#I like this one a lot and I hope you will too!! local zombie woman in love with her zombie husband to the horror of everyone

[ladycatofwinterfell]

Reach beyond

Day 4 of @nedcatweek: Lord and Lady Stoneheart

The guardsman fell to his knees, lowering his head. Under the cross gaze of their lady the rest found it in them to do the same. All filled with dread at the monstrous sight before them. 

”Seven save us” one man mumbled. ”He lives.”

He had never been pious, though more and more he felt he needed what the gods had to offer.

’They speak of a man wandering these lands alone. They say he carries his head in his hands’ were the words that had been spoken to her. Ever since then she had been relentless. Barely letting anyone have a blink of rest, barely letting them stop to water the horses and have something to eat themselves. On and on she drove them. As silent as she had always been.

”What are we searching for?” a younger one asked. ”Why does she chase this rumour?”

It was clearly a tale told to frighten one another.

”She believes The Headless One is Lord Eddard Stark” an older one replied, having lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper. ”We are searching for her husband.”

The younger one had shivered then. He was afraid of their lady. Their corpse walking. There could not be another one. There could not be two of the murdered Starks still walking.

What unnerved him even more was the thought of their lady loving. That there could be anything but burning rage in the red pits that were her eyes. In life she had been a wife and a mother, that he knew, but that had to be past. Their lady could no longer love. No being capable of love would do what she had done.

Even those among them who had initially been thrilled to follow the rumour eventually faltered when they found nothing. Days and weeks and moons passed and there was no sight of The Headless One. Though their lady wanted to hear nothing of returning to a camp. On and on they went in her fruitless pursuit of the man that had once been her husband.

”He does not exist” an older one said one night when their lady had disappeared between the trees. ”Unlike the talk of her these are baseless rumours.”

They all silently nodded. How would he have made it out of the capital? Who would have given him the kiss? How would he have risen? They all knew the Lannisters had taken his head. While their lady had floated in the river for days before she was brought back she had at least still had her head on her shoulders.

Still no one uttered a word of that to their lady. Rain beat down upon them from grey skies until they forgot what it was like to be dry and warm. They shivered through the nights and then shivered through the days. It was endless misery. 

”It was one thing to enact revenge” someone said on an especially wet night. ”Though chasing her fantasies…”

She had been mad from the beginning. From the moment she rose. Though it had become something else entirely ever since she heard that the men and women of the riverlands whispered of The Headless One.

The man that had brought the rumour to her came to bitterly regret it as she forced him forward. It was no comfort that she had joined the hunt herself. Her silent presence was always there, a dark shadow that engulfed them. Would she ever tire of it? Would she ever realise they were chasing nothing?

One of them insisted they not speak ill of her or her chase. It was still Lady Stark. They had a duty to her. And if Lord Stark was truly out there they had to find him. The others had quickly grown tired of him. 

”Of course you would say that, you were part of their guard” someone groaned when he had grown especially passionate in his defence of their lady. 

”Shut it, stableboy” someone else had grumbled.

”I was and remain in service of House Stark!” was his response. ”And my lady will not tolerate disloyalty.”

Though their lady never said anything. They knew she could speak if she held her throat together, but she had not uttered a word since they set out. Silent she was in her pursuit. They didn’t know  if she heard what they said even as they took care only to speak when she went off on her own. She had a way about her that implied she always listened, even when she was not there.

One day they all sat huddled together under a tree, trying to find refuge from the relentless rain. They passed most of their stops that way, there was no firewood dry enough to light fires with. They had all long since given up on the mere thought. Though at least their lady had allowed them a stop in the middle of the day so they could eat. Usually they had to move all the way until nightfall.

”She has been gone for longer than she usually is” said the guardsman.

”I don’t think you need to worry about her” said a younger one. ”Should anyone come across her they’ll run.”

He said it and though of how he himself had wanted to run the first time he laid eyes on her. The urge remained. There was something so deeply inhuman about her, he simply could not help it.

”And no one with anything at all between their ears would be this deep in the woods in this weather” an older one agreed.

Still the guardsman pushed himself up, pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and moved to go towards where she had disappeared.

”You’ll get lost, you fool” said the older one who had just spoken.

Though before the guardsman could respond they heard someone move close by. A few seconds later their lady emerged between two trees. Several of them flinched when they saw that she held a severed head. Brown hair streaked with grey fell over her hands. That was all they could see as their lady held the head so that it was facing her.

”My lady, what is it—”

Another person came stumbling in behind her and they all screamed. It was a walking body with no head.

As they all scrambled to their feet, no one grasping the situation enough to understand how they were supposed to act, their lady carefully turned the head around so that they could see the face.

”Gods be good” the guardsman whispered. ”Lord Stark.”

The in life so neatly kept beard had grown long and shaggy, and it was a gaunter face than he remembered it being. Where the eyes had been there were empty hollows and around them were claw marks similar to those their lady had on her cheeks. Though there was no doubt in his mind about who the face belonged to. The nose and the mouth were the same. 

The guardsman fell to his knees, lowering his head. Under the cross gaze of their lady the rest found it in them to do the same. All filled with dread at the monstrous sight before them. 

”Seven save us” one man mumbled. ”He lives.”

He had never been pious, though more and more he felt he needed what the gods had to offer.

They were regarded with coolness before their lady gently laid the head on one arm so that she could use the other to take the body’s arm. Slowly she guided the body over to a tree and sat it down, placing herself next to him with the head in her lap.

It was long before anyone could tear their eyes away, but she paid them no mind. Merely sat there and calmly patted the head’s hair as if she was alone in the world with it. 

The youngest was the first to look away and once he had done so he could not bring himself to look again. He was so nauseous he was certain he would cast up all he had managed to eat. The sight of those ghastly hands holding the eyeless head would be forever burned into his mind.

Many others shared his terror. No one would eat another bite. It would be many nights before anyone could sleep without nightmares. 

While the others again gathered under the tree, pale and unable to speak, the guardsman went to sit closer to their lady and the body. He chose a different tree, but was close enough to hear her as she raised her hands to her throat and rasped out words.

”Ned” she croaked.

The eyeless head said nothing, of course, though the body managed to get an arm around their lady’s waist and held her to it.

When their lady smiled it was more of a twisted grimace. It took them seconds before they realised it was a smile. It frightened hem all, brought unease to the entire company. 

Their journey was at end, they had found The Headless One. And he would return to camp with them and their lady.

***

She sewed the head back on the body herself. Gently and lovingly she stitched together his neck. Then the youngest one had actually vomited. In life she must have been skilled with a needle, though the rigidness brought on by her time in death caused the stitching to be crude and uneven. Still they all agreed he was less horrible to look upon when he was not in two separate pieces.

Once his head was firmly in place she dedicated herself to grooming him. Combed through his hair with her hands, cut it using a knife and then tied half of it back with a leather cord. The beard she could not do much about, nor could anyone else. 

They all drew away as she tended to him. Had they spoken aloud then they would have found they agreed on that something was simply wrong with the entire ordeal. They tried to justify it to themselves, but could not escape that instincts told them to run from it. Something so monstrous was not supposed to be gentle. She was meant to be vicious and cruel. 

Still they could not escape that the monstrosity had been done to them. Both had met their ends through cutting betrayal, they had not wished to be the way they were. The guardsman especially repeated it to himself. Lord and Lady Stark had been different than they were. 

Most of the time the stitching around his neck could be hidden by cloaks and high collars. For a time he also tied a piece of cloth over where his eyes had been, hiding the empty hollows and the marks the birds had left around them. Eventually he ceased doing that. Perhaps he sensed it unnerved each and every person that was unfortunate enough to lay eyes on him. Everyone averted their gaze at the sight of the dark holes in his skull.

He was entirely blind and as silent as his lady, but he listened even more attentively than she did. Every little whisper reached him, and not a one could answer to how. They blamed the guardsman, initially, until they realised things no one told him still came to the attention of their lord. 

The guardsman spoke of how cold his eyes had sometimes been before. Grey eyes as hard as stone that judged and judged and judged. The judgment seemed even worse when there were no eyes. When he turned his face towards them and there was nothing that saw and still he knew. Still he judged.

Their lady had had a habit of disappearing every now and again ever since she rose. Leaving them to wander the woods for a few hours at a time. She still did, though she brought their lord with her. He rarely ever left her side, as soon as they were both standing she was holding his arm. Between trees and through creeks and over roots she led him. On and on.

”Do you think they still..?”

The question was raised a dark night when they had again vanished.

It brought grimaces from all his companions.

”Why are you thinking of it?” someone else demanded. ”They’re dead.”

”They’re not, though” said a third. ”And they still… love..?”

He was not certain it was love. Could they love? Or was it devotion that lingered from what they had been before? They could not speak with one another. He could not see her. Though very often they sat in silence together. Never before had there been some resemblance of peace in their lady’s expression. And though what little remained of her hair was white and brittle their lord would run his fingers through it.

”They loved each other deeply” said the guardsman. ”It was known through the entire north.”

Before him they had done their executions by hanging. The noose had been the fate of all those they had managed to catch. So it was no more. Their lord had not lost his precision with his eyes. No, he swung a sword as he had in life. Enacted his wife’s justice rather than the king’s.

He would sit entirely still, almost as if frozen, until their lady had delivered her sentence. Then he would rise, his rotted fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword. 

”Mercy, mercy” they would cry as they were dragged to the block. 

Some were so young their voices broke as they wept. Boys not yet men. Though there was no mercy to be found once their lord had risen. Their lady had given her command and so he would put an end to whatever life he had before him.

”Lord Stark” a man begged. ”Lord Stark, I met you before. Your wife was with child, we spoke of the children. Please. Please, we spoke of our children. I am a good man, you know I am a good man. I have children.”

In spite of himself one of their own almost laughed, could not keep a smile off his face. How could one look at that thing and try to appeal to what had once been Eddard Stark? How could one gaze at his ruined face and believe there was a man there who would show mercy? Lord and Lady Stark were dead.

Their lord paused briefly. Their lady’s eyes burned more fiercely than they ever had. Red and hateful, her face twisted with it. 

”You’re a Lannister man” said another. ”They’ve got you to thank for that they have no children.” 

”I had nothing to do with it, I swear I had nothing—”

His head rolled all the same. His blood soaked into the soft ground, his eyes stared blankly at the sky above them. 

”He mentioned their children” whispered a young one as they huddled around the fire that night.

”And the next man brought before them will pay tenfold for that” said an older.

”The scum will deserve it” someone else added.

Even so he shuddered. He pulled his cloak around him, blaming the cold. It was cold. Winter would soon be upon them. 

”Winter is coming” the oldest among them said as the green was bleeding out of the leaves.

Their lord turned his head towards him and was still for a moment before nodding once. Indeed winter was coming. As it always did. Every summer had to end, life had to give way for the barren cold.

When the snow began falling it was gentle. Soft snowflakes danced through the air and covered the everything in a white blanket. The woods grew still and quiet.

It was only then it became apparent their lord did not breathe. White clouds formed before the faces of them all, but he did not breathe. 

”Whatever brought him back is different than the kiss of life” someone noted sullenly. 

Evil, he thought. Whatever kept him animated was not supposed to be in the world. That he would not voice, but he prayed. Each morning and each night he prayed.

”We’ll never know what brought him back. And I don’t want to know.”

Mere days after that first snow there was a storm. Winds made the snowflakes lash at any skin not covered and it was near impossible to see their hands if they held them in front of their faces. Biting cold unlike anything even the older among them had ever seen before. Winter as it had been in ages long past. Winter that put end to anything not strong enough to withhold it. True winter.

It was in this storm their lord and lady vanished. Out into the storm they went, never to return. Once the snowing eased enough for their men to search for them their tracks had long since been covered.

”They can’t have survived” the oldest muttered. ”The storm took them.”

Several others came to wonder if their lord even could die. Their lady lived through a kiss of life, she could be killed. But their lord had wandered headless for so long and he did not breathe. Nor did he eat or drink. Did he wander alone again? Had their lady perished in the cold?

”They meant to go somewhere.”

”Where would they have gone?”

They would never know. But among the people of the north there were soon whispers. 

[holylulusworld]

Indecent Proposal (24.2)

Summary: Your boyfriend wants to be part of their empire. You are the pawn he’s willing to sacrifice.

Pairing: Mobster!Stucky x fem!Reader

Warnings: established Stucky, caring mobsters, pregnant reader, polyamory, fluff, mentions of character's death

A/N: This is an interlude chapter.

Indecent Proposal (24)

Indecent Proposal masterlist

Now, the mansion…

“You promised to make things up to me,” you pout and give Steve the stinky eye. “Talk is cheap. I want your cocks.”

You wanted to go down and dirty, but Steve and Bucky wished to talk to you first. Now you’re sitting in the armchair at the library, Alpine in your lap, looking like a villain in a movie while patting the cat.

“You will have to make a lot up to me and Alpine,” you hold Bucky’s gaze. “You worried the poor cat. I had to brush their fur and give them a new necklace to calm the Alpine.”

Steve grins at your serious expression. “Doll, we are sorry about worrying you. And I will give you everything you want tomorrow. For tonight, we need to talk about a few things. We promised you to tell you everything.”

“We want nothing more than to ruin you all over again,” Bucky smirks when you start to squirm in your seat. “Steve is right, though. We need to talk about a few things, and after, we need a rest. It was a fucking long week.”

“You’re not hurt, right?” You look Bucky up and down before turning your head toward Steve. “Right? Everyone came home safely. All of your men too.”

“No one got hurt, doll,” Bucky assures you. “Our men know how to handle any situation. Jake localized Brock’s hideout, and we stormed the house. Not a big deal.”

You listen closely, hoping Bucky is telling you the truth. He gives you a soft smile and runs his hand over your head, but you won’t let him distract you this time.

“Is that the truth? We didn’t lose anyone. They are all safe,” you press on. “You won’t lie to me.”

“We swear, no one got hurt but the bastard trying to hurt you and our babies,” Steve softly says. He cups your face to press a kiss on your forehead. “They are having food at the moment. M’Baku was hungry.”

You giggle. M’Baku seems to be always hungry. Ever so often, you made a sandwich for the tall guy too when you sneaked into the kitchen for your nightly cravings.

He’s a giant, but a friendly one. M’Baku told you about his family and the woman he wants to marry. For a member of the mafia, he’s pretty nice.

You sigh, relieved. No one got hurt, everyone came back alive. The danger is over. – For now. You never know. In your husband's line of business, you’ll never not be in danger. They have enemies lurking in the dark, waiting for their chance to get back at Steve and Bucky.

“I want to know it all,” you say. “No more secrets, Steve, Bucky. Please fill me in. I need to know.”

“We killed Rumlow and disposed of his body,” Bucky hastily says. He hopes you do not hate him for killing another man in your name. “He died faster than he deserved.”

“He won’t cause trouble ever again,” Steve clears his throat. He can see the worry in your eyes and tries to assure you no one will ever find out Bucky killed Brock. “Natasha helped cover his death. We made it look like he left town because Natasha found out that he was a corrupt cop. Jake was a big help. Remind me to never mess with Jake Jensen.”

“Jakie is a sweetheart,” you coo. “He distracted me with zombies and explained to me how he hacks into a system.”

“Zombies?” Bucky grunts. “He showed you zombies. Is that a code word for his dick?” He cocks a brow. “Doll, answer me.”

“No, dummy,” you giggle and snort. “He designed a video game. There are zombies, and guns…and stuff. It’s pretty cool. Jake is a smart guy. You should pay him more.”

Steve laughs at his husband’s pissed expression. He can’t bear sharing your attention with someone else but Steve. Bucky hums and plans on having a serious conversation with Jake in the morning.

“Don’t put, Bucky baby,” you hold out your hand for Bucky. “You know I already got my hands full with you and Stevie. I cannot handle another man. Jake is only a nice guy helping not to worry about you.”

“Fine,” Bucky still pouts, but promises you to not hurt Jake.

“How about we forget about Brock and everything else for tonight and,” you smirk at Steve, “in the morning, you can make things up to me…”

Part 25

Tags in reblog.

[ginnyzero]

As a reader, I've found the amount of books I finish is about the same. I can find 20% of books to finish in self pub and about 33% of books to finish in trad pub. so 2 out of 10 and 3 out of 10. (With many of the same issues when it comes to the writing.) My fave genre is scifi/fantasy and I'm willing to try about anything once outside of time travel and zombies. BUT, it's easier to access trad pubbed books (b/c I have awesome library) than indie books, where I have to hope to find them on big river for free or a sale or you know "I review indie books" and hope I get bites. (Very rare. I also find many indie authors are wary of a peer review. I'm an analytical reader and yeah. It is hard to get a five star from me. 3 is good folks, really. I promise.)

Kindle books though on the PC are more exhausting to read than AO3 or paper books for some reason and I don't know why. So I've stopped doing it as much. This isn't the author's fault, it's big river company's. Or it might just be me. I dunno.

As a writer, I did try the trad pub route. I really think it's worthwhile to try b/c it will teach writers valuable skills, a summary/blurb is a pitch after all and writing queries will really help that. What I found though was genre boxes in trad were too small for my biker werewolf cozy drama urban fantasy adventures. (Go figure.) And my sword and sorcery fractured fairy tale books I guess didn't have enough tropey romance. So I went self pub and having chronic pain myself, it does help me with this I don't feel pressured to hurt myself trying to fill a deadline. (I still feel bad though.) The downside is dealing with algorithms so currently I'm sitting on a lot of stuff b/c I want to publish it every three months 'for the algorithm' (ugh) and because chronic pain and ADHD I cannot do this tiktok marketing stuff even if I knew WHAT to do. My editor works on barter which is great, (and she's an awesome editor who helps me learn to write better grammatically, and idea bouncer). Otherwise, I am a one woman show and since I LIKE simple covers and know photoshop, don't mind so much. (My formatting is not fancy but it works.)

It's never been about control or 'losing rights to my work' (you just have to wait out contracts really for that, it's tough but usually they're about five years.) It's always been "my stuff might suit someone but apparently trad pub doesn't see it making a profit." And now I've self pubbed and had next to no sales, I might have bit myself on the hand when it comes to trad pub. Oh well.

And indie pub is saturated b/c of a lot of pulp authors trying get rich quick stuff. So, there are indie pub gems out there, you just won't find them through big river company's search engine. (And when I was on Twitter, it was an echo chamber in the indie author section and it wasn't attracting readers but other authors who weren't there to buy books but promote books.)

Looking at the publishing industry right now, I'd suggest any author who is looking to publish do their research and weigh the pros and cons of it. Do you like social media marketing? Especially on tiktok or youtube shorts? What is your goal honestly? Do you want to be a local author in your bookstore or local fair that fits your genre or what? Like, my dad went into B&N the other day with me and was like "I didn't see your books on the local author shelf!" and I'm like "Well, Dad, there would be hoops. How often do you want to be over here?" And if you're self pubbed, don't knock getting your books into the local library and if you have fans, get them to get your books into their local library. That's the BEST way people will be able to access your books for "Free" and you still get paid when the library BUYS them.

okay guys im doing a survey thing so this is for writers and readers, reblog and share your thoughts?

topic: self publishing vs trad publishing

as a reader, does the difference mean anything to you?

as a writer, what helps you decide which to pursue?

i'm going to be using the replies to this post to make more topic posts later on as part of a larger project i'm putting together, so i really appreciate answers!

[rayveewrites]

So who wants to hear about my extremely weird Hermitcraft AU? Anyone? Too bad, I'm talking about it anyway and y'all can't stop me.

So, you know the fantasy trope of "an ancient super-advanced civilisation that disappeared off the face of the planet/went extinct due to hubris/got wiped out by a plague/etc"? Yeah. That.

...Let me explain.

In this case, the ancient civilisation was, in fact, Players. Players came in a variety of shapes, sizes, species, etc. Humans, Mob Hybrids, Werefolk, Cyborgs, Shapeshifters, assorted Halloween monsters, full-on robots, aliens, technically-not-aliens-but-basically-aliens... the list goes on. Now, what made someone a Player was never particularly well-defined due to sheer variety, but there were a few common threads. Players could break, pick up and place blocks, they could use chests, crafting tables and their own inventories, they could respawn in non-hardcore worlds, and they had a certain level of intelligence (about on par with, say, a human).

So, anyway. One of the most common threads were that Players- all Players- had access to magic. Typically this manifested in the form of inventories, crafting, being able to break/place solid 1m³ blocks, and, of course, enchanting, with Admin and Operator powers manifesting in various worlds for specific people. There were other forms of magic, of course, but learning those typically required (at minimum) a lot of study and/or a level of attunement to that particular branch of magic.

Players lived in communities, on worlds- in this AU, all the worlds were connected, but separated by the world borders. The various Hermitcraft worlds were some of these, as were 3rd Life and Legacy SMP and Hypixel and so on.

So, that's the worldbuilding preamble out of the way.

The worlds updated every now and then, and they added, tweaked and (occasionally) removed various mobs, blocks and mechanics. But this update, the Final Update... nobody's quite sure why, but it removed magic.

Not completely, of course. It set in slowly. Villagers no longer transformed when they were slain by zombies. The monsters of the night became less and less common. Portals became unreliable, until they eventually stopped working entirely. World borders started to fail (and I feel sorry for those unlucky enough to neighbour servers like 2b2t). Enchanting became more temperamental. Still, Players were adaptable. They could manage.

Until they couldn't. See, while Players had magic running through their systems, and had since the universe had existed, all of a sudden their children...didn't. The big problem was that most species- Hybrids, Werefolk, Spaeshifters, Aliens and not-exactly-aliens... their biology meant their children physically couldn't survive without magic. The one exception? Humans.

Already in the majority, humans were the only race who could still produce living children. But these children weren't Players. They had no inventories, no ability to use a crafting table or break a block with their bare fists like their forebears. They managed though, adapting and creating new ways to craft and smelt. And as time went on... they became the only ones left.

See, while Players were all long-lived, and capable of respawn, they did eventually experience the Final Death, from which there was no coming back (ignoring the occasional ghost, resurrection, or any necromancy-related shenanigans that were frankly extremely rare to begin with). And as time wore on, Players slowly died out, until all that were left were those who were Undying, and the Humans who weren't Players (it's worth mentioning that Immortals and Undying were two different peoples. Immortality was granted by the gods; when the gods faded, their gifts faded with them. Undying, on the other hand, were those who had experienced their Final Death but kept going. Undead beings, if you will). Undying could be killed, if their body was so badly maimed their soul had no choice to fly free, but not so badly they would just respawn; as Human societies developed, many Undead succumbed to this fate, either by choice or by force, acts done by fearful Humans.

Let's go forward, now.

It's been over two thousand years since the Players died out, and longer since the Final Update. There is only one world now, the world borders long forgotten. The Players are myths, legends; a mysterious race, now long gone, their builds crumbling to ruin. Nobody has encountered a zombie or creeper for millennia; the only spiders left are small and harmless, a far cry from the creatures once large enough for a skeleton to ride.

Archeologist study the ruins Players left behind. One city, Hermiton, was originally a camping ground for people to study the various ruins in the area; the crumbling remains of a vast monument, the stump of a tree larger than should ever have been possible, a gaping hole some claim leads to the centre of the Earth.

Near Hermiton lies a vast forest, beside the footprint of what had once been an immense mansion. The forest is a mixture of different species, most likely transplanted thousands of years ago. In that forest lives... something. A ghost? A spirit? a cryptid?

Whatever it is, it's not human. The locals claim she looks like a woman, with glowing eyes and long red hair. They call her the Green Lady, for the colour of her skin. They say her teeth are sharp, and that dark claws tip her fingers. They say her cheeks are hollow, her eyes are sunken- but that her gaze holds a fire no Human could hope to match. They say she lives in the forest, and that she is its guardian. They say that anyone who tries to chop down the trees, to clear the land, will face her wrath.

Outsiders will write this off as a modern-day folk tale, an urban myth. But believe it or not, there is something- someone- who dwells in the woods. Someone who brings those lost home. Someone who intercedes if there's danger. Someone who will run through the forest with a familiarity only born from centuries, millennia, of practice.

They don't know who she is. She's a guardian spirit. She's a ghost. Se's been there since the Ancients walked the land. They're not wrong about that last one. Once, she altered a sign planted by the one responsible for the enormous tree. Once, she had her arm sewn back on by the person who'd built the immense mansion. Once, she threatened the man who dug the vast hole, the one they say leads to the centre of the Earth.

She's a Player, the last one left. She's a zombie, the only one to still walk the Earth. She's alone. Once, she had a family, a home. She dwells near the ruins of that home, even now. Her kind, her kin; they're long gone. She's the only one to remain.

She waits for the day her family will return. It's written in the stars, in the fabric of the Universe. They will return. And she will be there, ready to greet them with open arms. For the Univers is kind. The Universe loves its Players.

Alone in the forest, ZombieCleo, Master of Puppets, the Undead and Undying, the Last Player, waits. She'll be there, when her family, her hermits, return.

Even if it takes another two thousand years.

[yourlocalcon-man]

Had a dream last night that MHA was in an apocalypse. There weren’t any quirks, but there were zombies. This particular flavor of zombie was the result of bacteria that uses a dead person’s nervous system to send electrical impulses and control the body so it can move the bacteria around. Due to that really the only way to stop these zombies was to either dismember them or cut the spinal cord, usually both. That way the method of movement would be destroyed. But you couldn’t actually “kill” the zombies because they’d keep moving no matter what. You just kinda had to stop them, get what you needed and fucking go. Lucky for them these guys were slow. Really slow.

