#I mean the two main leads have awful moms and dads that aren’t there

[candy-ac3]

So me and @unfunnyaceartist realized that I’m the second coming of Vivziepop, here’s why

1. Very massive world building that the world needs two different projects to explain a majority of it

2. The spin off being more comedy based while the first is more serious

3. Almost everyone in both projects are gay

4. Moth has wings used as a cape (granted my oc wings were based off of Valentino’s but still)

5. Musicals

6. Had the characters of the main show in head for years before going to make a pilot

7. Favorite character they made for the thing having antlers and barely changing

I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can think of on the spot

I will try to be a better Vivziepop then Vivziepop

[elendsessor]

so uh me and my family went to go see ghost busters world iceborne today and it was fine kinda??

i do want to talk about it since i have a lot of feelings about it despite only seeing this and the original

but first actual thing that genuinely is awful that i do want to make known: if you’ve seen trailers you might know that the movie got sponsored by booking.com and yes they do shoehorn it in the movie. booking.com has very positive ties to israel because y’know travel agency and is one of several companies the bds suggests pressure boycotting so please please please do not ignore that fact about the movie please please please please do not support booking.com. do boycott booking.com.

uh spoilers below the cut i guess?

ok actual positives because i fucjing loved the ghost designs. cgi wasn’t great at points (main bad guy ghost dude i forget the name of looked best when obscured in shadows and not actually shown in detail) but the designs were at least done well. and phoebe and melody’s relationship was cute yet was done so fucking dirty. the movie did have good jokes and the acting was really solid, the world building is cool, and yeah if you turn your brain off for most of the film it’s fun. only when there’s action and ghosts is it actually compelling i noticed and it’s really sad since a good chunk of the movie is not that.

there’s too much plot ok. it’s your run of the mill family drama with ghosts sometimes there. i’m tired of the family is forever shit when it isn’t found family or paints the parents as “flawed but well meaning” and having the dad be lovingly stupid (gary’s technically not the biological dad but he does do dumb dad—pretty much flanderized homer simpson you know the trope), the mom strict to a fault but is right in the end, and incompetent brother who’s trying his best but needs a little help. most families are not like this. most families are dysfunctional in their own ways. you don’t have to have physically abusive parents or unsupportive parents to have shitty parents. painting families in this very generic way sets a really really unhealthy expectation that if your parents aren’t openly pieces of shit you aren’t allowed to hate them or if you defy them you’re automatically in the wrong.

but then there’s phoebe. oh is there phoebe.

i hate how in movies now to get across female empowerment is just make the girl super smart and be shoved in the spotlight too often. she is not interesting at all i’m sorry. you can tell she’s the smart one because she wears glasses and likes science isn’t that quirky? seriously when are we going to just get a strong female lead who has interests that aren’t tomboyish or *insert school subject here*? filmmakers do know that girls and women are also human beings with a wide range of individual likes and dislikes that can’t be reduced to tropes right??? again creating the unrealistic expectation that women cannot be treated like normal people unless they’re uber smart or uber strong. this is a problem for all minoritized group representation and i really cannot hate anyone who doesn’t like how the film industry is trying to bend over backwards for groups to force in representations that only hurt them.

biggest sin is she is not interesting on her own. she is so tropey it’s a fucking travesty. melody the ghost girl was the only compelling person—the only one who made phoebe somewhat interesting to watch—and of course she’s not safe from being a trope. i don’t like how melody has to have direct ties to bad guy mcbad and the sudden turnaround that, while it paid off for her, was rushed to hell and back for the drama.

and worst of all, there was homoerotic tension between phoebe and melody and nothing ever happens.

please just let them hold hands.

i know this is a mainstream movie so two people of the same sex even brushing up against one another is a crime but.

they were cute together and fueled several ghost au fanfic ideas.

damn you film industry.

[sou-ver-2-0]

Sou Hiyori and Kanna’s Sister Parallels

In my short time in the Your Turn to Die fandom, I haven't seen anyone discuss the similarities between our Sou Hiyori and Kanna's older sister Kugie. This subtle parallel is one of the many fantastic writing details in this game, and it happens to be my favorite one. So I wanted to talk about it! 

I love the irony that the characters in YTTD draw a more obvious parallel between Kugie Kizuchi and the game's protagonist, Sara Chidouin. Both Sara and Kugie are high-school aged girls, and Sara often plays the part of Kanna's big sister, leading Kanna to project her feelings for Kugie onto Sara. Although this is sweet, it's still a superficial parallel. Sara and Kugie play the same role, but how similar are they really? If you choose to chat with Kanna on the first day of Chapter 2's storyline, Kanna will tell you the truth about her adoptive sister. Instead of idealizing her, Kanna paints a more complex picture of a flawed young woman. Unlike Sara, Kugie bullied Kanna when they first met. It took time for the pair of them to feel like real siblings. On a deeper level, Kugie's own mini-character arc is very different from Sara's arc, but it perfectly mirrors Sou's arc!

Both Kugie and Sou have a cruel streak and they each make rash judgments about other people. However, they eventually reveal with their actions that they truly love Kanna deep down. While Sara can make the choice to abandon Kanna, both Kugie and Sou would die for the girl. Because of the striking parallels I see between Kanna's memories of Kugie and Kanna's present relationship with Sou, I want to believe that Kugie was just as willing as Sou was to die in order to save Kanna's life. Kugie's story effectively acts as a microcosm of Sou's story. So let's take a close look at it.

KANNA: ...Sara... / You're just like... my sister.

SARA: Huh...?

KANNA: Your strength... and your kindness... / ... / But my sister... / Wasn't always kind from the moment we met.

SARA: (The moment they met...?)

If you speak to Kanna during negotiation time on Day 1 of Chapter 2, the girl begins her story by telling Sara that she's just like her sister, since Sara shares Kugie's "strength and kindness." However, she admits that her sister "wasn't always kind from the moment we met." This is the first major difference between the two girls, and it's what clued me into the idea that Kugie's story might be a metaphor for Sou's story instead. It's also an early moment in which Kanna reveals that she's not as naive as people think she is. She's aware that Kugie was flawed, just like she's aware of Sou's flaws. She keeps choosing to believe in their capacity for good, even as she understands that they are capable of hurting her. 

  Following this revelation, we come to a notable choice.   

1. CHOICE: You aren't blood-related?

SARA: ...Kanna. Are you and your sister not blood-related...?

KANNA: ...Right...

2. CHOICE: Guess I win

SARA: I was nice from the start, so guess I win.

KANNA: Ah... Even the way you say weird things like that is just like my sister...

SARA: (Strangely, that just got her more emotional...)

Sara can either ask "You aren't blood-related?" or smugly observe "Guess I win." Either way, Kanna will steer the conversation back to her adoption by the Kizuchi family. But the choice to declare "victory" over Kugie here fascinates me, since it's easy to connect this competitive sentiment to Sara's relationship with Sou. While Sara and Sou are obviously in a competition for their lives, what ends up mattering more is their competition for Kanna's affections. In both cases, Sou is painfully aware that he's the underdog with "zero percent chance of success." Sou is sure that Kanna would choose Sara's life over his life, if she were forced to make that awful choice.

For Sou, who believes that Kanna loves him less, his moral dilemma is whether to support Kanna in spite of this. The fact that he supports her unconditionally in the second Main Game speaks to his strength of character. He proves that he truly values Kanna more than his own life. For Sara, who already feels comfortable in the "victory" of Kanna's devotion, the moral question becomes whether the player will make choices that are worthy of the girl. Will you help Sou protect her? Or will you decide that Kanna's life is worth less than Sou's hacking skills? Sara's choice determines whether she truly shares Kugie's "strength and kindness."

I'll come back to Kanna's feelings on this "competition" later. For now it's enough to say that she recognizes that competitive streak in Kugie too, and that memory makes her "emotional." It shows how she loves these three characters even when they say "weird things." Again, Kanna is aware of Sara, Kugie, and Sou's flaws but still feels affection for them. That's just how it is when you love someone.

Kanna continues her story:

KANNA: ...See, Kanna's adopted.

SARA: ...!

KANNA: She came to her current family from an orphanage when she was little...

SARA: So you had different parents, too?

KANNA: Mom and dad were really kind... / Kanna... was determined to always smile, childishly thinking "I can't trouble them." / ...And Kanna's sister didn't seem to like her...

Here, Kanna reveals that she has always had the type of personality where she tries hard to please others. She was worried about being a burden long before the Death Game, but for a more ordinary reason; she's adopted. She's always been self-conscious. Her ongoing heartbreak and anxiety comes from a deep place of worrying that her big sister doesn't love her. This informs her current relationships with both Sara and Sou.

At this point, the narrative shifts to a flashback of Kanna's memories.

MOM: Stop it, Kugie! Why do you do such cruel things?!

KANNA: No, it's fine! Kanna's not angry... She's not, really... / Look, see! Ahaha... Ehehehehe...

KUGIE: ...What're you always laughing for?

KANNA: Huh...?

KUGIE: ...You're creepy. I hate it.

DAD: Hey, stop that! Apologize, Kugie!

Kugie calls Kanna "creepy" and even says that she "hates" that part of her. Sara can't ever say such cruel words to Kanna; the worst you can do as a player is speak sternly to her sometimes. But Sou absolutely can say cruel things. He has called Kanna "stupid kid," "dead weight," and a "hindrance" in front of the entire group. And just like the Kizuchi parents scolded Kugie for her mean words, our group members condemn Sou for his mean words.

Now, we know Sou wasn't actually speaking his heart with those words. He didn't have malicious intent. (In fact, he was trying to save Kanna's life.) Sou said those words because he wears a mask to cover his true self. That's the essence of his character. He tries to sound tough and logical to force people to take him seriously. He assumes that once he lets his guard down and shows weakness, everyone will vote to kill him. He becomes a bully because he's insecure.

What if Kugie was also wearing a mask when she bullied Kanna? Not because of the Death Game like Sou, but for a more ordinary reason. Maybe she was simply trying to sound "cool." Maybe Kugie bullied Kanna because she was also insecure, and it would be easy to take out her insecurity on a little girl like Kanna. Kanna is an awkward child who speaks in the third person and laughs for no reason. It would be easy for an older girl to look at Kanna and think, "At least I'm not as embarrassing as that." Even though we don't know Kugie as well as Sou, I think it's a logical assumption.

KANNA: Even then, I kept on smiling... I didn't... want to make sister out as a villain. / But one day, when it became unbearable... I ran away from home.

This is the saddest part but I love it because it's a direct parallel to what Kanna says about Sou! 

During the Second Main Game, when Kanna confesses that she took the Sacrifice card from Sara, she says, "Kanna...Kanna...!! She didn't want to let Sara die...!! And also...!! She didn't want to make Sou a murderer...!!" 

The things Kanna does for these two!!

In other words, there comes a point for both Kugie and Sou where their actions are so harmful that Kanna feels like she has to throw herself away to thwart their "villainy." She runs away from home. She takes the Sacrifice Card. Because she doesn't want these two people she loves to become villains.  

We continue Kanna's story with another flashback. This time, it's accompanied by visual imagery of a small Kanna sitting by herself and crying while hiding her face under a bucket.

KANNA: ...sniff... sob...

KANNA: (narrating) I couldn't go home. I didn't want to... Thinking that to myself, I sat in the park with a bucket on my head and cried.

This is Kanna at her most vulnerable. She is isolated and alone. She has given up. 

In the present day, Kanna has many hopeless moments like this since she has just lost her sister, the person she loved most. We can judge any of the game's characters by how well they treat her, the most vulnerable among them.

In Kanna's memory, there is a character who comes to speak with her at this time. A little boy who tries to joke with her and cheer her up. Kanna only remembers him as "Brat," but to the player, he looks an awful lot like a small Joe Tazuna! The following confrontation between Kanna, "Brat," and Kugie is my favorite part, because it leads to my favorite parallel.

BRAT: Hey! Whatcha doin'? / What's with the bucket?! Yer funny!

KANNA: ...sniff... sniffle...

BRAT: Huh? You cryin'?!

KANNA: ..........

BRAT: ...Alright. / *He lifts his shirt over his head.* How's that! Ehh?! Look at me! C'mon! Funny, right?

KANNA: ...uuuuu...

VOICE (KUGIE): What're you doing?!

BRAT: ...Huh...?

KUGIE: How dare you put a bucket on her head and tease her!! Beat it, you!!

BRAT: I-I wasn't teasin' her!

KUGIE: Liar!! Kanna's crying, isn't she?! D-Don't... be so cruel to my little sister!!

KANNA (narrating): ...That was the first time she called me "little sister"...

In the scene, "Brat" greets Kanna and tries to cheer her up by being a goofball. However, Kugie sees this and gets the wrong impression. She assumes that the boy is hurting Kanna and she rushes to her little sister's defense. As a result of Kugie's actions, Kanna finally sees Kugie's true loving heart.

This is, beat for beat, exactly what happens when Sou confronts Sara about Kugie's smartphone. Just like Kugie wrongly assumed that Joe was bullying Kanna, Sou wrongly assumes that Sara tampered with Kugie's smartphone to make it seem like Kugie hated Kanna. Even though Sou is wrong--Sara was trying to fix the smartphone, just like Sou was--this is the first moment that the player can see Sou's true heart. We learn that Sou's reasons for targeting Sara aren't due to him being some scheming mastermind; he's simply suspicious by nature and he makes rash judgments. He acts the way he does because he genuinely believes that Sara is dangerous. And for the first time, we see how deeply Sou cares about Kanna. We see him stand up to Sara to defend her. Then we see how he wrote a message full of love and hope on Kugie's phone. 

When Kanna finally receives the phone, she cries "tears of salvation" over Kugie's new message. But Kugie's words are really Sou's words. And by the time we reach Chapter 3, we learn that Kanna knew the truth the whole time.

(KANNA): Kanna was always with her big sister. / Because she loved her a lot… / But Kanna was always just a bother to her… / Even that time when it mattered most, she couldn't do anything. / So she thought she was hated… / But that message... made her remember. / That surely, her big sister was watching over her… / That she had to stay strong on her own… / But, well… / The truth is, she knew… / That it wasn't her sister who wrote that message… / *Kanna remembers Sou's face.* .... / ...There's people who tried to protect Kanna. / There's people who worked to encourage her. / So... she doesn't want anyone else to die. / Because... they're all such kind people...

In the game, Kanna shares these thoughts with the player in the aftermath of Sou's death. This is the scenario in which Sou gets to complete the same arc as Kugie. They both sacrifice themselves to save the little sister they love so much. I'm sure that Kugie would have been grateful for Sou's help in writing that message and saving Kanna's life.

I'll finish sharing the rest of Kanna's story about Kugie: 

KUGIE: ...You still crying?

KANNA: S-Sorry... sister...

KUGIE: ... / ...So you cry too, Kanna.

I think the wording of that last sentence in English is interesting. The obvious interpretation is that Kugie realizes that Kanna has been secretly crying and hiding her true self all this time. But on another level, I wonder if Kugie is admitting that she herself "cries too"? That would confirm Kugie's insecurity. And it would make this a moment in which Kugie sees herself in Kanna, just like it's implied that Sou sees his "weak self" in Kanna. In any case, this "unmasking" of Kanna's true heart is a good parallel for Sou's story as well. Kanna also hides her feelings like he does.

KANNA: ..........

KUGIE: .......... / Kanna... I'm sorry...

KANNA: ...Sister...

KUGIE: Mom and dad are worried, so let's get home quick, okay?

KANNA: O... Okay! Eheheh...

It is possible for Sou to apologize to Kanna in the prologue of Chapter 2, Part 2. His wording is more ominous than Kugie's, though he keeps Kugie's sentiment about returning home: "...Sorry. / Just relax. If you’re obedient, I’ll tell you how to survive."

Continuing with Kanna's story, the narrative shifts back to the present day.

KANNA: ...Ever since then, my sister and I got along really well.

SARA: I see...

KANNA: Without any blood relation... Kanna and her sister got along really... really well... / ..........

I love this line because it can apply to Sou as well, since he isn't blood-related to Kanna either. All of Kanna's protective siblings commit to her well-being by their own choice.

SARA: Kanna...

KANNA: Kanna... will definitely go home...! Because she needs to tell mom and dad...! / Determination... / A kind of determination... much too heavy for a girl her age to bear. / ...I should be going soon. Sou might wake up, after all... / Thank you very much... Sara.

Kanna ends her story with a determined speech to return home and honor Kugie's memory. As we read earlier, Kanna gives a similar determined speech in the aftermath of Sou's sacrifice. Later in Chapter 3, she further expresses a desire to honor Sou’s memory, saying “I want to know more about the man who sacrificed himself for me.” This is Kanna at her strongest! This is a Kanna who wants to live!

I mentioned earlier that I would come back to Kanna's feelings on the "competition" between Sou and Sara for her affections. Because Sara resembles Kugie physically, everyone believes that Kanna would choose Sara over Sou. Kanna even says that Sara is "the person she most wants to live." That is Kanna's emotional appeal to save Sara from being voted as a candidate. In the event that Kanna dies, Keiji rubs Kanna’s words in Sou's face at the beginning of Chapter 3, leaving Sou desolate.

But it's important to note that Kanna's choice was always to save both Sara and Sou. To say that she would abandon Sou discredits what actually happened. After Kanna makes an emotional appeal to save Sara's life, she shrewdly makes a logical appeal to save Sou's life. And when Sou tries to direct the votes to Kanna, thinking she has the Sacrifice card, Kanna easily thwarts his efforts by simply telling the truth. Kanna was the only character who chose to be honest about the Sacrifice Card, because she never intended to let anyone else die for her. 

Kanna's choice was to reject the “competition” outright. She doesn't even take it seriously. Her reasons for taking the Sacrifice card were twofold: to save Sara's life, and to save Sou's soul. It's never a real question for her which person she values more. She would have died for them both.

This matters because Sou doesn't parallel Kugie in such an obvious way like Sara does, but the parallel is still there. It's subtle enough that Sou can't even see it. He never feels confident in Kanna's affection, which is why he ordered her, "Kanna. / Don’t you betray me." He can't see what's right in front of him: that Kanna cares about him as though he were her own brother. 

In contrast, Sara feels self-conscious about the comparisons people draw between Kugie and herself. She always feels awkward about it. She is fully aware that Kugie was her own person, and Sara can only pretend to understand what she was like. I really like the way that the manga treated this issue. Although the manga cuts out many of the excellent character moments from the game, it adds more focus on Kugie.

Sara thinks to herself, "I don't know...how many regrets that person had..." which neatly foreshadows that Kugie would have regretted bullying Kanna. Speaking of regrets also reminds me of Sou, who--in the route where he dies--regrets not trusting everyone sooner.

I wanted to end this piece on a happy note, so I'll just say that I like to imagine that Sou and Kugie would have gotten along! Maybe they would even be able to see through each other's masks and help each other. They could work together to protect Kanna, and the Player could choose whether Sara joins them.

[hpdabbles]

Love Limit: Seven years 2

Harry couldn't keep still, fidgeting in his seat with restless energy bubbling under his skin. He had been like that since he woke this morning, though his parents assured him it was normal to be a bit nervous for his first day of Hogwarts.

Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius had been amused by the way he kept looking around in search of sunshine hair. They assumed he was overwhelmed by the crowd of parents and students boarding the express when in reality he was just trying to find the love of his life.

Leo had been quick to hold his hand after his Uncle Sirius teased Harry and the four adults melted at the sight, though Harry knows Leo mostly did it mostly to not lose Harry who was still trying to find Malfoy up until the Black stuffed him into a cart.

The train had left Platform nine and three-fourths about half an hour ago, yet he had not been able to calm since then. How could he?

He was finally going to see Malfoy again, after months of their first meeting. It's been nearly seven months but he thought about the other boy for every day that passed, and he spoke to Leo about just as much.

His best friend was close to smothering him with a pillow a mere three weeks ago during another sleepover where Harry had described the way Malfoy sat in the sunlight for the fifth time.

The two had been spending more time with each other as Leo had officially been made his fiance, two weeks after the meeting between the Potters and the Malfoys.

Malfoy's and Nott's engagement was announced in the Daily Prophet a week following that.

As Harry predicted, Leo wasn't that thrilled by their betrothal even if Dad and Uncle Sirius were over the moon about it and spent a full week celebrating. He wasn't dead set on opposing the arrangement, however, seeing as he wound up with someone whose company he didn't mind.

It was also important to remember that both Harry and Leo had always assumed they would be each other's spouses one day anyway so the announcement came to no suprise.

What did come as a surprise was Harry asking for the breaking of the marriage contract.

Leo had warned him he would only agree to their splitting if Harry could guarantee both Malfoy and Nott would do the same, as well as having a new partner set up for Leo right after. Then and only then, would the Black allow him to be a free man.

Harry took no offense because he knew just how damaging the action could be for his friend. Breaking an engagement was not easy and gave plenty of repercussions to the family name and one's personal image as well.

If Leo allowed Harry to damage his public image without having proof of a new engagement right after, the two would be eaten alive by high society and might wound up in debt for breaking the law at age seventeen if they could not be web by then. The fines were a heavy thing to pay especially with the interest rates rising for every year they continued to be single.

The breaking of an engagement without a backup in place could also lead to exile in extreme cases. Charlie Weasley is a good example of this. His ex-fiance, Nymphadora Tonks, had agreed to the appeal of ending their planned marriage right out of Hogwarts.

Since it was Weasley the one to file at age seventeen, with Tonks being only sixteen, he was the one sent into exile. It was fine with him, seeing as the man already planned to go to Romiona to work with dragons anyway but now he could not return as easily to his home country.

He is allowed three visits per year to see his family- Harry suspected it was the Ministry's way of making people see what they had lost. To add salt to a wound as it were but he wouldn't be able to stay longer than three days.

Tonks as the "wounded" party was not punished with exile nor was she charged the fees seeing as she had still been underage when her engagement went up in flames. The fact remained, however, that she was looked down on for her failed betrothal.

She remained single even with the available muggle-borns around which was much more damaging to her public image and people whispered harshly about her in the streets. Harry had overheard more than one witch or wizard tell their children that they "didn't want to end up like that good for nothing Tonks" when they seemed to be a bit too rowdy.

Harry knew Tonks didn't care or minded being an outcast after meeting her during a visit to Uncle Sirius'. She was unapologetically herself and damn what the masses thought.

Leo didn't have the privilege of such freedom as his distant cousin did.

Harry wouldn't feel the fees as much, neither would Leo, as both came from wealthy families but Leo could not afford to take any political hits without good reason.

He is, after all, the son of a werewolf.

Uncle Remus is constantly under watch by the magical CPS who believed he was not fit to have a child, regardless of the epic court battle it took the man and his husband to win the right to blood adopt. The court gave them Leo and they could take him away just as easily.

Then there were the eyes of all the Lords and Ladies watching Leo's every move, waiting for a mistake that they could turn into a weapon because they wanted to hurt the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

This meant they would go as far as demand Uncle Remus be turned over to the Werewolves Containment Unit or remove Leo as the Heir Presumed for the Black lordship.

Leo's Uncle Regulus is the active Lord Black but he and his partner had yet to find a matching Squib child compatible with their magic so this means Leo, as the next youth close to the main line, is the family heir.

