#FG in glasses of any kind >>>

[fourthgem]

240816 looks 😎

links: x,x,x,x

[farfromstrange]

Also, before I go to bed (once again 2am here OOP–) I’m curious, and I asked this question on the latest chapter of FG on AO3 too, but are any of you going to German Comic Con this year?

This is totally not because I keep seeing pictures of Charlie and want to throw myself off of a cliff because how does he look this effortlessly beautiful??

I fear that probably not that many of you come from the part of the world I’m from, or at least not the ones following me, anyway, but I was just curious and thought I’d ask because maybe, there are some of you who are going and that would be so amazing tbh

I was also thinking about cosplaying Comic!Matt because I’ve dyed my hair a ginger red and I’m kind of loving what it does to me. I have the ‘I’m Not Daredevil’ Sweater and the red glasses so I am READY, y’all. It’s only on December but I always come over prepared (didn’t buy the sweater for the Con, so no worries). I’ve never done cosplay before and I’d probably more “dress up” than anything, but I’m still so excited.

So yeah, if anyone of you are going, let me know. And if not, I’ll keep you updated in a few months because they still haven’t dropped all of the guests yet (and I know Charlie is busy in the States around that time) but I still have some hopes for other actors that I look up to. Even if not though, I know I’m gonna have a blast that weekend. My first ever comic con was the best day of my life and I’ve found the land of my people.

[poolwiseliving01]

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[somewhat-happilyeverafter]

My Happily Ever After (Part 2 of Cursed Love)

Part Two just as requested!

Jane is kinda mean in this, but like I kinda don't like Carlos x Jane so hahaha. . .

I would love some more requests so please request something! (I have only 1 so please!)

Part 1

Warnings: Almost death, angst, blood

Summary: You get to read to find out!

A door was knocked on, once, twice, a third time. Nothing. Silence. The door was knocked on once more, but more rushed. There was a named called, and again. The door was barged open and a scream was emitted from the doorway.

~-~_~-~

There were tears as Harriet sat next to her first mate and closest friend. Her first mate was lying on a bed, fully unconscious. They were in Auradon, crazy right? Not really...

Harriet did all she could to keep (Y/n) alive even if the girl was unconscious. Luckily the day after (Y/n) went unconscious the barrier was opened. Harriet in fear of losing her friend, got help from anyone she could. She found Harry and begged him to help her. So he did.

Harry got help from Mal and Ben. They got Fairy Godmother and explained the situation. FG wasn't sure what to do, this curse was nothing like she's ever seen before.

The door to the room was open and Mal came walking in with FG right behind her, both in a hurry. "I'm sorry Ms. Hook, but we haven't found anything that could help. Right now we are only slowing the erm-- death now... I think it would be best to let her go."

Harriet was angry, "I'm not lettin' her die! She'z all aye got!!!" Mal sighed and thought for a second, "What if we get the person who she is in love with and talk to them about her," Mal snapped her fingers "That could work right?"

Harriet deflated against (Y/n) just holding her hand, "The person she is in love with has someone already. Besides that won't do anything! She has to fall out of love for the curse to leave her." Harriet ran a hand through her hair, "None of that matters anyways because her heart is broken... God I wish this didn't happen," Harriet wiped away her tears.

~-~_~-~

"Hey give that back!" A hand reached for their pirate hat, "Carlos!!!" Carlos laughed at the girl as she pouted and turned away from Carlos.

"Aw (Y/n). C'mon," a shoulder nudged the girls. The pirate turned to Carlos and laughed, he was wearing her pirate hat and was making funny faces. "Forgive me?"

"Always and forever." She rested her head on this shoulder and pulled the hat over his eyes.

~-~_~-~

When Carlos found out (Y/n) had fallen deeply ill he flipped out. He ran straight to her room as soon as Ben said where she was.

"Carlos wait!" Ben called, but it was too late Carlos was not going to lose his best friend and- nevermind that thought. It could never happen. He flew past people and even his friends, nothing would stop him to get to (Y/n).

"Carlos?" Was all he heard as he sped past his girlfriend. Yup nothing would stop him.

Well except the door in front of him and this newfound anxiety. What if (Y/n) wouldn't talk to him? What if she told him to leave? What if she said that she didn't want to see him ever again? What if... Carlos shook his head, no time for those types of thoughts.

The de Vil opened the door and saw her, she looked like an angel as she laid there, but when he took a closer look you could see the sweat on her face and the paleness of her skin. He then noticed she was asleep.

He walked closer and sat on the chair where he supposed Harriet was sitting before he got there.

Even if (Y/n) looked sick, there was still beauty in her. Carlos moved a piece of hair out of her face and sighed. "What happened to you, lass?" He hadn't used that nickname in forever. When (Y/n) first taught him different namecallings that pirates used he immediately used lass for (Y/n). It felt fitting for some reason.

The de Vil grabbed for her hand and sighed, nothing could be done to help her as he was told by Ben.

Suddenly Jane opened the door and looked at Carlos, "Why are you in here and why did you ignore me when I called your name?" She seemed upset.

"I'm sorry Jane, but (Y/n) needs me and she's not doing well! I can't lose her again." Carlos glanced at the priate then turned to look at his girlfriend.

"Lose her? Carlos I'm sure they can help her, why they would want to help a pirate I don't know why," Jane muttered before speaking a bit louder, "I swear Carlos these past few days have been you moping about this pirate girl! Have you heard what she's done to other people? I don't even know why you would even care about her! I mean her father is Davy Jones, isn't that a big enough of a warning sign to leave her?"

Carlos was shocked Jane even said that, but she did and he got angry. He stood up, letting go of her hand as he protected (Y/n) from Jane's verbal attacks, "What the hell Jane? (Y/n) is my friend! She knows practically everything about me and just because she is a pirate doesn't mean anything. (Y/n) can be kind and understanding, when on the Isle she would always be there after my mother would abuse me! So yeah she has hurt people, but that's how people live on the Isle! If you want to live you have to hurt, steal and lie."

Jane was shocked, he never yelled, but she wouldn't back down, "Carlos I am your girlfriend and you still go against me? I am there for you whenever you need me and this is how you treat me?"

"When have you actually been there for me? I try to talk to you about my nightmares and you brush them off as me being dramatic and when your friends talk bad about me you don't even stop them! Girlfriend? Not anymore, go find someone else Jane we are over."

"You cannot do that to me Carlos! You know what, fine, have fun with your dying girlfriend!" Jane then stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

Carlos fell back onto the chair as he ran a hand through his hair. He wanted everything to stop. He wanted to just stop this whole mess. He wanted to back to the time where he and (Y/n) would just make mischief on the Isle. He would do anything to go back to that time were some things were easier than others.

His eyes started to water and he let it all out, tears fell down his freckled cheeks and he just held the pirate's hand once again. Carlos couldn't handle the pain anymore, he missed when it was (Y/n) and him.

For a few minutes Carlos cried, his cheeks red and eyes puffy. (Y/n) seemed to hear him as she slowly woke up. She looked at Carlos and saw him there, broken and it hurt her. She remembered on the Isle when his mother would hurt him and (Y/n) would always help pick up his broken pieces, always fixing him even when he refused her help. This boy meant everything to her and it killed her body, but it was always worth it, to see his eyes light up and smile. To be able to hold his hand when he needed reassurance and hug him when he just wasn't feeling well. To wipe away his tears as he cracks a smile. Everything was so worth doing just for this boy and she would do it a billion times just to see him happy.

(Y/n) forgot about everything in that moment, but Carlos. She shot up from her laying position and grabbed him, hugging him even through the pain.

Carlos was a bit shocked, but he let the hug happen. He enjoyed the warm feeling that (Y/n) gave him including the butterflies in his stomach. They sat there for a while until the girl started coughing.

"Lass? Are you alright?" A coughing fit began and it just wouldn't stop. Carlos looked around and saw a glass of water on the table next to her, he grabbed it and held it in front of her mouth, "Drink this."

(Y/n) held onto his hand that was holding the cup, she took a few gulps of water and some deep breaths. She then looked up at Carlos, his face filled with worry. The pirate gave a small smile and said "I'm okay I guess."

She knew she was already dying so might as well tell him her feelings, right? "Uh Carlos. . . The reason I am sick is because I am in love with you so so much and after finding out about your girlfriend, I was heartbroken and I'm just in love with you beyond belief and I wish we could be together, but my stupid curse has ruined everythi--" (Y/n) was pulled into a kiss, her eyes wide in shock, but she kissed back a second later.

The kiss was slow and very sweet, the two put their hearts into the kiss, making sure every second counted. As the kiss went on they didn't notice the door opening, revealing some friends of the two.

What they also didn't notice is a blue and gold like fairy dust come from where (Y/n)'s heart would be and curl around her and Carlos.

"True love's kiss huh." Was said quietly from the door.

(Y/n) and Carlos pulled away and saw the blue and gold dust, the looked in awe. A voice then was heard and they looked to see a few people, but Fairy Godmother was speaking, "True love's kiss seemed to have broken your curse (Y/n). The curse stopped you from loving without hurting your body, but it seems by someone loving you unconditionally and you loving them back in the same way it was able to break the curse." (Y/n) looked at Carlos and smiled

"Looks like you're stuck with me," (Y/n) said with a laugh

"I wouldn't want my happily ever after any other way." Carlos pulled the girl in for another kiss, happy that he could be with the girl he truly loved.

[frangipanilove]

TRUNK RESURRECTION; PART ONE

ETA; Trunk Resurrection Part Two here:

https://frangipanilove.tumblr.com/post/612121865460301824/trunk-resurrection-part-2

TREE TRUNKS, CAR TRUNKS, OTHER TRUNKS AND OTHER THREES.

I’ve talked a lot about the significance of synonyms in deciphering the symbolism of TWD-verse. This time I’m gonna focus on the relationship between “trees”, “tree trunks”, “three’s” and “car trunks”. In part 2 I will discuss a number of particularly interesting cars that we’ve seen over the years, and eventually I’ll say a few words on the “foot/boot” symbolism. I hope to have part 2 ready later today or at least some time tomorrow. The two parts should probably be read together, as part 1 establishes the theoretical foundation for the case studies in part 2.

The significance of the number «3» has been emphasized by TD for a long time. We saw it around Beth in 4x1, when she got up from her bed and picked up the number 3 card from the «…days without accident» board. Many bloggers have offered excellent interpretations on the recurring 3’s, one of my favorite being that Christ resurrected after three days. Beth is, as we know a Christ figure.

In 4x12 “Still”, we watched Beth and Daryl climb into the trunk of a car in an attempt to hide from a following horde. They stayed in the trunk through the night. When morning came, they got out, and while climbing out of the trunk, we see a number 03 on the inside of the trunk. This is the first time we see hints of the three (3) symbolism and the trunk symbolism together, something which suggests that they’re synonomous, and that the’re interchangable. From here on, we could interpret “three” as synonymous with “tree”, which again is synonymous with “trunk”. It tells the story of trunks, specifically of Beth in a trunk, but they use a multitude of symbols to do it.

The trunk is a symbol that speaks of «salvation», «rescue» or «resurrection» if you wil, especially as “trunk” is synonomous with “tree”. I’ll explain below.

From events from the show, we understand that we're supposed to deduce that Beth somehow was placed in the trunk of a car. The trunk scene from «Still» was the foreshadow, the scene from «Them» was the callback.

We've also seen this theme around many other characters, such as with Enid and Carl in 5x15 «Forget». They specifically hid in a hollow tree trunk as a walker horde passed by, suggesting that three trunks symbolically offer a function of “rescue”. or “protection from walker hordes”.

We watched Daryl and Aaron find a naked disemboweled woman tied to a tree in 5x15 “Forget”. The message there was the resurrection part, as she turned and became undead before their eyes. And sure, she was resurrected into a walker, which is far less desirable than just escaping death and living on in human form. But the symbolism is about resurrections. That woman definately resurrected. And this happenes while she was tied to a tree.

Those of you that watch FTWD will be aware of how all of a sudden trees with their trunks painted blue started to show up. Sometimes with a Madison quote (”No One’s Gone Until They’re Gone”), other times with a painted ladder, or painted phoenix-looking bird.

Earlier in this season, in TWD 10x5, the opening minutes revealed something interesting. It was a musical montage showing the daily life in ASZ and on Hilltop. The song was Gordi’s “Save Me”, but the most remarkable thing about it was the constant repeat of the words «one two three one two three…» And and as this song played, we eventually saw a huge tree fall down over the Hilltop wall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jTmUNXN_C4

The incident was an indication that the whisperers did not respect the agreed upon peace treaty, but in terms of plot, the tree falling in over the Hilltop walls was easily forgotten. It happened, and then it was never referred to again. Its main purpose wasn’t for the plot. It was symbolic. It fell down to the words of the song “Save Me”; “One Two Three, One Two Three...”

This was TPTB’s way of officially tying the “tree” symbolism to the “three” symbolism. Three and tree. They are synonyms, and are used interchangedly.

TREES AS CROSSES

But first, let me say a few words on crosses. Christ died on a cross, and the cross is one of the most recognizable symbols in our society. It represents Christ’s death and resurrection, and from a TD perspective we’re of course particularly interested in the «resurrection» part.

Interestingly, in the early Greek biblical texts, the word we now recognize as «cross» were at first actually written as «tree». The greek word «stavros» translates to «pike», more specifically a «pike made of wood». In that respect, it resembles a tree. The Greek word for «tree» was never used  for «cross», but the pikes were made of wood, and the word for wood was also often used in early Greek versions of the Bible, meaning “cross”.

So the early crosses from the first few centuries after Christ’s death probably resembled the pikes we remember from 9x15 «The Quiet Before». The Eastern Mediterranean region where Jesus lived and died was dominated by the Greeks in the first few centuries A.D, and the first versions of the Bible were therefore written in Greek. Greek words were used, and the word we now recognize as «cross» were initially written as «pike» («stavros»), or «wood». These words were used interchangeably, and this resulted in some confusion when the Bible were to be translated into new languages. A perception of the cross being a literal growing tree spread, and this perception has survived well into our days. In some communities it’s not uncommon to refer to the cross as a “tree”.

This is why! TPTB are well aware of this, and takes full advantage of it when inserting their symbolism into the TWD episodes.

The first time we see TPTB utilize a tree as a synonymous symbol for «cross» is when Jim is about to die in season 1. He was bitten, got hit with the fever, then asked to be left behind to die.

TF obliged, and left him under a tree. As he was placed there, he even pointed out the tree. He seemed happy about being laid to rest against a tree. Symbolically, the tree represents the cross on Jim’s grave. It  represents his death and resurrection, and seemingly it gave Jim a sense of peace and calm in the final stages of his life.

Later, we had the walker that was almost consumed by the tree in 4x3 «Isolation». Another walker, caught in an animal trap, walked by. This was a callback to Jim in s1, but also at the same time a combination of two very potent Beth symbols; the tree symbolism, and the bear symbolism (via the bear trap), which I’ve written a lot about in other posts, such as here:

https://frangipanilove.tumblr.com/post/183736635005/sirius-and-the-north-star-or-pigs-feet-and-frosty

Through the seasons, we’ve seen numerous examples of trees as a synonym for crosses. There’s Deanna, who says «let the trees have him» about Pete, when Rick and Morgan asks what they should do with his body. As in «Let Pete have an unmarked grave somewhere in the woods, where nature soon will have erased any sign of him ever being alive». Rick and Morgan then put the body of Pete in the trunk of a car and take off to bury him in the woods.

Later Deanna herself was put down from her animated state, and buried under a tree by Michonne and her son Spencer. Michonne carved a huge «D» into the tree, effectively making it Deanna’s grave marker, her “cross”.

We also had the birch glass panel in FG’s makeshift church in 5x14 «Spend». It was hanging in a spot where you in a church normally would have a cross over the alter, or at least a painting of Jesus on the Cross or something to that effect. It was TPTB’s way of tying the trees to the image of a cross while at the same time tying the symbolism to FG. Remember FG later became a Sirius figure when he lost his eye in 8x11 “Dead Or Alive Or...” so it’s super significant to find this kind of symbolism behind him. We don’t know exactly how, but there’s a lot of evidence pointing to FG somehow being involved in Beth’s return.

We also had the Daryl walker that had grown into the tree in 9x6. This was in the aftermath of Rick’s disappearance, and it was a sad and heavy scene, however the Bluebird provided some hope and lightness to it. Michonne’s voiceover talked about “tiny beacons of hope”, as Daryl watched the Bluebird grab a worm out of the walkers ear and feed the babies up in the tree.

Remember Daryl was mourning Rick at the time. And Rick was seen with the Blue Heron painting, the same painting Beth was seen in front of as she said “we made it” in “Still”. Also, don’t forget that it was Noah’s t-shirt theory that allowed us to find the Blue Heron painting behind Rick in 8x2, (the t-shirt had a stylized version of the Blue Heron on it).

The Bluebird that landed on the Daryl walker is of course of  a different species than the Blue Heron  from the painting.  But they’re both birds, and they’re both blue! They’re  symbolically synonymous. The Daryl walker that has grown into the tree represents death (and sort of resurrection) but the Bluebird represents real resurrection, because we’ve seen the Blue Heron in association with Rick and Beth, and we know that Rick is alive, so we also know that Beth must be alive.

TREE TRUNKS

An extremely important aspect of the tree symbolism is that rather than the trees themselves, the important part of the symbolism is the tree TRUNKS! I cannot stress how important this is, so keep this in mind as I continue this post. The tree symbolism is, as I explained above, a nod to the Cross of Christ. The many occurances of “rule of 3” is also synonomous with the “tree = cross” symbolism. However, there’s a far more literal way of interpreting this symbolism, and that is that “tree trunks” simply are synonomous with “car trunks”. They’re both trunks, and what do we believe happened to Beth after “Coda”?

We believe they put her in the trunk of a car!

(Or, at least many of us do)

And this is the trunk that forshadowed everything:

TREE TRUNKS AND OTHER TRUNKS

Remember back to the opening minutes of 4x12 «Still»! Daryl and Beth comes running out of the woods, looking for somewhere to hide from the horde that’s following them. They seek refuge inside the TRUNK of a car. It’s an iconic Bethyl scene, and it’s become an important part of TD mythology. Many of us believe it foreshadowed Beth surviving post-Coda, by TF putting her in the trunk of a car to protect her from the approaching horde. Further, it is believed that they then have to flee, and when they return to pick her up, she’s «just gone». Of course all of this happens off camera, so we can’t know if it really happened this way, but many of us believe it unfolded in ways somewhat similar to this.

One key element in tying the «tree symbolism» into the «trunk symbolism» is the presence of a «3» written on the inside of the trunk of the car where Beth and Daryl spends the night.

«3» and «trunk». «Three trunk». «Tree trunk».

As I explained above, «tree» represents the cross, in other words «resurrection». And the “trunk” is what makes the “resurrection” possible!

And TPTB have made a tremendous effort in inserting evidence for the “trunk resurrection” in the show.

There was the massive clue in 5x10 «Them», where they had the bizarre sequence with the abandoned cars. Daryl freaked out and wouldn't even go near the cars. Maggie wanted to open the trunk, but lost her bearings when she found the blonde walker inside. TPTB confirmed that the walker was meant to represent Beth.

Further, Maggie opens the trunk using the car keys, which has a keychain in the shape of a yellow seahorse attached. This seahorse keychain has multiple layers of symbolism about it.

First, it’s important to appreciate that the keys attatched to this seahorse keychain are instrumental in getting the trunk opened in the first place. They are literally the KEYS to getting the trunk opened. Seems obvious, but let’s still keep it in mind.

Second, the seahorse has a distinct shape of the number “3″ to it. Do you realise what that means? A “three” plus a “trunk”? A “three trunk”!

Or simply a “tree trunk”.

The third really important thing about the yellow seahorse keychain in the shape of a “three”, is something I’ll talk much more about in part 2. It’s the fact that it’s a horse reference. Keep it in mind, I’ll get back to it, because it’s super important.

Two things to consider. The walker was undead, rather than just plain dead. It had resurrected, even though it wasn't the most desirable form of resurrection. But symbolically speaking, she wasn't dead.

And the trunk was eventually opened…and stayed open...

And as long as we’re speaking of trunks, also remember that when the music box came back to life (resurrected), it was sitting on…..a tree trunk.

A coincidence, you might say. And yes, there’s no way to tell for sure. However, remember the night before, there had been a storm. In a behind-the-scenes clip we saw how TPTB had spent a lot of time and money CGI’ing the overturned trees. So at least we know that TPTB went to great lengths to make sure the trees stood out to us in that sequence. And there's no denying, the music box was sitting on a tree when it came to life. A tree trunk.

Also, the music box itself IS a little trunk. From an etymological standpoint, trunk and coffin share the same origin. Same with crate, box, travelers chest, cage. Think back to «Alone», when Daryl decided to rest in a coffin, as it was the best bed he’d slept in in years! If you have an open mind, I’m sure you’ll be able to recognize a bunch of different kind of trunks.

Trunk is also another name for the human torso...something which certainly puts this shot from 5x9 «WHAWGO» in a different light….

We noticed this cluster of cars from the get go in this episode. Both Noah and Rick looked at it with a haunted expression on their face. We saw a walker inside one of the cars, clawing on the window as if she was desperate to escape.

And when the group returned to the cars after having explored Noah’s overrun community, they were in a hurry to get out due to Tyreese’s horrific walker bite. But their car got stuck in the mud. And when their tires finally were released from the mud, they slammed into the car in front of them…….

…and a bunch of human torsos came crashing out from the back of the car. Trunks. Trunks came out of the trunk of the car. Well, technically they came out of the back of the car, not out of the trunk per se, but on a symbolical level, that’s practically the same thing.

(Another weird thing about that scene was the license plate that refers to a specific bible verse that mentions resurrection. Fun, but that’s a post for a different day.)

SYMBOLISM IN THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN TRUNKS AND BLUE CLUES

I’ve talked about the blue clues in the «Shane's 22-necklace» theory. I won’t repeat myself too much on it, because this is long enough as it is.

Throughout season 5 of FTWD, we started seeing trees, or rather tree trunks painted blue! Some of the trees had Madison’s quote on them «No-one’s gone until they're gone», others had a different text. Some has flames down the bottom, others has a white phoenix bird painted on them, others again had a ladder painted in them.

Now OBVIOUSLY this has something to do with the «tree/three/trunk» symbolism of TWD, but it’s also significant that the tree trunks were painted blue. Not red, or green, or any other color.

Blue.

Blue tree trunks.

I explained in the «Shane’s 22 Necklace» post that «blue» ultimately is a reference to the police.

https://frangipanilove.tumblr.com/post/187381332090/blue-clues-shanes-22-necklace-truckers

It’s a reference to Grady, to Rick, to Shane, and to Beth, as she’s «The New Sheriff In Town».

In 8x7 we get to see Rick captured and undressed by Jadis and the Heapsters. Rick gets to leave his boxershorts on, and that is no coincidence. I’m sure Jadis would have prefered him bare naked, but TPTB wanted to make a symbolism point. Rick’s blue boxers represents the trunks in this scenario (think swimming trunks, shorts = trunks, sort of), he’s imprisoned in a container (trunk), but he eventually gets out. Oh, and those boxers/trunks are blue, just saying.

Another interesting detail from this episode is that not only does Jadis strip Rick almost naked, she also steals his boots! And that is something I’m gonna be talking a lot about in part 2, because it is THE key to understanding how the three/tree/trunk symbolism comes together. Keep that in mind until later.

And when TPTB are so determined to establish the connection between the “blue” symbolism and the “trunk” symbolism, to the point where they actually paint tree trunks blue, it’s probably because is says something very literal about what happened to Beth’s body post-Coda.

We also saw a blue dog collar in 5x10 «Them». Of course we see that as a Sirius sign and it’s clearly tied to Beth through the dog symbolism. I’ve written a lot about that here:

https://frangipanilove.tumblr.com/post/183736635005/sirius-and-the-north-star-or-pigs-feet-and-frosty

In addition, a very common interpretation of the term «blue collar» refers to the working class, as it was customary to think of members of the working class as wearing blue shirts (with blue collars) as opposed to the white shirts and white collars of the executive elite upper class (hence the term «Blue Collar Worker»).

In this particular context, I don’t believe it’s economic theory from a class perspective we’re supposed to take notice off, I think it’s something much more literal. I do think the blue dog collar refers to blue shirts, though. Such as Beth’s blue scrubs from Grady. It was suspicious how many times she had to change them because they got bloodied up. We certainly noticed them.

