#from editing on a white screen i got so used to my nice soft teal in openoffice

[ellohcee]

Ghosting

Jasper's gotten pretty used to being a ghost and things are actually going really well. He's dead, so there's not much else that can go wrong, right? ...Right?

AO3 if that suits your eyeballs better | Inspired by this lovely illustration here | Wordcount: 10,049

warnings: non graphic death mention (but not permanent because ghosts yknow? yeah)

- - - -

Out in the quiet countryside sat an old, decaying house. It stood imposing amidst the shady woods surrounding the grounds and the green fields beyond that. A large, three story beast cradled in isolation and feeling cut off from the rest of the world, the trees blocking sight of the nearby highway unless you stood directly on the long dirt road leading out. From there it was still probably a fifteen minute drive of open field until you could reach civilization, Jasper’s hometown to be precise.

The air tended to be quite still this time of day except for an occasional short lived breeze, the absolute quiet broken only by the rustle of leaves, the lonely chirping of a cricket, the occasional creak and moan of the old manor standing like a looming shadow in the fading light. The sun was dipped close to the horizon, ready to set away for the night and painting the sky with a wash of golds and pinks in its path.

Somewhere a frog started croaking softly. There was a small creek running through the woods that tended to bring around wildlife of a few sorts. Deer liked to graze and birds liked to forage in the overgrown lawns. Mice and rats had taken up residence in the debris of the old house, bringing feral cats, foxes, owls, and other small predators to make an opportune meal.

Nature hadn’t entirely taken back the house despite it’s lack of upkeep and crumbling state, but it had carved out a way for the wildlife to make use of it.

And now as he watched these happenings like usual, the day was coming to a close just as it did every other, but for Jasper it was just starting.

He hummed softly under his breath, eager, that familiar spark of excitement flickering in his chest like he was alive again. He watched the sun steadily descend beyond the skyline, the trees around them filtering golden rays of light into the garden, onto his love. It lit up David’s face in such a beautiful warmth he often had trouble believing the statue wasn’t really flesh and blood when the sun was setting.

At least while he waited he had a most wonderful view, thinking as always that whoever sculpted David did such an amazing job. Maybe he’d been modeled after someone the artist loved very dearly, to put such care and detail into his face and his hair and his hands… hell, everything about him was perfect. There had to have been love poured into the process, because there was no way a statue made simply to go in anyone’s garden could look so radiant.

Jasper had been dead for fifteen years, but David had been around for a lot longer, a marble statue poised in the middle of the old fountain in a long forgotten garden of a long forgotten house. He woke as the sun went down every night without fail, and Jasper waited the same way each evening, excited, ready to see his best friend and boyfriend after being alone all day. As the minutes wore on his anticipation grew, building.

Memories of life were sketchy for the ghost, sometimes lost in a heavy fog and sometimes as clear as the failing VHS tapes he’d kept from childhood, still able to be deciphered but a little flickering and fuzzy. When he wasn’t in the fog, he could recall how he died. He could remember going into that house, stupidly, hoping to find… what? It had been looted and gone through many times, so there was nothing of value left, he’d just wanted some excitement. To see something interesting, the passage of time on a once beloved, extravagant house.

Stupid.

It was right out of the old horror movies he loved, and it had just been too hard to resist. All the stories floating around town he’d eaten up as a child, being so interested in the paranormal. Not that he’d expected to find anything of that nature, no one ever had in that old place, but it just sounded so fun and creepy to go wandering an abandoned three story mansion. He’d gone into the house, exploring, turning things over, looking at old books and photos and trying to imagine what life had been like when it was occupied. Wondering why it had been left to the elements.

Stupid.

He’d eventually made his way upstairs to the third story, actually being very careful and minding the integrity of the steps beneath him, he swears, but still the boards at the top were far too gone to trust.

So stupid.

He’d never forget the lurching sensation in his stomach before he’d actually fallen, that sinking feeling as the step creaked far too loudly beneath his feet for just a second, a warning that came too short. Old, weathered wood gave way under his weight, splintering, probably going out all the faster for his last ditch attempt to jump away to the landing.

Down he’d fallen, straight down the center of the winding staircase, three stories, and that’s when things got hazy. Mercifully he’d never been able to recall any details, including if it was fast or slow. It couldn’t have been pretty was all he knew, as the house was littered with piles of debris and rotting wood. Lots of ways to make a three story fall lethal if it wasn’t already. His memory just skipped to waking up the next day, somehow knowing immediately something was wrong, that he was wrong. And upon looking down at his hands, seeing through to the floor beneath them, and stumbling backwards right through a solid wall…

That was that.

Some days he wondered if anyone found his body. He hadn’t checked in a while, he’d stopped going near the house once he met David. David was so much better than that old shitty house and the memories and the phantom pain of death that sometimes rendered him in the fog for days at a time. And that’s how it had been for a while, slipping in and out of that fog, floating around the house without knowing where or why he was going. Your typical lights-on-but-nobody-home wandering spirit, he thought to himself on occasion. At least his humor was in tact on his better days.

But good god then he’d met David. He’d wandered out one day when the airy voices of the house had grown too loud, when the image of rotting ceiling stretching away from him became too much. It had been just before sundown as he’d floated through the garden in curiosity, admiring the way it had taken back the man made structures. He’d been there before, he was sure, but obviously not at the opportune time.

It was probably filled with carefully tended flowers at some point, but now it was all overgrowth. Benches, trellis, the fountain, archways, cobble paths, all covered in moss, ivy, and other native plants. Except… the statue. He’d found it rather odd, how it looked almost entirely left alone compared to everything else. It still had some faint moss creeping along here and there, but nothing like the mass of clinging ivy that entombed everything else.

He’d been staring in wonder at the statue’s beautiful face, hovering closer to get a better look, admiring him and wondering how the sculptor had pocked individual freckles onto his cheeks with such delicate care. He must have been so entranced to not even notice the wash of color slowly spreading up through the pale marble, dim as it was out here in the fading light...

Then the sun flickered out behind the trees, and the statue’s eyes opened.

Being a ghost himself, shit like this shouldn’t have surprised him, but he’d never met anyone in or around the house since death, alive, dead, or in between. And boy this was some kind of in between he’d never expected so it did knock him back. The man previously made of pale stone was now looking alive and human and staring back at him in matching shock as Jasper scrambled away mid air.

“Wait, please,” the statue said softly, his voice warm and disarming, immediately making Jasper’s fear dissolve like drifting smoke. His eyes swept up and down, frowning as he took in everything wrong with Jasper. The way he hovered, the way he could see right through to the garden beyond, the slight wispy mist that hung around him. “You’re...”

“Uh, dead, yeah,” Jasper had replied, coming a little closer. “You’re…?” he trailed off uncertainly, an invitation to be filled in, because David’s case had been a lot less obvious at first glance. Was he himself the statue and he came to life at night? Was he a spirit possessing the statue and animating it? Was this some sort of illusion that came with a haunted house? He’d never met any other ghosts, was Jasper alone enough to consider the manor haunted when he didn’t even go in there most days?

But David himself wasn’t sure, he just knew that he ‘woke up’ every night with sundown, essentially asleep and unaware during the day, and it had been this way for longer than he could remember or even guess at. He must have been alone here for quite some time, that was for sure, and hazy as Jasper’s memory was for being dead a few years at that point, David’s must have been a sea of uncertainty.

But they’d got to talking after the initial shock, eager to finally have someone to interact with, getting to know each other, talking about their lives, becoming fast friends. He’d soon stopped wondering so much about what David was, because whatever he was, he must have been alive at some point. There was no way a soul so bright, so kind, so loving and warm could have been manufactured from nothing. He wasn’t just a statue that grew a personality when he woke up at night, he was far too complex and nuanced and beautiful. Sure he could be naïve, dense even, but he was the sweetest damn person Jasper could ever remember meeting.

And after a certain point, finding himself one day staring longingly at David with what must have been the silliest look and these types of thoughts waxing poetic, he’d realized his heart had run off without him.

Every day from then of he’d fallen deeper in love with the statue in the garden. And good grief, for amazing as David was, he’d somehow found Jasper worth loving right back. One otherwise inconsequential day they were doing their usual routine. The moon was high, bright and full and illuminating them both in a liquid silver. He remembered thinking how beautiful David looked. He was so suited to warmth and daylight and the sun, but god the moon sure didn’t hold back on him either. He’d gone quiet listening to David speak, not realizing he was staring openly and hopelessly love struck, lost in a haze, until David called his name.

“I love you,” Jasper had blurted without thinking, startled out of his haze on the exact thought that had been going through his head. David had frozen in surprise and they’d stared wide eyed at each other for a long few moments after the slip. Jasper’s long dead heart, or maybe a memory of it, pounded hard in mortification because oh fuck what if he’d just screwed up big time with his best and only friend, the love of his life and afterlife, his anchor in the fog of days that ran together-

“I love you too,” David had suddenly whispered, his eyes bright and glossy and more alive than ever and Jasper felt like he’d died all over again, but this time he’d gone straight to heaven. And it had remained like that from then on, better in fact.

Their nights spent together were always enjoyable, talking and telling stories and David getting confused by his slang. David himself spoke kind of prim and proper, simple but eloquent and precise with his words, always polite and friendly, never snobby. However old he was, he seemed to be at least several decades back in time. That left him understandably caught up on some of Jasper’s words and expressions, at which point he always stopped and explained to David what they meant, watching the understanding as he nodded, but still tinged with confusion because it sounded so odd to him

Be it a single word, a phrase, a concept, even things that were way beyond him like movies and video games and VHS tapes. He always wanted to know, and Jasper always took the time to explain, even if he wasn’t always the best at making it understandable. Sometimes Jasper thought he made things worse trying to explain tech to David, but it was still something to talk about, and a fun challenge to try and find the right words.

But it got easier and easier for them to converse all the time, and they had fun and never ran out of things to talk about. Sometimes they just wanted to sit together, silent but comfortable and just soaking up each other’s company. David couldn’t leave the garden for whatever reason, some shitty stipulation of whatever curse he was under, Jasper figured. Whenever he tried to go any further than about twenty feet from the fountain, his vision started going dark, his movements slowing as if the action was turning him back to stone on the spot. So they always just sat together in the garden.

Not that it made much difference where they were, Jasper being dead and David destined to turn back to stone upon daylight, but it would’ve been nice to at least walk around the woods or something. It would’ve been especially nice just to know that David wasn’t stuck on some invisible leash unable to follow Jasper beyond his garden home. Regardless, as long as they could be together it was no harm no foul to the statue. He was never too pressed about it anyway.

And now, years after Jasper dying in that stupid house and several more years after they’d met and formed the resident paranormal-odd-couple, things ran in much the same way as ever. And this found Jasper waiting like usual, antsy, giddy, ready to shoot the shit with his favorite person in the world in life or death.

He hovered closer to David’s pedestal in the middle of the old fountain, eager to see those beautiful eyes open and that perfect smile just for him. The sun was nearly gone, it would be soon, but not soon enough for Jasper. “Are you awake yet babe?” he whined softly, cradling the statue’s face with one hand. “I wanna see you,” he added, petulant.

Silence remained between them for a few more minutes as the last touch of light slowly faded off of David’s face, leaving the garden bathed more and more in the growing shadows of dusk by the moment. Jasper sucked in a gentle breath as color started bleeding into the pallid stone, life itself slowly flooding through David’s body and letting him know it was time, any second-

And then those eyes opened, and there was that beautiful smile that made him forget about being dead for the night or just plain not care. “Jasper,” David greeted softly, his voice warm like honey and just as sweet. “Good evening my darling.”

