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rynnaaurelius · 3 years ago

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Titan’s Curse But Make It Time Loop: Nico di Angelo Edition

-Okay so I’m at work and not doing much and who wants to actually edit your shit drafts for your actual WIPs so that they’re less bad? No one, that’s who

-So I had an idea: The Titan’s Curse. Also known as the book where people start to die. It sucks to be a demigod in this book--for the first time in the original series, it really does.

-Not everything is fixed, not everyone is saved, and people start to have to make really tough decisions.

-So we fix it. Not by throwing Percy, or Annabeth, or Thalia, or, hell, even Bianca or Grover into the mix.

-Throwing the marginally more grown-up, more trained, and more knowledgeable demigods into the fire, who’d get everyone alive and safe by the third time ‘round? Nah.

-We’re making Nico fix this.

-Because here’s the thing about Nico di Angelo: Sure, he grows up to become a major badass, the Ghost King, so on and so forth. But not yet.

-For now, Nico is baby, a ten-year-old whose experience with any kind of fighting consists of one (1) Capture The Flag game and who’s still half-reliant on Mythomagic to explain what the fuck is happening.

-He’s also got the worst knowledge makeup possible! He knows he’s a son of Hades, which is bad, he knows to stick monsters with the pointy end of swords but nothing else, he knows that Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace are Very Big Deals (But also doesn’t know why beyond parents), and he’s, at best, vaguely aware that there’s some kind of bad prophecy hanging around.

-Also by the end of the book, he’s just been told his last immediate family who isn’t Hades is dead in one of the worst ways possible, and he--pretty irrationally IMO, but Nico’s a kid who has been through a lot recently, so we’re not holding that against him--blames Percy Jackson.

-Literally, you probably can’t pick an angstier or worse choice to run through the time travel trope. I love it.

-We’re making this kid save Bianca’s life via time loop, which happens due to. . .hmm, we’ll say the Fates did it.

-So, Loop 0 = Canon, only at the end of the day on December 21st, after the conversation with Percy, Nico falls asleep only gods know where only to wake up the day he meets Percy Jackson:

Loop 1:

-Nico doesn’t actually change anything meaningful at first.

-Spends most of it shellshocked and not unconvinced the last week (For him, anyway) wasn’t a horrible nightmare; shellshocked and staring at Percy Jackson, anyway.

-(Percy’s wondering what’s up with the silent kid his sister had talked up as a cheerful chatterbox)

-It’s only when Bianca agrees to join the quest for Artemis that he starts kicking up a fuss; demanding to go, screaming that she can’t leave him even more, not again.

-(Bianca hesitates; briefly, enough to remind Nico that she loves him. But she’s not their mother, and she needs this)

-Bianca still dies. Percy comes back pale and guilty. Nico doesn’t yell at him when he returns--he already knows. He accepts the Hades figurine so that he can throw it into the lake.

-He slinks off back into Cabin Eleven and falls asleep, hoping desperately that he gets a third chance.

Loop 2:

-He does.

Loop 3:

-After a very painful death at the hands of Dr. Thorn, Nico, generally being a straightforward person at this stage of life, takes the obvious path this time around: He tries to tell Bianca--who brushes it off as a dream.

-Annabeth still goes over the cliff when Nico takes the initiative of attaching himself and his sister to Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace at the dance. He tries to tell Percy and Thalia when Bianca still joins the Hunt, promising Nico that whatever he saw, she’ll be extra careful.

-(Bianca’s fearful of what Nico's saying, and thinks that if these sworn sisters can’t keep her safe, who can?)

-Artemis gives Nico a speculative look but agrees when he begs her to protect Bianca at all costs.

-He doesn’t get on the quest. Being a reasonable demigod of questionable parentage, he sneaks out of camp.

-He gets caught, because despite being aware of his awesome new powers, he doesn’t know how to use them, and is still a ten-year-old who can barely hold a sword the right way.

-He gives Percy the puppy dog eyes and shows off said awesome new powers. Percy forces him back.

-Nico follows him.

-Repeat until Percy dies saving Nico from the Nemean Lion in Washington, DC.

-Nico can’t find it in himself to be terribly sad--especially when he doesn’t make it much longer.

Loop 4:

-He’s really stuck like this, huh?

-Oh, Di Immortales.

-(Before Percy gets his chest ripped to shreds by a lion and Nico meets skeleton cats, he learned how to hold a sword properly and curse fluently in Greek. Percy probably only meant to teach him one of those things)

-In unrelated news: Having a big crush on a guy who thinks he’s only known you for a couple hours? Terrible.

-Trying to hate the guy who let your sister die when he’s that stupid and nice? Even worse.

-That stupid lion.

Loop 5, 6, 7, 8, 9:

-Nico repeats: That stupid lion.

-Somewhere in Loop 7 he starts to steal supplies out of the camp store when he follows Percy following the quest.

-They forcefeed the lion enough trail mix and frozen ice cream in Loop 9 that they don’t die this time.

-At least until someone called the General shows up and Nico’s dead before he can raise his sword.

Loop 10:

-Nico wakes up in his and Bianca’s room in Westover and starts crying. Bianca tells the headmaster they’re both sick and Nico lets her hold him all day.

-They fall asleep and Nico swears he won’t let her die again.

Loop 11, 12, 13:

-He wakes up and he still can’t get out of bed without feeling that blade cutting between his ribs, burning like it’s on fire.

-Gods, he’s so sorry, Bianca. Dispiace tanto.

Loop 14:

-He can get up without feeling like he’s about to die again. Bianca fusses but assumes it was just a bad dream.

-Nico is caught stealing and can’t follow Percy until it’s too late.

-Everyone assumes this means he’s a son of Hermes, however, and Nico can’t correct them without opening his mouth and letting the sobbing laughter out.

-Figuring he’s about to get another chance next round anyway, he takes Travis and Connor Stoll up on their offer to learn a thing or two so that he doesn’t get Cabin Eleven slapped with kitchen duty from now until Doomsday.

-He likes the Stolls. He spent most of the time, pre-looping, actively avoiding everyone at camp as he waited for Bianca and Percy to come back, but they’re not that bad.

-Percy comes back with the figurine and no sister and Nico remembers why he’s stuck.

Loop 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23:

-After Loop 12 and being killed in Washington DC again, Nico realizes: He needs to learn how to fight.

-Unless he gets killed early or refuses to leave Westover, the loop resets after seven days. So, he has seven days to train each time.

-He gets to camp, finds the arena, and meets Clarisse La Rue. He demands she teach him how to kill monsters.

-She laughs, and tells him that attitude in his size will make monsters easy to kill, they’ll laugh so hard.

-Clarisse teaches him how to swing a sword each time--but only after mocking his unamused face.

-Somehow, Percy coming back with news of Bianca’s death only hurts more each time.

Loop 24:

-Nico wakes up before Bianca this time. He looks over at her bed and knows. He’s got to try this time.

-It’s disturbingly easy making friends with Percy Jackson after the last loops.

-Bessie’s new. Cute, but new.

-Nico wonders just how much he’s missed in the past--he thinks of Annabeth Chase, and hopes she hasn’t been dying each time.

-Percy doesn’t even argue when Nico shows up in the stables with a bag slung over his shoulder, and the sword he’s been stealing out of the shed strapped to his hip.

-Nico suggests the ice cream--again--to Percy in DC before

-Nico might be getting the hang of this.

Loop 25:

-Nico is not getting the hang of this.

-Zoë Nightshade’s refusal to accept Percy and Nico on the quest--violating a prophecy, and gods, Nico’s curious if that prophecy ever mentioned this--has so far gotten them attacked and killed by spartoi once.

-And again. As Nico bleeds out on the floor, he watches a panicked blond man--a demigod--plead for mercy.

-Isn’t he on the other side?

Loop 26:

-His name is Luke Castellan and he apparently wants the gods dead.

-Nico can relate at this point.

-The General is Atlas, and Nico knows enough about Greek mythology, real and wrong, at this point to know that is bad.

Loop 27:

-Twenty-six tries, but they finally make it out of DC. Threatening the questers with Atlas killing them all is more than enough.

-For the first time, Nico doesn’t know what happens next. He glues himself to Bianca’s side and glares at anything suspicious.

-With help that Percy refuses to name, even when Nico tries his hardest, they go to New Mexico.

-There’s a boar and it’s so close, they make it to what the others are calling “the junkyard of the gods”.

-Nico sees the Hades figurine on the ground.

-Bianca grins in delight and picks it up, calling for him.

-He can’t help it.

-Nico starts screaming.

Loop 28:

-His sister’s murderer was never Percy Jackson.

-His sister’s murderer was a force of mechanics that makes Nico fully understand, for the first time, what the gods are, beyond stats on a card.

-Talos.

-Nico is going to destroy him.

Loop 29:

-She dies.

Loop 30:

-Again.

Loop 31:

-Again.

-Loop 32, 33, 34, 3536373839FortyFo r t y O n e--:

-Again. Again. Again. Again again againagainagainagainAGAIN--

Loop 42:

-Nico gets out of bed. He finds Percy Jackson at the dance, hugs him, and tells him he’s sorry.

-Nico walks outside and waits for Dr. Thorn in the snow. He can feel the shadows curling at the edge of the wood like a sixth sense, now. Waiting for him to summon the restless dead out of them.

-So many attempts to save his sister, ranging from sacrificing himself to sacrificing Percy--not that Percy needs the push, Nico has found--to any and all members of the quest.

-She dies. Always, always dies. Whatever Nico does, that junkyard is full of the death of Bianca di Angelo.

-He tried avoiding it. Once. Loop 33. Nico threw such a fit he’s surprised he wasn’t sent back to Camp Half-Blood by the Hunters, but it kept them out of the junkyard.

-He tries not to remember how little was left of his sister’s body by the monsters that time.

-Son of Hades. After all this time, Nico’s beginning to wonder if this is what it means. Death and death and death.

-Dr. Thorn walks outside, and Nico can feel a ghoulish grin crossing his face that has no place on a ten-year-old.

-One of them is going to die, this loop. And Nico will not go to New Mexico.

Loop 43:

-Nico wonders if there was a past life of his he needs to remember. Who could he have made this angry?

-He lies to Bianca and they stay in Westover again this time. Better than death, anyway.

Loop 44:

-Nico tries a different tack this time. A more roundabout way of things.

-He takes Bianca and throws the two of them in the way of the battle with the manticore.

-After all this time, he still doesn’t know much about Annabeth Chase. She gets kidnapped and returned safely to Percy every time, to the best of his knowledge.

-Nico dies holding up the sky, but at least Bianca lives, under the protection of Artemis.

Loop 45:

-Nico looks in the mirror and studies the new grey streak with fascination. And, maybe, some hope.

-Things can change.

Loop 46, 47, 48, 49, 50:

-Nico gets kidnapped a few times. Once, he’s killed in a rage by a Titan with horns, but it’s quick. Mostly, he holds up the sky to get Artemis out.

-She looks at him strangely each time and Nico wonders if she can see what he’s done.

Loop 51:

-They figure out he’s a son of Hades. They offer him Olympus. Olympus and Bessie--the Ophiotaurus, rather.

-Nico says no.

Loop 52:

-Nico says yes.

Loop 53:

-Being on the verge of overthrowing the gods and keeping everyone he’s grown to care for--in the case of several Hunters, against his will; in Percy Jackson’s case, Nico loves him as much as he hates him at this point--doesn’t do much, apparently.

-Nico stays in Westover again. He resists the urge to tell Bianca that would-be destroyers of Olympus don’t need to brush their hair, whatever she says.

Loop 54:

-Nico goes over the edge of the cliff again, but with Percy Jackson.

-This isn’t the first time; in Loop 46, Percy had taken the sky for both the sake of Artemis and Nico until it killed him.

-What’s different, is Nico’s in the middle of what’s become the usual panic attack when he’s about to die for the hundredth time, and his powers react.

-Percy holds him close and calls him cousin. Tells him he’ll never leave Nico.

-You have no idea, Nico whispers. You can’t leave me.

-You think I want to? Percy whispers back. You’re not alone, Nico.

-Nico’s sobbing sounds like laughter.

Loop 55:

-Nico tells Percy the truth for the third time. This is the first time he hasn’t told Bianca first.

-They’ve just found the Erymanthian Boar, Thalia’s told Nico his goth needs work--whatever that means--and Nico’s bracing himself for the junkyard again.

-Getting kidnapped by the Titans really gets old after a while.

-He still has the grey streak, and no number of excuses will fully soothe his sister, but the Hunt’s a good distraction from it.

-Nico doesn’t blame Bianca anymore for it. He thinks.

-Nearly a year into this loop and Nico’s finding it hard to blame anyone for much of anything, anymore. Especially when he sees what she’s faced. Again. And again.

-For now, this time, Percy Jackson is staring at Nico with wide eyes at what Nico’s told him--through these loops, Nico’s starting to wonder if he now knows more about Percy than Percy’s own best friends--and says he believes him.

-Once, Nico would’ve exploded from joy. Now, he just sighs and nods.

-Percy tells him how to condense the conversation for the next loop. He advises Nico to research Talos, “like Annabeth would.”

-He advises Nico to warn Percy’s next loop self about Annabeth’s kidnapping. Nico wonders if he’s gone insane that he’s considering it.

-Bianca dies.

Loop 56:

-Nico makes the executive decision this time to try and befriend Annabeth Chase. As such, he takes Percy’s advice.

Loop 57:

-It takes him two tries to befriend Annabeth Chase and learn about Talos.

Loop 58:

-Three times.

-But the nail. The nail in the ankle of Talos.

Loop 59:

-He hangs back at camp again this time and meets Charles Beckendorf, head of Cabin Nine, and son of Hephaestus.

-Nico figures that short of finding the god himself and committing temporary suicide--not that it hasn’t crossed Nico’s mind--his son will have to do.

-(He’s tried his hand at summoning ghosts, but Daedalus refuses to show, for some reason)

-Beckendorf frowns and tells Nico he would have to see Talos himself.

-Nico hadn’t realized just how much cursing he had picked up off of Percy and Thalia until that moment.

Loop 60:

-Nico knows what the prophecy says. One shall be lost in the land without rain.

-He knows it’s why he’s been failing so much.

-The trouble is, he no longer cares.

Loop 61:

-It took him a try, but he gets Beckendorf on the quest, prepared to defeat the Talos prototype.

Loop 62:

-Strike that, two tries.

-Nico really hates the Nemean Lion.

Loop 63, 64:

-Nico has solved half a problem: How to defeat Talos without putting someone inside the robot.

-The other half of the problem is now that they are all electrocuted by a dying automaton for their efforts.

Loop 65:

-Beckendorf’s crush--girlfriend? crush, they’re both insisting--Silena Beauregard comes along this time. Nico won’t complain over the extra manpower, even if he’s positive that eight campers and Hunters are patent overkill for one quest.

-Silena pulls Bianca out of the wreckage. Nico’s heart stops.

-Silena’s crying when she mentions that if they had been a bit earlier, she could have been revived.

-Nico wonders if Thalia’s going to stab him as he starts whooping. And takes notes about where Talos falls.

Loop 66:

-Nico swears, if Percy Jackson tries to sacrifice himself for Annabeth Chase one more time--

Loop 67:

-Bianca.

-I found you, he sobs. I found you.

-Gods damn the Hoover Dam.

Loop 68:

-And again.

-Despite having the distinct inkling at this point that he doesn’t much like like girls, Nico could kiss Silena Beauregard and Thalia Grace when they manage to revive his sister each time.

-She’s shaky and leaning on him and was dead, he could see her soul floating away--

-But she’s there.

-Nico refuses to let his sister out of the sight at the Hoover Dam and Percy befriends the Naiads this time.

-At least, until the Titans--who Nico made the very big mistake of taunting at DC--sends monsters he can’t control.

Loop 69, 70, 71, 72, 73:

-They keep dying in various combinations at the Hoover Dam now that Nico’s figured out how to save Bianca.

-At least, until he gets separated from Percy in Loop 73 and he meets a redheaded girl with a penchant for calling Nico pint-size.

-Athena dislikes Percy, Nico, Bianca, and Thalia in equal measure. Having learned of the Great Prophecy in Loop 16 and Percy’s mooning over Annabeth in. . .well, every loop, Nico can’t quite blame her.

Loop 74:

-Her name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Nico likes her. She takes none of their shit and if it weren’t for the fact that they already have eight people on the quest, he’d want to take her along.

-Bianca gets in a fight with the Old Man of the Sea. Thalia electrocutes him when he throws Bianca in the bay.

Loop 75:

-Nico wakes up in Westover with the distinct feeling that he was drowned on dry land.

-He stays in bed shivering, that day.

Loop 76:

-Atlas is the father of Zoë Nightshade. Nico learned this around Loop 50. He had realized around five loops ago that this probably meant she was going to die “by a parent’s hand.”

-He hadn’t realized that it was going to hurt to watch.

Loop 77, 78, 79, 80, 81:

-Now that he’s figured things out to about San Francisco, it seems the world is out to get him. The number of fights or mistakes that he either makes himself or has to head off are ridiculous.

Loop 82:

-Nico is so very tired. And wishes he felt ten years old again.

Loop 83:

-If Thalia gets in one more fight with Nereus, Nico's going to walk into the sea.

Loop 84:

-He wanders off, in this one. Grover had been killed in Hoover Dam, so Nico’s waiting for the reset at this point.

-In the meantime, Nico figures there are worse things to do than enjoy a good afternoon in San Francisco. He even meets a boy in a purple shirt.

-His name is Jason and he has hair like the sun.

-If he ever fixes this, Nico wants to find him.

Loop 85:

-Nico’s not fast enough in the junkyard.

-In San Francisco, he tries to find the ugliest, biggest trouble he can find.

-He finds a pair of teenagers in armor who yell Latin at him instead.

Loop 86:

-There’s a dragon that will attack them in the Garden of the Hesperides if they make it angry enough and Nico is so tired.

Loop 87:

- Zoë Nightshade is dead. They’ve won.

-Funny definition of “win”, considering they’ve all almost died this loop about a dozen times each, and Nico can’t explain why he’s crying on the body of a Hunter he only met a week ago, in their eyes.

-She hates him, some loops. More loops, she looks at him with ghosts of old grief in her eyes and hands him a knife.

-The gods execute Bessie, and then, Nico watches as his father turns to him and Bianca with sorrowful eyes.

-Nico should’ve figured, after almost ninety loops.

Loop 88:

-Luke offers one of them the entrails of Bessie again.

-Nico takes them.

Loop 89:

-For all the good it does. Nico wakes up as he does every time now: Powerless, in bed, and with only a grey streak to show for his efforts.

Loop 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98:

-Nico doesn’t know how to save Zoë Nightshade. Bianca, he could trick and fight his way into it. Beckendorf and Silena and Percy and a loophole in lost could save his sister.

-Her, she just. . .dies. Sometimes in DC, sometimes in San Francisco, sometimes on the hills of Mt. Tamalpais. Always at the hands of Atlas.

-Always, being murdered by her father.

-It’s not as gutting as watching his sister die, but it aches more in his chest, somehow.

Loop 99:

-He sticks close to Zoë this time. Same as he’s done with Percy, Annabeth, his sister, Thalia, and Grover, time and time again. But not her, Nico is realizing. Not the clinging he’s achieving now.

-Hoping for. . .something.

-He knows better than to tell the immortal Lieutenant of Artemis the whole truth. The loneliness is enough.

-She’s less frosty to him from the start than to, say, Grover or Percy, after Annabeth goes over the cliff again. When he shows up in DC, she’s much less angry than he’s seen her.

-Along the way to New Mexico and then San Francisco, he listens. He’s grown better at it, this far in. When the others are asleep, when Bianca is being fussed over after Talos, when everyone but them is asleep by the fire, he listens.

-And she tells him about her sisters. About her father, when the world was young and Atlas had looked on every daughter of his with pride. She tells him, pride glistening in her eyes, of the battles she has seen, the hunts she has overseen at the command of a goddess, the monsters she has killed, and the epithets she has been given.

-He doesn’t ask anything of her. Not until they’re in the house of Annabeth’s father, drinking lemonade the night before the battle, and Nico knows she is about to die again.

-What do you want, he asks. You’ve done everything. What’s left?

-She stopped, ice seems to creep over her again, and Nico wondered if he’d hit some sore spot.

-He’s opened his mouth to make his apologies when she answers, so quiet and quick he thinks he’s imagined it.

-To be remembered. When my lady has taken another lieutenant, as she must, and I have gone to where all gods go when they die, I wish for my memory to remain. And. . .

-Nico waits, and ignores the sudden, terrifying thought that he no longer knows what he wants.

-I wish to see the stars again. I was born a nymph of the sunset; starlight is precious to me. I want to see it again.

-Nico dies to preserve the memory of Zoë Nightshade.

100:

-Nico di Angelo wakes up in Westover Hall. He hopes for the last time.

-He does everything right: Annabeth goes over the cliff, his sister joins the Hunt, Percy is soon his friend, and he convinces Silena and Beckendorf to join the quest.

-The Nemean Lion never stands a chance, and Nico is glad to be rid of it.

-His sister lives.

-Nico watches Percy watch Rachel Elizabeth Dare go, looking like he’s just taken a frying pan to the face, and fights the urge to snicker.

-Thalia doesn’t start a fight with Nereus, but Percy certainly does. Nico could’ve sworn he saw the boy with sun-hair again, watching with curiosity.

- Zoë Nightshade dies in the arms of Artemis and is made into the stars she loves so dearly. Nico promises her soul that he will remember.

