#linh garan

[therealkaidertrash21]

I need to talk about Linh Garan

I wouldn't say i dislike him, i'd like to think he's nice, and that if he didn't pass he could've made cinder's life easier (he probably would a little) but i remember 'glitches' and it always upsets me how he was absent mos of the time. obviously, he had a lot of things to worry about he had a 11 year old lost lunar princess living with him and his family but since he was so absent, he probably couldn't defend cinder much, and, let's be honest, he didn't care about her much. I'm pretty sure he forgot she was even there most of the time, to him she probably wasn't important as a person, probably she was just Selene to him, a project.

idk, maybe I'm just really tired

[impossiblesuitcase]

adri is certified The Worst but i’ve always wondered if cinder and pearl would eventually reconcile. I can imagine it happening once they’re much older than they are in the series (in their 20s or 30s maybe) because I think they would be able to make some amount of peace with each other for peony’s memory.

"that ask sent prematurely my bad, lowkey I think a showdown between Pearl and Iko years later would be hilarious, but the writer in me wants to see Pearl mature and develop beyond the person she was when she lived as her mother’s favorite and a pampered teenager. It’s hard to imagine what Pearl would become later on in life but I believe she would be more inclined/motivated to become a better person than her mother would be, especially because she’s so young when the events of the series happen and she has more room to grow. I don’t think her and Cinder would ever be friends, per se, but I can envision them eventually making peace and I wanted to know your thoughts on that whole can of worms lol" (the rest of the ask, I'll answer it in one).

Okay, but Pearl doesn't necessarily know that Iko is now in the escort droid body. So imagine the two meet and Pearl says, "you're so pretty, let's be besties!" Then Iko just slowly turns to her and sings back, "sorry, I already have a best friend. The empress of the Eastern Commonwealth. Heard of her?"😂

Here's my thoughts on Pearl. Pearl is designed to mimic Adri. Kai notes that "the resemblance between the two was remarkable", and that is not just visually. Pearl has absorbed all her mother's personality. And yet, she is not just a product of her upbringing. Her father—although a mentally-distant bumbling sort of a man—was by no means cruel or prejudiced like his wife. And even with Adri's awful influence, Peony grew up lovely and compassionate. So Pearl's poor personality cannot be blamed solely on Adri—she is bad by her own choices and attitudes.

Pearl is an interesting take on the wicked stepsister archetype. She was a young girl who had her family unit disrupted by this orphan entering it. She's forced to move out of her own bedroom, and Peony starts playing with her 'new sister', and then their father dies. In a small child's brain, it would be easy to associate all these changes with Cinder, especially when your mother openly condemns the girl. This is clear in Pearl's reaction to Peony's death, and her telling Cinder "I know you killed her," and "You shouldn't even say [Peony's] name." Yes, she's vain, yes, she's haughty, but also someone deep in grief and looking to throw blame.

We see Pearl return in Winter and she's no better. But with some time, I do think it could be possible that Pearl matures past those resentments. Let's say she stays on the anti-Cinder bandwagon for years, and when people ask her to justify those views, she explains all of Cinder's 'atrocious' deeds. Being the sole income provider for their family. Wanting to belong where she's not wanted. Neglected, verbally and physically assaulted. When Pearl says this to people, they stare at her like she's grown a third eyeball. "So...you're saying the empress is bad and you know because your family...neglected and harassed her?"

Eventually, they begin to dismantle her logic, and she's faced with the reality that not everything lines up.

Then Cinder names her daughter Peony. Adri is livid, and so is Pearl, but as Adri starts to claim "that wretched cyborg stole Peony's name as 'revenge' against us," Pearl is watching the newsfeed of Cinder and Kai, lovingly holding their daughter and looking at her with so much love. Then Pearl begins to think that maybe, just maybe, Cinder used that name because she loved Linh Peony. Maybe not everything about her is as malicious as it seems.

So Pearl takes a baby blanket embroidered with a peony flower, and goes to New Beijing Palace.

Cinder is floored when her secretary informs her that Linh Pearl is here to see her. Iko tells Cinder to send her away, but Kai—although visibly annoyed—tells Cinder that it is her decision. Cinder's curiosity is too strong, so she lets Pearl in.

Pearl is not nice. She comes in rather briskly, drops the gift on the table, and announces, "it's for the princess. Not for you."

"...Okay?" Cinder replies.

Then Pearl softens. "You named her after my sister, didn't you?"

"Yes."

A nod. "Because you loved her."

"I do love her," Cinder repeats her words from so long ago.

Pearl looks down, says nothing, and nods again. Then she leaves.

Cinder is stunned by the whole encounter, and the gift, but feels surprisingly relieved to have Pearl's 'approval'. They never become friends, they never associate, but they end it on what could be interpreted as a satisfactory note.

Now that's one head-canon possibility. I also think it's entirely possible that this never happens and Pearl remains stuck-up and hates Cinder for the rest of her days. Up to you all to decide.

Anyway thanks for the ask, I love to hear your thoughts vincentvangothic. I also need a nickname for you. Vincy? Gothy?

[gingerale2017]

Morning Haze

Fluff without a plot Words: 2k Pairing: Cinder Linh x Kai Fandom: The Lunar Chronicles Setting: A couple years after Stars Above Warnings: None Ao3 Link <3

Cinder was having trouble keeping her eyes open. The more she read about the new regulations on Public Hover Transportation, the more her eyelids felt inclined to close and never open up again. But she read on and barely managed to understand the basic changes the company made. Each blink became tortuous enough that she threw her port across the bed and chose to read the article in her mind, eyes closed.

It wasn’t much better. She realized that it wasn’t her eyes protesting the absence of sleep, but it was her brain refusing to think.

‘This is important’ Torin had said when he sent a the article to her and Kai earlier, ‘PHT hasn’t changed their rules since it was made back when Kai’s grandfather ruled. They have made many changes unofficially since then but now they needed to make an official document on how they would behave toward those who don’t follow their protocal. Recent technology, I believe, is their stated cause. Along with security purposes.”

‘So it contains their responce to people who don’t use the Bio-Lock?” Kai asked, though he knew the answer.

“Yes, but it’s mostly focused on Lunars. They are worried about one of the unlocked Lunars manipulating and hijacking a public hover.”

Of course it’s about Lunars, Cinder remembered thinking. Ever since Garan’s invention came out into the world, every major company changed something about themselves. As Queen, she had to read each article since it regarded her subjects (and each one always gave her a headache).

She thought she’d seen the last of those papers when her reign ended but they keep popping up again. Most of them had already changed their rules when the Bio-Lock was first introduced, except for a few like PHT, but they were minor companies and she didn’t need to read them.

The articles she read before were all the same and easier to understand. But this article had her reading and re-reading each sentence so it made sense. It might be the lack of sleep and how this day would never end, but she just couldn’t read this paper.

“Are you awake, love?” Cinder's eyes flew open immediately.

Kai had been inspecting her face for who knows how long. His fingers lingered on her elbow and she wondered if she was tracing her arms. He had a habit of tracing her figure while she slept and sometimes she’d wake up to it (she usually enjoyed it).

He smiled, a question on his lips, and brought her port up to her face, “Might I ask why your port is on the ground?”

His hair was wet from his recent shower, smelling like soap. It was something about this state that she liked very much and--stars, how she loved it. He was so close to her face she could barely focus.

Cinder smiled back, “I didn’t mean to throw it that far.”

He leaned in closer very slowly. Everything is always slow with him. It both excited and irritated her. “Then why was it thrown?”

“I got tired of reading on a screen so I read in my mind.��� Her voice got lower the closer he came, “But the writers of that paper are so repetitive and boring.”

Kai lowered the port on her lap and gradually dragged his fingers across her stomach to rest on her waist. His other hand moved up from her elbow, up her arm, shoulder, collarbone, cheek, then dropped parallel to his other hand. All the while he kept coming closer and closer until he was teasing her with his lips.

Cinder’s heart did circus acts in her chest. Her tiredness miraculously vanished and her eyes could only focus on his perfect, beautiful lips. Lips that have tasted hers more times than her cyborg brain could count. Lips that could sway crowds and speak sweet nothings in her ears. Lips that she has met with her own almost every day. Lips that she would rather drink sewage water than live without.

Kai crept on top of her, taking his time while pretending to not notice the way he was driving her crazy. Cinder wanted to grab and kiss him but she (miraculously) forced herself to be patient.

“What were you reading?” he murmured softly, heading towards her neck.

“You know. The PHT article.” She said, careful to not let her words tremble.

“What part?”

“Uh,” she summoned the article back, “Note 37.”

“Mmm,” Kai’s nose grazed her cheek, then jaw, “The part about Lunars?”

“All of them are about Lunars. But yes.”

She could feel his smile on her skin, “Would you mind reading it to me?”

She sighed, “Note 37: Lunar citizens who do not observe the laws on-,” he finally kissed her neck, “using new technology, specifically the” another kiss, “Bioelectricity Lock-” kiss, “will be asked” kiss, “to leave the public hover-” kiss, “and to not” kiss, “access public transportation-” kiss going upwards, “until they install-” kiss on her jaw, “the lock and show-” kiss on her cheek, “proven records” kiss on the corner of her lips, “of the necessary procedure.”

“Force will be used if someone refuses to leave the public hover, then the hover will trigger an alarm that will notify the nearest Police Station,” he added just as he reached her lips. Still smiling, he tried to pull away but Cinder grabbed his shirt and kissed him.

She kissed him hurriedly, unlike his careful, cautious touches. She was impatient and hasty, digging her fingers in his hair.

They kissed until Kai pulled away with a large grin on his face. Then, he rolled off of her but still held her waist, and dug his face in her neck. He didn’t do anything, just rested there while they caught their breath.

He pulled Cinder closer until she was facing him and pecked her cheek and went up to her lips then her temple. Just like magic, her drowsiness returned and she huddled closer, feeling safe and relaxed in his arms. Not too long after, she fell into a much needed sleep.

~

Kai watched his wife’s body rise and fall. Cinder slept peacefully and deeply. She usually woke up before him (probably due to her internal alarm) and never slept enough.

Recently, Kai had been making sure she had. He would drag himself to bed earlier than usual and drag Cinder along with him.

Proven just last night, this method works.

In the mornings, he would do anything possible to keep her from waking up. If she woke up, he would convince her to not get out of bed yet via whispers in her ear. That either relaxed her or tensed her. It was a 50/50 shot.

This morning, there was no need for whispers or hugs. She slept for such a long time that it was bordering on ‘oversleeping’.

Now, Kai had to wake her up before someone would come looking for them.

He started to stroke her hair, smoothing the fly-aways and curling strands on his finger. Cinder slept facing Kai, her lips upturned just a tiny bit as if she were having a good dream. He wished she was.

He loved her hair, he loved touching it, he loved combing it, he loved pulling it, he loved styling it, he loved everything about it. More he loved her skin, face, lips, eyes, hands, legs, feet, nose, etc. He loved everything about her.

Cinder began to wake, her face twitching slightly. She opened her beautiful brown eyes, covered in a morning haze. She smiled when she saw Kai staring at her. Her lips were touched by magic. She looked ethereal in this sun, absolutely wonderful. He couldn’t believe that she was his, forever tied together, even now after their marriage. Though, it didn’t feel like it would go away in an instant anymore. Now, they could their time loving each other,

“Good morning, my love.” He murmured, kissing her forehead.

Still smiling, she stretched her arms out and looped them around his neck, “Good morning.” She yawned and shut her eyes again.

Kai pulled her closer so her head could rest on his chest. She sighed deeply and stilled for so long that he began to wonder if she fell asleep again.

Instead, she spoke, “I slept a full six hours. My system is telling me to keep it up to be healthy,” he could feel her face scrunch up, “I can’t remember the last time I did that.”

“How was it?”

“Very nice.” Her fingers slowly traced the length of the back of his neck, occasionally curling around strands of his hair, “I dreamt.”

“Oh really?” he asked.

“Yes. About us,” she smiled then with her eyes still closed.

“A good dream I hope,” it was more of a question. Sometimes, more often at the start of their relationship, she would whimper and twitch in her sleep. Sometimes she woke up in sweat and sobs. It hurt Kai to see her get hurt even by her own mind. He would hold her and kiss and remind her that he was here. That he would take care of her and love her until he can no longer breathe. His deepest confessions of love for her were admitted while she was unconscious and hurting. He’s revealed many of them since their wedding though.

“Yes. A very good dream.” She whispered.

“About...?”

Cinder opened her eyes, “Spending our day together. But we weren’t rulers of a country. We were normal and maybe the only people in the world,” she paused, frowning, “I don’t remember anyone else.”

“What did we do?”

“Mmh, kiss, talk, eat, talk, kiss, kiss, and more kissing,” she leaned in as if she was going to kiss his neck. Stars, he hoped so, “I liked that part.”

“I’m sure you did. I’m a good kisser, even in your dreams,” he smirked.

“How would you know? You’re not in them.”

“Intuition, my love.”

She humphed, “You’re just cocky.”

“If I’m ‘just cocky’, then why do you like it so much?” If only she could blush.

Her fingers froze in his hair. She pulled slightly back so she could see him and made a failed attempt at an annoyed face. It was very endearing.

“Because you’re my husband. I don’t think we would be married if I didn’t like it.”

“So you married me for my kissing skills?”

She rolled her eyes, “Yes, Kai.”

“Wowwww Cinder, I didn’t know I married someone so superficial,” he teased.

“Pay more attention.”

“I didn't know you only liked my kisses!” he exaggerated as she slowly pulled him closer, hands still in his hair.

