#also a bit correcting: they are the first 2 char that i saw before getting into twst

[hanizmiyu]

Azul core:

"No monetizing,Ashengrotto" NAH EVEN TREIN KNOWS HIM LMAO

Did he always act like this even in class? ROFLMAO

Bros is a salerman but seriously people will just pirate it or smth

LMAO BROS GREEDY

If Azul is a sin he will be greed😞🙏

Also LOVE HOW LUCIUS LOOK LMAO

BRO IS A CUTIE PATOOTIE 😭😭💞💞 HE JUST A CAT🥹

[h0ney-mochi]

hii dear!! how are you? <3

i just watched the 3.8 livestream. (so spoiler warning i guess!!) those fontaine clips were so pretty??? fontaine is beautiful, it kinda reminds me of belobog from star rail, hoyo’s most recent game (i think i remember you told me you don��t play it so basically belobog is the first city where the protagonist arrives when they start their journey. and it looks very much like fontaine)

the events look kinda fun! i usually enjoy genshin’s summer events a lot :) they always have good visuals, vibrant colors, fun playstyles, random lore dropping etc. also, new kaeya skin heheh YUM

(HE HAS PAINTED NAILS AND BRAIDED HAIR)

aaand my beloved scara is finally rerunning. i just got miko so i’m not sure i’ll be able to c4 my scara as i had planned, but tbh i realized i’m actually happy with just his c2. also if i don’t get him that means i’ll have more chances of getting cool fontaine chars as soon as they get released hehehe >:)

+++ WE GOT TO HEAR MAGE ALICE’S VOICE AGAIN :DD i like her a lot!! it might be because we have something in common. like. one of the only things we know about her, it’s something i have too. and no it’s not that she’s a mother. cuz i’m not one :)

did you watch the livestream? are you planning on pulling someone? :))

yours,

breaker anon~<3

Hi breaker!! I'm doing good, thanks for asking :) I have not watched the 3.8 livestream, but I did check out the stuff people shared on reddit about it (events, characters, ect) so ig I know a few things.

I saw a bit of Fontaine, but you're correct!! It looks pretty!!! And ooh, interesting. I played a but of Hsr, but I didn't get far lol. The events do look fun! I hope I'll get a chance to play genshin then. I haven't been on it in maybe,, 2 weeks? Purely just because I've got stuff to do due to us having a garden and more. I can agree on the summer events... so vibrant and just aaahh. Yes. (OMFG HE DO YES HE DO)

Well, you still have time to figure out! Do you want his constellations? Or are you able to wait for the next rerun, to have a chance at shiny new ones? Good to plan :)))

And oh !! That's nice!! I'm gonna have to watch a but of it then, just for her voice. Sounds interesting. Having something common with a character is always funky:D

As for pulling myself, I dunno if I'll be able to. I haven't been on the game in a while as I said before, and the days I missed are primogems lost.... I'd like to maybe go for Kokomi, since heals are very good, plus my best friend has her and she's mad good. I'll see what I can do!

[alinnsurana]

Weekend Retreat- Chapter 1

Because my blorbos refuse to Rest I’m posting oc fic Charlie belongs to @jupiterjunebug and Florence belongs to @wizardlesbians

Chapter 2 Here

Thaddeus placed a manilla envelope on Simmons’ desk, “Here’s my latest report sir. I’m happy to say that Westley and Shannon are adapting remarkably well.”

“That’s good to hear, Thaddeus.” Simmons lifted the envelope, skimming through the contents, “You remember the annual retreat is coming up next week correct?”

“So about the retreat, it’s another long weekend, yes?” Thadd asked.

“It is,” Simmons nodded, then paused, “you know Thaddeus if you wanted, you could bring that mage of yours. It’s not as if no one knows about him.” Simmons offered.

Thadd blushed, “Oh well uh, that I mean- he’s, he’s a very busy man so I’m not quite sure he’ll be able to make it but I- I’ll let him know the offer is there. Thank you, sir.” He couldn’t very well say he and Charlie weren’t an item, even in the best of times it would likely put Charlie in danger. Thaddeus said his goodbye and left Simmon’s office. 

Thadd got into the car, he knew he had to talk to Charlie quickly. He also knew Charlie would say no but he couldn’t just not ask Charlie now that Simmons had made the offer. He gripped the steering wheel as he made his way through the streets of Seattle to Charlie’s apartment. He was fairly sure Charlie would be in at this hour and if not, he would just have to pop round later he supposed. Thadd pulled into the parking lot, he took a few breaths, trying to think of how to tell Charlie. How the hell does one start a conversation like that? Hey, my boss still thinks we’re involved which we never were, and also want to go on a weekend getaway with me and my coworkers who you think are all tossers? 

    Thaddeus wrung his hands and straightened his tie, assessing himself in the mirrors before getting out of his car. He looked fine, not that it mattered but, he still wanted to look nice for Charlie, even after everything. He walked up the stairs and down the hall toward Charlie’s apartment, it wasn’t the nicest building but Charlie seemed happy so Thadd kept his reservations to himself. He was the one that made him need a new home in the first place after all.

Thadd knocked on Charlie’s door. Thadd straightened up as he heard Charlie approaching, 

“Just a sec!” Came the muffled voice from on the other side of the door.

    Charlie opened the door with a careless grace Thadd had yet to see someone else carry in just the same way.

    “Thadd, what can I do for you?” He asked, eyeing him cursorily.

    “Oh uh, I have something to tell you. It’s not an emergency for once but uh” He looked up and down the hallway, there was no one there at present but, “may I come in?”

    Charlie shook his head as if remembering himself,

“Yeah sure come on in, you want some tea?” Charlie asked, opening the door a bit wider.

“Oh yes, love, that would be lovely!” Thadd said, tensing up a bit as he realized what he’d said, “Sorry I uh, British-isms, you understand.”

“Thadd, I lived with you for three years, I know,” Charlie assured him, though Thadd could have sworn he saw Charlie go the slightest bit pink.

Thaddeus nodded in obvious relief as he stepped into the apartment proper.

“I’ll put the water on, what’s the reason for the surprise?” Charlie asked.

“Society business, not urgent just. Something I thought you might like to hear.”

“Oh? Those are sentences you rarely pair together.” Charlie said, his interest piqued.

“Believe me I know,” Thadd said as he took a seat, “but this is a…special circumstance. I think it will amuse you.”

“Amuse me? That’s even rarer!” Charlie said as he placed a mug of tea in front of Thadd and sat down across from him.

“So you know how the Huntsmen Society has those semi-annual retreats, yes?”

“Yeah, I remember when you used to vanish a few weekends or so a year.” Charlie nodded.

“Well there is another one coming up and, and Simmons thinking you and I are- you know. Told me I could bring you,” Thadd said, waiting for Charlie to burst out laughing.

“Let’s go, I can hex them all!” Charlie said without a hint of irony in his voice.

“What? Charlie, I didn’t, you actually want to go?” Thadd asked, completely flabbergasted, “Also if you do please don’t hex my coworkers. I would like us both to survive the weekend.”

“Sure, why not? It could be interestin’ plus I can get an insider’s look at the Society.”

“You’d really be okay with it? Even if it meant pretending to be…with me the whole time?” Thadd asked, a strange mixture of skeptical and…hopeful?

“Not the first time I've had to pull this con," Charlie said with a hint of a blush, he almost looked casual about it, almost.

“Is this a…common gambit? Never mind, that sounds like a story for the car ride I um. Shall I pick you up around five this Friday? Figure we can make it there before dusk.”

“Sure Thadd, sounds great. Should I pack weapons?”

“Oh absolutely, we’ll probably be doing some hunting so no one will bat an eye if you have a pistol or the like on you. Not to mention everyone is just as gung ho as I am about personal protection.”

Charlie nodded casually.

“Great um, then it’s all settled?” Thadd asked, sipping his tea.

“Sure seems like it.” Charlie nodded.

“Wonderful.”

The two of them dissolved into surprisingly casual conversation as they finished their tea. If Thadd pretended for enough it could almost be like it was, them just chatting over tea in the middle of the day in their kitchen, in their apartment. 

“So Charlie, how did you like the poems? If you’ve uh, gotten round to them that is.” Thadd asked when they were both nearly done with their tea.

“They were good, uh, surprising,” Charlie said.

That was fair enough, Charlie likely didn’t know just how much Thadd had written about him, or about Jones for that matter.

Thadd nodded, “I’m glad you liked them, I’ve actually been brainstorming a few more which is why I asked.”

“Need the notebook back?” Charlie asked.

“Bring it with you this weekend if you can?”

“No trouble,” Charlie assured him.

“Thank you. Well, I better be off, got to tell Florence she’s got the apartment to herself this weekend and make sure she doesn’t summon a monster or worse, an Emily.”

“Heaven forbid.” Charlie chuckled.

    Thaddeus waved as he left Charlie’s apartment, a smile on his face the whole way back to his car. Was this a bad idea? Almost certainly, but he couldn’t help but look forward to three whole days with Charlie even if it was under less than ideal circumstances. He got back into his car and began the short drive back to his apartment. Now came the much more arduous task, telling Florence he was going away with Charlie for a weekend. He could practically envision the conversation in his head already. He shook his head fondly, he needed to pay attention to the road, and he would have Real Florence to affectionately verbally decimate him soon enough. He pulled into the parking lot in front of their building. He thought he spotted a familiar car but he elected to pay it no mind. The hallway was empty as usual when he came home. Florence was in the living room, lounging about on the sofa.

    “Thadd! Was starting to worry you weren’t coming back.”

    “Oh, I took a bit of a detour on the way home, sorry to worry you.” He ruffled Florence’s hair.

“I wasn’t worried,” She pouted as she fixed her hair.

“So Florence, I’m going away this weekend for a huntsman retreat.”

“Alright.” She nodded.

“And Charlie is coming with me.” Thadd attempted to add casually.

“Charlie?” Florence sat up, suddenly very attentive.

“Oh believe me I’m just as surprised as you are! But I well, Simmons invited him so I couldn’t just not extend the invite. I thought we’d have a good laugh at the idea but then he said yes and well, here we are!”

“Why did Simmons invite him in the first place?” Florence asked, resting her chin on her hand.

“Well, you see Simmons thinks Charlie and I are well…an item. I have no idea how he got that impression mind you,”

“Yeah, it’s a real mystery,” Florence said with a tired eye roll.

“Anyway I told Charlie and instead of laughing he said we should do it and now here I am. What am I going to do, Florence?”

“I dunno, maybe tell him you’re hopelessly in love so you idiots can kiss already?”

“Stop it, this weekend is going to be awkward enough! Plus I have to make sure no one tries anything with Charlie seeing as I’m fairly certain most of them will know he’s a mage since Simmons solely refers to him as My Mage.”

“Can’t believe Simmons is putting the moves on Charlie for you.” Florence teased.

“Please never say anything remotely like that again,” Thadd begged.

“Fine fine you big baby, but my point still stands!”

“And what point might that be?” He asked already regretting it.

“That you and Charlie are in some stupid chicken love dance and this is gonna be an interesting weekend.”

“Ah yes, the perfect opportunity to confess, surrounded by people who want him dead and having to pretend to be in a relationship with a man he only begrudgingly considers a friend, how could I not see it sooner.” Thadd deadpanned.

“It’s more than begrudgingly and you know it. Now go pack for your Not romantic weekend!”

“I will! And it won’t be because again, this is a Huntsman Retreat.” He emphasized.

“It can be both!” She called after him as he trudged off to his room. Florence was right about him needing to pack at the very least. He set his trunk on his bed and turned to his dresser to grab a few days' worth of clothes. When he turned around to place them in the trunk he found it occupied by his dog Cheese. She stared up at him with her wide chocolate-colored eyes as if he were the odd one and not her.

“Miss, you know that is not your bed,” Thadd said as if he were talking to a wayward woman and not his dog. Cheese simply continued staring at him in response. He sighed, placing his shirts beside the trunk,

“Okay miss, I’m giving you an eviction notice. You’ve left me no choice.”

Cheese was unmoved by Thaddeus’s words. She was however moved by him scooping her up, a task that was much easier back when she was a wriggly puppy,

“I tried to reason with you madam.” He said as he placed her on the floor. She stared up at him positively incredulous that someone would treat an esteemed monster hunter such as herself with such blatant disrespect. 

“I know I know, I’m a terrible villain and an even worse coworker.” Thadd said as he packed his luggage, “But on the positive side, you get to see Charlie this weekend! So it’s for a good cause.”

Cheese perked up at that, barking,

“No no, he’s not here yet Cheesy girl, but soon.” He assured her, petting her with one hand as he locked up the trunk, “Soon.” He repeated.

[gayaristocrat]

Lupercalia // Nicholas Scratch x Male Trans! Witch Reader 1/4

‼️Authors Note‼️ :  This along with a few other stories have been saved in my drafts for a few month and I decided to go ahead and upload this so I can have something put out while I finish writing requests.

Warning: None

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

————————————————————

Lupercalia, a ceremonial holiday that coincides with Valentine’s Day. A lusty pastoral festival started by the Roman witches under the reign of Caligula. Named after the Lupercal, the cave where the twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by the She-Wolf. Originally it was instituted as means to purify the city to increase health and fertility. Nowadays, it’s less about fertility and more about, well.....sex. Every year Lupercalia causes much fanfare at the Academy of Unseen Arts. The festival is separated into three parts, The Matching, The Courting, and The Hunt. Now, enough explaining. Let’s get the ceremony started.

You along with the other warlocks and witches are contained in the great hall at the academy. The men are sitting the the chars that are attached to red and white silk ribbons which are also attached to a giant black pole in the middle of the hall. How come you’re not sitting with the other warlocks you ask? Well that’s because you and Nick decided that he will be sitting while you dance with the ribbon sense this is your first year participating in the Lupercalia. Sabrina would have participated with you, but she wanted to spend ‘Valentines Day’ with her boyfriend, in a non-magical way.

While Father Blackwood gives Ambrose his signal to start, he grabs his violin and begins his speech. “Alright fellas, take your places for The Matching!” He shouts as he gets to his post patiently waiting as everyone gets into position. Getting ready you grab the white ribbon that’s places on Nick’s chair as the two of you lovingly gaze at each other’s eyes, soft smiles filled with love and happiness.

Before you could mouth an ‘I love you’ to him, Dorcas creeps behind you as her shoulder bumps into your arm. “Don’t even think about it (Y/N)-“ she says snobbishly “Two years ago Prudence was paired with Nick for Lupercalia. Last year, Agatha was. This year, it’s my turn.” She lifts her pointer finger and thumb and lightly grabs you chin and she finished her statement, she removes her fingers from you as she smirks and walks away to her spot. Ignoring her, you grab your ribbon as Nick looks at her, cringing at her attempts to get with him.

Ambrose continues his speech “Alright, ladies, and gentleman, you know how this goes-“ He pauses and turns to look at you while respectfully saying the word ‘gentleman’ , you send a toothy grin his way for always using correct pronouns to address you. “-When the music stops, take a seat on the warlock closest to you.” Once Ambrose finishes giving out instructions, Prudence ties a royal blue blindfold around his eyes to blindfold him as he lifts his violin. Placing the bow on the strings of the mahogany wooden instrument he starts playing, who would have known how beautifully he could play. He slowly sways his body with the flow of the folk music while the other witches and I begin to dance.

All of us slowly bow, we stand back up and take off. Your inner circle starts twirling clockwise, whilst the outer circle goes counter clockwise. You all gracefully twirl and spin like ballerinas. Your clothes sway behind you as you move alongside the others. The music stops and you see yourself in front of Nick, following the next step you walk over and get ready to sit in his lap. Before you could even wrap your arms around his neck, you get body slammed to the ground as Dorcas takes your spot on Nick’s lap. “Oh sorry, (Y/N).” She says as she runs her hand through Nicks hair.

You slowly get up from the dark tile floor, dust yourself aching body off, and slowly walk around to find an unclaimed warlock noticing Dorcas’ eyes following you as she basks in her victory. Walking over, you sit at in the closest warlock’s lap and tightly wrap your arms around his neck and roll your hips against his crotch whilst he put a possessive grip on your hips as he groans. You lean in as both of you kiss each other with nothing but love and passion. Once both of you part your lips you turn to look at Dorcas just to see her petrified face.

If Nick was with you, then who was she with?

“Wait, then who? What....Melvin?”

“Uh...Nick gave me 100 bucks to wear a glamour. He thought you might try something like this.” Melvin replies to Dorcas making her contort her face in disgust.

—————-Later That Night————

(Reader’s POV)

Nick and I are standing in the middle of the woods with the others from the academy, quietly listening as Ambrose gives more instructions on re-enacting The Courting. Basically each couple goes into the dark creepy woods, disrobe, and anoint themselves while lying underneath the moon. As instructions are being given, Prudence walks around and gives each of us baskets filled with jars.

“The milk and blood are for the purification. The oysters and figs are for fertility and virility. The cherries, on the other hand, are for popping” She lists off as she leans in close to me and seductively says ‘popping’.

Nick and I look at each other, he knows about me transitioning and how uncomfortable I can feel since I haven’t had my bottom surgery yet. He leans in closely and wraps his arm around my waist. “(Y/N), we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.” I smile and tell him that we’ll just have to see what happens. I send him a quick smile and turn back to look at Father Blackwood. After giving us the Dark Lord’s blessing, Ambrose blows the horn sending us all into the woods.

After running around for a while, Nick and I settle down underneath a dead weeping willow tree and unload our basket.

“Nervous?” Nick asks with a smug smirk on his face.

“Maybe a little bit” I respond as I continue unloading the blood and oils.

Humming response he questions further. “About what in particular?”

Leaning back on the ground with my arms holding me up I continue our conversation. “About everything. We’ve only been boyfriends for a couple months now, and yet tomorrow, we have to take part in some crazy bacchanal.” Nick chuckles and trying to lighten up the mood. “Well, if it makes you feel any better- “ he states“- I’m terrified”.

“Yeah right, as if Nick!” I say sarcastically “Before you and Sabrina were dating we caught you in the attic having an orgy with her cousin.” Nick let’s loose an exaggerated groan, rolling his eyes, embarrassed that I remembered that day. Every time I saw him at the academy after that, I would always picture him in his boxers making out with Prudence and Ambrose. It was an extremely disturbing image that took a while to get over. “Okay that was different. It’s just-“ He says slowly, trying to form the right words. “-I’ve never been with someone I’ve truly loved. I really love you (y/n), and I really don’t wanna mess things up with you”

Nicks word hit me hard causing me to tear up. I look into his eyes to see if I can see if he’s lying, but I can only see honesty. Hot tears roll down my face as he rests his hand on my cheek, leaning in he brings his lips close to mine making them meet. Suddenly things get pretty heated, our tongues begin fighting each other in a sloppy forceful battle for dominance, Nick easily dominates and his tongue explores my mouth as he pulls me closer to him. I wrap my arm around his neck. I run my hands down and stop at his chest, I gently push him back, breaking the kiss.

Both of us with heavy breaths from lack of air pull back, looking into each other’s eyes and let out a breathy laugh. “Nick, we have to finish the ritual before we get too carried away. Grab the blood, I’ll get the knife.” I hop off his lap and we fetch the items we need to help finish off the night.

So far it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.

---------------------------------------------

Finish the fic? Leave a comment if you liked it and let me know if you want a part 2!

[thetailorofenbizaka]

Chapter 1–The Tale of the Scissors, Act 2: Exchange; Scene 2

The Tailor of Enbizaka, pages 32-42

For the Okuto family, Kayo was an illegitimate child.

Her mother Kagura had already been disinherited when she ran off with a man, but even so that didn’t change the fact that Kayo was related to the family.

Perhaps because he took pity on her for having no other family of her own, or perhaps because he feared the possibility of her spreading rumors about the Okuto family in her mentally ill state, her grandfather Okuto Gato had taken responsibility for her.

However, that did not mean that Kayo had been restored as a member of the Okuto family.

As soon as Kayo had recovered, she would be made to leave the house again—that was the pronouncement that Gato himself made to those around them.

The one who took care of Kayo while she was living in the Okuto mansion was a young servant girl named Tsukimoto Bufuko.

She had pretty blonde hair and blue eyes, and by her appearance she looked to be a pure foreigner. Yet, as far as one could guess from her peculiar name, there might have been some Jakokuan genes mixed in there somewhere.

It seemed she also had skill as a doctor.

Her knowledge was to the degree that even Mei’s father, a doctor himself, was in awe of her. It was thanks to her devoted care that as the four years passed Kayo’s burn scars had gotten to where they were hardly noticeable at all.

“My my, I’m impressed. I honestly didn’t think she would rebound this much,” Mei’s father was voicing in surprise, having dropped by to make a house call. “The patient does have miraculous recovery ability, but there is a great deal that’s due to your medical expertise, Bufuko-san. Where did you gain your knowledge?”

Praised by the doctor, Bufuko replied, acting a little bit bashful, “You’re too kind.  I was actually raised from a family line of doctors. So I had that influence…”

“Ah, so you’re similar to my own Mei in that regard, hm? Was your father a foreigner?”

“Yes. Lucifenian.”

“Lucifenia…So, from the Evillious region. My late wife was also from around that area.”

“Is that so?”

“I have heard that the Evillious region is far more medically advanced than Jakoku. I myself would love the chance to study their expertise, but…”

“It’s too bad cultural exchanges with foreign countries is forbidden in Jakoku, outside of here in the Izami domain where Onigashima is.”

“People like me still have opportunities to gain some foreign medical knowledge by living in Onigashima, but it’s far far less than you have, Bufuko-san—”

Bufuko waved her hand modestly at being praised again. “Enough already…Oh dear.” Bufuko stood, appearing to notice something. “It’ll be dinner time soon. I must bring Kayo her meal.”

“I see. Well then I shall head home myself before long.”

“Oh, leaving already? I had some food prepared for you as well, doctor.”

“Oh no, that won’t be necessarily. If I stay too much later I won’t get back to Onigashima before nightfall.”

“In that case, I will wrap up your portion in a rice ball for you. You can feel free to eat it if you get peckish during the trip.”

“I would be most grateful for that. Since you’ve twisted my arm.”

“I’ll get it ready for you right away. Just wait here a moment.”

So saying, Bufuko left the room.

“Miraculous recovery ability...hm,” the doctor muttered to himself, and then looked toward Kayo, who was lying down on a futon.

Her eyes were open, but they were blank, somehow.

“Doctor…”

Kayo spoke up to the doctor, eyes fixed in place.

“What is it, Kayo-san?”

“When will my burns be healed?”

“Your burns have already almost completely healed. You’ve hardly any scarring left.”

There was no lie in that. At first Kayo had suffered horrible burns all over her body, to the degree where even the skin on her face had been horribly charred; however, by now she had returned to her former beauty, as though none of it had happened.

But Kayo said only, “…That can’t be. My face was so hideous—”

“Then why don’t you see for yourself?”

The doctor pulled out a hand mirror, and brought it up to Kayo’s face.

Reflected in there was a beautiful black-haired woman.

But—

“Noooo! It’s hideous, hideous!”

Kayo suddenly screamed, and began to thrash on the futon.

“--!? Calm down! Kayo-san, Kayo-san!”

The doctor managed to soothe Kayo, and she eventually regained her composure, once more lying down on the futon.

And then she returned to having those vacant eyes.

The doctor sighed quietly, looking upon her.

“Even if the wounds on her body heal, those on her mind…”

.

“Sorry to keep you waiting~”

In short order Bufuko returned with Kayo’s meal and the bundle prepared for the doctor.

“Thank you…Well then, I take my leave.”

