not to mention seen by all those stuck up demons who would normally look down on him.

Karl watches Skye bask in the afterglow of their appearance. What a strange creature he was, actually wanting to be the center of the universe. Yet at this moment, Karl felt like that role suited Skye more than any other. “Yes, you were magnificent, my siren.” His praise seemed to affect him, as their eyes were soon looking over one another.

With a smirk on his face, Karl summoned his magic to disrobe the cape which was draped over his shoulder. Whilst he undid the buttons on his vest, and loosened the tie around his neck. “So well in fact,” He stepped out of his shoes, and allowed magic to take his discarded clothing off to be hung up. “I believe you deserve a reward.”

Skye was entranced by Karl’s mystical display. God it was always so hot to watch him strip. Way better than doing all that work himself. Just as Skye was about to do the same, Karl suddenly dipped down and knelt before him. “My King…?” Skye’s eyes widened. This man was not about to do something stupid, right?!

With a small laugh, Karl slowly started to take off Skye’s heels. “Your expression dictates you were thinking something absurd.” He softly kisses the top of Skye’s foot. “I am rewarding you for all the hard work you did for this night, not punishing you.” There was a hint of melancholy to his words.

Karl had no interest in submitting another to the role of his ‘wife’ again. The title was nothing but a front anyway. He had not loved anyone. Still loved no one. These ‘feelings’ for Skye - if they were love, Karl would have no idea. Their time together was an end to boredom alone. The means to a release. Though if that were completely true, Skye wouldn’t be as involved as he was with Karl’s professional life.

The boy was more than just his assistant here. In the Human World, he was even Tougo Sakamaki’s new face. People saw him more than they did the politician. Once Skye had finished school, he came onto the alias’ line of work, and began working as the personal secretary for the famed politician. Karl was sure that Skye would even be a nurse for Reinhert if he had asked.

Skye let out a soft mew in response to Karl’s gentle touches and kisses. This was new, he was never this gentle. It felt nice, especially since his feet were killing him from the heels. Beauty was so painful. He was happy that things were like this, how silly to think that Karlheinz would even consider a marriage. Well, it wasn’t like he honestly thought about it - it was more just the shock of him actually kneeling.

Though now that he got a good look - the sight of the Karlheinz was worshiping his feet. “Heh, my king~ I have to admit, mhmm, the sight of you down there… is really turning me on~” He says, moving his other foot to locate Karl’s groin.

Karl simply focuses on his task at hand. Slowly. Sweetly. Moving his lips up from Skye’s foot, up his leg. “Mm! My King… if you tease me so much I - ah!” Karl moves to just behind Skye’s knee - one of his biggest weak spots. Skye bites back another moan.

“Now that wont do.” Karl suddenly speaks and looks up at Skye. His eyes are full of desire. Hunger. Lust. “I want to hear you. Every sigh. Gasp. Moan. You will not hold anything back. In return, I shall spoil you. Every. Inch.” He smirks, wetting his lips, and picking up Skye’s other foot. “So. Be the beautiful siren you are meant to be. And submit yourself to my will.”

☆+ ﾟ .+ .ﾟ.ﾟ｡ ﾟ ｡. +ﾟ ｡ﾟ.ﾟ｡ ROUTE END☆*｡｡ . ｡ o .｡ﾟ｡.o｡* ｡ .｡

[dokidokivisual]

Gochiusa BLOOM episode 8 impressions

Previously: 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

Here we go, the long awaited Rize episode is upon us. She’s been rather sidelined this season, aside from maybe the marathon episode with Chiya. But now it’s finally her time to shine!

I didn’t have much time to write this review, due to various circumstances, but I hope it’s still worth reading.

The episode opens with Rize waking up Cocoa while imitating Chino’s voice and manners, such as calling her Cocoa-san. This scene is reminiscent of the post-credits scene from season 1 episode 12, although it has been implied Chino wakes up Cocoa all the time. The rabbit Cocoa sleeps with has been given to her by Chino at the end of Dear My Sister OVA, but it was Rize who helped Chino make it.

Rize had a fight with her father about her wanting to become an elementary school teacher, and stayed over at Rabbit House. She seems to think neither her father nor even Cocoa and Chino take her seriously. To be fair, it kind of comes out of a left field. The justification for it (which is revealed later) is also rather silly, as Chimame aren’t even elementary schoolers. It’s interesting to see if the manga will ever get to the point where Rize is teaching a class because I don’t think there have been any elementary schools introduced yet or any character who attends or teaches in one.

Rize herself also has some doubts about it, since she worries she will come out as too strict (and called a ”demon sergeant”, which is a callback to Dear My Sister where she took command over Chimame-tai), although Rize has become considerably more gentle since the events of DMS. Cocoa volunteers to become Rize’s teacher to show her how it’s done, but ends up making Rize do all the work while she just lazes about.

By the way, the book Cocoa is reading in this scene is called “Caffeine Fighter” which was mentioned before as one of Aoyama’s works based on Sharo, and this is the first time we see (although in very low resolution) what the lead character is supposed to look like.

Chino takes over the job, although it seems she just wants help with her homework (the book is labeled as “Mathematics, 3rd grade of middle school” and this particular lesson concerns the quadratic function and its graph). Rize uses her rabbit stamp on Cocoa and then on Chino for solving their tasks, and finds out that it’s a very good motivation.

One thing that western viewers might overlook is the prevalence of stamps in the Japanese daily life. Instead of signing legally binding documents, you’re supposed to stamp it with an officially registered personal seal called hanko. Things like stamp rallies are popular and you can often get a visitor stamp in various temples and train stations. So the fact that Rize carries a stamp with herself at all times is not at all unusual.

Next, Rize’s signature dish, napolitan pasta, makes an appearance. In the episode 6 review I lamented that Rize’s pasta never showed up, but now we can finally see what it’s all about. By the way, despite its name, this dish is actually Japanese in origin, and was inspired by American military rations, which makes it quite fitting for Rize. Cocoa uses the Italian word buono to describe the pasta, which means “good”.

During the bathtime, the stamps easily wash off, so Rize gives Cocoa and Chino stamp cards, just like to Chiya in episode 5. Not aware of this, Cocoa and Chino think this signifies their special bond. However shortly after, Cocoa boasts about it to Chiya at school, and realizes that not only Chiya has it, but also Maya and Megu. In the manga Cocoa and Chino confront Rize about it directly after, but the anime sandwiches another chapter in between.

Like I mentioned in the episode preview, chapters 2 and 7 from the volume 6 of the manga share a similar theme of studying, so it���s not surprising they were unified into one episode. Interestingly the chapter 7 is titled “Sweet Skip Step” which shares with the title of the episode “Stamp, Sleep, Study, Smile” the pattern of words starting with the Japanese syllable ‘su’. Another episode sharing this property is season 2 episode 8 titled “Sneaking Stalking Stalker Story”.

This second part of the episode is more Chimame-focused, and brings up the concept of juku, or “cram school”, which are very widespread in Japan. This is a small private school that students visit after their public school classes in preparation for the exams. Of course the way it’s portrayed in the episode is just regular tutoring, so you wouldn’t know the difference.

Anyway, Cocoa has opened a juku in Rabbit House and is now sporting lab coat and glasses look. Megu attends the “school” and we learn that the reason why she wants to go to Rize’s school is because her mother went there too. Cocoa asks if that’s really her own decision, and we later learn Megu isn’t really sure about that. Immediately after, Megu’s phone rings notifying her that she needs to “transfer to another classroom”, and Rize’s comment implies that Cocoa hasn’t really even started teaching yet. In the manga there’s a 1 hour gap between the Cocoa/Megu conversation and her going to another class, and Megu thanks Cocoa for her lesson.

The next class is Japanese literature taught by Chiya (she calls it 国語 “national language” which implies that the show is really set in Japan, or at least a Japanese-speaking country). Megu is impressed by how seriously Chino takes her studies, and how she strives to excel both in school and at her job just like Chiya and other high school characters (it was previously mentioned that Chino’s grades aren’t very good). However Chiya gets distracted and decides to spy on Sharo, who is teaching Maya at the time. It seems Sharo’s house isn’t very soundproof at all and they easily get discovered.

Maya isn’t sure about being able to pass the scholarship student exam and asked Sharo to help her, as Sharo has also passed this exam in the past. Sharo is eating some strange foodstuff that I thought was onigiri, but looks more like a cookie wrapped in nori for some reason.

Anyway, Chimame get invited by Rize to “onsen pool” but they think Rize is going to scold them for not taking their studies seriously. Meanwhile Rize’s dad is calling Takahiro to make him convince Rize to come back. Apparently during the war, Takahiro’s skill was persuasion, while Rize’s dad’s special technique was rushing into action like Leeroy Jenkins.

The “onsen pool” which previously appeared twice in season 1 is largely based on hot spring baths of Budapest, which I had visited last year. This scene is used to develop Megu’s character, specifically her insecurities and sense of inferiority towards Chino and Maya. It doesn’t help that Maya and Chino are jealous of her body and call her fat. Then, Maya and Chino decide to compete in swimming, suggested by Chino, who in the manga almost drowned during a hiking trip and that was her motivation to get better at swimming. In the anime (season 2 episode 11) she didn’t really drown so she just says she likes swimming now for some reason.

Anyway, Megu can’t keep up with them (both metaphorically and literally) and this time drowns even in the anime adaptation. However this scene was also altered from the manga, in the manga it’s implied that Maya and Chino drag her out while Rize comes too late and Maya calls her slow. But in anime, Rize is the one who saves Megu and is roundly praised by Chimame-tai.

The next scene parallels the one from season 1 episode 10 where Chimame-tai name was officially established, after Rize outruns them to Rabbit House. This time Chimame already got used to the name (which means something like “blood blister” in Japanese), so they’re ok with being called this forever if they win.

When Rize comes back, Cocoa (who held a grudge for so long that you might’ve forgotten about it with how fast-paced this episode is) kabedons Rize and asks for explanation for the whole stamp card business. However it turns out to be just a prank and an excuse for Rize to have a home cooked dinner with everyone. Rize’s accomplishments in previous episodes are also brought up, and she gets another round of praise. And then everyone gets lots of stamps.

Rize gets a stamp too when she’s asleep. This scene was in general modified quite heavily compared to the manga, to better fit with the rest of the episode I guess. One scene that was cut was Cocoa and Chino discovering Rize’s notes about their food preferences and regular guests of Rabbit House. Also, the phone conversation between Rize’s dad and Takahiro was the last panel in this chapter so Rize’s situation with her dad was never resolved.

The anime adaptation does provide a resolution in the form of a cinematic car scene with a tense dialogue between Rize and her father. Cars are very rare in Gochiusa universe and the last time we saw one (season 2 episode 10) it also belonged to Rize’s family. Rize’s father is driving an Audi R8 with plate number TO-526, which might refer to his voice actor Touchi Hiroki who was born on May 26.

The car eventually stops on the bridge, which is basically a metaphor for reconciliation (i.e. “building bridges”) and the color scheme changes from red to blue, as Rize’s father eventually apologises to her and Rize gives him a stamp of approval. And so concludes the 8th episode of Gochiusa BLOOM, which finally gave Rize the recognition she deserves. I guess we’ll see if she can reach her goal of becoming a teacher in the future manga chapters. And there’s still four more BLOOM episodes to watch!

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Approximately how close is Luca to the rest of the hphm gang? Like... A number out of 10 ? He seems like a cool character and i kinda wanna know more about his relationships with the lot... Sorry for bothering

You certainly aren’t a bother! I welcome questions like these and find them flattering! If anything, this will help me define Luca and their relationships because I’ve been wishy-washy about that, for sure. (Oh, just so you, Luca uses they/them.) 

Rowan - 11/10. This is Luca’s best friend, no question about it. The closest and most important bond in their life, second only to Jacob. At this stage I very well might just ignore the whole concept of MC and Rowan becoming distant because even though Luca does have a twin, they tend to see Rowan as having that level of importance and trust. Needless to say, Y6CH18 completely shatters Luca’s world and leaves them spiraling, and they still are. 

Ben - 6/10. It was stronger in the early days, when Ben was still timid. Luca never wanted to believe Rowan’s theory about him, they always trusted Ben. But when he abandons caution for recklessness, Luca is about driven mad trying to keep him safe. It’s stressful, it’s not fun, and admittedly Luca’s opinion of Ben sinks at this point. 

Penny - 8/10. These two have always been close, the dearest of friends, and Luca will defend Penny to anyone who talks trash about her behind her back, which is definitely possible for people who get as popular as her. Going off of canon, MC and Penny tend to hang out a lot, and that works fine because they’re Housemates and best buds. Penny’s parents adore Luca too, so that’s nice. 

Merula - 9/10. One of the major contenders for a potential end-game. I pretty much wrote Luca around their interactions with Merula. From first, they never hated her. Simply found her perplexing and mildly annoying. They didn’t blame her for the Bulbadox powder incident. Even then, they were showing her mercy. This inkling of mercy eventually evolved into genuine care and protective instincts toward the Slytherin witch who reminds them so much of their brother.

Bill - 6/10. A solid pal, like a big brother. He doesn’t fill the hole that Jacob left behind, but I chose my URL for a reason, and Bill would be there for Luca and they’d get along quite well. Sharing solidarity in how they both trust Rakepick, and heartbreak when that comes back to bite them. 

Skye - 8/10. This is just the story of Merula and Luca, but translated to Quidditch and without the phase of being opponents. Luca was very wary around Skye and not impressed by her at first. But by the end of Season 1, they had grown fond of her, felt loyal to her, and despite being keenly aware of her flaws, they stuck up for her and tried to gently guide her toward making smarter choices. 