After the death of the previous Lord Black- Leo's grandfather Orion- Lord Black had reinstated both Uncle Sirius and Mrs.Tonks to the family line, claiming they would move past the older generation bigotry.

It might have helped his decision that he too married an "unpure" wizard because he fell in love with a half-blood in Hogwarts even when he had already been promised to another. (Lord Black's original fiance died in the war, as a death eater, and he was not mourned. Harry never knew his name but he does know Uncle Sirius suspected the male had been abusive to his brother)

If Lord Black and Sir Snape did not find a child by the time Leo turned fifteen, then his title will be secured and Leo would become the next head of the house.

From what Harry knew, neither Lord Black nor Sir Snape was that eager to have children, seeing as they didn't really want to be parents. Mom once told him it was because Sir Snape lived in the fear he would be like his father while Lord Black worried he would be a copy of his cold indifferent parents if they ever blood adopted.

They only applied for blood adoption every fifth year or so since the law required them to instead of every year as most would-be parents did. Lord Black and Sir Snape just hoped no new child match their magic every time, breathing a sigh of relief when the Healers apologetically informed them no child was compatible.

They had one more year before the law no longer applied to them and the pair counted down each day with eagerness.

They already behaved as if though Leo is heir apparent instead of presumed anyway.

Leo took his responsibilities as Black Heir very seriously. Happy to do his lessons with Lord Black, about running the family estate, the family business, and his political training much to Uncle Sirius' ire. He enjoyed them, especially when he had always been fascinated by his duties. It was more than just the power that came with the seat of Lord Black, to Leo being the Heir was who he is.

For these reasons he had not broken the engagement between him and Harry, and would not allow it to happen until Harry meet his demands.

"Harry, will you please calm down? You're giving me second-hand anxiety" Leo said, snapping the boy from his thoughts on marriage. Across from him, his best friend was peeling oranges. He handed over the one he was working on with a raised brow. "Eat. You'll feel better."

"Aren't you excited Leo? We're going to see Malfoy and Nott again!"

The boy shrugged "I'm more excited to be starting Hogwarts in all honesty"

"Because Nott will be wearing the school uniform there." Harry deadpanned biting into a slice of orange.

Leo gave a wolfish grin. "You get me."

"Why do you find that attractive?"

"I like brains"

Harry didn't understand what one had to do with the other but he didn't push for more information. Leo was weird like that and sometimes it was better to not question his best friend.

Luckily the door open then so he didn't have to reply. Harry's heart leaps up into his throat only for it to fall when he saw a red-head boy stick his head in rather than the elegant blond he associated with Malfoy.

"Can I join you? Everywhere else is full." the redhead asked a bit unsure. Harry glanced at Leo, who was smiling warmly at the newcomer and he knew the answer.

"Yes, that's fine. Come on in" Harry said getting up to offer his seat. He went over the other booth, as Leo automatically shuffled closer to the window, making space for him. When Harry sat their shoulders pressed up against each other's in a comfortable way.

The boy gave them a grateful little smile, shuffling in with an old beat-down trunk and hunched shoulders. He struggled with putting his trunk away but he didn't ask for help so the two didn't offer any because it seemed he like the type who didn't want to be pitied. Harry mentally put him down in a part of his mind to watch out for and make sure was doing okay.

Once done the boy sat down across from them, suddenly looking a bit nervous.

Taking that as a cue the green eye boy gave him a friendly smile. "I'm Harry Potter, by the way, and this is my fiance Leo Black. It's nice to meet you."

The stranger's mouth drop open in shock, his wide blue eyes swinging between the two with obvious awe. It's to be expected, after all, it's not every day one met the rich and famous.

Harry as the Boy-Who-Defended and Leo as the Pressumive Heir was as rich and famous as they come in modern times. Especially if one was a Quidditch fan, seeing as Leo's family has recently bought three of the major professional teams. Most kids their age were Quidditch enthusiasts so seeing the boy who owns the team they adored was a rare sight indeed.

"I-I'm Ron Weasley! Mom calls me Ronald since that's my full name but only she calls me that so don't worry about it. Ron is fine!" Weasley babbled looking to be swallowing his own tongue.

Harry pretends that awkward introduction wanting to give him a chance to keep his dignity. He searches for a way to make him feel more at ease but Leo beats him to the punch.

"Would you care for an orange?" Leo asks holding out the freshly peeled fruit.

"Oh! Um yes, thank you" Weasley seemed to brighten taking the food with a smile. Leo shoots Harry a victorious look, saying with his eyes, I'm taking care of him so you best take a step back.

Not to be outdone, Harry quickly picks up his travel blanket Mom prepared for him. He had noticed Weasleys' clothes were rather thin for the weather, which meant he would appreciate some warmth.

He offered it to Weasley who seemed unable to refuse, as Harry draped it across his lap, making sure to pull the top end over Weasley's shoulders and effectively tucking him in. A rush of glee washed over Harry's chest at the look of gratitude on the other face but before he could bask in it Leo appeared at his side offering the travel pillow Uncle Remus had gotten them.

Wrapping the pillow around Weasley's neck, Leo quickly offered more oranges as well as aiming a charming smile he only used to disarm and enthrall others.

As predicted Weasley's face turns bright red at the sight. "Ummm..."

"Are you comfortable?" Leo asks.

"Yes?"

"Good." Harry nods. "Let us know what else we can do to make this better, alright?"

Weasley glanced helplessly between them then lowered his eyes. Face as red as his hair the boy mumbles. "I'm already engaged..."

"What?"

"I'm gratefully I am! Flattered too, but see my parents already engaged me to the girl who lives near us. Luna Lovegood."

Harry didn't understand but Leo looked started. "We aren't flirting! I swear we just...like taking care of people."

Weasley looked unsure but he eventually dropped it. The three spent some time chatting about everything and nothing, buying some candy from the cart when it came by but he eventually grew tired and fell asleep with his head pillowed on Leo's shoulder.

Harry had been so excited the night before he barely got any sleep so now he was paying for it. When he opened his eyes much later he found Weasley reading through one of the comics of a superhero that Harry brought along- Leo must have lent it to him at one point- but there were also two newcomers.

Nott was telling Leo all about a book series he recently started, while his fiance keeps making doe eyes at him. Harry barely notice however because Malfoy was sitting right across from him seemingly disgusted by whatever Batman had done.

When their eyes met every thought Harry had in his head went right out the window. "Hello again Potter"

Harry had been waiting for this moment. Had a dream of for weeks, had planned what he would say, how he would act, and yet when he opened his mouth the only noise that came out was a choking squeal.

Malfoy looked highly unimpressed and Harry wanted to die. Leo snickered attempting to cover up a full-blown laugh while Weasley didn't even try. Nott merely waited until Leo stop chuckling before launching back into the plot of his book.

Year one was starting off great it seemed.

[cristinablackthornkingson]

Shadowhunters Short Story #69 Brothers are what best friends can never be.

Crossposted to my AO3, link in my bio.

It is a stormy March evening in Devon, 2013, when 15 year old Kit Herondale is pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen.

Kit lifts his head from where he was resting it against the wall his chair is against, and opens his eyes to see a tired but joyous looking Jem standing a few feet away from him, smiling ear to ear.

“Jem.” Kit scrambles to sit up, setting his mug down on the table beside him. “I-Is everything okay? Are Tessa and the baby okay?” He anxiously asks. Tessa went into labor about 6 hours ago, and Kit hasn’t heard much from she or Jem since. They came into the kitchen a couple of hours ago, with Magnus, so Tessa could get some herbal tea that she said is meant to help labor move faster and be less painful, but since then he hasn’t heard anything. 

“Yes everything is absolutely fine, would you like to come meet your sister?” Jem asks in a tone of joy, still beaming with delight. He is so utterly in love with his baby girl, it almost hurts. 

Kit nods eagerly, having been looking forward to this moment for almost nine months. 

Jem gestures for Kit to follow him. As they walk, Jem turns to Kit with a look of confusion on his face. 

“Oh yes I meant to ask you, who were you talking to earlier? Just after Tess, Magnus and I left the kitchen to go upstairs so Tessa could rest.” He asks, remembering hearing Kit’s voice, low and quiet in the kitchen, while Jem helped Tessa up the stairs. 

Kit blanches, remembering the conversation he had with Livvy’s ghost, just hours ago. He could tell Jem the truth, but then he’d probably worry and feel like he has to contact Emma to check that everything is okay, and that would distract him from Tessa and the baby.

“Oh um, no one important, I was on the phone with someone I went to school with, we’re not close or anything, just... called them because I was bored.” Kit shrugs, easily coming up with a lie, that seems to satisfy Jem. 

“Oh, well I’m glad to hear you have friends and are talking to them!” 

A few seconds later Jem leads him into the main bedroom, Jem and Tessa’s room. Jem lets Kit step ahead of him, while he closes the door.

The first thing Kit notices is how nice and warm and cozy the room is, thanks to the fireplace against the wall across from the bed, that’s been lit. The second thing he notices, is Tessa sitting propped up in bed with a mountain of pillows behind her, her hair is disheveled and thrown into a messy bun at the back of her head. She’s wearing a dusty pink hospital gown, that is open at the top, showing a tiny little body curled up against Tessa’s chest, wearing only a diaper and a hat, with a blanket covering her back. Peeking out from the little hat are wisps of curling dark hair. 

When she hears the door close, Tessa looks up and her face lights up when she sees Kit and Jem, a warm smile coming across her face. 

“Hi sweetheart.” Tessa quietly says in a hoarse voice. “I missed you, come meet your baby sister.” 

Carefully, Kit walks the few feet to the bed and lowers himself into a chair by Tessa’s side.

“Hold your arms out, one under the other like you’re making a cradle with your arms.” Tessa calmly says. It takes a few minutes of fumbling and help from Tessa, but soon Kit gets his arms in the right position. Tessa carefully lifts the baby out from inside her gown, wrapping the blanket around her expertly, before carefully laying her in Kit’s arms. 

The minute the baby is in his arms, Kit feels an unexplainable overwhelming rush of love, he already loved her before she was born, but looking at her now it’s like falling in love with her all over again. He chokes back tears as his eyes well up and his throat tightens. 

“Hi.” He quietly says in a tight voice. “Hi baby sister, I love you.” He briefly looks up from the baby’s face and asks “What’s her name?” 

Jem and Tessa share a smile, and Jem slips his hand into hers. 

“Wilhelmina Yiqiang Ke Carstairs, Mina for short.” Tessa softly says.

“What does Yiqaing mean?” Kit curiously asks, unfamiliar with Mandarin. 

“It means ‘Remembrance’ we chose it for those we’ve lost but will always remember, Will, Lucie, Jamie, Rosemary.” Jem gently says, hoping that this won’t upset Kit in anyway.

“I....” Kit trails off, unsure of how to feel about his baby sister in part being named for his mother, who he has absolutely no memories of. When he thinks about it though, he realizes it’s a beautiful gesture and a perfect way to make sure his mom is never forgotten. “I think she would have liked that.” He finishes, earning warm smiles from Jem and Tessa. 

“We think so too, love, we think so too.”

Kit looks back down at his baby sister, Mina, who has now blinked her eyes open to reveal big dark brown eyes just like Jem. She and Kit stare at eachother in fascination for a few seconds, before Mina wriggles her little arm free from her blankets and reaches up to grab onto Kit’s thumb, making him laugh and have to wipe at tears of joy. 

“It’s like she’s holding my hand.” He laughs, liking the idea of Mina feeling safe with him and wanting to hold his hand. He’ll be a great big brother to her, and always protect her and keep her safe. 

“Of course she is, she’s a very clever young lady and knows already just what a fantastic big brother she has.” Tessa says in a warm tone, making Kit’s heart flutter with delight. 

Kit holds Mina for a few more minutes, just looking at her in awe, taking in everything about her. Everything is totally calm and peaceful in the room, until Mina starts to fuss which in seconds turns into full on wails, breaking Kit’s heart right in two and making him panic. 

“Oh no! Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to make her cry, I’m sorry!” Kit says in an alarmed and panicked tone, desperately trying to sush Mina and calm her with light bouncing. 

“It's alright love.” Tessa calmly says, placing a calming hand on Kit’s arm. “You didn’t do anything wrong she’s just hungry, here let me take her.” Tessa reaches over and carefully lifts Mina into her own arms. She single handedly and quickly adjusts her gown before guiding Mina to her chest, helping her to latch on.

As Tessa nurses Mina, Kit flushes and awkwardly tries to find somewhere to look. He has nothing against breastfeeding of course, he doesn’t care if someone does it in front of him, but it’s a bit different when it’s Tessa, the woman who took him in and promised to love and raise him for the rest of his life, the only mother he has. 

Jem immediately notices how embarrassed and awkward Kit feels and decides to intervene. 

“Kit.” He says. “Do you want to join me downstairs for dinner? Magnus left enough food for us for the next week or so.” Kit immediately nods. 

“Yes please!”

“Alright let's go, see you later my loves.” Jem softly says, stroking Mina’s hair and giving Tessa a quick peck on the lips. 

“See you later.” Tessa replies, watching fondly as Jem and Kit leave the room, Jem telling Kit awful dad jokes and making him laugh, which makes Tessa’s heart lift. Once the boys are gone, she looks back down at Mina and smiles softly “We’re very lucky to have them Mina, aren’t we?” 

The next day, at around 10:00 A.M. there is a light knock at Tessa and Jem’s bedroom door. 

“Come in!” Jem calls, keeping a careful eye on Church, who has cautiously approached Mina, lying in Tessa’s arms, and is clearly trying to decide what he thinks of the new baby.

The door opens and Kit steps in, looking sheepish. 

“Hello love.” Tessa beams, delighted to see Kit. 

“Everything okay son?” Jem asks in a worried tone, afraid that maybe something is wrong with Kit. 

“Oh yeah everything’s fine I just....” Kit clears his throat. “I um... I was just wondering if you need any help with Mina or anything, I’m not doing anything so... I thought I’d come see if you need some help.” He nervously tells them, afraid that they’ll say no and send him off to be on his own all day while they bond with Mina. He really wants to spend some time with Jem, Tessa and Mina but will they want to spend time with him?

“That would be lovely Kit, thank you.” Jem warmly says. Kit’s shoulders sag in relief and he starts to relax again.

“You can come over here and hold Mina for a while if you like, I’m going to have my first postpartum shower which can take anywhere from 10 minutes to about an hour.” Tessa lightly says, remembering her first postpartum baths after James and Lucie were born. She had been terrified of getting out of bed at all after James was born, nevermind bathing, but Jem was waiting right outside if she needed any medical assistance and Will was with her, while Charlotte and Henry watched Jamie.

Kit laughs as he takes a seat on the bed next to Tessa, and she lowers Mina into his arms when he is settled back against the pillows. 

“Did it hurt?” Kit curiously asks, looking up at Tessa. 

“Giving birth?” She asks. Kit nods. “It did, like hell, all 3 times, but it’s more than worth it, just like what we went through to find you and going through the adoption process is worth it, to have my babies.” Tessa fondly says, brushing Kit’s hair out of his eyes.

Shortly after he moved to Devon with Tessa and Jem, they approached him about legally adopting him, assuring him he can keep his surname and doesn’t have to take the name Carstairs if he doesn’t want to, but they would very much like to legally and officially adopt him. Kit thought about it for a while before agreeing, the process is long and stressful and still not fully complete, but it’s more than worth it to Tessa and Jem, to have their Kit. 

Kit smiles and blushes and Tessa kisses his cheek before ducking to kiss Mina on the cheek too. “I love you.” 

Tessa then stands up, grabs her towel, bathrobe and toiletries bag and heads into the ensuite bathroom for her shower. 

“I was looking through social media yesterday, after you set me up on Facebook so I can stay in touch with Emma easier. I saw this group on there for new fathers, and decided to join, thinking it would be full of advice and tips on how to care for baby and handle your anxieties and take care of your partner if you have one, stuff like that. Instead I found the most awful people complaining about their wives and babies, mostly talking about how seeing their wife give birth and seeing her postpartum has totally turned them off and they feel cheated, one phrase I saw over and over again was ‘It’s like watching your favorite pub burn down’.

I just cannot believe how disrespectful and horrendous these men are, their wives have just gone through 9 months of pregnancy followed by labroing and giving birth, and all they can do is whine and complain that 2 weeks postpartum she hasn’t lost the weight she gained and is still wearing pajamas or comfy clothes most days.

I don’t understand it, I delivered James, I delivered Lucie and I delivered Mina, I was Tessa’s primary caregiver when she was pregnant with James and when she was pregnant with Lucie, I’ve been by her side every second of this pregnancy and I’ve seen her postpartum 3 times now, and to me she always seems even more glorious and beautiful after having a baby, because she’s just gone through so, so much to bring a whole new life into this world, she’s just grown an entire other person, she’s like a goddess. 

I don’t understand it, how can anyone say those things about their wives? I couldn’t love Tessa more, whether she’s pregnant or not, whether she’s just had a baby or not. I just... I don’t understand it.” 

Kit is totally unsure of what to say after Jem finishes talking. He totally agrees with him, that the way some men talk about their wives after she’s given birth is absolutely disgusting, but he doesn’t know what to say to Jem. 

“I... uh... I agree?” He tries, not wanting to just ignore Jem. Jem turns to him and smiles softly, before reaching over and ruffling his hair affectionately. 

“Sorry Kit, I didn’t mean to rant to you, it’s just when I was young, when someone had just given birth, they took weeks, even months, to bond with the baby and heal from the birth, there were no expectations to ‘bounce back’ or anything, I’m just still trying to adjust to modern life and modern people. But at least I have you eh? You keep me up to date.”  

“I try, it’s my life mission to get you to stop saying ‘Order it offline’.” Kit grins. Jem chuckles. 

“You’re a good boy my Kit, I’m so glad you’re here with us.”

About 20 minutes later Tessa comes out of the bathroom in a clean pair of pyjamas, her yellow bathrobe thrown on over her pink pajamas, and her wait hair tied into a bun at the back of her head. 

“You made it!” Kit cheers, grinning at Tessa as she sits next to him on the bed. She grins and kisses his cheek. 

“That I did, and now it’s miss Mina’s turn to get changed, your Uncle Magnus gave us the most adorable clothes for you Mina, and I can’t wait to see you in them.” Tessa coos, taking Mina as Kit carefully passes her to her, before laying her down on the bed, just in front of her.

From the basket on the floor beside her, Tessa takes out a plain pink baby-gro/onsie, that has a hood, and pockets at the front. 

“That’s pretty tame for Magnus’ standards.” Kit notes. 

“I know, I think Alec picked this one out and it’s just so adorable!” Tesa exclaims, beginning to unbutton the yellow onsie with pink flowers that Mina is currently wearing. 

Kit watches in fascination as Tessa carefully and expertly slips Mina’s tiny arms out of her onsie and does the same with her legs. He can’t help but be fascinated by how small and tiny and delicate Mina is. She’s the smallest person he’s ever met, and so fragile too, he would be terrified if he were in Tessa’s position.

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll accidentally hurt her or break her, because she’s so small and delicate?” Kit asks Tessa, who laughs lightly as she starts to put the new onsie on Mina.

“I was when I had Jamie, Will and I both, but after having James and then Lucie and then helping out with my grandchildren and many, many other little ones, I’ve become an expert in handling delicate little babies.” Tessa explains. She then lifts a freshly dressed Mina up (once again shocking Kit with her confidence) and holds her so they’re face to face. Tessa’s smile grows and she leans in to kiss Mina’s cheek. “There we go, pretty baby! The sweetest, cutest baby in the world, huh?” 

“You should take a family photo with the kids Tess, the same way you took a photo of you and Jamie after he was born, and then you Jamie and Lucie after Lucie was born.” Jem suggests, knowing how much having pictures to remember these moments by, means a lot to Tessa.

“Oh yes that sounds like a lovely idea! Is it okay with you, Kit?” Tessa asks, laying a hand on his arm. Kit finds it kind of hard to believe that Tessa wants to take a picture with him, he still finds it hard to believe that she loves him as if he’s her own, and Jem does too, but he’s not about to say no.

“Sure, sounds like a good idea.” Kit agrees.

A few minutes later, after a bit of fussing from Mina, Jem snaps a series of pictures of Tessa, Kit and Mina. In the picture Tessa is sitting up in bed with Mina cradled in one arm, and the other around Kit, who is leaning into her and smiling shyly. It’s definitely one of Jem’s favorite pictures.

“It’s perfect.” Tessa says when Jem shows her the photo. “We’ll get it framed and hung up beside the pictures of me and Lucie and Jamie, as soon as we can.” 

“Sounds perfect.” Jem agrees. “I better go make a start on breakfast, I’ll bring you up a tray of course, love. Kit would you like to stay in here and have breakfast with us?” Jem asks. Kit nods, there’s nothing he’d love more, actually. 

“Yes please.” He says, settling back against the pillows, beside Tessa and Mina, feeling truly safe, and loved and happy for one of the first times in his life.

*1 YEAR LATER* 

It is a hot and humid day in March of 2014, when Jem, Tessa, Kit and Mina step out of the portal and onto the streets of Shanghai, just outside the Ke House, where they will be staying for the duration of their first family vacation. 

They’ve been planning this trip since Mina was 6 months old, and agreed that the best time to come would be just after Mina’s first birthday, she would be able to handle the heat and humidity better now as a one year old, than she would have done as a much smaller baby, and Kit is truly settled and content with them now and feels comfortable enough to go on vacation. 

“Is this where you lived before you moved to London, dad?” Kit curiously asks, having taken to calling Jem and Tessa mom and dad over the last few months, which they both love. 

“For a year or so, I was born here, lived here till I was about 1 and then my parents were put in charge of running the Institute which is where I lived until I went to London.” Jem informs him. 

“Cool.” Kit says, looking up at the building in front of him, in awe. 

“Come on, let's go find our rooms and get settled in, then I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Jem says, as Tessa sets a wriggling Mina down. 

“Mina.” Kit says with a sly grin. “Wanna race?” Mina has been walking since she was 9 months old, and now loves to run everywhere, especially when she gets to race Kit who of course always lets her win. 

“Uh-hu!” Mina nods enthusiastically. 

“Okay come on let's go, or I’m gonna get the biggest room!” Kit declares, taking off at a slow pace so that Mina can easily pass him by.

Jem chuckles and kisses Tessa’s cheek before going ahead of Kit to lead the way. 

As Jem shows Kit and Mina where they’ll be staying, Tessa goes ahead to her and Jem’s room, the same room they always stay in when they visit here. 

One of the first things she does is take one of her bags into the bathroom to unpack her toiletries. When she opens the bag, the first thing she sees is the pink box containing the pregnancy test she packed. 

For the last few weeks she’s been feeling sick and tired all the time, and has been having some issues with her powers, all the symptoms she had when pregnant with Mina. She had meant to take a test before they came to Shanghai, but she was so busy with Mina’s first birthday she totally forgot, until this morning when she was packing the last bits and pieces and found the pregnancy test she had bought a few weeks ago but never taken, so she decided to throw into the bag and take it here in Shanghai. 

