#and if you noticed that he directly references it in chapter 13 well done

[partystoragechest]

A story of romance, drama, and politics which neither Trevelyan nor Cullen wish to be in.

Canon divergent fic in which Josephine solves the matter of post-Wicked Hearts attention by inviting invites four noblewomen to compete for Cullen's affections. In this chapter, the Baroness causes conflict with the Commander.

(Masterpost. Beginning. Previous entry. Next entry. Words: 2,626. Rating: all audiences. Warnings: discussion of war and grief, death mentions.)

Chapter 35: Baroness Touledy's Strategy (Reprise)

Soldiers pushed and parted as a woman, armed and armoured, marched through their training grounds. The Baroness Touledy held her cane in one hand, and her sword—sharp—in the other.

The girls had done their best. Tried playing with the man. But he was more accustomed to the Game than he pretended not to be. And that made what the Commander had done to them all the more disgusting.

He knew what he was doing when he used Lady Trevelyan. He knew what he was doing when he invited Lady Erridge’s friend. And he knew what he was doing when he promised Samient help.

Every part of it, done for his benefit.

No fucking more.

“Commander,” said a lieutenant in warning, eyes widening as she saw the Baroness approach. The Commander, beside her, turned.

“Baroness,” he greeted, bowing.

“Good morning, Commander,” Touledy replied. She flourished her sword, blade glinting in the sunlight. “I thought I might invite you to spar. Since we did not quite have chance on my previous visit.”

The last two words were said with a venom—yet the Commander appeared immune. He handed off his mantle to the lieutenant. “Very well.”

The Baroness smiled. This was the beauty of her plan—for whether he accepted or refused, she would achieve her goal.

That goal was very simple. It was one laid out by Lady Trevelyan herself. The other Ladies had not been there, that day, when her Ladyship had pointed out the Commander’s weakness. That was why they had made the mistake of confronting him privately. But if they wanted to best him, they needed a crowd.

Public humiliation required it.

A space was quickly cleared for the conflict to come; eagerly, too. Soldiers gathered ‘round, whispering and waiting—but were sent away again by the lieutenant. Back to training! Sidelong glances would have to do.

The Baroness welcomed them. She circled into position, facing the Commander. Her greaves ground into the dirt, finding purchase. One hand rested on her cane, the other brandished her blade. She was a mesmerizing sight, and she knew it.

The Commander, less so. His sword had been unsheathed in a draw that was typical of him. No flash, no flair. All seriousness. All bore. A helm was offered to him by a solider, but subsequently rejected. He took his stance opposite the Baroness, and raised his sword.

Hers met it—slowly, in acknowledgment. A look of understanding passed between them. Their swords withdrew.

And then, they clashed.

Touledy’s blade sailed into the Commander’s, clanging with the force of the hit. He, stalwart, withstood the blow. The ricochet of his blade was used to his advantage, momentum carried into a downward swing.

The Baroness blocked it. She jabbed for his side. The Commander jolted away. Nearby soldiers gasped at the close call.

Stalemate reached, the fighting paused. Each backed off, to readjust. Stances changed, blades twirled. Premeditated unpredictability.

“I have heard what you have done for my fellow Ladies, Commander,” the Baroness muttered, taking a step forward.

He watched her feet. “Mm?”

“I wished to give you my thanks in person—and to query why. What could have affected this change of heart, given your earlier purpose in bringing us here?”

“It was the right thing to do.”

He lunged for her, blade swiping down toward her shoulder. The Baroness’ sword shot across, and batted it away. He was left open; she capitalised.

“So you acknowledge that your previous intentions were wrong?” she accused, stabbing towards his gut.

The Commander sidestepped it. “Freely.”

“Interesting. Then one wonders why you had them in the first place?”

“I misled myself.”

Touledy laughed, spinning her blade. “And how exactly does one mislead oneself?”

“We all are prone to suffering a lack of good judgement, on occasion,” said the Commander, “though I take it yours is infallible.”

“Hardly. Though it is devastatingly precise, when required.”

As if to prove it, she pounced, a lancing blow slipping past his attempt at defence, and striking against his armoured side.

“Hit,” he said. They withdrew, to begin again.

The Baroness prepared her stance. “I would say our dear Lady Trevelyan suffered a lack of good judgement, in trusting you, perhaps.”

The Commander’s grip tightened around his blade. “Perhaps.”

“Though I am sure you never intended to hurt our dear Lady.”

The Baroness shot forth, sudden like a spider, striking at his stomach. He smacked it away.

“I never intended to hurt anyone.”

“That seems at odds with your methods.” She swung again. Their swords met, in a series of blows. Through them, the Baroness grunted: “You wished to do harm to us without doing any harm?”

The Commander did not falter with her question. He kept up the onslaught, until an opportunity presented itself. He came up on her left; she defended right. His blade struck the very edge of her chestplate.

“Like I said,” he told her, “my judgement was poor.”

“Hit,” she muttered.

They reset.

“Is that poor judgement the reason you failed to, at any point, tell Lady Trevelyan why she was truly here?” The Baroness raised her sword. “Before you knew such knowledge would break her heart?”

The Commander’s face changed, but he did not respond. Touledy strode forward.

“How long did you intend to keep the truth from her?” She thrust her sword at his abdomen; he stumbled back. “How long would you have lied?”

He tried to counter, but the Baroness slammed his blade to the side.

“Did you consider her feelings!? Or were yours the centre of your concern?”

She sent a cleaving blow sailing towards his shoulder. He deflected it with the back of his blade.

“Do you seek our favour to win back her affection? Do you only do for others that which benefits you!?”

Another strike; denied, again. The Commander readied to defend, and stared her down.

“Baroness Touledy,” he said, “how many mages are in Val Misrenne?”

Touledy froze. “What?”

The Commander lunged, twisting his sword around hers, and wrenching it from her grasp. The tip of his own he raised to her neck, and held her there.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

“The Red Templars seem to believe you possess a small army.”

The Baroness clenched her fist, and backed away. The Commander lowered his sword. She watched as he bent down, to collect hers, and offered it to her.

She took it, but sheathed it.

“You know the business of Red Templars?” she asked.

The Commander nodded. “Of course. The safety of the Inquisition and the people of Thedas depends on it.”

“I see. I have no idea to what you refer. If you are aware of the Red Templars’ attack on Val Misrenne, then you know it to be a senseless act of violence.”

The Commander holstered his blade, and stepped closer. “I do. But that does not negate the fact that they attack for what they believe to be some kind of reason.” He regarded her with a gaze that she did not allow to intimidate her. “I cannot believe it would be more than ten.”

Touledy sighed. She had a feeling, one way or another, whatever she told him, that he would uncover the truth regardless. And so, instead, she simply told him the truth:

“Six,” she confessed. “There are six.”

The Commander acknowledged this, and glanced at their surroundings. Though quiet enough for their speech to be naught more than mumbles to his soldiers, he gestured for the Baroness to walk with him, away. She drew her cane up from the earth, and walked.

“They arrived some time after the Circles fell. A group of eight,” she explained, as they gained some distance from the training grounds, “though one left to find home, and another passed of old age. They were led by a young woman, who knew my brother—he was a Templar at her Circle.”

“Your brother?”

“Ser Ouen Touledy. She was a but a child when he met her, and very reminiscent of his beloved baby sister. He protected her, like an elder brother would. So much so that, when it came to her Harrowing, he refused the killing blow.”

The Commander glanced at his feet, knowing perfectly well what that meant. “Ah.”

“She survived the Harrowing. Yet, as you can imagine, Ouen was discharged for what he did, and passed at our home, from lyrium withdrawal.”

“I am sorry,” murmured the Commander. “That should never have happened.”

“It is done, and cannot be helped,” Touledy lamented. “But she could be. She arrived at my door, with her little group, to see my brother, and thank him for what he had done. She did not know he was gone.”

Touledy thought of that moment. It had been an ordinary day, despite all that was happening beyond the confines of their town. Then, strange visitors had arrived, her staff told her. But they knew Ouen, so Touledy had to see them.

When she entered the parlour, her world changed. She saw the face her brother had died for, and understood. The Baroness could have believed she was staring into a mirror, held up from the not so distant past.

The girl was so kind, and so sweet, and so grateful. Oh, how she had cried when Touledy had told her.

“I know this is nothing, compared to your pain,” she’d wept, “but he was as if a brother to me. I cannot remember the family I had before. He was the closest I had.”

The Baroness took her hand, in that moment. And she told her, “Then we are sisters.”

She closed her eyes now, to stop the tears of that day from falling anew. “Thallia, is her name,” Touledy told the Commander. “She wanted to repay the debt she saw herself as owing my brother, and volunteered to stay in Val Misrenne, as a healer. I said she owed nothing—but she was welcome to stay, they all were. She is the last I have of Ouen; to turn her away would be to dishonour his memory and sacrifice.”

“I understand,” said the Commander. A gentle tip of his head, and he kept them on a steady path. “People have fought for less.”

“Much less,” agreed Touledy. “She has delivered babies, healed the sick and injured. One of her compatriots is an ‘erbalist, who discovered a source of disease within our crops and eradicated it. When the Breach opened, a rift formed in Val Misrenne. With the last of my brother’s lyrium, they were able to seal it. If not for them—I cannot imagine…”

The mages had been celebrated, after that rift. Those who were cautious before were finally convinced. Parties were held across the town. No demons allowed in Val Misrenne!

Until the Red Templars arrived.

“It was a small band who first came,” Touledy explained. “They knew of my dislike of the Chantry, and thought perhaps we might ally against our common enemy. They wanted supplies, safe shelter if need be, and access to other nobility.”

The Baroness’ reply was predictably derisive.

“One of them was from my brother’s Circle. Tried to claim some kind of friendship, with him.” The Baroness chuckled. “Unlikely. But—he saw Thallia. He recognised her. He whispered to his fellows, and they left.”

“And then they staged their first attack?” asked the Commander.

“Yes,” Touledy confirmed. “They wanted the mages. Val Misrenne refused to capitulate.”

“I cannot imagine they liked their defeat.”

Touledy smiled. What a bittersweet victory it had been. “No. I do not know if they return simply to punish, or if they truly believe that, because we fought so hard to defend our people, that there must be something grander and more insidious going on. I think I do not care either way.”

The Commander sighed. “I doubt they do either.”

They neared a low wall, and the Baroness announced a sense of fatigue. The Commander rerouted, so that she might take a seat.

She rested her cane against the stone. “I will not bore you with details of the siege, as I assume that, if you have done your job correctly, you are already well aware of them. However, I can tell you that the mages plan to do the unthinkable.”

“What?”

“They wish to hand themselves over.”

The Commander shook his head. “The Red Templars will continue their attack regardless.”

“I know. I have tried to persuade them, but as the situation worsens, they become harder to convince.” She bowed her head. “I had wished to stay here, waiting for Lady Trevelyan… but Val Misrenne needs me. I must return.”

“And what of my troops?” the Commander asked.

The Baroness raised her head. “What of your troops?”

“I have a force arriving to the west of Val Misrenne.” He folded his hands behind his back, spine straight, shoulders squared—silhouetted by the rising sun. “They wait on your command.”

“What?”

“I had thought you would ask earlier, but I understand your hesitation—the association of the Inquisition with the Chantry is not ideal for Val Misrenne,” he went on, “but the Ambassador is seeing to it that the clerics hoping to leverage this situation are kept subdued, for now.”

Touledy stared up at him, bewildered—as bewildered as she imagined the other Ladies had been, in their encounters. “Your troops cannot be sizeable, if the Red Templars have not discovered them?”

“They are a discreet party, returning from the Western Approach.”

She shook her head. “Such a small force will do nothing but delay the inevitable.”

“As I have told you before, Inquisition troops know how to defeat a Red Templar.”

She insisted: “And as I have told you, they are not to be trifled with. Even trained soldiers struggle against their numbers.”

The Commander smiled. “The Inquisitor has proven quite capable of dealing with greater numbers than this before.”

The Baroness repeated his words, if only to ensure she had heard them correctly: “The Inquisitor?”

“The Inquisitor’s party happens to be travelling that way,” the Commander muttered, ridiculously coy, “and would be glad of a diversion, should Val Misrenne open its doors.”

Touledy rose, steadying herself upon her cane. “I cannot put the Inquisitor in danger.”

“The Inquisitor is always in danger.”

The Baroness shook her head—but not to refuse. She could never refuse. It was that she knew the betrayal she committed against Lady Trevelyan by accepting. But Lady Trevelyan would simply have to understand. She had no choice but to accept.

“Do it,” she told the Commander. “Please.”

“I’ll send word now,” he said, already turning to go—but Touledy called out to him:

“Wait!”

He stopped, and waited. She came to face him.

“Commander, while I am thankful for this, whatever the outcome; while I am thankful for what you have done for all the Ladies—this will not heal the rift between yourself and Lady Trevelyan.”

The Commander avoided her gaze, yet nodded.

“Lady Trevelyan claims insult on our behalf, yet the greatest injury this has caused is hers, and hers alone. She has never had a home, Commander. Never known that comfort, nor safety. Her parents do not want her, it seems, and the only other place she belonged to is destroyed.” Touledy sighed. “She believed she had found home, here. You have shattered that illusion.”

In mournful tones, he replied: “I know.”

“Then you know what you must do.”

“I do. I will try.”

The Baroness straightened, her usual composure finally returned. “I would wish you luck,” she said, “but, despite our conversation, I do not wish you to succeed.”

“Fair,” said the Commander.

“Let me know, as soon as you know anything.”

The Commander stepped away. “I will.”

[shoujosekaii]

Pink to Habanero

粉色与哈瓦那辣椒

ピンクとハバネロ

Chapter 13

The chapter picks up directly from the previous chapter - Kurose is resting his head on Miyao's shoulder, saying that he's tired and that he's very sleepy, while Miyao says to him, ".....You've worked hard."

Kurose then lifts his head and apologizes, but Miyao says that it's fine. Kurose says, "...Let's head home. We're taking the same train, right? See you in a while, then." He leaves to change his clothes.

Miyao also goes to the staff room to change. Still lightly blushing, Miyao leans towards the lockers, thinking that earlier, she thought that Kurose was going to kiss her. She then mutters to herself that he was just too tired, so he leant on her for a while - that was it (and nothing more).

Noticing the schedule planner being hung on the wall, Miyao takes a look to see how many shifts Kurose has upcoming. Kurose noticeably has a lot more shifts than the others. Miyao thinks to herself that he has so many shifts and it must be tiring.

Miyao then notices a note, saying: 18th June - Competition!

Miyao wonders what competition it is about. Kurose then knocks on the door, asking Miyao, "Hey, are you done yet?". She panics a little and answers that she will be out immediately.

The two of them are at the train platform and the train has arrived. Miyao thinks to herself that they are going home together now as if it was a matter of course, and is happy and thankful to be doing the part-time job.

The train door opens to reveal a crowded cabin. Miyao is stunned by the number of people - the people were all watching a baseball game. Miyao then gets shoved into the train by people behind her and while struggling, she loses Kurose.

Miyao ends up pinning Kurose against the train door - a kabedon. This surprises both of them a little and they stare at each other. Miyao is internally freaking out at the kabedon. She sees Kurose's disapproving look and thinks to herself that it wasn't intentional, so he ought to not give that look.

Miyao's arms are getting tired from holding herself against the crowd of people behind her, but she tells herself not to give in, because then, she would be squashed flat along with Kurose. She starts trembling while she struggles to hold on, and tells Kurose, "It-it's fine!! I still have strength... Don't you worry...!"

Miyao then looks up at Kurose to find him looking at her as well. She blushes, and her elbow gives way. She ends up being pressed against Kurose.

Miyao freaks out internally again and mumbles to Kurose, "I-I'll back away immediately......", but Kurose is irritated and tells her, "Stop fidgeting!"

Miyao is freaking out at their proximity and wonders in alarm what she should do. She mutters,

"We... we just finished our part-time job for the day, so how is it that you smell so good..."

Irked, Kurose replies, "Don't smell, you pervert!"

Miyao then thinks to herself, 'Oh no... I'm so nervous that I'm spouting nonsense...!!'

Then, Kurose suddenly holds Miyao and switches places with her, such that Miyao is now leaning against the train door. Leaning over her, Kurose says, "This is better, right?". Miyao silently looks back at him with a blush.

At this moment, the train has reached the next station and people are filing in and out of the train. The crowd pushes Kurose closer towards Miyao, and we see that Miyao's heart is racing. She steals a glance at Kurose and sees his side profile.

Miyao thinks to herself that she's feeling so nervous, she might puke at any moment. She struggles to find something to talk about to ease her tension. She then blurts out, "An...anyway......!"

"I saw the note that was pasted in the staff rest room. 'Competition'... what's that referring to?"

Kurose replies, "...Ah. That thing feels like it'll be a little troublesome..."

Kurose continues to explain, "I think it's a competition for the new menu. It'll be my first time participating too, so I'm not clear either." Meanwhile, Miyao is thinking to herself, 'Wah, wah, if he speaks right next to my ear......'

Kurose continues, "The cooks and servers-", but Miyao interrupts him, saying, "Hold on..."

Putting a hand to her ear, Miyao blushes and says to Kurose, "It... It's ticklish..."

Glancing at Miyao, Kurose then leans into Miyao's ear and continues talking, "The cooks and servers need to team up and design the new menu together."

Miyao squirms in agony and cries out, "Hey! You're doing this on purpose, right?!" Kurose then laughs in response.

Later, the train arrives at another station and most of the crowd has dissipated. Miyao says to Kurose, "Ah, this is Kurose-kun's stop, right? I'll see you in school, then..."

However, Kurose simply leans back against the train door next to Miyao, not leaving the train. Miyao then asks, "Kurose-kun? Aren't you alighting?"

Kurose replies, ".....So you're planning to go home on your own?"

"It's already pretty late. I'll send you home."

Later, Miyao and Kurose are about to exit the train station. Miyao turns to Kurose and says, "Thank you so much! It's enough for you to send me up to here. This is the money to pay you back for the extra train fare you've incurred, please accept it!"

Kurose simply tells her, "Just go already."

Walking away, Miyao turns back to look at Kurose and waves to him. Kurose remains standing, arms folded, looking at her with a cold gaze.

Miyao then walks away some more, and turns back to look at Kurose a second time. She sees that Kurose is about to turn away, but their eyes meet. She waves to him again. With his back now turned towards Miyao, Kurose raises a hand as his gesture to wave. Miyao is lightly surprised and stands still while looking at Kurose walk away.

Miyao thinks to herself that she gets filled with happiness just from seeing Kurose wave at her - and that she's hopeless. However, she thinks that this isn't a bad thing.

On another day at the Knight Cafe, Miyao enters the cafe, greeting everyone good morning. The other staff in the cafe greet her, "Mugi-chan! Have you already decided who to partner with for the competition next month?"

Miyao goes, "Eh?", so the staff explain to her that there's a competition to design the special menu for summer (all staff are to take part). Miyao then remembers about it.

The staff continue explaining that the cooks and servers are to team up to design the menu, then everyone votes to decide on the winning design. Two of the staff then tell Miyao that they were partners and won the competition for last winter. They show her a picture on a phone.

Miyao is very impressed by the cake design - it's a lady wearing a Victorian era dress, with flowers and snowflakes embellishing the ribboned skirt. She exclaims, "This is... a cake?! It's so cute~~~!!!". The staff proudly say, "It has a very princess-y feel to it, right?"

Miyao is fascinated and thinks to herself that it's very impressive. She thinks that it seems really interesting, to design a new menu. One of the cooks remarks that it's not easy, and Miyao thinks to herself, 'Uwuh... Will I be able to manage..."

Then, one of the senior staff enters and asks for everyone's attention. He holds up a piece of paper and informs that for this competition, Kurose and Miyao should try being partners, since they already know each other - it would be easier to cooperate. He continues, saying, "Even though both of you are participating for the first time... it should be fine since it's Kurose."

Miyao thinks about her being assigned with Kurose, recalls his numerous shifts and how he had said, "I'm tired...".

The senior staff then addresses the others, saying, "The rest of you can form...", but Miyao raises her hand to cut in, and says, "Um... I would like to partner with someone else!"

We see that Kurose looks surprised, while Miyao explains, "Kurose-kun has had to take on many shifts recently. I think that he's a little tired..."

"Therefore, I think that, rather than be partnered with an equally new person such as myself, his burden will be lessened if he partners with someone more experienced and reliable!"

The senior staff tells Miyao that he understands, saying, "If Mugi-chan is fine with it, let's go with this." Miyao agrees.

Then, one of the knights steps up and says with a wink, "Then, Mugi-chan can team up with me!! I've got experience."

Miyao replies, "Eh, ah, as long as you don't mind..."

However, putting a hand on his co-worker's shoulder, Kurose suddenly says, ".....No can do."

"Senpai, I'm sorry. Miyao will be my partner."

[sandwichrin]

A Little into You (Junkyu x Reader) (Ch. 13)

Chapter 13 - Who is he?

Word count: 4.6k words

Genre: Fanfiction, PG13, Comedy, Romance.

A/N: Jajjan! Chapter 13 is here! Hope you all enjoy this one~ Also! Happy Eid Mubarak to my readers who are celebrating it! Talk to you all soon ^^ 🧡

You looked back at Chani who was still waiting for an answer from the three of you. Well, to be precise, he was waiting on you and Junkyu since Jihoon’s mouth was still covered by his friend.

“I…uh, yeah. I sort of know them,” you said, a little unsure if what you said was right.

“O…kay…”

Jihoon released himself from Junkyu’s grip, now that he was convinced that it really was you standing in front of him.

Jihoon walked up towards you and cupped your face in his hands, his eyes staring directly into yours for a few seconds.

Junkyu and Chani just stared at the both of you, faces close enough to make other people think that you both are probably staring into each other’s eyes out of love, that is, until you grabbed Jihoon’s hands and pulled them away from your face.