Anyway Midoriya was a biologist on the team that discovered the bacteria, which had mutated in their lab out of a similar bacteria, and thanks to some idiot not following protocol there was a containment breach and the bacteria got out. It doesn’t kill you, it just infects you and waits until you die from something else. So it was a slow while until the bacteria actually started doing anything, but when it did things got bad. Midoriya is trying to put together an antibiotic that can kill the thing.

But that was all set dressing because the dream wasn’t about Midoriya at all, it was about Todoroki and his early days in the apocalypse, and how he met his survivor group. It happened in a soup kitchen. Todoroki and Camie had been surviving together for some time, and they’d gone into a soup kitchen clearing the rooms of zombies and trying to find food. I remember that there was a lot of solid communication, and they stuck close with Todoroki entering the rooms facing forward and Camie entering directly behind him facing backwards just in case they’d missed something from the previous room or there was something by the door.

They cleared several rooms like this, and they didn’t find much. Not much soup, not many zombies. Until they came to the pantry. There was a zombie child in there that was tied up, but trying desperately to escape and a woman in there. When Todoroki opened the pantry the child started thrashing and trying to escape so he smashed its head in with his boot (it would later be discovered that the bacteria had adapted to live in and feed on the brain so cutting the brain stem and destroying the brain was the only way to actually kill one). The woman was hysterical and covered in bites from the child and screaming at him for killing her baby. Due to all the misinformation before the fall, Todoroki and Camie didn’t actually know that a bite wouldn’t turn you into a zombie so he shot the woman and smashed her head in too. (Don’t ask where he got the gun I don’t know)

The gunshot and screaming drew the attention of another group of people down the block who’d been raiding the local CVS. It was Ochako, Jirou and Inasa who came running and found Todoroki, Cammie and the mother’s corpse. Due to Inasa having been bit several time before, they knew it wouldn’t kill you and they were debating what to do with Todoroki since he’d been the one to kill the woman. Inasa and Uraraka both agreed that there was no place for people refused to help others in humanity if there were any hope of rebuilding, so they vote for killing him. But Jirou disagrees, mentioning that even if he’s a murderer he could be useful to them. She goes looking through the woman’s pockets and finds her driver’s license. She asks Todoroki how old he is, and he tells her he’s 20. The mother was 26 and the day was December 16th so Jirou says that’s when they’ll kill him, because he doesn’t deserve to live any longer than she did. So Todoroki and Camie get taken as basically prisoners to Jirou’s group and they just have to deal with it.

But yeah that was the dream.

TLDR; Had a dream that Shouto killed a lady in a zombie apocalypse and was taken prisoner by Jirou, Ochako and Inasa because they thought that was fucked up, and intended to kill him on December 16th in six years because they think he doesn’t deserve to live longer than the woman he killed.

[mst3kproject]

Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks

This movie has a real all-star cast as far as us MSTies are concerned.  There’s Rossano Brazzi, who was Phineas Prune in The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t; Edmund Purdom, whom we know as Griba from Ator, the Fighting Eagle; and Salvatore Baccaro, the leader of the cavemen in Starcrash.  The film itself is absolute, irredeemable trash and I love it like my own garbage child.

We begin out of nowhere with a bunch of peasants beating a caveman to death.  What?  Where are we?  When are we?  Who are these people?  Why is one of them a cavemen wearing a fur loincloth and the rest are just normal people in pants?  Why are they beating him?  Did he do something that pissed them off, or do they just hate him because they’re, like, anti-Neanderthal racists?  What the fuck is going on?  We will never really find out.  We just cut straight to Dr. Frankenstein hauling the troglocorpse into his lab.

That’s how this movie rolls.  Don’t bother asking questions, just try to keep up.

Count Frankenstein’s daughter Maria has returned to her childhood home, bringing along her fiancé Eric and her friend Krista, who has an unhealthy relationship with polka-dots.  Krista is immediately fascinated by the Count and his work, and he with her in turn.  It doesn’t take long for Krista to find out that Frankenstein is carrying on reanimation experiments in his basement, but that’s actually the least of the bullshit going on around here.  There are more cavemen out there, but there’re also rivalries and love triangles among the inevitable gaggle of deformed assistants, and the local villagers are angry about a spate of grave robbing and determined to run the Frankensteins out of town.  The ‘monster’ (I’m not sure it quite counts) is kind of an afterthought.

See, Hans the Butler hates Genz the Dwarf (even though it’s actually Kregan the hunchback who is fucking Hans’ wife) so he gets him fired, and Genz swears revenge on the whole Frankenstein household. Wandering in the woods, Genz meets and befriends a second caveman, naming him ‘Ook’ and teaching him how to rape women in the hopes that he will do violence to Maria Frankenstein.  Ook, however, kidnaps Krista instead.  At about the same time, Genz sneaks back into Castle Frankenstein to free the first caveman, Goliath, whom the Count has been keeping strapped to a table after bringing him back to life, and who has also fallen in love with Krista as the latter assists the Count with his work.  Goliath goes on a murderous rampage, then follows Genz back to the cave where Ook is keeping Krista.  Sure enough, this leads to a caveman-vs-caveman battle for the girl!

Man, I would love to see earlier drafts of this script, mostly because I’m dying to know whether some prior incarnation of it actually had anything to do with Mary Shelley’s book or even with previous Frankenstein movies.  I mean, it starts with the servants digging up a corpse, and ends with a torch-and-pitchfork mob destroying the Count’s creation… the beginning and end of a Frankenstein movie are present.  In between those, however, it wanders off on this bizarre tangent about the local cryptids. As it reached the screen, the only thing Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks seems to have in common with its source material is the threat to the Count’s girlfriend, which was issued by the Creature in the original story.  Technically, even the grave robbing and re-animating have nothing to do with Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus – the book never actually says how the Creature’s body was created. The idea of piecing it together from corpses originates with the Boris Karloff movie.

Let me describe some more of the stuff that goes on here, in order to give you the flavour of the experience.  For starters, Salvatore Baccaro, playing Ook the caveman, is credited as ‘Boris Lugosi’ in the opening credits.  The first time I saw this movie I snorted water up my nose when that popped on screen.

Later in the movie there’s a flashback to that first peasants-vs-caveman scene, and it answers none of the questions I listed above. Why are there cavemen in these woods? I dunno, there just are.  What did the cavemen do to piss off the locals?  I don’t know that, either… they may have been stealing livestock, I guess, but they don’t seem to have been a threat to the people until Genz taught them about rape.  Kind of makes one wonder what happened to the cavewomen, since we never meet one and these guys don’t seem to know what women are, as illustrated by Ook initially thinking their nubile young captive is going to be dinner. Also, although there are two cavemen, they don’t know each other.  Genz has to introduce them!

There’s a bit where Genz is hiding behind a clock to watch Maria and Eric have sex.  The butler comes along and chews him out for it, sends him to his room, and then he stands there and watches them for a while.

In another scene, Maria and Krista go skinny-dipping in a mineral spring, and the longer it goes on the more the dialogue sounds like it’s going to break into lesbian porn.  I am particularly fond of the exchange where Maria says, “don’t worry, this dress is designed to be easy to get out of,” and Krista, impressed, replies, “I’ll say it is!”

The subplot in which the butler’s wife is having an affair with the hunchback has no effect on the plot whatsoever.  The butler never even finds out about it.  There’s a scene in which they run off to the barn to slap each other and smooch, and then the movie forgets about it.  Astonishingly, the same is true of the corpse the servants dig up early on.  They exhume the body of a recently dead woman, Genz cops a feel and leaves some footprints at the scene so that the villagers can figure out who was responsible, and… that’s it.  She doesn’t even hang around as a gratuitous zombie like the grave-robbed girl in The Atomic Brain.

According to Wikipedia, nobody will admit to directing this movie.  Like many Italian films, the director used a pseudonym, and the cast apparently disagree on even such basics as his nationality.  Some of them think he was Spanish, but Simonetta Vitelli, who played Maria Frankenstein, insists he was an American.

At the end of the movie, Ook is the first of the cavemen to be killed, and we get to see Genz weeping over his friend’s dead body.  Then he and Krista hold each other as the mob closes in on Goliath.  This is supposed to be a tender moment but it looks a lot like Genz (who is, you must remember, around four feet tall) is enjoying his faceful of boobs.  Since all alternative love interests for Krista are now dead, maybe we’re supposed to think she ended up marrying Genz.

Finally, as Goliath’s body burns, Edmund Perdom intones, “there’s a bit of the monster in all of us, especially where there’s fear.”  I’ll drink to that, my dude.  ‘Twas beauty killed the beast.  He tampered in God’s domain.

That probably is supposed to be the movie’s point. The villagers are depicted as suspicious, fearful, and quick to violence, while the cavemen seem to have been relatively peaceful types until Genz taught them how to rape.  It’s very much the Homo sapiens who are the monsters there. Frankenstein’s servants are all assorted shades of horrible, from Genz the necrophile to the nasty cackling butler to the adulterous hunchback and cook.  Count Frankenstein himself isn’t quite so overtly evil but it’s clear that he’s not very interested in the moral dimension of his work.

Even if that’s an intentional theme rather than just a pithy closing line, I don’t think anybody thought about it very hard. The rest of Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks is too much of a mess.  There’s no real plot, no identifiable protagonist, it’s sleazy and incoherent and at times it’s horrifyingly abelist… and yet, for reasons I cannot explain, it’s weirdly entertaining.

Maybe it’s just that everything in the film is so damn ridiculous.  So much of what happens comes out of nothing and goes right back into it… a series of mind-boggling what the fuck moments that surprise the viewer over and over.  The impression is that the writers are throwing horror concepts at the screen to see what sticks, but nothing does.

Maybe it’s that this is another villain-centric piece.  You know I like those.  I guess maybe Krista is the heroine?  She seems to do the fewest horrible things over the course of the story, but she’s not a good person, either.  She’s totally into the Count’s creepy reanimation experiments, and makes only a token protest about the idea of informed consent.  Edmund Perdom’s Inspector character is one you’d expect to try and do something about these goings on, but he never does.  Maria and Eric are only in the movie so it can have a sex scene.

Whatever the reason, the result is inexplicably charming. Between the easily distracted plot, the gratuitous breasts, the bad dubbing, the complete failure to either frighten or titillate, and the fact that it tries to tie itself to a lucrative franchise it really has nothing to do with, Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks is almost the perfect example of a bad Italian horror flick from the 70’s.

[grigori77]

Summer 2021′s Movies - My Top Ten Favourite Films (Part 2)

The Top Ten:

10.  WEREWOLVES WITHIN – definitely one of the year’s biggest cinematic surprises so far, this darkly comic supernatural murder mystery from indie horror director Josh Ruben (Scare Me) is based on a video game, but you’d never know it – this bears so little resemblance to the original Ubisoft title that it’s a wonder anyone even bothered to make the connection, but even so, this is now notable for officially being the highest rated video game adaptation in Rotten Tomatoes history, with a Certified Fresh rating of 86%. Certainly it deserves that distinction, but there’s so much more to the film – this is an absolute blood-splattered joy, the title telling you everything you need to know about the story but belying the film’s pure, quirky genius.  Veep’s Sam Richardson is forest ranger Finn Wheeler, a gentle and socially awkward soul who arrives at his new post in the remote small town of Beaverton to discover the few, uniformly weird residents are divided over the oil pipeline proposition of forceful and abrasive businessman Sam Parker (The Hunt’s Wayne Duvall).  As he tries to fit in and find his feet, investigating the disappearance of a local dog while bonding with local mail carrier Cecily Moore (Other Space and This Is Us’ Milana Vayntrub), the discovery of a horribly mutilated human body leads to a standoff between the townsfolk and an enforced lockdown in the town’s ramshackle hotel as they try to work out who amongst them is the “werewolf” they suspect is responsible.  This is frequently hilarious, the offbeat script from appropriately named Mishna Wolff (I’m Down) dropping some absolutely zingers and crafting some enjoyably weird encounters and unexpected twists, while the uniformly excellent cast do much of the heavy-lifting to bring their rich, thoroughly oddball characters to vivid life – Richardson is thoroughly cuddly throughout, while Duvall is pleasingly loathsome, Casual’s Michaela Watkins is pleasingly grating as Trisha, flaky housewife to unrepentant local horn-dog Pete Anderton (Orange is the New Black’s Michael Chernus), and Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story) and Harry Guillen (best known, OF COURSE, as Guillermo in the TV version of What We Do In the Shadows) make an enjoyably spiky double-act as liberal gay couple Devon and Joaquim Wolfson; in the end, though, the film is roundly stolen by Vayntrub, who invests Cecily with a bubbly sweetness and snarky sass that makes it absolutely impossible to not fall completely in love with her (gods know I did).  This is a deeply funny film, packed with proper belly-laughs from start to finish, but like all the best horror comedies it takes its horror elements seriously, delivering some enjoyably effective scares and juicy gore, while the werewolf itself, when finally revealed, is realised through some top-notch prosthetics.  Altogether this was a most welcome under-the-radar surprise for the summer, and SO MUCH MORE than just an unusually great video game adaptation …

9.  THE TOMORROW WAR – although cinemas finally reopened in the UK in early summer, the bite of the COVID lockdown backlog was still very much in effect this blockbuster season, with several studios preferring to hedge their bets and wait for later release dates. Others turned to streaming services, including Paramount, who happily lined up a few heavyweight titles to open on major platforms in lieu of the big screen.  One of the biggest was this intended sci-fi action horror tentpole, meant to give Chris Pratt another potential franchise on top of Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, which instead dropped in early July on Amazon Prime.  So, was it worth staying in on a Saturday night instead of heading out for something on the BIG screen?  Mostly yes, although it’s mainly a trashy, guilty pleasure big budget B-picture charm that makes this such a worthwhile experience – the film’s biggest influences are clearly Independence Day and Starship Troopers, two admirably clunky blockbusters that DEFINED prioritising big spectacle and overblown theatrics over intelligent writing and realistic storytelling.  It doesn’t help that the premise is pure bunk – in 2022, a wormhole opens from thirty years in the future, and a plea for help is sent back with a bunch of very young future soldiers.  Seems Earth will become overrun by an unstoppable swarm of nasty alien critters called Whitespikes in 25 years, and the desperate human counteroffensive have no choice but to bring soldiers from our present into the future to help them fight back and save the humanity from imminent extinction.  Less than a year later, the world’s standing armies have been decimated and a worldwide draft has been implemented, with normal everyday adults being sent through for a seven day tour from which very few return.  Pratt plays biology teacher and former Green Beret Dan Forrester, one of the latest batch of draftees to be sent into the future along with a selection of chefs, soccer moms and other average joes – his own training and experience serves him better than most when the shit hits the fan, but it soon becomes clear that he’s just as out of his depth as everyone else as the sheer enormity of the threat is revealed.  But when he becomes entangled with a desperate research outfit led by Muri (Chuck’s Yvonne Strahovski) who seem to be on the verge of a potential world-changing scientific breakthrough, Dan realises there just might be a slender hope for humanity after all … this is every bit as over-the-top gung-ho bonkers as it sounds, and just as much fun.  Director Chris McKay may still be pretty fresh (with only The Lego Batman Movie under his belt to date), but he shows a lot of talent and potential for big budget blockbuster filmmaking here, delivering with guts and bravado on some major action sequences (a fraught ticking-clock SAR operation through a war-torn Miami is the film’s undeniable highlight, but a desperate battle to escape a blazing oil rig also really impresses), as well as handling some impressively complex visual effects work and wrangling some quality performances from his cast (altogether it bodes well for his future, which includes Nightwing and Johnny Quest as future projects).  Chris Pratt can do this kind of stuff in his sleep – Dan is his classic fallible and self-deprecating but ultimately solid and kind-hearted action hero fare, effortlessly likeable and easy to root for – and his supporting cast are equally solid, Strahovsky going toe-to-toe with him in the action sequences while also creating a rewardingly complex smart-woman/badass combo in Muri, while the other real standouts include Sam Richardson (Veep, Werewolves Within) and Edwin Hodge (The Purge movies) as fellow draftees Charlie and Dorian, the former a scared-out-of-his-mind tech geek while the latter is a seriously hardcore veteran serving his THIRD TOUR, and the ever brilliant J.K. Simmonds as Dan’s emotionally scarred estranged Vietnam-vet father, Jim.  Sure, it’s derivative as hell and thoroughly predictable (with more than one big twist you can see coming a mile away), but the pace is brisk, the atmosphere pregnant with a palpable doomed urgency, and the creatures themselves are a genuinely convincing world-ending threat, the design team and visual effects wizards creating genuine nightmare fuel in the feral and unrelenting Whitespikes.  Altogether this WAS an ideal way to spend a comfy Saturday night in, but I think it could have been JUST AS GOOD for a Saturday night OUT at the Pictures …

8.  ARMY OF THE DEAD – another high profile release that went straight to streaming was this genuine monster hit for Netflix from one of this century’s undeniable heavyweight action cinema masters, the indomitable Zack Snyder, who kicked off his career with an audience-dividing (but, as far as I’m concerned, ultimately MASSIVELY successful) remake of George Romero’s immortal Dawn of the Dead, and has finally returned to zombie horror after close to two decades away.  The end result is, undeniably, the biggest cinematic guilty pleasure of the entire summer, a bona fide outbreak horror EPIC in spite of its tightly focused story – Dave Bautista plays mercenary Scott Ward, leader a badass squad of soldiers of fortune who were among the few to escape a deadly outbreak of a zombie virus in the city of Las Vegas, enlisted to break into the vault of one of the Strip’s casinos by owner Bly Tanaka (a fantastically game turn from Hiroyuki Sanada) and rescue $200 million still locked away inside.  So what’s the catch?  Vegas remains ground zero for the outbreak, walled off from the outside world but still heavily infested within, and in less than three days the US military intends to sterilise the site with a tactical nuke.  Simple premise, down and dirty, trashy flick, right?  Wrong – Snyder has never believed in doing things small, having brought us unapologetically BIG cinema with the likes of 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel and, most notably, his version of Justice League, so this is another MASSIVE undertaking, every scene shot for maximum thrills or emotional impact, each set-piece executed with his characteristic militaristic precision and explosive predilection (a harrowing fight for survival against a freshly-awakened zombie horde in tightly packed casino corridors is the film’s undeniable highlight), and the gauzy, dreamlike cinematography gives even simple scenes an intriguing and evocative edge that really does make you feel like you’re watching something BIG.  The characters all feel larger-than-life too – Bautista can seem somewhat cartoonish at times, and this role definitely plays that as a strength, making Scott a rock-hard alpha male in the classic Hollywood mould, but he’s such a great actor that of course he’s able to invest the character with real rewarding complexity beneath the surface; Ana de la Reguera (Eastbound & Down) and Nora Arnezeder (Zoo, Mozart in the Jungle), meanwhile, both bring a healthy dose of oestrogen-fuelled badassery to proceedings as, respectively, Scott’s regular second-in-command, Maria Cruz, and Lilly the Coyote, Power’s Omari Hardwick and Matthias Schweighofer (You Are Wanted) make for a fun odd-couple double act as circular-saw-wielding merc Vanderohe and Dieter, the nervous, nerdy German safecracker brought in to crack the vault, and Fear the Walking Dead’s Garrett Dillahunt channels spectacular scumbag energy as Tanaka’s sleazy former casino boss Martin, while latecomer Tig Notaro (Star Trek Discovery) effortlessly rises above her last-minute-casting controversy to deliver brilliantly as sassy and acerbic chopper pilot Peters.  I think it goes without saying that Snyder can do this in his sleep, but he definitely wasn’t napping here – he pulled out all the stops on this one, delivering a thrilling, darkly comic and endearingly CRACKERS zombie flick that not only compares favourably to his own Dawn but is, undeniably, his best film for AGES.  Netflix certainly seem to be pleased with the results – a spinoff prequel, Army of Thieves, starring Dieter in another heist thriller, is set to drop in October, with an animated series following in the Spring, and there’s already rumours of a sequel in development.  I’m certainly up for more …

7.  BLACK WIDOW – no major blockbuster property was hit harder by COVID than the MCU, which saw its ENTIRE SLATE for 2020 delayed for over a year in the face of Marvel Studios bowing to the inevitability of the Pandemic and unwilling to sacrifice those all-important box-office receipts by just sending their films straight to streaming.  The most frustrating part for hardcore fans of the series was the delay of a standalone film that was already criminally overdue – the solo headlining vehicle of founding Avenger and bona fide female superhero ICON Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow.  Equally frustratingly, then, this film seems set to be overshadowed by real life controversy as star and producer Scarlett Johansson goes head-to-head with Disney in civil court over their breach-of-contract after they hedged their bets by releasing the film simultaneously in cinemas and on their own streaming platform, which has led to poor box office as many of the film’s potential audience chose to watch it at home instead of risk movie theatres with the virus still very much remaining a threat (and Disney have clearly reacted AGAIN, now backtracking on their release policy by instigating a new 45-day cinematic exclusivity window on all their big releases for the immediate future). But what of the film itself?  Well Black Widow is an interesting piece of work, director Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome) and screenwriter Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok) delivering a decidedly stripped-back, lean and intellectual beast that bears greater resemblance to the more cerebral work of the Russo Brothers on their Captain America films than the more classically bombastic likes of Iron Man, Thor or the Avengers flicks, concentrating on story and characters over action and spectacle as we wind back the clock to before the events of Infinity War and Endgame, when Romanoff was on the run after Civil War, hunted by the government-appointed forces of US Secretary of State “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) after violating the Sokovia Accords.  Then a mysterious delivery throws her back into the fray as she finds herself targeted by a mysterious assassin, forcing her to team up with her estranged “sister” Yelena Belova (Midsommar’s Florence Pugh), another Black Widow who’s just gone rogue from the same Red Room Natasha escaped years ago, armed with a McGuffin capable of foiling a dastardly plot for world domination.  The reluctant duo need help in this endeavour though, enlisting the aid of their former “parents”, veteran Widow and scientist Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) and Alexie Shostakov (Stranger Things’ David Harbour), aka the Red Guardian, a Russian super-soldier intended to be their counterpart to Captain America, who’s been languishing in a Siberian gulag for the last twenty years. After the Earth-shaking, universe-changing events of recent MCU events, this film certainly feels like a much more self-contained, modest affair, playing for much smaller stakes, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less worthy of our attention – this is as precision-crafted as anything we’ve seen from Marvel so far, but it also feels like a refreshing change of pace after all those enormous cosmic shenanigans, while the script is as tight as a drum, propelling a taut, suspense-filled thriller that certainly doesn’t scrimp on the action front.  Sure, the set-pieces are very much in service of the story here, but they’re still the pre-requisite MCU rollercoaster rides, a selection of breathless chases and bone-crunching fights that really do play to the strengths of one of our favourite Avengers, but this is definitely one of those films where the real fireworks come when the film focuses on the characters – Johansson is so comfortable with her character she’s basically BECOME Natasha Romanoff, kickass and ruthless and complex and sassy and still just desperate for a family (though she hides it well throughout the film), while Weisz delivers one of her best performances in years as a peerless professional who keeps her emotions tightly reigned in but slowly comes to realise that she was never more happy than when she was pretending to be a simple mother, and Ray Winstone does a genuinely fantastic job of taking a character who could have been one of the MCU’s most disappointingly bland villains, General Dreykov, master of the Red Room, and investing him with enough oily charisma and intense presence to craft something truly memorable (frustratingly, the same cannot be said for the film’s supposed main physical threat, Taskmaster, who performs well in their frustratingly brief appearances but ultimately gets Darth Maul levels of short service).  The true scene-stealers in the film, however, are Alexie and Yelena – Harbour’s clearly having the time of his life hamming it up as a self-important, puffed-up peacock of a superhero who never got his shot and is clearly (rightly) decidedly bitter about it, preferring to relive the life he SHOULD have had instead of remembering the good in the one he got; Pugh, meanwhile, is THE BEST THING IN THE WHOLE MOVIE, easily matching Johanssen scene-for-scene in the action stakes but frequently out-performing her when it comes to acting, investing Yelena with a sweet naivety and innocence and a certain amount of quirky geekiness that makes for one of the year’s most endearing female protagonists (certainly one who, if the character goes the way I think she will, is thoroughly capable of carrying the torch for the foreseeable future).  In the end this is definitely one of the LEAST typical, by-the-numbers MCU films to date, and by delivering something a little different I think they’ve given us just the kind of leftfield swerve the series needs right now.  It’s certainly one of their most fascinating and rewarding films so far, and since it seems to be Johansson’s final tour of duty as the Black Widow, it’s also a most fitting farewell indeed.

