#irins clockworker

[gece-misin-nesin]

I'm imagining an au where there are ACTUAL trials in evils theatre.

But what is weird is that the dead... seem to come back to life for trials to defend themselves, defend others or even sue people?

At first the theatre crew and the dead are like "yo wtf" but they get used to it. Most of the dead are in trials once or twice but there are several of them who are there A LOT.

Also by triaI mean someone says:

(Insert Name) is guilty of this and this

And then everyone involved participates in the discussion like: were they actually guilty, their reasons, outside reasons and what the victim says etc.

So my ideas for this:

Michaela is a regular member, forming a body out of roots and shit to either participate or observe trials bc that's how she gets amusement out of life as a tree

Gammon managed to get Lilith a guily verdict over the green hunting, she didn't speak to him for a month(no one knows if it was bc she regretted it or bc she was angry at him or both)

The punishment for being found guilty is cleaning and doing the chores of the theatre for a week

Gammon constantly tries to get the theatre members convicted bc of this

Nemesis regains her memories bc i want her to once every two months and causes the BIGGEST trials bc she has dirt on everyone

She once got Irina(who isn't always the judge) to be convicted for the Lioness Burning Incident

Gumillia is sick of this bs because she gets summoned to trials all the damn time bc of her partnership w Seth

When they need to call a dead person as witness they just shout that person's name and they appear

Everyone thinks it Gumillia raising the dead but its actually Luna Hazuki bc this is the most fun she has had in a millenium

She just watches everything from her secret base

If a dead person is found guilty, the entire court has to individually insult said person

Ron Grapple once accused Hansel and Gretel of his murder and won the case bc he was ABC's son and Irina liked him

The graveyard crew were shocked

Nyoze the loop octopus version once cleared up a case about the 7th project MA and never came again

Gammon couldn't process it

Michelle Marlon got MA convicted for not paying child support on two different occasions

Rahab Barisol once emerged out of MA and shit talked Lich

Clarith was accused of not being on the side of justice bc she didn't kill Riliane, coincidentially, Michaela went apeshit in that trial

Clarith also testified that riliane repented which had some ppl surprised

Ma tried to convict gretel for the murder of Mariam, they called her spirit and she literally said "idc"

Behemo makes Ace Attorney references whenever he's there

"That autopsy report is...OUTDATED!"

Nemesis was convicted for the destruction of Levianta(the Magic Kingdom)

Germaine sues Irina for all sorts of shit

No one managed to call on Allen Avadonia

Luna and Sickle kinda argued on this but Luna respected Sickle's decision(basically torturing a 14 year old :/)

They summomed Gallerian multiple times and his response was always "lmao who cares? im evil and i embrace it"

Irina can never trash talk him when he loses trials

Adam managed to get Gammon convicted for identity fraud bc of his past life...somehow

It was total bull and everyone knew that he had bribed Irina

Adam also got Seth convicted for child abuse

Dozens of women sued Venomania and he never won

Not even once

He did win a case against his asshole father though

Muzuri Conchita sued Irina for the curse on his household and he won the case

Elluka Chirclatia sued Nemesis, Mayrana Blossom and Ma for understandable reasons

Pride arc people sued the shit out of Prim, she didn't manage to win ANYTHING

Interestingly, the most ferocious person during her stuff was Banica bc of what she had done to Ney

Lemy sued Gumillia for his murder but the court was so split that they decided to convict neither side and never brought up the case again

It just gave everyone migraines

Adam and Eve tried to sue H&G for their murders but then H&G sued them for neglect, so they called it even

Eve was nearly convicted for the Toragay incident but no one could prove it was her (Nemesis wasn't there and Irina was interested in her defense)

Loki Freezis and Gallerian Marlon had an epic stand off

Kayo Sudou apologised for murdering Mei, Rin and Miku Miroku so they gave her a less harsh sentence which involved only the 3 victims insulting her

No one cared about Kai's death

The Pere Noel members of the 1st iteration(bc most members of the second are all alive until 999) had a LOT of cases

Kaspar tried to make a case against Eve but ignoring that he couldn't prove it was her, no one in the court sympathized with him

Eve and Adam had a shouting match with Seth cheering on from the sidelines until they realized he was their common enemy and ripped him to shreds(figuratively)

Kiril Clockworker nearly got convicted for Pale Noel's stuff, but they couldn't prove anything y'know? He was blamed a little for the catastrophe tho

Catherine Derais once came and she and Rahab were brutal

Brutal for Rahab mostly

All the sinners and the demons sued each other several times

They all got different verdicts each time lol

Sickle is against Luna interfering but doesn't say anything

Eater actually got all heated up in a case against Held once

Arth defended Lich in said case

Lich was so moved

Ney defended herself by saying that Michaela looked like Eve in Michaela's murder trial