Murphy - 5/10. They aren’t that close. Not that they aren’t friends, because they totally care, and Luca appreciates his company. But compared to the other folks on the team, Luca and Murphy are friendly with each other, but haven’t really opened up or connected on an especially deep level. 

Orion - 8/10. This right here, is the guy who fills the hole that Jacob left. I can’t quite explain it but there’s something about his wisdom and serenity that Luca just latches onto. They seriously admire him, enjoy his company, and want to make h him proud. They’re basically in awe of Orion, and he seems to see a lot of potential in Luca as well. 

Rath - 5/10. A relationship that was initially built upon uncertainty and fear gradually evolved into being an unconventional friendship through the events we see in the Rath TLSQ. Luca never wanted to be at odds with Rath, but admittedly it does feel a little awkward to trade friendly and affectionate banter. 

Tonks - 9/10. A complete disaster, an absolute nightmare that is constantly spawning chaos...but she’s just so damn lovable, and it’s not like Luca doesn’t have a history of surrounding them-self with people who are equally dodgy. Tonks is one of their closest friends, though she also felt slightly awkward around them for a while, as Luca’s aunt is Alice Longbottom, who was victimized by Tonks’ own aunt, though obviously Luca never holds this against her.

Tulip - 9/10.  Another contender for end-game, and could even share them. Tulip swept Luca off their feet almost immediately. Whatever winds up happening, it’s safe to say she was their first crush, and they always found her amazing. Growing very close to her in Year Three, especially thanks to their mutual connection to Merula. I like to think that Tulip knows she needs someone to reel her in now and then, even if she won’t admit it. Luca does that for her. 

Barnaby - 6/10. Similar to Murphy, it’s not that there’s any issue in this relationship, because there absolutely isn’t. Luca simply didn’t grow as close to Barnaby as to some other people, but they always thought very highly of him and similar to Ben, they were protective of him and wanted to keep him safe from harm. Also, his hugs were always amazing. 

Ismelda - 5/10. Luca had ambivalent feelings toward her for a while, after Year 3. They’re not really a hateful person, but they weren’t very fond of her. Made a couple of attempts to make peace, but they didn’t really go anywhere. After “Crushed” they came to understand her more and begin to develop pity, which only evolved further by Year 6, at which point they would unironically hang out with her. She begrudgingly appreciates the company.

Charlie - 6/10. Like Bill, he has a warm and cordial friendship with Luca that is able to flourish more regularly as they share classes, and Luca could honestly listen to Charlie talk about dragons all day. They don’t always understand, but Charlie’s presence is calming, and that’s why they like it.

Andre - 4/10. Luca and Andre get off on the right foot, but they barely talk. To Luca, Andre is that one friend that they wish they could get to know better, and feel bad because they never have time for them. Andre is so disconnected from the plot, but he does nice things for MC like making them outfits, Luca would appreciate it.

Jae - 7/10. In my headcanons, Jacob and Jae knew each other before Jae was at Hogwarts. So Luca and Jae were friends when they were young, but fell out when Jacob disappeared. Avoiding each other until Year 5, whereupon they reconciled and reconnected, becoming better friends again. 

Badeea - 5/10. Obligatory clarification that this is due to them simply not being very close, not because there’s any bad blood, there isn’t. Luca thinks highly of Badeea and admires her abilities and she admires their heart and kindness. There isn’t much more to say about the friendship than that. 

Liz - 6/10. Luca seriously respects her and always has. Sure, she’s a bit odd, but they more than agree with her about a lot of things that most people wouldn’t. They care about the well-being of creatures too, and Liz is always fun to be around, even if her personality is a bit prickly. She gets along well with the likes of Penny and Barnaby, no way she wasn’t going to like Luca.

Diego - 3/10. Okay, this one is actually due to some friction between the two characters. Diego just entirely rubs Luca the wrong way, and he eventually catches on to that. They’re never enemies or anything, but they’re also not really friends either. I just feel like Diego would be the most sexual person in general, and Luca’s very ace, so it’s a struggle for them to coexist. 

Talbott - 6/10. Luca’s very fond of him, and grows to sympathize with him during his quests. Talbott is just such a relatable guy, and while Luca isn’t the most anti-social, they understand the instinct. I also like to imagine that they’re less pushy than MC is in-canon, and that Talbott appreciates this. Luca is the one cat that Talbott can tolerate.

Chiara - 8/10. She’s closer to Luca, because they do share a House, so how could they not be? She was part of their friend group since Year 1, alongside Tonks, Penny, and Rowan. These two have a lot in common. They’re both socially awkward, but caring Healers who are on the quieter side but carry dark secrets they aren’t responsible for. Of course they connect. 

Beatrice - 9/10. These two would become the most unlikely friendship, but would quickly become close. Beatrice is the chaotic type Luca gravitates toward, and Luca has the gentle energy of someone like Penny without the appearance of being pretentious or trying to control Beatrice. I think she’d very much appreciate that and latch onto Luca the way she did Ismelda. I see these two understanding each other quite well as time goes on.

This was fun! Thank you for sending it my way!

[daylighteclipsed]

I love the Lab 5 arc, especially Ed’s side of things. It’s like a descent into Hell. Things just get progressively worse and more horrifying the deeper Ed dives into the building, and so many aspects of the plot that were introduced in this first half of the story converge here over the course of these episodes. It begins a little silly and over-the-top, with Ed dodging boobytraps like something out of Indiana Jones, but as more significant events transpire the arc steadily loses its humor, until you’re reacting with the same horror as the characters.

1. The first big discovery: The Slicer is hollow like Al. Condemned prisoners are facing the same fate Ed has subjected his little brother to. This is the second time Ed’s actions as a child are cast in a more sinister light; the first was when Shao Tucker played the “not so different” card, comparing what he did to his wife and Nina with what Ed did to his mother and brother. Like then, Ed and the audience are invited to evaluate the nobility of Ed’s actions, but the focus here is entirely on what Ed did to Al, the act of binding a soul to a hollow suit of armor.

While Ed does express some initial horror upon realizing that the military is torturing prisoners by bonding their souls to suits of armor, he tries to play it off with humor. It’s not until he talks to The Slicer, who is actually two brothers, that Ed realizes how horrific their existence is, and what Ed has done to his own brother is put into painful perspective. These brothers want to die. There is no way to ever get their bodies back, and if there was they’d just be executed for their crimes. They would rather die than keep existing like this.

The only thing Tucker’s first talking chimera (his wife) said was “I want to die” before she gave up living. Nina expressed to Ed that she was in pain too, and Scar confirmed it when he felt her soul entangled with Alexander’s before he put them both out of their misery. The Slicer, like a chimera, is two souls sharing one body, and they’re in pain. But much like when Ed was 12 and Mustang told him (rather brutally) that Nina’s better off gone, Ed can’t get behind a mercy kill.

2. Ed refuses to kill The Slicer brothers. He refuses to take any human life. The only way he could kill them, he says, is if he accepts that they’re not human anymore, but if he does he’d have to admit that Al isn’t human anymore either. This is the first time Ed’s black and white moral code is majorly challenged. He’s 15. He doesn’t understand that sometimes there’s no way around death. He’s forced to confront that maybe killing doesn’t always equal murder.

I feel like after Ed’s encounter with Barry the Chopper when he was 12 that killing for any reason, while already horrifying, became even more unthinkable. That and discovering a couple years later that Barry was right about the State Alchemists, that they have killed people, gruesomely, unfairly...Ed doesn’t want to be like them. And you see, a big source of tension in the show, is Ed’s relationship to the military. Ed has to obey orders, but he doesn’t want to sell his soul to the State.

The Slicer brothers are reminded of their humanity because Ed offers them mercy and kindness, but the gesture only hurts. It’s a reminder of what they’ve lost, everything that was taken away forever, and I think Ed has to consider then that maybe, when he pulled Al’s soul from The Gate and bonded it to armor way back when, maybe that hurt Al more than helped him. Maybe it wasn’t very noble. Maybe it was selfish. Maybe it’s still selfish to keep Al’s soul here, not knowing if there really is a way to get his body back.

Because Ed won’t take a life, the younger brother takes his own life. This sparks a new fear in Ed, that Al will lose the will to live if he can’t get Al’s body back. He vows that he won’t let that happen, which inadvertently raises the stakes for when he has the chance to get Al’s body back at the end of this arc.

3. Tucker is still alive and trying to recreate Nina. At first seeing Tucker alive and as some grotesque chimera is kind of like WTF WHY, but it actually fits really well. It furthers the parallels between Ed and Tucker: Tucker is trying to rectify his mistake by recreating Nina the way chimeras are made. It’s not the same as human transmutation, but in trying and failing repeatedly to recreate Nina, Tucker has lost more and more parts of his human body. Instead of those parts replaced by steel however, Tucker’s have been replaced with animal parts. He looks more beast than man now.

Tucker tried to use chimera-making to fix a mistake that was caused by him creating chimeras, not unlike how the Elrics want to use human transmutation to fix mistakes that were caused by them using human transmutation before. Tucker has dedicated his life to recreating his daughter, not unlike how Ed has dedicated his life to restoring his brother. But Tucker doesn’t seem to possess the guilt Ed does. He doesn’t express regret; it’s more like an obsessive curiosity, to see if he can seriously recreate his daughter, and Ed’s drawn in a little by this curiosity.

The scientist in him can’t help but wonder if it can be done, which calls back to what Tucker said years ago about how Ed is drawn to try horrific things with alchemy just to see if he can, even more so when Ed’s presented with the incomplete Philosopher’s Stone.

4. Ed is tempted to complete the Philosopher’s Stone. His suspicions about the Stone, that human sacrifices play a part, are more or less confirmed by Tucker, but he’s tricked into thinking those sacrifices have long since already happened. Now, human sacrifice being involved still bothers Ed, but it’s not enough to completely dissuade him, which ties in nicely with Scar, in a different part of the building, sharing his tragic backstory with Al about how his older brother tried to create a Stone from their fallen civilization. It also contrasts what Al starts to tell Scar, that if human sacrifice really is needed that he and Ed will stop pursuing the Stone.

Everything Ed’s worked for is within his grasp and there’s nobody in the room telling him not to go for it. There’s nobody saying it’s wrong. The older Slicer brother feels it would give those past sacrifices meaning. Tucker’s kind of like the devil in Ed’s ear, easing his conscience, stroking his ego. No alchemist has been skilled enough to finish the Stone before, but Ed is. Ed can. Does it really matter if the Stone’s made of dead people? They’re dead already. They’ve been dead a long time. What’s the harm, really, of refining material that’s already here? Of trying? It’s not like Ed killed those people.

Then the prisoners come crashing through the ceiling and it’s made very clear that there isn’t a difference between using dead people or live people; it’s just as immoral. And Tucker throws back his head and laughs wickedly at Ed’s distress because Ed was so close to giving in and accidentally killing all those people. He was even gonna let Tucker use the Stone after him to see if recreating Nina was possible. 

5. Homunculi exist. They’ve been manipulating the Elrics and others who sought the Philosopher’s Stone (Majhal, Cornello, Mugear, Dr. Marcoh) for years, and Ed draws an interesting parallel to the military. He shouts in defiance that he and Al are nobody’s puppets; not the State’s or the homunculi’s. From day 1, Mustang has manipulated Ed. He puts Ed into situations knowing exactly what Ed’s going to do and uses that to further his own career. He (jokingly?) threatens to reveal Al’s secret to get Ed to cooperate, which isn’t that different from how the homunculi use Al against Ed here.

The homunculi have recruited Tucker with the promise of showing him how to recreate Nina. What Tucker’s trying to do is basically make a homunculus out of a chimera. He explains the idea of an artificial soul, which is really just memories and impressions from the creator transplanted into the empty vessel, and Al frets over the legitimacy of his own soul after his confrontation with Barry outside and his struggle to remember things back in Resembool. The possibility of an artificial soul challenges Ed’s definition of human. To Ed, people are human because they have souls, but if a soul’s created does that make it less human? What is a soul anyway? For Ed’s definition to stick, he’d have to admit that a soul is something science can’t explain.

When the homunculi reveal that they only want the Stone to become human, their motivations immediately become sympathetic. A thematic link is established between soul bonds, chimera, and homunculi, the 3 creations Ed’s faced over the course of this arc. They’re all horrifying forms of alchemy. They all involve human experimentation. They’re all ostracized for being different, and they’re all suffering because they exist between human and not. They long to be human, and if they cannot be human they long to die. 

Almost everything introduced in the first half of the story comes together here: Tucker, Barry, Scar, the military, the homunculi lurking in the shadows, all of the Elrics’ past brushes with people pursuing the Philosopher’s Stone; it all builds up to this incredible moment.

6. Ed nearly creates a Philosopher’s Stone using the prisoners in the room. Neither Ed nor Al can fight their way out of here: Al’s limbs were eaten by Gluttony and Ed’s lost too much blood. His automail’s malfunctioning, and his body’s too weak to put up a real fight. As far as the brothers know, nobody’s coming to the rescue. Al’s pretty much got a knife held against his throat. If Ed doesn’t obey the homunculi, he’s going to lose his little brother.

The homunculi confirm without a doubt that the Stone requires live humans to be made. Ed doesn’t know these prisoners. He doesn’t care about them. Later on, he’ll even admit that their lives really meant nothing to him next to Al. It’s a test of his greed and empathy. Ed’s more empathetic than he was at the start of the story, but it’s still not his strong suit. Using dead people, strangers he didn’t know anything about, didn’t faze him much earlier. Using live people is wrong. Ed knows it is, but.....as Ed also admits later, if Al wasn’t right there watching him, he could, maybe, push his conscience aside and sacrifice those prisoners.

