#if i’m missing a sitting scene i’d be very surprised but feel free to . educate me

[bearenjoyers]

the only times victor has ever sat down during the entirety of both shows btw

[lovelylaurie]

Chronology - Part 2

Adolescence  Laurie x (March) Reader Words: 2478 Request: @psychshawnjuleshanluke A series where each part follows reader and Laurie’s relationship over time.  Part 1 | 2 | 3 

--

     Meg sighed dreamily. Her breakfast plate sat untouched before her. Jo screwed up her face, “Ugh, gross!” She followed the gaze of Meg’s fluttering eyes out the window, only to find John Brooke on the path outside, gazing back at her, “Aaah! Gross!” She ran across the room to draw the curtains. Brooke looked embarrassed and began to walk away briskly. Amy looked up at Meg mischievously and slipped a few pieces of toast off her plate with a sly hand. 

     Over the past few weeks of summer, your world had begun to change, ever so slightly shifting into maturity. Meg was engaged now and seemed wholly unable to think about anything else. Though you wanted to be happy for her, and wished for her to have the future she wanted, you, like Jo, couldn’t help but feel some contempt. Just last winter, you were running around and romping as usual. But come spring and summer and everyone was suddenly different. Jo, noticing this as well, had a quicker temper than ever. Too much talk of the future sent her storming off to the attic, presumably to skulk. And you were inclined to agree. Even Amy, though still very much a young girl, was beginning to realize her dream of becoming an elegant lady. She fussed about her hair and clothes and accessories. Instead of playing Pilgrim’s Progress, she had taken to strolling around the house haughtily, pretending to be some rich aristocratic lady. But worst of all, worse than any of this, was Laurie, who would be going off to college in the fall. The thought of it alone gave you an acute sinking feeling. For now, you were attempting to ignore it and live every day to the fullest. But it was a difficult thing to take your mind off. You kept returning to an image of the March house, quiet, dark, and dusty, reeling from the twin losses of Meg and Laurie. Though you knew the house would still be full, and Meg would visit often, the feeling of loneliness was incredible and overwhelming. The other loss, Laurie’s, somehow loomed darker, more ominously leering. “Well! I’m off!” you stood up suddenly, trying to shrug off the intense foreboding that gripped you. “Where are you going?” Jo asked defensively. “Laurie’s,” you answered, without so much as a glance back at Meg’s dazed and faraway expression.      You ponder, as you walk the path to the Laurence house, how difficult it is to leave one’s closest friend. It has you utterly and completely torn. In seeking comfort and escape, you turn to Laurie. His presence, his very being, has always been its own consolation. His smile warms your heart and his cool, contented expressions calm you. But now, every thought of him is a double-edged sword. Every thought of him has you thinking of his coming departure. Every chime of his laugh and twinkle of his eye has you missing him already. But loneliness and distance are worse, so you seek him out every chance you get. And however much you want to stay at home with your sisters, you simply can’t. Jo’s contempt is similar to, but different than, yours. She seems to have already fully realized these changes and departures, and stubbornly resolved to refute them every chance she gets. Meanwhile, you have been ignoring it as much as possible. Her animosity and constant irritation only worsen your loneliness. By now you have arrived at the Laurence house. You enter without knocking, as has become custom. But upon entering the study, the scene before you causes your cheeks to redden with embarrassment. Laurie and Brooke are seated at the table by the window in the midst of a lesson. At the sound of the door, Laurie, whose legs are resting nonchalantly on the table in front of him, turns to look at you. Relief washes away his expression of extreme boredom. “(y/n)!  What a wonderful surprise.” He jumps up immediately and waltzes towards you. Brooke looks hesitant and you look horrified. How could you have assumed Laurie would be free? Of course he would spend his few months remaining before college preparing academically. Or at least, his grandfather would force him to. Your blush deepens as you consider that just as he has served as a distraction for you, from change, you have served as a distraction for him, from education. “I’m so sorry, I should have knocked.” “Nonsense, come in.” He is wearing a white linen shirt with large, flouncing sleeves and an unbuttoned silk vest. You make a move to leave, but he shuts the door and leads you away. Brooke looks exasperated, “Laurie, please sit down.” He is ignored. “You are always welcome, (y/n), I insist.” Part of you, the polite and mannerly part, wants to leave. But the door feels miles upon miles away, and the thought of spending a day alone is utterly and gut-wrenchingly awful. After an awkward pause, you say to both of them, “I’ll let you get back to your lesson, but do you mind if I stay?” Brooke seems taken aback, but accepts, “I suppose that would be alright.” “Stay as long as you like,” Laurie assures you, returning to his seat.     So you settle into the study, walking the shelves and flitting through old books. Laurie follows you with his eyes, and Brooke appears worried, presumably that your presence will only distract him further. But then you immerse yourself in a book and read quietly on a couch, close enough to hear them but far enough away that you are apart from their discussions. With time, you notice that Laurie is more quiet and subdued than you expect, and his feet have not returned to their spot on the tabletop, Brooke’s tone loses its edge of irritation, and Laurie buttons up his vest while reciting verb conjugations in Latin. By lunchtime, they’ve finished. The second he is allowed, Laurie strides across the room and seats himself beside you on the arm of the couch. “I promised Grandfather I’d eat with him, but after that, I propose the wildest and most riotous adventures.” “I can’t wait.” You smile and Laurie continues talking, but out of the corner of your eye, you see Brooke giving you a long and pensive stare before leaving. The following day passed with little to note. Laurie was occupied almost until dinner time and you were forced to spend the day between Jo and Meg, where a sense of animosity was growing.     But during breakfast the day after that there was a knock at the door. Marmee answered and you heard her conversing with Mr. Brooke. When she returned, she asked for you. Meg looked considerably crestfallen. Jo rolled her eyes, “You’re already engaged, Meg, seriously.” Brooke had the same thoughtful look he did two days ago, as he said, “Good morning, Ms. March-” “(y/n)” “-(y/n). I was wondering if you noticed anything out of the ordinary regarding Mr. Laurie’s level of focus while you were present the other day.” You tried not to laugh at the way he said ‘Mr. Laurie’ or at his exceedingly formal tone. He was about to be your brother-in-law for Christ’s sake. “I’m not usually there, I can only speculate.” “Well, you see… He was focused, intent, and, well, reasonably respectful.” “Which he isn’t usually, I’m sure.” He nodded, “Correct. I attribute it to your presence.” At that, you blushed a bright scarlet. “He frequently skips lessons or rushes out early, and I’ve noticed that it is to come here, and, frequently, to see you. But while you were with us, he seemed placated. Or at the very least, temporarily mollified. I came here, Ms.- (y/n)- to ask that you accompany us again today.” “Okay,” you squeaked, “I’ll just… grab a few things.” Laurie has been your best friend and closest companion for almost as long as you’ve known him, but your pulse quickened to think that you could have that effect on him. You returned to your family and found your sisters’ faces full of amusement, even Meg. “I’m going to accompany Mr. Brooke to the Laurence house today,” you proclaimed matter-of-factly. “I’m glad to hear that Laurie will be focused on his lessons,” Meg chided. Jo and Amy laughed and Beth and Marmee smiled as you gathered your book and scarf in a small bag and hurried out.     When you arrived at the study a few minutes later, Laurie was slouched against the window with, once again, complete and utter boredom. “Brooke, I could have sworn I saw- (y/n)!” He sprang across the room to greet you, “Oh, please tell me you’ve come to take me away. I can’t stand another minute of this.” “It’s 9 am,” you laughed. “I’m at my breaking point.” He smiled with an air of levity forming at the corners of his lips. “Vive la révolution, Laurie, but only after your lessons.” You resolved to thoroughly explore the room today, and laughed at Laurie’s frequent proclamations of “Vive la révolution!” whenever Brooke scolded him for getting off task. Other than that, he remained focused and even appeared at times diligent. Many days were spent just like this one as the summer drew on, hours wiled away in companionable silence and distant closeness. You would remember these times, later, when he was away, and imagine he was beside you in your loneliness. Perhaps equally lonely, himself.      Finally, as you neared the end of summer, Mr. Brooke deemed Laurie prepared for higher education and released him to his final weeks of freedom. He then could often be found at the March house, as early as breakfast, and frequently staying late into the evening.     One afternoon, a week from Meg’s wedding, you had both escaped from the preparations and planning to the woods surrounding your houses. You had climbed up to a low-lying branch of a large tree and was now seated there, reading. Laurie was lying down on the grass below you, gazing lazily at the sky through the tree branches. “I can’t believe one of the March sisters is getting married,” he said. “Yes, and to your teacher,” you replied bluntly, trying to brush him off and avoid the conversation. You still wanted to ignore everything, but the time was fast approaching when you wouldn’t be able to any longer. “Is there something on your mind, (y/n)?” His tone is tender, soft, and caring. “Nope, I just want to read my book.” He chuckles, “No, you’re not.” You look down and glare at him, “And how do you know that?” “You haven’t turned a page in the last ten minutes.” “That’s what you’ve been paying attention to?” He must have been more bored than you thought. “What else is there to?” You didn’t realize until later what he meant by this, but for now, you just stared at him curiously. “Come down.” He sat up against the trunk of the tree and patted the space next to him. You sighed, gave a small smile, and obliged, hopping down from your branch to sit beside him. “So this has something to do with Meg?”      You paused before responding with an apprehensive, “Yes.” Meg’s marriage was definitely part of your melancholy. And although you didn’t plan on telling him this, Laurie’s leaving for school was affecting you much more. “What about her?” “It’s just- she’s getting married and- and moving away. And as much as I want to be happy for her, which I am, I can’t for the life of me figure out why.” Laurie gave you an odd look, so you continued, “Okay, I know why. But it’s just that she’s leaving all of us for this… this boring bachelor. I just find it odd.” “Perhaps it is, but they love each other very much. And you know what happens when two people love each other very much-” “YES! I do, Laurie!” you shrieked, and you both burst into laughter. Then you saw that familiar glint of mischief in his expression that had you forgetting everything, forgetting Meg, forgetting Laurie’s university. But soon it all came rushing back, because this is what you would miss, that look in his eye, that smile. You stopped laughing. Laurie stared at you contemplatively as you leaned back against the tree trunk and pulled your knees up towards your chest protectively. His voice dropped to barely above a whisper, “But that’s not everything, it is?” “No,” you admitted. He didn’t respond and instead put his arm around your shoulder, allowing you to lean into him. He traced circles on your shoulder with his finger. You sat here for a while, reveling in this hint of bliss, before he whispered, “You can tell me what it is if you want.” You couldn’t say no anymore, you couldn’t simply walk away. Not here. Not now. “You, Laurie. It’s you.” His finger stopped moving and his arm hung over you with far more weight than it had just moments ago. “You’re leaving and I’m going to miss you,” your voice broke, “so much.” The softness wasn’t gone from his voice, but something else was there as well, something much more morose, “I have to do this, (y/n).” “I know that, and I couldn’t possibly ask you to stay, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” “(y/n),” he turned your face towards him, putting his hand on your cheek, “I will think of you and I will write to you and I will come home as often as I can, I swear it.” He was just inches away. Your heart beat fast, and though you didn’t quite know or understand what was happening here, you loved it. “Laurie-” in a second, he closed the space between you. The kiss had a depth of emotion and feeling that encapsulated everything you could have possibly said in that moment. It was not long before you would forget what you were going to say, the memory being overshadowed by what came next. You put a hand on his chest. He was warm and soft and it felt so natural to be this close to him. The kiss ended, but he didn’t pull away.  Then, from somewhere behind you, you heard, “(y/n)! Laurie! Come, it’s time to get back to work!” It was Marmee. Laurie merely sat up straighter and looked in her direction, but you jumped up and brushed yourself off. As you and Laurie walked home, you realized how fast your heart was beating and how breathless you felt. You were dazed and stared off with a glassy and faraway look that was oddly similar to the one Meg had recently adopted. Laurie was skipping slightly as he walked, unable to control a smile spreading across his face.

[the-musical-cc]

OK Sally headcanons (under the cut because this is gonna be long) :

I keep finding encountered versions on what she’s made of- either just rags or bits of flesh and cloth or different body parts- so I pretty much am making my own: Finkelstein HAD experimented with reanimation of dead parts but found fresh parts to be rather hard to come by, so he decided to experiment on providing life to materials that weren’t meant to be alive. Somewhere along that road, he begun to feel like it’d be nice to have someone to care for him, so he mixed both ideas into the creation of an ‘Ideal partner’ made from materials that weren’t necessarily organic- eventually, this project became Sally. He provided a soft heart made from marshmallow so that she would easily love him and a brain made from sponge so that she’d be a fast learner, filled her limbs with the dead leaves of Halloweentown’s trees to root her to the land (And because it doesn’t seem like Halloweentown inhabitants are familiar with plush?) (And yes, it IS a bit ironic that a lot of the elements of Sally’s built relate to principles of magic rather than science, but it’s part of the idea. Finkelstein isn’t really half as smart as he thinks he is.) 

Sally was, of course, alive by the end of the experiment, but she didn’t seem half as interested in Finkelstein as in everything in the castle- well, that’s good, he figured, she is curious and she’s definitely a fast learner and the sooner she learns how to do things, the better. Downside being- he himself has no idea of how to do most things he built her for. What to do? He figures he can kill two birds with one stone: Introduce her to the townsfolk and have her learn different things from them that can come in handy.

Sally, on her part, isn’t really trying to snuff Finkelstein or anything of the sort, she’s just- new to everything and eager to see all she’s been missing on. So when he tells her he’s gonna have her meet some new people she’s delighted.

They didn’t use to get along that badly at first. Sally was sweet and caring enough and Finkelstein was sort of high on the success of his experiment, so he didn’t use to mind her over-eagerness and restlessness that much. Sally, on her own part, had obvious affection and gratefulness towards him for creating her, and didn’t know enough yet to crave freedom or resent his control over her.

The Halloween Town citizens aren’t really half as surprised by the new inhabitant as they probably should- even though the Mayor was the only one who even KNEW he was making a girl. They gladly agree to show her the ropes.

Witches taught her to cook, which is why she knows how to work with poisons and magic herbs, as well as where to find them.

The vampires taught her to keep a house- that is, the Halloweentown equivalent, which includes a lot less cleaning and a lot more feeding the spiders and keeping the ambient gloom.

She’s a self-taught seamstress. Had to sew herself back together a couple of times on the first days because Finkelstein’s original stitches weren’t that good. Thanks to this, she realized she rather liked sewing.

She also made her own dress. Finkelstein had originally given her something similar to what he gave his ‘Soulmate’ at the end of the film, but she didn’t find it practical enough to move in. The Mayor actually gave her the stripped socks, which are typical Halloweentown wear.

She met Zero before she met Jack while on her way back to the castle from her daily cooking lesson. Zero had to teach her how to play fetch and once she got the hang of it, they played for a while- this was the start of Finkelstein’s reservations about letting her go out because she took longer than usual and he begun to realize she might actually not want to spend all her time cooped up if she saw enough about the outside world. This resulted in their relationship becoming tense because Sally had been curious and restless from the start, but he’d only then begun to have a problem with it, which obviously confused and frustrated her.

This was actually also the first time Jack saw her- no, look. LOOK. Hear me out. Jack saw her from afar when she was playing with Zero- he’d been looking for the doggo but upon finding him having so much fun, decided to let him play a bit longer, keeping a distance as to not interrupt. Sally was the one to stop the game once she realized how late it was, running off. Jack didn’t get to ask her name. 

(I’d like to say it was love at first sight but- really, he just was sort of surprised to see someone he didn’t know around town and playing with his dog. And the fact that Zero was all over her. He did find her pretty, though.)

Enter the events in ‘The Pumpkin King’ and Jack finally gets to learn WHO she is, exactly. This is also Sally’s first time seeing him.

I KNOOOW it’s generally regarded that Sally fell in love with him on first sight after he saved her but I think she may simply have developed a crush at that point.It’s also the first time she realizes there is a difference between types of affection and that what Finkelstein wants her to feel about him is closer to what she feels for Jack.

Sometime later, Dr. Finklestein -oblivious to Sally’s crush because he’d have to be actually paying attention to realize what was going on- asked Jack to allow her into his library for educational purposes.She asks too many questions and he doesn’t have the answers for all of it- not when she’s asking about things that require emotional intelligence rather than scientific knowledge. Jack agrees, of course. During this time, they get to know each other better. Jack is used to blind compliance and continuous praise, but Sally doesn’t provide it because she has no notion that she should; and he realizes he rather likes it. When she does comply and does praise him, he actually feels like he’s earned it. He likes that she’s as restless as he is, and that her curiosity makes him consider things from angles he hadn’t even thought of. He likes talking to her and is comforted by the fact that if he isn’t feeling like it, she doesn’t demand it. On her part, Sally is just now getting a taste of what companionship can feel like when it’s not obsessive and controlling. Jack allows her to roam freely, answers her questions as best as he can and allows her to look into whatever she’s interested in- be it useful for her role at Finkelstein’s or not. She gets to see some sides of him no one else has- because no one else has spent hours sitting on his studio in silence with him working through plan after plan, talking to himself. Seen how his face lights up when he’s come up with something good. Allowed him to slip into a role that’s truer to who he is rather than who the Town needs him to be. By the time Finkelstein decides she’s had ‘Enough education’, they’ve become rather close. Sally’s crush has evolved into love and Jack may be nursing the same kind of feeling for her but he’s too much of a numbskull to realize at first.