“Davey,” Jasper said in delight, hovering closer and hugging the man as David reached for him in turn, kissing him squarely on the lips and earning a pleased hum.

Jasper could remember a time where he’d thought nicknames like darling or sweetheart were so corny and frumpy. He thought he’d be caught dead being called something like that by his partner should he find one, and funny enough that ended up being the case. But he liked it. They sounded so wonderful coming from David, and maybe that was all the difference he needed, actually hearing those things from the voice of the one he loved. Instead of making fun of the love struck goobers on those cheesy romance flicks which he had definitely not indulged in as the occasional guilty pleasure.

Now he was the love struck goober. Such is life… death… whatever.

“How are you today?” Jasper hummed, planting another soft kiss on David’s lips after they’d spent a good minute or two hugging each other close.

“Seeing you first thing as I wake up? How could I be anything less than wonderful,” David replied with a sweet smile. “And you?”

“Much better now, it’s so boring all day without you,” Jasper pouted sadly, making David laugh at his childish expression. “I’d love to sleep during the day, just like, turn to fog or whatever the other dead dudes are doing, but I am just here waiting for you to wake up like a sad little puppy,” he lamented. He could kind of drift off and let his mind and focus wander, but that was the best he could manage. At least besides falling into the soul sucking fog, but he’d much rather be awake and bored and pining for David all day.

“You know I wish I could keep you company in the daytime,” David soothed, placing his hand on Jasper’s cheek, smiling at him. “But at least we have the night, always, just you and me,” he said gently, leaning in for another kiss, long and tender and filled with so much love Jasper swore he felt alive for a few moments. The warmth that kindled in his chest whenever David touched him grew and swelled like a tidal wave, making him feel ridiculously, stupidly happy and he never wanted to let go.

Who knew you could be so fucking happy and drowning in love in death. That you could go years and years in the same routine with one person and be just as hopelessly, giddy in love same as the day you first realized they loved you back? He figured it was possible, obviously, if you found the right person. And boy had he found that person, and sure it was the most absolutely unexpected time and circumstances, but he wouldn’t trade David for anything or anyone.

When they parted, eyes fluttering open to stare at each other in a pleasant haze, Jasper sighed heavily, a goofy smile stretching his lips. “I love you,” he said quietly.

“I love you too, so, so much,” David replied tenderly, his hand still on Jasper’s face, where the pad of his thumb swept so softly across his cheekbone, his smile warm and inviting and filling Jasper’s whole world to the brim.

“Now,” David sighed, breaking Jasper from his inner lovesick poet that emerged in full force conveniently around this time. “Tell me about your day, not just ‘boring,’ tell me what you did,” he invited warmly, always wanting to hear the details even though it was always more or less the same. But he never got tired of hearing it, never failed to ask, and never failed to make Jasper the happiest man in death. He couldn’t check with all the other ghosts but he was damn sure he was the happiest one because no other ghost -or living person- had David.

And that made him the clear winner. Not that he was smug about it. Of course not.

“Well, I floated down the path a bit towards the main road, back around the house, through the woods a bit… I found a flock of birds and tried to see how close I could get,” Jasper grinned. He’d long since discovered animals could see him, and it had become a game, his only daylight pastime of any amusement really, to see how close he could get. Sad, but he made due. He would gladly chuck rocks at the house if he could physically interact with anything other than David, but much as he tried, he could not. His career as a poltergeist was not going well.

“And how did you fare today?” David indulged kindly, amused by his game.

“Pretty close!” Jasper insisted. “Like I coulda reached out and touched the closest one, but some stool pigeon piped up and they took off,” he tsked. “Buncha bird brains,” he added slyly, grinning.

David choked back a laugh, his eyes crinkling adorably at the corners in the way Jasper loved so much. “Oh stop, you’re terrible,” he chastised, his words losing all bite with the smile on his face.

“Terribly handsome,” Jasper shot back, his smile growing in smug delight when David laughed again. “Look babe, this builds up in me all day, cookin’ away while I wait for you,” he insisted. “If I had someone to haunt I’d gladly bring them my material during the day and terrorize them, but it all comes to you. All this bullshit needs an outlet, and you’re the audience, you know this.”

“I know it very well, and much as I shouldn’t, I do love it,” David replied happily, delight still stretching his smile wide.

“Then we’re in agreement,” Jasper said matter-of-factly, leaning in to steal a kiss, muffling David’s next giggle. He was still caught up in the joy of David waking up for the night, joy for the fact that David thought his shitty jokes were funny. Joy that Jasper could always bring a laugh and a smile to his boyfriend’s face, because god damn it was like the best drug.

When they parted again he sighed in content, resting his forehead gently against David’s. “Thank you for always laughing at my jokes. You shouldn’t indulge me so much but I love that you do.”

“I don’t indulge you, I enjoy your jokes,” David rebuked firmly, but still smiling.

“Even when you don’t get ‘em?” Jasper teased.

“Even then, because the happy look your face while waiting for me to get it or not makes me happy, that’s the best part.”

Jasper paused, unable to come up with a witty response because sometimes David just knocked him so far sideways he had to take a moment to collect himself. Finally, he gave up on witty and just buried his face in the crook of David’s shoulder. “Holy schnikes dude, stop, you’ve turned me into such a giant sap,” he whined softly.

You absolute giant love struck goober, he chastised himself.

David chuckled, the wonderful sound making the embarrassment worth it, patting Jasper’s back in comfort as he let the ghost cling to him. “I’m sorry, I do believe I was born in an age of shamelessly poetic love, I can’t help it,” he smiled, resting his cheek against Jasper’s hair and sighing in content.

Embarrassed as he sometimes got, even still, Jasper would happily take an eternity of it to be ridiculously sappy with his Davey.

- - - -

That was how things continued to go for some time. Until one day, otherwise uneventful like all the rest, Jasper found his routine broken. And despite how much he often wished for something interesting to happen during the day to save a little sanity, this was not what he was looking for.

He watched a truck drive onto the property after hearing the engine approach from beyond the trees, hovering near David protectively as it parked and two men got out. They stood in the large roundabout driveway, talking, pointing at the house and across the grounds. They were in suits, something that made Jasper anxious, holding clipboards and going through paperwork, which made him double anxious.

These were not kids or ghost hunters here to poke around for fun.

He worried his lip for a few moments before placing a hand on David’s shoulder, even though he couldn’t feel or hear during the day. “I’ll be right back Davey,” he said softly, before hurrying over to the men to better hear what they were saying. Part of him knew, but…

“-and the permit will be in next week, then we can start demo and removal.”

Jasper didn’t have any practice haunting people since no one ever came around to the house, so all he could think to do was jump up in front of the men abruptly, yelling in their faces. But they were without care to his efforts, going on with their conversation while he hovered uselessly.

“We’ll need all the heavy duty, hm?”

Jasper’s face pulled into a pinched frown, abruptly waving his hand through the closer stranger’s clipboard in an attempt to knock the thing from his hands, but it remained stubbornly in place.

“Yes, a crane, a couple bulldozers, excavator, and several dump trucks. The whole crew, and we’ll get the house torn down.”

An icy feeling flooded Jasper’s veins (why could he still feel shit like this? He was dead!) and he turned to dart back over to David.

Next week. Next week these suits were going to come and rip down that old piece of shit mansion. Which was fine, he hated that fucking house, but… they wouldn’t stop there, he feared. They wouldn’t go to the bother of ripping down a decrepit old house without clearing the overgrown, decayed grounds, including the garden…

The anxiety swirled into an absolute storm within his chest in the short time it took to get back to David, hovering next to him in dread as he watched the men talk. They stayed for about twenty minutes, walking all around the manor in a circle, looking in the doors and windows, making notes, discussing, pointing.

Finally, as they were walking back towards the truck, they stopped and looked towards the garden, pointing practically right at him. Jasper sucked in a soft, anxious breath and wrapped his arms around David from behind, watching the men. He didn’t know what he could possibly do if they came over here and if they happened to threaten the statue, but he wouldn’t leave David. Maybe he could learn to pull some poltergeist shit before they came back to tear down the house if he practiced hard enough.

He waited and watched them like a hawk as they talked a little more, before finally getting back in the truck and driving away. Jasper slowly relaxed, but only a little, remaining wrapped around David as his mind whirled and his stomach churned.

As desperately as he wanted to talk to David and share this important information, he was stuck with his own thoughts until sundown, which was at least a few hours off yet. He swallowed thickly, moving his arms around David’s middle and resting his chin on the statue’s shoulder, staring unseeing at the house as he sunk into that familiar fog for the rest of the day. Except, it wasn’t the usual of just being lost to the living world, dazed and placid and without thought.

This time, it was filled with dread and fear, not for himself, but for David.

- - - -

When David woke up that evening, it took him a moment to clue into the embrace he’d been wrapped in. Jasper was still holding him from behind, arms around his middle and forehead resting on his shoulder, absolutely still and silent.

“Jasper?” David asked with a growing frown, turning his head to look at the ghost. When he received no answer, his worry increased, setting a hand over Jasper’s tense arms. “Jasper, sweetheart?” he pleaded softly.

Suddenly the ghost sucked in a breath, his head lifting from David’s shoulder as focus swam back to his cloudy eyes. He blinked, turning to look at David with his mouth open just a little. “Davey!” he said in a rush of exhaled breath.

David tried to turn in Jasper’s hold, reaching a hand up to cradle his cheek. “Darling, what’s wrong?” he asked, still frowning. He’d seen Jasper like this only a few times before, on really bad days where he’d fallen too far into that fog he spoke of. Like he’d lost himself, sunken down in some deep dark sea from which he had to swim back up to the surface.

Jasper swallowed, looking anxious. “Davey, there were some guys here today, at the house,” he said, jerking his head towards the looming building, still unwilling to relinquish his almost desperate hug.

David looked concerned, surely thinking of how Jasper died exploring the forgotten halls. “Did they go in?” he asked.

“No no, not like- not kids poking around. Like, business- or- construction guys. They were talking about- about ripping the house down,” Jasper said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady, his eyes worried. “And I think- I think they’re going to tear up the garden too,” he added grimly, seeing the realization dawn on David’s face at the same rate that Jasper’s chest filled with heartbreak on top of the dread.

“They- they’re going to...” David trailed off, sounding a little fearful and obviously trying to keep a cap on it. But it was clear as day in his eyes, David had never been good at hiding his emotions. He felt so strongly and wore his heart on his sleeve, so Jasper was able to see all too clearly and painfully the looming terror in his heart.

Jasper swallowed the lump in his throat, or tried, as it would not seem to budge. “I think they… might try to tear your fountain down,” he said thickly.

David’s face had gone pale, drained of color almost as if he was turning back to stone at this news. Instead, he took a long, shaky breath, eyes focused on Jasper’s shoulder. “Well,” he said shortly, his voice trembling a little as he tried to stay composed. “We- there’s… nothing really we can do about that, should they- should they try to-” he broke off, voice catching.

Jasper buried his face in the crook of David’s neck, holding him tight for both of their comfort, feeling David’s hands trembling just slightly where they rested on his back.

“When are they going to…?” he trailed off weakly.

“I dunno,” Jasper replied, muffled into David’s shoulder. “They just said ‘next week,’ so I don’t- I don’t know...”

“Mmm,” David hummed back, a deceptively calm reaction on the surface, because ‘next week’ was a lot to process. Next week was awful short notice to come to terms that you might be…

His hands clutched a little tighter against Jasper, staring out at the garden he’d called home for so many years. So many years spent alone in an endless existence of waking and sleeping with each night and day, blurring together in a stream. Not as many years (but a thousand times more important) since Jasper had wandered out to the garden at just the right time.

