#anyways today my opinion of young men dropped by quite a lot

[butcharium]

When we're each to our own my girlfriend and I are normally not bothered so much by harassment as butch lesbians but when we're together it sure spikes👍

[imbellarosa]

Let’s Talk Calm-ly about Two Loves

OR: When you’re a grown man who writes stories for a living, you definitely wrote your own weird bedtime story, too. 

The TLDR here is that H has taken one specific listener around the globe, notably to Tokyo and Jamaica. He quotes an old Victorian Poet who was an awful human but who’s lasting legacy is the phrase “a love that dare not speak its name” which is - you guessed it - a reference to queer love. He also is super excited to spend what seems like the foreseeable future with this listener and has bought a little house with a garden of daisies with them and it’s very sweet and domestic. Anyways this is a wild time and it’s all under a cut because it’s...really a lot. 

Anyways I think the people I owe thank yous this times around to are @queenlokibeth​ who had to listen to me scream about this for a while, Astrid, who screamed with me when this came out, and “M” who convinced me to finally get to work in this fandom. And, of course, all of the lovely people tagged below who’s work I used to build my argument. 

1.) Who Wrote “Dream With Me”? 

Well, not H, or so the story goes. Two other people (Steve Cleverly and Sanj Sen) did! I mean, right, okay, for a while I was like...that seems like an odd choice for a man who didn’t want to hand Two Ghosts over to his own band because it seemed too personal. He wrote on every song in both albums’ he’s released thus far, because he seems to be passionate about telling the stories he wants to tell (even if he won’t tell you explicitly what they’re about). But for a while, I was totally going with the flow there, and the rest of this analysis would still stand: the writer of this story definitely referenced a poem by Lord Alfred Douglas and Harry’s own songs. 

However, I then read this fun quote from the Co-founder and CEO of Calm: 

“Well,” he said, “The the Harry Styles one is interesting because that came purely from Harry Styles himself...we took the approach of creating a sort of musical epic poem – he doesn’t sing, it’s spoken with poetry, but there’s a sort of musical sound bed to it and it’s pulling on things and themes that Harry’s fans really adore about him and associate with him. So his story was driven really by him – we really created a concept around him.” 

-  Chris Advansun, July 7th, 2020 via @hlupdate​

And I thought, hmmm. This does not sound like a project that he was not involved in creating. From this point on (July, 7th 2020), I began to think of it as a three way co-collaboration between him and the other two authors. But this confused me a bit, because there was largely a nonreaction from the fandom. I was waiting for an actual transcript, because I always fall asleep to these meditation stories, but it was being referenced to as some sort of Y/N fic, which was...honestly not what I expected, but also not implausible, thanks to the ~lovely~ image this man has had since the age of sixteen. But also, twitter seemed to be concerned by other things at the moment, and no one was analyzing the story. . 

In fact, I messaged a friend the day that this story dropped, because it had been kind of a shit show day on Twitter. Rumors were sort of flying about everyone and everything: had Liam shaved his head? Was he engaged? Had he and Maya broken up? Were Zayn and Gigi engaged? Had they broken up? Did Niall have a girlfriend? (this one was true lol). Were Elounor engaged? Were they pregnant? Had they broken up??? My personal fav was the bald Liam rumor, which he promptly put to rest in LP Act 1 by...having a huge mane of hair. 

So then I thought - huh. Why has today looked like this? I’m not saying that there aren’t days that twitter goes wild because of boredom, because there definitely is - the articles about secret meetings in Italy that are coming out this week (8/12/2020) are proof positive. So that definitely does happen, but it doesn’t usually happen on the days that there’s a lot of content. And maybe I’ve just been starved for content in this fandom, but I would consider a 40 minute video quite a bit of content. 

Then the transcript dropped. I’m using two as references - this one on Wattpad and also @carl-and-pearl ‘s version here (thank you so much for the transcript!!). We’re going to get into a more detailed description of what’s going on in the story, but the first thing I recognized immediately is that it was first person POV. I knew that going in, based on the number of Y/N jokes going around on twitter. Then I read it aloud, and I realized that it read like a letter. Like an experience specific to the writer and the reader. And while that’s not super uncommon to write about an experience from the author’s POV - I listen to a podcast called Nothing Much Happens: bedtime stories for adults which has a similar concept - I thought it was odd that they were trying to include both the author and the listener. I completely understood why the y/n jokes were pertinent. But at the same time, it felt like something had snagged in my mind - like a particularly annoying splinter. 

The conversations I was having around this story - completely based on the content, concept, and my own instinct - was that this story contained specific references to one person. I thought that it did read like a love letter, and that most identifying features would have been taken out, but the essence remained. Which, once I thought about it, was something that H excelled at doing. Think about Sunflower Vol 6 and Adore You and Canyon Moon and even Watermelon Sugar and Golden.  Ask yourself, What do I know about the person they are about? They have skin that browns, they have a secret, they have mesmerizing eyes, they’re willing to dance in the kitchen with him (to dancehall), they have a belly, they’ve been through hard times, they’re witty, they have an accent, and they have lips. I know - super specific right?

So the splinter grew into a thorn - what was I missing? And then - when I was looking for something completely different - I stumbled upon this old interview Harry did with Zach Sang and the Gang Show back in 2017.  For context, he was being asked about Sweet Creature. As you can imagine, it’s hard for people to believe he wrote such a beautiful love song when he hadn’t ever really had a long term relationship (two hearts in one home?? Who did you move in with, you can imagine them asking. When did you have time?). So what did he have to say about this?

"In my opinion,” he explained, “I think most songs are written for one listener. Maybe there's one thing in there that only they'll notice about them.... It's so much easier to say something in a song than it is to say it to someone and I think it's really amazing to be able to communicate through that and be able to wrap up everything that you want to say in three and a half minutes and say it in a song."

- HS, May 3 2017

By this time, please believe that I was screeching. Seeing this felt like he put into words the exact feeling I had about “Dream With Me”. It felt like a nod to someone that I didn’t know, which made the story hard to listen to, tbh. Although, I will say that when I did finally listen to it, it knocked me out and gave me odd dreams so. Once was enough for me haha! 

So my new operating theory is exactly what Advansun said: I think that H was the primary writer/the driving force behind the story. Because of the references I’m about to run through, because it feels like the way he tells stories, and because they admitted to him being more involved than they originally claimed. That’s going to be how I write the rest of the analysis - under the impression that H had a direct hand in the story that was being put forth. However, I think that the analysis itself would stand whether or not he wrote any of it. It would just be a more tenuous reflection of him than I believe it to be. 

2.) How Do I Love Thee? In Two Ways. 

Before I jump into the story, let’s talk a little about the poem that I want to compare it to: Two Loves, by Lord Alfred Douglas.  Let’s be clear this is not at all a defense of who Bosie was - he was a terrible person, particularly in his later years, when he’d converted to Catholicism and turned his back on his younger self, and his partner, Oscar Wilde. He was violently anti-Semitic, and turned his back on his own community. I want to get this out of the way because I very much believe that we should examine artists for who they are. That is, after all, what I am trying to do here. 

But his poem Two Loves has often been used - much to his disappointment, I’m sure - as an exploration of queer love in Victorian times. A line that I will be exploring more deeply in a second was in fact used against Oscar Wilde in his trail for indecency . He attempted - unsuccessfully - to explain it away, but it was too blatantly about their relationship for even the British Victorian society to ignore. I really, really recommend a read of this poem, because it is - despite it’s author - a good piece of work, which explores the themes of shame and love and longing between two men in that time. 

I’m going to start with my own background, as someone who’s analyzed fandoms before. I first came across this poem in the Sherlock fandom, with this analysis by @the-7-percent-solution​, when I was running in that fandom, and she explains the poem brilliantly in just a few lines. I’m going to take a little longer to run through it, but if you want a concise explanation and a brilliant meta, I encourage you to run to their blog and check it out. That fandom taught me most everything I know about catching symbols and recurring themes and “clueing for looks” and I love it desperately, still. 

But we’re here to talk about this fandom, so on with the poem! Essentially, the poem outlines a dream the speaker had: In his dream, he’s standing in a field with flowers - beautiful ones of all kind - and he meets this young man with clear blue eyes and bright red lips and they kiss a bit and have a picnic, and it’s all lovely. If you think I’m kidding, I’m really not. Please, read it for yourself. 

Anyways, after they did they did the whole picnic thing, the speaker and his date go on a walk in this field, where they come across two figures. The first is described as, 

“...fair and blooming, and a sweet refrain Came from his lips; he sang of pretty maids And joyous love of comely girl and boy, His eyes were bright, and 'mid the dancing blades Of golden grass his feet did trip for joy; And in his hand he held an ivory lute With strings of gold that were as maidens' hair, And sang with voice as tuneful as a flute, And round his neck three chains of roses were.” 

- Two Loves, 1894

The speaker, however, was drawn to the second figure: 

“He was full sad and sweet, and his large eyes Were strange with wondrous brightness, staring wide With gazing; and he sighed with many sighs That moved me, and his cheeks were wan and white Like pallid lilies, and his lips were red Like poppies, and his hands he clenched tight, And yet again unclenched, and his head Was wreathed with moon-flowers pale as lips of death. A purple robe he wore, o'erwrought in gold With the device of a great snake, whose breath Was fiery flame..”

- Two Loves, 1984

Of course, the speaker immediately asks the second man who he is. The second man says, “My name is Love”. The first man corrects him quickly: 

“ He lieth, for his name is Shame, But I am Love, and I was wont to be Alone in this fair garden, till he came Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.”

-Two Loves, 1984

The second man sighs and acquiesces, “Have thy will. I am the love that dare not speak its name.” 

It was, of course, this last line that really gave the meaning of the poem away. It was the line that was put to Oscar Wilde as proof of a romantic relationship, it was the line that went down in history as a way to refer to queer love, and it was the line that first stuck out to me when I was reading “Dream With Me”. 

The reading here is clearly that “Love” is the love that is acceptable to society - easy, sweet, and cherished. “Shame” is the love that happens in secret - beautiful, alluring to the speaker, passionate, anxious ( as can be seen in the clenching and unclenching of his hands), and proud. He refuses to call himself as anything but what he is. The first man may call him Shame, but he refuses the name, and instead, offers a qualifier to his own descriptor. He is still love, he is just the love that can’t be spoken about. 

3.) Walking in Golden Fields of Sunflowers

Now let’s talk about “Dream With Me”. I’m ignoring the first few stanzas (from the line “Have you ever wondered” to “What the two of us can find”.) because those are pretty standard introductory paragraphs to a guided meditation. So we start with the line “Let’s travel now to moonlit valleys...”. 

I’m going to do the same thing I did with “Two Loves” first. I am going to describe literally, in general terms, what happens in the story. Warning, I change pronouns from “they” to “you” because the whole thing confuses me, but note that I’m always talking about the speaker and the listener: 

So after doing the standard intro, the speaker and the listener take a walk through the woods enjoying nature, particularly the grass, the trees, and the blue sky above. You’re already clearly in love. Then you’re magically on a raft, with cherry blossoms all around you. If you want a good visual for that, here’s a site that has pictures from a boat rental in Tokyo where you can snuggle on a raft in the  Chidorigafuchi moat. And then suddenly it starts raining, and they (you) watch the rain for a hot second, and then the scene magically shifts again, and you’re under a porch (although I guess it could be the boat rental’s porch. They do usually have covered areas). 

Kind of furthering that theory, they then lounge by the shoreline, skipping stones and hanging out, looking at the snow capped mountains. In case you’re curious, because at this point I sure was, you can see mountains from certain areas in the city of Tokyo. 

Anyways, then it’s snowing, and you’re magically in a cabin, just chilling by the fire, and you fall asleep again. You wake up somewhere else.

Where are you now? Well, you’re on a tropical island filled with palm trees. As an American, my mind immediately jumps to the Caribbean, but I suppose it could absolutely be in the Mediterranean as well. The island has white beaches, mangroves, a turquoise ocean, and a gorgeous, peaceful atmosphere. 

If you’re curious as to what a mangrove looks like - and I certainly was - they are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone and Jamaica is doing a massive restoration project involving primary school children to regrow this vital part of their ecosystem. More interestingly, there currently exist no mangrove forests in the Mediterranean, so my initial feeling that this scene would take place in the Caribbean was correct. On that note - again, because I was curious - Jamaica has gorgeous white sand beaches with turquoise oceans. 

But I’ve gone off topic again! After you’re minds are “in tune” once more (trying to find a heartbeat, anyone?), you reappear in a meadow, with beautiful flowers of all kind, where you are now walking hand in hand through a field of sunflowers, which give the feeling a “warm and golden hue”. Then you come across a little farmhouse with daisies poking out (clearly I have no way of locating this anywhere in the world, but I assume that the UK has both sunflowers and daisies). It’s an empty house which was loved and left because of the passage of time, which inspires my favorite line in the poem: “ The thought of passing time inspires/A feeling that grows stronger”. It’s just...really sweet to me. 

So, of course, they do what anyone would do when they come across an empty farmhouse, they go inside. And there, they begin to fall asleep, reflecting on all they have just seen, referencing other scenes of the poem: “ Moonlit valleys, Burdened forests, Gazing at the ocean. Summer meadows, Tranquil sunsets steeped in emotion”. 

The next few stanzas are just going to be copy-pasted, and then I’ll go into them a bit, but this is the end of the poem, so they’re the final reflections;

“The tenderness we feel When we are close Two minds as one Surrounds us and connects us But we’ve only just begun.

For now we dream together Of all there is to follow. And know that sleep will keep us safe From now until tomorrow.

Maybe all the memories That we’ve gathered here tonight Are all dreams now remembered Or wishes in plain sight.

No matter what They’re with us now. For this night and forever. And every time we close our eyes They’re yours and mine to treasure.” 

- HS, Dream With Me, via @carl-and-pearl​

And that’s it! The literal story, in short, is that you started in a forest, then went to Tokyo (maybe) and then Jamaica (perhaps) and then back to a field of sunflowers and daisies in the UK (which is also a guess, it could be Italy or France or Idaho for all I know, but let’s call it an educated guess). 

4.) My Dream Journal

So now that we know what happens in the story, how do we interpret this? Well, There are a few lines in the poem that I want to draw your attention to: the first takes place in the first part of this story, when you’re still in the forest. This is, I must say, the most direct reference to Two Loves in the whole poem/song/story. Both works are describing a walk in the woods with your loved one, and, in a fun reference in the middle of the story, Dream With Me says

The shimmering reflection Shows us smiling from above. But what we think But dare not speak is L-O-V-E love.

-Dream With Me, 2020

Remember that line I mentioned before? I am the love that dare not speak its name. Right, so that’s almost a direct quote. It also has a really fun nod to “I Would” (Would he say he’s in L-O-V-E?/Well if it was me then I would), but I digress. 

This first part of the narrative, I feel, really sets up what the rest of it will look and feel like, in the same way that “Golden” sets the tone for Fine Line. (You didn’t think I was going to make a post about Harry and NOT mention Golden, did you?? If you did, I’m disappointed!!). So  let’s take a look at what’s happening, and the language he’s using to describe it. 

One of the best things about this poem is how vivid it feels. Of course, I’m about to argue that it’s vivid because it was based in reality, but let’s talk about the sheer amount of detail he uses to describe the place he’s walking through. The valley (canyon lmao) is moonlit, the grass and the leaves make mosaics of green, you’re walking by the heather (the symbolism of heather is good luck, admiration, and protection), the sepia sunlight breaks through the trees. 

You know what it kind of sounds like? Sweet Creature. You’re about to roll your eyes at me! I can feel it! But listen, okay?  

“Sweet creature Running through the garden Oh, where nothing bothered us But we're still young I always think about you and how we don't speak enough”

Which, to be honest, sounds like what they’re doing. They’re walking through the garden in the sun, not daring to speak about the Love that he (they both) feel, and instead refering to it in veiled Victorian terms. 

And then we head to Tokyo! I know that you’re about to ask me why I think it’s Tokyo versus...idk, anywhere else? Well, for one, he went to Tokyo (to let it go) publicly in 2019. He was there for a few months, and there are some great pictures of that time: 

Look! Here he is with his club owner friend and his dog, and a fun red bandanna! But let’s be honest, the dog really steals the show here. But wait! there’s more! More dog content, too!

This was on Jan 31st, 2019, and he’s taking the dog for a walk! Very cute! If nothing else, he spent a lot of time with dogs in Tokyo! And the city fits the description of the story. So I feel rather comfortable with my interpretation that this first date is a memory of this trip - or another - to Tokyo. 

So what did “you both”do in Tokyo? Well, chill on a raft while the cherry blossoms flutter around you, clearly. You also refocused your purpose. What did he do in Tokyo in 2019? Well, he took time to think about and write songs for the album he was about to go record. Kind of like refocusing on what’s next, right? And then, in the story when “you both” had time to think amongst the lake and the water and the rain and the moon, and you’d come to the conclusions you needed to, you left. What did he do when he did the things he needed to? Well, he left, too. 

And where did he go? Well, in real life, I suppose he went to do his job. But, in the story, you’re meant to be falling deeper and deeper into sleep, so it’s sort of like traveling backwards, you see? Like counting down to one. So you end up on this island with turquoise ocean and mangrove forests. I’m calling this Jamaica. Why? Well, the description fits, for one, down to the four types of mangroves that exists within its ecosystem. 

And - probably the biggest reason - I can place him there, too. Here’s him in 2017:

I added this picture because the water around him....looks rather turquoise, doesn’t it? Kind of like he’s enjoying his time on a tropical island by the beach?? Oh, and here’s another one!: 

The red bandanna makes a comeback! 

So what are you doing in Jamaica, according to the story? Well, you’re hanging out, basically. Enjoying the beach and each other, of course!  What else? To be exact, “[Your] thoughts dovetail and unify/ In tune two minds together”. I’m so glad that you’re tuned like an old guitar now! Congrats! Really happy for you! 

What was he doing in Jamaica three years ago? Why, he was recording his first album, or so the story goes. I’ll tell you something: finding press for that album was literally the most difficult part of this whole analysis. I got a fair bit of the tattoo roulette with Kendall Jenner, and some things about Carolina, but the interview with Zach Sang took me like an hour and a half to find again to link. The fact that a lot of it has been buried is...not great, for posterity purposes. He’s going to want that one day. 

But I’ve gotten off track again! We gotta go back and finish our story, right? What happens now? Well, this does: 

hahahaha okay, I’m really sorry, but I had to. I’m not, actually, making it up though! According to the story: 

“ As minutes turn to hours We drift off somewhere new. And visualize a stairway To a door we now walk through”

- Dream With Me, 2020

So maybe Louis was just...demonstrating for you. 

Anyways! Where do you walk out to? A golden field full of sunflowers. You walk for a minute, then come across an old house with daisies popping up out of the garden. And that’s where the story ends. I guess you’ve made that farmhouse feel like home. 

Now to the little reflection he does on the outro. The lines I want to bring your attention are: “The tenderness we feel when we are close two minds as one surrounds us and connects us but we’ve only just begun” and “Maybe all the memories that we’ve gathered here tonight are all dreams now remembered or wishes in plain sight.”

Let’s talk about the first sentence first. In the context of finding a home that could be a shared home, and a future, this is very much an “end of the story, beginning of our lives” sort of thing. You’re back from all over, and it’s time to settle down, and see what’s next. 

And now the second sentence. I think this is the one that really drives my point about this story being a collection of memories he has - that’s what he calls it. The story is “gathered memories” that might also be called “remembered dreams” (think of how people say of vacations, “oh it was a dream!”) or you might call it “wishes in plain sight”. This feels in line with the rest of the story. In this stanza, he’s sort of letting you in a bit. If I’ve read this right - and I really think that I have - he’s giving the larger context for the story. It’s a collection of memories he’s had with someone he loves. 

5.) Cool! Can you prove it? 

I mean, I’d argue that if you read this far, I have proved it, but let’s make some more links, shall we? This was called a “muscial epic” that was “driven by him”. I’d argue that if I know my Victorian literature (thank you, Sherlock!), then he definitely does. Then there’s the fact that he quoted it, so. That did happen. And he knows what it means. And even if he didn’t, there were two other people on the story. Someone was more than capable of catching that one, and the fact that they didn’t speaks to intent. They want you to think of that phrase when you read this poem. They want you to think of that walk in the woods while you’re going on this one. 

And, as for my assumption that this is for and about one person, well. Think about it. He said that he writes his songs for a single listener. I’m not saying it’s the same listener each time, let’s get that right, but it is always just for one person. With that, and with the assumption that he’s been involved in the writing of this story, I’d say that the same rule applies. He went with someone to Japan and Jamaica (J^2 haha). And, if I had to guess, it was the same person. 

Why, you ask? Well, for one, if that weren’t the case, then this poem would no longer be for one listener, it would be for multiple. And, for another, imagine how awkward it would be to listen to it with his current partner and have to explain “oh, yeah that was the super romantic vacation I took with someone else” . And, I suppose that because I think that attitude of “refocusing” and “dovetailing” and “tuning” and getting excited about imagining all of the tomorrows with your partner speaks to a long term relationship breathing easily, you know? 

I’m also going to argue that describing the aura around the house as “golden” was intentional, especially when paired with the location - in the middle of a field of sunflowers. Those are both direct references to his songs. And those two songs are particularly linked by the number 28. The third song that features 28 is Fine Line the song, but that’s a different story. Anywho! “Golden”’s bridge just repeats the word ‘golden’ twenty eight times (if you go here , you can count the bridge) and “Sunflower Vol. 6″ ends the song with 28 “boops” (believe me, I wish I was making this up. I’m not.). So then, once again, you’ve linked a story to two already linked songs. 

And, even if you don’t buy the intentional repetition, they’re linked another way, aren’t they? The color scheme and the sun symbol. Sunflowers were named because of their sun-like appearance. They turn to face it. They symbolize loyalty and adoration. And then, of course, the sun is - say it with me - golden. And it - like the person in golden - waits in the sky, beautiful and dangerous and constant. And here that symbol is, in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. At home. 

This whole story feels like you’re taking the time to find that heartbeat that you think you might have lost, and sort of coming back to a space where you understand that this is what you want, now and forever. It feels like finding a home that could be yours forever, and it feels like walking through some of the moments that remind him of that. 

It really is rather lovely, if you think about it, especially since he has a tendency to attribute “home” to people rather than place, in his songs. So it’s like. Going all around the world and always being at home. 

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales: Woo-oo! Review! or From the Top

Hello all you happy people! And to those of you just joining this blog, welcome I review ducks, other animated shows and comics... and today’s review is special for me. For a number of reasons. For starters it’s a reminder how far i’ve come. See I always wanted to be a reviewer, ever since high school when a friend showed me a certain online reviewer whose now dead to me, and opened me up to a world of much better reviewers who i’m still fans of to this day, and ones who came after them , and after that and so on and so on. I so badly wanted a community to belong to I struggled to be a youtube reviewer but frankly lacked the talent or self confidence back then to try, so my attempts over the decade were a series of stops and starts. Of me starting to find my niche writing only to stop because I hated myself so much, and still struggle with that, i’d tell myself I could never do it, I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t funny enough and no one cared. I kept shutting myself down AGAIN AND AGAIN, for far too long. 

But that all changed a year ago next month: I’d long been a fan of the Ducktales Reboot. I was caustiously optimistic when it was announced. The optimism came from a deep abiding love of scrooge as a character despite not having dove into his comics that deep, I didn’t have an easy way at the time, thanks to life and times and what comics I had read, and was excited to see a fresh reboot closer to the comics with my eternal boy Donald Duck back in the main character. The caution.. came from the fact that at the time we’d gotten a string of bad to medicore reboots: Teen Titans GO, Powerpuff Girl, and Ben 10 which started pretty meh but has turned into alirght from some of the later episodes I saw. I wanted to be hyped to all hell but I had no proof this wasn’t going to be another dumbed down reboot. Then comic con came, the first teaser poster dropped, and my skepticism died.

It was perfect: a barksian art style with it’s own twists! Donald full on display! And best of all the triplets FINALLY had not only unique outfits but personalities! I’ve long went on in my reviews about how much that annoyed me and while it worked for the barks comics ever since then it’s just felt like a waste to have three characters there.. and not even the SLIGHTEST difference. 

My anticipation only grew with the full trailer, the promo posters as more and more info showed how good this series would be, how unique it’d be, and how much tw as taking what made the comics great, giving us a better distalation of that while still being very much it’s own beast. And once this episode dropped.. that faith was unfounded. Woo-oo! is without hyperbole, one of the best pilots i’ve seen, one that introduced the entire main cast perfectly, gets the series tone and mission statment out just right and in general set the stage for one of the best shows of the 2010′s (and 2020′s, even if it only lasted a year and some change). Wheras Teen Titans GO actively tried to take a dump on it’s source material, they thankfully have stopped that but it dosent’ make those early years any less grating, Ducktales was a breath of fresh air that honored the past while making i’ts own future. I tried talking about it but it was all in other failed attempts at reviewing: solo podcasts, my breif second video review career.. stuff no one rightly cared about and I just couldn’t get the hang of. 

So this is where we loop back to last year: I decided to finally try and cover it one more time, not realizing this would be my last chance as it came out anyway, and since I was doing text reviews but my output had slid in the new year, I decided to review Season 3 as it came out. If it bottomed out I could always stop.... and I just never did. I kept going, eventually finding new fans, a patreon (The other one’s an old friend of mine), and not only got paid doing what I love.. but found some peace.  I reviewed other shows as they came out, covered things i’d wanted to cover for years like life and times, scott pilgrim and x-men,. I covered other shows as they came out, found people willing to talk over my opinions and found my niche at long last. 

So that’s why the long speech folks: After almost a year of reviewing i’m properly covering the start of something that made me happier than I had been in a long time and gave me hope during one of the worst periods of ALL our lives. Something i’ve wanted to cover since I finally got started last year, and something truly amazing. So i’d be honored if you’d join me under the cut as I talk about the genesis of one of the best series Disney has ever put out. 

Behind the Scenes Stuff:  Most details I could find were sparse. it took going back to the first month the show came out and looking at a LOT of unrelated questions to finally find out Frank and Matt outright pitched the show. This dosen’t suprise me as both are huge ducktales fans with Matt having drawn his own duck comics as a kid and Frank taking it an extra mile having sang the theme song in his first grade talent show, worked it into his vows and got his first daughter’s first word to be “Woo-oo”. It’s very clear this show as a labor of love for them something they dreamed of Disney made possible. 

Otherwise I don’t have much on the genisis of the show: It was in the earliest ideas going to be a revivial but Frank and Matt both decided against it , deciding it’d be unfair to expect kids from 30 years after the original to know the source material, and instead just starting it over outright, which was the right call especailly with Alan Young’s passing. 

Design wise I found quite a bit of concept art thanks to one website, and it’s incredibly intresting. This is why i’ve really gotten into art books: I like seeing this early stuff what characters used to be, figuring out or outright hearing from the creators mouths why they changed it that sort of thing. 

Starting off we have some early designs for Donald, with him wearing the sailor suit as a kid but his Quackshot outfit as an adult, something I honestly wish they’d kept but get why they changed it: The iconic sailor suit both helps contrast him with della and fits his reluctance to adventure in season 1 more. I still wish that they worked the Quackshot outfit in somewhere, but they worked in so damn much, it’s hard to complain> Though I probably will make a list of “things I wished they’d worked” in at some point and i’d be lying inf I siad my mind wasn’t currently turning the gears to figure out how to work this into a fanfic. Oohhh maybe as Dewey’s outfit as an adult but blue, obviously. 

Next we have Donald settled more into his final apperance as well as the boy’s first outfits.  As you can tell from both of these the show originally went more with the classic art style before getting the one we’re familiar with now, one I love by the way and was made to combine a classic cartoon style with the visual of the comics. Donald originally had his classic outfit before they transitioned to the more barks style one, a good call.  

The interesting bit though is obviously the boys original outfits which i’m honestly bummed didn’t make it for Huey and Louie, not so much Dewey minus the visor. I do get the changes though: The hoodie Dewey had fit WAY beter on Louie, and the lumberjack shirt didn’t quite fit the nerdier huey. Still look nice. Dewey’s is okay, but only the visor is something I really gregret them removing same with louie’s fedora. It would’ve been neat ot keep the hat thing, but have each hat be unique. Likely they simplified things to make animation easier and simply removed the hats for some reason, but it’s nice ot see these more detailed original drafts and it is VERY interesting to find that differentiating the triplets was something planned from the earliest concept art. Though given Matt and Frank said in interviews they wanted a more natural family feel, it’s not a huge surprise. 

Scrooge like everyone BUT the boys thus far, naturally also had his original outfit at first, but like he ended up doing in the series rotated a bit, if not as much in the final product. We also see a protoype for his final design, the old coat but with a jacket over it in the last image. I also notice Donald seemed a lot more like his old comics self in the concept art with quackshot!donald. 

Like everyone else, Webby and Launchapd were originally their 87 deisgns, though Launchpad’s slightly diffrent jacket and green scarf were changed from the start. Webby is the closest to her 87 design, and as shown in the previous Lena concept art from my “Spies Like Us and Dime after Dime” double feature, she still had her new personality. More on that in a bit. 

Finally we have Flintheart, whose design is a bit diffrent from 87: He was a chub from day one it appears, though they’d exagerate it, and his beard was a bit longer at first like his other incarnations. 

Beakly is largely unchanged form 87, only given a coat, which would gradually be mofidied, much liekt he boys into her current outfit. 

As you can tell Beakly, Webby and Launchpad were all there from day one as they wanted them from the original ducktales just updated. 

Production wise they wanted to go handrawn, chose the style they did to have something close to the comics that felt classicly aniamteda t the same time, I feel they succeeded and wanted a show that felt like the original. I do think this show has it’s own feel but it does feel ducktales. I badly hope for an artbook at some point though as this show probably hada  LOT more intresting concept art. Seriously Disney I will PAY YOU to look at your neat art. Please. 

So they created a fully formed world and put the characters in it, wanting it to feel like the world had existed before and had throughly been explored and letting our young heroes be the watson to Donald and Scrooge’s holmes. 