Once the doctor had taken the bundle, he quickly nodded to Bufuko and left the room.

“Anyway. …Kayo-saaan, I’ve brought your dinner for todaaay.”

Bufuko turned around to Kayo, and called out to her.

When she did, Kayo sat up from the futon and thanked Bufuko. “Sorry to trouble you as always...Ren.”

Ren was the name of Kayo’s dead son.

Naturally, as Bufuko was Bufuko, Ren was not her name. Not to mention, her age was different. Even if Ren were alive, he would be a four-year-old, but Bufuko was a fully-grown adult, at least past twenty. And she was of a different gender as well, for that matter.

The only real commonality they had was blond hair, but it was still extremely bizarre for Kayo to mistake Bufuko for Ren through that point alone.

“Oh no, Kayo-san. I’m sure I’ve told you many times now that my name is Bufuko.”

“Is that right…Well, thank you for the meal, Ren.”

“Sigh…” This sort of exchange had been going on every day these four years, so evidently Bufuko had half-given up on it. “Well, as long as you eat everything up and get better, that’s good enough for me, Kayo-san.”

Bufuko silently watched over Kayo as she took her meal.

Right around then, a new figure entered the room.

“Excuse me.”

It was a tall, delicately featured man with his long hair bound in a topknot.

“My my, Anan-sama.  Long time no see.”

The moment Bufuko saw him, she gave a deep bow.

Anan passed right by Bufuko and knelt down beside Kayo. Then he asked, “Kayo, you’re awake. I’ll ask you this only once now. Where have you hidden…the Okuto family ‘treasure’?”

Kayo looked up at Anan with a flabbergasted expression, but eventually replied, quietly, “…Like I’ve told you over and over again…I don’t know anything about a ‘treasure’ like that.”

Anan lifted his eyes, appearing about to say something once more. But before he could, Bufuko put a hand on his shoulder.

“Anan-sama, there’s no point! I think that Kayo-san truly doesn’t know anything. She doesn’t look like she’s lying, to me.”

“…Grrr.”

Anan cast his eyes down regretfully.

“They have to…have to be somewhere. The treasure that this woman’s mother—Okuto Kagura—stole from our home…The ‘Dual Cursed Blades’!”

“But given that Kagura-san died in an accident a year before the fire—”

“I know that! That’s why I’m looking into her daughter Kayo!”

“Kayo-san told me that she’s never seen such blades before, and even if they were hidden somewhere in her home, they would have burned up alongside the tailor shop in the great fire…”

“…No matter how we searched the ruins we didn’t find anything. Cursed blades that could be made a family heirloom would certainly be able to withstand flames of that level. In other words…Outside of asking this woman about it I have no other recourse to fulfill my mission.”

This samurai named Anan was a descendent of Okuto Gato--To put it another way, he would be a blood cousin of Kayo’s.

He had been entrusted by his grandfather with locating the family treasure that Kagura had taken with her.

What exactly it meant that he hadn’t completed that mission…I wouldn’t know, but at the very least it wasn’t very good for his standing in the Okuto family.

Anan had been periodically visiting Kayo’s room and questioning her ever since she’d arrived in the Okuto house, but ultimately he had been unable to achieve any results up to that day.

Kayo being unable to tell him the whereabouts of the blades was not because she was hiding it, nor was it because of her mental illness.

Just as Bufuko said, Kayo legitimately hadn’t heard anything from her mother about any blades.

“Hmph…Oh well. I have other business today.” Anan adjust his posture as he knelt and then said to Kayo, “Okuto…No, Sudou Kayo. I have been told that the tailor shop you were living in before has been successfully rebuilt. Thanks to the financial aid of the Freezis Foundation firm.”

“Goodness! That’s great news!” Bufuko rejoiced. But Anan’s face stayed stern. And Kayo made no change in her expression.

“I have also heard that you have recovered to the point where you can get by without difficulty. …Therefore, our esteemed magistrate has ordered me to have you evicted from here.”

“--!? You can’t be serious!”

Bufuko was the only one who objected there.

“Kayo-san has recovered quite a bit, it’s true. But her mind still…needs more time.”

“That’ll be true whether she’s staying here or not, won’t it? We can’t just let someone who’s not a member of this family stay here eating free meals forever.”

“Kayo-san is a granddaughter to the magistrate, and a cousin to you too, isn’t she? And yet—the magistrate has not yet forgiven Kagura-sama, has he?”

“…That’s not the only thing. There is a problem with the woman herself.”

“What are you saying?”

“Kayo-san’s late husband—He is another grandchild of the esteemed magistrate.”

“What!? This is the first I’m hearing of that.”

Bufuko looked extremely shocked, but Kayo made hardly any response at all.

This was common knowledge for her. For she had pledged herself to her husband while knowing everything.

“You know that the esteemed magistrate had four children, don’t you? One of those children was Kagura, one was my own father, and the son of one of the remaining two was Kayo’s husband—In short, Kayo married her own cousin.

“But that’s not such an uncommon thing here in Jakoku, is it?”

“You are correct, but Kayo’s husband also was disinherited from the Okuto family for his riotous ways...So it’s obvious that our magistrate would never think well of Kayo having married him. You could say that taking care of her to this point is a last act of charity from him. But that ends today.”

After Anan had said that much, he then said to Bufuko:

“You have been attending on Kayo until now, but that also ends now. Starting tomorrow you will once again return to being my servant.”

“Huh~~!?”

“Why are you so displeased!? You’re just returning to how it was before! …For that reason, you too will be making preparations to leave this house tonight.”

“Wha!? Why?”

“You must know that I am providing assistance to the Freezis Foundation Firm! And you cannot serve my needs while remaining here.”

“…So then I guess that means I’m going to be living in the Freezis Trading House too.”

“Hm, yes. It was only just rebuilt a few years back so it’s quite clean.”

“But we’ll have to come into contact with a bunch of foreigners, won’t we? How annoyiiiing~”

“Are you really one to say that, having by all rights the appearance of a foreigner yourself?”

“Yeah, but I’m born and raised a Jakokuan~”

“Stop your whining! I’ll chop you down right here!”

“Huagh…That’s why I don’t wanna…” Bufuko turned back to Kayo, shoulders drooping. “Kayo-san. Starting tomorrow I’m going to be working at the Freezis Trading House. So unfortunately, this is the last day I’ll be able to take care of you.”

Bufuko looked genuinely regretful when she said it, but Kayo, who had been expressionless up to that point, lit up in amazement.

“My my! Working at that big merchant firm! How good for you, Ren. I should do something to celebrate… But all your mother knows how to do is make new clothes…”

“…Then how about you make a new outfit for me? I feel like the kimono I have now clashes a bit with a western style house.”

“Alright. What would you like?”

“A maid uniform! Something frilly and foreign!”

Her reply had been instantaneous.

“A foreign maid uniform, hm? I’ve never made one before, but your mother will do her best.”

When Kayo smiled, Bufuko looked sheepish but happy.

<<prev------directory------ext>>

[invaderdoom78]

Fright of Life and Death part 2

About forty minutes later Charley came home and found his mom and Aro sitting together in the living room having a seemingly pleasant conversation together and he felt terror run through his veins. He knew the vampire didn’t like him and he even had a moment where he thought Aro was here to kill him, but considering that his mom was still alive he figured he was here for something else, but he couldn’t come up with any type of reasoning as to why.

“Hey Char” Mrs. Brewster said noticing her son

“Hi, mom” Charley said setting his backpack down by the door

“Come and sit with us” Mrs. Brewster said waving for her son to come over

Reluctantly Charley did what his mother told him and sat next to her.

“How was class?”

“Fine” Charley said, doing his best to make it look like he wasn’t purposefully trying to avoid looking at Aro

“Good. Well Aro came over to talk to you” Mrs. Brewster said getting to her feet “so I’ll leave you to it”

Please don’t go, mom. Charley thought as he watched his mom go upstairs

Aro sighed “I know this is rather awkward, but I can assure you that I am not here for malicious reasons”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m afraid that there is something wrong with Peter”

“What?”

“I simply wish to know what happened on your last hunt”

“Uh... it went fine but the guy must’ve been paranoid because his lair was covered in crosses and he had this box, that we somehow picked up, and for some reason, he’d nailed it shut”

“The inside of the lid was all scratched up, correct?”

“Yeah”

“Was there anything else odd about the house?”

“It was next to a cemetery, which Peter thought was a problem, aaannnd there were a bunch of crosses on the wall. Why does it matter?”

“I’m afraid that something was attached to the box and has latched itself onto Vincent”

“How?” Charley asked “ghosts aren’t real”

“It’s not a ghost, but a non-corporeal demon”

“Why. Did you. Phrase it like that?”

“Did you think that vampires were the only beings of legend or myth that exist do you?”

“Yeah kinda” Charley said, sounding like he was having a lot of trouble believing what he was told but also being very aware of the fact that Aro was much older than him and if anyone knew what did and didn’t exist it would be him “so Peter was right? Shit! What do we do?”

“I need some evidence” Aro said quietly

“What kind?” Charley asked “do you mean like video because I bought some spy cameras and audio recorders a while back for a reason I forget, maybe if you get him out of the house I can hide them and we can look over what they catch”

“How long should it take you to set them up?” Aro asked only receiving a shrug from the young man “hm, how long will it take you to gather the equipment together?”

“A few minutes” Charley said standing up

“Are you able to set them up tonight?” Aro asked, getting up making a move that looked like he was going to touch Charlie

“No!” Charley almost shrieked, scrambling away from Aro’s range of reach “I’ll help but don’t touch me. Peter told me what you can do and I don’t want you reading my thoughts”

“Fair enough” Aro said clasping his hands together

Aro waited for Charley to gather up all of the equipment he needed before they both got in their cars and drove back to Peter's house, Charley parking about a block away and walking the rest of the distance to the house. Opening the front door Aro saw Peter sitting on the couch, in a much more comfortable looking positioning, watching T.V.

“Where’d you go?” Peter asked, looking back at him from the couch

“Do you not remember?” Aro asked, furrowing his eyebrows

“Remember what?” Peter asked, looking frustratedly confused “last I saw you we were talking about thinking I was sick and then you just up and fucked off”

Aro realized what was happening “I’m sorry, dear, I thought I told you I needed to step out for a bit and take care of some business”

“Oh, ok”

“...You know” Aro said walking over to the couch “I was thinking we should go out and do something nice tonight”

“Like what?” Peter asked, muting the T.V.

“We could go out for a nice diner, or a drive, or maybe see a film”

“...Alright”

About a half an hour later, the two stepped out of the house Peter and Aro walking out to the car, with only the vampire being aware of the fact that Charley was creeping around the side of the house slipping inside through the door the vampire had left unlocked for him. 

The two rarely went out around other people, normally they’d go out for a drive or Aro would force Peter to go on a walk with him so he could get some exercise. Thankfully since Peter lived in Vegas it didn’t really matter what time of day they went out together on the Strip because no one paid any attention to them, too distracted by the street performers, the shops, and the woman walking the streets in nothing more than pasties and thongs to notice anything odd about Aro. So that’s where they went, Peter parking in the cheapest parking garage he could find before they walked to the Strip and walked into the first restaurant they could find that wasn’t busy. After about ten minutes they were seated on the restaurant's balcony, so they had a perfect view of the fountain show across the street.

“We should take Jane and Alec out to a show some time” Aro said as he watched the water dancing

“What did you have in mind?” Peter asked, slouching back into his seat

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“The Blue Man Group” Peter shrugged “it may not be the classiest thing out there but it’s something children enjoy”

There was a pause in the conversation when the waitress came to take their orders; Peter getting a burger and beer as Aro got a small appetizer and water so as to not appear suspicious. Restarting their conversation Aro noticed that a nearby table of women kept looking at Peter and he could hear them talking about his human and how they were, he was hoping, joking about trying to steal him from the vampire. Peter seemed to pick up on his anger boiling up inside him and Aro felt his foot rubbing against his ankle getting his attention off of the woman and onto him.

“What do you wanna do after this?” Peter asked after he’d finished his food

“How about we see a film”

“There’s not really anything playing that I wanna see” Peter shrugged

“Come now” Aro said “there must be something you want to see”

“We can check out the RedBox down the street if you really want to watch something”

Aro wasn’t able to talk Peter out of wanting to rent something from a Redbox instead of going out to a movie theater. Fearing that this would not give Charley enough time to finish their plan Aro sent him a text letting him know about the change in plans thankfully he’d already finished setting up all of the cameras and audio recorders and was on his way out the door. Slipping his phone back into his pocket joined Peter back at the machine looking over the board of posters as the other looked through the Red Boxes library.

“When the fuck did they make a Banana Splits movie?�� Peter asked aloud as he touched the movie's image

“Oh, Vincent” Aro said looking at the screen “that’s just mindless bloody garb. What about...”

“Too late” Peter said as the RedBox started whirling “the movie’s already coming out”

When they got back to Peter’s house Aro still wasn’t happy about the movie choice but held his tongue as they sat on the couch together to watch the movie.

“I don’t like the fact that both adult and kid me are in this movie” Peter said, right after (spoiler) Stevie's death

“Really?” Aro asked, quirking an eyebrow “how so?”

“I was a fan of this show for way longer than I should’ve been. Probably ‘cause it was the only thing I could watch growing up before, you know”

“Which one’s your favorite?”

“Nope”

“Come on”

“Not a chance in hell”

“If I tell you which one is my favorite so far will you tell me yours?”

“...Maybe”

“Snorky”

“Really?” Peter asked, looking genuinely surprised

“Yes”

“No way!”

“Your turn” Aro said, gently nudging Peter with his shoulder

“Don’t make me say it” Peter groaned

“Fair is fair, dear”

“Alright! It’s Bingo”

There was a crash behind them that was loud enough to cause both of them to visibly jump, Aro, reaching out to place a hand on Peters's thigh.

“The fuck was that?” Peter asked, straining to look down the hall the crash had come from

“I’m not sure” Aro said

Getting up the pair went to investigate the sound, slowly walking back to where the bang came from and found that one of the windows had a small crack in it. Stepping in front of Aro Peter walked up to the window, opening it up so he could see if what had hit it was still out there.

“That was an owl” Peter said sticking his head out the window “there’s a fucking dead owl out here”

“Oh, dear” Aro said, looking out the window with Peter at the dead animal

Aro waited for a few days before going back to see Charlie, wanting to make sure there was time for something to get caught on the cameras, and during this time he was trying to be extra attentive to Peter in an attempt to try and rein in his mood swings and help him deal with his night terrors, that had not only turned into a nightly occurrence but seemed to happen almost every time he closed his eyes. As much as he tried there wasn’t really anything he could do about them outside of trying to comfort Peter when he awoke and it was only made worse by the fact that he could see everything that happened in them. They were always the same, Peter alone in an empty field surrounded by hooded figures and he would always wake up in pain afterward.

Peter hissed in pain as he sat up in bed “Shit!”

“Are you alright, darling?” Aro asked

“My neck is really stiff" Peter said rolling his head

“Turn around”

Peter did as he was told and turned so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet placed on the ground. Walking on his knees over to his human Aro gently placed his hands on the back of his neck, watching carefully for any signs of pain as he mapped out the areas that needed the most attention before firmly massaging the pads of his thumbs into the back of Peters's neck, slowly working his way up from his shoulders to the base of his skull. When he reached the base of his human’s skull felt a small bump directly above his spine. Applying some more pressure to the bump Aro felt it twitching whenever it was touched like it was trying to get away from him and, despite his best efforts, that bump didn’t go away, but Peter seemed to relax a bit nonetheless.

“Do you feel better?” Aro whispered, wrapping his arms around Peter

“Yeah” Peter sighed grabbing the arms that were wrapped around him relaxing back into the embrace “thanks”

A few hours later Aro reluctantly left the house and drove down to  Chraley’s so he could look at the recordings.

“Where did you get those scratches on your neck from?” Aro asked, when he entered the house, furrowing his brows

“What scratch marks?” Charley asked walking over to the mirror in the hall so he could look at the three bright red claw marks that were on the side of his neck “I was wondering why my neck burned”

“It’s been almost three days since you were at Vincent's and they look like they just happened” Aro mussed to himself

“Is that bad?”

Aro didn’t respond, he only gave a small hum before walking over to where Charley had set up his laptop. Despite the fact that he really wanted an answer Charley could tell by the look on the vampire's face that he wasn’t going to get one out of him. Glancing one more time at his scratches in the mirror he walked over to the couch and booted up his laptop, opening up the program that had all of the recordings on it, clicking open the videos for each room, arranging the screen so that they were all visible before pressing play. A majority of the recordings had nothing going on them as it seemed like the only places Peter spent his time was at the bar in his house or in the living room, and in the bedroom but there were no cameras back there. Though it didn’t really matter because Aro was always back there with him so he already knew what happened in that room. At first, it didn’t seem like anything had been caught, that was until Peters first temper tantrum, they could hear a deep scratchy voice telling him what to yell at Aro as the vampire tried to calm him down and what appeared to be shadows sliding over his arms so they could control his movements, shoving the other away from him. After that, there seemed to be a shadow-like figure that was constantly following right behind him as more and more floating white orbs began surrounding him.

“Well, what do we do?” Charley asked shutting down the laptop

“I do know someone who can help” Aro said softly “unfortunately I only know the general area that they live in not her addresses”

“Where do we start?” Charley asked

“North Carolina, I believe I know where her sister works”

As Charley packed up his laptop into an overnight bag along with some clothes, Aro called Peter giving him an explanation for his disappearance, the young man picking up on the worry in that vampire's voice.

“So?” Charley asked after about half an hour on the road, still trying to get comfortable with the situation at hand, wanting to come up with something to say to break up the tension in the car “uh, how-how did you meet them?”

“Well” Aro said pulling onto the highway “we met back in about 1856 when it became known to us that Elenor’s oldest son got married” he took his hands off the wheel to air quote the word married “to a vampire so we had investigated into it to assess whether the relationship was a threat or not but once we learned that she was a witch there wasn’t much we could do”

“If she lived back in 1856 how is she alive?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say alive”

“So she’s a ghost then?”

“Her spirit is kept in this plane of existence by her magic yes”

“Was she at least human when she was alive?”

“That depends solely on whether or not you consider a witch human or not”

“Yes” Charley said drawing out the word “what about her sister”

“They share the same mother so half of her is human” 

Charley didn’t want to know what that meant.

Aro had essentially floored it all the way to North Carolina and had made it in a little over twenty-four hour instead of thirty-six it should’ve taken, the car only stopping so they could gas up, get Charley some food, and let him use the restroom; it also helped that he’d fallen asleep about halfway through the drive and they were able to pull into the parking lot of a small shopping plaza a little after seven in the morning.

“We’re here” Aro said shaking Charley awake

“Wha-?” Charley asked waking up looking around “oh”

Getting out of the car the two walked into the grocery store and saw that it was empty, save for the woman standing at one of the registers.

“Excuse me” Aro said, walking over to the woman “is Elizabeth working today?”

“Yeah” the woman, Sandy, said, turning to look back at the wall behind her “she should be back there” she pointed at the door in the wall

“Thank you” Aro said

The door Sandy had pointed at opened and Lizzy stepped out, looking like a man on a mission, she stood at about 5’3” and her eyes a pale steely blue with her vein-like scars being more contained towards the stab mark on her chest, the longest vein barely reaching up past her jawline onto her cheek.

“I’m gonna stab your wife!” Lizzy said, pointing at Aro

“And why is that?” Aro chuckled, walking over to Lizzy

“Because she’s a bitch that’s why” Lizzy said unlocking the door that was separating them “come back into the office with me. I have things to do so it’ll be easier to talk back here”

The room that Lizzy had brought the two into was small with two large safes pressed into the back corner, a computer sitting on the counter that ran along the left wall, a thing that would count out money, and a stand to separate it out into. With a wave of her hand the two safes opened.

“So what brings you down here?” Lizzy asked pulling out the tills for the registers out of the safe, setting them in a row on the counter

“Peter….” Aro said as he and Charley shuffled around so they were standing by the safe, Charley leaning back against the counter opposite of the one Lizzy was at

“Oh” Lizzy interjected before the vampire could say anything else

“You know?”

"Of course I know" Lizzy said, putting the bills from one of the tills into the money counter "you told Sulpicia about it and she tells Eleanor everything and I always end up in the loop, somehow"

“Ah” Aro said “what exactly has she told you?"

"Only that he's been acting weird" Lizzy shrugged, jabbing at one of the buttons on the counter to keep the money going through it “but why would you come here instead of going to her house?”

“I don’t know Eleanor's address?” Aro sighed

“... Shit!” Lizzy exclaimed, separating out the bills and setting them in their labeled slots “I don’t know what her address is, either” she grabbed the notebook that was sitting on the counter ���we live off the same dirt road, but on different streets and I have no idea what her’s is called” she tore a sheet of paper out of her notebook writing something on it with one of the pens from her pocket “here this is my address. Her house is the first turn off the dirt road but if you somehow miss it just go to my house and walk straight back into the woods and it’s maybe a five-minute walk, but she’s probably not awake yet since Sulpicia is visiting”

“Isn’t she a ghost?” Charley asked looking confused

“Yeah but she still has like a psychosomatic need to sleep, eat, and all that biological stuff”

“One more thing before we go. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure”  

“In my history class when we were learning about the revolutionary war the teacher talked about a creature that was responsible for killing a large amount of people when America was being colonized and after everything that’s happened today I’m starting to think that, if it was true, it wasn’t human so I was wondering if that was true or not”

“Really?” Lizzy asked looking like she didn’t believe him

Charley nodded his head in response.

“Yeah, that was me”

“How old are you?”

“Well, my mom was the one responsible for the colony of Roanoke’s disappearance and I think I was born not that long after they move inland so I’d say I’m somewhere around 400”

“You look like you’re barely older than me”

“I have a case of extreme babyface”

“You must’ve been pretty angry when you were younger” Charley said 

“No” Lizzy said sounding a bit like she was trying to suppress a chuckle as Aro smiled a bit “there was just nobody to stop me”

“What about your parents?”

“No idea who my dad is” Lizzy said putting the money back through the counter “and my mom and I got separated when I was around ten so I spent the majority of my younger years on my own” 

“It’s really a miracle she know anything at all” Aro chimed in 

“Exactly!” Lizzy said pointing at the vampire

[outofmylimitcal]

The Hating Game Pt. 1 - Calum Hood

a/n: some how this got deleted the first time around ???? but here you go College!Cal, i was gonna do frat cal but i avoid them like the plague at school so not the best idea. first part of the series and i dont know how many parts there’s going to be ,, anyway enjoy and lmk what you think!!

part 2

synopsis: natalie has held a grudge against calum since he screwed her over in first year, and cause he’s kind of a snarky asshole, but when he comes to her rescue one night will all be forgiven??

word count: 2023

warnings: swearing, drinking, and kinda smutty??? but not sex

-----

To say I was done with school would have been an understatement, all my midterms were done, and the semester had hit that lull in between when finals hadn’t started yet, but you had nothing else on your plate. Third year was so close to being done and I could almost taste graduation even if it was a year out, so far, my engineering program had smacked my ass to Pluto and back. Setting my phone down on my desk, I walked into the living room to be met with my two best friends, Charlotte who was also in engineering, and Sierra who was pre-med and hoping to get into med school after her undergrad.

“Hi yes we need to go out for our last free weekend of the semester.” I exclaimed plopping down onto the couch and startling them both up from their phones.

“Luke invited us out to that bar on Main street, all the boys will be there too.” Sierra replied letting us know her boyfriend’s plans, looking back down at her phone. At the thought of ‘all the boys’ I let out a fake gag.

