#hoo boy he's been sitting on this monologue. he's been waiting for this one.

[phoebehalliwell]

leo x dan is not a ship i thought i would see in 2021 on my dash but exactly the wacky content i subscribed for (i mean that in the best way possible) anyways anon is big brain, i am loving both leo x dan and the poly idea 👀  anyway, im thinking about how dan would be incorporated into later pleo storylines and it's so interesting. would pleo still get married or would they choose not to since all three of them cannot legally marry? or would maybe piper and dan get married since leo is technically dead anyway so it makes more sense for piper to marry dan since she does want to be married, but leo is just as much part of the marriage, it's just not official like piper/dan. and then s6 would be interesting how they would handle it together, like they still have each other at least, but their third part is missing and it's really weird and almost tense between them too. the loss of leo is like a tangible thing, that marriage is not whole without him. plus would wyatt and chris still be leo's kids or maybe chris could be dan's? and then with wyatt was like, piper is pregnant but we don't know who the 'biological' father is and it doesn't matter anyway bc they're both the father, and they only find out when wyatt starts showing whitelighter powers. and then in season 8, would piper have to lose both dan and leo?? many questions that i cannot stop thinking about now

i feel like legally piper and dan would get married because you know well Leo’s Dead but i think since they did a traditional handfasting ceremony they would just to that with the three of them (and like. everyone’s like hmm how are we gonna. who’s gonna. like we gotta tell grams it’s all three of you is she gonna get it can we swing this is it gonna be weird. and they bring it up hella awkwardly and grams is like yeah lmao. who hasn’t been in/wanted to be in a poly relationship. and like both prue phoebe and victor raise their hands like. ???. grams? and grams is like. oh well nevermind let’s get this wedding started.) in regards to lineage i think like if paige is there it’s less of a discussion about having a whitelighter kid but if paige Isn’t There it’s like. how tf is that gonna work?? but in regards to like getting pregnant having kids i think it would be less of a cooking up in a lab type situation and more just like. you go off the pill & what happens happens. in regards to s6, i think piper would still get the pain numbed because she went full goddess and you know almost razed san francisco but dan did Not get the morphine because he’s not a witch who stormed the heavens. so he’s here watching piper like Go Insane and he like. Needs to find leo because what the fuck did you do to our wife?? and i think that really starts to like. pull at the seams because dan has basically lost both leo And piper because of some weird shit leo pulled and so when dan sees leo for the first time it’s like. very mixed feeling because i mean for starters gladiator leo great look but it’s also like dude. dude are you fucking kidding me. like i’m so happy you’re alive and i’m happy we got you off that fucking island but Dude Are You Fucking Kidding Me you don’t know what it’s been like to be here especially with the piper you broke you got to hold onto the memories of us while mine basically got painted over day by day as piper moved further away from herself and now what i’m just supposed to get over it we’re just supposed to get over it we just gotta sit here and pretend like we’re not married like these aren’t all of our kids you’re supposed to go back up to the heavens while we stay here and pretend like there isn’t a major piece of our lives missing i’m sorry i literally can’t be happy about that. how could i be happy about that?

and in regards to plot just like a plot standpoint i think like chris would be leo’s bio son bc well he needs the whitelighter half for the plot but then i’d probably make wyatt dan’s bio son just cuz. for balance, or whatever. no actually you know what he stays leo’s son because i like the idea of like. dan running around trying to care for a magical baby like aaaaaa. aaaaa. honey!! wyatt just conjured a dragon! melinda is dan’s bio daughter tho. and then for like plot. i think i would give the avatars to dan. just because leo already had his time split from the pack he doesn’t need to reprise that 2.0 because quite frankly that might tear the marriage apart but dan joining something to protect his kids protect his family in a world where he’s always been powerless like that could be good. more heated leo/dan moments are leo’s more firmly placed with the elders in this one. fun scenes after leo falls from grace and becomes mortal and dan’s like haha hey welcome to the club. and then maybe they go on like a movie date afterwards. like it’s been a long day. week. year. seven years. it’s been a long 7 years. let’s go do something insanely mortal and dreadfully boring. the three of them go putt-putt together.

[captainillogical]

Profoundly Yours Ch.2

Amity receives a love letter in her locker. Luz wants to help figure out who it is.

Cover art by my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants​

AO3 mirror

first chapter

Surprisingly enough, no one is paying attention to Amity when her locker spits the letter out at her, and she quickly stuffs the envelope into her pocket before anyone has the chance to see. It’s exactly the same as the other one, interestingly enough.