Tessa nervously bites her lip and looks over her shoulder to make sure Jem or anyone isn’t nearby. When she’s satisfied she’s alone, she closes the door, opens the pregnancy test and takes the few minutes required, to take the pregnancy test. 

Three minutes later her phone beeps to let her know it’s time to look at the test, and so on shaky legs she pushes herself up from her seat on the edge of the bathtub, and walks over to the sink. She takes a deep breath before picking the test up and looking it. 

‘YES+’

Tessa can’t help but let out a stifled sob of delight, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. She and Jem weren’t trying, but they weren’t trying to prevent a pregnancy either, they decided to leave it up to nature, they agreed they would be thrilled if they had another baby now, but would also be okay with not having another one just yet. 

Tessa quickly finds Jem standing outside the room that’s going to be Kit’s, supervising he and Mina as they unpack (well more like Kit occasionally takes something out of his suitcase, then gets distracted by Mina and doesn’t unpack anything else for 20 minutes.) 

“How are you 3 getting on?” Tessa asks Jem, coming up to stand at his side. 

“Not too bad, though I think I might have to seperate the kids in order to get anything done, they distract eachother.” Jem laughs, his heart swelling with love as he watches Kit laughing while carrying Mina around on his back. He then turns to smile at Tessa and softly says “I can’t believe how amazing the last year has been, I couldn’t have asked for a better first year of fatherhood, I’ve loved every second.”

Tessa grins knowingly. 

“Well that’s good.” She says, holding up the positive pregnancy test for Jem to see. “Because in about 8 months, we get to do it all again.” 

[senaar-ika]

The Pixie & The Bard: Ch. 1

Hi there. It’s been a while. I honestly just haven’t had the creative energy or motivation to write recently. I moved house and started working more and I’m about to start a new semester of university. What with the world being a flaming trash bin my brain hasn’t quite been up for much. 

Welcome to all the new followers and thank you to everyone who’s stuck around. I’ve had this first chapter of a multi-chaptered fic sitting in my drafts for a while so I thought why not share. I hope you enjoy!

Summary: You’re working as a fairy at a Renaissance Festival in the New York countryside when you meet Charlie and Henry. A father and son who are quite the pair. You flirt with guests at the festival for fun all the time, but something feels different about this one . . . 

CW/Tags: nothing major, just heavy flirting, awkward dad Charlie, literally too much Henry but I promise his relationship to reader is important, also E making up shit about renaissance faires, this is mostly just me longing to dress up like a fairy and go to a festival and watch people joust ok 

Word Count: 2.6k

Chapter 1 - An Chance Encounter

The festival grounds are surrounded on all sides by forest. Trodden down dirt walking paths snake past vendors and performers, ultimately leading visitors to the main events in the center clearing. The Fairy Tree -as it is affectionately known by performers and guests alike- is your territory. The ancient sycamore tree looks like something right from the pages of a storybook with its sprawling roots, knotted trunk, and layers of thick branches. 

Your inner child sprang out on your first day when your manager led you to the tree, explaining that your character should mostly keep in a close radius to it. She didn’t have to tell you twice. You were up the tree and swinging casually from the branches in minutes. Some of the other fairy cast members wander the festival, making mischief and spreading glitter. But you’re perfectly content to hang around your tree. 

Of course you’re safe, never climbing too high or swinging too recklessly. You keep a little wooden flute at one hip and your bag of “fairy dust” at the other. Piping out mysterious tunes from up in the tree only to surprise guests who happened along past. If they have children you often toss a handful of sparkling fairy dust down, relishing their squeals of delight. 

Today is Saturday. First Saturday to be exact. First Saturday is always the busiest, or at least that’s what the returning cast members have been telling you. First Saturday always falls on the first weekend when schools are closed for the summer, so the families turn out in droves. You likely won’t get a real break today; it’s all hands on deck. 

You lean against the trunk of the old fairy tree, one arm hugged as far around it as you can. You’re only about ten feet up, but it feels like you’re part of the forest. A breeze rustles the leaves, bright and green for the start of summer. You close your eyes gently. In the distance you hear a horn sound and a wave of cheers rise up, carried by the breeze. 

Afternoon tournament already? The day has flown by. Cast members don’t get to have any modern technology on hand while performing, so you tend to gauge the time by the schedule of festivities. Afternoon tournament started at two. You’d been up in the tree since lunchtime. The tournaments, which include jousting, sword fighting, and axe throwing, pull the biggest crowds. Meaning smaller attractions got a bit of a break. 

Carefully you slide down to sit, resting your back against the trunk and balancing your legs horizontally along the length of the branch. You breathe in deeply, just listening for the familiar sounds of the tournament. 

“Dad, look!” The whisper-shout of a young boy pulls you away from the quiet, but your first glance at the boy’s father nearly fells you from your perch. Tall, dark, and built like one of the festival’s knights. He’s focused on his phone, typing furiously. The boy tugs at his father’s sleeve, trying very hard not to look away from you, as if he’s afraid you might disappear.

“What is it, Henry?” It isn’t sharp, just distracted, offhanded, but the bassy richness of the man’s voice sends a flutter to your chest. 

“There’s a lady up in the tree! Look!” You smile down at the boy, Henry, leaning forward a bit so that the iridescence of your wings catches the light, and you wave. The dad glances up briefly from his phone only to do a double take.  

“Hail and well met, gentlemen!” You called, pitching your voice up and putting on your character’s fairy accent. “Ye wouldn’t happen to be lost would ye?” 

Henry is quick to speak up, “My dad is trying to get a good phone signal!” The dad’s face turns a ridiculous shade of pink, his expression sheepish and embarrassed. You giggle, swinging your legs over the side of the branch so they dangle. 

“I dunno what that is, young lad, but perhaps he’d have better luck with a carrier pigeon?” One of the top rules was to always stay in character. No talking about modern life. Immersion is key and after all you’re here to make magic. But Henry seems confused.

“You don’t know what a phone signal is? Don’t you have a phone?” Ah so he’s one of those smart kids. Before you can say anything, Henry’s father cuts in.

“She’s a fairy, Henry, look. Fairies don’t have phones.” The dad explains, gently. His voice is practiced, as though he has to explain a lot to his son. You nod along with him, crossing your ankles and propping your chin on your hand. 

“Aye, he’s right!” You chime in, “And you two look like . . . hmmm.” You scrunch your face in consternation for a moment. “Ah! I know! A knight and his squire?” You point from father to son.

Henry starts to laugh and his father smiles, looking from you to his son and back. 

“Yes! Young squire Henry and the brave knight Sir . . .” You trail off, gesturing towards the boy’s father. 

“Charlie,” He finishes, holding your gaze steadily. You feel your grin widen and you tilt your head, reminding yourself to stay in character. 

It’s not like flirting with guests is discouraged; actually, it’s almost expected of most fairy cast members. You’ve just never been caught off guard like this before. Something about this man, Charlie, sends your heart racing. Perhaps because he seems far too dashing for a dad, or maybe it’s how quickly he is willing to play into the immersion of your job. 

“So the brave knight, Sir Charlie, and young squire Henry find themselves at the Fairy Tree.” You slide yourself over to the trunk and begin climbing down, using the little foot and hand holds nailed into the tree. “Trying to relay a message with no luck?” 

When you reach the ground, Henry bolts over to you. “Why didn’t you just fly down?” 

You crouch down to his height. “Flying for me is like running for you. It’s so exhausting!” 

Henry nods, understanding, and looks back over his shoulder at his dad, still standing a ways back. Charlie smiles at the two of you before glancing back at his phone. 

“My dad is trying to send a picture of me to my mom.” There it is. You feel something in your chest sink a little. You should’ve expected it really. Hot dad and cute kid? There has to be a mom somewhere in the picture. Henry, unaware that his simple statement shook you, continues on. “She lives in LA, but I get to come see my dad every month. He likes to take me to do things like this.” Oh, hot divorcee dad. 

“And what have ye done around the festival today, young lad?” You actually smile as Henry carries on in that childlike way, just talking. Simple statements. Pouring out their day for you. 

The two of you plop down to the forest floor. Henry absentmindedly plays with the grass and pebbles. You pluck a couple of clovers from the grass and begin stringing them together. Usually the fairies are encouraged to tell stories to the children, but this particular child seems happy to tell you the story of his day. Henry is just finishing up recounting how they had eaten turkey legs and french fries for lunch when his dad approaches. 

“I’m surprised to see such an adventurous pair missing the tournament,” You remark, handing Henry the bracelet of clovers you had woven while he was talking. “But I’m glad to hear your stories, young Henry.” 

“There’s a tournament?” Henry’s eyes light up as you slip into your role, telling him all about the lore of the festival.

“Why of course, young Henry! Every sixth day the King holds tournaments where our bravest and strongest knights may show their skill! There’s sword fighting and jousting and horses, and of course all the fair maidens of the kingdom come as well!” You try to avoid looking up at Charlie, squatting down beside his son, for fear of stumbling over your words. “The fairy folk like me perform great songs and dances for the royal court, and all the guests like you cheer and awe at all the talent!”

Henry is hanging on your every word, completely frozen and enraptured in your performance. 

“Unfortunately for you, the tournament for today is probably just finishing up.” Seeing the boy’s face start to sink with disappointment you add, “But! After the tournament the fairy folk will lead a parade back to this very tree and we’ll tell stories! There’s always a bit o’ music with our stories. I play this!” You pull your flute from its slot on your belt and hold it up for Henry, whispering your next sentence. “If you and Sir Charlie aren’t in a rush, I suggest you stick around, the parade should be arriving any minute now.” 

“Can we stay, dad?” Henry turns excitedly towards his father, eyes still wide. Charlie’s face breaks into a full grin that goes all the way to his eyes which crinkle at the corners. A noticeable dimple also appears on his cheek. Stay in character, you have to remind yourself. 

“Of course, honey, if you want to.” Charlie places a hand gently on his son’s back. 

It seems as though Charlie’s about to say something to you, but before he can you’re overtaken by the sound of jingling bells, flutes, and footsteps crunching along the dirt path. 

“The parade!” Henry scrambles to his feet, turning in the direction of the noise. 

You catch Charlie’s gaze as you both move to stand up as well. He mouths a silent “Thank you.” You smile and give him a wink, lifting your flute to your lips. Moving quickly, you dance back to the tree and climb up to hang by one hand from one of the handholds nailed into the trunk. The tune of your flute matches up with the commotion coming up the path. 

At least once a day, a large group arrives at the Fairy Tree led by cast members like yourself. It’s part of the job, performing like that. So why are you so nervous? 

The parade rounds the forest bend, finally coming into sight. Two fairy cast members lead the group, one with a tambourine, the other a pan flute. A dozen or so children are close behind with a couple more fairies mixed in. Bemused parents and adult stragglers make up the rear. 

“Aha!” The performer with the tambourine, halts the parade and points to you. “Kind guests and members of the parade, this is our sister Dewdrop!”

You hop back down to the ground, lowering your flute, and slip into the loose script that formed around storytime each day. “Are we to tell these fine folks a story today, Evergreen?”

And with your line, you settle. This is just your job. You do this every day. Every day there’s a new story. Every day there’s a new crowd. 

You and the other fairies sit the little ones down on “toadstool” seats while the adults gather around. Henry choses the seat closest to where you stand, you notice, so you make sure to give him a smile when you can. Like a good actor, you dance your eyes across the crowd, trying to bounce rather than stick to anyone in particular. But.

But you can’t help but get stuck on Charlie. He’s watching you so intently, occasionally glancing down at Henry as he laughs at all the silly jokes and goofs. Today’s story is one about how the king of the festival was trapped and magicked to dance for eternity by the trickster pixies until a kind hearted fairy saved him. The stories are always a bit silly like that. 

When you and the other fairies take your final bow, all conducting the children in a chorus of “The end!” and tossing handfuls of fairy dust, you make eye contact with Charlie again. Everyone is clapping politely. He’s smiling at you. You hold his gaze for just one second longer. He’s the first to look away, clearing his throat and raising his gaze to the treetops. You barely have time to process what just happened before Henry is tugging at your skirt. 

“You didn’t tell me your name is Dewdrop!” He exclaims, somehow still thriving off of the high energy of the show. 

You giggle, dropping down to his level. “You never asked, young Henry!” 

“That’s a funny name.” He scrunches his nose in such an innocent way you can’t help but smile. 

“Well all the fairies are named a bit differently than you humans.” You explain, “We’re given names that connect us to nature and-” 

“Wait a second!” Henry interrupts and suddenly runs over to his dad. 

They converse softly for a moment, Charlie leaning down so Henry can whisper in his ear. Charlie seems to be thinking hard about whatever his son is saying. He flicks his eyes over to you for what seems like a millisecond, you can’t even be sure he did look at you. Then he nods and Henry scampers back over to you. 

“My dad says we can come back tomorrow! I want to see the fighting and the contests like you said!” Your heart seems to stop for a second before you become very aware of it beating in your ears. 

“That - That’s wonderful, young lad!” You shake yourself back to this fantasy that is reality. “You must stop by the tree and say hello then.” You chance a look over at Charlie to find his eyes locked on you. He smiles and gives a slight nod of his head. 

He steps forward reaching for his son’s hand. “Alright, Henry, let’s get going now and let our friend get back to doing … fairy stuff.” Henry’s face scrunches in a way that your years of working around children tell you he’s not thrilled at the idea of leaving. So you swoop in with a little assist. 

“Sir Charlie’s right, young lad.” You take a pinch of fairy dust from the pouch on your belt, “I’ve got official fairy business to attend to around the festival. But here, I’ll give you a bit of parting sparkle so that you’ll shine until we meet again!” With a flourish, you dust Henry’s flower bracelet with the glittery powder. 

That seems to satisfy the young boy as he gives you a toothy grin and turns to leave with a quick “Bye! See you tomorrow!” 

“Well hang on just a second!” You decide to milk this moment a tiny bit more, just for fun. “That’s no way to leave a proper lady! Give us a bow and a fare thee well!” 

Henry looks confused for a second but Charlie elbow’s him lightly. “Like this,” he whispers. He executes a wonderfully low bow, crying out “Fare thee well, Dewdrop! We shall return on the morrow!” in an over the top sort of faux English accent. 

You laugh, fully, almost definitely out of character. That’s when Charlie looks up from his bow, holding your eyes as he rises back up to his full height. After a second, he clears his throat and elbows at Henry again, muttering “Your turn.”

Henry does his best to imitate his father, but his bow is a bit shaky. “Fare thee well, Dewdrop! We shall . . . Dad what is it?” 

“We shall return on the morrow,” Charlie mumbles, failing to conceal a smile. 

“We shall return tomorrow!” Henry finishes and stands back upright. 

As the two of them finally start down the dirt trail you call after them. “Safe travels, Sir Charlie and Squire Henry! T’was a true pleasure that our paths should cross!” 

“Bye!” Henry yells back. 

Charlie looks over his shoulder at you one more time. You wave. He smiles. And then they turn the corner. And they’re gone. 

[kinetic-elaboration]

December 29: The Wrath of Khan

Today’s movie watching was Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

My overall impression versus TMP is that this is clearly a smoother and more consistently entertaining film. It has a definite story with very little filler, good pacing, a lot of great little dialogue and character moments, and a strong conflict at its center.

But its sci fi bona fides are much weaker. Like by a lot.

Mom and I are talking a bit about Genesis and the more we talk, the weaker it appears to me. First, it’s not really as believable, imo, as a lot of Star Trek. Maybe it’s because it’s not alien based, but I just have a harder time suspending disbelief to think this is possible. Second, it’s not clear why anyone thought this was a good idea. I mean, as McCoy immediately pointed out, it just seems so CLEARLY dangerous: an object meant to foster creation that could so easily be the worst weapon the universe has ever known--nothing could go awry there! Third, the reason for creating such a device isn’t obvious at all. Carol mentions the “growing population” and “food scarcity” but nothing we’ve ever seen of the Federation implies they’re running out of space. Or, frankly (Tarsus IV aside), food. And fourth, there really isn’t any point to Genesis in all its particulars in this film. Like, obviously, its actual purpose is a plot device to resurrect Spock. Within just this film, it doesn’t do anything. Khan wants it, for some reason I’ve already forgotten even though I just saw the film, and he gets it, but I didn’t even notice that happening, because it was so unimportant. His REAL mission is his single minded revenge fantasy on Kirk. Genesis is just a McGuffin/space filler/plot device for the next film.

And honestly that’s not such a big deal, except that when you compare it to TMP, ,and its central idea of a human made probe that gained so much knowledge, doing what we taught it to do, that it became sentient and then started searching for the meaning of life, and how this relates to the search for meaning experienced by the main alien lead, and how his search, in that film and throughout the series, is a mirror for humans and OUR need for purpose... well it just seems really weak. “We made this really dangerous and unrealistic thing for no reason whoops!”

Mom is now criticizing Kirk for being too slow on the uptake when he first encounters the Reliant, which is fair. That’s pretty OOC of him. The idea that he’s too old for space is both one that I must personally disregard, and one that the film would have you discard, since we’ve already heard from TWO characters, the people who know him best, that his best destiny is as a starship captain, and command is his proper role. And that he might be a little rusty is also not a great explanation imo, because the rust was supposed to have come off in TMP. So, plot hole probably.

We were trying to do some math--TMP is at least 2 years post 5YM and TWOK is at least 10 years post TMP, so at least 8 years post TMP. I can understand more rust growing but like... he was already an Admiral in TMP and the idea that he was out of practice with actual command was a big part of his arc there. So it doesn’t seem warranted to do that again.

Also, the way he was commanding poorly in TMP was very IC: he was pushing too hard, trying too much, caring too much about the mission and not enough about...the laws of physics. That’s very Kirk. Being slow on the uptake, caught with his britches down--that’s not Kirk. Plus, with no one to call him out on it, like Decker did in TMP, his poor command doesn’t seem like a big character obstacle to overcome but just like...sloppiness all around.

I thought Khan was over all... just not that interesting. I guess I’m just not into the obsession/revenge plot. Also...idk man he didn’t seem that super to me. He outsmarted Kirk, like, once, and Kirk outsmarted him like 4 times. He tortured some people--but regular humans can do that. He used those sandworm thingies, which is also something humans could do. Overall, he didn’t seem to have any particularly special skills. The only time he really seemed like a worthy adversary for Kirk was when Kirk wasn’t really being IC himself.

I’m also not into the fridging of his wife. Think how much cooler it would have been if she’d still been alive! The only non-super human in the bunch and she’s still there! Ex-Starfleet and bitter!

The K/S in this film is very soothing. Imo they are clearly together here, and the whole film is better if you assume they’re boyfriends and everyone knows. That Vulcan convo that Spock and Saavik have? Waaaaay funnier if you think she’s talking about his boyfriend (”not what I expected....very human” “Well no one’s perfect”). Every time they call each other ‘friend’ like ““friend”“? All the Looks? The birthday gift?

Also the “I have been and always shall be your [friend]” scene is a wedding I will not be taking criticism on this opinion. Could it have been written more like a vow? I think not. It’s not quite This Simple Feeling but it’s the best this film has in that regard.

I liked Saavik and I do think she’s one of the better later-movie additions (though I only like her, as far as I can remember, when played by Kirstie Alley). She didn’t necessarily strike me as super alien, though, at least not at first... But I appreciated how persistent she was about the stupid test, and her regulation quoting. I enjoyed her. I also liked how she was obviously Spock’s protege, which makes her Kirk’s step-protege, and they had just a little bit of that awkward dynamic going on. (”Did you change your hair?”)

The Bones and Kirk relationship was great in this film. You can really feel their friendship and their history with each other. Bones knows him so well and can be honest with him, just when Kirk needs it most.

I also love how Kirk has the SAME conversation with both Bones and Spock (re: being a captain again) but with Spock it’s sooooo much flirtier. In case you weren’t sure what the difference in these two relationships is.

Bonus: this bit of dialogue: Spock: “Be careful, Jim.” / Bones: “WE will.” Lol Spock people who aren’t your boyfriend do exist.

Obviously, I cried during THAT scene. Honestly AOS should have taken note about how to do emotional scenes like that: they come after the main action is over and the villain is defeated. Then they hit at the right time and to the right degree. Kirk just slumping down after Spock dies....like he’s boneless...like he doesn’t know what to do... I CANNOT.

I feel so bad for him that I’ll even forgive him that awful eulogy. Spock died for Genesis? Uh, no, he died for the Enterprise, and for YOU. Spock is the “most human”? You shut your whoreson mouth

I remember hating both Carol and David but I actually hated them less this time, Carol especially. My mom is being really harsh about her, though, which makes me feel less confident in my assessment. I mean first off, she’s the inventor of Genesis, which is a pretty big strike against her. Second...pretty lame to keep Kirk from David. Although I did some vague math and Kirk would only have been about 21, still in the Academy, when David was born, so you can see how that would work out. Also, she distinctly says “Were we together?” which means they were not--this was a fuck buddy arrangement for sure. More complicated. But it still feels weird to retcon that, like, he’s known THIS WHOLE TIME that he’s a dad and we’re only learning about it now, as an audience.

Anyway I’m getting off track. Carol. What to make of her? Is she unstable? Is she still mad at Kirk? My mom points out that she just decided on her own that David would want to join Starfleet if he knew Kirk was his father--whereas what seems to have happened instead is he didn’t just become a civilian scientist like his mom but became her specific protege--working on a project where everyone was probably handpicked by her? I would assume? Also..he hates Starfleet. Not to put everything on the mom, but how did that happen?

Also...going down the rabbit hole of this and feeling awkward about it... but David KNEW Kirk. As “that guy you hung around with.” That means Kirk was in his life for quite a while, long enough for him to have memories, and long enough for those memories to still be with him even into his 20s. But he was never allowed to know who Kirk was. That means Carol’s rule must have been “You can see your son but you can’t tell him who you are” which in some way seems meaner to me than just “please don’t contact us again.” If he was already on his way into space, that could even make sense--”I know you’re not going to be able to be a family with us, so let’s not pretend, let’s make a clean break now.” But that wasn’t what happened!

Anyway whatever not to be HAICG!Kirk about this or anything lol

David is mostly annoying because he’s so anti-Kirk lol. I found him least annoying when he came around to Kirk at the end. Another big strike against him: he wore his sweater tied over his shoulders in such a Preppy manner. I honestly don’t see what about him is supposed to be reminiscent of Kirk.

David/Saavik was definitely happening lol. I wish I could have heard that conversation. It sounds like she told him a lot!!! Not sure why she attached herself to this particular annoying human so fast but I guess she did.

....I think that might be all. The uniforms and general styling were much better than TMP (though less funny/entertaining), and it was certainly an enjoyable overall yarn. A lot to pick apart and critique but in a fun way. Will probably watch The Search for Spock soon.

[zen3to5]

J/H 6-16: Man With Money

Continuing the trend of refocusing the arc kicked off by Jackie's mom to actually be about Jackie...

