#i had to pull out all my books to find the specific image this gag was making me think of

[benevolenterrancy]

"There, he finds a humanoid demon roughly his size and nicely asks for a change of clothes and directions to water suitable for bathing. The demon rudely refuses. Then he asks nicely again once the demon has fewer limbs. He gets the clothes and directions."

A scene from the fanfiction Recollections and the Nature of Love by TGP because the hilariousness of this image was too much for me to handle. Politeness really will get you everywhere!!

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Comics: Spies Like Us and Dime after Dime or Weblena: The Preschool Days (Lena Retrospective) (Comissioned by WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to Shadow Into Light, My Lena Retrospective, which fittingly has now come to Women’s History Month! I sadly do not have anything besides this arc prepared for the month. This month is pretty packed for me with two shows a week to cover, as while there’s only two weeks of Ducktales left final space starts up right after to take it’s spot, two arcs to cover, and two time specific movie reviews: animal crossing the movie and the 1990 TMNT film. I will try to get more than the currently planned top 12 superheroines list out there... but this month is very tight as is, so if I do not I deeply apologize.

Now that’s out of the way, it’s appropriate we start Women’s history month on some likely lesser known parts of Lena’s history, with some comics stories focusing on our faviorite emo lesbian duck and her 87 counterpart. Before I get started on that though Kev my patreon pointed out something intresting a few weeks back i’ve been forgetting to get to and since we’re looking into Minima, I felt this was the perfect time to do so: Lena’s Concept art. 

There’s quite a few things to gleam from this. For starters as pointed out in the reddit thread I got the image as a whole from this was made in 2015, meaning Lena was one of the first new characters designed for the series and was part of it from the VERY early stages, as evidenced by the fact that despite clearly having their new personalities established, Beakly and Webby still had the old designs. 

The other notable change is that her first design was way more like both Magica nad Minima, a bit more modern, but clearly far more obvious who she was related to. She also had all black feathers making the shadow twist a bit more obvious and was likely done away with both to avoid giving that twist away, the same reason for the fake lestrange name, and to avoid accidently black coding her, as while Lena being black would’ve been intersting, it also would’ve invited a firestorm of controversy given that their one black character in season 1.. woul’dve started off as a homeless, manipulative antagonist, and none of that would play well nor was it something the progressive crew of this show couldn’t spot from a mile away.  And even this early on they have an almost final design ready, simply changing the shirt to fit her personality more, and her hair to be pink because it honestly looked better She also had green eyes throughout, but for whatever reason they phased them out. That part I don’t quite get as they look nice but probably they were hard to translate to the reboot style once they settled on their own. Her purple eyeshadow and haircut though have stuck since and were good calls. 

One last VERY obvious note.. Webby was gay for Lena from minute one. While Dana helped it is now VERY obvious they gay coded this relationship from the design phase, and the crew was entirely aware the whole time and I gave them less credit than I should have. They clearly had this in mind, and it’s very likely ONLY subtext because Disney, while making more and more progress, is very reluctant to have queer characters as Owl House was a struggle and since they have a tighter leash on properites based on the sensational 6, that means Frank knew they had the same odds of making Webby or Della queer in anything but subtext that a pig has of suviving in a slaughterhouse. I bring this up because I fear the series getting accused of queerbaiting somewhere down the road instead of doing what they could with a bad hand and hoping they could make the show as gay as they could. Penny is as out as they posisbly could get her, and Violet and Lena’s dad’s got a full apperance, if no speaking role that made it obvious beyond a shadow of a doubt their gay and did it in a plot important episode. So they did their best and I want them to get credit for that. 

But while this is all intresting stuff, join me under the cut for the meat of today’s review as I dig into Lena’s only apperance in the tie-in comic that was never punished here, and the only apperance of her protoype Minima.

Spies Like Us:  As I mentioned this comic was never published here which is doubly weird to me because of how I knew this story existed. Since I follow comics weekly and buy trades reguarly, I read the solicits companies put out eveyr month to see what new series are coming, what the ones i’m currently reading are doing, and what trades are coming out. That sort of thing, and it’s something I love. I know their basically adds.. but their well put together adds that really pull you into the books you like. The big two and the indies are all very good at it and sometimes i’ts the only way to know a comic is coming if the company dosen’t make a press release for it ahead of time. 

So naturally given there are several comics I follow at idw, paticuarlly the TMNT comics, I read those solicits and found they were going to do an issue with Webby and Lena becoming spies, and was excited about it. I ended up forgetting about it and never really followed the Ducktales comic as it came out, and upon reading an issue or two recently, one for another comission by kev as one story, happy happy valley, was particularly terrible. For those who haven’t read the story or my review, it involved the family getting stranded on an island where their forced to partake in activites and smile..that somehow turned into an aseop about Louie wanting to be rich. It ended with this

Yes.. really. That actually happened. But even with this, I fully planned to cover the issue when I covered Lena, and brought it up to Kev when he commissioned the retrospective. He gave me the discord equilvent of a blank stare and had never heard of it. I soon found out why: the story was replaced as, and fair play to disney, it spoiled Beakly’s past from the agent 23 episode which wasn’t going to air in time.  What dosen’t work is they never reprinted the story in The US.. didn’t put it in a future issue and just swap it’s place didn’t put it in the nothing. And the story was fully complete as we’ll see, with a cover and everything so they had no excuse whatsoever to NEVER use it, even with what happened to Lena in the season finale, this clearly took place before that and it was weird to just shelve it because of that. But thankfully when a bunch of the stories were reprinted overseas, this and another one, also webby centric got published overseas. But not in english.

Lucky for me, I was able to find an english translation of an english story which you can read RIGHT HERE. It was translated by @neopuff and I thank them for it as without them this review would not be possible and want to give them all the credit. So was it worth all their hard work translating it? Well let’s take a look. 

We begin at the Manor where Lena is skulking around suspiciously.. though it turns out she and Webby are just playing hide and seek. Though Lena accuses cheating. The dialouge here is pretty flat though that’s not Neopuff’s fault at all. As I can attest from reading other stories a lot of the early IDW comics are just this flat in dialoguge no matter the writer as they were likely given character descriptions and basic info about the show they likely had written up for merchandising and Frank and Co were given no involvement and likely weren’t made avaliable to consult on the comics to help them be a bit more fleshed out. It’s very obvious to me Disney just tried to get these pumped out so they’d have a series in stores to tie in without carring about qualities and given Scrooge debuted in comics, their lack of care toward that side of things in general, but especially in the first american published original duck comics in a while, bothers me a lot. It’s inexcusable. 

That being said the story isn’t half bad nor is the setup as the two hear a beeping and find it’s Beakly’s phone going off with a mysterious message from Q, Webby thinks she’s been reactivated, and is encouraged by Lena to go look after her while she stays along. While Webby says in response

It just feels grossly out of character for both. Lena is far more subtle about manipulation as shown five minutes ago and Webby blindly trusts her. Because she has a massive crush on her and is naïve about how the world works. It just seems very odd of her to get suspicious as she never does on screen, and again it comes off as Disney having barely given the writers any materials on them when i’m sure Frank or Matt would’ve been happy to write up a thing for them to help outside of the usual press materials they were given. 

Though hte last line isn’t all that out of character and has an obvious answer as within a jumpcut Launchpad’s taking them to London and is told to blend in.. which he does with an australian flag and accent.. good gag. 

So our heroines do some heroic breaking and entering and look for the package, but soon find while hiding it’s already in transit.. and had obvious bows on int. Whoops. Our heroes trie the old follow tha tcar bit and refreshingly, it dosen’t pan out as the guy stops and tells them to get out. A nice twist. Unable to follow, our heroes instead find launchpad lost, as his map is upside down

So Lena dares him if he can follow that plane, a nice bit of character for both. I will give Joe credit. While the dialouge’s a bit flat and there was that out of character moment.. for the most part he does nail the actual character down and does use it decently enough. He’s just not given enough page room or actual details to work  with is all. 

So while our heroes follow they end up having to crash as they run out of fuel.. lucky their with the expert but end up near home where the package is delivered to. Turns out this wasn’t a spy thing, this was just a thing with her aunt. That’s fine and a nice gag.. it’s just ruined by just sorta.. ending. Lena leaves disapointed and Beakly scolds webby for “playing spy” and she’s sad. That’s it that’s how it ends. Which dosen’t fit the characters, as while Beakly would defintely scold her, it just dosen’t FIT that she’d be that tearse or not appricate the effort or give her an actual lecture and it feels like Joe had no idea how to end this after the gag and just.. ended it. 

Final Thoughts for Spies Likes Us: This was okay.  It is a bit of a disappointment as for the only story not available.. i’ts just okay and not really above an average Ducktales comics story, with some nice character bits but feeling a bit weak overall, as do at least the first half of the idw comics. I haven’t read the later stuff to see if it got better. It’s worth a read if you like Webby and Lena as characters and it’s not BAD, it’s just not anything impressive and is a simple hyjinks filled misunderstanding story. 

Dime After Dime:

So now  we go back a bit to the original. I didn’t do these in chronological order because frankly, Dime after Dime is the better story of the two and the bigger one at that, so I have more to work with here. But the original also had comics and honestly from the few i’ve read much BETTER comics. I chalk this up to two things: The Ducktales 87 comics seem to have come out AFTER the series was already a hit, and since Ducktales is pretty close to the original uncle scrooge comics minus it’s own tweaks here and there, it’s easy enough to just write the stories like you would a regular uncle scrooge story, just with Webby and Launchpad added, whereas the idw writers were staffed with writing for all new versions of the characters with noticable differences without much to go on.  It’s why to me with tie in comics you have two options: Wait long enough so you can put your story inbtween the episodes like the Steven Universe and Regular Show comics did or just make your own continuity entirely like the Adventure Time Comics and the Archie TMNT Adventures series did. The ONLY time i’ve seen a comic work like this is the Bravest Warriors comic, which had a talented writer and fit well enough in the margins until it sadly ended.. and honestly is BETTER in some cases than the series. I might get to it someday. The point is this comic shows why you need to have a deft hand adapting something instead of just falling your arms about and hoping it’ll work. 

So today’s comic was part of some Disney Series called cartoon tales, which clearly repackaged comic stories from wherever, and put them together. I don’t know much about it and the only other issue avaliable collects the disney adventures adaptation of “Just Us Justice Ducks”, which I might cover at some point. This book does have two other stories which i’d be happy to do on comission or on my own at some point, one involving gladstone the other gizmoduck, but for now, i’m just sticking to the title story and the reason you all came here. 

So we open with Magica gazing into her crystal ball from her Mt. Vesuvies base saying that Scrooge will never know what hit him I know exactly what and who wiil hit him thank you very much. 

Scrooge is seeing Webby off to her first day of day camp, getting all teary eyed which is touching. Beakly apparently goes with her as the story never SAYS Sshe does but she’s not also not around when the story moves on, as Launchpad says it looks like rain. Scrooge dismisses him, though Launchpad turns out to be right. Scrooge had good reason for once though, instead of just being a dick good on you comic for making me not want to punch him in the face, trust me that is a high bar to clear with the scrooge comics, as the weather was fine just a minute ago. Naturally it was Magica All Along! Nothing scrooge can do now that eveyrthing has gone wrong! Her entrance though is sadly not a catchy earwormy tune, but .. this confusing line

I think your thinking of Gladstone. And he’s still single so.. have at that but no Scrooge is the one who values hard work over anything else and brags about THAT or being rich. I .. I don’t get this line and frankly I don’t want to. Even in stories where the dime is supernaturally lucky and the source of his wealth he dosen’t boast about it because he’s not stupid and dosen’t want everyone knowing how to bankrupt him instantly. This line will baffle me until I die, presumably, given my life’s tragetctory, after reviewing an episode of mighty ducks and slipping on some a jerky wrapper. 

Scrooge asks what she wants... 

No this isn’t that kind of story sadly. Her plan is to.. zap the bin with lightning and take the dime. Really just went with your first draft didn’t you magica? But as stupid as this plan is Scrooge has prepared for it. He installed a lightning rod on the bin to save on power, and to power his new super soaker traps. So all Magica did was save him money. She flies off and nothing is acomplished. 

So we get back to Webby at the Teenie Weenie Day Camp.. and just so you don’t think that was a terrible joke on my part...

My theory for how this name got approved at all is the editor KNEW how that sounded and just wanted to see if Disney would actually print a comic with the phrase Teenie Weenie without getting what it means in slang or how hilariously inapproriate it is to namme a children’s camp after it. 

Your probably wondering who that grown woman calling Webby a dweeb is. Well story wise, she’s SUPPOSED to be another kid at the camp around Webby’s age. In practice, she looks like THIS in closeup

So it looks and plays like a 30 year old woman snuck into the day camp and no one’s noticed she’s not actually a children. Or their just humoring her because she had a week to live. I don’t know. I do know she doesn’t get to judge on names. 

Snippy Von Glitz, proof rich people really do hate their kids and this this comic is trying personally to give me material. Snippy is your average alpha bitch, taking a chair from Minma and being obnoxious and classist and all that jazz. Minima gets hers back by making the chair bouncy then returning it to normal so Snippy gets in trouble when she makes up things about the chair, with the lady in charge getting ready to call her Dad. You cannot convince me that her “Dad” is just what she calls her husband, this is how they both get off, and that the lady at the preschool only tolerates it because they pay her a lot and so far the kids haven’t noticed Snippy is 30. Webby likes minima finding her name pretty, proving that the ho yay is alive no matter the webby and magica relative, and Minma returns the favor by saving her from a block. 

Minma is reluctant to make an actual friend, finding they aren’t worth anything and given most of the kids here apparently pick on her and her aunt is well.. Magica, it’s understandable why she’d be so cold. But Webby presses on and says something from Scrooge about friends. Which given Ducktales scrooge has none goes weird but it gets Minma to find out she knows and lives with Scrooge, so she cons webby into taking the dime for show and tell, showing that she can manipulate them with her powers, and that he won’t notice it’s missing, getting her with “I thought you wanted to be friends” 

So let’s pause for a second and compare and contrast the two: Both are the niece, or at least sorta in Lena’s case, of Magica, both manipulate webby, and both are her first real friend: The 87 boys are little monsters and I don’t consider them friends or even brothers, while the 2017 ones are just that: brothers. Their her siblings in all but blood, not friends and have hteir own long complicated history. 

But otherwise the two are vastly different. Lena is a far more complex character as she’s been abused her whole life, is a rebel because Magica hardly gave her agency, and while she starts wooing webby out of self interest it’s clear even as far as the first episode she cares. Lena would gladly be part of the world if she could and this whole scheme is to gain that choice. 

Minma is still sympathetic but very different: She walls herself off because the other kids laugh and mock her for being herself and lashes out at them.. not unreasonably mind , but still feeling she needs no one else.. but as we’ll learn later she’s only helping Magica to finally feel accepted, to get all the fancy clothes and stuff that will make her popular instead of that grown woman masquerading as a kid for disturbing reasons. Minma is at her heart just a hurt kid desperate to fit in. And while Lena shares the desire for a place to belong.. it’s at it’s core much sadder. Lena.. wants a family. Someone to love her and to care about her and actually look after her. Minma has that she just wants to be loved. it’s similar but very diffrent and I can see why Lena evolved into what she did, as Frank and Matt ended up going in a far darker but ultimately more interesting direction. Minima is not a bad character at all though and without her I don’t think we would’ve had Lena, but at the end of the day the 87verse is just not that complicated, so the reboot needed something more and that more evolved into who we have now. 

Both kids excitedly talk about their new friends, with their respective guardians being distracted. Scrooge is distracted by the fact his car is a bit bumpy and Launchpad offers to fix it up for free with some parts from a buddy, which given the sentence “This won’t cost you anything” makes him erect, Scrooge agrees. Magica meanwhile, whose watching Minima while her mom is away which raises a LOT of questions we don’t have time for like who she is, is she’s poes wife or does Magica have other siblings... it’s a lot of questions we’re never going to get answers to. 

The next day Webby got the dime easy as Scrooge was distracted. so Minima swaps them while she’s distracted. But while swiping it was easy, which to be fair Webby is likely approved in his security so it woudln’t match her.. or the story just needed to progress. You make the call. 

Magica does the logical thing and goes and get sthe dime and the story ends there.. and i’m shitting you, she of course brags to scrooge, reveals minima as her spy, and offers to RACE him for it shortly after he realizes he has a fake.

The only major flaw in this story is Magica’s overconfdience, which isn’t BAD persay, but here has gotten to dumbass proportions. She just can’t plan for anything and a CHILD has a better plan than her that only dosen’t work for reasons we’ll get to. And that plan is almost ruined by Magica taunting scrooge!

So a race is on but Launchpad has transformed Scrooge’s old Model T into this

Damn that’s cool. Scrooge of course dosen’t like it, but honestly you get what you paid for. Oh that’s right you paid nothing for something you NEED to use every day for transportation. 

At  the rickity thickity bridge, Steve Buschemi’s worst roll and her minion ask Webby to roll with them and Minima mistakes this for betrayal planning to soak them all.. only for Webby to DEFEND HER, pointing out minma’s her friend, how she dresses is fine and she loves her no matter what.. the last part’s implied. The 30-year old asshole and her minon leave Webby and Minma is genuinely touched, as no one’s done that for her before. She put up so many walls... she didn’t realize someone could ACTUALLY care about her, so obessed with thinking she had to be like that soccer mom in preschoolers clothing, she just had to be herself: kinda werid but in that fun adams family way. Webby says she knows Minma would do the same.. so while she prepares to let’s get back to the race. Magica realizes Launchpad’s roadster is actually gaining and spreads some tacks, but Scrooge counters with some money.. because of course he has a lot of money in the trunk. But Magica takes out the bridge and while scrooge awesomely JUMPS IT... he’s still too late. 

As you probably guess though, Minima had a change of heart, and gave Webby the real dime back, and Scrooge confirms it. Minima TRIES to tell Magica, and Magica is horrified her niece is a goody goody “I”ll never hear the end of it at my astral aerobics class”.. I.. I want to see that. Let’s raise those spirit ladies and kick kick that soul, doge that shadow king punch them in the soul. Yes! Now eat it eat it and absorb it’s power!

We end on a button joke as Webby apologizes for taking the dime., Scrooge accepts it and Webby tells them magica learned to carpet and they gulp for some reason. 

Final Thoughts on Dime after Dime: This story was decent. It has problems, some jokes don’t land and Magica is made horribly incompetent, but minima’s character arc is endearing, and Webby herself is precious as always and her winning Minima over feels genuine. And Scrooge is in prime adoring uncle mode with her and i’ts just so cute. And the roadster race is pretty awesome to watch honestly. It’s an exceptional and enjoyable tie in story.. and not the last ducktales 87 story we’ll be covering here. Wink wonk. 

Next Time: Things get DARK as Lena and Webby head into the depths of Scrooge’s hidden bin and Lena heads into the depths of her own soul. 

Tommorow: Woo-Ooo mofos as we go back to the very beginning of the reboot! A family restored, a lost city to explore, and a glomgold rises! Be here or be square. 

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Skyline Manor by GleefullyCaptainSwan Chapter 8/13

Read on AO3: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

Or on FF

Stacy's Tortured Crew: @teamhook @kmomof4 @stahlop @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @itsfabianadocarmo @mariakov81 @qualitycoffeethings @zaharadessert @jrob64 @jonesfandomfanatic @natascha-ronin @tiganasummertree @xarandomdreamx @therooksshiningknight @batana54 @superchocovian @onceratheart18 @ultraluckycatnd @snowbellewells @karlyfr13s @the-darkdragonfly @xsajx @deckerstarblanche

Chapter 8: Overstepping Lines

Henry sat at the dinner table at his dad’s place, stabbing his fork at the hardened piece of meat on his plate.

“Not hungry, kid?”

He looked up and shrugged, “Not really.”

“How did that reading fair go at your school?”

“Really good. Mom and Killian both came which was neat.”

“That guy from your apartment.” He snorted. “Already moved on to a new one, huh?”

“Killian is my friend. I invited him.”

“You just invited an adult to your school thing? You know you really need to learn to play with kids your own age. Your mom lets you spend too much time with William as it is.”

“I have friends, dad. But the apartment is like family.”

“Yeah so I’ve been told.” He grumbled. “You know I was thinking about talking to your mom about you staying here a bit more often.” Henry dropped his fork on his plate.

“What? Why?”

“Don’t you want to spend more time with me?”

Henry rested his head in his hands, a pout forming on his face. “How will you have time with all your business trips?”

“Hey buddy, I told you that was an important trip.”

“Yeah, I know. I remember. Can I be excused? I’m not feeling very well.”

Henry got up from the table and retreated to the small room at the end of the hall that was filled with boxes and a small mattress on the floor that he slept on when he visited. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend time with his dad, but when he was here, his dad just didn’t seem all that interested in knowing anything about him. He seemed to only want to have him around when his guests came for a visit. All the women that his dad brought home seemed really impressed that Neal was taking care of a kid.

He opened his book, pulling the pencil from the spot he had left off and thought about the next part of his story.

Henry watched as the Captain led his mother toward the small house on the end of town. They knocked on the door and waited but no one seemed to be home. Captain Jones disappeared around the back of the home, looking for a way inside.

Henry leaned against the tree, his thoughts swirling about the information he had learned. His father was alive. This Swan Thief man that he had heard about, his photos plastered around the town with the wanted posters offering a reward. How could this man be his father? How could his mother have been with a man who was currently wanted dead or alive?

His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling sound, and he turned quickly to see someone dashing behind him.

“Hello son.”

The man stood in front of him, his hands held out as if he were to welcome him with a hug.

“Who are you?”

“I just told ya kid. I’m your father. I’m Baelfire. Your mother has kept you from me for so long. But not anymore. I’ve come to find you.”

Henry stepped back. “Stay away from me. You’re not a good man.”

“It’s all hearsay boy. You can trust me.”

Henry turned toward the house just outside the tree line, opened his mouth to warn his mother, when everything around him went black.

Emma waited impatiently on the doorstep for the Captain to get into the house. She tapped her foot anxiously.

“No one is home.” The door opened and Captain Jones appeared in the door frame, a smug look on his face.

Emma pushed past him into the home, yanking the rug from the floor and pulling on the hidden door hidden below. “He got into the castle through here.”

They heard a noise down below and looked up at each other. “Did you hear that?”

He pushed past her, descending into the darkness as Emma followed him down the ladder. “Over here Swan.”

She followed the voice toward a small flicker of a flame. When she reached the light, she saw Leroy, his mouth gagged, his hands tied, as the Captain pulled on the rag holding his mouth.

“Princess, it’s Baelfire. He’s back.”

Emma looked up at the Captain and panic set in. Where was her son? “Henry.” She spoke quickly running back to the ladder and climbing with haste. She ran out of the small house, searching the trees for her son. “Henry.” She hollered but no sound came back. Frantically she ran to the back of the house, but the boy was gone.

Captain Jones was at her side in a moment, and she reached out, grabbing his lapel and she screamed angrily into his face. “Henry’s gone. Baelfire has my son.”

~*~

“A toast to being beautiful and single.” Ruby announced as she held her shot glass above her head. “Men suck.”

Emma giggled, clinking her glass against her friends then tilted it into her mouth, swallowing the warm liquid with a quick cough.

“Not all men, ya bloody drunk gits.” Will complained before downing his shot.

“Not you, you’re all soft and sweet.” Emma pinched his cheek. “And squishy.” She squeezed and he pushed her hand away from his face.

“I am not.”

“You so are.” Ruby cooed across from him.

“Ok enough of this nonsense. You were only with the bloke for two weeks.”

“That’s longer than I lasted with Jerry.” She pouted.

“I wouldn’t broadcast that across the room.” He said, rolling his eyes. “Maybe you should stop dating random men in bars, try a coffee shop, they are at least committed to their coffee order. Maybe it will last longer.”

“Poo what do you know, you haven’t dated in ages.”

“Yeah Will, we haven’t seen you with a woman since Ana.”

“Just waitin’ for the right one.” He said with a glint in his eyes.

“And does she have a name?” Emma inquired, her head feeling a bit like it was starting to spin..

“All women have names, Em.”

“Does this one have a specific name?” Ruby demanded.

“Would you both bloody get off my back? There’s no woman, not exactly.” He grabbed his beer and drank it quickly.

“Fine, keep your secrets.” Emma whined.

“You want to talk about secrets, what’s going on with you and Graham?”

It was Emma’s turn to grab her drink, gulping it as her friends stared at her expectantly. “There’s nothing to tell.” She said, slamming her drink down on the table. “He’s been busy lately with the old people and his Segway lessons.”

“Wait, he’s actually learning how to ride a Segway?” Will burst into laughter. “He really does want to be Paul Blart.”