Even though Al doesn’t want him to. Even though Al tells him that he doesn’t want his body back if it means other people have to die. It doesn’t really matter what Al wants here. Ed’s thinking selfishly, driven by trauma that altered the course of his entire life. He wants to get Al’s body back. He wants to give Al his life back because he loves his brother and he wants this horrible guilt to go away. Al is the only family he has left, the only friend he hasn’t pushed away. He doesn’t want to lose him. He can’t.

This is Edward’s lowest point thus far, and it’s written all over his face. Lab 5 has beaten him down, physically and emotionally. He’s nearly surrendered to despair, apathy, and his own desires. But ultimately Ed can’t do it, and Scar, watching Ed prove he’s better than his older brother was, decides to intervene and help Ed and Al escape.

It’s just a brilliant couple of episodes. You can see the farther Ed tumbles down the rabbit hole, the denser and darker things grow, and the more things come together. So many ethical and philosophical questions are raised. So much is set up for the second half of the story. Ed and Al make it through the hell of Lab 5 to the other side, but they emerge close to death and changed forever and it’s [clenches fist] so good.

[squigglysquidd]

Asks! Cuz I’m a greedy B for your OCs. Parable - do the twins have a favorite human tradition? How often do they see pop pop when they’re adults and what’s that relationship like? What’s Castis’ take on his kids bonding to humans? What are Arcellie’s opinion on Saren falling for Cassia? Does Saren think of Ellie as his mom? Fibonacci- what is Castis’ opinion on humans? Did Nihlus tell Ashlyn “I love you” first? What is something Jana does casually that Garrus finds incredibly hot?

I love all the questions!!!!!

Parable

Do the twins have a favorite human tradition? 

Cassia likes the tradition of gathering up the entire family to celebrate certain holidays. A close second is giving gifts on holidays, but turians have some holidays and special occasions like that, so it’s not strictly a human thing. I’d say that turians also gather as families, but not usually with everyone, extended family included. For them, that means everyone from the Normandy and their families joins in on the festivities and that’s not too usual for turians. Turians separate work and life, so it’s not often that they get close enough to fellow soldiers, subordinates, or superiors to end up having huge gatherings for holidays. That, and humans have more holidays that call for it than turians. Seriously, we humans celebrate everything, lol.

Being how they were raised, Damocles can’t really say he has experience to compare it to, but from what he’s learned of turian customs, he can say that he really likes how humans tend to embrace changes when compared to turians. Sure, there are still stubborn prejudices and whatnot, but a huge thing is the fact that even with such a powerful military presence, humans don’t actually force their people into mandatory service. We all know turians require at least some time in the military, but humans are like ‘oh, you want to study music? Well, here ya go. Have fun!’ while turian society would rather you serve your people in some way. Sure, Damocles went into a military of sorts with the Wraiths, but he’s happy that it was his decision to do so, not one forced on him and he has an ulterior motive in liking it because he knows that, had they been in turian society, his best friend and love, Aeson, would have had a hard life. He’s not only a traitor’s son, but he just isn’t cut out for combat of any kind despite Damocles’ every attempt to train him. Aeson’s just too passive in nature and Damocles knows with sobering certainty that his friend probably wouldn’t have survived combat if he was ever thrown into it. (Not much of a demand for fishermen in the military, so Aeson would’ve been forced into a position he wouldn’t have been comfortable in)

How often do they see Pop-pop when they’re adults and what’s that relationship like?

Enjoying travel as much as she does, Cassia sees Pop-pop quite often. Usually, if she’s around his neck of the woods, she’ll stop by. Sometimes they can meet on the Citadel or she’ll see him at his home on Palaven, but she’s also really careful not to directly attract attention to herself because of her family’s notoriety so if he says it isn’t safe to visit for whatever reason, she sticks to vidcalls. Their relationship is really close because she tends to follow a more strict code of morals than her brother. Sure, she doesn’t exactly follow rules, but Castis has long since realized that following regulations may not be in that family’s repertoire. Plus, I don’t think Cassia could ever have a bad relationship with someone even if she tried. 

Damocles is different, however. We all know how imposing he looks, and that attracts unwanted attention if he ever goes anywhere. Usually, he only visits Pop-pop when he can manage to hitch a ride on a Wraith transport to Palaven, Palaven being a bit of a safe place for the Vakarians thanks to Primarch Victus’ relation and subtle protection towards them. Damocles gets antsy at Pop-pop’s though, because he can’t do anything that may attract attention. He’s explored the area around Pop-pop’s home to the point he could probably walk it blindfolded and there’s only so many extranet games he can play by himself or with Aeson to keep him occupied in his downtime. He’s also a lot like his father in his rebelliousness and though Castis has cooled some to Garrus and Jane’s ways, they still butt heads at times. Damocles, in these cases, can actually be considered worse than his dad and, unlike Garrus who tries to keep the peace for the most part, Damocles won’t give as easily. Damocles is headstrong and lets emotion rule his thinking in almost every setting, so he’s nearly impossible to effect. It’s because of this that Castis, for once, keeps his stricter morals under check so as not to ruin the few chances he gets to see his grandson. 

What Castis’ take on his kids bonding to humans?

Honestly, after all the family has gone through, he’s just happy his kids are happy. He’s learned to accept that Garrus will always go against the grain in terms of turian culture and traditions because he’s learned the hard way after losing Valeria and going through the Reaper War that there could always be a day where it’ll be too late to reconcile with the idea of their differences. Solana’s relationship is much easier to accept because she and James are much more traditional (and he’s got experience with human family thanks to how different Jane is to everything he expected). Years ago, he would’ve put up a fight about it, but now he’s realized that it doesn’t matter the species so long as his children are happy. Life’s too short for pettiness, he’s come to realize, and family doesn’t always mean blood.

What are Arcellie’s opinion on Saren falling for Cassia?

Arcanus is just so damn relieved someone’s there to show his son the ropes in life, so to speak. He sees what being raised in a tank has done in terms of his son’s ability to fit into society and Cassia seems the perfect person to show him the good in actually interacting with other people outside of work. Saren makes it hard enough to get along with as stunted as he is already, so he needs that exact opposite in Cassia to balance it out and give Saren a real life he will enjoy, even if he doesn’t immediately know it.

Ellie thinks it’s really cute. She adores Cassia because she’s just so damn lovable and mature for her age. Ellie was initially really worried Saren wasn’t getting the concept of dealing with people on a personal level, but didn’t know how to go about getting him to open up. To tell the truth, she was actually worried about interacting with him at first because she remembered her colossal failure in a relationship with Arcanus in the beginning and didn’t want to cause a rift between herself, Arcanus, and Saren. She’s hesitant in relationships because she spent so much of her life in secret, so the fact that Cassia and Saren seemed to click from the very beginning is a huge sigh of relief because she’s eventually admitted to herself that she sees Saren as a kind of step-son, even with as untraditional as his ‘birth’ was. 

Does Saren think of Ellie as his mom?

Good question. I don’t think he’s ever called her ‘mother’ before or put that word to his feelings towards her, but he unintentionally treats her as one. Arcanus is his father in both genetics, but also in guidance and the shared personality they have, but Ellie is different for him. At first, he didn’t have any kind of emotion to associate with her besides an acceptance and a bit of gratitude because of what she was to his father. It didn’t help that Ellie was wary of what she should be for him too, but eventually, he begins to see Ellie as a person separate from his father and she gains confidence that she isn’t going to ‘mess this up’ because she’s so rusty with relationships. Saren now associates guidance of a different kind with Ellie. There’s just some things that a father can’t teach you and, in interacting with Ellie, he’s learned some things that come from having a mother. Sure, most of it is Cassia’s doing, but he’s learned how to love someone from watching his ‘parents.’ He knows how his father is because he technically ‘is’ his father, but he’s learned how to be tender and what devotion looks like from a different person in seeing how Ellie interacts with Arcanus. He actually goes to her at times when he wants to do something nice for Cassia but doesn’t want Cassia to learn of it. Between her and Jane, all his romanticism has pretty much been learned by his ‘mother’ and mother-in-law.

Fibonacci

What is Castis’ opinion on humans?

As Primarch, he is wary of humans. Still so young to the whole of Eros and its politics, he thinks they are too demanding of attention and a place in the government (at least, that was before Sovereign) because it was like they came in and wanted a voice without actually proving they could handle the responsibility. We have to remember that their first act was to wage a small war with his people because they wanted to expand and didn’t think of diplomacy when the turians stood their ground, instead of seeing it as an invitation for battle. He still doesn’t trust many humans and sees undeserving arrogance in many dignitaries, but Jon and Garrus’ belief in him has helped Castis see the good in them. It’s why, after Sovereign’s attack, Castis reached out to King Stephan Hackett to propose trade lines between their peoples. He was happy to learn that the King was closer to Jon than Udina in thinking, so it’s helped him to be more open to humans when it comes to meeting individuals instead of a blanket view of them from what he sees of their representatives.

Did Nihlus tell Ashlin ‘I love you’ first?

Actually, he didn’t outright say it in a human way. Ashlin was the first one to put it to words, but he was courting her for a long time in a turian way with gifts and subvocals. They finally got to that point once he realized his attempts didn’t seem to be getting noticed and learned human poetry to impress her and express his feelings in a way she’d enjoy (she likes poetry in this AU). His poem is pretty much a love confession without saying the word, so it led to Ashlin finally putting the word out there in her response. Really, they were kinda idiots about the whole love thing in the beginning, lol

What is something that Jana does casually that Garrus finds incredibly hot?

Before they’re a pair, he has a weird interest in her hair as well as her eyes. He hasn’t seen many people with long hair like waves of fire or eyes that shift with the colors of the earth (her eyes are hazel). Like many fighters with long hair, she tends to keep it up or done so that it’s out of the way, but she’s just like any other woman and has to brush it. When she does, and he sees it, he’s almost entranced with the way it flows. Fire is powerful to Alysim and the image of someone running their fingers and a comb through it is almost unearthly.

Once they’re together, it’s her little touches that drive him absolutely insane. Turians aren’t touchy by nature and she usually wouldn’t be either in public, but she does it a lot as a way of grounding herself in this new reality. She doesn’t want to lose him like she did her husband, so she’s always reminding herself with touch and even kisses and after a life without any sort of partner to speak of, he’s starved for affection without even knowing it at first. Sure, he’s had touches from his family, but never a romantic partner, and once they’re a pair, they are both very touch-oriented in and outside the bedroom. It’s actually kinda cute how surprised he is by just how good being touched, hugged, and kissed feels even without it ever leading to sex.

Thanks so much for the asks!!! I loved them!!!

[sage-nebula]

I choose Alan!

First impression:

I first became aware of Alan because someone posted a screencap of the end of one of the Ash and Alan episodes where the narrator was like, “but little did they know that the world is slowly sliding toward destruction” and the person captioned it with, “Not again, Alan” and I was like, “what do you mean ‘again’?!” So my first impression of him was that he had somehow ended the world at some previous point, and that made me go watch all the TSME episodes. (Of course, he didn’t, but this wouldn’t be the PokéAni fandom if it didn’t unjustly blame him for everything.)

Impression now:

HE’S MY VALIANT DRAGON SON AND I’LL DEFEND HIM ‘TIL MY DYING DAY.

Favorite moment:

Part of me wants to say the moment where he finally finds his voice and is able to stand up to Lysandre, given that Lysandre was his abuser and that was such a powerful moment for him.

But the more indulgent side of me says that it was the moment where he spent all of .01 seconds before he threw himself out of an aircraft, swinging down by rope in a piece of stunning animation, to go out on the ice and save Lizardon in TSME 3. Good god that was incredible.

Idea for a story:

Let’s see … in my Works in Progress folder I currently have:

- The sixth chapter of To Devour the Sun (he’s not actually in that chapter, but the story focuses on him primarily, and he’s mentioned a lot).

- Lizardon’s origin story, which is from Alan’s point-of-view and details how he found and hatched Lizardon’s egg.

- A fic where Alan, age eleven, gives a presentation at the annual League funding science conference (it has a more official name than that, I don’t remember) because Sycamore is too sick to do so, and if they don’t attend and do a good job at the conference, the lab will lose its funding. Note that Sycamore does not send Alan; Alan sends himself by enlisting Gabrielle (Sycamore’s garchomp) to cut the cord to Sycamore’s alarm clock.

- A fic where Alan, having newly become Champion, gives a speech / answers questions at his induction ceremony pertaining to what happened in the Flare arc and what his plans are for the future, showing how far he’s come in his recovery.

- A fic in my Immortality AU where Alan and Ash time travel thanks to Celebi shenanigans and interact with Sycamore during XY(&Z). Or at least, this used to be in my WIPs folder, but it was lost when my folder was mysteriously deleted a while ago, RIP. Anyway, I still have a bit of it saved in a draft, so you can have a snippet of it since all the rest was deleted:

“Alan, you can have Lizardon fly you down, can’t you?” Augustine asked, and he smiled as Alan looked over at him, eyes wide. “I saw on television that he had evolved. He should be able to carry you—maybe both of you, depending?”

Alan bit his lip, holding Augustine’s gaze for just a moment before he shook his head and turned away, facing the waterfall’s edge again. “No. I can’t call on Lizardon right now.”

Augustine frowned, his heart skipping an unpleasant beat in his chest. “Why not? Steven said he had healed after the incident in Hoenn. Was he wrong?”

“Steven?” Alan looked back, his brow scrunched in confusion, but before Augustine could answer the confusion cleared and he shook his head. “Oh, yeah—no, he was right. Lizardon recovered from that just fine.”