FF.Net AO3

***

SHOW TITLE   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT – NIGHT   A small section of the gang laze around – HYDE in his chair, DONNA on one end of the couch and FEZ on the other, KELSO in the lawn chair. Kelso and Fez are dressed rather “sporty” for just sitting around.   ERIC comes down the stairs, wearing an extremely ‘70s three-piece orange suit with a brown shirt and awful tie. He pauses at the landing and strikes a pose.   ERIC: Well? Is orange my color?   HYDE: If you’re planning on being ringmaster at the pumpkin patch carnival this Halloween.   Eric strolls down the rest of the way, sits next to Donna on the couch. He notices her and Hyde’s casual attire.   ERIC: You two aren’t dressing up? Come on – it’s a cocktail party.   DONNA: It’s your parents’ cocktail party. You’ve never even wanted to go to one before, let alone dress for it.   ERIC: Hey, I’m an engaged man, Donna, soon to be married. It’s time to start showing a little class and maturity at social events.   DONNA: You’re in that suit because my dad’s bringing Jackie’s mom, aren’t you?   ERIC: That might have something to do with it.   KELSO: Man, Pam Burkhart. One time, back when I was dating Jackie, Pam was trying to wash her car, right, and she leaned over and, like, squeezed out the sponge. That’s all I remember, ‘cause I rode my bike straight into a tree. She’s why I’m dressed up.   FEZ: Me too. She is like a glorious golden sun goddess looking for strapping young temple boys. Mexico was very good to her.   He, Kelso, and Eric all sigh and gaze dreamily up to the ceiling.   HYDE: Hey, can we shut up about Pam?   KELSO: Hyde, if you’ve got a better subject of conversation than the finest set of T and A on any of our moms, I don’t think I wanna hear it.   HYDE: Yeah, well, that great T and A are on a lousy mom who ditched their kid, and now that she’s back, Jackie’s a mess. There’s so much crying going on in my room, I’m gonna need a drainage pump or an Aqua-Lung.   KELSO: Oh, like in Creature from the Black Lagoon? The chick in that movie is pretty smokin’ too.   FEZ: (gasps) If you put her together with Mrs. Burkhart, you have the sun and water goddesses!   He, Kelso, and Eric look up and sigh again.   HYDE: I just need everyone to zip it about Pam before Jackie gets here.   DONNA: Yeah, and definitely don’t say anything about her mom dating my dad. Jackie doesn’t know yet, and we haven’t figured out how to tell her.   As Donna says the back half of that line, JACKIE comes down the stairs.   JACKIE: Tell me what?   She sits in Hyde’s lap and looks to Donna, expecting.   DONNA: Um... that Hyde signed you up for ballroom dance lessons.   JACKIE/HYDE: What?   They look to each other. Jackie is beaming; Hyde doesn’t know what the hell just happened.   JACKIE: I can’t believe you finally agreed to that!   HYDE: (glares at Donna) Neither can I.   KELSO: (laughing) Hyde in dance class?   HYDE: Man, you know why they call it a “ballroom?” ‘Cause that’s what they might as well cut off every man who sets foot in one.   JACKIE: Okay, I know I’m going to have to put up with a lot of complaining like that, but I’m finally going to have you out on the dance floor in a tuxedo, so I don’t care!   She throws her arms around his neck, kisses his cheek, and cuddles.   FEZ: (to Hyde) Why didn’t you start the lessons sooner so you could show them off at the cocktail party? You know Bob and Pam are going to strut their stuff as soon as the music comes on. We all heard about their date at the disco.   Jackie’s head snaps up.   JACKIE: My mom and Donna’s dad are dating?   She looks around the room; no one can meet her eyes except for Hyde, who gives a small, reluctant nod.   Jackie jumps out of Hyde’s lap and runs into his room.   HYDE: Jackie, wait!   He starts after her. He pauses long enough to lean over the back of the couch and point a threatening finger at Fez.   HYDE (cont’d): If I don’t drown, I’m kicking your ass!   He disappears into his room as Fez sinks down into the couch.

MAIN CREDITS   BUMPER   MUSIC NOTE: “Mack the Knife” performed by Louis Armstrong.   INT. FORMAN LIVING ROOM – NIGHT   Cocktails with the Formans. It isn’t a large party – just a few older couples, spread out through the living room. “Mack the Knife” plays on the record player. RED, manning the home bar, even sings along. KITTY, fresh from the kitchen with a tray of hors d’oeuvres, sets it on the coffee table and half-walks, half-dances over to him.   RED: (singing) When the shark bites With his teeth, dear...   KITTY: Well, you’re awfully happy.   RED: I’m hittin’ the hard booze for the first time since the heart attack, Kitty. Life is worth living again. Plus, chances are everyone here’s getting hammered, so I get to have the cops tow everyone’s car.   The front door opens, and in walk BOB and PAM, hand-in-hand. Pam is overdressed in a rather scandalous gown. They head straight for the bar.   BOB: Hey, everybody. I brought a date! Look how tall she is. It’s like I’m dating the Statue of Liberty.   KITTY: Oh, Kitty, I just love coming over to your house. You have such unique tastes. It’s like being at a giant flea market. (taps the bar) Tequila Sunrise and keep ‘em coming, Red.   Red gives her a small smile, nods, and gets to work. Kitty eyes him; he should have made a sharp remark by now.   Eric strolls in from the kitchen, immediately crosses to Pam. Donna, with much less enthusiasm, is a few steps behind him.   ERIC: Mrs. Burkhart? That’s weird. Golly, I didn’t know you were dropping by.   DONNA: (to Eric) Yeah, you did. I told you she was. And you just said that’s why you were wearing your tacky, pumpkin-colored suit.   ERIC: I’m sorry, Donna. I think you’ve confused “tacky” with “handsome.” (to Pam) Which – I don’t mean to brag, but...   He laughs, strikes a pose, and leads her into the party, Bob in tow. They don’t get very far, however, before Kelso and Fez rush in from the kitchen.   KELSO: Where is she? What’s she wearing?   They join Bob and Eric in crowding around Pam, who seems a little too pleased with all the attention.   Donna shakes her head. Kitty taps on the bar.   KITTY: Tall Manhattan and keep ‘em coming, Red.   Red gives a curt nod, gets to work. Donna and Kitty watch as Pam sits down in Red’s chair and crosses her legs.   KITTY (cont’d): Oh, look at her. (to Red) Would you ever want me to show that much leg?   RED: Absolutely not.   KITTY: (beat) And why not?   RED: (frowns) You set me up.   Kitty just glares at him in reply. She snatches her finished drink from his hands and moves into the party. Red looks to Donna, as if for answers; she just shrugs.   Over at Red’s chair, the boys are at rapt attention as Pam shares a story.   PAM: So that’s when I realized that tapas sounds a lot like “topless.” But, I had already promised, so...   BOB: (to the boys) Ah, she’s got it all – looks and beauty.   ERIC: So, Mrs. Burkhart – have, um... have you ever seen The Graduate?   Before she can answer, Jackie and Hyde enter from the kitchen. Pam rises, crosses with Bob to meet them. The boys disperse into the party.   PAM: (to Jackie) Hi, honey. I was hoping you’d be here.   Jackie doesn’t so much as look at Pam. Instead, she turns to Hyde.   JACKIE: So Steven, I love that new figurine you got me for my birthday. It’s a unicorn, which is sweet, but you stole it out of a rich person’s yard, which is so foxy.   Pam, scandalized, gapes at Hyde; he just grins back.   BOB: Jackie, your mother’s talking to you.   Jackie doesn’t look at Bob either.   JACKIE: (to Hyde) Boy, I hope the Formans don’t need to call a repairman for their stove. I think I smell a gas leak.   She moves past Pam and Bob to get at the hors d’oeuvres on the coffee table.   HYDE: (to Pam & Bob) The silent treatment. I’m not usually on the outside watching it. That’s good stuff.   He moves past them to follow Jackie. They sit down next to each other on the couch and snack. Donna crosses to them, sits on the other side of Jackie.   DONNA: Okay, Jackie, I know that was a lousy way to find out your mom and my dad are dating, but you’re with me now in wanting them to stop seeing each other, right?   Jackie doesn’t answer or meet Donna’s eyes. Her snacking gets faster, the bites sharper. Hyde notices; Donna doesn’t.   DONNA (cont’d): You know my dad’s buying a hot tub now? With a euphoria jet? He said, (doing Bob) “I have all this extra money, and Pammy’s helping me spend some.” (normal voice) Well, “Pammy” sure doesn’t waste any time before she starts tapping the first national bank of “lonely rich guy.”   Jackie, still not looking up at Donna, snaps a toothpick in her hands.   HYDE: (warning) Donna...   DONNA: (to Jackie) God, why can’t my dad see that your mom is nothing but a tramp?   Jackie jumps to her feet.   JACKIE: Oh, you shut up about my mom! She should be going after a cool rich guy, like Jack Nicholson or a Bee Gee. Your Bob of a dad is lucky she settled for him as a meal ticket!   DONNA: Excuse me? You’re saying my dad’s not good enough?   JACKIE: Oh, so you see it too!   She turns heel and disappears back into the kitchen.   DONNA: (to Hyde) What the hell was that? She talks about what a gold digger her mom is all the time!   HYDE: (stands) Hey, Donna, you know how Jackie just told you to shut up?   DONNA: Yeah...   HYDE: Shut up!   He follows after Jackie. Donna shakes her head and throws her hands up.   At the front of the room, Fez and Kelso try to make their way to the kitchen door with a bottle of gin tucked into Kelso’s blazer. Kitty intercepts them at Red’s chair.   KITTY: Oh, I cannot believe you kids! Trying to sneak off with my good gin.   She takes the bottle and starts for the bar.   KELSO: (to Fez) Yeah, I shoulda known. She can smell booze from a mile away.   He isn’t as quiet as he thinks; Kitty turns around, and Red comes over from the bar.   KITTY: Excuse me?   KELSO: Oh... I said, “you smell like booze from a mile away.”   RED: That’s worse, dumbass.   Fez tugs on Kelso’s sleeve, and they vanish into the kitchen.   Kitty and Red return to the bar, where Pam and Bob are waiting.   PAM: Oh, what a lovely evening. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I was with rich people.   RED: (to Pam) Want another drink?   He takes out two glasses. Kitty puts one of them away.   KITTY: Honey, you shouldn’t be drinking. You have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. (to Pam) He has a heart condition. He’s very old.   RED: (to Kitty) You mean I have to stand here making drinks for these freeloaders when I can’t touch the stuff myself? That’s it – I’m calling the cops. Everyone’s getting towed.   He steps out from behind the bar and moves for the phone.   BUMPER   EXT. FORMAN DRIVEWAY – DAY   The next morning. The Toyota rests in the drive. Red and Kitty step out. Red has a large HEART MONITOR strapped to his right arm.   RED: I don’t care what that doctor says. I’m not wearing this stupid heart monitor. It makes me look like a damn robot.   KITTY: Red, I'm sure you won't even know it's there. It'll only beep if your heart rate goes above normal, like when you get agitated or excited or extra angry or extra happy.   She gives him a playful poke in the arm.   KITTY (cont’d): Putting my money on extra angry.   Red grunts, opens up the trunk.   RED: I bet the damn thing doesn't even work.   He and Kitty gather up grocery bags as they continue talking.   KITTY: You know what, Red? Your attitude stinks. You wouldn't be in this mess if you'd just listened to me in the first place.   RED: Kitty...   KITTY: I told you to eat more fiber in the mornings. I told you to exercise. I even told you to wear more comfortable shoes for circulation. Did you listen? No. So I guess I'm just gonna keep telling you and telling you and telling you –   The heart monitor lets out a quick series of loud beats.   RED: What do you know? It does work.   He slams the lid down on the trunk and heads inside.   BUMPER   EXT. PINCIOTTI BACKYARD – DAY   A freshly acquired item takes up most of the backyard space: A HOT TUB, up and running even in winter. Kelso enjoys a good soak in the dub, while Eric, Hyde, and Jackie sit on the lawn bench.   KELSO: Hey, I can't believe you guys aren't in Bob's hot tub. You know, I feel like Warren Beatty in a movie about a hot tub. He's, like, hot tubbin', then, like... other stuff happens.   ERIC: Kelso, just so you know, Bob was in there an hour ago, so you are, like, covered in hot, bubbly Bob.   Kelso considers for a moment, then shrugs, “I’m good with that.”   Donna comes out from the kitchen, freezes mid-step when she sees Jackie.   DONNA:  Well, well. If it isn’t little miss junior prospector. Apparently my dad’s not good enough for your mom to dig her claws into, but it’s fine for her to leave her little cuckoo bird here to steal room and food.   JACKIE: Look, Donna –   DONNA: No, okay? You’re the one who’s been saying ever since your mom got back that she’s just here to find another free ride, and I’m not gonna let her do that to my dad. I just need to show him what a big mistake this is.   KELSO: “Big mistake?” Bob is Bob, and he’s getting me-quality girls. He’s living life, Kelso style. How can you wanna take that away from your dad, Donna?   ERIC: I’m with Kelso on this one. Bob needs to love that woman for all she’s worth.   DONNA: Eric!   ERIC: What, what are you gonna do, cut me off from sex again?   DONNA: (to Jackie) She’s making my dad take her out on all these expensive dates, they’re buying stupid crap like this hot tub -   KELSO: “Stupid?” There’s snow on the grown, and I’m, like, a million degrees in this thing. And with this euphoria jet, all of Fez’s “needs” problems are ancient history.   Everyone but Kelso shivers a little at the thought.   DONNA: (to Jackie) Your mom’s doing everything you said she’d do, and she’s doing it to my dad, who’s never been anything but nice to you, and who took you in when your mom ran off and you had no place to go.   JACKIE: (stands) God, Donna, I am so sick of hearing about this! You know, I’m not any happier than you are that they’re together.   DONNA: Then why are you sticking up for your mom all of a sudden?   JACKIE:  I’m not sticking up for her, okay? It’s just... it’s just...   She shifts on her feet, looks around; if she even knows or understands the real answer, she doesn’t want to say it.   JACKIE (cont’d): How can a beautiful woman like my mom be going out with a great, big mayonnaise lover like your dad? This morning, at breakfast, your dad burped right in front of my mom, and she laughed, Donna. Laughed! Okay, we’re Burkharts. We don’t burp, and we don’t tolerate people who do.   DONNA: God, Jackie, you can be such an ungrateful little bitch.   Jackie recoils at the words. Her eyes turn wet and glassy. She runs around the house and out of the yard.   HYDE: Well, there goes the rest of my day. Way to go, Donna.   He stands, starts to follow Jackie.   KELSO: (to Hyde) Hey, before you go, can you hand me my clothes? I’m all done peeing.   He points to the shirt and pants folded by the base of the hot tub.   HYDE: Kelso, are you naked?   KELSO: (beat) No. Eric, could you hand me my clothes, please?   ERIC: (stands) I'm sorry, buddy. I can't hear you over the hot tub. Did you hear him, Hyde?   HYDE: I think so. I think he said to take his clothes and run away.   ERIC: Oh!   Hyde nabs Kelso’s clothes, and he and Eric take off around the house.   KELSO: Guys - guys, come back!   No good; he’s trapped in the tub.   KELSO (cont’d): (to Donna) Well, looks like I'm gonna have to be nude in front of you, and that's kind of awkward. So, I think you should nude up.   Donna heads back inside.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – DAY   Lunchtime. Red reads the newspaper at the kitchen table as Kitty prepares a plate for him and brings it over.   KITTY: Okay, good news, Red. I made your favorite lunch - lasagna!   She hands him the plate, he takes it.   RED: Thanks.   KITTY: “Thanks?” Aren't you excited? Let's hear that monitor!   RED: So every time you do something nice for me, I'm supposed to have a heart attack?   KITTY: Well, no, not an attack. Just a little episode. (laughs) I mean, what does it take to get that beeper going?   Bob and Pam enter through the patio door.   PAM: Hi, Red.   Red’s heart monitor sounds off.   RED: (to Kitty) Wow, that must be the lasagna kicking in.   He makes a show of taking a hearty bite.   FADE TO BLACK   COMMERCIAL   BUMPER   INT. FORMAN LIVING ROOM – DAY   A short time later. Kitty sits in the middle of the couch, arms tightly crossed, while Red sits uncomfortably in his chair.   RED: Hey, what do you say we have some more of that lasagna? Boy, was that delicious.   Out of the corner of his mouth, he makes a beeping noise. He points to his heart monitor and pulls a “look at that!” face.   KITTY: Oh, can it, Red. When Pam showed up, your heart monitor went off like a freaking slot machine.   RED: Pam had nothing to do with that thing going off, dammit!   KITTY: Oh, and look at us now. We're arguing. Can't even get a beep out of you.   The kitchen door swings open. Kelso marches in, naked except for a garden hose wrapped around his naughty place.   KELSO: Your son is a jerk.   He heads up the stairs. Red and Kitty share a look; Red shrugs.   CUT TO:   EXT. PINCIOTTI BACKYARD – DAY   Immediately following. Bob and Pam enjoy a nice soak. Red and Kitty come around the house, mid-argument.   RED: Okay, come on. I am gonna prove to you that I am not attracted to Pam.   They step up to the tub.   PAM: Hey, guys.   Red’s heart monitor goes off. Kitty looks up and glowers at Red.   RED: (to Kitty) I think I'm having a war flashback. I'm messed up, Kitty. I'm real messed up.   He turns around and hurries out of the yard.   CUT TO:   INT. HYDE’S BEDROOM – DAY   Hyde, sans shades, and Jackie lie in bed, the goose down duvet pulled around them. Jackie’s head rests against Hyde’s shoulders as he holds her and she holds SCHATZI.   JACKIE: How could Donna say that I’m ungrateful? When I threw out all her old lumberjack shirts and replaced them with blouses and peplum tops last Christmas, I made sure all of them were in her giant size. And who keeps leaving business cards for real hair stylists on Bob’s car? That’s all me. Not Donna – me!   HYDE: You did kind of go off on Bob and do a 180 about your mom once you found out they were dating.   JACKIE: Steven, when a girlfriend is upset, it’s your job as the boyfriend to nod along and agree, not tell her the truth! Look, Donna doesn’t know my mom. It’s not her place to say those things. Of course, everyone can see how unnatural it is for someone like my mom to be with Bob. She’s rich and classy, and he’s all corny and cheesy. He’s like nachos.   HYDE: Well, that explains how he scored your mom. She’ll touch anything from Mexico.   Jackie gives him a halfhearted swat to the chest.   HYDE (cont’d): Come on, Jackie. Donna’s just worried about her dad.   JACKIE: Look, I know, okay? And she’s right. Well, probably right. It’s just... I don’t know. When I heard the things she was saying about my mom, I just... I felt like...   HYDE: Like you had to stick up for her ‘cause she’s family, even if you should be helping out the other guy?   He gives Jackie a knowing look. She reaches up, cups his cheek with her hand.   JACKIE: Oh, Steven. You know, our moms are like miniskirts that look great on the mannequin, but as soon as you try them on, they’re totally trashy and ruin your whole image. But you can’t take a mom back to the store to trade in for something better in a designer brand.   She turns her head into his shoulder, and Hyde pulls her in closer. He does his best to not pull away when Schatzi starts sniffing in his ear.   CUT TO:   INT. HUB - DAY   A typical afternoon. Eric, Donna, and Fez have claimed the wall table, Eric and Donna in the booth seat and Fez across from them. Food baskets and soda bottles adorn the table.   DONNA: (to Eric) I cannot believe you think my dad should stay with Pam. She doesn't even like you. She told my dad you groped her at the party. ERIC: Okay, look, Donna, you and Pam obviously have some serious issues. I think you two should work them out with a good old-fashioned pillow fight.   Donna swats his chest and rolls her eyes. FEZ: What's the big deal? Bob and Pam are adults who want to do what comes naturally to everybody except me. So I say, why can't I get any?   DONNA: (to Eric) You know, Pam wants to be with my dad now, but what happens when someone else comes along? I wouldn't care so much if I could just, you know, test her with a hotter guy and see if she falls for him.   ERIC: Because I love you, I'll do it.   He starts to stand, but Donna pulls him back down.   DONNA: No, it has to be someone her type. And, going off all her stories about her time in Mexico, she has a weakness for young, dark-skinned guys.   She and Eric both look at Fez, who’s slow to realize he’s pulled attention.   FEZ: (shrugs) I guess I can ask around.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – DAY   Kitty is at the stove. She pulls out an angel cake and sets it on the stovetop as Red walks in from the living room.   RED: Mmm, that smells delicious. What is it?   Kitty refuses to look at them as she sprinkles sugar over the cake.   KITTY: It's not for you. You can go look for scraps around the neighborhood like the rest of the dogs.   RED: Kitty, for the last time, I am not attracted to Pam. In all the years we’ve been together, you know my heart has never raced at the sight of any woman but you.   KITTY: Well, your cardiac jukebox there says otherwise!   RED: (points at monitor) I knew this damn thing wouldn’t work. I’m telling you, that floozy lush had nothing to do with it going off!   The patio door opens, and Pam enters.   PAM: Hi, Kitty. Hi, Red. I thought we'd come over and see if you two wanted to catch a movie.   Red and Kitty look from Pam to the monitor and back to Pam. Red holds the monitor up to his ear to check the sound; nothing happens.   PAM (cont’d): Why are you staring? Too pretty for Wisconsin? I get that a lot.   KITTY: (to Red) You shut it off, didn't you?   RED: No, I did not shut it off!   Bob enters.   BOB: Let's hustle it up. I don't want to sit behind people with hats.   The heart monitor goes off. Red shuts it off.   RED: (to Kitty) Ha! Look at that, nosey! It's not Pam. It's Bob, because he annoys me.   BOB: That's true. I do.   PAM: What are you guys talking about?   KITTY: Um... (laughs) (to Pam) I, um... I-I-I sort of thought that Red had a crush on you.   PAM: Oh, Kitty, I'm sorry. This face can bring as much trouble as it does joy.   RED: Well, Kitty, what do you have to say for yourself?   KITTY: It's the menopause. I'm messed up, Red. I'm real messed up.   She hurries into the living room.   BUMPER   EXT. PINCIOTTI BACKYARD – DAY   Some time later, post-movie. Fez, in an outfit straight from the tackiest of ‘70s pool boy pornos, sweeps the hot tub with a net. His ass is stuck out to pull focus, which it does when Pam steps out from the kitchen.   PAM: Um, hello?   Fez makes a dramatic turn to look at her.   PAM (cont’d): What are you doing?   FEZ: I was hired to clean the hot tub. But you should know that I perform... other services, too.   He lowers one strap of his tank top. Ignoring that, Pam crosses to inspect the hot tub.   PAM: Well, you could start by doing a better job. It's still dirty.   FEZ: So, you like it dirty?   PAM: No, I want it clean.   FEZ: So, you like it filthy?   PAM: Bob!   FEZ: Whoa, I'm not into that!   He throws up his hands as Pam shakes her head.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT – DAY   Eric and Donna are relaxing on the couch. Donna has a diving mask and snorkel in her hands that she fiddles with.   Kelso comes running down the stairs wearing Eric’s clothes.   KELSO: Hey, Eric, that was a good burn, stealing my clothes. But the laugh's on you, 'cause I borrowed your pants, and I'm not wearing any underwear.   He makes a show of wiggling his butt around in Eric’s pants.   ERIC: Kelso, just so you know, the last time I wore those pants, I wasn't wearing any underwear.   KELSO: Ouch. Well played.   He gives Eric a nod, then crosses to sit on the dryer.   The basement door opens. A frowning Bob enters, holding Fez by the back of the neck.   BOB: (to Donna) Did you tell Fez to make a move on Pam? 'Cause if you didn't, I'm gonna box him up and send him back to banana town.   FEZ: (to Bob) Okay, I'm sick of those comments. I don't say I'm gonna send you back to polyester town.   Donna stands, crosses to Bob. At the same time, Jackie and Hyde enter from Hyde’s room. Jackie beats Donna over to Bob.   JACKIE: Mr. Pinciotti, good, I thought that was you. Look, you need to break up with my mom. You’re too good for her.   DONNA: Oh, here we go. You know, you’ve got some nerve, Burkhart – wait, what?   BOB: What?   ERIC/KELSO/FEZ: What?   JACKIE: Mr. Pinciotti, you’re a wonderful guy with a huge heart. You’re like a cute, fuzzy, slightly gassy panda bear. And my mom is a beautiful blonde tiger who goes around looking for panda bears to rip open to get at the money inside.   FEZ: Wait, I’m confused. Is Bob a panda bear or a pinata? (Gasps) Or a panda pinata! (to the guys) If you bastards don’t have a panda pinata for my birthday, there will be no cake for any of you!   JACKIE: (to Bob) I’ve said some awful things about you over the last few days, and I know I haven’t always been as grateful as I should be, but I really appreciate all you’ve done since my mom left me. And I know my mom, and I don’t want to see her hurt you like she hurt me. And I know Donna feels the same way.   DONNA: Thank you, Jackie. And I’m sorry.   She puts an arm around Jackie’s shoulders.   DONNA (cont’d): And Dad, I’m sorry about Fez, but it was the only thing I could think of to prove that Pam doesn’t... you know, really care about you.   BOB: Well, guess what? She does really care about me, so I don’t want any more of these little games. (to Jackie) Now, Jackie, I appreciate your concern, and I’m sorry you feel that way about your mom, but she and I make each other happy. You and Donna better accept it soon, 'cause she's here to stay.   JACKIE: But Mr. Pinciotti –   BOB: I’m sorry, but I don’t wanna talk about it anymore. This is the way it’s gonna be. In fact – Pam and me talked after the movies, and she’s moving in.   JACKIE: Wait, what?   DONNA: What?   ERIC/HYDE/KELSO/FEZ: What?   JACKIE: No, no, no. Mr. Pinciotti, my mom can’t move in with us.   BOB: She can and she is. End of discussion.   JACKIE: No, because... because if my mom’s moving in, then I’m moving out.   She gets out from under Donna’s arm and runs back into Hyde’s room.   Hyde takes the snorkel mask from Donna.   HYDE: I’m gonna need this. (to Bob, doing Bob) “Way to go there, Bob.”   Shaking his head, he goes back to his room.   FADE TO BLACK   CREDITS   INT. FORMAN LIVING ROOM – NIGHT   Much later, well into night. Hyde and Jackie sit together on the couch, Jackie holding Schatzi.   HYDE: (to Jackie) Roy said you can get a room at the hotel where we work, but it’ll be a few days before you can move in. You sure you wanna do this?   JACKIE: I’m sure, Steven. I can’t be under the same roof as my mom right now.   She leans into Hyde, who puts an arm around her shoulders.   They both look up to the ceiling as a faint beeping sound echoes down from upstairs.   JACKIE: What’s that noise?   HYDE: It’s Red’s heart monitor.   JACKIE: Where’s Mrs. Forman?   HYDE: She’s with him.   The thought hits them both at the same time. Jackie screams, drops Schatzi onto the seat next to her, and clings to Hyde. He pats her arm even as he looks up again and snickers.   END.