Close enough, actually, that Jack ‘Looks the other way’ when he spots her out and about on the street even though Finkelstein’s obviously against it.

(Actually most of the town does this. Did I see Sally? Here? Why, no, Doctor! Are you sure she isn’t in your attic, feeding the spiders? Meanwhile, Sally deadass naruto runs behind them.)

Spiral Hill becomes her favorite hiding spot because Finkelstein can’t really roll in there to look for her. It’s not very wheel-chair friendly.

No one really bats an eyelash to the constant scenes between them because they know deep down the Doctor isn’t all that bad- everyone figures at some point they are going to find a middle ground and all will be well.

((I’m not sure of WHAT they think about the evident fact that the Doctor wants Sally for a wife while she looks upon him as a guardian at most- part of me thinks he never did clarify this to anyone so they innocently assumed he shared the same feelings and was just being an ‘Over-protective parent’ with her.))

Jack does know, though. And as much as it saddens him, the thought that Sally might not want to be with Finkelstein never really crosses his mind. He thinks the only source fo the conflict to be how restrictive he is and that they’ll eventually solve it. This is why the minute he sees the Doctor with his new companion at the end of the film, he immediately looks for Sally in the crowd- he knows this means she’s free.

The Mayor prrrobably knows and prrrobably isn’t chill with it, but keeps putting off that conversation with the Doctor because he’s got so much work to do. What? No, it’s not also because it’s uncomfortable as fuck to talk about. It ends up solving itself without his intervention, though, and he can breathe easy on the matter and go back to obsessing over plans.

Sally is actually not that great at scaring kids. Finkelstein made her pretty by Halloweentown standards, which normally would mean she’d be pretty darn scary, but thanks to her personality she’s only mildly unnerving at most by human standards.

She and Santa are pen pals.

Lock, Shock and Barrel actually like her quite a lot and were a teeny bit sorry to see her at Oogie’s lair with Santa. Consequently, a teeny bit relieved when Jack saved her.

This is stupidly long already, let’s just leave it at that.

[jojoreadwhat]

you're all in my hands tonight, tonight I'm a rock 'n' roll star. / honey & smoke - m.h. x OFC story

Four Days Later, On A Friday.

Matty's POV

Computer Education had already given me a sour taste in my mouth and I only sat through two of its lectures. One because I knew majority of what was listed on the slides Professor Nolan was scheming through. I really had no explanation why I applied at UNI in the first place. I had high hopes that the tapes the boys and I sent into Capital Records would hit a soft spot. Sending us on a one way trip to success, where none of these qualifications would matter as long as I wrote out the music.

Then again if it all went down hill where I'd arrive at my flat with a box of tapes with the word 'denied' repeatedly stamped over it like fragile, even though my heart would be the fragile piece in that box. It would open the door behind the scene, the little paper of a degree with my name. A ticket of being able to tweak the shitty tunes on the radio that replayed like the TV movies do on Sundays.

Two, Professor Nolan was a bit of a drag. A fine dapper looking gentlemen in his early fifties. His hair slick back dirty blonde with what looked like emerald eyes the last time I stood close. A close shaved beard that extenuated his sharp jaw line. Dressed to the nines that if you seen him on the streets, you would've thought he had millions and a white collar type business. Even though, his Gucci navy suit that my father had exactly and bought for fifteen hundred dollars could make you believe he sat on a green mountain of dollar signs.

I felt his personality and aura resembled a present me. Barely in tune with all the new things happening but completely in tune with the young ladies that gave any advantages to pass. But in his case the young ladies could pass as daughters if the sucker had any.

"Open Audio Access on your laptops." He commanded, changing the slides that was accompanied with taps and clicks from everyone following along. I sighed to myself, everything that was on those poorly designed boards. I had edited and achieved on a new track the boys and I had recorded last night.

I slouched back in my seat, listening to Nolan's cocky Mr. Know-It-All demeanor. His degrees decorating the back of his desk fact it in that he knew more. Only giving him the approval of having Professor in front of Nolan instead of Mister.

++

After commenting on Mindy's plaid skirt, Professor Feast-A-Lot finally dismissed us.

I still had a class within the hour, just some simple music class that I signed up for the laughing matter. Always stating my answers to bands I drowned myself in as the other students wanted to cuss me out. Sighing to themselves, like that mop got the spill of answers.

With the time I had between I decided to get some coffee. The tea I had earlier with George talking about his night wasn't living up to it's strong expectations. Even though the class I just left could stand as a contender of an explanation.

I walked with the rush of the hundreds in the halls, making my way to left wing lounge and turning the corner of muraled up wall, covered in vibrant flowers and weird shapes from the art program.

Waiting at the counter I turned to scan the little lounge, just many studying with their textbooks as heads. Some talking to another. Just the common vibe of any little coffee shop you stepped your foot into.

One of them sticking out like a sore thumb.

Lucy.

Writing in her leather bound journal that rested on her crossed legs, playing with the slight tear in her in the hem of her playful colored dress.

Relaxed and looking out the window on the purple wing-back in the cafe lounge. Watching the shades of orange, red and yellow converse against the blue sky. Admiring her side profile, a high cheek bone with a light dusting of blush against her milky skin, her perfectly rounded jaw. Her lashes curled with a coding of mascara that complimented her baby blues.

I watched as she grazed her bottom rosy lip with the back of her pen in thought.

The red headed barista asked for the second time what I wanted before realizing that she was even speaking. Finding it hard to take my eyes off the scenery near the window. I ordered my black coffee, then pointed out Lucy who looked disappointed in the last drops of her cup. Dark roast, light with vanilla, sugar and two shots of the sleep she had lost the night before.

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

Lucy's POV.

I was finding myself becoming a frequent patient with my therapeutic glances of the vibrant trees and the sounds of the espresso machine. Sitting in the same wingback, looking about the window, stuck in what I was going to jot in my journal next. My first week of being in London and enduring classes was wrapping up, nothing worthy had happened yet to write about and I was finding myself running around a writer's block.

As much as I wanted my creative juices to keep blending. I couldn't complain about how things were going. University has been so far treating me well. I've met a good handful of my professors in Week A, many have taken a liking to me which I couldn't quite grasp. But it wasn't a bad feeling to know about, plus Professor Jones really liked my thesis of A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Putting a good word into the librarian of the Uni's library and landing me a interview for Monday.

Things at the university housing with Liz and Abby was going pretty well too. I was growing more fond of them by the minute, both interested in the same type of books, music and films. Liz was a bit realistic and logic about life, which kind of put a damper on things if you were trying to live in a fantasy world with reality biting you in the ass. Then Abby was more free spirited and self aware of what made an individual very much happy, even when the world was not so happy.

Then lastly, home. I finally Skyped my brother Eric and my dad. It was early for them but quite late for me. But in all I was mixed with emotions, both joyful and sad that I wasn't home. They are doing well so far.

I sighed to myself, resting my leather bound on my lap and retreating my blue eyes to the shades of orange, red and yellow. Reaching for the coffee I had finished moments ago, but reluctant to get up and grab another.

But that was before one was brought to me instead. By another thing that I had happened to come across this week.

"Am I intruding?" The English native that I met my first night here had greeted, handing me the warm paper cup with pretty botanical flowers repeated. I shook my head, gesturing my free hand to the wingback across.

Matty sat down, folding his long legs over one another. His eyes meeting mine, smiling softly as his mouth indulged in a sip. Giving me a few moments to admire before another word.

He wasn't wearing his glasses today but his hair was the same as the night I met him. Pulled back into a bun with loose curls shaping out his face. My eyes leading down to his lined out jaw. His collarbones, the tattoo that always made an appearance no matter what type of shirt he wore this week. To the lasting hole over his knee.

I was broken from my stare when he had chuckled, possibly figuring out that I was staring long.

"Anything new?" He asked, his eyes gesturing to my open leather bound. I shook my head, slowly closing it against my knee before my eyes met his again.

He looked at me surprised and in disbelief, "So the storyteller doesn't have a story to tell?" He questioned, resting his cup on the table aside us. I shrugged, it was truly hard to believe but as my mind moved fast the world outside of it didn't and I was at a stand still.

"It just been classes, reading and then some." I finished, finally taking a sip of my coffee.

Matty smiled at me again, a smile I could watch curl at the ends of his mouth like a favorite part to a movie. "We may have to change that." He said, looking at me with tricks under his sleeves and me swimming in his over sized sweater.

I had to cut my coffee break short when I realized I had time run to my next class, Woman Studies.

Shortly becoming my favorite class as we debated fundamental rights and she played Kathleen Hanna fronted Bikini Kill winning my anarchy heart.

"Don't forget to read The Second Sex and please have your reasoning's sent in by 12 AM on Monday." She dismissed. I followed suit with the rest of the class as I packed away my things for the weekend.

Making my way to the hall to get lost in the hundred of others trying to head out and not miss the next Tube coming by. The boy in a leather jacket that I was sharing a coffee with an hour earlier was leaning against the wall next to the door.

His devious smirk gracing upon his face, "I'm feeling like you're onto something." I commented, a small smile plastering across my cheeks. Matty rippled a contagious laugh that I could listen to like an album on my turntable.

"Can't a gentleman just walk a lady home safely?" He remarked.

++

"No! That's a lie!" I laughed, hitting Matty's forearm lightly. We had moved onto music since Matty offered to walk me home. And let's just say we had a few differences.

Matty loved older music, which I did too. But I found Prince to be a bit cooler than MJ. Which didn't sit well with Matty. "Have you heard the magic in Rock With You?" He mentioned, "It's fucking legendary!" It was so funny to see him go off, but I never said I didn't like the man! I knew how the sounds had your hips moving. I was just a Purple Rain kind of girl.

Matty stood in front of me, walking backwards down the sidewalk.

Girl. Close your eyes... He began singing, moving his hips to the beats that played out in his head. Taking my hand, and pulling me close.

Let that rhythm get into you, don't try to fight it. Placing one hand above my hip, the other still in mine. Directing my hips into a sway, as his voice hit me like sweet serenity.

He went on, and I was enjoying every bit of it. Music was his muse like books were mine and he wasn't ashamed to show it. His hips showing that he never stopped moving either.

We had arrived to the front of my flat, Matty belting more songs of MJ.

"I have to get in," I mentioned, not really wanting to do so. Matty's lips kept moving "Not until you change your mind." Singing in the measures of Don't Stop Till You Get Enough.

I chuckled, still dancing with him till I finally caved in. "Alright, Michael Jackson is better." I confessed, meaning every word that fell from my mouth. He just chuckled, pulling me closer and bringing his lips to my ear.

"I think you're lying" his warm breath grazing my lobe. Sending chills down my spine. I went to protest when Liz and Abby got out of their car. Interrupting our manifest. They just softly smiled, saying Hello before retreating up the porch. I looked up at Matty, who still had his hand around my waist.

Matty pulled away with a soft but questionable expression on his face. I wondered what was on his mind.

"Come watch us play tonight." He said, "The boys and I are playing at the bar George's bartends in. I'd like to see you there."

Many different excuses ran through my mind. Studying, catching some sleep, watching the same three episodes of The Office, outline my far along memoir that would be a flop. Just a rush of things that could've fallen from my mouth.

"Alright, sounds like fun." Happened to be the better option.

Matty's smirk turn a bit shy, looking to the ground before he looked back up at me.

"I'll pick you up at 6?" He questioned, I nodded. Still confused on why I was agreeing to this extravaganza in the first place. A smile gracing his face once more before turning on his Vans to head back to where his road led him.

"See you soon, Blue."

[blurry-fics]

Chapter One

Prove Me Wrong | Series Masterlist

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1973

Author’s Note: I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has shown the series support so far! It means the world to me, considering how hard I’ve been working on this series :) Enjoy chapter one!

You grabbed your bag from the passenger seat and pulled it into your lap before flipping down the visor to check your teeth one last time before walking inside. Spending the evening doing homework wasn’t exactly your preferred way of passing time, but at least Tyler had offered for you to come do it at his apartment. It was better than being stuck at home, at least.

You didn’t bother knocking as you reached his door. He had given you a key as soon as he had moved in, claiming that he would probably lose his in a week and need you to come rescue him. It had only taken him two days to lose them.

“Hello!” you called throughout the tiny apartment.

Tyler spun around and pulled his headphones down around his neck. He smiled once he realized that it was just you entering his apartment.

“How was school?” he asked as you collapsed onto the couch.

“Boring. The stuff we went over in psychology was just a repeat of what I learned last term and my history class was,” you paused as you searched for the right word, “mundane.”

“Did you learn that in class today?” he laughed.

Tyler tossed his headphones down on top of his keyboard and joined you on the couch. You had already covered his coffee table in all of your school stuff. He began to grab at papers, flipping through them idly.

“Hey!” you said, snatching them out of his hand. “You’re going to get these all mixed up.”

“Sorry, I was just seeing what I’m missing out on.”

You smiled and shook your head, thinking back to the term that you and Tyler had spent at college together. From the beginning, you could tell that he was out of place in the education scene. His heart had always been with music and when he dropped out to pursue that, you knew it was the right call.

“Lots of exciting stuff,” you said, grabbing the textbook you needed.

Tyler stood up and wandered off towards the kitchen. You watched him walk, idly letting his hands trace along the edge of the counter. Your mouth started to curl into a smile, but you wiped it away and turned back to your textbook. Homework. That was your focus right now.

It only took two sentences before your mind was wandering back to Tyler again. You pulled your lip between your teeth and chewed nervously on it, cursing yourself for allowing yourself to feed into these emotions still. Four years had passed since the truth or dare incident, and yet the crush you had then still resided within you now. At this point, you were pretty sure you would be in love with Tyler forever.

“Dinner?”

“What?” You had only registered that Tyler was talking by the time that he had reached the end of his question.

“I asked if you wanted dinner. I was going to eat earlier, but then you said you were on your way over so I decided to wait.”

You shifted your laptop onto the coffee table and rotated so that you could rest an arm on the back of the couch, figuring that this conversation warranted your full attention.

“Sure, what should we get?”

“Well, we could make something here.”

You made a face.

“Or go to the thai place down the street that we like?”

“Better answer,” you grinned.

“If you call it in, I’ll run down and get it.”

“Deal.”

Tyler wrote down what he wanted on a post-it note and handed it to you. You jotted down your own order - just so that you wouldn’t forget it while on the phone - and dialed the thai place. Honestly, you were surprised that they didn’t recognize your voice alone based on the sheer number of times you and Tyler had ordered from them.

“Fifteen minutes,” you said, tossing your phone down on the couch.

“Fifteen minutes,” Tyler quietly repeated as he messed around on his phone.

He walked back into the living room and collapsed onto the couch, sending most of your papers flying. You shot him a look as you quickly gathered them back up and tucked them into their proper folders where they wouldn’t get messed with by Tyler.

“How’s the music going?” you asked. Next to you, Tyler had grabbed one of your highlighters and was spinning it around his fingers.

“It’s going. The new guy, Josh, he’s been a really big help in writing the music. I think we’re going to be able to get the album out in a week or two.”

“Already? That was fast.”

“We just need something to get attention. If we sit around waiting to make the perfect album, we’ll never put anything out.”

You reached over and grabbed the highlighter that he was twirling, “That makes sense, but you should still be proud of what you create.”

“I am, don’t worry.”

You finished typing up a few notes before turning to Tyler.

“So this guy, Josh, he’s cool?”

“Really cool,” Tyler nodded. “We’ve only been working together for a couple months, but it feels like I’ve known him for a lifetime.”

“He’s not replacing me, is he?” you laughed, hoping it would hide the nervousness in your voice.

“No. I don’t think anyone could ever replace you, Y/N.”

Tyler reached over and gave you an affectionate punch in the shoulder. You retaliated by tossing a highlighter at him, but he simply caught it and proceeded to twirl it around his fingers again.

“That’s what I like to hear.”

You hated that there were butterflies in your stomach from such a simple statement. All Tyler had said was that Josh wouldn’t be taking your place, it’s not like he had just confessed his love to you. There was no reason for you to be getting so worked up over something so simple.

“Are you doing psychology homework?”

“History.”

“What are you reading about?”

“Well, I would be reading about Ancient Greece if I didn’t keep getting interrupted,” you answered. Tyler pursed his lips, but they were still curved up into a smile.

“Hey, in my defense, you accepted my offer to come do homework over here.”

“I wasn’t anticipating being so distracted.”

“Y/N.”

“Yes?”

“How long have you known me?”

“Seven years.”

“Exactly, so what made you think that I wasn’t going to distract you?”

“Hope,” you laughed.

Tyler shook his head and set your highlighter down among the rest of your study materials.

“I need to go pick up the food.”

“Have fun,” you called after him.

“No promises.”

He shut the front door behind him, leaving you in his silent apartment. Normally you would have offered to go with him to avoid this very situation, but since it was the first moment of peace you had since arriving, you took it as a blessing rather than a curse. The more homework you got done now, the more uninterrupted time you could spend together later.

“I’m back!” Tyler announced, holding up a white plastic bag in one hand.

“How was your trip?”