And shirts, you know, cover the upper body of a human. The torso. The TRUNK, if you will.

And as I’ve explained in the Blue Clues theory, the Blue Clues ultimately points to «police», in the sense that «Blues» is an affectionate term used when referring to the police. The term «blues» when referring to the police apparently stems from a time when police uniforms were predominantly navy blue. TPTB left a little easter egg about that in 6x6 «Always Accountable», when Abraham found a navy uniform and put it on, and the Savior made a remark about him «sporting Dress Blue».

TPTB have been utilizing every opportunity imagineable to point to “trunks”, in any shape, form and fashion. The reason for that is very literal, and in Part 2 I’m gonna discuss what I believe this means for TD. Spoiler alert; I believe it means good things for us:-)

[hannahmcne]

It’ll Be Us - Chapter 2

"Ben and I just had the funniest conversation." Jay texted to a group that included Mal, Evie, and Carlos. Mal glanced up from the forms she was filling out for Powhatan Cotillion and glanced at the phone screen, skimming the message as Jay followed up the text with a winking emoji.

"Perchance, was it the same conversation he had with me?" Carlos asked. "That included a date and some plans and Mal's left hand?"

"Wait," Evie commanded. "He did that with you guys too?"

Mal clapped her hand over her mouth as a laugh bubbled up inside her. "No way." She texted. "For real?!"

"He asked for my permission." Jay confided. "And I got to see the ring."

"You got to see the ring?" Evie exploded. "I didn't get to see the ring!"

Carlos sent a string of diamond ring emojis and gifs. His texts were usually littered with stickers and moving pictures, as they had been ever since Ben had introduced him to the world of downloadable add-ins. "I got to see it too." He bragged. "Did you know he's had it ever since our last year at Auradon Prep? It's super fancy too – Mal, you're going to love it."

"Did he tell you guys when?" Mal asked. Several angry emojis from Evie came through. "Like, when he's planning on proposing?"

"We're not supposed to tell you," Carlos explained. "And Evie, the reason you can't see the ring is because that'll ruin the after-proposal freak-out you and Mal will have. It's pretty obvious."

"I want to see the ring!" Evie protested. Several emojis with swearing symbols covering their mouths emitted under her name. Mal let out a laugh.

"The powhatan coronation." Jay texted. Mal's mouth dropped open.

"Jay!" Carlos protested.

"You're not supposed to tell her that!" Evie screeched.

"The Powhatan Cotillion? I'm literally making plans for that right now, as we speak." Mal informed her friends. She glanced sideways at the abandoned papers under her elbow. They suddenly seemed a lot more important than they had thirty seconds ago. Could she literally be helping to plan her own engagement?

But as quickly as the shock sunk in, doubt replaced it. "Ben's going to propose to me on the night they're inducting Ka-Okee into the royal courts? That doesn't seem like him at all. He wouldn't steal the spotlight from her."

"Well, he's going to." Jay insisted. "He told me ALL the plans. Apparently, his parents already approved the idea when he asked them for permission too."

Mal scowled. "How many people is Ben going to ask if it's okay to ask me to marry him before he actually asks ME to marry him? I'm kind of the deal-breaker, here."

"I think he still has to ask his grandfather, the fairy that cursed his dad, all the gods of Olympus, a stone from the Enchanted Lake, all of Auradon, your mother, and the lint from your clothes before he asks you." Evie theorized. Five laughing emojis quickly reassured Mal that Evie was, in fact, joking.

"Oh." Carlos deadpanned. "Has Ben asked Maleficent yet?" Mal's blood ran cold at the question.

"You can't really… communicate with a lizard." Jay pointed out uneasily. "I mean, I guess she could flick her tail and hiss, but she can't really give permission."

Mal swallowed, and typed out: "Yeah, and I don't think Ben is dumb enough to ask someone we all know would say no." Her statement felt like ice water running over their conversation. The chat fell silent for a few seconds. Then Evie tried to pick up the beat again.

"Everything's so much easier for the boys." She proclaimed. "When Carlos proposed to Jane, he asked FG and Jane's dad. No biggie. And Jay had to beat Shang in a sword fight, but still, not much of a problem. But when Doug wanted to propose to me, he had to pick between not asking anyone or trying to find a way to communicate with my mom through the barrier of the Isle and convince her that he's good enough for me. And you know what he picked? Three hours of being screamed at by Cruella, Jafar, and EQ before my mom told him no and he hung up and asked me anyways. And now Ben has to jump through all these hoops because we all know who Mal's mom is, and he has to think of 750,000,000 people as well."

"That swordfight was NOT easy." Jay protested. "I got my leg all slicing up. You know how hard it is to get on one knee when you're covered in an entire half-inch of bandages?"

"You're coming up on fifteen months of engagement." Evie pointed out. "Are you guys going to tie the knot or no?"

"We are," Jay assured her. "She just got a new job though, so we're rearranging dates AGAIN."

Mal picked up her pen and continued scribbling, though she glanced at her phone frequently to catch up on the conversation. Briefly, she opened a text line to Pocahontas and asked: "Does Ka-Okee want chains, key charms, pen toppers, or lip balm party favors?" She felt tempted to follow up the message with: "Jane kinda loves the pen toppers," but knew the joke would only be appreciated by her.

A suspicious message appeared at the top of her phone. "Okay guys, I think we convinced Mal Ben is going to ruin the Cotillion. Now we got to figure out how to get her away from the main party… any ideas?"

"CARLOS WRONG GROUP CHAT!" Evie exclaimed. Several emojis with blue faces and hands slapped to their cheeks in shock or surprise followed.

"OH CRAP" Carlos mourned. A gif of someone slipping on a banana peel with the words 'oops' appeared underneath his message.

"ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION." Jay groaned. "Ugh, Carlos you're telling Ben." A single teary-eyed emoji from Carlos was his only answer.

Mal reentered the group chat, biting her lip to keep from smiling too hard. "I'll just pretend I didn't get that, and we'll call it good." She added a thumbs-up to accentuate her point. No one responded. She got the feeling they were too busy lecturing Carlos in the correct group chat.

The date on the papers read September 30th. It was now September 16th, meaning that in less than two weeks, she could have gone from girlfriend to fiancée, and that was a thought that created a smile she couldn't wipe off her cheeks.

Pocahontas responded: "Pen toppers", which made Mal burst into laughter. As she included the request in the paperwork, her phone buzzed one last time. This time, it was from Ben.

"You still okay to make it to Powhatan Cotillion?" He asked. "I forgot you had a visitation day with your mom that day."

Oh, well that reminder certainly put a damper on her mood. Mal pinched her lips together and let out a breath. "Yeah, I'll be there. Can't wait!" She added a smiling emoji for extra effect.

"What about the Palace open-house for next week?" He asked. "For the anniversary of the formation of Auradon? You have a day with Evie scheduled, but I have it here that you're opening that event?"

Mal let out an audible groan. "Oh, that. Yeah, I remember. I'm not really looking forward to that, though."

"You'll be great," Ben assured her. "Have fun with Evie."

______________________________________________________________

"The carpets are being cleaned today," Belle announced as Mal entered the room for breakfast on the morning of the Open House. "They weren't able to make it last night, so they're going to be doing the main rooms this morning, and the rest of the palace in the afternoon. Is your room good for them to go through?"

"I think so." Mal furrowed her brow as she fixed a bag over her shoulder. "I'll run back up before I leave with Evie for the day." She sat down between Belle and Ben, who leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"What time are you getting back tonight?" Adam asked as he poured himself a large glass of orange juice. He glanced at his watch and followed this up with: "Ben, thirty minutes."

"We're leaving at three, so I'll be back around three-thirty, before traffic starts up," Mal sighed. "Plenty of time to get ready before five."

Belle nodded approvingly as Ben finished his breakfast and got up. "I'm off," He sighed, pushing his chair back under the table.

"Already?" Mal frowned. "I just got here."

Ben set his hands on her shoulders. "I'll be here tonight. I'll come to find you when you walk in." He leaned down and kissed her cheek again.

Mal let out a longsuffering sigh as he stood back up. "I'll be the one in purple," She reminded him. "Good luck with work."

"I'll need it," Ben laughed. He disappeared out a side door as Mal started reaching for food. A frown was stuck on her face.

"It'll get better, dear," Belle told her, reaching over to pat her hand with a smile. "Eventually, you'll be able to go with him to some things."

"They told me the separation would get better back when I graduated, and it's only gotten worse," Mal grumbled as she stole a helping of breakfast salad. "And really, all I want to do for the rest of my life is paint, draw, and be with Ben. Is that too much to ask?"

Belle laughed. She glanced cautiously at her watch. The doors opened and Lumiere appeared. "Queen Belle, King Adam, Lady Mal," He greeted, inclining his head to each. "I've come up to inform you that your cleaners for tonight are here and that Evie is waiting for Mal outside."

Mal frowned and pulled out her phone to check the time. "Ugh, she's early," Mal moaned. "I'll have to run down to my room and then head out." She stood up, taking her plate with her.

"Don't worry about the room," Belle rolled her eyes. "You're usually tidy. I'll just have someone glance through it to make sure nothing official or important is lying out before I send them up. Take more food with you, dear, or you'll starve."

Mal frowned as she took a few bagels and some strawberries. "I can run down. Evie will understand."

"Shall I tell the cleaners to start in the ballroom?" Lumiere asked. "I believe we have servants setting up things in there in about two hours."

"Yes, please, Lumiere," Belle nodded. "Have fun, Mal. Don't worry about the room."

"A spa day isn't really my idea of fun," Mal sighed.

"Evie's turn to pick?" Belle smiled. Mal nodded glumly. Belle laughed. "Well, good luck," She told her young protégé before she turned to Lumiere to discuss plans for tonight. Eventually, it'd be Mal's job to delegate maintenance crews, but for now, Belle did it as the unofficial head of household.

Mal hurried out to the circle, where Evie was waiting in her pretty blue convertible car with the off-white leather seats. Mal liked the car a lot, mainly because it wasn't as long as the palace limos and was therefore much easier for her to drive. However, Evie never let her drive it because a.) Mal didn't have her license and b.) Mal didn't exactly have the best track record with cars. She'd stolen and crashed/scratched the palace limos a few too many times for Evie to feel comfortable leaving her dream car unattended anywhere near Mal.

"Do you have it?" Mal asked, giving Evie a hug without so much as a 'hello'.

"Of course," Evie smiled. She led Mal to the passenger side of the car and reached down to lift out a silver dress bag with a hanger sticking out of it. She let down the zipper and Mal let out a laugh.

"You're not even being subtle, E," Mal remarked, leaning onto Evie's shoulder with a bright smile. The dress inside was her signature purple color and was obviously made to flaunt as much as possible. It latched above Mal's left shoulder and left her right one bare and hitched at her knees so there was no chance of her tripping on it. The fabric was soft and silky, and honestly reminded Mal of Evie's blue dress from her cotillion years and years ago.

"Now just imagine," Evie let out a breath and held her finger up as if she were framing a moment in the air. "A week from now, you're wearing this dress, and Ben gets down on one knee and-"

"Evie!" Mal burst into giggles, looking around them carefully. "Shh! You never know when the paparazzi are tailing me." She covered her mouth though, as the wonderful image Evie had just described filled her imagination.

"I can't believe you're getting engaged!" Evie proclaimed, much louder than she'd been whispering. Mal flinched. "Just think, Mal, Queen of Auradon. I honestly can't believe it."

"Honestly, I'm okay to just stop at 'wife of Ben'. The queen title, it can just-" Mal made a waving motion with her hand and then reached forward to drag a hand down her new dress. "It's beautiful, Evie. Thank you so much."

"It's going to be amazing," Evie promised. "Now come on, let's hit the road. When do you have to be back? Six?"

"Five," Mal corrected her. "I have to be there to read the official 'Celebration of Auradon' thing at the opening of the party, and to welcome everyone, and then to talk to people who may or may not secretly hate me for my mother." She let out a sigh and opened the passenger side door. It had been a long time since she'd opened her own car door, she realized. Between Ben and all the palace people and magistrates, she hadn't even been able to take more than a few steps without being on someone's arm. She supposed that would only get worse once she was queen.

As she collapsed into the leather seat, she let her lady-like posture fall a bit so she could slouch into her seat as Evie walked around. "You know," She began, "we might not be able to do girl's days as often anymore. Ben says they're going to track my phone, and, well, you know how he always has guards around him? It'll probably be the same for me."

"Why don't they just give you a knife?" Evie asked, climbing in on her side and shutting the door. "You can protect yourself just fine."

"Well, so can Ben," Mal reminded her best friend. "Remember Ben on the Isle back when we were seventeen? He's more than able to protect himself."

"He got himself captured within thirty seconds of walking away from us," Evie protested with a distasteful sneer. "And don't say those words ever again."

"What words?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The words about the years," Evie whined. She clicked her seatbelt into place. Her fancy embellished sunglasses were kept in a little compartment underneath her radio. She removed them and flicked them open, sliding them onto her face. "It doesn't feel like it was that long ago. You make us sound like our parents. 'Remember when we were ruining lives?'" She mimicked and shuddered.

"Are you afraid of aging?" Mal asked incredulously as Evie put the car into gear.

Evie winced. "Aren't you?" She asked.

Mal shook her head. "Not really. Why are you afraid?"

Evie left one hand on the wheel as they left the circle and began to approach the visitor's center. She rested the other hand on her belly. "I don't know," She whispered. "It all just seems so… real lately. I mean, just a few years ago you were stealing candy from babies and now I'm about to have my own baby myself, and soon they'll have their babies, and their babies will have babies, and one day I'll wake up and I won't even recognize myself."

Mal shrugged as she watched the visitor's center approach lazily. "I'm not afraid," She thought out loud. "I have Ben, and I'm okay to grow old with him. But… children scare me. I mean, we know of people who died on the Isle during birth or pregnancy. I think I'm always going to be scared of the idea of being pregnant and not being able to run or flee from danger."

Evie scoffed. "It looks like we're both afraid of things we can't escape." Mal winced and nodded.

A guard appeared outside the visitor's center, and Mal suddenly remembered she needed her palace pass in order to get out. She cursed and began scrambling through her purse. Evie stopped the car beside the center and showed the guard her driver's license before they both turned to watch Mal scramble through her purse. "Please tell me you didn't leave it up at the palace," Evie deadpanned as Mal began to pull out her phone, her government ID's, her credit cards, everything.

"No, I put it in here before I left," Mal insisted as she continued digging. She sighed irritably. "You know who I am, can't you just let me out?"

"Ah-ha!" The guard laughed. "And lose my job for letting the head of the royal courts out without her permission pass? Not a chance."

Mal grumbled and began shuffling through a different pocket. "Ben's not in meetings for another five minutes; I'm sure he would give me permission to get out." She let out a groan. "I have my pass photographed?" She offered.

"You know why we can't accept that," The guard told her firmly. Mal sighed. Yeah, she knew why it was important that they didn't take a digital copy in case someone was somehow impersonating her, but it was still annoying.

"Mal," Evie grumbled in an extremely terse tone. "You better have that card."

"I have the stupid card," Mal insisted. She picked up her collection of ID's and began shuffling. "I've lived here for, like, two years. I know how the stupid permission passes work."

"Mal," Evie huffed. "You know I can be detained for trying to taking you out if you don't have your pass, right?"

Mal's hand grew a bit sweaty as she shuffled through her cards with a huff. Then the blue pattern stuck out among the yellow of her Auradon Prep cards and her white standard ID's and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled the card out and presented it to the guard. Evie let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness," She whispered.

The guard waved them through. "Have that card ready when you come back," He warned. "You know, in a few years or whatever, you're not going to be able to leave the palace walls without that card and an escort or two."

"Yeah," Mal sighed. "I know."

The guard gave a wave and Evie put the car back into gear. Mal grumbled as she shoved her collection back into her bag. "Why do you carry so many cards?" Evie asked irritably. "You only need your government ID and your pass, maybe a credit card or two."

"Believe me, I used to, and then Ben, Belle, and Adam had this joint freak-out session," Mal explained. "See, they're worried that if I need to show someone my ID, and I pull out my government ID, and then they snatch it out of my hand photograph it or something, and suddenly my main official ID that proves I'm a citizen of Auradon is easily attainable off the internet. So, I carry all these extra ID's in case I need to prove my identity without jeopardizing palace security."

Evie sighed. "Your life is complicated," She grumbled.

"It's about to get more complicated," Mal warned. "Ben was telling me all this stuff… they're going to tag my phone and track me. I know Ben gets lots of his texts skimmed as he sends them, and they'll probably do that to me. And, you know," She gestured at the road behind them to remind Evie of the guard. "I'm not allowed to leave alone by myself anymore. I have to have guards or be with Ben, Belle, or Adam. Anyone else has to be palace approved." She lolled her head on her shoulders to look over at Evie, who had slumped over a bit.

"So, what you're saying, is I won't be able to take you out of the palace in the future," Evie sighed. She pushed her sunglasses up a bit to glance over at Mal mournfully.

"No," Mal shook her head. "Or, well, there's a system. But no, the queen can't just vanish from the palace for a day to hang out with her friends. I can ask Ben what the details would be, but chances are we'd still have to have at least one bodyguard with us. Everything changes once he puts a ring on my hand."

"Well," Evie grumbled. "We'd better make the most of today, then."

"Does that mean we're going laser-tagging or paint-balling after all?" Mal asked hopefully. She knew it was a lost cause though.

"No," Evie shook her head. "We're going to go to the spa and then get our nails done because I don't feel like chasing you around and my fingers are all cramped up after making that for you." She made a gesture to the backseat in reference to the dress. "And by the way, I brought my sketchbook because I have tons of wedding dress ideas."

"Really?" Mal laughed. "I can't wait to see them!"

Evie smiled over at her best friend. "Are you going to put a hat on to hide your hair?" She asked.

Mal leaned her head outside the car and felt the wind race through her locks. She smiled wide. "No," She shook her head. "After all, I won't be able to do this for long. I'm going to enjoy it."

Evie laughed and together the cruised down the road, away from the palace, on one of their last trips together.

______________________________________________________________

They left the spa on time but quickly ran into problems. One, a crash had occurred outside the nail salon Evie loved, meaning they sat in the car for an additional half-hour, casually trying to hide Mal's identity from those around them who were also stopped as law enforcement cleaned up the mess. They must have done a good job because no one from the palace called to ask why the official Lady of the Royal Courts was near a public crash, but people certainly noticed the King's girlfriend's bright purple hair.

Then, the salon itself was packed. Evie's platinum membership could only do so much when the place was stretched on staff for the day. Mal began to tap her fingers anxiously as two o'clock turned to two-thirty, and then to three. Three, as in the time she'd told Belle and Adam she'd be leaving. Evie, however, didn't seem that concerned as she insisted Mal get her nails painted purple with pretty, tiny, white sequins.

They left at three-thirty, which was when Mal had been planning on getting back to the palace. But by that time royals had started to arrive, and traffic had lulled around the palace. Evie drummed her hands on the wheel as they watched the time tick closer to four o'clock. "You'd better text your not-in-laws," She warned Mal.

Mal let out a sound of absolute discouragement and she shuffled around in her purse for her cell phone. Evie craned her neck a little, spotted the palace pass inside, and turned her attention back to the road.

At four-fifteen, they finally reached the visitor's center. Evie presented her license, and they both turned to watch as Mal pulled her ID's out one by one and examined them. "Again?" The guard asked.

"It is here," Mal insisted, wrinkling her nose as she shuffled cards irritably. "Dear God, where could it have fallen?"

The guard pinched his lips together. "Please pull the car over to here," He gestured to a parking lot beside the building. The only other cars parked there were a police car and a maintenance car. A new guard began helping the Royals in the car behind them.

"Oh, my goodness," Evie grumbled as she slid the car into gear. The guard walked them all the way to a parking space.

Mal upended her bag into her lap and began irritably looking through the contents therein. Lip balm, hand sanitizer, spare ID's, credit cards, her registration that she possesses magical powers, official court identification, and documents… but no ID?

Evie put the car in gear and looked over to Mal helplessly. "Ma'am," The guard directed to Evie. "Please step out of the car with your hands behind your head."

Mal's mouth dropped open. "Are you going to arrest her?" She gasped.

"I have to follow protocol," The guard frowned. "Ma'am, please step out of the car."

Evie made a sound in the back of her throat and opened her door. "Should I turn off the car?" She asked.

"Do not touch any of the controls. Keep your hands behind your head please," The guard directed. Evie left the door open as she lifted her hands up. She sent a desperate look to Mal, who was frantically opening pockets.

"Oh my gosh," Mal sighed. "Okay, I have to have some power, right? I'm a lady of the court and-" She watched the guard step towards Evie as he revealed a pair of handcuffs, and flipped out. "Don't touch her!" She commanded, pointing at him. "Don't you dare touch her." She opened the door and began feeling along the floor of the car. "It's here, it's got to be here. Don't you take her anywhere, don't you touch her."

"Mal!" Evie took a hand from behind her head to point to the crevice between seats, where a blue-tinged card lay. Mal slumped in relief as she snatched up the pass and showed it to the guard. He nodded, and Evie slowly returned to her seat in the car. "You are awful at this card thing," Evie sighed.

"I swear it was in here," Mal gasped. "I saw it on the way here, I checked. Oh my gosh." She got back into the car and slumped against the seat.

The guard clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You need to get something to hold all your cards," He told her. Mal nodded to his words without comment. He shooed them away and returned to help check in everyone else. The palace was growing more and more crowded as people arrived.

"Take the royal family entrance," Mal told Evie. "I have my certificate of Court Membership and my official residency card here, so you can park in the royal family's garage and… that should be less crowded." She rubbed her hands against her face and dared a look at the clock. "I have twenty-five minutes to have my hair and makeup done and to get into my dress and get to where I need to be."

"We can do it," Evie assured her. "Here, my extra makeup bag should be under the seat. Hurry and start while I direct us."

Mal reached under the seat and felt the cool clutch of the plastic bag. She pulled it up and found, to her relief, some purple shades of eyeshadow mixed in with the blue and several tubes of eyeliner and mascara. "What about my hair?" Mal asked. "I can't curl it in twenty minutes and still be able to get into my dress."

"We'll braid it," Evie decided. "You know what, I usually have extra accessories in my glove box. Check and see."

Mal obeyed and found, tucked away, a hair adornment with white studs that looked like an assortment of silver leaves, a few bangle bracelets, and a variety of necklaces. She forewent the necklaces but took the hairpiece and the bracelets out. She quickly did her makeup as Evie directed them to the royal's entrance, pausing only to give the guard an assortment of passes and papers before Evie was allowed to descend straight into the heart of the castle.

Jay and Carlos, to Mal's surprise, were waiting for them. "What are you doing here?" Mal gasped as she climbed out of the car, hastily shoving things back into Evie's makeup bag.

"We brought you your dress," Jay announced, holding up a long, white cocktail dress with blue and yellow lace scattered around the bottom like she was supposed to be walking on the sunrise or something. "Belle thought you'd be quick enough to get up in time but we saw the traffic and decided to bring it to you so you could just go straight up to the party."

"Did you get your makeup done?" Carlos asked, squinting at her. "Oh, yeah. See, bro?" He elbowed Jay in the ribs. "I told you Evie would have some stuff."

"I always have some stuff," Evie announced, crossing her arms. "Just like Mal never has her pass ready. I was almost arrested for kidnapping her on the way in."

"Tough crowd," Jay scoffed. "Sounds like an adventure. Unfortunately, you are out of time. Have you been getting any of Ben's messages?"

Mal let out a nervous laugh. She hadn't even heard her phone buzzing. "I'll check them later," She decided, taking her dress from Jay and shoving the makeup bag back under the seat.

"There's a restroom over here," Evie pointed. "Let's get you changed." She steered Mal towards the restroom and shoved open the door. Quickly, the two girls worked together to get Mal changed out of her t-shirt and ripped jeans and into her ball gown. The official one that was actually in the colors of Auradon instead of her signature color for once.

"Faster, faster, faster," She urged Evie under her breath as her friend hid Mal's bra underneath the dress and fixed the angles the skirt flounced out in. She quickly braided Mal's hair back and used the silver hairpiece to hide the hasty work. Then they ran back out to the boys, locked Evie's car, and took the elevator up to the main floors.

Belle, Adam, and Ben were all waiting beside the doors to the ballroom, exchanging nervous looks when the core four came tearing around the corner with red faces. Carlos was still holding Mal's heels, which they'd forgotten about. She was still tennis-shoe clad.

"There you are!" Ben gasped in relief as she reached him. They exchanged a quick hug.

