#even thou their partner in crime can kill you with one look

[this-blog-needs-a-new-name]

DECEASED 💀

[earnestly-endlessly]

I love your fic recs! Do you have any with Protective!Erik?

Protective! Erik is one of my favourite tropes so I have a TON of fics to share with you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Protective! Erik fic recs

Erik Lehnsherr's Guide to Saving the Universe By Meeting Your Soul-Mate and Falling in Love in Less than 72 Hours – madneto, Pangea

Summary: Army Pilot Erik Lehnsherr is just trying to enjoy his day off when a mostly naked person crashes through the roof of his car. Even more alarming, the strange falling naked person—who goes by Charles Xavier when he's not speaking an ancient dead language—brings tidings of the apparent potential end of the world, and begs Erik to help him put a stop to it.

Well. His mother has been nagging at him to go out and meet new people.

In Sound and Silence – endingthemes

Summary: Erik is assigned to care for the special patient in room 301.

How Not To Meet Your Future Boyfriend – ikeracity

Summary: Erik punches Charles in the face the first time they meet. There isn't anywhere their relationship can go from there but up.

Forgotten – FuryRed

Summary: Charles is having a really bad day. Not only has he woken up in the middle of the afternoon with no idea where he is or how he got there, but when he returns home he’s confronted by a stranger with intense eyes, who insists that he knows Charles rather more intimately than Charles remembers…

Thou Shalt Not Eat Stones – valancysnaith

Summary: Two months after Washington, Raven found Erik in a skeevy motel off the Florida interstate.

“They have Charles, Erik,” she said.

The bedframe shrieked. In the bathroom, the showerhead snapped in half and clattered into the tub.

Demoted – JayPendragon

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr is a detective-specialist with the NYPD Mutant Tactical Unit, ready to help out where his skills are needed. Or he would be, if he and his partner hadn’t been demoted. For the next four months, he is patrolling the Lenox Hill precinct with Azazel – if he doesn’t die of boredom first. One night they are called in to investigate a potential case of domestic violence, yet the tenant assures them he is both alone and unharmed. However, there is something about this Charles Xavier that compels Erik to follow up.

Warning: Sensitive material, domestic abuse and dubious consent

Watch Your Back – swoopswoop

Summary: Bodyguard AU where Erik is overly protective and things aren't as simple as they seem.

If We Met Differently – swoopswoop

Summary: Erik wasn't the only mutant 'taken in' by Shaw, Erik learns this the hard way when a new mutant is dropped into his cell. They manage to escape together, but things aren't all roses after that. Erik has a score to settle and needs to make sure Charles is safe.

The Color of Love (Character Swap Remix) – BadLuckBlueEyes

Summary: Nobody sees in color until they meet their soulmates. When your soulmate dies, your vision returns to black and white. What happens when your soulmate only dies for a few minutes?

Omega Online – miss_aphelion

Summary: Newly imprinted Charles is having trouble dealing with his overly protective alpha—so in desperation he seeks advice in an omega chat room. Emma Frost is more than happy to help, Raven isn't helping at all, and Erik can't stand to be out of touch with Charles for more than five minutes at a time.

Cannot be Contained in Words – wallhaditcoming (uvcatastrophe) 

Summary: Crime syndicate head Erik Lehnsherr travels to London on business, where he meets oxford student Charles Xavier. Their liaison spawns into a years long transatlantic affair, kept apart by Erik's work and Charles' studies,which Erik chronicles in photographs. When distance ceases to be an issue after four long years, the overlap between Charles' past and Erik's work create a whole new set of complications.

A Pertinent Reminder – ikeracity, Pangea

Summary: Sometimes it's easy to forget that getting involved in Erik's mob business isn't all fine dining and sex on yachts. There's nothing like taking a couple of bullets to remind Charles of the reality.

Part 3 of the Associates series

A Dangerous Game – ikeracity, pangea

Summary: When a familiar enemy of Erik's returns to the city for some old-fashioned revenge, Charles is sucked deeper into the world of the mob than ever before.

Part 6 of the Associates series

You don’t choose the thug life (except when you do) – Anonymous

Summary: Charles is kidnapped and discovers that Erik, the Alpha he has been dating for the past few months and is head-over-heels for, is not just a wealthy businessman but actually the head of a syndicate.

He is rather unhappy about this discovery and Erik gets an earful for lying to him. Then Charles is kidnapped again and really, he hopes mating Erik won't result in weekly kidnapping because he has a thesis to finish and papers to grade.

Marrying a Mob – Ook

Summary: Charles is a teacher at a very exclusive school. When armed men burst in on the trail of two children, of course he stands up to them and gets hurt. The children are Erik Lehnsherr's children (of course); a "prominent businessman" or, less politely, "mobster".

Erik is grateful to Charles for saving his children's lives at the cost of his kneecap. So very grateful.

Naturally he tries to reward Charles for his actions. Equally naturally, Charles will be having none of that.

Azazel finds the whole thing unspeakably hilarious. Naturally.

Rumor Has It – blueink3

Summary: "Did I hear the doorbell earlier?"

"Yeah, but I'd steer clear if I were you. It seemed a little tense. I don't know what's going on, but there's a kid out there who looks freakily like the prof."

Nearly six months after Cuba, Charles' life is turned upside down for the second time. Though he's slowly learning to adapt to the first, he's not sure he can handle the second. Luckily for him, there are a few people out there more than willing to help.

Forward Momentum – AsYouWish

Summary: Six months after Cuba, Charles and Erik find themselves thrown fifty years into the future, where they meet their older selves, the Avengers, and a world that's very different from their own. Faced with the pieces of their broken relationship, an unparalleled adversary, and dealing with Tony Stark on a daily basis, Charles and Erik do their best to adapt while trying to find a way back home -- and to each other.

Runs in the Family – Anonysquirrel (chibirisuchan)

Summary: Alex knew his own reputation. Hell, he'd started some of his own reputation, because it kept some of the smarter thugs off his back. Everyone knew Alex's reputation. There was no way Hank didn't know his reputation, but he'd brought Alex into a house with some really expensive things and a lot of innocent little kids and his too-friendly, too-harmless dad.

But clearly Hank hadn't told his family anything about Alex, just like he hadn't told Alex anything about his family. At least, not about the brain-breaking parts of his family.

"I didn't know where to start," Hank said, for the dozenth time.

Featuring mpreg!Charles in a Kiss The Cook apron, overprotective!Erik in wet black leather, and baked goods. Lots and lots of baked goods.

Round the Corner Waiting – swoopswoop

Summary: When things go so spectacularly wrong during a relationship, Charles - now a single dad - almost makes a big mistake, only to be stopped by a mysterious man who just might turn his life back around.

Hide Your Fires – swoopswoop

Summary: As the sole heir, Prince Charles, had no problem with the roles and responsibility that would come with ruling a kingdom. Though he was the only one who did not see a problem. After years of being shuttled back and forth between kingdoms, his Regent hoping he would find a match more suitable to being King, he is finally sent to Genosha. Though the path has never been less clear than the one to a foreign kingdom with no ties to his native land.

Shaw’s Captive – swoopswoop

Summary: Magneto killed Shaw, it had to be done for the sake of mutant-kind but what he wasn't expecting to find hidden deep with Shaw's complex was a man held captive, obviously tortured, that somehow made Magneto turn into Erik.

Erik now has a potential human in his citadel as he continues the war with the human's.

Mind’s Eye Blind – Sperare 

Summary: As far as Erik is concerned, if you want to scare a person into talking, you have to present him with something more compelling than what he stands to lose...

And there is nothing in the world more compelling than Charles.

Chipped – Rosawyn 

Summary: Magneto's fledgling Brotherhood find Charles Xavier in a mutations research lab as an apparently willing subject for an experimental suppression device.

Okay, I Feel Better Now – Harleydoll

Summary: The AU in which Erik is sent to a mental health facility after being convicted for Shaw's murder and pleads insanity, and Charles is his paranoid schizophrenic of a roommate. Powers, Hellfire conspiracies, protective!Erik, and of course the inevitable angst.

Five Nights in Nuremberg – FuryRed

Summary: When Charles escapes from the mutant prison he has been held in for the last two years he knows that he’s going to need help to avoid being recaptured.

What he doesn’t expect is that help will come in the form of a mysterious German man who rescues Charles and takes him to his home; a handsome stranger who, frustratingly, doesn’t speak a single word of English…

Five Bullet Points – Sperare

Summary: It was supposed to be Erik locked away in a prison one hundred stories below the ground.

Charles was never supposed to be there with him.

Notes: Unfinished but an excellent read. Highly recommend it.

Stolen – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is a miserable, grumpy, cantankerous bastard, and he has every fucking right to be. He drew the short end of the stick when he got the Underworld as his domain, and there isn't very much fun to be had in judging and governing dead souls who would rather be anywhere else but with Erik in the depths of Hell.

So when he meets Charles, brilliant and lovely Charles who is more popularly known amongst the mortals as Persephone, and feels the promise of something wonderful that could make his eternally doomed existence infinitely more bearable... you can bet all your drachmas Erik's not going to let Charles go any fucking time soon.

My Barbaric Darling – baehj2915

Summary: Erik is revivified caveman. Charles is the anthropologist(?) taking care of him. This is as ridiculous as it sounds. Romcom misunderstandings and prehistoric wooing ensues.

Swimming with Sharks – Not_You

Summary: Erik used to be a shark. Now he's not, and has to figure out how to be a good human father to his twins. Charles is willing to help.

Eucalyptus leaf of my soul - kageillusionz, ourgirlfriday

Summary: Zookeeper Raven at Taronga Zoo keeps having ideas on how to capitalize on interest in the zoo mascots, Koala Charles and Drop Bear Erik (the only drop bear in captivity!), who have captured the hearts and minds of the public. First it was to introduce prospective mates (It’ll generate attention, Hank. People are perverts. They’d love to see koala porn.). This idea was not effective the first through fifth attempts, as Erik and Charles seemed to show at best polite interest in the newcomer before resuming whatever marsupial debate they had going. However, the resulting lesbian koala orgies did indeed generate interest. Then Raven unveiled the Hug-A-Koala program, which was successful, as the public showed great interest in hugging Charles, and Charles seemed to enjoy being hugged.

Then Raven unveiled the Hug-A-Drop Bear program, and Hank, not for the first time, wished he had a flask handy.

Notes: Yes, they’re Koalas, yes they’re adorable, and yes, Erik is super protective even as a Drop Bear.

[mememanufactorum]

Ace Combat 7 quotes

* Feel free to share as you please, no credit needed. Change pronouns or anything else as desired.

“Does the color of the sky mean anything special to you?”

“When I close my eyes, the sky in my dreams… is a deep, dark blue.”

“I don’t see anything good comin’ from that.”

“They taught me their skills and some dirty jokes.”

“Laugh at it all you want, kid. But technology’s always changing. If you don’t keep up with it, it’ll leave your ass behind.”

“Time to stop the bullshit.”

“Let’s go introduce ourselves.”

“This is the kinda shit that really chaps my ass!”

“Hesitating for a split second could be the difference between life and death. Stay sharp, think fast.”

“Don’t try to be a hero. I want you to make it back in one piece, y’hear?”

“No point arguing. That’s how war is these days.”

“Just worry about staying alive for now.”

“I’m buying dinner for anyone who takes down an enemy.”

“You shoot, someone gets killed. The guys in charge take care of the rest.”

“[name], time to show the other guys that we get wet, wild, and do dirty, dirty things.”

“They have to be crazy to pick a fight with us! Even a rabid dog would know better!”

“…I said what I had to say.”

“Not a girl who’d retreat. Just not in her DNA.”

“No, I should’ve never let a fledgling like her out of my reach to begin with.”

“This place is a shithole.”

“They just killed a hero!”

“…It must’ve been a mistake.”

“Of all the ways to get killed, that’s gotta be the most pathetic one ever, am I right?”

“Maybe I should give that guy a thank-you note for killing him…”

“Wooohooo! My blood’s boiling!”

“Always in the know, aren’t you?”

“Settle down. Excited to have another murderer with you?”

“If any of you die, just think of it as you atoning for your crimes.”

“I decide when you die.”

“Who’s gonna dance to your lying tune?”

“I’ll show you all how it’s done.”

“I got all dressed up for nothing.”

“Anyone up for some poker tonight?”

“Don’t let it go to your head, murderer.”

“I lost a lot of money for that, [name]. Don’t forget.”

“Yet, what is a nation? Can we actually see the physical lines that divide one from another?”

“Don’t pretend like you deserve any better!”

“You really are too good at murdering people, [name].”

“Stick with the best if you want to survive.”

“If anyone wants to die, let ‘em.”

“Keep yapping away, little guard dog!”

“You’ll pay for that.”

“Where’s your sense of humor, guys? Your buddy’s making a joke. Laugh already!”

“Wait. Who’s the dumbass that came up with this batshit plan?”

“Things don’t always go perfectly.”

“As they say in my house, there’s a thin line between bravery and stupidity.”

“Nice work for a dumbass.”

“You’re in no position to call someone a devil, [name]. Don’t make me laugh.”

“I ain’t afraid of it!”

“I want to understand the enemy.”

“My status? Well, I’m feeling a little excited.”

“[name], kindness gets you killed.”

“Only an idiot would be brave enough to pull off those moves.”

“[name] went down crying like a baby. I knew he was all bark and no bite. The coward.”

“Man, I’m not in the mood for this shit today. I’m gonna blow some stuff up to let off steam.”

“No time to smell the roses, then.”

“Enough with the holier-than-thou attitude.”

“Shut the hell up. This has nothing to do with me.”

“You sound like you know something.”

“If you think that’s all you need to survive, you might as well get your last rites now.”

“You did that on purpose, [name].”

“…It was an accident. It got out of control.”

“Adios, you damn fool.”

“It was an accident, so shut up.”

“[name], it’s a breath of fresh air having you out here.”

“Save your sermons for someone who cares, preacher.”

“You wouldn’t understand, [name]. Not until you take a good look in the mirror.”

“Sorry, but I’m gonna eat while I work. My judgment goes fuzzy when I’m too hungry.”

“How can you talk about food?”

“That girl swears more than me.”

“It’s not just the swearing either. She’s got quick fists too.”

“That ain’t funny.”

“I think tonight’s the night we finally open that bottle.”

“I could really perform if only I had some partners I could trust.”

“No need to worry, I got your back. Relax and do your thing.”

“I’m buying you a beer later!”

“You never learn, do you?”

“What are you scheming?”

“Ugh… [name], do not fubar this!”

“Knock that off. Push yourself too hard, and you’re dead.”

“Is it really over now?”

“Are we gonna eat the whole thing?”

“Yeah. We got our hands dirty for nothing.”

“But home means something different to each and every one of us.”

“That went about as expected.”

“Never was good at jokes.”

“Be quick. Gotta deliver on time, or the pizza’s free.”

“Your jokes haven’t gotten any better.”

“We’ve even brought pizza.”

“To tell you the truth… I’m not sure I wanted to know the answers anymore.”

“Cute. No, that’s real funny.”

“Y’know, I think we might stand a chance out here.”

“Man, don’t jinx us.”

“This should prove to be fun.”

“If we keep this up, someone’s not going home.”

“You’re quite the entertainer, but the show’s over with this next shot.”

“Stay strong. We’re not done here.”

“Shit! This guy’s too tough.”

“You can do it! In fact, you’re the only one who can!”

“As far as the chaos we find ourselves in these days, it’s difficult to say which side pulled the trigger first.”

“All that remained was chaos and confusion.”

“Oh, and uh, hand me that sandwich.”

“Please, watch over the future we build from the high heavens.”

“Who do we turn to in this darkest hour? We need a beacon of light to show us the way…”

“Right. I’m shooting them down. Any complaints?”

“Hey, not our fault they won’t listen to reason.”

“Whoever did is the king of all dumbasses.”

“Today… I lost everything.”

“After all those speeches I gave about working together for peace… I thought everyone felt the same as I did.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Just what did you see here?”

“Well now we know what’s going on, but… Shit.”

“Right. We leave the wounded… This’ll guarantee us a one-way ticket to hell.”

“I’ve heard that line before.”

“Damn it! In this crazy mess, I’ve got plenty to pay attention to other than your dirty ass!”

“I need you to help some people.”

“And who’s taking this to the enemy’s doorstep? Not me.”

“Wait, you moron!”

“What are you doing, dumbass?!”

“A few more crazies like her and life down there may have been a tad bit easier.”

“You never told me that!”

“That’s just a stereotype.”

“All I did was state my honest opinion and I was thrown in jail for it.”

“That’s not the way I heard it.”

“You take, if you want to live. That was how it was where I grew up.”

“I feel like we’re a group of burglars.”

“Don’t say that. This is for our survival.”

“A miss, as expected. But a lucky shot would be boring.”

“Don’t waste your life. Dedicate it to reclaiming that which you call home.”

“Furthermore, you must find someone to guide you.”

“I am not that person.”

“Don’t die. As long as we’re alive, our hopes and dreams live on.”

“Why do you feel the need to continue fighting on your own?”

“Let me test him, then, to see if he’s truly worthy.”

“If they are not enough, then I must put my soul into it.”

“There are people like you in every generation. And I’ve felled every last one of them.”

“This was all due to my ego.”

“I unleashed pure chaos upon this world just so I could keep my wings.”

“We have to learn to put that sense of nostalgia behind us and behave like mature adults.”

“This isn’t a rebellion. This is a battle for independence.”

“The time has come to show the enemy the true meaning of patriotism!”

“I, for one, did not see that coming.”

“Ha! Just what kind of magic did you work there, you asshole?”

“It wasn’t magic. It was a scam.”

“Besides, if you thought it was impossible you wouldn’t have said anything.”

“Even in death, that thing is intimidating.”

“I don’t care what country anyone’s from. What counts is knowing who the real enemy is. Right guys?”

“I think everybody here knows the score. We all know who to follow.”

“That was definitely the most intense thing I’ve ever been in.”

“I’ve got a special bottle of wine for occasions like this. What do you say we open it?”

“Hey, [name], you dumbass. Tell me something. What color’s the sky up there?”

“I never wanted to create anything and now here I am, clinging to life.”

“Is this my punishment, then?”

“Y’know what having peace in the world means? It’s being able to die in your own bed, at a ripe, old age.”

“Dark blue… To the heavens and beyond.”

“Can you hear me?”

[stoopsbookstore]

Kinktober Day 14 (10/14/2019)

Kinks - Dacryphilia (Crying) & Hybristophilia (Fetish of knowing your partner just commited a crime a.k.a. Bonnie and Clyde)

"Did you hear about the possible theft happened in town?"

"No, but do you think it's the same hooded guy who's been all over the wanted posters?!"

"Oh my God, what if he tried attacking the princess?!"

"Is that why she's being locked in a tower?!"

"He killed that vanguard, maybe he's escalating to the princess!"

Rumors spread throughout the kingdom, not letting up for even a second. They said that the princess was attacked by a hooded man, or that she was pregnant by one of the butlers.

"Do you think it was Jaemin?"

"Hell no, he's too much of a child. Maybe it was Johnny, the stable boy."

"She does go to the garden a lot and he is always th-"

The gossip stopped as Y/N walked by the two slackers, Yuta and Jaemin in tow.

"Don't you think you should focus on cleaning the palace instead of whose cock I'm jumping on or if someone wants to slash my throat?"

The four servants were stunned at the mood changes in Y/N, she never had been this mean, even if she was scolding or busting them. It was like she had been possessed. The flowers in the garden wilted and were eventually taken over by weeds. The entire atmosphere of the palace felt drained. Y/N walked the halls like a ghost, floating through the corridors. Letters in her hands that she refused to let anyone even look at.

Yuta and Jaemin watched Y/N walk up the stairs to her temporary tower, the tall, winding spiral staircase hopefully a deterrent for any who try to attack. Yuta noticed one of the letters at the first step, picking up and reading the contents.

"Do you think he went after her?"

"No," Yuta looked at the younger male, patting his back in assurance, "he's a criminal, but Taeyong said something like he's chaotic good, he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. He wouldn't have attacked Y/N. Also, based on these letters, it seems like they have a relationship."

"Why do you think she's been so quiet then?"

"Broken heart?" Yuta shrugged before Chaeyeon came up, ripping the letter out of his hands.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with that letter?"

"It was on the ste-"

"It's meant for Princess Y/N and no one else," Chaeyeon barked at Yuta, her eyes with a glint of annoyance, walking up the stairs to deliver the note.

"So you know about the boy on the wanted poster?" Chaeyeon stopped as the younger male bared his teeth, "do you know him?!"

"I could ask you little shits the same question," Chaeyeon bit back, "now if you excuse me, I need to deliv-"

"Get back to work, you three."

Shindong, the head butler yelled at the trio at the base of the tower, breaking up the impromptu meeting. Yuta and Jaemin kept their heads down while Chaeyeon walked up the staircase to the princess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the tower, Y/N didn't do much except read or sleep, hours upon hours of nothing. Night had begun, the sun going down in the sky causing a glow in the room that comforted the princess, the sky a golden bronze turning into a deep void.