Years where time suddenly regained meaning for them both, the passing of the sun and moon becoming a countdown to see each other, to hold each other, to speak of anything and everything without ever becoming bored despite the lack of new topics. To just be together even if they didn’t feel like talking.

Suddenly there was a very real threat of that all coming to an end. And as much as David was afraid for himself, he was terrified for Jasper. He didn’t want the ghost to go back to being alone, the days passing in a blur without meaning. It had taken a little while into their friendship, but he’d gotten details from Jasper about that state he called ‘the fog.’ It sounded similar to what David had experienced before they’d met, and he badly, desperately did not wish to leave Jasper alone to go back to that…

It would still feel awful but not quite as much if there was someone else here to keep him company, some other ghosts, at least one for him to call a friend. But he would be left entirely alone, and David feared what that would do Jasper. Because if their positions were switched he knew without a doubt he would be an absolute wreck to lose Jasper. He couldn’t even fathom how it would feel, he didn’t want to.

He fought back tears, holding tight to his love as these thoughts swirled around in his head without mercy. There was nothing he could do. Nothing either of them could do. He couldn’t leave the garden, they couldn’t run off together to avoid the promise of what was to happen. David was stuck here and they would both have to simply wait for it to happen.

At least, he tried to reason, if he were to die it was nice to have Jasper by his side until then. A silver lining on a dark, dark cloud. But it wouldn’t help Jasper in the end, he would still be left alone, David would still be gone, so he couldn’t find any real comfort in this thought.

All he felt was fear.

- - - -

The days started passing in a heavy blanket of growing dread. Jasper stayed with David continuously, not daring to go drift through the woods or around the house like he normally did when his boyfriend was asleep. Their conversations became quieter, less casual chatter and more just taking each other in. As if to savor the time together when it was too hard to attempt faking their usual carefree interactions. It was just easier to admit they were scared.

They spent longer and longer saying ‘goodnight’ and ‘I love you’ as the sun started creeping up each morning. The words became much more solemn, heavy, more of a veiled ‘goodbye’ just in case things went wrong come daylight. Suddenly every parting was threatening to be their last, bringing a terrible, sick feeling, wondering ‘will this be it?’ with every passing of the moon. But on the flip side, every nightfall when David woke up, it was with the most intense relief and pained delight to see Jasper’s face. To see him possibly one more time. And they would hold each other silently for a long time, just soaking up the touch and love mixed with heartache.

As much as Jasper had seriously considered his poltergeist idea, he’d quickly abandoned it. He’d gone 15 years without being able to interact with anything around him besides David, it was highly unlikely to change now. He’d much rather stay close to David, both to have more time with him and to keep watch for when those men came back.

And sure enough, they did.

He’d lost track of time but six whole days passed since their last visit, and as soon as Jasper picked up the sound of tires and heavy engines approaching, his stomach dropped out. Now he watched as the trees surrounding the road revealed trucks and heavy construction vehicles. Bright, nauseating yellow harbingers rolling down the long dirt road from the nearby highway. The one white truck a week ago had been bad enough, now this whole squadron of people ready to flip his world upside down made him want to vomit.

“No,” he protested weakly, his hands starting to shake. “Not yet.”

He’d been hoping but not really believing that maybe they’d just… never come back. And things would go back to normal and they could go back to their routine after a false alarm. It was unfounded but he couldn’t help but cling to that little bit of desperation. That maybe it would all be okay.

So much for that.

He watched while holding tight to David as the vehicles rolled to a stop, scattered about the large driveway in front of the house. People started getting out, garbed in hardhats and bright vests, looking ready and willing to start their destruction for the day. Jasper’s stomach churned in such heavy dread, he was pretty sure he would be throwing up if he could.

There was really no amount of time long enough to come to terms that your boyfriend might be killed without a second thought, but six days had been nothing. Suddenly it felt like it had all gone in the blink of an eye, the years they’d spent together about to be ended, and it just wasn’t enough.

Jasper stayed like that for a while, arms wrapped tightly around his David, watching as people walked around and made their plans for the day and got their equipment ready. He spared no thought as someone operated the crane and wrecking ball towards the old house. Somewhere in the back of his mind he suddenly wondered if the house was what tethered him here as a ghost and what would happen once it fell, but he couldn’t spare it much thought.

All he could do was wait, wondering if they would start on the garden today or focus on the house. Would it be better or worse for it to be put off another day? If they were spared for the moment, how would he manage to tell David once he woke up tonight? Would he wake up to see the house half torn down and just know? It almost felt like… a mercy, for him not to know for sure. It was so… vague and nebulous not to know exactly when it would happen. What Jasper was feeling now was probably a mere fraction of what David would go through if he woke up tonight to be told ‘this is your last night.’

Jasper swallowed the lump in his throat, these thoughts quickly breaking him down. He shouldn’t have to think about shit like this. About losing the love of his life, about David dying, about never seeing his smile or hearing his laugh or being told how much David loved him ever again…

Without realizing that he’d started to fall into the fog, drowning in these terrible feelings, Jasper suddenly snapped out of it when a few of the crew broke off and headed his way. Suddenly he was back on high alert, every phantom nerve in his body firing with anxiety and fear. As terrible as this last week had been, telling himself he only had a finite amount of time left with David, it all suddenly became indisputably real.

Jasper watched the construction crew approaching, nerves relentlessly eating at him because they were talking about the fountain and if they were going to bring down the whole house they were surely going to tear up this entire garden without care to salvage anything, even a beautiful, lovely statue that had only a thin layer of moss here and there-

Without preamble, one of them approached with a sledgehammer and he panicked, his heart racing with unprecedented fear. He moved quickly around to hover between David and the approaching man. “No! Stay the fuck away from him I swear to god- do you fucking hear me? Stay away I’m warning you, asshole-!”

And without preamble or waiting until Jasper was properly done with his threat, the man swung the sledge hammer in a smooth but violent arc. It went right through Jasper’s body despite his instinctive move to block it, bringing with it a wave of nausea and dread so strong he almost passed out as he whirled around at the terrible sound behind him-

Just in time to see his David, his beautiful, perfect, loving David crumble into a heap of stone, chunks and dust scattering into the empty fountain and crumbling like his heart and Jasper screamed-

The demolition workers collectively paused, unable to hear him but seemingly feeling his anguish like a cold wind on this bright sunny day for just a moment. A couple of them shivered briefly as a haunting chill ran up their spines, before shaking it off and moving on with business.

And all Jasper could do was collapse onto his knees, shaking like he’d never done before in life or death and he already couldn’t see his lovers remains because the tears were so thick and burning in his eyes and they wouldn’t stop. “Davey,” he forced out in a harsh whisper, barely able to speak through the frantic breaths that he couldn’t control, ripping past his lips and catching his throat painfully. And fuck all- he’d never wondered if ghosts could still experience crying and hyperventilating but apparently yes he very well could- strongly at that.

Maybe in hindsight it was a fair trade, if he could still feel love and joy and elation, logically it would follow that could also feel heartbreak and desolation.

His shaking hands tried to scoop pieces of the destroyed statue, making him sob harder because they passed right through- he’d always been able to touch David, they could touch and feel each other and he’d never passed through David like he did other solid objects so did this mean- his soul was gone? That the worker had absolutely, unarguably murdered his love right before his eyes without knowing either discretion?

His shoulders quaked as he tried to hold himself together, because he’d been right and David had a soul, he was once alive and unique and now he was gone and Jasper’s hands passed through the stone like any other object and he couldn’t remember feeling more alone than in that moment. The pain was so unrelentingly sudden and vicious it threatened to rip him apart, like he could die all over again and he kind of wished he would, because he couldn’t- going back to that lonely routine without David, to have known his light and warmth and love and have that cruelly ripped away-

The worst part was none of them would ever know the passing of such a warm light from this world, of someone so bright and beautiful and kind, no one but Jasper knew or would remember David. It felt like such a grave injustice that he could be torn away so easily and the only person able to mourn him was Jasper.

But in his defense, it sure felt like a world’s worth of mourning...

He hunched in on himself tightly, feeling sick, his ears ringing as he choked on a hard sob, tears running down his face to drip onto the old stone fountain. Everything around him abruptly faded away, the construction workers, the sound of the house being torn down, the loud beeping and rumbling engines of heavy trucks, all fell away to a terrible hazy buzzing. It was as if he was sinking underwater, the depth muffling more and more of the sounds around him as he drifted.

He wanted very much to curl up and lay in the fountain in hopes that he’d somehow become solid and they could put him out of this absolute misery when they destroyed it, let his remains lay with David’s in a pile of stone to be discarded in a landfill somewhere. He didn’t care, he just wanted to be anywhere other than that creeping abyss pulling him down, because it had never been this dark and hopeless before, swallowing him up so ruthlessly like maybe his own soul was fizzing out with David’s and this was what it was like for a ghost to die-

Suddenly a glow appeared beyond the mess of tears that distorted his vision, making Jasper sit upright a little, swiping a hand over his eyes because it was practically shining in his face. He scrambled back a little as a mist floated up from David’s remains, coiling and twisting the air and gathering close, starting to take a shape that was almost human and making Jasper’s heart race.

He watched as features began to form, achingly, painfully familiar features constructed before his eyes as if painted into that delicate mist with the finest brush. That or he was already losing his mind from heartbreak and he was imagining all this but honestly he would take that over being alone.

And then eyes opened with a sharp gasp, looking around frantically before squinting against the sunlight, shielding his eyes because he’d never been awake during the day and goodness it was bright- why was he awake during the day??- then he spotted Jasper, a mix of confusion, fear, and concern turning his face. “Jasper?” He asked shakily, lowering down from where he’d been floating, reaching for him.

Jasper’s breathing came fast and shallow, tears still pouring down his face as he stared in shock at this specter, the spitting image of his love but now- now David was like him-

He choked on a rough sob, pushing himself up to lunge at David and capture in him in a desperate hug, shaking hard with emotion because he could feel David- he still felt warm and solid and he’s here he thought frantically-

“Jasper,” came that familiar, warm whisper, arms wrapping around him and holding him close. “Shhhh, it’s alright sweetheart, it’s okay,” he soothed, rubbing Jasper’s back.

“I t-thought he killed you,” Jasper cried roughly into his shoulder. “I thought you were gone- I thought he killed you-”

“I... think he did,” David whispered, sounding lost and confused. It hadn’t been what he’d meant to say, it surely wouldn’t be a comfort to Jasper at all but he couldn’t help it. He had to process here and now and it seemed it would be out loud. “I feel different than before, I can’t explain it but- I feel it.”

Everything was different, confusing. He’d expected to wake up at night like usual or not at all, not midday with things being torn down all around him, Jasper crying his heart out and mourning David, and himself now distinctly dead much like his love. It was both a relief to be gifted this chance and terribly world shaking to comprehend what was happening.

“But you’re not, you came b-back to me, I- I-” Jasper choked, feeling David hold him tighter as he rattled in the other man’s arms.

“Sshhh, easy, easy,” David soothed again, his heart wrenching to hear Jasper in such distress. “Come here, let’s go somewhere quieter,” he said, looking around at the construction workers moving through the garden without care to their emotional scene, feeling pain upon seeing ivy and arches being ripped down- his own crumbled remains lying strewn in the fountain churning his stomach-

He helped Jasper up, already seeming pretty adept at moving around as a ghost, and they floated away from the center of the garden, away from the house, where overgrown ivy met the nearby woods. The trees and foliage were so dense here that it helped to muffle the sounds of destruction and dim the light of the sun. It helped that they didn’t have to go far for some reprieve, finding a large rock to sit down together.