-For, he has found, the dead have a tendency of remembering things they shouldn’t.

-Annabeth and Percy now have grey streaks to match Nico’s, and Nico can’t wait to spend the rest of his life trying to explain that.

-It’s closer than he would like, but much less close than other lives with Olympus. The Ophiotaurus is alive and safe, and they are all alive.

-As Nico walks out of the council, he looks off to the side. By the fire is the familiar girl with red eyes--the Lady Hestia, looking much closer to Nico’s age than that of the Olympian she is.

-Besides her are three old ladies. Nico’s heard about them from Percy, in Loops 26, 53, 61, and 62.

-One lady holds a ball of string that is the color of a warm umber. The other is knitting what looked suspicious like socks. The last. . .

-Scissors, in one hand. Just as expected. Nico swallowed.

-In the other, was a knot of burnt string, tied to the socks. Behind her, Nico could see discarded string of all colors: an electric blue, a stormy grey, a black that seems to glisten with the promise of a storm, string the soft, hopeful pink of love, yarn run through with bright copper.

-Glowing threads that Nico could only describe as the color of starlight.

-As he walked out, firmly between Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace, the Hunt of Artemis behind him, Nico hears one last promise:

It is done, Nico di Angelo.

128 notes · View notes

the-chicken-or-the-banana · 4 years ago

Note

i had an idea i would love to see from your perspective (you're so good at andreil oh my god) if you wanted to write some stuff about it? i always wondered how andrew reacted when he first found neil missing after the binghampton game (starts pg 235 in the king's men). thoughts? (-- the ttyl blog <3)

omg i literally finished re-reading that scene before seeing your ask skjflsj ~ i hope you like this ! (i'm just realizing that i barely followed ur request and just rambled a lot but that's FINE 😬)

read it on ao3 here :)

«««———»»»

Andrew walked in line to the bus with the rest of the Foxes, mind going a million miles an hour behind his impassive expression.

"Thank you," Neil had said, eyes truer than Andrew had ever seen them. "You were amazing."

Andrew wasn't such a fool for Neil Josten that he couldn't figure out there was something more happening under the surface, something bigger than just an Exy shutout, that he wasn't telling anyone. Something forcing truth out of him.

Neil looked scared.

Apparently, no one else received the memo, because behind him, Matt Boyd kept kicking at Andrew's heels and Andrew could nearly see the nosy smile on Reynold's face. Boyd's voice was drowned out by the cacophony of both jeers and shouts of approval coming from all around them, but he had no doubts that Boyd was fishing for information surrounding his and Neil's "not this" to settle a bet of some sort.

Andrew didn't really care. He was more focused on leaving Binghamton, getting some answers out of Neil, and then kissing him senseless.

Of course, Andrew had no plans to tell Neil of that last item on the list, but he was sure he (and everyone else, apparently) knew anyway.

Maybe not Nicky, though. For all his cousin boasted about having an "incredible gaydar," he tended to be a bit clueless about Andrew.

Andrew's eyes were unfocused, gazing at the bounce of Neil's red curls while his thoughts wandered around nothing at all.

Nothing? his mind mused unhelpfully. Or Neil? Or is that one in the same now?

Shut up, he huffed internally. I hate him.

Lost in his head, it was only until he heard a pained curse from Aaron that he jerked straight and saw the world burning around him.

«««———»»»

Andrew's vision went red.

He nearly would have broken out of line and straight into the tidal wave of rioters had he not noticed the police trying to push back the crowd. He had never trusted the pigs, but Andrew supposed he could let them handle the mess until he'd gotten a chance to check on Aaron at the bus.

He had nearly fooled himself with that thought when an ice cooler sailed through the air and missed Danielle's face by an inch. An enraged shout came from Andrew's right, and he could feel the familiar heat of adrenaline in his stomach that always came when he and Renee sparred.

There was going to be a fight.

No sooner than he had that thought, the crowd around him exploded into madness, nearly running the Foxes over. Andrew may have been ready to throw some punches, but he was not at all prepared for the onslaught of unfamiliar bodies piling on him. Moving around him. Touching him.

Andrew couldn't breathe.

He lost sight of Neil's head in the mess, hoping one of the security guards would bring Neil to safety while Andrew tried to ground himself. What had Bee taught him?

What is your name? Andrew Minyard.

How old are you? 20 years old.

What is upsetting you? Hands. Everywhere.

Can you do something about it? Yes. I can move now.

He felt the glancing blow of someone's elbow on his face, nearly hitting his eye. It was sure to bruise later, but for now, the sharp pain mixed with Bee's words were enough to shake Andrew out of his stupor.

He ducked to the left, neatly missing a thrown shoe and was grateful to his limited stature for once. He kept an eye out for a flash of red, the glint of blue eyes, but seeing that Neil was nearly as short as Andrew himself, the effort was futile.

He'll be fine, Andrew thought. Find Nicky, Aaron, and Kevin, and get to the bus.

To his surprise (or maybe not), Andrew found Reynolds trading fierce blows with someone twice her size, Renee at her back. He caught Renee's glance and she gave him a firm nod of reassurance.

He nodded back, already swiveling to find the rest of his group.

After a few minutes, he spotted Nicky and Kevin huddled together, slowly moving to the edge of the crowd. He caught up and grabbed Nicky's wrist, who jerked away and reared his hand back for a punch before realizing it was Andrew.

Despite it all, Andrew felt a thrum of satisfaction. A few years ago, Nicky had let people beat him down over and over again. At least now he was learning to fight back.

"Oh thank god," Nicky cried, catching Kevin's attention, before his eyes widened. He reached out, remembering himself at the last second. "Andrew... your face, what happened?"

Andrew shrugged. He'd been through worse.

Nicky looked like he wanted to say something, but Kevin cursed loudly and began pushing out of the sea of bodies with renowned vigor.

"It's getting more violent and more people are joining," Kevin said, voice strained. "We need to get out and regroup at the bus."

"Aaron?" Andrew asked. Nicky glanced around a few moments before pointing to his right.

"There!" he exclaimed, and motioned to Kevin to go in that direction. Kevin nodded and they made their way over to Aaron, who was ducking under beer bottles and was nearly smacked in the face by a PSU banner.

"Aaron!" Kevin called, and Aaron's shoulders dropped with relief as he swerved a growing fight and made his way over to them.

Andrew scanned his brother quickly and, after seeing no visible injuries, motioned to start back towards the parking lot. They made their way over to the bus and found Boyd and Danielle standing, the former looking like he'd just lost a fight with a mountain lion.

Danielle was gripping his arm as Abby tended to his wounds, but Andrew heard her say he might need to go to the hospital for the more serious injuries. Boyd looked pained at the thought, but when he glanced up and caught Andrew's eye, he smiled and waved them over.

"Andrew, here," Abby said, noticing his injury. He took an ice pack from her and glanced around.

"Where's Neil?" he asked, choosing to ignore the suggestive look between Boyd and Danielle. Abby shrugged and opened her mouth before her eyes caught on something behind Andrew and she waved.

Andrew turned around to find Renee and Reynolds walking proudly towards them. Reynolds had a mosaic of bruises all over her, and Renee was holding her wrist precariously.

Abby sighed and began treating them as Wymack rounded the front of the bus and finally found his team.

Not the whole team, a ringing voice said in Andrew's head. Neil isn't here yet.

Which was odd, no? He had a security guard in front of him, surely he would have made it here first? Perhaps Wymack had seen him and taken him somewhere. Maybe he was already safe in the bus and Abby hadn’t noticed him.

Andrew pushed past Danielle and boarded the bus, walking the length of it but not finding a loudmouthed striker in its shadows. His stomach became knotted with a curious feeling he slowly identified as dread.

Andrew was at the door of the bus again. He looked at Wymack.

"Where. Is. Neil." he demanded. He saw Wymack's confused expression and before he even said anything, Andrew felt his heart stop.

"I don't know. I thought he was with you."

Reynold's knowing smirk gave way to uncertainty as the rest of the Foxes quieted. There was silence for a moment. Two.

Then Andrew threw his ice pack on the floor and raced back into the heart of the riot.

«««———»»»

He ignored the shouts coming from behind him, his mind an endless loop of Neil, Neil, Neil, is he safe, has he been hurt, he was supposed to be nothing, NEIL

After a few minutes of searching and more than a few near punches, the police finally regained some control over the situation and Andrew was able to scour the grounds for any hint of where Neil might be.

He saw the racquet first. The duffle bag was a few meters away from it.

Numbly, Andrew picked up both items, grabbing Neil's phone as it fell from the netted side pocket.

0, it said.

Andrew felt a piercing emptiness when he saw Neil's things without their rightful owner beside them.

He slowly walked back to the Foxes' bus, head pounding but unable to really register the dwindling fight behind him. And when the Foxes finally came in view, he saw the confusion on their faces when they saw no Neil walking with him.

Andrew mentally ran through everything that he knew. Neil was scared. He was running from someone, someone Kevin knew about? A zero on his phone from an unnamed number — a countdown, perhaps. He would never leave his things unattended, so maybe he wanted to tell Andrew he had been taken unwillingly, knowing that Andrew would never leave without him.

There was something he was missing, some vital piece of information that Neil hadn't told him that was causing this mess.

The guilty look on Kevin's face told Andrew everything he needed to know. He knew something.

He dumped Neil's things on the ground by Wymack's feet, mentally assessing himself. His cheek throbbed, each breath he took was sticky with sweat, his heart was pounding.

Neil was gone.

Andrew felt such a blind hot rage at that, the likes of which he hadn't felt in so long, the type where he felt like laughing at how cruel the world could be.

And before he could tell his body to stop, Andrew's hands were around Kevin's throat.

«««———»»»

"Shit Andrew! You're hurting— " "Andrew, stop— " "Get off of— "

«««———»»»

Andrew couldn't remember what happened after that, not immediately at least. It was a bit disorienting, going from a perfect recollection to being so overrun by anger that his mind went blank. Was this how everyone else felt all the time? He felt like someone just took out a Jenga piece from his mind, like it was close to collapsing.

Distantly, he recalled being yanked off of Kevin as he gasped some explanation about a mob boss, Kengo's right hand man, Nathaniel Wesninski. But none of it mattered. Andrew had broken his promise. He had hurt the person he had vowed to protect, just like so many had done to him.

And he still didn't have Neil.

«««———»»»

Neil used to make the emptiness a bit fuller, a bit easier to manage, Andrew thought. It felt so impossible to navigate himself now without Neil by Andrew's side.

«««———»»»

There was a hospital. A hotel. There were FBI agents. The news turned on. Off. On. There was another hotel. Handcuffs. Taken away.

«««———»»»

There was Nathaniel Neil. Standing in front of him. Blue eyes, wild hair, bandages unable to hide how irresistible he was, unable to stop the jolt in Andrew's heart.

There was Neil. And everything felt right again.

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denkamis · 4 years ago

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hq characters as cheesy valentine’s day tropes.

masterlist. | valentine’s day event masterlist.

warnings: none! aside from some swearing, it’s just some fluffy valentine’s day scenarios for you. reader is gn.

characters: keiji akaashi, kenma kozume, yuu nishinoya, koushi sugawara.

notes: dedicated to @koushisun,, for being an exceptionally kind individual and having immaculate taste in 2d men. i hope we can get closer the more we talk, kris. thank you for being my first friend here on da tumbz. <33

keiji akaashi

confessions behind the school building

were you nervous about finally confessing your feelings to akaashi on valentine’s day of all days? absolutely

he was one of, if not the prettiest, impressively athletic, and overwhelmingly intelligent boys in your class

he probably got at least ten confessions on the daily

and valentine’s day simply doubled the number

and here you were, with your tiny valentine’s day card and box of chocolates in hand

you had heard from all the girls that he had been turning down confessions left and right, only adding onto your mountain of nerves

little did you know that he was waiting for you

cherry blossoms bloomed above your heads, falling gracefully like something right out of a shoujo anime. you tapped the tip of your shoe against the pavement, a nervous tick you had garnered that helped keep you grounded. this was it. this was the moment today was leading up to. you and akaashi were standing behind fukurodani, stealing away a bit of privacy. you didn’t need the prying eyes of the other girls watching as you confessed to your year long crush.

akaashi waited with a patient gaze, unmoving from his spot a few feet ahead of you. he gave you space, and didn’t force you to talk right away. it was as if he already knew the intricacies of your thoughts, the way your mind spiraled if you were suddenly put on the spot, especially when it was as intimate and open as confessing your feelings.

“i wanted to tell you, i mean- what i’ve been trying to tell you for years is that i, well,” your tongue felt like it was two sizes too big. your fingers fidgeted behind your back, holding onto the tiny note and chocolates you had made for him yourself. “i like you a lot more than i really let on. you’re always so thoughtful and considerate. you listen to me when i ramble, and you help me with homework or even small things i don’t completely understand. that’s um, that’s really nice of you. i know you’ve probably received a lot of gifts today, but if you could spare a bit of your backpack space to accept mine, it would mean the world to me.” you bowed towards him, eyes glued to the floor as you held out the small box of chocolates and the note you had written.

you didn’t catch the way a smile tugged at his usually stoic features, or the way he tilted his head in thought while wondering how much courage you mustered up to confess like this. still, you felt nimble fingers brushing against yours, the weight of your gift leaving your grip.

“thank you, y/n,” akaashi told you gratefully as you stood up to your full height, “i’m glad that you feel the same as i do.”

“... wait what.”

kenma kozume

heart shaped candies

kenma rarely has plans for valentine’s day tbh

he treats it like any other day because it’s just a day to play some animal crossing and farm more on stardew valley

however, when you waltz into his life, he panics a little bit as the date draws closer

he wants to make you feel special on valentine’s day

he settled for those tiny heart shaped candies, knowing that you had quite the sweet tooth

he wasn’t gonna leave you hanging on valentine’s day, sweetheart

kenma held your hand in his as the two of you walked home together. the day was rainy, small droplets of water pattering against the shared umbrella the two of you were situated beneath. you were talking about school, something or other about the clubs you were in and how passionate you were about starting your very own this year. kenma listened tentatively, an easy smile on his face as he watched your eyes light up and your free hand gesture and fly about as you spoke.

you were adorable.

the two of you soon arrived at your house, and you promised kenma that you would call him tonight so the two of you could play games or watch some netflix together over the internet. you two had been particularly invested in some k-drama that always left the two of you at the edge of your seats. you planted a gentle kiss to his cheek, his face erupting in crimson right to the tips of his ears. giggling quietly, you wished him goodbye, your hand beginning to slide from his as you went to leave. to your surprise, he held on tighter.

with his gaze cast down, you watched as he pulled out a tiny bag of heart shaped candies from his pocket. “i know it’s not much, but i saw everyone else getting their partners gifts and kuroo said that it would be good if i got you something too.”

you accepted his small token of affection with shaky hands and flushed cheeks. peering inside the clear bag, you saw a whole collection of multi-coloured candies reading cheesy phrases such as ‘b mine’, ‘true love’ or even a ‘cutiepie.’

“kenma, i love it. oh my.. haha! i thought you forgot since you didn’t mention anything about gifts for today.” kenma’s hand squeezed yours, his eyes lifting from the wet ground to meet your own with a small yet confident smile.

“i wouldn’t forget something as important as you.”

yuu nishinoya

big teddy bears

an absolutely chaotic mess on valentine’s day

he’s so excited that he finally has someone to spoil, so he wants to go all out

he figured that the best present to get you was the biggest teddy bear he could find

he went to 6 stores and dragged asahi and tanaka with him

he saw a teddy bear that was literally twice his size and went “I’LL TAKE IT”

mans has no chill, he spent literally his entire allowance on it

his grandpa didn’t even bat an eye PFFT

when nishinoya showed up at your doorstep with a chunky teddy bear in tow, you had no words. truly. it had been at the stroke of midnight when he texted you to come outside and see the valentine’s gift he had gotten you. you had said that this could wait until morning, but he insisted that this could not wait another moment. it was technically valentine’s day, after all! this resulted in you dragging yourself down the stairs of your home to greet him at the door. to your surprise, yet at the same time not surprising you in the slightest, was noya carrying the largest teddy bear you had ever laid your eyes on. not only that, but tanaka and what appeared to be a very exhausted asahi accompanied him.

“y/n-chan!” nishinoya shouted boldly and triumphantly, getting down on one knee which instantly made you panic. he wasn’t going to propose, was he? no he wouldn’t. would he? oh god. your words got caught in your throat, trying to formulate some kind of response to his sudden and incoming declaration. yet, a proposal never came. he held up the teddy bear as if it were simba from the lion king, the entire stuffed animal basically shielding his shorter form from your view. you suppressed a snort with your hand.

“i searched far and wide for this gigantic teddy bear for you, please accept it this valentine’s day!” nishinoya said loud and clear from behind the bear. you were having trouble stifling your laughter because from your angle, it looked like the bear itself was saying these words to you. you attempted to take the huge bear from his arms but it ended up being a lot heavier than you anticipated.

“noya, really this is-”

“take the picture!” noya whisper shouted to tanaka, who was holding up his phone camera with a thumbs up. noya posed beside you with an arm tossed around your waist, throwing up a peace sign and sticking out his tongue. leave it to yuu nishinoya to spoil you with the biggest bear he could find. it was incredibly endearing, especially when you found out from asahi that he nearly got kicked out from a walmart after knocking down the entire teddy bear display. he could be the biggest dork sometimes. but you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

koushi sugawara

baking together

he saw the idea on pinterest and he had to try it out with you

they were cupcakes red velvet with pink, buttercream frosting

easy, right? it would be a cute little date, you could even stay over at his house while you watched a romcom or something of the sort while they were baking

turns out it wasn’t easy

at all

“shit fuck, oh god- shit!” koushi mumbled to himself as he was spilling some of the red cupcake mix over the side of the bowl. you were trying your best not to laugh too much but you couldn’t help your giggles when koushi shot you a playfully annoyed glare, his nose powered with sugar and flourmaking him look straight out of a victorian magazine. baking with koushi had gone just as well as you thought it would. there was a lot of flour being thrown around, a few stray chocolate chips and sprinkles now on the floor serving as reminders of past quarrels. koushi had always been a rather chaotic individual behind his “soft boy” demeanour he liked to flaunt. he could be so goofy and fun. he could be your greatest hype man but also the person you knew could be in your corner when it counted. and here the two of you were, making a mess in your shared kitchen at nine at night for a valentine’s day date.

“honey, you’re mixing it too fast!”

“i’m mixing it just fine, see look! it’s supposed to be this thick,” his ahoge bobbed back and forth atop his head as he mixed with quite literally his entire torso. his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he focused hardcore on the making sure the mixture was abolished of any and all chunkiness present. you rolled your eyes, a wide smile on your face despite his stubbornness. “the oven’s been preheating for thirty minutes now.”

“well the oven can wait,” he huffed, tapping the neck of the whisk against the bowl to remove the excess mix before grabbing a ladle to begin scooping all the mix into the muffin tin. not without another mess, of course.

“kou, stop moving the—”

“i’m not moving anything, you’re just making me laugh!”

“hand me the spoon, hand it over.”

“it’s not a spoon!”

“it’s a big ass spoon.”

“y/n!”

you were bickering like an old married couple as your hands reached greedily for the ladle that already had some cupcake mix in it. koushi held it out of your reach, causing him to back up into the counter while you hopped in an attempt to get it back. in your desperate attempts, you slipped on the flour from your little past war and caused the two of you to collapse to the floor in a heap of giggles and laughter.

yeah, you two would definitely never be touching any sort of recipe after that day, you absolute menaces.

all works © denkamis 2021.

tags:

@meilbox

want to be on the taglist? see this post!

#hq scenarios #haikyuu!!#akaashi x reader #keiji akaashi x reader #kenma x reader #kenma kozume x reader #nishinoya x reader #yuu nishinoya x reader #sugawara x reader #koushi sugawara x reader #hq x reader #hq fluff #denkamis.scenarios

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queen-lucy-the-valiant · 4 years ago

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I’ve been meaning to write this for a weeks and I finally did so yay. This is a somewhat analysis of the symbolism of the planning scene in Prince Caspian. I’m going off movie verse here because they changed so much I feel it’s not completely accurate to apply book details to the movie, although there are a few references that I feel could still be accurate in the movie verse.

To begin, let us lay our scene. They’re in the stone table room, the narnias are in a circle around the room, encompassing Peter, Caspain, and the stone table, which holds both Lucy and Trumpkin. Both Peter and Caspain stand a little bit away from the stone table. While Edmund and Susan are there, they’re both a part of the circle, sitting on stones directly across from each other.

First off, their placement tells us a lot about their relationships with Aslan. Since the Stone Table is where Aslan died, it in some way represents him. At the very least it's an ancient object of religious significance and holds some kind of power, if only in the figurative sense. We know that in the book the Narnias hold the table in high regard and this is something that isn’t specifically touched on in the movie and there's no reason to change it, since that would diminish the importance of Aslan in the narnias' eyes. So that explains why the narnias are gathered on the tables. The smaller animals have climbed on other stones, presumably to put themselves on a more even playing ground with the humans and other creatures. So, as the highest, easily accessible stone in the room, the Stone Table would be a good choice for giving yourself more height. But if they do hold the table in that high of a regard or place some religious significance on it, then it would be basically blasphemous for them to sit on it when it was the place that the Lion died and rose again.

Moving on to the Pevensies and those that are also in the circle.