No one took it seriously except Hansel and Banica

Nemesis nearly got in trouble for Nyoze's murder but Nyoze(the octo ver) said that her innocence was non-negotiatable

Mira Marlon sued Gallerian for cheating on her and won the case

Nemesis sued Held for not doing shit as a god

Surprisingly Irina, who benefitted the most from his inaction, agreed and he was found guilty

Gumillia was attacked several times for her aiding Elluka Clockworker with crimes and once she claimed that Elluka Clockworker never existed bc she was actually levia behemo, she wasn't elluka chirclatia and ergo elluka clockworker never existed and that Gumillia couldn't have POSSIBLY helped her do crime

The court just took a minute to process this in silence

"I hold nothing BUT contempt for this court." -Germaine, absolutely sick of this bullshit

But that quote could be anyone tbh

This is really long but the ideas just kept coming to me. I find it funny when characters are confronted with their actions, even if it is comedy like this

Honestly Evils Theatre SHOULD have had more trials

it would have been so fun

[inca-oc]

An End

Elaine regained her memories all those years ago, but not her mortality. Irin was completely and painfully mortal. It was a fact they both knew, as well as that everything eventually comes to an end.

TW: Suicide

Elaine's expression was that of deliberate, calculated calmness. Steady breathes were almost unnatural as she inhaled, exhaled, like perfect clockwork. The seconds counted down in her head as she tried to keep herself from hyperventilating. She tried to be strong even if she wanted to be anything but. She wanted to scream, to break something, to do anything to express how angry she was at the circumstances that she knew were unavoidable. She sat quiet instead. Count to four, breath in. Count to four, breath out. It was so quiet she could hardly keep her thoughts straight.

Her hand gently held that of Irin's, the aasimar's body was at this moment so unlike that of the one she had in her youth, but nonetheless it seemed aglow with radiant energy to Elaine. Once strong and full of energy she now lay frail with thin blankets hugging her thin frame. The deep black of her hair was completely silver after decades of aging. Her wrinkled face especially crinkled around her eyes as she weakly smiled, one that Elaine struggled to return. Age had not stolen her beauty from her.

How many weeks had it been since Irin had been able to stand on her own, since she had been strong enough to leave this bed? Elaine kicked herself mentally for failing to take her outside one last time. It was too late for that now.

"I'm so glad that I could spend my life with you," Irin said, the first to break the silence. It had felt once felt so thick, and yet her voice, so quiet it was scarcely even a whisper, cut through it so gently. So kindly. It made Elaine's heart ache even more.

It had been eighty years they had been together now. Eighty short years since she had been reminded of the life she had led before becoming a devil, a life she wanted to resume with Irin. Eighty years since she had been taken from Avernus to live within Faerûn. It had been a struggle in many ways; they had to keep to themselves for much of this time as a devil was unlikely to be welcomed by anyone, and killing anyone who sought to destroy Elaine would only serve to draw more attention to them. It was simply necessity to isolate. That wasn't all bad though as they had lived happy lives together and had traveled so many places, fighting creatures and helping in secret, and eventually settling down together in a home they built themselves. It was everything Irin had wanted, and Elaine was more than happy to have spent every moment of it together. It was just a shame it had to come to an end.

Elaine's wandering memories were brought to a sudden stop as she realized Irin had spoken to her once again, "I'm so sorry that I have to leave you alone."

"It's fine." Elaine's free hand at her side clenched into a fist, painfully. "Irin. It's okay, I promise."

Irin sighed, "It isn't. No, I--" A violent cough overtook her, startling Elaine half to her feet in alarm, but Irin waved her off as best she could. After what felt like far too long, Irin had recovered enough to continue. "I was selfish. I knew you would live longer than me and I did this to you regardless. I'm sorry."

Those last two words were like daggers. It was only a matter of time before her internal battle against her grief would be lost. She all but collapsed back into her chair, and it was then that she felt hot blood drip down to the floor, broken skin stinging painfully. Her hand at her side relaxed with great effort.

"Don't be stupid," she choked out, the hand holding Irin's pressing her skin against her cheek. She wouldn't allow herself to cry, not now. Not when Irin felt guilty enough as it were. "I would gladly do it again. You didn't force me to stay. We both knew, Irin."

"I suppose you're right." She smiled sadly, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly, shakily. It appeared that she too was trying to remain strong. "Please let me be sorry, Elaine. I can tell you're in pain. You're bad at lying when you're upset."