"I'm sorry!" Mal gasped for breath as Carlos realized he still had Mal's shoes balanced around his fingertips and began trying to get her attention. "There was a crash and then the salon was backed up and traffic got crazy before I almost got Evie arrested…" She took her shoes from Carlos and Jay leaned down to help Mal take off her tennis shoes since Evie wasn't exactly the best person to be bending down at the moment.

"You almost got Evie arrested?" Ben repeated with a growing expression of horror. "What happened?"

"Did you lose your card?" Adam asked sternly.

Mal groaned as she put her shoes on the ground and tried to step into them. "Yes, momentarily. But it's fine, I got it." She borrowed Ben and Carlos's shoulders for balance as she wrestled her feet into the evil shoes.

"Well, you look great," Ben laughed as she stabilized herself with several deep breaths. She slumped against the wall, and he handed her a sheet of paper to read off of. At least she hadn't had to memorize everything. She got a cheat sheet. Mal smoothed it over and began to skim as Jay gathered up her tennis shoes and socks with rolled eyes.

"How much longer do we have?" Mal asked as she finished reading.

"You made it with exactly two minutes to spare," Ben told her with a chuckle. "They'll be presenting you, and then us, any second now."

Mal could only groan in response as her friends gave her a couple of quick hugs. "God save me from the beast that is Auradon," She whispered. "Okay, I'm calm."

The doors opened a crack and Lumiere appeared. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. "Come now," He commanded, taking her hand and helping her through. "It's good you're here; they're announcing you now."

And sure enough, down the hall, she could hear Cogsworth pronouncing her name with dramatic detail. "Lady Maleficent 'Mal' Bertha, of the Auradon Royal Courts, representing her home of the Isle of the Lost."

Lumiere guided her to the end of the hallway. Mal took a deep breath and turned the corner into the light. A gigantic stairway that she, personally, liked to slide down the banisters on, opened up into the large ballroom, which was currently filled with hundreds of Kings, Queens, Lords, Ladies, Dukes and Duchesses. Not to mention the servants. She painted what she and Ben referred to as a 'political smile' on her face and took hold of the banister to keep from tripping as she did her best to not resume her Isle strut down to the crowds. As always, her appearance was met with applause and murmurs of approval for her outfit.

She reached the bottom of the staircase where she saw a few familiar faces gathered – Lonnie, Jane, Fairy Godmother, Chad Charming – and carefully lowered into a curtsey before they turned their attention to the top of the stairs

Cogsworth cleared his throat. "The former King and Queen of Auradon, Adam, and Belle, representing the royal palace."

Representing the royal palace was another thing that she was supposed to do as queen. Soon, it'd just be 'Former King Adam and Queen Belle'.

Ben's parents appeared at the top of the staircase and began to descend in a dreamy fashion. They looked out over the crowd some, but not as much as they looked at each other. Mal couldn't wait for the day that was Ben and her.

Belle and Adam went to stand beside Aurora and Phillip and Tiana and Naveen as Cogsworth cleared his throat one last time. "His Majesty, representing the official government of Auradon, King Benjamin!"

She was jealous that they left out his middle name.

Ben appeared at the top of the stairs, looking down over his people with a bright, shy smile. He descended the stairs after everyone, reminding Mal of how he'd looked at her Cotillion, walking down the steps after her. This time, however, Uma wouldn't be interrupting.

Halfway down the steps, he took a microphone from a servant and looked for her at the bottom of the stairs. She picked up her skirts and walked back up to him. They met halfway. He bowed, and she curtseyed, and he pressed the microphone into her hands with a kiss to her cheek. Mal cleared her throat as he went to stand behind his parents.

"Test," She announced as clearly as possible, testing her voice and the mic at the same time. "Lovely, it works. Thank you all for coming tonight. On this evening, September twentieth, we gather to celebrate the formation of Auradon, the unification of kingdoms, and the continuation of peace in the land. It is the twenty-eighth year of peace, or year twenty-eight in the days of Auradon. King Benjamin, our second king, currently resides on the throne, long shall he reign."

The crowd echoed after her, "Long shall he reign." And thus ended Mal's memorized portion of her speech. She opened the paper without looking down and then delivered the redundant section that was heard every year about the beginning of the kingdom – how Adam and Belle had unified everything, and the election had placed ruling power in their hands. It was quick, but not quick enough. Finally, she refolded her paper and began to descend the stairs as the room erupted into applause. When she reached Ben, she tucked her folded speech into his breast pocket, and they looped their arms together.

Evie, Jay, and Carlos, who did not have to be announced, had slipped in unseen during Ben's descent of the stairs. The boys hung around the concessions table as Evie found a chair to sit down in. She was looking a bit ill. Jane and Carlos stood together, hand in hand, while Lonnie and Jay made a competitive game of sticking their tongues out at each other when their partner wasn't looking.

Belle and Adam were able to disappear to go and talk with their old friends, but Ben and Mal stayed near the stairs, backs straight, as guest filtered by, shaking their hands.

"Relax," Ben laughed in between light conversation. "It's over. You did fantastic."

"Ugh," Mal grumbled in return.

"Mal!" A sickeningly familiar cheery tone exclaimed. Mal looked up in surprise as she recognized Audrey, who was standing beside a tall, dark-haired man. She was balancing a small child – a girl – on her hip as she approached Mal with a bright, blinding smile. "Oh, my goodness, I don't think I've seen you for years! That is a beautiful dress."

"Thank you, Audrey," Mal smiled, dipping into a curtsey. "Who is this?" She gestured to Audrey's small family.

"This is my husband, James," Audrey introduced with a smile. "And this is our baby girl Angel." She moved the child as if to show her off to Mal.

Ben took a step forward and took the small girl's hand. "She's beautiful," He told Audrey. "She looks like you in all your old pictures."

Audrey laughed in agreement. Her husband, James, turned around and took two glasses of wine from a servant who was walking through the crowds. Ben watched him as he turned and offered a glass to Audrey, who accepted it.

"How have you been?" Audrey asked Mal, who watched the little girl's eyes train onto Audrey's glass. "I don't see a ring on you yet."

Mal blushed bright red and twisted her hands together. "No, no ring." She shrugged.

"Ben, you need to get on that," Audrey told her old friend with a smile. "She won't wait on you forever."

Audrey's little girl, Angel, started trying to reach for her mom's drink. Audrey swayed the girl's hands out of her reach. "Oh, no, sweetheart," She told the little princess. "Not for you. James, do we have any juice for her?"

James began to reach into a bag that hung around his shoulder as Audrey held the glass away from her. Ben and Mal watched as Angel pouted her lip and continued to reach. "Here," James told Audrey, procuring a sippy cup of juice. He handed it to Angel, but the small child wasn't interested. She dropped it immediately. Audrey leaned down quickly to try and catch it as it fell and missed entirely. Mal watched in slow motion as, while Audrey's posture changed quickly, her wine sloshed out of her glass and flew right at her.

She was suddenly aware that she was very cold as the red wine doused her bodice and rolled off of the fabric, spreading down to her skirts. She gasped as Audrey moaned in horror. "Oh no!" Audrey exclaimed. "I'm so sorry."

"That's okay," Mal gasped. She glanced around and noticed Evie was already standing up to come to her rescue. "I think I might just… go up to change."

Ben grabbed her arm in panic. "Problem," He told her immediately. But before he could say anything else, Evie appeared.

"What happened?" Evie groaned. "Oh, red wine…" She pinched the bridge between her nose in exasperation. "Do you still have your spare gowns up in your closet?" She asked.

"Yes," Mal nodded, still stunned over watching the red ruin her dress. "Let's just… slip out."

"You can't go into your room," Ben interrupted with a pained expression. "We were going to tell you when you showed up… there was a chemical spill when your carpets were being cleaned today. In the closet and over by your desk. They have to let the room air out before they can clean it because the cleaner smell isn't safe. And… a lot of your outfits were ruined."

Mal wilted. "I don't have another dress besides the ones in my room," She moaned, shivering a little as the wine soaked through to her skin and began to make her feel sticky.

"Well…" Evie trailed off hesitantly. "There's that one down in the car…" She bit her lip as Mal's expression crumpled.

"You have one down in the car?" Ben asked. A look of relief spread across his face. "That'd be excellent. Evie, can you help her, or should I-"

"I've got it," Evie cut him off, taking Mal's hand. "We'll be right back."

"Evie, you're a lifesaver," Ben told her as he took a half-step back. "Let me know if you need any help. And Mal-" He took her arm and gave her a smile. "I'll cover for you. Don't worry."

As Evie hastily led Mal away, Mal heard Ben start to say: "Thank you, Audrey," Before she was out of earshot and his voice blended in with the rest of the crowd. She sighed bitterly as Evie wove her around a few dozen crowds.

Mal pouted as Evie led her out towards a side exit. People gasped and expressed concern when they saw her heading out with her ruined dress. "It'll be okay," Evie sighed as she led Mal back to the elevators. "I think I might actually be able to get that stain out."

"I don't want to wear the other dress," Mal mumbled with a pouted lip. "That means he won't be seeing it for the first time when he proposes."

"I can make you another if you like?" Evie asked with a sigh. She gave her friend a hug, being careful to avoid the red wine. "It'll be okay."

Down the elevator they went and back into the royal garage. Evie pulled the beautiful dress out of the garment bag and Mal held back a sigh of disappointment as they walked back to the bathroom to change her outfit – again. She hated royal functions.

Evie hung the white gown up with a wince and Mal sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like she was visiting Agrabah, or maybe Olympus with the style of the dress. And she hadn't noticed it before, but a black belt ran across her middle, sitting low on her hips. Evie walked over and set a hand on Mal's shoulder with a sympathetic frown. "It'll still be magical," She promised Mal. "And really, I can make a new dress for the Cotillion next week."

"I'd kind of already set my heart on being in this when he did it," Mal sighed. "But thank you, Evie. It really is beautiful. It'll probably take his breath away."

"Yeah, you will," Evie agreed, not-so-subtly changing the noun in her agreement. She studied Mal, and her lips pinched into a frown. "Your hair and makeup don't match now," She grumbled. "We have to redo it."

"What?" Mal frowned. "No, I'd better just get back up there. Ben's covering for me, remember?"

"He can cover a bit longer." Evie rolled her eyes as she took out the silver hairpiece and began attacking Mal's hair. The braids had made her hair a little curly, even though she hadn't even had them in for that long. Evie flounced out the natural waves and then a smile fell onto her lips. "I'm going to braid your hair like we did for your first date," She told Mal. "Can you crouch down a little?"

"Do we have time?" Mal frowned, stooping a little anyway.

"Ben's covering for us," Evie replied with an eye roll as she gathered up Mal's hair and quickly began braiding. "And I'm Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen. I always have time for fashion."

Mal sighed and leaned her chin onto the countertop as Evie fixed her hair. She had to admit: it was nice to see the hairstyle after so many years. She'd only worn it a few times since that date with Ben.

"Before you escape, let me fix your makeup," Evie commanded, finishing her work and pulling her phone out to check the time. A smirk spread across her face.

"Evie, I really have to go back up," Mal sighed. "I'm supposed to be running this thing, sort of, and-"

"I haven't been able to do your hair and makeup in years," Evie protested, folding her arms as she started texting someone – Mal assumed it was Doug. "Come on, indulge me."

Mal let out a groan as Evie returned the garment bag, now filled with the ruined gown, to the back of her car. She pulled her makeup bag out and sat Mal down in the passenger seat to correct the hastily-done makeup Mal had put on in the car. Mal squirmed and fidgeted as she glanced at the blank electronic clock in Evie's car out of nervous habit.

"This whole day has been a bust," She sighed as Evie finished applying a pink color to her lips. "For the last five hours, we've literally been late to every single thing. I just want to go to sleep and try again tomorrow."

"Oh, cheer up," Evie smiled. "Besides, you've got a whole night of dancing with Ben to get around to." She capped her lip gloss and smiled. "Viola! Hey, you're wearing Ben's ring still, right?"

Mal glanced down at her hands and held up her right one. On her index finger lay the gold ring with the beastly imprint. "Yeah, I don't really ever take it off," She reminded her friend.

"Hmm," Evie frowned. "Gold. Ugh, this dress goes so much better with silver, but I guess gold will have to work." She opened her glovebox and shuffled around before coming up with a thin-chained gold necklace. "Put this on, and then I'll take you up," Evie commanded, putting the silver bracelets and the hairpiece into the glovebox and straightening up with a sigh as she landed her hands on her stomach.

Mal frowned at her friend as she fumbled with the clasp on the necklace. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah," Evie smiled. "It's just that all this running around is making me sick." She moved a hand to her mouth in a fist as if she were going to throw up, and then leaned against the car. "Ugh, I can't wait to go to bed either," She sighed. "When does this thing end?"

"At Midnight," Mal grumbled. "Hey, Auradon's got to celebrate themselves."

"Yeah, no kidding," Evie sighed. She pushed herself back up. "Let's head up."

Mal finished latching the necklace and looked down to examine the pendant. She frowned. It was of a little silver dragon with purple gemstones in its eyes. "Why are you carrying around purple jewelry?" She asked.

Evie blinked softly, as if she hadn't quite understood what Mal had asked, and then responded: "I think I forgot to give that to you. Huh. Oh well." She turned and headed back to the elevators.

Once inside, Evie pushed the button for the main flooring. "Oh, Evie, we actually need to go to the ground level," Mal corrected her, reaching to press the correct button.

Evie batted her hand aside. "Relax, Mal, I've got this." She yawned. She was pressing her hands to her stomach as if she were going to be sick. Mal frowned.

"Evie, there aren't any restrooms on the main floor. If we go to the ground floor then-"

"Mal. I've got this," Evie interrupted.

Mal crinkled her nose. "I can't even enter the ballroom from the main floor," She pointed out. Evie didn't say anything; she only made a hushing motion with her hand as she closed her eyes and leaned against the elevator walls.

The elevator doors opened and Evie, who was starting to look a bit pale, took Mal's wrist and led her out. They hurried through the hallways, tracing the same path they'd run earlier as Mal's lips pinched into an increasingly worried look. They paused outside the door to the entrance hallway, and Evie groaned.

"Is there a trash can, like, anywhere here?" She groaned, squeezing her eyes closed in pain. "Ugh," Evie felt around in her pockets for her phone and squinted at the screen. She let out a pitiful sound in the back of her throat. "Okay," She grumbled and tossed her phone onto the floor. Mal caught a glimpse of a screen full of text messages.

Evie straightened up and opened the doors. Mal immediately freaked out. "Evie, what are you doing? We're not allowed to go down the hallway after the presenting!" She hurried to shut the door, and Evie stopped her with a hand and a downright devilish look.

"Too bad," Evie grumbled. "We're going. Now." She seized Mal's wrist and hauled the stammering girl into the hallway. Mal sputtered and dug in her heels.

"I can't go down the staircase Evie! The entire room – I've already been announced!" Mal hurried to explain as she tried to wrestle her hand back from Evie. Evie whirled around in a moment of intense, spontaneous fury.

"Hush!" She commanded. "I know what I'm doing, Mal, and so help me you are going to walk down this staircase right. Freaking. Now." She released Mal's wrist and shoved her forward. Mal tripped a little and stumbled past the threshold of the hall and onto the staircase. Immediately, the room went silent.

Mal's hands shook as everyone looked up at her. She took in everything again – the large room, the multitudes of people – and it suddenly occurred to her that everyone was smiling.

She looked down to the base of the stairwell. Belle and Adam, Jay and Lonnie, Jane and Carlos, Audrey and her family, everyone was there. Even Doug, though he was missing Evie, who had suddenly vanished from the hallway. The only person beside Evie she could tell was missing was Ben.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and Mal looked up. She met brown eyes, and things somehow made all too much sense. Ben took her hand with a scheming smile and began to lead her down the stairs. He, like she, had changed clothes. He wore a black suit with, strangely, purple embellishments. A small collection of purple flowers was even tucked into his breast pocket.

"You look amazing," He whispered in her ear, guiding her down to about halfway up the stairs.

"You're wearing purple," Mal gasped. She couldn't believe it. The color made his eyes look a little darker, actually.

Down below, Evie reappeared and took a stance beside Doug, who wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. No one in the entire crowd said anything as Ben reached into his suit coat. She heard something click. "You're microphoned?" She asked. Her voice echoed a bit in the room from the speaker system.

"Gotta be heard," Ben chuckled. "Don't forget, we're on TV." He gestured out to the crowd. There were cameras broadcasting the event to Auradon, and people had their cell phones out, filming. Mal's mouth went very dry.

"You… you all set me up!" She gasped, turning to stare at her friends. Audrey had dumped her drink on her, Ben and Jay had sabotaged her wardrobe… Evie had hidden her card in the car to slow them down! She clapped a hand to her mouth in shock.

Ben laughed. "I'm not going to take any more time from the party," He told her. "After all, this has been a long time coming, and I feel like you've had plenty of warning." He took her hands and they turned to face each other. Ben cleared his throat.

"Mal, my idea of Happily Ever After changed forever when we started dating. For years now, all I've wanted in life is you. You're my partner, you're my teammate, you're my friend. And there is no one else I want to be my queen." Ben's voice echoed off the walls of the room and at the mention of the word 'queen', the entire room took a breath. Mal, for her part, couldn't breathe as Ben dropped to one knee in front of her, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the long-coveted black box. He smiled at her as he opened the box with a flourish and tears clouded her eyes.

"I want you if you'll have me. You already know my work is a burden, but you've more than proven you're up to any challenge that comes. Mal, will you marry me, and be Queen of Auradon at my side?"

Mal couldn't breathe, couldn't speak as she nodded over and over and over. She dropped to her knees beside him and threw her arms around his neck. And it was only then she finally found her voice again. "Yes," She gasped, sounding a bit hoarse with emotion. "Yes, yes, I'll marry you."

The entire room exploded into sound. Mal felt Ben fumbling with her left hand, and then something cold and metal slipped onto her finger. She withdrew a little to examine the ring. She was smiling so hard she almost couldn't see straight as she looked down and saw a silver band with a low-set diamond and dozens of pretty purple offset stones. She twisted her hand and examined the back of the ring, and then noticed something inscribed underneath the diamonds. It read: "happily ever after."

Ben got to his feet and helped her up as tears filled her eyes and immediately began to spill down her cheeks. The room was still applauding, people were still screaming in celebration as Ben tucked her arm into his elbow and began leading her down the stairs. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and all their families started up and met her halfway with hugs and calls of celebration. Mal let go on Ben long enough to latch onto Evie and begin sobbing into her friend's shoulder.

Jay eventually pried her off of Evie so he could pick her up and spin her around. "Why so sad?" He asked. "You did it! You said yes!"

Mal hid her face in his shoulder, well-aware her makeup was probably ruined. "I'm just happy," She hiccupped. "I'm really, really happy."

Evie seized Mal's hand, looking irritable. "Let me see the stupid ring!" She demanded crossly. Mal laughed as Evie spread her fingers and let out a squeal when she glimpsed all the sparkly rocks. They threaded their fingers together and let out two identical twin screams of pure excitement.

"That's beautiful!" Audrey cheered as she looked over everyone's shoulders. She smiled sheepishly at Mal. "Sorry about ruining your dress," She apologized.

"Oh!" Mal huffed, balling her fists up. "You all set me up!" She pointed at each of her friends accusingly. "I thought he was going to propose next week!"

"Thanks, guys," Ben laughed, reaching around her to fist-bump everyone one-by-one. "I owe you all big-time."

"Yes," Evie agreed, curling her lip. "We ruined a perfectly good cocktail dress and I almost got arrested."

"You hid my card!" Mal protested, digging her nails into her palms. "And that text thing! You're all dirty, dirty liars!" She pointed at Jay. "You brought my dress down so I couldn't go to my room, and you and Ben sabotaged my room so I had to wear this, and you even made me think it was going to be at Cotillion!"

"You really thought I'd ruin Ka-Okee's night?" Ben laughed. "And your room is fine. Actually, we filled it with surprises. You're welcome."

"Evie stalled me." Mal pointed at her best friend accusingly. "And Carlos-"

"Didn't almost ruin everything," Carlos interrupted with a laugh and a wince. "I orchestrated the traffic jam that almost made you late and helped with the microphones and equipment."

"By the way," Ben paused, opening up his suit coat and switching the microphone off. "Can you help me take all this junk off?" Carlos moved to help him as Doug continued explaining everything in lieu of everyone fawning over Mal.

"Carlos got the guard to slow you down, Belle asked the carpet cleaners to act as if there was a mistake and they were late, and Ben asked Audrey to knock her drink on you. The hardest part was for Evie to get you up on the forbidden staircase without you getting suspicious enough for Ben to not catch you off guard." He put a hand on his wife's shoulder as Evie began to calm down.

Evie slumped into Doug's side with a yawn. "I'm about done. Watching Mal panic about everything for the last few hours has worn me out."

"You feeling bad?" Jane asked, patting Evie's shoulder sympathetically.

"Yeah, she was about to throw up when we were in the hallway," Mal frowned, examining Evie in worry.

"I did on the way down, in the restroom," Evie sighed, resting a hand on her ribcage. "It's time for me to go home."

Ben paused. "Oh, are you pregnant?" He asked. Evie flushed and nodded with a happy smile as Doug took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.

"Let's get you home," Doug whispered in her ear. He inclined his head to the group. "Congratulations, Ben and Mal. I don't know why you waited so long, but I'm glad you finally did it."

Mal glanced down at her hand with a wistful smile. "You had this for seven years?" She asked Ben.

"I've known for a while you were the one," Ben laughed. "I was just waiting for you to realize that." Mal blushed as she took his hand again. He reached up, guided his hand down her jawline, and brought her mouth up to his. Immediately, her friend all exploded into disgusted sounds, though it was clear they were all still very proud of what they'd accomplished. Mal relaxed as she felt the familiar magic tingle her fingertips and light her emotions on fire.

Belle appeared, hurrying up the stairs. "Mal!" She called, drawing her new future daughter-in-law away from her son. She held out her hands. "I want to see the ring!" She demanded. Mal laughed as Evie stepped forward for one last hug before Belle seized Mal's hand and began to examine the ring with intense scrutiny. Doug led Evie away, out the doors, and presumably down to her car. 'It's beautiful!" Belle proclaimed. "Now, when are you getting married? Have you talked about anything yet?"

"Nothing." Ben shook his head. "But I'd be willing to bet Mal wants a winter or spring wedding." He elbowed her with a smile. Mal immediately shook her head.

"No, no Ben," She declined. "I want, like, a tomorrow wedding. Is there any chance we can elope tonight?"

"Evie will murder you," Jay replied immediately with a wide look in his eyes. "She's been planning dresses since she learned your cotillion was getting engaged to being engaged. If she doesn't get the chance to make at least one, she will go ballistic."

"Yeah, let's not anger the pregnant Isle lady," Carlos laughed nervously.

"What do you mean, 'at least one'?" Mal asked with a furrowed brow. "Only one dress is needed, and really, we all know I'd be fine to get married in my jacket and combat boots anyways."

"Auradon might have a thing or two to say about that," Ben rolled his eyes. "The whole 'white wedding' thing is strangely important to everyone. People might revolt."

The group threw their head back and laughed before a sudden crash came from the concessions table. An entire table had collapsed, and the young Duke Alan Tudyk of Weselton was struggling to get up from it. The young man's coattails were covered in the jello pudding he'd landed in as he howled in outrage. He appeared to have been thrown, and it didn't take much deducing to see the source of the commotion. Adam's fists were balled up about ten feet away and he was shaking like the ground as a volcano went off. His face was beet-red and, for a second, Mal could have sworn she was looking at the Beast, and not Ben's dad.

"Adam?" Belle gasped beside Mal as Ben took Mal's hand and squeezed it. Adam didn't hear her as he procured an accusing finger directed in the young Duke Weselton's direction.

"Get out of my house!" Adam bellowed. More people in the room who hadn't been alerted to the disturbance when the table had crashed were staring as Alan struggled to his feet. "I'll not hear your blasphemy again!"

"Mark my words!" The Duke yelled, wiping what looked like the remnants of a slice of cake off of his face and hurling it onto the ballroom floor. "This is it for Auradon!"

People gasped in horror at his words, and Mal straightened up beside Ben, ready to fight. The Duke whirled and pointed an accusing finger straight towards their group – straight at Mal. "As sure as we stand here, she'll be the downfall of the kingdom!" He proclaimed. "We can't trust her!"