Jasper looked up as David cradled his face, swiping tears from his cheeks with such care and love it made them fall faster again. “Davey,” he hiccupped weakly, his voice broken and nearly lost under grief, leaning into the touch. “I thought you were gone, I thought I lost you,” he said again, shoulders hitching.

David’s face etched in sorrow to see him in so much pain, and he gave up on wiping the tears away to instead pull Jasper close in another hug. Jasper leaned into him desperately, needy for the reassurance that David was alive- well- as alive as they could get, but still here with him. But even so Jasper was going to see the image of David’s statue crumbling for years and years to come, he knew it would never leave his mind. Suddenly for the first time ever he was thankful he couldn’t sleep, for if he could it would haunt his nightmares without relent. One good thing about being dead, he had to admit.

They held each other tight for a long time as Jasper cried it all out of his system, for as quickly as David had come back the shock and pain of losing him had been immense and soul wrenching. He was still swimming out of that sea of despair and the thoughts of wanting to die right along with his love.

David was perfectly content to just give him all the time he needed, holding tight to assure Jasper he was still here and running a hand up and down his back. Wishing he could take all that heartache from his love, to share that burden with him and ease the pain if only a little.

Even long after Jasper stopped crying and went silent they stayed wrapped up in each other, Jasper leaning heavily against David as the other man supported him easily, protective, comforting, whispering the occasional soothing assurance to him. Reminding Jasper that he was right there with him. That he loved him.

When Jasper finally drew in a long, raspy breath and sat upright, he roughly scrubbed tears from his face. Once his hands were out of the way, David cradled his face and leaned in to give him a tender kiss, not even bothering to ask if he was okay because it was obvious he wouldn’t be okay for a while. He had one foot each in fucking great and fucking terrible and they met in a painfully jagged line.

When David pulled back to look at him sadly, but so full of love, Jasper almost started crying again but managed to keep himself together. David’s hands slid down to take his, and Jasper pulled one of them closer to inspect. “You’re like me now,” he whispered finally, rough and scratchy, his voice fighting past the lump of emotion that still wouldn’t go down.

“I am,” David replied softly, his eyes on their joined hands, a similar shade of misty gray that just barely revealed a hint of past life. His skin color was still there but transparent, muting it into a pallid shade as if a person could be washed and faded in the sun. “I suppose... I don’t know,” he added, uncertain, confused, because now he had more questions than ever before.

“Are you okay?” Jasper asked quietly, sodden eyes flickering up to David. Because sure he’d dealt with a soul crushing despair for those few terrible minutes, but how was David handling this?

“I- I think so,” he replied, tangling their fingers together and squeezing weakly. “I just... I don’t know what I am. More than ever. I still don’t remember how I came to be in that garden, I thought I was just... a statue, I hadn’t ever imagined I was alive enough to become a ghost,” he shrugged weakly.

“You were never just a statue,” Jasper insisted, weak but determined. “I knew from the start you were alive, you have a soul and heart, you’re the most beautiful, amazing person I’ve ever met and there’s no way someone as warm as you could be ‘just a statue.’ I don’t know how you ended up like that but you were alive in your own way,” he said firmly. “You still are. You’re still here with me.”

David’s eyes had gone glassy during Jasper’s muted but passionate words, and he sniffed softly as he looked down. “Now I’m going to cry,” he joked softly, almost inaudible, his voice catching just a little with the truth of the statement. “I suppose I can look on the bright side, I’m no longer condemned to that garden, we can- we can go wherever we want now, I can be with you during the day!” he insisted softly, suddenly grasping his new found freedom. He hadn’t even thought about his previous confinement, he’d just wanted to get Jasper away from the sounds of construction. “I won’t be... asleep, a statue anymore....” he said in wonder.

“All the perks of ghost world now,” Jasper quipped in an attempt at his usual humor to lighten the mood, even though his voice was still thin and shaky. “You can float, we can go haunting together, super romantic date material, that’s kinda rad, yeah?” he offered.

David’s breath caught on a weak laugh, earning an exhausted smile from Jasper at the familiar exchange. He knew David didn’t always get his humor or it wasn’t even particularly funny if he was being honest, but bless his heart he always laughed and Jasper couldn’t get enough.

David smiled, bringing their linked hands up and kissing Jasper’s knuckles for a long moment, sighing softly as those fingers gripped his own. “I hate that you had to suffer such hurt for this to happen, but I have to admit, it’s nicer this way,” he said quietly, smiling at Jasper.

“It is,” Jasper whispered, his heart stirring in happiness for the first time in what seemed like ages to see that smile once more on David’s freckled face. A frown didn’t suit him at all, not that it made him unattractive, but he was just… meant to shine like the sun, and a frown was very much akin to heavy clouds blocking out that warmth and light. Had David smiled at all since Jasper brought the news? He couldn’t recall, he didn’t think either of them had until this point. It felt good to smile again, to see David smile again even if it was still tinged with sadness. “Totes worth it, by the way,” he added, grinning.

David laughed again, leaning forward to pull Jasper into a tight hug. They stayed that way for a long time, wrapped up together, the sounds of the house being torn down lost on the wind for all they cared.

- - - -

Later that evening they found a spot to lay under the stars, the construction crew having called it for the day and leaving them in blessed silence once more. He’d obviously taken for granted the absolute quiet this area usually sat in, as it was now a godsend not to be hearing that heavy machinery and the house being torn down.

Jasper stared up at the sky s he soaked in this reprieve, his mind whirling over multiple things that had been coming to bother him since the fiasco earlier.

Eventually, David rolled on his side in the crook of Jasper’s arm, resting a hand on his chest. “Darling, what’s troubling you?” he asked softly, the unspoken ‘besides the obvious’ left off of his query. There was something else now weighing heavy on Jasper, he could tell.

Jasper took in a soft breath, measured, anxious. “I just- had these terrible thoughts and I’ve been thinking- what if- I… I don’t even want to say it...” he trailed off, frowning. It almost felt as if speaking the thought out loud would help it into existence. One of them, anyway.

“Tell me,” David encouraged gently, leaning a little closer. “Whatever it is I don’t want it resting on your shoulders alone, let me share it with you. Let me help.”

Jasper sniffed softly, his heart squeezing with so many emotions. He’d long gotten used to how sweet and caring David was, never taking that for granted of course, but after nearly losing him today those little things had started to hit him straight in the heart again. Every touch, kiss, sweet assurance and act of love from David made him think how close he came to never feeling those things again.

“Well… the first thing is uh. When. When he broke you,” Jasper said, his voice cracking a little on the word ‘broke.’ “Um, I started to think about if. What if you hadn’t come back like his?” he asked, gesturing vaguely to them both before resting his hand over David’s, still on his chest. Those fingers twined with his own, squeezing gently. “And what if. Like. You were still in there. And the sun sets and what if you woke up like normal but you- you were- Would it hurt? Would you be able to feel-” he cut off, unable to finish the sentence.

David frowned, a similar thought having passed through his mind, among many other possibilities ranging from simply being gone to a lot more terrifying and painful. He squeezed Jasper’s hand again, bringing it over to kiss his knuckles. “Well luckily none of that happened, but it does no good fretting over it and making yourself sick with worry or what could have gone wrong,” he assured, advice for both of them because he’d been fighting that scenario for a while.

“Yeah, guess so,” Jasper sighed.

“But it feels better getting it off your chest?” David asked hopefully.

“I think, yeah.”

“And what of your other worry?” David encouraged.

“Well, this one’s not really what could have been and more… what could happen?” Jasper said nervously, turning his hesitant gaze to David and seeing the beginnings of concern on his face. “Um, I still don’t- I don’t know if anyone ever found my body, in the house,” he said quietly, making David’s eyebrows furrow and Jasper knew he was starting to clue in where this thought was going.

“So I started worrying, what if it’s still there and what if they find me?” Jasper whispered, feeling David’s hand squeeze his a little tighter, that fear setting in for him well. “And if they do… will that like… will I ‘move on’ or whatever?” Jasper wondered, hearing David’s breath hitch. “I don’t… I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave you alone, I want to stay with you,” he insisted, his voice starting to break. “And I’m scared that- if my body- or bones or whatever are still there and what happens if- if-” he broke off, putting his free hand over his mouth to ward away the oncoming burn of tears.

David took a long, slow breath. “I know I’m going to sound really selfish by saying this but… I don’t want you to leave either,” he whispered. “If you were unhappy like this and wanted to move on, I would understand… but we…” he trailed off, swallowing against the lump in his throat.

“Then I’m just as selfish, because when I thought you were gone, I- I fucking wanted to die too,” Jasper whispered brokenly, his voice dissolving as he spoke the words. “It hurt so much and I couldn’t imagine being stuck here alone without you,” he croaked. “I don’t want that for you either- I want to stay-”

“Shhh,” David soothed, pulling Jasper into his arms where he promptly buried his face in David’s shoulder. David let him work through another round of tears. It was quieter this time, less like the breaking dam from earlier and now a residual trickle of hurt. He’d gotten through the bulk of the water works earlier but there was still more to give, because that pain he felt, losing David for those few terrible minutes, would never leave him.

They stayed wrapped up like this for a long time, long after Jasper stopped crying again and remaining in silence for the rest of the night. They could not yet fall back on the routine of talking for hours, it was just too hard to speak pleasantries and jokes like usual. Today had been so much and there was still possible heartbreak on the horizon, so they just lay together quietly. It was reminiscent of the nights waiting for the demolition to start. A lot less dread weighing on them, yes, but still so far away from the usual mood before all of this had started looming over their heads.

In the morning when the sun started to break, peeking over the horizon and filtering through trees to cast a soft glow on the ghosts, David for once stayed with him. He wasn’t taken away or turned to stone by the light of day like in the past, no longer forcibly separated from Jasper. They remained silent and watched each other for a long time until the sun was well into the sky, when they were sure David wouldn’t be taken away. And when that finally did settle in, it certainly helped ease some of the pain of yesterday, leaving them with lighter hearts, even with the question of Jasper’s remains still weighing.

At least for now, they could be together in this peace, in each other’s arms, and that was enough. Whatever happened beyond that, they would face together.

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Episode 3

I just love their outfits here, and since I didn’t comment on that in the last episode, I wanted to say it here. I love the whole color palette they used for Lotus Pier. The donghua goes heavy on the purple and black, but I really love how they incorporate lavender and teal and other blues. It’s just very pretty and soft and relaxing. Such a nice place. I keep having a debate with myself about where I’d rather live. I think I’d be more comfortable in the Cloud Recesses, but I’d never be able to deal with all those rules!

Ah, yes, everyone’s favorite peacock. He played this part so perfectly: just this pillar of grace and poise, except when he’s around Jiang Yanli, and he just becomes butter hahaha. I like his son a lot better than him, but he and Wei Wuxian have some great scenes together, and it’s fun to see him grow alongside everyone else. He’s not just a mindless clan member who does everything he’s supposed to. He’ll stand up and fight for justice too.

It’s easy to forget (myself included in this) that Jiang Yanli is the oldest of the three of them, especially in this show. She’s so much smaller, so soft-spoken; she isn’t going to be the next leader, because that’s Jiang Cheng, being the male heir. But this is one of those scenes where she really is the big sister. Wei Wuxian is fighting with her fiancé’s retinue, Jiang Cheng is just trying to stay out of it and be polite, so she has to step in and put an end to it. I love when Jiang Yanli gets some screen time and lines, and isn’t serving soup. Don’t get me wrong—I like seeing her take care of them, but it’s more mothering than being a big sister. I think the moments when she’s standing up for her brothers and for herself are really special. You can’t blame Jiang Cheng or Wei Wuxian for loving their shijie so much.