Your eyes still boring into his, you furrowed your eyebrows at him and said, “Park Jihoon! What the hell got into you?!”

Jihoon straightened his posture that was slightly slouched earlier since you were shorter than him obviously. He looked away…

…and started laughing out loud.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAA! Oh, y/n! It really is you! I thought that I was seeing a ghost!” he said before continuing his loud laugh.

You looked at him, dumbfounded at what he said. He thought you were a ghost??? Just…how??

You glanced over to look at the other two guys near you, and you saw Chani looking as confused as ever, which you felt sorry for especially since you both have just literally met each other today and he had to witness your (not so new) dramatic antics with your friends.

You looked over at Junkyu who wasn’t far behind Jihoon and there he was, staring at you with that cold gaze again.

You took a step back from where you were standing and shook your head. “This is a lot to handle in a day,” you muttered to yourself.

Chani, noticing your tired expression, hurriedly went over towards you.

“Hey, hey. Come, let’s continue eating. You need the energy for the tour later,” he said as he led you back to your table earlier.

You looked back at your two friends before heading back at your table, only to find Jihoon dragging Junkyu by his arm once you have taken your seat.

Jihoon, with his grin on his face, said to you and Chani, “I guess it’s okay if we join you guys, right?”

Before you could answer him, Chani hurriedly stood up and exclaimed excitedly, “OF COURSE, HYUNG! We would LOVE to have you both join us!” He quickly pushed his tray to the side and pulled both his hyungs to sit next to him.

“Ahh, no, no. We shouldn’t be taking your seat, Chani! We can sit on y/n’s side too,” Jihoon said, referring to the empty seats beside you.

Chani smiled and bowed slightly at his hyung, showing the seat that was opposite you, “It’s okay, hyung! Sit here, I don’t mind,”

“Aw, if you say so,” Jihoon smiled at him.

With that, Jihoon pushed Junkyu down to sit onto the chair that was opposite you, and the both of you accidentally locked eyes with each other.

Junkyu, being flustered with the sudden eye contact with you, hurriedly diverted his eyes upwards, looking up at the roof of the balcony.

You noticed him avoiding your gaze so you looked elsewhere as well, a little confused as to why he’s behaving that way towards you again.

Suddenly, you saw a tray of food being placed beside you.  

You raised your head to see Jihoon pulling the chair beside you and sitting himself there. He lifted the food from the tray and set it in front of Junkyu before setting another bowl for himself in front him.

Jihoon turned to you and smiled, his warm smile at you.

This made you smile back at him.

You admit, Jihoon had always been dramatic around you but then again, you knew that this particular friend of yours is also able to warm your heart up whenever you felt tired or at loss.

“Alright, let’s eat up!” Jihoon announced before he started eating his food.

You nodded at this and continued eating your sandwich in front of you.

Chani sipped on his drink before proceeding to ask, “So, you’re friends with Treasure too, huh?” he directed the question to you.

You lift your eyes to look at him and simply nodded since your mouth was busy chewing on your sandwich again.

“Aigoo, we’re all very close, aren’t we, y/n?” Jihoon, beside you said, his teasing grin forming on his face.

You shot him a weird look. You felt like you knew that look on his face.

And as if he read what’s on your mind, he spoke up again, “Aigoo, don’t look at me like that! Hey, Chani, did y/n tell you how she met us?”

Chani shook his head. His eyes lit up as he leaned close towards you and Jihoon to hear more. “No! How??”

“Well, she first met Hyunsuk through this funny incident,”

Oh no. Not this story. Not this embarrassing story.

Jihoon chuckled to himself, as he fixed himself on his seat, “So one day Hyunsuk was walking to the building that one fine day, and he met y/n while she was feeding a cat. And then—”

Before Jihoon could continue, your hand was already covering his mouth.

Junkyu and Chani watched you with their eyes wide.

You looked at them and you stuttered, “E-enough about that! You should try my sandwich Jihoon!” You hurriedly remove your hand from his mouth and pushed your sandwich to his face, forcing him to take a bite.

Jihoon chuckles out loud and bit on your sandwich, holding in his laugh as he chewed on the sandwich after you took it away from him.

“Hey, that’s not fair! You didn’t even offer me your sandwich just now,” Chani whined.

At this point you were just glad that both him and Junkyu didn’t ask further about what happened between you, Hyunsuk and the cat on that particular day.

You forced a smile at Chani and pushed your sandwich at him. “Here, here. Just take it all. It’s good.”

“Oh? You’re done eating?”

You smiled and nodded at him, a forced one that is. Though Chani thought that you were really giving him the sandwich because you didn’t want it.

You shot Jihoon a glare, showing him that you weren’t happy with him trying to expose your embarrassing first encounter with Hyunsuk.

Jihoon continued eating his rice and grinned happily at you, obviously happy that he got to tease you.

You rolled your eyes at him and turned your focus on your drink. You sipped on your straw and let yourself get lost in your thoughts.

Junkyu had his head low as he ate his food quietly, but his eyes would look at you once in a while, watching you as you stared into space, your lips sipping on your straw.

Junkyu couldn’t explain it nor does he understood what he was feeling at the moment—No, he couldn’t understand what he feels whenever he sees you.

He gets agitated and irritated every time he sees you lately, he realises this, yes. But then, when he sees you being all quiet to yourself and not paying attention to anyone or anything around you, he feels his heart beat a strange tempo.

                                                                  *

 Junkyu was finishing the bowl of rice in front of him when he suddenly heard a familiar voice approaching, and singing.

“Eating by the rooftop~ Eating in the balcony~ Eating with my beloved members in harmony~” Jaehyuk’s voice appeared before himself as Junkyu sees him entering the balcony, a paper bag in hand.

Junkyu snickered to himself. Jaehyuk must have invented that song on his own on the way up here, he thought to himself.

“Oh? Hyung! We got some desserts for all of us!” Jaehyuk said happily as soon as he saw Junkyu from afar.

His voice made you turn your head to see who it was, and this made Jaehyuk stop in his tracks when he saw your face.

“Eh??” Jaehyuk exclaimed loudly.

“Whoa, oh my god, Jaehyuk-aa why’d you stop in the middle of the way!” Hyunsuk said as he almost bumped into Jaehyuk, his hands also bringing a paper bag.

His head turned to see the direction Jaehyuk was looking as well and he lets out a gasp.

“Yo! What??” he exclaimed out loud, his feet stopping in his tracks as well.

Mashiho entered the balcony and frowned at both the boys who were blocking his way.

“Okay, okay! Move, move, let’s not waste time standing here,” he said as he tried to push them aside so he could walk over to your table.

“Mashi! Here, here!” Junkyu called out to him.

Mashiho, oblivious to you being there, happily marched up towards the table and placed his hand on Junkyu’s shoulder.

He smiled at everyone at the table and then his eyes landed on you.

“Eh? Y/n?” he asked.

You gave him a small smile.

Hyunsuk and Jaehyuk rushed over towards the table and placed the paper bags onto the table.

“We’re gonna need to pull more tables and join them together if we want everyone to fit here,” Mashiho said.

Jihoon got up from his seat beside you and nodded to Mashiho’s request. Him and Mashi immediately started lifting tables from the other side to join together with your table.

“Oh?! But y/n, what are you doing here??” Hyunsuk asked, still confused as to why you’re at their company’s building.

You blinked at him, amused with the question he was asking. At this point, you wouldn’t be surprised if all of their members ask you the same question.

Chani finished his last bite on your sandwich and raised his hand, wanting to catch his hyung’s attention as well.

“Hyung! Hiiii! I’m here too!” he said, his mouth muffled slightly.

“Ahhh Chani! You’re here too! Aigoo, what a cutie!” Hyunsuk cooed, his eye smile forming.

“Y/n, if I knew you were here, I would’ve bought extra ice cream for you too,” Jaehyuk said to you, feeling bad.

“What? N-no! It’s fine, Jaehyuk. Besides, no one knew I was here anyways,” you smiled at him, trying to assure him that it was indeed no biggie for you.

“B-but, why are you here?” Hyunsuk asked again, not being able to let go of the question that was bothering him.

You tilt your head slightly at him. A smirk formed on your lips, “Let me guess, you thought I was a ghost too?”

                                                                  *

 Not long after, Yedam and Yoshi had also joined you all at the balcony, all of you chatting and eating lunch together.

Jaehyuk pulled out an ice cream sandwich from one of the paper bags brought by him and Hyunsuk earlier and tore the wrapping, revealing a square-sized ice cream sandwich, the size of his palm.

Your eyes glanced over at him, since the sound of him tearing the wrapper off caught your attention.

“Oh? Did you buy that from the convenience store downstairs, hyung?” Chani asked, also interested in the ice cream Jaehyuk was holding.

Jaehyuk smiled and nodded at him.

Chani looked at you and he noticed your eyes still staring at the ice cream sandwich in Jaehyuk’s hands.

“Oh? Y/n? Do you want one? I can go and buy some for us too,” he said to you.

You snapped out of your trance and turned your attention to him, who was sitting beside Junkyu.

“What?” You asked, since you weren’t really paying attention to what he asked earlier.

“Ice cream? You want some?”

“Oh,” you smiled and shook your head at him. “It’s fine, no thanks,”

Jihoon was taking out his ice cream from the paper bag and he proceeded to hand one over to you.

You unconsciously received it into your hands and started tearing the packet open.

Once it was opened, you passed the ice cream to Jihoon back whom was sitting beside you as before.

Jihoon looked at you weirdly. “What’s this?”

You looked down at the teared-up packet in your hands. “Oh? You gave it to me? Wasn’t it because you wanted me to help you open it?”

Jihoon smirked at you.

You raised your eyebrows at him, questioning his expression towards you right now.

“Aww y/n, oh no. You did something without permission too, tsk tsk,” he clicked his tongue, emphasising the fact that you somehow did something wrong now.

You frowned at him, the ice cream feeling less cold in your hand now.

“Okay, what is it, Jihoon?”

“Oh? That ice cream in your hands,” he pointed at your hands, “is Kim Junkyu’s,” he said this, his smirk never leaving his face.

Your eyes widened hearing this. You turned your head to look at Junkyu who was sitting opposite you, his face just as surprised as you are.

“W-what? You’re kidding, right?” You asked Jihoon, although you had a feeling he wasn’t.

“No, I’m not. I handed it over to you because I wanted you to pass it over to Junkyu, but you immediately tore the packet open without even letting me say anything so…”

Your jaw fell. You hurriedly pulled Junkyu’s hands and placed the slowly melting ice cream sandwich into his hands. You held his hands in yours and stared straight into his eyes, “Oh my god Junyku, I had no idea! I am so so sorry!”

Junkyu was too stunned to respond to you because first- he was surprised to receive the cold dessert into his hands, and secondly, your hands were holding his hands, right this very second.

Noticing that Junyku was just staring at you blankly, you let go of his hands and started packing up your phone into your bag.

“Y/n? What are you doing? Are you going somewhere?” Hyunsuk asked, noticing you were all flustered and packing up.

“Huh? I, uh, I’m gonna go get a new ice cream sandwich from the store downstairs,”

Hearing this, Jihoon and Junkyu both stood up at the same time.

This made you stop what you were doing. You looked at the both of them, confused.

“W-what? What’s with you both?” You asked, your arms hugging your bag close to your chest. You felt small right now, since you were still in your seat and these two tall guys stood up in all of a sudden.

Everyone else at the table stopped chatting and focused on the three of you now.

“What? I stood up because I spilt some of the ice cream on my pants, see?” Jihoon showed the white patch of vanilla ice cream on his pants.

Everyone, including you, nodded at this and turned to face Junkyu who looked all panicky now.

“I…uh, I uh,” he swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling nervous now that everyone is staring at him. “I uh, y/n!”

“Y-yes!” You said in response to him when he said your name.

“D-don’t buy me a new one, this is fine,” he said, his voice shaking a bit.

“O-okay,” you said.

Both Jihoon and Junkyu sat back in their chairs at the same time, and Yoshi couldn’t help but laugh seeing the three of you being awkward for a second there.

Hyunsuk shook his head, also giggling with what happened, “I don’t know if you guys realise this but- Junkyu, Y/n and Jihoon always have the most awkward interactions together,”

Everyone at the table laughed at this, except for you and Junkyu. What was weird was that Jihoon was laughing as well.

“Yeah but I feel like Junkyu has the most awkward moments with y/n,” he said in between his laughs.

“Pfft remember when Junkyu spit out that cola drink at y/n??” Yedam added. “CLASSIC!”

You looked at them and smiled timidly, noticing that Junkyu was pouting while he ate up the melted ice cream in his hands.

You were about to take a sip off your glass again when you felt your phone buzzing from your bag.

Taking your phone out, you answered the call.

“Yes? Ahuh. Yup, sure, I can go now,” you said in response to the person talking to you on the other side of the line. “Okay, see you!”

You ended the call and kept it back into your bag.

“Who was it, y/n?” Jaehyuk asked you.

“Oh, that was my team leader. She said that she wanted me to accompany her back to the meeting room,”

“Oh? But lunch isn’t over in 15 minutes?” Chani added.

“Yeah well, I know Soomin. She likes to go through some materials before we start anything. So, she probably wants to run us through the guidelines of the tour before we start roaming around, you know?”

“Ahh I see,” Chani said with a nod.

“Well, I guess I’ll be going off first. Enjoy your lunch—and desserts!” you said to your friends as you stood up, fixing your bag on your shoulder.

The rest of the boys smiled and waved their hands at you, some saying goodbye to you and telling you to take care.

You were leaving the table when a voice stopped you.

“Wait, y/n!”

You turned around to see Chani hurrying over towards you.

“I’ll go with you!”

“Oh? You don’t have to, really. You can just stay and hang with your friends here if you want to,”

“Nah, I have to go for the tour with the rest of yous anyways,”

You shrugged at him. “Okay, sure,” With that, you proceeded walking towards the door to enter the cafeteria again, with Chani tagging closely behind you.

You were entering the cafeteria from the balcony when you passed by the maknae line of Treasure.

They had just got back from school and was immediately sent to the YG Building of course, and given that Jaehyuk had texted them to head to the balcony once they’ve arrived, they were all on their way to meet their hyungs when they crossed paths with you.

“And then he said to me that pastel highlighters don’t necessarily work in helping you memorise your notes because the colours are just for aesthetic purposes,” Junghwan said to Jeongwoo who was walking alongside him.

Now the kids didn’t notice it was you passing them by until Chani greeted them.

“Doyoung! Hey!” Chani called out to Doyoung who was walking alone right behind Jeongwoo and Junghwan.

“Oh hey, hyung! You’re having lunch quite early today,” Doyoung stopped to talk to him.

“Yeah, I’m just accompanying my friend since I joined her team’s course this month,”

“Ahh, I see. Oh? You were from the balcony? Are the rest over there as well?” Doyoung asked, referring to his hyungs.

“Yeah, we had lunch together,” Chani replied happily. “Oh wait,” he continued since he noticed you walking further ahead from him already by now.

“Y/n! Wait up!” Chani called out to you, making you turn around again this time, to see Doyoung, Jeongwoo and Junghwan all staring at you with surprised looks on their faces.

“W-wait—” Jeongwoo said, him and Junghwan both ending their conversation abruptly the moment they heard Chani calling out your name.

And surely enough, when they all turned around to see if it really was the y/n they know, it indeed was you.

“Chani, I really need to go, I’m so sorry,” you said to him, your face expressing an apologetic look. “You can stay here and chat with them, okay? I’ll meet you in the meeting room later!” you said as you hurriedly left since you didn’t want to keep Soomin waiting for you.

“Ah, shucks, I should go. I don’t want to miss any pre-tour briefings too,” Chani said to the three of them. He bowed slightly and smiled as he waved his hands at them, “Bye y’all! I’ll catch up with you all next time!”

And by the time Chani had left their side, the three boys exchanged looks with each other.

“That…was y/n, wasn’t it?” Doyoung asked, in case he was the only one who saw you earlier.

“It looked like y/n-noona…” Junghwan said, his tone unsure as well.

“Oh! Ruto-aa!” Jeongwoo waved to their friend when he saw him entering the cafeteria door.

Haruto ran towards them. “Sorry for making you all wait, my Korean language class ended a bit late today,” he said as soon as he reached the spot they were all standing at.

“Nah it’s fine,” Jeongwoo said.

“Why are you all standing here, though? I thought we were all supposed to meet up outside?”

“Oh, right! The hyungs must be waiting for us,” Doyoung said as he led them all towards the balcony doors.

                                                                   *

 The hyung line watched as Chani followed you out of the balcony.

“Huh, I wonder how in the world did Chani became friends with y/n,” Yedam wondered aloud, making all his hyungs pay attention to him.

“What? I’m just wondering,” Yedam stated, when he noticed his hyungs looking at him.

“No, no, Yedam has a point there,” Jihoon said.

“Right? They seem…quite close? I mean, if y/n has been friends with Chani for some time, she probably would’ve mentioned it to us since Chani is from our company as well,” Yedam explained.

The rest nodded hearing this from him.

“Huh, that’s true though…”

“I guess it only makes sense for Chani to be friends with y/n though. I mean, even when Hyunsuk first met y/n, he was so smittened by her he kept talking about her for days,” Jihoon said as he munched on his ice cream sandwich.

“H-hey! I wasn’t smittened by her!”

“Pfft, please hyung, you keep whining about how packed our schedules were and you never got her name and contact number,” Jihoon rolled his eyes as he said this.

“Hey, she was a really nice person, okay! I can’t help but feel attracted in being friends with someone like her,” Hyunsuk said, slightly pouting now.

Jaehyuk, who was beside Hyunsuk, pat his hyung’s head gently and smiled as he said, “It’s okay hyung, you can say she’s nice and pretty, which is why you feel like she’s an attractive person to be friends with,”

The rest of them laughed seeing how Hyunsuk turned red from being teased by both Jihoon and Jaehyuk.

Junkyu listened to their conversation but his head was somewhere else at the moment.

He kept thinking about how he felt your hands holding his earlier. His heart started pounding fast, thinking about you always gets him all uncomfortable, in his opinion. Like, he could just look at you from afar, and he would feel uneasiness in his chest. He wasn’t sure what this feeling was, and although it made him uncomfortable, he realised that he doesn’t entirely hate that feeling.

“Hyung?”

Mashiho’s voice pulled Junkyu back to reality.

“Yes, Mashi?”

“You okay? You seem…quiet,”

Junkyu shook his head and flashed an assuring smile towards his friend, “Nothing, I was just thinking about some stuff,”

“Okay,” Mashiho grinned at him, making Junyku smile even wider seeing his friend’s cute expression.

And just as the rest of them were talking about something else, the maknae line entered the balcony, Junghwan and Jeongwoo in front of the rest, as they were still talking about how Junghwan’s classmate kept telling him how pastel-coloured highlighters aren’t as effective as neon-coloured ones.

“He said that neon-coloured ones leave a stronger impact on our brains, which makes it easier to memorise notes!” Junghwan explained to his hyung, as he pulled the chair opposite Junkyu, settling himself there.

Jeongwoo on the other hand, placed his bag on the chair beside Junkyu, where Chani was seated before this. “Aigoo, Junghwan-aa. You don’t really believe that, do you? Did you read a scientific research on that matter?”

“No…”

“There you go, then it’s okay for you to keep using your pastel-coloured highlighters for your notes, okay?”

“Okay hyung…”

Seeing that all his dongsaengs are already seated in their seats, Yoshi started distributing the packed foods they bought for the younger ones from the convenience store earlier.

“Thank you hyung,” Haruto said as he unwrapped the kimbap he received from Yoshi.

“Eat up~” Yoshi said with his gentle smile.

“Oh, hyung!” Doyoung said as he took his bite off his toasted tuna sub that his hyungs bought for him.

“What is it, Doyoung?” Yoshi asked, wondering if there was something wrong with his dongsaeng’s sandwich.

“Ahh, we saw y/n on the way here. Did you all have lunch with her and Chani-hyung just now?”

Your name made Junyku paid attention to Doyoung who was on the other end of the table.

“Ah, yeah! Y/n’s company sent her team here to brief our staff on a course. Although I’m not sure how Chani was linked to her in any ways,” Jihoon answered.

“Ahh, I see. Oh, I think Chani mentioned something along the lines of him taking the course with y/n?” Doyoung said, though he was a little unsure if what he said was right.

“Eh? Y/n was here?” Haruto asked, since he was the only who didn’t get to see you just now.

Jeongwoo, who was beside Junkyu, nodded in response to Haruto’s question. “That’s right. I heard him say he’s taking the course with y/n,”

“Oh? That’s weird. Why would Chani take a course from PEWA?” Mashiho asked.

“Come to think of it, it is weird to have Chani joining a course from PEWA. I thought I saw the notice the other day that the course was only for the permanent staffs who have worked here for over two years,” Jaehyuk said.

“Wait—Y/n works under PEWA??” Haruto asked, feeling that he was a little behind on the topic his hyungs are discussing on.

Hyunsuk simply nodded at Haruto’s question.

The rest of the table kept quiet for a while, trying to process what was really going on.

“Hmm. I guess, Chani-hyung joined the course because he felt like it would benefit him for his internship?” Doyoung guessed.

This made most of his hyungs scoff at him, including Junkyu.

“Come on, Doyoungie. You don’t really think that, do you?” Hyunsuk asked him, an eyebrow raised on his face.

Doyoung shrugged at this. “Hey, we should always be positive, no?” he bit off his sandwich again as he waits for his hyungs’ answers.

“Pfft, what internship? He’s practically a reserved employee here,” Jihoon muttered to himself.

“Then…do you all think…y/n knows who Chani really is?” Yoshi asked, a little concerned now.

This earned a sigh from almost everyone at the table.