Breath hitched, the clockwork was suddenly interrupted completely. To Elaine, it felt as though her throat completely closed up. She'd thought that she had done an adequate job and had hidden her agony; no, she'd failed, she had hurt Irin with her own pain. Stupid. She was practically suffocating and the pressure sat like rocks on her chest. It took all her strength to keep breathing again. Counting internally. Keep counting.

"No I'm not."

"You are." Again, Irin smiled up at the once-tiefling with half open eyes and squeezed her hand. Elaine could hardly tell she had even done so. She didn't dare squeeze back. Had she been this weak moments ago? "Your feelings are honest. Even when words are not."

Unable to respond, she kept counting.

They stared unmoving into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours, but even an eternity would not have been long enough for Elaine when they again closed. That warmth was all she wanted right now, to keep feeling that warmth.

"I love you."

Elaine felt her eyes burn. "You too." It was all she could manage to get out. She had lost her battle and she couldn't hold back the sobs any longer. Moments later, Elaine knew that Irin had lost her own battle as well.

She was buried beneath a large tree that they had spent countless afternoons sitting under, reading or eating or simply existing together. Elaine hated that sunlight now. The bright light reminded her too much of those happy moments, of the golden color of Irin's eyes, of the glow that she always seemed to have about her very being. The heat that bore unrelentingly upon her reminded her of where Elaine knew she would soon be. She was well aware that she would never again see Irin, for she was far too good a soul for Avernus to take; she was everything Elaine had wished she could be. It was a foolish, impossible wish for a devil who would never escape the clutches of the first circle of hell. She hoped that Irin had not been cursed with this same knowledge before she'd passed. She never would have forgiven herself, she had felt too guilty already.

Akin to a statue, Elaine knelt upon the freshly moved dirt, completely still, the only movement being the slow breathes she took. She placed her hands on the ground: it was warmed from the sun. She had been sitting here far longer than she knew if it was this warm. Perhaps flowers will grow here someday, Elaine thought to herself with a thin smile. Irin would have liked that a lot.

She held her breath, savoring the feeling, the dull pain it brought when her lungs screamed for relief. Exhale. The physical pain subsided.

Elaine had waited long enough. It was time.

"I'm sorry your kindness was wasted on someone like me," she whispered, reaching to her side and taking in her hands a thin blade that placed on her chest with deadly calm, the tip directly over her heart. Her hands were steadier now than they had been all day. "Thank you all the same though." She smiled widely, looking towards the sky. It was blinding. "I hope wherever you are that you're happy. I hope you know how happy I was with you."

She held her breath, and prepared for the pain. She counted to four, one last time.

"Goodbye Irin."

Although their spirits would be forever separate, at least in physical body they would both be together underneath this tree. That was the wish Elaine had now, and of all the wishes she had, it was the only one she had the power to bring true.

[lakecountylibrary]

Taking the PopSugar reading challenge this year? The LCPL reader’s advisory team has some suggestions. Don’t strain your eyes reading the pictures - we’ve put our suggestions for each category under the cut, plus the suggestions we couldn’t fit between the lines! The person who did the recommending is in parenthesis after the suggestion (just in case you’re a fan of one of us in particular...)

A book recommended by a librarian

   Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg (Chris)

A book that’s been on your TBR list for way too long

    Obviously we don’t know what’s been on your TBR list for eons, but Chris picked A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving from her own. (Chris)

A book of letters

    Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (Chris) (Seconded! --Rachel)

An audiobook

    I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan C. Bradley (Read by the amazing Jayne Entwhistle. --Chris)

A book by a person of color

    A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (Chris)

A book with one of the four seasons in the title

    Cheating answer: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley     Legit answer (but a children’s book):  The Penderwicks:  A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall (Chris)

A book that is a story within a story

    The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Chris)     The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Rachel)

A book with multiple authors

    The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg  (Chris     Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (Rachel)

An espionage thriller

    The Expats by Chris Pavone (Rachel)

A book with a cat on the cover

    Into the Wild by  Erin Hunter (Christina W)     Dewey by Vicki Myron (It’s a cute story --Amy V)

A book by an author who uses a pseudonym

    The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (Chris)

A bestseller from a genre you don’t normally read

    So we don’t know what you don’t normally read, but Beth and Robin usually don’t read realistic fiction or superhero comics, respectively. If either of those describes you, give one of these a try:     The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (I normally read fantasy and sci-fi, while this is realistic fiction --Robin)     Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson (Beth)

A book by or about a person who has a disability

    Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (Chris)  (YES! --Beth) (Editor’s note: We understand that the movie portrayal of this novel has been criticized for clumsy handling of a sensitive subject. You may find that the novel handles these issues with more grace, or at least more thoroughness. Either way, books like this one are a good springboard to critical discussion and we encourage everyone to read thoughtfully.)