He muttered something unintelligible under his breath as he pulled your orders out of the bag. While he did that, you stacked your things up into a neat pile so that the two of you would actually have room to eat. Tyler’s apartment was too small for a proper dining room table, so the couch had to take its place.

“Want to hear about my trip?” Tyler groaned as he sat down on the couch. He passed your food and a fork to you.

“Indulge me.”

“So I get to the thai place, no problem. There was like one lady in line in front of me, which is fine, but then she spent an entire five minutes ordering. Five minutes! When I finally got up to the counter, I was like ‘Pickup order for Joseph’, paid, and was out of there in two minutes flat. It was all so unnecessary,” he mumbled as he stirred up his noodles.

“But you’re back now!” you smiled as you did the same.

“Now we get to enjoy delicious food and good company.”

“Exactly.”

You watched as Tyler struggled to get his noodles to stay on his fork. He tried three times before finally getting fed up and sticking something else with his fork. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink as soon as he noticed you watching the whole ordeal.

“They were slippery,” he muttered.

“I noticed.”

“Oh hey! I had a question for you.”

Your heart started to beat a little faster as your mind filled with millions of possibilities. It was one of the reasons that you hated open-ended questions, there was too much room to worry.

“What?”

“Your brother is still living at home, right?”

Your heart rate seemed to slow back down to normal in an instant.

“Yeah, but he’s looking for a place. Why do you ask?”

“Josh and I are planning to play some shows in the next couple months, and it would be great if he could help us with loading and setting up at a couple of them. I’d give him free tickets for the show, since I know he’s into music.”

“Why can’t I help?” you asked.

“Do you want to?”

“Well, maybe not, but I’m capable!”

“Y/N, I remember high school gym class. You’re not fooling me.”

“Hey! Not all of us were basketball stars like you.”

“Most three-point shots during a single season in the school’s history,” he grinned.

“Yeah, and you won’t let me forget it.”

Tyler smiled and took another bite of his food. You took a moment to admire the dorky grin on his face before pulling your gaze away, afraid to stare too long. Even though Tyler knew about your feelings for him, you tried not to make it blatantly obvious. Part of you was still afraid that one day he would decide it was too much and end your friendship.

“What are you thinking about, Y/N?”

You needed a lie. Fast.

“All the work I have to do. It seems never ending,” you said, making a face for extra emphasis.

Tyler nodded towards your pile of schoolwork, “Looks like it.”

“And that’s not even all my stuff.”

“I don’t know how you do it.”

“I could say the same thing about you and music.”

Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and pressed his lips together. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment before they relaxed again and he let out a sigh.

“You have a point.”

“Shocking, I know.”

The two of you made a bit more conversation as you finished up your dinner. As soon as you were done, you got back to work on your homework. If you wanted to stay on top of your work, you couldn’t let Tyler distract you from getting anything done. Of course, he wasn’t going to make that easy.

“Don’t you have something better to do than messing with my stuff?” you laughed as he began to juggle your highlighters.

“I’m a musician.”

“So?”

“No, I don’t have something better to do,” he laughed.

You grabbed the highlighter that you needed from midair and used it on the passage that you had just read. Tyler decided that he had had enough of his game and got up from the couch, leaving your school supplies in his wake. He wandered around the living room for a moment before settling down at his piano.

“Do you mind if I play?”

“Not at all.”

“I might sing too.”

“That’s fine, Ty.”

“Ok,” he said, giving you that all-too-familiar goofy smile.

You bit down on your lip to hide the smile that was beginning to form. This boy was going to be the death of you.

*     *     *     *     *

Taglist

@faceofcontvsions @ohprettyweeper @spookyjiimfanfiction @addictoftwentyone @svintsandghosts @gaiatheroyalrabbit @iamnotawasteofspace @patdsinner33 @merandlune @addictwithaheavydirtycheetah @schrodingersjustine @ccfffee @frappeitea @gayy-pilotss @coolcxt @donttellaweirdweakling @a-stumpsexuals-world @5secondsofmoxley @breadbinishigh

[zoeygreensimblr]

All you had to do was Stay (Episode 30)

Graduation day, a day I thought would never arrive, I am finally done with Buckingham High, I cleared out my locker, handed my textbooks back to the office and have my cape and gown ready, I am so excited.

Tess and I arrive at school at 11, I take my seat next to Cassie, the best part about seating being done in alphabetical order is that Goth comes just before Green. Tess takes her place on stage next to Declan, her final duty as School Captain is to run the ceremony alongside Mr Landgaarb.

We do a practice run of the ceremony before the parents and special guests arrive.

"They are going to drag this out aunt they?" Cassie complains and I nod, I just want to get my diploma and drink champagne and dance around my basement with my friends.

The ceremony begins at 1pm, we've been sitting in the school hall for hours and everyones restless so when Tess finally steps up to the microphone to commence we all cheer.

"I like to welcome our parents and guests and congratulate my fellow classmates on completing not only the hardest year of our lives, so far, but also 13 years of schooling. The memories that we've made here will stay with us forever and no matter where you are going next year you will always have a part of Buckingham with you. On behalf of Declan and myself we want to say that we have been honoured to be your school captains and we would like to thank Mr Landgaarb and all our teachers for all their guidance and support this year." Tess announces to the crowd and we all cheer again.

Mr Landgaarb approaches the microphone and begins handing out our diplomas, Declan is first, followed by Tess and then the rest of the class in alphabetical order. When it comes to my turn to accept my diploma Mr Landgaarb smiles warmly at me

"Congratulations Miss Green" he says, shaking my hand, Tess breaks protocol to run up and hug me, to share this moment together.

After the ceremony we find all set out to find our parents and guests. I spot Mum and Don, standing at the back of the room talking to Imogen, I'm surprised to see her here. I approach them and Mum pulls Tess and I in for a hug together.

"Im so proud of my babies" She cries.

Don is next to grab us and tell us that he is proud and happy, I've never seen Don cry before today. We move down the line to Imogen, who looks as beautiful as ever.

"Congratulations Zoey and Tess" She says hugging us

"Thank you" I reply, "Is Angus here?" I ask her and she points behind me, he was filming the ceremony and Tess and I with our parents. He runs up to us, wraps me up in his arms, picks me up and spins me.

"You're free Princess, congratulations" He exclaims, that big, bright smile on his face but his face drops when he sees Mr Landgaarb coming over to us, "Fuck" he whispers to me.

"Congratulations again Zoey" Mr Landgaarb says

"Thank you" I reply through gritted teeth, I hate this guy.

"Angus I wanted to come over and clear the air, after Tuesday evening. Zoey was right, I was out of line with how I spoke to you, it's been 5 years and you've grown into a good man. I also want to apologise to you for destroying your education, it's not excuse but my son was a drug addict who is now serving a life sentence in a foreign prison for attempting to smuggle drugs, when I caught you with drugs I took the anger I have for my son out on you. You were a bright student and could have gone far" Mr Landgaarb explains

"Thank you for the apology but it doesn't really change what happened, what I lost" Angus says coldly

"Which is why I have an offer for you. I looked over your records, saw what subjects you took and have spoken to our teachers here, I want to give you back your year, it would mean you would have to start year 12 again but I want to get you your high school certificate and you could go to university" Mr Landgaarb offers him

"I'll be 23 sitting in a classroom with 17 and 18 year olds?" Angus asks

"No, you can do your subjects at home, at your own pace, we will be on hand to provide you with as much tutoring and support you need to get you up to speed and your girlfriend here would be happy to help too" He says, pointing to me, I'm about to correct him when Angus jumps in

"I accept your offer" Angus says, shaking Landgaarb's hand.

"I'm having a small graduation party at my house, would you come to it?" I invite Angus one Landgaarb has left us

"Of course sweetie, as long as you don't mind a high schooler coming along to your party" He laughs

"Oh yeah, we don't hang out with high school kids" I tease him

"I can't believe I'm going to put myself through all that stress again" He sighs

"At least this time you know whats coming, you know the material, you've read all the books on the reading list and you can have my notes. Plus I'll help you through, so will the others and we can go to university together" I tell him, I'm so happy he gets a second chance.

"I owe you so much Zoey, if you hadn't defended me then this would never of happened. Thank you" He hugs me tightly

Angus and I walk to his car which he parked in the school parking lot and he hands me the his keys.

"You're driving home" He announces to me

"I can't drive your car. What if I crash it?" I panic

"I'm insured and you won't crash. Just remember though, I love my car so you've gotta treat her right, take it slow, ease yourself into it" He reminds me

"You love her more than me?" I ask him

"She never left me" He teases.

I drive slowly out of the car park, making sure I'm cautious and head out of Forgotten Hollow.

"I could get used to driving this" I tell him as we come into Willow Creek, I'm staying just under 60km

"You can go faster if you want, it's 70 along this road" He tells me and I put my foot down slightly on the accelerator, bringing it up to 67, "You're doing good Zo" He praises me.

"I told you I could drive" I remind him

"Yeah but you also told me you felt nervous driving outside of Brindleton Bay so I'm a little surprised with how calm you are" He exclaims

"I couldn't drive to San Myshuno during the day, I'd have a panic attack with the amount of traffic and all the lane changes" I tell him

"Zoey there was a time, not too long ago, when you couldn't even talk to me without having a panic attack and now you're telling off school principals, you're not that shy, timid girl I first met, you've pushed yourself outside of your own comfort zone and I love seeing it" He says, placing a hand on my knee

"And I credit a lot of that too you Angus, you brought me out of my shell, you made me feel special" I look over at him and smile

"Eyes on the road Zoey" He panics slightly

My basement has been transformed with balloons and streamers, theres food everywhere and Don is mixing drinks at the bar. Tess, Cassie, Sam and Declan are already here.

"I just messaged Steph, she said her and Annabelle will be here soon" Tess says running up to me

"I drove Angus' car" I blurt out to her, it's a big, exciting achievement for me and I want to tell everyone

"You let her drive it? Her?" Tess yells at Angus

"She earned it, she got me a second chance at completing Year 12" Angus boasts

"What? That's awesome news" Tess says hugging Angus and then me, "Let's drink and dance", she grabs my hand and leads me to where Cassie, Sam and Declan are dancing, Angus goes to the bar and gets us drinks and talk to Don, I look over and see them laughing together, my mother walks up to Angus and hugs him warmly, I didn't even know him when I started the year and now he is so intertwined into my life, even when we didn't talk he was still in my life through Tess, Cassie and Declan.

I leave my group to join Angus, I hear the end of their conversation as I approach, something about Christmas is being discussed.

"It's only October and you're already planning Christmas?" I ask them and they exchange looks

"Zoey you know me, always making plans" Angus laughs

"Can I borrow you for a moment, I have something for you" I ask him, he hands me a drink and follows me upstairs, to my bedroom, I realise this is the first time he's been in here too.

"I love your mural, did Tess paint that?" He marvels at the beautiful beach scene.

"She did, she's pretty good. Did you ever get her to paint one in your office?" I enquire

"Yep, I'll show it to you tomorrow afternoon, she did an amazing job and now I have something beautiful to look at every day" He tells me and I hand him his copy of 'Seduction by the Sea'

"Sorry, I've had this sitting here since July, I thought about mailing it back to you but I didn't want to let it go, it reminded me of you" I say

"You didn't finish it?" He exclaims

"I tried to, I love the story but after we broke up I couldn't read about the captain without thinking of you, so I would sleep with it beside me every night" I tell him

"Keep it Zo, finish it" He urges, putting it back down on my bedside table, "I like your room, it's very Zoey"

"I don't even know what that means Angus" I laugh

"You've got this giant movie collection which is almost matched by your book collection, you have posters of horses and little shinny trinkets, it's cute like you" He smiles at me

"You like cute, I remember" I smile back at him

"I like you" He exclaims, stroking my cheek

"We should probably get back to the party" I suggest because I know his flirting won't go anywhere and I'll just end up sad that it will never be what I want it to be.

[wistfulcynic]

Their Way By Moonlight: Emma (Chapter 4)

Notes: Thank you as always for your comments and feedback, though I confess I've been a bit taken aback by the vehement reaction to Emma and Walsh's cursed marriage. It seems that people hate Walsh in a much more visceral way than I anticipated.  

I do truly appreciate all of you who are reading this, and especially those who have made supportive and encouraging comments. I’m really putting a lot into this one in terms of style, plot, and detail, and it’s hard not to get discouraged when I pour blood and sweat into something only to have everyone focus on one tiny thing. So to ease your minds, here is our first chapter from Emma’s POV. I think it will go a long way towards assuaging your fears about her circumstances under the curse. If you are considering bailing on this fic because of the Emma/Walsh situation, I would ask you please to read this chapter before you make a final decision.  

As before, there are allusions to cursed relationships, and a potentially distressing scene of aggression within a cursed marriage. 

Summary: A new curse has fallen on Storybrooke and this time the Saviour is trapped inside it, deliberately separated from her son and anyone else who might help her break it. But what no one knows –including her own cursed self– is that she and Hook are soulmates, working together within their shared dreams to find a way to break the curse and free everyone from the clutches of evil yet again. (Alternate 3B, set in the What Dreams May Come universe)

Rating: A hard M

Tagging: @teamhook @wellhellotragic @rouhn @kmomof4 @resident-of-storybrooke @darkcolinodonorgasm @jennjenn615@tiganasummertree @let-it-raines @bonbonpirate @thejollyroger-writer @lfh1962

Anyone wishing to be added to or dropped from this tag list, please let me know!

Read it on AO3

Emma: 

Emma hesitated outside the door of the old cannery. She wasn’t quite certain of why she was there, or the reason behind the irresistible compulsion she felt to see its disconcertingly attractive new owner again. He had invited her to come by, though of course he’d meant later— the bookstore wasn’t even open yet. But Emma hadn’t been able to wait. Two days had passed since they’d met, since that brief but oddly intense conversation in Granny’s, and she had been unable to get Killian Jones and his son out of her head. Something about them, about him, pulled at her, and it wasn’t just his striking looks, not even the beautiful blue eyes with their expression of profound, compelling sadness. It was something deeper. She felt somehow as though she knew him, and more astoundingly that he knew her, better than anyone, better even than her own husband. Although, she thought with a small start, as though the idea had only just occurred to her, Walsh barely even took the trouble to speak to her these days, much less keep up with what was going on in her life. She’d been meaning to talk to him about that, she remembered suddenly. Yes. She’d been meaning to talk to him about a lot of things, but when the time came to do so she always seemed to forget. Tonight, she promised herself, making a mental note. Tonight they would finally talk. She wouldn’t forget this time.

Gathering her courage, Emma reached for the doorknob with her right hand, the palm of which still tingled from her brief handshake with Killian two days ago, and as she opened the door she remembered how the night before last her sleep had been troubled by disturbing dreams. She could recall only wisps of them, but she was certain he had been in them, he and his eyes, doing things to her that she couldn’t bear to think about in the light of day. Things she couldn’t bear to admit she had loved. 

She really should stay far away from him. And yet here she was, in his shop. 

She pushed the door open and stepped inside, gasping at the sight before her. The room was simply lovely, bright and airy, with sunlight pouring in through the wide windows, dancing across the exposed brick walls and the antique looking dark-wood shelves that stood tall in four distinct sections around the room.  A heavy mahogany desk sat opposite the door, elegantly carved with nautical designs: ships and storms, mermaids and other sea creatures she couldn’t put a name to, all rendered in exquisite detail. Atop it was an antique metal cash register, as elegantly decorated as the desk, sitting alongside, Emma was amused to note, a decidedly modern portable card reader attached to an iPad. Someone had a taste for the ancient but enough sense to appreciate the modern, she thought.

She was so caught up in admiration of her surroundings that she didn’t notice Killian’s arrival until he spoke. 

“Swan?” The sound of his voice seemed to wrap around her, as deep and sonorous as she remembered, almost caressing her name. She turned to see him standing at the foot of the stairs. “What are you doing here?”

“Um,” she said, feeling abruptly hot and itchy. How was it possible that he could be even better looking than she remembered? Admittedly she hadn’t really had a good look at Granny’s, though she had definitely noticed his face, but now as he stood by the black wrought-iron staircase that wound in a perfect helix up to a hole in the ceiling, his expression briefly unguarded and searingly intense, she had an opportunity to ogle. 

He wore dark grey trousers in a soft woolen twill and an equally soft looking v-neck sweater in a shade of blue that made his eyes stand out even more. A tuft of dark hair peeked out just above the vee, and the itch in Emma’s palm flared to life again with the desire to touch it, to touch him. Everything about him seemed so eminently touchable. The sweater clung to his lean frame just tightly enough to show how fit he was, and his hair was tousled in a way that looked both deliberate and as though it could have been caused by fingers being run through it in the heat of passion. 

What? Emma shook herself. Where the hell did that come from? Remember you’re married. And it’s not like you know anything about the heat of passion, anyway. At least, that’s what Walsh always told her, what he always gave as an excuse for why he didn’t want to touch her. She was cold, he said. Too hard. Not enough. She forced back those thoughts, promising herself once again that she would sit down with Walsh that evening and discuss the problems in their marriage. She dreaded it, but she had to try. They couldn’t go on much longer like this. 

“Uh,” she tried again to respond to Killian’s question. “You said I should come by.” 

“So I did, though I didn’t expect you quite so soon. I’m afraid we’re not open yet.” 