“Among other things,” Cinder muttered while slightly biting her lip. He couldn’t help but stare at the nibble wanting to do that himself. This habit of hers was something he loved since the very day he met her. More often than not she didn’t realize she was doing it but when she did notice she would use it to tease him. And it drove him crazy every single time.

He wondered if she was doing it on purpose right now, in fact.

He pondered just grabbing her and kissing her or playing the waiting game. Meanwhile, her fingers, her beautiful miracle-working fingers, provoked something inside him. The need to kiss her (anywhere, everywhere) grew with the twist or pull of his hair, and when they swirled around his bare neck.

He stared at her as she reached his chest and then up his shirt. She leaned towards him, her hand in his hair tightening and digging itself deeper. Her mouth touched his neck.

Cinder kissed him gently, while he held her waist and brought her as close as he possibly could. He sighed pleasantly.

This was one of Kai’s favorite parts of married life. Waking up holding her every morning, kissing her temple, watching her sleep (if he was lucky enough to wake up before her). He loved it. It was peaceful and relaxing. Full of admiration and coziness. He felt like they were regular people here, waking up in the same bed as regular couples do. Like her dream. He never thought of meetings or the upcoming events of that day in these moments. Only Cinder. But she was the one who always brought it up.

As if on cue, she pulled away from him, her brow furrowed.

“What’s up?” he asked in a lazy tone.

She sighed, “Ugh. We have a meeting on the PHT article today and I can’t remember anything.” Sadly, she pulled her hand away from his chest. What a drag. He liked the feeling.

“Neither can I. But it seems you have the advantage, my love.” He twirled a lock of her hair, “Unlike our unremarkable brains that have to memorize, you get to pull it up on will.”

Cinder rolled her eyes, “Stop complaining."

"What? I was simply noting how awesome my wife's brain is."

"You're so corny." She pushed him off of her and rolled off the bed.

"Yes, but you secretly love it." He sat up, "Admit it."

She walked over to the foot of the bed, "It wouldn't be much of a secret if I did." Then she disappeared inside their giant bathroom to get ready for the day.

Kai plumped back down with a large smile on his face. Good stars, how did he end up here, with her? How did he land someone so perfect? Yes, they had their arguments. Yes, they annoyed each other sometimes. But their relationship felt like a gift from the universe itself. In a different reality, he would have been married to Levana, or some other girl from a good family without even ever meeting Cinder. He could have died without ever knowing her. But he did meet her at the stall that day and he did fall in love with her. She fell in love back. The situation was and is perfect.

As the morning haze painted his features, he contemplated his life and future with Cinder. He was excited about more mornings and late afternoons with her. To convince her to go to sleep and to wake her up. To kiss her every day to their heart's content. They had time, plenty of time, and he planned to not waste any of it.

If only this morning haze lasted forever.

A/N: I'm backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk (no promises)

Tagging: @just2bubbly @cinderswrench @cindersassasin @greenalmond @the-wee-woo-royal @deprivedmusicaljunkie @crescentchat @notjacinclay @wheresmymom-imlost @salt-warrior @rapunzelfromthemoon @briggycat @impossiblesuitcase @kaider-is-my-otp (these are for my kaider ONLY fics so please ask if you want to be tagged or removed <;3)

[linh-cindy]

Ooh happy Father’s Day to all your dads!!!! And to Evret Hayle, Garrison Clay, Emperor Rikan, Dr Erland, Linh Garan and uh Cinder’s mysterious dad for bringing her into this series!

[oceanspray5]

Thinking of post Winter/Stars Above Adri with her riches that Cinder graciously granted her through allowing her to keep Garan's patent and how she'd undoubtedly make a lot of money off of it but it would ultimately do her and Pearl absolutely no good because Emperor Kaito is a petty bitch who hated Adri for Cinder without even knowing what she had done just cuz Cinder disliked her so the minute he finds out what Adri has actually done, he's beside himself with the desire to murder her with his own hands or throw her in prison.

Except Kai can't really do that being the diplomat he has to be and all so instead he Very Pointedly does not invite her to the Annual Peace Ball (despite Linh Garan's invention being... yknow... the reason they have peace). Naturally people have questions because there is a song specifically announced to be played in honor of a Linh Peony and Kai mentions Linh Garan by speech but Linh Adri and the living daughter Linh Pearl are noticeably absent.

Someone asks Kai and all he does is pleasantly respond, "We will not be sharing their company." It's a very abrupt sentence. No "unfortunately", no "pleasure of their company", not even a "tonight" to imply this is a one time deal. So naturally people have even more questions when this continues to happen. At every single ball Emperor Kaito ever throws.

Its well known that Queen Selene of Luna is very tight lipped about her life before the revolution and refuses to answer questions about it which drives Kai up the wall cuz Adri takes every opportunity to capitalize on having "raised the Queen of Luna" but Cinder is too busy to actually bother with Adri anymore.

That's when Iko steps in. Cinder may be content to stay quiet and forget Adri exists but Iko most certainly will not let that vile woman get away with everything. She openly declares in great, as the personal assistant and longtime trusted friend of Queen Selene, that Adri's stories are bogus and even adds some incriminating evidence from her data bank as proof. Iko figures she'll deal with the fallout from Cinder later except Cinder really doesn't care if Adri is being slandered all across the galactic media.

But things take an even more dramatic twist when Princess Winter Hayle-Blackburn uploads a video addressing the revealed information. She's sobbing loudly at the injustice her dear cousin suffered and how horrible it is that Cousin Selene "escaped one Levana only to go and be thrust into the arms of another". The Lunars are in an uproar. Their beloved Princess is crying and their beloved Queen had been living a life of misery even on Earth! Winter denies any maliciousness on her part with an innocent smile. She was simply so overrought with emotions at learning of how cruelly her beloved cousin was treated that she had to express them to the world.

Emperor Kaito, being such a paragon of truth and champion of honesty, decides to stir the pot further by declaring his own observations of having first met Queen Selene and admits that while he never got to see her treatment first hand, he did see the toll of that treatment on the Lunar Queen. He also opens up the very much open secret at this point: as emperor he cannot in good conscience invite the perpetrator of Queen Selene's miseries to any happy occasions thrown by the crown as they directly oppose his views on how to show gratitude for the brave young woman who saved them all. Earth is an uproar too at this point having grown fond of Cinder and especially the Eastern Commonwealth who take pride in the fact that Queen Selene grew up in their country.

Adri is besides herself. Her business keeps running, grudgingly as ever customers keep buying Linh Garan's invention. But she is a social pariah and she and Pearl are never again seen as respectable in proper society for the abuse she heaped on Cinder. Meanwhile, Peony and Linh Garan (alongside Michelle Benoit and Logan Tanner) are honored for their sacrifice by the world for helping Cinder become the revolutionary to usurp Levana.

Cinder, personally, is not entirely on board with her life being so exposed but then again it already was pretty well known to begin with. She can't help but love Kai and Iko and Winter (and the Rampion crew cuz i know they'd join in yet idk how yet) for caring about her so much they refuse to let Adri have any ounce of respect despite the parting kindness Cinder offered to her. They let her keep her hands and heart clean while defending her and she'd be lying if she said she didn't kick back with a popcorn bucket now and then after some far too stressful meetings to read some netposts by angry Lunars and Earthens about how much they hate Adri.

[randombookreadersworld]

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)

author: Marissa Meyer # pages: 390 # chapters: 38 start date: March 1 finish date: March 2 rating: 4/5 review: why am I just now reading this series! It is soooo good! I do find it a bit funny that they have a plague situation going on and we’re in year three of a pandemic. I had debated about donating the book but continuing the book but totally changed my mind I’m keeping the book and am looking at picking up the rest of the series

[salt-warrior]

WHEN EARTH TURNS TO ASHES

Masterlist

Chapter Seven: Loner Loser

"And how did you get locked into that classroom, Miss Linh?" Principal Strom stared down at Selene, his eyes empathetic and kind. Selene wished to tell him, but it hurt too much to admit the betrayal of her best friend.

"I, uh- I accidentally locked it." Selene glanced down at her shoes, her stomach churning with guilt. "I don't really know how. Someone might have locked it earlier and I just got shut it."

Shrugging her shoulders, Selene continued the lie. "I passed out because it just had this horrible stench of smoke. I think some kids were smoking in there before me because it was awful." Selene wrinkled her nose at the memory of the real smoke and how it had made her feel. "I have these really bad allergies and don't do well with smoke. Or cotton, for that matter." Selene coughed for special effect. She was a master liar.

Principal Strom remained skeptical, his too big shoulders hunching as he analyzed her. "And you're sure that there was no... sabotage? Are there any students who may be out to get you? Have you been bullied at all in the past or at the present?" He was on to her, but there was no way that Selene was going to let him get her.

"Nope, I'm fine." Selene smiled her most brilliant smile. She was good at pretending. She was excellent at deception. She was clever and sharp as a knife; but that had never made anyone want to be her friend. She had a brain, but no one to share her witty jokes with.

"Well," Principal Strom sighed. He looked worn and tired, and Selene felt bad for the man. He tried so hard to do his job and help kids; but at the end of the day, he was still getting lied to. "I hope that you will report any behavior that is against school policies, especially bullying. We have no tolerance for it here at OHS. Have an excellent day, Miss Linh."

Selene stood from her stiff seat, paying a brief goodbye. She knew that what Pearl and her cohorts were doing was wrong. They were terrible people— monsters even. She hated them all, but some small part of her couldn't tell the Principal; because she couldn't bring herself to believe it had actually happened.

Cress Darnel was supposed to have been her friend. She had been the only person to stand by Selene after Peony's death, but times change. She must have been the one to tell Pearl and her friends her fear of fire.

No, Selene wasn't scared of what Pearl and her cronies would do to her. She was used to pain and heartbreak— but betrayal was something entirely new to her. Selene had never opened up enough to a person to allow such a tragedy, and admitting it would hurt her more than any physical wound.

Selene had lost too much in life, but losing her friend to betrayal was the ultimate tragedy.

***

The buzz of a telephone over one thousand miles away tickled at Kai's ear. It had taken him only a few hours to locate the Linh's phone number and only a few more to figure out what he was going to say. By now, it was nine in the morning.

He had checked everything, making sure that it would all be perfect. The time zones had only an hour difference and it was a Friday morning. No one should yet have left for work. It would all be perfect.

"Hello?" Said a voice from the other end. It sounded young and feminine.

"Hello," Kai said in his chipper voice. He had only slept for an hour and a half, but he felt more awake than ever. "My name is Kaito Crown, and I was hoping to speak with Garan Linh."

Silence followed, and Kai wondered if the girl had hung up on him. "Hello?"

"You can't speak with my father." The girl's voice was angry— defensive. "What kind of sick prank is this?" The girl sounded upset now, and Kai felt bad even though he didn't know what he had done wrong.

"I'm sorry," Kai cut in quickly, before she could call him out for anything else he hadn't done. "Who is this?"

"Pearl Linh." The girl—Pearl— huffed.

"Well, Pearl, like I said, I would like to talk to your father on behalf of his ward, Selene." Kai stated patiently. He couldn't quite understand why Pearl sounded so annoyed at him, or why she wouldn't let him talk to her father. It wasn't as if he were trying to scam them or anything.

An agitated snarl sounded from the other end. The animal-like sound scared Kai into nearly dropping the phone. "What is your problem? Do you like causing people emotional pain, or are you just insensitive?" Kai flinched at her words. He had not expected such a retaliation to such a simple and easy question.

"I-I'm sorry." Kai stuttered the apology, a chink in his armor.  "I don't mean to bring up anything upsetting. It's just that Selene has been in a terrible car accident and has suffered major injuries. I know that she's been estranged from the family, but I thought that you may still want to–"

"We don't want anything to do with that monster." Pearl's voice dripped with malice. She was furious. "Not after everything she did to our family. She took away not one, but two members of this family. She's a menace to society."

Kai felt his breath hitch. He knew that many children in Foster Homes struggled and often rebelled, but this sounded serious. Maybe the girl he had saved was mentally insane, or had done something terrible to this family.

"If you don't mind me asking," Kai said, "What did Selene do to you?" Kai hurriedly explained himself, "I'm the person who pulled her out of the car. I never met her before the accident, and she's been in a medically induced coma for about a week."

Pearl sighed from the other end. She seemed to be more relaxed knowing that Kai was just a random citizen. "I'll tell you what happened only if you promise to leave my mother and I alone. She hates talking about these kinds of things. Her mental state is already terrible and I don't need it getting worse."

"I promise." Kai said, his stomach jittering with butterflies. He almost didn't want to know whatever Pearl was about to tell him, but he couldn't help himself. He was a curious person.

"My dad took Selene in when she was sixteen. He knew what it was like to have bad parents, though he had never been in a Foster Home. He really liked her and decided to adopt her into the family. My mother was against the entire thing, and I agreed with her. The only person besides my father who wanted Selene was my younger sister, Peony. Funnily enough, they're the two who got the worst of it from Selene.

"Peony worshipped Selene. She thought that the sun shone from everything that she did. I despised her. Call it psychic abilities, but I knew that she was a rotten one. I did not expect her to murder my sister, however. I knew she was bad, but I didn't think she was so horrible as to murder a child. My sister was only fourteen.

"There was no proof that Selene did it, but everyone knew. It only took her a less than two months before she realized that no one wanted her anymore, and so she left.

"My parents had mixed emotions about her leaving. My mother was thrilled, and while my dad wasn't too fond of the thing anymore, he still wanted to help. My mom told him not to tell anyone that she'd run away. After all, Selene was almost eighteen. When Social Services found out that she'd run away and my dad hadn't told anyone, they were furious.

"My father was charged with child neglect for not reporting Selene's disappearance and being her legal guardian. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for not wanting to keep a monster in our house anymore.