Gotta love Wei Wuxian taking every opportunity to throw some shade at Jin Zixuan. I love all of it, and I eat it up—I am the target audience for snarky Wei Wuxian. And at this point, Jin Zixuan just ignores him—good on him. He keeps that up for all of a few days.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

YOU FORGOT THE INVITATION!

Sorry, but the first time I watched this, I wondered why there was this big close-up of something with “Lan Clan of Gusu” written on it. I’m a dummy, okay?

Omg they translated ge-ge as “buddy.”

Okay, but here we go! Shut out of the Cloud Recesses. Also, where did they change? I kept thinking they changed at the tavern, but when they left, they were wearing their same Jiang Clan clothes. So, somewhere along the way, they put on their pretty white robes. I’ve got nothing else to say here, because we’re about to see another great entrance from Lan Wangji.

I love how his entrance is accompanied by the guqin. His presence is so ethereal, so otherworldly, yet he’s so grounded as a character. He turns everyone’s heads, including Wei Wuxian’s. I love that Wang Yibo is in reality shorter than Xiao Zhan, so they gave him platform boots to make them more even. But the height and stature gives the relationship a whole different dynamic.

Anyone who knows me knows I love my yaoi/BL. I could go on and on about my favorites, but I won’t do that here. There’s one thing I don’t like about it, and it’s that you can always tell who the top and bottom is just by how they look (sometimes artists subvert this, which I love!). The donghua for MDZS does this (I haven’t read the manhua, but I have seen some screenshots, and I think it also does)—Lan Wangji is so much bigger than Wei Wuxian. And while it’s aesthetically pleasing, it just bugs me, okay? I like the idea of Wangxian being roughly the same size and height—I don’t really know why, I just do. Also I definitely headcanon them both as switches at this point.

I don’t think Lan Wangji would have given Wei Wuxian the time of day if he hadn’t heard this. He’s already impressed that Wei Wuxian picked up on the weird stuff/wicked sorcery going on—he’s made a mental note of him. I’m sure he’s a little disappointed that Wei Wuxian immediately gets on his nerves, but he still pauses before leaving.

Lan Wangji is never going to be a fast friend—he’s not going to be anyone’s best friend right away. You need to gain his trust and that does not happen overnight. Though the setting is anything but realistic, their relationship and the steps it goes through are incredibly realistic. They grow together—they grow on each other (it’s not as if Wei Wuxian really cares about Lan Wangji at first either—think of how many times he calls him a fuddy-duddy. I think his main goal for quite some time is to get on Lan Wangji’s nerves and tease him. Wei Wuxian is used to charming his way in and out of things, but he can’t do that with Lan Wangji).

Yibo’s piercings! That’s it. That’s why I took this screenshot. But, weirdly, I always look at stuff like that.

He has such a swagger here, going up the steps, but I think it’s really just Xiao Zhan trying to climb the stairs without tripping on his costume. XD

It’s funny how surprised Wei Wuxian is to have the silencing spell used on him, even though he had been put under it earlier that day. Frankly, I don’t blame Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian hit him with a bit of a sucker punch there, implying that the girls only liked him for how he looks and that they’d be disappointed by his demeanor.

It’s such a popular trope (enemies to lovers), but I don’t think that makes it inherently bad or less effective as a storytelling device. On the contrary, when done well, it can make or break a story. As I said earlier, their relationship is very realistic, yet has enough fiction to make it fun. I watch these early scenes with a big old grin on my face, and I’ve seen this one probably around four times now, maybe more (I keep watching the Special Edition for all that wangxian goodness).

Okay, let’s watch as Wei Wuxian digs his hole deeper and deeper. The look on Lan Qiren’s face this entire time is priceless. Like, who is this miscreant who just barged in here, telling me how he is breaking all the rules and expecting me to feel bad for him? Meanwhile, Lan Xichen, with a smile: I won’t blame you for breaking the rules, but let my brother who hates you decided your punishment, okay? Thanks!

Peak comedy before it gets all serious again.

She’s so gorgeous!

But I’ll be frank with you all, I don’t like that they expanded Wen Qing’s role in this way. She was one of my favorites in the book, but shoehorning her and Wen Ning into the Cloud Recesses kind of drives me nuts. And then the stuff with Jiang Cheng, while kind of cute, just doesn’t really hit right with me, and I don’t think it was executed well at all after a certain point—but I’ll babble about that when the time comes. So, while I appreciate expanding female roles, I didn’t really care for this bit in the Cloud Recesses. I would have been fine with them adding scenes of what she was up to with the Wen Clan—that would have been really cool, actually, because we don’t get to see much of anything other than the Nightless City. And maybe I’m biased because I quite enjoyed the archery contest stuff in the book that they kind of piecemealed in the show.

It sounds like I’m just whining about this show, but I actually really enjoy it.

I like this moment between the twin jades. We don’t get a ton of these and this one is particularly quiet and peaceful. The contrast between them and Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian is so stark—the twin jades are so formal and a little stiff, while the twin prides are off the wall, hitting and teasing each other—but this doesn’t make either one less caring than the other. What’s obvious from this scene is how much both of them care about each other: Lan Wangji wants to do what he can to help, because he knows how much pressure is on Xichen, and Xichen is just worried about his younger brother. Even though you don’t find this out until later, you can tell that the two boys had to grow up very fast. Neither one had much of a childhood, and I think Lan Xichen does take on a bit of a father role to Lan Wangji as well.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 |

[askygokindredshipping]

Never say “Yes” to Ghost Hunting... Unless....

Summary: Ghost Hunting AU anyone? Judai and Johan are sensitives and realize that Yusei is partially sensitive when he momentarily spots their familiar spirits Yubel and Ruby. However, Yusei doesn’t believe in them and thinks that the two of them are out of their minds. Can looking for non-existent beings lead to something else? (No Duel Monsters in this AU. Yubel and Ruby are both human spirits that died generations ago.)

Author’s Notes: Now that I am in a place where I don’t feel completely overwhelmed by everything and can remember to actually post here, here it is! This is the story I kept promising for that mini bang I was apart of! @hyperionnebulae​ did a fantastic job of setting it up. I’ll link the full collection at the end. Also, I had an amazing artist and I’ll edit this post with their information. The piece that they did is *chef’s kiss*.  I do know that you can visit their DeviantArt page and I highly encourage you to do so! 

Anyway, enjoy!

Yusei’s face was not looking down at the screen of his laptop, but instead, he was staring at the two men sitting across from him. It was a warm, sunny evening and he had decided that he was going to do some of his work at the local coffee shop so that he could focus. Focus. What a funny word it was. That was exactly what he was not doing.

Two young men were sitting at the table next to him, chatting amicably about something he didn't quite catch. While they were both very appealing to the eyes, they didn’t interest him nearly as much as the two people sitting next to both of them. These two figures were translucent and clearly injured. He was not a doctor, that was Aki’s area of expertise, but he’d seen enough in his day to recognize deadly injuries like those. The tallest one (Yusei couldn’t quite determine which gender either of the translucent people were and decided it was probably best not to assume anything) had a scar that went down its face, nearly dividing it in two and what looked like a jewel embedded into its forehead. Their hair was a soft, metallic blue color. The other one was shorter with wide, ruby-colored eyes and lavender colored hair, a clear bloodstain blooming from their chest and out against their lovely lavender blouse. The tall one said something to the man next to it. He responded casually. Like… like there was nothing wrong!

Yusei blinked.

They were gone.

He breathed in deep and quickly turned back to his computer screen, the words suddenly not making any kind of sense as something cold shot up his spine. No. There was no way. Those things did not exist. He refused to accept what he had just seen. There had to be a logical explanation.

Didn’t there?

“Excuse me,” a voice asked him, “Are you alright?” He looked up. The two men at the table were now looking at him. The one who spoke had teal-blue colored hair and equally blue eyes; he wore a light lavender colored blouse-style shirt with a darker blue vest over the top. “You look like you’re about to be sick.”

“Or you’ve seen a ghost,” the other added. He was dressed in a dark t-shirt with a red jacket over it. His hair was a light brown and stood out in nearly every direction (not that Yusei could judge with his own black mess) and his eyes were a warm brown. He took a breath as he registered the statement. A ghost? Those things did not exist.

But….

“I’m fine,” he finally answered. He couldn’t stop himself as he blurted out, “but what happened to your two friends?” The two of them shared a look.

“It’s only been us here,” the brown haired one said.

Yusei blinked, “You mean you don’t have two friends that are dressed up for Halloween somewhere around here?”

“Oh, they just left,” the blue haired one cut in just as the brown haired one went to say something. He shot the other a look and it seemed to take a second but, eventually, he got the meaning and quickly clamped his mouth shut again.

“They couldn’t have left that quickly,” he argued. “Are you pulling some kind of prank?” They shared a look again, and Yusei started to get mildly annoyed with it. They didn’t say anything to him for some time. Finally, he closed his laptop and stood to pack his things. Clearly, this was not where he was meant to be. Before he could walk away from the table, the brown-haired guy caught his wrist gently; electricity shot up Yusei’s arm and he flinched at the sensation even though it did not hurt. It felt a bit good.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, releasing him. “It’s just… Can we walk with you for a bit? Here’s not the place to talk.” Yusei blinked. A couple of alarms went off in his mind, but he ignored them, in favor of nodding his consent, and the three of them left together.

The brown-haired guy leaned forward as they walked, “I’m Judai Yuki and this is my partner, Johan Anderson.” Johan raised a hand in greeting when Yusei looked at him.

“Yusei Fudo.”

“Nice to meet you Yusei,” Johan greeted. Judai smiled and continued introducing the two of them.

“We’re paranormal investigators; basically, we work to help people in desperate situations involving anything they can’t explain or handle.” He straightened, walking forward a little bit. Yusei couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

“Ghost? You two deal with ghosts?”

“More or less,” Johan nodded.

“You do understand ghosts aren’t real?” They shared another look.

“Yeah, that’s what a lot of people say.”

“But we happen to know differently.”

Yusei stopped and leaned his head to the side a bit, “Alright, I’ll bite. What is your proof? A grainy photo? Horribly shot night-vision scenes? A scar you got from something being magically thrown at you?” Johan snickered and Judai had to cover his mouth with his hand. After a few seconds, the two of them could not help but laugh at his response. Yusei was taken a bit off guard. “What’s so funny?”

“You were so deadpanned when you were asking,” Judai breathed.

“It was hilarious,” Johan added. Yusei found himself blushing a bit, and he turned his head away, trying to not let them see how embarrassed he was. They recovered after a few moments. “And to answer your question, nothing like that.” He pointed off over his shoulder, “Do you see them?”

Yusei looked, then shook his head. “See who?”

“Our friends from the café,” Judai clarified. Yusei looked over their shoulders again, but still only saw the street in front of them. He shook his head.

“Nobody’s there.”

“But you did see them in the café?”

“I saw something ,” Yusei pointed out. “I don’t know what it is I saw.”

“Deny it all you want Yusei,” Judai returned, “but you did ask us about it, which meant that you did see them.” He pointed between the two of them. “Johan and I are mediums. We can communicate with spirits and we’re pretty certain that you’re at least a little bit sensitive since you could see our familiars briefly. You can’t see them right now even though they are standing next to us without utilizing too much of theirs or our energy.” Judai nodded, as if his point made a whole ton of sense. “I wonder what it would take to help you see them again? What made it possible at the café?”