A book involving travel

    This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison (Chris)

A book with a subtitle

    Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by  Mary Roach (Chris)

A book that’s published in 2017

    Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister (Chris)

A book involving a mythical creature

    His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik (Chris)

A book you’ve read before that never fails to make you smile Again, we can’t say what you’ve read before or what will make you smile, but here’s a great re-read Robin and Chris both suggest:   

    A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens (Chris) (I recommend listening to Neil Gaiman’s performance of it for extra smiles --Robin)

A book about food

    Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton (Rachel)

A book with career advice

    The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn (Chris)

A book from a nonhuman perspective

    The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (Chris)

A steampunk novel

    Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Chris)

A book with a red spine

    Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (Amy J)     The Mangle Street Murders by M.R.C. Kasasian (Chris)

A book set in the wilderness

    Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat (Chris)

A book you loved as a child We don’t know what books YOU loved as a child, but here’s one Robin loved!

    Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (Robin)

A book by an author from a country you’ve never visited Chris hasn’t visited Australia! If you have also not visited Australia, this suggestion is for you.

    Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (Chris)

A book with a title that’s a character’s name

    Forrest Gump by Winston Groom or Doc by Mary Doria Russell (a novel featuring Wyatt Earp and John Henry "Doc" Holliday --Chris)

A novel set during wartime

    Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (There’s a prequel coming out in 2017. --Amy J)     Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (Beth)     The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (Chris)

A book with an unreliable narrator

    Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Still the best in the genre! --Chris)

A book with pictures

    Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Chris)

A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you We don’t know what ethnicity you are, so here are a few options:

    African-American Protagonist: The Mothers by Brit Bennett (Chris) ; The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Beth)     White Protagonist: You probably didn’t really need help finding one of these, but I recommend Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. It also has an Arab-American, Muslim protagonist. (Robin)     Vietnamese-Australian Protagonist: Cloudwish by Fiona Wood (Robin)     Chinese-American Protagonist: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (JBill)

A book about an interesting woman

    Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik (Chris)

A book set in two different time periods

    The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler Chris

A book with a month or day of the week in the title

    One of Our Thursdays is Missing  by Jasper Fforde (#6 in the Thursday Next series; start with The Eyre Affair --Chris)

A book set in a hotel

    A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Chris)

A book written by someone you admire

    The Long Way Home by Louise Penny (written while her husband was in the final stages of dementia --Chris)

A book that’s becoming a movie in 2017

    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (Chris)

A book set around a holiday other than Christmas

    The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (set around Easter --Chris)

The first book in a series you haven’t read before

    Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart (Chris)     In the Woods by Tana French (Rachel)  If you happen to have read both these series already, we’d be happy to rec others based on your tastes! Just let us know!

A book you bought on a trip Chances are you didn’t buy this book on a trip, but Chris did, and she recommends Time and Again by Jack Finney (Chris)

ADVANCED:

A book recommended by an author you love

    The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale (recommended by author Louise Penny --Chris) If Louise Penny isn’t an author you love, we’re happy to look around at recs from an author you DO love! Just send us the name :)

A bestseller from 2016

    Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (Chris)

A book with a family-member term in the title

    My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece by Annabel Pitcher (Chris)

A book that takes place over a character’s life span

    The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer (Rachel)

A book about an immigrant or refugee

    Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Chris)     Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (It is fiction but it’s a story of the author’s own story (she immigrated from Hong Kong) --Amy V)

A book from a genre/subgenre that you’ve never heard of

    Beauty and the Clockwork Beast Nancy Campbell Allen (steampunk romance --Chris) Possibly you’ve heard of steampunk romance as a subgenre. If yes, let us know, and we’ll dig for something more obscure to help you out.

A book with an eccentric character

    Ten Second Staircase by  Christopher Fowler (Bryant & May/ Peculiar Crimes Unit #4 ; start with Full Dark House  --Chris)

A book that’s more than 800 pages

    City on Fire by David Hallberg (Chris)     One Rainy Day in May by Mark Z Danielewski (He’s an… unusual author --Amy V)

A book you got from a used book sale     Orleans by Sherri L. Smith (Robin) Didn’t buy that particular book at a used book sale? Talk to your library! Most of them have used book rooms with books at ridiculous prices (ours are all under a dollar) so you can find something excellent for this category.

A book that’s been mentioned in another book

    Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (One of the many great books mentioned in Will Schwalbe’s The End of Your Life Book Club, which is kind of cheating. --Chris)

A book about a difficult topic

    Columbine by Dave Cullen (Chris)

A book based on mythology

    Anansi Boys Neil Gaiman (Chris)