We’re shown a few times that Peter is having issues with his faith with Aslan during this trip to Narnia. First at the train station when he expresses his frustration at Aslan making them wait, and again when they first get the how and go into the room, when he says something like “I think we’re on our own this time.” So while there are practical reasons for Peter not being extremely close to or on the Stone Table, his standing a couple yards away from it does a good job at representing his distance from Aslan at this point in the movie. Later, when he’s contemplating his relationship with Aslan and wishing that he would give him proof, he’s sitting on the Stone Table, which up until that point, he hadn’t been near, let alone on.

We don’t get much of Edmunds relationship with Aslan in this movie. He believes Lucy at the gorge, but that has to do more with his faith in Lucy than his faith that Aslan will be there. With this in mind, it would make more sense for him to be sitting next to Lucy during the meeting. She is after all the youngest and he already knows that the others are going to be patronizing to some degree if she should choose to give her opinion. So why isn’t he? Well it probably has to do with the fact that the reason Aslan died on that table was because of him, it was meant to be him on the table that night and Aslan took his place. It probably brings those memories closer to the surface and could potentially be triggering for him, since I think we can all agree that he had PTSD from his time with the witch. There's also potentially some awe for Aslan mixed in there, and respect, he might feel like it would be disrespectful to Aslan's sacrifice for him if he were to treat the place where he died like a chair.

We also don’t get much of Susan's relationship with Aslan in this movie. Like Peter, she wishes she could see him as easily as Lucy does, but she also only believes in him when he does something, like she tells Lucy when they’re sleeping by the fire, where Lucy's like “you believe me” and Susan says “well we got across the gorge didn’t we” or something like that. We also know that Susan's relationship with Narnia and Aslan is strained. She’s practical, she probably assumes that this trip to Narnia is probably going to end once they’ve fixed the problem, she’s not wrong of course, but I think that of the four of them she’s the only one who's thought about it at this point, since Peter and Edmund are probably focuses on how they’re going to defeat the telmarines and Lucy is living in the moment and enjoying being home again. So I think that Susan not sitting by Lucy on or near the table signifies that she’s distant from Aslan.

Lucy is obvious, she’s sitting on the table because it’s the closest thing she has to Aslan at that moment and she has the most faith in Aslan.

Trumpkin is interesting to me because we know from the gorge scene that he doesn’t believe Aslan exists because he says “I’m not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn’t exist.” But before that, when they’re in the boat and Lucy says “how could Aslan have let this happen,” Trumpkin responds with “though he abandoned us when you lot left,” he partly sounds scornful, like how could you believe in a talking lion, but at the same time I think it indicates that he, on some level, believes in Aslan, even if it’s only to hate him. But even if he doesn’t believe in Aslan, based on the fact that he isn’t sitting next to Lucy on the table itself, but on one legs, I think that that indicates that he does have some respect for the significance of the table itself, and while he might not fully believe in Aslan, but this might indicate that he’s slowly moving towards believing in him.

We’re going to ignore Caspian because there is no reason for him to be on the table so yeah.

So where the characters are in relation to the table symbolizes their relationship to Aslan. That's the first layer of symbolism in this scene. The second is how much this scene represents and sets up the dynamics between our main six characters (the Pevensies, Caspain, and Trumpkin).

Starting with Peter and Caspian. This scene builds upon the tension that’s sort of set up when they first met, they don’t like each other. Peter probably thinks of Caspain and an immature kid who doesn’t know what he’s doing and Caspain probably thinks Peter is trying to take his place as leader of the narnias. Caspians only experience with kings is Miraz and Miraz is not a good example, he took the power and then he got rid of or tried to get rid of everyone that would get in the way of his keeping the power. Caspain probably thinks that Peter will do the same, since he doesn’t know any better. So he fights back against Peter and his ideas, which clearly annoys Peter, a) because he’s the high king and he's actually getting into that role again, plus he’s been dealing with not being listen to in England for the past year and he’s in Narnia now, he’s supposed to be listened to here but apparently not, and b) Caspain is the one that summoned him for help, he should be listening to him.

Moving on to Peter and Edmund. This scene shows that Edmund is on Peter's side and has his back. This is shown before, when he jumps into the fight at the train station. But this scene backs it up and establishes Edmund as someone whose opinion Peter respects, because he doesn’t just echo what Peter says, he backs it up by using a logical reason for why they shouldn’t stay in defense mode, while Peter just pointed out that the How is a tomb not a fortress.

Peter and Susan. They’re fighting, and Susan is mad at Peter for some reason. This isn’t the first time this has come up in the movie, first it happened at the train station when Peter was going into a fight and then it happened again at the gorge when Peter appeared to take them out of the way. But this scene does indicate how serious it is, because she sides with Caspain over Peter and that is Not Good. Because they ruled together for 15 years, and they didn’t just rule together, they ruled together so well that the period when they ruled was known as the Golden Age. I’m not saying that they never disagreed on issues during that time, of course they did, but I doubt she ever did it in public and with someone she’d only known for less than a day. She shouldn’t trust Caspians opinion more than Peters, even if Caspain knows more about the current Narnia than Peter does, Peter definitely knows strategy better than Caspain, he definitely has more experience and Susan knows that.

Susan and Caspain. I can not express how much I hate the romance between Susan and Caspian in the movie, if you like it, that’s fine, it’s just really not my cup of tea and I think it’s a fairly useless addition to the story. That being said, this is the scene that establishes it. The movie makers use Susan taking Caspains side in this argument as a starting point for their later romance.

Finally Trumpkin and Lucy. I personally believe that Trumpkin sitting next to Lucy at the table is meant to indicate their friendship and such, because why else would he be there and that's really all I have to say about that.

And this isn’t part of the actual analysis because there's literally nothing concrete to back it up, but I like the idea of Lucy being someone whose opinion Peter values. I thought of this because of two particular points in the movie. The first being when they walk into the How for the first time and Lucy is the only pevensie on Peters right side and you know, right hand person and such. The second is that Lucy is the only other Pevensie actually in the circle during this scene, both Edmund and Susan are part of the circle and the only other people in the circle-besides Trumpkin and I’m ignoring him here-are Peter and Caspain, the two main leaders. So yeah there's that, do with it what you will

Thank you for reading this, I’m sorry if it’s long and complicated and possibly confusing with many run-on sentences, I’m reading Jane Austen right now and I tend to semi copy the writing style of whoever I’m reading at the moment.

@confessions-of-a-bookworm, @fandomblr, @czytling

#narnia #The Chronicles of Narnia #prince caspian #prince caspian movie #peter pevensie #susan pevensie #edmund pevensie #lucy pevensie #trumpkin #narnia meta #i suppose #also sorta #narnia headcanon #like at the very end #my writing #movie analysis #i guess

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nagitoshopejar · 4 years ago

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Another danganronpa FIC!!

Prompt: Hajime catches Nagito wearing his clothes.

Words: 2,053

Time spent: 9:32pm-11:49pm so roughly 2 hours and 17 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------Nagito was taking a trip through his shelf of books. "What should I read?" He goes through each and every book, picking them up, reading the backs, opening it up and putting it back. "Do I want to read a scary novel like the shining, or IT?" Nagito got so easily scared by these novels that it was ridicules. "A heart breaking novel? The Lion king?" He sighed not being able to conjure up any ideas of what to do or read. "Maybe I should just go take a walk or bug Hajime." Hope boy left his cabin in hopes to find Hajime in his. He stepped up to dark brown wooden door, with Hajimes pixelated door sign gently placed in the middle and eye height.

"Hajime?" Nagito knocked three times. But there was no answer. Nagito having a spare key, was gonna unlock the door anyways. There on the bed Hajimes gamer girl sweater lay on the bed. He always supported Chiaki. Nagito picked up the sweater examining it in his hands. "Still smells like him." He says, putting it over his head and his arms through the sleeves. "A little tight but that's ok. Now to find Hajime." He walked out with the gamer girl Chiaki sweater.

Nagito found himself at the beach, taking a glance around to see if he could find Hajime. He found instead, Nekomaru and Akane. "Hey Maru!" He greeted the coach.

"Oh, hey Nagito!" He smiled raising a hand as if to wave.

"Have you seen my boyfriend? I cant find him anywhere." He pouted.

"Hajime? I think I've seen him with Chiaki. I think he wanted to show her something." He said tapping his chin lightly as to show his thinking.

"Ah, oh, oh no. He must want to show her the sweater. I have to get going I don't want him to worry." Nagito headed of running at between a jogging and sprinting pace. By the time he got to Hajimes cabin, Hajime was freaking out.

"Where is it?!" He asked worried. He looked under the bed, peeled back the carpet, check to see if it was hiding under the blanket. "Oh no. I'm sorry Chiaki. Its no wheres to be seen."

"Its fine Hajime." She softly smiled. The sunlight grazing her face calmed the taller boy. She was so cute and soft looking. He ruffled her hair.

"We're you, uhm, talking about this?" Nagito entered not making eye contact.

"The sweater! Nagito!" Hajime made a whine sound as he spoke. He sighed pressing his fingers to his temple and rubbing it. "Why did you take it Nagito?"

"I wanted to see how you'd react. I thought I looked cute." Nagito looked down looking ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry if I filled you with such despair." Nagito said quietly. He played with the soft polyester strings of the hooded sweater. "Its really warm?"

"Can you at least take it off please? I wanna show Chiaki." The brown haired boy had requested of hope boy.

"But it smells like you still." He whined. "I wanna keep it on longer."

"C'mon. I'll make you take it off."

"Anything you can do is nothing, since I'm armoured by the gamer girl sweater." He smiled mischievously. Hajimes heart melted but walked right up to the lucky student.

"Hmmm.." Its true he couldn't do much. Unless... He snuck his hands under the sweater Nagito was wearing. Nagito burst into giggles and nearly fell down, not being able to hold his composure.

"Hahajime! Stahp!" He giggled as Hajime caught him and wrapped his arms around his waist, under the gamer girls sweatshirt.

"No can do. You brought yourself into this situation." Nagito couldn't swat at his hands or defend himself as the sweated was blocking that.

"Hahajime! Pleahese!" Nagito squirmed, struggled and tried everything.

"Take of the sweater. Then i'll stop." Hajime worked his way up, pinching his ribs. Nagitos voice got louder and higher pitched.

"HAJIMEHE STAHAP! I DIDNT DOHO ANYTHIHING!" Hajime fit his face into the crook of his neck and started kissing his bare neck. Nagitos race turned more pink than the blood in the game. "EEHEP NOOOHOHO!!" Nagito started thrashing and giggling like crazy. "PLEAHEEHEHEEEESE STAHAHAP!" He threw his head back in laughter.

"Ok, ok." Hajime stopped only to drop Nagito on the ground.

"Ow, what the?" Hope boy was confused at first which gave enough time for Hajime to pin him down. "What? Hajime what are you doing." Hajime smiled slyly and bent down. He rolled up the hoodie and Komaedas shirt. He put his lips to Hope boys stomach and began giving kisses, which immediately put Komaeda into another giggle fit. He arched his back with loud boisterous giggles pouring from him like a waterfall. "HAHAAHAJIME NOOO!" He yelled and thrashed. Hajime snuck his arms behind him and started poking and prodding Nagitos thighs making Nagito thrash harder. "NAHHH NOHOT THEHEHEREEEE! QUIT IHIHIHIT! AHHH!" Nagitos protests fell to deaf ears. Hajime wouldn't stop anytime soon unless his boyfriend agreed. The something unexpected happened. Hajime breathed in a tanks worth of air and let it go on Komaedas soft belly through a raspberry. Komaeda screamed and closed his eyes tight. A wide smile was on planted on his face and Hajime was the gardener. Tears of mirth stained Nagitos cute face like blood would stain a carpet. Hajime switched to spidering Komaedas thighs while still blowing constant raspberries. "HAHAHAHHAH STOHOAHAP PLEHEAHEHEH!" At this point, Nagito forming words properly was pretty hard. His giggles evolved into full on throat and belly laughter.

"Awwwwww is Komaeda a wee bit sensitive?" Hajime teased and Nagito shook his head. "Lying to me, are we? That deserves a punishment!~" he grinned his smug grin. "Would you like to help Chiaki?"

"Oh, sure!" She smiled softly, sitting on Komaedas hands so that they were pinned above his head. Chiaki had also slipped her hands under the T-shirt and hoodie. She lightly traced his underarms making him go wild.

"Whats so funny? Is there something I'm not getting?" Hajime asks as if he wasn't wrecking the living daylights outta him.

"YOHOHOUHAHAH!" Nagito tried to say through his fit of laughter.

"Me? What about me?" Hajime knew what he was talking about but nagged him on.

"YOHOUREHE TIHICKLIHING MEEEEEE!" Nagito managed to spit out.

"Oh. So I am. How'd you figure out? You're so smart! I think that deserves a reward." Hajime planted his face into Komaedas belly and blew more raspberries. Nagito fell into quiet laughter so Chiaki and Hajime ceased their attack. The white haired boy was greedy for air as he gulped it down like it soda or something. "You ok?" He asked smiling to the boy under him.

"Ahasshole." He mumbled still feeling the after effects.

"You willing to take of the sweater yet?"

After he let Nagito breathed, the hopeful one looked him dead in the eye and said, "I told you no." Hajime Sighed.

"Not what I wanted to hear." He bent down as if to act like he was upset about this answer, but instead placed his face on Nagitos stomach once again.

"Wait Hajime! No please doHONT!" Nagito got cut off by more kisses and raspberries. His giggles started pouring out and soon turned to full on throat laughter after Hajime started tracing his ribs, digging in between every one of them, adding another raspberry for each time he dug into inbetween his ribs. Nagito was thrashing once again but finally agreed to take the sweated off. A little after catching his breath, he did so. Hajime put on the sweater to show Chiaki. Chiaki had been feeling how soft the sweater was when Hajime giggled a little and flinched.

"Hmm? Oh is the mighty Hajime sensitive?"

"No, no I'm not." Hajime stated not making eye contact and handing Chiaki the sweater. That's when Nagito pounced. "Nagito!" Hajime shouted surprised by what just happened.

"This is what you get." Hope boy huffed.

"What do you mehean?" Hajime giggled when Nagito traced little shapes into Hajimss belly. "Hehey! Nagitoho!" He squirmed around trying to get away from Nagito.

"Nuh uh. You're not getting away!" Nagito was already sitting on Hajimes legs effectively pinning him down. Nagito started full on scribbling his bare abdomen. Hajime started laughing, but it wasn't loud or hard enough to be called a hearty or throaty laugh.

"Nagitohoho quihit it!" He squirmed in his captors grip. Kinda.

"No. This is revenge." Nagito huffed.

"Ihim sohohoryyyy." Hajime said through teeth clenched laughter. His chest tightened up the further Nagito went up his sides. "Plehehease stoAP-" Hajimes breath hitched. When Nagito reached his underarms. "Nagito. Please."

"You want me to? Ok!" Nagito teased as he went to town on Hajime, who now had full on hearty laughter writhing in the grip under Komaeda.

"NOHOHO THATS NOHOHOT WHAT I MEAHAHAHANT!" Hajime shook with laughter.

"Oh? Is that so? You aren't really hope filling, Hajime. I think I should fix that." Nagito chuckled to himself as he digs into Hajimes underarms.

"PLEAHEHEHEASE STAHP!" Hajime begged, thrashing.

"Let me have one of your sweaters then!" Nagito smiled very cutely because he is.

"WHAHAT? NOHOHOHO!" Nagito sighs.

"That's what I thought. He looked down at the laughter waterfall beneath him. "Does that mean you want it to keep going." He asks sheepishly. "It must be. Hmm. Hey Chiaki? Wanna help here to?" He looks behind him, not ceasing on the attack of the smaller boy.

"Huh? You to? Sure." She shrugs walking over to Hajime.

"Were gonna do what he did to me." While Chiaki and Nagito are having this conversation, Hajime is going wild." Nagito switches spots. He was now pinning Hajimes arms down by sitting on them just as Chiaki did to him and Chiaki had the delight of sitting on his legs. "Ready?" He didn't give Hajime a chance to answer before he started it. Nagito had been scribbling and poking his under arms. He was switching techniques faster than Chiaki can beat video games. Chiaki was also doing that but since she got the entirety of the abdomen, ribs and chest, she scribbled all over. Sometimes, mixing them so she'd be pinching his ribs but spidering his belly. Hajime would've threw his head back in laughter, if it wasn't trapped between Nagitos knees. But he indeed arched his back and his had his eyes shut tight. Tears are mirth were streaming down his face but a huge wide mouthed smile, pouring out all kinds of laughter, giggles and snorts was plastered onto his face.

"NAHAHAGITOHO STHAHAP PLEASE!" Hajime was starting to not be able to take it much longer.

"Give me a sweater. I don't care if you choose or you let me choose. I just want one of your sweaters." Nagito says making his point clear while keeping calm and stabilized while a thrashing Hajime was under him. He chuckled at the cute sight in front of him. His face turned right pink. This probably had to be one of his favorite activities because he gets to appreciate how cute Hajime is. "Awe, now I don't want to stop. You're laughter is so cute and seeing you squirm like that sends butterfly's through my body. I just melt seeing how cute you are." He teased at the boy with the long ahoge.

"IHIM NOHOHOT CUUUUTEHEHEH!" He squealed when he felt a finger graze his neck.

"Even your squeals are adorable. I love everything about you." He smiles.

"STAHAHAP PLEEEEHEHEHAHEHSE!" Hajimes face turned red at all the teases.

"Ok ok. As long as I get one of your sweaters." Nagito giggled.

"OHOHOK ILL GIHIVE YOU ONE JUST STAHAHAP!!" Nagito and Chiaki ceased their attack on him and got off. Hajime panted like a warm dog. "W-well? Arent you g-gonna choose one?" Hajime said though drinks of air.

"Hmm... I want this one!" Nagito picked up a thin army green sweater.

"Take it. Its yours." Hajime said not being able to go through that again. Nagito put it on and laid in bed, big spooning Hajime. Chiaki had already left the two to cuddle and sleep. Nagito kissed Hajimes forehead.

"I love you longer than forever." Nagito said.

"Me too." Hajime cuddled into Nagitos chest and fell asleep. Nagito, not long after also fell asleep.

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

Ahhhh omg I actually liked this one reee

41 notes · View notes

bxthharmon · 5 years ago

Text

Never Go Home Again, Pt. VIII || JJ Maybank x Reader

Words: 4102 (jeez, making up for a short last episode??)

Series Warnings: violence / talking about abuse / toxic relationships / talking about nudes sex tapes and sex tapes / drugs / underage drinking

Pt. Warnings: Breaking and entering? / underage drinking

Series Summary: A new girl, a shoebox of old memories, a past she’s trying to forget coincide with a hotheaded, but selfless, boy. teenagers getting in way over their heads

Pt. Summary: Midsummers takes place as the pogues make headway in the hunt, Y/N struggles with her two friends’ enmity.

A/N: okay so longgg chapter. hope it’s not too bad, and i only hv one chapter left in my drafts so im gonna have to start writing instead of just editing... hopefully updates will stay just as frequent tho. lemme know abt tags and feedback, and pleaseeeeeee send requests!!! lockdowns giving way too much time.

Chapters linked in my masterlist.

“masterlist”

You borrowed your dad’s car, and dressed in the simplistic, elegant dress intended for your prom back in LA, you arrived at the party.

You found yourself surrounded in summery cocktail dresses and flower crowns, tuxedos that ranged from elegant dark blue to pastel pinks, a couple of floral patterns spicing up the mix. Soft lights hung loosely over the patio, lights hardly noticeable in the soft, bright hue of the evening, the sun yet to fall into the glittering sea stretched out from the view in the hotel. You worked your way through the silks, chiffons and satins. Drinks were pushed into your hand, tapas offered and awkward smiles shared. By the time you found Kie, you were armed with a glass of champagne and the feeling of not belonging. She laughed at your already exhausted smile, and had dragged you to find Pope. Once you were with Kie, it took twice as long to get anywhere, because everyone seemed to stop her and ask about her parents, the restaurant, or to offer criticism on her choice of friends, giving you side-eye. You were the one who spotted Pope, pointing him out and letting her drag you over to him.

“Excuse me, sir,” Kie mocked a British accent, “do we have to shuck these ourselves? ‘Cause it might mess up my costume.”

You all laughed, hugging him in greeting. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” Pope returned the joke, doing your pogue handshake.

“That accent was bad.” You shook your head.

“Yeah, it was. I was gonna let it go.” She laughed, “Y/N’s is way better.”

“Oh stop it!” you joked, in your British accent, pretending to blush, “You’re making me blush.”

“You ever seen this many kooks in one place?” Kie asked.

“Yeah, last year.” Pope grinned.

“We’re in the lion’s den.” You sighed. “Hey, have either of you heard from JJ?”

They looked at you sympathetically, shaking their heads.

“He’ll be alright.” Kie soothed. “He’s got the survival instincts of a cockroach.”

“In the month I’ve known him, this is the longest I’ve gone without hearing from him.” You sighed, and Pope looked down guiltily.

“This is my fault.”

“You didn’t do this, Pope.” you assured him, “Topper almost killed you, remember? JJ chose to, you know him, always putting others first. You can’t carry the blame, that’s not fair on you.”

You turned to the noise of an applaud, seeing Sarah and her family entering. You held back a snigger at the sight of Rose’s crown, but smiled at Sarah, who smiled back.

“Here come Lord Capital and the exploiters.” Kie sighed.

“She’s definitely gonna poke someone’s eye out with that.” Pope commented, and you looked back at Rose’s headdress, this time unable to contain the giggle.