Y/N walked over to the desk pushed up against the wall, the wanted poster and a familiar face. Tears begun swelling up, falling onto the parchment, causing it to shiver up even more.

A knocking on the floot entrance made Y/N jump back.

"Y/N, it's Yuta! We only have a few minutes until someone checks in on you, open up!"

Y/N bent down and reached for the handle of the hatch, opening it only for three boys scattering in the small space.

"Have you been cryi-"

Jaemin was cut off by Doyoung's cloak engulfing Y/N, the girl audibly sobbing as the criminal swayed back and forth, comforting the princess.

"What happened?" Y/N asked Doyoung, her voice weak and breaking as she noticed the blood on his neck.

"I'll tell you all about it, I just needed to see you," Doyoung brushed his thumbs over Y/N's cheeks before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"Yuta, Jaemin, what's going on?" Y/N broke out of her lover's hold to scold the two servants, the duo looking around for any sort of answers.

"Your highness, please don't be mad."

"We've been helping him," Jaemin's confession spilled out of his lips like a waterfall, Yuta contorting his body in discomfort as he tried to hide himself, "we've been taking some jewelry and goods so he can give them to his friends. We helped him come in through the kitchen every night. He's a good guy, we prom-"

"I know he's a good guy, Jaemin," Y/N's eyes red and cheeks itchy from the tears, "I just didn't realize you've been helping him."

"Are we in trouble?" Yuta looked up from the floor, his eyes pleading for forgiveness, but there was no need to plead.

"Go get bandages and antiseptic," Y/N lifted the hatch once more, "be quiet and careful, don't let anyone know what's going on."

Yuta and Jaemin hurried down the stairs, the opening now closed as Y/N went back to hugging the hooded figure. Doyoung's arms squeezed Y/N's waist, trying to bring the girl impossibly close to him.

"I've been worried about you, Yuta told me they put you in a tower because of me," Doyoung walked the pair out to the small bed, just barely big enough for the two, "I never wanted to hurt you."

"Did you really kill that man?" Y/N was straddling Doyoung's lap, her arms around his neck, her nightgown bunching up, "Doyoung, please tell me the truth."

Doyoung tilted Y/N's chin up, their eyes meeting each other, "do you want the truth?"

Y/N bit her lip, scared to know the answer, but wanting the truth.

Running her hands through his hair, he was debating on what to tell the girl in his lap. He was panicking, the room now only lit by a few candles on the walls, Y/N looking more ethereal. Doyoung didn't realize his mouth had opened until Y/N gasped.

"Yes."

Y/N stood up, half in shock, half in acknowledgement, her eyes growing glossy again.

"Y/N, it was self-defense," Doyoung mimicked her actions, standing up, tears falling on his cheek, "I didn't want to, but he attacked som-"

"Chaeyeon."

"She told you?"

"Who do you think has been bringing me the letters?" Y/N let out a breath of relief, "she told me about that night, I pieced it together when I saw the posters going up. I thought the worst."

Doyoung walked up to Y/N, kissing her in a moment of passion, "I don't ever want you to think the worst of me. I promise I only do good when I'm being bad."

Y/N smiled through the tears, Doyoung standing in front of her in comfortable silence. She pulled off her nightgown to reveal her body, only panties covering her. Doyoung took off his cloak, new wounds covering his arms, her hands tracing over each one.

"I know I'm not the prince you thought you would be in love," Doyoung helped Y/N to the bed, moving papers and books out of the way, Y/N sitting on the wood as Doyoung began kissing her body, "but I promise I will be the best man I can be, god you're so beautiful."

Y/N responded to Doyoung's touches with whines and moans, his praises felt sll throughout her body. Y/N kept her head on Doyoung's chest, her hands scratching down his back as his fingers began to play in her panties. Doyoung instantly started working on Y/N's clit, his other hand on her back, holding Y/N close to him, her tears still flowing.

"Don't cry, I'm here for you," Doyoung pulled his hand away from Y/N, "come on, not on a desk."

Y/N hopped off the desk, following Doyoung as he gently laid her down on the mattress, kissing and loving her body.

"You just killed someone," Y/N's voice cracked.

"To protect another," Doyoung kissed up Y/N's stomach to her neck, snuggling into the flesh, "I don't do anything horrible."

"You're a wanted criminal," Y/N pulled on Doyoung's hair, a growl coming out of his throat.

"Who you're in bed with," Doyoung pulled down Y/N's panties, throwing them aside, burying his face into Y/N's slit as he began to eat her out.

"Doyoung," Y/N's body was drained from all the crying, everything already sensitive, "I don't wa-want you t-"

"You want me to stop?" Doyoung halted his actions, confused, "I thou-"

"Just make love to me please," Y/N's voice cracked again, Doyoung untying the lace on his pants and chucking them to meet Y/N's discarded panties.

Doyoung pumped himself, rubbing his cock up and down in Y/N's essence. He pushed into her, bottoming out as he pulled her closer to him. His thrusts began almost immediately, Y/N keeping her mouth shut so they won't get caught, her hands on his lower back.

"My princess, I never want to see you crying again," the passion in the crimnial's thrusts meeting Y/N's hips in beat with the starting rain, "I want to see you happy forever, I want you to be mine forever. God, I wish I could fill you up without the kingdom knowing."

Y/N let out a ecstatic moan, Doyoung's dirty talk bringing her closer and closer to the edge she was ready to jump off of.

"Having children with you would be the best thing, they would have an amazing life," Doyoung felt Y/N clenching around him, "just a little bit more, princess."

Y/N felt her legs shake as Doyoung moved his hand to her clit, rubbing at the same pace of his hips.

Y/N came with a silent moan, her eyes shutting tight as she felt Doyoung's semen leak out of her, the liquid feeling warm on her thighs.

"You're so perfect," Doyoung kissed her forehead, pulling out, but holding Y/N in a calm aura, the only noise coming from the downpour that suddenly emerged outside.

Y/N got herself out of Doyoung's grasp, laying down and wrapping herself in the blanket. Doyoung uncovered her for a second, grabbing her discarded night gown to wipe her down. Y/N's eyes started to flutter shut, Doyoung kissing her cheek before spotting the wanted poster.

'Fuck, I have to go,' he wanted to say, he really did, but with the entire kingdom looking for him, he couldn't risk himself and potentially Y/N for his own selfish wants.

As Doyoung was about to leave, his wrist was held by Y/N's hand, her body covered by the blanket, her eyes tired from the roller coaster of emotions.

"Stay, please."

Doyoung grabbed his cloak, placing it over Y/N's shoulder before crawling into bed with her.

"For tonight and forever."

[dxxtruction]

eps2.5h4ndshake.sme

Mr Robot: Season 2 episode 7

Episode and character analysis 

This episode is about connecting but also about deceiving. 

—

Joanna

—

The episode starts with a flashback, constructed to not look like one at first (I think this mirrors the bigger reveal at the end up the episode “things aren’t as they appear”).

Joanna looks to have brought in a Sephora bag with her (idk what other places use that stripe design on bags) and a gift has been left on the counter which contain earrings, she can be seen wearing once we jump to the present (She keeps part of Tyrell around, the things he was able to provide her with. The gift giving between them is they’re like way of showing affection. This can’t happen in the same way between her and her new lover, but she’s also willing to commit to him (for now). She even gives him a gift for his birthday to show that.) (Birthdays come up like twice in this episode and I’m not sure why but it means they’re cancers.)

This whole scene is very WHITE, even Tyrell is wearing a bright suit, and everyone at the work party is as well wears white/light gray. White is fairly symbolic of the upper class for several historical reasons, it could also represent a purer time within their relationship. Yet another thought I had goes to the rule about Labor Day, the history of which stems from creating inner class divisions between old and new money. The “rules” which determine being an insider or not. Contextually I think this makes some sense, it could even be a Labor Day event (Joanna getting back from Labor Day shopping at Sephora?). At the party The Wellick’s and the Knowles’ talk with Price who mentions Tyrell’s climbing of positions towards CTO. Him (and Joanna) becoming more a part of the “exclusivity” being introduced through Price to others within his circle like Knowles. (It’s their sort of “handshake” if you will.)

Outside the flashback, present. An old woman comes up to Joanna and spills blood (I imagine pigs blood) on her and runs away. (Definitely a Carrie reference)

“Capitalist pig!”

All the purity of the white she wears stained, her relationship with Tyrell stained, all the things she once had dreamed of having stained, because of blood (Sharon Knowles), and now there is literal blood on her as well. (Also the title card is so good)

—

Joanna is in her home, drinking wine, staring with a mixed emotion down at a photo of an ultrasound. She’s still getting these gifts from “Tyrell”, she has intentions on finding him despite finding herself tied to her new lover (She’ll later say out of all the gifts the ultrasound made her the wettest). (Through Joanna we’re led to believe Tyrell is alive (and he is but she’s not getting presents from him), but Robot says he died because they killed him so it’s a huge whats what. (Elliot doesn’t know about stage 2 or Tyrell being involved and Robot wants to keep it this way.) At the moment we ask if we believe Robot or the presents from Joanna? Turns out neither are entirely truthful. This all becomes answered in the 2 part finale. (This season deals a lot with deception, illusions, and lying.)

—

Joanna is in bed with her lover, she seems to be reenacting the Sharon Knowles choking fantasy (yikes). Derek (I keep not saying his name but it’s Derek.), wants to invite Joanna to his 30th birthday party and Joanna says she can’t come. If she doesn’t come, Derek says she’ll break up with her. Joanna seems taken about this. I think she does enjoy Derek, but I don’t think she enjoys the conditions of this relationship. She knows she’s a potential target so can’t risk going public with this relationship.  

—

Joanna doesn’t show up to the party but is at his home waiting for him. It’s revealed here Joanna met Derek at the e-corp party (a nice parallel between Joanna and Tyrell during that party. One walked out with a relationship and the other walked out well… you know.). She’s filing for divorce and this is her “handshake” with him. (This later leads to her demise)

Beaten and Bruised

—

(Rami’s acting (THE BREATHING) in this scene gets me)

Robot props up Elliot and they then do more of a hold hands than a shake. Connection is seemingly being authorized at long last. He talks about handshakes; Initialized connections between two points of access. (Tech lingo.)

He says this to us:

“Hello. I see you, I recognize you, I acknowledge your existence. Let’s talk. Get to know who each other really are. All of this said with the simple act of a handshake between two people.”

He then goes on and says he “Doesn’t know how to follow the rules.”

What he’s about to say to Robot may breaks the rules of this new connection they now seem to have (Robot going that extra mile to protect Elliot from the beating)(Elliot then accepting that Robot is able to help him and they don’t have to fight).

What he mentions is Tyrell, and Robot is agitated that Elliot is hung up on him, but an agreement gets made through negotiation that gets Robot to finally say something in order to fill in those gaps of memory he doesn’t have. (So connection has been made, but it’s gonna be a false trust.)

“P-Popcorn” is the last thing Elliot remembers. (Popcorn is one of those repeated items in the show that connect back to moments in Elliot’s past. It may be a stretch but I think popcorn symbolizes the pretense of dying, given where we see it. It’s a weird irony of having death lie below the surface of whats usually seen as something fun or delightful.)

—

While talking Robot is lying to Elliot that they killed Tyrell (This would simultaneously be making that phone call they had unreal to Elliot’s mind, another part of the illusion. This will later make him think Tyrell IRL is not real). My best guess as to why Robot kept all of this is he figures that Elliot would NOT want what stage two is to happen, and it most definitely needs to happen or Dark Army would be pissed = bad new for them. Robot is once again playing the long game with Elliot to get him to fall for something. This conflict will continue to build, so yes this is the opposite of a handshake happening here, “Rules” broken. However he tells part of the truth about that night up until the point of “shooting” him, probably because Elliots picking up on bits and pieces of it and saying things that didn’t happen would break the fact Robot is lying to him. (He also isn’t looking to fight him because they’re finally working together and Robot’s been wanting that.) (Should read that Elliot is finally starting to trust Robot because of this btw. Like a relationship of trust appears to have been formed here, a perfect handshake. But who’s betraying trust now?)(My other guess is that Robot just wants to see out his plans alone W/O Elliot getting in the way)

—

Elliot gets moved back to Ray’s office. He’ll need a few hours to “move the site.” He’s planning on exposing Ray site, opening it up for more than just TOR traffic, opening it up to the public, in the next scene we see the traffic on the site is booming. To make things easier, he also emailed the FBI an anonymous tip. (Rays move was to let Elliot live and let him turn him in.)

Elliot negotiates a game with Ray and he confesses he never actually knew what was on his site, but Elliot made him look. (Not sure what exactly about Elliot compelled him but Ray talks about Elliot highly because of it.) (Rays sorta a toss at the end (?), morally ambiguous. He never actually knew what was on his site but he’s definitely not oblivious. He ultimately decides he should pay for his crimes. Elliots conversations previous seem to indicate confusion on Ray being a good or bad person, I think the guy sort of did enable all that shit to happen so like nah.)(He was also using Elliot for what he wanted out of him, this seems to be a repeated thing with Elliot and various ppl.)(Seeing him for what he can do for them instead of him as his own person.)(Characters like Darlene or Leon (who live) do seem to see Elliot for who he is.)

“You are my answer. It’s not the other way around. So thank you.”

Elliot quotes: “When you see a good move, look for a better one.” -Emanuel Lasker (World champion chess champion) (Elliot knows a lot of chess factoids) (What’s Elliots good move and what’s his better move?)

“Mr.Robot was a part of me that I created because of my pain. So now we have a chance to start again. Our handshake negotiated us as partners.” (Just a good line)

—

Elliot and Leon talk on the court, Leon mentions that Elliot has to watch out for people. The white guys show up to mess with Elliot but Leon does’t budge when asked. They had stock in Ray’s site and want payback. They definitely don’t feel like starting anything with Leon around.

“Just remember cuz, your sitting under the sword of Damocles.” - the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. (Leons word choice is always very nice)

—

There’s been some time since the last scene, Elliots wounds are better. We are in Church group the leader reads from Dueteronomy 12:29 - “When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;”

I’m not gonna say I’m a bible expert by any means but it’s a big metaphor for “curiosity killed the cat”, to guard oneself against sinful curiosity and thereby betraying god by falling for errors in judgment; or else. Seems befitting enough to Elliots situation. (“Curiosity killed the cat”, Both in prison when his itch gets scratched with Ray landing him in a bunch of painful situations and at the end of the season when his curiosity towards Robot’s possible plotting leads him towards Tyrell who eventually has to shoots him.(thing is these were just curiosities)) (I can see this being VERY relatable to WR. She wants the Congo, and its her errors in judgement that make for her undoing.(These are more sinful))

—

There’s conversation then had between her and him about being fearful and vigilant as good, because it means gods present with him (IDK church stuff). The church lady thinks he speaks to Jesus/God, “If you let Jesus into your heart he’ll always listen.” (Jesus can be read as a prophet, Robot calls himself Elliot’s prophet), Elliot ends up speaking to Robot.

This is a continuation of this thing between them, “I was supposed to be your prophet, but you were supposed to be my god!” (Robot; season 1 episode 10), but also "Mr. Robot has become my god, and like all gods, their madness takes you prisoner." (Elliot; season 2 episode 3).

(It would take longer than an single episode analysis to unpack the religious themes in this show but I’ll say a few things.) The show is seeped with these religious themes everywhere, I’m still piecing sense together about it. It’s probably some way of saying the forces of life are mysterious at times, we can’t always understand them and yet they carry an amount of power over you. And that Powerful people are like gods. Gods are about to create things but they’re also able to destroy. They may guide you and they may also control you. God may be symbolic of power itself. Deciding who are the gods and masters and who are the men? Whoever has control over the world is he god? Should anyone be allowed to be?

Elliot doesn’t believe in god but Mr.Robot he can talk to and needs to talk to. He needs to know what it all means to work together as partners. Elliot has decided that they need to continue with their work, yet doesn’t know if he like’s what robot has to offer about it. Robot tells him Elliot is actually a leader, that he led the entire world into a revolution. Robot says he follows him simply because he does lead.

“I don’t want to be a leader.” (Probably has some preconceived notions on leaders being terrible people, but also might not feel he’d make a good leader given who he is)

Robot says to get anything done with E-corp it’s gotta have to happen like that.

This conversation between them seems like more metaphor to me, Elliot must sacrifice what he wants (not to be a leader) in order to move things forward to change the world and Jesus had to make a similar decision on sacrifice. (Whats weird about this scene though is how nothing seems to play out of it, after Elliot gets out he’s more of less on Ecorp’s side in order to prevent destruction. And wondering if Robot is even saying anything of truth here or if he’s simply further deceiving Elliot this whole time that they can work together on finishing things.)

—

Book burning: Elliot burns his journal because he doesn’t have any use for it anymore. Hot Carla and him stand and watch over it while he smokes a cigarette. (In RedWheelbarrow Carla has taken this apparently during some kind of riot. I think it’s this riot that lets the next thing happen without any guards coming by)

Attack: The racist white guys make their move on Elliot. They (the main guy) say they’re gonna “fix that courage problem of yours”. Robot takes all the punches for Elliot (King). (TW) They’re definitely taking off Elliot’s belt when they turn him around (fuccck)(TY Leon). Leon does his blade action and saves Elliot then we get the reveal.

“Gonna get a letter on Tuesday, do what it says.”

*stabs a guy in the ass*

“Hey yo man, when you see Whiterose. Make sure you say I did you good.”

*yanks his knife out of said mans ass*

“I’ll be rooting for you cuz, Always.”

Elliot’s in shock (who wouldn’t be?) (This establishes a lot between Elliot and Leon, I think it forms a true trust, but its one met with uncertainty)(This can be paralleled with Robot’s in a way, forming a false trust met with more certainty.)(…Don’t read much into what I say lol.) (It’s nice that ultimately both these connections do end up sticking around.)

—

Krista reads over Elliots release notice. (Tuesday I assume)

“But you were right, you can’t destroy a part of yourself.”

Elliot’s mentioning his “reality” the construction of prison as his moms place (perhaps little on the nose on how it was in the real house). Krista makes sure he hasn’t actually fallen into believing the delusions and we finally get the reveal that this is a prison (Honestly how did I not pick up on this sooner in the first watch?).

“Sometimes control can be an illusion, but sometimes you need an illusion to gain control. Fantasy is an easy way to give meaning to the world. To cloak our harsh reality in escapist comfort. After all isn’t that why we surround ourselves with so many screens? So we can avoid seeing?” (This line plays into a lot of things besides Elliot’s illusion. You could relate Price’s negotiations with the government to “make people believe” to this. You could relate Ray to this. You can relate Angela’s persona of professionalism to this. Whiterose’s machine gets references as a fantasy or something along those lines. You could relate Religion into this. All of them put on “masks”, or make others put on the masks, some avoid seeing and others think they see but they don’t. Ultimately every single one is trying to cope and grapple with life. And wearing them makes it possible to fight for the control they want (or are forced to want…))(I love the way this show messes with perception)

==

Angela / FBI / internal work

Dom tries to get something out of Angela about why she was on the FBI floor. Angela tells her about her Lunch plans. Dom (still pushing) expresses her curiosity about her job history, then mentions needing a statement from her before leaving. (She seems to be trying to fish for a reaction.)

Angela doesn’t react much, but she seems to falter towards the end, Dom says “Whatever this is? It isn’t like you,” and leaves.

Angela then completes connection to the wifi. They now own the FBI.

As part of this all security footage data is is corrupted on E-corps security cameras, a total wipe. Dom is present on the scene and suggests looking at Angela Moss’s computer. It’s the 3rd of July. (This Op later proves to be fairly pointless on FSociety’s end of things. The real ones who gain anything from this are DA.)(and because people keep perceiving that they have any control over what happens things end up worse.)

—

Angela is in a taxi on her way back home the night of the pwn. The TV in the Cab tells us how things are escalating, we get hints of switching over to e-coin, and suggestions that more services are beginning to stop.

Angela sees Darlene waiting outside the building. Angela hasn’t picked up any of Darlene’s messages or calls which is why she’s there (Angela’s pissed after finding out about Cisco).

We get what Angela has been piecing together throughout this entire time, she sorta knew at the beginning but also didn’t want to admit her friends would do something like this. She understands they’re hackers and could do something like this, but wasn’t able to admit 5/9 was them up until a certain point. Cisco certainly confirmed any unresolved ideas.

“You guys always thought that you were smarter than me. But come on. You never actually hid it that well. Every halloween, when we were kids. You guys made me watch that shitty scary movie. It was so bad.” (This line makes me think the Aldersiblings have always kept things from Angela, and have always kept her out of their more criminal hobbies, but for good reasons. That the siblings grew into very different tastes than Angela so she ended up an outsider of sorts. This jab towards the siblings seems to continue Angela’s story line of feeling under appreciated.)