"I hope that accident hurt Selene, because she ruined my life. My mother is destroyed because of what that fiend did, and left me all alone to pick up the broken pieces of my family. Don't call again." A dull buzz filled Kai's ears, and he knew that he would never speak to Pearl Linh ever again.

***

Kai smeared ketchup onto his french fry, lathering it up until it was fifty-fifty ketchup to fry ratio. He hated eating naked french fries. Thorne, on the other hand barely tapped his three fries into his BBQ sauce. Kai didn't quite understand the sauce choice, but Thorne had something against tomatoes.

"So how did Selene murder the little sister again?" Thorne asked around a mouth of french fries. Kai squirmed at spotting the specks of food in his friend's mouth. He hated when people talked while chewing food.

Kai swallowed his single fry, taking time to answer by swigging his water. "Pearl didn't say. She just said that Selene killed her and then ran away."

Right after Kai's conversation with Pearl, he had called Thorne. The phone call had drained him and set his mind into panic mode. Kai had dished out the entire story to Thorne, who seemed to think of the entire thing as one fat joke.

"Great," Thorne deadpanned, picking up his burger. "You rescued a murderer from death. Maybe she'll kill you next." Thorne tilted his head downward in a teasing way, pointing a fry dramatically at Kai.

Rolling his eyes, Kai began to dip another fry. "The thing is, I have a hard time believing it. I don't just want to condemn her for something another person thought about her. For all we know, maybe Pearl murdered the little sister and used Selene as a cover story."

"Too cliché." Thorne said. "But I do agree with hearing Selene out before judging her. This Pearl character sounds a tad bit biased."

Kai nodded his head absently, biting his lower lip. The phone call with Pearl Linh had upset him more than he thought a phone call could. He didn't want to believe that Selene was a bad person, but something inside him yearned to learn more about the angel.

"I think I want to go to Olympia." Kai said, looking at Thorne to gage his reaction.

Thorne munched on another fry. "You must be getting overconfident with your looks then." Thorne said, his words mushed by food. "Because I'm pretty sure that girl would be more than happy to punch you in your perfect nose."

"I don't mean to visit the Linh's." Kai corrected himself. "I want to talk to the school, or maybe even some friends of Selene." Kai had been thinking about doing this even before his phone call with Pearl. He wanted to understand the person he was now connected to.

"How do you know if she even has friends? The girl sounds like a loner loser to me." Thorne wiped his mouth with a scratchy brown napkin. Kai threw him a glare. "I mean," Thorne continued. "If she doesn't have any friends here after two years of living here, why would she have any up there?"

Kai had never thought about that before. He always assumed that there must have been somebody that cared about Selene, but maybe there wasn't. Perhaps she was more alone than Kai could ever imagine.

"Everybody makes acquaintances in high school whether they like it or not." Kai rubbed his eyes. He may have been energized during his call with Pearl, but getting no sleep the night before was finally wearing on him. He needed a nap.

"Alright then, Mr. Superhero. Fight valiantly, die bravely. Go figure out your girlfriend's backstory. I'll stay here... doing nothing." Thorne sipped on his Coke, pinky up.

"Like you're getting away that easily." Kai smirked. "I need you to look out for Selene while I'm gone."

Thorne choked, spitting brown bubbles onto the tabletop. "No way. Aces and spades, I am not going to watch over your murderer girlfriend. I've sworn off all women, especially those who may want to hurt or kill me." Thorne shook his head adamantly. "You can go to Olympia and do whatever you want, Crown, but I have my own stuff."

"Come on," Kai pleaded, knowing exactly how to win this kind of battle. "I'll only be gone for a day or two, and all you have to do is talk to her for ten minutes. I just don't want her to be alone again."

"I'm pretty sure she's used to it by now." Thorne muttered under his breath, earning a blazing glare from Kai. "But alright, I'll visit her."

Kai grinned at his friend. "Thanks, mate."

"Anything for my lovestruck idiot best friend." Thorne reached across the table, beginning on Kai's fries.

Kai swatted at Thorne's hand, but he had already stolen five of his fries. "I am doing you a favor though," Kai said.

"How so? I thought that I was the one visiting your murdering angel." Thorne guffawed, shoving all five fries in his mouth at once.

"Because, my dear friend," Kai simpered. "I think your lady-charming skills needs some touching up. If anything, you're the loner loser, not Selene." Kai laughed, and Thorne glared.

Thorne stared at Kai's fries, a mischievous grin crossing his features. Kai yawned, stretching out his back and closing his eyes for a split second. By the time he looked back at the table, all of his fries were gone, and Thorne was laughing.

[winterrhayle]

hc that michelle benoit knew about the second era story of cinderella so when she had to rename selene to send her off to adri as her “stepdaughter” she named her cinder and thought this is gonna be hilarious

[mythomagically-delicious]

I don't know why I feel so connected to Sage Darnel, Konn Torin, Logan Tanner, and Linh Garan, but I freaking feel it and want to write something for these guys.

[ekrochford]

‘She was silenced by the blare of recorded trumpets through invisible overhead speakers. She ducked at the sound, eyes widening, as the short melody faded. At the last trill of the horns, a majestic voice boomed through the ball room. ‘Please welcome to the 126th Annual Ball of the Eastern Commonwealth, a personal guest of His Imperial Majesty: Linh Cinder of New Beijing”.’

-Marissa Meyer, Cinder

All right, Marissa Meyer, you have my attention.

Sheesh.

Yes, I did need to use that gif. How could I NOT use that gif?

For those who are not familiar with the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder is the first book in a series of fairy tale retellings set in the distant future of our world. That’s in a nutshell. And in a glimpse, I was intrigued.

A little more information: Linh Cinder is a teenage cyborg in the futuristic New Beijing, a place where being a cyborg is on the same level as being a sex offender or a polygamist. She didn’t have a choice in becoming a cyborg, and she has fewer options still when her adoptive father dies of the dreaded blue fever, the plague that is ravaging Earth, and leaves Cinder in the care of her bitter adoptive mother.

Cinder is a pragmatist and the best mechanic in the district; she has a plan to slip out of her guardian’s noose. But when the handsome Prince Kai comes around seeking her help to restore his personal android, Cinder finds her path to freedom quickly clogging up with complications. Before long, those complications involve the feared and powerful Lunar Queen Levana and the despised Lunar race, beings that can use their energy fields to manipulate perceptions of sight and sound like magic.

I’ve read good YA fiction before, after all. Just because a book is aimed at teenagers doesn’t mean it is, by default, bad.

THAT BEING SAID, CINDER ISN’T QUITE OFF THE HOOK.

I’m not going to condemn the whole series based on a few shortcomings, but these really should be addressed.

My usual shortcoming with modern YA fiction is the typical shallow feeling of its world and characters. This is not a quirk of the genre; I’ve read excellent fantasy YAF with real depth--sci-fi is not a far step to the left. I’ve been a teenager before, guys. I know Meyer, also, has been a teenager. For all that adults like to laugh at teens and their silly problems (”Oh, you’re out of lip gloss? How terrible.” “A two-thousand word essay? *snickers* That’s rough”) young adults do, in fact, possess real emotions. The transition between child and adult often leaves teenagers unprepared to handle the volatile complexities of ‘grown-up feelings’ but to fail to explore the depth of thought and feeling in a teen character is a terrible waste. Reading through, Meyer failed to connect us adequately to a truly, phenomenally unique incarnation of the familiar Cinderella figure, and that’s a damn shame.

Taking it further, she created a stunning new world in a techno-retro future of East-meets-West culture, and I actually felt underwhelmed. What the hell? The opportunities to drag me into New Beijing were there, and the best Meyer could do was put up a picture window for her readers to peer through. If this wasn't such an amazing setting and an amazing recreation of these fairy tales, I wouldn’t be so harsh, but I have literally never seen anything like this before. Such a novel concept deserved better presentation.

One last thought--it was all too predictable. Yeah, I knew Cinder was obviously going to end up a princess some way or another, but the hints along the way were so heavy-handed. It was like when your co-worker wouldn’t shut up about Rock Hard in the Park for a month straight and then mysteriously called out sick that weekend. Seriously. We saw that coming.

But please, this series is far from a bust! I enjoyed it, despite my complaining.

Did I mention how jaw-dropping this entire concept is? Holy gods, it’s about future New Beijing, with a whole different race of people living on the freaking moon, and mind-control, and a plague, and looming world war, and... cyborgs! The fact that I bitched about all those other things and picked the style and depth and predictability to pieces and I still really enjoyed this book is a huge indicator of its value.

I, myself, am guilty of not letting my verbs do the heavy lifting. I have committed the high sin of being disgustingly predictable. And yes, I’ve failed to bridge the gap between my readers and my characters in the past. Meyer does these things, and I understand, because I’ve been there. I also forgive her, because the bright shiny gleam of fresh blood in the fairy tale retelling world is soooooo worth it!

Now for the count.

5/10 Voice. Yep I hacked Cinder to pieces on this one. Look, when you have an idea this spectacular, you’ve got to step up your game. The writing in Cinder was pallid and shapeless; there was some magnetism to the sci-fi genre in the use of vocabulary, but too little, too late. I’ll check out Scarlet and Cress and Winter, but Cinder is the first novel and the hook that needs to yank people into the series. Descriptions were cookie-cutter, emotions were cut-and-paste, and dialogue was acceptable at best.

7/10 Characters. Now, if the premise of future-sci-fi fairy-tales is the crowning jewel of the Lunar Chronicles, the characters are the Scepter of Office. I ADORE Prince Kai. The thought of a teenage prince being a social media star was so jarringly close to reality--so, so good.  And grouchy, down-to-earth cyborg Cinder being the city’s best mechanic? OMG. Those things being said, Meyer builds her characters with very predictable templates, and I don’t refer to the fairy tale source material, here. My two commandments of compelling characters are thus: 1) Thou shalt act according to one’s nature, and 2) Thou shalt not be boring while doing so. And there were times were Meyer’s characters were, in fact, boring, not in what they were, but what they were doing.

9/10 Story. With a little more spice, I would have given Cinder a 10/10 for this one! Meyer shines in her glossy retelling of oft-told-tales and stories that have been rewritten so many times, they’re getting creased at the spines. The story is the reason I will go back, spend money on Scarlet and the others, use my time to read through, and give Meyer another shot. I was intrigued by it all, and while her hints got excessive and her characters mechanical (lol I made a joke), Meyer still had a slew of brilliant ideas for this retelling.

All in all, I give Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles, a 7/10. I have a lot of problems with this book, but I’ll still come back for the rest--if that doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will.

Young adult fiction is in a tricky place of being in high demand, which means sometimes lesser works make it to the limelight. The Lunar Chronicles are a marvelous concept that I don’t want to see wasted. Come on, Meyer, don’t bring me down.

[impossiblesuitcase]

Progeny

Dr. Erland does not die of Letumosis. When the dust of the revolution settles, he must navigate his relationship with Cress and learn how to be—not just her father—but her friend.

Dr. Dimitri Erland was not Dimitri Erland at all. He was a husk of man; his sanity ravaged, memory, sense, morality all lost to the decaying recesses of his mind. 

The mind of a brilliant scientist. The mind of a senile old man.

He remembered Logan Tanner, the head doctor at the Artemisian Medical Centre. Ever sharp, always well-spoken. Never that chummy with any of the other prominent doctors. Eyes perpetually set on galaxies far beyond their rock. He remembered seizing Logan by his collar, slamming him against the wall of an alleyway and demanding the location of Princess Selene. That man hadn’t been Logan at all. A limp rag doll lost to Lunar sickness, the creature inhabiting his body something inhuman.

Dimitri had never imagined himself becoming that way, but as he wrestled against restraints in a bed in the hospital wing of the Lunar palace, he began to understand why Logan took his own life.

He had managed to keep the visions at bay for years. But when he heard that his Crescent Moon had been stabbed, was half dead, all threads of sanity snapped.

He couldn’t forgive himself. He should die, not her. He hadn’t even mustered up the courage to tell her the truth. To tell her how much he loved her.

Dimitri existed in a daze. Emperor Kai visited him once, silent, hair unruly and eyes circled by the deep purple bags. His queen visited later, clutching her wound with a grimace, casting a worried gaze over his form. She told him that they were developing a prototype of Linh Garan’s device and that he would be one of the first recipients. We can fix you, she assured him.

Weeks or months or millenniums passed before he was informed by a chipper nurse that he would receive the device that afternoon.

Not long after she had left, the door cracked open. He wanted to ask for water, but these days any attempt at speech usually came out as a drunken slur, rambled and incoherent even to his own ears. 

It was not the nurse. Cress came to his bedside, hovering at a distance. Her brow was creased. She looked pale, a little gaunt. But she was alive.

Seeing him conscious, she gulped. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. I…I heard you were unwell.”

Dimitri’s fingers twitched, desperate to reach for her but unable. Restrained by the bonds, and his own conscience.

Cress produced a flower from her coat pocket. It was a soft pink. He had no idea of its name. “These made me feel better when I was recovering. I thought it might help you too.” 

She set the flower on his bedside table, gazing at it, and for the first time in weeks, he truly spoke. 

“...Why?”

She jumped, startled eyes landing on him. “Wh–why what?”

“Why would you bring me this? Why do you care?” His voice was gravelly, barely comprehensible, as though wolfen soldiers had run their claws down his throat.

Her head tilted to the side as she thought. “I’m not sure. I know you did a lot of bad things, but I also know it took you a lot of courage to help Cinder. I think…you are a good man, with all you did for her.”

I didn’t do it for her, I did it for you.

She allowed a small smile. “She told me that you had a daughter, a shell, like me. And that you wanted to save her but couldn’t. I always dreamed that my parents missed me. I don’t think that anymore but…it’s nice to know that some people did care about us shells.”