You chatted for a while longer, finishing the lavish champagne and wanting to have some fun. You had practically dragged Kie to the dance floor, making her dance with you as a steady flow of drinks passed both your systems. Eventually, she was summoned to talk with her parents, leaving you alone on the dance floor. Before long, you found yourself dancing with Sarah, spinning her round, and exaggerating the both of your moves, mocking the way the adults were dancing. You went to get a drink after a few songs, and walked straight into JJ.

He was just as surprised as you, but you reacted quickly, pulling him down into a soft kiss by his collar. You looked over your shoulder, blushing at the sight of Pope and Kie clapping and giving you thumbs up. You turned your attention to him, tracing your thumb over his split lip and the bruises on the left side of his face. The dark cut contrasted the pink of his lips, and the bruises looked a painful, mottled purple that spread over his jaw and up to his cheek bone.

“JJ,” you murmured, “Did your dad do this?”

“My dad, got a nice right jab, ya know?” he tried to joke, seeing the worry in your eyes. The light he hoped would return to your eyes stayed gone, as anger took over your features.

“JJ, I’m gonna fucking kill him.” you seethed, “He had no fucking-”

“Y/N,” he said, cupping your face, “leave it, okay? It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before.”

“JJ that’s not making me feel any bet-”

He kissed you again, taking you off guard, and you smiled softly when he pulled away. “I gotta go,” he mumbled, “I’ll see you in a bit, I promise, babygirl.”

You nodded dumbly as he walked away, turning back to Sarah, and seeing her wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at you. You rolled your eyes at her, making an excuse to leave, and walked over to Kie, who started pestering you for details, which you supplied. Your discussion with Kie was cut short by the sight of JJ being hauled out of the house and into the garden.

“Hey, Mr Dunleavy, I see you got your drink. Good, that’s really nice of you. I’m actually gonna down that.” he took the drink, and, well, downed it. “It’s okay everybody!” he yelled, “Do not panic. Leave it to the men and women in uniform! Let’s hear it for them!” he shouted, making you and Kie smirk, trying to hide your giggles. “Rose! You look like lady liberty. Good to see you again. Hey, buddy, can I have one of those?”

“Let go of him!” You called, working your way towards him.

“You can’t just boot him!” Kie backed you, ignoring the warning looks you were both getting from her parents. He looked up at you, a tiny smile on his face. “I invited him here! I’m a member of this club.” she continued through her parent’s protests. JJ turned and pushed the guard into the crowd, stumbling in the opposite direction.

“Sorry about that! Hey,” he pointed at you and Kie, “mandatory power hour at Rixon’s, Kie, Y/N. Pope, you as well, alright? Rixon’s cove, let’s roll! A’ight Y/N, come on!” You grinned, he turned to Kie, “Workers of the world unite, throw off your chains!”

Kie and Pope ran ahead, both hugging John B, and you ran straight into JJ’s arms, letting him swing you around and kiss you, for once, not caring that everyone was staring.

“Hey, guys, so like, my dad’s already gonna kill me.” Pope said as you all settled around the campfire. “So what’s this mandatory meeting about?”

John B shot finger guns to JJ, who looked up, “Might as well tell him, man, before we’re all gaffed.”

“You ready for this? John B replied.

You and Kie looked at each other, “Yeah.” you said, in unison.

“So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant.” John B started.

“Here we go again.” You muttered, settling into JJ’s side.

“No, alright? Wait. Hear him out, alright?” JJ backed John B, and you frowned, shrugging and gesturing for him to continue.

“It’s been here the whole time. It’s on the island.”

“Are you serious?” Kie asked. “Oh my God.”

“I’d like to voice my skepticism.” Pope spoke.

“I’m sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, Sir?”

“Proceed.” Pope mocked.

“Alright, so, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny.”

“Who the fuck’s that?” You questioned.

“Denmark Tanny was a slave who survived the Royal merchant wreck. Check this out.” he handed Kie some paper, “So slaves weren’t mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom.” Kie passed you the paper. “After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll please,” you drumrolled on your thighs, “because that farm is… Tannyhill Plantation.”

“Tannyhill?” Kie affirmed. You passed Pope the paper.

“Yeah.” John B continued, “so after that, he used his money to free even more slaves. And then he sold a shit ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold.”

“Where?” You whisper excitedly.

“Harvest the wheat, in parcel nine, near the water. Except, there’s no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out.” he shows you another piece of paper, and a map. “The gold is in parcel nine, near the water.” you and Kie squeal, laughing excitedly, “All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we’ve found the gold!”

“Okay, so, this might have a small chance of actually being true.” Pope said, and JJ got up from beside you.

“Dude,” you laughed, “this is like, King Tut!”

JJ pulled John B into a hug, lifting him up. “Hello, fire! You’re near the fire. You’re gonna burn.” John B warned, and JJ put him down. “I’m so proud of you right now.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s really sweet of you.” JJ looked at you, “And jeez, Y/N, what is it with you and Tutankhamun?”

“4th Grade history?” You guessed.

“Okay, so, guys,” Pope brought the attention back. “What’s the plan?”

“Good question.” John B agreed.

“How long does this go on for?” you moaned, “Wrap it up, JB.”

“Sarah Cameron’s coming tonight.” he simplified. “And she’ll bring the original survey.”

“Hold on.” Kie stopped him, “Sarah? Wh-why Sarah?”

“This is gonna be good.” JJ muttered, and you raised your eyebrows at him.

“Sarah, um, she - she helped me into the archives at Chapel Hill yesterday, and that’s where I got the letter.”

“You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?” Kie frowned, anger contorting her features.

“Are you guys macking?” you asked, a disbelieving smirk on your lips.

“He was mackin’ on her.” JJ confirmed, interrupting John B’s pitiful attempts at an explanation, and earning him a giggle from you.

“For real?” you asked John B.

“I wasn’t macking.” John B defended.

“You were totally macking Sarah Cameron.” JJ repeated.

“I wasn’t macking on her, okay? I was using her for access.”

“There was access, alright.” JJ mumbled, earning another giggle.

“Okay,” you piped up, “JB you should have consulted first, Kie, she obviously did something shitty, but JB, using her is pure shitty, so you better just be covering for yourself right now.”

He looked at you defeated, and you groaned. “Did you tell her about the treasure?” Kie asked.

“I was just trying to get into the archives!”

“Is that a yes?”

“I left out key details!”

“Yo, what? You let a kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Lyfe? What about the t-shirt company, bro?”

“I was just using her for information.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“I’m tryna make us filthy rich here! Okay, so that we can pay off a boat, or - or, uh, send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies! Look, you guys know me! Do I look like the kind of person who would fall for Sarah Cameron?”

You and JJ made eye contact, “well..” you started.

“Um.” he chuckled.

“Do you want us to answer that, or-”

“Just - just stop.” John B looked at the pair of you, defeated.

“Look, you don’t know her yet, I do! You can’t trust her!”

“Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club.” Pope pointed out.

“Rafe and Sarah are different human beings.” John B countered.

“What did she do to you, exactly?” you asked Kie, wandering how she could hate your friend so much.

“She’s like a - a spitting cobra. First she - first she blinds you and then she-”

“This is a bad analogy.” you mumbled.

“Listen to me!” Kie demanded, “Whatever we get, she’s gonna try to take.”

You and JJ were lying on your bed, not having bothered to get changed before getting under the covers. You interlocked your fingers with his, snuggling closer, your eyes barely open. “What do you think Sarah did?”

JJ turned his head to look at you, he could tell it was tearing you up. “I… don’t know.” JJ sighed, defeated. “I’ve known Kie for years, and she’s never talked about it.”

“Sarah was super kind to me, I don’t understand why Kie is so against her. It’s so shitty, ‘cause they’re both my friends, and I want them to get on, but they obviously won’t.”

“They might?” JJ muttered, thinking.

“C’mon, Jay, you know it’s impossible. And I don’t even know what happened between them, so I can’t fix it.”

“You know it’s not up to you to fix it, right?”

“So why do I feel like I have to?”

“Because you’re an empathetic, kind, brilliant person?”

“Jay,” you groaned, as he kissed you, “Be serious!”

“I am.” he mumbled, kissing you again.

“You’re infuriating,” you giggled, “you know that?”

“It’s all part of my brand.”

“Your brand?”

“Oh yeah, super-hot surfer pogue, insanely funny, get’s the best weed on the island, you know, the usual.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“Hey! At least I have a brand!”

“Is that a comment aimed at me?” you mocked offence.

“I mean, your brand is ‘mysterious new girl’.”

“You think I’m mysterious?”

“I mean, yeah, none of us know, like, why you moved or anything about you.”

Your heart twinged, but you covered for yourself, mocking him, “It’s all part of my brand.”

“I’m sorry, you’re staying where?” Kie passed John B to get to the bar, the group having gathered in the Wreck.

“Tannyhill.” John B repeated, and you shook your head, disbelieving.

“So you’re living with Sarah Cameron?”

“Okay, look, the only reason I’m living there is because her dad bailed me out, right?”

“I still can’t believe you got pushed off that wooden frame thing.” You muttered, and he smirked, fighting down a laugh as you and Kie went to the group’s table.

“And it’s way better than foster care,” he continued, “which, by the way, where I was about to go if Ward didn’t-”

“Hey, so do you have membership to the clubs now?” Pope asked.

“I don’t know, Pope.”

“What about those little golf carts that they drive around?” JJ added, “You get one of them?”

“Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one of those on your own?” You add.

“Look, you promised.” Kie brought the focus back, like always. “You said you weren’t with her.”

“Bro, just own it.” JJ backed, “She got you.”

“Look if you wanna hang out with her, that’s fine.” Kie sighed, “I mean, Y/N sometimes hangs out with her. But I’m letting you know right now that I’m not doing anything with Sarah.”

“Do you guys see her here?” John B pointed out, “No, right. Okay. A little focus would be fantastic. We’ve got the map, right?”

“It’s all out of whack ‘cause the guy was ganja’d when he drew it.” JJ commented.

“No,” you corrected, “the coastline changed, dummy.”

“So we just have to look for landmarks that haven’t changed.” Pope clarified.

“What about the old forts?” John B suggested.

“You know, the more you guys talk, the more I realise that I know nothing about this island.” You observed, treasuring the feeling of JJ running a hand through your hair.

“Battery Jasper.” Kie pointed.

“Let’s go.” you stood up, leading the group out to the VW.

John B drove, none of you really paying attention until you reached the landmark.

The five of you looked out over the island, expansive green leading to expansive blue, you were at a high point. “We’re in battery, right here.” Pope points on the map. “So if this is parcel nine, then it’s somewhere northeast of here.”

“Somewhere over there.” Kie points, and you take JJ’s juul off him, taking a puff, then handing it back.

“Over there?” JJ followed the point. “Guys, that’s not Tannyhill, that’s a subdivision.”

“Tannyhill Plantation used to be the entire island.” reminded John B. “It got sold into smaller pieces over time.”

Pope inspected the map again, “So we’re just looking for an old stone wall.”

You ventured back to the Twinkie, following Pope’d instructions, again. John B took a sharp left, pulling up next to an overgrown stone wall.

“That looks like a stone wall to me.” JJ said, almost proud.

“This is it.” Pope confirmed. Your car doors clattered open as you hopped out of the car.

“Not the Crain House.” John B sighed.

“Are you kidding me?” Kie repeated the sentiment.

“Worst case scenario.” JJ confirmed.

“Why’d it have to be here of all places?” Pope asked.

“Hang on a second.” You turned to your friends, your lack of apprehension standing out in the group. “It’s just a house. What’s the big deal?”

“I heard Mrs Crain buried her husband’s head on the property.” JJ told you. You all looked at him, the other’s in fear, you in skepticism.

“Well that’s bullshit.” you shrugged, taking a hold of the top of the wall and pulling yourself up, throwing your legs over and landing in the overgrown thicket. You pricked yourself in the brambles, and swore. The pogues on the other side of the wall immediately started asking if you were okay, making you giggle. “Just be careful of the brambles.”

Once they were all on the inside, you began to venture inwards. “Look, Y/N, you know whose house this is, right?”

“Some old lady’s?” you guessed, and were greeted with four unimpressed stares.

“Honestly, I don’t really believe the stories of this place.” John B joined your skepticism, but was shushed by Pope.

“Which stories did you hear?” JJ asked Kie.

“The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she’s been holed up ever since.” said Kie, making you snort. “On certain nights, when the moon is full…”

You saw where it was going, and joined in with Kie’s mockingly spooky hand movements as she finished, “... you can see her in the window!” the pair of you giggled.

“No, girls, it’s not funny, ‘cause it’s all true.” JJ shook his head, as you and Kie made ‘Waah’ noises. “I swear to God guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis. Jeez!”

You smirked, “Yeah, jeez. Who knew you were superstitious? And who’s Hollis?”

“Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?” asked Pope.

“Who’s Hollis?” you repeated, ignored again.

“Yeah, dude.” JJ confirmed.

“Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?”

“Dude, who is Hollis Crain?” you mocked Pope’s anxious movements.

“She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it.” He looked around the group, “She told me the truth… about her mother and what happened in this house.”

“And what would that be?” You asked, still skeptical as you looked up to the unkempt house.

“So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn’t believe it. Until that night.”

“What night?”

“It all came back to her.” JJ turned to look at the house, “When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in the sink full of blood. Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlour constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she’s using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father’s head, looking straight back at her.”

“God, you are so full of shit.” you and John B outburst in unison.

“Dude, I swear to God, man.” JJ shook his head.

“Did she call the police?” Pope asked.

“She didn’t have time.” you and John B started to walk on, only to be grabbed and pulled back by JJ.

“What?” you asked, confused. He turned to John B.

“You sure you wanna do this? She’s an axe murderer. You got a cast on.”

“I don’t give a shit if she’s an axe murderer, okay? I got nothing to lose, right? You comin’, or what?”

You follow John B through the garden, and he gathers you in a semicircle. “So here’s the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark’s letter.”

“Okay, like, what kind of water?” asked Pope, “Like, pond water?”

JJ chuckled, “Bong water?” you slapped his arm lightly.

“It just said look for water, okay?”

“That’s the shittiest secret message ever.” Kie moved past John B.

“You wanna complain a little more, Kie? Nobody said it was gonna be easy.”

“I’ll search the northeast quadrant,” Pope started, addressing you and JJ, “you two search the northwest.”

“The decapitation quadrant?” JJ objected, and you took his arm, pulling him with you.

You scanned your area, coming up empty, then followed John B into the basement. You went in before JJ, who started singing a song about how Mrs Crain was going to kill you all.

You and Pope turned, shining your torches in his face.

“Can you stop?” You hissed, and he shut up.

You swung the torch light over the room, the broken and discarded furniture giving the room a horror-movie vibe. You’d never admit it, but you were beginning to feel creeped.

“This is the part of the movie where we get attacked by the old, half-dead blind lady.” You muttered, and JJ nodded, gesturing to you as if you had predicted the future, the others rolling their eyes.

“See any water?” Kie asked, five torches sweeping around the place. You felt a tickle on your arm and slapped, your palm coming away with the brown stain of squished insect. “Another dead end?”

JJ ran his hand on the pipes, “There’s not even water on the pipes.”

“There’s no water here.” Pope confirmed as you slapped another bug, noticing that it was a mosquito.

“Not a dropamino.” JJ continued.

“Know why we didn’t find it?” Kie piped up, “Bad karma.”

“Oh, God, here we go.” John B muttered.

“You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and now the trail’s gone dry.”

“Literally,” smirked, “there’s no water.”

“Coincidence?” Kie continued as Pope and JJ sniggered, “Probably not.”

“This is exactly why I didn’t wanna tell you about Sarah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell’s the deal? What’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?”

Your eyes widened, your mouth forming a little ‘o’ as Kiara slapped him, JJ and Pope both calling out in surprise.

“Stop treating me like I’m some girl that’s obsessed with you instead of your best friend who’s actually trying to look out for you.”

The pair of them started bickering, slapping each other, using skeeters as excuses. You slapped your leg, seeing the brown stain of a mosquito, again.

“Why the fuck are there so many mosquitoes?” you fumed, slapping yourself again.

“Dude, I know, seriously. Tiny little vampire bats, just leave me alone.” JJ added, the pair of you slapping again, and again, and again. “Oh my gosh, can we leave? ‘Cause I’m already itchin’ to leave. Haha, punny.”

You looked at Pope, who was staring at the floor, his torch shining over it. You both stomped on the ground hearing the hollow sound as JJ tried to show you ‘Mrs Crain’s voodoo doll’. You picked up a stone, dropping it through the crack in the floorboards, and hearing the ‘plop’ as it landed in water. You and Pope scrambled, pushing the loose bits of wood out of the way to lift the board, opening up the well. Pope shone his torch down.

“Well, well, well.” he joked.

“Water great discovery.” You added.

“Great dad jokes, guys.” John B sighed.

“They built this part of the house right over it.”said Kie.

“This is where she hid the bodies.” JJ nodded.

“JJ, just stop.” You shook your head.

“No, I’m dead serious.”

“Yeah, you will be, because I’m seriously considering pushing you down that well.”

“It was never an outhouse.” JJ continued.

“She probably doesn’t even know it’s here.” Kie shrugged.

“So, we found water.” Pope looked to John B.

“We’re gonna need a really big rope.”

Tags: @tangledinsparkles @jellyfishbeansontoast @lolitstiana @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @teamnick @thoughtsofthestars @obxmxybxnk @jjmaybankswife @kaelyn-lobrutto24 @sxcretinhuman @alexa-playafricabytoto @angvelics @badwolf00593 @coloradogirl07 @mendesmaybank @jiaraendgame

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collectsfallenstars · 5 years ago

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Gravity: A Summary of the Development of Jeong TaeEul’s Feelings for Lee Gon in “The King: Eternal Monarch (Part 3 of 3)

EPISODE 7

Back in her world, Jeong Tae-eul plunges into another murder case while still working on her last one. Days, possibly weeks pass without any word from Lee Gon. This is a long distance relationship taken to the extreme, without the comforts of technology to ease the longing. Thankfully, she is kept busy by her work. However, during a quiet night at the precinct while filling out a form, she remembers their first meeting. She smiles and pulls out his old file. It gives her a thrill to see “Name: Unknown, Date of Birth: Unknown, Address: Unkown, Contact: Unknown” because now, she knows all the answer to them. She even tries to fill it out using his name, Lee Gon. She is affirming his existence, and it is now precious to her. This is her missing him.

And then she deletes his file. This is her going from soft and then back to her hard exterior. And Kim Goeun is absolutely wonderful here with the camera up close to her face, catching the minute her soft eyes turn sad, and then hard while she grits her teeth ever so lightly before pressing her lips in a tight line. Jeong Tae-eul is all in in this relationship yes, but she’s still a pragmatist and hasn’t forgotten that they belong to different worlds. And she is bracing herself for the tragedy she senses is just around the corner.

When he returns to her, she realizes how intense her feelings have become after their separation.

“HOW HAVE YOU BEEN? HAVE YOU BEEN WAITING FOR ME?”

She smiles at him when he asks how she’s been. The moment Lee Gon asks her if she waited for him, she gives him a different smile, a sadder one. It was probably the exact moment when she realized she had been waiting for him. And waiting for him meant she had been missing him all this time. She probably never had time to think about it because she had been so busy with murder investigations in her world, and trying to solve the mystery of the unexplainable recordings she suspected was from his world. And when she did have time to think of him, like that time in the precinct with his file, she would only allow herself a few moment of happiness, and them push them down.

So this is what it has come down to. I hear a lot of people saying she went from hating him to suddenly running into his arms. That isn’t the case as you can see. All the development happened beneath the surface, behind the words that they were saying to each other.

After their reunion, they go on their fantasy everyday, normal life of a couple. The have dinner, they have couple phones, they hold hands, they walk with his arm around her, she winds a teddy bear/stuffed lion for him in a shooting gallery – essentially, a date like normal couples do. This is them stealing moments in time.

As Lee Gon says on that fake phone call,

“I ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY THIS WITH YOU. CALL YOU ON THE PHONE. ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR DAY. TELL YOU I MISSED YOU.”

This is them trying to cram in whatever happiness and sweetness they can to make whatever fate has in store for them a little more bearable.

Keep in mind that although this was Jeong Tae-eul showing her softer side, she was still very much like herself. She didn’t turn into a mindless, giggly little doll. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to show it. She got them the couple phones. They went on a date that she thought of. She won the stuffed animal. She was the one who promised him the moon and stars if he asked them. This is not typical k-drama female lead and it is very exciting to have an alternative image of femininity. It’s a good thing Lee Gon’s ego is as big as it is, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to handle someone like Tae-eul.

But in true Jeong Tae-eul fashion, she moves from cool/sweet soft girlfriend to business-like detective. She tells him she had been waiting for him as herself, but half of it she waited as her detective self. They go back to her house and exchange information on their respective cases. And he shares his theory that his power hungry uncle, Lee Lim, has been hiding in her world and building an army. She confirms that a recording from one of her dead bodies is from his world. They agree to cooperate with each other for the sake of both their cases. Now, when Lee Gon notes that this investigation will take her to even more dangerous ground now that they know it involves his world as well and Tae-eul replies,

“THIS WAS MY CASE BEFORE I EVEN MET YOU,” it does three things.

One, it reinforces the idea of fate. Their first meeting at Gwanghwamun Square was not where they first began. Things have been going on in both their lives that wound up putting them in each others’ paths long before they even met. As I said in a previous video of mine, that short meeting on the last 6 minutes of the first episode was deliberately put in last to show how the events of both their worlds have resulted in their fated meeting that night. Everything that happened to them had to happen so that they would meet each other. And it’s the same for Tae-eul with all the cases she had been getting before even meeting Lee Gon.