“Stop, he’s trying to get a job downtown as a security guard at Faneuil Hall. They ride Segway’s and he wants to learn before he applies.”

“So sexy.” Ruby cackled.

“I can just imagine you both coming down the aisle on your Segway’s.” Will choked as he laughed loudly.

“I hate you both.” She pouted, ordering another round.

“You know what I wouldn’t mind? Taking a ride on that sexy ass bike of Killian’s.” Ruby practically purred as she spoke.

Images sprung to mind in Emma’s head, the dark bike glistening in the moonlight, her head thrown back, her legs wrapped around his waist as he brought her hips down against him, his cock buried inside of her.

“Totally hot.” She mumbled under her breath.

“See even the Princess agrees with me, Killian Jones is hot as hell.”

“What?” Her head jerked up toward her friends.

“You said it, totally hot. I’m just agreeing with you.”

“I didn’t say that.” She protested.

“I heard the words too, totally bloody hot.” Will teased. “Did I tell you that she practically took her shirt off before inviting him to the barbeque.”

Emma kicked him under the table. “I did not. I had a clothing mishap.”

“Oh, do tell.” Ruby giggled.

“Half her shirt was unbuttoned; her tits were out on a stroll of their own.”

“Stop it! That is not what happened.”

“That must be why he’s always got his tongue out of his mouth when Emma bends over.”

Emma spun toward Will. “He does no such thing. He has a girlfriend.”

“Whatever.” Will said sourly, finishing his beer. “I’m knackered. Let’s get a cab and get the hell out of here before Emma falls out of her chair.”

“I’m perfectly fine.” She laughed, slipping, and nearly tumbling from her tall stool as she tried to step down. “Or not.” She cackled, grabbing onto Will’s shoulder.

The taxi ride home was filled with laughter and joking from her friends, Emma content to stare out the window, trying with everything she could not to think about her sexy hot neighbor and his bike. Or his stupid hair that she imagined running her fingers through. Or his stupid jeans that fit him so nicely. Definitely not his mouth. She was not at all thinking about his mouth.

By the time she stumbled out of the elevator, her body was on fire with need. She hugged Will before he closed his door and walked arm and arm with Ruby to her door.

“Thank you for escorting me, you beautiful woman.” Ruby tilted in her heels, reaching out and grabbing the wall with a loud laugh. “Get some sleep.”

“Night Rubes. Happy being single again day.” She blew her friend a kiss as the door closed.

She looked across the hall at Killian’s door. “Good night you sexy beast.” She growled at the door, kicking off her shoes and carrying them to her apartment. She shoved her key into the apartment and pushed. The door didn’t budge. “Dammit.” She kicked the door, then dropped her shoes on the floor.

Turning back down the hall, she grabbed ahold of the wall and slid down toward the door that had been calling her to it for the last five minutes. Lifting her hand, she knocked and waited. Looking at her watch she realized it was 1am. Suddenly it dawned on her that he could be in bed with Belle. She backed away just as the door swung open.

“Swan?”

“Hey you, motorcycle man.” She slurred.

“Emma, are you quite alright?”

“I’m doing great. Are you in bed?”

He chuckled. “Not currently, no, but I was pretty content there a minute ago.”

She looked at the robe wrapped around his waist and hummed, reaching out to tug at the fabric. “Do you sleep naked, Jones?”

He smirked. “Are you drunk, love?”

“Me? Of course I’m drunk. Why wouldn’t I be drunk? Aren’t you drunk?” There was movement behind him, and a dog pounced into view.

Emma squealed, “Hello little guy.” Emma ducked under Killian’s arm, wandering into the dark apartment, and reaching out for the dog who was jumping around her feet.

“Why don’t you come in.” He sighed, shutting the door behind him.

“I couldn’t get my door to open, so I thought I’d come to yours.”

“And why would you do that? Will is right across the hall.”

“I know, I was drinking with him tonight. I’m drunk.” She giggled, reaching out and running her hand along the silk of his robe.

“I can see that. Shall I try and get your door open for you?”

Before he could move, she grabbed him by the robe. “What’s your rush, Jones?”

“Emma…” He said, with a warning tone.

“What?” She teased her fingers across his chest, watching his jaw tense as her palm flattened against his flesh.

“You’re drunk and I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“You don’t even know what I want yet.” He looked down between them, her fingers curling the hair on his chest between them.

“Let me just put on some pants and I’ll help you get in your apartment.” He protested.

“Is the Pirate scared of the Princess?” She said with a dark look in her eyes. Pressing her body up against his, the hard appendage currently pressed into her hip telling her that he was affected by her presence as much as she was by his. Her fingers ran across his chest, slipping further down to his abdomen, firm against her palm.

When she looked up and met his eyes, the same want and desire burned in his, she gasped as his mouth dropped to hers, the force of it knocking her back against the wall as he pressed into her. Her entire body caught fire as his hands knotted in her hair, his tongue sweeping across her lips before thrusting into her mouth. Gone was the timid kiss they had shared in her apartment. This was wanton and desperate and full of everything Emma had been missing in her life.

Instinctively her leg wrapped around his waist, pulling him against her, her hands roaming his chest, sliding against his neck, digging into that hair she had dreamt so much about. She groaned appreciatively as his hands explored her hip, slipping under her shirt until she felt his hand on her breast, warm against the fabric of her bra.

Just as suddenly as it had begun, his warmth withdrew from her as he moved away. “Emma, we have to stop. This is wrong.” She stepped forward, reaching for his neck, needing to feel his mouth on hers again. “You’ve been drinking, you don’t want this.”

Suddenly she was angry, how dare he tell her what she wants or doesn’t want. “I want you.” She growled. “Tell me you don’t want me.”

He shook his head. “I can’t. Graham. We can’t.” He breathed out heavily.

“God, of course you have to be a goddamn gentleman all the time.” She turned and yanked the door open, tearing down the hall.

“Emma.” He followed her into the hall, chasing after her as he held his robe shut. “Would you get back here?”

“Leave me alone.” She jiggled on the door, willing it to open, practically begging for the damn thing to budge. He reached around her, turning the key, and pushing the door open. She stormed into her apartment turning around to face him.

“Emma…” He said softly.

“You know just because I have sex with you in my head every goddamn night doesn’t give you the right to live there.”

He stepped back in the hall, “You’re pissed at me because you have dreams about having sex with me and somehow this is my fault?”

“Of course, it is, you and your goddamn hair and that stupid bike.” She yelled.

He shook his head. “Go sleep it off, sweetheart.”

“Go fuck yourself.” She glared.

“Gladly.” He stormed off toward his apartment and Emma stuck her head into the hall.

“Enjoy your hand.” She yelled, slamming her door shut and wandering through her house to fall into bed. She curled up around her pillow and let sleep take her away.

~*~

Killian tossed and turned the rest of the night. The feel of Emma’s body burning on his skin. He should have stopped himself from touching the bloody woman at all. But the way she was looking at him, the pure desire in her eyes, he wanted her. Bloody hell he wanted the woman.

But he couldn’t be with a woman who was involved with another man. He wouldn’t do that again. He couldn’t be that man again. He wasn’t perfect, he had been with many women since leaving Milah, but they had all been free agents, unattached, and available to be with as he pleased. He did no harm, and he left no baggage.

When he woke in the morning, he didn’t feel any better than he had hours before. His head hurt and his body was still needing release from the frustration of having Emma in his arms. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to the woman when he saw her, he couldn’t afford for things to break down between them. There was the matter of Henry, after all.

Killian suddenly felt an odd sensation, worrying about another man’s child. It wasn’t like they were sharing custody of the boy. He was his neighbor for goodness sake. That was all.

He got out of bed and ran a cold and bracing shower to take care of the situation at hand. He would worry about Emma once his brain could think again.

The cold water ran down his body causing bumps to form along his skin. He shivered, shaking his head as water splashed against the walls. When he could take the sensation no more, he turned off the water and toweled off, dressing quickly before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Before he could start the stove there was a knock on his door. When he opened the door, Emma was standing in the door frame, bracing herself against the wood, dark glasses on her face.

“Jones.” She said, her voice throaty and tired. “Can we talk?”

He stifled a laugh as he let her into his apartment. She looked wrecked and completely miserable, and the sight was almost comical. “And how is the little lush feeling this morning?”

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is. I don’t remember a lot of what went down last night, but I’m pretty sure I was way out of line.”

Killian stared at the woman, examining her body language. “Aye. Lines were stepped over.”

“I just wanted to apologize and say that it won’t happen again. I had a really long week, Ruby just got dumped, we were celebrating, and I think I might have had a bit too much to drink.”

“Did you figure that out from the blinding headache, or…”

“Probably more to do with the keys I left in the door last night, as well as the fact I found my shoes in the freezer this morning.”

He couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer. “Can’t hold your liquor, Swan.”

“Enough. I just came to apologize, not be teased.”

“Well, no harm done.” He bowed.

“So, we’re good here?” He nodded and she walked to the door. “Alright then. Sorry again.”

“So, you really don’t remember anything?” He queried.

Her sun glassed eyes met his. “Nope.”

“Well, then I guess I hope you feel better.” He mused, watching her retreat down the hall, wondering how much of what she said was the truth, while ignoring his desire to carry her to his couch, make her breakfast, and tend to her in any manner she truly desired.

~*~

Emma made her way back to her apartment, her head resting against the door as soon as she shut it. She peeled the glasses off her face, groaning as the room continued to spin, blue eyes staring into her, his hands touching her everywhere until his mouth was on hers. She remembered everything, every kiss, every touch, every desire she had for the man. The only thing she wished for was that she could forget.

[klayr-de-gall]

132 and 57 - ‘I haven’t slept in four days...’ and ‘is that my shirt?’ from that prompt list?

Dreams and Nightmares

Darkness. All Consuming. Cold.

His thundering breaths comes in shorter and shorter gasps, he legs burn.

The walls around him seem to emit an ill, blue light that can’t evict the darkness, makes it feel more dangerous instead. Haunting. Terrifying. 

Disfigured monsters chasing him through moldy, rotting tunnels, blood and spit spewing from their mouths. And he runs and runs but his feet barely cover any distance and he tries to scream but no noise travels past his lips.

He stumbles and nearly falls, staggers, get caught in a pair of strong arms, against a strong chest. The eyes he loves so much, usually ocean blue and warm like a summer breeze, are filled with the same nauseating blue light as the tunnels, seem to run as deep and endless. Empty.

A sticky hand brushes through his hair, coated it with mud and blood. The small forces him to gag. Then strong fingers wind around his neck. The touch feels like a caress. Until it doesn’t, until the grip starts to hurt, starts to crush and he grabs for a cold, pale arm, trashes and fights and -

- wakes up with a gasp.

Steve pulls air into his lungs like he is breaching the surface of the ocean after a dive gone too deep, lungs burning and vision filling with dancing black spots, hands shaking uncontrollably. A beat of cold sweat rolls down between his shoulder blades, the feeling distracting him from the still lingering images in his mind. His damp hair sticking to his neck itches grossly.

Still feeling a little disoriented and a lot like crying, Steve looks around. He is alone in the bedroom, the blanket on the other side of the bed untouched, while he is a tangled mess. Before any feeling of panic can rise up, Steve’s eyes land on the stripe of warm, golden light falling through the crack of the slightly open door to the rest of the flat. If he concentrates hard enough he can hear soft rustling, the turning of a page.

Getting out of bad is a chore because his legs still feel like he had made the run through these tunnels - as he did ten years ago - but finally, Steve is upright. He grabs the unused blanket and throws it around himself like a cape before wandering into the living room.

Billy is seated on the couch, the old reading lamp putting a halo around his messed up curls. He hunches over a book, pages and pages of writing spread out over their old coffee table with the one shorter leg, lips absentmindedly nibbling at his pencil. At the wrong end of his pencil, specifically. His lips are graphite stained.

Transfixed by the image, Steve can just stand here, in the middle of their little flat in downtown Los Angeles, in the space they made their own since the moved in three years ago. It sometimes still feels like a dream to Steve, but the pale, harsh scars winding up Billy’s arms to disappear under his tank top are always a reminder of what they have been through together.

“Nightmares again?” Billy has finally noticed him, looking up from his assignment. “You look worse than me, Bambi. And I haven’t slept in four days.”

Steve couldn’t stop the little tired sigh from escaping his lips.

“I just sleep better with you there…”

Billy scoots closer to the armrest, makes some space so Steve can lie down beside him, head coming to rest on the blonds thigh. Their little thrift shop couch with the gray cushions is barely long enough to lie down comfortably when alone, so situated like this, Steve has to curl his legs, huddling up under his blanket. The hand Billy isn’t using for writing starts to comb through his still sweat-damp hair, untangling some knots. Steve presses his nose against Billy’s muscular abdomen, closes his eyes. Two days more and his boyfriend would be done with his final semester assignment. Picking English lit apparently meant that you had to do a shitload of reading and writing. Suprise.

“Is that my shirt?”

A warm hand finds its way into Steve’s cozy blanket cocoon, tracking the frayed seam of a ripped off sleeve. The fabric is soft, nearly tradebare, the shirt older than their relationship and one of Billy’s favorites.

“Hmm. Smells like you. I like it,” Steve mumbles, burrowing deeper into it.

“You’re so gross, Harrington.”

Trying not to smile, Steve nips at the skin of his stomach, to playfull to be a real bite. The zipper of Billy’s open hoodie tickle his chin. The blue hoodie that belongs to Steve, that is part of his LAPD gym clots.  The hoodie that has been worn but not washed for over a week now and has to stink of Steve.

“Look who’s talking.”

The eyeroll is clearly audible in Billy’s voice.

“Go to sleep, Princess.”

So Steve does.

~~*~~

Dear Anon, thank you for this lovely prompts! It got a bit angsty, but I hope I could make up for it with all the softness after!

Loosely inspired by this amazing masterpiece from @zayacv where they live in LA and Steve is working with the LAPD

Prompt from this list

redbubble | Instagram | Ko-Fi| Twitter

[vegetacide]

Cloak and Dagger

Cloak and Dagger

Chapter 2: Nothing Ventured

Vegetable Notes: I spewed out another chapter.  Thanks for @gumnut-logic for letting me chew on her ear some- she rocks!  

Soundtrack for this chapter - Thornley, Tea Party,  Jeff Martin and Never Ending White Lights. 

Previous chapter can be found here

Enjoy!

8-8-8

Pulling the door closed, Kayo turned and ran smack into a familiar blue, twill weave. Scott grunted at the sudden impact, his hands coming to brace her at the near miss with the floor  “Kay,  whoa!”  

Righting herself,  Kayo took a step back.  “Sorry, about that. I…”  

“No, it was my fault.”

“Let’s agree to disagree then.”  

Putting some distance between them Kayo watched as Scott forced himself into a casual posture,  hands  into his pant pockets, shoulders down and seemingly relaxed.  To anyone else the pose would look just what it was expected to look like.  To her, it screamed the opposite. The fine lines of tension around his eyes and the muscles working along his strong jaw as he clenched and unclenched his jaw told her another story completely.

Rocking back on his heels,  his eyes strayed from her to the door and back again as if he was expecting someone else to come through the thing.

“He’s already up and about.”  She took mercy on him, knowing he was struggling with his need to mother-hen.  Pulling her loose hair up and off her neck she quickly twirled it into a bun and fasten it into place with the a black hair band that was every present at her wrist.  

Scott watched her well practiced movements a moment and she registered exactly when her words sunk in.  Virgil was by no means a morning person. It was barely past 7 am and the man  was renowned for his love of sleep.    

“Oh…”  Kayo blinked, not the reaction she had expected. Scott was off his game this morning but by the looks of him, he hadn’t faired much better than Virgil had last night. She’d seen the same look on Virgil’s face this morning as he had stumbled about in the pre-dawn light - as graceless as ever before his coffee fix.

She could read the brothers like a book and Scott was no different.  For all his military training and commanding attitude the worry for his sibling was obvious.   “He mumbled something about running diagnostics, post flight checks and cataloguing inventory losses but you know what he is like before caffeine.”

“Damn…” An expletive from Scott this early in the day didn’t bode well. “The call out was a bad one and the mission debrief didn’t go so well.”

“I assumed it hadn’t,” She’d observed quite a bit since she’d returned, “Considering everyone has either run for the mainland, ghosted the island like it might explode, turned into uber professionals  or has just up and disappeared.

“Disappeared…?”

“When did you see Brain’s last?”  She countered, not expecting a reply and carried on as if she hadn’t been interrupted. Brow raised,  her green stare scanning with little remorse over Scott. “Oh, and you and Virgil look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks”  Kayo shrugged with nonchalance.

“I call it like I see it”

“Love you too”  There, an uptick close to a smile flashing into existence. It was the reaction she was looking for from the straight backed, slightly too contained shell he was putting on.  She could work with this now.

Stepping away from the entry to Virgil’s sanctum sanctorum, Kayo put a hand on Scott’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze in support.  “Go talk to him.  I’ll be in the coms room when your ready.”    

8-8-8

Scott stepped out of the elevator onto the catwalk overlooking Two and sighed at the music that greeted his ears. Rock blasted with the heavy beat of drums through the massive space.  Ricocheting down off the ceiling and reverberating in the grating beneath his feet.  

Dropping his head, he rubbed at his stiff neck.  Audible proof that things were in the shitter with Virgil via Thornley, circa 2002.  His brother’s music choice was usually a good barometer to his mood and Scott was about to walk in on it.  

“Have fun with that.” Scott, looked over at Gordon as he limped up the stairs..  

“Thanks.”  

“He’s in a real mood today if he’s broken out the oldies. You may be taking your life in your own hands if you go in there. “

“Noted, “  Scott looked down to the open blast door some 200 ft down that separated the main hanger from the module storage bay and subsequently where Virgil could be found in his workshop.  

“I’m off,” Gordon turned, looking with appreciation and longing at his craft floating in its aquatic launch.  “I promised Alan I would call him and distract him from the boredom of shopping with Grandma.”

“No physio this morning?”  Scott asked with a look of concern as his brother rolled and re-rolled his left shoulder

“Nah,  taking a break today.”  Gordon looked abashed at this and failed to meet Scott’s eyes.  “I may or may not have over done it yesterday...a bit…”

Scott look skyward and prayed for strength, this family was going to make him fully grey in no time. “And you’re worried about me going down there?”  He pointed down below and snorted. “If Virgil or for that matter, Lady P finds out you know what will happen, right?”  

The shudder that went through Gordon said he was well aware of it. “Please don’t.  The images I have in my head about what Kayo is going to do to me is disturbing enough. Don’t add to it.”

“Kayo knows?”

“Busted me last night.”

“Sucks to be you.” Scott winced in sympathy

“No shit”

Shaking his head,  Scott ruffled the fish’s hair as he passed by.  The scowl that was returned for his efforts ignored as he set off down the stairs.  

“If you don’t make it back,  I’ll make sure to ask John to erase your browser history.  Can’t have Grandma finding out about your disturbing extracurriculars and your hamster fetish…”  Scott stopped in his tracks at that but Gordon was already safely stowed away in the lift on his way back up to the main house.  

“Brat..”

Hands tucked in his pockets, Scott strolled across the hanger and made his way around the massive supports of Two.  The great, hulking beast was up on her struts. One of her nesting modules parked below on the heavy tracks built specifically for trundling the huge cargo crates across the expanse of chemical resistant substrate topped flooring.  

Stepping across the embedded components of the pod conveyor system and through the reinforced bay door into the orderly storage area beyond, Scott marveled at the deceptiveness of the place their home was built around.  To say the hanger was big was one thing but add in the hidden 1300 foot length of the storage area and the place was massive.

The area, though only the width of about  500 ft at its widest, housed all of the modules,  pods,  grappling lines, fire suppression gear  and spare parts needed for the large, green ‘bird.  All of it stored away in specific, tidy, very well maintained numbered bays and lockers.  

It was a running gag between the Brothers that if you moved anything a millimeter in any one direction that Virgil would know instantly and without thought; like some OCD zombie, move said item back into its rightful space.  Gordon had even tried it a few times for shits and giggles with varying degrees of success.  

The aquanaut had learned quickly not to do this though when he found himself locked in his owner bathroom, covered in biodegradable glitter and spray cheese… how and when Virgil had rigged the shower, was anyone’s guess..  Gordon though hadn’t tried to ‘adjusted’ the placement of anything down in storage since.  Never mess with an engineer.  

To this day, Scott knew that Gordon was still finding flecks of glitter stuck to his person or in random other places. Scott was pretty sure though that Virgil was the culprit there with those instances, placing little, glimmering pieces here and there around the island where he knew his younger sibling would find it.  A little subconscious reminder for good measure.

Mentally slapping himself with a silent curse Scott closed his eyes.  He was procrastinating.  Letting his mind wonder about as his body did so he didn’t have to confront the disagreement from the night before.  This was the epitome of going  against the grain of his character.

Sucking it up, he peered around module 2.  The door to the crate was down, the light from within casting shadows on the alcove that clever mechanic had claimed as his space.

Virgil was sitting at one of the work stations. The chair was tipped back on its hind legs, his steel toed clad feet up on the utility bench, teetering the wooden chair back and forth.  In his lap, Scott could make out the pale blue glow of a computer interface his brother was flicking through. Adjusting levels and tweaking air intake ratios with the expertise of a conducted with an orchestra.   The music,  though not something Scott considered enjoyable, played through the large concussion fire suppression system and from this distance the interference caused by the echo of the hanger was negligible.  The module padding and design itself helping to insulate the reverb caused by the massive speakers.  

Max was wheeling about in the limited confines of the module, seeming to dance along with the music. Mechanized arms pin wheeling around as if he was directing the course of the notes.

“Max,  switch tracks please.”   Polite as ever,  even to an automaton.  The song quickly flipped over to another tune and the melody shifted to something with a bit more pep.  “Ugh.. next”

“I think this would be classified as a misappropriation of resources.”  His brother barely glanced up at that,  dark brows dropping down as some readings flashed across the interface that he didn’t like.  

“The sound system I originally installed in here is distorting the lower octaves at higher volume. The sub woofer needs to be upgraded.”  An off hand remark, “So I improvised.. Dual purpose, I can check the frequency output at the same time."

Scott plucked the display from his brother’s lap, looking over the present data on thrust to air intake ratios.  “Multitasking I see”  

“Passes the time. ”

They sat in relative silence for a while,  neither one willing to break the stalemate they seemed to have found themselves in. As one song ended and another started up, Scott bit the bullet.  

“How are the ribs?”

“Sore”

Scott  looked his brother over,  he’d pulled his overall down and looped the arms around his waist, the thin muscle shirt underneath dampened with sweat in a few places but relatively clean.  “Adhesive bindings?” Scott questioned as he noticed the medical tape under the thin material up his left side.

Virgil shrugged, “The discomfort is more manageable this way.”  At Scott’s sigh he quickly added,  “Not tight enough to restrict respiration. I know what I’m doing, so leave it alone, Scott”  

“OK, OK,”  Scott put his hands up in surrender. His brother did not want to be coddled.  Scott resisted the urge to say more on it.  Last thing they needed with Gordon being out of action still was Virgil being bed ridden with a chest infection.

Virgil dropped his feet to the floor, the heavy soles thunking on the raised metal sheeting that covered this section of the work space. Grimacing he got up and straightened his spine by sheer will power alone against the obvious physical ache. Once accomplished he stalked over to a tool chest “What do you want, Scott?”

“Nothing, just checking in.”  

A roughly opened drawer was equally thrust closed again.  Small blister pack of pills in hand,  Vigil broke the seal on two of the tablets and dry swallowed the lot.  “Bullshit.”

Anger simmering, Scott resisted raising to the bait and took a calming breath.  Maybe coming down here wasn’t such a wise idea.

‘Fine,  I came  to apologize for yesterday. I was out of line and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you or the useless forestry service supervisors.”  

“Apology accepted, now if you will excuse me..”

“Come on, V. You were almost killed yesterday.  I was and still am worried about you.”

“I’m fine, Scott.”  Virgil tossed the blister pack on the bench and grabbed a socket wrench. “Ribs will heal, this is nothing. I have had worse.”

“I’m not talking about your ribs and you know it.” Facing off with his brother when he was in this sort of head space was never a good plan.  

Virgil was known as the calm and collected one in the house and due to such was usually the sounding board the others went to when needed. But under the calm surface and rock steady nature was a man that felt deeply, more so than any of them could ascertain.  And Scott as close as he was to his stalwart sibling, could see that the impact of yesterday was sending ripples out ever widening circles of self doubt and blame.  

Scott counted on his brother and he wanted to provide that same support back. Their almost preternatural bond forged by a tragic, shared history had solidified them into what they were today and Scott would do whatever he could to protect it.