“Then why can’t he carry you?” Augustine asked. Alan didn’t answer, and instead shoved his hands into his coat pockets and started walking along the edge of the waterfall, down the slope that led along the bank. Ash cast a frown Augustine’s way before he turned and started to follow Alan. Augustine stared after the pair of them for a second—since when had Alan ever just walked away in the middle of a conversation like that?—before he started after himself, a knot of stress building in his chest. “Alan, what’s wrong with Lizardon?”

“Nothing’s wrong with Lizardon,” Alan said, and though he raised his voice to be heard, he didn’t look back. “Come on, there should be another path down over here.”

- A much longer fic involving an organization named Panacea that wants to take over the world, and is doing so by challenging each region’s Champion—and, further, is doing so by challenging them with people who have specifically trained to challenge them. In particular the starting fic had Alan’s antagonist, a woman named Florence, showing up in Isolé Village (where he lived the first five miserable years of his life), and Alan has to go there to chase her out. He encounters the villagers who “raised” him for the first time in seventeen years, and it goes … mmh. It goes.

And probably others, but I can’t remember them right now.

Unpopular opinion:

Oh boy, where do I begin.

- Alan deserved to win the League, full stop. I love Ash, but had Greninja beaten Lizardon it would have been the strongest show of plot armor imaginable. Mega Charizard X outclasses Battle Bond Greninja in every way, especially when ‘Zard X has Thunder Punch which, no, cannot be blocked by Water Shuriken, that is nonsense.

- Alan was not remotely responsible for what happened to Hari-san. Hari-san was able to wander off and become comatose due to Manon’s negligence as a trainer. That was in no way his fault and the fact that no one took the time to tell him that he doesn’t have to blame himself for everything is a crime.

- For that matter, Alan had every single right in the world to decide not to travel with Manon anymore, especially since she never asked to come with him in the first place, and instead just kept stalking him and ignoring his “no” until he gave in. Manon continuously ran roughshod over Alan’s boundaries, ignored his consent, argued with him when he explained his feelings in a way that completely ignored those feelings, and ultimately just had no respect for him as a person, instead only thinking about herself and what she got from their partnership (i.e. talking about how much she can learn and grow, saying she’ll get through danger as long as he protects her, et cetera). Frankly, the fact that it took so long for Alan to actually yell at her just goes to show how nice of a person he is. If it were me, I would have yelled like that back in TSME 1 (instead of just calling her annoying and continuously ditching her like he did).

- To that end, I think that Alan and Manon’s relationship as it is at the end of the series is pretty unhealthy, since Manon never once apologized or learned from any of her behavior (thus she stayed pretty static / will no doubt keep making the same mistakes again and again), and Alan now feels as if he can’t do anything that will upset her because that will make him a Horrible Awful Person Who’s Ruining Her Life. And I mean, we kind of already see this happen; in XYZ045, Alan does try to tell her that he doesn’t want to dance (and he looks seriously panicked and uncomfortable about it), but everyone, including Sycamore in a move that really disappointed me, pressures him to do it anyway. And what ends up happening? He gives in, and he’s not smiling during the dance scene, either. Honestly, that scene triggered me really badly because it brought up memories of times when my own boundaries and consent were completely railroaded—where I was explicitly told that what I wanted didn’t matter—and the resulting panic attack was so bad I got sick and had to bring it up with my therapist. Anyway, while I prefer to write their relationship post-canon as being healthy (at least with regards to Alan not giving into all of Manon’s whims), as it is in canon it has the potential to be so bad, and we’ve already seen that. It’s gross.

- To that end, imagining them romantically is also gross. I think it speaks to the heteronormativity of this fandom that they look at a fifteen-year-old boy and a ten-year-old girl (particularly one who acts like she’s eight) and think, “Hm, yes, this is true romantic love.” The maturity gap between them is palpable. Manon huffs and throws tantrums like a little kid. Alan has to watch over and take care of and protect her. Setting aside that their behavior is much more similar to that of siblings, the fact remains that they met at a stage in their lives where Manon looks to Alan for guidance and protection and Alan, however reluctantly, offers that. This sets the stage for how their relationship will continue to grow and develop. Speaking from experience, Alan’s not going to look at her one day and see a romantic interest. He’s going to still think of her as a kid. And again, I’m speaking from experience here; I know that my nephew is now almost eighteen years old, but when I think of him, I still imagine him as he was when he was a small child. I have step-cousins who are not blood related to me at all that I’ve known since they were small children, and it always blows my mind when I’m reminded that they’re now graduating high school and going off to college. I still think of them as kids, and Alan would be the same way with Manon. And even if one wanted to argue that wouldn’t stop Manon from having a precocious crush on Alan��and I agree, it wouldn’t—that doesn’t mean that Alan would (or should!) return her feelings. Again, she acts like (and in-universe is often compared to) Bonnie. She’s less mature than Ash, Serena, and Clemont, who are supposed to be her age contemporaries. Thinking that Alan would view her romantically makes him out to be really very gross, and I find it extraordinarily insulting to his character. (And again, in this case, even if you age them up it won’t work, because they met at a time when Alan had to be a caretaker for Manon. That makes it squicky.)

And before anyone comes at me — age gaps are NOT inherently bad. My own parents have a sixteen year age difference between them, so believe me, I’m NOT against age gaps as a whole. But when and how you meet (as in the context of your meeting) is important. My parents met when one was forty-six and the other was thirty. They were both adults, they had both been married and divorced before, they met on equal footing. Alan and Manon have not met at an equal footing, and they’ve met at very important developmental stages in their lives. Again, maturity is a HUGE part of it, because it’s the maturity gap that’s squickier than the age gap. If Manon had the maturity of, say, Ash I could see arguing for it, but as it stands she acts far more like Bonnie, and it’s squicky. This ship is a NOTP for me for so many reasons (including the above mentioned how Manon continuously ignores Alan’s consent and runs over his boundaries), and this is certainly one of them.

And last but not least: I know this is all blunt and harsh. I know this. But listen: In the past, when I’ve tiptoed around my feelings (either by writing very vague tags in a blank post that did not mention either Manon OR the ship by name), I’ve received hate for it. I’ve had people vagueblog me, I’ve had people send me rude messages, and I’ve had people yell at and block me for daring to politely voice my own opinions on my own posts when they brought the subject up (i.e. I made the post about something different entirely, they brought up Manon, I tried to state my opinion politely, they got mad and blocked me). So if tiptoeing around the situation and being diplomatic gets me hate anyway, why bother? I’ll be honest about how I feel, and how I feel is that I hate this ship, I think Manon should have been made to take responsibility for her behavior in canon, and her stans have made it incredibly hard for me to like her at all considering how they vilify Alan (or else just reduce him to her trophy boyfriend), constantly excuse everything she does, and resort to vagueblogging, rude messages, and yelling when they encounter anyone who doesn’t like her, no matter how polite or diplomatic they are about it. I still treat her fairly in the fics I write (i.e. I don’t vilify her, I write her as being successful in the future, et cetera), but at this point I’m done pretending outside of fic that this fandom hasn’t ruined her for me, because they absolutely have.

- I don’t think he should have immediately left on a journey again at the end of the series. I think he should have stayed at the lab instead, especially since Sycamore said that Alan was needed there. Alan should have stayed at the lab to rest, heal, and recover, and then later he should have taken the Champion challenge. That he was sent out on a journey again was super lazy writing.

- I also think that he should have been able to keep the Mega Stone and Key Stone, but repurposed into pendants by Sycamore, to give Alan a true fresh start and remove any taint that might have been on them. But that’s less important than all of the above.

Favorite relationship:

It’s a very close tie between his relationships with Lizardon and Sycamore, and an honorary mention to his relationship with Ash.

Alan and Lizardon are platonic soulmates and I love everything about their relationship. I love how Alan moves closer to Lizardon whenever he’s feeling nervous or anxious. I love how they talk to each other, and how Alan perfectly understands what Lizardon’s saying even when they just exchange looks. I love how Alan was willing to risk his life to protect Lizardon without a single thought. I love how Lizardon similarly shielded Alan during the Flare crisis to prevent him from getting hurt. I love how they respect each other so much, to the point where, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene, Alan extends his hand toward Lizardon but waits until Lizardon moves in for petting and cuddling right after they win the League. Alan doesn’t just pet Lizardon, he waits for permission before he pets and cuddles Lizardon. Alan respects consent and boundaries, and doesn’t consider himself entitled to Lizardon cuddles just because he’s Lizardon’s trainer (sorry, partner). 

Alan and Sycamore also so incredibly sweet, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of them in canon. Sycamore is Alan’s dad in everything but blood, and there’s so much in the show to point to this … and yet somehow, not enough. But I love how supportive Sycamore is of Alan, how understanding and loving he is, and likewise how Alan will do anything to protect Sycamore, given how Sycamore saved him when he was young. They’re precious.

Finally, honorable mention is to Alan and Ash, because they helped each other so much during Kalos and I honestly love the relationship they had. So many people are tied up in the “rivalry” that was hardly that, and it saddens me so much because they’re missing such quality content. Ash managed to make Alan smile, laugh, and feel excitement and happiness at a time when he was so critically depressed that he couldn’t. Post-canon, he gave Alan a reason to keep living, which Alan says himself saved him. (He also is the one who inspired Alan to fight back at the start of the Flare crisis, on Prism Tower.) Meanwhile, Alan was someone it was okay for Ash to lose against. Ash was put on such a pedestal throughout Kalos that losing was practically deemed unacceptable, and gave him a whole damn crisis around the Snowbelle City time. But Alan and Ash met when Alan and Lizardon were a pair of Big Damn Heroes (the light of the dawn behind them and everything) saving Pikachu from Team Rocket (and protecting Ash from their attacks!). From the get-go it was acknowledged that Alan was so strong that, if Ash lost against him, it was fine. It wasn’t seen as “shocking” like when Ash lost to Shouta. Alan was someone that Ash could just have fun battling against, without something serious riding on it. They have a natural comfort around each other, familiarity like you’d expect best friends to have. I really love their relationship, too.

Favorite headcanon:

Pretty much everything in all of my post-canon fics, haha, but I’m really attached to the matching pendants I gave Alan and Lizardon for their Key Stone and Mega Stone, respectively. (Or rather, that I had Sycamore give Alan and Lizardon, haha. But same thing, really.)

[welllpthisishappening]

Where You Can Still Remember Dreaming (9/35)

Killian Jones, former crime reporter, was not happy to be home. It hadn’t been home in a very long time, after all. Home was an abstract construct that existed for people who didn’t know as many adjectives for blood as he did. Home wasn’t New York City, but it certainly wasn’t Boston or New Orleans either and he’d always gone where the story was. And he was positive Emma Swan was one hell of a story.

Emma Swan, pro video game player, desperately wanted to find home. She thought she had, a million years ago in the back corner of a barn and a town and faces she trusted. But that had all blown up in her face and it didn’t take long for her to decide she was going to control the pyrotechnics from here on out. So now she was in New York City and a different corner and she kind of wanted to trust Killian Jones.

Neither one of them expected a year of of video games and feature stories to dredge up old enemies and even older feelings, but, together, they made a pretty good team.

Rating: Mature AN: Stuff. It happens. David is an absurdly overprotective brother and I actually drew a color-coded flow chart while I was plotting this to make sure I knew how everyone was connected to everyone else. We’re getting into the good stuff and there’s a lot more happening than Killian being confused by Overwatch catchphrases. Thanks for continuing to click and read and comment, guys!  || Also on Ao3, FF.net and Tumblr || 

He was going to kiss her.

He was.

He couldn’t come up with a reason not to – not when he could feel her everywhere, that one hand resting on his chest feeling like some kind of live wire in the middle of the hallway and maybe it was the wine, but Killian was fairly positive it was just the echo of her voice and the slightly nervous smile on her face and God he wanted to kiss her.

One of them moved or maybe both of them moved and he could feel her fingers tighten on the front of his t-shirt and his hand fell to her hip, wrapping all the way across her and they should have drank more wine.

If only to make sure that he couldn’t spill the wine. All over Emma.

“Holy shit,” she gasped, jumping up and there were droplets of wine falling off her leg and that wasn’t helpful at all because it only made Killian look at her leg and he was frozen in the middle of the hallway trying to figure out how to not want to kiss her.

Ethics. Ethics. A line of professionalism that should be as wide as several city blocks. And wine. A lot of spilled wine.

“How did we not drink more of this?” Emma continued, trying to brush her leg off and that was distracting too. God damnit.

Killian shrugged, standing up and stepping back into her space like there was a magnet there or some kind of gravitational pull and the carpet was absolutely soaked too. This was a disaster.

And maybe he should tell Henry to stop talking so much.

Or come up with a way to kiss Emma.

The two things didn’t really go together.

“We haven’t been out here very long, love,” Killian pointed out, immediately groaning when the words seemed to land at his feet. Emma scoffed, but there was still a ghost of a smile on her face and barely any space between them.

Killian felt like he’d drank the entire bottle of wine.

“Maybe that’s why no one’s come out here,” she mumbled. “Usually they’re more obnoxious about that kind of stuff.” “Ah, well, maybe they’re trying something new.”

“Maybe.”

Emma laughed softly, head falling forward and Killian didn’t think she meant for her forehead to brush against him, but they were practically occupying the same space and his hand was back on her hip before he could even consider something different.

She didn’t move her head, but he could see her shoulders shift, the sound of her deep breath bouncing off the walls in the abandoned hallway and for one, absolutely insane moment he wanted to tell her everything.