“Yeah, sorry, it was stupid,” she said, turning away. “I was just passing and I thought— never mind, I’ll go—”

“No!” She looked back at him, startled at the vehemence in his voice. He flushed faintly pink and reached up to rub at a spot behind his right ear. “No, you don’t have to go. Please don’t, in fact. I’d be happy to, um, give you a tour? If you’d like.” 

He looked hesitant but also eager, like he really, really wanted her to stay. She smiled. It felt like a long time since anyone had actually desired her company. 

“Okay,” she said, a bit shyly. “I’d like that.” 

A bright smile broke across his face, warm and soft and with just a hint of something wicked beneath it. For a moment Emma forgot to breathe. God, he’s gorgeous.

“Well, why don’t we start here?” he said, coming to stand beside her and indicating the near corner of the room with his left arm. His sleeve was pushed up slightly and she could see the seam where his prosthetic hand joined his arm. She realised with surprise that she hadn’t noticed the other day that he was missing his left hand. He’s missing his left hand. Why did that fact seem so significant to her? It tickled at the back of her mind, like something she needed to remember but couldn’t quite pull from her subconscious. 

“So we’re still waiting on some inventory, but you can see the general layout of the shop,” he was saying. “Reference material is here at the front, with theory guides just here behind it. The practical manuals we have to be a bit more careful with, so they’re back in this corner, some of them will be locked in a special glass cupboard, available on request only. Then here in this corner we have the historical context.” 

Emma frowned, looking more closely at the titles of the books that already graced the shelves. Rare volumes, he’d said the other day, but these were all—

“These are books of magic!” she cried. 

“Oh, aye, did I not mention? That’s our specialty. Books of and about magic.”

She started to laugh, then trailed off when she noticed he didn’t join her. “But you’re not serious?”

“Very serious.”

“Books of magic.” 

“And about magic, aye.” 

“But— magic isn’t real.” 

“There are quite a number of people who would disagree with that assessment, Sheriff.”

“And you’re one of them?” Her voice was rife with disbelief.

“Aye,” he replied, and the sincerity in his face and tone were unmistakable. “I am.” 

She shook her head. “I would never have pegged you as someone with an interest in the occult. You seem so, I dont know, practical.” 

“Oh, I’m very practical, love, but that doesn’t mean I can’t believe in magic.” 

She wanted to deny his words, really it was so absurd, but she realised with another start of surprise that she was genuinely interested, almost despite herself, curious to the point of fascination. “Will you tell me about them?”

He exhaled deeply, almost as if he had been holding his breath waiting for her reaction, and gave her another dazzling smile. “It would be my pleasure.” 

Nearly two hours later they were sitting on the floor surrounded by books, and Emma’s head was buzzing with stories of witches and wizards, covens and cults, fascinating details concerning the history and practice of magical arts.  She felt like she had learned more in that short time than she had before in the whole of her life. Of course, her earlier education had been… it had been… what? She couldn’t recall. Frowning, she tried to remember where she had gone to school, the names of her teachers, fellow classmates, anything, but it was all a blank. 

“Emma?” She turned to see Killian looking at her inquiringly. “Are you all right, love?”

She should really object to that ‘love’, she knew, but couldn’t bring herself to. She liked it. It made her feel warm inside. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit distracted.” 

He nodded, and reached out to close one of the books. “We’ve been talking for a long time,” he said. “Perhaps we could take a break?”

She watched carefully as he used the prosthetic hand to close the book. The hand moved, she noticed, clearly it had some sort of mechanism operating it, but he seemed to mange it awkwardly, as though not quite used to it. She wondered how long he’d had— “When did you lose your hand?” she blurted, then flushed. “Sorry, it’s none of my business.” 

He looked startled, then smiled. “No, it’s fine. It’s been so long, I don’t mind speaking of it anymore.”

“How long?”

“Oh, years and years.” 

“What happened? Er, if you don’t mind me asking.” 

“Not at all. It was stupid, really. I was young, I got in a fight. Over a woman. Woke up the next day with no hand.”

“I’m so sorry.” 

He shrugged. “Like I said it was years ago.” 

“Mmmmm.” 

“What is it, Swan?” He looked almost expectant, like he knew the gears were turning in her head and was excited to see what they would spit out. She felt again the odd, unfamiliar sensation of being the focus of genuine interest. He truly seemed to care about what she had to say, for no reason other than that she was saying it. 

“It’s just— well, you don’t seem very comfortable with the artificial one. If it’s been so long, I guess I would have thought you’d be more used to it by now.” 

“Ah, well that’s explained easily enough. I lost my hand so long ago that the prosthetics that were available to me at the time were, um, let’s say primitive. This one however is quite new. State of the art, they tell me. It works by interacting with the electrical impulses in my muscle fibres, apparently. So you see, until quite recently I had a much simpler one, and this one, while far better in many ways, is taking a bit of time to adjust to.”

Every word he spoke was the truth, she could detect no dishonesty in his face or manner, yet she sensed it wasn’t the whole story either. He was leaving out important details. And she wondered why. 

As he spoke he adjusted the prosthetic with his right hand, drawing her attention to the thick, engraved silver band he wore on its ring finger. A wedding ring? she wondered. It must be. A man with no left hand would naturally wear his wedding band on his right, wouldn’t he? Especially if until recently he’d worn a simpler prosthesis, one with no fingers. 

She wondered, and not for the first time, about Henry’s mother. Killian’s face when he’d spoken of her in Granny’s had worn for a brief moment such a devastated expression, her loss must still be fresh and painful for him. In a weird way that made her feel better about having sought him out and spent so long talking with him. She was married, he a grieving widower, what harm could there be in a friendship between them? She certainly wouldn’t have to worry about anything coming of the fierce attraction she felt for him. Even if he felt it too, he would never act on it. He was very obviously still in love with his wife, and Emma somehow knew beyond any doubt that he was not a man to betray those he loved. 

“So, um, it’s ah, lunchtime,” he said, scratching behind his ear again. “And it seems we both could use a break. Would you care to join me? For some lunch?”

“Sure, I guess. Where were you going to go?”

“I—, uh, we live upstairs,” he gestured towards the staircase. “The third floor is a loft apartment, I was just going to go up and make a sandwich.” 

Alone with him in his apartment. Emma’s heart thundered. “A sandwich sounds great,” she managed to say. “Can you do grilled cheese?”

His face twisted for a moment into the strangest expression, half blissful happiness, half like he wanted to cry. “I can,” he said, his voice hoarse. “It’s my son’s favourite.” 

“In that case, I’d love to join you.” 

The grilled cheese was perfect, exactly the way she liked it. She told him as much, and was rewarded with another half-delighted, half-sad expression. “I’m glad I haven’t lost my touch,” he said, almost to himself. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Grilled cheese is— Henry’s mother’s favourite as well,” he said quietly. “Since we lost her we don’t make it as often as we used to.”

Emma didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so she crunched her sandwich in slightly awkward silence as he busied himself at the stove, avoiding looking at him until he slid a cup in front of her. “What’s this?” she asked in surprise. 

“Traditional Jones family accompaniment to grilled cheese,” he replied. 

She picked up the mug and inhaled over it. “Hot chocolate with— is that cinnamon?”

“Aye. It’s a bit odd I’ll grant you, and if I’m honest I prefer it plain, but that’s how Henry likes it.”

“Seriously? You’re telling me your son likes cinnamon on his hot chocolate.” 

“Aye.” He seemed to be watching her carefully. 

“Grilled cheese and hot chocolate with cinnamon is my favourite lunch,” she said. “You’re basically telling me that I have the same tastes as your thirteen year old kid.” 

“Would it help if I confessed to an affinity for it as well?” he asked, his face deadpan but with amusement twinkling in his eyes. 

“It might.” 

“Very well, I confess it, but you mustn’t ever tell Henry. I’d never get him to eat a vegetable again if he thought he could wheedle grilled cheese out of me every night.” 

“It’s a deal.” 

The earlier awkwardness was dispelled, and as Killian sat down to eat his sandwich Emma sipped her chocolate —it too was perfect— making it last as long as possible. There was no way she could justify staying any longer once lunch was over, and she didn’t want to go. She felt comfortable with Killian, and happy, things she couldn’t remember feeling in a long, long time. Later she knew she would need to analyse these feelings, but for now she simply wished to feel them. 

When the last drop was finally drained she set the cup down on the counter, then realised it might be nice if she took it to the sink instead and went to pick it up again, at the same time as Killian reached for it himself. Her hand closed around it first followed a second later by his, his fingers linking with hers in a way that felt so natural that it didn’t even occur to her to question it, simply laughing lightly as they released the cup but not each other’s hands. His thumb caressed her bare ring finger. “You don’t wear a wedding ring,” he said softly. 

She could barely breathe her heart was pounding so hard, the gentle movements of his thumb sending sparks coursing up her arm, reverberating through her whole body. “Um,” she said, trying to think. “No, I — I have one of course, but I don’t wear it.” 

“Why not?” 

“Er.” She tried to remember. There was a reason, surely? “I can’t with— with my job. It gets in the way.” Yes, that must be it. 

“Ah.” Something in his tone suggested he didn’t quite believe her, but before she could reply he had released her hand and turned away, picking up the mug and putting it in the sink. 

“I like yours though,” she said abruptly. Where did that come from? 

“What?” He turned, giving her an odd look. 

“Your wedding ring.” She reached out and took his hand again, this time caressing the silver band upon the third finger with her own thumb. “It is a wedding ring, isn’t it?”

He cleared his throat. “Aye.” 

“Henry’s mother.” It wasn’t a question and so required no answer, but he gave one anyway. “Aye.” The sadness was back in his voice, this time untempered by any joy.

Emma smiled, feeling suddenly swamped by sadness herself. She felt such a connection to this man, unlike anything she’d ever felt before, and she hated to think of him hurting. 

Briefly she allowed herself a rare, uncharacteristic moment of self-indulgence to wonder what it would be like to be loved as devotedly as Killian loved his wife. To be loved even after she was gone. To have such an emotion, from such a man. Swallowing back tears, she looked up at him. “She had good taste. This is exactly the sort of ring I would have chosen.” 

“She’s an extraordinary woman,” he replied, his voice rough with emotion, his eyes blazing with it. 

Emma nodded, wishing she knew why that remark left such a clutching, squeezing sensation around her heart. 

“Well I should go,” she said, releasing his hand.

He swallowed hard then gave her a small smile, a tight, guarded thing that squeezed her heart again. He looked so sad. She wanted to see the bright, wicked grin from earlier. 

“May I see you out?” he asked politely, his emotions under control again. 

She shook her head, already moving towards the door. “No, it’s fine. But thanks.”

“Any time, love.”

Her hand was on the doorknob when he spoke again. “Emma.” 

She looked back at him, gripped by the wild, irrational hope that he might ask her to stay. “What about your husband?” he asked. 

“Who?” She frowned in confusion, then remembered. “Oh, Walsh.” Why had she forgotten him? “What about him?” 

“Does he not wear a ring?”

“Of course he does.” Didn’t he? “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that you said ‘would have chosen.’” Killian’s face was calm, but that intensity was back in his eyes. 

“What?”

“Just now, when you looked at my ring you said it’s exactly what you would have chosen. Not what you did choose.” 

There was that confusion again, swirling through her brain and blocking her thoughts. Why couldn’t she think? “I— I must have misspoken.” She rubbed her forehead, which had started to ache. 

He was silent for a long moment before replying. “Of course, I’m sure that’s it. Goodbye, Sheriff.” 

Emma smiled tightly and left. 

When she arrived home that evening, Emma sought out Walsh in his study. He didn’t like her bothering him there but she was confused, her head spinning with questions that needed answers. She’d spent the afternoon in her office with the lights dimmed, nursing her headache and making a list of all the questions she needed to ask him, everything that was odd in their relationship and in her life. It was a long list. Why hadn’t she ever talked to him before? She’d been unhappy for so long…

“What is it, Emma?” Walsh’s voice was cold.

“I just— wanted to talk to you. About some things.” 

He turned and fixed her with the icy, probing stare that never failed to make her tongue-tied and anxious. She wanted to flee, back to the relative safety of the living room, where Walsh rarely went. No! You need answers! Stay strong! 

“Some things,” Walsh repeated. 

“Y-yes.” 

“Well go on,” he waved his hand at her and adopted an expression of exaggerated patience. “We haven’t got all night. What are these ‘things’ that are suddenly so important?”

Emma had spent an hour memorising her list of questions, but now she could only remember one. 

“Why don’t you wear a wedding ring?” she burst out. “Why don’t I?”

“Of— of course I wear one!” Walsh looked genuinely surprised, his composure slipping enough to rejuvenate her resolve. 

“Walsh I am looking at your hand right now and it is bare,” she said. “Neither of us wear rings. I’m certain I have one, I remember it, but where is it? Why did I stop wearing it?” He gaped at her and she seized her opportunity, letting months worth of questions flood out. “And why don’t we do anything together any more? What happened to our friends? I remember— I think I remember that we used to go out, do things as a couple, with other couples. But we have no friends now, and I stay in alone every night. I feel like I never see you these days, you’re hardly ever home, you never want to have sex—” she broke off as a look of revulsion crossed Walsh’s face, crushing her, stopping the words in her throat. Your own husband finds you repulsive, she thought bitterly, and a small voice at the very back of her consciousness piped up with a single word. “Why?” 

What? thought Emma, and the voice elaborated. “Dont you want to know why?”

A memory flashed through her mind, although no, not a memory, it couldn’t be, but it felt like a memory. The blue, blue eyes of Killian Jones, warm with adoration, his deep voice, his hand in her hair. “You’re so beautiful, Emma,” he whispered. “So utterly, heartbreakingly beautiful.” 

“Walsh, what’s going on?” she asked, suddenly angry, furious, incandescent with rage. “There’s something very wrong here, and I think you’re behind it. Tell me what it is. Tell me what you’ve done to me!”

Walsh’s face twisted into a terrifying snarl and he grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him until they were nose-to-nose, drowning her anger in fear. “Why are you asking these questions all of a sudden?” he hissed, “Does it by any chance have something to do with our new neighbourhood bookseller?” 

“Wh— what?” Emma scrambled to lie, to protect Killian. “No! Of course not.” 

“You’re a terrible liar, Emma.” Walsh sighed, his face falling back into its usual supercilious, condescending expression. Still holding her arm he turned and picked something up from his desk, a small box in silver filigree, beautiful in a cold and terrible way. “Fortunately it won’t matter. Come morning you’ll be yourself again. Or one of your selves, anyway.” He opened the box with a flick of his thumb and blew a harsh puff of air into it, sending a shower of glittering grey particles flying into Emma’s eyes. She gasped, then collapsed. Walsh held her up with his grip on her arm, then gave her a shove back into the sofa behind her. “That should take care of you for now,” he muttered, looking down at her unconscious form. “It appears that the pirate works faster than I had anticipated. Of course very little that we anticipated about him has turned out to be true. How he even managed to get here in the first place is something I would very much like to know. He is supposed to be stuck in Neverland.” He paused, smirking. “The power of true love, I suppose,” he said, sneering the words. “But he’ll soon be dealt with, him and your son. And now, ‘wife’, off to bed with you.” He waved his hand and Emma disappeared in a puff of green smoke. 

When she awoke the next morning, alone in her bed as always, all her doubts and worries about her marriage along with all recollection of her confrontation with Walsh were gone. 

Her memories of the time she’d spent with Killian Jones, however, were not. 

Notes: I hope this makes you feel a bit better (but still interested enough to want more!). 

[bolbianddolanhouse]

BNHA self insert AU [Book 2]

Beginning of Book 2 Read here to catch up!

Chapter 13: Did Y’all Try The Chicken?

Time flies when you’re in love~ but how do I even begin? Right before the end of summer break, I got all my memories back! The first thing I did that day was hang Toei off the ceiling fan in the commons room by his underwear, then switching that bitch on. Hoshi and I kept our relationship lowkey but then we got caught giving each other a good luck kiss right before the physical final. Luckily everyone was approving of us but they were upset that we didn’t say anything about it for months. The school board approved extracurriculars in hero schools! So our circle can do our thing in a safer environment! We went to the school dance this time around in matching attire that I made myself. Toei got sent to general ED because he failed the exams to stay in the hero program. But we got 3 students from their program in exchange and they’re pretty cool. I attended graduation to see Maru and Elise graduate, I’m very proud of them making their childhood dreams come true. They’re still together too! That makes me very excited to graduate alongside my love too.

Right now, it’s our 3rd year at UA, Mid February. My mom’s birthday passed and it was celebrated with all of us going to this Dim Sum place. Love is in the air but my mind is on post-UA plans...

“Hey what are you up too?” I asked Hoshi, who was scribbling away on some documents.

“I’m applying to some accredited programs” He responded “I talked to Loud Man and he gave me the proper paperwork to start applying for a teaching credential.”

“Oh! You’re going along with your first choice?” I was surprised, we talked about career pathways before the end of 2nd year and Teaching/Coaching was one of his top 3 choices.

“Yup, because full offense to Mineta sensei, I’d want a hero with a degree to teach the next generation of heroes” Hoshi shaded “But what about you?”