Ben stepped in front of Mal as Carlos and Jay both took up defensive stances. Mal was shocked as the Duke hurled another fistful of smashed cake from his shoulder onto the floor. He turned and stormed out of the ballroom, leaving a gigantic mess of frosting and whipped cream behind. People began to murmur as servants appeared and began to take the ruined confections away. Ben held up his hands to gather the attention of the people around him. "Please, everyone, go back to your party." He turned momentarily to squeeze Mal's shoulder and then walked to where the servants were trying to wipe things up. He picked up the platter of destroyed jello and disappeared out the door with it as Mal let out a breath.

Belle left the group to go talk to Adam. Mal watched the two interact briefly, and they headed out the door as Ben reappeared and continued to help with clean-up. Mal looked around at the surrounding guests. While many looked horrified and angry, several stood stone-faced, refusing to meet her eyes. And just like that, she was sixteen again and everyone was angry with her after family day. She could hear Jane's hiss: "he's never gonna make a villain a queen," and could feel everyone's eyes on her.

"Woah, calm down," Carlos told her, setting a hand on her forearm. Mal looked at him, confused, and realized her eyes must have flashed. She averted her gaze and took several deep breaths.

"Mal," Jay whispered. "They're wrong. You're not going to destroy Auradon. They don't know you."

Mal forced a tight smile. "I know," She whispered and looked up to the doors. She slipped past everyone at the base of the stairs and joined the few royals helping the servants clean the food off of the floor. She could feel people's eyes on her as she worked, but she didn't dare let anyone know how the situation had knocked her off-guard. One by one, everyone got up as the mess resolved itself, but Mal wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do when she got up, so she kept pretending she was wiping up excess whipped cream until a hand stopped her.

Ben took the napkins out of her hand and threw them away. He slipped his arm around her waist and cleared his throat. "We were talking about when you wanted the wedding before we were interrupted," He recalled leading her away and into the crowd, inclining his head to anyone who stopped to congratulate them. "Assuming I can't get out of that charity event and subsequent meeting tomorrow, what's your option number two?"

"Do you think all of Auradon will react like that?" Mal asked, glancing over her shoulder to where the Duke of Weselton had landed.

"No," Ben stopped her, turning her to face him with an intense gaze. "No, they won't. The people love you. I love you. The Duke is just a close-minded fool. Don't listen to him. I honestly don't want you to think about him for another second. This night is about us, and he's wrong about you. Don't believe lies, Mal."

Mal swallowed at the tone of his voice. She'd heard him take that tone less than four times in her life. Under Uma's spell at Cotillion… at the Enchanted Lake when they'd almost broken up… no other instances came to mind right away. "I won't," She whispered.

Ben's gaze remained intent on her for another few seconds, and then he leaned in and gave her another kiss, in front of everyone. Despite the scene and the fact that they were probably being filmed somewhere, Mal felt all her worries and upsets heal. True Love's Kiss strikes again, she thought. A smile appeared on her face. "Maybe we should do a winter wedding," She mumbled against Ben's lips. "Or, like, a next-week wedding."

"Ah-ah," Ben tsked. "Cotillion next week. We can't hold an official event of that importance after their celebration. It's not nice. But we could probably do, like December. You could get married in the snow. Evie would have a field day with all the white."

"She would," Mal laughed as he returned his arm to her waistline and she wrapped hers around his. "So, what was with all the hype about Cotillion? You could have just had everyone make me think you were going to propose over dinner out of the blue or something."

"I'm not casual enough for that," Ben laughed. "And the real reason?" He snickered for a half-second and then schooled his emotions. "John Smith was complaining you hadn't finished filing your part of the paperwork."

Mal's mouth dropped open. "Oh my gosh," She covered her mouth as Ben doubled over in laughter. "That's manipulation!" She accused.

"Hey," Ben held up a hand in defense. "It was all done bright and early the morning after you had your text conversation with your friends. Two birds with one stone. You didn't see anything coming and I got you to focus on paperwork."

"You know about those texts?" Mal asked.

Ben snickered again and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I orchestrated them," He told her, tilting the screen so she could look at what he was doing. He opened a message with Carlos, Evie, and Jay and himself – no Mal. Mal skimmed the messages and covered her mouth as she began to laugh.

Jay: "Kay Ben, I just told her abt Cotillion. She's suspicious but I think E and C 'freaking out' helped.

Evie: Yeah, she's sold on this.

Ben: What's she saying now?

Carlos: She's just spectating. She's reading all the messages but isn't saying anything. BTW she was working on Cotillion paperwork when we started texting her.

Ben: I wonder how much longer until it's actually done. She's had it for almost two months. Anyone want to place a bet for less than a day now that we've done this?

Evie: CARLOS YOU TEXTED THAT MESSAGE TO THE WRONG GROUP CHAT

Carlos: OH SHOOT.

Carlos: SHOOYT

Carlos: SHOOT*

Jay: Your an idiot.

Ben: Please tell me you didn't ruin everything.

Ben: Guys?

Ben: What happened?

Evie: Screenshot She said she's gonna pretend she didn't get that.

Ben: I think it's vague enough. She'll probably think we're going to sneak her away from Cotillion. BTW thanks for the heart attack.

Ben: Oh, she has visitation with her mom on that day.

Ben: EVIE you have a day out with her next week on the night of the Castle Party. Okay, I have a plan, and it involves lots of stress for Mal. You guys up to helping me?

Mal shook her head as she skimmed the texts and watched their plans unfold. The most impressive one, to her, was Ben saying: "If Mal doesn't tell you to go straight to the royal garage, ask her if she has the passes for it. She'll probably agree right away and roll with it without getting suspicious." She'd played right into their hands, and she wasn't even a little bit disappointed. "You guys are good," She complimented Ben. "And then none of you broke character, except for Evie when she snapped at me to go out on the staircase."

"I heard that," Ben chuckled. "By the way, I had no idea she was expecting, and I feel kind of bad for how much of our plan revolved around her."

"It would have had to have been her, though," Mal rolled her eyes. "For one, she would have wanted to have the biggest part anyway. And for two, it wasn't like Jay or Carlos could have sewn a 'getting engaged' dress and convinced me it was for next week, and then helped me change and get ready in the car, and everything."

Ben smiled as he looked down at her outfit. "You look amazing," He told her. "I prefer you in purple over Auradon colors."

"I don't look good in yellow," Mal shook her head. "Remember cotillion? And I had my bright purple hair and… yeah." She trailed off as Ben started to laugh and nod.

"Should I wear purple when we get married?" She asked over Ben's laughter. "Or would Auradon have a meltdown?"

"Auradon would have a meltdown," Ben confirmed. "Maybe Evie could put purple hints in your white dress though." He hesitated. "Actually, maybe we could do a double thing."

Mal tilted her head. "Like… two weddings?" She asked slowly.

Ben shrugged. "Maybe," He shrugged. "And you could wear purple or black or green at the private one, and we could have only our friends and no cameras, and heck, we could do that next week or month or whenever. And then Auradon can have their gigantic, ridiculous, over-the-top white wedding afterward."

Mal let out a wistful sigh. "I'm okay with that," She agreed. "I don't feel like my wedding is something I want to share with your kingdom."

"You don't want to share anything with our kingdom," Ben rolled his eyes. "Not your time, not your wedding, not even me."

"True," Mal grumbled. They hit the edge of the ballroom and walked out onto a balcony. A few couples were out, but not many. They walked over to the railing and Mal leaned down over the edge. "And really," She continued, elbowing Ben coyly, "So long as it gets me into your room quicker, I'm good with anything."

Ben hummed and rolled his eyes. "You're deathly afraid of raising the future heir or heiress of the kingdom yet you can't wait to sleep with me," He whispered as he leaned over the balcony with her.

"Well, it's the benefits, see," Mal shrugged. Her throat felt a bit tight as she considered his reasoning.

"There aren't any benefits to kids?" Ben returned with a raised eyebrow. "A little you or a little me, or a little both of us? And you get to watch them grow up and decorate their rooms and-"

"You sound like Evie," Mal cut him off with an eye-roll.

"Strictly speaking, it's good Evie is thinking like that," Ben shrugged. He put his arm around Mal and began to rub her shoulder with his fingertips. "So, when do you want to get married?"

Mal looked out into the night and considered the black, inky sky. A cool breeze drifted through and made goosebumps rise on her arms. She turned and met his gaze. "Tonight," She admitted. "I just want to be your wife already."

Ben smiled and leaned his cheek on her head. "What about after cotillion?" He suggested. "Ka-Okee gets put in next Wednesday, and Thursday I'm packed, but maybe I can move my last thing on Friday, and we can take all your friends out to DunBroch or to Paris for some whiskey or brandy, get our marriage license, have a ceremony or something, and then come home and start getting ready for Auradon's part of the celebration."

"Can we get back after midnight?" Mal asked. One of the rules, whenever Ben, Mal, or any of their friends went out together, was that the Royals had to get back before midnight. This would be a huge security blitz. He might have to add an entire extra meeting to his schedule to organize it, but it would be awesome. Mal hadn't been allowed to stay out till morning hours since she'd lived with Evie.

"You know what," Ben sighed. "That sounds fun. Let's do it. I'll probably die in meetings on Saturday, but-"

"But you're usually dying in meeting anyways," Mal interjected. "People literally drown you with their problems."

"I sense resentment in that statement," Ben laughed. He pressed a kiss to her head. "We won't be able to go anywhere until after we're publicly married, mostly because I need at least a month's warning before I can drop things and go, but we'll go on a honeymoon together after the white wedding."

"As far as me being queen, does that start after wedding one, or wedding two?" Mal asked.

Ben tossed the idea back and forth. "Technically… you'll be my wife. Which makes you Consort Queen until you're coronated with the official ceremony. So even though you're not immediately the 'Queen' of Auradon, technically your responsibilities change the moment you sign the paper. So… partial queen duties?" He shrugged. "I'll ask dad."

Mal chewed on her lip. "In theory, let's say I take on all the duties of Queen starting Saturday Morning. How does that change your schedule?"

Ben let out a physical sigh of relief. "I can't wait till I get to split responsibilities with you. I've honestly forgotten what free time feels like outside of our dates." He rubbed a hand over his face and thought. "At least half of my day Saturday would be cleared up if you started then. Because then I could move things so they're overlapping, and we can divide and conquer. In essence, my workday goes from sixteen to six, maybe seven or eight hours every day."

"Does that mean I actually get to talk to you now?" Mal asked with a smile.

"Amazing concept, isn't it?" Ben laughed. "What do you want to do? I'm okay to keep holding everything down until you're officially coronated if you want." He drummed his fingers on her bicep in a comforting thrum while he waited for her response.

"Actually, I think I might take over," Mal thought out loud. "That way I get to spend more time with you. Besides, I won't be swamped with Court Duties anymore."

"Well, you will be, but only to a degree since the courts and the monarch are separate. You already know that the king is head of court but when there's a queen she gets a say too. Her say is slightly below the king's but that's just a balance check because she has the power to veto any laws he makes," Ben explained, moving his hands a little as he spoke.

Mal let out a deep breath. "There's so much," She gasped. "How will I ever get it all?"

"I felt like that when I started out too," Ben told her, squeezing her close to his side. "But I had my parents, and you have me. We'll figure it out together. As far as your court duties go, chances are they won't release you until you're officially coronated, but I'm allowed to help if we're married."

"That's new," Mal hummed. "Usually whatever I was doing I was supposed to keep separate from you until it was developed."

"Same with me," Ben laughed. "I get to share laws in-the-making, legal cases, the works. Now it's just that you're not allowed to share what I tell you with your friends."

"The joys of National Security," Mal sighed half-heartedly. She reached for Ben's hand and squeezed her palm against his. "What else do we need to figure out? Who would marry us next week? Where would we go? Where can we find a ring for you?"

"Slow down," Ben chuckled, fiddling with her left hand so he could watch the diamonds sparkle in the dim light on her hand. "I think we have a few heritage rings in the family vaults. I had yours made special, but I could easily wear my grandfather's and get it sized and engraved. We could go anywhere within two hours of the palace and, heck, Dad can marry us since he still holds that power in the law. And if not Dad then I could easily find someone in the palace who's qualified."

Mal watched him move her hand back and forth to see the ring sparkle on her hand with a small smile. "I can't wait," She whispered.

"Me neither," He murmured in her ear. She turned her head to smile up at him and leaned up a little, ready to kiss him.

A door opened down below on the palace grounds, shedding light over all the shrubbery for a quick flash before a thud signified the door had shut again. "I can't believe it!" Someone declared down below. Mal turned away from Ben and leaned down over the balcony as a young man – maybe a duke or a prince – stalked out into the shrubbery with a young woman who had blue-streaked hair followed him.

"Believe what?" She asked in a high, snobbish tone. "Why are you acting like such a baby?"

The young man whirled around and made several angry gestures to the palace behind him. A few of the other couples on the balcony looked down with frowns. "Them, Clara, the royals!" He yelled. Spittle was flying from his mouth. Mal frowned and squinted. The two seemed to be dressed similarly, meaning they were either a couple trying to match or, more likely, two siblings, sent from the same country. The boy continued yelling. "I can't believe the audacity – how dare they?"

"What?" Clara growled, stamping her feet. "It's a perfectly good party we're missing. What's your deal?"

"I can't believe that he'd make a villain a queen!" The boy exploded suddenly, taking off his ties and hurling it to the ground with such force Mal took her hand off the balcony in surprise. "How dare he put the country in jeopardy!"

"Mal?" The girl deadpanned. "That's what you're mad about? Mal?"

"You're not mad?" The boy exclaimed, unbuttoning his suit coat and his sleeves while he turned red, even in the darkness. "He's putting the daughter of the evilest villain ever on the throne of our country, giving her plenty of power to ruin everyone's lives, and not caring that we all might die-"

He started emptying his pockets onto the ground. There were wrappers, a plastic spoon, peanuts and candies, and something greasy wrapped up in a napkin. He ripped off his coat and tossed it onto a shrub as he paced. Mal glanced around them. The other people on the balcony were intently watching the argument down below, and only two were glancing at her cautiously. She assumed most of them hadn't realized it was them standing there due to the night hiding most of their features, like her signature hair. She swallowed and glanced up at Ben, whose lips were pinched into an angry growl and whose eyes were hard with fury. Carefully, she untangled their hands from each other and looked down, examining the ring on her finger as she tried to calm herself down.

"Die," Clara repeated in a deadpan tone. "Doubtful. What, is King Ben just going to up and vanish?"

"No, she'll murder him!" Her brother exclaimed, spinning on his heel and kicking a small shrug, sending a bunch of leaves flying off of the bush. "Him and his family and everyone until it's just her and she's done everything her mom was never able to do! He's a fool, believing her lies and giving her everything she wants. You can't cater to evil, and he's just – walking around – hey Mal, you want this, sure thing. Hey Mal, you want the kingdom, here you go. Hey Mal, should I expose my neck as you raise a knife over my head? Sounds good to me!" The boy shoved his hands deep into his pockets and paced back and forth, practically steaming. "She doesn't deserve any kindness, any celebration, we ought to be summoning the army to stop her before we're all entrapped in her demonic lies and cutting her sinisterly, seductive mouth off. I wouldn't mind seeing her actually punished for her crimes and strung up like-"

"Young man!" Ben finally exploded. The sheer volume was so great that everyone, even Mal, jumped. She almost felt her frame edge into a defensive position before she reminded herself that this was Ben, and Ben wouldn't be hurting her. Her eardrums were ringing. The boy down on the palace grounds stiffened like someone had dumped ice water down his back and turned slowly. Mal dipped her head down, cheeks burning, as people on the balcony backed away from them, leaving her and Ben clearly isolated. Clara squinted up at them, winced, and turned her head away, covering her face in shame as the boy blinked up through the shadows at them. Ben took his arm from around Mal and planted his hands on the railing. He straightened up and glared – really, he glared – down at the young man.

"King Ben," The boy took a breath. His gaze fell on Mal momentarily, and his lip curled in distaste. "I apologize for interrupting your evening," He forced out, sounding like he had just swallowed a pound of rock salt before he tried to open his mouth. "May I congratulate you on your-"

"Save your breath," Ben spat, enunciating every word. He curled his fingers into the balcony railing and then forced his hands to relax. "Your worries are notable, but I assure you we take every precaution for your safety." Ben let out a deep breath and waved his hand. "Leave," He commanded. "Get out of my sight. Georgetown citizens, correct? I'll page ahead to your parents the details of this incident. So help me if I ever see your hide around here, you won't be leaving with perfect teeth. I will take personal pride in disfiguring your mouth for this conversation alone, so don't let me hear another word out of your mouth against my fiancée."

An icy feeling crept down Mal's spine as she listened to Ben's threats. She'd never heard Ben threaten anyone before – she'd never even heard him get angry before, not counting that time at her Cotillion. And sure, she'd heard threats against the royal family. Most notably from last year, when Ben's name had been smeared by the public for the crop failures. And not to mention all the threats she'd heard and had passed on regularly when she lived on the Isle. But she hadn't heard threats like this in a very, very long time, if ever. These threats were precise, striking fear into the hearts of everyone who heard them, and the tone of voice left no one any doubt that Ben would gladly – gladly – carry them out.

The boy coughed a little as he tried to clear his throat. He sounded like he was choking on his tongue as he sheepishly gathered up his jacket and picked most of the trash up off of the ground. He let out a hasty bow before he turned and headed back inside. Mal kept her gaze focused on the ground as the crowd slowly dispersed on the balcony. Her heart thudded against her chest like a hammer beating into her skin. No one said anything to them. Ben's breathing remained heavy and intense beside her. Her fingers trembled from the surprise of his anger and from the cold.

After several minutes of nothing – not touching, no words – Ben put a hand on hers. "I'm sorry for yelling," He murmured quietly.

Mal straightened up and shook her head. "Oh, it's fine. I mean, he wasn't being the nicest, and… I'm not mad."

Ben put his arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps. "Let's not talk about it," He whispered. "Come on, I want to go back inside and make sure he left. Let's find everyone."

They turned and re-entered the ballroom. Music was playing – the DJ had finally started his songs. A large area had cleared for dancing, meaning that a majority of the guests were now wandering through the other areas cleared for guest use – the dining room, the small library, the gardens, basically the lowest floor of the building. Ben and Mal skirted around the dance floor and then clasped their hands together as they began to look for Jay, Lonnie, Carlos, Jane, or Ben's parents. Mal used her free hand to reach into his suit pocket for his phone since hers had probably been taken back up to her room by Doug or one of the servants. The time read 7:20.

"Excuse me," Ben stopped a guard who was patrolling the perimeter of the room. "Can you please see to it that the young prince from King George Town is escorted out? His sister is fine to stay, but he was acting like a disrespectful snot, and I want him to leave early."

"Yes, your majesty," The guard nodded and pulled out a walkie-talkie. He began relaying the instructions he'd just gotten from Ben. As he walked away, Ben slung an arm around Mal's waist and pulled her close to his side.

"Are you hungry?" He whispered in her ear.

"A little," She nodded. Her hands still felt a bit numb from cold.

"Listen," Ben sighed, walking her toward the dining room where additional tables had been laid out. "I'm sorry I yelled. Please, don't think about that boy anymore. What he said… it's just not true."

"I grew up on the Isle, Ben," Mal grumbled. "I know how to take threats." They got in line behind a couple who immediately turned to greet them, thank them for the party, and congratulate them on getting engaged. Ben got Mal a plate of something fancy she didn't know the name of and together they wandered into the library on a hunch. There, they found their group hiding on a collection of sofas near the window, watching guests wander the gardens outside. Ben helped Mal sit down in her dress before he took a seat beside her without a word.

Adam appeared to have calmed down. He was eating the same thing Ben and Mal had just grabbed as Belle skimmed a book beside him. Their hands were intertwined. "I haven't seen you for a while," Belle smiled. "Are you alright?"

Jay craned his head to look at Mal. He was lounging on a window seat. Lonnie had collected cushions off of the couch and was lounging on the floor beside him. He was trailing his fingers through her hair as he studied his surroundings. "You look pale," He told Mal.

Janes and Carlos were sitting on a sofa together. She was leaning back into him with her eyes closed and his arms were latched around her shoulders comfortingly. But at Jay's words, Jane cracked an eye open. "Are you okay?" She asked Mal.

Mal swallowed. "I am," She whispered.

Adam straightened up. "I'm sorry if I scared you, Mal. The Duke of Weselton…" He trailed off, and Ben shook his head.

"No, it's not that, dad," He sighed. "My fault. I lost my cool with this… prepubescent scumbag who was talking about stringing her up in the gardens."

Carlos's face twisted into a vicious sneer and Jay straightened up and cracked his joints. "I hope you set the rules of things clear?" Carlos demanded in a low, threatening tone. Still, he had nothing on Ben's fierce threats. Mal barely batted an eye.

"I did," Ben assured him coolly. "But I snapped, and I know I scared you." He set a hand on her forearm. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Mal waved him off. "I swear, I'm okay. I just wasn't expecting you to yell."

"You yelled?" Jay snorted. "Sheesh, who'd have thought the kitten could roar?"

"Oh, no, Jay," Mal shook her head, and a round of giggles rose up inside her. She began to laugh. "Oh, he snapped!" She clapped her hands together for added effect. Laughing helped the shock of the situation wear off a little. "And everyone around us jumped and you could see the kid's hair standing on end from fifteen feet away." Mal covered her face as she began to laugh spastically. "Everyone backed away. And then he started threatening the kid… holy crap, there are people on the Isle who couldn't have done better." She shook her head in disbelief and directed her attention to Ben. "You," She began with a smile, "are scary." She stabbed her food with her fork and took a bite, still shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't believe it," Lonnie disagreed, shaking her head. "No. Not Ben."

"I was shaking," Mal protested, holding a hand up. "I've never seen him that intense about anything. He was all: 'you're not going to leave with a perfect smile', and 'I will take personal pride in disfiguring your face.'" She dropped off, still shaking her head in disbelief and smirking at Ben, who was looking a bit pink. "We did decide on some things for our wedding," She announced, and then elbowed Ben to signal she wanted him to talk.

Ben cleared his throat. "Mal likes her privacy, so we're going to get married ahead of time and then treat the coronation as her 'official wedding'. That way she doesn't have to wear white, doesn't have to give a speech, and is free to get drunk with her friends."

"That's not what I said," Mal frowned.

"I don't hear you complaining about the idea, though," Ben pointed out. Mal shrugged and subsided.

"When?" Belle asked, glancing over the pages of her book and smiling as if she already knew the answer, though there was no way she coud.

"Tomorrow," Ben claimed. Everyone in the group stared at him as Mal snickered. A smile spread across Ben's face. "Not tomorrow. But we were thinking about Friday. After Powhatan Cotillion. And yes, that's a literal answer."

"Next week?" Belle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "And it's going to be a tiny, minuscule thing. I'm going to clear my day after three, we're all going to go out for some drinks, and pick up our marriage license before we do a small, non-public ceremony. We're thinking it'll be just us in this group, plus Evie and Doug. That's it." He waited for his parent's approval. Belle heaved a heavy sigh and turned to see Adam's response. Ben pinched his lips together. "We want it this way." He added, hoping to head off any concerns.

Adam shrugged. "We always knew their wedding would be a little weird," He reminded Belle, squeezing her hand. "At least they're giving us some warning instead of just running off and doing it. Okay. Need a priest?"

"Yes, please," Ben nodded with a smile.

Carlos and Jane exchanged raised eyebrows. "Are you really okay with the King of Auradon getting married like this?"

"He's not going to be the King of Auradon, he's just going to be Ben," Mal sighed irritably. "If we – if I – have to put up with royal bullcrap for the rest of our lives, then I at least want to have my wedding in peace. And Auradon will get their fake show of wealth later, in December. Everything will be fine."

"Is Auradon going to know this is a thing?" Jay asked as he went back to threading his fingertips through Lonnie's scalp.

"Maybe eventually," Ben shrugged. "But for now, this is just for us. Because we worked hard for this." He took Mal's hand and squeezed it. "It hasn't been easy. We deserve this much."

Mal smiled. "We'll make it work," She promised him. Across the sofas, Carlos let out a little sigh and pulled out his phone. Mal raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Ben… and… Mal… are… getting… married… next… week" Carlos read aloud as his fingers flew across the screen. "Don't… expect… her… to… wear… any… of… your… white… dresses. Might… want… to… start… thinking… black."

"And purple," Jane reminded him.

"And purple," Carlos agreed, adding the statement onto the end of his text. His phone dinged, and a smile spread across his face. "Evie is making death threats through Doug again," He announced to the group.