Second, and makes her realize that her murder investigation and his investigation into the treachery and treason of his uncle are inevitably tied to each other, the way she and Lee Gon are tied to each other. They are each others’ answers to the mysteries they’re trying to solve. As Lee Gon said before, there must be a simple and beautiful formula for how she was involved in saving his life but he is sure that she’s the answer he has been looking for. In the same manner, she could never solve the murders that have been falling into her lap without him and his world. He is also the answer to all the mysteries she is trying to solve.

Which brings us to the third point. Her murder investigation and the evil plot his treasonous uncle are a mirror of their relationship. And this realization plays an important part on why she told him she loved him in the very next episode. When Tae-eul spoke of the dead bodies in her world coming from his world,

“THE TWO WORLDS SHOULDN’T GET MIXED UP LIKE THIS. THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO STAY ON THEIR RESPECTIVE PATHS. BUT, THE TWO WORLDS ARE ALREADY COLLIDING AND I’VE DISCOVERED IT. SO WHAT ELSE COULD I DO? I DECIDED TO INVESTIGATE. I’M A POLICE OFFICER OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA.”

she might as well have been talking about the two of them. This is very much a reflection of what she thinks about their relationship. It shouldn’t be happening. But it did. Like all the cross-world murders falling on her lap that she has to solve. In the same manner that she can’t ignore them because it’s her job to solve them, she also can’t ignore this thing she has with Lee Gon. Call it fate, destiny, gravity. But there it is. She’s a detective, she will solve murders, no matter how dangerous they become. She is Jeong Tae-eul and she will love Lee Gon, because she is who she is. She is someone who would choose to love him, no matter how difficult things could get. But then, she ends the statement with,

“I AM A POLICE OFFICER OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA.”

This is the equivalent of her seeing Lee Gon in his navy uniform with his imperial robes behind him. She is reminding him that she is still planted firmly in her world, with her own responsibilities. They may not be as big as his, but they’re just as important. She can’t just leave everything and go live with him in his world.

As they enter into a new phase in their relationship, they are now faced with this conflict. Neither of them can just up and leave their world. So they made rules for each other, 2 from Lee Gon, and 17 and pending for Jeong Tae-eul, as a way to bargain with the universe. They’re trying to right the wrongs that have happened prior to them meeting. The only thing they’re asking is that the universe would let them them be together, for now.

The very fact that Lee Gon had only 2 rules and they were what they were is significant, and kind of true to their character. His two rules mean that his solution to their situation is to continue going back and forth between the two worlds. It would be this decision that will be challenged much later I suppose, when the gateway to both dimensions would eventually crack. But as for now, he has decided to split his world into two, a world of responsibility in the Kingdom of Corea, and the world where his only dream and desire resides, Republic of Korea where Jeong Tae-eul is.

Jeong Tae-eul plays it loose by beginning with 5 rules and a pending 13 more, making it up as she goes along. And that’s essentially how she has always been since the beginning of the series. She starts with what she can confirm, what she can believe, and then change by adding or taking from it with every new information she gets as she goes along, just as what she did with Lee Gon. Her route to a decision is circuitous, while Lee Gon’s is a straight line.

At this point, they’ve already solidified their relationship AND their plans to investigate murders and treason. And neither of them have told each other that they love each other. Which bring us to the next episode.

EPISODE 8

They begin to share less screen time here as the reality of their two worlds and Lee Lim’s plans begin catching up to them. More of Lee Lim’s plot is revealed. Jeong Tae-eul slowly begins to unravel their cases. There is no time to cross worlds to go on dates. And I suppose this is one of the major complaints of people – that they don’t spend enough time with each other. At least long enough to give us heart fluttering moments.

Well, the thing is, two parallel worlds are about to collide into each other, there’s a barrier between worlds that freezes time on both sides in the number or seconds of frozen time keep rising, and in the meantime, people are disappearing and getting murdered. We have here two characters who aren’t free to go on dates and flirt whenever they want. You know, like actual adults with real world responsibilities.

But they have done the essentials of a relationship without even doing much of that. They’ve learned each other’s way of thinking and haven’t tried to change each other. They’ve learned how to empathize with each other, which wasn’t that hard considering they’re both emotionally strong people. They’ve gotten to know each other. She knows of his traumatic past that has shaped the kind of king he is now. He knows of her girlhood dreams that have shaped the kind of detective she is now.

They’ve opened their eyes and assessed their impossible situation. They reacted differently, talked it out, and arrived at the conclusion that decisions about the two of them should be made together. They were able to do all that without going on “normal” dates.

She acknowledges how they have done everything in reverse, skipping over some parts and getting right to the nitty-gritty of a relationship that challenges the rules of the universe without even saying things to each other. That’s why she’s now backtracking, and trying to do things properly.

“IN THE BEGINNING, YOU ASK ABOUT EVERYTHING. WE JUST SKIPPED TOO MANY THINGS.”

The only thing left to do, really, is to make it official. To say the words. And even that feels anti-climactic, knowing that everything she has shown him surely let him know how she feels already. And even if he hadn’t literally said the words I love you to her, his entire existence and crossing over to her world was an entire love letter to her. So she knew it was her who had to say it first, just to be as clear, as he always had been with her.

And ultimately, this is what attracts me to her as a viewer. She’s a strong-willed, independent, no nonsense woman. And she’s the same, even in matters of love. She doesn’t suddenly turn into a blushing 13 year old who doesn’t know what to with her feelings. She had doubts about Lee Gon even if something was brewing between them. When the doubts were are dispelled, she dealt with how she felt with him. And when she understood that she loved him, whether by fate or her own decision, she told him. There was no teenage angst of wondering who should say it first, no annoying ancient mindfucks of men should always do the chasing. True to her form and character, Jeong Tae-eul felt it, so then she had to say it. It was that simple. Their situation was complicated enough. There was no need to

So she goes to see him before a stake out on a beautiful sunlit afternoon. There’s nothing more poignant than verbalizing a hopeless love with a slowly setting sun in the background.

She begins it with a string of questions of “What if”? It is her way of questioning the role of human choices when fate is at play. Lee Gon insists that no matter what she would have done, he would still have fallen in love with her. It was his fate to love her. It mirrors what she’s thinking in the voice over that would come next.

She had tried to deny the existence of his world, his feelings for her, and his own very existence. They had all turned out to be true and she had found herself unexplainably drawn into his life. And she couldn’t pull away, even if she had tried. So she had arrived at the same conclusion as well. It was also her fate to love him.

“IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO REALIZE THIS. WHEN IT’S FATE, THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES. YOUR FATE IS DETERMINED BY THE CHOICES YOU MAKE, BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOUR FATE CHOOSES YOU.”

And the thing is, she has never lost track of how dire their circumstances are. She’s fallen in love with her eyes wide open. That’s why, as she walked back to her car, her internal monologue ran,

“THINGS THAT ARE BOUND TO HAPPEN ARE TAKING PLACE EVEN AT THIS MOMENT. I WAS STRUCK WITH A SAD PREMONITION THAT THIS WILL BE SHORT-LIVED, BUT I DECIDED TO LOVE MY FATE THAT CHOSE ME.”

This gut feeling that she has about their love being short-lived didn’t come out of nowhere. Once the murders and treason are solved, they would have to go back to their own lives and worlds, if they don’t die while trying to solve them. At this point in time, she knows she won’t leave her world, and he won’t leave his. She knows heartbreak is waiting for her. And the audience knows too, that if one of them do decide to give up their world, it will create ripples in both timelines, which will no doubt affect them. At every turn, there is heartbreak waiting for them.

That’s why she told him she loved him. She knows every moment they spend could be their last and what was the point of feeling all that love, if she wasn’t going to say it out loud? So, she said it. In the most unromantic tone possible.

“I LOVE YOU.”

And then, Paul Kim’s “Dream” swells in the background. The first two lines say it all, “You are my dream. You are my love.” Because for the longest time, she was all he ever dreamed about. And here she was, finally, telling him and showing him that in loving him, she was surrendering to her fate. But in choosing to surrender to it, she also makes it clear, that it was also a decision on her part.

It took 8 episodes to hand him this gift in small, measly little parts. Theirs was never going to be a love with murder in the background to prevent people from being saturated with sweetness. Theirs was a love that had to bloom in the dark. Their love had to find little spaces in between murders, parallel worlds, and evil plots. The long wait between encounters gives them a sense of urgency, allowing them to dispose of games people play in love and just simply be loving towards each while dead bodies pile up and gateways to other worlds collapse around them. It was an optimal situation for two people who speak plainly, who say what they want to say and mean it. No words are wasted between the two them. Because if their fate is to steal moments in time for them to be together, then there’s really no point

in playing games, pretending to be coy, giving chase, and other expected k-drama behavior between couples. It was also never a journey about discovering how they fell in love with each other and realizing that they were in love. It’s going to be about finding that love and what they’re going to do with it, when murder, treason, an ambitious Prime Minister, powerful magical flutes, parallel worlds, and time challenge that love.

That’s why the love confession happens early on in the middle of the series. The next 8 episodes would then be used to hammer at that love, testing how far it can go and how much it can withstand.

Hopefully, this helps those who are still confused as to how Jeong TaeEul’s character develops romantic feelings for Lee Gon and why she had to verbalize them on the 8th episode.

#the king eternal monarch #jeongtaeeul #jeong tae eul #leegon #lee gon #kimgoeun #kim go eun #leeminho #lee min ho #kim eun sook #kdrama

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anxiouslowercase · 4 years ago

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dancing on the kitchen’s tiles

fandom: dc comics warning: none summary: at their sleepover-that-is-totally-not-a-date, jon learns that billy does not know how to slow dance. thankfully for him, he’s ready to fix that right away. notes: yes, another rare pair; no, i do not regret it. this prompt was picked from this list with the help of the always lovely @achinghcarts ! thank you so much for your help and support always!

Jon Kent, who so far had been eating the remaining cake batter from the bowl, letting his feet dangle gently from where he's sitting on the counter, freezes in place as he looks at the other boy's face. The spoon hangs comically from his lips, content probably already eaten but feeling too shocked to bring himself to put the utensil down. In front of him, Billy Batson smiles a mix between sheepish and endeared, arms crossed as he leans against the breakfast table.

“Are you serious? Like, for real?” Without changing his expression, Billy shakes his head. “Not even, like, for fun? As you watched movies?”

“There's not a lot of slow dancing in the movies I've watched,” is his excuse, and that seems to be enough to put the half kryptionian back in motion.

He drops the spoon on the already scrapped clean bowl and leaves it on the sink, quickly jumping down from the counter. The other boy straightens up, a slightly confused frown appearing on his face.

It had all started with Jon telling him about how he'd come back from patrol a bit earlier than usual and had caught his parents laughing and slow dancing all along the living room and the hallway. He'd made fun of Clark because he looked not nearly as smooth as the people on TV and even Tim was much better at it (which he knew because he had accidentally spied on them, but it was so accidental Billy it really shouldn't even count as spying) and, honestly, who could not know how to slow dance? And, it turns out, his boyfriend-not-boyfriend didn't, in fact, know. Jon was appalled to say the least because how was that even possible.

“We're fixing that right now,” he finally says, responding to the unsaid question on the older boy's face, as he makes a bee line for his phone.

“How come it's something to fix?” A soft smile inevitably comes back to his lips as he turns to look at the youngest Kent because dang he's cute. “People like me make people like your dad look better, you know.”

“But you are better than my dad,” is his whole explanation. “Have you seen The Lion King?” At the confused nod, he grins. “Great, so you already know the song, we're halfway there.” And just as he's done talking, the first few notes of a song Billy can't quite place right away start coming out of the speaker. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit nervous when Jon started making his way back to him.

“We really don't have to do th--”

“It's actually kind of fun,” the half kryptionian cuts him off, gently grabbing his wrist and pulling him away from the table. “And we can keep talking and it's not like we're doing anything more interesting.” And Billy was ready to point out that they could always just put a timer on their cake and go watch TV or play some videogames, when the cheeks of the boy he was stupidly crushing on turns a pretty shade of pink, one that almost right away makes him forget what he planned on saying. Jon, on the other hand, looks down. “A-and... Maybe I want to. Do it.” He clears his throat. “It's... It's like a moment. F-for couples a-and... Future. Couples.” The blush extends a bit further up his face and, really, what was the Phyllis boy to do but just smile (and maybe melt a little)?

“... You want to have a... Couple moment? With me?” His voice is slow, gentle, and sounds way more in control and collected than how he actually feels. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he seems to be able to conjure up an image of two lions in love as the music continues - go figure.

“Is that weird? Or bad?” Jon asks, suddenly shy. With a soft smile, the other boy shakes his head and uncrosses his arms, showing his open palms up towards him.

“You're the boss.”

It could be the act of trust, or how he didn't belittle his opinion, or just how he didn't start complaining when it came to doing something silly that *he* wanted. Or maybe it could be because he'd noticed he really liked Billy, and the fact that he'd basically said yes to having a cheesy, couple-y moment with him had his stomach doing flips. And maybe Jon was a textbook hopeless romantic. Whatever the case, it doesn't even take a second for a grin to paint his face.

Hoping for his palms not to be too sweaty, the half kryptionian takes the other boy's hands and doing his best to pretend he is not shaking in both nerves and anticipation, he guides one of them to his waist and keeps the other on his. Timidly, he takes half a step closer (yet refuses to look past his chin because... Because... Well, he isn't sure, but probably because his heart feels a little weird right now as it is.)

“Right, so... So you can keep your hand there and--” he swallows. “I'll keep... We can keep the other one up here, and...” His gaze falls to their feet, and he takes small steps to move them to a nearby spot in which they won't collide against a chair, for that would definitely take from the charm of it. “And now we just... I mean, my mum taught me how to count for... For the waltz? B--”

“Is this a waltz?” It's funny, because Billy's voice is nothing short of a whisper, yet it somehow manages to startle him. And so his eyes immediately move up and he is already looking at him and... And could it be, that his gaze is just as soft as his voice? Is that too cheesy?

He can feel the warmth spreading on his cheeks and slightly down his neck, and though it is a sort of reassurance to see that the other boy's face is also lightly flushed, Jon still finds that his mouth opens without any real sound coming out of it. Which is so stupid. He quickly snaps it shut, but that doesn't make is less difficult to come up with a sensible reply. And so, just as stupidly, he shrugs.

“Maybe not.” Billy just hums, contemplative yet not quite looking away, and the younger boy fidgets. “R-right, so... So then you can--” he brings the hand that was on his to his waist, and then puts his on his other shoulder. “And I do this and... We can just sway.”

“... Just sway?” There's a hint of amusement in the Phyllis boy's voice, but he still starts moving very slowly - though hardly on time with the music. “This is all there is to the great art of slow dancing?” The teasing note seems yo be enough to make Jon's shoulders relax (which he didn't know were so tense, to be honest) and he even manages to roll his eyes - though he does try to guide the other into a more rhythmic movement.

“You still have to... Let the music guide you - which you're not doing.” Billy chuckles, and he can't help but smile a little. “And my parents say it's not just the dancing, or how you do it - it's the whole experience that counts.”

“How so?” The older boy asks, head tilting to the side as his hands wrap a little bit tighter around the other's waist; he doesn't seem to notice.

“It's also the song, and where you are and who you're dancing with. Mom says that even if your partner steps on you during most of the dance, it can still be the most special one, cause it's...”

He trails off, palms already getting sweaty again because maybe his explanation is being too cheesy and he's making this moment too much of a moment and they were just supposed to be making a cake for their middle-of-the-night snack but now they're too close and he can feel the love tonight, mister Elton John, he really can, but can he?

And maybe the question is too evident on his face, or maybe Billy is also going through a similar thinking process, because he smiles a bit more confident and nods, fixing his eyes on his.

“Cause it's you. And us.” Dear Rao please don't have his father checking on his heartbeat because he's pretty sure he's going into cardiac arrest. “I get it.”

“... You do?” He nods again, and now Jon can feel the warmth going all the way down his chest, too.

“I would've tried this much sooner if I'd known I'd get this moment with you.” Now he's definitely going into cardiac arrest.

And the thing with Billy is that they have been toeing the line here and there for a while now. They've gone on dates that aren't quite dates, and they have hold hands without really putting a name on anything, and they have made comments that, according to Maya, are a way too clear indicator that they both want to keep moving forward. But that's all there is, they've both been respectful and quite timid about taking steps - or at least they had been until now, because before he can fully process the moment itself, Jon's mouth runs without his permission and softly blurts out:

“Hey, can I kiss you?”

For a second that is way too long, if the half kryptionian has any saying on it, there's only silence except for the music still playing from the phone. And, to be completely honest, he does have the knee-jerk reaction of pulling away because what if he went too far? But, thankfully, before he can actually move, Billy smiles and hugs him just a tiny bit closer.

“I'd like that, yeah.”

#jon kent #billy batson #billyjon #superboy #shazam #we stan rareships in this account #ch.: jon kent #ch.: billy batson #r.: billy and jon

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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The Mitchells vs. the Machines Is Next Step in American Animated Movies

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

While watching The Mitchells vs. the Machines, I was reminded of a recent trend in animated movies, which is the growing need to make environments look realistic. Technology has increased to the point that animation can almost appear photorealistic. Even if an animated film has characters with exaggerated features, the “realness” of the rest of the film’s production design is often touted as a selling point. Both Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Raya and the Last Dragon and Pixar’s Toy Story 4 leaned into a grounded aesthetic, and many others wear “realism” as a badge of pride in their animation.

It should be said there’s nothing wrong with realism, but the focus on this style by many has severely restrained what animation can do. Disney can pour millions into making the CGI of The Lion King look so real it can be called “live-action,” but the great thing about animation is that it can be anything.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a fantastic example of what animation can do with its stylized look, pushing what animation is capable of. That film expanded the boundaries in terms of how a film can be animated. Now Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a high-energy exploration of the ground Spider-Verse broke.

That shouldn’t be an entire surprise. The team behind Spider-Verse (including producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller) have taken what they learned there and applied it to Mitchells. Spider-Verse was of course as much an experience as an animated movie, but Mithcells builds off that without the constraints of being tied to a well-established franchise.

Quite simply, one of the many reasons The Mitchells vs. the Machines works so well is because it doesn’t bother to “look” real. It knows it’s an animated film and plays it up. This isn’t just seen in the backgrounds or character designs, but it’s in the very energy of the film. Instead of scenes playing out like you might see in live-action, Mitchells makes heavy use of on screen text, graphics, and even two-dimensional animation.

At first, all of this style seems contained within the films made by lead character Katie, who’s getting prepped to leave for film school in LA. Her wacky and zany films (one called “Dog Cop” is a particular highlight) make use of various kinds of animation and help to set -p her personality.

However, as the film goes, it throws in as much off-the-wall animation as it can. When Katie’s father, Rick, decides to drive her across the country to college along with the rest of the family, clouds form over Katie’s head but they’re made to look like a marker drawing. And when the robotic apocalypse begins, and the titular titular machines attack, Katie comes up with a plan to save humanity. The inside of her notebook not only keeps the marker look of the cloud from earlier, but we also see 2D animation of her family as Mad Max style warriors. The film even uses live-action mixed with the 3D animation.

The way the film mixes so many styles and aesthetics is a breath of fresh air. You can feel the team behind it having so much fun just tossing in whatever style would make a certain scene work. The main bulk of the movie is 3D, but it has enough other kinds of animation to really make it something unique.

The film also delights in color. Whereas many films these days (both animation and live-action) emphasize desaturated colors, Mitchells vs. the Machines is filled with a bright spectrum that explodes off the screen. It makes the world much more open and inviting, rather than depressingly cold.

Everything from the Mitchell’s house to the Machines’ lair is a feast for the eyes. Anytime I had to pause the movie, it became a gorgeous, often funny, painting. This is the sort of film animation buffs will be studying frame by frame for years. Both for how color is used to convey the plot and emotions and to find all the little subtle jokes strewn about.

The most “realistic” thing that’s animated in the film is a giant Furby (shown in the trailer), and the intense realism of it is used to absolutely astonishing comedic brilliance.

The overall effect can be a bit over-stimulation, and you occasionally wish the movie would slow down just a bit so you can catch all the little touches. But then that’s what’ll make this movie well worth a rewatch in the future.

Of course the movie is technically and artistically a triumph but all of that would fall flat if the movie’s story wasn’t up to par, and I’m delighted to say that the visuals only enhance what is already a powerful story. The Mitchell family is weird and awkward, and all the kind of odd quirks that feel intensely specific and yet very relatable.

All the beautiful animation springs from this story. This isn’t a film where they just wanted to show off the animation and the narrative was an afterthought. It’s used to get you closer to the emotions of the family. To get you comfortable in their world and get inside their heads in ways you just can’t do in live-action. This is a film that could not be made in live-action. This isn’t a modern Disney movie where future live-action adaptations are more than likely in the heads of executive’s as they greenlight new animated films.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines is a special film and one Hollywood needs more of (especially since it’s a big-budget non-franchise movie.) The animation sets a new standard for what animated films can be and do. If we’re going to pump hundreds of millions into animation, let’s allow more films to go wild with what can be done. Don’t hold back. Be weird.

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pls-let-me-out · 4 years ago

Text

Invisible string

Chapter 2, 19th of December

The only light in the room was coming from the embers in the fireplace. Red embers, and Will’s widened eyes. Nico startled.