“Well, I have a guaranteed spot at my uncle’s agency” I sighed “I could go to college, Waseda would gladly take me in. But I don’t know! My heart is telling me to go back to performing.” I pouted as I rested my chin on his shoulder “I imagined myself going to the dance academy in Shibuya or play with the big leagues in Amsterdam!”

“Doesn’t hurt to apply” He encouraged “What’s the real loss if they reject you? You have two other things to fall back on.”

And that started my application journey, any time I had was spent on researching and applying. I didn’t tell my parents this though, I want to show them that I am worthy to the academies before they discourage me from going far to study. They never told me why growing up, guess they always saw me as their little girl that couldn’t go on her own. But I’ll show them!

Nothing notable happened all of 3rd year. Which was pretty wack because the first 2 years nearly killed me and Hoshi! Big time skip to one month before graduation...

“Hey Lili, do you think your mom can drop me off at my dad’s house the weekend of graduation?” asked Hoshi as I was doing a fitting of his graduation clothes “I got word that he’s not coming.”

“What? Not coming to your graduation?!” I gasped “After all this time, he still can’t just at least show up to say congratulations? What a coward!”

“But that’s what my dad’s friend told me and I’m not surprised” he looked at the garment in the mirror “He’s not doing that well since my other brother finally slipped away to my older brother’s place. So I’m going to pay him a visit.”

“How are your brothers anyways?” 

“They’re great! They can’t wait to see you” he laughed “Be warned that the oldest is going to be calling you ‘sister-in-law’ from now on.”

“Sister-in-law? I guess I’ll try to adjust to that” I said as I hugged them from behind “I can’t wait to finally move out of this cramped room and back to my parent’s house. Then we’d visit each other when we have free time and figure out ourselves from there I guess.”

“My brothers already have my room ready when I move out of here” he puts his hands over mine “But I’m excited to see how life is going to be with you. Oh, almost forgot to ask! What happened to the dance academy stuff?”

“I’m still waiting on two of them to get back to me” I responded “From Shibuya and Versailles.”

“Versailles...France?”

“Yea, isn’t that crazy that they considered me?”

Hoshi paused to think “What’s going to happen if you do go to France?”

“I’m- not sure yet” that threw me for a loop “All I know is that I’ll never stop loving you and I’ll miss you like crazy. And I’m going to shower you with kisses every-time we meet to make up for lost time not kissing.”

“I guess we’ll figure it out when we get there” he turned to give me a kiss “I love you.”

And a week later...I got my last two responses. Long story, short: I got accepted to Versailles on full ride only because of my double quirks. Which means that come graduation, my parents can’t say no because I made it big this time. Hoshi was the first person I told and they were happy that I’m that much closer to making my dreams come true. Hoshi got accepted to a fellowship at Meiji University for Hero Education on multiple scholarships. I was so proud of my love pursuing higher education but a little sad that we will have to part in a few months.

-Graduation Day, school auditorium-

“Oop! I see my family” I said as I peered around the crowd “See anyone you know?”

“I saw my two family friends, my brothers and I think I saw the Wild Pussycats?” responded Hoshi “Can you believe Toei-kun is graduating with us?!”

“I want to say I’m proud but I’m still salty” I crossed my arms and huffed “It’s a miracle he’s here!”

The graduation ceremony started and I’m not one to sit through things like this, so I dissociated while holding Hoshi’s hand. Afterwards, we met up with everyone for pictures.

“Hey Iida-san” the class rep got my attention “I just wanted to say it was an honor to be your classmate and I hope we could stay in touch! I want to know what schemes you get into.”

“We don’t have to be so formal Hashima-kun!” I chuckled “Aren’t we friends? I will keep in touch.”

A smile spread on his face “You- you said my name!”

“Uh yea” I pointed to his clothes “Your family name is embroidered on your Hakama, and I must say! It’s very clean needlework and colors are impeccable.”

“Oh uh, thank you!” he got embarrassed as I got closer to see the needlework “I think this is the most attention you’ve ever given me, hehe.”

“Probably, watch me forget your name again in an hour” I chuckled “But you have my number and Hoshi’s, keep in touch with us! We’d like to hang out on free time or just check in on each other.”

“I would love too!” He smiled and turned away “Until next time, bye!”

I waved him off and continued the celebrations with my family and Hoshi’s group that came to see him. Tigre and Pixie Bob came to see Hoshi to tell him that they were the ones that continued to pay for his hero tuition after he got kicked out of his dad’s. Tigre gave him the gift of binders and cash towards his top surgery. Hoshi was in tears to know that they did that even though they met briefly. He told everyone that he’s going to study at Meiji Uni and I told them I’m going to The Versailles Institute of the Arts on full ride in the Dance Program. My parents were torn about it, but they decided that maybe it was time to let me go and be who I’ve always wanted to be. Nobody was expecting it but I was in tears and hugged them tight. Everything was falling into place....well, almost everything.

-Saturday after Graduation, Togata House-

“Are you sure it’s alright to leave you here?” my mom asked worriedly.

“I’m sure, I’ll call if anything” Hoshi said as he unbuckled his seatbelt “Thank you for driving me.”

“Be careful love” I cautioned “I don’t want to hear that you got hurt.”

“Relax, he wouldn’t” He got out of the car “See you later! I love you.”

Hoshi’s plan was to spend the afternoon at his dad’s house to talk things over, then go to his brother’s place a few blocks away. He knocks on the door and stands there for a full minute.

“Maybe he’s busy” he said to himself “Oh who am I kidding, he saw the van pull up and doesn’t want to open the door.” He sat on the porch step and sulked “What can I even do now? I just want to talk.”

On the other side of the door, Mirio was having a hard time bringing himself to open the door. Watching his child sit on the porch step like they did when they were little, wondering where their mother was. It hurt to relive those memories but he also wanted to talk, he had a lot to come clean on. After what seemed an eternity, Mirio opened the door.

“Hey champ” Mirio said once their eyes met.

“Hi Dad” Hoshi stands up “How have you been?”

“I’ve just been here” Mirio didn’t want to say that he’s been depressed “but why don’t you come in?” He waits for Hoshi to walk in “Would you like some tea?”

“I would actually, being around the Iida family got me hooked on coffee” he said as he sat at the table “Rarely do they drink tea, or as Mrs Iida says ‘hot leaf juice’!”

“She said the same thing when we were in high school!” Mirio laughed as he put the kettle on “Oh you graduated huh? Sorry I couldn’t go, I couldn’t get off work and-”

“You don’t have to lie to me dad” Hoshi interrupted “I know you couldn’t bring yourself to come out of guilt.”

“Hado told you huh” Mirio sighed “Well, it’s true. I feel awful for not coming and I didn’t want to make a scene on your day.”

“That’s why I came here” Hoshi responded “I want to air out our troubles and tell you everything. Because I’m an adult now and I feel like I can talk to you about what happened.”

“I’m listening” Mirio said as he sat in the seat in front of Hoshi.

Hoshi tells him about what he’s overcome, his strong suits, about Lili, and his plans to study hero education.

“...I have to thank you for all those years of training. They prepared me for everything I’ve come across with” Hoshi’s tone changed “So thank you Dad, it may have been hard to raise me but you did that right for me.”

Mirio broke down in tears “How can you say nice things to me when I’ve done nothing but hurt you!” he slammed his fists on the table “I don’t deserve your praise, I know I hurt you and denied your identity. Surely you carry hatred for me!”

“I don’t, not anymore” Hoshi took a deep breath “You’re my dad and we’re all that we have left of each other. You lashed out because you didn’t want anything to change, I’ve come to understand that you just wanted things to stay the same. It was hard for all of us when mom died, but I never stopped to consider you the villain. I’d feel hopeless and want control if I was single father of three with a hero job, I’ve forgiven you” he put his hand on his dad’s fist “You don’t have to accept me, because I love myself and found people I consider family. But if you change your mind and accept me, I welcome it.”

“I do accept you, I’ve regretted kicking you out of the house when I did” Mirio forced himself to look at Hoshi “But how was supposed to cope? It’s like you made yourself disappear and I was scared that I did something wrong to make you like this. But your brother told me that this makes you comfortable, you feel more yourself. I realized I was trying to preserve your mother’s wish and image, but what’s the point of that! You’re not a doll on display, you’re a person and you can do whatever you want.”

“Mom’s wish?”

“That’s another thing I wanted to come clean about” Mirio wiped his tears “Your mother and I were never married. She was trying to escape her parents from forcing her into a quirk marriage, so she lied to me for a few months of dating and confessed that she just needed to get pregnant and leave town to start a new life. I got her pregnant and I said I’d house her and raise the child because I didn’t want her to go off on her own with nothing. She stayed and her parents disowned her, and we grew our family. But that was the least of her problems, she was dying due to her quirk and her only wish was to have a family with at least one daughter.” Mirio smiled “The look on her face when you were born was only something a mother could do. She was so happy that she didn’t care if she was dying, she had her wish and loved you with everything in her being. All those tight hugs before she left for ‘work trips’, those were her hugging you good bye in case she dies while she was away for medical treatment. She knew she wouldn’t live long enough to see you graduate, she wanted you to have this actually...” Mirio goes to his room and came back with a wooden box.

“Her music box? I remember this thing” Hoshi said as the box was placed in front of him “She wanted me to have this?”

“Open it” Mirio handed him a key “She said to wind it before opening it.”

Hoshi did and the gentle music played along with the spinning figure of a dancer. Inside was a note and nothing else. Hoshi picked up the note and read it aloud. 

To my darling Hime,

You’ve made all my wishes come true when you entered my life. And though I won’t be there for all the happy times or the days when you need a hug, know that I’ll always love you and I’ll be looking over you. If you ever feel lost or scared, you can find me among the stars. I can’t wait to see the person you’ll become and the people you’ll share your love with. I’m proud of you.

Love you from the stars and back,

Tsuki

(P.S. Pull on the ribbon)

“Mom’s name was Tsuki” Hoshi’s tears flowed “She was the moon! Dad this is so sad, I didn’t remember my mom’s name when I renamed myself. I chose Hoshi for a different reason!” He put the note down “She said to pull this ribbon, I wonder why.” He pulled on it to have the bottom of the music box pop off and show a hidden compartment “WHOA! WHAT THE McFUCK?!”

“I don’t believe it! It’s wads of large bills!” Mirio said in shock “I don’t know where all this money came from, your mom didn’t work.”

Hoshi took out all the neatly packed rolls of cash “There’s at least a small fortune in here! Well into the hundred thousands!” a thought ran through his head “Wait, dad. Did mom come from a wealthy family?”

“Yes she did actually, why do you ask?”

“What exactly happened when she left her family?”

“Well...first she confessed about her plans” Mirio thought hard to recall that long ago “Then her grandmother died of old age, her family got into a fight over the will and I didn’t see her for a few weeks, I got her pregnant and 2 months later she left her family to live with me.”

Hoshi’s jaw dropped “Dad, this is her inheritance money! She knew she was on the will and left with the money” Hoshi was in disbelief “Mom was clever, this was her way out and she could’ve done it by herself. She wasn’t completely helpless like you thought.”

“Huh?! I wondered why we had separate bank accounts, she paid everything with cash and paid for all her medical expenses” Mirio finally put it all together “Damn, and I was going to propose to her too.”

“You were?”

“Yup, I even kept the ring” Mirio led Hoshi to the family closet and got a ring box from the top self “I loved her, I’ve grown to love her but I guess waited too long.” He opened the ring box to show a pearl ring in hyper-shine platinum “Your mom liked shiny things and polished surfaces, so I got this ring custom made for her. I was planing to ask her when she came back from the last treatment, but...you know.” He closed the box and gave it to Hoshi “You’ll need this more than I will.”

“Huh? When will I-”

“Aren’t you going to marry Lili?” smiled Mirio “Just don’t wait too long, I lucked out and her dad almost did too...Don’t let go of her, she’s the one.”

“You approve of us?”

“Of course! She makes you very happy and is protective of you” Mirio put his hand on Hoshi’s arm “Plus I know her family. You struck it well son.”

“You called me son” Hoshi perked up.

“You are my son aren’t you?” He brought Hoshi in for a hug “It feels so good get everything off my chest, I want to have a good standing with my sons.”

Hoshi put his arms around his dad “Me too, I’m so happy I came over.”

“Okay, theres one more thing I wanted to say” Mirio said, breaking the hug “Now don’t act shocked, but I’m in a relationship with Tamaki.”

“Oh...okay” Hoshi was unfazed “So you’re gay? Demi-sexual?”

“Why are you so causal about this?” Mirio was confused.

“Dad, I’m a transgender male that’s attracted to girls” Hoshi explained “Of course I know about these things. Also, you and Mr Amajiki have been super close for years that I thought he was going to be replacing mom. And I was okay with it because I approve of him! It’s cool if you fell in love with someone else, everyone deserves love.”

“I imagined things going differently” Mirio chuckled “I’m happy that you accept me and Tamaki.”

“Now comes the awkward part, how are you going to tell Kenki and Moegi?”

“You know, I didn’t think about that” Mirio scratched his head “Guess I have to come up with a boys night at the house or something.”

And so ends Hoshi’s visit to his dad’s house. He got his closure and then some. Things were made right and he doesn’t have to worry about food or rent for a long while. Now comes the sad part...the day Lili has to leave.

-Iida Household, Thursday afternoon-

“Have you decided on a school Iwee?” I asked as all four of us were having quality sibling time in my room.

“Yeah, I’m also going to UA” He sighed “in the agent department.”

“Eww seriously? Another UA student in the house?” I gagged “You’re going to give mom and dad a heart attack!”

“Shut up! Just because we use guns and shit doesn’t mean I’m going to be the idiot that gets hurt!” Iwa huffed “Mom has been training me for weeks to prevent that.”

“Whatever you say” I shifted my attention to the twins “And you two? Where are mom and dad booting you to?”

“We’re going to that school with the beige uniforms” Rosa complained “It’s disgusting!”

“She means we’re going to the distinguished middle school in Taito” Oro clarified “I’m getting in because of my grades, Hanaka is going because of her behavior.”

“Oye what’s that supposed to mean?!” growled Rosa “You calling me a pendeja?!”

“I’m calling you a hot-headed, potty mouthed latina” Oro gave her the side eye “You and your friends!”

“How are your friends anyways?” I asked “I don’t see them coming around the house anymore.”

“They’re mall rats” Oro blurted, Rosa punched his arm “Ow! Why are you hitting me, I’m right!”

“We like the term, mall girls” Rosa said with attitude “Our daddies gave us their cards for spend on whatever we want!”

“Kinda wish he didn’t” Oro and Iwa sighed.

“F in the chat for Dad’s credit card” I bowed my head.

“F” Oro, Iwa and I said in unison.

“Yeah yeah! Say F all you want!” Rosa whips out the credit card “I bought myself the entire Gothic Chic make up line from Etude House. I’m going to live my lolita goth fantasy entering middle school.”

“That’s like $500 USD worth of makeup!” I gasped “You don’t even have a vanity to display the vanity pieces in that collection! You know what, you can take my vanity because I’d hate for you to do that thing where you just throw everything in a storage box and not care.”

“Ninos! Come down stairs!” called out mom from the living room “Your abuelitos want to talk to you!”

We ran downstairs at top speed. We love our abuelitos from America but it’s a shame they can’t visit whenever they can. They seemed very proud of me with my decision to go to a dance academy. After the video call, I thought about my mom’s post UA pathway and how she did it.

“Mom? How did you achieve everything you wanted?” I asked my mom once everyone left the living room “Like, how hard was it after high school?”

My mom gave me a melancholy look and sighed “To tell you the truth Lili, I don’t have everything I wanted. It felt like my entire life, my plans, all of it was falling apart at the beginning. But that was because I didn’t know I was on the wrong path” She explained “I didn’t have somebody to tell me that I should leave my toxic relationship or to rethink my life choices. All I did was pick myself back up and kept running forward, because that’s all I could do being by myself. Everything I have now is a blessing and proof that I got lucky at just the right time.”

“Oh...does that mean you’re not happy?”

“I didn’t say that, I am happy! I have steady income, married, had children and have incredible friends that have my back. But those are my blessings” She smiled “I don’t deserve them, but they’re here to stay. What I really wanted was to live my life in America with my family, go to college and be a quirk doctor or a writer! And maybe have a few kids before I die. My life was laid out for me before the incident that changed everything. What my life is now, is nothing that I’d ever imagined myself having! It’s beyond my wildest dreams, all because I decided to take a life-threatening chance.”

“What did you do?” I was curious, she’s never told me this story.

“I was 15 when I made this decision...” she told the story of the incident “...it was one of my most valiant feats but one that costed me my freedom. I wanted to come back a perfect daughter, one that can protect my family and provide for them. I left behind all my dreams, family and my soul mate so I could protect them. And everyday, I pray that today will be the day I can go back and be with them again.” She looks into my eyes “Do you understand why I was so overprotective of you?”

“Yes, I get it now” I croaked as I wiped my tears “You didn’t want me to repeat your suffering. But why did you let me go this time?”

“Because you’re following your dreams” she chuckled and ruffled my hair “You’ve faced your own trials and lived through them all. And all children have to leave their parents at some point, so it’s your turn to start a journey into your own future. But this time, you have us to help you and have a home to return to.”

“Mom, I’ll come back being the perfect daughter then!” I said, fighting the tears “Someone to be proud of!”