"How much longer does this last?" Mal sighed as she leaned her head onto Ben's shoulder and began playing with her ring in the light again. Ben pulled out his phone and flashed the time at her. The clock read 7:40 now. Mal watched as he unlocked his phone, went to his calendar, moved a few things around for next week, and then opened a countdown function on his watch. He inclined his head to make sure she was watching as he started a countdown to Friday, three o'clock, next week. She chuckled and let her eyes close.

"She's going to go to sleep," Carlos warned Ben. "She, Jane, and Lonnie. The girls are all tired tonight."

"Add me to that list," Jay yawned. "Lon, you and I need to go home and get some sleep." He pulled her hair back from behind her ears as his fiancée yawned.

"Agreed," Lonnie mumbled. "I'll get up after you." And, expectedly, Jay didn't move, so Lonnie stayed on the floor in her personal cushion palace.

"You guys aren't really going to leave us alone, are you?" Mal grumbled. "Ben and I are supposed to stay up with the party and it literally ends tomorrow morning."

"Yeah," Ben agreed, poking Mal's arm. "We're supposed to stay up with the party. You know, Mal, how can you expect to stay out until two or three a.m. next week if you can't make it to eight tonight?"

"Evie forced me through a spa today and I almost died of stress because of you all," Mal wrinkled her nose. "I have a reason to be tired."

Ben chuckled and set his and her plates aside. "Come on, princess," He invited, standing up. Mal, upon losing her pillow, sat up scowling. He took her hand and pulled her into a standing position. "Let's go dance."

"Why?" Mal whined. "I can't dance."

"Then let's just spin in aimless circles and pretend we're dancing so you can stay awake," Ben laughed.

"We're probably going to head out," Carlos announced. "Classes in the morning." Jane nodded and sat up, swinging her legs off the couch. Jay jolted to attention and got up, and Lonnie, true to her word, followed.

"Bye Mal," Jane bid the purplette. The two shared a brief hug before Lonnie shuffled past with a yawn. Carlos clapped Mal on the back in his hug, and Jay pulled her into a tight embrace. "See you next week," He yawned. "We meeting somewhere, or no?"

"We'll send someone to pick you up," Ben smiled. "Drive safe, guys."

Before they left the library, Ben stopped to give his mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Will you be turning in soon?" He asked.

"Soon," Belle repeated with a nod, setting her book down to wrap her arms around her son. "Good luck with the party. Make sure both you and Mal get to where you need to be – no funny business."

"Does it matter still?" Mal sighed. "No one would know the difference."

Ben rolled his eyes. "I'll make sure of it," He promised his mom. "I love you. See you in the morning."

"Good night," Belle yawned. She picked her book back up and leaned against Adam's shoulder as Ben took Mal's hand and led her back out to the ballroom. It was hard to believe he was all grown up, with a fiancée and his kingdom.

Mal yawned as Ben helped her weave through the crowd towards the floor. He carefully took up her arms and they began spinning with the other couples on the floor.

"Was it worth it?" Ben asked as Mal yawned a little and admired her ring against Ben's suit.

"I can't believe you wore my color," Mal smiled. "You've never looked so good before."

Ben laughed. "So, you're happy?" He asked, which was a silly question since she was always happy with him.

Mal looped her arms around Ben's shoulders and leaned into his chest. She let her eyes drift closed as they kept going, kept spinning. "It's perfect," She whispered. "Everything is perfect."

Ben chuckled. He kept Mal upright as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she was tripping over nothing and yawning constantly. They took a break around 10:30 on the stairs, but that was the end for Mal. She passed out on the fourth step up, with her head on Ben's knee and his arm draped around her. The pretty silver ring caught the light and scattered tiny rainbows on her face as the party continued on around her and she slowly slipped away from reality.

______________________________________________________________

Lady Mal to Become Queen - Auradon News – September 21, 28

Allow us to introduce the next royal bride: Lady Mal, daughter of Maleficent, the first maiden ever to join the official royal family. Hopefully, you already know of her from the eight years she spent dating King Benjamin, son of Beast and Belle and current ruler of Auradon.

In a history-making event, King Ben proposed to Mal in the beginning hours of the celebration of the formation of Auradon on live television. The palace has not released any details regarding when a royal wedding will take place but given that the couple took so much time just to date, it's likely we could be looking at a repeat of the famed tourney star Jay's relationship with his longtime fiancée. Jay also happens to be a close friend of Lady Mal's, so the chances they follow each other's lead may be higher than we think.

When they're wed, Mal will be the most atypical royal bride in this dispensation. She'll be the first descendant of a villain to be marrying into a royal family, and the daughter of Maleficent, at that. She's also one of the few royals who possess the ability to use magic, just a few steps behind Queen Elsa and Queen Rapunzel. Among other things she holds the title of longest girlfriend among any of the royals, the only royal raised on the Isle of the Lost, the only royal who can shapeshift, the only royal who almost destroyed Auradon and, truthfully, the most controversial royal ever in this dispensation.

Ben and Mal have been dating for eight long years, but after the first six months ended, they retreated into seclusion. Mal was accepted as a Lady of the Court six months after arriving from the Isle and has been working with him side-by-side since; even taking up politics professionally after leaving Auradon Prep to be with him. She rose to be the most powerful person in the court, taking up head responsibility right after the King himself. Most of their relationship is hidden from the public eye, though they can often be photographed on casual dates around Auradon, such as the one a few weeks ago at Auradon Prep. Over the years, people have speculated that he was about to propose several times, but each time the palace assured the public that when the time came, they would let Auradon know. Many people speculated it was because Lady Mal simply wasn't ready to take up the role of queen.

Now Mal, who has apparently decided she's prepared, is set to marry Ben and become the second half of the monarchy. She will have the power to veto laws Ben creates, direct all palace personnel, and to create official declarations alongside her husband.

The couple will live at Beast's palace where Former King Adam and Queen Belle also reside. The King and Queen have not given any official statement regarding their future daughter-in-law, but the elder couple was photographed and filmed during the engagement. It's clear they were aware that the proposal was going to go down, and that they were more than okay with it. As far as Mal's mother is concerned, it's safe to assume that she hasn't been told, as she is still available for viewing at the Auradon Zoology Emporium, where she has been for the last year in lizard form.

Ben and Mal met in the fall of 20 at Auradon Prep after Ben decreed that the second generation of villains would be given a chance to choose good and be integrated with the people in Auradon. Mal was among the first four students who almost destroyed his Coronation before turning Mal's mother into a lizard and publicly choosing good over evil. Ben and Mal, who had begun dating previous to Coronation, stayed together despite many people who doubted such a relationship would last. Things have only intensified over the years as Mal rose in politics and eventually moved into the royal palace to live with him and his family.

Today, it's clear that despite political tribulation, the couple is more in love than ever. We're excited to see everything that will happen over the next few years as King Ben and his new wife continue to make changes in Auradon. Long may they reign.

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Animosity after 'Scandalous' Royal Proposal – BG Metropolis – Sept 21, 28

Well folks, it finally happened! King Ben proposed to Lady Mal last night, on the steps of the palace ballroom in front of approximately 2,000 royal attendees. Details about the proposal are still being leaked, but Lady Mal was quoted saying: "You all set me up!" Sounds like someone definitely wasn't expecting her longtime boyfriend to be dropping to one knee that night.

Lady Mal previously opened up the party in a stunning white gown with yellow and blue details, but after an alleged wardrobe malfunction involving a glass of red wine being spilled on her, left the party. King Ben left soon after, reappearing only minutes later in a new outfit with purple detailing. He immediately called the room's attention from the staircase he was about to change Lady Mal's life on and announced that he was about to pop the question – just as soon as Evie, the owner of the popular Evie's Four Hearts and Mal's best friend, finished fixing her outfit. Soon after, Mal appeared on the top of the staircase, looking absolutely bewildered until Ben took her hand and led her down the staircase towards the crowd. He brought out the ring, gave a speech, she said yes, and the rest, at this point, is history.

However, despite the inherent happiness of the two, not everyone was thrilled by the revelation that Maleficent's daughter was about to ascend the throne. Within minutes, there was a commotion as the Duke of Weselton was thrown into a dessert table that had been set up alongside the staircase – the result of Former King Adam losing his infamous temper. Witnesses reported that the Duke was raving about the proposal and the future queen and that he even proclaimed that 'She'll be the downfall of the kingdom' before leaving the scene immediately. Witnesses also report that King Ben reprimanded a young royal who was angrily ranting about Lady Mal on the grounds.

Several other royals and citizens alike have taken alight to social media to express displeasure and worry over Mal's future appointment to the throne. A slow-growing social media presence titled 'Knights for Freedom' have declared their mission: "The throne of Auradon is not for the villains to overrun, and we won't let tyrants like Maleficent's daughter steal away our lives."

No details have been released on a royal wedding. Once Mal is instated as queen, she will have the power to block laws that Ben creates, decree official declarations with her husband, and direct all palace personnel to her bidding. Numerous failsafes exist to keep the monarchy from overthrowing itself, but it will be interesting to see, for the first time, if these systems will be effective in creating the balance of power Auradon so desperately needs. More updates coming soon.

[avengerofyourheart]

Flour Girl {12} (Bucky x reader AU)

Characters: reader, Bucky.

Summary: Discovering the cute guy you just flirted with is the heir of a rival bakery, you suddenly find yourself running into him all over the city. Can your small boutique bakery compete? And how do you deal with the guy who seems determined to make your life a living hell? Luckily you’re distracted by a secret admirer…But who is he? (Inspired by “You’ve Got Mail”, Enemies to Lovers)

Warnings: none! Mild swearing?

Word Count:  2.2k

A/N: Y’all ready for some FLUFF!?????!? I’m excited. :D Finally Bucky is Bucky and now he can be the perfect cinnamon roll we all know he can be. *swoon* I’d love to know your thoughts on this part, any and all feedback is appreciated! I love you guys. <3

<<Part 11   Part 12   Part 13>>  

Flour Girl Series Masterlist 

Full Masterlist

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Repetitive buzzing rudely breached your cozy cocoon of sleep, causing you to stir. Each movement made your muscles ache and head pound. The buzzing was relentless, though, so you finally sat up in bed with a sniffle and threw your legs over the side to stand. Shuffling toward the sound, you were within reaching distance when it went silent. Of course it did.

Exhausted from even walking that short distance, you leaned against the door a moment and closed your eyes to stop your head from spinning when a loud knock from the other side startled you, making you jump.

“Who is it?” you called out in a hoarse, nasally voice as you peered through the peephole.

“It’s Bucky, open up,” a male voice spoke through the door.

Squinting at the distorted image, it was indeed the tall brunet with a mop of perfect hair whom had been your nemesis…until recently? In your ill state, you were almost positive last night had been a fever dream and Jimmy—or Bucky—had never showed up to help you with your baking. The idea still seemed absurd. Realizing you hadn’t responded yet, you cleared your throat, or attempted to, followed by a cough.

“Um…what do you want?” you croaked warily.

“I heard you were sick so I thought I’d check up on you,” he replied, his words now muddled.

Peering through the peephole again, you saw that he was eating something. Something familiar…

“What’re you…is that one of my cookies?” you nearly cried out, finally turning the lock and opening the door.

“Yeah,” Bucky said with a smile, popping the last piece of cookie in his mouth and then continuing to speak with his mouth full. “You were right, these Dark Chocolate Pistachio are amazing, especially with the sea salt on top? So good!” He nearly sang the last two words as he nudged past you into the apartment, leaving you standing there in the doorway, confused.

“Uh…okay. Thanks?” you replied as you closed the door and stepped toward him. “So you stopped by the bakery?” you asked, reaching for a tissue in your bathrobe pocket and blowing your nose.

Bucky chewed a few times before swallowing. “Yup. I didn’t see you at the Nest this morning and Clint said you’d be late with delivering, so I finished mine and thought I’d see what was up. Wanda told me you’re sick? Does that mean you’re actually taking a day off?” he asked in surprise while taking a look around your small apartment, which was now littered with tissues and dirty dishes. You hardly had the time to clean lately and now you just didn’t have the energy.

“Unfortunately, yes. No one wants to see this…” you gestured to your current state, “around food. I did the morning baking for the pastry case and extra for at least part of the day. Wanda offered to do the deliveries, which was sweet of her. She’s only done it a few times and it takes her a bit longer, but I was able to do the extra baking and open the shop before she shoved me out the door to ‘rest and heal’,” you told him using air quotes before another coughing fit took over. Covering your mouth with your sleeve, Bucky took a few steps back, but tried to make it look like he wasn’t dodging your germs.

“Well, good for you,” he declared with a lopsided grin. “You have some drugs or something? Orange juice, all that?” Bucky asked as he took the liberty to open your fridge without asking, knowing that all he would see the empty shelves.

“Hey! Get out of there! I…okay, so I haven’t been to the grocery store in a while,” you admitted, suddenly embarrassed. “It’s fine, I’ll go tomorrow. And yes, I have some cold medicine. I’m waiting for it to kick in so I can finally sleep,” you answered, gesturing to the off-brand over-the-counter box of soft gels.

Nosy once again, Bucky picked up the box and looked at the back which resulted in a low whistle from him. “You’ll be waiting a while, then. This expired 6 months ago, I doubt it’ll help any,” he said, tossing the box on the counter.

Face flushed and feeling dizzy, you now felt like even more of a failure at life. You just wanted him out so you could rest. “It’s fine, Bucky, they just might not be quite as effective, now will you please go so I can sleep?” you demanded and opened the door for him with a sweeping gesture of your arms.

“What’re you going to eat? Isn’t it feed a cold, starve a fever? Or is it the other way around…” he trailed off, pulling out his phone.

Exasperated, you let out a sigh. “I have some ramen, so please just—

“Are you allergic to anything?”

“What?” That caught you off guard. “No, I…you think this is an allergic reaction? It’s just a cold!” you shouted, followed by a sneeze.

“Okay, geez,” he muttered, still focused on his phone as he walked out the door and into the hallway.

“Hey, you forgot your—“

“I’ll be back,” he grinned, walking outside and letting the door close behind him before you could respond.

Frozen in place, you tried to make sense of the past few minutes of interaction. What the hell was that about? Did he just say he was coming back? For his pastries? His behavior was getting more bizarre by the minute. Head foggy, you knew it wouldn’t make any more sense until you kicked this bug, so you shut the door and shuffled back to bed.

Hearing your phone ding, you searched your mess of blankets and finally found the hidden device to see a text message on the screen.

B: Hey, there, Franny. :) Did your day improve at all yesterday? I sure hope so.

A smile stretched across your face, despite the headache creeping behind your right eye.

FG: It did, actually. Got some help from an unexpected source. Sick day today, though. :( How’ve you been?

B: I’ve been good. Busy, but in a good way. I’m so  sorry you’re sick! Isn’t that always the way? The stress passes and the body decides to shut down. Hope you’re getting some rest and TLC! Get better soon.

Feeling an ache in your chest, you decided to put your phone away and bury your head in the pillows. Whether the ache was from coughing or the latent heartache from your almost-meeting, you weren’t sure. B still seemed as sweet and kind as ever, which made you all the more curious about why he would stand you up. If he didn’t want to meet you, then why maintain the charade? Head sore from thinking and illness, you closed your eyes and willed yourself to sleep.

Twenty minutes later, the buzzing returned. You rolled over with a groan, annoyed because you had been almost at the edge of sleep. Between a stuffy nose and coughing fits, there was no comfort to be had. Rolling out of bed, you traced your steps to the door and pressed the intercom button.

“What?” you barked.

“Whoa. Hello to you, too,” the familiar voice squawked through the intercom. “I said I’d be back, remember?”

Squeezing your eyes shut, you leaned against the wall and pressed the button again. “Yeah, but you never said why. I’ll toss the pastries out the window for you,” you threatened before stepping away.

“Hey! I want those intact, thank you very much. Buzz me up,” he requested, but your bed was beckoning so you neglected to answer. After a moment of silence, Bucky spoke again in a sing-song voice. “Oh, Y/N…I have some drugs for you….”

Eyes wide, you ran to the intercom. “Shh!!! What if someone heard you? I have to live and work around here, you know. Ugh, fine,” you relented, pressing the release button for the building’s security door. Within 30 seconds, he was knocking on your door and you let him in.

“Could you not mention drugs around my tenants, even if they’re just for a cold? I have a reputation to uphold…what is all this?” you cut yourself short to see the grocery bags in Bucky’s arms.

Bucky had waltzed in and placed the bags on your small kitchen table. “The cure for the common cold,” he replied with a smirk as he unpacked the bags. “Orange juice, non-expired cold medicine, cough syrup, fancy tissues, and soup,” Bucky declared, looking proud of himself.

“Fancy tissues?” you questioned, allowing yourself a small smile at the sweet gesture.

“The kind with the lotion in it? Keeps your nose from getting all red and stuff. Totally worth the money. I hope you like Chicken Noodle, I know it’s a cliche, but it works,” he continued to putter around the kitchen, finding a spoon in a drawer and also grabbing a fork for some reason. Producing a glass from the cupboard, he poured you some orange juice and placed it on the table. “Sit.”

Narrowing your eyes, you stood still in your confusion. “Why are you doing this?”

Heaving a deep sigh, he pulled out the chair for you and gently held you by your shoulders until the back of your knees hit the chair and you sat. “I’m really not the asshole you think I am. At least, not entirely. I do have friends and roommates and a family that seems to tolerate me. I’m sure you don’t believe any of that and I’ve given you plenty of evidence to the contrary, but I really can be a good guy sometimes. Taking 10 minutes out of my day to make sure you don’t die from taking expired meds and that you actually eat something substantial won’t kill me. Now, eat up,” Bucky urged you as he took a seat across from you.

You watched him open the bag of pastries he brought on his first trip and produce a small brown box that he proceeded to open. He stopped his motions then, noticing you still weren’t eating. Bucky set down his own food and stuck a fork in it, then opening the styrofoam container of soup and pushing it toward you. When you still didn’t pick up your spoon, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair, staring you down. The soup actually did smell kinda good.

Finally giving in, you begrudgingly ate a spoonful of soup as a wide smile appeared on the brunet’s handsome face. The warm broth eased your sore throat as you swallowed and you then realized how hungry you really were. Satisfied, Bucky dug into his own food, lifting a forkful of the very cinnamon roll you had made the night before to his lips.

“If you microwave it for 30 seconds, it’s even better,” you muttered to him between bites.

“Oh yeah? Well, I guess you’d be the expert.”” He accepted your suggestion and walked over to the microwave above the stove. As the device dinged and he returned to the table, you opened the box of medicine and swallowed the recommended number of pills with orange juice. “Mmm. Hell yeah,” he groaned after taking a bite of warm cinnamon roll.

You let out a laugh, to both of your surprise. “Glad you’re enjoying the fruits of my labors,” you teased, drinking the broth straight from the container. Only a few noodles remained. You had apparently been hungrier than you thought.

“Better?”

You nodded while swallowing. “Much. Thank you, Bucky,” you told him genuinely, holding his gaze.

Bucky maintained eye contact a moment longer before he placed his palms on the table and stood. “Well, I’ll leave you to rest. Hope you feel better soon. Oh, and you might want to shower,” he mentioned, then seeing the offended expression on your face. “No! I just mean…you look fine, it just helps to freshen up and put on clean clothes, you know. Get rid of the germs,” he yammered on, holding the box with half a cinnamon roll inside.

Crossing arms over your chest, you offered a nod. “I’ll take it into consideration. At least let me pay for the…”

“Nope!” he quickly interrupted and threw the door open. “You’ll have to catch me first,” Bucky said with a wink and then he was gone.

Once again, you were left staring at the closed door, more confused than ever. What was up with him? Was he really just trying to make up for his past behavior? It still felt a little jarring, but you had to admit that you were grateful for the food and medicine. You hadn’t coughed in a short while and your sinuses had cleared a little bit. Sleep might even be possible, you thought as you put the orange juice in the empty fridge.

Crawling back under the covers, you heard another ding from your phone, pulling it out of your bathrobe pocket.

B: Being sick sucks, so here’s a picture of a cute dog. Feel better! :)

Chuckling at the adorable picture and attached message, you remembered to plug in your phone to charge before finally falling into a deep slumber with a smile on your face.

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Part 13>>  

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Sooooo????? How freaking adorable was that?? :D Ugh, I know. Bucky is just the sweetest, but still, I don’t blame her for being suspicious! Do you agree? Oh gosh, I totally wish I had someone come forcibly take care of me when I’m ill. ;) How about those texts, though?? B is still just such a cutie. She still hasn’t connected the dots yet, but who would have thought Jimmy the Jerk could be the one sending such lovely messages?? heh. This part was so fun to write, I love their banter. I’d love to know your thoughts, any and all feedback is appreciated! I adore you all. Thank you. 

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[strictnoodle]

Sanjivani 2

Now that the show has reached the 30th Episode mark; my overall impression about the characters and everything else. (wonder how much has changed and how much has stayed the same from my first post?)

**warning: long post + spoilers ahead!**

The Seniors:

Dr. Shashank Gupta An amazing father/mentor. He's too good at heart to the point he believes a hospital can run on goodwill alone bless his heart, no wonder Sanjivani is drowning in debt The way he seems so understanding to everyone else except his own daughter baffles me. I did not like it when he slapped her. Yeah she was a tad out of line, but he could’ve just opened his mouth and cleared the misunderstanding. With the way he was trying to shut her up, I'm pretty sure that was not the first time Anjali said that to his face; why not clear the misunderstanding? I refuse to believe he actually has romantic feelings for Juhi. Honestly, ousting Juhi from Sanjivani just because Rahul asked him to is the most redicules reason they could come up with.

Dr. Juhi Singh Still the badass COS that she is, deserves the position no questions asked. I love it every time she takes charge. Whether it’s handling Vardhan, Anjali or the junior residents, she’s doing an amazing job. I was hoping she doesn’t interfere with the father-daughter relationship, but then again I understand her desperation to clear things up. And boy, did she get more than what she bargained for. Seems Rahul and her are no longer together but reasons are still unclear. I’m not a fan of the ego clashes she’s having with Dr. Shashank. I get the emotional shock she’s in, but why can’t these characters just talk to each other?

Dr. Anjali Gupta ice baby, ice. Very ambitious. Would do anything to prove her self to her father even if it meant stabbing him in the back that luxury ward meeting? yikes. For her Juhi is an obstacle that’s always been between them, which is understandable as i’ve explained here. She firmly believes her dad is in love with Dr. Juhi and he has done absolutely nothing to clear it up. She craves her dad’s recognition so much she seems to be projecting it towards Vardhan? Anjali baby, no. She holds a soft spot for Dr. Sid and I really wish they’d explore more of this. I still want to see more layers of Anjali other than “the insecure daughter”.

Mr. Vardhan Makhija Still a douche. He’s the only character that speaks sense when it comes to how to run the hospital business wise. He’s been obsessed about the Luxury ward since the first episode I expected something other than a... beauty spa? who goes to a spa in the house of death and deceases? Psychopaths that’s who  Seems like he’s using it as a cover to run some questionable/shady business Rahul is probably involved too. Can’t tell if he really has a thing for Anjali or he’s just manipulating her for his own means or both. I was honestly surprised he was worried about Sid seeing as he had no issues wishing death to Shashank? I can't with him.

The Juniors:

Dr. Siddhant Mathur A huge soft teddy bear. Very kind. Just when I started wondering why would they give him a playboy image, they shove a scene to remind me of his ways ugh, men are the worst! I love how he’s following Shashank’s footsteps with the mentoring. Very patient and understanding when dealing with people, especially with Ishani. Carries the weight of being an illegitimate over his head and he hides the pain really well. Still not a fan of his ways and can’t say I'm not glad they toned it down. I mean really punching that guy and taking his blood without consent? I’m pretty sure that falls under organ harvesting. Can't tell if he likes Ishani romantically or it’s because he’s just caring by nature, but he’s definitely attracted to her. I find it cute how bothered he is that she likes nothing about him. (Why did they change the actress who played his mom? And why was she hiding from Dr. Shashank? He better not be that idiot long lost father so help me god.)

Dr. Ishani Arora An Alien. An Alien from outer space who’s learning how to be human. jk, lol. or am I?. Socially awkward, doesn’t know proper human behavior and a diagnostic machine and thank god they toned that down. An emotional mess. Her germophobia stems from her background which she uses as a shield to keep people at a distance. Craves family and motherly love so much it honestly breaks my heart. Fiercely protective of those she calls her own slapping a guy twice her size for Asha? Absolutely fearless. An idiot, but fearless. Emotionally unstable; hence, the up and down behavior. Has been deprived of affection most of her life to the point she gets attached to anyone who shows her any form of affection. Can be self aware, as in did not hesitate to admit her mistake and apologize. A none believer and has issues with god. Life made her Cynical.