[nanamicide]

You are there, beyond despair - chapter 4

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Just as Kanon-cchi had told him, that night had not changed anything between them. They hadn’t grown closer nor started having romantic feelings towards each other. Things remained the same – they fought, laughed, and hung around each other as much as possible. Yasuhiro found a lot of comfort in this. Granted, his mother had always been there for him, but having someone who accepted him and hadn’t given birth to him was a nice change – a change he had never known he needed.

Besides, that night had changed Kanon-cchi quite a lot. On the next morning, she’d asked him if she could borrow one of his t-shirts, explaining that she wanted to wear more comfortable clothing when around the house. He’d obviously agreed without thinking much of it back then. But now that a few days had passed, he finally understood what it meant. Or, at the very least, he got the feeling that this sudden change in appearance in the young woman meant that she was accepting herself for whoever she was, and not whoever she thought she had to be. For some reason, that idea made him happy.

In spite of this, she was still more or less the same person he’d met in Towa City – that was why nothing between them had changed. She only allowed herself to be who she truly was. And it was definitely refreshing to see her so happy. He’d even caught her reading some light novels when she thought she was alone in the apartment – something he would have never assumed she would be into at first glance.

It wasn’t all picture-perfect either, though. There were still moments during which he caught her looking sad. She also still had that weird tendency to push him away and to shut down whenever she’d think about Kuwatacchi.

Still, he wanted to celebrate with her and let her know that she meant something to him. After scratching his head and asking the gods and spirits to tell him what he should do to make it happen without getting a single answer, he’d asked his mother for advice. Her idea had been to find out when Kanon-cchi’s birthday was and to secretly prepare something for that day – something which had gotten Yasuhiro quite excited.

Maybe it was the more immature and childish part of him that was at work there, but he was having quite a lot of fun sneaking away from the younger woman just to do something like that for her. Besides, he and his mother had never really been the type to celebrate birthdays, as they, more often than not, didn’t have enough money to do so. This was a nice way to break away and to highlight the fact that their post-tragedy life was different from what it used to be before the world changed.

Of course, he was still in debt, but the Future Foundation sent him a good enough paycheck. Besides, the world now was in dire need of nurses, which meant that Hiroko had no trouble finding work to do and getting paid for it.

But that wasn’t all there was to it. In fact, that wasn’t even the main reason why he was enjoying himself so much. This plan also came with a new way to let Kanon-cchi know that she was important, and that he was thankful for the fact she’d decided to move in with them regardless of all the fights they had had since they met. He also hoped that through this, she would finally understand that she had absolutely no reason to push him away whenever she got upset.  

The only problem with this idea was that he had to hide things from her – and he knew it was hurting to a certain extent. She didn’t explicitly show it, but he had now spent enough time with her to be able to just tell when something was bothering her, and she wasn’t saying anything about it. It usually showed in the shape of a slight frown followed by a small shrug as she walked away from him, or a small, barely audible sigh at the end of her sentence.

And Yasuhiro hated that both of these things were now taking place a lot more frequently than they used to. He wanted to tell her that there was a reason why he couldn’t tell her why he was going to the store alone – that it was just for her, so he could do something nice to pay her back for how much she’d changed his life in a way that he didn’t even know was possible; for turning him into the main character.

And yet, he knew he couldn’t. Sure, he wasn’t always the smartest, and there was always the possibility that he was so bad at lying that Kanon-cchi would just see right through him and what he was up to. Still, he was doing it for her, so it was worth the now common awkward moments that took place between them. They’d be gone soon enough, after all.

-

Kanon had no clue what Yasu had been up to for the past week or so, and it freaked her out. Although the situations were quite different, it reminded her, in some way, of the way Leon had been treating her before enrolling at Hope’s Peak – and she hated it. She hated that she would sometimes catch him speaking to his mom in hushed whispers without being able to find out what it was all about.

It was as though they were plotting behind her back, and with how their financial situation had improved thanks to the Tragedy almost being over, she’d started to think that they wanted to kick her out. Of course, knowing them, she knew they wouldn’t just randomly throw her out of their apartment one day. Despite that, the thought of having to leave them and being on her own again terrified her.

Granted, there were a lot of things she disliked about staying with them – from how crappy the place looked to how annoyingly stupid Yasu could be at times – but that didn’t mean that she wanted to leave or even thought about leaving. Deep down, she enjoyed being here. Even though she still got upset over things Yasu had convinced her she could and had to move on from, she always found comfort in the fact that if she were hitting a low like she had on that night, someone would be there to talk her out of it.

In a way, although she’d claimed that night wouldn’t change anything between them, it had changed things. She no longer really saw him as someone she was conflating with her cousin. Everything he’d said and done on that night, along with the fact he’d quite literally saved her life in Towa City, had made her realize that he was his own person – a good person whom she enjoyed being around, someone she was starting to think she needed around her.

His eccentric personality had grown on her more than she had assumed it ever would. She couldn’t see him as just this helpless guy she’d saved and who saw her as a source of money to pay his debt – not that she’d ever even really considered him to be just that, but she’d been able to convince herself that she did.

Things were different. She was different. Despite that, she still didn’t know what it meant either. For a while, she’d asked herself if it could be love, but had quickly realized that this bore little to no similarities with how she had felt towards Leon. This obviously was something different – maybe some sort of bond only people who almost died together could share? She wasn’t sure. And at that moment, it wasn’t the biggest worry on her mind.

She had to find out if the Hagakures would tell her to leave their home soon or not. It was scary, but if she wanted to keep the last bit of sanity she’d managed to keep in spite of everything that had happened to her, she had to find out. So, she had to confront Yasu about it.

He was, without a doubt, the worst liar she’d ever met – which made her wonder how he’d even managed to scam this many people into buying those weird divination tools that he didn’t even use himself. There was no way he’d be able to lie to her if she finally just asked him. The only problem with that was that Kanon was terrified of what she’d find out through this.

Even if this has to end for one reason or another, it’s better if I know, isn’t it? She thought, opening the door leading to the kitchen as she heard the microwave beep in the distance. At least I’ll be able to prepare myself and maybe, like, try to find my dad or something so I don’t have to be entirely alone. And even if I can’t stay here, it doesn’t mean Yasu and I aren’t going to be friends anymore. If that were the case, he and Hiroko would have already told me that they want me out of here. Yeah, they’re just hiding it from me because they care and don’t know how to tell me that I can’t just stay here with them forever.

Having reassured herself, she walked into the kitchen where Yasu had been fixing lunch for the two of them. Well, fixing was a bit of an exaggeration considering all he’d done was heat up frozen cheeseburgers in the microwave. Still, she didn’t mind it one bit. Everything that had been on her mind for the best few weeks had, for the most part, made her lose her appetite. It’d gotten to the point where she didn’t even care that she was fed crappy food on a daily basis.

“And for the lady,” Yasu said, setting a plate in front of her.

Kanon smiled faintly as she thanked him. Regardless of what she’d told herself and of how necessary the conversation they were about to have was, she still didn’t feel ready for it. Her heartbeat had gotten too fast, and she felt nauseated – although that part could have had something to do with how awful the food smelled.

“Say, Yasu,” she muttered, unsure where to go from there. “I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Huh? Wh-what do you mean avoiding you? We still do stuff together, don’t we?”

He’s trying to defend himself – he is avoiding me but doesn’t know how to tell me. Now I just need to find out why.

“I mean, yeah, sure, we do,” the young woman replied, looking up at him in an attempt to read his facial expression. “But like, it’s not as much as we used to, y’know?”

“I guess I’ve been busy with clients recently. But hey, it’s not my fault everyone just wants their fortune told now that the Tragedy is pretty much over. I wouldn’t say I’ve been avoiding you on purpose.”

“Not on purpose, hm? So, you’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you?”

“Th-that’s not what I said!” Yasu blurted out, making her more suspicious that something was going on. “I just explained to you that I’ve been busy using my talent. I kinda need the money, you know this better than anyone. I’m still in debt!”

“This is such a wack excuse! You’ve been in debt ever since I’ve known you, you idiot. Do you really think I’m so stupid I wouldn’t understand that there is something going on that’s making you not want to spend too much time around me? Do you think I don’t hear you and your mom suddenly going silent as soon as I walk into the room?”

Kanon hadn’t meant to yell any of this. In fact, she didn’t even realize she was shouting until she looked at the man sitting across from her, who was now giving her a concerned look.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—,” she sighed, staring at the cheeseburger she still hadn’t even touched.

“What the hell do you think is going on?”

“You’re gonna think I’m some type of crazy person if I tell you…”

“I already think you’re weird as hell, Kanon-cchi. You tried to kill me, remember? I think I can handle whatever is on your mind.”

Kanon took a short glance at him again, trying to gauge whether he was angry or disappointed with her – only to feel a wave of guilt hit her as she realized that he wasn’t mad at her, and only looked worried instead.

“C’mon,” he insisted. “We’ve—”

“We’ve shared enough things in such a short time that it’s silly to hide things from each other, right? So why the hell are you hiding something from me?”

“I can’t tell you yet,” Yasu sighed, closing his eyes. “You’ll know soon enough, though.”

“When is that?”

“That’s a secret too.”

As Kanon noticed that he was smiling, she shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. She still felt bad for shouting at him and implying that he had been plotting something horrible behind her back, but his reaction had given her the reassurance she needed. If he could still be so concerned and thoughtful, she probably had nothing to fear.

“So, what was that all about?” He asked, loudly chewing on his food. “Man, you really always pick the worst moments to confront me with your worries, don’t you? My burger’s cold now!”

“Hey, maybe it’ll stop you from eating so much garbage,” she teased. “The fact you’ve survived all these years like this is honestly a mystery to me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Kanon-cchi. We aren’t all lucky enough to be the child of one of the most important people in Japanese television, you see.”

She shrugged and took a bite of her own cheeseburger – note to self: they taste even worse when they’re cold –, hoping that this short interaction around their meal would be enough for him to drop the topic. She felt far too embarrassed by her own reaction to be willing to admit to him that she thought he and Hiroko were planning to kick her out. Besides, she was afraid to hurt his feelings about letting him know about this. Somehow, she knew that the fact these thoughts had even popped up in her mind meant that she didn’t fully trust him. Yasu, on the other hand, seemed like he had no such issues with her – this didn’t help with how guilty she felt.

“More seriously, what were you so scared of?”

“Why do you care so much?” Kanon asked, annoyed that he just wasn’t letting it go. “It’s not like it’s bothering me anymore!”

“Because we’re friends.”

“Has it even crossed your mind that I may not want to tell you exactly because we’re friends?”

“What? That makes no sense, unless you were gonna tell me that you started thinking I was avoiding you because you’re secretly madly in love with me and not spending most of your time with me is like, unbearable to you.”

“Wh-what the fuck are you sayin’, Yasu?!” She gasped, holding her face in her hands to hide the fact that her cheeks now most likely were a brighter shade of red than the bottle of ketchup that was on the table. “Where on earth do you get those ideas? It’s not like a girl like me would ever find anything interesting in a weirdo like you!”

“I was just kidding, I swear! No need to tell me about how horrible I am,” Yasu dramatically whined.

“I mean, you’re funny. So maybe you’re not that wack or anything. I’m just, like, way out of your league and stuff,” she laughed, winking at him.

“I wouldn’t go for the crazy chick who started dressing up like an outdated gyaru just to please her cousin, anyway.”

“That was mean,” Kanon replied, looking out the window. “Mean, but fair.”

“Yeah, sorry. I only realized I might have taken it too far with that one when the smile left your face. Still, um…,” he paused, now being the one who was blushing. “You’re pretty when you have all your makeup on too!”

“Nice save, Yasu. Thank you.”

They finished their lunch silently, both of them seemingly lost in thought. Well, Kanon was mostly thankful he’d finally forgotten about the outburst she had had a few minutes prior or had, at least, given up on mentioning and finding out the reason behind her reaction. Besides, she was relieved – the Hagakures were going to tell her to leave, and most likely weren’t even thinking about it. It had all been in her head, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Moments like this one, like sharing a bad, cold lunch with Yasu after spending a while making fun of each other, reminded her of why she had accepted those living conditions in the first place. She felt at ease, like she could be herself without being judged. And this was precious to her. He – his company, his care, and everything he’d given to her – was precious to her, probably a lot more than she was even willing to admit.

“Hey, do you have time to watch a movie this afternoon?” She asked him, hoping he’d say yes so she’d get the chance to make up for the fact she’d been yelling at him for something completely irrational. “You can pick what we watch.”

“Well, I’d love to, but I have one more thing to fix up for tomo—I mean, I have to see a potential client that would like to organize some sort of fortune-telling event tomorrow and we need to set up some extra details.”

Kanon rolled her eyes again. That story was so obviously fake that she couldn’t believe he actually thought she’d buy it. Still, she was happy. It meant that she would find out what he’d been up to tomorrow and wouldn’t have much time to overthink it anymore.

“Alright, alright, maybe we can watch the movie when you come home from that thing tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a plan!”

She smiled at him; her heart filled with joy as she noticed how happy he was that she let him think that she hadn’t figured him out.

[swifteforeverandalways]

Partners in Crime Chapter Five

Notes: The Austins meet their bodyguards in this chapter! Again, if you want to be added to my tag list, let me know!

Tag Squad: @riottstheory @thirst-n-bullshit

Austin Theory and Austin Flynn arrived at the McMahon Family Headquarters at nine in the morning, standing outside. Austin T walked up to the door, knocking on it. Like the last time he had visited the McMahon headquarters, the same dark haired woman answered it.

“Here to talk to my parents?” She asked. Austin T nodded, “Yeah…you were here the last time I stopped by, weren’t you?”

“I was, my name is Paige,” Paige said.

“Hi, I’m Austin Theory, that’s Austin Flynn my pseudo-sister/former foster sister,” Austin T made introductions. Paige smiled and motioned the man shadowing her closer.

The young man shadowing her had short, dark hair and was wearing dark sunglasses. He was dressed in a pair of dark pants and a dark jacket.

“This is Joaquin Wilde, he’s my bodyguard,” Paige said.

“Sup?” Joaquin said with a friendly grin.

“He’s your bodyguard? But he seems so…friendly and not scary,” Austin T said. Paige and Joaquin both laughed.

“Yeah, he does seem like that. But he’s a good bodyguard,” Paige said. Austin T and Austin F exchanged a smile as Paige led them in.

“You’re going to be with Raul and Jake, two of the security officers who work here. Raul, like Joaquin, once worked for a drug cartel. They were the personal bodyguards for the cartel leader, a man only known as El Hijo del Fantasma. After el hijo, for lack of a better word, disappeared, my family recruited them,” Paige said.

“Dude was an ass, kidnapped both me and Raul from our families,” Joaquin interjected.

“And Jake has been a family friend for years, he’s trained at our gym and eventually we recruited him after finding out that he had no family,” Paige finished. Austin T and Austin F nodded as the other two led them back into the McMahon’s main office.

Inside the main office, Stephanie McMahon sat at her desk with Hunter Helmsley-McMahon standing behind her, one giant hand sitting on her shoulder. With them were two other men, both looking late-twenties to early-thirties.

The younger one was slightly shorter than the older, and slightly burlier. He had short, dark hair with a bearding covering his chin and jawline. This man was dressed in a pair of dark pants with a dark undershirt, grey vest, and black over jacket. A dark pair of sunglasses sat on his handsome face.

The other man, slightly older but taller and slightly leaner was wearing dark pants and a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He too had dark hair, but was clean shaven and had a pair of glasses sitting on his face.

“Mom, Dad, here are the two Austins,” Paige said as she walked into the room. Joaquin, meanwhile, walked over to the burlier young man and clapped hands with him.

“I’m Austin Theory, this is my sister, Austin Flynn,” Austin T said, making introductions.

“You can call me A if it’s easier for you,” Austin F said shyly. Stephanie smiled and motioned the two unknown men closer.

“This is Raul Mendoza and Jake Atlas (Stephanie pointed to the burlier man and then the leaner one). They will be your bodyguards,” she said.

“Hola,” Raul said, his voice pleasant with a hint of an accent.

“Hey,” Jake added, a grin spreading across his face.

“H-hi,” Austin T said, his face turning red as Jake looked him up and down.

“Jake,” Raul hissed, elbowing his friend in the side. Jake chuckled and grinned at the two.

“I apologize for mi amigo (my friend), he’s a nice guy deep down,” Raul said. Jake rolled his eyes, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”

“It…it’s okay,” Austin T said shyly. Austin F elbowed her brother in the ribs, giving him a smirk. Austin T rolled his eyes and turned to the bodyguards.

“So are we going to be kept together or is one of you going to be each of our guards….?” Austin T asked. Raul and Jake exchanged a look.

“I guess it is up to you two, if you want us to do you two as a pair, we can. Or we can have one who is the bodyguard for one and the other the other, or it could be a mix of both,” Jake said.

“Both would probably be a good idea,” Austin F said. Raul gave the blonde woman a smile.

“Alrighty, it’s up to you and the other Austin,” he said. Austin F flushed and looked down, her cheeks turning red. Austin T laughed and smiled at Jake, “How about me and you pair up?”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Jake said, grinning back. Austin T glanced down, blushing slightly. There was something about the darker haired man that….made him feel warm inside.

“So you two will be staying with us,” Seth said, “We have an apartment for you.”

“We can’t,” Austin T protested.

“Why not?” Hunter challenged, raising an eyebrow.

“We don’t like taking handouts from people,” Austin F said, “Makes us in debt to them, and we don’t like that.”

“Listen, the Elite wants you two dead. You can accept our bodyguards, but you have to stay in our apartment. Or, you can deny the apartment, but you also don’t get our bodyguards. That’s our only condition to having them, you stay in our apartment,” Stephanie said. Austin T and Austin F exchanged a look before the two of them nodded.

“Okay,” Austin T agreed.

“Good,” Stephanie said.

“Raul and Jake will show you to the apartment. It is armed for our guards, and has a required passcode for entry. We ask that if you leave, you take either Raul or Jake with you,” Hunter added.

“Okay,” Austin T agreed, though somewhat reluctantly. Hunter and Stephanie nodded as the four headed out. Raul and Jake headed to an apartment complex not too far away from the banking headquarters, leading the two Austins into the elevator.

“So do the McMahon’s like own this complex or something?” Austin T asked.

“Pretty much,” Jake said with a grin.

“Us guards live there, as do some of the McMahon kids, though they aren’t really kids anymore,” Raul added.

“So where are you taking us in it?” Austin F asked.

“Twenty-ninth floor belongs to us bodyguards. The first twelve floors contain various meeting rooms with Thirteen through thirty being general apartment floors. Thirty-one through thirty-five are for the McMahon’s themselves with the top, thirty-five, belonging to Mrs. and Mrs. McMahon,” Jake explained. When the elevator reached the twenty-ninth floor, the four stepped out. Raul and Jake led Austin T and Austin F to a room near the back of the floor. Room 2932. Instead of a regular door knob and keyhole, there was a door handle and a keypad next to the door. Raul walked up to the keypad and put in the four digit code. Though Austin F and Austin T couldn’t see the number, Jake knew that the number Raul was punching in was 4057.

Jake grabbed the door handle and turned it, pushing the door open. Raul ushered the Austins inside, and the two looked around in awe. The inside of the apartment was large and well decorated.

“We can show you to yours rooms,” Jake said.

“How many rooms are in this apartment?” Austin T asked.

“Five,” Raul answered as he and Jake led the two Austins to the back area where the rooms were.

