#I know our friendship has changed a lot and we behave more like sisters in the sense of 'I'm gonna be there whenever'

[theirloveisgross]

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[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine being Lin Beifong’s daughter and Korra having a crush on you

You entered President Raiko’s party late and hurried inside hoping to avoid your mother’s wrath by appearing as soon as possible. Being Lin Beifong’s daughter and employee meant she was twice as hard on you as anyone on the force, so she would not take your tardiness well. You were waved into the building by guards who recognised you on sight and rushed into the ballroom. You saw the party was already in full swing and braced yourself for all the fake smiling you’d have to endure when a young woman appeared across from you. “Avatar Korra” you nodded in recognition of the girl who grinned at you. “Miss Beifong” she smiled in greeting “you look as beautiful as ever...you legs alone seem to go on for years in those trousers” she commented glancing at them and you blushed. “Funny I just had a similar thought about your biceps”. Korra beamed “ow you can’t really see them in this thing but I’d be happy to give you a closer look”.

You couldn’t resist a smile and your blush grew to have such a beautiful woman flirt so blatantly with you. Korra was always like this around you and you enjoyed it greatly even if it wasn’t professional. Korra was a breath of fresh air in Republic City and you enjoyed her confidence and humour. You liked the avatar a lot but you had no intentions of pursuing anything beyond flirting with her. For one thing she was young, cocky, beautiful and THE avatar. You supposed she had hundreds of boys and girls queueing up for her and didn’t want to just be another name on her list. You’d heard about how the previous water tribe avatar had been a hit with women and apparently that was a trait Korra shared. She was the avatar, who wouldn’t be weak to her charm? Still you tried to behave so aimed to change the topic of conversation.

“I think we should join the party seeing as we’re both very late” you smiled slyly and Korra smirked “I didn’t think Beifongs were ever late. Are you really trying to tell me you’re not perfect?”. The girl was insatiable. “We all have our secrets” you replied and Korra’s grin only grew. “Mysterious, intelligent and beautiful...you have to let me lead you into the party. As the Avatar it’s my duty to serve the people”. “Well who I am to get in the way of that” you smirked rolling your eyes as you took her outstretched arm. Korra led you into the party proudly and you enjoyed being on her arm. Still you were in work mode, so you only stayed by Korra’s side for an appropriate amount of time before excusing yourself so nobody would get the wrong idea. Korra never failed to make you smile or blush but you wouldn’t let it progress no matter how much fun it would be. So you allowed the flirting and lingering glances but stopped it from going any further.

You saw Korra pretty regularly as she was always in trouble with the law in some way or another and not a month after the party President Raiko banned her from Republic City. It was something he’d likely take back pretty soon but still she had to leave so you and your mother went to help her however you could. The avatar didn’t seem too bothered by the President’s command and still had that cocky smile on her face. She let you into Tenzin’s home and explained how she was leaving tomorrow to go look for air benders anyway. She read out the names of some known airbenders in the earth kingdom and you paused as one was familiar.  “Wait did you say Opal? Is she from Zafou by any chance?” you asked and Korra nodded “yeah why?”. Your mother tried to silence you but you didn’t notice, too excited. “She’s my cousin!” you burst “This is so great, i’m so proud of her”. “Wait so Suyin is your sister?” Korra asked Lin and your mother nodded “yes. Which is something I wished to remain a secret but clearly that is not an option anymore” she said shooting you a look. “Well this is great news” Korra smiled “you have to come with me!”. “What!” your mother cried and Korra sighed “if she’s your niece then you can help us recruit her! We need all the help we can get”. “No way!” Lin cried “I am not seeing my sister ever again if I can help it, y/n can go if you want a Beifong so badly”. Korra looked at you and smiled “that does sound appealing, what do you say y/n? Want to come on a field trip with me?”. Korra held out her hand to you and you blushed, hoping your mother didn’t notice. You knew you probably shouldn’t go. Being in close quarters with Korra would certainly challenge your restraint but you hadn’t seen your extended family in so long and this was the perfect opportunity to go visit. Plus Korra looked so good when she smiled at you like that. “Sure” you said taking her hand “someone has to keep you out of trouble”.

You met Korra and her friends at Future Industries the next day and were soon flying to Zafou. Korra came to stand beside you on the deck and leant forwards flexing her arms right in front of you. “I’m glad you agreed to come” Korra smiled and you nodded “me too, it’s been forever since I’ve got out of Republic City”. Korra’s eye glinted “does this mean I’m going to witness holiday y/n? It’d be fun to see you let your hair down and go wild”. “If you’re lucky maybe you will” you smirked and Korra nodded “i’m looking forward to it” and winked before leaving you alone once more. You stared after her as she walked away and Korra must’ve felt your eye on her because before she disappeared back into the ship she turned and caught you red-handed watching her. She smiled widely a chuckle slipping from her lips and you turned around sharply, blushing vividly. Agreeing to this trip may not have been a smart decision at all.

When you touched down in Zafou Korra had you right beside her in pride of place. You recognised your aunt immediately and she addressed Korra first before she spotted you beside her and she did a double-take. “Y/n?” she asked and you grinned “Aunt Suyin!” and rushed forwards to hug her. Your aunt wrapped you in a hug and then quickly tugged you to go find your cousins, momentarily forgetting the avatar was here. She summoned all your cousins and they rushed to greet you...well some did. Bataar junior didn’t look impressed and Huan just glanced at you not particularly bothered but the twins and Opal were very welcoming. “It’s so good to see you again!” Opal cried and you nodded taking her hand “it is! It’s been far too long and I can’t believe you’re an airbender now!”. Opal nodded “trust me it was a shock to us all but i’m so excited to learn airbending”. “Well Korra can definitely help you with that” you said gesturing to the avatar who nodded confidently “of course, anything for y/n’s cousin” and you blushed slightly but managed to hide it.

You enjoyed your time with your family greatly and got along well with all your cousins. You participated in Wei and Wing’s power disk game and being a good metal bender yourself almost won the match. You noticed Korra watching you and briefly tried showing off before getting wiped out. The twins noticed Korra watching and invited her to join but she declined explaining she couldn’t metal bend. Your cousins rushed to assure her she could learn and volunteered to teach her. Korra seemed very excited at the idea and agreed before she turned to you “wait a minute y/n why did you never offer to teach me?”. You could tell she was only feigning annoyance so you shrugged “what can you blame me for wanting something over the almighty avatar?”. That stroked Korra’s ego and she smiled lazily “no but I’ll certainly get my own back in some way”. “Ow really? How”? you challenged her and the girl just shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, but be on your best behaviour Beifong” she smirked before rushing away.

Korra went off to train with your cousins and you were relieved hoping this would be a time for you to cool down and recover but no. Opal caught you and invited you to catch up with her in the gardens. You of course obliged your cousin but found yourself seated directly in view of Korra’s training with your cousins. You tried focusing on Opal but your eyes kept getting pulled to the avatar as she picked up metal bending remarkedly quickly. You noticed Korra had spotted you and she appeared to be putting on a show, trying valiantly to challenge your cousin entirely for your benefit. It was a clever strategy and soon Opal trailed off just letting you admire Korra. Your cousins were experiencing first-hand just how skilled the avatar could be and you saw them breaking out in a sweat with how hard Korra was pushing them.  

After a while they began trying to score past one another and Korra got an idea. She *accidentally* bent a disk near you and your cousin Wei teased her for being sloppy. She just shot them a lopsided grin and jogged over to you. “Ladies” she smiled looking straight at you “i’m sorry I didn’t see you there”. “Ow really?” you asked and Korra grinned “yeah I had no idea you were here whatsoever...which is odd considering how every eye is drawn to you whenever you’re nearby”. You blushed going red and Korra’s smile grew “I’ll leave you to your chat. Opal, Y/n” she nodded at you both in turn but winked when she met your gaze. You watched her run back to your cousins and found Opal staring at you. She immediately pushed you squealing “you didn’t tell me you were dating the avatar!”. “I’m not and keep your voice down please” you begged seeing the smug look on Korra’s face which told you she’d noticed Opal’s reaction. “But she was very openly flirting with you” Opal retorted and you nodded “I know we do that a lot but it’s just our friendship. I’d never let it go further because she’s the avatar! She’s not after a relationship she just wants a fun fling and I can’t give her that. Trust me the avatar will get bored of me and move on soon enough”. “Ow yeah?” Opal asked looking to where Korra was still putting on a show for you. Korra scored a point and shot you a smile. You blushed vividly and Opal laughed “I don’t think she’s not going cold on you any time soon”.

At the end of the week your Aunt Suyin threw a party to celebrate Opal’s progress and avatar’s arrival. It was magnificent and you hadn’t seen this much earth kingdom food in...well forever! You made sure Korra and the others were all okay and socialised with your cousins greatly enjoying being with your family. Bataar jnr told you about his machines, his girlfriend Kuvira traded military expertise with you, Wei and Wing quizzed you about all the pro-bending in Republic City, you teased Opal about her crush on Bolin and even Huan showed you some of his paintings. You were absolutely thrilled your family still felt like a family after all this time and hadn’t been this happy in a long time. However all that excitement can be draining. Towards the end of the night you began to grow tired so went outside for some fresh air and quiet. You were relaxing in the picturesque moonlight when you were disturbed. “Well your aunt certainly knows how to put on a spread” someone called and you jumped to find Avatar Korra making her way over to you on the abandoned balcony. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and her eyes shone in the dark light. “She does” you smiled “never let it be said Beifong’s don’t know how to put on an event”. “That’s for sure” Korra agreed coming to sit right beside you. “The city is so beautiful” she commented before she turned “as are you”. “Thanks” you blushed “you look very beautiful too”. “There’s no way I can compete with you in that outfit” Korra smiled “Beifong’s apparently always look stunning as well as being great hostesses”. “Have you been checking out my aunt then?” you replied and Korra laughed “of course not, I only have eyes for you”. “Sureeee” you laughed but Korra nodded “I do I promise! You’re all I think about and why wouldn’t I? You’re the most interesting girl I’ve ever met. I’m crazy about you”. You blushed under Korra’s intense gaze but didn’t look away. “I....I don’t know what to say” you finally spoke up and Korra shrugged “well then how about we don’t bother talking anymore?”. Time seemed to freeze and you viewed the present in slow motion as Korra cupped your cheek gently and leant forwards. You liked the way her hands felt on you and instinctively leant into her before your brain caught up with the situation. “Wait! Korra I can’t” you said your heart hammering in your chest and the avatar frowned inches away from you. “You can’t? why? Do you not find me attractive?” Korra asked. “No of course I find you very attractive, i’ve never seen a human being I find more attractive than you” you admitted very flustered. “Then what’s the problem?” Korra asked and you sighed “the problem is I don’t just want to hook up with you a few times and be done with it. I know some people like that kind of thing and i’m sure as the avatar it is the perfect option but I’m not like that. Casual one night stands just aren’t my thing so I’m sorry I have to decline. Please don’t ask me again” and you rushed away. Korra called after you but you clearly wanted to be left alone so she didn’t follow you. She hung her head in her hands at how messed up things had gotten.

When Korra had allowed herself to wallow for a bit she came back inside to find the party over. She made her way to her shared room and found Asami waiting. “Korra where have you been we were all worried sick and...” Asami started when she caught sight of Korra’s expression and stopped abruptly.  “What’s wrong?” Asami asked and Korra sighed “you gave me terrible advice that’s what!”. Korra explained the situation more and Asami felt awful. Being more experienced with relationships Korra had come to Asami for advice on how to approach her feelings for you and it hadn’t worked well. Given Korra’s past approach of blurting out her love for people without a second thought, Asami advised Korra to try a different approach with you but she hadn’t meant it so literally. Instead of being serious or passionate Korra had been entirely flirty and forward with you. No substance just fun. So you’d wrongly gotten the idea all Korra wanted was a fun fling when she actually was madly infatuated with you and wanted far more long term things with you. Asami wasn’t sure what she could do but seeing Korra so distraught she knew she had to try and help her friend.

So Asami made her way to your room hoping you wouldn’t mind such a late-night visit. Asami knocked on your door and heard movement inside. There was a pause before she heard you call “who is it?” nervously. “It’s Asami” she called back “I need to speak to you”. The door opened slowly and Asami saw you looked upset. “Did Korra send you”? you asked quietly “because she didn’t do anything wrong I just need some space”. “No she didn’t send me but I am here because of her, I need to confess something”. Your eyes widened in confusion but you nodded and let Asami into your room. The minute you turned to face her Asami burst “It’s my fault! Korra came to me when she realised she liked you and asked me for advice. She was terrified of messing this up and doing what she did with Mako...with him she’d blurted out a lot of intense things right away and so I told her to do the opposite. I suggested she just toned down the seriousness and had fun with you. Flirt a little and try and gauge how you were feeling before she confessed her whole heart to you. But it seems she took my advice too much and now you don’t think her intentions are good at all which is not the case! Korra very much likes you for more than just your appearance and she has for a while”. You stared at Asami at an apparent loss for words “so Korra was...what acting?”. Asami shrugged “kind of, she was putting on this cocky flirty front when she’s actually a lot more emotional and sweet...she didn’t mean to come across so forward she was just following my advice which backfired horribly. I’m so sorry it upset you I promise that was not her intention at all. If you want to blame anyone blame me”. You assured Asami you weren’t upset with her and spent the next half hour understanding how the situation had gone so wrong. You were very excited by the end of it and couldn’t wait till morning to speak with Korra. Asami told you she was in their room and wouldn’t mind you disturbing her so late.

So you rushed to Korra’s shared room and knocked on the door lightly. Your stomach was bubbling with butterflies and you weren’t sure what you were going to say when you saw her. The door didn’t open so you knocked louder hoping Korra wasn’t asleep. Still there was no sound from inside so you frowned and decided she must be asleep. You didn’t want to wake her so started to retreat from the room when you heard a loud thud from inside. “Korra?” you called through the door “are you okay?”. You got no reply and were growing more and more concerned when you heard something smash inside followed by a grunt of pain. “Korra?” you yelled through the door and began bending the metal of the lock. The door swung open and you saw the room was an utter mess. Naga was unconscious on the floor and by the window...four people had a struggling Korra in their arms. She looked very weak and wasn’t putting up much of a fight so you figured she must’ve been drugged. “Korra!” you cried rushing into the room. You had no idea who these people were but you weren’t letting them take Korra. You launched into a flurry of attacks and managed to land a few hits on the earth and water bender. The air bender sent a gust which knocked you back but you were quick on your feet and pursued them leaping out of the window. You yelled as you chased them quickly attracting the attention of the guards who sounded the alarm. Suyin appeared as did her guard Kuvira and they helped cut the quartet off. “You have nowhere left to go, let her go” you glared and the leader just smiled “never”. You looked at Korra lying limp at their feet and felt rage take you. “Then i’ll drag her from you myself” and ran at him.

3 hours later

You were sat in the infirmary beside an unconscious Korra waiting for the effect of the drug to wear off. Everyone else had gradually retreated to bed but you couldn’t sleep. The adrenaline from the fight was still pulsing through your veins and was only overshadowed by your worry for Korra. You’d won the fight with the help of Suyin, her guards and Korra’s friends but still the drug they’d used hadn’t worn off. Your eyes fell to her for what felt like the hundredth time and you sighed “please wake up”. Finally Korra listened. With a loud gasp Korra jolted awake and you scrambled to your feet. “Korra breath! You’re okay, you’re safe just breathe!” you commanded and Korra slowly began to calm down. “Y/n? What happened?”. “The White Lotus, I didn’t realise it was them at first but i’ve been briefed on them. They tried to kidnap you when you were a kid and they tried again tonight”. You saw Korra shiver at that and frowned. “But never mind them” you sighed wrapping an extra blanket around her shoulders “how are you feeling?”. Korra frowned “okay...a bit groggy like i’ve come out of a really heavy sleep but it’s not too bad. It’s getting better. How are you?” she asked and you froze “me?”. “Yeah” Korra said offering you a small smile “you don’t look like you’ve slept a wink”. You chuckled softly “I haven’t. I wanted to see you wake up first and make sure you were okay. I haven’t been able to rest since it happened...I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them with you I was so angry but you’re okay now and that’s all that matters". Korra smiled at you "yeah I'm okay now...thanks to you". It wasn’t the usual cocky smirks she sent you. Instead it was a sweet tired smile but it made your heart hammer in your chest just as much. "Do you remember much?" you asked and she shook her head. "No I remember something hitting Naga. I went to look at it when one hit me too. I backed away from the window as the world began to spin and then everything went blurry...the next thing I remember was seeing you in my doorway. You attacked whoever had me and I fell. I remember being unable to move and seeing you send rocks flying through the air. You were terrifying" she laughed "a woman possessed". "Of course I was they were going to take you! I know I might have sent mixed messages last night but I like you Korra. I was coming to tell you that. Asami explained to me what happened and why you behave as you do around me". Korra blushed at that "what were you coming to say to me?". "Well I was coming to ask if it was true, did you really put on a mask around me, acting all confident and promiscuous?". Korra nodded "yeah...I meant everything I said to you I wasn’t lying about my attraction but I was doing the opposite of what I'd usually do because my last relationship didn’t work out well. I came on too intense too quick so I tried to take a more fun carefree approach but that didn’t work. I'm sorry I offended you or made you think I was only interested in you for one thing. I do think you’re gorgeous but that's just one of many things I like about you and by no means the most important". Korra blushed looking down and you found her adorable. How had she hidden this side of her so well? "So is this, you know, the real you?" you asked double-checking. Korra nodded "yep, this is me. I'm emotional, reckless and I always say the wrong thing. I have no tact and just say what I'm thinking. Now you can probably see why I was trying to act so put together and impressive before. They're much more attractive qualities". "Maybe" you shrugged "but I think this side of you is just as attractive, more so actually because it's real and it's beautiful. You're wonderful Korra exactly as you are". Korra stared at you in shock and you just smiled at her. "I...I..." she babbled and you smirked "how about I kiss you to save you having to speak?". "Yes please" the avatar breathed and you gently placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her. The kiss was sweet and Korra seemed uncharacteristically shy. She pulled back blushing vividly and you smiled at her reaction "how was it?". "Good...amazing" she replied and you smiled "great". Korra looked up at you but blushed as soon as she met your eye and you smiled taking her hand softly "I like you Korra and that kiss was good for me too, if you’d like to make it a more frequent thing we could go out on a date sometime?". "I'd love that!" Korra agreed before wincing "too eager?". "No it was adorable like you" you smiled kissing her forehead "now it really is late. You should try and get some rest, something tells me the next few days are going to be very long and strenuous". Korra nodded "I agree, goodnight y/n". "Goodnight Korra" you smiled and closed her door softly. The avatar wasn’t a womaniser but a shy bashful passionate woman. You were pleasantly surprised and couldn’t wait to see all the different layers of her left to discover.

____

Korra is 100% one of those people that’s all talk but is actually a huge softie romantically. Asami is one lucky lady (althought she’s also amazing so Korra is lucky too).

Also why is there so little Korra content out there? Her and Huan Beifong are very under-represented in the fanfiction game and I am personally offended by that 😂

[labarch]

Attempt at a Witch Hat Atelier timeline

We are still missing a lot of backstory for our main cast, but I thought I’d try and write a timeline based on what we know so far, and explore where their storylines might intersect.

I am pulling these numbers out of my hat for convenience sake, but here are some approximate ages for the characters: at the start of the manga, let’s say Coco, Tetia and Agott are all 12, Riche is 11, and Qifrey and Olruggio are 28.

20-23 years ago: Olruggio leaves his birth town Godley and moves to the Great Hall, maybe as young as 5 years old.

While many witches are born in the Great Hall, Olruggio comes from a town called Godley in the North. Yet he doesn’t remember Utowin, who came from the same place. We know that young witches usually start their training between the age of 7 and 10, but since witch society is awfully elitist, Olruggio would have been sent there as soon as his talent for magic became apparent.

Being ripped from his home at an extremely young age could explain his fear of being unwanted and left behind: he overworks himself as a way to feel useful and validated, is defensive about his own feelings, and he gets agitated and sometimes aggressive whenever Qifrey hides things from him.

20 years ago: arrival of Qifrey at the Great Hall at age 8. Olruggio befriends him soon afterwards. The both of them start sneaking out at night to chase Brimhats.

8 year old Qifrey was one fierce little thing, you have to give him that. His abuse at the hands of the Brimhats was brutal enough to break a grown man, but he picks himself up and goes right after them like “Alright jerks, you’ve got some explaining to do and I want my eyeball back!”.

Also it cracks me up that Olruggio was carrying this massive book in their flashback. Gotta love that his reaction to Qifrey’s “Let’s go chase some terrorists!” was “Sure, let me just pack my homework =>”.

Finally, there might be a slightly more selfish motivation for Olruggio’s fast friendship and devotion to Qifrey. Olruggio’s self-esteem lies in his ability to help people, so he would naturally be drawn to someone helpless. It’s unclear how much of Qifrey’s memory was missing: apparently he didn’t know about birthdays. How many other basic concepts was he missing? Did he know how to read? Between that, his lack of knowledge about magic and his injury, he was probably completely dependent on Olruggio at the beginning. Given Olruggio’s wish that they go back to “the good old times” when they were always together, I am wondering whether some hidden part of him misses being essential to someone. It’s well-intentioned, but not entirely healthy, especially if he is using Qifrey as a coping mechanism for his own insecurities.

14 years ago: Olruggio and Qifrey make a pledge of (betrothal) friendship, exchange tassels and attempt the Librarian test at age 14. It is their last adventure together, but Qifrey will continue his investigations on his own, to Olruggio’s disappointment and betrayal. Qifrey starts wearing his half-tinted glasses.

In the pledge flashback, they are wearing their old tassels, but they have swapped them by the time they undertake the third test. Also, when he remembers that pledge, Olruggio says that Qifrey’s investigation “should have ended at the Tower of Books”. The tower is the last likely place where Qifrey could have found answers about his past and a non-forbidden way of getting his eye back. Olruggio probably made him promise that he would stop his search afterwards.

Beldaruit says that he thought Qifrey had given up on his search after the third test, but Olruggio tells a slightly different story. Apparently he thought Qifrey “finally stopped causing trouble” after taking in apprentices, which means he was still behaving suspiciously right up until he became a teacher. Alaira also comments on Qifrey’s interest in the Brimhats in the first volume, so clearly his investigations were common knowledge among his friends, even as an adult.

Olruggio’s anger whenever the Brimhats are mentioned would then be caused not just by his own fear of forbidden magic, but by the reminder that Qifrey broke his promise to him, and refused to leave his past behind. Naturally, Olruggio doesn’t know about Qifrey’s change in circumstances: he is no longer looking to retrieve what he lost, but trying to stop an impending threat.

Qifrey’s discoveries in the Tower of Books also seem to have renewed his disgust towards his own scar: he starts wearing glasses shortly afterwards, even though his eyesight hasn’t yet started deteriorating.

14-5 years ago: in that interval, Coco’s father dies of illness. Olruggio becomes more and more famous for his magical items, and is given the title “Shining Torch” / “Master of Lights”. His glowstone paths become widely popular, and are installed around the castle near Coco’s mom. Both Qifrey and Olruggio pass the fourth test and complete their training.

At this stage, I really doubt that Qifrey intended to become a teacher. Whatever information he found at the Tower of Books convinced him he had to stop the Brimhats’ plan. He was probably planning to complete his training and then go straight on to his quest, not really expecting to return alive.

There are also hints that this was a strained period for Qifrey and Olruggio: Olruggio mentions that he would like them to confide in each other “just like old times”, which implies that they grew more distant after the Librarian test. I’m suspecting that Qifrey was trying to slowly remove himself from Olruggio’s life, hoping Olruggio would be so famous and beloved by the time they graduated that he would forget about Qifrey and barely notice his disappearance. Qifrey’s self-esteem isn’t the best y’all.

5 years ago: Coco receives the magic picture book from Iguin at age 7 at the Silver Night Festival. The Brimhats stop showing signs of activity. Qifrey takes on his first apprentice (probably Tetia, age 7). He interrupts his investigation of the Brimhats and creates the atelier. Olruggio becomes his Watchful Eye.

We don’t know exactly how old Coco was when she got her book, but her tiny chubby face makes me think she was 6-7. Alaira also tells us in the first volume that the incident with Coco’s mother is the first sign of Brimhat activity in five years. I am thinking that after Iguin gave away the book, he instructed the other Brimhats to keep a low profile until his scheme could hatch.