Was it a vision? A trick of the light? No, Nico rubbed his eyes, and Will was still there, kneeling in front of him, with a blanket that went around his head, and fell over his shoulders like a knight’s cape. And he was staring right into Nico’s eyes, like a puppy who has broken its favorite toy.

Nico groaned. “What is it now?”

Will came even closer, and his words came out as a whisper, as though he was afraid of being overheard. Like he wasn’t the one who listened to other people’s conversations. “Don’t be too nice, I might get used to it. So, listen, you know how I said we should both sleep in the living room?”

How he could formulate such complex sentences at –what was it? One in the morning?– was far above Nico’s knowledge.

“Pretty sure I was there,” Nico replied, covering his face with his arm.

Will pulled Nico’s arm away, eliciting another groan from him. “So, do you remember?”

“Are you seriously asking–?”

“I think I’m about to shit myself.”

Nico stared at him, his lips tugged downwards, and his tiredness didn’t seem so important anymore. “I didn’t spend the afternoon showing you the house multiple times, so that you could remember where the toilet was, to just hold your hand and get you there myself in the middle of the night. I swear to God, I’m–”

“No! Not like that, I mean, figuratively. Like, I’m scared.”

“Scared.”

“There’s strange sounds in this place. Like, I was just minding my own business, and suddenly the floor creaked. What floor creaks? Why would it? Is this place haunted? If you brought me to a haunted chalet, I’m suing you! Suing you!”

Will was resting his forearms next to Nico’s chest, and for the first time, he noticed just how close they were. If he leaned forward, he could just grab Will by the ear, and pull him back to the other couch to sleep. Not doing it was costing him a lot of self-control.

“What do you want me to do? Call the ghost busters?” Nico thought that pulling the blanket over his head and curling on himself would just put an end to the discussion, but he had never met someone as uncaring toward social signals as Will.

“It’s the middle of the night, they wouldn’t even be open.” He pulled the blanket away. “Can we go upstairs?”

“I’m sleeping, just go if you want to.”

“Yes, because I want to take the stairs alone. I had to give myself a one hour long pep-talk before crossing the distance between that couch and this couch, and I had to crawl. Crawl!”

There was something Nico’s father often told him. ‘You are stubborn. It will make for an interesting king, seeing as you don’t ever want to bend’. Well. Nico wouldn’t bend. He knew it. Everyone knew he didn’t bend.

Then, Will’s voice came soft, little more than a whisper, as he slowly set his hand where Nico’s was, only the blanket dividing them.

“Please.”

Nico’s eyes opened. Will was still there, in front of him, with those bright, puppy-like eyes, and he was staring right at Nico. From the window behind him, the snow glowed white under the starlight.

“I know there’s only one bed, I’ll just sleep on the floor. Just –I don’t want to stay here.”

Nico sighed, but for an entirely different reason, even he couldn’t quite pin-point. “Alright. Let’s go.”

He already knew he wouldn’t let Will sleep on the floor. When they arrived upstairs, he just tugged Will to the bed, where they both laid.

Nico fell asleep as soon as he touched the mattress.

The second time Nico woke up, the sun was shining in the sky, and the bed where Will had slept was cold. Nico himself was in the middle of it, which was strange, considering he remembered falling asleep on the edge of the mattress.

Shaking the thought out of his head, he slipped from the covers. He put on another sweatshirt, one he was pretty sure his grandmother had knitted for him.

Will was sitting at the head of the stairs, hugging his knees to his chest, and his expression light up when he saw Nico.

“I couldn’t find the kitchen!” he exclaimed, like it was something he was proud of.

Nico rubbed his ear. It was far too early in the morning for Will’s brightness. “Just snoop around next time. This place is yours too, now.”

It was something he said mostly to himself, he needed the reminder sometimes. With the constant, buzzing cheer around Will, it was hard to remember that he didn’t want to be there, he was forced to. What Nico really didn’t understand though, was why Will’s face fell so much when Nico said those words. After all, that was one of the pros. He was rich now, like filthy rich. So rich, every friend of his could be rich, too. Of course, that came to the price of being Nico’s soulmate. That wasn’t a path Nico wanted to go down, though. Not so early in the morning.

“Alright, let’s go eat,” Nico grumbled, stepping over Will to descend the stairs.

Will’s next words made him completely freeze.

“Wasn’t the fridge empty yesterday?”

Nico blinked. A strange thought wormed its way into his chest, but he pushed it away. “I mean, it’s always full of things.”

He could feel Will’s sharp eyes on the back of his head. “I take it you’ve never gone grocery shopping before.”

Nico fastened his steps, not at all worried. “I’m sure it’s full now.”

“Did you go grocery shopping while I was sleeping? Because otherwise you’ll just find it–don’t close the door in my face, you know I get easily lost!”

But Will’s anger was fast over, replaced by smugness, at the sight of the empty fridge staring back at Nico.

“Guess we’ll go grocery shopping, after all,” Will said.

“But that will take time, I’m hungry now.”

“Oh my God, you are adorable.” When Nico turned to glare at Will, he found him just staring back with those eyes wide open once again. “Come on, we’ll stop somewhere to get breakfast.”

The streets were packed with people, mostly tourists. Not many bothered to give them a second glance, but that was mostly thanks to the mix of low beanies and big scarves. Nico couldn’t bring himself to look at the people on the ski tracks, it would have just been a cruel reminder.

“Where do you want to go?” Will asked him. He seemed to like the city, or so Nico secretly hoped. He didn’t like the idea of boring Will to death. “Do they even sell Swiss chocolate here?”

Nico bit back a grin. “So that can be the first time you eat Swiss chocolate so close to Switzerland?”

“That’s very funny. I’ll let you know; I’ve been in Switzerland before. So keep your smugness down, fancy boy.”

The blush on Nico’s face was to blame completely on the cold. “Did you go with your parents? In Switzerland, I mean.”

Will scoffed in delight as he watched a woman put gloves on a little girl, no more than two years old. She caught Will’s eyes, and waved her hand. He winked back at her, making her giggle. “Yeah. We went there for my bro–for a birthday. I mostly stayed inside, though. I didn’t know how to ski, nor did I want to learn.”

Nico nodded. He ignored Will’s slip, he didn’t want to force details out of him. He’d understand Will’s need to keep things to himself, they didn’t owe anything to each other, after all. He pointed to a bar on the other side of the road.

“That’s where I usually go with Hazel. They are discreet.”

“Afraid people will take photos of you eating a croissant?”

Will had exaggerated the French pronounce so much, Nico couldn’t help a loud snort. In the back of his mind, he noticed how Will’s eyes lit up.

Inside the bar were enough people for the place to be filled with laughter and chatters. It was hot inside, and a nice smell of freshly baked goods filled Nico’s nostrils. Something bumped into his hand, and when he looked down, he realized it was Will’s own hand. Will, who was nodding toward a free table in the corner, far from the window. Though, when they sat there, Nico realized he could see the TV, and promptly froze, because as of that moment, there was a service about them.

Will followed Nico’s gaze, looking behind his shoulder.

“What do they say?” he asked, looking back at Nico. If only Nico were better at reading people… was it guilt written in his eyes? Did he have someone back at home, were they waiting for him?

“Nothing. Nothing much, they’re just showing our first meeting back at the palace.”

Will nodded. “Do they know we’re here?”

Nico took the scarf off his face, and brushed a hand through his hair. “I don’t think so. My parents made a statement, said we were taking some time off to privately get to know each other.” He shrugged. “No one thought we’d meet quite so soon, I guess. How did they even find you?”

This time, it was Will who shrugged. “A friend of mine is a YouTuber, there’s this scene from an old vlog, we were on his camper, it was after graduation. And I was sleeping, shirtless, he caught the mark in the frame. So, that’s how they got mine, I guess. It was an old video, though. How did they see yours?”

“My cousin Percy posted some pictures of our time in the military. In one of his I was in the back, shirtless.”

“Where’s yours?” Will asked, leaning forward on the table. His voice was so very soft in that moment. “Your mark.”

Nico put his hand on his heart, then trailed up. Just under his collarbone, a little to the left.

“Mine’s there, too, but on the back.”

“When did you get it?”

“Eleven. You?”

Nico opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by the waitress asking what they wanted. Nico ordered for both of them in Italian, and by the time the girl left –she couldn’t be older than Hazel�� the topic of their conversation changed. The closer the marks appeared on the body, the stronger the bond. Nico didn’t want to think about it.

“I’m just saying,” Will said, sometime later, when most of the people at the other tables had left and their spots filled by others. “That there’s no better love-trope than childhood best-friends to lovers, and the Lion King failed.”

Nico groaned. “We’ve been at this for an hour, it’s not Simba’s fault–”

“Of course it isn’t, he was a child! But the writers just have them running around, and suddenly they are in love?” Will looked like he’d just swallowed a whole lemon. “What even is that? Is it witchcraft?”

“They have known each other their whole childhood!”

“We have a very different conception of whole, darlin’. They have known each other long enough to sing one, and I mean one, song about how much Simba wanted his father to die so he could step up and take the throne–”

Nico swatted Will’s hand away from his face, his index finger had been once again waving in front of Nico’s face. “He didn’t know Mufasa would have to die!”

“That’s a hypothesis if I’ve ever heard one, and every single solution to every single issue in the American school system is a hypothesis–”

“What does that even mean, I’m–”

Will took one of the awful cookies they’d been gifted with their coffees, and stuffed it into Nico’s mouth. “Don’t interrupt me–”

Nico slumped back in the chair, a frown tugging his lips downwards. “You will never see the light of day again; I’m putting you in the fucking dungeons.”

“You dragged me to a haunted house, so that’s on you. What was I saying again?” He clasped his hands, attracting a few curious glances from the people around them. Nico sent them an apologetic look, but he couldn’t hide his amusement. “Oh, right! Simba’s sudden love. I mean, he just sees her and suddenly he’s in love? They just mistake past fondness for something more, that’s all I’m saying.”

“They have children together–”

“They are part of the same pack. There’s only one lion. They are half-siblings. And Simba takes after his father. He, too, is a whore, who sleeps with all the lionesses.”

Nico blinked, slowly. Will was unmoving, with his arms crossed on the chest, and his tongue sticking out of his left cheek.

“You–you know what? That’s all right.” Nico nodded, swallowing around a dry throat. “You are completely wrong, but I will let you have it.”

“I feel victorious.”

“You really have no reason to.”

Will’s lips turned into a white, thin, line, and he turned redder. Just as Nico started worrying that he was having an allergic reaction to something, Will fell forward on the table, his shoulders shaking as he laughed.

“We should get going, anyway,” Nico continued. “Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“I’m not the one who knows the city! What is even here to see? I saw a lake when we were arriving, are there ducks to feed?”

“You would come all the way to Europe to feed ducks?”

“I actually came here to marry you, but you do you.” Will’s eyes widened, Nico felt his own doing the same. Will coughed, drumming his fingers on the table. He didn’t look at Nico in the eyes.

“There’s actually a library down the road. You want to go there?”

Of course, Will couldn’t understand a single one of the book titles, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have fun. The Prince was bent forward, grabbing a book from what seemed like the most boring section of the library, but Will was no impartial judge.

“Is it just me or does that book seem very homoerotic?” Will asked, pointing to a book with a girl picking flowers.

The Prince stood in less than a second, flinching slightly, eyes widened. “Are you–?”

“Are you okay? Did you pull a muscle or something?” Will put a hand on the Prince’s forearm, but it was brushed off quickly. Will tried not to let it get to him, he was beginning to notice how little the Prince liked being touched.

“I’m fine. However, that’s a gardening book. Honestly, that’s a new kind of low even for you.”

Will stuck out his tongue at him. “Whatever. Are you buying that? What’s it called?”

“La collina dei conigli. Uh, the title is different in English. Like…?”

“Watership down.”

Both Will and Nico turned at the new voice. A man stared back at them. Man, he probably was around their age, and his English had an accent Will couldn’t quite place.

“I couldn’t help but hear you,” he said with a sheepish smile, shrugging one shoulder. “Sorry for intruding.”

Will spared a glance to the Prince, but he was just looking back at the man, seemingly at a loss for words, and his conversation with Hazel rang loudly in his ears, from his deepest memories.

‘Should you ever feel like he’s cold, you should check the YouTube compilation Prince Niccolò’s top 11 awkward moments. Believe me,’ she had squeezed his forearm. ‘It’ll make you feel better.’

Now, Will turned slowly toward the Prince, with both eyebrows raised.

“Oh, it’s no problem,” he told the man. “You’re helping us, so thank you.”

The silence turned awkward real fast. Will bumped his hand into the Prince’s.

“Oh, yes. Thank you,” the Prince said.

Why was he watching the man like a deer caught in the headlights? It took Will a few moments to remember that, just a day earlier, he had been at the other end of that gaze.

“I’m Will Solace!”

“Oh, uh, Paolo Montez.”

The Prince nodded even more awkwardly. “Niccolò.”

“Niccolò…?”

“Solace,” Will supplied. He sent Nico a sickeningly sweet smile, hoping he would be forgiven when he interlaced their fingers. “He still gets shy saying it.”

Paolo’s eyes filled with understanding. “Oh, I should have realized sooner! Congratulations!”

Will’s smile widened. With a twinge of guilt, he realized that Paolo was exactly the type of guy he’d get a crush for back in high school. He cleared his throat.

“Well, we’ll just go. You know, honeymoon business,” Will said. “Nice meeting you.”

Paolo responded, but Will had already dragged the Prince outside. The cool air kissed Will’s heated skin, making him shiver. For a moment, he wished he hadn’t fled so quickly.

“Are making a thief out of me?” the Prince asked, holding the book up. Then, he glanced down at their intertwined hands. “Will you ever let me go?”

Will let him go, and crossed his arms on the chest. “I’m not going back in.”

“I see. Wouldn’t want your crush to see you so flustered, would you, hubby?”

With a chuckle, the Prince turned back to the library, talking to himself in Italian. Would it be strange to ask the old woman with the Chihuahua to translate for him? Sighing, Will just waited.

“I’m sorry I grabbed your hand,” Will said, once they were walking to a restaurant. It was almost midday, and the Prince had promised to bring him to the Christmas market in the afternoon. “I noticed you don’t really like being touched, but it seemed like the best idea at the moment.”

The Prince shrugged. “I’m sorry I froze up. Sometimes I’m awkward.”

“Sometimes?” Will clicked his tongue. “Because I’ve heard it happened at least eleven times.”

The Prince stopped, raising the bookstore bag to his chest, his jaw opened so widely the scarf fell in his mouth. He sputtered it out, with an indignant scowl. Will felt the need to pinch his cheek, so badly his fingertips tingled.

“Did Hazel show you that?” The Prince asked. “I’m pretty sure she made it. She always brings it up.”

“I don’t know, I saw her struggling for half an hour with WhatsApp, searching for your father’s contact. She didn’t show me, though. She just told me to look it up.”

“I’ll try to be glad for that, but it’s really hard right now.”

“Oh my God, look there’s a little golden retriever! Isn’t it adorable?”

Before the Prince could stop him, Will was already halfway across the road, cooing at the puppy.

Will knelt on the ground, his hands buried deep in the puppy’s fur. The girl who held the leash looked up at Nico, a question clear in her eyes.

“Excuse him,” he said in Italian. “He gets excited easily when he sees dogs. I should probably get a leash form him, too.”

The girl laughed, but she was staring at them with eyes wide in wonder. “Are you that Prince?”

Nico’s eyes widened. Usually, children didn’t recognize him, and he was a bit rusty, to be honest. He hadn’t been under the spotlight for the past two years, he was out of shape with being recognized.

“Niccolò,” he said.

Will looked up, despite having missed the entirely of the speech. “I’m Will,” he said, beaming at the little girl. She couldn’t be older than eight.

“Emma,” she said, and when she continued in Italian, Will’s gaze turned confused, a little lost, but he didn’t drop it back to the dog. “I live there.” She pointed at one of the houses on the other side of the road.

“And where are your parents?” Nico asked.

She shrugged. “Home. I’m walking Stella.”

Nico pointed at the dog. “Stella?”

Emma nodded. Will looked up, and pointed at the dog again. “Stella?” Both Nico and the girl nodded, although Emma also giggled.

“You talk funny,” she said.

Nico translated for Will, a small grin on his face, before turning back to the girl. “It’s his accent. He comes from Texas, do you know where that is? It’s in America.”

“Why did he come here?” she asked.

“He’s my soulmate.”

“The TV said so, too! My parents are soulmates. Does he love you?”

Nico blinked, heat rose to his cheeks. “We’re getting to know each other.”

“But will he love you?”

Nico opened and closed his mouth, knowing he was gasping like a fish. Emma lowered her pink hat on her forehead, sniffling with her nose. Without a word, Will took a tissue from his pockets, and handed it to her.

“Do you parents know where you are?” Nico asked instead.

Emma nodded, and pointed toward the house again. “That’s my mom.”

Following her finger, Nico noticed a woman behind the window, with a mug in her hand, the other on her belly. She was pregnant.

Nico stood, fixing Emma’s hat on her head.

“Don’t get out of your mother’s sight. Oh, and don’t talk to strangers. Next time a stranger approaches you, let Stella bite them. Alright?”

Emma nodded. “I will!”

“See you around, then.”

“Wait! You are a prince.” She held out a gloved hand, with another giggle. “Shouldn’t you kiss my hand before going?”

Nico’s cheeks dusted in pink; Will rose from his feet beside him, still looking a little puzzled.

“You’re right,” Nico amended. “I can be a very forgetful prince.”

He bowed deeply, wondering what Emma’s mother was thinking about them. Did she think they were assaulters? He really hoped not to get followed by the police. But also, he hoped the mother didn’t trust strangers so close to her daughter.

“Will too!” She trilled, when they took a step forward.

Will, who had given her a wave and a wink, looked back at Nico. And so Nico translated.

Emma tugged Nico’s coat before letting them leave, only speaking when he bent down to hear her whispered words.

“You should make him fall in love with you.”

The hostess at the front of the restaurant brought them to the second floor, and gave them a table behind a black curtain. It took Nico probably more than socially acceptable to realize that Will wouldn’t understand a word of what was written.

“I honestly wouldn’t recognize them even if they were in English,” Will said, after Nico asked him if he needed a translation. “I’m sure you haven’t noticed, but I am, maybe, not in the same social class as princes.”

Nico shook his head. He never really knew what to respond to things like that. He had to admit that the trip was going well, at least now. They didn’t have many awkward silences, nor did they hate each other. Maybe Will hated him a bit, for everything he was taking. Sooner or later, they’d have to discuss about their bond.

“Can I ask you something?” Will suddenly asked, leaning forward on the table. “And if you say I already have, I’m going to throw a fit.”

“Well, that would be new. What’s it been?” Nico took his phone out of the pocket, checking the time. “Fifteen minutes since the last? A new record. You must have beaten every other toddler in the city.”

“You are so very funny, darlin’.” Will smiled at him from across the table, his freckles stretched on his nose and cheeks. “It’s just that I’ve seen a lot of guards around the palace, and we were escorted to the airport, but we’re here alone. I’m not complaining, far from it, but shouldn’t you always have a bodyguard? I thought that was just something princes did.”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, but other princes don’t have the same tricks as I do.”

He looked up at Nico. Back at his hip. Nico bit his lip to not burst out laughing.

“If you have a fucking gun, I swear I’m actually calling the police. Do you think it’s normal to go around with guns?” He hissed. His face turned red. He started waving his index in the air again. “If I wanted to feel threatened whenever I stepped out of the house, or god forbid that thing was actually under the same roof as me for all this time, I would have stayed in fucking Texas, with Johnny Red down the road from my house, with his cokes and the lined up bottle on the fence.”

Will breathed heavily, looking like he’d just run a marathon. He was waiting for Nico’s response, but when he received none, he passed his hands through his curly hair, messing them up even more.

“There were children downstairs! Children! And you are telling me you have a gun on you? With children in the building? God, oh my God. I know I said you were bad mannered, but that’s just terrible on a human level. Fuck.”

Nico couldn’t resist it anymore. He burst out laughing, throwing his head back, covering his mouth with his hands. He was hit by Will’s napkin, thrown right in his face.

“Don’t you dare, don’t you fucking dare!” Will exclaimed. He shook his head, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair. He shook his head again, making his curls bounce. “Stop laughing!”

“I don’t have a gun, Will,” Nico finally said. He took the small box from his belt, hidden by the long hoodie he was wearing. He left it on the table. “I thought they’d given you one, too. The Queen seems to think you are kind of a big deal, you know.”

Will poked at the box, a blush dusted his cheekbones. He looked at Nico through his eyelashes. “What is this thing? It–it doesn’t look like a gun.”

Of one thing, Nico was very sure: Will was far more than pretty.

“Maybe because it isn’t one. I appreciate your thoughts on gun control, though. It’s a, uh, I don’t really know how you call it in English. Safety box? Should I ever be in danger, I’ll press the little button in that box, and bodyguards and policemen will come fast. Real fast.”

“Oh my God. You’re right. They gave me one, told me it was to keep me safe, and I lost it. Oh God. How much does it even cost? I’m already bankrupt. Hell, I’m far over bankrupt. I’m so bankrupt I don’t actually own anything. I’m not even wearing my clothes! This is all yours. Oh, God.”

Nico froze, staring at the Will, who now had his head in his hands, half slumped on the chair, probably more on the floor. The waitress was coming over, Nico gestured for her to come later. How did he even comfort Will? He should have let the waitress come, and embarrass herself. Now he was going to embarrass himself. Fuck.

Nico cleared his throat. “Isn’t everyone a bit broke?”