—

Angela mets with her dad, who works at Walmart. He’s restocking FIVE/NINE emergency kits. Which he mentions are flying off the shelfs after the attack on Washington. (This episode does a lot of alluding to whats going on outside the main plot, forming a connection we previously weren’t getting much of)

Things get tense, this is the point where there relationship breaks. Angela betrays her mom by doing what she’s doing, but also her dad. We don’t ever see him again I’m pretty sure. There’s also an obvious class divide between them, we see just how polarized they’ve become. Somehow Angela is still convinced that what she’s doing will fix things (perceiving more control than she thinks she has).

—

Price meets with Angela.

“You protecting some evil secret agenda?”  

(“Don’t we all protect our evil secrets agendas?”)

Angela wants to be moved to a manager position in risk management. (In order to change things from within).

Price confesses that it is his birthday, this is a secret from everyone but he shares with her and invites her to celebrate but she refuses. He’s definitely trying to build some type of relationship to her, since he’s her real dad and all. To Price finalizing the deal how WR needed it to be means Angela is no longer in immediate danger so maybe he’s more relaxed about opening up to her. I think one of Angela’s coworkers said this but it must seem strange to everyone else in the office there relationship, I think Angela finds it strange as well. Angela is an anomaly, caught in so many webs, and even WR sees it.

—

Angela’s first day in risk management, the man, who’s a director in risk management, showing her around. He mentions Flint,MI (who STILL doesn’t have clean water) as a thing they’re currently looking into. He apparently knew Gideon, worked with him a couple times. Angela’s hyper professionalism is super off, and its because literally every other person makes small talk and is fairly casual but her. I think it’s her way of commanding respect, something she wants is to feel respected. Angela doesn’t falter around, the problem is this persona of hers starts to carry on to her other relationships, it consumes her. (I just think to when she shuts Elliot away with her office professionalism in the episode where the buildings blow up.. 3.5?)

—

In Angela’s meeting Susan Jacobs (the executioner, f-society is using her house as HQ) is mentioned to be taking vacation days. (Hint dropped that she may be stopping by her house.)

A lot of legal settlement lingo is just thrown around everywhere (making us feel intimidated but also showing how Angela may find herself lost in this environment). Angela tries to get a shoe in on the conversation by suggesting to put together a summary, but obviously this wasn’t gonna work. Price told the head of risk management to treat Angela “however you want” and this guy finds Angela to be a suspicious case.

—-

F Society -

The gang are all over Mobley’s laptop (top secret call happening on OpBerenstain)(It reads that this should be the same day as the hack when Darlene comes in, which happened on the 3rd.)

(The show sort of hints that this next bit is whats on Mobley’s screen previous, but the dates don’t line up. “Tomorrow” isn’t the seventh.) The House of Representatives. (7/7/15) at 2:07 pm ET #droptheballs happens. Kinda a legendary move that just says “suck on these” to the government. However this scares some people into thinking the worlds ending (hence E corp selling out of emergency kits and needing the restock. Capitalism <3s to sell us our panic it created in the first place.) (and when we buy into that aren’t we buying into its fantasy?)

--

[rinusagitora]

The love, lead, and the undead.

Fandom: Monster Prom

Characters: Vicky Schmidt, Damien LaVey, Vera Oberlin, Oz, Zoe

Pairings: Brian/Damien/Vicky, Oz/Zoe, platonic Vicky/Vera

Words: 2.7k

Summary: Canon divergent. Chapter 1/7. WARNINGS--- smut;  Vicky has a lot on her plate between robberies and her love for Damien. Even though they're successful, problems from the past and present stand between them.

Vicky held his throat and pinned him to his plush mattress as she rode him. Brian, behind her, jabbed Damien’s prostate. Between the lack of air and sexual stimulation, Damien’s eyes were crossed and he was right on the edge of ecstasy.

---

When Damien woke up, he reached for Vicky, because his dream was amazing and her hip was flush against his and her butt was great and she smelled like an awesome, fruity perfume that he wanted to bury his nose in.

He opened his eyes to his arms around his poofy body pillow and he felt stupid and dejected and he kind of wanted to cry.

Instead, Damien made way to the bathroom, where he buried his feelings in his morning routine. He texted Scott about that afternoon's football meet. If he couldn't have Vicky, he could at least check out Brian's ass and daydream about the one party where they drank too much and made out.

Stan was in the kitchen with a mug full of disgustingly domestic hot chocolate.

"Where's Dad?" Damien asked.

"He’s showering. There's bacon and toast left over for you," Stan replied. "You look like you slept like shit."

"I was having a good dream, and then I woke up and realized it was a dream."

"I'm sorry. That's disappointing. If it helps, I dreamt Lucien helicoptered his dick at the Aquinos."

Damien broke into a grin. "That's a pretty sweet dream," he said. "I'm off now. See you later."

"Have a good day."

On campus, Damien lounged in the library and perused his hundreds of selfies with Vicky and Brian. Brian didn't smile a lot. It was still as gorgeous as Vicky's.

Beyond a bookshelf, Leonard's voice struck his ear like an icepick.

"God, this chick is an ugly, fake whore! She actually got this producer to agree to one of her hot takes on Makido the Giant. I swear. These SJWs are ruining all the good television shows."

Damien was not in the mood to listen to that neckbeard’s drivel, so he hopped over the shelf and landed in front of Leonard.

"Makido is my friend's favorite show, y'know," he snarled with a guttural, fiery edge. Damien grabbed Leonard by his neck and dragged him to the bathroom. Makido was a great excuse to beat out his anxiety.

---

Vicky loved a lot of boys. Like, a lot. Scott, Brian, Oz, Liam, Blobert, Cal. She loved them all. When they talked to her, the attention went straight to wherever made her feel like she was fucking invincible. It came to be that her infinite source of love focused on Damien as of recent, her most hot-headed classmate and friend, and for more than one week like the rest of her phases of attraction seemed to last.

Of course she gravitated towards him. He was all kinds of crazy like she was: the happy kind of crazy that felt like drums punched her chest, or that first second after she snort a ton of coke.

Damien held Leonard by the back of his head in one of the toilets. As much as Vicky loathed that obnoxious, holier-than-thou, nonsensical neckbeard, and as much as she enjoyed seeing him helplessly gurgle, Damien's heart didn't seem as invested into Leonard's torment as he usually was. No jeers, no curse words, just a lame, dejected sigh. It concerned Vicky.

"You look frustrated," Vicky, loyal captain of the generally disliked naval vessel the S.S. Obvious, remarked. "What's on your mind?"

Damien's eyes were so golden. A poet of ancient Greece would describe them as pure ore. "Nothing," he grumbled. He pulled Leonard out of the can and threw him out of the stall. "Scram, freak. You're no fun anymore.”

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"No. That was a blatant lie. I'm not sure why I did that."

Vicky reminded herself to trust her gut in the future. Things were always as they seemed when it came to Damien.

"I'm just… love is metal, man. Like, it's pretty badass to trust someone enough to be vulnerable around them.”

"Is… is philosophy making you upset?" she asked.

"No. But there's this girl I really like. Like, I like her more than anyone I have before. I feel like I'm on fire when I'm with her and the second she's out of sight I snuff out. She'll smile and I'll lose my breath. I like her more every day. This morning, and I'll kill you if you fucking laugh at this, but this morning I woke up and I was looking for her because I had a dream we were together. My chest felt like it would collapse when I realized it wasn't real."

Oh.

Vicky's chest felt like it collapsed too. He talked about that woman like Vicky was just one of the guys. Like she hadn't had Damien's back for a year, like she didn't adore all his adventures.

Yet as much as it hurt, Vicky only wanted to make Damien happy.

"Why haven't you told her yet?"

Damien's head fell into his hands. "'Cause I like this guy too, Vicky, and I want them both. It's gonna break her heart and I’ll lose both of them. This isn’t some kind of passing fancy. This isn’t me wanting a three-way. I adore both of them.”

"There are people like you," Vicky said, people like her who liked lots of boys. She’d stay with him, even if she didn’t like his other partner. “You should give it a shot.”

"I don't think I can. If I can't have them, even as friends, I’m not sure I could take it.”

Vicky held his hands. “Damien, you’re better than this,” she croaked. “You’ve never been so reserved. I hate seeing you like this. Please… tell me how I can help.”

“It’s…” Damien stared, his chest rattled. “I have to go.”

He pushed past Vicky. She collided with the locking mechanism, but she hardly felt it, because her chest hurt so much. Damien didn’t love her, he couldn’t tell her who he loved, he couldn’t even tell her why he couldn’t tell why he refused to tell her.

---

Oz wasn’t used to the weird couple walk Zoe adored. Not that he didn’t like it, because he did. Zoe fit underneath this shoulder like a puzzle piece and it was so fucking adorable, and she held his hip like it was glued there. But Oz was clumsy, and Fear wanted in on the action so he tripped over their excited bubbling. Zoe thought it was funny, at least.

“Y’know, I need to ask Damien something. Let’s sit with him.”

“Okay.”

Just before they sat down, Vicky rushed past them with a tray in hand and tears in her eyes.

“Wow, I’ve never seen Vicky act like this,” Zoe commented. “You guys are friends, right? What’s going on with her?”

Damien snapped his fork in half. “Not your fucking business, you nosy freak.”

“That’s Damien-speak for he does know and it’s probably his fault,” Oz whispered in one of Zoe’s ears.

“Dammit Oz, fuck off! If Vicky didn’t tell you, she sure as hell doesn’t want you knowing.”

“We’re her friends too, though,” Oz retorted. “You’re our friend too.”

Damien grit his teeth. “I fucked up, okay? I like this girl and I can’t tell her, and she tried to help me this morning, but I’m too big of a fucking bitch to let her know it’s her and it’s not her fault that I’m a fucking coward.”

“Oh my goood!” Zoe gasped. “You do like Vicky! I swore you were into Brian, though! What changed? Oh my god, is this a love triangle? Are you stuck between two lovers?”

“Can you fucking act semi normal for once in your motherfucking life!”

Fuck, Zoe was perceptive. “Zoe… let’s be more sensitive about this,” Oz said as Damien beat his head against the table.

“I like them both, okay? And I don’t want to choose, and I don’t want to hurt or lose any of them. I just gonna to keep this to myself.”

“Damien, did you tell Vicky you like her and Brian and you don’t want to choose? Or have you made these decisions on your own?” Oz asked. Mortals and their drama was both fascinating and obnoxious.

“... no.”

“Seriously consider it. You don’t know what she is okay with. Are you content living in safety and security? Or do you want to live vivaciously, even if your partners don’t end up being Brian and Vicky?”

“Okay,” Damien replied. “I will. Thank you.”

---

The school day wasn’t even halfway over when Vicky decided to go home. Vera's sleek, absurdly shiny limo pulled up to the sidewalk next to her.

"Get in, bitch," Vera said from the interior.

"I'm surprised you didn't poison me," Vicky said as she climbed inside.

"I’ve come to the conclusion you're more effective as my partner in crime when you're not foaming at the mouth. You look like you need a drink, though. Scotch?"

"Single malt," Vicky replied. "Fill the glass off and keep the bottle out."

"Sweet flaming baby Satan, what's up with you?"

"Damien. He likes another girl and it's not me, and he refuses to tell me who it is, and refuses more tell me why he can't tell me. Since these problems totally matter, I'd very much like to drink away the memory of today."

Vicky grimaced as Vera gave her a look of unbridled disgust. "Sorry, I'll keep it to myself."

"No. That was mostly for Damien." Vera massaged her sinuses. "You people are hopeless. Y'know, if I cared more about social graces, I wouldn't tell you this, but that girl Damien was talking about is you, Vicky. He's just too much of a pussy ass bitch to fess up to it. God knows he buries his feelings under his stupid sense of masculinity."

Vicky wanted to cry. All her work to get into his circle, all her effort to get him to realize how wonderful she was, had paid off.

But why in god’s good name was he so scared to tell her that he liked her? She didn’t care if he liked her and someone else.

Nonetheless, Vicky said, "Thanks. I don't wanna think about this right now, though."

"Why don't we rob a bank then? That always seems to put you in a good mood."

"Somehow I knew you had ulterior motives," Vicky said as she caught a ski mask and sweats Vera threw at her.

---

Seventeen hours later and about seventeen grand heavier, Vicky returned to campus with more pep in her step.

Part of her felt bad that Vera told her about something as private as Damien's feelings. Surely, there had to be a reason he hadn't told her. But she wanted to put an end to their charade so if Damien refused to tell her about his feelings for her, she would, and if he still refused to tell her, so be it. There were there fish in the sea.

If Vera's information was wrong, though, and Damien didn't return Vicky's feelings, their friendship would suffer. Collateral damage.

Vicky found Damien asleep in the shallow woods behind campus. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Damien, you're gonna kill your back sleeping up there!" He wasn't a fucking puma, or… whatever tree-dwelling cat was more apt for the analog she needed.

Did pumas even sleep in trees?

Damien flew upright upon disruption, and less than gracefully slammed his head into a thick branch above him. He cursed, lost his balance as he braced himself, and fell to the ground. Vicky yelped and ran to check on him.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, Damien. Are you okay?"

"No. Holy shit, that hurt," Damien groaned. He curled up into a ball and held his forehead. "Fuck, why do I do this shit?"

"Sh-should I get you some ice? God, that's gonna swell like a bitch."

"Ice? Fuck no!" Damien snapped. "God, just… fuck….”

"Let's go to the nurse's office." Vicky reached to help Damien to his feet. He scrambled away like she burned him.

"I'm fine!" he snapped. Vicky's eyes watered. "Just… stop, okay? Worse has happened!"

Vicky's hands fell into her lap. She was a stupid little girl. "Sorry. I'll… see you around." She picked up her backpack and ran before Damien could reach her.

She tumbled helplessly into the bathroom. She slammed the stall door behind her, dropped her bag (with a very expensive laptop inside) on the linoleum, and she didn't even cover her mouth as she bawled. Vicky gave a whole new meaning to ugly crying. When she cried, the stitched skin on her face scrunched up and she had to push it into place when she finished, she never failed to hyperventilate so her face was always puffy, and whenever she cried, her snot always dripped down her face like her mother was Niagara fucking Falls.

When she heard a knock at her stall, Vicky covered her mouth (as if that would do anything) and hoped they'd pass.

"Bitch, it's me, open up," Vera said from beyond her stall.

Vicky unlocked her stall and let Vera inside.

"Sorry, not at my best right now," Vicky said.

"What the hell is going on? You're crying in here, and Damien reached a new record for amount of people he's beat the shit out of today and it’s only lunchtime. Already get into a lover's quarrel? He’s not telling me shit."

She shook her head. "No. He was sleeping in a tree, and I woke him up, and he hit his head and fell, and he got really mad at me."

Vera's hair bristled. "What a dumbass, cunt-blowing, son of a bitch."

Vicky was pulled to her feet and dragged behind Vera. She only narrowly managed to catch her backpack. Vera ignored Vicky's protests. She wanted to be seen when she fixed her face slippage, and she had to wipe her nose on her sleeve which was fucking gross. They were ignored though, because Vera's rage was palpable. Her snake-hair incessantly hissed and bared their teeth at passersby.

In the cafeteria, Vera unkindly slammed Vicky into a seat across from Damien and Scott. Until Damien saw her, he only half-heartedly picked at his food. When his eyes met her's, though, it felt like Vicky was kicked square in the gut because he dropped his fork and looked like she kicked him instead.

"Oh no, Vicky, what's wrong?" Scott cried. "Are you sad? Will balls help? Balls help me feel better when I’m sad."

The tension of Vera's death stare made Damien sweat visibly. "It’s nothing you need to worry about, Scott. Damien knows what he did," Vera said. "We're gonna sit here until he fixes it."

"Vera, it's fine. Damien and I can work this out."

Scott gasped. If he wasn't so stupid, Vicky would've guessed Scott deliberately rubbed salt in Damien’s wounds. "Oh my God, Damien made you cry? Dude, that's not cool. She's like your best friend. You don't make your friends cry! That’s not what good friends do."

"Scott, just, shut up for a minute!" Damien barked.

"Well, what do you have to say?" Vera said.

Vicky was caught between her loyalty to Damien and her own, awful, vindictive pleasure as Vera ripped him a filthy new asshole. She bashfully sat back and stared back at Damien.

"I'm sorry about this morning. I've been on edge lately. It kind of just boiled over and I took it out on you. That wasn't right. I mean, I don't give a shit about right and wrong, but your feelings… your feelings matter to me."

"And?" Vera said.

Damien's face glowed with… embarrassment, or something along those lines. "I really like you, Vicky. Yesterday, when we were in the bathroom, I was trying to tell you that, but I couldn't get it out. That's kind of why I've been so pent up lately. I keep trying to tell you and I keep chickening out."

Vicky's heart just about popped out of her chest and tap danced for them. Instead, she lunged across the table and squeezed Damien so hard his back cracked.

Damien didn’t seem to mind. He crushed her in his own embrace as he crushed her lips against her. Scott howled with excitement and drew the attention of their classmates. There was applause from their friends. Vicky was embarrassed, but it was buried under the noise of her own giddy. Not even lasagna smeared on her sweater was enough to put a damper on her mood because the only thing that could take her out of that moment would have been wedding bells.

[themoonandotherslikeit]

Something More Than What I Had- Part Four

Part Four - Judges

“The angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee,  thou mighty man of valour.” Judges 6:12

Sam Winchester’s heart was pounding. He’d never sat on the opposite side of the table in the interrogation room. He could see his own reflection in the two-way mirror. His palms were sweaty, and he absentmindedly twisted his crucifix between his fingers.

 “You look nervous, Winchester,” Detective Novak said, as he entered the interrogation room.

 “Wouldn’t you be?” Sam glanced up at his partner. Since he was so tall, he didn’t often look up at people, but he was seeing Castiel in a whole new light. He looked fierce, strong. Sam could see how the detective could put fear in the heart of a criminal, because Novak was definitely putting fear in his.

 “I suppose if I were guilty, I would be too.”

“I’m not guilty, Cas.”

 “You’re not? I should just take your word for it?” He gripped the back of his chair, staring sharp blue daggers down at Sam.

 “Yes.” Sam frowned. “Because I’m your partner.”

 “You have a bleeding heart. Why shouldn’t I think that you’re capable of taking the law into your own hands?”

 “You’re my mentor, Novak,” he said through gritted teeth. His hands were flat on the table top. “You should know exactly what I’m capable of. You and I run by the same code.”

 “Tell me, Winchester. Do you own a Bible?”

 He blinked a few times. “Yes.”

 “If I got a warrant to search your apartment, and got your bible, would I find pages missing?”

 “Pages? You seriously think I could...”

 “This will go so much easier for you if you cooperate.”

 Sam pressed his lips together before uttering, “No. There would be no pages missing.”

 “How would you describe your religious beliefs?”

 “What do you mean, Cas?”

 “It’s Detective Novak,” Castiel said through clenched teeth. “Are you a casual church goer? Have you read the Bible? Attend studies?”

 “When would I have time to do all of that?” Sam laughed, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m a rookie in Homicide with a hardass for a partner. When would I possibly have time to read the entire Bible?”

 “You are avoiding the question.” 

 Sam sighed, clasping his hands together. “It’s just faith, man. I’m just running on faith. Nothing more than that.” 

 Castiel grunted at that before pulling out a photograph of the burnt wings in the grass from the previous crime scenes. He laid it down in front of his partner. “What is the deal with the angels? The burn marks around the victims.”

 “Your guess is as good as mine.”

 “Why did you lie about being in the courtroom during Azazel’s trial?” Castiel slammed his hands down, leaning into Sam, trying to intimidate him.

 “I didn’t.”

 “You withheld information from a murder investigation.”

 Sam shook his head. “Fuck, no I didn’t! I didn’t think it was a secret! I didn’t think it was important… I didn’t think!”

 “You didn’t think you’d get caught,” Castiel hissed.

 “I can’t believe this. You’re my partner, Cas. You’re supposed to have my back.”

 “Yes. I am your partner, Winchester.” Castiel turned away from Sam. He looked at them both in the mirror, his arms folded tightly across his chest. Sam stared at the crisscross of his suspenders on his back. “So it isn’t so farfetched to believe you would want to impress me by killing the criminals that I couldn’t put away. That we couldn’t.”

 Sam stood up, reached across the table, and touched Castiel’s shoulder, causing the detective to wince. “I didn’t do this. It isn’t up to us to punish evil. It’s up to the law. Yeah, the law fails us sometimes… but we do all that we can do.”

 “You’re just saying what I want to hear.”

 “No. I’m not. Plus,” Sam shifted awkwardly before continuing, “If it were me, I wouldn’t have been so sloppy. I was top of my class at the academy. I know you like calling me Rookie, but I’m good, Cas. I wouldn’t make a mistake like that.”

 “Killers like to taunt the police.”

 “I am the police.”

 There was a loud noise in the precinct, shouting.

 “That’s the worst part,” Castiel said before opening the door and pushing out into the office.