Gratitude coloured her sky-blue eyes. With a final nod, she turned and began walking back to the door.

“Everything I did,” he wheezed, “was for you.”

She froze, glancing over her shoulder. “Uh—yes,” was her uncertain reply. “For us shells. Thank you.”

“No. Not for the shells. For you. My girl. My Crescent Moon.”

Cress bristled, something harsh invading her soft features. “How do you know my full name?”

All breath left his lungs. “Because I named you.”

———

It was confounding—not realising how blind you have been until your sight has been returned to you. As the device took fast effect, Dimitri now understood that he had been mad for many years. With this fresh clarity of mind he could recognise the gravity of what he had done.

Cress wouldn’t look him in the eyes. Cinder insisted that she was merely in shock and simply needed time to come to terms with this revelation. To expedite that process, she assigned him to join the Rampion Crew in distributing the Letumosis antidote to the American Republic. His medical expertise and knowledge of the disease would be crucial to eradicating it as soon as practicable. Being in close quarters with his reluctant daughter was simply an unfortunate side effect.

The first few weeks on board were awkward to say the least. Dimitri kept himself cooped up in his room most of the time, researching and writing, sharing his findings with the heads of Letumosis research across Earth—most of them old friends. They were understandably hesitant, knowing now of his deception all these years. But they needed his help and they didn’t have the luxury to not accept it.

Cress busied herself spending time with Miss Benoit, Mr Kesley, and of course, her boyfriend. For all his disdain for the young cad, Dimitri acknowledged that he was the captain of the ship, and in that, he would not question his lead.

As a beau to his daughter, his opinion had not changed.

Meals were the worst. Friendly comradery, joking and smiles. At some point, a gaze would unintentionally fall onto him, having forgotten that he was there to begin with, and their smiles would falter.

He began eating in his room. It was during one such meal that he heard a knock on his door. 

“Can I come in?”

Dimitri said nothing, yet Carswell Thorne entered all the same. “Hey Doc. Finished eating?”

“No, but does it matter?” grumbled Dimitri, already nettled by the boy’s overly casual address.

Carswell was undeterred. “I have a request for you for the next antidote run.”

He raised an eyebrow. Dimitri was the researcher. He hadn’t yet done much else.

“We’ve got to deliver the antidote by 10:00. But we’re also slated to pick up supplies for the ship at the same time. We need someone to go receive the order. Scarlet, Wolf and I are probably better suited to hauling antidote crates off the ship, so I was hoping you two would be willing to meet with the vendor for us.”

“Us two?”

“You and Cress.”

Dimitri sat up in his chair. “What? Have you told her this?”

He scoffed. “Obviously. Aces, do you think I go around forcing Cress into things without her permission? I’m not that bad of a boyfriend.”

Dimitri dropped his knife onto his plate with a clang. “If she agreed to it…”

Carswell sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Listen, Doctor, I have to respect you. You haven’t put pressure on Cress. I appreciate that. But one of you has got to fill this awful chasm between you. You both seem to deal with confrontation in the exact same way: avoiding it entirely.” He chuckled. “Must be a genetic trait.”

For Cress to be anything like him was a simultaneous bloom of hope and a dagger to his chest.

“The way I see it, if you don’t start trying to patch things up now, you’ll never have a relationship. You don’t want that, do you?”

“I want her to be happy.”

“So do I. But Cress seems to interpret the space you’re giving her as rejection, regardless of how I reason with her.” He huffed, but there was fondness laced through it. “She always wanted parents who cared about her. Show her that you do, and then she might start to believe it.”

Dimitri scrutinised the Captain, searching for complacency or condescension on his face. He could only detect sincerity.

“You love my daughter, don’t you?”

“I do.”

He knew it was true. Whenever Cress complained of pain around her stab wound, a stormy expression clouded Carswell’s face. Dimitri may not entirely trust the boy, but this he knew was fact.

He sighed. “I’ll go with her. But I won’t push her.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

Carswell moved away from the doorframe, shrugging. “Try to be her friend.”

He sauntered away, appearing so confident he seemed eons older than Dimitri. For the first time, the doctor felt a flicker of begrudging respect for him.

If the Captain had succeeded in winning his daughter’s heart, perhaps Dimitri could learn something from him.

———

Dimitri had no idea what to say to Cress as they met with the vendor. Fortunately, she seemed to have endless questions prepared for him.

“Where did you grow up?” “Who were your parents?” “Did you have any siblings?” These were simple, safe questions, but as she broached into “Who is my mother?” and “What work did you do for the queen?” his responses veered into shameful territory.

Noting his hesitation, she said, “You don’t have to tell me.”

“No. There should be no secrets between us. Your mother is also a scientist. I believe she’s still alive.”

Her gaze was thoughtful as she approached the next storage crate. With their limited stature they both had to lean on their toes to peer inside. “Should we tell her that we’re both alive?”

Dimitri sighed, scratching his brow. “I don’t believe that would be wise, Crescent. She…she didn’t want you. The moment she discovered you were a shell she…” his mouth grew heavy with salvia, “she wanted you dead.”

Cress began to nod slowly. “Will you go back to her?”

“No. After you were born, I could never look at her the same way again. Every time she smiled at me, all I could see was her revulsion when she handed you over to Sybil.” He exhaled shakily. “I did love her, but I could have never loved her more than you.”

Cress was silent, busy marking items off the list, but her hands were trembling around the portscreen. “It’s okay. When I was in the dormitories, I contacted the parents of one of the shells with me, a boy named Julian. But they didn’t want him back. I suppose I’m lucky that I had at least one parent that wanted me.” 

When she smiled at him, his heart pounded.

It was once they had approved the order and begun the walk back to the Rampion that he ventured to ask his first question. “How did you grow up? You must tell me, please, what Sybil did to you.”

Cress did. She told him of her childhood, how she discovered her talent with electronics, her years in the satellite and her trek through the desert. Her eyes sparkled as she recounted falling in love with Carswell. She shamefully admitted her role in fueling Levana’s power.

“That was not your fault, Crescent.”

“I was her programmer,” Cress resisted. “I could have pretended that it wasn’t possible to spy on Earth. She would have never had the upper hand.”

“Yes, she would have,” he corrected. “Cress, I knew her. Nothing would have stopped her. All you did, you did to survive.”

She shook her head, eyes glassy. “So many lives were lost, and I was a part of the equation.”

Dimitri knew he should do something, say something assuring, but words would not reach through her guilt. And then, without second-guessing it, he gingerly laid a hand on her shoulder.

She blinked at him but did not pull away. 

“I created the mutant Lunar soldiers. I understand what you’re feeling.”

He admitted to her all his wrongdoing and she listened. His deeds of horror didn’t draw her away from him, rather, she asked more and more questions, all the way until they reached the Rampion’s docking hatch. She of course became distracted by Carswell and the others, and before they knew it, lunch and unpacking and dinner had passed and all parties were off in their rooms preparing for bed without the pair having ever formally finished their conversation.

It was a start, a great start. Dimitri repeated this as he trudged down the hallway to the bathroom.

“He’s done a lot of bad things,” he heard Cress say. His feet stalled beneath him. “But he has a good heart.”

The voice slipped through the crack of Miss Benoit’s door. “Well that’s good. Bad things can be made up for, but it’s difficult to fix a rotten heart,” said Scarlet.

Cress sniffled. “I know. It’s just—it’s still strange to have a father.”

He heard the rustle of bedsheets and imagined Scarlet taking Cress into her arms. “Trust me, Cress—there’s far worse fathers to have.”

———

Now, instead of tiptoeing around each other, Dimitri and Cress reached a comfortable understanding. Their conversations—although still sparse—grew more frequent by the day. Dimitri noticed a general improvement in his mood, a gentler lean of his speech. Even the other members of the crew had begun to fold him into their moments of revelry.

It was in one such moment that these bonds were tested.

Cress lay her hand of cards on the table. “And I win.”

All at the table groaned as Cress bested them for the fourth time. 

“How?!” Scarlet whined. “You have disproportionate luck.”

“I have the luck,” Carswell grumbled, dejectedly resting his head on his forearm. “I think she stole it.”

Cress giggled.

Dimitri straightened his cards into a uniform stack. He hadn’t won, though he was in the running for it if he had used some of his old tricks. Then he’d seen the glint in Cress’s eyes and knew with certainty that she was playing them all.

When Carswell delivered her a particularly petulant scowl, Cress held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, I won’t play the next round. Give your luck a shot.”

Carswell stuck out his tongue at her and gathered up everyone’s cards. The round proceeded as usual; Carswell’s smack talk, Scarlet’s serious look of concentration, Wolf barely paying attention, too busy idly twisting his fingers around her curls. Dimitri had an average hand, nothing special, but it was the perfect candidate for one of those old bluffs he had learnt back in his days on Luna. He and some of his fellow doctors used to play poker or blackjack; some would even bet using the money they earned from performing plastic surgeries for thaumaturges and Artemisian hopefuls.

Cress caught his eye. His mouth turned up on one side. She smirked.

When Dimitri won the round, the groans were even louder.

“Are you both cheating? I’m pretty sure you’re cheating,” Scarlet complained.

“It’s not cheating, it’s strategy,” Dimitri and Cress said in unison. Their gazes flickered together with some surprise.

Scarlet thrust her cards away from her. “Oh who cares, anyway?”

“I do!” Carswell cried.

Cress rested her head against his arm, smiling up at him. “Captain, you know you’re still better than me at poker. But statistically, I have to win sometimes.”

He pouted. “You’re already a genius. This was one thing I could claim! Now what do I have to offer you?”

“Your love and affection?”

Wolf, Scarlet and Dimitri all stood at once as if sensing the tender moment and wanting to get out before things got gushy. 

“I’ll start on dinner,” she announced. “Wolf, you’re on chopping duty.”

Wolf trailed after her like a loyal puppy. Knowing that following them would lead to another equally romantic and uncomfortable situation, Dimitri rerouted to the hallway, catching the last tendrils of Cress and the Captain’s conversation as he went.

“It’s not just you. The Doctor beat me too! It’s like you’ve both got something against me.”

With a laugh, Cress said, “I guess it must be the family curse.”

———

“Is that all that’s left?” Wolf asked as he began hauling a crate of antidote up the ramp of the ship.

Cress checked her portscreen. “Looks like it. Only eleven crates were assigned to us.”

Scarlet, who was shifting the crates into a neat row, frowned. “That’s a lot less than our normal pickup. Are they running out of antidote?”

Carswell charged onboard, rubbing his hands together. “That’s Cinder’s problem. Let’s bounce, people. We gotta get a move-on if we want to make it to the Cali’s New Year’s fireworks tomorrow.”

Dimitri, scanning over the figures on the antidote allotment order, was not so quick to shrug off this irregularity. It was less stock than normal, and judging by the scheduled deliveries over the next month, they would only just manage to have enough.

He commed his queen that evening.

Cinder sighed over the link. “We’re running out. There’s still so much demand for it on Earth and Luna, and with the synthetic version still only in the developmental stage, our supply is dwindling.”

“Can you not enlist more shells to supply the ingredients for the standard antidote in the meantime?” Dimitri suggested.

“We have. Some of them have agreed, but most of the shells aren’t willing to donate. Most of them are only kids, you know.”

He clucked his tongue. “Then perhaps they are too young to understand what’s at stake.”

Cinder asked him to think over some alternative solutions and to get back to her with a response. Over the next weeks, Dimitri made this his sole topic of study.

They were about to land in Miami when Cress peered into the empty crates with worry. “I hope we’ll have enough left.”

Dimitri was alone with her in the dock, fishing through a new shipment of medical supplies. He looked up. “Enough for today, yes. For our entire planned run? Difficult to say.”

Cress twiddled her thumbs. “I can’t stand the thought of leaving without curing everyone.”

He sighed. “Until we fix the supply issue—”

“What supply issue?”

He blinked. He supposed he hadn’t made the others privy to his research. “Luna is running out of the antidote.”

She leant her back on a crate. “I thought they were manufacturing the synthetic antidote now.”

“It’s still only in the developmental stage. All we have is what was manufactured under Levana’s reign. Cinder has asked me to come up with a strategy to manage the limited supply.”

Cress smiled at him hopefully. “So…what have you got?”

He swallowed, pulling a diagnostic monitor from the box. It was a thin bracelet that could determine oxygen levels, blood pressure and heart rate. He slipped it around his wrist. “Well unfortunately it seems the only way we could manufacture more antidote right now is if we extracted samples from ungifted Lunars.”

Her smile fell. “Oh. Are there not enough volunteers?”

“Virtually none. Most shells are unwilling to donate samples.” 

“Of course. We’ve been test subjects our whole lives. It’s hard to trust that they wouldn’t just lock us away again.” 

He pursed his lips.

She lifted off the crate and sighed. “Well, I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

As she left the bay, the monitor beeped. He checked the reading. Heart rate 91bpm—higher than normal. He wondered if that was why he felt bizarrely nervous.

———

“Doctor, could I borrow your port? The overseer wants the antidote clearance code and Thorne took my port to comm Scarlet.”

“Of course, Cress,” said Dimitri, unclipping it from his belt and handing it over. Usually their job was to deliver the antidote crates and let the local authorities administer it. But the breakout here was so severe that the victims were waiting by the ship. The line spanned half the block, people coughing, crying, some slumped on the ground in a heap. Carswell had given Wolf and Scarlet the day off to explore Miami, but with the unexpected workload, he was trying to hail them back.

Dimitri took four vials and approached a young sickly boy in the front of the line.

“Hello there. I have something for you.”

