#ma boi wanted to revive his daughter

[suppentoast]

I guess in the end the moral of Arcane is that no matter how much you believe you are doing "good" or "the correct thing", you can still cause suffering and continue the cycle of violence and murder. That even the best intentions can have horrible consequences.

Which is why you should reject trying to do "good" or "the correct thing" and instead become a ruthless, fucked-up mad scientist with no moral compass whatsoever.

Because apparently that's the only way to get a happy ending.

Go spend time with your daughter Singed, you earned it.

[twinkleallnight]

Book: The Royal Romance AU

Characters: Hana, Myra and her father.

Word count: 862

Disclaimer: All characters belong to pixelberry except Myra.

Rating: Teens

Prompt: Features day 4 of TRR Appreciation Week hosted by @trraw

Link to the Series here.

"Once upon a time there lived a girl whose heart was pure as snow, whose mind was as calm as millpond and whose soul was clear as a crystal."

"Ma! Ma! It's Ma!" Little Myra clapped in excitement. She was clinging to her father's side, her head resting on his left arm. Her black eyes set over high cheek bones twinkled at the mention of her mother Hana.

"How did you know sweet pea?" Her father asked, surprised.

She stretched out her palms to make a hand span and said, "When you use such big big wordsh to speak about shomeone, it is always Ma."

He roared out a laughter and planted a kiss on her silky straight brown hair that made a train along the length of his arm.

"Yes my darling, it is your Ma. Wanna listen to her story?"

"Yeshh Bampásh!" She curled her tiny fists under her chin to show her excitement.

"Here it goes. There was once a little girl named Hana. She was a kind and quiet girl who grew up in Shanghai. She would visit Cordonia on vacations with her mother, that is your Nana." He tapped his finger tip on her little round nose.

"Did you know? Nana waj veeery strict" Myra said, widening her little asian eyes.

He hated how Hana spent her childhood but knew better not to utter it in front of his little princess. "I know baby, but your Ma learnt a lot. She grew up to be the finest lady. Hana is the best in whatever she does." He said fondly, looking at her framed photo on the bedside.

"My Ma is the besht!" She raised her small fists up in the air in exclamation.

"That she is!"

"Did you know, she taught me how to sauter in ballet today." Myra quickly got up and showcased her talent by jumping on the bed.

"Bravo!" Her father applauded, as she quickly settled back into his nook with a big smile.

"I have ashked her to teach me the Minuet on the piano tomorrow."

"Woah! Hold your horses little champ. Go slow. There is a lot of time to learn all that. Why don't we both go out and have a play date instead?"

"I'm shorry but I have to take my doll Anna for a date with Krishtoff tomorrow." She frowned.

"It's okay Sunshine. Bampás will wait for his turn." She smiled and stretched her neck to leave a peck on his cheek.

"How did you meet her?" Myra got back to the story of her Ma.

"I was visiting Shanghai for my work. On one such trip I met her."

"You fall in love." She giggled trying to explain she understood how it goes.

He tickled her tummy. "You smart one! Yes. Who can stay away from Hana without falling in love with her?"

He gazed in the distance, reviving his memories. "Hana and I, we were the opposites. While I was fierce and adventurous, she was warm-hearted, affectionate and courteous. A demure young lady." He sighed. "But your Ma. She is so adaptable and accommodating that she can win over anyone's heart."

"Shee. The big big wordsh again!" Myra spanned out her fingers to show 'big'.

Her father laughed out loudly. "Okay, enough big words for the day. Let's go to sleep now."

Myra closed her eyes and cuddled up on her father's side. Soon she was fast asleep and he was snoring.

A set of soft lips touched him. "You slept." Hana's smooth voice woke him up. He carefully removed his arm from under Myra's head and got up to follow his wife into their room.

He let out a yawn as he encircled Hana's sleek waist. He rested his sleepy head on her shoulder as they stood idly in the centre of their room.

Hana chuckled, moving her fingers through his tousled blonde hair. "You are tired."

"Hmm. The energy ball kept me on my toes the whole evening when you were away."

"You need to rest then. You have to attend your MotoGP race tomorrow."

He lifted his head, his blue eyes brightened like a little boy's at the name of the motor race. "I am going to make it worth it. After all I need something to boast about when we reach Cordonia next week."

Hana shook her head, smiling. " Leo! Grow up!" She slapped lightly on his chest.

"You want to know how grown up I am?" He arched his brow and lifted Hana to the bed. They settled down amidst the laughters and giggles.

"Did you tell her?" Hana asked. Leo was splayed on the bed while Hana made circles on his back with her slender fingers.

"I ended up telling her more about you." He turned around to rest his head in her lap. "Does it make a difference? I have abandoned the princely life long ago. She can just visit Cordonia as a noble's daughter. We can skip the princess part, maybe…?"

"Hmm. Let's see…" Hana pondered.

"See what?" His eyes shone brightly with mischief.

Hana hit him with a pillow. "Leo! Grow up!"

"I am!" He growled and pounced.

Tags: @annekebbphotography @alj4890 @anjanettexcordonia @bascmve01 @charlotteg234 @cordonian-literature @choicesficwriterscreations @cordonia-gothqueen @drakewalker04 @gkittylove99 @krsnlove @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @idontknowwhysblog @indiacater @jessiembruno @kingliam2019 @lisha1valecha @neotericthemis @ntoraplayschoices @princess-geek @princessleac1 @secretaryunpaid @sirbeepsalot @speedyoperarascalparty @texaskitten30 @txemrn @sweatyrysconnoisseur @theroyalheirshadowhunter @aestheticartsx @yourmajesty09 @efecom @grsarco-blog @lovelyladyk88 @mainstreetreader @choiceskatie @claireloutoo @tinkie1973

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Next part here

[hitchell-mope]

(Third film. After “smells like teen spirit”. Back in Auradon. At Evie’s house. Mal’s in the kitchen making party food. Uma’s fighting a loosing battle with the swivel stool. And Celia’s sitting on the counter)

Celia: ok. I’ll bite. Why Harry. Out of all the idiots, all the boys, and Gil, that you could have chosen. Why Harry?

Uma: hm? Shit. Fuckin’. Crappy chair. What now

Mal: I can get you a proper chair if you like

Uma (slamming her palm down on the counter): I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY KITCHEN FURNISHINGS!!!! Ow

Mal: ok, dude. Say it. Don’t spray it.

Uma (sounding like Sideshow Bob): urgh. (Normal voice) What were you saying Ceels?

Celia: why. Harry.

Uma: he’s a good employee. Does what I say, when I say it, without argument

(Her sister and cousin look unconvinced)

Celia: you wanna tell or can I? Or if you’d prefer we can go full on Greek muse

Mal: ha. And let halfwit Harry be happy? Yeah, no, don’t think so

Uma: yeah I’m lost

Celia: toi, ma chère soeur, tu aimes le pirate

Uma: slander and blasphemy

Celia: well it’s true. Wether you like or not. You “wuv” him

Uma: you’re wrong. Mal, tell her she’s wrong

Mal: I can’t, I’m cooking. (She clears her throat) Coughshe’srightthoughcough

Uma: low blow. Even for you.

Celia: you know it. (She starts humming the “in a tree” song)

Uma: must she use that insipid song?

Mal: she’s your little sister. So yes.

Uma: I’m not, you know, with Harry

Mal: I am really not the one you should be talking to about this. If I had my way he’d be staring down the business end of a jet propeller.

Uma: yeah. You’re right. Got anymore booze?

Mal: open bar cuz, open bar.

Uma: thanks

(She reaches for a new bottle and promptly falls off the swivel stool)

Celia: HAHAHAHA!!!! Called it

Uma (popping up from the floor): I have to go

(She heads for the gazebo)

Mal: if I were you I’d go after her and knock her off the trail.

Celia: meaning you’d turn her away from Hook.

Mal: yep.

Celia: luckily for her, I’m not you.

(She gets off the counter and heads in Uma’s direction. Then she stops and turns around)

Celia: by the way. Where are Dizzy’s folks?

Mal (looking very uncomfortable): uhhhh (her eyes flit to the ceiling)...asleep...?

Celia: eh they deserve after the day they’ve had.

(Celia leaves Mal my long about Lamborghini’s, Doug’s shirt and throttling Evie, and goes to her sister)

Celia: hey

Uma (taking a swig of whiskey that empties half of the bottle): what?

Celia: just checking up on you

Uma: I’m not. It doesn’t exist.

Celia: yeah, yeah, I know. But if it worked

Uma: I am not like them. And you know I’m not. I’m (she takes another swig, emptying the bottle completely) independent

Celia: yeah the thing about they is well.

(This is when “miss independent” happens. After the song Mal poofs in)

Mal: Jay phoned. They’re just coming up to the house.

Celia: about time

Mal: oh and Uma, que pensez-vous de la livraison de Harry dans une boîte d'allumettes?

(Uma blanches and poofs to the front of the house. Mal bursts into cackles)

Celia: I hope you’ll still find it funny when you’re eating your meals through a straw.

Mal: ahh it’ll be worth it. C’mon kid

(They troop through the house and end up meeting Devie at the bottom of the stairs. Mal flings her arm over Celia’s eyes)

Mal: oh look. They’ve finally emerged from the nest (telepathically) Doug your buttons are disordered. Evie, my dear sister, you might wanna charge into your own clothes instead of Doug’s shirt

(They both look red faced and proceed to make the changes)

Mal: that’s better. (Verbally) lets go then

(Once outside they wait for the others. Jaylos, gilonnie and Jane walk up first)

Mal: where’s Ben. You said you found him

Jay: I also said I had a surprise for you

Jane: oh god tell me you didn’t

Gilonnie and Carlos: he did

Jane: fucking cats

Mal: cats? What about cats?

Jay: not cats. Ben.

Mal: uh-kay

Jay: 🎶come on out Ben🎶

(Ben poofs in. Mal promptly squeals in surprise)

Mal (euphorically, Unser her breath): it’s just like cats

Evie: ladies gentleman and pirates. I give you the acting queen of auradon

Mal: oh blow it out your ass sis or I’ll tell them about you’re last wardrobe choice

Evie: I’ll shut up

Lonnie: now that the king and his fiancé are safe. There’s something I’ve been waiting a year to do. You’re Uma yeah?

Uma: yeah

Lonnie: awesome

(She launches herself at Uma and tackles the sea witch to the ground)

Uma: what the fuck!

Lonnie: what’s your problem with Mal anyway? Huh? Is it that she’s more powerful then you? Or that she got away first? Oh don’t worry. I know what she did. And I don’t care. That’s who she was not who she is. But you did what she did. And you did worse. You were angry. And you lashed out at the first person you could. So how are you any different

Uma: get this crazy bitch offa me!

Mal: Lonnie! Lonnie, we’re cool now! So if could I uh hehe?

Lonnie: really? Well alright then.

Ben: got it all out of your system?