I also wonder whether Coco getting her book might coincide with Qifrey becoming a teacher and creating his atelier. Given that Qifrey is probably tied to Iguin’s schemes, how coincidental is it that Qifrey wandered into Coco’s village and set her fate in motion? Perhaps Iguin contrived for them to live in the same area so that they would meet eventually. Either he somehow influenced Qifrey’s choice of location for his atelier, or he selected Coco as his “child of hope” because of her relative proximity as well as her love for magic.    

7 years old is when we could expect Tetia to have passed the first test. For now we know little about her backstory, but we can guess a few things: she is enthusiastic and ambitious, but gets easily side-tracked by pet projects and struggles to stick to the curriculum. She craves positive feedback and is worried her spells and interests will be condemned as frivolous. It makes me think that she passed her first test early, but was then mistreated by her first teachers for being too childish.

We’ve seen that Qifrey has a compulsive tendency to adopt children in distress. It would fit his character if he became a teacher on impulse. Maybe he had to pass the fifth test in a rush to be allowed to keep Tetia by his side. This also brought Olruggio back into his life, as he was the only one willing to follow him away from the atelier as Watchful Eye.

The complicity between Tetia and Qifrey, and Tetia taking on the role of a big sister for both Riche and Coco, also make me think she was Qifrey’s first apprentice. Tetia is often shown teasing Qifrey, quoting both Qifrey and Olruggio, and imitating Qifrey’s teaching style: I can totally see them as a little family of three at some point in the past.  

4 years ago: Riche starts training under her brother’s master, a creepy asshole, at age 7.

We actually have a clear timestamp for that one in chapter 25, woohoo! Riche’s old teacher can eat a brick.

3-2 years ago: Qifrey and Olruggio learn about Riche’s mistreatment in her old atelier and promptly adopt her. Beldaruit takes on Ririfin as an apprentice. Qifrey’s eyesight starts deteriorating. He adds the light protection glyph to his glasses.

Before that time, Qifrey might have intended to put his quest on hold until after Tetia’s graduation, but now his impending blindness puts him on a time limit. He can’t do a lot about it however, since the Brimhats have been keeping a low profile for years and are not leaving him any clue.

It’s unclear how long Riche stayed at her old atelier, and whether she joined Qifrey before or after Agott. I’m hoping she made it out as soon as possible.

2 years ago: Agott passes the first test at age 10. She gets accused of stealing someone else’s spell, is rejected from her prestigious family’s apprenticeship, and joins Qifrey’s atelier.

Agott has been treated harshly by her family for not being enough of a genius. She mentions passing the first test at 10, the upper end of the normal age range. She was probably given a hard time for starting her apprenticeship so “late”, which explains why she is now adamant about passing the other tests as quickly as possible.

I wonder whether she felt ambivalent about joining Qifrey’s atelier at first. On the one hand, Qifrey was taught by the Sage of Education himself and is clearly very powerful. On the other hand, he has only a couple students and lives in a weird little school in the middle of nowhere, a big fall from grace compared to her prestigious upbringing. I wonder whether Qifrey went to find her after he heard she was the object of nasty rumours (he knows a thing or two about those), and Agott didn’t feel like she had other options.

0 year ago: Coco and Qifrey meet. Iguin goes “F***ing finally, I thought I’d have to watch that humdrum one-eyed twink bake potatoes for another five years. It’s dragon-slaying time now baby!!!”  

[homosexuhauls]

15 JUNE, 2021 by Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie

IT IS OBSCENE: A TRUE REFLECTION IN THREE PARTS

PART ONE

When you are a public figure, people will write and say false things about you. It comes with the territory. Many of those things you brush aside. Many you ignore. The people close to you advise you that silence is best. And it often is. Sometimes, though, silence makes a lie begin to take on the shimmer of truth.

In this age of social media, where a story travels the world in minutes, silence sometimes means that other people can hijack your story and soon, their false version becomes the defining story about you.

Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it, as Jonathan Swift wrote.

Take the case of a young woman who attended my Lagos writing workshop some years ago; she stood out because she was bright and interested in feminism.

After the workshop, I welcomed her into my life. I very rarely do this, because my past experiences with young Nigerians left me wary of people who are calculating and insincere and want to use me only as an opportunity. But she was a Bright Young Nigerian Feminist and I thought that was worth making an exception.

She spent time in my Lagos home. We had long conversations. I was support-giver, counsellor, comforter.

Then I gave an interview in March 2017 in which I said that a trans woman is a trans woman, (the larger point of which was to say that we should be able to acknowledge difference while being fully inclusive, that in fact the whole premise of inclusiveness is difference.)

I was told she went on social media and insulted me.

This woman knows me enough to know that I fully support the rights of trans people and all marginalized people. That I have always been fiercely supportive of difference, in general. And that I am a person who reads and thinks and forms my opinions in a carefully considered way.

Of course she could very well have had concerns with the interview. That is fair enough. But I had a personal relationship with her. She could have emailed or called or texted me. Instead she went on social media to put on a public performance.

I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it. But I mostly held myself responsible. My spirit had been slightly stalled, from the beginning, by her. My first sense of unease with her came when she posted a photo taken in my house, at a time when I did not want any photos of my personal life on social media. I asked that she take it down. The second case of unease was her publicizing something I had told her in confidence about another member of the workshop. The most upsetting was when she, without telling me, used my name to apply for an American visa. Above all else was my lingering suspicion that she was a person who chose as friends only those from whom she could benefit. But she was a Bright Young Nigerian Feminist and I allowed that sentiment to over-ride my unease.

After she publicly insulted me, it was clear to me that this kind of noxious person had no business in my life, ever again.

A few months later, she sent this affected, self-regarding email which I ignored.

Friday September 15 2017 at 4.35 AM

Dearest Chimamanda,

Happy birthday. I mean this with all my heart, even though I know I have fallen (removed myself?) from your grace. It would be impossible for me to stop loving you; long before you gave me the possibility of being your friend you were the embodiment of my deepest hopes, and that will never change.

I think of you often, still – stating the obvious. I grieve the loss of our friendship; it is a complicated sadness. I’m sorry that I caused you pain, or to feel like you can no longer trust me. There’s so much that I wish could be said.

I pray this birthday is the happiest one yet. I wish you rest and quiet and abiding stability, and of course more of the kind of success that means the most to you.

I hope mothering X is everything you hoped and prayed for and more.

Have a wonderful day today.

Love always.

About a year later, she sent this email, which I also ignored.

Thursday November 29 2018 at 8.42 AM

Dear Chimamanda,

I realise this is long overdue and vastly insufficient, but I’m really sorry. I’ve spent so much time going back and forth in my head and my email drafts; wondering whether to write you, how to write you, what to say, all kinds of things. But in the end, this is the thing I realise I need to say.

I’m sorry I disappointed and hurt you by saying things publicly that were sharply critical, unkind and even disrespectful, especially in light of all the backlash and criticism you experience from people who don’t know you. I could have acted with more consideration towards you. I should have, especially given the privilege of intimacy that you had offered me. There are many reasons why I chose to behave the way I did, but none of them is an excuse. And I clearly realise now, after many, many months of needless sadness and angst and hurt and actual confusion, that I did not treat you as a friend would—certainly not as someone would to whom you had offered unprecedented access to yourself and your life.

You’ve meant the world to me since I was barely a teenager. It’s been very hard navigating the emotional fallout of the past several months, knowing you were displeased with me but truly not quite understanding why, then deciding I didn’t care, then realising that would never be true. I’ve always cared. But I was too mixed up about the situation to be able to make sense of it, or properly see past my own justifications. I’m sorry it took me so long to grasp how I let you down.

I realise that I don’t have room to ask anything of you, but I would be grateful for a chance to say this in person. Still, even if I never get that, I really hope you believe me.

Congratulations on restarting the workshop, and on all the other amazing successes of the past several months. I think of you often; it would be impossible not to. You look so happy in your pictures. I really hope you are well.

All my love,

I hoped never to hear from her again. But she has recently gone on social media to write about how she “refused to kiss my ring,” as if I demanded some kind of obeisance from her. She also suggests that there is some dark, shadowy ‘more’ to tell that she won’t tell, with an undertone of “if only you knew the whole story.”

It is a manipulative way of lying. By suggesting there is ‘more’ when you know very well that there isn’t, you do sufficient reputational damage while also being able to plead deniability. Innuendo without fact is immoral.

No, there isn’t more to the story. It is a simple story – you got close to a famous person, you publicly insulted the famous person to aggrandize yourself, the famous person cut you off, you sent emails and texts that were ignored, and you then decided to go on social media to peddle falsehoods. It is obscene to tell the world that you refused to kiss a ring when in fact there isn’t any ring at all.

I cannot make much of the hostility of strangers who do not know me – fame taints our view of the humanity of famous people. But the truth is that the famous person remains irretrievably human. Fame does not inoculate the famous person from disappointment and depression, fame does not make you any less angered or hurt by the duplicitous nature of people. To be famous is to be assumed to have power, which is true, but in the analysis of fame, people often ignore the vulnerability that comes with fame, and they are unable to see how others who have nothing to lose can lie and connive in order to take advantage of that fame, while not giving a single thought to the feelings and humanity of the famous person.

And when you personally know a famous person, when you have experienced their humanity, when you have benefited from their kindness, and yet you are unable to extend to them the basic grace and respect that even a casual acquaintanceship deserves, then it says something fundamental about you.

And in a deluded way, you will convince yourself that your hypocritical, self-regarding, compassion-free behavior is in fact principled feminism. It isn’t. You will wrap your mediocre malice in the false gauziness of ideological purity. But it’s still malice. You will tell yourself that being able to parrot the latest American Feminist orthodoxy justifies your hacking at the spirit of a person who had shown you only kindness. You can call your opportunism by any name, but it doesn’t make it any less of the ugly opportunism that it is.

PART TWO

When I first read this person’s work, which was their application to my writing workshop, I thought the sentences were well-done. I accepted this person. At the workshop, I thought they could have been more respectful of the other participants, perhaps not kept typing dismissively as others’ stories were discussed, with an air of being among people below their level. After the workshop, I decided to select the best stories, edit them, pay the writers a fee, and publish them in an e-magazine. The first story I chose was this person’s. I wrote a glowing introduction, which the story truly deserved.

They sent this email.

Fri, Aug 7, 2015, 8:20 AM

Thank you so much for that introduction. It means so much to me and I’m going to keep reading it to get through the rest of my stay at Syracuse. I sent it to my mother and she got nervous about the piece because you said ‘it disturbs’, said she’s not sure how she’s going to feel when she reads it. But she’s also one of those ‘let’s leave the past in the past’ people. My sister approved, which meant a lot because our childhoods were each other’s.

All that to say, I’m so grateful you gave me the space to write the short version of this piece, the encouragement to write the longer piece, and now, a platform for it. I definitely have plans to write more about Aba.

Thank you, with all my heart.

PS- I wanted to sign off gratefully + gracefully in Igbo but I said let me not fall my own hand 🙂

About a year later, they sent another email to let me know that their novel would be published.

Wed, Jun 8, 2016, 8:20 AM

Greetings!

I hope all’s been well with you this past year. Belated congratulations on the baby’s arrival, I hope she’s being a delight (I’m sure she is), and on the Johns Hopkins honors.

I was thinking about how this time last year, I’d just received the email from you about Farafina and I wanted to reach out with a quick update. I’ve just accepted an offer for the novel I excerpted as my application and it feels like the workshop was a catalyst for the events that’ve led me here. So, thank you, for the workshop and your words and the Olisa TV series and listening to me babble on about my story at the hotel. I deeply appreciate all of it and you.

All my best,

Before the novel was published, I spoke of it to some people, to help it get attention. I had not been able to finish reading it. I found the writing beautiful, but the story false-hearted and burdened by bathos. When I spoke of the novel, however, it was the former sentiment that I expressed, never the latter.

After I gave the March 2017 interview in which I said that a trans woman is a trans woman, I was told that this person had insulted me on social media, calling me, among other things, a murderer. I was deeply upset, because while I did not really know them personally, I felt they knew what I stood for and that I fully supported the rights of trans people, and that I do not wish anybody dead.

Still, I took no action. I ignored the public insult.

When this person’s publishers sent me an early copy of their novel, I was surprised to see that my name was included in their cover biography. I had never seen that done in a book before. I didn’t like that I had not been asked for permission to use my name, but most of all I thought – why would a person who thinks I’m a murderer want my name so prominently displayed in their biography?

Then I learned that, because my name was in the cover biography, a journalist had called them my “protegee” and they then threw a Twitter tantrum about it, calling it clickbait, viciously disavowing having received any help from me.

I knew this person had called me a murderer, I knew they were actively campaigning to “cancel” me and tweeting about how I should no longer be invited to speak at events. But this I felt I could not ignore.

I sent an email to my representative:

From: Chimamanda Adichie

Date: Wed, Feb 14, 2018 at 2:06 PM

I’m writing about X

She attended my Lagos workshop two years ago and I selected hers as one of a few pieces I published after the workshop.

Apparently I was referred to as her ‘mentor’ and/or she was referred to as my ‘protege,’ in some articles, which led to her tweeting about it. Her tweets were forwarded to me by friends. In them, she reacted quite viscerally to my being called her ‘mentor’ and her being my ‘protege.’ To be fair, she is not technically my ‘protege,’ and it is perfectly fine that she feels this way, but her ungracious tone and the ugliness of the energy spent on her tweets surprised me.

I recently received her book and noticed that my name was included in her official book bio. I was stunned. Surely if she is so strongly averse to my being considered a person who has been significant in her career, (which is my understanding of the loose use of protege/mentor) then it is unseemly to make the choice to include my name in her bio. I found it unusual, as I don’t think I’ve seen it done before in a book bio, but I also now find it unacceptably cynical.

It is only reasonable for a person who sees my name as it is used in her bio — ‘her work has been selected and edited by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’ — to assume some sort of mentor/protege relationship.

To publicly disavow this with a tone bordering on hostility and at the same time so baldly use my name to sell her book is utterly unacceptable to me.

I’d like you to please reach out to her publishers and ask that my name be removed from her official book bio. I refuse to be used in this way.

After contacting her publishers, my representative wrote:

They have asked whether your preference would be to remove the Acknowledgment to you in the back of the book also, in future reprints.

I replied:

I don’t think that is my decision to take, and so will not answer either way, although it would be ideal if she herself made the decision to do so.

On the subject of how to go about it, I was absolutely determined not to be used by this person, but I was also sensitive to the costs the publisher might incur, as this was not in any way the publisher’s fault. Instead of pulping the already printed copies, I asked that the jackets be stripped and rebound. To my representative I wrote:

I’m completely determined that I not be used in this opportunistic and hypocritical way. But I want to make sure to proceed reasonably.

I was assured that my name would be removed and I moved on.

But from time to time, I would be informed of yet another social media post in which this person had attacked me.

This person has created a space in which social media followers have – and this I find unforgiveable – trivialized my parents’ death, claiming that the sudden and devastating loss of my parents within months of each other during this pandemic, was ‘punishment’ for my ‘transphobia.’

This person has asked followers to pick up machetes and attack me.

This person began a narrative that I had sabotaged their career, a narrative that has been picked up and repeated by others.

The normal response would be to ignore it all, because this person is seeking attention and publicity to benefit themselves. Claiming that I have sabotaged their career is a lie and this person knows that it is a lie. But if something is repeated often enough, in this age in which people do not need proof or verification to run with a story, especially a story that has outrage potential, then it can easily begin to seem true.

My addressing this lie will indeed get this person some attention – may they bask in it.

Here is the truth: I was very supportive of this writer. I didn’t have to be. I wasn’t asked to be. I supported this writer because I believe we need a diverse range of African stories.

Sabotaging a young writer’s career is just not my style; I would get no benefit or satisfaction from it. Asking that my name be removed from your biography is not sabotaging your career. It is about protecting my boundaries of what I consider acceptable in civil human behavior.

You publicly call me a murderer AND still feel entitled to benefit from my name?

You use my name (without my permission) to sell your book AND then throw an ugly tantrum when someone makes a reference to it?

What kind of monstrous entitlement, what kind of perverse self-absorption, what utter lack of self-awareness, what unheeding heartlessness, what frightening immaturity makes a person act this way?

Besides, a person who genuinely believes me to be a murderer cannot possibly want my name on their book cover, unless of course that person is a rank opportunist.

PART THREE

In certain young people today like these two from my writing workshop, I notice what I find increasingly troubling: a cold-blooded grasping, a hunger to take and take and take, but never give; a massive sense of entitlement; an inability to show gratitude; an ease with dishonesty and pretension and selfishness that is couched in the language of self-care; an expectation always to be helped and rewarded no matter whether deserving or not; language that is slick and sleek but with little emotional intelligence; an astonishing level of self-absorption; an unrealistic expectation of puritanism from others; an over-inflated sense of ability, or of talent where there is any at all; an inability to apologize, truly and fully, without justifications; a passionate performance of virtue that is well executed in the public space of Twitter but not in the intimate space of friendship.

I find it obscene.

There are many social-media-savvy people who are choking on sanctimony and lacking in compassion, who can fluidly pontificate on Twitter about kindness but are unable to actually show kindness. People whose social media lives are case studies in emotional aridity. People for whom friendship, and its expectations of loyalty and compassion and support, no longer matter. People who claim to love literature – the messy stories of our humanity – but are also monomaniacally obsessed with whatever is the prevailing ideological orthodoxy. People who demand that you denounce your friends for flimsy reasons in order to remain a member of the chosen puritan class.

People who ask you to ‘educate’ yourself while not having actually read any books themselves, while not being able to intelligently defend their own ideological positions, because by ‘educate,’ they actually mean ‘parrot what I say, flatten all nuance, wish away complexity.’

People who do not recognize that what they call a sophisticated take is really a simplistic mix of abstraction and orthodoxy – sophistication in this case being a showing-off of how au fait they are on the current version of ideological orthodoxy.

People who wield the words ‘violence’ and ‘weaponize’ like tarnished pitchforks. People who depend on obfuscation, who have no compassion for anybody genuinely curious or confused. Ask them a question and you are told that the answer is to repeat a mantra. Ask again for clarity and be accused of violence. (How ironic, speaking of violence, that it is one of these two who encouraged Twitter followers to pick up machetes and attack me.)

And so we have a generation of young people on social media so terrified of having the wrong opinions that they have robbed themselves of the opportunity to think and to learn and to grow.

I have spoken to young people who tell me they are terrified to tweet anything, that they read and re-read their tweets because they fear they will be attacked by their own. The assumption of good faith is dead. What matters is not goodness but the appearance of goodness. We are no longer human beings. We are now angels jostling to out-angel one another. God help us. It is obscene.

[champion-leon-imagines]

Chronicles of Galar - Chapter 3: A loss & Gain of trust

This chapter is kinda sad at first. As a warning, a minor (and non-canon) character death that hit you hard and you don’t know what to do.. then you meet Leon and everything changes. Your level of friendship increases and he gives you comfort in a way, no other person would ever be able to give you. Comfort!Fluff.

"[Y/n]..", Cynthia's voice was sad and battered and that alerted you directly. Cynthia rarely called, and only when it was important or bad news. Her pitched voice suggested the worst. "I hate to have to say something like that over the phone .. ... Grandmother died .."

Your eyes widened and tears began to run down your cheeks. You had expected all sorts of things, but this news threw you completely off the mark.

"W-what ..? W-How ..? She was very healthy and not yet that old .. ", you mumbled sadly and clutched your smartphone tightly while more tears ran down your face. Professor Carolina, the village elder of Celestic Town and grandmother of Cynthia, was like a mother to you. Carolina had cared for you since the beginning of your trainer career. Since you lived in Sinnoh for several years and lived with her, the two of you cultivated such an intimate and harmonious relationship. Her death news had torn the ground from under your feet.

"She had a heart attack .. Caused by an allergic reaction after she had been exposed to the poison of an aggressive Roserade .. Roserades release a special toxin that has so far remained undiscovered by researchers, as they only eliminate it when they are really feel cornered and have to protect their offspring .. Grandmother had found a nest and wanted to study it from a safe distance, but one of the Roserades has lost its nerve. She fought for survival in the hospital for days, but .. ", Cynthia said and could no longer speak through her own tears .

"For days ...? And you call me NOW ..? Cynthia, I would have left everything and gone to Sinnoh .. "

"I didn't wanted to ruin your adventure in Galar. None of us expected that Grandmother ... would not survive .. The doctors also said at first that she was recovering nicely, but then her condition deteriorated so rapidly .... And then I was just too occupied and sad that I forgot to call you earlier. I am so sorry.."

You felt terrible. Not only because of the loss, but also because you screamed at Cynthia like this for not letting you know sooner. "Don't apologize .. I'm sorry if I sounded harsh .. I .. can't believe it .." you mumbled sadly and wiped your face.

"We all feel that way in Celestia Town.. Believe me .. The .. funeral is next week .. on Wednesday ... Are .. are you coming ..? "

"Of course I'll come .. Cynthia, thanks for everything you've done for me. I'll never forget Carolina .. I'll see you on Wednesday .. I love you, big sister, okay ..? "

"I love you too, little sister .. take good care of yourself."

With these words, Cynthia hung up and you dropped to your knees to completely give in to your emotions. You were crying so loud that your brother and his fiancée ran from the study straight to your room and wanted to know what was going on.

It wasn't long before you felt overwhelmed by the comforting hugs and words of your real family. You gently pushed the two of them away and stood up. "Sorry .. But I would like to be alone for a moment .. I'll go for a walk ..", you said and walked to the door.

"Now..? Do you took a look outside? It's raining cats and dogs. Take an umbrella with you at least. ", Aki said , worried and crossed her arms.

"I don't mind .. It's just water .. I'll .. I'll come back later, okay ..?", You smiled sadly and raised your hand to say goodbye before you just stormed out into the rain. Aki shook her head and collapsed onto the hotel couch. You and them currently stayed in Motostoke.

“I never realized how close the relationship was between her and Professor Carolina. Her death hits her as hard as if a family member had died. ", Aki said quietly.

"She was a family member for her." Mamoru began sadly. “When [Y/n] lived in Sinnoh after our parents started to argue daily, the professor behaved like a mother to her. She raised [Y/n] without hesitation, and became more or less like a little sister to Cynthia. Professor Carolina was the caring mother, our mother couldn't be at that time. So I understand that her death takes [Y/n] with it ... ", he explained.

"Shouldn't we then follow her and be there for her?", Aki insisted. Mamoru shook his head slightly.

"No. She said she wants to be alone. My sister is strong. She won't do anything stupid. Let's give her some time. And when she has recovered, she will come back and then we can still be there for her. ", he smiled confidently.

"If she hasn't caught pneumonia by then.", Aki sighed slightly. Mamoru smiled sadly.

“Then we mustn't blame her. This is what she needs least of all at the moment. "

You ran around aimlessly in the rain for a few minutes until you lost your strength and sat down on a wet bench. Your clothes were soaked and your hair was stuck to your face so that you could barely see anything. But you didn't really care about that at the moment. You pulled back your knees and put your arms around them as you leaned your head on your drawn knees and sobbed softly into them. You couldn't even say goodbye to Carolina .. You wanted to tell her so much, show her so much .. So many things were unsaid .. For example, how grateful you were that she welcomed you so warmly .. How much you appreciated you had learned and how much you  loved to bake Christmas cookies with her one last time .. that was all over now. That thought just didn't go into your head.

Minutes passed. The minutes turned into hours and the rain just wouldn't stop. It was like the heaven cried for her too. Not that it helped in any way, because your own tears just wouldn't stop. At some point you could only hear the rain, but the droplets didn't seem to hit you anymore.

'Have my senses become so numb that I can no longer feel the rain on me ..?' You thought bitterly and then looked up. You blinked perplexed when a red cape was stretched over you. You saw Leon, who was holding his big cape over him and you and protecting both of you from the rain.

"You didn't choose a good day to sit out here." Leon laughed slightly until he saw that it wasn't just rainwater that had moistened your face. Your gloomy eyes made his smile fade and he held the cape over you more generously. "Did you .. cry ..?" He asked quietly. Normally you would have been happy to meet him here, but under the current circumstances, you couldn't utter a single word. Instead, you bit your lip to hold back more tears. Unsuccessful as it seemed, because more tears ran down your cheeks again and made you sob softly in response.