“Silly girl, you are the perfect daughter” she wiped my tears “and I’m very proud of you. I want you to come back feeling accomplished, okay?”

“Okay mom” I pounced on her to hug her “thank you, for everything you’ve done.”

“No Lili, thank you for being you and blessing me” She responded as she squeezed tighter “I’m so happy to be your mother.”

I didn’t know I needed this conversation with my mom. But I’m glad I did! There’s this, I wanna say...closure? That I didn’t know was needed. Everything makes sense...the heavily protected housing, the gap from her graduation from UA to when she had me, to the friendships she’s made, to why she doesn’t want to talk about going back home. Maybe she does see herself in me, the passionate fighter and dreamer. Thats who we are. I’m going to make all my dreams come true, for her and myself! She’s my inspiration going into this next part of my journey...oh shit, it’s 10pm! I should sleep!

-Chapter 13, End-

<Previous - Next>             

[thetravelingmama]

100 Things about your Mom.

Hi Chi. I’m back! All better and cured. I’m feeling like my old self again, energy and everything back. Like my doctor said today: if it’s working, don’t change it. That being said, let’s do something fun! I saw this weird list of questions and said: Game on!

1: What random stranger has had the biggest impact on your life? A Dad at a beach playing with his son. He made us made the decision to start a family.

2: What achievement are you proud of but most people would consider silly or weird? I refuse to “act my age”.

3: What period in history had the best fashion? The 50’s!

4: What silly or funny thing makes you afraid or creeps you out? Clowns.

5: How quickly do you jump to conclusions about people? I try not to, but the reality is that I get “vibes” from people, instantly. I’m never wrong, as much opportunities I give.

6: How would the world change if super heroes and super villains actually existed? I think heroes and villains DO exist.

7: What would be your strategy for surviving an apocalyptic epidemic? I already hoard medicine, movies and booze.

8: What is the most important change that should be made to your country’s education system? Equality, Empathy, Values and Gender Perspective are things that need to be taught. I also believe that a University Diploma should be mandatory. No school? Jail.

9: What is something you think you will regret in the future not starting now and what is something you already regret not starting sooner? I regret not becoming a Mom sooner. I’ll regret it most in the future.

10: What part of your culture are you most and least proud of?

Proud of our strength of character. Least proud of living in a status quo.

11: What's the worst and best thing about being female? Best thing is having a baby, carrying it inside your body. That experience is wonderful. The worst is definitively the inequality, how people treat you different in many ways and what they expect on how you “should behave”. I also believe there are many double standards when it comes to us.

12: If you could put your brain in a robot and live indefinitely, would you? Not for a gazillion dollars.

13: If you could replace the handshake as a greeting, what interesting new greeting would you replace it with? High fives are awesome.

14: Who’s the worst guest you’ve had in your house and what did they do? I’m glad to report that I never let people that I don’t truly trust or know at my house.

15: When does time pass fastest for you and when does it pass the slowest? Fastest: when I have a lot of work and a close deadline. Slowest: when I had to come up with advertising campaigns. I HATED starting on a presentation with all the passion in the world until I had an idea that worked. Then, it just was a breeze. Until that jackpot happens, time is torture.

16: What always sounds like a good idea at the time but rarely is? Telling someone the truth. Sometimes it just turns out that they can’t handle or understand it. Another great one? Getting drunk and knowing that no one is going to take care of the baby next morning. Huge mistake.

17: Are humans fundamentally different than animals? If so, what makes us different? We’re very much alike, I realized it after I gave birth. I just think we have the burden of emotions and logic to deal with, that’s all. I envy them: I’d love to function just on instincts!

18: What pictures or paintings have had a big impact on you? Guernica inspired me to paint. The Marilyn Diptych inspired me to design. At the Moulin Rouge is one of my favorites, just because.

19: What movie or book character are you most similar to? That’s a tough one. I identify a lot (with absolutely no clue of why) with Mia Wallace’s lust for life and her disregard for rules; Marla Singer’s I don’t care attitude and confusion. I’m also a mix of Santino and Michael Corleone when I’m either strategizing or just extremely angry.

20: You can broadcast one sentence to every TV channel and radio in the world and have it translated to each country’s language. What sentence do you say? “What doesn’t offend you might offend someone else. Calm down and let people do and say what they want.”

21: What fact are you really surprised that more people don't know about? That research does not mean that you trust instantly whatever you find online. Reliable sources exist for a reason.

22: What are you completely over and done with? Putting the well-being of others before mine.

23: What memory do you just keep going back to?

It depends on the day.

24: What’s the most immature thing someone can do? I believe that making a scene in public is just sign that you are emotionally and socially immature. From treating strangers badly for a stupid reason to arguing with your significant other in front of anybody is just a sign that you’re the problem.

25: What are you most passionate about and what do you wish you were more passionate about? Reading and writing.

26: What’s the best comeback you’ve ever heard?

“I’m growing a human inside me, what’s your excuse?” I said that. :P

27: Who haven’t you seen or talked to in a long time and hope they are doing okay? With Facebook that stopped happening years ago. I actually miss that feeling of wondering how my friends are. Although, there is one friend from college that disappeared. I sometimes wonder what happened.

28: Where is the last place you would ever go? If by last this means “and then you can die”, Tibet. I can’t fathom thinking about a place in this world not worthy about visiting.

29: What’s something that you’ve never been able to do well? Math and control myself when I am beyond furious.

30: Who is the humblest person you know?

Any person who will do something for free just to help another human being.

31: What is the silliest reason someone you've known has completely lost it? The stuff people write online.

32: What is quite possibly the most annoying thing ever? People who judge others on based on what they wear, own, drive or live in. I also am starting to despise people who post every single goddamn second on social media. My social media algebra is simple: entertain, yes; Report, no.

33: What do you wish people would stop asking you? Can I have free tickets?

34: What is the most unusual fear you have? Frogs and Roller Coasters.

35: What is your favorite TV show? Right now it’s Better Call Saul.

36: What’s the most ridiculous argument you’ve had? If it’s ridiculous, I’m totally ignoring the idea of talking about it. Silence is golden.

37: What’s the biggest lesson life has taught you? My happiness is way more important than anything else in the world.

38: What is increasingly becoming socially acceptable? Telling others how to act, talk, behave, think, write... I remember the days when people judged you in silence or behind closed doors. Thanks a lot, internet.

39: What’s the weirdest tradition your family has? It’s not a tradition per se, we just talk really loud when we’re together, and all at the same time.

40: If you could choose anyone living or dead, who would you choose to lead our country? It would be a mix of Obama, Lady Gaga, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Snowden.

41: What app on your phone do you wish you used more? Tabata.

42: Who was the most power mad person you’ve met? Insert advertising client name here.

43: What world famous monument do you have no interest in visiting? The Tower of Pisa. Next.

44: What is something that you think people are only pretending to like or are deluding themselves into liking? Wine.

45: What joke went way too far? Anything that relates to a pregnancy announcement.

46: What are some of the telltale signs that a guy is creepy? If a man tries to control how I talk, behave, dress, manage a situation or just even decides something for me. If he thinks I need his approval for anything.

47: What is your very first memory? Walking around the beach.

48: What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve said or done around someone you dated? It’s not embarrassing but it did catch me off guard: I made a point in my life to never say “I love you” to a man first until I was sure that it was going to mean something. One day, when I was starting to date your Dad, I just blurted it out. He laughed and said “You said it first!”

49: Who is your favorite actor or actress? Right now it’s Bryan Cranston.

50: What doesn’t exist but you desperately want / need it? A pill that eliminates sadness or anger instantly.

51: What are you most grateful for? My child.

52: If you could hear every time someone said something good about you or something negative about you, which would you choose? Neither. Not interested.

53: What do you wish you could re-live? Just for fun, my twenties. Had the best time.

54: What’s something that you recommend everyone trying at least once? Massages.

55: Do you prefer being warmed when you’re too cold or being cooled when you’re too hot? Warmed.

56: What sentence can you say that makes total sense now but would seem insane 20 years ago? “Do it, don’t wait.”

57: How decisive or indecisive are you? Extremely decisive. I’d rather go out in flames, always.

58: What’s something from your childhood that used to be common but now is pretty rare? I used to play outside unsupervised and came back home when I was supposed to. I also drove my grandpa’s car lots of times while sitting in his lap. Now he would get thrown in jail, I guess.

59: If you were an action figure, what accessories would you be sold with? A bottle of Vodka, books, beach items and lipstick.

60: What weird smell do you really enjoy? Gasoline and the streets of New York City.

61: What do you like that is traditionally considered masculine? Boxing, hard liquors, swearing, dark sense of humor.

62: What’s something you learned recently that you really should have already known? Expectations are resentments in the making.

63: What’s a simple mistake you made that had dramatic consequences? I should have been honest with someone without worrying about what could happen next.

64: What’s the best piece of advice someone has given you? You’re not responsible for how other people feel, it’s their problem to handle.

65: What do you think people automatically wrongly assume about you when they look at you? That I’m delicate, maybe?

66: Looking back on your life, what have you done that has given you the most satisfaction? Besides from being a Mom, having a successful company.

67: If everything was quantified, what life stats would like to see for yourself? The happy vs sad moments.

68: What do you really wish you knew when you were younger? That I am way more stronger than I thought.

69: When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? I think it was watching Dave Chapelle or Joe Rogan on Netflix.

70: What do you wish you had more time for? Being with my child when she grows older. I hope to be alive when she gets married or has a kid.

71: When was the last time you had a gut feeling about something that turned out to be correct? How about a time your gut feeling was wrong? My gut feelings are 99% on point. Sometimes it takes a second, sometimes years. I always end up being right.

72: What’s your curiosity killed the cat story? Your Dad. I ended up married and having you!

73: What areas in your life do you have high hopes for and what are those high hopes? I hope that our child decides to run our company and makes it even more successful.

74: Who was the most spoiled person you personally have met? Met a few. No comment.

75: What makes you feel old? When people don’t know a certain band or piece of music.

76: What’s your favorite non-drug / non-alcohol high? Traveling.

77: What’s the worst thing you’ve heard one person say to another person? It’s a tie between, “Sorry, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” and “Shut up and listen”.

78: What do you love about yourself? I’m starting to love my new sense of self. It gives me meaning.

79: What gets progressively weirder the more you think about it? Society in general.

80: What have you gotten too old to put up with? Being obligated to do something.

81: What event would you like to know the whole and complete truth about? JFK’s death. I also would love to read Mueller’s unredacted report.

82: What have you recently become obsessed with? Home delivery. Hi Jeff Bezos, I paid for your electricity this month.

83: What’s the biggest waste of money you’ve seen? Anything related to spending a lot on cars or jewelry. I’d rather travel, sorry.

84: What’s surprising about you? Most people don’t know that I can’t stand chick films.

85: When you were a kid what silly thing were you deathly afraid of? Dracula. Frank Langella, you made my childhood miserable for months.

86: Besides a raise or more vacation time, what’s the best perk a company can offer employees? Time to relax and focus. In Advertising, we’re expected to produce an insane amount of creative pieces in little time. Creativity and pressure don’t go well. Also, a short amount of time during the month to do the things we can’t during the weekend.

87: Where do you like going for walks? Lower East Side or Montmartre.

88: If you found out you would inexplicably fall down dead in one year, what would you change about your life? I would travel non stop so that I could drop dead somewhere cool.

89: What movie have you seen more than seven times? It might be a tie between Pulp Fiction and the Godfather Series.

90: Most people want to be wealthy for one reason or another. Why do you would want to be wealthy? To travel.

91: What’s the best thing you could tell someone to cheer them up when they are feeling down? My grandmother used to say “Someday, when you look back at a bad moment in your life, you’re gonna laugh about it”. Wherever she is, I know she looks down and reminds me in my dreams from time to time.

92: When you were a kid, what movie did you watch over and over again? Mary Poppins... and The Godfather 1 when no one was watching.

93: What’s the worst trait a person can have? No empathy.

94: If you could know one truth about yourself, history, the world, or even the universe, what truth would you want to know? Is someone out there?

95: What’s your favorite souvenir that you have? Our cheesy “Oia” sign. It reminds me of the best honeymoon in the world.

96: What would you do if someone left a duffle bag filled with $2,000,000 on your back porch? Buy a small apartment in NYC, buy another near the beach in Rincón. Leave the rest for Mía.

97: If everything in your house had to be one color what color would you choose? Black.

98: What would your warning label say if every person was required to have one? Don’t get her angry. You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry.

99: What weird childhood fear do you still kind of hold on to? Big waves.

100: What’s the most polarizing question you could ask your group of friends? That’s the funny thing about us. There is not one polarizing thing we could ask each other. We talk and share EVERYTHING in our lives. The good, the bad, the disgusting, the inappropriate. Even the things we are ashamed to admit or share. That’s true friendship.

[not-so-secret-nerd]

New Beauty and the Beast and one of the few things I’d like to see changed

Okay, so does it really come as a surprise I went to see the new BatB movie the night before it opened? No. No its does not because you all know I have an unhealthy love for this movie and it was fucking Emma Watson and I was gonna go see it come hell or high water. I guess the first bit of business to get underway is telling you all whether or not I liked it. I like it. There, first part done.

I liked it more than I thought I would, BUT there were a few glaring problems with the plot. Yes, this movie did address some of the questions we were left with from the original animated feature. Who was Belle’s mother? Why wasn’t she in the picture? Why didn’t the townsfolk know they had a massive fucking castle a mile from their village? Who the Beast’s parents were and what happened to them (though we STILL don’t know what happened to dear old dad). That sort of thing. And these questions were answered in due part throughout the film along with a few added (and welcome) twists.

But regardless of Disney pouring a metric fuck-ton of money into this film and getting A-list actors to fill the roles, there were still a few glaring problems with the plot, and one that (had the writers merely taken a step back and pondered a little) could have been fixed early on in pre-production that would have made things MAKE SO MUCH MORE SENSE and strengthened the plot substantially!

                                CAUTION! SPOILERS BELOW

I won’t go into massive detail. We all know the generic plot for the film. The town is poor. It’s provincial. Belle wants out. We get the gist. But along the way, there are a few twists about the town thrown in, mainly that the town, like the castle (or at the very least the people in it) were cursed to forget the castle and the prince who ruled there. Nice touch there, writers. That nicely explains why the townsfolk didn’t remember anything about a castle or the monarchs who taxed them near to death (something I’m sure they were thankful for in their magical-amnesia-state). But while this explains a small question we fans had with the original tale, this also opens up some problems. Mainly towards the climax of the movie, when Belle gallantly (and she really was fucking gallant riding into town in her famous yellow ballgown like a total BAMF) returns to her father’s side to keep him from being locked into the loony-bin. The plot falls apart for a brief moment, but it’s a moment that kills the lead-up to the ultimate ending.

In the original animated feature, Gaston uses the magic mirror to incite a terror response from the town so he can ride off and “kill the beast”, the only creature on this planet keeping him from taking Belle (forcibly) as his wife, without people catching on to his original intentions. Somehow, as kids and later as adults, we just kind of swallow this plot point and moved on. Gaston was the bad guy. Of course he was going to do that, but seeing it played out in live action changes something. You almost want more of a realness to shine through. Kind of expect it because this is an adult movie, or at least, it’s a more grown-up version of an animated movie. Anyway, we needed a better excuse than “this is a bad beast, let’s go kill it so that I can distract you all from the real reason I’m killing this creature, which is so I can force a woman to marry me!”.

But even in the live action, the ultimate confrontation between Belle and Gaston fell remarkably flat. His insistence she was as crazy as her father held little merit because earlier in the film it was shown (through glimpses in the tavern scene and “My What a Guy” song) that the townsfolk don’t really think all that highly of Gaston. He’s pretty, but he’s got issues. Issues Lefou “helps” him through on screen, painting Gaston as the actual lunatic. So yeah, when you add that into the mix, when you give the townsfolk reasonable doubt in Gaston and his mental stability, it seems kind of stupid they would blindly follow this man on a hunt for a magical beast, even with the mirror in hand. And, speaking of the mirror, Gaston uses the whole “this is dark magic! Will we let this abomination roam free?!” line leaving the viewer like....buddy....where has anyone in this town expressed any phobia towards magic of any kind? How is that going to scare anyone, and that’s where we come to my point and fix. 

So, what would have fixed this, you ask? Two very simple, very short scenes. In fact, the whole sequence where Belle discovers (through magical means) how her mother died could have been completely omitted for this plot fix, keeping the film on schedule time-wise (the movie was 2:04 minutes long). The fix is this: make the townsfolk inherently skittish around magic of ANY KIND. That’s it. That’s all the writers had to do, and I’ll explain why this works

The townsfolk were cursed with forgetting the prince and his castle. As we come to find out, there are people in the castle with family members in the town (nice twist) so these townsfolk could have had an inherent dislike/fear of magic because they were victims of it. It would have made total sense these people would view anything even remotely magical as bad. So you add in a scene where this fear and intolerance is shown to the viewer. A prime example of a scene that could have worked is your typical townsperson screaming at someone, “she’s a witch because she cures illnesses unreasonably fast! Don’t trust her! She’ll steal your soul!” This is a poor provincial town. People are supposed to be a bit backward and stupid. This would have been an excellent point where Belle could stand up for someone “this isn’t magic! They are using herbs. They’re using plants to heal people. That’s medicine, not magic!”

