#her connection with poirot is already felt

[poirott]

Ariadne Oliver and Hercule Poirot, detective duo

Mrs Oliver is detective novelist and Poirot's friend. She accompanies Poirot on several of his most famous cases, providing her own unique perspective on each of the crimes they encounter. She is feisty, quick to jump to conclusions (sometimes right, sometimes wrong), and strongly believes that Scotland Yard would be better run by a woman. Ariadne Oliver is, in many ways, a vehicle for Agatha Christie's own voice, particularly in relation to writing and the public. In a 1956 interview with John Bull magazine, Agatha Christie dismissed the idea that any of her characters are truly derived from real life, although she did admit that Mrs Oliver has "a strong dash" of herself. Christie always took a somewhat tongue in cheek approach to her supposed fictional alter ego, who she credited with writing a novel called The Body in the Library, a title she would use herself in 1942.

A HAUNTING IN VENICE (2023), dir. Kenneth Branagh

[kats-kradle]

Hey! Journeying over from rereading your fics to ask you some Poirot questions! : ) Had you already liked Poirot prior to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express? And did you immediately fall in love with Bouc in the first film or did it take until Death on the Nile?

Hi!! I love talking about Poirot!! Buckle up😂😂

First off I would like to say that it made my day to see that not only did you read my fics but you reread them!! And then you actually came here to talk to me!! You’re the first person who’s actually done that so it really made my day. 

Also: I apologize in advance. When I start talking about Poirot I tend to launch into rants and I… may have done that here so I will say now in case you don’t make it to the end that I would love to hear your thoughts about the movies or anything else Poirot related! Did you know about Poirot before the movie? What are your thoughts about Bouc?

To answer your questions, I guess I could say that technically I liked Poirot before watching the movie. I actually had never heard about Poirot until the movie came out, and one of my sister’s friends took her to see it and then leant her the book. I stole it and read it in almost one night and ever since then have been absolutely enthralled by Agatha Christie! I own almost all of the Poirot books and have been trying to branch out and sample her other writings, but I keep coming back to Poirot. 

By the time Death on the Nile came out I forgot the Bouc was a character who existed because I hadn’t seen MotOE since it came out in 2017. When I saw him, I did remember that he’d been in the last movie, and was absolutely delighted that they were going to turn him into the Hastings of the movies (especially because he was so happy and full of life😭) which of course we all know what happened with that and now that I’ve recovered from my shock and denial I can take a step back and acknowledge it was a FANTASTIC choice to kill him, and to do it in such a shocking way—but also, I’m also not a a fan of how much Kenneth Branagh deviated from the source material by doing that. 

Adding Bouc to the movie was a choice that made sense, if Kenneth Branagh is going for a Poirot Cinematic Universe. People expect a sidekick, and in stories where the cast has to change every movie, it’s nice for the audience to have a familiar face other than the main detective. However, I also think Kenneth Branagh shot himself in the foot by shooting Bouc in the neck, because he went out of his way to add and establish Bouc as a reoccurring character, just to kill him off in the second movie. I think the audience will now have more difficulty connecting with the side characters in the future since they’ve had two movies with the same character, as a opposed to already being used to the characters changing every movie. But then again, I’m still in denial. Along with this, it’s setting up the next movie to have a distinctly dark tone.

Well, now I’ve gotten started on the topic of Poirot and I can’t stop😂😂😂 Enjoy my decent into madness.

Another way that dear Kenny boy shot himself in the foot is with the iconic mustache. His mustaches in MotOE were luscious and beautiful, despite the critic they received. Branagh understood that Poirot has impressive mustaches that are quite a spectacle to behold, even if the rest of the world can only picture the measly little mustache that David Suchet displays in his version of Poirot (don’t get me wrong I love those adaptations but just… the mustache is all wrong. And David Suchet Poirot is a subject for a different time or we’ll be here forever😂😂). In DotN, for some reason he felt the need to give the mustaches a tragic backstory????? Narratively, I guess it’s a nice bookend and theme to the movie as a whole. BUT HE FELT THE NEED TO GIVE THE MUSTACHES A TRAGIC BACKSTORY????????????? Despite the fact that in DotN the mustaches aren’t actually long enough anymore to cover up the scaring shown at the beginning, HAIR DOESNT GROW ON SCAR TISSUE!!!! It just doesn’t make sense😭 Along with that, now he’s destroyed the main characteristic of Poirot, his trademark. Poirot is quite vain about his mustaches and even when he wears a fake one in Curtain (for reasons that I won’t spoil but if you know you know) Hastings only finds out at the end of the book, and Poirot’s manservant treats the subject with delicacy since the mustaches were such a sensitive subject to Poirot. 

While I’m STILL talking about Poirot (forgive my rant I can’t stop) I’m going to take the opportunity to mention the stark difference in quality between MotOE and DotN. I’ve now seen both of these movies multiple times and back to back. Overall, I think MotOE is much better. DotN uses a lot of green screen, and it’s pretty obvious and creates for some flat feeling backgrounds. For MotOE, they took shots of the mountains and overlayed the train on, instead of all CGI. Now, I don’t know for sure how much of each movie and which parts use CGI; it could be that MotOE uses more CGI and I just have a bad eye for spotting it. It was just my impression that the backgrounds in DotN were severely lacking. 

And let’s talk about the music. MotOE delivers and excellent score that makes you feel a wide variety of emotions, and they use the theme of repetition well in The Armstrong Case. For me, it had just reached the point in the movie where the theme could have started to be annoying; but the. they used it magnificently when Poirot was explaining the murder, and the simple and relentless, already melancholy melody turned into something truly heartbreaking, turning a scene of twelve people stabbing a man to death into something poetic. 10/10 one of the best uses of music and one of the best scenes ever, in my opinion. DotN, besides the songs sung by the talented Sophie Okonedo as Salome Otterbourne, has no notable music to take away from the movie, besides the absolutely grating (I don’t know what it’s called but it goes like. DUN DUN. DUUUN! DUN DUN. DUUUN! I think if you search Death on the Nile on YouTube you’ll find the song titled the same by Patrick Doyle). I got tired of hearing that by the third time it played, and my annoyance with it was one of the main things that I took away from the movie. 

AND ANOTHER THING both movies took creative liberties with the stories, but one of the creative liberties I did not like about DotN was how explicit they made it. Between that dance floor scene and the scene at the tomb… when I go to see a movie that’s rated PG-13 I like to feel comfortable seeing it with my father and not feel the need to slam my hands over my little sister’s ears. Especially when I want to slam them over my ears instead😭

All this being said I’m 100% going to go see a Haunting in Venice, but not because I’m expecting it to be good. I’d just like more fuel for my rants. I didn’t even get touch upon what an amazing actor Tom Bateman is and how I’m mad that he only plays serial killer roles outside of Bouc. 

Anyways I hope that answers your questions😅 thank you for your ask, and congratulations if you made it this far. It did truly make my day to see the phrase “rereading” in association with my fics, and I feel as if you were some curious passerby on the street who I started passionately and somewhat aggressively ranting at. I apologize. Also I took a break from ranting to check out your blog and you’ve got a great curation of posts. Good luck getting rid of me now. Prepare to see me in your notifications. Sorry for the essay.

[mariacallous]

If the criterion is grandness and grandness alone, then the grandest dame of them all was someone like Dame Edith Sitwell, the poet, who back in the 1950s, at the height of her grandness, would intimidate her enemies by regarding them through a pair of lorgnettes. These days, it’s a term generally reserved for elderly female actors – hearty, salty, imperious. Americans can do it, of course – Elaine Stritch, so very great, so very grand – but may struggle to ascend to the highest reaches of haughtiness achieved by a Dame Maggie Smith or a Dame Edith Evans. You can be a national treasure, meanwhile, without being a grande dame (fight me on this, but I’d say Dame Judi falls into this category). Which brings us to Dame Angela Lansbury.

On Tuesday, news broke of her death aged 96, triggering an outpouring of affection and sadness for a cherished figure and one of the last of her generation of performers. Mind-bogglingly, Lansbury started her career in 1944 after moving to the US from Britain during the blitz and landing a role, as a teenager, alongside Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944). That same year, she appeared in the movie Gaslight, with Joseph Cotton and Ingrid Bergman. She was around for the heyday of MGM musicals – I remember as a child seeing her on TV in the 1946 movie The Harvey Girls, alongside Judy Garland, and finding it impossible to connect her with the character from Murder, She Wrote. By the time she played the teapot in Beauty and the Beast in 1991 – at a mere 66 – her longevity alone had already made her beloved.

In the US, where Lansbury remained after emigrating, she was both national treasure and grande dame. It feels churlish to say this, but as a musical performer, she was never quite my cup of tea. I saw her on Broadway in 2009 in a production of A Little Night Music, co-starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, who did a quite frightening rendition of Send in the Clowns. Lansbury as Madame Armfeldt was a terrible old ham, yukking it up for an audience beside itself at the miracle of her being alive. I was immune to her Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. Her cameo at the end of the movie Mary Poppins Returns, meanwhile, was the absolute bloody kitchen sink in that mess of a movie. On the other hand, I loved her in Murder, She Wrote.

I’m not sure what this is. Perhaps something to do with TV being able to absorb greater levels of camp than musical theatre. This seems counterintuitive, I know; Broadway is supposed be the ground zero of camp, except it isn’t, not really. The material in a musical is so florid to begin with, the performances have to be very tightly controlled to remain credible. There is a fine line in a musical between thrilling theatricality and everything going Jack Sparrow.