She rapidly gathers the things she needs for her next class, narrowly avoiding a few students in the halls as she makes her way to her next period. There are several students in the class chatting when she gets there, so she resides to looking at the letter later, regrettably. 

She sits down at one of the empty tables next to the window, staring outside as she listens to more students fill in the class. Two students are arguing about which one’s stronger, and Amity rolls her eyes to herself when she hears them start to challenge each other to a duel later. It’s raining outside today, the clouds are completely covering the sky in large sheets of grey, and she sighs as she watches the rain pour down. Sleep didn’t come to her easy last night, she kept waking up every half hour or so. She’ll have to push through her tiredness to even be able to get through school today.

Someone sits down next to her, and she tries to ignore the presence as she waits for the teacher to come in and start the class. They place their books down pretty loudly, and she hears a pretty familiar cough.

“Were you going to ignore my presence the entire class, Blight?” Luz jokes, voice light and airy.

Amity turns her face to look at the human in surprise - she forgot she had a lesson with Luz today. Luz is smiling at her the same way she smiles at the rest of her friends - and the way it has Amity’s heart beating fast is utterly embarrassing. 

“N-no,” She hears herself stutter a little, cursing herself internally for acting like some kind of fool around the human. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

Luz stares at Amity for several seconds longer than necessary, a worried expression taking up space on her face.

“You look a little tired, are you getting enough sleep?” She asks gently, and Amity thinks that Luz might be becoming a little too familiar with her. If she knows how to read her face like this, she’s going to figure out her feelings for the other girl, sooner or later. And that’s not good at all.

“I’ve been having some issues sleeping the last couple of days, it’s no big deal.” The green-haired girl answers truthfully - it’s not like she can lie about it, if Luz can see it on her face already. But she doesn’t want to talk about it, because then she’ll have to elaborate as to why, and she doesn’t want to go down that particular path. Just ‘hey Luz, can’t sleep because I think about kissing your stupidly cute face constantly, don’t worry about it!’ Yeah, that’s gonna be a no. “That’s not what's on my mind though. Here.”

Amity pulls the blank white envelope out of her pocket, and places it on the table on her books in a way that only Luz can see from this angle. Luz’s eyes go comically wide, and she shuts her mouth before she shouts in surprise at the object on the table.

“-is that another..?” She whispers to Amity, scooting her seat so close to her that she can feel her knee press against her thigh.

Amity tries so incredibly hard to not focus on the single warm point of contact she has with Luz. It might actually be the hardest thing she’s ever done in her life. She can feel her own palms getting sweaty.

“Yeah, I haven’t opened it yet though. Wanted to be discreet.” She answers, screaming at her own brain to calm the hell down. This is a lot harder than she had thought. “I wasn’t expecting another one of these at all, or so soon after the last one..” 

“You’re not flattered at their insistence?” She wonders out loud, reaching over for the envelope - Amity smacks her hand from grabbing it automatically, and Luz yelps - tearing her hand away. Realizing what she just did, Amity feels her face light up in embarrassment.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to, I just didn’t want the other students to notice I had-”

Luz laughs, cutting her off. “Is Amity getting comfortable with me?” She says in jest, Amity wishing she could sink into her seat as she feels her face get redder.

“Don’t get used to it.” She retorts, and Luz knocks her knee against hers teasingly.

The professor walks into the room then, addressing everyone in his class, and Amity tucks the note into one of her books for safekeeping, pulling her potions book out to the front. The murmurs of the other students die down, and he starts off with some monologue about last week’s lesson theory, and Amity is already having a difficult time paying attention.

She places her chin in her hand, glancing out the window. Rain pelts against the glass, and within five minutes she’s starting to feel a bit sleepy again as the teacher’s droning voice goes on and on. Except for the fact that Luz starts to shake her leg out of misplaced, unbridled energy - the one that’s touching Amitys, and now it’s all she can pay attention to.

Is the girl not aware she’s touching the other’s leg? Or does it just not matter to her? Is it just Amity sitting here, silently freaking out about this?

Ugh, she feels so stupid.

The teacher calls on the student sitting in the front row, who gives a perfect answer - and they start heavily discussing that specific topic; Amity watches Luz pull a piece of paper out of her notebook, placing it in front of herself and shielding it from the teacher.

What the hell is she doing? Amity tries her best to not outright stare at her table partner. Luz is scribbling something onto the paper, tip of her tongue peeking out of her lips. A particularly strong gust of wind knocks a nearby tree branch at the classroom window, Luz looks up at the offending noise curiously - Amity has to tear her eyes away from the girl before she catches on.