Leon seemed a little overwhelmed. How should he behave now? Nobody has ever cried in front of them, especially not a woman. The purple-haired man looked around for help until he noticed that his hotel was not far from here. "You don't have to speak right now, but we should get dry first, don't you think so?" He smiled and you nodded slightly when you got up. Then, under the protection of his cape, you ran to the hotel. As he entered, Leon called the receptionist to bring fresh clothes and a towel to his room. And a hot tea. You two went to an elevator and drove to the floor where his room was.

Once there, Leon took the towel and rubbed your hair dry. Then there was a knock on the door and the room service had brought a sleeping gown that you could slip into for the time being. Leon gratefully accepted the  gown and handed it to you.

“I'm going to have a look after the tea. So you can change in peace. ", He smiled and patted your head lightly before he got up and left the room. You looked after him slightly. The tears finally stopped, but you still felt miserable. Although another emotion was budded in your heart. A warm, pleasant feeling.. You were glad that someone was looking after you at the moment .. and he was so thoughtful.

A few minutes passed before there was a knock on the door. "It's me," Leon called. "Can I come in?" He asked, not wanting to burst in while you were changing. You thanked him very much for his courteous manner.

"Y-yes. I've already finished dressing. ", You said a little broken. The door opened and Leon held a small tray with the tea on it. He saw you on the hotel bed. The towel around your shoulders and in the hotel's white night gown. He smiled a little, because you didn't seem so exhausted anymore. After placing the tray on the bedside table, he sat down next to you.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Terrible .." you replied quietly. "But better than before," you added after seeing Leon a little worried.

"Would you like to talk now about what happened?" He asked further, looking at you.

"... The woman who practically raised me ... and was like a mother to me ... died." You wiped away the new tears and sobbed softly. "She was such a wonderful person .. Why did she have to die so early .."

Leon was silent for a moment and then looked sadly at the floor. His hands clenched into a fist and he didn't even know how to react.

"Professor Carolina ..?" Leon didn't even had to guess, since he already knew a lot about your past. You nodded sadly and Leon's face grew sadder. "I'm really sorry about that .. My deepest condolences .." he said sadly.

"Thanks ..", you mumbled and hugged yourself, trying to find some warmth.

"If I can do anything for you .. Tell me.", He offered you and you looked next to you. You swallowed lightly and sighed.

"Can you .. just hug me ..?" You asked softly. Leon blinked slightly. Although you had met a few times, both of you hardly had any physical contact so far. Except for a short, half-hearted hug as a greeting. This time it was different.

"Of course," he replied immediately and put his arms around your trembling body to pull you close. You buried your face right in his jersey and wrapped your arms around his stomach.

"Thank you ..", you whispered softly and muffled when you felt how he caressed your back soothingly.

"Don't mention it." he said and hugged you to give you the greatest possible comfort. You and Leon lingered in that embrace in silence. Your sobs grew quieter and your breathing became calmer. At some point the purple-haired man noticed that your eyes were closed. You must have fallen asleep. Leon smiled a little and laid you on the bed properly before covering you and caressing your cheek. Then he looked at his smartphone, which was about to remind him of an appointment. He got up and wanted to go when he noticed how you grabbed his hand and prevented him from going. "[Y/n] ..?"

"Please don't go now .. I .. don't want to .. be .. alone ..", you stuttered with half-open eyes. Your [e/c] irises shone from all the weeping and Leon looked at you desperately. He thought about his appointment and sighed. Then he put his other hand on top of yours and smiled.

"Alright. I'll stay with you. ", He said and sat down on the bed again. You smiled gratefully and pressed his hand to your cheek.

"Thank you ...", you mumbled softly and then held up your other hand, asking that he lay down next to you. Leon smiled and lay down next to you to pull you into his arms and hug you. You both looked at each other for a while before closing your eyes and falling asleep.

On the next morning, Leon's voice woke you up. He didn't sounded angry, but a little louder than usual. And he seemed to be talking to someone. You opened your eyes and blinked when you saw Leon pacing up and down the room.

“I told you Oleana. I couldn't meet with President Rose on this appointment because there was an emergency. ... a private emergency. No, it didn't concern me personally, but ... ... Now please listen to me. ", Leon sighed and rubbed his face in annoyance. You just couldn't talk sensibly to this woman. “Of course, I am aware of the consequences if I fail to keep important appointments for no good reason. But the reason was important to me. And I don't care if you see it any other way. … Yes, then tell President Rose that we will postpone the appointment until next week. ”He hung up and sighed deeply again. "I wouldn't want to work with this woman .." he mumbled quietly and turned around. He saw that you were awake and looked at him in shock. "Oh..“

"You had an appointment with President Rose yesterday ...?" You asked and Leon averted his gaze guiltily. "Why did not you say anything..? I wouldn't have held you here if I had known that you had an important appointment .. ", You said ashamed and straightened up.

"You needed someone.", Was his only answer when he looked at you again. His words only made you more shocked.

"You had put my well-being over your appointments ..?", You asked incredulously and put your hand over your mouth. Leon smiled and walked towards you when he put his big hand over your head.

"Of course. I can always make up or postpone appointments. But you cannot control your feelings. That's why .. it was more important to me to be there for you than to give Rose another stupid interview about why I'm the unbeatable champion. ", He said with a charming smile.

You felt like you were about to start crying again. This time, however, not from grief. The warmth of this man simply took in every fiber of your body and you literally threw yourself into his arms after these words. Leon blinked in astonishment before putting his arms around you and hugging you again as you buried your nose in his neck.

"I-I'm sorry, only because of me...Because of me your schedule got messed up .. I'll make it up to you, I promise," You said quietly. Leon laughed softly before pulling away a little and caressing your cheek.

“If you want to make it up, then .. I know of a small, cozy ice cream parlor. That serves the BEST Alcremie sundae in Galar. How does that sound? ”He asked and winked. You smiled and your grief was almost forgotten for that moment.

"Sounds good."

Since that day the friendship of you had reached a new, more intimate level.

[criminalcarwash]

Hiya sweet Freyja - I’ve asked for advice from you before and it’s always been really helpful, so I’m back here once again in a bit of a sticky situation. I recently reconnected with someone who I dated very very briefly about three years ago. We’ve been hitting it off, and I still really enjoy their company. We both established that we’ll be keeping things friendly because I’m in a non-open/monogamous relationship with my partner. And while it has been friendly, there’s these moments where things feel extremely flirty because of how our personalities are. I try to tone it down on my end, and they’re still respectful but like… I think there’s definitely feelings. They’re undefined and a bit murky, but they’re there. I know that we don’t stop being attracted to other folks just because we’re in a relationship, but this feels different and wrong to my partner. I feel like there’s a lot hanging in the balance here - I don’t want to lose this friendship, but maybe taking a break from it will be better for my relationship. Or maybe all this is an indication that I’m not in the right place for monogamy, but that would mean letting go of my partner and (selfishly) I don’t want that to happen, at least not without thinking it over a lot more. If you have any thoughts on how to sort of introspect on the matter maturely, please help a sister out ❤️

Hi honeybun! I have been thinking a lot about this, and there really aren't many good options. Normally I'd recommend talking to your current partner, but I'd worry that this will just freak them out and put them in the awkward position of either telling you to stop seeing the new person or pretend they're okay with it when it makes them super paranoid. If you try to tell this other person that you've noticed things getting flirty and a little dangerous, that will only make it 10x hotter to try and behave yourselves. Same for only hanging out in group settings. The fact that it feels wrong to you tells me a lot. Ultimately, people and their relationship to monogamy can be fluid and change depending on all kinds of factors, so it is possible that you're currently not feeling monogamous and that staying that way will be too restrictive for you. It could also just be that this new person is just new and exciting and temporary, and you'd regret walking away from your relationship with your current partner for that. I feel like the best option right now would be to take a break from this new person and evaluate how you feel after a couple weeks of that. See if you still find yourself thinking about them a lot, or was it just a little crush? Feel free to keep me posted and let me know how it all goes! Good luck sweet pea!

[okayto]

Mini-Review: Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!

I’m so glad @littlestartopaz​ recommended this to me, because it was SO GOOD.

Yuta wants to start high school afresh: new school far from home, new classmates who don’t know he spent middle school acting out the fantasy of being the mysterious and magic “Dark Flame Master,” new him. But one of his classmates has delusions of her own, and after she accidentally discovers his embarrassing past, Yuta is unwillingly drawn into her life and a growing circle of friends with their own quirks.

The “chunibyo” of the title basically means “8th grade syndrome;” a phase in middle school where some kids inhabit and act out their own fantasy stories, positing themselves as dark magicians, magical girls, and other wielders of magical powers.

I had avoided this for a while, until it was specifically recommended to me, because honestly, it sounds embarrassing, right? It sounds like it’s gonna be an embarrassing manic pixie dream girl scenario. But what it actually contains is the story of how a mixed bag of students--some actively chunibyo, others not--become friends and develop very endearing close relationships, while arguing and frustrating each other because that’s what friends do.

Now, the idea of being the star of what’s essentially your own fantasy-action anime is embarrassing, but what’s notable is that the show doesn’t really hold the chunibyo characters up for mockery. Sure we might laugh at them, but hey--it’s funny to watch friends be silly together. And most viewers, just like some of the characters who have moved on from their chunibyo phases, probably easily understand the mix of soul-wrenching embarrassment and (mild?) fond sentiment that comes with remembering our middle school selves.

But let’s be real: the reactions the two former chunibyo students, Yuta and Shinka have to being reminded of middle school, are #RELATABLE

Rikka, our title chunibyo, in particular uses her fantasy in part to cope with grief, coming from an extended family that (without getting spoilery) didn’t help a young girl to deal with a very hard and life-changing time. Now that she’s in high school, her older sister blackmails Yuta (using an a voice recording of one of his chunibyo speeches) into helping deal with Rikka and things (like the cat she wants to adopt) that pop up.

One thing the show is very good at, though, is not making a single thing the reason behind a character’s chunibyo. One may have started their fantasy inspired by another person, or prompted by an event, but it’s also (while active) part of their personal narrative that influences how they spent their free time, how they see the world and keep blogs or diaries, etc.

But at the same time, they’re still teenagers, and their inner view of themselves...doesn’t always translate skills.

I said the show is primarily about friendship. A lot of that friendship is between Yuta and Rikka, but they accumulate a little group, mainly through Rikka’s attempt to start a magic club. Recruit 1: Kumin, a polite, quiet senpai with no chunibyo history or aspirations.

Kumin starts off seeming like a background character, but by the second season it’s clear she’s not just there for jokes about how she’ll take a nap anywhere. She’s perceptive, and genuinely enjoys watching the others act out their scenarios.

Compared to the other characters who are boisterous in their chunibyo activities (Rikka, Deko, Satone), or vociferously trying not to get drawn in to chunibyo activities (Yuta, Shinka), Kumin is happy to watch and offer encouragement, but she’s also willing to participate if a chunibyo scenario calls for a group.

Incidentally, the show does a really interesting thing where occasionally, we’ll be drawn “inside” the chunibyo world, seeing what Rikka/Deko/whoever see: a fantasy land, big magical weapons, anime-grade magical attacks. Occasionally we’ll also see what this “really” looks like--a couple people running around waving umbrellas at each other--but often we only get the fantasy version. It’s clear that Rikka and co. are legitimately on some level engaging in a shared imagination, and the times when a reluctant character (particularly Yuta or Shinka) willing steps in to the shared illusion are genuinely sweet.

Speaking of, Shinka (aka Morisummer) became one of my favorite characters. Like Yuta, she was chunibyo (”Morisummer the magician”); like Yuta, she chose a high school where she didn’t know anyone expressly so she could reinvent herself as a normal teen. And like Yuta, she’s getting dragged kicking and screaming into chunibyo again.

It would’ve been so easy to make her a bad character. She’s pretty, puts a lot of effort into being popular and likable at school, trying to keep up a good teen girl image, despite being fairly sarcastic at her core. And as loathe as she is to admit it, she likes her friends (even if she won’t admit they’re friends, even if half of them are actively chunibyo, even if she says she’s only hanging around so she can make sure all traces of chunibyo-Morisummer are erased from the internet).

Shinka gets drawn in to the group through Rikka’s apparently only pre-existing friend: Deko, a fellow chunibyo who follows Rikka (or “Eye of the Wicked Lord Shingan”) as her master, and is extremely devoted to the great magician Morisummer. So devoted, in fact, that she has several physical copies of Morisummer’s book containing all her wisdom...aka Shinka-Morisummer’s blog, which Shinka has tried to erase all trace of.

Needless to say, the two don’t seem to get along great.

Deko’s dedication to chunibyo and Morisummer irks Shinka; Shinka’s claim to be Morisummer irks Deko, who refuses to believe the great magician could ever be this sarcastic, mundane girl. Deko’s refusal irks Shinka, bringing out the sarcasm and bluntness Shinka tries to hide from the school at large.

Obviously, they actually become close friends, but heaven help you if you actually say so.

The entire series is an exploration of relationships, and Yuta’s developing closeness with Rikka (hey, we knew it was going to happen) is also sweet. He’s a genuinely likable boy, embarrassed by the vestiges of his former self he sees in Rikka, but often willing to meet her on her level, and both of them also learn/reaffirm the importance of doing things their way, and keeping both of them comfortable, rather than acting a certain way or performing specific acts just because their classmates think their relationship status mandates it.

Speaking of classmates--and I know this is getting long but I CAN’T HELP IT, I LIKED SO MANY ASPECTS OF THIS SERIES--the characters aren’t ridiculed at school. Sure, some people think they’re weird, but there’s no shunning, no arc involving teasing or bullies. Rikka’s often content as a loner, but when she attempts to join in a social circle, she’s welcomed. Shinka’s obsessed with reinventing herself and appearing normal and seems to think that otherwise she’ll be cast out, but multiple characters mention that others at the school notice how she behaves (oddly, on occasion) and there are no social repercussions. Truly nice for a show that has characters spending quite a lot of time in school.

Verdict

English dub? Yes, and it’s got strong performances. Rikka’s voice actor in particular does a fantastic job capturing the difference between chunibyo!Rikka’s confidence and command, and regular!Rikka’s, well, normal awkward teenageness. (Plus, I also found her lower-than animegirl-average voice enjoyable.) (Double plus, I honestly think her English voice is better than her original Japanese voice at showing the difference between her emotions and chunibyo/reality.) Deko’s VA is fantastic showing the enthusiasm of the 9th grader (and what enthusiasm, Deko is like the Energizer Bunny), and Shinka’s VA manages to show her alternating annoyance, cheerfully sweet ideal self, and organizized leader voices.

Visuals: Fine, and I really liked the chunibyo designs for each character’s chunibyo phase. The contrast between chunibyo-vision (giant magic weapons; mysterious lights, fantasy landscapes) and reality (an umbrella or soup ladle; a strip of lights taped to the floor; a local park) was really well done.

Worth watching? Yessss. It’s very manageable--two 12-episode seasons--and while each season contains its own arc (you could stop after the first one, but why), together they make an excellent story. Heck, I think the second season is equal to, if not better than, the first, because the friend group is well-established and even more fun to watch.

Where to watch (USA, as of October 2020): Netflix (dub, sub); Crunchyroll (sub), HIDIVE (sub & dub, plus OVAs and film)

Click my “reviews” tag below or search “mini review” on my blog to find more!

[piratefalls]

A McDanno rec list for a new friend. (These are also authors I enjoy, so consider this a blanket rec list.)

The Bareknuckle Poet by pleasebekidding

After a serious accident left Steve temporarily wheelchair-bound, working towards his recovery, he enrolled at Rutgers for a year. He met Danny Williams in his criminology course, wearing pride pins and chipped black nail polish, so sure of himself that Steve found it breathtaking. What happened next redefined Steve's sense of self, his ambitions, and many of his priorities.

Tax Benefits by renecdote

“Everyone already assumes we’re married so maybe we should just...” Danny gestures broadly with his beer. He’s maybe a little bit… Not drunk, but definitely tipsy.

“For the tax benefits.”

Danny gives him an aggravated look. “Yes, Steven, for the tax benefits.”

Danny (jokingly) suggests they should get married. Steve takes him seriously.

ua kaha aku la ka nalu o kuu aina (the surf has pressed upon my land) by icoulddothisallday, TetrodotoxinB

Steve knows, he learned, how a man behaves. He can play his part. Danny, who is a good man and great father, looks nothing like what Steve was taught. Reconciling the two means giving up everything he's clung too for the last two decades, and there's nothing about it that's easy.

*potentially triggery AF (deals with effects of conversion therapy) but beautifully rendered

the art of leaving and saying goodbye by Verasteine

2007 is the year Danny learns that choice can be the worst kind of heartbreak. AU.

*warning for infidelity (not mcdanno)

in jest by apathyinreverie

“No, babe,” Danny shakes his head with a grin. “If the apocalypse were to go down while I’m elsewhere for some godforsaken reason, then you stay put and I’m coming to wherever you are.” His grin widens. “And I expect you to have cleared any aliens or zombies or whatever else might be messing with us off the island and to have set up a nice, comfortable military dictatorship for us to rule over by the time I get back.”

It’s a joke.

Of course it’s a joke.

Until it isn’t.

(A the-day-after-tomorrow-style apocalypse AU, where the world decides to end right when Danny is visiting one of the other islands with Grace. Because, of course, it does.)

not just friendship (romance too) by earthquakedream

Steve's gone and gotten himself a boyfriend. Danny's not sure what worse: the fact that he's stupidly jealous or that he actually likes the guy.

All I Ever Wanted (It Comes with a Price) by leviarty

Steve gets shot. Again. Danny is not okay.

* warning: a young grace shoots someone to protect both herself and a gravely injured steve

After All Our Troubles, We Have This by Banshi13

"I'm ending this," McGarrett muttered after a few moments of silence. "I'm not coming back until Wo Fat is in the ground. I'll dig his own grave and bury him myself if I have to, but my father is dead, my mother is running all over the world in hiding, my sister and I were uprooted from our lives, and now he's got Danny locked somewhere in a basement in the middle of Japan." He looked both Chin and Kono in the eye, deadly resolve in his eyes. "This ends. Now. This is the absolute last time that man interferes with my life and my family."

The Other Guy by haldoor

Danny tells Steve what he thinks is a funny story from when he attended Grace's school play. Steve doesn't think it's so funny; in fact, it makes him jealous.

Strapped by stellarmeadow

Steve's determined Danny's going to be prepared next time.

Warm to the Touch by veronicaluv

Danny didn't think twice about going to North Korea to find Steve. He just didn't know everything would go to hell when they got back.

Me and my heart (We got issues) by SquaresAreNotCircles

“I’m in love with you, Steve,” Danny says. He does it softly, quietly, laying the words into the darkness of Steve’s backyard like they’re something breakable, something to be tiptoed around. “I thought you should know.”

Steve’s heart jumps. It rams against his ribcage so hard it’s going to leave bruises. So hard he startles awake, and he almost yells before he realizes he’s outside because he fell asleep in one of the garden chairs in his backyard again.

how to be gay for your best friend in ten easy steps by commatme

See, the thing is that Danny doesn’t really do gay sex, what with being straight and all, but when Steve says I love you he sounds so earnest he makes Danny want to consider it. Which is crazy, right? He’s pretty sure that’s crazy, or at least a little unhinged.

It’s Not So Easy Caving In by paradis

The one where Danny used to be a heroin addict.

blame it on the ocean view by carryokee

Danny gives in, freaks out, and comes to his senses.

So Have I Loved You by Brumeier

In which Grace has a surprise for Steve's birthday and there's not a dry eye in the house.

take it back to a couple years yesterday by itsrosencrantz

Danny really, really doesn't want to go to his twenty year high school reunion.

Steve decides they're going anyway, and Danny takes it about as well as you'd expect.

View From The Shipwreck by flowerfan

Danny Williams isn’t in a great place – he’s a reluctant transplant to Oahu and an outsider at HPD. Former Navy SEAL Steve McGarrett isn’t doing much better, having suffered a career ending injury. When Danny’s young daughter Grace wanders into Steve’s bar after getting lost on a school field trip, Danny is drawn to Steve, somewhat against his better judgement – he’s got enough on his plate. He’s not exactly sure what Steve sees in him. As they spend more time together, Danny learns how Steve’s injury has changed his life in many ways, but not the most important ones. As one thing leads to another, Danny realizes that things might be looking up after all.

True North by lavvyan

“Tell you what, my dad’s throwing his annual Christmas Ball on Saturday. It’s not a trip to Aspen or anything, but it is nice. Fancy food and everything. You guys should come!”

On the trail of a suspected war criminal, Steve and Danny have to go undercover at a fancy ball. The sacrifices they make for the job.

Oh, and Steve's pining like the taiga. Nothing new there.

outside the lines by withoutwords

“I’m Detective Williams.” Danny says, not trying too hard to keep it smug free. “This is my partner, Detective Mackenzie.”

Ken Doll keeps his arms up, his eyes flickering between them all as if he's only seeing police for the first time. “Good cover,” he tells Danny, and it sets Danny’s teeth on edge.

“This is the part where you say sorry for assaulting a police detective, for compromising an investigation, and for acting like a complete asshole while doing it,” Danny growls, about to change his mind and cuff the guy himself.

“Sorry, Officer.”

The bastard is still grinning.

Boys Like Me, We Try Too Hard by romanticallyinept

Steve's always wound so fucking tight.

And Danny's worried about him. Legitimately worried about him. Because maybe Steve always lays into the perps a little hard, and maybe he follows his own rules and his own morals and doesn't stop to sleep unless his body's actually shutting down around him, but usually, Steve's okay at the end of the day. Usually, Steve's not leaning against the wall of the alley they're in, eyes closed and shaking, with the perp he'd cuffed a minute earlier lying on the ground and crying about his broken nose.

Steve keeps a secret, and Danny does his best to patch him back up when it comes to light.

Transformative by boxparade

“You know, I’d heard you’d changed a lot after high school, but I’ve gotta admit, this is a little weird.”

* trans (FTM) Danny

All the Way by VictoriaAGrey

Danny has lost count of how many times he and Steve have used the sexual tension between them for undercover work, only for it to be bottled away after the op is over. With Saint Michael as his witness, that ends tonight.

Nocturne in C# Minor (featuring Stevie Ray Vaughn) by minor_demimonde

So, to recap, Danny has beautiful eyes, great shoulders, a pleasantly-shaped butt, a delectable mouth, expressive hands, and he smells good.

You know, Steve has gone to bed with women who didn’t have that much going for them.

seen it in the flight of birds by Siria

AU from the beginning of Season 2. The Five-0 task force has been reinstated, but the new governor's determined to shake things up. Facing changes and unexpected betrayals, the team has to work together to face new challenges.

It Ain’t Me Babe (Nah), It Ain’t Me You’re Looking For (Babe) by tourdefierce

A story in which Danny makes lists and can't find his heterosexuality underneath all his homogay, Steve has a lot of faces, Kono is perfect in every way and Chin continues to keep Hawaii safe from the Five-O's general disfunction—Or, a story about Kono being awesome and how she likes her men with hearts in their eyes for each other.

Ratios, Decimals, and Percentages by fuchs

In which Steve takes an internet quiz and slowly loses his mind. Danny's okay with it.

Let’s Dance Like We Used To by AndreaLyn

There isn't a world in which Danny wouldn't go after Grace. So when Rachel moves the family to California, Danny goes with. Steve gets left to process life without Danny.

Gunfire, Rainfall, and Beach Erosion by thegrrrl2002

Steve and Danny are kidnapped. After which there is too much swimming and too much rain and it's all very romantic. If you are Steve, that is.

Moving In (To Every Single Aspect of Danny’s Life, Including the Boring Bits like Dry-Cleaning by westgirl

It felt wrong for Steve to sound unsure of his place in Danny’s life. His place in Danny’s life was at Danny’s side, driving him slowly insane. Steve should feel secure about that.

Always Known What I Wanted To Be by mickeysixx

Grace Williams has always wanted to be a cop.

The Taper Phase by popfly

It’s like being run over by an armored car, like the impact of gunshot to tac vest. The pride Danny feels for his daughter and something else, something about Steve’s tank top sticking to his stomach, the way his shorts stretch across his thighs. The goofy grin that lights up Steve’s face when he sees Danny and Charlie, waving one hand while he nudges Grace with the other.