Sid/Ishani pairing I like the softness. I like how Sid respects her boundaries and tries not to touch her without permission. I liked the pace of their relationship but then the last two episodes happened and the level went from a soft 10 to a 100 in record speed, add the ‘L word’ they used for the promo and label me freaked tf out. I was very relieved when Ishani said “dost” in the episode even that was a bit of a stretch but i’ll take it. I’m hoping it’s just a developing of a crush thing and nothing else.

Dr Rishab Vaidya Such a horrible horrible person. If anyone deserves a slap from their parent, it’s this one. Watching his ass get handed to him by Ishani was the highlight of the week for me.

Dr. Asha Kanwar This girl grew on me so much. Very competitive and has a valid reason to be. She’s in a race against time and her family. Always has her friends’ back, be it Ishani or Neil or anyone. I’m hoping her competitive nature doesn’t land her in trouble one day. Desperate people almost always end up doing something foolish.

Dr. Aman Gehlot This guy is too laid back for a first year resident. Seems he went to Sanjivani to follow Asha. Very protective of her.

Dr. Rahil Shekhar My absolute favorite out of everyone! I love him so damn much. Such a sweet soft guy, would do anything for his friend. I love how he took charge being the Second Year Resident and guided the rest in the ‘rescue Sid emergency procedure’. The second son of the Mathur household. I would literally watch 20 full minutes of him just doing laundry Give me more of him!

Dr. Neil Lama Lau I still cannot wrap my head around how he managed to enter medical school when he faints at the sight of blood? Probably became a doctor for his dad.

Performance:

I didn't write anything much the first time because I wanted to give the actors a fair chance to settle into their character, and I supposed 30 episodes is more than enough time, no? I honestly have no complain from the senior cast. Rohit’s 3D glasses need to go tho, asap.

My main issue is/was with the junior cast, specifically Namit and Surbhi. Since we don’t see much of the others I'm not really bothered about them, Now:

Namit As much as he’s nailing the laidback carefree attitude, he’s really really bad in emotional/intense scenes. I swear that phone conversation with his mom on the bench gave me secondhand embarrassment and I hate secondhand embarrassment. Every time Sid cries, I'm reminded of that face babies make when they’re fed something sour you know, all crunched up and stuff?. What was that death bed scene? And what is the Director doing? Your actor does subtlety really well, use it. And writers work around your actor’s weaknesses and utilize his strength fgs.

Surbhi: Some scenes she’s a pro and the other scenes i’m watching an amateur leaving me a whiplashed. Ishqbaaaz was the first show I've seen her in never seen Qubool Hai and I’ve noticed then Surbhi is a director’s actor(?). This actor-director team need to set tf down so they can get their shit together and agree once and for all how they want to present this character. Volume wise, personally I don't fault her much because Surbhi’s voice tone is naturally loud. Having a loud family myself a best friend too, these people really don’t realize how loud they’re being unless someone points it out to them, in this case the Director. I’m just glad it toned down considerably from the first couple of weeks.

Anyways, both are getting a pass from me so far since I'm just watching the show for fun; hence i’m not that bothered. But acting wise, both really have a lot of work to do like, a lot a lot. The directors need to up their game as well, half the issues would probably be solved if there was proper guidance and a clear vision between Namit/Surbhi and the Direction team.

Editing & everything else:

Still all over the place. One minute the doctors are wearing gloves, the next it magically disappeared? There’s no consistency with the scenes most of the time. Thankfully they worked on the lighting. It is much better than the first couple of weeks where we could barely see anything.

Finally...

The overall plot started okay-ish toned down considerably from the melodrama of the first weeks but then it was Cliche City the last two episodes. I'm hoping they go back to their previous pace because I liked the overall mellowness of the show. I don’t like how they’ve cut down on the medical cases. I mean it is a medical show? Where the main set is a hospital? And all main characters are doctors? smh. I personally prefer one medical case running for the entire week. That way there will be no super speed diagnostic and no miracle one minute cure happening. 

I still catch up with the show on the weekends as i’m not yet heavily invested in the show I could sign off any minute. What I do like most is the grey shades of the characters, They’re not easy to like and makes picking them apart quite fun.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Strawberry Theory: Master Post

Good morning! So I finally got around to reposting the Strawberry Theory. As you can see, I’ve done my best to make a master post out of it. I’m by no means sure that I have all the instances of strawberries, so if anyone thinks of any I’ve missed, please send them to me.

Warning: I might go down a bit of a rabbit hole here.

So these are the major instances of Strawberries that I’ll address here:

1)      Around Beth at Grady.

2)      That Daryl “claimed” in 4b.

3)      Around Father Gabriel in 5b.

4)      Around Sasha in 7b.

5)      Rick and Carl’s convo in S8.

6)      Around Carol in S7.

I want to talk about Grady first, even though it’s kinda out of order, because it’s the whole crux of the Strawberry theory. We see them around Beth all over the place at Grady. They’re in the cafeteria when she talks to Gorman, on the plate she brings to Edwards in his office, and what she uses to bribe Percy to help her get the KEY to the drug locker.

So let’s talk about the symbol of the strawberry and why it’s so appropriate for Beth.

In Christian symbolism, represents kindness and Christian goodness and purity in general. Not hard to see why this would be a Beth symbol. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Strawberries were also thought to be a remedy for depression. They therefore represented healing, especially the healing brought by Christ.

Think about that. Not only was she in a hospital, and so maybe it showed she would heal from all her injuries, past and present, but we also have the Carol situation. Beth was literally holding strawberries in her hand when she went and got the medicine Carol needed from the locker. 

There’s always been tons of talk and criticism about the fact that Carol went from having internal injuries that Edwards didn’t think she’d survive, to standing up and walking out of the hospital in mere days. 

I’ve always thought that was probably meant to be more symbolic than realistic, and this surely proves it.

It’s also been said that the strawberry represents virtue. Specifically, that it stays virtuous and un-corrupted by the poisons around it. That’s definitely true of Beth, who never let the horrors of the world around her get her down or change her.

Because the tip of the strawberry points down, they sometimes represent Christ’s tears. The three-partitioned leaf represents the Trinity. The five petals on the flowers represent Christ’s five wounds (two hands, two feet and in the side).

I could go on, but check out THIS POST for more details.

The only other one I want to mention is that in other cultures, the strawberry can have a somewhat opposite meaning: that of sexual temptation. I’m less convinced that’s what tptb were going for, but given Gorman and what was going on at Grady, it would still make a certain amount of sense.

So no matter how you slice it, this is a very appropriate and even obvious symbol for Beth.

Next, Daryl claiming the strawberry patch. And here goes the rabbit hole.

I said the last time I posted the Strawberry theory, in the middle of S6, that the whole sequence where Daryl claims the strawberries is a foreshadow of how Daryl will find Beth again. I said it was significant that he’s on the road alone at the time (with the Claimers, but no other members of TF with him). Many of us believe that’s how he’ll find Beth.

Remember that @fragipanilove said in her post that, because Daryl is a Mary Magdalene figure to Beth’s Christ figure, he’ll probably be the first to see her (because Mary Magdalene was the first to see Christ, even before his apostles). So this actually works very well as a template. He’ll stumble upon her with another group and “claim” her from them. It’s especially interesting that the guy who first saw the strawberries throws Daryl a murderous look, as though he’d taken something the man thought should have been his.

Now, when I last posted about this, I thought it would be Negan’s people Daryl would find Beth with. During S6, we were all convinced she would show up with Negan. I think she still has to show up while Negan is in play, which he is for S9, but obviously it didn’t happen in quite the way we thought it would back then.

The thing is—and I’ve said this before—I do believe Joe’s Claimers were a foreshadow/parallel of the wolves. Lots of evidence for that. A “W” in the background when Daryl talks to Joe. 

Beth and Daryl’s parallel arcs: the fact that Daryl ended up with the Claimers after Beth sort of left him behind (though not of her own volition). And we have a lot of evidence that Beth will end up with the wolves some time after TF left her behind. The fact that the Claimers were sort of the vehicle that reunited Daryl with TF (Rick, Daryl and Michonne) and we think the same will be true of Beth and the wolves. I could go on and on, but I won’t.

So my point is that I still stand by my original analysis of this scene as a template for Daryl stumbling onto Beth, but I’m thinking now that the group he’ll find her with is the wolves.

Also remember that per my Claimed Trading Card post, we can now, because of the trading card @boltthrutheheart found, link the Claimers and the Red Machete to Beth and Daryl. And of course Daryl “claimed” the strawberries, which are a symbol of Beth.

Now let’s talk Father Gabriel. Here’s where things get kind of complicated. You know what? Let’s talk about Sasha first. That will be easier.

We saw strawberries around Sasha in 7x16. And the interesting thing about this scene is that, along with the strawberries are apples (Apple Theory) and pancakes (Bisquick was mentioned at Grady, and self-rising products also represent resurrection). So three very potent Beth symbols.

The next thing we know for sure is that in Sasha’s death, she became one of the biggest proxies of Beth that we’d ever seen. She died but reanimated as a walker (resurrection) from a yellow coffin (Beth’s yellow polo) and about a thousand other parallels you can brush up on HERE and HERE.

So, connecting those two things, I think when we see strawberries around other characters (other than Beth and Daryl) it’s because the character is about to become a proxy either to Beth or to her arc, which is thematic throughout the entire series.

I’m pulling that analysis specifically from Sasha’s arc, so now let’s look at Father Gabriel. If strawberries around him in 5b are to show that he’ll become a Beth proxy, how is that accomplished on the show?

Well, there are a couple of ways it happened back in S5.

1)      He started off being a very weak character that no one really liked. The end of S5, (5x16 to be exact) is when he first started to find his own strength and become worthy of living in TWD world.

2)      The final scene between him and Sasha in that episode. You can read about it in detail HERE, but remember that they fought over the rifle and shot out the glass of the picture with the white trees.

It’s actually super-interesting to consider all this. We still don’t know exactly what role Sasha played in Beth’s disappearance/being left behind, but we know she played a role. The interesting thing is that these two (her and FG) fought in this scene, had a conversation that made no sense whatsoever, and strawberries were seen around both of them at one time or another.

3)      This could also be seen as healing. Father Gabriel is very broken when they find him in S5, but 5x16 is the beginning of his healing, and he’s now because a very emotionally strong and steady character. Even Rick approves, which is saying something!

But now, after S8, there’s more, my friends. There is much more!

In S8, Father Gabriel was poisoned, right? He seems to have lost one of his eyes because of this. Also remember that in the sequence that led up to this, Dr. Carson died, and there were a ton of Beth parallels there too. (X)

The thing is, guys, having only one eye is tied heavily to the Sirius/Dog Star symbolism. @frangipanilove is the expert on this and could probably explain it better, but remember that the dog that came to the funeral home in Still only had one eye. We’ve always known that was important because the Sirius dog of the mythology is one-eyed. So that was always a way to show that Beth is the dog star, which will return.

Now Father Gabriel has only one eye (and it’s even the same eye as the dog!). So he’s a walking embodiment of the Siris/Dog Star symbolism. I don’t know if that means he had something to do with leaving Beth behind, as Sasha did, or that he’ll have something to do with her or her return. Because it’s taken so long for him to lose the eye, I lean toward it meaning something about her return. Especially as it happened in S8, and we really think we’ll see her in S9, it would make sense for the loss of his eye right before she appears.

Okay, let’s talk about some smaller instances of strawberries. 

I’ll start by piggybacking off of what I just said. There was another instance of strawberries in S8, but it wasn’t one we saw. Rather, it was heard in dialogue. While arguing with Carl, who was trying to tell Rick that they needed to make nice with Negan and the Saviors, rather than killing them all, Rick said, “You think we’re gonna be out there picking strawberries with Negan?

Okay, another rabbit hole. What does this line mean? Well, if strawberries = Christian goodness in traditional symbolism, then this is just another way of saying that Rick doesn’t believe they’ll be able to make nice or find Christian love for Negan and his people after all they’ve done.

But why insert the strawberry symbolism? They could have uttered the same line/meaning without using the Beth symbol. And because AOW ended without her showing up, it doesn’t seem like something that should specifically apply to her, right?

So here’s what I’m thinking about this one. Strawberries can be about healing, right? And we’ve already established that they were specifically used this way at Grady because of both Beth and Carol. Well, the ultimate emotional “healing” that could take place between Negan and TF would be if they could forgive one another (I’m specifically thinking about the fact that Maggie, Daryl and Jesus are secretly working against Rick where Negan is concerned) and feel truly Christian toward one another again.

I think that WILL happen eventually. That’s why Negan is still alive. That’s why they threw in that random scene at the end of S8 where Maggie and Daryl are secretly trying to kill Negan. Their next arc will be one of coming to a place of forgiveness for Negan.

But the fact that they used the strawberry symbol to indicate this shows that Beth must be tied up in it somehow. And that kicked my butt down a rabbit hole because…think of the reasons we originally thought Beth would show up with Negan: because there are bats around her. And remember I said HERE that even though she didn’t show up with him or during AOW, as long as he’s still alive, there is hope of her showing up. If we’re right about what the bats mean, then she has to show up while Negan is still in play. As long as he’s still alive, there’s hope for her return.

But given this healing stuff, let’s re-examine the bats around her.

1)      Beside her and Daryl in Inmates. Because it’s her and Daryl in this scene, the most obvious thing is that they’ll reunite at sometime during Negan’s tenure on the show. But this is also where we saw a disembodied shoe, and where Beth starts crying. So it’s about healing, and I’d also throw in that the lost foot/shoe symbolism will probably be fulfilled when she returns. Again, at some time when Negan is still on the show.

2)      Glenn holding the bat and talking about her in the present (rather than past) tense in 5x09. This one is super-huge. Everyone thought Glenn holding the bat was a foreshadow of his death at Negan’s (or Lucille’s) hands. And it was. But he specifically talked about Beth during this sequence. Why? She wasn’t even present for his death.

Because she is the one who will help everyone (specifically Maggie and Glenn, but TF in general) come to forgive Negan (thereby healing them) for Glenn’s death. This may also explain why they specifically did a major death fake out for Glenn (in S6) rather than any other character. Beth is very tied up in Glenn’s final arc (or at least the aftermath of it) even if she wasn’t present for it.

Finally, the most minor example is that we saw strawberries in the bowl of fruit Ezekiel offers Carol in 7x02. (X) This is the only one I don’t think is specifically tied to Beth. I mean, it kind of is, but not in a way we need to over-analyze.

The bowl of fruit contains apples, nectarines, pomegranates, and strawberries. Nectarines are very close to peaches, so I think they filled the bowl with fruits we’ve seen often on the show before. And yes, many of them are tied to Beth.

But the episode specifically emphasizes that pomegranates are Carol’s symbol. It was even confirmed on TTD. Ezekiel said a pomegranate is sweet fruit surrounded by bitter, and that’s an analogy for Carol’s mindset at the time. She’d built up bitter walls around herself. There was still sweet fruit inside, but she was concealing it.

So what does this have to do with the strawberry theory? I think this was meant to specifically tell us that Carol’s symbol is the pomegranate and NOT the strawberry. It’s there, but it’s very specifically not tied to her. So the strawberries Daryl claimed are not meant to be about Carol. They’re, you know, about someone else. And who did we see strawberries around? Who held them, used them constantly, and was in many shots with them at Grady?

Exactly.

Okay, I think I’m gonna stop there. Again, if anyone can think of more instances of strawberries, let me know. Thoughts?

[dat-town]

The gravity of him

Characters: pilot!Hoseok & You

Setting: space opera

Genre: humour, fluff

Summary: It was supposed to be a simple business deal, no complications, no swindling but of course, that freaking pilot of yours had different definition of simple.

Words: 2.7k

Network Bangtan Bingo ▶ square: space opera

"We go in, buy the asset and leave. Pure, simple business, right?" you remind the Venusian delegation consisting of you, the senator's daughter, a few guards and robots. Nobody answers, nobody even looks at you as you try to reassure yourself that everything is going to be alright. You won't disappoint your father by failing such an easy task with intergalactical importance.

"Alright, miss," your translator robot saves you from the embarrassment of talking to yourself and you smile at the human-like artificial intelligent just before the entire ship shakes because of turbulence. You let out a surprised yelp and jog back to your seat when the pilot shouts back:

"We are gonna have a rough landing, everybody get a grip!" he warns from behind the control panel and fly the spacecraft over the red lights hidden in the green wildness that overgrown the entire planet. The young man in uniform curses under his breath as he catches a sight of the old-fashioned, unpractical but pretty landing site. "Eyy those fancy Earth2 stations. No wonder nobody wanted set a foot in here in centuries."

Well, it isn't the only reason, you all know. The planet is famous for its humidity that’s sometimes too much to bear, the constant rain and hot air are both uncomfortable for most beings so the combination of all these are probably why Earth2 hasn't gotten a lot of visitors lately. Not to mention its gravity that plays tricks on any machine set for other atmosphere. For instant, your spaceship.

"What the hell is going on?" you shouted at the pilot as the vehicle kept shaking and you felt the descent of height in the pressure on your chest. When you didn't get an answer, you got up and trotted forward to the control panel against all protests coming from your guards.

"What's happening, Jung?" you question the pilot in annoyance and you utter curses in your head. You should have known not to trust your father's decision in pilots, especially if this certain mission required a long, long journey and diplomatic sweet talks. The guy you know from Venusian Interstellar Academy is most likely the worst choice, you vouched for it.

"Sit back to your seat, princess, I have everything under control," he retorts using the nickname you dislike on purpose.

"I'm not a princess and you can't tell me what to do," you argue and lose a bit of your footing when ship's unpredictable movements mess up your balance. The pilot casually grabs your elbow and keeps you right there without any know-it-all comment. You hold onto him as if he was an anchor and you clear your throat. "You should lower the atmospheric pressure by 60.000, you idiot."

You have never learnt how to control a spaceship properly but you know the theory. They taught all of it in your Intergalactical Travel Methods class at the Academy... that you took together.

"I know! I'm the pilot, not y-" Jung snorts.

"Venusian Fjordian, model number FG-404, identify yourself," the radio crackles out of blue as the control tower notices your intention of landing, interrupting the pilot's heated comment.

"Poor Star Lady, why can't they learn your name already?" he pats the control panel lovingly and you scoff at his childish acts. Of course, he named his spaceship. It was his 'baby' ever since he got it and talked about it so much, you just wanted to roll your eyes whenever you heard its cheesy name.

"Here is FG-404, delegation of Venusian, staff of eight humans and three robots, asking for a landing permit," the guy switches to an official, serious tone, one you never hear from him outside of work.

A pause of silence follows and then the radio crackles again.

"Permission given, please land on A5, thank you and welcome to Earth2."

"Home, sweet home," the pilot mutters under his breath almost inaudible when the log ends. He presses a few buttons, changing some settings and lowers the machine legs over the landing area. The spaceship's engine stops as soon as the legs set foot on the ground, steadying the vehicle.

"Any complaint or request, princess? We arrived safely," Jung Hoseok, as his name tag on his uniform says, turns towards you with a shit-eating grin on his irritatingly handsome face.

He makes you want to scream.

"Oh just shut up already!" you scoff not too mature.

You stand up to lead the delegation off the ship and greet your business partners on the mainland of this wild planet. While discussing politics and trade affairs, you finally managed to get rid of your disturbing thoughts about the boy whose eyes hold galaxies as he was born to travel through the universe. Funny how life works, you never thought you would see him after graduating from the Academy. He went on his way, free like a bird as always while you were bound to rules and protocols, under constant surveillance and protection. It’s something he always teases you about and the reason why he calls you princess mockingly all the time. It really angers you because he has no idea about the struggles you had, because just like everybody else he thinks that you are the perfect girl, daddy's beloved daughter who got everything on silver planet. Not like you knew a lot about him, that much becomes painfully obvious as soon as you are escorted to the meeting room of Earthian monarchs and the lady speaks up in a highborn accent:

"Where's Hoseok?"

"Who?" you blink at her in confusion.

"The pilot. We only agreed to this meeting on the condition he was coming too."

Ah, this explains why your father was so relentless about the identity of the pilot but you still don't understand why he’s so important. But as if he knew what was going on, in that moment Jung Hoseok waltzes into the room like he owns the place with a glass of wine (or maybe gin?) in his right hand and plops down on the chair across from the welcoming committee.

"Hello everyone, what did I miss?"

Afraid of him humiliating you and your nation, you grab the front of his collars hastily.

"Get up, Jung and show some respect to our lovely hosts," you hiss only for his ears to hear and unlike the pilot, you don't find the situation amusing at all. He merely flashes you a smug smirk and hurries to stand up as you wished.

"Sorry, you are right, my bad," he bows a bit forced towards the Earthians. Something dangerous flashes in his eyes and you gulp nervously, fingers playing with your latex uniform's edge. On the other hand, Hoseok is absolutely relaxed like he never felt more home… and you don't even suspect how true it is. "How are you, mother? Stepdad is still drinking?"

Your eyes widen and mouth hang open in astonishment when you hear his questions and suddenly you don't know where to look. It takes a whole minute to process the meaning behind his words.

"You should come home more often, son," the woman scolds Hoseok who can't help but laugh it off.

"Thank you for the invitation but no, I would rather not," he answers without hesitation, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he settles back onto the chair seeking comfort.

"Do you really care about the Venusian Republic more than your home? Is this why you came here? You need that stupid plant so bad?"

Calling the keypoint of your survival a 'stupid plant' is a bit too much since the planet you came from lacks water and no matter how advanced your technology is, you can’t grow plants so you have to import them which takes a lot on the budget. Not to mention, it's a dangerous situation because food can't be stocked for a long time and what if you get yourself into an interstellar war without a trade partner? How are you going to live then only on meat? So that’s why this new survivor plant of Earth2, this experienced agriculture colony, can be a lot of help for you because it's said to be able to grow and become fruitful even under the harshest conditions.

"It's strictly business, mom. They want that freaking botanical stuff and in exchange they offer technology. It has nothing to do with me,” Jung shakes his head as he puts both his elbows on the able, leaning towards his mother. Now that you look closer, you see the similarities between them, the same slope of nose, those coffee brown eyes and the crinkles next to their mouth. But in contrary of the pilot's sassy, smiley personality, his parent seems like the definition of stiffness and gloominess.

"Then we won't agree," she raises her chin high up, obviously feeling in a more advantageous position in this deal since you want something from her and not the other way around. You have been taught techniques of how to handle negotiations but you felt like you ended up in the middle of a family dispute and it wasn't about business anymore at all. You had no right to interrupt. "We don't need your superior technology, we have our own and there's not enough gold you can pay us to give the to you."

A deep, knowing sigh escapes Hoseok. His features harden as he stares ahead at his bossy mother.

"Then what do you want?"

"You," the woman replies without an ounce of kindness, in a tone which allow of no reply.

However, at this point, you need to step in.

"No! All due respect my lady, but Ju... Hoseok isn't a property who is to be bought. We don't want a deal that includes creatures with their own will," you state the indisputable fact you are not willing to change. Maybe, you Venusians aren't the best people out there but you don't keep slaves and you don't trade with humans. You and Jung might not have been on the greatest terms but there’s no way you leave him here on his own if he doesn't want to stay. Even if his family was here. He probably had a very good reason to leave.

"Then the business is off," the woman says, voice thick with anticipation and the way she intertwines her pointy fingers, she clearly thinks she is in the winning position. It makes you want to show her a stylish goodbye.

"Well I would say it had been a pleasure to meet you but that would be a lie. Bye," you turn on your heels abruptly and rush out of the room. You don't get to see but Hoseok stares after you quite impressed.

"You heard her," he shrugs with a cheeky smile and follows you gleefully.

The confused translator robot and another member of the delegation comes by with him but he waves them off, telling them to meet on the ship later, and he goes after you to the gardens.

It's been a while since he came here. It feels like a lifetime and maybe it really is. When he decided to leave behind Earth2 with all of its unhealthy quantity of flora and humid air that makes it hard to breath sometimes, he started a new life. At the Academy on Venus, he decided he wanted to travel the universe, to never settle down, to see as much as humanly possible. Now, he is home in the galaxy, among the stars.