He wanted to tell her about that night in New Orleans and the suspicions he’d never been able to actually confirm and he wanted to tell her why he still hadn’t been able to look at a single apartment, why he couldn’t imagine living anywhere below 86th Street and how he kept finding himself running up the West Side Highway if only to be close enough to the water that, maybe, things would start to make sense again.

He wanted to tell her that, maybe, she made sense.

“Emma,” Killian breathed and her whole body stiffened, going taut with tension as her hand fell back to his arm.

“Still here,” she muttered. She didn’t lift her head.

He laughed softly, fingers tracing across her shirt and over her back and they’d teleported across those blocks. “Yeah, I can see that.” “You’ve got to stop doing that.” He dropped his hand as quickly as if he’d been shocked, eyes going wide and Emma, finally, pulled her head up, staring at him like she couldn't quite figure out what she’d done wrong. “What?” “What?” “Why are we repeating each other?” “I have no idea what’s happening.” It wasn’t a laugh, not really, but Emma smiled at him and maybe the world recentered or gravity shifted slightly and he’d never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he wanted to kiss her and maybe they could walk out of some kind of quasi-family, team-bonding dinner without anyone noticing that they were gone.

“I don’t think we’re doing a very good job of this,” Emma chuckled. “This whole friend thing. We’re kind of talking in circles here.” “What are you trying to say, Swan?” Killian asked, ignoring the flash of sheer terror that seemed to shoot down his spine at her words

Melodramatic idiot.

She rolled her eyes, squeezing her hand and he’d forgotten it was there – fingers wrapped around his forearm and just above his brace and the terror turned back to nerves and he was back in the middle of whiplash all over again. “We keep having these vaguely emotional, heavy conversations in hallways and corners and, well, this was just supposed to be fun.”

She laughed again and he’d probably think about her lip in between her teeth for the rest of dinner.

With her brother at the other end of the couch.

Fuck.

“Are we not having fun?” Killian asked, determined to stop thinking and considering and Robin was going to kill him. He didn’t want to think about Robin either.

“If emotional backstory is your idea of fun.” “I wanted to know. And…” He took a deep breath and moved his hand again, fingers tracing over the back of her palm and the wine bottle was still on the floor. “I wanted to know,” he repeated. “Not...not on the record or anything, just because it’s you.” Emma blinked, lips parting slightly and he could hear her breath rush out of her, like she was stunned. “See, you’re doing it again.” “Be more specific, Swan.” “You’re...nice.” “That didn’t sound very confident.” She shrugged, clicking her tongue. “I didn’t expect you to be nice. You’re just supposed to be here for the angle or something.”

“I’m not,” Killian said seriously, bringing his hand up to wrap around her shoulder and she bit down on her lip again. “You know I don’t just steal cinnamon and risk lawsuit for people I’m only interested in getting a few quotes out of.” Emma laughed and he could feel that too, some kind of overly emotional, metaphorical light that seemed to sink into every inch of him. “I don’t think one Starbucks is going to miss its cinnamon container. Which is all you stole, by the way. It’s not like you staged this major theft of the entire cinnamon supply.” “You’ve put a lot of thought into this.” “Nah,” Emma shook her head. “I’m just trying to keep that ego in check. Can’t have you getting too far ahead of yourself. And, after all, aren’t you just supposed to report on the crime, not live it?” “That’s a good point, although, if we’re going to follow through on that line of thought, I’m not much of a crime reporter anymore.” Emma hummed and Killian tried not to consider just how easy it was to fall back into features and caring and stories that kept him up until five in the morning. And he wasn’t nervous – not really. The story had done well, better than he thought it would with far more hits than he’d promised Cora, but anything could happen and Killian found himself wanting all over again.

That was dangerous.

He needed to get out of the hallway.

“Hey guys,” a voice called from a few feet away and Killian spun around to find a nervous looking Belle leaning around the doorway. “Uh, David and Ruby want Emma to come play MarioKart? Something about wrecking on Special Cup? And also Mary Margaret says there’s food. She also mentioned combating the wine. I have no idea what that meant.” Emma sighed, rolling her eyes when Killian glanced over his shoulder. “She thinks she’s my mother,” she explained and he couldn't even find it in himself to be frustrated. Even if he still wanted to kiss her a questionable amount.

“It’s still not a bad thing, love.” Her eyes flashed back up towards him and he couldn’t seem to stop moving towards her. Belle was still standing in the doorway. “Yeah, I know, I know. I just....they’re totally putting on a show for you. And we wasted all that wine.” “I’m not worried about the wine. Or the show.” “No?” “No,” Killian said easily, shaking his head and Emma’s feet hit up against his sneakers. He’d never taken his shoes off. And she was barefoot in the hallway with her eyes tracing over his face like she was looking for the lie and a small puddle of white wine a few inches away.

Emma nodded once, lips pressed together tightly and she tugged on his shirt again. He was, at least, ninety-nine percent positive she rocked towards him and maybe she wanted just a bit too. “Alright,” she sighed. “You want to be incredibly impressed by my MarioKart skills?” “I’d like nothing better, Swan.”

“Good.” He followed her back into the apartment – the empty bottle of wine in his hand – and he didn’t think he imagined the knowing look on Belle’s face when she closed the door behind them.

And if Killian wanted to kiss Emma in the hallway then it was nothing compared to how much he wanted to kiss her on her brother and sister-in-law’s couch, watching with something that probably looked a bit like awe, as her thumbs flew over the controller in her hand and she let out a string of trash talk and laughter that made him reconsider everything he learned in Journalism 101 at least twenty-four times.

It was the same thing that had happened at the qualifier. She was more confident with a game in front of her  and Killian couldn’t seem to stop watching her, the way her eyes flitted across the screen and tongue pressed into her cheek and maybe he should drink some more.

David groaned again – his car spinning out into what appeared to be an actual moat of lava when Emma ran into him. She let out a triumphant sound, flashing a smile at Killian, and David slumped further into his seat, dropping his controller on the ground.

“Told you I was good,” Emma muttered, knocking her shoulder into Killian’s arm and for as tense and cautious as they’d been in the hallway, she was the exact opposite with the game on TV and the chance to gloat just a bit in front of her brother.

Killian grinned, shifting slightly and maybe his arm moved over the back of the couch on purpose. Maybe he completely ignored Ruby’s quirked eyebrows and the quick glance she shot Elsa’s direction. “I wasn’t doubting you, Swan,” he said. “Although I’ll admit that my experience with this game is limited to being absolutely destroyed by Henry and Roland.” “Roland, too? Jeez, you’re just painfully bad at all of this aren’t you?” He shrugged, but Emma’s smile didn’t waver and David picked up his controller again, demanding another round and another race. “Henry is, of course, some kind of expert, but Roland’s getting there and this is at least an almost acceptable game to play with a seven-year-old. He’s just got better hand-eye coordination than I do.” Emma widened her eyes and Killian wasn’t sure if that crash was David’s controller falling again or Mary Margaret dropping several pounds of food. Ruby snorted softly, holding her own controller out expectantly a few inches away from Killian’s nose.

“What?” he asked, possibly just asking the entire apartment.

Ruby pushed the controller into his chest. “Here,” she said. “You can use mine. I’ve got...whatever, come on David.” David had absolutely dropped his controller, still bent over when his head snapped up to gape at Ruby. “What? No, no, Rainbow Road! We’ve got one more track! I’m almost actually good at that one. I could knock Emma into oblivion.” “Nothing says family like threatening to knock each other into oblivion” Ruby laughed, taking a step towards him and tugging him unceremoniously out of the chair. “C’mon. M’s probably needs help or something.” David stared at her for a beat, glancing quickly towards a clearly frustrated Emma. “Right,” he nodded. “Right, right. There’s a ton of food. Absolutely.” “Really selling it, Detective,” Ruby muttered, pushing him back towards the kitchen and leaving Killian on the couch with Emma next to him and three other teammates sitting awkwardly in the living room.

“Well,” Belle said awkwardly, grabbing a handful of empty cups off the coffee table in front of her. “There’s a lot of food, so….come on Anna.” Anna blinked, barely taking her eyes off her phone screen before it buzzed again and Belle eyed her meaningfully. “Oh,” she sighed, jumping up immediately. “Right, right the food. Yeah. Ok. Let’s go, El.”

Emma closed her eyes, resting her head in her hands and her shoulders had gone tense again. He should have bought two bottles of wine.

They never should have left the hallway.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Elsa mumbled, resting a hand on Emma’s shoulder as she followed her sister back towards the suddenly crowded kitchen.

They sat in silence for what felt like an entire lifetime and another Saturday night of whatever any of this was and Killian only realized he was still holding the controller when the game started to make noise and the stupid thing vibrated in his hand.

“Uh, Swan,” he muttered and she snapped her head towards him, something that looked like dread on her face. “Hey, what’s the matter?” She sighed, her whole body sagging forward and he moved again, twisting back towards her, the controller and the game forgotten completely. “Are you kidding me?” “No.” “This is a disaster.” “It’s not.” “I didn’t even think about….” Emma swallowed, pulling her lips back behind her teeth and if he still didn’t want to kiss her so much he probably would have been concerned by the look on her face. “God, you should just...I don’t know what I’m doing here. I didn’t even think about your hand-eye coordination and I…” “Swan,” Killian interrupted. She stared at him, hands twisted in her lap and Mary Margaret dropped another dish. “Is she doing that to make sure we don’t think they’re all eavesdropping?” “Probably.” “They’re not very subtle.” “Why do you think I’m freaking out? Between the pans and the food and, God, we didn’t even tell anyone about the puddle of wine in the hallway. The whole place is going to smell like...what was that?” “Chardonnay.” “Jeez, did you spend a lot of money on that? I hope you didn’t spend a lot of money on that.” “I didn’t,” Killian promised, not sure if that was an admission he was particularly pleased to make. Emma sighed. “And I don’t mind the lack of subtlety. It’s almost funny.” “Gee, thanks.” “You know what I meant.” “I promise I don’t,” Emma groaned and she was dangerously close to him again, half on the same couch cushion and this all felt a bit teenage and somewhere close to absurd, but a few days before he’d bet his entire career on a series of video game features, so it almost made sense.

Killian grimaced and he should tell her he couldn’t. There were rules and expectations and, shit, bias and Regina would absolutely push him onto the tracks at the Astor Place station if she realized he was thinking any of this.

He didn’t.

Of course not.

He couldn’t seem to get his mouth to move.

“Ask me a question,” Emma said suddenly.

Killian lowered his eyebrows, blinking twice and she smiled at him, certain and confident and exactly the way she looked when she was playing the game. “What?”

“A question. Ask me. Something. Anything. Make this less weird.” “And interviewing you is going to be less weird than trying to play this game and ignoring whatever it is Mary Margaret is doing?” “Yes,” Emma said evenly. “Plus I’d absolutely destroy you on Rainbow Road. If we’re going to actually do this then we need to start on something easier.” Killian felt his lips twitch, something that might have actually been nerves settling in the pit of his stomach and maybe easier was better.

Friends. Friends. Friends.

Goddamn fucking ethics.

“Why is your coffee order so absurd?” he asked and maybe he’d think about Emma’s laugh even more than that thing she kept doing with her lip.

“That’s your question?” “It’s been driving me nuts since the qualifier.” Emma smiled at him – the green in her eyes getting slightly darker as soon as that particular admission seemed to just fall out of him. “Yeah?” she asked. He just nodded. “Ah, well, it’s a complicated, dramatic story. And mostly all Mary Margaret’s fault. When we were in high school, she worked at the diner in town and she was...let’s say very good at experimenting with food and drinks and dessert options.”

“And you were her favorite test subject?” Killian asked.

“Those journalism instincts.” “Perceptive.” “Right,” she grinned. “Well, M’s started getting more and more ambitious and finally she came up with, as she will be the first to tell you, the perfect ratio of hot chocolate to coffee. See, we lived in a tiny town and the closet Dunkin Donuts was twenty minutes away, so the idea of a fancy cup of coffee was a bit of a dream to the residents of Storybrooke. M’s changed all that.”

“You’re right, it was a very dramatic story.”

“It’s a staple at the diner now. Although no one makes it as good as M’s does.” “Naturally,” Killian agreed. “Why the cinnamon though?”

Emma’s breath hitched and there was another crash in the kitchen and feet padding across the living room floor – a drastic and immediate return of family and a distinct lack of subtlety. She twisted her hands again, the knuckles in her fingers cracking from the movement and Killian’s stomach clenched, not quite sure how one follow-up could have blown up in his face like that.

“So,” David said pointedly, dropping back onto the chair and kicking his legs out. Killian sat up a bit straighter. “How’s someone start writing about the video games?”

Emma groaned, grabbing a pillow off the floor and tugging her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. “Subtle,” she muttered, but David just shrugged. “Probably the same way someone becomes a professional video game player,” Killian said. “Interest. Maybe a bit of talent. A deep-rooted desire to pay rent and become a functional member of society.” “I wouldn’t go that far,” Emma said, but the smile was back. “The functional member of society part. I mean, that’s just kind of my corner of the apartment now.”

“Ah, but you’re not sleeping in a hotel and living off room service.” “Are you?” “Barely.”

David made a noise and Killian pulled his eyes away from Emma, trying to look as if this wasn’t all blatantly obvious. “But you’re only just getting back into feature writing now, right?”

“Yeah,” Killian said. “I’ve only been at Mills for about a month. I got back to the city a couple days before I met the team.” “Wait, really?” Emma asked sharply. Killian shrugged, far too aware of the audience in front of them and whatever checklist of questions David was working his way down.