For me, in her theatre roles, Lansbury had too much self-awareness. There was an archness to her performances that seemed to wink at the audience and suggest, well, this business of singing and acting is faintly ridiculous, after all – and of course, when you play it like that, so it is. As Jessica Fletcher, however, she convinced me totally. I liked her as the teapot. Given her god love ’er status, it’s a miracle she dodged being cast as a batty old dame in the endless current remakes of Poirot, but it’s possible I may have liked her in those.

Who is left? Dame Julie Andrews (87). Dame Eileen Atkins (88). Dame Joan Plowright (92). Bassey! I’m putting Dame Shirley (85) on the list, as you must. Anyone who sings I Who Have Nothing draped head to toe in mink and covered in diamonds deserves, possibly, the crown of grandest of them all. Perhaps that was my problem with Lansbury. Never fully a leading lady in Hollywood, or quite a doyenne of the theatre, she seemed modest, likable, approachable. Not a grande dame of the first rank, perhaps, but something warmer and friendlier, whose loss may be more keenly felt.

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage: part 23

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 part 14 part 15

part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21

Part 22

Damienette arranged marriage: part 23

NEXT

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

“[...]Coincidence? I think not!” He screamed.

“That is indeed some revelation…” Kagami started, but Tim shushed her.

“That’s not the end. I believe that Chat Noir is now working with Hawkmoth!”

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

“What!?” Was the most common reaction, coupled with drawing a very sharp weapon.

“Silence!” Tim screamed. Everyone immediately calmed down, awaiting explanation or something. Instead, he just pulled out a small pocket flask and took a deep swing. 

“It was coffee, wasn't it?” Damian deadpanned.

“No Demon Spawn. It was the best brandy I could steal from Jason.” He paused for a moment. “Of course it was coffee. Do I look like some barbarian to you?!”

“Just get with the story Poirot.” Chloe urged him while shifting in her place. Inside, she was wondering if Sabine would borrow her some of those weapon of hers.

“Fine. Look. It’s either that or hawkmoth is even bigger idiot than I believed him to be, which is highly unlikely. He akumatized someone who had one thing he desired. Instead of making him hand the ring immediately, he just allowed him to run free. It doesn’t make much sense.”

“Chat got possessed by akuma many times. The always just disregarded it and wanted to take advantage of his abilities to take me out.” Marinette pointed out.

“Yes, but I already established that Akumatization distorts your perception of reality. It makes you focus only on the goal and disregard things like common sense. But hawkmoth has no such thing. He could just demand of him to give the ring and then send him after you. But he didn’t. It’s either that or he was compromised after. But the fact stood that Hawkmoth had to know who Chat was even by simple fact of what he desired. And the new upgrades around the manor. They would not allow Chat Noir or Adrien to sneak out any time and he was sighted helping people around the city several times. He just doesn’t come close to Ladybug or other heroes.”

“So he makes sure people don’t suspect a thing while keeping safe distance from us, acting like he is just throwing a hissy fit about me being married.”

“Mari-san. I still can not believe the feline learned about the marriage before us.” She motioned to her and Luka. 

“Sorry. I wanted to get him of me. And it was actually a good strategy to make my secret identity safe.”

Damian nodded. “That was indeed brilliant. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not married. They would not accuse Ladybug of lies and they would not suspect a fifteen years old girl of being betrothed to anyone.”

“Yes. But if I knew that he would act like this and… betray us, I would not disregard his feelings like that.”

“Is that self-pity I hear Mari-bug?” Chloe suddenly turned to her. “I thought I told you that you are not to do that in regard to that blasted moggy.”

“Sorry Chlo.” Marinette gave her a sheepish smile. Stephanie had to hold back a chuckle.

“Fine. Carry on Dupin.” Chloe waved her hand at Tim, who shrugged at the nickname and displayed another thing. This time it was a video of final moments of Chat d’Amour. He played it whole and then paused and backed it. He played it slowly this time, commenting in real life time. 

“The video has no sound recorded and magic of the miraculous makes lip-reading impossible even with strongest software available. But look closely. First, he talks with Hawkmoth through this butterfly connection. Then, the akuma is released. Now look at his expression.” Tim paused and zoomed in, sharpening the image. “He looks disappointed. Not in regretful way. It is more in the lines of ‘I agree with the judgement’. Now one could say that he just made a mistake and was ashamed. But! He runs off in the direction of Agreste Manor instead of facing Ladybug. Think why would Hawkmoth recall his precious Akuma. It was only After Jon arrived. Chat could very well fight on or change strategy. Hawkmoth never cared about casualties in his Akumas. So why suddenly care about this one? Why take the power away and make him run. Chat is fast, agile and sneaky. He could avoid Jon and just deliver the ring. The decision was pretty much worst tactical move ever. Unless! You factor the parental instincts and the fact that he could take the ring anyway. They are working together or at least know each other’s identities!” Tim proclaimed.

“Nice work Veronica. I am actually impressed.” Chloe complimented.

“Veronica?” Sabine looked funny at the mayor’s daughter. The older woman felt a bit strange sitting in there with all the kids. 

“Ugh! Veronica Mars! Seriously? It’s a classic! Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!” Chloe complained.

“This is just suspicion. We can’t make a move based on suspicion.” Marinette sighted.

“We can. It is enough to justify storm on Agreste Manor.”

“If we are wrong we risk complete failure. We will alert Hawkmoth about our arrival…”

“Actually…” Stephanie grinned. “We don’t need to risk anything. We know Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. The hero who’s gone rogue. You are the guardian Ladybug. Isn’t it your job to reign him in?” 

“Yes, but…” Ladybug was still unconvinced.

“We will use this as an excuse to enter the mansion. Chat lost the privilege of being a hero long ago. He is no longer helping and to be honest he was never a good helper.” Tim commented.

“Okay. If this is for the best…”

“It is sweety. Don’t cry over the milk spilled by a moggy that will end up skinned anyway.”

“Maman!” 

“Fine. But I know where he lives, so he better not try anything else with you.” Sabine threatened.

“It’s decided then. The Miraculous team will enter through the front doors while the batboys and I use the commotion to sneak inside.” Stephanie beamed. 

“Yes. If Chat won’t give up his ring, we will have a fight at our hands. It is possible that Hawkmoth and Mayura also get in the fight and they might drag the Gorilla into it. We must be prepared that this is when the final battle happens…” Tim kept his emotions in check by downing another hip-flask of coffee. Where does he even keep all that?

“Papa will help us on this one. And maybe we should call the cavalry from Gotham?”

“Relax Angel. We have two to one number advantage. We can deal with them.” Damian reassured her. 

‘Fine. We two weeks until we leave. It is decided then. In one week, we storm the Agreste Manor.”

——————————————————————————————————–

Taglist (sorry if I missed you)@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64 @dragonflyswing @silverwhiteraven @shamefullove @magic-miraculous @valeks-princess @heaven428 @mlbchaosqueen @winter-gardenflower @spicybelladonna @emo-elaine13 @vetilora @karukofox21 @my-name-is-michell  @sturchling @lokiifriggasonn @redscarlet95 @melicmusicmagic @interobanginyourmom @the-fusionist @razzledazzle247 @miss-mysterys-blog @darkthunder1589 @i-is-mysterious @catthhay @the-one-woman-army @zestyzealot @dahjokester @write-for-your-life2 @mermaidreject @peachedpocky @sassakitty @dahjokester @crazylittlemunchkin @novicevoice @justafanwarrior @eliza-bitch @schrodingers25 @tired-butterfly @toodaloo-kangaroo @redscarlet95 @miukiiu @sassakitty @corabeth11 @vixen-uchiha

[claudia1829things]

"THE CLOCKS" (2009) Review

"THE CLOCKS" (2009) Review While perusing the list of novels written by Agatha Christie between 1957 and 1973, I noticed that only five of them featured Belgian detective Hercule Poirot as the main detective. Five out of sixteen novels during this period. Considering how the author used to churn out Poirot novels and short stories like nobody's business in the previous decades, I could not help but wonder if the author's interest in the Belgian detective was on the wane.