“C’mon Natalie, you seriously still can’t hold a grudge against Calum for what he did in FIRST year.” Char let out, slapping me across the arm.

“I can and I will, I’m down to go, but I can’t say I’ll be pleasant towards him.” I scoffed grabbing the TV remote and aimlessly flipping through the channels.

Okay, maybe holding a grudge for two years is a little bit of an overkill, but when Calum ruined my perfect grade in a class because he thought it was going to be an easy elective and I was going to do the entire project (mind you it was worth 40% of our grade) for him because as he put it ‘it’s my major, I shouldn’t have a problem doing it alone’ do I get to hold a grudge. I mean who the fuck takes computer science as an elective, I didn’t even want to take it and it was mandatory for me. But with him not doing his part, my grade suffered, and with that went my liking for Calum. It may be petty but I’m as petty as they come, nowadays I mildly tolerate him since our friends like to hang out together but not without the fair share of sarcastic banter between us.

“Anyways, it’s 8:00 and they probably want to meet around 9:30 so we should go get ready.” I say turning off the TV and tossing the remote back onto the coffee table, standing up and booping their noses I start the walk back to my room.

“Maybe you should fuck him, that would alleviate the weird ass tension between you two.” Char yells out from the living room, followed by a burst of laughing coming from Si. I continue walking back to my room, flipping them off behind me.

✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

Meeting back up in the living room at a quarter after 9, my makeup was done, I’d thrown on some random band tee, and slipped on my shoes and leather jacket, twirling my house keys in my fingers as I took one last look in the mirror.

“Hurry the fuck up, I don’t wanna get stuck in the line. Again.” I yelled out to them, and as if on cue they walked into the foyer, clipping their bags closed and fixing up the last few things.

“For someone who says they hate him, y’all sure do dress very alike.” Char chirped while slipping on her own shoes.

“Hate is a very strong word Char, it’s more of a strong distaste.” I piped back giving my most sarcastic smile, unlocking the door and calling the uber. They followed me out the apartment, and down to the uber waiting outside.

“They said they’re at a table in the back, and that the line to get in wasn’t too long.” Sierra said looking down at her phone and sending a quick text back. Hopping out of the uber and saying a quick thank you to the driver, we shuffled over to the line and saw only about 5 people infront of us.

“See the line isn’t that long, no need to rush us.” Charlotte said, earning only an eyeroll from me. Showing our IDs to the bouncer, and paying the cover we walked into the bar, that kind of turns into a club on weekends, with tables moved to welcome a dance floor, and a DJ playing everything from Top 40s to rap throwbacks, it was THE place to be on weekends in the small university town. Getting here early meant getting a table, and not having to wait too long in the lineup outside. Sierra tapped Charlotte’s shoulder and pointed somewhere near the back, most likely to the table the boys had decided to residence up at. They both turned to look at me, relaying information I had already deduced from their hand motions.

“You guys go ahead, I’m gonna go get a drink first.” God knows I’m going to need it tonight. Making a bee-line to the bar and taking a seat on the stool, I got the attention of a bartender, ordering a vodka sprite. I spun around to survey the area, as I scanned the crowd of dancing people, my eyes landed on Ben, my ex-boyfriend who cheated on me, and stole all my chemistry notes in the process, leading me to fail said chem class’ midterms. He was looking real cozy with some blonde chick I recognized from one of my classes, and as he looked up, I locked eyes with him. If looks could kill Ben would be a deadman. I could feel my blood boiling as he gave me a small smile or smirk. I don’t care, I didn’t look long enough for it to register, spinning back around, taking my drink and paying the bartender with a small smile I walked away to meet my friends. Approaching the table, I could see Sierra and Luke cozied up in their own world, and Charlotte in a debate with Ashton and Michael about something to do with our last physics midterm since they were both in our program, and Calum staring off into space with his hand around his beer. Surveying the table, I saw the only spot left was next to Calum, those fuckers. Plopping down I let out a huff, placing my drink on the table. This was enough to snap Char out of her conversation.

“Yo what’s up with you?” She questioned giving me a puzzled look.

“I saw Ben when I was at the bar.” I replied twirling my straw through my drink.

“Woah wait Ben’s here?” Sierra piped from the other side of the table.

“Who the fuck is Ben?” Ashton mused looking around the table at what was transpiring. Before I could respond, Charlotte explained.

“He’s the asshole who cheated on Nat a month ago, and then stole her chem notes so she failed the last midterm.”

Wide eyes and little chirps of yikes were thrown, causing me to down my drink in response. I’m gonna need a little liquid courage to get through tonight.

“Well that’s what you get for dating a guy named Benjamin.” I turned to my right to look at Calum who just chuckled at my reaction, reaching over and grabbing his beer from his hand, I downed the entire thing too, smacking it on the table as I wiped my mouth and locked my eyes onto his look of disbelief. Correction, I’m gonna need a LOT more alcohol to get through tonight.

✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

As the night progressed, dancing ensued, and plenty more drinks were consumed. Feeling a little more than just buzzed, but definitely not shit-faced, I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t having fun dancing with my best friends, but every time I looked up all I could see was Ben’s shitty smirk and every time it managed to knock me down a few pegs. This time was the last straw, as I turned to my friends and motioned drinking water, finding my way back to our table, I sat down and pulled out my phone. After a few minutes of scrolling aimlessly a figure plopped down, opposite of me, expecting it to be Ben I didn’t look up.

“Awn little benny boo got you down love.” Okay, definitely not Ben, I looked up to be met with the smirk of Calum.

“Aye, fuck off Calum.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He replied leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “What if I told you I had an idea?”

“Well I’d tell you to shove it somewhere the sun doesn’t shine.”

“Damn, aren’t we snarky tonight. But just hear me out okay, Ben keeps looking at you trying to make you jealous, and even if he was an asshole you still kind of have feelings for him, right?” I nodded along, not really knowing where this conversation was going. “Well how about we dance a little too close for comfort, and hope he gets the message?”

My eyebrows furrowed as I thought about his offer in my head, Calum was attractive there’s no doubt, and if things turned out differently maybe I would have pursued something there. My mind then flashed to what Char had said earlier, and this too could be used as an opportunity to fuck with them as well.

“Say I was thinking of taking you up on your offer, we’re going to need shots first.” I cocked an eyebrow at him. Slapping his hands together, he climbed around the table, and put his hand out as if I should lead the way. Rolling my eyes at him but leading the way to the bar. Once there I could feel him pressing against me. “Guess it starts now huh?”

Moving my hair out of the way, chills ran down me as I felt his hot breath on my skin, whispering into my ear I hear him say, “Cute band tee by the way, someone could almost say you’re copying my style.”

My breath hitched at the sudden closeness, and I couldn’t get attention of the bartender faster, needing those drinks now. All I could hear was chuckle from Calum as he moved from behind me to beside me.

“Cheers.” He states as raising his shot and downing it, before taking the second one and doing the same. “C’mon let’s go dance.”

Grabbing my hand and leading me to where my friends were dancing on the dance floor, Calum spun me around, so I was in front of him and placed his hands on my hips. Looking up Sierra and Char had puzzled looks on their faces and mouths open as if about to speak, raising my hand to silence them, I melted into Calum, slowly grinding my hips to whatever song was playing. Friends who kind of hate each other can still dance with each other, right? Closing my eyes and further sinking into him, I let one hand rest on his on my hip, the other going to the back of his neck playing with the hair at the tap of his neck. Hearing him groan in response, I smirked to myself. The swaying continued, and I kept my hold on his hair, his free hand that I wasn’t holding would drift up my side, or around and to my butt making me tense and giggle anytime he hit a spot that kind of tickled. It felt weird to say that I was enjoying this, it’s been so long since I’ve just carelessly danced with a guy at a bar. Finally letting my eyes flutter open I looked dead ahead of me, already seeing Ben, eyebrows furrowed, mouth agape, before turning around and storming away from the girl he was with. Spinning myself so I was now face-to-face with Calum, I wrapped my arms around his neck leaning forward to whisper in his ear. “Looks like it worked, thanks for the help handsome.”

Kissing his cheek before coming to stand straight, I turned to Char and Sierra, letting them know I was gonna head out and that I would see them at home. Sierra yelled out a quick, “Text me when you get home.” I weaved my way out of the bar to stand outside waiting for my uber.

“Hey Nat, wait up!” I spun around to see Calum walking towards me scratching the back of my neck. “You mind if I crash at yours? I’m pretty sure Ashton’s gonna bring a girl home and my rooms next to his and the walls are too thin, and I just don’t wanna hear that and yeah.”

I studied Calum and suddenly the man that’s usually so sure of himself looked nervous? If it was any other night I would say no, and maybe it’s because my inhibitions are lowered due to all the alcohol, and I kind of do owe him for how he helped me out tonight. So before I could even stop the words coming out of my mouth I said, “Uh yeah sure, my uber’s about to be here any minute.”

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if this has any typos i dont claim them

[degenerate-perturbation]

Chapters: 8/? Fandom: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Relationships: Female Amell/Female Surana Characters: Female Amell, Female Surana, Anders, Velanna, Nathaniel Howe Additional Tags: Established Relationship Series: Part 2 of void and light, blood and spirit Summary: Amell and Surana are out of the Circle, and are now free to build a life together. But when the prison doors fly open, what do you have in common with the one who was shackled next to you? What do you have in common, save for the chains that bound you both?

The young man arrived unassumingly, much like all the rest.

The Ferelden Wardens had been so depleted since the Fifth Blight, that if any good had come of the siege, it was that the Wardens’ fame was growing. Recruits were flowing in, from Amaranthine and beyond, from as far as Gwaren. Men and women from every walk of life came to pledge their lives to vigilance.

Yvanne had placed herself in charge of recruitment. She appreciated the bitter irony of it, but the importance of that paled in comparison to what she would do as the self-appointed head of Warden recruitment. She could tell people what they were getting themselves into—exactly what would happen during the Joining, what would happen if they got unlucky, what their approximate chances of surviving was. She could describe the life they would have afterwards—the dreams, the shortened lifespan, that constant feeling that something was scratching at the back of their heads.

Yvanne had the sense that she wasn’t supposed to tell civilians these things, that they were secrets. But she figured that if the First Warden wanted to come and make it her problem, she’d deal with him then, and not before.

Some of those that came turned away and went home when they understood what they would be signing up for. But, most stayed.

She set herself up in the Great Hall, sitting behind an oaken desk she’d had dragged into the space where the Arl’s throne had once stood. There she met with each recruit personally, recording their names and professions and where they had come from. This kind of administrative work should have been Garavel’s—he was the new Seneschal, after all—but somehow Yvanne could never get used to him. He looked so young. He didn’t know the system she and Varel had worked out together. It was easier to just do it herself.

So when the broad-shouldered young man came forward to meet with the Warden-Lieutenant, at first he seemed completely unremarkable.

“Name?” she asked, not quite looking up.

“Rolan.”

“Place of birth?”

“Jader.”

“Previous occupation?”

“Templar.”

The scratching of Yvanne’s quill ceased abruptly, blotting the sheet she was writing on. Her breath caught. Rolan only continued to smile blithely.

She lifted the pen, scattering sand over the blot.

“I don’t think so,” she said icily, not looking at him.

His light brows drew together in confusion. “I swear, ser, it’s the truth. I served in—”

“I’m not accusing you of lying,” she corrected. “I’m denying your petition to join the Grey Wardens.”

At first he stared at her, uncomprehending. “What?!” He slammed his hands on the table, rattling it. She suppressed the flinch. “But the Wardens need skilled warriors! I’ve trained in arms and armor, I understand discipline, I’m an able warrior. How can you turn me away?”

“Like this.” She took the parchment on which she’d written his name, crumpled it up, and incinerated it. She enjoyed his obvious fear as he startled backwards, eyes wide. She brushed the charred remains off her desk. “I wish you a pleasant journey home to Jader.”

He struggled to master himself. “Can’t I at least know why?”

“Certainly.” She smiled. “Many of the highest-ranking and most valued of our Ferelden Wardens are mages. I cannot ask them to tolerate your presence, given your abilities and your prior occupation.”

“Is that what you’re concerned about?” His lip actually trembled. Pathetic. “It isn’t like that at all. I’m not here as a Templar. I’m not a Templar at all anymore! I came here because I wanted to do something noble with my life, something heroic.”

“Oh, I see. You didn’t finding standing over helpless imprisoned children with a sword too rewarding? Wanted something a little more personally fulfilling, did you?”

He sputtered. “This is completely against—this isn’t—I thought the Grey Wardens took anyone. I thought you were desperate for recruits.”

Not that desperate, she thought acidly. His raised voice and the small fireball she had just created were drawing attention. Some of the Vigil’s soldiers had their hands on their weapons, watching the situation carefully. Yvanne gestured for them to hold, but Rolan was still talking.

“I thought anyone could come here and turn over a new leaf. You shouldn’t be able to hold my past against me.”

“Maybe not,” she said cheerfully, “but I am. Good day, ser. ”

He stood there gaping. Then he straightened, his jaw twitching. “You don’t have the authority to turn me away.”

“Oh? How interesting,” Yvanne said, disinterestedly. She demonstratively paged through some of the documents on the desk, not looking at him. “And here I thought I was the ranking recruitment officer.”

“ You aren’t the Warden-Commander.”

Yvanne’s smile disappeared.

“ You’re not the one who slew the Archdemon and lived.”

She felt her eyebrow twitch.

“ She’s an elf; I know that much.”

She vividly imagined what it would be like to fill this fool with lightning.

“I want to talk to her .”

“You do, do you?” Yvanne said, clasping her hands on the desk in front of her. “I’m afraid the Warden-Commander is very busy, and unfortunately can’t take time out of her day to talk to every fool that demands her attention.”

“Fine, then.”  Rolan crossed his arms. “I’ll wait.”

Yvanne’s fingers tightened over her knuckles. “You’ll what?”

“I’ll wait,” he said. “I’ll camp outside the walls until she has time to see me. Every day I’ll come in here and ask to join the Wardens and every day I’ll ask to see the Commander until I get a no directly from her lips. Then I’ll leave. But not before.”

She could tell he meant it, too. She’d have to deal with him every single day until he finally got the rejection from the person he wanted, and every one of those days was another day that a Templar was within smiting distance of her. Within smiting distance of Loriel. And Anders. And Velanna. Yvanne felt a flare of the old hatred, not in her heart, but somewhere in her gut, that pool of brewing roiling viscous bile that for so long had laid quiescent.

She needed to get rid of him.

“Fine,” she snapped. “If you are so desperate to be turned away by the Warden-Commander herself, I’ll oblige you. This way. Garavel, tell anyone still outside to wait. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

She rose from the high-backed wooden chair, so abruptly that its legs scraped horribly on the stone floor, and marched off towards Loriel’s office. She would end this quickly and never deal with this cockroach again. He followed her dutifully through the halls, at least doing her the service of remaining silent.

She banged on the Commander’s office doors, waiting hardly a second before barging in. Loriel startled, looking up from sheets of parchment covered in glyph diagrams and arcane symbols beyond Yvanne’s comprehension. Her brow crumpled when she saw her and she opened her mouth to say something before catching sight of Rolan.

“Yes?” she said smoothly, her puzzled expression schooling into glasslike neutrality. “How can I be of assistance?”

Before Yvanne could say anything, Rolan dropped to one knee, bowing his head. “I wish only to pledge my life in service to the Grey Wardens. I wish to protect the innocent, to fight the darkness, to be the shield that stands before the night. I would give my life to it.”

Loriel allowed a drop of confusion to enter her expression. “I see. And is there a problem?”

“I’ll tell you what the problem is,” Yvanne said, dripping with every bit of her old venom. “This man is a Templar.”

Loriel’s expression did not so much as twitch. “Is that true?”

Rolan hesitated. “I was a Templar,” he said, “in my old life. But no longer. I seek a different path.”

“I see.” Loriel laced her fingers together in front of her and looked down at them.

“Oh, come on!” Yvanne burst out. “Surely you can’t possibly—”

“Yvanne,” Loriel cut her off. “ Please.” Yvanne caught the tight, desperate plea in her eye. She bit her tongue. Rolan was still kneeling.

“You understand,” Loriel said finally, leaning forward, “that the Joining is often fatal.”

“I do.”

“And you understand that should you live, I will be your Commander. Warden Amell, as Warden-Lieutenant, would also be your ranking officer.”

“I do.”

“You realize I am a mage. As is she.”

“I do, ser.”

“As well as several other Wardens that have my complete trust. Free mages, whose actions you may not always agree with.”

“Yes, ser.”

“You aren’t uncomfortable with that?”

“No, ser.”

She pierced him with that deep inky gaze of hers. “Knowing that any disloyalty, any failure to comply with orders—any intentional disruptions of the Wardens under my protection—may mean that your life is forfeit?”

“Yes, ser.”

“You would abide by the oaths and customs and bounds of the Grey Wardens? You would sacrifice yourself, if need be?”

He had been nodding along, and now his head bobbed up and down like a clucking chicken. “I would. Ser. I so swear it by the Maker.”

She kept silent a while again. Then she sighed. “Very well. If you wish it, you will be Joined along with the others at the end of Harvestmere. You may report to the recruit barracks.”

He thanked her, and bowed his head again, and thanked her another time, and exited the room practically backwards, and didn’t even ask where the recruit barracks were.

Yvanne waited until the sound of his footsteps was well out of earshot, then slammed the door so hard the hinges rattled.

“What the hell was that !” she shouted.

Loriel noticed that the cap was off the inkwell, and carefully replaced it.

“That’s a fucking Templar, you realize?”

Loriel started cleaning the tip of the quill pen she’d been using, examining the tip as though to check whether it needed sharpening.

“I mean, Andraste’s bleeding tits ! We’ve spent how long trying to get away from these bastards, and you’re inviting one of them over for tea and biscuits? To stay in my Keep? To be part of our Wardens?”

Loriel put down the quill and started organizing the sheets of parchment littering her desk.

“I don’t understand! Have you lost your mind? Are you possessed by some demon of discord and confusion? Just what are you playing at?!”

Loriel left the parchments in three neat stacks on the desk, placing the quill and inkwell in their proper places.

“I can’t believe you’d do this to me! To all the Warden mages! To us. ”

Her voice caught. She collapsed into a nearby chair, exhausted. “I— I just—” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Finished?”

“Yes,” Yvanne said morosely.

Loriel rose and stood in front of Yvanne’s chair, where she sat hunched and twisted. She bit her lip, rubbing the knucklebone of her thumb.

“I understand how you feel,” she said carefully. “I’m not entirely comfortable with it either, but my position is—” She hesitated.  “—precarious. My people value me more than they fear me, but if I started to behave politically like a mage and not a Warden, that might change. I need to be seen as neutral. The Wardens are meant to be a clean slate. A chance to atone. If I deny that chance to a Templar, how does that make me look? Besides, wouldn’t you rather he be a Warden than a Templar?”

“I’d rather he be dead. ”

“We don’t get to choose that.”

“Since when?” Yvanne demanded. “We’ve killed lots of people. Duncan killed Jory, just for being afraid. Why shouldn’t I kill Rolan now?”

Loriel looked evenly at her. “You won’t do that.”

“No,” she said savagely. “But I ought to.”

“Oh, Yvanne.” Loriel took her cold dry hands in hers. “How long are we supposed to stay afraid?”

“That’s not—” Yvanne sputtered, pulling her hands away and standing. “It’s not about that.”

How she hated when Loriel turned those big sad eyes on her. She held her elbows close to her body, looking small. “Isn’t it?”

“It isn’t about who he is. It’s about what he can do.” Yvanne flashed back to every smiting bolt she’d ever felt, to the warehouse, how they’d barely survived...

“If we need to fear that man because of what he can do, then why shouldn’t everyone fear us for what we can do?”

“Maybe they should fear us,” Yvanne said darkly.

“You don’t mean that.”

“You don’t know what I mean.”

“I do know.”

Yvanne said nothing.

“Look,” said Loriel, sighing again, “we aren’t Circle mages anymore. If we’re going to live— really live—we’re going to have to accept that.”

“What are you talking about?” It came out sharper than she meant it to.

She threw her hands wide. “I mean, we aren’t prisoners anymore! And that man isn’t our jailer. Don’t you understand? We’re out of the tower. We have to knock down the walls or we’ll never be able to live.”

“I thought we were living. I was. Weren’t you?” Yvanne swiped her thumb over the ring on her finger.

“I’m—” Loriel faltered. “I’m doing my best. It isn’t easy.”

A steady gaze. “You didn’t tell me.” But I knew, Yvanne thought. I knew, but I thought, with enough time...

“Because I don’t think it’s any easier for you.” She took a breath. “If I choose to be a frightened Circle mage rather than the Warden-Commander, I’ll never escape. Neither of us will. We’ll always be looking over our shoulders, waiting to be caught. If we can’t move past that, we’re doomed.”

“You can’t make that choice for me.”

Loriel looked down. “Maybe not. I’m sorry. But I stand by my decision.”

“I…” Yvanne sighed. “Maybe you have a point. But I might need some time.”

“Alright.” They stood not quite looking at each other. Yvanne’s fingernails dug into her palm. Loriel fiddled with her wedding ring until it chafed. “I love you,” she added.

“I love you, too. But sometimes I don’t understand you at all.”

A faint smile. “Isn’t that the joy of it?”

Yvanne went to her and kissed her lightly, to show that she wasn’t angry, although she was, and left the office. And Loriel was left alone to sit and idly review her diagrams and consider all that had been said and done.

She hadn’t lied, exactly. It was true, all that she’d said. She had pinned her life, and Yvanne’s life, and so many other lives, to the Grey Wardens. If she had done that, it had to mean something. She had to make it mean something. Otherwise she was a monster, wasn’t she?

And it was true, that they had to stop being afraid. That was why she’d done it.

But really...

She’d done it because she’d seen a Templar kneeling before her, and known that his life was in her hands. Known that she could kill him, if she wanted to. Yes, her position was precarious, but not that precarious. Yvanne was right about one thing: Duncan had killed recruits. At least one that she knew of, for such a petty reason, and there were probably more. And who was Duncan, compared to the Hero of Ferelden, the most famous Warden-Commander in centuries? Who would have stopped her? Who would have breathed a word against her?

He’d been at her mercy, and it had felt so good.

It had shocked her, just how good. All these years she’d been a little mouse, afraid for so long that she had not realized what it had been to not be afraid. She’d feared her parents’ anger, she’d feared the shemlen outside the alienage, and she’d feared the Templars, always the Templars. It had made her into what she was, the fear. Now that it was gone, its absence was intoxicating. She wanted more of it, that un-fear. The way she felt watching an ogre barrelling down at her and knowing it would not touch her, the way she felt consorting with darkspawn and knowing she had the upper hand—that was how watching Rolan kneel before her felt.

Yes, she was ashamed, but it was a perfunctory sort of shame. She knew she ought to feel it, anyway. Ashamed enough that she did not want to tell Yvanne, did not want her to know. Yvanne thought her better than she was, and she loved her for it. Maybe she needed someone to see the best in her—else all the worst in her would come up and choke her to death. So she felt just enough shame for that. But only just.

How pathetic it would have been to send him away. To let him win. To admit that even now—as Arlessa and Commander and blood mage and the greatest necromancer that had lived in centuries—she was still afraid of a man for the symbol on his armor.

No. She was done. The Templar could stay if he wanted. and maybe he’d die, and maybe he wouldn’t. And maybe he would be a good and loyal Warden and he would do good things with his life, and that would be good.

And then again, maybe he wouldn’t. And Loriel would boil his blood inside his veins, and that would also be good. But she would never be afraid again.