Will looked up from his hands, furrowing his eyebrows. Then he looked down at Nico’s finger, where his black ring shone proud.

“Everyone else. Except for me. If, if you take me out of the picture, everyone is broke,” he said. “Maybe not other royals. Or movie stars. Except the ones on drug, they always become poor after a while. Many public figures actually seem rich, but they aren’t. They are middle class, at best!”

Will looked at Nico. He looked at him for a very long time. Long enough that Nico realized what he had said, and starting pulling at the collar of his sweatshirt.

“You are so clueless,” Will said, a smile tugged his lips upwards. “You are so clueless, it’s amazing.”

Nico blinked. “Have you ever been told you don’t know how to show gratitude?”

“Oh, you’re welcome. God, I’d pay golden –well, actually, I wouldn’t, as you now know I don’t possess any gold– but I’d really like to see you for even just a day in New York City. Like, it’s actually crazy how clueless you are.”

“It really sounds like an insult.”

Nico couldn’t find it in himself to be offended, though. Not when Will sat straighter in his chair, without hiding his face.

“I would never insult you, like you would never mock me. It’s a crazy thought, Your Highness.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that how you say it?”

“No, you say it in fancy. It’s Your Highness.”

“You said it like I did.”

“I really didn’t.” Nico bit his lips, but he couldn’t fight off a grin. “I said Your Highness. You said Your Highness.”

“Your Highness.”

“Your–you are mocking me again, aren’t you?”

Will didn’t look too annoyed when Nico bent over the table in laughter.

It was dark outside by the time they were back in the house. While the Prince tended to the fireplace, Will sat on the couch, the TV remote in his hands.

“So, I guess that’s a Smart TV, since you are the only not-broke person in the world,” Will said.

The Prince stilled, and looked at him from behind his shoulder. “What do you mean. What do you want to do.”

“I’m not Satan, stop treating me like that.” Will sighed, and took his knees up to his chest. “I just want to look into the last eleven awkward moments of your life.”

“I hate you.”

“Thanks, darlin’. Come here.”

Will made grabby hands at the Prince, until his hands were swatted away, though the Prince did sit, albeit with his hands crossed on the chest, and a frown marrying his features.

“Should we watch this?” Will asked, selecting a video from E!News, which talked about them.

The Prince shrugged. “If you want to know what’s happening with us, then I guess we could.”

It took Will less than a second to decide that he didn’t care about it all that much. However, he froze when he saw the video under that. It had more than three million views.

Apollo: between glory and reality. The trailer.

“You are a fan?” Nico asked, noticing where his gaze had fallen. “I met him once. He–he’s a bit full of himself, you know. He’s another one of the crazy rich people on Hearth.”

Will nodded, but his throat was completely dry. In the thumbnail of Apollo’s upcoming documentary, was a photo of his family, with a birthday cake in front of them. Without counting them, Will knew there are ten candles.

He put the remote back on the couch, and tried giving the Prince a smile.

“I forgot to–I forgot something. I’ll–I need to check it.”

Nico knocked on the bedroom door. It took Will a while to respond, long enough that Nico was sure he wouldn’t.

Will was sitting on the left side of the bed, where he had slept the night before. He had his knees up to his chest, and was hugging them tightly. Nico had thought he was calling someone, and that’s what was taking him so long, but his phone was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m ordering food,” Nico said. “What can I get for you? I don’t think there’s any Chinese restaurant around here. So…”

“Am I a bad med-student if I ask for pizza again?”

It was a strange sight. Will had looked so distressed just an hour ago, but now he was alright. All bouncy and himself again. Had Nico imagined his previous uneasiness? He was shitty at reading people and emotions, it wouldn’t be so strange. But Will was his soulmate, shouldn’t Nico understand him better than anyone else in the world? Hell, in the universe?

Nico nodded. “The worst, probably.”

“Well, then don’t snitch on me. So, can we get pizza?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Absolutely not.”

They ate pizza in bed. The smell of cheap pizza didn’t leave the room even when they opened the windows.

#riordanuniverse #solangelo #percy jackon and the olympians #nico di angelo #percy jackson #rick riordan #will solace #apollo #riordanverse #rickriordan #solangelo fic #solangelo au #solangelo fanfic

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livsdaya · 5 years ago

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Dance Party

Word Count: 1057

Summary: While your stuck in traffic a fan gets a video of you doing something Shawn finds adorable.

Warnings: Fluff overload

Requested: Nope!

Shawn smiled down at the text you sent him, glad that he had a little bit more time to set up the date he’d been planning. He was no stranger to long and hard days, but the difference between you and him was that he actually likes his job. You worked a job for some odd YouTubers and internet personalities, editing their Instagram pictures and their videos and whatnot. You were hoping it would lead to you being able to make your own videos, and maybe someday, if you played your cards right, a movie.

There was an accident and as a result you hadn’t moved twenty meters in the last hour. The entire freeway and all the exits were blocked up and it looked like you weren’t going to be getting home for at least another three hours.

You sighed and pressed your head against the steering wheel, the only noise other than the car engine being your breathing. Deciding the silence was deafening, you turned to your Siri. “Hey, Siri. Play morning playlist.”

Shawn loved constructing playlists for you, a mix of your favourites, his favourites and songs he knew you’d like. He made one ever special occasion; Valentine’s, Christmas, your birthday and your anniversary and you had twenty individual playlists for different things.

There was one for making breakfast, there was one full of sad songs because sometimes you decided to punish yourself and watch The Lion King, there were love songs that you insisted to your boyfriend were incredibly cheesy, but you secretly loved some of them.

The first song was one you’d insisted and, after many hours of badgering (and you bluffing that you knew how to create a joint playlist and just edit it yourself, you knew that was a thing, you just didn’t know how the hell it worked) he finally added it.

Shawn didn’t like adding his own songs to your playlists, because he never wanted to assume you liked them (which you did, every single one of them) and didn’t want to appear vain. But he had relented with this one, because he could tell how much you loved it.

As the build up to the song began, you just started to get absorbed in the music and soon found yourself belting out the song at the top of your lungs. “I can’t write one song that’s not about you, can’t drink without thinking about you, is it too late to tell you that everything means nothing if I can’t have you,”

Figuring you wouldn’t be moving any time soon you started dancing like a maniac and just letting go of all your problems and bad things that happened that day.

You noticed the traffic starting to speed up somewhat and smiled as it would probably only take thirty/forty minutes and you were just being a drama queen before. As a different Shawn song started up you smiled and texted him saying you would be home soon.

Shawn had left the pasta bake in the oven on low so it wouldn’t get too cold and he sat on the couch that you picked to scroll through Disney+ movies. You already had Netflix but you threatened to overload the bedroom with your extensive Disney memorabilia when you moved in so he relented and let you get Disney+. He wasn’t even paying for it, he just didn’t see the need for you to be throwing away your hard-earned money at the job you didn’t like just to be able to watch Tangled.

He picked up his phone to send you a text, just something small, an I-love-you or something similar and found himself overwhelmed with twitter notifications.

Everyone had been tagging him in something. Shawn sighed, shrugged and opened one of the videos. His face broke out in a grin as he saw you, still in your work clothes (which, considering your office was full of artists and techies, consisted of one of his pink tour hoodies and a pair of ripped light wash jeans) belting out one of his songs at full volume.

The video had been taken through an open car window (your window was broken and was permanently down on the left side of the car), presumably by one of his fans, which he could have considered creepy, but he honestly didn’t care as he saw just how adorable you were.

“That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” a female voice mumbled, presumably the person taking the video and it panned over to another girl driving the car.

The girl driving looked straight ahead as she smiled. “Keep her, Shawn. Please. Or else,” she added.

The video went back as Nervous began playing, but the song was barely on for ten seconds before it ended.

Shawn smiled to himself. You had always been his biggest fan and he loved you so much for that. He was always anxious sharing his music with you because, as much as you loved him, you would tell him when you didn’t like something.

As Shawn pulled out the food and started to set the table, he heard your car pull up. Straightening his shirt he went into the entryway and greeted you with a smile and a kiss as you walked through the door.

“Hello, gorgeous girl,” he took your bag and coat and put them on the rack.

“You either want something or did something stupid,” you narrowed your eyes at him. “Which is it?”

“Nothing,” You squinted at him. “I just want to show you how much I love you.”

Your shoulders relaxed as he hugged you from behind. Shawn kissed your neck and leaded you into the dining room. “You made dinner?” You asked as you sat down.

“Yeah, I had a rough day.”

“Wouldn’t that be more of a reason for me to make dinner?” You started to eat as Shawn took his seat.

“Well, my favourite thing to do is spoil you so I decided that tonight would be all about you.” Shawn said.

“Shawn, you don’t have to do that for me. I feel like I should be doing more for you.” You frowned.

“Really. The best thing you can do is eat my food no matter how gross it is and then sit on the couch and watch Tangled.”

“I love you, Shawn.”

#shawn #mendes #shawn mendes #shawn mendes one shot #Shawn Mendes Imagine #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes fluff

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thebraingremlinsaremad · 3 years ago

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Daily Blog #6: August 13, 2021

Okay, okay, I know it's a couples days later, but I can assure you that I did not forget; I purposefully, and kinda without a better option, didn't post on Friday, and you'll see why.

So the day started off pretty regularly: I got up, ate breakfast, got a shower, and then sat around playing games and watching YouTube for a bit.

That was until my friend showed up at my house...

He called me and said to come outside, so I did.

It wasn't long until I got into his car, and we started driving.

I definitely should have been more anxious or nervous heading out, but for some reason, I just sat there with my head absentmindedly poking out the window, not really thinking about it.

I really wish I had grasped the situation a little better.

We got down there after an hour and a half of driving and we parked a bit away because there were so many people there, so many people there, in fact, that we just got some food until it calmed down again.

It was gonna be a great fucking concert.

Hella Mega Tour 2021, originally supposed to be Hella Mega Tour 2020, but postponed for obvious reasons.

We shopped for a tiny bit beforehand, not buying anything, and then headed over to the stadium 45 minutes before the concert was set to start. We were let in about 10 minutes later, and we filled our contraband water bottles that we managed to hide on the way in.

We sat there for a bit, me just listening to music on my Redmi Buds 3 pro.

I love these things.

Pretty soon the music started, and it was The Interrupters; everyone was feeling pretty lazy for this bit.

It's not like they were bad or anything, they were actually pretty good, but I guess everyone was just getting situated and didn't wanna bother using up all of their energy lol.

So The Interrupters' set is up, and they tear down the stage and reset it. Before too terribly long, Weezer starts up, and there's a lot bigger reaction from the crowd than there was before: people knew the songs, like Africa, Buddy Holly, Beverly Hills, and Feels Like Summer to name a few.

I was getting into it a bit, I knew a good few of the songs, I was moving along, I sang a bit, took some video.

What's cool is that I could feel myself moving along the scale, like going from no excitement while no one was playing, then tapping my foot and grooving to The Interrupters.

When Weezer first came on, I was just sitting there like, "alright, this is good shit." Towards the end, I was quietly singing Buddy Holly, their last song for the night.

I say quietly because there was a lot more loudness to come.

I should add that, up until this point, the music had been kinda unbearably loud, the highs really piercing and hitting hard.

Additionally, up until this point, I had been trying my best to document the concert with videos and audio recordings; it wasn't so much about enjoying the concert, for I've always been taught just to record stuff and not worry about the concert.

I don't think I've ever really enjoyed any of the concerts I've ever been to; I was there, but I wasn't. I didn't really know too many of the songs, and I had only listened to the artists in passing, not to mention the fact that my mother had been at every other concert I've been to, which is stifling in itself. I really can't enjoy anything when she's around.

But here we were; it was starting to get dark, and Fall out Boy was coming onstage. The crowd was getting into it with Weezer, and it was time for Fall Out Boy. The energy here had far exceeded both Weezer and The Interrupters, and this went for me as well.

I was sitting there, singing along and still occasionally recording, but I didn't have my phone out too much. I started to dance in my seat with every song, for I knew almost every one: Sugar, We're Going Down, Centuries, My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy, The Last of the Real Ones, Save Rock And Roll, and Dance, Dance being a few.

Throughout this set, everyone was singing along, but the real fun had yet to begin; the scent of smoke from the flames and fireworks finding its way through the crowd, the music now strong instead of piercing, a sense of unity between everyone in this packed stadium, between people of all walks of life: men, women, children, transgender, cisgender, non-binary, gay, straight, lesbian, ace, black, white, Asian, Mexican, young, old, middle-aged, and everything in between and outside... It didn't matter who you were or where you came from; you were at a fucking party, and everyone was gonna fuck it up once the main act came on stage.

Meanwhile, everyone was more than happy to celebrate with Fall Out Boy and some of their greatest and most memorable tracks.

Part way through Fall Out Boy's set, I decided to get off of my ass and join the growing number of audience members who were really getting into the groove and feeling the music.

It was so close to becoming an explosion of energy once Fall Out Boy was about to leave the stage.

After they left, the set was torn down once again and set up for Green Day.

Their was a low mix of music playing through the speakers all the while things were being set up. Once the stage was set, the music continued for a bit, but was then cut and replaced with a voice and lyrics that everyone knew immediately.

"Is this the real life. Is this just fantasy."

The crowd sings along to every word.

"Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality."

Freddie's voice poured out into the crowd, and the crowd sang them right back.

"Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see"

The song continued, and the whole crowd sang to the very end.

This really goes to show how impactful some people and groups can be on our lives... Although no one at the show was connected to Queen or Freddie Mercury, everyone who came to see these 4 bands still knew this great group.

Once the song was over, a mix of some of the most famous rock anthems began to play:

"We will, we will rock you"

"I love rock and roll"

"Hey, Ho, let's go"

A glorious piece all lead up to the 4 running onstage, Billie Joe Armstrong, Jason White, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool, joined now by 2 new members, Jason Freese and Kevin Preston.

All at once, it was an explosion of strong and passionate guitar jamming, soon followed by the drums and vocals of American Idiot. All at once, the crowd was rocking along with bopping heads, stomping feet, and swaying bodies. I only had my phone out to record for a short moment before I put it away and scarcely removed it from my pants for the rest of the concert.

I couldn't help but feel cocky, as a bi/pansexual (idk which one lmao), being allowed to sing the line,

"Well maybe I'm the faggot America"

I was like, "You straight bastards better not be singing that line 🤣"

It was absolutely incredible; the crowd cheered passionately and wholeheartedly at the end of every song and solo, after every quote from the band.

The coolest part about the concert was the fact that everyone just lost themselves in the music, as well as that everyone, without hesitation, followed what Billie Joe said. He says jump? WE FUCKING JUMPED. He tells us to scream? We. Fucking. Screamed. And when he wanted us to sing, we sang. I mean, okay, we were singing the whole time xD. I'm sure we would've sang if he told us to and we weren't already doing so lmao. What he said was our law, and we were doing our jobs as the dutiful citizens of Suburbia by following those laws.

It really is hard to express the level of pure energy at this gathering, especially when it radiates from every point in the packed stadium.

I screamed so loud and hard, and sang so long and passionately, that my voice started to go. But. Guess. What.

When you're at a place like this, no matter what, you just have this insatiable urge to keep going no matter what. When my arm got tired of throwing my fist in the air, I kept fucking going and even used the other arm too.

It's such a strange feeling when you feel like you're about to give out, like your voice is gonna break, or you're gonna collapse from dehydration and exhaustion, but you find around you the strength and power to keep on going, no matter how quickly your vocal health deteriorates.

Ask my friend, I couldn't speak properly after that shit xD. He even threatened to send a video of me talking to my choral teacher, who honestly would have been mad at me lmao.

Meanwhile, Green Day is playing some of their greatest hits, old and new alike, and I knew every single fucking one of them. I sang every song, and only took a break between 2 of them to down my whole bottle of contraband water in 3 seconds flat.

At one point, the band stopped playing, and Billie spoke into the microphone.

"Get your pretty lights out. I wanna see the pretty lights."

Everyone got their phones out and turned the torches on, as per his command.

"Turn the house lights off."

The lights go off, and the stadium is lit up almost as bright as it had been before, but this time with the lights of thousands.

"Look at that."

It was honestly an incredible moment.

That brings me to another point: when you go to a concert, you're not just paying for the music, you're not just paying to see a band, you're paying for an experience.

Let me tell you, this was one hell of an experience.

If you don't leave a concert feeling fulfilled, then the performers didn't do their job of giving you the experience that you paid to be a part of. I'm so happy that these four bands, especially Green Day, were able to deliver.

I really did love every moment of that show, which is such a rarity for me. I'm really happy that my friend took my mother's place. I can't fucking enjoy everything when she's around.

Oh yes, it wouldn't be one of my daily blogs without me talking about how my mother consistently pisses me off. Don't worry, I have some happy shit left to end on.

I swear to fluff though, she always manages to ruin everything for me. When we went to see The Lion King on Broadway, she insisted on coming with. That meant that I wasn't able to relax in my seat because this disgusting woman was sitting next to me and I had to cram myself to the side of my chair away from her. It meant that I wasn't allowed to cry when Mufasa died or during Can You Feel The Love Tonight because I knew I'd get made fun of for it.

I even went to a Fall Out Boy concert before, her refusing to let me go myself, and I didn't sing a single song because she'd just tell me to let the professionals handle it.

And for fuck's sake, the time she compared me trying to fucking validate my existence as a trans person to her wanting a car... That will always fucking piss me off.

Sorry, I got sidetracked. I was talking about how she ruins everything for me.

I literally cannot be myself around her. I've always been judged and ridiculed by my parents, and still am. I can't enjoy anything when they're around because I'm too focused on trying not to get made fun of or yelled at.

That being said, that concert was absolutely fucking incredible. I was with thousands of people who felt the same way that I did, and I could fucking jam out if I wanted to.

Apart from everyone being really on top of their game, and Billie Joe basically not aging since he turned 25, the only really notable thing left to say about the performance was when they pulled a kid guitarist onstage. He played for a bit, and they ended up letting him keep the guitar lmao.

BEST PART IS:

I SAW THE KID AFTER THE CONCERT, AND I WAS LIKE,

"Omg, hey, can I get a selfie with you?"

I was trying to be really low-key and quiet cuz I didn't wanna draw too much attention to him lmao.

The security guard was like, "Yeah, sure, but hurry up."

I TOOK THE PIC REALLY QUICKLY AND THEN HEADED OUT

HERE IT IS

YES, OF COURSE I BLOCKED OUT MY FACE

But I absolutely love the vibes of this photo xD. It's blurry, the lighting is shit, and you can barely make out any details. It has a lot of character, and I would take this over a clean, clear photo any day.

Walking away, the kid's mom said, "You're like, the coolest kid ever now."

Agreed.

Then it was time to go home. Honestly, I didn't feel sad that it didn't last longer, or disappointed that I had to leave. I was actually very satisfied and fulfilled with what happened, which is honestly the way it should be.

Driving home, I stayed awake by sticking my arm out of the window and letting the cold rain hit fast like tiny needles.

I got home.

I passed out.

Although, that was technically on Saturday 🤔

ANYWAY, THIS IS MY LONG ASS BLOG FOR FRIDAY THE 13TH

I hope you enjoyed

Be good people!!!!

-Leonna

#Concert #Green Day #Fall Out Boy #Weezer #The Interrupters #Green Day Concert #Daily Blog #Blog #Trans #LGBTQ #alternative rock #Alternative #Pop Punk #Punk Rock

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carriagelamp · 4 years ago

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November 2020: A Months of Familiarity

This November ended up being a month of me either rereading old favourites, exploring new books by favourite authors, or a mix of both.

…Be prepared for so much Terry Prachett, I found his audiobooks on Libby last month and since that I’ve been unstoppable.

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

The first of my Terry Practhett books to mention! I chose to include this one on my list because it’s a beautiful stand alone novel, perfect to read if you’ve never touched on of Pratchett’s works before, and is often overlooked.

The book is about Maurice, an “amazing” cat by his own admission, who has teamed up with a stupid boy and his very own plague of rats. The moneymaking scheme is simple: set the rats loose on a town and after causing a panic let the boy stroll in and offer to play his pipe and lead them away… for a fee. This is working well, until Maurice, the boy, and the rats arrive in the town Bad Blintz. Here the rats are beginning to question the morality of their work, the boy gets entangled with a young, mischievous local girl, and they’re all shocked to find out that the town already has a real rat infestation… or so the rat catchers claim. Things quickly turn sinister and deadly as the group is forced to confront not only the cruelty of humanity, but something even more sinister living in the small, dark, hidden place of the town.

This is a YA book, unlike some of Pratchett’s other novels, so it’s a quick, fun read, while still having all of his dry wit and heavy, complicated thoughts about society, morality, belief, and what it means to be a person. It’s a genuine delight to see Maurice and the rats, recently made sentient by wizards’ rubbish, struggle to come to terms with who they were and who they are now.

Black Pearl Ponies: Red Star & Wildflower

Y’all it ain’t a secret at this point that I enjoy a stupid horse girl book, right? I picked up the first two books of the Black Pearl Ponies books from the library on a whim and they were basically what they promised. Girl lives with family on ranch, father helps train horses, girl goes on pony adventures with ponies. A particular focus is given to horse welfare and care. Very mediocre but a nice thoughtless covid read if you, like me, get a craving for animals books written for seven year olds from time to time. Plus this comes with the added humour of it being written, as far as I can tell, by a British author who thinks all Americans are stetson wearing cowboys which I find unreasonably funny.