Finally Della was indeed part of the initial pitch and a core idea from day one as every family has secrets and Della felt like one that had been lurking around the fringes of the story for 80 years. The rest of the production stuff i’ll weave in as we go but first one last stop, the STELLAR voice cast, none of whom outsideo f Tony i’ve talked about before sooooo...

The All Star Cast

The casting was outstanding here, with Matt admitting the cast brought a LOT to the characters, especially Ben Schwartz whose taken on Dewey was so unique and intresting they actually rewrote some of his dialouge for the pilot to fit this version better. This is far and away one of the best casts in western animation, most coming from comedy backgrounds and one or two coming from a voice acting background, but all bringing their absolute best. And since our main 8 are all in the pilot let’s run them down along with Keith Ferguson shall we?

Playing everyone’s faviorite billionare scotsman  and one of the very few to ever do so, we have David Fucking Tennant. David was their “First and only choice” and for good reason: David is a talented actor with a MASSIVE amount of stage, tv and audio drama credits. His biggest and best known role is playing the 10th Doctor on Doctor Who, which while not my faviorite (That’d be matt smith, as he’s both the one I came in on and hte one who got me hooked) he’s still  VERY close second and damn talented and I need to watch more of his tenure. Outside of that just to condense it to his ongoing roles on stuff and bigger roles: Filmwise he’s had starring roles in the Fright Night remake, You, Me and Him, Fish Without Bicycles and Bad Samartains, and is set to do a voice for the upcoming Loud House Movie, which excites me to no end. 

TV wise where most of his roles have been he got his first big starring role on the Telly with the BBC Mini series Taking Over the Asylum in the late 90′s. He’d go on to make a career out of doing mini’s for a while, also taking part in He Knew He Was Right, The Quatermass Experiment Remake, Casanova, Secret Smile.. and Blackpool. I saved Blackpool for last before we move into the Who era as if you’ve never heard of it.. it’s REALY fucking weird. It’s a jukebox musical about a man who wants to make Blackpool, a real city, into the new vegas and Tennat plays a cop investigating a case around the guy and also trying to get with his wife because they used to date and because our lead is philandering jackass. That’s already kinda nuts.. but then you get to the fact the songs are sung OVER the original songs instead of making a new version of them. It’s surreal to be sure but if you can find it it’s worth it for the handful of good numbers and how weird it looks and you can find clips of the songs on youtube if your intrested. Here’s a starter. 

Your also welcome. He’d go on to play Detective Alec Hardy in Broadchurch to critical aclaim as well as be a part of it’s short lived american remake, would play the Fugitoid in tmnt 2007, Kilgrave in Jessica Jones, one of his few post who roles i’ve seen or heard besides Scrooge and easily some of his best work he NAILS that purple bastard perfectly, would make his own show Staged about a fictional version of himself putting on a Stage play that’s still ongoing, and is currently , along with Ducktales as it wraps up, the voice of Lord Commander on Final Space, with the character returning this season judging by the trailers to fan delight and terror. He’s a VERY talented actor and voice actor and I do hope he goes on to do more and more voice work in years to come as, with his background in radio, he was born for it. 

He was also born for this roll, playing Scrooge perfectly and easily matching Alan Young in quality, not a small feat and i’ts VERY obvious why he was their one and only choice. 

Next up is another legend, Tony Anselmo who we’ve talked about before when I covered legend of the Three Cablleros: He’s been Donald’s voice since shortly before Ducktales, hasn’t done much else but given he’s THE voice for the character and this show let him show off one hell of a range with teh voice, he dosen’t really need other credits. The man is a treasure and I fear loosing him one day and fear for whoever replaces him as they have a LOT to live up to. 

Getting into the triplets, we’re going by age so starting off we have Huey, voiced by Danny Pudi. Like most of this cast aside from Toks Ogladyve and Beck Bennet (Who I probably HAD seen on SNL but didn’t really know or look out for him on there till after Ducktales), I not only knew Danny but was a huge fan of his going in. This is due to his breakout role on the glorious sitcom Community, which sadly only had a handful of i’ts cast show up on this show. I mean you got Lin Manuel Miranda I’m sure Donald Glover would’ve said yes too. He grew up with Ducktales. Regardless his role as meta guy Abed was easily the best of the cast on that show, with Glover as troy a very close second and the two working at their best as a duo. Outside of that he’s had a few roles being a regular on Powerless, which I forgot existed and currently on Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, and shockingly hasn’t done a ton of voice work. And given his performance as huey was one of the best parts of this show he REALLY, REALLY SHOULD. Please Danny. He’s also a loving husband, father and surprisingly a marathon runner. Never would’ve guessed.

Next up is SNL Alumn of 9 years, Bobby Monynihan. Bobby is naturally best known for that, my faviorite role of his being Ass Dan. That’s right bitch you know he’s going to live fore..

ASS DAN 1981-2021

He’ll be back. Outside of SNL he’s done a bunch of minor roles. He’s currently on the tragically mediocre sitcom Mr. Mayor, and voiced Panda on We Bare Bears. Hopefully he keeps up the good work as he deserves better than he’s gotten and Ducktales proves it. 

Finally for the triplets we have a rising star in voice acting, Ben Schrwartz. At the time Ducktales launched, I was a fan of his from his roll on parks and Rec as Jen Ralphio, aka older scummier Dewey. 

Outside of his historic recurring role here he played a main role on House of Lies, a show I need to go back to, and has done other live action rolls but has REALLY hit his stride in voice acting. He started with voicing Randy Cunningham in Randy Cunningham 9th grade ninja and since then has hit the ground running: He was Rutabega on Bojack, Josh on Bob’s Burgers, and went on to complete the trifecta of blue nostalgic characters after voicing dewey by voicing Leo in Rise of the TMNT (and having one of the most unique and intresting versions of the character to play) and reprised the roll for the upcoming film. And of course he hit it HUGE by playing Sonic in the suprsingly fantastic Sonic the Hedgehog movie, and will do so again for the sequel and might even take up the roll for the games now Roger Craig Smith has retired. We shall see. Point is this guy’s at the top of his game and Dewey is part of that. Like with his brothers I can’t picture anyone else playing him. 

Rounding out the kids is Webby, played by the wonderous Kate Micucci. Kate is a lovely talented woman who mostly showed up in smaller parts, was part of the musical duo garfunkel and oates which even got their own tv show, and is currently a fairly prolific voice actor with this being her best known roll. I also had a bit of a crush on her once can you tell? Regardless besides absolutely nailing it as Webby she’s voiced Julie Kane in the crimnally short and even more crimnally not on Disney+ Motorcity, “Irma” in the 2012 TMNT cartoon, and the fact that “Irma” is in quotes should tell you how big a waste I felt it was having her NOT actually be Irma, despite Kate’s massive talent, the fact that Irma hadn’t been in anything since the 87 cartoon, and the fact that for added “Fuck you audience points” her krang form was voiced by Gilbert Godfried, who I love but whose casting feels like they wanted to make the twist as grating as possible. Good job there. 

Anyways her second biggest voice gig was as Sadie on Steven Universe, which took WAY too long to show off her absolutely tremendous singing voice. She started voicing Velma Dinkley in the mid-2010′s and has since, voiced Milo’s sister Sarah on Milo Murphy’s Law, Dr. Fox on Unikitty, and most recently voiced a sentient present on close enough who did this. 

So yeah quite the career and like Ben she probably has a long and storied career in Voice Acting ahead. 

Next up is Beck Bennet as everyone’s friend Launchpad where he excels. He’s best known as a castmember on SNL outside of this, and shockingly hasn’t done a ton of voice work. The only other time i’ve caught him is in the same season of Close Enough as Luc, aka dude-bro satan. But like eveyrone else here who hasn’t done a lot of voice work so far or has been more selective I defintely hope he keeps going with it as he’s amazing. He and Ben will be co-starring on MODOK in May so i’m excited for that. 

Last up for the main cast is Beakly, voiced by  Toks Olagundoye, who I hadn’t heard of before this show and hasn’t done a lot outside of the two season sitcom the neighbors, the aliens one not the really terrible looking one, and a stint on Castle, but like everyone here deserves much more and if Beakly is any indication, really should stick with voice acting. 

Last up is Keith Ferguson as only he could as FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD, whose a staple in the voice acting community ever since 2000, and has had a TON of roles some of which I was unaware with him. Given Frank worked with him on Wonder Over Yonder, where he voiced Lord Hater to perfection, the two clearly have a close working relationship. He also has a close working relationship with Wonder creator Craig McCracken and has worked on all of his post-powerpuff girls show, voicing Bloo as his first major role, something I never would’ve guessed, and currently voicing Papa G on Kid Cosmic. 

Outside of Craig and Frank, he played both Karate Kid and Nemisis Kid on Legion of Super Heroes (Which really needs to come to HBO Max), Deputy Durland on Gravity Falls,  and Thunderbolt Ross on Avengers Earth’s Mighteist Heroes. He’s damn good and deserves the world for Glomgold alone and i’m glad Craig rung him up again as so far through my watch of Kid Cosmic he’s great. 

So with our cast in place, our past in place and you all likely ready to get on with it already let’s dive into the episode:

THE EPISODE: Part one Woo-Ooo!

We begin with a shot of a seagull flying overseagulls, a nice way to establish how this world works and how it bends expectations. They’d have to wait till season 3 to get a duck next to ducks but given that gag is one of the best of the series, it was worth it. 

Inside a house boat we meet Donald, Huey and Louie and get a sense of their personalities: Donald is panicked trying to get to a job interview and insists the boys wear life vests, showing his overprotectiveness and responsibility exclusive to this version. Louie stresses that Donald wear a suit instead of his normal clothes to properly impress the interviewer, showing his skill at people reading and manipulation, and Huey is making a nice, if messy, breakfast with a heartwarming message showing his heart and dedication. After finding out said Babysitter was sent to the wrong address, the boys TRY to hustle him out to stay alone.. only for Dewey to blow the scheme by starting the boat too early, letting Donald know he’s been had. Huey’s attempt to lie about it is of course the classic “Who’s Dewey?” Dewey’s caught wiring the boat and Donald throws them in the car, with Donald livid and the boys upset as their chafing at his constant overprotectiveness. 

Both sides aren’t wrong. tThe boys DID do something reckless, putting an old woman in the desert and risking their home just to go on a joyride. What they did was wrong.. but the boys AREN’T wrong for getting annoyed that he won’t let them DO anything and overly hovering over them when they CAN handle themselves as we’ll see. WE now know why: he lost their mother and his sister to her and scrooge’s recklesness. While he got therapy for his anger it’s clear he never properly got help about Della, and thus overcompensates by trying to keep what he has left of her alive. He means well.. but to them it comes off as him being manically overprotective with no good reason. They get into trouble because it’s the only way to DO anything away from him. He’s trying so hard not to loose them he almost has by the time hte series starts, and it’s telling that when they get context in Last Crash, they appricate him more from then on. They do love him, but their frustration is understandable even if what their doing is pretty damn stupid. But their also 10 and Donald’s the grown adult in therapy who should’ve dealt with this or tried to at least by now.

So with no other options Donald sets a course for McDuck manor which excites the boys who have heard of Scrooge McDuck and his exploits, each rattling off something they heard him do that fits their personality (Dewey picks him fighting a stone monster, Huey picks him uncovering a hoax and Louie picks his swimming in money. ) As Donald tries to get them to simmer down, they wonder what he’s up to

He’s up toooo.. depression. He’s in a room with his board, watching them with utter hate and sadness as they talk about cutting the invention and aviation departments. This scene plays ENTIRELY differently after the final two episodes of the season. Before it still plays well as Scrooge clearly resenting being stuck in a boring board meeting, having lost everything that made him him and just having lost his passion for life. Now? It plays as a man utterly disdainful of the men who made him give up on his daughter. While as far as he knows they did it to save his employees from his company collapsing, we know better now... and seriously where IS the rest of the board they just vanished after the Season 3 premiere.

I don’t mind only one being fleshed out, unlike the triplets we only NEED the one I mind that they just never explained it and still haven’t. Hopefully the finale will. 

But back on the plot, it now plays as Scooge just full of hatred for them, knowing they had to do what they did, even if they weren’t emebzlling but still hating them and himself. He’s likely not even paying attention anymore because he just dosen’t CARE: he has all the money int he world.. and it couldn’t bring him his daughter back. As he sadly puts the coins he was fiddling with back and says see you tommorow he can’t even close the vault without a struggle. As we’ll see later the strength never left, it’s not like he stopped execrising.. but he has nothing left to fight for. Nothing left to care about. He could adventure agian so far.. but without Della or Donald, as we’d learn two seasons later the reason he enjoyed it again... what’s the point? He has nothing left except his money. 

This is also a nice parallel to the final Chapter of LIfe and Times. I always felt the first half of woo-ooo was a spiritual adaptation of chapter 12 of that: Scrooge meets the boys for the first time and with their help, and Donalds in the story< Webby and Launchpad here, he regains his passion and more importantly his family after driving them away> The how is very different: he did in life and times due to sinking to his lowest point morally, then cruelly dismissing his family when they tried to welcome him home and bury the hatchet despite what he’d done. Here.. he made a HORRIBLE mistake, one that wasn’t entirely on him but still cost him everything and spent the decade instead of stewing or making more money trying desperately to undo it. The end result is the same, a dried out husk of a man with nothing left to loose and no will to gain anything.

This husk has launchpad though whose introduced as his driver and while good with subs and planes.. isn’t great on the road. After that though Donald pulls up hoping to drop the kids off before Scrooge arrives. Naturally this being a cartoon and Donald having tempted fate with that Scrooge shows up telling him to jettison that Jallopy at once. And finding out who it is, apart from asking how Donald is and Donald doing the same, dosen’t sway him. The boys however freak out after finding out Scrooge is Donald’s and there uncle, with my faivriote bit of that being Dewey exiting the car via a window and rolling across the roof back in. Amazing bit of animation. Wish I had a gif of that. 

Donald makes the situation plane and angry and asks “Can you do that without LOOSING THEM”. And scrooge is so painfully disarmed by his reminder of his past mistakes and the fact his surrogate son still resents him, that he agrees before realizing “Shit I have to watch children now don’t I” as Donald drives off. As you probably guessed, this is another scene that plays differently in hindsight, if not by much: It still plays as two men too stubborn and bitter to reconcile.. but now we know the why behind both their rages it feels even sadder. They both lost the person they cared about most but as it sadly happens in real life both have dug in their heels to reconcile, both feeling their right when neither completely is. While Donald was right to be upset at scrooge and della for what happened, and is mostly taking it out on scrooge because he’s the one left... he’s held onto his anger for 10 years instead of going to help when he’s unemployed, living in a dilapidated houseboat and trying ot raise three children alone and could’ve used what help scrooge would give. Scrooge is right to be upset that Donald is just selectively ignoring everything he’s done to save Della, but is too stubborn and prideful to apologize for what he DID do wrong and feels that’s enough to make up for it when , while it is enough that donald should forgive him, still dosen’t mean he dosen’t have a lot to apologize for. Both are just too angry and too much alike, as much as it woudln’t seem so, to settle with each other and see too much of what they lost. 

So the kids follow Scrooge.. who forgets to open the door, and Beakly lets them in. It’s a nice subtle bit. After some silence, Bentina TRIES to get her old friend and now employer to talk to them, but he naturally refuses and they do the talking, asking tons of questions.. and Dewey ends the conversation by accidently pressing the “imply he USED to be something rather than is something right now “ button

So Scrooge throws them in the twins old room, and Beakly gives them some marbles. You will give them b ack they will be counted. But another subtle touch I missed the first time is there... her sad look. She clearly doesn’t want to do this, but she has to play this carefully or else he might get mad and fire her on the spur of the moment. He’d obviously hire her back, where else is he going to get an ex spy who will both clean for him AND be his bodyguard and security. It’s a very small pool. Mostly because Beakly probably killed most of the other people who’d of fit that description during her spy days. 

Scrooge meanwhile is still rattled by Dewey’s statment, wondering if he really is a “used to be” instead of a “never left”. The fire is starting to spark again.. he just needs more kindling. And more kin. 

Meanwhile Louie and Huey marvel at Dewey’s “Brilliant’ breakout plan: hit the door knob with the sack of marbles til lit breaks. To be fair, they’ve known dewey as long as they’ve been alive and even by season 3 after he’s taken several levels in badass and cunning.. he still crashed a plane because his brother well-meaningly called him basic, and thought being nearly sacrificed the most times was an accomplishment. This is the best he could do and you all know it. It also works, so they can’t fault him for that... though he’s quickly kidnapped as are they. They wake up after the commerical break in a room with pure darkness, hung from the celing with a mystery person asking who they are and who they work for before Louie calls out for “uncle scrooge”... so she claps the lights back on and..

Well close. But it is Webby, who cuts them down, fangirls over meeting the nephews and asks who the evil triplet is. They all point to Louie who shrugs it off. I mean it was funny enough the first time but at this point I know he’s running several fradulent charites, almost all scamming his uncle. He’s earned that title. Webby puts them on the big board and then when asked they find out she’s Webby, her granny Beakly is housekeeper.  She then asks the big questons “Are we friends now?” “If we say yes will you let us live?” “Ha good one new best friend”

She then explains she dosen’t get to leave or anything even eat a hamburger. The boys are moved by this and Louie asks what she does for fun. She leads them to the vents and while Huey and Louie are a bit relcutant, Dewey naturally goes first pointing out it’s better than the marble room. They agree and are on their way. 

Okay unpinning that pin, the crew conciously updated Webby and Beakly as neither really had a lot of purpose in the original. It was also to conciously add more actiony females to the main family lineup, as both creators, both being fathers, preferred someone their daughters could look up to and would enjoy watching. Not someone perfect but someone intresting instead of someone who often got Kidnapped and whose main charactrisitcs were “Sweet and GIRL STEROTYPE” So cleverly they KEPT her being girly, having a skirt, liking ponies. .but also gave her all the training and skill of one Cassandra Cain, a sheltered background and an adorable personality that kept the sweetness but added her probably having killed a man at some point. It worked as Webby is one of the best parts of the show. 

Likewise Beakly was upgraded from fuddy duddy housekeeper, to badass former secret agent whose also a housekeeper, and bodyguard and confidant to scrooge. Demonstrated by her talk with him as he tries to put on his diving suit and go after the jewel of atlantis, having spotted the signs to go after it in the paper.. and wanting to prove a child wrong. Beakly points out the flaws in this, and tries to get him to connect to his family. Having lost hers, it’s easy to see why.. though the how’s a mystery.. for now i’m guess. We’ll see in the finale. But she’s Scrooge’s concisence and the one who can easiest reign him in, to the point two episodes directly have our heroes have to NOT call her or else the plot was end, but have that worked into the plot so it works. She’s the calm in his storm and hte one person he needs more than anyone else even if he dosen’t always realize it. He calls family “nothing but trouble” just as Dewey passes overhead. 

So naturally as Webby shows off Scrooge’s old treasures in a mysterious room, while the other Siblings are rightfully impressed, Dewey dismisses it as “fake” because he’s being a little shit, and they agree after seeing Donald, not knowing his reputation. The cutaway to him struggling with a stapler does not help> it’s only when Webby accidnetly uneleashes Captain Peghook, a vengeful ghost after scrooge, who gets his hand on a ghostly sword do they realize this time the monsters are real. Huey also accidently wakes up Manny, the headless manhorse! 

Things somehow get WORSE as Scrooge finds them.. but is in no state to argue and as our heroes duck and Huey tries to divise a plan.. Scrooge get’s his spark back once agian.. it’s starting to become an ember now... and he charges in despite Dewey’s cries of “No come back your old!”. It then gets VERY badass Scrooge: Oi! Beastie! What's it gonna take to shuffle you off to the afterlife? Captain Peg-Hook: The head of Scrooge McDuck! Scrooge: [cracks his neck, flips his cane around to wield like a sword] Would you settle for his hat?

Now that is how you show how badass Scrooge is in a few lines and gestures. HE proceeds to take both out, as they’ve now teamed up, easily, tricking peghook into cutting off the head of a statue of him in the area, throwinng it at him and finsihing the ghosts buisnesss (”I should’ve been more specifiiiicccccc”) and then giving Manny the head, earning him a loyal employee for life. So our days saved, the kids have faith.. and Scrooge is still pissed. He also reveals this isn’t a treasure room but the garage in what’s easily the best gag of the first half, possibly the whole special but one iconic moment is very close in that one. Webby concedes what about the stack of old magazines or the hose or.. okay he’s probably right. He berates them only for the kids to fire back, pointing out he threw them in a room, they just wanted to spend time with him... but it’s only Dewey throwing his words back in his face that pisses him off. Scrooge bellows at them to get out, clearly having internalized everything with donald into rage and trying to justify pushing eveyrone away instead of working at it... but this dosen’t have time to actually work, nor would Beakly actually throw three children out on the curb, as he hits a mystic gong.. the third time it’s been hit. And after realizing it’s already been hit twice Scrooge is faced with Pixu, the gold hutning dragon! And guess who has a giant bin of it wanting to snack on? Scrooge naturally climbs on the thing and the kids naturally want to follow, with Webby getting her first development by proudly announcing “I’m going to eat a hamburger” then explains the metaphor. They just need a pilto.. and as Launchpad has been saying but I forgot to add in “I’m a pilot”

So we get a GORGEOUS bit of Scrooge riding the dragon over the city, getting banged up as he does before finally being thrown off.. only for the kids to catch him with the planes help and try and come up with a plan. Scrooge overcomes his anger at them not staying put, especailly since Webby brings up the right weakness: as a wise man once said...

So they need some.. like say the Medusa Gauntlet Scrooge had in the garage.. that Louie naturally stole. Huey and Webby eyeroll him but they have what they need.. and Huey brought the hose and quickly comes up with a plan, tying scrooge in, and swinging him to Pixu. The kids hold on tight, Dewey calls his family awesome and our heroes win the day as Scrooge turns the dragon to stone, slips and falls.. and then GRACEFULLY dives into hte bin, showing off his diving skills and his badassery. The day is saved, the gauntlet and the dragon go in the bin for safe keeping and Scrooge calls the kids trouble.. and chuckles fondly. “Curse me kilts how i’ve missed trouble”

He’s impressed: Huey’s quick thinking, Louie’s pickpocketing, Dewey’s drive, and Webby’s magical knowledge all saved them. For once. .he’s happy again. And for the second time in life it took his family to remind him why he does this and show him the true fun of adventure: Getting to share it with those he love. And he finally has people to love again. He has family back, kids who look up to him and want to learn from him again, a REASON to adventure. Money and treasure and eveyrthig couldn’t bring della back.. but he at least sees now that whiel they certianly couldn’t.. they can bring him closely with what he has left. She’s gone, for now.. but she left behind three great kids who could use a mentor and Beakly brought him a fourth. And he just found out he has a pilot. The ember.. is now a raging flame. Scrooge is back. Because i’ts not the money or the glory.. it’s the thrill of it, the discovery.. and the family that makes adventuring worth while and he’s learned that lesson again. So he calls Beakly to clear his schedule.. forgetting she you know PUT A FUCKING PIN INTHE WALL the last time he asked her to play scretary and the onlyr eason she dind’t drive over the choke him to death, is that she’s probably happy he’s back on track.

Back at the interview Donald is stapled to the wall and gets the job.. not as an accountant mind but his employer needs a sailor.. and his employer is FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD. Oh boy. 

Part 2: Escape To/From Atlantis First the last bit of background I saved: Originally, Fenton and Gyro were supposed to show up here, starting a gag of Fenton showing up but not being named until “Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!”, setting up the sub. But the crew decided this took too much away from the focus on the duck family. The not naming him gag was also dropped, and I have two reasons why: Their given reason, which is it’d take up too much time and a logistical reason: While they gave a heartfelt pitch to Lin-Manuel Miranda, as frank wanted a strong Latino superhero to combat the lack of them on film, Frank and Matt probably thought they woudln’t get such a huge name or at least prepared for it.. and were delightfully suprised when Lin happily and tearfully agreed. So they likely scrapped it so they could properly promote the biggest name in their voice cast. Honestly it was for the best and they still go to do the idea with Drake in “The Duck Knight Returns!”, where it worked much better than it probably would have with Fenton. 

We open with the Glomgold Industries Employee Training Video! Encourging IP Theft, making things cheaper and general scumbaggery, and claming your the world’s most beloved scottish billionare. IN short the perfect introduction to everyone’s favorite insane, fake-scottish, scheming, egotistical , short sighted billionaire. As i’ve made transparent before, I fucking love the reboot version of Glomgold and he’s easily one of my favorite parts of the reboot. They clearly needded to find a new place for Glomgold in the grand scheme of things as the show was more about globetrotting adventure and family and less about getting contracts or bets about whose bigger money and more about family. While they DID do a classic bet storyline with season 2, it’s clear the old glomgold was just a bit too stiff to properly fit into this new zanier and deeper universe. 

So they instead remolded him as a half insane, knockoff scrooge, someone who PURPOSFULLY modeled himself after the guy to try and one up him, and instead of being a fairly low pitched schemer, was a bombastic idiot whose schemes were half baked, whose name was on everything he made, and whose only thing bigger than scrooge was his glorious ego. In short he was perfect for this series and perfect to show up way more often as a bumbling thorn in Scrooge’s side.. but one who COULD be effective in the right circumstances, as to not make him completely pointless. Keith was likewise the only person I could see in the roll now as with Hater he had a history of playing bombastic, egosticial morons, and made Glomgold into the enjoyable ball of ego, bombs, sharks and shouting we know and love. Some people didn’t take to this version after a while... I’m not one of those. I loved him here, I love him now, and he’s every bit as good in season 3 as he was at the start. He’s also wearing a kilt mcduck A KILT. A bit that’st STILL funny four years and 70 some episodes later. 

So we meet Gabby McStabberson and the Smashnikovs as they and Donald file in, though Donald is busy wrapping up a call with Scrooge, who assures them he has a low key day planned.. while in the sub getting ready to go to atlantis. And nearly drowning when Dewey tells Launchpad to dive while he and Scrooge are still up top. Cue credits. 

So on the sub we get our setup for the two main plots for the episode: While the main thrust of everything is Scrooge taking them to Atlantis, each leads to a diffrent plot. Louie talks to Donald and lies entirely about their day, worrying Webby.. who then reveals she just didn’t tell Beakly she took off or where she was going and encourages her to call and lie. To save time, i’m going to cover this subplot now minus the conclusion as it’s pretty simple and this review is already a day behind. Louie wants her to lie so she dosen’t worry, which is oddly sweet.. still a bit greasy, but it’s clear he means well and it shows in his own way the boy cares about Donald: Sure he’ll lie to the guy, and set up a fradulent charity to scam him.. but he also knows not to worry his dad-uncle and kows Donald is better off thinking their safe than knowing the truth. Granted it also prevents consequences for Louie.. but he’s not playing here here. He gets nothing out of Beakly not knowing the truth or helping some girl he just met, he’s just being NICE in his own twisty way. It’s a nice show of his depths: While louie will lie, cheat and steal Eddie Gurrero style, he does have a caring side underneath hit. He can read people well and while he primarily uses it to manipulate people, we’ll see time and time again that he can use it for good too and to help those he cares about. He’s nothing but supportive the whole plot, and even when he says “you can’t back that up” it’s more worrying about her and having a bit of crack than actually being a dick. 

So Webby tries lying, but is about as good as Huey is at it, saying “I’m at a friends house nothing, then makes up a clearly fake name, then says their only talking in swedish for a grandpa. Launchpad DOES help, but only by accident and snake venom. We’ll get to that. As I said this wasn’t the most complex plot. 

The main plot is our focus episode for dewey. In theory each of the kids was supposed to have one in the first five episodes: Dewey here, Webby in Daytrip of Doom, Louie in Great Dime Chase and Huey in Impossible Summit of Mt. Nevverest!. Given the last one was horribly delayed, he instead got Terror of the Terra Firmians, which in hindsight wasn’t the best spotlight episode for him. But it’s a good system; Introduce them all in the first half of the pilot then slowly focus on each one.  So now Idoloizing Scrooge, Dewey is desperate to be his sidekick and be seen as an equal and is in deep denial as scrooge instead has them all buckle up for a 17 hour ride and when Dewey questions the route, which skips the direct path.. but is clearly marked with monsters, Scrooge just snaps at him and shuts him down and disapoints the boy who only wants to prove himself to Scrooge. 

Naturally though, telling someone with that kind of need for attention and validation to wait goes poorly as he redirects the map while Launchapd is distracted.. and we find out WHY the trip is 17 hours as the direct route nearly gets them killed by mer-ducks, krakens and some sort of storm elemental. Dewey is bummed it didn’t work and annoyed to realize he’s just lumping them all together like Huey pointed out earlier. Huey is also delightful here, having brought travel bingo and sea shanties, clearly used to trips with his other uncle. And adorably taking after him. 

But Dewey’s deversion has done more than make him even MORE determined to prove himself to Scrooge whose just trying to NOT loose the son of the daughter he lost...

The Merducks have taken up residence in the bathroom, so they have to make a pitstop. Scrooge, CLEARLY forgetting how to take a trip with children, wasn’t prepared for this but they find a frieghter and make a stop. Naturally it’s GLOMGOLD’S freighter, where his sub took off from, and he and his minons including Donald find Scrooge using the bathroom.. and the boys to Donald’s rage. Unfortunately saying ‘I’ll kill him” to a raging sociopath who takes that as a sign to kill ALL of them, isn’t a smart move. 

So while Donald tries to plan to keep his family alive, said family arrives in Atlantis with a great bit of Scrooge trying to give a big speech only for them to see it first and ooh and ah. They touch down in the city.. which is flip turned upside down. Scrooge notes hti is odd but is able to read the hieroglypchs even upside downa nd notes there’s tones of deadly traps and that they shoudl stay back and..

Huey: Dewey ran in as soon as you said traps. 

So while Scrooge tries to prevent dewey loosing his head, Donald prevents launchpad loosing his and makes up an excuse about “if their dead now we can’t tourture them later” to cover his ass. Glomgold is impressed.  Dewey is Dewcipointed that the traps are upside down, though he does trigger some snakes that get launchpad. He’s fine just delirious. And possibly slowly dying but the fact he’s lived this long is a miracle. Maybe that’s why he’s missing for most of season 3 part 2, the snake venom caught up to him and drake and fenton need to find the cure. Anyways the rest of the party stays behind while Scrooge chases after Dewey, who naturally runs ahead AGAIN. 