“I said ‘I’m fine.’ ”  The slight hitch said otherside as the wrench was slammed down on the work  surface.”  Head down between tight shoulder,  arms braced.  “Just leave it, Scott.”

The pleading in Virgil’s voice had Scott backing off.   “It wasn’t your fault, Virgil.”  

“Scott,  please..”  

Coming up behind the second eldest Scott placed a hand on the back of his neck, “OK, I hear you 5 by 5, little brother.” And gave the tight muscles a reassuring squeeze, instincts screaming at him. He knew though that pushing would get him nowhere.  

“When your ready to talk, come find me.”

8-8-8

Kayo hit the volume controls on the holo-vid and crossed her arms as the Kat Cavanaugh's sat up primly with the introduction to her segment.  

"Thank you, Albany." Kat nodded in gratitude, her voice confident. Cavanaugh had upped her game since her rescue out by the Gran Roca Ranch.  Her show having gained much popularity with her first hand account. The world at large was crazed for any information on the clandestine organization and she had quickly shot up in the reporting ranks.

So much so that the international community at large was now listening.  With an added co-anchor, Albany Crenshaw the sphere of her world had changed from basic rag gossip to world wide events. Set changes,  advertising, content and even personal appearance had been buffed to a high sheen. Success in every angle.

Her once,  rather laid back appearance giving way to a well groomed, professionalism.   A slick bob set off the features of her face adding a maturity that the barrettes of the past had lacked. Dressed up in a wool jacket and a fine print, split-neck blouse she radiated respectability all topped off with a dusting of make-up in neutral tones.  Nothing out of place, everything poised and polished.   A far cry from her previous casualness.

Angling herself just right in the studio lighting, her lips turned up in a competent smile. “Good evening, I'm Kat Cavanaugh. Tensions in Kazakhstan are on the rise tonight amidst continued civil unrest as protests and riots break out across the country."

Since October’s Military back coup by Socialist party leader, Mikhalev Lukyan Grigorievich there has been an outcry to the world nations for his removal.  

Grigorievich, who took control from interim leaders after the sudden death of President Alexandra Danilovna, seized power in an overnight raid in the country’s capital of Nur-Sultan.”

In recent years the country has fallen on civil and economic hardships with the depletion of its hydrocarbon production and the forced closure of the counties mineral mines due to civil rights violations. International amnesty groups have reported that this along with the abysmal work conditions and the country’s strict policies against assembly are major contributors to the continued upheaval.

Additionally,  unsubstantiated reports of clashes between the Kazakh Renewal and Reformation Coalition and military personnel has lead to a media blackout in Almaty. Rumours supplied by asylum seekers at the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan borders speak of an increased Military presence within the city limits and a steep escalation of violence.  

The GDF and the World Union has been surprisingly quiet on the topic. Issuing only that the area has been declared a ‘No Fly’ zone and that all non-Kazakhstan citizens should avoid the area or head to the nearest embassy for evacuation.”

Several notes of interest followed relating to food shortages and power interruptions but the gist of the news coverage was that the region was in complete chaos and it was not likely to end amicably any time soon.  The big question,  Kayo pondered as she adjusted the volume to a near whisper with Scotts arrival, was the GDF going to do anything about the situation?  Could they even do anything about it without crossing into territory that could divide the world at large.  And if so, did they even have a right to?   She found the lack of an easy and clean cut response disturbing.  

International incidents were avoided these days with great effort but something told her in this case something was going to have to give to bring this conflict to a head.  It was either that or watch a country with a population of some 23 million people either starve to death or completely self destruct.   The stability in that part of the world would be shattered in the power vacuum.

Nodding her head towards the moving 3D holographic image above the table, Kayo uncrossed her arms and walked over to the desk where Scott had just parked with a grunt. “This is going to get messy before it gets any better.”  

He made a vocal note of assent and took a sip of the coffee he’d brought in.  Smelt like Virgil’s Sumatran blend she noticed offhandedly.  “Looks like it,  been playing on repeat all morning.  With the GDF evacuation in effect more and more information is leaking out across the borders.  I am expecting the GDF will make a formal request of us eventually but as of yet, they have been quiet on that front”

“Formal request?” Kayo cocked a brow,  “You think they are going to bar us access to the area if there is a call?”  

Scott shrugged, setting his cup down on the report ridden desk. “I have no idea,  Aunt Val hasn’t said anything yet but she’s been a bit tied up.”  He waved his hand towards the holo cast, encompassing  everything going on in that area of the world.  

“For the time being we will just have to play it by ear.”  Rubbing at his eyes,  he changed his focus and glanced at the time. “Lady P is supposed to be calling in shortly, if you don’t mind the wait.”  

Kayo shook her head and leaned against the end of the desk.  The morning sun was starting to heat things up again outside, and it was threatening to be a record setting high.

“How is he?”  Came the inevitable question.

Kayo glanced back over her shoulder, assessing.  It was unsettling for the brothers to be at odds.  “You went and saw him,  what do you think?”

“Fuck.”

“That sounds accurate.” Last night had been rough and Kayo wasn’t known for sugar coating.  One of the reasons her and Scott worked well together for the most part.  He appreciated her blunt and direct nature. Softening as she saw the matched set to the bags under Virgil’s eyes on Scotts face she tact on, “Give him time. He need to process things on his own. You know as well as I do that forcing things with him before he is ready isn’t a viable options.  He’ll be fine given enough space and when he is ready he will come to you.”  

“Ya, I guess you’re right.  I’m just …”  His words were cut off as a signal from their London agent come through. Mouthing an apology to Kayo, Scott opened the channel.  “Lady Penelope,  right on time.”

“Scott, darling.  You look dreadful.”  

Lips drawing into his trademark Scott Tracy one-sided smirk, he tilted his head to the side. “Good to see you too.”

8-8-8

Head still down, Virgil stayed silent at his brother’s parting words.  The gently supportive squeeze a physical reminder that no matter what there was someone there for him if and when he wanted it.  

After a moment he gave his head a shake. Enough of this crap.  Time to get back to work.   He had system analyses running on Two that needed to be monitored and an intake manifold for the rear, right VTOL had to be tweaked as the mixture ratio was off somehow - he suspected carbon deposits from back washing exhaust through a main intake to be the cause but he couldn’t be sure without removing the cowling and several other components. Hours of work ahead.  

This could of course all be done automatically but Virgil like to be hands on with maintenance,  tweaking and adjusting where needed to get the most of of his craft.  He knew his ‘bird intimately,having crawling over and under every part of it.   He enjoyed losing himself in the work,  seeing what he accomplished at the end of the day like rebuilding an engine,  overhauling a control panel or relay.  It was good,  honest work that left him feeling satisfied.

Yes, there were some days that things didn’t work out as planned.  Some frustration caused by an answer eluding him,  the challenge presented keeping him up sometime well into the early hours.  But when the solution finally presented itself, the sense of achievement was phenomenal.

And finally,  there was the pod drive sprockets.  

He needed to know how he’d missed the damage.  Their procedures dictated that visual scans be conducted after every mission so that any broken or damaged parts could either be repaired or outright replaced.   In addition to that,  during the decontamination and cleansing process, scanners in the washer bays would look for possible stress points. Virgil had looked over all of those scans personally as he did every time and he hadn’t seen anything.

He’d looked over the scans again this morning and still there was nothing there. So what had he missed?  He’d thought that maybe complacency had come to the fore.  Having done the process so many times, human errors could easily account for it but one thing Virgil prided himself on was his attention to detail. It’s what made him a good engineer.  

Looking at the interface, he let his brain zone out with the hopes that the answer would jump out at him.  If the procedure wasn’t the issue,  maybe there was another angle he wasn’t seeing.  

They could micro-scan the metallurgy, test for stress points and density but they had too much equipment for that. It would take weeks of fine tooth comb’ing it to go over all of it,  There had to be another option available to them.

Turning, he took in all that was parked, stored and at the ready for whenever they got a call out again.  Clean, orderly and poised for use at the drop of a hat.   Geared up to be shunted into modules with a couple flicks of a finger and off into the air in a matter of minutes but what the hell was he missing..

A thought came to mind that had Virgil toggling his coms.  “Hey, Brains?”  

“Virgil, w-what can I do for you?”  The genus’s 3D holographic image suspended above the receiver built into work desk flared to life.   Brains was the other side of the hanger by One but it was just easier to call then haul his ass all the way over there and back.  

“The wash-bay scanners been calibrated lately?”

Framed glasses slipped down a narrow nose as the relevant information was pulled up. “Uh,  three w-weeks ago.  Why?  Is th-there something wrong with them?”

“Just a hunch.  Can you run it again and do a system analysis?”  

“That will t-take some time. I have the bulk of the island servers dedicated t-to the zero-x build.”

Virgil dragged a hand down his face.  He didn’t have any other options right now.  “Do what you have to and let me know if anything comes up.”

Brains’ image nodded. “R.A.D”

Virgil only rolled his eyes a little as he closed down the connection.  

TBC

NEXT CHAPTER

[comicteaparty]

November 25th-December 1st, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 25th , 2019 to December 1st , 2019.  The chat focused on Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition by Sergio Ragno.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition by Sergio Ragno~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/list?title_no=260255)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 1st to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite strip in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Of the strips with a connected story, which one did you like the best and why? Overall, do you prefer the interconnected story strips or the one-off strips more? What is your reasoning?

AntiBunny

Favorite strip so far is this one here https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/the-legality-of-keeping-it-real/viewer?title_no=260255&episode_no=41 mostly because it is quite different from the rest. Since Action Hat is largely a running gag comic that's been doing "wins by doing absolutely nothing" since before Luigi made it cool, this page is a refreshing shake up of the usual gag, being entirely dialogue driven.

To answer the second question, I prefer the one offs. There's a little bit of connection between strips, in that any given of episode of the Simpsons is connected by common characters, and that every event that doesn't contradict the status quo is canon, but mostly it's meant to be taken one strip at a time. Read, get your laugh, and go about your day. Action Hat is best read that way in my opinion. Not unlike a newspaper comic in that regard. Not to be binged, but to be taken in small, regular doses.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Which jokes connected with you the most from the comic, whether in terms of relatability or hilarity? Also, which jokes caught you the most off-guard in terms of making you laugh?

mariah (rainy day dreams)

So I didn't make it all the way through the archive but to sort of answer questions 1, 3, and 4, I thought the strip that had Detective Detective-Partner's gun was super funny. The premise of the already a farsical type of comedy, but I feel like adding a second inanimate object character just pushed it to a new level of funny for me. Especially since the gun just goes off without provocation in the last panel. I'm not sure if that's enough to call the gun my favorite character, but that joke was definitely a highlight moment while I was reading though.

SergeXIII

Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my comic this week.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What piece of advice from Action Hat do you actually think is also a good lesson for how we should carry ourselves in life? How in general do you think the comedy of the comic shows how it can be used to say things about life?

RebelVampire

1) My fave strip is definitely this one: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/cool-guys-dont-look-at-explosions-action-hat/viewer?title_no=260255&episode_no=21 This was exactly where I wanted the idea to go, but it was still funny when it happened. Won't get into specifics since I don't want to spoil it for others at this juncture, but suffice it to say, I'm impressed the payoff was everything I dreamed of. 2) I liked the The Power of Love series the best. I am in love with the concept that theres a Guns and Bourbon store, and everyone acts like its the most common thing in the entire world. And I like the story about Detective Partner and Ex Wife met because it's a love story that fits too well in this world. There were just a lot of great continuing gags through. In terms of the second part of this question, I don't really have a preference. I actually like that the comic does a bit of both, since that gives wider appeal. Doesn't matter what you like, there's something for all.

3) My favorite character is Action Hat. Because Action Hat is the wisest of all characters despite not saying a single thing. And that's just badass. 4) The jokes that have connected with me the most are the ones regarding common cop tropes. Like the fact Detective Partner is a macho dude who doesn't open up to people, or that there's massive property destruction, etc. As a fan of cop dramas and cop action stories, I equally enjoy when people make fun of it cause they can be over the top and ridiculous. As for jokes that caught me off guard, it was definitely the one about the shopkeeper being Velma. Cause the entire time I saw the resemblance but thought, nah, that's impossible. But then someone said it. XD

RebelVampire

5) My favorite illustration is definitely from the same strip I answered for number 1. I love the explosions and the angles chosen. Especially the last panel where Detective Partner's face is slammed against the camera. It really gives some good depth to the image that really captures the badass atmosphere it wanted. 6) I think the advice in this strip is actually good https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/enter-the-hat-9/viewer?title_no=260255&episode_no=9. Which to me the advice is that people do often lash out because of their own insecurities and fears. And while there is, of course, a line we need to draw at toxicity, sometimes we need to be patient and gentle with others to make them understand how their actions hurt us. In general, though, I feel this comic is a good reflection of how comedy is often a callback to human condition. And that in a lot of ways, it helps us deal with uncool things in life by making us laugh and remind us that sometimes, we need to take a step back from life and consider things from other angles (or even just take a break).

SergeXIII

I really appreciate all of these questions, RebelVampire, but I especially appreciate question number 6. The gag of the cop and inanimate object duo has been done before, but I always thought that what makes Action Hat stand out is that it serves as kind of a conscious for Partner (and Lynda, who is new to this version of the comic), so it is really valuable for me to get feedback on this so as to gauge the effectiveness of this.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Given Action Hat is not a speaking character, how do you think this works in terms of the comic’s comedy? In other words, what aspects of the visuals and other characters’ dialogues help pull the comedy off?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What is your favorite aspect of Detective Partner’s and Action Hat’s relationship? What has been your favorite moment between them so far? What about these aspects when it comes to Action Hat and Lynda?

RebelVampire

7) I enjoy seeing Detective Partner and Action Hat interact the most. I really love how the two play off of one another. Especially cause Action Hat is, you know, a hat. And I really like that despite basically just sitting there doing nothing, Action Hat is still given a personality because of how everyone else interacts with him. And I like how Detective Partner makes Action Hat super wise. 8) I think the silence works cause of two main reasons. First, what I hinted at to above. Even if Action Hat doesn't speak, there's still a lot of personality there because of the words other characters add in. And that itself is kind of funny cause it's just a ridiculous idea to have an inanimate object be in the police. So in essence you wind up these ridiculous situations that are brought on by other characters cause of what they assume an inanimate object said.

RebelVampire

9) A detail I really appreciate in the comic is actually the throwbacks to police drama tropes. Like the gruff partner, the dirty business dude trying to bribe people, the belligerent chief always complaining about the wanton destruction. It takes a lot of knowledge to really capture the cop drama spirit, and I love seeing it present while also torn apart in the most entertaining ways possible. 10) My favorite aspect of their relationship is probably their honesty. Like I love how Detective Partner basically immediately apologized to Action Hat for lashing out and became best friends. And I like how much Detective Partner idolizes Action Hat too, cause it is both funny while also revealing of Detective Partner's own wisdom. My favorite moment between them is still probably the one from my fave strip, but I've mentioned that to death. As for Lynda, I like the patience in their relationship. Not a whole lot of people have patience for anything, and I just like this is kind of a key point to their relationship. It's got that good slow burn kind of feel. For fave moment, I like when Lynda is touched Action Hat "waited" for her. And it had nothing to do with the fact it's a hat and has no legs to move.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. What sort of tropes of cops and cop dramas have you seen in the comic so far? In what ways do you think the comic successfully subverted them and/or changed how you thought about them?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. In general, what other police-drama related shenanigans are you hoping to see Action Hat tackle? How do you think those scenarios will play out?

RebelVampire

11) I think this comic's strength is just how the comedy works. There's lots of creative ways it uses both the fact Action Hat doesn't talk and is an inanimate object to its advantage. There's also just a good balance in how it treats everything since the comic somehow acknowledges the ridiculousness while at the same time taking it seriously. So in the end, it's just got a great tone for having fun with the subject matter. 12) I've talked about this one quite a bit already. But got the disgruntled chief who forces partners together, gruff partner who just like guns, massive property damage, sleezy rich dude, etc. The comic does a great job of reminding you that all this action stuff is actually silly if you were to frame it in the context of reality. Like there's only so much property damage the police will take before firing someone, etc.

13) I am looking forward to seeing other cop action drama tropes. Like serial killers etc. Theres so many more cop stuff to be explored that I'm really hoping to see. 14) In line with the above, I would like to see Action Hat and Detective Partner deal with internal investigations. Cause theres always that one scenario where the cops get framed and get in super trouble and then they have to solve their own case. I'm just waiting for the moment where Detective Partner is like "Action Hat how could you!?" THere's a silent pause, and then Detective Partner gasps and is like "YOU WERE FRAMED I'm sorry I doubted you."

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition this week! Please also give a special thank you to Sergio Ragno for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Action Hat: Big Trouble in Little Everywhere HD Remix Gold Deluxe Edition, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/action-hat-big-trouble-in-little-everywhere-hd/list?title_no=260255

Sergio’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SergeXIII

Sergio’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/sergexiii

Sergio’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/sergexiii

[an-abundance-of-castiels]

Best Left Forgotten

Part 14: Please

Series Summary: You wake up in the bunker with a serious head injury and no memory of the last year or the Winchesters and find that Dean is avoiding you. You are determined to find out the truth about what happened but maybe the truth is best left forgotten.

Characters: Dean x Reader, Sam, Cas

Warnings: language, Season 10 Spoilers

Word Count: 1403

General Disclaimer: I do not own the gif or any of the Supernatural properties or characters. This is a fan piece and is intended to be enjoyed only as such.

A/N: This is my first fic so any and all feedback is appreciated! A HUGE thanks to @weirdochick56 for rough beta-ing and encouraging me to pick this up again and give it another try in the first place!

Best Left Forgotten Masterlist

Missed Part 13?

**********

“She didn’t see our face! We don’t have to kill her. Please. We don’t have to.” You hear a young boy begging from down a tunnel. Heaviness presses down all over your body and you begin to feel your body. You blink your eyes open to a blurry image of your lap. Slowly, your hazy mind clears. You notice two things immediately: you’re tied in a chair and you have one hell of a headache. Whoever bashed you in the head earlier is clearly standing in front of you, so you don’t move or look up; maybe your ignorance can save you.

“You’re right Cy. We don’t have to. We get to. Here. When I get back, I want her dead.” You hear retreating footsteps and open your eyes. You frantically assess your options, a strange mix of adrenaline and hunter’s instinct giving you clarity. You have nothing in your pockets. The rope is too tight to escape. You have no hope of fighting back while tied up here. He has a gun.

Escape isn’t an option. The only thing left to do is beg.

You finally look up. The boy is lanky and nerdy looking with glasses. He’s holding a gun and looks awkward with it, like someone handed him a dead animal. He seems afraid of you and is standing terrified, looking from the gun to you.

“Please don’t hurt me,” you blurt out in desperation. You don’t wanna die like this, chained to a chair like a dog.

He stares into your eyes, conflict and fear clouding his eyes. “Ummm… maybe I can untie you? And then you run. Before he gets back, okay?” His eyes look kind, but afraid behind his glasses. He seems sincere. He glances around frantically before he steps to untie you just as a large man rounds the corner.

You recognize him. It’s that Styne man that the boys had in the dungeon. The one who killed Charlie. All fear for your life vanishes as liquid hot hatred burns through your stomach. “YOU FUCKING MURDERER! I’M GONNA-” You scream at the top of your lungs, but the words choke you when Dean rounds the corner with a gun. You feel an instinctive surge of happiness at the sight of his face. He’ll save you and kill this asshole. Your celebration is cut short when you notice the mark glowing and see the glaze over his eyes. What has he done? He’s so pale, like all the blood has been drained from his body. His body and clothes are soaked in blood. How many people has he murdered? Your stomach drops. You gag and tremble.

“Been looking for you.” Dean says glaring at the large man.

“Oh yeah? Why is that? Oh wait. You're not still sore about um, what's her name?” The Styne man waves his arm, brushing it off. Your stomach burns with anger.

“Charlie.” Dean swallows hard at her name. “Her name was Charlie.” His face falls and his eyes dim. You look down in shame. You begin to pray to Cas, something you realize you should have done earlier.

“Yeah, well. Chuckie, she got what she deserved. Wanna know how I did her? It's a kinda funny story—"

“Shut up.”

You silently pray as hard as you can. “Please hurry Cas. I think Dean can be saved. He’s covered in blood, but he’s after Charlie’s killers.”

“Straight to it, then. I respect that. You got lucky before. This time, I'm sporting some new upgrades. See my old man-”

“Your old man's dead.” Dean interrupts. “They're all dead. So, you can save me the speech on the three hearts, the two spleens, the seven nipples, for the ladies... or the fellas, I don't judge. But even with all that, you still only have one brain.” Dean smirks.

“So?”

In one swift motion, Dean draws his gun, shoots the man in the head, and turns his gun on the boy. He throws his arms up and starts to cry.

“No no no no no, don't! Dean, don't!” You scream desperately at Dean, struggling to break the rope.

Dean looks at you blankly and cocks his head, “Why not? He’s one of them.”

“No. No, I'm not! Okay, I hate my family! See, look!” The boy yanks his shirt up desperately, “No stitches! I'm not like them, I promise.”

“Oh, you are like them. There's bad in you. It's in your blood.” Dean insists matter-of-factly. “Now you can deny it and you can run from it all you want, but that bad.... will always win.” The absolute sincerity in his eyes makes your heart stop. He’s given up. How could you ever hope to save him if he’s already given up? And then it dawns on you: he’s going to kill that boy. Your Dean is about to murder an innocent kid. But maybe if you stop him, you can convince him that there’s still hope. This battle for a kid’s life suddenly becomes a battle for Dean’s soul. You continue to struggle with your ties with a renewed desperation. “He was trying to help me. He was going to let me run.” You beg with Dean as you frantically fight the ropes. You have to get to Dean so you can calm him down.

“I'll do anything you want. Okay, please. You don't need to do this” the boy begins to cry. “Please.”

Dean looks down and lowers his gun. He seems in thought. The next few seconds seem to move in slow motion. Several things happen at once:

You finally pull your hands free and yank the rope off of your torso.

Dean looks up at the boy, points his gun at him, and says, “Yeah. I do.”

You lunge at Cy. 

You and Cy come crashing to the ground into a pile of books and at first, you think you got away with it. You smile at him and he looks back at you, horrified. You’re confused, and the world is a little blurry. “What’s wrong?”

Cy points at your shoulder. You reach your left arm round to feel the back of your right shoulder. It comes back bloody. Cy’s eyes grow wide and he frantically tries to pull you toward him.

“What?” You realize your words are slurred. When you don’t budge, he begins to crawl away and trips several times.

You turn to look behind you and see Dean approaching. He seems to be in no hurry and his cold eyes hold no concern for you. It occurs to your foggy mind that this is odd as you are hurriedly bleeding out.

“Why did you do that?” He asks evenly as he points the gun in your face.

You try to slide away and fall over, groaning when you hit your shoulder. “Dean…” is all you can manage to get out.

Suddenly, you see a blur of beige as Dean is tackled out of your view. You hear struggling and your body starts to react on its own, desperately dragging you away from the fight. Something brings you to a halt.

You hear Cas start begging. “Dean stop.”

Dean stands over Cas and continues to hit him. Blood is everywhere, and Cas’s face is almost unrecognizable. You feel a surge of energy. This isn’t like last time. This time it ends in Cas’s death if you don’t do something. You start to frantically drag yourself back, not sure where the sudden energy and clarity came from. You are a couple feet away when Dean takes Cas’s angel blade out and raises it high above his head, pulling Cas up by his tie. Cas grabs Dean’s hand.

“No, Dean. Please.” Cas manages to choke out through the blood.

Dean hesitates a moment with a cold expression on his face. You reach his blood-soaked leg and grab it. “Please, Dean.”

Dean glances down at you coldly and shoves you to the side with his foot. You skid to a halt roughly into a pile of books and photos, finding that whatever propelled you forward before can’t fight the blood loss. You feel like you’re drowning. You’re swimming up and just can’t reach the surface.

Cas looks at you with guilt in his eyes. “I’m sorry I failed you.”

The last thing you see before the darkness overtakes you is Dean begin to bring the angel blade down swiftly into Cas’s chest.

Part 15

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IMPORTANT NOTE for my BLF tags: Anyone who has changed their handle, please update it! Also, this tag list will be disappearing when the story ends. If you would like to be added to a specific category, change that in the google doc as well! Thanks for reading!!! <3

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Best Left Forgotten Tags

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@daydreamingintheimpalareturns

[douxreviews]

American Gods - ‘Git Gone’ Review

"That was vulgar. I’m a vulgar woman. Anger and grief have… have really just made me vulgar."