“Right, right,” David muttered, tapping his fingers on his thigh like he was trying not to actually start taking notes. Emma still hadn’t let go of the pillow. “And you were covering...crime before? Seems kind of generic?” Killian lifted his eyebrows, the couch creaking slightly when Emma moved. “Was that supposed to be a question?”

“I mean there’s a lot of crime.” “Oh my God, David, this isn’t even entertaining anymore,” Ruby muttered, but David didn’t seem deterred. He straightened his shoulders, eyeing Killian like some kind of journalistic threat and Emma couldn’t stop staring at her still sockless feet.

“I didn’t start with that,” Killian explained. “I did a lot of longform stuff when newspapers were still interested in longform stuff, but that changed fairly quickly and uh…” He glanced towards Emma, trying to take stock of her face and her eyes and how much he wanted and the truth just kind of tumbled out of him. “When my brother died, there wasn’t much left in the city to keep me interested and the industry was changing and I wanted...a change of scenery.” Emma let go of the pillow.

“So,” Killian continued. “I picked up a bunch of freelance stuff, all over the country and I landed in New Orleans about seven years ago, started working on a series of stuff, got hit by a car, came back to New York, left New York again, went to Boston, stayed in Boston for a few years, wrote whatever they told me to and then stopped doing that when I got fired. Now, I’m covering video games and trying to figure out how to play this game and, hopefully, going to Philadelphia with my photographer so we can keep getting hits on the site.” The entire goddamn apartment stared at him and Killian tried not to blink or look at Emma and neither one of those things was particularly easy.

“It was a good story,” David said, breaking the silence and standing up. He took three steps towards Killian, reaching his hand out and Emma made some kind of strangled noise on the other end of the couch.

“Thanks,” Killian said cautiously, taking the outstretched hand and shaking.

“And Philadelphia shouldn’t be a problem,” Elsa added quietly. She clicked her tongue when every head in the apartment turned towards her, Killian’s eyebrows shooting up his forehead quickly. “Emma didn’t tell you?” “I was getting there,” Emma sighed. “Eventually.” He turned towards her, certain every single nerve ending in his body sparked as soon as her eyes met his and he’d talked about Liam. Shit. “There was a point to this celebration, remember?” she asked. “We figured out Philadelphia.” “Elsa figured out Philadelphia,” Ruby corrected and Emma hummed in agreement.

Elsa waved a dismissive hand through the air, rolling her eyes for good measure and Killian tried not to actually explode with questions. “This is also a very long story,” she warned.

“It’s good though,” Emma mumbled, a nervous smile on her face and she certainly hadn’t missed that whole dead brother part of the story. He wished they were in the hallway again. “She’s secretly a lawyer.” “What?” Killian asked. His neck wasn’t going to stand up to a full year of this. His muscles already felt like they were being twisted in impossible ways.

“That’s not technically true,” Elsa corrected. “I never actually took the bar in New York and I’ve never really practiced and...whatever, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I know people in a corporate type way and, well, our parents knew even more people and I don’t really like Weselton, but he did a lot of work with my parents and they’re interested in getting into sponsorship possibilities and…” She shrugged, clearly not comfortable with the spotlight or the half a dozen pairs of eyes staring at her. Killian wished he’d brought a notebook. Or a pen.

He was woefully unprepared.

“What do they do?” he asked and Emma widened her eyes in confusion. “This Weselton guy and, I’m assuming, his company? What do they do?” “Oh, uh, shipping. Trade stuff.” “Trade stuff?” “Is it really that important? I mean we weren’t going to be able to do much of anything if we didn’t get the money. From what I can tell they’ve got their hands in a bunch of different things. There’s really no rhyme or reason to it. It just seems like a money thing and if they can ship it, they move it.” “And they want to get involved in sponsorships?” Killian pressed, some kind of metaphorical alarm bell going off in the back of his mind.  “Of video game teams?” “They’re the only ones who responded,” Elsa admitted quietly and Emma stuttered at that, eyes going wide and shoulders sagging when her head darted towards a slightly stunned looking Ruby. “I...Anna and I came up with a bunch of people our parents might have known or could have worked with and…” “Wait, wait, wait,” Killian said. “Might have? Past tense?” Anna scowled at him, finally dropping her phone on the ground. “Past tense,” she repeated, but there was a hint of sadness in her voice. This was an unqualified disaster. Maybe there was a twenty-four hour liquor store nearby. Probably not.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. Anna made a face, not quite disappointment, but not quite acceptance either and David looked like he couldn't quite believe he’d started this whole conversation.

“They worked in collections,” Elsa said, answering a question Killian hadn’t actually asked. “You know, fine art, antiques, that kind of thing. We basically grew up in the back corner of Sotheby’s.” “You grew up in New York too?” Killian asked, working the first genuine smile out of either one of the sisters since any of them had started talking.

Elsa nodded. “Upper East.” “Naturally.” “Did you say too?”

“Morningside Heights,” Killian mumbled, trying not to actually sigh at the admission. It felt like an admission. God, Liam would punch him. “Although now it’s more a very expensive hotel room room on 92nd. That’s a work in progress, though.”

He chanced a look Emma’s direction – something about those pesky, metaphorical magnets again – and he couldn't quite read the expression on her face, a mix between confusion and interest and, maybe, concern. “Did everyone in this room grow up in the city except us?” David asked, nodding towards Mary Margaret and Emma.

Belle shook her head. “Hartford,” she said. “Until I went to school and then a couple years abroad and back here for the job at the library.” “You and Emma should talk the old town.” He gasped as soon as the words were out of his mouth and there was far too much going on in that living room. Mary Margaret banged on another pan, announcing she needed more help and David practically leapt out of his chair.

Killian didn’t move his eyes away from Emma, trying to read her mind and coming up decidedly short. “Swan,” he said slowly, reaching towards her arm. She shook her head.

“Weselton’s going to pay for the whole thing,” Elsa continued. “Getting to Philadelphia and being in Philadelphia and we just have to…” “What?” “Win,” Emma finished. “We have to win. Immediately.” Killian furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s not how it works though. It’s a whole season. You can’t just win while you’re in Philadelphia.” “There are events though and rounds and things that we can win,” Elsa said, sinking onto the arm of the couch. “And if we can keep up this whole publicity thing then Weselton thinks he’ll get a push and maybe he’ll start shipping video game consoles or something. We keep winning, he keeps winning and the company keeps paying. It’s a win-win.” That wasn’t right.

There was something wrong about this, but Killian couldn’t figure out what it was or what it could be and he couldn’t think when Emma looked so worried and Mary Margaret was announcing dinner and drinks.

He tried not to think about it – the hallway or the wine or how he could nearly feel the nervous energy radiating off Emma the entire night, just a breath away from him on that stupid couch and every time he got another piece of information, Killian just found himself more confused than ever.

It didn’t matter.

There was no room for questions in a celebration and David tried to get him to play MarioKart again and he was just as horrible as promised, trying to twist the entire goddamn controller underneath his left thumb so he could steer – until Emma jumped off the couch and dropped onto his left side. He gaped at her and he couldn’t actually feel her fingers when they dropped onto his brace, but Emma didn’t flinch, just looked at him hopefully and Killian nodded.

He had no idea what he was agreeing to.

“Just hit the buttons when I tell you, ok?” she asked and he nodded again.

They won the next race, Emma’s quiet instructions in his ear and a smile on her face that seemed to erase whatever she’d thought about Hartford and questionable video game sponsors and she steered and he hit the ‘A’ button a questionable number of times.

David threw his controller again.

“Serves you right,” Emma announced, her whole arm pressed up against Killian’s and it felt a little bit like staring straight into the sun. “I don’t know why you keep picking tracks you suck at.” “He sucks at every track,” Ruby mumbled, snapping her jaw when David kicked another pillow her direction. Mary Margaret rolled her eyes, but she didn’t look surprised to see any of this and even Elsa looked amused.

Belle tried to turn her yawn into something that didn’t sound like complete exhaustion, but it didn’t really work and it was already after midnight. Killian hadn’t looked at his phone all night.

“Ah, well,” Ruby sighed. “Maybe now’s a good time to save David some more embarrassment. Can’t have the pride of New York showing just how shitty he is at basic video games in front of the press like this. What will the commissioner think?” David scoffed, flicking his finger at Ruby’s arm. “I would imagine he’d be concerned why anyone is judging another human being on their MarioKart skills.”

He glanced at Killian and Emma groaned, her whole body going slack against Killian and he tried not to actually wrap his arm around her shoulders.

Or kiss her.

Definitely kiss her.

“Heavy handed, Detective,” she hissed, but David just grinned and held his hand out towards her, pulling her off the couch and tugging her against his side. Emma shook her head, but she didn’t argue the movement and she was still smiling when she looked back at Killian. “I think we figured it out right? Some kind of absolute-destroyer team?” “That’s a little violent, Swan, but, yeah, we’ve definitely figured it out,” Killian said and it was a lie and he didn’t have anything figured out.

Mary Margaret forced leftovers into his hand – there’s no getting out of it, you can give it to me later if you don’t want it, Ruby promised, but Killian couldn’t imagine eating another round of room service and he did have a tiny fridge in his room. “Thank you,” he said honestly, tucking the container under his arm and Mary Margaret beamed at him.

“I have no idea what portion control is,” she said and the entire night hadn’t made much sense, but being mothered by Henry’s teacher and Emma’s sister-in-law was probably the only thing he’d almost expected. “And room service makes me want to cry.” “You and me both.” She smiled even wider, using his shoulder as leverage and pressing a quick kiss on his cheek. Huh. Killian’s eyes flashed towards Emma – just a bit paler than she’d been all night with wide eyes that, somehow, seemed greener and he tried to remember what the definition of friends was. “Goodnight, Killian,” Mary Margaret said.

He nodded slowly, the other conversations in the apartment white noise in the background when he could hear Emma’s footsteps following him to the front door. “She’s going to try and feed you all the time now, you know,” she warned. “She’ll probably keep non-perishables in her desk at school on the off chance you pick up Henry and Roland again.” “Tuesday then,” Killian said without even thinking about it.

“Yeah? You know for someone who keeps promising they’re not much more than passing through, you’re doing a bang-up job of posing as top-notch uncle.” He laughed, leaning against the side of the open doorframe. “There’s some kind of third quarter meeting for Mills on Tuesday afternoon that’s expected to, and I’m quoting here, last until the end of time and I won’t have much to do this week. So I volunteered. Plus,” he added softly and he wished he could stop talking, “there’s always the chance of serendipitous run-ins when I wind up at school. And ice cream.” “Vocabulary,” she muttered and Killian grinned at her. This was flirting. This felt a hell of a lot like flirting. “And we’ve got to practice on Tuesday. The only reason I was there this week was because of some school emergency that I showed up late for.” “Ah, of course.”

“Although….” “Although?” Emma’s eyes flashed and the flirting had turned into some kind of unspoken challenge. Or maybe he’d just lost his mind. They were blocking the door completely. Killian could hear Ruby mumbling under her breath, the sound of Anna’s fingers tapping on her phone screen and Mary Margaret’s quiet assurances that there was more than enough food for Elsa to take some as well.

“Although,” she repeated. “We’re off on Wednesday because I’m a benevolent captain.” Killian chuckled. “Good word.” “You know I’ve never been farther uptown than Lincoln Center.” He was going to fall over. Or maybe collapse under the force of Ruby’s continued glare and he clearly hadn’t flirted in a very long time because he was kind of slow on the uptake. “What?” Killian asked. “Honestly, Swan?” “I’ve only ever stayed here with M’s and David and they live here and Ruby lives downtown and there was no point.”

“Huh.” Ruby groaned and even Elsa looked a little amused when she shouted, jeez, you are dense from the other side of the apartment. It took another two seconds before he realized.

“Oh, shit,” Killian muttered. Emma bit her lip. “Do you have pen, Swan?” “You are the least prepared journalist in the world,” she accused, but Mary Margaret was there in an instant with a blue and black option and a full notebook. “God, now she’s handing out school supplies.” “They’re extra,” Mary Margaret promised.

He drew her a map. An actual, honest to goodness map  and Emma looked like she was just on the edge of hysterics the entire time, particularly when the pen stopped working where he was leaning up against the wall.

“Here,” she said, pushing the replacement into his hand and Killian finished tracing out the crosstown route that include a train and one bus and several blocks of walking. “God, this is the most complex thing I’ve ever seen. Why do you just have this memorized?” “There’s a giant park in between where I grew up and where I went to college,” Killian explained, nodding towards the crudely drawn rectangle in the center of the map. “You pick up on these things after awhile. What time?” “What?” “Time. We start at Lincoln Center and work our way up or something. God, you’ve missed half the city.” Emma rolled her eyes, but she looked excited and he’d drawn her a map. The hallway still smelled like wine. “I already explained that part, plus if I wasn’t playing or in this apartment, I was working for Granny, so there wasn’t much time for sightseeing.” Killian held the notebook back towards Emma, nodding towards the map and trying not to memorize every single inch of her – the way her fingers curled around the pages or that piece of hair that was back again, seemingly there just to taunt him, or how she rocked back on her heels when her tongue darted between her lips and friends could hang out.

Journalists could be friends with their...God, subjects was a terrible word. He was going to get drunk off wine fumes in the hallway.

“So, let’s change that then, huh?” he asked, rocking back towards her and he’d have to look up how magnets worked later.

Emma’s fingers tightened on the paper. “Two? Do you get days off? How does it work?” “It’ll work,” Killian promised and it wasn’t really an answer to the question, but the story had done well and Regina owed him or something he’d probably spend the next few days rationalizing because Emma kept smiling at him and he’d drawn a map for God’s sake.