Lonnie: mostly. Might be some residual anger that’ll present itself at an inopportune time. But for now I’m ok.

Mal: cool. How about we get you a drink?

Lonnie: appletini?

Mal: more then doable. Let’s get you inside, Evie wipe that smirk off your face, and get you a nice appletini on the rocks yeah? (Lonnie nods) yeah...

(Mal and lonnie go in. Ben approaches Uma)

Ben: I’m sorry about her. She kinda got left out last year and today’s been awful for everyone concerned. She just snapped

Uma: don’t make allowances for her kid ok? I don’t make allowances for Harry

Carlos: no, of course not, you just let him get away with blue murder

Uma: don’t you have a genie to be cowering behind?

Carlos: not after the mirror, no. But I could repeat the process if you like? (Uma shuts up) good

(Jaylos go into the house. Uma turns around and looks at Jane who is not impressed)

Uma: hey, which one are you

Jane: I don’t want to talk to you. You enslaved my mother. And you boyfriend looked at me like I was food

(She follows jaylos into the house. Evie is tight lipped with barely contained glee)

Evie: today has been raining shower of crap but it’s gotten so much better in the last half hour

(Dizzy walks up to them followed by Hades, Elsa and the Hooks)

Dizzy: grandpa wouldn’t let jay keep Harry in a matchbox

Doug: awww honey, but you know what, there are mountains of cupcakes on the buffet table in the kitchen. Why don’t you go and show Celia?

Dizzy (turning to Celia): now you’re gonna see Wendy kinda magic I can do

(The two head inside)

Doug: I’m gonna head to the garage. You go inside, enjoy the party

Evie: meet me when you’re done?

Doug: goes without saying

(Devie leaves the patio, leaving Ben, Gil, Uma, Hades, Elsa and the Hooks)

Ben: I need to change, starting to feel chilly. Gil could I borrow some of your clothes? I’d poof but I knibda want time to think

Gil: sure

(The two brothers head inside)

Elsa: you haven’t lived until you’ve had my daughter cooking. And I’m starving so I shan’t keep you

Hades: I’ve heard only good things about my daughters cooking. So I’ll join you

Elsa: perfect(.)

(The two head inside)

Uma: tension much?

Cj: typical case of biological father vs adoptive mother both trying to assert their place in the child’s life

Harriet: huh?

Cj: pissing contest. You know what? You three head in. I just remembered something

(She heads to the garage where Doug’s pulling a motor engine in and out of a hole in the ground by a metal chain)

Cj: so you’re the half dwarf who grievously injured my brother

Doug: I stabbed Harry in the dick as he was trying to kill me. Also. It’s been a year. Get over it already.

Cj: a Hook doesn’t forget. Nor do they forgive.

Doug: you know there’s a subdivision of Eton here. I’m sure you’d be able to get a scholarship

Cj: hah. Boys club. And besides. When this is all over I’m going back home and doing away with my father.

Doug: yeah, sure, whatever. Now are you going to stand there gawking like a haddock or are you going to leave me to my own devices?

Cj: I should like to see what happens when the chain breaks or you’re strength gives up.

Doug: won’t break. Dwarven titanium. Magic.

Cj: I know what dwarven titanium is. I’m not as uneducated as the remaining plebs on the island

Doug: yeah. I know. I read your file. (He puts the engine down) I also know that you’re James Hook’s least favourite child. I know who your cousin is. And I know that you’re allergic to vinegar. Which is rather depressing since that’s the only readily available condiment on the island besides rock salt. Don’t mess with me kid. I’m the major-domo.

Cj: so you’re the hornbill to the maneless leonine. Alright then. If you’re do intelligent. Tell me. What goes through your mind when you’re face to face with the sister of the man you viciously attacked and left for dead?

Doug: of course he told you that. I don’t leave the numbskull for dead. Elsa, Merida and I delivered him to the ship and Uma revived him.

Cj: they wouldn’t lie. Not to

Doug: each other yes. But everyone else is fair game. Believe what you wanna believe. I’m going inside to make my kid a snack. I make a mean pb&j. Oh. And I’m not scared of you Miss Hook. I lived through my worst nightmare today so you’re of little to no consequence to me. And stay away from the cars. I’ll know if you don’t.

(He leaves her looking slightly shocked and runs into Mal on the patio bench. She’s holding a sandwich)

Mal: blt?

Doug: beef instead of bacon?

Mal: baloney. Fried on one side, salted on the other. Minced tinned tomatoes. Iceberg lettuce. I know my friends lunch orders.

Doug: you’re a marvel Mal

Mal: not really. I just cook when I’m nervous. Or bored. Or worrying. Or planning a party. Which in this case was all of the above.

Doug: ah. You covered (she hold up a beer bottle) naturally. Wanna sit

Mal: sure. I’ve been on my feet for most of the day

Doug: I’ve been thinking

Mal: yeah?

Doug: oh god this is gonna be difficult. I know you’ve made up your mind and Ben, Jay, everyone, won’t hold it against you if you choose not to. But I think it’s time

Mal: time for what?

Doug: to. Start helping

Mal: oh boy. Ok look. I get it. I do. I get it. But we tried. I tried. And came back with produce in my hair. We all did

Doug: that was six months ago. And besides. (He pulls her off the bench and has her face the window). Look. Vk and Ak. Somewhat peacefully. Coexisting. All because you kept a handle on things when everything else had gone crappy

Mal: eh. Though my cousins about to pelt my sister with apples. Hey jay? Could you? Thanks. What’re you suggesting bud?

Doug: start off with FaceTime. Say once a month Ben FaceTimes you when he goes to the island. And work your way up. It could work

Mal: my being rhere would grind everything to a halt. They’d be focused on me and not on Ben

Doug: true. But you have got to step up some more. You can’t hide behind the curtain forever

Mal: I know

Doug: come on

(This is when “collision of worlds” happens. After the song Mal turns to the party still going on inside)

Mal: I’ve been an ass haven’t I?

Doug: no, not an ass. Just yourself

Mal: somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better. I suppose I should go talk to him

Doug: you do that

Mal: before I forget. (She tackles him in a bear hug). Thank you. Now I’ll go.

(She poofs into Gils room where Ben is currently trying on a pair of aquamarine trousers with yellow braces)

Mal: you know if I had my way, that’d be all you’d have on

Ben: if you had your way, I’d still have the tattered bike pants on

Mal: touché. But why the 13th Doctor cosplay? And more to the point, why Gil’s 13th Doctor cosplay?

Ben: well I did just spend two hours traipsing through the forest, half naked, accompanied by, among others, your birth father and adoptive mother. So I feel like I should cover up a bit

Mal: fair is fair. Speaking of. A few questions. Who did it to you? Why did they do it? Can I kill them? And is it like my dragon form or is it a one and done deal?

Ben: my father, your birth mother and Chad. To get rid of me. Yes you can. And yes I can.

Gil: Harry ran his mouth and Ben switched and chased him for half a mile

Mal: he’s a moron. Oh and by the way. I sorry about the boys.

Gil: I know. I still don’t get why Adam did that

Ben: he’s a heartless up his own ass opportunistic bastard. That’s why

Mal: finally letting loose with the swears I see

Gil: “bastard” is nothing. My baby brother right here gave Adam the mother father uncle and aunt of all call outs. He even used the “count without the O” word

Mal: I’m impressed

Gil: it was amazing. I’m so proud

Ben: shoulders buddy, shoulders

Gil: right, sorry, my bad

Mal: before I forget. I made an omelette station downstairs. And a smoothie bar.

Gil: see ya!

(He rushes downstairs leaving bal alone)

Mal: so I’ve been thinking about the wedding

Ben (putting the coat on): yeah?

Mal: mhmm. I’m guessing we have to have it in the cathedral cause yknow, royalty, but we can still plan the reception yeah?

Ben: correct? What were you thinking

(Mal clicks her left hand and brings her arm down, shifting them to a new location in the process)

Mal: were you there your post coronation rave. Bookends and all that

Ben: oooh I like it

Mal: I’ve even thought of the song for our dance

Ben: I think I know where you’re going with this and I love it. And I’m in a tux. (He feels the top hat) with bunny ears. Huh

Mal: from my dream last night so was this

(She now has the purple Aurora dress on)

Ben (impressed): wow

Mal: not to fancy. But not too modern. And I’m wearing flats so stent dwarfed in comparison by me

Ben: well I could always activate my beast paws.

Mal: might give your mother a heart attack

Ben: true. True

Mal: well then your highness. Shall we practice?

Ben: yes we shall

(This is when “at the beginning” happens. After the song the school exterior melts back into the spare room. Mal’s eyes flash fuchsia and she collapses into Ben’s arms)

Ben: woah! You alright?

Mal: yeah. I just gotta talk to my father

(She switches back into her previous outfit and trots back downstairs where Evie’s hosting a singalong. This is when “better when I’m dancing” happens. After the song she walks outside)

Mal: dad I need a word. You too Uma. You’ll want to see this. (Once they’ve sat down she hands a scrap of paper to hades). Does this mean anything to you?

Hades (Jesse L Martin): “when the day becomes the night...no time for tea...before my final rhyme...return home....turn back the hands of...”. It’s one of the Cheshire cats forsaken riddles. Why do you ask?

Mal: I was talking to Ben just now and everything turned dark fuchsia for a sec, like when my eyes when I use magic, and I heard Doctor Facillier say that in my head. It’s not a prophecy is it?

Hades: no. The last prophecy I remember hearing was the Fates telling me I’d rule the cosmos. Followed by Herc beating me. Why would you think it’s a prophecy?

Mal: uhhhh

Uma: no. NO! YOU DO NOT GET THAT AS WELL AS EVERYTHING ELSE! I REFUSE TO LET THAT HAPPEN

Hades: I’m afraid I’m not following

Mal: I’ve got all the hallmarks. Powerful parents. Double heritage. Annoying brother. Really it should be Ben though. Or you cuz

Uma: really? Me?

Mal: yah. You’re much better qualified

Hades: haha. It’s funny. You’ve spent so much time trying to kill her. And she still think you’re better than her

Uma: what’s your point?

Hades (smiling smugly, he’s eyes glowing bright yellow): be very careful about who you piss off my dear

Uma: don’t test me uncle

Hades: and don’t test ME niece

Mal: >snickers<. Sorry. Anyway. So rhere really isn’t a prophecy built around me?

Hades: nope. not even close

The cousins: oh thank god

Hades: would it really be so bad if it were though?

Mal: most likely yes

Uma: she doesn’t even have the cajones necessary to get kids off the island. Why would she be so sort of cliched chosen one

Mal: HEY! You know why I don’t go. I told you why I don’t go. My reasons are my reasons. And you don’t get to say anything to me after the crap you’ve pulled to one up me when I personally couldn’t care less

Uma (oh so very smug): face it cousin. I’ve got moral high ground in this one

Mal: and you had face it “cousin”, that you have a thing for my brother

Uma: not really no seeing as I hate him and he’s only into guys...