American Gods gives us the Gospel According to Laura, and answers a few questions to boot.

OK, it's cheating just a little bit to end two episodes in a row with the exact same cliffhanger, but wow, what a trip it was getting there the second time around.

So, at the end of the previous episode, Shadow enters his motel room to find his recently deceased wife, Laura, sitting on his bed waiting for him. Expectations, then, were that we'd pick up at that same point and get to see their inevitable confrontation over the whole 'died while orally servicing his best friend' situation. But 'Git Gone' takes a different path, and instead goes back to before the show even began and tells the whole thing again, but this time from Laura's perspective.

This is by no means the first show to do an episode dedicated to re-staging things we've already seen, but from the perspective of one of the other characters, but there's a reason that shows like to do it, and it's not just the cost savings of re-using existing sets. The primary virtue of this setup is that it allows you to fill in a lot of character information, while revealing information about events you've already seen that we didn't know at the time. Case in point, we've already heard the phone conversation between Shadow and Laura in 'The Bone Orchard'. but now we know that she literally had his best friend naked on their bed while she was talking to him. That changes how we feel about Laura during that conversation a lot.

So, let's talk about Laura.

For the first three episodes, Laura has essentially been a woman in the refrigerator. It's an insidious trope, which can be boiled down to the idea that stories tend to treat female characters as someone to kill so that the important character, i.e. the man, can be properly motivated to do whatever the story needs him to do. It's a pleasant relief then to find out that, no, Laura has been having a fairly eventful story of her own, and her untimely death was only the middle part of it.

The thing that 'Git Gone' makes clear about Laura is that she is fundamentally self-destructive. The very first decision we see her make is to attempt suicide in her covered hot tub by breathing in the titular bug spray, and that appears to have been brought on by nothing more than the casino she's working at telling her that she can't shuffle the cards by hand anymore, but she likes shuffling cards so she's super sad about it. She's clearly smart and perceptive; it takes her all of three seconds to understand the con that Shadow is trying to pull at her blackjack table. She's also basically kind, since her response to his con is to point out the casino's security measures and what they'll do to him when he's caught, then takes his bet and tells him to finish his drink and go home while he can. But when Shadow approaches her afterward and tries to ask her out in a reasonably polite fashion she's not interested. She only becomes interested in him once he starts getting stalker-ishly creepy. The same is true of their sex scene. She's bored out of her mind when he's being a courteous lover, and slaps him full in the face for no other reason than to see what he'll do. That's just not a safe thing to do to a guy you just picked up after he attempted to rob your casino, and whom you know absolutely nothing about. Which is why she does it.

The sequence of scenes where we see Shadow grow happier and happier while she grows sadder and sadder tell us everything we need to know about Laura. She likes Shadow, but he's nice. And when Laura has something nice in her life, Laura is immediately compelled to destroy that thing. That's why she suggests the casino heist that gets Shadow sent to prison. That's why she starts sleeping with Robbie while Shadow's away. Note the way that Laura only slept with Robbie the second time because he had accepted her statement that they shouldn't. Note also how she was clearly just as bored during her sex with Robbie as she had been that first night with Shadow. It was never about the sex, it was about inviting things into her life that would cause as much damage as possible. When Audrey mentions that she wishes Robbie looked at her the way Shadow looks at Laura, you can feel how little Laura values it. How much she needs to destroy it, in order to prove to herself that she doesn't deserve it. Honestly, season one doesn't give us much in terms of Laura's early background information, and the book gives even less, but note that Laura's mother appears to be at their wedding and her father isn't. I suspect there's a lot of interesting backstory there, and I hope we get more of it in the future. People this self destructive don't just happen for no reason.

And hey, we mentioned Audrey a moment ago. Audrey, and I'll make no bones about this whatsoever, is my absolute favorite character in the show, despite only being in two episodes of the first season. The scene between Audrey and Laura in Audrey's bathroom is absolutely the centerpiece of this episode. That scene works on every conceivable level. It's simultaneously hysterically funny, heartbreakingly sad, and the weirdest thing you're likely to see on television. And it all comes down to the fact that both Betty Gilpin as Audrey and Emily Browning as Laura play the absolute emotional truth of the moment, despite the fact that the moment is a zombie with diarrhea on the toilet in front of the woman whose husband she died while blowing. Oh, and she stopped by to borrow craft supplies. The whole thing is basically, what if The Walking Dead was a production of the Hallmark Channel, and those two actresses make it work. Audrey is confronted with the woman she thought was her best friend but was sleeping with her husband. Who died while betraying her. When Audrey speaks the line 'I found out my husband was cheating on me and dead in the same sentence' you absolutely feel how much pain she's in, and it feels real. Despite the zombie diarrhea and the craft supplies, it feels like genuine emotional damage that she has no idea how to work through. It's amazing.

Then Audrey gets her craft supplies, sews her friend's arm back on for her, and drives her where she needs to go. Because she has no idea how else to respond to the situation. And if anyone is capable of getting through the following exchange without falling in love a little with Audrey, then that person has no soul. As Audrey is sewing her dead friend's arm back on and discussing the way that friend slept with her husband:

Laura: "I feel terrible about it." Audrey: "Oh, F*ck your feelings."

Quotes:

Laura: "Is this your first time trying to rob a casino?" Shadow: "A casino? Yeah." Laura: "Well, you’re really not very good at it."

Shadow: "All l know is there’s more than I know."

Laura: "There’s no farm upstate for old dogs."

Laura: "I have a perfect plan. You will never get caught." Cut to Jail Laura: "How did you get caught?"

Laura: "I lived my life. Good and bad. Definitely not light as a feather."

Audrey: "…Laura?" Laura: "Hey Audrey." Audrey:

Laura: "Audrey. Audrey. Don’t call the police." Audrey: "Get out of my house, you zombie whore!"

Ibis: "Don’t move. You’re still tacky."

Bits and Pieces:

-- Nice fake-out at the beginning with the Egyptian theme casino. The casino's name was 'The 26th Dynasty' Apparently that was the last Egyptian dynasty before they were invaded by the Persians. I don't know if that's at all important, but information is always nice.

-- Mrs. Fadil's post-death scene with Anubis last week served the important function of letting us understand what was happening to Laura this week. It's a little weird that Laura would be the province of an Egyptian death god though. They hand waved it last week with Mrs. Fadil remembering the old stories, but all we get here is that Laura is Anubis' concern because of the manner of her passing. That seems like a curiously specific thing for an Egyptian god to care about. Maybe she had to sign a release when she started working at the casino or something.

-- The hot tub is a visual metaphor for nothingness and oblivion. Watch the episode with that in mind and it opens up a world of interesting interpretations.

-- Do people leave their TVs on for the cats while they're out? It made total sense that it was the death of Dummy the cat, who Laura claimed to not even like, that drove her completely off the rails and into the affair with Robbie.

-- I'm not sure why, but the Egyptian eyes on Laura's work uniform bow tie really freaked me out. Like, to an irrational degree.

-- Laura's dialogue, 'When you die, you rot,' is shown over the images of her and Shadow's wedding. That was a nice directorial touch.

-- I liked the visual cue of Shadow leaving his wedding ring on the statue of the Eifel Tower when he went to the gym. That's a real thing, I take off mine myself to work out.

-- Three episodes later, we find out that it was Laura who killed all of Technical Boy's henchmen and saved Shadow from the lynching. Wow, zombie Laura is apparently quite strong. And can kick you in the balls so hard your entire spinal column flies out the top of your head, which was a funny sight gag.

-- Mr. Jacquel, a.k.a. Anubis, told Laura that after this was all over he would complete his task and send her to oblivion. So now Laura has a matching doom over her head to go with Shadow's promise to let Czernobog smash his head in when it's all over.

-- I'd have liked to have known what happened to Audrey after she and Laura encountered Jacquel and Ibis. I assume she just dropped Laura off and went back home, but it would have been nice to see it.

-- Absent entirely this week - Wednesday, Mad Sweeney, Bilquis, Media, Technical Boy, Czernobog, The Zorya sisters, and Mr. World.

A great episode that gave us a lot of character work and some intriguing answers, but at the expense of paying off the previous episode's cliffhanger.

Three and a half out of four hot tubs.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[nectarinejellyfish]

In this post, I want to address some of the issues of Powerpuff Girls Z, specifically related to the sexualization/pedophilic treatment of its main cast.

To be honest, I don’t consider this to be the only PPG show to have issues with pedophilia, so I’m not singling it out for that reason (the original is actually loaded with sex jokes, some of which involve the girls themselves, so it’s not exactly guiltless in this area). For now I’m just going to focus on PPGZ though, mainly because I’d brought it up at @safeanimations before, and I wanted to provide a better explanation of some of the pedophilic aspects of the show than I did previously.

Examples are under the read more, with screenshots/other images included.

First, I want to establish that in this adaptation, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are all 13 years old, and attending middle school. I couldn’t find any official character bios in English, but I found some in Japanese, which I’ll link to, since they confirm the ages of the characters:

http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/ppgz/chara/index.html

As for the grade level, in both the Japanese and English language versions of the show, it’s specified that the girls go the same junior high school. I’ve seen some statements floating around that the girls go to high school/are in their older teens in this show, so I just wanted to clear this up briefly.

Before I get into scenes from the show itself, I’m just going to point out some official artwork produced for the show (mainly for DVD/CD covers and other similar merchandise)

All of these images have some...uncomfortable choices for depicting three middle schoolers. There should be so many ways to depict kids that don’t come off as vaguely skeevy, but this is...not it. I could probably write at least a couple paragraphs to point everything unnerving in these images, but the general problems with all of these is skimpy clothing and weird poses, which result in awkward things like Bubbles having her butt practically showing in the second image, which could’ve easily been avoided had the pose just been changed slightly

Getting to the show itself, there are definitely bits where the characters are drawn in really undeniably sexualized ways

This is a screenshot of Buttercup from the show’s second opening sequence. This is an incredibly pedophilic way to depict a 13 year old in a swimsuit, everything from the pose, to the way the highlights and shadows are used (I mean, what other reason is there for putting highlights on a kid’s crotch), to just the way the swimsuit is drawn (like no normal swimsuit would be absolutely skintight and suction to the body like that, for her chest to look that way)

Next, I'll touch on some episodic content. The first scene I’m going to bring up isn’t a case of sexualizing minors, but it’s...somewhat related, in a ‘not condemning harmful age gaps’ sense, and I’ll try to explain my concerns with it as best I can

In episode 46, Blossom tries to ask a guy who's clearly a good deal older than her on a date. (How far apart they are in age is unclear, but the screenshots below can kind of give an idea. It’s not obvious from the screenshots I took but he is wearing a school uniform, I think, so probably a high school student? Too old for a middle schooler at any rate) In other episodes, Blossom is frequently attracted to older/adult male characters, to the point where it’s something of a running gag, but usually it goes unreciprocated on the guy’s end - but, not in this episode. He initially turns her down, but after the villain Him uses his magic to possess him, the guy breaks up with his girlfriend, returns to Blossom to tell her that he’s fallen in love with her, and asks her to go on a date with him, which she happily accepts.

Once the other girls catch onto Him’s plan, they show up to undo the magic and snap the guy back to his senses, and then he goes back to rejecting Blossom.

Even though this all happens within the context of a guy being manipulated by a villain to do these things, I feel this was a pretty badly mishandled subplot. The fact that Blossom was romanced by someone who appears to be quite older than her, and he even succeeds on taking her on a date, without anyone else initially knowing about it, is ultimately really quickly brushed over. Nothing in the episode seems to portray Blossom as being in any real danger, she doesn’t learn anything from the encounter, even the other girls don’t really comment on it at all when they rescue her. If anything it almost ends on a gag note, like “haha Blossom almost got what she wanted, too bad it was just a trick”, as if we’re supposed to sympathize with her for having the date ruined. 

And this scene bothers me more in the context of this being in a show where underage girls are already being sexualized, because portraying one of them as being super willing to date an older guy and there being no consequences for it, ends up feeling like it was written with some pretty bad intentions (I realize out of all of these examples, this is probably the most ‘ymmv’ one, but considering this scene was troubling enough to someone to be censored in the dub, which I’ll touch upon later, I figured this was worth bringing up)

The other two scenes I’ll bring up both come back to sexualization again. The first is from episode 20, where the Rowdyruff Boys make their introduction, and pull a bunch of pranks on the Powerpuff Girls, including...running past them and flipping their skirts.

There aren’t any actual panty shots in this scene (what would otherwise be a panty shot in the above image is obscured by Boomer’s arm), but it’s still portraying sexual harassment of the girls as a joke. Also, it's pretty gross that Bubbles reaction is obviously supposed to look ‘cute’ here, like as if this scene wasn’t skeevy enough, this gives it even more a fanservice vibe rather than it just being a gag (not that I’d excuse it if it was portrayed in a strictly humorous manner, but I’d argue that trying to make the girls look ‘cute’ while being sexually harassed does actually make it a whole lot worse)

But, I can’t even say this show is free of panty shots, which brings me to what is probably the most glaring instances of sexualization in the entire show, even considering everything else.

In episode 36, Him is once again the main villain, this time using his magic to put the girls in embarrassing or uncomfortable situations that they end up blaming each other for, to cause a rift in their friendship. Him ends up using his magic to create a large heart-shaped hole in the back of Blossom’s gym shorts, right as it’s her turn to perform a vault, causing her to flash her underwear to her entire gym class, and then there’s a closeup of it

And it probably seems like it wouldn’t get any worse than this, but then, shortly after that, Blossom has a flashback to what happened, except in the flashback she’s in a different pose that’s somehow a thousand times worse?

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHOT? WHY DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IT WAS TRACED FROM PORN??

Seriously, what else was this pose supposed to evoke??? And if the plot of the episode required a character to be put in an embarrassing situation, the show could’ve gone with fucking anything else like messing up a presentation or falling asleep during class, it’s like they purposefully went with something that could be be construed as fanservice and then proceeded to execute it in the most blatantly pedophilic way possible

So yeah, that’s a lot of the bad stuff, and it’s...pretty fucking bad. All of this stuff mainly pertains to the original (non-dubbed) version of PPGZ, as for how the English dub differs - some scenes are heavily edited or removed. For example, the scenes with the older guy asking Blossom on a date, were completely rewritten in the dub so that he was merely a comic book artist that Blossom was a fan of, and they meet up to discuss comic books rather than it being a date. So any pedophilic/creepy age gap implications from that episode were more or less written out in the dub.

However, the skirt flipping scenes are still in the dub, all that was cut out was the moments where the boys hands reach under the skirts to flip them, but then the rest just plays out like it did in the original. (So for those two screenshots of the skirt flipping scene - the first one doesn’t make it into the dub, second one does.) Also, the first of those two panty shots made it into the dub too, they just removed the second one (for incredibly obvious reasons).

That’s everything that I wanted to cover, hopefully this was an adequate (if somewhat jumbled) explanation of the show’s sexualization issues. I realize the examples above are probably do not represent the entire show (or even the majority of it), but the presence of stuff like this definitely deserves to be acknowledged and taken into consideration when discussing/evaluating the show

[mooncaps]

Okay, so shout-outs to the anon (or maybe multiple anons) who told me to read Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook. I freaking loved it! I’m also glad I read it at this point and didn’t wait until after the whole series. It makes such a good companion piece to the Stakes mini-series.

The Enchiridion was...not quite as exciting, but still had a couple of neat tidbits. Simon’s notes are nice. The Wizard section was fairly interesting. Some nice lore and world-building. I kind of wish the Bestiarum Vocabulum section had a bit more to it. And I must admit I was slightly disappointed that the Enchiridion did not, in fact, explicitly state that you should not strike a foe who’s raised their bottom to the sky. The Scrapbook is so in line with the mini-series; it would’ve been nice if the Enchiridion could’ve incorporated that as a little nod. They cover their bases with the explanation that there are multiple editions and even strongly imply that Finn’s was an earlier edition, but it still would’ve been neat.

A far more glaring omission is the Empress. Hierophant and the Vampire King are both mentioned in the Scrapbook, but the Empress isn’t. She knew both Marceline and Simon. Marcy had her power of invisibility so she must have staked and absorbed her at some point. My best guess is that the Empress enthralled Simon at a point when Simon was still writing the notes and it was on one of the pages he pulled out before he left. Or maybe Marceline just didn’t write it down for some reason. Or the writers just dropped the ball and didn’t catch this little continuity hiccup.

Those are my general thoughts. I’m also doing the whole images of my some of my favorite stuff interspersed with my reactions and commentary thing, but since this is gonna be an extra-extra long post, I’ve decided to actually use a read more cut this time.

Marcy and Bonnie talking about Simon in the margins. Give me some of that in the show.

This is the kind of lore development I like to learn about.

Does that mean the writers have thoughts about more Shoko development in future episodes and didn’t want to burn up their ideas in the side material?

International crisis. I mean that was more-or-less implied by the irradiated world, but I like learning more info. Also, he’s already talking about going North. It fits that they paired this with the Scrapbook. The notes follow through for tracking Simon’s progression into madness.

Sure. Again, kind of vaguely implied already by the series, but nice to know.

Now all I can think of is “long ago the four nations lived together in harmony...” Thanks to whoever sent that ask.

I may wanna get these on buttons or patches for my coat to go with the Avatar symbols.

Not sure what to make of this. I feel like it’s some kind of lore for the show. Maybe something to do with Prismo?

Hoo boy. Here we go. The feels train is pulling into the station.

This relationship is just so moving. I’m a sucker for found families.

More world building. Bring it on.

Even if Simon’s story hadn’t been tied to Marcy’s, it would still be one of the most interesting parts of the show. And that first paragraph feels like something that should’ve come up in the show by now. They really haven’t explained quite enough about Betty for my liking. Learning that she has a history of studying these kinds of things helps clarify why she’s so willing and able to take the approach she’s been taking.

After Bonnie and Neddy, I can only assume that this is the Mother Gum in its early days.

Mmhm. Sure. Matter’s more pliable. I can dig it.

The vibrational talk reminded of that bag of miniature people that Magic Man planted on Finn that one time. And he had to shake them to speak to them on their vibrational plane or whatever. I wonder if that’s ever gonna come back with some kind of added significance.

Reminds me of when Life kissed Death.

Wonder if that was a deliberate nod or not.

This. Relationship.

Again, I’m glad I read this now. The thing I couldn’t quite puzzle out after Stakes was where Hunson Abadeer fit into things. This is filling in some of the blanks quite nicely.

You know, after seven seasons of Grob Gob Glob Grod, it was a little jarring to actually see the word “God” here. I’ve got a pretty good recall for character voices, so I could basically hear Tom Kenny saying it as I read it. Of course it makes sense that Simon would have God in his vernacular. Somehow, after the phrase being conspicuously absent for so long, it seems to punch up the impact.

She celebrates her birthday around the time Simon found her! This precious child!

Oh, I can hear it in her voice. My heart!

“I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. Ever.”

There’s no mention of her encountering him again in the scrapbook. I’ve already mentioned the Empress, conspicuous in her absence. And she alludes to other meet-ups in the episode “I Remember You.” I can only assume those meetings take place after the last page of the scrapbook.

I’d love to know more though. I’d love to see her first discovering that Simon’s still alive, but completely insane now. And I’d love to know how we get from this:

To this:

There’s so much of the story that’s still untold.

That moment in Bad Little Boy where Ice King was like “Gob, I’m sorry I doubted your power” kind of takes on a new dimension when you think about how Simon’s from a different time.

“I hope these bring you comfort now that I’m gone, and remind you that you are loved.”

Just fuck me up, why don’t you?

“I want to feel her holding me in her arms and hugging me again like that.”

JUST FUCK ME UP, WHY DON’T YOU?

Again, this ties in so well with the Stakes mini-series. This was exactly the right time to read this for maximum emotional resonance.

Oh, Marcy, you poor, sweet, confused, little angel.

Well, I wanted to know where Hunson fit into things. Should’ve known it would be bad times.

Yeah, I can kind of relate to not having a great father but still wondering how much of who you are is from him.

Deep. Especially at her age. Simon did say she was smart. And of course she had to grow up fast, given that world was a wreck.

“He didn’t deserve what happened to him.”

I concur.

I can also kind of relate to giving your not-so-great dad another chance and getting burned again. I suppose it’s not really a shock that I gravitate toward characters who have poor relationships with their fathers.

I never really gave any thought to how difficult it would’ve been to even find fries at that time. And the fact that it was the first time he stole something specifically from her also gives it a little more weight. Like I’ve said before, it’s hard to tell when something’s just a throwaway gag and when something’s gonna come back later with added perspective and significance. I have to wonder how much they thought about in advance and how much is just them looking back and saying “we can expand on that.”

There must be at least some of it that they knew they wanted to develop even from the very early stages.

It’s interesting to figure out where Hunson comes into the picture, but I still don’t fully understand all of it. Primarily: How could a human woman see enough merit in Hunson Abadeer that she would want to sleep with him? What stopped him from immediately sucking out her soul? Why was he even on Earth shortly before or during the Great Mushroom War? There’s still a lot of room to grow on here.

Oh, honey, you’re the most interesting person in this universe.

“I still hope for a living friend.”

I was kind of hoping I might get the story of how she met Bonnibel, but I guess they’re saving that for the show. Must be after the events in the scrapbook.

Gimme all the lore. And Marcy wandering through an abandoned sunken mall full of skeletons shouting for Simon is an absolutely heartbreaking thought.

This angel child deserves nothing but happiness.

THIS. RELATIONSHIP.

She found a puppy! Ahhh! They’re so precious!

Yas, Queen!

This poor girl can just never catch a break.

This backstory is fantastic.

RIP, my dude.

Rise, Marcy the Vampire Slayer.

Let’s go!

Oh no, what’s wrong with Schwabl?

Marcy defending the last of the life on Earth against the scourge of the vampires. I’d seriously watch a whole series of this.

“Staking vampires, protecting the last remaining humans. It felt like I was protecting you. It was the only thing that brought me happiness during those years.”

Fascinating.

It’s rough watching a character who’s so good go through so much pain.

No, not the puppy!

Save the puppy!

Also, that time she almost went feral on Jake was probably really terrible for her because it would have stirred up these memories.

Another good reason to pair the Enchiridion - and particularly Simon’s notes - with this. Who would’ve thought that Marcy owned it for a time?

Thank goodness something turned out okay in all of this.

Wild. So is this Simon and the Crown, or some other force causing it? Does it affect the whole planet, or just the continent Marcy’s on? What about all the humans who were leaving on the boat? Can they survive an ice age? Is it a full “400 really boring years” like in Finn’s wish world? Longer? Shorter? This side material raises at least as many questions as it answers.

So Simon found the Enchiridion and took notes on it for a while before finally sending it to a museum in Scandinavia just was the international crisis that would become known as the Great Mushroom War was ramping up. Then some wizards found it. Then Marcy found the wizards and took it from them. Now the Enchiridion is with Marcy in hibernation. Then somehow it ends up with a minotaur later and Bubblegum is the one who tells Finn where to get it. There’s another chapter in between there and I feel like it involves both Marceline and Bubblegum. Marcy’s life after the ice age could probably fill another book or two.

Precious angel child.

Oh snap, it’s actually written by the people who play Marceline and Hunson.

That was a trip and a half to read. I love the backstory and world building so much. Even in the early episodes I suspected that there must be some kind of substance to this universe for the show to go on for as long as it did. Based on the early stuff though I had lowered my expectations and never imagined that this universe would gain so much depth, complexity, and (above all else) tragedy.

Marceline seems so carefree, but she’s been through SO. MUCH. Most of it while she was still a small child. The people of Ooo are absolutely blessed to have someone like Marceline in their world. And they’re also quite fortunate that her trauma didn’t push her to the full-on dark side. Even after a thousand years of so much confusion and loss, however chaotic she may get, she still has such a good heart.

And wow does reading this ever reinforce my desire for them to figure out a way to save Simon. “He didn’t deserve what happened to him” is so right. Although if it hadn’t happened to him, he never would’ve been able to protect Marcy. He probably would’ve died in the Great Mushroom War like almost everyone else, and Betty would’ve died too. Maybe you could chalk it up to Marcy’s mother’s last prayer being answered or the universe working in mysterious ways or possibly even retrocausality that Simon was able to survive and care for Marcy. Even so, I’m about four seasons beyond ready for the heroes and protagonists to help this poor old man get back the sanity that was stolen from him.

I feel like Finn’s the key somehow. The Crown seems to be possessed by a ghost or spirit. Gunther’s unfinished ghostly business was Evergreen and Evergreen’s unfinished ghostly business was the Catalyst Comet and Finn’s the reincarnation of the Catalyst Comet and all of that’s tied up with the Ice Crown. It seems like there’s some kind of puzzle taking shape there. Betty’s studying psychometric energy, magic, and Glob’s freaking helmet...Glob who was last seen facing off against, once again, the Catalyst Comet.