He held out the vial to the boy, but when he was too weak to grasp it, Dimitri placed the vial at his lips and coaxed it down. The boy began choking on the liquid. Though Dimitri tried to force him to swallow it, the boy shoved away from him.

“You need to drink all of it, son,” he advised.

The boy shook resistantly, whipping his head away each time Dimitri steered the vial back to him.

After several minutes of struggling, he sighed and discarded the vial. “I can only hope that was sufficient.”

He proceeded down the line over the next hour. Carswell and Cress unpacked the antidote and passed it to him as he went. Scarlet and Wolf reappeared by the end and helped with the final stragglers.

Finally, they boarded their ship, near ready to drop dead into sleep. Dimitri only managed to prop himself up in a chair before he felt his eyelids flutter shut.

“Doctor.”

He peeled his eyes open. Cress was standing in front of him. Her hands were locked around his port.

“Ah, thank you,” he murmured, reaching a hand out to retrieve it.

Her expression was enigmatic but eclipsed with iciness. “What is this?”

She flicked on the screen and showed it to him. Once his eyes adjusted to the glare of the light, he read the title and paused.

“Well?”

“It’s, um”—he coughed—“it’s my findings in the project her Majesty requested me to research.”

“I read it.”

His face darkened. “It wasn’t yours to read.”

“I thought there were no secrets between us,” she said coldly.

She snatched the port back to herself, scrolling up and reading aloud a phrase, “I advise that the only means possible of maintaining a sufficient antidote supply is to legally enforce the retrieval of samples from ungifted Lunars, irrespective of their personal feelings and consent.”

Her voice spoke the words with a greater vitriol than he’d ever heard from her.

“Yes—well—”

“You want to steal their blood? Force them to volunteer?”

Her glare was poison. His lungs twitched.

“Crescent, I understand the ethical ambiguity—”

“Ambiguity? What’s not clear?” She thrust the port towards him. “That was perfectly clear to me. You just want to use us shells as lab rats.”

Dimitri pushed back into the chair. “Crescent. I can appreciate your apprehension. But they are mere children. They do not comprehend the gravity of the matter. Millions could die if we do not obtain enough antidote.”

“They were stolen from their families! Forced into suspension tanks. They had their whole lives stolen from them! And you think they’re being unreasonable?”

His breath hitched. “...Their momentary discomfort is an unfortunate sacrifice to made for the greater good.”

She scoffed, dropping the port in his lap. “Of course you’d see it that way. Taking the Lunar boys and turning them into soldiers. Killing cyborgs so you could find your princess. Did you ever think of their feelings?”

“I have hated every sacrifice I have had to make, but in the long term—”

“What about me?” Her eyes were glassy, her voice frantic. “Should I expect a comm saying I’m being shipped back to Luna next week to be harvested too?”

“No, of course not, you—”

She fisted her hands on her hips. “Oh, I get an exemption because you care about me, unlike the other shells?”

“Cress, I—”

“I told you how I felt about this,” she said, voice quivering. “You say you care about me but you don’t.”

He shot up. “Crescent, you know I care about you.”

She bit her lip, shaking her head slowly. “No. I thought you were better than this. But you’re still the same thief from Farafrah that bought me like I was livestock.”

Before his trembling lips could form a reply, she left.

Dimitri’s heart was tearing out of his ribcage, threatening to burst through his skin. Every sneer, every accusation replayed in his wretched mind on an endless loop. Still, his own indignation eclipsed the feeling.

He hated how he had made his daughter feel. And yet his mind was still not swayed. He hadn’t even had the opportunity to revise his assessment, yet he sent it to Cinder immediately. 

If he had learnt anything in his lifetime, it was that sacrifices had to be made.

Cinder sent back a response mere minutes later. No, I’m not going to force shells to donate their samples against their will. Are you crazy?!

———

It had been tolerable when the Rampion Crew ignored him. Now they avoided him and it was excruciating.

Cress had obviously told them of their argument, and it was clear whose side they were on. Wolf, who never spoke to Dimitri anyway, maintained his silence. Scarlet cast him severe looks. Carswell was the only one still to speak to him, but always curtly. Worse, he seemed disappointed in him.

And then there was Cress. Each time they crossed paths hurt and resentment flashed in her eyes.

It was beginning to dawn on him how gravely he had misstepped. The chasm Carswell had mentioned had split down the middle, torn apart by tectonic plates so deep that any hope of salvaging their relationship was burnt in the fire of Earth’s core.

Cinder imposed upon him the responsibility of finding an acceptable solution to the antidote crisis. His mind was so swarmed with the ramifications of his own crisis that nothing fruitful had been produced.

The ship landed in Des Moines, Iowa between antidote runs. The young ones were going to a shopping mall, intending for a ‘double date’—as they called it. Dimitri had the misfortune of requiring a new processing unit for his genetic testing module, and the only outlet with such supplies nearby was in that very same mall.

He practically melted into the seat of the hover as they pointedly ignored his presence.

Once inside the mall, they split ways. He overheard Scarlet saying something about attempting to find clothes to fit Wolf’s oversized chest and Cress instructing Carswell to go obtain snacks for the cinema.

Dimitri huffed as he followed the trail on his portscreen to the medical supplies outlet. If they were planning to watch a film it would be several hours before they intended to leave. Perhaps he could hail a hover to return him to the Rampion.

The part took no time to secure and purchase. He was already on his way to the entrance when suddenly Cress flew out of a store, her back to him.

He slowed dramatically, unwilling to overtake her and be noticed. She stalled in the middle of the busy walkway as Carswell approached her.

“Ready?” he asked, chewing through a mouthful. He didn’t notice Dimitri either.

“Yep,” she replied excitedly. “Scarlet said they would meet us out front in a few minutes. Whatcha eating?”

“Skittles,” he answered, poking out his multicoloured tongue.

She gasped. “Oh! I’ve always seen those in netdramas! Can I try some?”

He produced the bag from his pocket. She took it and glanced inside. Offence covered her face. “You barely left me any.”

He shrugged insouciantly. “No, I left the right amount.”

“What?”

He smirked. “Well you’re about a third of my size, so proportionately you would therefore be entitled to a third of what I ate.”

Indignation flared on her face. “What on Luna are you talking about?”

He braced his hands. “Hey, calm down, I’m just looking out for you—all that sugar isn’t good for your health, you know.”

Dimitri felt his own rage rise up to his temples. How dare he speak so crudely to Cress? To insult her so crassly? Oh, he’d always known that Carswell boy was a cad. He would break between the two of them and lambast the scoundrel until—

Carswell laughed heartily. “I’m messing with you, babe. Here—” He presented a second bag from his pocket. “This one’s yours.”

Dimitri’s hackles fell, adrenaline suddenly quashed.

Cress gaped at him. Then, regaining her senses, she smacked him on the arm. “Carswell!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he choked. “But you should’ve seen the look on your face.”

She rolled her eyes, but the ire had faded. “Well, you’re not getting any of this.”

“Of course not. It’s yours. Along with these.” He opened a shopping bag that was hanging from his belt, pulling out a bottled drink, a tray of doughnuts and a chocolate bar.

Cress blushed. “I’m not going to eat all of that.”

Carswell flicked her nose, slung an arm around her shoulders and led them forward. Dimitri, cemented in place, heard his fading, “Well maybe I was onto something with those portions, huh?” 

———

The next weeks were the most he’d every worked in his life. He poured every waking moment into his research, to writing and estimating and testing. With each antidote run he spent hours documenting the reactions of each patient, compiling as much data as possible into his arsenal.

Once he deemed it acceptable, he sent his new proposal to Cinder. It was underdeveloped to be sure, but he couldn’t face Cress until he’d done it.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, inhaling a breath of anxiety, he entered the cockpit bay.

She was sitting on a chair by the window, hand cupping her chin as she gazed off into the endless sea of blackness and stars. Hearing him enter, her gaze flickered towards him, and that perpetual hardness returned in full.

“May I speak to you?” he asked softly.

A beat. She nodded.

He approached her cautiously, unable to maintain eye contact. He looked at his feet. “I want to apologise to you.”

She stayed silent.

“Crescent, I know that what I did was incredibly wrong. I destroyed the faith you had in me. In truth, you never should have had that faith to begin with.” Inhale, exhale. “I have never done anything to repent for my sins of the past. I thought I was better now. I fear that I am worse. I’m so truly sorry.”

She folded her hands in her lap, face stricken.

“I do not expect you to forgive me,” he continued, “but I hope I can at least make you believe that I recognise my need to change.”

“I don’t know,” she said finally. “Maybe you’ll change once your law is passed and I get shipped back to Luna to be their blood supplier.

“There’s no law,” he rushed to say, “No shells will be forced to donate. It was wrong of me to ever consider that. I have submitted a different proposal; actually, it was inspired by your boyfriend.”

She quirked an eyebrow.

Over the past weeks, Dimitri had begun experimenting with apportioning the antidote to victims based on their age, height, gender and weight. His test groups proved that children and teenagers needed less of the antidote than adults to make a full recovery; women needed less than men; those who weighed more and were taller needed the full dose. Once he had enough evidence, he readjusted the metrics for each group and applied this to the number of remaining antidote vials. Instantly, their supply would last three months longer than initially projected.

Cress watched him carefully as he explained this. Eventually, she said, “That makes sense.”

He clutched his hands together behind his back. “I know it cannot make amends for what I did to you—”

“It’s a start,” she interrupted, sounding genuine.

Exhale. “I know I have acted wrongly my whole life. Truthfully Cress, I don’t quite understand the parameters of right and wrong. But—if you’re willing to again accept my company—would you please teach me?”

Her eyes returned to the window. Earth was edging into the corner of the glass, filling up the room with its swimming blue brightness.

“Okay. But you have to promise me something.”

A former Dimitri—the doctor, the mentor, the wise man—would have hesitated, but he was now a student. He would be teachable.

“Anything.”

Glimmers of a smile, the first directed to him in so long, crept up to her lips. “Promise to stop viewing me as the baby you lost sixteen years ago, and start viewing me as a person.”

Inhale. “I will.”

———

It took time for their interactions to evolve from nonexistent to tense, from manageable to cordial. The more and more Dimitri learnt about Cress, the more he mourned not knowing. He mourned not having the opportunity to raise her, to hold her hand as she walked for the first time, to drop her off and pick her up from school every day. But Cress had made him promise not to dwell on that. So for the first time, he took her in as the person she’d become.

Without his or anybody’s help, Crescent had raised herself to be a remarkable young woman.

Every new thing he learnt about her was greater than any scientific discovery he could have made. She was a genius, which was no surprise given her pedigree. But she had taught herself everything. To read. To write. To hack. She was an optimist and a daydreamer. She was a loyal friend. She had her share of weaknesses too, but they were only those common to mankind.

When he stumbled upon her in the galley, he learnt that she could sing.

No, not sing. Her voice soared, sweet as honeysuckle and clear as a trickling fountain. His little songbird.

She was standing by the bench, assembling a sandwich—to her an ordinarily mundane task. To him, it was a moment of reverence.

The words slipped out unprompted. “Your voice is beautiful.” 

Cress peered over her shoulder, and for once, she didn’t seem startled to see him. “Thank you.” And then, after a pause, “Did I get that from you?”

He barked out a laugh. “Certainly not.” Then his memory stirred. “But my sister had a voice like yours. She’s still alive. She has children—your cousins—and some of them have children around your age. I could…I could take you to meet them all one day if you’d like.”

Her smile was beatific.

Being a student of Cress was more challenging than all his years of medical school. Stripping back years of his own thinking and reasoning on matters was more than difficult—near impossible. He resented the thought he harboured deep inside that he could never change. But even worse was the niggling sentiment lurking in his chest, asserting that he was older, wiser and shouldn’t listen to a mere child.

With the unofficial ban on associating with him lifted, the crew tentatively reintroduced him to their activities. He regained trust to the point that when he assured them that he could handle a small antidote delivery on his own, they believed him and jetted off in the podships to the mountains for the weekend. 

The outbreak in Seattle was the worst he’d ever seen. Where in most places the line of victims was able to stand, these victims were all sprawled on the floor, shivering and drooling, with more blisters than actual skin.

“Why haven’t they been brought the antidote sooner?” Dimitri asked the overseer, aghast.

“We had been promised the leftovers from the outbreak in Tacoma. Then they had a surprise wave and used up all their supply. That’s when we called on you.”

Dimitri administered the antidote to as many people as he could, the rest distributed by the Seattle team. It was gratifying to see the light returning in the eyes of the victims. It was not enough to shake the sense of failure when two men—one in his thirties, one elderly—didn’t make it.

With a grim nod to the overseer, he stepped into a hover and programmed the address of the Rampion to the guiding system.

He checked his portscreen. Cress had sent him a photo of the four of them overlooking a sheer cliff.  They were all smiling, sweaty with exertion.

Half an hour into his trip, his port pinged with a comm from the Seattle overseer.

We’ve had 40 more Letumosis victims brought to the quarantines. Can you come back with additional antidote?

Dimitri reread the comm at least five times.

He was due in Portland in only a few hours time for a large delivery. The number of victims there was reported to have risen exponentially in only the last two days alone. But that was only this morning’s estimate. He had approximately 300 vials of antidote left. The victims there had been sicker for longer than these forty new cases. There wasn’t enough time for both.

His initial reply halted on his fingertips as the image of the light leaving the eyes of those two, withered men flashed across his vision.

Dimitri set up a voice comm to Cress. It bounced back. This portscreen is currently out of range.

He didn’t know how to trust his judgement anymore. But right now, he had no one else but himself.

He commanded the hover to stop. He thought and thought and thought for a good fifteen minutes. Then he sent his comm and directed the hover to his destination.