Mal: not the fun one. The rat one

Uma (experiencing face freeze): huh?

Mal: well Harry’s my brother and you’re my second cousin which means he’s also your second cousin. And if I read the signals right possibly your almost stepbrother

Uma: I’m gonna kill you

Hades: no you won’t niece. It doesn’t matter. You knew him long before your father and I -ahem- “joined” together and your Olympian dna only counts the parents with said dna. You’re not related to my second son, Uma. And I have absolutely no intention at all of claiming you as my adoptive daughter. So, to use the modern turn of phrase, you’re golden. Is that better

Uma: sort of

Mal (at the same time as Uma): dammit.

Hades: good. Now that that’s all settled. Shall we rejoin the party?

Uma: in a minute

Hades: oh Kronos what is it now?

Uma: did you bring me out here just to say that Harry’s my cousin? Or to talk about the prophecy that isn’t?

Mal: first one. But you pressed my buttons so I wanted to throw you from your comfort zone

Uma (nodding): alright. I respect that. HOWEVER! Don’t look at me like that dragonhide. However. The fact remains you’ve gotta grow a pair and get out there. Your own feelings be damned. It’s not about you

Mal: When has it ever been about me?

Uma: butterfinger boy’s made his whole vendetta about you lousing up his home

Mal: thank you Uma, thanks for the help

Hades: ooh. I know what to do

Mal: smite Harry and save us from his unneeded existence?

Hades: no. You need a pep talk

Mal: no. Please don’t

Uma: actually. I wanna hear what he has to say

Hades: thank you Uma. But you probably won’t like what I have to say

(This is when “who I am” happens)

[firsnotfurs]

Ma Mallory ;; Headcanon 

Ask anyone where the Mallory’s are from & you’ll be pointed to the Rift.  Where the terrible trio of siblings spent most of their childhoods in & around Riften -- with the younger pair making their own way only after surpassing adulthood.  However ; to the far north, further still than Solitude, of Haafingar Hold there remains a parcel of land along the Sea of Ghosts belonging to the Mallory’s. 

It was their Mother’s name. 

Their father, a nord sailor, & hadn’t any of his own, took on his wife’s surname once they’d wed & settled the land.  They’d met on his travels -- docking at High Rock where they’d met by chance.  & by chance they were fortunate enough to continue finding one another.  Knowing he couldn’t rely on the routes of his merchant’s ship to remain consistent he prompted her with a significant offer to join him -- to take his hand & settle down in his homeland.  Smitten, she agrees.  A decision she never does regret.

Delvin was their first born.  Taking after his mother with his fair hair & warm eyes.  Glover follows -- seven years later.  Darker hair & darker eyes, taking after their father.  & it is a content existence they lived in these years.  Pa was seldom home, often at sea, but he supported his family -- sending them home letters, money, & gifts.  While Ma largely spent her time rearing the two boys & maintaining their home & savings ; occasionally bookkeeping for the East Empire Company.  

A soft spoken & critically private woman.  Her wit was unmatched & she boasted the stubbornness of a mule -- carrying herself well in trips to the market & docks of the nearby city.  They kept to themselves, she & the boys, & found herself a consistent stranger in Solitude even as the years passed.  It was no mind to her.  They got on well enough.  & so she occupies her time teaching them.  Delvin, as the eldest, was her primary student.  An eager learn & quick to pick up numbers, Delvin, & all his current clients, have her to thank for his initial education.  One he never would have received under Grelod’s care alone.

Homecoming’s from their father were rare moments of celebration.  A smarmy bloke with a knack for mischief -- the life of a sailor kept him sated & the family coffers secure ; but it was this same life that stole him away.  

The letters stop coming.  As does the money & gifts.  & her menstrual cycle.  

Robyn Mallory is the third & final child.  Born as Delvin reaches his twelfth year & as their Mother comes to terms with her grief.  Their father never meets this, their first daughter.  Never had the chance to know.  His fate unknown & death never confirmed, rampant rumors of abandonment festered in his absence.  The validity of the Mallory daughter’s ‘true’ fathering doubted heavily in Ma’s, now more frequent, trips to Solitude.  It was no mind to her.  They would get on well enough.  For now.  She begins selling her husband’s gifts.  Delvin wonders why.

He hears the merchants.  Wondering how she came upon such exotic trinkets.    He sees the eyes that follow them.  Gifts, his mother explains, from her husband. On a sailors salary ?  The man scrutinizes.  They do not buy anything from the market that day.  Delvin feels hungry.  He keeps it to himself.  

It started small.  Well before Robyn was born.  The hunger.  The little wants.  The little questions.  Why would she sit for hours on end ... ?  Running through the same numbers & math.  Why did she begin skipping meals ?  Once a day.  Twice.  Why would men shout & beckon her to them as they passed by ?  Why did she look so disgusted each time ?

The birth of her final child marks the beginning of her end.  

Delvin was a clever boy, helpful & attentive, but he hadn’t had any chance of understanding.  Or preparing.  Taking on primary care of Glover & aiding his mother best he could as her health continued to fail.  They’d return to the markets.  & the rumors would follow them.  Becoming more cruel as the family’s situation grew more dire.  The coffers had emptied.  As had the pantry.  Reputable merchants refused to buy her trinkets for fear they were stolen.  Desperate, she sells through a fence.  Rumors multiply on how she provides for three on her own.  & still she persists.  Seeking more work through the East Empire Company, her sullied reputation leaves for sore remarks from previously reliable employers.  Soon after, there are no more gifts to sell.

It was a dismal thing, watching her fade.  It was slow.  Steady.  Illnesses began to linger.  Her mind foggy from hunger.  As she denied herself & gave instead to her children.  Thief.  Whore.  It was no mind to her.  She could no longer hear it.

As Delvin reaches his thirteenth year his mother, gradually, becomes bed bound.  He can’t place the month or date.  Or the final instance which kept her bound there & ultimately takes her in the night.  Ultimately.  It didn’t matter.  There was no singular factor ; but a continuous spiral of ails & denied mercy.

Delvin had gone to the city alone, her final days, seeking medicine or healing’s.  Charities denied by all due to lack of funds or even ... distance to the home.  He found bitter irony in it.  How they had come only when he returns with news of her passing.  Come to collect her corpse ; long gone cold & far from any hope of revival.  A service, apparently, free of charge & no longer too far out of the way.

Delvin had always been a quick learn.   & so he learns to persist.   As his mother had.  

[newyorktheater]

Bob Dylan, Glenn Close, Daniel Radcliffe, and Gloria Steinem are all on a New York stage one way or another in October, always a good month for theater.

This year’s October is likely the busiest ever, thanks to the addition of the hundred shows in the New York International Fringe Festival, which for the first time has been moved from August to October.

Three shows are opening on Broadway in October: Elaine May returns to Broadway in a star-studded revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s “The Waverly Gallery”; Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale star in “Lifespan of a Fact,” a true story that starts with one of our society’s unheralded heroes – a fact checker. Jez Butterworth’s “The Ferryman” is one of the several plays that month about a stranger who visits…and turns everything upside down.

Off-Broadway’s promising shows include a re-imagined “Oklahoma”; an evening of Beckett performed by Bill Irwin; and a new Bob Dylan musical with a book by Conor McPherson. Glenn Close stars as Joan of Arc’s mother. Christine Lahti portrays Gloria Steinem.

Off-Off Broadway, filmmaker Todd Solondz makes his theatrical debut, and two plays by Samuel D. Hunter are joined together into a dinner theater, New York style.

Below is a selection of openings in October, organized chronologically by opening date. Each title is linked to a relevant website. Color key: Broadway: Red. Off Broadway: Black or Blue. Off Off Broadway: Green. Theater festival: Orange

October 1

Girl from the North Country (Public Theater)

Playwright and director Conor McPherson transforms Bob Dylan’s songbook to tell the story of a down-on-its-luck community on the brink of change in Duluth, Minnesota in 1934.

October 2

Final Follies (Primary Stages at Cherry Lane)

Three one-act plays by A.R. Gurney, who died last year at the age of 86.

October 3

On Beckett (Irish Rep)

Bill Irwin explores his relationship with the work of Samuel Beckett through excerpts of his texts including “Waiting for Godot,” “Endgame,” and “Texts for Nothing.”

The Bachae (BAM)

Euripides’ cautionary parable of hubris and fear of the unknown thrashes to new life in the hands of Anne Bogart, the renowned SITI Company.

October 4

Makbet, a version of Shakespeare’s tragedy presented by the Dzieci international experimental theatre ensemble, takes place inside a shipping container in Sure We Can, a Brooklyn recycling center. It’s one of the first shows in the monthlong New York Fringe Festival.

  October 7

Oklahoma (St Ann’s Warehouse)

Director Daniel Fish’s 75th anniversary production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s landmark musical upends the sunny romance between a farmer and a cowpoke with what has always been just below the surface. The cast includes Rebecca Naomi Jones, Mary Testa, and Ali Stroker.

October 8

Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future.(Ars Nova)

Sci-fi folk concert set 250 years in the future. “Rags will play the revolutionary songbook that carried us to where we are today”

October 10

Black Light (Greenwich House Theater)

Jomama Jones, portrayed by Daniel Alexander Jones, returns in the cabaret show that’s an act of healing and an act of warning in these turbulent times. My review when it was at Joe’s Pub.

October 11

Midnight at the Never Get (York)

a gay New York couple in 1965 put together a show at an illegal Greenwich Village gay bar. But as the decade ends, they find themselves caught in a passion they can’t control and a political revolution they don’t understand.

Playwright William Jackson Harper

Travisville (Ensemble Studio Theater)

Their lives are irrevocably changed when a stranger visits the members of a community untouched by the civil rights movement, forcing them to take sides and take a stand.

October 12

FringeNYC 

FringeNYC opens in earnest with performances by 23 of its 83 shows, including  The Resistible Rise of JR Brinkley, the true story of a 1920s con man who became a successful politician.

Duke Oldrich & Washerwoman Bozena (Czech American Marionette Theatre)

non-traditional staging of a 374 year-old marionette play based on the story of love at first sight of the 11th century Duke Oldrich, who married a washerman. Part of the Centennial Heritage Festival

October 13

The Things That Were There  (Bushwick Starr)

Written by David Greenspan and directed by Lee Sunday Evans, the play dramatizes the events and relationships of a family over many years at a family get-together. “Certain scenes begin again with slight or significant variation as a means of investigating family relationships through a continually shifting lens a

October 14

Emma and Max (The Flea) 

Filmmaker Todd Solondz (“Welcome to the Dollhouse,” “Wiener-Dog”) makes his theatrical debut with a play about privilege, race, and the intersection of black and white.