“Do you think the setting had something to do with it,” Johan added. “I remember reading a report that that café has natural running water under it.”

“That might have something to do with it.”

“You two are crazy,” Yusei returned. Nothing they said made any sense! Ghosts didn’t exist, but now they were claiming… all of this ? Johan smiled at him apologetically.

“It’s a lot the first time. You probably don’t believe us, but I have a suggestion.” He clapped his hands together. “Why don’t you come with us tonight? We have a job at a local place this evening. It’ll give us a chance to show you what you’re talking about and to confirm if you are sensitive or not.”

“Full offense, but I just met you.”

“I know.”

“How can I trust you?”

“You can’t.” That took him by surprise and Yusei felt staggered a bit. “But you might find it more interesting than you think. I promise.” Yusei looked between the two of them. Logically, he had no reason to trust either one of them. Something in his gut, though, told him something completely different; it was whispering that he should take the chance and see where this was going to lead. After a few seconds of the two of them staring him down, he finally sighed. He raised his hands in defeat.

“Alright. I’ll join you.”

Johan and Judai smiled at each other.

My, my, my- how the night had suddenly turned around.

*****

The house they were investigating turned out to be an older mansion on the outskirts of the city. Yusei made sure to let a couple of people know where he was going. Martha was worried, of course, but Jack and Crow got a huge trip out of the fact that he, Yusei Fudo, was going ghost hunting. Of all things in the world.

What a weird first date , they had teased.

He had left the house with red across his nose and both cheeks, but he had not given them the satisfaction of seeing it. Yusei slammed the door on his way out.

He now sat leaned up against his red motorcycle. Neither of them had arrived yet. This left him time to do a little extra research on the address on his transparent tablet. The mansion was built in the year XXXX by a rich mogul who wanted a place for his new bride to be the mistress of; however, he built over sacred ground, despite multiple warnings, and thus, “cursed” the home and his family for all eternity. They lost several children in birth and early into childhood. Eventually, the wife passed of an illness, but information on which one was scarce. Her death was the final straw for him. The mogul retired from the home and disappeared into obscurity. It was left to rot. Reports of families moving in and immediately moving out were plentiful in the first few decades after the original owner’s leaving, but quickly teetered off as rumors of a haunting became more prevalent.

He scrolled up on his tablet, murmuring. “Reports of a white lady…. Children laughing… shadow figures…. Objects being thrown. So just your run of the mill hoax?”

“Well, even if it is a hoax, it’s still our job to ease the worries of our customer.” He looked up, not necessarily startled by the sound of Johan’s voice, but a bit surprised that he hadn’t heard them approaching, especially in the large, older van they were driving. Judai was behind him, starting to mess with some equipment. Yusei closed the tablet and placed it in his pocket. “We’re glad you decided to come. What’d you find in your research?”

“Nothing out of this world,” he confirmed, arms still crossed. “Pretty standard reports. White lady, children, objects being thrown.”

Johan nodded. He turned his head a bit, as if listening to someone, and he smiled after a few seconds before saying, “That was pretty much everything we were able to find or was given to us as in our initial customer request.” He paused for a second, “I better help Judai with the equipment. As brave as he is as a ghost hunter, he’s a complete ditz when it comes to setting it up.”

“Would you like me to help? I’m fairly good with technology.”

Johan shot him a grateful smile. “You don’t have to. We’re the ones that invited you out here.”

Yusei rolled up the sleeve of his jacket. “Don’t worry about it. I might as well do something useful now since I’m probably going to mess up your results anyway.” Johan shook his head but led him over to the wired mess that had become Judai. It took them about an hour, once they had untangled him, to set up all the equipment they planned to use and since they were getting paid a hefty price, they were using everything . EVP, static night vision, Mel meters, motion detectors. You name it, they had it. The sun was starting to set when they finally started to sync up all their equipment, recording audio introductions on their three different recording devices. Johan helped Yusei into a specially made vest with several different pieces of equipment attached to it such as a night vision camera, perspective camera, and a few other useful tools like glow sticks, back-up batteries, and flashlights. Yusei felt the electricity again as his hand brushed his arm. A soft blush touched his cheeks. He did not miss the fact that Johan had one as well. Was it possible that he was feeling it too? What was even more astounding to him was that this was the second time he had felt it… with both of them.

Judai smiled brightly when they came back from the back of the van, “That vest looks good on you Yusei.”

Oof, that blush was not going away any time soon.

“Thank you,” he managed to get out without sounding like a stammering idiot.

Yusei had had feelings for people before in his life. Aki, the young lady who had become one of his greatest friends of all time, was one such example. His friend Kiryu was another. However, he had never been in this kind of situation before; his feelings for the previous two had come at different times. This was new. And a bit confusing, especially with how fast everything was moving.

“Are you feeling alright,” Judai asked. Yusei turned to face him. He was looking up at him, his brow furrowed a bit. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“You make it sound like I’m regretting my wedding or something.”

“Hmmm, I’m pretty sure this isn’t as stressful as a wedding.” He smirked. “But if you’re feeling scared, I recommend hanging back behind us.”

“I can’t be scared of something that doesn’t exist.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Me being scared or ghosts being real?”

“Yes.”

Yusei shook his head as he walked away, and he followed. Johan bowed mockingly as he opened the front door. Judai gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before blowing a kiss back at Yusei and disappearing into the darkness, only the light of his flashlight illuminating a soft outline of his head and left shoulder. The two of them followed.

The entryway was as bad as you could imagine. Dust clung to everything. Spider webs decorated every corner, and the stairs, and the molding, and the walls, and basically every available square inch. Old paint and wallpaper were missing in great chunks. The building material was old and decayed. An odd sensation of dread shot through Yusei the longer he looked down the hallway. There was no discernible reason for the feeling. He grabbed both Judai’s and Johan’s shoulders, preventing them from stepping any further inside.

When they turned to look at him, he raised his hands apologetically, but dropped them and breathed, “Something isn’t right.”

Judai blinked, quickly looked to his right, and briefly nodded. “What are you feeling?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that if we go any further, something bad is going to happen.”

“But we’ve already been in here multiple times,” Johan assured him. “We had to set up all the static cameras, remember?”

Yusei hesitated. That was true. They’d already been in and out, and up and down all sets of stairs, as they’d been busy setting up static night vision cameras in a couple of the hotspots, specifically where the white lady and the children were often seen and heard moving about. Nothing seemed to happen during that time, and he rationalized that they would be fine in this moment.

The feeling, on the other hand, would not leave him alone.

He started to say something again, but Judai started moving inward and Johan followed. The feeling grew worse as he raised a hand to stop them.

A white figure suddenly appeared at the end of the narrow hallway. The three of them froze, but Judai, after a few seconds, threw a hand back. What Yusei could not see was how his eyes shifted from brown to green and orange, ready for whatever was about to occur. Johan took a step back. Something creaked. The white figure raised its head and with an unearthly scream, it shot forward at them. Judai jumped back. Johan moved in front of Yusei which put the three of them into roughly the same spot on the floor. Yusei looked down immediately as the sound of breaking wood caught his attention; just before the figure could reach them, he grabbed both of them close to him.

The floor gave way, and they fell into darkness.

*****

“Yusei, Yusei, Yusei!” He blinked. Everything felt sore and painful. It took him a few moments to remember that they had fallen through the floor. He groaned. Thankfully, nothing seemed broken, but he was going to be feeling this for the next few days; Martha was probably going to order him to go to a doctor, and for once, he probably wouldn’t protest it. A soft smile crossed Johan’s face. He was momentarily confused.

“I’m dead,” he breathed, “I swear I’m seeing an angel.”

“You wish,” Johan laughed. “But Judai and I owe you quite a bit for saving our lives.”

“What happened?”

Johan crossed his arms, contemplating on how much to share. “Well, you see….” He paused and changed his question, “Did you happen to see a white figure come at us?” Yusei shook his head.

He struggled to remember. Nothing came to mind however and he shook his head. “All I saw was you and Judai get defensive.”

“Maybe that’s for the best,” he mused. Louder, he said, “Anyway, we all were standing on the same space and the floor gave way. You just barely managed to brace us against you before it happened. You took the brunt of the injury.” He pointed to some old bags of flour that were clearly busted in the fall. “You really do have to have a guardian angel at least since this is what we landed on. Judai went back upstairs to double check everything. We should really get out of here.” He stood. Johan offered out a hand, which Yusei took gratefully. Together, they made their way back up the stairs and, to his surprise, the sun was starting to rise.

How long had he been out?

Judai was at the back of the van, putting away most of their equipment. He looked up when they exited. Without hesitation, or warning, he ran for Yusei, catching him in a tight hug; Yusei flinched a bit but accepted it.

“Thank you,” Judai breathed. “We wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t for you.” After a few seconds, he released Yusei’s waist, backed away from him, and bowed. “I’m also so sorry. I should have listened to your warning. I know better than to ignore things like that.”

Yusei waved a hand. “No harm, no foul.”

“Well, a little harm,” Johan reminded him, elbowing his side. He flinched again. Johan walked over and wrapped an arm lovingly around Judai’s shoulders. “As such, breakfast is on us.”

“If you’d like,” Judai quickly added. Yusei did not miss how brightly red his expression had become and he smiled.

“Sure,” he agreed. “As long as the ghosts aren’t invited.”

“No promises,” they said together.

The three of them managed to hook their transportations together and rode back to town in the van. Yusei looked out the window. He was surprised when a weight hit his shoulder; Judai had slumped over, soundly asleep. Johan smiled apologetically.

Something swelled in his heart. He turned to look out the window once more and mused that he would not mind trying it again. Ghost hunting that is. Falling into decrepit basements he could definitely do without.

Judai shifted a bit on his shoulder and Yusei looked down at him softly.

Yeah, maybe just one more time.

*****

Thank you so much for reading!

The story on AO3

The mini bang collection

Check out LightningClawedSky on Deviantart

Support me on Ko-Fi

[chilling-seavey]

Anything But Mine (d.s.) - Chapter Six

A/N in celebration of my one year as a Limelight, here’s another chapter :) (and yes I edited this picture to make him brunette again lol)

Friday, September 13th, 2019

The next week was keeping Florence busy. Grayson was preoccupied with work, and Daniel and their friends were trying to keep up with their increasing course load. Clementine had a doctor’s appointment early in the week, which she passed her check up with flying colours. Nights were getting restless for the eight month old, however, as she was quick realizing someone was never around anymore. Matt was rarely home during the day but he always had a bit of time in the mornings to sit with the baby while watching the news. The only thing that would put Clementine to sleep was his black flannel tucked into bed next to her. Every night, after Clementine was gone to bed, Florence sat alone on the balcony overlooking the city with a cup of tea and her thoughts. She often thought about what her life would have been if she stayed in LA with her family. She would be financially stable and have her brother with her - if her parents would have even kept her around after finding out about the pregnancy. There was no other option for Florence.

Friday night came around and Grayson had invited Florence over for dinner with him and Ethan. This meant she needed a babysitter for Clementine. That’s where Michael and Like came in again. Michael and Luke Clifford had been there for her (and her brother) since they first moved to Toronto and were extra supportive when Florence moved back alone, letting her stay at their house until the baby was born and she was on her feet. The men loved Clementine; never complaining about having to take care of her because after raising two boys it was nice to have a bit of a break with a little girl.

Once Grayson texted her that he had arrived, Florence had been dressed and ready for almost 45 minutes; Clementine long gone to the Clifford’s at that point.