She can’t even pretend to be a perfect, ‘straight A’ student when the object of her affections is sitting right next to her. How utterly embarrassing. Get it together. The face Luz is making reminds Amity of when she first met the human - and hoo boy has her impression of her flipped a complete 180. Not to mention how Amity herself acted around her. She tries to not think about that part too much, as she already has written extensively in her diary about all of her own regrets. 

Amity’s lost in thought before she realizes Luz is staring at her, and she feels the tips of her ears heat up in embarrassment. The human gives her a look - one Amity interprets as “you’re being weird again, Blight” and she slides the piece of paper over to her.

Amity looks down to peer at the note on the table, feeling the tips of her ears heat up even more.

Luz drew herself with a bunch of sparkles around her head, and inside the speech bubble next to her face it reads: “do you wanna spend the next free period together to look at that letter?”

Ah, yeah. Amity’s got it bad. How can one single girl affect her like this? She tries to visibly remain calm as she grabs her own pencil to write her answer, feeling her own fingers shake. Spend a free period - that she normally spends alone to study - with the human? Just the two of them?

Together? 

She feels her brain shut off after that specific thought, and hastily writes down “don’t you spend that with willow?” and slides it back over to Luz.

Luz reads it, scrunching her face and giving Amity a look. She writes something back, staring at Amity purposefully.

“do you not want my help?” Amity reads the paper, feeling her heart drop. She quickly tries to write out a “thats not what i meant”- but is interrupted by the professor coughing, and loudly.

“Miss Blight, are you passing notes in my class?” He asks, and Amity hastily sits up straight.

“N-No! Of course not! I was just teaching Luz here the proper way on how to write out the name of this particular fungus, sir.” She answers, heart caught in her throat. Do not come over here, do not come over here - is running in her mind on a loop.

He stares at her from the front of the classroom for a few moments, before shrugging and moving on with his lecture. Phew. 

Amity relaxes in her seat, feeling like she emotionally just ran a mile. After a few minutes while the teacher isn’t paying attention, she scribbles out what she was writing on the note earlier and writes down a “of course I do.” To slide over to the human.

Luz looks down at it briefly - to not seem as suspicious to the teacher - and Amity watches as a genuine smile breaks out on her face when she reads the words. It isn't good for her heart's health, being around Luz so much like this. 

The rest of the class goes by pretty quickly after that, and Amity finds herself both looking forward to, and dreading the next hour.

-

They were going to go to the library and sit at a secluded table together under the guise of studying, but it ended up much too crowded for Amity's taste. Even the three study classrooms that are usually empty were chock full of students today.

Eventually they end up on the third floor’s stairwell in the corner, next to all the giant windows. It’s very quiet over here, rarely do students come up or down this way since it’s much farther than any of the bathrooms or classrooms nearby. Luz takes a seat near the bottom of the steps, stretching her arms over her head and yawning.

Amity tries not to stare. She knows she’s been doing a lot of that lately. She instead looks out the large windows and the many trees beyond - the rain is coming down pretty heavy. There’s a flash of lightning out there in the far distance, and after several seconds she hears the thunder. It pours a little harder after that. 

She opens the envelope in her hand, unfolding the paper and sitting next to Luz on the third step.

Her hair was like trees 

Brown, green, and strong. 

Stronger and more powerful than any tree I’ve ever seen

People see her beauty, I saw her roots.

“I think this one is a little better than the other one, frankly,” Luz giggles, her shoulder pressed against Amity’s as she leans in close to read. She needs her brain to focus on literally anything else other than the constant physical contact the human keeps subjecting her to. 

“Should I be flattered or insulted?” Amity shakes the paper in disgust, giving Luz a look of judgement. “Mentioning my roots of all things..”

“I think it’s nice!” Luz locks eyes with the other girl, meeting her gaze. “They were definitely acknowledging your superior strength!” She pulls away to flex, and Amity almost snorts out a laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

“You’re supposed to be on my side, don’t defend them,” Amity tries her hardest to not let her flustered feelings show on her face as Luz leans right back into her personal space. 

“I’m just admiring their choice of words,” Luz replies with a grin, bumping her shoulder with Amity's slightly. “But you know what’s bothering me? They don’t leave a name, or any way for you to reply to these.”

“While that has been bothering me, honestly, it’s not like I’d contact them even if they did.” The green-haired girl says, watching the rain pelt against the glass on the opposite side of the stairwell. God, it’s dreadful out. 

Suddenly, she hears footsteps on the floor above her coming downwards, and she quickly grabs the potions book to her left, placing it on her lap and hiding the love poem between some of the pages. Luz turns to look behind them both.

“Amityyyyyyy~” The condescending voice of Boscha is heard from behind her, and Amity sighs to herself.

Of course Boscha would somehow find her. Of course.