“Here are the rooms, Raul and I are staying in the rooms across the hall. If anything, and I mean anything at all, happens, yell for us and we will come running,” Jake said. The two Austins nodded and headed into their rooms.

[voyager-into-the-unknown]

This is another chapter of my ongoing Plance Fanfic, “Days and Nights in the Garden of Voltron”

The previous chapter is here: https://tmblr.co/Z7Ubph2l_c5e7

In honor of Thanksgiving Day in the USA, I present you with an embarrassing dinner table conversation that will water your Plance. 💦🌱 Enjoy!

Please reblog and leave a comment. You can find me on Archive of Our Own as PlanceGardener21. 💙💚

Chapter 11: Lunch with the Paladins

Lance finished his shower and dried off, then dressed in his grey flight instructor’s uniform. He sat down on the bench nearest his locker then picked up his phone and texted Pidge.

Lance: Hey there, Pretty Pidgeon. Are you ready to go to lunch?

There was a long pause. Finally, she answered his text.

Pidge: Hi there, Loverboy. No, I’m not ready yet. I just finished drying my hair. The longer it gets the more trouble it is. I’m still thinking about cutting it short again.

Lance: I hope you don’t do that. You look soooo gorgeous with long hair. 😉

Pidge: 😊 Thanks. But, didn’t you like my hair when it was short?

Lance: Well, I have to admit, you looked totally adorable with short hair, too.

Pidge: You’re sweet. I really need to get dressed now, or we won’t make it to lunch.

Lance: Wait, you’re not dressed?! What are you wearing right now?

Pidge: A towel.

Lance: 😮

Lance: I’d really like to see you in that, you know what I mean? 😉 Do you wanna video chat?

Pidge: No. 🙄 You have such a one-track mind. Stop mentally undressing me, or you’re going to need another cold shower.

Lance: 😂 Too late. 🤣

Pidge: 🙄 Why are you like this?

Lance: Because I’m a guy.

Pidge: Or a perv. I am putting clothes on now. You can go eat lunch if you are hungry.

Lance: No. I intend to escort my lovely girlfriend to the Paladins’ Lounge because I enjoy the pleasure of her company so much. Text me when you’re ready.

Pidge: Okay. Thanks, Sir Lancelot. 😘

Lance: 🥰 You’re welcome, m’lady.

Lance made use of his time by cleaning his armor, straightening his locker and rearranging the contents of his duffel bag. When he finally sat down to continue waiting, he checked the time. They were going to be late for lunch. His phone pinged.

Pidge: I’m ready.

Lance: I’m on my way.

When Lance met Katie in the hallway in front of the women’s locker room, he greeted her with a broad grin and offered her his arm. “Might I escort you to the Paladins’ dining hall, O beautiful maiden?”

She took his arm. “Yes, you may, kind sir.” She eyed him up and down. “You look particularly handsome in your Garrison greys today.”

“Well, you know what they say. A woman can’t resist a man in uniform.” Lance smoothed back his hair with one hand, and gave her his sexiest smile. Then he winked at her and gave her a goofy grin. She giggled at him.

“Alas, it’s a pity that they don’t say that a man can’t resist a woman in a lab coat. These aren’t exactly a fashion statement.”

“Pidge, I wouldn’t be able to resist you even if you were wearing an old burlap sack. I think you’re beautiful no matter what you have on.” She blushed at the compliment, then she sighed.

“I can’t believe that I have fallen for such a smooth talking flirt.”

“You used to hate it when I spoke this way before,” he said, looking more serious.

“That’s because you were using all your best lines on other girls who couldn’t possibly appreciate you as much as I do.”

“Point taken, but I assure you that I am now completely devoted to one special lady, the fair Katie Holt, Queen of Science, Technology, Beauty, and Bad Puns.” He stopped in the middle of the corridor, made an elaborate bow to her and kissed the back of her hand.

Pidge laughed at him. “Well, I am currently swooning over Sir Lancelot, the King of Sharpshooting, Flying, Flirting, and Fun. He’s the King of My Heart as well.”

Lance couldn’t conceal his blushing as he smiled at her. He looked at her with such a tender expression that Pidge nearly melted on the spot. They stood there in the hallway for a moment, lost in each other’s eyes.

The spell was broken when his stomach growled loudly. She gave his belly an affectionate little pat. “If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I’d better feed you. Come on.” Pidge took his hand and led him to the dining area.

When they arrived at the mess hall, they were thankful that the serving line was short. They made their selections and carried their trays over to the Paladins’ Lounge, which was a smaller room set apart from the main dining hall. Allura was seated at one end of the table, with Keith and Shiro seated to her right, and Coran and Romelle to her left. Hunk was sitting by Romelle, directly across from Shay, and Matt was seated between Shay and his mother, with Sam at the head of the table, opposite Allura. There were two vacant seats next to Sam. Pidge sat down next to her father, opposite Colleen, and Lance sat down between Pidge and Hunk, directly across from Matt.

“What took you two so long?” asked Hunk.

“My sister was probably making out with her boyfriend,” Matt teased. Pidge tried not to react, but the heat rose to her face in spite of her best efforts to conceal the truth of his words. Colleen and Sam raised their eyebrows at their daughter. Pidge looked as if she was ready to crawl under the table.

Lance tried his best not to react, but his flushed face gave him away. “I was waiting for her to finish drying her hair,” he said truthfully. Well, it was mostly the truth. “Then I walked with her to lunch.”

“Aw, isn’t that sweet?” said Matt as he batted his eyelashes at his sister and her boyfriend. “Lance is willing to wait for my little sister. Such a gentleman.” He was enjoying this entirely too much.

Romelle raised one eyebrow. “Oh, so the rumors are true, then. Pidge really is being courted by Pointy Chin?!”

“Yup,” said Hunk. He and Matt couldn’t conceal their enjoyment of this revelation.

“I hadn’t heard that rumor,” said Shiro. “But I’m not surprised. You know, all those years we were in space Lance was always showing off for her and clamoring for her attention. And Pidge was always stealing glances at him when she thought no one was looking.” Lance and Pidge were both staring down at their plates as they ate, pretending to be engrossed by Garrison cuisine.

“Really?” said Keith. “I hadn’t noticed that.”

“Clueless Keith,” said Hunk. “He was probably too busy bickering with Allura to notice.” Keith opened his mouth as if to argue, but then closed it again, looking a little embarrassed.

“Well, I think congratulations are in order,” said Shay sweetly. “I think they make a lovely couple.”

“Thanks, Shay,” said Lance. He was determined to ignore all of his other friends who were having too much fun teasing them.

“I wasn’t even aware that Number Five was old enough to choose a mate yet,” said Coran. Pidge covered her eyes with her left hand. Her blush deepened when Lance exclaimed, “Hey! We’re not doing any of that stuff...yet.”

Sam was glaring at Lance, and Lance turned to look at him, looking slightly terrified.

“Uh, we are going to wait until we’re married,” Lance added, his voice cracking.

“That’s so romantic,” Matt said, wiping away imaginary tears. “Aren’t they just the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?” He pretended to swoon. Pidge threw her dinner roll at him. It bounced off of Matt’s forehead and he caught it, then took a bite out of it. Lance swiped Matt’s own untouched roll and put it on Pidge’s plate. She grinned at him. Matt was so busy laughing at them that he hadn’t noticed.

“I found out they were dating when he asked Katie to go to the Garrison Ball with him,” Colleen added. “I almost walked in on them when they were kissing in my laboratory on Friday afternoon.”

“Mom!” Pidge exclaimed.

“Lance apparently spent the whole day at my parents house on Saturday,” Matt said gleefully. “They were ballroom dancing in the living room. My sister even put on a dress.”

There were exaggerated gasps from around the table.

“Lance brought his guitar over and sang for us,” added Colleen. “He wrote her the most beautiful love song.”

“I know they were alone in her bedroom at some point. Who knows what they were up to when they were unchaperoned?” Matt waggled his eyebrows. “I think at some point she got his shirt off—“

“The lyrics were all about falling in love with your best friend.” Colleen was still gushing about the song Lance had written.

“They played some Killbot Phantasm later that night, so of course I had to be a good brother and chaperone them. You never know what an evening of passionate video gaming can lead to—“

“All right,” Sam interrupted in an annoyed voice. “That’s enough, you two.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Pidge said quietly. “Can we talk about something else?” She gave everyone at the table a pleading look.

“I want to hear more about Pidge getting his shirt off,” said Keith with a smirk. Allura kicked him under the table. “Ow!”

Shiro met Sam’s gaze. “So what are the newest developments with the Defenders Project?” Pidge and Lance both relaxed as the conversation shifted toward the development of the land, sea, and air team’s combining vehicles, dynotherms, infracells, megathrusters, and quintessence. Lance was really thankful that Sam and Shiro had rescued them from further embarrassment. He reached for Pidge’s hand under the table and gave it a little squeeze. She smiled at him, knowing that he understood that she felt exactly the same way.

[nunaya-business]

Hi, Let’s Talk About Some Controversial Shit Yeah?

So lately people have been telling Horikoshi Kohei to go kill himself, because they’re trying to be a shitty version of Shane Dawson exploring conspiracy theories that have no right to exist. I don’t even know where to fucking start, but since I’m not a YouTuber, but I’m a writer, I decided to ditch my phone for this one, and am currently typing this shit out on my laptop. Yes, that is how pissed I am.

A new decade and a new start to the shittiness that was 2010-2020. More and more people of the LGBTQ started coming out of the dark and trying to accept who they are to the chagrin of assholes who have no business in their lives anyway. I feel like there’s been a lot more racism here than there was from 2000-2010, or maybe that’s just me. I think it’s because people are getting more vocal with their opinions as the earth goes to shit. We are slowly killing it after all. Not only is there more racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ pricks, and people prejudice against other religions (the prejudice against Muslims is a big one. Poor Muslims, it’ll be okay, Brookie’s on your side), but there are now people who don’t like freedom of speech, or the right to write a story, and people who are just plain pussies because they don’t wike dere wittle feewings huwt 😥. 

I could write for hours about all of those subjects. But since I’m an aspiring writer myself, I picked the right to write. What do I mean by that? I mean the right for an author of any kind to write their story, their way, without these little pussies coming around and being like, “bro can you not mention the Mongols breaking through the Great Wall of China? Yeah, because I’m from a Chinese family and I don’t want to be reminded of my ancestor’s tribulations even though it was 800 years ago. Thanks”. Let me break this shit down like I’m in debate class and my entire University grade depends on me winning this “argument”.

Writing is an art. Duh. People don’t write because they had a good life, I don’t care what anyone says. Writers write because it relieves stress, allows them to get their feelings out in a healthy way, take them away to their own little world in their own special way to escape the hell they’re living through, lets them vent the dark desires and thoughts they may have, and get their opinions out there when they feel like no one listens. Writing is a cure for depression for some people. It’s a healthy kind of drug that doesn’t make someone overdose (unless they’re like me and write’s for hours on end losing sleep and starving themselves just to write an idea down before they forget it). 

People write about what they can’t speak. My mom has this saying “say it forget it, write it regret it”, and in certain contexts that saying is a good moral to have, but that’s not always the case. My mom and I watched the movie “Her” the other day and (spoilers) at the end of the movie, the main character Theodore, who’s a writer, writes a letter to his ex-wife. He writes about how they met, how they grew up together, how they grew to be the best of friends, then lovers, then built a trust they couldn’t replace, and the sorrow he felt when the relationship started crumbling. Joaquin Phoenix did an amazing job lamenting about the character’s past, most likely because he’s been through a lot too, and the character did an astounding job putting his words to paper (or in this case email) and getting out years of stress and sadness so that he can start loving life again.

The point of me describing that scene was to show the impact writing has on some people. It’s the escape they need and sometimes the emotions they feel put into a context where they can explain it all they want without having to waste a breath.

Now, picture if you will, that you’re a writer down on your luck. You have an amazing story to tell and the audience in mind that you want to tell it to, but no one believes in you. They want to alter your story to suit a wider audience, but, you don’t give a shit about appealing to people, you’re telling a story that helped you and may help others too, no matter the money you might lose or recognition you’ll never gain. Imagine that you found a way to both appeal to a wider audience and tell that story you have in your mind’s view. It gets more popular than most media to come out of your country and helps you bring in more than enough money you need to survive. Suddenly people are falling in love with the characters you wrote in more ways than one. People are starting to call it a modern classic and then, you start getting letters from people all around the world telling you how much your writings helped them and that they’re living better lives because they were inspired or motivated by the words you oh so carefully put onto a page, with the art you spent hours, upon days, upon weeks on opening people’s eyes to what they’re capable of.

I may have put some personal shit in that last paragraph, but I was mainly talking about the subject of this... (essay?) Horikoshi Kohei. A man who never gave up because dammit, he had a story to tell and fuck anyone who doesn’t want to hear it. All that matters to real writers is that someone feels special because of the words you put together on a page. Horikoshi puts a lot of time and effort into My Hero Academia, and what does his fans do? They tell him to kill himself because he dared wordplay to get the names of some characters. Y’know it’s funny, I don’t hear a lot of Jews, trans, gay, or Polish people complain about the shit their ancestors went through 70 years ago during the Holocaust like they went through it as well, but I always hear about Korean, Chinese, and Black people (off the top of my head don’t @ me) complain about shit their ancestors went through from 70 all the way back to a thousand years ago. Not to say that everyone in those races do that. because they don’t. I’m sure a majority probably doesn’t give two flying fucks what someone writes as long as they aren’t being personally targeted or threatened. But go on Horikoshi’s Twitter once and tell me that you don’t see hundreds of his followers (mostly Asian) threatening him and criticizing his naming of his characters. If you’re Korean or Chinese and you find issue with the fact that Horikoshi named a mother fucking villain character after a place where your specific race was tortured and experimented on, decades before were even fucking thought of, please tell me why. If you feel personally attacked then you’re... (I don’t wanna use retarded because people will automatically stop reading and DM me about my word choice) doltish. That’s a fancy word for stupid by the way. Maybe if it were one of the heroes named that way then I would completely understand, but it’s not. It’s a fucking villain. 

But hey, what do I know? I’ve never been through shit. I’m just a plain, short and chubby little white girl with a big mouth that’s never been the victim of prejudice or racism. No one’s ever taken a look at me and judged me based on my ancestors or religious choices. No one’s ever made fun of my accent or the color of my skin, or the birth defect that effected my feet and slightly effected my hands. 

Oh by the way, my mom’s a closet Psychopath that wasn’t diagnosed because the rest of the family is too fucking psycho for anyone to notice her torturing animals at a young age. My dad was a Paranoid Schizophrenic with an undiagnosed Psychosis and severe PTSD (diagnosed) that grew up in a home with an abusive father and a mother that was too busy grooming her oldest son (take that how you will) to pay any attention to him. Not to mention she also killed him. It’s not like my dad’s dad was also a psychopath that purposefully killed my unborn brother and laughed when my mom miscarried It’s not like my life was at risk because there was people shooting at my house (where I lived with my grandfather) and I could hear the bullets bouncing off of the trees. It’s not like I was bullied when I was little leading to a brain injury that caused my memory to be fucked up and my speech to slur and stutter. Oh and I definitely didn’t have to start being a second mom to my brother, and an actual mom to my little cousin because my family doesn’t give a fuck how their actions effect others.

I didn’t have the worst life by all means. There’s a lot more people that I know personally that have had it way worse than I have. I’m just saying, don’t take shit so fucking personally. Grow some goddamn balls and stop telling people to go kill themselves because they named a character something you didn’t like. Stop bringing up shit from the past unless people ask about it, or you’re telling you life story. It’s 2020. It’s time to stop being pussies and act like functioning members of society. 

Oh and one last thing. Ya’ll are telling a man to kill himself while the corona virus is spreading like the plague. I think we should be more fucking worried about the fact that humanity could easily be wiped out thanks to the Chinese government silencing a scientist who know about the damn virus a year ago. If anything, we should be targeting them and Trump for being awful, not a poor mangaka that was just word playing with the names of his characters. 

[tippitv]

Supernatural TippiTV Recap: 14-13 “Lebanon”

Okay before we get started. This is a long one and while I think it's pretty funny if I do say so myself, there's also a lot of me just... frickin ranting about John Winchester and rushed plots. If you loved this episode and don't want to see someone snarking about it, this might not be the recap for you.

On the other hand if you're like me and come from the TWoP tradition of snarking about the things we love most, then come on in!

THEN!

Two children talk about how their dad is on a hunting trip and hasn't been home in a while.

Oh wait... holy crap it's Sam and Dean. It took a sec to recognize them without the gravelly voices and almost 14 years of soul-crushing despair.

We also get a reminder of very recent episodes, including the one where Mary learns about the time John threw young Dean's food away because it reminded him of her. It's important to remember what an abusive, hardened asshole John Winchester was... so that we can forget it! Forget it all!

[insert video of recapper letting out a Klingon scream]

NOW!

Sam and Dean mosey on into a pawn shop that I'm positive is in the US because they never leave the US but there's a sign that says the shop buys "jewellery" which is how they spell it in places that also spell "flavor" with a u. Dean flashes a big wad of cash to get the broker to show them "the good stuff."

By this, he means the magical goods, although the secret room looks like a high school drama department prop closet.

Dean says they're looking for the skull of a woman who was executed during the Salem witch trials. While the broker goes looking for it, Sam picks up a teddy bear from, you know, a shelf full of cursed and magical items because it's not as if stuffed animals have ever been dangerous. <cue ironic flashback>

Luckily he's warned away from it before he can unleash some kind of... Pooh demon... probably.

Anyway, it turns out having the skull proves that the broker killed a friend of theirs or something... Honestly, very little of this is going to have any bearing on anything. Long story short, fisticuffs ensue and Dean shoots the broker while he's expositing to Sam. "They always talk too much," Dean says.

Sam and Dean decide to take a bunch of magical items home with them. Although... what if they rightfully belong to other peop---ah screw it.

Okay now... here comes a long, boring subplot about teenagers back in Lebanon, Kansas. The main thing that's pertinent to the show is that Sam and Dean have a certain reputation around town. And no wonder! They park right in front these teenagers and start talking about shit they would never want anyone to hear.

They head into the world's skimpiest liquor store and the owner addresses them as "the Campbell brothers." Say whaaaat? Have they been using their mom's maiden name for a while and I just missed it? I mean, I guess it makes sense because... Actually, I don't remember how much stuff is still in their world about the infamous Winchesters. Like I legit can't remember if Charlie or someone erased their FBI/police records or if it was just some fanon someone told me about.

Also, nothing says "real liquor store" like shelves of bottles turned so that their name brands don't show.

Anyway, Sam stage-whispers to Dean about an ancient Chinese pearl that grants "what your heart desires."

The plan is to get Michael out of his head, but they notice someone is driving off with the Impala. They run out to confront one of the teenagers about it. He confesses that a girl named Max is the culprit, so that we can spend several minutes on this subplot instead of the much more emotional and important main plot.

I mean, we go from the post office to a pizza joint to an old house on the edge of town to catch up to the Impala. Max has apparently brought all that lethal “secret” stuff inside for a party. The camera lingers on that teddy bear again as if it's going to be important to the plot later.

Max, the car thief, has a crush on a girl and ISTG I was prepared to be mad if she died. Like I don't even want this whole subplot at all but I'd be puh-hissed if they had queer characters on just to kill one. Luckily I was wrong and neither of them die. However, the dialog is killing me. "I'm sooo excited for pizza." Tell me you can't imagine Lumpy Space Princess saying that.

Apparently the ghost of John Wayne Gacy (sigh) was waiting for the kids to go in search of pizza before oozing out of a cigar box the Winchesters brought from the pawn shop.

Why is his ghost dressed as a clown? I mean yes I know Gacy was a children's party clown, but it's not like he died in that outfit. Aren't ghosts supposed to be wearing what they died in? OH GOD WHY DO I CARE.

The Winchesters show up and scoot everyone out of the house, but not before at least one kid sees the ghost. Sam zeroes in on the cigar box and Dean points out how Sam's love of serial killers and hatred of clowns are in conflict.

Of course, some of the kids come back in just as the ghost goes up in flames. Sam and Dean decide to just... tell them the whole truth instead of just lying. Like..."Yo, one of the things you stole was secret holographic tech and you could face prison time if you talk about it." See? Easy peasy. Instead, they just trust the kids to never talk about ghosts being real and meeting actual ghost hunters.

I briefly wondered if this was some kind of back door pilot for teen hunters, but I haven't heard anything about that. Granted I didn't actually look that hard.

Once back at the bunker, Sam finds the magic pearl but it's kinda... chalky and medicinal looking. It looks like something Goop would sell to stick up your hoohaw.

Dean decides there's no time to wait because we've already spent too long on teenagers playing hooky. Like, even Sam doesn't really know how to use it. "I guess you just concentrate on what your heart desires," he says, scrunching his face uncertainly. I mean what if this had happened

The music swells dramatically. The lights flicker off dramatically. A shadowy figure approaches... dramatically. Fisticuffs ensue! It's a nice callback to Dean and Sam fighting in the dark in the pilot episode because ta da! It's actually John Winchester! Which we all knew because this was foretold in promotions.

The lights come up, showing... just a whole lot of things for me to process.

Now, at first, things don't seem that weird. We've seen people come back from the dead so many times, it's basically as surprising as buying socks at this point. Except! John isn't back from the dead at all! He's traveled through time! He eventually tells us he's from the year TWO THOUSAND AND THREE. TWO ZERO ZERO THREE.

He's both three years younger than the last time the bros saw him AND 13 years older, because for Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and all the rest of us mortals, time has marched on. Consequently, John Winchester looks like he got stuck in a wormhole for a good while.

Now, kudos to John for recognizing his sons, especially Sam, who looked a little something like this the last time they saw each other.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Palo Alto?" he asks Sam. "And also not a middle-aged man?" he doesn't ask, but I bet he was thinkin' it.

It's just... sigh. I might as well get it all out now. I get what they were going for here. It's the 300th episode and they wanted to have John show up. But because everything is so rushed, they just gloss over anything remotely realistic to the characters. John is all softness and awe the instant the lights go up, instead of bristling and suspicious. Why wouldn't he think it was a djinn or some other creature's doing? "Well we don't have time for him to be as flinty and wary as John would have been in 2003, because we need to get to the part where he spends quality time with his family!" YES EXACTLY. The show is three hundred episodes old now and it deserves more than this speedy treatment put together seemingly for the concomitant promotional opportunity.

Anyway they have a Sit-n-Chat to catch John up on what they've been doing, including the living situation there at the bunker which includes an angel and the son of Lucifer. Goodness only knows what John is picturing.

Now that I think about it, the brothers should be hella wary too. I mean, what if the pearl is cursed? What if John is actually some shambling interdimensional beast masquerading as John? What if the whole thing is just a hallucination brought on by nefarious moon herbs in Paltrow's pookie pearl? They just uncharacteristically seem to rely on the pawn broker's ledger.

Fine! Fine! I’ll drop it.

They talk about how they met John's dad via time travel, too, but don't mention that's why John never saw him again after childhood. They talk about the Men of Letters, finally killing old Yellow Eyes, saving the world... Then just when they're about to tell him that Mary's back from the dead, she actually shows up and starts calling to her sons. What a coincidence! John is pained.