Obviously, this would piss a few townsfolk off, but Belle sticks to her guns and the people eventually leave the person alone. Belle’s a hero. Person is saved. Viewer is shown the townsfolk don’t like anything attributed to magic. Win, win.

A second scene could have been added where Belle is seen teaching a young girl how to read. “A woman’s place is not reading! Once she starts reading she’ll read anything, and that’s how trouble begins. You get curious and you invite all kinds of devils into your life!” Belle could have retorted, “Teaching people to read isn’t inviting anything into their life other than education. A world without knowledge is a frightening place!” To which a rebuttal could be made, “If a woman has questions about the world she should ask her father or husband. They will show her the answer. There’s no point in trying to find the answer yourself when greater minds have already thought it through.”

Oh look, feminist issues AND a fear of magic and devils done all in one stroke. Go me! 

So how does this translate into a cleaner ending? Simple. When Gaston takes the mirror and shows the townsfolk he’s showing them EXACTLY what they are afraid of. He’s showing them the seed of their curse, the reason for their fear of magic. And that rallies the people around him. They’re terrified of this monster because it’s obviously a creature born of dark magic, something that cannot be tolerated and therefore must be wiped out.

That’s all the writers had to do. That’s it, and it kind of blows my mind they completely missed this opportunity to really strengthen the BatB plot. It’s one of the main gripes I have with the BatB plotline as a whole and one of the driving forces behind my own adaptations. The people who wrote this script hinged everything on the audience's preexisting familiarity with the plot. Therefore they didn’t feel the need to really make the relationship between the characters or the subplot all that deep. The story was already written for them. They just had to sit back and “let the magic happen”, but there’s a fine line between a good story and one that leaves the audience in awe. Beauty and the Beast could have done that had the writers merely taken the time to look over their work and sought to solidify the plot rather than relying on lazy storytelling.    

[dontshootmespence]

A Doctor and Her Patient

A/N: An anon request for a Spencer x Reader where he gets hurt on a case and needs surgery, and eventually ends up falling for his doctor. @coveofmemories

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

“Dr. Y/L/N,” the medic said, as he rushed in an FBI agent from the local crime scene. “We have a GSW to the right shoulder. Thankfully, the patient is still conscious and alert.”

You took the stretcher from the incoming medics so that they could go attend to other patients that more desperately needed them then the man you would be operating on. “Hello,” you said as you wheeled him toward the operating room along with a couple of nurses and an anesthesiologist. “I’m Dr. Y/L/N. Can you tell me your name?” Always had to ask a couple of clarifying questions to attain how alert the patient was.

“Dr. Spencer Reid,” he said, grimacing as he reached his hand up to his bullet wound. You kept him from touching it, taking his hand and placing it back down at his side.

“Another doctor,” you smiled, as you finally got into the operating room. “Glad to meet you, doctor. The bullet seems to be contained, so we’re going to get going here, put you out and in a couple of hours, you’ll be good as new, okay?” He shook his head, extending his non-wounded arm out for the anesthesiologist to administer the necessary drugs.

“Thank you, Doctor...” he trailed off, a slight smile creeping across his face.

He was cute. You didn’t have a lot of cute patients in this town. “Doctor Y/F/N Y/L/N. Nice to meet you. We’ll talk later,” you winked. As the cute doctor drifted off to sleep, you found yourself, professionalism be damned, whether or not he was single.

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

About an hour and a half later, you had successfully removed the bullet, as well as three fragments, from the area surrounding his shoulder. An hour after that, Dr. Reid was safely in his recovery room and had just woken up according to your chief nurse. “You can go see the patient now. He’s awake and vitals are great” she said, popping her head into your office.

As you walked down the hallway to the agent’s room, you found yourself wondering if you looked your best. You tucked your hair behind your ears, made sure your lipstick was on point with a quick look in the glass outside another patient’s room, and ironed out your lab coat with your hands. “Hello, Dr. Reid. How are you feeling?” you asked, as you stepped into his room. 

“Kind of like I have someone standing on my shoulder, but otherwise pretty okay,” he replied with a soft smile. “How did the surgery go? Well, I’m assuming?”

You nodded. “Took about an hour and a half. You were very lucky, Doctor,” you said, sitting down in the chair next to his bed. “The bullet hit into the soft tissue right under the humerus, basically near your armpit. It stayed mainly intact, but there were three pieces that lodged nearby, which I removed. You are all free and clear and should only require a little bit of physical therapy in order to be able to shoot again. If the bullet had hit even a quarter of an inch higher, it could have shattered bone and there would’ve been an immense amount more physical therapy required to get you back to normal.”

Grimacing a little at the pain, he reached with his other hand toward the machine that controlled his medicine. Obviously, his morphine was wearing off from the surgery, so you reached over and put it two ticks up from where it was. “Better?” you asked, watching as he nodded, a light brown lock of hair flopping over into his eyes.

“If the bullet had hit further up, I could’ve lost use of that arm, at least in regards to shooting, yes?” he asked, seemingly thankful that that wasn’t the case. As a field agent, it was probably required of him.

“Possibly,” you replied, placing your hand on his arm, “But I’m very good at my job, so I think I would’ve gotten you back to normal.” 

A sleepy smile crept across his face as he yawned. “Really?”

“I’d stake my reputation on it, Dr. Reid,” you replied. You had graduated the top of your class from Harvard Medical School and returned home to Virginia, about three hours from where the Doctor and his team had been dispatched from D.C. After  graduating, you had offers to join prestigious hospitals around the country, but you’d missed home and wanted to return to be near your family.

Dr. Reid yawned again. After all he’d been through, you were surprised he’d stayed awake this long - probably a last rush of adrenaline. “Spencer,” he said, “Please, call me Spencer. I don’t see a wedding ring. Might you be single?”

You technically weren’t supposed to date patients - it was unethical...but he wasn’t going to be a patient in a couple of days. “I might just be single,” you winked. “And my name is Y/N.”

“Well, Y/N, before I pass out, is there any chance you’d do me the honor of grabbing a coffee sometime? I figure I should do something to repay you for repairing my shoulder,” he said, fighting off sleep as much as he could. 

From where you stood in the doorway, you smiled. “No need to repay me. I am your Doctor after all. Since I’m your doctor for the next couple of days, I can’t say yes yet, but...ask me after you’ve been discharged,” you winked. “Now get some sleep.”

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

After two days, Spencer was released from the hospital and immediately knocked on your office door. “I’m no longer your patient,” he said happily. “Your nurse told me you still have a few hours of you shift, but that you were taking a break soon. Can I buy you lunch?”

When you stood up from your desk, you removed your lab coat, reveling a pair of gray dress pants, a blue blouse, and the most unsexy pair of shoes possible (but they were comfortable and as a surgeon who was on her feet for at least 10 hours at a clip, that’s all that mattered). “If you can look past my gross shoes, you can definitely buy me lunch.”

In the cafeteria of the hospital, Spencer introduced himself and told you all about his job at the FBI - specifically what brought him to you. “A friend of mine was trying to pull another officer out of the line of fire and I ran to get him out of the way. I did technically succeed because Morgan didn’t end up in the hospital, but I got hit in the process.”

“Well, it seems like Morgan has a great friend in you, Spencer,” you smiled. Cute and heroic. “Unfortunately, I do have to get back to work, but would you be interested in Skyping soon? We can get to know each other and whenever we both have a day off, we can go on an actual date?”

Spencer smiled as he agreed, handing you a piece of paper with his phone number on it. “I’m looking forward to it, Y/N.”

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

With one of you a chief surgeon and the other a profiler with the FBI, you and Spencer didn’t have the chance to go on an actual date for quite a while - a month and a half actually. During that time, you Skyped twice a week, talked a few more times than that, and texted even more frequently. The conversation was easy, talking about anything and everything from your families, to your education, to your favorite colors, foods and animals. “I have off this weekend,” he said excitedly. “You? Maybe we could have an actual date one of these days?”

“I have too!” you said, pumping your fists in the air. “How about we meet in the middle of you and me? I don’t want you to have to drive three hours to come see me. Can’t use the jet, can you?”

He laughed. “I don’t think they’d like that, but we can definitely meet somewhere in between. I can’t wait.”

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

Finally, after nearly seven weeks of seeing each other over Skype, phone and text, you were able to meet up at a Mexican restaurant about halfway in between you both. When you pulled up to the restaurant, you saw Spencer’s car, hopped out and ran into his arms. “How are you?” you asked. “Your shoulder okay?”

“All good, Doctor,” he replied with a smile. “I still have to repay you for that.” Instead of taking you into the restaurant, he caressed your cheek, pressing his lips lightly against yours. His kiss electrified you.

Slowly, you pulled away, licking your bottom lip. “I normally don’t take payment in the form of kisses, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

[zaney-hacknslash]

God from the Machine 9

Present Gojyo

             Taibo’s bar was just where Pitchfork said it would be, and it definitely looked closed. Like most of the other shops around town, the windows were boarded up and the lights were off. I stepped up onto the porch, feeling the boards creak under my feet like they were ready to give way, and stared through the window, trying to see a sign of anything even remotely promising through the cracks between the boards. It was dark as night in there.

           Rubbing my hands, I approached the door. Damn, it had gotten even colder. The wind was whipping and snow had started to fall, and I wanted to go home as soon as I could.

           Just a quick chat with this Willis dork, and then I could be on my way. Home was a long walk, but maybe I could stop at Keiun, and if I told Sanzo everything I knew, maybe he’d be a dude and let me stay the night there. I’d be dog tired by then.

           I pounded on the door so loudly I bruised my fist. “Hey! Willis? You in there?”

           The town was so quiet, not even my voice echoed back at me.

           “C’mon, you damn intellectual fuck! Open the door!”

           Still nothing.

           “I’m gonna break it down!” I gave the door a kick, but it didn’t give, and I just wound up hurting my leg.

           Stomping and cursing, I stumbled back to take a deep breath and reassess the situation. The building was shabby—there could be another way in, or they might all be locked up tight like this one. Whatever happened, I didn’t dare leave empty-handed. Like Sanzo said, this was serious. It didn’t matter that stupid Hakkai couldn’t see that or had stopped caring. I wanted to know what it was all about.

           “Willis!” I threw myself against the door again, beating for all I was worth. “Open this damn door!”

           Suddenly, the door sprang open, almost smacking me in the face, and I was staring down the barrel of a shotgun.

           “Fuck!”

           “Hanyou,” a voice hissed from the darkness. Fingers caught the front of my shirt, dragging me into the shadows.

           The door slammed shut again, cutting out the light, and I whipped around, panting, straining to see whoever was at the other end of the shotgun hovering in front of my face. All it took was for them to get a good look at me and decide they didn’t want to deal with whatever I had to say.

           I pressed back against the wall, heart slamming hard. “Wh-who are you?”

           “Who are you?” that hissing voice demanded. The muzzle of the shotgun nudged my chest. “Are you wild? Like the others. Did you come here from Tai-Ping?”

           “T-Tai-Ping? I don’t know what that—”

           The shotgun touched my chin. “Don’t lie to me, hanyou. I know what you are.”

           “Look,” I drew a shaky breath, but I didn’t know what to say to get myself out of this mess. “My name’s Gojyo, not hanyou. Got it?”

           The voice laughed lowly. “Am I supposed to care about that? Your kind are a scourge to the earth—that’s all that matters.”

           “I’m looking for Willis,” I said quickly. “That’s all I want. I didn’t come here to start trouble.”

           They seemed to hesitate. My eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness, but I still couldn’t make out much aside from the shape of someone’s head, shorter than me, and just out of arm’s reach. The shotgun gleamed. I could only imagine the finger lying lightly across the trigger. It wouldn’t take much. Just me saying the wrong thing.

           “What do you want with Willis?” they wanted to know. It sounded almost like a woman’s voice this time.

           “I came to find Willis about the lab. Priest Sanzo from Keiun sent me to find out what happened there.”

           The dark figured stiffened, and suddenly they turned away, lowering the shotgun.

           Perfectly still, I waited while they rushed around the room, collecting something, and after a second I heard the sound of a match lighting, and a wavering light filled the darkness.

           I found myself staring at a woman not much older than I was. She was short and slim with her hair tied back in a messy bun, dressed in fatigues and a leather jacket with black gloves. She kept the shotgun pointed at the floor as she walked back over to me, holding her lantern up in her free hand. Her eyes were blue, and she looked like she was half-foreign. Western.

           “Priest Sanzo?” she repeated. “Priest Genjyo Sanzo?”

           “Y-yeah…” my mouth was so dry I almost couldn’t speak. “You know him?”

           “I know of him.” She frowned, looking me up and down. “What’s a hanyou like you doing running errands for a high-ranking priest like Gejyo Sanzo?”

           “Good question,” I muttered, lighting my cigarette. “Look…I don’t have time to chat. If you’re not gonna shoot me, tell me where I can find Willis, and I’ll get out of your way.”

           She let out a sudden laugh and suddenly hoisted herself up to sit on the bare table in the middle of the room, setting the lantern aside there. “You’re looking for Willis, huh? Well, you’re in luck, boy. Here I am.”

           I studied her skeptically. “You’re Willis? The scientist from the lab?”

           “We call it Hybrid-Tech Facility number 4, but yes, that’s me. Sandra Willis.”

           “And I’m just supposed to believe that? You don’t look like a scientist.”

           “Scientists don’t tend to have a look, but you look like a half-youkai, and not many people know what to look for in such a rare breed. How could I know that unless I’ve studied such things?”

           “I’ve met other people who know what a hybrid looks like,” I growled.

           “Oh, I’m sure you have. Educated people. Or people who have seen one born before. Other than that, the appearance of the children of taboo isn’t common knowledge.”

           Hakkai was educated—he said he’d read about hybrids when he was in school. Sanzo knew too, because he was a high-ranking priest. Other than that, she was right. People like Banri knew because they’d been around hanyou before.

           “Fine, so you’re Willis,” I agreed.

           “Go ahead and call me Sandra,” she suggested. “I think my life as a scientist is at an end.” She cocked her head, sizing me up. Her blue eyes were fiery and full of passion and the will to survive. “Explain to me why Genjyo Sanzo sent you to find me.”

           Taking another deep breath, I lit a cigarette, trying to calm down from the shock of being held at gunpoint out of nowhere. Hard to believe how much more nerve-wracking stuff like that seemed when Hakkai didn’t have my back. “My partner and I went to your…facility… Almost two months ago now.”

           Willis’ eyes flickered and her pink lips frowned. She lowered her head. “I see…”

           “What we found there… Sanzo wanted us to figure out what it was all about… We thought all the scientists went missing.”

           “They didn’t go missing, Gojyo,” she corrected. Something about that matter-of-fact tone reminded me of Hakkai, and I wished he were with me. I was afraid to miss all the details he’d normally pick up. “They were killed.”

           “Yeah, I saw that.” I tried not to think about that messy scene in the room where Hakkai found his time machine notes. “It looked like they were torn apart… Eaten.”

           “That’s right,” she agreed, still sounding way too calm.

           “Well, do you wanna tell me how it happened? That’s what I’m here for.”

           Willis sighed, sadly, and to my surprise she lit a cigarette of her own, laid her shotgun down so she could lean back on her arms, and stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know really. One day, the youkai members of our team just…lost their minds. I was lucky to survive.”

           “Wait a minute. You’re telling me some of your own team did that? Tore their buddies apart and just left them like that?”

           “It seems that way. I don’t know, exactly—I managed to escape in the middle of the chaos, and I never went back to see the aftermath, but based off what I did see… Yes. Those youkai attacked their human colleagues.”

           My stomach did a flop as I thought about what Hakkai and me saw again. He’d said it—it had to have been a youkai that did that—but I’d figured it was some experiment gone wrong, that the scientists sort of got what they deserved, not something messed up like what she’d just said. “Why would they do that?”

           “I’ve been trying to figure that out, Gojyo.”

           Again, she said it like I should have realized that by myself.

           “It doesn’t look like it. You’ve just been hiding down here, holed up in a broken-down dive.”

           She eyed me with some contempt. “You’re not very smart, are you? Most hybrids have a deficiency when it comes to intelligence.”

           “Hey,” I snarled. “I’m not dumb either. I just don’t know what the fuck’s going on around here. This whole town is freaky—I’ll give you that—but nothing I’ve seen so far has explained why a bunch of tree-hugging sciencey types would flip out one day and try to make their friends into lunch meat.”

           Willis gave a delicate, girly laugh. “Sorry, then. First of all, the scientists in facility four weren’t exactly tree-huggers. We did a lot of experiments that would likely make your skin crawl, and I can’t say it was necessarily for the betterment of humanity.”

           “Why then?”

           “There are some things we wanted to know,” she explained through a breath of smoke. “Boundaries we wanted to push. Rules we wanted to break. You might call it playing God. That is the nature of mankind.”

           Just like Hakkai and his damned time machine… He’d fit right in with those assholes.

           I couldn’t help wincing.

           Willis suddenly jumped down from the table and strode toward me, looking me over again, this time with more interest. “Tell me about your birth.”

           “What the hell does that matter right now?” Never mind that it wasn’t something I wanted to get into at all.

           “People are stupid. In many cases, hanyou are born out of some witless facsimile of love, or a perversion of instinct.”