Not ever.

—

“Did I hear correctly? There’s a Templar among the recruits?”

“Yes,” Yvanne said moodily. “You heard correctly.”

Anders shook his head. “Are you sure? It could be that I’m having spontaneous massive bleeding in the brain.”

“I could give you a once-over, I guess,” she joked weakly.

“You have to talk to her.”

“I already did.”

“Well, can you do it again?” he demanded.

“I could, if I wanted to invite additional strife into my marriage.” She snorted. “But I won’t.”

He rounded on her. “You’re going to allow a Templar into the Wardens to avoid a little marital strife?”

“Step off,” she snapped. “I’m not happy about it, either.”

Anders fumed. “You know this is obviously an attempt by the Chantry to spy on us. I’m sure of it. It wasn’t as though they were going to stand for this many free mages in the Wardens. It was bound to happen.”

“Right, well, I don’t know about all that—”

“What, you think I’m being paranoid?” Anders demanded.

“No? I just meant—”

“And what about Justice? You think this Templar isn’t going to notice a possessed corpse walking around?”

Yvanne threw her hands up. “I don’t know! Half the time, I have no idea what Loriel’s thinking. But she’s always come through before, even when I didn’t understand what she was doing or why.”

“Yeah, well,” Anders said darkly, “You weren’t at Drake’s Fall.”

Yvanne’s hands tightened on the bannister. “Don’t remind me.”

“No, I just meant…you didn’t see her.”

She had, though. She thought about telling him. She’d told Loriel, who claimed it hadn’t bothered her, that she had nothing to hide, but she’d told nobody else. Even thinking about it gave her an unpleasant sinking feeling in her stomach, like she was doing something shameful that needed to be hidden.

“What, exactly, happened at Drake’s Fall?” she asked instead.

He raised an eyebrow. “She didn’t tell you?”

“She did. She told me everything,” Yvanne said, more defensively than she meant.

“So you know you she made a deal with it,” said Anders. “That darkspawn, the Architect.”

“Yes, I do.” Yvanne drew herself up. “And what about it?”

Anders shook his head, staring off like he was struggling to understand. “She talked to it like...I don’t know, like it was a colleague! An old friend, or something!”

“Doesn’t shock me. She’s always been diplomatic.” Her expression darkened. “Even to the worst monsters.”

“You don’t understand,” Anders insisted. “You didn’t see her. It was like she was a completely different person.”

“You don’t know her like I know her,” Yvanne said smoothly, but inside a little voice wailed, She was, she was different! Who was that woman I saw? I didn’t know her.

“I s’pose I don’t,” Anders muttered. “But it was bad. I mean, I’m not one to judge, personally—Loriel’s a big girl, hey? She can wheel and deal with ancient darkspawn magisters all she wants, no skin off my nose. But Sigrun and Justice didn’t feel that way.”

Alarm bells rang. “What do you mean?”

“I mean they really didn’t feel that way. I almost thought we’d end up fighting to the death about it.”

Loriel had vaguely mentioned their disapproval. Yvanne had even seen part of the argument, in a fashion. But to the death?

Anders was still talking. “It didn’t come to that, thank the Maker. She talked them both down. But for a second there I really thought I’d have to...anyway, it didn’t come to that.”

Yvanne couldn’t help but notice that Anders had failed to mention who he would have sided with, if it had come to that.

But it hadn’t.

“Nothing would have happened,”   Yvanne said, less certainly than she would have liked. “They wouldn’t. She’s their commander. Their friend.”

“She was , anyway.” He paused. “Justice probably doesn’t have any hard feelings. You know how he is. Doesn’t really hold grudges. Funny, isn’t it? A spirit of Justice that doesn’t hold grudges?”

“Right. Funny. Ha, ha.” Yvanne had probably never pronounced a hollower laugh.

“In that case, we should figure something out for Justice before the Chantry’s little lapdog goes crying all the way to a Revered Mother about the revenants the big scary mage commander is hiding in her tower of horrors.”

“Probably,” Yvanne muttered, pushing past him.

—

Yvanne roiled deep in one of the worst moods of her life.

She’d been in a lot of bad moods in her life, but never this particular awful combination of contradictory feelings that overlapped and bled into each other like oil swirling upon water. It was giving her a headache. Every time she tried to be angry at Loriel, she felt guilty. And every time she felt guilty, she felt self-righteous at the very idea that she had anything to feel guilty for when she was so obviously in the right. And every time she felt self-righteous, she felt pathetic. Why did she possibly need to be so defensive here in her castle where she and her wife were the rulers?

She and her wife, she thought. Who’d have ever thought such a thing? Who could have ever imagined?

And yet still here she was, roving through her castle like a caged tiger, heartbroken and pulsating like a poisoned vein of lyrium.

She didn’t understand, she just didn’t understand. What Loriel had said made sense. They did need to let go of their past, fully become Wardens and not mere Circle mages. It all made perfect sense and Yvanne still didn’t understand. She thought again of the strange cold woman she had seen in her visions, who she recognized but did not quite know, who was not her Loriel.  If only she hadn’t looked, she could have brushed off Anders’ words like so much goosefeather down. But as it was….

She found herself, almost against her wishes, making her way to the new recruits’ barracks.

When she got there, a few of the recruits, two human women and an elven man, were playing dice and chatting about something. Yvanne almost barked at them to get back to their duties before realizing that it was the middle of the night, it wasn’t their patrol, and they didn’t currently have any duties.

“Have you seen Rolan?” she asked instead as they all hurriedly rose to salute her. They didn’t know. He’d gone out less than an hour ago. He hadn’t said where he was going.

What was he playing at? Did he think she would not notice? Did he think her so stupid? She couldn’t stand for that.

She thanked the recruits and turned on her heel. It was late and dark and the lit sconces provided only barely enough light. She could have lit a magelight, but didn’t. This wasn’t a mood to be lit.

The Templar was not in the kitchen. He was not in the entrance hall. He was not in the courtyard.

Finally she found him, in the little chapel at the edge of the Keep. She hadn’t quite finished renovations here yet.

He jerked as she approached, as though startled out of deep prayer.

“Hello, Rolan,” she said, sliding into the pew beside him. She smiled broadly and clasped him on the shoulder.

“Good evening, Warden-Lieutenant,” he said, although it was well past evening. “Do you need me for anything—ser?” He remembered just in time.

“Are you a pious man, Rolan?” Yvanne asked, ignoring the question.

“I like to think so, ser.”

“One would have to be quite pious to be in the chapel this late at night, wouldn’t you say?”

“I enjoy the quiet,” he said, nervous. “It’s peaceful.”

Her grip on his shoulder tightened. “Is this piety why you joined the Templars, Rolan? Did you feel it was your duty?”

“I...suppose so, ser.” His voice wavered. Only slightly, but it did. Good.

Several times he appeared to try to speak, but every time he thought better of it. “I think I’d like to return to the barracks, ser. It’s late.”

She released him. “Yes, so it is.”

He rose and made for the exit, made to escape.  

“Wait a moment, Rolan,” she said softly. “That’s an order.”

He stopped and turned around, his head lowered. “Ser?”

“I just wanted to make sure we both knew exactly where we stand,” she said. “After all that unpleasantness from before.”

“Yes, ser.” He bowed his head in contrition. “I’m sorry for how I behaved before. I hope we can put that behind us.”

She regarded him. “You’re very good at being deferent, Rolan. I suppose they taught you that in the Order.”

“Yes, ser.”

“But it won’t help.”

He straightened anxiously. “Ser?”

“I don’t know why the fuck you’re here,” she hissed, advancing.

“I explained—”

“Shut up. You know, one of my Wardens thinks you’re a Chantry spy here to report on the Commander’s activities. What do you think of that, Rolan?”

“I—”

“I said, shut up!”

He tried to speak, but whatever he had meant to say, he suddenly found his magically tongue leaden in his mouth.

She scrutinized him. “I don’t think you’re a Chantry spy, Rolan. You should find that encouraging. If I thought you were a spy, you’d already be dead. But lucky for you, I don’t think that. I think you’re probably telling the truth. I think you really believe all that garbage about a second chance.”

He gave a series of tiny, desperate nods.

“But it doesn’t matter what you fucking believe. While you are here you are a danger to me and mine. So mark my words, Ser Templar—”

He tried to take a step back. He moved quickly enough that it looked to her like an attempt to get away. A wordless gesture sent him slamming backwards against the stone walls, not enough to injure, but enough to hurt.

“Did I say you were dismissed, Ser Templar? We were having a conversation.”

She held him pinned against the wall with the force spell, his feet several inches off the ground.

“I suggest you stay still,” she said. “If I had to paralyze you in order to finish our conversation, I might accidentally stop your lungs.”

He gave the fainest suggestion of a nod, sweat pouring from his temples.

She strolled up. He was a big man, round-shouldered and burly, and she had to lift her chin to look him in the eye. “The Warden-Commander may have granted you permission to remain here. And I will not go against her decision. If you wish to stay, then by all means, stay. But let me make something perfectly clear.” She bared her teeth. “If you give me so much as a hint that any of your loyalty to the Order remains, I will kill you. The Commander could kill you painlessly, easily, with barely a thought, but I am not her equal. If I decide to kill you, I may well get sloppy. It may take you many minutes to die. And what long minutes they will be. If you give me so much as a hint, a breath, an inkling of a suggestion, that you are more trouble to my people than trouble to the Commander’s reputation, you will die, and no one will question your death, and that will be that. If, of course, you decide to stay. Do you understand, Ser Templar?”

She released her hold on him just enough to let him nod. Tears sprung to his eyes. They were a watery blue. He was terrified of her.

It suddenly occurred to Yvanne that this boy was probably younger than she was.

She stepped back, a ringing in her ears. He didn’t move. Of course not, he wouldn’t dare. “You—You may go,” she said.

He fled before her fury like a mouse before a lion.

She could have killed him, Yvanne realized. She could have killed him right then, and nobody would have stopped her. Not that she’d never killed anybody before, but never anybody helpless. And he had been helpless.

Shame filled her, hot and acrid. She shouldn’t have come here. Loriel had been right about everything.

Yvanne half-hoped her threat had worked just so she wouldn’t have to see anybody so afraid of her again. And hoped that he’d live, if he stayed, so that she’d have a chance to make up for it, somehow. No light, save from the candles, filled the chapel, and that was just as well. She felt sick and ugly.

She went to the courtyard, taking deep gulps of night air. Her lungs hurt. She drew water from the well, cold clear water, splashed it on her face, then stood gripping the cistern until her heart slowed. She lowered herself to the ground, her back against the stone, looking up at the stars.

Maybe she’d never fully escape the Tower. Maybe a part of her heart was still locked in it. Maybe she’d spend her whole life still trying to escape it.

But she had to try.

She sighed and stood up to go back inside and to bed. At least now she could stop being angry with Loriel. She hated being angry with Loriel.

Yes, she’d been right. Time to move on. Time to live.

—

Rolan lived through his Joining. Yvanne lived to be glad of it, then lived to regret it.

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

Why and How the Daenerys/Stark Alliance Could Fall.

I think I got it!

So Jon and Daenerys are traveling to Winterfell. They had the boat scene. They’re going to fight the White Walkers together! They think Cersei Lannister has called a truce and that she will support their cause. Even IF Jon learns that he has the superior claim to Daenerys, he doesn’t want to be King. He believes Daenerys is with their cause. The Northern lords will see her for what she truly is. So where could this all go wrong? 

There were multiple confusing/frustrating plot points that seem like bad writing. If my theory is correct, it actually could be a pretty spectacular confluence of many story lines. Here’s my lame attempt at explaining it all:

STEP #1: WHY DID JAIME STAY WITH CERSEI SO LONG?

Since s3e10, the world has been frustrated with Jaime Lannister’s devotion to Cersei. Why doesn’t he try to leave with Tyrion after releasing him? Why does he allow her to torment him after watching her actions result in the deaths of Myrcella and Tommen? Why didn’t he leave when the Sept of Baelor was destroyed?

My Answer: NOT JUST FOR THE VALONQAR...BUT TO DELIVER THE NEWS TO THE NORTH WHEN JON AND DAENERYS TO ARRIVE.

The Valonqar theory is very much in play but there are so many opportunities for him to have already done it. Really, Cersei scheming with Euron to bring the Golden Company by itself isn’t anywhere near as bad as her blowing up the Sept. or any other number of things she’s done that Jaime has tolerated. So why write for Jaime to leave upon gaining valuable information? To tell it to the people that she has betrayed.

Step #2: WHY DID LITTLEFINGER LIVE SO LONG?

After Littlefinger assisted the North in defeating the Boltons, he didn’t really serve much narrative purpose. At least he didn’t drive the story the same way he did before. So what did LF actually do in Winterfell was returned to the Starks? He groomed Sansa to rule. He informed the audience of her growing reputation with the Northern lords. He showed the audience how strongly Jon felt about Sansa when he choked LF in the crypts. He first articulated the ideas to Sansa of both un-naming Jon as King and also of the chance that Jon and Daenerys may marry. But for what purpose? He already witnessed the strength of their bond. That’s why he switched tactics to pitting Arya against Sansa. My Answer: It’s pretty obvious to me that LF tried to turn the strength of the bond between Sansa and Jon into a possible point of contention between them with the idea that someone ELSE might get in the middle. His hope was to make Sansa feel isolated but instead his character laid the foundation for Sansa and Daenerys to become rivals for Jon’s affections and loyalties. Some believe that will be no contest at all. His existence allowed for Winterfell to have an “enemy” in season 7. Now - who would the North oppose? Every entity on the show already is at odds with the Night King. 

LF was a placeholder for the North/Daenerys conflict of season 8.

Step #3: WHY ARE VARYS AND TYRION SO DIFFERENT NOW?

People find it strange that The Spider and The Imp have been so OOC for season 7. Varys has seemingly done nothing. Tyrion has wrestled with Daenerys’ temperament, but otherwise has been rather inactive. Except this key scene in e5 following the Field of Fire 2.0. I’m not sure if they’re plotting against Daenerys. I sort of doubt it right now. Maybe the extent that I could reasonably buy (without additional evidence) is that they’ve tried some different methods of reigning in her “Fire and Blood”.

My Answer: Varys and Tyrion’s inaction is actually silent contemplation. When they see what I think they will see, they will abandon her cause.

Tyrion and Varys are teetering on the brink of abandoning the Mother of Dragons. Varys stresses multiple times that she has a great resume and Westeros has no better alternatives. He hasn’t heard his whispers in the North for quite some time. He’s only just recently observed Jon Snow. He does, however, already know of Sansa. He possesses a serious distaste for a lot of Daenerys’ methods. He will see a better alternative(s). With the right family name. And the love of his (and her) people. 

For his part, Tyrion has tried extremely hard to reason with Dany. He’s seeing some of the shine fall away from the deity he first discovered. No doubt his first impression was informed quite a bit by the devotion showed towards Daenerys by Jorah, Tyrion’s former travel companion. She’s continually questioned his competence and loyalty in season 7. She also has gotten frustrated with his unwillingness to go along with her Mass Destruction inclinations. 

Step #4: WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE GOLDEN COMPANY?

The Golden Company could be a pretty cool story. But it seems a lot of people are confused why the show is bothering to introduce them. They’re a big deal in the books...but to wait until season 8? What gives?

My Answer: THE NEWS ABOUT AND ARRIVAL OF THE GOLDEN COMPANY WILL CAUSE DAENERYS TO HEAD SOUTH AND CAUSE JON TO DOUBT HER COMMITMENT TO THE WAR FOR THE DAWN AND HIS BELIEF THAT SHE IS A WORTHY QUEEN. 

The ceasefire the ceasefire the ceasefire. This was the only event that would make Daenerys abandon the South for the time being and commit to destroying the Night King. She saw the Army of the Dead. She saw the Night King. She lost Viserion. She STILL would only march North if Cersei agreed to a ceasefire. In comes Jaime fookin’ Lannister to tell the North of Cersei’s plans. Daenerys now knows there is no truce. She is faced with a choice. Take care of what she said she would do in the North? Or leave the North to face the Golden Company at King’s Landing - with a fury. She WILL destroy the Red Keep. It will burn. 

A dragon rising over King’s Landing? Check.

A charred and destroyed Red Keep? Check.

Seems the show has been telling us for years this will happen.

"If you use those to melt castles and burn cities, you’re not different”

Step #5: WHY DID JON BEND THE KNEE IF HE DID NOT HAVE TO?

Many people have wondered: Why bother with this part of the story when Daenerys already committed to fighting for the North and a marriage alliance would make more sense?

My Answer: Jon knows that Daenerys is volatile but does not yet understand the extent that vengeance and ambition drive her. He trusted in her commitment to the War for the Dawn - and will be shown amply that her goals cannot co-exist with his.

Jon knows the Throne is the most important thing to Daenerys and to Cersei. He must figure out how to change this. He also recognizes how powerful dragons are. He must make an ally of Daenerys for the realm to survive. He is also thus far unaware of exactly what defines Daenerys Stormborn. The answer is “Conqueror”.

Sam, while no fan of his father, will not accept the burning of his father and brother as “necessary”.

Jaime Lannister. The man who saved King’s Landing from being burned by Aerys may inadvertently be the one to cause King’s Landing to be burned by his daughter, Daenerys. This is exactly what he just tried to escape by leaving Cersei.

Jon Snow, the man who showed mercy in killing Mance to prevent death by fire, will not accept Daenerys using her dragons to melt castles and burn cities.

So while Jon as the true heir is significant, Jaime Lannister informing the Northern forces of Cersei’s plans will be the precursor to the complete fracture of the alliance between Jon and Daenerys. Jon will be put in a spot where the Northern lords doubt him because he’s now known as a Targaryen, but he will never want to mend the relationship with Daenerys, whom he now knows is a threat to the safety of the realm.

Step #6: ENTER SANSA STARK

Sansa Stark. The character who has been ACCUMULATING allies unlike Daenerys and Cersei, the character who has gained the most administrative skill, and the character who, of the Stark children, has been through the most with Jon since the events of the show began, will be the only thing that can save Jon’s connection to the North and provide an alternative for the realm to turn to once they see that Daenerys Stormborn is truly a conqueror and not a ruler. 

“I’ll make them love me” - those are the words of a great queen, one that can unite a group of people as different as Varys, Brienne of Tarth, Theon Greyjoy, Yohn Royce, Petyr Baelish, Jaime Lannister, Arya Stark, and her husband, King Jon Snow (maybe Jon Stark).

Endgame.

[yourkeeperoftherunners]

Gentle Monster Ch. 2 (EXO Hybrid AU)

Plot: AU All he wanted was a home, but it seemed like he was never going to get one. You wanted a friend who would keep you company. Upon stepping into the mystical pet shop tucked in the back alleys of a tourist area of town, you had no idea what you were getting into when you signed the paperwork.

Rating: PG-13 (Language, mention of relationship abuse, minor stalking, animal/human shifting, pet bathing)

Characters: Dog Hybrid!Chanyeol x Female Reader, Magic Pet Store Owner!Kris, Dog Hybrid!Baekhyun, and mentions of other OT12 hybrids and owners

Notes: This is part of @oh-beyond‘s hybrid series – she gave me her blessing to write one for Chanyeol. The premise is slightly inspired by the manga Pet Shop of Horrors with differences (Ex. Chanyeol’s human form is only visible to the reader and Kris in private and Kris matches pets with appropriate owners versus Count D who used the animals to teach owners a lesson.) Chanyeol’s breed is a Great Dane Doberman mix (called a Doberdane), which is inspired by the writer’s own dog. The title was inspired by a real life experience when a young girl (same height as my dog) rounded the corner in a shop and saw my dog for the first time. (She dubbed my dog “a monster dog” when she ran to tell her dad because she had never encountered a dog as big as her.)

Banner created by me. Absolutely no reposting anywhere else as your own!

Ch. 1 | Ch. 3

“Hi did you forget to tell me something?” you answered once you accepted the call.

Kris sighed on the other end and shook his head. He knew it was going to happen – how soon, he couldn’t tell. Typically all of the animals he adopted out to owners would eventually reveal their other form to their owners but that varied, based on how quickly the owners and pets bonded with one another. No one other than him and the owner would ever see the human form – all others would simply see the animal form. Mr. Oh would probably not witness Suho’s other form yet but you...

“He’s human right now, isn’t he?” he asked after a few moments.

Chanyeol perked up and tilted his head. “Is that Kris-hyung? Did I do something bad?”

“Yeah he’s human – I swear I’m sober right now and I’m not imagining this,” you replied as you glanced back at Chanyeol for a few seconds. You began to pace back and forth as you waited for the pet shop owner to explain himself.

“As you have probably figured out, none of the animals in that shop are, ahem, normal,” Kris sighed. “Now, this isn’t my doing but it’s the nature of the family business we’ll say. If a new pet bonds quickly with their owner, they’ll reveal their other form to you as a sign of trust. I would not recommend trying to explain this to any of your friends or family, as they’ll only see a large mixed breed dog whenever they see him.”

“Even if I can see he’s human?”

“Yes especially that,” Kris replied. “I uh, didn’t mention this because it doesn’t sound real until you see it for yourself. ...I understand if the shock is too much and if you want him to come back.”

You looked back at the tall young man perched on your bed who was looking at you with a confused expression. He was trying to overhear your conversation and immediately lowered his head when you locked eyes with him. He mumbled an apology for trying to eavesdrop on your conversation and part of you couldn’t help but smile at how adorably awkward he was as a human.

“I’m not that heartless, believe me,” you replied as you leaned against the wall. “You said he’s been at the shop for a long time?”

“Um...yeeeeaaah I’d say a few months shy of a year,” Kris recalled. “He did have a friend that was adopted before him and he’s been a bit lonely ever since. Granted, he tried being friendly with the other animals but some weren’t receptive to the idea of befriending a big dog.”

“Was his friend also –?” you asked.

“Oh no it was a small corgi,” Kris laughed as he messed up his hair. “Also hyper but for some reason, small and hyper was considered okay for his owner.”

“Baekhyun-ah,” Chanyeol whispered as he remembered his friend.

“Like I said, if you want me to take him back, I’ll –”

“I’m not giving up on him,” you found yourself saying. “You saw that I was in a dark place and he’s giving me hope again. I mean, it’s going to be um, interesting, but I don’t see why I can’t give this arrangement a try. Okay dumb question, what can I feed him when he’s human?”

You blinked when you felt arms wrap around your waist and Chanyeol pressed his nose against your back.

“Really? Mistress is okay with my human form?” he asked.

“Um pretty much anything but maybe go light on the sweets and normal foods considered poisonous to dogs,” Kris suggested. “I’ll be honest, I tended to feed him fish, chicken, beef...maybe some rice? Oh and no spicy food – I came back one time after lunch to discover that he had gotten into the wasabi leftover from my sushi by mistake and was freaking out.”

“Okay that makes sense,” you said. You bit back at laugh imagining the poor pup, tongue hanging out, and begging for water or really anything to alleviate the burn. “Anything else I need to know?”

“For now I think that’s it, but you can call the shop at any time if you have questions,” Kris replied. “Sorry to call this early in the morning but I had a feeling that you might have questions come up. Call it instinct.”

“Or psychic,” you joked. “Thank you Kris. Have a good one.” You hung up and looked back at Chanyeol, who was kneeling on the floor, arms still wrapped around your waist. He looked up at you and blinked.

“Mistress you’re really okay with this human body?” he asked.

“Bab–Chan,” you corrected yourself, realizing he was not an awkward fur ball anymore, “please call me Y/N, not ‘Mistress’ – it doesn’t feel right.”