———

He met the others back at the ship. They returned glowing red and panting but exhilarated.

“It was amazing,” Scarlet sighed. “I wish we could’ve stayed for longer.”

“Not when we got a delivery in an hour,” Carswell said with an affected responsibility in his voice. “Unless we teach the doctor to fly and get him to do all the runs for us.”

Wolf was the only one who seemed impervious to the exhaustion of the hike. He read Dimitri’s face with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Cress, flanking Carswell and sipping from a water bottle, glanced at him curiously.

Dimitri rubbed his brow. “After I left Seattle, they commed saying additional victims had arrived and needed the antidote. I did not believe that we would have enough for them as well as for our upcoming delivery.”

“What did you do?” Cress asked quietly.

Dimitri took a seat, shrinking down. Voicing aloud his decision was nearly as hard as it had been to make it. “I…I knew we would need the antidote for Portland. We already have limited supply and we have no idea what state they’re in. So I—I rejected their request.”

“So what?” Scarlet accused, “You’re going to leave them until we get more antidote in a month’s time and those people are already dead?”

“I sent another supplier a comm requesting assistance. They promised to travel there by Monday.”

Scarlet softened. “Oh.”

“I can only hope the supplies make it there soon. They already had two people die this morning.”

Carswell shook his head, frustrated with himself. “We should’ve stayed and helped you.”

“No,” he dismissed, “there was already no hope for them.”

The silence in the bay was dense and heavy on his shoulders. The corpses still felt fresh on his fingertips. “I know it may not have been right. I tried to contact you, but I couldn’t. I had to make a decision.”

The others nodded assent and soon all were preparing for takeoff, the happy morning coloured sombre. Dimitri felt responsible for it.

And then as the ship was rising shakily into the air he felt a hand on his shoulder. Glancing back, he saw Cress standing behind him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. She was here to tell him what she would have done in this scenario, he guessed. Flashes of their previous argument clung to him; her anger, her disappointment. To have disappointed her again was a blow worse than insanity. 

But instead, she spoke, voice even and clear, “No. You made the right decision.”

———

Cinder commed him occasionally, asking him for advice and updating him on the gradual improvements to Luna. One day, she sent him a different comm.

He had a new assignment—to study the wolfen soldiers he himself had created and see if he could reverse the transformation.

It was optimistic at best, completely impossible in all probability. But he knew that he must dedicate the rest of his life to atoning for this sin.

It also meant that his tenure on the Rampion would soon expire. Being separated from Cress was a bitter taste on his tongue. So he prolonged his stay, asking Mr Kesley if he would be a temporary participant in his research. Wolf was initially hesitant but—eager to be fully human again—he agreed.

Months of research and experiments proved fruitless. Dimitri kept trying.

He pulled out his port again, thumbing it adamantly as the screen flickered and protested. He harrumphed. Setting it down on the table, he took a moment to stretch out his complaining limbs with a groan. It was late in the afternoon, though time was tricky when a glance out the window illuminated the perpetual blackness of space.

“Are you okay?”

Cress hovered by the doorway, her hands tucked behind her back.

“I’m all right,” Dimitri replied. “Just old.”

His port chimed. He picked it up, hoping for success, but it was merely a ping for a software update. He grumbled under his breath.

“Something wrong with your port?”

“I’m trying to transfer some of my notes from old files on Luna to my current files. I believe there’s a compatibility issue, given the original files are at least thirteen years old.”

Cress tossed from one foot to another. “I could help you, if you’d like.”

“Please.”

Cress came over and hooked up her port to his, running through the analytics as the system diagnosed the problem. When the file name Human-Lupine Mutation Trial #11 appeared on her screen, she hesitated.

“Do you really think you can fix them?”

Dimitri gazed at his feet. “I don’t know. But I will keep trying. I did this to them. I must try to undo it.”

She was silent for a beat, then in a low voice: “I’m glad you’re trying.”

Her port pinged as it completed its diagnosis and she got to work. It was amazing watching her fingers work, only just able to keep up with her mind. Her face was brilliantly scrunched in concentration.

“Okay,” she chirped, detaching the plug. “It will take a while for the files to load onto your port, but now at least they will won’t fry your RAM.

He took the port as she offered it back, eyes widening as he saw the notification on the screen. Override disabled from user: Crescent Darnel.

“Darnel?” he voiced softly.

She tucked hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I, uh, updated my records. I never knew my last name. I quite like it, actually.”

“Crescent Moon Darnel.”

Cress smiled. “Crescent Moon Darnel,” she repeated.

She looked at her own port, frowned, and showed it to him. Red text on the screen read: Connection disabled from user: Sage Darnel.

“Why don’t you use your name?”

“Pardon?”

“Well, we all just call you Doctor. But Cinder calls you Dr. Erland. That was your fake name, wasn’t it?” She listed her head. “Wouldn’t you prefer to be called…Sage?”

He took off his glasses and rubbed them on the end of his shirt. “Wouldn’t your wolfen friend prefer to be called Ze’ev rather than Wolf?”

She chewed her lip.

He switched off his port. “To be honest, Cress, I don’t think I am Sage Darnel anymore. Or Dimitri Erland. I am somewhat of an amalgamation.”

Cress thought this over. “Can I call you Sage?”

“If you want to.”

Her eyes twinkled. “I do. After all, we should share a last name, right?”

Sage felt a flicker in his chest, growing warmer by the second. “Yes, yes we should.”

———

Sage ambled down the Rampion’s hallway, idly browsing through the data on his portscreen. The report came from the Health Board of Minnesota—where they had delivered the antidote last month. The distribution of the antidote had put a significant dent in the fatality rate, but the disease was still spreading prolifically. We would greatly appreciate your expert opinion, wrote the chairperson. 

The options were limited. A statewide lockdown—the logical solution, but an economic reluctance. Or to immunise the greater population—presently infeasible with the limited supply. It would be months more before such a solution could be implemented, and the question remained: could they justify the continued loss of life?

New York had already completed a lockdown period, whereas Virginia had trialled immunisation in a small pocket of the state. Sage would have to compare the data before drafting his response. He headed to the cockpit bay. As they had been in transit between Earth and Luna, the connection had been too tenuous to send directly to his port. He would have to connect his port to the Rampion's mainframe to establish the link.

The ship was quiet. Mr Kesley and Miss Benoit were watching a net drama and last he’d heard, his daughter and the captain were doing a stocktake of the shipping containers. Sage found the door to the cockpit already open and the lights off. He crossed the threshold, switching his port off and glancing up.

His feet solidified beneath him. Carswell was in the pilot’s seat with Cress tucked into his lap, his arms around her waist as the two engaged in a languid kiss. Sage held his breath, very aware that he should leave immediately and in a way that he would not be detected. The couple seemed sufficiently distracted. 

Sage stepped back. They continued to kiss. Another step. His shoe squeaked against the floor.

The couple tore apart from each other, gaping at the figure at the door.

“Uh, sorry there kids.”

Cress sprung away from Carswell. “Dad!” she shrieked. “Uh—Sage! I—we…”

Cress was positively red. Carswell was blushing a little too, but he mostly just looked amused.

Sage nodded at them and backtracked further. “I'll leave you be.”

He hastened down the hallway, allowing a cringe to cover his face. Cress’s embarrassed groans followed him, along with Carswell’s booming laughter. 

Sage couldn’t help a smile. Not at the antics of the young couple—he had only just begun to tolerate his daughter’s relationship with the ex-convict, and interrupting them mid-makeout was really testing that boundary.

He didn’t care about that. Let his daughter be giddy and romantic all she wanted. He cared more about what she had called him unintentionally, a slip of her inner thoughts.

Dad.

———

Sage returned to Luna after eight months onboard. Part of him was devastated at the thought of again being separated from his little girl, but he knew that she needed to grow on her own. On her own—with her boyfriend.

Scarlet and Wolf had already returned to their farm last week. Sage needed to return to Luna to support his queen and fulfil his assignment.

His return to Luna was also planned as an opportunity for an antidote restock, so his farewell was not overstated. They hauled the shipments onboard, shared laughs and lunch with Her Majesty, and then filed into the docking bay. 

Cinder released Cress from a hug. “Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”

Cress squeezed her hands. “I wish. The captain is a hard taskmaster.”

Carswell nodded proudly. “Yep. This shipment is due in 16 hours. No time for dilly-dallying.”

Cinder rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug. “When did you get so responsible?”

“Cress keeps me in line.”

The three turned to Sage. Carswell approached him first. “All the best, doctor.”

Sage extended his hand. “Captain.”

They shook firmly. Sage buried his desire to warn Carswell about his conduct around Crescent. Carswell would treat her well. Sage trusted him in that.

When Carswell stepped back to Cress’s side, she tapped his arm and leaned up on her toes. He craned his neck towards her. Sage read “Give me a minute with him,” on her lips.

Carswell gave him a final nod, Cinder a wink and a playful jab to the side and sauntered up the Rampion’s dock, whistling as he went. 

Cress said nothing, eyes darting down at her feet. In his peripheral vision he saw Cinder discreetly stepping away.

Sage cleared his throat. “Take care, Cress. Stay safe.”

“You too.” She stepped forward. “Will you visit us? When we come back to pick up the antidote?”

He smiled. “Of course. I already look forward to it. I will…I will miss you greatly.”

It was the kind of statement Sage had avoided making, never wanting to pressure her or set a sense of obligation. But Cress nodded.

“I—I’ll miss you too.” She finally looked up at him, something of shame in her eyes.

“I wanted to apologise before we go. For being…hesitant. For treating you like a stranger instead of…instead of my father.”

Sage shook his head quickly. “No, Crescent, you didn’t know me. I can’t ever fault you for being distant. If anything, it’s my fault.” He shuddered. “I should have fought Sybil. I should have escaped to Earth with you the moment I discovered you were a shell.”

“I don’t think it would be that easy,” she replied, and he sighed, knowing she was right.

“But please, Cress, you are my daughter. I love you. But I will never, ever expect you to reciprocate that. All I ask”—his breath hitched—“is that we could be friends.”

Cress sniffled, eyes glistening. Suddenly she threw her arms around him, causing him to stumble off balance. “We are friends,” she whispered. “And I would like to be your daughter one day. I’d like you to be my dad one day.”

Tears sprung to his eyes. He chuckled shakily. “Thank you, my girl. Thank you.”

They separated with shared feelings and matching smiles. Because she had inherited it from him, he realised. 

Carswell slung an arm around her shoulders when she reached him on the ramp. They waved until the hatch folded up.

Cinder came up behind Sage and rested her metal hand on his shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Doctor. And I’m happy Cress has you.”

“I am too, Miss Linh.”

The Rampion roared to life and stumbled out of the dock under the Captain’s unsteady hand. Sage’s heart clenched, already aching to be away from Cress. They watched until the Rampion was no more than a distant star in the infinite black sky and the aching was supplanted with relief.

His songbird had been freed and no one could ever trap her again.

Notes

Was anyone asking for a Dr Erland fic? Not a soul. But a writer cannot deny the howls of a tale unsung.

@cindersassasin @hayleblackburn @spherical-empirical @salt-warrior @just2bubbly @gingerale2017 @slmkaider @luna-maximoff-22 @kaixiety @snozkat @mirrorballsss @skinwitch18 @bakergirl13 @wassupnye @linh-cindy @therealkaidertrash21

[midnightsnapdragon]

Oops I’m bad at tumblr. I think I’m supposed to use this thing lol: Yayyyy! I’m a huge fan of all your stuff on Ao3 and have been dying for more good Cresswell fic lately :) How about: “It still surprises him, sometimes.”

...

“Carswell?”

Thorne bites back a swear word and swivels around in his girlfriend’s office chair, grinning widely. “Cress! You’re back early!” With one hand behind his back, he tries to close the program he’d been snooping in.

Cress leans against the doorway of her office and gives him a shy look through her hair. “You know we have security cameras in here, right?”

Uh-oh. Thorne forces himself to keep grinning. “Yeah?”

“And I keep an eye on my office 24/7.” She waves her phone at him, where a little app shows him a bird’s-eye view of himself, seated at her computer.

A drop of sweat creeps down the back of his neck. Shell Tech is a top information security company, and Cress is known to be its secret weapon. That’s why he was sent here in the first place. Carswell Thorne is six months deep undercover trying to get Shell’s secrets out of this five-foot-tall, twenty-four-year-old nerd, and if he just blew his cover because he forgot to disable one camera, he is never going to hear the end of it from his bosses. “Right,” he says, tilting his head with a quizzical smile.

Cress laughs. “So if you were planning to surprise me, this kind of isn’t the best place to do it!”

Thorne relaxes. “Oh. Yeah, you got me. Kind of dumb, huh?”

Her eyes widen. “No!” She steps closer, her fingers knitted together in front of her stomach: a bashful gesture that he’s starting to see less and less as their relationship progresses. “No,” she says again. “It’s really sweet of you. I was actually thinking we could go out for drinks after work, if you’re not too ...” Then she sees the computer screen Thorne is trying to shield with his body. “... busy,” she finishes, frowning. “Is that ... the beta?”

He glances over his shoulder, as if in surprise. “Oh. I guess. Is that what you were working on?”

“It’s kind of an important project.” She lets her hands fall. Crap. She’s not in bashful mode anymore. “What were you doing here?”

If he doesn’t come up with a really, really good cover story in the next five seconds, he can say good-bye to both his mission and his career.

“Okay, full disclosure? I was trying to see your calendar,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck in a sheepish way. “I know your birthday is coming up, and I’ve always wanted to throw someone a surprise party. But you can’t exactly do that if the person is already busy, right?”