And you? You are a girl born to live on land with a mouth bigger than it should have been and at first, he only liked teasing you to see your reactions but now, now he knows all of them by heart. He memorised the way you crunch your nose when you are mad, the way you squint your eyes at him when you are about to tell him off and he absolutely loves your comebacks. However, even though he enjoys your little interactions, most of the times you seem fed up with him so he never expected you to stand up for him. You could have agreed to the condition, telling him to stay, that the plant is more important for your country but you didn't, you didn't even hesitate. Even if it meant to disappoint your proud family.

"My dad will kill me," you whisper mostly to yourself and you jump in surprise when Hoseok speaks up from behind you.

"No he won't. He loves you. And we have that ugly thing anyway," he says as he sits down next to you on the bench as casually as ever while swinging a leg over another. He reaches for your hand turning it upwards and then slips a single seed onto your palm. “I have more.”

You gape at tiny, life-changing seed and close your fist around it. When you look up, you narrow your eyes at Hoseok. So that’s why he was late!

“You did not steal this, right?”

The suspicion in your voice makes the boy laugh. He knows it’s an important asset for Venus since the country doesn’t leave nothing to chance either. They wouldn’t have made such a long journey just to return with empty hands.

“Oh sweetie they might have told you to buy it but to me they said to take it either way,” he confesses and even though he thought you would protest more feverishly, you just laugh as you resigned yourself to the inevitable and his unpredictable personality. It reminds him that he owns you something.

“Thank you. You know... for what you did back there,” he mutters a bit sheepishly, scratching his nape and you blink at him in confusion.

“I didn’t do anything special.”

Hoseok apparently doesn’t agree. How would it have looked in his mother’s eye that the country he chose over his own pushes him back into her arms for some plant?

“But you did. I know you kinda hate my guts but you still stood up for me and...”

“I don’t hate you,” you can’t help but blurt out and you have to look away from the questioning glance he’s sending to you. Still, the intensity and genuine interest in his eyes make you blush. “It’s just that you make me so mad sometimes. You are infuriating and I don’t know what to do with myself so I act on impulse.”

“Ah I know it’s because of my devilishly good looks, you can admit it,” he winks at you that makes you roll your eyes. He is back at his usual self.

“Aaand the moment is gone,” you sigh but don’t want to let go. You kind of enjoy this fragile intimacy between you. "Why did you leave this place?"

And Hoseok could joke, make it funny and say because of the atmosphere or something like that but he sticks to the truth. Well, a part of it.

"My mom used to read me a lot when I was a kid about other planets and galaxies. Growing up I wanted to discover it all,” he explains staring out to the distance, at the two moon of this planet.

"I hope you will get the chance to," you tell him because Hoseok is really somebody who belongs out there, out of the cages, so you can only hope your father's orders won’t weight him down too much.

"Me too," he nods with an uncharacteristically shy smile and when he looks at you, he thinks he sees the universe in your eyes, too.

A minute of silence follows until the sound of footsteps coming from outside disturb them.

“I think we should get back to the spaceship before they-”

The alarms go off as soon as the pilot tentatively makes the suggestion and the red lights leave them no choice.

“Let’s go,” he jumps to his feet and grabs your arm hastily yanking you forward.

He knows this planet way better so you trust and follow him without questioning. Hand in hand you ran towards Star Lady and the whole situation is so absurd, you break into a fit of giggles. Without asking what you laugh at Hoseok joins you. Jogging on the ramp, he pulls you close to get you both on the spacecraft in one piece in time and somehow, in-between of heavy breath and secret smiles, you realize it wouldn’t be too hard to fell for him.

[sauntering-down]

a dream from January 2011

transplanted from my old LJ for @cassiopixie

"First of all, none of these people were actually given names (at least, not that I can remember), so I'll be giving them acronyms instead.  And I apologize for how disjointed this is, it's too late and snowy for me to give a damn.  Thus, without further ado: The dream began under what looked like a large bush, where a little toddler with translucent, oval wings - henceforth called MC, for Main Character - was sitting next to a strange, fairy-esque girl who had this funny, sickly-sweet scent hanging around her.  Also under the bush were a bunch of these odd flowers that looked like some kind of fiber-optic lamp.  They sat together for a while before Fairy Girl (FG) suddenly flew out to greet a few people.  They were apparently of a similar race to FG, but they looked almost completely human and I don't remember what set them apart from actual humans.  The first person, the king of their race (who I'll call King), spoke to FG before kneeling down and taking MC out from under the bush.  The other three people there were a couple (M & D, for Mom and Dad) and their son, who was younger than MC but looked and acted older (called YB, Younger Brother).  YB took MC by the hand and started talking to him.  FG disappeared.  This little group walked away from the bush and a large fountain next to it, and it was revealed that their entire population lived in an enormous rectangular building with many, many floors - it was a bit like a mall, with doors along the outer wall, a corridor connecting them all together, and the center was open almost all the way down.  I can't really explain it, it was complicated. Anyway, as they're walking, MC noticed that on either side of the pathway were literally hundreds of plants, and he reached out to touch one, but King grabbed his hand and said it was considered extremely impolite to touch someone else's garden.  M explained that they had their own near their home.  This particular race of fairies could touch the dirt and immediately have a particular plant, unique to each person, burst into life in that dirt.  MC could make red roses, which was apparently very rare.  The family went down to one of the lowest levels, the middle of which was a huge tangle of vines.  There was a stone bench around the entire thing and another fountain on one end at the top of some steps.  King picked up MC and began walking through the vines, which were at least ten feet high, but parted to let him through.  He said that each fairy crossed this jungle exactly twice in their life - first as an infant (or young toddler, in MC's case), when they were blessed by whatever deity they worshipped, and then again when they underwent an adulthood ceremony, when they would be enveloped by the vines and would receive a vision.  When King reached the fountain, he went up the stairs and put MC in the water.  Then he turned around, and not only were MC's new family there, but a whole bunch of fairies were sitting on the stone bench, watching - King raised his arms, a bunch of water splashed over MC, and then he went down the stairs to look up at MC and officially welcomed him to their 'brotherhood'.  He said that the first piece of magic that every child learnt was how to retract their wings.  Another fairy, this one female, came up and drew two glowing lines down MC's back, just behind his wings, and then they vanished, the fairies applauded, and the ceremony was over. Fast forward a few years... or whatever unit of time they used.  MC was now about eight/nine human years old.  Aside from his parents, the only person he really got along with was YB, who now both looked and acted younger, and the King, who seemed to like him.  The two of them went to the same school where they learnt regular academic stuff, but also magic and how to make extremely powerful tea-like drinks from the plants they instinctively create.  MC could easily make a drink from the rose petals, and YB could do the same with some odd plant I've never seen before.  There was some kind of annual

ritual coming up, where everyone in the building grew a special type of flower that looked like a dandelion, but the white parts were all these different, luminescent colors.  MC and YB were having a lot of trouble making theirs grow.  They went walking around the building, wondering what they were going to do if they couldn't get any to grow before the ritual, when they ran into King.  He greeted them and, when they told him about the plants, said he couldn't help but wanted to show them something they might find interesting.  They went up almost to the top floor, and he led them to this large glass box set into a wall. I really have no idea how to describe this thing, but I'll try.  The closest picture I could find was something like this.  There were as many levels inside the box as there were in the building, and each slanted like in the picture, and walking along them were these round, glowing, colorful beetles.  Most of the time, they stayed on the same level, but sometimes one would move up or down.  King explained that this represented their way of life - that everyone was born on a level, and some stayed on the same one all their lives, but with perseverance and hard work, many moved up to better places.  He pointed to the second-to-last level and said he'd been born there, but rose all the way to the very top and became king.  Then he pointed to a level in the upper-middle and said MC and YB were there, so they didn't have nearly as far to go.  MC looked at the box, then at the bottom of it, where the lowest level disappeared into a layer of dirt.  He asked about it and King said that it was the Underground, and that no one ever entered or left that unholy place.  King left, but MC and YB stayed, and suddenly, a beetle climbed up out of the dirt - only, unlike the other beetles, it had a spray of little fiber-optic spikes sticking out of its back.  That gave MC an idea, reminding him of the flowers under the bush where he'd been found.  He dragged YB down to the lowest level, which, like the box, was just dirt, and here and there some of the fiber-optic flowers.  MC and YB picked a bunch, even though YB didn't think it was a good idea - he told MC that he sometimes acted as if he was superior to all of them, like he was standing on something higher than them all and looking down at everyone. A few days before the ritual, M had another child, who will be called YYB (Younger Younger Brother xD).  The fairy babies typically drank the tea made from plants, and M & D gave him some of the drink made from MC's rose bushes.  Then the ritual came, and MC and YB, whose glowing-dandelion plants hadn't sprouted, brought the fiber-optic flowers instead.  This was clearly a BIG mistake, because everyone reacted like they'd just killed a baby or something.  King, who was seriously pissed, asked what they were thinking, and MC explained about the beetle that had climbed out of the dirt and the flowers that grew on the lowest level.  He also added that it was his idea, and YB shouldn't be in trouble, because he just tended to go along with whatever his brother told him to do.  King dismissed YB, told everyone to continue the ritual, and brought MC to his office to repeat what he had said about the beetle.  Once MC told him, he got very agitated and said that he was never to mention the fiber-optic beetle again, because the beetles represented their population and only twice had anyone emerged from the Underground - and the first time, he said, was a complete disaster that almost annihilated their race.  Then he said that he was taking a very risky chance, allowing MC to be raised outside the Underground, and MC should not do anything to jeopardize that chance.  MC asked if this meant he was from the Underground and King said yes, he had arranged it with FG (the liaison between their world and the Underground), but his family believed that MC had been abandoned.  It's also worth mentioning that I woke up with the distinct impression that MC was King's son, and that was

why he'd taken him from the Underground, though this was never actually mentioned in-story. Fast forward again, to the point that MC is now in his mid-teens.  Apparently, the thing with the fiber-optic flowers at the ritual had convinced everyone that he was dangerous to their way of living and he had now become a social pariah, with only his family's support.  Even King had begun treating him like a threat.  MC still spent most of his time with YB.  At one point, they were walking along one of the bridges over the center of the building, talking about YYB.  M & D had had him drink a lot of the rose tea as a baby and it had twisted his mind a bit, presumably because MC was actually from the Underground.  MC said that nobody else saw it, but that YYB was even more of a monster than MC himself was.  Then YB put his arm out to stop him and said to look down, where they saw King on one of the lower levels.  King asked MC to come to him, that they needed to talk.  MC said that it was very late and his parents were expecting him, adding quietly to YB that it was far too late for King to be summoning him for any legitimate reason and that he had recently begun to fear that King wanted him disposed of.  King said fine, but he wanted MC to report to him at 'four bells' (four o'clock, I guess) tomorrow afternoon, then walked away.  MC said something about not knowing if he was going to go.  YB said that he couldn't not go, and ignoring a direct command from the king was illegal - to which MC replied, "Do you remember when you told me that I acted like I was standing a step above everyone else, looking down at them all?"  YB said yes, and there was this flashback-y thing to the ceremony at the beginning, where that exact thing happened - most fairy children had that performed on the day they were born, but because MC had been a toddler, he could clearly remember it.  MC said, "You were right.  I do." ...and then I woke up."

[hergold-blog1]

The Best Smokeless Fire Pit In 2021 With Buying Guide

This mid year we have concocted our all-new 2021 rundown of the best smokeless fire pits dependent on client surveys that accompany all you require to appreciate a warm, agreeable, and smokeless campfire experience at home or in the wild.

The Best Smokeless Fire Pit – Solo Stove Ranger

In the event that what you look for is a fire pit that you can take with you any place you go then there is no contesting that the Solo Stove Ranger is the best smokeless fire pit for you!

Its reduced size, twofold divider plan, effective burner, and sans smoke lump wood for fuel guarantees a hot yet smokeless fire for you and your companions, regardless of where you choose to set up camp.

A drawstring sack that accompanies the Solo Stove Ranger makes it simple to get together and transport while the proficient consuming of wood pieces leaves just super fine debris to tidy up bringing about a no-follow fire.

The Bigger The Better? – BREEO Double Flame

THE ULTIMATE SMOKELESS FIRE PIT - The Double Flame 19" is the ideal fire pit for a long period of open air use, with extraordinary plan and unrivaled capacity for a definitive fire insight. Toss it in your trunk for smokeless fires at the camping area, sea shore, or a companion's place.

SMOKELESS DESIGN - Featuring an excessively high proficiency reburn framework that takes care of the fire at the base and uses twofold dividers to attract additional air and consume off smoke at the top, while likewise enormously diminishing the debris you're left with. No more smoke pursuing everybody around the fire.

Worked TO LAST - The Double Flame is worked with uncompromising 304 hardened steel that will keep going for quite a long time. At 42 lbs., it's the ideal harmony among strength and transportability. Similarly at home in the terrace, or any place you go.

On the off chance that what you need is something bigger and less convenient to put on your outside porch or patio than you ought to either consider the Double Flame BREEO Smokeless Fire Pit.

Both these smokeless fire pits can undoubtedly heat up an organization of at least five and their smokeless plan implies no all the more gagging or hacking while at the same time lounging around the fire.

Contrasted with the Ranger this fire pit is a lot bigger in size. The BREEO has a width of 19 inches.

The bigger size makes for a bigger fire however because of cunning designing and innovation a bigger fire doesn't need to radiate any more smoke.

The BREEO utilizes an exceptionally proficient re-consume framework and twofold dividers to adequately decrease smoke and give a more productive consume.

Despite the bigger size, this unit is still moderately lightweight and can without much of a stretch be gotten together and brought on your late spring experiences if necessary.

The Budget Option – Flame Genie

Produces a bigger fire, more warmth and longer consume times. Be spellbound by the entrancing flares while adding a warm sparkle to your porch, campground, or outside experience.

Fire Genie's sans smoke and sparkle free highlights make it the ideal patio, stream-side, or wild fire pit ally for every open air devotee. Not any more smoky garments or openings in textures from flashes

Utilizations wood pellets, not firewood. Low dampness substance of wood pellets brings about a more proficient, cleaner consume than rope wood. Simple to deal with wood pellets leave you with less debris to tidy up and not at all like firewood, pellets can be shipped across state lines.

In the event that you don't have many dollars to spend on another fire pit don't worry as our spending alternative HY-C FG-16 Flame Genie Portable Smoke-Free Wood Pellet Fire Pit offers nearly all you require at a small amount of the expense.

You can pick between the compact 13.5-inch model or the a lot bigger 19-inch model. Dissimilar to the next fire pits highlighted up until now, the Flame Genie arrives in an all-dark powder coat finish that unquestionably assists with separating it.

The gravitational max engine thrust framework combined with low dampness wood pellets for fuel implies you can begin a warm and sans smoke fire at whatever point and any place you need.

Versatile, lightweight, minimized, and reasonable the Flame Genie unquestionably has a great deal letting it all out. The solitary downside with the item we could discover is that it is inclined to rust and paint harm if not put away in a dry climate.

Likewise, we found that you needed to continually take care of the Flame Genie with wood pellets all together for the fire to remain lit. This fire pit isn't expected for delayed use and isn't the most solid unit highlighted on this rundown. Yet, at the cost, it can't be beaten!

The Ultimate Smokeless Fire Pit Buying Guide

Customary fire pits by and large emit a ton of smoke which can make a campfire experience less agreeable and charming as it ought to be. The need to continually move away from the smoke delivered by the fire and afterward having that smoke smell stuck in your garments is certainly not a wonderful inclination.

For those that adoration lounging around a fire either while outdoors or in their own lawn comprehend the requirement for a sans smoke fire pit as it helps make the whole experience substantially more pleasant and unwinding.

So let us investigate all the highlights that one should search for in a fire pit to ensure that it is first class and made to endure forever.

Material and Build Quality

A fire pit ought to be produced using materials that are strong, dependable, and non-destructive. These materials likewise should have the option to withstand high temperatures and general mileage. The best without smoke fire pits are produced using hardened steel as this metal doesn't consume and is impervious to high temperatures. Continuously ensure that the unit you buy feels durable and powerful as this is a decent sign of fabricate quality.

Wind stream Management System

To genuinely accomplish what can be considered as a smokeless fire you need a fire pit that offers the best and most effective air ignition cycle to make a big difference for the fire. Utilizing creative techniques, for example, a twofold divider and twofold fire framework that helps divert wind stream in the most effective way conceivable, sans smoke fire pits can consume wood at a lot higher temperature. Subsequently, successfully eliminating smoke, that is naturally, a result of helpless ignition.

Guarantee

This kind of firepit is by and large costly so you generally need to put resources into a producer that remains by their item and offers the best guarantee terms. This way you are ensured in the event that anything turns out badly.

Size and Portability

These units can likewise come in different sizes. The more modest units are more qualified for those that like to appreciate the outside in relative isolation while the bigger units are considerably more successful at keeping a huge gathering of individuals crouched around the fire, moderately warm and agreeable even on a nippy evening.

The Benefits Of A Smokeless Fire Pit

Conventional firepits will in general reason a great deal of smoke which can be unsafe to human wellbeing. A smokeless firepit, then again, allows you to appreciate all the advantages of a conventional fire with no of the disadvantages. Lesser smoke implies:

Decreased disturbance in the eyes

Breathing in less poisonous air toxins

Lesser effect on the climate

All smokeless fire pits have a two-level cycle with regards to smoke disposal. The main cycle consumes the fuel source whether that be logs, firewood, pellets, and so on The second phase of the cycle re-consumes the smoke being delivered before it gets an opportunity to get away. This twofold fire measure prompts decreased smoke yield and more warmth being created.

FAQs

Do Smokeless Fire Pits Work?

There is nothing of the sort as a fire without smoke. In any case, utilizing imaginative designing and a suitable fuel source you can make a fire that produces negligible smoke making for a significantly more loosening up campfire experience. The smoke created by the best smokeless fire pits is practically undetectable to the unaided eye thus, truly, they manage job and that too adequately.

What Is A Smokeless Fire Pit?

A smokeless fire pit is a unit much like a customary fire pit aside from that it delivers significantly less smoke. It does this by utilizing inventive primary and mechanical activities to consider better wind stream the executives bringing about a lot more splendid and more sweltering fire. The twofold fire framework likewise re-consumes smoke created by the fuel source keeping it from getting away from which builds ignition prompting significantly more warmth created and almost no smoke delivered.

How Do You Make A Fire Pit Smokeless?

In the event that you can't manage the cost of another smokeless fire pit here are a few different ways that you can make your old fire pit produce less smoke.

Utilize all around prepared or oven dried firewood

Wood pellets additionally will in general create less smoke

Continuously pick hardwoods and not softwoods as a fuel source

Stack firewood in a way that takes into consideration a lot of wind stream and consumes for long

Ensure you clean your fire pit after each utilization

Eventually, putting resources into a smokeless fire pit is by a wide margin going to be much more powerful at disposing of smoke. Be that as it may, utilizing the strategies referenced above you can, at any rate, cut down on the smoke your fire pit is right now delivering.

Does A Fire Pit Need A Liner?

Truly, by and large, a fire pit needs a liner as it shields the ground from roasting and consuming. Liners can be produced using various materials including earth, basalt, sand, fire pit glass, rocks, fireproof material, tempered steel, and rock. Every material has its own arrangement of advantages and disadvantages. The best smokeless fire pits are introduced with a hardened steel inside liner that lies beneath the fire pit material giving sufficient space to wind current.

Shutting Thoughts – Picking Out The Best Smokeless Fire Pit For Yourself

In our books, nothing beats the Solo Stove Ranger, or besides some other Solo Stove fire pit, as they are by a long shot the best smokeless fire pit units accessible available.

[kinetic-elaboration]

March 7: Thoughts on iZombie 4x02

Watched iZombie 4x02 last night, wrote some stuff down.

I really liked this episode! I think it was even better than 4x01, actually, and I’m now feeling dangerously optimistic and excited for the rest of the season.

In particular, I liked the mix of hilarious scenes (pretty much every interaction between Clive and Liv-on-the-brains-of-the-week; the Ravi and Clive scene, which is everything I’ve ever longed for) and serious, tense stories (Major’s Filmore-Graves story, the last 10 minutes or so with the ‘Renegade’ story).

Tense as those last scenes in the forbidden neighborhood were, I’m actually more long-term worried about the Major and FG story, because I’m pretty sure that the kid was safely smuggled out and that the main long-term effect of those few minutes is on the Liv and Major relationship. But the FG security force isn’t going anywhere and I’m very nervous about how far the show is going to go with that. Obviously, Chase’s plan to arm inexperienced zombie kids and put them out on the streets to keep peace in a highly tense situation was going to go badly. And honestly, although I don’t spend much time trying to predict specifics of tv shows—I’m more of a backward-looking analyst—I probably should have seen it going down in just the way it did. But what was noticeable about it was that it brought the situation to a tense breaking point, then just left it there and never returned: so we know that the anti-zombie fellow was scratched, that his friend didn’t shoot him (onscreen), and that someone was filming. But what happened to the video? What happened to the scratched guy? Will we see him again as a zombie, or find out that he committed suicide or had a buddy kill him? And most importantly, what about the girl? Chase said in the first ep that turning someone into a zombie was a capital offense and I did predict that the guillotine wasn’t going to be introduced just to be ignored. But I’d be pretty upset to see a teenage girl actually executed… I’m sure it will come up but I’m just hoping it doesn’t actually happen, that might be too much for me.

Also, as an aside, for all that the zombies are mostly invincible, their helmets, even secured, are awfully easy to snatch, and for all that not making new zombies is an FG priority, there don’t seem to be any protections against zombie scratching beyond the zombie’s own self-control. Might want to work on that lol.

As I mentioned last week, I’m very weirdly interested in closed-community scenarios like the walled-off New Seattle. So I’ve been curious as to how that will play out. On the one hand, I really am enjoying the details they’re throwing in: the graffiti, the underground brain trade, the 'peacekeeping’ forces, the wall itself, the forbidden neighborhoods, etc. But I think it’s also a tough tightrope for them to walk because, really, if the city had actually been cut off so entirely, wouldn’t it be…worse? I’m thinking of narratives that are entirely about closing off a city or part of a city and things tend to dissolve there a lot faster. Of course, iZombie isn’t entirely about the quarantine and it has a three-season long history of a certain tone, which includes a lot of humor, and of course there are the murders…you can’t 180 a show’s tone, you just can’t, that’s a betrayal of the audience imo. And, too… I do think there’s something more disturbing and creepier about a mostly-normal life that’s punctuated by these distressing moments, like armed private soldiers in your street or graffiti on your nice door with the stained-glass window, etc. And that is how life, societies, political systems, degenerate: you get used to things you never thought you’d find normal. So overall I think they’re doing a good job of that balance even though a part of me is perhaps impressed by New Seattle’s ability to stay fairly normal.

Speaking of the murders, I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. Maybe I’m too hard on them when they’re comparatively weaker, and too quick to say well, let’s just get rid of them! It’s not like the first two seasons always had great murder-solving-stories. I mean I did care more about the Liv and Clive banter than about who actually did it, ha, but that’s fine.

I still don’t care about the Angus story. And honestly… I don’t know why it’s not doing it for me. Maybe I just have too many bad feelings built up against Angus (there is literally nothing I hate more than a character who bores me and he’s always bored me). In theory, the idea of a rogue zombie preacher is interesting…but I felt while watching 4x02 that his four or so scenes could have been one scene and I would have learned just as much. It just felt like dull filler.  

Major and Liv: I’ve always shipped them but in an utterly casual way. I enjoy them together, but I’m not upset when they break up, and I can ship them each with other people easily (I definitely shipped Liv/Lowell and Liv/Drake, and was neutral on Major/Natalie and neutral-cool on Liv/Justin… and I would have jumped on the Major/Justin train 100% if the show hadn’t wanted to go there, just putting that out there). And I’m still pretty sure that they’re ultimately going to be endgame. But tbqh I’m becoming just a little bit tired of the on-and-off thing. I mean, it does make sense that, at this point, they have a basically friends-with-benefits-when-possible relationship and that’s fine. That’s even realistic, I’d say. But it’s just not that interesting to watch people with a fairly stable relationship just hook up and “break up” again and again and again. If the conversation they had at the end of the ep gets expanded upon, that would be good; if we saw more about their relationship in the broad sense, that would be good. But I don’t want we’re sleeping together! actually we’re not! to take the place of real development in their feelings, opinions, etc. If that makes sense. It’s just…rather cheap for a show that isn’t often cheap. In other words, I thought the introduction of a surprise sexual relationship halfway through the episode for apparently no other purpose than to break it up at the end was silly and unnecessary. They could have had that fight without that earlier scene so I’m just not sure what the point of it was.