6.  WRATH OF MAN – Guy Ritchie’s latest (regarded by many as a triumphant return to form, which I consider unfair since I don’t think he ever went away, especially after 2020’s spectacular The Gentlemen) is BY FAR his darkest film – let’s get this clear from the start.  Anyone who knows his work knows that Ritchie consistently maintains a near flawless balance and humour and seriousness in his films that gives them a welcome quirkiness that is one of his most distinctive trademarks, so for him to suddenly deliver a film which takes itself SO SERIOUSLY is one hell of a departure.  This is a film which almost REVELS in its darkness – Ritchie’s always loved bathing in man’s baser instincts, but Wrath of Man almost makes a kind of twisted VIRTUE out of wallowing in the genuine evils that men are capable of inflicting on each other.  The film certainly kicks off as it means to go on – In a tour-de-force single-shot opening, we watch a daring armoured car robbery on the streets of Los Angeles that goes horrifically wrong, an event which will have devastating consequences in the future.  Five months later, Fortico Security hires taciturn Brit Patrick Hill (Jason Statham) to work as a guard in one of their trucks, and on his first run he single-handedly foils another attempted robbery with genuinely uncanny combat skills. The company is thrilled, amazed by the sheer ability of their new hire, but Hill’s new colleagues are more concerned, wondering exactly what they’ve let themselves in for.  After a second foiled robbery, it becomes clear that Hill’s reputation has grown, but fellow guard Haiden (Holt McCallany), aka “Bullet”, begins to suspect there might be something darker going on … Ritchie is firing on all cylinders here, delivering a PERFECT slow-burn suspense thriller which plays its cards close to its chest and cranks up its piano wire tension with artful skill as it builds to a devastating, knuckle-whitening explosive heist that acts as a cathartic release for everything that’s built up over the past hour and a half.  In typical Ritchie style the narrative is non-linear, the story unfolding in four distinct parts told from clearly differentiated points of view, allowing the clues to be revealed at a trickle that effortlessly draws the viewer in as they fall deeper down the rabbit hole, leading to a harrowing but strangely poignant denouement which is perfectly in tune with everything that’s come before. It’s an immense pleasure finally getting to see Statham working with Ritchie again, and I don’t think he’s ever been better than he is here – he's always been a brilliantly understated actor, but there’s SO MUCH going on under Hill’s supposedly impenetrable calm that every little peek beneath the armour is a REVELATION; McCallany, meanwhile, has landed his best role since his short but VERY sweet supporting turn in Fight Club, seemingly likeable and fallible as the kind of easy-going co-worker anyone in the service industry would be THRILLED to have, but giving Bullet far more going on under the surface, while there are uniformly excellent performances from a top-shelf ensemble supporting cast which includes Josh Hartnett, Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice, Sicario), Andy Garcia, Laz Alonso (The Boys), Eddie Marsan, Niamh Algar (Raised By Wolves) and Darrell D’Silva (Informer, Domina), and a particularly edgy and intense turn from Scott Eastwood.  This is one of THE BEST thrillers of the year, by far, a masterpiece of mood, pace and plot that ensnares the viewer from its gripping opening and hooks them right up to the close, a triumph of the genre and EASILY Guy Ritchie’s best film since Snatch.  Regardless of whether or not it’s a RETURN to form, we can only hope he continues to deliver fare THIS GOOD in the future …

5.  FEAR STREET (PARTS 1-3) – Netflix have gotten increasingly ambitious with their original filmmaking over the years, and some of this years’ offerings have reached new heights of epic intention.  Their most exciting release of the summer was this adaptation of popular children’s horror author R.L. Stine’s popular book series, a truly gargantuan undertaking as the filmmakers set out to create an entire TRILOGY of films which were then released over three consecutive weekends.  Interestingly, these films are most definitely NOT for kids – this is proper, no-holds-barred supernatural slasher horror, delivering highly calibrated shocks and precision jump scares, a pervading atmosphere of insidious dread and a series of inventively gruesome kills.  The story revolves around two neighbouring small towns which have had vastly different fortunes over more than three centuries of existence – while the residents of Sunnyvale are unusually successful, living idyllic lives in peace and prosperity, luck has always been against the people of Shadyside, who languish in impoverishment, crime and misfortune, while the town has become known as the Murder Capital of the USA due to frequent spree killings.  Some attribute this to the supposed curse of a local urban legend, Sarah Fier, who became known as the Fier Witch after her execution for witchcraft in 1668, but others dismiss this as simple superstition.  Part 1 is set in 1994, as the latest outbreak of serial mayhem begins in Shadyside, dragging a small group of local teens – Deena Johnson (She Never Died’s Kiana Madeira) and Samantha Fraser (Olivia Scott Welch), a young lesbian couple going through a difficult breakup, Deena’s little brother Josh (The Haunted Hathaways’ Benjamin Flores Jr.), a nerdy history geek who spends most of his time playing video games or frequenting violent crime-buff online chatrooms, and their delinquent friends Simon (Eight Grade’s Fred Hechinger) and Kate (Julia Rehwald) – into the age-old ghostly conspiracy as they find themselves besieged by indestructible undead serial killers from the town’s past, reasoning that the only way they can escape with their lives is to solve the mystery and bring the Fier Witch some much needed closure.  Part 2, meanwhile, flashes back to a previous outbreak in 1977, in which local sisters Ziggy (Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink) and Cindy Berman (Emily Rudd), together with future Sunnyvale sheriff Nick Goode (Ted Sutherland) were among the kids hunted by said killers during a summer camp “colour war”.  As for Part 3, that goes all the way back to 1668 to tell the story of what REALLY happened to Sarah Fier, before wrapping up events in 1994, culminating in a terrifying, adrenaline-fuelled showdown in the Shadyside Mall.  Throughout, the youthful cast are EXCEPTIONAL, Madeira, Welch, Flores Jr., Sink and Rudd particularly impressing, while there are equally strong turns from Ashley Zuckerman (The Code, Designated Survivor) and Community’s Gillian Jacobs as the grown-up versions of two key ’77 kids, and a fun cameo from Maya Hawke in Part 1.  This is most definitely retro horror in the Stranger Things mould, perfectly executed period detail bringing fun nostalgic flavour to all three of the timelines while the peerless direction from Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon) and wire-tight, sharp-witted screenplays from Janiak, Kyle Killen (Lone Star, The Beaver), Phil Graziadel, Zak Olkewicz and Kate Trefry strike a perfect balance between knowing dark humour and knife-edged terror, as well as weaving an intriguingly complex narrative web that pulls the viewer in but never loses them to overcomplication.  The design, meanwhile, is evocative, the cinematography (from Stanger Things’ Caleb Heymann) is daring and magnificently moody, and the killers and other supernatural elements of the film are handled with skill through largely physical effects.  This is definitely not a standard, by-the-numbers slasher property, paying strong homage to the sub-genre’s rules but frequently subverting them with expert skill, and it’s as much fun as it is frightening.  Give us some more like this please, Netflix!

4.  THE SPARKS BROTHERS – those who’ve been following my reviews for a while will known that while I do sometimes shout about documentary films, they tend to show up in my runners-up lists – it’s a great rarity for one to land in one of my top tens.  This lovingly crafted deep-dive homage to cult band Sparks, from self-confessed rabid fanboy Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim), is something VERY SPECIAL INDEED, then … there’s a vague possibility some of you may have heard the name before, and many of you will know at least one or two of their biggest hits without knowing it was them (their greatest hit of all time, This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us, immediately springs to mind), but unless you’re REALLY serious about music it’s quite likely you have no idea who they are, namely two brothers from California, Russell and Ronald Mael, who formed a very sophisticated pop-rock band in the late 60s and then never really went away, having moments of fame but mostly working away in the background and influencing some of the greatest bands and musical artists that followed them, even if many never even knew where that influence originally came from. Wright’s film is an engrossing joy from start to finish (despite clocking in at two hours and twenty minutes), following their eclectic career from obscure inception as Halfnelson, through their first real big break with third album Kimono My Place, subsequent success and then fall from popularity in the mid-70s, through several subsequent revitalisations, all the way up to the present day with their long-awaited cinematic breakthrough, revolutionary musical feature Annette – throughout Wright keeps the tone light and the pace breezy, allowing a strong and endearing sense of irreverence to rule the day as fans, friends and the brothers themselves offer up fun anecdotes and wax lyrical about what is frequently a larger-than-life tragicomic soap opera, utilising fun, crappy animation and idiosyncratic stock footage inserts alongside talking-head interviews that were made with a decidedly tongue-in-cheek style – Mike Myers good-naturedly rants about how we can see his “damned mole” while 80s New Romantic icons Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, while shot together, are each individually labelled as “Duran”.  Ron and Russ themselves, meanwhile, are clearly having huge fun, gently ribbing each other and dropping some fun deadpan zingers throughout proceedings, easily playing to the band’s strong, idiosyncratic sense of hyper-intelligent humour, while the aforementioned celebrity talking-heads are just three amongst a whole wealth of famous faces that may surprise you – there’s even an appearance by Neil Gaiman, guys!  Altogether this is 2+ hours of bright and breezy fun chock full of great music and fascinating information, and even hardcore Sparks fans are likely to learn more than a little over the course of the film, while for those who have never heard of Sparks before it’s a FANTASTIC introduction to one of the greatest ever bands that you’ve never heard of.  With luck there might even be more than a few new fans before the year is out …

3.  GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE – Netflix’ BEST offering of the summer was this surprise hit from Israeli writer-director Navot Papushado (Rabies, Big Bad Wolves), a heavily stylised black comedy action thriller that passes the Bechdel Test with FLYING COLOURS.  Playing like a female-centric John Wick, it follows ice-cold, on-top-of-her-game assassin Sam (Karen Gillan) as her latest assignment has some unfortunate side effects, leading her to take on a reparation job to retrieve some missing cash for the local branch of the Irish Mob.  The only catch is that a group of thugs have kidnapped the original thief’s little girl, 12 year-old Emily (My Spy’s Chloe Coleman), and Sam, in an uncharacteristic moment of sympathy, decides to intervene, only for the money to be accidentally destroyed in the process.  Now she’s got the Mob and her own employers coming after her, and she not only has to save her own skin but also Emily’s, leading her to seek help from the one person she thought she might never see again – her mother, Scarlet (Lena Headey), a master assassin in her own right who’s been hiding from the Mob herself for years.  The plot may be simple but at times also a little over-the-top, but the film is never anything less than a pure, unadulterated pleasure, populated with fascinating, living and breathing characters of real complexity and nuance, while the script (co-written by relative newcomer Ehud Lavski) is tightly-reined and bursting with zingers.  Most importantly, though, Papushado really delivers on the action front – these are some of the best set-pieces I’ve seen this year, Gillan, her co-stars and the various stunt-performers acquitting themselves admirably in a series of spectacular fights, gun battles and a particularly imaginative car chase that would be the envy of many larger, more expensive productions.  Gillan and Coleman have a sweet, awkward chemistry, the MCU star particularly impressing in a subtly nuanced performance that also plays beautifully against Headey’s own tightly controlled turn, while there is awesome support from Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh and Carla Gugino as Sam’s adoptive aunts Anna May, Florence and Madeleine, a trio of “librarians” who run a fine side-line in illicit weaponry and are capable of unleashing some spectacular violence of their own; the film’s antagonists, on the other hand, are exclusively masculine – the mighty Ralph Inneson is quietly ruthless as Irish boss Jim McAlester, while The Terror’s Adam Nagaitis is considerably more mercurial as his mad dog nephew Virgil, and Paul Giamatti is the stately calm at the centre of the storm as Sam’s employer Nathan, the closest thing she has to a father.  There’s so much to enjoy in this movie, not just the wonderful characters and amazing action but also the singularly engrossing and idiosyncratic style, deeply affecting themes of the bonds of found family and the healing power of forgiveness, and a rewarding through-line of strong women triumphing against the brutalities of toxic masculinity.  I love this film, and I invite you to try it out, cuz I’m sure you will too.

2.  THE SUICIDE SQUAD – the most fun I’ve had at the cinema so far this year is the long-awaited (thanks a bunch, COVID) redress of another frustrating imbalance from the decidedly hit and miss DCEU superhero franchise, in which Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director James Gunn has finally delivered a PROPER Suicide Squad movie after David Ayer’s painfully compromised first stab at the property back in 2016.  That movie was enjoyable enough and had some great moments, but ultimately it was a clunky mess, and while some of the characters were done (quite) well, others were painfully botched, even ruined entirely.  Thankfully Warner Bros. clearly learned their lesson, giving Gunn free reign to do whatever he wanted, and the end result is about as close to perfect as the DCEU has come to date.  Once again the peerless Viola Davis plays US government official Amanda Waller, head of ARGUS and the undisputable most evil bitch in all the DC Universe, who presides over the metahuman prisoners of the notorious supermax Belle Reve Prison, cherry-picking inmates for her pet project Taskforce X, the titular Suicide Squad sent out to handle the kind of jobs nobody else wants, in exchange for years off their sentences but controlled by explosive implants injected into the base of their skulls.  Their latest mission sees another motley crew of D-bags dispatched to the fictional South African island nation of Corto Maltese to infiltrate Jotunheim, a former Nazi facility in which a dangerous extra-terrestrial entity that’s being developed into a fearful bioweapon, with orders to destroy the project in order to keep it out of the hands of a hostile anti-American regime which has taken control of the island through a violent coup.  Where the first Squad felt like a clumsily-arranged selection of stereotypes with a few genuinely promising characters unsuccessfully moulded into a decidedly forced found family, this new batch are convincingly organic – they may be dysfunctional and they’re all almost universally definitely BAD GUYS, but they WORK, the relationship dynamics that form between them feeling genuinely earned.  Gunn has already proven himself a master of putting a bunch of A-holes together and forging them into band of “heroes”, and he’s certainly pulled the job off again here, dredging the bottom of the DC Rogues Gallery for its most ridiculous Z-listers and somehow managing to make them compelling.  Sure, returning Squad-member Harley Quinn (the incomparable Margot Robbie, magnificent as ever) has already become a fully-realised character thanks to Birds of Prey, so there wasn’t much heavy-lifting to be done here, but Gunn genuinely seems to GET the character, so our favourite pixie-esque Agent of Chaos is an unbridled and thoroughly unpredictable joy here, while fellow veteran Colonel Rick Flagg (a particularly muscular and thoroughly game Joel Kinnaman) has this time received a much needed makeover, Gunn promoting him from being the first film’s sketchily-drawn “Captain Exposition” and turning him into a fully-ledged, well-thought-out human being with all the requisite baggage, including a newfound sense of humour; the newcomers, meanwhile, are a thoroughly fascinating bunch – reluctant “leader” Bloodsport/Robert DuBois (a typically robust and playful Idris Elba), unapologetic douchebag Peacemaker/Christopher Smith (probably the best performance I’ve EVER seen John Cena deliver), and socially awkward and seriously hard-done-by nerd (and by far the most idiotic DC villain of all time) the Polka-Dot Man/Abner Krill (a genuinely heart-breaking hangdog performance from Ant-Man’s David Dastmalchian); meanwhile there’s a fine trio of villainous turns from the film’s resident Big Bads, with Juan Diego Botta (Good Behaviour) and Joaquin Cosio (Quantum of Solace, Narcos: Mexico) making strong impressions as newly-installed dictator Silvio Luna and his corrupt right hand-man General Suarez, although both are EASILY eclipsed by the typically brilliant Peter Capaldi as louche and quietly deranged supervillain The Thinker/Gaius Greives (although the film’s ULTIMATE threat turns out to be something a whole lot bigger and more exotic). The film is ROUNDLY STOLEN, however, by a truly adorable double act (or TRIPLE act, if you want to get technical) – Daniella Melchior makes her breakthrough here in fine style as sweet, principled and kind-hearted narcoleptic second-generation supervillain Ratcatcher II/Cleo Cazo, who has the weird ability to control rats (and who has a pet rat named Sebastian who frequently steals scenes all on his own), while a particular fan-favourite B-lister makes his big screen debut here in the form of King Shark/Nanaue, a barely sentient anthropomorphic Great White “shark god” with an insatiable appetite for flesh and a naturally quizzical nature who was brilliantly mo-capped by Steve Agee (The Sarah Silverman Project, who also plays Waller’s hyperactive assistant John Economos) but then artfully completed with an ingenious vocal turn from Sylvester Stallone. James Gunn has crafted an absolute MASTERPIECE here, EASILY the best film he’s made to date, a riotous cavalcade of exquisitely observed and perfectly delivered dark humour and expertly wrangled narrative chaos that has great fun playing with the narrative flow, injects countless spot-on in-jokes and irreverent but utterly essential throwaway sight-gags, and totally endears us to this glorious gang of utter morons right from the start (in which Gunn delivers what has to be one of the most skilful deep-fakes in cinematic history).  Sure, there’s also plenty of action, and it’s executed with the kind of consummate skill we’ve now come to expect from Gunn (the absolute highlight is a wonderfully bonkers sequence in which Harley expertly rescues herself from captivity), but like everything else it’s predominantly played for laughs, and there’s no getting away from the fact that this film is an absolute RIOT.  By far the funniest thing I’ve seen so far this year, and if I’m honest this is the best of the DCEU offerings to date, too (for me, only the exceptional Birds of Prey can compare) – if Warner Bros. have any sense they’ll give Gunn more to do VERY SOON …

1.  A QUIET PLACE, PART II – while UK cinemas finally reopened in early May, I was determined that my first trip back to the Big Screen for 2021 was gonna be something SPECIAL, and indeed I already knew what that was going to be. Thankfully I was not disappointed by my choice – 2018’s A Quiet Place was MY VERY FAVOURITE horror movie of the 2010s, an undeniable masterclass in suspense and sustained screen terror wrapped around a refreshingly original killer concept, and I was among the many fans hoping we’d see more in the future, especially after the film’s teasingly open ending.  Against the odds (or perhaps not), writer-director/co-star John Krasinski has pulled off the seemingly impossible task of not only following up that high-wire act, but genuinely EQUALLING it in levels of quality – picking up RIGHT where the first film left off (at least after an AMAZING scene-setting opening in which we’re treated to the events of Day 1 of the downfall of humanity), rejoining the remnants of the Abbott family as they’re forced by circumstances to up-sticks from their idyllic farmhouse home and strike out into the outside world once more, painfully aware at all times that they must maintain perfect silence to avoid the ravenous attentions of the lethal blind alien beasties that now sit at the top of the food chain.  Circumstances quickly become dire, however, and embattled mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is forced to ally herself with estranged family friend Emmett (Cillian Murphy), now a haunted, desperate vagrant eking out a perilous existence in an abandoned factory, in order to safeguard the future of her children Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and their newborn baby brother.  Regan, however, discovers evidence of more survivors, and with her newfound weapon against the aliens she recklessly decides to set off on her own in the hopes of aiding them before it’s too late … it may only be his second major blockbuster as a director, but Krasinski has once again proven he’s a true heavyweight talent, effortlessly carving out fresh ground in this already magnificently well-realised dystopian universe while also playing magnificently to the established strengths of what came before, delivering another peerless thrill-ride of unbearable tension and knuckle-whitening terror.  The central principle of utilising sound at a very strict premium is once again strictly adhered to here, available sources of dialogue once again exploited with consummate skill while sound design and score (another moody triumph from Marco Beltrami) again become THE MOST IMPORTANT aspects of the whole production. The ruined world is once again realised beautifully throughout, most notably in the nightmarish environment of a wrecked commuter train, and Krasinski cranks up the tension before unleashing it in merciless explosions in a selection of harrowing encounters which guaranteed to leave viewers in a puddle of sweat.  The director mostly stays behind the camera this time round, but he does (obviously) put in an appearance in the opening flashback as the late Lee Abbott, making a potent impression which leaves a haunting absence that’s keenly felt throughout the remainder of the film, while Blunt continues to display mother lion ferocity as she fights to keep her children safe and Jupe plays crippling fear magnificently but is now starting to show a hidden spine of steel as Marcus finally starts to find his courage; the film once again belongs, however, to Simmonds, the young deaf actress once and for all proving she’s a genuine star in the making as she invests Regan with fierce wilfulness and stubborn determination that remains unshakeable even in the face of unspeakable horrors, and the relationship she develops with Emmett, reluctant as it may be, provides a strong new emotional focus for the story, Murphy bringing an attractive wounded humanity to his role as a man who’s lost anything and is being forced to learn to care for something again.  This is another triumph of the genre AND the artform in general, a masterpiece of atmosphere, performance and storytelling which builds magnificently on the skilful foundations laid by the first film, as well as setting things up perfectly for a third instalment which is all but certain to follow.  I definitely can’t wait.

[braindeacl]

Frostbite | Eilidh & Miriam

TIMING: Weeks ago.  PARTIES: @meflemming & @braindeacl SUMMARY: Eilidh and Miriam find a great feast after a sudden blast of cold. WARNINGS: Lots of corpse eating.

White. It covered the streets. The buildings. The people. Everything was lost to the white. A blanket thrown down by the heavens, suffocating everything under its might. The streets and the buildings had no chance, locked in place by their very nature. They accepted their—stood brave against the frost and waited for the melt to break its hold. The people had hope, and for some this hope was justified. As the first white specks fell to the ground, many scurried away. To safety. But the specks soon turned to a pour soon turned to an onslaught. By then, the few who remained had nowhere to go. Stuck in place. Same as the streets and the buildings. But the melt would not free them, only their corpses. The first of these deaths sent an alluring perfume in the air. Calling to Eilidh. Tugging at that hunger that always gnawed no matter how much she fed, only the intensity could be changed. By the time she came upon the scene, the body’s core had turned a pale blue. But the paleness shifted to darkness along the extremities. Darker and darker and darker still. Until the fingers and the toes were a pitch black. Bubbling and breaking along the utmost tips. Lost to the ever encompassing white. 

But Eilidh had no mind for details. Death was all she saw, all she needed to see. Without a thought, her teeth disrupted the scene—broke off more pieces of that brittle body. It cracked and crunched and crumpled against her teeth. Tumbled down her throat like dirt. But filled her all the same. The face and an arm were lost to her insides by the time she returned from the thrall of death. With a new shine to her eyes, she surveyed the area. The truth of the situation becoming apparent. Others shambled through the snow—still clinging to a slipping sense of hope. Others were stilled except for the slow and rhythmic rises of their chests—soon to be like the mangled pile of flesh below her. A source of pain and agony for them. A source of a buffet for her. But confliction tore at her soul. For those who still fought against the creeping death. She rushed over to one. Wishing to grip them back to salvation. But fingers grasped that cold air as the person fell to the ground. Landing as a corpse. And that confliction gave way to the hunger again. 

It was so cold that frost was beginning to form on Miriam’s skin. Not what she expected for a midsummer night, but, really, she had grown up in White Crest; she knew just as well as any of the locals that the expected was to never be expected. So, when a freak blizzard came out of nowhere in the dead of night, she took it in stride. She ended up stuck in it, She managed to break free, one leather covered arm pushing its way out of the snow, and Miriam stood, brushed the snow off, and began walking. The effort reminded her of how long it had been since she’d gone out and fed, an increased workload as well as a desire to spend time with her favorite person keeping her from sustaining herself properly. But it didn’t matter. Miriam could practically taste so much misery on her tongue that she wouldn’t have been able to avoid it even if she tried. Heels crunching through the snow, she headed towards the source. She just wasn’t expecting the carnage that greeted her. “I suppose I’m interrupting dinner, aren’t I?” She asked the zombie feasting, an icy eyebrow raised as she moved her hands to her hair and shook crystalline flakes of snow out of it.

Silence was cut off abruptly by that casual tone. Calm like the blanket of snow surrounding—snuffing out any touch of chaos. Eilidh stopped, spit out a tooth. Not hers—the poor sap’s on the ground. She turned to meet the woman’s eyes. They were cold like the air, but untouched by it. Unlike all the others whose lives were sucked out like the previous heat. Clearly the other wasn’t human. And human suffering and slaughter was not a bother. She wasn’t like Eilidh—hunger did not compel the other’s teeth to bite and gnaw like it did to her. Curious. Her teeth bared for a moment, animal protecting its food. But the other made no motions, and teeth were replaced with tongue. It licked at her lips, removing some of the dark crusts of blood and flesh bits. But it hardly made a difference—her face and neck and arms were caked in the stuff. Not that she particularly cared. The other seemed to place more interest in her looks. Genuine leather ensemble paired with impractical heels. Her face the most evident of this interest, and Eilidh took interest in turn looking. She let out an airy chuckle. “Not really. What brings you here? Hungry, too?” 

The woman was a mess. Miriam had never seen such a messy eater, though, it wasn’t like she was around too many zombies who feasted upon anything more than animal brains cooked or blended into smoothies. And she had to assume that this was a zombie. The lack of heartbeat was, of course, quintessential for one of the undead, but the consumption of flesh, along with the blunt teeth, leaned more towards the walking dead end of the spectrum. “I suppose I was a bit peckish,” Miriam mused. “I was led here because of all the suffering.” It might not make sense, but that was what Miriam craved more than any sort of blood. She felt full, though, empowered in ways that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Mass misery, mass suffering. It sustained her. She looked at her new companion. “My, you’re a messy eater.”

“Ah. Sadist.” Not uncommon in this town, Eilidh had come to realize. Won’t find her complaining—it kept the food ripe. Head tilted at the thought, as she eyed the woman deeper. A waste of a beautiful face, though she’s wasted prettier. But she reminded herself the woman had done nothing. At least, not in front of her. Quick headshake threw that fuzz from her mind. Returning her back to herself. To the easy food surrounding. Motionless, as it seemed the last survivors were gone to the frost or soon approaching. There was a sadness. A wish for a different outcome. But fate decided their time was now. And so graciously decided the two of them would enjoy the spoils. There was nothing to do now but feed and not let their sacrifice go to waste. She broke off a finger; it came off like peanut brittle with a snap. It went into her mouth. That mouth came alive with snaps as her teeth chomped down and down and down. It crumbled on her lips, covered her in more mess. She shrugged at the observation, uncaring. “Food should be enjoyed. Plenty to go ‘round.”