This certainly seemed to be the case for her 1963 novel, "The Clocks". Although Poirot was the investigator who solved the mystery, he barely played a role in this investigation. Major supporting characters like Colin Lamb and Inspector Richard Hardcastle visited the crime scenes and questioned the suspects and other witnesses. They fed the information to Poirot, who exercised his "little grey cells" and solved the case. This is one reason why the 1963 novel was not a particular favorite of mine. Thankfully, the 2009 adaptation of "The Clocks" proved to be a different kettle of fish. Unlike his literary version for this tale, actor David Suchet's Poirot was, without a doubt, the mystery's main character. Although the 2009 television movie, "THE CLOCKS", provided some minor changes to Christie's novel, it also featured two major changes. I have already commented on how Poirot had a bigger role (as he should) in this television adaptation. The setting for "THE CLOCKS" also underwent a major change. Instead of being set during the heyday of the Cold War, the 2010 television movie was set near the end of the 1930s, with Europe (and eventually the rest of the world) on the cusp of World War II. And the narrative's B-plot reflected this. In "THE CLOCKS", the character of Colin Lamb has been changed to Colin Race, conveying the idea that he is the son of of an old friend of Poirot's. And instead of being an MI-5 (Special Branch) agent investigating a pro-Communist spy ring, Colin is a Royal Navy officer working for MI-6 and investigating a possible pro-Nazi spy ring in Dover. Also, the character of Richard "Dick" Hardcastle has become a slightly xenophobic police officer, who resented Poirot's presence in the investigation. Despite these changes, the core of Christie's narrative managed to survive for this adaptation. "THE CLOCKS" began as a spy story in which MI-6 operative Colin Race finds himself investigating the theft of classified documents from a naval base at Dover Castle. Apparently, Colin's girlfriend had spotted the thief/German spy, but was killed by a speeding car before she could apprehend the thief. Colin's girlfriend left a clue, leading Colin to a neighborhood in Dover. Upon reaching one house on a street shaped like a crescent, a young woman named Sheila Webb races out of it, screaming that she had found a murdered man inside, along with a collection of clocks. Colin seeks Poirot's help to solve the murder mystery, in case the murder proves to be connected with the spy ring he had been investigating and his girlfriend's death. As I had earlier stated, I am not a big fan of Christie's 1963 novel. While some might find the idea of Poirot being reduced to a minor character who solves the mystery in an armchair rather amusing, I did not. I could not, especially if this was supposed to be a "Poirot" mystery. And as I had earlier pointed out, screenwriter Stewart Harcourt director Charlie Palmer ensured that Poirot would be the main character in this adaptation. I also enjoyed how the narrative allowed Poirot and Colin's search for the spy ring and missing document overshadow their efforts to find the killer responsible for the mystery man's death, along with the deaths of two other characters - Edna Brent, a typist and colleague of Sheila Webb's; and Merlina Riva, a former stage actress who claimed to be the widow of the dead man discovered by Colin and Sheila. Throughout the story, those viewers unfamiliar with Christie's novel might find themselves wondering if Sheila was responsible for the deaths, if the deaths had anything to do with the German spy ring, or if the three victims had been killed for another reason. Overall, I believe "THE CLOCKS" is a solid adaptation of Christie's novel, but also an improvement. However, there is one aspect of Harcourt and Palmer's adaptation that I do not regard as an improvement. I refer to the character of Colin Race. One, this secondary lead character came off as less than intelligent than his literary counterpart. Colin was able to solve the mystery of the spy ring without Poirot's help. And two, in the television movie, he struck me as a slightly shallow man who was able to transfer his affections from one woman to another within a few days. I found this rather tacky. I believe Harcourt's screenplay made the mistake of having Colin involved with the doomed Fiona Hanbury, whose activities led him to another clue regarding the spy ring, at the beginning of the story. Worse, it did not take Colin very long to develop romantic feelings for Sheila Webb after meeting her. And he met Sheila in less than a week after Fiona's death. Even when he was still mourning Fiona's death, he was falling in love with Sheila. Really? This is just tackiness beyond belief. Colin's romantic relationships in this movie made him look like a shallow idiot who seemed to have this need for romance in his life 24/7. The television movie's production values struck me as very impressive. I thought Jeff Tessler's production designs did a great job in recreating Dover circa 1939. His work was ably supported by Miranda Cull's art direction and Sheena Napier's costume designs. I have mixed feelings about Peter Greenhalgh's cinematography. On one hand, I found movie's photography very colorful and beautiful. In fact, I thought it did justice to the production's locations in London and Kent. But I did not care for the hazy veneer that I felt almost spoiled the photography. I found it an unnecessary device for indicating that this story was set in the past. And it reminded me of numerous period dramas in the 1970s that also used this camera device . . . unnecessarily. I certainly had no problems with the movie's cast. David Suchet, as always, gave a sharp and elegant portrayal of Hercule Poirot. In fact, his performance reinforced my relief that the screenwriter and director had given Poirot a bigger presence in this adaptation than in Christie's novel. Despite my irritation with the Colin Race character, I cannot deny that Tom Burke gave an exceptionally skillful performance. He almost made me believe in the plausibility of Colin falling in love with one woman, while still grieving for another. I was very impressed by Jaime Winstone's portrayal of the ambiguous Sheila Webb. I thought she did an excellent job in conveying both the character's desperate need for everyone to believe in her innocence and her occasional lapses in morality. Phil Daniels was excellent as the slightly aggressive and xenophobic Inspector Richard "Dick" Hardcastle. Lesley Sharp gave a very subtle performance as Sheila's no-nonsense boss Miss Martindale. And I was very impressed with Anna Massey's performance as Miss Pebmarsh, the blind owner of the house that contained the dead man and the actress's final role before her death. Like Winstone, Massey did an excellent job of portraying a very complicated and ambiguous character, who was haunted by the deaths of her sons during World War I. The television movie also featured excellent performances from Geoffrey Palmer (father of the director), Tessa Peake-Jones, Jason Watkins, Beatie Edney, Abigail Thaw, Guy Henry, Stephen Boxer, and Frances Barber. In the end, I believe that "THE CLOCKS" was a solid adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1963 novel, thanks to a first-rate script by Stewart Harcourt and first-rate direction by Charlie Palmer. My only true complaint was their handling of the Colin Race character. The television movie also featured excellent performances by a talented cast that included David Suchet, Anna Massey and Jaime Winstone.

[sherryaptx4869]

Put a Ring on It

A gift for @jackel-gull happy holidays! 😊

Prompt: Coffee shop AU

(Also on ao3)

---

“Excuse me Ma’am, a muffin from that handsome gentleman over there,” the female staff interrupted Shiho as she is very busy typing at her laptop.

She looked over to the direction the staff is pointing to. She is in a rush because her laboratory report is due in just a few minutes. She needs to proofread everything before passing her output to her very strict professor, thus every minute counts. She’s a bit irritated that her momentum is ruined by the ‘gentleman’ the staff is pertaining to.

When she turned to look, the man waved at her. She merely nodded and proceeded to hunch over her laptop. She likes to do her academic papers at Poirot Café because 1) she gets the space she needs, 2) they really have delicious bread and pastries plus their drinks are top-tier, 3) they also have strong wifi connection. 4) It’s also a ten-minute walk from the university she is attending. Very convenient.

Five minutes before the deadline, she breathed a sigh of relief when she hit the send button with her report as an attachment to an email she sent to her professor. She massaged her temples and briefly closed her eyes keeping the impending headache at bay. She only has fifteen minutes before her next class starts. She allowed herself to relax for a bit when she sensed another presence at the table she is currently occupying.

She smelled him before she saw him. She smelled a faint, subtle smell that is not overpowering. Her trained observation skills as a scientist approves of his choice of perfume.

She opened her eyes, removed her earphones and eyed him. Up close, the guy looked just about her age- probably in his 4th year of college too. She noticed his lean body, and his calves are well-defined. She noticed a tan line in his arm when he waved earlier. He’s probably into sports.

She raised her eyebrow and regarded the stranger.

“Hi, I’m Kudo Shinichi and you are?” he said, flashing her a smile as he held out his hand for a handshake.

“And I was just leaving,” she said as she gathered her laptop, her papers and her books, stacked them all in her backpack and leaving not even sparing a backward glance.

---

“Wow, that girl is something.” Heiji teased Shinichi for the nth time.

“I wish I was there to see it when your ego was deflated and brought you back to earth,” Heiji continued. “I mean man, she rejected Kudo Shinichi, the great detective of the East!” Heiji is now clutching his stomach from laughing too hard, tears at the corner of his eyes.

Shinichi glared at him but that did not stop Heiji from laughing.

“Should I wait for you to finish laughing or are we doing detective work on her?” he asked Heiji.

“Huh, what work?” That caught Heiji’s attention.

“Returning this to its rightful owner,” Shinichi said as he fished a card from his pocket.

So Miyano Shiho is the name of the beautiful, auburn-haired woman.

---

In her rush to gather her things earlier, Shiho did not notice her library card slipped and fell to the floor of the café. Now, she stood at the heavenly doors of the library but not quite entering because her library card is missing. She meant to return the books and browse for other titles. Without her card, she couldn’t really enter, but what’s more important is that she can’t loan out books.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Upon checking, she saw she got an email from an unlisted account.

“Hello Miyano-san, I got your email address from the library card you dropped at Poirot Café earlier today. If you want, I can go to your university and return it there. – Kudo Shinichi, Detective of the East”, she noticed he’s studying at another top university in Japan from his email address. So he is the famous detective of the east.

“If it’s not too much to ask, I can meet you back at Poirot Café in thirty minutes. I just need to finish some stuff here and I’ll go over there,” she replied.

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” is his instant reply.

---

Shiho debated on meeting the stranger. Even if he is Kudo Shinchi, strangers are not to be trusted. And he’s definitely a stranger.

Dang it, her loaned books would have to be returned three days from now and if she doesn’t return them on time, she will accumulate penalties for her overdue books. She won’t be able to borrow more books on top of that.

She really has to meet with the stranger if she wanted her library card back. It will take a week for the library to process lost ID cards. And she needed hers asap.

She made up her mind, she’s meeting him and get it over with.

---

It’s 6:30pm. Upon her entrance at the Poirot Café for the second time that day, she immediately looked around and searched for some dark brown-haired guy. There were a few college students openly ogling the very handsome barista, Amuro-san. She spotted Shinichi at the back of the café. She approached him.