And just from the Doylist perspective, the writers have been spinning out this tragic tale of Simon Petrikov for a long time and it would be emotionally unsatisfying if they never save this poor man’s mind. I’m worried they might make me wait until the end of the show to fully resolve it though. I was worried for a while that getting his mind back would kill him, but after the events of the episode “Betty” I don’t expect them to take that route.

Simon and Marcy are such tragic characters and I feel for them both. I love learning more about them, even when most of what I learn breaks my heart. The two of them embody so much of what gives this universe its heart and brings it to life.

[lids-flutter-open]

James orsino -goth gay YA ch 5

“Hey,” Orsino said. He was smiling at me. “Nice to see you. James, right?”

“And you’re Orsino.”

“I’m Robin,” said a girl with good skin and short hair in a flat-top. She looked like a panel from a 1980s lesbian comic. “I’m Orsino’s sister.”

“Hi,” I said. “Does anyone want weed?”

They did. We smoked and January talked to Ian. I didn’t get all of what they said, but Ian was glowing. Overhead the trees dropped a few leaves and some of the pine needles from the scrubby little pine tree by the house blew over the yard and into the bonfire, sparking as they went. There were at least fifty people at the show. Probably more, inside the house and around in front where they weren’t meant to be. People were slowly trickling back around the edges of the show space in the garage, waiting for the temperature inside to finally get cool enough to repopulate. 

“So are you from around here?” I asked Orsino. “Or where?” I had given him a joint I’d rolled earlier and been carrying around in my cigarette case. He coughed a lot as he smoked.

“Down south about an hour,” Orsino said. “Near Centralia, kind of. But most of the time lately I live up in Tacoma with Robin and January. My dad owns some cows and a chicken farm and my mom is always fighting with him and it’s bad to be around. You?”

“I’m from here,” I said. “I’m in high school. One of the ones near the farms. It’s all rednecks. No gays really.”

“You go to that Compton House thing?” Orsino asked. “I know that’s like, a big thing for gay kids here. My therapist was trying to get me to go since I didn’t like the trans group in Tacoma.”

“I go,” I said. “I’m on the Speakers’ Bureau doing sex education at schools and public organizations and stuff.”

“Oh,” Orsino said. He waggled his eyebrows. “You know a lot about sex then?” He exhaled some of the smoke from his joint into my face and smiled.

“In the public health sense, anyway,” I said. “I know where to get condoms and free dental dams.” I paused. I really wanted to say something flirtatious, but wasn’t sure what to start with. “And I know from Delaney and Genet and White for the rest, though who knows what I’m missing in that sense.” I could feel my hands reach up and touch the bad little patch of stubble on my neck. I wished there was a mirror or a dark window around I could glance into to make sure I didn’t look like a fool. I crossed my legs and turned more towards Orsino.

“Don’t know who those guys are,” Orsino smirked. His eyes were really dark brown and the firelight was sort of reflected there. I couldn’t tell if he was making fun of me for the references or making fun of me for doing sex education as a teenager like some kind of Young Democrat. I didn’t know his vibe enough to tell.

“They’re all older. Delaney’s the one you’re supposed to read, I’m pretty sure,” I said. “Or at least, he’s the one most likely to have been read by hot people, from what I can tell.”

“Oh, it’s a book,” said Orsino. 

“He’s an author,” I said. “Samuel Delaney. Chip Delaney. Time Square Red, Time Square Blue. Science fiction and sexy gay memoir. Never mind. I’m stoned. I’m sorry.”

“He writes about sex and taught you sex, is what you’re saying.”

“Yeah.”

“Does he write about like specific kinks you were trying to communicate to me or something?”

I felt my face grow hot. “Public bathrooms,” I said. “Is one thing he’s very into. Not that I am. Unless you are. But that’s not—it’s just his prose.”

“Do you always give a … what’s it called. A bibliography. Do you always do that when someone asks you about sex?”

“Do you always ask boys about sex two seconds after meeting them?”

“Only when they’re hot,” Orsino said. “Then yeah, I do. Sorry, I can’t read social cues well. Was that out of line?”

“No.”

“You didn’t answer the question. You go around give out bibliographies about sex? Like that pink hair lady who draws that weird comic about sex toys online?”

“You’re the one named fucking Orsino,” I said. “Literary references are something you signed up for.” I took a hit from my pipe. I was starting to feel slightly more comfortable, but it wasn’t happening fast enough. I glanced at Orsino’s hands. The nails were short. His pinky nail on his left hand was painted black but none of the other fingernails were. There was a little stick-and-poke of a rabbit on the back of his right hand.

“Maybe I should change it,” he said. “To something butch. I can be Harry. Or Brandon.”

“A trade name,” I said. 

“A farm boy name.”

“Brandon is a G.O.P candidate name.”

“Now that’s trade.”

“What music do you like, Brandon?”

“Well, I’m here. OVID’s good. January can be a bitch a little bit, but it’s good music. And I like Dyke Drama and G.L.O.S.S, obviously. And LOONE. But also Mitski. And Blood Kennel and Limp Wrist and Dick Binge. But I also like The Shins.”

“My dad likes The Shins,” I said. “I have like a gag reflex about The Shins.” I could hear my voice, catty and faggy. “They’re such a dad band. How old are you, anyway?”

“Eighteen,” Orsino said.

“Okay. Well, for an eighteen-year-old you sure like dad bands.”

“It’s good music,” Orsino said. “You gotta listen to the lyrics. What about you?”

“I only listen to Ariana Grande,” I said, smirking at him stupidly and fluttering my eyelashes. I might have been being dumb, but he was still smiling at me, so I wanted to try being bolder. “And Gaga. I literally only listen to Just Dance by Lady Gaga and Pete Davidson by Ariana Grande every single day of my life. On repeat. I hate punk music.”

“Oh, really,” Orsino said in a flat-affect kind of voice. “You must be having a really interesting time here tonight then.”

“It’s really funny music,” I said. “And nobody is wearing platform boots or a rainbow pin or jewels or teal hair or anything.”

“I saw someone with teal hair,” Orsino said.

“That was me, actually. Earlier. I came with teal hair and an Ariana Grande tour shirt and changed.”

“Oh really,” Orsino said. He made eye contact with me and then slowly reached out and pulled at one of my curls. “I like what you’ve done with your hair since then. Insta-dye job to black. Insta-goth. It’s a really cute haircut on you, actually.”

“Thanks. I did it in the bathroom sink,” I said. “Just now. Using charcoal from the fire. I thought, oh no, everyone has dark hair or bad orangey dry bleach jobs. I have to fit in.”

“You’re doing good and blending in,” Orsino said. He finished the joint and ground out the end in the dirt under the stump. “Wait. Did you just neg me for my bleach job?” 

I felt my face fall. “What?”

“You said bad bleach jobs and looked at my hair. Were you making fun of me for my bleach job? You know, negging me? I know it’s all dry forest fire thatch up here.”

“I guess I did,” I said. I looked at his hair and back at his eyes. 

“Didn’t expect you to be acting like a straight English major goth at a sorority party over here,” Orsino said. “Calling all the girls ugly cause you think it’ll make them like you.”

I swallowed. “You’re right. That was cruel of me. I made fun of your name, earlier, too, and that was wrong. I shouldn’t be mean to cute boys.” 

“And my music taste.”

“That’s just a difference of opinion.”

Orsino looked at me like a cat playing with a mouse, but in a friendly way. “You were very cruel about my hair, though. I feel so small.”

“Sorry. It’s a bad habit. You can do two negs for me now. Tell me I’m ugly so you can hit on me better.”

“Hm,” Orsino said. He swung one hairy leg over the stump so half of him was in shadow under the trees and his right foot was nestled in the ivy and broken glass that lay all along the perimeter of the Goat Mansion yard. “Well, you aren’t ugly, so I can’t do exactly that. Maybe I want to save my negs. Find your weak spots and then go in for the kill.”

“I’m shaking,” I said. 

“Okay. I have one. My first one is that your mustache sucks. It’s like really cute that you’re trying it and I know what you’re going for, and the concept is attractive to me, and I like your philtrum, but it’s a bad mustache.”

“Ooh. Ouch. That stings,” I said. “I think it stings more because of all the compliments you threw in with it to cushion it.” But I scooted closer to him.

“I can do more.” He looked at me hard. “If you consent. I can be meaner about it.”

“About my mustache? Okay,” I said. “But I might be hurt and never speak to you again.”

“You’re trying to look like Freddie Mercury or something, right? You look like a summer camp counselor from the 1980s.”

“Ouch! You sure snatched my wig.” I put on a faggy voice. It kind of did sting to hear him say that, though also I knew that my mustache amounted to about twenty-four downy bad little hairs. But I guess I deserved it.

“See how it feels?” Orsino scooted a little closer. I found myself appreciating how broad his shoulders and torso were compared to mine. I looked at his smile. His canines were a little crooked.

“I actually am a summer camp counselor,” I said. “During the summer.”

“I’m Sherlock Holmes.”

“I can give you another weak spot,” I said. “I’m a nerd and I used to be a horse girl. Got any horse related disses?”

“It doesn’t count if you give them to me. That’s a self defense maneuver. Also I don’t know if you’re even telling the truth. It’s gotta be something you’re sensitive about.”

“Are you sensitive about your hair and your name?”

“Yes! I’m a punk. My image is very important to me. Talking shit on my hair was mean. You started this whole battle.”

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry already. But give me time to recover from your first cutting remark before you do any more to me.” I put away my pipe. I glanced briefly over at Ian. Jukebox had left and now he was talking to Opal and Robin a few feet away. I felt like socially I was obligated to join their shit instead of sitting here talking to this boy I didn’t really know yet. At least so I could be up on the whole deal with Miss San Juan and the Dusties or whatever the new band was called. “Do you want to meet my friends?” I asked Orsino, standing. 

“Sure,” he said. He pulled himself up. “Hey, you’re not really hurt about the mustache thing, right?” He wasn’t smiling as much any more.  “I was just playing around. Your mustache is fine. It looks like every other high school punk’s mustache. Better than some. Better than mine. And you’re cute. You pull it off pretty good.”

I realized he thought he had misstepped and now I’d lost interest. I felt a flutter in my stomach. 

“It’s a really sensitive topic for me because of my gender dysphoria,” I said in a deadpan voice. I walked over to Ian and Opal and Robin.

Orsino followed me, squinting a little as if he couldn’t tell if I was joking. He put his thumbs into the belt loops of his pants.“Are you serious?” He asked.  "I’m sorry, I…”

“I won’t ever forgive you. Hey, meet my friends. Here are my friends Opal and Ian, who I guess have a band now.”

Ian paused. He had been saying something to Robin about some music stuff. I wasn’t sure what equipment they were talking about but it had hertz. He looked over to Orsino and then me and raised his eyebrows. 

“Hey,” he said. “I’m Miss San Juan, otherwise known as Ian. You saw me set up and then saw my set just now. You were jumping. Didn’t get your name.”

“I was indeed jumping,” Orsino said. “It was a pretty good show for how messy it seemed like things were before it started. You did good. You have a great stage presence. I’m Orsino.” He held out his hand, arcing his arm out for a man-handshake. 

Ian placed his delicate little hand in Orsino’s big one like a princess greeting her security guard. “Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Orsino,” Orsino said again to Opal, holding out his hand again. For the first time I realized he was maybe kind of too stoned.

“I’m Opal,” said Opal. “I’m a drummer and use they/them pronouns and I’m really hungry for some trash food right now. Does anyone else want food?” They looked at me and then at Orsino. “You both look like you want some trash food.”

“Fuck yeah,” Orsino said. “Do we know when the next show starts, though?”

“There’s the gas station that doesn’t sell beer around the corner that way,” Opal said. “They have chips and sometimes hot dogs and pizza. We’ll be quick.”

“Let’s go,” Orsino said. He put his arm around my shoulders and set off toward the edge of the yard as if we had been walking together like that everywhere for years, as if he had touched me before.

“I don’t think I want food right now,” Ian said. “I’ll stay here.” He had a sort of quiet, wan tone in his voice that made me pause.

“Oh,” I said, and dug my feet into the ground to stop and pulled away from Orsino’s arm. I looked from Orsino to Ian. I didn’t want to leave Ian standing here alone right after his big set. “Ian, are you sure? You’ll need calories in a little bit.”

“I just feel like standing and smoking for a second in the quiet over here by the fence,” Ian said. 

“Quieter out by the gas station,” I said.

“I don’t feel like walking.”

“I’ll stay here too then,” I said. 

“I’m still going,” Orsino said. “I’m genuinely hungry.”

“Come on, then, big papa,” Opal said. “Let’s get some cheese fuel.” They turned their chair and wheeled fairly rapidly across the grass. 

[ladyhawk-s]

“Swing Baby Swing”

Relationships: Katsuki Bakugou/Ochako Uraraka, Bakugou Katsuki and Uraraka Ochako, Bakugou Katsuki and Kirishima Eijirou, (minor) Kirishima Eijirou/Mina Ashido

Characters: Katsuki Bakugou, Ochako Uraraka, Eijirou Kirishima, (minor) Mina Ashido

Rating: G

Word Count: 5823

Summary:  [1920s/Swing Dance AU] With others dancing around him, Katsuki falls into the trap of extras, questioning what makes it all special and worth it to them. That is until a girl comes up to him and shows him just a different side to world he was frowning on.

Author Notes: WOW OK THIS FIC TOOK ME FOREVER AND IT’S NOT EVEN GOOD BUT I PUT SO MUCH INTO IT SO I HAD TO SHARE IT. I was listening to a lot of electro swing and Kacchako was on my mind so....THATS WHERE THIS CAME FROM YAY! I tried to do as much research as I could and I know I didn’t really match up the lingo too much but PLEASE BEAR WITH ME ;.; I hope you guys like it! 

Read at AO3 ; Read at FF.net

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Diamonds dangled in a curved array of metal, creating diagonals and swirls as they twisted themselves to create an angelic chandelier that swayed under small breeze that whisped itself into the room. The glass reflected off each other, creating miniature rainbows that bounced off of the wooden dance floor that was already tainted with tracks and sweat as couples of all shapes and sizes intermingled in the fast past motions known as swing dance. Females’s back were dropped against men's’ arms as they felt the cold rush of gravity befall them before being torn back to the surface to begin pivoting on the balls of their heels. Jeers and cheers crushed themselves into the atmosphere and clicks of heels fell to the tempo of the saxophones that bellowed out their tune. It was rich and fulfilling and bodies of all kinds meshed together as they followed the beats the rhythms were resonating through the horns of the instruments. Smooth jazz and charisma came from the composers as their gruff vocal cords and strings flickered against each other to reach into people’s soul and cause their kicks to be amplified with each beat. Even those not having their movements be manipulated by the sound of music still bobbed their heads as they looked onwards the livelihood created in the ambience with straws of coke puckering their lips. From the bar, to the dancefloor, to the kitchen, to even the tables lined in a seperate area that wafted the smell of food in, this was the typical joint to be in with a starry sky that shined brightly under the crescent moon outside.

Seated at one of the rectangular tables in the separate room, Katsuki Bakugou and his trusted mate, Eijirou Kirishima, found themselves gorging on the food and alcohol that had been placed in front of them a mere few minutes ago. Well, more Eijirou than Katsuki himself. While the surrounding individuals silently chattered amongst themselves and shared soft giggles with each other, growls emerged from Eijirou’s throat as he ripped into the meat with his fangs, creating an animalistic look as his eyes deepened their red nature and swirled more in hunger as he continued to shove more down his throat. Even after a few bites, he would clutch onto the fragile glass cup a few inches away from him and leave tiny scratches as he brought the foaming liquid to his lips, allowing his irritated throat to sooth in its cool nature. This pattern repeated itself for a while, receiving looks from the people around them that signaled disgust for Eijirou and pity for Katsuki.

Which, Katsuki would be lying if he said he didn’t feel the same way looking at his friend eating like a cannibal under the dim light. His upper lip curled upwards as hunger dissipated from his stomach and turned into a vapor that somehow Eijirou managed to absorb into himself. The sight was repulsive, unnecessary, and only garnered laughs from surrounding individuals, giving another reason on Katsuki’s long list on why coming tonight as a bad idea in his book.

After looking on for a small while, Katsuki’s irritation grew more under his skin and a click from tongue echoed in his mouth as he grabbed the abandoned menu next to him and smacked it on top of Eijirou’s head, knocking him back to reality. “Oi, stop eating like an animal. All the girls you claimed to be here for are giving you the look like you’re going to eat them instead.” Katsuki reprimanded Eijirou as he slanted his eyes towards him, lines creasing his face that came off to be more menacing than normal.

At the last bite, Eijirou harshly swallowed it down, slightly coughing afterwards as a smile began to line his face and a small hearty giggle erupted from his curved up lips. “Hey, c’mon Katsuki! Lighten up a bit, will ya? I’m sure it’s only your bitter attitude making you seeing that.” He laughed out, unbuttoning his collared shirt to let out the heat from his reddening chest to escape into the air and allowing cool air to seep in and absorb the small sweat he gained from his glazed food binge. Once he let go one more button that clearly showed the defining lines of his muscles, Eijirou began to truly feel the laughable breeze tickling the skin of his chest and the reddening cheeks that had begun to splotch over his face soon camouflaged itself back to his normal tone.

Scanning the area with his glossy eyes, he managed to find a few of the girls Katsuki managed to describe and sent a wink their way that kissed their cheeks and left them blushing messes that giggled within each other. One girl in particular had a style of spunk and seductiveness with how her short, pink hair curled into the sides of her face and she showed her leader status by placing her hand right on top of her lips and then pushing it outwards to him while puckering them to blow him a message. To mimic her story, Eijirou pretended to stare into space with an exaggerated thoughtful gaze until a small light glistened in his eyes and a large smile spread on his face as he slightly stood from his seat and over arched his arm to grab onto something stationed in the air so he smack it straight on his cheek. The girl saw this image and both of them shared a moment before she used her index finger to call him over and claim her fingers as his. “See, Katsuki, told you it was just your attitude. Now if you excuse me, I got a pretty lady to catch!” he said enthusiastically as he left his spot in a disastrous haze, rattling the chair with a caught foot as he hurried on over to the lady that stole his attention. Closing in on her, the same hand that beckoned him over received a tender kiss as Ejirou twisted their hands in unison and strung her along onto the dance floor, energy already prepping in their steps as they traveled to the arena.

At the sight of their love making eyes, Katsuki sneered with rolled eyes as he took another bite of the food in front of him, hunger slightly returning back to his stomach with Eijirou finally out of sight. With placing a piece of meat into his mouth, he found himself in a lonesome position and decided to look around, gauging the place he had to drag his feet to. His eyes focused in on the surrounding dresses and chandeliers and although the place was highly illuminated with little glass fixtures that reflected off of each other, Katsuki could only see a deepened grayscale that left a sense of hell within all the divided fixtures his eyes separated. After each bite, he could only find more reasons to detest giving the place the time of day, hell even the food wasn’t worth the money he could have saved with his own cooking. This place was meant for the conventionals and Katsuki was anything but conventional.

Gagging one last piece down his hoarse throat, he pushed the chair back, creating a screeching sound as he unleashed his entrapment. With his facial expression screaming to make a path for him, residents of the club steered clear of his way while clutching their parts close to each other to protect themselves from his acidic glare as he walked towards the back where the bar laid itself out. Seeing their attitudes made Katsuki smirk as he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out several coins, only commanding a small “Coca-cola.” as he twisted his body around to see if there were any last minute stares. Once the coast was clear of Katsuki’s version of vermin, he returned back to the bar to only be greeted with the specifics he had looked for. Muttering a small grace of gratitude, he snagged the glass from the shiny table and kept it close to him as he allowed his feet to travel to wherever they deemed fit.

Which so happened to be right in front of the dance floor where matches of females and males intermingled with each other as legs kicked upwards in twirls and smiles spread from cheek to cheek in a form of unison. In Katsuki’s eyes, everything was simplistic and easy, nothing of what they were doing was anything special or to brag about. Sure, it was physically demanding and caused pants with beaded sweat drops to trickle down their body once a resting period commenced but nothing about it was noteworthy or something to be remembered down in history. It was boring and useless and Katsuki couldn’t help but scowl at everyone in what they considered was enjoyment when he felt everything but.

“My, I guess you’re more of a people watcher than a dancer, huh?” A small voice giggled out as it appeared right behind Katsuki and slowly moved more into his hemisphere as it got closer and closer. The sudden shock left him losing some balance and the drink in his hand sloshed as he took a step forward and a twisted head back. Behind him was a petite girl with bobbed brown hair that had frontal tuffs curling into the round nature of her face. Her brown eyes glistened under the chandeliers and screamed innocence yet control. The dress she wore formed her figure in polka dots on a red background as it snugged onto her waist and then flourished outward in a ring of fabric. Her petite heels clicked on the hardened floor as she moved closer to him, reaching to touch his arm to only have been met by flinches and scowls. For a second or two, her hand was upright in the air with an unaccompanied shocked expression, but then a small smile appeared on her lips as she placed her hand on top of it and suppressed the small giggle that erupted from her ribs. “Well, it seems like you don’t like people either. Quite the strange place for you to be in, huh?” she asked in a curious tone, her cheeks illuminating the bright nature within her.

Katsuki side glanced her before clicking his tongue harshly, leaving a tch sound to escape his vocal cords as he stared off in the other direction with splotches of red appearing on his face. He wasn’t going to lie, this had been a first time a girl of her kind came up to him so casually and actually stayed in his presence. Most girls, even if they swallowed their fears and came up to him, would be turned off and swing away from his aggressive behavior but this girl, something about him made her stay and even smile at him and his brain couldn’t comprehend it. However, he determined it was too early to judge her behavior and he shoved his free hand into his pocket while continuing the guzzle the drink as it’s sweet flavors trickled down his throat. “You’re one to talk. You seem to like people, why aren’t you out there and dancing with the rest of them?” he bitterly spit out,his face crunching more into itself as his thin lips pouted more and his eyes slanted inwards.

“Well I definitely tried to but I haven’t found a right dance partner. Though…” she drifted off as she gave Katsuki a sly look before subtly grabbing his coy arm and linking with her own. “I think I may have just found one.”

It took a few seconds for Katsuki to realize what her words were implying and it took a few more for his mind to compute how to act towards this. A maddening blush escaped from underneath his skin and turned it weak in red. Everything began to stiffen up and his emotions were crawling up his back as phrases and sentences meshed together in a frenzy of embarrassment and (as Eijirou would use) unmanliness. “Whatwhatwhat!? Where the fuck are you getting that from!?” he cursed out, his tone pitched angry enough that it caused a few to turn their heads at the mention of uncleanliness.

However, instead of giving a look of disgust like the rest, his attitude only caused her laugh even more and have her voice create a melody against the notes of jazz playing. “Oh my gosh, you’re so funny! No you’re definitely the one, no doubt in my mind about that!” she chirped out as she rounded her arm against his linked one and swished to be in front of him, her smiling expression contrasting his retaliating one. “True you don’t really have a happy face, but you have a build for a swing dancer for sure! Your muscles are lean but strong and I’m sure you can get a few kicks with those runner like legs you have.” she beamed out as sparkles lined her face, convincing even more that Katsuki was the only one for her.

Katsuki could feel his heart skipping a few beats as he internalized her words, feeling flattered by the shower of compliments she had given him. Yet, the weak feeling that lowered his immune system made him feel disgusted by how gushy his insides turned and he could only retch out his feelings. “Eh? Those are qualities that even those other boneheads have too. Go flock to them and leave me be.”

The girl widened her eyes for a small bit before a wave of strength dictated her features. “True but….I feel like you have that extra spunk and fire that they don’t have. I bet you could make your movements more passionate if you really wanted to and really beat out all of the pros here.” At her competitive statement, Katsuki’s ears perked up, intriguing themselves to her statement. Though, before he could back himself up with a witty response, she interrupted him again, invading even more of his personal space by lightly placing the pads of her fingers on his chest. “My name is Ochako! What’s your name?” Ochako asked lightly, her round eyes widening in inquisitiveness towards the male in front of her.

Her touch contained a feel of acid and Katsuki knocked it away before she could melt more of his emotions and twist them around in the softening hands genetics gave her. “It’s Katsuki but I don’t see why that’s so fucking important to you Round Face when last time I checked, you were on your merry way to get fucked off.” Katsuki cursed at her, spitting obscenities that flung back the acid she had made him feel earlier.