“No, not a sadist,” Miriam said, and she didn’t know why she was so offended by that word. She wasn’t a sadist. The only times she’d ever really, properly enjoyed what she’d done had been killing Theo. But that wasn’t true, was it? She’d cried while she’d killed him, while the overwhelming misery and suffering that he’d felt had sustained her, while she’d turned his skin into a jacket. Miriam allowed her eyes to flash red at the woman in front of her and let her fangs drop. “Just a woman with an incredibly unfortunate set of dietary needs. Tragically, tragedy becomes me.” She looked at the way the woman ate a finger, her face momentarily twisting into something that wasn’t quite but could be very close to disgust. She’d made a mess during her own first large blood meals, but this really was ridiculous. “No, thank you. I think I’ll just take in the misery for now. I don’t enjoy blood slushies.”

Eilidh’s attention snapped back to the woman at her shift in tone. Understanding followed when eyes turned crimson, and teeth turned sharp. There was a shift in her head, a small nod in acknowledgment. “Ah, Dearg-Due.” Arguably tragic, for their name was born from it, as too were they. But Eilidh did not entirely think so—head tilting inquisitively at the revealing display. The woman didn’t share in her curiosity, face squinting in distaste to Eilidh’s own revealing nature. No offense was taken. Instead, Eilidh chomped harder. More gore bits tumbled down, as mischief shined in her eyes. Waiting for the squint to harden on the other’s face. “Don’t think there’s much left. Just the quiet.” As if to purposefully refute her, motion was detected a few meters away. Car door beat and beat and beat against the pile of snow, until it managed to be pushed away. Short, shivered gasps filled the air. Eilidh immediately sat up straighter at the occurrence, gaze locked where she believed the unseen survivor to be. Someone had managed to make it out!

A dearg-due. Miriam looked at this strange woman, not really understanding what she meant and hating that fact. “Right. A dearg-due.” A word that she’d have to look up on her own time, but, perhaps, something of import. Maybe a step closer to not feeling like she was stumbling through this wretched unlife without any sort of instruction manual. She narrowed her eyes at the other woman before rolling them and snorting, a most unladylike sound that she truthfully didn’t care about in present company. “There’s always a little left until it’s absolutely still,” she said, her ears picking up on the sound of a struggling heartbeat before the zombie’s head had even turned. With eyes the color of the blood spilled in the snow, Miriam looked at the man that was struggling, suffering, trying so, so hard to live. His cries were the most dreadful music, a delightful meal. She wanted it to stop. She was lithe on her feet and she made her way towards him, and her hand wrapped around his neck faster than he could blink. “Shh, it’ll be over soon,” she soothed, and she moved her hand, took a bite. It had been some time since she’d had blood straight from the source, and it was still warm, despite the chill in the air. By the time Miriam was done, there wasn’t much left of the man’s neck. She wiped at her face, her chin. She looked back at the zombie. “I suppose I’m a bit of a mess as well.” 

Eilidh’s feet had barely become reacquainted with the ground when the Dearg-Due made her way. Hand gripped tight, threatening to suck out his life. But teeth worked faster. By the time Eilidh was close enough to make out his features, last drops of that life trickled away. Left a red stain on the snow. Left a space for the sadness to return. But it too trickled away, lost to the fog she carried so well. Reverting to a stillness. A deep silence. Where not even a heartbeat could be found, for the two standing had none to spare. Until a chuckle broke it—brought some semblance of life back to the white expanse of the dead. “Ah. You do like blood slushies.” The other’s mouth dripped in the last of that man’s warmth—red blotches against the once spotless mold. But found herself enjoying the sight, more than before. Always an admirer of those with the touch of the wild. “Looks better. One more meal. Might even be stunning.” Like her, with fragments of bodies littering her face and chest, as it did the ground. Stained by that dark, crimson death. 

Wiping at the corners of her mouth as they ticked upwards ever so slightly, Miriam licked the blood off her thumb as she said, “Not quite a blood slushie. He was still lukewarm, at the least.” Amusement and disgust warred within her, both at the bloodbath as well as the woman in front of her. She was no different, now, really, blood on her face, a body in front of her. And she was still thirsty, so thirsty, the kind of thirst that, for once, couldn’t be tamed by misery. It was likely that the bags of blood in her home wouldn’t help much, either. She managed a laugh, though. “I think we have different thoughts on the word stunning, sweetness.” She was still thirsty. She said, “I’m not one to overindulge.” 

Tongue clicked in a baby’s attempt of disappointment. One that held no power, with a touch of humor. But the feeling did linger on the surface. Eilidh simply shrugged at the dismissal. “Only the greedy do.” There was a curious quirk of her brow, noting a strange expression on the other’s face. Causation could not be placed, but assumption was the feast had put the woman in a wild state of mind. Eilidh could certainly relate. Such a state told her to keep feeding, despite the all-consuming hunger being placated. To eat until satisfied instead of simply sated. Eyes focused intently on the recently deceased, whose flesh was still soft and tender and untouched by the stiffness of death and cold. Mouth salivated in turn. Hungry teeth had only ripped out a few mouthfuls when a new distraction arose. A sudden sound in the distance. Unknown but clearly approaching. Another predator? An oblivious local? A hunter? She hissed at the third suggestion, not wanting to deal with that ilk. Body lowered, fingers tensed, preparing for that encroaching mystery.

“Well, then, here’s to not being greedy, hm?” But Miriam was still feeling that tell-tale tinge of bloodlust under the surface, ever present but growing now. It had been so long since she’d fed properly. So long. And she wasn’t starving by any means, and she wasn’t going to complain about it, but, damn, when Miriam used to feed like this, she was ravenous. In the 90s, she’d slaughtered multiple people at a time as a result of her thirst for blood and pain. It would last for hours, only satisfied when she was surrounded by bodies. Much as she was now, but these weren’t bodies of her making. One just wasn’t enough. She heard the sound of a car door slam, saw blue sirens just ahead of them, smelled someone as they approached. Miriam didn’t think. The officer was dead before she properly arrived on the scene, and Miriam ripped her throat before she could make so much as a gurgle. This was warm blood, delicious as it soothed the ache inside her that she hadn’t even noticed. How was Miriam supposed to notice when she neglected this side of herself so thoroughly? She didn’t know. She looked up at her new companion and straightened once more, washing the blood from her face and hands with the snow. The entire altercation had been quick, so quick. Miriam wasn’t one for apologies. She rarely apologized. That was how she was raised. However, she did manage to say, “I’m not normally this…” her lips twitched, “emphatic.”

The situation seemed remedied, as the vampire charged at that approaching commotion. Reduced to gurgles and silence, a seeping redness behind abandoned vehicles. Eilidh feasted as well, hardly one to neglect the hunger. Stripping more of that first kill’s recognizability. Turned from man to meat in tattered clothes. Enough to doubt it was ever a man at all. Calming the pestering part of her mind lost to the fog. She sucked on her own fingers, removing viscera clinging between wrinkles and under nails. Nothing gone to waste. She turned in time to meet her carnage companion. Both stained and dripping in fresh blood. The other trying to hide this fact, transferring blame onto the snow. Eilidh made no such motion, almost wearing it with pride. “Should try it some more. Looks like you enjoy it.” Her attention shifted to what lay behind, the cause of interruption. Lone police car illuminated in that swirl of blue and red, still waiting for its passenger. “Well, they never send just one. ‘Bout to be crawling with ‘em now.” Head tilted at a consideration—to lie in wait for the food to come. But enough death had touched these lands in one night. And, of course, she wasn’t greedy. She gripped onto the remains of that mangled corpse—lugged it onto her shoulder. Before taking her leave, she addressed the woman cut of similar clothe. “What should I call you, lady of blood?” 

Having never really eaten with a zombie before, Miriam couldn’t quite contain the look of horrified fascination. Really, she’d never seen anyone eat with such gusto, not even at dinner parties her parents hosted years and years ago. Maybe Miriam just wasn’t used to watching other undead eat. Not entire bodies, at least, and not like that. It was fascinating, certainly, but it was also unnerving. Not scary, just strange. Unusual. Unnatural. But, then again, they were dead. There hadn’t been anything natural about them since their hearts stopped beating. “Darling, if I indulged like this all the time, we wouldn’t have a town left. I prefer to keep my meals light.” Two people in a matter of minutes was quite the loss of life, even if Miriam was certain the one would have died from the cold. The other was just a casualty of every awful thing that had been growing inside of Miriam unchecked for some time now, she’d need to be more careful. She wiped her hands off on her pants, now free of blood and viscera. “My friends call me Mim, though Miri is fine as well. I own the leather shop in town,” Miriam said, a smile on her lips. “What should I call you, oh mighty finder of finger foods?”

Eilidh’s breath rushed out her nose in a near snort. “Only if you’re picky. Find deer to be just as satisfying. Gives a better chase.” And lacked that sense of… She did not want to place a name. To those emotions that tried to surface at times of feeding. A tainting born from James’ pleasantries. It had been easier in the times before. And when she found herself with those like Mim, twins of that primal nature, some of that ease could be found. Of course, judgement had been placed on her, from that kindred companion. But now, with no sense to hide the parts society deemed too dark and twisted, she only saw a fascination from the other woman. She smiled, revealing a bit of discolored skin lodged between incisors. It grew a smidgen wider, at that fun nickname. Made her consider ripping off a dead finger and chomping down in reinforcement. “Dia dhuit, Mim.” She let out a gentle chuckle. “Guess this means we’re friends. Mine call me many things. Call me Ellie.” Sirens tore her attentions. She saw more swirls of blue and red bouncing off distant walls, but creeping ever closer. As did those shrieking sounds—building on each other into a single blasting. Arm securing her haul grew tighter. Squeezing out those last drops of blood it had managed to hold drizzling down her shoulder. “Better scamper. ‘Till the next.” And she disappeared into the trees. 

[thebookwormfairy]

Gotham Falls Part 1

-Marinette was 6 years old when her parents sat her down and told her she's was going to he a sister

-Tom and Sabine had already explained to Marinette where baby came from thanks to Sabine's friend Nadia getting pregnant

-Marinette: So there's a baby growing in Maman's stomach?

-Tom: Well...no

-Marinette: Then how can I be a big sister?

-Sabine: Well you're not going to be a big sister, you're actually going to be a little sister

-Marinette gave her parents a confused look

-Tom: You see sweetie one of my best friends is no longer........able to take care of her son so we will be

-Marinette: What about his dad?

-Tom and Sabine looked at each other not knowing what to say

-Sabine: His dad was not a good man, and had to go to jail, because of what he did to his wife

-Marinette: What's his name?

-Tom: His name's Adrien Agreste, but starting next week he'll be Adrien Dupen-Cheng

-After a week if setting up Adrien's new room, going through interviews, and just generally getting ready for Adrien's arrival

-Marinette spent the week making Adrien a small stuffed black cat with the help of Sabine to match her own ladybug stuff animal, made by her mother that was named Tikki

-When Adrien and Marinette finally met they took to eachother like a duck to water

-Adrien absolutely loved his new stuff animal who he named Plagg

-The two seemed inseparably

-The Dupen-Chengs made sure to make Adrien feel right at home

-They included him in all family activities, and held him when he cried because of the lost of his original family

-As the years went by Marinette and Adrien grew closer and closer

-You could rarely find one without the other near by

-As Marinette got older her love of fashion and design grew she started to design and make her own clothes around the age of 12

-And Adrien developed a love of photography

-Together they run a instagram account full of Marinette's designs

-It was originally Adrien's idea and Marinette kinda just went with it

-When the two were 16 their parents announced they were moving

-Tom's father had passed away and they wanted to move into his old home to keep the family backery running

-So they backed up their things and moved to a town in Oregon called Gotham Falls

-Marinette: So why are we moving there again?

-Tom: Well since your grandfather passed somebody has to run his bakery. It's been in our family for almost a hundred years so we are going to have our current employees run this location and your mother and I are going to run the original one

-Adrien and Marinette still looked hesitant about this new change coming to their lives

-Sabine: Think of this like an adventure, there are plenty of kids your age and lots of places to explore

-Before they knew it Marinette and Adrien were packed up and heading to this new town and new life

-As the new family drove into town they got a lot of stares from the locals watching as the moving van drove down Main Street to the most popular Bakery in town

-Their first day in town was spent talking to curious locals and accepting welcome gifts

-As Marinette was moving of of her boxes inside she noticed two boys staring from across the street

-One boy had black messy hair and blue eyes

-He wore beat up blue jeans with a white t-shirt and a blue plaid shirt unbutton over it and a pair of beat up hiking boots

-The other also had black hair, but his was a lot neater. He had dark green eyes that seemed to bore into Marinette's soul

-He work dark wash jeans, a red t-shirt, a green and yellow jacket with a pair of black combat boots

-Marinette gave them an ackward smile and wave that the boys returned before leaving down the street

-Marinette shook off the strange encounter and continue to unpack

-The Dupen-Chengs stayed in their new home for a couple of days unpacking and setting up their new home

-After about a week the house was all unpacked and decorated and the bakery will open back up the next day, so Sabine had a chat with her hermit children who have yet to leave the house since arriving

-Sabine: Why don't you two go out to explore the town?

-Adrien messing with his camera: I don't know mom it looks like it's about to rain?

-Sabine looked at her two children, both dressed in clothes Marinette made

-Marinette was in dark blue jean shorts, white fitted t-shirt with a light pink vest with a pair of dark blue converse hightops with pink flowers embroidered on the side

-Adrien was wearing blue jeans with a black t-shirt that says You Got To Be Kitten Me Right Meow in green with paw prints dotting the i's.

-Adrien would right down puns for Marinette and she would put them on t-shirts for him, even if they made her groan.

-Sabine: It's Oregon it's always about to rain

-Sabine pushed her 2 children out the door, handed Marinette her small pink backpack, and locked the door behind them

-Sabine: Don't come back till sunset

-Adrien and Marinette looked at each other shocked

-Marinette: She really kicked us out

-Adrien: And told us not to come back till sunset

-Marinette looked around their was 2 directions they could go

-Down Main Street with all the shops and people or down a mist filled road with an old sign pointing to something called the Mystery Shack

-Marinette pointing to the mist filled road: Let's go that way

-Adrien gave Marinette a look: You want to go down the creepy road?

-Marinette: Yes

-Adrien *sighing*: Of course you do

-The two made their way down the misty road after about 15 minutes they come across a old cabin with the words Mystery Shack spelled out on the roof

-The two walked in to be greeted by a boy in his early 20s with a white streak in his hair sitting behind the counter

-Jason in a bored tone: Welcome to the Mystery Shack the most mysterious place on Earth

- The man looked up at the two teens who walked into the gift shop

-Jason in a livelier tone: Oh you guys are the kids who moved into the bakery right?

-Marinette: Yeah I'm Marinette Dupen-Cheng and this is my brother Adrien

-Adrien with a slightly dreamy voice: Hi

-Jason: Cool! My name's Jason Todd welcome to Gotham falls

-Marinette: Thanks

--A commotion could be heard from the back and older woman can bursting out of the back stacks of fliers in her hands

-Marianne: Jason where's that little brother of yours? I thought you said that he would come today to help hang fliers and where's Harley?

-Jason: He must have gotten side track you know how he and Jon can get and Harley had to go do something

-Marianne: ugh... Who are you two?

-Adrien: Oh I'm Adrien Dupen-Cheng and this-

-Marianne: Yeah don't care do you want to earn some money?

-Marinette: What

-Marianne: I'll give you two $20 each to hang these posters up around the road to town.

-Marinette and Adrien looked at eachother asking if the other were okay with it

-Marinette: Sure why not

-Marianne: Good here's the fliers and $10 each I'll give you half now half when you come back

-The two grabbed the fliers and said goodbye to Jason and made their way down the road into the woods hanging posters up every couple of feet

-It took about an hour but Marinette and Adrien finally got all the posters hung up

-Adrien: Come over here Marinette

-Marinette: What?

-Adrien: this is a perfect area for you outfit go stand in top of that stump

-Marinette did as her brother said doing different poses on top of the stump as Adrien snapped pictures of his camera

-At one point Marinette stepped too far back and stepped on a branch still attached to the stump and it went down like a lever and a shelves popped open

-Living inside was a green journal with a hold turtle shell of the front with the number 3 written on it

-Marinette: What?

-Marinette picked up the book and open the first page

-Written on it was the words trust no one in Gotham Falls

-Adrien reading over her shoulders: Ehat does that mean?

-Marinette flipping through the journal: I don't know. Look at this it's filled with sketches and info about different types of monsters. Who wrote this?

-Adrien: I don't know, but let's get out of here, this place is freaking me out=

-Marinette: I have to agree with you there Adrien. Let's head back to the Mystery Shack

-Marinette slipped the journal in her backpack, zipping it close

-As the two head back to the shack not noticing the small dark shadows hidden among the trees

-They went back to the shack and gathered the rest of their payments

-The 2 stayed there getting to know Jason and also meeting Harley who came back about an hour after they returned

-It was fun the two stayed at the Mystery Shack for hours laughing and joking around with the two 20 somethings, every once and a while helping Marianne with anything she might need done while they were there

-Jason’s mysterious brother and his friend never showed up

- As the sone started to dip behind the trees Marinette and Adrien head back to the bakery

-The rest of the week was spent by the 2 siblings spending every other day at the mystery shack 

-When not at the shack they would explore the town and do different photo shoots around the areas they would discover

-And when she wasn’t doing that Marinette was reading the journal

-It was written so well that Marinette almost believed it

-Adrien dismissed it though claiming it was probably some kids D&D journal

-As the two siblings explored the town Marinette noticed that a tall teenager in a black sweatshirt always seemed to follow her and Adrien around

-One day when Marinette was alone the teen finally came up to Marinette and started to try to flirt with her

-He said his name was Norman and with a broken speech Norman tried to ask Marinette out 

-Marinette watched in horror as she silently checked of a mental list that pointed to only one answer

-Norman was a zombie trying to lure Marinette away to eat her brain

-Marinette searched the street around her hoping to see Adrien or Jason or Harley or anyone who could get her out of this situation when her eyes landed on the two boys that she waved at the first day she arrived in Gotham Falls

-Marinette: I’m very flattered but I have plans with my friends over there, so maybe another time

-Marinette ran toward the two boys, moving between the two and hooking her arms through theirs

-Marinette loudly: There you guys are I’ve been looking for you guys.

-Marinette quietly: Sorry about this that guy over there is freaking me out

-The two boys nodded their heads and lead Marinette away from Norman pretending to have a conversation with the young half asian girl.

-They lead her back to the bakery not leaving her side until they were sure Norman was no where to be seen and Marinette was safe inside

-Marinette: Thank you so much I know that was probably super weird and ackward 

-Damian: It's no problem miss

-Jon: Happy to help

-Before Marinette could say anything else the boys disappeared down the road

-That night Marinette told Adrien her worries about Norman and her theory about him being a zombie

-Adrien: Come on Marinette that's silly. I think you need to stop reading that strange book so much

-Marinette: perhaps you're right

-On there way to the Mystery Shack the next day the two siblings were exploring the woods near the road where they were cornered by Norman who turned out to be a group of Gnomes who wanted Marinette to marry their leader

-Marinette: ARE YOU CRAZY?!?! I'M NOT GOING TO MARRY YOU!!!

-Gnome Leader (a/n: I can't remember his name and refuse to look it up): Oh I'm sure that's just cold feet talking. You'll be my queen and ruling the gnomes. Guys get her!

-With his command gnomes charged the siblings

-Adrien: Run!

-The 2 ran towards the road but the gnomes cut them off

-Adrien picking up a tree branch: Looks like we're going to have to fight our way our of this

-Marinette taking out the journal: Let's do this

-The two started to whack the gnomes away from them

-They did their best to beat them back but there was too many of them

-They were almost completely overwhelmed when a golf came crashing through the crowd stopping in front of Marinette and Adrien

-Damian at the wheel: Get on!

-Adrien: You don't have to tell us twice

-Jon squeezed Marinette between him and Damian and Adrien hopped onto the back

-Marinette: Go go go

-Damian didn't have to he told twice he slammed on the gas

Marinette: How did you guys know we were in trouble

Damian: We noticed that something was not right with Norman so we've been keeping an eye on him

Jon: But we thought he was a vampire

Marinette: oh I thought zombie

Adrien: I just thought he was an awkward guy. I think we all can agree that nobody saw gnomes coming.... AHH GNOMES ARE COMING!!!!

The gnomes had joined together to form a giant gnome

Damian/Jon/Marinette looking back: OH MY GOSH!!!

Damian swerved into a tunnel hoping to lose the giant, but to no advail

Gnome Leader: Come back my queen!

Damian and Jon paused their screaming and looked at Marinette

Marinette: Yeah I have no idea

The giant gnome threw a tree in their path causing Damian to try and swerve out of the way

Damian turned too hard and the golf cart tipped to the side crashing in front of the Mystery Shack

The teens crawled out of the golf cart pressing their backs against the walls of the Mystery Shack

Marinette notice a leaf blower in the pile of leaves beside her

Marinette: I need you guys to trust me

Damian: What?

Marinette staring into Damian's eyes: Trust me.

Damian: Okay

Marinette stepping forward: Wait! You win I'll marry you

Gnome Leader: oh great

Marinette sat down on her knees as the gnome climbed down his fellow gnomes

Marinette waited as the gnome slid a ring on her finger

Marinette: You may now kiss the bride

Gnome Leader: Don't mind if I do

As he closed his eyes and puckered his lips Marinette grabbed the leaf blower and sucked the gnome up

Marinette: That that you little creep!

Marinette then shot the gnome out of the leaf blower causing him to shoot through the giant gnome

With their leader gone the other gnomes fled with the teens yelling victory

The 2 sets of teen finally introduce themselves and that battle was the start of a beautiful friendship

Together the teens started their investigations of the mysteries of Gotham Falls

Damian and Marinette seemed to be focus more on the mystery than Jon and Adrien though

Together they hunted mythical creatures and try to gain more information on them

Jon and Adrien was more focus on summer fun and romance

While Adrien seem to fall for almost every cute boy that passed through town

Jon was completely smitten with Adrien

He tried to do his best to hunt at it but Adrien was completely oblivious

As the summer went on Adrien forced Damian and Jon to do photoshoots with Marinette

All together they made a great team

They solved so many mysteries together

Adrien and Jon made sure Damian and Marinette didn't go too crazy trying to solve mysteries and Marinette and Damian made sure the other 2 didn't get too carry away with summer romance and fun

During Summerween Damian angered the Summerween Trickester sk the kids had to try and get 500 pieces of candy

Which was made worst because of their age

In the end they weren't able to get it all and had to fight him

They beat home by melting making him sink down the drain

Another time Adrien and Marinette was curious about the resident phyick that Marianne hated name Lila

Together with Jason they watch her show and even stayed behind to talk to her

Apparently Lila took a liking to Adrien and wanted him for herself

Adrien really wasn't comfortable with the attention Lila was giving him and tried to tell her, but every time he tried to tell her something came up that pressured him not too

Adrien begged Marinette to talk to her for him which she agreed to

It was a huge mistake

Not only was Lila a REAL phyick, but she was also a sociopath

She tried to kill Marinette thinking she was keeping them apart

The only thing that saved Marinette was Damian coming across them and Lila not wanting other people to see her like thay

After that Damian put his foot down

Damian: Marinette's not breaking up for you any more she could've been killed

Adrien: I agree with you 100%

Jon bringing his face closer to Adrien's: You know I could help you keep people like that away

Adrien blushing: Oh stop joking Jon

Another time Adrien and Jon were convice that Damian and Marinette binged together so they set up a romantic picnic for them

Damian: I can't believe your brother and Kent did this to us

Marinette blushing: Am I really that bad?

Damian blushing: No not at all Angel it just that I would have preferred if I asked you myself. I actually...well I really

Damian grabbed Marinette's hands and was leaning his face closer to hers

Marinette had every intention to let Damian continue, but she notice something big under the water of the lake

Marinette: What was that?

Adrien from the bushes: OH COME ON!!!!

That turned into a lake monster hunt

Which in the end they learned there was no lake monster but the town kook Mr. Pidgeon

Near the end if the summer Lila tried to get her revenge by taking over the Mystery Shack our gang's favourite hang out

She used a dream demon called the Joker to get into Marianne's head

They did their best to stop her, but Lila made it very clear that the only way she would give the Shack back to Miranne was if Adrien agreed to date her

And no way was Marinette going to allow that

It took a lot of courage for Adrien to accept who he is and Marinette was not going to let some bitch force him to subress that

They used a spell that was in the book to also enter Marianne's mind to stop the Joker

They succeeded in banishing the Joker from Miranne's head and stopping Lila

And even though the summer was over Marinette new that they were just beginning to unravel the mysteries of Gotham Falls

So guys welcome to part 1 or 3 in my Gravity falls au. While yes this is a Daminette/Adrijon fic it will focus mainly on the sibling relationship between Adrien and Marinette

I hope you guys like it and I'll see you soon on the next part

@little-kitty-kanny

[labyrinthof-fan-fiction]

Fever {3}

Series Masterlist

A/N: So for my purposes, I’ve decided to age Jake up to 18. It works better for me, rather than the younger by two years. I am not a licensed therapist, so take that portrayal with a grain of salt. This is a Renèe slander account. I also hated the bikes, or at least her reasoning for the bikes, so I removed the bikes. So basically please just accept that this fic is 99.9% OOC.

Warnings: Depression, Anxiety, Abandonment, Therapy Session

Summary: Bella’s first therapy session, family dinner at the Black’s.