 “Sir, you need to calm down.”

 “I will not fucking calm down! I want to see Detective Novak!”

 “It’s okay,” Castiel told the officer that was trying to calm down Dean. “I’ve got this.”

 “When were you going to call me?” Dean asked angrily, his eyebrows drawn tightly together.

 “Hello, Dean.”

 “Don’t hello Dean me.”

 The detective raised an eyebrow. “How would you prefer that I greet you?”

 “I’d prefer it if you didn’t arrest my fucking brother.”

 “Lower your voice, Dean. There’s no need to make a scene.” He touched Dean's hand. “I just need to question him.”

 “You think he’s a killer,” Dean said through gritted teeth.

 “Come with me.” Cas grabbed his hand and pulled him behind the glass of the interrogation room. They could see Sam sitting with his cup of coffee. He was leaned over the table, looking concerned, but he wasn’t chained. “He isn’t under arrest. I’m just questioning him.”

 “Why are you questioning him?”

 “Because he was in the courtroom during Azazel’s trial. He lied. He’s religious. He fits the M.O.”

 “He isn’t capable of murder.”

 “Everyone wants to believe that...”

 “It’s the truth,” Dean snapped.

 “I know you’re angry, Dean.”

 “That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.”

 “But I wouldn’t be a good detective if I didn’t follow a lead when it was presented to me.” Castiel wasn’t sure why he was sugar coating it for Dean. It looked bad. “Do you know where your brother was at the times of the murders?”

 “Probably working a case with you, you ignorant fuck.” Dean’s fingers twitched at his side. He gave Castiel this look which leveled out somewhere between I want to fucking kill you, and I want to fuck you. His lips were parted, letting out ragged breaths, and his face was flushed. It was the same look he’d had right after he’d been kissed. 

 “He wasn’t with me. Do you think if he was with me that I would be questioning him? I am good at my job, Dean,” Castiel said slowly, carefully trying to explain. Carefully trying not to stare at his full lips. 

 Dean turned and slammed his fist into the glass. He stared through it at his brother, his muscles in his back tight. It was evident even through his thick flannel. “Then fucking do the thing. Prove he’s innocent, because he is.”

 “I hope you’re right,” Castiel said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked at Dean, his eyes drilling into the man’s back. He wanted to see his face, to determine exactly how bad things were between them. “I’m sorry for not calling you,” he said lowly, as he approached Dean. “It wasn’t my place.”

 “As a guy who slept next to me and made out with me in the kitchen, I kind of think it’s your place.” He turned to face Castiel.

 “I’m the head detective of this case. I have to be careful what information I share, and who I share it with.”

 “You’re sharing shit with me now, Novak,” Dean said, his gaze intense. The corners of his eyes were wet with emotion and Castiel could’ve sworn that they were sparkling. Sparkling like the fucking stars in the night sky, green and engaged like a cat’s.  

 “Your eyes are really green, Dean,” Castiel whispered, staring into Dean’s eyes. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop it. 

 “Look into my pretty, pretty green eyes and tell me that my brother is a killer.” Dean let out an exasperated breath. “If you really believe he is capable of that then look me in the fuckin’ face and say it.”

 “Dean…”

 “Say it, Castiel!”

 “I think people are capable of a lot more darkness than what we expect them to be.”

 Castiel met his eyes, and Dean shook his head. “That’s for fucking sure.” He pressed his hands against Castiel’s chest and pushed him away. “I need some air. Get my brother out of there, or you won’t like what happens.”

 He watched Dean go. He made a mental note to tell Charlie that the situation before him was exactly why he didn’t date. Romance was complicated. Especially in the line of work that he was in. Especially with a Winchester. He wanted to walk after Dean, but he didn’t. He wanted to call after him and pull him close. He wanted to kiss him until he was smiling, until he looked less betrayed. He wanted a lot of things. Instead, he turned back to the glass and watched Sam. He needed a plan. He needed the answers, and no matter how badly he wanted to catch the killer, he needed it to not be Sam. He needed the rookie to be clean, because if he wasn’t, then Castiel had failed again. He didn’t know if he could survive the weight of something so completely crushing.

 “Hey.” Charlie poked her head into the room. “Saw Dreamy storm outside. Wanna talk about it?”

 “He’s mad because of this.” Castiel gestured to the glass.

 “Oh my God!” Charlie whispered, stepping into the room, shutting the door behind her. “What is Sam doing back there?”

 “He was on the list, Charlie. He was in the courthouse and didn’t tell me.”

 She looked taken aback, and she blinked a few languid blinks before uttering, “You think he killed those men?”

 “I don’t know what else to think.”

 “Are you batshit crazy, man?”

 “Excuse me?” Castiel turned to look at the redhead, with a quirked eyebrow.

 “He isn’t Anakin, Cas. He isn’t going to go dark side. The kid is Luke all the way.”

 “I don’t follow.”

 “Of course you don’t.” Charlie pinched the bridge of her nose with a disgruntled sigh. “I’m just saying, I think he is what he says he is. I don’t think you have to worry.”

 “But I am worried.” Castiel placed his palm against the glass. “I don’t want to be, but I am. He looks guilty, Charlie. Am I supposed to ignore that?”

 “Of course not, Cassy,” she said with a sigh. “You have to ask the tough questions.”

 “It’s what’s right. If he is killing people, and I don’t stop him just because he’s my partner, then I’m just as bad as he is.”

 Charlie wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Does Singer know?”

 “Not yet. I didn’t want it to be a big deal.”

 “But it is, isn’t it?”

 “That I’m accusing a fellow detective? Yeah. It is.” His voice caught in his throat. If he was wrong he could be ruined. If he was right, everything would be ruined anyway. There was no winning this. 

 “Do you have anything concrete on him?”

 “No. Not really, but I wonder if I should get a search warrant.”

 “You don’t think that Dean would just let you in to prove Sam’s innocence?”

 “He might,” Castiel said, thoughtfully. “But he is pretty angry right now.”

 “Where’d he go?”

 “To get some air. I don’t imagine he will go far since Sam is locked up.”

 “Do you think it’s over?”

 “What’s over?”

 “You and Dean.”

 “That shouldn’t even be on my mind right now,” he said with a sigh, but it was on his mind. Of course it was.

 “But it is, right? It has to be. He’s the guy.”

 “Yeah, according to you.” Castiel ran his tongue along his bottom lip anxiously. “I don’t know if there’s even anything between us that’s worth mourning, yet. It’s too soon.”

 “If you and Dean are supposed to be together, he will forgive you. No matter what you find out.” She gave him a gentle squeeze.

 “I need to focus on the case. I think Winchester has sweated it out enough. I’m going to go back in there.”

 “Okay,” she whispered, letting him go.

 “Charlie?”

 “Yeah, Cas?”

 “I’ll be okay,” he promised her, offering a small smile. “I’ll catch the bad guy, no matter who it is.”

 “I know you will. You always do,” Charlie smiled at him softly, before going back into the precinct. 

 Castiel walked toward the door, his finger clasping the handle as his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to answer it. He didn’t recognize the number. “Detective Novak.”

 “Novak, hello,” a gentle female voice said through the phone. “This is Captain Mosley with the Lawrence PD. I got your message about the Mary Winchester case. Sorry it’s taken so long for me to get back to you. I’ve been on vacation.”

 “Not a problem, thank you for getting back to me.” He leaned against the wall, pressing the phone to his ear. He was eager for information about Dean’s mom. He hoped he could get some peace for his green eyed man, especially since they were currently disagreeing. 

 “I haven’t thought about Mary Winchester in a long time. You said you know her boys? They were cute kids. I was the head detective on the case.” 

 “Dean said that you didn’t have any leads?”

 “Dean... he was the older boy, wasn’t he?” Captain Mosley asked. 

 “Yes, ma’am.”

 “He was only four years old, so his memory must be skewed. We did have a suspect. One.”

 “Who?” Castiel asked, he was leaning on every word. “He didn’t know?”

 “I told him when he came back around some time back. He wasn’t happy with the answer I gave him. Neither of those boys were,” she sighed. “Hurt my heart, having to tell those boys.”

 “Tell them what?”

 “We suspected their Daddy, John Winchester.”

  His stomach jumped right into his throat. Their father? “What was the evidence against him?”

  “The fire started on a desk in the bedroom. It was a pile of papers. Forensics identified them as court documents. Mary was leaving him. He was a mean old bastard, and witnesses reported many domestic disputes between them. The lighter left on the desk was one of his that he used for smoking.” 

 “But there wasn’t a conviction?”

 “It was all circumstantial. There wasn’t anything concrete. He insisted that he didn’t know about the divorce. They were in couples counseling and, according to John, doing better.”

  Shit. “So, nothing stuck,” Castiel sighed. Part of him was happy that he wasn’t the only one that had cold cases. “Do you think that he did it?” 

 “Personally?” Captain Mosley asked slowly. “I do. He took those boys and ran. He was ex military, and he went off the grid. That didn’t sit well with me. Still doesn’t.”

 “It doesn’t look good,” he agreed. “But he’s dead now. Cancer, right?”

 “He was dying of cancer, and then an intern ordered the wrong dosage of morphine and it killed the poor bastard.”

 “That’s terrible.” 

 “I wish we could’ve gotten solid answers for those poor boys,” Mosley said with a sigh. “They were sure sweet. Hate seeing kids losing their mother.” 

 “It is difficult,” he agreed, staring at his feet. 

 “Can I ask you why you were asking about Mary?” 

 “I work with her son.” 

 He could hear Captain Mosley hum over the phone line. “And you’re in love with him? The older boy?”

 “What?” Castiel felt his stomach leap into his throat. How did she come to that conclusion? 

 “I could hear it in your voice when you talked about him. He is a detective?” 

 “No… the younger one, Sam, is the detective. Dean is a journalist.” He felt heat dance along his cheeks. 

 “You don’t have to hide from your feelings, Detective Novak,” she said gently. “It’s okay to love someone that’s alive.” 

 “Okay,” he said, because he was so thrown off balance that it was all he could say. 

 “Was there anything else I can help you with, Detective?”

 “I don’t think so, Captain. Thank you for getting back to me.”

 “Of course. Detective Novak, it was a pleasure speaking with you.” 

 “And you,” Castiel agreed, hanging up the phone. He stared back at his partner through the glass. Poor kid, it was no wonder he could end up a little fucked up with all he’d been through.

 Castiel sighed and opened the door, meeting Sam’s eyes as he sat up straighter. “Thought you forgot about me, Novak.”

 “No such luck, Rookie.”

 Sam offered a small smile. “You believe me yet, Cas?”

 “Can’t say I do.”

 “No one else fits the profile?”

 “Not as good as you do.”

 “Was that Dean I heard shouting?” Sam asked, staring at his hands.

 “It was.”

 “He didn’t sound happy.”

 “He isn’t.” Castiel offered a smile, it was almost genuine.

 “What’s going on with you two?”

 “Nothing.” He opened the case file.

 “I know what’s in that file, Cas, and so do you. What’s going on with you and my brother?”

 “He is your brother. There’s nothing.” Castiel sat on the edge of the table. “I’m not on trial here.”

 “No, that’s me, right? I’m on trial.”

 “You aren’t yet,” Castiel said sharply. He didn’t bother looking down at the pages, he already knew what they said. He had looked at them a dozen times. “Where were you the night that Fergus Crowley was killed?”

 “At home. I told you that.”

 “Can anyone confirm that?”

 “I was alone.”

 “You realize how suspicious that is, right?”

 “You live alone, Castiel. Where were you?” Sam asked, his eyebrows drawn together.

 “I’m the one asking the questions here, Winchester.”

 “I just want to know if you see how ridiculous this is? You’re accusing me when you have just as much riding against you as I do. I didn’t do this.”

 “Then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if we searched your apartment.”

 “Do it,” Sam said, standing up. He dug his keys out of his pocket. “Go. Search. You won’t find anything.”

 Castiel caught the keys when Sam tossed them, and his eyes met the Rookie’s, and he just couldn’t lie to him. Everything spilled out like he was a glass of water in the hands of a child. “We went out.”

 “What?”

 “Your brother and I.”

 “Like a date?”

 “Something like that.”

 “Hm. I thought he liked you,” Sam said softly.

 “I don’t want to do this.”

 “Date my brother?”

 “Accuse you. I want to be wrong,” Castiel admitted. 

 “You are wrong. I’m not asking for a lawyer. I’m willingly giving you my keys. I didn’t do it.”

 The door opened behind Castiel, revealing Captain Singer. His face was red under his graying beard and his eyes were narrowed. “You idgits about done in here?”

 “Captain.” Castiel stood up. “We’re just…”

 “I don’t really care what you’re doin’,” the Captain said dismissively. “There’s been another murder. That novelist case I gave you? He was just found, and it’s fresh, too.”

 “Fresh?” Sam asked, standing up.

 “The wings on this chicken are still burning.”

 The two detectives exchanged a look.

 “Same M.O. as the others?”

 “Looks like The Angel Killer strikes again,” Captain Singer said, stiffly. “Now get your asses out there and check out the scene. Maybe we can catch the motherfucker, since it’s all so fresh.” He finished the sentence and pushed back out into the precinct. Castiel turned to Sam with his mouth hanging open.

 “Believe me now, partner?”

 “Sam I’m…” Cas offered the keys back to his partner.

 “Keep ‘em. Then you can surprise Dean.” He wiggled his eyebrows. Castiel rolled his eyes, tossing the keys back anyway. Sam caught them with ease. 

 They stepped out of the interrogation room to find Dean sitting in a chair, with his face in his hands. “Heard you’re hot for the Detective,” Sam said when he saw his brother, with his biggest shit eating grin plastered on his face .

 Dean hopped up immediately at the sound of Sam’s words. “Sammy! You out of the slammer?”

 “Turns out somebody else is wasting people. Who knew?”

 “I did,” Dean said, throwing his arm over Sam’s shoulder. “Glad it ain't you, kid.”

 “Did you really go on a date with Novak?”

 “Who told you that?”

 “He did.”

 Dean glanced at Castiel as he shrugged into his coat and holstered his gun on his hip. “Huh. He did?”

 “Are you mad at him for accusing me?”

 “Aren’t you?”

 “Not really. I’d do the same thing,” Sam said, looking down at his brother. “Knowing him, I’m probably not even cleared yet.”

 “Want me to flirt with him and get you out of it?”

 “That’s gross, dude.”

 “That isn’t a no.”

 “Rookie, are you done? We have a murder to investigate,” Castiel said, with feigned annoyance. His eyes flickered to Dean’s and lingered there for a second too long. 

 “Yup,” Sam said, wiggling out from underneath his brother’s arm. He grabbed his own coat and gun from his desk. “I’m ready to go.”

 “I’ll drive.”

 “So, should I just meet you guys there?” Dean asked, his lips forming an ornery, tight lipped smile.

 “I’ll see you at home,” Sam said with an eye roll.

 The pair got into Castiel’s car and drove to the scene.

 “You’re gonna keep an eye on me, aren’t you?” Sam asked his partner.

 “I have to.”

 “I understand.”

 “Do you think it’s weird? Dean and I, I mean.”

 “No,” Sam said with a smile. “It’ll be nice to see him happy. It’ll be nice to see you happy, too, Novak.”

 “That’s yet to be determined.”

 “Sure.”

 The Captain was right, the wings were burning still, even as they pulled up to the scene. 

 “Christ,” Castiel said as he squinted at the flames.

 “I’ll say.”

 They both got out of the car, and Sam adjusted his sunglasses on his nose. They were in the parking lot of the apartment building that Metatron had lived in. That his wife had been killed in. He was laid out on his back, with a stab wound in his chest like all the others. The typical burn marks in the shape of wings jutting out from his back in either direction were still burning brightly. “We were waiting to put out the fire until you could see it,” Eileen said, standing up from her squatted position near the body.

 “It smells like gas, that’s new,” Sam commented.

 “Yeah, it is.” Castiel frowned. “They’ve never been still burning before, what do you make of that?” He asked Eileen.

  Don’t know, she signed, with a shrug.

 “Right,” Castiel said with a sigh. “Me neither.”

 “Maybe it was rushed,” Sam said with a frown. “This is a public place. Someone could have seen.”

 “Whoever it is has skills,” Castiel said, crouching next to the body. “We hadn’t been able to locate Metatron, but the killer could. He didn’t even wait to see if we could put him away this time.”

 “He’s escalating,” Sam agreed.

 “Sam,” Eileen said, waiting for him to turn. His eyes flickered to hers and she gently moved the dead man’s chin to expose his neck. “There’s something else.” She pointed to a small red mark on the man's neck. He was older and not exactly well taken care of, so the untrained eye wouldn't have noticed the small pinprick.

 Sam’s eyebrows shot up with an obvious question mark. 

 “I think he was drugged,” she explained, her fist tapping the inside of her elbow to sign,  drug. 

 “None of the other ones had been drugged?” Sam questioned. 

 Eileen shook her head. “We will test the blood at the lab.” 

 He nodded to her. “Let me know what you figure out?”

 She offered him a tired, but encouraging smile and went back to her samples. 

 The heat from the fire caused a bead of sweat to pool on Castiel’s upper lip. He didn’t want to find another letter. Another taunt, but it also could be the key to finding the answer to the case. He wasn’t convinced that it was Sam anymore, although the kid could have a partner, though that seemed unlikely from the M.O. 

 “Rookie,” Castiel called to Sam, his throat dry as he pulled out a crime scene glove and slid it onto his hand before he felt around Metatron’s tweed sport coat. The page was in the same place it had been in on the other victims. He unfolded the page carefully before reading the circled portion out loud. “You shall have no other gods before me. First Corinthians 10:20.”

 “Did anyone know you were questioning me?” Sam asked quickly. “Anyone?”

 “He’s watching us.”

 “He’s jealous.” Sam agreed, looking around. “Shit.”

 “There’s more,” Castiel said tightly as he flipped over the page to reveal another letter addressed to him.

   Dear Detective Novak,

  The Bible says that our God is a jealous one, and so am I. It is insulting that you think that child would be able to do this. He is not doing God’s work. I am. I am a conduit for God, Detective, and for you. You could not find the writer, but I could. I took care of him for you. 

  Perhaps it is a race now to see who can solve the cases first. You, behind your yellow tape, or me yards in front of it. Do you understand yet, Detective? I am doing this for God and for you. Perhaps God will not forgive me for the sin of murder, regardless of the intention, but perhaps I will be forgiven by you. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8. So it is the word of God. 

  Perhaps if you can forgive me, then I may enter heaven. Do you believe in heaven, Detective? Not on the outside, necessarily, but in your heart of hearts? Do you know that God was here? Because I see him every day. In a smile. In the laughter after a really good joke. In the eyes of this man when he melted away. He made peace with God, and so have I. What about you, Detective? Where will you find your peace?

  Raguel 

   Castiel felt like he was going to be sick again. He handed the letter to Sam and walked away from the scene. He needed air. A cigarette, maybe. He felt in his pocket for the box, and slid out the last cigarette, lighting it between his teeth. His mouth and throat burned from the smoke, but he inhaled it gratefully. After the letter, he didn’t think it was Sam anymore. It didn’t read like something the Rookie could write. It wasn’t his voice. Castiel’s gut wasn’t in it anymore, and if he knew anything in the world, it was that he needed to trust his goddamn gut.

 Killers taunted lead detectives all the time. It wasn’t new, but somehow the letters felt different. They felt too damn specific. He turned back and looked at the body. Sure, they thought it was a slam dunk, but was it? They didn’t know that the man was guilty, not for certain. They hadn’t even arrested Metatron yet. He could have been innocent. He probably was.

 Castiel stomped out the burning embers from his cigarette and before he could stop himself, he took out his phone and dialed Dean.

 “Detective, is that you?”

 “Are you angry with me?” The line was quiet. “Dean?”

 “The kid forgave you, so no, I guess I’m not.”

 “Good. That’s… good.” His stomach twisted and turned, the sky toppling over itself. It felt like being drunk. It felt like he was losing it. 

 “Cas, are you okay?”

 “No, Dean. I don’t think I am.” Castiel squatted down, and put his head between his legs to keep himself from throwing up.

 “Where are you? Are you still at the scene?”

 “Yes.”

 “I’ll come get you.”

 “Dean you don’t have to I…”

 “I know. I’ll be there in twenty, Cas. I’ve got you.” Click.

 Sam came to find Castiel after a few minutes. The tall, lanky kid had his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked down at Castiel through a too-long strand of hair. “Hey, you good?”

 “I think I’m going to be sick,” Castiel admitted, his voice hoarse from the bile rising in it.

 “Hey, sit down,” Sam said, putting his hand on his shoulder. He lowered Cas to a seated position on the parking bumper. He didn’t remove his hand until he was sure that his partner would be okay. 

 “Not to be weird.” Castiel laughed dryly. “But Dean is coming here.”

 “Why?”

 “He thinks he’s picking me up.”

 “Thinks?”

 He sighed. “He is coming to pick me up.”

 “Right. He does that. He likes to take care of people.”