October 15

Fireflies (Atlantic)

Written by Donja R. Love, starring Kris Davis (magnificent in Sweat and The Royale, now on FX’s Atlanta.) When four little girls are bombed in a church, the marriage between Charles (Davis) and Olivia (Dewanda Wise)  is threatened

October 16

Apologia (Roundabout)

Stockard Channing in a powerhouse performance as a woman facing the repercussions of her past, in this play by Alexi Kaye Campbell

October 17

Mother of the Maid (Public)

Glenn Close plays Joan of Arc’s mother in this drama by Jane Anderson (“Olive Kitteridge”)

October 18

Gloria: A Life (Daryl Roth Theater)

Christine Lahti portrays Gloria Steinem in a new play by Emily Mann directed by Diane Paulus.

  The Lifespan of a Fact (Studio 54) 

Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale in a true story that begins with an essay written  about a Las Vegas teenager who committed suicide. But the fact-checker assigned to make sure the piece is accurate begins to wonder whether any of it is true

October 21

  The Ferryman (Bernard Jacobs) 

Written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Sam Mendes, this play is set in the Carney farmhouse in rural Northern Ireland in 1981, a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest…until a stranger visits.

The Book of Merman (St Luke’s Theater)

Two Mormon missionaries ring the doorbell of Ethel Merman in this new musical comedy. Carol Sakolove sings original songs as Merman.

October 22

School Girls or the African Mean Girls Play (MCC)

A return of the play about the catty girls at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school who vie to enter the Miss Universe pageant.My review of the original production.

Plot Points in Our Sexual Development (Lincoln  Center)

In this play by Miranda Rose Hall, Theo (Jax Jackson) and Cecily (Marianne Rendon) want to be honest about their sexual histories, but what happens when telling the truth jeopardizes everything?

October 23

Happy Birthday Wanda June (Wheelhouse at Duke)

A revival of Kurt Vonnegut’s satire about a big game hunter who returns to America after an eight-year absence to find it trying to address the culture’s toxic masculinity

October 24

India Pale Ale (MTC)

In this play by Jaclyn Backhaus, a tight-knit Punjabi community in a small Wisconsin town gathers to celebrate the wedding of a traditional family’s only son, just as their strong-willed daughter announces her plans to move away and open a bar. This comedy of generations clashing was the recipient of the 2018 Horton Foote Prize  for Promising New American Play.

Playwright Orlando Pabotoy

Sesar (Ma-Yi)

After watching an excerpt of “Julius Caesar” on television, a 14-year Filipino boy locks himself in the only family bathroom to dive head-first into the world of ancient Rome, determined to make sense of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, eventually joined by the boy’s father, a former town mayor now exiled because of his democratic beliefs.

October 25

The Waverly Gallery (John Golden)

Written by Kenneth Lonerganand directed by Lila Neugebauer, making her Broadway debut, and starring Elaine May as Gladys,  whose world is being rearranged both within her own mind, and externally – the landlord wants to turn her  small Greenwich Village into a coffee shop. It co-stars Lucas Hedges, Joan Allen, Michael Cera, and David Cromer.

Lewis and Clarkson (Rattlestick)

Samuel D. Hunter’s two plays focus on two modern-day descendants of the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Each night “the plays will be performed together, in an intimate space for a small audience of only 51 guests who will gather to watch, to share a catered meal between the two productions, and to consider as a community our place in the ongoing American experiment.”

Renascence (Transport Group)

The biography of radical poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay, using her poetry as lyrics.

October 28

Daniel’s Husband (Westside Theater)

A turn of events puts the perfect life of a gay couple in jeopardy, This production of a play by Michael McKeever had a run last year at Primary Stages. My review

October 30

Steven Levenson and Mike Faist

Days of Rage (Second Stage)

Steven Levenson (who wrote the book for Dear Evan Hansen) writes about five young idealists in the middle of a country divided, in October, 1969, who admit a mysterious newcomer to their collective, and the delicate balance they’ve achieved begins to topple. It stars Mike Faist (late of Dear Evan Hansen), Tavi Gevinson, J. Alphonse Nicholson

      October 2018 New York Theater Openings Bob Dylan, Glenn Close, Daniel Radcliffe, and Gloria Steinem are all on a New York stage one way or another in October, always a good month for theater.

[pricechecktranslations]

DSoE: MotHY; Chapter 7-The End of the Capriccio

Master of the Heavenly Yard chapter content summary under the cut.

-Scene 1

Quotes a part of one of Irina's monologues in Pierrot where she expressed the desire to have a family and kids.

-Scene 2

The girl was a doll from the moment she was born. She had no mother, but she had Gallerian. He made sure she never felt lonely. He was her "father" and she was his "daughter". She couldn't walk, so he filled her room with various things. A red wineglass, a blue spoon--they all had hearts. She called the wineglass her "big sis" and called the spoon her "big brother" (affectionate terms).

Eventually the theater was built in the forest, and she was brought there, along with all the various articles. Then they added more. Wineglass, spoon, blade, mirrors, and scissors. Gallerian would come visit her, but one day he died in a fire from a war.

She had been with Gallerian when his house burned down, having been brought there quite suddenly. She used her hidden power of blue flames to burn his enemies, but in the end they set fire to the house and killed him. Then when she came to she was back in the theater. She thought it was a dream but she was covered in burns. The Sorceress of Time came to the theater.

The girl lived there for a while. Then some things changed. The woman in the wineglass got a new body that one of her underlings made. She arrived with Lich, Eater, and the twin servants Arte and Pollo. They spent a lot of time in the graveyard, so she called the woman the "Master of the Graveyard". Then the sorceress brought a girl named "Postman" to the theater. She never spoke, so the doll girl didn't like her much. Postman got along well with Arte, and spent a lot of time with her (the doll, for the record, still can't walk). One day, Postman was able to talk. Arte said that she'd lent her her body, as Postman's old one seemed broken. Lich made Arte a new body. Postman seemed to be waiting for someone, so the doll girl named her Waiter.

One day, the man in the spoon suddenly grew cold towards her, telling her she wasn't Eve. Which she is not. She decided to give him a present to make up for it. In the corner of her heart (mind?) she had a blueprint for a black box. She gave him the black box built using it (I think she built it but not sure). He seemed to realize something upon seeing it, and he left. She remembered him every time the clocktower's hands moved (chimed? idk). She thought that he must have become one of the "gears" in the clocktower.

The forest becomes a bit of a mess, because the sorceress wasn't doing her job as "gardener". They needed someone to control the forest, to protect the theater. One more strange thing happened. The doll got pregnant.

The cursed man was captured by Eater. The girl put him on trial, acting like her father as Master of the Court. But Waiter stopped her from sentencing him to death, and convinced her to make him into the new "gardener". They all lived together, and the girl came to be called the "doll director".

One day she gave birth to twins. Twins who would make a new era. She named them "Adam" and "Eve". And then immediately after, the world was destroyed.

-Scene 3

Riliane's not sure how to get into a theater that's floating. Venomania offers to carry them up and fly with his wings. That solves that, but there's also a regiment of Tasan soldiers under the theater. They're sure to shoot at them while they head up there. And there's too many of them for a direct attack. Venomania lists their number as 2 (him and Kayo) when talking about their odds, which leads to Riliane and him discussing her combat capabilities, which results in her getting so offended she inadvertently reveals their position to the soldiers.

Venomania grabs them and takes flight. He dodges the soldier's gunfire. He can't use his charms on them--they only work on the opposite sex and the soldiers are mostly men (and I just gotta add that Riliane seems to bicker with him a lot and it's funny). They manage to get out of range of the soldiers, but then Kayo points out in the distance men with (artillery cannons?). Kayo gets shot in the right shoulder.

Venomania notices that the soldiers on the ground are screaming about something, which becomes apparent as they all stop moving and completely freeze over (as in, ice). It's not Kayo's work, nor Venomania's, nor Riliane's. Venomania once again focuses on getting to the theater.

[There is a picture here of Venomania flying with Riliane and Kayo in each arm.]

Riliane realizes that it was her father, Hanma, who had always been looking out for her (her father as Lilith, that is).

-Scene 4

Riliane reflects on her nostalgia at having come back here, where she once lived. She explains to Kayo that she lived her before the world was destroyed, coming here as Postman, who had lost her own will. She had gotten that, and a new body, thanks to Arte. But she'd hidden that from Ma. She wonders if it was a mistake to kill Ma to save Nemesis. It ended up leading to the world ending. But then, Nemesis would have died otherwise. She's never known what was right in her lives, even after the fact.

She shakes it off. They run into the Sleep Princess as they're heading inside. Riliane declares her intention to seal her in the doll, but she is unfazed. Riliane has forgotten how she's supposed to do that. Riliane tries to bluff but the Sleep Princess explains she isn't looking for a fight. She just wants to get rid of the contractor souls from the world. It's not that she hates them--she actually doesn't want to do it. But she must to save the world. She says she'll show them the truth, and beckons for them to follow her into the hall.

Kayo and Venomania discuss whether it's a trap or not before Riliane decides that they all follow along. They're heading for the director's room, which is likely to have Gammon, Gallerian, and the "doll director" (also idk if this was established in Enbizaka, but Kayo can't read English).

-Scene 5

Gammon is in the chair the "doll director" once sat in. Gallerian is standing next to him. There's another door that leads further in from that room, and they can hear children's voices from inside. The Sleep Princess is nowhere to be seen--she might be in that interior room. Riliane greets Gammon, and he recognizes her as Waiter. She chides him for forgetting his debt to her, but he says he has his reasons. They say that the sleep princess has yet to tell them.

Gammon says that the sleep princess (Michelle) is indisposed at the moment, and offers the information he knows. Venomania interrupts to note how similar he looks--Gammon explains he's Venomania's descendent.

The theater is not an illusion, but the real thing. Gammon explains that Adam, who is a "Gear" in the clocktower, did something to recreate the theater after its destruction (it's vague on what he did). It's thought he did this to protect the Doll Director. He also made the theater float, though that's because he's a child.

When pressed on this, he clarifies that Adam has recently become a child. He was reborn as son of the doll director. Kayo asks where the doll director is, and Gammon points at the ceiling. He explains that the entire theater is her new body. Then they hear the sound of something from the entrance, and Gammon goes to see who it is, telling Gallerian to continue the conversation. He sits in Gammon's chair and takes over.

He points out that Riliane is holding the doll that the director dwelled in. Ma put her there. She tricked Gallerian into thinking it was his daughter, but in truth it's the "Red Cat Sorceress", Irina. Venomania realizes he's talking about IR. She spent the latter end of the millennium as part of Ma. But Ma wanted to get rid of her, as she sought to be a pure being and Irina got in the way of that. So she put her soul in the doll.

Riliane asks what their goals are. Gallerian says they want to remake the world. They already have everything they need; the theater, and the twins. At this point the inner door opens a little, and they can see the sleep princess (it seems she's really Michelle after all?) playing with the twins. The boy is Adam, and the girl is Eve (the "Demon of Sloth"). Michelle made a "contract" with her, and thus obtained power as the Sleep Princess.