Yet, she acted as if he was filled with sunshine and rainbows instead of bitterness as she embraced his words with a genuine smile that made her cheeks more rosy and colored under the luminescent light. His phrase didn’t bother her in the slightest and in fact, only pulled her in closer to the bubble that he surrounded himself in. “Well it’s nice to meet you Katsuki!” Tugging on their link of arms, she signaled to him the eagerness to join the other mingling bodies on the floor and to make their being known to the others. “You definitely should come dance with me! I promise it’ll be a lot more fun than just grumpily standing on the side while sipping your Coke and giving people mean stares!”

Before, at least she could get away with the cute and round features of her face but this determined and forward attitude of hers was beginning to get under his skin slightly and it seemed as if no didn’t fit in her vocabulary. “What part of no means fucking nothing to you? Whatever is going out there is shitty and boring and I’m not about to mingle myself with a bunch of losers that find acting like pansies to be a form of fucking enjoyment.” Katsuki stormed off, hoping it would loosen her grip on his forearm and sulk her way to a boy with maybe frizzy hair and unkempt hygiene that would grip onto her better.

For a couple seconds, it seemed as if the plan Katsuki had formed was the one that was going into effect until her demeanor switched once more, catching him off guard. Widening her grin, she left go of Katsuki as she snatched away his quasi finished drink and placed on a nearby waiter’s dish. Ignoring his comments of disapproval, she grabbed onto his liberated hand and pulled him along with her, interweaving into the crowd of people “I’m sure you’re only grumpy because you’ve never done it before! You’re going to love it once you give it a shot!” she called out to him, her pitch soaring above the sounds of others that made herself more clear under the sea of people.

Her ferocious attitude only made him string along a bunch of curse words that welded perfectly into a sentence but his thoughts were immediately cut off by her rapid swing to bring them into a position and from the minute he truly gazed into her eyes, he found himself lost in a sea of dance that had stars twirling around them as his feet were being strung along by her commands. Any twist or turn she made, his body would follow suit, matching up to the rapid tempo she exhibited. Even though this mysterious girl that he met 5 seconds ago had the audacity to pull him into this trance, he could feel himself getting into an euphoric high with her and they complimented each other’s voyages as their bodies flourished into a unified wind gust that soared throughout the floor. Their harshening steps clicked against the wooden floor as their tempo increased with the crescendos the saxophones shared.

“See! I knew you’d be amazing at this!” she praised out with her words being chopped off by heavy pants as she gravitated closer to Katsuki so their chests would mesh together as they weaved around the curves of their body.

Katsuki, admittedly embarrassed by her words, shifted his pupils off to the side for a few moments as his upper lip curled back to its customary position. “Shut up Round Face.” he muttered behind his gritted teeth, his asperity showing at full force as he tried to camouflage the blush that was spreading at full force.

Which, instead of flinching at his attitude and sneering away from it, his endearing nickname and flustered face only made the girl clutch onto him tighter, her hands sewing into his with her body threading against his. “My name is Ochako and you are really amazing! I could dance with you all night!” she corrected meddled in a sea of praise as she gave a satisfied giggle, her rosy cheeks illuminating under the sparks he exhaled.

The blush he had tried to suppress soared back in full force and his teeth gritted against each other as words formulated in his diaphragm, trying to find the voice to say them. Different phrases were teased with his vocal cords, some more on the pleasant end with gentlemanly convictions and sweet language while others were mean and disgusting, making him come off as a sailor that just docked on the shore recently. His mind fired the cells to get him to use the former phrases but with his erratic and nervous behavior, the latter is what ended up spewing out, spitting out a form of acid that lingered on her aura. “Well I hope a new guy comes along because this is shit.” he growled out, though his eyes revealed the hypocrisy within his words as he continued to lung into action with her, occasionally extending her outwards and then twisting her back into his arms where they would resume their quick footed steps.

While normal girls would have rolled their eyes in their sockets and leave a tattoo of red from their palms, Ochako was different and shaped her teeth into a giddy smile as the gloss on her lips sparkled against her face. Her hands curled around his own even more, feeling the stark difference between her soft and delicate hands against his calloused and roughened ones. “I think I’m good with you. I’m actually am working up a sweat with you which is something I can’t say about others. Plus…” she drolled out, her eyes turned sly as she shoved her face close to Katsuki’s face, reading all the stories his creases told. “I can definitely tell you’re liking it!”

“What!? The fuck!? No I’m not-”

“There’s no need to lie about it! I can totally tell!” she gleamed out as she let go one hand and poked at one of the dimple that left a small dent by the corner of his mouth. “You’re definitely having fun! I can see it from the smile you’re giving.” Ochako chirped out as she tangled her hand with his again and continued to string him along, enjoying the heated dance they were engaging in.

Though, her enjoyment made her completely oblivious to the widened eyes Katsuki sported on his face, his irises dilating inwards as shock of reality electrified him and shook him in his core. This had been a first time that someone looked past the outer shell that had carvings of his intense features and saw the softening insides that filled his hollowness. And it didn’t help that she had the power yank a smile out of him that fell under his radar and temporarily steal his consciousness for a bit.

Katsuki’s mouth was left a jar for a few seconds, completely iced in a gaping position and they were beginning to press into each other to swallow the saliva holding back from speaking when Ochako interjected and replaced his words with her own. “We’ve even gotten a lot of eyes towards us.” she whispered to him, prompting Katsuki to twist his neck slightly away from her and notice the eyes that latched onto their backs. Yet the stares weren’t like the ones he usually got, in fact, it was as if they twisted completely 180 degrees. They were filled with admiration and a sense of jealousy as they wished they could rip their shoes away and place themselves in it. Their smiles had a veil of control as the duo’s movements controlled where their irises would be placed and how fast the tempo of the hand claps would go.

It felt surreal and everything became a blurry mesh as Katsuki got lost in the crowd, his chest beginning to become warm and friction happening between his skin and fabric as his eyes shifted everywhere. With the more swipes he was making, the more a fire was beginning to ignite in his core and it fueled the flames of his confidence and arrogant competitiveness as a carnivorous grin twitched itself to the surface, creating a demonic aura around him. His head finally whipped back to her and the tips only creased more upwards into his dimples as he crushed her hands into his. “Well, what do you say about giving these shit stains a show, Round Face?” he muttered to her, his voice cracking under the bursting flames that ran dormant in his chest.

To Katsuki’s amusement, Ochako took herself back for a second before matching to his expression, though she contained a more vibe of determination and vitality than the crimson fire that crisped in her partner’s eyes. “Mmmhhhmm! Let’s do it!” She sharply nodded back, creating a tension of boldness that could be felt from vibrations that tingled out of the paws of her fingers.

And without a doubt, the minute their mutual understanding arose to the surface, their steps began to fasten and glide through the wooden floor as a quickening tempo could be heard from the bottom of their feet.

As more and more eyes landed on them, the duo could feel the pressure beating down their backs while their legs carried on with the tempo of the handclaps that began to form. Space liberated for them as they crosshatched their steps, their hips swinging to the velocity of the saxophone. Ferociously making sure their fingers stayed in their alliance, Ochako kicked her feet backwards, moving her body to follow their arms extended fully outwards, locking their elbows in place before bringing them back in. Repeats of this move happened a number of times until Katsuki switched it up and allowed only one arm to extend outwards with Ochako before spinning her into his arm. The minute he could feel her chest pressed against his, his liberated hand encased itself at the small of her back and lifted her from the ground, first cradling her in a princess position before whipping her to rotate on his back. It was the beginnings of acrobatic arts that only the toughest could pull and toes lightly touching the ground indicated the prosperous outcome that befell on them. With the night continuing on and on, Katsuki and Ochako only pushed themselves more in the feat of dance, causing inspiration to spark in others as they attempted the moves they did. Though, as much as the others tried to copy, their energy all got seeped into the chaotic good duo as they continued to lock and bend their elbows as they brought each other in and out. Moves of spinning around Katsuki’s muscular body frequented their style and it left both in smiles that had them gasping in laughter with their experiments on twists and turns.

As each song passed, the clock on the wall passed as well and the last song bellowed out it symphonies as they ended with a chime of a bell to indicate the closing. Boos and disappointment could be heard within the crowd, even daggers sent by Katsuki’s eyes were digging themselves into the band to make them continue on with the show. However, with a squeeze on his hand and a resting touch on his arm, the nod of command Ochako gave made him succumb to her wishes and Katsuki gave out one last gruff as he exited with her.

Hand in hand, the duo left the rustic building, sweat dripping down the sides of their faces as amassed themselves with the crowd that was slowly heading out into the street. Heavy pants escaped their chapped lips as they stared at the blurry backs of participants and everyone’s laughter felt like they were submerged underwater as it felt gargled in their ear drums.

Soon though, they could feel the cold breeze whipped against their skin and a dark night overlooked them with bulbed lights that latched onto them like comfortable blankets. The ignited fires from earlier began to die down, leaving only slight sparks electrifying their pores as the frigid air frictioned against the heat. Ochako’s drooped head suddenly brought itself back and she inhaled the crystallized air into her lungs, icicles forming on the insides of her tissues that had her temperature lowering in degrees. Veering her eyes towards Katsuki, she gave him a narrow smile that had breaths disrupting the curves her lips were formed in. “Tonight was definitely a lot of fun.” Ochako managed to pant out as she tightened her hold onto Katsuki.

With his breaths matching hers, it took him a couple seconds longer to be able to move his focus onto her and he could feel his lungs hitching as he saw her glimmering face against the deepened lights above them. Even though sweat was amassed by her face and her features lingered more downwards than normal with creases aging, her angelic features still outshined the rest and it dazzled the irises located deep within his sphere. No matter how she was twisted or turned, she was still a diamond that somehow revealed herself to Katsuki and small piece of his heart clenched in the gratitude that out of all the men she could have approached, it was his arm that she pulled out along with hers onto the floor. It was their heels that clicked together, their bodies that twirled around each other, their breaths that got mixed in a tornado of serendipity, their eyes that sparked between them as they created tread marks that left traces of their work for generations to see. Tonight they created history that would linger into the minds of everyone who set eyes on them. However, even though gratitude and enjoyment wanted to escape and mix with her euphoric semblance, it was as if Katsuki felt a fuse short circuit in jitters and explosions bubbled in his core, allowing his mouth to ramble on and on. “Yea, maybe for you and the other fucking extras here. But you’re going to have to drag my fucking corpse to get me to step another foot in this shit hole.” He grumbled towards her as his hand found a void in his pocket and dug itself deeper in, allowing his delinquent attitude to be seen in the redness of cheeks covered in sweat.

Silence of their voices overtook them a bit as surrounding traffic noises and hearty breaths covered them in a blanket of white noise. There was a small inch of astriction that hung between them and slowly, the velvet from Ochako’s hand slowly became a foreign concept as her fingers liberated from his. Recoiling from that sudden motion, Katsuki’s features creased together as his nose scrunched up in familiar apprehension, animosity resurfacing back from the past. Weakness began to fill behind his eyes, making him needing to divert them before he allowed her to see that. He had thought she maybe had been different, special even, maybe someone could read past him and understand his mannerisms but she was just like the rest of the extras in the world. She had merely used him as a pawn and that attention seeking aspect of him sought after it like a child and it only made him bitter that he allowed her to get under him like that and rip out his skin and toss it out like-

“You know, you don’t always have to act like a tough guy all the time. It’s ok to admit you had fun once in awhile!” Ochako spoke out, shattering Katsuki’s thought trail with her sunshine filled hammer. Intrusiveness crawled in his mentality and it only intensified when he felt the soft return of her fingers lingered on his, though this time, a piece of paper pressed against his palm, causing an immediate contraction to secure the contents. Moving his head to scope out the foreign object, his cheek was greeted with a kiss that caressed by her lips. His cells sensed the glowing and candied essence of her lips and the hinges of his jaw metaphorically broke as his jaw began to sling downwards in a jolt of electric love that radiated when she amplified it by surrounding his fist with the cushions of her fingers. Slowly, Ochako freed herself from his skin and allowed the red on her face to deepen as dimples accompanied the lustrous smile that formed against her teeth. “I really hope to see you again! Maybe if you free next week too, we can meet again.” Leaving one last trace of her mystifying stroke that laid idle on his arm, she swiveled away from him, her polka dress matching her circular motions as it traced along her as heels snapped her exit.

With Katsuki’s hand crawling up to delicately touch the relics of her kiss, he watched her gracefully walk away, her legs picking up as if she was skipping in excitement and exburencence. When he saw her introduce herself to the interiors of the bus that rolled in, sensibility popped back to him and his gaze lowered down as his fingers unraveled the crumpled note left in his fist. Exposing it contents revealed a small rectangular strip of paper that filled the blank spaces with her cursive writing that spelled “Ms. Ochako Uraraka aka Round Face :)” and right below that followed a series of numbers that could be interpreted to be a telephone line of communication to get access to her.

Katsuki, not aware of what any of this meant or even how to react to this sudden bold move done by a female (usually it was done the other way around), left him lost and confused for a temporary moment as he stared at her dissipating figure. Time slowed down as smears from his peripheral zoomed past him while his corpse stayed stagnant and frozen from the magic of Ochako’s presence. It took the hand of Eijirou slamming down on his shoulder and his rumblings of laughter to jolt Katsuki back to the present moment where he could feel the balance against the balls of his feet.

“Hey buddy! Sorry for ditching ya back there! Seemed as if you had a lot of fun.” Eijirou rolled into his ear, commenting on the dancing he saw Katsuki partake in earlier, before his gaze turned to the crumpled mess that formed itself against Katsuki’s palm. “And that maybe you go lucky?” he sneered as he jabbed Katsuki’s side with his pointy elbow, finally showing his wingman qualities at the last minute.

At the word “lucky”, Katsuki’s ears and nose released a comical and metaphorical steam that expressed the release of bashfulness from the lewd images that had crossed his mindi. All of it involved Ochako and pivots around him as the buttons in front slowly came undone with each arch her back subjected itself to. Needing to compose himself the suppress the thoughts of the girl that stole his dignity together, Eijirou was greeted with mumblings of how the place was terrible, the food seemed like it forgotten it’s expiration date, and even how the people seemed mindless and only knew one side of the dimension. Yet, all these complaints seemed to go against his true feelings as he kept twisting and turning the paper within his fingers in hope that the numbers who sprout out and give him the clear message that he needed to call her.

Muddling out Eijirou’s teasing and cheery attitude, Katsuki flickered his eyes once more towards the inked numbers before thrusting his buddy from his proximity and walking the opposite direction. With cramming his fists again in their natural position within his pockets, he picked up his feet in exaggerated trudges to give the image of bitterness that was tanged with saltiness as he muddled curse words and distasteful phrases. Yet, even though his exterior screamed fire and disdain, if one looked closer, under the fabric of his pocket, the veins on his hands protruded out as he clutched onto the note harder, creating moon shapes with his nails as a maddening love arrows began to stab into his back, indicating love at first dance.

[je-suis-clarisse]

They had actually put her in a coffin. If Clarisse du Volde hadn't been so enraged and terrified, she might have laughed. If there was anything that she hated, it was that. She had fought like hell when the hunters had put her into it. Using every last bit of her strength, she had fought. Punching, biting, kicking, ripping into their flesh. However, blood laced with a paralytic had rendered her immobile. She was so angry that she could barely think straight but when they'd produced the black box with the red satin lining, she'd found her voice and screeched bloody murder. The higher she made her voice strain, the more painful it would become to the hunters and she did her best to pierce their eardrums. Unfortunately for her, one of the men put on brass knuckles and had knocked her out. When she'd awoken, her mouth had a gag in it and she couldn't move. She tried her best to control her breathing, to forget where she was. She loathed small spaces; she had since she was still human. Colin Francis O'Callaghan, that rotten bastard, had a closet in their home specifically for his rifles and hunting paraphernalia. But when he discovered his then 16-year-old bride wasn't willing to indulge his roughness and begged for tenderness and love, he threw her in there, leaving her for hours on end. It was small and dark and she had scratched at the door until her hands were bloodied, her throat sore and her eyes swollen shut from crying. He took perverse pleasure in catching a rat from the barn and sticking it in with her, listening to her screams as the creature bit at her. To say that she loathed small enclosed areas was a massive understatement. When she awoke after mercifully passing out, Clarisse found that once again, she couldn't move. Looking around, she was on a gurney, restraints keeping her bound to the surface of the uncomfortable contraption. Using her strength, she twisted but the more she pulled, the tighter they became. "For f***'s sake!" She hissed, staring up at the ceiling, the fluorescent lights hurting her eyes. She still felt dizzy and it was in that moment she noticed the needles in her arms. The familiar feeling of burning rose within her but Clarisse let it go; not willing to let that take over yet. If they were hoping for a massacre, she wouldn't disappoint, but it couldn't happen. not yet.   "You didn't think we'd ever get you, did you, Miss du Volde?" A man spoke, his tone cool and amused as he looked down at her. Green orbs focused on his face as he wheeled the gurney into a lab, propping it up and leaning against it so his face was inches from her own. It took everything in her not to come back with a smart ass remark about the stench of his breath. "You had to know it'd happen. You are a creature of particular interest. A vampire, of course. But we all know your secrets. Forgive me, my name is Dr. Francois Hetrick. I know you pride yourself on your manners." "Go f*** yourself," Clarisse countered, trying to pull her arms from the vices they had enclosed them in. "Do not assume you know anything about me. Your name is irrelevant to me. I have no secrets. My life is and always has been an open book. All anyone has to do is ask me." "Oh? You have a weakened healing factor, you're a daywalker and you're a Lazarus Soul, aren't you?" The man continued, the smug expression on his face infuriating her, but she remained silent. These weren't secrets. They were truths and as she said, were anyone to ask her, she would tell the truth. She wasn't afraid of admitting what she was. Remaining calm, she watched as he walked back and forth. Catching a glimpse of his thoughts, she resisted the urge to grimace; He was planning to use her as a lab rat, if you will, and then discard her as if she were trash. The absolute wrath and anger she felt were threatening to erupt and try as she might, she was finding her will diminishing. She couldn't fight it off that much longer. Motioning to the others in the room, they released her hands, though her gaze remained upon the doctor. He lifted a wooden stake from a tray and traced along her jaw with it. "Such a pretty beast," he mused, tone full of amusement, letting the tip move down lower. "It'll be a shame to see this body die. But...you don't really want to live. You're a creature. You need blood to live. That's no sort of life. I could end your suffering." He whispered in her ear and it took all of her good sense not to sink her fangs into the base of his throat and to drain him before his colleagues. "...I would to God that you could kill me, sir," Clarisse hissed, her eyes mere slits, holding her collar down to expose the flesh above her heart now that they had freed her hands. Raising her hand to his wrist, she gripped it firmly enough to make him cringe. "Go ahead. Stake me, if you will. Stab me. Destroy me. No? Your hand is trembling; Coward! You say you could end my suffering but you lack the courage. Kill this body and I will simply be reborn in another. It is my curse. And if you don't kill this one? I merely suffer. For I do not heal as others of my kind do--but you knew that already, of course. But suffering will only strengthen me in the end. And you should pray that my family doesn't come looking for me." Not that they should. She could handle herself. Sort of. If she could, she wouldn't be here. Perhaps she should train more. Releasing him, she snickered as he left the room. His pulse revealing that he was frightened and perhaps he'd gotten more than he bargained for. Cracking her neck, she stretched out with almost feline precision, eyes darting around to the coterie of scientists who looked at her apprehensively. She could hear each of their thoughts, none of them good. It pissed her off to the point of no return, particularly when she heard two of them mention, "doesn't she have a daughter?" Any regard for their lives that she had, was gone within that moment. Laying back on the gurney, she closed her eyes. They ought to have realized the danger when Clarisse simply smiled as the scientists approached her. Truly, they simply wanted to press more needles into her for samples of her DNA and her blood. However, the threat that they may come for Sigyn had sealed their fates. They were so involved with what they were doing that they didn't seem to notice that her eyes, known for their emerald hue had opened once again and had turned to pure obsidian. Her anger coursed through her body, every nerve coming to life as though she had stuck her finger into a socket. Her body temperature began to rise and she knew that fighting this off would be ridiculous. Images of fire came to mind and that was all it took. Turning her hands upwards, palms exposed. She laughed wickedly as they began to scream, needles dropping to the floor, blisters forming on their palms and the flesh beginning to char. The stench of it would have been overwhelming to anyone else, but in this enraged state, it only encouraged her. The screams that came with it only served as an amusing soundtrack. Dr. Hetrick stared in awe of her from behind a pane of glass where he watched from his office above them; he had never expected such a show of power from her. He had no idea she was capable of such. For a man who prided himself on his intelligence and the words of his hunters, he hadn't anticipated this. Looking down at her, he felt his blood run cold as he realized that she was no longer in the lab. "I have always loathed Doctors," she began from his doorframe, crossing the room in a few swift steps. His words died on his tongue as she gripped him, fangs extended to the full length, pressing through the flesh and tearing through the muscle and sinew until they found their target. His blood flowed freely into her mouth and rather messily, she fed on him. But it wasn't enough to drain him. Balling up her fist, she thrust it into his chest cavity, shattering bone and gripped his heart. She relished the feeling of its final beats in her grasp. How many others had he tortured in a quest for immortality? He would not do this again. thump, thump. thump, thummmp... thump... Ripping it from where it once rested she tossed it on his desk, stabbing a scalpel through it. A warning to those who came upon the scene. She found the files with her name on them and destroyed them. It was as if she were never there. Save for the pile of bodies that were strewn about the facility. She could hear others and she moved about, finding other immortals and those gifted mortals locked in varying rooms. What a sight she must have made as she smashed the security device that unlocked all of the doors. She said nothing as they each ran out towards freedom. She herself was suddenly exhausted and she leaned against the wall. Despite the intake of blood, her projection of power had taken its usual toll. She blinked as the familiar visage of her brother appeared. Hands in his pockets as he slowly approached his adopted sister, Erlik Khan's brow furrowed and knelt beside her. She flinched as he touched her, still transitioning back to her normal state. "Risse, it's me. It's Erlik." "Brother mine." Her voice was cold and emotionless as she looked at him. Eyes still dark, though hints of their normal hue were starting to come through. "It's okay." He seemed startled by the scene before him. Granted, he knew their time was up; did he know it previously that it was her who had caused it? He was the Horseman of Death, after all. "You're okay," he reassured her, looking her over. Hands and face drenched in coagulating blood. It seemed as though he were making sure none of it was her own. "I'm okay," she spoke, her voice back to its usual tone, though softer than usual. "C'mon, let's go home," he nodded, helping her up. "I'm ruining your shirt," she gasped, feeling badly instantly. "You can buy me a new one. Don't worry about it, sis." Erlik reassured her. "Or we can make the Puss buy it." He looked at her, knowing any mention of Xavier would calm her down. She dearly hoped he never questioned her about this. The guilt of harming so many people in one night was beginning to affect her. "Hold on, Risse." His arm slinked around her waist and she brought her arms around him tiredly, leaning her head on his shoulder, and before she knew it, they were home again. How had he done that? She was too tired to ask and as soon as her feet touched the ground, she passed out. Sitting up with a start, she looked around the room. Around her on the bed were the puppies Xavier had gifted her for Christmas, Miko, Beau, and Arno, along with her two French bulldogs. Sigyn was in her room, listening to music. Xavier wasn't home, though he must have been as there was a bouquet of sunflowers settled on the table beside the bed. And at the end of the bed sat Erlik. "Please tell me you have pants on," she teased, rubbing at her head. She felt so weak and her head throbbed. "This time," he retorted with a cheeky grin that made her chuckle. "So...what the hell happened?" He asked. "I was out...I wasn't even hunting," she began. "And then, this group of hunters captured me. They ganged up on me and shot me with something. Then, they stuck me in a coffin..." she explained, grateful as he handed her a large mug. She didn't have to ask what it was. She was grateful as she sipped at it. Going through the entire thing was almost theraputic...but it also struck her that she had killed a dozen people, some who were probably just there to do their job. Focusing on that hurt her heart. She had told James Kriet that she wasn't a monster; but her behavior had proved the potential to become one. Erlik patted her knee. "You just did what you had to to survive. You weren't in the book." It was his way of saying, 'It wasn't your time yet.' A small comfort, but still. Putting it aside, she smiled gently. "Thank you for bringing me home," she spoke appreciatively. "No prob. I wouldn't feel too bad, Risse." "Why?" "Cause 'parently a lot of people wanted to take out that bastard and his crew. You did good. No one's been able to infiltrate them for the last few years. They were too well organized. And you took 'em out and saved about 40 something people--human and immortal alike." Eyebrows lifted in delight at that news. It made her think of something she had heard years prior--kill one, save a thousand. It was something she had heard a Jewish woman say during the second world war; a paraphrasing of a verse from the Talmud. "he who saves the life of one man saves the world entire." And for that...Clarisse felt some level of peace.  