 Castiel put his face in his hands. “This is happening because of me.”

 “It isn’t. You really can’t believe that. This guy is a psycho. There’s nothing else to it.”

 “Sort of seems like that there is a lot to it.”

 “It’s a puzzle,” Sam agreed. “Maybe you should get some rest. I was on the phone with the Captain a bit ago. He thinks we should issue a statement - well, that you should.”

 “Me?”

 “You’re the head detective.”

 “Right.”

 “He’s officially a serial killer, Cas. Three victims and he’s escalating.”

 “I know.” He sighed. “It’s more pertinent than ever that we catch him.” His eyes shifted up as he heard a car door shut.

 Dean was jogging away from his Impala, toward the two Detectives that were sitting on a chipping, yellow parking bumper side by side. “Hey. Got here as fast as I could.”

 “Hello, Dean.” 

 “Hey, Detective,” Dean said gently, his eyes moving from his brother to Castiel. 

 “I’ll give you two a minute,” Sam said, standing up. He brushed the paint chips off the back of his pants. 

 “Just take my squad car back, okay?” Castiel tossed Sam his car keys.

 “Sure thing.” Sam caught them in the air effortlessly. “I’ll see you later.” He nodded to Dean before jogging to the car.

 Dean lowered himself next to Castiel. “Want to talk about it?”

 “There was another vic. Another letter written to me.”

 “Shit.”

 “Yes. Shit, indeed,” Castiel uttered, humorlessly. His eyes were focused down onto the small, broken pieces of gravel on the ground, scuffs on his shoes. “He was talking about forgiveness. How, if he got my forgiveness, then maybe he could be absolved for his sins. I don’t know how that makes sense.”

 “Maybe he thinks that he’s doin’ right by you.”

 “He isn’t.” Castiel sighed, and Dean wrapped an arm around him in comfort. He rested his head against Dean’s shoulder. “I’m sorry that I accused Sam. I don’t think it’s him… this seems different.”

 “Seems like the guy’s in love with you.”

 “What?” Castiel sat up a little straighter and turned to look at Dean. His eyes were wide, and his mouth ajar in complete horror. He could feel the world start to tip off its axis again, as Dean cut him off. 

 “He’ll sure be disappointed when he finds out that you have a boyfriend.” Dean grinned widely, meeting Castiel’s eyes.

 He ran his tongue over his dry bottom lip, trying to process what Dean was saying to him. “Boyfriend?”

 “Yeah, why not?”

 The world stabilized. It stopped spinning. His feet were settled on the ground, he could feel the sharp edges of the parking bumper digging into his thighs and ass, and everything made sense. Dean. The guy. His knight in shining whatever. Castiel couldn’t help the smile that was tugging on his lips. Dean Winchester’s boyfriend. What a fucking concept. It was unreal. It was ridiculous. It was right. “That’s what you want?”

 “Would you rather date the killer?” He teased back, his green eyes brightening with a glint of fire from the crime scene. 

 “We did agree that I have a thing for bad boys.” Castiel’s cheeks heated up at the words that were coming out of his mouth. He felt like a teenage girl. 

 Dean gasped playfully. “I’ll show you bad, Castiel Novak.”

 “Promise?”

 “Yeah, I do.” He leaned in and kissed Castiel right there in front of everyone, at a crime scene like nothing else mattered in the world. Maybe it didn’t. He could admit that it felt like everything slowed down when Dean kissed him, like everything was warm. Maybe it wasn’t the worst thing, falling in love. Maybe feelings didn’t have to be the fucking end of things. Maybe, just maybe, being around all the death made Castiel forget how good it can feel to be alive. 

 “We never got to finish those cheese fries,” Castiel said carefully, shifting his weight on the bumper, his thigh brushing Dean’s.

 “You askin’ me back to your place, Detective?”

 He shrugged. “Seemed like the boyfriend thing to do.”

 “I like the sound of that.”

 “So do I.”

 “Alright, it’s a date.” Dean grinned.

 “I suppose it is.”

 Dean stood up and offered a hand to Castiel, pulling him up to a standing position. “We done here?”

 “Yes, we’re done.”

 The two laced fingers and walked to the car, away from the crime scene, and away from the fire that was finally being extinguished in puffs of gray smoke.

 Dean drove them back to Castiel’s apartment. One of his hands was on the wheel, the other on the back of Castiel’s neck. He squeezed gently, pushing into pressure points, rubbing out knots that had taken up residence in Cas’ muscles long before he was ever a police officer. The music was low against the rumble of the black Chevy Impala’s engine, so the lyrics didn't register in Cas’ mind. It was a white noise track, the sound of blood rushing through his ears and into his cheeks. He let out a low groan when Dean’s fingers dug into just the right spot, sending his chin tilting up and his mouth hanging open. 

 “Let it out, Detective,” Dean hummed darkly, his mouth twisting in a smirk that was almost smug. 

 Castiel wanted to be annoyed, he wanted to snap at Dean for being a brat, but all he could think about was the fingers on his neck. They dug into the knots, rubbing small, tight circles, and then pushed in deep, long, and careful. The ache melted away, tingling through him like a current. Those fingers. Castiel swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. What else can he do with those? 

 Cas opened one eye to catch a glimpse of him. Dean was looking out the window, the fingers of his left hand tapping the steering wheel to whatever song was playing in the background. His head bobbed slightly to the same beat. He was focused and relaxed in a way that Castiel couldn’t fathom. He could feel Deans fingers shift down from his neck to his shoulder, still rubbing in gentle circles. Even with fabric there as a barrier between their skin, Dean’s touch left Castiel’s skin tingling, goosebumps perking up along the length of his arm. 

 “Cold, Detective?” Dean's voice was a low rumble, like thunder in the distance. His eyes were fixed ahead, but somehow Cas felt like Dean was watching him. Like his eyes were examining every piece of him. 

 “I’m fine,” he said, his voice betraying him with an almost whine. There was a pit growing in Castiel, his stomach churned and pushed out the previous nerves from the case, to make room for him. Cas’ eyes flickered back to Dean as his bicep flexed and released under his flannel shirt from squeezing Castiel’s shoulder. The corner of his mouth was pulled into a smirk, like he was proud of himself. 

 “Do I got somethin’ on my face?”

  No, but you will, Castiel thought, suddenly a bit smug as well. “Yes,” he said instead, reaching across his body to brush his thumb against Dean's bottom lip. His breath changed against the pad of Castiel’s finger. He sucked in air, then let out a ragged, trembling breath as Cas pulled away. “I got it.”

 “Thanks,” Dean almost squeaked, his hand gripping Cas’ upper arm now. 

 He turned his gaze out the window to his right to hide his burning cheeks. Dean was put together, confident, sexy. He didn’t seem the type to be affected by such a simple touch, but the tapping on the steering wheel had stopped and was replaced by a tight, white-knuckle grip. There was something deeply sexy about watching Dean wind up, like Castiel was turning a dial and working Dean up until he popped. He’d let it feel like a dark desire - a fantasy - for so long that it felt displaced in his mind. It was unrealistic. And yet, when Dean ran his fingers down Cas’ arm, capturing their fingers together in a tight clasp, Cas felt that perhaps it wasn’t so unrealistic after all.

 Castiel sucked in his breath as Dean pulled their joined hands into his lap. He was sure that his pulse was moments from bursting, and Dean had to feel it under the pressure of his thumb as he rubbed small circles on Cas’ skin. His eyes flicked up at Dean for a second, a stolen glance. A glance that Dean stole right back. As Castiel’s eyes scanned over to his left, they caught Dean’s looking right back at them. His pupils were wide and his lips parted, letting out that same ragged breath as when Castiel had first touched him. He looked flushed and wanting. 

 They were less than a block from his apartment, but it could easily take another half hour to find parking. He couldn’t wait that long and although having Dean inside of the car was an entirely different fantasy, that wasn’t the one that he needed at that moment. “Drive,” Castiel demanded, his voice low and rough. Dean just nodded and let off the breaks, moving forward through traffic. He craned his neck to change lanes, sending another chill down Castiel’s spine as he counted the freckles along the length of Dean’s neck. “Park up here,” he instructed. 

 “It’s a no parking zone,” Dean complained quietly. “Can’t.” 

 Castiel’s eyes locked on Dean’s. He didn’t give a damn. “If you get a ticket I’ll take care of it. Park, Dean.”

 The adam's apple in his throat bobbed as Dean visibly swallowed, his knuckles gripping the wheel tighter. “Okay, but I need my hand.”

 They untangled their fingers, but Castiel left his hand resting on Dean’s thigh. Dean stuck his tongue between his teeth, just barely, as he turned the wheel to complete a difficult parallel park. Cas’ fingers danced along a worn spot on Dean’s jeans, feeling the rough denim scratch against the pad of his fingers. 

 Dean grunted in response. “Gonna make me crash.”

 They slid into a spot right in front of the stoop of the apartment, and Cas opened up the passenger side door and got out. Dean met him at the stoop, and Cas’ spine immediately straightened as he felt Dean’s fingers curl around his suspenders on his lower back. He may have had a hand up in the car, but now that Dean’s hands were free, he was afraid that the tables had turned. They climbed the stairs, Dean tugging on the suspenders like a lifeline between them. 

 They reached the doorway, and Cas unlocked the deadbolt with trembling fingers. It wasn’t a breath past when the door clicked shut that Dean’s hands were on him. Castiel groaned, his head dipping back as a pair of hands pressed into his chest, sending his back into the door. Dean’s lips were on his, hot and urgent. “You’re doin’ things to me, Detective,” he groaned against the kiss, before pressing their bodies together completely. Castiel couldn’t speak, there were no words left in his mind that could reach his mouth, so he just opened his lips to allow their tongues to brush, and when they did Castiel felt that he might melt right there. 

 Cas pressed his leg against the inside of Dean’s, eliciting a low growl, and a nip at his lower lip. He brought his hands up to touch Dean’s cheek to run his fingers against the new, late-day scruff that was growing there, but Dean wasn’t having that. His hand caught Cas’ and pinned it next to his head. Castiel sucked in his breath and felt his cheeks heat up to a dangerous level of red, despite the fact that he should have had no blood left in his body to travel anywhere other than his dick, which may have been the only thing that wanted Dean more than he did. 

 He heard Dean exhale sharply through his nose in an almost laugh at his reaction to being pinned. Thick fingers ran up Cas’ palm, linking them together as Dean peppered soft kisses on his neck. It was unbelievably tender, soft, slow, like maybe it all wasn’t about fucking or getting answers, maybe it wasn’t about that at all. Sometimes when things look like a duck, and quack like a duck, they’re just a duck, after all. 

 Dean’s free hand was playing with the hem of Cas’ shirt. He could feel the tickle of fabric and fingers along the sensitive spot right below his belly button. It was gentle, almost unsure, and so Castiel whispered, “Dean?”

 “Huh? Yeah?” He pulled back from the spot he was nuzzling against Cas’ neck, and looked at him from under hooded eyes. 

 And god they were so green, his lips were swollen, and his breath coming out shaking and wrecked. Cas’ chest squeezed at the sight of him, his heart pounding, threatening to bust out of his chest like in some damn cartoon. Dean was beautiful. It always felt like a ridiculous concept, to describe a man as beautiful, but fuck, there he was. Dean was beautiful and it scared the shit out of him. He was staring at Dean, and he didn’t think he would ever feel that way about anyone again, like he may never see someone worth looking at again, like if he looked away that Dean would melt away. He wanted to take a picture, a painting, a fucking statue or something just to capture every freckle against flushed skin, pink open lips, and dazed, green eyes almost glowing like a cat’s in the poor lighting from his apartment. Dean’s forehead pressed against Cas’, the heat of their skin mingling, causing a deep sigh to escape Cas’ open lips. “Dean,” he murmered unintentionally, because fuck, what else was there for him to say? 

 He caught a smile on Dean’s lips before they pressed back against Castiel’s, slower this time, precise. Fingers slid behind Castiel’s back, pressing into the skin under his untucked button-up. Just like he did when they were dancing, Dean guided Cas’ body with his fingers and the palm of his hand. They turned, slowly, Castiel running his free hand through Dean’s hair, down his neck, cupping his shoulder blade. Dean wasn’t built, he didn’t look like he spent his off time at the gym, but he was strong. Under a soft cushion, he had strength, biceps with weight, and muscles in his core that Castiel believed might be able to hold him up, and that thought sent a new wave of chills down his spine. 

 Cas moved backwards by the push of Dean’s chest against his own, their lips never disconnecting as they moved. He deepened the kiss, running his tongue along Dean’s bottom lip, his chin starting to sting from the friction and the stubble. Castiel felt an emptiness as Dean’s fingers left his own, the skin between his fingers sweaty and hollow, but Dean seemed to have something else in mind. Cas felt a tug on his shirt as Dean blindly fumbled with the buttons down the middle of his shirt, using only his free hand. 

 Cas followed his lead, by moving his own hands to shrug out of his suspenders. Once his arms were free, he hooked his fingers in Dean’s belt loops, pulling his hips to Castiel’s. He needed Dean closer, and the feeling of Dean’s arousal pressing into his own was enough to make his soul leave his body. He let out a low whine into the kiss, sucking Dean’s tongue into his mouth. Cas was drunk on him, drowning in the taste of his tongue and the tickle of his fingers, and the heat from below his belt, pressing and grinding their bodies together as they walked. 

 Dean obviously wasn’t watching where he was going, because the back of Castiel’s legs hit something solid, sending him falling backwards onto the couch. The only saving grace was that his fingers were still in Dean’s belt loops, so they were now pressed flush, even the tips of their noses bumping and brushing together. Castiel saw Dean’s eyes widen, saw his hand move behind Cas’ head to try to hold himself up, before he lets the bubbling laughter he was holding back release from his lips. The corners of his mouth curled up into a wide, open grin and he laughed, squinting, causing Dean’s image to blur, and he had to hold his chest, because fuck that was funny. Dean’s hair stuck up on one side from Cas running his fingers through it without a care. He looked adorable. 

 “You look good like this,” Dean said with a gentle smile, brushing a stray hair away from Cas’ forehead. 

 “Like what?” He asked, his breathing finally calming down. He let out another shaking giggle before finally relaxing back to his normal state of rest.

 “Happy.”

 “You’re so annoying,” Castiel lied, knowing full well that his eyes gave him away. 

 “You love it.” 

 He did. He hated to admit it, but he did. He loved everything about Dean. He loved the way his breath bubbled when he laughed, the way his eyes wrinkled around the corners when he smiled really widely, the way his bottom lip poked out when he didn’t get his way. Dean was a smartass, but he came running when Castiel was upset. He made cheese fries, and he slow danced to Steppenwolf. He made Castiel’s heart race when he said his name, Cas, when he caught his green eyes staring, and when he felt his lips brushing against his own.

 “Do not,” he grouched, but when he met Dean’s eyes he melted into the couch.

  It’s okay to love someone that’s alive.

 “You make me happy,” Cas admitted quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, even though normally he wouldn’t, even though it hurt to think about what it meant, even though he knew that it would let those feelings blossom and grow within him. For once, he didn’t care. “Kiss me, Dean.”

 And he did. 

 Dean left fluttering kisses on his lips, the corner of his mouth, his jaw, his neck, all the while his fingers worked the last of Cas’ buttons. His shirt opened, and Dean let out a breath that sounded a lot like “fuck”, which made Castiel’s pulse pick up speed. He let his eyes flutter shut as Dean’s fingers traced patterns along his chest and down his stomach, like a child writing his name in the sand. He remembered his breathing as Dean’s lips followed the same pattern as his fingers, kissing and tasting his skin. It lit a fire within Castiel, his stomach flipping, and his fingers curled into the fabric of the couch as Dean sucked on the skin below his belly button and unbuttoned his slacks. His zipper was down in one fluid motion, and although he would normally feel awkward and exposed, he felt nothing but that heat, the desire, the need to touch and be touched, so he lifted his hips to allow Dean to work his pants midway down his thighs. The muscles in his stomach flexed, and he sucked in breath like he was breaking through water after a dive, as Dean’s tongue teased at the waist of Cas’ boxers. 

 Dean hummed in approval, and Castiel felt his touch hover before his fingers ever so carefully stroked Cas’ length through the fabric of his boxers. His back arched immediately, the crown of his head pressing firmly against the arm of the couch. Dean’s touch was light and feathery, not how Cas would’ve expected him to be underneath the flannel and heavy boots. It was better than he could’ve hoped. Dean’s fingers barely tickled along Cas’ cock, making his hips instinctually lift toward contact. Dean pressed his free palm against Cas’ middle, holding him in place. “Don’t move,” he instructed as he pressed a soft, wet kiss against the head of Cas’ cock through his underwear. 

 Cas sucked in his breath again, letting out a quiet whine. Dean’s mouth was warm and soft, and Castiel pressed his back as firmly to the couch as he could possibly manage, his dick twitching in disobedience. He could feel Dean’s lips curve into a smile as he pressed a kiss against Cas’ hip. He wasn’t used to being teased, being tested. If he was being honest, it’d been so long, that he wasn’t used to being touched at all, desired. “I’m gonna let you out now, Detective,” Dean almost purred against his skin, his lips vibrating against the soft skin below Cas’ belly button. 

 He opened his mouth to respond but a low, desperate moan was all that escaped his lips, so he just nodded instead, because what else could he say?

 Dean tapped his hip, instructing him to lift them up. Cas followed his instructions, having always been a good student. Blunt nails scraped against his hips, as Dean worked his boxers down to meet his slacks at his thighs. Another shiver rolled through him as his cock finally met the air, but the cool air was quickly replaced by a hot, wet gasp. Cas’ mind immediately spun out of control, and he opened a single eye to catch Dean staring at his dick in almost awe. His lips were a breath away, and fuck, seeing Dean look at him like he was something to devour was almost enough to send Cas over the edge. He let his eyes shut again, clamped tightly, his heart racing, blood rushing in his ears. 

 In the darkness behind his eyelids, he was almost seeing stars, sparkling like the night sky, as Dean pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his cock. The muscles in his stomach twitched, as he tried to keep himself laying flat as previously instructed, but even though his eyes were closed the image of Dean was still burned into his retinas like he’d been staring at the sun. Dean with his hooded eyes, his lips open, tongue running over his bottom lip, his tongue… my God. Castiel gasped, his hands immediately shooting to Dean’s hair as he felt a lick up the vein underneath his cock. 

 He massaged his fingers through Dean’s hair, just about gripping it for dear life as he felt himself disappear completely within Dean, past his lips, his tongue swirling. Careful, precise fingers worked into the mix, stroking along with the movement of his lips and tongue. Cas spent all of his time thinking, he wasn’t talkative, but his mind was always a flutter of a thousand thoughts running into each other, yet as long as Dean’s mouth was on him, he had no other thought in his mind for the first time in his life. It was just Dean. 

 Dean and his smug attitude, his pink lips, freckles littering his cheekbones, his green, challenging eyes. His hands on the wheel of the Impala. His hands on Castiel. Kissing, yearning, wanting, breathing. 

 Dean’s hand moved from Castiel’s stomach, giving him silent permission to move his hips again. So he thrust slowly into Dean’s mouth, fucking into him, wishing that there was a way that he could kiss him, but instead he squeezed his shoulders, pulling a deep, muffled groan from his mouth, the vibration against Cas’ skin sending waves of pleasure through him like an electric shock. He could feel himself coming undone, as if every brush of Dean’s fingers and swipe of his tongue was breaking down the carefully crafted wall he’d built around himself. 

 “Dean,” he breathed on the tail end of a groan that came deep from within his chest, opening his eyes and tilting his head up to look. Dean’s only response was running his tongue over the head of Castiel’s cock again, slow and tantalizing, causing Cas’ toes to curl inside of his shoes. “Dean,” he hissed again, tugging on Dean’s hair to get him to pay attention. 

 “Mm?”

 “I can’t… I’m…” Castiel gasped in frustration, his hands shaking against the back of Dean’s neck. 

 Dean offered a wicked smile before taking Cas in again, picking up speed, pulling out all the stops, until Cas couldn’t no longer handle it. His head fell back, his mouth open in heavy, labored breaths, his hips matching Dean’s movements. He felt himself fall over the edge, his skin tingling, toes curling, fingers digging into Dean’s skin, his body hot with ecstasy. He opened his eyes with great effort just to catch Dean wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. 

 As Cas stared at him, beautiful and breathless, he thought, fuck, I’m spent. I’m ruined. It’s him, isn’t it? The one that’ll break everything in me, just to put it all back together again. And he knew, no matter how much it scared him, and how much he wanted to escape, that there was a real risk that he might fall in love with Dean, and that if he did, he would never recover. 

 “Kiss me,” he whispered, desperately. 

 “You don’t have to ask me twice, Detective,” Dean said, his voice almost slurring as he climbed up Cas’ body. Dean’s hand ran along his jaw and cupped his cheek before pressing a tender, euphoric kiss to his lips. 