Pitching Woo by SBG

In which Danny pitches (and then accidentally catches) woo.

clue: four letters, ‘is a many splendored thing’ by armillarysphere

“Crosswords? What are you, sixty?”

“They stimulate brain activity, Danno. You ought to try it sometime.”

Steve doesn’t even look up from his newspaper, half-chewed pen resting at the corner of his mouth in an entirely too distracting way.

That’s Not Just Friendship, That’s Romance by thismuchmore

Danny and Steve start out accidentally dating each other, and it turns into something more.

it’s not what you’re sure of (it’s what you don’t know) by somehowunbroken

Art thief Steve McGarrett and his team come up against FBI Special Agent Danny Williams, and things spin wildly out of control from there.

Same Deep Water by JiM, kalena

This isn't the first lifetime Danny's been in Hawaii. When the stress ratchets up, the dreams get more and more real. Turns out Danny has some unfinished business . . . with Steve.

Warning: Ambien use may lower inhibitions in a wakeful state.

Curiosity Didn’t Kill This Cat by unadrift

"I'm confused," Rachel says. "Are you two dating or not?"

Danny sighs. "You remember that thing with the cat in the box? The one that's both dead and alive?"

"Schroedinger's cat?"  

"It's kind of like that."

"Okay," Rachel says. She clearly has no idea what he's talking about.

2727 Piikoi Street by imaginary_iby

The ways in which Danny makes himself at home by Steve's side, and the family he gains as the years go by. (Featuring Steve in Timberland boots and little else, and happy goofs who like to make out against the front door).

All The Earth Awaits Thee by Portrait_of_a_Fool

Steve knows all about war and willpower, but this is still the hardest battle he’s ever had to fight.

* warning: life threatening illness, no MCD

The Vertical Challenge by AlamoGirl80

Five times Danny thinks about his height, and then realizes that being "not-tall" doesn't really suck at all.

Some Things to Think About When You Decide to Be an Asshole by sutlers

Steve gets high and tries to fuck Danny; things devolve from there.

Inked by thehoyden

Of course Steve is enjoying himself. They're bait for a serial killer who has some sort of serious hangup about tattooing loved ones' names on their skin -- of course Steve thinks this is practically like a vacation, but better, because the chances of collateral damage are higher.

This Thing Of Ours (It Needs a Better Name) by leupagus

Cosa Nostra: (kō'sə nō'strə) etym: Italian n. The branch of the Mafia operating in the United States. Literally, "our thing" or "this thing of ours."

Ho’oponopono by ember_firedrake

Groundhog Day AU. Danny finds himself trapped in the same day over and over again.

Swim for Brighter Days by zarah5

Danny kisses Steve late on a Tuesday, early on a Wednesday. Steve punches him. (Set vaguely post-finale, so spoilers for that.)

All My Guards Away by sheafrotherdon

Tag to episode 1x18, with all the heartache that implies. Now with bonus fixes. With thanks to dogeared for all her suggestions and edits.

Let’s Take it from the Top by pterawaters

Steve goes along with the bachelor-party-in-Vegas, because he chose Danny to be his best man, and that's what Danny wants to do. Unfortunately, the things that happen in Vegas don't necessarily stay there.

How to Keep Your Mouth Shut by primetime

Danny’s sometimes gay. Gay, sometimes. Does dudes. He doesn’t know how to say it right. He doesn’t know how to say it at all.

Don’t Turn Me Home Again by gyzym

After a rough day of island living, Danny wakes up in New Jersey and learns the hard way to be careful what he wishes for.

End-Around by t_fic

Steve hesitates with his hand on the doorknob, looking back over his shoulder at Danny and nodding once before disappearing inside, and yeah, Danny is going to be so fucking lucky to get through this night without a coronary event.

Lonely People Do Stupid Things by waketosleep

Danny decides to show Steve the true meaning of Christmas, and does it by dragging him to New Jersey.

Down Beneath the Waves by samjohnsson

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes it takes another thousand to explain it.

Love’s a Battlefield (and the Navy Did Not Train Steve for This Shit) by cyerus

The Kalakaua-Kelly clan are determined to matchmake Steve. Out of desperation, Steve makes up a boyfriend named Danny.

It doesn't quite go according to plan.

put your mind at ease by eleanor_lavish

Somewhere in the last year, while Steve was busy killing bad guys, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has been erased from the books and guys like Jeff can marry whoever they damn well please.

You’ve Got Hawaii (and all I’ve got is you) by queenklu

In which Danny has issues, presents, and Steve fleas, not necessarily in that order.

Jaws by JoeLawson

Danny has a secret.

[realityshiftingandblogging]

Explaining My DR

⚠️ Before you read, please keep in mind my DR is based from a lot of mythology. Please do not feel offended (I mean you can feel offended but I mean please don't feel like I'm purposely trying to offend you) if your group is not mentioned (such as magic users) or if they are misinterpreted. It's a DR based from the past and from old mythology and lore. It isn't going to be the same as the present. We are also using old terms and meanings. It's also based from an anime too. ⚠️

⚠️I'll also be updating this from time to time if I find more information I want to place. So if you ever get bored, just head on back and see if anything is new! ⚠️

Click read more to see~

What is my reality based from?

Mine is heavily referenced from an anime called "The Ancient Magus Bride." The anime itself is beautiful, and based off of many legends and mythology and it somehow blends together beautifully.

My reality is going to be somewhere in the 1700's (but without slavery and a few wars) because I am sharing my DR with my online friends (and those I classify as my online "Family") and we decided we wanted to see how much history we could change.

So far, we have decided to save Marie Antoinette.

The reality itself has "fae" who don't like to be called "Fairies" and would rather be called "neighbors." They are friendly, in their own way, though some can be aggressive but we have decided that we are safe from those and won't fight them. But here's a catch - you can't see them unless you have "The Sight." Some people do have the sight such as mages (a rare form of magic user in our reality) or "Sleigh Beggy" otherwise known as "Slay Vega."

Slay Vega's have the ability to see and attract fae. As Wiki put it:

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Sleigh Beggies are a type of human who have a natural affinity towards the fae and other supernatural entities, drawing their kind towards them unintentionally. Because their bodies naturally absorb magic but they typically lack the means of controlling it, they die fairly young. This is why, despite the fact that there are more Sleigh Beggy than natural-born mages, their numbers are few and far between. Sleigh Beggy are highly prized by both other sorcerers and fae. The former because their organs naturally absorb magic and so they can be used as batteries for magic and the latter because they are naturally drawn to them as they view Sleigh Beggy as being closer to their kind. This often brings them misfortune as well, because the fae drawn to them will act against their wishes, more so for those who are not gifted with the Sight and cannot see the fae. The fae's goodwill does not always result in the happiness and, when left to their own interpretation, their love and loyalty manifests into both luck and ill fortune. Sleigh Beggy unconsciously absorb a lot of magical energy, but lack the means of expressing it unless they are trained in magic or other methods. As a Sleigh Beggy draws attention from Fae, they will have little difficulty becoming mages if they find a mentor to train them and be capable of powerful magic.

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I will be a Sleigh Vega/Beggy but I will also have immortality, so I won't be hurt by this magic absorption; because of this the fae will be attracted to me and I can help my s/o with his magic too.

Other than Sleigh Beggys, what are there?

Well there are many magic types. For my DR we have

Sleigh Beggy: The rarest of all the types, even to the point they are even unheard of. They have the abilities of both a mage and sorcerer. They passively absorb and exude magic energy. Almost unlimited. However, their bodies are still human and they will eventually have pain from the constant strain. Fae are attracted to this type but their friendship isn't always beneficial to Sleigh Beggies. A Sleigh Beggy without a mentor or teacher may feel cursed being around them as they can't understand the world around them or why the Fae behave as they do.

Mages: Are magic users who absorb magic and cast spells using it or they borrow magic from Fae. However, this is draining for the caster.

Sorcerers: They are different from other magic users. They turn their own energy into magic to perform sorcery. Unlike the Mages, they don't contort or use the Natural Laws by breaking them, instead they study these laws and manipulate said laws.

Witches: Are magical users similar to mages, but the difference is they dive into more forbidden arts and choose to gather in groups known as covens.

The History Of Magic:

In the new age of mankind, some humans could perform what we know as "miracles.' They could see beings known as fae. Or live fairly longer than others. As time went on, these people passed on techniques, knowledge, skills and shared with each other what is now known as "Magic." Those who could possess it were known as "Mages."

But as time went on, less and less humans were born with this ability and due to the "Great War" many magical users died. Ever since then, it was unusual, rare, and strange to find humans with this ability. Eventually, this was hidden from the world to ensure the safety of the magic users.

Overview Of Magic

Magic is a result of using the energy inside your body or using the energy of the world around you. This is a process that is referred to as "Magic" or a "Miracle." While magic users can use the worlds natural laws or the use of magical beings they can also use magic with chants or wands.

For some sorcerers, they have a magical core that can "act" as an internal organ which generates magical energy. It can pass on through generations genetically. Sometimes there are some born with non-magical parents.

Magic can be used in many ways. The results vary depending on the use such as shape, form, or requirements needed. It can be used for teleportation, purification, and giving life to inanimate objects. It can also be used for attacks like summoning spikes, thorns, using shadows or light, or breathing fire.

Magic can also be used by Artificers, like Angelica, who makes magic tools such as rings or wands.

What Are Fae?

Fae, or Neighbors, are a race of magical beings who can use, conjure, or absorb magic for themselves or other beings. They can be found everywhere around the world, but they are most commonly found in Tir Na nÓg which is ruled by Titiana and Oberon.

This silly couple:

There are many different types such as Ariels, Banshees, Church Grims, Brownies, Changelings, Elfs, Fire Sprites, Muryans, Selkies, and Vodyanoi!

Each fae is capable of something different and some are friendly, and some are aggressive. Similar to humans XD.

Random Things About My DR

➭ Even though it's set in the 1700s we have plumbing and pipes for baths, phones we can use to contact eachother and see media from Jean's reality (a very close friend of mine), and we plan to make some technology early. Because why not???

➭ We plan to mess up history a bit because we want to see how much we can change. And before you say "that's forcibly changing lives" technically no. It's not like the CR. Period. It's the 1700s where magic exists. We're not forcing a change in anyone's life. We're just going to mess with historical events that were bound to happen one way or another. #and they literally could've changed with or without us.

➭ There's a magic library where fae can exist alongside humans without any issue. No one can harm eachother within the library. It's also a rest good place to nap and it's really cozy.

➭ We live in a small cottage away from the village, it has a small pond and a garden. And just along the path in the back there's a forest. Keeping going down the path and you'll find a passage to Tir na nÓg.

➭ What's Tir na nÓg? It's an old legend of a place where you never age, that is, if you can get there. It's a place full of fae and where the king and queen of fae live. The plants never wither or die and it's always lively.

➭ My DR backstory is that I'm born as a king's daughter. I have a brother and a sister. That's all. Father and brother are Castelios which is a family that was given powers by the demons or fae from the Great War. They tend to scare everyone, due to their aura, except close family. Not even close friends are used to the aura. Though my sister and I didn't develop this, which is rare. I'll shift around the time I first meet my dad and brother after my mother left me and my sister with them. (No it won't be traumatizing, it's just my choice.) I'll grow up within the castle walls and learning magic from my brother and sword fighting from my sister. I'll eventually convince my dad to let me go outside the walls, to which he agrees, where I'll try to mess around with history a bit. On my 16th birthday I'll meet Elias Ainsworth in the greenhouse outside the walls when I snuck away at night. A huge chunk of years later I plan to already be a mage under his mentoring and be married by then, and the cottage is just our choice despite having an estate somewhere else. I only have until age 18 scripted so far but if you ask in like.... a week from now I might have something fjsbdjsnskssm

➭ There's a hunting event where any knight (male or female) can enter and so can royalty. A person from their familiy (or really anyone) can give them their handkerchief and whoever's handkerchief they had will recieve all that they hunted. It's a way to symbolize popularity, typically you'd want the biggest game or the most. For example if I have my s/o my handkerchief then whatever he hunted will go to me. Similarly if he gave me his then whatever I hunted will go to him. The more admired a person is, the more handkerchiefs a person has to give out and they have more game.

(If you're anti-hunting I am very sorry if this just offended you so please don't @me djeanjss please.)

➭ We have a room in the library that has many windows leading to different DRs. There's a wall full of keys that open the windows because the windows can't be broken or opened without a key, phew. When you look through each window it has a different scenery because each is a different DR. They are usually labeled and if you want to enter that reality you have to open the window and to right through. That's how Jean and I get to eachothers realities and also contact eachother. We decided to connect our DRs in a way.

My Desired Reality Members:

First, my DR husband!

Elias Ainsworth!

He is a mage who is both fae and human, though no one knows why he was this way and it was hinted that he was cursed. He also my mentor who will teach me magic.

Appearance

He's taller than most humans, reaching around 6'7". Because of the curse, he doesn't look human though will take a human form using magic. He likes to decorate his horns with gold string that holds a red cloth to cover his face.

A Mood board of him:

Personality

He's very kind and polite (to most) but he's... not antisocial but not social either. He has a hard time relating to people (big mood) but he's like that because he has no understanding of the emotions he feels nor does he remember anything of his life before. Because of this, he's extremely fascinated with emotions. He decided to adopt a "gentleman" mannerism to seem more friendly. He closely studies others but finds it a bit hard to follow their example. He doesn't tend to lie - but if he doesn't know you or knows you slightly then he leaves out any bit of information and tries to hide things. Once you get to know him, he's not so secretive and more child-like. But despite that, he's very willing to make up for, amend, and apologize for any childish behavior that was out of line.

Jeans comment on Elias: "Elias: nice, tall, protective and sweet from what I know, lowkey shy and is trying to understand humans and in the anime is learning emotions AND AJJSJDJSJD thats so SWEET, has lots of money-"

His Magic Abilities

He can manipulate the shadows and he leans toward destructive magic. He can hide in the shadows and create thorns. This gave him the name, given by the fae, "Child of Thorn" or simply "Thorn" as well as "Pilum Murialis." He can also shapeshift and remove memories.

Myself! Online, I go by a few names but in any DR it's Estelle.

Appearance

I'll have waist length black hair, styled in either a braid or simply let down. I have pale skin, blue eyes, and a small birthmark on my collarbones.

Mood board of myself:

Personality

I'll have the same as I do here but I felt really weird typing it out so I'm going to use how my friend described me!

Jeans opinion on Estelle: "Estelle - very soft and caring, maternal I’d say, great listener, really fun to talk to, shy and introverted but SJDJJDKFODOSOSOD when she comes out of her shell, has lots of nice memes, overall a good person to talk to about problems or just to have fun with and MEME, video game and reading nerd HAJDJDJSJKS, sympathetic and empathetic, smart, understanding"

Skills

Mental link: An ability shared with Ruth. We have a shared mind and memory.

Shapeshifting: I can shapeshift into a Pheonix which I'll mainly only use for fun.

Healing: I can heal, either by a chant or with the help of fae or tools

Light manipulation: I can manipulate light and use it against or for people

{Before I get onto the subject about my kids. Yes, I do know them in the CR. I have raised Adam and Asher despite us being close in age, I've always been the more "motherly" figure in my friends and relatives lives. (And I have recently became a mother figure for Nutmeg for about three years now.) I've organized the appointments, cook, cleaned, been there emotionally and so on. I am Asher and Adams aunt as well, so before you ask "Isn't that weird?" In my opinion, no. There are many people I've met who are the same and just straight up become the mother figure in someone's life. I am young, but I've been doing this job for years and a few comments aren't going to stop me from my job.}

Artificer: I have artificer abilities that I typically use to make a creature called a "Maker." They simply like making things. They're smart but really emotional and made from fabric similar to a doll. They like to swear masks and they basically look like a fabric version of a Korok.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg will be my daughter in the future. She is also a person from this reality who sees me as a mother figure and I see her as a daughter. So we agreed this is something we wanted to do. How it will work is she will try shift to the future of my DR after i've been married for a few years. (And before you say "That's not possible!" or "That won't work!" Let me make it clear I said "try." We are going to try this and we have a code to and we scripted that if this isn't possible, the other us wouldn't know the code.) Nutmeg is the youngest of all of my kids.

Appearance

Nutmeg has hazel eyes with a yellowish color and freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. She likes styling her brown and reddish hair into pig tails and she's typically seen in yellow.

Mood board of her:

Personality

She is very kind and doting, especially towards her siblings. She's not big into typical school but wants to go to the magic college for magic users. She likes baking and flower picking! She's very sweet towards fae and tries her best 100% of the time. A hugger and also someone who would bONK you if you upset her brothers or really anyone she cared about.

Jean's comment on Nutmeg: "Nutmeg - I’ve not talked to her much BUT SHES THE CUTEST WITTLE ANGEL BEAN, she’s super nice, worries/panics a lot for people from what I know, extremely caring, big gay and we love it (i once said to Estelle nutmeg can be a cottagecore lesbian and I just JSKSKSJDJDJ), loving towards y’all and it just makes me JSKDKDKDMDMMFJF"

Her skills

She has more celestial and healing magic that she got from my side. She can manipulate light, heal others, and manipulate the stars or use them as guides.

"Hey sweetie can you please not move that..."

Asher, Adam, and Her who secretly plotted to move the stars to prank astrologists with Jean's kids:

Adam

Another person who's shifting with us. He's the oldest of the siblings and he's a person I've actually raised in the CR from an early age.

Mood board of him:

Appearance

He has red eyes, taking after Elias and black hair that takes after me. He's the tallest of all the kids and typically has the more "mature" fashion by wanting to wear suits or formal attire.

Personality

He's typically the type to be stern and distant but once you know him he's more open and kind. He doesn't like people who judge and he's usually the type to do stuff he most certainly shouldn't jump into it. Adam to Asher in our Discord server: "Hey so LETS INVENT BOMBS."

Jean's comment on Adam: "Adam - smart, literally what the fuck, he’s really nice and a big home dog,,, literally like a big brother like I feel like he’ll be there when you need him, SMART DID I MENTION SMART, has an exterior shell but thats why you have to take things with him at a pace, super fcking sweet like with his stupid ex but god dammit that was sweet"

Skills

He can destroy things like Elias, summon fire, and can summon thorns. He can teleport and he has his artificer abilities that were taught by Angelica and I.

Asher

Asher is the middle child and also someone I've raised. Asher and Adam are related to me and each other in the CR as well.

Appearance

Asher has white hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. He likes the color blue and green so he typically uses it in any piece of clothing he owns. He mentioned he will wear blue more often to compliment his eyes and make his darker horns more apparent.

Mood board of him:

Personality

He's really sweet, caring, and attentive. You tell him once you like one small thing and he will remember it for years. He's really hyper and full of energy unlike his other siblings who are much more calm than him.

Jean's comment on Asher: "Asher - chaos, chaos, chaos okay anyway tbh really funny, has funny ass memes and random ass thoughts that are funny, loves affection, caring as well since I see how you care for nutmeg especially, loving and sweet, smart and retains random info like JFJDKEKDKDK-, space boy and religion boy, meme, sarcastic, 10/10 humor, energetic and extremely fun, someone you’d want at a small party with friends to hype everything up, loves kids and animals"

Skills

Asher can manipulate fire and electricity. He has super speed and super hearing, along with enhanced strength.

Silver Lady!

Also known as Silky or Silver! She was a former Banshee before being transformed by Spriggan (Titiana's bodyguard sort of speak.) She's our housekeeper.

Appearance

Silver likes to wear a, pink, Victorian dress with a matching shawl and bonnet. Her hair is blonde and short and her eyes are a shiny pink.

Mood board of her:

Personality

She doesn't chat much and often has a stoic or deadpan facial expression. But despite that, once knowing her you learn and are exposed to her emotions. She tends to dote on guests that she likes but will simply ignore those she doesn't trust. If someone she doesn't like enters the house for business, she will hover over me or the other residents and simply ignore the guest. Silver also has a sense of humor and enjoys playing pranks every now and then. She likes sewing hearts into clothes where we won't notice. Silver tends to only stay within the house or near the house, due to her past home being ruined she fears that if she leaves she will be forgotten or left behind.

Her Skills:

Silky/Silver is able to do housekeeping magic. She can change details of the house, including wallpaper or the floorboards using a simple spell.

Ruth, A Church Grim

Ruth is my familiar who can shapeshift between being a Church Grim and Human.

Appearance

Ruth can shapeshift between his two forms. A Church Grim, which is a large black dog which reaches to my rib cage in height. In this form, he has red eyes. In a human form however, his eyes appear brown or somewhat red. With he has light brownish skin and black hair. He likes to sweat striped shirts :D

Mood board of Ruth:

Personality

Ruth is very doting and diligent. He uses our mental link which causes a shared memory, feeling, and lifespan, to tell others how I'm feeling if I can't put it into words. He's also protective and won't hesitate to b0nK someone across the head. He's more of a big brother to those he's close with.

Skills

Familiar skills: He shares a lifespan with me, can share dreams, and be summoned from long distances through a mind link.

Shadow: He can hide in my shadow if needed.

Angelica Barley

Angelica is a mage and artificer. She owns her own magic shop that is hidden behind her book shop.

Appearance

Angelica has sharp features, and typically braids her hair up to show them off. She's commonly seen wearing sleeves when working because of the crystals that were embedded in her arms from an accident.

Mood board of her:

Personality

She's kind but stern. Typically, to new mages she acts as a distant mentor. She takes pride in her work but she's also cautious due to her accident. She's possibly one of the only people that can tell Elias off, and she won't hesitate to do it.

Skills

Angelica has the sight similar to that the mages possess. Just like mages, she can borrow magic from fae and she's quite knowledgeable about it too. As an artificer, she embeds magic within tools or makes them with the purpose of magic. She had a Vodanoi named Hugo who is bound to her, he's a prankster but sweet nonetheless. Hugo and Angelica have longevity. This means that they both have increased life spans and she hasn't aged much at all.

Lindel

Lindel is a mage and the current care taker of the Dragons. He was both Elias and Adolf's first master.

Appearance

Lindel is a human and despite being a thousand years old, he looks to be in his 20s. He has pale skin and blonde hair that be ties or braids that frame his face and blue eyes. He typically wears a hood and robe with odd designs on the hood and back piece.

Mood board of Lindel

Personality

Before he became a Mage and Keeper Of Dragons, he hated fae. The fae caused him many problems which caused him to isolate himself. But now, he is calm and playful and he takes pride in his job as the dragon keeper. Despite his usual demeanor, when it comes to the dragons he isn't so kind to poachers.

There are many other people I'll be getting to later such as my dad, my brother, my sister, my friend and her kids and s/o, other important people, etc. But for now I'm tired ainjsndjwsn

[talpup]

Summary: Yami Sukehiro just wanted to join the Magic Knights and make his mentor proud.  He knew there would be trails.  He knew trouble would come his way.  Knew he would be faced with discrimination for being a foreigner and a peasant.  What he didn’t know.  Didn’t expect.  Was that literal Chaos would come his way.  That he and his mentor’s sister would be at the center of world ending trouble.  Or that he would fall in love with his mentor’s sister and face more than discrimination; but the jealously of Nozel Silva who loved the same woman he did.

Please remember this fic is rated mature and has warnings of violence, abuse, sexual tension, eventual sexual behavior, and other possible triggers.  For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

Someone asked about Teris’ riding dress.  If interested you can go to my Tumblr’s homepage to see pics of what Fuegoleon and Nozel’s preferred choices were.

Chapter 73

When Nozel exited the dress shop yesterday to find a non-murderous Teris, he had been worried.  An angry Teris always meant one of two things. A murderous Teris.  Or a simmering silent Teris.  But Teris hadn’t exploded at him.  Nor had she given him the silent treatment that all but promised she was quietly letting her anger stew as she brewed plans of vengeance.

Instead she had done something more worrisome than any outrage or silence. She had spoken to him as if nothing happened.  Even Fuegoleon had been taken aback by that never imaged reaction.  Too unsettled, it had taken Nozel till supper to come to the dumbfounded realization that Teris wasn’t holding his knowledge of her measurements against him.  Simply put, Teris Nova was incapable of bluffing her lack of anger that well.

Still relieved the next the morning, Nozel sat to his Father's right at the breakfast table with Teris to his left.

“The Decoration Ceremony will be held this afternoon, followed by an informal gathering with finger foods so eat up while you can.” Nathyn instructed Teris and his children.