They were incarnated the same way Levia became Nemesis. The doll director gave birth immediately before the world ended. As such, they became souls without an ego (will, personality). Apparently they obtained wills by fusing with new souls.

Kayo expresses incredulity at a doll giving birth. Gallerian points out that sometimes things outside the norm happen in this world. Children being born between a mud human and human woman, a virgin witch getting pregnant--people who are born this way are always called "Irregular", and have blonde hair. They are the "golden key" to remaking the world.

For future reference, it's clear that when these people (they're trying to get the Court Ending) say remaking the world, they mean reviving it as it was. They're not talking about making a new world with new people in it. Just to be clear.

Venomania suddenly goes to punch Gallerian, but Gallerian catches his fist. Venomania demands to know where he got this information--he was in hell the whole time. Gallerian says it was the Moon Goddess. In hell, Gallerian found a path to the "graveyard". With his blackbox he was able to read the mind of the Moon Goddess.

He punches Venomania in the stomach. He continues saying that when he left hell after the world was destroyed, he ran into Michelle. Gallerian raises his fist again, but Riliane stops him. She asks if it was after that that he ran into Gammon and the three of them started their evil conspiring. Gallerian says they're not being evil. They're doing everything to save the world. They're not erasing just their target contractors. Gallerian and Michelle will be disappearing too. He then says "they" (gender neutral pronoun aitsu) want all 7 chosen contractors. Just the demons alone won't be enough to become a "pure being".

At that moment, the door slams open, and Banica enters along with Lich and the servants. Venomania introduces himself to Banica when she asks about him, and she says he's her ancestor (Venomania's met quite a few descendants of his today. Kayo's one too). Banica explains that Gammon is currently fighting with two of her "subordinates" in the hall, and then signals to her servants.

-Scene 6

Gammon is fighting with Nemesis and Allen. Allen and Gammon are swordfighting. Gammon pulls a gun on him, and Allen dodges. Allen rebukes him using a gun, but Gammon is a soldier, not a swordsman. He also points out that it's two against one. Nemesis shoots at him and knocks his sword out of his hand. Allen lunges at him, but Gammon turns his gun on him. After a bit more fighting he grabs Allen by the bangs and shoves the gun against his head.

Nemesis fires on him again. She misses. They fight a little more before Nemesis points out that while Gammon is holding his own, he doesn't know what Banica is doing to his fellows further inside. He knows about Banica's power, but he's confident because they have Michelle on their side.

Then the twins run out of the room towards Gammon, crying. He tells them to go back, and they say that Michelle has disappeared. They say that her, Gallerian, and everyone else has disappeared. They say that the blonde haired girl did it. They point to the doorway, and Riliane is standing there.

Gammon fires at Riliane, but she grows scales on her left arm and deflects the blow. Gammon tries to attack her with his sword, but she fires lightning at him with her right hand. Gammon falls. Allen calls out to her, but Riliane tells him to bow to her.

[edream93]

I’m Hooked On All These Feelings (Harry of Auradon AU) Part 2

Hello, hello! Remember that Harry of Auradon AU thing I did awhile ago (here’s the link for Part 1)? Well, here’s an update! Enjoy and of course let me know what you think either on here or on AO3 or FF.net. 

The sun shined down on the picturesque view of Auradon Prep students enjoying their day off from classes. Sitting on the bleachers, Uma tried to tune out the Tourney team’s coaches loud yells and whistleblowing as the group of boys ran drills. She pushed up the sunglasses that she had found (stolen) back further up her nose as she allowed herself to soak up the sun’s rays.

“And you’re sure this’ll work?” a timid voice asked next to her.

Uma spared a glance over to her side causing the pastel colored princess next to her shift nervously as she gazed at him over the rims of her glasses.

“Well, it’s no love potion, but it’ll definitely give you a bit a luck and confidence to help raise the odds in your favor with asking out whatever pretty face has caught your attention,” Uma shrugged turning her gaze back to the sidelines of the Tourney field where Gil was waving happily up at her from where he stood amongst the other cheerleaders. Uma gave a slight nod of acknowledgment which seemed to satisfy the boy before he began to talk excitedly with some other cheerleader. Audrey, who had apparently made it her mission to watch all the Isle kids scowled up at her from her place near Gil before shouting instructions at the others around her to get into position.

Uma rolled her eyes, glad that for the most part, Audrey focused most of her attention on Mal.

“O-okay. How much do I owe you?” the princess asked, drawing the sea-witch’s attention back to him.

“Not much,” Uma shrugged again, nonchalantly, moving her braids over her shoulder. “Just your voice.”

Biting her lip to hold back a laugh, Uma watched as the girl nearly toppled out of her seat, looking extremely pale.

“Kidding!” she plastered on a sickening sweet smile on her face. “Just kidding. It’ll be ten-fifty, angelfish.”

The girl smiled awkwardly, handing over the money before quickly scampering away, a small bottle in her hand.

Uma sighed, smile quickly melting on her face as she flopped back into her seat, tucking the cash into her boot.

If she sold a dozen or so more of her “luck in a bottle” - which was mostly just boiled sandalwood, ginger, and a few other nice smelling things Gil had managed to find (These idiots would believe anything you gave them when you had a mother who was infamous for her potions) - then she would be able to get one way bus tickets for herself and Gil to the furthest kingdom from Auradon. Shit was going to hit the fan, whether or not Mal and her crew got the wand and she wanted to make sure she was far far away from it all.  

She was nearly all packed up and ready to go to what was quickly becoming her corner in the library when she heard a now familiar voice shout out her voice from the field. Uma refused to acknowledge him, making her way quickly down the bleachers, ignoring the way she felt his gaze burning on her back.

The sea witch’s daughter had just made a few steps away from the bleachers when she heard the sound of someone running after her.

“Uma!” Harry jogged up next to her, slightly out of breath but sporting his usual boyish grin.

“You know,” Uma began, never slowing down. “Maybe this is a cultural difference but I’m pretty sure you’re stalking me.”

Harry snorted, gently grabbing her hand and placing another one of his too gentle, too passion filled kisses on her hand as he always did in greeting. “I’m sure a beautiful lass such as yourself is used to men, and perhaps even women, chasing after your affection, darling.”

Uma paused, unbeckoned memories right after Mal’s betrayal coming to mind, when people thought she was too weak and too defenseless to slash at their throats with a rusty kitchen knife of her mother’s. She had shown them.

Removing her hand from his grip, with an expressionless mask, Uma asked, “So that gives people the right to invade my space and do what they want with me? Because I’m a beautiful lass ?”

The boy took a step back, as if he was slapped before his face contorted into rage, something that Uma had never thought was possible for a person born in Auradon to make. She should have been scared but something within her told her that his rage wasn’t directed towards her. (And it would never be.)

“Uma,” his voice was firm, the accent he tried to hide growing heavy. “If I am bothering ye, then I’ll stop. Ye won’t see neither hide nor hair of me. I never meant-”

She put a hand firmly against his chest, stopping his rant. She should just say, “Yes, go away”, knowing that he would keep his word and leaving her with one less thing for Mal to nag on her about. No good came from the son of Auradon’s most celebrated and decorated hero taking an interest in the sea witch’s unwanted daughter. After all, no matter how his attentiveness made her feel like she was riding the crests of the tides, he would always be seen as a hero and she, a villain.

She was going to say that, to hiss and curse at his name, at people like his father who were the reason why her mother and everyone else’s parents were revived and forced onto the Isle. Why she had grown up not knowing her heritage or how she wasn’t given a chance to be seen as anything more than a sea witch’s daughter or Mal’s favorite punching bag.

“Stay,” her traitorous mouth uttered surprising both herself and the boy across from her.

“Stay?” he questioned, hesitant hope found in the corners of his mouth ( No, no, stop thinking about how soft his lips look , she mentally scolded herself).

Uma of the Isle rolled her eyes, a mischievous look in her eye as she grabbed the front of his jersey, tugging him firmly in front of her, ignoring the way that at this close distance she saw his gaze briefly linger on her lips and the butterflies it gave her.

“If you’re not afraid of the big bad sea witch stealing your voice,” she smirked.

A deep chuckle escaped his chest before he smoothly went into a kneel, taking her hand once again. Though his rage has passed, his voice was lulling in its unfiltered gruffness. She found she preferred it that way, wild and passionate, just like him.

“Well seeing as yer ma is safely behind a barrier and I only see a beautiful goddess before me,” he murmured, kissing her fingers almost reverently to the point where Uma forgot to breathe. “I’ll take my chances,” he winked up at her.

Unaware to the two, eyes were watching them. One of an untrusting princess afraid that history would repeat itself and villains would once again reign. Two other pairs of eyes looked worriedly between each other on the Tourney field, wondering who would be the one to tell a certain half-fae of this new development…

—

“Audrey says she’s bad news.”

“You’ll have to be a bit less vague as to who you’re referring to, little sister of mine,” Harry murmured into his phone. “Audrey says a lot of people are bad news, including you.” He kicked off his shoes and flopped back onto his bed.

Practice had finished hours ago and he had just returned from a small sailing adventure with one of Auradon Prep’s newest residents.

“You’ve lived amongst pirates, some of whom despite their morals were the best sailors of their time and they didn’t teach ye anything about sailing?” Harry had questioned incredulously. She had told him that she had lived on the side of the Isle amongst the wharfs and pirate ships, many belonging to scoundrels such as Barbossa and Blackbeard.

“Oh, some of them taught me many things,” Uma said with a casual flip of her braids over her shoulder that momentarily distracted him as he watched how the sun highlighted the blues and the greens and the white in her hair. His head snapped up at her though when he finally processed her words. She laughed, flicking his nose before leaning back into the sun warmed patch of field that they had found, away from the hustle and bustle and curious and always watching eyes of their classmates. “Harry, chill. They only taught me how to fend for myself. My mother may not give a shit about me but some of those pirates prayed to Poseidon, her father, before they were stuck on the Isle and are a superstitious lot. They might pillage and steal but they do have a Code.” She closed her eyes. “Besides, pirates were the last things I had to worry about on the Isle. Traitorous dragons on the other hand…” she sighed trailing off and he saw the way she clenched her fist tightly.

He wanted to ask her more, to know everything about her, but very early on he realized that if she wanted to tell him something, she would on her own time. He remembered when Audrey or Chad would withhold information from him when he was younger and how they always ended in a shouting match due to Harry’s quick fuse. But with Uma, though he still didn’t like it, he followed her lead.

“Well,” he sighed getting to his feet. “We’ll need to change that.”

“Change what?” Uma questioned opening her eyes to see Harry standing above her with a mischievous look of his own as he extended a hand down to her.