“What are you doing with her?” The three eye-ed girl walks down the stairs next to the both of them, Skara in tow. She stops to give Amity a bewildered look, and Skara’s not even paying attention. She’s glued to her scroll, rapidly tapping the screen.

Amity doesn’t feel up for it today.

“We’re studying, if you don’t mind.” She answers, giving Boscha a defiant look, the other girl raising her eyebrows in return.

“With the human?” She says it like it’s the scum under her feet. Amity hates the tone she’s using, and is getting irritated very quickly. “Come hang out with us instead.”

“Did you not just hear her? I know you’re not deaf, sheesh,” Luz retorts, bristling next to Amity. 

“Excuse me?!” Boscha scoffs, fists tightening. Skara grabs her upper arm, still tapping on her scroll screen.

“Let them study. I don’t feel like getting into it today.” She says to her three-eyed friend, nudging her a bit.

“Uggghhhh, are you serious right n-”

“Boscha.” She interrupts her with a huff.

“Fine.” The other girl retorts, and stomps away like a petulant child after a couple of seconds.

Skara finishes what she’s typing, before looking up to smile at Amity and also Luz by extension.

“See ‘ya around.” Is all she says before walking away leisurely, eventually catching up to Boscha all the way at the end of the hall.

Several long seconds pass, and Luz lets out a long breath.

“She sure has issues.” She says, finally, and Amity laughs at that.

“Thanks for speaking up back there, she would’ve been a lot worse I think if you hadn’t, Luz.” Amity says, giving the other a small smile.

“What’re friends for?” The human replies cheerily, and Amity having to mask her emotions right now is one of the hardest things she’s ever done in her entire life.

Ah, yes.

Friends.

-

She slept terribly this night, again, for the fifth time this week.

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 35

Last time: Ed wasn’t a racist, Sloth forgot to turn left at Albuquerque, and M.G. Armstrong was getting ready to show off to the tourists. Onwards!

Episode 35 - “The Shape of This Country”

Awesome, we’re right back into it, M.G. Armstrong repeating her line from last episode. Ed’s confused until Buccy grabs his head and then his whole body to “lend a hand”. The Brothers protest until Buccy puts his pistol to Ed’s head what the Leto?!

[Buccy]: “You were forced to help us under duress; how does that excuse work for ya?’

Eh we can get into order technicalities later, just go with it for now Ed. Heck, if you pull this off right it’ll never get back to Bradley!

Poor Falman’s conscripted as well, Buccy still holding Ed at gunpoint as they take fuel cans to Gate 8. Seeing as the defused shells were insufficient, M.G. Armstrong uses her new weapons as blunt instruments to simply push Sloth into the elevator. Poor tank commander, he just wanted to show off the tanks to his boss but now he’s just getting stepped on by her. It works, and the slow thug is sent somewhere else to the relief of the poor mooks.

Now we’re down to Gate 8, where Sloth shambles out of the elevator all confused about where he is now. Suddenly Buccy runs in and damn, guy just shoulder-threw the biggest Goth so far to the ground, right below the others who poured the tank fuel onto him.

Good, you’ve soaked the Goth in flammable material. Anybody got a match?

Uh.

Ok, I can’t fault you for this one. Why settle for a match when you’ve got a Leto-damn tank?

Alright, that shot knocked it outside, you can use explosive shells safely now! FIRE!

…

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. You’re out of ammo?! You didn’t save even a single explosive shell? Boo.

Falman… I’ll say he ‘contributed’ by shooting down an icicle, but he probably didn’t need to bother. The Brothers run forward and Brother Kick off the fort wall. Guys, do you not realize the plan? You want heat, not this blasted cold!

Wait, what are you saying Buccy?

Oh. Well don’t I feel foolish now. I got so hung up on the idea of setting Sloth on fire that I didn’t even think about the opposite. Fast evaporating liquid plus stupidly low temperatures? Near-instant Gothsicle.

Awesome! Dead or not, Sloth isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Now we can- hey! Don’t arrest the Elrics, they helped! Falman too!

Argh, even with Sloth on ice M.G. Armstrong’s keeping up the excuse that they were forced to help, and as long as they’re detained she can try to get some more answers out of them. Although I’m totally down for learning what Sloth wanted, I can’t think of any reason the Goths would need a tunnel all the way to the northern edge of Amestris.

Rise and shine, prisoner! Ed seems to share my disdain for cold-weather mornings, but he perks up when one of the labcoats comes by with a mug. Ed, I wouldn’t- dude really? Just yesterday you got charged for a cup of coffee, why are you surprised the same thing happened today?