“Will my brother be returned by then?”  Teris asked.  It wasn’t so much that she wanted to see more of Fyntch; but being alone with the Silva’s felt a little too much like a sampling of a future she refused to be a part of.

“I don’t believe so.”  Nathyn answered.

In fact the Silva knew Fyntch wouldn’t be returning since it was he who had ordered the Nova patriarch away for the day.  Nathyn wanted Teris to arrive at court on his sons arm, not behind her brothers shoulder.  He wanted Teris and everyone else at court to be reminded who she was meant for.  Who she, despite Leonidas words to the contrary, belonged to.

Looking down the table at Teris, Nathyn assured.  “I’m sure your brother be back by the morrow.  I doubt he would want to miss your birthday.”

“If only all this could have waited a year.”  Nebra pouted.  “Then I too would get to stand before the court and be honored.”

“What makes you think that?”  Solid laughed.

“Because I would have been a Magic Knight and part of brother, Nozel’s, team.”  Nebra said.

Unlikely as that was, Nozel didn’t dissuade his sister her fantasy.

“One of the Kings men will be by shortly after breakfast to fetch you and walk you through the ceremony.”  Nathyn told Nozel and Teris.  “I doubt there will be much time to change after, so as soon as you’re done with your breakfast, excuse yourself and dress for the ceremony.”

“In that case.  Please excuse me, my Lord.”  Teris said, setting down her fork and wiping her mouth.

Nozel quickly stood, pulling out her chair and helping her to her feet. Nathyn and Solid stood as well, Nathyn’s eyes watching his eldest son excuse himself and following Teris out.

Appearing hopeful, Solid asked.  “May I be excused as well, father?”

“No.” Nathyn told, retaking his seat and turning his attention to the mornings paper.

Outside the breakfast room Teris sighed.  “I’ll be glad to be rid of dresses and stupid shoes, if only for a while.”

Teris had been surprised at how easy it was to be open and friendly with Nozel after Mereoleona’s words yesterday.  As much as their relationship strained every time Teris was reminded she was Nozel’s intended, or Nozel hinted at his romantic affection; Nozel truly was a dearly beloved friend.

Teris had thought of and occasionally mourned the lost she would suffer in Fuegoleon.  But she had foolishly never really considered how her friendship with Nozel would suffer once things came to a head.  Of course it would be so much worse between Nozel and her than her and Fuegoleon.  She would be refusing to wed Nozel after all.  With all the royals and nobles knowing they had been intended to wed since they were children, the hit to Nozel’s pride alone would create a rift that time would never fully heal.

“What do you mean rid of dresses and proper shoes?”  Nozel questioned.

“For the ceremony.  We’ll be wearing our squad cloaks.”  Teris said.

“Yes.” Nozel cautiously agreed.  After a beat, he said.  “Teris.  You are aware that you’re expected to wear the riding dress.  Right?”

Teris’ brows furrowed.  “What?”

“Why else would we have picked one?”  Nozel questioned.  “It’s not as if we had any plans of going out riding.”

“But I’m a Magic Knight.”  Teris argued.

“You are also a royal lady.”  Nozel replied.

“But I’m going to court to be recognized for my deeds as a Magic Knight, not as a royal.”  Teris said.

“Which is why you are allowed to wear a riding dress instead of a proper court gown.”  Nozel said.  “You know these things.  At least you should.  How do you not?”

Teris shrugged.  “I skipped a lot of ladies guild stuff before they kicked me out.  Even when I went I never paid attention.”

Nozel sighed heavily.  How could he love a woman as irregular and insufferable as this?  They were so different.  There were so many things about her that bothered and annoyed him to no end.  But as much as he wanted to mold and tame her, he didn’t want to change her.  Of course she’d have to look and act the part of his wife and represent the family as Lady Silva.  And he hoped that Teris would come to find some enjoyment in doing what was socially expected of her as Lady Silva.  But Nozel also wanted Teris to keep some of her wild and free ways.  So long as they were kept privately between them.

Still, this was a lapse in her teaching that shocked even him.  Did Teris truly think she could show up to court and stand before the King in her everyday clothes?  Granted she had been allowed stand in court like that the day the war had been announced.  But that had been a completely different circumstance.  Magic Knight or not, Teris was a royal lady.  And considering she would wed him, she would always be a royal lady.  The same couldn’t be said of her always being a Magic Knight.

Looking at her, Nozel bid.  “Riding dress.  Please.”

“Fine.” Teris rolled her eyes.

Was it the entire royal court or just the men of court that demanded the women of rank constantly be harassed by unyielding skirts.  Bound up in corsets.  And at the mercy of a mans assistance for the simplest thing such as sitting down and standing up because of such stupid uncomfortable shoes and garb.  At least riding dresses were less voluminous and bore far less unnecessary frills.  Teris repeated Mereoleona’s sagely words in her head.  Who knew if she’d ever be in court as a royal lady again.  Not that she would miss it.  But as Mereoleona had said, it was something that would soon end.  Never to happen again.

Teris gave Nozel a smile.  “Thanks for making that clear.”

Nozel blinked.  He watched her turn off toward the guest wing wondering if Teris had somehow traded places with a transformation mage.  His brow lifted.  The Black Bulls had a Transformation Mage.  His eyes narrowed.  No, he thought shaking his head.  Even Teris wouldn’t dare do such a thing.  Besides, Abril was far more ill behaved and lacking in proper courtesies than Teris was.

Continuing down the hall, Nozel turned the corner to his quarters.  He was quickly grabbed and roughly pulled.  Nozel cloaked himself in mana only to let the cloak drop when he saw his would be attacker was Fuegoleon.

“What in mana’s name?”  Nozel jerked free of the mans hold.  Noticing the Crimson Lions state of disarray and dark circles under blood shot eyes his nerves were put edge again.  “What’s the matter?”

Fuegoleon stepped to him.  “I have to know.”

Nozel stepped back.  His rival was not acting at all like himself.  Between Teris and now Fuegoleon, Nozel was beginning to wonder if he was experiencing a lucid dream or some sort of unfunny joke.

“Know what?”  Nozel asked.  He took another step back when Fuegoleon took another step toward him.

“I have to know.”  Fuegoleon repeated.  His violet eyes shot about the hallway, making sure they were alone.  “Did you know?  When did you know?”

“Know what?”  Nozel asked again, impatience rising.  He had an hour at most to prepare before the Kings man came to walk them through the ceremony.

“About Yami!”  Fuegoleon whispered harshly.  “Did you know your father tired to have him killed?”

Nozel’s eyes snapped around the hall.  Grabbing Fuegoleon roughly by the arm, he dragged the Vermillion to his soundproof chambers.  Closing and locking the door with a click, he spun around to face the Crimson Lion.

“Who told you that?”  Nozel demanded hoarsely, keeping his voice low despite the quarters soundproofing.

Fuegoleon shook his head.  “No one.  I heard it.”

Nozel’s eyes widened.  “Heard it?  From whom?”

“So it is true.”  Fuegoleon had hoped that his father and Mereoleona had been wrong.  Or that he had somehow misunderstood what they had been talking about.  Not that their words and meaning hadn’t been clear enough.  “Did you know?  Of course you knew.  You would have reacted differently if you hadn’t.  When did you know?”

Growling, Nozel gripped the Vermillion by his crimson squad cloak.  “Who did you hear it from?”

“I didn’t mean to.”  Fuegoleon told, feeling guilty for overhearing his father's private conversation.

“Who!” Nozel demanded.

“My father and Mereoleona were discussing it.”

Nozel looked away cursing.  Slowly, he let go of Fuegoleon’s cloak and stepped back.

“When did you know?”  Fuegoleon asked.

Unable to look him in the eye, Nozel spoke to the floor.  “My father summoned me to Silva Manor one day.  Had me sit in front of his desk and told me what was about to happen.  There was nothing I could do.”

Fuegoleon exhaled in relief.  “So you weren’t a part of it.”

Nozel’s head shot up.  “Of course I wasn’t a part of it!  You know me. How could you even think such a thing?”

“Sorry.” Fuegoleon apologized.

“Yami knows--”

“Yami knows!  He knows your father--”  Fuegoleon stopped, unable to say the terrible words again.

Nozel nodded.  “We’ve—talked about it I guess you could say.”

“And?”

“And...” Nozel sighed.  “Even if my father were to hire and send people a second time, I’m pretty sure they’d meet the same fate as the first.  As much as it pains me to say it.  Yami is a formidable opponent.”

“A second time?”  Fuegoleon repeated.  He stared a moment at his friend.  “So did you not know about the first time?  Or did Lord Silva try again without informing you?”

Nozel blinked.  “Pardon?”

“I heard them.  My father was rather upset about yours trying not just once but twice.  Even admitting that there could have been more that they weren’t aware of.”  He stared a moment, concern and dread coursing through him.  “Nozel.  Just how many times has your father attempted to have Yami taken out?”

Nozel shook his head, mind in a daze.  “I... only knew of the one.”

73.2

It was telling to how busy they were that five days after the war had ended Greywright was just now meeting with Sir Jorah to discuss King Morris’ ten minute talk with Teris.  The Knights Commander had already sent the Wizard King his report of the discussion; but reports didn’t allow for an incidents nuance or questions Jorah might have.  So a few minutes had been carved out for the Wizard King to ask those questions and Greywright to relay those nuances.

Jorah got right to the point as soon as the Magic Knights Commander entered.  “What do you think King Morris hoped to gain meeting with Teris Nova like that?”

“You read in my report saying King Morris tried to get her to agree to a conversation before I was ever brought in.  I’m sure he would have led their talk down a completely different path if I hadn’t been there.  But with me present Morris had to be more mindful.  Honestly, I think he was trying to get a feel for her.  You read the questions he asked.  More stuff a friend would pose.  Nothing overly alarming, other than his last words and the amount of detailed info he had about her.  But we already surmised he had spies watching her and Yami.”

Jorah nodded.  “Morris tipped his hand with that last question.  Purposefully so, I would image.  He’s smart.  And thanks to the disturbing amount of information he seems to have gathered on Teris, and probably Yami, I wouldn’t be surprised if he knows those two are in a relationship.  Likely knows the Nova’s and Silva’s intend for Teris and Nozel to wed, and Teris’ unruly plans to disobey her family’s command.  ’Would you consider coming to live here?’” Jorah repeated Morris’ last question and sighed.

Whether Yami Sukehiro followed Teris Nova into banishment or not; that was something the Wizard King could not allow.  His duty to protect Clover Kingdom and its people meant he would have to kill the girl before letting her be banished and go to either the Diamond or Spade kingdoms, possibly aligning with them. Light magic was just that rare and powerful.  And if Yami Sukehiro did follow her into banishment…

“You did good ending things before she answered Morris’ question.”  Jorah said.  Still, a seed had been planted in Teris’ mind.  ‘When the time comes, know that I would accept you and Yami into my kingdom.  Such powerful weapons would be a welcome addition to my ranks.’ Jorah thought of Morris’ parting words to the girl and sat back.  In two years time things could potentially be a real mess.  All because a spoiled royal girl wouldn’t do her duty and wed who her family told her to. “Do you think Morris was trying to appear friendly to her?”

“If it was anyone other than King Morris, I might be tempted to think so. Other than his parting words, there were a few questions he asked that stood out.”  Greywright answered.

“And those were?”  Jorah prompted.

Greywright glanced at Ellara entering and replied.  “Morris asked Teris how she liked being a Magic Knight.”  He caught Ellara’s eyes dart to him, her shoulders stiffening ever so slightly.  Was it the mention of Teris that had the Advisor reacting?  Greywright chided himself. Humoring Julius’ concerns about Ellara was making him paranoid.  He went on.  “Morris asked if she was happy here.  Happy with her family.  Had closed friends.  Basic, simple questions.  But also questions that would give him a better idea of her allegiance and contentedness here.”

“We already knew Morris was interested in Yami and Teris.”  Jorah said.

Greywright nodded.  “Like you said, Sir.  He tipped his hand with his final question and parting words.  Odd that he didn’t ask that last question sooner though.  Like you said, he’s smart.  He had to be as aware of the passing seconds as I was.  Yet he saved such a question for last.  Waiting till time was close enough for me to call its end.”

“You think Morris timed it thus?  Knew you wouldn’t allow Teris to answer?”  Jorah asked.

Ellara set down a stack of papers in front of the Wizard King and shuffled through a pile at the end of his desk.

“I’m sure of it.”  Greywright said.

Jorah clicked his tongue in annoyance.  “So Morris asked questions that gauged Teris’ happiness here to see if she could be tempted to the Diamond Kingdom.  Then remind her of the banishment she might face. And say that he would welcome her and Yami.”

“There’s little doubt in my mind Yami would follow her if things ended with Teris banished.  If Morris could get them to willingly seek refuge and home in the Diamond Kingdom—”

“That’s not going to happen.”  Jorah cut in.

“What’s that?”  Greywright asked.

“Teris being banished because of her unwillingness to do her duty as a royal daughter.  If that girl does remain a stubborn brat, and refuses to bend and obey her family's command, I may be forced to act.”

Greywright and Ellara shared a look wondering what the Wizard King would, or even could do.

“But that’s a possible problem for a later date.”  Jorah went on. “Right now I am more disturbed about King Morris knowing Yami and Teris are in a relationship.”

“Sir?” Greywright’s eyebrows knitted together.

“You think Morris and other ill intents wouldn’t exploit their relationship for their own aims?  That they wouldn’t take and threaten one to bend the other?  The Agents of Chaos already used similar methods against them and found success.”  Jorah shook his head in tired displeasure.  “The less people who know about their relationship, the better and safer it is for them and ultimately us.”

Thinking about Lord Nathyn Silva having hired two gangs of assassins to kill Yami, that they knew of, Greywright couldn’t help but agree.

“Sir, it’s time.”  Ellara said, looking at the timepiece behind the Wizard Kings desk.

“Yes, yes.”  Jorah got to his feet.  Straightening his robes, he told Greywright.  “The decoration ceremony for our acting Magic Knights Captain and his squad.”

“One of the few good things to come out of the war.”  Greywright commented, proudly.

“As trying as these days have been, I’m going to enjoy this.”  Jorah agreed.

73.3

Teris hadn’t been keen to arrive at court on Nozel’s arm.  A part of her wondered if that was why Fyntch had left for the day.  It was odd though.  While Nozel always took on an overly formal persona when in the Kings Palace, he never did so to this extent.  More than that, he had been acting odd since this mornings breakfast.

Nozel’s inexplicable distant quiet had turned Teris solicitous.  With the ceremony over, she and Nozel made their way with everyone else to the informal gathering held in one of the Royal Residences many gardens. Her hand fidgeted on his.  Short as the ceremony had been, Teris had figured Nozel would’ve been happy.  Proud.  They had done more than survive the trek into the Diamond Kingdom.  They had completed the task the King and Sir Jorah had given, winning peace for the kingdom. But instead, Nozel was lifeless, merely going through the motions.

After trying and failing to get Nozel to converse with her, Teris broke down and asked.  “What’s with you?”  When he didn’t respond but continued leading her to the garden in line with everyone else, she stopped walking and turned to him.  “Nozel.”

Nozel’s eyes slid to her, his face unreadable.

“Are you mad at me?  Cause I’m really trying here.  After what Mereoleona told me—ow!”  Teris winced.

Nozel’s hand turned under hers, clasping and squeezing her fingers too tight. Teris tried to pulled her hand free, the rings on her fingers bruising in his unforgiving grasp.  But Nozel’s grip remained firm.

“Excuse us.  Pardon me.”  Nozel said, his position and upbringing making him mindfully polite as he weaved between nobles and fellow royals, pulling Teris along.

Teris was half led, half dragged down the main hall and then rushed down a side hall.  Her skirts, tight corset, and stupid shoes making it impossible to keep up with his pace.

Nozel flung the doors to a withdrawing room open, startling two courtly lovers.

“Out!” Nozel snapped, barely giving them a look as he entered, pulling Teris in behind him.

The lady slapped the gentleman for whatever reason and stormed out.  The nobleman bowed.  “Your Highness.  My Lady.  Congrad--”

“Out. Now.”  Nozel growled dangerously, cold blue eyes turning on the nobleman.

“Highness.” The man gave a hasty bow and raced from the room.

Nozel closed the doors and turned to Teris, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders.  “What did Mereoleona tell you?”

Out of breath and confused, Teris stared up at him.  “I--I don’t-- What--”

“Tell me.  What did she say?”  Nozel commanded.  His hands tightened on her shoulders.  It was a struggle to take care and not shake her.

Teris winced and tried to free herself from his grasp.  “Nozel.  You’re hurting me.”

Nozel barely heard her, his racing heart roaring in his ears.  All he knew was that Teris hadn’t answered him.  Gripping her tighter, he demanded.  “What did the Vermillion tell you?”

“That this time was fleeting and I should enjoy it before it all changed in a couple years.”  Teris answered, her voice   trembling in fear. Body shaking in pain from his too tight hold.

Nozel blinked.  For the first time he took in her beautiful face filled with a mix of fear, anxiety, and pain.  He realized just how tightly his hold on her was and released her, the fabric of her dress keeping the divots where his fingers had clawed into her.

“S--sorry.” Nozel swallowed and took a step back.  Dazed, he reached behind him searching for something to steady himself.

Eyes glazed with fearful tears, Teris was about to tear into him until she saw how distressed Nozel was.  Her once fearful, angry expression softened in concern.

“Nozel? Are you alright?  Here.  Let’s sit you down.”  Teris stepped to him and guided him to a lounge.  Watching him carefully, she asked. “Should fetch a healer?”

Nozel wrapped a staying hand around her wrist.  “No!  Please, don’t. There’s no need for that.  I’m... feeling better.”

“Liar.”

“I don’t need a healer.”  Nozel assured.

Teris reached out a hand to comfort him, then thought better of it. Thankfully he was staring at the floor and didn’t noticed the canceled movement.  After a moment, she asked.  “What’s going on?”

Nozel took in a long deep breath and exhaled.  “Nothing.”

“There you go lying again.  At least when there was something I didn’t want or couldn’t tell you, I told you as much.”

Nozel lifted his head and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Mana, she was beautiful when she pouted and sulked.  He ran a still shaky hand over his mouth.  He didn’t know what he would’ve done if Mereoleona had told Teris the truth he was so fearful of Teris learning.  He couldn’t imagine what they would do if Teris ever found out what his father had done.  Had attempted to have done. Nozel was positive Teris wouldn’t differentiate between his knowing but unable to do anything, from him being complicit.  Not when Yami’s life was involved.

Heart rate slowing, adrenaline ebbing, Nozel felt silly for thinking Mereoleona would have told Teris about the hired assassins.  His relief made him laugh softly at his foolishness.

Teris’ expression of concern grew.

“It’s alright.”  Nozel assured.  “While I can’t say more.  I can tell you that much.”

Teris looked him over wondering what he wasn’t telling her.

“Stop it.”  He commanded with more bravo than he felt.  “You’ll ruin the surprise I thought Leona told you about.”

Teris’ brows furrowed.  “Surprise?”

Nozel nodded, wondering how he was going to come up with a surprise that even slightly justified his reaction.  Fuegoleon would have to help him.  After all it was the Vermilion's fault for coming to him this morning and dropping all this in his lap.

Worse than learning that his father had made a second time on Yami’s life, was finding out that others knew about it.  Nozel couldn’t help but wonder who else besides the three Vermilion's knew.  What if Yami had told his friends?  No, Nozel told himself.  Yami didn’t want Teris to know any more than he did.  Yami wouldn’t tell anyone and risk it possibly getting back to her.  But if Mereoleona and her father had found out and discussed it where Fuegoleon could overhear, what was there to stop Teris from somehow learning about it all as well?

“Nozel?” Teris prodded after a moment.

“I told, you that’s all you get.”  Nozel said, somewhat harshly. “Sorry.”  He sighed and gave what he hoped was an apologetic and reassuring smile.  “Still working out the details.”  He stood, offering her his hand.  “Shall we?  We don’t want to stay closed up in here over long.  People might get the wrong impression.”

Teris rushed to her feet and quickly made for the doors, swinging them open.  She sneered the small gathering that had been attempting to eavesdrop, watching them scatter like a flock of startled birds.

“That’s my fault.”  Nozel muttered, at her shoulder.

“Yes. It is.”  Teris growled, silently repeating Mereoleona’s words like a mantra.

“I apologize.  Your image and honor is of paramount importance to me.” Nozel told, truly sorry for any whispers about her this might cause.

Teris shrugged.  “Nothing happened.  If they were able to hear they’ll know that.  Even if they weren’t.  Who cares?  We know the truth.”

Nozel blinked.  Was her image and honor more important to him than it was to her?  He thought of how she had so openly cavorted with Yami the night of the Lava Springs and ground his teeth, trying to push the unwanted memory way.

“There you two are.”  Julius said, turning down the hall.  He had seen Nozel pull Teris out of line and had followed as best he could; but too many people had been in his way, many of whom he had to politely promise to find later because they had wished to speak with him. “May I steel my sister for a moment?”

“Certainly.” Nozel gave Teris a slight bow and headed off to the gathering.

Julius gently nudged Teris back into the room she had just exited.

“Stop shoving me.”  Teris snapped.

“I’m not shoving.  Lower you voice.”  Julius closed the doors behind them and turned to her.  “What was that about?”

“I don’t know.  He pulled me in here demanding to know what Mereoleona told me.”

Julius’ brows furrowed.  “What Leona told you?  Why?  What did she tell you?”

“Basically to have a better attitude and outlook on these stupid boring events and the hateful people I’m forced to deal with at them.  To enjoy the societal relations I have while I can.  Which,” she looked at her brother, “you’re making quite difficult to do.”

“And Nozel pulled you in here for that?”

“No. He pulled me in here mid-sentence.  I told you, I don’t know.  It was weird.  He’s been weird since morning.  Even by Nozel standards.”

“So it was nothing you did or said?”  Julius questioned.

Teris glared up at him.  “No, Julius.  It was nothing I said or did.  You got your message across perfectly before you abandoned me to my fate. Yet again.”  She regretted the last bit as soon as she said it but couldn’t take it back.

Julius blinked.  He couldn’t have been more stung if she had slapped him. Just when he thought she had forgiven him for leaving so soon after their mother's death, Teris went and said things like that. Swallowing his emotion, he apologized.  “Forgive me for thinking it was something you’d done.  Nozel isn’t the type of person that would do something like that without great reason.”

Thinking of the stolen kiss in the stables at Nova House and the bruises she’d likely have on her still aching shoulders, Teris muttered.  “You have no idea what type of person Nozel is.”

“What’s that?”  Julius questioned.

Teris shook her head.  “Nothing.”

“Has he done something like this before?”  Julius asked.

“No. Nothing like this has happened before.”

“Teris. You’d tell me if—if he had attempted anything untoward or overly harsh, wouldn’t you?”  Julius asked scrutinizing her every movement.

Teris sighed.  “Really, Julius.  You tell me that you’re busy and won’t be around, and now you pull me in here harassing me.”

“Teris--”

“May I go?  Or is there anything else you’d like to accuse me of disappointing you in?”

“You aren’t a disappointment.  Not to me.  Couldn’t be even if you tired.”

“I’m sorry for my comment about you abandoning me.”  Teris apologized. “It was more than untrue.  It was uncalled for and childishly mean spirited.”

Julius gave her a weak tentative smile.  “You’re a brat.

“Thanks?” Teris huffed, smiling back and making a face.

“Come here.”  Julius pulled her into a hug.  “You’re precious to me.” He told, resting his chin on her head.  “You’re the only thing that gives me pause when I think about possibly one day becoming Wizard King.  To not be able to call or even think of you as my sister...”

Teris’ heart seized.  It was too much.  Needing to lighten the mood least she tear up, she pulled away.  “It’s alright, Juls.  Whether you’re Wizard King by then or not, you won’t be able to do that in a couple years anyway.”

Julius smiled sadly at the effort she made to sound playfully confidant.  As much as she had left to learn, she had had numerous hard lessons in her young life and had learned quickly how best to deal with hardship, going on when others would have broken.

“You would tell me though, right?  About Nozel?”

Teris sighed.  “Julius.  If there was a problem like that, I’d take care of it long before you heard of it.  I can take care of myself. If you doubt me, we can head over to one of the training yards at Magic Knights Headquarters and I can prove it to you.”