Tugging her to her feet, Harry grinned when she stumbled slightly into him. He gave her a devilish grin, which she rolled her eyes at but didn’t push away from him. “Well, can’t have a lovely sea goddess who doesn’t know how to sail. What kind of man would her sailor be if he didn’t help her fix that?”

He watched as Uma looked thoughtfully into his eyes, searching for something. After a moment, she stepped back with a soft smirk, something that he knew was filled with vulnerability rarely shown.

“Teach me then. So that there will always be winds in your sails,” she spoke softly, power in her words. Unintentional magic, but magic all the same.

A goddess’s blessing.

“Harry!”

The boy snapped out of his thoughts suddenly, hearing Calista Jane, or CJ as she preferred to be called, practically fume on the other side of the phone. (She hated to be ignored, even for a second.)

“The Isle girl,” his sister sighed frustratedly. “The one you’re smitten with and apparently daydreaming about in the middle of phone calls, dear brother. And don’t try to deny it. I’ll call and badger Ben or Jane for info. They’ll both sing like canaries, those two.”

The boy scrubbed his face tiredly. Though he loved his younger sister dearly, Calista Jane was already tiring him and he had only been on the phone with her for a moment. At least it wasn’t Harriet. (Seven seas, if it was Harriet this would have been much, much worse, he knew.)

“Manners, ya little fairy,” he chidded. “You’re still in trouble for badgering them when they wouldn’t tell you what I got you for birthday gift. And the Isle girl has a name you know.”

“And I’m waiting for you to tell me it. Come on, I’m all on bated breath and everything. Your attempts to seriously woo anyone will surely bring laughter to my ever so dull life,” CJ drawled dramatically on the other line before breaking out into giggles.

Harry had to pity her. Both of his sisters had been homeschooled back on Neverland, though they came to the mainland often enough. Harry, as his father’s heir had been sent off to Auradon Prep a decision that he still wasn’t sure how he felt about.

“Always know how to boost a man’s self-esteem, don’t you, Callie?” he groaned, waiting for his sister’s gigglings to subside.

“S-so,” CJ finally said, calming down. “What’s her name?”

Harry closed his eyes, unaware of the little smile that played on his lips as he thought of her. “Uma,” he breathed reverently, his mind calling up deep brown eyes and presence that could be as calm or as fearsome as the sea.

“Geez, you really do have it bad,” CJ laughed always perceptive of his emotions. And Harry would fully admit he did.

As soon as she had stepped out of the limo from the Isle, he was fascinated by her, pulled to her like the moon pulled the tides. She wasn’t anything like what he had been warned she would be like by the adults, the heroes who didn’t even know Uma but only knew her mother, Ursula.

She was a sarcastic lass with a sharp tongue and even sharper kitchen knife (he had learned that last bit when Chad had tried to flirt with Uma to get her Chemistry answers a few weeks ago. Harry wished he had recorded it. Chad nearly peed himself).

But Harry also knew that Uma, despite her cool exterior, was passionate and protective of those she deemed worthy. He had watched as she spent hours searching the library for books on how to help Gil with his reading difficulties so that no one here could look down at him. Watched as she fretted over him when he had a slight cold a week ago (he had initially thought her worry was hilarious until Gil had clued him, in that unassuming way that he always did, that many died from colds on the Isle).

And he watched (and hated) as that vibrant personality of hers dimmed in Mal’s presence. (Harry loved Ben like a brother but the other boy was too damn naive and smitten himself with Maleficent’s daughter, despite already being taken with Audrey. Why, even bother when the Mal sneered at him like she had stepped in something a dog left behind? Harry never really liked being in the same place with her for too long.)

“Is she, ya know, the girl? The one you’ve been dreaming about for years?”

Harry pushed himself up from his bed, needing to move, bare feet padding back and forth in front of his window.

“Now don’t go bringing that up, Callie,” he sighed trying not to think about the dreams he had since he was wee lad but it was already too late.

There had been dreams where all he heard was a haunting voice, demanding, urging, pleading for him to say something, a specific something that in his dream he knew and proclaimed with reverence but when he woke up he could never remember. There were some dreams where all he could hear was her crying, his heart breaking at the sound, at not being able to comfort her. Those dreams he hated the most because  he would often awaken to find strange bruises around his wrist, torso, and sometimes even around his neck like something long and flexible had been trying to squeeze the life out of him. (He had remembered the first time he had that dream, he had been six and it had taken Harriet hours to calm him down and reassure that it was nothing more than just a night terror.) And then, recently, there were some dreams where he was embraced by warmth, by her. He would feel a calming hand run through his hair, soft lips pressed to his cheek, his eyes, his jaw and neck, and then finally they would press against his lips and he felt like he was drowning in her with no regrets… (It was often horrible when he had those dreams at home where Harriet and CJ could walk in without warning. They would never stop laughing if they saw how…aroused a simple dream could make him.)

Harry leaned his forehead against the glass of his window thoughtfully, his frown melting away into a wistful look when he caught sight of a familiar teal head making her way to the dorms from the dining halls where had last seen her. His gaze followed her until he saw her safely enter the dorms, Gil trailing, as always, happily behind her.

“Maybe,” he finally supplied. “But she’s more than just a dream…She’s…she’s…real.”

CJ made a snorting noise, but thankfully didn’t comment picking up the tender and soft qualities in her brother’s tone. However, she asked something worse, something that Harry had been trying not to think about despite it’s approaching date.

“So, are you going to introduce your little Isle girlfriend to father and Harriet when we come to Family Day?”

[gwynne-fics]

[Twisted to a Fault Chapter 92 — banner by mrshobbes]

Lexi has made me lovely banners for some of the chapters. She’s complied them all for us. Please take a look! They are fabulous and she is amazing!

Twisted to a Fault Master List

Chapter 92: 2021 words

=====

Rachel called Young-Do the moment she got home from movie night. It was her turn and she was excited to talk about her first, mostly successful, solo activity that was not a corporate event. Already, she was trying to come up with a movie that everyone would enjoy for her turn next month. Hyo-Shin was supposed to email her a list of the movies they’d already watched so she didn’t repeat something.

“How was it?”

“Really good. It is too unfair sunbae won’t get to go into film. He would make movies and dramas that people remember. He would take risks. Name the last drama you watched that took risks.”

Rachel leaned against the wall of the elevator and could hear his smile when he said, “You know I can’t. What was the last drama we watched together? The one with two women who had the same name?”

She made a noncommittal noise. “The one with the man and his missing fiancé. Both of us liked the romance in it. I’m hosting next month here at the hotel. You should be back in Seoul by then, so you can come.”

Again, she heard his smile and her chest ached as she missed him. The doors opened and she went inside. She stood inside the entryway until the lights went dim from her lack of movement. The suite felt large, dark, and ominous. She didn’t like it. Even at her mother’s house, she felt the presence of the queen in her castle. This wasn’t her castle yet. Not without him.

“Was Bo-Na there? I think I can hear her in your voice.” Rachel resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. For one, he couldn’t see it, and for another, it was a little too much like Bo-Na. “It’s nice to be invited to events being held in my home. Do I get a say in the movie, or is that asking too much?”

Rachel wrinkled her nose as she kicked off her shoes before she plopped down on the couch. She turned on one the lamps and closed her eyes. It didn’t make the suite feel smaller. “When you host, you can pick. Although, I don’t know if your reputation as a badass judo champion can survive everyone knowing you like romantic comedies.”

“I’m not ashamed of my movie tastes. My reputation can survive that. What are you going to do when they find out you like mindless action movies?” That did give her pause. Especially, when he expanded his point. “These are film experts and sunbae analyzes this stuff for his degree. Bo-Na is in media entertainment—“

“Then she knows the value of mindless explosions,” Rachel grumped at him. “Man From Nowhere is a classic and it’s not mindless. I like fight scenes and high intensity. I like it when the man rescues the people he loves. I like femme fatales and edgy banter. The kisses are hotter. There is nothing wrong with that.”

“Of course not,” he said dryly. “Are they going to send you a list?”

“Yes.” She started kicking her feet self-consciously. “You liked the last movie I picked. You said so.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you into a mood. I was just teasing. I did like the last movie you picked. Normally, you have no eye for the romantic elements, but this last time the main pairing made sense and their love scene was hot.”

Rachel wrinkled her nose and lifted her feet onto the couch. She curled her toes over the edge and tried not to be offended that she was bad at romance. She missed all the important cues, like Ji-Sun having a crush on her or Go Nam-Il having what amounted to a husband. She didn’t know if she should mention that she met them the next time they spoke. His daughter was cute. Rachel didn’t know if the taciturn securities expert would agree.

And the thing she was doing with Hyo-Shin was just as confusing as the moment Young-Do told her he wanted to be her boyfriend. Romance was not her strength. Perhaps that was why she was so excited about doing things with Ji-Sun and Hyo-Shin. She wanted friends to do things with. She already had Young-Do for sex and now that he was no longer just her friend, she needed more people.

“Rachel?”

“I’m fine. I guess tonight is as good as any for uncomfortable introspection.” She took a deep breath and changed the subject. “How was your day?”

He hesitated and probably wanted to coax her out of her cranky moment but wisely didn’t push her. “They don’t have any suspects but the investigation is over. I don’t have any major competitors in Gwangju that will be put out if this small, luxury hotel is successful. But what pisses me off the most…Rachel the bones of the building are gone. He destroyed something that cannot be recreated. We’ve lost some of the historical techniques that made it special. I’m trying to put together a historical preservation team to try but…”

“It’s going to cost a lot of money in a climate where you can’t afford it.”

“I have five weeks until the next board meeting. If I can’t justify it, I will lose to him.”

“What does Go Nam-Il say?”

Young-Do let out a sigh. “To do it anyway. He’s still investigating. He thinks he can have enough proof in the next six months to oust Ji-Hoon but…but I don’t like the idea of leaving you to deal with him. I don’t like disappointing you.”

“He’s a formidable enemy. You’re not disappointing me.” It was a very tiny lie. She could stand to be a bit more understanding of his difficult position. It was about to become hers.

“I am.” His voice got soft and she wondered what his cranky introspection was about. “I’m disappointing myself. You have high expectations of me, higher than anyone else, and I don’t like letting you down.”

“You have decades to get it right. You’re starting younger than anyone else had to. If you can’t revive the Pearl, the property in that resort is a good enough second project to make your point. When you get back, we’ll put together another proposal for it.”

“It’s only eleven more years until he gets out. I have more than just your deadline.” Rachel let out of a low breath and Young-Do gave a pained laugh as they remembered the shadow of his father lurking behind him. Rachel wished this man wasn’t still leeching off of Young-Do. What did he see when he spent time with his mother? Did Kyung-Ran even see Young-Do for who he was or was he just another aspect of a monster that didn’t deserve to be called father. At least her own father was only negligent. “I forget sometimes, too. It’s less time if he’s behaved himself.”