Donald ducks out to use the bathroom, as Dewey tries the old dance through the laser grid routine.. but forgets the part where your supposed to actually avoid it, leaving it to an unseen Donald to stop the fire traps from barbqueing his boy. IT’s a really awesome sequence that shows off Donald’s still got it even if he dosen’t want it.  Scrooge naturally works smarter not harder and simply ziplines above like a badass and berates Dewey when he tells him he took “The easy way”

“Why would you want to take the hard way?” The argument that’s been brewing all episode bubbles up and once again both sides have a point: Scrooge rightfully points out Dewey’s being reckless, has no experince and needs to listen to Scrooge and learn something. Dewey claps back that Scrooge isn’t TEACHING them, just teling them to get behind him while he does things instead of trying to actively mentor them. He outright told them he was going to teach them so while Dewey’s been a wee bit overbearing, he’s right in being disappointed that Scrooge instead just wants them to be safe. I see it as his subconscious acting up: He wants and needs the kids along and is right ot keep them safe.. but is too scared to properly mentor them after what happened to Della and is just trying not to loose anybody. His methods have been right, to keep them safe.. he’s just been so determined to save them, he can’t properly TEACH them so he won’t have to forever or explain WHY. And given the First Adventure shows that while protective he did eventually let Della and Donald pull their weight.. but here he lost so much between adventures.. he just can’e bear loosing them. Dewey also rightfully points out he just lumps them together which in any other version wouldn’t be an issue, until the reboot I had no idea which one was which here? They have distinct outfits and personalities and you had 17 hours to actually get to know them. Probably less given the shortcut but still, several hours at a minimum. It’s things like this that make the series work: while there’s plenty of internal conflicts, at their best their nuanced ones, where if one character is clearly in the wrong they have a reason, and if both are right both are also a bit wrong, versus the original where it’d be scrooge or the boys grabbing the asshole ball at times (Not always mind you but when they did it was insufferable. 

However they don’t have time to argue as the bridge goes out and Glomgold finds donald.. and another way around as a result and gets to the treasure first. Scrooge notices they have donald but once again Dewey charges in 

“Unhand my uncle” “No” “Okay wasn’t prepared for that”

Naturally both sides are a bit livid, Donald for dragging his boys into danger after being part of the reason his sister is on the moon right now, and Scrooge for working with one of his greatest eneimies.. though Scrooge has less ground to stand on because as Donald points out “I can’t keep track of ALL of your sworn enemies” I mean he has lived like .. 200 years. That’s a long enemies list and Glomgold, while the most persistent, isn’t exactly the most dangerous they probably encountered. Given the guy’s an artist with Bombs and Sharks that does say a lot about how badass Scrooge is.. and how incompitent glomgold usually is. He’s just having an on day today I guess. 

Glomgold naturally holds Donald hostage, takes what is suppsidley the jewel and leaves them to drown to death, hitting a wall to let it start leaking. HIs minons run into the rest of the heroes and a fight breaks out while naturally Donald, after even more naturally getting his ass stuck in a hole, literally, rails out at Scrooge for doing this telling him “I knew I couldn’t trust you and” “This is the spear of selene all over again”

Scrooge’s only response is “I was not responsible for the Spear of Selene!”

Dude you still paid for the rocket. While Della shoulders most of the blame, SHE choose to take an untested rocket, SHE choose not to come back during the turbulence YOU still built it and hid it from donald and didn’t make sure she couldn’t just take off in it. Your both to blame. And as I mentioned earlier to the least extent but still an extent, so was Donald telling his grown, adult sister whose as stubborn as she is what she could and couldn’t do. He had the right idea and was the only person trying to be an adult here in this situation.. but he still took the wrong approach with stopping her. Still he got far more ground to stand on than Scrooge, who also took his nephews out. Dewey stops both by pointing out that while yes Scrooge took them on an adventure he’s been doing NTOHING but keeping him safe and most of it was his fault which disarms donald a bit. Though Dewey is quickly distracted.. but for once by an obersvation: the gem glowing above thaem that glowed when they entered... and since the city got flipped turned upside down.. THAT’S the real jewel. Dewey asks Donald ot let it flood so they can get it and begs his uncle to trust him despite his doubts which he does. They get it and everyone’s okay and even more when they reunite with the others they find they’ve handily beaten them. To me this is where donalds walls go down a bit: he realizes he’s been smothering the kids, and that while he may hate his uncle for good reason... he’s not going to make the same mistake with them and while he lied.. Don probably realized if Scrooge had been honest Donald would never have let them go. He can trust him.. and he can trust his kids will be alright without him. 

So Glomgold naturally leaves his minions to die, but our heroes manage to make it to the sub, and Gabby asks if they can bum a ride. Not wanting to do any murders they agree. On the surface Glomgold is showing off his jewel, only for Scrooge to upstage him second’s later with the real jewel, and point out his is “nice but defintly cursed”... and right on cue Glomgold gets dragged off with an octopus and let’s off his first “Curse you mcduck!”. Scrooge offers clean water and power thorugh it, for a price because of course he does, and has offically made his grand comeback. 

We get back to Webby’s subplot, as she’s confronted by Beakly.. who naturally being a former spy easily figured it out immieditely but is only upset her grandaughter lied to her. And even at that she dosen’t raise her voice or anything about the matter, knowing it’d only make her feel worse and getting that her grandaughter needs to see the world and that much like donald, she walled her up to prevent loosing what little she had left. And since being with Scrooge is safe as with her, she can go with him anytime just tell her first kay? They hug. Awwww. 

Donald likewise apologizes, admitting that whatever has passed, he misjudged his uncle here and while not forgiving him yet, is at least willing to let him back into his life and into the boys.. on holidays and stuff at least. But fate forces his hand.. or rather his 10 year old nephew-son having left the engine on and neither having turned it off, meaning his boat goes boom and is in no liveable condition. But Scrooge has the space in his heart and mansion for them.

So as we close the kids help move the artifacts all around the house instead of just the garage while Launchapd drops the boat. While clearing out Dewey notices the painting from earlier.. and finds part of it was flipped over...

“Mom?!” 

Now keep in mind, while nowadays Della’s inclusion in the show is one of the most famous and treasured parts of the show.. back then this was a fucking shock. Disney never really cared about the boys mother and outside of one comics story never really went into what happened. So the fact she was not only an actual important part of the plot but we’d find out was a HUGE wham moment and left my jaw dropped after seeing the episode. Like I would with the finales I had read no spoilers and had no idea this was coming but damn was it a huge and welcome suprise and how far they’d take it and how much they’d flesh her out was an even bigger one. Easily one of the best big reveals i’ve ever seen. The only better one I can think of from this series itself... is the end of season 2. But that’s for another time. 

Final Thoughts on Woo-Ooo!:

This two parter/hour long special.. is still one of the episodes best and easily one of the best pilots. It does slow down a bit in pacing in the second half, but otherwise is just an immaculate , beautiful pilot movie that introduces and fleshes out all 8 main characters, maybe Launchpad the least but enough to still work, gives us some big mysteries to work out, and even throws in Glomgold’s first apperance. It sets the tone, reverent and adventuerous but also with it’s own weird and wacky sense of humor and world building, and universe perfectly. I .. don’t have much else to say really it’s just THAT good and really worth checking out. If you somehow haven’t seen it go watch it and if you haven’t seen it in a while might be worth a rewatch before the finale. The absolutely perfect start to an amazing ride. 

Next on the Della Arc: Dewey and Webby try to figure out where Della is while Louie learns a valuable life lesson and  pisses off a killer robot along the way.

Next on the Blog: Amphibia Season 2 is back! 

Until then if you liked this review follow for more and if you could please support me on patreon. Even a buck a month helps and juicy stretch goals give you na incentive to contirbute. We’re 5 bucks away from 20 dollars a month which means a review of super ducktales and a Darkwing Duck review EVERY. MONTH. So contribute now! Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure. 

[96harmony96]

Chapter 5

I had a vicious hangover on Saturday morning and figured it was no less than I deserved. As much as I’d resented Lauren’s insistence on negotiating sex with as much passion as she would a merger, in the end I’d negotiated in kind. Because I wanted her enough to take a calculated risk and break my own rules.

I took comfort in knowing she was breaking some of her own, too.

After a long, hot shower, I made my way into the living room and found Cary on the couch with his netbook, looking fresh and alert. Smelling coffee in the kitchen, I headed there and filled the biggest mug I could find.

“Morning, sunshine,” Cary called out.

With my much-needed dose of caffeine wrapped between both palms, I joined him on the couch.

He pointed at a box on the end table. “That came for you while you were in the shower.”

I set my mug on the coffee table and picked up the box. It was wrapped with brown paper and twine, and had my name handwritten diagonally across the top with a decorative calligraphic flourish. Inside was an amber glass bottle with Hangover Cure painted on it in a white old-fashioned font and a note tied with raffia to the bottle’s neck that said, “Drink me.” Lauren’s business card was nestled in the cushioning tissue paper.

As I studied the gift, I found it very apt. Since meeting Lauren I’d felt like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole into a fascinating and seductive world where few of the known rules applied. I was in uncharted territory that was both exciting and scary.

I glanced at Cary, who eyed the bottle dubiously.

“Cheers.” I pried the cork out and drank the contents without thinking twice about it. It tasted like sickly sweet cough syrup. My stomach quivered in distaste for a moment, and then heated. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and shoved the cork back into the empty bottle.

“What was that?” Cary asked.

“From the burn, it’s hair of the dog.”

His nose wrinkled. “Effective but unpleasant.”

And it was working. I already felt a little steadier.

Cary picked up the box and dug out Lauren’s card. He flipped it over; then held it out to me. On the back Lauren had written, “Call me” in bold slashing penmanship and jotted down a number.

I took the card, curling my hand around it. Her gift was proof that she was thinking about me. Her tenacity and focus was seductive. And flattering.

There was no denying I was in trouble where Lauren was concerned. I craved the way I felt when she touched me, and I loved the way she responded when I touched her back. When I tried to think of what I wouldn’t agree to do to have her hands on me again, I couldn’t come up with much.

When Cary tried to hand me the phone, I shook my head. “Not yet. I need a clear head when dealing with her and I’m still fuzzy.”

“You two seemed cozy last night. She’s definitely into you.”

“I’m definitely into her.” Curling into the corner of the couch, I pressed my cheek into the cushion and hugged my legs to my chest. “We’re going to hang out, get to know each other, have casual-but-physically-intense sex, and be otherwise completely independent. No strings, no expectations, no responsibilities.”

Cary hit a button on his netbook and the printer on the other side of the room started spitting out pages. Then he snapped the computer closed, set it on the coffee table, and gave me all his attention. “Maybe it’ll turn into something serious.”

“Maybe not,” I scoffed.

“Cynic.”

“I’m not looking for happily-ever-after, Cary, especially not with a mega-mogul like Jauregui. I’ve seen what it’s like for my mom being connected to powerful men. It’s a full-time job with a part-time companion. Money keeps Mom happy, but it wouldn’t be enough for me.”

My dad had loved my mom. He’d asked her to marry him and share his life. She’d turned him down because he didn’t have the hefty portfolio and sizeable bank account she required in a husband. Love wasn’t a requisite for marriage in Sinuhe Stanton’s opinion and since her sultry-eyed, breathy-voiced beauty was irresistible to most men, she’d never had to settle for less than whatever she wanted. Unfortunately she hadn’t wanted my dad for the long haul.

Glancing at the clock, I saw it was ten thirty. “I guess I should get ready.”

“I love spa day with your mom.” Cary smiled and it chased the lingering shadows on my mood away. “I feel like a god when we’re done.”

“Me, too. Of the goddess persuasion.”

We were so eager to be off that we went downstairs to meet the car rather than wait for the front desk to call up.

The doorman smiled as we stepped outside—me in heeled sandals and a maxi dress, and Cary in hip-hugging jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt.

“Good morning, Miss Cabello. Mr. Taylor. Will you need a cab today?”

“No thanks, Paul. We’re expecting a car.” Cary grinned. “It’s spa day at Perrini’s!”

“Ah, Perrini’s Day Spa.” Paul gave a sage nod. “I bought my wife a gift certificate for our anniversary. She enjoyed it so much I plan to make it a tradition.”

“You did good, Paul,” I said. “Pampering a woman never goes out of style.”

A black town car pulled up with Clancy at the wheel. Paul opened the rear door for us and we climbed in, squealing when we found a box of Knipschildt’s Chocopologie on the seat. Waving at Paul, we settled back and dug in, taking tiny nibbles of the truffles that were worth savoring slowly.

Clancy drove us straight to Perrini’s, where the relaxation began from the moment one walked in the door. Crossing the entrance threshold was like taking a vacation on the far side of the world. Every arched doorway was framed by lushly vibrant striped silks, while jeweled pillows decorated elegant chaises and oversized armchairs.

Birds chirped from suspended gilded cages and potted plants filled every corner with lush fronds. Small decorative fountains added the sounds of running water, while stringed instrumental music was piped into the room via cleverly hidden speakers. The air was redolent with a mix of exotic spices and fragrances, making me feel like I’d stepped into Arabian Nights.

It was this-close to being too much, but it didn’t cross the line. Instead, Perrini’s was exotic and luxurious, an indulgent treat for those who could afford it. Like my mother, who’d just finished a milk-and-honey bath when we arrived.

I studied the menu of treatments available, deciding to skip my usual “warrior woman” in favor of the “passionate pampering.” I’d been waxed the week before, but the rest of the treatment—“designed to make you sexually irresistible”—sounded like exactly what I needed.

I’d finally managed to get my mind back into the safe zone of work when Cary spoke up from the pedicure chair beside mine.

“Mrs. Stanton, have you met Lauren Jauregui?”

I gaped at him. He knew damn well my mom went nuts over any news about my romantic—and not-so-romantic, as the case may be—relationships.

My mother, who sat in the chair on the other side of me, leaned forward with her usual girlish excitement over a rich, handsome man. “Of course. She’s one of the wealthiest women in the world. Number twenty-five or so on Forbes’s list, if I’m remembering correctly. A very driven young woman, obviously, and a generous benefactor to many of the children’s charities I champion. Extremely eligible, of course, but I don’t believe she's straight , Cary. She’s got a reputation as a ladies’ pleaser.”

“My loss.” Cary grinned and ignored my violent headshaking. “But it’d be a hopeless crush anyway, since she’s digging on Camila.”

“Camila! I can’t believe you didn’t say anything. How could you not tell me something like that?”

I looked at my mom, whose scrubbed face appeared young, unlined, and very much like mine. I was very clearly my mother’s daughter, right down to my surname. The one concession she’d made to my father had been to name me after his mother.

“There’s nothing to tell,” I insisted. “We’re just…friends.”

“We can do better than that,” Sinuhe said, with a look of calculation that struck fear in my heart. “I don’t know how it escaped me that you work in the same building she does. I’m certain she was smitten the moment she saw you. Although she’s known to prefer blondes…Hmm…Anyway. sHe’s also known for her excellent taste. Clearly the latter won out with you.”

“It’s not like that. Please don’t start meddling. You’ll embarrass me.”

“Nonsense. If anyone knows what to do with men, it’s me.”

I cringed, my shoulders creeping up to my ears. By the time my massage appointment came around, I was in desperate need of one. I stretched out on the table and closed my eyes, preparing to take a catnap to get through the long night ahead.

I loved dressing up and looking pretty as much as the next girl, but charity functions were a lot of work. Making small talk was exhausting, smiling nonstop was a pain, and conversations about businesses and people I didn’t know were boring. If it wasn’t for Cary benefitting from the exposure, I’d put up a bigger fight about going.

I sighed. Who was I fooling? I’d end up going anyway. My mom and Stanton supported abused children’s charities because they were significant to me. Going to the occasional stuffy event was a small price to pay for the return.

Taking a deep breath, I consciously relaxed. I made a mental note to call my dad when I got home and thought about how to send a thank-you note to Lauren for the hangover cure. I supposed I could e-mail her using the contact info on her business card, but that lacked class. Besides, I didn’t know who read her inbox.

I’d just call her when I got home. Why not? She’d asked—no, told—me to; she’d written the demand on her business card. And I’d get to hear her luscious voice again.

The door opened and the masseuse came in. “Hello, Camila. You ready?”

Not quite. But I was getting there.

___

After many lovely hours at the spa, my mom and Cary dropped me off at the apartment; then they headed out to hunt for new cuff links for Stanton. I used the time alone to call Lauren. Even with the much-needed privacy, I punched most of her phone number into the keypad a half-dozen times before I finally put the call through.

She answered on the first ring. “Camila.”

W that she’d known who was calling, my mind scrambled for a moment. How did she have my name and number in her contact list? “Uh…hi, Lauren.”

“I’m a block away. Let the front desk know I’m coming.”

“What?” I felt like I’d missed part of the conversation. “Coming where?”

“To your place. I’m rounding the corner now. Call the desk, Camila.”

she hung up and I stared at the phone, trying to absorb the fact that Lauren was moments away from being with me again. Somewhat dazed, I went to the intercom and talked to the front desk, letting them know I was expecting her and while I was talking, she walked into the lobby. A few moments after that, she was at my door.

It was then that I remembered I was dressed in only a thigh-length silk robe, and my face and hair were styled for the dinner. What kind of impression would she get from my appearance?

I tightened the belt of my robe before I let her in. It wasn’t like I’d invited her over for a seduction or anything.

Lauren stood in the hallway for a long moment, her gaze raking me from my head down to my French manicured toes. I was equally stunned by her appearance. The way she looked in worn jeans and a T-shirt made me want to undress her with my teeth.

“Worth the trip to find you like this, Camila.” sHe stepped inside and locked the door behind her. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. Thanks to you. Thank you.” My stomach quivered because she was here, with me, which made me feel almost…giddy. “That can’t be why you came over.”

“I’m here because it took you too long to call me.”

“I didn’t realize I had a deadline.”

“I have to ask you something time-sensitive, but more than that, I wanted to know if you were feeling all right after last night.” Her eyes were dark as they swept over me, her breathtaking face framed by that luxurious curtain of inky hair. “God. You look beautiful, Camila. I can’t remember ever wanting anything this much.”

With just those few simple words I became hot and needy. Way too vulnerable. “What’s so urgent?”

“Go with me to the advocacy center dinner tonight.”

I pulled back, surprised and excited by the request. “You’re going?”

“So are you. I checked, knowing your mother would be there. Let’s go together.”

My hand went to my throat, my mind torn between the weirdness of how much she knew about me and concern over what she was asking me to do. “That’s not what I meant when I said we should spend time together.”

“Why not?” The simple question was laced with challenge. “What’s the problem with going together to an event we’d already planned on attending separately?”

“It’s not very discreet. It’s a high-profile event.”

“So?” Lauren stepped closer and fingered a curl of my hair.

There was a dangerous purr to her voice that sent a shiver through me. I could feel the warmth of her big, hard body and smell the richly musky scent of her skin. I was falling under her spell, deeper with every minute that passed.

“People will make assumptions, my mother in particular. She’s already scenting your bachelor blood in the water.”

Lowering her head, Lauren pressed her lips into the crook of my neck. “I don’t care what people think. We know what we’re doing. And I’ll deal with your mother.”

“If you think you can,” I said breathlessly, “you don’t know her very well.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.” Her tongue traced the wildly throbbing vein in my throat and I melted into her, my body going lax as she pulled me close.

Still, I managed to say, “I haven’t said yes.”

“But you won’t say no.” sHe caught my earlobe between her teeth. “I won’t let you.”

I opened my mouth to protest and she sealed her lips over mine, shutting me up with a lush wet kiss. Her tongue did that slow, savoring licking that made me long to feel her doing the same between my legs. My hands went to her hair, sliding through it, tugging. When she wrapped her arms around me, I arched, curving into her hands.

Just as she had in her office, she had me on my back on the couch before I realized she was moving me, her mouth swallowing my surprised gasp. The robe gave way to her dexterous fingers; then she was cupping my breasts, kneading them with soft, rhythmic squeezes.

“Lauren—”

“Shh.” sHe sucked on my lower lip, her fingers rolling and tugging my tender nipples. “It was driving me crazy knowing you were naked beneath your robe.”

“You came over without—Oh! Oh, God…”

Her mouth surrounded the tip of my breast, the wash of heat bringing a mist of perspiration to my skin.

My gaze darted frantically to the clock on the cable box. “Lauren, no.”

Her head lifted and she looked at me with stormy green eyes. “It’s insane, I know. I don’t—I can’t explain it, Camila, but I have to make you come. I’ve been thinking about it constantly for days now.”

One of her hands pushed between my legs. They fell open shamelessly, my body so aroused I was flushed and almost feverish. Her other hand continued to plump my breasts, making them heavy and unbearably sensitive.

“You’re wet for me,” she murmured, her gaze sliding down my body to where she was parting me with her fingers. “You’re beautiful here, too. Plush and pink. So soft. You didn’t wax today, did you?”

I shook my head.

“Thank God. I don’t think I would’ve made it ten minutes without touching you, let alone ten hours.” She slid one finger carefully into me.

My eyes closed against the unbearable vulnerability of being spread out naked and fingered by a woman whose familiarity with the rules of Brazilian waxing betrayed an intimate knowledge of women. A woman who was still fully clothed and kneeling on the floor beside me.

“You’re so snug.” Lauren pulled out and thrust gently back into me. My back bowed as I clenched eagerly around her. “And so greedy. How long has it been since the last time you were fucked?”

I swallowed hard. “I’ve been busy. My thesis, job-hunting, moving…”

“A while, then.” sHe pulled out and pushed back into me with two fingers. I couldn’t hold back a moan of delight. The woman had talented hands, confident and skilled, and she took what he wanted with them.

“Are you on birth control, Camila?”

“Yes.” My hands gripped the edges of the cushions. “Of course.”

“I’ll prove I’m clean and you’ll do the same, then you’re going to let me come in you.”

“Jesus, Lauren.” I was panting for her, my hips circling shamelessly onto her thrusting fingers. I felt like I’d spontaneously combust if she didn’t get me off.

I’d never been so turned on in my life. I was near mindless with the need for an orgasm. If Cary walked in right then and found me writhing in our living room while Lauren finger-fucked me, I didn’t think I’d care.

Lauren was breathing hard, too. Her face was flushed with lust. For me. When I’d done nothing more than respond helplessly to her.

Her hand at my breast moved to my cheek and brushed over it. “You’re blushing. I’ve scandalized you.”

“Yes.”

Her smile was both wicked and delighted, and it made my chest tight. “I want to feel my cum in you when I fuck you with my fingers. I want you to feel my cum in you, so you think about how I looked and the sounds I made when I pumped it into you. And while you’re thinking about that, you’re going to look forward to me doing it again and again.”

My sex rippled around her stroking fingers, the rawness of her words pushing me to the brink of orgasm.

“I’m going to tell you all the ways I want you to please me, Camila, and you’re going to do it all…take it all, and we’re going to have explosive, primal, no-holds-barred sex. You know that, don’t you? You can feel how it’ll be between us.”

“Yes,” I breathed, clutching my breasts to ease the deep ache of my hardened nipples. “Please, Lauren.”

“Shh…I’ve got you.” The pad of her thumb rubbed my clitoris in gentle circles. “Look into my eyes when you come for me.”

Everything tightened in my core, the tension building as she massaged my clit and pushed her fingers in and out in a steady, unhurried rhythm.

“Give it up to me, Camila,” she ordered. “Now.”

I climaxed with a thready cry, my grip white-knuckled on the sides of the cushions as my hips pumped onto her hand, my mind far beyond shame or shyness. My gaze was locked to her, unable to look away, riveted by the fierce masculine triumph that flared in her eyes. In that moment she owned me. I’d do anything she wanted. And she knew it.

Searing pleasure pulsed through me. Through the roaring of blood in my ears, I thought I heard her speak hoarsely, but I lost the words when she hooked one of my legs over the back of the couch and covered my cleft with her mouth.

“No—” I pushed at her head with my hands. “I can’t.”

I was too swollen, too sensitive. But when her tongue touched my clit, fluttering over it, the hunger built again. More intense than the first time. she rimmed my trembling slit, teasing me, taunting me with the promise of another orgasm when I knew I couldn’t have one again so quickly.

Then her tongue speared into me and I bit my lip to bite back a scream. I came a second time, my body quaking violently, tender muscles tightening desperately around her decadent licking. Her growl vibrated through me. I didn’t have the strength to push her away when she returned to my clit and sucked softly…tirelessly…until I climaxed again, gasping her name.

I was boneless as she straightened my leg and still breathless when she pressed kisses up my belly to my breasts. she licked each of my nipples, and then hauled me up with her arms banded around my back. I hung lax and pliable in her grip while she took my mouth with suppressed violence, bruising my lips and betraying how close to the edge she was.

she closed my robe; then stood, staring down at me.

“Lauren…?”

“Seven o’clock, Camila.” sHe reached down and touched my ankle, her fingertips caressing the diamond anklet I’d put on in preparation for the evening. “And keep this on. I want to fuck you while you’re wearing nothing else.”

[panic-at-the-fiction]

New In Town

Summary: This takes place after apocalypse. The reader is Hank McCoy's little sister and shes returned from college to join the X-men. This is where she meets Peter.

Warnings: fluff. Like I hate myself for how fluffy it feels and it’s not even that fluffy

A/N: I hate the name too just fucking reading.

You had been standing outside of the big mansion doors for ten minutes now. So much had changed about this place since you were last there. It probably had something to do with the whole place blowing up and the professor having to rebuild it all. You had been waiting for your older brother Hank to meet you at the front. He had insisted you wait for him to help you bring in your bags but like always he was running late. You were about to just go in when you heard the doors open.

You turned around and saw your older brother standby there, “There you are.” You said as Hank rushed down the staircase.

“I know I’m sorry. I was on my way but Peter caused an explosion in the lab and they needed my help,” He said trying to catch his breath after having ran from one end of the school to the other.

“This Peter sounds like a real handful.” You said brushing off your brother's tardiness.

“You have no idea.” Hank picked up your bags and the two of you walked inside.

“Oh My God, is that (Y/N) (Y/L/N)?” You heard a familiar voice yell. You turned around and saw no other than Jean Grey. Jean was a couple years younger than you but you had tutored her when she had first got to the school. You two had been close friends ever since.

You dropped your bag and ran to give her a hug. “Ugh it’s been way too long” you exclaimed as you squeezed her tight.

“I’m so excited you're here (Y/N)! Jubilee and I can show you around the new building and introduce you to all the new X-men. You're gonna love them!” Jean and Jubilee had already started planning out things you could all do together and you had only been home for 30 minutes.

“Guys calm down I’m not going anywhere for awhile right now I just need to get my stuff to my room.” You turned to go pick up your stuff but before you could get to it a puff of blue smoke appeared and a blue boy with a sharp tail grabbed your bags.

“Don’t worry I’ll get your bags to your room.” He said smiling. “My names Kurt, Kurt Wagner. You must be Hank's sister..” He held out his hand for you to shake.

“Hi Kurt it’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of about you.” You said smiling, shaking his hand.

The girls had been giving you a tour of the mansion and showing you all its new features. They even introduce you to Jean’s new boyfriend Scott Summers. You had met his brother when you were younger but you were glad to finally have met Scott, especially after having heard so much about him from Jean. It wasn’t long before the girl split up and went to meet up with other friends, finally leaving you alone to freely walk around the mansion.

You were about to turn around and go find your room to unpack when a gust of wind stopped you. All of a sudden there was a silver haired boy standing in front of you. You had never seen anyone quite like him. He had silver goggles sitting on his head and he was wearing a silver jacket. He seemed too old to be a student there; he looked to have been no older than 26.

“Hey I’m Peter.” He said with a flirtatious smirk.

“I’m (y/n). Aren’t you the Peter who…”

''yes yes I’m the Peter as in the Peter who saved the school no need to thank me” Peter said cutting you off.

“Yeah no I was thinking as in the same Peter who started a fire in the lab earlier today.” His smile dropped and he seemed slightly embarrassed before picking up his remaining confidence.

“Yeah I did that too but that was just an experiment gone wrong in my opinion. Totally not my fault.”

You rolled your eyes, “Oh really.”

“So um (y/n) I haven’t seen you around here before. If you're new, maybe I can show you around the school.” He said, leaning it a bit. It was obvious that he didn’t just want to show you around and that his intentions were not pure. But to say that his ‘flirting’ was unwelcome would be a lie. “I know all the best hangouts around here. My room of course being the greatest do to me being the only person around here with quality taste in records. You're more than welcome to drop by any time. You know to listen to music.”

You had to admit this Peter was something else. He acted like he was so confident and such a lady’s man but you saw how nervous he was.

Before you could say anything else your older brother walked into the library. “Hey (Y/n) there you are. Got your room set up if you want to go check that out now. I see you’ve finally met peter.”

You laughed thinking about what your brother had told you about the young man in front of you. “Yes I have. He has just offered to show me around the school. Peter I believe you know my older brother Hank .”

He looked almost dumbfounded, “older brother? So wait you’re not new here?”

“No, no I’m not. I’ve actually just come back from college actually.”

“Yeah (y/n) actually come back to help with the X-men. Anyways I have a class to teach in 30 minutes but if you need anything (y/n) just come find me.” Your brother said leaving you alone again with Peter.

“Guess you won’t be needing me to show you around then huh.” He said laughing off his disappointment.

“I mean I still haven’t seen all of the new school since it’s been rebuilt and I definitely need to know all of the coolest hangouts so you could still show me around and of course I will be stopping by to hear these records of yours” You laughed and gave him a wink before locking arms with him.

“Then allow me to be your tour guide m’lady. First stop is the new kitchen.” He said playfully. You were really looking forward to spending more time with the silver speedster.