Read Part Five

Masterlist

Art by @cryptomoon

[argentnoelle]

Alternate Endings: Butlers & Masters in Black Butler, and how they parallel Sebastian & Ciel

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There have been four butler/master pairs established so far: 1) Sebastian & Ciel 2) Grell & Red 3) Agni & Soma 4) Wolfram & Sieglinde Each of the other three relationships serve to parallel Sebastian & Ciel in interesting ways, and when they are introduced, how Sebastian & Ciel react to the pairs, and what happens in those parallel stories may even serve to elucidate the ambiguous nature of the relationship between the main characters.

Partners in Crime: Grell & Red

The first pair introduced is Red and Grell, alias Jack the Ripper. This is the darkest of the four pairs to be sure. The duo are on a murdering spree driven by the righteous idea (on Red's part) that she is in some way dealing out justice, motivated by an obsessive personality and a trauma that she can't get over—that of losing her family. It's a clear parallel to Ciel at his darkest; in fact it becomes even more complicated when you realize that (spoiler) among others, including the man she loved, Red lost her sister, just as Ciel lost his brother. What is established at once is that this is an unequal relationship—unequal beyond, and in a different way than, you might expect with one of them being the mistress and one the servant. In fact, their story is presented almost in the mythical way of a god becoming interested in a mortal due to some particularity of their character, or amazing talent; of course, one way or another, those stories usually don't end very well for the mortal. This is made even more explicit with the description of reapers as "death gods." At this point, with the way Grell frames his duties, he has ultimate power over the souls of those he weighs—in his words, he can decide "whether to let him live on, or to kill him" based on the assessment. Of course, this is overstating the matter on Grell's part, as in actuality, reapers are discouraged from allowing people to live. If we translate this to Sebastian, we have a parallel to when Sebastian met Ciel—what, similarly, drew him to Ciel, the connection with death as his appearance is intrinsically tied up with Real Ciel's death. Similarly, once the contract is made, Sebastian gains the ultimate power over Ciel's soul—which might even include whether to let him live, or to eat him. Grell becomes disappointed in Red when she refuses to kill Ciel; refuses, in effect, to let the game continue, to pursue her vengeance—so he kills her, saying as he does, "How disappointing, Madam Red. I am no longer interested... in an ordinary woman like you."

That this is one possible way the story could end for Sebastian and Ciel is in no doubt. In fact, it almost ended that way early on: when Ciel is recognized as Earl by the Queen, Sebastian asks him if he can be content with the life he's gained and abandon his vengeance. When he thinks that Ciel will abandon it, he starts to lose his "butler" form and reaches out to Ciel, obviously planning to eat him right then and there. When changes the story is that Ciel refuses to abandon his vengeance; and this moves Sebastian to an absurd degree. Still, you might argue that it is in that scene that Sebastian swears fealty to Ciel, that he in fact promises to play the game until the end, without messing around. Even later, during the Green Witch arc, Sebastian is driven in desperation to repeating his question, when time has run out for them to remain in the village. "Brooding over your fears and regrets, curled up in your blanket... is not what you should be doing right now. Come, get out of bed." Will Ciel abjure his vengeance, or does he still want to play the game? Ciel says, "No." "Oh? Well. You will abandon your position as the Queen's Watchdog then? Very well. You won't have to experience any hardship if you're no longer the Queen's Watchdog. No one will blame you for not wanting that forever. The servants will surely treat you well. However. Abandoning your revenge mid-way is against the contract. Ahhh. What an utterly boring end." Sebastian has turned from a human-looking butler into a darkness-tentacle-creature and starts to eat him. But even then, he doesn't stop trying to remind Ciel of his revenge, in a last-ditch effort to not end the game just yet. Sebastian asks Ciel why he actually made a contract with him, and Ciel reminds himself (or perhaps realizes for the first time?) that the reason he did it was, whatever he said or thought at the time, actually for himself. He breaks free of the cage and runs toward Sebastian. Ciel then says to Sebastian, "you... really tried to eat me just now, didn't you." Sebastian says, "No, no, I was only 90% serious." (Real reassuring, Sebastian.) He then reminds Ciel that he is both a demon and a butler. Grell compares the relationship between him and Sebastian to that of Romeo and Juliet, and that along with his comment that he is an actress, casts everything about his relationship to Red as an extended act—this is made even more clear in the anime, where Grell is introduced as a butler in an earlier episode, and plays it up to a theatrical extent. Similarly, one could see Sebastian, and his butler aesthetic, as a similar type of act, where the "play" being put on is more important than the people involved; it is all about the artifice. Grell actually replays the famous balcony scene, saying to Sebastian "you and me shall be the cast in this show," and continuing to riff off of it: "why don't you throw away the unlucky name your master gave you, and just focus your attention on me!" —wherefore (why) art thou Sebastian? Sebastian gives an answer: "all it takes is that one sentence. From the time when my master addressed me as 'Sebastian' that sentence became the newly formed contract. Since that day, I became 'Sebastian.' I made a vow to the moon." In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name..." continuing on to entreat Romeo to abandon the fact that he is a Montague and can therefore only ever be her enemy. Romeo answers "call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo." The way that Sebastian plays off of this exchange is clearer in the anime, and probably in the official translation too. Grell sets up the unstable dichotomy of death god/demon, who must always be natural enemies, but then positions Ciel, and Sebastian's connection to him, as what will keep them apart, and what Sebastian will have to refuse to get together with Grell. Sebastian's answer actually uses Romeo's words, saying that in meeting Ciel and in the creation of the contract, he was newly baptized as Sebastian; in other words, Grell can't be Juliet because Ciel is.   In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo begins by swearing his love on the moon, and Juliet interrupts him, saying: "O swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest thy love prove likewise variable." So in saying that he's swearing by the moon, Sebastian is actually playing along with Grell's reenactment of Romeo and Juliet, while still refusing Grell's casting of himself as Juliet, and putting Ciel in that place instead.

Soulmates: Agni & Soma

Agni is set up from the beginning as an incredibly good butler, just as Grell was (to Sebastian's disapproval) an incredibly bad one. The usual, 'oh no the whole house has been messed up' that was set up from the very first arc is flipped around, with Agni having done all this work incredibly well... this gets on Sebastian's good side immediately. Agni is also able to get the servants to work together and not break everything, which completely baffles Sebastian, leading to one of his awesome shocked faces. Agni explains his personal philosophy to Sebastian, and then explains that before he met Prince Soma, he was a very different kind of person. "Before I met the prince, I was an idiot that can be said to be hopeless. What I owe him can never be repaid in this lifetime." He explains how he had no faith, due to seeing his father misusing his position, and how he then continued to do bad things, saying "I took advantage of my social status and committed sins every day." But just as he was about to be executed for his crimes, Prince Soma arrived to say him, saying, "I've heard you are a wild person that is as strong as an untamed beast," and choosing to take responsibility for Agni. As he cuts Agni's hair, Soma says, "the 'you' who existed before today is now dead. You're hereby reborn with a new name and life." Agni interprets this memory, saying that from that day Soma became his god. He says "that day, I definitely saw a god emitting holy light inside of the prince's body! I swerved the prince ever since that day... the prince is my king and my god!" He continues to say that he will do anything for Soma, even if it costs him his life. While Agni is set up as literally the nicest person in Black Butler, his own story places him as a reformed sinner who has found god in the man he serves. Still, even in his "reformed" state, his dedication to Soma is shown to be potentially dangerous, as his fervor leads him to do criminal acts in Soma's name. There is no unequivocal good here, it must be pointed out. Still, everything that Agni affects, day to day, seems to lead to having friends and happiness because he's just such a nice person. This seems like a pretty weird comparison to Sebastian, but he certainly is a parallel to Sebastian. Not only do they both take pride in cooking, and are incredibly good at it, not only do they both have superhuman strength, but the story of Agni meeting Soma has some interesting resonances with Sebastian's own. Going back to Sebastian's description of his meeting Ciel to Grell, earlier on, a flippant reply that takes from Romeo and Juliet and the wild overstatements made by those in love can also be interpreted through the lens of someone who has found a god. The devotion becomes religious. There is, of course, the baptism mentioned in Romeo and Juliet, and by Sebastian in relation to his own story; Agni, as well, tells the story of a baptism, in which he gained a new name and a new life. Soma's words when he first met Agni are also interesting. "I've heard you are a wild person that is as strong as an untamed beast." The connection to Agni's former existence, as an "untamed beast" is explicitly similar to Sebastian, who first appears to Ciel as a number of beasts, and is referred to as a beast multiple times, including in the Green Witch arc, when Ciel tells Sebastian that, in destroying the evidence of the laboratory, he has his permission to "feel free to go crazy like a beast." (Sebastian's reaction is notable. He thinks to himself, "My master. You're misunderstanding something. What I find most entertaining is playing the butler in my game with you. It's not behaving like a frenzied beast. However, if that's how you like me... I'll act accordingly.") Further, this sounds really similar to the meeting between Gilgamesh and Enkidu in Gilgamesh.  Gilgamesh is described as "two thirds god, one third man" and like Soma, he starts the story thinking a lot of himself; to say that he's arrogant is an understatement. Enkidu is created as someone who can temper this, basically Gilgamesh's soulmate, and spends the first part of his life as a literally "untamed beast" of a man, living with the other wild animals and having more in common with them than with humanity. But after he's shown human things through having sex with a priestess who comes to tame him, he can no longer go back to that state of innocence, wildness, or beastliness... now he is unavoidably human, and that can't change. He and Gilgamesh have a number of incredible adventures, and Gilgamesh thinks that together they can do anything, but Enkidu eventually dies, and the rest of the story deals with Gilgamesh's grief and anger at what he feels is the unfairness of death. He goes to extremes, and journeys for a long time, to try to become immortal himself, but discovers that like anyone who is mortal (even one-third mortal) death will inevitably come for him. Still, he eventually gains some measure of peace and grows as a character. Perhaps Soma is also on a similar journey. And, if Soma is a parallel for Ciel, who has been going on his own angry journey, through the manga, against the fact of death, both of his parents and of his other half—his twin brother—perhaps Ciel himself might come to some measure of peace as well. So, Agni is the epitome of a butler, and as he dies, he thinks, "Master Soma, that day, when you saved me, you were probably just acting on a whim. But from that day forward, you have always been the sun in my sky." (In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet appears, Romeo says, "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon...") Agni continues, "no matter the circumstance, I remained bound to you. As your orders were the light illuminating my path. What's more, just by exuding your shining confidence down from the sky, you have saved more lives than you will ever know... because you were my sun, were there for me, my days could finally begin. ... I was... your khansama was... extremely happy." Soma is, in Ciel's words, who he might have become if not for "that day". Soma's description of his life in the palace, where he as the youngest child had everything he could ever want, materially, but felt as though he was cut off from expressions of love, is what motivates him to cling so tightly to Meena, who was always there for him, though she was secretly resentful. (Oh my! Perhaps the way that Madam Red was always there for Ciel, and yet secretly resented his existence because she was jealous?) While Soma originally saved/hired Agni just because he was supposedly really good at making curry, the butler has come to mean everything to him. (This reminds me of Ciel's meeting with Klaus, where he says that one of the reasons he keeps Sebastian around is because he makes the best sweets ever. He's being flippant, it's not a serious reason by any means—and Sebastian couldn't cook when they met—but it's still interesting.) Soma says to Agni, later, "Ciel reminds me of my younger self. I would always be chasing after the love of my parents and Mina, but I never paid attention to the affection you were giving me the whole time." He says, "No, not quite the same. Even though he is aware of al the affection he is receiving, he refuses to accept any of it. It's as if he is afraid of obtaining happiness. Ciel says that he lives for the sake of revenge. That's why he lives a life of solitude." (Of course, that's the only reason Ciel is still alive instead of being eaten by Sebastian for having broken the contract.) In this iteration of butler and master, the butler dies for the master—something that Sebastian states that he finds admirable. Indeed, this has also almost happened in Sebastian and Ciel's own story. When they're on the Campania, Sebastian gets stabbed by Undertaker when he's trying to protect Ciel, and could very well have died in the process. He didn't, and so the story continues...

Parent and Child: Wolfram & Sieglinde

Sieglinde is a genius brought up believing one story—that she's the Green Witch, someone with a special duty handed down through the generations to keep her village safe—when really she's being manipulated by an old woman (her mother, though she doesn't know it) into making a gas that will cause death and destruction. This is rather interesting. If Sieglinde's story is a parallel to Ciel, just as Madam Red and Soma's stories are in a sense a parallel with Ciel, then Ciel might be believing a false story too. He, like Sieglinde, takes pride in his position—in his case, of being the Guard Dog, and keeping order in England. It's couched as a special duty, but perhaps he, too, is being manipulated by an old woman (the Queen? Hm). It's certainly made clear that the Queen has her own aims, and that she's interested in preparing for war. The idea that she might even be the one behind his parents' murders isn't so far off, and indeed, in the anime, she *was*. On an even more disturbing note, perhaps Vincent Phantomhive was more manipulative than he appeared...? Wolfram is in a similar situation as Finny. Both were used in experimentation in Germany, and both didn't have a name until they met Ciel, in Finny's case, and Sieglinde, in Wolf's case. ("For this mission, we gave you a name," he was told. "Lieutenant Wolfram Geltzer.") That's a pretty long list of people who were given new names, including every single butler—besides Grell—to date. (But, quite interesting is the recent reveal that reapers are, along with their names, which most of them use, also referred to by a number code within the organization.) (As a side-note, Wolfram is responsible for Sieglinde's crippled feet, just as Sebastian is responsible for Ciel's blind eye, but beyond that obvious similarity, I'm not sure it has any significance.) Wolfram describes his life before Sieglinde as being colorless, and that they had a duty, and acted, but without ever knowing the reason. This "patriotism" is then set against the personal loyalty he ends up having toward Sieglinde. Wolfram's past, on learning how to be a butler, is similar to Sebastian's, as he is baffled by having to deal with a child and with the idea of having to play with her and deal with her whims, instead of just killing people. He thinks, "after meeting you, for the first time... I discovered the bright colors of the world... and felt the desire to protect something. I found a reason to fight." He thinks this as he has been wounded, and reaches for Sieglinde through the haze of his memories. There is even a shot of their hands reaching out toward each other, as Sebastian and Ciel reached out to each other when Sebastian was wounded on the Campania, and he slipped into his early memories of their time together. Wolfram is saved though, and Sebastian says, gently, "Mr. Wolfram. A butler... isn't allowed to die before their master." (Agni should've listened to you!/Tanaka. But Agni, of course, is really the only one who can get away with disagreeing with Sebastian, and still change his mind.) This story isn't really told to it's end, but it's different from the others in that Wolfram was originally working at cross-purposes to Sieglinde, and was in effect on an undercover mission to use her. But instead, he ended up throwing in his lot with her, and abandoning his army. Furthermore, at least to the present moment, though he would give his life for Sieglinde, he doesn't have to. Sieglinde actually forgives him for his deception, realizing that his actions since then show his care and his regret.

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[hub-pub-bub]

I pride myself on creating interesting titles for my articles and blogs. Who could ignore, “Does This Script Make Me Look Fat?“, “S-e-x Tips For Screenwriters,” or “Are You Writing With Beer Goggles On?”

The title is essentially the logline of the column, and I want mine to intrigue you into reading more.

My choice this month is as deliberately colorless as I could muster to make a point. I’ve been reading a lot of dry, dull, and flat dialogue of late.

This is a cautionary tale on how “not good” dialogue can

drag

your

entire

script

down.

Even when you have an exciting and compelling concept and a solid story.

No matter what the genre, bad dialogue flattens the story by undermining the tone. Visceral moments built around dull dialogue, whether they are shocking scares, heart-racing action sequences, thigh-slapping comic moments, or tear-inducing dramas, are akin to a slammed oven door on a rising soufflé. Deflated and disappointing.

Dialogue: Art or Craft?                                                    

Before I began this article, I had to think about whether dialogue is a screenwriting skill that can be taught, practiced, and mastered, or whether it is an art. I’ve been fortunate to work with some truly talented writers who had “an ear for dialogue.”

My ultimate decision is that while you can get better at it, like a craft, for the top writers of dialogue – although they work hard at making it outstanding – it is an art. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn something from them and use it to grow.

Writers known for their dialogue actively listen. They pay attention to voices, they eavesdrop, they recall patterns, phrases, distinctions, inflections. But great dialogue is not transcribing. It is learning about howpeople talk in the real world and then distilling it into something better that reflects real life rather than imitates it. We’re telling stories, not making documentaries.

Great writers take the everyday and elevate it. Because, in fact, how we talk in “real life” can be wordy, meandering, and damn boring. In a script we are looking for powerful and succinct expression of thoughts and feelings.

Writers known for great dialogue write in voices that they know. Voices that they can hear in their heads, whether it is “smart,” or “Southern,” or “smarmy.” I have had more than one marvelous writer of dialogue tell me that they get to the point where the characters are speaking to them in their heads. Congratulations, you are probably in the only profession where “hearing voices” doesn’t guarantee you will get carted away to the crazy house.

Writers known for great dialogue understand that dialogue must serve a purpose. It must advance the story, reveal character, support the tone, and compliment the pace of the scene.

Writers known for great dialogue know that less is more. Great dialogue is often characterized as “lean.” They avoid lengthy talky scenes, long, uninterrupted monologues, and they leave space for subtext – that which goes unspoken can have the greatest impact.

Writers known for great dialogue know that it has to woo the reader on the page and sound authentic when spoken. Read your work aloud. Have it read. Tape it and play it back. If it “sounds like dialogue,” start rewriting.

Writers known for great dialogue still agonize over every word. Because they want the characters’ intentions to shine through, their personalities to come across, and the nuances of their inflections to be clear to the reader.

In the industry, writers known for great dialogue often come from theatre. Yes, I’m talking about Aaron Sorkin, Alan Ball, and many others. Because on a page of a play there is almost no description. What is there is minimalist. Playwrights learn to tell their entire stories and reveal their characters through dialogue. They are forced to get darn good at it. Might be a good exercise to practice by writing a scene or a short piece that is almost 100% dialogue.

On the other hand, the more I’ve thought about dialogue, the clearer it is to me that dialogue is inextricably interwoven with description. I found that you simply can not talk about one without referencing the other. As you master how to write a screenplay, it becomes clear that the interaction between dialogue and description is like a carefully choreographed dance. A tango that would not be complete without both partners, moving seamlessly together, supporting and elevating each other. That’s where you make the leap from craft to art.

Killer Dialogue

In striving to write dialogue that enlivens your story rather than killing it dead, these are the top crimes to avoid:

Expositional Dialogue: Dialogue that struggles to convey fundamental information to the audience can be deadly dull. In decades past, we might have seen newspaper headlines on the screen. Now we’re often subjected to lengthy (and incredibly conveniently timed) TV news broadcasts that spells out the facts and background. This may be efficient, but it feels like a cheap writing short cut and is inherently dry.

Voice over narration can be useful, but only if there is no other way to show us rather than tell us. This device is best used sparingly and artfully, as an integrated element of the story that reflects the tone.

There should be a rhyme and reason to narration in a script. It should be consistent with the story. Its usage might be heavier in Act One to establish the narrator and their point of view. Sparingly in the second half of Act Two, as the pace and stakes increase. Then wrap up and underscore the theme, provide resolution and add resonance in Act Three.

A large clump of narration in one juncture of the story stands out. It slows the pace and can feel like a crutch for conveying information. The best exposition comes from many sources. Showing is more powerful that telling. We can glean information from vividly described settings. We can see character’s appearance, behavior, actions, body language, and expression in description.

Lean dialogue supports other expositional tools, and description can add subtext that speaks volumes.

OTN Dialogue: Industry shorthand for “on the nose” is far from complimentary. This is dialogue that is literal in conveying what the characters think and feel. I am scared. I am happy. I am hungry. It is stiff and unnatural. Characters who speak in simple declaratory sentences reflect what the writer wants us to know. More skillful dialogue comes from the character and is supported by description.

Doubling Up Dialogue: Dialogue that repeats what we have just learned in description is redundant. Don’t tell us what we already know. It drags down your script and slows the pace of a scene. Be confident that we’ll get it.

Description: Jack acts nervous, worrying about the plans for the big heist. Jack dialogue: “I am very nervous that you are not going to be able to pull this heist off.”

Versus:

Description: Jack paces restlessly, taking a few steps in one direction, then reversing. Jack dialogue: “Tell me you have your shit together.”

The second version is shorter, more visual and more visceral.

Showboat Dialogue: Few things rankle readers more than recherché or Delphic dialogue. While you and I may have an SAT-worthy vocabulary, imagine the frustration of being unable to comprehend a sentence. Or maybe you don’t have to imagine if you were unaware that recherché means rare or exotic and Delphic is deliberately obscure or ambiguous.

The purpose of dialogue – and I see this blunder in description too – is not to show us that you are smart. It is to communicate clearly. I shouldn’t need a dictionary just to grasp a sentence. And if your reader does, then you are throwing off the reading experience, putting a stumbling block in their path when your aim should be for the words to flow in smooth, comprehensible sentences. Your script should communicate clearly to any and all readers.