Cress’s face lights up. Without preamble, she throws her arms around him, and he catches her and hugs her close. With him in a seated position and her standing, there’s not even much of a height difference to deal with. In fact, he wouldn’t mind staying like this for a few minutes. But only because she’s warm and soft and smells nice. No one ever said you couldn’t find pleasure in your work.

“You were going to throw me a party?” The words are muffled against his neck.

Thorne smiles into her hair. “Yup. And invite all your coworkers who hate me.”

“They don’t hate you,” she says unconvincingly. “I’m sure if they just gave you a chance ...”

“Well, then this is the perfect opportunity.”

Looks like his cover is still intact. Carswell Thorne, devoted romantic partner and thrower of parties. It still surprises him, sometimes, how utterly naïve this girl is, how trusting, and so tragically gullible. This isn’t even the first time she’s caught him trying to snoop on her tech conglomerate’s projects. Next time, he promises himself. Next time, I’ll get her secrets. I just need a little more time.

“Carswell?”

“Hm?”

“I really, really like you.”

Thorne becomes aware of a warm, expanding feeling behind his ribcage. He shuts his eyes and lets out a breath into Cress’s hair. “I really like you, too. But you already knew that.”

She pulls away. For a moment he’s afraid that she’s detected something in his voice, that he’s somehow given himself away, but her eyes are sparkling and her cheeks turning pinker every second.

“Yeah,” she says, smiling down at him. “I already knew.”

...

“Jeez, Cress. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Cress says, and pulls something out of her pocket. It’s a cell phone, smudged with fingerprints and locked with a measly 8-character code. “Here. I got something for you.”

Linh Garan, founder and CEO of Shell Tech, frowns at her across his desk, but he takes the phone and turns it over in his hands. “Is it his? The agent’s?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“How did you even get it?”

“I ... picked his pocket.” She feels unsure of herself just saying it, like she might be boasting or lying. But she’s not. She went through hours and hours of YouTube tutorials and even got Cinder, Garan’s adopted daughter, to practice with her. Which wasn’t hard, seeing as Cinder would have signed up for anything that made “that idiot American” look like a chump. In the end, Thorne hadn’t felt a thing when she slipped the phone from his jacket. Of course, she was hugging him at the time, and he was already flustered knowing he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Guilty people never consider the possibility that someone else might be deceiving them.

It still surprises her, sometimes. How easy it is to play someone who thinks they’ve got you wrapped around their finger.

Garan raises his eyebrows at the phone, clearly impressed. “Well, this is obviously Rikan-issue. We’ll do a full scan and decryption and have it back to you before you leave for drinks. If it’s his work phone, odds are we can get a lot of intel out of it. Good work, Cress.”

“Thanks.”

"And you know you don’t have to do this, right? Rikan’s the one that planted him here. We’d be well within our rights to fire him. Don’t feel pressured to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

Cress bites her lip. “I know. I won’t.”

“Good.”

When she leaves the office, she finds Thorne chatting up Michelle Benoit, co-founder of Shell Tech, who’s holding a coffee cup and nodding along politely to everything he says. Michelle has been twisting the necks off of farm chickens since she was a little girl, and she’s currently looking at Thorne like he’s a very noisy, very juicy chicken. Cress wants to be a grandma like her when she grows up.

“The work day’s not over yet,” she tells Thorne, sidling up to him in an apologetic sort of way. “You should probably let Michelle get back to work.”

Thorne makes Michelle an elaborate little bow. “Au revoir, Madame. Until le next time.”

Michelle smiles indulgently. “Ton français est franchement abominable. Je me demande quel bête t’a enseigné.”

Cress walks him to the exit, and as they walk he whispers, “What did she say? I didn’t get the last part.”

“She said your French is pretty good and you should come by again soon.”

“Ah,” he says, relieved. “Well, I’ll have to brush up on my Italian next. I hear it makes a very good impression with the ladies.” And as he opens the door, he leans back down to murmur lowly in her ear. “Non vedo l'ora di vederti stasera.”

Cress has no idea what that means, but her face goes tomato red anyway, and Thorne twinkles his eyes at her before disappearing into the street.

She’s going to have to wear something really distracting when he realizes who has his missing phone.

...

send me a prompt and I’ll write a quick(ish) drabble!

[gingerale2017]

Step 8: Share Your (Interesting) Life Story

“Oh,” was all Kai said when Cinder finished her story. She looked for any sign of reaction but he was still processing. She told him of her heated beginning and how her mother died from the fire and Levana was put into jail for committing attempted murder and arson. Of how she was passed from house to house because of foster care and when the Linh’s finally adopted her.

Garan died soon after she was adopted and left to the terrors of Adri Linh. Pearl wasn’t too bad but did nothing to prevent Adri’s temper tantrums. The only silver lining was her little sister Peony and their next-door neighbor Iko.

Iko practically came over every day after school and on the weekends. Her mother wasn’t the best so they had that in common. When she entered Middle School Cinder became friends with Thorne. Jacin, Scarlet, and Wolf came to High School, so did Aileen and Alex, her exes. Junior Year was when Peony got sick. Cinder told Peony’s death vaguely like Kai told her about his parents. But it was known.

He knew about her talent in mechanics, her owning the Garage, her bachelor’s degree in automotive technology. He knew about Iko working to get a masters in fashion degree, although virtual, and her closeness with the prestigious Ms. Linetti.

“Hold on, Ms. Linetti?” Kai had interrupted.

“Yes, Iko’s role model, basically,” Cinder responded, “Do you know her? She worked for some celebrities.”

He furrowed his brow, “I don’t know. The name sounded familiar.”

She continued her life story. They already know bits and pieces of each other after three weeks of small talk but now everything came together. The dots connected. She told him about her failed romances and her old hopes and dreams.

At some point, they decided to take a walk around the park and ended up at her apartment just as it started to get dark. Kai listened attentively and soaked in every word.

She leaned against the side of the apartment building facing him when she finished.

“Oh,” he said. Cinder smiled, used to a stunned reaction especially when she explained her early life.

“Interesting, I know,” she chuckled, folding her knee against the wall.

He looked up at the darkening sky, “I can’t believe you skipped work for me. Again.”

She thought about this earlier. At this point, she should just hand over the keys to Kinney for a while. She needed a break anyway, “I don’t mind,” Cinder shrugged, still smiling.

Kai stepped closer to her until he was a kiss away. She stared into his copper-brown, feeling her heart thrum. His hand rested next to her head while hers found his neck.

“May I confess something, Miss Linh?” Cinder nodded. His lips brushed her ear, “I like you very much,” he kissed her cheek, “Maybe a little too much,” the corner of her lip, “I might be falling in love with you.”

She shuddered as the words resonated in her head. Wasn’t she thinking the same thing this morning? What did he mean? Does she reciprocate the feelings?

It was hard to think about these things as he kissed her neck. Her thoughts and reason flew away when he kissed her passionately. Cinder dug her fingers in his silky hair. She pulled him closer until their bodies were pressed together.

Stars, didn’t they do this last night. When Kai pulled away, the sky was black. She wished she could see the stars, but they weren't out. They were never out. Peony loved stargazing. In fact, her last wish was to see the stars…

Cinder shut her eyes to prevent herself from remembering.

Kai caught this and tucked a lock of hair away, “What’s wrong.”

“Nothing,” she said quickly, “We should go inside, it’s getting cold.”

“Are you sure you’re fine?” he murmured. She appreciated him caring for her but she did not want to talk about it.

“Yes, I’m just cold.”

The pair walked inside the apartment building, hands interlocked. They neared the best installment the Landlord decided to make: the vending machine. There were two, one for snacks and one for drinks. Cinder didn’t know how much she saved by buying food here, but it was life-saving. She couldn’t count on her fingers how many times she bought sodas, energizing drinks and —when the Landlord was feeling generous— coffee. She needed something for her early shifts at work, especially since three people ran the Garage. When he spotted the vending machine, Kai stopped.

“What?”

He blushed, “I’m a little thirsty,” he confessed.

Cinder smiled at him, “I have an idea. Why don’t you meet Iko.”

He cocked an eyebrow, “Your roommate and your closest friend?”

“Yes,” she nodded, “I’ll give her the heads up while you buy drinks. Get me a Coke, Iko likes Fanta,” she kissed his cheek.

“I don’t think I’m ready to meet her.”

“You’ll get along very well. She loves you,” Cinder let go of his hand and headed for the stairs, “It’ll be great,” she assured as she backtracked, “Remember, it’s apartment 302.”

Kai gave her an uncertain look she left, making her way to her room.

She opened the unlocked door, since Iko never bothered to lock it, and walked straight to her friend.

Iko was watching some drama on TV but didn't pay attention to it. Something about Iko’s appearance told her that Iko had just gotten here recently.

Iko looked at her with worried eyes, “Where were you? I stopped by the Garage, but Kinney said you left and you wouldn’t pick up your phone. I was getting worried.”

Cinder sighed, “Sorry, I was… Doing things.”

Iko only frowned, “Why are you smiling?” she shook her head, “Oh, that reminds me,” she pulled up something on her phone, “Prince Kai was spotted walking around town. Here,” Cinder raised her eyebrows, “Yeah, I know. Anyways, he was walking around holding hands with someone! They reminded me of you a little bit.”

Iko showed Cinder a side view picture of Kai and a girl, indeed holding hands and smiling. The girl had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing sunglasses. They looked so happy… Jealousy began to grow inside her before she realized that she was looking at a picture of herself and Kai. She did feel that happy.

“You’re smiling again,” Iko interrupted her thoughts.

Her eyes widened and forced her face to morph into nonchalance, “What do you mean?”

Her friend’s worried expressions changed quickly into curiosity, “Were you with someone?” her eyes literally sparkled, “Tell me who!”

“No- I- well what happened was- the- I,” Cinder sputtered. The response made Iko smile wider, “Yes,” Cinder looked away.

“Oh. My. Stars. You have to tell me everything!” she squealed just as Kai knocked on the door.

“Actually, Iko,” Cinder, “He’s at the door so-”

“I get to meet him?! You always wait at least a month before I get to them!”

“Not true!” Cinder needed to tell her about Kai before she went bonkers, “Iko, I need to tell you about him-”

“It’s fine. I’ll just meet him myself.”

“Iko! Wait!” but it was too late. Iko opened the door to her favorite celebrity smiling at her, holding her favorite soda along with two Cokes. She only gaped.

“I suspect Cinder told you everything?” Kai asked, still smiling. Her mouth was wide open, “Or not?”

“Wha-” was all she could make out.

Cinder appeared next to her, “Yep,” confirming Iko’s suspicion, “That’s him. That’s my kind-of boyfriend.”

Tag List: @i-will-write-someday @greenalmond @the-wee-woo-royal @shellyseashell @icyandthefrostbites @hillbilly-circe @shelbylmkaider @not-the-founder-of-rome @crescentchat @just2bubbly @ever-squish @fangirlforever0704 @deprivedmusicaljunkie @notjacinclay @zephyr-thedragon @cerenoya @a-salting-the-world @rapunzelfromthemoon @jacihayle @winterrhayle @wheresmymom-imlost @cinderswrench @cindersassasin @luna-maximoff-22 (ask if you wanna be added or removed <3)

[shellyseashell]

TLC MODERN AU

Yeah this is basic I don’t care

I’m gonna start by saying they’re all the same age here because that’s easier for me to keep track of.

Cinder was in a fire as child, killing her parents. When no other family members stepped up to take her, she was sent to be fostered by the Linh’s. Garan soon died, and after a few years Adri was investigated for child abuse. Pearl was old enough to move out at that point, but Peony and Cinder weren’t, and were sent to the Benoit’s.

I should stay here that Cinder still has prosthetics, but I’ll have to do research on that.

All three got along well (Cinder, Peony, and Scarlet).

Still trying to decide if Peony dies or not.

When she discovered Levana was her aunt, she tried to make a connection to her, as they were family. Levana did not like her, but Evret (he’s alive) and Winter did, so they attempted to keep in contact.

Levana and Evret soon got a divorce.

Since Evret and Winter are technically her family, they started the process to adopt Cinder (and Peony?)

It took a really long time, but eventually it was successful and she had a new family.

Cinder then met Jacin, but we’ll get to him later.

Kai’s father is the ceo of some company that actually helps people in need and isn’t evil, and Kai is eager to follow in his footsteps.

His mother died at a young age, and Torin, his father’s business partner or whatever was quick to step in as another parental figure.

Kai is really popular at school, both for his looks and personality. He’s super kind and just generally attracts people.

Kai helps out a lot with his father’s business, and I imagine he would get involved in clubs at school or start one of his own that works with his father’s business.

We’ve already established that Scarlet knows Cinder and possibly Peony because she deserved to live.

They still live on a farm, just outside of town. The three would often help out around the farm.

Scarlet was involved at sports a lot, probably soccer and basketball, something where she can throw stuff at people or something idk.

I think she’d be an activist and support stuff like BLM and ACAB (I mean it’s canon that she hates the cops).

She’d probably get involved with the club Kai started, which is how she met him.

Wolf was also involved in sports, or maybe he did karate or something. Anyway, he’s athletic and active.

I dunno if he’ll go by Wolf here or Ze’ev, maybe Wolf will be a inside joke or something.

He met Scarlet when they were partnered for a project and 95% of it was awkward flirting.

They hit it off immediately, obviously, and probably start dating not too soon after.

Cress is really shy and awkward, so she typically hide out in the back of classes and doesn’t participate.

She is, though, really good with tech stuff, so thats how her and Cinder meet.

Then, one day, Thorne, who’s super popular and flirty approaches her not because he needs his phone fixed or something, but just because he wants to.

Needless to say, Cress doesn’t know how to react, and initially forces him away.