He knew she was deflecting which only served to make him certain Nozel had done something.  He remembered finding her crying in the stables at Nova House and piecing together what had happened.  Hopefully that was the only thing Nozel had done to distress his sister.  But Teris was right about being able to take care of it herself.  She had done so in that cell when she and the rest of Nozel’s team had been captured.  It wasn’t that Julius doubted she could take care of herself.  It was that he didn’t want her to have to.  A selfish part of him wanted his little sister to rely on him even though he wouldn’t always be there for her as her big brother.  In any case, she and Nozel appeared to be getting along fine, most of the time at least.  So Julius figured whatever it was, Teris had indeed handled it, forgiven him, and trusted Nozel not to attempt anything like it again.

Given her persistently hard stance, Julius didn’t pressure her anymore and instead apologized.  “Sorry.  I’m well aware you’re a powerful Mage.  It’s only your third year as a Magic Knight and you’re already ranked as a Second Class Senior.  It’s just... Seeing you like this...”  He gestured to her outfit.  “It makes me think of you more as a young lady who may need assistance.”

Teris forced her small smile to hold in place, thinking that dressed in this garb made her feel more like a submissive lady who required assistance.  It was one of the main reasons she hated wearing such outfits.  She wasn’t completely herself in them.  That, coupled with her still dealing with the emotional effects of what happened in the cell was why she had been more frightened than fearsome when Nozel pulled her in the room.

“Then there’s the whole I’m your brother and all.”  Julius shrugged a shoulder and smiled crookedly at her.

“And an excellent, caring brother you are.”  Teris put in.

Becoming serious, Julius felt the need to say.  “But you can come to me. You don’t have to shoulder everything on your own.  As your brother it’s more than my duty to protect you.  It is my honor and privilege.  If anyone did anything that made you feel uncomfortable or threatened, I would hope you wouldn’t feel that you had to handle it on your own.”

Teris knew this wasn’t going to end unless she gave him that much, and so said.  “I know.  And if I wasn’t up to it I would most definitely come to you.  Without hesitation.”  Changing the subject before things became even more uncomfortable or sappy, she said.  “When Nozel and I first entered, there was a couple in here necking.”

“Really, Teris.  Gossip.”  Julius scolded.

“It’s not really gossip if it’s true.  Beside, I know you’re not gonna go around telling everyone.”

“Who were they?”

Teris gave her brother a playful censuring look.  “Really, Julius. Gossip.”

Julius smirked and opened the doors, leading her out.

73.4

Nozel stopped beside the nobleman talking with Fuegoleon.

“Your Highness.”  The man greeted Nozel, bowing slightly. “Congratulations on your Golden Clover Medal of Honor.”

“Thank you.”  Nozel replied, his eyes never turning to the noble.  “Will you excuse us?”

There was a slight moment of confusion on the nobles part as Nozel had been looking at Fuegoleon when he had spoken; but he quickly realized the words were meant for him.

“Yes. Of course, Your Highness.”  The noble bowed at both Princes. “Your Highness’”  There was another moment of awkward silence where the man realized that Nozel didn’t actually want be excused with Fuegoleon; but wanted him leave them.  He clumsily bowed again. “If Your Highness’ will excuse me.”

Despite his stress and the pressing need, Nozel gave a tired sigh surprised that they would let someone so lacking in courtly graces within the walls of the Royal Castle.

Fuegoleon turned to the Silva.  “Sometimes your rudeness even catches me by surprise.”

“Shut up.  I need your help.”

“Well that’s an interesting way to ask for it.”  Fuegoleon commented. “Don’t know how effective--”

“I need to figure out a surprise for Teris.”  Nozel said over the Vermillion.  “A substantial one, but nothing too big that will make her uncomfortable or refuse it.”

Fuegoleon’s eyes narrowed.  “What’s this about?”

“I messed up.”  Nozel confessed.

“You seem to do that a lot with her.  Something else that shouldn’t surprise me but still occasionally does.”

Nozel stepped closer to the Crimson Lion and whispered.  “I overreacted when she said she was really trying due to something Mereoleona told her.  I dragged her off and demanded to know what your sister had said.”

“Why?”

Nozel looked about.  Stepping even closer, he lowered his voice further. “You know why.”

“You thought Leona told her?”  Fuegoleon questioned, voice raising at the preposterous thought.

“Keep your voice down!”  Nozel whispered harshly.

“She would never do that.  Why would you think Leona would do such a thing?  What were you thinking?”

“I clearly wasn’t.”  Nozel growled.

“Clearly.” Fuegoleon huffed.  He went on, sounding offended.  “Leona would never tell Teris.  No one who truly cared about Teris would tell her. I can’t believe you thought Leona had.  Not to mention if Teris knew, she wouldn’t have been calmly speaking to you.”

Hearing Fuegoleon spell it out made Nozel feel all the more foolish, which he supposed was the point.  Irritated, Nozel questioned tersely.  “Are you going to help me or not?”

“I’ll help you.”  Fuegoleon answered.  “For Teris’ sake.  Not yours.”

“I don’t care why you’re doing it, so long as you do it.”

“Because if you screw this up,” Fuegoleon continued on as if Nozel hadn’t spoken, “Teris will wonder why you overreacted.  She’ll start poking around trying to figure out the real reason.”  He frowned at the Silver Eagle, hands curling into fists.  “I swear, Nozel.  If she finds out about all this because of your thoughtless paranoid reaction I’ll kill you myself.  You know it’ll only drive her further away and closer to him.”

Nozel’s jaw tightened at the thought of Yami Sukehiro.  Glaring at Fuegoleon, he clipped.  “Just help me think of something convincing.”

“First, I’ll need to know how badly you overreacted.”  Fuegoleon said.

Nozel made a face, thinking of the way he had grasped Teris.  The way his fingers had ached upon releasing her.  He wouldn’t be surprised if he had left bruises on her shoulders.  He’d be leaving that bit out when he told the Vermillion.  There wasn’t anything Fuegoleon could say about that that he wasn’t already angry with himself over.

“We have a couple of hours between this thing and the royal dinner and ball.”  Fuegoleon said.  “Come to Vermillion Castle and we can talk more freely in my study.”

“Why must I go to you?”  Nozel questioned, tersely.

“Because you’re the one that screwed up.”  Fuegoleon said, heatedly.  And, he thought, Teris will be at Silva Castle getting ready for the evenings events.  He wanted them to be as far away as possible from his cousin while they discussed this.

73.5

Tobin staggered as he shrunk down to his normal size.  “Well that wasn’t easy.  You think we’re just overworked and tired”

“No.” Yami rolled his neck and shoulders.  “They were just that good. And, unlike us they worked well together.”

“That’s not my fault.”  Tobin stormed.  “It was you and--” he gestured to Iban, “--that one.  For a while I thought you two were gonna start fighting each other.  Think this lot did too.”  He kick a toe at one of the magically bound thieves they had subdued.

Yami couldn’t argue against that.  Iban had been staring at him the entire time they had tracked the gang.  That hadn’t bothered Yami so much at the time.  He was use to people staring for whatever reasons.  He didn’t care.  It was the fact that he was certain Iban knew more than he was telling about the whole Chaos and zealots mess. Granted when he had spoken with the Blood Mage out in that field the day Iban had attacked Teris, Yami had believed the answers Iban had given.  But that didn’t mean the man didn’t know anything, it only meant that Yami had asked the wrong questions.  Between Iban first attacking him and later Teris, Yami had stayed on guard and mindful of the Blood Mage.  Treating him as Olsen had suggested a year ago, like a wild Saber Wolf that could turn from watchful to attacking without warning.

They had been doing alright on this mission until Iban had commented that the battle reminded him of a year ago.  Yami had turned quickly to Iban at that.  Iban’s bright golden eyes had been focused on him. The Blood Mage wearing the same stupid smirk he had worn that night in the cave nearly a year ago.  Things had gone downhill fast from there.

Yami sheathed his katana in disgust.  Their difficultly had been of his own making.  He refused to go any further until he made certain such a thing wouldn’t happen again.

Looking at Tobin, Yami ordered.  “Watch them.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re not going anywhere.”  Tobin said, impressed by Yami’s dark magic binding spell.

“Then just stay here.”  Yami snapped.  “Iban.  With me.”  He ordered, making his way to the meadows treeline.

“Woah!” Tobin turned, worried.

“Shut up!  Do as you’re told!”  Yami ordered, without giving his friend a glance.  He might not be Vice Captain yet; but he was the highest ranking Magic Knight here and he’d be damned if he let someone question his command, friend or not.

Iban smirked, eyes traveling from Yami to Tobin and back.  “Yes, sir,” The Blood Mage sang, following.

Tobin watched the two men walk away.  The further they got the more he worried.

Reaching the treeline, Yami stopped and turned.  “I refuse to chance a mission or put a comrade in danger like that again.  Even if it is your creepy ass.  So tell me everything you know and maybe we can put this bad blood behind us.”

Iban’s gold eyes danced.  “Interesting choice of phrase.”

Yami’s left hand rested lazily on the hilt of his katana.  “Why do you think I used it?”

“Most find you dim and slow Yami Sukehiro.  But there is so much you see and know that you never let on.  Tell me, does it suit you to let everyone believe that you are dumb?”

“It comes with far less expectations and the occasional benefit of surprising folk.  So yeah.  It suits me fine.  Now tell me what you know.  All of it.”

“Very well.”  Iban sighed.  He gave a seconds thought and smiled.  “You will not like this but I assure you, all my family’s ties to the Agents of Chaos have long since been severed.”

Yami’s eyes narrowed.

“My grandmother’s grandfather was once the Master of the Agents of Chaos.”  Iban’s smile grew at Yami’s reaction.  “Thought that would get your blood pumping.”  He closed his eyes, breathing deeply from his nose, sensing Yami’s blood as it coursed through the mans veins.  It was intoxicating.

With difficultly, Yami kept his control.  “How is it that the family of a former Master of those crazies now has nothing to do with them?”

“My grandmothers grandfather was outed from his position as Master of Chaos.  Killed in a ritual duel that the members believe Chaos himself oversees and gives his strength to whom he deems worthy.” Iban answered.

“Killed by who?  The Master before Alowishus Spade?”  Yami asked.

“By Spade himself.”  Iban told, enjoying Yami’s struggle to hide his shock.  “Alowishus Spade far older than you or his followers could imagine.  I’m sure even his wife has no idea.”

Yami raised an eyebrow at that last bit, unsure why he found it surprising that Alowishus Spade had a wife.  Women liked all sorts, just the same as men did.  Though Spade was a rare case, pieced together as he was by parts of powerful dead mages.  “How old is he?”

Iban shrugged a shoulder.  “I have no idea.  My grandmother only told me that Spade was at least three times older than her grandfather at the time of the challenge.”

“How’d she know that?”

“Blood magic.  It runs in our family.  And blood does not lie.”

Iban didn’t say that his grandmothers grandfather had thought he had won the duel.  That Alowishus had been laid out in ceremonial sparring circle, his heart no longer beating.  That his ancestor had turned his back, guard lowered and begun to raise his hands in victory when Alowishus, heart still stopped, had risen from the ground and hugged the man from behind.  That his grandmother, a young girl at the time, had seen her grandfather wither and decay before her eyes.  First to a mummified corpse, then to bleached bones, and finally crumbling to nothing more than a small pile of dust.

“After putting an end to the previous Master of Chaos’ reign Alowishus Spade allowed my family to leave and live peacefully so long as we didn’t interfere with the Agents of Chaos’ goings on's.”  Iban told Yami.  “Before my great-grandfather and his family were cast out of Sanctuary, he managed to dip the tip to his cloak into a bit of blood that had spilled from Alowishus Spade during the dual.  My great-grandfather was certain that Spade had somehow cheated and thought the mans blood would prove it.  Given that the sample was tainted and no longer fresh by the time he was able to examine it, his findings were frustratingly unclear.  But what little he learned was enough for him to forgo vengeance and keep his promise to stay well away.”

Yami stared silently, wondering how Alowishus Spade could be so old.  The corpse magic the man used could only go so far.  Julius had been clear that the internal organs of a person likely couldn’t be replaced.  How long could a heart pump if the body it was attached to was healthy enough to go on?  What was the lifespan of a persons insides?  Yami pressed his teeth together at the thought of such macabre things.

Iban watched Yami, gold eyes glinting in the fading light of the setting sun.

Finally, Yami asked.  “So you know what they believe?  Why they’re so interested in Teris and me?  What sick rituals they have planned for us and all that.”

“Possibly.”

“What do you mean possibly?”  Yami growled.

“When Spade took over, much changed.  The purpose, beliefs, and plans of the order of the Agents of Chaos turned on its head in many regards. That is why my grandmother’s grandfather accepted Spades request of a dual so readily.  When Spade was first a member of the Agents of Chaos he was always challenging the Master of Chaos, my ancestor. Spade was often often caught holding his own secret meetings with a large number of fellow followers where he instructed them on his own beliefs and teachings.  It got to the point where the Master wanted to put an end to Spade’s growing influence as quickly as possible. The dual Alowishus challenged him to for right of who would be Master was the perfect opportunity to not only be rid of Alowishus Spade but to negate whatever wrong and dangerous teachings he had infected the followers with.”

“Only your ancestor lost.  And in everyone’s eyes your beloved Chaos deemed Alowishus Spade right and worthy.”  Yami said.

Iban inclined his head.

“So you’re part of the old, dare I say, saner guard.”  Yami said, recalling how Sir Jorah had made clear everything he finally divulged to Teris and him came from what little knowledge they had of the Agents of Chaos before Spade had become Master.

Iban inclined his head once more.

“So anything you tell me would be of little to no use.”  Yami sighed in disgusted disappointment.

“As I already told you.”  Iban said.

Yami made a face and shook his head.  It was one mess after another. Every thought he had or road he took to find answers always led to a dead end.

Looking at Iban, Yami commanded.  ”You don’t tell anyone this. Especially Teris.  She’ll hound you to no end and I don’t want her anywhere near you.  I still don’t trust you.”

“Nor should you.”  Iban agreed.

Yami gave him a look that had even made Bronn look away nervous; but Iban only stared back in amusement.

“Let’s go.”  Yami rumbled.

“One more thing.  If I may.”  Iban ventured.  “Have the dreams, the ones like Teris experienced, begun for you?”

“Why?” Yami questioned, uneasily.

Iban shrugged.  “Just figured Chaos would have more to say to you given that Darkness is the child of Chaos and Death, and Death has a closer connection to Chaos than Life.  Not to mention, Death is the one trying to awaken Chaos.”

Yami’s jaw clenched at that.  He wasn’t sure he believed all that primordial forces business but he knew Alowishus and his Agents of Crazies did.  All Yami was willing to admit at the moment was there was something more to all of this than rare, strong magic.

“And I suppose you all think Light was born from Order and Life.”  Yami huffed.

Iban smirked.  “Far from it.  Light was born from Life and Chaos.  I suppose you could say Light is Chaos ordered.”

Yami’s brows furrowed, not understanding.  Annoyed, he turned away.  “What’s it matter if the stupid page speaks to me?  I wouldn’t remember anything anyway.  That’s how that works.  Isn’t it?”

“It need not have to be.”  Iban said, watching Yami’s back tense.  “I can help you remember.”

Yami looked back at him.  “Even a Communications and Time Mage working together couldn’t do that.”

Iban smirked, knowing he had Yami interested, if not temped.  “Marx and Julius weren’t using the right magic or correct incantation spell.”

“And you just happen to have the right magic and know the correct spell?” Yami said, dubiously.

“My grandmother’s grandfather was once the Master of Chaos.”  Iban reminded.

“Then how is it that the current so called Master of Chaos doesn’t know of this spell?”  Yami asked, certain that Alowishus wouldn’t have bothered questioning him and Teris about the pages communication if he had such a thing at his disposal.

“My grandmother took her grandfather's Rights and Rituals Book after Spade killed him in the dual.  Snuck it out of Sanctuary without anyone the wiser.  Since it was a secret item, shared from Master to Master and their families, neither Spade or the other followers knew of its existence and therefore wouldn’t have missed it.”

Yami eyed the Blood Mage.  “And you still have this book.”

“I do.  It is a fairly painless ritual.”

Yami huffed.  Iban’s definition of fairly painless probably meant it would be excruciating.  But it wasn’t fear of pain that kept him from agreeing.

Heading back to Tobin and their captives, Yami said over his shoulder. “Thanks.  But no thanks.”

Iban watched Yami, wondering how long it would take for him to come and demanded the spell be done.

So this 'arc' started with chapter 71 and will go on until the end of 'Book I' which is chapter 83.  To date, this arc has been one of my favorite to write for this fic.  Which has me wondering.  So far what has been your favorite arc, scene, or event?  Also, if you have one, I would love to know which oc in this fic is your favorite so far.  Really wanna make my day?  Let me know which oc you like and hate the most.

Don't forget to check to see Fuego and Nozel's riding dress preferences for Teris, if you want.

As always, THANKS for reading.  Comments, questions, keyboard smashes, and reblogs are always welcome and very much appreciated.

Next chapter snippet:

“We can still be friends.”  Teris said.  “Our friendship is more important than any hurt feelings he may have about Yami and I being together.”

“Especially when he still thinks you’re going to marry him.”  Olsen put in.

[psychvamp25]

Swept Away

53.  “I just want to be swept off my feet...is that so bad? I’m fed up being alone.” (can also be read on AO3) 

Gendry was pretty sure he was not meant to over the words that Arya spoke to her sister and friends. He had simply been passing by the room on his way to the bathroom when the words floated through the open doorway, “I just want to be swept off my feet….is that so bad? I’m fed up being alone.”

The words had stopped him in his tracks, all thoughts of having to piss leaving him, as he listened to Sansa’s response, “Was what Elmar did really that bad?”

Arya scoffed, “He thought a good idea for the date was a fancy dinner where he just talked about himself. He is well aware I hate all showing off and that was all he was doing.” She let out a long sigh, one that made Gendry frown even more, “I only even agreed to go out with him to make Mom happy, but I had hoped maybe it would be more.”

Someone laughed, he thought it was Meera, and that was confirmed when she said, “You know exactly why nothing has worked out with the boys you have tried to date. You are still hung up on Gendry.”

His eyes widened, Arya had a crush on him? How had he never noticed that? He knew Theon would say it was because he was an oblivious idiot when it came to women, but he had known the truth. It was just that no other woman compared to Arya so he just didn’t really see them as potential romantic options.

“I told you…..that is over.” Arya said so quietly he almost didn’t hear, “If Gendry felt anything he would have made a move by now. I just need to move on.”

Gendry continued to the bathroom, he didn’t need to hear what else was said. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had missed his chance. He had never been someone anyone would consider romantic but he was certain that he could come up with something. Arya wanted to be swept off her feet, he could do that. He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror, maybe Davos would be willing to help him.

Arya was excited as Gendry drove them into the woods, he had invited her and Nymeria to join him on a hike today. Ghost has jumped into the truck as well and refused to leave, so it was to be a party of four. She stole a glance at her driver, she wasn’t completely sure but something seemed off about him today, almost like he was nervous. He turned into the Wolfswood, the large pines looming over them until he pulled into the public parking lot at the trailhead. She watched as he got out without a word, opening up the back door to let the wolves loose. They were well behaved and did not go far, despite their clear excitement.

Arya jumped out to join them, taking a deep breath of the forest air, this was one of her favorite places in all the world. Even when she had traveled through Essos, she had missed this place, and had told Gendry as much during their phone calls. He had brought her here on only the third day she was back, even if it was in the middle of winter. That was when she had truly realized her childhood crush on her best friend had never faded.

It was summer now, and the filtered sun reflected off his black hair, bathing him in the light as he played with the wolves. He turned to look at her, “Going to stand by the car all day or are we hiking?”

She pushed down the feeling that threatened to rise in her chest as he smiled at her, his blue eyes focused on her and a smile on his face. She laughed and walked over to him, “In a hurry?”

“With you? Never.” He said before walking toward the path, Nymeria and Ghost running off ahead with happy yelps.

She frowned at the cryptic answer but jogged to catch up. They walked in their usual silence, just enjoying nature and each other’s company, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up with him. She wondered if maybe he had to give her bad news and was using her favorite place as a way to soften the blow. She was about to ask him what was wrong when the path opened up to the lake.

There, at the banks of the lake, in what was their spot, a picnic was set up. Gendry’s battered blue cooler was weighing down a quilted blanket she knew belonged to the Seaworth, and there was a bouquet of flowers sitting right in the middle.

She slowly turned to Gendry, “What….What is this?”

He nervously smiled and said, “A surprise?”

“What for?” She asked as he took her hand and led her over to the picnic, Ghost and Nymeria were entertaining themselves nearby.

He let go of her hand and picked up the bouquet, “I thought this would be the perfect spot for us to have our first date.”

She took the flowers on autopilot but nearly dropped them when he said that final word, “A date?”

He nodded, “I was hoping you would be alright with us taking our friendship and turning it into something more. I figured this would be the best for us. No fancy dinners, no random people to gossip about us, just….us.”

She knew that now was the time to say something, say anything, but she was just still in shock. She had just been lamenting to Meera and Sansa how things with Gendry were never going to change, and here he was, asking to change it. He had also created the perfect date for them, she could have imagined anything that was just more…..them.

“Arya?” He asked, and she could see that he was beginning to doubt himself and his actions.

She smiled at him, “I would love to have our first date with you.”

His entire face lit up with a smile at her words and she decided that she would make sure to bring out that reaction from him many times in the future. For now, she was content to sit with him by the lake and eat the lovely sandwiches she knew were from Hot Pie’s, as the wolves splashed in the water. It was the perfect day.

Thank you so much for the prompts @chasingforeverandaday, I have no self control. 96 will be up later today :D

[starlightaxolotl]

Collector’s Edition: Press Coverage

Nothing super angsty in this one, implied training, dehumanization, future punishment. 

Words: Approximately 1550

Coverage from the sixteenth annual GaGo Toy Faire is sponsored by Borg Industries. Borg Industries: The Future is What You Make It.

See More: GaGo Toy Faire; Our Annual Predictions See More: GaGo Toy Faire; Blurring the Line Between Plaything and Art

A Bittersweet Tribute: Fundraising and the Launch of GaGo Toy’s Newest Doll Line!

By Keyara B., Marketing and Public Relations, Borg Industries July 15th.

The annual GaGo Toy Faire always goes out with the reveal of what the genius behind the designs, Enzo Kurai, thinks will be the top seller of the year. This year the young CEO started things off differently, taking time to honor the six months Ninjago has seen without its greatest protectors. As anyone could tell you, the Ninja went missing under mysterious circumstances at the beginning of the year. The loss of our symbols of peace and heroism can be felt in the streets, which prompted Kurai to put together a very special doll line to inspire young minds across Ninjago. “I think that in such times of uncertainty, we need to remember anyone can be a hero like the ninja.” Kurai said before unveiling his newest line of dolls. Kurai has designed the last six successful doll lines which launched him to become the CEO of GaGo Toys a decade ago, with hits such as Mega Monster Pop Stars, and my personal favorite growing up the Charmer Designs line. With a focus on friendship, problem solving, and courage, Kurai promised that he felt the Ninja would be proud of his newest line: High School Ninja Squad! High School Ninja Squad features a main line up of six primary dolls, and focuses on a storyline that will be released in a series of animated episodes within the next year. Kurai mentioned he wanted to focus on themes of unity, family, differences, and problem solving with the story he has helped to craft for the dolls. The initial line up features Five high school students and one younger sibling. While not much of the story has been revealed yet, Kurai promises that this line will provide comfort to those missing their heroes. As an additional measure to continue investing in search efforts and resources to continue the hunt for the ninja, Kurai has declared that the company will be donating all profits from this doll line directly to the search effort for the first six months, hopeful that this effort would help bring the Ninja home sooner. After the press briefing, I was lucky enough to get to sit down with Mr. Kurai to discuss the process behind creating the dolls and even was fortunate enough to see the GaGo Toy Faire exclusive collector’s edition set, which I was lucky to snag as well. See More: High School Ninja Squad Collector’s Edition Unboxing! Kurai said that the concept had been on his mind for a while, and had met with the Ninja’s former merchandising team from the short run of their television show NinjaGO! Adventures nearly a year ago to discuss the team of color coordinated ninja. “I focused really hard on what made each member of the team special, what dynamics existed, and what lessons they could teach kids.” Kurai said with a smile. “Each of them bring something so different to the team. They’re why I focus first on the idea of a team as a family. It’s actually why I have the younger sibling, Ren, he’s adopted in, and the team becomes close to him because of that. They show him what family is.” I of course ask if that means that Ren is eventually joining the team, as he’s the only doll to not come with a costume to change into from his school clothes, and Kurai only smiled and shrugged. “Time will tell. He has a lot of growing up to do first.” In addition to Ren, the line up includes Rikuto, Kaito, his sister Kiki, Raiden, and Yuki. While it’s obvious which doll represents which ninja, as Kurai chose to keep their color palettes and natural features, their personalities are very different from those of the missing ninja. He instead created new stories for each of them. Ren, as previously mentioned, was adopted and now has the sibling duo of Kiki and Kaito to teach him what family really means. He even promised there wouldn’t be any weird love triangles, and that romance isn’t a central focus in the minds of these teen heroes. He does mention that Rikuto, the caring team leader and captain of the high school cheer team might have something for a cheerleader from a rival school, and this is backed in Rikuto’s introductory journal. Kaito and Kiki, twin siblings, come from a high fashion, fast paced family, and are learning how to fit in with their new school and new friends and new sibling. They’re representing the idea of adapting and change, something Ninjago itself has been working through these past few months. Kaito even struggles with his academics and has to ask his friend Raiden for help to study for a big exam in math! Kurai had a few things to say on this. “By humanizing them, and seeing that they’re both these incredible heroes to their city, but also every day students, I hope that youngsters find it easier to relate. They could very well be the next protectors of the city, through civil positions, through political change, through whatever they put their minds to, just like these kids can. The dolls are projected to hit shelves within the next month, find them and create their stories! Each doll comes with two additional outfits and a journal as well as a pack of collectible cards to learn more about them and their friends! Play sets are expected to be released later in the fall, including one for their school!