[asthmark]

❝ lucky ❞, z.c

pairing → chenle, reader

genre → fluff, angst? a lil??

word count → 3.1k (woah!!)

summary → "you just deserve… so much more than that. do you realize how true that must be for a boy you just met today to see it?"

a/n → this is 1000% inspired by this pic that dropped yesterday like.....chenle looked so good it reminded me why i bias him!!!! anyway i kind of like this it has rich chenle and daddy issues thats all xoxo (also i did not proofread like at all so if theres any typos it was taeil's fault lol)

everyone in the room is utterly unbearable.

you understand it's rude to think so but you're sure that if you were to tell any of them this they would instantly agree with you. of course, you would never do that. because you're a ceo's daughter; you're not allowed to have an opinion that would make you look imprudent, rude or anything less of perfect.

so what do you do? you smile. you make small talk. you try your best to ignore your sore feet that are confined in your pumps and the way your dress rides up your butt. your lack of manners could not and would not be the reason your father missed out on any chance to make some more money. he made that very clear to you. after all, the only reason he dragged you along to all these house parties was so you could make make a stellar impression. he wanted all the businessmen in the room to remember mr. l/n and his charming young daughter when they got in their limousines and drove back home so that they'd remember when they discussed mergers and new projects.

you were never comfortable with the idea of your father essentially using you as some sort of accessory but you sometimes went days on end without seeing him so you took what time you could get. of course, helping him build his empire and boost his reputation wasn't your preferred daddy-daughter activity but you would never tell him that. it would just cause problems in your already rocky relationship and you certainly didn't need that.

"y/n." speak of the devil. "why don't you make conversation with the other guests? or better yet, come talk to these investors. i'm sure they'd love to meet you."

you know exactly what your father means by that so you try to find a reason to decline. anything would be better than watching him suck up to anyone with deep pockets and try to get you to do the same. "um." you repress a relieved sigh when you catch sight of yuna entering and handing her coat to a housekeeper. "actually i see my friend over there. i think i'll just go talk to her."

he frowns and you realize his face seems to be permanently stuck like that when he was around you. you can't remember the last time you'd seen an authentic smile from him. you suppose that was reserved for when he was trying to seal a deal.

"just behave yourself," he says. he leans into your ear. "remember, people are watching."

then he's gone, leaving you standing alone for a split second before yuna comes and takes his place.

"hey!" she draws out the word for dramatic effect.

"hi," you respond, your greeting lacking the enthusiasm hers held. she wasn't your favorite person but it was nice to talk to someone who wasn't observing your every move. it gave you a break from the ridiculous standards everyone else seemed to hold you to.

she brushes her bangs out of her eyes as she sized you up. "ooh, i love your heels! how much?"

"like 15 bucks." her jaw drops and you can't help but giggle. "yeah, i bought them at a thrift store. just don't tell my dad."

she grins. "wow, i always thought thrifting was for poor people but i just might have to check it out now."

that was the thing about yuna. she was stupid rich and she wouldn't have it any other way. she loved designer brands and houses so big you could get lost in them. you didn't blame her for any of that but it was the fact that she didn't mind the stuffy dinner parties and being shown off that was a little puzzling to you. unlike you, she had perfected her fake laugh and polite small talk long ago and sometimes you wondered if she really did care about all these companies and powerful men. but you know that as long as she gets to wear her thousand dollar dresses and go home to her cozy mansion, she'll be happy. she did what it took to keep her lavish lifestyle and was a little too materialistic for your liking and you guess that's where you and her are different.

you finally answer her. "yeah, definitely. it's a lot of fun."

her eyes light up. "we should go together one of these days!"

your silence is definitely too long but thankfully, yuna doesn't notice. her short attention span had caused her to focus on something else—more specifically, someone.

"oh my god," she says. "who is that?"

a boy who looks around your age has appeared, accompanied by a middle-aged man in a suit. the older man is more put together by far but you still can't help but stare at who you assume to be his son. he's wearing a black jacket on top of a striped shirt and you notice that chains hang from his neck. a belt holds up a pair of dark and tight pants. and, god, is he wearing converse?

you can't help but crack a smile at that. you envy his comfortable look; you would trade all the chanel and prada in the world just to wear a t-shirt and pair of sneakers and not have everyone in the room judge you for it. but his outfit isn't the only thing you admire. he must have crazy amounts of confidence to show up looking like he does when being surrounded by so many managers, executives, and company heads. you can only imagine what they're thinking and yet, the boy didn't seem to care or look uncomfortable in the slightest. in fact, he seems oddly at ease, his eyes scanning the room. at one point his eyes sweep over you and you lock eyes.

you watch as he brushes his bangs out of his face, almost like he's trying to get a better look at you. you only stare back, shifting your weight from one leg to the other. he offers you a half smile, his eyes squinting slightly and cheeks growing. you can't help but smile back, noticing just how the stranger's had an adorable baby face.

he looks away when he notices his father gravitating towards a group of businessmen and follows him. you almost wonder if he was in the same position as you were, if he was nothing but a poster child who was shown off at every event and party there was. then you notice how his father holds him tightly and smiles widely—genuinely—when he introduces him to others.

your father never did that. he wouldn't let you wear clothes like that either. you could only assume that this boy and his father were different from the rest of you. maybe they sat down and had dinner together everyday? talked to each other about their day? you almost throw the idea out of your head completely because it seems just too foreign to you.

"oh my god," yuna says. that seemed to be her favorite phrase. "i've never seen them before. what do you think they're doing here?"

you shrug. "maybe they're new to town?"

she hums. you both stay silent, observing the pair before yuna seems to grow impatient. "well i'm gonna go meet them. i can't handle being out of the loop. wanna come?"

you say agree. you feel obligated to. for the first time in forever you're actually interested in something at one of these dull parties, you're not going to stand around and just watch.

you approach the newcomers, both your fathers and a couple other businessmen conversing with them. you wonder if they've already asked them how much they're worth or if they had the decency to wait a minute before sticking their noses in their business. but, you knew how people like them operated; decency was way too much to ask.

"hi daddy!" yuna enters the conversation swiftly.

"hi, sweetheart," her father responds, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "this is my precious daughter, mr. zhong." he turns to yuna. "he and his son are visiting us all the way from our china branch. yuna, introduce yourself."

she doesn't need to be told twice. "hello, i'm yuna. i'm 17 years old and i'm studying at daewon preparatory. we're glad to have you here.it's a pleasure to meet you both."

mr. zhong smiles fondly at her. "the pleasure is all mine, young lady. what a beautiful daughter you have, mr. shin. she seems very capable."

yuna's father pulls her close to him, smiling at mr. zhong then her. "she sure is." you catch the subtle wink he throws her way, a silent 'good job' for that cute little introduction she did which was sure to score them some popularity points with the zhongs.

your father pulls you close to him and wraps an arm around your figure. both mr. zhong and mr. shin seem to be quite the fans of physical contact and although your father was not, you know that if that's what it took to make a good impression, he would become one, at least for the night.

"this is my daughter, mr. zhong." he turns to you and you take it as a cue to say something.

"hello, mr. zhong. i'm y/n." your introduction ends there and you feel your dad's grip on your arm tighten, indicating how unsatisfied he was with your brief answer.

you catch mr. zhong's son smile for the second time that night. although there is no mysterious eye contact this time, just a cute boy probably making fun of your lame introduction.

"well, how old are you, y/n?" mr. zhong asks, making conversation for you.

"i'm eighteen."

"oh, so is my son! isn't that right, chenle?"

his son—chenle—nods.

"well, i think we should leave the children to become acquainted. what do you think, gentlemen?"

everyone seems to agree. then, all that's left is the three of you.

to your surprise, chenle speaks first and it's a reintroduction. "i'm chenle."

you copy him. "i'm y/n."

"and i'm yuna. so, you're from china right?" she doesn't give him a chance to respond. "i read that there are over four million millionaires there. are you one of them?"

he furrows his brows and you can't help but sigh at yuna's question. she was fixed on the money aspect of things, as usual.

"i guess," he says, giving it little thought.

she practically squeals. "you're probably one of the youngest in the country! have you ever thought about that?"

"not really. i don't really like to think about money or these companies or big shot business dudes or any of that," he says, bluntly. "i mean, it would just make me feel more privileged than i already am. besides, it's all just a big headache. i'll leave it for the old man."

yuna's face falls and you hold in a laugh.

you finally chime in. "you know what, i have to agree. so much money can drive a person crazy. sometimes it even goes straight to their heads."

chenle can't hold back his amused snort. both him and yuna know exactly who you're referring to.

she wastes no time defending herself.  "but, with reason y/n. to be fair, only 1% of millionaires are under 35 and here i am at 16."

you restrain yourself from scoffing. "well i'm sure the other 99% of the population doesn't get things handed to them on a silver platter by their daddy, yuna."

she stares you down, her huge, hazel eyes never leaving your e/c ones. "i think it'd be best if i excused myself. i'm going to go find my father, if you both don't mind."

"not at all," chenle mumbles as you both watch her stomp away.

you exhale loudly. "i knew i was gonna snap one of these days."

"well, if you didn't i would have," chenle responds.

"frankly, i don't regret a thing," you say, turning back to his smiling face.

"mm, and what if she tells daddy?" he inquires, folding his arms.

you playfully raise a brow. "i'll have you know, i'm one of the 1% of millionaires that are under 35, i think i have the advantage."  

he giggles. "oh god, that was unbelievable. where did she even get those numbers from?"

"i have no idea but it was just… painful to watch. i'm gonna need a breath of fresh air after that."

he nods in agreement and you both walk towards the nearby balcony.  you step outside, the breeze whipping your hair all over the place and leaving goosebumps on your skin.

"you know," he begins before silence can settle upon you two for too long. "i was really hoping there would be someone around my age here tonight. and i don't know if you usually come to these things or if you don't but either way, i am so glad you're here."

this comment reminds you of the way he had stared you down upon arriving and it makes your face feel a little warm despite the cool air of the night. "'cause i'm the only thing standing between you and a wonderful night with yuna."  

"oh i'm sure it would've been real wonderful." he gives you a 'yeah right' look. "we couldn't even hang around each other for more than five minutes, i'm positive it would've been a long night."

you nod. "every night with her is. usually she's the only person i end up talking to at these things and let me just say, i think she's more money-hungry than all the men in there combined."

chenle whistles, lowly. "combined? that's dangerous."

"yeah, she takes after daddy," you mutter, picking at your nail polish that has begun to peel.

"what a relief you don't," he says. "or else i think i would have thrown myself off this balcony by now."

"well, you don't have to worry about that. you and i are on the same boat. money doesn't interest me all that much. definitely not to that extent."

"what does interest you?" chenle asks, turning his attention to you instead of the city lights in the distance.

you shrug. "i haven't figured it out yet. i'm too busy trying to be perfect. and i have a long way to go. just ask my dad, he seems to have really strong opinions on the matter."

"oh, i get it," he says. "you're so focused on being the perfect daughter that you haven't figured out what's going on in there." he wiggles his finger around your forehead.

"i just… want to make him happy. i want to see him smile because of me. even if 'me' is that daughter he expects me to be. i'm okay with being her. i'll take it."

chenle furrows his eyebrows and suddenly he doesn't seem to get it anymore. "you really... become an entirely different person? just for him? i mean, you seem like a good daughter. i don't understand that, y/n."

"and you won't understand, chenle," you respond. "because your dad loves you. he lets you wear your edgy clothes to business parties and doesn't worry about what everyone else is gonna think. he doesn't worry about first impressions, he doesn't force you to become someone else for strangers. he doesn't put any business deal above you. he doesn't chose his job over you, chenle and that's great. i'm so happy that's not the case with you. but it is for me. and when you know that the only time your dad is going to want anything to do with you is when you can help him make a quick buck or good impression, you resort to facades and doing anything you can to make him appreciate you. just a little."

chenle's arms envelop your shivering figure before you can say another word. his hands run up and down your arms and his chin rests atop your head. he inhales deeply, taking in your wonderful scent. he knows it's probably some off the wall expensive perfume.

"i'm so sorry, y/n," he mumbles into your coconut scented locks. "i'm sorry that you have to do that and that i won't ever be able to understand it. you just deserve… so much more than that. do you realize how true that must be for a boy you just met today to see it? and it breaks my heart that your own father doesn't because you really shouldn't have to suffer through that. he doesn't have his priorities straight but that shouldn't be an excuse for him to neglect his own daughter." he detaches from you so he can look directly into your glossy eyes, holding you at an arm's length away.  "and he has no idea what he's missing out on, y/n. you're so headstrong, so humble and so much more than just a pretty face or someone's daughter. and if he can't treat you like the incredible individual you are then...." he exhales and you catch his breath blow in the air. "then please let me."

your bottom lip is quivering. you had never heard such nice words. and you don't have the slightest idea what he means by that last bit but you still nod and jump right back into his arms. because you have decided that's where you feel safest. where you can be yourself, freely and unapologetically.

"the second i walked in this place, i hated it," he mumbles and a laugh escapes your lips. "but then i saw you. and it got a little better. then i met you. and it got a lot better. we just met but i already can't seem to get enough of you, y/n." he chuckles as if he can't believe it himself. "you must be something really special. and i have the privilege of seeing that."

you move away from his chest and look up at him. your hands thread through his tufts of hair that match the darkness of the night sky. his hands stay planted firmly at his waist. you feel like he has no intention of letting go. you would be lying if you said you did either. and neither of you seem to have a problem with it.

"i can't wait for you to finally feel what it's like to be treated how you deserve. and i can't wait to be the guy to show you. i am so, so lucky."

you smile, your teeth on display. "i'm actually so glad i came tonight. that is definitely a first."

he laughs. "speaking of firsts..." he trails off, shyly.

you raise a brow, just to tease him a bit. "what are you getting at, mr. zhong?"

he knows you're joking yet his heart pounds as he leans in and asks for permission to kiss you. "may i, ms. l/n?"

"you may," you respond, meeting him halfway.

[trombonesinspace]

Typhoid Mary: feminist femme fatale?

“Season 4 was going to be Typhoid Mary, Alice Eve [who played the role in Iron Fist], we were doing a kind of...I had a much different version of her than what Raven [Metzner] had done in Iron Fist. I was kind of rebooting what she was going to be like, and we were going to do a, you know, kind of a warped love story/murder mystery kind of femme fatale, but kind of a modern-day, feminist version of it, as opposed to kind of the older, sexist kind of femme fatale archetype.”

-Erik Oleson, in conversation with Steven DeKnight, SaveDaredevilCon 

As I said yesterday, I have some thoughts about this! If you want some opinions nobody asked for, about a storyline that may never come to pass, you’ve come to the right place! Let’s dive in.

A femme fatale is a character type with quite a history, that can take various forms. She is always an attractive woman who brings ruin to the man who gets involved with her. But sometimes she is deliberately manipulative, while sometimes she is more a victim of circumstances. She may be evil, or she may be sympathetic/tragic. But whatever her moral alignment, she has two defining traits: sexual allure, and some form of negative consequences for the hero as a result of his involvement with her.

A woman who schemes against the hero, and succeeds in harming him, but without using feminine wiles? Not a femme fatale. The Marvel TV universe has featured several examples on different shows: Madame Gao, Mariah Dillard, Alexandra. And, ironically, the version of Typhoid Mary who appeared in Iron Fist. (We’ll get there.)

A sexy woman who tries to manipulate/damage the hero, but fails? Also not a femme fatale. I wish I could give some examples, but sadly I can’t think of any, in dramas at least. Our current media culture loves a sexy manipulator, no writer ever seems to introduce one into a dramatic story without making her succeed in her schemes, to some extent at least.

Which is unfortunate, from my perspective, because I loathe sexy manipulators. It’s a character type I really dislike, whenever I encounter her. As soon as she shows up, I know the hero is going to fall for her bullshit like a chump, and I’m going to end up respecting him less as a result. I could try to unpack my feelings about this a bit more, but that would probably make a post all on its own, so for now I’ll leave it at that.

This doesn’t mean I hate all femmes fatales—it really depends on her motivation and her behavior. If she isn’t trying to harm the hero, and it happens due to circumstances, then I might like the character, but the story becomes a tragedy. Which is not necessarily bad. Just, you know. Tragic.

Anyway! Let’s talk about Typhoid Mary.

Mary Walker is a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities), and high-level combat skills. In the comics, she is also a mutant with mental powers. She appeared in the Daredevil comics starting in 1988.

In this original version, her personality fragmented due to childhood abuse, leading her to vow as an adult that no man would ever hurt her again. Her personalities are: Mary, who is timid and gentle; Typhoid, who is adventurous, lusty, and violent; and Bloody Mary, who is even more violent, sadistic, and hates all men.

Mary becomes romantically involved with Matt Murdock, who is cheating on his girlfriend, Karen Page, to be with her. At the same time, Typhoid is trying to ruin him, having been hired to do so by the Kingpin. Matt can’t tell they’re the same woman, because when she switches personalities all her bio signs change (voice, scent, heartbeat, etc) so much that he can’t recognize her. (Uh, sure.) She may also be using some of her mutant powers to confuse his senses. I haven’t read the comics, I’m relying here on what I could learn from the internet.

Eventually Typhoid drops him off a bridge, but then Mary finds him and gets him to a hospital, saving him. Karen is with him when he wakes up, but he breaks her heart by calling out for Mary.

This storyline...does not thrill me. As I said, I haven’t read it, but comics writing about mental illness is generally neither nuanced nor accurate, and comics writing about women circa 1988 is also not great, by today’s standards. And comics Matt’s disastrous love life is legendary—cheating on your girlfriend is bad, Matt! Don’t do it! 

I have, however, watched season 2 of Iron Fist, where we get a different version. This Mary Walker is a US army veteran, special ops, who was captured by the Sokovian military. Her personality fragmented due to the brutal abuse she received from her captors for nearly two years, until she finally escaped. She got a medical discharge from the army after being diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Her personalities are: Mary, who is innocent and naive; and Walker, who is a ruthless, coolly efficient mercenary-for-hire. The existence of a third, ultraviolent personality, previously unknown to either Mary or Walker, is revealed near the end of the season. 

Mary meets and befriends Danny Rand, while Walker is hired by his enemies to stalk him, and eventually capture him so they can steal his Iron Fist powers from him. She later changes sides, getting hired to bring down Davos, the season’s main villain, by Joy Meachum, his former ally.

There are clear parallels to the Daredevil comics storyline, albeit in less extreme form—Mary befriends the hero, but isn’t romantically involved with him; her more violent personality works against him and fights him, but doesn’t try to destroy him. 

I enjoyed this version of the character more than I expected to, for a couple of reasons. For one, she is never the out of control, “crazy” stereotype of a person with mental illness. Both Mary and Walker are more-or-less functional adults, managing to live a strange hybrid life, aware of each other’s existence even though they don’t share memories.

But what I especially like is that she isn’t sexualized, at all. It’s incredibly rare, in my experience, to see a young, female antagonist opposing a male hero, and not have her be sexy. Older women are exempt from this obligation (see my list of examples above), but the young ones always vamp it up, and I am so tired of it. I am not opposed to sexy women, but I am very opposed to the requirement that all women must be sexy. (Unless they’re old.) Male antagonists aren’t required to be alluring, so why should women be? (Yes, I know why. I just don’t like it.)

There’s also a lot of potential YIKES in sexualizing a woman with a severe mental illness, which was caused by (among other things) repeated sexual violence. Could it be done in a way that isn’t super problematic? It’s possible, sure. Am I assuming that most television writers would give the subject the respect it deserves? NOPE! 

I’m really glad they chose to just not go there. Walker is extremely good at what she does, takes no shit from anyone, and (almost) never gets riled up. After everything she’s been through, nothing in her present life has the power to faze her, and none of the men around her have the power to intimidate her. It’s pretty great!

She isn’t the least bit coy or seductive, and, equally refreshing, none of the men try to sexualize her or hit on her. Everyone Walker talks to knows she is a highly skilled professional, and they treat her accordingly. Or, when someone does disrespect her, it’s never gendered as far as I can remember, and it stops as soon as she calmly states what she’s going to do to him if it doesn’t.

As for Mary, although she has a more feminine appearance than Walker (hair down and loose, makeup), she is also not sexualized. Her friendship with Danny, who is in an established relationship with Colleen Wing, is platonic, and no one else tries to hit on her that I remember.

So this is the version of Typhoid Mary that Erik Oleson was going to reboot, into a femme fatale. Only, you know. A feminist one. 

I...have some questions. What does that even mean? What does feminism mean to Erik Oleson? Let’s be real, the idea of a woman becoming an ultraviolent, sadistic man-hater as a result of sexual trauma would have been seen as feminist in some circles, back in 1988 when that version was written. So what, exactly, did he have in mind?

As I said before, sexual allure is a necessary component of a femme fatale. So she was definitely gonna be sexy. And you know now how I feel about sexy female antagonists. As for the “warped love story” part...Matt wouldn’t be cheating on Karen, since they aren’t together (please, for the love of mercy, don’t have them get together right before he meets Mary, we did that once and I do NOT want to see it again), but I am still not a fan of Matt/Mary as a couple.

Her Dissociative Identity Disorder raises some serious issues around consent, and even if the show chose to ignore that, there’s still the issue of past sexual trauma. Unless Oleson’s reworking of the character was going to include a completely different back story, a Matt/Mary relationship would mean Matt unknowingly having sex with a woman who has suffered brutal sexual abuse in her past. Not to mention, having sex with her that only one part of her personality actually wants.

Is it possible for someone with Mary’s past trauma and present mental illness to have a positive sexual relationship? In reality, of course! In the hands of writers with only a layman’s knowledge of psychology, on a show that loves to torment its hero, I wouldn’t bet on it. How do you suppose our poster boy for Catholic guilt would react when he inevitably finds out the truth?

Plus, aside from any issues around Mary herself, Matt starting a relationship with anyone other than the handful of people who already know his secret identity, means a whole new round of Matt lying to someone he cares about. Does anyone really want to see that? I know I don’t. Sure, maybe he’d tell her eventually, but how long would they have to date before he decided to trust her with the truth?

I’m not opposed to the Mary Walker from Iron Fist appearing in Daredevil, if the writers could come up with a new story for her (i.e, don’t just have her repeat all the same plot beats with Matt that she already did with Danny). But bringing her in as a femme fatale really doesn’t sit well with me. We’ve already seen Matt in an ultimately destructive relationship with a sexy, violent, morally grey woman. I really don’t want to watch Round 2: now with multiple personalities!

Of course, maybe we never will. The quote at the beginning of this post is from just a couple of weeks ago (July 25 2020), so Erik Oleson still seems to think it’s a fine idea. But obviously we don’t know yet if there will ever be a season 4, or who the show runner will be if there is. He may never get to make the story he was planning.

So yes, I realize I’m merely speculating about a completely theoretical story that may never happen. But I wanted to write this anyway. I had a strong “ugh, no” reaction to the idea of a feminist femme fatale Typhoid Mary, and I wanted to go deeper and pick apart my reasons for not liking the idea.

To the three of you who have read this all the way through to the end (this post is nearly 2000 words, yikes), thank you for indulging me! These are, as always, my own opinions, and YMMV. 

[tarithenurse]

The good Villain - 2

Pairing: Loki x Reader (eventually) Content: Darkness with sadness and some gory details sprinkled with old trauma.  A/N: I’m having a lot of fun with the details in this. Feel free to send an ASK for a tag :D Thanks to those of you who already have <3 and to you darlings that have reblogged! Oh! Please check if you are in fact taggable...

2

…   Reader   …

Infinity holds, as the description hints at, infinite options. Take planets. Somewhere, someone has started counting them all and they will never reach the end just like it is similarly impossible to number the types of biospheres, or dangers. Through the Academy, you’ve studied a number of hostile conditions and how to deal with them, ensuring that you can survive most environments, and all things considered: you have been lucky throughout your career.

Until now.

Consumed by the urge to fulfill your destiny, you have started paying less attention to the “where” of things. Now the bill has come due, meaning you’ve landed yourself in the middle of the worst climate.

“Stop! Fracking! Leaking!”

No amount of screaming at the sky will have an effect other than scare the local critters. Huddling near the half-rusted fuel drum, you wiggle each naked toe carefully, ensuring nothing’s gotten too cold or has melted from the wetness. Rain, you turn the foreign word in the mouth. Someone had shouted at you to watch where you’re going, to not mind this…rain. There’s no word for it in your native language, though plenty of options in Kyrrelian, Sakaarian, yes, even the now dead languages of Morag. Obviously Morag.

A drop from your pants, hanging above the barrel, falls into the makeshift fire and causes it to sputter and hiss. Nothing likes water. Huddled on the splintering pallet with a few rags of tarp, you try to keep yourself warm despite the ominous splatter of wetness from outside.

Focus on the mission. Today has brought two victories and a new target.

First, you had managed to isolate a strong Leech, making an end to its life and those it had already started draining.

Then, which was almost better, you had figured out how commerce works on Terra, using the paper flaps assigned some monetary value which in turn got you plenty of your pure, wonderful sustenance. Never in your life had you seen so much of the Life Crystals. Bag upon bag, all advertising openly what is hidden inside as though people would not plunder the little shop to obtain it…and actually, they didn’t. The Terrans  walked about, paying little attention to the valuable minerals.

Drops sizzle, steam rises from your trousers, reminding you of the discovery as you had to leave the shelter of the store. For a moment, you had thought the reasons for the small hairs rising on your body was that someone might be watching you…but as soon as your gaze swept around the surroundings, you found the real reason: vacant eyes and static movements as the little herd navigated the masses ahead of the Soul Leech they belong to. The Leech is old enough that no one will be concerned it is not handled by one of the adults, yet young enough that people would drop their defenses and get too close if it whimpers or calls out for help.

“Yo-ehmm…” a hoarse voice reaches out to you, “go’ room by ‘a’ drum, eh?”

The Terran at the edge of the light has seen better times. Worn and dirty clothes, holey shoes stuffed with newspapers. His hair is long and unkempt without the lustre of health, promising a set of teeth more lacking than anything else. Harmless. He is swaying, either from fatigue or a kind of stimulant.

“Sure.”

Keeping to the far side of the heat source, he shuffles a bit closer after finding a piece of wood to sit on, clearly relieved to find respite from the so-called rain.

Satisfied with the added security by numbers, you recoil to the safety of planning. Sometimes, you fingers stray to pick a few crystals from the pack, allowing them to roll over the tongue and dissolve. Already, you are feeling the boost it gives your physiology and it will not be long before the ridiculous cast around the arm can be removed. It has become quite practical, though.

As you pull out a colouring tube from your backpack, you set to work repairing the blemishes. Black, rather than the glaring white, it blends into the shadows when you stalk your target, and you have come to appreciate the softness of the wrapping which absorbs blows surprisingly comfortably despite the underlying damage.

“How’d ye ge’ one o’ those?” Although his eyes are not exactly on your cast, you know it is about that.

You wouldn’t believe me, Terran. “Crashed. Shit happened.”

“Hm.” While he ponders the answer, there is nothing but the crackle of the fire to be heard – the leak in the sky must be stopped. “So…” He picks at a nail, long since rusted into the wood he sits on. “The docs didn’ take ou’ last bit, eh? Left somethin’ behind in mah head too…say too dang’rous to remove.” A crooked finger taps at a spot at the back of the head, hidden behind the mass of wiry, greasy hair. “Way I see ’t…better if they tried anyways. Head ain’t been mine since come back from over there.”

You find it hard to make sense of most of the things Terrans say, but the look in the man’s face is universal. “You served your…country?”

“Wha’ they say, innit?” Yes, he means yes. “Now…I’m on my own.”

He knows you understand in that moment. None of you have to speak any longer, just sit there in the broken darkness haunted by the memories of the past – that is the real damage, a pain you thought you understood when you signed up as recruits. We didn’t. Even if healers could fix the damage to the Terran’s brain, nothing can be done about the wounds crisscrossing his soul, and for a glimmer of a second you wish he could find the kind of piece a Leech provides as it drains its prey. No. You have seen it happen, seen the desperation flare up every time a soul struggles to remain. They always realize too late.

 …   Loki   …

“That’s just nasty!” Stark voices an opinion shared by all.

Treading carefully through the suburban house, Loki can hear the voices of the firefighters discussing how it only is because of the rain that the fire had not spread. Mad luck, they say. Or smart planning. With the exception of a few of the Avengers none of the dimwitted mortals have realized that the charred remains of the family have been staged together with the destructive blaze to hide the real cause of death.

Bending closer while ignoring the red shock of hair nearby, the keen eyes of the Asgardian can see the cuts running deeper than the roasted flesh. “This one appears more brutally attacked,” he observes.

“Yeah,” Romanova nods, pointing to the wrist, “fracture here’s pre-mortem.”

It happens as Loki circumvents the corpse of the child to get a better look. With a sickening, slobbery sound, the skull begins to tilt backwards before letting go of the still tender muscles and falling to the ground with a thud.

“Look.” He ignores the sound of someone in the background throwing up. “That wound.”

Both the Black Widow and Barnes huddle close, inspecting the circular cavity left from a narrow weapon passing through what used to be a chin. Rounded like a rod…or tube. Carefully tipping the fallen piece of head with the tip of his toe, Loki bares the roof of the mouth through which the wound continues.

“Betcha’s the killing blow,” Barnes offer.

“We don’t bet at crime scenes,” the other veteran scolds, “no betting, joking, or giggling.”

…

Scrolling through the data, only one conclusion presents itself although the evidence is incomplete. Captain Danvers and the mercenaries calling themselves the “Guardians of the Galaxy” – a ridiculously pretentious name – have attempted to uncover more evidence from the past crimes scattered across multiple realms, and in the cases where it has been possible to learn anything at all there are signs of the same killing blow to one victim at each location. Always a child.

But why not just any children? As twisted as the mind of a madman must be, there is always a grain of logic to be found. Broken logic, sure, but a flicker of explanation to why a particular pattern has arisen.

“Intergalactic mass-murderer or not,” Loki interjects softly, pausing an argument between Strange and Stark, “if it was simply a matter of killing, then why travel such distances? You both know there must be more to it.”

“C’mon!” Now both men agree, directing their frustrations at Loki. “You can’t be serious? You think something about killing kids can make sense?!”

Killing or leaving to die, what is the difference? “I do not presume to agree or understand…yet we must operate from the assumption that it’s not random…if that had been the case, then all children on any planet would be left dead and burned.”