Rating: M

Word Count: 2,905

Monday came faster than I had expected. School was better, Jessica and I made plans to get through Calculus tomorrow after school, not without her making a welcome back from zombieland comment, which I couldn’t blame her for. Dad picked me up in the cruiser for the appointment with Dr. Gilbert. The drive to Port Angeles was a silent hour, I pondered what I was going to say to this therapist. Obviously, my ex-boyfriend was a vampire and I almost died due to an unhinged vampire hunting me and luring me into an old dance studio wasn’t the best opening line. I almost died on my eighteenth birthday due to a paper cut, maybe I should just stick away from the near death experiences. Mentioning vampires would probably award me a decent vacation and a straight jacket.

Dad checked me in at the office and we sat awkwardly in the waiting room. He picked up a fishing magazine and I picked at my nails. I was torn from contemplating my nail beds when the secretary called my name. I followed her into a room with a large couch, a woman sat in a chair across from it.

“Hello Bella, I’m Dr. Gilbert.” She was tall, her dark hair was tucked up into a bun. Black glasses were perched on her nose. She had a nice smile, kind, welcoming.

“Hi.” I mumbled as she gestured for me to sit on the couch.

“Tell me about yourself, Bella.” Dr. Gilbert stated, clipboard balanced on her lap, a pen in her hand.

“I don’t know, there’s not much to tell.” I murmured, crossing my legs under me on the couch. I pulled my sweater around my body, I was cold again. I probably could have started with my childhood, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when you start therapy. Tell them all about your childhood, blame it on your mom…. Which, maybe wasn’t too far off.

She pursed her lips and nodded. “I see you’re a senior, what are your plans after you graduate this year?”

I nibbled on my bottom lip, “To be honest, I’m not sure. I had a plan, but that’s changed. I think maybe college, or a gap year to save. I think I want to go to college.”

She nodded and scribbled on her paper. “What do you think you’d like to do?”

I chuckled, “I don’t know.”

“It’s okay to not have a plan, Bella.”

“I know, but everyone around me has a plan, colleges they’ve been accepted to. And I’m just…..” I gestured vaguely into the air.

Dr. Gilbert chuckled, “Sometimes those with the plans aren’t as put together as they seem. When I was your age, I was going to be a professional cellist. Got into Juliard and was ready. I got there, and realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. I still play the cello, I’m a part of the local orchestra, but I’m not doing what I had planned. You have time. Tell me about your friends.”

I hesitated. “I have a few, we haven’t hung out as much, I…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain that I had been an emotionless blob for months and wasn’t sure where I stood with my friends.

She hummed, “They’ve been too busy?”

I chuckled, “They’ve been busy, I’ve been dealing with some stuff.”

“Care to elaborate?” She raised one of her sculpted eyebrows.

I sighed and pulled my knees to my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs. “My boyfriend broke up with me.”

“Tell me about him.” She stated.

“He would come through my window and watch me sleep.” I murmured. “He oiled the latch so it wouldn’t wake me. God, I thought it was romantic, he could have killed me. He could have done anything he wanted. And I would have let him. I let him control me.” The scratching of a pen on paper filled the moment I took a breath. “I thought that love meant he was allowed to control me, but that’s not love, is it?”

Dr. Gilbert looked at me. “I think you know the answer.” She paused, pursing her lips.

I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Why didn’t I know?”

She glanced at me. “He was your first boyfriend, right?” I nodded. “First loves are intense.” Her eyes wandered away from me. “You’re allowed to have strong feelings after something like this.”

“Is it normal to feel like you’re stuck in a void, just lost to the pain?” I asked, before I could stop myself.

Dr. Gilbert eyed me carefully. “There are several stages to grief, it sounds like you have begun the depression stage. But the stages aren’t always a linear progression, you can shift between them and go back and forth.” She was jotting things down on her paper. “How long have you felt lost to the pain?”

“A few months, five maybe?” I said quietly.

“That’s a long time to feel that way.” She glanced at her watch. “Do you feel that way now?”

I shook my head. “I feel like I just got out of the middle of it and I’ve started to come back to the real world.”

She nodded. “I want to you pay attention to what you do this week, if anything sets you back to this. That way we can find out what triggers this.” She sighed, “Unfortunately, that is time up, I’d like to see you next week at the same time, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that should work, I can check with my dad.” I said.

“It was nice to meet you, Bella.” She said, standing. I stood up and shook her outstretched hand.

“So how was it?” Dad asked as he started the cruiser.

“Good, I like her.” I answered, giving him a small smile. He glanced over to me, a curious look on his face, I tilted my head. “I think this is going to help.”

“Good.” He paused before pulling out of the parking lot. “Billy invited us over for dinner on Friday.”

My head snapped to him. “Billy?” The last time Billy Black had interacted with me, he had warned me away from Edward, hindsight, he was right. He had bribed Jacob to come to prom and warn me off the Cullens.

“Yeah, says he misses me.” Dad chuckled. “I think it’s a ploy to get me to go fishing again.”

I let out a small laugh. “Will Jacob be there?”

Dad raised his eyebrow. “Probably, why do you want to know?”

I shrugged, “Haven’t seen him since I bought the truck, thought he might be able to help with the radio.” That sentence did not sound as nonchalant as I had been hoping.

A twinkle was in Dad’s eye. “I think he could help with…your radio.”

I groaned and hid my head in my arms. “Dad…” I whined.

Dad let out a loud laugh, “Sorry.” He most definitely was not.

The next day at school was uneventful, that was until after school tutoring with Jessica. She flopped into the chair next to me, a scowl on her face.

“Hey, Jess.” I greeted.

“Hi, sorry. Fucking Mike.” She grumbled, apparently in my zombie state I had missed the constant on and off again relationship she and Mike had been navigating. According to Angela, I hadn’t missed much, all you could do was watch like a weekly soap opera. “So, let’s get to this.”

Jess was extremely patient, considering how many questions I asked, about concepts that we probably learned at the beginning of the year. By the time our hour was up, I felt like I could muddle through the homework, rather than just stare and hope the pages filled themselves. “Thanks, Jess. I really appreciate your help.”

She smiled, “No problem, just don’t slip off into Zombie Bella, she’s not cool. Same time next week?”

“If you can.” I answered.

“See you tomorrow and Tuesdays for calculus.” She paused before she left. “And, if you ever need to talk about it. Ange and I are here. She doesn’t have much experience with this end of things, but she’s a good listener.”

“Thanks, maybe sometime.” She gave me a knowing look before giving me a quick wave and leaving. The rest of the week I settled back in with the group who had been my first friends when I stated in at Forks High. Sure, Lauren and I were never going to be best friends, but I had friends again. And these friends weren’t going to accidentally eat me.

Friday came and Dad let me drive the truck to La Push, he crawled into the passenger seat, eyes falling on the radio. His eyebrows almost hit his hairline, but he didn’t say anything about it. The drive was quiet, with the occasional direction or turn from Dad. I parked in front of the Black’s home, it was a small red home, it was familiar. I knew that I had spent time here when I was younger, but that was so long ago, the memories had faded. A dark head of hair popped up behind a window and the door to the house flew open.

“Bella!” Jacob called, he was taller than I last saw him, broader too. His black hair was loose around his face, his eyes bright with a huge smile beaming on his face. He was like sunshine personified.

Dad opened the door. “Yeah, Jake, good to see you too.” He muttered, walking into the house without even glancing back at us.

Jacob smiled as he got to my door. “Dad said Charlie had been saying something about your radio…” His eyes traveled to the beat up mess in my dashboard.

“I didn’t like the song…” I offered.

His eyes were wide as I stepped out. “Care to let me know the song, so I don’t play it by accident?”

“I don’t know, it was on a station that I don’t listen to anymore.” I replied, jumping down from the truck to the ground. I had to tilt my head back to look at him. “How did you get taller?”

“Maybe you shrunk.” He teased, nodding to the doorway. “We better get in there, before those two start planning our wedding.” At my shocked face he paused. “C’mon Bella, you can’t tell me that you didn’t know those two in there have been trying to find ways to get us together since the first summer you were here.”

I shook my head, “I hadn’t known.”

Jacob eyed my curiously, “Really? You never noticed how much Charlie brought you down here?”

I shook my head again, following him into the house. When we entered, both of our fathers were seated in the kitchen, eagerly watching the door. “Hey, Billy.” I greeted awkwardly.

A smile split his face. “It is great to see you again, Bella. You look well.” There was a glint in his eye as he looked at me, I knew there was more to that statement, the lack of a vampire boyfriend for one.

“I’m doing my best.” I shrugged, taking the seat to the right of Dad, leaving the only seat open for Jacob, directly across from me.

“So Jake, what do you think the damage on Bella’s radio is?” Dad asked, spooning food onto his plate.

Jacob’s eyes flicked over to me. “I’m thinking she’s going to need a new one Charlie.”

I sighed, “Or I could just go without music, not a big deal.”

Billy’s eyes were on me again. I felt like I was under a microscope. “The current music that is released is shit anyways, can’t blame you for losing it on the radio.”

I chuckled, dinner was, different. It felt so familiar, but I know the last time I had dinner at the Blacks, Jacob and I were at an age of single digits. It was odd, us being just a few months shy of the other. Last year, his seventeen had seemed so far from my seventeen, he still had his baby face. But now, he had just reached eighteen and he had changed. He was more angular, bigger, more muscle, and impossibly taller.

“Bella?” A voice interrupted me, I glanced over to see Jacob across from me, his head tilted. “Earth to Bells?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” I answered, “What did you need?”

“Just was asking if you wanted me to check out your radio? Maybe fully remove it from the dash?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

He smiled, “Let’s go, leave these two alone. We can deal with the aftermath later.”

I giggled, actually giggled, and followed him out of the house, trying to ignore the gleeful look in our fathers’ eyes. Jake stopped by my truck.

“I’m gonna have to rip that out, there’s no saving it. You really did a number on it.” He said, shaking his head at it. “That was a nice radio.”

I shuffled my feet. “Yeah, I kinda lost it.”

He remained silent, glancing back toward the house. “Want to pull this in the garage and I can get the remains out so we can put the radio to rest?”

“Sure.” I said, hopping into the truck. Jake started walking through the yard and I followed him. The garage was behind the house, small, but hidden by trees and shrubbery, I doubt you could see much of it from the house. Which, if what Jacob had said about our fathers was true, was probably a good thing. I pulled up next to it as he came out with a small toolbox. Jake hopped into the passenger seat of the truck, lifted the toolbox lid and took out an assortment of screwdrivers.

He started in on the radio, removing screws with sure fingers until it loosened and he ripped it out. An empty hole was left in my dash, seemed poetic. “That should do it, if you have another I can install it.”

“I’m not sure I really like music right now, need a little break from it.” I said.

Jake nodded. “So how’s she been treating you?”

A smile broke across my face. “Great, I love this old truck. She takes good care of me.”

“She’s a hunk of junk.” Jake retorted.

“She is my hunk of junk. Now be nice before I banish you.”

“You could try.” Jake challenged. I narrowed my eyes at him and bumped my shoulder against his. He fell against the door in mock injury before a fit of laughter overtook him.

“Don’t fuck with my truck.” I snapped, laughing.

He held his hands up in defeat. “Point taken, want to meet my baby?” I quirked an eyebrow in interest. “C’mon, not every day I get to introduce her to a pretty girl.”

I felt the blush beginning to crawl up my neck as he jumped out of my truck. I shook my head and followed after him into the garage. A red car was propped up on cinderblocks, I recognized the Volkswagen insignia on the hood.

“1986 Volkswagen Rabbit.” Jake said proudly. “Almost finished, needs a few tweaks, then she’ll be perfect.”

“How long have you been working on her?” I asked, taking a circle around the car.

“Couple years now, Dad just got me the final parts I needed last spring. All that’s really left is cosmetic.” Jacob smiled. “She’s my college car. Figure I can run her back and forth while I go up to Peninsula.”

“What are you thinking of studying?” I asked, genuinely curious.

The smile on his face seemed to grow impossibly brighter. “I’m looking into their history track. With that degree I want to work to preserve the history here.” He gestured vaguely. “There’s so much that has been lost that I’d like to preserve what I can for future generations. The Elders aren’t getting any younger.”

I took a moment to truly look at Jacob. He looked so determined, passionate, alive. I felt a pang in my chest. “That sounds amazing.”

He chuckled and looked down, not before I saw a blush in his cheeks. “It’s not much. What about you?”

I chewed on my lip. “I’m not sure yet. I haven’t even applied to schools yet.”

“I could help you, apply if you want. Peninsula’s was easy enough.” Jake said, before he started stuttering over his words.

“I wouldn’t mind a little help. I think Dad has been a little worried that I haven’t applied anywhere. And Peninsula doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Maybe we could carpool?”

A small smile was on his lips, “Yeah, maybe.”

“They have a decent education program, from what I’ve heard.” Jacob supplied.

“Education?” I asked.

He chuckled, “When we were little you always talked about being a teacher like your mom. Obviously time changes things. I was convinced I was going to be a superhero.” He smirked. “But it’s a starting point.”

I nodded, then heard laughter coming from the direction of the house.

“Time to go home Bella!” Dad’s voice called out, I could hear him chortling with Billy.

Jake and I rolled our eyes in sync. “Well, it was nice catching up, thanks for the help with the radio.” I said, holding my hand out awkwardly.

Jacob’s hand encased mine as he shook it, “Don’t be a stranger, Bells.” He smiled. “Now let’s go before those two get any ideas.

[threadofheart]

Bookstore Breakdown ; Morgan & Irene

Timing: one month ago Location: local bookshop Parties: @mor-beck-more-problems​ & @threadofheart​ Summary: A zombie and an empath walk into a bookstore Content: none

No matter how heavy the weight of Morgan’s sadness grew, she could always depend on a bookshop to lighten her load. She wasn’t the first woman to invent retail therapy, but the comfort didn’t come from taking some new thing home with her and waiting to see how long it would take the edge off. In a bookstore, there were trap doors into hundreds of other existences, and if she looked hard enough, Morgan was bound to find one that would take her away from her own. And stars above, the more she thought about the year she’d spent in the grave, the more she wanted to slip away. The problem was, sometimes books didn’t lead her away so much as they brought her right back to herself, staring down the wounds and sores she was desperate to ignore. So here she was in a bookstore, holding a book away at an awkward angle so she wouldn’t cry on it as as she read, I think I will always be lonely/ in this world, where the cattle/ graze like a black and white river--/ where the vanishing lilies melt, without protest, on their tongues-- She closed the book, thinking that maybe she didn’t need to continue expanding her collection of Mary Oliver after all, and shuffled blindly back to the shelf in the poetry section where she’d found it, and knocked into a woman trying to go about her own bookshop afternoon in peace. Because of course she did.

“O-oh. Sorry about that,” she sniffled, smiling sheepishly. “I uh...got really swept up in the...pages. Probably shouldn’t read while walking.”

On the days Irene had off, she tried to explore a bit more of White Crest at each chance. However, it was also so easy and so comfortable to revisit the places she already knew and already liked. There was a charm and safety to it in contrast to the looming strangeness of this town. One such place she quickly found upon her first arrival to town was a local bookshop. A part of her didn’t want to purchase more books in the event she decided to move; having more on hand meant the eventual move back to her sisters would be a bigger hassle. But, Irene also did not want to ignore the calling of a book that she wanted to have. Plus, this bookshop seemed to attract few customers at time, meaning Irene had a far easier time navigating it without feeling and hearing too many emotions.

Just as she rounded a corner in hopes of searching for a vintage copy of Cummings or perhaps a signed copy of any number Vuong’s works, her shoulder smacked into another’s. “No, no, my apologies. I wasn’t quite paying attention either,” she smiled briefly. But as she looked up, a curious revelation quickly hit her. Despite the apology and the sheepish behavior before her, she couldn’t sense any of it. “Are, um are you okay though? I think I might have rammed into you a lot harder than I expected.”

“Wha--? Oh.” Morgan tried to scrub her face again, but it felt like she was just spreading her tears around. At least she didn’t have any blood flow to turn her face all blotchy. “You didn’t do anything, really. I’m just having...a day. Or...a time, in general.” She tried to laugh it off, dismiss it. The pain she was carrying wasn’t something she could talk to a stranger about even if she wanted to. Looking for an out, she peered over at the books the young woman seemed to be interested in. “Are you a big fan of poetry?” She nodded toward the shelf the woman was standing by. “Ocean Vuong is really good, if you haven’t tried him before. I um--have a few other favorites, obviously.” She hefted the stack of books in her arms. “Poetry is great for comfort when you only have the energy to read a few pages at a time. Just gotta make sure you prescribe yourself the right one.”

Irene nodded sympathetically, or at least she did her best to convey that expression. At the same time, she was sure that she didn’t pick up any of those feelings from the individual opposite to her. In all honesty, ever since arriving to White Crest, most emotions she felt seemed duller and harder to pinpoint. It made her wonder if her powers were failing her. And in this instance, that worried her a little more. Either something was wrong with her or something was strange with this person she was speaking to. This whole situation was unsettling.

“I completely understand. I’ve had a handful of those myself, especially lately,” she responded, a small wave of her hand. Almost thankful for the change in conversation, Irene perked up a little with a small smile. “Ocean is one of my favorites,” she remarked. How had she picked that up so easily, though? “I wished he did more readings but beggars can’t be choosers.” Her eyes quickly surveyed the stack of books in the woman’s hands and figured she must be a big reader. “I’d be happy for recommendations if you have any. I find that I reread what I already enjoy. Are you big on poetry yourself?”

“Lately?” Morgan asked, sniffling through her tears. But the woman was trying to avoid making a social nuisance of herself by crying in public. Something Morgan should probably stop doing, one year dead or not. And poetry was a nice, safe topic. “Oh, you’ve met him? That’s amazing. I don’t remember the last time I went to one.” She looked down at the stack of books in her arms. “I thought some retail therapy might make me feel better,” she admitted. “My main hustle is teaching literature to lower-division college students. Poetry is more of a personal, comfort thing. I don’t know all that many authors, is what I’m trying to say. “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong” is one I really liked recently. Naruda and E.E. Cummings and Keats are all nice. And my girlfriend and I have a thing for Mary Oliver. My girlfriend grew up on a farm, surrounded by nature, and I uh...well, she just knows how to make you feel better, without making you feel silly for being sad. And since I’m sad, chronically, that’s really nice. She makes everything sound so simple. It is a serious thing, just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.” Morgan’s voice wavered as she quoted the poem. She just couldn’t seem to help herself today. Her grief wouldn’t make itself quiet or appropriate. If her body couldn’t have a funeral, it would demand a scene. Morgan swallowed thickly and blabbered on. “Do you have anything you read for comfort? Since you’ve been having a time? And I’m sorry, by the way, that it’s like that for you. It’s hard, isn’t it? Carrying things and keeping on, making yourself as fine as possible?”

Irene imagined that seeing people cry was unnerving for most, but she never felt that way. Tears so often twisted her heart, aching to comfort. However, what did unnerve her was not picking up any emotions from the woman that usually came when one cried. It was as if Irene was listening to chatter at a coffee shop--side conversations, coffee clinking onto saucers, fingers tapping away on computer keyboards--and then looking at a particular person talking but noticing that no sound came from them. That was what she likened this situation to be. And it made her uncomfortable. Conflicted.

Forcing herself to focus, she nodded lightly with a small smile. “I don’t know what it is, but sometimes there are days that are particularly overwhelming and I find that I don’t know what to do other than… well, burst into tears,” she admitted with a small laugh. “Just once quite some time ago. I wish there were poetry readings here in White Crest. It’s one of the small things I’ve missed since moving away from a big city.” Her eyes widened before Irene’s features softened into a warm smile. “That’s absolutely beautiful; I hope that stays close to you.” The question caught her a little off-guard, forcing Irene to think for a moment before responding. “I suppose I… well I let the emotions take over, give the process and the emotions their time, and then do my best to pick myself back up again. I do find journaling and knitting helps though. Keeping my hands busy seems to keep my mind busy.”

“Just once, huh?” Morgan said, forcing out a self deprecating laugh. “What’s that like?” She deftly wiped the corners of her eyes, still laughing silently at herself as if it would make the whole thing less embarrassing. She listened to the woman explain, and to her visible disappointment it was...exactly what she already knew. Exactly what she was afraid of and exhausted of. 

She swallowed thickly. “What, um-- stars this is too personal, but I’m already--” She gestured vaguely to her tear-stained face. “What do you do when you’ve done that a few times already? I mean...not about the same thing it’s just… it gets to be tiring eventually, right? Keeping your chin up, holding out hope, and all that. What if…” You’ve been picking yourself up again for forty years and you don’t know if you can do it again? What if staying down is easier and safer? Morgan’s lips trembled. She couldn’t speak those words into being. They might root inside her. They might become true. She sniffled, trying her best to swallow down another wave of tears. “I don’t know. You’d think people would have invented an easier way by now, huh? Something different to shake things up, maybe?” Her body might be able to knit itself together, but the rest of her hadn’t been destruction-proofed and was so tired of breaking. 

Irene smiled fondly at the memory of the reading. “There’s just something so much more meaningful when poetry is read aloud. You can hear all the intended pauses and intonations and emphases.” She chuckled and hoped the vignette served as an appropriate segue and distraction from the fuss of emotions.

It was both a blessing and a curse that Irene couldn’t feel this woman’s emotions. Clearly it would be overwhelming for her, and instead it was just slightly off-putting. “Well…,” she chuckled slightly to herself before letting out a slow breath. “I’m not an expert in these sorts of things, so I must preface that my advice should be taken with a grain of salt, but in moments like these, I like to remind myself of who I love, what I love, who loves me, maybe make something with my own two hands to remind me that creation is possible at the tip of my fingertips.” Gingerly, Irene reached over and held the woman’s hand in hers. “It’s… it’s not easy to feel like rock bottom is all there is, but I promise it’s not.” She swallowed before releasing her hold and dropped her hand to her side. “I also find that a warm drink lifts my spirits. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d love to buy you tea or coffee or hot chocolate.”

Morgan fought the urge to grimace. Her girlfriend was in New Zealand and they only managed to get out a few sentences during their hour-long phone calls. The girls she was taking care of were gone and driving themselves into the ground at various rates. The hot days were here and she hadn’t sweat or gotten a sunburn or a single freckle. She never would. And the craft she’d spent her living days studying was now unreachable. Tea and coffee and hot chocolate were just memories, and hazy ones at that, because who really thinks they’re taking instant green tea for granted? But this woman, who Morgan was sure she had patronized long enough, had no way of knowing that. And there were flowers in the garden that Deirdre and Bex had planted. It would be a shame if she killed the pink and yellow saplings with missing them.

She withdrew her hand before she could collapse into any more pieces and backed away, her stack of books still clutched to her chest. She’d get them all. It didn’t matter one way or the other. “That’s--so kind, it is, you are, and extraordinarily patient with strangers, but I can’t, and you deserve a nice day anyways. But I appreciate it, I just--” Am way past company, apparently. “I’m sorry.” She rushed toward the checkout counter and prayed to get lost in the crowd.

Irene knew her advice wasn’t a one-size-fits-all, but hopefully it would at least be somewhat helpful to this stranger. Maybe she said the wrong thing after all… maybe she was only saying these things to prolong this interaction, to figure out why her abilities weren’t working around this woman. But that was selfish and Irene immediately felt that guilty pang. “Wait--” she tried to call out but instead, she was left standing there at the corner of two bookshelves. Blinking, she tried to comprehend what had just happened. Looking down, she recalled that she was supposed to be looking for something to read but she had gotten so preoccupied. In a scurry now, Irene quickly wandered the bookstore in search of someone, anyone, in hopes of picking up any sort of emotion other than her own mild panic. In a matter of minutes, Irene sensed annoyance wafting towards her. After all, anyone would be annoyed by a woman frantically rushing between bookshelves. Okay so she wasn’t broken. She let out a small sigh now and a small hope that the stranger she had just met would feel better.

[re-diesirae]

Chapter 4

1. Claire

Her head hurt like hell. That was the first thought that crossed Claire's mind as she regained her senses. Her surroundings were dark, and she felt the unfamiliar rocky ground under her hand.

"Great," Claire sighed, grabbing her head and feeling a little dizzy, "Why do I always end up in these places?"

The auburn headed looked around, ignoring the dizziness and the need to throw up that she was feeling. It was dark, damp, and for what she could tell, it looked like she was in some cave or tunnel. Claire sat up, resting her back against a near wall. It took her some minutes to put her thoughts back in order. Her memories were chaotic. She remembered fighting with some unknown men in the Command Room, and then, she had a blackout. Her last memories were of Leon, fire, pain, and a lot of noise. Wait, Leon?

"Leon?" she asked, trying to stand up.

There was no answer, and Claire looked around, concerned. She was sure she'd seen Leon. He had been with her before, and his current absence made Claire worry.

She tried to stand up so that she could search the area for her friend, but a wave of dizziness staggered her. The bastards had probably hit her head, and she'd not be surprised if she had a concussion. She needed to recover a little before she could think of moving.

"Leon? Are you there?" she called into the darkness, but no answer again.

He is an agent. He is going to be alright.

Claire took a deep breath, letting the oxygen fill her lungs and reach her head. The headache was annoying, but she could handle it. The pain wasn't enough to hinder her. She took some minutes to calm down and clear her head as much as she could.

"Fantastic," Claire sighed, "knowing my luck, I am probably in another experimental facility. I'll need a weapon if that's the case."

It took her some more minutes to be able to see. Her vision was still slightly blurry, but it was enough for her to move without issues.