           My face flushed.

           Before I could shout at her, she said, “But most of your kind are made in labs. Youkai and human women are artificially inseminated with samples from the opposite species, respectively.”

           “What in the hell for?”

           She shrugged. She’d gotten closer now and was making a half-circle around me, drinking in my every detail with a fascinated gleam in her eye. “For experiments, mostly. Again, it’s a boundary man naturally feels the urge to push. In some cases, they’re a request—the monstrously rich have been known to order a hanyou to keep as a pet, or a slave, or a sex toy.”

           A shiver ran down my spine. “That’s fucked up,” I husked.

           Giggling again, she said, “Seeing how you’re unfamiliar with such practices, I’m going to assume you’re somebody’s ill-fated lovechild.”

           Too bad Hakkai wasn’t here. I’d like to think he’d throw a fit to hear anyone talk about me like this, but since he’d decided it was cool to dump my ass and run into the past after Kanan, I wasn’t sure. Maybe it didn’t make any real difference that he wasn’t with me for this.

           “I didn’t come here to talk about me,” I told her roughly. “I want to know why those youkai attacked the other scientists. Was it an experiment gone wrong?”

           “No.” She ashed nonchalantly on the floor and let her hair down. She’d be really beautiful if she weren’t such a cold bitch. “I have no idea what happened to my youkai colleagues. It seemed they simply lost their minds one day, all at once. We’d noticed some strange behavior in them during the weeks preceding the catastrophe, but nothing telling. No real precursor to the horror in store for us. I don’t have an explanation for why that happened. Yet.”

           “You’re trying to find one though, right? Does asking me weird questions about my birth and telling me fucked up shit about my kind help with that?”

           “It could,” she agreed absently. “It’s possible youkai have something in their genetic makeup which humans lack that led them to go…berserk, so to speak. I wonder about you though. You don’t seem crazed, just a little scared.”

           “I’m not scared.” I tried to hide the shaking in my hands from her, but she’d probably noticed already. “What do you think you can learn down here?”

           With another sigh, she dropped her cigarette and stomped it out, only half-smoked. “Since the incident, this village has experienced a number of attacks like the one I saw that day.”

           “So the youkai scientists escaped and came down here?”

           She shook her head and whispered, “No, I don’t think so, Gojyo. According to the townspeople, their youkai neighbors suddenly lost their minds and attacked, just like my colleagues. Dozens of humans were killed, some even devoured. The youkai who survived fled into the woods and have been raiding the place ever since. I thought I could learn something by studying the bodies of the youkai who have been killed, but there’s nothing. No disease, at least. Nothing physical that can explain what’s going on. It’s been a useless endeavor, and I may as well leave, but…I must admit, I’m a little afraid to go off on my own right now.” She fixed a serious look on me. “This is a time of chaos. If I were you, I’d be very careful—you’re as likely to be attacked as anyone else. For all you know, you’re going to go berserk next.”

           My heart thumped all the louder. “Can I? Do you think? Hybrids…?”

           She nodded. “Before I came here, I was in a town called Tai-Ping. I might have been crazy to go there, but it’s a community of youkai and hanyou—not many humans are even allowed to visit—and they, like the youkai in this town, all went berserk, killed humans, and ran away. There were a few hybrids among them. I know at least one of them lost his mind as well.”

           I stared down at my hands, thinking. I hadn’t felt weird at all lately. Hakkai didn’t seem like he was acting weird, other than suddenly having an obsession for traveling back in time. I wondered about Goku. The kid had seemed normal the few times I’d seen him since we were at the lab, but maybe that was why Sanzo hadn’t asked him to deal with this after Hakkai bailed.

           “If I go to Tai-Ping,” I wondered quietly. “Do you think I’ll find anything else out? Do you think there’s anything the three different attacks have in common?”

           “I didn’t notice,” she answered flippantly. “If I didn’t, I seriously doubt you will.”

           “Oh, nice,” I snarled. “You know, I was gonna offer to walk you home, or at least help you get somewhere a little safer.”

           “I wouldn’t want to put my life in your hands anyway. You seem sane now, but you could turn on me.”

           “Fine.” I stomped for the door. “Good luck then, lady.”

           I heard her laugh again. “When you see Genjyo Sanzo again… If you see him again… Tell him to send someone a little smarter next time.”

           I slammed the door behind me.

           As I walked away from the bar, I fumed. Here I came down here to try and figure this mess out—to try and help—even without my partner, who happened to be the smart and capable one, and that bitch just treated me like a second-class citizen. Where did she get off, calling me stupid and telling me that fucked up shit about hybrids?

           Mom used to say people like me weren’t good for anything but sex. Since trying to get laid was how I spent a lot of my time ever since I was thirteen or fourteen years old, it must have sunk in somewhere, but I wondered if she’d meant the same thing Willis had told me—that rich purebloods bred us specifically for…

           No. I didn’t want to think about that. It was just too fucked up. Sleeping around a lot wasn’t like being raised to be a sex slave, getting raped every night as soon as you were old enough to…

           Stop thinking about this.

           I paused in the middle of the street to light a cigarette and try to get my bearings. The town was darker than ever, and there wasn’t a soul around. The sky overhead was black and starless. I wondered what Hakkai was doing right now. Most nights, he worked until dusk, and then he set up lights so he could keep working until he was exhausted. Once or twice I’d found him passed out in the snowy garden, shuddering and mumbling about Kanan, and I’d dragged him inside to bed. I worried he’d get really sick doing shit like that, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He wasn’t listening to me about anything, and that was nothing new. He thought he knew everything, and I was just a dumb hanyou who was lucky not to be bred as some rich fuck’s fetish…

           At least if Hakkai was here he could tell me to forget all that. He could say something that made sense. He could remind me that I was a person—he was good at that. Even if he didn’t know how, he always thought of some way to distract me so I could forget about it.

           What is going on with him? Why is he so determined to leave me?

           I didn’t want to think about that either. It was up to Hakkai what he did and where he went, and I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t going to beg him to stay, but…thinking about how friendless and bleak life would be without him was too much.

           I turned around in the street suddenly, facing the direction where I’d seen the pillar of smoke earlier. I saw an orangey glow that way, and I could sort of make out the ashy cloud polluting the night air. The wind carried a foul smell. I decided I wanted to figure out exactly what was going on in this town before I headed back to Hakkai. It was a long walk anyway, so what the hell, why not?

           Navigating through the unlit streets at night was hard. The road was rough, and I kept stumbling in potholes or tripping over rocks, but it was easy to follow the fiery glow, and before I knew it I was at the edge of town, facing an open field, coated in crystalline white, and the wind whipped through the clearing, bitterer than ever.

           Most of the town was gathered there around a huge bonfire, like they were having a party, but nobody danced or drank or laughed. In fact, no one was even speaking. I heard some sobbing.

           Stacked off to one side, I saw a huge pile of bodies, thrown one on top of another, irreverently, and most of them had been stripped naked. All of them had the pointy ears and sharp claws of youkai. I even saw little children, crushed under the bodies of adults. Human men were picking up corpses one after another and throwing them carelessly onto the fire. The air was choked with the despicable scent of burning flesh.

           For the longest time, I just stood there and stared. Willis said the youkai in this town went crazy, attacked humans, and ran away. There were enough bodies there to account for the whole youkai populace. Did that mean the humans had hunted them down and dragged them all back here, or…? I mean, was it possible some of the youkai hadn’t lost their minds yet and their neighbors just killed them as a preemptive strike?

           The idea put an unshakeable chill in my bones and a sick feeling in my guts. That was way too fucked up. It was all too fucked up—eating people, murdering innocents, torching the bodies like some kind of ritual…

           Sanzo wasn’t kidding about this being a bigger deal than it seemed like.

           Someone gasped suddenly and shouted, “That man! The outsider—he’s seen us!”

           I blinked myself out of my horror-stricken trance and noticed a group of townspeople clustered together, faces drawn with terror, pointing at me. A few men rushed toward me—I even recognized several of the guys from earlier.

           The old man who’d had the pitchfork grabbed up a chainsaw and stormed toward me, his face ruthless with resolve. He yanked the starter, and the saw roared to life, filling the silence with a terrifying sound of certain death. Lugging it with him, he ran in my direction.

           Another man cried, “We can’t let him get away! We can’t let him tell!”

           “Oh, holy fuck, no,” I whispered.

           Tossing my cigarette, I spun around and ran back the way I’d come.

           I was fast, but I kept running into dead ends and getting turned around, and the mob closed in on me, shouting angrily and carrying torches. The guy with the chainsaw was surprisingly fast for his age, and it seemed like every time I looked over my shoulder he’d gotten a step closer, bearing down on me with the saw, eager to chop my body to bits.

           My heart slammed so hard I thought I wouldn’t even be able to run, but if I stopped they’d be on me. Staggering and sliding through snow and pitfalls, I cursed the darkened streets. Did they make it like this on purpose? So if someone dropped by and saw what they were doing they could kill them easier?

           The lunatics screamed for me to stop where I was. I didn’t know why they’d bother. Sometimes they insisted they just wanted to talk, but the hum of the chainsaw motor always reminded me I couldn’t take that chance.

           I turned a corner and dashed down an alley.

           At the other end, a group of men jumped in my way and surged at me.

           Behind me, the sound of the chainsaw bounced down the walls.

           “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

           I summoned my shakujou. The alley was so narrow I had to carry it vertically.

           Not understanding what it was, the men rushed at me.

           I whacked off one guy’s legs, and he collapsed in a heap, screaming and writhing. Hot blood sprayed across my shirt.

           The others shouted and paused.

           I plowed through them, shaking them off and racing into the street again. I recognized the tree with the fresh graves planted under it, just ahead.

           With a burst of speed, I leapt over the fence, crashed through the graveyard, and sprinted out into the woods and the night.

           It didn’t matter what direction I went, I just had to get away.

  Past Gojyo

             Hakkai woke me up a few times, like he said he would, once when the moon was directly above us, once when it was getting close to the horizon, and one more time when the sky was starting to brighten. Each time, he talked to me a few minutes, asking me questions like, “what’s your address and what’s your birth date”, and then he gave me some pills for my headache and some water, and told me to go back to sleep.

           That was easy since I felt so tired, and it was good to know he was close by, keeping watch.

           The next time, I woke up by myself, and it was already eight or nine in the morning. Hakkai was cooking something over his fire, and he greeted me quietly and told me to lie still while he finished making the food.

           “How do you feel?” he asked while I ate.

           “Better, I think.”

           “Does your head still hurt?”

           “Not so bad.”

           “And the dizziness?”

           I looked around the forest, but everything was normal. “It’s gone.”

           “You’re not seeing double or anything like that?”

           “No.”

           “Do your ears ring?”

           I shook my head.

           “Are you nauseated?”

           “No. I don’t think so.”

           He nodded. “You’ll be fine, I believe, but you should take it easy for a few days.”

           I didn’t know how I could do that. If I went home, I didn’t know if Mom would let me hide in my room for a few days, but I did know she wouldn’t let me lie around the house and watch cartoons. Jien couldn’t take off work to babysit me.

           There wasn’t anywhere else to go though. I couldn’t camp out for a few days—that wasn’t taking it easy at all.

           Suddenly, Hakkai got up from where he’d been sitting on the other side of the fire and came over to sit down in front of me, cross-legged. He looked seriously into my eyes, and his voice was gentle. “I want to discuss something important with you.”

           I blinked at him and popped some bacon in my mouth. “’Kay.”

           “I understand you only just met me yesterday, but please believe me when I say my concern for you is genuine.”

           I cocked my head and studied him. Maybe I was naïve, but Hakkai just didn’t seem like a liar, and he had a really honest face. “I believe you.”

           “Good.” He cleared his throat and clasped his hands together, staring down at them thoughtfully. “Last night, you told me something rather disturbing about the interaction between your stepmother and your brother. I somehow doubt he’s taken the time to talk about this with you… Well, why would he? I’m sure he’s ashamed of it.”

           “What’re you talkin’ about?”

           He sighed. “I just want to make sure you understand how…unnatural your home life is.”

           “’Cause she hits me, right? Other moms don’t hit their kids… Do they?”

           “Well, no, not as such. That isn’t precisely what I mean. If it’s true the two of them engage in…er…intimate relations…”

           He paused, and I realized he wanted me to tell him for sure whether or not they did. Last night, I hadn’t meant to babble that out, but there wasn’t any taking it back now. “Yeah…” I looked away. “Sometimes.”

           “That is not natural behavior for a mother and son—not by any means—that’s known as incest.” He sighed. “Not that I’m one to have much to say about incest in and of itself…”

           “This’s confusing.”

           “I know. I apologize. It’s a delicate subject. The important thing though—the thing I’d like to stress to you—is that Jien’s course of actions are not necessarily the most prudent. It could be there’s some very real emotional or mental ailment behind that behavior, particularly where she’s concerned, and it…” He paused again, and his expression hardened. “It’s wrong, Gojyo. A mother and son should not be doing that, and it distresses me to hear that watching them perform that action has left you feeling conflicted. Jien shouldn’t be doing that, regardless of the reason, and I don’t at all want you to grow up thinking you should try it next. She may not be your mother by blood, but regardless, there are healthy reasons to engage in sexual intercourse with someone, and unhealthy reasons. For example, things like love and respect are integral to sexual intercourse, and reasons like guilt, or shame, or insecurity would be unhealthy reasons.” He stopped suddenly, eyebrows knitting together, as if he were feeling somewhat confused himself. “Do you understand?”

           “I think so…”

           “I just…you’ll be a young man before you know it, and this misconception could be damaging to your development, and that concerns me. Furthermore, it absolutely is not okay to allow anyone in a position of authority to take advantage of you simply because it might make them feel better, and although I don’t know very much about this particular situation—I’m completely new to it—I assume that’s what’s happened to Jien.”

           I tried to remember the first time they’d done each other, but…it just seemed like something that happened before I knew it.

           Hakkai grumbled under his breath, “I’ve never had such a hard time explaining anything in my life… I feel as if I’m pushing a boulder up a hill.” He looked earnestly into my eyes. “Don’t sleep with your mother, Gojyo-chan. Don’t even consider the possibility that it might make her love you, because it won’t. This is not the way family is supposed to behave, and these are not the things they’re supposed to be teaching you. Being intimate with someone is worth more than a cheap distraction.”

           “I know.” I lowered my eyes. “I know nothing can ever make her love me…”

           “No,” he agreed quietly. “I suppose if she doesn’t love you by this time, she’s never going to. But there will be other people in your life who will love you. They’ll matter much more than any of this.”

           I couldn’t even imagine that. “Yeah right. When?”

           “Not too long.”

           I shook my head and lit a cigarette, repeating, “Yeah right.”

           “Gojyo.” He lifted my chin to look me in the eyes again. His were greener than the grass, and they burned with an intense expression. Again, I felt like I had to believe whatever he said. I felt like he wouldn’t lie to me. “I promise,” he said firmly.

           Meeting anyone who would actually care about me still sounded impossible, but I nodded. For all I knew, it could happen.

           “Good. Now, if you’re finished eating I think we should get you home.”

           My stomach squirmed. “Home… Really?”

           “Yes.” He stood up and started picking up his stuff. “If Jien is any sort of decent brother he’s been looking for you.”

           “My concussion though.” I couldn’t help feeling betrayed. I hadn’t thought he’d make me go back there after everything I told him.

           Hakkai hesitated and sighed. “I’m sorry, Gojyo. I wish I didn’t have to take you back there, but I don’t know where else you would go, and having a roof over your head is an important part of childhood.”

           “I could go with you,” I said smally.

           Hakkai smiled sadly. “Ah…that… If only I were going somewhere you could go as well.”

           “I can’t go with you to Cheng?”

           “I’m not sure I’m going to Cheng anymore.”

           “Why?”

           “It’s occurred to me that perhaps I should simply return home…if I even can.”

           I stared at him. He was really a weird guy. “How come you can’t go home?”

           “Oh, I don’t know yet if I can. We’ll see, I suppose.” He slung his pack over one shoulder, and Jeep hopped to the other.

           “Can’t I go home with you?”

           He faced me. “Do you really want to go with me? Do you really want to leave your brother and everything else you know?”

           That bothered me. On one hand, I didn’t have anything else in this town I cared about, but…Jien. I didn’t know if I wanted to leave him. I still felt like we needed to stick together. “I don’t know.”

           “Whatever you decide, I’ll be in town a while longer, I think, so there’s still time to figure something out.”

           I got up too, holding the coat he’d spread over me last night. I wondered why he was even wearing a coat in the middle of the summer. “You’re staying a while? Are you gonna keep camping out?”

           Hakkai shrugged and started to lead the way back to town. “Perhaps I’ll ask your mother if I can stay a few nights at your house.”

           I couldn’t help smiling as I trotted up to walk next to him. “Really? That’d be cool.”

           Hakkai just nodded. “Regardless of what I do, I want you to keep in mind what we talked about. Do you understand?”

           “Yeah, okay. I will.” I lit another cigarette.

           He added under his breath, “Also…perhaps you should consider giving up smoking. Jien may not have told you this either, but it’s considered to be quite hazardous to your health.”

           I took a deep breath of the tobacco. “I like smoking.”

           This time he chuckled and ruffled my hair, “I know you do, Goj.”