At least he gets some good information for free, like that a search party was sent into the tunnel to figure out what the heck it was, and Sideburns is visiting the hospital, there’s a soldier who… uh oh, it’s Kimblee, isn’t it? I know that the Elrics haven’t met him yet, and he still has to make up for his pathetic showing on that train, but I think that Ed should still worry more about the guy working for the Goths than his old enemy.

We get some other Briggs soldiers dropping by as well to thank the Elrics for their help yesterday. Ed and I are impressed by the camaraderie these guys seem to share, for a place defined by Survival of the Fittest there’s a good amount of teamwork and goodwill. Not enough to defy M.G. Armstrong and let them out of course, but still.

At the hospital Sideburns is confirming that Scar got away, before saying that Fort Briggs would search for Scar while Kimblee healed up. Kimblee of course demands that they back off and let him continue his hunt, Sideburns of course says they won’t just let a serial killer wander freely.

Ooooh… Sideburns just took off his sunglasses to show Kimblee his unmistakable red eyes, leaning in to warn a shocked Kimblee that if he tries to order him around again that he’d never leave the hospital. “You behave yourself.” Ha! Take that, you puffed up murderer!

Another visitor? Ah, it’s the traitor General Raven, come to check on their attack dog and their Philosopher’s Stones… really? Kimblee has both Stones? And he still got curbstomped by Scar? This is the same guy who utterly obliterated Ishval with just one, right? You make me sad, Kimblee. Shove off so we can worry about a real threat.

Whatever, the General still seems to think he’s useful so he’s brought a doctor (Leto-damn it stop adding doctors to this show, I can’t keep up with all of them!) to speed up his recovery with Alchemy. And wow that smile with several missing and one gold tooth. If I saw that guy come into the waiting room, I’d take my chances with whatever I had rather than trust him.

Marcoh and May! The original Doc is going over the research notes, says Alkahestry seems pretty complicated. May helpfully clarifies about this “Dragon Pulse” stuff, about how Alkahestry uses Chi, ‘rivers of power’ running through the world. Alhakestrists are able to trace the Chi and use where it enters and where it leaves to perform Remote Transmutation, like setting off the explosion at the train depot or making a statue of Shao on the other side of the cabin.

Alchemists don’t use Chi though, they use their own energy- wait, what? They use “energy from the movement of the Earth’s crust”? Bwah? So Alchemists tap into a deeper pool of energy… but May doesn’t feel like that’s right. She’s felt off ever since she got to Amestris, and under Central she could sense energy. Not like movement under the land, but “a crowd of people, squirming around”...

…

Oh for Leto’s sake. It’s the Super Grief Seed all over again.

Central’s sitting on either a crap ton of standard Philosopher’s Stones, or a great big honkin Super Philosopher's Stone. That’s what’s powering Amestrian Alchemy, isn’t it? And if all of Amestris draws from this one power source, and Uncle has access to it, then he can shut it down to cut everyone off. Alkahestrists like Scar and May were ok, but everyone else drawing from the SPS?

And damn it that means that when our heroes win they’ll shut down Alchemy? Either they’d better learn the heck out of Alkahestry to repair their bodies, or this show’s gonna have a very unsatisfying ending.

Mid-ep pictures of Edward and Alphonse Elric.

Repairs are underway in the Fort Briggs furnace room, and M.G. Armstrong’s getting a report about the tunnel; great big tunnel, but no one in it. She calls for some horses and the Elric Brothers.

Huh, the tunnel looks like it has railings. I thought Sloth was just digging a tunnel, and I doubt he’d have the fine motor control to set such even construction. So who set those up? While Ed admires the tunnel, M.G. Armstrong gripes that an intruder got through her defenses. Nobody’s even gotten in Briggs while she’s been in charge, but there was an incident 20 years ago…

Seriously? Teacher, I’m disappointed. You brag about surviving for a whole month in the Briggs Mountains, but it turns out that you just mugged some poor soldiers for their lunches?

M.G. Armstrong decides that they’ve gone far enough. Ah, I see! This was to get the Elrics away from curious ears in the Fort, so you can question them about what they couldn’t say earlier. Hoo boy. This could go very well, or very poorly. M.G. Armstrong? Please don’t give my fears foundation.

Cut to after the Elrics have talked about the Stones and Goths, Bradley and Uncle. The hostages too; Winry, Riza, Havoc…

[Falman]: “And, uh… w-what about Colonel Mustang?”

[M.G. Armstrong]: “Yeah… I couldn’t care less about him.”

Oh my Leto she’d just as rather see him fall to remove another “rival”. She’s after the title of Fuhrer! I… I don’t know how to feel about this.