“Okay Y/N,“ he replied with a firm nod.

You took one of his large hands in yours and helped him stand. He towered over you and he shyly rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at your smaller hands holding his. “What now?”

“We try to get some sleep,” you replied. You began walking back over to your bed and he stayed rooted where he was standing.

“Do you want me to sleep on the floor? I’ve done that before when I was with Kris-hyung.”

“Um...” you trailed off, trying to figure out the best solution that was the least awkward one for both of you. Making the poor guy sleep on the floor seemed unfair but now that he was human, it was a little forward to have him cuddle up against you. You bit your lip as you thought about it, eventually concluding that he could have the couch in your living room.

“I’m allowed on here?” Chanyeol asked as he pointed to the couch.

You nodded as you put down a pillow and blanket for him to use, indicating he could stretch out across the entire length of the couch to sleep. Chanyeol took the blanket and draped it over his head before swinging his legs up and onto the couch. You resisted the urge to giggle at his actions, watching him flop his chin on the pillow.

“Good night Mis–Y/N,” he murmured as he closed his eyes.

You smiled down at him and reached out, hand hovering over his soft brown locks. It was tempting to scratch his head like you did when he was in dog form, but you settled for a simple pat on the head.

“Good night.”

You slept in, only to sit up abruptly when you smelled something burning in the kitchen. Immediately, you threw back the covers and dashed into the kitchen, skidding to a stop when you saw Chanyeol frowning as he stood over the stove, holding a pan with charred remains of what looked like pancakes.

“Were you –?”

“Sorry I thought I could make you breakfast,” Chanyeol mumbled as he ducked his head. “I used to watch Kyungsoo-yah cook after Kris-hyung went home and he was very talented. Except...I kind of forgot how long he cooked the pancakes for. I would ask him for help, but I don’t know where he lives now.”

“Oh Chan it’s okay!” you reassured him as you took the pan from him and dumped it into the sink. “I’ll just run out to the store and grab something for us. So um, what was Kyungsoo?”

“An owl,” Chanyeol answered. “Kris left sushi out by mistake and Kyungsoo smelled it one night while passing by. He tried to fly in to grab it, but hit the door, cause of his bad eye sight. Kris found him outside and nursed him back to health.”

“Did he leave on his own afterwards?”

“No, he stayed until someone adopted him too,” Chanyeol replied. “Kris gave him something to improve his vision. I think he had trouble finding friends and the idea of being adopted sounded nice. He would sometimes cook late at night after the shop closed because some of us would get hungry – me and Baekhyun-ah mostly. Sometimes Zitao, but he’d claim he was watching his weight.”

“Was that the cat that I met yesterday?” you asked as you turned off the stove.

Chanyeol nodded and shook his head with a small smile. “Zitao really wants a home too but he wants to have an expensive life. Or at least someone who will spoil him with attention and presents.”

“That’s not me,” you chuckled as you leaned against the counter. “I mean, I’m doing okay for the most part, but like I said to him, I’m allergic to cat fur and that wouldn’t work.” You began turning on the taps and added soap to the pan, slipping on rubber gloves before you tried to nudge and scrape out the leftover charred remains.

“I’ll be a few minutes Chan but I’ll throw clothes on and run some place to buy us breakfast,” you promised as you dumped out the soapy, burned pieces of pancake into the garbage disposal.

Chanyeol nodded before walking out of the kitchen, making a beeline for the bathroom. “I’m going to use it then comb my hair, okay?” he called over his shoulder.

You raised a brow and he glanced back at you. “Y/N, I know a few things – yes Kris-hyung would take some of us for walks but other times, we figured out how to do human things like cooking and using the bathroom.”

You lowered your head, feeling stupid for thinking he didn’t know what to do. He was right – if Kris said the other animals could do this human shifting thing too, then they could probably figure out basic actions like cooking, using the bathroom indoors, and whatnot.

“AHHH Y/N I think I did something wrong! HA-glub-LP!”

You were drying your hands when you heard Chanyeol yelling from the bathroom. You panicked and dashed over, turning the knob and yanking the door open.

Your dog turned human was standing in your bathtub with the showerhead on and he was trying to use his hands to block the water spraying out. His oversized t-shirt he wore was soaked, along with his face and hair. You had to resist the urge to laugh at the poor pup and you quickly reached into the shower to shut the water off.

“What were you doing in there?” you asked with an amused look.

“I thought, maybe I should take a bath so I’m clean,” Chanyeol explained. “Hyung did this a couple times – I’d sit in a tub and he’d help me get my hair clean. Only, when I turned that knob, water came out up there and I panicked!”

You shook your head at him and reached for a towel to dry his hair and face off. He closed his eyes as you fluffed his hair with the towel and you smiled.

“It is set for the shower right now,” you explained as you gestured to the showerhead. “If you press this down, it will change the water to come out here.” You gestured to the slender pin-like knob on top of the tub faucet and pushed it down. You briefly turned the knob again and water came out, making Chanyeol jump slightly as it hit his feet. You laughed at his cute reactions before turning off the water and putting the towel down.

Chanyeol watched you demonstrate how to change from shower to bath and he nodded once he understood. He bowed his head slightly and thanked you.

“I think I can take it from here, but I might need help with my hair – would you please help?” he asked, tilting his head.

You swallowed hard after hearing his question, your ears feeling warm. Chanyeol was already peeling the oversized t-shirt off, fumbling as the arms got stuck to his skin, courtesy of the water. As he busied himself with the shirt, your eyes landed on his toned abdomen and strong, muscled arms. It was tempting to reach over and run your fingers along those sculpted areas.

Stop it – he’s your dog and it’s wrong to eye him like that, you scolded yourself as you held your hand out for his shirt.

He passed it off to you and worked to remove his pants and underwear while you averted your eyes, saying that you were going to throw his shirt into the dryer.

“Y/N, would you please dry these too?” he asked as he held out his pants and underwear.

You nodded as you accepted the two garments without meeting his eyes and hurried off to the closet where your washer and dryer were stored. You opened the door to the dryer and tossed all three garments in, adding a dryer sheet behind them. You heard the tub being turned on again and guessed that Chan was filling up the tub with water now. You programed the dryer for his clothes and closed the door, waiting for the machine to kick in.

“I’ve got the tub ready but would please help with my hair?” Chanyeol called out.

“Sure...”

“This is sooo good!” Chanyeol blurted out as he tore into the breakfast sandwich you bought. “Thank you so much!”

You smiled and nodded as you took a sip from your favorite morning beverage, watching as the pup devoured the remaining half with gusto. The rest of Chanyeol’s bath wasn’t too bad – he remained seated with his knees drawn up, due to his size, and you used the detachable showerhead to wash his hair with. He made cute little pleased sounds when you lathered up his hair which made your heart melt a little. Once he got all cleaned up, you had to avert your eyes as he stood up and reached for the towel you left out. When it came time for you to clean up, you had to politely kick him out.

“Y/N, you do not need help?” he asked as he held the door.

“Chan, I’m fine – you just get dressed and wait for me,” you told him.

He pouted and whined that it didn’t seem fair that you helped him while he couldn’t help you. You reassured him you could handle showering alone before closing the door and showering quickly. He had lingered outside the door until you finished before getting dressed outside of the bathroom.

Now you were out and about, eating breakfast at your favorite cafe a few blocks away, which was known for their gourmet breakfast sandwiches and avocado toast. True to Kris’s words, everyone saw a large dog with a leash trotting alongside of you, while you saw the lanky young man sporting a collar and leash. Some commented on his size while others mentioned he was pretty. He had to wait outside for you while you grabbed breakfast and pouted, watching as you walked up to the counter, ordered two breakfast sandwiches to go, and your favorite beverage. After the order was ready, you grabbed Chan and took him to the nearby dog park, sitting down to munch on your breakfast.

“See any dogs you recognize?” you asked.

“No they’re all unfamiliar,” Chanyeol replied as he wiped his mouth.

“Who else did you have at the pet shop as a friend?” you asked.

“Hum, well Baekhyun was my best friend,” Chanyeol mused as he thought about it. “Kyungsoo-yah, oh there was a small bunny named Suho – he was such a mother hen to us, and um a cat named Chen. Chen tried to sing to a bunch of birds once and they got upset. He had a beautiful voice but to the birds, he was too scary and they thought his smile meant bad things.”

You laughed at the thought of a cat hybrid human singing a song to some birds and the latter flying away in horror.

“Why did he try?”

“I think he had a crush on one bird because she was the prettiest of them – warm smile, long hair as a human,” Chanyeol recalled. “But they were all a little shy and tended to think cats were going to eat them.” He balled up his trash and you accepted it from him, standing up to toss it into the nearby trash can.

Chanyeol sat up straighter as he caught a whiff of something. “I must be imagining things – it smells like Baekhyun-ah but...?”

“Where?” you asked as you looked around for a corgi. You scanned the park area and blinked when you spotted a young man with jet black hair being tugged along by a shorter young man with copper brown hair that flopped in his eyes, giving him a boyish look. Like Chanyeol, this young man had a collar around his neck and a leash attached to it, his dark-haired owner on the other end of it.

“You see him too, don’t you? He looks human to you, right?” Chanyeol asked as he glanced over at you.

You nodded dumbly as you watched the pair make their way over to you, the owner huffing as he leaned over to catch his breath. “Baekhyun-ah,” the young man wheezed, “I can’t run anymore, please tell me you’ll let me take a break...”

“Oh um, sorry Yixing,” the young man apologized as he glanced back at his owner. “But I saw my old friend and he has a pretty new owner! Chanyeol!!!” The shorter young man lunged toward Chan and squeezed him tightly in a big hug. Chanyeol returned the hug and sniffled, trying to fight back tears of joy at seeing his old friend again.

You scooted over on the bench to make room for Baekhyun’s owner, who thanked you before plopping down beside you. He messed up his hair and sighed.

“Kris?” he asked as he caught his breath.

You nodded and gestured to Chanyeol. The two dog hybrids were too busy reacquainting themselves to notice their owners were chatting away.

“Baekhyun-ah was hoping I could take his friend too, but my building said one dog is permitted or two cats,” the young man explained. “I’m glad he found a home though. Yixing by the way.”

“Y/N,” you introduced yourself. “So when did you see his...?”

“Ah um, about five days later,” Yixing replied. He shook his head and laughed, recalling how shocked he was to find the hyperactive puppy he adopted was capable of assuming a human form. He had spent a long time on the phone with Kris trying to understand all of this happening. “I liked his energy and he made me happy when I felt a little down about life. Plus I’ve been trying to exercise more so he’s been keeping me in shape, which I appreciate.”

“I can echo that statement about getting me out of a funk,” you replied as you watched Chanyeol go play with Baekhyun. “Except I found out about the human form less than 24 hours of adopting him.”

“I’m guessing he must really like you then,” Yixing deduced. “It hurt me to break up their friendship but I really can’t violate the rules of my complex. They’re very strict.”

“I’m guessing you don’t live far from here?”

“No I’d say a few blocks away from this dog park,” he replied. “You?”

“Not far,” you replied. “Maybe...hey if you’re okay with this, maybe we could try to have them meet up on a regular basis. I’m sure they’d love it.”

“Oh that’s a great idea!” Yixing replied with a brilliant smile. He checked his watch and sighed, murmuring that he needed to head back to take a call from work. “If I keep them waiting any longer, that could be bad.”

“No it’s fine, go take your call,” you replied as you watched Yixing call Baekhyun over, fixing his leash.

“Aww wae? Must we go?” Baekhyun whined.

“Chan and I don’t live far from here – maybe we can work out another day to meet up,” you told them.

Baekhyun perked up at that statement and happily bounded over to you, wrapping you in a big hug. “Really?! Oho thank you! Please take good care of Chanyeol-ah, yes?”

“I will.”

“Today was perfect,” Chanyeol sighed with a smile as you settled in for the night. “I appreciate the food – it was all so yummy! I didn’t think I’d see Baekhyun-ah again but he lives so close and that makes me happy!” He leaned over and planted a sweet, gentle kiss to your cheek. “Thank you Y/N.”

“You’re welcome Chan,” you replied as you shredded some junk mail you received. You slit open an envelope and froze when you saw pictures of you at the cafe spill out and you shakily scrambled to pick them up. All of it went into a drawer and you made a mental note to share these with police.

“Y/N you made the same face last night – what is wrong? Have I done something bad? Who took those pictures?” Chanyeol walked over and peered at the envelope you were shoving into the drawer.

“Someone I’m avoiding,” you explained. “Chan, he was tutoring me in a subject at university a few years ago and took an interest in me. We went on one date then nothing else happened – another girl came into his life and I moved on and graduated. We ran into each other about a few months ago at the grocery store and he wanted to try again. We did a few more dates but I realized he wasn’t a good fit and I broke it off. He’s not taken it well though.”

Chanyeol frowned when he heard that and he pointed to the drawer. “Please tell me you’re going to report this, right?”

You nodded and began guiding him to the couch. You watched as he got acquainted and patted his head.

“I’ll do it after work tomorrow,” you told him. “So I’m going to be gone from about 8-4:30 tomorrow but I’ll come home afterwards. Can you promise me to not make a mess in my apartment while I’m gone?”

He lifted his chin from the pillow and nodded, eyes staring deeply into yours. You smiled as you pet him again before turning off the lights.

“Good night Chanyeol.”

[fleurdelissaswords-blog]

GAMMA ZETA LIE SORORITY'S "PRETTY LITTLE LIARS 7b SERIES FINALE" THEORIES BATCH FOR 2017!!! ITS HEEEREEE! #SharingIsCaring Bitches...

GZL PLL 7B Master Collection of Finds and Theories:

It’s that time again! Where GZL posts all the hard work we’ve done as a team all season solving PLL… our team is truly outstanding! I should know, I handpicked each of them as being the best of the best in the fandom! Each season before the finale, we post our master theories and body of work, so after the finale we can say we got this or that correct. This past year GZL has gone thru a lot of changes! Members have gone thru many life changes and we’ve still kept on keeping on. This is how I reward my GZL Dolls for their hard work all season. By posting our work so they all get bragging rights. I’m continuously impressed by how amazing this group of people is. We have some of the best detectives in the fandom, and I handpicked and invited each one to participate in a lil experiment of solving -A as a team. We’ve all become good friends now and have successfully solved PLL each season since! Way to go Team! We had a lot of challenges this season, and still managed to get'er done. Thanks for all of your hard work this season Dolls! We decided to make this season a bit more fun and laid back. We post our work, theories and finds before each finale, twice a year and here it is.

For those interested in joining, don’t fret that PLL is over. GZL will continue doing new shows. We recruit twice per year for those lucky ones. Here’s the work we did this season as well as some throwbacks and solo theories of members. We hope you enjoy! A lot of work went into this:

❤️ TABLE OF CONTENTS TO FINDS AND THEORIES BELOW:

🔺Peter Hastings and the Illicit Radley Baby-Breeding Ring (A “Just for Fun” Theory)

🔺AriA is A SleepwAlker

🔺#GrunwAld Means “Green Forest!”

🔺#Moleb: The AD Techy Power Couple

❤️ PETER HASTINGS HELP A.D. RUN AN ILLICIT BABY-BREEDING RING!: GZL 7b, 2017. A Just for Fun Hypothesis

PLL 7B Just-For-Fun Theory: Peter Hastings is Uber A! And The A Team is an Illicit Baby Trafficking Ring!!! 😱 (& Bonus: The 3 M’s of. good Theory!) NEW & REVISED ADDITIONS V2! So a lot of pll fans have been discussing Peter Hasting’s recent arrival back in Rosewood and wondering what he is still hiding. We know he has Umpteen million kids. My theory is: Peter is Uber A, and started the game merely to keep tabs on all of his damn kids, find out if there’s anymore out there, keep them out of trouble with typical teen issues like drugs (I’m Looking at You Spencer & Jason= the Spason Sibs, you’re welcome 😇), and avoid having to pay child support for all of them.

The GZL Evidence File 🗃:

1. We keep finding more kids this dude has had. We have no idea when this will end.

2. The Uber A mystery has to do with who’s kids are who’s. Who’s were Mary Drakes? Who’s Peter Hastings? Who’s a DiLaurentis in secret. Who’s a Hastings in secret. And who’s been adopted. Which kids were taken from their mothers in Radley… which seems to be an ongoing trend which brings me to:

3. Just how many babies have been born in Radley and why did they have a nursery there and then quickly take kids away from their mothers and adopt them out? We know Char and Bethany and Spencer were all Radley kids. We know AriA has been in Radley before but we dunno why. We know Mona learned some BIG secrets there. So did Cece/Char.

4. We know some of these kids grew up cray cray. Some were adopted out. They all have the common element of having problems with mental health or drugs.

5. Emily was forced to sell her eggs which were then stolen! Maybe this is how the A Team’s baby breeding program does things now to get and steal babies? Now that Radley is gone.

6. We know Ali was implanted with fertilized eggs while held against her will at Welby. It seems A had been planning it for a long time. Could this have happened to Mary Drake while in Radley? She had more babies than we knew, and how did she keep having them if she was a locked up patient in a facility which likely kept male/female living areas apart and would have rules against having sex in their rooms, etc. So maybe she was implanted with stolen eggs too. Were any of those parents in that generation of rosewood peeps unable to have kids?

7. Why yes: Ashley Marin seems a likely candidate cuz we know Hanna looks nothing like her. We also know Ashley has a murky past where she “got into some trouble.” But we still dunno this story. Maybe she sold her eggs while young like Em did and adopted Hanna and Hanna just doesn’t know yet. Maybe all the look alikes are related by blood?! All the blondes. Also Hanna might be adopted cuz hers doesn’t look a thang like her mama and we know there’s more there.

8. We know A has had some medical training and seems to be keeping tabs on a whole town of kids and orchestrating implanting woman and adopting out kids in secret! We know Veronica also may not have been able to have kids after Melissa… we got her story but look how her story has changed drastically from the many, many, many times Spencer has asked her about this!

Conclusion: Are we looking at weird secret baby breeding program run illegally at Radley Sanitarium and certain older members of Rosewood being involved? We know Peter Hastings was the father of some of them of them. And nobodies parents are who they seem. We wonder if AriA was born to her parents and we suspect she has a connection to biological mental health issues and was a patient there, and we suspect she may even be related to Wren, who was a dr there who knew some big secrets.

We know some doctors knew about babies being born in Radley… but there had to have been a LOT for it to cause Radley to build a nursery ward just for kids! Rosewood isn’t that big and 2-3 locked up mentally ill children usually don’t make up and entire children’s ward at a mental hospital! Why haven’t we seen all the other Radley kids then? And it seems no kids actually lived in the nursery for a very very long time! We have flashbacks but also look at the old fashioned dress of the Radley nurses Radley.

Just look at Bethany’s drawings of 2 kids being separated by an evil monster! And how she said Mrs D (or Mary) was a “liar,” and who coincidentally was on the board. Also her drawings of siblings being torn apart and mothers being thrown Off roofs and murdered to keep the secret. Even the dr doesn’t wanna talk. Also, the night Ali saw Veronica outside going thru things and they discussed Spencer not being herself, Veronica was going thru baby stuff! Maybe she had given the twin back long ago, cuz in their family album there’s THREE young girls, Spencer always been seen with one then Melissa. Spencer was just remembering a tale where Melissa defended her against a playground bully but Melissa doesn’t want to discuss it. I think Melissa was sworn to secrecy when the twin was given back early on for being violent and all kinds of evils, and Veronica had kept some of the baby stuff and started getting rid of during Spencer’s “troubling years on drugs” so she wouldn’t accidentally find something cuz she was a snoop remember!

Also Paige and Aria are looking a lot alike these days too. Almost like Paige may be her evil Twinsie. What if what we are looking at is a town full of bred twins and the families who adopted them found issues with one and so thise were given back and kept secret and now all of those twins who were given up are growing up and ANGRY and banned together to get revenge? Hmmm. This may explain why there’s twin clues for the entire cast. And what if some of those parents were adopted twins too like Jessica and Mary dram… cuz like their wealthy family helped run and financially back the ring, each generation. Jessica was on the board. So, who could have started this?

My guess is a young Grunwald and her husband who were one of Rosewood’s first adopted families having adopted 2 little blonde girls named Jessica and Mary. The twin story Ali told. And one of them went evils and had to be sent away to, where else? Radley! Where she became the next generation of mentally ill mothers to bear babies for the adoption ring. No wonder she’s so pissed! Wouldn’t you be? She was given up cuz the real evil sister set her up, and had to be locked up with no family and then who knows how many babies she had for the ring against her will. We know Marion was there too so could potentially be mom to some of these babies.

We saw this same thing happen to Ali recently and she was shocked. Had she not gotten out of Welby, she’d probably have had this happen a few more times to “earn her keep” there. SICK! Now I think the story of how this occurred with each family is different. Sometimes the good twin got to stay. Sometimes the bad twin tricked the parents and got the good twin sent off. And sometimes the bad twin came back to haunt the family and the town they didn’t get to grow up in, hence why it’s all such a confusing mess of who’s baby is who’s now. We don’t know as of last ep if it was Spencer’s evil twin she at the airport Ezra saw. She seems a bit different at times. And the summer she was all doped up and fighting with Ali, and I think Ali knew.

Ali was also extorting money from Byron at the time, for a big secret and I doubt it was just the affair. She was already being hounded by her evil Twinsie and had to escape, so she needed money. Ali herself might be the evil twin too or had been before she returned to Rosewood to reclaim her life. What we see is a much kinder gentler Ali almost like a diff person. Her hair is different, she’s more quiet and less nosy. Ali got her good twin sent away and the bad twin staying to be the popular girl just like in the books. Ali was secretly fighting her twin at the same time Spencer was. We thought we had learned this was Cece her real life unknown sister, but that night when she snuck out of the Hastings and came back with a bloody lip she had fought someone she never named, not even when Spencer asked her while in Radley.

Now those twins may have switched spots vying for Ali’s perfect life a few times, and I think the evil twin won out and then they were swapped back when the evil Ali died and the good Ali came back to reclaim her life she hadn’t had for a while. My big question is: where as these Twinsies hiding and who is helping them stay hidden, and pull all of this off? And do they know Ea other or not? Is it a twin war the discarded twins waged as an A Team (meaning: the BETTER twin, the A Grade twin) or is the secret Grunwald baby ring taking them back and caring for them and trying to keep them under wraps but having a hard time? Grunwald returns periodically to help these girls and we dunno why. We know she has a keen eye for teen bullshiz tho having ran a sorority! She may not be opposed to spanking kids when they get out of line. We know she saved All, and Ali, and Ali multiple times.

Sometimes she looks at Ali as if trying to tell which Twinsie is which. And one of the Ali’s gets spooked by it while the other sees her as a helper not her keeper. I also suspect the Fitz/Fitzgerald foundation is involved in funding this secretly. It has to be some wealthy donors backing this thang! Also we’ve seen Ezra go evils too and there’s been times we viewers AND the liars have suspected he was evil… what we were seeing was Ezra’s Twinsie doing bad bad things! Some fans are speculating Aria’s file says she was pregnant. If she was in Radley at one point she may have been.