Claire navigated herself through the darkness, using the wall as a guide. The terrain wasn't friendly to navigate, especially in the dark. Claire stumbled several times on the uneven ground; the last thing she needed now was to fall and damage her head even more.

It was too quiet for her taste, silent as death, and in her experience, dead things rarely stayed like that in these circumstances.

I am technically useless right now.

Claire wasn't in the best of shapes. Her vision was unreliable, her movements were slow and clumsy due to her headache, even her balance was giving her problems, and to top all that, she was weaponless. Her only hope was that there wouldn't be any enemies on her way out of the tunnel. She tried calling for Leon a couple of times, but the lack of replies made her assume that the agent was not anywhere around.

She knew Leon. If he were there, he'd find his way and meet her, eventually.

"Well, at least I'll get some friendly company," she sighed, "but first things first. I need to get out of here."

Claire's sight was getting used to the dark, but her dizziness was complicating things in many ways. Suddenly, Claire heard a loud howl in the distance, and a chill ran down her spine. She hated it when she was right; her hopes of having an easy way out crumbled in seconds. There was something in there, most likely a mutant monster, ready to tear her into pieces at any possible chance. A fight was unavoidable, but if she had to fight, she hoped to have at least a chance to defend herself, and to do that, she needed a weapon.

Claire rushed her pace, hoping that she was on the right track. After some stressing moments of silences and darkness, the tunnel finally opened up, and she caught the smell of grass and damp soil. She had made it outside. The fresh air and the view of the sky sparkled with stars made her feel better both physically and mentally.

"Right, this isn't time to feel relieved," Claire admonished herself. "I am still unarmed, lost, and most likely surrounded by vicious foes. I need to move."

Claire looked around here. At least, the light from the stars and moon allowed her a better look at her surroundings. Judging by the appearance of the sky, Claire could tell she had to be somewhere very far from the city. The sky looked beautiful, and that could only mean that the light pollution in the place was minimal.

After scanning around her for a bit, she noticed some lights in the distance. There were insignificant, and Claire guessed that it had to be a village or a small town. If her situation were like her previous misadventures, the place would probably be crawling with undead things, and god knew what other mutants. In other words, heading to a human settlement in her current situation screamed "bad idea" in capital letters. However, just like the place was the best place to find nasty creatures, it was also a place where she would most likely find weapons and other useful things.

It was a dangerous bet for all she cared, she had little to lose, and besides, it wasn't the first time she'd found herself in a place infested by zombie-mutant creatures.

The young woman found a trail that, she guessed, would lead to the settlement and followed it cautiously. She walked for some minutes, and she, surprisingly, didn't encounter any foes. However, she wasn't entirely sure of whether that was good or bad.

"No monsters," Claire said, frowning with distrust, "Now, I call that suspicious."

Claire had dealt with enough zombie outbreaks already to know that zombies were never quiet. A town hit by a virus meant lots of infected people, and lots of infected people meant lots of hostiles.

"Why is it so empty?" Claire asked softly.

Looks can be deceiving.

Claire made her way into town cautiously. Just because there were no monsters in sight didn't mean they weren't nearby. She reached town after some minutes of walking through the vegetation. Her walk gave her a chance to do some recognizance of her surroundings.

Claire entered town cautiously, and as soon as she had set a step there, a stinging pain pierced through her skull, causing her to hive. The ache brought a series of disjointed and blurred visions that Claire quickly associated with her nightmares.

"Ag," she groaned, "why am I getting flashbacks from that damn place right now?"

The village was different from the one Sushestvivanie, so she wasn't sure what had triggered the memories.

Claire looked around her. Unlike the Russian town, which had looked like no one had lived in it for ages, this village still looked lived in despite the lack of population.

"Right, the question now is what happened to the people," Claire muttered, "Ok, Claire. Pull yourself together. We need to get weapons."

Claire walked around carefully, peeking inside the house through the windows. The place seemed frozen in time. It was a typical scenario that Claire had gotten used to finding. People must have gotten suddenly infected, and amid the chaos, everyone had abandoned what they were doing without looking back.

Claire sighed with sadness as she searched for supplies amid the chaos inside the houses. The bloodstains she found on several confirmed her fears regarding the locals. Most likely, there were no healthy people left in the place.

Claire found an old hunting rifle in one of the houses, and after searching a little more, she found ammo, a knife, and a sturdy chain. She had no idea if the chain could be useful, but hell, she would take it anyway.

Claire noticed a slight movement from the corner of her eye. It'd been fast, a white blur that she wasn't able to discern.

"Hello?" she said cautiously, "anyone there?"

No answer. Claire's grip on the old rifle tightened. She looked around, almost holding her breath. The complete silence around her made her extremely uneasy. There were no birds, no insects, nothing, which in nature's language only meant one thing. There was a predator nearby.

ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

Claire started to regret her complaints about the lack of noise. That roar was something she wished she had not heard. It sounded distant, so at least Claire might have a chance to avoid the confrontation. She didn't know what waited for her out there and her supplies were not infinite.

"Time to play stealthy," she said, moving out of the house carefully.

Claire reached the street, and to her annoyance, she found her path blocked by unfriendly looking villagers. She made a quick diagnosis on their appearance and quickly concluded that they were not T-virus infected, but they had to have something.

"Alright, not sure I should be happy about that," she said, aiming her rifle at the hostiles and shooting them with perfect aim.

"Purplish-gray skin; dilated, bloodshot eyes and inhuman vocalization," Claire listed, shooting the approaching enemies, "Reasoning still intact."

The hostiles weren't moving randomly. Even though their actions didn't move under intellectual reasoning, there was some thought behind them.

"They still hold some reason," Claire realized."That cuts down the list of possible pathogens..."

She alternated her attacks between gunshots and using the knives. She still wanted to save ammo as much as she could. Surprisingly, handling these guys was being a lot easier than she expected, and that was starting to worry her. For the third time in the day, she hated when she was right.

A howl cut through the air, making Claire shiver. To her horror, she saw how a deformed creature appeared out of nowhere and launched in her direction. She reacted mechanically and jumped out of the street, taking cover behind a pile of wooden boxes.

Claire had never seen any creature like that, but she guessed that this was one of Neo-Umbrella's new toys. The monster was humanoid, but its body was elongated and ghoulish thin. The skin was pale, and part of the tissue was decaying and falling in pieces. Claire noted that aside from an unnatural big mouth, there were no other features on the creature's face.

The creature grabbed a bunch of the villagers with its elongated arms and brought them to its mouth.

Is it eating them? That's new.

The BOWs created from variations of the progenitor virus needed fresh DNA to stabilize. That was the reason why they would attack people and eat them. Usually, the monsters would not feed on fellow creatures. Then again, this guy probably did not mind about freshness, and his only interest was dinner. She'd have to hurry, or she'd end up as dessert.

Taking advantage of the chaos, she dodged the villagers and ran off. Confronting this thing now would only bring her into an early death, and wise people knew when to retreat.

Unfortunately, her escape would not be easy, and she cursed as she sliced the throats of a couple of villagers as she ran past them. Her head was starting to hurt again, and she could tell that the dizziness was coming back.

Her run came to an abrupt stop when another deformed creature appeared in front of her. Once more, it seemed to be a new one monster, but unlike the other one she'd seen, it was smaller and more human-like.

"Oh, come on. Give me a break."

Claire shot the monster a couple of times only to find that, to her dismay, it did nothing. Its decaying skin was sturdier than it looked. Suddenly, a loud growl made her look back, and she groaned. The bigger guy had caught up with her, too, which meant that they had cornered her. Cursing her luck, Claire looked around, trying to come up with a plan. She ran into what seemed to be a storage shack. If she was lucky enough, maybe she could find something useful.

"Fuel tanks," Claire said, looking around her, "Ok, I am not going to ask why they keep this here. Well, this will come in handy, now, how do I use them without killing myself in the process?"

Claire was trying to formulate a plan when the shriek and the sound of wood breaking startled her. The smallest monster had managed to enter the cellar. The creature shook its head as if trying to track its prey.

Shit.

Claire looked around her in a panic. She saw a window nearby, and she made a run to it. The monster chased after her, howling horribly. Claire jumped through the glass, spinning at the last second, and shot her rifle into the closest tank. The result was instantaneous. The barrel exploded, creating a chain reaction of fire and destruction. The wave of the explosion hit Claire directly, and the woman flew a couple of meters into the woods that surrounded the town. She rolled down the hill, hitting her head, face, and limbs against rocks and wood before falling into a ditch filled with plants. The pain in her head had become so strong that she barely had time to realize what had happened before she lost consciousness.

[melodyalanaroster]

All I Want For Christmas Is You

When Halloween ended, it didn’t take long for the people in the Black Tower to begin their holiday preparations. The Senior Staff were already discussing what acts of good will they would commit during the season, and Alana had begun overseeing the decoration of her family home. “Why are you doing this so early?” Nora asked her. “You know its one of the only times that the family home is full. So, I want to make it to where my family won’t need to do much of the decorating. As Agatha and I are the ones closest, she and I will decorate the tree on Black Friday.” Alana replied. “It’s good that your family follows traditions like that.” Nora grinned. “I’m very thankful that The Red Death allowed me to continue that tradition even during my ascent to power. He didn’t have to do that.” Alana commented. “Because The Red Death still has a soul.” Nora stated. Alana shook her head. “Not just that. He still has his heart.”

★

Throughout the days leading up to November twenty-seventh, the Senior Staff gathered together in the main Recuperation Room. “I think we should give to local homeless shelters!”, “I think we should donate toys to needy kids!”, “Let’s take care of the bills for a few families this month!”, the ideas for acts of kindness poured out from the various members like a waterfall. Alana was deep in thought as everyone else talked. “What do you think Melody?” The Red Death asked. “I think we should make a list of all the needy families in the area, each of us choose at least a couple of them, then provide them with relief and goods this month. I also think that we should get the children more than just toys, but clothes, shoes and books as well. Perhaps, for every child on our list, we get them an outfit, pair of shoes, new book, and a toy. We can even take in to effect the non Christian population and still provide to them, simply for an act of goodwill. That way, everyone gets help, and needy children get a little cheer. They are a lot less fortunate than us, we should give them a bit of what they need and want. Oh, and let’s not forget the children in the hospitals around the area. At least one toy for each of them, and a meal sent to their families.” She suggested. “Do we have the budget for that, sir?” Veronica asked. The Red Death looked at Veronica with an eyebrow raised. He grabbed a tablet, tapped on it for a couple of minutes and handed it to her. “I see. We have more than enough.” Veronica replied. “I think it’s a fantastic idea!” Renee called. “We can even get the Paladins in on this! That way, we can help more people!” Nora cheered. “I’m in.” Derek chimed in. “Here here!”, “Let’s do this!”, “Huzzah!”, the room boomed with approval. “So, it’s unanimous. Melody’s idea wins.” The Red Death chuckled. “We deal with so much death, this is a lovely idea that can help people across the board, even if it is just for a little bit.” Lyra stated. 

After much more discussion, each member of the Senior Staff was given a family to spoil. As they left the Recuperation Room to begin their missions, The Red Death held Alana back. “I know you’re going home for Christmas. When will you be leaving here?” He asked. “Probably the morning of Christmas Eve. Sam and Ken will get to the house the night before, and Mom and Nate are set to come home that day as well. Don’t worry... I’ll be back the day after Boxing Day.” She replied. “You know you don’t need to worry about when you’ll be back. I just want you to have fun.” He grinned. “Thanks for this. Although, I know that, if I’m not back in time for the New Year’s Party, all hell will break loose.” She chuckled. “When it comes to your missions, just buy the stuff for the kids. I’ll buy the food and deliver everything. After all, you are the only person in this tower who is leaving it for the holidays.” He ordered. She looked at him, puzzled. “Are Brandon and Jack not having Nora over?” She asked. “They’ve decided to spend the day here.” He replied. “Ah.” She nodded.

★

“Melody are you ready? It’s time to decorate the tree!” Agatha called from the living room in the main Roster family home. The family matriarch, Margaret, sat in the rocking chair next to a big box of ornaments. Alana dashed into the room. “Sorry, I was working on something.” She huffed. “You’re always working on something. It’s time to have fun!” Margaret stated. “I know, but Oma, you know I’m a busy woman.” Alana explained as she stood next to her grandmother. “I know, but, you need to slow down a bit.” Margaret replied. “I’ve been saying that for over a year, Mom, but she won’t listen.” Agatha commented as she turned on Christmas music. “Sweetie, you can’t be running all the time. Sometimes, you have to sit back and enjoy the view.” Margaret smiled as she held Alana’s arm. “But the view I want to see is almost within my sight! I’m almost to my ultimate goal!” Alana excitedly protested. “It’s not good for you to always be running. Even Nathaniel has been saying that.” Agatha stated. “I know... But still...” Alana sighed. “Alright, let’s get to the tree!” Margaret ordered.

As the three women took decorations and ornaments out of boxes and put them on the tree, they talked about memories. Margaret picks up a purple heart ornament with a pink decoration on it. Agatha: “Awe! Mels! It’s your Hannah Montana ornament! Remember your pop star phase?” Alana: “I’m trying to forget about it...” Margaret: “I don’t see why. You have a lovely singing voice.”

Margaret picks up an ornament that looks like a playing card. Margaret: “Sam’s card ornament! What game was that that she was so obsessed with?” Alana: “YuGiOh! That’s her Blue-Eyes White Dragon. She put it in a card protector and turned it into an ornament for safe keeping.” Agatha: “I thought you all were in to Pokemon...” Alana: “We are. But, we all prefer the games and anime over the cards.”

Margaret picks up an ornament that looks like Merida. Alana: “Mom’s Brave ornament!” Margaret: “We were singing “Noble Maiden Fair” before Disney popularized it.” Margaret picks up a metal ornament that’s in the shape of a cat. Margaret: “Sylvester’s ornament.” Alana, who tears up and begins to sniffle: “I miss him...”

★

“Mels! This is a wonderful idea! I’m glad the R.D.R is doing this! I wanna take part! If there’s a family that I can do that to, let me know!” Severina cheered. “Well, there are a couple of families that are on the list that the Senior Staff and I can’t get to... I’ll send you the details later today.” Alana smiled as they walked around the shops. “Fantastic! I can’t wait to put a smile on their faces!” Severina beamed. “Have you finished your shopping?” Alana asked. “Not yet. I haven’t quite decided on what to get you. Do you know what you want?” Severina asked. Alana shook her head. “The item I want most is on its way... I hope.” She replied. “That book you’ve been talking about for months? What was it called again? The Toll?” Severina asked. “No. The Toll is a book I’m still waiting on. It’s The Living that is on its way. I’ve waited two years for that book. I preordered it when Isaac Marion said that it was available. It’ll be a signed, hardcover, first edition, fresh off the press, copy. It’s that zombie book I’ve been waiting for.” Alana replied.

As they went through the shops and Alana purchased the items for the needy kids on her list, Severina kept talking about how great the holidays were gonna be. “We’ll play games and eat ourselves sick!” She cheered. “And your dad will get mad like he always does.” Alana commented. Severina stuck her tongue out at her. “This year, I don’t care if my father gets angry with me! I wanna enjoy myself!” She scoffed. Alana smiled. “Not to mention, how, if everything goes well, you won’t have to deal with your father any more soon.” She added. Severina hugged her. “Yeah! After that’s all over, my father won’t have any power in my mom’s and my life! I still don’t see why this investigation is taking months to do....” She replied. “Because you and your mom need time to build up your lives so you two won’t fail after he’s gone. I’ve told you that for weeks. Make it to where there is no way that you two will ever need him. During this time, the police and I are getting every ounce of evidence we need to lock your father away for good.” Alana explained.

A few minutes later, they had wandered into a bookstore. “Are we gonna have a snowball fight?” Severina asked. “Probably.” Alana grinned as she looked over the books. Suddenly, a book on a shelf in the book caught her eye. She walked over to the shelf and gazed at the book. It was an old detective novel by Agatha Christie. She picked the book up, looked closer at it, and smiled. A first edition. “I’m sure he has a copy of this one, but he doesn’t have a copy like this.” She thought. She took the book to the counter. “Either you’re a hardcore Agatha Christie fan, or you’re a fan of rare books.” The girl commented. “The man I love is a major fan of Hercule Poirot. I’m sure he has a copy of this one, but it’s not a first edition. This will be a perfect Christmas present.” Alana explained. “Would you like it gift wrapped?” The girl asked, smiling as she rang the book up. Alana shook her head. “No, I like wrapping presents myself.” She grinned as she slid her card in the card reader. “That’s so sweet. I hope he likes it.” The girl handed her the book in a bag with her receipt. “I hope so too. Thank you.” Alana took the bag, looked at it hopefully and began looking for Severina. “Have a great day! Merry Christmas!” the girl called as Alana walked off. “So, find anything good?” Severina asked. “Yeah, Nathaniel’s Christmas present.” Alana replied.

★

“Get in assholes, we’re going light looking!” Alana cheered as Castiel, Priya, and Nathaniel stood before a van. “Why do I have to drive?” Nora asked. “Because it will be good for you.” Alana replied. “Why are we doing this?” Nathaniel asked. “Because! Light Looking is a fun holiday event! We get hot chocolate, fast food, blankets and pillows and listen to Christmas music while we drive around and look at everyone’s light displays! Come on guys! Please?” Alana cheered. Nathaniel, Castiel and Priya looked around at each other and sighed. “Alright, if it’ll make you happy.” Nathaniel slightly grinned as he got into the van. “And why are we here?” Priya asked. Alana looked at them blankly. “Because its more fun with more people and you guys are my friends.” She stated. Priya looked at Castiel, shrugged, and got into the van. Castiel looked at Alana and smiled. “Is this what you really want?” He asked. “Yes.” Alana cheerfully cooed. “Alright, I’ll do it.” He chuckled as he got in the van. “Fantastic!” Alana cheered as she got in.

“Does your family decorate the outside of the main house in Weathering at this time of year?” Priya asked as they drove through the suburban sections of the city, listening to Christmas music, eating snacks and drinking hot cocoa. “Yeah. It’s tradition that the closest family members are required to do it. This year, Agatha and I had that task. There are lights in the trees and along the fence. We even have metal Santa hats for the dragons on the gate and the mailbox. Its not much, but people like it. We used to always get comments from local kids and our postmen before mom, Sam and I moved.” Alana explained. “Why don’t you stop, now that you don’t live there anymore?” Priya asked. “Because that house has been in our family for several generations. It’s been my family’s primary home since my great, great, grandmother bought it when my great, grandmother was a child. Typically, the next head of the family inherits it. It’s going to mom. Then, even though I’m mom’s successor, it will be going to Sam. Decorating it is a tradition that my family follows because, at it’s core, even though most of us don’t live there anymore, it is still home to us.” Alana continued to explain. “That’s really sweet.” Priya cooed.

As they drove through the city they saw many beautiful displays. Lights, music, beloved characters, it all made them feel warm. “Are you all gonna see family this season?” Nora, innocently, asked. Nathaniel and Castiel looked down. “I’ll be seeing my parents, but only for a couple of days.” Priya piped up. Alana put her hand on Nathaniel’s arm. “You could spend the holiday with me. I’m sure my family will happily welcome you.” She whispered into his ear. “I’m not ready for that. Besides, I’ll spend part of that day with Amber.” He whispered back. “Oh.” Alana looked down. “Thank you for the offer.” Nathaniel whispered, lovingly.

★

“Calm down, everyone!” Rayan called as he stood before his class. When the class became silent, he gave everyone a grin. “Now, I know that some of you will be starting your winter break after this, but I want you all to remember, learning does not stop at that door. Take in the beauty of the season, and appreciate the art that comes with it. Have a good break.” He announced as the class ended. Alana walked up to the podium. “You gonna watch the BBC’s rerun marathon of all the Doctor Who Christmas specials during the break?” She asked. “Maybe. You know Christmas isn’t my favorite time of year.” He replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. Alana looked down and attempted to be cheery. “I get that. But, hopefully, something will help you feel better.” She replied as she took a package out of her backpack and set it on the podium. “Merry Christmas Rayan.” She smiled as she walked out of the auditorium.

Rayan looked at the package, curiously, and began to open it. Inside was a DVD copy of Matt Smith’s era of Doctor Who, a Deadpool comic, a set of Batman shaped chocolate, and a note. 

“From one geek to another. I hope this adds some cheer during this season.

                                     - Melody Alana Roster”

He read the note and smiled. “Thanks Alana.”

★

The hustle and bustle throughout the Black Tower became more celebratory. The Jewish members celebrated Hanukkah and invited Alana to join in on their fun. She took part in at least one night of the celebrations. “If you ever wanna join in on our holiday, please feel free to!” The girl who invited her smiled. “Yes, thank you so much for giving us some of your time!” a boy beamed. “Thank you for the invite! It was a lot of fun!” Alana smiled as she left the room. The other members of the Senior Staff were continuing their work on their missions. Alana had dropped off her mission purchases in the Red Death’s office.

“Severina talked to me about the mission. I gave her three families to help out and she went above and beyond. I’m impressed.” The Red Death commented. “She really wanted to help and she loved our mission.” Alana smiled. “That’s amazing. I’ll be sure to give her credit for all the work she’s done.” He replied. “Thank you, sir.” Alana bowed. “Alright, go get ready for your holiday.” He ordered.

★ 

The morning of Christmas Eve, Alana had been walking through the city, getting the last items she needed before she had to leave for Weathering. “Alright, got the treats from that local bakery that I like. Got all the presents loaded into my Mini Cooper, the Tower won’t fall into ruin while I’m gone. Nathaniel and everyone here know when I’ll be back. Sam and Ken got to the house last night. Mom and Nate should be getting there right about now. The shops should all be closing in the next couple of hours. I even got myself some yummy treats for breakfast! I’m still waiting on The Living to come in.” She thought out loud as she made her way back to the Black Tower.

When she got back to Death’s Domain, she saw Nathaniel standing outside her door. “My, my!! It really is Christmas. It’s just a damn shame I don’t have any mistletoe around!” She cheered when she saw him. “I wanted to see you before you leave.” He said, nervously. “I’ll only be gone a few days. I promise I’ll be home in time for New Years.” She cooed as she opened the door and let him in. “Would you like something to eat? I guarantee I bought too much for myself.” She offered as she set her purchases on the table. “Are you sure?” He asked. “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure. Come on, let’s eat.” She insisted as she pulled out the food and a couple of plates. “Thanks, Alana.” He smiled as he sat down. Alana noticed him placing a package on the ground next to him. “What’s that?” She asked. He looked at her and nervously blushed. “I-I got you something.” He muttered. Her heart skipped a beat. “That’s really sweet! I’ve got something for you too.” She mused. He looked surprised for a second. “Really?” He asked. Alana got up from the table, walked over to the Christmas tree, picked up a present, brought it over to the table and sat down. “Do you wanna do this, then eat? Or do you wanna eat first?” She asked, lovingly. Nathaniel looked at the gift, then at the food, and his stomach growled. “Can we eat first?”

After eating their meal, Alana cleared the table, took the present she had gotten for Nathaniel to the couch, sat down and motioned for him to follow in her stead. He picked up the present at his feet, walked over to her and sat down. He sat the package on the table next to hers. She picked up the small package and handed it to him. “You first.” She beamed. He took it in his hands and began to open it. When all of the paper was off the book, he looked at it. “Its a first edition. Where did you find this?” He asked, shocked, a smile making it’s way onto his face. “There’s a bookshop in the more aristocratic part of the city. I was there with Severina one day and I found it in the back on a shelf.” She explained. “Thank you Alana. I love it.” He blushed. Nathaniel laid the book on the couch next to him, picked up the remaining present and handed it to her. She unwrapped the present, opened the box and looked at the item in shock. “Nathaniel, you remembered!” She choked as she pulled out a blue and white teddy bear. Nathaniel put his hand on his neck and nervously looked away. “Amber dragged me to the mall one day... I saw that in that bear building store and thought of you...” He explained. The bear was a deep blue with white spots all over it, resembling snow. It had yellow pajama’s and a deep blue robe on. On it’s wrist was a large plush bell. Hanging from it’s ear was a tag that looked like a golden train ticket. “Nathaniel, you didn’t have to get me anything...” Alana smiled. “I know, but I wanted to.” He replied. She set the bear down on the coffee table, got closer to him and kissed his cheek, sweetly. “Thank you so much Nath. It means the world to me.” She cooed. He scooted away from her, nervously, and his blush became more prominent. “M-Merry C-Christmas A-Alana.” He stuttered as he grabbed the book. She chuckled, grabbed the bear and stood up. “Merry Christmas Nathaniel.”

A couple of hours later, the gate at the main Roster family home in Weathering opened and Alana’s car pulled into the driveway. Sam opened the door as Alana got out of her car. “Welcome home, asshole!” Sam called as she walked towards the car. “Merry Christmas jackass!” Alana called as she started pulling stuff out of the car. “Good to see you, sis.” Sam patted Alana on the back. “You too, Sam.” Alana smiled. “Mom and Nate aren’t home yet. A package was sent here for you. The Red Death directed it to come here.” Sam explained as they walked into the manor. They walked to the kitchen and sat the goodies on the counter. “Mom and Nate will be home this evening. As for what he sent here, I’m not sure what it is.” Alana replied. “Well, he’s not the type to send gifts like that, is he? He typically gives you guys stuff directly, or sends messengers, right?” Sam asked. “Typically... Unless...” Alana began as her eyes shot up and she bolted to her room.