Keys smiled as she sent it for publication to the Toy Faire blog and closed her laptop, looking across the table at Mr. Kurai. His personal office was only five minutes from the convention center, and had a spectacular view of the convention plaza and the outskirts of Ninjago City. Keys could even see the ports from up here. She waited until it seemed like he wasn’t doing anything too delicate before clearing her throat. “Thank you so much for letting me type this up and ask questions as we went along. I haven’t had an assignment this big yet.” She looked at the model of the classroom he was working on. It was well detailed. She had watched him all afternoon after the reveal as he painted and set around several working flip-top desks for the set. It almost looked lifelike and perfect, like a scale model for an actual classroom. A detailed vision. “That looks amazing.” Enzo Kurai looked up and smiled, setting his paint brush down gently on a towel. “You’re quite welcome. Without Borg Industries support, we wouldn’t be able to make the donations to the police effort to find the Ninja. It’s only fair that you get a much more detailed and personal interview than other outlets.” He carefully spun the turn table the set was on and Keys looked close. “What do you think?” She gave a small smile. “It’s so realistic. I think it’ll be hard to duplicate this for sale…” Kurai only gave a sharp laugh. “This one is a special edition, more for me personally than for sale. The general market will get a simpler version, but this lets me see what details I want to have in the final product. For me, the realism helps tell the stories.” It made sense, a visionary like Enzo Kurai was naturally detail oriented. Dolls on a whole were similar to the generic designs of androids and other mechanical things. There’s always a blueprint. Of course as the blueprint was developed, some troubleshooting was bound to happen. Keyara nodded. She put her laptop in her bag and turned to leave. As she reached for the door handle, a thought crossed her mind. She turned back. “Are you going to stay for the closing events tonight? Cyrus—Mr. Borg—would enjoy seeing you again. He wasn’t able to get off today, meetings with Eco Future for Ninjago all day.” Kurai shook his head. “I’m afraid not. There’s some issues back home that I must attend to, and I actually need to leave within the hour to deal with them. A few…prototypes are being rowdy while I’m in the city I’m afraid.” That threw her for a loop, and Enzo saw the confusion in her face as she opened the door. “Well, I’ll let him know. Another time perhaps.” With a final thin smile, Keys exited the office.

Enzo looked at his phone again, at the photos that had been sent to his phone. Three angry trouble makers, left restrained at the dinner table for him to discipline when he got home. He clicked his tongue as he locked his phone. And here they had been so good, making such progress at last. It didn’t surprise him, it only disappointed him. They would go back to their doll boxes for a little time out until they were ready to behave again.

[beautifulletdownfics]

harry is fine and nina is fine too: part v

It’s two days before they tell anyone.

Nina’s housemates Jane and Sarah are the only people who know Harry and Nina are back together and there’s something perfect about the bubble they’ve been allowed to exist in for 48 hours.

“I should call my mum,” Harry says, his eyes focused on Nina’s hand in his, her leg draped comfortably over his thigh on the park bench. There’s a peaceful hum of water from a large fountain in front of them, “She’s left two messages now about dinner in Cheshire this weekend.”

Nina’s head snaps over to look at him, “She doesn’t know you’re not in England? Are you kidding me, Harry!”

“I came over to New York in a hurry,” He tells her, “It was all very romantic.”

Nina would role her eyes at him but it’s still raw, there’s still a huge part of her—of them both— that’s terrified they’ll turn around and the other won’t be there.

"Let's get a coffee and go back to the flat and call her," Nina suggests.

Harry lets out a laugh, "I thought we left the flat so we could actually talk."

"We have been!" Nina responds, comfortable with where they had managed to get themselves talking everything through over the course of the afternoon, "But I don't want to cry in public, which is what will happen if we call her here."

Harry gives her a serious look, "How do I know if we go back you'll behave and not just jump my bones as soon as we're through the door?" Nina laughs and hits his chest with the back of her hand, "We left because you couldn't keep your hands to yourself."

"Nonsense! You've turned into a sex feign."

"You have been entirely complicit."

Harry leans over and gives her a sweet kiss to the cheek, which instantly changes the tone, "I've missed you."

Nina feels tears come to her eyes, "Don't."

Harry's face softens, "We're going to be okay. Please don't torture yourself. C'mon, let's get you a latte."

They walk hand in hand through the park to a coffee kiosk Harry has occasionally stopped at when he's been on a run and given up halfway. They order and Harry sits on a brick retaining wall, Nina climbs up behind him, squats and leans her chest into his back, leaning her chin on his shoulder and watching as he types a reply to an email.

"Your hair is scratchy," He says, shivering when the ends of Nina's hair tickles his cheek for the second time.

"Sorry, but my boyfriend of two days isn't paying me attention so I've resorted to extreme measures."

Harry stops typing and tilts his head to meet her eye, "I am not your boyfriend of two days. We've been dating for four years. It doesn't reset, that's not how it works."

"Coffee's ready," Nina says, jumping down next to him and snatching Harry's phone out of his hand, "Your Christmas card list can wait."

"I was not doing a Christmas card list," He insists, petty but loving playing with her. Still, there was a sick feeling from hearing Nina say they'd only been together two days. That felt wrong. “I'm actually kind of a big deal, I was doing important work."

Harry doesn't try to extract his phone from her pocket, he likes the modern day intimacy of it, of Nina having his phone. She accepts the hand he holds out for her and they slowly make their way back to his apartment, having opted to stay there for the privacy it awarded them. He bit his tongue thinking about the intimate moments they'd been able to have that he doubts Nina's New York roommates would have been on board for. He and Nina had been overcome with lust and love in all rooms of the house, and he was glad for his own kitchen, and his own bathroom and his own living room to be able to take advantage of.

"You're thinking about sex," Nina pulls him away from the memory of their breakfast romp that morning. "I am," He doesn't bother denying, "I've just realised we boiled the kettle for tea but never made it. You walked in wearing just your underwear and it's all hazy from there."

"Hazy? That's the word you want to go with?"

Harry squeezes her hand and smiles over at her, “Obviously I remember every single moment in great detail. Hazy is a reference to the cloud of ecstasy you cast over my mind.” “Okay,” Nina draws out with a laugh, “Please don’t write a song with that as a lyric. It’s seedy.”

Harry starts humming a tune and singing out tales of lustful weather systems and foggy bathroom mirrors. Nina pretends not to be charmed by his beautiful voice and how very much she’s missed hearing him sing, even when his express purpose is to embarrass her.

Something close to both their hearts warms, loosens and settles comfortably back into place.

+++

Anne cries and so does Nina.

Harry calls his mother when they get back to the flat and manage to make a cup of tea without feeling each other up. He puts his phone on speaker and places it on the coffee table, his body curved around Nina’s on the sofa.

“I’m with Nina,” is all he says before both women are crying.

“Really?” His mother cries through the phone, “You’re with her now? Oh! How is she? Are you—I mean—Oh Harry, is she there?” “You’re on speaker,” He’s grinning and he really should have told her that sooner, it was rude not to have but Anne was lost for words and Harry liked Nina seeing that even without context his mother was overjoyed at him being even just physically with her. “And yes, she’s sitting right here. We’re back together, Mum.”

“Oh Harry!” She repeats and Nina can hear the emotion in his mother’s voice, “I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy for you both. You must be sick with happiness. Nina! Love, hello!” “Hello,” Nina starts quietly, holding her sleeve up to her wet face for a moment, “Hi. I’ve missed you so much, how are you?”

“Amazing! Wonderful! I’m perfect,” Anne pauses for a moment and lets out a loud breath, “You know I don’t like to interfere in your personal life, Harry, but …”

Harry squeezes Nina’s thigh before he speaks, “I know, Mum. It always had to be Nina.”

Nina holds her breath at what he's said, her heart breaking again and again, "I'm sorry but Harry won't make it to Cheshire this weekend," she starts talking slowly, "He's in New York with me."

"Oh, I'd forgive you for that a thousand times a day!" Anne shushes Nina quickly, "I'm so happy for you two. Have you told your sister, Harry?"

Harry looks to Nina who’s eyes give her away straight away, “We haven’t no, she’ll be our next call, I would think.”

Nina says nothing and Anne feels the need to comfort the woman not only her son loved, but both her children, and consequently both had been heartbroken in Nina’s absence, “You best hand the phone over, Harry, those two will have a lot to catch up on.”

“They will,” Harry smiles softly at Nina who has a few stray tears leaking from her eyes and more threatening to follow, “We’ll get onto that now, Mum, and maybe FaceTime you tomorrow?”

“Yes! Yes,” Anne cries, she sniffs and it gives away her emotion, “I’m so happy for you both. And for us, our little family has missed you dearly, Nina.”

“Love you mum,” Harry says, ending the call and leaning over to kiss Nina’s hairline delicately, “I love you as well. Would you like a moment of privacy to call Gem? I’ll go shower.”

Nina nods quietly, Harry’s phone in her hand and she doesn’t say anything as this pointer finger flicks around on the screen and hands Nina the phone with his Favourites on the screen. He kisses the corner of her mouth and stands up, watching Nina for a short moment before deciding he’s okay with what he sees and he turns on his heel to head for the bathroom. Gemma’s contact is sitting there, but Nina’s eyes are drawn to her own, still in top place on the list. He never took her off, she’d been sat in his favourites this whole time.

Nina lets out a long breath before hitting the call button for Gemma. The pair hadn’t spoken since Harry and Nina broke up, the severing of her friendship with her boyfriend’s sister had ended up being almost as painful as losing Harry himself. Nina always had an ally in Gemma, and she’s petrified there’s no way to get that back.

Nina presses call before she can psych herself out of it.

“Hiya, be quick, I’m about to jump in the car,” Gemma answers the phone assuming it would be her brother on the other end.

For a brief moment Nina panics and wants to hang up, but she doesn’t. She clears her throat and presses her forehead to her knees, speaking into her lap, “Sorry. Sorry … Hi, it’s Nina … Harry’s just in the shower.’

“What?” Nina hears Gemma’s car door slam and the background noise disappears, “It’s not Harry. It’s me.”

“Get fucked,” Gemma breathes out quickly, “Nina?”

“Yeah, hi.” “You’re with my brother?”

“I am.”

“Are you joking me?” Gemma’s voice cracks.

Nina nods her head and wipes at her newest wave of tears, “No. Harry came to New York and … We’re back together.”

“You wouldn’t joke about that,” Gemma says scarily firmly, so firmly Nina almost thinks Harry’s sister isn’t happy at the news, but her next words are laced with tears and Nina can hear the wetness in Gemma’s voice, “You can’t joke about that.”

“I’m not joking,” Nina reassures her quietly, “I’ve missed you so much. I’m so sorry I disappeared on you.”

“It was too hard, I understood.”

“Yeah,” Nina sighs, leaning her head against Harry’s shoulder when he slipped back into the space next to her, shirtless and smelling of soap. “I couldn’t bare to lose you all gradually. I couldn’t stand the thought of you telling me you didn’t want to speak to me anymore.”

“Fuck this,” Gemma laughs, “I just spent twenty minutes doing my makeup and now its all over my sleeve!”

Nina laughs with her, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head, unable to stop the tears falling harder, “God I’m such a bitch.” “You really are! I’ve always bloody hated you.”

“Oi!” Harry interrupts, pulling Nina’s phone out of her hand and hitting the speaker icon, “I heard that, we’re not quite at the being mean to each other stage yet. We’re quite fragile.” “Oh, you’re fragile, okay,” Gemma snarks back, “You stole my best friend and in the name of being a supportive sibling I’ve not told you just how fucking angry with you I’ve been for that. Nina, get your arse back to London, I’ve bloody needed you.”

“I’ve needed you as well,” Nina confirms, “I moved to New York and didn’t know a soul, the number of times I’ve wanted to call you …”

Harry squeezes her shoulder lightly, his lips finding her hairline again and staying there, his own silent tears rolling down his cheeks. Putting aside the bravery heartache forced him into felt calm and quiet and comfortable, but the fear at having not gotten on the plane to New York—or Nina having moved on and away from him—still restricts his insides unpleasantly.

“I haven’t been back since I moved,” Nina tells them both, “A visit seems overdue.”

+++

Harry’s not sleeping through the night.

He wakes up scarily close to 3am every morning and reaches out for Nina to make sure she’s still there.

It takes a few minutes for his heartbeat to regulate, and at first he was worried the thumping of his heart against her back would wake her, but a week into the routine he’s no longer concerned. He grips her hips and pulls her whole body into his, holding Nina as tightly as he can without disturbing her sleep.

Except for now, when he’s held on a little too tightly.

“Harry,” She croaked, “You’re too hot, lemme move.” Nina’s trying to kick the duvet off her legs and get her arms free from him, but Harry’s slow to release her.

He groans against her shoulder blade, “Shh.”

“I’m overheating and you’ve tucked the sheets in too tight.”

“Go back to sleep.”

She goes limp in his arm and huffs, he’s not loosening his grip any time soon.

The same thing happens with Nina goes off to classes. Harry walks around the house, trying to write songs or find recipes he thinks Nina will like but really he’s waiting for time to pass so he can pace in the kitchen waiting to hear her key in the door.

Every day he constructs a scenario whereby she’ll not come back to him.

Harry keeps it to himself for nearly a week before he confesses to Nina. The next day he sets up a call with his shrink in LA who talks him through the anxiety he’s projecting onto the situation. He’s just so sure he needs to be ready for another blow, like he can’t possibly have lost everything and then managed to get it all back again. It felt too good, too precious, too fragile.

“I picked up wine on the way home,” Nina calls from the door.

Harry deserts his cold cup of tea on the kitchen bend and skids into the hallway to greet her, he coughs into his shoulder, “Hi.”

“Hello,” She coos, falling against his chest and threading her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck, “Did you have a good day?”

“Yeah,” Harry breathes against her neck, hands falling to her behind and pulling Nina’s hips snuggly against hers, “Missed you.”

“You’re warm,” Nina’s fingers move around to his forehead and she flips her hand to press the back of it to Harry’s forehead, “Do you feel poorly?”

“A bit,” He mumbles, breathing in and feeling his chest rattle a touch. The warmth in his cheeks all day and the slight ache in his joints only now registering as possible sickness.

“I spoke to your mum on the way here, she’s worried about you, H,” Nina draws back and tilts his chin so Harry’s looking at her, “I am too.” Harry gulps, “I feel like I’m going crazy,” he admits.

Nina frowns, “You’re not crazy.”

“I feel like it …” He whispers, struggling to hold her gaze, “When you’re not here I’m sure you won’t come back.”

“I love you, why would I not come back?” Nina’s watching his eyes fill with water and she feels like her stomach hits the floor, “Harry, baby.”

“I don’t know, it’s just where my head goes,” Harry shrugs helplessly and watches her, her gaze worried and gentle.

“Go and have a shower and get into fresh, comfy clothes,” She says softly, Nina pulls his head down so she can kiss between his eyebrows, “Set yourself up on the sofa and I’ll join you.”

Nina can see he’s run down, anxious and coming down with something. Which isn’t surprising really. He’s putting himself under a lot of stress and Nina knows as well as anyone how easily anxiety can physically manifest in the body. Harry’s worked himself into a state and it breaks Nina’s heart to think at the core of it all is a fear of losing her.

Twenty minutes later she’s left the wine in the fridge in favour of two fresh mugs of tea and a plate of honey toast. She puts the breakfast tray on the coffee table in the lounge and runs upstairs to get out of her jeans and slip into her pyjamas.

Harry’s barricaded himself into the corner spot of the L shaped sofa, his thick woollen socks peaking out under the throw blanket. He’s wearing an old tour hoodie and grey tracksuit pants and his head is resting back on the top of the sofa. When Nina lifts the corner of the knitted blanket and eases down into the spot next to him, Harry lifts and arm and waits a moment before draping it around her shoulders.

“Here,” She passes him a mug of tea and then balances the plate of toast on her knee, “You’ve run yourself into the ground, Harry.”

He shuts his eyes and holds his mouthful of hot tea in his mouth for a moment before letting it drain down his throat, “I just feel like … I’m in this scary state where the last 6 months didn’t happen. Or like they’re about to happen again, I don’t know. I spent the whole time we were apart just wanting this again and I thought it would feel … different.” “We won’t just snap back into place,” Nina tells him carefully, “As much as I know we’d both like to … There’ll be growing pains, H. We’re both hurt and scared, and I know optimism isn’t usually my strong suit, but you don’t prevent bad things from happening by worrying about them.”

“I know, I just guess I hadn’t really clocked how bad my mental state was … I’m falling apart inside, Neens. It’s like I got used to telling myself over and over that we had to get back together and now we have my brain has flipped it and is knocking on the door saying, ‘Just kidding, this thing has an expiry date, mate’.”

He watches Nina frown into her tea, deep in thought. Somehow she’s seemed to come out of this much better, probably because she had moved on with her life. Harry’s coping mechanism was to try to keep everything the same—Nina moved to the other side of the world and has managed to deal with the break up in a healthy way.

“I mean,” She starts slowly and Harry hopes she has the silver bullet, “I think the only way I can help is with time. You don’t feel safe yet, which is understandable. It might take some time for that to come back, that feeling secure in the relationship.”

“I feel like a needy idiot,” He laments quietly, his words harsh and cutting.

Nina puts the plate to the side and slips a leg over Harry’s knees, seating herself in a straddle over his lap, leans in and kisses his lips softly, “It’s scary to think we might still be apart,” Nina whispers, “I get it, Harry. I feel like such an idiot if I think about it too much. I thank whatever the heck is out there beyond us that you got on that plane to New York.”

Harry winds his arms low around her back, “Is it weird that I just want to take you back to London, and move all your stuff back to my place? I fucking hate that your shit isn’t all over my house anymore. Missed that the most,” His lips find her collarbone and sit there for a moment, “Every now and again something would come for you in the post and I’d want to scream. There’s a stack of shit from brands in a wardrobe waiting for you. Didn’t have the heart to throw them out, or give it to Gem.”

He’s sharing his suffering, so Nina tries to swallow the way what he’s telling her is hurting. Nina got invites to attend events and emailed a bunch of Harry’s travel bookings the first few months they were apart. Every now and again an assistant would slip and Nina would get details of his hotel or fights like she used to.

“The easter long weekend is coming up,” She says, “Why don’t we go home for a few days? Fly into Manchester and spent a few days with my family and then a few days with yours?”

Harry’s runnings his fingers up and down Nina’s back under her shirt and he nods against her throat, “Yeah. That sounds perfect. Finish in London, I owe Rodger some top shelf gin for calling me after he saw you. Needed him to kick my arse into gear.”

“Okay,” Nina says with an air of finality, “That’s that then. The UK for Easter. And maybe you could bring back an actual suitcase of clothes this time? Not just what’s on your back and fresh pants?”

Harry laughs, letting her tease for the way he jumped on a plane here with only the gym bag that was in his car. He likes that she’s not stepping around him coming back to New York with her. He’ll be wherever she is until she’s ready to move back to London.

“Mmm, might even bring a second pair of shoes, how about that?” He attaches his lips to her jaw and presses her chest against his. Nina’s hands sink down his chest to the waistband of his joggers, slipping just underneath them, “Careful,” he warns.” “Careful?” Her hand goes lower, pumping him once, twice and then she sits back to watch it between them, “Are you feeling too unwell?” Harry’s breath is caught in his chest as he hurries to shake his head, “No. N-no, never.”

Nina smiles, “Good.”

[star-light-sims]

Coming to terms

Nani: Are you excited for your first year of school?”

Reina: More nervous than anything actually... I’ve never really known much outside of Oasis and Selvadorada, but I’ve fought way to hard to go, I'm going to do my best to be excited.”

N: I still can’t believe your mom let you attend private school, I still can’t believe she even lets you visit Sulani.

R: I know, I can’t stay over night like most of the other students, so Its a three hour drive everyday, but Its a small amount of freedom, from her Majestad. *sighs* It took more convincing than it should have from my aunt, uncle and Padre, to get her to budge we had to use the excuse of diplomacy and Ceci for her to let us visit Sulani as often as she does.

N: I’m not surprised about that, she is a very strategically minded woman.

R: It makes her a great Empress, but it doesn’t make her many friendly allies. Though that’s not her main motive.

N:Fair enough, Tutu respects her immensely, she says your mom reminds her of my late aunt.

R: How is your Tutu doing? Last time I saw her, her eyesight was going, I’m assuming your cousin Lia is taking care of her?

N: Yeah, its harder and harder for her to see, right now the world is blurry for her, or at least that what she says still nothing gets passed her nothing I swear she doesn’t need her eyesight to see.

R: *giggles* Sounds about right.. *looks away to hide giggling*

N:Theres something else going on in that wonderful head of yours Pulelehua?

R: One day you are going to tell me what that means, but its mostly about my impending nuptials, and what that means.

N: Wait she told you who it is?

R: *sighs* No, not yet I don’t get to know until I turn 18, then get married at 21, not much time to get to know a stranger that I’m spending the rest of my life with.

N:  Fair, but we still have some time left. *Looks down at Reina’s wrist and blushes* Your wearing your birthday present, I’m glad you like it.

R: *blushes* I love it, I’ve been wearing it non-stop much to her Majestads annoyance. 

N: Emanuel gave you that neckless didn’t he?

R: * blushes harder* Yeah, I also wear it a lot... Don’t tell me your jealous? You are seeing an engaged woman... to be fair and engaged woman who doesn’t know who she’s marrying, but still.

N: No, not jealous...*takes a deep breath* This sucks, we can’t be together in public, it can’t look like your more than friends with either of us, I... I just...*sighs*

R: Ya lo se, But their isn’t much I can do about it, you know as well as I do our people always come first, and the Empire is still healing after all those years of strife, I can’t rock the boat. If I play my cards right my great grand children will be able to rock the boat. 

N: Your 16! You shouldn’t have too!

R: I’m the Heir to an empire full of people that I need to protect... I don’t have a choice. You know that as well as I do, Your a princess too, and you know how rigorous that  is for us heirs, just look at everything your little brother has to go through and learn.

N: I know! And it’s still not fair!

R: * looks down, quietly*... I never said it was..

(Note: Emanuel’s hair is meant to be Blond he got his Mum’s blond hair, the Sims ended up changing it to black and I didn’t notice until after I had taken the pictures. If he appears as blond after this that’s why, he didn’t dye his hair, sorry for that)

Emanuel: Hey, Marcus is wondering if you two need anything its getting dark.

N.R: *together* No were good.

E: .... No your not, did you two have an argument again?

R: Yes.

N:  No... Yes.

E: About Butterfly's engagement? Nani, you know their isn’t anything either of us can do about it.