“Kudo-kun,” she tentatively called out to get his attention.

“Oh hi, Miyano-san.” He said as he got up to his feet and pulled the chair for her to sit.

“Thank you.”, she said.

“About earlier, I’m sorry if I came on as an arrogant guy. I was just being friendly with people who have the same interests as I do.” he offered an explanation.

She gave her a questioning look.

“Well, I saw you carrying Arthur Conan Doyle’s book and I got a bit excited to see a fellow Sherlockian fan,” he continued.

“I see. I was in a hurry myself earlier and I just don’t like dealing with strangers especially when I’m in a hurry. I didn’t want to be late for class,” she said without more ado.

“I also enjoy reading mystery novels, it’s just that I need my library card to borrow books from the lib.” She offered.

He handed her lib card and as his fingers skimmed over her hands, she felt a zap from the point of contact. Apparently, he felt it too.

To ease the sudden awkwardness of the situation, he said “Why don’t we start over? I’m Kudo Shinichi”

“I’m Miyano Shiho,” she said and shook hands with him.

“Shiho,” he repeated testing the roll of her name on his tongue.

The sparks from their hands touching is undeniably there. They quickly let go of each other’s hands and pretended to go over the menu. Shiho felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and she felt warm. Shinichi on the other hand felt his face flush. This beautiful woman elicited such a boyish response from him is something he could not rationalize.

They found out more about each other as the night deepens. From the café, they went to take a walk at the park. When it is apparent that they need to get some rest, Kudo offered to walk her home in her dorm.

The night has a certain chill to it, “It’s really nice talking to you Kudo-kun”, Shiho said as she’s getting ready to enter the building.

“We should do this again sometime, if it’s not too much to ask, Shiho” Shinichi replied.

“It’s too much given my schedule, but I’d like that,” Shiho said. She smiled before darting inside.

As Shinichi walked back to his own dorm, he mused over the evening. He got a big smile on his face even when Heiji kept one pestering him to share what happened with Shiho.

---

They fell in the same routine, meeting at the café, going on a trip together and having conversations about deep things, shallow things, whatever comes their way. They went out for a year. By then, Shiho graduated and is already working as a university researcher and Shinichi is on his first year of taking criminal law while still extending assistance to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

On Christmas day, they are at their favourite café where they first encountered each other.

“Do you remember the first time you rejected me here?” Shinichi asked Shiho.

“I may have remembered a little bit of that,” Shiho smirked.

“Heiji kept on rubbing it in my face how pitiful I looked back then,” Shinichi relayed.

“You need that to keep you grounded before your inflated ego take you away,” Shiho said before drinking her coffee.

“Heiji said that too. You’re in cahoots with that guy?” Shinichi pouted.

Shiho merely laughed. Her laugh is music to his ears. Not to be cliché but it just is. He never thought that this wonderful woman is willing to spend time with him. He hoped she still feels the same way for the rest of their lives.

Before his thoughts strayed any further, he gave her his Christmas present and planted a kiss on her mouth. It’s a bath bomb designed for aromatherapy. Her job at the research laboratory seemed to take a toll on her lately, she also catches colds easily.

Back at her apartment, she decided to use the bath bomb Shinichi gave her. She took a book by Agatha Christie to read while she soaked in the tub with the bath bomb still fizzing. She is basking at the sweet, floral scent from the lavender essential oil when her curiosity is piqued by a floating material. There were no fun additives for aesthetics such as glitter and flower petals in Shinichi’s present so why is there a floating thing at the tub? She grabbed the thing and a smile made its way on her face. Hmmn, she might play a little prank on Kudo-kun tomorrow when they see each other.

---

The following day when they met each other to eat lunch at the Kudo residence,

“How was your sleep?” Shinichi inquired when they were settled on his car on the way to the Kudo mansion.

“It’s good. Thanks for the special oils in the bath bomb, they really cleared my thoughts.” She purposefully avoided mentioning the ring embedded in the bath bomb.

“Did you find anything to your liking?” Shinichi pressed on.

‘He’s not his usual blunt, confident self,’ Shiho noted. ‘He’s skirting around the ring topic.’

“Well, I liked the lavender scent. I’d like to try the one with eucalyptus too, it clears the sinus,” she still did not give the answer he clearly wanted to hear.

He merely nodded. After that, he stopped speaking. Shiho made it look like she busied herself on her phone.

He’s clearly upset that Shiho did not find his surprise. It’s written all over his face, from his grip to the steering wheel.

They stopped by at a flower shop to buy flowers for Yukiko, Shinichi’s mom. While they are waiting for the store clerk to wrap the flowers,

“Shin, your phone pinged several times already,” Shiho informed Shinichi.

He checked and is a bit taken aback when his notification box is about to explode from congratulatory messages and best wishes. He clicked to see that Shiho tagged him in a post. His jaw nearly touched the floor when he turned to look at a smirking Shiho who put up her ten fingers on the air flexing his claim on her.

In her post where Shinichi is tagged, she uploaded a picture of her left hand wearing the exquisite ring with the caption, “Does this ring make me look engaged?”

Shinichi captured her in an embrace and kissed her hand.

“Yes, you look engaged and you look amazing with the ring too, future Mrs. Kudo” he whispered in her ear before fully capturing her lips with a kiss that is the promise of a lifetime together.

[readingraebow]

A Study in Scarlet

Part 1: Chapters 1-Part 2: Chapter 7

1. Have you ever read this book or any other Sherlock Holmes novels before? Have you ever seen any of the film or TV adaptations? I own most of the books in this series (this is ironically the only one I didn't own, haha) but this will be my first time reading one! (Though. I did read an abridged board books version when I was a kid; it was just a few of the stories but I remember exactly nothing about it.) But I really love Holmes from the adaptations I've seen! I absolutely love the BBC show and the Robert Downey Jr films. I've also seen a few episodes of that really old tv series which are also super fun!! But my absolute, all time favorite adaptation is Young Sherlock Holmes. I was OBSESSED with it when I was younger and used to watch it all the time!! .... And now I want to rewatch it, haha.

2. How does Dr. Watson come to meet and live with Sherlock Holmes? Watson runs into an old friend who asks what he's doing and Watson says that he's looking for lodgings. The friend says it's the strangest thing but Watson is the second person who has said that to him that day. So Stamford, the friend, introduces Watson to the first, Holmes. Holmes has already found the lodgings, he's just looking for a roommate and after a brief interview, Watson takes him up on the offer.

3. What did Sherlock discover about the woman who came to claim the lost ring when he followed her? So this ~woman comes to pick up the ring. She says that the ring belongs to her daughter and she came to pick it up for her. Well, Holmes followed her when she left. She hailed a cab and Holmes hailed one as well and followed her. Except when they reached the destination, her cab was empty???? The destination house belonged to none of the names she had given. So Holmes comes to the conclusion that that wasn't an old woman but a young man in a very impressive disguise.

4. What is Gregson convinced happened in the case after talking to Drebbers landlady? Drebber and his secretary were renting rooms from Mrs. Charpentier. But Drebber was less than the ideal tenant. He drank a lot and one night he tried to convince (and force) Charpentier's daughter Alice to run away with him. Well, Charpentier's son, Arthur, came to her rescue. Okay so both Drebbers and Arthur left. But only Arthur returned. So Gregson is convinced that Arthur followed Drebbers and another altercation happened between them, this time resulting in Drebbers death. He then believes Arthur dragged the body of Drebbers into the empty house. And all the other "clues" were just there to send the police on the wrong trail.

5. Who is Thomas Ferrier and how do he and Lucy get themselves into trouble with the Mormon church? So Thomas Ferrier was with this group of people who were traveling and they ended up, like, lost in the desert??? And they ran out of water and everyone but Thomas and Lucy died of thirst. So Thomas carried Lucy off in search of water. They fell asleep and were found by a group of Mormon travelers. Lucy's mom had died with the others and she wasn't related to Thomas but he basically adopted her and raised her. Well, the Mormon's saved them and took them back to their compound and gave them a home. Except. When Lucy comes of age, she's expected to marry one of the men on the compound. But she falls in love with a non-Mormon. Well, the Mormon's basically start threatening the Ferriers and trying to scare them into marrying her off to one of them. (Who already have multiple wives??? She's supposed to be an additional wife, as a reward for one of the better of men.) Well Ferriers and Lucy's non-Mormon fiance try to take her and escape the compound. And they think they've made it away and are safe. Except the Mormons end up killing Ferrier. And Jefferson, Lucy's non-Mormon fiance, learns she was married to Drebber, one of the Mormons fighting to obtain her hand. Cool.

6. How and why were Drebber and his secretary murdered? So. Lucy ended up dying within a month of her marriage, either from a broken heart from losing her father or from entering into a terrible marriage. And her once fiance, Jefferson Hope, vowed to get his revenge on the two men who had caused her death and fought to marry her: Debber and Stangerson. He followed them and tried for many years to kill them but they always evaded him. The two men eventually parted ways with the Mormon church and began to travel, with Stangerson eventually becoming Drebber's secretary. Hope following them to Europe and just as he was closing in to kill them, he lost them again. England is where he finally managed to track them down and finish the job. He got a job as a cabbie and began to follow them both, hoping to catch them alone. But they went everywhere together. Until one night, Drebber said he had some business to attend to and went off alone. Hope followed him until finally Drebber hailed his cab. Then he took him to the empty house, asked if he remembered him and when Drebber did, Hope made him choose one of the poisoned capsules and watched Drebber die. Stangerson was a little trickier since he was cautious after the death of Drebber. Hope waited outside his hotel but he never emerged so Hope climbed up to his window and woke him early one morning, telling him exactly how Drebber had died and then gave him the same choice of one of the poisoned pills. But Stangerson tried to attack Hope and, in self defense, he stabbed him in the heart. And so with that, Drebber and Stangerson had met their ends and Hope's mission of revenge is at its end. And now Hope can die too since he has a heart condition that has been threatening to kill him for years.