Alana threw open the door, ran to the bed, pulled out a knife and opened the package. “FINALLY! TWO YEARS OF WAITING AND IT’S FINALLY HERE!” She called as she picked up the book. Two years of waiting patiently, watching out for Isaac Marion’s email updates, a hint of despair when one update said that it might not get finished, hope when the emails began talking about the looming completion, and utter joy when preorders became available had all lead up to this. She opened the book and smelled the pages. “Ahhh... Freshly printed!” She sighed. She turned to the title page and saw the signature. She closed the book, looked in the box, pulled out the two packets and smiled. “The signed bonus stories!” She cheered. She quickly placed the book on the bed, sat down, and delved into the stories. After a few minutes, she placed the packets on her desk. “Those were lovely.” She sighed as she grabbed the book and went back downstairs. 

“He must have seen that it would come in while I’m here!” Alana cheered as she walked into the living room and held up her book for Sam and Ken to see. “Isn’t that the book you’ve been waiting on for a while?” Ken asked. “Two years, yes.” Alana confirmed. “Well then, good for the Red Death. Although, you’d better understand, you can’t tear into that book the entire time. I know you’ve been waiting forever for it, but you need to stay in our world for a bit.” Sam chuckled. Alana rolled her eyes. “I know. I’ll just read in my free time.” She sighed. “Good. Mom texted me, she’ll be home in a couple of hours.” Sam announced.

Hours later, while Sam, Ken, Margaret and Alana were in the kitchen preparing the meal for the following day, the front door flew open, allowing some of the snow to come in to the manor. “Mom!” Sam and Alana cheered in unison as they sauntered towards the entryway. “We’re home!” Lynne announced as she and Nate walked into the entryway and shook off the snow. “Welcome home mom.” Alana smiled as she hugged her mother. “Hey Nate.” She cheered as she hugged her step-father. “Welcome back guys.” Sam smiled as she hugged them. “My babies! I’ve missed you two so much!” Lynne cheered as she looked at her daughters. “Is Nathaniel not with you?” She asked Alana. “No. I invited him, but he’s spending tomorrow with his sister. He came to Death’s Domain this morning and we ate breakfast and did our gift exchange.” Alana clarified. “What did he give you?” Nate asked. “The Polar Express bear from the bear building shop.” Alana blushed. “Awe, he must have remembered your favorite Christmas movie!” Lynne smiled.

It didn’t take long for everyone to eat dinner and get settled into the living room. The Christmas Eve movie that was chosen was Hogfather. As the movie progressed, and Death did the Hogfather’s job, Alana couldn’t help but be reminded of why she chose the Grim Reaper as her R.D.R avatar. It was, of course, an homage to her favorite incarnation of him. She never got over the part of him saving the little match girl in Hogfather. The scene in the movie was playing. “You’re not supposed to do that.” Alfred said as Death refilled the little match girl’s hourglass.  "The Hogfather gives presents. There's no better present than a future." Death pointed out as he picked the little girl up off the street. Terry Pratchett’s version of the Grim Reaper was what she wanted to resemble when doing her job.

After the movie was over, and everyone had gone to bed, Alana made sure to leave a pork pie and a glass of sherry for Santa with a note saying “The Hogfather likes this, maybe you’ll appreciate something different.”. She knew that no one would come for it, but she giggled at the principle of the thing. She went back to her room, put the bear Nathaniel gave her in her lap, texted Nathaniel “Goodnight”, and began reading her book. “I’ll just read a couple of chapters, then I’ll go to sleep.” She mused as she read.

★

The morning of Christmas Day was always a fun one. With no little kids waking up early to make a ruckus, it was up to Sam and Alana to wake up and begin the festivities. As Alana descended the stairs in her pajamas, she smelled bacon being cooked in the kitchen. “Merry Christmas fuckface!” Sam cheered as she stood over the stovetop. “Merry Christmas you overdeveloped cum shot!” Alana mused as she walked into the kitchen, pulled out a griddle and began preparing pancakes. As the pancakes cooked, Alana pulled out her phone and sent a “Merry Christmas” message to Nathaniel. He quickly came back with a “Merry Christmas” message. As the smell of the girls’ cooking became stronger, Ken, Lynne and Nate wandered into the room. “Smells delicious!” Lynne mused. “Can I have some?” Nate asked. “We’re eating good today!” Ken cheered.

Not long after breakfast, there was a knock on the door. Everyone had gotten dressed and was beginning to work on the next preparations for the evening feast. “They’re here early.” Sam smiled. “At this rate, they might as well spend the night here!” Alana commented as she went to open the door. “MELS!” Severina cheered as she threw her arms around her. “Hey Rini!” Alana mused as she hugged Severina. She looked at the people behind Severina. “Hey Viktor, aunt Verity!” She called. Viktor came into the manor holding a large stack of gifts. “Hey Mels!” He smiled as he did his best to balance the stack in his arms. “Do you need help?” Alana asked. “I’d appreciate it.” He sighed. She chuckled and took some of the packages away from him. “Thanks.” He smiled as they walked to the living room and set the presents around the tree.

Throughout the day, the manor filled with the Roster clan and close friends. Agatha, Seraphina, Kirk, Kai and Ravenna had all shown up. As soon as Kai had entered the living room, he was met with sharp glares from Viktor, Severina, Ken, Sam and Alana. “Already judging, I see.” Kai commented as he sat down in a chair in the corner. “If you weren’t so disrespectful, you wouldn’t be receiving this treatment.” Sam spat. “The least you can do is be a good little boy and remain silent.” Severina shot. “Oh, and don’t forget to thank OUR FAMILY for making sure your daughter doesn’t turn into a wretched disgrace like you!” Alana added. Ken and Viktor looked at each other, then shot Kai disgusted looks. “Come on? Nothing from you two?” Kai asked them. “The girls have got it covered.” Viktor stated as Ken nodded in agreeance. Kai then scoffed and left the room. He could be heard muttering the phrases “fucking assholes” and “no respect” as he walked out. A minute later, Ravenna ran into the room, Seraphina following suit. “MELS! SAMI! RINI! KEN! VIKY!” Ravenna cheered as she made her way around the room, giving everyone hugs. “Hey kiddo.”, “Hey Kid.”, “Merry Christmas Ravenna.”, “Good afternoon little one.” they all greeted. “Hey kids.” Seraphina smiled. “Hey Sera.” Alana grinned. “I see you’ve all instantly jumped on Kai.” Seraphina commented. “I know Christmas is about “Peace on Earth” and “Good will towards men”, but he’s been an insufferable prick the past few years, so, we’ll ignore peace and good will in an effort to show him that.” Sam explained. “Not to mention how he’s disrespected mom, Sam and me A LOT over the past few years!” Alana commented. “Sera, he has become a selfish, self centered, overly entitled, fool.” Severina stated. “Okay, I get it. But, can we please tone that down for the holiday? I’ll tell him to do the same.” Seraphina requested. Sam and Alana rolled their eyes. “Fine, I guess.” Sam sighed. “Whatever.” Alana shot.

It wasn’t long before the ham was in it’s final hours of cooking and everyone could gather in the living room to open presents. “Did you get something from Nathaniel?” Severina asked. “Yeah, that Polar Express bear that just came out.” Alana replied. “Awe! He remembered!” Severina cooed. Lynne began passing the presents out to everyone. Ravenna had gotten a bunch of toys from various genres. Superheroes from Alana, Anime from Sam and Ken, Sci-Fi from Lynne and Nate, and Princesses from everyone else. “Looks like her villains are up a creek without a paddle!” Alana joked. “Oh yeah! They won’t know what hit them!” Ravenna cheered. “Mels? Sam? Did you two not get Kai anything?” Seraphina asked. “Nope.” Alana replied. “Why would I?” Sam asked. Seraphina, and Lynne sighed. Kai opened the three presents he received. “Thanks guys.” He sheepishly grinned. Ken, Viktor, Agatha, Seraphina, Kirk, Margaret, Harold, Nate, Lynne and Verity opened their presents. “Thanks everyone.”, “This is so sweet!”, “You all know me!”, “This is lovely!”, “Thanks fam!”, “This is amazing!”, “So cute!”, “Fantastic!”, “I love it!”, “Divine!” they all cheered as they put the trash in the bag. Severina began to open her presents. “Oh my gosh! These are amazing!” She cheered. Alana had gotten her a collection of all of the Pokemon movies. Sam had gotten her a bunch of Sailor Moon items. Viktor had gotten her Disney stuff. The family got her various other things that was on her wish list. Sam opened her presents. The pile of items around Sam looked like an explosion of Batman. “This was awesome!” She beamed. Alana began to open her presents. Agatha gave her filaments for her 3D printer. Margaret gave her a Sailor Moon plush. Seraphina gave her a set of Stewart Semple’s paints. Lynne gave her figures of Death from the Discworld Emporium. Nate gave her Doctor Who items. Verity gave her a black, Doctor Who, long coat. Viktor gave her a Rowlet plush from Pokemon. Severina gave her a set of Sailor Moon Funko Pops. Then came Sam’s presents to her... Alana unwrapped the gift and instantly became awestruck. “Sam, this is a Hong Kong exclusive.” She commented. “Yeah, I got a contact to get it to me.” Sam replied. Alana picked up the item and showed everyone. In Alana’s hand was a portable power bank shaped like the Cosmic Heart compact from Sailor Moon. “There’s more in that box.” Sam smiled. Alana pulled out a Spiral Heart Rod selfie stick and a Cosmic Heart popcorn bucket from Universal Studios Japan. “See, it matches the Crystal Star and Cutie Moon Rod stuff I got for Rini!” Sam beamed. Tears came to Alana’s eyes. “Sam.” She sputtered. “Awe, come on! You know I love you!” Sam chuckled. “Awe!” A bunch of people smiled. 

After the trash from the presents had been cleared away, and all members who didn’t live in the house had put their presents in boxes and bags, Sam, Ken, Lynne, Seraphina, Agatha, Viktor and Alana put the food on the table. The dinner consisted of a massive brown sugar glazed ham, turkey, two different dressings, green bean casserole, yams, mashed potatoes, white gravy, cranberry sauce, carrots, croissants and rolls. The desert table was covered in beautiful snacks brought by several members of the family. Several Christmas themed cakes, snickerdoodles, several variations of sugar cookie, shortbread cookies, gingerbread cookies, divinity, home made hard candy, truffles, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, candy canes, and cheesecake. “I see the feast is a little extra cheery this year!” Verity beamed as everyone sat down. “Yes, this is a major year for our clan! We must celebrate it properly!” Seraphina smiled. “Let’s hope that the table will have more next year!” Agatha cheered. Alana smiled. “Hopefully, it will!” She cooed. Margaret whispered something to Lynne and Lynne stood up. Everyone turned their attention to Lynne. “Family, dear friends, each Christmas, our clan celebrates another year of love, life, and the pursuit of happiness. As the stories tell, this season is for “Peace on Earth” and “Good will towards men”. Our family is no different. The past few years, we have been through many hardships, and, while I know the hardships have yet to end, and I can say that, this past year has brought us many victories. That being said, this is a time to be thankful for what we have, and look forward for what’s to come. I know you all are working hard to achieve your dreams, just as I have. Thank you all for everything you are, and everything you do! Merry Christmas!” Everyone raised their glasses and toasted to Lynne’s speech. “Merry Christmas!” They all cheered.

When dinner ended, they cleaned everything up, got everyone’s “to go” boxes ready and the kids went into the living room. “Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros.?” Sam asked. “Either way, someone is getting their ass kicked!” Alana cheered. “Let’s play Mario Kart! We played Smash last year!” Severina suggested. “I’m in.” Viktor cheered. “I’m out, I’m too full. I’ll sit and watch.” Ken sighed as he laid on the couch. Viktor, Severina, Sam and Alana proceeded to play video games for a couple of hours. Each match ending in cheers, someone groaning, and plenty of jokes and laughter.

Alana’s head had begun to hurt from the games, even with her glasses activated to “videogame mode”. “I’m gonna go to bed.” She yawned. “Okay, do you need help upstairs?” Viktor asked. “Nah, I’ll leave my presents down here, I’m just gonna go to sleep.” Alana smiled as she left the party and went to her room. Suddenly, her phone was vibrating. She took it out of her pocket, looked at it, and answered the call. Alana: “Good Evening Nathaniel.” Nathaniel: “Hey, Alana.” Alana: “I get a present and an evening phone call? It really is the most wonderful time of the year!” Nathaniel: “You sound like you’ve had fun.” Alana: “It would have been more fun if you had been here.” Alana put Nathaniel on speaker phone while she got changed into her pajamas. Nathaniel: “Alana....” Alana: “I know, I know.... You’re not ready for this yet. It’s a big thing to come to the Roster Family Christmas. Especially considering you’d be meeting Viktor, Severina and my aunt Verity. Oh, and we’re not officially back together yet.” Nathaniel: “You know...” Alana: “I know, it’s dangerous. You keep telling me that. But, you’re worth the danger. Not to mention, I’m me. I’ll survive.” Nathaniel: ... Alana took the call off of speaker phone and got into bed. Alana: “So? How was your holiday?” Nathaniel: “It was alright. I hung out with Amber for a while, then she had to spend time with our parents.” Alana: “So, for the most part, you just spent Christmas with Blanche?” Nathaniel: “Yeah.” Alana: “Well, next year, how about you spend Christmas with me?” Nathaniel: “Next year?” Alana: “Yeah. Amber can come too. We can even bring Blanche!” Nathaniel: -chuckles- “Maybe. When we get closer to that point.” Alana told Nathaniel how her Christmas went. Nathaniel: “Wow, you did have a lot of fun!” Alana: “It’s always a bit of a party around here at Christmas!” Nathaniel: “Would your family be okay if I came next year?” Alana: “Mom asked me why you didn’t come this year. Don’t worry, I told her that you and I aren’t fully official yet, and that you’re not comfortable.” Nathaniel: “Thanks Alana.” Alana: -yawns- “Of course. Hey, I’m really tired, I’m gonna go to sleep. Goodnight Nathaniel. Merry Christmas!” Nathaniel: “Okay. Goodnight and sweet dreams my Melody. Merry Christmas.” Alana ended the phone call, put her phone on the charger on her bedside table, grabbed the bear Nathaniel gave her, and curled up in bed. Viktor and Severina lightly knocked on her door, telling her that they’re staying the night and they’ll see her in the morning. Slow, calm, Christmas music rang through the house. Sam knocked on the door. “Mels! Don’t forget! We’re all having a snowball fight tomorrow! Rest up and prepare for battle!” She called. “’Night Mels!” Ken called. A couple of minutes later, Nate and Lynne called through her door. “Goodnight kiddo!”, “Sweet dreams sweetie!”. When the only thing that could be heard from outside her bedroom door was the Christmas music, Alana rolled over and muttered to herself. “He called me “his Melody”. She smiled.

As the calm took over the Roster Estate, the area felt an air of peace. The snow was still falling, the music was soothing, and everyone in the home felt warm and cozy. Sam and Ken snuggled up in their bed. Nate and Lynne cuddled in theirs. Kirk picked Ravenna up off the floor and took the child to bed. Harold had fallen asleep in a chair in the living room. Seraphina told Kai to quit complaining and go to bed, before having a cup of tea with Agatha and Margaret. Verity, Severina and Viktor took refuge in guest rooms. And Alana fell asleep without the fear of her nightmares waking her up in the middle of the night. Just as it should on Christmas, peace and love won, and for one night, all was well.

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I have been wanting to write this one for a couple of years now. It was originally going to be a lot like the first Christmas event for MCLUL, but I ended up taking a lot of liberties.

Oh, for context.... Kai gets a lot of harsh treatment in this one... You might wanna read the Cousin Mels specials.... You’ll find out why the girls can’t stand him. He’s an entitled asshole. But, hey, every family has one of those.

Credit: @candysweetposts for Lynne’s sprite, and most of the components used to make Sam’s and Severina’s sprites. andanguyen for the background of the Roster Family Home

[ladyhaesoo]

hotel blue moon | 6

“Are you going to secretly hide my body?"

"Of course. I can't let someone who's seen so much of me live."

part 1 | part 5 | part 7 | read on page (not for the mobile app, but prettier)

a/n: this post was brought to you by the “editing is for losers” club. also, i changed the place that family was from, that’s for plot reasons. also also, i REALLY loved writing this one, so i hope everyone enjoys reading it too!

She made them stop at a restaurant halfway en route to the Hwaseong, and Kangtae was glad to stop—if not entirely happy about their choices of restaurant. Still, food was food, and Moonyoung had announced that she was hungry once every five minutes in the last half hour; enough to make him hungry, too.

Moonyoung looked around the restaurant with distaste written on her face. "This is where you bring me to eat," she muttered, and Kangtae huffed out a laugh.

"At least it isn't a convenience store. Sit, I'll get menus." She took a seat, checking the top of the table for dust and grimacing at her fingers. Kangtae couldn't help laughing. Ko Moonyoung was inexplicably cute—maybe her attitude was frightening to some, but Kangtae ran a hotel for ghosts, which put Moonyoung's temper into perspective more than most things would. And besides—she was amusing in a way very, very few people were.

She hadn't been lying about wanting to know him; she'd spent the car ride so far questioning him. He might even go so far as to call it an interrogation.

"Where are we going?" she'd asked, first thing after he began driving. "Business trip, but where?"

"Hwaseong."

Of course, she couldn't accept anything for what it was, and so the next question came: "What business do you have? It can't be anything illegal, or you wouldn't have let me come with you. Or are you going to secretly hide my body?"

Kangtae had nodded, of course. "Of course. I can't let someone who's seen so much of me live." It wasn't even too far from the truth—though, he supposed, most people who knew him too well were simply already dead. The only exception would be the various hotel manager's he'd had over the last few decades of running a legitimate verifiable business. Apart from them, and Mago, whose position on the scale from "alive" to "dead" was fairly questionable anyway, Moonyoung was probably the only living person who he'd met and spoken to so much in the last—oh, five hundred years.

It wasn't a bad thing, he supposed.

"And the business... nothing illegal," he said. "It's more a favour than anything else." She had looked at him, and he had been compelled to elaborate: "It's part of our VIP guest service package." 

"VIP? I'm a VIP," Moonyoung had said, lip curling. "I should visit your hotel. I don't mind paying extra for special attention from the CEO."

She was certainly... blunt. He liked that, though. She didn't hesitate to look him ankle to shoulder as he returned with two menus and took a seat opposite her. "So," she announced, leaning forward, chin on fist and glitter shining on her lower lashes. "I have a question."

"Really?" he asked, blowing his eyes wide in faux-innocence. "I didn't expect that."

"Are you married? Is that why the hotel is a no-go? Do you have a secret wife hidden in your hotel attic I can't meet?"

It wasn't in his attic, and it wasn't quite a woman, but—Kangtae forced the smile onto his lips to tug upward. "You could say that. I have a wife you can't meet." When Moonyoung's expression soured, he laughed. "It's Blue Moon. The hotel's been like a demading wife since I've owned it." Perhaps a little more possessive than any spouse ought to be, though. "I can't stay away for more than a day or two without it falling to pieces, so maybe it's more like... a child?"

Moonyoung smirked. "Good to know," she said, and wrapped her ankle around his.  

"Now it's my turn with a question," he said, leaning forward, He leaned forward, sliding his leg up just so, enjoying the way her eyes darkened and mouth opened. He leaned closer, and then closer still, and then, just when her eyes dropped to his lips, he raised the menu between their faces. "What do you want to eat?"

The man in the car crossed and uncrossed his arms. Kangtae ignored him, and watched the transience of emotion on Moonyoung's face.

They pulled into the city to find the streets packed with people, streamers and flyers running through cramped alleys and central roads alike. Kangtae seemed to know precisely where to go, and drove with precision and control. It added nicely experience of the drive, being able to watch his hands and neck and certainty of movement even when she had nothing to say.

"Where are we?" she asked when he finally pulled into a parking lot. It was still light outside, but barely—she could see the sun setting on the horizon, colouring the sky orange and pink.

"At my meeting. I'll be back in five minutes, don't go anywhere," he announced. Moonyoung shrugged and followed him out of the car, grabbing a lighter from her bag. He shot her and then the no-smoking sign a look, but only smiled and shook his head before walking away. She quirked her lips up, and lit it up. In her bag, her phone rang again—twelfth missed called from Sangin.

She'd told him that she was on a trip to Hwaseong with Kangtae when he had called the first time—she wasn't scared of Kangtae, but she also wasn't an idiot—and then hung up when he began repeating variations of what the hell with nothing to actually add. She didn't know what the problem was; the promotional period for Zombie Kid was over, and she had no schedule for a few weeks, or at least until she was well into working on her next book.

Of course, it was possible Sangin's problem was just Kangtae. He didn't trust her around people—which, she supposed, was fair in this case. She had stabbed him. But Kangtae hadn't been the intended victim, and had shown no signs so far of wanting to sue her or of publicising her horrible misdeeds. So that couldn't be it.

And he was interesting.

Everyone she knew, everyone she met, fell into the same few categories. Boring. Dull. Frightened of her. Awed by her. Disgusting and contemptible. Tedious. Fun was—so very rare. Willing to answer her questions, even if she could tell he wasn't being perfectly honest. And—entertained as much by her as she was by him. 

Smoke burned through her lungs and out into the air. It was a cold evening; colder than she would expect. She closed her eyes, imagining being in a different parking lot, one underground, without all this bright sunlight. Hand on hand on waist. Warmth under her palms. An arm around her in her bed. Soft fabric sliding against her leg, pressing just enough to give her a glimpse of the muscle underneath. Eyes dark and flickering to her mouth, lips this close...

She really, really, wanted him.

"I know, right? He's really handsome," a male voice said, and her eyes snapped open. She turned around on the spot, but there was no one there, only the chill in the air and empty cars.

"Who's there?" she asked, sliding a hand into her purse, closing it around a lovely pair of tailoring scissors with gilt handles that led to large curves cutting off in sharp points. It was meant for clothes, but it would definitely cut through more. "Who the hell said that?" she asked again, turning around on her heel. No one responded.

Footsteps. Moonyoung spun on her heel—but it was only Kangtae. "Who are you talking to?" he asked.

She let go of the scissors and turned back around. "I thought I heard someone," she said, rubbing at her arm.

Kangtae looked around. "There's no one here," he said. Moonyoung watched as his gaze paused just by the car, almost as though he was looking at someone, but—there was no one there. She shrugged, putting the smoke out.

"Probably an echo." It was a windy day. She knew she'd heard the words clearly, but—no one here. Maybe she was hearing ghosts now? "Is your business done?"

Kangtae shot a dark look back at the building he had just come from. "We'll need to make a few more stops."

Their last stop was apparently a campaigning spot, covered top to bottom in smiling, family friendly pictures of local assemblyman Kwon Mansu (or so they said) who hoped to be voted back into the position this election cycle. The politician and his family were taking pictures at the moment, walking from stall to stall and shaking hands, looking generally like a perfect candidate and his perfect family—barring the red eyes on his wife, that was.

As the assemblyman began to climb up the podium to make whatever obnoxious speech he was about to, Kangtae got out of the car. She followed, more than curious. It had become more than evident that his business had to do with this Kwon Mansu, but she didn't know what. The distaste was evident on his face, but here too the reason was beyond her.

She had a feeling, though, that she was about to find out.

"Are you ready?" he asked, just as he was being was introduced. She raised an eyebrow, and turned back to the stage, leaning back on the car to wait.

When he opened his mouth, a screech sounded, high and harsh enough to send gasps into the air and people ducking. Assemblyman Kwon ducked himself, but he was too professional to take the embarrassment. A smile fixed itself on his face, and his staff hurried to the mic, looking over it. "Technical difficulties," he laughed, just loud enough that he likely wouldn't even need the mic if it wasn't for his sense of self-importance.

He tried again—and yet again, the mic screeched. She looked at Kangtae, then back at the assemblyman. When he cleared his throat, the mic seemed fine, though, so he began to speak.

The words, she gathered, were not his.

"Everyone, this is a message from Kwon Gido! I'm Kwon Mansu's youngest son!"

Chaos erupted. Kwon Mansu's wife crumpled to the ground, her children gathering around her. The man himself began shouting near-miss obscenities and yelling at his staff as the mic kept going apparently without his help. The gathered media were undoubtedly having a frenzy—flashes began to go off, no doubt getting very good pictures of Kwon Mansu and some shocking audio recordings of Kwon Gido's last message to the public about why not to elect his father. Bodyguards in black and white looked left and right for a culprit, but the culprit was the speakers. And then, just as someone realised you could simply unplug speakers, a reporter found—

"These are Kwon Gido's hospital reports!"

She turned to Kangtae. "How did you get that audio recording?" Surely a recording made by Kwon Gido on his last days was unlikely to appear in just anyone's hands.

"He was a guest," Kangtae said. She opened her mouth, then shut it again as a man in bright purple marched over to them.

"You!" She leaned back onto the car just a little more, watching as Kangtae postured—hands in pockets, shoulders relaxed, one elbow leaning on his car, the picture of cool and uncaring. "Are you from the hospital?"

She answered first. "What hospital? I'm a writer, and he's my lifejacket."

Kangtae rolled his eyes, turning to her. "I told you, I have a job."

"I'm warning you both. I don't know where you got that recording, but if anything happens to Assemblyman Kwon because of what happened today—"

"Yes? What if something happens?" Irritation laced his voice.

The man raised one threatening finger. "You two better brace yourselves."