It seems like they didn't tell her, either? Did they just tell her to come over for a surprise or did she just happen to be on her way there anyway? Anyway John and Mary start in on a smoochy reunion so Sam and Dean quietly leave the room.

Sam's like, "How'd this happen?" And Dean's like, "We spent too much time on the teenager subplot instead of looking into this potentially dangerous thing, is how!"

For some reason, John is perusing the library alone instead of... um... making up for lost time with his hot wife. Sam goes to talk to him and finds out Mary's off writing a shopping list for Dean so she can make that emotionally important casserole again. This leads John to admit he fucked up with his kids. Sam is reluctant to blame John because he's had almost 13 years to get over it.

I hate that everyone's acting their little hearts out and all I can think is how painfully contrived the episode is. Whatever problems I have with the writing and the premise, I don't have a problem with the job the actors are doing. Okay, okay, I'm really letting go of it this time.

John rubs Sam's shoulder and tearfully says, "Son, I am so sorry." The cellos of sadness play sadly. "I'm sorry, too," says Sam. "You did your best, Dad. You fought for us, you loved us... that's enough."

It's one thing to decide you're going to move past the shitty, shitty things someone did because you're in the midst of the enormity of what's going on RIGHT NOW. But it's another thing for the show to minimize the past. John did NOT do his best. For fuck's sake, he left a little boy in charge of an even littler boy! Dean knew his Dad was possessed because his REAL dad would never be proud of him! When Dean stole food to feed Sam, John abandoned him to face the consequences!

God damn it I guess I'm not going to let it go, after all!

Anyway, Sam and Dean head into town for groceries and time paradoxes. The liquor store owner no longer recognizes Dean, which is the surest sign that something is Very Wrong. Dean is flabbergasted. "It's me! Dean Campbell! I come in here like... always!"

As Sam heads back to the car, he sees a wanted poster for his bro. It's the old Blue Steel one except I think Sam used to be on it too? He's not anymore. He heads back to the car to tell Dean, but Dean's already been a-googlin' on his phone.

He plays back a video of Sam as a turtleneck-wearing lawyer espousing a raw food diet with plenty of kale. Good lord how much raw food does someone the size of Sam have to eat to fulfill his daily caloric needs?

They kind of hand-wave how these new versions of themselves exist at the same time as the OG versions. "Our timeline is changing to this new one!" Sam says. He says they need to put things back the way they were or they'll be stuck. It's nice of the timeline to work slowly enough that they can figure this out.

Somewhere nearby, the angel Zachariah appears. Castiel moseys up beside him and he's brought some old friends.

They decide to head into the nearest pizza place. The teenagers are there because not even a paradox will get rid of this subplot. "Can I help you?" asks the waitress. I think the usual question would be, "Can I get you a table for two?" but whatever. Zachariah asks her who's been messing with time. "We sensed a disturbance in the, well, let's call it the Force," he says. Naturally, she's very confused, and even more confused when he says they're from Heaven.

He says he'll have Castiel murder everyone if they don't tell him what's going on. To emphasize this, Castiel whips out his angel mojo.

Sam and Dean see the bright light from across the street and come running in. Sam's like, "Zachariah?!" and Dean's like, "Cas?!" and Cas is like, "Is that with one S or two, and also who are you?"

Zachariah exposits that Heaven had big plans for the Winchesters but then their dad suddenly disappeared in 2003. Why wouldn't the angels assume the disappearance and the time event are connected? Why'd they have to just start asking questions in a random pizzeria? Fisticuffs ensue!

Zachariah force-chokes Sam while asking him for an explanation. Why do villains always try to make people talk while they're choking? Pick one or the other! But this gives Sam a chance to surprise Zachariah with an angel blade in the heart. Oh, Zachariah. Destined to die by Winchester in every version.

Meanwhile, Dean and Castiel are still tussling even though I'm pretty sure Castiel could kill them both pretty quick. Sam joins in for a bit, but gets flung into a table. If there's a table around, someone's getting flung into it. Then he goes back to strangling Dean instead of finishing off Sam, giving Sam a chance to make one of those angel-vanquishing sigils with his own blood.

They go back home. Dean explains the whole paradox thing to John. If he doesn't return to 2003, Dean will live the same life but alone, Mary will never have come back to life, and Sam will devastate kale crops like a moose-sized locust.

John agrees to go back. "Me versus your mom, that's not even a choice." That's... a weird way to phrase that dilemma. At the same time, Sam is delivering the news to Mary. He says "the lore is pretty clear" that if they destroy the pearl, everything goes back the way it was. What lore? They knew jack squat about it before they used it. Mary has some questions.

John tells Dean he's proud of him and I slightly expect Dean to whip a gun out on him. "I never meant for this.... I guess I hoped that eventually you get yourself a normal life..a family..."

WHAT.

WHAAAAAT.

He did nothing to prepare them for a normal life! Leaving your kids in motel rooms, never letting them settle down in one school, issuing ultimatums when Sam wanted to go to college? Man, Dean should've been like, "Nah, that was your other son, Adam, who got to live a normal life... at least until a ghoul ate him and his body was used by an archangel." But Dean is nicer than me, I guess. "I have a family," he says.

They decide to eat dinner even though who knows when the timeline is going to snap into place permanently. Oh my God they even take the time to wash the dishes after. They have a nice chat and again, everyone's acting their little hearts out and I'm trying not to be distracted. Dean tells Sam he doesn't want to change the past. "I'm good with who I am. I'm good with who you are." Please let that stick with no reversions to self-loathing and I'll retroactively like this episode more.

They cut to this shot and for a second I thought it was Sam and Dean holding hands at the sink.

Of course it's John and Mary. Sad piano plays sadly. John's not going to remember anything, but the rest of them will. Oh man what if John got Mary pregnant during his visit. Sam and Dean were out shopping for a while. I wish I hadn't thought that, but now that I have, you all have to be witness to my horrible brain's meanderings.

John reiterates that he's proud of them. So this time Sam pulls a gun on him! No, he doesn't. They all hug and cry genuine tears before John goes back to holding hands with Mary. Sam reluctantly smashes the pearl to bits. Seems like Dean would have to be the one to smash it since he's the one who made the wish, but it works and John slowly fades out of the present.

Everything goes back to normal, including the teenagers remembering and loudly discussing the existence of monsters in public.

Castiel returns to the bunker in his newer, homelier coat and less erotically tousled hair. "What happened?" he asks. The response in my brain:

Back in 2003, John wakes up in the Impala to the sound of his flip phone ringing. Smart phones are great and all but man I miss the battery life of my flip. It's the Dean of the day calling to check on him. John, although he's not supposed to remember anything from the future, seems to have experienced it as some kind of dream. He seems nicer, too. This will probably have no bearing on the timeline, though... right?

I mean, is that 2019 casserole still in his stomach? Did the wine turn back into grapes? Probably not but these are the kinds of things I think about.

Sigh.

I feel the episode does a disservice to its main characters. I've already ranted more than enough so I'll just pick one example:

If Sam had gone on to live a normal life, he would've become a cold-hearted douchebag who tells people that hobbies and families are a waste of time. Like, ha ha yes it's amusing that Sam is the leaf-munching Steve Jobs of law, but what's the meaning here? Are we saying that wanting to get an education for himself means he's a selfish asshole? Like this is the alternative to the codependent relationship with Dean that formed because of their father? Argh.

The John apologia is just so clunky and unnecessary. John could've said, "I should've done more than teach you to hunt monsters... prepared you for a normal life so you could have a family." Then Dean ccould say, "Being able to kill monsters kept us alive long enough so that we figured out things for ourselves. And we do have a family." Bam! It lets John be rueful without rewriting the past or having Dean swallow all the years of hurt and it even acknowledges that knowing how to hunt isn't a bad thing.

Thank you for sticking with the recap to the end! I do still intend to recap past episodes but things have been kind of stressful. Just staying afloat has been a chore some days.

For updates and info you can check here: https://www.gofundme.com/winter-rent-and-dog-care

I also have a virtual tip jar of sorts here: https://www.paypal.me/tippiblevins

[camp-campus-universe]

Camp Campus AU: Part 2

Finally! It’s here, after like a week! This took longer than I thought it would, these characters are really hard to draw but I think I’m pretty satisfied with what I have right now. Since I finished this, that also means I dedicate more time to asks, specifically those that requests drawings! That also means I can focus on drawing comics and stuff revolving around their relationships, which I’m excited. I’m really excited to continue with this project and see it grow, and I’m so glad you’re all here to see it with me! You have no idea how grateful I am for all of the love that you’ve all sent so far! Thank you so much. Anyway, without further ado, here we go!

Maxwell/Max : Like many of his peers, Max hasn’t changed much since his time at Camp Campbell. Max is still as vulgar as ever and maintains his pessimistic outlook on life. However, many people think its all just an act now to keep up his reputation. Since Camp Campbell, Max’s life has honestly taken a turn for the better. He has a healthier home life, loyal companions, and Mr. Honeynuts. He is generally happier than he was 7 years prior. The only inner conflict Max truly struggles with now are his budding feelings for his best friend and whether or not he wants to jeopardize their friendship. Also Max is often teased for his “baby” hands, they’re really really small. 

Cornelius/Neil : Intelligent, cocky, and overly sarcastic, Neil plays the role of the parent when it comes to handling Nikki and Max. Unlike his friends, Neil was the only one who matured both physically and mentally and feels as if its his job to make sure Nikki and Max don’t wind up killing someone else or themselves. As mentioned before, Neil and Nikki remained close even after each summer brought an end to their Camp Campbell experience. The reason being his dad and Nikki’s mom eloping and combining the families. While Nikki is eager to invite Neil into her life as the older brother she never had, Neil harbors a sort of resentment towards his dad as a result of his parents’ divorce. Although he is glad to spend time with Nikki as well, Neil is still consciously struggling with his parents’ divorce and can’t help but to think that Candy is a homewrecker, even though he had admitted before that his parents’ relationship was awful. Outside of his home life, Neil can be a bit stuck-up and act like a know-it-all at times. He still harbors a deep loathing for Harrison, now mostly because Harrison claims to be a flat-earther. He’s also still incredibly annoyed by Space Kid, although he has no reason to be. Neil also runs a tutoring business at school in order to make a profit, but unfortunately for him (Or maybe fortunately) Tabii’s his only reoccurring customer. Neil is also Erin’s vice president in the Student Council and they seem to make a great team. He also has custom-made glasses because his nose is so fucking big.

Preston Goodplay : Preston is the stereotypical school thespian. Like at Camp Campbell, he’s outrageous and posses a larger than life attitude. He’s both over-dramatic and overemotional, but refuses to take any form of criticism. Preston is often cast as a main role in any school production and even takes it upon himself to critique his underclassmen in the drama department. Despite coming off as a total wacko, Preston is very talented and each performance that he gives is full of energy. Preston is very particular about his passion and is quick to anger if things don’t go his way. Preston acknowledges his relationship with his of his Camp Campbell peers, but doesn’t really willingly share his interest with any of them because of his fear that they might fuck it all up. However, he and Nikki do bond over some musicals that they both enjoy, although Nikki is usually more interested in the violent parts than the actual plot. 

Rudolph “Dolph” Houston : Dolph is the youngest of the cast and the only underclassmen in their friend group. Dolph continues to remain in high spirits and prefers to think positively than reflect upon the negative when faced with difficult situations. After High school, Dolph plans on attending a local Art College in order to truly embrace his career as a professional artist. Growing older, Dolph, like any other boy, went through puberty and grew facial hair. However, he ended up accidentally shaving it in an incident at Camp Campbell one summer and it never grew up correctly after that. Although an innocent mistake, the uncanny resemblance to Hitler disgusts Neil and causes him to keep his distance. Ironically being the youngest of the group, Dolph is a good friend with sole senior Ered. Dolph, like Nikki, has a great admiration for Ered and respects for activism. Using his artistic talent, Dolph often agrees to make protest signs for Ered or even help her vandalize the town to get a message across. Overall, Dolph is the same sweet boy he was years ago. 

Neil Armstrong Jr./Space Kid : Space Kid is just as optimistic and upbeat as he was before. However, he’s also gotten a lot smarter. Inspired by his great grandfather, Neil Armstrong, Space Kid decided to take up an internship at NASA and since then has put a lot of focus on his grades. Much to Neil’s annoyance, Space Kid’s GPA is practically the same as his, which is impressive. Although, the constant work has taken a toll on him and has made him absolutely exhausted. His exhaustion explains why he comes to school dressed comfortably in pajama pants (NASA merch of course TM) everyday. But regardless of overworking himself, Space Kid still tries his best to put on a happy face for his colleagues, even if they don’t appreciate it. 

Harrison : Exerting the same confidence and pride as before while still upholding his magical title, Harrison is the school’s sole illusionist. Although now his tricks aren’t seen as that impressive anymore among his peers, Harrison often attends parties and other small events and shows off his miraculous talent. He hopes that one day he’ll be discovered and whisked away to a life of fame and fortune. Harrison is kind to practically everyone he meets, but his rivalries with Neil and Nerris remain very alive. As a way to annoy Neil, Harrison often lies and says that he’s a Flat-Earther with no intention of listening to Neil’s explanation as to why the Earth is round. Harrison also rivals Nerris not only in magical skills, but also in opinions. As a die hard Harry Potter fan, Nerris had solely read the books and reluctantly turned to the films but found them to be distasteful. However, Harrison had never read the books and enjoyed the effects that the movies had, claiming that they’re superior. And by saying this, the two renew their fierce opposition to each other, but no one can stay mad at each other forever. Having a mostly positive attitude, many might not believe that Harrison actually has a secret, one that lies beneath his iconic white gloves. But it’s too soon to know for sure what it is yet. 

Gaylord “Nurf” Nurfington : Nurf ended up growing into a model citizen. After many anger management classes and corrective punishment, Nurf has finally turned his life around in the right direction. He and his mom currently live together and support each other, trying to rewrite their bad decisions from the past. Nurf often participates in volunteer work as well as lead a therapy group. He has also experiemnted more with his own identity and is comfortable admitting that he is in fact Bisexual. Nurf is also Quarterback for the school’s team and is known as one of their best players, alongside Nikki. Even though he is on his way to becoming an ideal person, Nurf still displays some aggressive tendencies and is very overprotective of his friends from Camp Campbell. 

The Wood Scouts (Billy “Snake” Nikssilp/Edward Pikeman/Jermy Fartz/Stephen van Petrol) : The Wood Scouts don’t play a particularly large role in this AU, but they still exist in this universe. Edward’s leader status has deteriorated in the group and has become co-dependent on Jermy and his newfound popularity. Jermy had gotten a major glow-up over the last Summer and is now considered to be the hottest guy attending the school. Because of his popularity, Edward now clings to Jermy in a one-sided friendship and uses his popularity as a way to elevate his own confidence (he wants clouts lmao).Snake and Petrol have both noticed this behavior from Edward and are disgusted by his attachment to Jermy. Edward often neglects his friendship with the two and refuses to associate with them. Snake still has a small crush on Tabii, but understands that she is completely invested in Neil and wants what’s best for her. Petrol plans to enroll in the military after graduation. He also struggles to find shirts that fit him.

David & Gwen : Here they are! In all of their glory! Unfortunately this time around, David and Gwen don’t play as large of a role in the campers’ lives, but are still actively present in this AU. Summers back, David had fully encouraged Gwen to leave Camp Campbell in search for other job opportunities in the hopes of making her a happier person. With some persuading, she eventually left and the two had little contact with each other since. Since then, David has been running the camp by himself. Now David is the proud father of one. And that one is Max. David had officially adopted Max a few summers ago to help him out of his bad family situation and now lives his life as a proud suburban dad. David then started to rely on Max to help him co-counsel the Camp during the summer, because he though it’d be a great father/son bonding experience and the rest is history. When he’s not a happy-go-lucky camp counselor during the summer, David spends the rest of his time as a Dental Assistant because he loves nothing more than to see people smile. Gwen, however, didn’t find the happiness she thought she would after leaving Camp Campbell. Searching for jobs endlessly, Gwen eventually was hired as a high school guidance counselor but was fired months after because of a incident where she made a student cry hysterically. Gwen was then stripped of her title and sentenced to a secretary position. Although thankful she still has a job, Gwen is as miserable as ever and has to deal with the kids she once knew from Camp Campbell. Most of her time is spent with Max, purely because he’s given a detention every other day, and she couldn’t hate her life more. Hopefully one day Gwen will find the fortune she deserves.  

[ofstormsandwolves]

The Whirlwind

Giles/Joyce, Faith/Buffy

Modern/ human AU

Some warnings for implied child abuse or neglect, as well as Spike being a bit creepy.

A/N: (Because this post wouldn’t stop bugging me)

Read on AO3 (account needed)

When Buffy and her friends decide to go see a new band at the Bronze, nothing turns out quite like they thought.

The summer sun was as hot as ever as Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg wandered along the sidewalk of Sunnydale’s Main Street. They were heading into their junior year, and while Willow chatted excitedly about all the summer reading she had done in preparation for the new school year, Buffy found her mind- and her eyes- wandering to the posters advertising the last of the summer fun before school started back up. One in particular caused her to ground to a halt, let out a laugh, and whip out her cell phone to snap a picture. Beside her, Willow slowed to a stop too, frowning in confusion until she saw what Buffy had seen.

“Sorry,” Buffy laughed as her fingers typed out a quick message on her phone, “had to send this to Faith. She’s going to love it.”

“Anyone would,” Willow responded dutifully, though she sounded less certain. “It’s very... Interesting.”

“They look like they’ve fallen out of the 90s.” Buffy complained, scrunching her nose up at the poster and pocketing her phone.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed next to her, frowning at the picture, “except the girl looks like she came from the 1890s.”

The two girls were so busy scowling at the watermarked, dog-eared poster taped to the wall outside the Espresso Pump that they didn’t even hear footsteps behind them.

“What we looking at?” Xander asked his two friends with a frown as he came up behind them.

Both girls jumped, and turned to glare at him. He gave an embarrassed smile as he realised he’d scared them, and raised a hand in greeting.

“New band’s playing at the Bronze tonight,” Buffy explained, nodding towards the poster she and Will had been staring at. “We can’t decide whether they’re going for the whole retro vibe ironically, or whether they actually think it looks good.”

Xander frowned, and peered past the girls to the poster on the wall. There was a black and white photo in the middle, showing two guys and a girl. Both guys were in leather jackets, one with dark hair and one with platinum blonde, and both giving their best broody stares at a point somewhere above the camera. Next to the dark-haired man was the girl, with equally dark hair and wearing a long dress. Her gaze seemed to bore right into Xander’s soul. He shuddered.

“I don’t know whether they think it looks good, but I’m certainly not going to tell them otherwise,” he told the girls with a nervous laugh. “Not unless I want to wake up in a shipping container somewhere.”

“They’re pretty creepy-looking,” Willow agreed as she surveyed the poster again.

But Buffy rolled her eyes. “Please,” she told her friends, “they’re just trying to play it cool. I saw so many guys like this when I lived in LA. Besides, they call themselves ‘The Whirlwind’. Not exactly fear-inducing.”

As one, they turned and started to walk away from the poster and down the street.

“So, are we going to be checking out the oh-so-terrifying band at the Bronze?” Xander asked conversationally as they walked down the main street. “Because I for one would love to get out of the house tonight.”

At his words, both Buffy and Willow looked up at their friend in concern.

“Xander?” Willow asked cautiously. “Everything alright at home?”

Xander shrugged, and tried to brush off their concern. “As alright as it usually is.” He kept his eyes fixed on a point up ahead of them, rather than looking to either of his friends. He didn’t notice Buffy and Willow exchange knowing, worried looks.

“You know you can always stay at mine, right?” Buffy asked after a moment. “My parents don’t mind. The spare room’s set up and everything.”

At her words, Xander flashed her a brief smile, but Buffy got the distinct impression it was more to placate her than anything. Xander hated the idea of people knowing just how awful his home life was, and he hated it even more when Buffy’s mom and step-dad knew about it too.

There was a heavy silence before Xander finally spoke. “How many questions are they going to ask?”

Buffy shrugged. “Mom will want to know that you’re ok, and Giles is question-guy as you know, but I can call and explain everything before we even get to mine if you want? Make it clear to them you don’t really feel like talking. They’ll still offer to listen, but I should be able to convince them not to be too bad.”

Willow was nodding along with everything Buffy was saying. “And the Bronze is still doing their ‘summer spectacular’!” Willow reminded them excitedly. “Which means they’re letting anyone over fifteen in. Which means we can totally go to the Bronze and check out that band! Then you won’t even be at Buffy’s house much, other than to sleep.”

Finally, Xander properly looked over at his two friends and gave them a more genuine smile. “Sounds good,” he admitted. “My folks are out right now, so would you mind if we headed to mine so I could pack some stuff?”

Both girls grinned at their friend then.

“Sure,” Buffy smiled. “Lead the way.”

 Once they picked up Xander’s things, the three of them agreed to head over to Buffy’s house until they headed to the Bronze that evening.

“Is Faith meeting us there?” Willow asked Buffy, giving her a knowing grin.

Buffy nodded, and blushed a little. “Yeah. She said she might have to sneak out, though. Gwen’s been on her back about getting prepared for school, even though we’ve got a whole other week before term starts.”

“And here I thought adoption meant you got a loving home,” Xander deadpanned as they made their way down Buffy’s street. At his words, Willow raised an eyebrow, and he flushed a little. “What? I just meant Gwen’s pretty hard on Faith sometimes. She comes across pretty scary, and it’s not exactly what you think of when you think ‘adoption’.”

Willow opened her mouth to say something, but Buffy beat her to it.

“He’s right. Maternal instincts and Gwendolyn Post don’t belong in the same sentence. I mean, she’s alright I guess. And if she hadn’t adopted Faith, I never would have met her, but... Well, Gwen sort of makes me uncomfortable sometimes. It’s why Faith and I hang out at mine more than hers. I mean, my mom and Giles can be annoying, but at least they give us space. Gwen’s always hovering, like she thinks we’re up to something suspicious.”

“Of course you are,” Xander teased. “You and Faith are bad girls. Delinquents. With your leather jackets, and skipping class to smooch behind the gym.”

Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled a little at Xander’s words, as Willow giggled.

“Well, where else would they smooch?” Willow joined in. “They can’t smooch behind the library, otherwise Giles would find out.”

“Ok, I admit, Faith and I aren’t exactly model students. But Gwen runs that house like it’s a prison at times, you know? Like Faith’s being punished. She’s just very controlling, and I know Faith hates it.”

By now, they had reached 1630 Revello Drive, and made their way up the path. As they reached the porch, the front door swung open to reveal Giles in the doorway.

“Thought I heard you coming,” he told them with a small smile.

At his words, Buffy froze momentarily. While her dislike of her girlfriend’s adopted mom was well-known, she still didn’t feel all that comfortable with her step-dad hearing her bad-mouthing her. But Giles just smiled wider when he saw Buffy’s reaction.

“I didn’t hear you, Buffy. I was in the dining room doing some work and I saw you coming up the path.”