[ruffoverthinksthings]

Can you please do the ship meme for audrey and Harriet

1.Whois the most affectionate?:

Audrey.

Harriethas lived most of her life believing that your “lovely wenches”are largely, or exclusively for sex, that there’s something in itfor them outside of your love and affection, and that they will “sailoff for better shores” at any given moment.

Tohave someone that will willingly stay by her side through the goodparts, legitimately and frequently seek out her company, and valueloyalty and fidelity towards Harriet specifically is new to her.

It’sstrange and confusing, but in the good sense.

2.Bigspoon/Little spoon?:

Harrietis big spoon, Audrey is little spoon.

Harrietis also generally very physically possessive of Audrey as a matter ofhabit, “keeping close to me what wandering hands might want to takefrom me.” Seeing as there’s few who’re willing to (eitheremotionally or physically) steal Audrey away from her, thisleads to a lot of Harriet casually being close to her, holding herhand, and draping herself over her like “I was the season’shottest new fashion accessory: mostly reformed descendant ofpirates.”

3.Mostcommon argument?:

Harriet’smore illegal, irresponsible, and self-destructive habits and personalissues, such as her alcoholism.

Audreyhas gotten her to make her drinking habit more “palatable anddecent” (and to her mild shame, into looking for relief at thebottom of the bottle every once in a while) with various rules andconditions that Harriet obliges most of the time. To name a few,there’s not drinking in certain public areas, always having adesignated driver to get her home safely and a means to lockeverything but her phone’s emergency calling feature when she’swasted, and changing her drink list to much more “refined”choices like cocktails, spirits, and fermented products that weren’tbrewed in a crusty, partially rotted out barrel with bilge water.

However,whether or not she’s musing over how stupidly named yetdelicious mudslides are, the end result is still Harriet goingabout doing stupid, dangerous, and/or irresponsible things whileunder the influence, frequently ending with her waking up somewheremysterious without her “peg leg.”

Fortunately,a knee-down prosthetic leg is very easy to find and bereturned to you when a large and noticeable component is a smallcutlass with Harriet’s name inscribed on the blade.

4.Favoritenon-sexual activity?:

R.O.A.R.training and traditional sword fighting for fun, with a bit ofunarmed self-defense and martial arts to mix things up. Since Audreywill “argue till the Blues find yer corpses pointing fingers ateach other like they were swords,” they solve most of their debatesand conflicts through combat.

5.Whois most likely to carry the other?:

Harriet,in spite of her having a prosthetic leg, and sometimes even withoutit, though Audrey complains loudly about the over-the-shoulder tacticthis requires, along her having to help balance Harriet while shehops around.

“I’msupposed to be able to swoon or faint while in your arms, notpitching my weight around to keep your balance!”

“D’youwant to get yer pretty little arse home, or d’you want the both ofus to sit here and wait for someone to get us un-marooned fromwherever the fuck we washed up now?!”

6.Whatis their favorite feature of their partner’s?:

Harriet’smuscular arms are Audrey’s favourite, for looking at, or especiallybeing handled with. “I got cannons lined up port and starboard,best ye think thrice ‘fore you fuck with me.”

Inpolite company, it’s Audrey’s lips, in impolite company, it’sher breasts; the courtesy and not incurring Audrey’s wrath beside,Harriet loves both equally, just in different ways.

7.What’sthe first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings forthe other?:

Harrietstarts being more specific and exclusive with her flirtations, seeingas “ye Auradon wenches like to feel like yer the only treasuresthat can catch a pirate’s eye.” There’s also floating about theidea to the other VKs in the hopes that she can subtly get themtalking about their relationships, as her pride does not let her askoutright.

Audreypanics, questions everything, makes serious, practical considerationsabout whether she would be able to let alone want to pursue arelationship with Harriet, and consumes far more piratefantasy romance novels than is probably healthy.

“Fuck’ssake, and here I thought us Villain Kids were a thirsty bunch...”when Harriet first learns of the shockingly prolific and variedmarket for “Villainous Romance” novels.

8.Nicknames?& if so, how did they originate?:

“(Me)Lovely Wench,” or just “(Me) Love,” for Audrey, “(Me)Treasure,” and “Yer Highness” are the ones Harriet uses forAudrey, the former three being her usual terms of endearment towardsher exes, and the last being because Audrey is actually royalty, andorders her around a lot like she was one of her loyal servants.

“Notentirely wrong, but not entirely right, either.”

“Honey,”“Sweetie,” “Darling,” and all the usual terms of endearmentbecause Audrey is the “Classic Princess” sort of girlfriend, butthanks to Harriet’s influence, she has also expanded her book toinclude “Fuck-Face,” “DPOS (Drunken Piece OfShit,” and the “Most Daring Pantie Raider in all ofAuradon.”

Ofthe latter half, the first is used verbally or textually, the secondis used as an acronym in informal written communication like text,and always spoken in full otherwise, and the third came fromHarriet’s habit of stealing Audrey’s panties after they have sex,and hiding it in places that forces her to wear or buy new ones, or“sail with a lovely breeze between her legs.”  

9.Whoworries the most?:

Audrey.

It’spart and parcel with her neurotic tendencies, and her hyper-focus andcare on her public image and reputation. Harriet is much morelaissez-faire, but then again, she prides personal freedom first ofall and was always comfortable with the fact that she will bedespised and feared by pretty much everyone.

“It’skind of the dream of any Pirate Queen, to have that kind ofreputation preceding ye.”

10.Whoremembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?:

Harriet,surprisingly enough.

Asa Captain who has no qualms getting down with the crew when it’s“all hands on deck,” she’s got a very strong memory forspecific details, things she needs to do, and what happened recently,largely because she and the rest of the Villain Kids move fast, inkand paper that you can write on is a precious commodity, and theyfrequently get soaked and unreadable in rain or particularly nastysea storms.

Pleasemind that after getting to Auradon, she’s gotten a lazy streakabout her now that she can piggyback on all these people who arealready paid to do things for her. Back on the Isle, she couldn’treally afford leaving a job unfinished because no one wants to do it,lest the entire section of Hook’s own ship she controlled at themoment collapse, or her siblings get the advantage in their wrestingit from her.

Hernewfound laziness and eagerness to “delegate” bothers Audrey, butshe doesn’t complain lest she appear hypocritical to Harriet.

11.Whotops?:

Dependson who “wins” during foreplay and/or the duel beforehand.

12.Whoinitiates kisses?:

Harrietdoesn’t really do the rest of the affectionate actions likepublicly or privately declare that she loves Audrey, but if there’sone thing she loves doing, it’s publicly “claiming” and showingoff her latest treasures.

13.Whoreaches for the other’s hand first?:

Harriet,again, with the possessive nature of hers, and her paranoia of peopletaking her “treasures.” It becomes a lot less about security andmore about affection as time goes on, though.

14.Whokisses the hardest?:

Audrey.

Thereis a LOT of repressed and much more blatant and aggressive sexualityinside her, and she was keen on doing most everything she could tokeep whatever boyfriend (or in this case, girlfriend) she had withher.

Herreasons have gotten less superficial and selfish over the years, butHarriet still has this thought at the back of her head, the one thattells her to watch for Audrey pulling out a knife while she has herdistracted with the force and enthusiasm of her kisses.

Therehave also been some rather enlightening conversations with Benand Chad, over drinks and without cameras trained on them.

15.Whowakes up first?:

Harriet.

“It’sthe dawn of a new day, time to live it to the fullest!”

16.Whowants to stay in bed just a little longer?:

Audrey.

“No,it is not! Now shut up, get back in bed, and letme get the rest of my beauty sleep!”

17.Whosays I love you first?:

Harriet,because she’s already comfortable with her sexuality of “mosteverything that lives, breathes, and moves,” and because “I loveyou” doesn’t really carry as much weight in the Isle as it doesin Auradon.

Sidenote, she found the way Audrey panicked and got flustered quiteamusing.

18.Wholeaves little notes in the other’s one lunch? (Bonus: what does itusually say?):

Audrey.

Theyusually have reminders about important things that Harriet needs toshow up to like doctor’s appointments, public events, andoccasionally a “treasure map,” with specific instructions forHarriet if she wants to get to Audrey’s “treasure chest” anytime soon.

19.Whotells their family/friends about their relationship first?:

Harriet.

It’sreally nothing new for Captain Hook to hear that his kids have hookedup with someone new—he was guilty of it himself, of course.

20.Whatdo their family/friends think of their relationship?:

CJand Harry both silently make bets about how long it’s going tolast, and start thinking up angles on how to exploit it to theiradvantage, such as kidnapping Audrey and using her as a bargainingchip to get Harriet to their bidding.

(Theystopped doing it after they learned the hard way that Audrey can a bea VERY unpleasant hostage, whether or not you gag and tie her andthrow her in the deepest, most secure brig you have. She will find away, she always does.)

Hookis disappointed but understanding that she’d want to dedicateherself to someone exclusively, and hopes that it won’t hamper hisdreams of his children going on to concur Auradon, and have the Hookname live on in infamy once more.

Audrey’sfamily are all incredibly chill with it, save perhaps hergrandmother. They’ve all really gotten over the initial shock ofVKs dating AKs, and in some ways, they’re happy that Harriet isgetting Audrey to be more daring and independent, be her own personrather than just be someone’s “prize.”

Theother AKs are concerned, Ben especially with how he knows Audreyspecifcally, but they don’t really question True Love, or ones thatare Generally Good.

TheVKs wholeheartedly and passionately warn Harriet against datingAudrey because she’s several shades of problematic, but inhindsight, it’s a good thing that Harriet ultimately listens to herown thoughts than others’.

21.Whois more likely to start dancing with the other?:

Harriet.

Inthe wake of her losing her original ankle in a horrific accident, shemade it a point that she would never be handicapped by herhandicap. As a result, she trained for long hours, getting around andeventually performing acrobatics with her “peg leg,” one of hermost common exercises being forcing herself to dance to whatever seashanty the bards in her crew were playing now. It was a gruelingcouple of years, sincethe initial prototypes were prone to breaking and injuring her fromstress, excessive use, and lack of maintenance.

ToHarriet, dancing in public is a form of therapy for the lingeringshame and the difficulties of being an amputee, proudly showing offto others that she’s not any less than anyone for having one lesslimb, and if she gets to show off Audrey and the two of them have aroaring good time?

Well,that’s just the new treasure map hidden inside the chest’s lid.

22.Whocooks more/who is better at cooking?:

Audrey.

WhileHarriet has cooked for herself and others, her skills are of the “howcan I make this not terrible and actually edible” variety, whileAudrey has had rigorous training and habit of cooking, thanks to her(fairy) godmothers Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather enlisting her helpwith chores.

23.Whocomes up with cheesy pick up lines?:

Harriet.

“Wasyer mother a siren? ‘Cause that voice of yours’ got me changingcourse to yer twin peaks.”

Incase you were wondering, “twin peaks” is Harriet’s slang forboobs, especially when she’s got her face between them.

24.Whowhispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear duringinappropriate times?:

Harriet.

“How about you and me sail offinto the night, head down somewhere nice and quiet, just you and me?”Harriet says whenever she’s coaxing Audrey into leaving boring ortedious events, frequently followed by vivid descriptions ofher ideas for the moment.

25.Whoneeds more assurance?:

Audrey.

Harriethas her times when she’s unconfident or unsure, but she gets overthem quickly, as she’s always needed to put on a proud face for heryounger siblings and her crew. Meanwhile, Audrey’s whole worldtends to come falling apart when something comes along that provesthat she and her life isn’t as perfect and flawless as she thinksit should be.

26.Whatwould be their theme song?:

“SheWill Be Loved” by Maroon 5.

Audreyhas only really dated Ben her whole life. What she has of herromantic experience is strictly limited to a boyfriend that has thepatience of a saint, and a gigantic capacity for compromise andself-sacrifice.

Afterher rocky rebound relationship with Chad, Audrey quickly finds that aLOT of boys and girls (and the odd non-binary gender) are fine withjust looking at her, or stay only for the good parts and leavefor the rest of it—Auradon Kids are raised with very high, oftenunrealistic expectations for their relationships.

Harriet,in a change of pace from the usual “love ‘em and leave ‘em,then love ‘em again and leave em again, then again, and again, andagain” cycle of Isle relationships, finds herself actually growingfond of Audrey and wanting to try this “monogamy” thing as shelearns more about her past the outward facade and reputation, howshe’s broken like her in so many different ways, and that the twoof them are “floating shipwrecks waiting to crash and burn oncethey finally hit that last rock, get swept up by the storm that doesthem in, or meet someone who has the decency to finally put us out ofour miseries.”

Buteven if they’re broken and troubled and terrible people, “… Iwon’t mind being marooned on an island with just you fer company.”

27.Whowould sing to their child back to sleep?:

Theyswitch duties, depending on who’s less tired.

Audreyhas all the classic lullabies and tales of heroism, though with thenames and pronouns mixed up to reflect her new reality, Harriet has(heavily sterilized) sea shanties and tales of heradventures, with most of the bad and embarrasing (for her) parts cutout.

28.Whatdo they do when they’re away from each other?:

Harrietgoes about her usual business “lookin’ for loot, and spendin’it just as quickly,” trying to be a responsible adult all byherself, or hanging out with her new “crews” on land or at sea.

Audreyusually attends to the more delicate and sensitive duties that can dowithout Harriet’s “unique perspective,” like small meetings andevents with the other Royals and upper crust of Auradon, alongsidehanging out with her friends and being less dependent on Harriet forher social needs, and “me time” such as shopping for clothes,going to spas, and educating herself about numerous matters.

29.oneheadcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart:

It’snot really new for Harriet to not come home, or crash at any of herfriends’ places after going out drinking. Audrey has long acceptedthat her girlfriend is an alcoholic, and tries her best to mitigatethe effects of that.

Whenit goes WAY too far, however, is not the time Harriet throws up on adistinguished individual, or when she humiliates herself and Audreyon live television while she’s all out blitzed, it’s when shegets into a car crash after trying to drive herself back home, andit’s only through luck that it was her prosthetic leg that gotcrushed beyond repair.

It’straumatizing for Harriet as she’s reminded of her mortality and thelimits of her body, and it’s even more traumatizing for Audrey whohas to face the facts that Harriet’s old problems and habits aremuch worse, that she almost lost her for good, and that forthe sake of both of them, serious, much more dire steps needto be taken to reform her.

Audreyquickly becomes overbearing and even more strict than usual, losing alot of the warmth and affection that Harriet likes and needs fromher, and it gets so bad that Harriet finally snaps, yelling at herand telling her to leave her alone, “I don’t need yer help, nowget outta my sight!”

Audreyis initially stunned, then she’s confused, then she’s angry, thenshe’s saddened, and finally horrified. Harriet sees the realizationin her eyes, but her pride and old, maladaptive habits keep her fromdoing anything but continue to yell at her until one of the nursescall her out and Audrey leaves the hospital in tears.

Laterthat night in the recovery ward with all the other amputees, Harrietonce more finds herself laying down in a bed she can’t get up from,staring at the space where her right ankle used to be, and beingreminded that it’s gone forever, there is no turning back in time,or getting a replacement that could come close to the original.

Andfor the few times in her life, she feels scared, sad, and alone—sovery alone…

30.oneheadcanon about this OTP that mends it:

Therest of the VKs and the AKs quickly swoop in and take it uponthemselves to help save this relationship and their friends, bygetting Audrey to back off and trust that Harriet does not needsomeone to constantly baby her and dictate her every move, that heraffections have gone too far and it’s suffocating Harriet, and forHarriet to finally get a chance to directly and frankly share withAudrey that she never likes feeling like someone is telling her whatto do, because she hates people treating her like she’s tooincompetent to make a responsible decision by herself.

OnHarriet’s side, she’s given plenty of hard lessons with showingvulnerability, reaching out to others, and asking for help when she’sfallen down and can’t get back up, sometimes literally because sheonly has one leg, she’s lost her crutch, and has nothing nearby tograb and pull herself up by.

Ittakes a lot of time with just their friends and trained, professionaltherapists before they can or are willing see each other again, buteventually, Audrey and Harriet sit down for tea once more with justthe two of them at the table. It’s horribly awkward for a longwhile as Audrey sees Harriet’s crutch resting nearby, and Harrietsees that Audrey definitely looks sorry and repentant for the helllined with good intentions she put her through.

Eventually,the two of them blurt out “I’m sorry!” at each other, and goabout discussing all the ways they messed up, and how they’re goingto get better in the future.

Severalweeks later, Audrey wheels Harriet out of the hospital herself,before they take a picture together of her standing with her brandnew titanium “peg leg,” this time with a much better swordintegrated into the model itself.

Tocelebrate, the two of them quickly find a good spot in the parkinglot, and have their first duel in far too long.

Harrietloses, because her new leg is without all the design flaws, damage,and less-than-ideal repair solutions she’s used to, but Audreypromises there’ll be many more rematches in the future.

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[daysixdreams]

you bite and hold on until we all fall down | Sungjin [1/2]

you gotta see blood, girl

flangst, supernatural mystery, paranormal romance | ~5.6k words | werewolf!au | Blood  | Part Two

prompt: Hey can I get a werewolf!au for sungjin where he and the reader are in a forbidden relationship??? Please let it be as angsty and fluffy as possible!!!😉☺Thanks so much!!!☺😊😙  - requested by @taespiration

a/n: hope you like it? I took a few liberties with the werewolf aspect but i hope it still works? let me know what you guys think =) part 2 will be up next week. ish. 

“I hope there isn’t anywhere else you need to be,” I say as soon as Sungjin appears from the street corner. He’s dressed as usual: scuffed sneakers, dark grey jeans torn at the knees, black shirt, and that leather jacket he’s grown a liking to recently. As have I. It will be a sad day for humanity when the weather warms and to the back of the closet the jacket goes. Or maybe not. Summer does have its wardrobe perks.

He grunts and scrunches his nose. “You mean at eleven in the evening on a Friday night? Where else would I be?”

Clearing my head of the image of exposed collar bones and knees, I gesture toward the dark alley without explanation. Mostly because I don’t have a good one, but that does allow me to receive an unbiased opinion.

Sungjin turns to me with a barely stifled grimace. “Another dead body. Why am I not surprised.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You only call me when someone’s dead.”

“Oh, come on,” I contest weakly, “I call you for other things, too.”

Cleansing the city of evil is not the one-person job my ancestors liked to think it is. Especially when murder is involved. Even less so when you’re the only openly practicing witch in the country willingly offering your services to a special unit law enforcement agency for a consulting fee. Extra difficulty points when you’re next in line to inherit the responsibility of protecting the city. Raise that to the power of nine when you’ve spent your formative schooling years and part of your early adult life in another country studying for said witchcraft degree, thus alienating you from the culture and heritage you were born in.

Hence, Sungjin.

The incidental fact that Sungjin is a Lycanthrope is a happy coincidence I just happen to benefit from. Unlike a shifter, he doesn’t transform into a wolf neither through magic— his own or someone else’s— or through a curse via the rise of the full moon. Physically, Sungjin is human, indistinguishable from any other regular person— at least on the surface. On the inside, he’s a little more unique. Born as a natural channel for a spirit of rage, Sungjin houses a Wolf spirit, an alpha that makes him stronger, more aggressive, and resistant to physical damage and disease.

This means I get to walk around undetected with a guide/bodyguard. Heavy on the guidance, light on the bodyguarding. Sungjin knows I’m more than capable of defending myself. It’s embarrassing myself and doing something I shouldn’t that he’s worried about. And fine, I may have a history of getting myself into life-threatening situations but that doesn’t minimize or invalidate my skill. It just means that sometimes, I can’t go into these things alone.

Sungjin steps into the alley, and with the light of the full moon, large and silver, overhead, our shadows cast long and gangly on the concrete. I follow closely behind him extending my Sense. The easiest way to explain what Sense is is to liken it to an awareness of the paranormal and the supernatural, it’s not simply seeing, hearing, or feeling more the way Sungjin can. It’s that weird ghost of a feeling that makes the hair at the back of your arm stand on end, that niggling that you’ve forgotten something, and that odd just knowing something isn’t quite right.

“What do you think?” I ask. It’s never good when Sungjin takes this long to assess the crime scene. His heightened senses help cover what my Sense fails to catch— which is very little but ever since that one time with the raining frogs, Sungjin’s made this rule about never running into a scene until after he’s cleared the vicinity. I do as he says because you really don’t want a Lycan’s rage directed at you.

Further in, the expression on his face pulls into a mix of concern and confusion. “Well, whatever it is, it’s not good.”

The smell reaches us first, a sickly-sewer smell, rank and metallic. I knew it was a dead body even before I crossed the street, felt the void taking a life left behind in the energies surrounding the area, but I’m never prepared for it. My stomach quails and I press my palm against my mouth to keep from gagging. Up ahead, is blood. A lot of blood. It pooled thick and scarlet around a mound of bodies, two of them, both with their ribcages expanding outward like their hearts had exploded right out of their chests. I sway backwards despite my strict training and the walls of self-control I’ve built. Sungin’s hand, just barely touching the small of my back, anchors me to the present.

“You okay?”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “Yeah,” I answer, voice steadier than I thought it would be. I don’t ask how he’s doing even if I see the tightness in his jaw and the strain in his eyes. Sungjin hates showing vulnerability, and the last thing I want is to tell him I notice he’s not okay. On that vein, I right myself before I fall into his arm or something ridiculous like it. With his senses turned up to eleven, being touched becomes an unpleasant experience for him. I can’t imagine what it’s like for him now, seeing all this, smelling all this, experiencing all this and just being here at all. “Can you get anything useful?” I ask. “Do you think you can track...anything?”

“I’ll try. But we need to take a closer look before the local police arrive and process the scene.”

And then we’re out of the loop. Human crime scene units don’t exactly cooperate with, or are even aware of, the High Council of Elders that govern the Others— Magic folk, every other sentient being not quite your strain of plain regular human, you get the picture.

Sungjin and I circle the scene carefully, noting down all the details we can as fast as we could. I can remember most of the details, look back in my memories for whatever I can’t recall immediately, and cross-reference with Sungjin should the need arise.

“What do you think?” Sungjin asks.

“I don’t know, we’ll need more information. But something like this can’t be a crime of opportunity. There’s too much involved in making someone’s heart explode like that.”

“So that’s what you’re saying? Their hearts exploded? What about the defensive wounds?”

“I can’t explain the defensive wounds right now, but exploding hearts is the only way to explain why their ribs look like they were pried open from the inside. This is really powerful magic. We’re looking for a very specific individual and I might have ideas where to start asking around.”

Like me, Sungjin isn’t looking at the bodies anymore, both of us with our heads turned away and leaning toward the main street. “I’ll see what I can find. I’ll see you again tomorrow?”

I nod and we go our separate ways just as the lights from a patrol car pass by.

 ***

 The following morning, Sungjin drops by the bookstore just before lunch to exchange notes and updates. He comes into the shop, announced by the bright tinkle of the bell above the door, with a large brown bag of sandwiches and coffee, and a smile that rivals the sun. When he’s like this, dressed in a warm grey hoodie and denim jeans, it’s easy to forget he’s a natural born killer trained for the hunt.

“Hello?”

“Up the loft,” I answer. I’ve been looking through the old texts and reference scrolls for anything that might be useful for tracking down what kind of magic is needed to blow someone’s hearts up.

Needless to say, the bookstore is a cover. On the outside, it’s a 24-hour off-the-wall kitschy affair just off-campus. Your non-standard independent bookstore. You’d think 24-hour bookstore equates to study cafe or a euphemism for something, but it’s exactly what it says on the label. On the inside, it’s an actual bookstore with shelves lined so closely to each other the ends fade into each other’s shadows. The inventory is eclectic: used books in excellent condition, the nigh unheard of trade books, and nothing from the Top Anythings. Just a lot of books that make you feel like you’ve walked into a wizarding world. And it smells. Like old books, wood varnish, and bergamot that’s permeated through the old walls. The guy who takes the nightshift, Jae, loves it. 

“Find anything interesting?” Sungjin asks, climbing up the narrow spiral staircase.

I’m on the ladder, about a full storey up, retrieving a book on Thaumaturgy. The way the shelves are set, dizzyingly high and looming above, always make me think I’m climbing into another world unknown. I’m fairly certain the air is thinner up here, too. “I think so? I might have some ideas. And you didn’t have to bring me lunch.”

“I didn’t,” he deadpans. “Wonpil made me do it.”

Wonpil is his housemate, information I know of as a side effect of having worked with Sungjin for more than a year now. I’m not sure what Wonpil is exactly as we’ve never met, but the way Sungjin talks about him gives me the impression Wonpil isn’t human. Or at least he gives Sungjin an inhuman amount of mental stress.