Dialogue and description that includes obscure literary or musical references may have meaning to you, but unless it is recognizable to your reader, it’s a fail.

Yes, if your character is a brainiac, they might have a great vocabulary. But baffling your reader, even in a story about rocket scientists, should be rare and serve a purpose. Unless it is reflecting a specific character trait, strive for clarity.

The Worst Dialogue Sin: Thou Shalt Not Write Dialogue That Fails To Reflect The Tone. The quickest path to dialogue that makes a script dead on arrival is a failure to reflect the tone – not merely the genre – tone is far more specific. Family comedy, broad comedy, raunchy comedy, dark comedy, and dramedy are just some of the many tonal variations in the catch-all genre of “comedy.”

While your comedy doesn’t require a joke in every sentence, keep your dialogue in line with the tone of the story and of the scene. We think of action dialogue as terse, while character-driven stories are expected to have more dialogue that reflects and reveals character and arc.

Dialogue should also match the pacing of the story and the scene. As conflict escalates, especially in the second half of your script, dialogue should also be tight and brisk to match the pace.

Another cause of flat dialogue is the “repressed” hero. I’ve found that main characters whose core issue involves suppressing their feelings, leads to dryer, clipped dialogue. Fair enough as a character trait, but this often infects the entire script, keeping everything from falling short of being visceral. And in truth, the repressed character should be simmering beneath the surface, with inner conflicts conveyed in description and supported by subtext.

Think of the voice of the story – its unique tone – coming through in every sentence – from description to dialogue.

Praiseworthy Dialogue

How do industry pros describe great dialogue?

Lean, fluent, distinctive to characters, authentic sounding, and enhancing the tone…

All forms of high praise for dialogue.

Here are some ways to earn those accolades:

In N’ Out Dialogue: Sharply written scenes get in late and get out early. No wasted time on greetings and exits. In N’ Out hones in the on the purpose of the scene. Effective scenes both advance the story and reveal character arc.

Jack, John, Jake and Joey Walk Into A Bar: I know that some people go crazy when I imply that professional readers don’t read every single word of your script – but it’s because we shouldn’t have to. We should be able to stop reading character’s names after Act One because their voices are distinctive. It’s more challenging in an ensemble where the characters are highly homogenous, but that makes it all the more important. And a visual difference in the characters’ names makes it even easier for our brains to process, which makes your script flow.

Totes Dated Dude: Strong dialogue reflects the time period and is age appropriate.

Writing for teens can be tough, but the best dialogue avoids the clichés. By the time we read them, they’re already dated. Think of Clueless, written and directed by Amy Heckerling, who was lauded for her teen dialogue. What made it so impressive and appealing was that it was invented, a reflection of teen talk and a step ahead, rather than copying current trends. What is on fleek today is totes dated tomorrow.

On the flip side, period dialogue that is sprinkled with contemporary phrases shows a lack of research and an inattention to detail.

A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words: I read a wonderful article recently (which I would link to here if I could find it!) that showed a page long scene between an arguing man and woman, and then cut the dialogue in half, and in half again, and finally down to just a couple of lines. The more they cut, the more dynamic the scene became. Less words meant more room for subtext conveyed in description. It upped the emotion of the scene with what we saw the characters do rather than what they said. With each cut, the scene became more intense emotionally.

The real power in dialogue is often is what goes unsaid. Less truly is more. And action does speak louder than words. Subtext – conveyed by a character’s expression, gesture, or glance – intensifies the spoken word and underscores the meaning of the moment.

Button Up: Effective scenes have a clear high point and then cut to the next scene. Time and again, writers give us the line with the most impact, whether it’s a comedic punch line, peak conflict, or a big reveal, yet diminish the resonance off the moment by adding a few more lines after. Know the scene’s button and cut out on that for maximum effect.

The Last Word On Dialogue

Great dialogue has a rhythm and flow that becomes the heartbeat of the story. It mirrors the structure of the script. Initially setting the tone, revealing character, and conveying exposition, it goes on to accelerate as the conflicts escalate. It supports the scene in tone and pace. It becomes a vibrant element of the story, working in harmony with description to elevate the entire script.

More articles by Barri Evins

Dialogue Freedom: Getting Away with Writing Lengthy Dialogue

Script Gods Must Die: Writing Dialogue – The Cut Instinct

Script Expert Q&A: Meet Barri Evins of ‘Breaking & Entering’

Download tips on writing stellar dialogue with Karl Iglesias’ on-demand webinar Master Aaron Sorkin’s Dialogue & Scene Techniques

[truthbeetoldmedia]

Charmed 1x04 “Exorcise Your Demons” Review

Episode 4 finally has us meeting an Elder! I wasn’t too crazy about the original series’ Elders because they were all uptight and had a “holier than thou” attitude. If Charity is completely different from those old Elders, one would assume the others are, too.  

The episode begins with a flashback of Mel and Marisol sitting down with Angela Wu, encouraging her to move forward with her sexual assault claims against Professor Thaine. This is something we come to learn that Mel has immense guilt over. If she hadn’t encouraged her to tell someone, Angela wouldn’t have wound up in her coma and wouldn’t have been susceptible to the Harbinger’s possession.  

Meanwhile, the Harbinger is still chained up in the girls’ attic and the whole team is wondering why it’s taking the Elders so long to arrive with a plan to take the Harbinger out of the house. Tensions are high. Harry is confused. One would assume it doesn’t usually take them this long. The sisters are wondering where the Elders are when Niko and her partner, Trip, pay them a visit. They’re looking into the disappearance of Angela Wu. Turns out, her mother put in a missing person’s report after she didn’t return home from the Halloween party at the Vera house. All three women are beyond obviously nervous. We already knew that Mel had a hard time lying to Niko as just her girlfriend. When Niko’s on duty, it’s practically worse.  

Right when the Harbinger starts banging around in the attic, which causes Niko and Trip to want to investigate, that’s when Charity makes her appearance...as an interior designer. Making some excuse over moving furniture and whatnot, the sisters are able to dissuade Trip and Niko from investigating the scary noises. Charity’s physical appearance is a rebranding of the Elders everyone knows and, well, not loves, but expects for sure. We’re used to long white robes and here Charity is in her smart, white power suit. She has an amazing energy and she also run an investment fund for women who are starting businesses in developing countries. I don’t know of any Elders that actually have a day job, but this might just be one of the new things this series has going for them.  

Anyway, Charity brings news that the sisters have to kill the Harbinger by the end of the full moon the following night. That means that they’d be killing Angela, too. Charity and the Elders are convinced that Angela’s gone, but Mel knows she’s still in there. It’s a gut feeling the Charmed ones are known for having, no matter which series it is. Also, turns out Marisol was an Elder? Harry said he told them in his opening speech to them, but Macy says he called her a high witch and Harry basically said it was the same thing and that kind of disappoints me a little bit. Elders in the original series were men and women who lived their lives as good people and, in death, became guardian angels to witches. That doesn’t seem to be the case with this series and honestly, that’s kind of a major downfall for me, next to Harry’s “orbing”. (To summarize: I’m not upset with the witch aspect of the show. I’m upset with the whitelighter/elder aspect.)

Back to the story! Trip knows the girls aren’t being truthful, but Niko isn’t convinced that Mel would lie to her about Angela’s disappearance. There is also some concern about all the other murders around Halloween being the sisters’ faults. Trip has his doubts and, for the moment, he keeps it to himself. Niko’s not listening to it, anyway.  

While there is a literal demon in their attic, we’re reminded of the sisters having actual lives. Macy’s romance with Galvin is nonexistent. In fact, it looks like Galvin’s backing off after Macy rejects a date in favor of spending time with her sisters (because they’re killing a demon that night.) I just want Macy to blow off the demon murder and spend more time with Galvin outside of work. I know Macy is introverted when it comes to her romantic life, but this story is moving just so slow and not in a good “slowburn” way. It’s like Galvin’s just thrown into a scene as an afterthought. There’s no real movement between these characters and it’s making a bit ticked off.  

Maggie is also having her own troubles. She’s failing one of her classes. Turns out she does have the occasional class at college. It’s not all sorority activity. Lucy is determined for Maggie to pass the class midterm, so she offers up her boyfriend, Parker, to help Maggie study. Well, Maggie and Parker met in the last episode and sparks were flying. You can see where this is going a mile away and I’m not here for it. I hate love triangles and I hate cheating storylines. I’m already annoyed.  

Mel and Niko have their own problems, but they also seem to be the most stable relationship on this show at the moment. Good for them, but I can’t forget how their relationship started. In episode 2, Niko made it sound like Mel was the other woman. Remember how she mentioned that she was previously engaged, but just HAD to be with Mel? Well, I’m not a fan of relationships that come from cheating. These sisters are better than that, or they’re at least supposed to be.  

Charity and Harry are trying to get all the sisters back to the manor for killing the Harbinger underneath the full moon, but that was before Mel took Harbinger!Angela and hid her in a vacant building that was housing the college’s homecoming float. Mel performed a spell and it revealed what she knew all along; that Angela Wu was still inside that body. The sisters needed to cast an extremely powerful exorcism spell to rid Angela of the demon.  

Someone starts poking around outside and it’s Parker! Maggie has to go distract him from entering the place and she ends up kissing him. Thankfully, she realizes that was a mistake and that they can’t do that again. In fact, she doesn’t even want his help studying for her midterm anymore. Neither of them seem particularly regretful though and I’m sad all over again. Maggie goes back to help with the exorcism and things get crazy. It’s like there’s a storm inside the building.  

Unknowingly, there is ANOTHER person poking around outside and that person is Trip. He gets inside the building and sees all the calamity going on. He tells everyone to freeze and to put their hands up. He’s holding his gun on the sisters, Harry, Charity, and a possessed Angela Wu and Charity just magics the gun away. I wish all guns could just be magicked away. He’s powerless watching the exorcism. With the power of three and the very strong will of Angela Wu, they are able to exorcise the demon and have Angela remain very much alive.  

However, turns out a pipe was knocked loose with all the wind flying around and ended up killing Trip. The sisters saved one life, while another was put in harm’s way. Mel is feeling the most guilty because it was her fault that they were all at that building to begin with. Trip is also Niko’s partner and she knows her girlfriend will be absolutely devastated. At the very end of the episode, you see Mel comforting her girlfriend and that’s when she finds out that Charity, who had taken care of Trip and the scene of the “crime”, had pinned all the Halloween murders on Trip.  

The sisters are watching over Angela as she recovers from her possession, something she doesn’t even know happened. You’d think that after that harrowing experience, they’d tell her what happened to her, but nope! They pin it all on blackouts. Angela’s been through so much. As much as I want to see more of her, I think it’d be best if the sisters distance themselves from her. If they don’t, I don’t see Angela making it out of the season.  

What happened to the Harbinger, you ask? Charity trapped the demon in a paint can and when she went to bring it with her to the Elders, she was hypnotized by a mysterious stranger in an elevator. They traded paint cans and he was able to walk away with the demon in a can. Who is that guy? Is he going to be this season’s Big Bad? Poor Charity is going to just kick herself when she realizes she lost the demon.  

All-in-all, I was more disappointed with this episode. It wasn’t even the episode as a whole, just elements that, when added up, made me sad. All three of the sisters’ love lives are not the greatest. Maggie is still placing her social life above saving the world. Macy is a hot, single lady and Galvin wants her! Give Galvin more screen time! What the hell already! I really want Mel to just tell Niko the truth. I think that’s where they’re heading this season. I say just get it over with. Mel, and the rest of her sisters, are horrible liars and it’s better to just put them out of their misery.  

Some thoughts:

If Maggie is going to focus on one thing while at college, it should be her grades and not her sorority shenanigans. You all know how over the sorority storyline I am.  

It’s hilarious how bad all three sisters are at lying. I guess that’s one way you can tell they’re all related.

HUGE POINTS to the show for pointing out how POC are uncomfortable around cops and how it’s basically justifiable and understandable. (At least that’s how it came across to me.

Charmed airs Sundays at 9/8c on The CW.

Sarah’s episode rating: 🐝🐝

[ryuzakisan]

What if L was Kira? (part 2)

I had asked a bonus question in the previous part of this post, (to read part 1, click here.) saying: If L became Kira, would Light be against him or would he work with him? In this part, I will be sharing the replies I got both through Tumblr and Quotev, then state my opinions on the topic and lastly, share a couple of alternative scenarios that could have happened depending on the possibility of Light working with L or being against him. Enjoy!

Replies on Tumblr:

1. (user: @chimeracuddles) I think Light would be against him, without the Death Note, Light would still have his holier than thou attitude, known Light he would dedicate himself into bringing L Kira down to add to the list of crimes he has solved before ending High School x

2. (user: @levycerise) I don't want to go through the whole process of their likelihood of crossing paths in this scenario, so let's just say they know each other and Light knows L has a Death Note and was Kira.

I believe that Light might actually try to work with L at first, and I genuinely believe it would work out. For a while.

As seen in the series, it's basically just a dick size contest between the two 24/7, and the who are highly intelligent men who, by their own admission, hate to lose. It's in my belief that they would battle for dominance and authority over the other. Two dominant personalities find it hard to cooperate and they will conflict over time. I believe at first there would be the illusion of equality for Light. This is my opinion, but L just... radiates something that screams dominance to me. Not in the typical hypermasculine way. It's the more... "I'm intelligent and have chess like maneuvering" dominance, you know?? Light is the exact same way, and I feel that his suspicions and L's subtle moves would inevitably lead Light initiating a fight for control.

Just my opinion.

3. (user: @the-real-death-note-victim) Light is a hypocrite. Without his Kira memories, he is completely convinced that Kira is evil - he only thinks Kira is right if he knows he's the one who committed the crimes. ("I'm not evil, I killed people, so killing people wasn't evil.")

Additionally, assuming that L would have any interest in involving Light at all, it would probably not be as a partner, at least at first. While Light is smart, there's nothing that would draw L to him if he weren't already looking for someone who fit the profile Kira, meaning he would be investigating himself which he would know would be very risky. No one can contact him before he takes the case in canon, the only person he'd have to deny is Watari. So if he decides to take his own case, it would probably happen out of boredom, trying to find himself an enemy to battle, or out of desperation, so he can frame someone. While he may decide he prefers Light alive and working with him eventually he would have already put too much pressure onto Light and ruined their relationship.

Replies on Quotev:

1. ( user: Naotoisbestwaifu) I believe if L became Kira, Light would be against him.

Before Death note Light: He would despise his actions and do whatever to bring him to justice.

After Death note Light: He would probably still be against L. L he would probably find unworthy of being in his kingdom.

2. (user: CardtowerChild) I believe that Light would be completely against it. Just like how he was against Kira when he lost his memories. I feel like Light would insist on helping Soichiro with the case, and I think Light would be the only one to be L’s foil. Just like how L was Light’s foil, also Near was too (but that’s irrelevant).

My own opinions on the topic:

1. Possibility of Light supporting (L) Kira:

If Light really had a high sense of justice like he claimed to have, if he really waited for something like Death Note to own and if he really thought that the only way to provide justice was to get rid of criminals, then he would have been a huge supporter of L Kira.

An alternative scenario:

- Light would try to discover how L Kira was able to kill in order to have the same power. It is questionable if he wanted to have that power to take over L Kira’s place and become the new Kira or just to help L Kira reach his goal.

- Light would have insisted his dad on working with the Japanese Task Force and Soichiro wouldn’t have any other chance apart from accepting it because he knew it could be dangerous for his son to work on the case individually instead of working in an environment which ensured protection to everyone by hiding their identities. (In addition to that, it was a known fact that Light had helped the police a couple times to get to a conclusion in some cases which were quite hard to solve, meaning that he could, indeed, be helpful in the case.)

- After joining the JTF, Light could have had access to private information and some materials that would help him find out who L Kira was. Finding L Kira’s identity could be the only way to figure out how he killed.

- Meanwhile Light was in the Japanese Task Force, L Kira would have contacted JTF by the help of Watari and introduced himself as one of the greatest detectives in the world, "Eraldo Coil", then he would give them some useless hints (for instance, criminals leaving secret messages before their death.) about L Kira that initially seemed efficient. Thus he could gain JTF’s trust and observe how the investigation went.

- Since Misa admired L Kira for killing the murderer who was responsible of her parents' death, she would have sent tapes to the JTF (just like who she did in the anime/manga) in order to find L Kira and help him reach his goal. Eraldo would already known it was someone else sending the tapes which lead him to decide to stop Kira 2 (yes, it did not matter whether Kira 2 was more powerful than him or not since he already had enough sources to find his victims' names and didn't necessarily need Kira 2 to kill anyone for him) or at least make a deal with her, because he basically did not want any information about himself and his way of killing to be leaked. He had to assure his safety.

- After the massacre had happened in front of Sakura TV's building, by the help of Light's deductive skills, JTF would notice that there was a stronger Kira (that could kill people only by seeing their faces) outside, who waited for meeting L Kira and it made them come to the realisation of having fake identities wouldn't help them hide from Kira 2. That's why Light had to reach Kira 2 as a priority since Kira 2 was way more childish than L Kira and she could kill whoever stood against the Kira ideology and tried to prevent her from meeting L Kira. He basically didn’t want to get killed when he was indeed by Kiras’ side.

- While Light was too concerned with how he could communicate Kira 2 without Eraldo noticing him and having suspicions, Eraldo asked Light to record a reply to Kira 2 as L Kira. Light would accept doing it (because it could be a great opportunity for Light to leave a message that only L Kira could understand), and when he did it, L Kira was quite impressed by his work. Nonetheless, this wouldn’t be enough for L Kira to fully trust Light because he had no idea Light was in fact by his side.

/ In the mean time, JTF was insisting on Eraldo to show his face. He was the only one who wasn't under danger because he was hiding himself during the whole process and it was unfair. That's why he had no choice other than meeting them. After meeting them and talking to each member of JTF "to make sure none of them could be Kira," he, once again, realised how similar Light was to him while talking to Light. Light had felt the same way and he could not help himself thinking what would happen if Eraldo was in fact Kira. He thought it was only a weak possibility, that's why his suspicion quickly faded away. /

- Instead of meeting with Kira 2 in person, L Kira would want someone else to do it for him. (so that his identity wouldn’t be under danger because of a stranger he could not trust immediately) After collecting evidence from the tapes and finding out it was possible that Kira 2 could be Amane Misa, Eraldo asked Light to somehow be friends with Misa and try to collect more evidence until he was %100 certain that she was in fact Kira 2. Since Light’s purpose on working on the case was to figure out L Kira's way of killing to gain his power and Kira 2 was even stronger than L Kira, he immediately accepted to meet Misa and try to get some efficient information.

- After Light (somehow) met Misa, Misa immediately fell in love with him. Light had never thought it could be this easy to get Misa be attached to him. Although he never complained about that, because he knew he could have used Misa's love as an advantage. And he did it. They started dating after a while and one day, Light talked about how he appreciated L Kira for his actions and how he wished he had the same ability of killing so that he could help L Kira reach his goal. Since he had already gained Misa's trust and Misa had no idea Light was working for the JTF, she would show her Death Note to Light and confess that she was in fact Kira 2. Thus Light could be amazed and would fall in love with her more.

- After Misa let Light touch the Death Note, explained him the rules and told about why/how she owned it, Light would admit that he was working for the JTF and his purpose of working with them was to reach L Kira and help him change the world. Then he would use Eraldo's suspicion as an excuse to borrow Misa's Death Note and use it for her. Now that he could have sent Misa to jail since he had already gotten what he needed, but instead, he chose to protect her. Because:

1. Rem was a huge threat for Light.

2. If he got Misa taken under custody because of her admission of being the second Kira, Eraldo would like to know how she was able to kill and he would start looking for the Death Note.

3. Kira 2 being found would lead L Kira's end and that was the last thing Light would want to happen.

- Time was passing but JTF couldn't go any further in the investigation and Light could see Eraldo becoming impatient since he was constantly asking if there was any updates on Misa. Even though Eraldo was a big threat for Light, he couldn’t get rid of him easily. Because:

1. He was a weirdo who almost never went out, which meant there was no way for Misa to see him and find out his real name.

2. It would seem suspicious if Light killed Eraldo right after he met Misa.

- Eraldo was almost sure that Amane Misa was Kira 2 and Yagami Light was protecting her for a reason. But what was his purpose? Maybe he was in love with Misa? No, that would be way too childish for someone like Light. Maybe he was a L Kira supporter and became a member of JTF because he couldn’t go far in the investigation and find L Kira if he worked individually? Could be. The only way to prove it was to employ a detective to follow him. That’s why he told about his plan to all of the Task Force members except Light, saying that he doubted that somebody in the task force or someone that was related to a task force member could be leaking private information to team Kira and Light was one of the suspects especially since how dramatically his attiude changed ever since he met Misa.