“Ok,” Emma smiled and he was absolutely going to kiss her, but then Ruby was there and Elsa was there and Belle’s face was flushed so red with embarrassment that it was a wonder she was even still able to stay standing.

“C’mon, Jones,” Ruby said knowingly. “Let’s see which city kid who can hail a cab faster.” He hummed, pushing any frustration back into the corner of his mind and maybe he was part of the team now. Emma was still holding the map. “I’m totally going to win,” he promised and Ruby made some kind of contradictory noise at the other end of the hall.

Emma twisted her eyebrows, leaning forward slightly and he could smell whatever shampoo she used as soon as she took a step towards him. Her hand was warm against his chest. He tried not to read into that. “I’ve got no doubt,” she said and the certainty in her voice sent that same shockwave of heat through every single one of his veins and probably three-quarters of his arteries. “I’ll see you Wednesday.” He tried not to think about it.

He did. It didn’t really work. And he was about just as subtle as David had been – drawing questions from Robin and Will and even, once, Roland who wanted to know why he was so distracted when he totally forgot to even offer ice cream after school on Tuesday.

Regina glared at him for most of dinner that night.

Killian absolutely didn’t care. He just smirked back over a plate of questionably expensive food and walked back uptown to try and work out some of that residual energy and, fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, he ordered two cups of ridiculously espresso-filled coffee and coffee hybrids and took up his spot in front of the Lincoln Center fountain.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Emma said, jogging towards him with two cups of coffee in her hand. “Although insert cliché about great minds here or whatever.” Shit.

He knew his eyes widened slightly when she took another step, could feel the smile inching across his face as soon as he realized she was there and talking to him and she’d bought them coffee too. God, he wanted to show her the entire goddamn city.

He couldn’t remember the last time he cared about the island of Manhattan that much.

Or anyone else.

This was a problem.

“I’ll take the compliment, Swan,” he grinned. “Although I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with all of this caffeine.” “Drink it?” Killian barked out a laugh, nodding towards the sidewalk. “Genius, love.” “That almost sounded sarcastic.” “Almost being the operative word there.” “Drink your coffee,” Emma muttered, but she was still smiling and the sun was reflecting off her hair or something equally absurd. “What exactly did you have in mind today? And has this fountain always been here?” “Always. When I was a kid, my brother used to bring us down here with pennies and a whole bunch of those clichés you were talking about and we’d try and figure out what happened next. It never really worked the way we planned.” Killian took a gulp of coffee as soon as the words were out of his mouth and immediately winced when he burnt his tongue. An absolute, fucking disaster.

She put her hand on his arm. Again.

“How much older was he?” she asked and that was the last thing he expected. He expected how did he die and why did you run and where were your parents – he didn’t expect a question about age. Emma smiled, shifting the cups in her hands and squeezing his arm again. “You can ask a follow-up if that helps.” Killian laughed, but that knot of anxiety that kept appearing in his stomach loosened. “That’s not a requirement, love.” “Ah, well, whatever helps the interview move along, I guess.” “He was nearly ten years older than me.” “Quite an age gap.” “Ah, yeah,” Killian said and he couldn’t run his hand through his hair with two cups of coffee in his grip. “I wasn’t exactly...let’s just say I was something someone else had to figure out.” “Oh.” Killian hummed and they’d jumped right back into god awful rather quickly. “Change of subject, Swan? And that wasn’t the follow-up.” Emma nodded, taking a sip of her coffee and he probably shouldn’t have regretted the loss of her hand as much as he did. “You’ve never been farther north than right here, right?” “Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?” “I’m recapping, love. It’s what you do in a series of stories.” Emma rolled her eyes, just took another gulp of coffee and she was already finished with hers. She held her hand out expectantly and Killian wasn’t sure he’d smiled as much in the last six years as he had since Emma Swan had showed up in his life. “You want to see how the other half lives?” He didn’t give her a moment to argue – trying to take stock of the flash of excitement in her eyes and the quirk of her lips as he took a step back towards the sidewalk and led her towards Central Park.

“So, this is that very well-drawn rectangle on the map, huh?” Emma asked when they kept walking, weaving in between pedicabs and tourists and some cart that appeared to just be selling balloons.

“I’m nothing if not an artist, Swan,” Killian said and the coffee cups were long forgotten, gone cold in between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. It left his right hand hanging at his side, something that felt like sparks practically shooting out his fingertips.

“Ah, yeah, I can see that. You’ve really captured the energy of it. Those four lines brought to life this oasis in an otherwise concrete jungle.” “That was almost poetic enough for me to ignore that slight sarcastic jab.” “No sarcasm. A tease at best. Where even are we? Is this just the great New York City fountain tour, then?” Killian hummed and Emma shrugged, the smile just a bit sarcastic as well. “It’s a better fountain,” he said, holding his hand out and Emma eyed him speculatively, the din of early-fall tourists and camera shutters working their way through the archway in front of them. “This is a historical landmark.” “Is that true?” Emma asked, the genuine curiosity catching him short.

“I’d imagine so.” “You don’t actually know? What kind of tour guide are you?” “I said we’d get you above 66th Street, Swan and made sure you got to see the good parts of the city. I made absolutely no promises about the validity of any of my claims.” She twisted her mouth slightly, turning towards him and God if he just took a step towards her, he could kiss her and maybe it wouldn’t feel like his goddamn arm was going to fall off from not touching her. “The good parts, huh?” Emma asked. “What makes them good?” “I like them,” Killian answered easily. “You like fountains?” “I like....water.” Jeez.

“Because of the Navy thing?” Emma asked and he couldn’t breathe. She winced, squeezing one eye closed. “Was that the wrong question? You can get two follow ups. That seems fair, right?”

Killian nodded dumbly, mind racing to try and keep up with this and none of this was part of the plan. He was just supposed to write. He wasn’t supposed to….no. None of that. “Yeah, that’s fair,” he agreed. “And yeah to the actual question too. How did...how did you figure that out?” “Just because I don’t have a degree doesn’t mean I’m actually the dumbest person alive, you know.” “God, Swan,” Killian groaned, eyes bulging slightly and she was still smiling. “Was that also part of the teasing thing?” “Maybe.” “Shit,” he breathed. “God, you can’t….” Emma laughed – loud and meaningful and both her hands fell back on his chest when her head fell back towards him. “I’ll keep that in mind next time. You said Robin was old Navy and that he served with your brother. Wasn’t really hard to put two and two together. Although there is one thing I can’t figure out.” “Which is?” “Why didn’t you? Don’t those kinds of things go hand in hand? And from the way you’ve talked about you brother, I just kind of assumed…” “I did,” Killian interrupted and Emma lifted her eyebrows. “Thought he was the beginning and end of everything?” She nodded. “I did. And I probably would have followed, but he wouldn’t have let me. He wanted, well, a lot for me and for us and he dropped a hell of a lot of pennies in a hell of a lot of fountains so I wouldn’t have to do that. I got into school here and he made sure I went. Probably would have come back stateside if he even thought I wasn’t going to class every day.” They’d been walking. He didn’t realize that they’d been walking or that Emma was staring at him with something that felt a bit like wonder on her face. “You alright, Swan?” Killian asked and the noise was even louder near the fountain, more ice cream carts and tourists and coins splashing in the water.

“I just...he sounds like David,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, a little. That overprotective streak runs a mile wide, huh?” “I’m sorry about that. They were, well, I was kind of expecting it, but I didn’t think the whole lot of them would be like that. I mean we’re friends, right?” Killian ignored the flush of disappointment that shot down his spine, settling in his back and maybe he could just walk into the goddamn fountain and stand there until he melted or something. “Yeah,” he said, far too late to sound like he meant it. “Of course we are.”

“Good. That’s...that’s good news.” “Good.” “Are you going to ask your follow ups or nah?”

He laughed and some of that tension that he couldn’t quite see through seemed to evaporate right in front of his eyes. And then he tried to take a leap of faith – without throwing a coin in the fountain. “Would you ever think about going back to school? “Oh,” Emma blinked, twisting the end of her hair around finger. “Um, well,” she took a deep breath and that standing in the fountain plan was looking more and more appealing until she answered, “yeah.”

“Yeah?” “Yeah,” she shrugged and that smile was just absurd. Like the center of the universe. Or something. Or exactly that. “I mean, not right now, obviously, but I’ve been thinking about that for awhile and it’s kind of a timing thing, I guess and M’s and I have talked about classes online and a GED sounds...I don’t know, kind of like a copout, but…” Emma cut herself off, eyes going wide as sank onto the edge of the fountain, groaning slightly when she realized there was water involved. “Mary Margaret is the only one who knows that,” she whispered. “I don’t know why I told you that.” The disappointment threatening to pull Killian into the center of the Earth shifted to something a bit more hopeful and, screw the water, he sat down next to her. “Off the record, love. And I think you could do it. I know you could do it.” “You don’t.” “I do,” he argued. “You’re not the only one who’s capable of using Google, Swan. And you’ve won a lot of tournaments and there’s a reason this team just defaulted to you being in charge. Because you should be. You could...you could do anything.” She blushed slightly, but she didn’t look away like she normally did. She held his gaze and rolled her shoulders back when she took a deep breath. “You can’t just say that.” “I just did.” “Off the record.” Killian shook his head. “Decidedly on. What would you study?” Emma lifted her eyebrows and he knew his voice had picked up, could feel that rush that he got from a good interview and good questions and he was far too curious for his own good. “You did say two follow-ups.” “I don’t know,” Emma admitted with a soft laugh. “I haven’t gotten that far into the plan yet. I just want to feel like I’ve finally caught up to everyone else.” “It’s not a race, Swan.” “Ah, so says the award-winner with a job in his degree field.” “You’re a professional video game player, love,” Killian pointed out. “I don’t think you’re sitting in last place of whatever metaphorical race this is.”

“Yeah, with everything riding on this entire thing in Philadelphia. We’ve got to make a good impression or Elsa thinks this guy will pull and I...” she scrunched her nose, tapping her fingers impatiently on the granite underneath them, “...did you think that was weird? Not the deal part of it, obviously sponsors want their teams to do well, but a shipping company? It just seems strange, right? David thinks it’s fine.” “He’s the detective, Swan. I just type quickly.” “Yeah, but you did that whole thing in New Orleans, worked out clues or something, right?” “You think Elsa’s shipping company is...what? Dealing? And sponsoring video game teams? This guy knew her parents.” “That’s not a disagreement.”

She was right. And she knew she was right. It didn’t make any sense and if he’d thought about this afternoon for a questionable amount of time since Saturday night, then he’d considered the reasons for a shipping company offering to sponsor a video game team nearly just as much.

None of it added up.

“It’s not,” Killian admitted. “And, yeah, I did think it was kind of weird, but if it gets you to Philadelphia then it seems good for now.” “And what happens after Philadelphia?” Killian shrugged. “You win the entire inaugural season of the Overwatch League.” “Obviously. You’re awfully confident.”

“In you.” “That’s weird.” “Why?” Killian asked and Emma rolled her whole body in response. “Honestly, Swan. At some point you’ve got to understand that I am in this for the long haul. You can do this. We can do this.”

“Why’d you bring me here?” Emma asked sharply, a quick contrast from whatever conversation they’d been having. “Because I don’t...are we really friends?” Killian nodded. “There’s no angle here, love. This place is, well, it’s important and I wanted you to come here. With me.” “You bring all your feature-story subjects up here?”

“No.”

He hadn’t meant to say it so bluntly, but there was no point in beating around some metaphorical bush or very solid fountain and none of this made sense, but he couldn’t seem to stop staring at Emma.

“What was his name?” she asked. “Your brother, I mean.” He stopped breathing. Or the world stopped spinning. Or maybe just fell off its axis. And Emma Swan smiled at him.

Shit, he was screwed.

“Liam,” he mumbled. “His name was Liam.” “And he brought you here?” Killian nodded, heart picking up and maybe trying to work its way out of his chest and he hoped Emma couldn't hear it because that would probably be embarrassing. “Thank you,” she continued, just a bit breathless and he could barely hear her over the kid screaming a few feet away.

“Thank me when we hit five-hundred thousand hits, love, not for this.” “Yeah, well, you said that was just inevitable or something, right?” Emma laughed and he briefly wondered if it was possible to actually self combust from want. Probably not. He hoped not.

“That wasn’t a guarantee, Swan. But we’ll talk thank you’s then.” “Like what?” Emma’s mouth quirked, a piece of hair flying across her face when a gust of wind swept through the park. “Exactly?”

“Gratitude?”

“I thought this was a discussion for after the second story. Don’t you need to interview someone for that?”

“I thought I’d talk to Elsa about getting the sponsorship.” “Ah.” Killian smirked, well aware that the smirk hadn’t worked yet and he knew it wouldn’t work then and he couldn’t think of a single thing to do – except maybe bring his hand to his jaw, tapping thoughtfully underneath his lips and he was an asshole.

Liam was going to show up in the middle of the goddamn park and haunt him.

He’d deserve it.

“Please,” Emma scoffed, but her voice was still just a bit breathless and something in the back corner of his mind roared to life at that. “You couldn’t handle it.” “Ah, maybe, you’re the one who couldn’t handle it, Swan.” She didn’t blink and the whole goddamn city could have frozen or collectively jumped or teleported through some kind of wormhole in space and Killian would have only noticed Emma and her eyes and how quickly her hands moved when she leaned forward, grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him.

Hard.

Fuck.

There were people everywhere – tourists and not tourists and sounds and it was so goddamn loud and all Killian could think about was how easy it was to fall into her, like he was falling into the middle of the ocean.