Grayson, as usual, was stood against his car when she got to the parking garage. She had to control herself to not literally run to him. Even still, she threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him. His pink and white striped T-shirt was soft to her touch and the quirky colours made her smile more.

“Hi.” he chuckled, opening the car door for her again.

Grayson and Ethan’s house was out of the downtown core. It was farther west of where the DiCaprio’s lived but just as north. Real estate in Toronto was not cheap and Florence was impressed by the just the fact that two nineteen-year-old’s could afford a single house there. When Grayson turned onto the private street, Florence was even more in awe by the tree lined driveway and the large, single story black painted house and matching car park. A white Jeep with black and red accents as well as a teal old style Bronco and two motorcycles sat under the car park. The sun was setting behind it, golden light spreading over the roof of the house and the paved entryway. Florence was raised in a more luxurious lifestyle than what she was looking at, but growing up on her own meant she had an appreciation for how hard money was to come by.

The double doors let into a small foyer, a hallway to the left and the living room through an open space off to the right. The natural wood tones made the place warm and comforting and had a sense of luxury to it that was far different from the DiCaprio’s.

“E!” Grayson shouted across the house. Florence startled a little bit but played it off.

Ethan came out from the hallway, dressed in a black t-shirt with a white graphic printed on it and white pants. The white designer sneakers were expected.

“It’s you again!” Ethan smiled at Florence, going right in for a hug.

Taken by surprise, Florence hesitantly hugged him back, “Nice to see you again.” she laughed.

Although identical, Ethan’s warm embrace didn’t come close to what she felt like in Grayson’s arms. She wondered how much they told each other. Did Ethan know about how she kissed his brother the same day they met? Did he know about the stories she shared? Did he know that she invited Grayson home on their first date? She told Callum everything so there was no doubt Grayson and Ethan were the same.

Embarrassment bubbling inside her at the idea of it, Florence tried to push it away, following the twins to the living room. The open ceilings revealed the peaked roof and a stone fireplace reached to the top. Two grey couches lined the room with a modern coffee table and area rug in the centre. A record player sat on an antique stereo table in the back corner. The floor to ceiling sliding glass doors at the far end of the room opened onto a tree lined backyard and glistening swimming pool that was a few steps down from a large stone porch. Florence couldn’t help but smile. She felt more at home than she had in almost a year.

The three sat around the living room, Grayson pulling her close next to him. The simple action made Florence eye Ethan shyly, not being used to such displays of affection in front of others. The older twin didn’t think much of it as he asked Florence about Clementine. Florence’s favourite topic of discussion.

Their conversations were filled with laughter and smiles, Florence feeling as light as air with the twins. Usually, in her childhood, conversations were held over glasses of wine and brandy but Florence learned that neither boy had ever had a sip of alcohol in their lives. Thinking back to her father’s short temper under a few drinks, Florence was relaxed by that fact.

It wasn’t long before they started discussing what to eat for dinner. Ethan coming in determined with a, “I was feeling pizza.”

“Sounds good to me.” Florence nodded, looking to Grayson who sat on her left.

“Sure. I can order it.” he agreed.

“Dairy free cheese though.” Ethan pipped up.

“Yes, I know.” Grayson rolled his eyes as he took out his phone to order it.

“Dairy free?” Florence crinkled her nose in Ethan’ direction.

“Yeah I’ve been dairy free for a year. It just doesn’t sit well with my skin or my stomach-“

“Yeah.” Grayson cut him off lightheartedly. “So I have to suffer too.”

“Hey!” Ethan frowned. “I have to suffer with anchovy pizza half the time so you can shut up.”

“Ew. I’d take dairy free pizza over anchovies any day.” Florence shuttered. “I just don’t understand how someone can eat them when they still look like fishies.”

“Fishies!” Ethan laughed.

Grayson chuckled, pulling the blushing girl into his side, kissing the top of her head. It only made the pink on her cheeks turn to red.

When the pizza finally arrived, they moved to the kitchen. Florence felt so comfortable with the two, feeling like she had known them for years already. Dinner finished quickly, the three of them working on the dishes together. Grayson and Ethan ended up chasing each other with wet dishcloths, seeing who could leave the biggest bruise on the other. The evening came to an end, Florence and Grayson finding themselves in his bed, watching a movie on his projector screen. He explained that he and Ethan remolded each other’s rooms and the projector was his brother’s touch. It was ultimately impressive. The movie ended but neither reached to turn it off, letting the credits roll down the wall across from the bed. Grayson had his arms around her, the white sheets tucked up to their waists.

“What’s your goal in life?” Florence whispered through the dimly lit room.

“We’re getting to the deep questions now, huh?” Grayson smirked. “Well...I want to keep working with Ethan in film and media. Maybe produce a couple movies? I want to have a family eventually. Kids for sure. Nice house but not too big. Who needs a big house anyway? Takes money away from traveling.”

Florence smiled up at him, “I love traveling.”

“Have you been to Europe?”

“Italy, England, and France. Father’s work trips.”

“Italy is my favourite.” Grayson admitted. “But I’ve always wanted to go to Norway.”

“Scandinavia looks beautiful.” Florence sighed.

They let the silence rise, their minds set across the ocean.

“Probably will never go, though.” Florence shrugged.

“Whys that?” Grayson asked.

“I would need to start saving right away and I have no job.” Florence laughed lightly like it was obvious.

“Do you want a job?”

“I mean, yeah. But I have no university degree so I won’t get far. Not Norway far.”

“I could get you something at CTV? Nothing big, probably a paid internship but it’s something?”

Florence sat up when she heard this, turning to him in shock, “You can do that for me?”

“Sure I can.” Grayson smiled gently, pressed his palm to her cheek. She leaned into him habitually. “Just to get you started.”

“That would mean so much. Thank you.” Florence whispered.

“You’re welcome.” Grayson chuckled, pulling her in to kiss her softly. “I’ll keep you posted on that.”

Florence nodded, a wide smile taking up her face.

“You have a beautiful smile.” Grayson whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear. The girl looked to her lap, not quite sure how to respond. Her fingers danced over his forearms, soaking in each beautifully chiseled curve of his skin. The trail came to an end where his neck met his jaw, light stubble reaching the surface under the soft touch of her fingertips. His dark hazel eyes watched her carefully, a beautiful honey as sweet and enticing as he was. Grayson watched her silently as her wide eyes soaked in his features, his hands holding her loosely by her waist. She forced herself not to get attached; they had only known each other barely a few weeks. But when his lips were on hers again, every thought in her mind melted away.

Grayson was gentle with her; incredibly gentle to the point that he held her like she was made of glass. He laid her back against the fluffy white bedsheets and down filled pillows, her heartbeat loud in her ears. Long minutes passed before his hand fell between their bodies. Florence grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

Breaking their kiss, she spoke, “You don’t want to do that.”

Grayson leaned back from her, “Why not?”

“I had a baby eight months ago...it is not the same down there. Matt’s told me plenty of times.” she laughed humourlessly. “Believe me, you don’t want to see it.”

“Well, no offence, but I couldn’t give two shits about what that jerk thinks.” Grayson’s kind yet obvious bluntness stunned her. “You know what I think?”

“What?” Florence ask timidly.

“I think that you grew a human in here and brought a new life into this world all on your own. That’s pretty damn incredible. Your body did that, you know? And there’s nothing that is more beautiful than that. Absolutely nothing.”

Florence didn’t know what to say except to kiss him. He knew just how to make her feel more loved than she had in her entire life.

~~

Saturday, September 14th

It was a morning like in the fairy tales; and Florence guessed that if it was possible, birds would be flit fluttering and singing beautiful music outside the large paned window. The sound was definitely not beautiful birds, however, as she awoke to a sharp buzzing. Blinking her eyes open to take in her surroundings, she merely smiled at the sight of Grayson asleep beside her. He, too, shifted at the noise, starting to wake, so Florence hurried to grab her phone from the night table. Daniel’s name flashed across the screen.

“Hey.” she answered quickly, her voice rough.

“Where are you?” Daniel’s normally gentle tone was filled with an edge and it took Florence back with surprise.

“What’s wrong?” she asked quickly, her mind instantly going to Clementine.

“Nothings wrong unless you count me sitting here in this restaurant alone like an idiot waiting for you to show up.” Daniel grumbled.

Florence pulled her phone from her ear to look at the time. 10:48 meant she was way too late to their brunch date.

“Shit, Dani, I’m so sorry.” Florence sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

“Where are you?” Daniel asked again. “I’ve been texting and calling for 45 minutes!”

“At Grayson’s.”

The silence from the other side of the line made her stomach turn.

“So I’ll just go home then.” Daniel finally spoke, his voice suddenly quiet.

“No!” Florence sat up. “No, I’m sorry. Don’t go home. I’ll be there. 15 minutes. Please.”

“Fine.” Daniel mumbled.

“I’m sorry, Dani.” Florence sighed, closing her eyes.

“Yeah.”

The line went dead without so much as a goodbye. Florence slowly lowered her phone and started at it for a few long seconds.

“Everything okay?” Grayson asked from beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist that was covered by the blankets.

“I’m a terrible friend, is all.” Florence groaned. “Totally just stood up Daniel.”

A low chuckle fell from Grayson’s lips, “That’s rough. Are you going to go still?”

“Yeah. If he’s going to wait for me. Do you want to come?” Florence laid back down, pushing her fingers through his dark hair.

“I would love to.” Grayson smiled, pulling her close to kiss her.

“No more of this!” Florence giggled, pushing him away, before leaning down over the side of the bed to grab her clothes. “We have to go!”

Grayson drove them through the city, as fast as he could legally go. Ethan was still asleep by the time they left which Florence was silently grateful for; she liked Ethan but she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to be at the end of brotherly teasing after staying over. Florence kept checking her phone in the passenger seat, finding no texts from Daniel their entire way there. The small cafe was just on the way into downtown, a little place near the boys’ house. Grayson parked on the street and paid the meter before they headed inside. Daniel was sat at the corner table, his green Adidas jacket zipped up to his neck and he stared down at his mug of coffee, stirring a spoon around haphazardly. Florence couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her best friend and she pulled Grayson by the hand towards him.

“Dani!” Florence called.

The boy looked up at her and what was supposed to be a smile faded into almost a straight line at the sight of the two in front of him.

“This is Grayson.” Florence introduced happily.

“Nice to meet you finally.” Grayson smiled a warm grin and held out his hand across the table. Daniel hesitated before letting the silver spoon clink against the saucer and he shook his hand.

“You too.” Daniel mumbled. Grayson and Florence sat across from him and picked up their menus. Daniel watched them silently, going back to stirring his now cold coffee. The waitress came by and took their orders and poured them coffee before leaving again. Daniel didn’t take notice, instead, his eyes fell to the collar of Florence’s t-shirt, noticing the small pink bruise that was peaking out the top. There was a matching one under her jawline which she probably hadn’t noticed in her rush to leave that morning. Daniel noticed, though. He noticed Grayson’s hand on her thigh and how he leaned in close to whisper things into her ear that made her giggle. Daniel kept stirring. The clink of the silver against the porcelain cup was consistent and comforting.

“Dani.” Florence called. When he didn’t respond she frowned for a moment but tried again. “Dan.”

She finally resorted to reaching over the table and taking the spoon out of his hand.

“I think your coffee is plenty mixed, dear.”

Snapping back to reality, Daniel met her concerned gaze.

“What’s up with you?” Florence frowned.

“Sorry. I’m just tired.” Daniel waved his hand to brush it off, slouching back against the bench.

“Been working hard?” Florence asked.

“Yeah.” Daniel nodded.