N: That doesn’t mean I have to like it.

R: I never said you had to, I warned you about this, and you’ve known about it since we were children I called you crying about it when I found out.

N: Its not fair.

E: No its not, but their isn’t anything we can do, we can just enjoy the time we have left with her.

R: Azul, you make it sound like I’m dying, I’m just going to get married.

E: I know, but its not going to be same for us anymore. * runs ringer thorough his hair and sighs*

N: See I’m not the only one.

E: *speaks up when he notices Reina start fidgeting with her hands* School starts in two weeks, Marcus said Jayda is going to guard you at school.

R: Yeah, she’s not very happy about that, not that I blame her.. she really doesn’t like me...

N: It’s not like you stole her dad, he was your body guard the second you were born.

R: I know, she’s a year younger than me, but he spends his time with us except every other weekend, and on vacation days. So I can see why she doesn’t like me .

E: I mean I live at the school during the school year, I could be your guard, its what I’m training for and my mom is the Empresses head of security.

R: Her Majestad knows how we feel about each other, and doesn’t want it to become and issues or anyone else finding out and causing issues, *turns head and looks at the ocean* so Jayda it is.

R: Sulani is so pretty and calm reminds me of Selvadorada.

N: Does Ceci know about...

R: No, I wasn’t meant to know either, but she noticed how close the three of us were becoming and wanted to nip it in the bud. Her Majestad doesn’t do things without a purpose.

E: Yeah she almost fired my mama, Mum had to calm mama down after she came home form that meeting.

R: I’m sorry her Majestad is very forceful when she deems it necessary. 

N: At least Cecelia and Kaimi seem to get along fine.

R: *Looks over at her little sister and crown prince Kaimi*

R: I’m glad, I hope they have a wonderful friendship, and if their lucky fall deeply in love.

N: That would be great, at least you can always use the excuse to visit us once your married.

R: True. * wraps arms around self and shivers* We should be heading in its getting chilly.

E: * takes cardigan off, and drapes it over Reina* 

R: Gracias, I forgot how chilly it can get near the ocean.

N: What a gentle man. 

N: *teasingly pokes Emanuel’s shoulder* But you don’t offer me a coat, how rude.

E: Hey, you look fine, you’re used to the weather here.

R: You two behave, *laughs at their antics*

N: Just because I’m not cold, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t a appreciate the gesture.

E: No you wouldn’t, you would put it on Reina either way. * tries desperately to hold back laughter.*

R: * tries to cover her laughing*

N: At least it got her laughing.

E: True, lets go inside Marcus had the cook make some steamed vegetable dumplings for us.

R.N: Yes!

Bonus Picture

( Word Bank under Break)

Word Bank

I am trying my best with the different languages I'm using, if something is wrong please let me know nicely and I will do my best to fix it. 

Tutu: Hawaiian for grandparent ( in this case grandmother)

Majestad: Spanish for Majesty ( in this context used like, Her Majesty.)

Pulelehua:  Hawaiian for Butterfly (Reina’s nickname)

Gracias: Spanish for thank you

Azul: Spanish for Blue ( Emanuel’s nickname because of his eyes)

Ya lo se: I know or I already know

[sulietsexual]

So, I finally saw the new Little Women on the weekend, and I have to say, I was ... really underwhelmed, especially given the extreme over-hype which has surrounded this film for months. 

Little Women is my favourite novel of all time and, yes, I am an avid fan of the 1994 movie. The book always fills me with warmth and emotion and I love the March girls so much, each of them in their own way. I went into this film with muted expectations, so I wasn’t disappointed per se but it definitely left me wanting more.

Let me start with the positives; the film definitely has a certain charm to it. I appreciated that they tried to include a lot of dialogue from the novel. The cinematography was very pretty in places. And I genuinely loved the actresses who portrayed the March sisters. Saoirse Ronan’s Jo was vivacious and fun and she imbued the character with Jo’s clumsiness, lack of propriety (a little too much sometimes, which I will talk about later) and overall likability. I don’t know why everyone’s complaining about Emma Watson, as I found her Meg to be lovely. I thought she perfectly captured Meg’s softness and her gentle stoicism, although I could have done with a little more fire to her character, people tend to forget that Meg has a bit of a feisty side. Florence Pugh was great as older Amy, and bless her, she tried her hardest as young Amy, but I still maintain that Younger Amy needs to be played by a younger actress, otherwise she comes across as far too bitchy, as opposed to just bratty. Eliza Scanlan was fine as Beth, but I wish they’d given her more to do (more on this later). 

As for the rest of the casting ... I was a bit underwhelmed. I was excited for Laura Dern as Marmee, but she disappointed me, which probably has more to do with the writing of the character. She felt far too modern and very under-developed. Timothee Chalamet (sp?) as Laurie was a total miscast, he was far too melancholy and kind of creepy? Laurie is supposed to be a cheeky and vivacious character, with the occasional fits of melancholy, not the other way around. Meryl Streep was wasted as Aunt March, but I knew she would be, given what a minor character Aunt March actually is in the book. None of the other actors made much of an impression on me, tbh.

Unfortunately, for me, the negatives are greater than the positives and one of the biggest complaints I have about this film is that it really seemed to lack soul and heart. Little Women is a novel which makes me cry every time I read it and I didn’t shed a single tear during this film. Scenes which I love from the novel left me cold during the film.

I appreciated that the film tried to include events from the novel which often aren’t portrayed onscreen, such as Meg buying the expensive silk knowing she couldn’t afford it, Beth and Mr Lawrence’s friendship, Amy telling Laurie off for his indolent ways and Marmee’s speech to Jo about how she is angry every day. But a combination of rushed dialogue, the weird back-and-forth jumps between past and present and a script which didn’t slow down to appreciate the emotions of the scenes meant that many of these scenes felt empty, as if everyone was simply going through the motions. The film is accurate to the book and captures many of the events, but it misses so many emotional beats. I want any adaptation of Little Women to fill me with warmth and emotion and this film just ... didn’t. A particularly egregious example is the fact that this movie didn’t film Beth’s death scene, opting instead to have Jo wake up to an empty bed, in a scene which is obviously supposed to mirror the previous scene and drive home how Jo “couldn’t save” Beth this time around, but all it does is undermine the emotion of Beth passing and the grief her family - particularly Jo - feel over watching her pass away.

And while we’re on the subject of Beth, can we talk about what a non-character she was? I know that Beth is the least developed of the sisters in the novel, and as such, adaptations sometimes tend to overlook her, but she was barely a character in this film. Even her illness - arguably the biggest component of her characterisation and arc - was overlooked and under-played. I didn’t feel any fear or trepidation for her when she first fell ill, and her entire sickness was so rushed and downplayed. Eliza Scanlan is an incredibly talented actress (just watch Sharp Objects for proof of this) and yet they gave her so little to do.

Laurie too became almost a non-character, and I feel that this was a result of the constant time jumps. There was no room for him to develop or grow and many of his Big Moments were omitted from the film (such as him sending for Mrs March when Beth is ill, the way he swears to keep their secrets and provides the PO Box for them, going to London to make himself worthy of Amy). Also that disgusting scene from the New Year’s Eve ball when he turns up half-dressed, drunk and with two women hanging off his arms; no where in the novel would Theodore Lawrence ever behave like that, and the fact that this scene was our second introduction to the character soured his entire characterisation. Laurie was such a pale shade of what he is in the novels, and because of this, his relationships with all the sisters is severely undermined and downplayed. You certainly won’t ship Jo/Laurie from this movie, but nor will you feel much semblance of friendship between the two, despite the fact that they’re such kindred spirits in the novel. He shares more scenes with Amy, but they’re devoid of feeling or emotion (and chemistry) and so his eventual marriage to her falls flat.

I think one of the reasons for Laurie’s lack of characterisation is the weird time jumps. I know that a lot of critics are praising this technique, but I hated it. For one, it was often confusing as to whether we were in the past or the present, given how quickly the scenes jumped between the two. Secondly, this style of storytelling severely undermined characterisation and character development, and it juxtaposed scenes in a very weird fashion, negating the original point of the scenes and the lessons the girls were supposed to learn from them. For example, Meg’s misbehaviour at the Moffats being directly juxtaposed with the scene in which she confesses to John that she bought the expensive silk makes Meg look like she hasn’t grown or changed in five years. We missed the beautiful scene where she confesses her “sins” to Marmee and the growth which came from that experience, and instead jumped straight into what looked like an unhappy marriage (and why in god’s name were we introduced to Meg and John’s marriage before they had even spoken to each other in the past? Once again, the development of this relationship was undermined by the fact that we saw their courtship in reverse - we didn’t get the impact of Meg promising to love John despite his poverty only to betray him by buying the expensive silk). And this is just one of many examples of this technique robbing us of the emotion of the scenes.

The film felt so rushed at times and because of this, it has a very modern feel to it which I really didn’t like. If you want to “modernize” the story, fine, but do so by placing it in a modern setting. Having a period setting while using modern dialogue and a modern sense of propriety didn’t work. A scene of Jo hiking her skirts up to her knees with her bloomers on display while in public was awful, as was the scene where she unabashedly started to strip down while Laurie was in the room, and both scenes just undermined the period setting and were extremely jarring. Again, because the film was so rushed and the dialogue so quick and rapid-fire, we lost the emotional impact of many scenes. Period pieces need to be slow, you need time to savour the dialogue and actions, to feel the emotions and take time to appreciate the depth of the events and relationships.

And speaking of relationships, I cannot get over how much this filmed missed the mark when it came to the sisters’ relationships. Such a huge part of the appeal of Little Women is the bonds between the sisters and this film just blew right past them! I didn’t feel any deep connection between the sisters, and this was particularly noticeable with Jo and Beth, who share such a deep bond in the book. I think part of this problem stemmed from the fact that it took five scenes for the sisters to actually share a scene together; our introduction to the girls happens in four separate scenes, with each of the girls by themselves, in their own setting. Compare (because I have to) with the 1994 movie, in which the first four scenes of the film focus on the girls together, only separating once Meg and Jo attend the Gardiners Christmas party. The sisters’ relationship is such a huge component of the novel, but this film spends little time or focus building it and it is definitely a big reason as to why the film feels so empty.

There is so much more I want to say (for example, the horrendous way in which the film somehow made Jo look like she’d regretted turning down Laurie and held onto said regret for five years and how they juxtaposed her sending him the letter saying she would marry him, which WTF, never happened in the novel, with Laurie returning, having married Amy, like, way to pit the two sisters directly against one another, which even the 1994 adaptation had sense enough not to do) but this post has already turned into a freakin’ essay and most of my grievances have been aired.

To end this (very long) rant on a positive note, I want to reiterate that this film was charming in many ways, and while I do have many complaints, it was still a decent adaptation of my favourite novel, which wasn’t so far removed from the source material that I couldn’t enjoy it. It will never match the emotional depth and warmth of the 1994 movie, but I can see myself coming around to it in the future and liking it for what it is. I just wish more care and effort had been put into it and it had concentrated more on the emotion of the novel rather than the events.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Whit-ty Headcanons: Whitley Is Punished by Tyrian Callows?

In light of the upcoming Schnee Dinner episode, I find myself concocting more and more headcanons of how things could play out for this event. Particularly when it comes to Jacques and Whitley. It truly makes me wonder just how far Jacques is willing to go just to get his own way. 

Not to mention how much it will take for Whitley remove the blindfold from his eyes and realize that his father isn’t the man he pegs him to be. With this thought in mind, I’ve been pondering ways in which the episode might play out for these two men in particular and then a very chilling thought came to mind.

What if…Whitley is caught snooping around Jacques’ office by Tyrian Callows when he’s having another meeting with Watts and as punishment for disobeying him, Jacques just lets Tyrian beat up Whitley as a means of teaching him a firm lesson in discipline?

Before my fellow Whits come at me with pitchforks for having the chaps to even suggest such a heinous thing to happen to our boy, as always, hear this squiggly Whit out. I know the notion of Jacques having Tyrian---a homicidal mass murder from Anima with sadistic tendencies--- punish Whitley---a more or less innocent child; Jacques’ child and current heir--- just for snooping around will be an all-time low even for the likes of Jacques Schnee. But y’know what? Weirdly enough, I can actually see this being a possibility given the kind of malicious man Jacques is shaping up to be.

As RWBY has highlighted many times, Jacques cares very little for anyone but himself and would more than willingly sacrifice his entire family’s happiness if it brought him a crumb of financial fortune. Not to mention that I think Whitley’s super sleuth luck has to run out at some point. Presumably sooner than I think.

We’ve seen Whitley successfully snoop on his father in the past as evidenced by his first appearance back in V4. But as mentioned, that luck will run out. I have a feeling that CH8 could potentially begin with Jacques having another meeting in person with Watts at Schnee Manor; only this time Tyrian joins him. Since the Military are still keeping Tyrian’s identity under wraps from the general public, Tyrian is free to walk into Schnee Manor and not stir any suspicions at all with the staff; particularly the ones incredibly loyal to Jacques.

I’m picturing Tyrian just standing menacingly in the background; waiting patiently for Watts to finish going over the next stage of their plan with Jacques. It is Tyrian who ends up outing Whitley after finding him…I dunno listening in from a hidden space in Jacques office or…listening in at the door when he’s not supposed to be near it?

To Whitley’s horror, Tyrian drags him into the office and kind of stands over Whitley in a sort of preying position. Terrified, Whitley looks to his father to help him. However, instead of telling Watts off or advising him to call off Tyrian from harming his son, Jacques does the unthinkable. 

All the Schnee Man says is “Don’t hurt him too much and keep away from his face. I need him to look his best for the dinner tonight.”

So basically, Jacques allows Tyrian to hurt Whitley as a form of punishment. So Whitley ends up being forced to attend the Schnee Dinner anyways in spite of nursing some pretty bad injuries from his encounter with Tyrian inclusive of a few broken bones.

Remember my theory from yesterday about Whit knowing the truth about his father’s plans for Ironwood and his sisters with him behaving funny all night?

Well here’s an alternative version of that concept. Let’s say…Whitley reunites with his sisters for the first time at their father’s celebratory dinner. However Weiss is the one to notice something rather off about her brother’s behaviour. According to Weiss, Whitley was quieter than usual and seemed rather unwell at the party and she even makes a comment to Whit about his rather sickly demeanour to which he denies.

Let’s say…it’s the first time Weiss has ever seen her brother behave so strangely---at least since their time together back in V4 and even then he didn’t act this oddly reserved.

Let’s say…because Whitley was in so much pain from his “earlier punishment”, he even refused to eat anything at the party---not even to enjoy a plate of his favourite crepes dessert. This action especially throws Weiss off as she’d been low-key observing Whit since she and the others got to the party.

Long story short, Weiss ends up pulling Whitley aside so the two siblings could “catch up”. During this time, Weiss grills Whitley for information on their father---asking if he knew anything. Of course, Whitley tries to act all aloof as he did back in V4 but his bravado fails as he kept suspiciously hugging his chest.

Noticing this, Weiss turns her interrogation on questioning Whitley about himself---how he’s been doing since he’s all alone with Jacques.

This question seems to somewhat trigger Whitley as he responds in anger; lambasting Weiss for daring to ask him such a thing since, from Whitley’s perspective, she’s never once cared about him in the sixteen years he’s been alive (I’d like to think that Whit is closer to Ruby’s age than Oscar’s).

Weiss flinches at this accusation. She then switches to a more sympathetic tone of voice. Whitley goes to storm off but Weiss immediately reaches out and grabs his arm, stopping him. Gently, Weiss reveals her suspicions to Whitley about her father being up to something that could result in no-good for everyone; especially Mama Schnee and even Whit who were still with Jacques.

In the end, Weiss expresses her worry for the fate of their family. Her worry for their mother. Her worry for Whitley. Basically it ends in Weiss practically begging Whitley for his help. She knows she hasn’t always been the ‘best big sister’ to him or even the warmest person in general. However Weiss has changed a lot since Whitley last saw her; growing even more into a kind-hearted person.

As I said, in this version of my headcanon, just as how Snow White begged the Huntsmen sent to kill her by the Wicked Queen to spare her life---Weiss asks Whitley to help her with unveiling whatever wicked scheme she feared their father was planning. And just like the Huntsman from the fairy-tale, Whitley does help Weiss. But not before collapsing before her, finally succumbing to her injuries.

Previously, I’ve heard one or two RWBY theorists---inclusive of RWBY Youtuber: EruptionFang theorize that Whitley has secretly been abused by Jacques for years without his sisters’ knowledge. An intriguing theory and while I’m unsure if we’ll see it rationalized into the canon, I’m going to add my own spin on that longstanding Whit theory.

Basically Whitley collapses before Weiss complaining of pain in his chest. Immediately…Weiss reacts to help her brother but as Weiss inspects Whitley, to her dismay, she is stunned to discover several bruises across his chest and abdomen including an open slash across his stomach that was being held together by several sloppily tied bandages which were now soaked in a bit of blood.

Let’s say…Weiss asks Klein to bring Jaune but advises him to be discreet as a means of not attracting the attention of their father. So Klein brings Jaune to Weiss and with her permission, Jaune uses his semblance to heal Whitley.

All the while, Weiss stayed by Whitley’s side, cradling his unconscious body. Even Klein is horrified to see the state of the “young master”. Weiss then questioned Klein if he knew about what happened to Whitley only for Klein to sadly inform Weiss that since her departure, Jacques hasn’t allowed him to set foot near Whitley; designating him to other duties while Jacques himself saw to Whit’s development.

Let’s say…while healing Whitley, Jaune discovers other injuries on his body---ones that weren’t recent and seemed to have been healing for months. Thus indicating to Weiss the truth of what he brother had been going through since she left.

Eventually in a nutshell, Whitley regains consciousness and from here, he proceeds to help Weiss by firstly warning her of what Jacques was truly up to. But…not before one small exchange of dialogue.

Whitley: What… happened to me?

Weiss: You passed out but don’t worry; Jaune is going to take good care of you.

Whitley: …Who…is Jaune?

Weiss: He’s a friend of mine so you’re in great hands.

Whitley: Another…huntsman? A huntsman saved my life? Well…that’s annoying!

Jaune: Wow. He really is your brother.

 This doesn’t have to happen but…I think this could’ve been a cute way to show that Whit is more like his sister than she realized. Not to mention, it’s a cheeky call back to both V4 and V5. The irony of Whitley saying huntsmen were “barbaric” and “beneath people like him and his father”; only for his snooty ass to be saved by one. Such poetic satire.

Anyways, if something like this were to somehow happen in the canon for the new episode, I want a few things to come out of it:

Similar to how Weiss finally addressed her team as her family in front of her father, I think it’d be pretty sweet for Weiss to acknowledge Jaune as her friend in front of another family member of hers like Whitley.

As much as I like White Knight as a ship, I don’t necessarily need them to end up together romantically. For now, this squiggle meister is more interested in Weiss and Jaune have a solid friendship built on mutual trust and knowing each other better than they ever did in the past.

After all, we all know how big of a rocky start these two had in the beginning. This is why I’m excited for the Dinner Party setting. To me, RWBY V7CH8 is a chance for the CRWBY to make a parallel to RWBY V2CH7: Dance, Dance Infiltration.

If I recall correctly, Jaune never got the opportunity to tell Weiss what he truly thought about her. Personally I’d like for this small plot point to be revisited. As a matter of fact, since we got May Marigold, I’m kind of banking on Henry Marigold making a comeback too. I know some folks think that May might be a sex-changed Henry and while I myself did ponder that a bit too, I’m more leaning towards the more simpler idea that Henry and May are just related. Probably siblings or cousins.

Speaking of, I have a feeling like CH8 will also harken back to the V4 episode where Henry made his debut. My hunch is that Henry and his family will also be invited to Jacques’ Dinner again. Perhaps the Marigolds are a Council Family with one of Henry and May’s close relatives holding a seat on the Atlesian Council. I like the idea of May coming from a family who help govern the Kingdom of Atlas yet she instead chooses to use her influence to work with the representative of Mantle for the betterment of Mantle. Now that could be a cool detail for May.

Anyways, as I was saying, Henry returns in CH8 and he and Weiss meet again for the first time since V4. However, unlike like last time, Henry isn’t as gentlemanly with Weiss. As a matter of fact, he’s a complete asshat to her.

Let’s say, Henry harasses Weiss at the dinner which then leads into two things: 

Firstly, Jaune, to Weiss’ surprise, coming to her defence against Henry and secondly, May showing up to put a lid on her baby brother.

May then makes Henry apologize to Weiss before dragging him off by the ear back to their family table for daring to disrespect a woman (especially when his sister was nearby). Currently there’s a wee bit of tension between our heroes and the Happy Huntresses given how things went down at Robyn’s Watch Party. Not to mention that of all the Huntresses, May has somewhat been the most seemingly aggressive one.

So it’d be kind of sweet if we got a scene where has a gentler side; more understanding side to her that isn’t as hardened. Who knows? Perhaps that’s why she became a huntress in the first place and joined up with Robyn? Maybe May comes from a family where as a woman, she felt disrespected because she often treated as if she wasn’t tough enough to go toe-to-toe with the men of her family. That was part of her motive for becaming a huntress---to prove to all who doubted her strength that they clearly misjudged her…or something like that. Mostly speculating here.

Anyways, after a scene like this, Jaune stays in Weiss’ company and the two actually have a pretty decent chat in which Jaune confesses how he really thinks of Weiss. It’s not meant to be interpreted as romantic but more as a step in the right direction of Jaune and Weiss becoming legit good friends.

Who knows? Maybe we might even get a little nod back to their untold movie lime with Oscar with the two sharing a laugh over that night’s crazy shenanigans with a possible promise to do it again; even if it’s just the two of them this time. As friends, of course.

I dunno. I just really, really would like to see Jaune and Weiss alone together, talking as friends since we’ve honestly never gotten that with the two of them. It could be a wholesome thing but this is just my opinion.

A theory like this can also show Weiss showing concern for Whitley. In the past, the impression I got from Weiss’ interactions with her brother was that Whit seemed more like an annoyance to Weiss…or rather he was someone she clearly didn’t trust most likely due to his similarities to their father in terms of appearance. So basically Weiss believed that Whitley was going to turn out more like Jacques. It wouldn’t surprise me if Weiss and Whit used to be close when they were toddlers until Jacques started grooming Whit to be more like him.

I think CH8 could be a good chance to touch a bit more on Weiss’ relationship with her brother, as well as Mama Schnee.

Again, as much as I like the Schnee-sisters’ dynamic---I’ve frankly seen enough of their interactions to gage their bond. Basically, I get it. Weiss and Winter are close.

The same can be said for Weiss and Jacques. Yes, I get that too! Weiss suffered a very overwrought relationship with her father due to his ways for most of her life.

This has been Weiss’ song and dance since her first character trailer. Basically what I’m trying to say here is that I hope that CH8 highlights Weiss focusing not on her sister and father but on her relationship with her mother and brother for a nice change. Even more interesting if all of that is tied in with the narrative of the episode fleshing out her budding friendship with Jaune. Maybe?

I understand some folks are probably banking on this dinner being all about our young heroes being little fishes out of water attending their first cordial party at Schnee Manor. However for this squiggle meister, I’m more looking forward to the conversations, man. 

I think this season has been building up to a few much needed chats between certain characters or certain groups of characters and I’d like to think that a more seemingly “relaxed” atmosphere could be provide the perfect setting to jumpstart some of those longstanding conversations. For CH8, I’m expecting the following interactions to be focal point of the episode:

Ironwood talking to Jacques Weiss talking to Willow (Mama Schnee) Weiss talking to Whitley Weiss talking to Jaune  (possibly) 

Blake and Yang talking to Robyn (I have a feeling she’s going to be at the dinner too so there’s that follow up from CH7) Ren talking to Nora (because for Pete’s sake,  that NEEDS to happen at this point, for REAL)

And last but certainly not least, Oscar talking to Ruby (because that also needs to happen at this point too. I haven’t forgotten V7CH3).

I know that CH8 is only 15:37 mins long. Nevertheless, V2CH7 (the OG dance party episode) was 15:05 mins long and that episode managed to pull off a lot in a surprisingly short space of time. 

So you could say I have full faith that we can get a lot of really great character interactions for this upcoming new episode.

But y’know this is only me. Hears to hopefully getting my wish with that. At least for the Weiss and Whitley part of it. 

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)