- Eraldo would employ Raye Penber to follow Yagami Light and his “girlfriend” Amane Misa to see what they were up to. Rem would have soon noticed that they were being followed and would warn Light and Misa. Then Light would make a plan for getting rid of Raye. He would tell Eraldo that he broke up with Misa and stopped observing her actions. Also it was a waste of time to focus on Misa because she was too stupid to be Kira. Around a week later, he would go out with another girl and he would fulfill the same plan to kill Raye Penber we read in the manga/watched in the anime.

- After Raye Penber got killed, Naomi Misora would try to communicate with JTF to share her deductions. A couple hours later Eraldo would call her, introducing himself as Suzuki, the head of the Kira investigation's public information division and ask her about what information she was going to share with JTF. When Naomi told him about the situation that occured in the bus and whoever Raye was following in that bus was possibly Kira or at least someone who worked for him, “Suzuki” thanked her for the valuable information that she had given him and killed her (just like how Light did in the anime/manga) right after they finished talking on the phone. Now all he had to do was to check the camera recordings in somewhere close to the bus stop and see who Raye was following.

- Eraldo would make a deal with Light after realising that he was in fact helping Kira. Would he do it because he really needed it? No. He would just do it because it would be too obvious L Kira was someone from JTF if he got rid of both Misa and Light.

- Once they made the deal of working together, a battle between Kira and L Kira would begin. In the rest of the scenario, they would basically be in a fight of being the leader, the dominant one. A couple months later, the case not going any further would attract Near and Mello’s attention and they would soon be involved in the case as Kiras’ biggest enemies.

NOTE: I will leave the scenario like this, because if I continue writing, it will be too long and too complicated to be read.

2. Possibility of Light being against (L) Kira:

If a mass murderer who claimed to bring justice to the world by killing high profile criminals were to appear and it was someone else than Light, it is a huge possibility that Light would take place against him and start working on the case because he would have finally found something that helped him get rid of his boredom and use his intelligence. Light had never thought about providing justice to the world and he had never planned anything to kill criminals until he found the Death Note. Whatever Light did was because he wanted a challenge, someone that was able to compete with his high intelligence. Since L also likes to use his intelligence, why wouldn’t he create his own case by using Death Note and get many people involved in it, then just watch them getting confused?

An alternative scenario:

- A similar thing with the first scenario would happen. L Kira would be a part of the JTF, introducing himself as Eraldo Coil and gain their trust by giving them unnecessary information that initially seemed efficient. The only difference would be Light’s purpose of joining the task force.

- After what happened in front of Sakura TV’s building, Eraldo would have had to show his face to the JTF just like in the previous scenario.

- Light would realise that there was another Kira and that person was childish enough to kill anyone who came in her way. In order to find any clues about who Kira 2 could be, Light would ask Eraldo if they could find any fingerprints, fiber or hair in the package Kira 2 had sent to Sakura TV. By collecting evidence from the package, Eraldo would suspect that Kira 2 could be in fact Amane Misa. Although he wouldn’t share his suspicion with the JTF since L Kira knew that Light would communicate with Misa to get more evidence and wouldn’t stop until he was 100% certain that she was Kira 2. If Light caught Misa, Light would eventually find out about Death Note’s existence and it would put L Kira into a huge risk.

- After JTF prepared a tape as a reply to Kira 2’s tape, L Kira would (somehow) communicate with Misa (not in person) and make a deal with her to stay silent and send another tape to JTF. (she was supposed to tell the exact same things we saw in the anime/manga.) Light would immediately notice that L Kira and Kira 2 met when he listened to the second tape that came from Kira 2 since Kira 2’s threatening and insistent attitude had dramatically changed.

- L Kira was totally amazed by Light’s deductive skills and knew that Light was a big threat for him. He had to get rid of him and he could have done it indeed, because he had already seen Light’s face and obviously known his real name. Although killing Light could have been risky, also L Kira loved how Light made things challenging. In adittion to that, he would have gone against his ideology if he killed an innocent person and he didn’t care that much about Light.

The deal between Misa and L Kira: Misa would ask L Kira to meet her in person (so that if L Kira attempted something out of the plan, Misa could kill him) in exchange of letting L Kira touch a piece of her Death Note, not killing anyone outside his command and staying silent.

- Light would be surprised to see Eraldo going out and not even telling why. He couldn't have helped himself thinking that Eraldo going out was related to the Kira case and he might have known more than he had shared with the JTF. As a result of that, he decided to keep an eye on Eraldo to see if he really hid something.

NOTE: I can't find an idea about how this scenario would continue so I will leave it like this. If something suddenly pops up in my mind, I will edit this part and let you know about it.

NOTE 2: There are probably a million more alternative scenarios depending on the prospect of Light working with L Kira or being against him, yet these were the only ones that came into my mind. Sorry for all the nonsense (both grammatically and logically) you might have encountered in them. I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please feel free to ask me questions or share your ideas with me!

[thegalaxyrosedoodles]

Neptonians*

are best described as humanoid alien beings with an android like body system that has the ability to connect to various technology such as computers, phones, Irken PAKs, other Neptonians, ect.

*- Origial Speices

Name of Species:

Neptonians*

Origin/Home wold:

Neptonia

Avg. Life Span:

2,400 Years

-Neptonians live long lives because their planet spins faster than Earth.

1 day on Neptonia is 3 Earth days - One Neptonia month is 20 days.

Ave Height:

Ranges from 7Ft to 8Ft

Intelligence level:

Average to Above Average.

Notable groups/people:

Elders, Royals, Class S.

Hostility:

Friend shaped, low violence/Pacifist. Can become Violent if provoked for too long unless unstable and/or corrupted.

Open

or Closed Species

As of

02/10/18 Current planet statues:

Shared

Genders:

Vix (Translates to Inter)

Vanix (Translates to Outer)

Ix (Hatch lings up to 100 year olds are called this regardless of their gender.)

Class Types:

Elders

Royals

Class S (Single adults, strategist & survivalist with high compatibility to Royals) 27% Population

Class A (Single adults, hunting-gatherers) 34% Population

Class B (Paired, Soul bounded) 43.8% of population.

Class C (This class is mostly children from hatch lings to 100 years old) 15%

Allies: Lavidian*

, Vortian, Irken (Non invaders), Quon'ian*, Siyans*, Arkhav*, Uquama*.

Enemies: Irken (Invaders), Arkhav??*(They're not 100% sure what's up with them), any species that threatens their peace and planet.

Race Types:

Solar (Active mostly during the day, given more of a heated job)

Lunar (Active mostly at night, given more of a cooling job)

Eclipse (Mixture, can handle both cooling and heated jobs, tend to be more unstable)

Special characteristics:

They have no sexual dimorphism.

All Neptonians are Panromatic, they do not see gender/gender roles the same way Earthlings or other species do.

Neptonians tend to go by Them/They pronouns unless they identity differently on another species home world. (Ex. On Nova's planet she would go by them/they but on another plant such as Irken or on Earth Nova would go by her/she by her own choice.)

Neptonians communicate telepathically to each other, especially on their planet. They learned other languages to better communication with other species.

Make clicking, chirping, purring, hissing, high and low pitched sounds to check surrounding areas, out of curiosity or anger. They emotions can also be detected through their sounds.

Egg layers

Both Genders Produce milk for their young, both can carry and lay eggs.

Are Heteropaternal Superfecundation, meaning if the Nep has multiple partners, their eggs can be from at least one of each partner.

They can be in poly relationships, however, all partners are excepted to date one another. There are no favorites and they can not hide nor hog a partner. If they wanted to bring someone into their relationship they would all have to agree and take care of each other.

Neptonians can have soul mates. These soul mates are usually from their past lives soul bounding and follows them for the rest of their souls existence or was a selected fated partner from their deity. (Marriage of the soul, bounded for life. Divorcing a soul bound is impossible. The only way a soul bound can end is if one of the partner's soul fades away. A faded soul can not return for another life) They can also be born in different time frames then their soul mates, which causes them to pair with another partner and could lead too a possibility of another soul mate in their next life.

The long skin part of a Neptonian's head is called a Radar, the Radar can open up if they are curious, startled or angry/threatened to reveal feather like hair that's thicker than their tails. While the little object at the end is called a Router which floats in place by a magnetic force. It opens up to show different types of wire that can comes out and plugs up to what ever the Neptonian wants it too. The wires never fully come out, they can form any type of connection wire they need, the limit they can have out at one time is 6.

Can see in the dark, eyes can be reflective and glow.

More Facts:

They believe that all members of their society are equals, they are all treated equally regardless of Class.

Their justice system however is hierarchical, meaning that those with higher social status are allowed to make certain judgements while those with low social status are not. Only the ruling elites (Elders, Royals or Class S's) are allowed to kill or punish one of their own species if deemed harmful/hazardous or cannibal, with proof of this claim and approvals from other higher ups. After a court case is made and they were found guilty the punishment to those who do these crimes are granted banishment or death.

They have high level forms of reincarnation through their blood lines. Their children are born with basic knowledge of life and survive thanks to that. They can not remember past life memories, thous allowing them to be their own person even with the knowledge from previous lives. When Neptonians die their name and memories disappear and join a garden of souls (which I haven't picked the name of yet). They can get small flash backs but no straight forward memories. Neptonians are mostly born but during special occasions their Deity can create another life and send them to their chosen family. This child could be normal or made “Blank”.

“Blank” as their species calls it is when a child is born with the soul purpose of being a vassal, a clone of the parent so if their parent were to die the body would be available to relive life though as their own but they lose some of their previous memories. “Blanks” can walk and move on their own or be sealed away for protection but they do not speak much, unless they start to form their own consciousness. Nova was originally born “Blank”, she is proof that a Blank can become their own person. She was originally her mothers vassal, Nova is not the first born vassal to gain life for themselves and she most definitely will not be the last.

Being “Blank” is not a bad thing, it is very common for at least one child in 100 years to be born Blank. Being Blank does not harm the child in anyway. This is also a good way to get a fresh start on new generations of Neptonians without past believes or knowledge confusing them. About 20% of Blanks actually stay vassals, most grow up as their own being and continue new ways of learning and life. They are also known to be called “born in reverse” which means instead of them feeling at the beginning of their life they are born with no feelings at all.

Neptonians usually lose all their emotions before passing so they go in peace and not suffer, Blanks however do not. They are born emotionless and will gain more emotions through their lives, meaning they will feel everything whenever they pass.

Neptonian's skin is made up a thousands of advance cells, allowing them to be able to regrow their flesh at a quick pace. This skin can also be removed and placed onto other species to help regrown missing flesh or bone, this also stops their skin from being scarred unless the wound was life threatening, then a scar is let as a reminder.

Their skin is always moving on their body, it can't be seen with the naked eye or felt but can be observed super close up.

Memory or history info: They have an interesting why of storing memory or history data. Most the time it stays with them but they can have backup files saved in certain devices just in case if a reboot accidentally wipes their memories. They prefer to have at least 2 devices to have things saved. For an example, a laptop or a cell phone. If they loss memory of something or want something removed from them they can connect to this device and download the info on themselves or upload info for later. If that device gets lost or destroyed all the stuff they put into will be wiped, if missing/lost/stolen can be wiped from it's syncing with the Neptonian.

If you hire a Neptonian as an assistant, you don't have to worry about having any type of electronic device near by. But you do have to worry about, food, (Depending on the Nep) Attitude, them deleting emails if they look fishy.  

Hackers: It's very rare for them to be hacked due to them being organic but you can temporary stun or block them. The only thing that could hack other Neptonian would be another Neptonian. Most are forbidden to do so without permission from a higher class but in emergencies, it can be looked past.

Sicknesses: They can get a virus if the hacking Neptonian isn't strong enough to kill it off. They can faint or have blurring vision during this time. The virus will be treated like a sickness and with good rest, food and medication they'll be just fine. A good way of keeping virus from your Neptonian is by letting them eat a lot of fruit. So the more fruit they eat the less likely a virus would affect them. Still not immune to viruses but it works well. Some viruses can cause high fever and leave the Nep feeling sick for days. Be careful and treat your sick Nep well.

Drugs and alcohol: I changed this one recently, they are able to drink and depending on the individual depends how they react to it. Neptonians have no use for drugs unless they can be made into medication to heal others. This being said they can be victims of drugs being mixed into their foods if it's a low enough dose for them not to detect by smell.

They have 12 tiny face senors that they smell through, if a Nep is rubbing their face against something, they're most likely trying to smell it.

Territory: They are extremely territorial, but will allow others to pass through their area if non threatening. If you do something to their territory or things they claimed as territory, you better have a very good reason for it or ran.

Connecting a Neptonian to another Neptonian: They do not mind doing this, if they both link up they can chat and show each others memories while they heal each other. Neither of them would be able to move or talk during this time, it's dangerous to do this outside or around strangers.

Sleep mode: This is more for naps than really sleeping, can be easily woken up. Since 1 Nep day is 3 Earth days they need at least 2 naps during the 3 days then they will go to sleep for 18 hours.

Relationships: It is impossible for an Neptonian to cheat on their lover/pair. They are very loyal and very affectation, their actions speak louder than words. They can seeing if a relationship is worth it, and if they are mistreated or feel abused they will break up and move on.

Other species dating: They can date other species however Class S's and Royals are very picky, Class A's are not as picky. Compatibility of another species is determined by mind, soul and determination. Neptonian's do tend to avoid relationships with humans or other species that their compatibility is so low that can bring more danger for their children than good.

Searching: The shiny part of their antennas are not attached and spin around when in use, this gives them less friction to search for info while hacking, they can do this wireless or with their routers.  If they search too much, their antennae can get sensitive. Now this can be an uncomfortable sensitive or a stimulating sensitive depending on the Neptonian. Then it annoys them if they search for too long.

"Emotionless": These are Neptonains that have regrown their heart and or brain more then 4 times, most likely soldiers. They are completely removed of their emotions and sense of feeling. These can't be re healed either. If their hand gets cut off, it won't grow back again.

Digesting: They eat rocks and gems/crystals to smash up all the bigger things they can't digest easily and what ever is left, they cough up. Bones and left over metals are two things they can't completely digest.

They eat pretty much everything except plastics or aluminum. If eaten the Neptonian will try to cough it up or throw up, those are more toxic towards them.

Neptonians have "breeding periods" which is every 3 months and last for 3 days. Both Vix's and Vanix's have it. They can be seen as aggressive during this time, want a lot of attention or to be left alone. Their first breeding period will be at the age of 120. Neptonians can only get pregnant during this time.

Neptonians have two hearts, two stomachs, two lungs, one brain and 4 arms. Their arms are usually fused together, if needed their bones in that around are split, they can split their arms into 2 pieces. Giving them temporary 4 arms however their arms are the strongest fused together.

Neptonian marriage is called "Soul bonding" It merges the paired souls together, this connects both partners together and helps them understand each other better wants and needs without being said. It is taken very seriously and can be only preformed by a Royal or the Deity. It can not be broken or undone unless one of the lovers has passed away and their soul has faded.

Neptonians love sleeping piles, the more Neps in the pile the safer they feel and warm they feel.

They do not use the bathroom, all their food gets turned into energy which causes them to look for food often. What ever they don't eat or digest gets coughed up.

Questions:

Is changing Class Possible??: Yes it is! Class S's and A's are very much alike, the only thing setting them apart is learning/training/fighting skills. S Classes can become  Classes and A Classes can become S Classes with enough skills and self motivation.

What Class Neptonian is their army?: Most army types are from Class A who wants to train to move up to Class S or Class S's stepping down to Class A to help with Training future Class S's.

Why are Royals more compatible to Class S's only?: Class S's are seen as fit to lead/understanding their surrounds and people, they receive heavy training once ranked and are looked at as leaders and guides. Which makes them more compatible with a Royal due to Neptonians strict rules on who rules with who.

Why does that matter, what does the partner gain?: A Neptonian or any species chosen to be paired with a Royal is more likely to be Soul bounded, thus giving that individual a Royal gem to match their partner's. Royal gems can be very dangerous in the wrong hands, especially another species who's body may or may not be able to withstand it that's why rules of compatibly to Royals are so strict.

What do Class B's do? That really depends on them as an individual, most help out/take care of their tribe/town and watch over the younger Neps while others are out hunting for meals for their families or tribe with the training Classes.

How do they not slip when they run or turn quickly with their tiny feet???: They can slip and fall at times, ahah. What keeps them from doing so often is their feet bones are not connected in the center, giving them a more flexible space to use for balance. Imagine them having 2 long toes but they're made of bone and hidden under their skin. Some times this skin can break when they need more grip, causing their skin to temporally separate inches apart from each other then come back together to reform their tiny feet.

Can any other part of a Nep separate? Yes! Neptonians hands have that ability, it can split up to their shoulders. 3 fingers on the top hand while 2 are at the bottom. Their jaws are also not attached to each other in the middle! Sometimes a Nep can bite off more than they can chew, if they wish to shallow something whole they will split their jaw in the middle and open up their throat passage for easier eating access.

Do they use holograms often, are their hologram wings usable for flight?: They use holograms very often, however their holo wings are not usable for flight. They do like to look pretty and show off during festivals, for partners or to wow guests. Neps, fortunately for their prey, can't fly, with the exception for Royal's who use their Royal gems to glide around, I highly doubt you want one of them to flying any time soon. They can jump pretty high though, they can jump about as tall as they are.

How do I know if a Neptonian is corrupted?:  A Quick Tip! Ask them to show you a hologram, either their wings or an image. DO NOT ask them to plug into a computer or another device if you believe they may be corrupted, anything they plug into will also become corrupted. If they are corrupted, the image or holo wings will look normal at first but then become more and more scattered or glitched out.

What about when they get hurt physically, if their antenna got ripped off would it just grow back? They can easily grow their antennas back, but if their router gets cut off that will mess them up for a while until they get used to it being missing. Which can take a really long time.

If they're plugged into a computer and there is a massive power surge, what happens to them? There would be a problem. Memory lost can happen and sometimes their attitudes can change completely, think rebooting and reinstalling 'software'. At least for 3 days. Then after a reboot, they're back to normal again.

Being living computers can they swim?/Do they short circuit in water/conductive liquids? They can swim and unless their drinking it down while swimming it will not affect them. They can drown if they're not too careful, swallowing too much water can weigh them down and have a hard time swimming. They do have a buddy system just in case one can't swim the other can help. When that happens they stay away from the water for a few days. Some Neptonians don't like to get near the water at all. (Example, Nova loves water but fears the deep parts so she like to stay in the shallow waters for safety reasons while Derrek will jump in the deep parts with no worry.)

Why do they have tails? Their tails are used for balancing, with their heads being heavy due to the Radar their tails help maintain their balance. The tails can be long or short depending on the individual. 5) How long would it take for a newly hatched Neptonian to gain its color fully? About 24 hours.

How many eggs can they lay each breeding period? They can lay 1 to 4 eggs at a time.

Can Nep Ix's walk as soon as they're hatched?: Yes, There isn't really a crawling stage, they figure that after they start walking. Think of it like baby deer, they have to get used to their legs and how to balance. They will fall a lot in this time, so the parents are always close by.

Is it safe to approuch a Nep nest with or without the parents near by: NO! They are always around their young and are not afraid to attack anything or one that gets too close to their nest and young. Neptonians never leave their young unsupervised, they are either giving them space to play or have another Neptonian they trust present.

Are Neps ever hunted? Unfortunately Neps can be hunted down for their skin, bones or their coughed up Geodes. It's less of a hazard for the unwanted company to take some Geodes and leave, cause it's a lot less life threatening for them.

How do I tell if an Ix was left behind or abandoned? A good sign that a Nep has been left behind or abandoned is their sounds and appearance. If you hear high pitched chirps followed by low pitched barks and silents then repeat they're trying to find and listen for their parents sounds.They will be shivering, hiss at random things, bite anything close by. Most Ix's do this when they feel scared and want their parents to respond. If you're hanging around and hear nothing back for a while odds are the parents have lost the Ix, something has happened to the parents or they fled the area.

Will the Neptonian attack me if I found the Ix and brought it back to them?: No, Ix's can communicate well enough with the adults to give them a feel of the situation. If you return an Ix to a family they will most likely ask you to say for dinner or give you a Geode as a thank you.

Are they the nesting types: Yes, Neps are a nesting species. They make two nest, one at home and one somewhere hidden so no one can go in randomly and mess with them or their young. If they don't like an area they will make another nest somewhere else and carry the young with them in a cloth around their chests until they are 3 months old.

What is the thing Neps cough up?: It's a type of Geode, They eat a lot of gems, metals and other minerals that get fused with one another inside their stomachs. The outside is made of bones and metals while the inside is a fusion of all minerals, once broken they have a beautiful color arrangement that can go for high prices.

Are Neps the only ones able to make them? Nope! 2 other species I have also do this. It's pretty funny to see other species react to it.

What's money worth to them?:  They prefer trading things they find interesting or have made. Money has no real value to them.

I think that's all for this one.

Only need to finish their Culture and Beliefs. Plus their final reference sheet.