7. How did Sherlock figure it out? Holmes did what Gregson had neglected to do: he looked into the past of Drebber and telegraphed the Cleveland police to inquire into the circumstances connected with the marriage of Drebber. The answer told him that Drebber had applied for protection of the law from Jefferson Hope. He then also learned that Hope had also been present in Europe and had followed Drebber.

8. What did you think of this book? So. I thought this book was okay. I really did like meeting Holmes in print for the first time and I thought that was all really fascinating. But I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style?? This book was really dry and I ended up struggling with it. There were times when I would literally get lost in what I was reading and have to go back and reread. Holmes isn't your quirky detective like Poirot. He's very methodical and, well, dry. So reading his super long descriptions of deductions was honestly kind of a chore?

  Reading Journal

So I read this book in the month we were supposed to read it. (April.....? I want to say....? How does time work again????) And I’m just now getting around to actually posting this. Whoops. So since it’s been a hot minute since I read it, hopefully all the answers are actually correct. I did flip through and try to find the answers but sometimes also struggled a little because details. (And I just have a lot going on right now so BRAIN FOG EXTREME, haha.)

Well, anyway. Overall, I did enjoy this. I liked meeting Holmes and Watson in the books for the first time and this was a really fun case. But I also think I do prefer the screen adaptations more than the books, at this point. The writing style in these is rather dry and I struggled a little with staying focused.

Plus. WHAT IS THAT GIANT LONG TANGENT ABOUT MORMONS?!? I literally thought I was reading the wrong book for a second. I don’t think that entire section was necessary at all? It felt like all of that couldn’t been shortened to, like, a page??? Not, like, 30??? That honestly felt like a Hugo tangent. And it definitely diminished my enjoyment of this book.

So. Overall it was a ~fairly enjoyable reading experience? I’ll definitely be reading more of the books. But I just feel like this story wasn’t exactly what I was expecting? That wasn’t necessarily bad. I just wish that tangent hadn’t been there....? Because other than that, the case was good and interesting!

Anyway. This was a lot of fun! I can’t wait to read the next book on our list!

[impracticaldemon]

Nalu Fluff Week 2017 Within the Law, Chapter 2

fanfiction by impracticaldemon Words: ~3000 | Also on FFnet | AO3 (coming soon) | CH. 1

Author's Note:

Chapter 2 of Within the Law is based on the Day 4 prompt "History", with several nods to the Day 1 prompt "Soulmates".

I'd like to thank everyone who is reading, following and liking this story so far, with special thanks to those who have taken a moment to drop me a line to tell me what they think of the story. 

Chapter 2—Friend or Foe?

Prompt: History

I—Scrutiny

The interview did not go at all as Lucy expected. For one thing, it was a great deal more informal than any interview she'd ever had for a job (other than one for a paper route that her father wouldn't let her keep). The real shock, however, was finding out that the law firm of Makarov & Vermilion—known to lawyers as Fairy Tail—had a history with her family.

The room was more or less what she had envisioned—corporate-Fiore standard boardroom with an oval table, big comfortable chairs, and fully updated with the newest in lacrima technology. The artwork was a little unusual, and appeared to have been contributed by various members of the firm, since there wasn't any cohesion or similarity between the pieces that she could make out. Lucy couldn't help but glance at Natsu when her eyes caught what appeared to be an original Star Wars movie poster in all its kitschy, late- seventies glory, mounted in a place of honour on one wall. Natsu gave her two thumbs up, apparently aware of her interest—in the poster—and Lucy found herself smiling.

"That's the slightly more common version, of course," he stage whispered to her as she sat down in her designated spot. "But I have the Type A poster at home."

Lucy had no idea what he was talking about; apparently Natsu was an even bigger geek than she was. Also… was that a pick-up line? Gray either shared her concern or saw her expression. He punched Natsu none-too-lightly on the shoulder.

"Seriously, Pepto B? Lucy's here for a job interview and you sound like some kind of nerdy pick-up artist."

"What the hell, Gray?! I just thought she'd like to know—I mean she can recognize an Imperial Destroyer-class capital ship when she sees one!"

"So could anyone who's known you for at least five minutes," argued Gray, unconsciously pushing back his sleeves. His pale blue shirt was now unbuttoned most of the way down his chest, revealing a stylized silver sword on a matching chain around his neck—and some very nice muscle, and part of a dark blue tattoo.

Lucy saw Erza Scarlet, the firm's youngest-ever managing partner start to tense at the childish behaviour. She leaned forward, but Makarov Dreyar, the firm's senior partner, shook his head at her slightly, and Ms. Scarlet sighed but didn't intervene. Lucy wondered just how often this kind of thing went on around Fairy Tail. Were they at least more professional around clients? And did their lead forensic specialist really need to show off his chest like that? Lucy found herself looking back at Natsu in the hope that maybe this was a common habit for Fairy Tail guys. Hope?! Did I really just think that? Ugh! This is getting out of hand.

Ignoring Ms. Scarlet's glare, Natsu poked Gray in the chest with a forefinger. It didn't look like much, but Gray almost fell out of his chair.

"Hah!" crowed Natsu. "Shows what you know, Stripper! Lucy hadn't known me for five minutes yet!" He beamed at Lucy, who once again felt like a deer caught in particularly attractive headlights. She scrambled to get her wits together, her task made harder as Natsu reached up and loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar. Mercifully, he stopped with just one button.

"… I guess not," she ventured. "At least, I know it wasn't for very long."

Gray leaned forward toward Natsu with a predatory smirk. "Thought so. You didn't go fetch Lucy like you were supposed to, did you? I'll bet you ran home to let Plue out, set Happy to keep an eye on him, and then—let's see—you had to rush back here because you can't stand riding the subway. You know, I thought it was strange that Lucy got caught in the rain."

Lucy felt a blush starting—why had she lied to cover up for Natsu? Then she discovered that nobody else seemed especially upset, although Ms. Scarlet was obviously irritated.

"And which great detective are you today, Ice Cube Brain, Poirot or Holmes?" Natsu rolled his eyes. "I mean for crying out loud, Ice Princess, don't you—"

"That's enough!" Ms. Scarlet's hand smacked the table, and Lucy jumped right along with the guys. "Natsu—we'll have to have another chat about your billable hours later today. Gray, put your shirt back on and stop baiting Natsu."

Wait, what? Lucy stared at Gray, whose expensive broadcloth shirt was hanging neatly over the back of his chair. What the hell?

Okay, so the lawyers at M&V were a little… unusual. Lucy had already known that in advance. She'd done her research—and seen the news stories—so she'd been aware that Makarov Dreyar was extremely short and tended to conduct business sitting cross-legged on top of tables, podiums, bars, and—in one very famous case—the back of a client's expensive and extremely explicit Greek statue of three lovers.

Mr. Makarov had argued that as the statue was a perfectly functional chair, and as there were no obscenity by-laws regarding lawn furniture, the City of Magnolia had no right to either fine his client or force him to remove the object from his front lawn. He'd lost the case, but it had made his law firm known to most of Fiore by the time it was over. On top of that, the client had reputedly been pleased that he and his statue had been on the news for the better part of two months. It had allegedly doubled the client's business, which Lucy preferred to not think about too hard.

Lucy had also been prepared for Erza Scarlet to be a gorgeous redhead who was not much older than she was. Ms. Scarlet was known equally for her uncompromising courtroom tactics and her custom-designed suits, which had a strange tendency toward colorful bows and thematic patterns that she claimed were related to her cases. Three years ago, journalist Jason Khol had commented that if Erza Scarlet ever showed up for court in a regular black or navy suit, he'd know for sure to leave immediately; the case would either be boring or leave people dead. He had also reported that the lawyer's one weakness was strawberry torte with real whipped cream. Looking across at the giant portrait of a piece of cake so deliciously realistic that Lucy's mouth immediately began to water, Lucy concluded that the information might have been more accurate that Jason's usual offerings.

She was called back to the present when Ms. Scarlet cleared her throat and thanked Lucy for coming to the interview. Lucy almost hugged her for saying something so normal.

"I'm very happy to be here," she began.

"Well, that's just it," interrupted Makarov. "You see, we've had our eyes on you for some time, but since we're all very much like family here, we had to make sure that you weren't just applying for a position in order to spy for your father."

Lucy froze in place. This was actually worse than she'd expected. She'd become more or less inured to being courted for her family's wealth and connections, but she'd never ceased to be hurt on the rare occasions that she'd been met with grim scorn or open hostility because of her family's "opportunistic" business practices.

"Oi, gramps!" Lucy blinked in surprise. It sounded like Natsu was—angry?—on her behalf. Sure enough, the pink-haired securities lawyer waded in with total disregard for rank or protocol. "You didn't have to put it like that! Besides, it's perfectly obvious that she's not here to spy for Old No-Heart Heartfilia!"