Regardless, she wants the Elrics to examine the tunnel. Ed guesses that it didn’t originate in Drachma, and that it’s in the shape of a circle-

!!!

He’s figuring out what Hughes figured out ages ago! What got him killed!

Ed has Falman start reporting all major incidents in Amestris, gets a shock when he learns about Liore falling to pieces even after he and Al exposed the corrupt priest. M.G. Armstrong snaps at him to keep working though. He connects the dots…

[Falman]: “H-how is that possible? It looks just like the Transmutation Circle from the Fifth Laboratory!”

Yup. It’s a giant, country-sized TC. But-

Yeah, Marcoh’s saying he asked Envy if that was their plan, but the Goth had laughed at that, saying “That’s not it, but close.” Was he lying?

Oh thank Leto May’s giving up on the Philosopher’s Stone. Her Alkahestry and the research notes could possibly find a workaround. Maybe. There’s hope. But no matter what, she can’t continue to search for a Philosopher’s Stone. At least there’s that good news.

Which is something sorely needed, as our heroes have worked out that each of these incidents were caused by or exacerbated by the military, constantly growing the country of Amestris bloody conquest by bloody conquest.

[M.G. Armstrong]: “My country…”

Sheesh. To learn that the country that you swore to protect and defend, was designed from its inception to be a massive TC? That has to hurt.

Double sheesh, a flashback to Mr. Freeze himself. The very first episode, while I cannot condone his murderous actions… he was working against the Big Bad. And Ed, way back when? What was his attitude?

Regardless, probably not the best idea to let him keep doing whatever he’s doing. But Mr. Freeze starts monologuing about how Edward’s a Dog of the Military, how his bosses have Sinister Plans- Edward cuts him off, says he doesn’t care and it’s Not His Problem. Um. What? Do… do you really not care if you’re actually working for Bad Guys?

Bleh.

M.G. Armstrong is not happy- oooooooh, crapbaskets. There’s only one circle left to be harvested on the map until the TC is complete - Briggs. Welp. I guess that explains why Sloth was digging there. So, what now?

Apparently it’s dealing with a certain TRAITOR General who’s shown up at the Fort. M.G. Armstrong has to go see what he wants. Maybe trick him into revealing some info?

There’s the jerk, Sideburns is asking him to wait until his boss comes back. Him and damnit Kimblee’s already back on his feet, and is inside Briggs with Raven now.

I guess it’s safest to put the Elrics back in their cells while Raven’s in the area, don’t want him seeing them and reporting back to Bradley. Aw, chin up Al, don’t give up on Winry’s apple pie now.

Teatime with the Traitor with a microphone in the vent, M.G. Armstrong’s talking about a “monster” who attacked yesterday. A bit of Drachma Paranoia to build your case, then name dropping the Elrics makes Raven pause. How odd that they seemed to know about the monster but refused to talk…

The Elrics, Buccy, and Falman are listening in on the mic as M.G. Armstrong… wow ok. I did not expect her to play the “oh, I’m a frail little woman who couldn’t bear to torture the boys”, to Buccy’s great amusement.

Now she’s even bemoaning not having children, that she’s… oh. Um.

She’s saying she’s growing older.

She’s admiring the immortal body of the monster that attacked her fort.

Raven is saying such a body wouldn’t be a dream very soon.

[Raven]: “Tell me, General… Would you be interested in a legion of immortal soldiers?”

The Elrics say that he took the bait, but…

I’m just looking at M.G. Armstrong’s eyes, and the growing pupils.

Um.

[neo-culture-mafia]

내 실수

We were looking for an answer when we knew there wasn’t one to be found. “Don’t walk away when the world is burning,” his words echoed in my head. “for when you decide to come back, you’re going to act surprised that nothing is left.” it echoed. “Even though that’s one of the reasons you decided to walk away in the first place.” It haunted me now as I look back on everything that has happened.

Even with the iron curtain drawn across the family, I still felt connected. I knew everyone was connected deep down, even if not everyone wanted to admit it. It was a hard pill to swallow for some, especially when they were raised with no one. Now being thrown into this current situation, the boys were faced with following the right path: morally right path, or the path their heart was telling them to take.

Not even the stars in the current night sky could shine on the right pat- I coughed in the middle of my inner monologue. I looked over to see the familiar looking boy with that damn cigarette hung on his lips. “These are bad for you, dumbass.” I called taking the lit cigarette and rubbing the burning ash on the concrete floor we both sat on. Jaemin didn’t waste time in grabbing another from his coat pocket and shoved it between his lips. I just didn’t want to fight anymore.