“It’s not Chani I’m worried about to be honest. It’s his other half that I’m worried about, you know? He’s always trying to bring Chani down. And if he finds out Chani having a close friend here, don’t you think he’ll do something about it?” Yedam stated matter-of-factly.

“Ahh, you’re talking about that case last year?” Jaehyuk asked.

Yedam hummed at him.

“Oh? But we’re close with Chani, and he did nothing to us?” Junkyu spoke up, finally.

“Nah, he can’t do anything to us and any of the artists here, you know that. That’s why every artists here are on Chani’s side, especially since last year’s case,”

“I mean, I feel sorry for Chani but at the same time, having y/n close to him right now…might be risky…” Hyunsuk added.

The rest of them stopped eating, drinking and whatever they were doing and exchanged glances with each other, a worried look on their faces.

 To be continued…

[itsmeevie01]

A Moment in Time-Ch 5

I'm back! lots of things to come, and a slightly longer, Tim centered, chapter! and...the build-up to the Timari subplot! 

Yay!

 I know that is what everyone is actually here for lol.

Tim was tired of looking for Jason.

He wasn’t at any of his normal safe houses, and none of his usual contacts had heard from him in the last few weeks. Three weeks after the ridiculous scandal had broken, the press had all but forgotten Tim for the time being. As he ducked through alleyways, the teen couldn’t help but be thankful as he climbed back on his bike and sped back towards Wayne Manor.

He was done waiting for his brother to show up. There was something sketchy going on in their city, and if Jason wasn’t going to show up, then it was no longer his concern.

When he got home, Tim found Bruce waiting for him in the study looking over the side gardens. The older C.E.O.’s face was grim.

When Tim approached the desk, Bruce handed him a stack of papers. As Tim started to page through them, he had a flashback to when Jared Stone had brought the pile of tabloids.

As he flipped through the new stack, Tim realized that it was Jason’s credit card statement. And-was that…? “did he buy a ticket for Paris? Why didn’t we get notified about his passport passing through customs? Why is Jason in France of all places?” when he looks back at his adoptive father, the man’s face was grim.

“I don’t know, Tim. But we sure as hell are going to find out. Go to his apartment. I know you have a key. We need to see if he left anything out from before he left.” Bruce paused before adding, “he’s been gone for two weeks. There has to be a reason.” Tim nodded as he moved to stride from the room before Alfred spoke, shocking both Bruce and Tim.

“Maser Bruce, did you by chance call Master Jason? Last I remember, his cell phone was still working.” The father and son froze, before turning to the family Butler, slack-jawed.

“We really are stupid.”

 Damian didn’t see anything wrong with Todd being gone. It was quieter around the Manor and it meant that the 13-year-old was allowed to patrol through Crime Alley by himself, something none of his predecessors had been able to do at his age.

As the young teen flew over the city, his mind raced. He found this the most relaxing part of his time with his father.

At the manor, there was always something going on and there was always someone looking over his shoulder. Here, as he went rooftop to rooftop, arching over this city, the boy was able to finally find some peace.

A sound over his earpiece broke Robin from his quiet elation. “Robin, how are you doing? Is everything clear?” oracle’s voice filtered through, bringing him to relax. Oracle he could handle.

“it’s a regular night, Oracle. A few of the regulars. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“perfect. Finish up and head back, B wants you back before 2 because you have school tomorrow.”

The annoyed “Tch” that came down the line made the redhead laugh from where she sat at the computer.

 Tim had texted Jason before he had left for patrol. When he got back, there was a response waiting for him.

Jason: in Paris. I’ll be back soonish

Tim: Jay, what’s soonish?

Tim: there’s a situation we need your help with.

Jason: kid, I'll be back when I can.

Jason: if B cares, tell him Gina kidnapped me. I’m staying with her right now.

Jason: otherwise, just wait. It's personal business.

Tim: Jay, we are your family. Doesn’t that make it our business too?

Jason: in this case, no. fuck off, replacement

Tim: See you when you get back Jay

 The teen sighed. It was just like Jason to try and handle everything himself. This time, Tim couldn’t play interference either, he was stuck across an ocean. He just hoped this Gina person wasn’t as impulsive as his older brother. If she was, they would all be in trouble.

 As he made his way to his room, having showered and gotten himself ready for the next day, Tim paused by his desk.

He had taken the time to compile a file on the girl from a few weeks ago but hadn’t read it yet. He knew that if he was to read it, it would be violating her privacy, but he did that every day, so was this any different? To Tim, the only difference was that this girl wasn’t someone to watch or take in. she was just a normal girl with a normal life, who had run into him for a split second.

It wasn’t like he was going to meet her, right?

The teen shook his head and flopped onto his bed. It wasn’t worth it tonight. He could have the moral debate with himself when he was properly rested.

 Maybe he should have called in sick. Tim was definitely finding a way to leave early, as he looked at the list of meetings that he had been scheduled for.

Why had he agreed to this again? He could have sworn that he had told his assistant that Wednesday was his day to go home and work on his college classes. Instead, Tim had a feeling that he was going to be at the office late.

On his off night too.

 Partway through the day, he noticed an email that he didn’t recognize in his personal inbox. The inbox that he probably shouldn’t have been checking on the company computer but…

After a moment of hesitation, the young C.E.O. had clicked on the new email and blinked at what pulled up.

  From: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

To: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

Mr. Drake,

My name is Marinette Dupain Cheng. I believe that we ran into each other quite literally a month and a half ago, approximately. As I am sure that you have at least seen the fictitious stories floating through the media, I assume that you are aware of the interaction that I am referring to.

Originally, I had no intention of reaching out, but a friend of mine encouraged me to reach out. (had actually was the one to give me your email. Does the name Jason Todd ring a bell?) I do hope that this whole press fiasco hasn’t hindered you too terribly.

Kindest Regards,

Marinette Dupain Cheng

 Tim blinked once before rereading the short email that the girl had sent. No. no way. She knew Jason? And what did she mean, Jason was the one to encourage her to reach out? Opening up a new draft, Tim hesitated before flicking his wrists to rid himself of tension and trying his reply.

 From: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

To: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

Miss Dupain Cheng,

I was surprised to receive your email, but it seems that it came at a fortunate time. Yes, I do know Jason Todd. I know him quite well, actually. He and I were adopted by the same man, Bruce Wayne. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you meet my brother?

I must apologize, for the whole scandal from last month. I know that neither of us were directly responsible, but I do feel bad for any trouble it may have caused you. If it is not too much of an intrusion, I might also ask, how were you able to respond so quickly? The only reason I knew about the incident was Bruce’s old friend Jared. The man came into my office in a fit about the nerve of the photographer.

(if you ever meet the man, you will understand what I mean when I say that he never does things halfway. He had picked up a copy of every magazine or tabloid that ran a story about it. When he came in, he actually brought his crocodile as well. Fang scared the lobby staff more than anything has for the past bit, I believe.)

I hope this finds you well,

Timothy Drake Wayne

 After reading through his email one more time to make sure it sounded professional enough, Tim hit the send button and let out a deep breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that this was the start of something important.

Suddenly, Tim was very glad he hadn’t read the girl’s file.

 As he was preparing to head to yet another meeting later that afternoon, Tim glanced at his personal email again. To his surprise, the teen was met with another email from the French girl.

 From: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

To: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

Mr. Drake (or is it Drake Wayne?)

Jason was sitting next to me when I opened your last email. Imagine my surprise when he panicked. Apparently, he had decided against informing any of his family of his departure. I must say, his reaction was quite entertaining.

Onto your question from your email, Penny Rolling, a good friend of mine, dropped off a box full of the tabloid trash that her husband, Jagged had shipped to her as soon as she got it. After my initial reaction, the two of us got a good laugh out of the whole situation. Especially when we heard that Jagged tried to bring Fang into your office! I guess to you, he would be Jared, but to me, he will always be my Uncle Jagged.

In other news, I thought it would be polite to pass on that Jason will be returning in the next few days. He has been fretting over a family emergency, not that he will tell me what it is but, there is only so much I can do. However, I thought it might be prudent to forewarn you that he will be bringing my grandmother back with him. Nona said it was something to do with one of his ‘side hustles’. Knowing those two, however, makes me think that Jason has gotten himself into something significantly illegal this time.

No need to apologize for something that neither of us could control! You did not ask for the photographer to take that ridiculous photo, nor did you ask for the fiction writers who work for the tabloids to write a piece of the photo. That said, I do feel that it has opened many new avenues. I know that Jason and I reconnected because of the photo, and it has given my lawyers something to focus on while we wait on proceedings for other matters.

Have a good day,

Marinette Dupain Cheng

 Jason was coming home sooner than he planned. It seemed like Tim’s text had actually gotten through to his older brother.

With a sigh, he marked the email as important so that he would remember to respond to it before he started on his homework.

The teen C.E.O. snagged his thermos of coffee on the way out the door, he had a meeting to go to.

And...there it is! this week I'm going to try and work out my posting schedule. what did everyone think of the emails?

  i know that there are a lot more people in the Wayne/bat family, so I'm going to work them in a little bit at a time. as far as Dick Grayson is concerned, btw he knows about the scandal but not about Jason's sister or that he's not in Gotham.

MasterPost

Tag List

@moonlitceleste @redscarlet95 @ultimatetornshipper @mochegato @liquid-luck-00 @maskedpainter 

@trippingovermyfeet @nathleigh @m0chick0furan @susiej1118@t1dwarrior-of-earth

[extremelyblackandwhite]

handmaid - 13

PAIRING: mob!sebastian stan x ingenue!reader

WARNINGS: age gap, sexual content (18+)

A/N:  i should make it a game out of finding musical references in my chapters. hope you enjoy this chapter xxx

NEXT CHAPTER

   - Well, if it’s any worth .. I don’t think half the names I’ve heard given to you do actually have any truth to them.  

She had the softest look in her face and for the first time Sebastian couldn’t pin point if it was because she was being truly honest or if the sleepless nights had started to weight on her complexion. Nevertheless, there was no wavering in her voice, no shadow of a doubt, no fear, no nothing. She was just there looking at him with the same innocence she looked at everything in life. He thought that no matter what he’d done in his youth, in his childhood or early adult years, he must’ve done something good for she was standing next to him either she should or shouldn’t. 

    - C’mon ... - he stepped off the chair, softly wrapping his hand around hers before taking off to the lift, grabbing an umbrella on his way in. Y/N starred at him in confusion as he pressed one of the various buttons on the lift’s panels. Nevertheless, she remained quiet, softly examining every single detail of his face from his eyes to the stubble that had grown from the last time she had seen him. Lowering her gaze, she inspected her his hand wrapped around hers which brought another surge of heat to her face leading to her looking at any other thing rather than that.

The lift stopped and opened in what looked like the terrace. Sebastian was the first to step off, opening the umbrella as she stepped off the lift and onto the rainy night. Holding her closer to his side, he walked all the way to the terrace’s railing which gave a breath taking view of the Upper East Side’s night sky with all its bright lights. 

   - It is not Paris but I thought you might enjoy it. - he looked down at her but she had her eyes on the city landscape and how beautiful it looked when it was being rained upon. 

   - It’s beautiful, Seb ... - her eyes widened as her mouth decided to speak without going through her brain first. - I mean Mr. Stan, Sebastian. You should probably go to bed, I mean, it’s been a long day. 

   - I’ll go to bed if you come with me. - Sebastian smirked at Y/N who had to blink a few times to wonder if she had heard it correctly. Oh no, absolutely not. Gwen would have her head on a stick and even if she didn’t Y/N had absolutely no idea how to go about and do bed business. - Not like that, Y/N. 

   - Well, I ... I have to go to bed because ... because of Gwen.

   - Because of Gwen? - he furrowed his eyebrows, trying not to laugh as she rushed over to the lift pressing the button with as much might as she could. Sighing, he walked to the lift that had quickly arrived. - Alright, because of Gwen. 

  - She might need my help, Sebastian.

  - I’m sure she’ll need help hiding the hickeys made by my staff. - Y/N stopped in her tracks, turning around to look at him. - You surely know she’s not very discreet?

  - You can’t tell her that you know, she’ll think I told you and she’ll be mad at me.

    - I don’t really care about who Gwen brings into her bed. Besides, I would never get you in trouble ... - he lightly picked her chin staring at her beautiful yet worried eyes at the thought he would tell Gwen he knew about her affairs. Y/N bite her bottom lip, lashes fluttering before he leaned down to kiss her. She would like to say she was caught off guard but she really wasn’t as her hands lightly gripped onto his unruly brown locks. 

They continued to kiss as if they were protagonists of a Jane Austen novels who constantly had to remain apart fear of being discovered by society. In some sense, they sort of were and Y/N was very conscious over the fact that they were kissing in the lift that could open at any second. It wasn’t until he bit her plump bottom lip that she was taken from her dazed pink romantic daydreaming state. The unfamiliar sensation led her to let out a small high pitched moan which she hoped wouldn’t have been recognised by the mob boss. Unfortunately to her, it was very much heard and he started to move his lips from hers to her chin, jaw and then neck, igniting the fire even more. She could feel his lips sucking on her collarbones which would for sure leave a few marks but Y/N was much too lost on how well it felt to worry about that. 

   - Seb ... Sebastian. - she choked another moan from coming through. What was she doing? This man was about to be married to her friend and she was very close to hitting second base with him. However, her self control seemed to want to disappear whenever his lips kissed her very soft skin or whenever he bite softly into her skin. 

   - Well, angel, I said I’d never get you in trouble. - the lift dinged and he stepped away from her, smirking at her tousled appearance and plump lips before taking off to the stairs and up to this bedroom leaving Y/N to regain her breathe against the wall of the lift.

How dare him?! Her most primitive self asked, livid that he had left her in such state that she didn’t know if to follow him into his bedroom or kick the wall of the lift. However, her more careful and let’s face it logical side was telling her to go to her bedroom and lock her door before she could do anything wrong. 

Without much thought and attention to her more primitive self, she climbed up the stairs and rushed into her bedroom, locking the door behind her. It wasn’t like Sebastian was gonna barge into her bedroom and take her right then and there. Not that she would mind it. However, she knew that right now she had no self control. Whenever that man stared at her or did anything, her self-control seemed to perish and suddenly she was this loose moral woman okay with an extra marital affair. Not that he was married. 

After pacing around in her bedroom for what felt like a full hour, trying to tire herself out of the high he had put her in, she eventually stripped off her clothing before sliding under her very comfortable duvet, closing her eyes and hoping her brain would be kind enough not to dwell on the lift events during her dreams.

Meanwhile, Sebastian was rather heated up, heart hammering into his chest as he concentrated on that beautiful memory of the very polished, very repressed Y/N in that sinful appearance. God, he knew he couldn’t just do things the way he would do them if she was literally anyone else. It wasn’t like Sebastian believed Gwen would harm Y/N, god no. That woman had a terrible aim and talked more than acted, however, he could see Mr. Forrest clearly having an issue with “the most loyal employee” having an affair with his daughter’s fiancé. Not that he cared about what Mr. Forrest thought but he wanted Y/N safe. She was the last truly kind person in this business he knew and he would protect her with his life. No, with Y/N he had to carefully tip toe and curb his enthusiasm and desires. 

Nevertheless, he’s hot, he’s on fire. He felt as if the hottest day of the summer was nothing compared to how flustered and flush he was feeling right now. There was no question as to him having thought and even dreaming about the handmaid in less than polite scenarios, certainly normally on her knees being delightfully submissive to him. However, he had never gotten that close to the actual dreams that haunted him at night constantly awaking him with something to deal with.

Too consumed with his desires, he turned on the TV hoping it would daze him to dreamland which it eventually did. 

Hours later, Y/N was the first to awake up, groaning at the sunbeams that coursed through her bedroom and hit her face. It was light enough that she couldn’t sleep so with a spring in her step, she jumped off her bed and walked to the bathroom. Normally she would’ve just entered the shower with little to no thought but this morning she stopped by the mirror, noticing the hickeys that were very prominent on her neck and collarbones. She felt that familiar heat creep up to her face, moving slightly so she could look at the marks better. Her fingers softly traced the bruises, a slight curious smile forming on her face. 

This curiosity was quickly brought down as she remembered who had caused them. Sebastian. Sebastian Stan as in the man promised to the woman she had sworn her life to, or at least had lived her life to so far. Pushing that thought away from her head, she entered the shower, turning the water on. She rubbed the water off her face, her mind going back to when she was with him, the feeling of his lips tracing her collarbones and neck still ghosting on her skin and that newly found heat returned to her.

Mindlessly, she brought the shower head to her body, letting the water cascade down her back and torso until she lowered it to her lower part, gasping slightly as the medium pressured warm water hit her clitoris. She gasped, leaning against the wet tiles of the bathroom wall, as the water hit her pleasure spot bringing the new and exciting sensations up to a new height. Her head slightly slide down the wall as she brought the shower head closer. The emotions would’ve reached a catharsis had it not been for someone knocking on her bedroom door. Afraid and not expecting the knock, she dropped the shower head out of surprise and turned the tap off.

Wrapping herself in one of the monogramed fluffy white towels that existed in every single bathroom in the penthouse, she paced to the door, partially opening it to see Sebastian’s cerulean eyes staring directly at her. 

    - Good morning, angel. - his eyes lowered to his initials on her white towel. This made his ego grow, there she was wearing his own initials on a towel covering her nude body. - Don’t you look ravishing?

   - Shush ... - her eyes widened as she looked around the hall. - What if Gwen heard that?

   - I’m gonna forbid you to mention her name whenever we speak, angel.

   - You’re the most impossible boy. - she stabbed his chest with her ring finger, holding the towel up with her other hand. 

   - Don’t be mad at me, angel. - he placed his hands on her waist, successfully entering her room and closing the door behind him with his foot. - I couldn’t do anything else with you in a lift, you deserve better. 

   - There is no anything between us. You’re engaged. 

   - Don’t you wanna kiss me? - he caged her between the wall and him, hands resting on both side of her head. - Be honest. 

tag list: @lilya-petrichor @xoxohannahlee @irespostthingsiwanttoseelater @nikkipea @madisonpillstrom @cevans98 @thelostallycat @sideeffectsofyou @anxiousdreamersworld​ @sarge-barnes-sir @captainchrisstan

[blackssuunn-mandoandyodito]

Tabaco y Brea

A Javier Peña fanfic

Pairing: Javier Peña x reader

Warnings: slight angst, slight fluff, sweating?, swearing, running?, somebody needs to explain this to me please.

Word count: 2.5 k

A/N: alright friends, this is the first chapter of a series I’m working on. As you can see, it’s called Tabaco y Brea. If you have any questions, hit me up. I hope you like this, enjoy!

Chapter 1: Stuffy basement

Bogotá was a sight that you had yet to stop being amazed at. Walking through its streets for the first time all those months ago almost brought tears to your eyes. Growing up in the United States and thinking that you may never get out of there gave you little to no reference in this country's culture, although your father being Mexican helped you master Spanish and he showed your way to dance. Early 1981 was not a great year to be in Colombia, but you were here as a DEA agent after all, not as a tourist. You could feel things getting bigger, and you weren't sure how you'll be able to handle it.

As you kept walking, you asked yourself the same question of your everyday life. Why the fuck did you choose to live so far away from the Embassy? 

(You knew the answer, but it didn’t make mornings easier)

The heat made your clothes cling to you with sweat, your hair even in a ponytail was soaked and the headache was just getting stronger the more you walked through the avenue. 

And you were late, dammit!

Your heels could be heard as you started to run to catch the bus, gripping your purse as if life depended on it. With the amount of money they paid you, you could easily afford a car, but attracting that much attention wasn't a great idea. You still couldn't understand how the narcos hadn't managed to get your information. 

The bus was already at the bus stop when you turned the corner, and you didn't know if you could make it. 

"Ey! Ey! Esperen!" (Hey! Hey! Wait!) You started waving your hand towards it, seeing that the last person in line was hopping on. The driver, thankfully, saw you and waited. You started running faster and finally climbed the stairs. It was packed.

 Well, it seemed that you'd go standing. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

You seriously didn't think you could get more soaked from the heat, sweat even more than you already were.

You were wrong. 

When you got to the Embassy, the entire back of your shirt was plastered to your body. Your thighs were starting to get grazed because of your skirt and your hair was all frizzy and probably resembled a nest of birds. 

You took a deep breath, tried to fix your hair a little bit, and pushed the door. Nobody even glanced at you, and you were glad. If anybody dared to even look at you funny, you were going to lose it.

"Ey compañera. Mala mañana?" (Hey partner. Bad morning?)

Oh, just what you needed.

"¿Qué quieres Peña?" (What do you want Peña?) you rolled your eyes at him. He didn't look much better than you anyway. His pink shirt was sticking to his chest, even though he had several buttons open, letting you see his wet neck. His face was sweaty too, with rosy cheeks and his hair sticking to his forehead. 

You arched your eyebrow. "No tienes mucho mejor aspecto que yo Javier" (You don’t look much better than I do Javier)

He gave a soft laugh, the idiot. You weren't in the best of moods to handle him, so you turned around and walked to your desk, then sat down with a grump.

"Vamos nena, alégrate un poco" (Come on baby, lighten up a little) you glared at him and started reading through the papers you had to check today. It was usually yours and Javier's, that asshole didn't do any of his own paperwork and you were stuck doing both almost all the time. Carina had given you a weird stare the first time you were ranting about it to her, but you were sure you didn't want to know what she was thinking. It was nothing that you didn't know anyways.

Once he realized you were definitely not in the mood for your usual banter, he stopped and sat down in his desk,at the right from yours. Silence (or as much silence as an office can have) settled and the sounds of sheets of paper turning and Javi working with his typewriter slowly calmed you and helped you concentrate with what you were reading. The fan that barely provided you of fresh air at least served as background noise for the amount of stuff that your mind was processing, and it even cooled you down a little bit. The headache was gone and so was the bad mood. After some time had passed and you weren't sweating as much as before, you asked yourself what on Earth was Javi doing if you had his paperwork at your desk.