No-Heart Heartfilia. Yes, that's what they called him—the nebulous "they" being almost anyone from whom he'd ever wanted something.

Lucy looked up when a heavy arm dropped around her shoulders and squeezed. She automatically noticed the high-quality wool of the suit and the fine linen of the shirt cuff. She'd been raised to notice things like that in the same way that others noticed hair and eye colour. Still a little in shock at the unexpected—well, not attack exactly, but close—she mused that she didn't like Natsu's cuff links and would have to choose him a new pair. That thought brought her out of her daze. What was it with him that made her think things like that? He smells good, her nose suggested. She didn't recognize the soap, so it was probably an off-brand—something he'd picked up for himself—but there was a hint of pine and fresh wood smoke that was both very odd and somehow comforting.

"I have to agree with Pinky, jiji." To Lucy's surprise, that was Gray's cool, rather deep voice, and it sounded like he was on her side too. "Lucy lied like a champ for Natsu and—as we've heard—she barely knew him. Not just that, but I'm pretty sure she didn't know he was a partner, so I doubt she was looking to buy favours." Gray must have moved closer, because she heard him murmur sotto voce: "Waste of time with Natsu anyway…"

Lucy looked up at Mr. Makarov, who seemed to be frowning at her. All at once she realized that Natsu was still hugging her. It was nice, but she preferred to stand on her own two feet, metaphorically speaking.

"Um, Natsu?"

"Natsu—personal space?" Erza's voice sounded slightly weary; no doubt they'd had this conversation before.

"Yeah, Natsu, she hasn't accepted your offer to come see your Type A Star Wars poster yet you know." Sure enough, Gray was right behind her.

"Gray—put your shirt back on."

"Oh—sure thing Erza."

Gray's presence disappeared from behind her and at the same time the warmth around her shoulders vanished. She felt surprisingly disappointed, but persevered.

"Mr. Makarov—Ms. Scarlet—is this still an interview for a job? Or am I here because you're angry with my father?"

"Hmmm, well, I wouldn't say I was ever angry with you, Ms. Heartfilia. It's just that your father has a way of hurting people when he doesn't get his own way, so I am… protective."

Lucy stood up, pleased to find that she was fully in control of herself and her voice again.

"There is nobody who understands my father's nature better than I do," she said in a clipped voice. "Am I here for a job? Or a trial?"

Mr. Makarov smiled at her, and to Lucy's surprise, his smile had quite a bit of the same elusive, sunny charm as Natsu's.

"Actually, if Gray and Natsu hadn't jumped in so quickly, I would have explained that although we were concerned about your motives for seeking employment here, we've already determined that you're just the kind of person we want here—and the right person to make sure that past history stays in the past."

"Oh." Lucy suddenly felt deflated. Then her normal good spirits—which had somehow survived her father's rule after her mother's death—started to bubble back to the surface. "Um, Mr. Makarov?"

"Yes?"

"Does this mean I'm hired?"

"If you want the position, it's yours."

Lucy nodded firmly. "Absolutely. I've dreamed of working here."

"Awesome!" That was Natsu, and he was grinning even more brightly than before.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," said Gray, who still hadn't put his shirt back on. He offered Lucy a slight smile—the first she'd seen other than when he'd been laughing at Natsu.

"We're very happy to have you here," put in Erza. "Please, just call me Erza. If you have some time now, we can do up the proper contracts and so on."

"And discuss billable hours," muttered Natsu.

"Nonsense, she's a summer student," Erza told him sharply. "You on the other hand…"

"Right—got it! And, uh, I've got to get going… are we done here? I mean, gramps has a beer out now and all…"

Sure enough, Mr. Makarov was drinking placidly from a giant beer stein. Where had that come from?

"Fine. Go." Erza shook her head as Natsu rushed off. "That boy… brilliant, of course, but not focussed."

"He's young," murmured Erza's boss—to the extent that she had one. She started to nod in agreement, when Makarov added, "So are you, of course."

"Well then, time to wrap this up," said Gray. He was looking impatient, but was too polite to simply leave.

Just then, Natsu stuck his head in at the door.

"Lucy! I forgot! I'll walk you home, okay? Also—don't let Gray convince you to try out for the hockey team and don't let Erza talk you into putting on a musical. See you in a couple of hours!"

The pink hair vanished as quickly as it had come.

"Musical?" Lucy asked, puzzled.

"Oh yes!" replied Erza, suddenly looking much less severe and considerably younger. "I happened to notice on your résumé that you've done some amateur theatricals, and…"

Lucy heard a snicker from Gray; he patted her on the shoulder on his way out, careful not to interrupt Erza's excited description of the potential for the first ever Fairy Tail musical operetta. Seated to Erza's right, on the conference table, Lucy saw Mr. Makarov smile into his beer.

II—Not Alone

"So, how was your first day?"

Lucy looked sideways at Natsu, who looked cheerfully unrepentant about leaving work early. He'd told her that he'd probably go back later. Unless she wanted to see the poster today, of course. Lucy had declined, citing fatigue and a need to find a place to live in the city now that she could more or less afford to pay rent.

"Well, I didn't really do any work… I mean, I still have end of year exams to go before I can work full-time for the rest of the summer."

Natsu gave her a knowing look.

"I'll bet Erza talked you into the musical."

"True. But she agreed that it might be better to consider a play to start."

"Heh. She wants Gray to sing—he's a dork, but he's got a good voice. He's usually willing to go along with stuff, but he's put his foot down on the singing." Natsu paused, considering. "So far."

"I know exactly what you mean," Lucy told him with considerable feeling. "Erza's amazing, and she's been my idol for the last two years, but she's really… intense."

"Accurate," Natsu agreed. Despite the beautiful clothes, Lucy was starting to believe that he really wasn't much older than she was.

They walked along for a few more minutes, chatting and laughing with surprising ease, when Natsu stopped abruptly and looked toward a park about a half-block away.

"Come on," he said. "I've got to get Happy and Plue."

Bemused, and amazed that she was going with him despite her skirt and heels—she'd ditched the stockings and not bothered with her spare pair—Lucy trailed along behind Natsu. When they reached the park, the white dog and blue-grey cat came trotting up. At Natsu's request, Lucy carefully squatted down in her tight skirt to pet the dog. He was an adorable little thing, with short, velvety fur and dark, expressive eyes.

"So his owner is away?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah… Well, kinda." Natsu shifted from foot-to-foot, his cat Happy in the crook of one arm. "Actually, they're not coming back. But I didn't want Plue to go to just anyone, so I took him in. The building doesn't allow dogs, but I'm planning to get my own place soon anyway, so I thought—why not?"

There was obviously some kind of story there—more old history?—but for some reason, Lucy didn't feel the need to find out about it the way she usually did. She liked the dog—more of a puppy, really—and for some reason, she liked the man. She smiled when it occurred to her that Natsu seemed like a bit of a puppy himself at times. Corporate law shark he might be, but she hadn't seen it so far. She might feel differently once they'd worked together for a while, of course.

A hand reached down, and Natsu helped her to her feet. He seemed a little abstracted, so Lucy gave him his space. Or tried to, anyway. He appeared to like walking close to her, and—again, she wasn't sure why—it didn't bother her.

"How about I give you a hand with finding an apartment?" Natsu asked, after several minutes of silence.

Lucy stopped, since they were about to head down into the subway station, and it would be next-to-impossible to chat down there, given the noise and people. She was surprised by the offer—but not really.

"You don't mind?" She hesitated, and then said bluntly, "The thing is that I'm going to have to do a fair bit of looking. It's got to be nice enough to be comfortable, but not too expensive—although I've got some money saved up, which will help. But the big thing is that my dad's going to be really upset. So I need to look without him knowing."

Natsu nodded, obviously thinking. "So you're running away then?"

"Pretty much. But I've still got a year of school to go so… I don't know exactly how it will work out."

Her companion studied her face and then smiled reassuringly. "We'll make it happen—no problem! You're not on your own now, you know?"

An odd lump rose in Lucy's throat, and she hastily blinked away tears.

"Yeah. Thanks, Natsu."

"There is one thing, though."

"What?" Lucy could feel her original wariness return.

"I really hate subways. Worse than anything." He looked embarrassed and ran a hand through his pink hair.

"Oh. I see the problem." Lucy pulled herself out of her unproductive thoughts. She smiled at Natsu. "I think I can make it home from here on my own, to be honest. Besides, Erza will be happier with you if you head back to work, won't she?"

"Yeah… After I drop off these two, anyway." He seemed a little disappointed, and Lucy hoped it was because he was sorry she had to go. "Well, maybe you can come by on the weekend? Hang out with me and these guys?" His head indicated the cat and the dog.

Lucy didn't know what to say. She wanted to say yes, but it was ridiculous to trust a guy that she barely knew.

"Aren't you going to be working?" she temporized.

"Probably not; there's nothing big in the works for a couple more weeks. Actually, that's the thing—I don't always have a ton of free time, but this weekend's good. That's how it goes in my practice area—you're either working flat out or not too much. I don't mind it. But I want to help you find a place, so…"

"Well, okay then." Lucy gave in and decided to go for it. She couldn't tell if the guy was just being nice—very nice—or whether he was asking her out in a very, very circuitous way. It was impossible to tell. At the very least, he seemed to want to spend time with her. She definitely wanted to spend time with him, although she couldn't quite explain why. She felt less alone than she had in years.