But I feel she was young when at Radley, either as an adopted kid born there like Spencer and others, OR she’s had secret stays there since we’ve come to know her on the show (between the ages of approx 14-early 20’s). It’s possible her twin lived there or was sent back ir that aria is the evil twin in their fam and framed the other good twin to get her sent away. Cuz we’ve seen aria’s anger, her sleep disturbances, her sketchiness, her lies, her dating older men, her indecision about those men, her missing pigtunia, etc. We’ve seen her go thru various rebellious style phases, etc. Aria and her twin have been secretly battling it out the entire series! Spencer’s twin has made appearances as the drug addict ADHD one and desperately wants her family’s approval. Ali’s twin has replaced her sister. Jason’s twin shows up whenever Jason is traveling. Mary did some things acting as Jessica who also came and went randomly. Hanna has undergone personality changes where suddenly she’s super smart, vs. the shoplifting trouble maker. Caleb appears and disappears. Mona does too, sometimes without her signature nose beauty mark. Hmmm… 🤔 Now, who would be in charge of a secret baby breeding program where mentally ill women locked up were used to give birth and have a secret place to rear those kids till adoption? A Secret Society of Doctors and Wealthy Elites who could make a LOT of money doing this being Radley doors cuz who’s gonna believe a mental patient saying someone knocked her up and stole her babies? No one. And if a mother talked or did anything about it she got thrown off a roofsies! 😱

We know back in the old days of mental asylums and institutions, horrific tests and experiments were often conducted on patients who were used as unwilling guinea pigs. We also know Radley has a secret underground passage… that likely leads to the church, where: babies taken out of Radley to be adopted could be picked up (& christened to get the “evils” out of them being born of mentally ill women… who were often seen back in the day as: possessed by demons! Mental health issues long ago were considered to be spiritual afflictions of possession, rather than a biological health issue). We also know Human Trafficking doesn’t just include sex trade. It also has included funding illicit adoptions illegally. There’s many stories of adoption centers being busted for acquiring babies illegally! One only a few years ago looking like a normal adoption center but after a few babies turned out bad, and stories started, the center came under investigation. Back in the day I’m guessing that was more common and overlooked. But still illegal thus needing to be kept secret.

Also look at how there’s identical sets of “liars” around rosewood and nearby towns! Sara Harvey’s crew had a group of girls similar to the liars. We know there’s a multitude of blonde trouble makers in rosewood! Then we have the Gamma Zeta sorority sisters Grunwald looked after which had an identical set of looking liars. This was Cece’ gen. And now in rosewood there seems to be some “junior plastics” running around causing problems and all kinds of evils. While someone keeps tabs on them and tries to get them the truth!

A clue from @maliciousbuthot on twitter hinted this many times. This clue giver also said that Sara Harvey performed the implantation into Ali! So I got to thinking: this all centers around babies, adoptions, doctors, and groups of girls who are identical sets to the liars. 🤔

We know Maddie from Dance Mom’s was cast as one of these “blonde Ali type girls.” Maybe her ghost was a Radley baby portraying how her mother was forced to give birth in Radley. And the ghost twins Ashley keeps running into. Lol. Who likely are the same twins from Ali’s Halloween twin story, come back cuz they’ve got questions for their mommy, who curiously looked a lot like a younger Grunwald in the story, which appears to take place in Aria’s family’s kitchen back in the 1950’s based on fans having dated plates and kitchen ware there. Also the nurses dress like something out of the 50’s.

What kind of secret society would be breeding babies for secret adoptions you ask? One running the town’s older elite. Like Grunwald’s generation. We suspect she is Ali’s grams, and we know Mary drake was Ali’s aunt, and had Radley babies. Peter may be a member of this org and helping facilitate this illicit baby ring! WEIRD!!! 😳

Maybe Peter Hastings is one of the illicit baby ring’s biggest sperm donors?! I think Byron may have been too. Maybe it’s how he got all that money. We know A team has major financial assets and resources. They’re connected to doctors and various clinics. They’re trained in medical procedures. They’ve got access to pharmaceuticals.

Face it: the A Team is an Illicit Baby Ring and secret society! The Baphomet symbolism would hint at this. Except there’s one problem with these babies: They don’t always come out without mental health problems cuz the mothers were mostly Radley patients! Remember the similar genetic features of the girls in Rosewood? Maybe the mental illness genes also caused some problems. What if Sarah Harvey was related to all the other blondes: Bethany, Ali, and Hanna?

COMING UP NEXT: How does Aria’s secret Radley File play into this whole thang? Is she the evil twin or does she have an evil twin? It seems maybe her evil twin is the leader of the twin team if the A team is a bunch of angry Rogue twinsies come back for revenge on the families who cast them aside. She alone seems to know what her file holds though by her reaction to try to keep so much secret. She was FREAKED out to see an Artificial Intelligence Twinsie staring back at her during A.D’s FaceTime calls.

We don’t know who’s behind this computer AriA face, but what if it’s her evil twin and she knows unlike the rest she had one. Or maybe she has worked with her evil twin more than the others have with theirs and met her twin long ago? Or maybe her twin lives inside her? I firmly believe she’s worked with A many times before and is hiding something big. A secret Ali extorted Byron for. And why did Ali pick each of these girls? The probably wouldn’t have all been friends if Ali’s evil twin in the books needed new friends to keep her cover, so invented her own crew of rag tag outcasts. And she kept saying there was a reason she picked each of them. 😉 Maybe the reason was to keep her cover cuz she hasn’t been her sister all along since she took over?

A theory isn’t just a guess based on observing some clues. Every clue has to fit. And a theory must also determine Motive and Means and Method! I’ve done that here… but I’d like to see more theories a little more flushed out with the 3 M’s: Method, Motive, Means.

How do we do this? We answer these big questions when doing any theory!… and we don’t call them friggin theories!!! 😡 According to definition: We call them HYPOTHESES until they are tested and stand up to the test, which is when they become a theory. Once the theory is proven, it becomes a principal! But it must have: Method, Motive, & Means.

A. What is the Motive for the crimes? B. What is the Method used to carry them out? C. And does the suspect have the actual Means (resources or know how) to carry it out? Cuz if not, it’s not a theory by definition.

If there is ONE take away I want the now grown PLL fandom to take home, other than to not trust Mar, it’s this: a theory isn’t a theory till it has passed the hypothesis testing phase! If ur writing a “theory” to fit into a few ideas or only a few cluesies you want to pay attention to, and it doesn’t fit EVERY DAMN CLUESIE, It’s a waste of time to present to our scholarly community.

But every once in a while a fan gets a brilliant creative writing stroke of genius (we’ve all had them), and wants to make a fun theory they know isn’t likely, cuz it’s absurd or doesn’t fit all of the cluesies. Then we call it a “Just for Funsies!” But since the fandom has adopted “theories” as it’s lingo, here is my Just for Funsies.

Cuz let’s face it, we’ve all wondered about Mr. Hastings! He has more child support damage than most in Rosewood, so he would have a possible motive for being -A and spying on all his damn kids around town… and avoid child support. That’s a motive! Sorry for that tangent “theory”… it’s been bugging me for ages! Now you do. Don’t do it againsies.

Now, does he have the means: resources? Um, has a Hastings, and they’re like super rich, so duh! Lol. Only someone with the 3 M’s can be our AD! Unless Mar is writing the script, then any average college drop out can have a high tech lair that doesn’t make any sense at allsies… and that could very well happen to us again, relegating our fandom to *Gasp!*… the crowd of sad poor little Lost fans in collective mourning over what used to be a killer show that turned into shiz.

So, this “Hypothesis” centers around the shady Mr. Hastings and how many… many… many kids in Rosewood he seems to have who keep popping up each season. Even Sasha said in an interview, if she could give her character one bit of hindsight advice, it would be to look between the lines and know -A may be as close as your own family! GASP! Was that a clue? We know the DiLaurentis and Hastings families are like the Medici’s and Borgias. Wearily elite families who battled with one another to run the town. We know there was an affair between Peter and Jessica, and Mary. So that makes Spencer, Jason, Ali, and Cece all related. Wow! What if we took that family tree chart further? How many more women did Peter help father at Radley while being connected to a Radley Board member? We know Bethany called Mrs D. a liar. And she is now dead for it.

How could one man have so many kids? And leave so much death in his wake? Make so many women promise to keep secrets? How could there be kids never known about? Kids erased from family albums? We know both the Hastings, DiLaurentis, AND Montgomery families all had an extra kid shown in their family albums we never met!

So how could one man have so many unknown kids related to other Rosewood families? Easy: he was a sperm donor for an illicit baby breeding ring run out of Radley Sanitarium, using all the mothers locked up there against their will. BAM!

What if some of these Radley parent’s kids who were stolen from their birth mothers, are now very, very pissed! And wanna keep tabs on their kids and find out how many kids and who all they had, cuz maybe they were so doped Up in Radley they can’t even remember a lot of their time there. We know Marion died there. We know doctors from Radley have discussed delivering babies there when it wasn’t supposed to be happening… except their kids are now cray cray cuz of their mental health genes and being taken from their mothers and other possible siblings. Which may be why there’s an A Team and a force trying to stop get some attention around Rosewood.

And as we see in s7, Ali is stuck in Welby (the new Radley), unjustly by her husband/majorjerkface who was on the -A team, and there she gets implanted with Emily’s stolen eggs. So this would be current proof as to the shady doctors in Rosewood breeding babies out of mental patient women! There’s your proof! If Maddie Zeigler’s creepy lil dance in the Radley Basement of a mother going into labor and giving birth inside Radley, and Mary Drake’s Radley babies, and Ali’s new Welby baby (I swear if they name that baby Welby, Ima be pissed… let’s hope they name her/him Paige! Ali owes Paige and so does Em), are any proof: babies are being purposefully, and illegally bred from mental health patient’s by shady doctors. Oh wait, who was that doctor Mona stole magazines from? Have we ever seen an ethical doctor in Rosewood? No! And we know doctors are being paid to do things and keep quiet about it in Rosewood. There’s also the whole “Who’s Toby & Jenna’s daddy?!” Cuz we’ve never even met him. He’s on my list too! Just cuz we know he exists but have never seen him. Why? We see Jenna getting handed a Braille book about the endgame by someone wearing medical scrubs and gloves. Face it: doctors and babies and mental health patient women are at the heart of all of this madness.

Then I am reminded of the scene in Amish Country with the Amish girl who once again curiously had dolls of the liars. This little girl claims to have known Charlotte. Why would the Amish be connected? Maybe because the Amish are known for adopting a lot. Anyone who’s seen the reality show Going Amish, knows this. So this could be why Rollins was in Amish Country. And that barn they met this little girl in in Amish Country, looks a lot like the Campbell farm.

There’s also this thing where we know Caleb was in foster care. We never learned much about his family, except that his uncle was really his father. So once again we have a kid who doesn’t feel like they belong to their family. Caleb is still on my -A suspect list cuz he fits some certain other criteria, like height, having tech skills, seeing everything but being inconspicuous, being trusted by the liars, and taking off a times. So we don’t know who some of these parents even are, and the ones we thought we knew, we didn’t even know. Lol.

So who’s on who’s side? There’s a lot more I can add to this like Fitz foundation’s financial involvement and the rich family assets and connections in Rosewood that could have kept this whole baby ring going… so stay tuned. If you like it, hit me up in the comments or chat or my twitter to let me know you’d like to see more of this theory.

And as always: Credit Me Bitches, or Else!!! And Reblog if you’d like more! You’re welcome! 
😘
-L

© 2017, Fleurdelissaswords Additional Credits: G_Xoxo, Maliciousbuthot, PLLINSIDER, & various contributing GZL members, including @thepllfanxx.

❤️ ARIA IS A #SLEEPWALKER!!!: © 2017, GZL Master Theories 7b Batch.

The entire GZL crew gets credit for years of work on this one! If you weren’t thanked at the bottom in the credits, but helped back in the day on this, we thank you too! Here goes:

AriA is a SleepwAlker! 😱 Has this never occurred to anyone outside GZL? NO! Cuz we discovered it and, the rumors are true, we’ve been sitting on this theory for a few years now. It’s time it saw the light of day! We’ve compiled over the years, a massive database of evidence to support the hypothesis (which btw is the correct word the fandom should be using! Not theory! A theory is a hypothesis which has already been tested and stood up to scrutiny!) that AriA is in fact not suffering from MPD/DPD, but is in fact, a Sleepwalker. A really bad one too! Like so bad she got treatment in Radley for it. A secret she and her family have kept hidden well. The fandom read all of the timey-whimey sketchy AriA cluesies completely WRONGSIES! We will also explain the story behind the infamous Pigtunia, whom we are sorry to say, has not run off in a secret elopement with Tipi the. bird. Tipi doesn’t swing that way.

This theory involved events starting from the pilot episode on. We will present the facts, and why we think this is a plausible explanation for why we fondly refer to her as “Sketchy Aria.” We hope you enjoy reading it, as it took many years of hard work to pick through tons of episodes and evidence. We sought advice from psychological experts, mental health sufferers, and forensics peeps, to get to the bottom of whether Aria suffers from something like MPD, or something different, and possibly more sinister.

Oh Aria, why is it that you always get spared by A most of the time? Why is it that you seem to have issues with nightmares, and being found out late after dark, or show up when the time is different than it was when you left? Where do you go? What happened between 4p and 6:35p? It didn’t take that long to drive to your destination. Everything in Rosewood takes 15 minutes or less! It’s just not that dang big of a town.

You leave to go meet someone while it’s still light, and get there after dark? You have a scar one moment then by the next ep, which we take to be approx a week later, it’s already completely healed. Even your own friends think you’re the best liar! What gives? Aria: this is your tape!

Here’s the case against Aria being what she seems, an innocent girl who doesn’t know how these things happen, who doesn’t know why she always has advance info on people before everyone else, who loses her Pigtunia EVERYWHERE! If you like it, hit me up in the comment section with feedback, and reblog bitches! Sharing is caring. Don’t say I never gave you anything. 😉

Our group figured this one out a couple years ago and has been sitting on a BUTTLOAD of clues regarding it as the fandom desperately tries to understand Aria and what makes her tick. And now it’s Tick Tock Bitches for Aria, cuz AD seems pissed, and we hope she is finally about to be exposed. Did she come clean about all the info AD had on her? That small police report she made on Ezra years ago seems like small potatoes as far as blackmailing her into doing AD’s bidding. She seems rather freaked by the idea of being exposed too, even to Ezra sometimes… why is she still hiding things from the man she’s wanting to marry? Weird. And hey -A: medical records are strictly confidential and so that’s way wrong btw to steal! Shame on you. 😤 But we all know Aria has a Radley file, and Eddie Lamb, before his untimely death, seemed to recognize Aria… except she doesn’t seem to recognize him. Why would a mental ward employee remember someone when the patient themself does not? Hmmm. Those were the kinds of questions we asked. Sometimes it’s all about asking the right questions!

I know, I know. The fandom has been trying to fig out sketchy Aria since season 1. We know she’s connected to Iceland where Mar said -A has been seen. We know she’s gone thru many, many, many wardrobe phases. We know that red cup and pigtunia keep popping up in the strangest places! And we know she has a Radley file with an actual patient intake number. What kind of disorder would make a patient not remember certain things as Aria seems to suffer from? There’s a few: MPD is one often discussed in the fandom where a person’s compartmentalized alters may not remember what another alter did. Certain amnesia disorders can cause forgetfulness. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. But so can Sleepwalking disorders.

You know those commercials for sleep meds on late at night where in the warnings they say users may be prone to Sleepwalking and waking up not remembering having done things while on the med? AH-HA! This was the initial late night epiphany that got a few of us thinking. It’s true. Sleep eating is a common side effect of some sleep meds. And some sleepwalkers have been reported to do astonishing things while completely asleep and forgetting it the next morning. I once made and ate and entire chocolate cake in my sleep. It was due to any medications or anything, just a solo weird experience that hadn’t reoccurred. So it happens and can make an otherwise normal person seem a bit odd. People who run into a sleepwalker, likewise can report different personality traits, waking nightmares someone is screaming about, or even possibly, going by an entirely different name, as Aria said Emily called Aria “Arlene.” A weird choice of names. Unless the nights these girls were drugged, triggered a Sleepwalking episode of such magnitude people forgot they lost their pig puppets, woke to find friends missing, or oh say, forgetting they buried a body! Whatever sleeping pill Ali gave the girls “That Night” in the barn, seemed to have some interesting effects on the liars. And then the night Emily was drugged in a repeat of “That Night,” more interesting waking effects. We know Emily sleepwalked to a grave and was found holding a shovel. That has already been proven to have happened in Rosewood.

On another note, Aria also can’t seem to make up her mind about Jason or Ezra. Clearly she keeps going back to Jason and have some as of yet, unexplained bond with him (FYI Aria: We’re totally team JariA here at GZL since we figured this Sleepwalking thang out a few of years ago! We get it, he and Ezra both made you feel safe when sleeping, which is why That Night in the barn, You sleepwalked to his house). And your behavior patterns never disappoint when you’re in these Sleepwalking episodes, neither does your sense of fashion, depending on what you’ve been up to. And the subsequent seasonly clean up of the Ezria relationship when it goes inevitably haywire cuz of Aria again, never disappoints.

Now, I know many fans are inclined to think Aria has Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD in UK, or Disassociative Personality disorder. There’s some evidence to indicate there is a deep level of hiding and forgetfulness and lying and personality changes going on with Aria here. But we cannot fit a few symptoms into a diagnonsense, but rather we must find a diagnosis that meets all the displayed symptoms. I was a psychology major and come from a family background in the field, so I may have just figured it out with the help of my GZL society dolls and some late night infomercial epiphanies, when it comes to Sleepwalking disorders, especially diagnosed in childhood, it can be a tricky situation for family and doctors to figure out! Why is their kid showing signs of hiding behaviors? Why is the child found late at night standing out by the pool where they could have fallen and then claim to not remember how they got there?

I suspect Aria’s family had sought help for her as a child and maybe even got pigtunia as a tracking method for finding their daughter when she goes out Sleepwalking. If they could find the pig the next day, they would know where she had been! #GoodParenting might have indicated a human nighttime sitter rather than a pig puppet but this may plausibly explain why Aria was attached so fondly to Pigtunia and what Pigtunia’s occasional reappearances in new places may indicate. Sleep clinics or a mental hospital may help provide outpatient aftercare of this nature for a child suffering from nightmares and Sleepwalking episodes. Some trauma may have brought about the onset of childhood Sleepwalking in Aria too… we can’t be sure. But having a friendly pig to help guard her while sleeps would help a child with sleep problems. Lots of parents utilize such techniques.

Here I will make a case that it’s not mere forgetfulness from MPD episodes however, but that this is a sleep disorder as well. It may be she sleepwalks as someone named “Arlene” as Emily informed her she requested to be called once. People in active Sleepwalking episodes can have a range of bizarre behavior, even acting out dreams as we saw occur with one character in the Ravenswood spin-off! That character portrayed well what Sleepwalking night terrors can be like. Even Ezra said it’s dangerous to wake a sleepwalker. And he always seems aware of her nightmares. He often informs her when she’s had a nightmare the prior night. And she often blows it off as nothing which seems aimed at not worrying him. Here we see Classic Sketchy Aria doing her damage control.

The audience at home have also been privy to some of her dreams, seeing it from her perspective, as with her sex dream about Jason, and her recent 7b nightmare about going to prison and having a prison wedding. Lol. So we know:

*She suffers from periodic nightmares and very realistic dreams. These episodes of nightmares each season she discusses with Ezra, are often precipitated by feelings of guilt she has over messing up her relationship with Ezra yet again. In 7b she starts having nightmares and even pulls a knife on Nicole only AFTER the events of 7a where she deletes that call from Nicole off Ezra’s phone.

*This could explain her personality changes and some of her sketchy behavior.

*This could explain why Pigtunia is so important to her even still.

THAT NIGHT:

Now to begin, let’s review That Night, as the fandom fondly calls it. The night the pilot ep is set in, and the show has revisited, both in flashbacks and new versions of That Night in each season since. The one where Emily got drugged, the one with their slumber party reunion at the Radley Hotel. There’s always one of these drinking night slumber parties with the girls all together before all hell breaks loose. Weird things usually occur on these nights.

We can review the evidence from That Night #1, the night of the barn slumber party when Ali goes missing, for clues. Fans quickly picked up on how Aria was first to awaken (after Spencer, and Ali never slept). Spencer was on uppers which caused the sleeping pills to not work. We know Ali laced their drinks with a sleeping pill. But it seems to have not kept Aria down like the others, as when she awakes, the Red Cup she had been drinking as well as her beloved Pigtunia were nowhere to be found near her… hey, hadn’t they just been there? This indicates she had gotten up and took them both with her at some point during the night between the time they all fell asleep and the time she woke up for the second time which appeared as the first time to us. But really it was the second cuz we notice her cup and pig are gonesies! OHNOEZ?! 😱

We later see the same red cup on Jason’s doorstep and he even picks it up for a drink before realizing it’s empty, indicating Aria by the time she left the cup on his doorstep, had finished her entire drink! It also indicates she may not have entirely finished her laced drink before falling asleep in the barn or why else take it with her? Perhaps via Sleepwalking on autopilot she didn’t realize it was empty and took it along as a natural response to waking thirsty. At any rate the sleeping pills did not keep her asleep, possibly indicating she had used sleeping pills or been prescribed them in the past. Constant use of Sleeping pills can cause a tolerance to build up making the same dose less effective. Or perhaps she she just hadn’t finished enough of her drink to sleep for too long. Either way the cup and pig end up elsewhere and it is never explained why. But the implication is she woke up at some point which We we did not see.

In the book version Ali attempts to hypnotize the girls. Wow, mixing sleeping pills with hypnosis could be a bad combo for someone like Aria with lifelong sleep problems to do some crazy shiz. It could also be why she didn’t stay asleep long in itself. We don’t see this same attempt at hypnosis as we do in the books. So I won’t go into that part.

Say her family got her treatment when young at Radley Sanitarium for sleep observation and to keep her safe at night cuz as a child she had sleepwalked into a few too many dangerous situations. The doctors tried various sleeping meds so she developed a tolerance to sleeping pills in general. The pig was her favorite so she felt safe going to sleep and also served as a childhood way for the parents to keep track of their daughter’s sleep disturbances cuz she’d often leave it wherev she went while Sleepwalking. The pig could have been a good way to help her sleep on her own once released from Radley and was a tool she kept and used as best as she could.

That Night #1, will not be the first or last time Aria has “went out Sleepwalking after midnight” with or to Jason. She had a crush on him. I firmly believe the Patsy Cline reference was about Aria going out Sleepwalking after midnight looking for Jason or someone to keep her safe from her nightmares.

Fast forward to the time the liars raided Jason’s shed to see what pics he was developing. Here’s where we get our next big indicator Aria is a sleepwalker. These pics were all eerily of Aria… sleeping?! 😳 WHO DOES THAT?! Jason later had them framed and gave them to Aria, whom he knew was into photography. More on that photography connection in a minute. At the time of the gift being given to Aria, Jason says he did not take them, and had figured Ali did. But wait… Did Ali ever do photography? NO! Aria did. Maybe the person spying on and photographing Aria in her sleep was in fact the person who got Aria into photography in the first place? Has that occurred to anyone? Someone had to teach her. And we know now it was not Jason or Ali since neither did photography. Jason had his shed to build a darkroom solely for the purpose of developing that role of film he found, and it is here we are more glimpses of a Jason-Aria crush going on behind the scenes which we aren’t privy to seeing till later. But at this point we can safely Ali was a bit too busy running Rosewood to take up any meaningful hobbies.

Now, who else in Rosewood is into photography? Aria, Lucas, and Ian. These are the ones seen with cameras. So it’s plausible one of those 2 gentlemen introduced Aria to photography. We still have no confirmation of who did however, it is left up for viewer speculation. But just by asking the right question of “who does photography in Rosewood?” we can narrow down the field of possible people who’d be spying like this on Aria, AND A team peeps. Cuz we know A likes photography too! More live video photography like Ian and Ezra, but it’s a hint at least of who’s most apt to be spying around Aria sleeping after dark.