Buffy’s shoulders sagged in relief, and she stepped into the house, Willow and Xander just behind her. As Xander passed Giles with his rucksack slung over his shoulder, Giles’s smile faltered for a split second before he regained it. He clapped the younger man on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Did you want to run your things upstairs now, Xander? Buffy did call to say you were going to be staying the night.”

For a brief second, Xander froze, before slowly meeting Giles’s gaze. He could see the unspoken offer of listening to his problems in the older man’s eyes, but he could also see that Giles was relaxed and calm. He wasn’t pushing. If there was one thing he had learned about Buffy’s step-dad in the year he had known him, it was that Rupert Giles didn’t force anyone to talk about things they didn’t want to.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll just take it up now.” Xander hurried up the stairs, relieved that Giles hadn’t tried to push him into anything.

“Real subtle, Giles,” Buffy groused as Xander disappeared upstairs.

Giles frowned. “Buffy, I didn’t say anything.”

Buffy rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “You might as well have. Geez. I hope Mom’s more subtle than you when she gets in from work.”

Giles raised his eyebrows, but before he could respond, Willow interrupted.

“So, uh, I finished that book you leant me,” she told Giles a little nervously. “It was really good.”

Somewhat startled by the change in topic, but pleased by Willow’s words, Giles turned his attention to the redhead. “Yes, well. I had hoped you’d find it interesting. I know you had enjoyed learning about the witch trials in history last year, and that book goes a little more in-depth than the ones you were using for class.”

“Oh, definitely!” Willow agreed excitedly. “We barely even covered half the stuff in that book while we were in class-”

As Willow continued to talk excitedly with Giles, Buffy rolled her eyes and headed to the kitchen for a drink.

 “Now, are you sure you’ve got enough money?” Joyce asked for the umpteenth time as the three teens piled out of her Jeep a block away from the Bronze.

“Yes, Mom,” Buffy sighed, folding her arms across her chest. It was bad enough that her mom had insisted on running her, Will, and Xander to the club, but now she wouldn’t even just drop them off and leave.

“I’m just checking, sweetheart,” Joyce responded calmly, before turning her attention to Willow and Xander. “What about you two? You mentioned getting food here?”

“I’m fine,” Willow smiled awkwardly. “But thanks, Joyce.”

Xander, however, shifted uncomfortably and remained silent. There was an awkward pause.

“Well,” Joyce said suddenly as she dug through her purse, “I had some money left over from when I bought Buffy’s new school books, so how about you guys take this.” She pressed a $20 bill into Xander’s hands.

The boy blinked, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He did the same again, with the same result. Then, a little shakily: “I... I can’t take this, Joyce. Honestly, I’m fine-”

“The four of you can order one of those appetiser platters they do, once Faith gets here,” Joyce responded calmly. “That should be enough to cover the food and a drink each.” She turned her attention back to her daughter. “Now, you’ll call me when you guys want to come home? Either me or Rupert will come pick you up.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom,” she repeated, even more frustrated than before.

Joyce just gave her an indulgent smile, waved at the kids, and drove off. As the three of them started down the sidewalk to the Bronze, Xander tried to press the money into Buffy’s hand.

“You should take this,” he said, still sounding a little shaky. “It’s your money.”

“Xander-” Buffy began, before seeing the look on her friend’s face. She took the money, and gave him a slightly teasing smile. “Suppose I’d better keep it safe so you can’t lose it.”

Xander gave her a little half-smile, grateful. “Exactly.”

As the neared the Bronze, they could say the queue of teens waiting to get inside.

“Hey, B!”

Right near the front of the queue, and waving frantically, was Faith. With a grin, Buffy led the way over to the queue and slide in next to her girlfriend, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Behind them there were a few wolf-whistles, but mostly it was just people complaining about the three queue-jumpers.

“Uh, Faith,” Willow started cautiously, “not that I don’t appreciate you getting here early and all, but I don’t think people are too happy we queue-jumped.”

But Faith shrugged and slung an arm around Buffy’s shoulders. “Screw them, Red. People save their friends’ places in queues all the time. What are they gonna do, fight me?”

“Maybe,” Willow squeaked, going wide-eyed at the thought of a fight breaking out.

“Yeah, well, I could take them.” Faith sniffed, and glanced over her shoulder at the teens who were still glaring at her.

Xander followed her gaze and swallowed as he saw several of the senior jocks glaring at him. “As much as I’d love to see that, I’d rather we got through the night without any big fights.”

Faith frowned at Xander, noting he seemed a little down, before glancing to Buffy, who shook her head. “Your loss, man. I’m wicked good in a fight.”

 The Bronze was, inevitably, packed. They managed to bag a table tucked away in the corner near the stage, and Willow and Xander headed off to the bar for food and drinks with the money Joyce had given them.

“Xander at yours again tonight?” Faith asked one the boy was out of earshot.

Buffy nodded. “He wouldn’t tell us what happened, but he packed quite a lot of stuff this time,” she admitted quietly. “I was going to speak with Mom and Giles about him staying for a few more nights.”

“Man, that sucks,” Faith frowned, staring across the dance floor to the bar where Willow and Xander were queuing. “Like, I know Gwen gets on my back sometimes, but I never feel like I’m not welcome, you know?” She paused. “Ok, sometimes I feel like I can’t leave, but that’s a whole different issue.”

Buffy smiled, and entwined her girlfriend’s fingers with hers. “You know you could come stay over too. My parents don’t mind.”

Faith shrugged, trying to look like it wasn’t a big deal, but Buffy could see the look in her eyes that said she was considering it.

“So is that lame band you sent me a pic of playing tonight?” Faith asked as she glanced towards the stage.

“Yep,” Buffy grinned. “I don’t know whether I want them to be as terrible as they look or not, you know? Like, on the one hand it would be really funny if they were terrible, but at the same time I don’t want to spend my night listening to awful music.”

It was at that point that Willow and Xander came back with their drinks.

“What are we talking about?” Xander asked as he placed a Diet Coke in front of Buffy and took a seat.

“The band,” Buffy explained before taking a sip of her drink.

“B can’t decide whether she wants them to be good or bad,” Faith grinned. “I’m leaning more towards bad. I could do with a good laugh.”

Willow frowned. “But then we can’t dance! We’d be too busy with the, the laughing, and the choking on the food, and stuff.”

Buffy grinned at that. “I’ll still dance with you, Will. We can leave Faith and Xander to their laughing while we get our dance on.”

Xander raised an eyebrow at Buffy, and affected a mock-offended tone. “Who said I’d be laughing? I never said I’d be laughing.”

“No,” Buffy admitted, “but I know you too well to know you wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face.”

“True,” Xander conceded, raising his drink in a gesture of agreement before taking a sip.

“Yeah,” Faith chimed in, “and B knows I can’t keep anythin’ straight, either.”

At Faith’s words, Xander choked on his sip of Coke, and Willow patted him on the back. It was while that was happening that three people walked onto the stage and Faith let out an amused laugh, grabbing on to Buffy’s arm.

“They seriously dress like that?” Faith grinned, staring as the band began to prepare for their first set. “This is going to be amazing!”

The Whirlwind, it seemed, was every bit as cheesy as their poster had suggested. While the woman took up her position behind the drums, the two men took up their positions behind the microphones, guitars at the ready.

“Is it me,” Xander asked quietly, eyes still on the band, “or are they missing a bass guitarist?”

Sure enough, both men were playing lead guitar, and given the glares they kept giving each other, there was apparently some rivalry there. The woman behind the drum kit either didn’t notice the tension between her band mates, or she didn’t care, as she gazed idly around the club. There was an awkwardly long pause before the band started playing, during which Faith, Buffy, Xander, and Willow all exchanged uncomfortable looks. Then, the drummer seemed to wake up a bit, and she started counting the band in.

To say that they were terrible would be unfair, Buffy decided quickly, but they certainly weren’t good. For a start, the two singers were constantly trying to sing louder than the other in some sort of bizarre in-band sing-off, and the drummer quite literally seemed to march to the beat of her own drum as she changed the tempo several times seemingly on a whim.

“I’d like to say things can’t get weirder,” Willow whispered as the band finished their second song, “but I think it just might.”

The third song started up just as a waitress brought over their appetisers. The few moments of distraction were enough for something truly odd to happen onstage. Faith snorted with laughter, Willow and Xander exchanged amused glances, and Buffy accidentally swallowed an ice chip from her drink as they saw the drummer had dropped her drumsticks and instead pulled a tambourine out from somewhere and start shaking and beating that instead.

“You should have seen their rehearsals,” the waitress told them somewhat mournfully. “I’m not being paid enough to listen to this on repeat. I told my manager I wanted a raise if this band were going to play here on a regular basis, but I don’t think he took me seriously.”

“Oh come on,” Faith grinned at the waitress, “you’ve got to find this at least a bit funny.”

“Why?” the waitress responded with a frown. “Their tempo is all over the place, the two singers are having some sort of testosterone-fuelled music battle onstage, and it’s giving me a migraine.” She pouted. “And if that’s not bad enough, I can’t even avoid them on campus.”

“They’re students?” Willow asked. “Huh. Maybe they’re not bad, maybe they’re drunk.”

But the waitress shook her head. “Believe me; no amount of alcohol can justify their attempt at music.”

Xander had been silent for the whole conversation, and when Buffy looked over at him she saw he was instead staring, wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the waitress, who seemed oblivious to him.

“- I told the manager they weren’t very good. I’d been made to sit through some of their on-campus gigs last year, and they were just as bad then. In fact, I think they’ve gotten worse. Maybe they’re cursed. But all my manager said was ‘oh, Anya, you have such a funny sense of humour’.” She paused, frowned. “I wasn’t laughing. Why would he think I was joking?”

Under the table, Buffy kicked Xander’s shin, and he jolted. Beside her, Buffy could feel Faith shaking with silent laughter, but Buffy ignored her.

“Anyway,” Anya continued with a scowl. “Enjoy your appetisers, and I hope this racket doesn’t make you want to vomit.”

She stalked off back towards the bar. 

It was Buffy’s round, and she headed off to the bar to order everyone some more Cokes- normal for Faith, Xander, and Will, and diet for her. She placed her order and was waiting on the drinks when she became aware of a man leaning against the bar watching her. Hesitantly, she glanced over. It was the blonde man from The Whirlwind, smirking at her as he stared.

“Uh, hi,” Buffy said nervously. “Good set.” She gestured towards the stage, where the band’s gear was waiting between sets.

“Thanks,” the blonde man said, and Buffy was surprised to hear a British accent. “Now, what’s a pretty girl like you doing here alone?”

He stepped closer, and immediately Buffy felt red flags go up in her head. 

“I- I’m not alone,” Buffy said shakily, glancing across the dance floor to their table. “I’m here with some friends.” 

Faith was too busy laughing at something Xander had said to see the worried expression on her girlfriend’s face, and Buffy found herself silently begging her to notice what was happening at the bar.

“Well,” the man said, and suddenly he was even closer, “not very nice friends, leaving you to get the drinks yourself.” He grinned down at her, and thrust a hand out for Buffy to shake. “William. But my friends call me Spike.”

Buffy shook his hand, but said nothing.Spike frowned. “What? A pretty girl like you doesn’t have a name?”

No, Buffy thought, I just don’t want to tell you.

“Here we are,” came Anya’s overly-cheerful voice as she set the Cokes down on the bar. “How about I help you take these to your table?”

Buffy blinked, and looked to the older girl in surprise. But she saw that Anya wasn’t even looking at her; she was glaring at Spike. 

“Thanks.”

Anya’s gaze flitted from Spike to Buffy then, and her expression softened into a smile. “All part of the service.”

Anya made her way around the bar and picked up two of the drinks while Buffy picked up the other two. But as they headed back across the dance floor, Spike trailed after them. 

As they neared the table, Faith seemed to notice something was wrong, as she got to her feet. Anya set the drinks down on the table, before turning to give Spike another glare. 

“What do you want, William?” she asked in annoyance. “Leave the girl alone.”

That got the attention of Faith, Xander, and Willow.

“What the hell?” Faith asked, still on her feet and looking ready to vault the table if needed. She turned to Buffy. “Did this creep do something to you, B?”

Buffy shook her head, unsure whether to speak, and if so what to say. But it was then that the dark-haired man from the band showed up, looking both irritated and apologetic.

“There you are,” he growled at Spike. “What the hell are you doing?”

Spike shrugged. “Just a bit of harmless flirting. The girl was looking lonely. Thought I’d say hello.” He flashed Buffy another smirk. 

She stepped closer to Faith.The dark-haired man glared at his band mate, and quickly turned to Buffy. 

“I’m so sorry,” he said quickly, “it’s just my friend here doesn’t seem to understand personal boundaries.” He growled the last part while looking pointedly at Spike. Taking a breath, he returned his attention to Buffy. “Look, can I buy you and your friends a drink, or something? Some snacks?”

“It’s ok,” Buffy insisted, though there was no fight in her voice. Willow and Xander watched her in concern.

“I’m, uh, Angel, by the way,” the dark-haired man said. “Again, I’m really sorry about Spike.”

Spike glared. “Oi. I don’t need you apologising for me.”

Angel clenched his jaw. “Clearly you do, else I wouldn’t be over here in the first place. Now come on, our set’s about to start.”

Angel stalked off, hands shoved in his jean pockets. Spike stayed where he was, a picture of defiance and attitude, but when Anya levelled him with a glare and Faith slung her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders, he sloped off with a sneer.

“Give me a shout if he bothers you again,” Anya told them, watching Spike leave. “I’ve wanted to go at William since he tried to cheat off me in our Historical Literature final last year.” 

Then she too walked off, and Buffy sank into her seat, reaching for her drink.

“You ok, babe?” Faith asked as she settled into her own seat.

Buffy nodded, but was clearly shaken.

“Hey, how about we blow this joint?” Xander suggested, before taking a large gulp of his drink. “It’s not even nine yet, maybe we could go back to Buffy’s and watch a movie?”

“That sounds good,” Willow admitted. “What do you think, Buff?”

Buffy nodded again, and this time managed to force a smile. “Sounds good,” she admitted softly. “I’ll call Mom.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, but Faith got to her feet, grabbing her drink. 

“It’ll be less noisy if we call from outside,” she told the others. “Besides, not sure I can take much more of bleach-blonde’s creepy stares.” 

She gestured towards the stage with her chin, where Spike was glaring at them as he started to holler the words to the latest song.The group agreed, and gathered their drinks as they prepared to leave. As they did so, Angel caught Faith’s eye, giving her a small nod. She gave a single nod back, silently telling the man that they were ok, before slipping an arm around Buffy’s waist and steering them all towards the exit.

Behind them, The Whirlwind continued to play.

[soaringlanddormitory]

@polar-stars I hope you know I love you lots and because you mentioned about wanting a full fledged fic about something... here you go! <3 <3 I hope this is good enough for you ahhh

Chieko got inside the car and Shigeo followed. She finally got to know the name of the male, and she was thankful that he wasn’t a “complete stranger” to her anymore... He may be a complete mystery to her as of the moment, but she believed that she could trust him. He wouldn’t save her out of nowhere for no reason. People inside the Yakuza do not work that way. 

She leaned on the chair and she kept glancing at the male beside her. Shigeo Eizan. That was his name, but there was something about his name that rang a bell.

“What are you thinking about, Chieko Marui?” He was able to notice her stare and she quickly shifted her position to look out the window. “I know you’re smart and that you’re a quick thinker.” He grinned a bit, showing a bit of interest to her. “But despite how great you are, you will not be able to read me.”

The girl knew this. She barely knew anything about him, there was only some information she could confirm, but not any information she’d be able to guess. She was too used to the atmosphere of the Ibusaki family. 

The feeling she had around him was completely different. 

She felt that he was deadly and that he could be greatly feared by many, but she didn’t understand why she’d be able to depend on him. He only saved her life once. She wouldn’t know if he was planning to stab her on the back all along.

“I know that very well.” She finally answers his question before she sighed while looking out the window. “You’re part of the Yakuza. People like you are always hard to read.” She was confident in her reply, but she turned around to stare at him. “But right back at you. You might have protected people before, but I’m not a simple girl who needs protection. It will be hard to read me too.”

He could tell that a week with this girl will be unforgettable. He knew this from that start. She already gave him a great first impression, and he believed that he’d only see her in a greater light.

“You’re interesting.” His grin disappeared off his face, but he wanted to keep his amusement to himself. “You aren’t those kind of “princesses” who are damsels in distress.” He stopped looking at her and he began thinking about the past. “This is why I never go past a week with the people I protect. A lot of them go on my nerves.”

He may not be loyal to the people he protected, but he wanted to bring up his family name. He was an excellent Yakuza member, yet he only protected people while the deal was there. If the deal was done, he wouldn’t even bother to place his life at risk for them.

This was one thing Chieko took note of inside her head. She wouldn’t be able to know if she’d be able to stay in his good side for a whole week. She relaxed slightly since he began showing a part of himself. “I see.” She didn’t know how to respond to him after the whole thing he mentioned. 

Did he say that to scare her? To make her feel as if she’s unprotected only because he’s only going to be there for a week?

“Even if you’re gone in a week, I do think that the Ibusaki family is perfectly capable of protecting me.” She had some confidence in her to say this to someone who she’d have to stay with for a week. “And I’m also perfectly capable of protecting myself.”

“I believe that.” He quickly tells her this before he went back to looking at her eyes. He noticed that it was burning with something, and he liked that spark of her determination flickered inside of it. “The fact you were able to aim so perfectly made me believe that you only need a gun to survive by yourself.” He smirked.

She nodded slightly. “I can definitely do that.” She tells him this before she sighs. “I am thankful that you protected me, don’t get it wrong. But I dislike it when people think I can’t protect myself only because I have people around me. Using my intelligence, memory and my skills in the weaponry I studied...” she made a gesture of a gun with her hands. “I think I’d be able to last some days. More days than what other people would expect.”

Yes. That was the kind of people he liked. People who were independent and strong.

“Makes me glad that I don’t need to stick with you all the time.” He did like how she acted, but he hoped it wasn’t just to impress him. Who knows? Maybe the shot a moment ago was just a lucky one? He wouldn’t be able to know that. It seemed too accurate and precise to be lucky, but some people had that kind of power in them.

“You don’t need to.” She nods her head. “Do whatever you want in the span of a week. I wouldn’t really care unless you hurt someone close to me. You’re here to protect me but it doesn’t mean I control you.” 

“I’m glad that we agree with that.” 

People he protected commanded him around and they shrieked when they saw an enemy nearby. The woman who he was with only followed whatever he had to say and even was brave enough to keep quiet and trust him. 

There was an awkward silence between the two for a short moment and Chieko brought up another question after a few minutes. “Can I ask who called you to protect me?” 

She was truly curious on who it could be, since her family only trusted one Yakuza gang for their whole life, knowing that there was someone else for the first time made her wonder who and why everything was happening.

“Your father.” He answers, since he didn’t believe it was something to be kept from her. “He must care for you a lot. He normally doesn’t trust the Eizans, but he chose to trust us to make sure you’ll come out of this week alive.” 

She was confused about the statement. Does this mean that people were specifically aiming for her family? Her face paled a bit, not because she was worried about herself but... “Are my parents okay?” She asks, her face filled with concern. 

He noticed the sudden change of her expression, but he did notice that she was much more selfless than he expected in this situation. Normally, people will be worried about themselves if their like was at stake, but here she was- thinking of her parents more. “And if I tell you they aren’t?” 

The silence started again and she closed her eyes.

“If that’s the case, leave me and protect them. My dad would be worried endlessly and if his worry takes over, it could be the end of him. My mom is inexperienced when handling weapons besides a bow and arrow, but that i nothing compared to a gun.” Her hands was shaking and she clutched them tightly. “I wouldn’t want to go back home without seeing my parents.”

He leaned on the chair and thought of the possible realities that may happen, he was sure that people have a chance of dying. “That’s understandable.” He grinned. “But I was only joking round, of course your parents would be protected. Your parents are both being protected by the usual Yakuza gang, but also by the Kuga gang. You, however, is protected by yours truly.” A smirk emerged on his lips. “Of course, I’m better than whatever that gang can offer.”

She was hesitant to believe him because her best friend was a talented Yakuza member, but it would make sense that he was better since Shigeo Eizan was hired for additional protection. “That joke was not funny.” Those were the first words that came out of her mouth. “But why am I specifically protected by only you?”

Shigeo chuckled. “And why are you interested?”

“It was not me being interested. It was me being curious.”

The delighted look did not disappear. “It seems like the same thing to me.” He crossed his legs. “But the main reason why I was chosen to protect you is because I’m one of the most skilled mafia members out there. My father is a head of a gang, while my mother may be from a rich family, but after getting married to my father, she learned how to handle weapons.” 

“Okay. Makes sense. But because your father taught her that... How about you teach me how to fight too?”

Shigeo raised an eyebrow. “Do you think you can learn in a span of a week?”

“I can learn it in a span of three days.”

The eyes of Shigeo widened, this was the second time he was able to be truly in awe by this girl. She actually believed that? People take more than a week to learn how to use a gun perfectly, and now she believes she can do it quicker than that? “Do you actually imagine yourself wielding a gun and shooting perfectly in only that amount of days?”

“Yes.” Her eyes had some fighting spirit in it. “If it’s to be able to protect myself, my parents and bring pride to my family. I’ll gladly do it. My parents would get to see the truth that I can fight by myself, and I wouldn’t need a man to protect me.”

The car finally stopped at the destination and Shigeo gave her the same gun she used. “You really are different.” He grabs her hand and kisses it. “Not a “princess”, but a fighter.” 

A blush came to the cheeks of Chieko and she tried to not stutter over her words. “I was never a princess.”

“I can see that now.” He grinned. “You seem like you were born a fighter.”

He released her hand. “Keep the gun. It’s yours now.” He opened the door of the car, and looked around. “I’ll teach you behind your parents back, this was not part of the deal. I’ll have to teach you at night, because it would not be suspicious to be with you at that time because I have to protect you at that time the most.” He went out of the door and leaded her outside the car. “Keep it as a secret.”

It might have been only a short amount of time in meeting this mysterious person, but she does have to trust him- now that she knew his reasons and he never hesitated with any words he said. “I will.” 

“Secondly, don’t tell Ibusaki Yasu either.”

“Why is that? He’s my best friend.”

He looked back at the female. “No normal Yakuza member will teach someone how to use a gun unless they’re in the same gang. That’s a stupid move, and if they were to teach them, they would have to get paid a lot.”

Chieko squinted at him to see if there was any hints of him being a liar. He may have got her trust, or tried flustering her with his charisma- but she had to double check. He was telling the truth. “Fine. I won’t.”

He grinned a bit and he looked back at the large house that was in front of him. “That’s great then, Miss Chieko Marui. I’ll teach you the ways of the Yakuza, but you have to be ready to deal with being more than just a “simple rich woman” for those three days.”

“I’ve always wanted to be more than that.” For the first time Chieko smiled a bit, because someone believed she was more than what meets the eye. “So I don’t see a problem with that.

“In just an hour more or less, you’re already the person who I favor most.”

The compliment made her blush a bit, but she refused to show it with her words or expression. 

He began walking ahead. “Now, let’s show to your parents I was able to bring you back alive.”