I crane my neck to look at him from over my shoulder. I almost fall off, and Sungjin rolls his eyes at me. “Did you hear anything interesting from your network?”

He sets the paper bag on a work desk. “Get down from there before you fall. And then we’ll talk.”

“Let me get this book first.” With one hand, I’m holding on for dear life, while my other is pressed white on the lip of a shelf. I spot the spine of the book I’m looking for and lean until my fingertips graze the old leather. Obviously, the solution here is to go back down the ladder, move about an arm’s length to the left, and go back up to retrieve the book. But, no. I lean.

It all happens so fast. First, there I am leaning. Next, my finger catches the edge of the book dislodging it from the shelf, but only just so. Then the books are whizzing past me in a blur of colorful spines and the floor is zooming in at me in alarming speed. Before I know it, I’m landing in a tangle of limbs with the air knocked out of my lungs in a muffled oomph. The fall hurts, but not as much as it does on the inside.

Sungjin catches me, of course. Inhuman reflexes and all that. I look up just as he lifts his head to give me his most insufferable I told you so look. The fact that he is right is only secondary to the fact that I am sprawled on top of him— my nose on top of his chest, his hands on my upper arms, my knees splayed over his hips, and my eyes hovering over his parted lips. For a moment, I am distracted by his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he swallows. I know it’s taking him all his strength to make sure he’s not crushing me in his hands. Only Sungjin would take the impact of a fall and ask you if him saving you is hurting you. I look up and our eyes meet.

This is not the time for this, and yet it’s as if we are both frozen in the moment. Sungjin’s eyes are a deep, earthy brown with flecks of gold revealing the beast within. Yet when he’s looking at me like this, there is nothing but warmth and safety in his eyes. He’s afraid he’ll hurt me, but he’s the only person I trust to never do that. He thinks he’s a monster, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him as anything but brutally soft. Like this, feeling the warmth of the soft fabric of his hoodie against me, and inhaling his clean oceany scent, it’s almost as if I can just be a girl, and he can just be a boy, and there could be something more. But in this world, attachment is both a vulnerability and a weakness. Sungjin and I, we have no room for anything but duty and honor-bound responsibility.

Sobered by the thought, my heart comes to a stop from its wild beating in my chest. It’s an easy roll to the side and we’re back up on our feet, both of us feigning nonchalance. I pick the book up from the floor, silently muttering an apology to the book deities watching over us.

“There aren’t a lot of ways someone can make someone’s heart explode,” I begin, “So we’re looking for someone really strong or really stupid. Definitely a wizard. Definitely premeditated. That kind of magic...” I shudder at the thought. “It’s dark. And angry.”

“And it’s personal.”

“Very.”

Magic in itself is a personal experience. It comes from inside you. Not everyone is born with the aptitude to tap into the energies of the universe to harness its power, and even for those who do it’s hard to explain. Magic isn’t just something you do. Magic is the flow of energy from one form to another, it can neither be created nor destroyed, only redirected and transformed. Magic is created by life, it is awareness, intelligence, and emotions. For magic to cause death, and in such a violent way, is the utter perversion of its very nature.

Through lunch, Sungjin fills me in with the information he’s gathered over the night and I update him with what I’ve found out so far. All in all, we know nothing about who could have done this, how, or even why. Only that the victims were two university students, a couple celebrating their first anniversary at the club. Witnesses say they were arguing, but what kind of argument would explain the kind of defensive wounds they had? They had been in a fist fight before their hearts exploded.

After lunch, Sungjin and I comb through our known networks and contacts through the Underground and the Magic Folk hiding in plain sight. We visit clubs and other establishments that catered to Others but find nothing. The old antique shop near the palace, always the source of local gossip and whispers offer us no new information, saying they heard nothing, know nothing of any dark magic being used around the city. No one seems to know anything about what’s going on. Which only means everyone knows about it but no one wants to talk about it.

“You’re asking about something that could get you killed,” the old pigeon lady by the church said to us. “I’d stay away from those deaths if I were you.”

Which only meant we had to work harder finding answers. This is easily becoming one of those days when neither Sungjin nor I feel much like useful members of the Magic World’s secret society of Guardians. At least for me, that’s the role I was born into. For Sungjin, his participation is by association. But he hasn’t abandoned me. Yet. Even on the days when we look and look and look and find nothing. All this magic and resource under our disposal, there exist days when we still come up with blanks.

“Do you want to take a break?” Sungjin asks just before sunset.

“I hate this,” I answer.

We’re strolling down a busy thoroughfare down a strip mall. Everywhere I look, it’s colors from fashion boutiques or cosmetics, or from stalls selling street food. The smells are the best part of this, sweet and spicy all together and all at once. The better food smells, the more likely it’s bad for you. Be it sugar or meat or something cooked in fat and oils. It’s life’s greatest irony. But then again, who knows. Maybe this is the sign from someone out there watching over us saying we don’t have to diet all the time. So I take it all in, the scent of food, perfumes, air conditioning, and a hint of beer and alcohol. I love my sense of smell.

You nose knows. I’m sure Sungjin would agree.

“How can folks not know anything? What are they so afraid of?” I say, resigning myself to the twilight. “Dark magic like that doesn’t go unnoticed. I felt it happen. You felt traces of it too, didn’t you?”

Sungjin nods somberly. “Whoever was there with them didn’t leave enough of themselves to track down. I’m starting to think our killer did this from afar. Which leaves a magic trace. And tracking down magic is your specialty.”

“I’m good but I’m not that good. There was barely a trace left. No dust or breadcrumbs to follow at all.”

He releases a small laugh from his chest. “Come on, I’ll buy you an ice cream. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Catching the killer will make me feel better.” But even as I say that, I follow Sungjin to a stall and pick out the flavors I want on my cone: strawberry, milk, and green tea. The girl behind the glass case carves the ice cream into a rose and hands it to Sungjin who hands it to me.

“This is for you,” he says with a smile so tender, I look away.

I don’t dwell on the split second our fingers touch, or on the lingering heat from where the rough pad of his fingertips come in contact with my knuckles. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

A blanket of awkward silence envelopes us, and I struggle to fill in the blank spaces. All those other nights with Sungjin, tracking a bad guy or searching for clues, not once did the silence bother me until tonight.

I clear my throat after he gets a cone of his own. “Is it just me, or are there more flowers than usual?” Specifically roses. Red roses. Single, long-stemmed red roses or large bouquets of red roses. Couples everywhere wearing matchy-matchy outfits.

Sungjin grunts and scratches the back of his ear. “You really don’t know?”

“Know what?” I scrunch my nose at the group of couples who pass by us. This place is known to have couples in varying states of lovey-doveyness everywhere, but something about tonight has them all extra ooshy and ugh.

“It’s Valentine's Day.”

“That’s today?”

“You seriously don’t know?”

“I don’t keep track of these things,” I counter, annoyed. “I can barely keep track of what I need to accomplish in a day and this case...it’s driving me crazy.”

Sungjin just hums and keeps walking alongside me.

“I’m serious. Besides, look at all these people. They look like they’ve all been brainwashed into celebrating the day when what’s there to celebrate? It’s all so...I don’t know. Fake. And manufactured.”

“If you say so.”

“Wait, is there somewhere you need to be tonight?” Like a date. I don’t pry into his personal life, only picking out the details he’s comfortable sharing, blurted out confessions I wasn’t meant to hear, habits I find out only because we tend to spend inordinate amounts of downtime together like this. Of course, he’s free to see people if he wants to. He probably should.

“I’m exactly where I need to be because if you die in a ditch, this city loses its last Guardian and I don’t think the High Council will appreciate that.”

“I won’t die in a ditch,” I mutter petulantly. “And you need a life. You should probably go find yourself a girlfriend or something. I mean, I’m a lost cause because, well, Guardian and all that applies, but you…”

“You and I both know that’s physically impossible for me.” Because he’d be too much. Feel too much. Give too much.

I shrug. “Maybe you’ll find someone who’s fine without being physical? There are all sorts of people in the world. Or maybe you’ll find another Lycan and you won’t be so afraid to touch her for fear of tearing her into pieces—” I pause mid-step and hold back a war cry.

“You just had an epiphany, didn’t you.”

I start down the street in a power walk just below the level of a jog, acceptable enough without rousing suspicion. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before.”

“Good. Now this time use your words and share with the rest of the class.”

“Those two students must have been possessed by a Horror.” Horrors are amorphous blobs of pure negativity, parasites that possess objects that in turn posses humans and Turn them into shapeshifting monsters. Part of my job is hunting down these pools of evil and eliminating them before they find a host and wreak havoc. Yes, my ancestors decided this is a one-person job. I may be magic, but I’m still only human.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t they Turn? They were human when we found them.”

“I don’t know yet,” I admit. Then, “That’s what we’re about to find out. We need to get back to that club.”

 ***

 Sungjin and I make it halfway to the club when I realize we’re being followed.

The trick to this is to keep yourself from reacting. Stay cool. Calm. “Could be just me, but I think someone might be following us.”

Sungjin doesn’t even raise a brow and his face is almost always out of his control. “Tall guy, black coat, face mask, sunglasses? I’ve seen him all day, I think. But considering this is standard Look at me, I’m cool look, who knows for sure.”

“You would know for sure,” I shoot back, “I’ve seen him just standing there trying really hard to make it look like he’s not watching us. And he has a very distinct set of piercings.” I notice these things now because Sungjin also has a very distinct set of piercings that are utterly fascinating to study if only it weren’t so inappropriate.

“It’s not like there’s anything we can do about it,” he offers, “Everyone’s out tonight, there are about a bajillion people on the street and when we get to the club, that’s two bajillion people.”

“You know, the sass? It doesn’t help. But fine, if that’s how you want to play it.”

“You can’t just go whacking people around,” he chides, “besides, what if it’s not that? Maybe he wants to ask you out tonight. He looks lonely.”

I snort. I happen to be good at whacking people, and other sort, around. It’s very effective. “Maybe he wants to ask you out tonight.”

“Well I am pretty good looking, aren’t I? Can’t really blame him.”

“Your confidence astounds me.”

“As it should. Let’s just play it by ear and see what happens.”

 ***

 A shiver runs down the back of my arm as soon as we reach the club’s vicinity. It’s a tactile feeling owing to my witching Sense. Nighttime always did amplify powers from creatures of the dark, and while Night and Day themselves are neither good nor evil, there’s something about the shadows and the moonlight that make things go bump in the night.

Sungjin and I drift around, our Cool Friend always at a respectable distance behind us. The club, called Daydream, is located underground with the entrance located in a narrow alley between two commercial buildings. You’d miss it if not for the long line of people, about fifty or so, waiting impatiently along the street. This section of the city is full of university students, another kitschy affair of the fashion forward, the nonconformists, and the otherwise artistically inclined. It was full of excited yelling, raucous high-pitched laughter, and music blaring from every imaginable direction. Lights flashed and danced, buskers filled the streets each of them inside their bubbles of merry chaos.

I feel it then, a near unnoticeable quiver like a metallic ping from an unplugged electric guitar. Stepping closer to the club amplified the feeling. Something is definitely going on in there. I can feel it in the thrum of the music and the concrete beneath my feet.

Sensing the change in my tension, Sungjin says “Something’s here, isn’t there.”

“Something for sure. How’s our friend?”

Sungjin inhales sharply and his eyes flash amber. “Still interested. I’m not entirely sure if he’s following us because he’s looking for what we’re looking for, or if he’s following us to make sure we don’t find what we’re looking for.”

“If only we knew what we were looking for.”

Sungjin rolls his shoulders. A gesture of frustration. “Only one way to find out.”

We don’t have to communicate the decision out loud. Sungjin and I are already on our way toward the back of the club to find an alternative entrance. The back of the building is dark with shadows the light of the full moon cannot reach. I keep my guard up, just in case. Next to me, I can feel Sungjin do the same, his now amber eyes alert for any physical danger. Just knowing he’s with me, feeling his calm assured strength around me, is more than enough to rest my fears.

Because no matter how long I’ve been doing this, no matter how much training I’ve endured to get to where I am or how confident I am of what I can do, it doesn’t change the fact that every day I risk my life and that I’m afraid of death.

But not as long as Sungjin is with me.

“Just stay close to me,” Sungjin mutters close to my ear.

“I’m not a child,” I shoot back, voice steadier than I expect. “I’m a trained witch. And Guardian of the City. I’m not helpless. I can defend myself.”

“I know,” he says patiently. “That’s why I said stay close to me. Did you ever consider that I need defending? You’re not the only one putting your life in danger here. Don’t be selfish.”

I stifle a smile. Now is not the time for this. “We’re just going into a club. With dancing. Do you like dancing?”

“I’m an epic dancer,” he says, leveling me with a look. “But we can go dancing some other time when there isn’t a probability of some kind of murderer or Horror in the club.”

We step in through the back door, me first then Sungjin behind me. Music blasts at us, a deep psychedelic trance mix all the patrons are swaying to. The bassline goes straight to my bones, anchoring the music to time and pulling me deeper into the pit. Like a hive-minded organism, the moshpit flails and writhes to the hypnotic beat and neon lights. Everywhere the strobe hits, it’s body to body, eyes closed and gyrating against each other. We tread carefully through the darkness, avoiding elbows and other extremities while navigating our way to the center of the dance floor. On stage is a DJ shrouded by the shadows, but it’s from there I feel the center of this dark energy. No wonder this club is so popular.

“Anything?” I ask Sungjin. I have to stand on tiptoe and tug at his sleeve so he’d lean closer for me to speak into his ear. I don’t even need light to know his ear’s probably flushed neon pink.

“Nothing you haven’t figured out yet.”

I don’t let go of his sleeve. “Is our friend still here?”

Sungjin closes his eyes and hums. “Shouldn’t you be tracking his energy signature?”

Stepping closer, I lay my other hand on his chest. His heartbeat is slow and steady in this sultry heat. My heart starts beating faster. “Sungjin…”

“Yeah?”

I look up at him, and my fingers curl and tangle into the collar of his hoodie. “You’ve been really good to me. No one’s been this good to me.”

His breathy laugh tickles my cheek. “That’s because you don’t know a lot of people.”

“You risk your life for me.”

“According to my last count, we’re split 60-40, but I’ll give you a chance to save my life if that will make you feel better,” he answers quietly.

I lick my lips. “You and me…we’ve never really...we’re not a we-we.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Why not? I know we’ve only known each other for a little more than a year, but after all we’ve been through? How come nothing’s ever...happened?”

“Reasons,” he exhales softly. “Work, mostly. And I am what I am, and…” He runs his nose down my cheek. “And you...it wouldn’t be right.”

I shift just enough to touch my nose to his. “But...technically...we could...if we wanted to. Even if it were forbidden, it’s so easy breaking the rules…”

“Are we deciding to?”

I push up on my toes and press my lips to his. Gently, at first. Very gently. Sungjin sighs into the kiss and pulls my body against his and I entwine my arms around his neck. The kiss turns hungry, deep. Hot and desperate. Sungjin all but growls into my mouth.

He pulls away first. “We’re working.”

“We’re always working,” I whine. “It’s all we ever do.”

He grins. “Doesn’t look like we’re getting more information out of tonight. We’ve been hitting dead ends from the start.”

“We can take a break for the night, right?” I feel a rumble of excitement deep inside me.

“We could. We should. We’ve been working too much.”

My face splits into a smile before I’m even aware. “We deserve a break, right? Why haven’t we thought about this before?”

“Can we go back to your place?”

I giggle into his collar bones. My heart is beating so fast. I can’t remember if it’s ever gone off this way before. “Sounds like a really good idea. You always did have the best of ideas.”

We start moving again, this time toward the exit. Hand in hand, we slip through the moshpit laughing silly at each other. When we emerge back out the alley, he kisses me again, pressing me hard against him.

“Sungjin,” I wheeze between the kiss. “Let go a bit, you’re crushing me.”

“I just can’t believe we’ve never done this before.”

“I know, it’s crazy.” It’s so crazy my heart hurts.

“I think I’m crazy.”

“Sungjin, let go. I can’t breathe.” But his hold on me tightens and my feet lift off the ground. I push against him. “You’re hurting me.”

Sungjin blinks and lets go so quickly I drop to my feet on unstable legs. He runs his hand through his hair and mutters to himself. “What just happened? Something happened.”

I look up, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Something weird is happening.”

I feel a sledgehammer in my chest. “Something good is happening. Why are you making it sound like it’s a bad thing?”

“I’m not saying that, I’m just saying...look at us.”

“I am.” I take a step closer to him. “I am looking at us. Don’t you like what you’re seeing? How long have you felt this way? And pretended not to? Denied the feeling? Because...this doesn’t just come out of nowhere. There could be something real here.”

“Listen to yourself.”

I launch myself at him and shove him as hard as I can. My heart hurts so much. He doesn’t even budge so I hit his chest with my fists. “You can’t just do this to me. You can’t tell me you don’t think we have something here that could be real. I’m not crazy!”

But even as I say that, the words bounce around in my head. Real. Crazy.

“Oh,” I groan. “Oh no.” My heart is still beating fast, but this time it’s from embarrassment.

“Hey, it’s okay. We got hit with something, maybe it was the lights or the music…”

“Oh no.”

Sungjin smiles warmly at me. “Hey. It’s okay. I got hit, too.”

Until his trigger words slapped sense into him. “I should’ve known better.”

“You’re right. I should’ve too…I shouldn’t have...you know. I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” I tell him. I clutch at my chest to calm my beating heart. “It wasn’t us. If it were...it would’ve been…”

“Different?”

“Yeah. Not like this.”

He nods. “It was a little too easy.”

“Shouldn’t it be easy?” I may not know much about love, but I know I’ll know it when I feel it. I’ll know it when it’s there...and it’s been there. But...

“Not for you and me.”

I take a deep, shaky breath. “How messed up is that?”

“Pretty messed up. You know for someone’s who’s tasked to keep the city safe, you’re terrible at avoiding traps. Physical, or otherwise.”

He looks away when I turn to him, and I study his averted face. “That’s why I have you.” And that’s why we can’t have each other.

A cold shiver passed through the air. Dark and twisted. Sungjin glances at me, and the color drains from both our faces. We run down the direction of the void and careen to a stop.

Two more dead bodies, a couple with their hearts blown out of their chests. Exactly like the first murder.

[annashipper]

JT Anon - I guess my MET invite was also lost in the mail

A little off topic from the delightful pub visit, but someone on @gatorfisch mentioned SH circle promoting things like “yummy mummy” blogs and mum and me fashion style things, going to art and play openings of friends, promoting themselves on IG etc etc. They said that all her pals do this, and the fact that she doesn’t suggests she is not in it for fame

I think all the things that nonny mentioned is actually very interesting. If I were advising SH, I would have advised her to do exactly that. She could have had herself a nice little career out of this. A blog about her busy life as an artsy mummy in London. Inches about what its like being a woman in theatre, how she gets productions done. A fashion blog, some guest editor pieces. All things she could have done to promote herself and her brand in actually quite a nice way. if that had been the SH branded to us, I may have found her interesting. instead we got this mess of a brand which is nothing but a wet sopping drag. I digress, ive already done the “SH brand is a drag” submit

The nonny suggested that because we don’t have those things, that SH then clearly isn’t the gagging for flashes famewhore her brand has made her out to be (don’t blame us PR, this is how you packaged her). I would like to counter that thinking for a second. it is my opinion that SH very much wanted that type of attention, and just simply was not talented enough to make it happen, and eventually it became clear that the people who could have offered her that type of branding were not interested in her/ didnt find her saleable.

The thing is, SH very, very much did try to trade off her husbands name in order to brand herself. I personally think she went the wrong way, and eventually she couldn’t pull it off due to lack of interest and talent, but the lack of blogs and art gallery opening does not mean SH wasn’t very much trying to build a brand for herself.

The guardian article. SH DID try to do inches and articles about herself and her supposed area of expertise. Just like the “mum about town” contributions to lifestyle papers, mags, and blogs, SH attempted to write about her chosen art in a very similar way. The problem is she plagiarised her information. Aside from being weird that an Oxford grad would need to do that, it means she actually is not capable of producing anything on the topic on her own. She doesn’t have her own valuable perspective to lend to the arena of opera that can be marketed and garner interest. Hence her one and only time contributing. She doesn’t not have a weekly or monthly because she isn’t branding herself off BC. She doesn’t have one because she tried and couldn’t do it.

I have my own theories as to why we don’t have SH on a pub IG account. I think we will get that soon enough. Don’t be fooled though, her friends make sure she is on IG and marketed on there when she needs to be. Her brand has very much been promoted on IG. If you don’t think pics of her shopping in paris at specific fashion boutiques, old art gallery shots, the wedding details sent out on IG ,weren’t meant to cultivate a very specific image of SH as a wealthy woman who spends thousands of pounds on clothes and is involved in arts communities in multiple areas, then i have a bridge to sell you. They make sure she is on IG and the pics they want are avail when they want them avail. Once she isn’t as restricted (and i don’t mean by some corporation like Disney), we will get a SH IG.

Fashion blogging. She may not blog herself, but we have had marketed to us SH the fashion….whatever… many times now. It was made very public that she was supposedly a model. They even went so far as asking small time model reblog blogs to circulate what seems to be her only one official shot a few times the week that was being discussed. That ridiculous ossman (was that his name? the designer who should be legally barred from wearing sunglasses because he created that cheap bargain rack orange monstrosity she wore). The trashy titty pic she had accompanying her one interview (before you all shout body shamer, I looooove me some titties. All shapes and sizes. I found SH shots lacking in class. #myopinionbro)

Multiple articles about her sartorial choices in the paper. I particularly liked when they shouted demure at us. “SHE IS DEMURE IN HER DEMURE BLOUSE WALKING DEMURELY NEXT TO HER HUSBAND AS SHE DEMURES DOWN THE STREEt W THE BABY DEMURELY”. There have been many many many one offs about her clothes.

I could go on. All of that is to say that SH really did try to utilise various media to brand herself during this whole thing.

Im being totally honest here, IF SH had had a blog about being a woman in the arts, in a difficult niche area like opera. If she had an IG of her at gallery openings and operas. If she had a weekly or monthly in a paper or lifestyle mag about fashion, incorporating high end fashions that still work for busy moms on the go, if she had written a book about being married to a man nominated for an oscar, how to be a busy mummy around london w her own career and dealing w that. If she had been on daytime TV segments promoting childrens wear. If she had been involved in lots of childrens charities directly, beyond just getting a full shot of the last season dress she was paid to be seen in. if she had done all that? i actually may have found her interesting. I personally would have said “huh, ive not read the perspective of someone who is involved in opera specifically. Oh! she wrote about being a woman and a mom while maintaining her role in the arts! ill check that out. is that her on daytime TV? ill leave that segment on. who is this? oh its a book by the opera director. wow she has two kids so close together, maybe ill read her book. she how she "does it all”

Those are actual ways she could have attempted to brand herself.

Don’t get it twisted. SH DID, VERY MUCH, try and brand herself w articles by her, articles about her, media supporting events she was involved in. The problem is, no one was interested, she couldn’t continue any of it, and she just didn’t get an audience interested.

Personally I kinda wanna read about a whip smart, funny, artistic business mummy living in a major metropolitan city juggling kids and it all. I wonder where I could get that kind of content. I would purchase that.

J also didn’t get invited to the MET T anon

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All of this talk about blogging and article writing has me thinking back to a couple of Spinsie’s submissions (I really miss Spinsie by the way, but nothing has happened in more than 5 months, so I guess that explains why she’s abandoned us so heartlessly) regarding an alternative route Weirdo might have taken to brand herself as someone the general public could actually become interested in.

Think about it though JT.  Can you imagine the hours it would take for her to actually find the British equivalents for the products / services Kim Kardashian is pushing through her blog?  And if she were trying to copy Gwyneth Platrow and trying to promote a lifestyle as the latter does with Goop?  It sounds exhausting!

Anyway, the poor interns working for SHC have enough problems trying to push the image of Weirdo being a theatre director / opera director / model / actress / clown / playwright / singer / curator / theatre operator(!) / plagiarist...errrrrrrrr... I meant one-hit-wonder-editor for The Guardian / pianist / equestrian /  puppeteer  (have I forgotten any of her multiple discarded career paths?)

Shame on you JT.  Have some compassion for the poor interns!!!  :P

Now, if you want to get serious for a second, if there’s one moment I always go back to when it comes to how much of a famewhore Weirdo is, I don’t have to go any further than the way she smiled for the paparazzo during the Rent A Pilo pap walk in NYC.  The only reason I won’t post the picture is because I don’t want @gnanon to lose her glunch when she reads this post.

Enough said.