"Hey Javi, what are you doing? At least have the decency to offer help!" you said as he turned to look at you. He smiled, noticing your mood improvement. Pulling his chair with him, he crossed the little space between your desks and opened the folder that he had been looking at.

"There's the Bera I know" You tried to hide a smile at the nickname. "I got some intel that could help us with this bullshit"

His voice, all business know, gave you a sense of peace. Even if he was a little shit most of the time, he was the only one who had been with you since you arrived back in 1979. He didn't have much more experience than you back then, had only been in Colombia for a couple of months himself, but he knew his way around better than you. He taught you the things you didn't know, and if neither of you did then you figured them out together. 

"And what is that intel, agent Peña?" you teased him. You weren't oblivious to his ways of fishing out info, of course. He smacked you lightly in the arm and showed you the papers.

"A cottage on the outside of Cali seems to be a type of safehouse for Escobar's merca," he says while pointing at the pictures that were inside the folder "if this is true, we need to do a raid soon, but we have to make sure the intel is right before we take that risk"

The cottage was small, nobody would pay attention to it if they were walking past. It looked like an abandoned house, and you knew that was exactly what Escobar's men were hoping for. Although you were surprised they were stupid enough to have something even remotely close to a city, that didn't sound right.

You nod, "so that means...?"

He looks at you with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"That means we need to stay for a few days in Cali, nena"

You have to grip your chair to physically restrain yourself from jumping of happiness. You loved Cali, the very few occasions you had free time you took a bus there (9 hours and all) and spent the nights in the dancing clubs. Cali gave you a sense of love and alleviated the homesick feeling that had been nagging you for years. It reminded you of your father even if this wasn't his country. 

"Are you serious? Don't play with me Javi" he nodded.

"You know I don't play with this shit", his voice sounded serious, almost offended.

He knew how much you enjoyed being there, but you also knew he took his work very seriously. In both cases, you doubted he would joke about something like that, but it was almost too good to be true to believe it that easily.

You started to plan things in your head. Where would you stay? Close to the cottage? Close to downtown Cali? Would you have any free time to enjoy the pleasures of Cali nights? You hoped so because if not you were going to explode.

"So when do we leave then?" you look him in the eyes, a grin spread big on your face. 

"It depends", your smile fell. "We have to welcome the new gringo, remember?"

Ugh, yes. You forgot about that. 

"So when does he arrive?" 

Javi shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it will be this or the next week."

You weren't sure if bringing someone else to this shitshow was a good idea. Enough lives have been lost to this war, and you didn't see the point of putting at risk another one.

"Will we take him with us?"

 “He's not very good with Spanish"

Your smile returned, this time for entirely different reasons. "So we're gonna have some fun with him?"

Javi looked at you, amusement in his eyes. He shook his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea muñeca, he's coming with his wife" (doll)

You got the message, even if he didn't say it out loud. He has a family, something to lose. You don't, not really. Besides your own lives, that is. If you want to play Russian roulette with them, it's your problem. But the new guy had someone to come back to.

So, helping the gringo it was.

"What's his name again?" you ask. You had read about him a few weeks back when they told you he was coming. But you didn't even remember he was coming, much less were you going to remember his name.

"Steve Murphy" Oh yeah, it sounded familiar now. "He did his training directly at Quantico, so he must be good"

That you remembered. He was one of those guys who spent the 18 weeks (although you knew they were only 13 if you did it there) of DEA training in Quantico, inside the U.S. Marine Corps Base and next to the FBI academy. They weren't common here, you and Javi had done it elsewhere. 

"So after we pick him up, we plan this shit out, right?"

Javi nodded. "I hope so"

He went back to his desk and you kept going through the paperwork. It was not an easy task, but that one time you made Javier do his own, he had taken so much time to do it that you passed the deadline and the boss ripped you both a new one. After that, you did a silent agreement where you did it all, Javier providing all info necessary and taking the blame if anything was wrong, even if it didn't happen frequently. He'd bring you Colombian coffee when the weather wasn't as hot as now, he knew you didn't like the one at the office and thought it "tasted like dirt", he would listen to you rant about certain reports and say whatever he thought you needed to hear in those moments.

You enjoyed spending your time with him, even if most of it you were arguing about something. 

The day passed rather quickly, with so much to do you didn't even have time to glance at your watch or even the clock hanging in the opposite wall.

Soon, it was time to leave again, but you hadn't finished your work and it was due to a couple of days. You hated doing things just before delivery time, so you decided you were going to stay and work some more. It wasn't like someone was waiting for you anyways.

Half of the work was done, so you weren't going to stay much. Just enough so you could go back and finish tomorrow.

"Ey compañera, hora de irnos" (Hey partner, time to go) Javier sounded tired, and you figured trying to find leads and speaking all day with your superiors was exhausting too. You hated doing the calls, so he took that one for both of you. 

"No me iré Javi, debo avanzar un poco con esto"  (I won’t leave Javi, I need to get ahead with this) He frowned at you, with his beige jacket already in his hands. You figured you looked tired too, all day reading was doing an impact in your eyes.

"What do you mean you're not leaving? You just spent 12 hours doing paperwork, you need to rest"

You sighed. He was right, you knew that, but you wouldn't be able to finish if you didn't stay. 

Seeing he wasn't going to get an answer because you were stubborn and ignored him if you had already made a decision, he hung up his jacket again and pulled his chair close to your desk. Then, glaring at you, he sat down and propped his elbows in the table, letting his face fall between his hands.

A few minutes passed, and you were starting to get uneasy under the power of his stare.

"Javi? What are you doing?"

He didn't answer.

"What?" you asked, defensively. "Do I have something on my face?" 

He shook his head, still not saying anything. 

"Javier!"

He started laughing at your bothered yell, finally releasing you from the pinned look he was giving you. You let out a frustrated sigh, understanding what were his intentions.

"You're gonna glare me into leaving, aren't you?"

His nod was your only answer, accompanied by a grin spread across his face.

The thing about your relationship was that even if you fought almost every day for the stupidest things, he took care of you. He made sure you got rest, ate decent food, got home safe. He protected you in the raids, even if you weren't his main focus. And you did your best to take care of him too, but he wouldn't let you.

At least not like you wanted. 

He would go almost every weekend to search for the love you were so willing to provide for him in other women, in his so-called informants. And it hurt you, more than anything else. 

You smiled at him.

"Let's go"

He smiled too, standing up. You saved your files in one of the drawers, took your coat, and rounded your desk.

Out of the office, everything was silent. The sun had already set, leaving you at the darkness of the night. You checked your watch. It was...11 PM already, damn. You didn't know it was that late.

"I'll drop you off at your home", his voice was soft.

You nodded, not trusting your voice. Everything with Javi was difficult at night. You were looser because of the tiredness, fed up with everything. You wished to be between his arms, it was the only thing you asked for. But you knew you couldn't.

Both of you climbed into his Jeep, and he drove off to your apartment. 

"Why did you choose to live far from the Embassy anyways?"

He had asked the same question a thousand times before, and it was always the same answer. He never looked at you when he said it, his attention straight out the windshield. You couldn't figure out why he kept doing it, no matter how much you tried, no matter how much time you spent thinking about it.

"I wanted to get to know Colombia, not just the stuffy low-rise bunker in the basement of the U.S. embassy."

Once you got to the apartment complex, he parked his car and stretched to open your door. 

"Good night compañera" (partner)

You smiled in response, took your purse and jumped out of the car. Feeling his stare boring into your back as you walked to the door, you got out your keys and turned around. 

Once you waved him goodbye, he bowed his head and turned on the engine leaving with a creak of tires.

"Good night Javi"

-

Tag list: @dynphomaniac

[angrylizardjacket]

Yaaasss!!! Jelous Ben was si cuteee and we love a supportive mother, her mom is fantastic and a savage. I hace a question, how did you come up with reader's character in x-men?? I legit googled it as I thought it was a real character, so welk done.

i love her mum so fuckin much, dude, she’s supportive but can still be embarrassing at times. i wrote her, not like my actual mum, but like my dad now that i think about it. dude literally told me over the phone that he’d physically fight people for shittalking me (not just in general, there’s more context, but the point still stands). idk i think it’s disingenuous to not let parental characters have certain flaws, like they’re allowed to be overprotective and spiteful, as well as caring and supportive. i love her too.

oH SHIT DUDE LEMME TALK ABT MY GIRL CASSIDY TEMPLE I LOVE HER SO FUCKING MUCH AND I”VE PUT SO MUCH THOUGHT INTO HER THAT THIS WILL HAVE A READ MORE

so cassidy’s powers are actually based off of an xmen oc i’ve already written 70k about, Aoibheal Cassidy, younger sister of Banshee, Sean Cassidy, and Cassidy Temple’s name is a reference to her, since originally I was going to essentially have Y/N playing Aoibheal (because it’s my fic and i can include an homage to my xmen oc as a treat). the powers themselves are based loosely on Multiple Man from X-Men: The Last Stand, except Cassidy’s clones can’t live a life of their own like his can. In the xmen fic, aoibheal starts off with having unlimited clones, and they can explode because i thought it was neat tbh.

From the original fic, Molotov Heart, chapter 3, rubatosis:

[Context; humans experimenting on mutants between X-Men First Class and X-Men Days Of Future Past have caught Sean and Aoibheal and they experiment on them even though Aoibheal’s powers have not manifested (she is approximately 13) and they kill her brother in front of her]:

Stunned into silence, she can feel something white-hot building inside of her, all the rage and fear and pain becoming almost tangible.

She mutates.

Copies of Aoibheal, clones, appear around them, filling up the space between the now screaming and bewildered 'doctors'. Aoibheal herself doesn't seem to notice the clones, bawling her eyes out, an action the clones themselves are mirroring, and she thinks of nothing but freedom and escape, focusing on the white-hot feeling inside of her until it overwhelmed her. With the force of a bunker-buster bomb, the clones began to combust, began to explode, first a few, and then all at once. Killing the human personel who had kept her hostage, the blast reduced the warehouse to mere cinders, freed Aoibheal and left her clothing in tatters, but she was alive damn it.

The reason Cassidy has a limited number is because i needed a way to have her powered up as a horseman, like a distinct power up, rather than just something unseen like heightened reflexes and strength. 

I would like to point out also, that it’s not stated, but Cassidy’s explosions (NOT AOIBHEAL’s) are never to do with heat, they’re always about force. the explosions themselves are never hot, never have anything to do with fire or anything like that, she builds up force inside of the clones, and lets it tear her apart from the inside out as a wave that destroys the things it comes into contact with.

The scream was originally hereditary, like Banshee, it developed as her secondary mutation.

From the Marvel Wiki:

The Secondary Mutation (or "Second Mutation") is a phenomenon in which an existing mutant undergoes another mutation, gaining additional powers, such as healing, or a change in appearance.

Secondary mutation is noted as the appearance of new powers, or an increase in existing powers.

It was stated by Beast that the secondary mutations usually occurred in the twenties of the subjects, and generally appeared in time of great stress.

From the original fic, chapter 8, nodus tollens:

The appearance of the secondary mutation:

The world falls apart in a blur of movement. The gun goes off just after Raven jumps and makes a break for the window, the bullet curves as she crashes through the glass, following her on the way down. Tackling Erik earns Hank a mean right hook to the jaw, but Aoibheal’s there, looking at Trask like a dear in the headlights, memories whipping through her head like a hurricane - the sick fuck looks pleased to see her – her mouth falls open and she screams. She and the clone scream in tandem, their voices supersonic as the surrounding people clutched their ears for dear life; struggling to keep a hold of the feeling in her chest that caused her to explode, the clone detonates like a firework, scorching the wallpaper while Trask is stumbling to the door. There’s blood leaking from his ears but Aoibheal can’t move, can only scream and relive the memory of her brother’s murder over and over again.

Hank discussing it:

"I've never seen a secondary mutation so vastly different!" No longer blue or furry, [Hank’s] smile is excited as he looks over at her. Sharing the cockpit feels almost familiar by now, with Aoibheal curled up in the passenger seat nursing a glass of water. "It makes sense though, your original mutation – the explosions – would be an extension of your temperature immunity, but your secondary mutation is hereditary."

Cassidy’s scream, however, unlike Banshee’s, only effects things with ears, not inanimate objects like glass. Of course she could learn the right pitch to get glass to shatter like an opera singer, but generally speaking, her scream only effects things that can hear. 

OKAY LETS TALK ABT THE STUFF I FABRICATED FOR THE FIC

oh GOD I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIP WITH MAGNETO

not as in romantic, as in he is literally her character’s main inspiration in the films. i’m literally making a fake trailer right now that’s intercut with moments from his DOFP speech that was broadcast to the whole of america.

i love dofp (possibly to my detriment) but i always thought it was weird that no-one was ever like.... magneto has a point. BECAUSE HE HAS A POINT. he’s speaking directly to disenfranchised and SCARED mutants across the nation, and yet everyone’s heralding Mystique as the new face of mutant kind. YES she made a point, but like.... did no-one vibe with magneto when he promised the destruction of mankind? i would. anyways.

so i thought it would be interesting for this character, Cassidy, to have this hero-worship of Magneto, taking his words to heart like scripture, ultimately making her a foil for Phoenix, Xavier’s protege. 

it’s why i specifically included this:

“You should be,” you hissed, putting your all into the words as you spoke them, and you hear Ben inhale sharply beside you, “we shall inherit the Earth.”

“What follows is a struggle as Cassidy and the figure – revealed to be her clone – proceed to kill the man. When they’re finished, and the man’s dead on the ground, Cassidy straightens her outfit, and we hear –“ as the director reads, Michael begins to slowly clap, “a slow clap, and it’s revealed that Apocalypse, as well as Storm, Angel, and Magneto, had all witnessed the event.”

“We are the future, we are the ones who shall inherit the Earth,” Michael reads as he stops clapping.

“Magneto,” you breathe reverentially, and when you look to him, you and Michael share a sharp smile.

which is a direct quote from magneto’s speech in Days of Future Past:

You built these weapons to destroy us. Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts. Because we are different. Humanity has always feared that which is different. Well, I'm here to tell you, to tell the world, you're right to fear us. We are the future. We are the ones who will inherit this earth, and anyone who stands in our way will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you. Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours. Let this be a warning to the world. And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there, I say this; no more hiding, no more suffering. You have lived in the shadows in shame and fear for too long. Come out, join me. Fight together in the brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow, that starts today.

which ALSO is what turns her into the next big villain for the franchise, because she sees Magneto, the man she kind of thinks of like a god, turn on and help kill Apocalypse, the man who claimed to be an actual god, and side with the people who, ultimately, don’t want to destroy the human race like she does, and also killed the man she loved. she takes Magneto’s ideologies and turns them up to 11. he fucks off to create a mutant paradise away from prying eyes and is happy, she won’t be happy until all humans are punished.

it’s why, in the beginning, she and raven can’t still work together, because raven wants to rescue mutants, but not at the expense of unnecessary human lives, and cassidy sees all humans as complicit in the torture, and therefore deserving of punishment. 

she has deemed herself judge, jury, and executioner of human kind, and they have all been found guilty.

i’m so excited to see if i get around to writing some of the next film because i really want to explore the dichotomy of Xavier’s ‘no-one is ever really gone/there’s always hope’ and magneto’s ‘you were right to be afraid of us, we are the ones who shall inherit the earth’. Everyone has given up on Cassidy in one way or another, whether it be by betrayal or death, and so when she finds this symbiote who literally becomes a part of her, makes her stronger, and is happy to kill people with little regard for who they are, she’ll take it. 

EDIT: here’s the first 26 seconds of the fake trailer (Y/N here is played by Jurnee Smollett, aka Black Canary from Birds of Prey)

ANGEL & RIOT

i wanted y/n to kiss ben hardy that’s literally it. 

actually no that’s not it 100%, i think it’s super amusing in a kind of bleak way that he got fridged for her, like his death, both in the “””comics””” (as in the comic universe for the fics) and in the film, causes her to seek out a force that would help bring him back to life. in the “””comics””” she originally seeks out a mutant, but when the mutant who can bring people back refuses to help her, she’s told of experiments at The Life Foundation, who are working on engineering the next step in human evolution, and she’s thinking that they’re experimenting on mutants again, like trask, and goes in guns blazing, but instead finds symbiotes. she bonds with a symbiote, thus becoming Riot Control, and the symbiote initially promises her all these things, including being able to find a way to ressurect angel, but eventually (in the “””comics”””) the power he gives her overtakes her need to ressurect her love, and riot ends up using her to try and build a ship to bring more symbiotes to take over earth.

IN THE FILM

okay OKAY okay OKAY so she’s looking for a way to ressurect angel at first, but riot’s in her ear while he’s seeing all her memories, and is convincing her to get revenge on the people who are responsible for his death (nightcrawler, jean, and Magneto specifically) so its not that the xmen are just in the plot by happenstance there’s like actual beef, love it. 

I also love that Cassidy’s powers are handicapped when she’s got Riot, since her scream would injure or even possibly kill him. Yes i specifically paired her with a symbiote for that reason, which is also the reason why her clone explosions aren’t heat based. 

but anyway, can i spoil the ending? i wanna spoil the ending;

so there’s this big showdown between riot control and the xmen, and jean confronts cassidy, trying to talk her down like ‘what would angel think if he saw you? What you’ve become?’ and Cassidy’s furious, thinking that jean’s trying to guilt her, like, angel would be so ashamed

“Keep his name out of your fucking mouth, you have no idea what he’d think-”

“He’d be terrified of you.” And it’s so fucking like, cruel and cold coming from Jean.

“Shut up.”

“You have become a monster; you have maimed your idol-” [we cut to a shot of magneto looking all fucked up and bloody, watching with anger in his eyes] “and you have left Angel for dead. If you’d really cared about him, you would have already gotten him back. Instead, you come for revenge against the people who could have helped you -”

or something like that, and riot control has a whole breakdown, lashing out, snarling that no-one could help her, and when they tried, they ended up dead (angel, apocalypse) and she starts losing control, and her voice starts to distort in and out of riot’s, making it clear he’s taking control of her completely. 

there’s this big, final fight, which culminates with jean grabbing cassidy’s face and trying to burn riot out of her.

“No-one is beyond help.” And Jean’s like, got tears in her eyes, desperate to save this girl who’s caused so much pain, but who sees herself as so wretched and beyond help, and we see the symbiote burning away and screaming, but also the physical signs of cassidy’s mutation as like, peeling away in embers, like the black scales around her eyes, and the way her whole eyes are seen as black is now clearing away, and she takes both of Jean’s hands and forces her to keep holding on, to keep looking in her natural fucking eyes for the first and last time as she burns out too.

“You can’t save everyone.” and then Cassidy’s just ash in the wind.

also this ending, in a meta-sense, makes sense, because after this Disney buys Fox and there’s no more this-universe X-Men films, so they had to do a self-contained story, there couldn’t be things left super unresolved.

OR maybe she’s fine, maybe she gets saved and riot burns out of her (spoilers, he fucks off and doesn’t die, hence, Venom (2018); it takes him about 20 years to recuperate) i haven’t decided.

[mbl17]

Old Friends 4 Sale

One of the most ironic sentences we can give you from Neal Karlen’s new book This Thing Called Life: Prince’s Odyssey On and Off The Record is when he writes “If Prince reappeared again, I was sure, he would die a second time the moment he saw what was being done in his name, memory, and supposed honor” (Karlen, Prelude). Neal took this jab at other associates in the book’s prelude yet went on to dishonor the man he says he loved too. These folks are starting to sound like a broken record now. Quite a few people claim to have loved Prince Rogers Nelson but won’t miss an opportunity to breakdance on his grave for pay. Or to get out whatever grievance they have over some perceived slight from decades ago. Or both.

Neal Karlen is a journalist who became friendly with Prince in 1985 when he interviewed him for his Rolling Stone cover story. Neal and Prince maintained a relationship for 31 years that consisted of late-night phone calls about life, love, music, sports, and all the things friends talk about. Neal says he last spoke with Prince three and a half weeks before he died. The odd timing of the conversation left Neal feeling shaken and Prince didn’t sound like himself either.  Neal was so worried that he reached out to C.J. (yes, the probable Billy Jack Bitch inspiration) to interview him for Minneapolis’ Star Tribune just days before Prince’s plane made the emergency landing in Moline, IL. This was a supposed plot to anger Prince enough to get him to call Neal again. Really Neal? Despite 31 years of contact with Prince there was no other way to initiate a conversation with the man besides providing an interview to C.J. and saying you’re waiting for Prince to die and other ridiculous tidbits? We’ll take backtracking and flip flopping for a $500 because Neal knows these quotes are a bad look.

In 2019 Neal was asked by a friend of a friend if we really needed another Prince book? He admits that he had no answer until he was reminded of the thank-you note Prince had written to him after that first Rolling Stone interview. The note said “Thanx 4 telling the truth!” and Neal believes this gave him the reason he needed to write the book. To tell the truth about Prince. Whether or not this is Prince’s truth is up to you. Just like it’s up to you to decide if the things written in This Thing Called Life needed to be told at all even if they are true. Either way, we wish Neal had just come out and admitted that he’s here for a check and attention just like the other associates he has disdain for because they’re behaving badly. We’ve learned that lots of people who knew Prince seem to have their version of the truth about Prince and somehow their truth becomes more true than anything Prince ever said about himself.

One of the most alarming things that Neal recounts is Prince’s alleged discussions of suicide that began in 1985 when the Purple Rain tour abruptly ended. Neal says that Prince admitted to hurting himself on several occasions throughout the tour and feeling like no one would notice. In a nutshell, Neal Karlen doesn’t believe that Prince’s accidental overdose was quite so accidental. He sees Prince’s untimely death as a passive suicide because Prince never recovered from the loss of two children and blamed himself for not having the life he planned to aside from the music.