“He won’t be able to take the company back from you. No one wants him back. He has no loyalty from anyone. If he did, he wouldn’t be in prison. Someone else would’ve taken the fall. You’ve been working hard for the company since you were in high school. The board will see that.”

“Maybe.” They lapsed into silence and she wondered what was going through his head. She just didn’t know if she were ready for the answers to take root in her chest the way Young-Do had grown underneath her heart. He changed the subject and she smiled to herself that she had a boyfriend that cared about her work. “How’s your new project coming? Anything yet?”

Give and take was so important. Her foolish teenage self hadn’t realized that with Tan. He never asked about her interests. He didn’t want to know about her life. Even when Young-Do was an immature, scowly boy, he cared about how she spent her time. It was how they ended up watching movies and dramas together after school and homework.

“I managed two sketches before I left tonight. It’s a start but you know I only need a little start to get going. It will be nice to have a focus again. It will keep me busy while you’re gone. It’s been almost eight days, you know. Your visit doesn’t count because I’m about to make a point.”

Young-Do chuckled and she imagined him running his hand through his hair and poofing it up. “That this is the longest we’ve been apart since high school?”

“It feels weirder now that we’re living together.”

“I miss you, too.” He paused and then sighed. “I just got an email that needs my attention. Don’t fall asleep on the couch or at your desk. Do I need to send someone to check up on you so you make it to class tomorrow?”

“No. I’ll go straight to bed.” Rachel stood and picked up her shoes so she could put them back in the right place. She turned off the lamp and fumbled through the dark up the stairs and into their bedroom. The cavernous nature of their home made her consider possibly getting a different, smaller room in the hotel while he was gone. At least she had several months to make that decision. “Have you talked to Attorney Byun about the power of attorney?”

“It’s on my agenda for tomorrow. Your mother really said that the board plans to dissolve all of the company’s assets while I’m gone?”

“Yes. But I don’t think the entire board is on that side of things. President Ma, your lawyer, definitely isn’t. There is no way she would waste her resources this way if she were. Attorney Byun may be Go Nam-Il’s brother-in-law, but he’s still her employee and he’s doing good work. He isn’t lazy or trying to distract us. Go Nam-Il never would’ve recommended him if he would work counter to our goals.”

“I can’t decide if your mother is testing you or not. Vice President Han figured it out and Lee Esther is a million times smarter and better at corporate intrigue than he could ever hope to become.”

“I don’t know either.” She made it to the bedroom, in the dark, without breaking her toes. She flipped on the light and flopped ungracefully on the bed. She chose his side even though the pillow didn’t smell like him anymore. “It could be her way of keeping your hands off of me. Things are really looking up for me at the company. If she doesn’t see this coming, she might just murder me.”

“I guess we won’t know until the next board meeting.”

It was so close. Rachel closed her eyes. If Mother reacted poorly, it could undermine everything she was trying to do to help Young-Do. Mother did not want Rachel to give her loyalty to a man ever again. Not after the debacle with Kim Tan.

Young-Do was worth it. He was going to be a king—her king. That was what a woman of her station and inheritance should want. Just because Mother never found a king didn’t mean she should be angry that Rachel did.

Seven weeks until Young-Do left for two years. She didn’t even know if she would make it through the first hundred days or if being Acting President was too big a responsibility for an untried girl.

“I’m finally getting nervous.”

“Just now? I’ve been nervous for a year now. But Rachel,” his tone was so gentle that it warmed her all over, “Rachel, I’m not nervous that it’s going to be you. I believe I picked the right person. I’ve never wavered on that.”

“Does it make me arrogant to agree?”

“No. It just affirms my belief in you. Get some sleep. Go running tomorrow. I’ll call you and we can have a cellphone date while you get on the treadmill. I think my officetel has a gym. I’ll double check and we can do it together.”

“I hate running,” she grumbled but smiled to herself because he couldn’t see her. “Alright. It’s not too late. I can get up early. What time?”

[pricechecktranslations]

DSoE: MotHY; Chapter 10-The Boy’s Choice

Master of the Heavenly Yard chapter content summary under the cut.

-Scene 1

What in the world is evil?

-Scene 2

Eater touches down a little ways from Ma, and lets Allen down before flying again. She's likely after Nemesis, so they think it's better Nemesis doesn't get close to her. Nemesis is making "preparations" elsewhere. Allen's supposed to distract Ma until then. He's soon covered by the black vortex, but nothing much happens to him yet. He walks to her.

She's standing among the frozen soldiers in the spot where Evils Theater used to stand in the forest before the world ended. She's still holding the Clockworker's Doll. Allen knows that while she looks like Riliane, she's someone else. He greets her and moves in closer. She asks him where Nemesis is. He won't tell her, and she says if not then she has no use for him.

She asks him if he plans to save his sister or destroy her. She asks if he knows what will happen when she absorbs Nemesis. He comments on what he learned in the BlackBox in heaven, and how the gods had been aware of beings that existed outside the rules, "Irregulars". And they also had to be careful of them. Ma says that she's been to many places but she's never been to heaven.

Allen explains the gods are afraid of Irregulars because a being that doesn't exist existing will contradict the rules. He says that the gods are most afraid of the world ending because if it does, they won't be gods anymore (making a comparison to rulers of a country). There's a chance Irregulars will end the world, so that is why they are afraid of them. Ma points out that's why he was sealed in a BlackBox in heaven (her having that knowledge shocks Allen).

She says she found another BlackBox with an Akashic Recorder like the one he was in while in the "graveyard". And she has Levia's memories. She says the one in the graveyard is a type B BlackBox that Behemo made. She asks, if they were afraid of Irregulars, why they left Riliane alone. Allen didn't know before, but after seeing Adam and Eve in the theater, he can guess (Allen is doing a lot of guesswork--I believe he's accurate but just saying). The world being destroyed by Irregulars only works if the twins are together. When they are, they can use a special power--the "Re birthday". Though Adam didn't do it completely. It will only "format" the beings inside of the theater BlackBox.

Gammon wasn't trying to destroy the world. He was trying to save it. If all went as planned, the world would have been revived. Or so Allen thinks--as it didn't work, we don't know for sure.

Allen is an Irregular, but Ma is different--she's not part of a set of twins (Ma looks a little lonely at hearing that). She needs another being to perform a "Re birthday". He thinks that's why she's collecting all the contractors--but she says that's not it.

Ma summons lightning in her hand and says that he is unlike her. He has a sister and parents. He has people who confirm his existence. There's no way he could understand her pain. She fires the lightning at him. He blocks it with his sword--it disintegrates, and he conjures up another one.

Her wish is not to erase the world. That's little more than a side effect of what she's doing. She just wants to confirm her own existence. Allen says that if the world is destroyed, there'll be no one left to tell her existence to. The vortex changes so that the part of it around Allen becomes deeper in color, but it still does nothing to him. He guesses that this vortex is something (leaking out of her I think?) as a result of her not yet being a "pure being".

Ma says she'll just go to another world when this one is destroyed. Allen declares his intention to protect the world they're in now. He moves to adopt Leonhart's sword move, the "Bull Stance". Ma says she doesn't care even if it makes her "evil". All she cares about is existing. But he's welcome to try stopping her. But killing her means killing Riliane.

In the past, for Riliane's sake, Allen would have fought the whole world. He thinks Ma resembles how he used to be--if it's for their own goals, they don't care about anything else. No rules can shake their determination--but what meaning is there in living, if they throw away who they are? He thinks to himself they are not puppets of the gods. They are humans with their own will. Facing Ma, Allen is reminded of his old self.

[Here is the illustration of a splitscreen scene with Allen pointing his sword at Riliane in the Bull Stance, surrounded by the black vortex cloud things. Allen is determined and Riliane (Ma) looks smug]

-Scene 3

They celebrated the twins' birthday in the Hall of Sounds. That was Alexiel's first memory. He can't remember it clearly, but he reaches for someone's hand in it (implied to be Riliane's). He thinks to himself that he was born to protect her.

He left the palace with his dad for the first time when he was four. It was also the first time he met Leonhart (I think he's acting as bodyguard). They went to town and he marveled at all he saw there. He caught sight of the goods on a shelf in a shop that a hooded old woman was standing at. They were dolls inside glass bottles. He likes one that's a knight. The old woman had a red cat sleeping further in the shop. Alexiel asks his father to buy the knight doll, but then he sees the one next to it, a pretty princess. It reminded him of his sister.

He thinks Riliane would like it, and asks if they can get both. Arth says no, and Leonhart points out he could buy the whole shop if he wanted to. But they're in the middle of a war, and Arth doesn't want to spend too much. He also doesn't want to spoil Alexiel--it's important to be able to make decisions as the future heir. Leonhart (light heartedly) chides him for using this as a lesson on a four year old boy.

Alexiel picks the princess. Arth asks him about it later, asking if he plans to give it to Riliane. Alexiel says he'll give her the doll, and then keep the bottle for himself (it sparkles in the light). Arth laughs that he picked the option that had something for both him and his sister, and Leonhart smiles too.

When he was six, his father died. Due to a conflict about succession, Alexiel left the palace. He was taken in by Leonhart, and named Allen. When he was 12, his mother came to visit him. She looked a little gaunt. There was a lot he wanted to tell her, and ask her, but couldn't. He hugged her, and she said she loved him. He was too timid to say it back. She tells him to protect Riliane, looking a little sad, and he nods. His mother died a year later. Allen ended up working in the palace.

When he was fourteen, the revolution happened. He was executed in Riliane's place, with no regrets. He'd protected her, and that was his reason for living. That was his way of confirming his existence. He'd ended up inside a box, locked in the BlackBox by Sickle. He didn't know why. It wasn't a bad time in there--he couldn't move freely, but he gained a lot of knowledge from the Akashic Recorder.

With everything he learned, he began to have doubts about himself. Were his actions correct? Was it really his own will? Was he brainwashed by his upbringing? Was he cursed by his mother's last words to him? Was there worth in protecting Riliane? Should he have become king instead?

He thinks maybe he should have done something different (lots of "moshimo's"). There are a lot of choices. A lot of possibilities. Which one is right? He wanted to see Riliane again--he felt he'd know the answer when he did.

-Scene 4

After the world was destroyed, Sickle let Allen go to the ground world. He didn't explicitly say he'd let Allen decide the world's future, but he'd implied it. Allen didn't mind that, but he didn't want to be the god's puppet either. He wanted to decide on his own. Even if it's not what the gods wanted. Allen ponders his options before Ma. Save his sister? Or the world?

Ma says if he isn't going to do anything, she's going to leave to find Nemesis. She calls her her daughter but it's clear she has no parental feelings towards her at all. He thinks that if Ma had ever once called Nemesis herself her daughter genuinely, she might not have destroyed the world (more "moshimo"s). Ma only cares about her own goals, not caring if it makes her evil.