Why would someone be taking boring (but beautiful) pics of one of the liars sleeping? We must ask these questions then determine the most logical answer. Logically if I was keeping tabs on a kid sleeping, it would be to ensure they were safe, find out if they were asleep at the time, or if it was known she was a sleepwalker, to keep tabs on what she does while asleep! Why else would someone be that creepy about Aria’s sleep habits?

So Whoev took those pics we can thus logically assume 3 things: They were into photography. So is aria, so maybe this is whom Aria learned photography from… cuz that hasn’t been answered yet!

2. This person (maybe -A or someone wanting to use her Sleepwalking for the -A team knowing she wouldn’t remember whatever they made ever do while asleep the next day) knew she had sleep problems and was actively spying to see when she was asleep or not.

3. This person’s pics are very intimate looking B&W. As if they may have been a bit obsessed with Aria. Was this just to gain Intel on her to use for their own gain or is this person in love with her, noticing her lips as she sleeps and snapping pics of that, etc. This person also has a fondness for B&W like Aria does. So there’s yet another Aria connection to whoev is stalking them. Because of this, i am convinced Aria knows her tormentor well. Most victims of stalking know who is stalking them… except these girls! Criminal Profilers will say most stalkers go after someone they’ve become obsessed with at an unhealthy, dangerous level.

In future seasons, there has often been a redo of That Night, as mentioned above. The next slumber party is just as bizarre, and is where Emily went missing after being drugged, and was later found by a grave holding a shovel. She noted Aria made her call her “Arlene.” Could This Be for Arlene Drake? Or her Sleepwalking alter ego? Like an MPD when she’s asleep? There is a type of disorder that is a lot like a mix of MPD Alters except these alter personas only come out when the person is asleep. Is Aria Sleepwalking as Arlene? She looks a lot like a drake with that dark hair too… hmmm.

ARIA’S FASHION HOLDS CLUES TO HER MIND STATE AND BEHAVIOR GOING ON AT THE TIME:

Have you ever noticed after each season when Aria flubs it with Ezra, she has a period of repenting to him, where her clothes are more conservative and toned down as she tries to make it up to him, for whatever she did? Recently she went to Ezra’s to sleep late at night (maybe with her sleep disorder she felt more comfortable there, and safe from hurting others which she may suspect she’s done before and is hiding, although the details may be a bit fuzzy the next day when awake, which is common with Sleepwalking patients).

At Ezra’s, she discovered late at night, Nicole was sleeping there! So what does Aria do? She pulls a knife on her! Again: WHO DOES THAT? Someone Sleepwalking to her boyfriend’s late at night for some shut eye, and gets startled… Ezra did say it’s dangerous to wake a sleepwalker! And it must be VERY dangerous when it comes to Aria’s Sleepwalking cuz she nearly stabs Nicole before realizing she is not a killer. Maybe Aria sleepwalked there and didn’t mean to pull a knife? Maybe she feel asleep on the couch just to get some shut eye then awoke to Nicole and was startled, but not fully awake. We later see her in her usual toned down sweater and jeans look, as she tries to make it up to Ezra. This has occurred almost every season. She is dressed wildly while she is out on the prowl late at night (pun intended), in animal prints and bright colors. She seems to have endless energy. But then a few eps later we see her double-fisting coffee on a yoga pants and pony tail sort of low maintenance day. Haven’t you ever just been too tired from being up late to do all the hair and makeup before school? We see Aria in this state often when she is resorting to black and white easy wear garb.

Speaking of Ezria, WHERE did they meet? At a bar after dark! And Ezra also commented on her troublesome nightmares and even made a Sleepwalking comment once: “It can be dangerous to wake a sleepwalker.” It’s like he knew how to deal with her and maybe she felt safe with him cuz of this? But at the same time it’s like she never just came out of the sleeping bag and told him she has a serious sleep disorder. It’s a policy of don’t ask/don’t tell between the 2 of them. So he seems aware but she doesn’t seem to want to ever discuss it.

Then there’s the times she awoke at Jason’s to coffee and she seemed happy but slightly confused and drained. She was almost evasive with him. We were lead to believe her and Jason got back together during that 5 years, and she slept there knowingly. But what if she has a habit of Sleepwalking to different exes houses and then awakes the next morning unsure how she got there but they’re used to it so they just give her some coffee and fall back in love with her? Aria does have a way with older men! So her being connected to Uber A whom we suspect is also older, likes sweets, and is into photography, and has “pretty eyes” (& Some tech skills that Aria oddly seems to have picked up VERY fast on both accounts) is plausible.

It’s also plausible she doesn’t even remember knowing Uber A during the day while awake, cuz they go out walking after midnight and then she wakes up having forgotten most of it. -A could have been using her for years this way to get a lot of his/her dirty work done! What better way to keep secrets if your minion doesn’t even know what they’re doing, or their role in it. Aria seems to know now for more recently helping AD, but may not remember all past details relating to helping the A Team at night. We’ve seen her as black Jodie before a few times in previous seasons. So it’s possible she remembers some things or what we are seeing is an asleep Aria when she’s all animal print or black hoodie. Kind of brings another aspect to the whole show, doesn’t it?

But even a forgetful sleepwalker can remember or suspect little things they may have done during an episode. Which may account for her sketchy behavior with hiding certain things at certain times or knowing things the others don’t yet know, etc.

Maybe she suspects all along that she’s done bad things, maybe even murdered people, stolen stuff, hurt others, during these Sleepwalking episodes where A uses her for A’s own game. So what we may be seeing with her behavior is Aria scrambling to cover something she suspects she’s relapsed into again, her Sleepwalking/sleep disorder, but doesn’t fully remember all that happened, while trying to do her own sleuthing to figure out what she did do, and her role in it, and how to fix it all quick before everyone finds out she’s having her night terrors causing her sleepwalk into danger again.

Doesn’t it seem odd she always knows everyone’s biz but we dunno why? How she always has a new phone and new clothes? Sleepwalkers tend to lose stuff easily! She often acts as if she feels guilty, but at the same time we get this genuine feeling that she doesn’t even remember any involvement in -A’s games. And -A always seems to give Aria a pass, even just last ep in 7b, where her turn on the game board was next but she got out of it.

This also may be why we see her ditch Ali and go meet with A, and why A is facetiming her and only her. It seems she has a more intimate relationship with A than the others. But she seems just as at a loss for who A could be as the others. Maybe she turns double agent for A in hopes of learning more about the role she suspects she’s played on the A Team ALL along?! What if she needs to know the truth to help solve dis shiz? So she pretends to go to work for A in hopes of finding out if she’s done those terrible things she suspects… it’s ok Aria. It’s not the first time you’ve betrayed your friends. And it won’t be the last!

Then there was the That Night redo at the hotel Radley where they all had a bit too much to drink, and they wake up learning yet more people have died. They follow Ali to meeting Char at the church, etc. This scene resembles a remake of their old slumber parties. And again this means any time these drinking slumber parties occur, Aria could be going full on “Arlene” on us and Sleepwalking into bad things again. Even Mona called her Big A. We never really believed Charolette was Big A. Hanna has to get info off the hotel security cams, and it’s a big to do. Is it possible Aria is the catalyst, the one setting off the new A game each season when she sleepwalks into trouble at their slumber parties? Hmmm.

At the Radley Hotel Slumber Party, Aria is wearing animal print, and it’s a reoccurrence of “That Night” all over again, where bad shiz goes down.

And idk about any of you, but when it comes to spycraft, learning how to Blue Snarf and hack and surveillance others, Caleb gives Hanna and Aria some toys and teaches them how to use it, and BAM, Aria picks it up so quickly she’s now a mini-Mona! This leads me to believe it is not her first time with surveillance gadgets or doing this! She seems good at slipping trackers in Sydney’s purse. Maybe she’s used to her mother doing it to her to keep tabs on her whereabouts at night? An interesting thought, isn’t it? Maybe that job in Iceland for a year was about more than her parent’s infidelity, but also a way to keep aria safe when she sleepwalks, by keeping her in a remote area. In the books she meets an older guy there too! What is it with Aria and older men?

Another fan and writer reminded us of that plan the liars made while cleaning up trash on the side of the street in Orange jumpsuits. One of them comments and they start arguing. They fight about “a deal with a rattlesnake.“ the snake presumably as -A. (Cite: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1180298)

Upon reviewing some of Aria’s fashion choices, we realized that Aria has worn a lot animal prints and jungle themes, as well as SNAKES! She had a snake bracelet in one of her many, many, many, jungle themed outfits! In episode 5x04, Aria is wearing a snake print top. This isn’t the only time she has worn snake themed prints, along with animal prints. In s7, she wore snake print again.

I’m guessing Aria wears a lot of animal prints when she is in active sleepwalking episodes (now there’s one way to explain her fashion changes! Her wardrobe has serious bipolar disorder! Lol). She’s feeling empowered, and dangerous. She has frequently engages in dangerous behaviors when dressed this wildly. Whereas by the time we see her in her B&W phase she’s drained from nights of no sleep. And by the time we get to her seasonly "Ugly Sweater” phase, it seems she’s being repentant toward Ezra and has toned it down a bit to look more responsible. She’s in that phase now as of the last 2 eps: 7x17, and 7x18. It’s like she’s given up on fashion and taken up coffee. However we do see one more rare glimpse at her Snow White style during her pre-wedding dance class with Ezra, where just a week later in viewer time, her large self-inflicted arm wound has vanished completely! Wow, who wants magic healing powers like Snow White Aria?! 🙌🏽

Speaking of Aria’s arm wound and her fashion choices, it seems possible that Miss Aria is also a cutter in secret. Another fan mentioned this once (& I apologize for not citing it here but I have lost the link then couldn’t find it when I tried to go back and look for it, so forgive me first fan who brought that theory/hypothesis up!)

During these times Aria is more adventurous and animalistic in her wardrobe choices, we often also see her with chunky bracelets only on one side. And the Ugly Sweater Repentant phases she goes through each season could also be to hide cut marks. We see her in short skirts a lot but hiding her wrists or arms at times.

Anyone else notice how Aria and Paige McCuller’s hairstyle is a lot alike recently. In fact they look rather similar… almost like they could be sisters or cousins almost. If Aria has an evil twin it could be Paige as their hair mirrors each other. Also the hair on AD during their FaceTime chats is a lot like Paige’s. If Paige just brushed her hair out a bit after each vid chat and went to work. It could be either Aria’s own hair CGI’d/A.I.’d onto AD or as I suspect, a puzzle hodge-podge of each character’s facial/head features. The eyes don’t match. The eye of AD on the left has much darker eyeliner than the one on the right. The eyebrows don’t quite match either. Made me think of the s7b promo posters of the triangles showing just a part of each liar’s face. Twitter clue handle AKnowsAll has hinted that promo poster is a puzzle clue! Maybe AD is using bits of each liar’s face to make the Artificial Intelligence AD?

MONTGOMERY MENTAL ILLNESS SIGNA AND CONNECTIONS:

*Byron admits his brother suffers from mental illness.

*Byron admits he hasn’t been so good about enduring Aria doesn’t get burned… by whom?

*Byron is caught cheating on his wife by his own daughter.

*Ali attempts to blackmail Byron for money to keep his cheating secret.

*Aria once tells Ezra her aunt had her cat stuffed and talks to it.

*Aria is oddly attached to her Pigtunia puppet. Puppets are often used in play therapy for kids with mental illness.

*Aria is dating her own high school teacher and hides it from everyone.

*Everyone admits Aria is the best liar.

*Aria herself admits to being -A once.

*Mona who also suffers from mental illness and was an outcast, liked to play with toys (dolls in this case) and talk to them. It was a sort of therapy for her.

*Aria likes to dress up as different characters from movies and literature. She’s also been known to write her name using the trademark -A as seen in this pic. Oddly she wakes up in a coffin next to a dead Garret.

*Aria has chronic episodes of nightmares.

*Mike her brother had to get help for mental illness and put on meds for acting out and stealing stuff. Ella gets involved with a much younger con artist guy.

During 3x1, where “That Night” happens all over again, Aria seems to have a hallucination/episode in the bathroom and believes she sees -A. Fans still don’t know whether -A was really there or she just thought so. She would have been suffering from Sleep Deprivation after their reunion slumber party where Emily gets drugged and is found by a grave calling Aria “Arlene.” Curiously, Aria is the one wearing a yellow top in this episode.

Onto 7x19, where Aria is found curiously talking to a dead body in her car, driving around in circles trying to figure out what to do. We haven’t seen her talk to something not alive before so this strikes us as odd. She’s almost expecting answers and this convo is helping her to process and make decisions during a stressful situation. This could be seen as an adult breakdown version of a little girl learning to talk out her problems to a pig in a therapist’s office!

Then suddenly as soon as she tells Ezra, the body disappears. Ok bodies don’t just appear and disappear. Did Ezra see the body? Maybe she just imagined it, cuz she was Sleepwalking again. Was there a body in her trunk, or were we seeing her madness from her perspective and believing it was a real event? Was she even awake? This entire scene takes place at night and she is once again separated from the liars and feeling guilty for her actions. What if feelings of guilt trigger her Sleepwalking/nightmare episodes and this acting out she gets into cycles of? Cuz she just had been having more nightmares lately according to Ezra. She had just pulled a knife on Nicole late at night going to Ezra’s to get some sleep. She may have been Sleepwalking there and startled awake to find she had instinctively pulled a knife on someone! Is this how she acts when she’s in this altered state?

If so, we can assume she’s become violent before! And Ezra is quick to take her side, help calm her down, etc. He’s done this before for her. Although whether or not he knows she may have attacked others in her sleep/altered states is still up for debate and not our concern here.

It seems odd things occur when Aria is asleep, having nightmares, or lacking sleep. In 2x12, we see Aria is back to her low maintenance B&W easy-wear, double-fisting coffee as she sleuths to eavesdrop. Hmmm… she seems tired, and curious. This may be a bad combo for our AriA.

The Dreaded Cites:

Info on Sleepwalking disorders: http://www.healthline.com/health/sleep/sleepwalking-and-children

On Waking a Sleepwalker: http://mentalfloss.com/article/49053/why-arent-you-supposed-wake-sleepwalker

© 2017, FleurDeLissasWords, & Gamma Zeta Lie Sorority, including members: Lt. Ginger Sweazy, Becky Ann, Libby Dormouse, Ali Pi, Emma Swan, Kim Glasgow, Sheena Clayton, @thepllfanxx, Josh Gladden, Molly Shrews, Katsy Nicole,

❤️ GRUNWALD “GREEN FOREST” IN JEWISH-GERMAN! 😱

GZL is devastated Meg Foster has not had an appearance in PLL 7b. We know she’s busy working for Rob Zombie now, and this dashed all of our Uber A hopes and dreams. Here is an old “theory” that is beloved in GZL, as Grunwald is what brought many of us together.

This is a super easy one no one ever added up.

So if one asks the question (prior to s7), what qualities we were looking for as a collective fandom in PLL, it would be these pivotal 3:

A. -A was once referred to as “Pretty Eyes. Many fans took this to be Toby as he was on the A Team that season, and out of the entire regular cast, has pretty blue eyes.

B. -A is older and has resources.

C. -A may be of German origin. We know our beloved Mar, exec producer ooooif PLL is also German, so that’s probably an homage to her heritage.

D. -A likes sweets and having tea like a refined person.

E. -A uses the initial "A” so there must be a reason.

So we know our Uber -A has access to resources. Who in Rosewood could be from old money? This narrows it down a lot right here: The Hastings. The DiLaurentis, the Fitzgeralds, and of course the refined well-dressed Grunwald.

Which brings me to my next point. The surname Grunwald is tindeed German/Jewish-German, and means “Green Forest.” How many shenanigans have taken place in the Rosewood forests? In Tyler State Park? A LOT! In fact Ali once equated -A as the forest Andy being everywhere and seeing everything. Yuh Many fans have suspected Grunwald may be the grandmother of Ali. She has blue eyes like the DiLaurentis. We know she’s not Toby & Jenna’s mom, despite their pretty blue eyes. She could be a DiLaurentis or Cavanaugh just by looks alone!

We figure Mrs. Grunwald the psychic advisor, and strict abusive sorority mother, likely has a motherly streak but can be mean… much like our -A seems to be giving and taking away from the girls in Rosewood -A seeks to influence.

Then there’s that Halloween story Ali told while babysitting with Hanna, of the 2 blonde girls in a 1950’s kitchen, and coming home to find one twin stabbed and then sent the other away. And on Ravenswood we know Grunwald was plagued by calls from a young girl from spirit realm where these spirit twins seem to have resided… if it wasn’t Aria’s kitchen long before the Montgomery’s owned it. Lol. The mother in this story looks like a younger Grunwald, complete with same hair and dress. This would have been Grunwald’s generation of kids too, about that age in the 1950’s.

Then we have her strikingly gorgeous eyes. In fact, when she was cast as Hester in The Scarlet Letter, it was her eyes that won her the role! And we know the Scarlet Letter was an “A” for adultery. Woah! Take that in for a moment. Hollywood cast her in a lot of roles because of those “pretty eyes.” A lot of younger viewers may not know Meg Foster’s acting résume but she also played Evil-Lyn a villain of superheroes. That’s TWO scorned women roles. And we know PLL cast very carefully. A lot of fans have drawn comparisons on which actors were chosen for which roles and why. A lot of real life came into play when casting for roles of a lifetime. Ali had already portrayed older girls and was 12 when the pilot was filmed. Ashley Benson had a history of playing the blonde mean girl. Lucy Hale had a history of playing the artsy music loving weird quirky girl… and so on. So can we expect any less when casting for the lead villain on our beloved show? NO! Meh Foster plays a good villain with a nice streak.

Maybe the -A in this show stands for a scorned woman who was falsely branded, and turned all badsies… but nthen still wanted to ensure the girls of Rosewood were brought up properly, and called out for their lies and bad behavior, as -A often does. At times -A rewards the girls. And at other times -A punished them, much like a strict mother, or sorority mother might! We know she saved Ali from death by burial. We know she helped Ali stay hidden and some might say, was an influenjhrhce on her. But later when they meet in the street, Ali seems creeped out by her penetrating gaze, like she knows something Ali doesn’t want known. H

Meg Foster in The Scarlet Letter (which we see teacher Ali writing about on the wall in the initial blackboard scene, which is later changed to versions of her names and aliases): http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0078683/

Meg Foster has also played Hera, Queen of the Gods. Ali, and then Hanna, and now Addison have been the Queens of Rosewood. Maybe Grunwald was too back in her day, but thinks what girldom in Rosewood has come to is disgusting and deplorable?

Her role as Hera: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/349310514823115889/

So what would a GrunwAld as -A intention be for all of this? Simple: she lost one of her daughters to bad behavior. She knew how girls could be with each other. She went on to be the house mother for a sorority and ran it with an iron fist. Nothing got by GrunwAld’s psychic “pretty eyes!” The sorority girls themselves confirmed this. She seemed to have eyes in the back of her head.. or eyes that could penetrate your soul.

I once found an anagram in one of the many PLL codes that spelled Carla. This is GrunwAld’s first name. I believe it was the Eye Chart that said “Can U See Me Now.”

More interesting connections on Meg Foster here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meg_Foster

She was born in Pennsylvania. Rosewood is theresies! 😱

She played a role as an “Ali Tanner!” Woah!

She played a Queen more than once.

In Teen Titans, her role was “Mother Mayhem”… need I say more?

No other actor or character on PLL fits all the criteria we know for Uber -A.

She’s approx 5'6. Not quite tall enough to be the character Charles in the dollhouse, which still doesn’t destroy this theory cuz as far as we know, Cece/Charlotte was “Charles.” I never really believed this plausibly and keep hoping it’s all a bad dream or Char’s big lie, and this will all end up making sense… somehow. But if it doesn’t, and we’re left with questions, let this “theory” answer them for you for all time! It was Carla GrunwAld!!!

😘 -L

© 2017, FleurDeLissasWords… this one’s all mine kids! Credit me bitches or else.

❤️NOT ENOUGH EMPHASIS HAS BEEN PLACED ON #MOLEB!!!

I just love the chemistry of this pair in the show! Both the techy genius outcasts. Both have reason for grudges. Both a bit misunderstood. Here’s the GZL Group Theory on If #Moleb did it, and is the ultimate A.D. Team:

#Moleb.. Not Enough Emphasis Has Been Placed on Mona+Caleb as the AD Power Couple!: GZL 7b, 2017

We know AD is a Team. We also have been told via twitter clues (credit @AKnowsAll) that AD is 1. A Name. 2. Also a Place.

We know Mona and Caleb have all the Techy Skills in Rosewood (as does Aria now too, but more on that aspect later).

What if they’re working together as AD this whole time, except Mona never knew she was working with Caleb?! 😱 This might make some sense. Both have motive: misunderstood genius outcasts bullied by the girls early on in the series. No one wanted Hanna with that bad boy Caleb. And maybe they have been the A Team leaders all along? This is the hypothesis we’ll be working with in this piece.

Why would Caleb sell out his A Team partner by using a thermal camera to show Ezra what Mona is up to in her lair? Simple: AD=Caleb got pissed off she was back to helping the liars again and going solo, so he’s once again throwing her under the bus. He’s done it before back when Original A was revealed. Even back then she was helping the liars secretly and seemed to want to expose herself.

Face it: the two both have not only equal tech skillsies but also use a lot of similar technology. Almost as if one got it and learned it from the other!

TECHY GENIUS: Who Does Radley Security?

ACCESS TO RESOURCES (Aka: Means): Who seem to have unlimited access to resources for gear and stylish clothes despite hardly ever being seen working?

AD REFERENCES: References early in the series to an “Artful Dodger!” Another fan (mentioned below in the cites section), reminded us that Caleb was once referred to as this. Could this be a reference to AD?

WHO ARE HIS PARENTS?! WHERE ARE HIS PARENTS?

BEING PLACED IN FOSTER CARE AT AGE 5: he may have more reason than any character to want to find family and get revenge.

7b CLUESIES FOR CALEB:

When did he get a Flir Thermal Imager? He didn’t say. Seems to be this season’s newest tech for him. He seems to upgrade his tech Ea season.

In s7a, Caleb even steals Ali’s goodwill jacket and Spencer’s phone and runs from the group trying to solve for -A, with the jacket to take to “AD” to get Hanna back. Caleb has always been a “let’s find out who this -A is” except his tech never actually gets the girls anywhere. He switched Hanna’s phone saying her old one was buggy and could be a link to AD. He gives her a new phone… which he has a constant supply of, like AD does. Weird! What if he’s been playing both sides all along? This could explain how AD knows so much about the girl’s misdoings. They spent a great deal of time discussing AD issues and their crimes in the Radley Hotel lobby, KNOWING Caleb did the security system and the security footage was being reviewed by police to implicate Spencer in Rollin’s death.. don’t these girls ever learn?! U don’t discuss the crimes you’ve committed that you want kept secret in a camera’d lobby.

Why would someone need a thermal imager if playing A? GZL asked this question. We often find answers right under our noses if we ask the right question! Well, Aria’s phone from AD was rigged to blow up on command! A thermal imager would be handy to detect a fire inside someone’s home. Notice this burning phone was not put out by Aria, but it didn’t seem to burn the place down as we never see any fire trucks arriving later. It must have went out on its own or been put out after Aria walked out of the door. Caleb is good at causing distractions using the elements as he did causing a flood earlier this season to save Hanna from having to find evidence. A good way for a bad guy to get rid of evidence he didn’t want in anyone’s hands but his own.