Thorne keeps trying though, so eventually Cress agrees to go on a date hang out with him. She’s not that surprised that, while he’s a trouble maker, he’s actually really kind and sweet.

Yeah, Thorne has a knack for getting in trouble, like in canon, but he swears he doesn’t mean to. Is he telling the truth? Who knows, not him.

Thorne is popular, and has been in a lot of relationships, mostly because he’s trying to find love since he parents are Not Nice.

:(

Okay so Winter is related to Cinder still and Cinder and maybe Peony live with her.

I still want her to have some sort of mental illness, not sure what.

Whatever it is, it affects her a lot, and she prefers to be with someone else whenever she can so they can help her.

She likes helping people, and she probably also gets involved with Kai’s club, since Scarlet told her about it.

Her and Jacin met because their father’s were friends.

I dunno what their fathers do though. Maybe the work for the government in some way?

Anyway, her and Jacin have been friends since childhood and have been crushing on each other for years but they’re oblivious fools.

Kinda.

Anyway, for some reason I see Jacin taking Karate? Like he wants to learn to defend himself or whatever and so he tries it and vibes with it?

Lmao I cannot see Jacin being as energetic as you have to be for some things at my dojo (specifically stuff like ‘yes I can!’ and such)

I dunno if every dojo has that sort of thing but.

I could see Jacin forcing Cinder to at least try it for whatever reason.

Cinder is reluctant and first but ends up loving it.

Iko and Cinder have been friends for years. She was there throughout the whole abuse-investigation-fostering-adoption situation.

Iko is popular too, though she doesn’t flaunt it.

I should probably add headcanons about Peony if she’s alive in this but idk that’ll take some thought.

It was Iko that got everyone to meet. They’d been mutuals and knew who everyone was for a while, but it was Iko hosting a move night or game night that really got everyone to meet.

This is where Kai and Cinder can meet and I bet you can guess what happens next.

Anyway, if I think of anything else I’ll add it.

[oceanspray5]

Been obsessed with Beth Crowley's Midnight for Kaider but another song I have on loop atm is Porter Robinson's Everything Goes On. I don't even play LoL and barely know what Star Guardian is but I'd be lying if the story between Xayah and Rakan didn't have me intrigued. So now ofc it has me thinking of a Kaider AU along those lines. Not exactly sure how it'd work but maybe:

Channary gets to live a few extra years. Manages to get a marriage alliance proposition agreed to with King Rikan and hence Kaider grow up visiting each other on Earth and Luna more or less ala @impossiblesuitcase's fic.

Except Channary does die eventually and Cinder isn't old enough for the throne yet so Levana steps in. For this to work maybe the throne passes on to the heir on their 18-21st birthday?

Everyone thinks Levana killed Channary (she didn't) but everyone knows she's going to kill Cinder. Her days are numbered and she knows it despite Kai's vehement denial. I imagine they'd be around 14-16 here?

Except Cinder does end up "dead" in a fire. In a more plot heavy version of the headcanon, perhaps Levana implies Earthens brought the matches and killed Cinder and vows to "avenge" her neice unless she gets reparations. But even if we avoid this whole plotline, Levana does try and pass it off as Cinder dying in a fire.

Earth and Luna mourn and Kai is inconsolable except he refuses to believe he's dead. He grabs on to the slightest sliver of a rumor and holds on to it like its his lifeline. He throws himself into investigating it, discreetly when eventually Torin and his dad and the royal therapist force him to put an end to it.

In this version Cinder doesn't end up in a healing stasis for quite as long. Perhaps a year or two at most. When she wakes up, shes a cyborg and has immense memory loss from the trauma. Garan adopts her, gets Letumosis and dies. Adri and Pearl are their witchy selves. Peony and Iko remain angels.

So you have the setup:

Prince Kai of the Eastern Commonwealth sneaking into New Beijing because Nainsi broke right before he had the conclusive proof he needed to show his dad and Torin that his Selene was alive. At this point everyone in the Commonwealth seems to think Kai is in a deep grief he'll never recover from and atp everyone's wondering if Prince Kai will ever find himself a bride now that he's 20 and still hung up on his childhood love. Its that pity and condescention that only infuriates Kai more so he keeps searching.

He ends up at the budding yet already renowned mechanic Linh Cinder's booth. Kai sees her and does a double take, afraid he's seen a ghost. He could cry because if he's not mistaken, the girl in front of him is his Selene. Except Selene doesn't recognize him. Doesn't know who he is besides the Crown Prince despite his extremely efficient disguise comprising of one inconspicuous hoodie.

She's so different now too. Her fine silks and once shiny hair is now replaced with cargo pants and a grease stained shirt, her hair dull in its luster and sheen now. She has a grease splotch on her forehead that Kai yearns to wipe from her brow but restrains himself. She's just as beautiful as the day he lost her, maybe even more so. But a doubt does creep in for a second...

Maybe he has it all wrong. Maybe she's just a doppleganger. How and why would Selene even be working as a mechanic in the Beijing market instead of coming to him for help or telling the world she's alive? How did she survive the fire even though in his heart he always knew she did. He needs some proof for this too. It's a testament to how not insane he is from his grief at losing the love of his life that he restrains himself from bursting from all these questions and overwhelming her with his grief and affection. Take that Dad! Take that Torin and Royal Therapist!

So Kai swallows down his words and the lump in his throat and the urge to burst into tears and tells Cinder what's wrong with Nainsi and asks her how long it'll take for the problem to be fixed. In that brief interval Kai manages to count at least 10 different ticks that endeared Selene to him. He's memorized every single one since they were kids. He knows this is his missing princess.

He doesn't know why Selene doesn't remember him and it is soul-crushing to know she's right in front of him but he can't do anything about it. He needs to get her to remember or at least gain her trust and friendship long enough that he can break the news of her origins to her gently. Her memory loss runs deep and he doesn't want to freak her out even if that would be the fastest way to laying it all out in the open. But Kai is tactful and shows restraint.

Instead, he ends up showing up to her booth regularly to jog her memory and tries to aski her out repeatedly to the Annual Peace Ball. He hopes if she shows up then it'll help her remember the countless times they spent together at them. Maybe he could sneak her away and show her her old room which Kai had insisted be kept exactly as it was left before she "died". He can't help some affection slipping past the cracks like the fond way he looks at her and the smile he's only ever saved for her.

In summary: if he thought this would freak Cinder out less... He failed.

But Cinder does keep getting random bursts of memories. Sometimes through nightmares. Sometimes through dreams of another life. Of a rather insane mother who doted on her and a charming boy who's love shone in his eyes and gentle touch. She doesn't understand why he looks like Kai and keeps dismissing it as fantasies she's always longed for combined with the exhaustion of Adri's chores. Kai would never like her if he knew she was a cyborg. She has no intention of getting her hopes up.

So Kai keeps wooing Cinder and Cinder keeps unintentionally suppressing her memories or dismissing them, certain Kai's rambling stories about his childhood with the deceased Lunar princess Selene are affecting her sleep.

Now eventually when Cinder gets her memories back it could go one of two ways:

She tells him because it's Kai and her heart bursts with love at how intensely he held on to the trust that she's alive and kept trying to revive her memories.

OR (and my personal favorite cuz angst)

She has the same feelings as in option 1 but is too scared that she'll put him in danger knowing what Levana did to her but also more than that, she's internalized Adri's words so much and the way society treats cyborgs that she's certain Kai would never love her now that she's no longer fully human and has even seemed to have lost her Lunar glamour that may have been able to hide the imperfection of her extremities otherwise that would have made her tolerable to Kai after her little accident in the fire.

So Kai continues to woo his lost princess turned mechanic, more in love with her than ever, new quirks and imperfections and all while Cinder has a daily meltdown about how badly she wants to kiss Kai but also about how badly that would end once he finds out what she's become.

In this AU, Rikan does not die cuz I need Kai stress free so he can continue his shenanigans. Peony also does not die because the only angst we need is Cinder being overly critical of herself and Kai's pained longing to have the love of his life back.

Idk how the rest of the Rampion crew would play into this cuz admittedly I just wanted an angsty Kaider situation where Kai has to save Cinder from herself like Xayah has to for Rakan in the Everything Goes On MV.

Any further suggestions for this AU welcome! Also if someone wants to write it then be my guest and do tag me cuz I am in too much of a writing slump these days to do so myself.

[wordsablaze]

Chapter Two: Promise

All Because Of A Car Cinder’s life revolved around the garage, working as a mechanic, until that one male student came in looking for a Mercedes and changed her life… AU AH Kaider story. Enjoy! 

The boy coughs as he enters the garage, probably because of the sudden change in atmosphere, but follows behind her anyway, keeping a smile on his face despite his difficulty in breathing properly.

She smirks to herself.

“Hey fireball, what’s up?” Garan asks her, a small smile on his face.

Garan had been the only kind one out of her new family. The problem was that his trade job required him to be all over the world, with only a moment’s notice. He wasn’t here to save her from Adri. And when he was here, he was organising the business or working in the garage. Not that she blamed him for doing that…

She glares at him, “Just because you’re technically in charge doesn’t mean I won’t throw something at you.”

“Yes it does.” he laughs, “Who’s that?”

Cinder curses, “I knew I forgot to ask something…”

“Name?” Garan asks the boy.

“Kai.”

He doesn’t reply with a sentence, either because he still can’t breathe properly, because he’s mirroring Garan or because he’s being efficient.

She hasn’t heard the name before but, then again, she’s never met anyone like him either. It suits him anyway – a mystical name that sounds deep, intelligent and bright.

“Are you looking for your bag?” Garan asks.

Kai nods.

Garan frowns sadly, “I’m afraid that it was crushed…”

Kai’s eyes widen, “Can I see?”

Cinder feels for Kai as Garan hands him a crushed, ripped schoolbag. Strangely, he doesn’t seem too bothered, more worried than upset. All he takes from it is a black spiral notebook, two pens and a Rubik cube.

He slips the pens in his pocket and transfers the notebook to his other arm so he’s holding the moon book and the notebook in the same hand. With his other hand, he fiddles with the Rubik cube.

“You sure that’s all you want?” Garan asks.

Kai nods, “Yes, thank you.”

Cinder gives Garan a look, which he correctly translates and leaves the two of them to walk back.

“Thanks,” Kai says.

“My pleasure.” she’s never used that phrase more truthfully.

“So, what school do you go to?” Kai asks as they’re walking back.

Cinder cringes, “Um, I don’t.”

Kai, to his credit, doesn’t seem to find this weird and smiles, “Are you home-schooled?”

She almost laughs at his obliviousness and nods so that she doesn’t dampen his spirit and ruin his crazy perfect smile, “Yeah, exactly.”

He grins, “Is it nice to have a peaceful schooling?”

Cinder thinks about how to reply.

She could just lie and agree but it might not seem realistic. And anyway, how can she say that she’d rather have those pointless dramas than the ones she faces at home? How can she tell him that she’d rather have all the annoying classmates than her sisters? How can she tell him she’d willingly take any type of school as opposed to none?

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.” She settles with a vague answer, cringing anyway.

“At what time are you done with school?” Kai asks, still smiling at her.

“Normal time; we like to keep it similar, you know?”

Kai smiles, “I wouldn’t really know, I’ve not been home-schooled before.”

“Why does it matter anyway?” Cinder asks.

Kai shrugs, “I thought you might want to hang out?”

Cinder’s heart almost misses a beat but she manages to smirk, “And why would I want to do that?”

Kai looks slightly hurt at first but shrugs it off, seeing the frivolous spark in her eyes, “Just why wouldn’t you?”

She might have to buy herself a new heart if he keeps fluttering his eyelashes and smirking at her like that. She might even have to reboot her whole brain if she spends any more time with him.

Because holy nuts and bolts, the coppery colour in his eyes seems to shine brighter than embers as they walk back into the main part of the shop.

Cinder throws her hands up, “Fine, you win.”

“Oh, good. Um, how should I communicate with you?”

Cinder laughs, “Communicate?”

Kai blushes, his fair skin taking on a rosy tint, “Sorry.”

Cinder chuckles, “I don’t have a phone so…”

He looks genuinely worried, “You don’t?”

She shakes her head, “No, I’ve never needed one. I can email you though.”

“Okay, do you know your email?”

“You don’t know yours?” she retorts.

“Of course I do!” he exclaims, then smiles sheepishly, “I’m not allowed to give it out.”

Allowed? Cinder frowns at the word but puts it down to him having strict parents.

She grabs his arm, swallows her guilt as he initially flinches, and grabs a sharpie, quickly scribbling down her email in what she hopes is legible handwriting.

“Thanks. I’ll get back to you later!” Kai promises.

“We’ll see.” she grins to herself.

“Do you doubt me?” he asks, raising his eyebrow in a perfect arch.

Cinder shrugs. “How should I know?”

Kai frowns. “How should you know if you’re doubting yourself?”

“What? No. How should I know if you can keep your promise?”

Kai laughs with her but then smirks. “Of course I can keep my promise.”

Cinder shrugs, believing that most promises people make are selfish and hard to keep. But the determined look in his eyes is almost enough to restore her faith in humanity.

Or at least some of it.

“I’ll believe you once I get an email,” Cinder says.

She can’t remember the last time she’s been so forward with anyone, especially a boy. Or so awkward…

“I’ll send it!” Kai assures her with an optimistic grin.

She nods absently, then watches as he whacks his head on the glass door again with a soft groan. Cinder tries her best not to laugh, she really does.

“I promise I will, princess!” he calls over his shoulder as he leaves, barely avoiding a third collision with the door.

Cinder’s tanned cheeks blaze pink, a warmth spreading through her veins as a result of his nickname for her.

She realises with a jolt that he had no choice but to give her a nickname because she didn’t tell him her actual name.

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