Natsu was frowning again, but he grinned at her response. "Great! Okay, let's exchange numbers"—they each pulled out their communications lacrima—"and we'll aim for early Saturday afternoon. Good?"

"Works for me."

"Also, if you ever just want to come over and study, I can probably help. Gray's not too shabby either, though I wouldn't tell him that."

"Such fulsome praise!"

"I know, right?" Another blinding grin.

"See you on Saturday, Natsu!"

"Bye Lucy! Don't trip in the turnstile this time!"

Lucy opened her mouth to protest—it was Happy and Plue that had tripped her up—but Natsu was already jogging away. She suspected he was laughing.

[END]

A/Note: So, this chapter ended up three times longer than planned—mind you, I'm using the term "planned" in a very general kind of way.  I hope you enjoyed it! I'll probably do one more to wrap up Fluff Week. The story needs at least a kiss and definitely some cuddle time... but what do I know?

As always, your reviews and comments are very much appreciated! You'd be surprised how encouraging it is to know that people look forward to reading your work. :)

Confession time ~ I do have a law degree and practiced law in a large firm for just over two years after finishing law school. I practice law in Canada, which means primarily "common law" - that is, law based on both legislation and the decisions of the courts. The US, and most former British colonies, are also common law jurisdictions. The system is different in  "civil law" jurisdictions, such as Québec (in Canada) and most of Europe.

@shell-senji @nalufever @eliz1369 @nalu-natic @naluloverforever @unashamed-shipper @kazama-hime @sabinasanfanfic  @sanguine-fairy @very-x-vice @walk-tall-my-fr1ends @hakusaitosan @strawberrysweetlove35 @fic-writer-appreciation @ftfanfics

Note: I may not be tagging all the right people; I apologize to those I’ve included by mistake and (in absentia!) to those I’ve missed.

[dontshootmespence]

College Crime Stoppers

A/N: An anon request for a BAU fic where they are a much younger group of kids, late teens and early twenties, not working for the BAU, that go around solving crimes in their spare time, kind of like the Scooby Doo gang. Takes place in Vegas. @coveofmemories @jamiemelyn @sexualemobitch @unstoppableangel8 @iammostdefinitelyonfire26

                                                            -----

What happened when seven college students with a knack for actually using their brains came together in their off time?

Basically, you got the real-life Sherlock Holmes, Kay Scarpettas, and Hercule Poirots of the world - the wanna-be crime stoppers that were using their wits for something other than law enforcement. 

First, there was David Rossi, age 23, whose parents worked for an engineering firm and had been transferred just before he started college. He’d drifted through school for nearly three and a half years, not knowing what he truly wanted to do, until finally he landed on it. Cooking - it had always been his one true passion. Once he’d finally decided what he wanted to do, he transferred to Le Cordon Bleu’s campus in Vegas and was training under some of the best in the field.

Next was Aaron Hotchner, age 22, who’d grown up doors down from David. Since he was a child, he knew he wanted to be a lawyer. After four grueling years of college, he was returning to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in just a few weeks to begin law school. His father, also a lawyer, was ecstatic, and Mrs. Hotchner could not have been more proud.

Derek Morgan was also 22. From the time he was a child, his father had taught him the value of working with his hands, so it felt truly natural for him to pursue a degree in construction management; it would allow him to continue on the legacy his father had built, Morgan and Hayes Construction, a construction company his father had established with his best friend, Matthew Hayes. Morgan couldn’t deny that in his time of from school his mind tended to wander toward Hayes’ daughter, Savannah.

Emily Prentiss, age 21, was the next oldest in the group of seven. Her mother was an ambassador, so they had moved around for quite a while, but she’d taken a permanent position for her daughter to stay in the same high school. Best friends with JJ and dating Aaron Hotchner, she was pursuing a degree in world languages with a minor in Russian and Spanish, hoping to one day work for the UN.

Then was Penelope Garcia, age 20. On her own for the past two years after her parents tragically passed away in a car crash, she hopped to different friends’ houses and had taught herself coding. She never went to school, but she could probably hack the Pentagon if someone asked her to.

JJ, or Jennifer Jareau, was 19 years old and wanted more than anything to become a nurse, and hopefully work in a neonatal unit of a nearby hospital. She, Penelope and Spencer all lived near each other, and anyone you asked would say the trio was inseparable.

And lastly of course was Spencer Reid, a certified genius with an IQ of 187. He’d already obtained two bachelor’s degrees and was starting a Ph.D. in Engineering at the University of Nevada Las Vegas this year.

Through it all, different schools, different towns, somehow the seven of them had come together. One day about a year earlier, someone had asked them in passing if they’d seen someone pass by with a very particular bike that had been stolen from him. It had irked them so badly, they ended up seeking out the bike stealer and eventually returning the bike to its original owner.

Ever since then, if someone needed help in their local area, they found themselves helping. “You ready to go?” JJ asked Spencer, at the moment reluctantly peeling himself off her couch. The group of them had decided to go to a Halloween-themed Murder Mystery dinner. Spencer was dreading going; he hated big gatherings of any kind, but JJ and Penelope had begged him to go. 

“Yea,” he groaned. 

Within a half hour, all seven college students found themselves sitting at a table enjoying the beginning of a delicious three-course meal. Now was going to be the moment that the lights would go out and a dead body would appear, Spencer thought to himself. It was all so predictable. And as if on cue, the lights went out, came back on two seconds later, and when they returned, he saw the body of a man on the floor.

Everyone playfully screamed, while the already jaded college students giggled at the whole ordeal...until Emily noticed the body seemed to be bleeding. When she approached the body and turned him over, there was a small knife sticking straight out of his heart.

In a panic, everyone actually started screaming. Emily turned toward her friends and boyfriend. Should they help? Could they help? Sure, the police would be there soon, but it would still be a while, and no one could leave until they arrived. “We should help,” she said.

“We found a stolen bike, a missing cat, and stopped a bully,” Spencer whispered hotly. “Murder? How are we supposed to help?”

Emily wanted to help and Aaron wanted to impress her, so that meant he did too. Spencer was too petrified to help, and JJ and Penelope just thought they wouldn’t be able to, while Rossi and Morgan just thought the rest of the group was insane.

While they waited, they observed the panicked patrons around them. The man on the floor had been sitting at a nearby table. Everyone with him looked suspicious now. “Are any of them missing a knife?” Rossi asked.

Spencer huffed. “I would hope no one would be that stupid. None of them are missing one, plus, the handle looked too small, like it was a paring knife or something, not a steak knife.”

“I overheard the man next to the woman in green saying something about his old job. I think he employed the dead man at one point. Maybe he has a connection?”

“Maybe,” JJ interjected. “But the woman is my bet.”

“Why do you say that?” Morgan asked.

She turned back toward the woman, glancing every now and then to gauge her reaction. “Her reaction when everyone else thought it was still the dinner was just a touch too real, and now she is over the top. Of course, you’d expect a woman to be distraught over the loss of her husband,” JJ said, pointing to her ring finger to indicate the woman and man were married, “But she is crying way too hard.”

“So maybe she’s just really distraught,” Morgan said.

Hotch shook his head. “No, JJ’s right. She’d not crying out of sadness. It’s anger.”

“Why anger?” Emily wondered aloud. 

Spencer noticed the woman turning to the others at the table and pointing fingers, both literally and figuratively. “She’s accusing the people she’s with. If she was purely just distraught, she probably wouldn’t be thinking about who did it.”

“So we have a theory that it’s the woman in green, right?” Penelope asked, her blonde curls bouncing up and down as she moved in quickly to whisper to her friends. 

JJ nodded. “Can you hack another person’s phone from your phone?”

“Can I?” Penelope said surprised. “Is there anything yours truly can’t do?”

If she could hack the Pentagon from a laptop in her car, she could get into a couple of cellphones. At the speed of light, her fingers flew across the keyboard, attempting to uncover the dirty little secrets of the inhabitants of the nearby table. 

While Penelope worked her magic with the cellphones, everyone else mingled around the open space, chatting with anyone they could to gain some valuable insight as to who the killer might be. The police arrived shortly after and started taking statements, mostly from tables toward the front, where they and their suspects were not. 

“What have you found?” Hotch asked Penelope as he sidled over to her. 

“What have I not found?” She laughed. “The man next to the woman in green is Michael Dance, a construction engineer who recently fired the dead man, Jacob Brewer. The woman in green is Jacob’s wife, Melanie. Next to Melanie on the other side is her friend, Justine Cramer, who dated Jacob in high school. Next to Justine is her current husband, the second one, whose name is Marcus. The guy next to Marcus? Justine’s first husband, Eric Goldstein. Who knows what the hell is up with that. And the other couple at the table are Tina and Barry Rockingham. They have no connection to anyone at the table.”

“You got all that in ten minutes?” Hotch asked incredulously.

Penelope feigned hurt and grabbed Hotch’s drink, downing it in one gulp. “I am the master,” she smiled. “Now mama’s gonna grab some more of this amazing ice tea while the rest of you do your thing.”

While the police continued to take statements, the rest of the crime-fighting group gathered back at the table save for Emily. “What do we have?” Rossi asked.