It was almost funny. "Really?" she asked, gasping. "You're so frightening, I'm so scared. What do I do?" Beside her, Kangtae was almost laughing, teeth out, lips curled up—but eyes hard. The man she was talking to, though, didn't seem particularly amused.

"You little—" He didn't get to finish his sentence, but she could imagine what came next. The step forward, the raised arm. She didn't even have time to brace herself for the hit when Kangtae was in the way, one hand on his palm.

"Didn't I warn you and Assemblyman Kwon?" he asked, twisting until the man was shouting. "Why didn't you brace yourself?" He let go suddenly enough that the man fell over, scrambling backwards. She watched as Kangtae turned to her, almost as though checking to see if she was alright. A woman ran over to them.

"Wait here," he said after a minute. Moonyoung watched him go, watched the man on the ground wring his hand, obviously in pain, watched the reporters shouting and flashes going off. In the back, Mrs. Kwon Mansu was sobbing into her hands. Same old story everywhere, it seemed.

Assemblyman Kwon said something. Kangtae's mouth twisted—he replied, something not quite a shout, not quite audible past the general chaos.  Mrs. Kwon's face turned white, and Assemblyman Kwon looked like he would have hit Kangtae if there were simply less people. But Moon Kangtae—simply didn't care. His hands returned to his pockets, and if they were clenched into fists now instead of relaxed, she didn't know who else was watching to see. He took a slow saunter back to her, smiling when he reached her, and asked,

"Had fun?"

She really, really, really wanted him.

[harlot-of-oblivion]

The Devil’s In The Details

All work and no play makes Dante a dull devil. But he soon finds a cure for his boredom when a smokin' hot detective comes a-knockin' on his door.

The title and overall feel of this chapter is inspired by the song "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins.

Chapter 3: Never Met A Girl Like You

You look up Dante’s profile as soon as you get back to your desk. The Lieutenant was not exaggerating that this man’s file is incredibly long; it almost reads like a fictional novel filled with colorful characters and bloody descriptions. Unfortunately, all these reports are real and if any of what you read is remotely true, then you really have your work cut out for you this time.

It all starts with the infamous demon attack on Sparda Manor, which is common knowledge to most locals nowadays. The only body found in the rubble of their burnt down home was Eva Sparda, the matriarch of the family, and the rest of the family was pronounced dead soon after the incident. You narrow your eyes at that little detail…it’s rather strange that they just jumped to that conclusion even though there isn’t enough sufficient evidence to back up the claim.

The next notable part of the profile is all about the escapades of Tony Redgrave. You resist the urge to facepalm yourself while reading about all the events that occurred under his on the nose alias. It all seems to be standard fare on par with mercenary work, so you skip ahead a little until hitting another infamous incident involving some crazy ass tower…a lot of information about what happened has been redacted except that the Son of Sparda was definitely involved as well as an associate only known as Lady.

You read ahead again and raise an eyebrow at the strange report about a beautiful woman smashing through his shop while riding a motorcycle. This mysterious woman is later confirmed to be another associate known as Trish. Then it seems he left to do some outside work, so there isn’t much details except for a few witness statements here and there. The most noteworthy detail is the sudden appearance of a young man bearing a striking resemblance to the white-haired mercenary known as Nero.

A memory flashes before your mind at the name. You’ve seen this young man before; it was during the Red Grave incident involving the demon tree. You did not get the chance to speak with him…all you can remember is nodding to a young man with short white while leading a group of citizens caught in the demonic fray to safety. And speaking of that debacle, you skim through the reports about Dante’s role in that devastating event, which again seems to be scarce except that he was definitely hired to take care of whatever or whoever planted that freaky ass tree.

From what you can glean from the extensive damage reports, complaints about disturbing the peace, and the high rate of death and destruction…it paints Dante as a womanizing playboy who shows no concern for the wellbeing of others, which makes him a highly dangerous individual. Your fingers tap on your desk as you carefully sift through the information you have just gathered, noting that some of the reports have a healthy dose of prejudice attached to them. A good detective knows that preconceptions should never be taken at face value when searching for the truth. So, perhaps he’s more of a flirty troublemaker with a pension for hunting demons, which has earned him quite the reputation among mercenaries and police alike. You lean back in your chair and mentally weigh the risks of seeking out this infamous devil hunter in hopes of ridding the city of another demonic threat.

The soft chiming of your phone breaks you away from your deep contemplation. You pull it out your pocket and shuffle through a series of texts from Carmen. A couple of them are pictures of the victim’s garage, specifically a set of golf clubs found in the corner. She goes on to explain that this could be the murder weapon, but she will have to run some tests to confirm her suspicions. You take out your sketchbook and update the depiction of the crime scene with a drawing of a golf club with a question mark beside it. The other texts inform you about the safe key and missing dog. Carmen didn’t find any kind of safe or lock box that goes with the key, so she’s just adding it with the rest of evidence for further investigation. And there is still no sign of the family dog either.

No surprise there, you thought while texting her back about your heated argument with the Lieutenant and your plan of seeking outside assistance from a demon hunter. You also let her know that Graves is fine, just shaken up from the missing body that could very well be the zombie bride she gushed about earlier. While waiting for her response, you check your email for the record of medical examiners that Graves sent, and you file a report about the missing body from the morgue.  

After completing those tasks, you decide to grab a quick breakfast and do some more investigating before setting out to find the Legendary Devil Hunter. You collect your sketchbook and grab another cup of coffee on the way out, gulping it all down in a few long sips while you walk through the station. Your phone chimes multiple times as you approach the exit, but you withhold from checking it as you slip past a slew of reporters standing outside the station. All of them are none the wiser as you gear up for a long ride before hopping on your motorcycle.

You rev the engine a couple of times before zooming out of the parking lot with a loud roar, hoping that you can make it to Devil May Cry before closing time.  

(A few hours later…)

Another day spent doing absolutely nothing, Dante thought drolly as he rereads yet another dirty magazine while rock music blares from the jukebox.

It’s late afternoon and there is still no sign of Morrison. The phone rang a few times, but none of the callers gave a password. Dante knew that business has been slow recently, but he’s going to die of sheer boredom at this rate! He leans back in his chair and props his feet up on his desk, not really ogling the half-naked ladies in the magazine as his mind wanders through less vulgar musings.

Dante’s life has taken one hell of a U-turn for the better ever since getting back from hell with his brother in tow and having a very awkward but needed conversation with Nero. Just the fact that he even has a nephew still makes him shake his head in wonder, and having Vergil back to being his old cranky self…it all seems too good to be true. But a few pinches every now and then, as well as some stabs from his dear brother, knocks some sense back into him and erases all doubt from his mind.

Dante has never felt more alive now that he has finally found his family. And it would truly be a shame if this tedious dry spell takes him out before he gets the chance to really enjoy it. Morrison better bring the cure to my boredom before I find it myself, he thought, absentmindedly turning a page while letting out a huge yawn.  

A loud knocking echoes throughout the shop. Dante glances up from his magazine towards the entrance. Huh…that’s not Morrison, he surmises as more knocking bangs on the door. “It’s open!” he announces, not one to turn down a potential client coming to him directly. He tosses aside the dirty magazine as the door swings open to reveal an attractive woman entering the shop.    

Dante’s brow quirks in curiosity as you look around with mild interest. “Well, well…what’s a pretty lady like you doing here?” he asks nonchalantly while his keen eyes roam up and down your form, already spotting the concealed gun holstered inside your riding jacket.  

“I’m looking for the owner of this shop,” you inform in a calm and even voice while slowly approaching the landing area of his office. “Is that you?”

Dante smirks mischievously. “That depends on who’s asking, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe.”

Your stern voice startles him for a moment as you step up to the landing and pause by the edge of the carpet under his desk. You’re close enough now for him to get a better look at you; confident stance, sharp eyes, and a stoic face that could rival his brother’s stony expression. And yet it still captures his full attention despite your cold reception of his playful retort.  

“The name’s Dante,” he introduces himself as your head swivels around, taking in every detail of his office as you walk around his desk. “And if you’re looking for the bathroom…it’s in the back.” Dante motions with his head as you get closer to the couch, which gives him an opportunity to check you out from behind. His eyes linger up your slender legs and the curve of your ass…but then he does a bit of a double take when he notices a knife hidden in one of your boots.  

“Legendary Devil Hunter, Son of Sparda…and the embodiment of sloth apparently,” you muse aloud, stoic shell cracking a little as your lips curl into a grimace while examining the copious piles of trash strewn all over the floor.

Dante crosses his arms with a shrug. “I see my reputation still precedes me,” he quips back cheekily as your gaze turns towards the small bar in the corner.

“Please tell me that hasn’t just been hanging there rotting since the Red Grave incident,” you mutter in disbelief while pointing at the Empusa nailed to the wall with numerous swords and one small dart.

“What does a babe like you know about Red Grave?” he inquires casually while his eyes narrow suspiciously.  

A subtle spark of anger lights up your eyes. “Stop calling me babe.”

Dante slides his feet to the floor before leaning over on his desk. “How about you give me the pleasure of your name and maybe I’ll call ya by something more your style,” he offers with a wink, hoping to rekindle that spark of yours with his flirty banter.

Your smoldering eyes squint hard at him for a moment, the fierce spark now glittering as you reach inside your riding jacket. “Detective Y/N of the Red Grave City P.D.” You take out your badge and flip it open to show him your photo I.D. as you move close to his desk. “And if you call me anything but Detective…I’ll show you why some of the boys down at the station call me Ice Bitch,” you warn with a low growl filled with simmering anger.  

“Ice Bitch, huh?” Dante repeats while giving the badge a quick glance so that he doesn’t miss the show when the sparks start flying. “I dunno…you sound pretty fiery to me.”

Dante watches with fascination as your eyes burst with searing heat, but your entire face remains completely composed. It’s not exactly the kind of show he was hoping for, but there is still time to figure out what really lights your fire so long as you are here. There’s just something about you that begs him to stoke the flames flickering in your eyes…maybe it’s the way you carry yourself with utmost confidence around the shop despite the infamy around his name and reputation. Or it could be that fiery spirit hidden beneath your frosty exterior…all he knows for certain is this:

He’s gotta have more.

“So, what does the fuzz down at Red Grave want with a guy like me?” he asks, relaxing back into his chair with an amused grin, detecting another knife hidden up your sleeve as you put away your badge. “Wait, wait…lemme guess: you’re here to arrest me for being too damn good lookin’,” he jests, arching his brow while stroking his chin in a dashing manner.

“Last time I checked, it wasn’t illegal to have a scruffy beard and unkempt hair,” you retort smoothly while straightening out your jacket. “I’m here to request any insights you have about demons.”

“Well, you definitely came to the right place,” he boasts, dramatically waving his hands around the shop before tilting his head inquisitively. “Is this for a case?”

You raise a well-trimmed brow in surprise. “You catch on quickly…yes, it’s for a case,” you confirm, resting one hand on your hip while the other hangs down by yet another knife in your pants pocket. “We need to determine if demons are involved in a series of disappearances and murders.” You pause for a moment, blinking your eyes once as you tilt your head in thought. “There’s also the possibility of a Devil Arm being involved as well. And if either of those are true…” You trail off with a weary sigh before finishing your explanation. “Maybe we can team up and work on this case together.”

Dante kicks one foot up to rest atop his knee. “It sounds like you already know a lot more than your average cop,” he notes while his brow twitches with interest at your proposal.  

“When you live in a place like Red Grave, you learn to pick up on a few things…” The spark in your eyes dims down while a haunted look flashes across your impassive face. “Never know when it might save your life,” you quickly explain, crossing your arms as your expression hardens, but the dull ember of your eyes glimmer softly.

Now that’s a look I know very well, Dante admits silently, having seen the very definition of anguish staring back at him in the mirror for years. “Alright, you wanna know more about demons…why come to me? I know for a fact that there are plenty of mercenaries in your area,” he points out with an exaggerated twirl of his finger.

“Because you’re the best of the best, Mr. Dante.”

This isn’t the first time that Dante has heard those exact same words. His usual response is to just laugh it off and comment about hearing it all before…but this time it’s different. The absolute certainty evident in your voice sends a chill down his spine. And the spark in your eyes is roaring with the flame of total conviction as you seemingly stare straight into his devilish soul.

“Hmm…you sure are painting a pretty interesting picture,” he imparts, fidgeting a little under your intense gaze, which makes him wonder if you’ve noticed just how tight his pants have gotten while talking with you. Not that he minds…but it seems you are more interested in business than pleasure right now. So, he brushes that notion aside and scoots his chair closer so that his arms can rest on the desk. “Look…I’m really flattered and all, but you’ve overlooked one minor detail: mercenaries and cops aren’t really known for working together.”

Dante flashes you with a toothy grin, hoping the reluctant act he’s putting on will illicit another feisty show. “Oh, I didn’t overlook it,” you reveal, quickly snuffing out his attempt at lighting the fuse with a shake of your head. “I just don’t give a damn.”

“Really?” He leans in closer over his desk as he pokes that wild temper of yours from another angle. “Didn’t know it was okay for you to break the law whenever you want and openly carry that gun just because of some fancy badge,” he provokes with a challenging smile.

Your stoic face contorts into furious scowl as the spark in your eyes ignites in searing rage. You quickly close the distance between both of you and slam your hands down on his desk, proving that he skipped lighting the fuse and just kicked the entire damn barrel into the fire! But it doesn’t bother Dante one bit as you lean in real close to his face over the desk, inflamed gaze boring into him while you launch into an explosive tirade.  

“Now you listen here! I took an oath to protect and serve, and that’s exactly why I’m here now! I did not work my ass off for this badge just to waltz around with this gun! And I have no intentions of abusing that sacred trust the citizens of Red Grave have put in me!”

You pause to take a couple of deep breaths before continuing in a calmer but still irate tone. “Your expertise and experience with demons may lead to the break in case we need…and it’s what I need to uphold that oath.” The harsh scowl on your face softens as the rage in your eyes dies down to a flickering flame of hope. “I need your help, Mr. Dante…I can’t crack this case wide open and finally bring this insidious killer to justice for the families and friends of their victims without you.”

Dante stares at you in awe as your impassioned speech buzzes around him like a temperamental honeybee. He couldn’t help but to watch your lips as you unleash your fury upon him…wondering if your kiss would be just as passionate as your volatile rage. And you are so close now, waiting for his response as you loom over his desk like an unmoving statue. But your intoxicating scent ensnares his senses while an all too familiar presence awakens inside him. His heart beats faster as blood rushes straight down his groin, forcing him to subtly readjust himself under the desk while the devil within purrs beneath his skin.

The door behind you suddenly swings open before he can come up with some clever one liner about enjoying the show. Morrison strolls on in and effectively pulls both of you out of the intense moment as he starts talking. “Hey Dante! Word on the street is that a detective from Red Grave City has been snooping around and…Oh!” He stops in his tracks when he finally notices you. “Looks like you’ve arrived before the rumors, Detective,” he notes smoothly while lighting up a cigar.

“I’m a firm believer of getting the whole picture before putting my pencil to paper, Mr. Morrison,” you divulge coolly without tearing your fierce gaze away from Dante’s stunned face. The corners of your mouth twitch into a fleeting smirk as you straighten up your posture while backing up from his desk. “I’ll be in the city for a couple more hours. You can find me at the Simmer Down Diner if you change your mind…and if you don’t come around, I’ll just assume that your answer is no.”

You turn and step down the landing before walking past Morrison towards the entryway. Dante’s eyes follow your every move, hypnotized by your swaying hips and confident stride as you reach for the door. “But make no mistake, Mr. Dante,” you murmur, grasping the handle as you turn to look over your shoulder. “There’s a serial killer on the loose and I intend to catch them with or without your help.” Your eyes sparkle with determination with those final words as you open the door and exit the shop.

“Did I hear her right?” Morrison questions, puffing on his cigar as he walks across the shop towards the couch. “She wants your help catching a serial killer?”

Dante keeps his eyes on the door as he nods. “Yep. Seems so.”

“Huh…that’s something you don’t see every day.” Morrison takes a seat on the couch and flicks his cigar over a nearby ashtray. “What’d she offer you in return?”

“We didn’t get that far when you busted on through the front doors.”

Morrison puffs on his cigar in quiet contemplation for a moment before cracking a knowing smile. “You’re thinkin’ about following after her, aren’t ya?”

Dante finally turns away from the door towards his dear friend. “What makes you say that?” he inquires, casually leaning back in his chair while Morrison shakes his head with a soft chuckle.

“You never could resist a beautiful lady asking for help. Even when all they brought was trouble…you still hear them out and almost always take whatever bait they dangle in front of ya.”

Dante shrugs at his friend’s logic while pondering about possibilities of working with a detective. On one hand, he’d have to play nice with the police and not break too many laws if he agrees to help you. But on the other hand, he gets to hang out with a smokin’ hot detective with one helluva temper. And if he takes up your offer…his heart throbs while the devil in him purrs at the thought of reigniting the flame in your eyes and seeing more of this sizzling chemistry between the two of you.

“You know me too well, Morrison,” he discloses with a puckish grin. “I’ll let ya know if I take the bait this time.”  

Morrison waves his cigar in the air as if to say told ya so as he gets out of his chair with a small flourish. He recalls the restaurant you mentioned as he steps out the shop, knowing it to be one of many greasy spoons in this area of the city. His hands are practically shaking with anticipation as he summons Cavaliere while a blur of different emotions swirl around in his head. If you can get this kind of reaction out of him already, then he’s gotta see where this may lead because honestly…he’s never met a girl like you before.

And now that he’s had a taste…he wants so much more.

Read Chapter 4

My Ao3

My Masterlist if you want more 💖

Tagging: @bettybattaglia @drusoona and @exsultry

[victoriareyloficlists]

17 March 2021 Additions to Reylo Holidays

These fics have been added to the Holiday list located here.

Christmas

Mistle-oh-no by KyloTrashForever (AO3  2019  Rated E Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey kisses a stranger at a holiday party.) Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday by CaliforniaQueen (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 20 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Celebrating finishing school and getting a teaching job, Rey Jackson and her friends go out for a night of drinks and letting their hair down. When she meets the beautiful stranger at the bar, she decides tonight she's going to break a rule and be the bad girl for a change. Their one night together turns out to have disastrous consequences for everyone involved. But is being tied down as bad as Rey thinks it is, or is she just afraid to let herself be happy?) Scrooged at Crossroads by apisa_b (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Kylo Ren is a workaholic Grinch with anger management issues - until his life is changed by falling in love and being visited by a ghost.) A Heavenly Holiday by ElleRen31 (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo needs to find Christmas gifts for his family. At a local department store, he finds more than he bargains for.) Christmas Eve Will Find Me (Where the Lovelight Gleams) by Love_andbalance (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Christmas Eve. Ben stares at the train that he and his now ex were supposed to be departing on. A noise behind him turns his head, a beautiful girl yelling at the SOLD OUT ticket booth. He looks at the 2 tickets in his hand and back at the girl. "Fuck it," he says, walking up to her.) Keep On Giving by MaryMonster (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is eagerly awaiting the delivery of her Christmas present, a luxury vibrator. There’s only one problem – it was accidentally delivered to her neighbor, Ben Solo. A cozy Christmas Reylo fic full of fluff and smut.) Let It Be Me by elemie89 (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo has found the perfect Christmas tree. Only problem is, someone else thinks it’s a perfect tree too.) Merry Christmas, I'm Yours by captain_staryeyed (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: After finding out that Rey has nowhere to go for Christmas, Ben invites her to spend Christmas at his parents’ house. During the time spent together, they are forced to confront their growing feelings toward each other.) Dark Carols by Nyx_Fedra (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: CW: Suicidal Ideation. Ben Solo wasn't liked around the office. He had outbursts of rage, and he was generally rather unpleasant, harsh, difficult to get along with. He seemed to despise others and to be disinterested in anything anyone talked to him about. Rey didn't like him very much, their few encounters had been difficult, some even shouting matches. To her eyes, he was spoiled, ungrateful of the privileges he’d been granted by life. He refused to join Resistance enterprise for a long time, working for Snoke instead, he was harsh with Leia and Han, hostile with Luke…It all changed two months before Christmas, when they entered Resistance enterprise headquarters to find Holdo dishevelled, alone when Leia never missed a day, and she informed them that Ben Solo had almost succeeded in committing suicide the night before. Rey’s world tilted upside down. ) If the Fates Allow by dawninthemtn (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 6 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Leia Organa is the most successful matchmaker in the world and renowned creator of irresistible.com, where she built an algorithm so airtight her corporate headquarters is wallpapered with wedding announcements. To her chagrin, the only person she’s never been able to set up is her own son, Ben. But she has an employee named Rey that she has decided is Ben’s perfect match, so she hatches a plan to set them up. Unbeknownst to his mother, Ben has set up an anonymous profile on irresistible.com and has been writing his match Rey for months.) All I Want for Christmas (Is Smut) by MizuPhoenix (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: All Ben Solo wanted for Christmas was to lose his V-Card. Only, the reason he was still thirty years old and hadn't lost it yet was all due to one Rey Jackson. His very best friend. Rey wanted quite a lot of things for Christmas this year. All of them involving her first friend (and love of her life) Ben Solo.With meddling friends trying to bring the oblivious pair some Christmas cheer, this was going to be a very Smutty Christmas.) Gelt by RebelRebel (AO3 2018  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: "I only need a few minutes of your time," she continued, voice faltering slightly under his gaze. "To discuss my proposal for the purchase and refurbishment of the Plutt Orphanage in Brooklyn Heights– " In which Rey works with Kylo Ren, Advocacy Director of the Organa Foundation, to spread a little Chrismukkah cheer.) smothered, covered, chunked by SecretReyloTrash (BadOldWest) (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben is a painfully shy college student. Rey is the fellow insomniac next door. He finally gets to see where she goes in the middle of the night when he hears her leave the dorm.) Homecoming by ItsALilah (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: After disaster rips through his hometown, Ben Solo finally comes home to surprise his parents at their annual Christmas Eve party. And if he's hoping to run into Rey, the girl he's secretly been pining for since high school, that would be... cool. Although he'll never make a move, not while her over-protective older brother - and Ben's best friend - is around. But when Ben makes it home, not only does he find himself reconnecting with his friends and family, but fate itself seems to be pushing him and Rey together (thanks to a ridiculous amount of mistletoe).) Got a Feeling we Should Just Go Home by slugmutt (AO3 2018  Rated M Complete, 13 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Spending the week before Christmas with sullen deputy-CEO Kylo Ren is the last thing on earth Rey wants to do. Going back to his hometown with Christmas-loving Rey in tow is the last thing Kylo wants to do. But with a little help from family, some holiday magic, and a stray blizzard or two, they might start seeing things differently.) A Reylo Christmas Carol by Crackedkybercrystal (AO3 2018  Rated M Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: "Before the dawn," Hux intoned, "you will be visited by three spirits. Heed their message Kylo Ren, least you end your days like me." It was only now that Kylo perceived his old partner to be bound with a great chain around his waist, weighed down by heavy blocks.) The Set-up by CajunSpice714 (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo has aways been socially awkward, but when he sets his sights on his brother Poe's fiance Finn's bestfriend Rey during an engagment party Poe decided that he and Finn need to divise a plan to set the two of them up if not for the sake of his and Finn's future wedding then for the sake of their own sanity.) Bespoke by L_awlietxoxx (AO3 2018  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo is miserable, stumbling through his life in London without seeing much of anything. Then Christmas sneaks up on him, as does a little shop and a woman who makes custom ornaments to meet the needs of any heart. Suddenly, Ben sees everything.) Valentine’s Day

forever valentine by bellestar (AO3 2021  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben makes a confession in his wedding speech. He knew he was going to marry Rey when he and Rey were 4 years old and she gave him a Valentine she made and colored herself. And 21 years later, he still has that Valentine.) Halloween

Housewarming by ArdeaJestin (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When her best friend Rose asks Ben Solo to help on moving day, Rey knows she's in trouble. If only those big strong arms didn't make her forget what an obnoxious jerk he is every time she looked at him.) How You Turn My World, You Precious Thing by BensLostTookaCat (VillainTheBlank) (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: He's the hotshot asshole who leads The First Order, the legal arm of The Resistance. She's the new company liaison who has been assigned to The First Order to keep them accountable.The annual Resistance Masquerade Ball is about to turn Kylo and Rey's worlds upside down.) Haunted Corn Maze by OptimisticBeth (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey bonds with her work buddy, Ben.) Zombie Run by OptimisticBeth (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: During a charity run, Rey is relentlessly pursued by a zombie.) you're my boo by murakamism (AO3 2018  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey's neighbor Ben Solo is the only one who ever shows Halloween spirit around here. When she discovers he's moving out, she's only hurt because that means she won't have anymore competition... right? So she sets out on a plan to make him stay.) Thanksgiving

New Beginnings by reylocalligraphy (AO3 2018  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Ben comes home for the first time in five years, it happens to be Thanksgiving dinner. He’s surprised to meet a girl who’s working for his father… an odd girl his parents seem strangely fond of.) Of Penmanship and Discourse by INTPSlytherin_reylove97 (AO3 2018  Rated M Complete, 35 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Rey Kenobi's professor and advisor, Luke Skywalker, refuses to give constructive criticism or facilitate workshops for his students, she decides to seek help else where. Ben Solo (or if you read his published work, Kylo Ren) is on the brink of insanity. The literary magazine he is editor for is racing off in a new direction-- and is leaving him questioning both its morals and his love for writing. To find his intellectual and creative needs met, he decides to turn to the internet. A PenPals AU no one asked for.)