“The frost faery’s got a point.” On normal occasions, Romanova would have found herself the target of a knife after such a comment, but maybe she can get through to the squabbling men. “We’re missing the pattern. Why those children? Why’n that order?”

[kookadoodle]

Hitlist

PLOT: You move in with the maknae line and discover a strange list on their fridge with your name on it.

PAIRING: Jimin x reader (ft. Taehyung and Jungkook) GENRE: fluff, comedy, S2L!AU WARNINGS: swearing, sexual themes WORDCOUNT: 6.2k A/N: I might be a soft stan for bts, but I am a hard stan for comedy-pieces x

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You are not sure if you should be nervous right now. You honestly have no idea of what to expect, but you decide to make it a positive thing no matter what. It has been two weeks, since you were forced to move out of your old apartment and crash on a friend’s couch, so you think that it is about time to look for something else. That is what has let you here. You knock twice on the front door and wait after you read the three names on the door sign, confirming it is the right place. Kim T, Jeon. J, and Park J, which is what the flyer said as well. You start hearing movement from inside and know that they heard you, so you straighten your posture and prepare a friendly smile. The door is opened from within, and it reveals two tall young men to you, one a brunette and the other a blonde. They are both really handsome, you think, but hoping it will not become a problem for you, you discard the thought. Cute guys sometimes do as you are quick to be distracted, yet you will not let them distract you this time. There is too much at stake to let two attractive faces make you stutter from incurable nerves. You decide to merely smile friendly at them as you meet their eyes, wanting to start off positive and platonic.

“I am here for the interview,” you state as you hold up the flyer for them to see. The guys both study the piece of paper in your hand, and you can tell that they recognize the flyer. They put them up themselves in various shops and cafés, but there is yet confusion in their glances. Something seems off. You sense something in the air, which you are certain that they will point out, but to your surprise, they do not. “Oh, yes, of course,” the blonde one decides to say, stepping back and allowing you inside as anyone polite would do. You are slightly confused, but you will take it. The brunette also seems to question his friend for a moment but decides to go along with it. “Come on in,” he adds friendly, and you walk in to let him close the door behind you. You follow them into the living room and make your first impressions of the place. The apartment is bright and spacious, and it is actually pretty clean, considering three guys live here. You had an expectation that they would be messy, but it would not bother you. You would not have shown up if you had thought it to be a deal breaker. That might have something to do with your own cleanliness, which is almost non-existent at times, but they do not have to know that yet. You should start off with the good stuff since you do not want to scare them away. “Take a seat,” the blonde one says nicely, gesturing to the armchair as the two of them take place on the couch beside it. “Thanks,” you say as you sit down. The blonde one sits closest to you, and you already know that he will be doing most of the talking. “Can I see the flyer for a moment?” the brunette one asks you. You find his request a bit strange, but you do not let it show. You simply nod and hand it to him, and he takes it to skim it over as if he has forgotten what it says. The blonde one smiles at you almost to compensate for his friend’s vague rudeness. It makes things a bit awkward, but he is being nice at least. “Hyung, it doesn’t say it on the flyer,” the brunette one states and shows the flyer to his friend, whose smile drops. The friend looks it over as well, searching meticulously for something that he cannot find. “Why didn’t we write it on here? Did we forget?” the blonde one asks the brunette, who simply shrugs his shoulders. They chatter back and forth in broken sentences that you cannot make out what means. They know each other well, which you can tell from the way they communicate. However, they seem to forget that you are the one to be asked questions in this case, not them. They actually seem a bit oblivious to your presence right now. “Sorry to interrupt, but what is missing from the flyer?” you speak. The two of them stop talking and look to you instead, suddenly remembering that you are here. “Uh, well. To be entirely honest with you, you have surprised us a bit,” the blonde one starts off by saying. He clears his throat with a soft chuckle. “You see, we had not expected someone like you to apply,” he adds to that, smiling at you a bit strained. The brunette one looks at you too with slightly widened eyes yet lets his hyung do the talking as he listens. “Someone like me?” you repeat, finding it a bit rude to say. You tilt your head to show your confusion. “A girl,” the brunette one spits, causing his friend to give him a look. “Thanks, Kook,” he says sarcastically, not finding the younger one helpful. “So, you’re turning me away because of my gender?” you ask, raising your brows in disbelief. It is almost as if you can see them physically gulp in front of you. “Uh-,” the blonde one stutters. The boys look at each other with slumped shoulders, not knowing what to say. “I think you at least owe me a chance based on how the interview goes, don’t you?” you ask with your arms crossed. You rarely take the feminist stand, but you are quite offended by their approach and from their reaction so far, you think it might be a beneficial argument to lead with. “Look, we don’t mean to be rude, and we should have written it on the flyer, but we just think a guy would be a better match,” the blonde one tries to explain as nicely as he can. You do not fall for it, though. You cannot give up that easily. “Look, let’s make a deal. We do the interview as planned, and if you are still convinced that a guy would be better, it’s fair,” you suggest, wanting them to give you a shot. Not only do you want a place to live, but it would also be incredibly awkward to just leave like this. You do not want to leave on bad terms. The boys look at each other to exchange opinions, and a second later, they have decided. “Okay, sure,” the blonde one says, and you nod with a proud smile. “This is Jungkook, and I’m Taehyung,” the blonde one starts off. “We live here with our friend, Park Jimin, who is out of town right now, but he’ll be back soon. He left us in charge of finding a new roommate,” he adds. Jungkook nods along in agreement. “But let’s start with you,” Taehyung then says and gestures for you to introduce yourself. You take off your jacket and make yourself comfortable in the seat. You already know that this is going to take a while. The boys notice that, and they each sigh, strapping themselves in in their minds for the ride. “My name is Y/N Y/L/N, and I am a college student…,” you start off, but Jungkook interrupts you. “Wait,” he chuckles with realization. Taehyung looks over at him, and their eyes meet, but your listening ear makes Jungkook hesitate on saying what he thinks. He decides to lean in and whisper something in Taehyung’s ear, and whatever he says, you notice the realization in the older one’s eyes afterward. It makes them both laugh, and you furrow your brows as you are unsure of why they are entertained. “You’re in,” Jungkook suddenly says to you grinningly, disregarding their first approach. Taehyung grins too, and the two of them have completely changed their demeanor towards you, which leaves you utterly surprised. “O-okay,” you state with a brief stutter that reveals your confusion. “When can you move in?” Taehyung asks, and neither of them seems grazed by your raised brows. “Is tomorrow too soon?” Jungkook asks excitedly. Now, it is your turn to gulp. “Uh, no. I guess that would be fine,” you speak hesitantly. You had not expected it at all, but you are free tomorrow, so it is not a problem. This is what you wanted, right? “Cool, let’s give you a quick tour then,” Taehyung says and gets up. Jungkook and you follow his lead, and they spent a few minutes on showing you around. The apartment looks good, and the guys are nice to you, but once in a while, they exchange grins, and it is unsettling. You have no idea what it is that they find so funny, but it definitely has something to do with you. The only question is what.

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Moving in goes by pretty quickly. It only takes a few hours before your stuff is carried inside, and all that is left to do is unpack. Taehyung and Jungkook helped out, and their attitudes are much different today. They are kind to you without laughing behind your back, and it makes you feel a lot more included. “Was that everything?” Jungkook asks as the three of you place the last boxes down on your floor. You notice that he did not even break a sweat. Taehyung, however, looks to be praying to the gods that you do not have any more boxes for them to carry. “Yeah, we’re done,” you say, and Taehyung sighs with relief and sits down on your mattress. “Thanks for helping me out,” you add, and Jungkook smiles. “No problem,” he says back, and the older one looks at him annoyed. “Yeah, no problem at all,” Taehyung says sarcastically as he tries to catch his breath. If he had the energy to punch Jungkook right now, he would. “Do you guys think Jimin will approve of me? I feel a bit weird moving in without meeting him first,” you state as the thought of the missing roommate will not leave your mind. The two of them exchange looks as Jungkook fights back his grin. “He will,” he says with mischief in his eyes, and their reaction reminds you of yesterday. It makes you wonder if Jimin has anything to do with why they are laughing, yet you would not want to speculate. You do not know them enough to determine why they find it funny anyway. “Do you know when he is coming home?” you ask, looking at Jungkook. Taehyung is a bit busy wallowing in self-pity and caressing his tired arms to answer so you will not interrupt him in that. Jungkook pulls out his phone to check the time. “In about an hour,” he says as he locks his phone and slides it back into his pocket. You nod at that. “Okay, cool,” you say. You should not be nervous about meeting him since Taehyung and Jungkook already approved you, but it still feels odd. Something about the way that the two of them grin amongst themselves makes you wonder if Jimin will not be happy about it. Maybe Jimin is the one, who made the no girl rule, which could cause issues between you. That is not what you want at all. “Then I’ll make lunch for you guys as a payback for the help, and maybe it will also give Jimin a nice first impression of me,” you say, and the two of them straighten up at the sound of food. “Sounds good,” Taehyung says excitedly. From what you can tell already, the way to these guys’ hearts is indeed through the stomach as the saying goes. You will be keeping that in mind for the future.

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You set the table and place down the sandwich platters in the middle. You decided to make a lot of sandwiches to both feed the three boys and maybe stock the fridge with some in case there are any left. However, you remind yourself not to make a habit out of something like this, since you can imagine them expecting it from you in the future, considering your gender. You can tell that they are prone to believe stereotypes, and what they do not know about you yet is that you are prone not to stick to such categorizations. Suddenly, you hear the front door open and someone taking off their shoes. A bag is dropped to the floor, and a frame comes into view as he enters the living room. He is bit shorter than the two other boys, but what he has against him, he makes up for with his beautiful features and elegant style. He takes off his sunglasses and turns his head to notice you standing there by the dining table, and immediately, his eyebrows rise. “H-hi,” he stutters with surprise. He is completely frozen in his step, not moving an inch as he has his eyes locked on you. “Hi, I’m Y/N,” you smile friendly. You see him gulp. “Y-Y/N,” he repeats hesitantly. Your first thoughts are of worry since his reaction seems a bit questionable. Why is he so surprised? Why does he look nervous? He finally gets feeling back in his limbs and breathes a bit better. “What are you doing here?” Jimin asks, and he barely believes his own words. “I’m your new roommate,” you state kindly. The news has Jimin widening his eyes. You are unsure of what to say next, but Jimin decides for you. “JEON JUNGKOOK! KIM TAEHYUNG!” the boy suddenly shouts out into the apartment, and his tone has drastically changed from the soft one, he uses with you. This one is much firmer and more aggressive. In response, you hear the two other boys burst out laughing from one of their rooms. “Wait here for a second,” Jimin says to you kindly before turning on his heels and rushing towards the boys. As he finds them, you hear him again from afar. “WHAT THE HELL!?” he shouts at them, yet they only laugh again, finding it extremely hilarious. You stand by the table, unknowing of what to do right now. You had not expected this reaction at all. “DO YOU GUYS THINK THIS IS FUNNY?” Jimin shouts again. You think that he might not be aware of how loud he actually is, since he is clearly referring to you. Does he know that you can hear everything he is saying? Suddenly, the two of them come running from the room with Jimin chasing them furiously. The two boys laugh in panic as they try to escape. They spread across the room, and Taehyung runs to you to take cover behind you. Jungkook jumps behind the armchair and uses it as a shield when Jimin tries to get to him. “Hyung! I’m sorry!” Jungkook says but with a laugh that shows his dishonesty. “No, you’re not! I will kill you!” Jimin shouts back, gripping the armchair to try and remove Jungkook’s protection. Taehyung is dying from laughter at the sight, but you are in complete shock. What the hell is happening? The three of them are running around like kids, creating chaos before you. Other than that, they clearly know something that you do not, and you find it incredibly rude. “YAH!” you shout firmly, and the three boys halt. They look at you surprised, not having expected a word from you let alone a tone like that. “I made lunch!” you state determined, wanting them to stop their games and sit down. The looks on their faces change. They look at each other and decide to put a pin in their little thing, coming over and sitting down at the dining table as you indirectly instructed. Jungkook and Taehyung have stopped laughing, and Jimin has un-furrowed his brows. You look at the three of them and take a breath. You sit down as well, taking place next to Taehyung. Jungkook sits across from you, and Jimin across from Taehyung. The three of them are unsure of what to do, so they just sit there and wait for you. “I didn’t know what you guys liked, so I made a few different options,” you explain calmly, referring to the sandwiches before you. The boys nod understandingly, listening to your every word. “It looks good,” Jungkook says politely as he clears his throat. “Please, help yourselves,” you say, allowing them to dig in. Jungkook and Taehyung each pick out a sandwich and place them on their plates. Jimin eventually follows suit and does the same. But opposite from his slightly younger friends, he does not bite into it just yet. As the younger ones have filled their mouths with food, you decide to ask. “Could you tell me what is going on between you guys?” you ask, looking mainly at Jimin as you want him to answer it. The other boys have trouble speaking with their mouths full, and that is not a coincidence on your part. “Uh, well,” Jimin says as he meets your eyes. His softer tone has returned. “I-,” he starts but cuts himself off. It is hard for him to explain. “I’d rather not say,” he states with an apologetic smile. Taehyung bursts a short laugh, and Jimin threatens to punch him from across the table, making him stop. “Are you going to make me move out?” you ask Jimin, and as he looks at you, you notice how gentle his eyes get. It is clear, it is Jungkook and Taehyung that he is mad at, not you. “No, not at all. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Jimin says, shaking his head to underline his words. “And I’m not against you moving in, by the way,” he says furthermore. It confuses you since his actions suggest otherwise, but he seems to be telling the truth. You are not sure how it makes sense, but you believe him. “Definitely not against it,” Jungkook adds. Jimin is provoked and turns to slap him on the back of his head. “Aish, stop hitting me,” Jungkook grunts, but he knows that he deserves it. He has also clearly deemed the teasing to be worth the violence since he knows his hyung well. It surprises neither of the younger ones that Jimin got furious, and you suspect that it is the exact reason, they chose to annoy him. However, what it has to do with you, you do not know, and you are not sure that you want to find out.

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

A few days later, the chaos has settled down. You are still not sure what the whole fuss was about, but you know that the boys have talked it out, and the bad blood has dissolved. It makes it easier for you to settle in without fearing to be unwanted here. The only issue, though, that you still have on that front is that Jimin seems to be avoiding you. Every time you enter a room, he comes up with a reason to leave, like needing to study or meet up with a friend. When you ask him to watch a movie with you and the others, he has either already seen it or is too restless to sit down. You have asked Taehyung and Jungkook about it, but they always zip up. Your best guess is that Jimin is shy around girls and feels uncomfortable around you. It makes you feel bad, but you cannot do anything else than what you already do. You just have to be nice and show him that there is nothing to be nervous about. You do not have claws and sharp teeth nor an underlying motive to jump him. He just needs to realize that. You pour yourself a glass of water, and you notice a piece of paper stuck on the fridge with a magnet. The headline on it says Hitlist and handwritten by pen below is a list of a dozen girl names. You are reading the list as Jungkook enters the kitchen. “Hey, Y/N,” he says obliviously as he sees you there. “Hi,” you greet him back. Jungkook grabs a pack of instant noodles from the cabinet and sets some water to boil. He leans against the counter as he waits, reading something on his phone. As you study the list, you come across your own name among the others. It immediately confuses you. “Hey, Jungkook. What is this?” you ask and turn to him, pointing at the paper. Jungkook looks up to see what you are talking about, and suddenly, his expression changes to panic. “Uh- What do you mean?” he asks without thinking. “This list of girl names, what is it?” you ask again. Jungkook’s eyes are almost twice their normal size, and his previously relaxed frame has straightened up. “Oh, that,” he chuckles nervously. “That’s nothing,” he adds strained. You can tell that he is lying, and it makes you all the more intrigued. “Just tell me, I won’t judge,” you say with a smile, sipping from your water. Jungkook licks his lips as he tries to think of ways to escape, but he cannot. You will most likely just ask him again another time. “My name is on it, so I think I should know, don’t you?” you ask casually. Jungkook nods in agreement. “It’s… a list of girls that are off-limits to us,” he explains, hoping you do not see right through him. “Since you’re our new roommate, we put you on the list,” he adds with a proud smile. He knows that he did well dodging the bullet. “Why is it called Hitlist then?” you ask, finding it odd. Jungkook gulps. “Well…,” he starts. “It’s an inside joke, it’s hard to explain,” he states and turns to check on his water. He knows that it is not boiling yet, but if he keeps himself busy, you might stop asking him questions that he could get into trouble for. His hyung would kill him if he slipped and told you. It is much safer to discard its importance. You are not entirely convinced by him, but you are still pretty new here, and you do not want to be too nosy. You should respect their privacy, yet it is hard to forget about the fact that your name is on the list. It makes you suspicious of its true meaning. Jungkook’s reasoning makes sense, but it feels off somehow.

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

You pack up your things after the professor has finished the lesson, allowing the class to go. You stay in your seat and wait for the students to clear out a bit more before you get up. There is no need to rush out, and you are not in a hurry. Then, as you watch the others leave, you notice a familiar face amongst them, packing up his own things. His smaller frame may be easily overlooked, but you spot him and his brown locks as clear as day. “Jimin!” you say aloud, capturing his attention and making him look up. You make your way over to him to chat, since you have reason to, now that you are roommates. You have lived together for 2 weeks now. You are sure Jimin welcomes it, even if he has been dodging you a bit. “Hey, Y/N,” Jimin smiles friendly. “Are you taking this class too? I haven’t seen you here before,” you say, surprised to see him there. It makes him taste bitterness on his tongue. “Yeah, I’ve actually sat behind you a few times,” he states as he packs his laptop into his bag. “Small world,” you say with a light laugh. Jimin only smiles in return as he puts on his backpack. “Ready to walk out?” you ask, and he nods. The two of you make your way outside in the sun, walking beside one another. The air is much fresher out here, and the mood is less as tense. “Hey, I was thinking of stopping by a sandwich shop on my way home and get a smoothie, if you want to join me?” you suggest, knowing he most likely has nothing planned. At least, he has not said anything, so you assume that he is free. “Uh, sure thing,” Jimin agrees despite it making him feel a bit clammy. He knows that you live with them now so he cannot avoid you forever. He somehow has to get over this thing of his. He takes a deep breath when you are not looking at him and decides to not let it control him. It is just a simple crush, he thinks to himself.

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

The two of you step into the sandwich shop and approach the counter as you read the menu on the back wall, deciding on what to get. A tall handsome guy comes out and greets the two of you. “Jimin-ah!” the guy smiles wide as he recognizes his younger friend. “Seokjin-hyung,” Jimin smiles back as he sees him. “You work here?” he asks, and the older one nods. “Yeah, I’ve worked here for about 8 months now,” Seokjin states. “I thought you knew,” he adds. Jimin shakes his head. “No, I thought it was the other shop across town,” he says back. You watch the exchange from the sideline, but suddenly, Seokjin looks at you, making Jimin realize that he should introduce you. “Oh, hyung, this is Y/N,” Jimin says, and before he can get another word out, his older friend interrupts. “The Y/N? You finally asked her out?” Seokjin asks with a smile, cheering on for his friend, who is mortified by his words. You furrow your brows lightly with confusion, looking over at Jimin. “No, no, hyung. She’s our new roommate,” Jimin is quick to correct him, and unfortunately, his clammy hands return. Jimin smiles innocently at you, but when you look away, you fail to see him scold his hyung without words. Seokjin realizes and decides to brush it off. “So, you live with those three clowns? I feel bad for you,” Seokjin jokes, smiling at you. You barely have time to figure out what he meant before, which makes you unsure of it, so you leave it be for now. “Yeah,” you chuckle. “But they’re nice,” you add to that, smiling warmly. Seokjin nods in agreement. “That’s good,” he says. Seokjin and Jimin exchange a few looks, and suddenly, the older one clears his throat. “So, can I get you two anything?” he then asks and changes the subject. Jimin gestures for you to go first. “Sure, I’d like a Dragon-berry with whipped cream please,” you say, reading the name off the menu behind him. The drink has dragon fruit and blueberry in it, so you wonder how the combination will taste. Seokjin nods before looking at Jimin. “I’ll take a flat white,” Jimin orders, and Seokjin welcomes you to take a seat while he makes them for you. The two of you sit down by a table, sitting across from each other. You try to look Jimin in the eyes, but he seems to be avoiding your gaze. It is as if he has something to hide. “Why did he think that I was your date?” you ask bluntly, and Jimin finally meets your eyes. He wants to act oblivious, but it only comes off as secretive. “He must’ve mixed your name up with someone else,” he explains, trying to brush it off. “Don’t worry about it,” he smiles. Not long after, Seokjin comes over with your drinks without saying much. You have a feeling that there is a reason for that. Deciding to discard it, you take a sip from your drink and focus on it instead. The taste is vibrant and fruity, which is exactly what you craved. “Ugh, this is good,” you burst, making Jimin watch you. He notices the way your delicate lips pucker around the straw, and he finds himself a bit mesmerized by the sight. He almost forgets to taste his own coffee. “Seokjin-hyung actually made that drink, when he was interviewed for the job,” Jimin states. “Really? I like it a lot,” you say back before taking another sip. “Do you?” you ask. Jimin shakes his head. “I don’t know, I haven’t tasted it,” he says. You take another straw and push it into the drink, sliding it a bit towards him. “Give it a taste, then,” you say. Jimin hesitates for a moment but decides to agree to the offer and take a sip. “It’s good,” he smiles as he enjoys the flavor. The thought of tasting the drink directly from your lips crosses his mind, but he stops himself. You are his roommate after all. “I hope you meant what you said to him about us,” Jimin then says, looking down on the coffee between his palms. He wants to be closer with you, but you make him nervous. “I did. I really like you guys,” you answer honestly, smiling at him. The table is not that wide, so it feels intimate to look directly at him. He feels it as well. “We like you too,” Jimin says, smiling back. Saying it makes his heart beat incredibly fast, but luckily, you cannot see it on him. To you, he looks calm. The words make you smile as it feels good to hear. You are glad that they have not changed their minds.

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

Jimin and you return home and enter the apartment. Jungkook is sitting on the couch, watching a show and snacking, which is nothing new. You are convinced that it is the reason why he works out as much as he does. He wants to stay fit but be able to eat 24/7. You wish it was relatable to you, but you do not work out, so only half of it fits. You sit down beside Jungkook as Jimin carries his backpack to his room. Jungkook explains the episode to you, so you can catch up and watch it with him. Suddenly, Taehyung bursts through the front door and enters the living room. “I did it, guys!” he says aloud with pride. “What?” Jungkook asks. “I finally got with Josie,” Taehyung states smugly, making Jungkook grin. “Fuck yeah!” he says, and the two of them share a high five in victory. Taehyung plumps down on the couch on the opposite side of Jungkook and eats a handful of snacks as his prize. It makes you realize that there are still so much that you do not know. Something about the name, though, has the wheels turning in your head. Josie. Josie. It seems awfully familiar. Wait. “Josie is on the list, though, isn’t she?” you ask the boys. Jungkook’s expression drops. “Not anymore, that’s for sure,” Taehyung chuckles to himself, being completely oblivious. You turn to face Jungkook directly, and he knows that you want answers. He looks back at you. “It’s not an off-limits list, is it?” you ask knowingly. The boy before you is stressed. “No,” Jungkook starts and finally comes clean. “It’s a list of… targets,” he says. The realization hits you. Of course, that is what it is. You should have seen it coming. Three college guys living together with a Hitlist on their fridge. The obviousness of it makes you feel dumb. “But wait,” you start, and Jungkook knows what you are going to say. He absolutely dreads it. “Who wrote my name?” you ask as you remember reading it on there. Jungkook even confirmed it, when you asked, so it is clearly you. Taehyung’s smile is replaced by the same panic as the one on his friend’s face, when he realizes what is going on. “Not me!” they both say almost in unison to clear themselves, but with it, they accidentally spill the secret that they had promised to keep. It is all you need to complete the puzzle. “Hey, guys, has any of you seen my charger?” Jimin asks as he comes back into the living room without knowing the topic of your current conversation. The three of you look up at him, and Jimin notices the expression of your faces. He can tell that something is wrong. “What’s up?” he asks. The boys look like two deers caught in the headlights. “I have an assignment to write!” Jungkook suddenly says and gets up, rushing off into his room. “And I promised to help him!” Taehyung then says and follows suit. They both disappear behind a closed door, leaving the two of you alone. Jimin cannot tell what is going on. “Did you target me?” you ask with a chuckle, finding the whole thing very strange and entertaining at once. The question takes Jimin by surprise, and he suddenly turns nervous again, when he puts it all together. He rubs the back of his neck as he grins from uncertainty. “You found the list, huh?” he says. “You hung it on the fridge, it isn’t a very good hiding spot,” you smile. Jimin walks over and sits down next to you, knowing he might as well come clean. He had made the guys promise not to tell you, but he should have known that they would slip at one point. It is Taehyung and Jungkook after all. “Aish, this is awkward,” he laughs as he buries his face in his hands out of frustration. You find his shyness sweet. “I wrote your name on the list, but it was way before you moved in,” Jimin says. “I saw you around campus, and I thought that you were really cute, so I talked about you a few times to the guys. When they discovered who you were at the interview, they thought it would be funny to tease me and let you live here,” he explains. It honestly surprises you, but it does not scare you off. You find it really flattering, in fact. “I’m sorry if you feel objectified by being on the list, I promise I didn’t mean it like they do,” he adds. You tilt your head questioningly. “What do you mean?” you ask, crossing your arms. “Well, they write names of girls they want to sleep with on there,” he says. “So, you don’t want to sleep with me?” you ask, and the question surprises Jimin. He finds himself at a loss for words. “No, that’s not what I meant!” he panics. “I want more than that,” slips from his lips before he can contain it. The confession puts a smile on your face, seeing him fumble so cutely with his words. Your smile makes Jimin able to relax a bit as he sees that you do not hate him. He feared that you would be angry, but you are not. “Who else did you write on there?” you ask out of curiosity. He leans back against the couch as he looks at you. He takes a second to study your face, wanting to read your expression correctly when he tells you. “Just you,” he says. Looking at him like you do makes him less nervous somehow. You look so innocent like this, and with that Jimin gains back his confidence. He can tell that you like hearing these things from him, and it makes him that much more into you. And he is right. You like hearing it from him. You cannot tell exactly what it is that makes you feel this way. Maybe it is the way that he looks at you with such adoration or how you sense that he wants to touch you with the soft palms of his hands. Whatever it is, you like it a lot, and you want him to give in to it. “Have you changed your mind?” you ask innocently, and Jimin cannot help but smile at your slight change of demeanor. He meets your eyes and shakes his head. “No,” he says softly. His gaze drops to your lips, and the sight is yet again so endearing. “Good,” you say back, and the word is his cue. He gently cups your face and leans in, feeling your warmth against his skin. With your compliance, he places his soft lips on yours, and with his other hand, he pulls you closer against him. He tastes sweet and addictive, and he feels the same way about you. He then pulls back a bit, separating your lips but keeping you close as your breaths intertwine. “I’ve been waiting for that,” he confesses, and it makes you grin. If only you had known sooner, he would not have had to wait at all.

[vixxiedust]

The Scholar’s Love Ch. 2

Genre: Romance, Drama, Alternate universe

Pairing: KenxOC

Warning: none

Summary:    

“You seem pretty passionate about politics, my lady,” Prince Jaehwan broke the silence.

“It has always been my dream to be an official, Your Highness,” I nodded.

“You can call me by my name when it`s only the two of us,” he smirked when I gave him a blank confused look, “After all didn`t have an unspoken agreement to get married?”

part one

Two. 

Which of the princes was he exactly? It couldn`t be Jongsu because he was only fourteen which meant that he was either Junho, the Crown Prince, or Jaehwan, the second Prince. I bit the end of my brush and chewed on it.

He promised that he`d come again but he never did. I knew that it was stupid of me to want to see him again yet I found myself waiting for his return. I tried to reason with myself that it was probably because it was my very first encounter with a man, so it felt new and exciting.

“Congratulations,” Adra interrupted my inner dilemma.

“On what?”

She sat on the cushion next to mine.

“On your essay, of course,” she placed her head on my shoulder and let out a deep sigh, “Why are you so talented?”

I chuckled. It was true that our teacher praised me for my last essay and he was not a man who`d speak empty words. But before I received the slightest of compliments, I`d get scolded daily. But recently I had gotten better both when it came to writing and debates. The amount of books piled on my desk along with the hundreds of burned candles were finally bearing fruit.

“You don`t seem to enjoy it here very much,” I said softly stroking her hair as if she was my younger sister, “Why didn`t you apply for a lady-in-waiting?”

“I mustn`t disappoint Father,” Adra whispered.

“Yes, we mustn`t disappoint Father,” I repeated automatically.

“Lady Nala,” I heard a boy calling me and when I raised my head I saw my teacher`s servant, “My master wants to see you.”

I nodded quickly but my heart sunk. I exchanged a quick glance with Adra and followed the boy.

What would teacher want with me? Did I not perform satisfactory? I strived with everything I could to be one of the best students in our group and it wasn`t easy. We were daughters and sons of scholars after all. All of us had had access to the best tutors. We came prepared to the Palace.

My teacher`s study was almost dark despite today being a lovely sunny day. He usually kept the curtains drawn. The aroma of calming incense hit my nose upon entering.

He was standing by his desk idly practicing calligraphy. He often said to us that nothing much was left for him to do since he was in the fall of his life. But we saw him working tirelessly despite the casual façade he`d put on.

I bowed.

“Master”

“You still have a lot to learn,” my heart sunk by the way he acknowledged my presence and I mentally prepared myself to be scolded, ”You are showing some advancement, of course, but far from perfect.”

“Yes, Master,” I replied as humbly as I could and stared at the tips of my shoes.

“Your father is a great scholar, so I believe you are not completely hopeless. In fact you`re less hopeless than many of my pupils,” he continues while his brush painted with beautiful steady strokes.

I inhaled the incense hoping to help me soothe my nerves.

“It`s my fortune to be your student, Master.”