“What are you in school for?” Grayson asked.

“Music Production.” Daniel replied.

“Oh! That’s cool. I’m doing video production at CTV right now.” Grayson smiled.

“Oh my gosh, imagine if you could work together in the future!” Florence laughed.

“We might have a place for you.” Grayson sent a small grin to the boy across the table.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Daniel answered dryly. His response made Florence frown and look to Grayson who shrugged lightly.

“Dani, I’m really sorry for being late.” Florence whispered, leaning in closer. “I don’t know why you’re being so upset with me this morning.”

“I’ve been waiting here for an hour.” Daniel snapped.

Florence sat back with wide eyes at his out-of-character outburst.

“I woke up early to meet you and you completely stand me up and I’m left to eat alone.”

“I said I’m sorry. Time got away from me.” Florence frowned.

“I can tell.” Daniel eyed the hickeys on her neck.

“Daniel!” Florence whispered sharply.

He placed his napkin strongly back on the table and started to slide out from the bench. He then turned to Grayson, “It was nice to meet you. You seem like a really great guy and normally I’m not such an asshole so I’m sorry for that. But I’m late for rehearsal.”

“Daniel!” Florence gaped, watching as he stood up from the table and started for the door. “Daniel Seavey!” she called again. The door of the cafe closed behind him with a jingle from the bell above. Silence filled the space between Grayson and Florence who were now sitting alone.

 ~~

Once breakfast was finished, Grayson dropped Florence back off at home. They took their time saying goodbye but eventually Florence went up to her empty apartment. She called Daniel right away, being sent to voicemail after the second ring.

“Hey. I’m still sorry, you know.” she spoke into the phone. “Call me please. I love you.”

He didn’t return her call. 

[blastoisemonster]

The 1000 And One Game Boy Color Special Editions

While browsing on curious retrogaming sites yesterday, I've found this very nice list of console special editions named Console Colors. Seems to be active as well, as it sports some Wii U variations, and their Game Boy Color section is quite lenghty! The only thing is, it doesn't have high res pictures, and it has few info of the single editions. So, just like I did for the GBA SPs, I'm going to build a a Guide post here of all the GBC variations, with pictures and additional info; it can be used for future reference or as a checklist for collectors.

A bit of introduction: Game Boy Colors came out in 1998. The first ones that appeared on the market, and therefore are considered standard versions, are Berry (Fuchsia), Grape (Violet), Kiwi (Green, the one I have! <3), Dandelion (Yellow) and Teal (well, teal). There's also an Atomic Purple version, basically a translucent Grape one, which is still considered standard. List should be, more or less, complete as I’ve checked multiple sources: also, since Pokèmon is basically the most important franchise for such a handheld, the plethora of special editions dedicated to such monsters are grouped at the bottom of the list to keep them all together. I'll update if needed, e.g. if I find more pics or versions!

BlastoiseMonster’s Guide List For GBC Special Editions

Varied

- Neotones Ice/Clear. Most probably the first special edition ever, and one among the many transparent GBCs that have been released in Japan only (though its popularity has been enough to make this colour rather common in the western countries as well!). Very wimilar to the Atomic Purple standard version, the Neotomes Ice is made up of trnsparent plastic and the internal board is much more visible! - Clear Black. Semi-transparent technologic gimmicks were among the most prominent design choices of the ‘90s, and Nintendo made no exception, releasing many of these variations in its home country. The black semi-transparent plastic of this special edition GBC doesn’t make the insides very visible as the Clear edition, though! Cleak Black GBCs vere only sold at Japanese “Eiden” stores. - Clear Green. I’d have sold a kidney to have this as a kid... okay well, I’d still be up for such an exchange even now. :V Another semi-transparent edition, but this time with emerald green, my favourite colour! This was sold by japanese “Toys R Us” stores. - Daiei Hawks. Orange is Japan’s national colour, and if you take a look at each console Nintendo has released, you’ll easily spot at least an orange variant among the ones released in such country. This one was sold solely at japanese “Daiei Hawks” stores (which is.... a baseball team franchise?), and had a semi-transparent orange front and an opaque black back. There’s a similar-styled N64 and GBA too! - Ice Blue. This semi-transparent japanese special edition might remind most people of the Glacier GBA, as it shares almost the same hue of sky blue of its plastic. It’s known to get yellowish with age, though! - Midnight Blue. Here’s a second “Toys R Us” exclusive, and still japanese-only. Midnight Blue version showcases a nice, cobalt blue hue for its semi-transparent plastic. - Lawson. This japanese special edition gets most often mixed up with both the Ice Blue and Tsutaya versions, as they all share big similarities. The Lawson edition, however, has the peculiarity of showing semi-transparent sky blue plastic on the front, and semi-transparent white on the back. For this “dual” aspect, it’s mostly known in western countries as the “Aqua Blue & Milky White” GBC. - Tsutaya. Here’s the third sky blue GBC of this list! Still a Japanese exclusive, this one was sold especially in “Tsutaya” stores and was completely encased with semi-transparent, light blue plastic from which its orange-ish/yellow buttons easily stand out. Here’s a comparison photo to see how much this one looks like the Lawson edition! - Mirinda/Yedigun. Finally something that got released outside of Japan: this edition, a semi-transparent orange GBC with the coloured brand logo printed on the front, was available for most european countries and especially in Spain as a contest prize sponsored by the “Mirinda” soft-drink company. The drink was available in Turkey as well, but named “Yedigun” and so their version sports such name on the printed graphics. - ANA Limited Edition. Back to Japan-only editions! Even one of their main flight companies, the “All Nippon Airways” or “ANA” for short, had their own GBC which was distribuited probably as a prize with fidelty points. This special version is encased with a semi-transparent plastic of a rich, vivid blue colour and their logo is printed on the black part of the screen, behind the glass. - Jusco Atomic Purple. This Japanese special edition sold at “Jusco” stores only was tied in its release with the Jusco Clear one. It consists of a seemingly ordinary Atomic Purple GBC with its usual semi-transparent violet case, but the screen border shows two Mario pictures. - Jusco Clear. The “brother” of Jusco Atomic Purple: its case is the same as Neotones Ice, but showcases the two special Mario graphics on the screen. Considering that these kind of decorated screens are easily available on Ebay now as manteinance/repair parts, one could easily turn a simple Atomic Purple or Clear edition into a Jusco one just by changing the screen... - Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie! This Australian exclusive version is also called “Green and Gold” and it’s rather colorful! It’s still made with semi-transparent plastic, emerald green on the front and rich yellow on the back. Its buttons are yellow-coloured, and the front showcases a print of the australian flag. Since green and yellow are my absolute favourite colours, I’d probably opt for this one more than the Clear Green edition xD - Sakura Taisen. This very slick, sober special edition is a japanese exclusive sold in bundles along with the game “Sakura Taisen GB”, or “Sakura Wars”, if we wanna translate the title. It’s semi-transparent fuchsia coloured and sports sakura petals graphics drawn on the screen border. To me, it looks especially classy! It also seems that the series followed the Tamagotchi craze by releasing a Pocket Sakura handheld, very similar to the Pocket Pikachu one! - Card Captor Sakura. Don’t confuse this version with the Sakura Taisen one! This japanese edition was bundled along with the Cardcaptor Sakura game and is, instead, opaque white on the front and opaque bubblegum pink on the back; the buttons are pink and the front has a Sakura graphic printed between the D-Pad and the A and B buttons. I’m not a fan of the anime, but I find the design of this edition to be very cute! - Hello Kitty (Ver.1). Well, this may be similar to the Cardcaptor Sakura edition for what it concerns the design, but the subject matter is surely much less enjoyable. This Japanese exclusive has an opaque light pink case with a Hello Kitty graphics (only the head) printed on the front. It was bundled with one of the games of the Kitty series. - Hello Kitty (Ver.2). The Hello Kitty games had a followup, and so did its special edition GBC; this second version is still opaque light pink, but the graphic on the front varies and it showcases the whole character. - Tommy Hilfiger. An american and european exclusive, finally! This one was sold at “Tommy Hilfiger” clothing brand stores and is pretty basic, actually: it looks like a normal opaque Dandelion GBC, but sports the Tommy logo printed on the front. - CoroCoro 10th anniversary. This one’s a real rare gem! It was distribuited as a limited edition giveway prize by the japanese magazine CoroCoro to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Game Boy (so this model was released in 1999!). It’s made of clear emerald green plastic and has a white logo on the front. Only 200 of these have been distribuited to the public! - Happy Hippo. An european (maybe German only?) exclusive, given as a prize from the Ferrero snack company and most probably to go along with their game: it’s opaque yellow (basically, a Dandelion one, once again) with cartoon hippo graphics and a bamboo square printed around the screen border. I really like the screen decoration, which reminds me of the old Timon and Pumbaa DOS game published by Virgin! Only 111 were made. - Panasonic. Another American exclusive, the special edition relesed by Panasonic has a standard opaque violet colour, but its screen has the old Panasonic logo painted under the glass. Pretty standard. Pokèmon Themed - Pokèmon Clear Blue. Finally we’re at the Pokèmon-themed editions! This one was released in China and Taiwan along with the Pokèmon Clear Green edition: it’s semi-transparent sky blue on the front with an opaque white bottom and the screen border is decorated with Pikachu, Meowth, Jigglypuff and a Pokèball. Colorful and adorable <3 - Pokèmon Clear Green. Second Chinese/Taiwanese Pokèmon edition, it’s basically the same as the previous one but emerald green on the front instead of blue. Here’s a picture of both of them together for comparison! - Pokèmon Center (Kanto Starters). This one was a Japanese exclusive velebrating the third anniversary of Pokèmon Center store chain, and in fact it was sold in such shops! The first version dedicated to Kanto starters is opaque orange on the front (of course, it’s gotta be orange! xP), opaque blue on the back, has very colorful buttons and the screen border is decorated with Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, all of which are lined with a special golden paint; finally, the Pokèmon Center logo is printedat the bottom of the front. It’s simply gorgeous, and one of the most sought after special editions out there! - Pokèmon Center (Johto Starters). Second special edition released by Pokèmon Center and dedicated to the Johto starters; it’s much more sober than the previous one, sporting an opaque goldish/silverish case on the front and back with the printed Pokèmon Center logo and Pikachu, Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile on the screen. - Pokèmon Yellow. This is one of the first special variations ever, along with the Clear one! It got bundled with Pokèmon Yellow, mainly, and sports an opaque yellow front case, opaque blue on the back, coloured buttons, the Pokèmon logo printed on the front and Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Togepi decorating the screen with a Pokèball. Togepi was most probably already famous because of the anime, but ironically it couldn’t be caught in the game this version came bundled with! Released in America only. - Pikachu And Pichu Yellow. This was instead released in Europe only! It basically has the same case and buttons of Pokèmon Yellow edition, but the screen is decorated with Pikachu and Pichu. It came out a year after the Yellow one. - Pikachu And Pichu Gold. A later variant of the Pikachu and Pichu Yellow, it sports the same screen decorations but uses the golden/silverish case (colour changes depending on light angle!) of the Johto starter edition. No logo printed on the front. - CoroCoro 250th Anniversary. One of the rarest special editions ever, it’s another GBC released by CoroCoro to commemorate their 250th issue. Only 200 of these were made, and obviously given as a prize from the Japanese-only magazine! It’s opaque yellow with a big Pikachu printed on the front along with the CoroCoro logo, and the screen border is decorated with yellow Pikachu silhouettes.

In total, I count 35 Game Boy Color versions here. Wow, I'd love to see them all together! Maybe, maybe I could have them all one day... xP