Passive suicidal ideation — thinking about, but not planning, one’s own death.

Wow. That’s a hell of a psychological assessment from a man whose lane is journalism. Then again Neal is inclined to think that Prince might have been cognitively impaired and had savant syndrome while condescendingly referring to him as “ignorant”, an “extraordinary nitwit” at times, and an autodidact who had read books that looked interesting, but was still full of “ignorance and misinformation”. Are we talking about Prince or Rain Man here? We’re not sure if Neal even liked Prince very much aside from his musical genius because he takes perverse pleasure in taking Prince’s persona down a notch whenever he can. In Chapter 15 Neal describes a 1998 visit from Prince that is beyond disturbing. Neal says he had broken a leg and Prince called to check on his recovery. During the conversation the topic switched to the unlimited Percocet Neal had received for pain management after his surgery. Neal found it strange that Prince offered to come by, and what was supposed to be a well-meaning gesture ended with Prince allegedly downing a third of Neal’s Percocet like candy while looking like “Uptown’s skankiest panhandler” (Karlen, Chapter 15). “Uptown’s...skankiest...panhandler.” Let that sink in. The audacity of THIS guy to call John Bream an ass clown.

Another questionable portion of the book has Neal discussing the tragic birth and brief life of Amiir Nelson. Neal says that Prince “faux-consulted” Mayte after Prince had already made his decision to turn off Amiir’s ventilator. He recounts a conversation with Prince six month’s after Amiir’s death and grossly describes a man who had just made a decision that most of us hope to never be faced with as speaking in a tone that “was flat and carried with it all the ain’t-that-a-shame emotion of someone killing time by recalling, shot by shot, a very, very bad movie that he’d wanted to walk out of but couldn’t” (Karlen, Chapter 13). It’s funny that Neal gives a nod to Mayte Garcia’s 2017 book, The Most Beautiful, which directly contradicts whatever Neal is working hard to imply here. In Chapter 9 of The Most Beautiful, Mayte says she was the one to suggest that they let Amiir go while Prince tried to persuade her to let the doctors perform additional procedures. She knew their baby was suffering and eventually Prince AND Mayte agreed together to take Amir off the ventilator. Now we’ve given Mayte a hard time around here over some things since 2016, but why would anyone take Neal Karlen’s version of events over Mayte’s?

It isn’t lost on us that Neal Karlen takes a direct hit at Prince’s portrayal of his parents and childhood in his own autobiography, The Beautiful Ones. Although Neal calls the book “artfully-written”, it’s easy to see that he had issues, big issues, with Prince being less than truthful about his life. It’s a running theme throughout This Thing Called Life. If Prince had made peace with Mattie and John and forgiven them for any sins and/or chose not to rip that bandage off again, did Neal really need to go there? It’s obvious that Prince had troubles at home that caused him to land at Andre Cymone’s house, but why is Neal so offended that Prince wasn’t always truthful with people? Prince didn’t owe Neal, any other associate, or fans 100% of himself. Neal says he can’t let Prince escape history, but it seems more like he’s looking to put as many dents in Prince’s armor as possible. Neal saw Prince as a man who didn’t learn true empathy and how to stop using people until he was roughly 40 years-old, yet Neal gives fans a book that lacks empathy for the situations Prince probably wanted to bury and he is certainly using Prince for his own needs. Neal calls Prince’s father, John L. Nelson a “slimy, reptilian motherfucker”? Well slimy, reptilian pot meet slimy, reptilian kettle. Neal believes that Prince wanted him to write This Thing Called Life because Prince allowed him 31 years of conversation? We’re doubtful about that because like most fans, we believe that Prince wanted to tell his own story in The Beautiful Ones. We’re also doubtful that Prince agreed to be recorded outside of the 1985 Rolling Stone interview where Prince seems to be aware that the tape recorder is present.

It should come as no surprise that those taped recordings of Prince that Neal included in the audio version of the book don’t back up any of the outrageous claims he’s making. There’s nothing scathing in the recordings at all to be honest. You want to know what’s included in the audio version? Brief recordings of interviews and stories that most Prince fans already know. There’s no recording of the allegedly vile comments Prince made about his own mother. There’s no recording of Prince unleashing vitriol about his father. There’s no recording to prove Prince’s decades long suicide talk. Nothing. Nada. If Neal is holding back recordings to prove the worst details in the book what would be the reason at this point when he’s already shown us exactly who he is?

Old, old friends for sale Get 'em while the gettin' is hot But you better watch out, they'll kiss you Until they get what you got And they'll show you the friends that they're not Old friends for sale 

        Prince, Old Friends 4 Sale

[cordonia-continued]

Captivated

Chapter 13

AU- TRR Liam x MC (Riley Taylor)

A/N - Set after the Tariq scandal is cleared. Liam ends his engagement to Madeleine and proposes to MC as per the original story, but Riley turns him down. This AU follows their life from then on. 

For those that hated the OC Jacob Henley in the last chapter will hate him so much more in this and upcoming chapters. 

Chapter Summary - Liam and Bastien meet with Jacob Henley. Liam meets with Riley - lots of smut NSFW

Word count - 2,674

@kingliam2019 @imjusthereforliam (not sure if these tags are working, I’m still new to the whole tumblr thing -sorry!)

catch up here

Monday morning at 10am sharp there’s a knock on Liam’s study door. He calls for them to enter and Bastien directs a sharp suited Jacob to one of the chairs before Liam’s desk. Liam stands noticing the lack of a bow from Jacob, he shakes the man’s outstretched hand in a way too firm handshake before they both take their seats. Bastien takes the one next to Jacob.

“Thank you for coming Jacob.”

Jacob smiles widely at the king.

“No problem Liam. Anything for my favourite client, right?” He raises his eyebrows at Liam who can feel his jaw tightening in annoyance at the cockiness and lack of royal protocol shown by the agent. “So what’s all this about then?”

Liam addresses him directly.

“We’ve had some concerning mail coming in addressed to Lady Riley, the content is quite disturbing. We wanted to ask if you’ve had anything similar sent to the CTA office?”

Jacob looks from Liam to Bastien and back again.

“Seriously? The number of nuts writing fan letters jumps every time Riley’s on the cover of a magazine. It’s nothing new.” He shakes his head, amused at the two serious men before him. “Everyone in the public eye gets weirdos writing to them, it’s par for the course. I can’t believe a guy like you hasn’t had his fair share of random fan mail, am I right?”

Liam grits his teeth.

“Maybe you could just humour us for a moment then and answer the question?”

Jacob lets out a small nervous laugh.

“Ok. Well it’s even more prevalent now with social media. We bin any letters or gifts if they arrive at the office. Hell, we don’t even open them, we wouldn't have the time. Our digital media team handle comments online, any dodgy or damaging comments are deleted. Some of the first few comments on an occasional post are responded to on Riley’s official Pictagram page. That’s done by one of our staff members posing as her, 3 of whom have access to the user names and passwords of all of her official social media accounts. Only Riley herself has access to her personal, private accounts.” Jacob waves his arm dismissively.

Liam nods. His dark blue eyes don’t even flicker. His fingers drum on the table as if to a silent beat only he can hear. Jacob realises that this is a man who needs to be in control.

“Bastien here is looking into it.” He sweeps his arm towards his bodyguard. “In the meantime I want to appoint a personal bodyguard to Riley. I need them to be looped into all of her appointments and schedules.”

Jacob raises his hand motioning between the two men. “Let’s just everybody calm down. She doesn’t need this kind of worry right now. It’s not worth upsetting her. This overkill could really freak her out.”

Bastien responds. “Your Majesty, I can’t be responsible for her safety if she doesn’t understand what’s going on. I need her to understand how serious this could be. The social media thing has made my job exponentially harder. It's allowed fans the perception that they are engaging in direct conversation with Lady Riley. The issue is that the obsessive fan cannot make the distinction that when she is saying 'good morning' or 'I love you all' on Pictagram or whatever the hell it’s called, that it’s not her just talking directly to them. That, combined with location-based services that geotag her whereabouts and with photo-centric apps like Pictagram that give visual references. The opportunity increases for those that don't have the best intentions to track her whereabouts. The monarchy have plenty of enemies and terrorist factions. Even without this added threat of an overeager fan, she should have a close protection guard appointed.”

Liam nods at his guard.

Jacob scoffs. “This is ridiculous. It’s just some nutter, they never act on these things. Trust me, they just sit behind the anonymity of a keyboard or letter.”

Liam glares at Jacob with cold hard eyes. “Even so Jacob I agree with Bastien, he has a lot of experience and I trust his judgement on this. She needs to know. I promise I won’t scare her. Please ensure that any suspicious correspondence whether digital or physical is sent to Bastien’s team.”

Jacob leans back in his chair and raises one leg onto the other casually resting his ankle on his knee. “Look, I get it. You want to be the protective boyfriend. A bodyguard is fine. But you throwing your weight around, keeping an eye on her movements, knowing her schedule, isn’t that a bit much? Her carefree attitude is what people love about her. Her ability to be one of them. If you’ve got her wound up worrying about what or who is around the corner we’ll lose that innocence, that spark that makes her who she is. If I could bottle that and give it to all of my clients trust me I would.” He leans forward in his chair. “I’ll level with you Liam, she’s special, she’s got something, she could be big, she could go places. She could make it internationally outside of this small country. The American angle is taking off at a pace, they love the royal stuff. Don’t stifle her. Don’t dull her sparkle.”

Liam’s wonders if the guy ever shuts up. He’s not sure if he’s just insulted him or his country more.

“Jacob, thank you for your opinion. However it is my responsibility to provide protection for my girlfriend. The paparazzi are already overstepping the mark as it is. I won’t allow her to become gossip fodder to fill the pages of salacious magazines and tabloids.” He manages to get out through gritted teeth.

Jacob steeples his fingers beneath his chin and eyes the king carefully.

“About that. Is that official, like, is she ‘officially’ the kings girlfriend?” He air quotes the word officially. “Because I’ve not seen anything official come out of the palace about that. I could get you both on a TV chat show to announce it. Diane Cooper is big right now, her Saturday night show rakes in the viewers.” Bastien looks at the agent with wide eyes. Liam imperceptibly shakes his head at his guard.

“Jacob, please let me and my own team handle any media engagements that involve me. If and when Lady Riley is ready to disclose our relationship to the press we will. And it certainly won’t be on a chat show, as much as I believe the Royal Family could do with modernising, there are appropriate channels to follow. In the meantime I would appreciate it if my name was kept out of any appearances or interviews.”

Jacob disregards what the kings just said and continues.

“You know that’s what they’re waiting for right? Your email direct to Ana de Luca kinda let the cat out of the bag on that one.” He smirks and holds up his hands. “But hey, who am I to tell The King what to do, right?” He winks at Liam and Bastien nearly chokes on the laugh that he’s holding in. Liam widens his eyes at the patronising agent, at a loss for words.

“Right. Good. Well. My Royal Communications Director Countess Madeleine Amaranth would like to meet with you. She’s waiting in the small conference room. Bastien will take you.”

As soon as they leave he emails Madeleine asking that she goes through expected royal protocols with Jacob during their meeting.

                                                        ****

Later that night Liam lays with Riley’s warm naked body entwined in his arms on the large grey sofa in his sitting room. Their clothes lay messily in several piles on the floor around the room where they landed in the couples haste to lose them as soon as they entered his quarters. He pulls a soft cashmere throw from the back of the couch and covers them both over.

“Love, there’s something I need to talk to you about.” His fingers trace lazily up and down her spine as she snuggles into his broad chest.

“Hmmm?”

“I don’t want you to be worried, ok?” He says softly. She pushes herself up off of his warm chest, covering herself with the throw, holding it up to her chest with one hand.

“Liam you know by saying that you’re making me worried right?”

“Sorry. It’s just Bertrand came to me with some fan mail that had been sent to the estate. They were quite disturbing. I don’t want you to worry about them, Bastien is looking into it and your personal protection officer will be with you the day you get back from the US. It’s probably nothing. I just want you to be aware. Let Bastien know if anything suspicious happens ok? After what happened at the Homecoming Ball I don't want anything to happen to you.” He tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Riley’s mouth goes dry. She tries to conjure up an image of what a crazy fan may look like but comes up blank. Instead memories of the masked gun man from the Homecoming Ball fill her head and she shivers involuntarily.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner? Why wasn’t I shown the letters? What the hell was Bertrand thinking, keeping this from me?” Her face creases in concern.

“You don’t need to read stuff like that my love. Honestly it’s probably nothing. Just be careful. People are always looking to attack the monarchy, and you’re part of that now.”

“Liam I’m not part of the monarchy!” She laughs at the absurdity of his words. He pulls her to him kissing her forehead and pulling her back down against his chest.

“You’re mine Riley, and that makes you part of the monarchy even if it’s not official. I just want to protect you.”

She sighs and relaxes against him. “Ok. Thank you for telling me. I promise I’ll be careful, but I’m not changing my life Liam. I don't want to end up scared to go out or scared to live a normal life. You know I can handle myself, I’m from New York remember.” She laughs to hide her nervousness at his revelation.

“I know you can. Just be careful my love.” He kisses the top of her head snaking his arms under the soft cashmere blanket, his hands stroking up and down the sensitive skin on her sides. “I couldn't bare it if anything happened to you.” She raises her head and kisses his lips tenderly.

“I love how protective you are of me.”

“I promised I would take care of you and I intend to keep that promise.” He kisses her deeply, his tongue softly pressing through her lips and into her mouth, tangling with her own.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you look naked and in my arms?” He asks in low breathy tones. “But then again you always look beautiful.”

Desire spreads like wildfire through Riley’s body as their lips once again meet, this time in a fierce clash, she savours his exquisite mouth with fervour as his hands roam her body. Before long they find their way to her ass, squeezing and caressing the soft curves, his fingers trail their way down the crease making her shiver, they then dip into her soaking entrance, stroking the soft inner flesh. She lets out whimper as she feels his hardness beneath her.

“Already?” she murmurs into his mouth, surprised that it’s taken barely minutes for him to get hard again following their first frantic lovemaking that landed them here, naked on his couch. She can feel his smirk on her lips.

“You know what you do to me.” He tells her between kisses. “I could never get enough of you. You look so sexy with that just fucked look, your lips all swollen, your hair all mussed up. I can’t resist taking you again.” Her body succumbs to the consuming desire and desperate need building within her and she raises her hips up off of him pushing her ass back into his hand, intensifying the pressure. “You obviously want it again too. Do you like how my fingers feel inside you?”

“Oh yes, oh god yes.” Riley moans grinding back onto his hand. Liam torments her with his lips leaving a trail of fire on every spot he kisses, he makes his way along her neck, pulling with his teeth at her earlobe.

“Tell me exactly what you want.” He whispers in her ear. Every inch of her body is alive with desire for him, she’s surprised she can utter any words at all.

“Oh god Liam, I want you inside me right now.” As he removes his fingers from inside her his lips reclaim hers with a fierce passion, his teeth nipping at the lower one. Riley wraps her palm around his hard shaft, pumping up and down, relishing the sight of him losing control as a low groan reverberates from his chest. The next second Liam grabs her ass and lifts her onto him, an “Oh” escapes her as she slides down his hard length, letting it fill her completely. A slow tremble spreads through her from the spot where their bodies are joined as she moves herself up and down on him. His hips impatiently thrust up to meet her and she presses her palms down on his pelvis.

“Not so fast, I want to savour the feeling of you inside me.” She whimpers as she slowly lifts herself up and down him.

“Fuck, but you feel so good Riley.” Liam mutters groaning and arching back into the couch with pleasure. He drops his hand between her legs and circles her sensitive clit with his thumb. As his expert fingers flick and rub her her pulse races and pleasure dances through her nerve endings, erupting in stars behind her eyes. She cries out incoherent words and he feels her clenching and releasing him as her orgasm takes hold of her.

“I love it when you come so hard you lose the power of speech.” He tells her.

“Oh god Liam, I want at least another one of them before you finish.” She laughs.

“Is that a challenge?” He laughs breathlessly back at her, unable to stop his hips rising up to meet hers. “Get up, I want to take you from behind.” Riley’s already weak knees weaken further at his strong no-nonsense command. She’s too aroused to put up any objections as he easily lifts her off of him and places her back down on her knees on the couch. He presses a hand into the top of her back lowering her head down into the couch cushion, he takes her legs in his hands and spreads them open before him. Liam kneels behind her and dips his tongue into her folds, her knees buckle as it delves into her, licking her on the inside. She gasps, her fingers griping the cushions as his tongue circles her clit and drags all the way back towards her ass. He rises from his knees and poises himself at her entrance, teasingly dragging the tip up and down her sensitive flesh. When Riley can’t stand any more she pushes back onto him. Liam loses control driving into her deeply letting out a long drawn out “Fuuuck” as he thrusts into her. He grips her hair in one hand, gently pulling on it making her back arch and her head move back towards him, he snakes his other hand under her, his fingers grazing at her swollen clit. Riley steadies herself on her arms as the pulsing between her legs becomes too intense and another orgasm rips through her making her legs give way beneath her, Liam holds onto her by the hips, his strokes getting faster and harder, with a guttural groan he empties himself inside her and they both collapse in a sweaty panting heap on the couch.

“I don't think I’m going to recover quite so quickly from that one.” He laughs as he rolls onto his back, pulling her under his arm and laying her head on his chest. Smoothing her damp hair off her face he places a soft kiss on her forehead as she tries to control her breathing and still her shaking legs. “I love you so much, you know that don't you?”

Riley smiles up at him with a soppy lopsided grin. “I love you too my king.”

[bluemoon-writer]

TSI - Chapter 1 Notes

Here are my full notes and commentary for Chapter 1 of my Harry Potter fic 'The Snake Inside'.

Chapter 1 can be found here.

Throughout the chapter there are numbers in parentheses, these numbers correspond to the below notes. To best understand what I’m talking about in the notes I would recommend opening the story in a second tab and following along from there.

(notes begin under the cut)

1. This is, if you hadn’t noticed, lifted directly from the book, I do do this a couple times however, this is the only one that is italicized. I’m going to try and point out the other instances in chapter notes as well.

2. Another line lifted from the book, although here it has slightly different context

3. This was another line from the book, although again it has slightly different context (also I swear these notes aren’t just going to be me citing passages from the book)

4. I was actually really conflicted over this. Dudley is obviously incredibly spoiled so I figured it made sense that if for once Harry had something that he didn’t that he would throw a fit and demand he get the same. What I wasn’t confident about was how Petunia or Vernon would react as they really do love Dudley, shown by how much they spoil him. In this scenario, I decided that Petunia’s hatred of magic plus her fear of losing Dudley to magic (just like she lost her sister) would drive her to hit Dudley.

5. The first signs of Harry’s sneaky Slytherin side! He reads the room and chooses the best manner to approach the situation, something he would be good at considering he grew up in an abusive household. He would likely have gotten very good at reading moods and acting accordingly at a young age to avoid being hit or yelled at.

6. It might seem like Harry is a little quick to believe in Hogwarts and want to go considering he knows nothing about it. But, it’s an escape from the Dursleys and the terrible school they were going to send him to. Plus, it’s obvious that the Dursleys hate magic, so why would they lie to Harry about him being a wizard?

7. I know in canon Hogwarts is free, but that simply doesn’t make sense to me. In my world, Hogwarts is the best and most elite school in Britain, but it’s not the only one. There are also smaller ‘public’ wizarding schools that people who can’t afford Hogwarts go to. Also, if Hogwarts has a tuition then it only makes sense to me that the Potter Parents would set up an education fund for Harry, especially since their lives were at risk, they would want to make sure that Harry would be able to get the best education possible.

8. Some more Slytherin sneakiness, Harry isn’t a master manipulator by any means but he’s lived with the Dursleys for 11 years, he knows how to play them.

9. I don’t write it in bc it seemed unnecessary, but she does explain her reasoning off-screen.

10. Some foreshadowing here, I thought I was rather clever, finding a logical way for Harry and Vernon to learn how to enter the train platform.

11. This whole paragraph is my attempt at showing how Harry is still just a kid who’s curious about the new world he’s found himself in. I know I write Harry (and all the characters his age) as being a little more mature than they probably would be in reality, so here I was trying to show a pure, childlike curiosity and also some trains of thought that aren’t totally logical bc he is a kid.

12. I do think the Dursleys, or Vernon at least, is more clever than he gets credit for, he is high up in Grunnings, so he has to have some sort of head on his shoulders, and he’s certainly self-serving we saw in book 2 how he lathered up those rich people he wanted to impress. So, I think as much as Vernon might hate magic and think goblins are disgusting, that he would very much be able to put that aside if he thought it might benefit him.

13. The goblins ‘revealing the truth’ to Harry, or giving him or helping him out in some way is kinda over done and doesn’t always make sense as the goblins really have no reason so want to go out of their way to help Harry. But, I needed an unbiased 3rd party to teach Harry a little about the wizarding world and I figured a satisfactory motivation for the goblins would be making money in the form of consultation fees.

14. The first hints of Dumbledore’s manipulations. He wants a naïve Savior who will be easy for him to influence and shape into the person he thinks the world needs. Note, I’m not going for an evil Dumbledore, just a morally grey Dumbledore.

15. Paper business refers to the practice of owning a business on paper but not being involved in how it’s currently ran, I’m not trying to say that the Potters own several companies that sell paper. I don’t know if this is a common term, when I googled it nothing came up, but my dad uses it a lot when talking about businesses. Also, we know in canon that the Potters are rich but in a lot of fics it has evolved into them being extremely wealthy and influential. I’m running with this fanon idea because the Potters are a very old family, they’ve been around since the 12thcentury and married into other very influential families in canon. Also, if I ever get to the later years I do want to mess around with some politics and Harry having power from his family name will be a necessary advantage.

16. I’m not going to bore you guys with paragraphs detailing just how exceedingly rich Harry is, if he can’t even do anything with what he owns yet. He’s 11, he’s not going to be making any smart investments.