“Well, there seemed to be some hostility between Jacob, the dead dude, and his former employer, Michael Dance. Michael had to lay people off recently because of the economy and it didn’t sit well with Jacob,” Morgan said. “But Michael had no ill will toward Jacob, so I don’t know what the motive would be.”

 “Justine is just your typical gold-digger,” Spencer said candidly. “She came here with her second husband. She comes every year, so that’s how her first husband ended up here, because he was trying to win her back even though she cleaned him out of half his cash during their divorce.” The rest of the group wondered how he got this information. “It’s a wonder what people say when they’re drunk.”

“True,” Emily said as she approached. “But I think I know who did it...the chef. Well, the guy playing the chef.”

Rossi being the oldest of the group always asked the rest of them for explanations, like he was the boss or something. “How do you know?”

Emily took a deep breath and then went into a full-on speech. “While I was talking to the other couple at the table, who have no connection to the rest of them by the way, I overheard a conversation taking place behind me between the guy playing the chef and the guy playing the butler. The guy playing the butler asked why the other one was so calm, and he responded ‘that condescending fucker had what was coming to him.’ Now that perked my ears up, so I turned around and used my womanly wiles to get them to give me their names. The butler is Brendon Pond and the chef is Joseph Brewer; that’s right, the dead man’s brother.”

Penelope had since returned to the group and again pulled out her phone to dig a little deeper into the lives of Jacob, Joseph and Melanie Brewer. “Okay, since Jacob was laid off, he developed his own construction firm in a neighboring town. He made quite a name for himself and his business seemed to be growing. I have a police report here that says that Joseph, two years younger, was taken into custody after a fight because he needed a job, but his brother wouldn’t give him one. Apparently his younger brother is a screw-up.”

“Well,” JJ said with a smile, “If I know men, and I think I do, Joseph coveted his brother’s entire life, wife included. The two of them started an affair. Jacob, being a construction firm owner, probably has a decent life insurance policy, so with him out of the way, Melanie and Joseph would be well-off and they could be together.

Morgan eyes widened. Spencer pondered why people couldn’t stay faithful. Emily gave JJ a high five and Penelope once again patted herself on the back for a job well done. 

Eventually, the police came to them to give a statement. They’d been asking everyone if they could think of who would’ve done such a thing, so all of them told the police of their suspicions, minus the initial hacking on Penelope’s part of course. 

Once everyone had given a statement, most of them would be free to go, but the young college students actually wanted to stay and see how things played out. It got even more interesting when the police started taking statements from the people at Melanie Brewer’s table. Without bringing the wanna-be crime stoppers into it, they’d brought up a variety of possibilities. “What the hell gave you that idea?” Joseph Brewer boomed. Although he hadn’t meant to, the cop had glanced back toward the group. “You think I’m a killer?”

Emily just laughed, Joseph’s drunken breath nearly knocking her off her feet. “Yea, actually. You have a history of hating your brother. She has a history of cheating. All public record mind you,” she said, turning toward the officer, “Who better to be carrying around that murder weapon than the man playing the chef, and on top of that I believe I see a small speck of blood on that navy blue tie you’re wearing, presumably from when you washed your hands.”

In his supreme inebriation, he didn’t even try to hide it, screaming about how his brother deserved it and bringing Melanie down with him. “She put me up to it! Said we could be together and we’d be rich!”

Ear-piercing screams and flying fists played out in front of them until the cops put them both in handcuffs. They might not have had conclusive proof, but they did have enough to take them in. One of the officers approached the group and thanked them for their time, suggesting they might like law enforcement if they hadn’t picked a major yet before returning to the suspects to bring them to the squad car. 

When they were taken outside, passing the group of college crime stoppers on the way, the brother muttered under his breath. “I could've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!”

[yeshuah-yahveh-blog]

In Wrathful Waters - Chapter 2: Climbing the Waterfall.

Daniel already knew what was waiting for him even before he entered the police department. His statement to the press was not something that his Captain, Jared Steel, would look kindly upon, nor would really any of the others at the department for that matter. He did not truly know why he had talked to the press at all, as that was not something he used to do, ever. In fact, this was the first time he had spoken to any member of the press. There was nothing he could do about it now, anyway, so he braced himself for the reprimand the Captain had in store. The walk through the department building toward Captain Steel’s office was unnerving due to all the eyes that rested upon him from every single person he walked past.

“This is going to be a long day, indeed” thought Daniel as he stood before the door to Captain Steel’s office.

Even before he had raised his fist to knock, the stern voice of Captain Steel was heard far and wide; “Enter!”

Daniel did what the voice had commanded him to do. The office of Jared Steel was, as always, neatly kept. The big, dark wooden desk was located close to the center of the room, behind it was a black leather armchair, and the wall on the opposite side of the room from the door had two big windows from which one could see a couple of buildings and an average park. Not the greatest of views, but it was decent enough for a police captain. In front of the desk was two very uncomfortable looking chairs made in some kind of metal. The wall to the left of Daniel was covered by two bookcases, which only held about a dozen books, the rest of the bookcases was filled with pictures of Captain Steel with important and influential people, like Mayor Gavin Longwell, Governor James Johnson, and other people Daniel did not recognize, probably some rich guys and some sport stars, chairmen of some dubious charities and so on.

The wall on Daniel’s right had to posters framed hanging on it; one from Mayor Longwell’s campaign and the other from Governor Johnson’s. Captain Jared Steel was sitting in the leather armchair, with his back as straight as a back could possibly be, and with his eyes locked on Daniel. Jared Steel was dressed in the finest of suits, dark grey in color. The remaining hair he had was drawn back, as white as snow. A majestic white mustache, which looked like a hybrid between that of Hercule Poirot and Joseph Stalin, and his face truly showed the age of the Captain; sixty-seven. The dark eyes of the Captain made Daniel feel like he was falling endlessly into an abyss.

“Sit!”

The voice made Daniel feel like a little child about to get a scolding. Daniel heeded Jared’s command and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the office desk. Even though Daniel felt like he could not keep meeting the Captain’s gaze, he knew that if he did let his eyes fall from his Captain’s, he would hate and despise himself for it, not to mention that such an action would confirm any suspicions the captain might have about him.

“Why the hell did you talk to those journalists and reporters!? And why the fuck did you say such incredibly stupid things!?”

There was a slight pause before he continued.

“Not only did you make a fool out of yourself and the entire department, but you also jeopardized those murder cases you closed this week! What the fuck is wrong with you!? Do you know how many phone calls from all types of journalistic scum and from the bosses above I have gotten ever since you had a goddamn meltdown on live TV!? Well, neither do I because it is that fucking many!”

Daniel was about to answer, hesitantly with a stuttering and shaky voice, but Captain Steel held up his right hand, silencing detective Hamworth before he even spoke.

“I do not want any excuses from you, Hamworth! But, I do have a proposition for you. You have until the end of today to come up with something concrete that would support that idiotic theory of yours, and if you fail to do so you will be suspended, and most probably fired. If you refuse, the same outcome as your failure would ensue. Do not think that such actions would not be realized, because I am not alone in wanting you gone from the force, the bosses above, all the way up to Governor Johnson himself, wants to get rid of you. Right away. But that is not how I work, not entirely anyway. So, will you accept or not?”

“Yes, I accept, sir”

Daniel said straight away, without hesitation or a moment of thought.

“Good, now get the fuck out of here, Hamworth!”

“Yes, sir”

Daniel rose from the now confirmed uncomfortable chair and walked towards the door. As he opened it and was about to exit the office, he heard Captain Steel’s voice behind him: “Until the end of today, Hamworth, remember that.” Daniel merely nodded while he left the office and closed the door behind him. Without wasting a single second, he left the department and went straight home, where he had copies of all four of the murder case files and its contents, something which he wasn’t allowed to, at least according to the Captain. Daniel never bothered looking it up, because he did not think that the Captain or anyone else really would do anything about it at the end of the day.

Daniel’s apartment consisted only of one room, in which the “kitchen” is located as well, and the tiniest of bathrooms you could think of. The single room contained, apart from the stove and the other few kitchen utensils he owned, of a bed that looks like it is about to fall apart at any moment, a moderately sized desk, an armchair that was decently comfortable, a computer and lots and lots of boxes containing most, though not all, of the cases he had ever worked on since he became a detective.

He let out a heavy sigh, took off his coat, and went to the fridge and took a beer. He then opened it, drank it all in one swoop, then took out the rest of the beers he had in the fridge and then walked to the desk, on which he placed the beers and then took a seat in his armchair. After he lighted a cigarette, Daniel began to go throw his case boxes in search of the four murder case files. After ten minutes or so he found it, thus he began his task of finding a thread that bind all these four, and the latest, cases together strong enough for the Captain’s approval. Eight hours, and ten bottles of beer later, Daniel finally found what he had been looking for. He couldn’t believe that he and that foul Detective Bryan Eastport could’ve missed the connection he recently unearthed. Well, he knew why they did not see the connection (beside his earlier revelation at the crime scene), or a major part of the reason why.

They found and arrested the “culprits” easily enough, thus they did not look any deeper during these investigations to see beneath the surface into the muddy depths. Anyway, now Daniel knew what he needed in order to begin his pursuit after the Red Herring. Before he could do that, however, Daniel needed to let Captain Steel know what he had found, and hope that the Captain could see the obvious thread that bound the fate of these four (five, more than likely, but that remains to be seen) children.