He groaned and a drop of ink fell on top of his creation.

“You talk too much. I lost my concentration because of you.”

I bowed deeply sensing my impending doom. Teacher sighed and sat on his chair.

“Anyway, Minister Ha is sick. The weather has been so horrid lately and he has cold. He won`t be able to come to the Palace for the time being and the Imperial Doctor advised him that he should stay in bed.”

I blinked a couple of times. What had Minister Ha`s illness had to do with me? He was a powerful politician and I was a mere student of his friend.

“He needs someone to do the writing for him. Someone who can come to his manor daily,” teacher looked at me and I finally understood.

“Thank you, Master,” I bowed a couple of times, ready to shed a few tears of joy.

Writing instead of someone else was a simple task anyone could do. Any of his students could do it but teacher wanted me to meet influential people in court. He was taking care of my future.

“Don`t thank me,” he interrupted my erratic and excited mumbling, “Your writing is like a child`s and I hope your don`t embarrass me in front of him.”

“I will never to something like this on purpose,” I quickly tried to reassure him, “I will  do my best to uphold the prestige of our institu..”

“Alright, alright!” he waved dismissively but I knew that he wasn`t really annoyed with me, “Go away already and prepare yourself.”

It was stupid but I felt some tears of gratitude threatening to burst from my eyes. I brushed them quickly.

“Thank you, Master, I will not disappoint you.”

And before he could nag me again, I turned on my heel and ran outside.

---  

“That would be all,” Minister Ha said and managed to stand help from a maid.

I curtsied and started picking up my brushes.

“I should be heading to bed now,” he added quietly, his voice quite raspy from all the talking.

“Take care of your health,” I bowed again.

He didn`t go much further since a servant announced someone`s arrival. I heard Minister Ha coughing and instructing him to welcome the guest.

I quickly wrapped my used brushes in a thick cloth and put them in their box. I was so excited when this morning I was presented with a badge which allowed me to exit the Palace. For the first time in months I felt important and it lasted until I stood before the minister. He was an imposing man of forty and even sick and pale he still acted with so much authority that I didn`t dare to say anything except answer his occasional questions.

I tucked the box in my bag and took the time to straighten the crinkles of my dress because I didn`t want to embarrass myself in front of Minister Ha`s guest. I wasn`t allowed to wear my uniform outside the Palace so instead I opted for one of my own dresses. It was a simple light green one that I hoped made me look trustworthy and serious.

I was about to made my exit when I heard the visitor`s voice and it made me stop abruptly behind the bead curtain which divided the study and inner hall. It sounded familiar and I couldn`t remember where I had heard it exactly but it made my heart beat a lot faster than usual.

I peeked carefully and saw him. The Prince.

He was sitting there, smiling at the Minister and discussing the current problem that plagued the government – the flood in the Eastern region.  

I quickly took a step back and hid behind a decorative screen. I never expected to see him again. Too much time had passed since that afternoon in the library and it was evident that he had just flirted with me out of boredom and then quickly forgot about it. I, on the other hand, notoriously famous for not caring about love and romance, couldn`t do it. I felt my cheeks burning with shame.

I contemplated on the thought of remaining hidden there until he left but the Minister knew that I was still in his study. It would be awfully impolite not to leave.

Just take your own advice and be brave, you wretched girl. All you have to do is be polite and exit gracefully.

I took a deep breath and entered the inner hall with a steady moderately fast pace.

“Minister Ha, I bid you farewell,” I bowed, keeping my head down.

“Since you are training to be an official,” his voice rang in my ears painfully before I could even attempt to exit, “Please give us your opinion of the flood situation. Let us see if it coincides with Prince Jaehwan`s.”

I raised my head just a tiny bit and risked a quick glance towards the young man. Prince Jaehwan. This means he was the second in line.

I fell on my knees and made an unnecessarily formal bow.

“Forgive me for not greeting you before, Your Highness,” I croaked because my mouth suddenly went dry.

“Please, stand,” he said and I rose shakily.

The Prince looked amused and pleasantly surprised. His full soft lips were curved in a subtle smile. At least he remembered me. It didn`t, however, erase the fact that he just used me to waste some of his free time.

“The flood,” Minister Ha reminded and I stopped staring like an idiot, “In your opinion how is Crown Prince handling the situation?”

That was a tricky question. Crown Prince was entrusted with this task from the King. I couldn`t afford to criticize him severely especially in front of his brother. Be brave. You`ve done this many times before in the classroom with the other students. It`s no different now.

“His Highness has acted in timely fashion,” I said carefully, ”But building the dams takes time and resources the Eastern region doesn`t really have. I would suggest relocating man power from the Southern province.”

“King Samsa is waiting to attack us and weakening the South is not a good idea,” Prince Jaehwan objected, “They can only provide food for the hungry families. But keeping enough men at our borders is crucial for long-lasting peace.”

“The faster the Eastern region recovers, the quicker it will start producing weapons for our army. I believe that His Majesty hasn`t forgotten that our iron mines are there.”

“I haven`t, of course, but I`d rather transfer men from elsewhere or slow down the building process than leave our borders unprotected.”

“Potential war conflict is not worth an internal one and the citizen are suffering,” I was speaking louder and more confidently now.

“So you`re saying that my brother isn`t doing his job properly and the common people are paying the price?” Prince Jaehwan raised an eyebrow, a devilish smile plastered on his lips.

For a moment I had forgotten who I was speaking to. I bowed hastily.

“Forgive me, Your Highness, I am young and ignorant still,” I spewed the words trying to sound as humble as possible, “I am in no place to criticize your brother. May the gods punish me for this.”

He tried to suppress his laughter and I felt like an idiot. Minister Ha also seemed to take our discussion as entertainment.

“On account of your youth and ignorance, I forgive you,” Prince Jaehwan said barely trying to conceal his smile.

I hated him vehemently in this very moment. He was sitting casually, in his luxurious robes, being handsome and of royal blood and I was standing before him and patiently enduring everything while he was making a fool out of me in front of Minister Ha.

“Please allow me to take my leave,” I cleared my throat, “I have work waiting for me in the library.”

“Go. You did well today,” Minister Ha dismissed me with a gesture.

Relieved I curtsied first to the Prince and then to him and quickly made my exit.

The cool spring wind hit my face and I instantly felt relieved. As bad as it was, it was over now and could go back to the Palace and enjoy some quiet time with my books. I wasn`t a person of importance now but later when I became a real official I could face the royals without any fear and they`d take my words seriously.

I reached the front gate of the manor and as I was about to step out, I heard someone calling me. It was Prince Jaehwan. I sighed mentally stopped so that he can come to me.

“Your Highness?”

“Miss Nala,” he gave me the most charming innocent smile, ”Allow me to escort you to the Palace.”

I took a sharp breath. On one hand I was flattered since I never told him my personal name which meant that he had been asking around but on the other, I didn`t want him to take advantage of me anymore.

“I am not worthy,” I said bowing.

He lightly touched the sides of my arms helping me up.

“Miss Nala, you bow and apologize too much. Or at least ever since you found out who I really am,”  he stated.

“I am your subject. I ought to pay my respects.”

The corner of his lips curved in a smile but he didn`t seem happy. He nodded.

“It`s dangerous for a noble lady to walk alone. I`ll escort you.”

I couldn`t say no to him anyway but part of me was happy that we were about to spend some time together.

The main street was bustling with life and everyone was trying to make the most of the nice weather: street vendors, mothers with children, beggars, young men gambling… The occasional smell of food reached my nose whenever we passed by a food stall.

I hadn`t had much chance to stroll outside ever since grew old enough  to be considered a woman, and now was my time to enjoy this tiny bit of freedom. It felt strange to have a man by side though. No one knew that weren`t married, of course, or siblings, but the thought of us walking together openly made my face hot.

“You seem pretty passionate about politics, my lady,” Prince Jaehwan broke the silence.

“It has always been my dream to be an official, Your Highness,” I nodded.

“You can call me by my name when it`s only the two of us,” he smirked when I gave him a blank confused look, “After all didn`t have an unspoken agreement to get married?”

“Your Highness, I don`t think that promises are your strong point,” I objected, “You also promised that you`d come and see me again. I do not recall you visiting me.”

“Ah, so you`ve been waiting for me, Miss Nala?”

I said nothing. His hand brushed against mine as we were walking and I felt something. A spark, a spark which triggered an entire storm in my body. I was pretty sure that he felt it too. This gentle accidental touch changed rapidly the atmosphere between us.

“You don`t want to answer, I see,” Prince Jaehwan whispered smugly.

His finger touched my hand again but this time it wasn`t an accident.  He gently traced a couple of circles over my knuckles. I sneaked a glance and he was so focused on it that he nearly bumped into someone.

“I imagine you`re too busy, Your Highness,” I withdrew my hand and he returned his gaze to me.

“It`s true, I`m busy,” the prince admitted. “I have to assist my brother and my father because Jongsu is still young. That`s why certain promises slip from my mind from time to time.”

I nodded silently. Honestly, I didn`t expect him to start caring genuinely about me. We both had our own destinies anyway. And to add to that my father was only a third rank official, not even remotely enough for me to deserve a prince.

“That, however will change today!” he suddenly proclaimed and grabbed my hand, “From now on I will visit my lady pretty regularly.”

“Your Highness!” I pulled my hand in horror.

“Ugh, no… not Your Highness! Jaehwan, simply Jaehwan,” he whined.

“People are watching, Your Highness!” I cut him off, “You can`t touch me in public.”

“In private then?” he grinned.

“Anywhere.”

He stopped and gave me a thoughtful look.

“Yes, I know. Propriety is important, of course, but I have decided to be very serious about you.”

He sounded genuine but I knew he couldn`t be. Such marriage would never be allowed and I`d never risk losing my position as an official to become someone`s wife.

“Please, don`t joke around,” I managed calm myself down at last, “I`m honored to have attracted   your attention and it`s enough for me.”

“You sound so formal again and I just want us to be friends,” he moaned, “In fact I think it`s necessary to give you a token of my affection.”

The prince gently caught me by the sleeve and led me to a stall with lots of different trinkets.

“Choose whatever you like,” he smiled at me.

I scanned the jewelry and shook my head.

“It`s not necessary.”

But he was already browsing around the different bracelets.

“Is this jasper?” he asked the vendor holding a reddish brown one.

“Yes. You have such a good eye, mister,” the man said in a well-rehearsed voice, “It will suit your wife so much.”

“Right?” Prince Jaehwan exclaimed happily, “My wife will look splendid in it!”

I rolled my eyes.

“Your wife doesn`t need a bracelet because she doesn`t wear jewelry. And she is going home.”

I left him at the stall and started walking.

“Hey, hey! Wait for me! You can`t leave without me,” I heard him shouting.

I saw him hastily shoving some coins in the vendor’s hand.

“Catch me then,” I yelled and ran towards the Palace.

---

It was raining quietly outside and I was so close to dosing off but there were books waiting to be catalogued. Adra and I also had to transcribe a couple of books that our teacher needed so both of us were lacking sleep.

I stretched in my chair. The library was almost empty today except for a few scholars who had a quiet discussion in the corner.

I yawned discreetly and headed towards the door. If I was lucky enough I could catch a passing maid to ask for some tea. It took me some time and wandering around but eventually I saw a young woman dressed in brown. She quickly curtsied upon my request and ran down the corridor towards the kitchens.

I rubbed my temples and returned went back to the library. I had to finish things as fast as possible here because I needed sleep. I couldn`t present myself in this state in front of Minister Ha tomorrow.

I sat on my chair with a deep sigh. There was something left on the sheet that I was currently transcribing. A jasper bracelet. I touched it and strangely enough it didn`t feel cold. Someone had been holding it until a moment ago. Probably the Prince or at least I was hoping that it was him.

I looked around and he wasn`t in sight but his gift still brought a smile on my face. This time he didn`t about forget me and it was all that mattered.

[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 8)

Daisy Chains

Not much to say about this one besides some quiet little conversation around the campfire!

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

All was quiet for a while around the campfire, though we could hear laughter and chit chat from the other side of the camp. I looked at Arthur who was away with the fairies, staring at the fire, his beer bottle pressed to his bottom lip, whistling quietly with his breath.

“You okay, Arthur?” I asked and he blinked, snapping out of it and looking at me.

“Oh I'm fine, jus’ lost in thought,” he told me, eyes ghosting over me, taking in my appearance. “You look real nice, with the new clothes and the hair, I saw Mary-Beth did that for you.”

“Thanks,” I grinned. “She's good with hair, ain't she? Said maybe she'd teach me sometime.”

“That's nice of her. I'm glad you're getting along well with the others.”

“Yeah, you folk have all been very kind, I hope I can make it up somehow,” I said. He nodded, keeping his eyes on me for a long while before letting out a breath.

“Can I ask you something?” He said, his voice going up a bit with curiosity.

“Sure.”

“That letter… the one you and John picked up for me today. That was from someone that, uhh, that meant a lot to me, at one point. Still does, I suppose. But I ain't seen them in so long I was starting to feel okay with that, about them being all a part of my past,” he explained to me, his brow creased a little.

“But now they wanna see me again, and I ain't sure that's a good idea,” he continued, glancing away. “You ever loved somebody? I mean that ain't your kin.”

“Me?” I balked, not being prepared for such a question. “No, I uh, can't say I have.”

“No, I suppose you're too young for that,” he mumbled.

“I wouldn't say it's that. My family kept to ourselves, I never got the chance to meet anyone and become familiar enough to fall in love. Then of course, it's been the last thing on my mind in more recent years,” I said, frowning to myself. I wasn't sure Arthur really knew how old I was. “But anyway, is that all you wanted to ask me?”

“I guess I was just gonna ask you what you'd do," he met my eyes again.

“Would I go and meet this person?” I wondered aloud, and Arthur nodded. “I'm guessing you're afraid of being hurt, that's understandable. I'm not the best at advice but, I think it depends. Do you care about them enough to risk it?”

“I think I do. I feel maybe I owe it to her, not to ignore her letter. But I just don't… I don't wanna get sucked into anything, 'cause that's when I turn into a fool.”

“Maybe you should go then, even if it's just to tell her what you just told me; that you don't think keeping in contact like this is a good idea,” I suggested. Arthur nodded and sat quietly in thought for a while.

The whole time I'd been speaking to him my heart had been in my mouth. I didn't know anything about his situation and I could only do my best in advising him, I just didn't want him to get hurt over something I'd suggested. But he was a grown man at the end of the day, he could make his own choices.

“How about you come with me?”

“What?” My eyes widened.

“I think if I had someone there, I might be able to keep my head. I have a tendency to drop everything for this person and I know I can't do that right now, not with all that's happened to the gang recently.”

“I understand, but me? Why me? Wouldn't that look bad?”

“I ain't about to bring one of the boys with me, they'd give me no end of crap! Bunch o’ children. Not only that, everyone here has some sort of opinion on her. But you ain't met Mary before, you ain't got any ideas about her and you won't be whispering in my ear, tellin’ me what you think of her. That's why I asked you about this in the first place.”

“Alright. I guess I see your point. I'm just thinking of how it's gonna look if you turn up with some other woman she ain't met before on the back of your horse,” I said awkwardly, averting my gaze. I could feel Arthur's eyes on me as he considered my words. In the end he sat forward, adjusting his hat and taking a swig of beer.

“If she makes assumptions then maybe that wouldn't be so bad,” he admitted quietly. “Might even make it easier.”

I opened my mouth, but didn't know what to say, so I closed it again and fidgeted in my seat.

“That is of course, if you can stand for anyone to think you've settled for someone like me,” he added.

“Settled?” I spat with a little too much disbelief. I reined myself in. “I'm sorry, Arthur. You shouldn't think that of yourself, settling ain't what someone would do for you. You're a fine man.”

“Ya’ barely know me,” he chuckled.

“What I do know is all good; you’re a gentleman. You're kind, polite, helpful, not to mention extremely handsome,” I said without thinking, stopping abruptly and drinking some beer so that I had a reason to shut up. My thoughts turned back to the conversation I had with the girls earlier that evening and I felt incredibly embarrassed. If they'd heard that…

A glance from the corner of my eye showed Arthur with his head tilted down, unmistakable amusement on his face; badly hidden. I cleared my throat and made to stand up.

“Excuse me,” I mumbled, getting out of there as quickly as I could.

He was laughing at me. What a fool I'd been to say something like that – again, and mostly sober! – no wonder he found it funny, coming from me. Just a silly girl too young to have ever loved, can't even make herself look pretty; has to ask someone else to do it for her, always getting saved by men because she can't look after herself. Of course he didn't want to hear that from me.

I walked to the edge of camp and sat myself down on the cliff, feet hanging down off the edge. I took a breath and looked out over the view; it was dark now, just the moon providing a little light. I thought back to the first night I'd meet Arthur, and the fact that he'd been in my dreams. He'd held me, kissed me, made me a woman, made me feel desirable and loved. It'd all been a figment of my imagination, my intimacy starved subconscious, and as I thought about it I felt ashamed. Who was I to think of him in such a way, even if it was beyond my control in my dreams?

And here we were, crossing paths again; and I was still acting just as foolish as I had that night. How humiliating.

I finished my beer, the last one of the night; I'd already loosened up more than enough. I heard footsteps in the grass behind me, but didn't look back, half hoping that whoever it was would just leave me alone. I'd been surrounded by far too many people and I felt exhausted from it.

“You should be careful, what if you fall off the edge?” The voice that came was the absolute last I expected to hear. I turned around and saw little Jack standing there with a half eaten chocolate bar in his hand.

I scooted back, bringing my legs up and sitting further away from the edge.

“Thanks, Jack. You're right,” I smiled at him and he came closer to me, staying further back from the edge than I was.

“Mama warned me about going too close,” he told me.

“Well she's a clever woman, you should listen to her,” I nodded. He bit into his chocolate and was quiet for a while as he ate.

“Do your eyes hurt?” He asked after swallowing and I chuckled a little.

“They did, but they aren't so bad anymore,” I said, then gestured to him. “Your daddy helped me after I got hurt, you know that?”

Jack nodded, looking back over his shoulder towards camp. John was with Abigail, and though I couldn't hear them I could tell they were arguing.

“Hey,” I said, distracting him from his parents. “You ever made a daisy chain?”

“Sure! I know how to make those,” he gave me a big smile and sat down, crossing his legs. I twisted around to face him, plucking a flower from the grass.

“You wanna help me make one?” I asked. He nodded eagerly.

“Who's it for?” He asked. I thought for a moment, not really having anyone in mind, only suggesting it to stop him from seeing his parents fight.

“Mary-Beth, as a thank you for doing my hair tonight,” I decided, smiling at him as he gathered flowers from around the spot he sat in.

I watched him as he made the chain, and my job became handing him the flowers one by one for him to link onto the rest. It was sweet, just watching him have fun and be creative, and I wondered what sort of games he played with no other kids around, and without even a fixed home.

“Do you like it here, Jack?” I asked him, handing him another flower.

“Sure. It's okay, sometimes I miss the old place, though,” he shrugged, as unfazed as any kid could be, his world was small and I suspected as long as he had his parents and the other familiar faces around him, he'd be okay. “Do you like it here?” He asked.

His question took me by surprise. He was just a child, I was under no pressure to give him a well thought-out answer, a simple yes would've satisfied him. But it made me think. I was on the fence about it, I liked the security I felt when I was here but I couldn't fight the feeling of not quite belonging, of intruding and outstaying my welcome. It was why I was trying to be as helpful as possible.

“Sure, you folk are all very kind,” I told him in the end. “I want to make sure I thank you all properly.”

“You need me to help make more daisy chains?” He asked and I laughed, his purity endearing.

“No, you're alright. You're doing a great job with this one, I couldn't possibly expect you to do any more for me,” I assured him. He held up the completed daisy chain, grinning. “That looks beautiful, Jack.”

“Will Mary-Beth like it?”

“I'm certain she will, shall we go give it to her?” I asked and he hopped up to his feet before I could blink. I stood up too, about to follow him back into camp when Abigail appeared in front of us.

“There you are, Jack. It's bedtime, come on,” she waved him over.

“We made this for Mary-Beth!” He ran over to her, showing her the chain.

“Well that's lovely, you can give it to her in the morning, say goodnight to your new friend,” she gestured to me and placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face me.

“You can give it to her,” he said to me, offering me the daisy chain. I smiled and took it from him.

“Thanks for your help, Jack.”

“You're welcome, it was fun! Goodnight,” he said letting his mother guide him away from me. Abigail addressed me with a polite nod, but she didn't return the smile I gave her. My stomach knotted. If Karen had gotten ideas about John and I, I dreaded to think what Abigail thought.

I let out a quiet groan, looking down at the daisy chain in my hand. I wanted to leave, I didn't want to stay any longer and cause any problems, I didn't want to make myself look any sillier in front of Arthur, I didn't want to take up any more of the camps resources. If I could, I'd have walked right out of camp there and then, but I knew that it'd be suicide going out there without any weapons, food, or shelter. I was trapped.

I swallowed thickly and walked back into camp, sitting down in the spot I'd been sleeping the last few nights next to Mary-Beth. Her book was sitting there and I slipped the daisy chain under the front cover and left it there, not feeling like finding her and handing it over. I curled up on my side and tried to sleep.

It was odd. Despite the camp being alive with noise from the party, I still slept more soundly than I ever did out there in my tent alone.

[raendown]

Pairing: IzunaTobirama Word count: 1789 Soulmate au: The one where when your soulmate is injured your skin will grow flowers in the same place

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Chapter 188: Izuna/Tobirama

“Anija just left home.”

Izuna sighed and opened his eyes, watching the clouds scudding across the sky above them. “How long until he gets here? I doubt he moves as fast as you do.”

“No, he gets distracted on the way no matter where he’s going. I’d give him about fifteen minutes at top speed. Twenty minutes if he ambles a little or stops to poke at one of the trees he’s trying to cultivate.” Despite his young age Tobirama already had quite an impressive eye roll, backed with enough sass for three grown men.

“Can you feel where my brother is?”

“He hasn’t left your compound yet. Probably will soon, though. He seems to be pacing and every turn brings him a little closer in this direction.”

Pursing his lips, Izuna nodded. That sounded like his brother. Like most loudmouths Madara always thought he could pull off the subtle act perfectly. If that was true then Izuna would never have followed him here to the river and he never would have met his soulmate, although a year ago he would have said that was a good thing. A year ago he had been devastated to know that his flowers bloomed for a dirty rotten Senju.

Lots of things had changed in the past twelve months. How Tobirama convinced him not to say anything about their brothers’ secret meeting was still something he couldn’t quite pin down to more than just the shock of discovering what Madara really kept leaving the house for combined with trying to deal with the bond he had found in a most unexpected place. Mostly Izuna thought what had kept him coming back could probably be attributed to the insatiable curiosity that had gotten him in to all kinds of trouble already in his thirteen years of life.

“So we’ve got about fifteen minutes until we have to split then?” he asked, still a little surprised after all this time how sad that made him.

“I mean, if we don’t want them to know we’ve figured them out then yeah.”

“Okay but consider: how fun would it be to spy on them?” Izuna rolled over on to one elbow to grin at his companion but Tobirama only shook his head.

“Did you forget that your brother is a sensor too? As soon as he leaves the compound you and I can’t stay here. His range isn’t as good as mine but he’d still know we were here long before he arrived. And he’d probably think we were fighting so he’d come charging in like a bull.”

He flopped back down to the ground with a disappointed huff. “Yeah, he does like to charge around everywhere.”

A hand touched his shoulder and he looked round to see a tentative expression on Tobirama’s face, a strange sort of hesitance that was unusual for such a confident young man. “I don’t want to leave either,” he admitted. “But, from what I hear of your brother, if he knew we were here then he would act differently and we need those two idiots to stay friends. The closer we let them grow the closer we are to having an easy path to peace once they grow up and take leadership of both clans.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right. Madara always goes ballistic when he thinks I’m in danger and seeing me this close to you? He’d attack without stopping to ask questions.”

“Exactly. So we have to be patient for now. Let them think they have their secret; you and I have a secret of our own.”

Tobirama’s hand came around from the opposite side holding a well-sharpened kunai but even as he caught sight of it Izuna did nothing more than continue to lie still, utterly relaxed. Of the many things he had learned over the past year the most important one was that he had nothing to fear from the boy at his side. Indeed, Tobirama’s blade went straight to his own skin rather than pierce Izuna’s, drawing a short line down the back of his free hand.

Both of them looked on with rapt expressions as Izuna raised his own arm so they could watch the flowers blossoming on his skin, white and yellow roses for secrecy and friendship. When he was even younger Izuna remembered listening to his mother wax poetic about the grand love story to be found in their soul blooms but he was hardly disappointed to know their flowers came in shades of friendship. He was only thirteen, after all. What did he care for falling in love? No, they were both much too young for that, much too focused on playing the good little soldier and keeping their remaining brothers alive.

“Will you be here next week?” he asked, his eyes tracing the shapes of Tobirama’s fingers while his soulmate stroked the petals between them.

“Always.” Tobirama’s smile was quicksilver and lightning where it flashed across his mouth.

Izuna had always been fascinated by lightning.

By some miracle the two of them managed to keep their friendship a secret over the next few years that passed. Their first excuse was to allow their older brothers time to form a stronger bond between them, redirecting their fathers’ attention so that Hashirama and Madara might build a foundation for the dreams neither of them would shut up about for more than five minutes. As the years passed they eventually had to admit that the friendship between those two had to be pretty solid already and instead told themselves that it was just a great joke. It was the perfect prank, of course, pretending they knew nothing of their brothers’ secret friendship while at the same time maintaining their own.

Nearly ten years passed before they were outed on the day they had both been waiting so long for, a decade fraught with so many near misses it was something of a miracle that no one knew of them still.

As they stood across from each other on the battlefield, swords drawn and eyes locked, the rest of the world fell away from them as it always did when they met like this. Pretty much everyone knew that the new clan heads had been pulling punches since they were little kids but what they didn’t realize – or what Tobirama and Izuna hoped they didn’t realize – was that the second heirs had been doing the same thing with much more subtlety for almost as long.  

The fact that their brothers hadn’t even bothered to put up the front of battling today was lost on both of them as they each had eyes only for the way the other parried and blocked, danced and sway, steps they both knew by heart and cues only they knew how to follow. The slightest shift of an arm meant ‘go left’ and the blinking of an eye meant ‘down, quick’. To anyone else their movements were deadly but to them it had long become a game they had mastered – and enjoyed. It never crossed their minds there could be a situation where it was a bad thing for their cover to work so well.

Or at least it didn’t until Tobirama’s sword came down and Izuna cried out, not from pain, but in shock at finding Madara there between them in the blink of an eye, massive gunbai parrying a blow that never wound have connected anyway and returning it with a slash at Tobirama’s torso that he would later insist was only meant as a warning. It felt as though the entirety of both clans were holding their collective breath as Tobirama lifted a hand to his chest, pressing his palm against the armor and blinking down at it like he didn’t understand where the blood was coming from. Like he didn’t understand what had just happened despite years of training sharpening his ability to react to anything on the battlefield. Then he lifted his gaze back up to meet with Izuna’s and released a single huff of ironic laughter before staggering back and falling to one knee.

Stupefied, visibly ashamed of what his own instincts had driven him to doing, Madara turned to look back at his little brother. He found Izuna cupping the petals dripping from a row of gardenias all blossoming in a straight line across his chest.

“Call a medic,” Izuna told him in a cold, steady voice, “or you will have just done something that I will never forgive you for.”

Leaving his stunned brother to process that without bothering to soften the blow in any way, he stepped around Madara's frozen form and knelt down to cup Tobirama’s cheeks between both hands, stroking the marks that he still thought were a ridiculous addition to an already pretty face. His soulmate was still blinking in surprise so Izuna rolled his eyes with as much attitude a he could muster.

“Don’t be so dramatic. He only stabbed you a little.”

“Slashed,” Tobirama corrected him absently. If ever there was a sign that he would be alright it was the continued snark that was, in Izuna’s opinion, entirely uncalled for right at the moment. With a shake of his head Izuna pulled the man down until he face was pressed against the line of gardenias. If their actions didn’t make it obvious to everyone around them that something was going on then surely flowers that stood for secret love were enough to do the trick.  

“Whatever you want to call it you are bleeding so just sit still and keep that mouth in check before I end what he started.” In direct contrast to his harsh words Izuna bent to press a soft kiss against the edge of his soulmate’s lips. “Stay alive and I’ll finish what I just started instead.”

Tobirama’s bloody grin was all Izuna cared to concentrate on as Hashirama finally dropped down beside them with both hands already glowing green, shouting back and forth with Madara as he did. Neither of them had ever cared for peace in quite the same way their siblings did. Theirs was a much more selfish desire, the desire to be together without fear, to see their precious people grow old and not worry that they might slaughter each other for something as stupid as clan pride. And if Izuna had been keeping quiet about his desire for a few kisses or the like it seemed that he hadn’t needed to worry about that.

He had everything he wanted right here, bleeding out in his arms and screaming in his ear but that was really the best that any shinobi could ask from life. Everything would turn out fine – a blossoming future, one might say.

[snickerl]

I am reblogging this because I don’t know how or why the last part and thus the closure of this ficlet was missing. It’s in italics at the end if you want to find out how Ahab’s and Maggie’s conversation went on after ��Did you ever...”  Instead of finishing the sentence he bit his lower lip.

Mom’s The Best

A collection of XF ficlets

I started this collection of stand-alone ficlets from Margaret Scully’s POV a while ago because she’s always been one of my favorite characters. This particular chapter has been sitting in my “yet to post” box for the longest time because I wasn’t sure if anybody would be interested in reading it. Anyway, today I decided it was time to post it and just find out...

So far, the collection contains the following ficlets:

PEPPERMINT TEA APPLE PIE ROOT BEER PEACH PUNCH CHOCOLATE COOKIES

APPLE CRUMBLE

"Hey Starbuck, have you decided which offer you want to take yet? I heard Johns Hopkins is interested."

Bill Scully, Sr. had just swallowed the last piece of roast. He was dabbing the corners of his mouth with a napkin and popped the question casually at his younger daughter who instantly stopped chewing. His wife sucked in her breath. Maggie somehow knew this wasn't a good after dinner topic. Dana had been avoiding to talk about what to do after her graduation from medical school lately whereas Ahab had hardly been talking about anything else.