17. Like I said earlier with the tuition vault, the Potters were soldiers in a war, they knew they might die and I think it’s only logical that they would take precautions to ensure that Harry would have a comfortable life should they die.

18. This might seem like a lot, but again, the Potters are rich and they want their only child to be able to have a comfortable life even if they die, plus it is supposed to last until Harry’s an adult.

19. This is not canon, JKR said that a galleon is approx. 5 British pounds. I think that’s too low, so I changed it. I mean, it’s solid gold and the highest form of currency it’s got to be worth more than that.

20. Trying to give Dumbledore the benefit of the doubt, but of course Vernon is going to be suspicious of anyone who took money that he could have used.

21. This is just something that I thought made sense, Gringotts has been established as being in the business of making money and how can they do that if they’re cut off from part of their clientele?

22. I’m trying to go in a new direction with the Dursleys, I’m not trying to redeem them, but like Dumbledore, they’re in a grey area, especially Vernon. I think a self-serving Vernon would be interested in learning more about the magic world, or more specifically learning what it can do for him. But also because you need to know your enemy, as interested as he might be in profiting off magic, Vernon doesn’t trust wizards. As for Harry, this is a Slytherin AU, of course he’s going to play along with his uncle’s plan as long as it benefits him.

23. This is another line from the book

24. Hints that Dean is actually a halfblood and not muggleborn, this is canon too. I’m looking forward to exploring the future “tracking down who my real dad was arc”

25. Originally, I had Harry meet Hermione and her family, but I decided to change it to Dean because I wanted to go down some different avenues. A lot of Slytherin Harry stories have Harry becoming friends with Hermione early on despite their differences and I didn’t want to just do the same thing as everyone else. Also, I really like Dean Thomas’s character he’s a friendly, good natured, brave and loyal. I also think that Harry would get along better with Dean right off the bat than he would with Hermione.

26. Honestly, I think it’s ridiculous that they still use quills and I will be using the trope where Harry sneaks in ballpoint pens.

27. Harry came to Diagon a few days earlier than he did in canon, so I figure it only makes sense that he would meet someone different at Madam Malkins also this gave me a great opportunity to shoe in one of my other favorite characters, Neville.

28. I headcanon that Harry and Neville have a slight magical bond over both being possible options for the prophecy.

29. I admit this is slightly unrealistic, as I’ve dropped my glasses several times before and they’ve never broken but I wanted an excuse to get Harry some new glasses.

30. Not implausible, but also not likely either. Also, I admit I really have no clue about British healthcare, especially not what it was like in the 80s and 90s. I know it’s free, but that there’s also the option to do private or paid care. So, for this story, assume that the Dursleys use private care bc they want to seem better than everyone else.

31. Again, probably not the most realistic scenario, but it is possible. I got glasses when I was 11 and contacts when I was 15, but I definitely could have gotten the contacts when I was a little younger. Maybe not, 11-years old younger, but I don’t think it’s entirely out of the ballpark.

32. I didn’t see any point in changing Hedwig’s name, so I kept it the same.

33. Giving Harry contacts was something that I debated a lot, there’s no real reason he needs them, I just wanted him to have some because they’re convenient. I personally regret not getting contacts earlier.

34. To be honest, this is actually a bit of a cop out on my end because I haven’t figured out the entire political system yet. BUT even if I had, Harry is still 11 so he probably wouldn’t understand it that well anyways. There will be a brief explanation in chapter 2 though.

35. Dudley’s reaction is anything thing I was really torn up about. Because he’s essentially torn between his two parents, sticking with Petunia ostracizes him from Vernon and sticking with Vernon ostracizes him from Petunia. Ultimately, I decided Dudley would value his father’s attention more because while Petunia wouldn’t like him getting involved with magic, she wouldn’t cut Dudley off completely, she loves him too much. But Vernon, has been completely distracted by magic and without Dudley getting involved in it too then he won’t get any attention from his father.

36. According to the HP wiki, Dean’s family actually lives in London, but I wanted it to be more convenient for them to meet so I moved them closer to the Dursleys. Also, I actually did about an hour’s worth of research on google maps trying to find a real place Dean’s family to live.

37. A whole lot of this section with the Weasleys was lifted from the book with slightly different commentary from Harry. I originally had more, but it didn’t add anything so I cut it out.

38. I don’t know how outgoing Ron was before he met Harry, if I was him though I would be too nervous to intrude on a compartment with two other kids who looked like they were already friends.

39. This is not a Ron bashing fic, Harry has no reason to dislike him, so of course he wouldn’t be opposed to sitting with him. That said, for the premise of the story I couldn’t have them sit together because Ron is heavily biased against Slytherin.

40. Poor Draco, if he had just paid more attention to who he was passing in the hall then he would have met Harry, but again, I couldn’t let that happen because Draco’s so obnoxious that he’d turn Harry off Slytherin.

41. Honestly, I just wanted Harry to interact with more students who can be potential friends.

42. Again, and the sorting is lifted from the book. I’m not going to make note of every line.

43. I wasn’t sure if I wanted Neville to be in Hufflepuff of Gryffindor at first. A lot of people argue that Neville needed to be in Gryffindor to learn how to be brave, but I think that Hufflepuff would provide a strong support system that would help Neville gain confidence in himself. Also, I decided that Harry’s words in the robe shop would influence Neville into not thinking that he was a loser if he went to Hufflepuff. I imagine in canon, much like Harry was chanting “not slytherin” Neville was probably chanting “not Hufflepuff”. So I think it’s fitting they both don’t end up in Gryffindor in this fic. Also, Harry already has a Gryffindor friend in Dean, he can use a Hufflepuff friend.

[thewebcomicsreview]

Aw jeez, there’s the second Homestuck 2 update of the month. Now I gotta liveblog it, which is going to take-

Uh, not very much time at all, apparently? It’s only one page, vs the other update’s 25, so either this is a hell of a page or the 2,000 patrons who contributed to have “two updates a month” are gonna be super mad.

Oh it’s a big tall infinite canvas page. Neat! Rose is bored of the last update and is wandering off. Was she not creating a species of her own, then, or is she done with that? 

The dissonant hum of struggling mechanics fills Terezi's ears as she sits, cross-legged, on the floor of the now-ruined engine room. She likes it here. The soft whitenoise ringing of the extensive ventilation network sounds, if she closes her nose just right, like the rustle of wind through the leaves of a treehive universes away.

An entire fucking alien planet to explore and Terezi goes back to the ship she’s been stuck on for three years. Admittedly Deltritus is apparently less interesting than the game worlds, but come on! These kids need to go outside! 

ROSE: And resurrecting my meat puppet would not only be difficult to the point of being worthless, it would also be extremely lame. ROSE: Not that it would be out of character for this story. We live and breathe on the stupefyingly mind-numbing, and the mind-numbingly stupid. ROSE: But then we begin to veer toward dissolution, yet again. TEREZI: 1F WH4T YOU'R3 S4Y1NG 1S TRU3 TEREZI: 1F 4 STORY H4S TO B3 COMP3LL1NG TO B3 C4NON TEREZI: DO YOU R34LLY TH1NK D1RK 1S TH3 TYP3 TO T3LL 4 COMP3LL1NG STORY TEREZI: H1S T4ST3 1N 4N1M3 4LON3 1S CONC3RN1NG

ROSE: It didn't happen because it didn't happen. TEREZI: 1F 1 H4V3 TO H34R ON3 MOR3 T4UTOLOGY FROM 31TH3R OF YOU 1 4M GO1NG TO MOV3 TO TH3 WOODS 4ND PL4GU3 YOUR N3W SOC13TY 4S 4 H3RM1T BOG MONST3R FOR3V3R ROSE: See, that's more the spirit. ROSE: Become as myth, Terezi Pyrope, the troll under the bridge you were always meant to be.

Is this racist, in-universe? 

TEREZI: WH4T'S TH3 PO1NT 1N CONT1NU1NG TH1S STORY 1F TH4T W4S M34N1NGL3SS TEREZI: 1F LORD 3NGL1SH W4S JUST HOLD1NG UP TH3 WORLD TEREZI: 1F 1T T4K3S 4CT1NG L1K3 H1M TO K33P 1T 4L1V3 TEREZI: WOULDN'T 1T B3 B3TT3R TO JUST L3T 1T D13

I’m kind of about this meta horseshit, if we’re being entirely honest, and if someone calls attention to the question of where in the fuck 13-year-old-from-2009 Dave Strider picked up the term “Neoliberal”, I’ll forgive this comic a lot of its flaws.

At the same time, there’s only so long I can read a comic about whether or not I should be reading a comic. 

Rosebot looks over at the plinth where her body sits, kept alive, sure, but atrophied and weak, dependent on this machine to continue projecting consciousness to the abiotic enclosure keeping the realization of the Ultimate Self from tearing her apart.

I suspect that Rose’s comatose body is a metaphor for Homestuck as a whole, here.

Wouldn't it be better to just let it die? Terezi isn't asking new questions. Rose had first threatened suicide when she was eight. (She couldn't bear the thought of attending the funeral her mother was organizing for her beloved cat, Jaspers.) When she was ten, she put on her coat and stood in whipping winter winds on the balcony overlooking a frozen waterfall, imagining the plunge with a blank expression on her face, eyes stinging from the New York cold. (Her mother had drunk herself to sleep with the vacuum on, again, the mechanical wailing inside playing a chord with the gale outside, inescapable.) But her first – and only – real attempt was a success.

Jesus, what a fucking callback.

Also, if you’re not as versed in the DEEPEST LORE as I am, Rose’s successful first attempt to commit suicide is not actually a reference to her being put into a robot body, it’s a reference to the suicide mission from Cascade that created the Green Sun and caused her (and Dave) to ascend to godhood. Suicide in one form or the other tends to follow the Strider-Lalonde family, as Dirk killed himself in Homestuck, and the Candy Dirk killed himself in the epilogues as well. Roxy being the odd man out there. Rose’s first suicide created canon. Her second one could end it. 

That was a step too far. Tensions that once simmered under the surface have found the catalyst for a boil. Terezi and Rosebot's repartee of words is replaced by the dissonant notes of clanging and smashing as they roll around on the floor of the crashed Theseus's central chambers, throwing punches and smashing into control panels in a crescendo of chaos.

I’m having some difficulty accepting that Terezi is able to successfully fight an angry robot. Vriska certainly couldn’t.

Dirk’s irritated reference to the Bechdel Test irritates me, now, given that he’s supposed to be a stand-in from people who thought Homestuck went off the rails in Act 6. It’s kind of an obvious bitter shot at the fanbase. 

Also, and I get that he’s the bad guy and it’s supposed to be hypocritical, but Dirk Strider spent the entirety of Homestuck 1 whining about his feelings and didn’t really contribute to the “plot” in much of a meaningful way.

And...wow, yeah. That’s the whole update. It’s significantly shorter than all of the others, and the last update was also a bit shorter than the previous chapters. This is also the first chapter to directly follow from the previous one, and it sure looks like they did “two updates” this month by chopping off a chunk of a normal update and calling it it’s own thing. But they did have the big tall panel, at least, so that’s something. This is also the first double-update month, let’s be fair, so maybe we can call it a mulligan because they had short notice that they’d need two updates in February.  

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien Drabble: Nachtmusik Chapter Twenty-One

A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) Chapter Twenty-One: Bubble, Bubble

Luka wasn’t quite sure what he’d been expecting.

He’d received a text string from Nino, simply reading, “yo.”, “meet friday 13:00 place du châtelet by fountain?”, “need to talk.”

Honestly, it had felt rather cryptic, but Luka assumed it was something about Marinette and agreed to the meeting.

Friday at one, he parked his motorcycle by the fence bordering parts of the plaza, next to one of the many trees lining the perimeter. He took off his helmet and shook out his squished hair like a wet dog shedding excess water.

Nino was sitting on the lip of the Fontaine du Palmier with his back to the column rising out of the center, one of the four sphynxes spewing jets of water directly behind him. He was tapping his foot along to the music coursing through his headphones, and it seemed like he didn’t notice Luka’s approach at first, but when he did, Nino gave Luka a nod of acknowledgement and slipped the headphones down to rest around his neck.

“What’s up with the bubbles?” Luka couldn’t help but ask.

Nino gave a snort and a wry smile as he pulled the bubble wand out of the bottle and blew another stream of soapy, opalescent orbs into the air. “Stress relief. It’s very calming. Really mindless in a therapeutic kind of way. I blow bubbles when I’m ticked. I used to do it for fun too, but…not so much anymore.”

“Oh,” Luka replied politely, nodding. He sensed a story there but could tell from Nino’s wildly fluctuating aura that it would be best not to ask.

“It’s also a reminder to control my temper,” Nino continued in a warning tone, flashing a neon red sign concerning his current mood. “as well as of how much Adrien means to me.”

There was something dangerous in Nino’s eyes, a rattlesnake’s tail shake in his voice at the word “Adrien”, and Luka realized what it was that Nino thought they needed to talk about.

“I see,” Luka muttered gravely. “And that’s why we’re here?”

Nino nodded, blowing an additional stream of bubbles. “I’m going to level with you. This,” He lifted the bubble wand and bottle. “is to give my hands something to do besides punch you in the face. I picked this plaza so that there’d be witnesses so that I’d think twice about punching you. Adrien seems to think you’re some kind of angel or something, but I have to admit that I’m not a fan.”

“That’s fair,” Luka allowed. “So, I gather this is about things between me and Adrien?”

“I’m here to tell you to back the hell off,” Nino informed. “Break things off and stay away from him. Like, never talk to him again.”

Unexpectedly, something inside Luka snapped. Normally he was very slow to get upset, but that reminder of what Gabriel had done to them, separating Adrien and Luka for two years, it set off all kinds of alarm bells and defence responses in Luka’s mind.

“No,” Luka answered curtly. “I don’t think I will. Sorry, but Adrien is too important to me to give him up just because you’re jealous and want him for yourself. You’ll have to think of some other way of getting out of the friend-zone with him than comforting him over losing me.”

Nino’s face flushed dark, a dangerous-looking snarl contorting his features as he stood to match Luka’s height. “Dude, that is not what this is about.”

Luka laughed mockingly, crossing his arms and tipping his head. “Oh, it’s not? Lahiffe, I have seen the way you look at him. Sometimes it’s not very platonic. Pardon the pun, but, if we’re going to do this, be straight with me.”

Nino’s grip on the bubble wand and bottle tightened. “Okay. Fine. Sometimes he pushes my less-than-straight buttons, but that is a teeny, tiny part of my relationship with him. An insignificant crush like that means nothing next to everything else we’ve been through together. Above all, Adrien is my friend, and I love him like a brother. This isn’t about me. This is about you messing around with my brother, so don’t you dare drag this down to the level of a cheap crush and petty jealousy.”

Luka uncrossed his arms and made a placating gesture with his palms at the level of his chest. He gave a nonchalant shrug.

“And another thing,” Nino hissed, capping the bubbles so that he could point a finger accusatorially at Luka. “I have a girlfriend, and I love her. You know, that actually means something to some people.”

Luka gave a snort, hand going to his hip as he raised his chin challengingly. “Why don’t you just say what you came here to say and be done with it already?”

“Did you tell Adrien you were in love with him?” Nino spit.

Luka blinked, the fight momentarily surprised out of him. He frowned, confused. “I mean…yes?”

Past tense. Luka had told Adrien that first night they’d gone to the opera together that Luka had been in love with Adrien that summer two years prior.

Nino hissed like something being dropped into hot oil. “Mec, you can’t do that.”

Luka laughed indignantly. “Too late?”

“Look, I don’t know why you said that, if you thought it’d get you into his pants or whatever,”

Luka took a step forward and almost grabbed Nino for daring to sully the memory of how Luka had felt that summer, but halfway through the step he came to his senses and stomped down the urge to lash out in retaliation.

“but you can’t say stuff like that to Adrien,” Nino continued. “Like, it actually means something to him.”

“Crazy, because it meant something to me too,” Luka remarked flatly.

Nino shook his head, jaw set in a hard line. “No, Mec. Like, it means something. In Adrien’s mind, people don’t love Adrien. Marinette doesn’t love Adrien. Gabriel doesn’t love Adrien. None of his screaming fangirls love Adrien. I let him down, so I don’t love Adrien. The guy’s got it in his head that his mother didn’t even love him because she didn’t take him with her when she ran away. He thinks he’s unlovable. I’m gonna say it again because this is important: Adrien thinks he’s unlovable.”

Luka’s face fell. Yes, Adrien had always been extremely insecure about other people’s feelings for him, but Luka hadn’t realized how deep-seated an issue this was.

“And then you come along,” Nino growled, “and you somehow manage to convince him that you really do love him. Do you maybe get it now? What that means to him? How important that is to him? You said, ‘I love you’, and he heard promises. He heard, ‘I’ll always love you’ and ‘I want to marry you’ and ‘happily ever after’. Do you maybe get now some semblance of what you’ve done?”

Luka was silent as his mind raced, trying to pick through Nino’s bias to the truth.

“I don’t know why you said that.” Nino shook his head slowly and sighed. “I don’t know if you just enjoyed watching him fawn all over you or what, but whatever you intended, it’s blown up bigger than you could have possibly anticipated.

“Adrien had a really sheltered, isolated childhood,” Nino explained wearily. “He didn’t have the chance to interact with others and learn about relationships in real life. He bases his expectations and behavior off of fairytales and anime because that’s what he’s primarily been exposed to. Seriously. Take his age and subtract ten. That’s the level of emotional intelligence and maturity he has. That’s why this whole thing with Marinette is so hard for him. He thought he’d found his soulmate and everything was magically going to work out because that’s how it always goes in the fantasy world he lives in. He has no frame of reference to help him deal with this besides shutting down like his dad did when his mom left. He doesn’t know how to deal with a world without ‘happily ever after’s.”

Nino sighed and sat back down on the lip of the fountain, tiredly uncapping the bottle and taking out the bubble wand once more. He gave Luka a pleading look. “He was doing better, though. He was doing really well with therapy and learning how to live in the real world and take care of himself and coping strategies and all that…but then you came along with your ‘I love you’, and he’s latched onto that. He thinks he’s a Disney princess and you’re his Prince Charming and you’re going to save him. …I think you’re smart enough to know that you can’t save him, even if you wanted to,” Nino added darkly. “Adrien has to save himself. That’s how the real world works. When it comes to mental health stuff and becoming stronger people, other people can help, but they can’t do the work for us. I’ve tried telling him that. I’ve tried explaining that you’re not in love with him and that you’re not going to leave Marinette and sweep him off his feet and take him away to happily ever after…but he’s not hearing me, so I thought I’d talk to you.��

Luka frowned grimly. “What do you expect me to do about this?”

Nino shrugged, blowing a gentle stream of bubbles. “Talk to him. Break his heart gently so his friends and family and I can get him refocused on getting himself better.”

Luka took a deep breath. “And what if I really am in love with him and want to sweep him off his feet and take him away?”

Nino rolled his eyes. “Dude. You have a girlfriend. Do the decent thing and lie. Break his heart anyway and stop cheating on Marinette.”

“If I say no?” Luka tested.

Nino glared. “I’m going to tell your girlfriend what you’re doing behind her back.”

A jolt of fear raced through Luka’s veins for an instant before a realization came to him: “If you tell on me, you’ll be snitching on Adrien. I don’t think that will do much for his trust in you.”

Nino shrugged. “I don’t have to tell Marinette who you’re cheating with.”

“She won’t believe you unless you do,” Luka countered.

Nino glowered.

Somehow, the victory felt extremely hollow to Luka.

“…Well,” Luka remarked aimlessly after a minute of hostile silence. “If that’s all you needed?”

“Bastard,” Nino spit, giving Luka the finger.

Luka nodded, unphased. “I’ll talk to him about expectations, but I’m not breaking his heart, and I’m not giving him up again. I’m not going to lie to him…but I’m not going to lie to him either…if that makes any sense.”

“I hope the rest of your day sucks,” Nino replied cheerily, reemphasizing his middle finger.

Luka grinned. “Thanks. You too.” He turned, raising a hand to wave goodbye over his shoulder as he went.

[kitsunebishake]

Why Hríd is such an amazing character who just got done wrong during his “character arc” (SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE BOOK II AND FORGING BONDS)

WARMING: THIS IS JUST ONE LONG ASS LOVEMAIL POST FOR HRÍD

this was originally written as a thread on twitter but i’ll try my best to put it all here because someone asked for it some time ago

I’m putting it here because @chascah suggested i uploaded it here as well for those people who actually appreciate the icy boy

this is basically an analysis to most if not every quote from hríd, also adding some translations and little details from the japanese quotes (and some lore behind the whole idea of hríd’s new year alt)

let’s start then!

lemme start with the fact that hríd only appeared in 3 out of 13 chapters, yet is the character that caught my interest the most (funny because i already had a crush on alfonse, then i saw hríd and was like "oh, hello there")

hríd arrived like a half-dead yet somehow composed prince who somehow (x2) survived by himself in múspell for weeks (maybe even months, there's no exact timeline but it is canon that alfonse and the others spent some weeks in nifl, it probably also took them a while to navigate through múspell until loki arrived as ylgr)

he served as some kind of excuse to not put bruno too much with the main characters, practically a messenger only despite this guy being alive with burns and a broken sword (the crack on gjöll's blade hurts bc he couldve actually lost his sword and ended up defenseless in battle oof)

so, there was no really much use of his character other than being a magical solution for everything

he even helped unmask loki (though they never explain why hríd suspected of ylgr, we only know loki's own take)

btw, can we talk about the fact he probably outsmarted loki while the others weren't yet in múspell? he terrorized surtr's army and even outsmarted laegjarn and laevatein

and since he survived for so long i believe most of his wounds were made by surtr himself

they never really say whether he actually managed to kill surtr or not, but let's say yes just to add up on all of the things hríd does just in the story

at first glance it looks like he's doing nothing, but reading further into it and applying some logic

hríd's... he's pretty impressive for a prince so young

gotta also add how hríd appears less impulsive in japanese than in english

when "alfonse" blames him for being a traitor, hríd gets to the defensive immediately in english

in japanese, he's more in shock, probably because after all he's tried, he's being doubted by his allies (which shows a lot how much he cares about being perceived as perfect, something i'll get on to later if i have enough time)

I added this part in the middle of the whole thing because it was a different thread so excuse the sudden change of topic, kinda. It’s supposed to be from the last conversation in Book 2, where Fjorm tells Hríd she’s going to stay in Askr despite her “condition”.