Her nails scraped across the back of his head lightly and that seemed to wake him up, right arm snaking around Emma’s shoulders until his fingers found their way into her hair like he was trying to make sure he could hold her against him.

He might have groaned or maybe she did and it didn’t matter one way or another because thinking about any of that would mean he’d have to think about something that wasn’t her lips on his or her hand dragging across his chest. Killian rocked forward and it wasn’t exactly easy – they were sitting on a fountain, the water somehow hitting them from what felt like every angle and he was definitely the one that groaned when her tongue moved against his lower lip.

He’d run out of oxygen.

No. That was...that was absurd. This wasn’t supposed to end.

Killian ducked his head again and if he just kept kissing her they wouldn't have to move or consider the line they’d just obliterated and there went Journalism 101.

They nearly fell off the edge of fountain, Killian’s foot skidding across the ground and the world was still moving – it must have been. He could hear people still yelling, the city moving and existing and Emma breathing just a few inches in front of him.

God, he wanted to kiss her again.

“That was…” Killian started, nearly stunned by the strangled sound of his own voice. Emma hadn’t let go of his shirt.

“A one-time thing,” she said and he felt his eyes fall shut as soon as the words the words registered. “Don’t...don’t follow me. I’ve...I’ve got to go.” He didn’t say anything. And he’d think about that for hours that night, playing it over and over as he wondered when exactly Emma Swan had found her way into every single word he could even think about writing.

Tag List: @jamif ; @alicerubyfloyd ; @courtneyshortney82 ; @jennjenn615 ; @artistic-writer ; @onceuponaprincessworld ; @kmomof4 ; @resident-of-storybrooke ; @whumped-natascha-remi-ronin ; @coliferoncer ; @strangestarlighttree ; @tiganasummertree ; @game-of-once-upon-an-outlander ; @followbatb (Let me know if you want to be tagged or not tagged or your thoughts on the questionable number of fountains in the city)

[misssophiachase]

Love Me Like You Do

I stumbled upon a video of the TVD cast at Paley Fest in 2012 which inspired me to write this. Thanks to Candice for the inspiration! This is my take on part of the episode “The Murder of One” (3x18) which is actually one of my fave eps.

Caroline looked up at the foreboding Mikaelson mansion. She hadn’t been here since that night. The night she went to the ball at his invitation, gifted her a gorgeous dress and sketched her that picture. The one that was now firmly emblazoned on her brain. She felt slightly dizzy as the image filled her mind but decided to blame it on her lack of blood intake that day. 

She was here to do a job and had every intention of succeeding even if it meant she had to see Klaus again.  She thought back to their strategy session in the woods earlier that day. 

“Why do I have to be Klaus bait?” She huffed. 

“Because he’s obsessed with you,” Damon countered. He actually had a point but Caroline didn’t feel the need to agree with the arrogant Salvatore and just rolled her eyes by way of response. 

This tactic was getting really old for Caroline. Not just because she had to put up with the Original Hybrid and his attempts at wooing her with romantic drawings and gifts but because for once she wanted to be the one in the middle of the action. Yes, out of character some would say, but if it meant unlinking Tyler from his freaky sire bond with Klaus then she was more than willing to help. 

“Can I help you?” She turned to see Rebekah, arms folded across her chest on the front doorstep.  Caroline fought the urge to roll her eyes, if they’d given her the white oak stake then this could have been done by now. 

“I’m here to see Klaus.”

“Is it April Fools Day or something?” She chuckled wickedly. “Last time I checked you only use my brother when you want gifts. What exactly do you want now?”

“He chose to give them to me, Rebekah,” she growled, remembering why she hated the spoilt, blonde Original. “But there’s something I need to speak with him about.”

“Well, you’re going to have to get through me first,” she insisted, flicking her hair over her shoulder impatiently. 

“Funny,” she murmured, moving a little closer. “I thought you’d be too busy plotting revenge on Damon.”

“Damon?”

“I know if a guy ignored me like that after sex, I’d be pretty pissed,” she offered, noticing the once confident Original’s expression change instantly. 

“You know about that?”

“He’s telling everyone and between you and me...” before she could finish her sentence Rebekah was gone in a vamp speed haze leaving the front entrance clear. She couldn’t help but smile given she’d moved along their plan and that Damon was probably going to get his ass kicked. Given his earlier comments and, personality in general, she wasn’t quite unhappy about that. 

She looked at the door ominously, knowing she had to go in and begin mission distraction. After all her previous practice, Caroline wasn’t too concerned about her talents. 

“Klaus?” She called out, noticing the house was relatively dark and quiet compared with the night of the ball. “Klaus?”

Still nothing. She walked through the rooms half expecting Kol to jump out and offer some attempt at a witty joke or Elijah to give her a stern lecture about trespassing. 

She entered what looked like the study, plush furnishing with a fire crackling away in the corner. What caught her eye though was the artwork sitting atop the mantle. The likeness in that blue dress was breathtaking and she thought his horse sketch was impressive. 

“I never took you for the break and enter type, love,” a familiar voice offered. She tore her eyes from the painting and to its source seated on one of the chesterfield lounges while hunched over a laptop.

“Number one, I didn’t do any breaking of the sort and, number two, it’s not my fault Rebekah doesn’t understand the basic concept of hospitality.”

“I’ll agree, it’s probably not her best trait,” he noted, his crimson lips curving into a sly smile as he finally looked up from the computer screen. “So then, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Caroline froze momentarily, deciding to blame it on the stray dimple he decided to flash in her direction, no doubt on purpose. 

“I was, uh, bored.”

“And here I hoped you were going to thank me for that sketch,” he murmured, his gaze now falling back onto the lit up screen. “So, they asked you to distract me again? You need to tell the Salvatore brothers that tactic is getting a little old.” Caroline couldn’t have said it better herself. 

She heard a ding from his computer, followed by another his face concentrating on whatever he was doing. “You do know it’s rude to ignore a guest?”

“Says the blonde distraction,” he smirked, still not bothering to look at her. Bastard. 

“What exactly are you doing?” 

“I’m networking.”

“Online? I’m impressed that the thousand year-old knows how to communicate in more modern ways.” She said, making her way to the couch so she could satisfy her curiosity. Usually his attention was firmly focused on her and for some reason it bothered her that it wasn’t right now.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, lowering the screen defensively. A number of beeps sounding out again. 

“Are you on match dot com by chance,” she surmised, that particular noise sounding familiar. 

“I’m on no such thing,” he growled. His denial told Caroline that was exactly what he was doing. She was shocked to say the least, especially given he was supposed to be obsessed with her and not some randoms on a website.

“Yes, you are,” she argued, manoeuvring herself onto the couch quickly and stealing his computer in the meantime. 

“And how exactly do you know that anyway? Already bored with Tyler?” Caroline scowled by way of response. Of course he had to bring up Tyler. She decided it was best to just steer clear of that conversation given how jealous he usually got.  

“Who knew the ‘most powerful creature on earth’ needed dating assistance.”

“Thanks for the compliment, sweetheart,” he teased, still avoiding the subject.

“Didn’t you notice I used air quotes?” She scoffed before perusing his profile onscreen. His picture was on point but that was no surprise given just how handsome Klaus was, even though Caroline would never admit that to him. “What the hell kind of profile is this, Mikaelson?”

“What’s wrong with it?” He asked defensively. “I’ll have you know I worked on that for a good couple of hours.”

“It says your hobbies are wreaking havoc and committing mass murder,” she squeaked.

“Well, it’s the truth.” She didn’t reply just kept scanning it in disbelief.

“Your listed likes are general suffering, AB Negative and cemeteries after dark.”

“You forgot to mention blondes with blue eyes,” he gestured to the screen proudly. They were now sitting rather close, his thigh rubbing up against hers. “Look, so many people lie on these things, at least I’m being honest.”

“Dislikes,” she read, unable to stop. “General happiness, unicorns, sunshine and rainbows.”      

“Oh come on, tell me I’m wrong,” he drawled. “Plus, look how many hits and messages I’ve received.”

“Sophie from Indiana,” she muttered, looking at the picture. She was mildly attractive and mildly normal from her picture until further investigation. “Woah, she likes whips, chains and bondage. Seriously, Klaus?”

“I wouldn’t rule anything out.”

“Who are you, Christian Grey?” She asked, referring to the leading character in the Fifty Shades trilogy. 

“He wishes,” Klaus muttered. Caroline was surprised he even knew what she was talking about. For some reason this news didn’t sit well with her at all. How could he possibly like her when he supposedly wanted these women? 

“So, what you’re telling me is that you like girls like this?” She asked pointing to Lisa from Pittsburgh, dressed skimpily in head-to-toe black with heavy make-up and multiple piercings. 

“I might,” he stuttered. She could tell by the slight blush he was becoming decidedly uncomfortable. “Why do you even care, Caroline?”

“I just thought you had better taste,” she uttered, her eyes flickering again to the portrait he’d drawn of her. 

“I do,” he answered simply, placing his finger under her chin softly and turning her gaze back to his dark, blue orbs. “Unfortunately girls like that don’t go for men like me.” She could sense the raw vulnerability in his voice and that teamed with his touch was messing with her composure. 

“Well, with that profile what do you expect,” she mumbled. When she came over here it was to distract Klaus, not the other way around. “I can just imagine some innocent girl taking a liking to that and telling her mother she met this guy who likes to murder people but other than that, he’s a real charmer.” 

She could actually see that conversation playing out with Liz, believe it or not, but decided to put that particular scenario at the back of her mind. “So, what do you suggest, love?”

He had leaned forward now, his chest mere inches from hers and those tantalising lips just waiting to be kissed from such close proximity. “Uh, I suggest,” she stammered, standing up so fast and taking him by surprise. “A new and improved profile.”

“You’d help me?” 

“I feel it’s my responsibility, not just to you but all the poor unsuspecting girls out there.”

“And funnily enough it’s the perfect way to distract me too.” 

“Maybe.” She said without thinking. If he was going to be honest the least she could do was be the same. Surely her friends had this under control given they didn’t need her help in the first place.  

“Well, let’s get started then, love.”  

On FF HERE

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Londerland Bloodlines -- More AUs of the AU (Vampires and Dragons)

Yup, I'm back on my bullshit with making AUs of AUs before I even really finish the first one. Who's surprised? :p I actually talked about this once before in regards to Londerland Bloodlines, which outlined three alternate ideas I had:

1. LaCroix's Puppet: Victor ending up LaCroix's ghoul instead of Alice's thanks to being found by his agents first, and their relationship working around that (with him successfully breaking the Blood Bond at the end of the game in favor of his love for Alice -- a rare feat, but I think it can canonically happen!)

2. The Double Kill: Victor meeting Alice early, going with her to the "apartment viewing" where she got Embraced by Fish, and having Alice accidentally Embrace him when he ends up her first meal (she's not thinking clearly and tries to put the blood back in him by feeding it to him at Wonderland's suggestion -- I never got far with this idea, due to not really seeing Victor as a Malkavian)

3. The Dark Goddess: Alice draining Caine during the fateful cab ride near the end of the game (with Caine's blessing, which is the only way she could ever pull it off), and becoming the new top vampire, happily wrecking LaCroix and Ming Xiao, telling the rest of the Kindred of L.A. to clean up their act, and then swanning off to get her family and start traveling the world being an awesome badass (everyone’s favorite power fantasy!)

Since that original post, I've had two more ideas for AUs of the AU, which I would like to share here. Let's start with the simpler one first this week:

4. Vampires and Dragons: This one is a little weird in that it's an AU that would happen after the main story is finished. It's -- well, remember that one post I made about putting fire lizards in Londerland Bloodlines? Yeah, this is that. ^^; What can I say, I really like Pernese fire lizards! I don't know yet if they'd be a native species to Earth in this AU, or if dimensional-shifting shenanigans are in play, but either way, there's a small fair or two of them (again, using Nest O'Flitt's noncanon colors because I like the variety) in Hill Valley when our gang arrives. Victor is the first to encounter them on a trip to Hill Valley's mysterious lake once they've settled in, and is astonished and thrilled by the little creatures, recognizing them from the Pern books (I have him as a fan of Dragonsong, much like myself -- he relates a lot to Menolly!). He reports his find to the others, and they end up sneaking up to the lake at night a few times, watching the little flitts live their lives and making tentative friends with them.

And then, one night, they get there just in time for a late hatching. And, as must happen in these situations, they each feed and claim a baby fire lizard:

-->Victor of course would get his standard silver, Moonlight

-->Alice would get a white, Snowflake, like in my Pern Crash AU

-->Victoria would get a brass, Mary, also like in my Pern Crash AU

-->Emily would get a blue, Skyfall (as per the name I came up for the blue Victor ends up with in the Pern Crash AU -- yes, I'm mining that for ideas, what of it?)

-->Lizzie would get a red, Spitfire

-->Bonejangles/Sam would get a green, Leafy

Shenanigans would then ensue as the group raised their fire lizards and tried to keep them a secret from the population of Hill Valley at large. I -- don't know how successful they would actually be. XD At the very least, I think Doc and his family would find out, and end up with some of their own at the next hatching that happens. Beckett might end up with one too, if he happens to come by for a visit after this happens. (He'd probably be fascinated by the damn things, honestly -- especially their utility for fetching and carrying!)

I don't have much plot beyond that -- this is mostly a result of me just liking to give my characters conveniently-small dragons. But hey -- if I decide "Londerland Bloodlines" needs a sequel, and that the plot of the actual game's sequel isn't up to snuff. . . (Or, hell, even if it is -- this would be happening in the 15-year gap between games, after all!)