He sucked air in through his teeth along with the toxic smoke. Jaemin’s eyes were closed in a euphoric state as he held the smoke in his lungs. His lips made the usual form to puff the smoke out. “Wanna drag?” He asked as he held the white devil stick out to me. I just shook my head no and continued to stare out into the night sky lit by the nearby city. I didn’t even bother looking up for there were no stars in sight.

“You good, y/n?” He asked and I can only shrug. “When am I not okay?” I asked looking at him and he nodded, taking another drag. “You should go back home.” He said looking for what I was so invested in.

I couldn’t answer because I didn’t want to be sent away anymore. He whistled, waving his hand in front of my face. “Yoo-hoo. Hello.” He said and I finally looked at him. “What?” I asked as if I didn’t hear his first request for me to leave. “I said, ‘You should go back home.’” He smiled very small, wanting me to feel better about the situation.

“Whatever.” I sighed as I stood up. I walked into the single room apartment and grabbed my backpack sitting at the feet of a passed out Jisung. “Leaving already?” Mark asked from the kitchen table that was illuminated . 

The place smelled like boy, as wallpaper was tearing from the walls and tiling was practically non-existent. Every time I visited, Mark was always in that damn seat; stress lines and reading glasses seemed permanently etched into his face. Renjun and Jeno always sat with him, going over the same stack of papers as if they had missed something the first million read-throughs. Chenle and Jisung were always passed out in the ‘living room’ that ironically reeked of death and desperation. Hyuck and Jaemin were always out trying to find food or money. I...I just came around to make sure they were all breathing, even though I could tell that even that was getting tiring and a daily chore it seemed they were forced to do. 

“Oh...yeah.” I nodded, finally realizing the question he was asking me. “I think he’s gonna want me back soon.” I sigh at the fact. “Well, let me walk you back.” He said getting up and lunging to his jacket before I could think over his request for more than a second. 

“Oh...okay...I guess.” I mumbled the last part, trying to figure out what will happen once they see each other. In a matter of a minute, we were already running down the apartment steps to the quiet yet deafening street below. We began walking the way he always walked me back. 

Yet, this time just felt awkward and almost emotional. 

“...How’s my class doing?” He asked out of the blue. I had to think and register what he had just asked. Out of everything he could have asked, I was shocked he asked this small question. “Still asking when some of their teachers are coming back.” I shrugged, letting a sigh fall from my lips. He just nodded, but he would never tell me of the guilt he feels. 

“Well...how are you doing?” He asked, and I could tell he was running out of ideas of things to talk about. “I...fine. I’m fine.” I nodded and he just nodded along with me. “How're classes?” He asked and I could only think of one word that came to mind: “Boring.” He just laughed at my lame excuse for academic work ethic. “Did you do your homework though?” He asked me as we walked up the small hill to the Neo Culture residence. 

“Yep. Jisung helped with anatomy. Jeno help with Chemistry. Then Jaemin helped me with explosives.” I nodded, thinking of the incredibly smart boys that helped me only hours ago. 

“Well, remember to eat and brush your teeth before bed.” He said and I could only nod and oblige by his request. In no time we were walking up the driveway to the cold residence that I could call home. Taeyong, Doyoung, and Johnny stood on the steps awaiting our arrival.

They reminded me of hyenas that stalked their prey for what seemed like hours before making their first move of attack. “You’re late.” Was all Taeyong said while looking at Mark, not even bothering that I was more than fully capable of walking myself home and staying a few minutes past curfew. 

“It’s my fault...I didn’t want to leave.” I mumbled but still looked into Taeyong’s tired and cold eyes. “Why not? We made your favorite for dinner. Being prepared by the second. Kun’s in town.” Taeyong said and my heart began racing at the thought of Kun being home. Yet, I could hear the rate of Mark’s breathing pick up; yet he was for a different reason. He couldn’t come in and see Kun, or sit down with everyone and have a home-cooked meal like it used to be. 

“Fresh and hot, waiting for your arrival.” Taeyong taunted, yet even though he talked of my presence; his words were like hot daggers laying into Mark’s psyche. I could sense the stare-off the two dominant-willed men were having only inches from my figure. 

Doyoung and Johnny looked guilty as they had to keep their composure next to their leader. “Can’t Mark come in? He’s my guest.” I interjected as I stood in front of Taeyong’s stare. As if I was a gentle angel, his stare faltered to his usual warm and puppy-like nature. “Sorry bunny.” Taeyong said and I could only nod. “You understand: dinner is for the family.” He said and I could tell it hit Mark in the heart, but it also hit me in my own. Everything had fallen apart, and I could only watch from the safeness of behind Taeyong and the rest of the family. I couldn’t stop what had already been done. 