Allen thinks to himself that he's the same. Irregular or not, all people are greedy. There is no one who is completely innocent. All have evil in their hearts (more "moshimo"s). There is no right choice. No matter what path you take, there will always be regrets. So, greedy and evil as he is, Allen will choose both. He will save Riliane and the world.

[pricechecktranslations]

DSOE: MON; 6-Memory of Mother

The Muzzle of Nemesis chapter content summary under the cut

Scene 1

The chapter opens with Levia, disoriented and confused reminding herself of who she is. She's standing in the hall of a theater--remembering it's Evils Theater despite not knowing the place herself. She realizes she's in the world of Nemesis' memories--but she's there as herself, as Levia. With all of her memories of being Levia (when doing this she's supposed to completely take on the other person's self until exiting the memory).

She walks in farther and goes to the collection room. She sees the vessels--Blade, scissors, wineglass, spoon, mirrors, and the doll. She moves closer to the doll, and in the process sees her reflection in the mirrors. It's Levia's reflection, not Nemesis'. She is in the memory world, but she's herself. She concludes that it's just glitches in the Black Box.

She's not sure if she'll be able to get back to the present world.

The door opens behind her, and a woman greets her (as Nemesis, and she's the fuhrer at this point I think). She turns around and sees Ma (the narrative is calling her Kayo), the woman who she was sucked into earlier. Even though Levia is perceiving herself as Levia, the memory is proceeding normally, and Levia speaks up without meaning to, as Nemesis (BASICALLY, Levia is herself, but she's still being forced into the role of Nemesis in playing out the memory).

Nemesis greets her mother. Kayo asks if she's surprised that despite the entire forest burning down, the theater is still there. She seems to become angry at Nemesis after a moment.

The "boy" was sealed away a thousand years ago, according to Kayo, who expresses disbelief that Nemesis would revive it. She suspects that Nemesis being able to find it at all is the Demon of Wrath's doing.

Nemesis/Levia begins speaking. The "boy" existed in Lunaca Labora. Ziz-san was the producer of it, and he helped her revive it to use. She insists that he didn't want to destroy the world--he sealed the "boy" away himself because he didn't want to use it. It was Nemesis that insisted on taking it out, to make Elphegort more powerful.

Everything she's done has been to help Elphegort--from becoming head of the Tasan party to starting wars with the other countries of Evillious.

"Punishment" appears to be the weapon derived by Elphegort's scientists out of the "boy".

Nemesis tells Kayo about how Bruno came with Maistia forces to stop her from using "punishment". And that she killed him. Kayo brings up how he saved her, but Nemesis rebukes that, saying he is the true "evil", everything he did having been for Gallerian's sake.

Kayo says that he saved Nemesis because of his devotion to Gallerian, but at the same time he likely hated her because she was Kayo's daughter. Of course that was hardly Nemesis' fault.

Kayo brings up that Nemesis killed Nikolay (which was 10 years ago), though Nemesis asserts it was what he wanted. She says he told her he hadn't fulfilled his role, and that was why Kayo drove him out of the forest. Kayo agrees he didn't do as she'd ordered him to. Nemesis gets a little cheeky at this, pointing out that unlike her, he was always there to take care of her (also Kayo is smoking during this conversation just fyi).

Kayo explains that taking care of Nemesis was not the order that she was talking about. It was to kill Nemesis if he ever saw the opportunity. Instead, he grew to care about her. She speculates that he was projecting--he saw Nemesis as being like his own daughter. She says that Nemesis has met his daughter before, and calls for someone to enter.

Postman comes in.

Both Levia and Nemesis are shocked at this.

Kayo explains that in addition to being a member of PN, Postman was also her servant (having gotten her from Nikolay). She takes off the hat, and reveals that Postman is a young girl with blonde hair.

Postman is Nikolay's daughter.

But then, she looks too young to be the daughter of the old man. Kayo explains that Postman doesn't age (a side effect of Kayo performing some medical treatment on her?). She knew Nikolay because she was a lover of one of his colleagues while he was still Hanma Balledold in the Dark Star Courthouse. She performed some magical procedure on Postman, but it didn't work. As a result, Postman became ageless, voiceless, and without a will. Like a doll.

Because of this Nikolay ended up separating from his wife. Trying to take care of his daughter alone, while very young and also aiming to become head of the court, was very hard on him. And (tiny bit hard to read this sentence) he became a slave to magic that would allow him to surpass human intellect(? probably wrong but not gonna mess with it right now). He became Kayo's apprentice. She had him hand over his daughter.

Kayo had been seeking out "raw materials" like his daughter. A living doll that could serve as a "receptacle"/container. But it didn't work out so well. She also seems to imply Nikolay regretted handing his daughter over.

Nemesis notices that Kayo is implying she's much older than Nikolay--Kayo explains she doesn't age either. The whole conversation is shocking to both Levia and Nemesis.

She asks why Kayo told Nikolay to kill her, and Kayo says that Nemesis is someone who fulfilled her purpose to her merely by being born, and so she had no use for her after that. She didn't exactly want to kill her--it was just that she viewed her as rubbish, and had asked Nikolay to get rid of her because she didn't care to do it herself.

[Here is a picture of Postman (Rin-version) without her hat on.]

Nemesis can't believe this--her mother has always been kind to her. Kayo says that Nemesis' memories are twisted. Once Nemesis was born, Kayo left the forest and never came back. Nemesis didn't want to accept that, so she made up false memories of her mother raising her.

Alarmed, Nemesis insists on the whole thing with Ziz-san, only for Kayo to assert that if she'd bought Ziz-san for her, she'd have immediately known he was the Demon of Wrath. If Ziz-san told Nemesis that Kayo had bought him, it was likely a lie, concerned that if Nemesis picked up on the inconsistency she'd be completely destroyed when the truth dawned on her.

Levia realizes that it's true--Kayo never showed up in any of the memories that she'd seen up until this point. Everything about Kayo she'd learned from Nemesis' memories were delusions.

Nemesis is at a loss for words. Kayo accuses her of knowing on some level, declaring that the reason why she'd tried to kill Kayo by dropping "Punishment" on the forest. Nemesis tries to insist that she did it because the forest has turned evil (something to that effect) and Kayo brushes this off--Evil forest or not, Nemesis dropped a dangerous weapon on the very country she wanted to help. But Kayo won't be killed that easily.

Kayo grabs Nemesis by the neck. Levia (being in Nemesis' position), can feel the pain of being strangled too. Nemesis asks how this is happening despite having the power of a demon inside her.

Kayo explains that she has a demon inside her too, and not by contract like Nemesis. In fact, she has drawn six demons into her body. She says that once she realized Nemesis had the demon of wrath possessing her, she could no longer ignore her--she'll kill Nemesis, and then steal the last demon for herself.

Then Kayo suddenly loses her grip. Nemesis is able to push her away. Once she's recovered somewhat she looks up to see Kayo collapse. The blade--one of the articles stored in the room--has been stabbed into her back.

Postman did it, her hand covered in blood. Nemesis realizes that Kayo won't die unless a contractor does it. She pulls her gun from her holster and speaks, (quoting the first line of The Muzzle of Nemesis about pointing her gun at someone). Kayo, bitter, says she should have killed her the second she was born.

Kayo laments that she was so close to becoming a "pure being", without her (Nemesis), and without that other person (doesn't specify who she means), and with all the demons but one of them inside her.

Nemesis starts to bemoan how nothing has worked--no matter how hard she tries she (can't save the world? I think that's what it's saying). She starts to say something (I assume that if she can't save the world she'll destroy it instead) and Kayo says that this is her true nature. She is the one who wishes for destruction. Her true identity is--

Nemesis shoots her and her sentence is drowned out.

Nemesis starts sobbing over Kayo's corpse.

Levia's (?) narration begins speaking--Nemesis was betrayed by everyone she believed in. She's not the one to blame. It's the world. So she needs to "purify everything". Destroy it all. Levia realizes that it's not her voice speaking. It's the "other Nemesis". The "other her". And then the next part goes "Me. Nemesis. Me. Levia. Me. Me. Me."

Obeying the voice, Nemesis leaves the theater. She goes to the nearby Tasan Headquarters.

The narrative starts making references to "Whereabouts of the Miracle" ("Hurry, press the switch/ the forbidden device is beyond this point/if you go now, no one will discover it/Come, hurry) and then a couple lines about dropping "punishment" on the world.

Scene 2

Something about emergency systems starting up? (I think backup systems for the Black Box).

Scene 3

The world was destroyed. Or at least, the one inside Nemesis' memories. But Levia has returned to the present world. The emergency system shut down the "swap" safely. She's drenched in sweat. Postman is there to greet her when she comes out, and she wonders if it's the same person as the one in Nemesis' memories. The clothes are the same, but the other Postman never spoke. She can't tell.

Postman asks her about it and she confirms she saw all six victims. Before she explains them he asks her what she thinks of Nemesis. Levia says she was a weak person who wasn't independent. She was always (manipulated? guided? by someone), and blamed the world for her problems rather than herself. In the end, she had two choices--destroy herself, or destroy the world. As a child she destroyed herself. As an adult she destroyed the world. Though in the end, the two choices were the same thing (and I think some line about how anger and revenge destroys the person seeking it?)

Then Levia says that it was all delusions anyway. Though she's not sure why, the machine didn't show her the real life that Nemesis led. Postman asks her why she thinks this, and she cites the magic and demons and such, saying it's like a fantasy.

There's also the fact that she's never heard of those countries that Nemesis was in, or Evillious. From what she saw, Elphegort was based on Germany, and Levianta was Russia, etc. There's no such thing as "Punishment" and the world hasn't been destroyed yet.

Levia finishes by saying that while it's clear those people existed, and that Nemesis killed them, she has no idea what actually took place.

Postman is disappointed. Levia starts to apologize for giving him an answer he doesn't like, but then he laments that it was "not enough". He says that Evillious does exist--or rather it did. And it was destroyed by "Punishment".

He takes off his hat. He looks a lot like the Postman in the memories, but he's different. He's a boy. He asks her if seeing his face triggers any memories. She says not really--just that he looks nice, but he's not really her type. And that he looks a little bit like her younger brother.

Postman insists that they've met before, a long time ago. He explains that he is Allen Avadonia. His real name is Alexiel. He was a servant who worked in the palace, and she was a sorceress. She starts to think he's deluded too, but he insists it's her who's delusional. The world she saw as Nemesis is the truth, and this entire laboratory, the entire world she's in now, is the illusion.

He goes to the Black Box and opens a panel, entering a code to activate the "Irregular System". Levia's never heard of that until now. It initiates the "swap" for Levia's life this time. She starts to get sucked into the box, like how she was sucked into Kayo's body while in the memories.

She begs him to stop. She doesn't want to see the truth. Allen apologizes, calling her Elluka. This is the only way to put an end to the "infinite destruction of the world" (I think?).

She seems to somewhat remember the name Elluka.

Scene 4

She's pulled into the box, and a new "swap" begins. This time, it's of her life.