Crenshaw

I love Katherine Applegate’s work; I read the Endling series earlier this year and they are overwhelmingly good. Crenshaw was also an enjoyable read, though not my favourite by her. It read a little bit like a book I read last fall, No Fixed Address, which was also a very good read though not my usual genre. Crenshaw is about a boy, Jackson, whose family, though close-knit and loving, is experiencing financial difficulties and struggle with food scarcity, homelessness, and all the instability and stress that results from this. During this tumultuous time, Jackson is surprised by the reappearance of a tall, bipedal, snarky cat — Crenshaw, his old imaginary friend. This is a charming book that blends genuine, real world hardships with whimsy and magical realism.

The Enemy Above: A Novel of WWII

Since it was Rememberance Day this month, I decided to pick up a holocaust novel. This book is about 12-year-old Anton, a young Jewish boy who finds himself fleeing from his Polish farm in the middle of the night with his old grandma when a German raiding party that attacks their village in an effort to make the countryside “judenfrei”. The book is, perhaps, not the most well-fleshed out, but it’s fast-paced and exciting for a child/YA audience that’s being introduced to holocaust literature, without trying to downplay the absolutely horror and brutality of the Nazis. It manages to strike a satisfying balance between fear, tragedy, and hope.

“Everything he had heard was true. He was just a twelve-year-old boy and yet they hunted him. He had broken no laws, done nothing wrong. He was simply born Jewish. How could anyone want to kill him for it?”

Gregor the Overlander

Somehow I never knew that Suzanne Collins wrote anything other than The Hunger Games? I stumbled across this series at a used bookstore and was first taken by the cover and then shocked when I realized I recognized the author’s name. Well The Hunger Games was such a good read, how could I not pick up a book with people riding on a giant fucking bat?

Such a good choice. I’m almost done book two and bought book three today after work. It is exactly the sort of low fantasy that I live for, when a fantasy world lives so close to the real world that you can practically touch it. I also love the fact that while all the wild fantastical elements are happening, you still have the main character taking care of his toddler sister the whole time. It’s at times charming, hilarious, and nerve-wracking!

It’s about Gregor, a normal kid who’s doing his best to help his mom take care of his two younger siblings ever since his father disappeared years ago. Gregor expected months of boredom when he agrees to stay home over the summer instead of going to camp like his sister in order to watch his baby sister, Boots, and their grandma while his mom is at work. He never could have expected that a simple trip to the apartment’s laundry room would lead to both him and Boots tumbling miles beneath the earth into the pitch black Underland, a place filled with giant rats and bugs and people with translucent skin who fly through the massive caverns on huge bats. He also could have never expected that he would get wrapped up in a deadly prophecy that would force him to travel into distant, dark lands into the waiting claws of an overwhelming enemy.

Kings, Queens, and In-Between

A Canadian queer novel that I’ve seen trumpeted everywhere. Libraries, classrooms, bookstore, this book got so much hype (and has such a pleasing cover) that I had to get my hands on it. Now, I’ve got to admit that it’s not really my genre; I don’t love realistic fiction. But that being said, it’s a fun, heart-warming, queer romp through that explores gender, sexuality, love, family, friendship… there’s a lot of lovable, quirky, complicated characters that get thrown together in unexpected ways at a local summer carnival. While there’s tension and misunderstandings and mistakes, this is overall a very optimistic and loving novel, and would be a great read if you want a queer novel that reads like cotton candy.

Love, The Tiger

This book is the graphic novel equivalent of a nature documentary. There’s no text, but you follow a day in the life of a tiger as it moves through the jungle on the quest for food. The art is honestly beyond outstanding, and though it’s a really quick read it is so very worth it. I’ve also read Love, The Lion in this series (also good, though a bit more confusing imho) as well as one of the books from his other series Little Tails which is still very nature and education based, though for a slightly younger audience.

Making Money

More Pratchett! Making Money was the first Discworld book I ever read, and it’s one of my most reread ones — it’s an ultimate comfort read! This is technically the sequel to Going Postal (another book I reread this month), in which conman Moist Von Lipwig is saved from a rightful death at the noose in exchange for agreeing to work for the city. Going Postal sees Moist narrowly dodging death in many varied forms as he tries to get the Anhk-Morpork postal service back on its feet and get the drifts of dead, whispering letters moving again. In Making Money things at the post office have become… too easy. Moist is bored, restless, until he finds himself thrust into a new job: head of the Royal Mint. There he has been given not only charge of the biggest bank in Anhk-Morpork, but also a dog with a price on its head, a lethal family with all the money in the world out for his blood, and the fear that his secret past life may be on the verge of being exposed to everyone, all while he’s desperately trying to make money…

The Moist series is honestly an example of Pratchett at his absolute best imo, and the amount of humour, wit, adventure, and scathing commentary he can build around a bank is outstanding. Cannot recommend enough.

The One And Only Ivan

Another book I’ve been hearing everyone talk about, as well as another Katherine Applegate book. It’s been on my radar for a while, but with the sequel and a movie coming out, it had everything at a fever pitch and I finally picked it up. Fantastic read, I definitely enjoyed it more than Crenshaw. This book was based off the true story of Ivan, a gorilla taken from his home in the jungle and sold to the owner of a mall, where he spent years of his life growing from child to adult silverback in a small, concrete enclosure. In this fictionalized version, everything changes for Ivan and his friends, when a new baby elephant is bought to help revitalize the mall attractions and Ivan makes a promise he doesn’t know how to keep: to protect this baby, and keep her from living the life Ivan and his friends were forced to. This book made me very emotional. Applegate’s picture book that goes along with it is also a great companion read.

Ranma ½

I realized that our library had the 2-in-1 editions of Ranma ½ and honestly that was it for me. This has been a favourite series of mine since I was in middle school and realized that the creator of Inuyasha had written other things. It is unapologetically ridiculous and larger-than-life and you have to love the shameless joy it has at being ludicrous. It does start to feel a little repetitive the further into the series you go, but at the moment, with covid, I find I have a huge tolerance for rereading slightly repetitive things so long as they make me happy. And boy howdy does the vaguely queer undertones, endless pining, and relentless slapstick of Ranma ½ make me happy. This is classic manga y’all and if you’ve never read it you should!

The basic premise, for anyone that doesn’t is that of an bonkers martial arts comedy. It follows Ranma and his father who, while training in China, fell into cursed springs. Each spring has the tragic legend of a person or animal who drowned in it, and if someone falls in they inevitably turn into that creature any time they’re doused in cold water. Ranma had the misfortune of falling into “The Spring of Drowned Girl” and, indeed, turns into a girl anytime he’s hit with cold water. Things continue to spiral out of control when Ranma meets his arranged fiancée, Akane, who is as exasperated by this situation as Ranma. Both would rather be fighting people than worrying about things like romance. And don’t worry, there is lots and lots and lots and lots of some of the goofiest martial arts fights that you can imagine for a bunch of high schoolers.

Through the Woods

A beautiful and creepy Canadian graphic novel. I honestly really don’t even know how to describe it in a way that does it justice. It’s a collection of short horror stories, with beautiful, flowing art style that draws you in and sends chills down your spine. I’ll let the art doing the talk, and honestly beg you to go find a way to read this graphic novel:

The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner: And Other Stories

The last Terry Pratchett book on my list (though shout out to the others I’ve listened to this month: Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, Men At Arms, and Snuff) and one that I actually physically, rather than listening to the audiobook. I included this one because unlike the others, this was a Pratchett book I had never read before. It collects a number of Pratchett’s short stories that had been written for children over a number of years. These weren’t necessarily my favourite examples of Pratchett’s writing (I prefer his longer work that can really dive into social issues) but it was such a quick, easy, fun read that you can’t really help but be charmed by it. I liked the stories that took place in “the wild wild west (of Wales)” in particular.

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weirdponytail · 4 years ago

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Modern Inheritance: Peony (Pt 3 of Torin’s Story)

(A/N: Some injury description this time, so fair warning. Also, I’m going to start putting the flower meaning in the tags. Cheers mates! Oh, and for an explanation of how Arya manages what she does in her condition, we’re just going to say adrenaline and someone waking you up from your first nap in a good long while. :3 )

Part 1 // Part 2 // PART 3 // TBC

Two weeks passed.

Torin paced down the length of the High Risk Ward for the eighty seventh time, mind floating aimlessly as he drifted from thought to thought. Only four days into his solitary post on the ward and the youth had settled into his routine. Down the empty side of the block first. Up the other side. Stop at the elf’s cell to see if she had moved. Keep walking. Rinse, repeat.

The solitude and silence had bothered him at first. Gil’ead wasn’t the most comforting of places. It was all smooth concrete flooring, grey painted cinderblock and metal plated oak doors. There was no semblance of warmth anywhere, just grey, grey and more grey.

But as the hours melted together, Torin found a certain peace in it all. It was a break from the rabble of the mess hall and the barracks, the blissful quiet he longed for every night in the group home for years. Somehow he had found that elusive quiet in the very place he hated, walking the halls of a prison for people who had no founded rhyme or reason to be there besides the word of a Shade, a tyrant King, and the blood they had no choice in having.

The thought made his steps stutter, breaking the monotony of his boots thudding the bare concrete floor. On a base where the commander could read minds, such thoughts were dangerous indeed.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about that at the moment. The General was to be gone for three days.

In the days before the General’s departure, the veteran guards split up their shifts and passed off most of their hours to the younger greenhorns in favor of spending their days in the mess hall and common rooms playing cards. The fewer rookies a ward had, the more that fell to them, and the more hours they would spend on shift apiece. Some of them loved it, raking in a modest extra pay bonus and gaining more experience on their assigned blocks. Others hated the extra load and would fake sick or push the more enthusiastic men to take on their share as well.

Torin...was not so fond of the situation. He was the only rookie on the High Risk Ward, and thus had no wiggle room to negotiate. Granted, there were only about a dozen and a half men assigned as permanent in the High Risk rotation, and only one prisoner to boot, but it was still three days of twelve hour shifts. The Captain was the only thing stopping the rest of the section from forcing Torin to work the night shift as well. Lucky bastards only had to walk the halls for two hours each and had the rest of the three days off.

So there he was, just two hours into his first shift of the three. Making endless loops of a quiet hall to guard a single prisoner. All alone. And already becoming bored out of his mind.

The youth slowed as he approached the elf’s door, a thought occurring to him that refocused his wayward mind.

The General had spent the night interrogating her again, dumping the woman in her cell a mere hour before he departed and Torin began his rounds. As always, she was unconscious, unresponsive to the world around her. Which opened

Torin stopped at the door, fiddling with the keys on his belt.

His anxiety and his curiosity were waging war in his mind. He had only ever seen the woman at a distance or through the barred window into her darkened cell. Sure, Himel had said she was an elf, and some of the other guards said she was too, but it wouldn’t be the first time they had lied about a prisoner to haze him. Hell, the first couple weeks he was on duty they had convinced him that there was a serial killer that frequently escaped in one of the cells that was boarded up. It took a month before the Captain told him it was simply boarded because there was a crack in the wall that no one wanted to fix. Just saying the woman was an elf had to be confirmed with his own eyes before he would believe it.

Torin’s hands twitched. Curiosity won.

The cell door glided inward, light from the corridor spilling across the concrete floor. Torin took one last look around to double check that the hall was clear before he cautiously stepped into the darkened room.

The first thing he noticed was that the woman was sprawled not far from the back wall, one arm folded awkwardly under her body. It looked as if the General had literally thrown her into the cell.

Torin waited, feeling tingles of unease fizzle in his ribs as he watched the prisoner. He was sure she would be unconscious, but now that he was inside with her, his exit blocked until he could fumble his keys out and get them in the lock, a voice in his mind told him to tread carefully. A chained, injured wolf was still a wolf, and all the more likely to lash out in any way possible.

He took another step inside and clicked the light at his shoulder on at the lowest intensity. She didn’t stir, still out cold from the treatment she received earlier.

More sure of his safety now, Torin crept to the woman’s side. His father, before everything happened, had told him stories about elves and Riders. To actually see one in real life was an experience he never even dreamed of. Growing up it seemed that everyone else viewed the Fair Folk as monsters and terrorists that should be exterminated, but to Torin and his sister….

No. Even with the General gone from the base, Torin didn’t dare follow that train of thought.

Torin knelt and, as gently as he could, reached out with two fingers to move aside the wild shock of hair that had loosened from the woman’s braid.

And he froze, heart juddering into the next beat. He didn’t know how– or when –she had moved, but there was no mistaking it as pain radiated up his arm.

A tawny hand was clamped, vicelike, on his wrist. From between fallen strands of dark hair, caught alight by the beam of his torch and blazing with molten malice, a dark emerald eye glowered out at him.

Once, as a young child, Torin had blundered upon a mountain lion. He had emerged from the thick woods not two meters from the creature, and in the split second that he had to realize just what he was witnessing, both lion and boy had locked eyes.

Now, years later, the same mix of surprise and terrified awe he felt in that moment reared its head again.

For a long moment, Torin just stared at the woman. The determination and venom in her glance rooted him in place. Buried deep inside his mind, something told him that staying still was the best course of action. Let her size him up, determine if he was worth the trouble of breaking his arm or not. He did his best to look as nonthreatening as possible beyond the involuntary shaking of his limbs, saucer wide eyes and the frantic pace of his pulse she no doubt could feel at his wrist.

The woman’s grip tightened.

Panic surged into Torin’s throat. While the woman’s strength had been bruising before, now it felt as though the ward’s heavy doors were closing on his arm and slowly crushing his bones. As the force increased, he realized in a state of blind fear that he couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“WAIT! Wait, please I-I’m not here to hurt you!” The youth stumbled on his words, trying desperately to explain himself as he realized what she likely assumed of his intent. “I’m not trying to hurt you, I just want– I wanted to see if– I-I’m not even into women, I just– I’m just on patrol and I wanted to know if you were really–”

He was almost crying now, shaking like mad. When he tried to speak again, tried to tell her that he only wanted to see if she was an elf, if the stories were true, something else tumbled out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry. I don’t even want to be here.”

The deathgrip on his wrist did not loosen. But it did stop the grim increase in pressure.

Torin’s chest shuddered and heaved as the woman pushed herself up onto her elbow, never once taking her smoldering eyes off him. She seemed to be reading him, right down to his core.

Then she shoved him. Hard.

The young man let out a grunt of pain as he landed and slid on his rear two meters back from the elf. And she was an elf. He was certain now, what with the disturbing strength and the pointed tips of her ears that the act of pushing him had revealed. Torin cradled the wrist she had grabbed, trying to make sure nothing was broken before snapping his head up to ensure he wasn’t about to be kicked in the face.

The elf was still glaring at him, but otherwise hadn’t moved.

Torin swallowed. The pain in his forearm and hand was fading from sharp needles of interrupted blood flow to the throbbing ache of deep bruises. Ignoring all common sense and training he had received on the ward about disengaging with aggressive prisoners, he gave the woman a shaky nod of gratitude and a tiny hopeful smile as he gestured with his injured limb. “Th-thanks. It’s not broken.”

The elf let out a soft ‘tch’ of what could have been annoyed anger at her failure to crush his bones or a snarky reminder that if she had wanted it broken then it would be. There was a tightness to her jawline as she gave him one last once over...before stiffly turning onto her opposite side and laying down with her back to him in obvious dismissal.

Torin suppressed a sigh of relief. He made to stand, shifting his weight. The sound of his boot scraping the floor made the woman twitch, drawing his attention again.

That’s when he noticed the black that seeped through the dark grey of the elf’s prison uniform. Her sides gave minute shivers that were only perceptible when she breathed in, as if struggling to hide them. He could just barely see marks on the back of her neck before they disappeared beneath her shirt, dark and splotched with the ragged texture of cracked clay.

Torin’s wary grin faded. He reached for his shoulder light and ticked the intensity up a notch. As he ran its beam down the woman’s back and then over the cell floor, walls and tiny wall mounted bunk, a mass of abject horror crept up his throat.

Everything was splashed with blood.

There were rust colored stains and smeared palm prints streaked across the cinderblocks where the elf had tried to steady herself. Shoulder-shaped swathes edged with passive lines that ended with hardened droplets where she had rested in the corner, leaned against a wall. Long stilled droplets that trailed down the sides of the hard metal bunk and hovered above dusky pools of near black.

The evidence of brutality made Torin’s stomach knot. This was…

He turned back from his survey of the room at the sound of a soft scuff and hiss in the elf’s direction just in time to see her jerk her knees up towards her chest, curling up on reflex. The youth shined his light down towards the pinpointed source of the noise– a wobbling prison issue shoe, haphazardly discarded on its side –and suddenly jerked back, face twisted in sympathetic pain.

In the beam of his torch Torin could see the soles of the woman’s feet had been stripped of anything resembling healthy skin and now revealed spongy white and angry red flesh. Sour bile threatened to overwhelm the back of his throat at the rough char marks scattered among the burns, spotted blisters and shiny exposed dermis encircling the worst of the damage.

Torin felt his body moving back of its own accord, numb to the world as his mind raced in a stream of shock. If this was the extent of the wounds he could see, what did the rest of her injuries look like? The entire back of her issued shirt was blotched and thick with blood, hinting just enough for the boy’s mind to imagine it in sickening detail. Gods above, how was she still moving? How was she still conscious, never mind not endlessly screaming in agony.

He simply couldn’t comprehend it. How could anyone do that to another creature? Inhumane didn’t come remotely close to the word he was looking for, nor did egregious, monstrous or abhorrent. Even sadistic felt a stretch too short. The General was a Shade, that was true, but never had Torin imagined the brutality the man could inflict.

With that thought came a surge of indignation at the elf’s treatment. Not just by the General, but by the other guards. The human guards.

Torin shoved himself to his feet, the usual tingle of trepidation in his hands turned to hot needles of anger as he dug his nails into his palms. How could they stand by like that? How could they just shrug their shoulders each time they brought the elf back to her cell and ignore the state she was in? How could some of them brag about joining in on beating this woman senseless day after day, after the General had already hurt her this badly? Even enemies did not deserve to be treated this way, same race or not! He would confront them, tell them that they were wrong and that what they were letting happen and doing was horrific and they should be disgusted and feel shame to call themselves living creatures to stand by and watch and–

And....

Torin shook, feeling his breathing quickened with rage and the scrunched discomfort of his shoulders hunched up around his ears. The piling of his emotions had hit all wall, a leagues high wall of the reality of the situation that nothing could surpass. It all drained away, the righteous fury and horrified clarity replaced by a welling of hopelessness and emotional exhaustion.

What could he, Torin Aldsson, rookie guard pressed into service to repay the Broddring Empire’s costs of raising him, not yet twenty years old and prone to anxious breakdowns, do? Leave the elf’s cell door open? Start a riot and attempt a heroic rescue with no exit plan or place to go? Get branded a traitor to the Crown, tortured to death and have what was left of his body hung at the base gates as a reminder to any other foolish, idealist boys who came here?

His shoulders slumped, hands falling numb and open at his sides. He couldn’t do anything. He would have to do exactly as the others did. Stand by, silent and unfeeling, and watch as another being was mercilessly tortured for not just the path she had chosen but for what she was as well.

Torin switched his shoulder light down to low again with trembling fingers. That was it then. There was...there was nothing he could do.

He turned back to the door slowly. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to apologize to the elf for the treatment she was receiving, to do his best to dress her wounds as he learned in his secondary school nursing track and comfort her. To treat her with dignity, respect, compassion, treat her like any other sentient being as his mother and father had taught him to.

The youth swallowed hard. Each step to the door felt like a betrayal to his true self, to the ideals and tenants his family had instilled in him and the only things that he had left of his kin.

And then Torin’s eyes snagged on the tray tucked against the wall by the door.

“...I’m coming up behind you. I’m not going to do anything, I promise.” The elf tensed at Torin’s words, muscles coiling up their remaining strength to lash out. The youth kept well to the side and leaned far over, trusting his sense of balance to keep upright as he tentatively set the tray down. “Figured you wouldn’t be able to get to it over there. Here.”

He slid the tray into place beside the elf with a fingertip and yanked his arm back when she raised her head. She looked down at the tray then back up to Torin’s face, expressionless save for the fire that the boy had seen in her eyes before.

The look he had was nervous, the same unsure posture and uneasy twitching at his hands as when he had entered her cell.

There was something different this time, though. Torin couldn’t see it, but the elf could. Not that she would let on. Silent but satisfied he meant no harm, she lowered her head back down to the floor and resumed staring at the wall, refusing to acknowledge the youth’s presence any further.

The pressure in Torin’s chest eased. That she hadn’t tried to break his finger was all he needed to confirm that he was doing the right thing. He slipped out of the cell and locked the door behind him, a tiny thrill of warmth running through his mind.

Years ago, as a young child, Torin had blundered upon a young mountain lion.

It lay in a clearing deep in the woods, sides thin with starvation and the tawny fur of its leg matted with blood that oozed around the teeth of the hunter’s trap. Its eyes blazed with the icy fire of a defiant spirit contrary to its physical state. The large cat growled low as the boy had approached, but even though claws sliced parallel gouges across his shoulder Torin did not stop. He stayed, and after hours of work at the rusted mechanism and buffeting countless blows with only a discarded plank of wood for protection, the trap opened with a screeching clang.

Arm bloodied, body bruised, and knowing there would be hell to pay that spring for releasing a hunter’s catch, Torin had still smiled wide as could be as the mountain lion sprang to its feet. The creature’s burning eyes as it gave him one last glance before limping away into the gathering darkness were burned into his memory.

Torin was not someone that could stand by and do nothing. Not then, and not now. If he could not spring the elf from her prison, then he would help her in other ways.

The small rebellions had begun.

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