“I didn’t want your food anyway.” Mark spat from behind you. “Then...shoo.” Taeyong said and motioned for Mark to leave the premises. You could physically see Johnny restrain himself from running to Mark and hugging him. “Y/n. Dinner. Now.” Taeyong said as he turned his back and began to walk inside. 

I nodded, digging crescent-shaped indents into my palm to restrain myself. I turned around and didn’t waste time in throwing my arms around Mark. His waist was dainty and small in my arms, and I wanted to drag him inside and feed him the biggest bowl of food for I knew he didn’t eat to let the rest of his members eat and stay the slightest bit healthy...but I couldn’t. 

“It’s okay. Go. Eat.” He rubbed my back. I could only nod, and make this easier for him. “I’ll see you soon.” He said beginning to walk away. He looked to Doyoung and Johnny. Johnny nodded, immediately walking in the house where he was obstructed from Mark’s tired and help-needing gaze. Doyoung nodded to Mark, letting him know he was here; not directly with him, but here. 

Mark walked down the path and down the road until I couldn’t see his figure anymore. 

“Y/n. Let’s eat.” Doyoung softly called. I walked up the stairs and into the supposed to be warm and welcoming house; now turned cold and uncomfortable. Doyoung grabbed my bag and set it down by the staircase. “Kun made your favorite.” He said as he comfortingly guided me into the dining room. 

I took my usual seat, next to the 7 empty seats where my favorite people used to sit. And as I am served my first plate, I look around at my family; and I wonder how the rest of them are. 

Even though I am seated next to Jungwoo and Jaehyun, nothing feels the same without Mark and Jisung sitting close to me though. Between Mark that sat across from me, always reading over my homework while everyone else chattered; Jisung and Chenle who always ‘accidentally’ flung food at my face, it seemed lonely. Not to mention the after-dinner ritual of talking to Renjun about space and aliens and the million and one possibilities of how the universe will turn out. Even when the constant bickering of Jeno and Jaemin seemed like absolute hell, I missed it.

They’re not dead, and I could visit them anytime that I wanted...but it just wasn’t the same when they weren’t a couple of feet away- a flick was made onto my forehead. I looked up and saw the whole table staring at me. “Sorry. Did someone need me?” I asked and they chuckled. “I asked if you did your homework yet?” Taeyong asked me as he popped a piece of food in his mouth, and the question hung in the warm and dinner filled air. I nodded quickly. “Of course...Jisung helped me with anatomy, Jeno helped with ch-” I cut myself off, as I realized I was speaking of basically forbidden people at the expense of Taeyong’s ears. I coughed a little, rejecting the thought of them at the moment

“...yeah...I got it done.” I nodded, saving the long answer for open ears that really wanted to know in the privacy of one on one time; where I didn’t have to say their names with a ‘tsk’ sound or the word ‘bastard’ followed after it. 

“You don’t have to do that,” Taeyong sighed, speaking to me as if we were in the living room, but it felt more like an office. “-talking about them like they aren’t human, I mean.” He explained. I just nodded, feeling a small knot grow in my throat. I focused my eyesight at the food in front of me, trying to count the seasoning flakes on a single piece of sweet and sour pork.

“They’re still your family. It’s okay to talk about them.” Taeyong said and I shook my head slightly, repeating the cursed line that felt as if it was on repeat. 

They’re still your family

Still your family

Your family

I nodded, not knowing what else I could do without blowing up at Taeyong. 

Family? Only my family? They’re all our family...but we’re just hitting a rough patch. 

“I’m full.” I stood up quickly. I turned towards Kun and bowed slightly. “Thank you so much for dinner.” I smiled at his shocked but understanding stare. He nodded, giving a warm smile.

“I’ll be heading to my room now. Goodnight.” I said bowing to the table and running up the stairs with my backpack haphazardly thrown over my shoulder. 

I went up, and closed my door; immediately punching it out of protest. “Bullshit. They’re all of our family you two-faced asshole.” I said ripping my shirt off and getting dressed in comfier clothes. I face planted into my pillows. 

Turning over, I was met with the stars Renjun and I threw up lazily with sticky-tac. 

"I was always afraid of the dark...but the stars guided me home and lit the path for me to return safely," I spoke, recalling everything Renjun told me about the cheap stars stuck on my ceiling.

"Family are like stars." I breathed, wanting Renjun to be here to finish the saying, but I had to pull up my big girl pants and do it myself.

"You don't always see them..." I couldn't help a couple tears fall from my eyes as I felt so alone in this one moment.

"But you always know they're there."

MARK

I tried...so hard 

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