Kind of disappointed there was no Blane in this episode, even though I know he can’t be in every single one. Was glad to see Dale though!

Clive remains deserving of the favorite-character crown. I’m glad they’re putting more focus on him than they did in the first couple of seasons and taking the opportunity to show him as a well-rounded 3D character, and not just Liv’s partner for the procedural-storylines.  

[jeantue]

SLAIN by guitars

I love guitars! Though as a guy in a band, I usually think of the song first and the guitar second. At least that was the case up from my Pie days through Verst’s last album Starship Crash. But leading into our new album David Slain, that started to change. The songs on this new record are built around riffs and I did stuff with the sounds just to make the guitar louder, more cathartic, and more over the top than ever before. I don’t know why. It’s just the way I felt. Anyway, here are the guitars we used to record Verst's David Slain LP..

Rickenbacker 4003 Bass

Since he bought it a couple years ago, John Parsons has played only this instrument. I've never seen anything else in his hands. He just loves it. 

JP's ricky sounds incredible, and stays in tune like an absolute champ - much better than you'd expect for such a lightweight bass. Like any stock Rickenbacker bass, it hummed quite a bit when he got it, because the single coil pickups do not come with reversed polarity. I have no idea why Rickenbacker doesn't set them up in humbucking mode. Weird. Anyway, I tried to do the polarity mod myself, but realized pretty quickly that there was a possibility that I was going to damage a pickup irreparably. So I backed away from that, and John had Chris Barnett do it. Now it doesn't hum when both pickups are selected. I don't think John ever sets it any other way. The both-pickups sound seems to be his jam and I just love it. 

Speaking of Jam, Bruce Foxton played his Rickenbacker through Marshalls and it sounded like God’s piano.

I just see that bass and famous Ricky players come to mind - Lemmy, Paul Gray, Paul McCartney, Bruce Foxton, Lou Barlow.. the list goes on. I think that in order to play a Ricky you really need to be a BASS GUITAR player, not a low end or clean player. I suppose you could use it as a slap pop machine, but with no gain loading from the amp, it's a pretty thin sound. But run it through a cranked up tube amp, such as John Parsons' 200-watt Hovercraft, and you are on your way to achieving a very rich, thick, punchy, piano-like tone. Now that we have only one guitar in the band, there is a huge amount of space for John's bass to own. His Rickenbacker really does that space justice. You can hear nothing but this bass in the first couple minutes of Secret Sea.

That’s Paul Gray on the right here with The Damned. Gray’s extremely sick Rickenbacker tones and guitarish playing can be heard on The Black Album, Live at Shepperton, and Strawberries.

1993 Gibson Les Paul Custom

This guitar is the living document of just how far my Les Paul obsession has gone. Last time I wrote a blog entry, I said that I was obsessing over a cherry sunburst Custom. Then voila. LOOK at the thing. 

It's gorgeous. And it plays like a big heavy brick of butter. Smooth as hell. Resonant, but not overly midrangey. It is so heavy that the notes it produces are like icebreakers smashing and cutting through a mix like so much glass. I'm pretty much playing this guitar 95% of the time and it pretty much comprises about that much of the guitar on the album, so I guess that makes me a real Les Paul guy. For all the fighting and ergonomic crime involved, it is so addictive and sounds so powerful that I just can't put it down. It’s the best instrument I’ve ever had.

While I was thinking about this album, and wanting the guitars to fucking completely take over, I kept going back to Iggy Pop's Raw Power - the sound of James Williamson's LP custom through a dimed Vox AC30. It’s so huge and in-your-face. I realized pretty quickly that the stock 90s pickups that came on my Custom were too heavily wound, too dark. The key to Williamson's sound is the brightness, the presence. So I got some fantastic pickups for this guitar - some Throbak PAF-style things that give it a holographic, smoky brightness. Man, that hit the spot. Because in a big way, I was tired of polite and pretty sounds. I wanted this record to be an aggressive guitar album. I wanted weaponized guitar. The LP Custom seemed to force all of that to happen anyway. My challenge was just to capture those sounds and mix them in a way that didn't puss out. 

James Williamson wielding a generator of raw power back in the day.

I also changed the tuners on this guitar, from the big fat stock Grovers to Schaller knock-offs that I found on eBay. They're not quite as good as real Schallers, but they're much better than the Grovers. I don't know why people like the Grovers. They're heavy and they have all this unnecessary, undignified lash in the way the gears mate up and move. Now the guitar is incredibly stable. I can often play 4 or 5 songs with string bends and everything and it's still in tune. I love the dependability and stability of it. And that's a change for me, because in the past, one thing I've loved about Jazzmasters was their very unpredictability and the cool pitchy wooziness you can create with them. Now when I want to do that with the Les Paul, it all has to be in my left hand - not in a whammy bar or from waving the neck around. It's a different way of playing and I think it makes me a better, more deliberate player.

Homemade Stigmata Jazzblaster

For the first time since I started playing a Jazzmaster (1992?), my Jazzmaster took a back seat to another guitar - the Les Paul. But I did have to pull out the Stigmata. This is the best Jazzmaster I've ever owned, just incredible. And I made it! (See my old blog post about it). It is a weapons-grade Jazzmaster, with all top shelf bits, and it's black with that anodized aluminum pickguard. It's all business and looks like some kind of weapon. It just so happens that it plays beautifully and has incredible halo of harmonics ringing off the string lengths after the bridge. Somehow all those dimensions lined up perfectly to make that happen. And the light swamp ash isn't too light on this one. I think it's too light on the red Jazzmaster I made, but that's a topic for another post. Sadly, I sold that red guitar. 

Even though I am still more comfortable playing a Jazzmaster than a Les Paul, I only played the Jazzblaster guitar on a handful of songs on this record.. Sick Pretty Pilots, Laid Off For The Summer, and (Nice). There are songs, like those, where the Jazzmaster sounds better, either because you can hear the notes of the chords more clearly, or because a whammy bar is needed to do the parts justice. When we rehearse, sometimes I stick with the Les Paul all the way through, even on those songs. But I don't think I'll ever get away from the Jazzmaster for shows and recording. It's in my bones.

Homemade Telemaster

"Burnt candy grind" is how my brother Matt so vividly describes the incredible and unique sound a Tele can produce with its bridge pickup and the right kind of bright clean amp setting. This is the sound you get just before breakup, when the tubes are loading up some compression, but not breaking up yet, bass is set on 0, treble is on 10. The first three Echo and the Bunnymen albums are rife with that sound (example: Do It Clean). I kept hearing some Will Sergeant style chords over the final ending section of Sick Pretty Pilots. For as long as I've been into EBM you'd think it would have been easy for me to get the sound. But I'd tried several times to get it right, using different guitars or having Mike play it on his Telemaster, and none of that quite worked. 

Will Sergeant doing it right.

I finally got it right myself with my own Telemaster and a 70s silverface Fender Twin Reverb. Right when I hit record and it was sounding perfect, Christine and Eli came home and I was already late making dinner for them. So I just finished my one take, saved the file and that was it. But it was the perfect sound and take. Luckily, finally.

I guess the neck pickup isn’t quite aligned, but it’s still a cool guitar.

2014 Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar

This was not my guitar. I don't like Jaguars very much because of the short scale and the brittle-sounding pickups. But sometimes, that's just what's needed, and Fender did a really sweet job on this model. This guitar belonged to Brian Shultz, but I believe he has sold it by now. Brian is a super cool guy with fabulous taste in guitars. We share rehearsal space with him. I used his Jaguar for the left-channel rhythm guitar in Bath Salts & Me, where I needed a single coil sound that would provide just the barest but still great-sounding sketch of the chords and rhythm. 

Squier Bass VI

This is also Brian Shultz' guitar. I used this to fatten up the power chord refrains in Bath Salts & Me, because it can actually dip down for the low D-flats that are in that part. It's in there sorta subliminally in the left channel, slamming through a Marshall Super Lead with the volumes on about 6.

Not quite sure what one would accomplish with the whammy bar on this thing but it must be fun to try.

"Plastic Hippie Values" - 1977 Yamaha FG-345 Acoustic (wounded)

Poor Plastic Hippie Values! A couple years ago I took it on a Summer camping trip to the Southwest where it was basically roasted in the back of my pickup truck for a week. Stupidly, I tried to adjust the truss rod while the neck was in the throes of warping and swelling. The truss rod snapped. So now the neck is permanently bowed inward and the guitar has painfully high action. This is my only acoustic guitar, unfortunately, so it's all I had to use to double the arpeggio parts in the choruses of Plastic Cow. 

Sometimes I create parts I refer to as "music box" sections, where several layered guitars play the same or interlocking arpeggiative parts together to form a machine-like arrangement. It reminds me of a music box or player piano because of how prescriptive and interlocked the parts are. I don't know if that's how it comes across to other people when they hear the recording. But playing that particular part up around the 12th fret with some strings ringing open on this super high action guitar was really difficult. It's already the kind of part that I have to learn by muscle memory and not think about while I play it, or I'll screw it up. The high action made that all the more difficult to do. 

Here’s a very little Eli back in San Leandro with Plastic Hippie Values and a couple Jazzmasters I don’t have anymore.

I do have an emotional attachment to this guitar, because it is the only acoustic I've owned in my adult life and I've had it since around 1991. But replacing a truss rod is very expensive, certainly costing more money than the guitar is worth. And what I really want for an acoustic guitar is a vintage arch top, like a Gretsch or Gibson. I'm not really an acoustic person anyway, so I don't know what I'm going to do.

[auburnfamilynews]

November. It’s a month that sends shivers up the spine of any College Football fan. It’s a month that defines years in ones life. 1996? A miserable year. 1997? The way God intended a year to be. 2014? None of that sir. 2017? All that and twice on Sundays please. November is all of 10 days old and there are some teams that want to have a do-over already. “Who are they?”, you ask dear reader. Well pull up a cha…oh you’re already sitting. Well, sit back and enjoy this week’s BOOM! Roasted!

WILLIE CHAD MORRIS WATCH 2019

Arkansas has had a rough go of it for the past…well for a good while now. Member when BERT had them humming? Don’t worry, their fans don’t either. But Chad Morris came in two years ago with the promise of a HUNH offense that worked (sorta) at SMU and definitely did at Clemson. Well, the rebuild had the look of the movie The Money Pit. Everyone always saying, “It’ll take two more weeks.” More like two more years. We all got to see what I’m talking about a couple of weeks ago when the Auburn offense exploded on the Hogs for 51 points while the defense didn’t give up a point until its was second and third teamers against the Hogs’ ones in the second half. Well this week Arkansas hosted Western Kentucky for Senior Day. And the fan base came out in their finest

And boy did they sure show up for the contest too!

Wow, here's a photo of Razorback Stadium in the first quarter of the Arkansas- Western Kentucky game. Photo compliments of David Bazzel. pic.twitter.com/4kqlyHxkjy

— Randy Stowe (@rstowe1225) November 9, 2019

Well that doesn’t bode well for this watch to last long. As for the game?

This is the kind of day Arkansas is having. Western Kentucky's kicker did this! pic.twitter.com/x1IR60Up5h

— Max Olson (@max_olson) November 9, 2019

Oh good Lord…

The rest of the game didn’t turn out any better as the final gun would sound

Arkansas falls to Western Kentucky 45-19 on Senior Day. pic.twitter.com/0vxUvPhpiq

— THV11 (@THV11) November 9, 2019

Is it just me, or when you see it like that does it make it look even worse? I mean it’s bad, but that way make it even worse right? Well it wouldn’t take long, as one would expect, making this the shortest watch in the history of the Roasted.

Wins under Chad Morris: Eastern Illinois, Tulsa, Portland St. and Colorado St. Losses: Colorado St., North Texas, San Jose St., Western Kentucky AND every SEC game. What a strange year and a half for Arkansas football. https://t.co/MQKJROaaKl

— Jim Joyner (@jimthejam) November 10, 2019

So now we have FSU and Arkansas open for jobs and now the fun really begins as the rumor mill starts in full tilt!

“We’ve already crossed off Urban Meyer; we’ve already crossed off Bob Stoops. Today’s story — which is utterly ridiculous — is they are trying to reach out to Nick Saban to be the next coach at Florida State. The FSU coaching search is already off the rails.”—@ClayTravis pic.twitter.com/BloE3M0XgE

— Outkick the Coverage (@Outkick) November 7, 2019

Yup, coaching moves this year are gonna be stupid.

HAVE A GLASS OF WATER BIG FOURTEEN TEN, YOU’RE DRUNK

So, I sorta shorted you guys last week when I only did two games last week cause I couldn’t find another Boys II Men song that worked for me so I will make up for it here. First off, Michigan State is always known for a stingy defense and a coupe of guys they put out on offense and they sometimes score points, but not often. Well this week they hosted Illinois in East Lansing and it looked to be an easy day for the home team.

Michigan State has scored more points in 17+ minutes vs. Illinois (21) than it did the entire month of October (17). Spartans lead Illinois 21-3 early in the 2Q. pic.twitter.com/lYr16EmPrI

— Chris “Mack” Mackinder (@Chris_Mackinder) November 9, 2019

See what I mean about that scoring thing? Well they would hold a 28-3 lead over the Illini until the last play of the 2nd quarter.

HOW DID BRANDON PETERS PULL THIS OFF? He nearly fumbles before delivering a 47-yard TD strike to @JoshBhebhe to close the @IlliniFootball half: pic.twitter.com/2KZnAVHl0o

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 9, 2019

Ok, so that’s unfortunate but Sparty would add a field goal to make it 31-10 as we entered the 4th quarter of play. Layup win right?

Well…

Michigan State was up 21 on Illinois in the fourth quarter. What a wild day in East Lansing. pic.twitter.com/Tbxxb7iuZo

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 10, 2019

Not good.

UNBELIEVABLE! @IlliniFootball comes back from 25 down to seal the largest comeback in school history. Oh, and they're going bowling. pic.twitter.com/Fp2VhUAPtQ

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 10, 2019

Oofa…

pic.twitter.com/4sHI4YIL4k

— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 10, 2019

Yeah, that’s…wow…

Also, it makes Illinois bowl eligible. It leaves Michigan State unable to make plans yet for after November.

And the worst part, this was at home. I am a Falcons fan (I know I enjoy pain but at least we beat the Aints) so I can commiserate with Sparty here but….damn dude, at least we did that to a good team, you did that to Illinois.

In the other half of the fun in the B1G, Minnesota played their first significant game since Roosevelt was in office against Penn State this weekend and the Gophers brought out the big guns to rattle the Nits.

Minnesota put a Gopher on the scoreboard during Penn State's FG attempt pic.twitter.com/EPo9MZQTgH

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 9, 2019

Well played Minnesota, well played.

As for the game, man was it fun. Back and forth battle where defense was optional but still had some great defensive plays sprinkled in. In the end, this would happen.

And with that, No. 17 Minnesota takes down No. 4 Penn State (via @GopherFootball) pic.twitter.com/lrLHi693MN

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 9, 2019

Which directly led to this

Absolute SCENES in Minnesota as the No.17 Gophers upset No.4 Penn State. ( : @theothermegryan) pic.twitter.com/9UUHo0EPDs

— theScore (@theScore) November 9, 2019

Good for Goldy, they were starved for a big victory since the last one they really had was Glenn Mason telling Georgia nevermind back after they fired Ray Goff. (YEAH TAKE THAT GEORGIA! A MINNESOTA COACH TOLD YOU NO!! HATE WEEK STRONG BABY!)

LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD

Pac-12 suspends referee 1 game for mistakenly accessing a hands to face penalty on Washington State player instead of Cal player, who committed penalty in WSU-Cal game Saturday. Remainder of officiating crew “downgraded” according to league office

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 11, 2019

SEC fans like to think we have the worst officials on the planet but apparently the PAC-12 asks for volunteers at that booth beside the Credit Card signup station before you enter the stadium. This is the 3rd...THIRD!...instance of the PAC-12 suspending one or a group of refs for making an egregious error during a game.

This is play incorrectly called against @WSUCougarFB’s @hd42___. It was 20-11 Cal at this point. Call resulted in a 59 yard swing against WSU. No one is suggesting the result changes on this call, but it’s another example of the ineptness of @pac12 officials. #GoCougs https://t.co/QzkluqKeQu pic.twitter.com/JO48mUjCpg

— Derek Deis (@DerekKXLY) November 10, 2019

I know its kind of hard to tell from the video but I can tell that only one helmet shot back. Man, I know the gonja is legal out there and all but there ain’t no dang sense in the refs gettin’ in to it in the pregame WEST COAST PAWL!

NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND AND YOU SHOULDN’T SCROLL DOWN ANY FARTHER

I'm happy to bring you the content you didn't know you needed, but love to have. #LSUrep #sadfansaresad pic.twitter.com/IZyFH05CCh

— Michael Cauble (@Cauble) November 10, 2019

Aw, I told you not to! You….you guys….

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/11/11/20958556/boom-roasted-week-11

[go-john-smith-posts-blog]

Apply These 5 Secret Techniques To Improve Top 7 Best Soccer Cleats For Flat Feet

If you are a beginner soccer player or a specialist soccer player, you will find that the best soccer spikes are critical. Best soccer spikes will empower you to achieve the best introduction. Playing soccer itself demands high-control planning and puts your entire body under an amplifying glass. That is the inspiration driving why you should have the best soccer spikes for your level feet.

Your presentation will enhance the remote possibility that you have the fitting soccer cleats for flat feet that fit your feet. It will in like manner inside and out impact the way wherein you play as time goes on. Before you get some soccer spikes, consider various parts, for instance, the sort of feet you have, the position you are playing, and the kind of ground you will play. Ceaselessly guarantee that the spikes you buy are strong and pleasant so you can use them for a very delayed stretch of time.

Acquiring Guide for Best Soccer Cleats for Flat Feet

The targets for properly fitting soccer projection are flexibility and robustness. One can all the more promptly achieve these destinations by understanding the existence structures of a soccer fitting and organizing the perfect goals of the existence structures of the projection with spending impediments.

Factors You Need to Look at Before Buying a Cleat for Flat Feet:

Size

You can pick spikes that are perfect for the size of the feet. If the size of the feet isn't perfect, by then it won't let the players play with flexibility. This is an obstacle for players to perform better. It is thusly basic to buy the size of the spikes that fit effectively on your feet. If you have a level feet, it is more astute to buy extra wide spikes with the objective that your feet fit well inside the spikes.

The Grip of the Cleats

Comfort, consistent quality, and authentic hold are three sections that are required from every projection. With the hold offered by the spikes, you will perform better on the field. As in this game, you will hit the ball with your feet, so you need spikes that offer you a respectable handle so you can hit the ball without obsessing about the projection to strip off. If there is no suitable handle, the chances are that you may journey and fall in the ground.

Bend Support

The soccer projection should give enough help to the level feet, so players can perform better. Bend sponsorship is critical to alter level feet. In case players can get incredible assistance from the spikes they have worn, they can focus on the game without worrying over the fitting hurting them due to overpronation.

Bend support is required for people with a low bend and a high bend, without getting the foot to move inside the fitting. There must be incorporated bend support for running, bouncing, and kicking safely without hurting your feet. Appropriate bend support empowers a player to play soccer.

Daze Absorption

Spikes for level feet should have a daze holding structure so when your body puts weight on the feet, the daze digestion system will diminish wounds that would by one way or another or another be dreadful on the knees, hips, legs, and feet.

Cushioning

The fragile cushioning ensures enough comfort for the players. The cushion is offered in the forefoot and effect point to give you complete comfort all through the game. If there is no cushioning, players won't feel better and will play seriously in the game.

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Best Soccer Cleats for Flat Feet and Their Reviews

We pick the Top 7 best soccer spikes for level feet to review today. They are:

Nike Men's Tiempo Genio II FG

Adidas Men's X 18.4 Firm Ground

Panther Men's King

ASICS Men's Lethal Tigreor 4

Adidas Performance Men's Copa Mundial

Adidas Men's Freak X Carbon Mid

Nike Phantom Vision Academy

Nike Men's Tiempo Genio II FG

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The thing has the going with points of interest

Nike's soccer spikes are of choice calfskin material that can stand the preliminary of time, in any occasion, when used in phenomenal conditions. The strip up structure of this projection empowers the boot to state on your feet all through the game. In addition, the breathable surface covering gives a fantastic feel to the feet. This soccer fitting has an EVA insole that offers a huge amount of cushioning and comfort. Light the fire with the versatile outsole of this Nike projection. The fitting moreover has a framed stud plan that gives you more balance than you can ever have. The coupling system gives a free play locale to increasingly critical ball control, precision, and consistency.

If you are looking for a lightweight soccer fitting that can suit your level feet, Nike Tiempo is considered. The insole and outsole arrangement ensure quality and sponsorship during quick races.

Experts

Perfect for a person with level feet

Molds to your feet very well

Water safe

Very easy to clean

Cons

Low robustness

Adidas Men's X 18.4 Firm Ground

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The thing has the going with judgments

One of the most noticeable brands is Adidas known for making first rate soccer spikes. While wearing this first class Adidas Men X soccer fitting, you can move at fast, availability, and security on various grass surfaces. This soccer projection is made of made material of the best that will stand the preliminary of time, paying little respect to whether you use it by and large. Adidas X men's soccer spikes also have a streamlined paw neck area with standard language tongue improvement. The comfortable fit arrangement of this fitting support your feet for most prominent comfort. The upper built material also causes you experience a lightweight charge when the spikes hold up.

This soccer projection has a designed sole that supports you move at high speeds and make caution with respect to your opponents. The shaft of this soccer projection gauges around low top from bend while the strong match supports your leg and makes you feel incredible. As a player with level feet, you absolutely need a projection that is of the right size and causes you keep the speed and robustness on the field.

Pros

Lightweight

Really pleasant

Will prop up for a very drawn out stretch of time

Sensible for use in different sorts of surfaces

Cons

Poor sogginess security

Hard to clean

Puma Men's King

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The thing has the going with points of interest

Puma King's soccer spikes were at first made during the 1970s. In reality, this get-together of soccer spikes made in that year helped shape the market and the development we see in various spikes today. Starting now and into the foreseeable future, Puma has been seen as an athletic brand far and wide that successfully blended lifestyle, sports, and plan. The stand-out perspective of Puma's industry gives lively outfits, additional items, and abrupt games prepares through dynamic structure and concentrated advancement. This panther ruler fitting is the best cowhide material that will prop up a long time, in any occasion, when used in the most crazy conditions. The shaft gauges generally low top from the bend. Besides, this soccer fitting is arranged in a lightweight structure and is known as the most acclaimed projection in the market.

The lightweight Pebax outsole of this soccer fitting is mixed with the channel formed and balance studs to give a perfect congruity among deftness and versatility. The Puma King soccer projection has a constantly pleasant lace system that gives an extraordinary fit to your midfoot, while premium quality calfskin material offers an incredible run of the ball. In case you ever need to wear spikes that you can wear and experience most extraordinary comfort, similarly as giving strength in the field, by then the Puma master justifies considering.

Experts

Completely pleasing to wear

Rough and extreme

Mind boggling for players with level feet

Cons

Low durability

Hard to clean

ASICS Men's Lethal Tigreor 4

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The thing has the going with points of interest

Asics' deadliest soccer spikes are conveyed by the Asics worldwide association, which invests critical energy in the development of projection and sports equipment for various games. As the fundamental brand in sportswear, Asics has dependably offered full help to all rivals in their voyage to achieve their most important achievements in any test and practice. This soccer fitting is made of first rate cowhide material that will shape your foot for an eminent piece of the ball. The solidified trim structure and plan of the tongue gives a smooth surface to kicking.

This soccer fitting has a nylon insole that is a little harder under your foot. The Asics Tigroer soccer projection has a built sole and a stud plan that will make your advancement straightforward so you can stay on top of the world. The trim structure of this soccer spikes makes your foot fit paying little respect to whether you have level feet. Your feet won't leave this spikes, paying little respect to whether you are playing firmly. As a player with level feet, you need some outfit that will empower you to perform to your potential and cause you just as to can be normal. Asics soccer spikes are essentially perfect for people with level feet.

Experts

Unprecedented quality

Faultless fit

Really pleasant

Cons

Low quality

Poor clamminess protection

Adidas Performance Men's Copa Mundial

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The thing has the going with subtleties

The Copa Mundial is obviously a pleasant projection exhibited by many, capable and accommodating players. Crafted by craftsmanship and nostalgic arrangement of the old school is successfully seen. For level footed players, the braced effect point board or