There have also been fires each season A has caused to one liar or another. Lol. A techy person would know how to rig a bomb to explode via a remotely controlled trigger device!

Why are all the liars often seen inside the Radley bar lobby discussing A related or incriminating things even though they KNOW CALEB did the security for the place and Rosewood PD has gotten her hands on the Radley footage already… why be foolish enough to sit there again after finding this out and continue to not only discuss but say their specific roles in turn of how Archer was run over? Seems stupid. *Just an annoying side note.

We know he was a troubled boy and Lucas’ best friend was Charles at the camp for troubled boys. Back prior to the CeceIsA reveal, GZL did a painstaking facial recognition and height comparison of ALL PLL Characters, comparing them to the masked figure Charles inside the dollhouse! The Top Matches for this height were: Caleb, Spencer, Cece, and Jason. Charles and Caleb both start with a C. Maybe he changed his name? Both Lucas and Caleb have some tech skills, and both lived together.

GRUNWALD SAW SOMETHING DARK AROUND HANNA:

And caleb has dark hair. The darkest on the show currently now that Aria’s hair is lightened… maybe he became dark too?! The color is also a close match for Spencer’s, making them plausible siblings based on height, smarts, sleuthing ability, and type A personalities. Dang, how many kids did Peter Hastings have? Cuz Caleb’s father/uncle was light haired, almost reddish I believe. He didn’t look a thing like his father/uncle. We say this a lot about Hanna and her mother too.

TWITTER CLUE HANDLES:

Twitter user: AKnowsAll insists AD is both a name AND a location. I did an exhaustive search on locations beginning with the initials AD, which turned up… not a whole lot. There’s a few cities here and there with these letters. Then while googling info on another fav show (Salem) I came across a reference to a “Charles Rivers” in Salem Massachusetts. If Caleb’s name prior to being put in foster care or coming to Rosewood was “Charles,” this could make sense. Also, according some height comparisons done by GZL members, Caleb and Jason matched up fairly close with masked Charles height, along with Spencer. If Caleb Rivers is really Charles as AD, as in the early earned moniker the “Artful Dodger,” he could be AD.

HE LET SARA COME WORK FOR HIM WITH NO JOB SKILLS! She didn’t know how to use a computer and was otherwise not qualified for a techy sort of job, but he hired her anyway. He seemed to take a liking to wanting to help her. If both had been members of the AD Team, and he had been her boss on the AD Team, he may have wanted to help her once free… or keep tabs on her. She seems to have either not known Caleb was AD, or hadn’t seen him unmasked, or possibly she really did differ from a sort of Stockholm syndrome and wanted to remain with her captor.

Also let’s review every liar who’s phones could be compromised in season 7:

Hanna was given a new phone by Caleb under the pretense that her real phone could have been compromised by AD somehow after her kidnapping.

When Caleb went to stab the liars in the back and take Ali’s dubious jacket to AD, he ran off and took Spencer’s phone with him. We never find out if she got it back, but if he had it in his possession for a while, he could have cloned it or compromised it somehow to be able to spy on her.

Aria always has new devices, BUT, when she did her brief stint on the AD Team, we see her old phone blown up. She grabs a new one from a stash of them she has, but where did she get a stash of burner phones? Who has those? Caleb! Her real phone got blown up by AD and AD did NOT want her throwing it out a window. When it’s blown up, she grabs another and dashes out not even bothering to put the phone fire out. With all the fires they’ve had, seems irresponsible to me. Once AD/Caleb was done spying on Aria for her AD tasks, he destroyed the phone she was using to communicate with AD.

In the next ep we see Caleb with a new thermal imager we have no idea how he acquired or why, and is showing Ezra what Mona is doing so if he is AD, he is now spying on Mona again… no wonder he went into the diner for pie to meet her. She appeared as if she had no idea who she was waiting for as AD, and caleb messes that stake out Up for everyone (as always) and Mona ends up getting away. She later reveals her involvement in Charlotte’s death, and regresses back to Crazy Mona for the first time in ages. Caleb as AD has been using her and she even said she never knew who Charles was but that she was scared of him.

The Few Things That DON’T AD-D Up:

A. While his eyes are pretty, there are other characters like Grunwald, and Toby, who are known in the acting world for their strikingly “pretty eyes.”

B. His name: Caleb Rivers, IS Hebrew and French origins, NOT German like Grunwald or Grottesman. The reference to water doesn’t exactly add up like Grunwald’s German-Jewish name meaning “Green Forest” (a perfect name for Uber A really, with so much having happened in the forest… but that’s another GZL theory). Rivers usually do run through forests and forests cannot be sustained without water, So Maybe it’s fitting in a round-a-bout way. Lol.

C. He seems more helpful toward the liars and wants to protect Hanna. But has his protection worked every time? No, sometimes it’s backfired badly, as in most of his s7b suggestions. Starting the flood, erasing security footage the cops realized was missing, and how to handle the life-sized Hanna Doll, were all incorrect and landed Hanna, and thus the liars in hotter water. It almost seems as if he is actively working against them. He also had no ideas about the game board’s function and was quickly dismissed in regards to having any helpful ideas about the blasted game. Odd considering he should know a thing or two about technology and how Uber A operates at this point.

So, as far as the male cast goes, Caleb could be AD. Maybe this was his game all along? We’ve all seen those weird moments where he seems less than a trustworthy devout boyfriend. He’s a master manipulator, and they always said A is someone they know who’s very close to them! No one better would match up with this statement. Someone Garret said “has you all fooled.” Hmmm. I say #Moleb’s name is written all over this conspiracy.

You’re welcome! 😘 -L

Citations from other theories in cyberspace:

https://www.google.com/amp/thoughtcatalog.com/de-elizabeth/2015/03/7-reasons-caleb-could-be-big-a-on-pretty-little-liars/amp/

http://aminoapps.com/page/pll/2342683/caleb-is-a-d-theory

Mention of the “Charles River” near Salem Massachusetts: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_River

© 2017, Fleurdelissaswords, & Gamma Zeta Lie Sorority mystery solving group. Please share but don’t use without written permission.

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[pjoracle]

Burnt Popcorn

The world needs more pieces about friendships, so here’s some Reyna and Nico

Reyna wrung her clammy hands outside of Nico’s apartment in New Rome, why was she so nervous? Nico had a right to know! A right to know, Reyna thought trying to use that to steel her nerves. With a shaky breath she knocked on the door. For a moment Reyna though about turning away, about just running right then and there, her body was halfway turned away ready to bolt when the door swung open.

Nico stood there, a child of Hades, somehow radiating light. His smile could power New Rome a million times over as he beamed out at her.

“Trying to run away from movie night? Afraid I’m going to force another Italian movie on you?” He teased, stepping into the hallway. “I’m making popcorn.”

“Yeah that’s it; one more played out scene of a couple driving away on a Vespa might do me in. I just want a nice Disney movie with a badass female character that fights in a war and totally kicks every guy’s ass.” Reyna answered easily with a smile to rival his.

“You’re just talking about Mulan, the movie you know I don’t own.”

“A fact that should shame you enough to buy the DVD.” She teased as she stepped under his outreached arm, looping her own around him as they stepped inside the apartment. She looked around the cozy abode and took it all in, comfortable here as her own home. “Hey you said you were making popcorn right?”

“That would be correct…”

“Because it smells more like your burning popcorn.” Reyna answered with a nod at the kitchen, happy for a distraction from her anxiety. Nico’s head snapped back so hard Reyna was afraid he’d get whip lash.

“THE POPCORN!” Nico screamed as he ran to the kitchen, followed by a series of bangs. Reyna chuckled and made her way to the wall of movies they’ve collectively amassed over a few years of movie nights. She was skimming through the third shelf when Nico came in shame faced with a pot in his hand. “Okay, I’m not sure how it happened, but this is not the color of popcorn.”

He tilted the pot to show the completely charred remains of what should have been the popcorn. Reyna’s eyes went wide as she looked from the pot to his hair and back a few times. After a moment with Nico standing with the pot, looking like a confused child and Reyna kneeling on the floor quietly talking it all in she burst out laughing.

“How did you mess up popcorn? You just put it on the stove and wait for the pops!” Reyna cried, in sheer disbelief that the same person whoop shadow traveled across half the planet with her, a very angry satyr, and a huge statue of Athena in tow couldn’t make a pot of popcorn. “Oh my gods, were you trying to add another layer to the pot because that’s a strong burn.”

Nico started to giggle with her making Reyna only laugh harder. “I can’t even make popcorn, Italians weep worldwide at my uselessness in the kitchen.”

“Savior of the world, child of one of the Big Three and you can’t make a pot of popcorn.” She shook her head as she unwound herself from the ground and took the pot from him. Nico followed her into the kitchen as she set herself up at the sink. They were silent as Reyna let the water flow over her hands, testing the temperature, waiting for it to get hot before putting in the soap. “Let this soak for a bit, and then we’ll try and scrape off that disaster.”

“And forget all about it?” Nico asked hopefully while Reyna turned away to scrounge through his fridge.

“Not a chance, Will has to learn of your incompetence in the kitchen or else he might break up with you after you accidently set fire to your hands and burn the house down.” She snorted.

“Hey, our love is stronger than any batch of popcorn I burn.” He shot back with a short tap on the side of the pot. He looked back to Reyna at the uncharacteristic lack of any response and saw how tense she was. “Reyna, are you ok? Do you need to talk about something?”

“How do you know that you love someone?” She asked, her voice was small and tentative. Nico stared at her still turned away form as though he could see through to her face and read every emotion laid out on it.

“You just…it’s like a feeling. Not like you like someone, but that you feel safe with them.” His face scrunched up as he thought of how to put it. “It’s trusting someone entirely with yourself, even if you know you’re not ready to reveal every part of you because you know that if you put your everything into their hands they would never break it, not intentionally at least. Then when what you get them slips a bit, they get nervous holding up so much, a little too weak from holding it too long, you’re there to put your hands under theirs and lift them up. You make them stronger and in your hands is their secrets and life and it may get heavy or start to slip, but then their hands are there to hold yours up. But that’s not even really love early, not entirely. It’s trusting someone and it’s letting them support you and it’s supporting them, but it’s also knowing when to pull your hands back and letting them pull away too if they need it. Love is an ebb and flow, but it’s also solid.”

“That’s a lot of nothing.” Reyna concluded. Her voice was hollow, a bit weaker.

“I don’t think it is.” Nico said softly, gently turning Reyna to face him, not so shocked at the tears streaking down her cheeks. “What’s this about?”

He led her to the couch, holding her hand, rubbing small circles in the back of her hand.

“I just, I think I’m in love.” Reyna began. Nico gave her a small of encouragement, she took a shaky breath “it’s with a friend…a close one.”

Reyna dropped his hands and turned away, Nico’s heart stuttered with horrible thoughts. What if she likes me? I’m too gay, I’m also dating Will. Oh gods, I would never cheat also it’s Reyna. She’s like a sister to me…better. I can’t lose her.

“Well first I should probably tell you. Um.  I’m well,” Reyna stood up and passed the carpet before turning to him and practically screamed, “GOD’S DAMMIT, I’M GAY!”

Surprised at her outburst Nico sat and took it, for an agonizing second nothing happened. Reyna stood in her spot stupidly unsure of what to do until Nico leaped at her, pulling her into a tight hug.

“I’m so proud of you for telling me, you’re brave for this. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough around me and I hope this brings you some type of peace.” Nico mumbled into her hair. Reyna still stood there, but after a moment wrapped her arms around him tightly. Tears silently fell onto his faded Camp Half Blood t-shirt as this huge burden was lifted off her shoulders after pressing down for far too long. “Gods how long have you been holding it in, I’m so sorry you had to think that you were alone.”

Reyna nodded into the crook of his neck and held on tight. After a minute in their embrace, Nico pulled back with a wicked smile on his face, “what were those questions about love about then?”

“I, um, well I” Reyna pulled back and fidgeted with her hands, “like Rachel?” She met Nico’s eyes and they shined with admiration and love and something almost mischievous.

“You know, she is bi and single.” He led on, finally making progress sin his joint mission with Will, Percy, and Annabeth to get these two together. Their pre-relationship sexual tension and extreme denial of any feeling was only topped by Percy and Annabeth themselves. “Maybe you should just go for it.”

Reyna nodded, but her eyes made it clear she was still processing everything, so Nico helped in the way he knew she needed.

“Stay here.” He instructed before shadow traveling out. She tossed up her hands in exasperation, but accepted this fate and settled onto the couch. Not more than 2 minutes later he came back with a copy of Mulan 1 and 2 tucked under his arm as well as two large hot chocolates from her favorite café in one hand and a couple packs of microwave popcorn in the other.

Reyna didn’t say anything as Nico immediately got to setting up the movie, she didn’t say anything the rest of the night as they watched her favorite movies and sipped on hot chocolate. Slowly she drifted to sleep, the adrenaline from coming out fading away and she crashed hard. Nico glanced over at the end of the movie to find her asleep. He rose from his seat to drape a blanket over her curled up legs. He kneeled beside her and put his hand to her forehead and whispered to her.

“It will be hard sometimes, but most of the time the world will be more vibrant because you’re not hiding anymore. Even through all the hard times, remember that there are people who love you and will always be there to protect you. I love you, Reyna.” He kissed her forehead and came up with eyes shining. This was the relationship with Bianca he never got, but that’s ok because maybe he could still have the person who loves him like she did in Reyna.  

He rose from his spot next to her and quickly headed to his bedroom where he IM’d Percy and Annabeth, who were thankfully not in a compromising position, excitedly spilling what he learned that night. They were both relieved that Reyna told him, it was so obvious to anyone close to her that for the past few months there was something off with her. After discussing this for a bit they moved onto to planning how exactly to get Reyna and Rachel to get over themselves and see that they were head over heels for the other. All in all, it was one of the best movie nights he’s ever had.

[readfelice-blog]

moominland chronicles 05 a n x i e t y

 It's been a while, things have chopped and changed in the fashion i have now become accustomed to, if you’ve ever made a big transition you’ll know that nothing corrects itself quickly.

The princess crashed down to earth on a comet, so a lot of detritus was left in her wake and as she walked out of the charred remains of her interstellar vehicle she was dazed, confused and a little but concused.

This week i think i need to speak openly about my issues with anxiety, they have been a fairly major theme of my days.

It's not easy to describe anxiety whilst you're in the midst of it, i know i am among many that battle with it every day of their lives. It's a noose wrapped around your neck, slowly hoisting you up, making you a strange fruit, its the snake that tempted eve, coiling around your mind, driving you to exasperated spells of utter turmoil. It is invisible but it grips like thor.

Over time i have developed a lot of ways to combat this affliction, predominantly through my creative outpourings, aesthetic beauty and grand narratives are fountains i can pour all of this stress into, i forget the incidents that torment my day. I stop projecting on loved ones and friends and i manage to catch my breath.

But last week was traumatic, something became unhinged in the rigorous itinerary of my routines, i unravelled and through that unravelling i saw the snags within the fabric of my armour.

Perhaps it's useful, necessary, to break sometimes.

Various factors led to this unkempt state: I started a new job, which takes place whilst the majority of the city is asleep, as the sun edges in to the sky i begin my passage to work, it's been a journey trying to adapt and last week i was exceptionally tired. The bear returned briefly, a sort of guest appearance, re entered my little yellow house and all the residual invisible parts of him, his dust, reappeared in my days. I started keeping my accounts and realised a slow decline has been taking place into shopping addiction, a restless, urgent compulsion that I’m now trying to deal with, and possibly the subject of next week’s blog.

But I won’t talk any further on the bear, and this week I’m talking about anxiety, so let's just scoot past these things for now.

I guess it’s easiest to describe one day, one moment even, in detail, to really get to the crux what has been going on. So i’ll choose wednesday because that was the apex of my hysterics:

I slept, but I woke up at 3am, i don't know how long I slept for, but it was probably under 6 hours, as my eyes blearily started to move and I climbed out of bed the panic was already setting in, I was terrified of going to work, to a glossy cage, where I would flail, flap and suffer, a useless human, a terrible cleaner, a waste of cells and energy.

“How could the age of the firefox let me down?”

Silent wails to myself whilst mechanically gripping the toothbrush.

The girl in the mirror returned an unhappy gait, looked out at me, the failure, all the joy accumulated throughout the past month just evaporating from her eyes, now just a memory in a shaded part of my mind that I couldn’t focus on.

The beat of your fixation just spins round and round, an eternal loophole.

She, reflected, walked away, out of the frame of the glass and I left the house.

On the tram sheer panic set in, sitting edigily on a double seat staring out at the dregs of the night and other half awake employee’s, not taking on anymore than a vague inkling of the hues of their faces, so entrenched in the terrible scene that would occur on my green carpeted balcony.

The glass jar ashtray would be caught by the thick rays of the sun and light would refract through it in an intense burst, which would cause the carpet to catch light, first just twisting smoke that would quickly become white hot flames, my wooden french windows would be engulfed and it would enter my little yellow house and destroy everything in its path, I would have no home and my landlords investment in her future would become null and void.

My feet are kicking together as I look down, a brief reprieve from this vision.

The trams gets to the station.

The tiredness drags my sides downwards, as if bungee cord is sewn into my skin and fixed to the floor.

In the office, just departed from the stainless steel lift, sitting not smiling, attempting to cover up the screeching racket inside. Averting eye contact wherever possible, the floor, the wall, the river outside just ebbing gently, but leaving no imprint. Nothing soothes this state of fortified unrest.

I am cleaning the kitchen, well, the offices that surround the kitchen, trying to throw myself into a corner and be out of the line of vision of all humanity, “don’t look at me, please”.

I am wiping already clean surfaces, hovering immaculate carpets, my face is twinging, bulging, my shoulders are hunched above the crown of my head, my body is strung like an elastic band pulled to its limit, I am going to snap. Again, look out of the bar windows, see the river, there is a faint resonance, some recognition of its beauty, in the back of my reality I understand it is the universe, I am a microcosm of this macrocosm before me, try to breathe, just try.

It fails, you failure, you utter disappointment.

I am having coffee with my colleagues, with a friend who is also a colleague, and another colleague who is a colleague, I don’t want to be sitting on that seat, I don’t want to be ordering coffee with the fragrant barista, arranged at a table on the street outside with a man I don’t really know. Grating teeth, nearly in tears, not even caring that I don’t really know this man, admitting to my friend as the sun catches the turquoise of her eyes that:

Its not ok, its really not ok,

I’m turned so my body is in no way participating at this convention of post work bonding, my voice is cracking a little bit, palpitations that are somewhere between the base of my neck and my cranium, faster and faster, like a drum roll.

Its not ok, I’m really not ok.

She looks at me and tries to hold my hand, to steady me, but I recoil in horror, literal shock reverberating through my system, triggered by human contact. Please don’t touch me, the warmth of another is just something else to agonise over.

I left my key in the office.

F u c k

I jump up, I have to go back, I have another job and I am torn between a rock and a hard place, my friend comes with me, we head back to the office, my words are all inside out, I don’t want the receptionist to think I’m the terrible failure we both know I am, she’s so soft and warm, but she will be unimpressed, ney, whats stronger? She will be disgusted.

The key was in a brown envelope, it had my name written on it in squirly feminine writing, I think there was a heart where the dot should be above the I.

I took the key and I left it on the table, in the kitchen, by the popcorn, but I didn’t pick it up.

Don’t tell her.

It’s in the cleaning cupboard, I just forgot it.  

It’s not there, the envelope is, but its empty.

F u c k

Stick my hand desperately in the basket I find it in, something chimes, metal, it is there, brief relief. Get out, a moment of pause, the cascade of self admonishment stops, a little light shines, but it is a flash in the dark only.

On my way to the next job. A move out clean, I’m late because the journey is a total nightmare, bus, tram, bus, tram, u bahn, tram, etc etc. Some I wait for, some I find alternatives to: waiting 20 minutes for a tram just seems like to much.

I’m in the suburbs, there are dirt tracks, and so many trees, the ground crunches beneath my feet as I walk towards my destination, further and further away from the center.

And scene.

To really reflect the hyperventilation of the day, as I go on writing this, I realise its perfect descriptor is fragmented, is broken and somehow nonsensical, because anxiety, or my anxiety, is not a body of words that create an illustrious narrative structure. It is unfiltered garbage.

5 ½ hours to clean.

Slung out of windows.

She has a list, shes petite and organised.

The dirt is thick on the glass.

I cannot stay here for 5 ½ hours.

Roll into the room shes quietly working in.

“I cannot stay here that long, I’m sorry, my body will break.”

She and another colleague treating me with kid gloves, like I’m antique bone china.

Frantically scrubbing the bathroom in half light.

Departing, exit onto the street, the sun is so hot I cannot breathe, catch my breath at a bus stop, have a cigarette, an old german lady sits down beside me. I am in Berlin, but its not my Berlin, she’s waiting for a bus, all my things are spread all over the seat.

Enschuldigung, I move my things, I jump up and say in English that I’m not actually waiting for a bus. She has kindly eyes, I feel our souls connect there, then I careen off to the tram stop, another lady, middle aged this time, asks if this is the right tram in German, I answer in English and check the route with her.   

Another 20 minute wait.

I am so far from home.

I ring the moon, in between trams.

England are playing Croatia later, it’s such a gorgeous day, but I have to crawl into a cocoon and hide, I have to get home.

I say all the things to him I shouldn’t say, I voice my deepest fears, I whine about him embarking on a path where he will have a home I cannot visit. I cry, my sunglasses are on so no one can see my tears, but they can hear my voice, pulled  tight, again the elastic band, he reacts, we fight, on our plastic devices across a sea from each other, he is violent and I am broken.

I cry some more.

It takes so long to get back to my little yellow house, every step is drawn out, until I’m inside my door I feel so far away.

But then I’m home, I take off my sweat ridden clothes, I put on my pijamas, I curl up into a ball on my bed and shudder, I am not going to watch the football.

I go on a muesli bender, my second on 2 days, I don’t even care that my house isn’t pristine. I don’t do the washing up, I just roam backwards and forwards to the kitchen and insert anything I find in my fridge into my mouth and it blocks the pain, a little bit.

I finally sleep.

Now, I’m not sure if you’ve managed to keep up with what happened on that Wednesday, but it is sufficient to say after 5 weeks of being on a physical and mental high it was a fairly extensive crash in my psyche.

Anxiety can be tackled, by organisation, by tidying your house, by breathing, by investing your time in your future and in your intellectual pursuits. I am at my most mentally healthy when I am maintaining myself, when all the arrangements in my abode are neat and I am clean, when my body is well cared for and a half finished painting or comic page sits on my desk.

I am finding that calm is a routine that gives you time, anxiety is the reduction of time, it diminishes until you feel like there is no time between you and anything you do, that every action has an immediate negative effect and all the perceived interactions you make are harmful to the not you’s in those scenarios. It is the contraction of distance, everything is close, pushed up against you without any space to move.

Calm is sitting at my kitchen table, lighting my little tealight, with a plate full of colourful food before me, making a prayer to the universe which entails gratitude and experiencing the myriad of sensations in each bite. I clawed it back by sleeping and continuing my commitment to not drinking alcohol, to yoga and to myself. I managed to right myself in a few days, by forgiving myself, by doing the washing up and wiping the kalk off my taps, by tinkering with ableton and building links between the strands of my practise to create the foundation for my current project.

By marrying moominland to the moon, acknowledging the bear and investigating the princess.

It’s fine now but it won’t be again at some point in the future, I just have to bear this in my mind so it’s not a shock when it happens again.

It is ok. I am ok. We are ok. She is ok.

He is fine.

Don’t panic.

Listen to Alan Watts.