"I understand your feelings, Sister. By all means, go. I will pray for your safety."

this is one of the quotes i'd like to put in that one hríd character thread i want to make

the feeling behind this quote got completely lost in translation, as there's no way to translate it properly

in japanese, hríd uses a pecular way of speech to refer to his sister here he says "... I get it. If that is what you wish, it's alright to go. I'll pray for your safety." the peculiar part, aside from hríds "..." is where he refers to fjorm, the "you"

hríd normally uses "kimi" to refer to people, which is like a more... gentle? way of speaking? men usually use it towards women bc they want to treat them nicely, and jps in general use it with people they don't know (it's that, or "anata" or "[name]-san")

yet here, hríd decides to use "omae" to refer to fjorm, which is more informal and even rude (specially for someone who normally uses "kimi", it means he wanted to express some kind of anger or frustration about fjorm's decision without saying it directly,,,,,,,,,,,,,which is very japanese to do so,,,,,, *looks into the distant "most japanese people i've known don't directly say 'no' and instead go 'hmmmmmm' '*very indirectly rejects*' and it's probably a fact*)

it feels like instead of being supportive, hríd just understood there was no way of convincing fjorm to stay with them

so he gave up and felt hurt by that

please protect hríd

Back to the rest of the analysis.

now let's talk about forging bonds, in the wiki there's only the opening part transcribed in japanese, the rest is only on english (i curse not having started playing 3 months earlier orz)

the first thing you can notice in the japanese version is how informal hríd is when he's stressed

while he speaks in an usually softer manner, here, he doesn't even greet ylgr and gunnthrá, he goes directly to "gunnthrá... ah, ylgr is here too" (he kinda does the same in the mainstory, where he just says “ah, fjorm, you’re okay... ylgr too :)”)

AND IMMEDIATELY, HIS NEXT TEXT IS HIM CALLING GUNNTHRÁ WITH "OMAE”

ALREADY DEEP INTO THE STRESS OF MÚSPELL INVADING THEM

this shows how easily stressed hríd gets and how much he lets his emotions dirve his attitude and actions (which makes sense with the part where he tells fjorm she should be the one wielding leiptr and not him, he's too emotional despite how much he tries not to be)

in these parts we also see some level of deattachment from gunnthrá, on english he goes "sister..." by the end of the opening conversation

in the jp, however, he stays silent, he doesn't even call her name

idk if it's just me overanalyzing it, but from my experience with animoo and vidya, it feels a little weird that he says nothing there, like he's thinking (this is probably foreshadowing hríd's inner feelings oof)

something that i particularily like about this event is that hríd seems so at ease when he's on the dreams, even in the english translation it seems like that he mentions it might be because he feels at ease with kiran but i feel like it also has to do with the fact they're just a dream, it's not the real world, there's nothing to worry in a world where there's no war

at least, that's the feeling his dialogues give me

the closest thing to that hríd is his lvl40 speech and ny hríd (who's happier)

the only quote where hríd mentions some type of concern for his mother btw

from here on it only gets worse when it comes to hríd, though

he speaks about the invasion and such he talks in a way that implies he's probably taking the role of a commander (same as how it is implied he trains the soldier, or that he trains with them, though since he's been training alone with fjorm for so long, it's most likely the former) aside from that, he's weighting on himself the responsibility of what happens to nifl and what happens to his family

and since he's doing so, here's when it comes the part of hríd not being able to care about himself

this young man is carrying a heavy weight, the hopes and dreams and lives of many innocent and PEACEFUL people who barely even know how to fight, on top of those of his loved ones

it doesn't seem like anyone asked him to, not even his mother or sisters

he just decided it on his own that he needed to be "the perfect prince/king" in order to "protect" them

/even if it costs him his life/

he prepared his sisters for that moment (which, might give an insight that hríd knew more than he says, but let's leave my conspiracy theories aside lol)

and to THAT PART, we can add this from the mainstory

in english, when he's rescued, he thanks them for doing so

but in the jp text he actually apologizes for it

not sure how to exactly translate it, but it's something along the lines of "my apologies...for having to be saved..."

idk you guys, but it sounds like what someone who just failed to commit suicide would say, instead of someone who's grateful to be alive

and it makes sense, with how obsessed hríd seems to be about "dying for his loved ones" despite it not being entirely necessary

i mean, look at that, he survived surtr and was aided by bruno as he escaped (probably? they never say what exactly happened, but since they're looking for hríd and not for bruno, it's most likely that they just found each other by accident)

and yes, even though he seems to calm down with those thoughts during the sequence, it is only a dream and we know he has no recolection of them

he forgets completely about that motivation to keep living, which leads him into further down the path of death  (whichinnorsemythologymightbecalledhríd,,,,,,orgjöll,,,ykow?)

im still not done, havent even gotten to his unit quotes lmao

hríd still did his best to survive for as long as he could, but it feels more like his strategic "i'm making time for fjorm and the askrans to make their moves" purely, out of the fact he didn't seem too happy to survive until he saw fjorm and ylgr

hat's all of hríd's quotes from that event, i can finally move on to his unit quotes

let's start with this one, luckily it is practically the same quote in both languages

this immediatelly counters any "hríd is boring" comment

though that is subjective, in my case what drove me even further into loving hríd was how different he was from usual characters related to ice

he might come off as cold sometimes, but it's purely because he's actually really dense/has a really bad sense of humor

in jp he tries to make an ice joke, but says "it's not suitable for him" (which is funny because in english he does have ice puns and i hate it)

1. he doesn't mention his mother 2. hríd blaming himself and being kinda gloomy part 1 

"I should have protected my people and sisters, I couldn't play that role... I can never forget that." 

this part hurts a lot (it's a little more poetic than the og one, i like it lol)

he could be talking about himself, about his sisters, his people, or all together, since the four of them have expressed desire for peace, and all four ended hurt by such thing

this part is scary, though it's not as much in english

NOT BECAUSE OF THE TRANSLATION, but because of his battle lines in eng (i'll get to that first and then come back to this one)

the most shockingly different skill trigger is the second one

the first one is exactly the same the third one in jp is "this is the last blow" (or smth like that) the fourth one is a little weird to translate (ice upon you works, but "freeze your life" sounds a little scary??)

OKAY BUT THE SECOND ONE ALONG WITH THE VOICE CLIP

IT KINDA SCARES ME A LITTLE FOR MY CUTE SWEET MOCHI BOY

it literally says "no mercy for the enemy"

IT'S LITERALLY SUGAR COATED, hríd went from a gentle giant to a merciless killer (who knows how many muspellians he's killed???) thanks to surtr and his fucking ass

hríd blaming himself and being gloomy part 2

the fact that he has not one, not two, not three, but about 5 to 6 lines that imply he's still dueling over everything that happened during the war is hurtful, he really can't forgive himself for that

he also sounds a little dead to me here (it’s one of the voiced quotes from his status page!)

which brings me back to the initial scary one

hríd is obsessed with earning his peace no matter what

and for that, he wants to get stronger

for that, he's willing to even perish, for everyone's sake

it's so sickening for me since i can kinda relate???? it reminds me a lot of the kind of wording they use for depression-themed japanese works, with the "peace" part and his willingness to just die anytime (which, is actually pretty normal for a warrior outside of FE. outside)

iT MAKES ME FEEL BAD BUT AT THE SAME TIME i kinda like he's written this way

AND EVEN WHEN HE'S LIKE THAT, hríd is still a gentle sweetheart who speaks so kindly you kinda forgets how merciless he is in the battlefield

like, the audio where he holds kiran's hands???? where he speaks about how the order of heroes saved nifl????? EVEN WHEN HE GETS STARTLED

he's always such a gentle and kind person

it makes me hate surtr even more because they didn't deserve this

hríd didn't deserve going through all of this fucking shit HE. DESERVED. HAPPINESS. AND PEACE.

then there's the ny hríd

he's an angel

a happy angel who makes me a little sad bc og hríd is not as happy

From here on everything was written like 2 weeks after the previous stuff :’) i’m sowwy

he's a resolute prince, he has the resolution of saving even at least one person,,,,,instead of being a "king", instead of being a "brother", or a "prince", he just wants to be "a hero",,,

hello, this is my opening statement of why ny hríd makes me cry with just existing

welcome

let us start with something that makes his quotes even better, particularily the previous quote and his lvl40 speech, which is the powerful meaning of this alt itself for a character such as hríd

in japan, new year used to be celebrated not at the end of the year, but at the end of winter, which is where geishun comes into the scheme, as it currently means "new years greetings" but in those old times, it was actually "welcoming spring" (or something along those lines i suck for precise translations)

and that's where our next quote comes into the picture

hríd speaks about nifl's winter, about how it practically symbolizes the nifleans' strength and will power

the alt itself is a more positive hríd, one who's willing to try his hardest for everyone, who doesn't regret his past, but looks into the future and has the purpose of being even better than before

of course, this hríd didn't suffer the same fate as the OG hríd, as he still has all 3 sisters (i want to believe ylgr was with them, just not shown bc of the lack of space for a sixth character) and now also 2 new allies to power their search for peace and strength to defend that peace

so, while our normal hríd is desparate to become stronger and suffers, this hríd is like his pole opposite, it's like the sun and the moon (too bad this hríd has no default special, sol would've fit him so well)

can we talk about how he feels so comfortable wearing the celebratory outfit?

the obi (the.....thing that acts as a belt) should be tied strongly enough so the hakama (the pants) doesnt fall down while he fights, yet he feels comfortable with it

i mean, it isn't as constrictive as a kimono as it doesn't prevent him from moving around freely, but he still shouldn't normally feel as comfortable with it as he is, he's never even worn something like that (it is implied, at least) yet he's loving it, isn't it adorable???

one time i joked about hríd being able to feel when winter is coming or when snow will start falling but

i think this quote pretty much confirmed it (YOU CAN'T SAY IT'S BECAUSE IT'S WARM, IT DOES SNOW IN ASKR WE'VE SEEN IT)

blessed boy munchs a whole fucking piece of mixed flour with FOUR HUNDRED GRAMS OF FUCKING SUGAR 

he's got a sweet tooth i know it, i know my people when i see them

it's just that he doesn't seem disgusted, and he also only mentions the mochi so we can assume he didn't drink sake or matcha with it

he ate the fucking thing alone and apparently liked it

we have a sweet angel, guys

i just think this quote is cute, he loves cold just as much as i love him

t HIS IS SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT FROM OUR NORMAL HRÍD HE'S SO POSITIVE AND DETERMINED I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

though in japanese, the last quote is a little more gloomy

im not entirely sure of how to properly translate it *looks at the jisho page of the kanji he cant understand* it's certainly a word

but it could be something like "to be in such a predicament from so early in the year... I'm unable to say it's pathetic..."

i???? imagine he says he "can't say it" because he's trying to be positive?????? or something along those lines, but saying it proves he's taking it way to the extreme

nasakenai can also be shameful or miserable, pitable, disgraceful stuff like that

i'm not sure how to describe this quote?

this time it's the english localisation that kinda throws me off, i don't understand what he's trying to say lmao

in japenese he's saying something about having been graced this early in the new year

7 years speaking english and i still can't break down complex phrases the only reason i've survived this long is through the power of deduction abilities

pray for me

u know hríd's damaged quotes in english are all grunts, right?

in japanese, this hríd has a peculiar quote i find adorable when he gets damaged

he says "as expected from you...!"

hE'S COMPLIMENTING HIS ENEMY, THIS IS THE SAME MAN WHO SAYS NO MERCY AS HE KILLS THE FOE

btw listening to his english quotes is so funny

he sounds so damn cool in japanese and in english he

he sounds like a fucking nerd

I THINK IM TAKING A LIKING TO HIS ENGLISH VOICE ACTING PURELY BECAUSE HE SOUNDS STUPID

compare this (JP) https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/feheroes_gamepedia_en/1/12/VOICE_Hr%C3%ADd_Resolute_Prince_SKILL_2_jp.wav

to this (ENG) https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/feheroes_gamepedia_en/6/6a/VOICE_Hr%C3%ADd_Resolute_Prince_SKILL_2.wav

it's the exact same quote by the two different VAs

HE SOUNDS LIKE A NERD IN THE ENGLISH VERSION I CAN'T

back to translations and analysis

i hate this one

his eng quote is more positive while the japanese one is something along the lines of "I was useless... I'm sorry..."

I

HATE

IT

look, say whatever you want, but hríd is such a sweet man

he cares for people and he tries his best to be the perfect prince everyone thinks he is

AND FOR HIS *MORE POSITIVE VERSION* TO SAY THIS AS HE IS DEFEATED IS JUST

WHAT DID HE DO TO U INTSYS TO MAKE HIM SUFFER THIS MUCH??

despite how "im so useless...!" his japanese version is

he way he says these two quotes sounds way more positive in japanese lmao it's the same translation, only that he's more "I'll repay you!!!!!!" in jp ( https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/feheroes_gamepedia_en/3/34/VOICE_Hr%C3%ADd_Resolute_Prince_MAP_3_jp.wav )

adorable

can’t use emojis on this pc so i’ll just leave the whole screenshot here

you see this quote here?

this is what it actually says

I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY CHANGED IT BUT I THINK IT'S CUTE BECAUSE I THINK HE DIDN'T JUST SWALLOW THE WHOLE MOCHI

HE ATE IT NORMALLY AND THINKS HE'S GOT SOME ON HIS CLOTHES BC PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT HIM LGHDSKLGSDFKS

why are u so cute aaaaaaa///////////

this is probably the translation of hríd's quotes i hate the most  in english it just...sounds so rude

in japanese it's more like "could you please tell me if i'm wearing these clothes wrong? i'll fix it fast"

he's trying to be respectful to the hoshidans sobs

THESE TWO QUOTES ARE SO DIFFERENT BUT SO EQUALLY ADORABLE AND POWERFUL

THIS 180~195CM OR SO MAN IS THE MOST ADORABLE PERSON IN THIS WHOLE PUTRID PLANET AND IM GOING TO TELL YOU WHY

first, this is my fave quote on english

he sounds so confused as to why people think the hoshidan clothes suit him

HE'S. NOT. AWARE. OF HOW FUCKING GOOD HE LOOKS.

TELL ME THAT'S NOT THE CUTEST SHIT EVER HE JUST DOESN'T GET IT

to make it more adorable, in japanese, the original quote is something like "I wonder what makes a type of clothing 'suit' you..."

HE'S GOING ALL PHYLOSOFICAL ON THAT SHIT probably because people keep telling him he looks good in that kind of clothing

this man's density is so powerful that he can't even begin to understand people find him attractive and that the attire literally makes him go from a 10 to a 1000000000000000000

he doesn't get it and he wants to know if it's really true so he goes out of his way TO ASK KIRAN

i love hríd so much he's so adorabl e

i want to give him a hug

with this i finish my thread for now

for now

hopefully we will get another alt for hríd and i can come back to spam about how adorable his quotes are

please stan hríd he's literally an angel

[lemonysnidget]

Dead Wrong

Or “Who is Beatrice Snicket’s father?”

Reading The End when it first came out, I remember finishing the book and being somewhat bewildered, somewhat dissatisfied, thinking “okay how is that related to anything that came before????”, but also overall thinking “Wow, I’ve got more questions than when I started reading this book.” That’s not to say that I didn’t like the book, or that I didn’t feel like it wrapped up the overarching theme of the series is a really great way. I enjoyed The End, but it’s very different in tone from the rest of the series, and it doesn’t answer a lot of questions you go in with. And even before Chapter 14, you have so many more questions that also won’t be answered. That’s a bold move on Handler’s part, and it’s a rare thing in Children’s Lit (and a lot of fiction overall). 

One of the big questions that has stuck with me as a fan throughout the years - and sparked a few conversations during lunch block with my friends - is Just who is Beatrice’s father? It’s a question you don’t even realize that you could ask until 13.13, and then you’re just kind of stuck with it for the rest of your life. Are the Baudelaire orphans raising the daughter of their former enemy? It’s a great question for Handler to leave the audience with. 

Let’s dive into the significance of why wondering about Beatrice’s father is big, and what implications it has for the meaning of the book.

Reading the series the first time around, you might not even think to ask who is the father of Kit Snicket’s baby. Kit’s presence in TPP is so quick that you might not even have the chance to wonder - I certainly don’t remember even thinking about it, since there were so many other questions to be asked at the time. But, once you have Dewey whisper Kit dramatically before he drowns, the answer seems obvious. You do wonder why Kit didn’t mention Dewey’s existence to the Baudelaires, but you don’t linger on it. You realize that “my brother sends his regards” in Frank’s note is actually talking about Dewey and is kinda cute (or creepy depending on how you’re looking at it) and not a code. And if you didn’t get all of that because the book moves at such a breakneck speed, by the last couple pages of the book, you get this line: 

For another terrible moment, it felt like the boat was going to sink into the water, just as Dewey Denouement had sunk into the pond, guarding his underwater catalog and all its secrets, and leaving the woman he loved pregnant and distraught. (12.13)

Pregnant? Distraught? Sounds like Kit Snicket. So, we have confirmation that Dewey loved Kit (or that Lemony thinks that Dewey loved Kit). And it’s phrased in a way that really makes you inclined to think that there’s little ambiguity on the matter of who impregnated the Snicket lass. 

You get to The End, and everything seems to continue down that same train of thought. Kit asks the Baudelaires specifically about Dewey, and hopes that he will join them too. And then when she finds out Dewey is dead, she just gives up. She tells the Baudelaires: “I've lost too many people—my parents, my true love, and my brothers” and you immediately think she’s talking about Dewey (13.13). You don’t even question it. You just accept that she’s talking about Dewey and move on. But then... suddenly it changes.

"I've lost too much to go on— my parents, my true love, my henchfolk, an enormous amount of money I didn't earn, even the boat with my name on it." (13.13)

There are very few times I’ve actually mentally heard a record scratch in reaction to something, but this was one of them. I remember just stopping and staring at the page for a few seconds, thinking I had misread something. I then flipped back a couple pages to confirm that yep, the parallel structure between Kit’s and Olaf’s statements wasn’t in my head. And I knew that there was absolutely no way that it was an accident. (The in-universe record scratch for the Baudelaires happened with the kiss.)

Handler’s a skilled writer, and he knows enough to be extremely deliberate with his words and phrasing. He knows the importance of punctuation. Even if he might make fun of Aunt Josephine, he uses grammar so well that it’s clear he does care how sentences are structured and how punctuation or the splicing of sentences can provide nuance. No writer worth their salt would have these two sentences in the same chapter (let alone a flip of a page away) if they weren’t trying to say something. Not only do you have similar words and sentiments, there’s similar sentence structure and punctation! These two lines are supposed to go together. And this isn’t even the first time that Olaf and Kit have had very similar lines, in fact in TPP, both Kit and Olaf say "A taxi will pick up anyone who signals for one” matching each other word to word (12.1, 12.9). Perhaps while reading TPP, you didn’t notice it or you assumed it was some kind of code or aphorism of VFD, so you didn’t pay it much mind. But, in hindsight, it seems that Handler was already hinting at Kit and Olaf having a very deep connection. 

More than just parallel structure, Handler has a major, major departure from tone of the whole series and the characterization of both Kit and Count Olaf. ASOUE is not a series that focuses on romance, and it certainly does not advocate the notion of true love - maybe you’d find that in The Pony Party or The Littlest Elf. Love in ASOUE is not a permanent thing, and it is not a good thing. Beatrice 1 moved on from Lemony and was very happy in the life she chose. Charles’ love for Sir was not at all healthy. Esme and Jacques marriage is hardly a fairy tale (more a Russian novel). And even though Lemony seems to carry an ever enduring torch for Beatrice, he never refers to her as his true love. No one mentions true love. But, at the end of The End, pragmatic, Machiavellian Kit brings it up for the first time. It’s a little bit jarring. And then when Count Olaf says it, the reader is asked once again to step back and re-evaluate their understanding of the story’s villain, and the story itself. 

Continuing on that theme of forcing you to re-evaluate a man readers have spent 13 books seeing as a deplorable/disgusting/unloveable individual, Handler gives Olaf and Kit the most intimate moment in the whole series when Kit reaches out to touch Olaf’s tattoo and recite a love poem to him. Two dying individuals on the opposite side of a war, just connecting one last time, to recite poetry to each other. Taken out of context, it seems pretty damn romantic. 

And what does Olaf do in response to Kit’s love poem? He ruins the moment by abridging a poem about the cyclical nature of misery and pain, how children inherit their parents trauma’s, and the best way to avoid passing that burden on is to not have kids and die. Let Olaf say fuck, cowards. Charming thing to say to a pregnant woman in the process of giving birth, eh? Definitely a very Olaf thing to do. Is he just being an asshole? Or is there something else going on? 

At that point, there is no choice but to consider the possibility that Olaf is the father of Kit’s baby. Handler wants us to wonder if Beatrice’s birth is book ended by her parents deaths. 

No doubt, in the year that follows on the coast shelf, the Baudelaires asked themselves just that. Are they raising the child of the man who relentlessly pursued them and who they believe murdered their parents in revenge? They would have definitely done the math and realized that their series of unfortunate events took less than 40 weeks, safely allowing Olaf to have fathered Beatrice before becoming their guardian. 