Maggie knew he loved all his children but Dana had always been his favorite. Since the day she was born, she had been the apple of his eye. It had put her at the receiving end of his fatherly affection like none of her siblings but it had also put a lot of pressure on the girl to cope with. When she had been admitted to medical school, Maggie had seen her husband almost burst out of pride, Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. sounded like a melody in his ears. Therefore failing or, God forbid, dropping out hadn't been an option for Dana. It had turned her into an ambitious, tenacious, and determined young woman with an incredible amount of stamina who would do anything to not disappoint her daddy. To her mother's dismay, enjoying life had fallen a bit by the wayside in the process. Well, her older sister and younger brother had compensated for it more than enough.

Dana was putting the cutlery down in slow motion, then dabbed her lips thoroughly. She squinted her left eye for a brief moment and looked at her father.

"You heard? From whom?"  

Maggie noticed a sensitive undertone in Dana's voice her husband obviously missed because he continued unwaveringly.  

"Daniel told me."

"How did you get around talking about me with my boyfriend?"

Dana was tensing up noticeably. Maggie held her breath.

"He's as interested in your career as I am. Your move into the medical field needs to be well considered, and Daniel says Boston is offering the best opportunity for you to go into cardiology."

"Oh? Daniel says? I see." Dana chewed the inside of her cheek before she asked tight-lipped, "do I get a say in this, dad, or have Daniel and you already submitted my application?"

Bill's eyes widened at his daughter's harsh and open irony. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dana let out an annoyed chuckle. "Does it even occur to you that I might have other plans?"

"You're not talking about that crazy FBI idea, are you? That's absolutely out of the question!"

Bill shook his head. Ever since Dana had first mentioned that she had been approached by an FBI recruiter, he refused to even talk about it, always wiping the topic away with a dismissive wave of his hand, just like he was doing now.

"Bill, please," Maggie cut in as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

The family dinner which had started out so nice and enjoyable was at the brink of turning into a veritable family argument. They hadn't been together like this for quite a while because the final exams of med school had accounted for all of Dana's free time. Now that all the tests - written, practical, and oral - were taken and they were waiting for the results, doubting not even for a nanosecond that her marks would be anything but excellent, their daughter finally allowed herself to spend an evening away from her textbooks at her parents' house.

"It's my life we're talking about here, dad, and not that many graduates get recruited right out of medical school by the FBI. I would get the chance to specialize in forensic pathology and might be teaching at the Academy later on. That's really something I can see myself in."

Maggie noticed how Dana's tensed-up body posture relaxed a bit, how exhilaration took over. It showed clearly how excited she was about this. Unfortunately, her husband wasn't this sensitive, for he exclaimed indignantly, "pathology? A medical doctor saves lives and does not cut open dead people who can't be helped anymore. It's stupid!"

"Stupid? Pathology is a medical specialty like any other. It isn't about some morbid slicing and dicing, it's about getting to the bottom of why and how a person died. It's science. Forensic pathology is a substantial part of solving criminal cases and convicting murderers. I would be saving lives by keeping potential victims from harm by killers that I helped to put behind bars."

Dana's passionate advocacy of forensic pathology didn't impress Ahab one bit. He didn’t seem to listen to her at all actually, Maggie noticed. Instead, he was pulling another ace from his sleeve; or so he thought.

"You really want to be a Fed, Dana? Lowsy pay and small reputation included?"

"This is what this is actually all about, isn't it? Pay and reputation." It wasn't meant as a question. "Your daughter being an underpaid federal agent wouldn't be anything you'd be comfortable talking about in your old boys' circle, would it? Your offspring performing open heart surgery though would be something else, something you wouldn't hesitate a second to let your friends know. Right, Dad?"

Ahab took a step backward. Was he perhaps impressed in some way by Dana's accusatory tone, Maggie marveled. There was a kernel of truth in it somewhere, for sure. Her husband had always loved letting his environment know how well his beloved Starbuck was doing. Dana had hit a blind spot with her angry words, she read from the change in Bill's whole demeanor and facial features. He had not only taken a step away from his daughter, not towering her anymore, but his whole body posture collapsed. His arms, which he had been fidgeting with, were hanging limply all of a sudden, his chin, which had been lifted challengingly, had sunken to his chest, and his eyes, which had been boring through Dana's just a moment ago, were avoiding hers now. He gritted his teeth so hard his jaw pushed through visibly. Maggie had very rarely seen her husband searching for words; this was one of the times.

"It's just...Daniel...well, he says you're really good at it and that you'd have a bright future in cardiology," he eventually tried to defend himself, but Dana didn't want to hear any of it.

"Daniel? Daniel says? And what Daniel says is necessarily right? You don't trust me to make my own choice? To know what's good for me?"

Ahab tried to fend off the accusations he had been showered with a feeble, "you're getting it all wrong, Dana." Maggie almost felt like stepping up and pairing with him to form a consistent parental entity. It was what they had always done when serious arguments with their children occurred, she was wondering why she was somehow reluctant to do so now. Before she got to the bottom of the motivation, or rather lack thereof, Dana's voice filled the room again.

"I don’t think I'm getting anything wrong here! It's so typical for men to believe they are to make choices for us women. I mean, did mom ever had a say in whether she wanted to pursue her career after you got married?"

Maggie's heart skipped a beat and she realized that her daughter was unconsciously rubbing her nose into what was keeping her from backing her husband up in this matter.

"Your mother knew what it meant to be a Navy wife," Bill said without even looking at her as if the woman he was talking about wasn't in the same room standing just a few inches away from him.

"That does not mean she wouldn't have liked to keep working. She loved being a teacher, didn't you, mom?" Dana exclaimed, her glaring eyes meeting her mother's.

"I, uh-," Maggie started but was interrupted instantly by her husband.

"She was happy to be a housewife and mother."

"You didn't even let her answer herself just now, for Christ's sake! Was she allowed to have an opinion of her own back then? Did you even ask her or agreed upon what was good for her together with grandpa, just like you are doing for me right now with Daniel?"

Without even taking another breath Dana turned to Maggie and implored, "mom! Don't you have anything to say to this?"

"Watch your mouth, young lady! I am not to be spoken to in this tone by any of my children. And neither is your mother." Ahab's words came out of his mouth like shots out of a machine gun. Sharp, cold, deadly, but Dana would not let herself get intimidated.

"I'm an adult, dad! I'm not a kid anymore you can force to take piano lessons just so she can play Mozart to your party guests for their entertainment and your sick fatherly pride."

"How dare you-"

"Stop it! Now! Both of you!"

Maggie had been listening to what was being said about her with a mixture of shock, anger, and regret until she drowned the gamecocks in a high-pitched voice. She knew that if they went on, they would be saying something they regretted later. They had never been in an argument like this, mainly because Dana had always been a child trying to please her father, always wanting to make him proud of her. These times seemed to have come to an end. She was obviously ready to disobey his wishes, and Maggie secretly believed that it actually wasn't such a bad thing. Even though she herself had been pulled into their fight, she knew that right now was not the time to voice her own feelings about the whole FBI matter. Right now she had to protect father and daughter from getting themselves into a rage and saying something so hurtful the wounds left behind would be difficult to heal. Ahab and Starbuck had always been so close, if they tore themselves asunder over this, it would break both of their hearts; and Maggie's own heart along with it.

Both were staring at her, flabbergasted by her temperamental, forceful outburst. They weren't used to her speaking up, reining people in so openly. She usually tried to appease, to sugarcoat cracks and to smooth out disagreements within the family. "Don't look at me like this!" she said. "Did you even realize how you were yelling at each other? This is not how we talk to each other in this family!"

Maggie had a distinct need for harmony and every family member relied on it. No matter how severe the dispute was, everybody knew she would later arbitrate between the parties and make them reconcile again. Throughout her married life, she'd played the mediator between her husband and his children as well as between the siblings many times, had always tried to be impartial, to not take one side but make them see the other's point of view, to understand each other. It had always worked best like this. Until today. Today she would leave her neutral position and speak up for the person she believed had a reason.

"Dana is right, Bill," she said and was surprised about how easily the words were leaving her mouth.

"What?" her husband retorted, apparently dumbfounded by the statement which was so openly in conflict with his own opinion on this matter.

"What?" Dana whispered, equally caught off-guard like her father but in a more positive way.

"She's right. It's her choice to make, not ours."

Here she was again, Margaret Scully, a loyal wife to her husband, joining him as a parent by calling it their choice when as a matter-of-fact it had been just his. It was fair enough though, to not push him in the corner and blame him alone because if she was honest, she would have to admit that she was also not fond of her daughter's idea to join the FBI, but for totally different reasons.

Ahab's face turned red, anger creeping through his body. "What's going on in your minds, you Scully women? Very well, then," he spat but knew better than to start another argument with his wife now. He let out an exasperated huff, turned on his heel, and took a beer out of the refrigerator and mumbled under his breath, "I'm outside."

"Great," Dana hissed right after the porch door had been closed with a loud 'bang' seconds later, "now he's mad at me and you."

"That's alright, sweetheart. He's going to calm down again. We let him have his beer and give him time to think."

"I'm a disappointment for him because I'm not taking the career path he wants me to."

Maggie gasped. It hurt to see Dana being so hard on herself. Children weren't determined to fulfill their parents' dreams, they should aspire their very own goals.

"It's your life, Dana. You have to decide on your own. You've already signed the contract, haven't you?"

"No, but I really want to do this, mom."

"Yes, I can see your determination, but I always thought it was medicine you wanted to work in."

"I've never given anything else much thought until the FBI approached me."

"What is it with law enforcement that interests you so much?"

"It's not law enforcement per se but the opportunity to specialize in pathology. That's science, mom. Searching for the cause of death in a dead body is scientific work. It will challenge my intellect in many more ways than doing one heart catheter investigation after another. You remember that I wrote my undergraduate thesis about Einstein, don't you? If dad hadn't pressured me into medicine, I might've as well graduated in physics. I love science, mom."

"I know you do, but all this time you spent in medical school...you worked so hard for your degree, sweetheart. Are you willing to throw this all away?"

"I'm not throwing it away. A pathologist is a medical doctor like any other, and if I find out that the FBI is nothing for me, I can start as a resident at a hospital in cardiology or pediatrics any time. Johns Hopkins won't give me another chance probably but there are enough renowned hospitals in America." She looked at her mother with tears in her eyes, searching for some understanding. "I really want to give this a try, mom."

"You've already made up your mind," Maggie realized.

"Yes. I have an appointment with HR at the FBI headquarters this week. Field training will start next month."

Maggie tensed up. "You're going to be out in the field?"

"It's not intended. I get trained in forensic pathology and will work in the morgue and the lab mainly. Any time later, I might also be teaching at Quantico."

"Not intended? Does that mean it might happen nonetheless? That you have to go out into the field to track down criminals?"

"Mom, it's the FBI after all. I mean, it's part of the training and I have to do what I'm assigned to. If they need my expertise out in the field one day, I might be partnered up with someone. You know how it works in a federal institution, people are not asked but ordered."

Yes, being married to a naval captain, Maggie knew how it worked. Her family had been ordered to relocate to a different Navy base on short notice more than once, and her husband had been commandeered to dangerous missions around the globe never ever taking into consideration whether his wife was pregnant or his children had just made new friends at school. She also knew what it was like to worry about a beloved one on a daily basis, how to cope with the constant fear that something might happen to them. Maggie knew all of this and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to get through it once again. When Ahab had eventually retired from active military service and started working behind a desk, assuming a consulting role at the base, it had taken months until she had learned to not expect a compassionate Navy officer tell her something happened to her husband behind every nightly ring of the phone or urgent knock at the door. And now it would start all over again. How she wished her daughter would spare her dealing with this kind of fear.

She was fearing for Bill, Jr. already, her oldest son, who had followed his father's footsteps into the Navy. But he was tall and strong. A man. Dana was so small and fragile. Not any less fierce than her older brother, probably even more tenacious than he, but wouldn't she easily be outrun and overpowered by a muscled male criminal? Wouldn't she be bullied as a woman in a male-dominated environment? Maggie knew the FBI was as much an old boys' club as the Navy. Her daughter would have to fight herself through the system day in and day out. What a tough path she was choosing for herself.

Maggie sighed quietly but wouldn't voice her inhibitions. She would swallow her fears down and would resist the temptation to ask Dana to stay in the medical field just so her mother would be able to sleep more peacefully. Her daughter had every right to do whatever she wanted. It was her life, her career, her choice, and in a way she admired her guts. She would stand up to any man who underestimated her like she had stood up to her father today. Who would have thought that the tiny rosy bundle she had held prematurely in her arms all those years ago after a complicated pregnancy and difficult childbirth would grow up to become such a powerful and strong personality.

"I'm so proud of you, Dana," Maggie said, working hard though to mask her underlying worries.

"Thanks, mom, but you're the only one I'm afraid. Dad's never going to accept it."

"Don't underestimate your father. Give him some time to get used to the idea."

Dana shook her head. "Let's face it, he's disappointed in me."

"You have to go on your own way, Dana, not on the one your father wants to see you on. He will understand eventually."

"Do you really think so?"

"He's your father, and he loves you no matter what."

Maggie was sure of it. His love for his daughter was infinite. One day he would be able to swallow down his pride and see Dana's choice for what it was, an autonomous decision by his grown-up daughter. Something else was on Maggie's mind though. Her father wasn't the only dominant male figure in Dana's life.

"What's Daniel's reaction to your decision?"

Dana looked away. It took her a moment until she answered her mother. "I'm going to break up with him, mom."

"Oh. Because of this?"

"No...yes...well, I guess it's the straw that broke the camel's back. He's been so patronizing lately. He's not only planned my residency but has also more or less outlined my whole career after that. Can you imagine? I mean, who does he think he is that he acts like my goddamn guardian?"

A wave of relief was rolling over Maggie. She'd always thought that Dana's relationship with Daniel was not sufficiently based on equality although she had never mentioned anything to Dana, Dana was old enough to decide who she dated.

Daniel was Dana's teacher in medical school. He was an accomplished man, married, which bugged Maggie in particular. Not because she saw Dana as an adulteress - it had been the man's own decision to leave his wife and teenage daughter to get involved with one of his students - but because he used her, bathed himself in how she looked up to him. He enjoyed the role of her mentor, both in the medical field as in how to lead her life. Of course, he wanted her to do her residency under his wings in his hospital. It would give him the perfect opportunity to guard her furthermore, to mold her into what he saw in her.

A clear cut was maybe for the best. A completely clean slate. Another professional environment, another city, another man eventually. Maggie would hate to see her independent-minded, self-assured, and autonomous daughter permanently with someone who didn't treat her as an equal. There had to be men out there who saw her inner height and didn’t mistake her for a little girl just because she was petite. But Maggie also knew that Dana loved Daniel, that she had thought not long ago she would share her entire life with him. Breaking up wouldn't be easy.

"I better get going, mom. I don't think dad is coming back inside as long as I'm here."

"But what about dessert? I made your favorite." 

Even if it was a bit silly to believe there was even the slightest chance the three of them would be sitting at the table together having dessert, Maggie tried.

"Apple crumble with vanilla sauce and whipped cream?"

"Uh huh," Maggie confirmed.

She had even made the vanilla sauce herself this time. She hadn't done that in a while because of the time-consuming work involved, but the ones you could buy consisted more of sugar and artificial flavor than real bourbon vanilla, and that was what Ahab and Dana liked the most.

"Especially for your father and you."

"You're the best, mom." Dana flew into her arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry I ruined the evening, but I had to tell dad sooner or later. As much as I love your apple crumble, I lost my appetite. I don't think I can get anything down now."

"Take some home, dear. You can have it later, or tomorrow. I made it this morning, it'll persist a few days."

Dana gifted her one of her warm, genuine smiles. "I'd love to."

After Dana had said her goodbye with two Tupperware boxes in her hand and the front door closed shut behind her, Maggie stepped through the screen door out on the patio behind the house. Ahab was sitting in one of the deckchairs. His eyes were closed but he wasn't sleeping. There was an empty beer bottle on the floor and one half-full in his hand. He put it to his mouth and took a swig.

"Has she left?" he asked without opening his eyes.

"Yes. She told me to say goodbye."

He chuckled condescendingly. "There were times she gave me a hug before she left."

"Well, you didn't really make the impression you wanted to be hugged tonight."

He snorted, sat upright, put the bottle to his lips and emptied it in one gulp.

"Shall I get you another one?"

"Are you trying to appease after having stabbed me in the back?"

"I haven't stabbed you in the back, Bill. I just spoke out what I thought was right."

"It's not right that she throws away her medical degree and goes into law enforcement instead. The FBI, for heaven's sake, Maggie! She'll spend her time in a dull governmental building behind a utilitarian desk. She'll have to fight with the audit department over expenses more than she'll take criminals into custody. She'll waste years accomplishing nothing until she realizes she made a mistake." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe the money we paid for medical school was all for naught."

"Haven't you listened at all? She told us that she would specialize in forensic pathology."

"She could be a heart surgeon but wants to become a pathologist? That doesn't make any sense! Why doesn't she see what Daniel is offering her?"

"He might actually be part of the problem."

"Huh?"

"Daniel is part of the problem, Bill," Maggie repeated with more emphasis. "Can't you see that Dana wants to stand on her own two feet? That she wants neither her father nor her partner to tell her what career path to choose? Is that really so hard for you to understand? She wants to make her own decisions."

"You mean she's doing this to get one over on me?"

Maggie sighed. "No, Bill, this has nothing to do with you. Or Daniel. That's exactly the point."

Bill shook his head and put the bottle to his lips to take another swig. Realizing it was empty, he snorted. After contemplating for a moment, he popped a question which had obviously been bothering him for the time he had been out on the patio.

"Uhm...Maggie...what Dana said..."

"Yes, dear?" she said warmly. She had an idea of what was on his mind. They had never spoken about it, not even once since they were married, and she found it ironic in a way that one of their kids had to bring the topic up.

"What she said about you...uh, you giving up teaching," Ahab continued stammering.

"Yes?"

"Would you have rather continued working? Instead of...I mean..."

"Being there for you and the kids?" she completed his thought and added with a smile, "no."

"Hmm," he grunted apparently not fully convinced.

"Times were different then, Ahab. Today, it might have been possible for me to be a teacher and a housewife and mother, but not back then. You were right when you said that I knew what it would be like to be a Navy wife, and I chose to be one. I loved you, and I wanted to have children with you."

"Did you ever..." Instead of finishing the sentence he bit his lower lip.

"Regret it? No. Not a single day." "Hmm," Bill gruntled again, staring at the empty beer bottle in his hands, peeling the label off. "Why does Dana have to be so stubborn?" "Oh, Bill," Maggie laughed good-naturedly, "because we raised her to be an emancipated woman with an independent mind and a strong will. When has Dana ever been inconsiderate or unreasonable? Huh, Bill? I'm sure she's given this much thought, and I'm also sure that the feeling she's disappointing you is hard for her to handle. She adores you, Ahab." "Weird way of showing me," he mumbled, softening a bit. His shoulders, which had been tense were slowly descending, his brows returned to their original spots, and the wrinkles on his forehead were fading. He breathed in deeply and let the tension flow out of his body with a prolonged exhale. Maggie seized the moment to go for his soft spot again. "She's still your Starbuck." His special nickname for her, being the only person allowed to call her like that, never missed having an effect on him. He was relenting even more. "Yes, sure. Of course, she is." Maggie took the empty bottle out of her husband's hand and put it on the floor next to the other. She pushed the second deckchair right beside his, placed herself in it, and intertwined her fingers with his. After a while, she asked, "are you ready for some apple crumble for dessert?" "You made apple crumble?" "It's Dana's and your favorite. The plan was to spoil you a bit tonight." "Did you buy that sugar-sweet sauce again?" "No, I made it myself. Following your mother's recipe." Bill Scully smiled lovingly at his wife and squeezed her hand tenderly. He pulled it up to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on its back. "I don't deserve you. I'm sorry the evening turned out like this. I know how much you like to have your children around. They drop by seldom enough." "It's okay, darling. You said what you had to say. Just don't be too strict with her. She's doing what she feels is right. She's not doing it to purposely contradict you." Bill left it at that for a moment. "I can't believe the money we spent on medical school," he said again and groaned. "Well, you never know, Ahab. Dana will be a medical doctor, one way or another, and who knows what the FBI has in store for her. She might become the Bureau's first female director," she said with a smile. He let that sink in for a moment, and although the fact that his daughter would not become a heart surgeon was still bugging him, this new idea soothed him a little. Maggie could imagine what was going on in his mind. If there was a woman capable of achieving this seemingly unreachable position for a female, it would have to be his Starbuck. "You did give her some dessert to take home, right? She loves your apple crumble." "Sure." Maggie smiled. Despite all the grievances Ahab had aired this evening, he cared very much for Dana. Inside the strict Navy captain was a devoted father; devoted to all his children but particularly to his younger daughter. And even if it seemed to Dana that he had been a dominant husband, having pressured her into a life as a housewife and mother, it had been her own wish to be this exactly, a supporting wife to her husband and a loving mother to her children. Maggie knew Bill treasured her, that he had never even thought of anyone else but her to share his life with. He had always been a loyal husband and family man, and she had relied on him to provide for her and the kids in return. She never had the feeling she had missed or lost anything because she had once decided to marry him. On the contrary, he had given her four wonderful children and a sheltered life. For that, she was infinitely thankful. She loved him.

[ur-mom-kayn]

Loyalty Chapter 34: The renegade Ninja

Zed Pov

Unfortunately, it did not work the way Zed wanted. His last match was the purest disaster. Exhausted, he entered his room and found that Kayn was no longer in his room. Somehow strange. Normally Kayn lay in bed, watching TV and happily waiting for his Master. But now he had his own room. Nevertheless, he found some things while moving from Kayn. Especially the hairdryer in the bathroom made him wonder. He reached for the hairdryer and walked over to Kayn's room.

He managed to get to the other side of the door by means of the shadow double. There he found him sleeping. "What will you do, Zed?" "Hi Rhaast. Why did Kayn leave the hairdryer in my room?" "Why not? He does not want to live here forever. He is at your home. No matter where you are. Here or in your room, Kayn will always be by your side. Check it out finally. He is your partner. He loves you. He just tries to settle in 2 rooms. You should accept that. He will get himself a hairdryer for his official room. So let him. " "Absurd," Zed replied, dropping the hair dryer on Kayn's sleeping head. "Ahhhhh! What's the fuck?" His student scolded.

Immediately he touched his head and rolled to the side. "You did not stick to our agreement. I probably will not stay with you." "What? Why are you running madly because of a hairdryer? I beg you. That's not how you treat your friend." Maybe he was right. Zed took the stupid device, placed it in Kayn's bathroom cabinet, and then went back to his student. "How was your match?" The younger one asked. "It sucks. Quit 0/10 the Laningphase." "Okay that explains your lousy mood. I'll forgive you. And how do you like my room?"

Skeptically, Zed looked over at Kayn. "The room is an exact copy of mine. The only noticeable difference is the still existing smell of furniture." "And the bed, " Kayn added. Zed did not have a nerve for discussion. He closed his eyes and let it be good. "Hey, do not fall asleep now. I had enough sleep. Let's do something." "And what are you thinking about? As long as I do not have to see Kayle, I agree with everything." And that's the reason, why the Master of Shadows is pissed. Stupid bird with a stupid Ulti.

"Mmmh ... we could go to the lounge and eat something. I'm getting hungry." Zed has skipped breakfast so far. Well, then. Zed stood up, expecting Kayn to follow him. Quick Kayn took Rhaast with them and followed Zed out. On the way, the younger one asked him, "Can I do anything to raise your spirits?" "Yes, please fall forward into a piece of cake. No idea. I just do not feel like laughing." Hopefully, Kayn understood his feelings. Rarely did he get so excited about a matchup, but today the level was just reached.

Kayn said nothing more on the remainder of the way. He was also very grateful to him. In the kitchen, Kayn first plundered the fridge. The boy was so eaten up that Zed had to look hard at his diet. "How about yogurt, cereal flakes, and some fruit?" "Sounds good as long as you cut the fruit. I do not feel like it." Kayn nodded and took out strawberries, bananas and apples. He actually used the kitchen, unlike Zed. He always got a meal, whereas Kayn took care of his breakfast on his own. He always let Zed know what he was eating. Also in the league, he had a strict nutrition and training plan. It is not put on the rotten skin here. Kayn not only accepted it but welcomed this austerity of Zed. A young lad like him needs control and discipline.

Kayn Pov

While Zed had made himself comfortable in a sitting area, Kayn showed his talent on the knife. I hate it when you cut something with a different blade. "In your opinion, should I cut fruit with a scythe? Do not be ridiculous." Kayn first set Rhaast up against the wall so he could watch him cut. It really drove him crazy when Kayn used a supposedly different weapon. After Kayn cut the strawberries, Wukong suddenly appeared in the kitchen and indulged in one of Kayn's bananas. "Hey! What are you doing Shadow Boys here? Otherwise, you are always alone here." "Yes, yes. I wanted to distract Zed a bit, so I took him with me." Wukong then had to smile a little. "Really a miracle if you ask me. I was previously the Enemy Toplaner and I was allowed to watch the gossip. I mean, we all know how strong and powerful Zed is, but his Summoner really did not care. Your master was really pissed off at the end of the game. That's why I'm so surprised that you come here for dinner together," Vastyana told him.

"Mmmmhh ... So bad? Then the cereal must taste bombastic, so he gets a better mood. Can you help me? I have no idea about cooking." "And how do you always make your breakfast when you cannot cook?" Well, Kayn never used to cook for Zed, just for himself. It did not give a damn how it tastes. "No idea. I guess good luck. I've never had kitchen service before." "I'm sorry my friend. I have just no talent. But I can bring you the ingredients if it helps you. But tell me, how is it in the order with the food? Basically, I'm interested in how it works for you." Kayn gladly accepted Wukong's friendship service. "Ah, that's not science with us. We have people with us who are familiar with health and nutrition. They teach those who are assigned to the kitchen service. So I have no idea what to eat and what not to eat."

"Is not that counterproductive? And what do you have to do to get into the kitchen?" Kayn had to laugh at the question. "Ah, it's not that hard. You just have to be weak. Everyone has to be useful in the order. In addition to the missions, you also have to do a job internally." "If you smile so silly, what's your job and how is the strength determined?" "As with any other clan, of course, through test battles. At first only in your age group and then when you have done each, then you fight yourself up. Having beaten the strongest of my age on my first day, I especially enjoyed Zed's attention. I became his personal student. That was my job at the beginning. Just obey Zed and learn from him the art of shadow magic. Two years later I was able to defeat one of the strongest men, which increased my reputation a lot. Zed saw great potential in me and taught me the prohibited technology. So I automatically belonged to the elite and became a teacher from the student. I teach others how to use weapons since I was a weapons master as a child. As you can see, I even master a darkin weapon. When Zed joined the league, I took over the management and the shadow training in addition to it."

Wukong was surprised. Many saw in Kayn only a student of Zed, but he was thoroughly a workhorse. "Are not you only 18? Zed is already 4 years here. You were still a child. How then can one guide a whole order?" By now Kayn was done with fruit cutting. Previously, Wukong brought him yogurt and two bowls, so all he had to do was mix everything together. "That was not that hard. I did more work than I had to. The Order is a brotherhood. Everyone helps you. Selfishness has nothing to do with us. So I was not alone." Kayn quickly got the cereal flakes from the cupboard and added them to it. "Thank you for being so open to me. Now I have a very different impression of the Order of Shadow than before. And that for the better. They can say what they want about you, but you seem to be really well organized. And I am very pleased to hear that you have such a strong cohesion."

If only he knew. Kayn had no contact with his brothers. Most were averse to him because of the murder of Nakuri. The distance to them will not help much. But better so than to continue to be targeted. Kayn needed a solution to his problem. Somehow he had to pull his brothers back to his side. After all, sooner or later he will be their master.

"Thank you, Kong for your help. I'll go over to Zed." "Kong? How do you know my real name?" Kayn did not know that was only guessed. "That was not my intention. I thought that might be a nickname. Anyway. I have to get to Zed quickly, otherwise, he'll be stinky." Kayn quickly grabbed two spoons, grabbed Rhaast and went along with bowls to Zed. In the sitting area Zed could turn his back to all, so he could calmly push his mask up. Of course, Kayn sat down opposite him, so he could have a better look at the other champions. Zed belonged to him and no one else was allowed to see his face.

In the course of the meal, Kayn asked his master if he liked it either. Zed nodded shortly afterwards. He really did not seem to have a face today. His favorite student had to do something about it. As Kayn continued to eat his cereal, a crowd gathered in the lounge. Curious, he listened to the crowd. "Hey, is it true that the meeting is here next week? It has never been that elders come specially here." Karma asked Irelia. "Yes, that's true. Sense of the thing is that they sometimes see the institution of war from the inside. That's why they come here for once."

Maybe Kayn interpreted too much, but that sounded like a way to get into the council. "Hey, Zed," he whispered to his master. "Should I face it and try to join the Council?" "I do not think that's so easy ..." "Please trust me. I've built a good rapport with some over the last few months. I think I can do it." Zed snorted. "Do something you can not do." Joyfully Kayn left his bowl and stormed towards the crowd. "Hey, guys, what's going on here? Are you planning another party?" Everyone stared at him with a horrified look, as if telling the enemy their secret plans. Kayn felt panic spreading. "Ehm people? Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have food on my face?" "No, no. You only stretched us all with your sudden presence. This reaction should not be foreign to an assassin like you." Irelia explained with a suspiciously high giggle. Typical reaction when women had something to hide.

"Okay, but now in plain language. Could we also come to this ionic meeting? After all, we are just such a part of you. Or do you want to continue to marginalize us?" Kayn tried to smile as charmingly as possible. Unfortunately, he seemed more like a mass murderer to the others than the nice neighbor next door. Desperate, they exchanged glances with each other until finally, Karma took courage. "Kayn, please do not blame us. We like you, but your clan is led by a renegade ninja. We can not just look over it. We're really sorry." That was so typical again. Zed's deeds are always held up before one again. Nobody understood his master, except his clan. It was time to put an end to everything.