You can almost see Violet, Klaus, and Sunny searching Beatrice’s face as she grows up, looking for any similarities or clues as to who her father is. Unfortunately, Beatrice “look[s] very much like her mother” so they might never have come to a conclusion (13.14). But, the fact that even with the ambiguity and doubts the Baudelaires still lovingly raised the possible child of the person who they believe made them an orphan is huge. It shows that VFD’s cycle just might be broken. Unlike Olaf, who wasn’t able to let go of the fact that his parents were murdered by at least one of the Baudelaire’s parents and who let it turn him into a twisted villain, the Baudelaires give Beatrice a family, and they don’t let any doubts get in the way of raising her and loving her. And that flies right in the face of everything that has come before.

Instead of the intergenerational passing down of trauma, abuse, and pain that is a part of VFD and the story as a whole, the Baudelaires stand up and stop the cycle. The Baudelaires did not become like Count Olaf, despite their unfortunate events. The Baudelaires rose above their trauma. 

They directly contradict Olaf’s dying words. Man doesn’t have to hand misery to man, and your parents don’t have to fuck you up. Trauma does not have to be something that’s passed on as an epigenetic trait. You can have a terrible childhood, and you can grow up and make sure that whatever you suffered doesn’t happen to the next generation. This is a major takeaway point from the series. 

The ambiguity over Beatrice’s paternity is essential to the overall arc of ASOUE. It completes the circle, and it is a powerful message. So powerful, in fact, that Handler actually decided he had to include it, even if originally, he hadn’t planned on it. 

Handler has talked about how he had to rework some of TPP because of one throw-away line in TBB. But, he hasn’t talked about how suddenly, between TGG and TPP, Kit became 9 months pregnant.

In the driver's seat was a woman the Baudelaires had never seen before, dressed in a long, black coat buttoned up all the way to her chin. On her hands were a pair of white cotton gloves, and in her lap were two slim books, probably to keep her company while she waited.(11.13)

The Baudelaires can see her lap in TGG - Kit was not in her third trimester when Handler originally penned TGG. But, “her belly had a slight but definite curve” as of TPP (12.1). This is a ret-con, folks. Handler can’t change the fact that he had the Baudelaires be able to look into the car and see that she had two books in her lap instead of resting on top of a very pregnant belly, so he tries to act like nothing happened and hopes the readers won’t notice the contradiction. A woman who is about to give birth would have more than a slight curve, I might add, but that’s not exactly important.

Obviously, Kit being pregnant was vitally important to Handler’s story. So important that he contradicted himself, something that he went to great lengths to avoid doing in the same book. If Beatrice’s father was supposed to be Dewey - a character who was only in one book, who supported the Baudelaires rather than challenged them - then Handler would not have done this. Beatrice wouldn’t have been written in if Dewey was meant to be the obvious father. The Baudelaires raising Dewey’s daughter doesn’t really add anything to the story, and it would present far too small of an arc (just the last two books) to be worth it. 

So why even have Dewey be romantically connected to Kit at all? Why not just not give a candidate for who the father of Kit’s baby is until we see her with Olaf? Well... to quote the show:

ASOUE is filled with mysteries. Handler loves weaving them. He loves giving you a few clues here and there, and sometimes giving you enough clues to solve the puzzle on your own, and other times, he deliberately withholds stuff just because it suits his narrative aesthetic. And a lot of the time, he deliberately misleads or misdirects you. 

When it comes to Dewey and Kit’s relationship, Handler gives us enough to connect the dots, but connecting them isn’t necessarily the right thing to do. While it is entirely possible that Dewey and Kit were sexually involved, it is very important to note that Handler does not actually give us any confirmation that Dewey’s feelings were returned or if he and Kit actually were intimate. Dewey loved Kit, yes, that is a fact, but loving someone is not enough to create a baby with them. That’s not actually how it works, even if a lot of sex talks might want you to think so. 

Kit and Dewey were not living together. If Kit and Dewey were planning to co-parent together as a couple, Kit would not be solely responsible for “[choosing] wallpaper for the baby's room” - they would be choosing it together, but instead, Dewey is still living with his brothers at at the Hotel at all hours (12.2) Further support for this is that were Dewey and Kit together, Frank wouldn’t have to act as a go-between for Kit and Dewey by telling her “my brother sends his regards” (12.2). Dewey would have been able to give Kit his regards himself... and he probably wouldn’t be giving regards. For a couple that’s romantically involved, that sounds incredibly formal! In fact, Kit actually describes Dewey as “a wonderful gentleman” (12.2). A similarly stiff way to refer to someone... not to mention the fact that referring to someone as a gentleman is frequently used in the context of a guy not being to forward or taking advantage of a situation sexually where he could have ignored the woman’s boundaries. It really does sound like Dewey, despite loving Kit after years of working with her, wasn’t actually physically intimate with Kit. Dewey’s love, therefore, seems to have a lot more in common with the courtly love of Dante and Beatrice rather than an erotic love.

That doesn’t mean they weren’t mutually emotionally intimate, creating a very strong bond. Kit was obviously extremely distressed by his death and they did work together for years. But, it’s hard to know if Kit was upset to find out about the death of her child’s father or if she was upset because her friend and everything that they had worked for was gone. Or both. Either one is pretty devastating. 

Olaf in book canon is more likely than not Beatrice’s father, for meta reasons and “in universe” reasons. Olaf being Beatrice’s father is consistent with the textual evidence, whereas the textual evidence does not support Dewey and Kit having a serious or even sexual relationship. The Baudelaires considering the possibility that Olaf is Beatrice’s father is absolutely essential for the meaning of the series. The Baudelaires, who unlike us cannot go back and pick apart the text, have to have their doubts, but they treat Beatrice in a way that the prior generations of VFD could not comprehend. 

So you might wonder, Does Olaf know? Does he consider the possibility for Beatrice being his daughter? For him, the matter might be pretty unambiguous, since he has knowledge that the Baudelaires, Lemony, and us the readers don’t have. Perhaps he knows that she isn’t, perhaps he knows she is, perhaps he doesn’t know one way or the other. Regardless, Olaf doesn’t care. Olaf was more than willing to claim he’d kill Kit and her unborn child at the start of The End, but when it comes down to it, Olaf chooses to suffer a lot of pain, prolonging his death, to help the both of them. Darwin might argue that Olaf being Beatrice’s father takes away the selflessness of the act. But, Darwin would be ignoring Count Olaf’s dying words: “Don’t have kids yourself.” Count Olaf did not want to become a father, but he suffers greatly to ensure that Kit’s child is born. 

That is a noble act. 

You could say it would be more noble if it were Dewey’s daughter, but I disagree. Why would Olaf care whether Dewey’s daughter lived or died? He wouldn’t. Olaf’s act is selfless because Beatrice isn’t Dewey’s daughter. 

On the topic of Netflix, and speculation for the third season: 

Do I think the show is going to go this route... possibly. Though the casting of a younger woman to play Kit and a younger man to play the Denouements makes it seem a little bit less likely that they would go for it. But, I do find it interesting that Netflix deliberately added the cake tasting scene in TBB.

Perhaps it might have just been to foreshadow to complicated relationship between Lemony and Olaf, but, it’s interesting that it’s cake when we know that cake is what Beatrice Snicket wants to bring along with her on the boat to escape the island - "Cake!" shrieked the baby, and her guardians laughed (13.14). 

“Cake” is the only non-babytalk line that Beatrice says, and the fact that Handler chose to have Beatrice love cake of all things not to long after he has Lemony inform of us of the fact that Dewey was able to document twenty-seven cakes “that Olaf has stolen” (12.13). Handler wanted to remind us of just how much Olaf loves cakes just before The End. Sure, he’s not the only character who likes cakes, but it is an interesting choice on Handler’s part, and an interesting choice for Netflix to include that scene.

In about a week, we’ll know what route they decided to take with the Netflix adaptation, but I do believe that they have set up the potential for Beatrice being Olaf’s daughter should they choose to keep Beatrice’s line about cake. 

And there you have it, the meta I have had in my ‘drafts’ for six months because I kept on writing it and scrapping it. 

[completeoveranalysis]

TRC Translation Notes Volume 13 (Chapters 91 - 99 + Omake)

The wondrous third installment of the new Translation Notes from @giniroangou, now looking at Volume 13. I can’t believe how far we’ve come, this still feels so recent. 

Highlights include: that’s so love, secret drugs, justice for Syaoran’s detective skills, improved Kuroparents, and cuddle pile!

Chapter 91

p.11-12 - Just for fun, the word that’s been translated as “love birds” is “raburabu”/“love love,” which is frequently used to indicate that two people are lovey dovey together, so to speak. Mokona continues to use the word “rabu”/“love” throughout her proceeding comments. First she says, “It’s love! It’s love!,” then she turns the word “love” into an adjective (so, “But it was so romantic” becomes literally, “But it was so love”), and finally, “Isn’t love nice?”

p.15 - Since a commenter asked, this world’s name rendered directly from the katakana is “Rekoruto.” I think the fan translation of Lecourt works the best as a country name, but I’ve always liked how the original name is reminiscent of the word “record” given all the libraries, so I can understand the use of Recort as an alternate translation. As far as I know there are no right answers here - I don’t think CLAMP has officially clarified? - but in fandom you’re probably most likely to see people using Lecourt.

P.22 - The translation has switched from “Daddy” to “Father” but the original Japanese is the same as it’s always been. As I mentioned earlier, this was “Otou-san,” for which “Father” would be a more accurate translation.

When Fai says that they’re “not permitted” to sell the swords, he’s really just saying they shouldn’t sell them. I’m pretty sure if they actually wanted to they could.

Chapter 92

p.31 - As a bit of trivia, Kurogane calls his mother “Hahaue,” which is a more formal and old-fashioned word for “Mother” than the commonly-heard “Okaa-san.” It’s something you’d be unlikely to hear from anyone today, but fits right in with the apparent time period of Kurogane’s Nihon. (Likewise, a little later he calls his father “Chichiue,” the equivalent word for “Father.”)

p.33 - In the translated version Kurogane’s father calls him a “brat,” but the term he uses is “wanpaku bouzu,” different from both words Kurogane has used for Syaoran (“gaki” and “kozou.”) While I think “brat” works well for the exchange between Kurogane and his father, normally I’d interpret this phrase a bit more warmly - it’s like he’s calling him a little rascal. Not that brat can’t be said fondly, of course.

P.34 - Following up from the previous note, Kurogane’s “I’m not a brat!” can be interpreted along the lines of “I’m not a kid!”

Kurogane’s father is referred to as the “ryoushu” (領主) indicating that he is a feudal lord, but the extent of his holdings isn’t necessarily as large as a daimyo (though it very well could be!) From the tiny bit of research I’ve done, ryoushu seems to be a fairly ambiguous term, so we have some leeway in interpreting his position. If anyone is well-versed in historical Japanese terminology and/or has more information on this, feel free to step forward!

p.35 - The translation of “kusa” as “grass” here is unintentionally hilarious - that is a legit translation of the word, but in this context “herb” would be more appropriate. (Either way they’re suddenly sounding like pot farmers though, HELP.)

p.38 - It seems like you may have misinterpreted the speech bubbles from your tags, but the parent who Kurogane is said to resemble is his father rather than his mother, much as I love the image of baby Kuromama climbing trees (though who’s to say she didn’t!)

Chapter 93

p.51 - Kurogane’s “I want to protect Suwa and everyone in it,” is spoken first as, “I [want to protect] Suwa,” then clarified to, “I want to protect everyone.” You could interpret this the way the official translation did, or you could say that to Kurogane, Suwa is equivalent to the people there.

More significantly, Kurogane’s vow of protection is, “I want to protect Mother and Father, who protect everyone else.”

p.59 - Now that Kurogane’s grown up a bit, he calls his father “Oyaji.” This means “Father” as well, but it’s used primarily by men - it’s rougher and more casual than “Chichiue” or “Otousan.” In English translations it’s often rendered as the colloquialism “my/the old man.” We see later that he still uses “Chichiue” when speaking to his father directly, though.

Chapter 94

p.67 - There’s nothing here I would consider a mistranslation, but I’d like to clarify some nuances in the dialogue. Kurogane’s “I’d rather have you feeling better!” is, “It’s fine as long as you get better.” When his mother responds by calling him a good child, the word she uses is “yasashii,” meaning gentle/sweet/caring. I really love this word choice in juxtaposition with Kurogane’s actions - he’s yelling, but his mother clearly recognizes that it’s coming from a place of care and concern.

p.68-70 - This is getting into nitpicky territory and I’m too lazy to write out the specifics, but please take my word for it that in the original text it feels clearer that Syaoran is actually in the process of figuring things out and heading towards a conclusion rather than just summarizing information he’s already said, lol.

p.79 - Since “You people...” sounds kind of alienating in English, I’ll clarify that Kurogane’s saying, “Everyone…”/“All of you…”

Chapter 95

p.87 - I don’t think it’s clear in the translation, but Kuromama tells Kuropapa that he mustn’t take Ginryuu with him without calling for her first (to bless the sword, as we learn shortly after.)

p.88 - The tone of this exchange is different as well - it’s not about demands being made but about the actions each of them choose to take. Kuropapa says, “You’ve always been like this. You keep pushing yourself too hard,” and Kuromama replies, “I could say the same of you.”

p.90 - A little elaboration on Ginryuu as the “Dragon of Water” - the original text refers to Ginryuu as one who rules over/controls the water.

Chapter 96

p.107-108 - I’m not certain that Kuromama’s final words are a request for Kurogane to protect Suwa. It’s difficult to tell because she’s speaking in sentence fragments, but she’s using the same structure for both “Suwa” and “You” (“Suwa wo...” “Anata wo...” vs “Anata ni/ga…”), and there is no pronoun associated with the following “Must protect…” This leads me to believe that she’s still struggling under her own obligations here, feeling that she must protect both Suwa and her son even as she dies.

p.120 - A clarification so Amaterasu doesn’t sound totally irresponsible here: She says she led her army in assuming that monsters would invade Suwa, the implication being that she came as soon as she could after hearing about Tomoyo’s dream.

Chapter 97

p.133 - Amaterasu isn’t trying to reason with Kurogane, as it appears in the translation. She’s speaking to the people with her (or the readers, however you want to see it), saying that he’s lost himself and that it can’t be helped, but she has to stop him. My interpretation would be that she’s ready to put him out of his misery here, tbh, hence the look of pain on her face. It’s brutal, but she believes it’s the only thing to be done at this point. Tomoyo literally saved Kurogane’s life here.

Chapter 98

p.142-143 - Since this became a topic of discussion, the “U” noises Kurogane makes here are indeed a sort of animalistic groaning noise (at least that’s how I would interpret them.) The Japanese “u” sounds like a shortened English “oo,” so just imagine he’s alternating between short and long versions of that sound and you should have an idea of what it’s supposed to be.

p.150 - I’m pretty sure this came up near the start of the manga, but as a reminder this castle is called “Shirasagi,” not “Shirasaki.”

p.153 - When Kurogane says his name here it’s “...Kurogane” rather than “Kurogane…” There are far too many weird punctuation-based tonal shifts in this translation, let me tell you.

p.156 - SPEAKING OF WHICH… Mokona’s line should end in an exclamation mark (“Syaoran is crying!”) and the ellipsis comes at the front of Fai’s line (“...He won’t let go.”) I don’t always point these out or even notice them but they’re deeply frustrating. As subtle as the changes may be, they still affect the way these lines come across.

Chapter 99

p.165 - It’s actually quite likely that Syaoran led with “I think I saw your past” - the language Kurogane uses in the original text implies that he’s confirming something that was already speculated/assumed. I don’t think it lessens the moment at all, though.

Omake

p.177 - What’s been translated as Yuuko telling Mokona to find a good place to stay was originally, “You need to make sure you get enough sleep.”

p.179 - Mokona’s actually saying here that everyone’s going to sleep together! Canon cuddle pile! :D

[starbudspresents]

DGM 230 - Panthaleia’s Translation Notes

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN

That is, your quarterly reminder that I'm still alive! As are the rest of StarBuds, hip hip hooray.

Big gorgeous 35-page chapter this time around, so let's jump right in!

1.) I have been informed that the cityscape referenced in the opening setting panels here is Edinburgh, Scotland:

Edinburgh is in fact in Scotland, buuuut this is somewhat complicated by the fact that Hoshino-sensei did something weird with the naming here (wow, shock). 

Though she calls London "London" and Paris "Paris" and is therefore presumably fine with giving real-world cities their real-world names, she calls the town our heroes just landed in "Edinston" rather than "Edinburgh" and says it's in "Igirisu," which is a Japanese world describing both the United Kingdom and — more commonly — England in particular. There are existing Japanese words for both "Scotland" and "Edinburgh," and they are notably not used. 

To be as safe as possible, I've transliterated the town name directly and used "Britain" wherever "Igirisu" was used, to leave the door open for either possibility to be true. 

As for Allen's nationality: that's still up in the air, too, because this town is only where he met Mana in the circus and the events of Lost Fragment of Snow transpired, not where he was born or where he joined up. He's definitely from somewhere in the UK, but beyond that? Pick your favourite and have fun, haha.  

2.) HALLELUJAH AMEN, IT'S RAINING MEN (enjoy those nightmares, kids! :D)

3.) Oh my god, they forgot the bracelets. Rest in pieces. 

(Also: the implication that if Komui had made them they were probably broken because things Komui makes work so terribly well the people whose lives they're meant to improve often end up worse off in the end is both hilarious and painful. See: Komurin. But because Reever made it, coming off is a failsafe meant to protect the users from unforeseen circumstances, because he actually thinks things all the way through most of the time.)

4.) "the ground smells different" I mean okay to be entirely fair, this is a real thing that I've noticed myself, but this is still... so funny.... such a dog person thing to say.....

5.) The "one more step" line was more literally "if you intend to keep running any more than this," with the implication that Kanda would rather just kill him right now and have done than take one more step in his pursuit. (Kandas are natural sprinters; very dangerous over short distances.)

6.) lmao

Allen: okay are you going to save me or kill me, please choose one

Kanda: both? both is good

8.) Okay now for a bit of the kind of thing I actually make these posts for:

"神の結晶" (kami no kesshou) is a very interesting term that was first (and possibly only ever the once, I still haven't read all the raws) used in chapter 007, during Komui's guided tour of the Order:

Komui: A substance of mysterious power some call the "crystal of God."

The fun thing about this is that while pretty much everyone opted to translate kesshou as "crystal" — the "crystal of God" — the word also (and more often) means "crystallization (of)". As in, Innocence is the crystallized and shattered body of God. 

Funnily enough, when I went back to 197 to find a panel for the next point, I also found this while skimming:

Image

Guro!Tokusa: We [AKUMA] will [kill/destroy] God (f: the Innocence).

The kanji say "God", the furigana say "Innocence," and that is what Hoshino does when things are meaningfully related and/or synonymous. By destroying the Innocence, they are killing God, because the Innocence was not made by God, but of God.

Soooo since this is my translation and that felt like a Sign, I'm going with "crystallization," to hell with it.

 9.) This part is new favourite ever, oh my god. Kanda not only understanding the feelings of others, but trying to teach empathy to Allen?? Oh, how the turntables~! 

And then!! Allen accusing Kanda of sticking his nose in where it isn't welcome, and Kanda's like "POT, KETTLE, ASSHOLE" because this is exactly what Allen did to/for him in North America over Alma. "Call this payback for what you said" refers to this bit in 197:

Allen: You're not even trying to face Alma head-on...

Kanda: Now who isn't facing things head-on?

ALSOOOO the callback to chapter 005, wherein Kanda cut Allen's arm with Mugen for an entirely different reason:

Allen's self-sacrificing hypocrisy, however well meant, is being called out increasingly hard as the story goes on, and I'm all about it. He keeps trying to make people's decisions for them, and though it's true that he's doing it because he's scared for them, it's still not at all his call to make. He's treating them like children, not his friends, and ignoring their very clearly stated wish to see this through with him, but even so they're standing firm on the decisions they made for themselves. justcommunication.mp3

9.) And the flipside: despite his terror of seeing his loved ones hurt, he actually is still properly scared for himself and desperately doesn't want to be alone. Their presence made everything both worse for him (because they cranked up the stakes even higher being within impact range) and better (because he wasn't alone in the sightless, murderous dark). His torn heart here is so real and it hurts just to watch. In the best of ways.

10.) Aaaand there's where the "fool" line comes back in: when Allen accepts that he's guilty of exactly the same thing he took Kanda to task for, and they've just exchanged shoes. This chapter is a gift to me personally, thank you Hoshino-no-kami.  

11.) He's grieving for Tim properly now, thank god. This is tremendously painful too, but so much better than the blank dissociation from before. Now he can walk on through the rest of the grieving process with everything moving within him as it should. 

12.) I definitely thought for a hot minute that the Mana-marked tree was Cornelia and he jumped them straight to the mansion, but it's definitely not. It's in a small square in a city, whereas Cornelia is on the vast Canbell property, and it wouldn't make any sense for the circus to have been parked on the front lawn of the place Mana ran away from. So the plot isn't jumping ahead quite as fast as I initially thought, but it is going somewhere!! For real!!!

13.) The little "is your stomach empty, too" aside is because he thinks Allen is grubbing around in the dirt for food. (Take a glance at the fancy ants and maybe... try a few? ♫) 

14.) Furigana on "Allen" in "where Allen was born" say "I," and "born" really says "hajimari", "beginning". I took a tiny bit of poetic liberty on that one and I don't think it'll affect anything but if it does, now you know.

What a killer chapter, I'm so delighted. January is going to be amazing. 

If you have any questions, or think I've made any mistakes (entiiiiirely possible), drop me an ask or hit me up @Panthaleia9705 on Discord! I'm not actively participating in fandom right now but I will still respond if I'm hailed, haha. <3