Kayn's smile disappeared and a grim expression spread. Everyone back up, except Lee Sin. You could almost see him boiling in rage. "Now everyone is making a point. You do not know the whole truth. Zed is not a renegade ninja, but a hero. The truth is that Zed has been looking for strength to protect Ionia from Noxus. He founded our clan to fight against noxious inversion. Because his master Kusho has forbidden it. Shen can confirm that. After Zed took care of the Noxians on the Navori coast, the power went out and, secondly, that Ionia was doomed if this man remained in power. We also owe it to the jerk that Jhin is now our neighbor instead of being buried underground, wherever he belongs. Zed is not a monster, he just has a different sense of justice. He is really a kind hearted person. He saves orphans and people who have no home and give them meaning to life. I know what I'm talking about. Without him, I would be dead now, as well as 100 other men and children. How can one describe such a man as an apostate?"

Kayn's words were sitting. Of course, Zed had listened to everything, but he was silent. He really trusted him. His comrades did not know what to do with the new information. Wukong's Master Yi was also there and took Shen aside for a moment. "Is that true?" He asked him calmly. Shen nodded. "Yes ... he was fed up with the father's constant restraint. Murder might not be necessary, but ... I do not know. Brother, why do not you say so, but send your student? " "I'm eating and it was Kayn's decision to talk to you." He spoke from the background. "What now? Shen has confirmed it again. May the order be present at this council meeting? If only on trial? It would not be fair to rule us out. Ionia take a form of government in the form of scenic provinces, the Noxus attacked his country, it would be just stupid not to invite the man."

Kayn knew he was right. He will not let go now. Irelia rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. "All right, the Order of Shadow is allowed to participate, but only on one condition. Zed will not participate, but you Kayn instead." He didn't know if he should be happy. In the end, he was inside, but Zed was eliminated anyway. "Master, your opinion?" Zed finally stirred. He put his mask back on. "Do not you have any plans to rule the order someday anyway? Prove to me that you can do it. I trust you. I know that you represent my ideals. If they think that they can negotiate better with you."

"Then that would be clarified.", Irelia added finally. "Ah, Kayn. Take a bodyguard with you. Everyone will have one. The elders even 2, because they can not defend so well. Everything just a pure precaution." "May I take Zed?" "NO!!!", Answered the whole pack. Kayn innocently held his hands over his chest and disappeared backward.

After breakfast in Kayns room

Kayn and Zed lay in bed, just staring at each other. Even if the silence was good, the younger one eventually broke through. "Are you feeling better now?" "Am I feeling better? You have taken us into the council. If you do not screw up now, we can win the trust of all Ionia for us. And once we have done that, we will pull the strings. I can hardly be more proud of you. I'm grateful that you consider me your hero. Your words were really nice and it actually worked. I did not think you could break Irelia. She is a tough nut, but with you, all women get weak knees. But this man is all mine alone." Zed leaned in and searched for Kayn's lips. The touch of their lips was unique. Zed put in so much feeling that he would never have thought possible. Because of Zed, he would not feel anything for him. His master leaned forward so that he was directly above him.

Kayn could not do without his tender lips. Unfortunately, Zed dropped away from them and headed deeper down to his neck, deeper over his chest until he finally got stuck to his six-pack. He glanced over at his student and smiled at him. "Do you know Kayn, you were a very good boy today. You deserve to be rewarded." With a mischievous expression, he suddenly pulled Kayn down his pants. "What you up to? Zed? What are you doing there?" Zed did not answer but suddenly took his cock in his mouth. Shocked by the fact, Kayn could barely move. Finally one of his dirtiest fantasies came true. To his horror, he realized that Rhaast had a perfect view of it. Ah, please. Who do you think I am? I close my eye and sleep. Enjoy the demonstration.

Even Rhaast could be a sweetheart. "Sure you want to do it?" Of course, he did not answer. Instead, it tingled in the middle of his body. Zed looked so hot with his cock in his mouth. Kayn did not want to look away. He may never see that sight again. Therefore, he enjoyed it to the fullest. Not only did Zed suck on his genitals, but his fluffy white hair also tickled him on the inside of his thighs as well. This sensory overload made him crazy. Zed used every technique Kayn normally used on him. Kayn wanted to just come in his wet mouth, but he had to hold back. Zed was not ready for it. Just as Zed accelerated the pace, Kayn grabbed his hair and held it back. "Please Zed. I'll be right back. Bring it to an end with your hand." His master nodded and used his hand to finally bring Kayn to his climax.

The younger man quickly reached for the handkerchiefs and freed himself from the pressure. Zed caught the mess with his hand and then cleaned it with the tissues that Kayn quickly slammed into his handkerchiefs. "Wow ... Zed why? I thought you would never do that." "Mmmh ... that's right. But you deserve it. Besides, it was not that bad now. My jaw just hurts now. How do you do that every time? And you also swallow. You have my respect." "Ah, that's nothing. I like doing that when I know it makes you happy. Now better go and wash your hands. I'm still resting a bit."

A few minutes later…

Zed and Kayn lay in bed, hugging each other. They enjoyed the closeness to each other and just relaxed. Zed stroked Kayn's hair, causing his student to run the contours of his six-pack under his shirt. "Do you already know who you want to hire as a bodyguard?" Zed asked. "Of course, there is only one in question anyway." "The Shadow Owner?" Zed asked almost amused. "Who else? Can you ask him, please? I think he does not like me very much." "Of course I'll do it. I'll write a letter."

[alittletournesol]

Sing Your Soul {JongKey} part 3/?

(Happy birthday Laura ♡)

Part 3

Minho was a difficult guy when it came to allow new artists in his bar, however he also was the demanding kind regarding his selection criterions. If one received a proposal for a performance at the Blue Night, for sure it meant talent was there ; for a long time, people who were aware of his relationship with Jinki had thought the bartender was blindly favouring the singer. Since the latter could easily have his show once every two weeks, it wasn’t wrong of them to think that way, but the thing was…

“It’s not my fault if he can sing so well.” The tall man grumbled, changing gear with one hand holding the wheel. “The audience likes him anyway.”

“I’m not saying you’re doing him too many favours.” Kibum retorted on the passenger seat, lowering the sound of the radio to be heard. “I just think that dude from the States should have more performances at the bar. He’s quite good, I like his voice.”

“You mean Eric ? He’s having a few auditions lately, he wants to try getting accepted in an agency. I guess if he succeeds, he won’t have time anymore for the Blue Night.”

“That means you’ll have plenty of evenings for my target !”

“Come on, you shouldn’t wish for one’s dismissal. The station is near, let’s see if we can park somewhere…”

As the events planner had expected it, his best friend had had to admit the few videos of the subway singer were showing a talented guy. However, he had decided he needed to see a performance with his own eyes to really make his own opinion ; no sooner said than done, Kibum had quite forced him to pick him up at his place so they could go together to the station where the stranger sang. It took them a few minutes to find a spot to park the bartender’s car, everything being almost taken on a Sunday.

In the end, they would have to walk a bit to reach their destination but they didn’t mind considering what kind of prize was waiting for them at the end of the path. The oldest of the two was heading to the station hastily, his heartbeat growing faster as he approached the subway’s outdoors staircase. He completely ignored Minho calling to tell him to go slower, that they weren’t in a rush and he would eventually hurt himself by falling in the stairs or something like that.

“Are you even sure he will welcome us warmly ?” The tallest of them asked as he bought a quite useless ticket, which would only serve to allow him on the platform. “From what you said, he rejected you last time.”

“Just because he didn’t believe me.” Kibum replied, his voice tinted with hope. “But if you, the bar’s owner, is here with me, he won’t be able to accuse me of being a liar again.”

“Aren’t we a bit rude here ? I mean, the guy had enough of scammers and told you off because you were too straightforward, and now we’re literally hunting him.”

“You’re so making a fuss over nothing… we’re going to politely meet him, not assault and kidnap him or whatever.”

“Still, I think we could have done it differently. Anyway, I guess you’re the boss so just don’t whine at me if he punches you.”

Rolling his eyes, the event planner pressed his friend to buy his ticket faster, the other one retorting he couldn’t wait faster for it to be printed. Once the machine finally gave him his due, Minho had just the time to catch it before he was grabbed by his arm and pulled towards the gates. He refrained himself from snapping at Kibum, knowing that as soon as the latter had something in mind, it was better for him to not put a spoke in his wheel. And after all, this situation could also be beneficial for him…

When they eventually made it to the platform, it was obviously almost empty : not a lot of persons had to take the subway on a Sunday, even the trains themselves didn’t come and go as frequently as on a weekday. The display was announcing the next one in a bit less than ten minutes instead of the usual two to three minutes of spare time. But what was more surprising for both men was the fact that they could have thought about it earlier : why would an artist sing in an empty subway ?

The singer wasn’t there. 

Kibum frowned and approached the corner where the guy habitually took his place, with his guitar’s case and his foldable stool. But the floor was clean as a whistle, nothing to hint that there might have been someone standing here in the past few hours. Had they come too early ? Or too late ?

“Well, I guess you scared him away.” Minho laughed. “Looks like he found another station.”

“That’s not possible…” The event planner muttered to himself before he took his phone, trying to look for a potential video that could have been posted earlier that day. “There is no trace of him.”

“Let’s just go home and come back on another day. The bar is closed on Tuesday, what do you think ?”

“No, I’m working until too late. Excuse me ?”

The bartender cocked an eyebrow as he watched his best friend being so desperate that he was asking random people about the subway singer. He somehow felt bad for him, it wasn’t in his habits to care so much about someone, to the point he looked really affected by the aforesaid person’s absence. He didn’t even know that guy, he might be a crush on him but was all of this truly necessary ?

“Kibum, you’re making a spectacle of yourself.” He stepped in when the other man asked a fourth person. “Just forget it.”

“Why does it have to be me every single time ?” The brown haired man sighed. “Can’t I have an ounce of luck in my life ?”

“You’re overdoing. Let’s just come back on another day and you’ll see your singer.”

“Are you looking for Jonghyun ?”

Both men turned towards the voice that had just spoken and were surprised to see a little girl holding her mother’s hand, the adult frowning at her child’s sudden behaviour. She was barely six years old, yet she seemed to know exactly what she was talking about. Before Kibum’s lack of tact could scare her, Minho smiled and crouched to be at her level.

“Hello, sweetie.” He softly said, kindly dismissing her mother’s apologies. “It’s fine. You said something about us looking for someone ?”

“Yes, Jonghyun.” The girl nodded. “The man with white hair who sings here sometimes, his name is Jonghyun. You’re looking for him, right ?”

“I think you’re right, do you know why he’s not here today ?”

“No, but I think he sings really well ! He sang the song of Queen Elsa for me once.”

The events planner couldn’t help but sigh with disappointment, earning a glare from his friend who thanked the little girl anyway and stood up.

“He sings here on weekdays only.” The mother suddenly said, stroking her daughter’s hair. “He still needs an audience so he opts for main lines stations on Sundays.”

“Oh, really ?” The bartender smiled. “Thank you, madam, I think you just made my friend’s day.”

“It’s nothing, I can see he’s a bit disappointed. Try going to Yongsan, last time I returned from a business trip on a Sunday, he was singing there.”

“Thank you a lot, have a good day. You too, princess.”

The little girl giggled at the nickname and both men watched her leave with her mom to wait for the subway. Minho waved at her before he turned towards his friend, crossing his arms on his chest and shaking his head.

“You really need to take lessons to improve your communicating skills.” He commented. “You’re an events planner and that’s how you accost people ?”

“It’s easier on the phone, I don’t see their faces.” Kibum shrugged. “I guess we’re off to Yongsan then !”

“You are. I can drop you off there but it takes half an hour and I have an appointment.”

“You’re abandoning me ? An appointment, my ass. Just say you got a date with your boyfriend in some cheesy cafe where you’ll eat a same ice cream sundae together.”

“You know, you won’t be able to find yourself a boyfriend if you keep acting like that. Who do you share your sundaes with ?”

“I don’t share my food. Don’t avoid the topic.”

“You’re the one avoiding it but well. Yeah, I have a date with Jinki, happy ? I’m proposing to drop you off but you can also take the subway.”

“Come on, you can’t do that to me… Ming…”

“Practice your puppy eyes, it still doesn’t work on me. Just come, stupid, I’ll give you the bar’s business card so he will believe you. Bring him there one night and he’ll see.”

With these words, the bartender didn’t hide a smile as he turned around and walked away, immediately followed by his friend who curiously stopped whining.

Yongsan station was more crowded than Kibum would have expected, he who always tried to plan his travels on rather quiet days like Tuesdays or Thursdays. The young man was playing with the business card he had in his hands, as he made his way between people and their luggages. It might sound stupid but now that he hadn’t Minho to have his back, he felt a bit less confident to do the talking with the singer — Jonghyun, if he remembered the name correctly.

He had been so tactless on the last time, and he really didn’t know how to make up for it. Was handing the card like this actually a good idea ? Or was it just as straightforward as his first attempt… His best friend’s words resounded in his mind, about the he hunt and his communicating skills. The bastard was right. He could become rude in his way to talk and to just approach people, even if he didn’t mean it. 

He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t realize the constant hubbub in the place was now far away, replaced by the sound of fingers running on a piano’s keys and a voice accompanying the melody. This hit him right away, the timbre being so unique it couldn’t go unnoticed. Raising his head, he saw a bunch of people standing around one of the public pianos that had been placed in several main lines stations.

Sitting at it, Jonghyun was there with his perpetual dark outfit, his white hair free this time. He wasn’t focusing on the keys he was grazing, but his eyes were closed as he let his song and the music engulfing him. It was like he was alone, in his own home, without all those persons staring at him ; he was in his space, the space he created with the single sound of his beautiful voice.

Once again, Kibum found himself mesmerized by what was happening in front of him. He stopped walking and only looked at the silhouette he was seeing from the side, listened to the song. It seemed so easy, so natural, the way Jonghyun’s voice escaped his throat and caressed his fleshy lips when going out. As if the young man coud effortlessly sing every single note that existed, his vocal cords able either to alternate a low and a high-pitched tune, or to balance them to propose such a unique, incredible sound.

This guy had a real power, a gem in his throat that made so many people just stop by and listen, as if staring at a work of art in a museum. He was hearing art.

Suddenly, the station’s speakers loudly informed the travellers that the next train was standing at its platform and waited for them to board. As if the magic had been brutally interrupted, bringing everyone back to reality, the singer stopped as well and opened his eyes. Offering a smile at his audience, he bowed his head and his torso, muttering his thanks when someone was putting some money in the little bucket he had put next to the piano.

Kibum looked at everyone leaving the space to go to their train, remaining the only one to still stand here. He only woke up from his strange trance when he saw the singer stand up to pick his bucket up, checking it and smiling. There certainly wasn’t a lot, but the simple fact that there was something was enough for him to feel pleased. He seems in a good mood, the events planner thought, just go to him.

Swallowing with difficulty and with his hands sweaty, he slowly stepped forwards until he reached the piano. He didn’t have to talk because the other man looked up, their gazes meeting and making both of them freeze. And Jonghyun sighed, turning away and grabbing his bag, ready to leave.

“Wait !” Kibum heard himself say loudly, making the singer look at him. “Please, don’t go away.”

“Why ? Are you here to propose me something again ?” The blonde retorted, even though he remained gentle in his way of talking. “I told you I wasn’t interested.”

“Listen, I’ve been so rude yesterday, your reaction was quite understandable. I… I’m sorry ?”

“Are you ? You seem so.”

“Yes, I am. I’m told a lot about how tactless I am and well, you witnessed it. Can we… start again on a sound basis ? Maybe I can offer you some coffee ? Do you like coffee ?”

The singer cocked an eyebrow and remained quiet for a few seconds, pondering the proposal and observing the other man’s face. Eventually, the corners of his lips raised to draw a soft smile, and it radically changed his features ; the brunette’s heart missed a beat.

“I won’t mind a coffee.” He said before offering him his hand. “Kim Jonghyun. That’s me.”

“Yes I know.” Kibum bluntly said and blushed when he realized, shaking the hand in front of him. “S-Sorry, I was looking for you earlier and a little girl told me your name and… nevermind, I’m Kimbum—I mean Kibum. Kim Kibum.”

To his surprise, the blonde slightly laughed and seemed to forget everything that had happened between them the day before. With a hand, he gestured him to lead the way and the taller man just shyly smiled, complying as he headed towards the station’s way out.

A few minutes later, they were both sitting opposite each other in a coffee shop Kibum particularly appreciated. The latter was sipping his Americano and discreetly — he thought so — looking at the singer who was stirring his green tea latte. It had been a surprising choice for a drink, however the more he was observing him, the more the brown haired man thought it somehow suited him. They were silent, none of them knowing if they should talk first or let the other one broach a subject, and they definitely didn’t want to speak in at the same time like some romantic move cliché.

“So…” The events planner eventually said, immediately catching the other’s attention. “Do we talk business or…?”

“Why don’t you talk me about you first ?” Jonghyun asked, his soft voice added to his gentle tone sending shivers down Kibum’s spine. “This way, I will know the person I will perhaps deal with later.”

“M-Me…? I’m just the one planning all of this, not really the guy you could deal with.”

“I see no one else sitting in front of me right now. So, who are you, Kim Kibum ?”

The brunette cleared his throat, losing his usual splendor now that he was asked about himself, moreover by a man he found extremely charming. He took a mouthful of his coffee to earn some time, but the other one was so patient it was just making him more interesting.

“I’m a quite common man, actually.” Kibum ended up saying. “Planning events is my job, I got my own company so… I know how to recognize good opportunities when I meet them.”

“Am I a good opportunity, then ?” The blonde asked, a smile on his lips before he hid them with his cup.

“Can I say a very good one ? I hope it didn’t sound like I wanted to use you just for my business… It wasn’t my intention but you know, tact, all that stuff. I’m rather blunt.”

“Yes, I noticed that. Why me, though ? There are countless singers in this town’s subways, I’m not unique.”

“I think you are, because the way you sing sounds unique. I like music, but I’m complicated when it comes to my musical tastes and… well, it’s not easy to move me, yet you succeeded on your first try.”

“Did I move you ?”

“Listen, you moved me so much I looked for some videos of you on social medias and got drunk in a bar after you rejected me.”

“That’s… blunt.”

Jonghyun laughed and rested his chin on his palm, looking at Kibum with something new in his eyes. There wasn’t any suspicion anymore, but his pupils were sparkling, amused. The events planner smiled in return and felt his cheeks grow hot and pink as he realized he might have said too much in one go.

“You don’t seem as dangerous as I thought, in the end.” The singer commented. “I suppose I should apologize too, you must have thought I was the aggressive paranoid kind.”

“Let’s say you had a good reason.” The other man replied. “Though I didn’t know I looked like a scammer.”

“To be really honest, with your beautiful and professional outfit and your proposal right away… yeah, you really looked like one.”

“You found my outfit beautiful ?”

“I never got to wear something like that so I tend to appreciate these clothes on other people. You wear them well. But I think what you’re wearing right now suits you more.”

“That’s my Sunday clothes though…”

“They’re always the comfiest, that’s why I wear Sunday clothes everyday.”

Kibum’s smile grew brighter by minutes passing, his talk with Jonghyun taking turns he wouldn’t have expected. He learned some things related to the blonde’s passion for music : he had wanted to study it at university but unfortunately failed the entrance exam. He wasn’t someone stupid and had promised himself he would do better the year after, thus he had found a part-time job and had started practicing his singing in the subway.

At first, it had been for his own pleasure and a way for him to never lose his abilities. He even improved his guitar skills thanks to this, although he preferred when a piano accompanied his voice. Everything should have gone well for this young, naive man, but he had fallen in the trap of a few scammers, who promised to fulfill his dream. One after another, they deceived him and let him with a hole on his bank account, without any way to sue them because they knew how to avoid juridic reprisals. As a result of a few swizzles, Jonghyun had almost lost all his money and some his own mother had spent years to save for him.

He never forgave himself for this, and since he couldn’t live in his apartment anymore, he had promised his mom he would make up for his stupidity. All the money he had been earning thanks to his singing for some months, he had gave it back to her. Once his debt would be repaid, he would start thinking of a way to enter that university again.

“Why don’t you find a job that pays more ?” The events planner asked. “I mean… it can take quite a long time to gather enough money with only tips here and there.”

“I want to play music, and to sing.” Jonghyun honestly replied. “I wouldn’t be a good employee, being locked up somewhere would make me sad and I wouldn’t work well. I prefer to take as much time as it needs, and earning money this way. It goes slowly, that’s right, but since I have a roof above my head… I can tolerate it.”

“Is your mom angry with you about all of this…?”

“She was before. But she know how naive I am, so she eventually forgave me. She doesn’t really likes the way I try to repay her, she says there is no need, but I convinced her to let me do so.”

“I see… You know, if I wanted to propose you something yesterday, it’s because I’ve rarely heard someone like you. And… your style kinda matches my friend’s business so if you’re interested in a tactless guy providing some ideas… you don’t have to trust me, though, I would understand.”

“I think I can listen. And you seem more trustable than all these other cunts.”

“What about I show you instead of just talking ?”

With a smile, Kibum took the Blue Night’s business card out of his pocket. It was just like the bar : simple but giving this impression of intimacy, with shades of dark blue and purple as the background of silver letters. The blonde man took it, reading the few informations and pondering the proposal ; it still seemed truer than all the business cards he had been given before. Strangely, he felt attracted by the colors, the atmosphere that was promised by a simple piece of cardboard.

As he looked up, he found the brunette smiling at him.

“Just take the time you need to think about it.” He said while standing up, his cup empty and his hand rummaging in his wallet to put a bill on the table to pay for both drinks. “If you’re interested, come to this address next Wednesday at seven. I’ll book a table for two so it would be nice if you show up.”

“Is it a business proposal or a date ?” Jonghyun smiled. “I’ll see.”

The events planner’s face turned red and he stuttered some incomprehensible words before literally running away, hiding himself in his scarf. Sitting still, the singer quietly laughed and watched the other man leave hastily, bringing his cup to his lips. This business looked interesting.

next

[kpop-probably]

Round 8: Semi- finals

AN: This one is a little long so I put the keep reading thing on it. Its 1,875 words. 

iKon 8th member AU

July 2016

The excitement was high backstage. The remaining six contestants will have solo performances with a special guest performers. All of them matched-up to go against another contestant. The contestant who earned the most amount of money during their match-up will advance to the final round, while the other gets eliminated. Making it this far should be accomplishment enough but for Asuka it isn't. She wants to show everyone, especially her female fans, that she can win it. The fans didn't approve of her in the beginning and wouldn't include her in the fan chants but since the show has started they have sent her nothing but love and she's even received some fan mail.

Asuka Pov

I'm sitting in the room for my team putting some finishing touches on my verses. I have a surprise guest tonight to feature on my song. I get up to go find Joon-Kyung oppa to get some feedback on what I wrote but when I open the door Xitsuh is standing outside of it. “Did you need something?” I start to look around to find any excuse to run away because the whole pretending someone called my name thing I usually do with YoYo whenever he tries to make really bad jokes, simply won't work in this situation because alas there isn't anyone in the hallway with us, just my luck. “I just learned that I'm going against you tonight and came to wish you luck.” But before I can thank him he continues speaking. “Hopefully whatever rhymes you have in your hand there are better than your little boyfriends disses.” He smirks and walks away before I can make any type of comeback. Things like this are what make me hellbent on winning, the men here are so misogynistic and egotistical I often wonder how they're gonna take it when a woman knocks them off of that pedestal. I roll my eyes and turn around to continue on my journey in finding the man I need. But once again i'm stopped when I see a familiar figure wearing my favorite hat on him. “Jae won?” he turns around at the sound of my voice and smiles “Nuna just the woman I was looking for.” I smile shyly “It seems like i'm a woman in high demand today.” He raises an eyebrow at my confession. “Xitsuh came to the room and just wanted to trash talk.” “Well what’d he say?” “He came and said he wanted to wish me luck, but then turned around and said he hopes I wrote something good tonight, then proceeded to call you my “Boyfriend.” I don't take much notice to how he stiffens at the mention of me being chastised about our relationship or whatever this is. “So… Boyfriend huh?” I roll my eyes which also seems to be popular tonight and walk away before he grabs my arm and pulls me back into his chest. “You shouldn't walk away from your boyfriend nuna it's rude.” “I don't believe you've actually asked me to be your girlfriend mister.”

Jae won POV

“I don't believe you've actually asked me to be your girlfriend mister.” I freeze up again and the box in my back pocket feels heavier than before. I went and got her a gift to make asking this a little less awkward. “Actually that's why I was looking for you.” She turns around a little and tilts her head at me, I can tell she's trying to act casual but her wide eyes are a dead give away of her nerves. Her eyes -- they always giver her away, she's really bad at concealing her feelings, all you have to do is look into those beautiful brown eyes of hers. I reach into my back pocket. “Turn around, close your eyes, and move your hair for me please.” she hesitates but moves her hair off her neck anyway. I take a breath and pull the necklace from the box and slide it around her neck and fasten it. “Ok open.” she looks down at it and looks back up at me. “I know we've only known each other for about 7 months, but there's just something about you. I can't even lie, you stay on my mind a lot. Whenever I see you I get lost in you all the damn time. I know it's quick but i'd like to take you on a date if you'll let me?” She smiles real big and shakes her head really fast and I can't help but laugh at how cute she is. But before we get to enjoy our little moment Joon-Kyung hyung comes up smirking knowingly “I'd hate to break up this little moment lovebirds but Ms Asuka you're up kid.” with that he walks away “Damnit I didn't even get him to look over my verses.” I turn to her and notice she's nervous again. I grab her shoulders to grab her attention. “No matter what you have written down I know you're gonna kill it.” She smiles and hears her name getting called so she starts jogging away but does a U turn and I get confused “Did yo-” I'm cut off by her smashing her lips into mine and running off again.

Asuka POV I smile glad to know that he's here to support me and that the boys are somewhere watching me. The beat i'm doing my first verse on to get the crowd hype, starts playing and I take that as my cue to walk out and start rapping

Bobby called said let me get the car key, you don't want it with the Osaka Barbie, keep marquis, everything sparkly (man down) hit em on a walkie talkie. Hit em, knock knock tell em let me in. my name ring bells, bitch buzz me in, and I only stop for pedestrians or real real bad lesbians. Hit em with the mac hit em with the tec 9 hit em with the rugger by the intersex line put my whole burrough on my back and i'm gooda i don't wanna hear what you would, what you coulda I represent all the girls that stood up, used to drink water with a little bit of sugar now i'm in the gym with my squats and my sit ups young japan pin up, i'm that bitch yea I been up now i'm tellin YG to step his bid up!

The crowd gets hype and before I start my actual song i notice i already have $2,000 on the board. The lights get darker and my second beat starts and I take a deep breath and start rapping again

Better move, better make a better move, Better run quick, hide, 'cause see me I never lose Better shoot, take a shot better shoot, I’ma get what's mine, get the product and the loot, better grind, Tell me where I've gotta go and get it, tell me what I gotta do, I gotta get the benefits and look around, tell me what I gotta go against, Tryna show me who can stop me, I’ma show you I'ma win, 'Cause I am the queen, I am what they want, I have something that cannot be bought, I am the queen, yes I am a boss, I'm in command, I take no days off

Before the hook can start my special guest comes out and the crowd goes even more nuts when the doors open and Jooheon steps out. He starts rapping his part and I look out into the crowd and notice their shocked faces. Everyone most likely thought I would pull some strings and bring someone from YG like G dragon who I haven't even met yet, Mino, Joon oppa thought I'd bring Jae won back, or maybe even one of the boys but I wanted to go out of the box and out of YG so I called up Jooheon, who I met at an awards show a few months ago even though i've been a fan of his for awhile, I was ecstatic when he said yes. While he's rapping I go out into the crowd and they get even louder.

You don’t gotta watch that throne 'cause it's mine, Give that crown 'cause it been my time, There ain’t never be another quite like I, cause if crime pays them i'm bout that life, where? Tell where the queens is at?, independent women that don't need a king for that, 'Cause I am the queen, I am what they want, I have something that cannot be bought, I am the queen, yes I am a boss, I'm in command, I take no days off

When the song ends and I look up at the board I notice that I earned $6,780,000, which is 3x what Xitsuh made which means i'm going to the finals and his ass is going home! I run to Jooheon and thank him for coming and performing with me and as we walk backstage he says  “Anytime, anything for my big sister” and he smiles. As soon as I step foot off stage I'm bombarded with hugs and and Joon kyung even goes as far as putting me onto his shoulder. “You did fucking amazing!! See whatd I tell you the rap barbie got this in the bag.” He's become keen on calling me the “rap barbie” because he says my face and personality dont match my style of rapping. I smile but see Jae standing against a wall waiting patiently for me to be done. I excuse myself and walk over to him. “See what happens when you have confidence in yourself?” I blush but thank him anyway. He leans in and kisses my forehead and says “I have to go i'm supposed to be in the studio right now, I snuck out to see you and if I don't get back now my manager is gonna have my ass on a plate.” I laugh and thank him for coming but before he walks away we hear someone gasping and I turn around and my jaw drops when I notice that Bobby is standing just a few feet away in what looks like...my jacket? I run up and jump into his arms and wrap my legs around him and hug until he can't breathe. “Nuna.. as much as I love your hugs i'd like to live to see you make it to the finals so please let go.” “What are you doing here? And who said you could wear my jacket?” I let him go and he looks back at Jae then back at me and raises his eyebrow. “Shouldn't I be the one asking the questions?” before I could answer Jae comes and wraps his arm around my waist. “I asked her out on a date if that's alright with you.” Jae knows how much I love Bobby and how close we are so I smile hearing that he cares about his opinion. Bobby smiles that goofy smile of his and I laugh. 

“Of course it's alright i'm glad you finally did it, you guys were starting to make me sick.”

Authors note: This one is a little long but im happy with it and hope everyone likes it!! I've never been in a relationship myself so im sorry if Jae and Asuka are cringy but I love them!